I'm sorry that it's been over a year since I updated for this story. It's so hard to believe that time has past so much and so fast. I don't know how I allowed this much time to get away from me, other than being so busy with my working hours and helping out my family. It all really just seems to keep on taking away time, over and over again. Again, I apologize for the ridiculous time gap, and I promise to try not to let it happen again. So with that being said, here's the update you've all been waiting for.
We're No Longer Whole
Percy's POV
You know sometimes how you can have one of those moments where you wake up, and the very second you do, you instantly wish that you didn't and were still asleep? Well, that's exactly me at the moment. When I woke up and regained conscious, my eyes opened to see the very last people that I wanted to see right now. I saw Annabeth, Grover, Thalia, and Zoe all staring down at me. Annabeth, Grover and Thalia looked worried about me. Zoe's look towards me was just voided with any emotion. I didn't care though. If she didn't want me around, that was fine by me. I didn't intend to be around here either. I was only where I was because I ended up getting a little careless and was caught off my guard. A mistake I instantly regretted making.
"Percy. Thank the gods you're okay." Grover said with a sigh of relief.
"We were worried about you." Annabeth threw in.
I just sighed with a roll of my eyes right before I started to slowly and gently sit up.
"Take it easy Percy. You need to rest. Don't tax yourself." Annabeth said, placing her hand on my chest.
"I'm fine." I said, still trying to sit up anyways.
It was then that I noticed something that I didn't notice earlier. Annabeth's hand was on my chest, with it being bare. I didn't have my shirt on. My shirt was just gone, leaving my wounds and injuries open and exposed to everyone around me.
"Hey, where the hell's my shirt?" I asked, looking around, hoping I could find my shirt and get it back on, because the way Annabeth had her hand on me was making me feel a little uncomfortable and I really didn't like the look she was giving me either.
"Your shirt was all bloodied, torn, and beaten up, so we had to get rid of it. With how bad in shape it was, there wasn't anything we could do to fix it, so it was garbage." Thalia answered.
"Great, just great." I sarcastically remarked.
"Hey, look on the bright side man, We stitched you all up, cleaned your wounds up, and you're still alive. That's good right?" Grover stated, trying to lighten my mood.
"Yeah, but I'd be feeling a lot better if I was back with Clarisse and our unborn baby. But no! I'm stuck with being a part of, yet another quest that I don't want anything to do with, and I'm stuck here with you guys. Where are we anyways?" I stated, as plainly and clearly as I could.
"We're on a train. We were able to escape before we were caught by the monsters or by the authorities." Thalia answered.
"Hmm." I simply replied.
"So Percy, what happened? How'd you get captured?" Annabeth asked, moving a little closer to me.
"The camp was under attacked again. A ball of fire was somehow able to break right through the barrier and land on the beach at camp. And then six chimeras came out and attacked us." I answered.
"The camp was attacked? But how?" Thalia asked.
"I don't know. I just know that six chimeras attacked the place and I ended up getting caught by them." I explained, while leaving a few details out.
With how things were back there and with how serious of a situation I ended up getting myself into, I felt like it was probably best to leave them in the dark about my immortal half-brother leading them and capturing me.
"They didn't kill you?" Zoe asked with a raise of her eyebrow.
"Clearly no, they didn't if I'm here and not in hell." I sarcastically sighed as if she did nothing but ask me the dumbest question ever, which she kinda did.
"Do you know who sent those chimeras?" Annabeth asked.
"Well I met the guy, but I didn't get his name. All of his followers only ever referred to him as "General". I didn't get a name or anything. And apparently, he had me captured because he wanted to interrogate me. He thought that he could get some answers from me on the quest as well as a few other things. He tried to get me to talk, but I didn't tell him shit. I just kept playing my cards that involved irritating the shit out of him. And that's when he found out that you guys were close by and decided to use me as bait to try and get his hands on all of you guys. Apparently, it was one of those things where it was If they will not talk, then we'll make them squawk." I explained.
"Squawk?" Grover asked confused.
"*Sighs* Make me scream, yell, and cry, in pain, suffering, and agony. Honestly Grover, don't you keep up with today's lingo at all?" I asked.
"Lingo?" Grover asked, still confused.
"Jesus fucking Christ, man. Do you really need a dictionary for everything I say!?" I asked, getting agitated and was about to get up, when my injuries started to kick in from the movement.
"Whoa, hold on Percy, take it easy man. You need to rest." Thalia said, helping Annabeth keep me down on the row of seats they had me on.
"I don't have time to rest. I need to get back to camp and make sure everyone's okay. I need to get back to Clarisse and our unborn baby and make sure they're both alright." I said, trying to get back up again, only to be held back still.
"Clarisse is a daughter or Ares. She can take care of herself. She lives for fighting anyways and making sure she's on top of the social pyramid. You don't need to worry. I'm sure she's fine." Annabeth stated, and by the way she said it, the look she had on her face, and the tone that I picked up in her voice, I had a feeling there was another point to her statement, but wasn't saying it.
