Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Percy Jackson and the Olympians.
Sun's Heir, Death's Guardian II: A Hero's Peril
XXVII
"Ow, hey! Manhandling is not necessary just because I'm a man!" Naruto said as the Laistrygonian that held him at bay forced him to watch Percy fight another demigod that belonged to Luke's forces. Ethan Nakamura, an unclaimed boy from Hermes' cabin that looked like he had a huge chip on his shoulder. That, and he looked like the bastard son of Kakashi, who was staring intently at the boy's eye patch from his own place in Sylvia's grasp.
She really did like him, it seemed.
"Quiet!" Antaeus said. "You fought already once before, proven worthy to be immortal champions of my temple."
"Hooray." The two shinobi drawled as their eyes stayed locked on the arena. Percy had Ethan on his knees, waiting to be killed. Naruto watched intently as Antaeus ordered Percy to kill him. He knew what Percy's answer would be – and it was a good answer as any for a hero – but that choice was going to get the rest of them, and consequently the camp killed.
"He should just kill him." Kakashi said under his breath. Naruto glanced at the white haired shinobi who continued. "The boy gave up his eye for something. And...he gives me a bad vibe."
"He's in Luke's army." Naruto said, getting a glance from the blond in question. "Of course he gives you a bad vibe. All of them are as slimy as the rottenest nukenin."
"Nukenin? Comparing us to your forces, Naruto?" Luke asked, a brow arching.
"Only to the people who are lower than trash." Naruto said. Luke scowled at him and Naruto grinned. "Aw, what's wrong? Did I hurt your feelings?"
"You'll regret not siding with me sooner, Naruto."
"Why? Because someone has daddy issues we should all hop on the bandwagon?"
"The Olympians do not care for us!"
"Maybe. But that doesn't mean we should dedicate our lives and the lives of our siblings to defeating them!"
"Stop squabbling!" Antaeus said, already furious with how long this execution was taking. "Son of Poseidon! Kill him!"
Percy ignored him and lowered his sword, offering his hand instead. Ethan stared at it for a moment before he took it and stood with Percy's help. Antaeus stood from his seat, outrage on his face.
"You'll both be sacrifices to Poseidon for insulting the games!" he shouted.
Percy said something to Ethan under his breath before turning to Antaeus. "Why don't you fight me instead!? Prove that you've got Dad's favor!"
"You wish to fight me?" Antaeus looked a bit bewildered at the challenge and the crowd started to mumble. Naruto caught a few mutterings of 'been a while' and 'may have lost his touch', which made him arch a golden brow. So the son of Gaia hadn't fought in a while, eh? The blond grinned in a feral manner, eyeing the surrounding monsters like they were meat.
When this fight was over he'd cover the others' fleeing. Maybe pound Luke again. That would be fun. A punch here and a tooth flying there...Oh yeah, just like old times.
"I'm the greatest wrestler in the world, boy!" Antaeus said with a smirk.
"Blasphemy! You insult the Hulkster and the Ultimate War-!" Naruto shouted, getting muffled by the Laistrygonian's hand. Thalia looked ready to burst into laughter, though.
Antaeus ignored the outburst. "I've been wrestling since the pankration."
"The what?" Kakashi asked.
Naruto wriggled his way out from behind the Laistrygonian's hand and looked at his father's student. "The pankration is a no hold bars hand-to-hand combat sport once held in the Olympic games. It's like the chunin games."
"Ah, so it's a publicity stunt to get bragging rights and clients."
"More or less."
"Interesting."
"Winner takes all!" Percy had the two shinobi's eyes on him once more. His sword was pointed at Antaeus and a determined look crossed his face. "I win, we all go free. You win, we all die. Swear on the River Styx."
"What's that?" Kakashi asked under his breath.
"An oath so powerful that not even gods can break it without consequence." Naruto said darkly, thinking of this as punishment for the stupid asinine oath made by the big three. They all knew they couldn't handle that oath. They should've known better than to try. Not that he was upset they broke it, but it was the principal of the thing.
"...Remind me to not do it impulsively."
"I have an issue with it myself." Naruto said sheepishly. He accounted that to Helios' presence, though.
"This shouldn't take long!" Antaeus said with a laugh. "I swear to your terms, fellow son of Poseidon!"
He leapt from his seat and landed with a ground-shaking boom, making Percy stare up at the red skinned giant nervously. He was outclassed in size once again, but he managed to get the best of Atlas for a second...he could beat this guy...Right?
