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

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

XXII

"Okay...Taking back what I said about Beckendorf." Naruto scratched his head as he looked at the golden orb trapped in a spherical cage, lined with wires and all sorts of nonsensical machinery. The blond's eyes saw tubes, shiny and not-so-shiny parts, but his new acquaintance, soon-to-be companion if what Naruto's senses were telling him were right (and they usually are) saw a masterpiece. Leo Valdez, the young runaway Latino, soaked up all he could, a look of disbelief on his face as he took in the sight.

"This...This should be impossible," said Leo. "I mean, theoretically it's possible, but practically...I've drawn sketches of this! I've seen this on paper! But in reality, it's impossible. There's no power source that could fuel it, you'd have to have like-like an H-bomb or something in here!"

"I take it you know what it is, then?" Naruto asked with an amused smirk. He looked over at Thalia and Piper, both of them still sitting on the curb and waiting patiently for them to finish what they're doing. Thalia gave a small nod of acknowledgement while she and Piper talked more about Camp Half-Blood. The blond looked back at the younger teen, his brow arched as he crossed his arms over his chest. "So...What do you think?"

"I still think that you're lying about your name," said Leo, making Naruto laugh. "And I also think that this...this beautiful engine, while impossibly amazing, is flawed."

"Flawed?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, gringo, flawed. You know what flawed means, right?"

"Oh, moving into blond jokes, huh? Tread carefully, shrimp."

"Touché, asshole."

"I get it from my dad."

"Lucky that you know him," said Leo, distracted as he starting to poke and prod at the engine. "You're sure I can mess around with this? It's...It's not stolen or anything is it?"

Naruto smirked at the preteen's forced caution. "It's top secret military tech, me and my girlfriend work for the NSA. Keep it on the down low."

"Yeah, sure," said Leo, his eyes rolling. He leaned into the engine and began pulling parts out, avoiding the glowing orb acting as the fuel. "Don't need this, this, this, this, the hell is this doing in here?"

Naruto shook his head in amusement, ducking under a random tube that was thrown out after Leo laughed at it for a second. Apparently Beckendorf and co either added a bit too much, or this kid was just messing around in his car. He highly doubted that it was the latter. He always had a good feeling about most of these things.

"You said it was flawed?" Naruto said, curious about what the younger kid meant.

"Yeah it's flawed," said Leo, grunting as he pulled out another shiny object that Naruto could not name. "See this?" He held the object up. "This and all that crap I just pulled out linked the H-bomb up to the accelerator."

"That's good right?" Naruto asked.

"If you want a short burst," said Leo with his eyes rolling. "No, you want maintained speed with this bad boy. I'm going to need a few more pieces though...what's the frame made of?"

"Why?" Naruto asked.

"Because, gringo, I have to take into account the weight of the damn car before I hook the engine up," said Leo as though he were the older one. Naruto scowled at the younger boy for the condescending tone, getting the boy to raise his hands in defense. "What? You're the one asking stupid questions."

"I may have a nice car, but that doesn't mean I know how it works." Naruto said, his scowl lightening. "Look shrimp – and don't give me that look, I know what gringo means and that you're using it wrong since we're both American – The frame and most of the metal are made from a rare iron found only in one place that not many dare to go to."

"And?"

"...Quite frankly, I can't tell you exactly where that is," said Naruto with a scowl. "Against the rules, and all that other lovely BS."

"Rules?"

"Look, can you fix my car or not?" Naruto asked, impatiently. He hated when it came around to this part of the conversation with new demigods. The di Angelos were a special case, but most of the time, when he met other demigods (especially during those stints as a 'vigilante' in California) he would just suggest they look into finding buses to the camp.

"I can," said Leo. He grinned at the older teen impishly. "But I won't."

Naruto groaned as he rubbed his head. Joy, the kid was a chip off of his own shoulder. Dropping his hand to the side Naruto opened his mouth to speak when he heard another engine rev down the street. Looking in the direction the sound came from, Naruto's eyes adjusted to the light for a second before they locked on the source. A familiar Audi A8 glared at him from the end of the street, making Naruto scowl.

"You have got to be fucking kidding me..." Naruto said. "What are they, sharks?"

"Friends of yours?" Leo asked.

"Something like that. Work on the car," said Naruto as he moved to Thalia and Piper.

"Wha-Gringo! Dude! C'mon man, I'm not working a charity here!"

"Work on the damn car, Leo!" Naruto said, grabbing Thalia and Piper's shoulders and pulling them up. "Piper, get in the car. Thalia, you're on me. We've got company-" Naruto was cut off as he felt a sudden jolt of pain tear through his left shoulder, causing him to spin around and eat the dirt.

