7/2/20

Sorry for the really slow update. Combination of writer's block and getting sucked into games.

Mentions of childhood abuse. (hence the name)

Wordcount: 1302

Childhood Trauma

===========?===========

Percy POV:

Percy coughed and swiped his hand through the air, trying to breathe through the thick mist that was native to this part of the pit. He had long since left the prison and open plains behind, descending into a dark, humid, and misty area. He couldn't see more than five feet in front of him, but he pressed on. His drakon jerky had long ran out a while ago, but Percy didn't feel hungry. He had slept recently, more so passed out from sheer exhaustion, but he still felt tired.

Letos parting words swam through his head. He decided to narrow down who she could have been talking about. Beings far older than the gods? That meant Primordials or Titans. Those who hated him? Well, Percy assumed most of them did, but he ran the names he knew through his head anyway. Let's start with Primordials. Tartarus? He had given him his blessing to leave the pit, so probably not. Nyx and Erebus? He hadn't done anything to tick them off that he knew of, so unsure. Now Titans. Hyperion? He had killed him in Manhattan with the help of the satyrs and nature spirits., so likely. Krios? Likely as well. Jason had fought him on Othyrus. Koios? He hadn't heard if Koios had joined on Kronos side during the war, so possible. The Female Titans were far less aggressive than their brothers, having stayed neutral during Kronos' invasion, so he ticked them off his mental list.

That was everyone he knew off the top of his head, but there were far more he didn't know, so he'd best keep on his toes.

Screams rang out from in front of him, begging for help. His heart sank. He knew that voice. His pace quickened, and soon he was sprinting through the fog, desperately calling out her name.

The fog swirled in front of him and he finally saw the figure. Hunched over, covering her face with her hand, was his mother. She was quietly sobbing, and didn't seem to have heard him approach. Percy's breath caught in his throat. How did she- Why was she here? He hadn't seen her in over 3 months, but this wasn't how he imagined their reunion to go. Percy cautiously approached.

"M...Mom?" He questioned, voice shaky. Sally's head snapped up and she stared Percy in the eyes. Her red-rimmed eyes widened, and a tear streaked down her face, "P-Percy?" He nodded.

She shot up faster than Percy thought possible and clamped her hands on his shoulder. He tried to wrench himself free, but she had a grip of iron. Her hands were strangely cold.

"You have to go. H-He's here." Percy had seen many emotions on his mother's face, terror not having been one before now. The familiar weight of Vengeance grew in his hand as he pulled his mother behind him. A laugh echoed in the fog around him as he glanced around. His heart sunk into his boots. He knew that voice as well. The burn marks that littered his body began to burn as images ran through his head. Poker. Beer. Broken glass. Cigars.

Out of the mist, a beer bottle flew. Acting on instinct only, Percy ducked just in time as it flew over his head. There was a loud crunch and something heavy hit the ground behind him. He spun around and his heart stopped. Lying on the ground, bleeding from the head, was his mother. He had pulled her behind him.

Percy collapsed to his knees next to her, pushing his hands against the wound in a vain effort to stop the bleeding, "No no no no no NO NO NO!" She looked at him one last time before her eyes glazed over and her head lolled to the side.

Blood was slick on his hands as he stood, glaring into the fog. His grip tightened on Vengeance as he spun around, searching for the unseen figure. A noise behind him makes him spin around, sword at the ready. A beer bottle rolled out of the fog, hitting his foot.

Too late, he realized, It was a trap. The smell of alcohol stung his nose as a sour breath blew against his neck. The sharp pain of a wound burned it's way into his side as the man dug a broken beer bottle into his side, the familiar feeling of alcohol burning the wound.

Percy spun around, clutching his side. Gabe Ugliano, his first stepfather, who had been dead for 4 or so years, sneered back at him. A broken beer glass held loosely in his hand dripped blood. His blood.

Percy's grip tightened on Vengeance as he stared down Gabe, trying to ignore the ugly memories that surfaced as he glared at his stepfather. He took a step forward and his world went black.

===========?===========

With a groan, Percy sat up. He had a massive headache. He kicked the sheets off his legs as he slid out of bed. Wait a minute, bed? Sheets? He reached down and felt for Riptide, but his pockets were empty. With a frown, he checked his wrist. Vengeance was missing as well. This was not good.

Looking around, Percy realized where he was. It was his old room when they still had to put up with Gabe, Beer cans and old magazines were littered across his room, and the whole place reeked to high Hades.

He pushed open to the living room/kitchen and saw what he used to see every day for 9 years. Gabe and his "friends" sitting around the coffee table, playing poker. Gabe barely looked up but growled for Percy to get him a beer. Percy responded by giving him a suggestion on where he could put that beer.

Gabe stood up and stalked over to where Percy was standing, his beer gut jiggling. Percy tried to keep his hands from shaking. He stopped right in front of Percy and shoved his finger into Percy's chest.

"Get. Me. A. Beer," Gabe growled. Percy took a swing. Now, don't get him wrong, Percy was a decent in a fist-fight. Getting into fights nearly every week in school did that. Not as good as most of the Ares cabin, but good enough to beet the average street mugger.

Gabe was almost inhumanly fast. He grabbed Percy's fist as he swung. He started to squeeze until Percy felt the bones in his hand break. He didn't scream. He wouldn't give Gabe the satisfaction.

Percy fumbled behind him with his other hand, closing around a lamp. He swung and slammed it into Gabe's head. Gabe stumbled back, disoriented. The lampshade had fallen off, revealing the broken lightbulb. He shoved the broken glass into Gabe's face. Black blood bubbled to the surface as he snarled.

The apartment around them faded, revealing them back in Tartarus. Gabe snarled, an inhuman sound, and tackled Percy, his meaty hands clamping around his neck. Percy made a strangled shout as he toppled backward.

Gabe was far stronger than he had remembered him to be, and Percy's vision was quickly going black. He fumbled around, and his fingers closed around Riptide in his pocket. He pushed it into Gabe's gut and flipped the cap off.

With an animalistic screech that no humanoid object should make, Gabe fell back. Percy stood up, gasping for breath. Gabe tried to stand, but Percy planted his foot on his chest. Percy's vision blurred and suddenly he was pinning down his mother. Then Bianca. Then Zoe, Beckendorf, Silena. The faces kept changing, begging for their lives.

Percy lifted his sword, and his mothers head rolled.

===========?===========

Sorry not sorry.