"Kick his ass, Jackson!" Naruto said from the sidelines as Antaeus cracked his knuckles, his tattooed arms flexing and making the waves move like Poseidon's domain. A savage grin spread across Antaeus' face, revealing his carved teeth that elected Percy's attention.
"Weapons?" The giant asked.
"I'll stick with my sword." Percy said, gripping Riptide tightly. "You?"
Antaeus raised his hands out and wiggled his fingers in anticipation, the sausage-like appendages becoming one of the most terrifying things Percy had ever seen. "I'll go without...all I need are my hands to kill you."
"That's literally the eighth hundredth time I've heard someone say that." Kakashi said in annoyance.
"Two hundredth." Naruto said.
"Master Luke, you will be our referee!"
"The honor is mine." Luke said, looking to Naruto as the blond mumbled something. "Excuse me?"
"Gonna act like daddy and be biased, mister son of the cheating god?" Naruto asked. He prayed to his uncle to ignore the insult, since he respected doing whatever it takes to win in a fight, but not whatever it takes to win cash. A strange sense of honor, but it was what he went with.
"A son of Hermes?" Kakashi asked, getting glared at by Luke.
"You will be quiet!" He hissed at the masked man and then glared at Naruto. "I'm fairer than any Olympian can claim to be."
"Aphrodite's gonna be pissed at you for that one."
"Would you be quiet for one second!?" Luke snapped. The giant holding the whiskered blond slapped his hand over Naruto's mouth, getting muffled groans, while Luke sighed in relief. "Finally." He turned to the arena. "Begin!"
It was too late, for Antaeus had already lunged at Percy, getting sidestepped and sliced deep in the side. He finished healing and got back to his feet, grinning savagely. The red giant charged again, and once more Percy avoided with a roll, coming out of it with a stab into the giant's side under his arm. Sand poured where blood should have, the dirt rising back up to cover the wound and heal it, as the dirt fell away and he was back to pristine condition.
"Antaeus, the strong giant that fought Hercules..." Kakashi mumbled.
"Heracles." Thalia corrected with a small smirk, payback against her stepmother was due after all.
"Percy! He's a son of Gaia! A son of Ga-!" The giant standing near her silenced Annabeth, his hand covering her mouth. Her cries were now muffled but the message was sent and Percy thought back to his lessons with Naruto. Antaeus, ran into Heracles in the midst of his eleventh task, had been challenging people for skulls to make into...well he got that far.
Percy evaded another attempted tackle and backpedaled to get more space between him and his 'brother'. A son of Gaia...well, that explained the dirt. Guess that with age and a lack of willing (or rather unwilling) participates in his temple dulled the need for Antaeus' strength, and so Gaia now heals him. She's almost as good a mother as his own.
If Gaia could make blue food, there may be a chance for a tie. But Percy doubted that.
No one was a better mother than Sally Jackson.
Elsewhere, a red-haired woman with purple eyes sneezed.
"Goodness, bless you. That summer cold must be in the air." Her current lunch companion said. Kushina smiled at her.
"No, probably my sochi talking about me. He loves spreading rumors. Come, come, tell me more about this class you're taking before my boss calls me back from my lunch hour. Honestly, I think she keeps me around just so she doesn't kill her mother."
"I'll never understand how a florist family can be so violent."
"Ah, you underestimate the savage secrets of the agriculture world. Let me tell you a story about a man named Hashirama..."
Percy rolled to the side again and stabbed his sword to the hilt under the other arm. Riptide was lodged in Antaeus' ribs; that was good. Percy was flung to the other side of the arena, monsters cheering at that, and was now weaponless. That was bad.
Antaeus cried out in pain, fumbling with the sword while Percy inwardly cursed stupid cheating healing gifts.
Let it be known that Percy Jackson does not recognize the word hypocrite in the dictionary because of his dyslexia.
Antaeus pulled the sword out and tossed it behind him, grimacing as the dirt trailed up the sand and covered the wound, healing him. When it was healed and the dirt had fallen away, he towered over Percy once more, smirking victoriously. Percy glanced to where Riptide had landed, making to move for it, but Antaeus blocked him. Percy looked to the other side, making an attempt to feint around the giant, only to quickly retreat as Antaeus picked up on that plan rather quickly.
