FINALLY! Bonesboy15 has returned home from college! Do you know what that means? Yes! It means more free time to get some writing in!

...As long as my job allows it, I mean.

In other news! My good buddy Engineer4Ever has written his own Percy Jackson and the Olympians crossover, but in a twist it is his first non-Naruto story! Ladies and gents, I implore to you, go check out his new fic The Ever Twisting Winds: The Lightning Thief

And my other buddy TenshinG has just posted his new twist on the selection of Percy Jackson and Naruto crossover with the rather entertaining Hero of the Dead: Road to Ninja story.

Check it and Engineer's new story out, they're both a good read.

...After you read this chapter of course!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

Sun's Heir, Death's Guardian II: A Hero's Peril

XIX

Naruto woke as he usually did with the sun, his eyes blearily opening to lock onto the dark patch of hair attached to the head that rested on his chest. Thalia slept peacefully in the early morning despite not wanting to share a bed with him that night, he noted. He looked to his left, where Jason and Piper had set up some makeshift beds with the blankets and pillows Shizune brought them. He smirked at Piper's head resting on Jason's shoulder. Seemed as though blondes were the new preferred choice of partner. He frowned as he realized that meant Jackson would most likely go for his little sister.

Well, there goes the plan of making friends with him. Now he has to beat some awesome into the kid if he's going to date his little sister. Well, more so then he had been before, anyway. Naruto chuckled as he recalled his last training session with Jackson before winter break ended.

Ah, the Thousand Years of Death lives on, Ero-sennin. Naruto thought, knowing that once it was used on you, you were determined to get someone else with the same attack. It was in fact the ultimate attack/prank. Like the classic whoopee cushion, it would live on forever. Naruto was certain of it.

Thalia grumbled something in her sleep and Naruto looked back down at her, then to the sunlight peeking through the window. With a small grunt of annoyance he let his head fall back to the pillow and tried to get some more sleep. It was to no avail because of Thalia's sudden waking, pushing down on his stomach and the bed with a jolt.

"Thalia!" Naruto said with a gasp, his air leaving him from the force she put behind her push. Thalia looked down at him, her eyes still a bit cloudy from sleep, until she realized what she was doing and where she was. She removed her hand from Naruto's stomach, letting him groan in relief. And here she thought she wasn't strong? Tell that to his bruised organs.

"Sorry," said Thalia, having regained her bearings, evident by the spark that was present in her and her brother's eyes. There was something else in her eye though, a flicker of unease that had Naruto frowning slightly.

"You alright?"

"Yeah, fine," said Thalia, just a bit too quickly. Naruto wanted to push on it, but was stopped by her changing the subject. "Wow, and you thought you were smooth."

Naruto followed her gaze to the two younger teens and he chuckled again. "I'd take credit for that, but Rai-Jiji's got some game. Managed to make you, despite his old age."

Thalia smirked at that. She quickly got out of the bed, stretching as she did, and walked over to the resting duo. Clearing her throat, she put on her best glare and locked it onto Jason. Her hands went to her hips and with her scowl in place, Thalia woke her little brother with a loud, stern cry of "JASON!"

The younger Grace shot awake, fully alert and his trusty coin Julius in hand, ready to be flipped. Consequently, his sudden return to the consciousness had succeeded in also jolting Piper from her rest. Her hand went to the dagger resting at her side, blearily looking around while her bedmate was up and at 'em. Jason's frantic search for danger ended when his eyes landed on the glaring form of his older sister. All of his courage left him when her electric blue eyes narrowed.

"What did I do?"

"I cannot believe you! Here I thought you had a bit more of the better qualities of our father yet here you are, trying something so soon with a girl you just met!"

"What-but-I?"

Naruto watched with a very amused smile on his face, his eyes catching the confused Piper's and winking at her, cluing her in to the joke. The daughter of Aphrodite was quick to figure out what Thalia had meant, spending most of the night after her mock lesson with Naruto had reignited her passion for learning about Greek mythology...or rather, Greek history. It was common knowledge among the basic students that Zeus was known as one of the more active of the 'Big Three', as Piper learned the brothers were called.

Jason looked to his friend for some help, finding none as Naruto shook his head in shame with a displeased frown on his face. Inwardly, Jason felt betrayed by Naruto's silence and just a bit angry at the older teen. Like Naruto hadn't ever woken up with a girl in his bed before, the hypocrite. Naruto had boasted of his deflowering if only to shut up his Roman brothers, but the fact remains, Naruto was among the last people to be berating him for doing something like this.

