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A Shinobi Among Monsters by euphoric image
 Naruto & Percy Jackson and the Olympians Xover Rated: T, English, Adventure & Humor, Naruto U., Artemis, Apollo, Words: 208k+, Favs: 8k+, Follows: 9k+, Published: Mar 21, 2020 Updated: Jan 15 3,237Chapter 8: Bane of Olympus
Naruto located Nereus almost immediately. It was impossible not to; Nereus smelled nasty. Like fish that was left rotting out in the sun for weeks. Next to garbage and refuse. Once Naruto had plugged his nose with a clever application of chakra (the same technique Kakashi-sensei used to prevent gas attacks from being effective), he quickly pointed Nereus out to the others.
"Are you sure?" Thalia squinted. "He doesn't look like a god. More like an old bum." And it was true. Nereus wore pajamas and a fuzzy bathrobe that looked like it wasn't washed in months. He was fat, with a yellowing beard.
More importantly. . .
"Santa Claus," Naruto muttered hatefully. "He looks like Santa Claus. Gods, I hated that man."
There was a moment of silence.
"Naruto?" Percy began tentatively. "Umm. . . you do know that Santa Claus doesn't exist, right?"
Naruto frowned. "Of course he exists. I've fought him multiple times before."
"You've fought Santa Claus?" Thalia stared at Naruto incredulously.
Naruto nodded. "He was difficult to defeat. Nearly as powerful as the Easter Bunny, but slightly weaker than the Tooth Fairy."
Bianca's eyes widened. "Wait, those are real too?"
Thalia shook her head. "No they're not. Don't listen to him. Naruto, where exactly did you fight, umm, Santa Claus?"
"On Christmas Eve," Naruto replied. "He would break into Apollo's mansion to do nefarious things, and I would fend him off. And every single time, he's escaped with his life intact." His eyes flashed. "I've only encountered the Easter Bunny once, but I will never forget it. His primary form of attack was throwing eggs."
"That's not too bad," Percy said.
"Eggs that exploded."
"Oh."
Naruto nodded grimly. "And the Tooth Fairy attempted to steal my teeth. I woke up to her on my face, pliers in her hand, ready to extract my molars. Fortunately, I was fast enough to land several blows on her, but I missed her wings so she was able to fly away and escape."
Thalia, Zoe, Bianca, and Percy stared at him.
"I have lived for several millennia," Zoe began, "But even I have never encountered such beings."
"But if the Greek gods are real, then what if Santa Claus and the others are real too?" Percy whispered, a hint of fear appearing in his eyes.
Thalia bit her lip. "No. There's no way. That's impossible."
Naruto suddenly broke out in a wide grin. "Nah, I'm just messing with you. They were all just transformed versions of Apollo. Which just made it infinitely more satisfying when my attacks connected."
They breathed sighs of relief.
"I can already barely handle Greek mythology," Percy grinned.
Thalia nodded in agreement. "How should we handle Nereus?"
"Jump him?" Percy suggested.
Naruto nodded. "I'm down. Let's do it."
"Wait," Bianca spoke up. "You mean. . . you're going to just attack that old man?"
Zoe turned to her, bemused. "Bianca, don't let his appearance fool you. He's a god."
"Oh. Right," Bianca responded sheepishly. "Almost forgot."
They approached Nereus, who was sitting at the end of the dock. The homeless people around them paid them no attention. A couple wearing rainbow shirts making out. A man with long hair trying to repair a guitar. A woman with a shopping cart filled with plastic flamingos. An old woman, nearly eighty years old, leaning on a cane, gazing out at the sea.
"Nereus," Zoe called.
Nereus's head whipped around. "Zoe Nightshade?" he said, confused. "You shouldn't be here. Why are you here?!"
Zoe frowned. "What do you mean by that?"
Nereus narrowed his eyes. "Don't tell me you're that stupid. I know it's been centuries since we've last met each other, but come on. Did you honestly think that the Titan Lord wouldn't anticipate you coming to me for information?"
Oh. That wasn't good.
"Indeed," Thorn said in that heavy French accent of his, materializing out of nowhere. Immediately, Thalia's spear expanded, Percy uncapped his pen, Bianca and Zoe's bows appeared, and a kunai was in Naruto's hand. Thorn simply smiled. "We expected this from day one. You heroes are oh so predictable. Oh, but before we do anything. . . Nereus, scram."
Nereus looked at Zoe sadly. "I'm sorry. But I must maintain my neutrality. Good luck." With that, he transformed into a goldfish and hopped into the sea.
"You are a fool, Thorn," Zoe growled. "Did you really think coming here alone was a good idea? Naruto already single-handedly drove you off last time."
Thorn smiled menacingly. "Who said I was alone?"
Naruto got that sinking feeling. The one you get when there are a dozen laser sights playing across your chest. They had been played.
Every homeless person that surrounded them drew a weapon. The eighty year old lady suddenly looked a lot more threatening with a semiautomatic pistol in her hand. The woman reached inside her shopping cart and pulled out a machine gun. Off in the distance, Naruto could distinctly see several snipers on boats.
He was a shinobi, and he hadn't expected this?
"You may be fast, kid, but even you aren't faster than a supersonic sniper round," Thorn called to Naruto. "You move even an inch and your friends will be filled with lead."
Naruto raised his eyebrows. "Was that a challenge? That sounded like a challenge to me."
Thorn smirked. "Try me."
Naruto met his gaze for a second before looking down, seemingly defeated. His legs trembled before he collapsed to his knees, his face downcast.
Thalia looked at him in concern. "Naruto! Are you okay?"
Thorn laughed. "Oh, the little boy finally understands the situation he's in. Pathetic."
"Naruto, don't worry," Percy gripped his sword tightly. "We'll get out of here alive."
"It's funny you think that," Thorn gloated. "It'll be even more funny when I prove you wrong."
Down on the ground, Naruto blocked out the sound of their conversation. Personally, he thought that his acting was a tad bit too dramatic, but it appeared Thorn and even his friends were fooled. Naruto closed his eyes and began gathering natural energy. Fortunately, Thorn had already completely ignored him by now, and was gloating at Percy and Thalia. All according to Naruto's plan.
Feign weakness to get Thorn to drop his guard. Sure, it rankled Naruto's pride a little bit, but that was fine.
Naruto extended his senses - and froze. What the hell? Why were there so many types of natural energy? Back in the Elemental Nations, no matter where Naruto was, the natural energy all felt the same. But here. . . there were countless types of natural energy.
But how was it possible? Unless - there were gods in this world, Naruto realized. Natural energy is nothing but energy that exists in the world around them. Rocks, trees, the air, the earth itself contained natural energy. But in this world, gods were the living personifications of the natural forces of the world. Which meant. . .
Naruto's eyes widened. Natural energy was a god's energy.
His theory was confirmed when he quickly identified a natural energy that felt like Artemis. It was identical, actually. The goddess of forests. And that wasn't it. He felt an energy, bright and potent, that felt like Apollo. The sun's natural energy.
