So... It's been a while. There's a longer AN at the bottom explaining things, so I'll keep this one brief:

Disclaimer – Alaska is canonically the "land beyond the gods." I swear I'm not just doing this because I hate Alaska or something lmao

" – and while I was reforming in Tartarus, suspended in a state of half-existence, the Titan Lord was whispering in my mind the entire time, twisting my thoughts. As a result, I attacked you all. However, I was fortunately able to see the light after a... conversation with Artemis and Naruto, and I now realize that I was foolishly being manipulated by Kronos. For that, I deeply apologize, and implore you for your forgiveness."

Orion bowed deeply, bending at the waist. The demigods exchanged glances, unsure of how to react.

Zoe was the first to speak. "Milady, is this true?" she asked cautiously.

Artemis nodded.

"I see."

Zoe stepped forward until she stood right in front of Orion. He straightened up, looking down at her inquisitively as she gazed back at him with an unreadable expression.

Then she smiled.

"It's good to see you again, Orion."

Orion's face split into a wide grin. "Zoe!" he beamed. "It's been way too long – " He grunted as without any warning, Zoe suddenly punched him in the gut. "What was that for?" He wheezed out as he doubled over in pain.

"That was for being an utter idiot!"

"Huh? Look, while I'm not trying to excuse what I did, Kronos is known as the master manipulator for a reason–"

"I don't care about that," Zoe narrowed her eyes. "I'm talking about what you did two thousand years ago."

"Oh." Orion winced. "That."

"Hunting down all the animals on earth?" Zoe hissed. "Were you stupid? Did you forget the principal tenet of being a hunter? You're supposed to maintain the balance of nature, not commit ecocide!"

"In my defense..." Orion paused. "Okay, yeah, I plead temporary insanity." He smiled sheepishly. "My bad?"

Zoe narrowed her eyes and reached out. Orion tensed up but relaxed when she merely drew him into a quick hug. She released him a second later, stepping back and coughing into her fist.

"Just don't do it again," she said formally. "Otherwise, as your lieutenant, I'll have no choice but to punish you."

"Right, right," Orion smiled. "Got it, boss."

Boss? Thalia mouthed, looking quite disturbed by the proceedings in front of her.

"So, uhh... you wanna provide some background so we're not completely lost?" Percy said, glancing between Zoe and Orion blankly. "Because I gotta say, I have no idea what's going on here. You two know each other or something?"

Zoe turned to stare at Percy. "You do remember how old I am, right?"

"... I feel like I'd be in danger if I answered that, so no, I don't."

Zoe rolled her eyes. "Long story short, about two thousand years ago or so, Gaea woke up from her slumber, saw how the gods had defeated the Titans, became mad, and sired children with Tartarus. These children were the giants: beings specifically designed to counter the gods. Orion here is the counter to Artemis and Apollo. Only, he somehow managed to defy his purpose, and while his brethren fought the gods in the Giant War, he remained neutral on the sidelines."

"And I'm guessing he joined the Hunt after the war?" Thalia raised an eyebrow.

Zoe nodded. "I'll skip the details because they're too complicated – "

"And also because Phoebe made us swear to never tell anyone else," Orion muttered.

Zoe coughed. "That too. At any rate, he became the first man to join the Hunters of Artemis, and remained with us until..." She trailed off slowly.

"Ah, we don't talk about that," Orion interjected, chuckling. "Let's leave the sordid past in the past, eh?"

"Well," Percy said, "As long as you're not on the side of the Titans, I guess we're cool." He paused. "Though you did lose me a hundred bucks..."

"Say less," Orion replied, taking out a black wallet and withdrawing a single crisp bill.

Percy pocketed it with a grin. "Glad to have you on the team."

"You're shameless," Thalia muttered, shaking her head.

"Hey look, I gotta fund my Coke addiction somehow."

Orion blinked. "Your what?"

"Coke, as in the drink," Percy clarified.

