A/N: oh my gods guys… I'm so sorry. Really. I realized that the entire chapter six of my story had been deleted and replaced by chapter seven, so anyone reading it must've been like what kind of klunk is this.

I really don't know how it happened. Seriously. I went back and changed it, but I feel so guilty right now, I can't even say. It must have not been good if someone was reading this, and they came upon that. If even after that, you're still here, I want to thank you for keeping faith.

Okay. Setting that matter aside, I have decided that my story is lacking in fluff. I'll spill, I stink at fluff. Really. And I'm not much of a fan of it either. But for anyone reading this, who's a fluff-lover, this chapter will have a bit of it. A bit. I really can't write more, but I want my story to have all the elements for a good plot.

Lifelong potterhead: THANK YOU SO MUCH! :))))) I'm so glad you liked that chapter, and I really appreciate the compliments. I hope this chapter isn't too boring!

RIGHT THEN.

Onto the story.

So much for making my author's notes short. :|

~.~.~.~.

Leo:

I found myself back in the clearing. My friends were kneeling in front of me, in various states of shock. I didn't bother looking at them.

The full impact of what I'd done hit me. I'll admit, it wasn't my finest moment. I didn't stand up bravely, announcing to everyone how I'd defeated an impossible-to-defeat enemy. Nope. I simply ran over to the nearest tree, knelt at its roots, and threw up.

Can you blame me? Try melting someone's eyes in their sockets. Not an appetite raiser.

Once I was done emptying my stomach, I walked back to where my friends were. This time, I took in their state. Brynn was crying. Rose and James were simply looking ahead with blank expressions on their faces. DJ was muttering to herself like a deranged person.

"It's okay… it's alright… Creepy house gone… I'm alive…" She said the words like a chant. Someone up ahead grunted, successfully snapping us out of our shock.

A teenage boy stood before us. He couldn't have been more than eighteen, with tousled brown hair and green eyes. He was dressed well, not too flashy, not too drab. He had a good build, and would have been good-looking, had it not been for the multiple scars on his face.

"I didn't expect all of you to make it." He said, looking at us with a mildly surprised expression. My eyes narrowed. "What the heck just happened? And who are you?" Rose snapped at him.

Before the boy could reply, DJ answered for him. "You're Phobos right? Son of Ares? God of fear? I know you." She said. She seemed slightly confused by all that was happening. The boy- Phobos- nodded.

I held up my hands. "Woooooah." I said, letting out a small laugh, "You'd better explain what the hell is going on, 'cause my puny brain cells sure can't figure it out."

Phobos looked at us with a strange expression on his face. "I will explain, you don't need to worry about that. But perhaps I should wait for the rest of you to…" His voice trailed off. I knew what he meant. We probably looked like a mess. Rose and James looked like they were going into shock, Brynn couldn't stop her tears, DJ had been muttering like she had lost her marbles, and I had just heroically puked.

Not the most glorious bunch.

Rose and James seemed to catch themselves. They stood up and joined me and DJ. Even Brynn wiped her tears and came to stand beside us. "We're fine. Explanation. Now." Rose said, adding a glare. If someone gave this lady a dollar for every time she glared, I swear, she would have been a millionaire by now.

Phobos sized us up. "The five of you are heading to the temple of Delphi." He said simply.

"Yeah, we worked that bit out for ourselves, funnily enough." I said sarcastically. Apparently Phobos didn't catch that, because he nodded at me, impressed.

"Right. To get there, you will have to cross three portals, of which, this is the first. Each portal tests you for a certain quality." He said, almost echoing Janus' words.

"So this portal tested us for bravery, by seeing if we could or could not control our biggest fear." DJ said. This time, even I was impressed. Phobos gave her a look, and she shrugged nonchalantly. "I faced my biggest fear. The others look just as disoriented and shocked as I feel. You, the god of Fear, are standing in front of me right now, giving us the explanation. Even Scotland Yard could get somewhere with that."

Phobos gave her another confused look, before shaking it off. "Yes. That is absolutely correct." He said, "This portal tested you for bravery. True bravery is when you can conquer even your greatest fear. That is the mark of a true warrior."

"Wait a minute. A moment ago, I was in the forbidden forest at Hogwarts. How'd I get there?" James asked. The same question had been on my mind too. I'd realized that my friends were fine. Shocked, yes. But not in the gruesome state that I had seen. James still had his eye. Rose still had her hair.