However, there was one form of natural energy that overshadowed the rest. Naruto shuddered. It felt as if it was slumbering, but even in its lethargic state, Naruto could clearly identify it as the strongest and most potent natural energy - the sheer power it exuded was frightening. But at the same time, Naruto sensed an immense hatred within it. At that moment, Naruto resolved to not even touch it. He didn't know what it was; all he knew was that he needed to stay far away.
Naruto drew in the natural energy that felt like Artemis, gathering it and blending it with his own chakra to create senjutsu chakra.
Sage Mode - Artemis style!
And he drew in a sharp breath as he finally felt her. Naruto grinned in relief and happiness. Finally. But first things first. . .
"And then the Titan Lord shall - " Thorn was cut off when the mortals around him collapsed, unconscious. On the boats, the snipers were knocked out as well. A moment later, there was a large BOOM as the sound of the sonic barrier being broken reached their ears.
"What?" Zoe murmured in confusion.
Naruto reappeared in front of them, a smirk on his face. "Challenge accepted and completed."
Thorn's eyes widened. "What in Hades - URK!"
Naruto blinked as the water behind Thorn rose up and began strangling Thorn. "Yo Percy, we still need information from this guy. Ask questions first, break the Geneva Convention after."
"Oh right," Percy rubbed the back of his head sheepishly as the water receded slightly, allowing Thorn to take shallow breaths filled with water. "I got kinda pissed."
"What was that?" Bianca's eyes were wide as she stared at Naruto. At that moment, she looked a lot like Nico. "One second you were on the ground and the next you were in front of us and all the mortal mercenaries were incapacitated!"
Naruto grinned. "Pretty cool, right?"
Bianca broke out into a smile. "Cool? At the risk of sounding like my little brother, it was awesome!"
Zoe nodded, her eyes still slightly wide. "For once, I agree. I can see now why Apollo requested you to join this quest." She then turned to Thorn. "Speak, manticore. What is the monster Artemis was hunting?"
"I won't," Thorn choked out, "t-tell you anything."
Zoe shrugged. "Very well. Percy, how well-versed are you in the concept of waterboarding?"
A smile spread on Percy's face. "I like how you think."
"For you see, Thorn," Zoe strolled up to Thorn, staring directly into his mismatched eyes. "I am well aware that typical methods of torture do not work on monsters. If we mess up even a little bit, then you immediately disintegrate into dust. However, water is one of the few exceptions. With water, we can prolong your misery for days."
Thorn laughed. "You think I fear you? Compared to the Titan Lord, you are noth - "
He was cut off when a black arrow suddenly sprouted out of his head. A moment later, Thorn screamed in agony before turning to dust. The black arrow fell to the ground with an ominous clunk.
Naruto whipped his head around. He hadn't sensed the arrow approaching. He was in Sage Mode, but he hadn't sensed it. How was that possible?
Percy immediately stomped his foot on the ground and a wall of water rose up, forming a barrier around them. "Where did the arrow come from?"
"I don't know!" Naruto extended his senses out but whoever the archer was, they must be already gone. Even though Naruto had a perfect awareness of his surroundings, unless his intuition alerts him, then Naruto wouldn't really focus on an area. It was like having the Byakugan: even though you could see everything, you don't focus on something unless something brings your attention to it.
In Naruto's case, his intuition typically did that for him. In a forest, his intuition would automatically alert Naruto of something out of the ordinary, with information automatically streaming into his mind. But for some strange reason, when the archer fired the arrow, Naruto's intuition had stayed silent. And Naruto had no idea why.
"Mist," Zoe said grimly. "The arrow was shrouded in an extremely powerful Mist which is why we didn't sense it."
Oh. That explains it.
Bianca knelt down to look at the arrow. "Why is it black?" she wondered as she reached out to pick it up.
"Don't touch it!" Zoe hissed in warning.
Bianca whipped her hand back, staring up at Zoe in shock. "What?"
"There are two types of divine metal," Zoe explained. "The first is Celestial Bronze. The second is Stygian Iron. Mined and forged in the Underworld, cooled in the River Styx, it is an extremely powerful and lethal metal."
Thalia frowned. "Really? I've never heard about Stygian Iron before."
Zoe nodded. "Lady Artemis told me about it. Unlike Celestial Bronze, which simply destroys a monster's physical body and returns their essence to Tartarus, with Stygian Iron, a monster's essence gets absorbed into the blade."
Thalia paled. "What?"
"Of course, the essence would return to Tartarus eventually, but it can lengthen the process by decades. It's for that reason that monsters universally hate Stygian Iron," Zoe eyed the arrow on the ground. "I reckon that Thorn won't be able to reform for several decades at the very least."
"If it's so powerful, then why don't we use it?" Bianca asked curiously.
"Because it's too dangerous," Zoe responded. "For demigods, if we accidentally cut ourself, then our life force would be quickly drained. It would be like fighting with a blade coated in a lethal poison - it's too risky. For gods, they don't like using Stygian Iron because it originated in the Underworld."
Naruto blinked. "That's it?"
Zoe shrugged. "Are you really surprised? Lord Hades was kicked out of Olympus because he was the god of the Underworld."
"Ah, right," Naruto nodded in understanding. "The gods don't really like anything Underworld-related. Makes sense that they would stay away from Stygian Iron."
"Precisely," Zoe confirmed. "After all, Stygian Iron doesn't really offer too many advantages over Celestial Bronze for gods. Gods don't care how long it takes for a monster to reform. Sure, Stygian Iron can harm mortals, but the gods can always just materialize a steel weapon."
"So there are no demigods that use Stygian Iron?" Bianca spoke up.
Zoe hesitated. "Not exactly. Children of Hades are capable of using Stygian Iron without harm - their life force exists in a peculiar state. To them, Stygian Iron acts like any regular metal."
Bianca bit her lip. "And is there a chance that I'm a daughter of Hades?"
Zoe's eyebrows rose. "No. The Big Three - that is, Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades - swore an oath to not have any more children after World War 2."
Bianca didn't say anything, instead staring pointedly at Percy and Thalia.
"You have a point," Zoe conceded. "But what makes you think that you're Hades's daughter?"
Bianca was silent for a moment. "When we were in the Labyrinth," she began, "I felt. . . stronger. And I could sense everything around me. I can't really explain it, but you saw how I chose all the correct routes."
Zoe hesitated. "Yes, but - "
"And," Bianca continued, her voice growing stronger, "Right now, I can sense this arrow in front of me. Even if I shut my eyes, I can feel it. Hades is the god of precious metals, correct?"
Percy and Thalia exchanged glances.
"Look, Bianca," Percy said gently. "You don't want to be a child of Hades. Being the children of the Big Three. . . it's dangerous. Extremely dangerous."
Thalia nodded in agreement. "And besides, I doubt Hades broke the oath. Because if he did, then that would mean that he's a hypocrite - " her eyes flashed dangerously - "for sending all those monsters after me because I was a daughter of Zeus."
Bianca shook her head. "Guys, I know it seems strange, but the thought of me being Hades's daughter just feels. . . right. And there's a way to test it, right?"
