Chapter 46: Chit Chat

Isaiah looked at his audience. He could see the numerous monsters and demigods looking at him with various expressions ranging from interest to rage.

"Identify yourself before I add your skull to my collection!" Anteus shouted from his seat as Luke glared at the young sorcerer.

"Me? I'm just a normal human being. I heard that my friend was in trouble so I came here to pick him up. I hope you don't mind?" Isaiah said with his everlasting grin.

"Isaiah!" Nico shouted when he saw his friend on the stage.

He never thought he would see him, less save him. Isaiah turned around,

"Hey there Nico. I heard from Bianca you disappeared?"

"I..." Nico wanted to answer, but couldn't come up with a single thing.

"We'll talk later since we have an angry giant to deal with." Isaiah interrupted him before turning back to the host's seat.

He saw Anteus was practically fuming as he gripped his seat so hard it began to crack under his hands.

"Insolent little shit! Get rid of him!" the giant ordered.

Soon, the gates of the arena opened and multiple monsters poured out of it.

"Isaiah!" shouted Nico when he saw the numerous monsters.

Suddenly, an unexpected voice interrupted the charge,

"Wait!"

The monsters stopped and looked at Luke who ordered them to stop. Anteus glared at him,

"What are you doing, Luke Castellan?"

"I'm sorry for interrupting Lord Anteus, But I would like to ask that boy something if you would allow me."

"You're testing my patience, son of Hermes." Anteus continued to glare at him before snorting, "Hmph, Very well. I will allow it, but if I'm not satisfied, I will have my subordinates kill him and extract his skull."

"Thank you, Lord Anteus," Luke said before looking toward Isaiah Sharpe.

'This is going to be interesting,' the sorcerer thought.

"Isaiah Sharpe! I have an offer for-"

"Please spare me the chit-chat!" the younger boy interrupted him.

Silence reigned in the arena at the sudden interruption. Luke looking confused started speaking again.

"And ha-"

"Chitty chaat"

"I-"

"Chitty chitty chat"

Luke was getting visibly furious as Isaiah was giggling. Nico couldn't help but smile at the interaction.

"I wan-"

"Chit chat chitty chitty chat chat!"

"..."

"..."

".."

"... chit chat."

Isaiah could almost see the son of Hermes's vein bursting as his anger's boiling point was reached.

"KILL HIM!"

"WOOOOOOO!"

Isaiah turned to Nico and gave the boy a large grin,

"Welp. Time to go. But before that, why don't I help them out a bit. We'll talk later, Nico."

"Wai-!" before the son of Hades could say anything, a portal appeared from beneath him and he fell through it and the portal closed right after.

Isaiah turned back and saw the monsters coming at him. He put his glasses in his ring as the world shattered into red pulsing lines of death. As soon as he looked in front of him, the familiar urge to kill returned in full force due to the sheer number of monsters. To be honest, he wanted to deal with them but now was not the time. By now, Isaiah figured Luke needed to go through this arena to go to wherever he wants, but what if he makes this path invalid?

'Thought Acceleration'

Isaiah's perception of time increased as everything's speed in his vision slowed down. He quickly looked around the arena to find weak points that would help him.

He found four.

The best way to collapse this place was to slice the lines of Death of this place's weak points. Although the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception allows the user to see the lines of Death indicating the end of almost anything as well as enacting them, he couldn't cut them from afar. He needed to slash them himself. Giving a glance around him, he could see the enemies getting closer.

Isaiah narrowed his eyes and grinned wickedly,

"Alright."

Magical energy coursed through him as he activated (Reinforcement) through his body and clothes. He then raised his hands and made two finger guns just in time for the first monster to arrive.

'Gandr'

Black and red energy bubbled in front of his fingers before being fired off blowing a giant's head clean off. The next second, (Gandr) was being fired off like machine guns as the boy mowed off his enemies. Usually, the boy would kill his enemies off so they wouldn't cause any problems. Unfortunately, among his enemies, there were also demi-gods. Not wanting to cause a misunderstanding with the gods and increase their hostilities since it would be too troublesome. he decided not to kill them.

