August 14th 2009:

Moonlight decorated the cold atmosphere of the enormous sectors within New-York-City. Jake Mason was patrolling his stationed area. Loud growls of unadulterated hunger drifted into Jake's ear-drums.

Slipping his dagger out from his sleeve, Jake approached the shadows of an empty street. Eyes squinted in pure concentration, he took a step forward—but his face was stabbed by numerous claws.

Multiple lacerations opened up across Jake's face. His cheeks were caked in three rivers of blood from the gashes on them. Grunting, Jake adopted the stance of a warrior and gritted his teeth. "Damn…"

Three Hell-Hounds emerged from the darkness of the street. Saliva dribbled down from the mouths of these vicious creatures. Jake maintained a suitable amount of distance between himself and them.

However, the shadows around him twisted and one of the vicious Hell-Hounds appeared above him. Letting loose a gruff shout of determination, Jake cleaved his dagger right into the monster's skull.

The Hell-Hound crumbled into golden ashes. Jake glanced at the other two mutts and increased the mobility of his battle-stance. These two Hell-Hounds lunged at him, instinct fuelling their thoughts.

"What the hell?" Jake twisted around and roundhouse kicked a Hell-Hound's jaw. "Why are these two faster than the last one?"

Slashing his dagger through the Hell-Hound's clawed paw, Jake rolled forward and dived at the second of the two beasts. The second Hell-Hound howled, gathering molecules of heat into its mouth.

Jake was amazed and shocked. This Hell-Hound was a rare one. The ability to summon and control flames was a rarity amongst these foul creatures. A fire-ball of concentrated heat was shot in Jake's direction.

"I should have come in more prepared than this." Jake gave his bronze dagger a bitter glance. "Guess I'll be turned into ashes soon."

The enormous sphere of flames was eradicated by another source of heat. Leo Valdez had somehow materialized in front of Jake. Raising his palm, Leo stopped the ball of fire from killing his half-brother.

"Why the heck are you alone, Jake?!" Leo rushed to his brother and checked out his injuries. "Didn't Percy assign all of you to groups?"

Jake scratched at the lacerations scattered across his cheeks. "My group wanted to move on ahead, so I volunteered to stay behind."

Sprinting towards Jake and Leo in a shroud of flames, the Hell-Hound released a powerful roar of aggression from the cavern of its mouth. Unimpressed, Leo directed ten flame-constructed bullets at its head.

"I'll handle these damn mutts!" Leo grunted, kicked a Hell-Hound in the snout, and shouted. "But you can visit the medical-tents, okay?!"

"Understood." Jake rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed. "Man, I never expected that I'd be listening to this goof-ball one day…"

Leo waited for Jake to vacate the sector before he flexed his fire-enhanced hands. The two Hell-Hounds circled him, growling and frothing at the mouth from his divine fragrance. "Bring it on!"

Bounding at him, one of the Hell-Hounds unleashed a second fire-ball upon Leo: whose expression was one of controlled nonchalance. Batting the fire-ball down into the ground, Leo stretched out his legs.

A Hell-Hound teleported itself in front of him from the shadows of the streets. Grinning, Leo plunged his fist through the monster and destroyed it without an ounce of trouble. All that remained was one.

"You're a fellow manipulator of the flames." Leo's grin widened to unnatural proportions. "I promise I won't disappoint you, buddy."

Leo manipulated the flames gathered within his rough hands into the form of three spears—these three spears hurtled themselves forward. The Hell-Hound opened its mouth wide, grunted, and roared.

Granules of fire amassed themselves above the Hell-Hound's mouth. The Hell-Hound turned its head towards Leo, shooting a ginormous orb of fire at his entire body. Leo's grin became somewhat interested.

"I didn't think Hell-Hounds could be so powerful!"

The three flame-constructed spears and the gigantic orb of fire crashed into each other, generating some type of explosion. Leo was propelled backwards as the concrete in front of him was melted.

Leo had raised his hands to protect himself—but lowered them once twenty seconds had passed. Scanning his immediate vicinity, the child of the forges spotted the molecules of dust strewn across the ground.

An impressed hum drifted into Leo's ears. Leo snapped his brown-coloured eyes towards Annabeth Chase: who had witnessed the fight from a distance. She was stood on top of his hover-board.

Gazing at one of his friends from Camp Half-Blood, the demi-god of the flames crossed his arms. Pride decorated his mischievous features. "What did you think about that, Annabeth?! Sick, right?!"

"You were impressive out there, Leo." Annabeth smiled before she angled her phone against her ear. "Did he get there? Is he safe?"

Annabeth dropped her monster-repellent phone into her pockets. "Good news, Leo. Your brother's wounds were treated. He's fine."

"That's a relief!" Leo sighed to himself, slumping his shoulders a little. "I thought he was about to bleed to death from those cuts on his face!"

"All of us demi-gods are more durable than that, Leo." Annabeth snorted, amused. "You really didn't have to be worrying so much."

"Whatever." Leo stuck his tongue out at Annabeth and grinned. "How's everyone else doing, though? Naruto's clones evacuated the mortals!"

Annabeth lifted her hands to assuage all of Leo's blatant concerns. "No casualties. Naruto's clones took the mortals to barricaded areas."

"Magic barriers win a reward for the most useful spell!" Leo aimed two finger-guns at the obsidian-tinted skies. "How are Percy and Naruto?"

"Both of them are still around the area where the tents were set up." Annabeth brushed her chin. "Percy hasn't called me about anything."

