Azrail's Fate

The "Friend" (Marinette's POV)

The mysterious "friend" Grover mentioned was supposed to arrive today. So far, everything has been quiet. Well, for me at least. An akuma had attacked a couple of days ago, but that had definitely been part of my job as Ladybug, not Marinette. I was sitting on the fountain, working on a few of my designs.

I heard a few kids giggling a little ways off, and I couldn't help but smile. I was working on a design based off of the miraculous. In front of me, I heard a deep and slow voice say, "Pretty demigod." My head snapped up in less than a second, and I stood. Standing in front of me stood the biggest, least threatening looking monster I had seen ever. Well, I had only seen Kelli. So anything compared to her was a teddy bear.

He was tall, big, and looked fairly strong. But something didn't seem too dangerous about him. I held up my fists and said, "Who are you?" A guy came running around him and said, "Woah woah woah! That's Tyson. Grover sent us." I tilted my head, "Grover Grover? Or Grover as in you guys are monsters that somehow know about Grover and you're using him as bait."

I studied the guy while he burst out laughing. He had black hair and shining sea green eyes. He was tall, and built a bit like a gymnast. He had a powerful aura around him, and he eventually said, "You're Marinette, right?" I shifted, and winced slightly as I tried to put weight on my foot, "Yeah. Who wants to know?"

He held out a hand, "I'm Percy Jackson, and we're your ride to camp." I stepped back, refusing to take his hand, "I can feel the power radiating from you. I only trust Grover. I saw what kind of magic Kelli was able to do, and I don't know if I can trust my own mind." Percy smiled, warmly, "That's smart, kid."

I narrowed my eyes, "Shouldn't you be telling me I'm overreacting?" He shook his head, and his expression grew serious, "One thing you're gonna learn fast is that we don't lie about that kind of stuff. You're in a ton of danger, and I need to make sure you don't die. We have to get you some weapons and get you someplace safe."

He held out his hand again, "Trust me for just a bit longer, okay?" I stepped back, still refusing his hand, "I never trusted you, so this 'little bit longer' crap isn't gonna work on me. I know how this works. You get me to trust you and then I fall into your little trap." He rubbed the back of his neck and said, "Look, kid, I get that you have trust issues and stuff, but I've got to get home. My mom said that if I'm gone longer than a week this time, she's going to send Thalia after me."

I walked over and gathered my stuff, "Sorry about your mom, but I'm not going until I get proof you aren't a monster." I glanced at the Tyson guy and said, "Nice company you keep, Percy. See you around." He grabbed my arm, and said, "Fine, you want proof? I'll show you proof."

I pulled my arm out of his grasp and he said, "We've got to go somewhere alone though." I shook my head, "Last time I went alone with someone I didn't trust I ended up with two broken ribs. I'm fine, thanks." I walked to my house, knowing I should probably trust this Percy guy, but the larger, more afraid, part of me wanted to hide in my bedroom and never leave again.

He said, "Marinette." I kept walking, and he followed me. He said, "Grover said you're crazy smart, right?" I shrugged, walking towards the bakery, "I'm just good at guessing." He said, "Okay, then think for a second. If I were a monster, I wouldn't care about attacking you out in the open. At camp you'll learn that they rely on the mist way too much."

He stepped in front of me, "My dad's Poseidon. God of the Sea. That's why you can feel the power coming off me. And I can feel it coming off you just as strongly. Can you please trust me?" I looked up in his eyes, trying to use my sixth sense. Should I trust this stranger?

I pushed my air out of my lungs and said, "Fine. So, you're Poseidon's kid. Doesn't that mean you have some kind of water powers? And probably something to do with horses?" He smirked, "I can show you as soon as we get out of the open." I looked around me, before saying, "Fine. Come on."