'However, nobody said anything about curses, right?'

Soon the monsters were killed and the demigods fell one by one as their physical health decreased from the curse.

"Ugh!"

"W-What's this!?"

"SKREEEK!"

"ROAAAAR"

"Why do I feel so weak!"

However, even with the barrage of magic bullets, there were too many of them. So Isaiah located the first weak point with a part of the wall on the western side of the arena. He saw many of the monsters and demigods in his way. He stopped firing the bullets when he had enough space around him. Turning towards the line of death, he dug his foot into the ground and pushed off.

"BOOM!"

The boy left a crater as he dove into the horde and weaved through his enemies. It has been a while since he hadn't been in a fight. The boy flowed so easily through them it felt more like choreography than a fight.

"KILL HIM! BRING HIS SKULL TO ME!" Anteus shouted.

'Man, what's with him and skulls?' thought Isaiah.

Before long, Isaiah reached his goal. He quickly slashed the Line of Death evoking the collapse of the western side of the wall as well as the exits.

Luke's eyes widened at the impossible feat Isaiah had just done. Isaiah turned and smirked at him. Luke gritted his teeth at the mockery. The kid was mocking him! He who will bring the downfall of those fucking gods!

He motioned to grab Backbiter and was about to charge in when Anteus got off his seat and jumped into the arena crushing some of the monsters.

"I've had enough! Face me brat. For I am the favourite son of Poseidon!"

Isaiah looked at Anteus,

"A son of Poseidon?" the boy asked," So that's why you felt similar to Percy," he said.

"Yes, all this is a tribute to my father. All those skulls decorate the shrine dedicated to my father." the giant said as he spread his arms showing the arena.

He looked back to Isaiah,

"And now, you will also-ACKK!" Anteus was about to say something but was once again interrupted by the pre-teen.

It seems like Isaiah loves to interrupt the villains' speeches.

One second, the boy was on the other side of the arena and the next he was beside the giant patting his arm.

"You don't need to say anything anymore. You're too weak." he softly said with a grin.

Anteus couldn't say anything before he simply exploded in a shower of dust and even they scattered into nothing.

"HOW!?" Luke shouted. "Anteus is also the son of Gaia! He can regenerate as long he touches the ground. So why isn't he regenerating!?"

Isaiah looked back Luke a little confused,

"Really? Oh well, looks like he didn't get the chance to show off." the boy said before he took off once more,

At a speed faster than the eye thanks to (Reinforcement), a spell that increases the effectiveness of an object immensely, Isaiah dashed for the second weakness which he soon cut causing another collapse.

"W-What?" asked Luke.

***

Minos, who had hidden himself. away from everyone, was horrified by the child. He had never seen something like this. He was busy shouting at the monsters and demigods to kill the monster in human skin to even notice something emerging from the shadows nearby him. The thing then coalesced into two figures and the shadows retreated leaving Bianca and her brother glaring at the back of Minos. Everyone was too distracted to notice the siblings approaching. Luckily for them, since Minos hid himself, it meant he was alone and no one was blocking their way.

"Minos!" Nico shouted as he brandished his sword.

The ghost snapped towards the voice.

"Nico and Bianca di Angelo! What are you doing here!?" the ghost shouted in fright which soon turned into anger.

"I'm here to send you back to my father where your punishment awaits!" the boy said with a furious expression settled on his face.

"You? You couldn't even control your powers without my help! What can you possibly do? You are too weak to touch me let alone control me!" Minos started to mock the child when he saw the boy advance toward the ghost.

Bianca quietly watched her brother confront Minos. She would step in when her brother needed help. Even if she was her older sister, her brother needed to deal with this alone.

"I'm the son of Hades! I control the ghosts not the other way around! So get your ass here where I can send it back to the Underworld!" Nico shouted as he pointed at the ghost!