"You want him to call you?" Leo's grin transmuted itself into a playful one. "I forgot that the two of you have crushes on each other!"

"Whatever." Annabeth rolled her grey-tinged eyes, pink coating her cheeks for three seconds. "Leo, don't you find all of this strange?"

"None of the demi-gods or titans of Kronos' army have attacked us." The child of wisdom grunted. "He's only sending these monsters."

"They're using this to tire all of us out, right?" Leo asked Annabeth: who assented. "A battle of attrition, I think that's what it's called."

Annabeth nodded, tapping her chin in a brief minute of intense contemplation. "Our objective for now is obvious, isn't it?"

"Yeah!" Leo shouted in response. He covered his knuckles in a layer of incredible flames. "We destroy all of these monsters!"

(-)

Percy Jackson and Naruto Uzumaki were seated down on two wooden-chairs around a table inside of one of the spare tents. Charles Beckendorf presented a map of the city to them. Naruto was bored.

"We've stationed most of our fighters at these bridges and tunnels." Charles explained, pointing at the map. "Percy. I think I should tell—."

Travis Stoll barged into the tent without permission—but the somewhat prudent countenance on his features had Percy taken aback. The son of Hermes yelled. "Ninety Cyclopses sighted!"

"Ninety?!" Charles' composed voice turned into a shocked one. "Travis! Where were these Cyclopes sighted? Please, tell me."

Smacking his palm down on the map, Travis pointed a finger at the East portion of New-York-City. Nodding, Percy adjusted his blue-coloured armor and emerged from the flaps of the tent.

Naruto followed his green-eyed friend from behind and glared off into the distance. Turning towards the Uzumaki, Percy smiled. "I think it's about time the two of us headed out onto the battlefield, huh?"

Bending his knees, Naruto rushed forward before he vanished within an indiscernible distortion. Percy stretched his arms, squinted his green-tinted eyes, and morphed himself into a somewhat visible blur.

Charles watched his comrades disappear in outlines of unadulterated agility and glanced at the shadows of the tent—where Nico Di Angelo blinked at him from. Charles huffed. "You don't have to hide from me."

Nico remained silent and vanished into the darkness of the tent. Silence flooded Charles' ears as he let out an unbothered sigh. He rubbed the front of his neck. "I'm feeling rather thirsty right now."

(-)

Naruto and Percy appeared behind Michael Yew: who had been shooting off his arrows in the Cyclopes' direction. Michael glanced at Percy and Naruto, nocking another arrow alongside his half-siblings.

"I hope that the two of you are ready for this army of monsters." Michael chuckled, humoured. "We're all running out of arrows, Percy."

"All of you, fall back and get more arrows from the tents!" Percy's voice bounced around in the enormous city. "You have my thanks!"

The children of the Apollo-Cabin grinned at each other in aggression. Firing off the last of their arrows into the army of ninety Cyclopes, they performed a tactical retreat to gather more arrows and weapons.

"I really wasn't expecting to face off against all of these Cyclopes." Percy murmured to himself and sighed. "I am not gonna enjoy this."

Naruto broke out into a sprint and blurred into the crowds of Cyclopes. Slamming a Rasengan into a Cyclops' jaw, Naruto scattered its skull into golden particles. Percy slashed Riptide into a Cyclops' neck.

One of the more faster and aggressive Cyclops approached Percy and knocked its wooden-club down on Percy's head. However, the son of the seas was unharmed by the strike of the monster's weapon.

Percy roundhouse kicked the Cyclops' leg, flicked a right-hook into its cheek, drove a knee into its solar-plexus, and cleaved Riptide through its clavicle. Aureate dust covered the ground of the enormous area.

Twirling around on the spot, Naruto drilled his chakra-enhanced knuckles into a Cyclops' abdomen. Vomiting out an inundation of blood, the Cyclops mimicked Percy's right-hook. "Methinks murder!"

"What a literate fellow." Naruto murmured, deflecting the Cyclops' replicated right-hook and punching its nose. "Enough of this!"

The demi-god and Shinobi leaped backwards. Summoning a Lava-Style: Rasenshuriken onto his calloused palm, Naruto threw it into the army of hunger-driven entities. "Lava-Style: Rasenshuriken!"

Geysers of water erupted from the ground and bisected itself through the waists of all of the Cyclopes of Kronos' army. Percy and Naruto gazed down at the yellow-tinged ashes strewn across the surface.

"That hit from the Cyclops did nothing to me." Percy rubbed the spot where he had been bonked by the club. "I guess the curse is worth it."

Naruto tilted his head and hummed. "And all you have to do is keep your weak-spot protected by armor or something. Pretty good deal."

The shadows around them twisted until fourteen Hell-Hounds materialized their physical forms. Percy slashed Riptide through ten of them while Naruto's chakra-arms slammed a Rasengan into the last four of them.

Percy heard his phone ring and accepted the call. "Annabeth? You and Leo have eliminated all of the monsters in the North and South?"

Naruto heard Percy grunt in unconcealed surprise. "The Hunters are helping us out? That's great! They want to handle the North?"

"Yeah, that's fine." Percy smiled. "Then our responsibility will be the East-section, the South-section, and the West-section of the city."

Ending the phone call between himself and Annabeth, Percy slipped Riptide into the sheath constructed for him by Charles. He possessed an expression of unparalleled focus. "What should we do right now?"

"Isn't it obvious enough?" A small smirk of ferocity graced Naruto's whiskered visage. "The two of us help out in monster elimination!"

"I don't think that's the best idea." Percy shook his head. "I think we should head back to the tents and talk to Charles about our plans."