"Whiskers!" Thalia's voice was concerned, but collected. "Piper, get to the car! Go!"

Naruto blinked to clear his bleary vision. So that's what being shot felt like. Ow. At least it was clean and the bullet went through. The blond let out a grunt as it was his turn to be helped up. Thank the gods Thalia didn't grab the red shoulder torn through. Naruto grunted and reached into his pocket to pull out Eclipse in its flashlight form. Thalia helped him over to some cover in front of the car.

"Was that a gunshot?" Leo asked, only for his question to be answered by the sounds of an automatic rifle being unloaded in the area. "Holy shit, who did you guys piss off so badly?!"

"Welcome to our life," said Thalia, setting her boyfriend down on the ground. "You okay, Whiskers?"

"I'm fine. Wish I still had my shield though," said Naruto, pulling the nicked edge of his white flak jacket in so he could get a better look at the wound. "Check on Pipes, Thalia-chan, I'm good. Get her in the backseat on the floor. Leo, join her!"

"No way!" Leo said with a scowl, his fists clenched tightly. "No one starts a shootout in my neighborhood."

"Trust me kid, without a gun of your own, there's not much you can do," said Thalia. She peeked around the edge of the car, groaning as she spotted the familiar greys of the skeletons that hunted her boyfriend. "Great. The bone brigade is back!"

"Yeah, I know," said Naruto with a growl. "I hate these guys."

"Why are we being shot at?" Piper asked from where she was on the floor of the car. The stygian iron made the car bulletproof, well in a sense. From the distance the skeletons were shooting, the car was safe, but if they started to move closer, well, it wouldn't be as effective.

"Because skeletons are cheap!" Naruto said, pressing his hand against the wound and heating it. His vitakinesis was kicked in to the max with the added pressure and heat. In a minute, he'd be good as new, with a small scar, probably.

"Skeletons? Gringo, what are you smoking and where can I get some?" Leo asked. He peered around the car on the other side, his eyes going wide at the sight of a skeleton dressed like a generic mercenary, camouflage pants, boots and all. The skeleton raised its AK-47 and fired a burst at him, making him duck back behind the car. Sitting next to Naruto, he looked at the blond with wide eyes. "I thought you were going to a con or something, dressed like that!"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean!?" Naruto asked. Thinking about his appearance, Naruto hummed and undid his headband and put it in his back pouch. "Point taken. Flak still okay to wear?"

"Considering they've got guns, yeah, I'd say it's safe to wear," said Leo. He looked at the blond. "Gringo, what the hell is going on?"

"The beginnings of war," said Naruto, looking at the flashlight in his hand. "Really wish I had a shield right now. Hey, Thalia-chan?"

"I sort of need mine, Whiskers," said Thalia flatly. She pulled her bracelet up and revealed it around the side of the car. "Aegis!" Leo's jaw dropped as a light emitted from her wrist before the massive Medusa-stamped shield folded out.

"Sub-space tech," said Leo, his eyes wide and his mouth salivating just a bit. He looked at Naruto's flashlight. "What's that turn into?"

"Pure, unadulterated badass-ness," said Naruto with a smirk as he flipped the switch. The light turned on briefly before the blade extended out, sounding rather metallic as it did. The handle extended over Naruto's knuckles as the 'evil' sword gleamed brightly in the setting sun. "Leo Valdez, this is Eclipse. Eclipse, Leo."

"Awesome," said Leo, his breath taken away at seeing such a masterpiece of creation unfold from a smaller form. His little engineer-loving head looked like it was about to explode in awe.

"I know," said Naruto smugly. He looked over at Thalia. "Thalia-chan, take the right, hit 'em with a few bolts with a slow advance. I'll swing left, rush 'em and light 'em up."

"Right," said Thalia. The two ran out from the front of the car, Naruto ducking, running and rolling out of the way of bursts of bullets. Thalia, who gained some attention after sending a large stream of lightning at a skeleton, simply used her shield to protect her as she slowly advanced.

Leo peered out from his cover and watched as the couple worked. Naruto got pinned behind a small stone hedging and Thalia was forced to retreat. Hating the feeling of being useless, the tinkerer turned back and looked at the scrap he discarded upon his first evaluation of the Challenger. He grabbed every piece he could find and started to get to work, his hands moving just a tad faster than his mind as he finished his creation. It was an oil bomb. Looking up at the sky, Leo took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Mom…His eyes snapped open at the thought and he rushed out from behind his cover.

"Wait!" Piper called out as she looked out the window from where she was crouched. Naruto and Thalia were way more prepared for this and Piper was just coming to terms with swordplay and hand-to-hand combat, there was nothing about guns in the brochure!

