Chapter 3

Percy awoke to the taste of blood in his mouth.

He groaned as he stirred, his limbs still sore and aching. But he could breathe fine at least, the horrible pain in his chest was gone and it no longer felt like he was gargling firewater constantly. Percy rested a hand on his chest to check his breathing. He frowned briefly. There were still gashes along his limbs, aching and yet the bleeding had been stopped.

There was a warm bundle curled in his lap and Percy stared down at the little calico kitten curled up against his stomach. He shut his eyes, letting his fingers gently stroke through Small Bob's fur, hearing the kitten purr in response. The sound brought a small smile to his lips.

Percy glanced up and stilled when he noticed Bob was staring at him, silver eyes holding an intense glint that made uneasiness crawl down Percy's spine. Small Bob batted at Percy's hand, clearly miffed by the sudden lack of petting. Percy obligingly continued while still staring back at the Titan and Bob – was it Bob or was it Iapetus – shifted slightly. The Titan had planted himself at the very entrance of their near-cave and he still held his spear in his hand.

"You healed me from the air," Percy said finally in the silence. "Thank you." He pressed his lips together, wondering if Bob was going to heal the gashes along his limbs too or not.

Bob's fingers curled around his spear, the only visible movement he made in response. There was a faint frown on his face, a brewing storm that when combined with the glint in Bob's eyes Percy knew he had to stop it quickly. He recalled how Bob had wavered as he'd been faced with his brother Koios, how unsettled the Titan had been when he'd been speaking to Hyperion and Krios.

Percy swallowed. "Are you okay?" He finally whispered. There was a sharp and loud screech off in the distance that made him jump slightly, but Bob didn't so much as twitch as he remained staring at Percy.

The Titan blinked at Percy. The last thing Percy wanted was to jog Bob's memories. He'd just managed to escape with his life from a giant hoard of monsters, he didn't want to have to face off against the Titan Iapetus again. Especially when he wasn't even healed.

"Yes," Bob finally said, his gaze drifting to where Small Bob was insistently rubbing his head into Percy's chest. The corner of his lips twitched. "Damasen is gone," Bob said.

Percy shifted slightly. The look in the Titan's eyes made him itch to reach for Riptide just to have it to hand, but the weight of the pen was in his pocket and reaching for it would be far too obvious. "I'm sorry," Percy said to him. "He-" Percy paused, because what was there to say? Damasen had given his life so Percy could get away. Bob and Damasen had clearly bonded over the short time they'd worked together, but Percy knew next to nothing about him. "He was a Good Giant," Percy settled on saying.

"A Good Giant," Bob echoed, his voice a low rumble.

The demigod was intensely aware that Bob was blocking the only exit. "Yes," Percy said, trying to keep his voice low and calm. "A Good Giant. Just like you're a Good Titan."

Bob paused briefly. "And my brothers are Good Titans," he stated. "The Pit killed them too."

Percy hesitated briefly, but when Bob began to frown he nodded his head. "Definitely," Percy agreed. "Just like your brothers were Good Titans too."

Bob beamed in obvious delight, a smile that lit up his entire face and made his eyes glow. "Good Titans," he repeated happily. "Koios and Krios and Hyperion and-" He paused, clearly struggling with the names of the Titan brothers they hadn't encountered down in the Pit.

"Yeah," Percy said, forcing his smile to stay on his face and trying not to make it too obvious that he hated Hyperion. He'd never had the displeasure of properly meeting the others, only that brief glance at the Doors of Death. "They're all Good Titans too." Bob however was frowning heavily in thought, clearly trying to wrack the few memories he had for the names of his other two brothers. That was not something that Percy wanted him shaking loose. "Just like you," Percy added.

Bob's smile grew. "Like me," he echoed. "They mentioned Kronos - and Kronos is a Good Titan too, like me?"

Percy's smile froze on his face. "Oh," he said, hoping that his extreme hatred of the Titan Lord didn't show. "Well, if the others are Good Titans then Kronos has to be a Good Titan too," Percy agreed. All of the mentioned Titans were dead at least, so none would hear their names being mentioned by Percy. He grimaced slightly as he shifted where he sat, a brief moment of surging pain causing him to pause to take a deep breath. Percy sighed. "Thank you for getting me out of the valley, Bob," Percy said. "I wouldn't have been able to without you."

The Titan was silent for several long moments. "I know," he finally said. "You are welcome, friend Percy."

The demigod nodded slightly. "What now?" He questioned Bob. The Titan twisted his hand around the shaft of his spear. He still hadn't retracted the spear head into a broom head, the sharp point glowing faintly in the darkness of the Pit.

Bob blinked at Percy. "Doors are gone," he said to Percy.

A flash of annoyance rushed through Percy. "I know," he said to Bob. "Where have they gone?"

The amnesiac Titan shrugged. "Somewhere," he said.

Percy shut his eyes. Took a deep breath. "Can you guess where they might've gone?"