Piper couldn't contain her amusement and let out a giggle, making Jason look at her in confusion. Seeing his face only furthered her amusement and made her burst into laughter. Jason frowned at her laughter and turned back to Naruto, blinking as the whiskered blond joined in with Piper. His gaze went back to his sister to see her scowl had fallen back into a smile.

"Oh my gods, Jason I can't...I can't..." Thalia failed to finish her sentence because she followed her boyfriend's example, joining him and Piper in their laughter. Jason looked around at the three, confusion written on his face.

"So wait. Does this mean I'm not in trouble?"

Naruto nearly split his gash back open he was laughing so hard. Jason's naivety almost rivaled Jackson's, but his seriousness, appearance and nobility resembled Annabeth's. Shame he was Roman, otherwise Naruto wouldn't be sure who Jason's parent was, or in the previous comparison's case, parents. As he shared a laugh with Helios over the comparison between his little sister, Jackson and Jason, Naruto couldn't help but wonder what was going on at the camp.

"It's at times like this that I wonder if I should've just stayed at camp," said Percy as they ran after the scurrying metal spider. The second Nico dropped it on the ground in the labyrinth it shot off into the darkness, barely staying in sight for a second. The only reason they could still follow it was because of Grover and Tyson's excellent hearing, and Nico was just a bit faster than the lot of them, being able to keep a longer glance on it. Apparently running from the three-headed guard dog of the Underworld around the River Styx is good for you, who knew?

"Please, you enjoy getting into trouble!" Annabeth said jokingly as she panted and they rounded a corner. She caught a glimmer of the metal spider as it squeezed its way through a rather wooden and numbered door. The faded bronze numbers painted onto the door was 101, with some words lost to time above it.

"Okay, it's in there, we can take a break now, right?" Grover asked, panting heavily. He didn't know how Juniper could handle running for so long, and he wondered what he did to be able to 'catch' her.

Annabeth shook her head at his question. "No, we have to keep going or we'll lose it."

"Joy," said Nico blandly. "Maybe we should've asked for a leash."

"Yeah, probably not the best idea," said Percy, noticing Annabeth's shiver at the thought of the metal arachnid lookalike on a leash. Taking another breath, Percy grabbed the door handle and pushed it open. Immediately, he blanched and regretted doing so. Why? He discovered his personal prison, a place most teens hate nearly every day of the week.

A classroom.

Crunch.

Looking down, at his foot, he found a split bone that was hanging off the hip of a very old skeleton that was hanging off the door handle from within. Oh wonderful. It was a classroom with skeletons.

"And I thought I would die in school," said Nico under his breath as the rest of the quest members followed Percy into the room.

"Di immortales," said Annabeth, covering her nose like Grover did. "How can you two stand it?"

"Son of Hades," said Nico nonchalantly. It made sense that the smell of decomposition wouldn't bother him as much as it would anyone else since he was the son of the Prince of Darkness. They turned to Percy.

"...The stables were worse," he said.

Percy's response was immediately understood and Nico's lips quirked up a bit in amusement. There was a clearing throat and the group looked at the other side of the room where they found the monster that made most of these skeletons.

Standing on a dais at the other end of the room was a very unique creature captured by the Egyptians in stone construct. The body of a large lion sat atop the dais, but where a feline head should be, a woman's was. Her hair was pulled back into a bun and the face would have been pretty, but she wore far too much makeup. Pinned to her chest was a blue ribbon that read: THIS MONSTER HAS BEEN RATED EXEMPLARY!

"Sphinx." Tyson immediately named the monster, a whimper escaping him as he saw it. Memories of running away and being attacked by a different Sphinx while on his own came crashing back and the young cyclops swallowed loudly. His scars ached as the monster's human-like head looked over the newcomers to her domain.

Percy stood protectively in front of his brother while Annabeth and Nico flanked him. Nico's hand reached for his sword's handle while Percy fingered the pen disguised Riptide. Through their peripheral vision, the demigods saw the small metal spider scuttle through the sea of skeletons that was the ground and ducked beneath the Sphinx.

Annabeth made to move forward, only to succeed in making the monster roar, revealing her large fangs as she did. Annabeth wisely took a step back and her hand went to the knife pouch on her hip, slipping her fingers in to grip the handle of one throwing knife lightly in reflex. The Sphinx paid the demigods' actions no mind, coming back from her roar with a deceitfully sweet smile. Bars fell down behind the group and behind the Sphinx, caging them in the room.

"Welcome new contestants!" said the Sphinx with a brilliant smile on her face. "It's time to play...ANSWER THAT RIDDLE!"

As soon as the words left her mouth, spotlights behind her and set up around the room spun wildly like on a television show, a theme sounding eerily familiar to the Family Feud's started to play along with generic audience reactions. Nico's hand dropped along with his jaw, and the jaws of the other two demigods.