And, before they could stop her, Bianca reached out, grabbed the arrow and cut her finger with it. Or in Naruto's case, he didn't stop her because he also thought that she was the daughter of Hades. Perhaps it was a bit reckless, but then again Naruto didn't exactly have the best regard for safety when it comes to training. Must've come from when Jiraiya threw him off the cliff. "See?" Bianca showed them the cut. It was bleeding slightly but other than that there were no adverse effects. "I'm fine."
A moment of shocked silence as the other demigods - minus Naruto - took it in.
"I stand corrected," Zoe said, stunned. "You are a daughter of Hades."
"No way," Percy breathed.
Thalia's hands balled up into fists. "Which means, Hades sent those monsters after me because Zeus broke his oath - even though Hades himself also broke the oath. That damned hypocritical - "
The ground underneath them rumbled threateningly.
"Shut it!" Thalia snapped angrily at the ground. "You and both know that I'm telling the truth."
"Err, before you declare war on Hades," Percy spoke up, "Naruto, Zoe, do you think it's safe to stop maintaining this barrier?"
"Yeah, it's fine," Naruto said. "The archer is gone." In fact, the archer had probably left the second he fired the arrow, because when Naruto had extended his senses, he hadn't sensed anyone. He still had no idea how that happened.
Percy nodded and snapped his fingers. A second later, the barrier of water around them retreated back into the sea.
"My father is Hades," Bianca said in wonder. "I. . . whoa. Wait, the ground rumbling meant that Hades heard you, right?"
Thalia nodded.
Bianca brightened. "Dad? Can you hear me right now?"
The ground grew suspiciously quiet.
"He can't interact with you," Thalia sighed. "Gods are forbidden by the Ancient Laws from interacting with their children other than special circumstances." Then her eyes narrowed. "I still can't believe you, Lord Hades. With all due respect: you suck."
Percy, Zoe, and Naruto tensed up, preparing for Hades to appear and pummel Thalia. But apparently, the god of the dead had some self-control, and so the only thing that occurred was a minor earthquake.
"Getting back on topic," Percy squinted at the sea once the ground underneath them stopped shaking. "Any chance that Nereus would come back?"
Zoe scoffed. "Knowing him, he's probably somewhere in Washington by now."
Naruto exited Sage Mode (wasn't much of a point in staying in it) and under his Henge, his eyes returned to normal. He idly wondered if the color of his eyes would be affected by using the natural energy of Artemis. Ehh, it's not like he can drop the Henge and see.
"What should we do next?" Bianca spoke up.
"Oh, that's simple," Naruto answered. "We mount a full-on frontal attack on that mountain over there." He pointed to a large mountain off in the distance that rose above the cloud layer.
Zoe frowned. "The Mountain of Despair? Why there?"
"Because that's where Artemis is," Naruto replied simply. His intuition may not have warned him of the archer firing the arrow, but the second he had entered Sage Mode, his intuition practically exploded at him. He had sensed Artemis up there immediately. "Let's go save Artemis."
"Wait, how do you know?" Thalia squinted at the mountain.
"I have a thing called Sage Mode," Naruto explained. "Whenever I enter Sage Mode, my senses increase exponentially. I sensed her on that mountain."
No, not just that. In regular Sage Mode, Naruto just gained heightened senses, especially towards chakra. However, in Sage Mode - Artemis Style, it was as if Naruto was in a forest. An intuition that approached the level of divination. Godlike senses. Naruto would have to experiment with it later.
"You can sense gods?" Zoe asked incredulously.
Naruto nodded. "In Sage Mode, yeah." Unless they're shrouded in Mist. Naruto really had to master seeing through the Mist. He was halfway decent, but nowhere as good as he should be.
It appeared that no matter what world he was in, illusions would always be his weak point.
"Mountain of Despair?" Bianca spoke up. "Why do they call it that?"
Zoe looked grim. "Mount Othrys was the mountain on which the Titan palace was located. After the war between the Titan War, Kronos's right-hand man, the general of his forces, was imprisoned up there in the ruins of the palace, on the summit, just beyond the Garden of the Hesperides."
"The general. . . Atlas," Naruto surmised. "Atlas is imprisoned up there, where he holds up the sky." He paused as a thought struck him. "But Artemis is there too. . . Zoe, what are the odds that Atlas used Annabeth to force Artemis to bear the weight of the sky?"
"Umm," Percy raised his hand. "I had a dream a few days ago where it looked like Artemis was holding up a roof of a really tall building. But in retrospect, she might actually be holding up the sky."
That bastard. Atlas was going to. . . not die, but at least get beaten up really badly before getting shoved under the sky once more.
"It's useless," Zoe clenched her fists tightly. "The only way to get to the summit of the mountain is to get past the Garden of the Hesperides," Zoe scowled slightly as she said the name. "And we can only enter the Garden of the Hesperides at twilight."
Naruto blinked. "What kind of stupid rule is that? We'll just defeat anyone who tries to stop us."
Zoe shook her head. "No, you don't understand. It is impossible for anyone to enter the Garden when it isn't twilight because it doesn't exist in this reality."
Naruto frowned. "What do you mean?"
"It exists in its own sub-dimension," Zoe explained. "Just like Olympus or the Underworld." At everyone's confused looks, Zoe sighed. "Look, Olympus is a huge city on top of the Empire State Building, right?"
Thalia nodded. "Yeah, it is."
"Have you ever wondered how no airplane has ever accidentally hit it before?" Zoe asked. "It's because they can't. Just like how mortals can't accidentally fall into the Underworld if they drill too deep. There are different planes of reality in this world. Pocket realms, so to speak. And the Garden of the Hesperides is one such realm."
Naruto nodded slowly. Essentially, this dimension had sub-dimensions, like Tartarus, Olympus, the Underworld, and various others. They were all connected. This actually explained a lot of things. After all, Chaos exists beneath Tartarus which exists beneath the Underworld which exists beneath the Earth, but Naruto knew for a fact that the primordial void did not exist in the center of the Earth.
However, unlike his old dimension, the realms of this world are all interconnected with numerous openings, whereas the dimensions of his old world were closed off and separated. For example, to get to Obito's dimension, you had to use the Kamui. That was the only possible way of entry. In this world, however, there were multiple entrances to the Underworld, and anyone could use them (with some exceptions).
An apt analogy would be using cakes. His old world was like a layer cake, in which the dimensions were clearly separated. Closed dimensions. This world, however, was like a marble cake, in which every dimension was blended in together, resulting in one big dimension with multiple openings and gateways so traveling from realm to realm is extremely simple.
Instead of being a planar reality, this world had multiple interconnected layers of reality. In other words, it was confusing as hell.
Naruto doubted even he could break through if that was the case. He had never figured out how to break out of Obito's pocket dimension without the Kamui. However, he still had to try. Perhaps his chakra, a foreign entity in this dimension, would be capable of breaking through into the Garden of the Hesperides. He hoped. He still didn't understand the full extent of his newfound power.
"The only time the Garden manifests in this reality is during twilight," Zoe continued. "At any other time, you must be a god to enter the Garden."
