AN: Damn, a lot of you noticed. Glad to see a bunch of Whovians, though! Thanks go to Engineer4Ever and TenshinG for assistance throughout my story. Friends, pseudo betas, and fantastic authors in their own right.
With my shameless plug out of the way, let's move on with the story!
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Percy Jackson and the Olympians.
Sun's Heir, Death's Guardian II: A Hero's Peril
VI
"Well...This is all sorts of wonderful, isn't it?" Grover mumbled as they came across yet another dead end. They had only just begun their quest and the paths they had been taking were either impossible to pass or led them literally nowhere. The satyr had agreed to come along after hearing what little of the prophecy Annabeth was given that could allude to Pan.
"Maze doesn't want us to pass," Tyson murmured worriedly from behind the satyr, "No stop changing."
"That'd be crazy, Tyson," Percy tried to calm his brother down with a pat on the shoulder. The concerned Cyclops came along despite Chiron's warning about the standard rule for a limit to companions. Annabeth argued that Naruto was given a quest and only took one companion, which was also frowned upon, and seeing as he couldn't divulge why Naruto had only taken one, Chiron reluctantly let it slide.
"Part of me wants to pull my hair out, and the other part wants to admire Daedalus' ingenuity," Annabeth commented through a grumble as she turned around and pushed past Percy and Tyson, "Come on, let's see if a new pathway opened."
The four explorers of the Labyrinth backtracked to where they had originally turned only to find yet another dead-end. Grover and Percy both hung their heads with a groan while Tyson started to pat against the wall in worry. Annabeth huffed in frustration before turning around and pressing her back to the new wall. Sliding down, she crossed her arms over her knees and rested her head on them. Percy went to calm Tyson down before his searching became frantic while Grover took a seat next to Annabeth.
"You alright?" the satyr asked his friend. Annabeth took a deep breath before raising her head.
"I really thought this was my chance to prove myself," she mumbled admittedly. A sigh escaped the blonde girl's lips before she continued, "That I was ready to be a Hero."
Under her breath, Annabeth added, "Just like Naruto."
Though with the silence in the corridor, Percy and Grover heard it just fine. Grover rubbed her shoulder in reassurance that he believed in her while Percy frowned at what she said. His brows furrowed as he recalled a conversation he and Naruto shared last winter, and what Aphrodite had told him. However, that conversation with Aphrodite was not one he wanted to explain to his friends or brother for that matter, so he focused on what the older demigod had said to him.
"When we were looking for Artemis, he mentioned that he found you first," Percy said, getting a look of surprise from Grover while Tyson listened with interest.
Annabeth nodded and her grey eyes turned to Percy, "He did. I'd probably be dead if he hadn't stumbled across me. Well, maybe not dead, but I don't know...He did most of the fighting before we met up with Thalia and Luke."
She gave a bitter laugh before continuing, "All I did was hide. Like a coward."
"Annabeth, you were seven-years-old!" Grover immediately cut in before she could say anything worse about herself, "The fact that you made it from California to New York, even in a group, is amazing!"
"I not do as good on my own," Tyson admitted, giving his own opinion on the conversation, "Hid a lot, too. Annie very brave."
"You don't understand!" Annabeth said with a frown to the two before looking ahead at the darkness of the Labyrinth, "Naruto never showed any fear, and when he fought...it was almost like a dance. A crazy, wild and unpredictable dance."
"Yeah, I'll bet those clones did a lot to make it look crazy," Percy added jokingly getting a snicker from Grover.
"He didn't use them," Annabeth interjected, making the two boys look at her in disbelief. She continued softly, "He couldn't...Normal people could see them. That's why he stuck with his bow."
"He didn't use his sword?" Percy asked in confusion.
Grover piped up before Annabeth could speak, "He didn't have it, remember? Kyubi became his sword and shield after he...died."
Annabeth shivered at the last memory she had before that night, forcing it back and continuing, "That's what made it even more impressive. A bow, some arrows, and a few irrational–no, impossible movements and he took down monsters like he'd been doing it all his life."
Percy opened his mouth to speak when Grover sent him a look that made him shut up. He may have known that Naruto had been training to be a soldier since he was a kid, but Annabeth didn't. She didn't get the story behind the enigmatic blond, and Percy was sure that there was quite a bit left out of Naruto's story. Maybe one day they'd get the rest out of him.
