Hippolyta emerged from her stupor, looking at where her son's spirit had disappeared she saw the map that had been left behind by her son before picking it up and rolling it up and placing it in her robes. She smiled softly as she looked around the room, trying feel every ounce of her son's presence from his visit. The queen marched from her child's chambers through the halls of her palace. Taking her time she retired to the bathing area, determined that if she was to carry through her plan she would need to look her part as the pinnacle of Discipline and queenly regality.

Pulling herself from the bathing area she pulled on one of her most prized sets of robes and walked to the throne room of her palace. Sitting down on the large but simple seat she called to her subordinates.

"Call all of our sisters to the palace. I wish to make an announcement." The guard bowed before rushing out to call all the residents of the island to the meeting.

Within only an hour the entirety of the island was assembled and all of the women were whispering away, all of them with their own theories on why their queen had called them all here.

Hippolyta rose from her throne, grabbing everyone's attention as she cleared her throat and begun.

"My sisters, today I have gathered you all here to tell you the news of Hades' death." Cheering erupted from the crowed, all of them overjoyed to be able to hear the tale of how their queen slew a god. "But first, I must deliver other, far less expected news. My son, the prince Nathaniel of Themyscira… is dead." Shock rippled throughout the crowed as the amazons processed the news. Then cheering, even louder cheering, accompanied shortly after. Hippolyta was almost brought to tears by her people's cries of joy at the death of her son, before a new emotion surfaced; anger. Rage coursed through her veins and for a moment she wondered if this was how her daughter felt when she heard her sisters speak so terribly of her older brother, who had never been anything but kind to her and everyone around him.

"SILENCE!" her voice roared over the noise of her sisters' chatter, silencing them.

"I will have none of you speaking ill of our savior."

Alekta, one of their people's strongest and most zealous warriors, stood from her place beside her mother.

"My queen, what are you talking about. That pathetic stain is not our savior. He was imprisoned and as you said, he died there."

"Do not speak out of turn Alekta." The queen's voice was cold and void of any familiarity, making the young woman's eyes widen before they dropped from her stare and she seated herself.

"Nathaniel was not contained in his prison, He returned in our greatest time of need to aid in the protection of the world, and by extension; us. He and his sister, your princess Diana, returned to confront the vile armies of Hades and the death god himself."

The crowd muttered as they took in the news. Most were denying it vehemently, unwilling to believe that the being they considered a vile evil was capable of acting out of anything other than self-interest… despite years of evidence to the contrary.

"It was my child… my son that pierced his sword through the death god's body, killing him and destroying himself as well. None of you know the true story of what happened under our island but today I am telling you. The same boy that many of us, and me myself as well for far too long a length of time, believed to be an evil, vile and putrid male stain upon our lands, gave his own life in exchange for our own."

The entire room was in an uproar now, crying out that what she said could not be true. that she was hallucinating, that Nathaniel had tricked her and convinced her that he was not the evil he was. Hippolyta watched and listened as her sisters and subjects cried out conspiracy after conspiracy to explain her son's actions without having to modify their preconceived image of the boy. Finally she could not take it anymore, opening her mouth.

"ENOUGH! ALL OF YOU WILL BE SILENT." the noise immediately stopped as attention was once again focused on the queen. "THERE IS NO ROOM FOR ACCUSATIONS OF ILLUSION OR TRICKERY! WOULD YOU BELIEVE ME SO GULLIBLE AS TO BE TRICKED BY SOME FALSE ILLUSION." The room fell silent, none of the amazons were willing to protest, to accuse their queen of being tricked in such a way was to accuse her of a condition such as an addled mind. "NONE OF YOU WILL QUESTION THIS, OR DO ANY OF YOU WISH TO COME FORTH AND CHALLENGE ME OVER THIS MATTER!?" Some of the amazons looked like they were considering it, but none took the opportunity, after all, the queen was one of the best warriors to ever come from the amazonian people, and outside of her son and daughter she was probably the greatest combatant on the island.