"Oh you have got to be kidding me," said Nico.

"Winners will receive fabulous prizes!" The Sphinx continued as though the son of Hades hadn't spoken. "Pass the test and you may advance, but fail and I'll eat you! Either way, I win!"

"Oh great, she's one of those teachers," said Percy. Honestly, the teachers who said far too much that they wanted you to succeed kind of grated on his nerves. Then again, they were better than Naruto, who literally put him on edge whenever he was teaching Percy about Greek myth-er, history. That was something Naruto was adamant about putting (or rather pounding) into Percy's brain: It's not a myth if it's true. Another thing Naruto did was incorporate the damn height measurement lesson into pop quizzes, where Blackjack once again gleefully helped the blond. As far as Percy was concerned, Blackjack was not getting any donuts for a while.

"I'll handle this," said Annabeth, relaxing a bit and took an unfortunate contestant's place, knocking it to the ground with a loud clatter. "Um, sorry?"

"Welcome, Annabeth Chase!" That certainly got the rest of the group to share a concerned glance since Annabeth hadn't said her name. "Are you ready for the test today?"

"I'm ready," said Annabeth with a confidant nod. "Ask your riddle."

"Actually now it's twenty riddles, isn't that exciting!?" asked the Sphinx, eager to begin. Nico swallowed a bit to dampen his now dry mouth.

"She seems a bit too...excited about this," he said softly. Percy nodded in agreement, his hand now holding Riptide tightly. He was ready to jump in if the case need be.

Annabeth, meanwhile, was bewildered. "But-but back in—"

"Would you rather accept the failure?" asked the Sphinx, a wide grin on her face that once again showed off her sharp teeth. "As you can see, I am perfectly fine with that."

Annabeth worriedly looked to the group. Nico gripped his sword but stayed his ground, giving her his silent support. Grover and Tyson both straightened up, though Tyson's eye was flickering between her and the Sphinx. Her gaze locked on Percy, who gave her a reassuring nod, before she turned back with a rekindled fire in her eyes.

"I'm ready."

The Sphinx frowned in disappointment, obviously looking forward to a free and 'easy' meal, but accepted the demigoddess' choice. With a sigh, she stamped her paw on the dais and a thin test booklet along with a brand new number two pencil appeared before Annabeth on the podium where she stood, mystifying the daughter of Athena.

"Number one!" The Sphinx's excited voice snapped Annabeth from whatever questions were running through her head. A drumroll started before the Sphinx spoke again. "What . . . is the capital of Bulgaria?"

Annabeth blinked, stunned at the question that she was asked. It worried Percy for a moment, while Grover and Nico seemed to mimic Annabeth's confusion, before the girl found her voice. "S-Sophia, but—"

"Correct!" said the Sphinx, her smile wide, but not as wide as before. "Make sure to mark your answer correctly on your test sheet. Fill the bubbles in clearly, but stay inside the lines. If you have to erase, be sure to erase completely or else the machine can't read your answers. And if the machine–"

"Machine?"

The Sphinx growled a bit at being interrupted, but put a pleasant smile back on her face before gesturing to a box set near one of the spotlights to the side. It was bronze, covered in gears and levers, but what really sent the quest takers for a spin was Hephaestus' mark, Êta, being on the side of the box.

"As I was saying, if the machine can't read your answers, it's automatically wrong, and if it's wrong, well...I think you know what happens then," said the Sphinx, another feral grin on her face. It fell once more for the pleasant smile to return. "Next question–"

"Wait a minute, what about the riddle about man?" Annabeth asked.

"Oh, that riddle grew old and that snooty little Oedipus spread the answer around with his boasts," said the Sphinx, her hackles raised in the memory of the man that solved her famous riddle. Shaking her anger off, the Sphinx smirked. "Got his comeuppance in the end, though, didn't he? And, well, Hera found me to still be useful and offered my services to several of the other Gods. Hephaestus took to me instantly. The rest, as they say, is history. Is that a good enough reason, Annabeth Chase, or would you like me to think up another?"

Annabeth bristled at the Sphinx's words. So because one guy solved the riddle she had to deal with twenty of them? She glanced past the monster to the bars where the metal spider had dashed through, before looking back with determination written on her face. Maybe they'll get harder (and more riddle-like) as they went on.

"Fine," she said, marking the answer with a displeased frown on her face. These questions better get harder.

"Good, second question," said the Sphinx. Annabeth crossed her arms over her chest as the drums rolled again. "What is the square root of sixteen?"

Oh for the love of–! "Four." Annabeth marked the answer with a very noticeable scowl on her face.

