Reading: Sun's Heir, Death's Guardian II: A Hero's Peril
XXIII
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Percy Jackson and the Olympians.
Percy Jackson was not having a good month.
"I never do in the summer." Percy said in a dry tone.
"Summer is the time all mischief happens." Hermes told him with a smirk.
"Plus, they want you to suffer in school first, then try to kill ya." Leo snickered, making Percy groan. It made so much sense now! The bastards!
First, before going out with Annabeth to see a new movie before going to camp, he gets attacked by cheerleaders-turned-monsters and then gets into a fight with Annabeth. Then, after his cousin's boyfriend gets some secret quest that's real hush-hush, the replacement makes a stupid game where he and Annabeth nearly got killed by giant scorpions, resulting in them finding an entrance to the Labyrinth.
"Happy fun times, right?" Percy asked Annabeth, who nodded.
The adventures through the Labyrinth itself were worthy of being its own book.
"Well, technically…" Apollo trailed off since they were reading a book.
Facing off against Kampê to save the Hundred-Handed One, being confused by Janus the Two-Headed God and Hera the Queen of Olympus, meeting Geryon and seeing Apollo's Red Cattle, and Annabeth getting the killing strike on the Sphinx. He was impressed by Annabeth's skill with the knives she found at Triple G Ranch and Nico's use of Shadow Travel. Following that was meeting his cousin Hephaestus, a real strange encounter considering how the smith acted, stranger than when he met Hephaestus' wife. But then came a big, shocking and upsetting discovery.
Annabeth had a crush on Naruto.
"Watch as the jealously goes through the roof, Annabeth." Aphrodite giggled, oh she loved the drama!
Thinking about the blond son of Apollo made Percy want to grit his teeth. Mr. Perfect, of all people. He was pretty much everything Percy was not: smart, cool, smooth, handsome, witty, and strong.
"Well," Apollo shrugged, "He's not wrong." His kid was a beast!
Hell, this was probably the guy Luke learned everything about being Mr. Cool from.
"That dimension of Luke," Hermes added, his son has his own swagger after all.
Obviously, Percy hadn't heard any stories about Naruto's past in Konoha, where he would run around after a successful prank and proclaim proudly: "One day I'll be the Hokage, dattebayo!'
Ah, blissful ignorance.
"That sums up Jackson in a nutshell." Ares jeered with a laugh as Percy glared at him.
"Funny, one could say that about you too." Percy shot back as they glared at one another.
"Wake up," said the pleasant voice from before. Percy groaned as he was stirred from his dreams of fire, a laughing blonde and a smirking one and the dark mockery of his grandfather. The raven-haired boy blinked his eyes and rubbed his head as he sat up.
"Wonder what that dream was about?" Piper wondered as Percy frowned.
"How are you feeling?" the voice asked, coming from behind him.
"Like I just got shot out of a volcano," said Percy with a grunt, his skin feeling tender and his muscles feeling like jelly. His throat was sore and his voice sounded like a toad's. He covered his face again, rubbing the tiredness out of his eyes. "Where am I?"
"My home." The voice said. Percy turned to ask dryly where he was specifically when the girl that stood before him struck him speechless. She was pretty, beautiful even. He might dare say she was more beautiful than Aphrodite because she wasn't trying to be, she just was. Her caramel hair was braided and fell over one shoulder, giving her a shy allure, and her dark almond shaped eyes looked at him with genuine concern. Her skin was milky and timeless and her lips were pouty. There was also the faint smell of cinnamon in the air.
Annabeth pursed her lips at that description as Percy grabbed her hand, "I picked you, didn't I?" he smiled, one she returned.
"Yeah." She pecked him on the cheek lovingly.
"...Who are you?" Percy asked after a silent beat.
"I am the queen of this island," she said, smiling just a bit bitterly. "Calypso."
Percy took a moment to nod slowly and look around at his surroundings. He was in a very well refurbished cave. There was a fireplace built into the wall, a pot hanging over it that was giving off the smell of something delicious. Like beef stew. Just thinking about it made Percy's stomach growl. Percy looked past the white veil-like curtains acting as walls and over at the harp playing on its own to the side. Percy got off the cloud-like bed, nearly collapsing as he did.
"Pretty nice pad." Leo commented, "Cozy even."
"It was." Percy nodded, it just made you relax and feel at peace.
"Calm yourself, brave one." Calypso said as she caught him. She helped him right himself and moved him to the table. Percy sat with a grunt, his body felt like it was still on fire.
"I know that feeling!"
"Ha, ha, Leo." Percy rolled his eyes with a smirk at the grinning elf.
He really hoped that he did what Hephaestus asked. A bowl was set in front in front of him by...nothing?
"Eat." Calypso said, sitting across from him. "You must recover your strength."
"Thanks," said Percy gruffly, his throat sore. Hesitantly, he picked up the spoon and shakily brought it to his mouth. It was delicious. Almost like he was eating something familiar.
"Blue food?" Thalia asked him with a smirk.
"No." Percy pouted, he wished, but it was still amazingly good.
"Is this what I think it is?"
"Ambrosia? Yes mixed with a few herbs, it helps demigods recover quickly," said Calypso with a small smile directed at him. Percy shifted a bit at the look he got from the girl, his cheeks burning a bit at the intensity of her stare.
Annabeth shifted a bit too. She was very intent to know exactly what had happened on the island of Calypso.
"Why...Why are you looking at me like that?" Percy asked.
"Hm?" Calypso said, blinking a bit before flushing. "Oh, um, no reason. Just, making sure you enjoy your meal. It has enough ambrosia just to help you recover. I, um, I have to go."
"She likes what she sees," Aphrodite teased Percy, who flushed a bit.
Before he could stop her, the teenage girl rose from her seat and hurried out of the room. Percy just blinked in confusion before looking down at the soup in front of him. With a small shrug, he got back to eating the meal that was arguably up there with his mom's blue cookies.
"True," Percy begrudgingly said, not wanting to admit it.
He frowned when his thoughts drifted to Nico and Annabeth, wondering if they got out of the volcano before it erupted.
"I hope they got out okay." Percy said to himself softly.
"I did," Annabeth said, "So we probably both did."
"Nice, rather not be baked by a volcano like Percy did." Nico commented.
