Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto nor Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. I am just a lowly writer with too much time in my hands.

Warning: This is a sequel story. Read Child of the Moon: The Lightning Thief before you read this story.

Chapter 15

"Are you feeling better?" Naruto asked a raven-haired girl.

Thalia nodded her head. "You know, you are reckless trying to take on all those monsters by yourself."

"It was to protect my friends, y'know." Naruto explained.

His eyes examined the girl. Quite a bit has changed from the last time the blonde seen his friend. The color had returned to her face. Her hair had a few streaks of yellow blonde hair were on the top of her head and something like a birthmark on her face could be seen.

"You look different somehow." Naruto commented.

"Oh you mean these?" Thalia gestured towards the new additions. "These started to appear after you left for the quest. It's probably because you shared so much of your energy with me."

"That's probably why," Naruto nodded. "…They… uh… look good on you though." He looked away as he said that.

Thalia blushed, but a smile crept its way to her lips. "Really? You think I can pull these off?"

"Yeah! Of course! I did after all, what's to stop you?" Naruto explained.

"Well, I guess I can learn to love my new look." Thalia said.

Naruto grinned. "That's the spirit!"

Their conversation was cut short when the conch horn blasted through the morning.

"You better go," Thalia said. "Everyone will be looking for you."

"Do I have to?" Naruto complained, but his stomach was showing otherwise.

Thalia laughed at his expense.

"Alright, alright, but I will come back, you know that right?" Naruto relented.

"Yes, I know…"

That was the last thing that was said before Naruto vanished from Thalia's 'dimension' back to the real world. When he was gone, Thalia's form flickered, like something was pulling her out, but her form stabilized quickly a few seconds later.

BACK OUTSIDE

It was the next day already. The camp as demigods were used to was slowly coming back. Sure, there were some demolished buildings from the countless attacks their home had to endure during the quest, but that was a moot point right now. The party ponies bade farewell to everyone as they would be returning to South Florida. They had certainly livened the camp up with their presence, especially during the victory party.

Everything wasn't too happy though. Naruto explained to Chiron and to the Athena Cabin the body of the demigod he found in the Sea of Monsters. Everyone immediately recognized him as Jake. They remembered that Jake was the one who disappeared one night without a word from anybody. Funeral rites were held for him, and he was given a proper burial.

After that, Chiron announced that the chariot races would continue as scheduled. Everyone thought that considering its history, the activities director would definitely discontinue the game. He did reiterate though that there would be extra precautions to ensure the safety of the racers and the audience, much to the delight of the Apollo cabin.

So, for the next few days, the campers busied themselves with preparing their chariots. Percy had a problem. Tyson didn't want to join this time after what happened when they were last on the chariot, so he was left alone on his team. Naruto decided to let Annabeth partner with him so that he would have a teammate. He didn't want to hog all the process. Plus, he wasn't in the mood to compete after what happened in the first night back.

*FLASHBACK*

Naruto lay in his bed staring at the ceiling. Held within his hands was the coin he found. His grip tightened as he thought of it.

"I hope the camp has books so I can find out more about this." He said to himself as he closed his eyes to sleep.

As he drifted off to dreamland, the background of his dreamscape flickered with static like a television losing connection with the cable company. After that, he found himself in a library filled with books. Sifting through the shelves was beautiful, regal looking woman whose hair was tied up in an elegant pony tail and her skin was tanned. She looked over to Naruto as if she finally sensed that he was already here.

Grey eyes stared into his own. He immediately recognized it as the same color from one of his closest friends in camp along with her siblings. It was…

"L-lady Athena," Naruto bowed reverently. "To what do I owe this audience?"

"Naruto Uzumaki," Athena said. "Your feats of bravery have spread throughout the godly world. There have been talks among the minor gods and goddesses of your exploits."

Naruto scratched the back of his head. "Well, I did have help from my friends."

Athena nodded. "Ahh, speaking of friends. I hear you're quite close with my daughter."

"No, no, no… It's not like that… I-it's just…" Naruto waved his hands in front of him.