The Sphinx paid it no mind, however, simply smiling. "Correct! Which President of the United States signed the Emancipation Proclamation?"

"Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth president," said Annabeth, her teeth gritting in annoyance. They weren't getting harder, nor were they becoming riddles.

"Correct again! Don't forget to mark it down, dear," said the Sphinx. "Next–"

"No."

"I beg your pardon?" the Sphinx asked, a look of annoyance crossing her own face.

"I refuse to answer these questions," said Annabeth.

"Riddles, dear," said the Sphinx with a huff. "Now, how much force is required to-"

"They aren't riddles!" said Annabeth as she slammed her hands onto the podium, cutting the Sphinx off. "Riddles are supposed to make you think!"

"How in the world would I test how you think? These riddles are sanctioned to test your mental capacity and whether you are worthy or not to move forward."

"They. Are. Not. Riddles!" Annabeth said, openly showing her displeasure over the whole scenario.

"Annabeth, can't you, you know, just play along?" Percy asked, getting her to turn around and glare at him.

"Yeah, just answer the questions so we can move on," said Grover, agreeing readily with his friend and eager to go back to finding Pan.

"I'm a child of Athena, the goddess of wisdom and a goddess of intelligence," said Annabeth, her arms crossing once again as she looked back at the Sphinx with a stink eye. "These questions are an insult to my intelligence. I refuse to answer any more."

"Oh great," said Nico dryly. "She's got a big head."

"I heard that, Nico!"

"You were meant to, Annabeth."

"Well then, Annabeth Chase, if you won't pass, then you fail!" said the Sphinx, that eager fang-filled smile back on her face. The spotlights spun around until they shone obnoxiously in the demigods, satyr and cyclops' eyes. The Sphinx continued, her eyes now dark as the night. "And since you fail, that means you would be held back. I can't have that stain my perfect record, so you'll just have to be EATEN!"

"Annabeth move!" said Nico, unsheathing his sword as Percy prepared Riptide. The blonde girl did, diving out of the way as the monster pounced at her. Coming out of the roll she dove into, Annabeth pulled out one of her throwing knives and tossed it at the Sphinx's eye. The monster's small humanlike head ducked under the knife and it once more pounced at her. Tyson came to Annabeth's rescue by tackling the Sphinx mid-air, an angry cry coming from the cyclops' mouth as he did. They landed in a pile of bones with a loud crash.

Percy, Grover and Nico made their way to Annabeth's side, Grover helping the daughter of Athena back to her feet while Percy and Nico covered them. Nico had fallen into an alien stance that Percy for the life of him didn't understand, the sword held at an angle in front of the partially crouching son of Hades. It looked official and quite frankly, kind of cool.

Tyson got back to his feet, his shirt clawed and torn, standing in front of the two sword-ready demigods. Sadly, so did the Sphinx, her mouth curled into a snarl as she tried to find an opening to get to the 'failed student'. Annabeth moved to join the two boys, but Percy took another step in front of her.

"Put your hat on," he said.

"What? No! I can fight, I killed Geryon didn't I?"

"Yeah, but she's after you," said Percy. "Let us handle her and stay out of the way so we don't have to worry about you."

"You don't have to worry about me-!"

"Hey, I know that you both have this thing, but let's save it for after the monster is dead, okay?" Nico asked. "Annabeth, just do what Percy says. This way if you get an opening you can take a shot without risking your location. Percy, you're with me on distraction."

"...That's actually a really good idea," said Annabeth, a bit upset she hadn't thought of it.

"Like I said, a big head."

"Shut up, Nico."

"Annabeth, hat!" Percy said as Tyson dropped his massive fist atop the Sphinx's head as it tried to take a chunk out of his shoulder, making the monster growl at the cyclops and back away.

"Right," said Annabeth, pulling her Yankee's cap out and onto her head. She vanished and aside from the soft shuffling of through the bones.

"Grover, hang back," said Nico. "Big guy, let her through!"

Tyson looked back quickly at Percy, who nodded, before quickly backing away from the Sphinx. The two cousins stood tense as the Sphinx growled at them.

"Where is she? She failed and must be dealt with!"

"Only one I see being dealt with is you, ugly," said Nico, making the Sphinx's hackles rise again.

"The whole lot of you are going to feed me for days!" said the Sphinx, leaping at the son of Hades. Nico ducked to the left and swung at the underside of the Sphinx, cutting her flesh. Her leap interrupted from the slash via Nico's Stygian blade, the Sphinx landed about as gracefully as an elephant, crashing on her side into a giant mound of skeletons.