Annabeth continued since Percy didn't speak up, "I asked him who he thought his parent was, wondering if there was even the slightest chance that he and I had the same mother, but he surprised me when he claimed he wondered whom his father was. He could've been a son of Athena with how amazing his planning was. He always managed to box the monsters in, finishing it quickly, and then walking away like nothing had happened. Blond, strategies that were efficient and effective; It screamed Athena."
"And to think, he's the son of one of the most laid back Gods that exist," Grover added, getting Annabeth and Percy to nod while Tyson tilted his head in confusion.
"I just want to prove that I could do what he did," Annabeth said after another moment of silence. As the group focused on her once more, Percy's heart skipped a beat at the smile she had donned, "When I watched him fight, I would think to myself: 'That's what a real Hero is like. That's going to be me, someday.' And this is it. My chance and I blow it by getting us lost five minutes in."
Her smile had faded and she looked down at her feet once again, making Percy furrow his brow. From what he understood, Annabeth wanted to prove that she could be a Hero like Naruto, and after meeting the teen and fighting alongside him (after getting through the rough beginning they had), Percy could understand why she wanted to do that. However, like stated before, Percy had met Naruto and he wasn't as amazing as Annabeth was making him out to be. She must have him on some high pedestal and was measuring herself to him all the time.
No wonder she was considering joining the Hunters last winter. Heck, Percy would too if he had a idol like that!
Another thought crossed his mind that made him gain a sinking feeling in his gut: What if Annabeth compared everyone with Naruto? Where did he rank? Would he even have a rank in comparison to the blond demigod?
Percy wasn't sure if he wanted to ask or not, but thankfully he was saved from making this choice when the wall started to shift once again. The group stood close together when the ground started to shake and clouds of dust shot up. Once more standing on her feet, Annabeth made a realization, "It's a platform. The platform is moving...Everyone hang on to something! We're on an elevator!"
There was a loud hiss before the Labyrinth's floor dropped the four screaming teenagers at an impressive speed. Their ride was fast and short, the platform settling once more with another hiss. A large open doorway was to their right and the questing quartet all got to their feet rather quickly.
"All in favor of not taking that ride again?" Grover asked with a groan.
"Aye/Me." The other three replied with groans of their own while rubbing various portions of their body. They entered into the room hesitantly before being blown away with the strange set up. It looked like Greeks had once lived here, but had slightly changed. There was a shield with a sun engraved on it to the far right, making three of the quest takers think of a certain son of Apollo upon seeing it, but were shaken from their thoughts when a voice spoke.
"And who is that? Someone else trying to kick me out?"
The four turned to what looked like the average doorman with one major difference than any other normal person: he had two faces. One faced left, the other right. The left was set in a smile while the right had a frown. Both had dark golden beards that connected with their equally golden hair. The black eyes of either face were turned in their direction when the face on the left spoke as the adjacent hand rose in a wave, "Hello! Welcome to my humble abode!"
The four were too surprised by what they saw to speak, prompting the other face to open his mouth, "It figures. They're as rude as I heard they were."
Regaining her voice, Annabeth stepped forward and spoke, "Sorry, I've...We've never seen anything like you before. I'm Annabeth Chase, who are you?"
"Ooh, wonderful! I was hoping you would show up soon," The left face said gleefully, "I'm your best friend."
"I'm your worst enemy," the right face added with a noticeable deeper scowl on his face before they spoke in sync, "I'm Janus."
"The God of Beginnings!" The left cheerfully stated.
"The God of Endings," grunted out the right face.
"The God of Choices!" the two faces said at once.
"We've never heard of a God like you," Percy said, getting the right face to eye him.
"I should figure you hadn't," Janus' Right Face grumbled, "But I've heard of you, Percy Jackson."
"Who hasn't?" joked the Left Face.
"The Son of N-!" "Poseidon~!" Janus' Left Face cheerfully interrupted the Right.
"Whatever," Janus' Right Face grunted before pointing at Percy, "You've made many choices. The choice to study alone after my brother offered his aid, the choice to leave your mother behind on the Quest for the Master Bolt, and others that I don't approve of."
