Remember everything

"How did it come to this?" the once proud Titan of mortality mused as he was holding the button on the elevator that led to freedom, to the mortal world. Oh, how he wished he could see the stars again!

But, alas, it was not meant to be. Not for him, at least. Not now.

He knew it was not his fate to travel through the Doors of Death with Percy and Annabeth, his friends. And the Titan realized they were his friends when he saw the broken look in Percy's eyes when he found out Bob was going to sacrifice himself to save them. They were his friends even though he remembered everything.

He remembered who he once was, the Piercer, the Titan of the West, father of Atlas, Menoetius, Prometheus and Epimetheus, husband of Clymene. Brother of the Titan king Kronos, the one who helped dethrone his father Ouranos. And he remembered everything he's done, the fight against the gods, his banishment to Tartarus, another chance to help Kronos, only to be defeated by a mere demigod, who only won because of the River of Forgetfulness, which erased his memories.

How embarrassing that was! The mighty Titan, defeated by a child, forced to become a janitor, of all things! But now, looking back, he realized what a service they've done to him, for without his memories he was but an innocent child, guileless and naïve. He didn't know what kind of monster he's been. He didn't know that Percy could've killed him with no remorse and doomed him for another millennia of regenerating in the Pit.

Instead he renamed him Bob and allowed him another chance to live, even if it was in the Underworld and worked as a janitor. That wasn't what he had in mind when he rose from the Pit for the first time in centuries, but anywhere was better than Tartarus.

So he became Bob the janitor, whose only friend was Nico di Angelo. Percy never visited, but when they first met, he was kind to him, therefore he had to be his friend, right? Even Nico said so.

So when he heard Percy's call from the Pit, he came to help him. He defended him and Annabeth and came to love them.

When his memories came back, he was angry and disappointed. He was tricked and lied to and became a completely different person than he believed to be. It was as if the fog has been lifted, as if he opened his eyes for the first time and seen the world for what it truly was. He had acknowledged the horrors he had committed, he realized that Kronos and Gaea were wrong in their thirst for power and revenge.

And he realized that Percy an Annabeth were only victims in the grand scheme of destiny that was waved in the fabric of the world by the accursed Fates. They were not to blame for what happened to him.

So he kept helping them. They were good people and maybe, just maybe, he might be remembered for something else than just a Titan who helped kill his own father. He knew he will not make it out of Tartarus, not when the Pit itself was the enemy, but perhaps it will be enough to redeem himself.

And at the Doors of Death he made his final stand. Beaten and broken he stood against his brothers and family. He made a statement that it doesn't matter who you are born, sometimes you must stand up for what is right, even if it breaks your heart.

Tartarus is not my master. Tartarus does not control me. I am not like my brothers.

So how did it come to this? How come a Titan named Bob took a stand against the Primordial of the Pit with only a broom in his hand, a skeleton cat on his shoulder and a peaceful Giant Damasen at his side? He didn't know. But holding the button on the Doors of Death, praying this will not be a permanent end, he hoped only that his friends will make it out alive.

I choose to be more than Iapetus.

Because he believed in Percy Jackson in Annabeth Chase and the world they will create. And he knew that one day, when he comes back, the world will be fine. And he will see the stars again.

I choose to be Bob.

Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or Heroes of Olympus. They belong to Rick Riordan.

Title of this story doesn't belong to me either. It comes from a song by Five Finger Death Punch. It's amazing song, check it out.