AN: I did it! I can sleep again!
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Percy Jackson and the Olympians.
Sun's Heir, Death's Guardian II: A Hero's Peril
II
Chiron stared at the blond demigod in befuddlement, his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. Just moments before, the one the minor Gods were calling Helios' Heir had stormed into the Big House, promptly scaring off Mr. D who split the moment he saw who had shoved the door open, and told him that he had to get to Camp Jupiter. The centaur was at a loss for words, completely surprised that the blond even knew about the opposing camp. When he finally did get a coherent sentence, all the poor centaur could manage was, "Why on Earth would you have to go there?"
"I have a quest," Naruto answered promptly. He was irked that he still needed permission to leave. He was almost twenty-three mentally, anyway, but it was annoying to know that he had to tell one of the Camp Directors he was leaving.
"I beg your pardon?" Chiron questioned as he jerked back, almost as if he were burned from the shock he was in, "Did you sneak into the Oracle's room?"
"No," replied the Guardian before he went to the door and shut it. Reaching into his back pocket, Naruto pulled out what looked like a notepad, tearing a piece of paper out and slapping it on the door's edge. Chiron watched, fascinated, as the paper once clean of ink became covered in intricate glowing blue runes that were beyond his abilities to decipher.
"What is that?" inquired the Camp Activities Director.
"A temporary privacy seal," Naruto answered as he went to the windows and applied the same paper to them. He then jumped up and walked to the center of the ceiling, placing another next to the light that hung from it. Dropping to the center of the floor, a final seal was placed and Naruto sighed in relief, "Good. Now there's no way anyone save for a God could manage to get this information."
"What information?" Chiron asked.
Naruto looked at the centaur with a serious gaze, one that belonged on a man nearly twice his age, before he spoke, "Helios' presence within me has made me into a sort of seer. Just a few minutes ago he had given me a prophecy and for the past five months, as long as Bianca has been sick, I've been having the same dream over and over again."
Having been informed of Helios' presence within the boy by Mr. D, who had been even more weary of the blond after he found out, and other minor Gods that stopped by for the latest update on said boy, Chiron's eyes widened, "I see...That could be very good for us. Now we could get two quests a year and infighting between cabins might go down during the Summer."
"No. Camp Half-Blood is supposed to have one Oracle and one quest per summer, unless something of importance happens like Auntie Arte being kidnapped or if there is a threat to the Camp, as was the case with Clarisse's quest," Naruto explained his disagreement, "And if the Crooked One finds out about this, I, as well as the di Angelos, will become high-profile targets."
"Hm, I suppose you're correct," Chiron said as he rubbed his beard in thought, "What was your prophecy?"
"A life risked for the Ghost King's precious one, The family reunites after the Roman attacks the Sun. Three take the Fire Steed to neither West nor East, The Pinwheel's Spiral Blade revives the Leaf's dreaded Beast. Rescue comes from the power of Lightning and Thunder, The Shadow Slug defeats death with a gift of wonder. After the Guardian's past returns twice more, Two brothers shall fall during the Labyrinth's War," Naruto recited as his arms crossed in a subconscious way to defend himself. The references to his homeland were far too obvious for him to ignore, and he prayed to Order that the phrase Shadow Slug meant some sort of monster he had never heard of instead of the woman he knew could match the definition.
"'A life risked for the Ghost King's precious one...'" the centaur repeated quietly, pacing the room as he went over the prophecy in his head. He suddenly looked to Naruto and asked, "Do you require a group?"
"No, I'll most likely end up with a group of three after getting to Camp Jupiter," the blond said after a moment of thought.
"I don't like it," Chiron stated with a frown, "This prophecy...it's eight verses rather than six. It's rather straightforward in the beginning, but confusing in the later verses. Not to mention the second line...You'd be attacked and Bianca's life would be forfeited."