"Ah, but he did make choices that stopped the rising of The Crooked One multiple times," The Left Face of Janus chimed in, "But enough about him! Let's look at the leader, the Daughter of Athena!"
Both faces' eyes locked on Annabeth, and she was forced to choose to look at one of them. Choosing the Left, as it was the most welcoming and somewhat familiar, she asked, "What do you want with me?"
"I want you to make a choice, of course, silly girl," Janus said with his smile widening. He gestured behind him, to two doors, and continued while holding his other hand up, "Behind me is two doors. One on the left, one on the right. Both will lead you out of the Labyrinth and back on track. In my hand is a key. It will work in either door, but can only be used once!"
"I have to choose one of the doors?" Annabeth asked, "Is that all?"
"That's all. Right or left. Make a choice," Urged Janus. The blonde daughter of Athena took the key and looked at either door.
There has to be more than just a left or right door, but what could it be? Annabeth asked herself. A troubling thought then crossed her mind and she looked to Percy, Could it mean...?
"What are you waiting for?" Janus Right Face interrupted her thoughts with a frown, "Choose! It's not that hard!"
"I don't know which one to pick!" Annabeth retorted. Janus' Right Face scowled deeper while the Left Face's smile fell slightly.
"Choose!" insisted the god.
"I-I..." Annabeth stuttered out, bringing the key closer to her chest as she stepped back from the minor god.
"That is enough, Janus," a stern voice said. Janus as well as the questing campers all turned to face the speaker, a woman, tall and beautiful. She was dressed in a white dress that flowed like oil on water as she gracefully approached the stunned god. Her long chocolate brown hair was woven into a braid and gold ribbons woven within it. Brown eyes filled with disapproval had locked on Janus, making the god's dual faces swallow.
"You are not welcome here, Janus. Leave," commanded the elegant woman.
Janus had vanished faster than Percy had thought possible, disappearing as though he were never there. The woman sighed and turned her gaze back on the four teenagers. Immediately, Grover fell to his knee and bowed his head, murmuring under his breath several prayers. Tyson became very shy and looked away, unable to gaze upon her with his eye, leaving only a very surprised Annabeth and a slightly confused Percy to be the only two looking at her.
"H-Hera..." Annabeth stuttered out, making Percy look at her and then back at the woman before he remembered why she looked so familiar. The son of Poseidon's face fell into a frown as he recalled their last meeting.
"Annabeth Chase," greeted the Queen of Olympus before she nodded to Percy, "Perseus Jackson."
"Percy," corrected the teen out of habit. He then asked rudely, "Why are you here?"
"Don't look a gift horse in the mouth!" Grover snapped out of worry before he bowed his head once more.
"You may stand, Grover Underwood," Hera said to the satyr before she once more looked at the demigod, "I am here to help you, Percy Jackson. Is that good enough a reason?"
"Forgive me if I don't believe you," Percy deadpanned, "You wanted me dead last time I saw you."
Hera frowned, "Not you particularly, but the...other one could've been killed. It was nothing personal."
"Seemed pretty personal to me," mumbled the teen, but before anything could come of it, Annabeth spoke up, "Why are you helping us?"
"Maybe I just feel like it. Maybe I have something to gain from it. Or maybe," the Queen of Olympus continued with a small smile, "I wanted to see you succeed, Annabeth Chase."
While Hera was assisting the questing quartet through the Labyrinth, Naruto was preparing an arrow. After they had gone back upstairs, Tristan agreed that it was alright for Piper to join them, on their way to the summer camp. Apparently, 'Lyre' had told him that's where they were heading and Tristan wanted his daughter to make more friends, perhaps nipping her shoplifting in the bud before anything worse could happen. So, confused and concerned, Naruto and Thalia resumed their original destination, though Thalia did ask what Tristan meant by a 'summer camp' only for Naruto to cut her off by promising to explain later.
"I swear to Rhea, Whiskers," Thalia said after rejoining him near the gates of the parking garage, "She's going to flip out if she wakes up in our car."
"With how she was asking questions before? Not a chance," Naruto said with a chuckle, "And you said it yourself, with my luck she'll remember what I told her."
