Disclaimer: I only own the plot and my OCs. Anything you recognize as not mine belongs to Rick Riordan, Greco-Roman mythology, and/or their otherwise respective owners.

Author's Notes: Currently really busy (this is the only WIP chapter I was able to finish this week) on top of having been really sick last week. Apologies, but also hence why I am posting in advance! I probably won't have any time to tomorrow.

As always, I hope you enjoy. Until the next chapter,

~TGWSI/Selene Borealis

~The Finding Home Saga~

~Finding Home~

~Chapter 92: We Meet The God With Two Faces~

Travis' eyes widened. "What the – ?"

I wasn't focused so much on him, however. Mainly on Annabeth.

Her face did not just pale, it practically became the color of bone. She looked at me, and for once I saw her as the fourteen-, almost-fifteen-year-old kid that she actually was. I know that probably doesn't sound like a lot coming from me at the time, since I was still sixteen myself. But again, a couple of years' difference means a lot in terms of maturity.

And I knew beyond a doubt that I'd just terrified her. I'd just revealed the momentous responsibility that had been thrusted upon her shoulders as the leader of this quest.

"How – how long have you been pregnant?" Travis spluttered out. "And you're a guy! How does that even – ?"

"I'm a son of Poseidon. It's a weird party trick his sons have," I answered his second question first. As for the first, and a little bit more: "And I'm almost at twenty-five weeks. I will be this Saturday. It's twins."

"'Twins?'" Travis yelped.

I watched Annabeth take in a deep breath. "Thank you for finally telling us, Percy," she said. Her voice was deceptively calm and even. There was no indication of her anger as there had been blatantly before. But I knew that she had to be.

In some respects, that made her current display even more terrifying.

"Can we get back to walking now?" she continued. "Or do you still need a couple of minutes?"

I shifted uncomfortably. "Uh...no, I should be good."

Katie shot me a warning glare. "Percy – "

"She's right, we've waited long enough," I said. I put my ἒνδεσμα back on.

Annabeth didn't acknowledge that I admitted that. She simply turned on her heel and started to march on.

I thought I might've seen tears in her eyes.

Travis, of course, had quite a few questions as we continued to walk on, and that was a good distraction from the obvious. I started to answer them, and it helped that they were all ones that I had been asked before. I was starting to form a little script, of sorts.

But he didn't actually get to ask too many questions.

Because Annabeth led us to the right, then the left, then through a corridor of stainless steel like some kind of air shaft, and we arrived back in the Roman tile room with the fountain.

Except this time, we weren't alone.

What I noticed first were his faces. Both of them. They jutted out from either side of his head, staring over his shoulders, so his head was much wider than it should've been, kind of like a hammerhead shark's looking straight at him. All I saw were two overlapping ears and mirror-image sideburns.

He was dressed like a New York City doorman: a long black overcoat, shiny shoes, and a black top-hat that somehow managed to stay on his double-wide head.

"Well, Annabeth?" said his left face. "Hurry up!"

"Don't mind him," said the right face. "He's terribly rude. Right this way, Miss."

Annabeth's jaw dropped. Her reddened eyes became the size of dinner plates. "Uh...I don't..."

"Percy being pregnant, a guy with two faces. Now, I've seen everything," Travis deadpanned.

I tensed as it occurred to me I hadn't told him or Annabeth to keep their mouths shut about that yet –

But the man wasn't fazed by the reveal. "We have ears, you know!" the left face shouted. "Now, come along, Miss."

"No, no," said the right face. "This way, Miss. Talk to me, please."

The two-faced man regarded Annabeth as best as he could out of the corners of his eyes. It was impossible to look at him straight on without focusing on one side or the other. And I suddenly realized that's what he was asking – he wanted Annabeth to choose.

Behind him were two exits, blocked by wooden doors with huge iron locks. They hadn't been there our first time through the room. The two-faced doorman held a silver key, which he kept passing from his left hand to his right hand. I wondered if this was a different room completely, but the frieze of the gods looked exactly the same.

Behind us, the doorway we'd come through had disappeared, replaced by more mosaics. We wouldn't be going back the way we had come.

"The exits are closed," Annabeth said.

"Duh!" the man's left face said.

"Where do they lead?" she asked.

"One probably leads the way you wish to go," the right face said encouragingly. "The other leads to certain death."

"I – I know who you are," Annabeth said.

"Oh, you're a smart one!" The left face sneered. "But do you know which way to choose? I don't have all day."

"Why are you trying to confuse me?" Annabeth asked.