Scratching the back of his head, Naruto chuckled. "I guess that's also a good idea. Alright, let's head back to the tents and Charles."

Naruto flipped forward and leaped from roof-top to roof-top while Percy rushed through the empty streets of the gigantic city. Entering the main tent, the demi-god and Shinobi glanced around the room.

"Where did Charles run off to?" Naruto slanted his head. Confusion trickled into his voice. "I thought he was holding down the fort for us."

"No clue." Percy raised an eye-brow at the shadows in the tent. He grunted. "Nico, you do realize that the two of us can see you?"

The shadows of the room danced until Nico emerged from them. Hands tucked into the pockets of his trousers, the son of Hades scoffed. "I'm keeping watch over this damn tent for you, Percy."

"Where's Charles?" Naruto opened the flaps of the tent and peered at every section within his immediate vicinity. "Did he get kidnapped?"

"Nah." Nico kept his hands settled inside of his pockets and grouched. "Charles and Silena went off somewhere else for a romantic talk."

Nico's annoyed and unamused baritone held an inflection of unashamed sarcasm. Snorting to himself, Percy seated himself down on a wooden-chair. "We'll leave them alone, they both deserve it."

"I should tell you about something that happened to me." Nico's sarcastic voice became troubled. "I battled Kronos and had to run."

Percy lurched forward in his wooden-seat. Surprise and shock were evident in his emerald-hued gaze. "You fought Kronos?! Really?"

"Yes, really." Nico rolled his obsidian-tinted eyes, unimpressed. "He found one of my phantoms and summoned me through that ghost."

"I'll also tell you this, Percy." Nico pointed a finger at his face and scowled. "Kronos is powerful. You can't hold back at all against him."

"Let Annabeth handle Luke." The son of Hades lowered his pale finger. "Let Naruto handle Prometheus. You can't be distracted."

Percy stood up from his chair, walked over to Nico, patted him on the shoulder, and smiled. "Don't worry about me being distracted."

Nico shrugged off Percy's hand from his shoulder and sighed. "You sound confident enough, I suppose. But I'm still warning you."

"Naruto." Nico gandered at the Uzumaki: whose expression twisted into a curious one. "Prometheus' power has grown. Be careful of him."

"I'm not really worried about him." Naruto clenched his jaw, unbothered. "My main priority is taking down Atlas."

"You should be worried." Nico pressed on, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Kronos assigned Prometheus the task of beating you."

Naruto adjusted the sun-glasses on his face. "I'll be careful of him, then. It's been a little while, where the heck is Charles?"

"No clue." Nico sank into the shadows of the room and vanished. "I'll be leaving for the Underworld. I'll come back in an hour or two."

"Be safe." Percy waved a casual hand at Nico before he slumped down into his chair. "I haven't been getting any urgent phone calls."

The phone rang once two minutes had passed and Percy ignored Naruto's childish smirk of amusement. Angling the phone against the entrance of his ear, Percy spoke. "Yes? Leo? Woah, calm down!"

"You're kidding." Percy's green irises were inundated by pure rage. "It killed three people already?! Can you take care of the situation?"

Percy dropped the phone into his pocket, gritted his teeth in unadulterated anger, clenched his fists, and murmured. "I'll take care of that monster myself. Naruto, can you stay in the tent for me?"

"Understood." Naruto pulled out a wooden-chair for himself and grunted. "I can't believe there have already been a few casualties."

Stepping out from the tent and unsheathing Riptide, Percy disappeared in an untraceable blur of movement. Leaning onto the wooden-frame of his seat, Naruto hummed. "Kurama, you asleep?"

"I haven't been able to sleep since you keep blabbering your mouth." The Kyuubi grunted in response. "Can you be quiet for a second?"

Naruto leaned deeper into his wood-constructed chair. "I'm not sure. Can you even stop sleeping for a second, you lazy-ass tailed-beast?"

However, the conversation between Naruto and Kurama was stopped when the sound of a loud scream of raw fury reached Naruto's ears. The Uzumaki threw his head back, groaning. "That hurt my ears…"

A rattle shuddered throughout the entirety of the sector. Another loud shout of aggression filled the open atmosphere. Rolling out of his seat, Naruto summoned a Shadow-Clone and left the tent in its care.

Naruto walked across the area, noticing Silena Beauregard and Charles in the distance. Slipping his calloused hands into his pockets, he squinted his blue eyes. "What the hell is that they're fighting?"

The creature was spectral in appearance. It had black hair and vermillion irises. Its countenance was belligerent. This phantom wore a white shirt, azure trousers, two gauntlets on its hands, and a hat.

"What the hell?" Naruto's eye-brows lifted themselves in astonishment. "This creature has traces of Prometheus' mana."

Charles parried a powerful strike from the phantom's fog-shrouded palm and grunted in exertion. Silena aimed a low-kick for its abdomen. Annoyed, the phantom let loose an incredible amount of mana.

It slithered forward, reached its hand for Charles' neck, squeezed it, and threw him into Silena's mid-section. The two of them crashed into a car—but sustained no permanent injuries or any broken bones.

A crimson-coloured distortion grabbed onto the phantom's wrist. Naruto stood in front of the creature and flicked a knee into its stomach, hurtling it through the window of an unoccupied shop.

"Are you two alright?" Naruto asked Charles and Silena: who used each other's shoulders for support. "What the hell is this creature?"

"It reminds me of Nico's spirits—but more powerful." Charles responded and coughed in pain. "It appeared from no-where."

