A/N: First time writing from Clarisse's point-of-view. Sorry for the delay, but I've been preoccupied with some other writings. If there are any mistakes, feel free to let me know.
Oh, and I don't usually promote other stories within mine, but "The Queen's Servant" by not for granted is off to a great start and I highly suggest it. It may not be your thing, of course, but I really like it.
The Crewmen Buffet
Clarisse stomped her way up the staircase, heading to the spar deck. Her father's words had gotten to her—they always had. His insults and demands echoed in her head and no matter how much she tried to distract herself, she couldn't ignore them. She felt the sting of tears in her eyes, but she quickly and angrily blinked them away. Daughters of Ares didn't cry. She'd show her father that she would succeed. It was her only option.
She didn't bother glancing in the direction of Percy or Thalia. Those perfect heroes had to get in her way. Chiron thought the brats could do no wrong. He treated him like they were the next Heracles and Achilles. Frankly, it was enough to make her sick to her stomach. They were only treated so well by Chiron because they were children of the Big Three. The two of them got respect, honor, and so much more from all the other campers.
Clarisse wasn't like those hopeless tag-along demigods that stared after the children of the Big Three in amazement. She didn't think Percy and Thalia were all that great. She knew they had faults—faults even worse than hers. They weren't flawless, but many people thought they were. They didn't see what Clarisse did. She was the daughter of the God of War, and she would be damned if she wasn't able to see the absolute worst in everyone around her. She wasn't blind. She knew what everyone thought of her. Some feared her, but all of them mocked her behind her back—even her own siblings.
She shook her thoughts off in frustration, snatching binoculars from a nearby zombie crewmate. She glanced through them, staring off into the horizon. "At last," she murmured to herself, though she didn't care if anyone else heard. "Captain, full steam ahead!"
Her nerves were going haywire, and the air around them was so hazy and humid that it nearly suffocated her. But she was anything but afraid. She had been waiting for this, after all.
The captain of the steamship followed her orders immediately, and the vessel gained speed. Off to her left, she heard the Cyclops mutter, "Too much strain on the pistons. Not meant for deep water."
Before she could tell him to shut his monstrous mouth, the daughter of Zeus stepped in front of her. "What's the game plan?" she asked, her perpetually confident voice making Clarisse want to ram a sword through her.
"I fend the monsters off," the daughter of Ares remarked harshly, "and you stay the hell out of my way."
"Monsters?" the demigoddess asked in reply. "What monsters?"
"It's not called the Sea of Monsters as a joke," Clarisse said, pointing to the horizon. To the north, an island with numerous high cliffs came into focus. South of them was a large brewing storm—seemingly a hurricane.
"We can handle a storm. Percy and I can do something to stop it," Thalia insisted.
Clarisse resisted the urge to roll her eyes—wait, hold that, no she didn't. She didn't care if she disrespected the daughter of Zeus. Thalia was such a know-it-all. Percy and I can do something to stop it, Clarisse mocked in her head. Please. The punks were in way over their heads.
"That's not a hurricane, stupid," the daughter of Ares snapped. "Charybdis."
The look on the taller girl's face was enough to make Clarisse snicker. Thalia's eyes were wide, as she obviously had not expected the news. "Charybdis?" She quickly glanced in the direction they were sailing. "We have to travel through Scylla and Charybdis in order to enter the Sea of Monsters," she recalled.
"Uh, why don't we just sail around them?" Percy suggested, and Clarisse growled.
"Idiot, it isn't that simple. If we try and go around them, they'll just appear in our path again," she explained impatiently. "It's the only way to get into the Sea of Monsters."
"Wrong, again, Clarisse," Annabeth snapped. "There's also the Clashing Rocks. Jason used that gateway."
The daughter of Ares seethed. Ever since they had started the quest, Annabeth had been jumping down her fucking throat about everything. No, Clarisse, you're incorrect! Actually, it would be best to do this! Oh, Clarisse, stop being such an ass! Honestly, she was fed up with it. She had actually made an effort to be nicer to the blonde, hoping to mend their previous qualms in order to experience an enjoyable quest. Unfortunately, it seemed that Clarisse could do nothing right. She was getting sick of that feeling.