The right face smiled. "You're in charge now, my dear. All the decisions are on your shoulders. That's what you wanted, isn't it?"

"I – "

"We know you, Annabeth," the left face said. "We know what you wrestle with every day. We know your indecision. You will have to make your choice sooner or later. And the choice may kill you."

I didn't know what they were talking about, but it sounded like it was about more than a choice between the doors.

The color re-drained out of Annabeth's face. "No...I don't – "

"Hey," Katie said, stepping forwards slightly, her chin held high. Even when she was pissed at Annabeth, she wasn't about to let her be treated like this. "Just who the hell are you two?"

"I'm your best friend," the right face said.

"I'm your worst enemy," said the left face.

"I'm Janus," both faces said in harmony. "God of Doorways. Beginnings. Endings. Choices."

"I'll see you soon enough, by the way, Perseus Jackson," the right face said. A chill went down my spine. "But for now, it's Annabeth's turn." He laughed giddily. "Such fun!"

"Shut up!" his left face said. "This is serious. One bad choice can ruin your whole life. It can kill you and all of your friends. But no pressure, Annabeth! Choose!"

With yet another sudden chill, I recalled the words of the prophecy: "the child of Athena's final stand."

"Don't do it, Annabeth," I said, stepping forwards, too. "The right choice is no choice."

"I'm afraid she has to," the right face said cheerfully.

I snarled. "No, she doesn't. I – my patron told me – "

Before I could say anything else and Annabeth could point to a door, a brilliant light flooded the room.

Janus raised his hands to either side of his head to cover his eyes. When the light died, a woman was standing at the fountain.

She was tall and graceful with honey blonde hair, braided in plaits with golden ribbons. She wore a simple white dress, but when she moved, the fabric shimmered with colors like oil on water.

Hera.

"Janus," she said, "are we causing trouble again?"

"N – no, milady!" Janus' right face stammered.

"Yes!" the left face said.

"Shut up!" ordered the right face.

"Excuse me?" Hera asked.

"Not you, milady! I was talking to myself!"

"I see," she said. "You know very well your visit is premature. The girl's time has not yet come. So I give you a choice: leave these heroes to me, or I shall turn you into a door and break you down."

"What kind of door?" the left face asked.

"Shut up!" the right face said.

"Because French doors are nice," the left face mused. "Lots of natural light."

"Shut up!" the right face wailed. "Not you, milady! Of course I'll leave. I was just having a bit of fun. Doing my job. Offering choices."

"Causing indecision," Hera corrected. "Now be gone!"

The left face muttered, "Party power," then raised his silver key, inserted it into the air, and disappeared.

Hera turned towards us, and fear closed around my heart. Her eyes shined with power. "Leave these heroes to me."

I knew enough about the myths to know that, when it came to her, that didn't often mean anything good.

For a second, I almost wished we could've taken our chances with Janus. But then, Hera smiled.

"You must be hungry," she said, and her voice was as soothing as Demeter's. "Sit with me and talk."

She waved her hand, and the old Roman fountain began to flow. Jets of clear water sprayed into the air. A marble table appeared, laden with platters of sandwiches and pitchers of lemonade.

We had no other choice but to sit down.

I hadn't ever expected Hera to look so...normal.

I mean, she wasn't either of my patrons, Demeter or Rhea. She was the Queen of Heaven, Queen of the Gods. But now, at our height rather than twenty feet, she looked like a regular mom.

She served us sandwiches and poured lemonade.

"Travis, dear," she said. "Make sure to use your napkin."

"Yes, ma'am," Travis replied, his cheeks flushing.

"Percy, you're wasting away. Would you like another peanut butter sandwich?"

"Uh, sure," I said.

"Queen Hera," Annabeth said. "I can't believe it. What are you doing in the Labyrinth?"

Hera smiled. She flicked one finger and Annabeth's hair combed itself. All the dirt and grime disappeared from her face.

"I came to see you, naturally," the goddess said, before flicking her finger towards Katie, whose hair did the same.

Katie and I exchanged a nervous glance. With the few notable exceptions aside, usually when the gods come looking for you, it's not out of the goodness of their hearts. It's because they want something.

Still, that didn't stop me from chowing down on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches – deli meat was yet another food I'd had to swear off because of the pregnancy unless it was hot, but the thought of hot food right now made me want to die, so there you have it – and chips and lemonade. I hadn't realized how hungry I was. Katie was having the same as me, while Travis was tearing into his turkey and Swiss sandwiches.

"I didn't think – " Annabeth faltered. "Well, I didn't think you liked heroes."

