AN: HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY! Just thought I'd get it out of the way. Now, on with the story!

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

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

XXIII

Percy Jackson was not having a good month.

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.

The adventures through the Labyrinth itself were worthy of being its own 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.

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. Hell, this was probably the guy Luke learned everything about being Mr. Cool from.

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.

"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.

"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.

"...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.

"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. 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. "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.

"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."

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. 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.

"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. 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.

"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.

"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.

"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."

"Shut up, Naruto."

"Make me, Annie."

"I could tell Thalia about the IM with Eirene."

"...I would literally do anything to keep that quiet," said Naruto. A few days ago, Thalia volunteered to go with Piper on a jet back to California to visit Jason and check in with Piper's dad, since there were no phone's 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.

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. 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."

"...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."

"...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. "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.

"...Show off." Annabeth said, pouting a bit.

"Oh, come on, you have to admit that was pretty cool." Naruto said with a frown.

"Six out of ten." Annabeth said, giving him a smirk and an iffy gesture.

"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."

"...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. 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. 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."

"Huh?" Annabeth asked, being snapped from her train of thought. "She is? How's her physical therapy going?"

"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 to pleased to have the son of Dr. Solace in his cabin still. Nico was a bit selfish when it came to his sister.

"The girls of Cabin Ten are starting to call them Wianca," said Annabeth.

"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. 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. 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. 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.

"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.

"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. 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.

"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.

"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."

"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?"

"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."

"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. 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."

"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 its impossible."

"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."

"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.

"...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. 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.

"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.

"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."

"...You guys need to work on names." Naruto said with a smirk.

"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. 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.

"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.

"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?"

"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. 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.

"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."

"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. 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 then 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?

She deserved to know! ...Or at least her mother's influence demanded her to find out.

"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."

"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 besides 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.

"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. 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."

"...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. 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. 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.

"...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. 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!

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.

"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." Annabeth said with a smirk, making Naruto nod in agreement.

"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."

"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.

"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. 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.

"I call shotgun!" Leo said. Annabeth's smirk fell into a pout and Naruto chuckled, turning to look at Michael, who smirked.

"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.

"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. 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.

That all said and done, they piled into the car and Naruto complimented Leo on the cozier seats. 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.

"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.

"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. The G-force hit them for a second before their ears popped and Leo laughed.

"Ha! I told Beck it would work!" he said.

"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."

"A good bonus." Michael said with a sigh of relief. "Thank Apollo."

"Don't thank him yet, Blackie." Naruto said to his brother, getting a glower. 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.

"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.

"The only Jazz I like was killed off by Michael Bay." Leo said with a frown. "Worst. Transformers. Ever."

"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."

"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."

"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.

"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. "And they destroyed the Hoover Dam. Not cool."

"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.

"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.

"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. Naruto gave a quick sidelong glance to her while Michael blinked in confusion. "Naruto, Thalia told me about that quest on Valentine's Day. 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."

"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.

"Shut up, Leo."

"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.

"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?"

"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.

"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.

"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.

"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."

"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. 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 – 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."

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.

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.

"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." 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. 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? 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.

"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."

"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.

"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.

"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."

"Very astute, but it's an attraction seal, not a vacuum." Naruto said. 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."

"...That's not possible, is it?" Annabeth asked, her eyes wide.

"For the logical, no. For an Uzumaki or an Uzumaki's apprentice? Child's play." Naruto said. He pat Annabeth on the head and ripped the middle of the tarp. "B minus."

"B minus!? That's not fair!" Annabeth said with a whine.

"Two seals wrongly described and overlooking Uzumaki handiwork." Naruto said with a smile. "I think it's fair enough."

"Grade grubber." Michael said under his breath, Leo snickering.

"She is a bit of a teacher's pet." He said in agreement. The two black sheep ignored the glare Annabeth sent their way.

"Shut up, Valdez!"

"Make me, Chase!"

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. 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. If that were the case, then if Madara, or worse Kronos, recruited them, the Camps wouldn't have to worry about the Labyrinth.

"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 I said so, now everyone hold hands." Naruto said, smirking as Leo and Annabeth shared a small glare before begrudgingly holding hands. 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.

Little did the four demigods know that one more person had used the seal prior to their arrival. 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. 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.

"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."

AN: Finally! My god, you guys don't know how long this took for me to get back to. I mean, first there was work, then there was Transformers 4 opening weekend – which, by the way, I loved. Haters can suck my fat one – and now it's finally the Fourth of July! I can't believe I let time get away from me like this. It's embarrassing really.

Well, the seal was taken care of, Percy's waking up on Ogygia, and Kakashi is back in the United States, albeit stranded...Or is he?

Find out on the next chapter (which I'll hopefully have out sooner than a month and a half, again real sorry about that), but first you know what to do.

REVIEW!