"Someone's talking about you, Annie," said Naruto with a chuckle as the girl sneezed. They had just finished mapping out the Labyrinth, which really didn't go that well, despite Annabeth's venture through it a week prior. They had the connection to Alcatraz – which reminded Naruto of the trip he had to make there – the opening to the Triple G Ranch, outside of Clarisse's house, the exit to Mount Saint Helens and the entrance at Zeus' Fist... or Rai-Jiji's Deer Poop Rock, as Naruto so elegantly put it before Annabeth corrected him when the sky boomed.
Zeus fumed at that while the demigods snickered and the gods laughed.
After that failed attempt at mapping it out, Naruto decided to cheer her up by taking her to the archery field and work on their throwing skills.
"Isn't that sweet of him." Hazel teased Annabeth, who glared at her with pink cheeks.
"I still don't believe that is a wives' tale," said Annabeth, frowning as she pulled out another throwing knife. She tossed it at the target where it hit just at the edge of the bull's eye.
"Nice shot." Annabeth puffed up her chest for her other as others rolled their eyes.
"You never believe anything, Annie," said Naruto. He turned around and pulled a kunai out, looking at it as he held it by the tip before he threw it behind him. It hit dead center and he grinned. "I'm so awesome."
"You're such a showboat, Naruto. It's easy to guess who your dad is." Annabeth said with a glare, pouting a bit at the shot she couldn't make. Yet, anyway.
"A little time, Naruto's had more experience." Annabeth told her other.
"…You do know she can't hear you, right?"
"Shush McLean."
"I'm not that bad," said Naruto. He glared back at her, both of them pulling out their respective knives before throwing them. They looked at the targets and Naruto smirked while Annabeth pouted as Naruto hit the center of his while she was a few centimeters off. The whiskered blond crossed his arms. "Well...I think we know who won this argument."
"The knife says it all." Ares nodded.
"Shut up, Naruto."
"Make me, Annie."
"I could tell Thalia about the IM with Eirene."
"Ooh, evil." Aphrodite nodded, "I like."
"...I would literally do anything to keep that quiet," said Naruto.
"Oh really?" Annabeth said in a smug tone, ha! The shoe was on the other foot now!
A few days ago, Thalia volunteered to go with Piper on a jet back to California to visit Jason
"I went on a plane for you?/You went on a plane for me?" the Grace siblings said as one while looking at each other. It got a few laughs, but Jason was smiling at his flushed sister, knowing that was big for her. His other was really lucky.
and check in with Piper's dad, since there were no phones at camp and her dad wasn't the most spiritual. While she was gone, Naruto received a call via Iris from Eirene the goddess of peace and most likely Ares' least favorite sister. She once more asked him to join her in peace that he rightfully deserved. Being who he was, he kindly declined.
"Ha, take that." Ares sneered, indeed, he hated her.
Unfortunately, Eirene is persistent...and although apparently a pacifist, is not above playing dirty. Honestly, tempting him with assuring there would be peace in his homeland for all his life was pretty low...And actually very tempting.
"Oh, that was good." Piper nodded, low blow.
Seriously, Naruto was a bit upset with himself for actually thinking about it. He loved Thalia and the camp way too much to seriously go through with it.
"Yeah, I thought so." Annabeth said with a smirk. She pulled another knife out as the one on the target returned to her pouch. She took aim and started to pull her arm back when Naruto stopped her.
"Shoulders back, throw to the side, release before completing the swing for max accuracy and speed."
"That goes against physics."
"It does." Annabeth nodded.
"...Annabeth, look at me." Naruto said, making his sister look at his amused face. "Think about what you just said and who you just said it to."
"Well, Athena?" Poseidon asked smugly.
"…Shut up." Was the goddess' retort.
"...Shut up." Annabeth said with a pout while he laughed. Huffing and doing as Naruto instructed, she was surprised when the kunai hit dead center. "But...how?"
"Grip, aim, release. Three fundamentals of the art of ranged weaponry," said Naruto. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a marble. "Nicked this off of my cousin Conner when his back was turned. He's not the only pickpocket in camp anymore." Naruto looked up.
"Stealing from your kid?" Apollo asked with a grin as Hermes was gaping a bit.
"By the way, thanks for the unintentional help when I was younger uncle Herm." He looked back at a tree beyond the target. "I'm going to bounce it off the branch, then use the broad side of Eclipse to bat it through the target. Watch."
Naruto threw the marble and Annabeth followed it, though barely. She saw the branch shake from the impact and heard the sound of it thanks to her trained and ingrained battle senses. Naruto's kopis expanded out of its flashlight disguise, being twisted by its wielder to make more use of the flat side of the blade, batting the marble Naruto had tossed right into the butt of the kunai that was impaled in the center. The kunai shot through with the marble right behind it. Naruto grinned and flipped the hidden switch on the back of his blade, letting it disappear back into its concealed form.
"When can we take him on tour?" Leo asked, seriously, the money they could make off this guy!
"I'm sure my other is thinking on it." Apollo smirked.
"...Show off." Annabeth said, pouting a bit.
"Oh, come on, you have to admit that was pretty cool." Naruto said with a frown.
"It was." Frank nodded.
"Six out of ten." Annabeth said, giving him a smirk and an iffy gesture.
"Tough customer." Thalia whistled at the smirking Annabeth.
"What?! That's at least an eight easily!"
"You only bounced the marble off of a branch."
"Yeah, but I hit it with the broad side of my sword."
"Anyone could do that if they're lucky enough. I bet Percy could do that, and he relies mostly on instinct."
"I know I could." Percy said with a nod, ha, take that Naruto! Even Annabeth said so.
"...Touché." Naruto said, defeated. Percy was skilled enough to catch that, and just lucky enough to do it the same way Naruto did.
Annabeth giggled at the face Naruto made when she brought up the 'Wet headed Wonder' as Thalia called Percy.
"Love you so much, Thalia." Percy said dryly.
"Same here, Wet Head Wonder."
When her giggles died down, she gained a small frown of worry, looking back at the target and wondering what happened to the boy she called – and it was an accurate name, not affectionate, no matter what the girls of Cabin Ten said – Seaweed Brain.
"That is an affectionate name though, no matter how you read it." Piper stated.