The daughter of the God of War made a fake buzzer noise. "Oh? What's that? The Princess of Everything is incorrect for once?" she mocked. "My cannons can't blow apart freaking rocks, Annabeth. Monsters, on the other hand…"
"You're insane!" the daughter of Athena protested.
A smirk rose to Clarisse's face. "Oh yeah? Is that what I am? I'll show you insane, Wise Girl." She turned to look to the captain. "Set course for Scylla!"
"Aye, milady!"
The ship picked up speed once more, and the daughter of Ares couldn't fight the smirk off her face if she tried. They were going to blow the monster to bloody pieces.
"Scylla?" Percy asked. "What's her story?"
"She lives in the cave, up on those cliffs. If we get too close, her snaky heads will come down and start plucking sailors off the ship. We're going to try to get far enough away from the two of them, but closer to Scylla. That way, if she does attack, we can send cannon balls into her heads, and blow her to bits."
"And, what about Charybdis? She sucks up the sea. Isn't that the story?"
"And spits it back out, yeah," the daughter of Ares said.
"We should go for her, then. Your cannons don't look as if they can shoot straight up," Percy said, trying to be helpful. Well, she didn't need his fucking help.
"If we keep the right amount of distance from her, we won't have to shoot directly upwards. We can probably get a good angle."
"You don't think we'll just end up pissing her off?" Thalia butted in with her two-cents. "She's way too high. We'll end up having to fend her off with swords, when she swoops down for us. Even then, she might just decide to pick up the whole damn ship. And besides, if the myths are accurate, there is no in-between. You either get attacked by Scylla, or by Charybdis."
"You two aren't the fucking weapon experts, first of all," Clarisse snapped, not bothering to hide her irritation. "I'm the child of Ares, remember? I would know more than any of you, what would work and what wouldn't. Second of all, Charybdis would be even harder to skirt past."
"She just sits there, right in the middle of the whirlwind," the daughter of Zeus argued back. "We'll have a clearer shot at her."
"How did heroes fight them in the past?" Percy asked, breaking into the argument.
"They didn't," Annabeth said. "Odysseus sailed closer to Scylla, knowing that some would die. They usually had to sacrifice some of their men."
Clarisse smiled wickedly. "Well, Percy and Thalia seem to be looking forward to charging Charybdis, so I say we let them."
"Clarisse," Silena said, reprimanding the other girl. "Be nice. We aren't going to sacrifice either of them."
As the ship neared Scylla's cave, the air around them grew thicker. The wet, nasty roar of Charybdis, although certainly not far, was beginning to fade away. They lurked closer to the monster within the cliffs, the waves beneath them rose with every one of Charybdis' breaths, and gallons of water assaulted them.
Clarisse watched the calm undead soldiers around her. She came to the conclusion that if they weren't scared, she had no reason to be. She could do this. She could pull them out of this alive.
"Still have the thermos?" Thalia asked Percy.
Thermos? What thermos?
"Winds will only make it worse," he reasoned.
"No, not to use on Charybdis. When Scylla starts to attack, we can open it up a tad, and speed right past her," the daughter of Zeus explained. What the hell were they keeping from her? Thalia saw her look of confusion, and begrudgingly elaborated. "Eros gave us gifts to help on the quest. The thermos is full of winds from Aeolus."
Annabeth nodded in understanding, but Clarisse didn't know what the fuck Lightning Dolt was talking about. "But…are you sure that it will help us get past Scylla in time? According to legend, her heads can snap us up faster than we can unscrew a thermos."
Thalia looked helpless. "It's worth a shot." Her normally confident voice caught a little.
"We need a backup plan," the daughter of Athena decided, crossing her arms over her chest plate. "This isn't going to work."
"Annabeth is right," the Cyclops affirmed. "Engine is no good."
