Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto nor Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. I am just a lowly writer with too much time in my hands.
Warning: This is a sequel story. Read the following first before you read this story.
Child of the Moon: The Lightning Thief
Child of the Moon: The Sea of Monsters
Child of the Moon: The Titan's Curse
Chapter 10
The mist shimmered as the rays of the setting sun shone over the orange skyline. Nico shivered. The moon was coming out in an hour or two.
"You okay?" Naruto asked as they waited.
"It's just Minos would be coming soon," He said. "He wouldn't want it when I don't listen to him."
"It will be fine," Percy patted the kid on his shoulder. "You're with us now. Everything will be alright."
Not long after, an image appeared. True enough, Bianca di Angelo appeared, like a monitor displaying what the mortals dubbed a video call.
Nico watched with wide eyes. For months, he had been led on by a ghost. He had been lied to and deceived. But now, after months of chasing around the spirit of his supposedly dead sister, he felt relief and also shame. Relief poured over him for seeing his sister alive and well in camp, training, and shame because he should have trusted in Naruto to keep her safe in her first quest outside the camp.
At first, Bianca did not notice the image of Nico and his friends, but when she stopped for a break, she turned and saw everyone.
"Nico!" She called out to mist window.
"B-b-bianca…" Nico managed to say. He was starting to get emotional, but he stopped himself from crying save from a lone tear that flowed down his cheek. "I-it really is you…I've been trying to contact your spirit for months now…but…you're not dead…"
"I know, Nico," His sister reached out to cup the kid's cheek, almost forgetting that she was talking to an Iris Message. "I dreamt about what you had been doing. I was so when I found out you disappeared in camp."
"I'm sorry, Bianca…Truly…" Nico couldn't hold in his tears now. "I should have trusted you. I shouldn't have believed Minos's lies. I should have known you would come back to camp."
"Shhh, there, there," Bianca comforted her little brother. "It's okay now. What's important is that Naruto and the others were able to find you. They'll bring you home in no time."
Nico rubbed his eyes dry of the tears and returned his gaze back to the IM with a cheerful smile despite his puffy eyes. "I can't wait to see you in person. I missed you."
Bianca returned the smile. "I missed you too. I have to go. Sensei's about to resume the session. Remember, I love you no matter how annoying you can get."
"Hey!" Nico protested with a mock pout on his lips. "You're the annoying one."
The two siblings shared a laugh; the two of them missing their small arguments.
"I have to go now, bye!"
With that, Apollo's journey on the horizon had finally concluded for the day, thus replacing the orange skyline with a backdrop of stars that shimmered in the night sky and marking the beginning of the moon chariot's daily cycle.
With the sun's disappearance from the sky, the winds started to pick up. They were not the gale-force winds of an upcoming storm. It was more of the creepy and ominous type. Nico knew the reason for this.
One spirit decided to make an appearance. And it was at that moment that everyone, including the cowherd, drew their blades, ready to fight the intruder.
"Master, I hope you are well," Minos bowed to the Son of Hades.
"You…" Nico growled. "YOU LIED TO ME!"
The spirit had the gall to look offended. "I did nothing of the sort. I merely gave you a suggestion and you reached the conclusion on your own."
"Well, your suggestions are wrong!" Nico cried out. "Leave us!"
"Yeah, get lost you ghost thing!" Percy added.
"Percy Jackson," the spirit regarded the son of Poseidon with a look that someone would use when looking at a pest. "I see that the sons of Poseidon have not changed after all these years."
"Shut up," Percy threatened. "What would you know about it?"
"Oh, I know a lot, actually," The spirit looked smug. "I actually dealt with one of your brothers in the past. How fitting that the Minotaur would eventually become your first monster to kill."
"Minos?" Naruto asked as the detail began to click in his head. "The King Minos, the King of Crete?"
"The one and only," The now named Minos bowed to the group of angry demigods. "I'm flattered the one and only son of Artemis would know about me. My, to be honest, I never would have thought I would utter those words in all of my life, and afterlife."
Naruto ignored the unnecessary parts of Minos's statement. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm here to guide the boy," Minos said, gesturing to Nico. "We are currently tracking a fugitive, a spirit who had escaped the clutches of death for millennia."
"LIAR," Nico screamed at the spirit of the King of Crete. "You told me Bianca died. You told me the only way to get her back was to exchange her spirit for the one we were after, but she wasn't dead! You used me!I"
Minos didn't even flinch at those words. "Oh, don't be like that. It was a partnership; we used each other."