...I would've thought she'd been smart enough to not say that out loud.

Hera smiled indulgently. "Because of that little spat I had with Hercules? Honestly, I got so much bad press because of one disagreement."

(Note: it was a lot more than just him.)

"Didn't you try to kill him, like, a bunch of times?" Annabeth asked.

Hera waved her hand dismissively. "Water under the bridge, my dear. Besides, he was loving one of my husband's children by another woman. My patience wore thin, I'll admit it. But Zeus and I have had some excellent marriage counseling sessions since then. We've aired our feelings and come to an understanding – especially after that last little incident."

"You mean when he sired Thalia?" I guessed, and immediately wished I hadn't. Although I hadn't even mentioned her brother, Jason, as soon as I mentioned the name of our friend, the half-blood daughter of Zeus, Hera's eyes turned towards me frostily.

"Percy Jackson, it's nice to see you again. One of Poseidon's...children." I got the feeling that she was thinking of another word besides "children." "As I recall, I voted to let you live at the winter solstice. I hope I voted correctly."

I wondered if she knew that I was pregnant, since she was a fertility goddess of sorts alongside Demeter and Despoina, though she was more of the Goddess of Family overall. I wondered too if it mattered, despite her domain.

This was the first time I'd really talked to her ever, the council last winter and the time I'd heard her speak when giving Zeus back his lightning bolt notwithstanding. I don't think you'll blame me when I vastly preferred my patrons, her sister and their mother, over her.

Hera turned back to Annabeth with a sunny smile. "At any rate, I certainly bear you no ill will, my girl. I appreciate the difficulty of your quest. Especially when you have troublemakers like Janus to deal with."

Annabeth lowered her gaze. "Why was he here? He was driving me crazy."

"Trying to," Hera agreed. "You must understand, the minor gods like Janus have always been frustrated by the small parts that they play in the universe. Some, I fear, have little love for Olympus, and could easily be swayed to support the rise of my father.

"We must watch the minor gods," she continued. "Janus. Hecate. Morpheus. They give lip service to the gods, and yet – "

"That's where Dionysus went," I remembered. "He was checking the other gods."

"Indeed." Hera stared at the fading mosaics of the Olympians. "You see, in times of trouble, even the gods can lose faith. They start putting their trust in the wrong things. They stop looking at the big picture and start being selfish. But I'm the Goddess of Marriage, you see. I'm used to perseverance. You have to rise above the squabbling and chaos, and keep believing. You have to always keep your goals in mind."

Katie raised an eyebrow. "And what are your goals?"

She smiled. "To keep my family, the Olympians, together, of course. At the moment, the best way that I can do that is by helping you. Zeus does not allow me to interfere much, I am afraid. But once every century or so, for a quest I care deeply about, he allows me to grant a wish."

"A wish?" Travis asked around his food. His mouth was almost full.

Katie glared at him.

"Before you ask it, let me give some advice, which I can do for free. I know you seek Daedalus. His Labyrinth is as much a mystery to me as it is to you. But if you want to know his fate, I would visit my son Hephaestus at his forge. Daedalus was a great inventor, a mortal after Hephaestus' heart. There has never been a mortal Hephaestus admired more. If anyone would have kept up with Daedalus and tell you his fate, it is Hephaestus."

"But how do we get there?" Annabeth asked. "That's my wish. I want a way to navigate the Labyrinth."

Hera looked disappointed. "So be it. You wish for something, however, that you have already been given."

"I don't understand."

"The means is already within your grasp." She looked at me. "Percy knows the answer."

I blinked. "I do?"

"But that's not fair," Annabeth said. "You're not telling me what it is!"

Hera shook her head. "Getting something and having the wits to use it...those are two different things. I'm sure your mother Athena would agree."

The room rumbled like distant thunder. Hera stood. "That would be my cue. Zeus grows impatient. Think on what I have said, Annabeth. Seek out Hephaestus. You will have to pass through the ranch, I imagine. But keep going. And use all the means at your disposal, however common they may seem."

She pointed towards the two doors and they melted away, revealing twin corridors, open and dark. "One last thing, Annabeth. I have postponed your day of choice, I have not prevented it. Soon, as Janus said, you will have to make a decision. Farewell!"

She waved a hand and turned into white smoke. So did the food, just as Travis had chomped down on a sandwich that turned into mist in his mouth. The fountain trickled to a stop. The mosaic walls dimmed and turned grungy and faded again. The room was no longer any place you'd want to have a picnic.