"Now, now, we can talk about that at a later date," her voice turned serious. "I presume you know why I called you here?"

"Is it because of the coin?" Naruto asked his face adapting a serious expression. "What's that about anyway?"

"That information is not for you to know, son of Artemis. You have simply stumbled upon something you weren't supposed to." She explained.

"I-is that so? I'm sorry. I-I didn't mean to…"

"It is fine. I commend you though for not divulging this information to you friends to the quest."

"Well, I didn't think it was relevant at that time."

"And I expect you to keep what you know to yourself. I advise you not to pursue this any further. You will not find this information in any of the history books. Do we understand each other?"

"Yes, ma'am"

"Well then, you have been warned. If you do otherwise, well let's just say I am not a goddess you want to trifle with."

"Don't worry, Lady Athena. I never break my promises."

"Very good. Now run along now."

"Uhh, but how–"

*END OF FLASHBACK*

Well that didn't stop him from helping with the camp repairs with his clones and helping Tyson pimp out their chariot. It was the least he could do to help out his friends. As if almost every day, the campers of Cabin Six bombarded him with question about their fallen brother. It was easier to answer them before Athena hijacked his dreams, but the days after that, it was harder to bite his teeth about a secret mission their mother was hiding from everyone.

On the day of the race, everyone was buzzing about the chariot race. Naruto walked through the camp with the little puppy he named Luna. The little girl actually had become sort of a camp mascot. She was super friendly to everybody, but that's not what we're here to see today. There was a race today.

So, there they were ready to race, almost the same way they did the first time with Tantalus. The charioteers and the people in the stand watched the skies nervously, half-expecting to see Stymphalian Birds gathering. But there wasn't any, the camp's shields were doing their job making for a beautiful day to race.

Tyson and Naruto greeted their prized racers on the track. The both of them looked proudly at their handiwork on the chariot. They really did it this time.

"You know, everyone's upping their game ever since they've known you weren't joining the race," Annabeth said.

"Oh, really?" I asked. "They must be really excited to race then."

"They sure are. I mean look at the determination on their face." She gestured to the others.

"Don't you think that's because of the prize for the race?" Naruto stated causing everyone in their group to share a round of laughter.

"Are you sure you're okay not joining?" Percy asked just to make sure.

"Nah, man. I'm good. I don't want to hog all the prices." Naruto joked, though Percy had a sneaking suspicion the Naruto would win the race again if he were to join.

"Nice watch you got there," He commented noticing the new addition to Percy's arm.

He looked at his wrist. There lay a white-and-silver clock face attached to a black leather strap. It looked just like any other watch.

"Oh this? Tyson gave it to me. He was working on it all summer, right Tyson?" Percy said.

Tyson blushed scratching his cheek.

"So, what does it do, big guy?" Naruto asked.

"Uhh, it's a surprise," Tyson said. "Just hit the button on the side if you need help."

"Cool, can't wait to see what it does," Percy said. "Say, Tyson…"

"I know what you will tell me," Tyson said, looking ashamed. "Poseidon did care for me after all."

"Uh, well—"

"He sent you to help me. Just what I asked for."

Percy blinked. "You asked Poseidon for…me?"

"For a friend," Tyson said, twisting his shirt in his hands. "Young Cyclopes grow up alone on the streets, learn to make things out of scraps. Learn to survive."

"But that's so cruel!"

He shook his head earnestly. "Makes us appreciate blessings, not be greedy and mean and fat like Polyphemus. But I got scared. Monsters chased me so much, clawed me sometimes—"

"The scars on your back?"

A tear welled in his eye. "Sphinx on Seventy-Second Street. Big bully. I prayed to Daddy for help. Soon the people at Meriwether found me. Met you. Biggest blessing ever. Sorry I said Poseidon was mean. He sent me a brother."

"You're the best brother I could ever ask for," Percy answered.

Naruto and Annabeth smiled at the exchange.

"See, Tyson. I told you he would come through," Naruto elbowed Tyson.

It was a beautiful moment to behold. The two brothers finally acknowledging each other. But they didn't had time to savor the moment for long as Chiron slammed his hooves on the pavement signaling that the race was about to start.