"I am the Lord of the spirits! Come to me my spirits!"

Minos gave the order and ten ethereal spectres rose from the ground before rushing towards the boy.

Nico stabbed his sword into the ground and called upon his powers. The familiar sensation appeared in his gut and he shouted,

"Lord of the spirits!? Don't make me laugh! If you are the lord of the spirits then I am the king! The Ghost King!"

A fissure appeared right in front of him showing a dark abyss straight to the Underworld. He called upon more of his powers. Nico could feel something trickling down from his nose and spatter on the ground.

It was blood.

That didn't stop him. He called more and more of his divine powers and banished the spirits summoned by Minos. The spectres were sucked into the abyss as they let out loud wails. Nico then turned his focus on Minos and targeted his power on me.

"NO! I will not be banished!" Minos shouted as he felt himself being pulled into the fissure.

"I will not return! I must have my revenge!" the ghost continued to shout as he slowly got dragged. He tried to grab anything to stop himself, but couldn't.

"JUST GET THE FUCK INSIDE!" Nico shouted as he cursed for the first time in his life, "I treated you like a friend and you betray me! Go rot in the Fields of Punishment! I'll personally come there just to see you suffer! I know how to hold my grudges!" the boy continued to shout as more blood trickled from his nose.

"Nico!" Bianca shouted seeing her brother strain himself.

"NO! NO! NOOOooooo!" Minos wailed as he too got dragged into the fissure.

The fissure then closed itself leaving only a scar of it ever being opened. Seeing the ghost finally gone, Nico released his power and collapsed. Fortunately, his sister caught him before the boy touched the floor.

"Bianca?"

"I'm here, Nico. I'm here." the girl hugged the boy.

"I-I'm sorry." the boy apologized as drops of tears rolled down his cheeks.

"It's okay. You're going to be okay! Isaiah and I will get you out of here

*BOOOM* *CRASH*

The siblings turned toward the noise and saw another wall collapse. The whole room's integrity was being compromised and it was only a matter of time before the whole arena was going to collapse. Bianca could've sword she could see Isaiah grin and even giggle while he mercilessly destroyed his enemies.

"Bianca? Nico? W-What on earth is going on?" a voice suddenly said.

The di Angelos turned toward the voice and saw Annabeth, Percy and Rachel arriving from the tunnel she was in and looking at the chaotic scene with a mix of horror and awe as well as confusion.

"Quick! We have to get out of here. Luke's army is here!" she said.

"Luke!? Where is he!?" Annabeth asked in shock.

"Now's not the time Annabeth. " Percy retorted.

The teen looked at the siblings and saw Nico who had fallen unconscious.

"Shit, Nico! What happened to you!?" he shouted as he ran to the children of Hades's side.

"We have to get out of here first Percy!" Bianca said to him.

"Right! Wait? What about Isaiah? Where is he?"

Bianca simply pointed with her thumb at the destroyed arena where the boy was playing an extremely dangerous game of tag with Luke's army.

Suddenly, the whole room rumbled as it was ready to collapse.

*Boom!*

Everyone looked at Isaiah who landed beside them and left a crater at his arrival.

"Oh, you're here. Let's go before they chase us!" the boy said with one of the biggest grins she had seen on the boy ever since she got to know him.

"R-Right," Bianca said.

She was about to carry Nico when the boy was yanked from her grasp and now floated mid-air.

"Let me get him," Isaiah said as he held a hand toward the boy.

The group fled into the tunnel before getting caught by the Titan's army. Isaiah then let out one last slash at a Line of Death which caused a chain reaction effectively collapsing the arena. Bianca stomped on the ground and the latter rose up to seal the entrance of the tunnel they were in.

"They ran ahead for a while before stopping as they caught their breath.

"Well," Isaiah said as he stretched himself, "That was nice," he said and set Nico down.

Bianca walked up to him and punched his shoulder. Unfortunately, Isaiah had kept his Reinforcement up so Bianca felt like she had hit a steel wall.