"That idiot," said Thalia, watching from where she was pinned on the other side of the street. "What is he doing?"

"That little..." Naruto said, his eyebrows furrowed together as he worked on a way to get the four of them out of this mess.

"Eat this, boneheads!" Leo said, throwing the bomb at the Audi, causing it to explode on impact with the hood and cake the group of skeletal mercenaries in oil. The skeletons hissed and shrieked at him, struggling to move and shoot him. Before Thalia or Naruto could even think of capitalizing on Leo's surprising maneuver, Leo's hand ignited in fire. He chucked the small ball of fire at the oil and as the conductor, the liquid burst into flames, caking both the car and the skeletons in it.

"Whoa," said Piper, her eyes wide.

"A pyrokinetic," said Thalia, trying to think of whose son he was. Engineering skill, fire throwing she couldn't think of anyone that fit that except. Thalia's eyes widened as she looked at the smirking elf-like boy. "A son of Hephaestus!"

He's my cousin! Naruto thought as he came to the same conclusion Thalia did. Naruto got out of his cover, walking over to Leo along with Thalia as the skeletons continued to be cremated in the middle of the street.

"So, was that hot or what?" Leo asked, making Thalia groan and Naruto laugh.

"You're on fire squirt," said Naruto, amused at Thalia's disapproval of his lame joke.

"Stop calling me that gringo!" Leo said with a scowl. "So am I worthy of getting some backstory now?"

"Almost," said Naruto, glancing back at the skeletons. He let his own hand get engulfed in fire, making Leo gape, before it started to rotate in his hand. Holding his open palm out towards the skeletons, Naruto grinned. "Katon: Rasendangan (Fire Release: Spiral Bullet)!"

The spiraling ball of fire shot from Naruto's palm at one of the skeletons, forcing it to turn to ash. He repeated the action three more times, clearing out the skeletons before nodding at Thalia while he lowered his arm. Thalia nodded back and roughly waved her hand across the area, summoning Notus' winds and scattering the ashes of the skeletal foes.

"...Couple of freaks aren't we?" Leo asked in awe and amusement.

"Normal is overrated," said Naruto, making Thalia smirk in agreement. "So, you want backstory?"

Leo looked at the burning Audi and then back at the older teens. "Hang on, I've got an idea." He rushed over to the car, ignoring the dwindling flames on it as they tickled his skin and with a rough elbow to the edge of the hood, popped it open. Leo grabbed the engine. "Sucks that I'm dismantling this, but it's for a good cause!"

An hour passed and Leo was back next to Naruto's challenger, tinkering and fixing the engine with the spare parts he made from the Audi A8. Naruto was leaning against the headlight and telling Leo all about the way things were, having previously explained that Leo was a demigod and yes the Greek gods exist and no he was not allowed to tell mortals to pick up chicks.

"What's the point of being a hero if you can't brag about it?" Leo asked with a frown as he put in a new tube leading from the engine to some other thing, Naruto wasn't sure what it was.

"It's really fun for one thing," said Naruto with a grin on his face. "Those skeletons aside, usually it's monsters that are easier to kill."

"We turned those things to ashes – ow, damn it stupid sparks – and you're telling me they aren't dead?" Leo asked, sticking his thumb in his mouth to cool the small burn he got from the spark. Fire is one thing but electricity, that's a whole different hurt.

"Here, give me that," said Naruto, grabbing Leo's smudge covered hand and yanking it from his mouth. "Give yourself an infection, sucking on this oil."

"What are you, some kind of Wonder Man?" Leo asked in annoyance. He yelped when Naruto pinched the thumb at the burn. "Ow, what the hell?"

"Had to find the afflicted area before it blistered," said Naruto, wrapping his hand around the thumb. "And for your information, I prefer Mar-Vell to Simon." His hand shone briefly before he released the wound. "Good as new."

"Maybe we should just call you 'Medic'," said Leo with a snort as he looked at his thumb. "Anything you can't do?"

"Fly," said Naruto with a smirk. "Thalia-chan's little brother can, though, so we've got ourselves a blond Superman. Acts like the man in blue, too. Noble and a bit of a smartass, thanks to yours truly."

"Really? Sounds like an okay guy," said Leo with a chuckle as he got back to work. "Rather be a smartass than a dumbass."

"Just wait til you meet Jackson," said Naruto with a chuckle. "The worst kind of mix of both. He's not dumb, but very ignorant and stubborn. A bad combination."

"...So he's an idiot, without being an idiot," said Leo with a laugh. "He sounds okay to me."

"You only say that because he doesn't have the hots for your sister," said Naruto with a frown.

"Protective, much?" Leo asked with a sly grin.