"Go brother. You will win," Tyson said.

"Give 'em hell," Naruto said.

"Got it!" Percy and Annabeth said at the same time.

When Chiron gave the signal to start the race, the horses knew exactly what to do. The chariots shot down the race track. Charioteers held on tight as they eyed the other defenders each waiting for anyone to make the first move.

As they made the first turn, the Hermes Chariot decided to attack first. It just so happened that the Ares chariot was the one beside them. Percy's chariot easily passed them both with the Apollo chariot not too far behind them.

Annabeth threw a javelin to intercept a lead weighted net that was fired towards them. This was immediately followed up by a javelin aimed at their chariots wheels. The javelin shattered but not without destroying some of the spokes. The chariot lurched and wobbled, but it kept going. Although, the Apollo Cabin caught up with them and were now neck and neck with them.

The other chariots easily passed the Ares and Hermes chariots who were still locked in battle.

The Apollo decided to attack Annabeth. He was a first year camper but Naruto had to give it to him; he sure had guts. They clashed for a while, but in the end, Annabeth proved to be the better fighter. She managed to knock both campers out of their chariot. The horses went crazy riding towards the crowd. Campers scrambled for their lives to get out of the way.

The chariots, then, thundered passed the starting line signifying the final lap of the race. The Hephaestus Cabin was slowly gaining towards the current first placers, Percy and Annabeth. Cables shot from their chariot and latched themselves of the Athena Chariot. The latter shuddered as it was pulled backward and the Hephaestus chariot forward.

Annabeth immediately drew her knife to hack through the cables, but it was to no avail. The cables were simply too thick. Percy's quick thinking got them out of the predicament. He switched with her allowing him to draw Riptide and slash the cables like a hot knife through butter.

The Athena Chariot lurched forward, but the Hephaestus cabin easily pulled up next to them. Charles Beckendorf clashed with Percy. Amidst their fighting, the Ares Cabin was gaining on the two of them. Apparently, she was able to hold off the Stoll brothers.

The three chariots were not neck and neck as they barreled through the track. Charles Beckendorf took out a brown satchel and threw it to the Athena Chariot. It stuck to the floor and began billowing green smoke.

"Greek Fire," Annabeth yelled. "Get rid of it!"

Percy blocked a strike from Charles. The head of the Hephaestus Cabin was doing a great job of stalling Percy in time for the satchel to explode on them. He had to focus on defending the both of them. If he shifted his focus to the bag of Greek fire, Charles could attack his partner and they would end up crashing.

The crowd watched as the two traded blows with each other as the satchel fizzled in the Athena Chariot. Percy punched a button on his watch making it expand like an old school camera shutter with a leather strap. He raised the shield to block Charles' sword making it clang against its surface.

The latter didn't have time to be surprised as he was slammed on the chest with the shield sending him flying off the chariot. Percy was about to attack the driver, but Annabeth warned him of the bomb that was about explode.

The son of Poseidon used the tip of his sword to flip the firebomb out of their chariot. It conveniently landed and exploded in between of the Ares and Hephaestus chariots, dismantling their rides and blowing the charioteers away.

Everything was smooth sailing from there. There was no one else to challenge them after the lights show. Annabeth pulled the reins for their last turn. The chariot careened dangerously at the curve like it was going to capsize anytime. Somehow, though, the chariot held strong and managed to cross the finish line.

The crowd erupted into a cheers. As the two charioteers dismounted their rides, the crowd mobbed them and started chanting their names. Annabeth tried to speak up to the crowd to thank Tyson and Naruto, but the crowd didn't want to listen, but she still managed to get her word out. Percy even managed to brag about his baby brother.

The whole camp carried Percy and Annabeth to the Winners Platform Chiron and the previous champion, Naruto, awarded them the laurel wreaths.

(LINE BREAK)

For the next few days, the campers enjoyed their stay in the camp. Even Tyson was getting the appreciation that he deserves from the other campers. Naruto never forgot to visit Thalia in her tree to check on her.