"OW!"

Isaiah looked at her confused,

"What was that for?"

Bianca gritted her teeth and glared at the boy,

"You! What the hell was that?"

Isaiah tilted his head,

"What?"

"Why did you start picking a fight with everyone there! I thought you would have simply sneaked in and gotten Nico out of there! Didn't you tell me it was dangerous yourself!?"

"Yeah, I did," Isaiah said without hesitating and still confused.

Bianca felt like pulling her hair,

"Then why did you provoke them!? I'm happy you got Nico out of there and sabotaged Luke, but It was dangerous! You could've gotten yourself killed!"

Isaiah looked at her,

"It was dangerous, but not for me."

"Huh?"

"They're not strong enough to kill me, Bianca."

The girl stepped back at the boy's reply,

"What? Just how strong are you, Isaiah?"

Isaiah shrugged,

"Enough."

"HOLD UP!"

The pre-teen looked at Annabeth who called them,

"Just what happened? We followed Rachel's direction and we stumbled upon chaos. Just what happened in there?"

Isaiah and Bianca told them what transpired before they arrived.

"That's awesome, Isaiah!" Percy exclaimed as he clasped the boy's shoulder.

Rachel looked at the boy in a newfound light while Annabeth looked conflicted.

"Ugh." they heard a groan and saw that Nico was waking up.

"Nico!" everyone shouted except for Rachel who was simply staring at them.

"Bianca? Isaiah?" the boy called out.

"Hey, Nico." the sorcerer replied.

"Nico!" Bianca hugged her brother.

"ACK! My ribs!" the younger brother groaned at his sister's tight hug.

"Oh sorry!" the girl quickly released the boy.

"Hey man. How are you feeling?" Percy asked.

"Like I got run over by a truck." was Nico's curt reply.

"You've almost depleted all your Divine power. I would be surprised if you didn't feel like that."

"Wait, here," Bianca said as she took out something from her bag.

It was a ziplock bag of some sort of pastries. The girl fed her brother some pieces and Isaiah could see the boy recovering at a visible rate. He could even see the boy recovering some of his divine energy.

"What's that?" Isaiah asked astonished.

"This? This is ambrosia. It's the food of the gods. However, demigods can consume a little of it to heal and recover." Bianca replied.

"Huh? That's convenient."

"Well mortals can't consume it or they would combust and their bones would turn into ashes," Annabeth said

"Oh."

Isaiah put his hand on his chin and thought,

'By mortal, does she mean those who don't have powers or supernatural energies coursing through him. Or just those who don't have divinity? I'll find out later.'

"But Nico," Bianca said and Isaiah turned to her," just what happened?"

"I... I got tricked."

"What?"

Nico pursed his lips and told them what happened to him and how he had been deceived by Minos. Once he finished telling his story, Bianca hugged the boy.

"Oh, Nico. I really want to hit you right now. You should have told me that something like this was happening."

"I..."

"But it doesn't matter, right now. You're safe and sound. That's all that matters."

Nico blinked as tears brimmed his eyes and he hugged his sister. The boy then turned to Isaiah who was standing behind her,

"Thank you for saving me, Isaiah. Thank you so much." And I'm sorry for causing you guys so much trouble."

Isaiah shook his head,

"I heard that friends help each other. So what's there to apologize for?"

Isaiah turned to the trio of teenagers,

"You guys continue on your quest and head to Deadalus' workshop. I brought you some time for now so don't waste it."

Percy nodded with determined eyes,

"What about Nico? He's too exhausted to move."

"Don't worry about him. I'll take care of that. Now go."

"Alright! I'll see you next time, Isaiah. I'll see you at Camp Bianca and Nico!"

The siblings nodded and saw the questers run into the darkness.

"Let's get out here, right guys," Isaiah said as he turned to Nico and Bianca who agreed.

***

Tony Stark was sitting on his sofa with a glass half full of scotch and a frown. Ever since he had let Isaiah and Bianca go rescue, two days ago, he had been stressed out.