"My life is going to be at risk," Naruto pointed out, referring to the prophecy, "But not lost. Not until this Labyrinth War takes place. I just hope I can stop someone else's death. I may be unable to avoid my own Fate, but I'll be damned before I let someone die in front of me because I was told it would happen."
"Maybe we can avert both lives being lost," Chiron said hopefully before scratching his beard once more, "Do you require a mode of transportation?"
"And take that pile of trash you call a van? No thanks, I'll just get my car from Charlie," Naruto said with a wry grin as the centaur gave him a sour look for insulting the van. The blond knew very well how low budgeted the camp was and how they couldn't afford a more up-to-date van or any other car.
"If that is what you wish," Chiron said after a long moment, "Do you want me to inform Nico?"
"No, I'll tell him myself," Naruto said as he raised two fingers in a leaving salute, "Ja ne, Chiron. Just open the door if you want to cancel out the privacy seals."
He vanished in a flash of light, leaving behind an amused centaur. Chiron looked down at the seal on the floor and then to his office's door. He took a step towards the door before turning and going to his bookshelf, pulling an old copy of The Odyssey out an old favorite of his. Removing the bookmark he had placed in the tome, Chiron grinned as he started to resume where he had left off on the forty-first page. Perhaps this way he could get more than a page read.
Naruto reappeared inside of Cabin Thirteen, just outside of the di Angelos' room. Knocking first, he then entered after a brief moment and went to the sick Bianca's side. Where his clone once stood, now stood his younger brother Will Solace. The boy was a gifted healer, one of the best, and was third in line for the Counselor's seat of Cabin Seven, which is why Naruto had pulled him out of his Greek class before going to see Chiron. Putting a hand on his brother's shoulder, Naruto asked, "Any change?"
Will shook his head, "She's still colder than ice, but she's stopped spewing out that green stuff. I got a small sample of her blood, but without any sort of lab I can't analyze it."
That was another thing unique about Will. With his mother being a bombshell of a doctor, even Naruto had to admit that when he laid eyes on his brother's mother last winter, Will had grown up wanting to be just like her and his views on purely demigod healing techniques were skewed. He acknowledged that humanity had made leaps and bounds when it came to medicine, and that where myth or history may be unable to give you an answer, human ingenuity might be able to provide some clear answers.
Taking the vial from his brother, Naruto furrowed his brows while looking at the black and red liquid. Normally demigod blood had the same consistency and color of human blood, and anything different wasn't normal. His own blood had gained flakes of gold thanks to his unique abilities. He discovered that during a spar with Mark Andrews, where the son of Ares managed to knock a tooth out from a bash with his shield. The tooth was reattached easily (Apollo's children couldn't not have dazzling smiles after all), but the blood that had flown out along with it had surprised him.
"Could you keep an eye on her for me?" Naruto asked, making Will look up at him in confusion, "I have a quest and I think it involves finding a cure for her."
Will opened his mouth to ask about the quest, only for Naruto to interrupt him, "I can't tell you about it. It's not an official quest."
Will's eyes widened and he nodded in understanding. Naruto nodded back to him before he walked around Bianca's bed and knelt next to it. Placing a hand on her forehead, Naruto brushed away the girl's bangs and smiled before he spoke softly to the unconscious girl, "Hang in there, Be-chan...I'll fix it."
Standing, Naruto nodded to his brother once more, "I'll leave her in your care, Will Solace."
A very small green helmet appeared above Will's head, making the boy gasp as Naruto blinked in surprise before he added, "And so does Lord Hades it appears...Take care of her, Will."
The shaken demigod nodded, unable to trust his voice as he realized what this meant. Not only was his brother asking him to watch over his charge in his stead, but Hades himself was giving him the blessing to enter and leave the cabin as he pleased. After his elder brother vanished in a flash of golden light, Will only hoped this was a temporary job, because he saw how hyper Nico could get last winter and to be honest, this cabin gave him the creeps. Next to him Ranger released a deep meow and the demigod patted the cat on the head in an effort to reassure him that he was fine...kind of.