"I know what you mean. But why Coke of all drinks?" Orion made a face. "It's awful."

Percy narrowed his eyes. "Yeah, well, it seems to me that being stuck in Tartarus for the past two thousand years have rotted your taste buds beyond repair, because you – oof."

Thalia sighed as she jabbed Percy in the stomach with her elbow, hard. "Anyhow, do you know what the Titans are planning?" she asked Orion. "Specifically," her eyes flashed, "what the fuck did they do to Camp Half-Blood?"

Orion's expression grew serious. "Right. I'm sure you're already aware of this, but I'm afraid you're walking straight into a trap. Using the Labyrinth as a conduit, Hecate managed to distort the space around the camp to transport it to... Alaska."

The effects were instantaneous.

Thalia blanched, Zoe reared back in shock, and Percy let out several curses.

"Alaska?!" Thalia repeated, horror in her tone. "Are you – are you serious?"

"Doth Hecate possess no semblance of honor or even decency?" Zoe clenched her fists, her accent reverting in her distress. "Di immortales! I knew she had betrayed us, but for her to go this far..."

"Apologize, you rat bastard! Coke is the best fucking drink in the world, and that's a fact!" Percy snapped.

"..."

"..."

Percy coughed. "Also, uhh... Alaska! No way! That's terrible – wait shit, did I just say Alaska?" He paled dramatically, finally registering his own words. "Oh fuck fuck fuck, please tell me you're joking."

"Unfortunately, I'm telling the truth," Orion said grimly.

"Hold on a moment," Bianca spoke up, frowning. "What's wrong with Alaska? I heard it's pretty nice this time of the year."

"Alright, first off, Alaska is never nice," Thalia said, eyes narrowed. "Those guys are permanently freezing up there. It's like, being a Canadian, except without the perks of being a Canadian. Secondly... it may very well be one of the most dangerous areas for a demigod. Even worse than the Sea of Monsters. It's a hellhole up there."

"Nobody messes around with Alaska," Zoe confirmed. "Even the gods stay away, which is why it's known as the land beyond the gods. The Hunters are banned from ever traveling there, and in the maps Chiron passes out every summer that detail recent monster activity and places to avoid, the entire state of Alaska is guaranteed to be crossed out with the words NO scrawled repeatedly across it in red pen without fail."

"Yeah," Percy said, shivering. "And we only hope it's red pen. I once made a joke about moving to Alaska to escape the heat after I fell off the lava rock climbing wall. I think Chiron gave me permanent hearing damage afterward with his lecture."

"Why though?" Bianca asked. "What happened there?"

They exchanged looks.

"Tell me, Bianca di Angelo," Zoe said. "Have you heard of the giant Alcyoneus before?"

"I don't think so-?" Bianca paused. "Actually, I think I've seen that name around before." She furrowed her brow in concentration. "Yeah, somewhere in the Underworld. I think I saw a public enemy number one poster of him hanging up in the Furies' room?"

"You've gone into their room before?" Percy muttered.

Bianca nodded. "They're really nice once you get to know them. We had a slumber party."

"..."

"Anyway, Alcyoneus was the eldest giant created specifically to counter Hades," Zoe continued. "He was defeated in the Giant War by Heracles," her expression soured slightly, "but he reformed around seven decades ago during World War II, whilst the gods were distracted. Since then, he has been hiding out in Alaska, biding his time."

"If we know where he is, then why haven't we attacked him yet?"

"I'll handle this one," Orion said, stepping forward. "Generally speaking, in order to defeat a giant, you need a god and demigod working together. Gaea designed us to be this way so that the gods would be unable to fight in their divine forms without harming their demigod comrades, thus severely limiting their power, though this came at the cost of making us unable to have an official domain or a divine form of ourselves. Alcyoneus is different, however. He possesses the ability Domain Creation, which allows him to forcibly carve out a domain in reality, and as long as he remains in this domain, it is impossible for him to be killed by anything. In the Giant War, his territory was Pallene; and now, it's Alaska."

