Psychotherapy: Sequentia

The monster looked at him before giving a throaty laugh, the sound mocking and menacing. After a while, it looked back at Jonathan and saw that he had a sword in his arms.

"You are serious?" it asked.

"Perhaps you will see that when I cut off your head," Jonathan said, eager to battle this one.

"Heh, you're one of those psychotherapists or whatever they're called, aren't you?"

He's encountered a Psychotherapist? Jonathan asked himself. A monster who had battled a psychotherapist and won was bound to get stronger and stronger. This one was really a special case.

"Yes, that's what I am. And I'm here to exorcise you, since my client doesn't need you in her life and is no longer going to do nothing about the menace that you are."

The monster scoffed. Jonathan took note of its looks and mannerisms. Monsters who had achieved a near-human appearance, and was able to converse in clear and distinct human language, with correct expressions was certainly a special case.

Who knew how many psychotherapists this thing had defeated.

"Oh, so she's decided to stop self-medication, eh? Cute. But how will you be any different from her?"

Self-medication? Jonathan thought. What does it mean by...

A sudden movement in the corner of his right eye alerted him. He'd not even lost concentration for up to three seconds, and then it had suddenly materializes by his side.

But he was also experienced.

Swinging his sword to the right, he thought he'd hit it for sure...but his sword whooshed through the air.

F-Fast! He said, grimacing as the monsters sword grazed his shoulder. He shifted forward right in time to avoid being impaled.

In an instant, he turned, coming to meet the shield approaching his face. The monster was fighting dirty, but two could play that game. Dropping to a squat, my used the momentum to perform a roundhouse kick, sweeping the monster off its feet.

With a vicious thrust, his sword went right through its stomach, crushing a bit of backbone as it impaled the monster.

"Urgh," it groaned, throwing up what looked like black ink. He twisted and jabbed the sword severally, making sure the cut was nice and deep, before dragging his sword out.

"You're unorthodox," the monster said, getting to it's feet. It was already healing itself, but Jonathan knew the cost of that. Most psychotherapists used the positive energy and feelings they had to constitute weapons that dealt damage by neutralising the power of the monsters.

His sword and power came from his acceptance of the events that constituted his sad life; the rage, disappointment, betrayal, hatred of his father, everything. He summed that up to create his own strength. A stength that came from negative emotions.

"You have your own internal demons, don't you? Aren't you too impure to be fighting me? How do you think you can win?"

"I'm different from many other Psychotherapists you might have faced in the past. I haven't let go of the monsters that plague me, because I can't. So I tamed them instead, and now they fuel my spiritual energy. That's the difference between me and you: I've tamed my negative emotions to make me even stronger. My hate is stronger than yours!" Jonathan screamed.

It moved again, but this time he could follow its movements. His sword fashioned out of neagtive energy destroyed rather than neutralised. The effects were fatal, and even self-healing had taken a lot of energy and a toll on the monster's stamina. The lady in whom it was residing was clearly a fighter, the monster couldn't absorb enough energy to restore itself in such a short time, so he was able to dodge all of its attacks.

When it was wide open, Jonathan slashed at it wildly, delivering no less than seven deep cuts and ending it with a stab tight through the head.

"Will you survive?" He said, drawing out his sword and making it dematerialise. "I don't think so."

He looked at the monster again. Its injuries were closing up, but after a while the healing process ended. It was out of energy, and couldn't absorb enough in time to offset the effects of the cuts.

"That's too bad. Without any energy to counter those wounds, they'll fester and grow. Begone!" He shouted.

It looked at Jonathan and smiled. " I can see the mlsnters inside of you. Several of them. Eating away at your soul. You see...you...you kn..ow..they are there. You can't stop them. They'll destroy..."

The injuries expanded and consumed every piece of its being, and then it vanished.

Jodie's murky subsconscious started collapsing. The swampy waters dried up, and the temple disintegrated to dust. There was now a wild rose garden there, which was a direct opposite of Jodie's identity as a goth girl, save the red everywhere.

He smiled. His work here was done.

*****

"...I'm glad you were able to come to terms with what happened, and that you know your mom would have been happy to see you upbeat, doing what makes you happy and successful!"

"Yes, Doctor! Thanks!"

Jonathan was back in his office, or at least his subconscious was. He had been talking, and across the two realms, He had settled all issues.

Jodie was all smiles. "I feel free!"

"As you should,"

"You're really as good as they say you are," she said, as her smile vanished. "But what will you do about your own demons Jonathan?"

Her voice was serious. Knowing. Understanding.

"Sorry?"

"I spent the last five years fighting off the monster inside me by myself while trying to help others. I couldn't win, but that was because I wasn't strong enough. I was willing to lose the emotions, but I wasn't strong enough to keep the monster at bay, and that's why I had to come here. But you... You can. But you don't want to. You don't want to move on. And that's another reason why I'm here. I want you to let go of that negative energy," she s

Now what the mosnter said about her doing self-medication began to make sense.

"Y-you! You're a Psychotherapist?"

"Yes," she said, smiling more than ever. "The only one you'll ever need."

*****

Goth girls make everything better, am I right? 😏

Not to mention that they are so damn hot 😍.

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