"Get lost, Minos!" Percy threatened once more. "We are on a quest."
"Ah yes," Minos looked thoughtful for a moment. "Your little quest to find the creator of the maze. You may have killed monsters in the past, but I assure you, you haven't seen the pinnacle of what it means to fear something. And if you do reach the center of the maze, what makes you certain that Daedalus would help you?"
"What are you talking about?" Annabeth spoke up, since the conversation was relevant to the quest.
"Daedalus cares not for demigods like you. He is guilty of murder, which earned the curses of the gods. The man is crafty, cunning, and old beyond counting."
Annabeth remembered the weird dreams of an old man and his child escaping the very same man in front of them. "Murder? He would never…" Annabeth said in denial. She read the stories, but she never once thought that one of her siblings would commit such acts.
"But he already has, young lady. Your own mother would tell you," Minos said. "So, you can continue your little quest, but do not involve Nico. He has the potential to become a Lord one day, and you will only hinder him by taking him with you."
"NO!" Nico said firmly. The ground around him began to stir as if some things were about to rise from the ground. "BE GONE MINOS! YOU ARE NO LONGER OF USE TO ME!"
"As you wish, master," The ghost said that with a voice full of mirth. "You may find your way through the maze, but your minds cannot handle the madness that the Labyrinth brings."
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN?!" Annabeth demanded.
Minos didn't answer. He only smirked at the quest leader and disappeared into thin air.
Everyone remained on edge even when the ghost was gone. Only Naruto relaxed and placed a hand on Nico's shoulder.
"You okay?" Naruto asked.
"No," Nico decided it was okay to tell the truth. He had confirmed that he was amongst people he could trust, so it wouldn't hurt to do so. "I can't believe I fell for his lies…I should have trusted you…"
"It's okay, Nico," Naruto reassured him. "We are only human after all. It is normal to have some doubts."
"But I should have trusted you more," Nico insisted.
"No, it's really okay," Naruto reiterated. "Now, it's been a long day with all the tours and monster ranch owners. Why don't we all get some rest before we leave?"`
"You can crash at the farm house for the night," Eurytion offered.
"That would be awesome. Thank you."
THE NEXT MORNING
Both Naruto and Annabeth woke with a start. Despite having comfortable accommodations in the farm house, they were still not spared from the dreams that plague the minds of demigods everywhere.
They both relayed what was shown to them. Needless to say, that ruined their breakfast. How couldn't it? You were just told that Luke and his crew had taken the Kampê out of Tartarus and that the ghost's accusations were actually true if you believe the visions.
They trudged to the cattle guard in silence.
Once there, they said their goodbyes and thank yous to the new ranch owner. He looked good this morning with his new look: a new pair of jeans, a western T-shirt, and Geryon's boots.
"I reckon you'll continue on your way to Daedalus' workshop?" Eurytion asked.
"Yes," Annabeth nodded. "Do you know how to get there?"
"No," Eurytion said, dashing the small glimmer of hope that was formed. "But if anyone knows where to find him, it would be Hephaestus. And to his forge, I know how to get you."
He pulled a necklace from under his shirt, smooth silver disk on a silver chain. The disk had a depression on the middle, like a thumbprint, and handed it to Annabeth.
"He gave that to me when I gave him a little trick to play on Aphrodite and my dad. He gave me the chain in gratitude," Eurytion explained. "He said that if I ever needed to see the forges, the disk will lead me straight to it, but only once."
"This is so valuable. Are you sure it's okay to give it to me?" Annabeth asked.
Eurytion looked away to hide the blush that formed in his cheeks, "I don't need to see the forges, miss. It would be more useful to you than it would be to me. Just press the button and it will show you the way."
She did as she was told, and the disk sprang to life. It grew eight mechanical legs, startling her causing her to drop it. She grabbed the closest thing next to her, which has Naruto, and held on for dear life.
"Ahh, sorry about that," Eurytion apologized. "I didn't know what he programmed into that disk, so I couldn't warn you."
"Annie?" Naruto spoke her name to get her attention. She didn't react to what the cowheard said at all.
The girl opened her eyes and blushed at the stares that were aimed at her. She cleared her throat to get rid of the awkwardness she was feeling. "Uhm, right. It's okay…"
"Let's go!" Percy said. "That thing isn't waiting for us anytime soon."