Clarisse scoffed, eyeing the creature up and down. "What would you know about the engine? My steamship is in great condition—"
"Pressure. Pistons need fixing," Tyson interrupted.
Before she could ask what he meant, a roar hissed through the air—right above Clarisse. Relying on demigod instinct, she drew Maimer and jabbed it directly above her head. Scales gave out beneath the blade, and she was quick to withdraw her weapon. The creature, which Clarisse recognized as one of the vicious heads of Scylla, wailed before retreating to the cliffs.
It had to have been the size of a fucking elephant. She knew it would be back, bringing the other heads with it, but she wasn't sure when. Scylla was known to attack when heroes least expected it. It could be a good ten minutes before she made another move.
"Forward!" the daughter of Ares shouted mightily. Even though they were a good distance from Charybdis, the sea was rough on either side of the ship. "Get us in firing range! Make ready starboard cannons!"
Her brown eyes barely saw Thalia rip apart another reptilian head, Aegis unraveling on her wrist. Lightning coursed through the thing's jaw and razor-sharp teeth. She thought she was just so special, didn't she? Growling in the back of her throat, Clarisse leaped in front of Silena to fend off anything that might try and hurt her. The daughter of Aphrodite wasn't the best fighter, but she had a heart of gold.
An undead Confederate rushed out of the hold and approached Clarisse. His beard had been ignited, and his uniform was smoldering. "Boiler room overheating, ma'am! She's going to blow!"
"What are you waiting for, then? Get down there and fucking fix it!"
"Can't!" the soldier said in response. "We're vaporizing in the heat."
"We just need a few more minutes, just until we can get past—oh shit!" Clarisse was cut off as one of Scylla's heads swooped down for her. Before she had time to react, Percy was already slashing at the creature's mouth. Angrily, Scylla retreated once more. "I didn't need your help, Jackson!"
"Yeah, well, the horrified look in your eyes said otherwise," the son of Poseidon snapped before rushing back over to his three friends. "You don't have to worry about my help anymore, because you won't be getting it."
Clarisse was about to respond to him, but the sailor beside her fought to grab her attention. "Ma'am, we're going too fast. Prepare yourself for death."
"No!" Tyson bellowed. "I can fix it."
All of them glanced at him in surprise, but they quickly turned their attentions to the cliffs. They couldn't afford to be caught off-guard. Scylla could attack again anytime.
Clarisse grumbled, "You?"
"He's a Cyclops," Annabeth reasoned. "He's immune to fire and good with mechanics."
"Go!" the daughter of the God of War shouted without a second thought.
Tyson made for the ship's hold, but Percy stopped him. "No! Tyson, buddy, it's too dangerous."
"Only way, brother," the Cyclops said, patting Percy on his hand. In all the days that they had spent in camp, Clarisse had never seen the monsters so confident. "I will fix it. Be right back."
A rumbling in the cliffs brought Percy's attention back to them. Clarisse, trying not to show her worry, narrowed her eyes at the place where the monster dwelled. Several clumps of land dropped down into the sea, and it looked as if something large were moving rapidly throughout the cliffs – something bigger than just one of the heads.
"Lady Clarisse," the captain's voice sounded. "Starboard guns are within range."
There was no hesitation. As soon as the words were pulled from his translucent mouth, she ordered, "Fire!"
Three rounds were shot towards the cliffs, cannonballs either bouncing off or embedding themselves in the landmass. They weren't nearly close enough for the weaponry to penetrate, and Clarisse silently reprimanded herself for not seeing the problem ahead of time.
Frustrated, the daughter of Ares yelled, "Again!"
Soldiers hurriedly reloaded the cannons on command, and she couldn't help but feel proud of herself. They were listening to her—not Percy, not Thalia, but her.
The rumbling suddenly became more profound, as if Scylla knew they were reloading. Clarisse clenched her jaw and steeled her nerves. Silena had a sword drawn, holding it ready. To the larger demigoddess' surprise, the girl didn't even look awkward with it. It looked as if Silena was actually ready for a battle, which had only ever happened before whenever someone had stolen her new hair straightener.
