The Journey Through Tartarus

The Titan Of Mortality

The titan of Mortality:

I thought I was hallucinating. It just wasn't possible that a huge silvery figure could drop out of the sky and stomp Kelli flat, trampling her into a mound of monster dust. But that's exactly what happened. 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. In his hand was a massive push broom. His name tag, incredibly, read BOB.

'SWEEP!"The Titan grinned with delight and did a victory dance. "Sweep, sweep, sweep!'

I could not speak, he couldn't bring himself to believe that something good had actually happened. I mean I know that names have power in the godly realm, but still amazed the same.

"H-how ...?" I stammered.

"Percy you called me" the janitor said happily. "Yes, you did." The janitor frowned when he noticed my wounds. "Owie." He said poking my side before my wounds closed and vanished, I remembered after I had blasted him with the Lethe water he had healed a rather nasty gash on my shoulder. I stood up tall hugging him.

"Bob, I missed, I'm so glad that I have a friend down here." He seemed surprised but put his arms around me non the less.

"I missed you too friend, I enjoy helping my friends. I heard my name, upstairs in Hades's palace, nobody 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. I got excited."

I was shocked that bob had jumped into Tartarus just because he heard me say his name, but I was glad non the less to have an ally. The journey ahead of me was going to be one filled with pain and suffering, and now I had someone to lean on, after all I couldn't just survive on pure determination.

"Friend follow me I know where to go" I followed Bob off into the wasteland, tracing the route of the Phlegethon as they approached the storm front of darkness. Every so often they stopped to drink firewater, which kept them alive, but I wasn't happy about it. God my throat felt like I'd been constantly gargling battery acid. My only comfort was the thought of getting back to Annabeth, and the beacon of hope of BOB THE TITAN.

I felt bad for not visiting Bob sooner, but with being abducted by a crazy goddess I had forgotten everything including My titan friend. He was snapped out of his guilty thinking when Bob picked up their pace across the ashen wasteland, red lightning flashed overhead in the poisonous clouds. Just another lovely day in the dungeon of creation. I knew that eventually I would have to tell bob about Iapetus, it was inevitable and Percy couldn't contain the shame forever, he had tricked Iapetus into becoming Bob. He silently wondered if, when I awoke if someone had told him that he was Stephen a servant of Gaia would I have believed them, would he help his enemies. Now that I understood the pain of losing my memories I didn't know if what I did was right, sure he was a titan who tried to kill me, but how many monsters, and titans had I killed in the defense of Olympus.

"We are here," bob said beginning to climb a small hill, on the otherside is saw something that surprised me yet again, in a sheltered depression like a moon crater, stood a ring of broken black marble columns surrounding a dark stone altar. "Hermes's shrine," Bob explained.

"Why is there a shrine to Hermes in Tartarus" I asked,

"It fell from somewhere long ago, maybe the mortal world, maybe Olympus" he explained, "But monsters steer clear of here... Mostly. Food will be here soon you should rest." As soon as he mentioned food my stomach gurgled and complained, "What do you mean" I asked,

"You need to rest I will explain when our meal is here" however I figured that now was my only chance to tell bob the truth, but before I could he leaned forward and touched my head muttering "Sleep" my eyelids became heavy and my body betrayed me, everything faded to black.