"Shut it, squirt." Naruto growled, making the mechanic laugh and wave the 'insult' off. Naruto looked down at the engine, watching the mostly hydrogen orb hover in its casing while Leo fastened another tube in place. "What are you doing?"

"Making it so that once you reach light speed you stay at light speed. Give me a few minutes on the interior and you won't have any G-forces affecting you anymore," said Leo.

"Just do it as fast as possible, I'm on a deadline," said Naruto, giving a small pat to the back of Leo's head. "Gonna go check on my girlfriend, you good?"

"I've got an H-Bomb in my face and a couple of delicate wires to connect to it," said Leo, he looked up at his new friend with an excited grin on his face. "I'm better than good, I'm in the zone."

Naruto laughed and walked back to the stripped Audi A8, where Thalia and Piper were flipping through some papers they found in the backseat. All written in Ancient Greek.

"So what are we looking at?" Naruto asked, leaning into the car window and looking at the papers in his raven-haired girlfriend's hands. His eyes narrowed. "Is that what I think it is?"

Thalia angrily handed him the paper. "If you think it's a call to arms, then you're right. How many of these letters do you think were sent to campers' homes?"

"Considering this was written in March, I'd say too many," said Naruto with a scowl as he read through the lines. "'Better rulers than the Olympians...' 'obvious favoritism to heroes of higher standing' 'claimed at birth.' Hell, I'm almost tempted to turn at that last one."

"It explains why there were ten missing campers at the start of the summer from Cabin Eleven," said Thalia. She held up another piece of paper, which Naruto took. "Piper found this."

"What is it?" Naruto asked, though he was already reading it. "Commissions for Cyclopes' arming? ...Telekhines?!"

"Yeah, invitation to one of the best forges on the planet, too," said Piper from the back seat. "I've got lists of meat portions back here and several poorly drawn maps of...Well, I think it's the labyrinth."

"Hand it up here," said Naruto, taking the paper from Thalia after she got it from Piper. "Cripes..." Naruto's eyes widened. "I knew there was an entrance at Camp, but they're planning an assault...Clarice-"

"Clarisse."

"Whatever," said Naruto, his eyes rolling. "Mark's sister couldn't get through that thing and if a daughter of Ares couldn't get through, why the heck would Luke think he can?"

"She's a daughter of Ares," said Thalia.

"Ares is not an imbicile," said Naruto pointedly. "Especially to warfare. Athena is the goddess of honorable warfare, but Ares is the god of war, period. He knows insertion techniques just as well as Athena does. Mark may get bloodthirsty, but he's smart. I'm guessing Clarisse is the same way."

"From what I've heard from Annie about the Sea of Monsters quest, you wouldn't be wrong," said Thalia with a frown. "But they've got their own rivalry. Must be their parents' beefs coming to light every now and then."

"Seems that way," said Naruto, who looked back down at the information he was given. "Grab all of it, we're taking it back to Camp. Mr. D is going to want to see this, even if he says otherwise."

"You just won't be the one to give it to him, right?"

"I seriously have no idea what his issue is," said Naruto with a groan. He handed the paper back to Thalia. "Keep searching through this and find out a potential list of monsters we're going to deal with."

"Taking that flak jacket seriously, aren't you?" Thalia asked in amusement at his 'order', knowing that obtaining the flak jacket was a huge deal for Naruto's village. Especially in their culture since her boyfriend was considered a rookie or weakling without it, while in his twenties. Boy was he given the short end of the stick on that part, considering what he could do now.

"You know you love it," said Naruto coyly, brushing a thumb on her nose before leaving the two to their leafing through the potential information. She stuck her tongue out at him as he left, settling back into the driver's seat and looking down at the papers in her lap.

"What's the situation?" Naruto asked Leo upon his return to the Challenger. Leo finished tightening a socket into place with a wrench, pulled the tool out and shut the hood.

"Engine's done. Give me a few minutes with the seats and those will be just as good," said Leo with a smirk, looking up at the older teen. Taking note of the grim look on his face, Leo asked. "What's up?"

"We need to leave," said Naruto, looking back at the Audi and whistling loudly to get Thalia's attention. He waved at her to get back to the S.O.L. before looking back at Leo. "We just found some serious information that will help us in the coming war. I need to get back to camp asap. You can tune the seats to your preference when we get there, okay?"

"Okay, well I call shot-!"

"The hell you do," said Thalia, walking up to them with a briefcase in hand. She tossed it at her blond boyfriend. "There's all the stuff we could find. Skeleton's orders are to kill you, then Percy, and then report back to Luke."

"That explains why they're dogging me," said Naruto, with his brows furrowed. He shoved the case into Leo's arms. "Get in the back with Pipes, Shrimp."

Leo grumbled in Spanish while Piper glared at Naruto. "Stop calling me that!"