The Drakon roared once more, making the couple look at it with frowns on their faces. Thalia prepared her spear and shield once more while Naruto knocked his arrow. The arrowhead split into two prongs as soon as he released the string. It flew fast and true, striking the Drakon in the snout as it looked down at them. Roaring in pain, the flying serpent took to the skies and flew away, making the teens share a confused glance before looking back at the Drakon as it fled.
"That's not normal," Naruto said in a murmur as his brows furrowed in thought, "Why was it here if not to fight?"
"Maybe it thought that we would just ignore it?" Thalia suggested, "Easy prey?"
"No," disagreed the blond, "The Crooked One knows our faces too well and Drakes aren't stupid by any means."
His eyes suddenly widened and a hand went to his head with a loud smack. Groaning he put his bow away and abruptly grabbed Thalia's wrist before turning around back towards his car. Thalia didn't have a chance to resist, running after him in order to avoid being dragged, "Whiskers! What is it!?"
"I'm an idiot, that's what!" Naruto said back to her before opening the passenger door and pushing Thalia towards it, "Get in! We have to catch that Drakon!"
The daughter of Zeus scrambled in the car while Naruto abused his Hirashin to appear within it, pulling his seatbelt on while Thalia shut her door. Before his girlfriend could ask what was going on, Naruto started the engine and peeled out of the parking spot, causing Thalia to reach up and brace her hand against the roof of the car. Glaring at him, Thalia warned, "You'd better not pull another stunt like you did earlier."
"I make no promises," Naruto said as his Challenger sped out of the parking garage. His eyes narrowed as he relocated the flying serpent, "Bingo. Wanna do me a favor?"
"If you even say what I think you're going to say, I'm going to kill you," Thalia spat.
"Roll down your window," He said, catching her off guard.
"Oh...Right," Thalia did as he requested, before looking back at her boyfriend with confusion on her face, "Don't you have a button that does that?"
"Needed a hand for this," Naruto said as he held his pad full of seals. Finding the one he wanted, he gave the pad to Thalia and said, "Rip that out. Carefully."
"How am I supposed to be careful when you're driving like a maniac?" the raven-haired girl asked him. Getting no response, she huffed and grabbed the top of the page before slowly ripping it out of place. Once she finished, Thalia closed the pad and offered her boyfriend the piece of paper, "Now what?"
"My kunai case is on your duffle's side pocket," Naruto said as he made a hard right turn, earning himself a loud blare of a horn, "Get one of them and wrap that around the handle."
"You do realize that having a window open isn't helpful, right?" Thalia asked before turning around and reaching for her duffle bag. Finding said pocket, Thalia opened it and then swiveled her head around to glare at him, "Why the hell are your knives with my underwear?!"
"I thought that was your pajama pocket!" Naruto said before a grin crossed his face as he realized what that meant, "Wait, you mean they actually made women boxers? ...That's sexy. And also very different than what you normally wea–ow!"
He was kicked in the shoulder before the comment could be finished. Thalia had just grabbed a knife when Piper started to wake up. Her kaleidoscopic eyes blinked several times before she focused on a grumbling Thalia and felt herself moving at a fast rate. Slowly sitting up, Piper looked outside to the blurs before looking forward, seeing the still grinning Naruto at the driver's seat. Her gaze went to the creature that was flying away from them and she said, "...It wasn't a dream."
"Oh, hey, your up!" Naruto said before looking at Thalia as she settled back into her seat, "Now when you wrap it, use the torn side first."
"Alright, now what?" Thalia asked as she completed the task. Piper wanted to ask what was going on, but was suddenly cowed into silence as Naruto narrowly avoided driving right into an oncoming truck. Naruto then turned down a not as busy street, following the flying Drakon as best as he could before it turned left where he couldn't.
"When I say so, throw it as hard as you can out your window," instructed her boyfriend before he made a hard left. As he drove down an abandoned alleyway, the blond teen looked up in the rearview mirror with a twinkle in his unique eyes, "Better buckle up, Piper!"
The girl did so as fast as she could. She had good reason to, as Naruto immediately pulled on the emergency brake and turned the wheel to the left once more when they came out of the alleyway, putting them just behind of the Drakon. The flying serpent pulled its wings back with a loud hiss as it tried to make a rapid turn. Naruto floored it and followed as close as he could.
