#reefs idea

for your 32nd birthday, im giving you more trauma!

annabeth didnt stop him. maybe she shouldve, but she didnt. akhylys' corpse laid in front of them. her screaming stopped minutes, maybe hours, ago before percy turned to annabeth, he walked over calmly and held his hand out to her, only saying 'we need to go.' before taking off again

as the reach the doors of death, percy watches as bob gets overrun by monsters, dying before he can press the button to get percy and annabeth out of tartarus he cant let annabeth die down here. she can do so much good. better than him. so he pushes her through, apologizing for not staying by her side, and keeps the button down as she gets to the surface

once shes up he runs. he runs and he runs and he doesnt stop because its not monsters chasing him anymore, its tartarus himself, showing his true form as much as he can without melting percys mind. its not only the being thats chasing percy, the ground around him opening its mouth, trying to swallow him whole.

its not just tartarus chasing him that makes fear course through him, its how he sounds. its piercing screeches that makes his ears bleed. its sallys scream as the minotaur kills him. its gabes threats. its the sound of beer bottles breaking. its talos falling and crashing. its nico yelling at him. its the princess andromeda blowing up. its water overtaking all his senses.

there are visions too. gabe when he almost killed percy. annabeth getting dragged off a cliff. nico running away. even visions he should know didnt happen gabe hurting sally. grover getting eaten by polyphemus. annabeth getting crushed by the sky. thalia getting struck by zeus' lightning.

monsters are still after him. he has no time to stop, no time to rest.

he can barely breathe, his lungs are throat are raw and dried and ruined from the air, he can barely hear, the screeching and the screams wont leave him alone, he can barely see, his tears stain his vision and the toxic air is poisoning him, he can barely walk or stand let alone run, nearly al his bones are broken, it hurts to move but he has to. he cant die down here.

kronos is closer. his body wasnt destroyed, and now hes closer to percy than ever before. his voice is in his head, as clear as day and as sharp as a blade.

he doesnt even get a chance to rest once hes out.

as soon as hes out, hes on the battlefield. no time for a break, right back into fighting.