Bob considered it for all of a second. "No," he said.

"Okay," Percy muttered under his breath. A scratch at his hand had him flinching slightly, but it was just Small Bob demanding more pats. Percy obliged, even if moving his arm felt impossible. He felt as if weights were tied to his hands. Percy blinked stars out of his vision. "What do we do?" Percy asked Bob. "Where do we go?"

Bob tilted his head to the side slightly as he observed Percy closely. "My memories," the Titan said slowly, causing Percy to tense. "I – my brothers are gone," he stated. There was an odd tone in his voice, one that made Percy wince slightly. "I remember…"

Percy didn't know how likely Iapetus would be to attack him, but he was sure he wouldn't survive it. He hoped Bob didn't remember anything that would cause him to turn on Percy. "Bob, I'm your friend, right?" Percy asked.

Bob blinked eyes of quicksilver at Percy. "Friend," he echoed, his fingers tightening around the spear's shaft.

"Yes, friend," Percy said. "Just like we agreed before, remember?

The Titan's eyebrows drew together as he frowned. "Hyperion. You said he was a Good Titan, but before you said he was Bad."

Percy swallowed. "Yeah," he said. Percy hoped they wouldn't be encountering any of Bob's brothers again, because he wasn't sure that Bob would kill them next time. "It's… complicated." Bob didn't seem to like that answer, if the shifting of his fingers around the spear was any indication. "He's sometimes bad, and sometimes good," Percy said, his mind racing. "Right now, he's good."

Bob scowled. "He is gone," he said.

"Yeah," Percy said. That was why Hyperion was currently a Good Titan, actually. A Dead Titan was a Good Titan. He shifted slightly, and then grimaced as blood leaked from the gashes on his left arm. "And that sucks. But we're together, right? The two of us?" Percy forced a smile as he looked over at Bob. "We're friends, right? Us and Damasen. I can trust my friends," Percy added.

The silver-eyed Titan nodded. "Us and Damasen," he echoed with a smile. "Friends," Bob agreed.

Percy nodded back at Bob. "How about this," Percy said to Bob, trying to change the topic of their conversation away from Bob's insane brothers. "We go back to his hut in that swamp and see if he's back there?"

Bob brightened. "Yes," he said happily, smiling widely. Percy smiled back at him. "We go to the hut," Bob agreed.

Percy let out a long breath. "Do you think you can heal me?" He asked tentatively. "I – I don't think I can go any further like this."

The amnesiac Titan paused briefly. There was a flicker in his bright, silver eyes that chilled Percy's blood, but then Bob blinked and he nodded. The Titan reached over to Percy and placed his hand on Percy's shoulder. The demigod stared at his arms as the cuts and gashes from the monsters finally healed, along with the burn in his throat and lungs from the air. Percy had no doubt that Bob had left them until then intentionally and the cruel act had him worried, but there was little he could do with the situation. They had to move further away from the valley and Damasen's hut was a reasonably safe place to aim for, in the absence of the Doors of Death.

"Thank you, Bob," Percy said as he felt sharp relief flood through him as the pain vanished.

Bob hummed and nodded, his hand still on Percy's shoulder. His grip tightened, uncomfortably so. "Of course, friend," the Titan finally said, his eyes burning silver in the darkness of their little shelter.

The Titan shifted out of their shelter then as Percy hesitated again. He knew that his continued survival depended on Bob not remembering his memories, but clearly something had been shaken loose in their encounter with his brothers. Bob seemed to be growing a new awareness, his eyes losing the confused and clouded quality to them.

Percy worried that his only friend in Tartarus would turn around and stab him if he let his guard down.

A tiny paw batted at Percy's torn shirt. Percy's lips twitched slightly as he stared down at Small Bob. "You're my friend too, right?" Percy asked as he held the calico kitten, gently stroking him. Small Bob only purred in response and curled against Percy's chest. Percy sighed and pushed himself upright, patting his pocket with his free hand to check for Riptide as Small Bob rumbled against his chest with his purrs.

The demigod scrambled out of their shelter, recoiling slightly as his hand touched the wall above his head. It was the same membrane that covered everything in the Pit. Percy straightened, pulled Riptide out of his pocket and looked around.

Nothing had changed from… whenever they'd walked through. The Pit around them looked as still as it had been before. Percy heard the occasional far-off cry of a roaming monster. "Which way to the hut?" Percy asked Bob.

The Titan inclined his head slightly. "This way," he said as he started off through the Pit, Percy quickly hurrying along behind him with a kitten held against his chest.

Percy's kind of still running on adrenaline here, poor kid hasn't really got the time to stop and breathe and think 'oh shit I'm stuck in Tartarus'.

First chapter of the CbT rewrite drops tomorrow!

Reviews:

PhantomFuryJP: thanks!

skotos07: I'm happy I'm alive too! Welcome back!

Guest: thanks! There's going to be a lot of despair in this, just as soon as Percy has the time to breathe and actually understand what's just happened to him.