"Make me," said Naruto, sticking his tongue out at her. She stuck her tongue back out at him before climbing into the back of S.O.L., making Thalia laugh while Naruto chuckled. The blond climbed into his seat and Thalia got into hers, both of them looking at Leo while he grumbled. Naruto beat Thalia to the punch and asked, "what's up, squirt?"

"What kind of idiot leaves a big red button out in an easily pressed place? I mean, what, did they watch MIB before installing it? Talk about overlooked design flaw," said Leo.

"...I cannot wait to see the look on Beckendorf's face when you say that," said Thalia, bursting into laughter. Naruto shook his head and buckled up, putting the car in gear before flooring it. He got back to his normal speed of two hundred and forty miles per hour, before putting his hand on the stick shift. His eyes met with Thalia's before he looked forward. "Pipes, squirt, better hold on to something."

"Do it," said Leo, excited while Piper swallowed spit in fearful anticipation.

"Let's burn some rubber," said Naruto, hitting the small red button. Once again, the group felt the G-forces pull at their bodies, turning into a stream of light as it shot through the streets. Naruto was ready this time, making small jerks of the wheel that kept buildings and cars from being wiped out by the force of their speed.

They made it in record time, just as the moon made it to the peak of the sky, coming to a screeching, ground tearing halt. The Harpies sounded their alarms and campers were up at the ready, the older and more experience campers were rushing out to Half-blood Hill at arms. Leading the charge was none other than the trainer of heroes himself, Chiron came to a stop as the doors to the familiar and smoking Challenger popped open, Naruto and Thalia spilling out with their arms around their stomachs. It was the two younger kids who followed them out of the car that surprised Chiron.

"Remind me to kick the guy who made the seat belts' ass," said Leo with a groan. "That was way too rough."

"Tell me about it," said Piper. They got to their feet, looking in awe at the large crowd.

Leo took it upon himself to break the silence. "What? Never seen a car before?"

"Naruto, Thalia," said Chiron, shaken from his silence at Leo's words. "Welcome back heroes. And to you newcomers, welcome to Camp Half-Blood."

Naruto grabbed the briefcase from the car groaning as he walked over to the group, Thalia nodding at Chiron. Naruto stopped and gave a two-fingered salute to Chiron. "Good to be back...Pony."

Chiron groaned. "Not you too."

"He's not going to bother you any longer," said Naruto sadly. He held out the briefcase. "Important documents we liberated from some boneheads. Give 'em to Mr. D. for me, will you?"

"Out of the way, out of the way," said a voice from the crowd. Breaking through the crowd of battle ready demigods, Nico di Angelo came to a stop next to Chiron, out of breath and a tad annoyed he couldn't shadow travel in camp because of some dumb agreement his father made with his uncles. "Chi-Chiron, Bianca's...her...well its...You gotta come help us."

"Actually, Nico, I think you'll find better help from him," said Chiron, gesturing to the blond, who became serious at the reminder of his charge's illness. Naruto dug around in his back pocket and after finding the serum made a clone to send with his young charge.

"Tell him everything you know, give this to Will," said Naruto, handing the vial to Nico. "I gotta hang back for a second. Go now."

"Hai Oyabun," said the clone, knowing how serious this was, grabbing Nico's shoulder and using the Hiraishin to get them to Cabin 13 faster. Naruto nodded curtly and turned to his group. Leo and Piper stood patiently behind Thalia, who looked back at him. They nodded at each other before trudging through the boundary lines. The group of demigods split as they trudged through, Naruto's quest successfully completed.

The second they passed the boundaries, two sources of light appeared above the new demigod's head while the new demigoddess started to shine a light pink. Leo looked up and saw a fiery light, which unknown to him was in the shape of a hammer, getting a small group of cheers from some slightly dirty and muscled kids. Piper's shine continued and she found herself in a sleeveless white dress adorned with all sorts of accessories, her hair straightened and makeup applied to her face, making a few really good looking kids cheer alongside their crafting stepsiblings.

"Damn," said Thalia, seeing Piper's claiming. That dress was, while nice, just a bit much. "...Kind of glad I'm not Aphrodite's daughter."

"Why the heck am I in a dress?!" Apparently, Piper shared Thalia's sentiment.

"Scratch that. Really glad I'm not Aphrodite's daughter." Thalia said with a smirk to her boyfriend. Naruto laughed at his girlfriend's statement.

"Wait, who's my parent?" Leo asked, a bit confused since all he could see was the ball of fire.

Chiron stepped forward and knelt. "All hail...Er..."

Naruto shook his head in amusement, stepping forward and kneeling before the new demigods. "All hail Leo Valdez, son of Hephaestus. All hail Piper McLean, daughter of Aphrodite."