"Yep," Annabeth grinned as she looked to her beau, who grinned back.
If he melted in that eruption Annabeth would never forgive herself.
Naruto caught onto the apparent track his sister's mind was on from the way she bit her lip and quickly decided to change the subject. "So Bianca's been asking when she could get some extra lessons in Ancient Greek."
"Yes, finally, the important stuff." Nico said.
"So me being alive isn't important?"
"Meh, you lived. This is more important."
"Huh?" Annabeth asked, being snapped from her train of thought. "She is? How's her physical therapy going?"
"Being stuck in bed for months no doubt killed a lot of that training muscle." Hazel frowned, worried for her half-sister.
"According to Will, she's getting around much better and rebuilding her muscle faster. According to Nico, she needs a wheelchair," said Naruto with a snort. His youngest charge was none too pleased to have the son of Dr. Solace in his cabin still. Nico was a bit selfish when it came to his sister.
"I have no problem admitting that." Nico huffed.
"The girls of Cabin Ten are starting to call them Wianca," said Annabeth.
"…Those little harpies!" Hades roared as Nico looked far from pleased.
"Go little playa!"
"Silence Apollo!" his uncle glared at him.
"I was hoping for Bill." Naruto said with a frown. "That would've been great material to use."
"You're a horrible brother." Annabeth said, her head shaking in exasperation.
"No, I'm a fantastic one. I pick on all of my siblings equally to show my love," said Naruto, smirking at his lil sis.
"Now if that isn't an awesome brother, I don't know what is." Apollo nodded.
"I know you aren't one." Artemis told him with a smirk.
"…I am hurt you would even say that, lil sis, I am."
Movement to his left caught his eye and his smirk turned into a grin. "Ain't that right, Blackie?"
"Seriously getting old, Naruto," said a boy that walked over to the range with Leo. This was the next in line for the role of Cabin Seven counselor, Michael Yew.
"Poor Michael." Annabeth frowned along with Percy, despite his attitude, he was a good guy, sorta.
He, unlike his brothers and sisters, was short and had dark hair that contrasted greatly with the Cabin's usual mop of blond. This made him the almost literal black sheep of the group. And Naruto never let him forget it, in a good way of course. The boy, however, had an attitude that more than made up for his lack of height.
"He got most of his mom's looks." Apollo stated, "Her attitude too."
"Seems more like yours when we were younger."
"Arte, shush."
It faded a bit when Naruto would talk about being the shortest in his class all his life, but occasionally reared its ugly head when a member of Cabin Five was around. Apparently, in his first year, Michael managed to get the upper hand in a fight against one of Ares' kids, resulting in a win, and Apollo was so proud he claimed Michael on the spot.
"I remember that," Apollo grinned to Ares, who glared back at him with the finger.
"Aw, c'mon, that's not too bad considering he calls me Squirt. Right, Gringo?" Leo asked as he dropped the bag next to him that revealed some safety equipment. In Michael's hand was a bow and over Leo's shoulder was a quiver that had Naruto's grin widening.
Experimenting already?" Hephaestus asked his son.
"Duh, you make those fancy arrows, I got to work on my own." The pyro boy grinned.
"Right-o, Squirt!"
"You two should not be allowed to associate with one another," said Annabeth with a groan. Naruto and Leo were a dangerous combination, the camp discovered this soon enough, but it was when Leo and Michael met that shit started to really hit the fan.
"Oh yeah, I am liking the sound of this." Leo rubbed his hands together eagerly.
Michael had ideas that had even Conner and Travis ducking in cover. Like the Fart Arrow, one of Michael's favorite new toys to use. He used at least ten to get vengeance on Clarisse for giving him a wedgie two years ago. Since then the two black sheep have been inseparable.
Ares was glowering at that while the demigods were laughing at that as did the gods.
"C'mon, chica, you can't hate the players for having fun while they play." Leo said with a grin.
"She's just mad because we stunk up Cabin Six by accident," said Michael.
"They what?" Athena and Annabeth asked crisply.
"Uh-oh." Leo winced.
"You deliberately shot that arrow at Malcolm!" Annabeth said, glaring at the black-haired boy.
"Do you have proof of this alleged deliberant act?" Michael asked, smirking in a manner not unlike Naruto's.
"...Hit any members of my Cabin again and there will be consequences, Yew."
"Damn right." The daughter of wisdom nodded.
"Whatever, Blondie."
"Do not call me that."
"Hey, hey, hey, let's all be civil here." Naruto said, stepping in as Annabeth clenched her fist while Michael smirked at her. The whiskered blond looked at the elfish son of Hephaestus. "So what'd you bring this time?"
"I got all your diabolical needs." Leo grinned with wide spread arms.
"Some new arrows to try out," said Leo, grinning widely as he swung the quiver around and pulled one out like a caddy would a golf club. "This baby is the new and improved, Valdez-Yew patented Net Arrow."
"Opening a store, Leo?" Piper asked him, clearly amused.
"So will. That I promise." The elf boy smirked back.
"Based off the tightening nets of the Yautja from the Predator series," said Michael with a smirk as Naruto took the arrow and looked it over.
"Ooh, smart thinking." Apollo grinned, literally bouncing up and down in his seat.
It was pretty big for an arrowhead, but the seams along the shaft were near-invisible. He found a familiar switch at the nock and pointed it out.
"You get a three second period before it opens," said Leo. He grinned and pulled another out. "This is a regular net, so the timer is a bit longer. You can tell by the feel of the knock and the fletching which is which, but the arrowheads look the same."
"You sound like a salesman." Piper told her friend.
"I could so rock a bowtie." The mechanic smirked.
"Light too," said Annabeth as she weighed the arrow in her hands. "Bronze wiring?"
"On the tightening net. That's for the monsters we'll have to face," said Michael with a frown.
"Got some grade-A steel wire for the other net, but I have to find a way to make it light enough," said Leo. He grinned at the frowning son of Apollo. "Yew here thinks it's impossible."
"Dude, not cool!"
"It's not impossible." Michael said, rolling his eyes. "I mean, theoretically it's possible. We just don't have the resources here to do it."
"We have the technology, Yew." Leo said, wagging his finger at the boy. "Don't doubt me."
"Never said I did, Valdez."
"The get along really well." Annabeth muttered, oh joy. This was going to be fun.