"Fire!"
Parts of the cliffs began to crumble down into the sea, and a threatening hiss rang through the air.
"You're only making her even angrier, Clarisse!" Ah, there was Annabeth again.
"You got a suggestion?" the daughter of Ares snapped heatedly.
"Yeah, don't fire," Thalia cut into the conversation, glaring at Clarisse so harshly that she was taken aback. "We're close to getting past her. We just need to wait until her last attack, slice at another snakehead, and then we'll be safe from—"
She stopped talking when the vibrations in the deck changed remarkably. The engine was obviously running much smoother and sturdier, and they sped up on the water. The ship was shuddering, but they seemed like they were going to make it away from the two sisters. But, Clarisse had a sinking feeling in her stomach…
"Tyson did it!" Silena said excitedly.
Clarisse wanted to say that it was no big deal—that any monkey could have done it—but she bit her bitter tongue. Percy and Thalia looked relieved, as if they had any doubt in their minds that they would come out victorious. Please. They fucking won everything.
Just as the ship began to make it past the cliffs, the engine started to act up again. High waves crashed against all sides of the ship, causing it to drift and tilt. Percy closed his eyes, his brows furrowing in concentration, and Clarisse guessed that he was attempting to keep them from being thrown overboard. She gripped onto the iron railing, even though it was searing hot.
"The engine is about to blow!" the captain announced again. "The Cyclops is still down there, trying his best to get it on track again."
Before any of them could ask questions, a column of brown and green shot out of the sky and snatched him from the ship, lifting him away. His boots were the only thing left of him. Clarisse swallowed roughly, looking to the cliffs. She hadn't realized that Scylla had been that fast before. The demigods had simply been working off of instinct. It was a wonder that they had managed to fend any of the heads off.
"We have to abandon ship!" a sailor shouted, cringing whenever Clarisse turned to glare at him. "Ma'am, we have no choice! The engine is worn to its limit, and Scylla will surely engulf us all—"
Naturally, before he could finish, the monster in question took him to his captain.
Within seconds, another crewman was yanked up. Clarisse could have sworn that Scylla had not been so quick before. She couldn't even make out anything but the creature's scales as it took yet another sailor. Had the monster been merely toying with them before, fooling them into thinking that they stood a chance?
"We have to get below!" Thalia shouted, puppy-guarding Annabeth and Silena like someone was fucking paying her to do it. Gods, she got on Clarisse's nerves!
"Below deck is in flames," the daughter of Ares yelled back. "We can't survive that. Either way, we're dead."
"Lifeboats!" Percy ordered. "Quick!"
Since when was Prissy Boy calling the shots?
"They'll never get clear of the cliffs," Clarisse dismissed the idea with a scowl. "We'll all be eaten."
Thalia turned her gaze to the end of the cliffs. "We can make it. It's worth a try. We're close enough."
Clarisse grunted in anger. "Fine! But, I'm taking the thermos."
Surprisingly, Percy didn't argue. He threw it to her without a second thought. Thalia narrowed her eyes at him, obviously disapproving of his actions. His eyes widened, as if he hadn't even realized what he had done. Undoubtedly, he had acted on impulse.
"I have to get Tyson!" the son of Poseidon shouted. "Help Clarisse get the lifeboats ready, Thalia!"
"The heat will kill you!" Annabeth angrily said. "Percy, you can't go down there."
Clarisse began to uncover one of the emergency boats, watching as the surprisingly quiet daughter of Zeus revealed the other.
Before the son of Poseidon could reach the boiler hatch, Scylla snatched him up by his knapsack. Thalia instantly stopped what she was doing, yelling, "Percy!"
Clarisse didn't stop preparing the lifeboats. Once she, Annabeth, and Silena were safely in one, the daughter of Ares had to force Thalia into her own. As the boats fell into the sea below, the son of the Sea God jabbed the creature holding him in the eye, causing Scylla to drop him. Before he could fall very far, the CSS Birmingham exploded.
