Chapter Text
Demigods die young. It’s rare that one should reach adulthood.
Annabeth knows this as fact, it’s the burden of truth she’s carried from a young age. She would likely die on the battlefield and never have a happy ending. When one war finishes, another one starts. It’s an endless cycle until she finally dies.
And here, down in Tartarus, she knows the chances of her surviving are slim. And she’s accepted that. She had already accepted her fate back then when she could barely even lift a weapon. She’s practically already dead.
However, she wasn’t alone. And that, in a way, made things worse. Her lifelong partner, Percy Jackson, had also fallen into the pit of monsters. The odds of both of them leaving this hell alive were nearly impossible. But maybe, just maybe, with their combined skills, they would be able to make it out together.
…It was a foolish, naive thought.
And now, here she was. She had just recovered the eyesight she had lost, but now she was about to lose someone worth far more than her vision. It had only been mere minutes ago, still in battle with the arai, when she had believed that Percy had abandoned her for good. And now, as she stared at her partner’s too-still body, those fears might just come true.
Percy was dying. They were dying and there was nothing that neither Annabeth nor Bob could do to help, their wounds were beyond Bob’s healing capabilities.
She hears a shout in the distance. If they stay here any longer, then they’d both be dead, slaughtered by the bane of Poseidon. They had to keep moving. But Percy was in no position to move on their own, and Annabeth would be too weak to carry them. Still, Annabeth ignored her pain and fatigue as she lifted her partner to their feet.
She stares intensely into the titan’s eyes. “Bob, I’m going on, with or without you,” Annabeth says, forcing her false confidence into her voice, hoping that her fear isn’t clearly showing. She steeled herself. “Will you help?”
Bob glanced at Percy. Annabeth furrowed her eyebrows. The longer they stayed, the more danger they would be in. Was he helping or not? The titan’s expression was hard to read so it was hard to know for sure.
The outline of the giant grew closer. They were running out of time. Each second brought them closer to death. They needed to leave. Now.
After what seemed like an eternity, Bob responded, “There is one place. There is a giant who might know what to do.”
Annabeth nearly dropped Percy after gaining this new information. Percy’s life was left in the hands of a giant, Annabeth wasn’t sure if she like the thought of that. “A giant.” Annabeth hesitated. “Uh, Bob, giants are bad.”
“One is good,” Bob insisted, his expression still unreadable. “Trust me, and I will take you… unless Polybotes and the others catch us first.”
Seeing as there was no other choice, she agreed. Bob slung Percy over his shoulder with Small Bob curling up on their back. And so they set off once again across Tartarus in hopes of finding a giant that could help cure Percy.
Annabeth hopes she’s doing the right thing by trusting Bob, and by extent, his giant friend.
Besides, Annabeth knows that if Percy does die, then the blame should all go to her. It’s her fault Percy ended up in Tartarus with her after all.