章節 23: Chapter 23
It has been one year since the quest to the Sea of Monsters. It has also been a year since Naruto stood up to his mother. He knew she was displeased about his choices in romantic partners, but honestly, he could care less. Rachnera, the reason for his mother's displeasure, was currently in the attic weaving curtains and other goods that were made out of silk. She was inducted into Naruto's business a few months ago; she was mostly in charge of making anything out of silk. Rachnera's work received positive reviews, and orders for her silk creations had an increase in the preceding months.
Naruto was currently riding in the back seat of an SUV with Percy, Annabeth, and the recently reanimated daughter of Zeus, Thalia. Her arrival was unexpected but was a given as the campers thought that this was a sign of good fortune. It took a few days for the demigoddess to adjust to camp life, Naruto's attempt to change Thalia's style was unsuccessful as she stuck to her leather and spikes. Thalia was surprised by Luke's betrayal and even saddened by the fact that Luke was the one that poisoned her tree form.
"Do we know who we are picking up?" asked Naruto.
"Yes. Their names are Nico di Angelo and Bianca di Angelo, children of Hades." replied Annabeth, "They're currently attending a strict military school."
"What's our cover story?" asked Naruto
"We're visiting the school because we're their cousins," answered Annabeth
"Sounds believable," said Thalia "and true."
"Did we get any other intel from Grover?" asked Naruto
"Yes," replied Annabeth, "he suspects that a monster is stalking the two. Try to stick together in there and keep an eye on Nico and Bianca."
Naruto and his sister discreetly looked at Percy because he was a loose cannon when on a quest.
The group of four got to the Academy in one piece, although Percy was embarrassed because his mother kept telling stories about him in the bathtub. Now that Percy was thoroughly embarrassed and the group did a secondary check on their weapons, they went into the school and encountered their first problem, two members of the staff. The two were p dressed in Military uniforms, but the odd thing Naruto and the others noticed was the thin mustache on the woman's face. The man beside her had Heterochromia iridium or two different colored eyes, one is brown and the other being blue. Both stood as straight as a ruler and gave off an air of authority.
"Well, what are you doing here?" demanded the woman
Percy panicked for a moment before the dueled eyed man interrupted;
"Visitors are not allowed during the dance," interjected the man in what Naruto thought was the phoniest French accent he heard, "You shall be e~jected!"
Percy began to panic and went to grab his pen when Thalia took action and snapped her fingers. The sound resonated throughout the hall; Percy was confused because this was the first time he witnessed such an event.
"We're cousins to the Angelos and were thinking of enrolling in your school," said Thalia, "we were just looking around."
"Ms. Gottschalk did you know of this?" asked the man, not really believing the children, not noticing Naruto's hand began to twitch.
"Yes, I must have forgotten," said the woman as she cradled her head, "your tour is over, and you should be with the other in the gymnasium."
"How did you do that?" asked Percy in a hushed tone
"That was basic mist manipulation," replied Thalia in the same tone, "didn't Chiron teach you this?"
They arrived at the gym sooner than Percy was expecting and was greeted by Grover in his mortal disguise.
"You guys made it!" said Grover in an excited tone only to notice the two teachers behind them, "Ms. Gottschalk. Dr. Thorn, I didn't see you back there."
"What do you mean by'' made it?" asked Thorn, "Do you know these people?"
"We know each other, yes," said Naruto, "Nico told of him in his letters to us. How have you been?"
"Good, how about we continue at the punch bowl," said Grover, "I'm sure your four are thirsty after the car ride here."
"Sounds good to me," said Annabeth as she and the others followed Grover to the punch bowl.
"So, any leads?" asked Thalia once they were far enough away
"I got a hunch," answered Grover, "I think it's Dr. Thorn. He's been eyeballing Nico and Bianca for a while, and I checked his record, he's not an offender."
"Well, at least that's one less thing to worry about." said Naruto as he looked over his shoulder, "Any idea what monster he is?"
"No clue," answered Grover, "we should just keep an eye on the Angelos and wait for something to happen."
The group split up, taking positions where they can see the two demigods clearly, but Naruto decided to take a different approach.
"Hey Bianca, Nico how is life?" asked Naruto as he sat beside the two
"Good, although things seem to have changed," said Bianca, "apparently we are no longer at war."
'Right, her mind is in the 1940's' thought Naruto
"No one even knows what, 'What's buzzin', cousin' even means." Said Bianca
"Well, slang can change at a moment's notice," commented Naruto, "How about you, Nico?"
"Good, I got some new cards for my Mythomagic game." answered Nico, "But no one seems to want to play it."