Thalia knelt beside him and swiftly the rest of the campers knelt in recognition of the married god and goddess' claims.

"Okay, I can see why this is cool now," said Leo with a grin, looking over at his new 'stepsister'. "You know, you really pull that dress off."

"I will cut you," said Piper, grinding her teeth in annoyance as she held up her dagger at the boy – she was really glad she kept that in her hand the whole trip – who raised his hands in surrender. She tolerated them at best, but she was not a girl that liked to be forced into a dress and then paraded like some sort of award. She got enough of that from being her father's daughter, thank you very much.

Before she could get another word in edgewise, her apparent sisters came in and swept her away to the cabin, a laughing Silena Beauregard quickly following them after thanking Naruto and Thalia for taking care of her new sister.

Charles Beckendorf then came up and clapped a hand onto Naruto's shoulder, his small group of siblings encircling Leo and talking to him while the others went back to bed at Chiron's urging. The smith smiled at the blond. "Thanks, Naruto. For bringing him here. Could always use another hand in the forge."

"Yeah, I'll bet," said Naruto, laughing a bit with Thalia at what they knew would be coming.

"What does that mean?" Beckendorf asked, his brows furrowed in confusion.

"Hey! You! Beck!" Leo said, walking over to his taller brother and jabbing a finger in his chest. "The hell kind of rookie are you?!"

"Rookie?" Beckendorf asked, confused even more.

"You're the one that put together the H-Bomb engine, right?" Leo asked. Getting a nod, the Latino continued. "Why the Hell would you make that thing the accelerator? What are you, new to this?"

"I've been putting cars together longer than you," said Beckendorf, a bit upset at the criticism.

"Ac-cel-er-a-tor! You hooked it up as the accelerator!" Leo said. "You didn't make it consistent speed, just a small burst!"

"Well yeah, no one wants to get roasted while they drive."

"...Alright from now on, you don't touch my car."

"Excuse me?" Naruto asked, arching a brow at Leo's claim. The smaller preteen waved him off.

"I put your engine together and I'm fine tuning your ride tomorrow so that you don't set yourself on fire at full speed," said Leo, a pointed look at his annoyed brother. "Plus, who else you gonna trust to make your car work, gringo?"

Beckendorf arched a brow at that while looking at the blond and Naruto held his hands up in defense. "Hey, whoa, I designated it to the cabin, not you specifically."

"My point exactly," said Leo. He turned to look at his siblings. "And which one of you geniuses decided to pull a Men In Black tribute with the big red button?" No one was willing to raise their hand and all of them looked a bit embarrassed at that, even Beckendorf. "Yeah, none of you touches the gringo's car without my say so. Geez, a men in black button...what will they think of next?"

"How's about bed, Mr. Valdez?" Chiron asked, walking over to the group. "It is lights out."

"What, already?" Leo asked. "It's only what? Eight? Nine?"

"Time zones, Leo, time zones," said Naruto. He gave a two finger salute to Chiron and then turned to Leo and Beckendorf while slipping an arm over Thalia's shoulders. "See you tomorrow boys."

They vanished in a flash of light and Leo's jaw dropped. "Could he always do that?"

"Yep."

"...The hell does he need a car for?!"

Naruto appeared in Cabin 13 after giving Thalia a final kiss goodnight, intent on checking on his charges. No sooner had he appeared did a certain giant cat pounce on him, giving his cheek rough licks of affection while giving off a rumbling purr.

"Ranger, good to see you, too," said the blond with a smile, pushing the large sabertooth off of him with a bit of strain. "You got bigger, buddy. Good boy." He petted Ranger just behind the ear on the neck. "Glad to be home."

He got up and walked into the di Angelos' shared room. Will was using a needle to inject Bianca with the serum and the poor daughter of Hades was paler than usual, her upper and bottom lips stained black from that sludge she spewed up. The Black Death was an appropriate name to give to the disease, it seemed, even if that wasn't one of the common symptoms. Naruto nodded to his younger brother while Nico grinned at him, the boy's olive skin having a bit of dirt and grime clinging to it.

"How is she, Will?" Naruto asked as he walked over to Nico's side, ruffling the boy's hair and arching a brow as some dust fell out of his raven locks. He'd have to talk to Nico about that later.

"Better," said Will, looking at his brother with a grin. "You should know from your clone how bad it was."

Naruto just nodded and put a reassuring hand on Nico's shoulder as he recalled the memory of his clone's brief life. Bianca was rolled on her side, more of the black sludge coming out of her mouth with every rough cough she gave. Though he did remember her looking at Will and the way he held her hand to help her through it.