"Then take the shots, Blackie." Leo said, pointing at the targets. Michael made a face at his friend and took the arrow from Naruto while walking up to the line. He readied the arrow, pulled back on the bow and took the shot after flicking the nock. The arrow flew for three seconds when it split apart and released the net that spun open, taking the target to the trees and crushing it to splinters in mere seconds.
"Leo, can you make that?" Frank asked, eager to have them.
"Meh, when I got some free time I guess."
"...Overkill." Annabeth said, her head shaking in disbelief. Leo was a great smith and his creations were amazing, but in Thalia's (rarely used) words: Damn was that scary.
"Even Thalia is scared of my mind." Leo grinned at her as she glared at him.
Like she would be scared of his creations, ha!
It only got worse the longer he hung around Michael or Naruto or, gods forbid, both brothers at once. Annabeth could only imagine the hell the three would bring down upon the camp.
Or their enemies.
"So we all agree we like the latter, right?" Jason asked and got nods all around.
"Too slow to open," said Yew with a shake of his head. "I'm telling you, one second would be enough."
"You kidding me? Someone on our side could get in the way." Leo said with a frown.
"Seriously, three second rule, always." Leo nodded, he knew these things!
"Ladies, stop fighting, you're both pretty." Naruto said, cutting Michael off before he could retort. The whiskered blond nodded his head at the quiver. "What else you got?"
"Oh, right. Well this..." Leo said, pulling a thicker arrow out that had two prongs with small tips that looked like they were barbed. "Is the Valdez-Yew Pronged Arrow."
"What a terrible name." Frank said.
Leo scowled, "Shut it husky."
"...You guys need to work on names." Naruto said with a smirk.
"See, Naruto agrees with me."
"…See if I make those arrows now."
"I told you that was a stupid name."
"Shut up, Blackie." Leo said to the raven-haired son of Apollo. He glared at the older blond and tossed the arrow to him. "Here, try this on for size."
Naruto caught the arrow with ease and looked it over. The fletching was black, much like the arrow and it didn't look very aerodynamic. Humming curiously, Naruto reached behind him and unfolded his bow.
"That doesn't disguise itself?" Leo asked, arching a brow. "How the hell do you get away with carrying it, Gringo?"
"The Mist favors me, Leo." Naruto said with a grin as he nocked the arrow on his bowstring.
"More likely wants to dry hump him." Thalia said in an equally dry tone.
He took aim much like his brother did, quickly, and released the arrow after flicking the switch on the nock. It flew like a normal arrow and then split in two right down the middle so that there were now two prongs. They impaled either side of the target, making Naruto's eyes widen at the accuracy of the hit.
"Like a giant staple." Jason stated.
"And you would know, right Jay?" Thalia teased, getting the boy to pout at that reminder.
"I would've thought for sure they'd veer off," said Annabeth, voicing Naruto's very concern.
"That's the extra weight in the arrow." Michael said. "A pair of magnets that keep them aligned with each other and slow down the separation, but not too much that it will kill somebody."
"And if you don't flip the switch, you can still catch someone's wrist." Leo said with a grin.
"That's some Green Arrow stuff." Apollo was grinning and turned to his smith brother, "Hey Heph, could you-"
"No."
"…You suck bro."
"Handy," said Naruto, making the two boys snicker while Annabeth rolled her eyes. Leo reached down to grab another arrow when he noticed the vanilla file folder at Annabeth's feet.
"What's this?" he asked, snatching it before Annabeth could stop him. He flipped through it with an arched brow. "The Labyrinth?"
"At least ask!"
"Annabeth, this is my 'I care' face, see?" Leo said, pointing to himself as she fumed.
"Let me see!" Michael said, rushing over to look through it with his friend. "Whoa...Alcatraz is being used again? That's like from The Rock, only...I dunno, less Nicholas Cage-y."
"And less explosive nerve gas," said Leo, making his friend nod. That would literally be unfair to the demigods.
"Like a tank." Thalia said dryly, seriously, during the battle of Manhattan, that was a pain in the ass!
They groaned when Annabeth snatched it back, glaring at them for taking her information without permission. "Aw, c'mon, it was just getting good!"
"Ask next time and maybe you can look through it!" Annabeth said with a scowl.
"See, listen to her boys."
"Don't. Ever." Leo countered with an impish grin that made Annabeth glare at him.
"Actually, maybe it's a good thing Leo found it," said Naruto, humming in thought as he folded his bow up and put it away. "Thalia-chan's away with Piper to tell Piper's dad that she wants to stay at camp for the summer so she can't stop me from leaving and I need to deal with something that could be very problematic if left alone."
"Leaving without me knowing, huh?" Thalia asked with crossed arms. Playing with fire blondie.
"Why did Thalia take Piper to California, anyway?" Annabeth asked curiously, her brows furrowing in thought. Naruto grinned and tapped her on the nose.
"See-cret." He said before she batted away his hand.
"Oh come on, you can't keep that a secret, too!" Annabeth said with a bit of a whine.
Annabeth flushed at the snickers to her whining, "I like to be in the know!"
"You're just nosy~" Hazel giggled as Annabeth flushed a deeper red.
She had gotten him to give her the same explanation he gave Percy, Grover, Thalia and the hunters last winter, but still that raised more questions than answers. Like, how was there a hidden world in the Antarctic when Apollo only flew the sun east to west? Or, what made chakra so accessible to the people of Naruto's home but not to today's demigods?
"Good question." Apollo rubbed his chin with a semi-serious face.
She deserved to know! ...Or at least her mother's influence demanded her to find out.
"No, that's definitely her mother's blood." Poseidon smirked as Athena glared at him.
"Watch me," said Naruto with a grin. While Annabeth pouted, Naruto turned to Leo and Michael. "Okay, here's they lowdown. Michael, you know I'm not from around here."
"Duh." Michael said, rolling his eyes. "Anyone with two brain cells could tell you that, Whiskers McGee."
"Yeah, he's too weird." Hermes snickered as Apollo glared at him. His kid was awesome weird!
"Ha! Nice one." Leo said with a laugh and a high five to his friend. He then looked to the scowling blond questionably. "What do you mean, not from around here? Are you legit Japanese?"