Naruto turned towards the unhinged spirit and stretched his arms. Glancing at Charles and Silena, the Uzumaki grouched. "Don't worry about this damn ghost, I'll handle it. You two can leave if you want."

The humanoid phantom screeched at Naruto, hurtling itself into his chest and propelling him into a truck. Shoving a chakra-enhanced elbow into its face, Naruto smacked the ghost off of his body.

"Impressive speed." Naruto pondered to himself, walking out from the shattered shards of the destroyed truck. "But not enough to kill me."

Mana built itself up on the spirit's fog-covered hand. A mana-constructed cube was formed on its palm. Bracing its muscles, the phantom launched itself in Naruto's direction within a blur of agility.

Naruto used a Rasengan to deflect the spirit's mana-constructed cube. Head-butting it right in the nose, Naruto then roundhouse-kicked the formidable creature's hip and grinned. "Your durability is amazing!"

The phantom slanted its head, clicked its teeth, widened its blood-lusted eyes, and screeched for a second time. Laughing, Naruto clenched a chakra-enhanced fist and punched the ghost's right cheek.

Rolling through a countless number of windows and cars, the phantom grabbed onto a pole rooted into the ground and swung itself forward. Skating across the streets of the area, Naruto stretched his hand out.

A Wind-Style: Rasengan materialized itself onto Naruto's calloused palm. It was thrown towards the phantom by him and produced an incredible burst of wind when it reached the ghost and touched its body.

Despite being some kind of spectral entity, the phantom was able to bleed out from open wounds and injuries. However, much to Naruto's unconcealed surprise, the phantom was capable of regeneration.

"I get it now." Naruto caught the phantom's punch—this punch had his feet digging themselves down into the ground. "This damn ghost…"

"It has the ability to grow stronger and surpass its weaknesses." Naruto slammed a knee into its solar-plexus. "What a unique skill…"

Naruto's fists transmuted themselves into indiscernible distortions as he parried and deflected all of the phantom's mana-enhanced attacks. A kick to the chin from the phantom snapped his head backwards.

A roundhouse kick to the temple of the head from Naruto had the humanoid ghost crashing into another truck. Growling to itself in anger, the spirit rushed at Naruto: who raised a casual eye-brow.

Naruto spat out the tiniest puddle of blood from his mouth and wiped his lips. A focused expression of intrigue decorated his whiskered features. "The strength of this phantom depends on its opponent."

"Its ability to grow stronger depends on how strong its foe is." Naruto gripped onto the phantom's wrist. "I wonder if it can copy techniques."

Axe-kicking the phantom in the chin, Naruto released its wrist and bashed his head into its nose. Blood trickled out from the phantom's nostrils before it healed itself. "That was a little pay-back on my part."

Naruto back-flipped and watched the ghost's mana-enhanced knuckles sink into the spot on the ground where he stood around two seconds ago. Landing on his feet, Naruto blurred forward.

The phantom's prudent eyes scanned the sector—but let loose a loud scream of unrestrained agony once a fist embedded itself into its face. Naruto knocked the phantom backwards, shaking a hand in mockery.

"How the hell is its Taijutsu this refined, though?" Naruto blocked a mana-inflated knee from his adversary. "Is it because of me?"

"Whatever." Naruto clicked his teeth to himself, threw a fist back, and smacked it into the phantom's chest. "I don't have time for this."

Leaping backwards to establish an average amount of distance between the ghost and himself, Naruto bent his knees and disappeared within a crimson-tinted blur. The phantom groaned.

Naruto had imprinted a chakra-enhanced punch into its abdomen. The phantom clenched its jaw, opened its mouth, screamed, and a flood of mana ripped itself out from the ghost's lips. "Mana-Inundation!"

Particles of mana converged above the phantom's mouth until they shot forward at Naruto. Summoning chakra from the depths of the seal on his abdomen, Naruto shouted. "Boil-Release: Unrivaled-Strength!"

Kokuo's chakra filled Naruto's knuckles before he slammed them into the powerful mass of concentrated mana in front of him. Destroying the phantom's technique, Naruto vanished inside of a distortion.

"I can't let this phantom escape." Naruto raised his hand and conjured a suitable bundle of chakra on his palm. "Lava-Style: Rasenshuriken!"

He hurtled the Lava-Style: Rasenshuriken into the phantom. It healed its gashes, gritted its teeth, and growled. Naruto lifted a car, flinging it at the phantom: who was slammed into a fence of a parking-lot.

"I grow tired of this battle." Kurama opened one of his crimson-tinted eyes. "Even if you desire a challenge, this puny ghost is weak."

"Whatever!" Naruto rolled his luminous eyes, amassing more chakra onto his palms. "How about this? Wind-Style: Rasenshuriken!"

"Lava-Style: Rasenshuriken!" Naruto yelled. "I hope you can regenerate from the damage these two Jutsu are gonna give you!"

The two variants of the Rasenshuriken merged into one and engulfed the entire phantom in an explosion of chakra. Disintegrating into purple-tinged particles, the phantom crumbled. Naruto sighed.

"That phantom must have been created by Prometheus." Naruto tilted his head and cracked his neck. "I sensed his mana in it earlier."

"You prolonged the fight to scope out its abilities." Kurama's guttural voice vibrated within Naruto's head. "I'm going to catch some sleep."

Naruto returned to the area where he had sighted the phantom and saw Charles and Silena were outside the tents. Will Solace was speaking to them about a crucial topic. Charles slouched in despair.

Flipping behind the group of three people, Naruto remained silent and listened to their grief-filled discussion. Will had a sad expression on his face. "Seven more campers have died since this war started."