"Well, Mythomagic can seem like a complicated game to some," said Naruto, "But I bet it helps you at math."
"It does," said Nico, "and I almost have all the figurines, but I can't seem to get the Hades figurine."
"Well, maybe you'll get it for your birthday or something," said Naruto
"Nico, Bianca, I wish to see you outside for a moment," said Dr. Thorn
Naruto seemed suspicious as Nico and Bianca didn't do anything wrong, so as Thorn was escorting the two Demigods outside Naruto signaled the group to his position. Grover, Annabeth, and Thalia joined Naruto on the bench, but Percy was absent from the gathering.
"Where's Percy?" Asked Annabeth
Percy Jackson only had two years of experience being a demigod, but he has yet to learn one valuable lesson, never leave the group. He saw that Dr. Thorn was escorting Bianca and Nico outside, Percy decided to investigate further, forgetting his other teammates, seeing the twins alone in the hall.
"You okay?" Asked Percy looking around only to get no reply, "It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you."
Percy continued to look around, trying to see where Dr. Thorn was, only to see the dark hallway. Percy's search was halted when a sharp object pierced his shirt, scratching his shoulders, pinning him to the wall.
'Poison,' thought Percy as he began to feel woozy
"I have to thank you for leaving the school gym," said Dr. Thorn, "I hate middle school dances."
"That idiot!" yelled Thalia, "He went rogue and went after the monster himself."
"What do you expect he's an idiot," said Naruto, "he more than likely compromised the mission."
"Then what do we do?" asked Annabeth followed by the sound of an explosion
"I saw we follow the sounds of destruction," said Naruto as he pointed towards the door.
"Don't be a smart mouth," commented Thalia
"I'm a child of Athena," said Naruto, "what do you expect."
Dr. Thorn dragged the Di Angelos and Percy to the back of the Academy and led them towards the cliff. Percy tried to stall for time for Grover and the other to rescue him and the twins, unfortunately, that didn't work too well. Dr. Thorn reached into his jacket pocket to pull something out; at first, Percy thought it was a switchblade, turnout he pulled out a cellphone to call someone.
"The packages are ready for pick-up," said Dr. Thorn
Percy couldn't understand what the other person was saying, but it couldn't be anything good. Percy looked over the edge of the cliff to see if it was a possible means of escape. It couldn't work through as he also had to rescue the twin children of Hades since children of the Big Three couldn't enter the others' domain without permission.
"Where are you taking us?" asked Percy hoping the others would arrive soon.
"To my boss," replied Dr. Thorn
"Luke?" asked Percy
"Ha! As if, no, I work for the General," said Dr. Thorn, "He is looking forward to seeing you and fulfilling your end of the plan."
"What plan? What are you talking about?" asked Percy
"You'll have to find out yourself," said Dr. Thorn as he pointed out in the distance, "your ride is here."
Approaching them was a military-grade helicopter, their spotlight pointed at them.
"You should be honored," said Dr. Thorn, "you will be joining the army that is going to change the world. If you decline, then I guess the army will have some fresh meat to eat."
"This guy is crazy," whispered Bianca
"We need jump off the cliff if we want to survive," whispered Percy back
"What! Are you crazy!" whispered Bianca, "We'll die."
"Don't worry my father will protect us and get us out of here," said Percy softly
"Does he have a boat below or something?" asked Bianca
"Something like that," replied Percy to then be knocked over by an invisible force.
"What!" exclaimed Dr. Thorn, to then be pulled back by a noose around his neck.
"Guys, now!" Shouted Naruto initiating the attack
Thalia had only been out for around a year, but something never changed, her veracity in combat. With her shield and spear in hand, she pressured Dr. Thorn to focus on her with Naruto, and Grover harassed him on the sidelines. Having enough of this, Dr. Thorn decided to change into his true form, a manticore. His once human-like body began to morph into the shape of a lion's while a scorpion tail appeared behind him, on his back quills like a porcupine surface and tense up like potential missiles. Frightened at first, the two Demigods and satyr broke through it just in time to dodge the lethal quills. Dr. Thorn then battered Thalia with his tail managing to knock her on her back, before he could press his advantage Grove took out his reed-pipes and cast a spell that entangled the manticore's legs. While all of this was happening, Bianca was having a major freak-out.
"Who are you people and what is that thing," shouted Bianca seriously wondering what was going on
"That's a manticore," gasped Nico, "He's got three-thousand attack points and plus five to saving throws!"
To Percy, that was just plain gibbous.