"You are all dismissed." The words were so cold that the assembled amazons could practically feel the ice that froze each syllable, prolonging them and anchoring them within the minds of the Themyscirans. Hippolyta watched as each of her sisters moved to exit the hall, knowing that she had lost some of the respect that her people held for her during her millenium long reign. Even still, she was satisfied. If nothing else she had made sure that her son's sacrifice was not ignored nor that he be anonymous after his death.

Reaching into her tunic she pulled out the map that she had picked off the floor before turning to the direction of the x. Looking to the mountainous area that led to a secluded beach she sent a silent prayer to her deceased child.

"You have grown too soft my dear." An aged voice hissed from the shadows. Hippolyta turned, facing the woman as her face morphed into one resembling pity. It stayed as such for no more than a moment before hardening into one of restrained anger.

"Derinoe, you are too familiar."

"Too familiar my queen?" The old woman rasped. "I remember a time not so long ago that you would have agreed with me wholeheartedly."

"That time has passed. I have seen my flaws and my errors, I'll not allow myself to fall back into such petty hatreds."

"You call our feelings for men petty? After what they did to your mother? To our people? To me? I wonder if your mind has not been addled by your recent brush with your former lover."

The queen turned her glare to the woman, her eyes shining with such fury that Derinoe took several steps back and bowed her head in submission.

"Be careful with how you speak to me sister, I am not above punishing even one such as you."

"And what punishment could you give that is worse than my own farce of an existence, forced to know that the woman I loved has fallen to the charms of men not once, but twice, and has sired from those lapses such disappointing children-"

The old woman could not finish her sentence before Hippolyta slammed her against the wall.

"You will not speak of my children in such a way, we were friends and lovers once Derinoe, but if you truly believe that a mere brush with death is enough to render me senile or love addled, you truly did not know me at all."

Derinoe scowled. "I thought I knew you better than anyone, but if you fell victim to the seduction of man not once but twice, then I suppose you always were weaker than I gave you credit for."

"If you think me weak of mind or body I suggest you challenge me, whatever theatre you chose I will emerge victorious."

"I wouldn't dare my queen, I only tell you now that once this sudden change of heart comes back to harm our people you remember that mankind is not worthy of our trust or our acknowledgment."

"We shall see sister... we shall see."

As his mother called her great meeting of the denizens of the island of Themyscira, the ghost of Nathaniel of Themyscira stood in an ancient temple. It was as old as the island itself and it was probably the most important building on the island. Normally it would be heavily guarded but at the moment all of the amazons were attending a meeting held by his mother. He would really have to thank her for making this so much easier than it would have been otherwise. The ghostly figure walked into the temple, admiring the architecture. Sitting in the center of the building on a large pedestal was the gem that provided the entire island with its immortality. The massive precious stone had been given to the first queen of the amazons, his own grandmother, by the gods but even they had not known the full extent of its power.

The large red crystal was not just a means of extending the lives of the amazons, it was also the last remnant of the Bijuu left in the multiverse. The crimson red gem exuded chakra, the substance that had shaped the planet earth for nearly twenty-thousand years across a thousand dimensions until it was lost nearly seventeen-thousand years ago.

Indra and Asura had once again resumed their eternal battle over the course of the world until finally Indra had won out, besting his younger brother and in doing so conquering the world and eventually the multiverse.

However despite his strength surpassing all others in the world those with chakra still fought, still killed and still resisted. Frustrated over the lack of obedience and the fact that his 'rule by strength' approach to peace was becoming more strained with each new chakra user who wished to surpass him, the reincarnation of the sage's elder son decided to seal away mankind's ability to use the legendary energy. It took years of his life and the death of thousands of shinobi before finally he was able to rid the all worlds of every single being who practiced the ancient art.

It was only now, more than thirteen millenium later, that Nathaniel had rediscovered the power of ninshu, finding ancient scrolls left behind in places so remote that evidently even Indra had not been able to find them.