'They have been gone for two days. Did something happen to them? Oh shit! What if something did happen? I shouldn't have let them go. But that woman told me Isaiah would be fine as well as Bianca. But fuck! They're only twelve years old! Not even teenagers! Who sends kids in danger like this! I can't even contact Isaiah since Bianca is beside him and it will reveal their location.' Tony thought as he took a drink.

Suddenly, the house began to shake as a rumbling sound was heard. Not even a few seconds passed before it stopped.

"Jarvis!"

"It appears to be a localized earthquake with a 3.0 magnitude of the Richter scale, Sir."

Tony was about to move when something was off from what Jarvis said.

"Wait. Localized?"

"Yes sir. It seems like the earthquake has only affected the Stark Mansion."

"The hell?"

"Sir. There are some new additions to the lawn in front of the mansion."

Tony looked confused and went outside. There he saw a huge scar in the grass as well as three objects. A large sword and two short swords. The odd part was that he kept getting chills when he stared at them and, when he wanted to get closer, the chill would intensify.

"What the hell? What happened?"

It was then he noticed an envelope near the weapons. He picked the envelope up and saw that there was no information on it. He decided to open it all the while avoiding the weapons.

What he found inside was simply a single card.

[To my daughter and son. Nico and Bianca di Angelo. -Hades]

Tony widened his eyes when he saw the letter written in impressive cursive calligraphy.

"Holy shit. The God of the Dead just contacted me." He said out loud.

He looked back at the ominous weapons before looking back at the letter.

"But why here? Did he make mistakes? Do gods even make mistakes?"

He then thought back at all the myths and legends he had brushed up on the Greek gods and deadpanned.

"Probably."

*Crackle*

All of a sudden, familiar sparks appeared and a portal soon formed in front of him making him relieved.

"Kids!" he exclaimed and walked up to them.

He saw Bianca walk out first, then a limping Nico and, finally, Isaiah. The latter then closed the portal.

The man then slowed down when he saw Nico's condition and his smile turned into worry.

"Jesus, kid! What the hell happened to you!?" Tony ran forward and grabbed Nico's shoulders.

"Hey, Mr. Stark. It's kind of a long story." Nico gave a tired smile.

Tony looked at the other two,

"You've made it and you guys rescued Nico." Tony sighed in relief.

"Jeez, you know how to make someone worry."

Isaiah raised an eyebrow,

"How much time has passed since we left?"

"A little over two days."

The man saw Bianca and Isaiah's faces turn into one of surprise and asked,

"Why? Did something happen?"

"Well, it's only been a few hours for us," Bianca replied.

Now it was Tony's turn to be surprised,

"How is that possible?"

"We can blame their Labyrinth for that. The space-time continuum inside the Labyrinth does not flow the same as our dimension. In fact, I could speculate the Labyrinth is its own pseudo-dimension. A malicious pseudo-dimension."

"Looks like it is quite the story. Let's head inside first. Nico looks like he's about to keel over."

Isaiah nodded,

"By the way, how did you know we were here?"

Tony looked confused,

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you were already here before we even arrived."

Tony blinked before realizing,

"Oh. I didn't know that you arrived. It came outside because I got a delivery from their father."

Nico and Bianca perked up,

"Delivery?/Dad?" they both asked.

Tony nodded and gave Nico the card,

"Yeah. There was an earthquake on my lawn and these weapons popped out. When I tried to touch it, it kept getting chills so I didn't move it." the man explained as he pointed at the sword and short swords.

Isaiah observed the weapons black as the night. It was the first time he had seen anything like this. He decided to find out more about it.

'Structural Grasp'

His eyes glowed as he worked his spell. Not even a second later information flowed into his mind. Before the siblings could touch them, he spoke,

"Those weapons were crafted in the Underworld with a mystical metal called the Stygian Iron."

"Stygian Iron?" Bianca asked.

