Shattered

Veronica/Atlas

Pain.

That single word described their new existence. They were trapped in a body that was burning away with each passing moment and required them to take the flesh of others to maintain it. Every step they took felt like a thousand fiery blades were slashing at the soles of their clawed feet. Each breath felt as if their lungs would pop, like a balloon over a fire. The golden flames that had replaced Veronica's eyes never stopped absorbing information, and they saw so much more than her pretty blue eyes, more than a mortal mind could ever fully comprehend. And now with the addition of Dionysus trying to fight his way out of their stomach and eating every ounce of nourishment they ate, they felt as if they were starving.

But, their current state was nothing compared to the horrors they had undergone while held captive by the mortals. Veronica had had her eyelids removed, the muscles and nerves in her arms and legs severed, and was subjected to dehumanizing experiments that she knew would haunt her until the day she died. Atlas meanwhile, had chunks of flesh cut away and was probed and prodded as if he were some kind of animal.

Yes their life was pain, but one can learn to ignore pain.

The little mermaid learned to ignore the pain to be with her prince, Veronica's voice echoed in their shared mind. But I totally would have killed the prince at the end if this is what she felt like.

"What are you talking about?" Atlas grunted, as they circled the clearing for the umpteenth time that day.

Just comparing my situation to my favorite fairytale, general. Have you made any progress?

He didn't respond, which answered for him.

It had been close to a week since the daughter of Aphrodite and daughter of Bellona had disappeared into the Mist thick woods. He should've known the clearing they stopped to camp in was a trap as it had been absolutely clean of any and all traces of Mist, something that was almost impossible. But while they had been in a deep meditation that passed as sleep, the Mist had rolled around the small clearing so thick, that even they couldn't see through it. They had only woke up when they heard Piper scream out in pain somewhere deep within the woods. They had tried to leave the clearing, but no matter what direction they went, they always wound up back in the clearing with Betty White.

Well, we could try burning the Mist away again.

Burning it was a waste of energy and time, Veronica.

We've been here a week. Time is the one thing we have plenty of.

Not that kind of time and you know it...

Atlas regretted the words the second he thought them. There was absolutely no need to remind the daughter of Mercury that she was always on the brink of death. If their shared body burnt away, Atlas would be forced to return to his own body, which was still currently holding up the sky, while she would be sent to the underworld for judgment.

And that absolutely frightened her.

Veronica longed to return to her home once more, to help her mother sort the local mail, to spend a lazy afternoon playing with her dog, to go to school, to detassel the fields with her friends in the hot muggy Iowa summer, and to have her grandfather hug her with his strong arms. She wanted to experience that just once more.

And the strange thing was: Atlas wanted that for her too.

-----

They're back again general...

I'm well aware of that....

They had known since the beginning of their interment that they were being watched, but it wasn't until the second day did they get their first fleeting glimpse of their captors. They always stood just at the edge of the Mist, obscuring them just enough that neither of them could identify them. The only things they knew for sure were that their captors weren't mortal, could change shape into some four-legged beast, and had command over the Mist that rivaled Hecate herself.