The Sphinx growled as she got up, taking a bronzed throwing knife to the shoulder as soon as she had. She swiveled her gaze to where the knife had come from after roaring in pain and anger. A skeleton shifted and the Sphinx's eyes glistened in excitement, becoming catlike slits as she prepared to pounce again.

Percy ran forward, using a mound of decomposing bodies as a spring board to jump and slash down at the Sphinx's head, missing the ideal target as the Sphinx leapt once more, but getting a good deep cut into the Sphinx' hindquarters. Once again, the Sphinx landed with a crash, growling at the son of Poseidon before being put on the defensive as Nico rushed forward through the shadows to her right, stabbing in the direction of her ribs. The Sphinx dodged by leaning back on her hindquarters, but then took another bronzed throwing knife to the side, just below her ribs.

"Little brat! I'm going to savor your corpse!"

"Well, she's got some good banter," said Nico, having stepped back to stand next to Percy. Percy arched a brow in question, prompting Nico to shrug. "Kushina said that banter was a very necessary part of fighting. If done well, it can help you manipulate your opponent."

"I'll bet," said Percy, recalling how he and Naruto enraged the Nemean Lion in the winter with jeers to make it roar.

"Heads up," said Nico, both boys diving forward and a bit to the right and left respectively as the Sphinx charged at them. They brought their swords up and swung their swords at the same time in an show of impressive synchronization, cutting both of the Sphinx's concealed wings off.

The scream that came from the Sphinx had both boys covering their ears. The ensuing crash of metal meeting head had them looking with awe to see Tyson bringing the pain down on the monster, bludgeoning the Sphinx with her own machine. The wrecked machine was dropped when the Sphinx smacked the young cyclops to the side, her hackles raised to the highest as she roared in anger.

"Riddle me this, riddle me that, who's no better than a big stupid cat?" Annabeth's voice echoed around the room.

"Show yourself, Annabeth Chase! You failed!" said the Sphinx, enraged.

"Enn! Wrong answer!" said Annabeth. A final bronzed throwing knife shot from the corner of the room into the back of the Sphinx's head. "You lose."

"No-o-o!" the sphinx's scream echoed in the room as she dissolved into golden dust. Left behind on the floor was a bronzed staff curved into a large question mark, the Sphinx engraved along the side of the shaft. Annabeth reappeared next to it, her hat in hand and quickly picked the staff up, balancing it in her hand before dropping it onto the ground, letting it bounce back up into her hand.

Smugly smirking at the two boys, she said. "Riddle me this, riddle me that, who is the one with the coolest hat?"

"Riddler?" Nico asked.

"Riddler."

"Nice."

"I know."

"That was awesome Annabeth," said Grover, who had been keeping his distance during the fight, as he and Tyson walked up to them. He looked at the rising gates and something clicked in his head. "Oh no. The spider! I can't hear it!"

"What?!" Annabeth said, horrified.

"We wasted too much time with the Sphinx," said Nico, his face a bit pale.

"We've got no choice but to go forward," said Percy. He capped Riptide and rushed for the open tunnel. "Let's go!"

The group followed him, Annabeth gripping her trophy tightly as she ran after him. All of them were running as fast as they could to catch up with the spider, which had long since gone through here. The tunnel was dark save for the occasional torch, and a few times Percy lost sight of the others. They were about fifteen minutes into the tunnel when Tyson made a surprised cry.

"Nico!"

The other three stopped and looked around. The son of Hades was nowhere to be found.

"He might've fallen," said Annabeth nervously. "We can't go back."

"We have to go back!" said Percy in return. "We can't just leave him back there."

"He can catch up, Percy."

"But what if he's hurt?"

"We'll just have to come back for him."

"Are you even hearing yourself?!"

"We don't have the time, Percy!"

"This is Nico! So what if he called you big headed-"

"It's not about that!" said Annabeth, visibly distressed as she shouted at him. "I know it's Nico, Percy, but we have to-we have to put the camp first." She looked very uncomfortable saying that.

Percy felt even worse. "Then you go on, I'll go back and look for him."

"Don't bother," said Nico, emerging from the shadows with sweat dripping down his face. "Found the spider. It's only a few minutes ahead."

"How did you-?"

"Find it?" Nico cut Percy off. "Easy, Shadow Travel. Tunnels are lined with em, so it wasn't hard to find the spider."

"Gods above, Nico, at least tell us next time," said a very relieved Annabeth. "What Naruto would've done if he found out I left someone behind..."

"Yeah, he'd probably be mad if you left Nico," said Percy.

"Not just Nico," said Annabeth. "Naruto's got a firm rule that he abides by: 'Those who break the rules are trash, but those who abandon their friends and precious people are worse than trash.'"