Well, damn. It was like trying to go around a brick wall...only the brick wall was poised to crush you as soon as you got too close.
"Nowhere to run now." Antaeus said, smirking. "Now you see why I never lose, demigod. Come to me and I promise to make it quick."
"Pass." Percy said, feeling a familiar weight in his pocket. He needed to get the big oaf in the air somehow. Percy let his eyes look up, looking past Antaeus' smirking face. Chandeliers made from skulls of opponents long since dead hung above the arena on chains.
Two thoughts came to his ADHD addled mind at that.
First of all, who took the time to make those? Seriously, those were intricate and, despite the gruesome origins, very well put together. How were they being held together? Glue? Some sort of monster guts he wasn't aware of?
The second and most important thought that hit Percy's head was a plan. If he went up, Antaeus would have no option other than to follow. So when the big oaf in question made a grab for him, Percy ducked under the arms, slipping around behind his half-brother and climbing up the giant's back as fast as he could. He jumped, using Antaeus' head as a step, to the chandeliers and thankfully didn't miss.
He heard Rachel cheer alongside Thalia for him as he scrambled to the top. Once more the question of how the chandeliers were made hit his mind. He could easily stand atop them like they were stone. It was mind-boggling!
"Coward! You are not worthy to be a son of Poseidon!" Antaeus said with a glare. He jumped for the chandelier, but Percy had climbed over to another rope. "Come down here and face me!"
"You come up and get me!" Percy said in return as he grabbed a nearby chain bar of a chandelier and used his sword to cut it.
"Coward!"
"Sticks and stones, fatass!"
"Percy Jackson!" Thalia said in mock anger. "The mouth on you!"
"Thalia, seriously not the time!"
Antaeus jumped again, catching the chandelier and climbing as best he could up it. Percy finished cutting the chain and swung it at Antaeus, managing to hook it on his diaper-like loincloth on the fifth try. He attached it to the chain he clung, securing it as best he could. Antaeus grabbed two other chains to keep from flipping when he tried to return to the ground, since he was kept in the air by his keister.
Percy just prayed that the loincloth would hold.
With the expertise of a monkey, Percy swung around, looping chains like the messy child he was around his half-brother. Antaeus cursed and swore at him in Greek and English, which increased as Percy dropped to the ground, Antaeus suspended in the air by the chains wrapped around him.
"I'll kill you! Get me down!" roared the red skinned giant.
"Free him!" Luke said. "He's our host!"
"I'll free him." Percy said, spinning his sword around and holding it parallel with his face before thrusting the blade forward. He impaled Antaeus in the stomach, sand immediately pouring out of his body. He started to dissolve, unable to meet the earth that protected him so readily while the audience watched on in disbelief.
When it was done, nothing remained except for a loincloth hanging from a chain.
"...worst spoil ever." Percy said with a scowl. He turned to Luke, who was seething while the monsters grew antsy.
"Jackson! I should've killed you long ago!" Luke said with a glare.
"You tried. Let us go, Luke! We had a deal with Antaeus. I won, we go free!" Percy said
"Antaeus' oath dies with him." Luke said coldly, glaring at Percy before looking to the monsters holding the shinobi. "Kill them! All of them!" He turned and met Annabeth's eyes. "Except for her! ...I want to speak with her before our great triumph!"
"Go near her, Luke, and I'll kill you!" Thalia said heatedly, making Annabeth's eyes widen along with Luke's.
"And that's our cue." Kakashi said, bursting into smoke along with Naruto, leaving only logs in their stead. A hand of lightning burst through the chest of Sylvia, who gave a shriek of horror while the Laistrygonian giant next to her lost his head thanks to Eclipse. Naruto stood in the giant's place, fending off monsters with his sword while Kakashi rushed over to where the girls were being held hostage, Thalia already taking the other guards out, the remains of her binds laying in burnt ash from the application of high voltage of static. Kakashi used his sword to cut Rachel's binds, leaving her and jumping down to the main arena where Percy stood, holding an icy whistle. Kakashi grabbed the boy and jumped back up to the stands as he blew the whistle.
Kelli screamed as she was suddenly tossed through the air, landing on Luke and knocking him down with her bronzed leg. A giant black mastiff appeared next to Thalia and she was about to stab it until Percy stopped her. "Wait! It's Mrs. O'Leary!"
The bark she gave at her name shook the cavern.
"Wonderful, you have a giant dog." Thalia said dryly.
