𝔯𝔦𝔭𝔱𝔦𝔡𝔢

Guardian Angel Returns

||Percy Jackson||

I took my hands out of my pockets to throw them up in the air, expelling some of my building exasperation. I knew I shouldn't be angry; it wasn't Tartarus's fault he didn't understand. "Look, T, I have to go back. I told you already, Grover is in serious danger - I can feel it! Every hour, the pain gets worse and I can't just sit here and do nothing about it!"

Tartarus groaned, rubbing his temples with his own frustration. He looked at me in the eye, completely expressionless, and I started to doubt my capability of convincing him to let me go. "Percy, listen to yourself! I know you want to go back to Earth, but this is not the right way to do it. You know how dangerous this woman can be."

"Grover is worth the risk," I insisted.

"She is a bigger risk than you think."

I turned away, folding my arms. The woman Tartarus was referring to was Dorothea, the portal maker. I had heard talk of her over my time here. If the rumors were true, she was capable of generating portals to any place in the universe, wherever you desired to go. Unfortunately, the rumors also said she demanded a heavy price, one which no one ever expected. That was one aspect of this plan I was wary of.

The other was that no one had ever returned after going through one of her portals, if the portals were even authentic.

Tartarus said as much.

"Yeah, but I don't exactly want to come back, now do I?" I grumbled.

"What if it's a trap?"

I stared at him. How in hades had he come to that conclusion? All I had told him was that Grover was in pain and that could mean all my friends there could be, too. There was no part of that which screamed TRAP!

"Think about it," Tartarus sighed, taking a seat on one of the benches in the alleyway we were arguing in. I noticed his knees were shaking when he lowered himself and frowned in concern, making a mental note to ask him if he was alright after this. "It's common knowledge that you and Grover share an empathy link. Do you agree with that at least?"

I thought about it, eventually nodding my head. "Yeah, I suppose so. But what does that have to do with anything?"

"So," Tartarus continued impatiently, "they would know that you would be able to sense his pain due to that link. They know that your fatal flaw is personal loyalty. You would rush back to Earth in a heartbeat without even considering any alternatives to save your friend. It's the perfect way to get you to return."

"And who on Earth would want me to return?" I asked bitterly. "The Olympians banished me, my demigod friends probably hate me because of my temporary alliance with our father, Chaos probably doesn't care."

Tartarus grimaced. "Wouldn't you rather not find out?"

"Okay, fine. You might be right about it being a trap, but I don't care if it is. I won't be able to live with myself if I let my best friend die. He was always there for me when I needed it, even before he thought I was Poseidon's son."

"Percy..." Tartarus looked down, placing his hands on his shaking knees to steady them. I moved forward, increasingly worried, but he waved me off. "I'm not sick or anything, you don't have to worry about me."

"Then why..." I gestured to his hands.

"I can't lose you."

Oh.

I looked away.

"You're the only person I have left in the world," Tartarus said miserably. "Grover was there for you, but I never had anyone like that until you came along. I can't... I don't know what I would do if I lost you."