"It's why the gods hold no power in Alaska," Artemis said. "It may be a fake domain, an imperfect copy, but the divine laws still apply. Alaska is a principal domain with the same divinity levels as the Sky, Sea, or Underworld itself, which means the repercussions for any god who intrudes would be significant. Even Zeus himself would lose in a fight against Alcyoneus if they fought in Alaska – badly."

"We've been content in leaving Alaska alone the past few decades since Alcyoneus hasn't made any aggressive actions," Zoe said, anger evident in her voice. "A mistake, in retrospect."

"And now, the camp is there," Bianca finished. "We should hurry."

"Right."

Then Percy frowned. "I feel like we're forgetting about something..." He turned to Naruto, who had been leaning against the wall the entire time they were talking. The son of Artemis's eyes were unfocused, deep in thought. "Hey, Naruto, you good man?"

Naruto blinked, his gaze refocusing. "Huh? Oh yeah, I'm fine, just thinking about some things." He grinned. "Let's get moving."

「」

For the strangest reason, I feel like it's been a while since we've last talked, Kurama mused. It's odd.

I know, right? I guess the time dilation down here in the Labyrinth must be affecting things. Naruto shrugged. Your average supernatural phenomenon, I guess.

Right, Kurama drawled. How are you faring?

What do you mean?

Well, the past twelve hours have been a bit of a clusterfuck. Camp Half-Blood disappearing, Daedalus appearing, the whole fight with Orion... and don't even get me started on what had happened between him and Artemis afterward. I thought she took after Danzo in that she avoided any and all forms of romance like the plague?

What the fuck is that analogy? And yeah, so did I. At least, until now, Naruto said. The most common version of the myths say that Orion was an egotistical hunter who decided to hunt all the creatures on earth, which pissed Gaea off so she sent a massive scorpion to kill him.

I'm guessing this version isn't true.

Apparently so. From what I gathered... Naruto hesitated. The day after Orion killed the scorpion, Apollo managed to trick Artemis into killing Orion while he was swimming. I'm not sure how she was able to kill him, since a god and demigod must be working together to kill a giant, but I'm guessing Apollo somehow found a way to bypass that.

Ah. And Apollo did this because...

The myths say that it was because Orion had fallen in love with Artemis, and Apollo wished to defend her honor. But now... Naruto sounded heavily conflicted. I think it was because Apollo was worried Artemis would... reciprocate Orion's feelings.

Kurama sighed. What a mess. And here I thought your love story with Sasuke was convoluted.

Yeah, it's a – Naruto blinked. Excuse me, my what?!

Oh I'm sorry, weren't you in love with the Uchiha?

NO! What the fuck? Where did that come from?

Kurama shrugged. He was your first kiss –

Someone pushed me!

You chased him for nearly three years after he broke up with you –

HE BETRAYED HIS TEAM AND ABANDONED THE VILLAGE!

And come on, have you heard some of the things you've said to him? I haven't heard words laced with such homoerotic undertones since Madara and Hashirama's 'friendship'.

HE WAS MY BEST FRIEND! MY RIVAL! MY SPIRITUAL BROTHER!

Righhhht, I'm sure.

There is something very, very wrong with your head.

Well, after spending the past two decades in yours? I'm not surprised.

Well fuck you too, Naruto huffed, but smiled despite himself. Thanks, Kurama. I needed that.

Happy to oblige, Kurama grinned. So, what are you gonna do about the whole situation?

Well, after the fight, Artemis and Orion seem to be content in acting like nothing happened, so I guess I'll follow suit. Thankfully, aside from that one kiss, they've been pretty normal, so hopefully it was just an aberration, and I won't be having to call Orion 'dad' anytime soon. It seems like whatever happened in the past is staying in the past.

Not looking forward to getting a new father? Pity. And here I was hoping to exchange notes on fatherhood.