"She's my girlfriend and she's carrying my baby. I need to be there for her. What the hell kind of man would I be if I'm not around for my girlfriend and my child?" I stated as firmly and strictly as I could, to get the message out that I already had something far more important than this quest to be concerned about.
"And what about you? What about your health? You're just as important than she is." Annabeth stated.
"Not to me. To me, Clarisse La Rue is far more important than I could ever be." I stated.
"And what about us and our quest? Does that mean absolutely nothing to you?" Annabeth asked, raising her voice a little.
"No. I don't want anything to do with this quest. You guys don't need me anyways, you're more than capable to handling all of this on your own. It's what you live for. Besides, Clarisse is pregnant, which could make her a target for many monsters or even worse. It's not just her life she and I have to protect now. It's the life of a baby that is yet to be born and that we both intend to love, cherish, and raise, no matter what." I said.
"We need a fifth warrior for the quest. And as much as I hate to say it, that fifth warrior will have to be you." Zoe said, and it was easy to tell how hard it was for her to say that.
"I don't know much clearer I need to be for all of you, but my answer is no and no is no. I'm not getting dragged back into this shit. I'm not being your fifth warrior and I simply don't care what goes on in this quest of yours. I have a girlfriend and a child to look after, and that's what I'm gonna do." I said trying to get up again, only to have my injuries keep me down.
"Well it looks to me like you're stuck in this quest, whether you like it or not Perce. Because like Zoe said, we need a fifth member on this quest and you're the only option. Plus, with how you need to rest and none of us intend to let you go, you're not going anywhere." Thalia said.
"I'm not asking you to help me. I'm telling you that I'm out and I'm going back, and there's nothing you can say or do to stop me." I said trying to get up again, but still couldn't because of the injuries.
"Looks like we don't need to. Your "General" Friend seems to have done that for us." Thalia commented.
"Come on, let's go. I want to see if they have a trolley with food on this thing." Zoe said as she started heading out.
Everyone then started to take their leave, leaving me here. And it was there that I couldn't decide what was making me angrier, the fact that I couldn't get out of here on my own, or the fact that I was stuck in the middle of yet another quest again.
"If we find any food, we'll bring you some, okay man." Grover offered.
"Fuck off." I said, giving him the middle finger.
He just went out, saying nothing after that. I was just so stressed out about everything. Here I am, stuck in yet another quest that I didn't want to be apart of, wanting be with my girlfriend, but not able to, and once again stuck associating with people that I really didn't want to be anywhere near around. It was really irking the shit out of me. I also felt so empty. Like even though I was still alive, I didn't really feel like I was alive. I felt like a huge chunk of me was ripped out of my very existence, like I was now only a hollow shell of my full self. I already knew why to. I was away from the woman that meant everything to me. It was similar to how I felt when I thought I lost my mom to the Minotaur. I hated being away from Clarisse so much, that I felt like dying. I just hope Clarisse and the baby were alright and safe. It would completely destroy me if anything bad happened to the two most important people of my life.
Clarisse's POV
The entire bus ride was just horrible. I didn't anybody telling me that I looked like I was in the worst shape of my life. Because I felt it all over. However terrible I looked couldn't possibly be as bad as how I felt. The camp gets attacked, everyone is in one way or another hurt and injured, and the man I love was taken away from me. What made it even worse was that I was finally ready to tell him how much he meant to me, and then someone just comes out of nowhere and takes him away from me. And I didn't even know who it was I had to blame for Percy's disappearance.
I mean, yeah. Obviously, Kronos had a huge part in it. And obviously, he had to have been the one who had those chimeras attack the camp and the guy who captured Percy. But it couldn't have been Kronos who captured Percy. Charles said that it was a man who lead the chimeras here and kidnapped Percy. It couldn't have been Kronos, because he's no where near a man. He's a devil and a savage in this universe. The next person that would come to my mind as to who it was is Luke. But it couldn't have been Luke. If it was, then Charles would've saw and said that. But he just said it was a man. Meaning it could've been any enemy of Olympus. I hated it so much, that thinking about just kept making me feel sick.
"We're here." Chiron announced as the bus came to a stop in front of the Empire State Building.
Everyone started gathering their things and got out of the bus. I was the last one out of the bus. Normally I'd be the one keeping things as smooth as I can. But with the father of my child gone, I just felt like I was instantly turned into the shadow on a wall, the runt of the litter, the outcast of it all around me. And there was nothing I could do about it. The only thing that could fix me was me having Percy back.
"Clarisse?" Bianca asked as she and her little brother Nico came up to me, looking concerned and worried about me.
"Hey Bianca. Hey Nico." I greeted.
"Are you okay?" Nico asked.
I really wanted to say that I was fine, or that I was gonna be fine. But if I did say any of those things, I'd be lying. And I wouldn't be able to lie without showing it.
"No." I sighed.
"Percy?" Bianca asked.