"You have a giant cat!"
"That's Whiskers' cat!"
"We need to leave!" Annabeth said.
"I'm not leaving Mrs. O'Leary!" Percy said with a frown.
"Go, Jackson! Kakashi and I will make sure she gets out of here!" Naruto said, holding off monsters as best he could while Kakashi leaned back and shot a wave of fire from his masked mouth, incinerating the monsters that charged him. Mrs. O'Leary jumped into a pile forming near the group, biting and chewing their way out there. Thalia held up the rear, stopping just at the exit while looking at Naruto, who looked over his shoulder and gave her a nod. She nodded back and left, the doors slamming shut behind them.
"So now what?" Kakashi asked as he fended the monsters off. "We can't do this forever!"
"We don't have to!" Naruto said, making clones and letting them fend off the monsters. He whistled and got the attention of the Hellhound. "C'mon girl, take us to Daedalus!"
The Hellhound barked again and rushed over to them. Kakashi climbed atop the giant dog's back. She charged to the entrance in the west, Naruto jumping onto her back, waving farewell to Luke with a ball of red wool in his hand.
"No...NO!" Luke roared, getting to his feet. "Naruto! I'll kill you! Horribly! Painfully!"
"Love you too, Luke!" Naruto said with a gleeful laugh as he left his fellow blond behind.
Luke slammed his fist onto the dirt. "Dammit! Ruined! It's all ruined!"
"Is it?"
Luke spun around to glare at who spoke, his eyes going wide when they landed on the speaker. "W-What are you?"
Cracked lips spread up into a cruel smile as golden and red eyes locked with blue. "Your salvation."
"So...He's pretty much the demigod equivalent of Sasuke?" Kakashi asked.
"Pretty much, except his Orochimaru happens to be a nearly all-powerful Titan king that terrorized the world under his rule."
"And that would be bad if it happened again, yes?"
"Yep." Naruto said with a nod. "You seem to be taking all this in stride."
"I've been reading." Kakashi said simply.
"Remind me to get you the demigod version." Naruto said, quirking a grin.
"I would appreciate that." He patted the side of the Hellhound they rode on. "A good dog. Giant, but good. Is this the dog that always catches its prey?"
"Nope." Naruto said with a grin. "This is Mrs. O'Leary, a hellhound that belongs to the camp's new swords master, Quintus. He wasn't at camp when I left though..."
"Quintus...that sounds rather foreign."
"It means the fifth in Latin."
"Fifth what though?"
"I dunno, fifth son?"
"Could it be the fifth swords master?"
"Who thinks that far ahead? And we've never had a swords master. We had some campers that were pretty good at it, though, like Sir Douche-a-lot back there."
"Ah. ...I'm thinking of retiring from the shinobi forces and I could really use a nice retirement job away from all that death..."
"I'll see what I can do."
Kakashi's eyes turned upward in a smile. "I knew there was a reason you were my favorite student."
"...You taught Sasuke the Chidori."
"For the last time, he was going up against the Kazekage!"
"Excuses!"
The two shinobi continued to bicker on Mrs. O'Leary's back, the Hellhound ignoring them as she ran in the direction of where her master was.
The group of four escaped far enough from the arena that they escaped, Percy brooding over what Ethan said about mercy being pointless in this war. He and Rachel sat near the campfire they set up in the tunnel, making small talk about what they went through and Percy getting a bit more out about the girl. Thalia and Annabeth walked away, Thalia leading the younger blonde girl in search for some spare twigs. It was partially because Annabeth was getting more and more hostile towards Rachel, and partially because Thalia needed to talk to Annabeth.
"Thalia?" Annabeth said after a moment.
"Yeah, Annie?" Thalia asked, looking over her shoulder at the girl.
"D-Did you mean what you said to Luke?"
Thalia stopped, turning around and letting Annabeth seeing her grave face. "To be completely honest with you Annie, yes. Yes I did mean what I said to Luke."
"B-But Thalia, he-!"
"Annabeth, this needs to stop!" Thalia said, cutting the daughter of Athena off. "Luke...Luke chose his side."
"We can still-!"
"No, Annie, we can't." Thalia said, her eyes filled with hurt. "I'm done with him. He poisoned me, Annie. Do you know what that feels like? That kind of betrayal, it runs deep. After growing up together on the run...to wake up and find out that your friend poisoned you...It was hard to even fathom forgiving him. But last winter...Annie, you weren't there, seeing him at his worst. He stabbed me and I nearly died."