Nico frowned as he looked up at Naruto. He had managed to catch Nico just before he entered the Greek class. Giving Annabeth an apologetic smile, he pulled the younger demigod aside and explained to him that he had been given a top secret quest, like the one Clarisse had gone on. In a voice that held a tint of depression within it, Nico asked, "You have to leave again?"
"Sadly, yes," Naruto sighed out. Nico seemed understanding at least, but also disappointed. In an effort to reassure the boy, he reached out and ruffled Nico's hair with a grin on his face, "But it's gonna help us make Bianca better."
"Stop it!" mock complained Nico as he swatted the older blond's hand away. To be honest, he liked the brotherly affection Naruto gave him, but in case someone was around he had to act embarrassed. That and whenever he did it, Nico felt his stomach dance for some reason. It happened around Percy sometimes, too, which added to the confusion Nico felt.
"Alright, alright," chuckled out the older blond, breaking his charge from his musing on the strange feelings he sometimes got. Naruto smiled down at Nico, "My brother Will is going to be taking care of Bianca while I'm gone, so don't slack off. I'll be back before you know it with a cure."
"Promise?" asked the young Son of Hades. Nico wasn't sure of whether he meant that Naruto would return quickly or if a cure would be found.
"Promise of a lifetime," Naruto assured his charge with another tussle of the boy's hair. The younger demigod once more swatted his now laughing Guardian's hand away. Naruto jerked his head in the direction of the Greek class once he had quieted down and Nico groaned, trudging into the room and greeting Annabeth before taking his seat. Naruto looked into the classroom, watched as Nico easily caught up with the others, before sending a wink to his annoyed 'little sister' and vanishing in a flash of golden light.
Naruto reappeared well away from the location of Annabeth's class, reappearing a few feet from his charges' cabin. The person found waiting for him with her arms crossed and a glare settled on her face made him stop where he was. He admitted that her fitted black attire and adorably mad glare had distracted from the fact as to why she could be mad at him. Sheepishly laughing and scratching the back of his neck, Naruto greeted his girlfriend, "Hey Thalia-chan."
"Don't give me that," Thalia retorted as she stomped over to her taller boyfriend, "What got you so angry that you had managed to freeze Grover, Percy, Annie and Clarisse in place? All I got was a few bleats out of Grover before he muttered something about Pan and ran off. Why didn't you wake me up, either?"
"Oh yeah, and then there's that," Naruto grumbled, his mood falling back into its original irritation as he remembered the order given to the Satyr by his superiors. Shaking the feeling off, Naruto apologetically smiled down at Thalia before giving her a hug, "Sorry about missing the morning cuddling - ow!"
Thalia retracted her foot from where it had stomped down on Naruto's, glaring at him with a tint of pink on her cheeks, "Don't say it out loud!"
Grabbing at his now throbbing toes, Naruto expertly balanced on his other foot while forcing chakra through his hands into them and sent a mock glare of his own to his volatile girlfriend, "I swear if I didn't know better you could be Ares' daughter! You're the one that suggested it!"
"Yeah, well I have a reputation to protect," Thalia grumbled, crossing her arms and stepping away, her pink tinted cheeks not fading in the slightest.
Lowering his now recovered foot, Naruto answered her first question in an effort to get off the topic she was getting embarrassed over, "As to why I freaked out the others, which I didn't know about until now, I got some bad news about Bianca's illness."
Thalia looked at the blond out of the side of her eyes, giving him a bit of an apologetic glance. She accepted that he occasionally put his duty as a Guardian above their relationship (though it could be deemed a rare instance as it hardly occurred), but it was part of the reason he had her heart. The fact that it was because one of his charges had the most bizarre illness she'd ever heard of made it an easier pill to swallow. It just showed why he was an a great choice for a Guardian; Naruto Uzumaki was one of the most caring people she'd ever met and that's why she loved him.