For some inexplicable reason, Naruto could feel a hint of guilt from the depths of Silena's emotions. Shaking his head to himself, Naruto walked through the flaps of the tent. Nico was on one of the chairs.

A cup of fresh tea was planted down on the table before Nico took a casual sip from its rim. He glanced at Naruto, lowered his cup, and hummed. "I didn't expect you to beat that phantom without trouble."

"Prometheus created that phantom in hopes it would weaken you." Nico chuckled. "However, it looks to me that his plan has failed."

"Yeah, I guess." Naruto shrugged. "That phantom had the ability to grow stronger and stronger depending on who it's fighting."

Naruto shook his head once more and grunted. "Enough about that damn ghost, though. I don't see Percy. Did something happen?"

"No." Nico sipped his cup of hot tea. "When Percy heard you were fighting, he told me to stay in the tent so he could kill more monsters."

(-)

Annabeth stared at the army of Empousai around her. These hideous creatures had expressions of blood-lust on their features. She activated the runes imprinted onto her gauntlets and concentrated.

The gauntlets would convert her stamina into mana—this mana would then be used to enhance her physical strength beyond its typical limits. However, the loss of stamina would tire her out faster.

Demi-gods were individuals bred for battle and violence. Their bodies were designed to be resilient, powerful, and strong. Annabeth possessed a superior stamina compared to any average mortal.

An Empousa lunged at her. Most of them targeted her since she was the one who had killed Kelli—another Empousa she had encountered in the Labyrinth. Annabeth slammed a punch into the monster.

The runes on her gauntlet glowed crimson before the Empousa was propelled through the windows of three cars parked on the right of the road they were on. Annabeth smirked in mockery. "Is that all you got?"

Raising the gauntlet wrapped around her hand to fend off a fire-imbued spear, Annabeth kicked the Empousa in front of her in the stomach. Elbowing the one behind her, she twirled around on the spot.

She rushed forward, jumped over the three cars on the road, landed on the concrete, picked one of the cars up, and hurled it in the direction of the crowd of Empousai. Annabeth grinned, excited.

The car crashed into the crowd of thirteen Empousai. Some of them dissolved into golden particles, leaving ten left. Lunging at the demi-goddess, one of the creatures aimed her claws at her eyes.

Annabeth's gauntlets glinted vermillion again as she cleaved her fist through the Empousa's clawed hand. Her voice was unimpressed. "I'm disappointed. Truly, I am. Don't you have any other tactics?"

"We will murder you!" An Empousa screamed, casting a unique hand-sign and gathering mana into the air. "You will pay for this!"

A block of snow materialized within the atmosphere. The Empousa pointed her index and middle fingers forward. Gritting her teeth, Annabeth shoved the front of her gauntlets at the mass of frost.

The enormous block of snow pushed Annabeth backwards. Feet sinking into the concrete, Annabeth broke the iceberg into shards of snow and let loose an annoyed breath. "What incredible magic."

Annabeth noticed more of the Empousai cast their spells while a few of them bounded in her direction. Back-flipping behind a car, she lifted it up from the ground and used it to block off the Empousa's spells.

She pulled out four of her rune-covered daggers and planted them into the surface beneath her. These daggers glistened a vermillion light, creating a ginormous burst of flame-imbued mana. Annabeth grunted.

Annabeth planted her palm down on the ground and produced a web of cracks. "There are only three of these Empousa left if I'm right…"

Breaking out into a sprint and generating a small crater on the spot from where she stood seconds ago, Annabeth grabbed an Empousa's face and bashed the monster downwards. The ground itself shook.

Kicking another Empousa in the face, Annabeth turned around before her knuckles kissed the neck of the third of the group. She clapped her gauntlets against the temples of the Empousa's head.

"What the hell?!" The third Empousa's head vibrated from Annabeth's physical strength. "How am I being beaten?! This is impossible!"

The Empousa who Annabeth had kicked prepared to cast another hand-sign for her spell—but was stopped once Annabeth broke her hand. Screaming in rage, the Empousa's claws were aimed forward.

Annabeth slapped the claws to the right and bull-dozed her fore-arm into the Empousa's nose. The child of wisdom watched all three of them crumble into aureate ashes. Sighing, she rubbed her wrists.

In the distance, two silhouettes on a hover-board approached the area where she was in. Hopping off of the piece of revolutionary technology, Leo and Percy gazed at the destruction around them.

"We've taken care of the Hell-Hounds!" Leo raised his thumb. "The Demeter-Cabin and the Apollo-Cabin are handling the rest for us."

"This Curse-Of-Achilles really is useful." Percy mumbled. "I can't take any damage and I even feel more powerful. I gotta thank Nico later."

Annabeth crossed her arms in amusement. "You can celebrate your new powers later. I've taken down the Empousa in this area."

"I'm more worried about the real threats." Leo groused, scratching his head. "Isn't it suspicious that neither Luke or Kronos have appeared?"

"They're waiting for us to be exhausted from battling these monsters." Annabeth replied. "But they've underestimated us and our strength."

The phone within Percy's pocket let out a loud sound. Accepting the call, Percy listened to whoever had called him. He turned to his two friends. "The Hecate-Cabin have set up a barricade around us."

Annabeth hummed. "How long will this barricade last?"

"Fourteen hours." Percy answered and stretched his neck. "We'll have to keep ourselves prepared. So let's get some sleep for now."

"Will one of you read me a bed-time story?" Leo grinned and leaned his head back, laughing. "Kidding! I could use a drink. I'm thirsty."