What do you mean by that – oh HELL no, you're not my dad!

Your genetics says otherwise.

Naruto narrowed his eyes. Big words coming from an Uchiha.

Kurama drew back, affronted. The fuck you just say?

The Uchiha were descended from Indra, who was the son of the Sage of Six Paths – who was your father, so you're technically Indra's brother-in-law. Technically. Hmm, 'Kurama Uchiha' does have a rather nice ring to it–

I'm officially disowning you.

Yeah, that's what I thought.

Kurama grumbled darkly to himself while Naruto chuckled.

"There'll be a poison gas attack in twelve seconds," Bianca called from the front. "I'm not sure what type of poison it is, but I don't think we want to find out. Milady, can you..."

Artemis nodded, snapping her fingers. A warm silver glow enveloped them all sans herself and Orion.

"Man, it'd be so useful to have a goddess on our normal quests," Percy muttered. "Flashlight, poison neutralizer, headhunter... literally the ultimate demigod's Swiss Army Kni–"

"I'd watch your words if I were you, Perseus Jackson."

"My bad, my bad."

As they walked through the dark passageway, there was a quiet hissing sound. Orion sniffed the air experimentally as they walked through.

"Damn, now that's a kick," he whistled. "Seems like it's some variation of methyl isocyanate."

Artemis tilted her head, breathing in as well. "Seems more like concentrated methyl bromide."

"Huh." Orion shrugged. "You're probably right. Didn't exactly have chemistry textbooks while in Tartarus."

"Really?" Thalia muttered. "Seems like it'd be fitting."

"Nah, chemistry textbooks are reserved for the Fields of Punishment," Orion grinned. "For us Tartarus denizens, we get the pleasure of reading Hesiod, smarmy git that he is."

"What's Tartarus like anyway?" Percy asked curiously. "I was almost pulled into there once by Kronos a few years ago."

Orion's expression darkened. "You don't want to know."

"Oh." Percy waited for him to elaborate.

Orion glanced at him after a few seconds. "No, seriously, you don't want to know."

"Ah. I see."

They took several more turns, entering a dark corridor that seemed to stretch out for miles –

A fire crackled to life ahead of them.

"I'm getting an odd sense of deja vu here," Thalia muttered.

The light from the fire lit up the corridor, illuminating a scruffy man standing next to the roaring flames. He gave a toothless grin when he saw them and raised a hand.

"Heya! Fancy running into you guys here!"

Zoe sighed. "You're here. After Zeus explicitly forbade all the gods from helping on the quest and ordered you to remain on Mount Olympus."

"I don't know what you're talking about. My name's Fred," Apollo grinned, turning to look at the rest of the group. "Glad to see you're all doing okay – "

His gaze fell on Orion.

There was a long moment of silence as the air filled with a sudden tension.

"You," Apollo said slowly, his disguise vanishing with a flicker to reveal his normal self. His bow materialized in his hand with a golden flash, the threat clear.

"Me," Orion agreed, his expression guarded as he casually shifted his position into a stance from which he could better react.

Naruto tensed up, well aware of the backstory behind the two. Considering how Apollo had been the one to trick Artemis into killing Orion... This could get messy. Already his chakra was gathering at his tenketsu as he prepared to get in between the two.

Apollo's gaze flickered between Orion and Artemis.

"It's been a while," he said.

"It has," Orion replied neutrally. "Are we going to have a repeat of what happened two thousand years ago?"

"I don't know," Apollo returned. "Are we?"

"Apollo," Artemis said warningly. "Do we really need to have a talk again?"

"You know what, sis? I think we do," Apollo said, his expression utterly serious. "Just the three of us – "

A flash of red light lit up the corridor. It died down to reveal Ares standing there, brushing some dust off his leather jacket. "Hey Apollo, Athena will need a little longer before she can give Zeus the slip, but she should be here any second – " Ares froze as he saw the demigods. "Oh shit."