"Oh yeah," said Percy. He recalled the phrase and mulled it over in his head a few times. It had a nice ring to it. Well, except for the precious people bit, that just sounds a bit funny.

"Hey, the pep talk is nice and all, but that spider-thing is getting away, let's go!" said Nico.

The two older demigods nodded and once more the group ran. They hit a few stumbles, Nico diving back into the shadows for a brief moment to catch up with the spider and quickly backtrack to the group. Nico was too tired to continue shadow walking like this, nearly collapsing when he tried to do it again after they lost the spider a third time. Annabeth told him to rest while Tyson carried him, getting a disgruntled agreement from the tired son of Hades when he was given a piggyback ride by the cyclops.

Their solution came from Tyson, whose head turned to the right as they came across a crossroads. He pointed down the dark tunnel. "There noise. Like ping, ping, ping."

"You think that could be it?" Percy asked Annabeth. She shrugged.

"Worth a shot," said Annabeth. The group turned right, going into the dark tunnel and then left at least half a mile in. To their relief, they found the small metal spider banging its tiny body against the door that resembled a bronzed submarine hatch. Right where the porthole should be was another Êta, marking this as Hephaestus' door.

"Way to go, Tyson!" Grover said, patting the cyclops on the side of the arm (he was too short to reach Tyson's shoulder) as Nico dropped down from Tyson's back.

"Finally," said Nico with a soft cough. "Think he's got some water?"

"Doubt it, but I do," said Annabeth, moving her staff to the side and unzipping her bag, pulling out a water bottle. Percy gaped at it and then at Annabeth's backpack, which looked practically empty. His jaw popped open as Annabeth put her staff into the pack, watching it disappear into thin air.

"What the heck was that?" he asked while Nico thankfully drank the water.

"What?" Annabeth asked, zipping her bag up.

"Your bag! How'd you fit your cane in there?"

"First of all, Percy, it was a staff. Secondly, seals. Duh."

"Oh you just have to rub it in my face that I can't do seals, don't you?" Percy asked playfully.

Naruto had kept good on his offer to try to teach the boy seals, but it didn't go so well. Not because of the lack of chacha or whatever Naruto called that energy (since Naruto would supply it and then some), but it was because of Percy's ineptitude when it came to complicated equations or formulas. He just couldn't wrap his head around it. Thankfully, Naruto understood, saying it took him nearly one whole year with his master – who was a Master at it – to just get the basics down. Annabeth, however, was a natural and was quickly becoming Naruto's star pupil in the subject, though she was miffed that she couldn't write notes down or experiment without him present.

"Yep," said Annabeth as she smirked at Percy while slinging her bag over her shoulder. "So, you ready to meet Hephaestus?"

"Not really," said Percy.

"Give me a minute," said Nico.

"Yes!" Tyson said excitedly, barely restraining himself as he walked forward and grabbed the wheel, twisting it and throwing the door open. Steam rushed out and the spider scuttled in, Tyson right behind it.

They entered into the what could only be called a mechanic's paradise. Tyson was nearly drooling at all the neat things his massive eye could rest on. There were hydraulic lifts with cars and other strange machines on them; a bronze hippalektryon with its head resting on the ground beneath it, a metal lion hooked up to what looked like a car battery, and a gleaming gold chariot with a Greek sun adorning the front and a small dent in its side. There were many other smaller projects resting upon what had to be at least twelve workbenches, and Percy's eyes lingered on a few bronzed arrows with schematics hanging behind them. One arrowhead was glowing a bright gold, taking him back to the whiskered blond son of Apollo.

They walked forward into the workshop and as they did so a faint sound could be heard alongside some banging.

"So hott! I wanna get you alone. You're so hott, I want to get you stoned. So hott, I don't wanna be your friend I wanna fuck you like I'm never gonna see you again...see you again...ooo-ow! Whoo! Talk about a heated song. And that was Kid Rock's So Hott here on 100.7 FM, The Sun, home of all your hottest hits of the summer. Next up, let's go back to the poppin' styles of Justin Timber-" the radio DJ was cut off as someone grunted and turned off the radio with a loud click. The banging resumed and the group found themselves looking at a '98 Toyota Corolla, or rather, at the legs of the large man underneath it. He had on grey pants, dark boots that were on feet larger than Tyson's, and one leg had a metal brace wrapped around it. The metal spider skittered under the Toyota and got the man to stop his banging once again.

"Well, well...What have we here?" said a deep and gruff voice, one that sounded faintly familiar to Percy, having heard it before.