I looked away, not really able to bring the words out of me. It was just too much. It was making me feel the tears slowly beginning to surface in my eyes again. I could only nod my head, indicating that I was indeed worried sick about Percy and that I wanted him back right now.
"We're sorry." Bianca said.
"Young heroes come on. You need to come in and join the rest of us." Chiron called us from inside the Empire State Building.
Bianca and Nico had to take my hands and lead me in because I just somehow felt like I was somehow welded into the ground that my feet were standing on. They lead me in so we could join the rest of them. After that, Chiron had the building put on lock down so no one could get in or get out. Everyone was finding themselves a spot in the lobby to crash in for a few moments until we got a word from Chiron or something. Bianca and Nico just lead me to a few seats in the corner of the building. (Even though I've been to New York City before, I've only been there once through a school field trip, and I've never been to the Empire State Building before. So I don't really know how exactly the inside of the place is build or what lies in it. So, I apologize if my description of the place is weak, vague, wrong, and/or shit.) With how miserable and broken I felt, I didn't even bother sitting down in any of the seats. I just sat down in the corner, and brought my knees up to my chest, as best as I could, considering how I had a 5 to 6-month pregnant belly.
"You miss him a lot, don't you?" Bianca stated.
"Yeah." I choked out.
"You love him, don't you?" Nico stated.
"How do you know?" I asked.
"Back when we were younger, our mom would read many bedtime stories to us at night. A lot of them involved people who were struggling with love." Bianca answered.
"Mom always said that there's always someone born to be the love of your life. And it's only when you find him or her that you realize and feel what you've been missing for the first part of your life. Being whole. And that every man and woman is never really whole until the find the one they're meant to be with. And by losing the one you love, you lose a part of yourself as well, and no longer feel whole until you have him or her back." Nico added.
I just looked at them with a combination of shock and confusion. Confused that they pretty much just said that I'm no longer whole since Percy was taken away from me, and shocked that they practically said as they've been down this road before somehow. I was never one to pay too much attention to kids, but I was still lost on how these two seemed to know exactly what kind of a situation I was in.
"If this is what love is, then I think I'm starting to hate it." I commented, looking away from them again.
"That's what love is. It's a great feeling, but at the same time, it hurts. No love ever comes without any pain. But it's something that should still be valued and cherished. Because it's not really something you can live without, run, or hide from. Trying to do so is nothing but a losing battle." Bianca explained.
"Love is like a fire. It's warm and comforting when you need it, but there are never times it doesn't cause pain. You can either let it grow, or you can try to let it die out, depending on if you intend to keep it alive or not. The fire can be weakened when not granted the fuel it needs to stay strong. But you can always reignite it if you ever find yourself in such a situation. The fire can be a small fire, but it can never die. There's always at least a few flames and sparks around to make sure that the fire is never extinguished." Nico added.
Even though my expression and feelings weren't really changing, I was still taking in what they were sharing with me. Despite how I still just wanted Percy. I was happy to see that Nico and Bianca were here for me. I supposed this moment ended up becoming one of those moments where Percy says I'm becoming so much like a mother now. I brought the both of them in my arms and held them close to me. They didn't mind at all and returned the hugs.
"Thank you. You two really are a big help." I said.
"But you're still worried about Percy?" Bianca asked.
I only nodded again. I just didn't really as much energy to talk as I usually would.
"Don't worry. He'll be back." Nico said.
"How can you be so sure?" I asked.
"Because from what I've seen, he's definitely not someone you can bring down so easily. I'd say he's too strong for any villain to bring down." Nico answered.
'Most at least, but probably not all. I wish that were so though.' I thought.
"Plus, he has a girlfriend and a baby to return to. That should be more than enough to make him determined to come back." Bianca added.
Percy never disappointed or failed to show how much he cared about me and our baby. He was always 100% an amazing person about this. I knew he would definitely want nothing more than to come back. But that didn't really help feel too assured. I was only gonna be assured when I see him again. But Bianca and Nico didn't know him as well as me, and yet they seemed more than confident to have hope and faith in him. If they were more than willing to do so for him, that I should to. I just hope he comes back soon. I don't know how long I can wait before losing it, and that would not only damage me, but also the baby, and I'd never be able to live with myself if I ever let that happen.
I'm not gonna be doing everything right from the book. Not anymore at least. With how long it's been, I feel like I really need to speed things up a little. I still like the story and everything. But with how big the time gaps are nowadays, I just think I really need to try to pick up the pace. I'm sure you all know exactly where I'm going with all of this. Anyways, thanks for the support, despite my life interfering so much, and I'll update again whenever I can. Also, how were Nico and Bianca? Are they a little too OOC in this story? I know they're technically just young kids as of the current point of the story, but I honestly couldn't think of anyone else who isn't Silena or Charles to try and help Clarisse out a little. I wanted to have Clarisse know that she's not alone and that there're people who intend to be there for her in her time of need. I hope that's alright.
