Chapter 21

CLARISSE POV

Responses:

Guest (Ch18) I didn't actually mean for that to be a LL reference, but I get why you thought that. After I'm done with this and Bridger:ASWS I might do something with Lorien Legacies.

Guest (Ch15) Sorry I didn't see your review earlier! I have no plans on abandoning this, I hate it when I find a good story and then it's dropped off halfway through. Thanks for the praise!

(A/N Meesa no owna Percy Jackson.)

After Hera departed, the four demigods were left sitting, looking at each other. Meg was the first to break the silence.

"Well that escalated quickly." Too right, Clarisse thought to herself. Here she thought she was just doing a simple favour to Percy and Annabeth, to give them a break from saving everyone's skins, and now she was wrapped up in a possibly world-ending quest. Now you get to have all the pressure. A small, unpleasant-sounding voice spoke up in her head. Does it feel good, finally getting the attention you craved? Finally being in the spotlight? Shut up, Clarisse told herself. It's not as bad as being in the middle of a war- But is it? The other voice had returned. Is it as bad? Now, if you fail, millions will die. Children, who haven't even begun to experience life, will perish. All because of your failure. "I said shut up." Her companions looked at her strangely. Clarisse shook her head, she couldn't allow random pessimistic thoughts to distract her. She was going to save this immortal, get home, see Percy's kid, and everything would be fine. "It was nothing. Anyone got a game plan?" They gave her a look, Chris especially, but eventually Meg spoke up.

"Well, we really only need transport through the Sea. Percy isn't with us, and I doubt any mortals would be willing to sail through the Bermuda Triangle."

"I've got it." Clarisse hated herself for speaking up, yet it was the only option they had. It wasn't an uncommon power among children of Ares, most of her siblings could do it-but it wasn't something she liked doing. Funny how time flies. The last time she had used this particular ability, she had flaunted it in front of Percy and Annabeth. Now looking back on it, she felt sick at the prospect of summoning the dead.

"Alright then, I guess we'll wait till Miami." Giving one last wary glance at Clarisse, and an unreadable one at Robin, she laid back in her seat and closed her eyes. Remarkably, within a few minutes, the sounds of light snoring could be heard.

"I'm going to take a bathroom break, if you don't mind." Robin looked between Chris and Clarisse, and seeing no opposition, stood up and walked off in the direction of the toilets. Chris watched him go, then turned abruptly to Clarisse.

"What's happening." He didn't phrase it like a question, more like a statement that he knew stuff was happening and wanted to know what. Clarisse barely debated before spilling.

"I've got doubts. Doubts that I can succeed, that I can safely complete the quest. I'm not sure if I'm glad Hera gave us that information, now we know so many more lives are depending on us. Including Percy and Annabeth's kid." Clarisse's heart gave a lurch at the thought. Chris looked at her for a few seconds before taking her hand in his.

"I'm not going to guarantee we'll survive this. I'm not going to guarantee we'll even complete the quest."

"Well that makes me feel better." In spite of herself, a small grin formed on Clarisse's face. Chris reciprocated it before continuing.

"What I will guarantee is that whatever doubts you have, whatever negative thoughts keep chasing each other round your head, they don't matter. You are perfectly capable of leading this quest. I've followed you blindly for seven years, and I'm not about to stop now." Clarisse felt small tears gather at the corner of her eyes, and suddenly she launched herself into Chris's arms. Not missing a beat, he fluidly pushed down the armrest separating them and drew her closer. After a few moments, Clarisse drew back, with a small smile on her face.

"Look at me, the big tough Ares kid, crying." Chris pulled her forward and planted a kiss on her forehead.

"You aren't a brick wall, Clarisse. When you need to, I'm more than happy to be an outlet." Chris drew her into his side, letting her sit there and relax. Clarisse stayed there for the rest of the ride, dozing off into dreamless sleep and waking up only once they had reached Miami.

(A/N Alright, I think that went well, considering it's shorter than any other chapter, half of it I bullcrapped and the other half was trying to deal with the fallout of ending the last chapter in a really bad place. This chapter was basically filler, and if I had been thinking properly I would have added it onto the last one but I wasn't and now here's a subpar chapter. There were some parts I was proud of though, I haven't gotten to spend time with Chrisse alone since after the Capture-the-Flag game. I'm sorry for teasing the proposal, I know I've been doing it since chapter four, but there hasn't been a good place to put it. I'm considering doing a Will/Elizabeth style one during the final battle, but not sure yet. In other news, I've decided to quit the CHB forum. It was stupid of me to take on three projects at once, and (apologies to DaughteroftheOneTrueKing and the rest of the mods, you are all doing a great job with this) it was really the only one I could drop. QfE is my first ever fic, and I didn't want to hiatus a story that hadn't even gotten past the prologue yet. You will (most likely) find Ch1 coming out on Wednesday, so until then,

Vaya con Queso,

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