Annabeth looked ready to protest but Thalia wouldn't let her, bending down to pick up some more twigs. "That betrayal alone shattered whatever remained of the trust I had in him. I'm sorry, Annabeth, but I can't give him a third chance."
Annabeth faltered, trying to say something, anything to get Thalia back on her side.
"Do what you like, Annabeth. But if I run into him again, I'll kill him." The daughter of Zeus stood and began walking back, the sticks in hand. "I can't bear to go through that kind of pain again."
Thalia lowered her tone even further, looking at something in her other hand as she spoke. "Not after I finally found peace."
"How long would you say we've been riding?" Naruto asked, lounging back and counting bricks as Mrs. O'Leary ran.
"Oh, about two, three hours tops." Kakashi said, flipping through his coveted Icha Icha first edition (that was the most important part) novel. "Ah, Naomi...so innocent...so coy..."
"Must you really?"
"Hm? Oh, I'm sorry, would you like to read, too?"
"...Thanks but no thanks, Kakashi-sensei. I'm already in a lot of hot water with my aunt as it is."
"What does that...Naruto, I'm so going to treat you to ramen."
"While the offer is tempting, you've never treated me to ramen. I always end up paying anyway."
"I will this time. And I'll get you a cigar."
"Smoking is bad for the lungs."
"Do you honestly care?"
"Considering I'm the son of the medicine god...And recovering addict..."
"Addict?"
"Did some stupid stuff when I was younger, about three years back."
"Ah. ...How's going to a strip club sound?"
"I just said I'm in hot water with my aunt. I'm lucky she doesn't speak to my mother. Oh the holes they would rip into me."
"...Wait, Kushina-sempai is alive!?" Kakashi asked, his face turning pale.
"Yeah, that deal I made with Lord Hades was a real good one." Naruto said, proceeding to tell his sensei everything about his deal. After getting the clarification on Kushina's status, Kakashi was now stark white.
He looked at the book in his hands. "...Uh-oh..."
"What? Something wrong?" Naruto asked with a blink of his eyes.
"I-It's nothing." Kakashi said with a swallow. Only that your mother made me swear to stay away from Jiraiya's work. I completely forgot about that after she...Oh boy...Life just hates me...
"I can tell when you're lying, sensei."
"How!? Er, I mean, how?"
"Sensei, son of the truth god."
"...Right, I knew that." Kakashi said sheepishly. Life was so much easier when I didn't have to worry about lying to Naruto. While I respect his desire to expand his knowledge, he just had to make things so much more complicated by doing so. Kakashi frowned. Great. Now I have to be careful with what I say.
Naruto arched a brow as Kakashi began mumbling to himself. His sensei wasn't normally one to act...well, like he ran into Dionysus on a bad day.
"Life was nicer when he was drinking." Helios said.
I figured. Naruto thought in return. Shame he had to go after that nymph.
"Is that what happened? He's married though! Probably the most loyal marriage I've ever seen, at that!"
Yeah well, according to Chiron it's because he drank too much.
"...Really not surprised by that."
Me either. What do you think that thing he said when we first met meant?
"No clue."
...This is you being 'all-seeing' seer, isn't it?
"Maybe..."
Helios, you're an asshole.
"Low bridge."
Don't you mean low blo-? "Ow, fuck!" Naruto said, holding his head where a stray root hit him. Kakashi snorted as he sat upright while still flipping through his book, apparently over whatever was bothering him before.
"Ha-ha!"
Seriously, that's the last time I let you watch the Simpsons. Naruto thought with a glare at his former sensei for laughing at him. He cut the connection with Helios, crossing his arms.
"Hey, Mrs. O'Leary. I know you don't exactly speak, but give me a bark for yes and two barks for no. Okay?"
Mrs. O'Leary barked once.
"Cool. Are we there yet?"
There were two barks.
"...How about now?"
"Naruto, I swear to your father, if you start..."
"Aw, c'mon sensei! I want to see if dogs can get annoyed."
"Naruto. You've met Pakkun."
"He's a summon, that's different!"
"Nonsense! He's a good dog, the perfect dog!" Mrs. O'Leary growled and Kakashi looked sheepish. "Er, the second perfect?"
The Hellhound barked once.
