Showstopper

A Naruto/Percy Jackson crossover

Summary: While on their quest to find the Lightning Thief, Percy, Grover and Annabeth stumble upon an unexpected variable in the Lotus Casino. And it's a real showstopper.

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The Lotus Casino was a strangely unique place, unlike any Percy had seen before. Now that, granted, wasn't a very difficult task, being only twelve-or-so years old, but he was sure he could live to at least twenty-two before he saw a similar place.

Better make that sixteen. It's been a long summer.

The Casino was filled with everything Percy could think of, and probably quite a few things he couldn't. He was even offered brown liquid in small glasses, something his mother would probably be against him trying (and that was important, his mother; Percy just couldn't for the life of him figure out why).

There were also these fantastic little lotus-shaped cakes which… didn't he have one of those in his hand a moment before?

Percy looked around, strangely focused on the fact he was currently lotus-cake-less. A female server offered a new one to him, but he ignored her, noticing a small white mass of fur hopping away from him, pink prize clutched between its teeth.

"What the… " He muttered, taking off slowly after… was that a rabbit? It looked like it might've been a rabbit.

Percy followed the white rabbit through the crowd, feeling distinctly like he was supposed to fall through a hole at any moment. Or maybe he was already in Wonderland, and just hadn't noticed it yet.

The rabbit led him through one room and the next, game room and poker room, and cinema, and even a strange room with a metal pole in the middle, before it disappeared into a room with a stage, filled with desks.

Annabeth and Grover were already seated at one, close to the stage. He joined them as the room began to fill.

"Guys."

"Let me guess: white rabbit?" Annabeth said.

"It stole one of those little cakes." Percy explained. "You too?"

"It gave me a note that said: 'Come through the looking glass, Alice.' So, I followed it."

"It just told me to come after it." Grover shrugged. The other two looked at him.

"You know, it's odd." Percy commented a moment later. "For a moment there it almost felt like something wasn't- " The lights suddenly went out, leaving only the stage spotlight.

"It's starting." Annabeth shushed him.

"What is?" Percy turned to Grover when she ignored his question. "What are we watching?"

"No idea. But we might as well."

A man walked out onto the stage. He was in his mid-twenties at the most, spiky blond hair and piercing blue eyes, dressed in a black suit with an orange and black west and a white shirt. His shoes echoed with each step he took.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the show!" His whiskered cheeks stretched in a grin. "We have an evening of magic and wonder planned for you tonight. My name is Naruto, and I will be your guide on this adventure. But before we embark, I'm going to need to fetch my assistant. One moment, please." He pulled out an orange handkerchief. "It's a little bit old-school, but it still works wonders." He laid the handkerchief on a nearby table flat, and then pulled it up by the middle, revealing a black top hat underneath. The spectators clapped.

"He's using the Mist." Annabeth commented, clapping. "It's gotta be."

"Or maybe it's real magic, you never know." Grover said.

"They're just parlor tricks." The blonde shook her head.

"That's not quite it." The man onstage said, as if to answer the teens, staring at the top hat with a frown. "Tricky little thing, aren't you?" He picked up the hat and shook it once, before turning to the audience. "As you can see, there's nothing in it. Here." He threw it into the crowd. "Feel free to check it's empty, let it circulate the room a bit. Just send it back when you're done, I've still a show to do." The blond waited patiently on the stage as the audience poked and prodded his hat for a few minutes. The hat made its way slowly back towards the stage, passing by Percy, allowing all three of them to check it as well.

Naruto shrugged his coat off while the hat made its way back, rolling up his sleeves as he picked it up. "As you can see, nothing up either sleeve. Wouldn't want to be accused of cheating." A few members of the audience chuckled. "I'm sure some of you are a bit confused. I did promise to introduce you to my assistant, after all." He put his hand into the top hat up to his shoulder.

"The hat wasn't that deep when we had it, right?" Percy turned to his friends.

"No." Grover said. "Still think it's just the Mist?"

"It has to be." Annabeth said, sounding less sure of herself.

