Percy thought he was hallucinating. It wasn't everyday that a huge, silvery figure dropped from the sky into Tartarus, and then proceeded to greet him like a long lost friend.

Of course, that was exactly what happened to him on this particular day in hell.

"Percy!" The figure waved at him excitedly, one hand nearly scraping the top of the cave entrance that he had claimed for himself and Zoe. The other gripped a… broom? "I heard you call me!"

The Titan was ten feet tall, with wild silver Einstein hair, pure silver eyes, and muscular arms protruding from a ripped-up blue janitor's uniform.

He had a name tag, too.

"I don't– Bob?"

The Titan's eyes shone brightly like twin moons as Percy stared in shock. "I… called you?"

Bob nodded. "I am helping. I heard my name from all the way upstairs! In Hades's palace, no one calls for Bob unless there is a mess. Bob, sweep up these bones. Bob, mop up these tortured souls. Bob, a zombie exploded in the dining room."

Percy blinked. How was he supposed to react to this?

"Bob," he tried, a slight frown on his face, "You shouldn't be here. This place is dangerous."

Bob nodded, expression turning serious. "Bob knows. That is why Bob came down here when he heard Percy. To help you. I smell M&M's. Can I have them?"

Percy paused before remembering the tiny bag of peanut M&M's he'd stashed away to give to Connor Stoll if he ever made it back to the surface. He shrugged, digging them out of his pocket and tossing them to Bob. The plastic had somehow survived several dips in the Phlegethon and his fight with Hyperion, which was baffling.

"Sorry," he said, "But they might be a bit melted."

"That is okay!" Bob waved off his apology as he tore open the bag. "Bob likes M&M's!"

From behind him, he was acutely aware of the fact that Zoe had just woken up. She yawned, stretching her arms out over her head before she turned in their direction and froze like a deer in headlights. He could hear the moment she realized who was with them based on the sharp intake of breath.

"Bob," Percy began slowly, "Meet Zoe. She's my friend. Zoe, meet Bob. He said he's here to help us."

Bob waved again, his hand covered in melted chocolate. "Hello, Percy's friend! I am Bob! I am here to help!"

Zoe looked at him like he'd grown a second head, with a mix of fear dashed into her eyes. "I thought thou was joking when thou said–"

Percy cut her off before she could finish her sentence. "Nope! This is Bob, all right!"

Bob stared at Zoe, an indecipherable look in his eyes. "You look familiar," he said after an eternity, "But I do not know why."

Zoe gave her best attempt at a casual shrug. It wasn't very convincing to Percy, but Bob seemed to buy into it. "I do not know either. I have never met thee before."

Bob stared at her for another tense second - before he shrugged, finally downing the rest of the M&M's. "That's okay! Percy's friends are my friends! But time to talk is for later! We must go before they find him. They are coming. Yes, indeed."

"They?" Zoe asked.

"Yes," Bob agreed. "But Bob knows a way. Come on, friends! We will have fun!"

Percy didn't know about that. This place didn't feel very fun.

–

Percy and Zoe trailed Bob as he navigated the wasteland expertly, taking several seemingly random turns with no particular destination in mind. Every so often they'd come across another monster pod, and Bob would pop them without batting an eye.

"Excuse me, um, Bob," Zoe tried, interrupting the Titan's merry little tune that he was whistling, "We are trying to make our way to the Doors of Death, but we were given directions to–"

Bob cut her off with a smile. "Bob knows! We are almost at the rest stop." His nose scrunched up as he pondered his next words. "We had to take a detour. Bad things were ahead of us."

"Were?" Zoe clarified, sharing a concerned look with Percy.

"Were," Bob repeated, "Now they are behind us."

He hoped that Bob meant Othrys. He'd rather not get in the middle of that disaster of a family reunion.

"How did thou even arrive in this place?" Zoe asked.

"I jumped!" He said, like it was obvious.

"Thou jumped into the pit," Zoe repeated, "Just because Percy said thy name?"

"He needed me." His silver eyes glowed in the darkness. "It is okay. I was tired of sweeping the palace. Come along! We are almost there."