"Euro-Asian, actually." Naruto said with a grin. "That's beside the point though. I come from a civilization hidden from the modern world. We don't have cellphones or computers, or even basic cable."
"...You poor, savage bastard." Leo yelped when Naruto bonked him on the head.
"See!" Leo pointed out, "Only a savage would attack me like that!"
"Sure, Leo." Piper rolled her eyes, "It has nothing to do with calling him a savage."
"Exactly."
"Shut up. We do have, however, the ability to do incredible things like multiply and control the elements that the gods normally have sole control over. However, our lands were left alone by the gods due to sacred boundary laws created by other deities that have since passed on. Since then, we have learned to use our life force to do incredible feats...Like so."
Naruto turned and walked from the group to a tree, walking straight up it and walking along a branch, making Leo gape.
"Yes, watch the amazing Super Blond as he walks up a tree, with no hands!" Apollo announced like a Ring Master.
The blond then dropped from the branch and walked back like it was nothing. Pointing over his shoulder, Naruto continued where he left off.
"I learned to do that when I was twelve. And I learned to change my appearance when I was six. Watch." Naruto snapped his fingers and his body was engulfed in smoke. When the smoke cleared, it revealed an exact replica of Leo Valdez, smirking back at the original. He spoke in Leo's voice, further shocking the elfish smith. "This is called the Transformation Technique in English, something all children in my homeland learn when they're young."
"Dude, that is so messed up." Leo shivered.
"It's wonderful for acting though." Apollo grinned widely.
"...Still doesn't beat holograms, bet you can't do that!" Leo said with a smirk.
"Actually, Naruto could, but he has too much chakra," said Annabeth, entering her lecturing pose. "There's a technique that he could use, the predecessor of his favorite technique. It's called the Clone Technique, and shinobi use it to create holographic duplicates of themselves.
"How's that foot in your mouth tasting Leo?"
"Shut up." Leo pouted.
Naruto doesn't have enough control for that and most likely never will, since it's one of the first techniques used by students...which I still have an issue with..."
"Let it be, Annabeth." Naruto said, his eyes rolling at her disapproval of child soldiers.
"I really don't." Annabeth frowned as her mother nodded, it was just another reason she didn't like the Romans.
He and his mother got enough of that from Lady Persephone, who disapproved of it as well, having known how precious and short childhood was.
"I can only wonder why?" Demeter turned to her eldest brother, who threw his hands in the air.
"Oh please! Like it wasn't your nagging that didn't drive her up the walls." Hades countered as the continued to bicker until Hestia cleared her throat.
"Enough you two."
"Yes, sister." The shut up quickly.
"...All I got from that was that Naruto has a large chakra," said Michael, smirking at Annabeth as her face turned red at the innuendo.
"Which Annabeth and Thalia like."
"Mom!" Piper shouted, red in the face along with the other girls and the goddess glared at her for the poor taste in jokes.
Leo laughed while Naruto groaned, palming himself in the face at the lame joke. It would have been funny if that innuendo hadn't been the same joke Jiraiya loved to use. Seriously, the perverted sage used it at least three hundred times in a week. A week!
Apollo and Hermes laughed while Artemis sniffed in distaste, "Pig."
It was memories like that that would remind Naruto to ask his father how he, as Minato Namikaze, stayed so 'pure' as a shinobi like his mother said he was.
"The real question is, why couldn't he stay that way?" Artemis asked aloud, getting a mock glare from her twin.
"Anyway..." Naruto said, making the two smirking black sheep and the flushed daughter of Athena look at him. "Somewhere in Alcatraz there's a seal that would allow the people from my home to journey here with ease, which is a big no-no. Can't have too much awesome running around after all. Then I'd look mediocre."
"And we can't let that happen." Thalia rolled her eyes playfully.
"And we can't let that happen." Annabeth said with a smirk, making Naruto nod in agreement.
"We are so on the same wavelength, huh, Annie?"
"Yep!"
"Exactly." He said. "They could also be recruited to work for the Crooked Asshole."
"...The what?" Leo asked.
"The father of the Big Three," said Michael with a smirk. "He's the only one Naruto calls that."
"I like it," Percy grinned, "It fits him well."
"Indeed." Poseidon grinned.
"Nicknames galore, huh?" Leo asked with a chuckle. "Alright, so what do we do?"
"Well, I have a car and a license..." Naruto said, making Leo's eyes twinkle.
"We're taking Soul?" Leo asked. Naruto nodded and Leo whooped.
"Name change?" Apollo asked with a pout, he liked S.O.L.!
"I thought it was called S.O.L.?" Annabeth asked.
"Naruto renamed it," said Michael with a smirk. "Like the music genre."
"Really?" Annabeth asked flatly. Naruto sheepishly scratched the back of his head.
"What? It's a good name. Homonyms and everything. It's word play!" he said in his own defense.
"It really is." Hermes smirked, "I like it better than S.O.L."
"Nonsense!" his sunny brother argued.
Annabeth continued to give her brother a look until he shifted the focus off his car's name. "So, do you want to help or not?"
"Do you really have to ask?" Annabeth said, smirking at him.
"Road trip!" the demigods shouted with a good laugh.
"I call shotgun!" Leo said. Annabeth's smirk fell into a pout and Naruto chuckled, turning to look at Michael, who smirked.
"Whoo, shotgun is mine!"
"Curse you, Leo." Annabeth pouted.
"You need all the awesome you can get." Michael said. He and Leo shared a grin before slapping hands, pulling their arms back and giving each other fist bumps. Naruto arched a brow in amusement at their handshake. Isn't that sweet? The two black sheep are blood brothers.
"Man," Leo pouted, "Would have loved to meet the guy." They got along so chill like.
"Alright, then to Cabin Nine!" Naruto said with a grin.
They got the car out of the cabin easily enough, but somehow Chiron caught wind of their plans.
"Curse you!" Leo cried out, how dare he ruin the epic road trip.
Naruto had to pull the centaur aside to explain that the Roman camp and the Underworld itself was at risk if the connection to the Hidden Lands was left alone in Alcatraz. Chiron agreed with that, admittedly begrudgingly. Even if he was more attuned to Greek legends, he knew that the Roman children had to be defended. He was still a deity of protection.
Athena frowned at that, Chiron was far too kind of a soul at times.