Tyson pulled the cattle guard with ease and back into the darkness of the Labyrinth they go.
Bad news.
They were back into the Labyrinth. Naruto and Grover, as child of a Goddess of the Hunt and a nature spirit respectively, dreaded returning to that place. Plus, it was far away from the rays of the sun or light from the moon. They couldn't even tell the time of day.
Good news.
They didn't have to guess anymore. Though, they still had to give chase to their guide. They were lucky that Annabeth was the quest leader, and she was able to pick two members with excellent senses. Tyson and Grover were able to pinpoint the direction the little automaton's direction even it was steps ahead of them.
The group ran down a marble tunnel, dashed to the left, and almost leapt off a very deep abyss. (Naruto suspected it fell straight down to Tartarus). They watched the spider swinging across some monkeybars, almost halfway across the 30 meter gap.
"Monkey bars!" Annabeth said. "I'm great at these things."
She leapt onto the first rung and started swinging her way across, oblivious or completely ignoring the guaranteed death drop right below her.
Percy facepalmed. "She's afraid of spiders, but she can handle falling to her death just fine?"
Thank the gods that Annabeth didn't hear that comment he made.
Naruto shook his head and followed close behind her, making sure to enhance his already just below god-tier grip strength with chakra. It was a good thing Kakashi-sensei showed him that exercise he always does.
Everything was going well, until Tyson tried to do the same with Grover goatyback riding behind him. The big guy made it across three swings, but the last bar he held ripped free under his weight. Grover just gulped.
After getting past that obstacle, they didn't look back any longer. The mechanical spider was losing them. They dashed past a skeleton wearing the remains of a dress shirt, slacks and tie. Just a normal drunk guy who managed to get lost in the Labyrinth and died here. Grover just shuddered at the sight of the remains.
During one turn, Percy slipped on a pile of wood scraps, but when he shined a light upon them, it turned out they were pencils. They forged ahead.
The tunnel opened up to a large room. In contrast to the dark hallways they had been accustomed to, this room was blazing with light. On happy note, there were a dozen more skeletons in this room. Some were old, bleached and white, while others were more recent and caked in blood.
Then, there was the monster, looking at them hungrily. She stood on the glittery dais on the opposite end of the room. She had the body of a lion and the head of woman. Her hair was tied in a bun, and her face had too much make-up on, giving Percy nightmares of his old teachers. There was a blue ribbon badge pinned to her chest that the dyslexic demigods in the room struggled to read. It read: THIS MONSTER HAS BEEN RATED EXEMPLARY.
"Sphinx.." Tyson whimpered. He backed away and hid behind his teammates, which was hard due to his size.
Naruto and Percy looked worriedly at the big guy. They knew exactly why he was acting this way. They stood protectively over the young cyclops.
Annabeth strode forward confidently, but the sphinx roared, causing bars to cover all available exits. Immediately after, the monster's snarled curled into a wide smile.
"Welcome, lucky contestants!" She announced. "Get ready to play…ANSWER THAT RIDDLE!"
Canned applause blasted from the ceiling as if there were invisible speakers. Spotlights swept across the room, just like in those corny game shows that the two boys watched on TV.
"Fabulous prizes!" The sphinx continued. "Pass the test and you get to advance! Fail, and I devour the meat from your bones." Her voice turned savage for a second there, turning into a completely different person…er monster.
"Who will be our lucky contestant?" She asked, back in her normal voice.
"I'll do it," Annabeth volunteered but Naruto placed a hand on her shoulder.
"I think it's better if I do it," Naruto vetoed her decision.
"But I already know what she's going to ask," The girl protested.
"So do I, but are you prepared to answer other questions should she ask them?" Naruto challenged. "Will your hubris allow you to do so?"
She thought hard on the subject.
Seeing as there was no response from the girl, Naruto stepped forward onto the dais, pushing a skeleton off of it and paying it no mind.
"Ask away," He said confidently.
"Welcome, Naruto Uzumaki!" The fact that the monster knew his name even before saying it out loud, did not affect the boy in the slightest.
"I have twenty riddles for you. Do you still wish to continue?" The sphinx asked to make sure. "One wrong answer and you will become my next meal; All of you in fact!"
"Twenty?!" Annabeth was broken from her thoughts. "But—"
"Please ask your questions after the show is over. Now are you ready!"