"Want me to douse you in some water?" Percy's voice was nonchalant. "I could also create a tornado of water for you to drink."

The three of them laughed and walked back to the tents—some of the campers had set up sleeping-bags for themselves and were knocked out. Percy also noticed others entering hotels within the area.

Travis and Connor Stoll had pocketed a few expensive items into their satchels and whistled an innocent tune when Percy's suspicious gaze fell on them. Katie Gardner—child of Demeter—sighed at their antics.

Percy stepped into one of the medical-tents and noticed an unconscious Jake: whose face was covered in plasters. Michael slapped Percy on the back. "I saw you out there! Good work, man!"

"Thanks." Percy had an awkward smile on his face. "I'm still sad over how many people died on the first day of battle. Ten lives were lost."

"Yeah." Michael's bright expression turned downcast for seven seconds. "They wouldn't want you blaming yourself about it, though."

Percy's shoulders slumped. "You're right. I have to beat Kronos. They trusted me to lead them in this war. I refuse to let anyone else down."

"Get some sleep, man." Michael yawned. "You have to keep a sharp mind for the next day in battle. The barrier is blocking the monsters."

Percy nodded and left the tent—where he was approached by Grover Underwood. An expression of familiarity crossed the Satyr's face. "Percy! I think you should get some rest in one of the hotels."

"Sure." Percy smiled and followed Grover from behind until they reached the enormous hotel. "I'll see you tomorrow, good-night."

(-)

August 15th 2009

Luke Castellan emerged from one of the multiple golden portals that materialized into the open air. Some kind of enormous barricade of mana had been erected around the city. He raised a calloused hand.

Pressing his palm against the barricade of mana, he hummed when his skin was scorched by a burst of flames. Glancing at the other portals close to him, he saw Kronos step out from one of them.

Ethan Nakamura, Alabaster C. Torrington, and Prometheus walked out of another aureate portal. The titan of forethought clasped his hands behind his back. "Shall I extinguish this pathetic barricade?"

Kronos remained silent while glancing at the army of monsters and demi-gods behind him. This barrier of magic was an impressive one. Brushing his chin, Kronos grunted. "Where is Atlas right now?"

"He shall be a little late, my lord." Prometheus sighed. "He is fulfilling the orders you gave him yesterday. Please, forgive his behaviour."

"Atlas is my general." Kronos raised an amused eye-brow. "I have no issue if he decides to take longer to fulfill the orders I gave him."

"How is Camp-Jupiter faring against Menoetius, Krios, and Koios?" Kronos chuckled. "I wonder how they will handle those three in battle."

Prometheus' brown eyes glowed for the briefest of seconds. "They have fallen into a stale-mate for now. They are still not at full power."

"Once I regain my divine body, you all will regain your full power." Kronos grouched. "However, that shall take some time to happen."

The titan of time took a step backwards and nodded at Prometheus: who clenched a fist and slammed it into the barricade of mana. A shock-wave of endless power was produced from his punch.

Kronos observed the barricade crumble into particles of weakened mana before it disappeared for good. Pointing a finger forward, he let loose a shout of authority. "Follow the plan, my warriors, and win!"

Releasing screams and roars of ruthless determination, the monsters and demi-gods of Kronos' army rushed into the city. Kronos stared at the night-sky. "I can feel your presence over us, Nyx. How interesting."

Nyx—the primordial of the night—had decided to watch how the prophecy unfolded. This meant that the night-sky would remain for an indefinite length of time. Moonlight illuminated Kronos' yellow irises. "Hyperion, move out."

Hyperion—the titan of heat—bowed down before he vanished within a shroud of luminous flames. Smirking to himself, Kronos turned to Prometheus and chortled. "Are you sure you can handle Naruto Uzumaki?"

"I am confident, my lord." Prometheus murmured and lowered his head. "I have created a rune that will defeat him in mere moments."

"Of course." Kronos' smirk widened itself in blatant amusement. "Ethan and Alabaster, I want you two to head out right now."

They bowed and ran into the city. Kronos snapped his golden eyes towards an expressionless Luke. Morphing his smirk into a grin, Kronos queried. "I shall take on Percy Jackson. Who shall you fight?"

Waving a casual hand without a hint of concern, Luke grunted. "I'll take on someone else. Excuse me, I will leave to join this war."

"Oh, but of course." Kronos' grin shrunk into an amused smile. "I do hope you won't hold back against your opponents, Luke Castellan."

Bounding into the streets of New-York-City, Luke disappeared into an alleyway and leaped onto a roof-top. Kronos pressed a pale palm down onto the concrete beneath him, letting loose a joyful laugh.

"I cannot wait to battle against the one prophesied to defeat me!" Kronos gazed off into the distance. "Prometheus, I shall be leaving."

Prometheus stood next to Kronos before the titan of time propelled himself into the city. He smiled. "Good luck in your battle, my lord."

(-)

Naruto was seated down on a leather-padded chair inside of the hotel he had been sleeping in. A simple bowl of an unnamed cereal brand was on top of the table in front of him. He devoured his meal.

A loud shock-wave rippled throughout the entirety of the city and knocked Naruto's bowl of cereal off of the table. Widening his blue eyes in annoyance, Naruto glanced out of an unopened window.

The barricade of mana constructed by the Hecate-Cabin had been destroyed somehow. Tensing his muscles, Naruto crashed through the window and landed down onto the streets of the enormous city.

Numerous demi-gods dashed out from their tents and hotels to meet whoever had shattered the barrier head-on. Annabeth and Percy had already left to see what had happened on Leo's hover-board.

