章 8: Chapter 8
Seven days, the days remaining until the summer solstice and the deadline for this quest.
The train could only take them to Denver, so they were on their own. They smelled of body odor and the train only offered so much food.
"We need to contact Chiron and tell him of your progress," said Annabeth
"How are we supposed to that," said Percy, "you told me that phone will attract monsters."
"She's not talking about using a phone," said Naruto, "We'll most likely IM Chiron."
"Instant messaging?" asked Percy.
"No, Iris Messaging," said Annabeth as they arrived at a do-it-yourself car wash.
"We'll using the services of Iris, the goddess of Rainbows and the second messenger to the gods," said Naruto.
"But I thought Hermes did that" asked Percy.
"You have a lot to learn about the gods Percy," said Naruto, "especially the minor gods."
"Do any of you have a quarter?" asked Annabeth
"Sorry no," said Naruto, "Anyway back to the topic, the minor gods barely get any credit for what they do. Asclepius is the god of Healing and medicine, but most of the credit goes to Apollo as he is also a god of medicine."
Percy didn't know what to say as his knowledge of history was basic at best, so he couldn't argue with him. Percy saw that Grover was pumping the water with Annabeth held the nozzle with a fine mist of water coming out of it. Annabeth handed the nozzle to Naruto as she took out a drachma;
"O goddess accept this offering," said Annabeth and afterward tossed the coin into the mist, "Half-blood hill."
Nothing happened at first, but the mist changed into an image of the camp, the sight of strawberry fields and the occasional camper would appear. The imaged stopped when the appearance of Luke appeared, he looked behind when he felt that someone was watching him.
"Hey guys how's the quest going?" asked Luke
"So far this quest could be better as we ran into Medusa and a squad of Furies," said Naruto as his sister was straightening out her clothes and hair, "How are things on your end?"
"Things could be better," said Luke, "News of the lightning bolt got out, and the camp is starting to take sides."
"How bad are we talking" asked Naruto
"Some battles have broken out," said Luke, "Most of them were started by Ares cabin, and Aphrodite's cabin has set up a defensive barricade around your shop."
"Why?" asked Naruto
"Apparently it was an order from their mother," said Luke, "They also had Hephaestus's children help build some of the walls."
"Those girls can be persuasive," said Naruto, "I know from personal experience."
"Don't we all?" said Luke, "Listen Hades had to be the one, he had the motive and opportunity. He was there at the winter conference, and we all know how much he hates his siblings.
"Don't make any assumptions until we have definitive facts?" said Naruto
"I know, but all the facts lead to Hades," said Luke, "I have to go a new fight just broke out."
After the image faded and the mist dissipated, the group of four were just standing there just digest all this new information.
"This is shaping up to be another Trojan War except with time all the gods will be involved," said Naruto
"Now we have even more pressure to finish this quest," said Annabeth
"Why is Aphrodite's cabin guarding your workshop?" asked Percy
"You really need to read more Percy," said Naruto, "She is the goddess of Love, Lust, Beauty, and Procreation so she would protect any of her precious resources aka me."
"Again I ask why," asked Percy.
"Percy who do you think makes most of her clothes or why her daughters always flocked me whenever I come out" said Naruto, "I'm one of her precious resources, so If my shop is destroyed in the crisis her orders would be delayed, and everyone knows she doesn't have any patience when it comes to her clothing."
"Oh, well I guess that's a good reason," said Percy
Percy remained silent while Annabeth and Naruto started to discuss possible strategies in the future. After twenty minutes until they reached a retro diner and sit at an empty table. A waitress came to their table and asked if they had any money, but before they could answer the roar of a motorcycle was heard outside. It was the size of a baby elephant with the gas tank painted with flame decals and has a shotgun holster on the side. The seat was disturbing as it looked like Caucasian skin with various lines of stitching. The guy was huge and muscular with a red shirt covering his massive arms. He also wore blue denim jeans and a leather duster, on his side was a hunting knife with a leather holster with depictions of war. He had on a dark red shade and had greasy black hair, but the feature that drew their attention were his scars. His body was covered in them from chop marks to puncture marks, but for some reason, he felt familiar. The biker entered the diner, walked towards the group and sat at their table, the waitress didn't seem fazed as she asked the same question.
"It's on me," said the cyclist as the waitress stood still, "Why are still here."
"Hello Ares, always a pleasure," said Naruto, "I see that you still refuse my services."
"Naruto is nice" whispered Annabeth.
"It's alright I like them with a little attitude," said Ares, "as long as he knows who's in charge."
"You're Clarisse's father," said Percy
"Yes and I heard you broke her spear," said Ares
"She was asking for it," said Percy
"It's alright, but not why I'm here," said Ares, "I have a proposition for you."
The waitress brought a significant amount of food to the table consisting of burgers, fries and various other diner classics. Are's dug in his pocket for drachma, but before he could give them, Naruto intervened by giving the waitress a roll of money.