Thalia was yelling something, her face flushed red and her fists tightly wrapped around the lifeboat's oar, but she couldn't be heard over the sounds of the exploding steamship. Clarisse felt slightly bad for both Annabeth and Thalia, knowing that the two of them were close to Percy.
As she watched him fall, she thought back to what the demigods had been saying about the thermos. Supposedly, it held winds that would carry them across the sea. That meant that there was a chance that the winds would tug Percy along with them, and he could possibly land unharmed in his father's domain. After a bit of self-loathing, Clarisse turned the top of the thermos, perhaps a bit too much. Their lifeboats scattered with the wind, and Percy sailed in the air with them.
Gods, she had really just saved a bunch of people she couldn't stand.
Percy's head felt heavy whenever he returned to consciousness. The last thing he remembered was falling into the sea, and now a makeshift sail billowed out above him. The rowboat he was laying in wasn't the most comfortable thing he had ever been in, and his bones felt worn and shaky, but right now it all seemed like a miracle. And Thalia's bright blue eyes looking over him in concern? Well, that was just a bonus.
His mind felt groggy, and he tried to push himself to sit up. With hardly any effort at all, Thalia reached over and forced him to lie back down. "You might want to rest," she said, smiling sadly. "You're probably going to need it. You took quite the fall."
It was then that he noticed her eyes were surrounded with a ring of red. Had she…been crying? No, no, it wasn't like her to cry. She was Thalia Grace, for fuck sake. Besides, there were no tear trails on her face. She may not have cried, but it was obvious that she had at least been upset. He avoided mentioning it, knowing it would only disturb her and cause her to get defensive.
"Tyson…?"
The demigoddess' nose twitched as she narrowed her eyes at the sun. She didn't necessarily avoid making eye contact with him, but she didn't make an effort to look at him either. "I'm sorry, Kelp Head," she said, her voice without a detectable feeling.
Percy wasn't sure what to say to that, so he kept quiet. He had no words to speak, but he had plenty of depressing things to think. He remembered denying any relation to Tyson, avoiding him, and feeling embarrassed by him. The Cyclops—someone who should have technically been a monster—had given his life for them.
Waves splashed against the rowboat, but none of them were big or threatening. Thankfully, Thalia drew him away from his thoughts. "I have my bag, some ambrosia and nectar, a couple of sailor shirts that Annabeth gave me before we launched, and a bottle of Pepsi."
"You didn't get Dr. Pepper?"
She arched that sassy black eyebrow at him, and he couldn't help but smile—just a little. "You're seriously complaining about that?" Percy shrugged. "I fished you out of the water, you know."
"Oh, yeah?"
She nodded. "You only have half of your knapsack left."
So much for that, Percy thought sourly. Stupid Scylla, always fucking shit up for people.
The son of Poseidon finally glanced at the sea water, and he noted that it was a glittering green. Also, the air around them smelled different. Along with the normal fresh and salty scent, there was a hint of something metallic.
"What's that?" he asked, sniffing the air cautiously.
Thalia smirked wickedly. "Smells like a thunderstorm is brewing, doesn't it? It's comforting."
Percy shook his head. "Only you would think so."
He didn't bat an eyelash when saw the daughter of Zeus begin to shred off a few layers of clothing. She had a ribbed tank beneath her jacket and shirt, so it wasn't like she was naked or anything. Although, he wouldn't exactly mind that…
Gods, he felt like such a pervert.
As it turned out, taking off his shirt didn't make him feel like any less of a creep, but it did make the heat more bearable. Thalia exhaled loudly, twisting open the cap on the Pepsi. She tipped it back, taking a long, refreshing sip. It was then that he realized just how dry his throat was. Thalia was incredibly in sync with him, and she passed him the bottle before he even got the chance to ask for it. They exchanged it back and forth between them, chatting about whatever random little things popped into their minds.