It seems Naruto missed quite a bit while he was on his quest. He could only wonder what Lord Hades would think of this development, a child of light and a child of shadow coming together. Aphrodite must be going gaga over it.

"Her vitals are stabilizing," said Will, holding the girl's wrist. He bowed his head and murmured a prayer, most likely to their father, before looking back up at his brother. "Whatever you got is working. What was it?"

"Get enough left over to have your mom break down the chemical formula and you'll know," said Naruto, swallowing dryly before patting Nico on the shoulder. "You've done a lot and I'm grateful, Will. Get some sleep. You too, Nico. Lights out."

"You got it, Naruto," said Will as he carefully put Bianca's arm over her stomach.

"Okay," said Nico softly, getting up and going to his bed.

Will walked out of the room, followed by Naruto. The younger blond went to the next room over where he had a small bag rolled out. He said another 'night' to his older brother, who nodded back as the adrenaline rush finished burning through his system. He crashed onto his bed, grunting as Ranger bounded up after him, collapsing next to him and purring contently. Naruto smiled at his 'sacred animal' and ran his hand down the giant cat's back.

"Range, you wouldn't believe the shit I went through the last few days," said Naruto with a chuckle. Ranger yawned, making the blond smirk. "Good idea. I'll tell you in the morning, then."

His eyes drifted shut, and Naruto Uzumaki felt the realm of Morpheus embrace him.

Naruto was awake early the next morning, reveling in the first peaceful rest at camp in a long, long while. Ranger had moved in the night to the floor at the foot of Naruto's bed, apparently reassured that Naruto wouldn't leave again. The blond rolled out of bed, content with the sleep he got. He greeted the equally early rising Ranger with an affectionate stroke of the head, getting a rumbling purr for his efforts. He checked on his blearily waking brother, Will, who like him as a son of Apollo woke with the sunrise, and then the two di Angelos. Nico had the covers over his head, his arm sticking out at the side, and Bianca had a peaceful smile on her face, her olive skin tone returning to its proper shine.

"Go ahead and get some food, then come back and check up on your patient. If that's all she is to you," said Naruto, a smirk on his face as his brother's cheeks turned red.

"I-...Shut up, Naruto," said Will, rushing out of the cabin while trying not to look like he was, making Naruto chuckle at his brother's retreat. Ah, flustering the younger kids always made his day. Naruto waited for Will to get his fill, tagging out so to speak when the boy returned and giving his little brother a knowing grin that had Will growling at him. He left the cabin with Ranger close behind him, the large cat becoming his personal escort...who left his side upon laying his eyes on the daughter of Zeus at the dining pavilion.

Ranger sprinted ahead and nearly tackled Thalia to the ground with a deep meow of joy. The girl laughed at the big cat's antics, returning his affection with a smile and a fond pet of the happy sabertooth. She looked up at her boyfriend as he approached with a smile of his own on his face.

"The 'cure' working?" she asked, a hand on Ranger's head and idly scratching it.

"So far," said Naruto, smirking at the purring sabertooth. "Ranger sure has gotten affectionate hasn't he?"

"Considering we hardly left the camp in the past year, he must have been beside himself with worry," said Thalia, smiling at the cat. "Right?"

Ranger said nothing and continued to purr under her scratching, content to be back with his two favorite demigods. Naruto shook his head in amusement at their actions and looked around the pavilion. The other campers were awake and settling into their tables. Leo looked like he was having a blast, joking and shoving around his larger siblings like he wasn't the black sheep of the group. Piper, however, was arguing with the hellion that was Drew Tanaka, until Silena stepped forward and forcibly separated the two half-sisters. Well, at least Piper got out of the dress.

"Naruto!" the blond turned at the call of his name and smiled at the rushing form of his adopted little sister. He caught Annabeth as she bowled into him, her arms wrapped around his sides in a tight hug.

"Hey Annie," said Naruto. "You guys have-Annie?" What he thought was laughter turned out to be crying, Annabeth's shoulders shaking as she burrowed her head into his chest. "Annie, Annie! Shh, it's okay, Annie. Shh..."

He shared a concerned look with Thalia, who nodded back at him. They knew Annabeth would rather die than be seen so defeated in front of the rest of the camp. Thalia put a hand on his shoulder before the three demigods and sabertooth were teleported to the outside of Zeus' cabin. Thalia quickly opened the door, where Ranger bounded in, sniffing around one of his favorite spots, and Naruto walked Annabeth in and out of sight. With the door shut behind him and rushing past the overbearing statue of the cabin's sire to Thalia's room, Naruto pried Annabeth off of him as best he could to get a look at her face.