"Is she alright?" Thalia asked out of concern for her boyfriend's sake and because a part of her did care about her cousin.
"She's stable, at least for now," Naruto started to reply before looking around and taking hold of Thalia's arm, "Hang on, we can't talk about this here."
Before she could ask him why, Naruto had pulled her close and they had once more vanished in a flash of light. They reappeared next to the pile of rocks named after her father's fist, though she felt it was more along the lines of being deer droppings. Not that Thalia would ever say it. Perhaps Naruto would though.
"Alright, no one ever hangs out at Rai-Jiji's Pile of Rocks," Naruto said with a nod, ignoring the warning rumble of thunder that occurred above him. Thalia fought down a smirk; Naruto's disrespect always got her to smile and that usually put her in the same state it put him. Her boyfriend's unique eyes met hers once more and he continued where he left off, "I have a quest to find a cure for her. Only four people know about it aside from me: Chiron, Nico, my brother Will and now you."
"I'm going with you," Thalia immediately replied. She could care less who knew about this quest and who didn't. Naruto had told her of his deal with Hades and how his soul would be lost for eternity should he ever die on a quest. As long as she could stop it, Thalia had sworn to herself that she would, even if that meant going on every quest with him just to make sure he didn't die on her.
Naruto groaned and took hold of his girlfriend's shoulders, "Dammit, Thalia-chan you can't go! My group will form when I get to...It'll form later."
"'Your group will form later', huh?" Thalia repeated with narrowed eyes as she pushed his hands off and poked him roughly in the chest, "Just where is this quest taking you?"
Damn! Zeus' little girl is scary! Helios commented with an audible shiver, to which Naruto silently agreed with. When she wanted to, Thalia could give him a glare that would fill him with fear that his Baachan had once filled him with. And yet, it was part of her charm, he couldn't help but love her more for it.
"I can't tell you where it's taking me, because you aren't going," Naruto sternly replied. This was one argument that Thalia was not going to win. Granted that their normal arguments consisted of spars and how having a 'God Mode' made him something other than a Demigod. Thalia seemed to like the idea of being in a relationship with a Reincarnated God more than that for some reason, probably because of her so called lust for power that Kyu said she had.
"I. Am. Going," Thalia rebutted, emphasizing her point by jabbing him in the chest with each word.
"The Hell you are," Naruto said as he grabbed her hand firmly and his eyes started to glow lightly, "I'll be meeting the other members of my group later."
"And so will I," Thalia said as her eyes started to crackle with electricity as her frustration grew.
In all honesty, if anyone who had been in the same room as Zeus and Apollo when they argued were to watch the two now, they would admit that both of their stubbornness was equal to that of their fathers'. Prior to the recovery of Naruto from the Hidden Lands, Zeus would often demand answers as to why Apollo would slack off when he was supposed to be steering the Sun. The younger God, whose strength was only just weaker than his father's, would often argue that he had everything under control and that Zeus should worry about his own domain. Zeus would retort that he was worrying about his own domain, as the Sun was seen in the Sky. The argument would continue until either Artemis or Hera stepped in, both of whom were the only two that wouldn't be struck by lightning or fire if they interrupted.
Their staring continued and above them, dark clouds started to swirl while portions of the sunlight broke through. Thalia's now sparking eyes narrowed and Naruto's own shining ones mimicked the action. Then, out of nowhere, Naruto's dream flashed across the front of his mind, consequently breaking some of his focus on the staring contest and breaking his connection with the Sun, thus allowing Thalia's darkening clouds to cover the area.
You don't think that happens on my quest do you? Naruto inquired to his past life. Helios hummed.
It's possible, the Faded God replied, I mean, how many dark corridors do you recall seeing in Camp Half-Blood? As much as I loathe to admit it, you're going to have to go to Camp Ju...Ju...That Other Camp.
Naruto mentally sighed before breaking the staring contest with his girlfriend, shifting his gaze to the ground with a scowl on his face, "Fine. You can go."