Naruto's phone rang for three seconds before he accepted the call. Percy's urgent voice echoed into the depths of Naruto's ears. "Naruto! According to Loue Ellen, she sensed Luke's and Kronos' presence!"

Squinting his sapphire eyes into the distance, Naruto murmured. "Prometheus must have come along, then. This also means that—..."

"The real war has begun." Percy interrupted Naruto and clicked his teeth. "I can't waste any more time, Naruto. I hope you win your fight."

Ending the call, Naruto tucked his phone into his pocket and vanished within a vermillion distortion of incredible agility. Appearing on a roof-top, he gazed down at the ruthless soldiers of Kronos' army.

(-)

Leo jogged throughout the countless roads of New-York-City, slapping his flame-covered palms against multiple monsters' faces and exterminating them. He stopped. Four demi-gods blocked his path.

Blood covered the tips of their spears. Leo stepped back in unconcealed shock. This meant that they had killed their fellow demi-gods. Teeth clenched, Leo grunted. "How many did you murder?"

An amused chuckle emerged from one of the demi-gods' mouths. "Not enough!" He scowled. "This is your punishment for not seeing the truth!"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean, huh?!" Unadulterated fury flared inside of Leo's brown-tinged irises. "You killed them!"

"So what?" A blue-haired demi-god lifted an unbothered eye-brow. His voice was impassive. "It's your fault for not serving your rightful lord."

Leo clenched his fists, squatted down into a stance suitable for hand-to-hand combat, gritted his teeth even more, activated his flames, and blurred at his four opponents in a shroud of iridescent fire.

However, Leo's flame-empowered body was backhanded into a car by a muscled and fire-enhanced hand. Hyperion cracked his neck, glancing at the four soldiers of Kronos' army. "Scram, you brats."

The four warriors bowed and sprang over the fences around them, leaving the area empty—except for an enraged Leo and a nonchalant Hyperion: who grouched. "Your presence is a rather powerful one."

"Who the hell are you meant to be?" Leo flicked off the shards of metal on his shoulders. "I ain't interested in fighting you, so back off."

Materializing himself behind Leo, Hyperion smacked the back of his head and propelled the child of Hephaestus forward. Each of Hyperion's foot-steps shook the ground. "I'm Hyperion—titan of heat."

"Leo Valdez." Jumping out from the remains of a motor-cycle, Leo spat out a glob of blood from his lips. "Can he access his divine-form?"

Taking out the divine-goggles from his pocket, Leo slipped them onto his face. Hyperion extended his hand forward, gathering an explosive accumulation of fire onto his finger-tips. "Let's see what you can do."

Leo clapped his hands into some type of gesticulation. A straight line of flames shot itself out from his closed palms. Hyperion flung his orb of explosive heat in Leo's direction. Their attacks collided.

The two of them were hurtled backwards as the ground beneath was melted. Clouds of smoke invaded the atmosphere and blocked their vision. Swatting his hand around, Hyperion dissolved the fumes.

"Impressive for a demi-god." Hyperion flexed his fingers, pointing them down at the concrete. "I wasn't expecting his flames to be so potent."

A flood of flames converged on the tips of Hyperion's middle and index fingers. Leo bent his knees, leaping over the spikes of fire that had sprouted out from beneath his feet. The demi-god grinned.

"Is that all you got for me?" Leo aimed five flame-constructed bullets at Hyperion's solar-plexus. "I doubt I can match a titan in raw power…"

Leo's fire-crafted bullets smacked themselves into Hyperion's armor—this armor remained undamaged. Dashing at Leo and axe-kicking his chin, Hyperion grabbed onto Leo's face.

"What type of physical strength is this?!" Leo yelled into his mind, astonished. "I don't even think that axe-wielding fella was this strong!"

Bashing Leo's head downwards into the ground and generating an endless crater of incredible depth, Hyperion sighed in disappointment. "I was hoping for more of a challenge from you human-god hybrids."

Releasing his hold on Leo, Hyperion climbed out of the deep crater in the middle of New-York-City. Melted scraps of metal surrounded him. He stepped into a small puddle of blood. "How disgusting…"

Hyperion's golden eyes became confused once they spotted a gigantic silhouette from the distance. A humongous robot landed in front of him. The robot's radio-esque head let loose a loud beep.

Various bursts of heat billowed out from the ginormous crater behind him. A blood-soaked body dragged itself out of the cavity in the ground. Leo chuckled. "Sorry for disappointing you, Hyperion!"

"He used his flames to mend his wounds." Hyperion rubbed his chin, fascinated. "I've only seen three demi-gods perform such a feat."

Hyperion clapped his flame-enhanced hands in celebration. "You've improved yourself. Hmph, you demi-gods are designed for battle."

The robot emitted another sonorous beep from the speakers on its head and bull-dozed its metal-claws into Hyperion's body. Hyperion raised his fore-arms to protect himself—but was knocked backwards.

"Impossible!" Hyperion crashed into seventeen lined-up trucks, shattering them into scraps of metal. "How is this robot so strong?"

Rolling out from the obliterated trucks, Hyperion scanned the area around him. In the corner of his vision, a fire-covered distortion launched itself into the temple of his head. Leo clenched his teeth.

Leo flipped back and settled down on the balls of his feet. Pointing his finger forward, Leo clicked a button of the control-pad in his free hand. The robot charged at Hyperion, extending its metal claws forward.

"My dear ol' dad provided the materials for this machine!" The child of the forges yelled. "That means that this robot is more durable!"