Annabeth stomped her foot. "What sort of help was that? 'Here, have a sandwich. Make a wish. Oops, I can't help you!' Poof!"

"Well," Katie said placatingly. "She said that Percy knows the answer. That's something."

They all looked at me.

"But I don't," I said. "I don't know what she was talking about."

Annabeth sighed. "Alright. Then we'll just keep going."

"Which way?" I asked. I really wanted to ask what Hera had meant – about the choice that Annabeth needed to make.

But then, Travis cocked his head. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"It...sounds like something's coming from the right," Katie said.

"Yeah," Travis agreed, his face losing its color. "Something big."

I didn't hear what they were talking about, but I wasn't going to question them.

"Left is sounding pretty good," I decided. Together, we plunged into the dark corridor.

We walked for hours more, taking breaks as necessary for me. Annabeth no longer made any comments about my needing them...well, outside of making sure we stuck to a limit of five or so minutes. But aside from her outburst towards Hera, she was much more subdued now, so there were no comments about it from the rest of us in turn.

Eventually, though, we came across another cellar – not for wine, just in general. It was stocked with canned goods that dated back to the 1860's, and it was chilly, but we all kind of mutually decided that it would do. We were exhausted, all of us. Our time in the Labyrinth already felt like it had lasted for a lifetime.

"I'll take first watch," Katie said.

Travis didn't bother to try and argue. He got his sleeping bag out of his bag and unrolled it, laying it out on the cellar floor. Getting into it, he closed his eyes and was out of it in the span of a few minutes, his mouth opened as he drooled.

Living in the Hermes Cabin generally required you to be able to sleep through anything.

Annabeth took a little longer, but soon she too fell asleep, making Katie and I the only ones awake. I knew that I should probably focus on getting some shut-eye, too, but for some reason, even with how tired I was, my body was keeping me wide awake.

"What did Annabeth tell you yesterday to make you so pissed at her?" I asked while wriggling around in my sleeping bag. I'd taken the ἒνδεσμα off again, because I slept better that way.

Katie didn't look at me. "Go to sleep, Percy," she said.

But she had to know I wasn't going to let go of it that easily. "What did she say?"

Katie sighed, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear rather than gathering it back up again into her ponytail. "She was just trying to convince me to convince you to go on the quest," she said. "She...it may have come to insults. She said that you and I weren't thinking of the best interests for camp. I asked her how she could think that after everything that we've done. She pointed out how close we all were to Luke and Ethan before...and how Alabaster defected."

I was too tired to be properly anger over that. "But...Luke was like her older brother." Besides the crush that she had on him.

"Yeah, I know," Katie replied. "That's why I called her a hypocritical, self-centered bitch."

I couldn't stop the scoff that came out of my mouth. Really, Katie calling Annabeth that? Maybe pigs other than the Erymanthian Boar really could fly.

There were some other things besides Annabeth that I needed to talk with Katie about. I tried to remember past my exhaustion what they were. They came to me easily enough. "So...about Travis."

"He doesn't know. Yet," Katie assured me. "I haven't told him anything."

"The 'yet' is doing a lot of heavy lifting in that statement."

"He's going to find out soon enough anyways," Katie returned. "You've shown them that you're pregnant. Do you really think you can keep everything else a secret from them forever? The rest of camp? Maybe you could've before, but now?"

"...No," I said. I ran a hand over my face. "I'm just – I'm not ready for this, Katie."

I wasn't referring to becoming a mother. To be honest, I don't think anybody is ever well and truly ready for that, no matter how much they think that they are. But I was ready for it as much as I could be. I wasn't willing for my pregnancy to be over just yet, as I've said before, but I was looking forward to it, even with my and Luke's daughter being a legacy of Kronos.

But I wasn't ready for Luke's reaction when he undoubtedly saw me on this quest. I wasn't ready for this quest to be over, and for the war to arrive. All I wanted was some more time.

"I know," Katie said. She sniffed. "Do you want me to give you all of the details on how Travis and I got together now? It'll probably help you fall asleep."

I chuckled at the implication. "It can't be that boring, Katie."

"Mmm, that's not what I meant."

"I know. Sure."

So Katie started telling me about how she and Travis had finally gotten together, her voice soft and gentle and soothing. It was enough to settle my body, allowing me to finally fall asleep.

. . .

. . .

And she was so lost in her retelling and I was so absorbed in listening to her, neither of us noticed how Annabeth rolled around in her sleeping bag so that her back was facing us, her eyes once again filled with tears.

Word Count: 3,570

Next Chapter Title: Jig Of Life Pt. 3