"That would be a yes." Naruto said to Kakashi, who rolled his eyes. Their banter was cut off as Mrs. O'Leary made a sharp right, bursting through the wall and startling the five people in the room overlooking the Garden of the Gods. Kakashi and Naruto fell off Mrs. O'Leary's back, both groaning from the jarring action.
"Naruto!" Annabeth said happily while the giant Hellhound bounded over to Quintus. "Naruto, we found him!"
"That's great, Annie. Now, if you don't mind. I'm going to sit here and rest my burning migraine for a moment." Naruto said, his eyes closing for a moment as he recovered from the landing. Damn branch really messed with his head.
"Mr. Uzumaki? You're here as well?"
Naruto's eyes snapped open at that and he looked at Quintus, Quintus' exposed mechanical arm, back to Quintus, and then at the roof. "So that's what his name means...Fifth body..."
"Oh..." Kakashi said in understanding.
"I'm sorry, but who are you?" Quintus asked the white haired shinobi. "I don't recall your name, if we've met before."
"Kakashi Hatake, reinstated ANBU." Kakashi said, making Percy go wide eyed. The guy was ANBU? He remembered Naruto saying that ANBU were the assassins and black operations of the shinobi village. What was he doing with them!?
"I'm sorry, ANBU?"
"Long story, Quint." Naruto said after he kipped up to his feet. "One I'm sure you have time for...if you tell me why you gave our enemies this?"
Naruto held out the string and Quintus-Daedalus gasped. "How did you get that!?"
"I stole it from the lightning thief." Naruto said, smirking, quite proud of himself for that comment. He played with the string for a minute before hardened sun-filled eyes looked at the quasi-immortal. "I'll ask again...why did you give Luke the string of Ariadne?"
"...He promised me a life free of my past, where I would be free from the judge of the dead." Daedalus said, looking solemn. "It was an enticing deal."
"...Kakashi, hold this." Naruto said, tossing the ball to his fellow shinobi, before he unsheathed Eclipse and moved in a flash, holding the blade to Mrs. O'Leary while holding a bronze arrow at Daedalus' throat. Mrs. O'Leary growled for the threat to her master, but stayed at bay because of the sword. "You sold the camp out...because you couldn't accept your past?!"
"You haven't been in fear for your life for two millennia. It was a cowardly move on my part, I admit, but if it's the price for freedom-urk!" Daedalus cut off as the arrow pressed into his throat.
"If you had only lost your son, I would be sympathetic to your fear of Minos." Naruto said with a glare. "You killed your nephew, Daedalus, out of petty jealousy. You may not have done it physically or even on purpose, but you killed him. You are forever branded murderer." He spat the word out and Daedalus flinched. "Now you make the same mistake twice. I should save us the trouble and send you to Minos myself!"
"Naruto, you can't! He can still help us!" Percy said in an attempt to help the man he wasn't exactly fond of, but didn't think damning him was the solution.
"I don't think he can." Thalia said, her eyes narrowing at Daedalus' depressed look. "You've lost control of it, haven't you?"
"Yes...yes I have."
"No." Annabeth said, horrified. "You mean...?"
"The Labyrinth grows and obeys no one but itself now." Daedalus said ominously.
"...Well that's wonderful." Naruto said, before turning to the opening. "We have guests."
"A very good awareness you have, Heir of Helios." Kelli said, walking into the room with a bound Nico. "But unfortunately, a bit late on the uptake."
"...I am so fired." Naruto said under his breath.
"Sorry Naruto..." Nico said in a small voice. "But...my friend said you guys needed help..."
"Yes, Minos was quick to sell this little cutie out if we agreed to his deal." Kelli said, Daedalus going wide eyed.
"W-What? Treachery! That wasn't part of the deal!" he said, sounding absolutely terrified.
"Should've made us swear on the Styx, tin man." Kelli said smugly.
"Can't believe I'm asking this, but...what would it take for you to let Nico go?" Naruto asked, getting looks from everyone.
"Well...We do want Hecate on our side..." Kelli said, frowning at him. "You've been keeping her inches away from joining us. Whatever side gets you, gets the goddess of magic's favor."
"I totally understand."
"Rachel, really?"
"Percy, he's hot."
"So what?"
"Such a boy."
"Would you please stop talking as if I'm not right here?" Thalia asked the clear sighted mortal in irritation while her cousin asked what Rachel's comment meant.
"We've been over this, it's called window shopping." Rachel said, waving Thalia's annoyance off.