Sure enough, it wasn't long at all before they arrived back at the crater that held the shrine of Hermes.

"Here," Bob said, "We can rest and talk and eat."

"Eat?" Zoe repeated, "There is no food here."

Percy shook his head. "Don't worry, there will be." He frowned after a moment. "Soon. I think. When I first fell down here, I reached this spot and collapsed. When I woke up there was a decent amount of food - I'm pretty sure a portion of the offerings Hermes receives wind up down here."

Bob looked at him in surprise, as though he was truly seeing Percy for the first time. "You have survived down here a long time on your own," he said sagely, "There are not many who could do that. This place has changed you."

"What?" Percy said, another frown forming, "I don't feel any different."

Lie. He was exhausted. His bones ached with every step, his eyes burned, and his skin crawled all over with an itch he could just not scratch. His brain's alarm bells hadn't stopped ringing since he fell, and he had to focus on anything he could to ignore the intrusive thoughts that were swirling around the edge of his subconscious.

Zoe turned towards him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I can sense it around thee as well. It is miraculous that there have not been more monsters after thy scent."

"My scent?" Percy repeated, "I just assumed that there were so many other, stronger beings down here that they covered it up."

"Maybe to the weak ones down here," Bob said, "I could find you from the other side of Tartarus if I had to. You are like a beacon of light in the darkness, gathering all the bugs to the fire. It is how the defeated ones are tracking you. But you've changed. Your fear burns your wick brighter and faster than ever. Your color has changed from sea green to match the rainbow of influences marking you."

A beacon. Defeated ones. Fear burning him brighter than ever.

This was all getting to be too much.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

"Don't worry!" Bob boomed, "It is okay. We are strong. We will survive regardless of your fear."

Bob patted the floor of the crater. "Rest now. I will guard and wake you when food arrives."

Percy and Zoe both shook their heads vigorously at the notion.

"I was resting before thou arrived," Zoe began, "I do not need another respite. Sorry about that again, Percy."

He waved off her concerns with a soft smile. "It's alright," he said before straightening up, "But I don't need rest either."

"No," Zoe insisted, "Thou definitely does. I was running on fumes hours ago. Thou needs to sleep."

Percy winced at the reminder of the nightmares. "I'm good."

Bob frowned - which was quite the unsettling image for Percy's rattled brain - and waved his massive hand in front of Percy's face.

The reaction was immediate. Percy began to feel his eyes droop, slumping over lamely as he began to fall. Zoe was quick to help him to the ground, giving Bob a downright nasty glare all the while.

His eyes fluttered as he fought to stay awake, but it was a losing battle.

The last thing he could remember was Zoe shouting at Bob as he tried to placate the Huntress, unable to truly make out the words as he fell into the land of Morpheus, her arms wrapped tightly around the demigod all the while.

–

The ground rumbled beneath the five of them as they raced across Hephaestus's Junkyard, fear etched into all of their faces. Someone had taken something from the trash heaps, and now they were all paying the price.

Percy ducked behind a broken chariot, Bianca di Angelo by his side.

"You took something!" He snarled, "I don't care what it was, throw it back!"

Bianca quivered in fear. "It- it's too late."

A shadow blot out the sky. Talos's foot came crashing down.

Percy dragged Bianca out of the way before both of them would have died.

"Hey, Talos!" Grover yelled, but the monster raised his sword, looking down at the duo.

He played a quick melody on his pipes, briefly distracting the automaton as power lines began to wrap around the monster's legs. It whirled around, creaking and sparking.

Grover had bought them a few moments.

"Come on!" Percy barked at the Hunt's newest addition.

She stayed frozen. From her pocket, she brought out a small metal figurine, a statue of a god. "It… it was for Nico," she whispered, "It was the only statue he didn't have."

"Are you insane?" Percy hissed harshly. "How can you think of a fucking card game at a time like this?"

There were tears in Bianca's eyes. The girl was trembling.

As Thalia and Grover continued to fight off Talos, Percy finally saw an opening - there was a hole in the robot's heel, like a large manhole.

