Percy, Meet the Waynes

Chapter 33: Tartarus

I walked through the halls of the yj cave. I was dreading what was to come.

I had told Bruce I was going out to hang with some friends but in reality I was gonna get this therapy session out of the way.

I arrived in front of the door. I stared at the door like it was an enemy, everything in me telling me to turn back and just have Bruce be mad at me but I knew deep down that this was probably for the best.

I raised my hand to the door, hovering a few inches away. I took a deep breath, collecting my thoughts before knocking.

It was silent for a second and I contemplated just leaving and telling Bruce I gave it a hearty effort but before my body could move I heard rustling from inside.

The door opened and revealed a blonde woman in a black leotard looking outfit with a black jacket and fish nets on her legs, this heavily contrasted with her blonde hair. "Hello Riptide, I've been expecting you for a long time now" her voice was nice I had to admit.

I nodded "yeah I've been trying to make it longer" She opened the door wider and walked in, I followed her closing the door behind us.

She sat down and looked at me, pulling out a paper and pencil. "Alright, let's talk"

I nodded as I took a seat across from her.

"So let's start with a simple association game okay? Then we can talk about some things that may be troubling you." She replied in a soothing way.

I nodded though I knew this was gonna be awful.

"So just tell me what you first think of when I tell you these words"

"Alright" my voice sounded sapped of energy.

"Alright, first, friends"
"Dead" the word slipped out quicker then I intended. I ignored the concerned look on her face as she continued.
"Family"
"Difficult"
"Pain"
"Emotional "
"Love"
"Annie"
"Fighting"
"Monsters"
She hesitated before saying this last one.
"Hell"
I froze. Images flashed through my head and I was vaguely aware of the room as I felt my breathing quicken.

I couldn't breathe so I pushed my head in between my legs to try and catch my breath. It worked for a while before I felt a hand on my shoulder.

The world transformed when I blinked. After I blinked the world around me was suddenly dark, everything colored in a tiny of red. I stood up and turned around and looked at what touched me. There stood a giant, it loomed over me, a menacing look on it's face.

I pulled out Riptide and held it out in front of me. The monster put it's hands up and started to back up.

I looked around to see I was in a small room.

I walked over to the door and opened it. I knew I probably was in the Yj cave but this all felt so real, it had to be Tartarus again. I opened the door and sprinted down the halls, the roars of the monster coming from the room, probably alerting others.

I turned a corner to come across another monster. I held up Riptide and tried to strike it but it dodged to quickly. I narrowed my eyes and lunged at it, managing to catch it in a headlock. I held Riptide up to bring down onto the monster in my grip, it put its hand up to its ears. I didn't have time to wonder what it was doing when suddenly an ear piercing screech could be heard. I fell back letting go of the monster and tumbling to the ground. I put my hands to my ears and shut my eyes in the strain. I could still hear it and my ears were ringing from the abuse they'd received moments earlier.

I stood up decided it's be better to sustain some damage to my ears then to die to these creatures. I picked up Riptide as the call ended. I passed the monster I'd previously had in a headlock. I just needed to reach the river.