Naruto tilted his head. "I don't recall it being like this back in the Titan war."
"You're right," Zoe nodded. "The gods lifted the summit of Mount Othrys out of the normal reality after the war and tied it to the Garden, which already existed in a state of perpetual twilight, because the summit literally became the roof of the world. It was to make it harder for heroes to get through to the summit." She looked away. "Unfortunately, one foolish hero got through."
"Heracles," Percy said.
Zoe narrowed her eyes. "Yes. Him."
Percy shot Zoe a knowing glance but didn't speak further.
"It would be a waste of time to go there right now," Zoe began walking back to the buildings. "Instead, we should search for the monster Artemis was hunting."
Oh.
"This. . . is awkward," Naruto began sheepishly. They turned to him.
"What is it?" Bianca asked.
"Well, you see. . . I'm a clone."
They stared.
"Boss already ditched after he took care of the mortal mercenaries. He's probably already at Mount Othrys, trying to get into the Garden."
Thalia blinked. "Wait. . ."
The shadow clone nodded. "He had thought that you would head for the Gardens immediately after you finished taking care of Thorn, so he went on ahead. But don't worry," he added hastily. "He left some backup. DUDE!"
A moment later, another shadow clone appeared in a blur. "Yeah?"
"I gotta dispel to send information back to Boss," the shadow clone said. "They're - " he gestured at the demigods " - gonna look for the monsters. Can you help them?"
The other shadow clone nodded. "Of course."
"Alright. I'll leave it up to you." And the first shadow clone dispelled.
The other shadow clone looked at the demigods. "So. . . the monster?"
Zoe shook her head bemusedly. "That is an extremely useful ability. At any rate, with Nereus gone. . . I doubt we'll acquire any more intel."
"Then how should we find out what the monster was?" Bianca frowned. "I mean, it's not like the monster is just going to casually walk up to us, right?"
"MOOOO!" Yo Percy what the hell man? You can't just leave me behind like that!
Thalia gasped. "Impossible!"
"Bessie!" Percy cried happily as a cow serpent swam up to them. It had the upper body of a calf and the lower body of a snake. "How are you doing?"
Thalia stared at Bianca with awe and reverence in her eyes. "Do you realize what you just did?!"
Bianca drew back. "Umm, no?"
"You just employed a perfect reverse jinx," Thalia breathed. "How did you even do that? Even I can't do it perfectly yet."
"Beginner's luck?" Zoe suggested.
Thalia nodded. "Probably."
"Reverse jinx?" Bianca asked confusedly.
"The reverse jinx technique is when you jinx yourself for your own benefit," Zoe explained. "It's extremely rare with a high chance of backfiring on you. But it appears to have worked this time. Great job, Bianca."
"Oh. Thanks?"
"What are you talking about?" Percy frowned from where he was kneeling on the water, patting the cow serpent's head like a dog. "Bessie isn't the monster."
"MOOOO!" Excuse me?! Are you or are you not the son of Poseidon? How can you not tell that I'm a GUY?! And for the last time, my name's not Bessie; it's the Ophiotaurus! Dear gods, how thick are you?
"Err, he says his name isn't Bessie. It's the Ophiotaurus," Naruto translated. "And he's a guy."
Percy blinked. "You can understand him?"
Naruto nodded. "Yeah."
"Huh. Neat." And Percy went back to patting the Ophiotaurus's head.
"Ophiotaurus," Zoe mused. "Where have I heard that name before - " Her eyes went wide with shock and fear. "Oh no."
Percy looked at her. "What's wrong?"
This is the monster Artemis was hunting," Zoe breathed. "My father told me this tale thousands of years ago. Whoever killed the Ophiotaurus and sacrificed its entrails to fire would have the power to destroy the gods.
"MOOOOO!" Hey girl we don't mention the S-word around here! It's a trigger word! Come on, show some tact!
"The Ophiotaurus doesn't like the S-word," Naruto dutifully translated.
Thalia stared at the cow serpent with wonder. "The power to destroy the gods? How?"
"No one knows," Zoe answered. "In the first Titan war, the Ophiotaurus was slain but Zeus sent an eagle to snatch the entrails away before they could be tossed into the fire. I believe it was rank 4 on the Top 10 close calls in the Titan war."
"What was rank 1?" Bianca inquired.
Zoe's gaze darkened. "It was when the General almost single-handedly defeated all six gods. They only survived because the mountain spirits committed suicide and collapsed the mountain they were fighting on, causing Atlas to lose his balance temporarily so the gods were able to escape."
"MOOOO!" Hey, I deserve to be rank 2 at the very least! Give me the respect I deserve, damn it!
Thalia stretched out her hand. The cow serpent went right to her like a small puppy. Thalia placed her hand on his head, patting it distractedly. But the look in her eyes. . . it bothered Naruto. It was the same hungry look Sasuke always got whenever he was offered the prospect of more power.
"Thalia?" Naruto began cautiously.
"The power to overthrow Olympus," Thalia muttered. "That's huge."
"MOOO?" Not gonna lie, you're kinda freaking me out, girl. Mind not looking at me the same way you would look at a juicy cheeseburger?
Zoe shook her head. "We cannot sacrifice it, Thalia. Power gained by killing the innocent. . . I do not know the effect it will have on you, but it surely will not be good."
"But. . . can you imagine - "
Naruto laid his hand on Thalia's shoulder. "Thalia," he said gently. "There are many paths in becoming strong. This is not one of them."
Zoe nodded. "Indeed. I have seen better heroes than you perish because of their desire for power. Do not make the same mistake they had."
Thalia hesitated, but the look in her eyes was slowly fading away. "You're right guys," she rubbed her forehead. "I don't know what came over me there." She smiled down at the Ophiotaurus. "Don't worry. I won't sacrifice your entrails to fire."
"MOOOOOO!" What did I say about the S-word?! Do you want me to have another episode? I'm not lying when I say it's a trigger word!
"What should we do with it though?" Bianca frowned. "I mean, as long as it's alive, then there's always the possibility that the Titans can capture him. And then it would be all over."
"Sea creature," Percy mused. "I wonder. . . be right back, guys." And then he jumped into the water, disappearing beneath the surface.
They looked at each other.
"So what do we call you?" Bianca asked Naruto.
Naruto shrugged. "Naruto, I guess. I'm a shadow clone, but I still retain Boss's personality."
Bianca nodded. "Do you feel it when you die?"
Naruto shook his head. "No. It's an odd sensation, one that I can't really describe. But it doesn't hurt or anything."
"And when you dispel, you send memories back to the original Naruto, correct?" Zoe asked.
Naruto nodded. "Yeah."
They fell into a silence, staring into the water and waiting for Percy's return.
"Have any of you met Hades?" Bianca asked suddenly.
Thalia and Naruto shook their heads. Zoe hesitated before nodding. "I have. I've met him several times before."
"What was he like?" Bianca asked curiously.
Zoe was silent for a moment. "Bitter," she finally said. "Bitter, yet honorable. Hades had been cast out of Olympus. His family despised and feared him. But at the same time, Hades didn't let his anger and sadness get to him - much. He still performed his duties diligently. He judged the dead fairly. And he was one of the few gods who never tried to flirt with the Hunters."