In big red letters, it read 'FOR MAINTENANCE ONLY'.

"Crazy idea time," he muttered.

Bianca looked at him nervously. "Anything."

"There's a maintenance hatch at the bottom of its foot. If someone times it right," Percy murmured, "They could get inside."

"But how will you make it?" She whispered.

"I won't," he found himself saying, "You will."

Biance froze. "M-me?"

Percy nodded sternly. "It's your fault we're in this mess. Do it."

Her breath started to pick up, and she wasn't far off from a full-blown panic attack.

"B-but the prophecy," she stuttered out, "But Nico–"

"I don't care," he sneered, "You made your bed, now you're going to lie in it."

Bianca looked mortified. She turned towards the robot on shaky legs, as though she were beginning the process of accepting her death.

"P-please, Percy," she whispered, "I-I'm so scared. D-don't make me do this."

He said nothing.

Bianca took off towards Talos. The Mythomagic figure was left to sit in the junk.

Percy gasped as he felt the control over his body return.

"Bianca!" He shouted, "Stop! Come back!"

It was too late. Talos's foot went down, and Bianca went in.

Zoe was by his side a moment later, staring at him with hateful eyes. "It's your fault she's dead," she hissed, "I thought you were different from other men. I was wrong."

"Percy!" Nico cried, "Why did you make her do this?! You said you'd protect her! I hate you!"

He could offer them no words as Talos fell over, crushing him beneath several tons of scrap metal.

Even in his final moments, he knew he could never forgive himself for this.

–

Percy blinked as he took in his new surroundings. The sky above him was dark, and his shoes sunk into the soft sand beneath him. The stars sparkled without the pollution of the modern word to dilute their liveliness, and Percy was able to spot the Huntress dancing along the night sky. He walked to the edge of the shore in silence.

A woman with sun-kissed skin and honey-blonde hair was there to meet him.

"No man ever finds Ogygia twice, Percy," Calypso said softly, "When you leave, I will never see you again."

His mouth opened without his permission. "But–"

"Go, please." Her voice broke. "The Fates are cruel, Percy. Just remember me." Then a little trace of her smile returned. "Plant a garden in Manhattan for me, will you?"

"I promise." He said. He tried to grimace at the mention of the Fates.

But he already did! Percy's body began to tremble as he fought against the dream. One foot stepped onto the raft. Riptide felt impossibly heavy in his pocket.

Calypso eyed him with sorrowful eyes, though there was a hint of confusion trapped behind her gaze as he battled himself. "Percy?"

His second foot touched the raft, but he yanked it off like he had stepped on hot coals.

Of course, this also launched him back into the sand, briefly knocking the wind out of him.

Calypso rushed to his side, but froze. His form flickered rapidly, as though his dream couldn't decide if he was his current age or fourteen again - something that his current companion was certainly taking notice of.

"Oh my gods," she whispered, putting a hand to her mouth in shock, "What are you– this can't be."

He tried to speak, but again, nothing came out. How was Calypso seeing him? Wasn't this just a dream?

Calypso reached out one tentative hand. "Percy–"

The moment her hand touched his, he disappeared from Ogygia once again.

–

"Percy!"

He shot forward, barely stopping himself from bonking heads with Zoe, who had been watching him with worry. He flinched as he met her eyes.

"Art thou alright?" She asked, trepidation in her voice, "Thou was shaking, and looked to be in pain."

Percy looked away. "Yeah," he ground out, "Just a bad dream."

"We have food!" Bob called out happily, "More M&M's for Bob!"

Zoe ignored her grandfather, more focused on watching Percy intently. "Are thee well? Well enough to eat?"

Percy sighed. He could feel the Phlegethon churning along from outside the crater. "As well as I can be down here. I hate my dreams."

The ex-Hunter frowned softly. "I have heard tales of the terrible dreams demigods face from my former sisters," she said, "Are thy dreams always frightful?"

"I've been told mine are worse than usual." He pursed his lips. "I can't imagine spending time down here will make it any better."

