The Apprentice of Thanatos

Chapter 24: Ultimate Enemy Part 4

     :Greetings, Mother Earth.: Dan bowed his head. :I am at your service.:

     Gaea's brow furrowed slightly, as if she were having a bad dream. Deep vibrations rose from the earth around Dan, and a lulling voice speaking slow words filled his mind; he had forgotten how drowsy Gaea had been when he had first met her. Her lips didn't move as she spoke, but Dan knew it was Gaea speaking to him—he knew her voice.

      "Oh... it's you."

     Dan... hadn't been expecting a response like that. He wasn't sure what exactly he should have been expecting, but... he had thought that Gaea would be at least a little intrigued by someone summoning her using the long forgotten ancient tongue.

     But she seemed more annoyed than anything else.

     "Uhh... yeah, it's... me." Dan suddenly felt rather unsure of himself—a way he hadn't felt in years—and he started to rub the back of his neck before quickly pulling his hand away. He didn't do that anymore—he didn't falter anymore. He instead cleared his throat. "I offer you my aid, Mother Earth. I will assist you in bringing down the gods and returning your children to their rightful thrones."

     He expected Gaea to be pleased. To praise him for his willingness to serve her. He thought she would at least smile.

     Instead, she frowned, her face settling into an unimpressed scowl as she spoke. "Your aid is not needed."

     Dan really hadn't been expecting that. "Excuse me?" He chuckled, but there was no humor to his tone. "I'm sorry, I... must have misheard you. I thought you said that you didn't... need my help."

     "You heard me correctly," Gaea confirmed curtly.

     "But..." Dan was stunned. Gaea doesn't need... me? He shook his head to try and clear his thoughts. No, that can't be right. Gaea always said that... I was important to her. She promised that she would never leave me. Not like they did. So why now would she...? "The gods... a-and your children, the Titans and the Giants, they—you need my help to free them. You need my help to strike down the gods! To kill them!"

     Gaea hummed pleasantly, but to Dan her voice was almost patronizing. "It is true that I need help, but let me put it this way instead. Your help is not wanted."

     "B-but, wait—you can't—you can't do that!" Dan argued, his tone full of disbelief. She needed him. She had told him so years ago, back when he had first met her. It was his duty to bring down the gods—it was his right. After what his... what they had done to him, he deserved to bring them to their knees. To hurt them—to hurt him—and cause even a fraction of the suffering they had caused Dan.

     Just like he had before.

     "Why?" Dan finally asked, his voice low and full of barely restrained rage. "You know that I am strong. I could—"

     "I need not explain myself to you," Gaea snapped, cutting him off. "But if you must know, it was your own actions that swayed my decision."

     "What?" Dan scoffed incredulously. "What have I done?"

     "You know what you have done," Gaea criticized, her tone accusatory as her face settled into a faint grimace. "You are not from this time. From this reality. And your meddling has interfered with my plans. Your younger self has seen what he becomes under my influence, and has decided that is not what he wants to be. That you are not who he wants to become."