The Return of Evil | A Percy Jackson Fanfiction

=21= THINGS ARE NEVER WHAT THEY SEEM

=PERCY'S POV=

The first thing I realized about mind-to-mind messaging is that it tires you out. A lot. Especially when you're chained to a weird platform and practically dying.

Okay. Let me back up to when I first passed out after I fought Echidna and Sonny. Because frankly, you missed quite a bit.

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I woke up to the sweet sensation of a cat licking my face.

Instantly, I shot up. That did not work out well for the cat. It yowled and flew backwards, before shimmering into a skeletal kitty then back to a cute calico. Wait what? I only knew one cat that could have done that. And that cat had supposedly died when I had closed the doors of death.

"Small Bob?" I asked, my heart hammering against my chest. "I-Is that you?"

'Maybe Small Bob' didn't answer. He simply did a quiet meow and stared up at me with those adorable kitten eyes. It almost rivaled my baby seal look. Almost.

I exhaled. "If you are Small Bob, could you at least give me some sort of sign to tell me if Bob is alive?" I held my breath. If Bob had survived Tartarus' grasp... Then he was probably the strongest person I ever knew.

The calico padded over to a mound of red dirt which I refused to believe was part of Tartarus' body, and began drawing something with his tiny paw. Some of you might be like, awwww... He's so cute! I need to take a selfie! Yeah well, when you're watching a skeletal kitten draw something that could change you're life, I tend to try to calm the nerves that are making me go crazy inside. Not take a selfie.

Small Bob turned. "Meow?" He gestured to his work of art.

I took that as a, I'm finished. Wanna see?

With my heart thumping, peered over Small Bob. What I saw elated me and killed me at the same time.

The kitten had drawn an X with a quick sketch of himself and a P next to it. Small Bob and Percy, I thought. That's us. A little further away was a drawing of a circle with a B and a T inside it.

I suddenly found it hard to breath. "Tartarus." I managed. "Tartarus has Bob."

Maybe it was the foul air. Maybe it was making me delusional. But through all the dread, I felt a slight twinge of joy. Bob was alive! He'd made it through the major battle!

I frowned. Unless that wasn't the major battle at all. Unless Tartarus had planned it all out.

Stop it Percy, I chided. Everything's fine and we're going to rescue Bob.

Small Bob nudged my leg. He stared up at me impatiently until I laughed and gave him a small pat on his head. "Sorry. We can get going now."

He promptly turned and began heading north. How I could tell which direction was north in Tartarus, I had no idea.

Not knowing how to start a conversation with a cat, I kept my eyes on the ground in front of me and started trudging behind the kitten. I wondered what Annabeth was doing now. Was she worrying about me? Probably.

Suddenly, Small Bob stiffened. On the other side of the cavern, an ear-splitting roar sounded, sending arai and other winged creatures soaring out of the trees. For the first time since seeing him, I noticed a huge scar on Small Bob's head.

"How did you get that?" I asked, while pointing to his scar. The kitten turned, his eyes narrowing as he stared at me. I felt my face turn red. "I mean- you don't have to tell me if it's not my place to know."

Turning once more, Small Bob nodded his head. I blinked. "Wait- so you're not going to tell me?"

I could already imagine the cat laughing as he walked. This demigod... Thinks he needs to know everything.

Deciding not to press the matter, I continued to follow the kitten. Looking at him, I wondered what it must be like, knowing you were created to kill by a blood-thirsty Titan, only to get chucked down Tartarus because you weren't good enough.

The only thing I could figure was that I would feel like a failure. A mistake. Well, more than I already was.

"I wish Beckendorf and the rest of them were here." I sighed.

Small Bob kept walking, but I swore I heard a small whimper come from the cat. My thoughts drifted back to Annabeth. I hoped she wouldn't come rescue me. I mentally face palmed. Of course Annabeth would come rescue me. She was my freaking girlfriend after all!

Tears threatened to spill from my eyes. Don't think about her, godsdammit. Do not think about her. Don't think about her smile, her beautiful hair, the way she'd kiss you every time you do something stupid, and- I took a rattling breath. Daydreaming about my amazing girlfriend was not going to save her from the death sentence I handed her. Why did I have to give them that clue about the Halluscivision?! I could've saved Annabeth and the others if I had just...

Small Bob emitted a small meow and I snapped back into reality. I smiled. The cat rubbed itself against my leg and purred. Crouching down to pet the cute monster, I decided to see if I could get any more answers from the kitten. "So... Ready to open up about what happened while I was gone?" Small Bob instantly arched up and hissed, his adorable eyes now cold and menacing. I backed away. "S-sorry, I didn't mean to-" I stopped short. Would I like it if other people pressed me about my time in Tartarus? The thought made me hesitate. "How about this," I proposed. "I tell you about what happened during my absence from you, and in exchange, you tell me."

The cat's eyes narrowed as he bared his fangs. I got the feeling he wasn't warming up to my idea.

I stood up and brushed some dirt off my pants. "Fine. Let's just keep walking then."

Small Bob snarled once more as he brushed past me. I felt a cold chill run down my spine. Small Bob was acting...different. Not only was he hissing at me and generally acting kind of cold, the air around me felt...not necessarily friendly. As if someone had put a barrier of ice between us.

"Um, Small Bob?" I started.

Growling in annoyance, the kitten turned.

I fidgeted nervously. "Is-is there anything you would like to tell me?" I hesitated as I turned my gaze to the ground, waiting for his answer.

The cat paused and stopped dead in his tracks. Slowly, he lifted a paw and wrote two sentences that made my breaths quicken:

THINGS ARE NOT WHAT THEY SEEM, PERCY. THEY NEVER ARE.

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[A/N: Yeah... I wasn't so inspired with this chapter... Maybe a little bit in the beginning... SORRY FOR THE LATENESS!]