Flames erupted forth from Hyperion's hands as he gripped onto the robot's metal-constructed claws. Leo materialized behind him in a burst of flames, kicked the back of his shin, and disappeared.

Hyperion exerted more of his divine-energy and melted the robot's claws until there was nothing left of them. Upper-cutting the chin of the robot's radio-esque head, Hyperion summoned his gauntlets.

The robot staggered backwards before slamming its head down into Hyperion: whose countenance was one of unadulterated intrigue. Leo hopped onto the top of his machine, elongating his screw-driver.

"I hope the runes the Hecate-Cabin instilled into my robot won't be destroyed." Leo kept his teeth clenched. "I wanna fight Alabaster!"

"I sensed those magical-runes long ago on this mechanical creature." Hyperion murmured in his head. "What type of runes could they be?"

Lifting his gauntlets and pushing them into the robot's head, Hyperion felt his feet dig themselves into the ground. Shock-waves of incredible quality were generated from their clash. Hyperion widened his eyes.

A layer of impenetrable flames covered Hyperion's entire body. The titan of light pushed the robot's head forward, gazing into the brown pits of the son of Hephaestus' gaze. "What now, demi-god? Hm?"

Leo threw his elongated screw-driver into one of Hyperion's aureate eyes—but the titan healed his injury without an ounce of difficulty. Grinning, Leo snapped his fingers. "Chain-Runes, activate!"

The crimson runes inscribed onto the robot revealed themselves and glowed an ominous crimson. Obsidian chains emerged from the robot and wrapped themselves around Hyperion's body. Hyperion grunted.

"Time for the portal!" Leo removed a scroll from his belt, unrolled it open, and yelled. "I will use Hyperion to open a portal to Tartarus!"

This scroll had been a gift given to Lou Ellen by Hecate before she had defected to join Kronos' army. It possessed an ability that was a one-time use—this ability was to create a portal anywhere.

Mana gushed out from the pink-coloured sigils on the rune and engulfed Hyperion. Straining his muscles, Hyperion broke free from the golden chains around him. Leo shouted. "You're too late!"

The robot head-butted Hyperion into the portal behind him. Reaching a hand out for Leo, Hyperion hurtled an enormous blade of fire at him. Falling into Tartarus, Hyperion hummed. "What an amusing outcome."

Another rune on the robot glinted a bright light and erected a barricade in front of the machine, protecting Leo from the blade of flames. Sweat trickled down Leo's blood-caked cheeks. He let out a sigh of relief.

Jumping off of his mechanical creation, the child of the forges leaned himself against the robot's cracked leg and slumped his shoulders. Exhaustion highlighted his features. "He could have killed me."

"I'm lucky he didn't use his divine-form." Leo adjusted the goggles on his face, breathing in and out. "I've never struggled in a fight so much."

Flames scorched his wounds and mended them. Climbing to his feet, Leo gandered at his damaged robot and watched it crumble. Shoulders slumping for a second time, Leo mumbled. "My luck sucks."

Leo's senses flared and he turned around in time to block off three tendrils of crimson-coloured mana. Recognition illuminated Leo's care-free gaze. "Is that you, Alabaster?! My favourite magician!"

Alabaster analyzed the absolute damage around him. Multiple craters of endless depth graced the ground. Destroyed vehicles covered the area. The temperature within the atmosphere was rather warm.

"One of the soldiers under my command told me you fought Hyperion." Alabaster grouched. "I can feel the presence of runes."

"You must have used a magical-artifact to beat him somehow." Alabaster murmured. "Perhaps some type of Teleportation-Rune?"

"The residual particles of mana in the air suggest you summoned a portal." The magician hummed. "You took him to another realm, right?"

Leo shot a finger-gun in Alabaster's direction. "Bingo! I used a special scroll from your sister to open a portal to Tartarus for Hyperion!"

Launching four spheres of wind towards Leo, Alabaster clasped his calloused hands behind his back. Fire touched Leo's palm before he dispelled the four attacks. The son of Hephaestus panted. "Damn."

"You must be exhausted from your earlier battle." Alabaster's green irises glowed. "Don't worry, I'll hold back against you."

(-)

Naruto raised his fore-arm and parried the club of an aggressive Cyclops. Kicking it in the nose, he slapped a palm into its stomach. The Cyclops collapsed onto the ground, crumbling into yellow ashes.

A Hell-Hound charged at Naruto—but was elbowed in the snout and propelled backwards. Summoning a Rasengan onto his calloused palm, Naruto drilled it into the monster's jaw and scattered it into dust.

Most of the soldiers within Kronos' army had left the monsters to battle him. He had overheard one of them telling their companion that Kronos had assigned Prometheus the task of ending his life.

Backhanding an Empousa's face, Naruto hurtled the creature through three different sized cars. The Uzumaki squinted his blue eyes, tensed his muscles, and grabbed onto a Cyclops' club as it shoved him back.

Roundhouse kicking the Cyclops into the air, Naruto summoned three Shadow-Clones and had them unleash an Uzumaki-Barrage upon the monster. Naruto turned around, sensing the presence of three entities.

Constructing two Rasengan onto his palm, Naruto smacked them into the Hell-Hounds who had teleported towards him. Burying his knee into the third Hell-Hound, the Uzumaki dispelled it into yellow particles.

Naruto stared at the sector and scanned every crevasse inside of it. No-one else was within this area except for himself. Leaping onto a roof-top, Naruto crossed his arms. "This area is empty, then."

Naruto sighed. "I'm getting tired."


A/N: Thanks for reading this chapter.