Instantly, he transformed into a disguise, a mix between several famous martial arts fighters. "What the hell, Apollo? How about a little warning the next time that we have company-?"

He froze a second time when he registered exactly who said company was. The god of war looked at Artemis, then Orion, then Apollo, then promptly decided he wasn't going to touch that with a ten-foot-pole and walked over to the demigods.

"Hey there, shitstain," Ares greeted Percy politely, casually stepping behind him to use as a shield. "How's it been?"

"What is he doing here?" Artemis demanded, looking at Apollo.

"Our children are in danger," Apollo said evenly. "We're helping, of course."

"Surprisingly admirable," Orion spoke up, raising an eyebrow. "I don't think you would've done so back when I knew you."

"It's been two millennia. We've changed a bit since then," Apollo responded. "I'm sorry – Naruto, can we borrow your head real quick?"

"Pardon?" Naruto frowned.

"I mean, it's not like you're using it or anything."

"Pardon?"

"Come on, we just need someplace private to talk."

Naruto frowned, crossing his arms. "My mindscape isn't some public cafe, you know."

"Well, it's not like the Labyrinth has a conveniently located SCIF for us to use – " Apollo blinked as a section in the wall suddenly opened up, revealing another hallway. "Yeahhh no, there's no way that's not a trap."

A flash of grey light then lit up the hall, dying down to reveal Athena standing there in a museum curator outfit.

"I see we're all here already," Athena said, getting straight to business. She glanced at Orion, did a brief double take, before recovering her composure immediately. "What's the situation thus far?"

"Didn't you back Zeus up during the Council Meeting to not let any of the gods help on this quest due to it being a clear diversion?" Naruto asked, an eyebrow raised.

Athena shrugged. "Just because I give good advice doesn't necessarily mean I always follow it."

"It's not in the nature of us war gods – or goddesses – to sit back and wait," Ares grinned. "Especially when these stakes are involved."

"Mount Olympus's defenses are more than adequate without us there," Athena said. "All the wind gods have been recalled and are guarding Olympus, Hephaestus has a whole fleet of satellites aimed at the entirety of New York, and Zeus himself has his master bolt on hair-trigger alert." She frowned. "Unfortunately, Poseidon had to take his leave in order to defend Atlantis, but considering how we have the home-court advantage, it shouldn't matter much."

"Granted, there's always the risk of us getting captured like Dionysus was," Ares smirked confidently, "But between Athena's mind, Apollo's clairvoyance, and my own innate badassery, the Titans are going to have a hell of a difficult time taking us down."

Athena rolled her eyes. "In essence, yes." Behind Ares's back, she pointed at him, looked at Artemis, and mouthed 'meat shield.' Artemis nodded in understanding. "So, what's the situation?"

Artemis exchanged a glance with Orion.

"You three should leave," she said.

Ares narrowed his eyes. "And why is that?"

"Because Hecate transported Camp Half-Blood to Alaska."

"Well shit, it was nice knowing ya," Ares chuckled, turning around. "Good luck, y'all. Except you, shitstain, I hope you lose your hands and legs to frostbite."

"Ares," Athena sighed, stopping him in his tracks. "And Perseus, please cease from making such vulgar hand signs." She turned to Artemis. "Truly?"

Artemis nodded.

"I knew leaving Alcyoneus alone would come back and bite us in the behind eventually someday," Athena muttered. "I told Zeus that it was a bad idea. Tartarus, this is irritating." She let out a heavy sigh. "No wonder Dionysus was unable to escape; that place is a veritable death trap. You're right – we can't come."

"That entire area is shielded from my sight as well, so not much information I can give," Apollo said, scowling. "And it's freezing over there. But sis, you realize that you can't enter that place as well, right?"

Artemis nodded. "Once I finish tracking down the spell's residue through the Labyrinth, I'll return to help defend Olympus."

