Be aware, this is still the Dusty5454 you've come to know and love! I've just changed my name.
A/N Holy Shit! Out from under the rock, I come forth! *Insert Awkward Laugh* It's been awhile, hasn't it? In my defense, my laptop has a virus, so you can expect fewer updates in general for a little bit longer.
However, I'm working on this awesome new PJO collaboration piece with my best buddy, SleepingInBoxes. Who, by the way, has never read PJO before, so you can imagine how hard it is. She's in the process of reading it though.
Oh, and I'm sick as a dog, which is the only reason this was written at all. I wanna give full credit for this idea to xXx ALittleBitOfFaith xXx's collection: So Much in So Little Time. This is based off of Chapter 24, Monkey. And I do have her permission to do this.
Sorry for the long A/N, hope you like this! Oh, and you should definitely go check out her story. Leave a review for chapter 24 and tell her I sent you!
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Clarisse la Rue walked back to her cabin in pitch black. It was well after midnight, but she had just finished training. Sure, it was past curfew, but Clarisse was pretty sure she could handle a couple Harpies.
She could not handle, however, what was to come.
She was about to hop onto her bed and get the usual six hours of sleep when she noticed something in her area was a little off.
She frantically searched her bed, cabin trunk, under her bed, everywhere she could think of, waking her cabin mates in the process. Their eyes widened as the older ones realized the problem. The younger Ares kids were about to complain before they were shushed and explained to.
Clarisse was this close to screaming.
You're in the first grade, and have just been in your first fight. Poor fourth grader didn't have any idea what he was getting into when he stole your ball. You watch through bored eyes as teachers go to his aid. Then you turn around, deciding that today is a walk home day.
Your mom is gonna kill you, but you're pretty sure you can take her, body builder or not. You turn the corner, and a large man is waiting for you. Most kids would be scared, but you just stare up at him, trying to see through the wrap-around sunglasses. It looks like fire, and you think about how cool that would be, but quickly dismiss the thought.
"Nice job," The man says, nodding to the bloody boy around the corner.
"Thanks," You reply stiffly, though you're always ready for a good compliment on your fighting.
"Your mom thinks you aren't ready, but I'm pretty sure you could hold your own at Camp," He shrugs his shoulders.
You shake your head, "I don't do camp. Arts and Crafts isn't for me."
"What if you could learn to fight?" He asks you. "Better than you can now. Be a leader, show monsters their place." He laughs at the twinkle in your eyes.
Then your brows furrow. "Monsters?"
He squints down at you. "Don't tell me you're afraid of things in your closet and under the bed."
You shake your head again, but more furiously. "No!" You blurt. "I just thought I was the only one who saw them."
He nods his head. "Understandable. But there are more out there like you." The twinkle returns. "Here," He says, and tosses a little furry object at you. A . . . monkey?
"My mom says I shouldn't take gifts from strangers," You smirk.
He glares at you. "You're an ass." Then smiles. "Not that I expect anything less from my kid. Don't lose that, and don't expect anything else from me."
You're too busy staring at the stuffed creature to realize that he called you his kid. By the time you look back up, he's gone.
Clarisse treasured that monkey forever, even after she found out who he was and got to Camp Half-Blood. Even after she became leader of the Ares Cabin. No one ever knows of Clarisse's little monkey except her siblings and Chris . . . Even though he almost died when he found it.
And now it's gone.
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Chris Rodriguez was used to being woken up in the middle of the night. When you live in the Hermes Cabin, prank headquarters, things can get a little noisy. He didn't usually wake up to the sound of his girlfriend busting the door open though.
Now, most guys would be scared shitless. But when you're dating Clarisse la Rue, you get used to it.
She grabbed him by the back of his neck and half dragged him out the door before he got his footing and was able to walk by himself. His siblings were too groggy to do anything but watch with wide eyes.
When they got to her cabin, she shoved him to his knees in front of her bunk.
"What's wrong with this picture?" She asked him through gritted teeth.
His eyes scanned the area and widened when they didn't find something very important to his health.
"NO! No, no, no, no, no," He mumbled quietly, searching through the things in much the same way Clarisse had just ten minutes earlier. "They cannot be this stupid," He hissed under his breath.
"They can, and they are," Clarisse replied harshly. "Get it back by tomorrow night, or you and your fellow jokesters can look forward to a cabin duel."
The Ares Cabin cheered. They hadn't had a good duel in quite some time. Chris turned to face Clarisse sharply. "Y-You can't be serious!" He said hopefully.
She nodded her head, still glaring.
"B-but we-"
"Goodbye Chris, and good luck." Clarisse interrupted him and shoved him out the door, slamming it shut.
Chris walked back to his own cabin, mumbling to himself. When he got back, he walked in and banged the door, making as much noise as possible. Everyone looked at him questioningly.
"Who. Did. It?" He asked. When he got no answer he said, "I'll say it one more time: Who did it?" Everyone looked at him, and he looked in each pair of eyes, reading them, figuring out which were full of innocent ignorance and which held pure mischief.
Finally, he met the eyes of one Connor Stoll. He rushed forward, grabbing him by the neck and pinning him against the nearest wall. Travis attempted to pry him off, but to no avail.
"Do you realize what you've done?" He asked furiously. "Where is it?"
Connor shook his head the best he could. "I don't know what you're talk- Ack!" Chris pressed harder on his neck.
"Liar!" He shouted.