"What you saw, was all part of your imagination. You imagined a situation in which you faced your worst nightmare. I took that very situation, and morphed it into a scene, which you saw in your mind." Phobos replied.

"Wait, so… whatever happened, we just imagined that? None of it was real?" Rose asked. Phobos shook his head. "You did imagine it. Why should that mean it wasn't real?" he answered.

Yeah, thanks a lot mate. That really cleared stuff up, I thought. DJ raised her hand. "Uh, so… if I barfed in my imagination, does that mean my stomach is empty in real life?"

James looked at her, incredulously. "Seriously? After all that's happened, that's what you ask?"

DJ shrugged, not seeming bothered by the fact. Phobos looked a little surprised too, but he answered her nonetheless. "I have no idea. Honestly, you are the first person to ask me such a question. I'm afraid I can't answer you."

DJ's shoulders slumped.

"Hold up. So, you mean we passed the test? That we can cross the portal now?" I asked. Phobos nodded. "This is the first of the three portals you must cross to get to the Temple. But a word of advice. The second and third tests will be just as hard as this, if not more so. Getting to the portal will not be as easy as you think."

"Who said we thought it was easy?" I said, rolling my eyes. "But where's the portal?" Brynn spoke for the first time. She had been standing so silently, I'd almost forgotten she was there.

Phobos smiled, which looked a bit intimidating with all the scars. He waved a hand, and behind him, a whole section of the forest disappeared, to reveal a black swirling void. I stared at the god of fear with wide eyes.

"You want us… to go… through that?" James' eyes were bulging out of his head too.

"Yes, I don't see what the matter is." Phobos said. I couldn't believe my ears.

"Seriously. How can you expect us through go through a black space of nothingness? How do we know we'll end up where we're supposed to?" DJ voiced my thoughts.

"I don't see how you have another choice." Phobos answered. I groaned, wishing he hadn't said something logical like that. "You have my assurance. This will take you where it's supposed to." Phobos looked behind us. "Ah! Your Pegasi are ready. Well go on then, mount up!" He added cheerfully.

I shook my head in disbelief. "We're all lunatics." I muttered, as I climbed up on Brisingr's back. DJ climbed on behind me. "Yep. We're certainly are." She agreed.

Rose sat atop her broom, leaving James and Brynn once again in the position of having to share Blackjack. I wondered for a moment if James could possibly go a deeper shade of red, as he and Brynn mounted the Pegasus. Brynn put as much distance between her and James as possible, without falling off.

"Good luck. You'll need it." Phobos smirked at us. We spurred the Pegasi into flight, and sped through the 'portal'.

~.~.~.~.

James:

I'm guessing you'll want to know how the whole going-through-the-portal thing felt. Honestly speaking, I don't know.

One minute we were in the middle of the forest. The next, we were flying a thousand feet up in the air, a city spreading out below us. I had no idea which it was. The dark night sky adorned us from above. I'd never seen so many stars at once. I may have not known which city this was, but looking at the sky, for some weird reason, I knew the city must have been beautiful.

After about an hour of flying, Rose, DJ and Leo decided to call it a night. Rose put the anti-falling-off charm on herself. Leo slumped against Brisingr's neck, and DJ leaned on his back. The three were out like bulbs in no time.

This left Brynn and I in an awkward silence.

"Um… hey." I said. Smart, I know. But come on. How do you make small talk with a girl you just met?

"Hi." Brynn replied. Her voice was sort of shaky. I looked back, and saw her gripping the saddle tightly, her knuckles almost white. Her eyes were shut as well.

"Your accent… it's familiar." I said. Brynn let out a small, nervous chuckle. "It's Scottish. I lived there until two years ago with my father and brother, before I came to Camp Jupiter. I still have the accent I suppose."

I nodded. "So where are they now? Your father and brother, I mean." I could almost see her face darkening.

"They're dead."

This took me by surprise. "I… I didn't know… I'm so… I shouldn't have asked." I stammered. I looked back, and saw her smiling weakly. "You really couldn't have known, could you?"

Suddenly Blackjack flapped his wings hard, and we jerked a little. Brynn let out a small cry. I smirked, finally realizing the cause of her strange behavior.

"You're afraid of heights." I declared.

"No I'm not!" Brynn said, sounding offended. "Really? Then do please tell me why you're gripping onto that saddle like it's your life force." I shot back.

Brynn was quiet for a moment before speaking. "Maybe just a little bit, okay? Don't tell anyone."

I nodded earnestly, though I couldn't see why she'd want to hide something like this. "Was this your test as well?" I asked. Brynn replied with a soft "Yes."