Thalia, hearing the victorious words leave her boyfriend's lips, immediately lost the sparking in her eyes and the clouds slowly parted. Crossing her arms over her chest and smirking, the daughter of Zeus asked, "Was that so hard to say?"
"You have no idea," the Heir of Helios mumbled as he looked at her, his hands jamming themselves into his pockets. With a sigh, he looked up at the once again cleared sky before he spoke, "C'mon, let's go pack and get my car back from Uncle Heph's Cabin."
Smirking and looking at his girlfriend with a petty form of revenge in mind, he asked teasingly, "Unless you'd like to fly there...?"
As far as Naruto was concerned, the punch in the arm was well worth the look of terror that crossed his girlfriend's face.
"Well here it is," said the tall African-American Counselor for Cabin Nine as he led the couple into the garage that had been added onto the cabin for the sake of working on vehicles, the joint Aphrodite and Hephaestus Smilodon, Emery, curled up under a workbench littered with tools. Naruto's unique eyes started to sparkle as he looked at his car, walking past Charles Beckendorf to the driver's seat. The handle looked to be made of actual chrome, rather than the false chrome that it had come with, and opening the door was slightly harder because of its weight.
"We stripped it down and replaced the frame with a hollow Stygian Iron that took days to create, not to mention modifying the engine and gears to allow the car to retain its speed," Charles continued as he and Thalia watched Naruto slip into the dark leather seats and run his hands over the steering wheel's edge. Said wheel now had a Greek Sun over the car horn, rather than the Dodge ram shield that once marked it. If he bothered to look, Naruto would've seen the same Sun on the front grill and that the license plate read BRN RUB3R.
Shutting the door and looking in from the window, Charles pointed out several new buttons along the wheel's edge to Naruto, "This one here drops a small amount of oil from a spare container, in case you ever need to give someone the slip."
"Nice: both the pun and the add on," Naruto complimented, "And this one?"
"Car spikes," the son of Hephaestus answered before crying out in alarm when Thalia, who had slipped into the passenger's side while the two were talking, tried to press the red button she had found when she flipped open a portion of the stick shift, "DON'T PRESS THAT!"
As though she were burned, Thalia retracted her hand, making Charles sigh in relief before he explained himself, "That happens to activate the S.O.L. Engine's light speed."
"...You named my engine S.O.L.?" Naruto asked in disbelief before he made a double take with wide eyes, "Wait, light speed?!"
"Well yeah, it's theoretical and we haven't gotten around to testing it," Charles shrugged, "But you are a Son of Apollo and Helios' Heir, so why not put it in this? As to why we call it S.O.L. it doesn't stand for Shit Outta Luck, but rather Solar Oriented Logistic Engine. Or as some of my more humorous brothers call it, Speed Of Light Engine."
Ha! Well if it works, theoretically, you'd be going at the same speed as I used to with Zephyr and Zephyr's brethren, Helios idly commented. Before adding, That is, as long as you don't get burnt to a crisp from the excess heat.
"That's reassuring," Naruto mumbled to himself before nodding to Charles, "Thanks, Charlie. I'll be sure to bring it back so that you and your cabin can continue to tinker with it."
"Oh, we've already started on another project, but thanks," Charles said. After the garage door opened, Naruto and Thalia were buckled in, their packs tossed in the back seat and Naruto's car roared to life. The tires squealed loudly, stopping all action in camp as everyone covered their ears, before Naruto put the car in gear and it peeled out of the Cabin's garage. Charles watched the two speed away and scratched his head with a frown, "Aw man...I forgot to ask why he wanted to take it."
AN: And so begins the Quest for The Cure. Will Naruto ever have to use the S.O.L. Engine? Does Annabeth shake down answers from Chiron about Naruto's whereabouts? Can Will handle being in charge of Cabin Thirteen? Will I survive the hour-long torture I'm being forced into tonight?
To find out there's only one thing to do,
YOU MUST REVIEW!