"Annie, c'mon you gotta tell me what's wrong or I can't help," said Naruto softly, stroking her hair soothingly. Wise puffy red and grey eyes opened to look at him and the blond felt his heart break just a little.

"I broke the rule," she said, sniffling as she tried to recompose herself. "I left my friend behind." More tears escaped her as she looked down. "I wanted to help him but he made us leave, and then…then the volcano erupted! I could've helped him, why wouldn't he let me help him?!"

"Annie, calm down," said Naruto softly as she started to fall apart again while Thalia looked at her in concern. They moved to the couch where Naruto sat Annabeth down between himself and Thalia, Naruto keeping an arm over his sister's shoulders while Thalia stroked Annabeth's head. "Now, tell us what happened while we were gone."

And so she did. Annabeth told them how she was chosen to lead a new quest to find Daedalus, meeting a Hundred-Handed One and fighting Kampê, being assisted by Hera after meeting a strange god named Janus. Naruto bristled angrily at the mention of what was going on at the Triple G Ranch and whined jealously at Annabeth's infinite throwing knives, succeeding in making her crack a smile. Thalia gave her a thumbs up for killing the sphinx, and Naruto asked how Hephaestus was doing.

"He was rather...lonely," said Annabeth, unable to find the words.

"That's Uncle Heph for you," said Naruto with a sigh. "Damned good mechanic, but really bad at interacting with others."

"Which is Hera's fault," said Annabeth with a frown. Thalia smirked at that, agreeing while feeling sorry for her half-brother.

"It's Hera's fault for his appearance, but all Olympus is to blame for his loneliness," said Naruto pointedly. "Athena is no exception to this, Annie. One time her spear just showed up while I was giving Uncle Heph a few ideas for a new sort of arrow. It was chipped on the edge, apparently from stabbing Uncle Ares in the thigh or the ass, hard to say. No note or anything, just expectant. I doubt my dad and Auntie Arte are innocent of this sort of thing. Heck I'll bet the only two that aren't are Uncle Herm and Mr. D and that's because they're both too busy."

Annabeth conceded to that and continued with her story, telling them how Grover and Tyson – who Naruto admitted to be worried about since he was a good friend to Hephaestus' more often than not isolated cabin members – split off from the group to find Pan. Thalia and Naruto shared a look that Annabeth missed thanks to Ranger plopping his head on her lap before the two demigods returned their attention to the younger blonde. Then she came to the forge in Mt. Saint Helens, describing the Telekhines and their current project, before coming to the end of her tale, where Percy told her and Nico to leave while he held the monsters off. Thalia was comforting Annabeth by the end, Naruto far too lost in his thoughts, leaning forward with his fingers steepled together in front of his mouth.

"He's alive," said Naruto after a long while. He sat back and pet Annabeth's hair, making her look at her in confusion. "Jackson wouldn't be dead or Nico would've felt it and said something by now."

"How do you know?" Annabeth asked, her eyes puffy from her crying. Naruto smiled at his little sister reassuringly and tapped her with two fingers on the forehead.

"Because, silly little sister, Nico is the son of Hades and has bonds with all of his friends. Hades, like his brothers, is emotional, even if he hides it well. He is fiercely protective of his close family, going as far as to hide his children in a time-manipulated casino. Imagine how Nico or even Bianca would feel if their cousin who they trained and grew with last winter just died without being informed," said Naruto as he dropped his hand. He looked up at the mural on the ceiling that resembled a thundering sky, just like in the first room. "Bonds truly are the strongest force on this planet, Annabeth. It could make a mother gain ten times her strength for the child she carried for nine months, or a man become immune to pain for the rage he feels at the loss of a friend. I think you would know if Jackson died, what does your gut say?"

"...He's alive," said Annabeth quietly, but assured in her statement.

"Yeah he is," said Naruto, ruffling her hair. "That idiot is too stubborn to die."

"Sounds a lot like you, Whiskers," said Thalia, making her boyfriend laugh.

"Yeah...And that's one of my better traits," said Naruto with a smirk. He looked back up at the moving mural. "He'll be back soon. Well, he'd better be, at least."

As the sun rose on an island not mapped or plotted anywhere save for Olympus, a raven-haired teen with green eyes gasped awake, coughing and groaning. A shadow cast over him and someone helped him sit up to drink some water.

"Rest, you need to rest," said a pleasant voice.

Percy Jackson blearily tried to identify the owner of the voice, but he soon returned to the realm of Morpheus, dreaming of his friends and the second home he had at Camp Half-Blood.

AN: Well, there's that. The training for this job sucks, ugh. And with how the hours are going to be for 10 weeks, I don't know how much writing I'll be getting done. Well, Naruto and co. are back at Camp and Percy has already been shot from a volcano.

You know what is next to do!

REVIEW!