"All of you shut up!" Kelli ordered, her claw digging into Nico's cheek. "Now, Tin Man and Boy Toy, front and center."
Naruto lowered his arrow and sword, looking at Daedalus. "You heard her, boy toy."
"You're the Boy Toy." Kelli told the blond, but he just grinned.
"Nah, I'm the Tin Man." Naruto looked at Thalia. "Right?"
Thalia was red in a second. "Dammit, Whiskers!"
Rachel clicked her tongue. "Lucky."
"Mortal Girl, I swear!"
"Enough shouting!" Kelli said. "Another word and I'll-urk!"
"Shh..." Kakashi said, using Ariadne's string as a garrot to choke the monster. "Sleep now...Sleep. And...She's down."
"...That...was terrifyingly awesome." Annabeth said, Percy nodding in agreement, his green eyes wide as he stared at the unconscious monster.
That was what ANBU did on a daily basis according to Naruto, since most of them went insane around the third year assigned to the corps. Naruto said they used the insane soldiers because those 'crazies' were the only ones with enough experience to get the job done right. He even joked that with all the voices in his head, he'd be a prime candidate for ANBU. Come to think of it...Percy looked at the white flak jacket on Naruto and the headband tied to his arm, taking note of both for the first time since his head was relatively clear. He'd have to ask what he missed, because last he checked, Naruto said he wouldn't ever be going back to that village.
Kakashi put the string away and caught the chains that Daedalus tossed to him, using them to bind her. During this exchange, Naruto went to his charge and freed him with Eclipse. No sooner was Nico free did Naruto smack him upside the head, getting a loud cry from the boy.
"Why'd you hit me?!" Smack. "Ow! Why!?"
"Idiot! That's for leaving the camp after I strictly told you to stay put. The second one was for getting captured and not shadow travelling out of there!" Naruto said before whacking Nico again.
"Ow-w-w!"
"And that was for the chewing out I'm going to get from your dad! Thanks, that's exactly what I wanted to deal with after all this was over. Not to mention the hell I'm going to get from Bianca...well I could always turn that around and tease her about Will..." Naruto said, scratching his chin.
Nico glared at his 'protector'. "Shut up. I don't want to think about that."
Naruto just gave him a feral grin. "Wianca for life."
"I think I hate you."
"I love you, too, Nico-chan."
"...I definitely hate you."
Naruto just chuckled before turning to Daedalus. "So, now what are you going to do?"
"I'm going to leave before the empousa wakes up." Daedalus said. He went to Mrs. O'Leary's side and patted her head. "Probably try to make my way to Camp...Maybe."
"Really?" Naruto asked, arching a brow as he tensed up. The rest of the group joined him. "You're outnumbered, Daedalus. You come quietly, or we make you...actually, come peacefully or come in pieces. There, no innuendo."
"Gods...dammit, Whiskers." Thalia said, closing her eyes and trying to get that sentence out of her head.
"Sorry! I've had no one but mister porn book for company for the past five hours!"
"Aw, are we not friends anymore, Naruto? My feelings are hurt."
"Yep, shot through the heart and all that jazz." Naruto said, making Kakashi pout behind his mask.
"My cute little student became a jerk."
"Got other things on my mind, Kakashi."
"...Good things?"
"Seriously!? Minors are in the room!"
"And the millennia old robot dude is gone." Rachel said, all eyes looking to her and then to where Daedalus once stood.
"...Well...shit."
"Well said, Thalia."
"Shut up, Percy."
They spent the next twenty minutes arguing over what to do before settling on trying to find their way out of the maze. Daedalus had betrayed them and left them for broke, but they had the two ways out of the Labyrinth. Things were definitely looking up.
"Well on the bright side," Naruto said, "we've got Ariadne's string."
Kakashi was playing with the string while whistling idly, making Percy walk closer to Annabeth and away from the trained killer.
"And we've got a fork...two golden paths..." Rachel said with a swallow as they stopped at the fork.
"Hm...two paths, which means we either can get out either way, or we were destined to walk both." Kakashi said, getting a glower from Naruto for his comment. He made a cat's cradle with Ariadne's string and hummed in content. "Which way, Naruto?"
"Not my call." Naruto said. He looked to Annabeth. "What do you say Annie?"
"I don't want to choose." Annabeth said without hesitation, sounding rather small. Naruto glanced at the corridors and noted that they were exactly alike, making him hum in curiosity. He looked at her as she elaborated. "Early on in the quest we met Janus..."