The man came out from under the car on a back trolley, standing up with the spider in his hand. His appearance was vastly different from the one he had when on Olympus, since he was in the sanctity of his workshop. His left shoulder fell lower than the right and his head was a bit disfigured, bulging in one spot with a rather nasty scar around it. He wore a grey jumpsuit smeared with oil, ash and grim, one of the cleanest parts being the embroidered over the pocket. His beard was long and untamed, and what looked like the occasional fire seemed to start in it.

Hephaestus, god of the forge, stood before them in his semi-natural state, playing with the small spider that he swiftly disassembled and reassembled with ease. The small metallic spider crawled around in his massive hands that treated it with the utmost care. There was a gleam in the god's eye, one of pride and one of amusement.

"There, much better," he said. The spider did once last lap around Hephaestus' arm before stopping in his palm.

It gave a happy flip, shot a metallic web at the ceiling, and went swinging away.

Nico was unable to stifle the amused snicker that escaped him at the sight, bringing Hephaestus' attention to them. The god looked them over, his eyes lingering on Nico's sword handle for a moment, before gazing intently at them.

"I didn't make you, did I?"

"Um, no, sir," said Annabeth after she thought about his question. Initially she had thought he meant with a woman, but realized that this was a craftsman in front of her and thought them something else.

"Good. Shoddy workmanship if I did," said Hephaestus. He scratched his beard as he looked them over again. "Half-bloods. Could be automatons, but most unlikely."

"We've, um, we've met before, sir," said Percy, shuffling a bit where he stood as the god's gaze fell over him.

"Have we?"

"Yes, sir. Last winter."

"Last winter?" He stroked his beard once more in thought. "...Ah, yes, you're Poseidon's boy." Hephaestus nodded, his hand dropping to his side. "You were there with Nat. Made the fish tank, you know. For the Ophiotaurus. Took a few days, a couple of re-measurements every now and then..." As he spoke his eyes fell over the last two members, first Grover. "A satyr..." Then they landed on Tyson, and the harsh gleam that had been in his dark eyes seemed to lighten a bit. "And a cyclops? What are you doing travelling with the half-bloods, boy?"

"Uh..." Tyson only stared in wonder at the god. For him, it was like meeting an idol.

"Ah, I see," said Hephaestus. He nodded in silent agreement before looking at the ragtag group once again before his eyes latched onto Nico's sword. Shaking himself from his thoughts, Hephaestus looked back at Percy. "So why are you here? The suspension on this Corolla is shit and my time is wasting with the interruption."

"Sir," said Annabeth, getting the god's attention. "We're looking for Daedalus. We were hoping that–"

"Daedalus!" Hephaestus demeanor changed from annoyed to outraged, his eyes hardening once again and his beard bursting into flame. "What would the likes of you want with that scoundrel? Seeking him out, are you daft?"

"No, sir, we just-we need his help," said Annabeth. "The camp is in trouble."

"The camp is always in trouble," said Hephaestus with a roll of his eyes as his beard went out. "You're wasting your time." He hobbled over to one of his workbenches and within seconds had constructed a bronze and silver falcon that flew around the room, making Tyson laugh gleefully. The kind gleam reappeared in Hephaestus' eye as he regarded the cyclops now petting the mechanized falcon that landed on his shoulder. "I sense you want to tell me something, Cyclops. Speak your mind son."

Tyson's smile and the finger that was prodding at the metal bird's beak dropped. "Y-Yes, sir. We met a Hundred-Handed One."

To his credit, Hephaestus hardly blinked. "Briares?"

"Yes. He–he was scared. Wouldn't help us."

"And this surprised you." It wasn't a question, but a statement of fact. Hephaestus could see the unease written on the cyclops' face as clear as one could feel Ares' bloodlust enter a room.

"Yes! Greatly! Briares should be strong! Older and braver than Cyclopes, but he ran!" Tyson seemed very upset by this event.

"I understand," said Hephaestus. "I looked up to the Briares once too, young cyclops. Back during the first war, I saw no superior to my craft than them. They were good acquaintances. But time has changed things, people, monsters, and even the gods." Hephaestus seemed to drift off, his eyes clouding with a bit of anger. "Look at my loving mother, Hera. You've met, I'm sure. She's one of the few that know where I can be found. She spouts all sorts of things about love and family that would make Hestia jealous, but she's no more than a hypocrite. Took one look at me and cast me down from Olympus."

"But I thought that was Zeus," said Nico with a frown. Hephaestus snorted.

"You'd be wrong, Halfling. My mother likes having good P.R. - that is the phrase, yes? – and so has my father tell that story to cover for her. Not like he minds. Order knows he's got enough of a bad rep for it to be accepted. Can't trust anyone these days, not even family."