"Get down!" shouted Annabeth as she pushed the twins into a nearby snowbank. Remembering the gift his brother gave him, Percy activated the shield that was in his watch, saving the twins, Annabeth, and himself. Percy experienced a harder impact in his shield, peeking over it revealed to be Grover. When Percy looked towards the fight, he saw that Naruto managed to pin the manticore down, and Thalia was getting ready to slay it. Her attack was canceled when the helicopter above them blinded her, allowing Dr. Thorn to swat her with his freed tail. He then dealt with Naruto by pinning him to the Academy's wall.
"Now, do you heroes see how hopeless it is? You should just give up and die," said D. Thorn in triumph
His victory was short-lived as the sound of a hunter's horn rang through the area.
'Great, just what we need,' thought Naruto sarcastically.
He appreciated the back-up, but with this particular group, their members can be abrasive to the male gender.
"No," said Dr. Thorn looking around, "Why are they here?"
His answer came in the form of a moon-lit arrow piercing his shoulder. Angered and in pain, Dr. Thorn launched a barrage of quills in the direction of where the arrow came from, only for the barrage to be countered with more arrows. Thinking it was the trick of the light, he pulled out the arrow and countered Percy's sneak attack. While no-one was looking, Naruto freed himself from the wall and willed sutures to secure the manticore to the ground.
The archers emerged from their cover to reveal about a dozen young maidens, the youngest looking ten while the oldest looked fourteen. The donned silver parkas and ski caps with jeans, all armed with a quiver and bow. They advance with their bows taut with the one wearing a silver circlet leading them, to Percy she looked like a Persian princess. These were the Hunters of Artemis, a group of maidens under the protection and were trained by Artemis. Unfortunately, the hunters had one fatal flaw; they really hate males of any kind, which really makes working with them very tough.
"Wonderful, the hunters are here," said Thalia in a sarcastic tone
"This isn't fair!" wailed the manticore, "this is direct interference and against Ancient Law."
"Not so," said an auburn-haired girl pulled in a ponytail, her eyes were silvery yellow, her face was beautiful but was set a stern and commanding, "the hunting of wild beast is within my sphere of influence. Permission grant Zoe."
"If I can't have the demigods alive, then they're better off dead!" yelled Dr. Thorn as he tried to leap towards the twins, only to notice his feet sutured to the ground, "What the!"
"Fire!" commanded Zoe, bombarding the manticore
Seeing Dr. Thorn in danger, the people in the coper returned fire with their mounted mini-gun. Small holes appeared in the snow as the hunters and demigods dodged the bullets. Seeing an opportunity, Dr. Thorn launched himself at the only target that was open, Annabeth. The manticore grabbed the startled blonde and jumped over the cliff, Percy looked over to see where they landed only to see they disappeared.
"Mortals shouldn't see my hunts," said the auburn-haired girl she changed the crew and helicopter into a murder of ravens.
"Zoe Nightshade, always nice to see you again," said Thalia
"There are four demigods and a satyr, mine lady," said Zoe
"Some of Chiron's campers, I see," said the auburn-haired girl
"Annabeth! We need to rescue her!" shouted Percy as he peered down the cliff
"You are in no condition for jumping off cliffs, and unfortunately she is out of my reach." said the auburn-haired girl
"Let me go!" shouted Percy as the hunters began to dogpile him in an attempt to subdue him, "Who do you think you are!"
"Zoe, no!" shouted the auburn-haired girl stopping Zoe from hitting Percy, "he meant no harm; he is clearly ignorant of my identity."
"What?" asked Percy in confusion
"Percy," said Naruto as he walked over, "meet the Goddess of the Hunt, Childbirth and Maidens, Artemis."
"But she's so young?" said Percy, "aren't they usually tall and look like adults?"
"Usually, yes, but little girls are more comfortable with people around their age," explained Naruto, "I'm just speculating, though."
"You're right," replied Artemis, "I only appear in a more adult form when the council is summoned or when there are other gods around."
"Understandable Lady Artemis," said Naruto as he bowed to Artemis in a sign of respect
"Zoe gather the wounded and tell the others to set up camp," commanded Artemis
"Yes, mine Lady," replied Zoe
The atmosphere of the camp could be described as awkward, the boys treating themselves while the girls were escorted to the other side to be treated. This confused Percy as he thought everyone would be treated for wounds, but he was proven wrong when the hunters throw some bandages and gauze their way with herding the girls elsewhere.
"Why are they glaring at us?" asked Percy as he looked around the camp
"This is normal," answered Naruto, "They're great for monster elimination, but otherwise they aren't exactly friendly. They welcome any female that's looking for protection, but the two conditions are you have to be untainted and willing to swear off men forever. The hunters also have a longstanding rivalry with the camo, epically with children of love for obvious reasons."