Isaiah nodded,

"Yes. Stygian Iron is a metal mined and forged in the Underworld before being cooled in the River Styx. Due to that, this metal has a different effect on monsters, unlike Celestial Bronze. Instead of simply destroying the physical bodies of the monsters, it absorbs their souls thereby preventing their return to Tartarus and reforming once again."

Bianca and Nico widened their eyes at the unexpected information.

"And Dad gave this to us?" Nico asked.

"Seems like it," Bianca replied.

"It would've been better if we got it sooner though."

Bianca nodded, but she was thankful nonetheless. It means that Hades hadn't abandoned them yet.

"However, there is also another unique aspect of this metal. Not only can it harm the supernatural, but it can also harm mortals. This is why only the children of Hades and other Underworld deities can wield it." Isaiah turned to Tony.

"The chills you felt were probably the effect of the sword. It's a good thing you didn't touch it. Who knows what would've happened."

"Damn." the man could only say.

"I know you guys told me to throw away all science, but this just answered and raised so many questions."

Isaiah chuckled,

"Yeah. But that's why we call it the supernatural."

Tony mirrored Isaiah's expression.

"Heh."

Bianca and Nico have already taken the weapons. Nico chose the sword and Bianca chose the short sword. When they touched it, instead of them feeling like weapons, it felt like an extension of themselves. The compatibility between them and the weapons was so natural. Suddenly, the weapons started to morph and they transformed into skull rings that the siblings wore.

"Oh. It's like Percy's!" Bianca exclaimed.

"Yeah. Nico replied.

Tony had questions, but seeing Nico's condition, he decided it ask later.

"Let's go inside first and rest."

"Thank you Mr. Stark, but we probably need to return to camp for the war preparations," Bianca said.

Tony looked at her incredulously,

"In this condition? Nico needs to rest though."

Bianca smiled,

"I know. The children of Apollo will heal Nico over there."

"Apollo? The god of the sun?"

"And many others including healing," Bianca added.

Tony nodded,

"Alright. You go back. They're probably worried about you guys."

The siblings nodded and turned to Isaiah.

Bianca went first and hugged the boy,

"Thank you for saving Nico. I don't think the others would've been much help. I even prayed to my father, but there wasn't any response."

Isaiah smiled.

"Someone told me friends help each other. I did just that. Besides, if there was no response, would he have sent you those weapons?"

"It doesn't matter. I'm still grateful. I'm sorry if I snapped at you over there. I was just worried when you face the entire army." Bianca replied before separating herself.

Isaiah simply smiled.

Bianca backed away and Nico limped forward. He too went to hug the older boy,

"Thanks, Isaiah."

"No problem Nico."

"No really Thank you. I really thought I would've died right there and then. I'm sorry I dragged you in like this when you told me you can't meddle with the Greek world much."

Isaiah shook his head,

"Well, rules don't apply the same for me, you know?"

Nico giggled,

"Yeah. You saved my life and I will do the same for you when you need help."

Isaiah smirked,

"I don't think you will since I'll have probably dealt with it anyways."

Nico and Bianca laughed. Even Tony smirked.

"We should probably go now. I'm sure Chiron will be furious since I left without telling him anything." Bianca sighed.

Nico nodded and his sister grabbed his shoulder before stepping on a shadow cast by one of Tony's trees.

"You're welcome to return, you know. Since you are Isaiah's friend and all that." Tony said.

Bianca and Nico smiled,

"Thank you, Mr. Stark. Bye, you two." the girl said.

The Starks bid their farewells and the Di Angelos sunk into the shadow leaving the father and son duo alone.

"Let's get inside. I bet you hungry," Tony said.

As if on cue, Isaiah's stomach rumbled. The latter grinned.

The two began to walk to the mansion.

"Yup. So what are we having?" the boy asked.

"I have some leftover takeouts I ordered today. But before that, what did Bianca mean when she said you faced an army?" Tony asked incredulously.

"I'll tell you inside since I'm starving," Isaiah replied as they entered the Stark Mansion.