"But then why didn't he ever talk to us?" Bianca pressed on. "I mean, I get that face-to-face interaction might break the Ancient Laws. But why didn't he at least leave a small note? To let us know that he was there, and he cared?" She looked away. "My entire life, I thought the only family I had was Nico. And to know that my father was there all along, and he was one of the most powerful gods, a Big Three. . ."
Zoe sighed before stepping close and pulling Bianca into a hug. Bianca's eyes widened. "Your father cares about you, Bianca," Zoe said gently. "Trust me: the gods aren't exactly the best at showing their affection. Rather terrible, actually. But that doesn't mean that they don't care."
Naruto nodded in agreement. "The Ancient Laws prevent the gods from doing many things." He should know; he lived with Apollo, after all.
"But they're gods," Thalia suddenly spoke up, a hint of anger in her tone. "You think the Ancient Laws really matter? You see gods breaking oaths sworn on the River Styx itself all the time. Percy, Bianca and I are living proof of that. So if they're capable of casually breaking the most serious oath you can make, then what's stopping them from just visiting their children?"
"The Ancient Laws are different from an oath sworn on the Styx," Naruto explained. "The laws were agreed upon by the Council, and Zeus himself enforces the laws. And he does punish the gods who break the Ancient Laws. It's one of his divine duties as the King of Olympus. Breaking the Ancient Laws isn't something to be done lightly."
Zoe nodded, stepping back from Bianca. "It is risky. In fact, if Zeus found out that Apollo had helped us, then he'll probably punish Apollo. Maybe. I don't know for sure; Zeus has a soft spot for Artemis, and Apollo helped us to help Artemis."
Thalia shook her head. "You're just fooling yourselves. The both of you. The gods don't care. The only time they show up is when their children are dying. And then all they do is turn them into a tree, or something equally useless. Luke may have been wrong about many things, but he was right about this. The gods. Don't. Care."
"You're wrong," Naruto said simply.
Thalia raised her eyebrows. "Oh? And how do you know?"
"I can't speak for Zeus, or the other gods," Naruto admitted. "But I can speak for Apollo." He stared into Thalia's electric-blue eyes. "Every time his children are doing something, he tries to be there. Musical recitals. Concerts. Art galleries. Basketball games. I cannot tell you how many times he randomly burst into a song - or gods forbid, a poem - about one of his children's achievements."
Thalia's eyes widened.
"And you know what?" Naruto spread his arms. "He's there for his children, even if they don't know it. Even with the Ancient Laws restraining his actions, he still does everything he can to be a good dad."
There was a moment of absolute silence.
"I. . . never knew that about Apollo," Zoe said, stunned.
Thalia nodded slowly. "I mean. . . wow. He really does all that?"
Naruto nodded. "Yup." He suddenly smiled as he caught sight of something. "And Bianca, you know how I know that Hades truly does care for you?"
"How?" Bianca asked.
Naruto grinned. "Look behind you."
They turned around and their eyes grew wide. There was a small crack in the concrete ground. And in the middle of the crack stood a beautiful quiver full of arrows with solid black arrowheads. Stygian Iron arrows.
Bianca ran towards it, shocked. "Dad? Is this. . . from you?"
"There's a note," Zoe pointed out.
Sure enough, attached to the quiver was a small slip of paper. Bianca read it, then smiled uncertainly. "Umm. . . I guess you're right, Naruto?"
Naruto tilted his head. "What did it say?"
She handed him the note. Zoe and Thalia stood next to him to read it. In a really bad handwriting, it read:
I'm proud of you, daughter.
"Coming from Hades, this is practically him saying 'I love you'," Zoe breathed.
Bianca's uncertain smile melted into a joyful one. "Really?"
Zoe nodded. "Yeah."
Next to Naruto, Thalia had stiffened up angrily. Then, without saying a word, she walked back to the Ophiotaurus, who was still in the water, swimming in circles. She knelt down, the Ophiotaurus swimming back to her, and began patting the Ophiotaurus on the head once more.
Bianca looked at her in concern. "Did I do something?" she whispered.
Naruto paused. "I don't know her that well. Zoe?"
She shook her head. "I have no idea. We may have to ask Percy."
As if on cue, Percy burst out of the water like he was shot out from a cannon. He landed on the surface of the water. "Hey guys, good news," he said happily. "Dad agreed to help us out. He'll keep the Ophiotaurus safe in his palace. Bessi - Ophiotaurus, isn't that great?"
"MOOOO!" The Sea God? Yeah, I can get behind that. Where's my entourage?
A moment later, a whirlpool formed around the Ophiotaurus, dragging him away.
"MOOOO!" Is this supposed to happen?
The whirlpool collapsed into itself, there was a flash of green-blue light, and when the water settled, the Ophiotaurus was gone.
Percy grinned. "You won't believe how the negotiations with Dad went - " he finally looked at them properly and saw their faces. An angry, hurt gaze on Thalia. A confused look on Bianca. Identical expressions of calm on Zoe and Naruto that covered up a slight bit of panic. "Oh. What did I miss?"
"You talked to your dad, huh?" Thalia spoke up bitterly. "Let me guess: he said that he was proud of you?"
Percy blinked. "Actually, yeah. He said that I got moxy. I don't really know what that meant though." He shrugged. "How did you know?"
Thalia laughed - a broken, harsh sound. "I see. Luke and I were wrong. It's not that the gods don't care about their children. It's just that our parents don't care."
She stood up and began walking back. "Come on, let's go save Lady Artemis."
Percy stared at her, confused, before looking at the others. "What happened?" he whispered tensely. "Hey, Bianca, where did you get that quiver full of arrows from?"
"Dad," she responded. "He also left a note." She showed Percy the slip of paper.
Percy's eyes grew wide. "No way," he breathed. "Hades wrote this? This is practically an 'I love you' with three exclamation marks for him!" His gaze darkened. "I can see why Thalia would be hurt by this."
At the other's confused looks, he sighed. "Look at it from Thalia's perspective. From what Annabeth's told me, Thalia prayed to Zeus almost every night when she was on the run with Luke and Annabeth. But Zeus never answered her. He barely showed any acknowledgement that she was even alive. But now that she's seeing Poseidon and even Hades sending their children gifts and encouraging messages and generally being halfway decent parents. . ." he trailed off. "I'll go talk to her."
Percy jogged on ahead.
"Being a demigod is hard, isn't it?" Bianca said as they watched Percy start whispering to Thalia.
Zoe nodded. "It is. But don't worry. As a Hunter of Artemis, you don't have to worry about any of that." She smiled. "After all, we're family now. And family takes care of each other."
"I know I'll be fine," Bianca whispered, "But what about Nico?"
XxX
Nico di Angelo was having the time of his life.
He found out he was a demigod, which was so cool! One of his parents was a god. An actual Greek god. And he made friends! The kids at Westover Hall had all thought he was weird and uncool, but the demigods at Camp Half-Blood were actually friendly and accepting. And not only that, but he had played Capture the Flag with live weapons!