"I had another dream about Grover last night," Percy said eventually, and they both sobered up from their previously enjoyable conversation. "I don't remember much about it, but Polly Pocket—"
"Polyphemus," Thalia corrected with a grin.
"Right. So, Grover might be married to Polyphemus quicker than expected. Grover's been unraveling the wedding train, but now his hubby gave him thread that cannot be undone."
The demigoddess took another sip from the Pepsi bottle, running a hand through her messy hair. "I need a shower, pronto."
"Can we stay on track, please?"
Thalia looked like she wanted to hit him upside the head, but she sighed. "Sorry," she muttered. "So, Grover's going to be a lovely bride soon, yeah?"
"It looks that way," Percy said, frowning. "We need to get to him. Fast."
"In case you haven't noticed, there isn't much we can do," she pointed out. "We're in a small rowboat, in the middle of the Sea of Monsters. I'm no weaver, but I'm guessing we have about a day to get to Grove."
Even though he didn't like hearing the news, he nodded. "Do you think the others made it out safely?"
Thalia nervously brushed her bangs from her face. The way she wiped at her jean-clad thighs alerted Percy that she was about to fib to him. Ever since the end of their quest the year before, he had begun to study the little things about her. One thing he learned? She was a dreadful liar, which was actually quite silly seeing as her mother had been an actress.
"I'm sure they're fine."
"You're worried," he argued. "When did you last see them?"
"Percy," she said sternly. "Drop it."
Out of respect for her, he obeyed. He hated upsetting Thalia. As tough and confident as she was, even she could be hurt. Before he could stop himself, he blurted out the first change of subject that popped into his head. "Why haven't the gods just killed us already?"
Well…that had certainly been a cheery statement. Really, that had been the perfect thing to say to try and brighten the atmosphere.
Thalia, not taken off-guard at all, shrugged with a contemplative frown. "I don't honestly know. With how many gods despise us, you'd think that they would've already tried to annihilate us…with the exception of Ares and Hades, seeing as they did try. I guess it's because most of the gods are afraid to offend our fathers. Zeus and Poseidon obtain a lot of respect from the other immortals."
Percy scratched the back of his head. "But…why don't they at least place banana peels under our feet or something? If they don't care for us, they could probably get away with bringing us a little bad luck."
Thalia rubbed her temples, and he guessed that she had a headache. He knew that she got them often. "Some are probably trying to figure out what kind of heroes we're going to be, and which one of us will be involved in the prophecy."
"The Great Prophecy," the son of Poseidon chimed. "Oh, darn. I had almost forgotten about that. So, what's the deal with this prophecy anyway?"
"Your guess is as good as mine," Thalia said. "I've told you all that I know before. One of us, when we reach the age of eighteen, will decide the fate of Olympus."
"Next time we see her, we need to tie Annabeth down and beat her until she spills everything," Percy said, smiling at her. His smile grew whenever she rolled her eyes at him.
"I think we should stop following your ideas for a little while," Thalia joked, but part of him really believed that she meant it. It stung him, but he managed to convince himself that he was looking too far into her comment. He was just feeling especially insecure, without their favorite brainy blonde to keep the two of them in-line.
Suddenly, a seagull flew in and landed on their makeshift sail. It dropped something into Thalia's lap, chirping at her almost excitedly. She grinned at the bird, and Percy got the feeling that she was speaking to it somehow. The next thing he knew, the seagull was back into the sky, and the daughter of Zeus was snapping her fingers in front of his face to catch his attention.
"Buttercup says there's land nearby," Thalia answered his unasked question.
"Buttercup?"
The demigoddess looked at him like he was stupid. "The seagull."
"Buttercup the seagull," he repeated, nodding. "Right."
Percy looked in the distance and his eyes made out an island with a mountain in the middle, an array of marble buildings, an abundance of palm trees and tropical plants, and several differing boats filling the harbor. In short, it looked like paradise. As the current began to pull their little rowboat closer to the island, he couldn't find it in himself to complain. It was about time they got the chance to kick back and relax.