That all said and done, they piled into the car and Naruto complimented Leo on the cozier seats.
"Can never go wrong with leather." Leo grinned, comfy as hell.
Naruto turned on the Soul and peeled out of the camp once again, leaving behind confused campers and bemused members of Cabin Nine. They made it to the road and Naruto waited until they got on the turnpike before looking at the button on the dash labeled: H-Burst. It was the replacement for the Men in Black tribute button.
"Seriously, cool and all but the hell guys." Leo frowned as his dad nodded in agreement.
"Why did you call it that?" Naruto asked Leo.
"Because your engine is a glorified H-Bomb. We either go shooting off to the west or we die horribly and take thousands with us." Leo said.
"…Leo, morbid." Nico said with a blink, seriously, that was his thing.
"No pressure." Michael said, pulling out his camp beads and praying to Apollo in Greek. Annabeth began to rub her father's ring on her own necklace.
"Oh come on, it can't be that bad." Naruto said, pressing the H-Burst button. The windshield tint darkened to near pitch black and a screen flickered on in front of Naruto. The seatbelts changed, becoming padded and a bit more firm.
"Okay, that looks like an awesome set up for a ride." Percy whistled, that looked awesome.
"I know." Leo said, not being modest at all.
The G-force hit them for a second before their ears popped and Leo laughed.
"Ha! I told Beck it would work!" he said.
"Duh." Leo smirked, he knew his stuff after all.
"Wow, this is impressive, Leo." Annabeth said, looking at Naruto's heads up display and balking at the speed being the infinity symbol. "How long will this take?"
"About five more minutes." Naruto said, carefully navigating them through traffic. "Handles smoother, and we're not on fire yet."
"That's a plus for anything." Percy nodded, but Leo shrugged. It wasn't that big of a deal, for him at least.
"A good bonus." Michael said with a sigh of relief. "Thank Apollo."
"You're welcome!"
"Don't thank him yet, Blackie." Naruto said to his brother, getting a glower.
"Brat," Apollo frowned, well, he was actually pouting.
He clicked the radio on and got a jazz tune. "Ooh, I haven't heard this since I was in Georgia, looking for a missing ring of Lord Hades'...Met a real cool cat down there at a museum. Said he was there for the Egyptian exhibit."
"Really?" Annabeth asked. She loved Egyptian lore almost as much as she did Greek, since both cultures grew so closely and yet hadn't shared the same mythos.
"Not really." Athena said quickly, as many of the gods dismissed the Egyptian gods rather quickly too.
The demigods just looked at them with odd blinks.
"Yeah, what was his name...? Arnold? Angus?...Amos! That was it. Good ole Amos. Really knew his jazz." Naruto said with a grin.
"How do you go from Arnold to...Never mind, I don't want to know." Michael said. His brother's mind was a place he tried to stay away from. Seriously, Naruto thought up some strange shit when he was left alone for too long.
"Just like his father, look at all those movies these days."
"Hey," Apollo pointed a finger to Hermes, "They are awesome."
"Suuure."
"The only Jazz I like was killed off by Michael Bay." Leo said with a frown. "Worst. Transformers. Ever."
"It wasn't that bad." Apollo waved off.
"What are you kidding me?" Naruto asked. "Bumblebee pissed on a guy."
"The hip-hop, jive speaker died in the movie." Leo said with a glare. "Jazz made the movie, and like a racist, Bay killed him. Thus, worst Transformers ever."
"Well, when you put it like that…" Apollo started to sweat as he got some looks.
"Alright I'll give you that. But I'll bet that the sequel will be better." Naruto said with a smirk. "Maybe they'll have Marky-Mark in it or something."
"I'd love to see that." Hermes grinned along with some of the other demigods.
"I'll work on it." Apollo said.
"Wahlberg? Doubt it." Michael said with a snort. "They'll be lucky if Fox does the second movie."
"Megan Fox…Now that's a babe." Leo said with a dreamy grin. Michael dropped his scowl and joined him.
"Oh, yeah." The guys said with dreamy smiles and yelped when their respected other swatted them.
"She's just a face. And a daughter of Aphrodite, but that's aside from the point." Annabeth said, her eyes rolling. Megan used to go to camp and then left, her career picking up keeping her away. She was one of the lucky few that could have a normal life.
"She is?" Percy said in surprise.
"Yep." Annabeth nodded as Percy just said wow.
"Such a hottie, isn't she?" Aphrodite smirked.
"Let's hope she doesn't end up like most actresses her age." Artemis commented as her rival glared at her for that.
"And they destroyed the Hoover Dam. Not cool."
"Oh here we go." Percy muttered, she ranted for hours on that, cursing movie for even showing that scene at all.
"To be fair, that was Megatron." Naruto said to his sister. "And it wasn't really destroyed. A few chunks out here and there, but it still held together."
"Still though!" Annabeth said, her lips pursing together as she pouted.
"I know, right?" Annabeth nodded to her other.
"That's sacrilegious to Cabin Six, yes, yes I know." Naruto said with his eyes rolling as he changed the station. "Ah, now here we go. Some nice easy listening."
"...Metallica is easy listening?" Michael asked in disbelief.
"He's got a screw loose." Thalia smirked.
"Yes!" Naruto agreed, glaring at his brother in the rearview mirror and daring him to defy the truth of his words.
"...So, Alcatraz? How are we getting in?" Michael asked, shifting in his seat. He was a bit unnerved by the look Naruto gave him.
"What is it with you guys and overcomplicating things?" Annabeth asked.
"Apollo does that all the time."
Arte, I have ideas, I overthink!"
"Or don't think enough."
"Well, you are just being hurtful today, aren't you."
Naruto gave a quick sidelong glance to her while Michael blinked in confusion. "Naruto, Thalia told me about that quest on Valentine's Day.
"Great." Thalia turned a bit pink as some snickered at her.
And Michael, like you've never rambled about some song for hours on end?"
"...Shut up, my mind goes places!" Michael said, frowning at Leo for snickering at him. He crossed his arms with a huff. "Like you're one to talk, Chase."
"Hypocrite." Apollo nodded as Annabeth gave him a dull glare.
"I think of every scenario, sure I overlook some, but I've thought of them already." Annabeth said, turning around to glare at the boy.