Moving towards the gem he concentrated and his intangible ghostly form condensed, his translucent body solidifying and regaining substance. Reaching out his now solid hand Nathaniel picked the jewel from its pedestal, replacing it immediately with one of equal size and weight. He briefly sent out a small but insincere thanks to his mother, who's feeble attempts at reconciliation had allowed him access to the island after the death of his mortal form. The dead man patted himself on the back metaphorically as he commended himself over his performance in the caverns beneath the island, his last show of apparent self-sacrifice for his mother, sisters and the world had been more than enough to convince Hippolyta to allow his ghost residence on the island when he had appeared to her.

Amid his satisfaction, Nathaniel could not help but feel a small twinge of guilt travel through him before he managed to shake it off. He had long ago resolved himself to his plan, even if it involved tricking his own mother, manipulating Faust, Hades, even Diana into creating just the right situation where he could burn the death god's blood from his veins. Nathaniel had planned everything, every word of warning and every syllable that had left his lips to the smallest of contingencies in accordance to his plan, all to reach this one goal, his final, ultimate end.

'How long has this been coming?' He briefly wondered as he strode out of the temple of the Amazons, It had been years since he'd started his crusade, his mission, everything he'd ever done, all of his plans and manipulations, from the day he'd found out what he was to the moment he'd killed his old form, to even this action of stealing his people's greatest treasure.

'This is my destiny, I'll not allow sentiment and guilt to cloud this moment, I am too close now to stop here.' Perhaps in time he would apologise to Diana, once he saw her again. But for that moment he had a goal, and he would be damned if it ended in anything other than resounding success.

As he contemplated his past and his future Nathaniel reached a small cave that was marked on the map he had given his mother. Even this, seemingly sentimental action was not without its own logical motivation. After all, with the amazon's well known hatred of him and his mother's desire for reconciliation, would she ever send patrols near the place that could potentially hold the spirit of said child? Would she risk him being discovered? With any luck that room to manoeuvre would give him plenty of time to enact his grand finale.

Moving to the center of the room Nathaniel placed the large red stone into the center of an enormous magical circle with an enneagram (Enneagram is a nine-pointed star) at the center. Placed at the tips of each point were each of the nine swords; forged from the last remnants of the Bijuus' tails.

His hands flashed through hand-seals so fast that they appeared as nothing more than a blur. Finishing on the tiger seal he placed his hands in a smaller circle at his feet which was connected to the larger one by two lines of runes. The glyphs responded to his touch and began to glow and thrum with power.

The nine swords began to vibrate as red chakra leaked from the red stone, crawling down the points of the star and causing the runes that made them up to glow a bloody scarlet. Light filled the cave, flashing between a soft maroon glow to a shining crimson red as Nathaniel exerted his will over the rebellious chakra of the ancient beings. Now he was realising just how glad he should be that everyone was away at the meeting his mother called and that the cave entrance was facing opposite the city, otherwise the entire island would be able to see the lights that were pouring out of the cave at increasing intervals.

It seemed to go on for hours, at some point Nathaniel didn't even think he was conscious anymore. Time seemed to drag on forever yet move faster than anything he had ever felt before. The amount of energy that was being constantly demanded by him to keep the still growing lumps of chakra contained and controlled was so great that he thought that at any moment he could be drained dry and fade away into an oblivion beyond even death's reach.

Finally the bright shining stopped, replaced by a steady dim glow that illuminated the entire cavern. The nine once misshapen lumps had by then taken the shapes of their respective animal forms, tanuki for the ichibi, cat for the nibi, turtle for sanbi, ape for yonbi, horse for gobi, slug for rokubi, insect for shichibi, ox/octopus for the hachibi and a fox for the kyuubi, although none of them possessed any sort of real detail, instead being only translucent chakra in those forms.