"I can stay with the group," Orion offered. "Since I'm a giant, domain restrictions have no effect on me."

The Olympians turned to look at him.

"Orion," Athena said, inclining her head slightly. "You still owe me a game of petteia."

Orion laughed. "That I do, that I do. Your memory is good."

"As the goddess of wisdom, it has to be. I presume you're still on the side of the gods?"

Orion nodded. "Had a bit of a hiccup earlier, but Artemis and I managed to clear up the misunderstanding." He narrowed his eyes. "On a related note, for a half-brother, Kronos is quite the remarkable jackass."

Athena snorted. "That's certainly a way of putting it. In which case, I'd appreciate it if you could help the demigods on their quest. It'd be a huge reassurance to have you on the case."

"I'll be delighted to help."

Athena smiled. "It's good to see you again, Orion." She paused. "At the same time, though, I confess the implications of your presence are rather terrifying. Tell me: how many of your brethren have been revived as well?"

Orion's face became solemn. "Ah. I was one of the first to be revived, so I'm not entirely sure, but by my rough estimations... Around half."

Athena drew in a sharp breath. "Half of them?"

"Maybe more. It's difficult to tell."

Athena turned to Apollo, who shook his head.

"I had no idea the giants were active until Orion here," he said. "They're extremely well-hidden. I don't like how they're laying low. What do you think they're planning?"

"I'm not certain," Athena murmured. "We don't know what Kronos's objective is here. Is he using Camp Half-Blood as a distraction for him going after Mount Olympus? Atlantis? The Underworld? The Ophiotaurus is dead and Typhon is secure under Mount Etna – well, Mount Saint Helens now. There are too many variables at play here; too many questions and not enough answers."

She let out a frustrated breath. "We have no choice but to remain on the defensive. I despise it. Wars are won through initiative, but we are being forced to remain purely reactive..."

"It'll be fine," Apollo said. "Whatever the case, Kronos still doesn't have a physical form, most of his Titan followers are still imprisoned within Tartarus, and... well, we defeated the giants once before; we can do so again."

"Indeed..." Still, Athena looked unsettled. "Well, I'll bring this information back to Zeus. We should take our leave."

Apollo and Ares nodded.

"Kick their asses for me, eh?" Ares said. "Taking hostages is always a pathetic move."

Apollo merely shot a look at Orion that said behave.

With that, the three gods vanished.

Without much more conversation, they began moving again.

「」

"My lord, things are proceeding exactly as planned," Prometheus said, his head bowed. "Though unfortunately, it appears that Orion betrayed us and joined the quest group."

"It is of no matter," the disembodied voice of Kronos echoed around the dark corridor of the Labyrinth. "He was never important in the grand scheme of things. I only needed him for one purpose: to bait the son of Artemis into losing his temper and using one of his more destructive abilities."

"Ah, yes, the Rasenshuriken," Prometheus mused. "I confess, I still do not know where he gained his powers of chakra from. I've gathered that it is not divine in nature, so I'm at a loss at where it originates. I'd say it was from another pantheon of gods, except there... isn't another pantheon."

"I wouldn't waste much time on it. It is likely a power even older than me. There is not much known on what Chaos did before he created Gaea and Ouranos."

"That is true," Prometheus acknowledged. "Well, whatever the case, he's undoubtedly a formidable threat."

"Indeed. But enough of this; where is the inventor?"

"I'm here, my lord."

Prometheus jumped in surprise when another voice came from behind him. He turned around to see Daedalus standing there, having emerged from an opening in the walls that no longer existed.

"I hate it when you do that," he muttered. Daedalus ignored him.

"Is it ready?"

Daedalus nodded. "It took a bit of fine maneuvering between me and Hecate, but we managed it in the end." He snapped his fingers and the Mist of the Labyrinth shifted, the walls on their right side shimmering before becoming transparent to reveal another corridor perfectly parallel to the one they were standing in.