And now, Beckendorf, the son of Hephaestus, was fitting him out for custom armor!
"Now see, I make it a general policy to never get the measurement of guys," Beckendorf spoke as he jotted down some notes. A small robot - an automaton - extended its limb and a laser beam hit Nico. Nico watched it interestedly as the red dot traced down his arm. "Unfortunately, when I craft custom armor, I kind of have to."
The laser beam shut off and some numbers flashed onto the automaton's display.
"So here's the deal," Beckendorf continued. "After I'm done, I destroy all the notes I made of your measurements. In return, you never mention the fact that I measured you. Especially to the girls. Especially to Silena. Deal?"
Nico nodded happily. He didn't really understand how the automaton worked, but apparently it was able to take measurements using a laser.
"Alright. What did you want again?" Beckendorf pulled out a screwdriver and a few metal trinkets that Nico didn't know the name of.
"Hmm. . ." Nico's eyebrows furrowed in thought. "Hey, you said you would make me ten sets of armor, right?"
Beckendorf crossed his arms. "I can either make you ten sets, or I can make you a single set of armor with everything you could possibly ever wish for all crammed into it. And I'll even repair it for you if it gets broken."
"One set of armor is fine," Nico said immediately. He didn't really want to trouble Beckendorf to make him ten sets of armor. Even though Nico could wear a different set of armor for each day of the week if he had ten sets. . .
Besides, Nico understood the importance of quality over quantity. It didn't matter how many dryads you had in your deck; against a single god, they would all be toast.
Beckendorf nodded approvingly. "Do you have anything in mind?"
"Make it black," Nico suggested. "With orange designs on it." The same colors as Naruto.
Beckendorf rolled his eyes. "Aesthetics are for last. Let's focus on the important bits first. How about this. I'll name off some features, and you tell me if you want it or not."
"Okay."
"Hmm. . . what's your fighting style?"
Nico blinked. "Uhh. . ."
"You're pretty small," Beckendorf mused. "Anything too heavy would only weigh you down. I doubt you can get into the tanky fighting style that the Ares cabin favors, so the armor would have to be pretty lightweight." He began scribbling on a piece of paper. "How flexible are you, Nico?"
"What? I can touch my toes, I guess? What does that matter?"
"I know campers who integrate acrobatics and whatnot into their fighting style," Beckendorf explained. "For those campers, I have to use an extremely flexible material for their armor. After all, you can't exactly do a back arch if you have a thick metal chestplate on."
Nico's eyes widened in comprehension. "Ooohhh. I. . . I don't really have a fighting style yet," he confessed. "But I want to learn Naruto's."
Beckendorf's eyebrows rose in interest. "Naruto?" He crossed out the rudimentary drawing on the paper. "If you're going to fight like Naruto, then traditional armor is not the one for you. In fact. . . I think I'll use my Hunters of Artemis armor blueprints."
"Hunters of Artemis armor blueprints?"
"Theoretical drafts I had created a few years back," Beckendorf clarified. "I brainstormed some armor ideas that would preserve speed, agility, and maneuverability while also providing adequate protection. How does that sound?"
Nico nodded slowly. "Would it allow me to fight like Naruto?"
Beckendorf scratched his head. "I've never seen Naruto actually fight before. However, I do know that Naruto doesn't like to wear armor - I overheard bits of his conversation before Capture the Flag - so I'm willing to bet that his fighting style hinges on not having anything weigh him down. The armor I have in mind for you would do just that."
"Sure, why not?" Nico shrugged.
"Alright. Now I just need you to sign a few forms to release me and Camp Half-Blood from all responsibility. . ."
XxX
"This. Is. Awesome," Nico breathed.
Beckendorf grinned. "Pretty cool, right?"
Nico admired the armor - although armor was a bit of a misnomer. It was as flexible as silk, and it was all black with some orange designs. If Nico didn't know any better, he'd think that it was just a normal sweater and pants.
"I wove Celestial Bronze threads - extremely rare and expensive, by the way - into silk. It's not that strong, but it will stop all piercing and slashing attacks. Of course, you'll still bruise heavily if someone stabs you with a spear, but at least you won't have a hole in your stomach."
"Why don't all demigods use something like this?" Nico asked as he quickly put it on.
Beckendorf shrugged. "Celestial Bronze armor absorbs force better. All the Celestial Bronze threads does is prevent anything from piercing through; it doesn't negate the impact."
"Huh. So which is better?"
Beckendorf shrugged again. "It depends on the user. For you, I would personally say Celestial Bronze threads, simply because normal armor would just weight you down. Not to mention how you said you wanted to fight like Naruto, who doesn't use armor."
Finished donning his armor, Nico looked down at himself. The material was cool and lightweight - not heavy and sagging like the armor he had worn the other night. And it fit him perfectly, adhering to his skin effortlessly. "Hey Beckendorf, you got a knife?"
"Yup."
Beckendorf handed Nico a knife. Nico took a deep breath in preparation. Beckedorf's eyes flashed with alarm. "Wait, what are you going to - "
Then Nico stabbed himself in the stomach as hard as he could. It hurt, like it had when one of the kids at Westover Hall punched him in the stomach. However. . . Nico looked down. The knife didn't pierce through. The armor didn't even look scratched.
Nico grinned through the pain. "Thank you so much, Beckendorf!"
Beckendorf blinked slowly, as if he wasn't comprehending what Nico had just done. Then he said, almost mechanically, "Don't mention it. Seriously, don't. To anyone."
XxX
With his new armor, Nico felt almost invincible. Sure, he knew that realistically, every camper here could still beat him up, but still. At least he wouldn't be beat up that badly.
He wondered how Bianca was doing on the quest. What if she - Nico dismissed those thoughts immediately. Both Naruto and Percy had promised to protect Bianca. And even though he didn't really like Zoe, Nico admitted that she was pretty strong too. Thalia too.
In fact, the entire quest was stacked. Two children of the Big Three, the lieutenant of the Hunters of Artemis, and Naruto. It was like having the cards of Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, and Kronos. The team was overpowered.
Bianca was fine.
Speaking of the Hunters of Artemis. . . they were currently out in the forest, doing Hunter things. Chiron had forbade all the campers from entering the forest, but that didn't stop Travis and Connor from sneaking in. After they had regained consciousness in the infirmary, they revealed that the Hunters were training extremely hard. Sparring, target practice, and other training stuff. . . clearly, the incident with Artemis being captured had inspired them all to grow stronger so that they could defend their mistress from future dangers.
Or at least, that's what Chiron had theorised. Maybe the Hunters were all just really violent or stuff.
At any rate, Nico had to ask the Hunters something. He knew that he would be disobeying Chiron, but oh well. Chiron didn't scare him. Compared to Bianca, Chiron was nothing.
He waited until he was certain that no one was watching before slipping into the forest. He still had the small bronze knife Beckendorf had given him. He gripped it tightly, his eyes darting around. If a monster came, then he should be fine. He had his new custom armor.