"Percy Jackson and Naruto Uzumaki," said Zoe managing Naruto's last name a bit, "My mistress wished to speak to thee."
"Let's go, Percy," said Naruto as he got up, "we mustn't keep a goddess waiting."
Things were tense in Artemis's tent, mostly because of Naruto and Percy being glared at as they walked to it and saw that Bianca was also summoned to the tent.
"Lady Artemis, always a privilege to see you," said Naruto as he bowed and kneed to the Goddess, with Percy following as he had no idea what to do.
"At least one male how to act properly," commented Zoe
"I have summoned you two to tell me more about the manticore," said Artemis, "Bianca told me a few things about it, and I wish to confirm them with you."
"Yes, Lady Artemis, we will tell you anything you ask us," said Naruto as Percy stayed quiet
"Good," said Artemis, "let's start then."
Time had passed as Artemis asked a series of questions concerning the manticore, and whoever The General was, only gain little in the process. Having gathered everything she needed to move on to other matters, matters that concerned Bianca's future.
"Bianca Di Angelo, I am offering you a place in my ranks if you accept you will have to forsake love and never lay with a man if you don't then I'll just provide safe travel to Camp Half-Blood."
"Um, Lady Artemis, no disrespect, but she can't join your hunt," said a nervous Naruto, "or at least not yet."
'Please don't kill,' thought Naruto as he stood in Artemis's gaze
"What doth thou mean male, are thou denying her choice because of thou regard, she belongs thee," asked Zoe with anger in her tone
"Yes, why can't she join?" asked Artemis
"Because she belongs at the camp!" answered Percy, "she will be better protected there and better trained."
'Idiot!' thought Naruto, 'you just make this meeting much harder.'
"Are thou doubting mine mistress, are thou accusing her of not training or guiding others properly," accused Zoe
"No, but my reasoning is different," said Naruto trying to save Percy, "I have a contract that she signed placing her in my care."
"What are talking about!?" said Zoe in anger, "Are you not treating her like property!"
"No, not at all. I just gave her the opportunity to do an internship in my company and potentially work their full time," defended Naruto, "if it doesn't work out, she can leave with no strings attached. Your brother can tell you that this is legal."
"Let me see this contract of yours?" asked Artemis
"Lady Artemis," interjected Zoe, "he is denying her entry to your sanctuary."
"Silence, Zoe," said Artemis, "I am merely asking for proof of this employment."
"Of course, Lady Artemis," said Naruto as he produced the parchment for the Goddess.
She was looking over the contract. She noticed that it was legally binding, and there weren't any consequences for Bianca's leaving.
"Zoe, it looks like Bianca's future is out of my hands," said Artemis handing the parchment back to Naruto, "The contract is legally binding."
"What, but he could be lying and deceiving you," said Zoe
"Are you questioning my reasoning, lieutenant?" asked Artemis with an angry undertone.
"Of course, not mine Lady, it's just he's male," said Zoe
"Gender doesn't play a role in legal matters such as these." said Artemis, "go out and tell the others that we are leaving when the dawn brakes." said Artemis to Zoe, "we will also speak of this matter at another time."
"Of course, Lady Artemis," said Zoe as she gave Naruto the stink eye for getting her in trouble with her Mistress.
"Sorry for my lieutenant, she's taken to the male hating aspect of the Hunt." apologized Artemis, "we will provide you with safe passage to the camp once the sun breaks the sky."
"Of course, Lady Artemis," said Naruto, "we will take our leave and await further word from you."
"Thank you," said Artemis as Naruto and Percy left her tent.
"Where is that idiot?" said Artemis sharply, "I swear he is do lazy in the winter."
"Who are we waiting for?" whispered Percy to Naruto
"We're waiting for her brother," replied Naruto
"Who?" asked Percy
"The god of medicine, poetry, and music, Lord Apollo," replied Naruto, "I'm guessing he will be helping us get back to camp."
"He's coming and until I saw so keep your eyes closed," said Artemis as everyone closed their eyes.
A bright light shone until Artemis said until to open their eyes, looking at the now dimmed light they saw a red convertible Maserati Spyder, that was melting the snow around it, with a seventeen to eighteen looking driver. The driver got out of his car, revealing more of his features, golden hair, loafers, a pair of jeans, and wearing a sleeveless t-shirt, at first Percy mistook him for Luke but then noticed that this person seemed more playful and mischievous.
"Wow, he is hot," commented Thalia
"He is a sun god," said Naruto
"Not what I meant," said Thalia
"Little sis," shouted Apollo but to stop when his sister grabbed his ear and twisted it.
"Would you stop that! I am the older sibling; I helped our mother birth you!" replied Artemis
"Is that normal?" asked Percy
"Yes, this argument been going on for centuries," said Naruto, "they have yet to resolve the issue concerning their birth."
