Thanks to KitKatWei for the ideas and encouragement :) I know some peeps did some awesome reviewing/fav/following, so thanks a bajillion for that (I swear my little brother deleted all the FFN emails, I Apollo-gize [haha, get it?]). And now for the story.

P.S: I figure that Clarisse got a new Maimer after her old one got destroyed in TLO.

P.P.S: So I know that I sorta already did Clarisse's sort of reaction in the Camp Half-Blood chapter but whatever. Alternate version!

CLARISSE

"Come on, ya little punk, are you afraid? Huh?" Clarisse advanced on her newest half-brother with a menacing smile.

"No," the boy—whom Clarisse had learned was named Bryan—squeaked out. Nevertheless, he stood his ground. Good boy.

"Well, if you're not scared…come and have a go if you think you're hard enough," Clarisse taunted, drawing her spear and brandishing it in front of the boy's face.

Bryan paled—he had heard stories about her little beauty, no doubt—but said firmly, "Oh, I'm hard enough, alright." With a small growl, he launched himself at Clarisse.

She easily dodged him as he produced a knife from some pocket and shoved her spear into his face. He lunged, aiming for her throat, but Clarisse easily parried the strike, managing to electrically shock him at the same time. Mentally congratulating herself, she twisted her spear, effectively forcing Bryan's dagger to the ground and levering her spear to his throat. "Gotcha."

Bryan grinned. "'Kay, this time you win, but only because you've had years of training and I haven't.

Clarisse had to admit it: the kid was good. Almost as good as she'd been when she'd arrived at camp. "True, true. But remember, if you lose again, you'll be sorry."

Bryan bent down to retrieve his dagger, and she considered whacking him in the backside with her spear—just to give him a taste of what she could do to him—when someone called, "Clarisse!"

Clarisse turned to see one of those annoying Apollo kids rushing toward her. "Chiron wants to see you in the Big House!"

"Fine," Clarisse said, too startled to say anything else. Why would Chiron want to talk to her now? She turned back to Bryan and said quickly, "Ask Mark to spar with you. He'll help out. You'll find that his fighting style is…interesting." Nodding at the Apollo kid, who nodded back and ran off again, Clarisse headed off to the Big House.

When she knocked, Chiron answered, his voice grave. "Clarisse. Why don't we go into my office?"

Clarisse hesitated, then nodded. There were very few people she honestly respected; Chiron was one of them. Not only was he millennia old, he had trained all the greatest warriors of old. She could learn a thing or two from him, even if he was half-horse.

They walked down the hallway in relative silence, the only noise being the clip-clop of Chiron's hooves, and then they entered the office. Clarisse sat down in front of Chiron's desk, and he stood across from her, leaning over the desk as he talked.

"Clarisse, I know that you and Annabeth became close in the Battle of the Labyrinth, as the campers call it," he began. "And you eventually warmed to Percy, did you not?"

Clarisse knew better than to ask how he knew that. She just nodded. It was true; though the daughter of wisdom had at first come across as an annoying know-it-all, she'd eventually proven herself to be loyal and clever. Jackson, too—Clarisse had originally resented him for his inborn power, the attention he got in general and how much his father was evidently proud of him, but in time she had realized there was more to him than just looks girls went crazy over and power.

"I have news about the quest the Seven embarked on." Chiron looked uneasy. "And, my girl, it isn't good."

"Why? Are they injured? Aren't they coming back? Did that little sea punk get his memory wiped again? Did Annabeth? I swear to the gods—" Clarisse began, already plotting how she'd sneak onto Olympus and bash some godly brains in. Ares would be proud.

"No, none of those things," Chiron interrupted, sounding weary. "I'm afraid it's something much worse."

"Worse than getting injured? But what…" Then Clarisse realized what Chiron meant, and felt the blood rush out of her face. "What? What in the gods' name are you saying?"

"I'm saying that the fight with Gaea proved more than anyone could expect from two demigods, no matter how powerful. I don't want to say this, but I think you deserve to know: Percy and Annabeth are in Elysium, and they aren't coming back."

"NO!" Clarisse jumped out of her chair, drawing her spear from where she'd strapped it to her back. "How did two lame demigods outlive Percy and Annabeth? They're so powerful! Chiron, I'm sure this is all a mistake, Zeus or whoever told you said it wrong, and I'm going to find out what really happened!" She viciously stabbed her spear into the floorboards, not caring that she was making holes in Chiron's floor.

Chiron himself merely stood and watched with a sorrowful expression on his face as Clarisse raged. She couldn't believe how stupidly she was reacting, but something in her knew that Percy and Annabeth, as much as she'd rather kill someone than admit it, were her friends. No, had been her friends. And they'd been the smartest and most powerful demigods of their generation—or perhaps ever.

The world would never have another Percy, or another Annabeth. They'd been unique, and Clarisse wondered as she ripped another floorboard out if she should have realized that earlier.

But it wouldn't fix anything even if she had. They were still dead. Her friends were dead, for the gods' sake. And what was she doing? Nothing. Absolutely nothing to help, but wreaking havoc was the only reaction that came naturally to the daughter of war. Percy would have cracked a joke or said something stupid to relieve the tension, and Annabeth would have said just the right thing, but Clarisse was just wrecking things.

She held back a shriek of anger and resumed attacking the floor.