Fortunately, no monster appeared, and Nico safely made his way over to where the Hunters were training. He crouched in the shadows of a tree, mentally rehearsing what he was going to ask.
Nico wanted to find out what the Hunters of Artemis's visitation policy was. He knew the Hunters of Artemis didn't allow boys to travel with them, but was he allowed to visit on the holidays? Would Bianca be allowed to visit him?
He gritted his teeth unconsciously. The Hunters of Artemis stole Bianca from him. She was his sister. She was supposed to be there for him. She was his family. But she left him for those. . . those sister-stealing. . . girls. (Nico really needed to learn some cuss words). And now, Nico is forced to find out the visitation policy for visiting his own sister.
Needless to say, Nico didn't like the Hunters of Artemis very much. However, as he watched them train, he admitted that it would be pretty cool to be a Hunter. Immortality, increased speed and agility, everyone accepting you for who you are. . . it was a good package. If only they didn't ban boys.
There were only nine Hunters, but it was as if there were double that because of how fast they were moving. Nico watched in awe as one of them performed a backflip while firing three arrows. The arrows streaked forward and slammed into the center of the makeshift targets they had set up. Whoa - Nico abruptly shook his head.
No. The Hunters of Artemis are bad. They took Bianca away from him. They didn't like him because he's a boy. Well, that's fine. Nico didn't like them either.
Nico took a deep breath, put on his serious face, then walked forward - and froze when an unholy sound hit him. Fear and terror took over Nico's mind as primal instincts told him to RUN. He staggered backwards but his muscles refused to obey. He was afraid. He was going to die. He was going to die. He was going to die -
"Oh man. Haven't done that in a while," a satyr materialized into existence in the middle of the Hunters. The Hunters, however, didn't react. Having been right next to the source of the sound, they were all frozen. A Hunter who was in the middle of a complex set of acrobatics crashed to the ground. She didn't even blink.
A woman materialized as well. She had torch earrings on. "I have to say, this was easier than I had expected. All it took was some panic from you to destabilize their mentals, and then I just used the Mist to incapacitate them entirely." She smiled as she walked up to the nearest Hunter, touching her cheek. The Hunter didn't react at all.
The satyr chuckled. Nico noticed that the satyr had multiple machines hooked up to him. The machines you see in hospitals. "Ah, Hecate. You scare even me sometimes. What did you do to them?"
Hecate shrugged. "Currently, they all think that they're still training and that everything is normal." She smirked. "So much for the Hunters of Artemis. Taken out by two minor gods."
"I mean, we were shrouded in six layers of Mist," the satyr shrugged. "And it's not as if they had any reason to suspect an attack in the middle of Camp Half-Blood."
Hecate chuckled. "Fair enough."
The satyr looked around despondently. "You know, there are a lot of satyrs at this camp still looking for me. Pan, the God of the Wild. I wonder how they'll react when they see how far I've fallen," he muttered bitterly.
"It's the Olympians' fault," Hecate consoled. "If they truly wanted to, then they could've easily prevented you from fading. But they don't care. After all, you're just a minor god. To them, you're disposable."
Pan sighed. "I don't know. It just feels like I'm letting all the satyrs down." He gazed at his life support machines for a second. "Whatever. Let's go."
Hecate nodded, snapping her fingers. The Hunters all stiffened before they began marching in unison, an illusion compelling their minds to move. "I have to say, it's a rather ingenious plan. Artemis isn't here to protect them. Not only are we eliminating enemies, but it also has the added bonus of providing nine demigods to hold up the sky in rotating intervals."
"I can see why they call Kronos the Crooked One," Pan began walking and his life support machines floated alongside him. "While everyone's busy freaking out about Artemis, Kronos is already twenty steps ahead. The Hunters of Artemis are powerful, and removing them this early on would greatly increase the Titan Lord's odds of victory."
"Indeed." They began leaving, the Hunters walking like zombies behind them.
Nico was still frozen, partly out of fear, partly out of shock at what he just heard. Artemis being captured was a distraction to get rid of the Hunters of Artemis. And Nico is the only one who knows. What should he do? Go after them? No, there's no way that he would win in a fight. They were gods, and he was new.
Should he go back into Camp and get help? No, that would be too slow. By the time they believed him and got here, the Hunters would be long gone.
What would Naruto do?
Go after the Hunters and save them. The answer arrived in Nico's mind all at once. Naruto wouldn't wait around; he would go after them, beat up the two gods, then rescue the Hunters.
Could Nico do it?
Perhaps not. But he still had to try.
And so Nico finally broke free of the fear rooting him down and began sprinting after the Hunters. He had no plan. He had no experience. He had no backup. And he was about to fight against two gods. All he had were sheer guts and will and the desire to be like Naruto and Percy.
Bianca was going to kill him.
XxX
Naruto sprinted around impatiently. Where the hell was the Garden?
The moment he had entered Sage Mode, he had sensed Artemis immediately. He had quickly knocked out the mortal mercenaries, left several shadow clones behind, then immediately went on ahead to the mountain. He had thought it would be simple enough: get up to the top, defeat anyone and everyone who got in his way, then free Artemis.
But it wasn't that simple. When he had arrived, there was nothing. At the top of the mountain, there were only trees and rocks and stuff. No Artemis. Nothing.
And then one of his shadow clones had dispelled, sending him the information that apparently you could only get to the summit through the Garden of the Hesperides. Which only appeared at twilight. And it existed in its own realm.
What the hell.
Naruto resorted to just walking around and randomly attacking the air with a Rasengan, hoping to break past the fabrics of reality. It didn't seem to be working, sadly.
He knew that the gods could arrive in the Garden of the Hesperides whenever they wanted, so there must be a secret entrance. Or maybe they just teleported? That must be it. The gods simply teleported into the Garden of the Hesperides whenever they wanted.
Whatever the case, Naruto was for sure not going to wait until twilight. Artemis was right there. Naruto could sense her. But he couldn't reach her. It was extremely vexing.
Both the Garden and the apex of Mount Othrys were lifted out of this dimension and existed in their own realms. And the only way to enter was during twilight.
Naruto didn't know how to travel through dimensions. He didn't have the Kamui or the Rinnegan. He could theoretically throw something together with seals, but that would take way too long. There had to be a way to bypass this obstacle. Some jutsu -
Wait.
Perhaps the solution didn't lie in trying to brute force his way through with chakra but rather trying to get around it within the rules of this world. Instead of wasting the time to figure out a hack or a cheat, Naruto should just find a loophole or an exception like he always did.
He had lectured Obito to never take the shortcut, but here he was, trying to look for a shortcut that may not even be there. Nope. No longer. That's not the Naruto way.
However, if he was going to beat this within this world's rules. . . Naruto crossed his arms, his eyebrows furrowed in thought.
The gods had lifted the Garden and the peak of Mount Othrys out of the normal space-time to prevent heroes from easily reaching Atlas. That meant that divine power was used. But how?! What spell could the gods have used? They didn't have the power of Chaos, who could create dimensions like Tartarus or Erebus with a single thought. All the gods could have done was -
Oh.
Oh!
Naruto's eyes widened in revelation. He was so stupid.