He pulled himself up then, looking past Zoe and eyeing the food that sat around Bob's feet. Half a rack of lamb stood out among the other plates, but there was also a loaf of Italian bread and a very healthy bunch of grapes that positively reeked of wine.

"We have eaten already," Zoe explained, "The rest is thine."

Percy's stomach grumbled at the smell. The lamb didn't last thirty seconds.

After tearing through the bread in a similar manner, Percy stopped himself once he got to the grapes. He'd been rather cautious of most food related to the immortal world ever since Medusa had drugged him and Annabeth on their first quest, and these grapes just reeked of magic. He didn't need to be a son of Hecate to feel the godly influence.

"The grapes are safe," Bob said after he watched Percy hesitate, "Bob tried them. They were very good!"

"They are enchanted," Zoe clarified, "But not in a harmful way. Bob had one and it simply… regrew, growing straight out of the vine."

Ah. That explained the smell.

"Dionysus," Percy murmured, "A gift."

Zoe turned towards him in surprise. "Does thou think so?" She asked, "He isn't exactly fond of heroes. And how would it wind up here?"

"No idea." Percy shrugged, before gingerly picking the bunch up and eating a mouthful of the grapes. They were far and away the sweetest fruit he'd ever eaten, and he had to fight to keep the juice dribbling from his mouth. "But we can take it with us."

He grabbed a handful of napkins that had conveniently arrived with the rest of the offerings, before carefully wrapping them around the grapes. The first layer was almost completely soaked by the juices, but after another few bunches of napkins they were secure. Bob pulled out a (thankfully empty) trash bag from somewhere, placing the grapes within. With another swipe of his hand the bag disappeared.

"If either of you get hungry," he said, "I will grab them for you."

Percy just nodded dumbly. He'd grown accustomed to all of the weirdness Bob had brought with him into the pit.

"We should go now," Bob advised, "There are only a few minutes until they arrive. Before we are killed."

Percy stared at the wall of fog that awaited them. It had taunted him for what had felt like days now, always teetering on the edge of his vision.

And now, they'd be entering the heart of the storm.

They stood up and dragged themselves out of the crater.

The darkness enveloped them as they crossed into the fog.

–

"So," Percy asked, "You know the way to the Doors of Death?"

"Yes, but we aren't going straight there," Bob explained, "That would be bad. Too many monsters gathered there. Even Bob could not sweep that many. They would kill Percy in about two seconds. I think seconds. Time is hard in Tartarus."

"Thou says that like they wouldn't kill me." Zoe snarked.

Bob shrugged. "You talk funny," he said, "But you smell different. Not like Percy does, not like delicious, freshly baked butter bread. The monsters might ignore you."

"So what are we supposed to do then?" Percy inquired, ignoring that last tangent by Bob.

"Hiding," Bob replied, "The Death Mist could hide you."

"The what?"

"The Death Mist." Bob repeated it slower this time, as if Percy was hard of hearing. "It is dangerous, but if the lady will give you Death Mist, it might hide you. If we can avoid Night. The lady is very close to Night. That is bad."

"The lady," Zoe reiterated.

"Yes."

Percy had a strange feeling that would be the best they got from Bob. "Okay then. I guess we'll see a lady about some Death Mist."

"But who is this lady?" Zoe asked, sounding rather displeased with the lack of information Bob was giving them.

"Naming her?" Bob glanced back to lock eyes with her. "Not a good idea."

"Do you know how much further it will be, then?" Percy tried. They'd been walking for what felt like hours, but he wouldn't be shocked in the slightest if he'd turned around and was able to walk right back out of the fog like they'd made no progress whatsoever.

"I do not know," Bob admitted, "I can only feel it. We wait for the darkness to get darker. Then we go sideways."

It was already pretty dark in his opinion, but he wasn't going to be voicing his thoughts anytime soon. If Bob knew what he was doing, Percy wasn't going to question it.

Things were quiet for a few minutes, until suddenly Bob stopped. He raised his hand: Wait.

"Something is ahead," he warned, "It moves."

Percy strained his ears, but couldn't really make anything out aside from the swirls of noise and giggly whispers that were dancing at the edge of his brain. He didn't like listening to those very much.