Grover told everyone that he had impressed the Council so much for surviving his first quest as a searcher and clearing the way for future searches that old goats gave him a two month long break and a new set of reed pipes. Although, the satyr's reed pipe skills haven't improved at all.

He was playing the some "YMCA" or something and the strawberry plants went crazy. Naruto didn't know if they were going to the direction of the music or asking for help to put them out of their misery.

As they listened to their friend play his new pipes, other aspiring searchers came and thanked Grover for what he did. Certainly, more and more satyrs wanted to be searchers now that certain death wasn't completely on the table. Now that the fleece was at camp, the search for Pan would be a little bit easier. If not, then at least they have a sort of homing beacon for them to find home.

In the middle of his concert, Grover offered to dissolve the empathy link with the boys he calls his brothers, but the two refused.

He looked at us with a shocked expression on his face. "But, if I get in trouble again, you two could be in trouble. If worse comes to worse, you could die!"

"Then, all the more for us to keep it!" Naruto argued.

"He's right, G-man! If you get into trouble, we'll come running to help again!" Percy added.

In the end, he relented and let the two keep the empathy link.

(LINE BREAK)

Later on, after Archery Class, Chiron pulled Percy aside to discuss with him about his recent predicament, school-wise. For some odd reason, a boy named Matt Sloan was blamed for everything. Percy was shocked by the news to say the least. He was pretty sure that he would have come up with a stupid story that teachers would believe, but that wasn't the case.

"But, how could that happen?" Percy asked

Chiron's gaze switched over to a certain blonde haired boy who was walking with Annabeth to their next class. "I have a pretty good idea on who might be responsible."

Percy followed his gaze. "You mean Naruto?"

"I don't know, Percy. It's unlikely that he has the ability to manipulate the mist, since he is as new as you are, but it is possible that he has a similar ability to that." Chiron explained.

"That would be useful when I get attacked in school again," Percy said.

Chiron nodded, "I will teach you how when you are ready."

"One more thing," Chiron added. "You better call your mother."

He unclipped a cellphone from his quiver and handed it to Percy.

Percy rang his mother's number. As soon as the call connected and he said hello, Sally Jackson didn't stop to breathe as she scolded Percy for sneaking off to go on a dangerous quest without permission.

After her long sermon, she finally took a pause to catch her breath. "Oh, I'm just glad you're safe!"

"I'm sorry, Mom." Percy said. "I won't scare you again. I promise."

"Don't promise that, Percy. You know that things will only get worse." She tried to keep her voice straight. "At least Naruto was with you, right?"

"Yes mom," Percy answered. "We always watch each other's backs."

"That's good," Sally sighed in relief. "Speaking of him, where is he?"

"He's on the way to the next class," Percy said.

"Can I talk to him?" Sally asked.

Percy looked up. Naruto was not too far away yet. He yelled for his name catching the blonde's attention. He mouthed 'mom' which the shinobi recognized and ran towards Percy.

He raised the phone to his ear and said, "Hey, Aunt Sally!"

"Naruto! I'm so glad you're safe!" Sally said as soon as he heard Naruto's voice.

"Yeah, mom! We–" the blonde answered excitedly.

He caught the slip of his tongue and rushed to correct it. "Ooops, I didn't mean–"

Sally waved off Naruto's concern, "No, no, it's fine Naruto. You're always part of the family. You can call me mom if you like."

"Thank you, mom."

"Stay by each other's sides, Naruto. At least, when you're on a quest, I know my boys are safe."

"You got it! We always got each other's back."

The three caught up with how they were holding up so far. Sally brought up how Percy managed to survive a year without getting expelled. Percy explained that it was thanks to Naruto that the blame of the fire was shifted away from him. Although the son of Poseidon was still welcome to return to Meriwether, Percy still expressed his desire to move since the teachers didn't know how to deal with "people like him." Sally reassured him that they would think of something.

LATER THAT EVENING

Two demigods and a cyclops were sitting by the sand dunes overlooking Long Island Sound. They decided to ditch the sing along with the help of the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu and the Henge no Jutsu.