This entire time, he had thought that the gods had used a spell to lift the area out of space-time. A jutsu equivalent. But it was so much simpler than that. Naruto couldn't believe he didn't think of it.
He closed his eyes and entered Sage Mode again. Once again, he could sense Artemis up at the summit along with several others. And just a few hundred feet away from Naruto, he could sense five beings. That must be the Hesperides and Ladon, the dragon tasked with guarding the Garden.
Naruto quickly made his way over, crossing the distance in a second. He could sense them around him. But he couldn't see them. He couldn't touch them. He couldn't hear them.
Reality only exists when it is being observed.
None of his senses worked. Except for his intuition screaming at him that they were there and his Sage Mode. And that was enough.
They are there.
The Garden of Hesperides was right around him.
He was in the Garden of Hesperides.
And the Mist around him shattered.
XxX
Fighting on an empty stomach was just asking for trouble, which is why Zoe led them to the nearest sandwich shop and bought some food, manipulating the Mist so the cashier would think they paid.
"Low blood sugar has led to the deaths of too many demigods," Zoe informed them. "Always make sure to eat before battle. Hunger is the enemy."
"Hey, do you even eat?" Percy asked Naruto curiously as he bit into his sandwich.
Naruto shook his head. "I'm a shadow clone, a construct made up of chakra."
"Then can I have yours?"
Naruto passed his sandwich over to Percy, who took it gratefully.
"Should we go to the mountain now?" Thalia scanned their surroundings, looking for a car to hotwire. Thankfully, after her talk with Percy, she seemed to have returned to her normal self, although she did cast a few glances towards the quiver when she thought that no one was looking.
Zoe nodded. "Yes. There is nothing left us to do besides saving Lady Artemis. The Ophiotaurus is safe with Poseidon. Can you acquire transportation for us please?"
Thalia nodded. "On it." She headed over to the nearest car and began picking the lock.
"We're early by demigod standards," Percy remarked. "Typically, we're only supposed to arrive at the last minute. But a full day? The winter solstice isn't until tomorrow!"
"It's unthinkable," Zoe agreed.
"I mean, is it just me, or is this a little too easy? We didn't even have a near-death experience yet on this quest!"
Bianca blinked. "Do you want a near-death experience?"
"No, of course not," Percy replied. "But it scares me when we have had none. It makes me think that all of our bad luck is being saved up and will be unleashed all at once at the very end."
Zoe tilted her head. "Considering the fact that we'll have to fight the General, it's not a bad prediction."
Percy winced. "Right."
"How strong is Atlas, really?" Bianca asked.
Zoe hesitated. "He's the second strongest Titan after the Titan Lord himself. We just have to pray to the gods that he'll be prideful enough to not enter his divine form for mere mortals."
"Oh yeah. If we even look at him, then we'll disintegrate - " Percy was interrupted by Zoe shaking her head.
"No. Atlas is a Titan. If he enters his divine form, then we'll disintegrate in his very presence."
Naruto raised his eyebrows. An area-of-effect disintegration effect? Good luck, Boss.
Percy paled. "What?"
Zoe nodded. "We'll just have to rescue Artemis immediately and hope that she'll be able to fight him off. And that backup would come."
"Backup would be nice," Percy agreed bleakly.
XxX
"Father, I'm not saying that you should go down there personally," Apollo paced around the throne room agitatedly. "But at least toss down a few lightning bolts on Atlas!"
Zeus stared at him with an unimpressed stare. "You know how I feel about interference in mortal affairs - "
"Damn it, this is no longer a mortal affair! This is Atlas. The general of the Titan army!" Apollo threw up his arms. "Do you honestly think Artemis and a few demigods would be able to stop him?"
Zeus crossed his arms. "A god shouldn't do a hero's job for them. Saving Artemis isn't our duty; it's theirs."
Apollo blinked. "Father, Atlas once took on all six elder Olympians and nearly won."
"Not my problem. You know the rules as well as I do. Obey them," Zeus commanded. "Understand?"
There was a brief battle of wills. Zeus won, of course. He always did. One of the perks of having the master bolt right next to his throne.
"Fine," Apollo's form glowed golden before he entered his divine form. "I'll do as you wish."
"But Apollo?" Zeus called.
"What?" Apollo snapped.
Zeus's expression was stony and stern, but a small twinkle appeared in his electric blue eyes. "While the god Apollo isn't allowed to do anything. . . Fred isn't a god, so he can do whatever he pleases. Not that I know who Fred is, of course."
Apollo's eyes widened in shock before he grinned. "Thank you, Father."
And then the twinkle was gone and Zeus was serious again. "Now leave. I have an annual council meeting to prepare for, and it's going to be a massive pain."
XxX
Apollo materialized in San Francisco in his Fred form once more. He didn't really like going incognito - he preferred to expose his awesomeness to as many people as he could - but when he had to, he would.
"Apollo?"
Apollo whirled around, surprised that someone recognized him - then his breathing stopped. "You. What are you doing here? How did you even know where I would appear?"
She laughed. "You're as predictable as always, dear. Sit down. We need to talk."
Apollo hesitated before shaking his head. "Sorry, beautiful, but I can't. I have business to attend to - "
"It's about Artemis."
Apollo focused intently on the woman in silver. "In which case, tell me everything. . . Selene."
Selene nodded. "It all started when I got a message from Prometheus. . ."
There has to be multiple dimensions within PJO. The Underworld, Tartarus, Olympus. . . they're all different dimensions that are all interconnected with each other into one big dimension.
I forgot to mention this, but this world only has PJO gods. No Egyptian. No Norse. No other pantheon besides Greek and Roman.
After scouring the wiki, I've come to a conclusion. There are two types of Mist. The first is the illusionary type. The second is the reality-changing type. The Titan palace and the Labyrinth rose/expanded from the Mist. Everything shifted from Greece to America due to the Mist. That's how I'm doing things. Because just saying *magic* feels kinda cheap. Don't worry, I'll go deeper in explanations in future chapters. Just know that the Garden and the summit are places shrouded in Mist, and the Mist is what lifted them out of the normal reality. Just like Ogygia (precedence ftw!)
Natural energy, as defined in Naruto wiki, is just the energy of the world. Rocks, water, air, earth. . . everything has it. In this world, gods are connected to all these things. Ergo, natural energy is a god's energy.
Naruto is still half-god, so he'll still be affected by the Mist and stuff. Kaguya is not a goddess in PJO terms. She has no domains, she isn't tied to people's belief, etc. She is not divine. Similarly, Kurama also isn't divine at all. However, as far as Naruto is concerned, Kaguya is a goddess, which is why he refers to her as such. I think I confused some people.
Since I decided on not killing Bianca, Nico is now a blank slate. It should be fun to write.
Thank you all for reading, and please review :)
euphoric
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Jump:Chapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 4Chapter 5Chapter 6Chapter 7Chapter 8Chapter 9Chapter 10Chapter 11Chapter 12Chapter 13Chapter 14Chapter 15Chapter 16Chapter 17Chapter 18Chapter 19Chapter 20Chapter 21
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