"We will surround it," Bob whispered, "Each of you, take a flank."

Percy went right as Zoe nimbly crept to the left. Bob stood proudly in the middle, a vanguard to their ragtag little group, standing steadfast against whatever horrors this place could throw at them.

He could feel the Phlegethon humming somewhere to his right, but it was faint and distant. He really didn't like being dragged so far away from the fiery river. It had become a sort of comforting presence for him, as weird as that was.

As whatever it was slowly approached the group, Percy thought he could begin to hear what sounded like faint humming. It shook the ground beneath him.

"Ready?" Bob murmured.

"On three," Percy decided, "One, two–"

A figure appeared in the fog. Bob raised his spear.

"Wait!" Zoe hissed.

Bob froze just in time, the point of his spear hovering less than an inch above the head of a tiny calico kitten.

"Rrow?" The kitten meowed, clearly unimpressed by their attack plan. It butted its head against Bob's foot and purred loudly. As it purred, the ground vibrated and pebbles danced. The kitten fixed its yellow, lighthouse-like eyes on one particular rock, right between Zoe's feet, and pounced.

"How in Ouranos' name…" Zoe began, trailing off as she watched the kitten bat at the pebble intently. "A cat…"

It didn't take long for the creature to get bored of its little game, quickly returning to Bob's feet. It purred even louder as it rubbed against his boots.

Percy laughed. "Somebody likes you, Bob."

Bob gave him a nervous glance. "It must be a good monster, isn't it?"

He nodded, unable to even attempt to rationalize whatever the fuck was going on down here anymore.

Bob knelt down and scooped up the cat. It fit perfectly in Bob's palm, but it decided to explore. It climbed the Titan's arm, made itself at home on his shoulder, and closed its eyes, purring like an earthmover. Suddenly its fur shimmered, and in a flash the kitten became a ghostly skeleton, as if it had stepped behind an X-ray machine. And then it was a regular kitten again, as though nothing had happened.

Zoe blinked. "Am I going insane or–"

"No, that definitely happened," Percy knit his eyebrows. "Oh, man… I know that kitten. It's one of the ones from the Smithsonian."

Zoe tensed at the reminder of their quest, eyes flickering over to the kitten nervously as though it was Atlas himself. Her hands instinctively reached for her knives, and Percy was quick to cut that action short with a look.

"How could it have ended up here?" Zoe wondered aloud.

Percy shrugged lamely. "Atlas," he began, wincing at the way Zoe tensed up again, "Told his servants to take the kittens away. Maybe they destroyed them, and they were reborn here? I don't know."

"It's cute," Bob said, as the kitten sniffed his ear.

Zoe shook her head. "I do not believe the creature to be safe. It would be smarter to kill it."

The Titan scratched the kitten's chin, ignoring Zoe's warning. "I will call him Small Bob," he said, "He is a good monster."

End of discussion. Bob hefted his broom and they continued marching into the gloom.

Zoe shot Percy an unhappy look - whether it be at the fact they were following Bob, or that he had ignored her cautions, or that he could regain his memory at seemingly any point and then they'd have a real fight on their hands, he wasn't sure.

Percy just shot her a small smile and shrug in return. He knew this place better than either of them, and it was either this or wander around lost in the dark until they were killed.

Zoe glare softened at the look on Percy's face. He had tried to hide it well, but she could see exactly how badly this place had been treating him. Ignoring the way his clothes were slowly being reduced to a handful of threads, his face had become sunken and shallow, his eyes held a weight that she had never seen before in them, and even his smile felt forced and pained. He had been putting up a brave face for the both of them, but the facade was slipping.

She silenced her complaints. However bad this place was for her, it was infinitely worse for Percy.

If he could be strong, so could she.

–

A/N: Another day, another chapter. Also, if it wasn't clear, the first vision Percy had in his dreams wasn't what actually happened - it goes down the same way it did in canon in this world, this is just another example of how he blames himself for his friend's deaths.

Hope you enjoyed it! Make sure to review!