"Just keep the change, something tells me we'll be here for a while," said Naruto
"Smart, anyway back to the assignment," said Ares
"What's the assignment," asked Naruto as Percy would have said something stupid
"I left my shield at the abandoned waterpark after my date," said Ares, "get the shield and get back here."
"Why can't you go and get it yourself," said, Percy
"I could turn you into a prairie dog and run you over with my ride," said Ares, "My time is precious, and I'm giving you a chance to make this little quest of yours go faster, including information on your mother."
"Ares war-like aura was affecting Percy as his fist was clenched underneath the table. Naruto, the closest to Percy, could tell Percy was holding his anger back.
"We'll try our best to retrieve your shield," said Naruto, "just make sure you keep your end of the bargain."
"Do you doubt I would keep my end?" said Ares
"Slightly as history has shown that some of the gods do go back on their word," said Naruto, "Wasn't that the reason for the oath."
"You are clever, but that wisdom of your will get you in trouble one day," said Ares
"Good thing my mother hardly notices me," said Naruto as the group scooted out of their seats, "I think she sees me more like a specimen than her child."
"That's why I like you kid," said Ares
"You also like me because I make you 'girlfriend' of yours happy," said Naruto
"Also true," said, Ares, as he dug into a plate of chicken wings.
It took about a few minutes to locate the water park, and by the look of it, it did not look like the place a man would take a woman. The letters were falling off, and the rides looked like they would fall apart at the slightest touch.
"Man, what kind of girlfriend does Ares have," said Percy
"I would be careful if I were you, his girlfriend can be temperamental," said Annabeth
"She values her beauty above everything else and trust me I would know," said Naruto
"Who is she Echidna," said Percy
"No Percy, Ares girlfriend is Aphrodite," said Naruto, "as in the one that decides your love life."
"So she hooked up with Ares," said Percy, "She must really like bikers."
"Not really, her taste varies depending on her mood," said Naruto
"How would you know this?" said Percy
"I'm the one that makes most of her clothes," said Naruto
"What! I thought she was married to someone?" asked Percy
"Hephaestus," said Grover
Percy wanted to continue the conversation, but the entrance to the park came up, and they discovered their first obstacle, the gate was locked.
"Maia" shout Grover as his shoes sprouted wings and the flow over the fence
"I'll take care of this," said Naruto as he touched the gate, flattening it and allowing the remaining three to pass through.
The names of the rides were humorous, such as Ankle biter island and Head over Wedgie, but the first thing Annabeth saw was the park store.
"Cloths, fresh clothes," said Annabeth,
'She may deny it, but she does have her girly moments' thought Naruto as he followed his sister
After changing into some fresh clothes and storing some additional supplies to a large backpack, the group of four started to look for Ares shield.
"I wonder why Ares left his date so suddenly?" asked Percy
"He probably suspect Hephaestus set a trap for the two," said Annabeth
"He knows!" said Percy
"Percy he's known for multiple centuries, he even caught the two in a net and invited the other gods and goddess to laugh at them." said Naruto, "that's the reason why the two go to these places for their dates."
"I believe we just found our objective," said Annabeth
Looking at what Annabeth was pointing at an empty pool that was twenty-five feet in diameter, ten feet deep and surrounded by multiple statues of Cupid and in the middle of it was a bronze shield in the middle of it in one of the abandoned boats
'This seems too easy' thought Naruto, 'something doesn't add up.'
"Grover any monster nearby?" asked Percy
"I can't smell anything," said Grover
"Are you sure, you didn't smell anything on the Arch?" said Percy
"Percy we were underground and surrounded by other scents," said Naruto,
"Anyone could have missed the scent."
While they were talking Annabeth looked at one of the statues and saw the Greek letter eta on the base;
'Eta, why does that sound familiar' thought Annabeth
"Well I guess one of us should go down," said Percy
"One of us should accompany you," said Naruto, "strength in numbers."
"I'll go," said Grover
"No you're needed up here," said Percy, "You're our red baron."
"I guess I'll stay up here two as I could provide you guys with a rope to get back up," said Naruto
'Annabeth is not going to like this' thought Naruto as he started to weave the rope together.
He was about five feet in when he finally heard Annabeth's reply to accompanying Percy down into the bowl. Apparently, Percy neglected to see what the ride was called, Thrill ride o'love: This is not your Parents' tunnel of love, and was embarrassed because she was afraid someone would see them.
"Annabeth we're the only ones here," said Percy, "so I highly doubt anyone will see us."
"If anything happens I'm blaming you," said Annabeth as they began to descend.
It took a while, but the two made it to the bottom and made their way to the shield. Percy saw the shield and saw something else, a bright pink scarf that looked like it was made from silk. For some odd reason he was drawn to it, but before he could touch it Annabeth snatched it;
"No, you under the influence of Love magic will only hinder the quest," said Annabeth as she folded the scarf, "just grab the shield."
