A Dishonored Demigod

The Monster Lives

During Perseus' Little Excursion
"And you're sure about this?"
"Eh? Yeah, I'm certain that my body still exists. If that other dimension's version of my mother did that then it makes sense mine would do the same, I hope."
Thrafsma gets up from his squatting position in the middle of Canada and cracks his knuckles while the grass around him turns brown and starts smoking from the temperature change,"Before we do this I've got a question for you."
"Hmm?"
"Why the heck did you decide to go with me instead of the boss? You'd probably see more action with him than you will me."
Empathy ponders his answer for a moment before rumbling,"He asked me to make sure you don't accidentally hit a tectonic plate on your way. We're already within the domain of the gods, no need to alert ourselves any more than you will when you begin. He also wanted to become more aquatinted with his own soul and confirm the possible changes Angra Mainyu might've caused. That, and you need a voice of reason just in case."
Thrafsma scowls and swats the small ice dragon to the side,"I'm careful....most of the time. And we don't have to worry too much about causing an earthquake since there are barely any fault lines around. You just stick with me until we get near the end of the bedrock layer. After that get out and keep watch while I go through the molten parts and breach the core."
"I didn't know you cared about my well-being."
Thrafsma snorts,"I really don't. Still, I'll get an earful from the boss if you melt or get incinerated."
The brown grass ignites and the ground cracks from the unbearable heat before melting,"Let's get going."
Thrafsma closes his eyes and takes a deep breath in before his eyes shoot open as he expels the air in time with the violent pillar of fire that consumes him and melts straight through the ground. He falls headfirst as the fire surrounding him burns through the crust and melts through bedrock,"Preparing to enter the upper mantle. 35 minutes until core breach."
Thrafsma hums and continually freezes the area behind them to prevent a cave-in and possibly trap him,"How long will this take?"
"Roughly 38 minutes for a round trip. I could go faster but I'm letting gravity do the job since I have to use every bit of my focus to keep up this sort of heat."
They continue on for a minute until the stone around them starts to become elastic and melts more easily,"Transition layer breached. 33 minutes until core breach. This is where you should turn around, because any further and you'll be a puddle of water."
Empathy huffs a cloud of steam,"Very well. I'll see you on the surface."
The dragon zips back up the icy tunnel he'd made as Thrafsma continues even deeper into the planet,"Lower mantle has been breached. 31 minutes until the core."
He continues even deeper as the plastic starts becoming more fluid and he has to start swimming to continue moving,"D layer breached. 25 minutes until core breEEEEEAAAHHH! By Nyx!"
He enters the outer core and is yanked forward so abruptly his fire goes out. He's flies through the molten iron like a shark in water, cursing as he does,"Damnit! I forgot about the gravity here! This is gonna hurt!"
He slams into the iron core and creates a slight outline before slowly, and with extraordinary effort, peels his face away and heats up his fingertips to the point where they sink into the metal until he can feel an open area. A screeching and cracking sound resounds through the lava as he tears the metal apart to make an entrance while at the same time flaring his own power to force the lava away,"Let's see if I was right."
He enters the core and pulls both parts of his entrance together to close it before welding it shut,"Damn it's dark."
Small blue flames no bigger than what you'd see on a candle flicker to life over every one of the fingers on his right hand. He's able to stand at his full height as he moves forward until he sees the silhouette of a rectangular object,"Looks like I was right. Mother did preserve my body."
He examines the coffin to find engravings of himself in the different stages of his life. A small Thrafsma resting in the arms of his mother with his mask pressed against her collarbone. A slightly bigger version of him racing through the sands of Hueco Mundo as fire covers his forearms and his lower legs. A grown up version of him resting his head on the stomach of a lion while another drapes itself over his legs as an amused looking Rhea watches from behind them.
Then the engravings turn from their peaceful depictions to show him warring against his siblings. It shows him covered in ichor with a foot planted on Kronos' chest to extract his vow of peace. And the last image on the sides of the coffin shows him resting peacefully in a field of flowers with Demeter, Hera, and Hestia,"She really went through a lot of trouble for this. Still...it's nice, in a weird way."
He tries to find a way to get the top off of the coffin but finds that the thing in one whole part,"And I can't melt it because it might drip on my body. I don't wanna wake up and have that be the first thing I feel. So," and his fist crashes down onto the stone slab to make a hole that he uses to rip away more stone,"this'll do."
When the last chunk is removed he bends over to get a good look at his body. It looks the same as he does now, except for the missing mask and the stab wound that angrily stands out against his chest. He lowers his hand down to the wound to trace around hit before sliding his hand underneath his back,"Clean through. That sucks."