"The Ro-Mah!" Kakashi avoided a kunai thrown at his head by Naruto. He arched a brow and Naruto gave him the signal for later.
"...and he wanted me to make a choice." Annabeth continued, holding her arms as the tension from that moment fell down on her again. "Like the fate of the camp depended on what I chose."
"Okay, so you don't want that kind of pressure..." Naruto said, pulling a drachma out and flipping it. "Heads we go left, tails we go right."
"That sounds good." Annabeth said, giving him a grateful smile.
Naruto caught the Greek currency and clapped it onto the back of his other hand. "Tails. We go right."
Rachel led them down the path, before falling back with Percy and Annabeth, letting Naruto and Thalia take the lead, Nico close behind them. They came to a stop at another metal door with the symbol of Daedalus on it, Naruto reached for the handle and he paused.
"There is something very old and very powerful behind this door." Helios said gravely.
I felt it too. Naruto thought before steeling his resolve and grabbing the door handle. It opened slowly with a loud creak, and a few seconds, almost a minute, later, the door was open letting the group of eight into a small room with only a cone of light in it. It was centered on a golden box with ancient glyphs all over it.
"Oh...shit." Helios said. "Kid, you gotta go check it. Make sure there's nothing...reformed in there."
"This screams bad idea." Kakashi said, grabbing Nico's shoulder and keeping him outside. "We'll wait here."
"Aw, but I want to see!"
"Nico, stay with Kakashi." Naruto said, making the boy pout. He looked at Percy. "Jackson, you're with me. Thalia, you're on support."
"Fine." Thalia said begrudgingly, keeping close to the door with a frown as the two boys entered the room, going immediately to the illuminated box.
"What do you think it is?" Percy asked.
"I'll tell you what it's not." Naruto said. "It's not a endless supply of ramen."
"Real reassuring." Percy said.
"For me it is." Naruto said.
They stopped at the edge of it and shared a look before both of them grabbed the edge of the lid and pushed. With a bit of effort on their part, the lid moved, creaking open like the sound of stone grinding against another stone. Naruto and Percy both grunted as the lid fell off. Smoke exited the box and they covered their eyes.
When they opened their eyes, their jaws fell open.
"Oh no..." Naruto said, horrified. There lay Luke, eyes closed and his arms crossed like he was a pharaoh of Egypt. His skin wasn't sickly anymore, and his body seemed to be a bit bulkier than before.
Luke's eyes snapped open and locked on Percy's. "Well...it's the little hero..."
"Oh crap..." Percy said.
"And you brought a friend." Luke said, though it wasn't Luke speaking. This wasn't the voice of a boy pushed over the limit of his patience, this was the voice of a being that had nothing but patience.
"Percy...let's go." Naruto said, both of them backing away as Luke got out of the coffin, since that's exactly what type of box it was.
"Good idea." Percy said, agreeing in an instant with the older demigod.
"Leaving so soon?" Not-Luke asked, holding his hand up in an effort to stop the two as they turned to run, both of them moving like they were in slow motion. Thalia shot a bolt of lightning at it, but the bolt stopped in mid air, going at the same speed as the two boys were. "I think not."
"Fuck us sideways, we're so dead!" Helios said.
What happened to the optimism!?
"I never went against the big guys, well, only Atlas, but he was arguably one of the weakest. Kronos, Oceanus and Father? Hell the fuck no, I didn't fight them!"
What do we do!?
"Keep trying to run!"
"Hey, back off!" Rachel said, throwing her plastic blue hairbrush at the smirking Not-Luke. It hit him square in the forehead, his head snapping back and making him grab for it.
"Ow!" Luke said, dazed. It seemed to also stop whatever spell was over Naruto and Percy, both of them running to the door as fast they could. Luke glared at them. "Get back here!"
"Pass! Thanks for the offer, but we've got full plans!" Naruto said, slipping behind the door with Annabeth and Kakashi. "PUSH!"
They did, shutting the door with force as Not-Luke returned and ambled out of the coffin after them.
Naruto turned around and slid down to his butt.
"Next time...we go left."
AN: And so we come to a close on the Labyrinth itself! Luke and Kronos are one! Daedalus bailed with Mrs. O'Leary! Kakashi is officially super badass...wait, I think we already knew that.
You know what to do!
Review!