Percy went into the car to grab the shield but was met with some resistance. He tried multiple times, and after the fifth try, he finally managed to lodge the shield loose, only to activate a trap. The shield was connected to a string that would enable a series of gears, turning the cupid statues and having them fire at the rim of the pool trapping the unfortunate target. Once the threads were anchored, it would unravel creating a fine net, when Grover tried to unravel the strands only to find out that the string would latch onto anything. To make matters worse, the statues heads started to open up to reveal camera and began to count down. When Naruto came closer to the net an odd reaction started to happen, the threads would make expand letting Naruto see what was going on inside and what he saw was hilarious and scary. Hephaestus created thousands of mechanical spiders and seeing his sister climbing on top of Percy was funny to him, especially when Annabeth blinded Percy while he was swinging his sword. Naruto anchored the rope he was making on the rim and began to descend only having to hold on when a sudden earthquake happened, there was a water pipe underneath the pool, and it busted filling the pool with water. The cupid statues were almost finished counting when Percy had the 'brilliant' idea to steer the boat towards the tunnel and Having Naruto and Grover guess where they would end up. The two looked at a map of the park and saw that the exit was only a few feet away from the entrance. They raced to the exits to see Percy and Annabeth fly out of the ride luckily the two were caught, Percy was caught by Grover while Annabeth was caught by Naruto.
"Do you still have the shield?" asked Naruto.
"Yeah, it's right here on my arm," said Percy
"Good then this side quest can be completed." said Naruto, "Now let's get back to the diner and talk with Ares."
The walk back to the diner took longer as their legs hurt and they were exhausted, Percy especially. They saw that Ares was resting on his motorcycle, cleaning his nail with a knife, waiting for them to deliver his shield.
"Finally, I thought you would never return," said Ares
"We got your shield," said Naruto, "just hold up your end, and we'll be on our way."
'Why is he so antsy' thought Annabeth
"Sounds good," said Ares, "That truck over there will take you to Los Angeles."
Thank you, Ares" said Naruto as he began to walk towards the truck that Ares unlocked.
"Wait what about my mother!?" asked Percy
"All I can tell you is she isn't dead," said Ares, "Hades is most likely keeping her as a bargaining chip against Poseidon."
"This gave Percy some relief and grief as it seemed the Gods were serious about going to war. He was glad that his mother was still alive, but being told that his mother was going to be used as a bargaining chip did dampen his mood. The truck that Ares provided had the title of KINDNESS INTERNATIONAL; HUMANE ZOO TRANSPORT and by the look of it wasn't legal as the truck was dirty and smelled of decay. The staff was busy getting something to eat, this gave the group plenty of time to sneak in and look over the provisions that Ares gave them. In the backpack that Ares gave them contained double-stuff Oreos, twenty dollars, fresh clothes and a bag of drachmas.
"Do you have a history with Ares?" asked Percy.
"You could say that," said Naruto, "When I was first beginning a lot of my orders were coming from Aphrodite, and she did pay me, but I found out later that she was paying more attention to my clothes than Ares. He personally came to me and basically told me to stay away from his girl or else. I was scared, but her orders just kept coming, and I was under the obligation to fulfill the orders that were issued to me. When Ares found out that I was continuing to make Aphrodite's clothes he basically sent a hit on me, only his children followed the hit, but I was basically forced to stay in my shop. After a week and several attempts on my life, Aphrodite got wind of it and basically made her own decree, should anyone harm me he/she would face her wrath for all eternity."
"But how did it stick?" asked Percy
"She is just as powerful as the Big Three, and no one wants to face an angry female," said Naruto, "God or otherwise."
"So Ares is basically angry at you because you're spoiling his girlfriend," said Percy
"In layman terms, yes, but he's also a god and could smite me with no difficulties," said Naruto, "I respect and fear him, but I'm more afraid of his girlfriend."
The group managed to good places to hide on the truck and discovered the true purpose of this truck, transportation to the black market as locked in cages were an albino lion, a zebra, and an antelope. They looked like they've seen better days as the lion was skinny, the zebra had gum in its mane, and the antelope had a balloon tied to its antlers.
"Disgusting, we're riding on a truck for illegal trafficking," said Naruto as he removed the gum from the zebra's mane, "who knows how much these animals would go for."
"Who cares, these animals should be free not caged up and paraded around," said Grover as he fixed the food problem and Percy refilled their water bowls.
They got comfortable in the back and nibbled on the Oreos, one of the turnips for Grover, and try to discuss any topic they could think of.
"So Annabeth what's with the beads?" asked Percy
"These signify surviving another year," said Annabeth, "I've been at the camp for five years, training and hoping to test out the skills we learned."
"That's interesting but what about the ring?" asked Percy
"That Percy will come in time as that signifies a tragic time in her past," said Naruto
"O.K. what about the one with a minotaur wearing a prom dress?" asked Percy
"That's an interesting story," said Naruto." You see it all started last year and one of a big dance was coming up. One of the Apollo children thought that he was the ladies' man of the group, so they made a bet…...
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