In his right hand a ball of blue flame explodes to life and blazes in the darkness as he lifts it above his head,"I guess it's time for me," and his hand plunges downward,"to wake up!"
The small ball explodes to vaporize Thrafsma's form and fill the entirety of the room with blue fire that melts the stone and leaves the body suspended in the air. Slowly the fire closes in on the body and focuses to fill the void left by the stab wound. The void slowly closes up as the return of the body's soul jumpstarts its regeneration while the pale skin gains a glow from the liquid fire running through its veins. The fingers twitch as flames cover the forearms and lower legs while the tail attached to its lower spine slowly swishes through the air.
The barely visible tattoos that snake around the body grow darker and thicker until they almost completely cover every inch of skin while movement can be seen underneath the closed eyelids. Spines flare up along his back and his tail slams against the metal ground as his eyes shoot open and for the first time since the golden age of man, Thrafsma takes his first breath as a living being. His eyes dart around as a white substance flows out of his mouth and solidifies into his mask before he rolls onto his side and pushes his upper body off the floor. He takes one more glance around before getting his legs under him and starts to straighten before,"Damn that hurts!"
He flops to the ground as his legs cramp up from centuries of immobility along with his stomach, and his arms,"Seriously? My resurrection is gonna start with this?"
He spends the next minute slowly moving his arms around and massaging his muscles before the cramping settles and he can stand at his full height of 7'7". He stretches his arms, legs, and spine to elicit a string of meaty cracking sounds before slowly rotating his neck to get a few more noises,"Ah man, that felt good!"
He ends the sequence by cracking each individual knuckle in his hands before he remembers,"Crap. I completely forgot about the damned lizard. Better get going."
He starts to move towards his repaired entrance before his feet brush against something metallic amidst the still melted stone,"Eh? What the heck?"
He bends over and withdraws a length of metal before a smile slowly creeps over his face,"This will definitely come in handy."
He gathers the object into one hand before ripping open his exit and crushes it together so the molten metal naturally seals it up as he begins his ascent. Two bat wings made of blue fire explodes from his back to help him swim through the molten metal and burn through the plastic layer before soaring up the ice tunnel Empathy created. He blasts out of the ground and whoops in delight as he can actually experience what's going on around him. He can feel the sun and the breeze, smell the scent of nature, and doesn't even try to stop the joyous laugh that leaves his mouth,"After so long...I live! Screw you nephew, and you too, Chaos! You can't keep me down!"
He lands and flops onto his belly like a dog to roll in the grass, all while Empathy watches him with an air of amusement,"I take it you're a happy imbecile?"
He gets a smile and the finger for an answer before Thrafsma groans,"You can't even begin to know just how good this feels."
Empathy gives him a close-lipped smile,"Well when you're done, we have to go. The longer we stay here, the more likely the Olympians will notice us."
Thrafsma growls in frustration before rolling to his feet,"Fine. Let's get going then," and smiles again,"I can't wait to experience what ice feels like again!"
Before Empathy can get airborne Thrafsma shoves the metal in his hand in his face,"Can you hold onto this for me? I want to run back."
Empathy takes one look at the object before his eyes widen,"Is that what I think it is?"
Thrafsma nods with a smug smile,"Yeah. I don't know how mom got her hands on these, but I'm not going to question it."
Empathy opens his mouth and Thrafsma sticks his arm in far enough that the object rests comfortably inside the icy shell. The dragon closes his mouth as he takes to the air while Empathy folds his wings against his back to create a blazing cape before he races north on all fours.
****
From behind the viewing glass of his grandfather's room Perseus witnesses a tender scene as his gramps' lover applies a gentle kiss to his forehead as an IV of distilled nectar works to undo the worst effects of Hell before his phone rings. He draws it out of his pocket before frowning at the number and accepts it,"Yeah?"
He lets the person speak before his frown deepens and he closes his eyes,"You're sure?"
He lets a deep breath put through his nose,"Got it. Thanks for the report, and keep up the good work. Let me know of any other major developments. I'll make plans to extract you and bring you home....no, stay where you are and wait for us. Also, get the word out. Trojan Horse is a go. I'll see you soon."
He ends the call and takes one last look at his grandfather before turning away and walking down the hospital hallway, towards the exit,"Third time's the charm apparently. If the Olympians want war so bad," and he slams his fist against the wall to leave a small hole,"then I'll give them a war that they can't hope to win."