"Yes."
"First riddle, what is the capital of Bulgaria?"
"Sofia." There was no hesitation in his voice, but Annabeth wanted to protest even more. Grover and Percy just held her back.
"Correct! Please mark your answers clearly on the test sheet with a number two pencil."
A test booklet appeared on the podium in front of him, along with perfectly sharpened pencils.
"Make sure to bubble each answer clearly and stay inside the circle. If you have to erase, erase your answers completely or the machine won't read it."
The sphinx waved her paw, and a bronze box with gears and levers and big greek Eta on the side, the mark of Hephaestus. Percy shuddered. This was sounding more and more like a standard school test. If there was one thing that scared him, it was this one.
"Next question, what is the square root of 16?" The sphinx continued.
"+/- 4." Naruto answered.
"I'll give you extra points for that one. Most people would just answer four. Now, who is the principal author of the Declaration of Independence?"
TWENTY QUESTIONS LATER
"You are doing well so far," The sphinx said. "Now onto the last question…"
"I'm ready," Naruto said.
"How far will a football reach if you kick it at a velocity of 25 m/s at a 45 degree angle."
Naruto thought for a second, doing the calculations in his mind. He marked his answer on his text booklet.
After submitting it to the sphinx, the monster spoke. "I would be disappointed that I don't get to eat dinner today, but you have impressed me so much that I don't feel that bad."
"Thanks I guess," Naruto rubbed the back of his head. At the back of his mind, he thanked himself for taking academics in this world seriously, of course with the help of hundreds of shadow clones.
"WAIT!" Annabeth interjected. "What happened to the original riddles, the one about man."
"Oh, that riddle had so much publicity that I didn't get a meal for quite some time," The sphinx chuckled. "So, I decided to revamp my riddles, as the kids would say. After I did that, look how much food I had gotten. You don't know how much education kids these days need."
Annabeth seemed insulted. "But riddles are supposed to make you think. The answers are not supposed to be straightforward. This whole test is—"
"Annabeth," Naruto whispered, causing the girl to stop her tirade. "Hubris." He mouthed.
"What was that?" The sphinx prodded further since the girl stopped midsentence.
"This test is okay, I guess…" Annabeth reluctantly said.
"I'm glad we see eye to eye," The monster grinned.
"Now then, Mr. Uzumaki," the sphinx turned to Naruto. "Accept this ribbon."
He was handed a blue ribbon similar to the one on the ancient monster's chest. Naruto thanked her, and she sent them on their way.
"Now, that wasn't so bad, was it?" Naruto turned to Annabeth who was still miffed about the situation.
The girl huffed and looked away.
Naruto sighed. He had nothing against the children of Athena, but their hubris could cost them their lives if they get careless.
"Annabeth," Naruto spoke soothingly. "I know you too well already. Be honest, would you have been able to keep your cool when you learned that the sphinx changed the riddle completely?"
The girl looked down, "No…"
"See? So, don't let it get to you that much okay?" Naruto said, smiling at the girl. Looking at him now, she couldn't stay mad at him for long.
"You're right…" She reached an agreement with the blonde. "Thank you for that…."
"I'm glad you understand," Naruto patted her on the shoulder, causing her face to heat up. Fortunately, she kept her cool. "Besides, everyone of us would get a chance to shine."
"Uhm, guys," Percy said. "This is good and all, but we're trying to catch up to a spider."
"We lost sight of it," Grover said.
He jutted his thumb to the big guy. "He can hear it though."
Tyson nodded, "It is faint, but I can hear it."
The group followed the direction his ears were leading to. They were lead in circles, but eventually they were lead to an old submarine hatch, where the little automaton was banging its head against.
If this wasn't a time-sensitive quest, they would have stopped for a while and shared a laugh.
Alas, this was a quest they had to take seriously. So, they all glanced at each other and stepped forward.
Tyson turned the wheel and the spider scuttled inside, the quest group not far behind it.
Inside, they found themselves in a mechanic's garage, a very large one at that. It was littered with several hydraulic lifts, cars, bronze hipplektryons, a bunch of wires knotted in a corner, and a Greek war charoiot made entirely of flames.
Naruto spotted the spider scuttling towards one of the cars supported by a hydraulic lift. With that, the banging stopped.
"Well, well," a deep voice boomed. "What do we have here?"
