Bonds

Percy Gets A Helping Hand

To say Percy was angry would be an understatement of the highest magnitude.

His oldest enemy, the minotaur, had ambushed him, his mom, and Nico at the river while they were looking for their scattered clothes. By the time he and the son of Hades realized what was happening, the son of Minos had his mom in his clutches once again; which triggered some memories he would've preferred stay forgotten. Acting purely on rage and instinct, he charged the bull-man head on, unaware of the deadly lances of ice he created in his wake. If not for Nico bringing him to a halt with Akhlys' shield, who knew what would have happened to her. Quickly regrouping with Nico urging him to calm down, they formed a plan to save her, only to be betrayed.

Mrs. O'Leary -his own dog- had seemingly been corrupted by the children of Kronos' giant hellhound, Chewie, had put herself between them and the minotaur. Baring her fangs and snarling at him and Nico as if daring them to attack. Before he even had a chance to make sense of what was happening, things only got more confusing as Chewie showed up and mirrored Mrs. O'Leary by snarling at the minotaur. Completely lost at that point, Mrs. O'Leary had snatched him up like a pup, and shadow traveled him directly to the son of Minos' forest home.

Where she was currently using her massive paws to pin him to the foul-smelling ground while the minotaur signed something about a golden grape. The hellhound wasn't crushing him, but it didn't hurt nearly as much as her betrayal.

And the extra weight made it hard to focus on the conversation.

When we get out of here, I'm calling Bob Barker! Percy thought as he tried to glare at his hellhound, while Asterion placed three golden orbs on the polished stone before them. I'll make you realize how great a friend I was to you, when you get-

Nico took one of the small gold pieces and hesitantly put it in his mouth.

"What are you-"

Before he could finish his question, his mom grabbed one of pieces of what he was now realizing was fruit, and without a moment's hesitation, popped it in her mouth.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Percy shrieked as he redoubled his efforts to free himself of the hellhound's paw.

"Eating the Grapes of Veritas, so that I may learn the truth," the minotaur's phone (because apparently everyone in the world had one but him) translated. "I explained this, were you not listening? I-"

"Woah..." His mom gasps, causing Asterion to stop his signing and all to turn and look at her. A small smile tugs at her lips as an almost dreamy look settles over her face. Her shoulders drop and she looks first to the son of Minos, then to Nico (her smile growing even more), then to the hellhounds (which makes her giggle of all things), and then finally settling on him, which makes her beam all the more. "My little rocker," she cooed.

"Sally?" Nico hesitantly asked. "Are... are you feeling okay?"

"I explained the grapes can cause a euphoric state," Asterion's phone explained as the minotaur snorted through his nostrils. "I do not know why I bothered to use this machine if you refuse to-"

Sally's eyes rolled back into her skull and an instant later she crumpled to the ground.

Nico was shouting and leaning over her prone form almost immediately, while the minotaur looked at the remaining golden grape and tilted his head in confusion. Both hellhounds' tails ceased to wag, and Chewie slowly turned to face Mrs. O'Leary, who greeted him with a growl so deep, it shook the earth- or possibly just Percy giving his current location.

But Percy hardly registered any of it. As suddenly he was eleven years old again, small and powerless as he watched the only person he loved in the entire world struggle in the grasp of a creature that should have only existed in Mr. Brunner's homework. His mom had died because of his inexperience and inaction on that horrible night that still haunted his nightmares more than Tartarus ever had. And now she was going to die again.