Thank you everyone for the comments and reception that this fanfiction is getting. I've also noticed a lot of questions about how the story is going to go, so I'm going to urge you to contact me on Discord and Instagram to ask me questions, especially if you are a fanfiction writer. Till then, enjoy this chapter.

Discord: Aloneness#0159

Instagram: purplesnowisreal


The trio lumbered through the forest, hungry, tired, and wet from the mud as it was raining. Clarisse started feeling guilty about leaving their bags on the bus.

"Hey!" Percy got her attention. "We were being attacked by monsters; don't feel too bad."

"Still, I should've been much more careful," Clarisse replied.

"I've seen how the Ares kids fought during Capture the Flag; you're anything but careful," Percy remarked.

Clarisse playfully punched Percy in the shoulder.

They continued walking through the forest until they arrived at a building. Percy and Clarisse couldn't read the sign due to their ADHD, but Grover identified the words as Garden Gnome Emporium.

"This doesn't seem right," Grover warned. "We should go."

"Children!" An older woman with a Middle Eastern accent came out of the building. She wore a very covered headband around her hair. "What are you doing here? Come inside; it's too late to be all alone."

Percy and Clarisse looked at each other and shrugged. They both went into the building, with a worried Grover following right behind.

"Where are your parents?" The older woman asked

"Umm, it's just us right now," Percy said.

"Yeah, we were going on a camping trip, but we got lost," Clarisse added.

"Don't worry, dearies; Aunty Em will take care of you," the older woman said.

As Grover looked at a statue that he noticed looked familiar to his uncle, Percy, and Clarisse sat down at a table and started to gobble down cheeseburgers and large fries.

"I like your statues," Percy complimented. "They're so life-like."

"Thank you, dear; I made them myself. I had to find a hobby after a wretched woman ruined my life!" Aunty Em said the last part a bit aggressively, but she then cleared her throat. "But things have been going well for me. I'd just wish I could get revenge on the woman who ruined my life."

Percy and Clarisse started to get uncomfortable.

"You know, we should get going." Percy nudged Clarisse out of her seat.

"Yeah, we have a lot of hiking to do," Clarisse said. Percy elbowed her. "I meant camping!"

Just before they were about to leave, Aunt Em stopped them.

"Wait! Before you go, why don't I get a picture of you three? I always get pictures of people that arrive here; it helps with my inspiration," Aunty Em said genuinely, but she gave a small creepy smile. "If you don't mind."

"I guess one picture wouldn't hurt," Percy said.

The trio lined up in position as Aunty Em touched her head covering.

"Hey, where's the camera?" Percy asked.

"Hey, wait a minute," Grover realized.

Small hisses were heard throughout the room.

"Do you hear hissing?" Clarisse asked. "Wait a minute."

"Get ready for your close-up!" Aunty Em announced

"That statue is my Uncle Fernand!" Grover shouted.

"Cover your eyes! "It's!" Clarisse exclaimed.

"Medusa!" Medusa revealed her snake hair just as the trio managed to cover their eyes. "And I've got a bone to pick with you, Percy Jackson!"

The trio scattered to hide from Medusa's gaze, and Percy and Clarisse pulled out their weapons. Clarisse found Percy hiding behind an older man's statue holding an umbrella.

"Ok, so what do we do?' Percy asked.

"I don't know any strategy; don't look at me," Clarisse replied.

"There are three of us and one of her," Percy said.

The two demigods heard Grover screaming.

"Two of us and one of her," Clarisse corrected. "But you're right, if we split up, she'll try and only get one of us. I go left, you go right."

They tried to split up, but they ran into each other.

"I meant your right," Clarisse said, holding her nose.

"Sorry," Percy apologized.

As they split up, Medusa sneaked around to try and capture them in her gaze, but she was unable to try and capture both of them as they were split into opposite sides of the room. She decided to go after Percy and tracked his scent. Percy covered his eyes and had his sword ready. Medusa slowly crept up behind him. Percy could feel her presence and a desire to get a peek at her face. Clarisse saw Medusa's back turn and chucked her spear at the monster as hard as she could throw it. The spear pierced Medusa in the chest, and when Percy heard Medusa's hurt cry, he swung his sword and easily cut off the gorgon's head. Medusa's body turned into dust, leaving only her head and Clarisse's spear.

"Is it okay to open my eyes now?" Percy asked.

"Yeah, you cut off her head," Clarisse said.

"I did what?" Percy exclaimed. He looked to see her head on the floor.

Clarisse picked up her spear and said, "Don't look directly into her eyes; they can still turn you to stone."

Grover crawled out of his hiding spot and asked, "Is it over?"

Percy helped Grover up: "Yes, it's over."

Clarisse got a cloth and placed it over Medusa's head. "So who gets the spoils? Me or you?"

"I don't know, do I need a Medusa head?" Percy asked. "It seems dangerous."

Clarisse held the head in her hands and thought for a moment. She then hands the head to Percy.

"Clarisse, I-'' Percy tried to say.

"Just take it, or I'll make you take it," Clarisse aggressively said.

Percy kept his mouth shut and asked, "But why?"

"I wanted a trophy to show my cabin that I fought Medusa, but I figured the glory would be enough," Clarisse explained.

Percy smiled, and Clarisse seemed to blush, but she then turned away from Percy, covering her face in the process. The trio then decided to gather supplies from Medusa's place. As Clarisse picked up a blanket, she chuckled to herself.

"What's funny?" Percy asked.

"I was thinking about Annabeth; she often talked about Medusa a lot back at camp like they were mortal enemies," Clarisse explained. "If she were here right now, she'd probably blame you for Medusa attacking us."

"I can assume why she would blame me," Percy said. "Athena."

"Yup," Clarisse agreed.

"I mean, I know about the story about Medusa and how both my dad and Athena are involved, but this is my first experience witnessing all of the Greek stories come to life. I mean, how am I supposed to react to all of the stuff my dad did in the stories? Should I show support? Should I dislike him for it?"

"My dad did some crazy stuff in the Greek stories too. Eventually, you just learn to deal with it," Clarisse says.

The demigods finished packing.

"We should get going; we have a long journey ahead of us," Percy said.

Before they could leave, though, Percy took Medusa's head, placed her in a package, and managed to ship it off to Olympus. When he came back to Grover and Clarisse, the demigod daughter of Ares looked at Percy confused.

"What were you doing in there?" she asked.

"Sending a package Come on, we should get going," Percy replied.