Prometheus stepped up to look through the observation glass. "I don't see anything."

Daedalus pressed his finger against his lips. "Give it some time..."

After several seconds, there was a screeching sound from far off in the distance, growing louder and louder until it caused Prometheus to wince and rub at his ears. In a flash, Prometheus saw through the glass a massive shuriken streak past, emitting a bright silver-purple light, and though it wasn't anywhere near the glass, thousands of tiny cuts still appeared on the surface regardless.

Prometheus raised an eyebrow. "Terrifying."

"Quite," Daedalus agreed, watching the Rasenshuriken fade off into the distance. "I do not wish to ever be hit by one of those. Do you think it'd be enough, though?"

Prometheus nodded. "It should be more than strong enough to achieve our purposes. And you can direct it anywhere you wish?"

Daedalus nodded. "I have it trapped in an infinite loop right now." Sure enough, the screeching noise was already sounding from where it had come from originally. "It's incredible, the things I'm able to achieve with Hecate granting me administrator access to – well, I won't bore you with the details, but I can direct the Rasenshuriken to anywhere the Labyrinth is connected to."

"So essentially all of North America."

Daedalus smiled, his grey eyes glinting. "Yes. Though you'll only have one shot."

"If things go according to plan, it's all we'll need. Excellent work, Daedalus."

Daedalus bowed. "I aim to please." He hesitated. "In return, you'll keep your end of the bargain, right?"

"You need not worry. Your son and your nephew will be revived and immortalized, and the curse Athena placed on you will be lifted. You have my word. Besides, I'll be in need of a few master inventors when I take over. You'll do quite nicely."

"Thank you, my lord. It would be an honor."

"You're dismissed."

Daedalus gave another bow before the floor under him shifted and he melted into the ground.

"He's one of the few mortals who managed to evade death entirely, eluding Thanatos and the Furies' grasp even after several thousand years," Prometheus mused. "I have to say, when I first gave fire to mankind, I never expected them to reach such heights of ingenuity."

"He is useful. And are the giants in position?"

"Yes," Prometheus nodded. "It was rather difficult to get them in place, but nothing that couldn't be done. They'll make their move whenever we give the signal." He hesitated. "I admit, though, I still have my reservations about working with them."

"As do I. I trust them not, nor do they trust me, but in order to take down our mutual enemies, I'm willing to work with them. We can take care of them afterward, but for now, let us cooperate."

Prometheus nodded. "Very well. And, before you ask..."

He clicked his fingers, and a sarcophagus rose from the ground, nearly ten-feet tall. Though its color was golden, it was composed not of gold, but rather a more ancient element. Engraved on the sides were images depicting the glory of the Titans as well as humanity's greatest atrocities.

"Your new vessel is almost ready," Prometheus said. "All we need is one final catalyst." He smiled. "I do wonder how the daughter of Zeus would react."

Kronos's chuckles rang throughout the hallway.

"I imagine it would be rather amusing. It isn't every day you get to see an old friend come back from the dead, after all."

Y'know, I really should do something about my tendency to update this fic annually lmao. I'll be real here: I just haven't really been into this particular fandom at all lately – I've barely read any Naruto-centric crossovers or PJO fics in the past year. It doesn't help that this is one of my earliest works, which means it needs a lot of polishing lol. Not to mention how it's been such a long time, I've straight-up forgotten a lot of my plans lmfao. One of the downsides of taking such a long time to update, I suppose

That said, though, I still really like this fic. Rest assured, I don't intend to abandon this fic anytime soon. I may rework this fic in the future, but no concrete plans yet, since editing 200k words will take quite a bit of time

Anyway, this chapter was mostly a setup chapter. Things should pick up in intensity after this. Kronos's plans take a while to come together, but once it does, it hits hard and fast. And no, Orion is not about to become Naruto's stepfather, nor is he going to enter a relationship with Artemis lol

Thanks for reading, and hope you have an incredible new year!