"Now, Thalia-chan!" the blond exclaimed once he was right alongside it. Thalia leaned out of her open window, the blowing wind ignoring her as though she were apart of it, before pulling her right arm back and chucking the weapon at the monster. The kunai cut through the air, piercing the hide of the Drakon like it was nothing. The monster released a slight roar of pain but flew on, vanishing into the clouds. Naruto grinned in victory before looking at his girlfriend after she climbed back in.
"You've successfully just placed your first tracker, Thalia-chan," he congratulated, "Way to go!"
"So are we going to follow it now?" Thalia asked. Naruto shook his head.
"No, we don't have time," the blond said, much to her confusion. He smiled at her before looking forward as he drove, "I'll explain on the way. For now, we should really get to our destination."
"Which is?" Thalia pried, Piper listening in out of curiosity.
"...Camp Jupiter," Naruto said after a moment of silence, getting a displeased rumble of thunder from the sky. Rolling his window down, Naruto shouted back, "Hey, she's your daughter! You wanna argue with yourself? Didn't think so!"
Looking in the rearview mirror, Naruto asked their other passenger, "So how was your nap?"
"You're demigods...and that was a dragon," Piper stated, before slapping her cheeks, "This has to be a dream, wake up, wake up!"
"Denial is such an ugly thing," Naruto sighed out as he looked at his girlfriend, "Anything else you want to ask?"
"What's Camp Jupiter?" Thalia immediately asked, only for a bolt of lightning to fly down and strike near them, "What the hell was that?!"
"That was Rai-Jiji trying to keep you away from the Other Camp," answered Naruto with a frown, "I knew you shouldn't have come...Damn prophecies."
"Prophecy? What you mean like one of those horoscope things?" Piper asked from the back, having given up on trying to wake herself up. Naruto looked at her from the rearview mirror with an arched brow.
"Close," Naruto said before he started to explain what a prophecy was. He then went on to answer as many questions that he could about the whole situation, save for the usual "Who's my mother?" question that popped up. Thalia had to interject to save her boyfriend's hide, explaining that only the Gods could claim who their child was, except for the di Angelos, who were special cases since Naruto was sent personally to protect them from danger. This led to her asking why the di Angelos weren't with them, and Naruto explained that they were too inexperienced to go on a quest with him, and that one of them was ill with a disease no one had ever seen before. The whole conversation took just long enough for the group to come up on a gas station just a few minutes outside of Caldecott Tunnel, where Naruto said they'd have to walk through.
"Do we really have to walk?" Thalia asked as Naruto locked his car before slapping another one of his seals on it.
Piper, noticing the strange ink as it shone, asked, "What's that?"
"Yes, Thalia-chan, we have to walk," Naruto said as he sealed away Thalia's and Piper's bags, "And that, Piper, was an avoidance seal. The seal makes the eyes of any mortals glance over it like it was never there. What I just did was put your bags in a pocket dimension seal, something I should've done in the beginning."
"How?" Piper asked. Naruto grinned and tapped the side of his nose.
"Secret," he said, making the girl pout angrily. Thalia rolled her eyes at her boyfriend's antics, but smiled nonetheless at the two of them interacting like siblings as they started their journey on foot. The thought made her think of Annabeth, wondering how the precious brain of their original group was doing or if Percy had made a move yet. Knowing how he was, Thalia wouldn't be surprised if Annabeth had to be the one that made the first move.
Her thoughts then went to Jason, the little brother she lost so long ago. She missed him every day and still wondered what had happened to him. Pushing the painfully happy memories of her little brother away, Thalia snapped out of her trance when Naruto interlaced his fingers with hers. The blond's unique sun-like eyes had looked at her in worry and she gave him a small smile as her hand squeezed around his. Thalia could mope later; right now she should focus on the quest her boyfriend was on. It would help take her mind off of those sorts of things, anyway.
Unbeknownst to any of the three demigods, a pair of dark eyes narrowed before the owner of said eyes raised a finger to their collar, "(Target found. Initiating pursuit.)"
AN: And so I leave you with a final sentence. Poor Thalia is haunted by a memory that is about to rear its head once more. Piper seems to be taking this rather well, right? Is Hera up to something, or does she really want Annabeth to succeed? Will there be a confrontation in the next chapter? Will more of the prophecy come to pass? Can I get a boo-yah?
To find out there's only one thing left to do,
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