"You trust Naruto, though," said Annabeth, making Hephaestus look at her. "You make weapons for him. We've seen them."

"Arrows," said Hephaestus, correcting her. "And they take a second to make. A snap of my fingers and they are together. This does not mean I trust Nat."

"Naruto," said Percy, correcting the god.

"I know what I said," said Hephaestus with a scowl. "Honestly, why that name I'll never know. Nah-Rue-Toe. Bah, sounds like a bad food. My nephew does have talent, though."

"Why call him Nat?" Tyson asked.

"He's a natural craftsman," said Hephaestus with a bit of a smile to the cyclops, as much as he could manage. "Outside of the box sort of thinker, one Apollo could be if he turned off the radio and parked his chariot every now and then. Would've been proud to have a kid like that, too bad he can't work for shit, though. Like his father in that area, more theoretical than practical."

"But he's got all those chacha attacks," said Percy, recalling the spiraling sphere that nearly tore Atlas apart. "That's practical, right?"

"Chakra, Percy," said Annabeth. The teen shrugged the correction off.

"That's different," said Hephaestus. "That's fighting. I don't do fighting. I arm the fighters. Who do you think made Ares' sword? Or Apollo and Artemis' bows? When it comes down to it, I'm the reason why most of my family can still fight. Do they thank me? No. I'm just the smith god, I'm required to make the weapons. Granted, I do enjoy a challenge, but being asked to polish a shield? A spearhead? Restring a bow? Without thanks, mind you. I tolerate my family because of my position and because occasionally I do get a good challenge every hundred years or so."

"Naruto polite," said Tyson, recalling getting thanked on multiple occasions by the blond after he got some more of those small throwing knives he liked getting made. Tyson enjoyed the tedious creations, too. He thought it was a good way to start off the day before getting into his more creative constructs, like a shield for Percy.

Hephaestus grunted begrudgingly. "...All right, yes. Nat is pretty grateful, but that's more than anyone else can say. You three are being polite because of what I am, not because of who I am."

Annabeth winced at that being pointed out. He had a point there. Tyson's respect came from his inner smith looking up to an idol, but hers was purely focusing on Hephaestus' status as an Olympian. She should probably rethink her strategy on dealing with him. This wasn't like dealing with most gods.

"Bottom line is, all you can trust is the product of your own hands," said Hephaestus, gesturing around to his workshop. Nico shook his head and Hephaestus arched a brow. "You disagree?"

"Yes, but trusting others is how you stay strong," said Nico. He remembered how Kushina would force him and Bianca to spar against her together, making them learn how to fight in tandem. You had to trust your life to someone else every now and then, otherwise you'd never win, be it family or a friend.

"...Your sword is Stygian, isn't it? Hades' child, aren't you?" Hephaestus asked, his brow furrowing. Nico nodded and Hephaestus looked around. "Wasn't it Nat's job to guard you?"

"He's busy," said Nico, making Annabeth and Percy's brows furrow. He crossed his arms over his chest. "I can take care of myself."

"Sure you can lad," said Hephaestus, stopping his search for his nephew. His gaze went to Percy, who was glowering slightly as he recalled his first quest with Annabeth and Grover. "You have something to say as well?"

"Only what we asked before," said Percy. "We need to find Daedalus. There's this guy, Luke. He's working for Kro-"

"Do not say his name here, boy."

"...the Crooked One," said Percy. "We need to find Daedalus before he does–"

"I already told you that it's a waste of time, Daedalus won't help you."

"Why not?"

"Some of us get thrown off mountains," said Hephaestus, gesturing to his head. "Some of us learn in more...painful methods. Ask me for gold, a sword or even arrows and I'll grant you them easy." He snapped his fingers. "Like that. But a way to Daedalus? That's an expensive favor."

"So you do know where he is," said Annabeth.

"It's not wise to go looking for someone who doesn't wish to be found, girl."

"My mother says that looking is the nature of wisdom."

"And who would your mother be?"

"Athena."

Hephaestus snorted. "Figures." He sighed. "Fine goddess, Athena. Shame she pledged to never marry." He was silent for a moment before shaking his head and looking at the daughter of Athena. "All right, half blood. I'll give you a way to Daedalus, but you need to do me something. Something big."

AN: WHOO! 7000 and more words for the return of SHDG II. Gonna be a good summer, I can tell. Got a job starting in a week, going to see Amazing Spider-Man 2 tomorrow with my buddy, and I've got two whole new series to read from my buddies TenshinG and Engineer4Ever.

Hope you all enjoyed some of the incorporated lines of Riordan's work (the sphinx was just written so well, I had to use those lines) and I hope you all enjoy the rest of May!

To get more good reads, you know what to do!

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