"That had no hubris in it at all." Leo said, smirking.
"My other brings up a good point."
"Shut up, Leo."
"Shut up, Leo."
Annabeth flushed as she was laughed at. Percy just wrapped an arm around her shoulder, holding in his laugh.
"Alright, alright. Annie, you've already made a plan. So what do we do?" Naruto asked as they passed through Texas.
"I thought it'd be obvious." Annabeth said, getting odd looks.
"Let's see what Wise Girl has for us today." Percy grinned.
"I will never live this down." Naruto said as he shuffled around on the ferry to Alcatraz. "A tour group. Why didn't I think of that?"
The group erupted in to laughter at the simply idea.
Athena was smirked at Apollo, so simple, yet oh so perfect. He just gave her a dry look back.
"Because you were thinking along the lines of an awesome badass. Awesome badasses don't do obvious." Leo said, getting a fist bump from Michael for the accuracy of his statement.
"I got him there." The elf boy snickered with the others.
"Would you both quiet down? Now when we get back to the prison, Naruto will cover us with his clones and their disguise technique." Annabeth said, confident in her plan.
"As always."
"Yep the blonde said with a smirk to her beau.
"Henge no jutsu." Naruto said helpfully.
"Then we split up and search the prison. There shouldn't be any monsters, but we can't be too sure." Annabeth said. "After we deal with the seal-"
"If it's paper let me know. If it's just on the stone, break it." Naruto said, getting a nod from the others at his warning about paper seals and booby traps that are near undetectable.
"Hehe, booby." Ares snickered with Apollo and Hermes as the other rolled their eyes at their maturity.
"Right. After we do that, regroup and Naruto will take us back to the car." Annabeth said.
"Which I'll drive because apparently, the teleporting is wiping Mr. Perfect over there out. It'll be easier than converting my toaster to a radio." Leo snapped his fingers and engulfed his thumb in fire. "I'm ready whenever you guys are."
"Team Awesome, break!" Apollo said, grinning as Annabeth and Leo were smirking at the team name. It fit pretty well for them.
"Same here." Michael said, patting the quiver hidden in his backpack. "Just try not to be jealous."
He and Leo shared a high five while Annabeth shook her head and Naruto laughed quietly at their antics. Their adrenaline was at full mark when the ferry docked and Naruto swiftly summoned a few clones to replace them in the group. They split up, Naruto and Michael going up while Annabeth and Leo went down into the depths of the prison.
"Let's split up gang." Thalia said as Annabeth rolled her eyes.
Naruto easily ran to the top of Alcatraz' ruins and made several clones to search the premises, leaving Michael to use the Valdez-Yew crafted climbing arrow, based off of one made by Hephaestus for Naruto's personal use. He pulled his collapsible bow out of his pack – why Apollo's kids never thought of asking for these before Naruto's arrival always came to the front of his mind
"He's right." Artemis nodded as she looked to her brother, "My hunters can summon and vanish their bows at will, why do your children have to carry it at full height?"
"Um, because…I don't know." Apollo shrugged, "They just do."
"Excuses."
"Well, whatever." The sun god pouted as his twin smirked at him in triumph.
– and prepared the arrow.
"Aim, flick and pray that the wall doesn't crumble." Michael said to himself quietly, shooting the arrow up to the sketchy looking wall. It imbedded itself in the rock and Michael grabbed the rope, experimentally tugging it and sighing when the wall stayed in tact. "Thank Olympus. Now...Just like the rock wall at camp...only no lava."
"That's a good thing." Piper nodded, that lava pit was scary.
Michael climbed up the wall slowly, slipping once and looking back down over the cliff. Poseidon's ocean crashed against the island wall, roaring in its own way as it did and scaring Michael more than any monster possibly could have. He was not a swimmer and did not enjoy the sight before him. Swallowing, Michael steeled himself and resumed his climb.
"Does he want a floatie?"
"Screw you Ares!"
Meanwhile, in the lowest parts of the prison, Leo ducked around a corner, pressing himself against the wall and holding his hand in the shape of a gun, the tip of his finger on fire.
"Really, Leo?" Jason asked dryly.
"Yep."
"Duh-nuh-nah!" Leo said, peering around the wall, using his hand-gun to check his surroundings. "Duh-nuh-nah! Du-du-du du-du du-du-du du-du."
"I've so done that." Percy admitted as all the guys, minus Jason, admitted to this.
"I don't see why." Jason pointed out.
"Dude, you have no soul." Leo shook his head, getting a glare for that remark.
Leo dropped his hand with a sigh. "This is boring. Man, I hope Annabeth is having more fun than I am."
A few floors below him, Annabeth was in awe of the architecture of the original structure being reused.
"Of course you would get distracted."
"What? It's very interesting Thalia. Plus I never got to look at it, you know, freaky snake lady trying to kill us and all."
It was much like the labyrinth, only less...mystical. She could understand why it opened out here now, though. She shook her head, trying to get back on track.
"Why does this place have to be so fascinating?" Annabeth asked with a groan. Why couldn't the ninjas have chosen a burger joint or something?
"Because that would be boring," Frank said, "Why would ninjas come out of a burger joint?"
"For the burgers, duh." Thalia rolled her eyes, it was so simple.
The blonde daughter of Athena just hoped the others were having better luck.
"Nothing in the east quadrant either." Naruto said, frowning. He looked to the west at the sound of a raven cawing. He made two clones. "Find Annie and Leo and then get back to me."
"You got it." The clones said, nodding before vanishing in swirls of leaves, using the slower, but chakra saving Shunshin instead of the Hiraishin. Naruto ran to the source of the call, joining up with Michael swiftly.
"Heh, my kid finds it first!" Apollo cheered, getting Athena and Hephaestus to roll their eyes.
"Fast response." Michael said, blinking in confusion when a clone appeared and then dispelled. "What was that?"
"Clones retain information other clones get." Naruto said with a grin.
"...Dude, Cabin Six must hate you."
"You have no idea." Annabeth pouted.
"I know, right?"
Michael led Naruto to the seal, letting the blond crouch down and examine the relatively large tarp of paper pinned to the wall. There was one glaring part of the seal that had Naruto's eyebrows furrowed together in thought. It was a spiral, much like the one on his stomach, a staple of the Uzumaki clan's seal makers. He didn't know anyone alive in the Konohan forces that was able to make this, but the ones who he did know were dead.