Connor wouldn't meet his eyes. Instead, he kept staring at the Hermes Cabin list of rules. The first of which is 'Deny, deny, deny!'
"Listen to me!" Chris said, getting Connor's eyes to refocus. "We need to get that back to her, or we get a cabin duel! And guess who I'm gonna put on the front lines."
"What's a cabin duel?" Asked Alexis, a little Hermes girl.
"Tell her Connor. Did you know that she turned ten yesterday?" Chris said angrily.
Connor's eyes widened, so Travis started to explain. "A cabin duel is one of the rarest things here. Basically, it's two cabins in an all out war at the arena. No kids older than eighteen or younger than-" He paused, looking at her sadly. "Younger than ten are aloud."
Sarah, one of the older Hermes girls, took over from there. "Everything's game in a cabin duel. It's like we're gladiators. Magic items, swords, daggers, shields. Percy Jackson could use his hellhound if he wanted to."
Connor cut in with a raspy voice. "The only cabin duels I've ever seen here at camp are Ares vs. Athena, and they've always ended in a tie, with everyone down but Clarisse and Annabeth."
"And if we don't have that thing back to Clarisse's cabin by tomorrow, that's gonna be us?" Alexis asked meekly.
"No," Connor said, looking down. "I'll get it." Chris let him go, and Connor went over to his trunk and dug all the way down to the bottom. He brought back up what appeared to be dirty lump of fabric. The Hermes Cabin snickered.
"That's what you took?" Travis asked.
"Shut up," Chris told him harshly, and he obeyed.
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The next morning, Chris woke Connor up when he saw the Ares Cabin on their way to morning training.
"Let's go," He said.
Connor looked at him strangely. "Dude, I gave you the monkey. Goodnight."
"Nuh uh," Chris shook his head. "I'm not letting her blame me for this. You're giving it back."
Connor's eyes widened. He opened his mouth to argue, but Chris didn't give him a chance. "No discussion."
And so, ever so sullenly, Connor dragged himself down from the bunk atop his twin's and dressed as slowly as he could manage.
"Do I have to do this?" Connor whined.
Chris rolled his eyes. "Yes, Connor."
Connor grumbled something inaudible under his breath, and Chris slapped the back of his head.
Chris walked into the arena first. "Clarisse!" He shouted, getting the attention of her and her siblings.
"What do you want?" She asked, glancing cautiously and the boy behind her boyfriend.
"Connor has a gift for you," He replied, moving to her side and turning to Connor.
Connor brought the small stuffed creature out from behind his back, and Clarisse immediately rushed forward and grabbed it, shoving him to the ground in the process.
The Ares kids smiled, not daring to make a remark about the little thing their leader holds so dear. Connor grumbled from his position on the ground.
Clarisse turned her attention back to him, becoming angry again. "You got something to say? Let me give you a piece of advice, Stoll: Don't ever touch this again. And if you tell anyone that this belongs to me, let's just say I won't be cutting the heads off practice dummies.
Connor nodded. "Can I go back to bed now?"
Clarisse nodded, no longer giving him attention.
"I don't know, Clarisse," Chris started, surveying her cabin's training session. "It looks like you need a sparring partner for the morning."
Connor stared at him with wide eyes, shaking his head rapidly. Clarisse looked around, donning a smirk.
"You know what, Chris? I do believe you're right. C'mon Stoll, grab a sword."
Connor groaned in frustration, but did as he was told. Clarisse handed her monkey to Chris, who moved to the stands to watch his brother's beating. Life is good, he thinks.
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You're in kindergarten when you get in your first fight. You could've snuck away if you wanted to, but you really wanted to see how it turned out.
Not your best idea. You're not surprised that your parents don't get mad when they have to pick you up in the principal's office. He takes them in without you, but when your grandfather's Hermes, how can they expect you not to listen?
"-not sure how, but she took down a fourth grader," You here the principal say.
You can almost imagine your mother's smirk as she says, "Did she now?" They talk about useless things, and your parents take you home. You can go back next week, when your 'victim' gets out of the hospital.
When you get home, your parents stare down at you for awhile before your dad turns to your mom, smirks, and says, "She's got you beat by a year."
She scowls in return. "She got in a fight before she pulled a prank."
His smile turns to a frown. "Well, yeah. She came out of you. Whaddya expect?"
She laughs. "I would gladly let her pull a prank first if it meant you got eight hours of labor."
You pull a disgusted face, and they remember that you're there.
"Nice job," Your mom says, and you accept the compliment. It's not something you get a lot from her. She walks into another room and returns with a lump of fabric.
"Here," She says tossing it at you.
Upon closer inspection, you realize it's a beaten monkey. You smirk up at your parents. "Get this from a homeless shelter?"
She glares at you. "You're an ass." Then smiles. "Not that I expect anything less from my kid. Don't lose that, and don't expect anything else from me."
You look down at the little toy and smile genuinely. "Thanks, mom."
And you walk away, because you're family isn't all hugs and affection, but you still love each other.
And you treasure that monkey forever, long after you're grown and out of the house, been to the Camp, and killed too many monsters to count. That monkey stays with you.
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A/N Hmmmmmm . . . Eh, I like it. I hope everyone else does, especially xXx ALittleBitOfFaith xXx. You should so go read her stuff!
And for the idiots that didn't get it, the last part in italics is a future scene with Chris and Clarisse's daughter.
Anyhoo, Review, please, cause it makes me happy!
Peace, Love, and Pokémon-
Mercu