Hi! Sorry for not updating for a long time!

-L

P.S. 2014 will be really busy for me, so I will hardly be updating.

"What?" Jason asked in bewilderment. "What do you mean by Piper's not joining the quest anymore?" Days ago, his girlfriend had successfully convinced him into letting her go on a quest without him, and now she's quitting the quest?

Clarisse passed him Reyna's ring and replied, "She quit voluntarily. Only a child of Ares can control this ring, hence I must go with Percy to Aeaea. Piper thought that a 'magic tongue' could be anyone, so she might not be needed on the quest. Besides, only two can save Annabeth. If she comes along, it is likely that one of us will die."

"Oh, good," Jason sighed, slumping in his seat. When he realised what he had just said, he immediately amended, "I mean, um, it's good that Piper won't be hurt, not that one of you would die." Clarisse managed a small smile, but said nothing. There was an awkward silence between the two until Jason enquired, "You'll be leaving tomorrow?"

"Well, then good luck on your quest. I have to go talk to Piper now," Jason said when his question was met with a nod. Clarisse stood up from her seat and replied, "Yeah, alright, I'll have to say goodbye to Chris too."

Jason couldn't help but feel that she meant she wouldn't be seeing her boyfriend anymore.

There was silence between them, but it wasn't awkward. They enjoyed it, the moments of peace amongst all the chaos that was happening. It was a time when they could process all that was going on, and talk to each other. Jason's head shot up when Piper spoke softly, "I miss Leo."

"Yeah. Yeah, me too." Jason's mouth felt like he had tried to chew sand. The lack of a bubbly person who constantly made horrible jokes was the reason behind the weird feeling that he had. At times like these, he really appreciated having Leo with them. Jason felt guilty for all the times that he'd wished Leo would leave them alone. He'd never known that Leo could have such deepness under that cheerful façade of his. If Jason had realized earlier, he could've helped Leo more.

"He's changed, though," Piper replied, "he's getting more distant. And I-I think it's our fault. Or maybe it's just my fault. I'm a daughter of Aphrodite. I should be an expert on feelings. I-I didn't find out earlier about Calypso. I should have. Gods, I-I never thought that Leo-and he's on a quest alone! H-he's like the little brother I never had… I don't know how I can live without him. I should've helped him! I should've gone on the quest with him."

Jason couldn't stand it anymore. He turned to face his girlfriend and lifted her chin gently, looking into her kaleidoscope eyes. Right now, they were turquoise and suspiciously bright. The son of Jupiter could see sparkling tears welling up inside them. He couldn't let her blame herself.

"Look, this isn't your fault. If it's anyone's fault, it's mine. I knew about it earlier than you. But what's most important isn't who we should blame this on. It's what we should do," Jason said. Piper averted her eyes, probably too ashamed to look directly into his eyes. He let his hand drop, and she whispered, "But what should we do? What can we do?"

With a bitter pang of defeat, Jason realized that she was right. They didn't know where Leo was. If they started searching blindly, they could be on one side of the world while he was on the other. What if Leo had met with an accident, and they didn't know? They'd be looking for him for ages. Jason's shoulders sagged at the reality. "I don't know."

The closest synonym to 'reality' was probably 'harsh'. However, reality provided some sweet moments, too. Man, if this continued, reality was seriously going to make Jason a masochist or something. But Jason really didn't know. He wished that he'd attached a tracking device to Leo before letting him wander off alone.

Piper seemed to be having similar thoughts. "We could've spent more time with him, or at least asked him where he would go. I'd never thought about asking him. How could I? But-the chance is already gone. What can we do now?"

Jason wished that they could travel back in time and shake the answer out of Leo. Or maybe secretly follow him when he left the camp. It was too late. All they could do now was-

"Pray. We pray to the gods that he'll be safe. We pray to the gods that our best friend will get what he want and return, safe and sound."

And so they prayed. And prayed. And prayed. They didn't even care if he hated them, or didn't want to be with them anymore. They felt that they deserved it. All they wanted was hiss safety. So, they stood on the fringes of the forest, in each other's arms, praying for their best friend and the little-brother-who-never-was.

Jason listened to Clarisse and Percy as they told the cabin counselors (Nyssa was the representative for the Hephaestus Cabin) about their planned route. From what the son of Jupiter had learnt, they were going to ride the hippocampi underwater and through the Clashing Rocks. They would make use of Percy's powers to protect them and supply atmospheric oxygen for Clarisse (bubbles, bubbles). Percy had a rough idea of where Aeaea was, so they would ride the hippocampi there. Then, Percy and Clarisse would try to get Circe to break Annabeth's curse and return safely.

The son of Jupiter glanced at the world map on the ping-pong table. A dotted line was drawn from Long Island Sound to an 'x' marked by Percy, which represented where Aeaea should be. Chiron cleared his throat, catching the attention of the counselors. Percy and Clarisse stopped speaking and turned to him. The centaur said, "Are you sure that going underwater through the Clashing Rocks is the safest way for you to enter the Sea of Monsters? It is very dangerous, and the hippocampi may be injured badly. Jason, the first one, and the Argonauts only survived because of the protection that Hera gave them."

It seemed that Percy was already prepared for Chiron to ask this question, for he answered confidently, "That's what the ring is for. To protect us."

Chiron looked like he was mulling over the matter, then nodded for him to continue. Jason doubted that Reyna's ring was strong enough to protect both Percy and Clarisse from the Clashing Rocks and Circe's magic. Everything had its limit, right? He was about to ask them the question when Piper beat him to it, "Not jinxing you or anything, but, what if the ring suddenly malfunctions?"

Percy frowned, but Clarisse answered with determination, "I trust that it won't. But if it does, we still have our weapons." Everyone around the table fell silent. Jason mentally chided himself for doubting their powers. After all, Percy was probably one of the strongest demigods of the century. Combined with Clarisse's war god powers, they could seriously kick some sorceress' butt.

"So…no more questions?" Percy asked. The other counselors shook their heads, still keeping quiet. The son of Poseidon turned to Chiron. The latter nodded his head. "Meeting adjourned. Godspeed, Percy and Clarisse. Good luck on your quest."

That afternoon saw many tears and goodbyes. As Percy and Clarisse mounted their hippocampi on Fireworks Beach, all the campers wished them luck. Jason would've preferred if it were a scene from a movie. After overcoming many obstacles (with awesome sound effects to accompany their stunning karate moves), the two heroes would save the day and return home to find everyone safe and sound, cheering them on. Unfortunately, this was real life. Miracles like that hardly ever happened. And in a demigod's life? Forget it.

"Good luck, man," Jason said, holding his fist out. Percy knew exactly what to do and fist-bumped him. Determination was practically radiating off his sea-green eyes. He replied, "I'll come back. I'll see Annabeth and all of you again. I promise."

Right before Percy and Clarisse disappeared underwater with their hippocampi, Jason remembered something. One line from the prophecy of the Seven hadn't been completed yet.

'An oath to keep with a final breath'.

Cliffhanger~