"Alright, so what do you want me to do?" asked Apollo
"I need you to transport my hunters and these demigods back to camp, Father has commanded me to hunt down a beast for him," said Artemis
"Well, okay," said Apollo, "time to load up. This ride only goes one way, West."
"But how are we going to fit in there?" asked Percy
"Oh, that's an easy fix," said Apollo fishing out his keys and pressed a button.
The sports car transformed into a travel bus, a stylish one but still a bus. Artemis left as soon as she saw that everything was taken care of and warned her brother not to flirt with her hunters, or there will be Tartarus to pay. Naruto didn't pay attention as he was the first one on the bus and was waiting for the others to board. He got out a book to read and pass the time but was interrupted by a crow flying through the window and landing in the empty spot beside him. He got a closer look and noticed it had a wooden holder on its back, in it was a rolled document with a wax seal closing it. Naruto took a scroll out and broke the seal revealing the context; it was multiple orders for specialty clothing. The crow flew off as before Apollo got back on the bus to drive it back to the camp. They were in the air, or a few minutes Apollo let go of the wheel and offered if anyone would like to drive? From Naruto's observation, Apollo already had someone in mind as he passed over Nico, for being too young, and Grover, for being too furry. He chose Thalia, but there was one problem, ironically, she had a fear of heights. She was reluctant, but Apollo wouldn't take no for an answer. At first, things went fine until Thalia began to dip and get too close to the ground, scorching some trees and roofs. She pulled up to compensate but overdid it, and now the sun was too far from the ground, and ice began to form down below. This pattern went on until Thalia crashed the bus, which was the sun, into the lake that was in the camp. Apollo fixed it in the end as the bus appeared on the shore, and everyone was unharmed, but they did hear the complaints from the naiads that reside in the lake. Dinner wouldn't be served for a while, so Naruto separated from the group and walked towards his cabin.
"Why did the sun crash into the lake?" asked Melinoe
"Apollo got the bright idea to let Thalia drive," answered Naruto as he walked towards his desk.
"But Thalia has acrophobia, doesn't she?" Asked Melinoe
"Yes, so if you see random forest fires of ice patched along the coast blame Apollo," said Naruto
"Darling, your home!" shouted Rachnera as she hugged Naruto, burying his head in her bosom, "how did the rescue go?"
"Fine, for the most part, but Luke is up to something?" said Naruto once he was free, "he now has an ally called 'The General.' You wouldn't know anything about this, right?"
"No, I've been getting the usual letter from Luke to join him and destroy Olympus, other than that nothing," said Melinoe
"Nothing from me either," said Rachnera, "I've been busy with my orders."
"Well, it looks like we're back to square one." said Naruto as he fed his owl and spiders, "Hopefully, they can solve the mystery before it's too late."
"Hello? Is this the right place?" asked Bianca as she peeked through the door, "I was told I could find Naruto here?"
"Yes, how can I help you?" asked Melinoe from behind her desk.
"I'm here for my internship," said Bianca
"Internship? You have an internship here?" asked Melinoe
"The agreement happened before I went on the Golden Fleece Quest." answered Naruto, "She has an eye for fashion and could act as my liaison for Italy, while she's here we
can teach her what changed since the nineteen-forties."
"Yay another friend for us!" said an excited Rachnera as she descended from the ceiling.
"Ahhh, Monster! Why is it here?!" yelled a scared Bianca
"Relax, her name is Rachnera and who is also my wife from the Sea of Monsters," said Naruto defending Rachnera
"Your wife! You're married to a monster!" said a scared and confused Bianca
"Welcome to my life. The woman at the desk is Melinoe, the daughter of Hades and Persephone. She is also the Goddess of Ghosts and Blessed Death." introduced Naruto,
"she is also my fiancée, which I only found out about a few months ago."
"Wait, you're married to a monster, and you're engaged to a goddess, how did that happen?" asked Bianca
"Nothing in my life is normal, and as far as I can tell, a lot is done without my knowledge," said Naruto, "such as my engagement to Melione, which was her idea."
"So, is there anything else I should know?" asked Bianca
"Other than the fact I own an owl and two spiders, no," answered Naruto, "I think there is an ongoing competition for me between the Lady of Doves and The Queen of the Underworld, but other than that nothing."
"Oh," said Bianca
"Do you want to lay down?" asked Naruto as he guided her towards his bed
"I think I will," said Bianca as she walked with Naruto
Naruto and Bianca disappeared as the two climbed the stairs to his bedroom.
"I think that went well." said a smiling Rachnera to Melione
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