A moment later, Tyson broke some news to us. "Dream came from Daddy last night. He wants me to visit."

Percy and Naruto were shocked by the news.

It was the blonde who recovered first managing to say, "What are you going to do when you get there?"

"Uhm…Wants to work at the Cyclopes' forges. He called it an… inter…intre…"

"An internship?" Percy finally managed to get a word in.

Tyson nodded. "Yeah that one."

Percy's gaze shifted to the sand dunes. He couldn't help but feel jealous at the opportunity his brother was getting while he would stay in camp to train. Naruto placed a hand on his shoulder.

"When will you leave?" Naruto asked.

"Now," Tyson answered.

"Wait, now? As in now now?

The cyclops nodded.

"I, I…" His brother didn't know what to say.

"We're both happy for you, y'know," Naruto said with a bright smile. He elbowed Percy. "Isn't that right Perce?"

"Y-yeah, sorry about that. I'm just surprised that's all," Percy forced a smile. "I really am happy for you even though I am a little jealous."

Naruto elbowed him again. "Okay, okay, I'm really jealous of you. You get to see Poseidon's Palace and all that, but that doesn't change the fact that I will support you with what you plan to do."

Tyson sniffled a little. "Hard to leave my new brother and my friend."

Naruto pouted. "Can't I be your brother too?"

"Yes, you can." Tyson smiled.

"Have to leave so I can make weapons for you. You will need them." He managed to continue, though his voice was trembling.

"That will be good experience for you big guy!" Naruto said. "You could learn a lot from the other cyclopes."

Percy nodded. "I know you will make great weapons. I bet they'll tell good time too!"

"Yes, yes I will!" Tyson sniffled. "Use the shield well! And sorry I didn't make one for you, Naruto, no time."

"Don't worry about it! Just make one for me next time!" Naruto chuckled. "Besides, your rides here…"

Naruto pointed to the surf where the familiar rainbow-colored mane was jutting out of the water's surface. The three brothers shared on final hug. They didn't know when they would see each other again. It might take a long time before they see each other again, so they had to savor every moment possible.

"Have to go now," Tyson said.

"Take care, big guy," Naruto said.

"We'll miss you…"

Percy and Naruto had to get ready for bed after Tyson had left. They had stayed by the beach until curfew, so there was no more time to mourn the big guy's departure. It was much more for Percy since he would be alone in his cabin again. As they trudged back to their cabins, dark clouds started to form at the boundaries of the camp.

A storm pounded on the outside world. Naturally, not a drop of rain fell inside the camp. The Time Lord visited the two boys and began taunting them, but not for long. Percy's dream shifted to his father's palace under the sea, while Naruto dreamt of home and his old friends.

THE NEXT DAY

It was another normal day for kids at camp. Well, no one can fault them for their naivety.

Naruto woke up in the wee hours of the morning for an early morning for another early morning training. Luna didn't even budge when Naruto got out of bed. She decided to sleep some more.

So, there he was again doing some laps all over camp. Towards the end of his training, Naruto passed by Thalia's tree to visit her once again. It just so happened that Annabeth was in charge of guard duty.

He tried to phase into the tree the way he always did when he went to see Thalia, but this time…

"What's wrong?" Annabeth asked.

"I can't go in," Naruto said simply. "That's odd."

Naruto examined the tree and the area around it. Annabeth decided to pitch in to look for something wrong. The shinobi closed his eyes to try once again, but he was broken out of his concentration by a sharp gasp.

Over by the side of the tree was a bump that he somehow missed. Annabeth was the one to notice it. Well, she wouldn't have noticed it if she hadn't stumbled over it.

The bump was one of the roots that have been uprooted somehow and under it was the familiar shimmer of armor. Annabeth decided to dig for whatever was buried under. Naruto scrambled beside her and helped her.

What they found caused Annabeth to shriek as the rest of the camp was stirring from their sleep.

A/N: Hey, my brain is already fried from all the stuff I did at school so I can't think of anything to place here. So, here's a filler chapter just to pad the run time, or so they say. Hope you like the chapter