"Suspicious." Apollo rubbed his chin.
"So most of the masters of the art are dead?" Athena stated, "Besides that Kushina woman."
"Seems so." Annabeth said with a frown, it was so sad when masters of an art die out. Good thing Naruto had learned from one and was passing the knowledge out to her other. She was sure to keep it alive along with Naruto.
Or when Naruto and other Thalia had kids.
"Oh, I don't feel so good." Leo said, groaning as he and Annabeth appeared in a flash of yellow light. Annabeth looked a little green herself. Michael took it upon himself to help the two out while Naruto continued to examine the seal. Once she saw what he was doing, Annabeth joined him.
"Like the eager learning beaver she is."
"Thalia!"
"Very impressive. It's a vacuum seal layered atop a homing matrix, allowing the users to teleport to and from point A, most likely Konoha, to point B, here." Annabeth said. "Then there's this protection seal, probably to keep the shinobi intact during transmission."
"…" Everyone just turned to Annabeth, who was just grinning haughtily.
"I'm just that awesome."
"But you just started learning it or something, right?" Percy said.
"So?" the blonde asked with a blink.
"Never mind." His girlfriend was way too smart times, it could be scary.
"Very astute, but it's an attraction seal, not a vacuum." Naruto said.
"Annabeth got it wrong?" Piper said in mock shock.
"Say it isn't so!" Thalia cried out as the blonde architect flushed at that.
He then pointed to the seal Annabeth spoke of seconds ago. "And this isn't a protection seal, but a memory seal, this one is designed to recognize the mass of specific atoms within a single person's body."
"Yeah Annabeth," Piper rolled her eyes, "It was so obvious."
"Shut up McLean, like you know anything!"
"And you do?"
"…Shut up." Annabeth pouted and crossed her arms.
"...That's not possible, is it?" Annabeth asked, her eyes wide.
"Um, super ninja Annie."
"Quiet Thalia." The teasing was getting annoying.
"For the logical, no. For an Uzumaki or an Uzumaki's apprentice? Child's play." Naruto said.
"So it will be child's play for you later on Annabeth, cheer up."
"Leave me alone, Hazel!"
He pat Annabeth on the head and ripped the middle of the tarp. "B minus."
Athena gaped as Annabeth gasped.
"The fiend!"
"It's like the sphinx all over again." Percy muttered as he was glared at. Annabeth refused to acknowledge that event.
"B minus!? That's not fair!" Annabeth said with a whine.
"I know." Annabeth nodded, she was a good student! She deserved a higher grade!
"Two seals wrongly described and overlooking Uzumaki handiwork." Naruto said with a smile. "I think it's fair enough."
"He's got you there" Apollo stated as Annabeth fumed at the error, curses!
"Grade grubber." Michael said under his breath, Leo snickering.
"Why you little-!"
"She is a bit of a teacher's pet." He said in agreement. The two black sheep ignored the glare Annabeth sent their way.
"Leo!" Annabeth shot him a look, but he just shrugged.
"You cannot deny it girl."
"Hmph!" Annabeth turned her head to the side with a huff.
"Shut up, Valdez!"
"Make me, Chase!"
"Oh I can."
"Which it girl, you might just get burned."
"That was lame Leo." Piper told him.
"I know, sorry." The mechanic sighed out, it just popped into his head.
Naruto ignored their squabbling as he folded the now ruined tarp up. He had more questions than answers with this discovery and would have to talk with his mother about it sooner or later.
"Yes, more than just a flashback, I want to see this woman in action." Artemis stated as her brother was grinning at the thought.
There were two possible explanations for the seal's strange design, either it was a formula Konoha dug up from the history books or someone, an old Uzumaki apprentice or something, was using his clan's mark without his say-so.
"Ooh, they're in trouble." Hermes whistled, using something of a family brand like that was a big no-no.
If that were the case, then if Madara, or worse Kronos, recruited them, the Camps wouldn't have to worry about the Labyrinth.
"True," Athena frowned, if the enemy got a seal user on their side, it would be terrible.
"Alright, we've got what we came for. Let's get back before Chiron has a heart attack or something." Naruto said, standing up and turning Michael around to shove the folded seal in his backpack.
"Why am I carrying it?!" Michael asked.
"Because you're the pack mule, blackie." Leo snickered.
"Because I said so, now everyone hold hands." Naruto said, smirking as Leo and Annabeth shared a small glare before begrudgingly holding hands.
"See, I'm not that bad."
"How much grease is on that hand?"
"Ouch brain child, ouch."
They vanished in a flash of yellow, leaving behind not a trace of themselves while the mist encircled the tour group they traveled with to Alcatraz, erasing all memories of the four and allowing the clones to dispel.
"Hecate does her best work for someone she has a thing for." Hera smirked at Thalia, who looked mildly irked.
Little did the four demigods know that one more person had used the seal prior to their arrival.
"Damn it, ninja's, leave us alone!" Percy cried out jokingly.
Kakashi Hatake was a member of ANBU, and his skills weren't as rusty as he made them appear. The one-eyed jonin shook his head in amusement.
"Well, Kakashi is cool." Hermes stated as everyone nodded to that, he was. At least it wasn't one of the other guys, now they would be a pain.
He was so glad he scooped this mission up before a more determined chunin could take a grab for it. Reaching into his pouch, Kakashi pulled out his small guide to the United States and settled down on his perch atop Alcatraz' guard tower.
"Now, where are the tee-shirt shops?" Apollo asked jokingly as some laughed.
"I think I'm going to be here for a while." He said, flipping the book open to where he left off. "New York City, the Big Apple. Interesting."
"Wonderful," Zeus groaned, "He's coming here."
"Meh," Poseidon shrugged, "I like him. I wouldn't mind meeting him."
"I bet he somehow finds the camp." Leo snickered.
Percy grinned, "That would be awesome."
0
Okay, so, those who were wondering where this was, simple. I admit, I had this finished a while back, like two days after chapter 23 came out. But, this is how I do things. I will not update the chapter that Bones currently has up, because then it would feel like I was pressuring him, which I would never do as it is not cool towards an author. So, always expect me to be one chapter behind Bones until he finishes the story.