The mechanic pushed out on a back trolley and sat up. The demigods already saw what the god looked like on Olympus, but seeing him now made their breath hitch. It was like they were looking at a completely different persona.
He has crimson red hair now, and bandages covering his face, save for a lone crimson eye. He wore an a jumpsuit smeared with oil and grime, but the zipper in the middle was open revealing a muscular chest and a toned abdomen. His feet remained the same as they remembered as there was still the metal brace on his left leg, creaking as he stood up.
"L-lord Hephaestus?" Annabeth asked, unsure of who was in front of them.
"Yes, the one and only," he answered simply.
"And you…" he narrowed his eyes. "I didn't make you, did I?"
"Uh, no sir," The quest leader answered for the group.
"Good," the smith glowered. "Shoddy workmanship. Half-bloods, I see? Could be automatons, of course, but probably not."
He stood up and walked over to a coffee table that looked so out of place in this workshop. On top of it was some food that looked even more out of place. It was some pastries and a cup of coffee.
He picked up the cup of coffee and took a sip.
Putting the cup down, he noticed the demigods staring at him.
"What?" He asked. "Is there something on my face?"
"Uh, did you do something to your face?" Percy asked rudely, earning elbows from two of his friends. His father was right. Like the sea, he did not want to be restrained much less show respect to those he felt did not deserve it.
Fortunately, the god in front of him did not take this as an insult as he just looked surprised for a moment, like he only noticed his appearance at the moment.
"Oh, I see… this?" He looked at himself. "This is a…little make-over as Aphrodite has called it. Unfortunately, Apollo is still working on the leg."
"Wait, wait, wait," Grover waved his hands in the air to stop the conversation so he could clarify. "Aphrodite? Your wife? The one who spent thousands of years in an affair with your brother?"
"Look, satyr. I'm not sure who made you, but he did a shitty job with your hearing if you didn't hear that the first time around," Hephaestus said grumpily, needing to repeat himself.
"Hephaestus-sama, forgive him asking you to repeat yourself," Naruto pleaded. "It is just that your wife hasn't acted like one in the past, and it's hard to believe she would suddenly change like that."
"You have a point," the smith god rubbed his chin in thought. "So what brings you here? Surely, it's not to gawk at my face?"
"We're looking for Daedalus, my Lord," Annabeth stepped forward.
The temperature in the room seemed to increase as she said that. The boys gulped, knowing full well that the old inventor was somehow a trigger to the god.
"Daedalus?" He roared, causing the group to flinch. They did not expect this kind of reaction.
He calmed himself for a second. "You're wasting your time." He said, but the anger was still evident in his voice.
He picked up a chocolate eclair and studied it, like even he wasn't used to it yet. He expertly chucked the dessert into his mouth which mysteriously went in without a hitch despite the bandages. This reminded Naruto of Kakashi.
After admiring the taste of his delectable treat, his eyes fell onto Tyson. "I sense something going on in your mind, little cyclops."
"We met a Hundred-Handed one," Tyson answered.
"Oh, you mean Briares?" Hephaestus raised his eyebrow. "I'm guessing he didn't live up to your expectations, did he?"
"Yes!" Tyson's voice wavered. "Briares should be strong! But he was scared. Wouldn't even help us!"
The god grunted. "I admired the Hundred-Handed back in the first days of the war. But even we immortals change. Look at Aphrodite. I'm just glad she did so for the better. But the rest, don't trust them. Look at my mother, she talks all day about how important family is, but that didn't stop her from throwing me off of Olympus."
"Didn't Zeus do that to you?" Percy clarified.
The smith god snorted. "She just loves passing off the blame, doesn't she? That sounds just like her. Look, my point is, don't rely on others too much. Work with your own two hands to get something done."
He then focused on Percy and the frown he had on his face. "I sense that you don't like me that much. No matter, I suppose I cannot blame you, I guess. What would you ask of me?"
"We already told you. We want Daedalus," he said.
"And I told you, it's a waste of time," He adamantly refused. "I can give you weapons, gold, or a magical steed. But what you're asking for is an expensive favor."
"I'm sorry, Lord Hephaestus," Annabeth pleaded. "If you know where he is, then why won't you tell us?"
"It is not wise to do so," was all the explanation he needed. "You should know. Your mother is the goddess of wisdom."
He sighed. "Such a fine goddess, your mother, but who am I to complain with what I have now. Fine, since you're so eager to pay the price of your expensive request. I need a favor done."