Naruto rummaged around his hat for a bit. "Ah, there you are. Introducing… Mist!" He pulled a white-furred rabbit by the ears, its red eyes looking at him almost annoyed. "Don't look at me, you could've just jumped out on your own." The audience laughed again, applauding at the feat. "Thank you. Mist, take a bow, don't be rude." The rabbit situated itself on the man's right shoulder before doing its best to imitate a bow, earning another applause from the audience. "I'm sure you're all confused right now. How could a rabbit be an assistant? Well, they can be incredibly smart, their rate in only a few carrots a night, and the backtalk is minimal." The audience laughed again. Naruto threw the top hat carelessly back onto the table, where it clattered. It fell over, and two rings tumbled out, rolling along the table and interlocking when they met. "You must be expecting a classic magic act, right? Pull something out of a hat, play around with bits of metal and cloth, maybe saw one of you in half if you're lucky. But all that's already been done time an again. Except… well, I guess I did do the first part, didn't I?" He scratched the back of his head with an embarrassed chuckle, earning a few more from his spectators. "But you can never go wrong with a mysterious box, right? So, Mist, go fetch it. You know the one?" The rabbit gave a tiny nod, and hopped off stage left. "While the box arrives, I'd like to go ahead and secure a volunteer. Any takers?" A couple of people raised their hands. "Come on, you can do better than that. I promise it doesn't hurt. You'll even come out the other side in one piece. Hopefully." He muttered the last part quietly, but it still carried across the room, earning a few nervous chuckles, along with more raised hands. Percy's hand also went up. "Better. Let's see… you there, with the black hair and sea-green eyes." Percy stood up with an excited grin, ignoring Grover and Annabeth. "Yes, you. Come on up." A large square box was wheeled onto the stage. "Thank you Mist. And you, volunteer, what's your name?"

"Percy." The boy mumbled.

"Louder, they can't quite hear you. Be more sure of yourself, or nobody else will."

"Percy!" He said again, louder and more firmly.

"Better. Now, Percy, in you go. You'll feel some small discomfort at first, but that's just me spinning the box. It'll pass quickly." The blond undid the clasps at the top and bottom of the door, and Percy stepped in. "You're probably expecting some magic words, but none spring to mind." Naruto commented as he fastened the clasps. "But just a couple of taps should do the trick." He gave a few pats to the top of the box. The rabbit then jumped up and gave a few of his own. "You ok in there, Percy?"

"Fine." The boy called back.

"Alright, then. Hang tight." Naruto gave the box a few spins on its axis, and opened the door to the audience.

The box was empty.

"Percy?" Naruto glanced into the box. "Give us a shout if you're still in there." Nothing came out of the box. "Alright, but just to make sure." Naruto closed the door again and gave the first segment a spin, followed by the second, and then finally the third. As soon as the spinning stopped, he opened the door. It was still empty. "Guess Percy's gone. No worries, we'll get him right back. You two." Naruto turned to Grover and Annabeth. "Come look for him. Don't worry, it's perfectly safe." They made their way to the stage. "Now, you said your names were… Grover and Annabeth, right?"

"Um, I don't think we-" The blonde girl started.

"Terrific." Naruto smiled. "Now, one at a time, enter the box." The two exchanged glances. "In your own time."

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When Percy opened his eyes, he was in a dressing room. There were two empty chairs next to him, one on each side, and a long table between them and the wall that held a mirror, along with some lamps on at the top. The empty chairs had their backs turned to the mirror, while his was facing it.

"What the…" He glanced around the room. There were some boxes in the corner, some closed and some half-opened, a few more chairs and even some closets, but other than him, the room was empty. "Wasn't I just in a box?"

A moment later, no sooner than he'd turned his eyes away from the chair to his left, he heard a noise. He turned back round to see a very confused satyr.

"Grover?"

"Percy! What's going on? A moment ago, I was…"

"I know. Weird, right?" Grover nodded.

"Boys?" They both turned to the third seat to see Annabeth there. "I don't think this is the Mist's doing." She looked up at the solid ceiling. "Unless we're directly below the stage and there are holes up there."

"But you're not." The white rabbit from before hopped up to them, getting on top of the table. The three demigods turned to look at him. "What are you looking at Mist for? He's not going to explain anything." They saw the blond magician walk up in the mirror before they noticed he was standing behind them, looking at them with a critical eye. "Now, children, why don't you start explaining some things?" The three exchanged looks. "If you missed my introduction, the name's Naruto Uzumaki. The rabbit's is Mist. Tell me you three, what are two demigods and a satyr doing in the Lair of the Lotus-Eaters three days before the Solstice? And the Son of Poseidon no less." Grover started bleating in worry, Annabeth let out a gasp, and Percy managed to make a solid impression of a fish. "Don't you have a Quest to do?"

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Not happy about the summary, but it'll do for now.

The next one probably won't be another Percy Jackson crossover, but you can never know. I think I have a few more ideas shuffling around from a long time ago.