I smiled again. I couldn't communicate with the Pegasi as nicely as DJ, but I had taken horse-riding lessons before. How could this be any different?

I pushed Blackjack's reigns down, hoping he understood. He must have been a sharp twig, because he did.

He tucked his wings and dived.

Brynn screamed her head off. After dropping for about ten meters, Blackjack spread his wings and soared. I looked up, and saw the others above us. They could take care of themselves for a while.

Brynn was still screaming. She was holding on tightly to my shoulders. I looked down, praying the view was nice.

It was.

The city was a landscape of blinking lights. Lights of all different colors lit up the buildings. For a moment, I wondered if we were in New York, the city that never slept, but I quickly shook that off. Even though this city wasn't asleep, it wasn't as noisy as New York would have been.

It was beautiful. The night sky above, dotted with stars, and the millions of lights below.

I looked back at Brynn. "You don't wanna miss this view mate. It's worth seeing." I said. Brynn shook her head. Her eyes were still shut tight, and her fingers dug into my shoulders. "I'm serious Brynn. Give it a shot. Maybe it won't be as bad as you think."

Slowly, carefully, she opened her eyes. She didn't let go of my shoulders, but peered at the scene below us. Gradually, a hint of a smile appeared on her lips. "It is good." She said.

I grinned. After taking in the beautiful sight, Brynn took a deep breath. "We should get back to the others." She said.

"Okay." I replied. Honestly speaking, I would have jumped off Blackjack right then, if she'd asked me to. Dont ask why. Thats just how I felt at that point. I pulled Blackjack's reigns up, and we shot upwards. Brynn let out another shriek, tightening her grasp on my shoulders.

But as we came to a steadfast pace beside the others, I could hear her laughing. So contagious was her laugh, that I quickly joined in. Before I knew it, the two of us were laughing our heads off.

"What in the world…?" DJ looked up at us, her eyes half closed. We shut up. DJ smirked sleepily. "Oh no, please. The two of you carry on. I'm going back to sleep."

I could feel heat rise up to my face. Brynn hastily removed her hands from my shoulders. I didn't need to look back to know that her face was red too.

We flew in silence for a while longer.

"We should take a rest. The Pegasi have been flying for quite some time now." Brynn said. I nodded thoughtfully. A few miles ahead, I could see the outline of a forest. I woke the others up with a loud yell.

"Ah, man, really? Is that your idea of an alarm clock?" Leo grumbled. Rose pulled herself together as I explained our plan to them, but Leo and DJ still looked groggy. Nevertheless, they agreed that the Pegasi needed a break.

"There's a forest up ahead." Brynn suggested. I nodded in agreement.

Once we'd landed in the forest, Rose clipped her broom onto Brisingr. "I suppose this is like last time, then? Make a campfire and take a break?"

DJ took the hint. She held out her hand, and summoned up a pile of twigs, which Leo lit up with a fireball. Rose and Brynn leaned against two trees.

"I'm thirsty." Brynn told us. DJ dug out her bottle, only to find it empty. The rest of us were in the same situation.

"This is bad. This is very very bad." Rose said, looking concerned. "Maybe someone can go get water from a nearby lake or something."

I narrowed my eyes. "Hold the phone. I aint drinking murky pond water."

"Leave that to me." Rose said dismissively. She seemed so confident, I didn't question her further. I just assumed she had some charm to purify water. "So if y'all get the water, Rose here can purify it." DJ leaned against her own tree, and put her arms behind her head, grinning at us, and added "Note how I said y'all."

I sighed, and got to my feet, Leo following my example. "Did anyone spot a lake when we were coming?" Leo asked.

"I think I saw one not too far off to our left." Brynn answered. Rose nodded in agreement. "I saw one too, where she said." She smirked. "Have fun filling up, you two." She added, tossing us her bottle. DJ and Brynn did the same. Leo gave me an exasperated look. I simply shook my head.

Our arms full with the bottles we now carried, the two of us headed off deeper into the forest.

Our big mistake.

~.~.~.~.

A/N: HAHAHAHAAHAHA CLIFFHANGER! *Evil laugh*

Um, yeah. Sorry about that. I tend to go bonkers sometimes. Also, sorry for the late update. Hope you enjoyed this chapter! And yes, that was the maximum amount of fluff I can write. *weak smile*

Hehe.

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Enough rambling, me. Shut up.

ALRIGHTY THEN! UNTIL NEXT TIME!