Taking his hands off the ground Nathaniel weaved even more hand seals, ending by clapping his hands together. The runes and bijuu slowly began to move towards him, crawling across the ground and up his body. They encircled his abdomen, moved up his stomach and wrapped around his entire upper body, each point of the star visible on his front. The nine forms of chakra sank into his skin. forming nine circles around the nine points of the star.

When finally the red chakra was no longer visible the real show began. Nathaniel sank to his knees, vomiting a large amount of blood and bile before screaming in agony. The angry red chakra had no consciousness or will, but its power was rebellious and operated on the simple impulse that all living things shared: survive.

Forcing himself to staying awake and resist the corrupting influence of the chakra, the young prince, through sheer unimaginable will alone, remained in control long enough for the final seals to take effect, merging the chakra into a massive volume of power and then combining it with himself.

His eyes, which until then had been screwed shut from pain and concentration, snapped open… revealing that instead of his normal grass green irises surrounding the black pupil, and which itself was surrounded by white, there were no longer any iris or whites in his eyes. The pupil had remained the same, but the rest of the eye had been replaced with a pure purple colouring and contained six black concentric circles expanding outwards with six strange tomoe marks adorning the first two circles in an alternating triangular pattern.

Glancing over at a mirror in his small abode he saw the change that had occurred to his optic nerves. An enormous grin grew on his face, expressing the absolute joy that he was feeling. Nathaniel then clenched his now solid hand, one of the perks of his transformation and looked out of the cave's doors to the rest of the worlds of the multiverse.

"Ah… my own flesh and blood."

His final piece said and his body returned to flesh Nathaniel ran to the cave entrance and jumped into the air, taking flight before changing directions.

What Nathaniel did not know, the one thing that had not gone according to his plan, was that his mother had suffered no challenges in the wake of her announcement. He had done his mother the disservice of underestimating her control over the residents of the island and overestimating their hatred of him. In fairness perhaps he had not overestimating their hate of him, more underestimating their fear of his mother. As such the meeting of the amazons had lasted just a little shorter than he had thought. That small amount of time, however, was enough for a single amazon to wander far enough in her rage to see the brilliant lights that had accompanied his resurrection.

Aella of the Amazons, one of the island's most accomplished warriors and expert hawkers, stood behind a small boulder that sat near the entrance of the cave and watched as her prince, who she and now all of the amazons had thought dead, fly from the side of the mountain and take to the skies like the birds she tended to. Seeing his departure she crept into the room, spotting all the things that the young prince had left behind, countless small experiments littered the tables and the ancient gem of Themyscira lay on the ground, its glow significantly faded but still strong. Aella rushed forwards, grabbing the sacred gem and holding it close to her chest before running to inform her queen of the no longer deceased prince's actions. What Artemis did not realise was that the slightest sliver of chakra had wafted off of the stone, sinking into her tanned skin and crawling under it, adapting her body to its power.

Unlike Nathaniel, this body did not seek to control it, in fact, it did not even know of its existence. the small sliver of power chose this moment to make itself a new home, the gem still had the power to keep the amazon's young, it had simply lost the power of the Bijuu that had been sleeping within it, but the gem was boring and it didn't move, it simply sat on its pedestal for thousands of years and the chakra wanted more, it wanted adventure, adaptation, life.

Inside of Aella, the chakra had found what could be considered a utopia. The amazon was completely oblivious as the small spark of energy flowed through her body, subtly changing it to be more efficient, stronger, faster more perceptive, and with far greater endurance. It condensed her muscles while growing more to increase strength, increased the density of her bones to the point where even superhumans would be hard pressed to scratch them, let alone break them. Her eyes flashed a deep blood red from their normal amber as her sight and perception were increased; night vision added and her capacity to process information increased enourmously. The red energy found the dormant chakra coils resting in her abdomen, producing enough to keep her alive but nowhere near enough to support them both. Merging with her body, her coils began to produce the red chakra of the Bijuu instead of the normal blue chakra humans would create. By the time she reached her queen and explained what she saw, the chakra had fully integrated with her and decided to explore. When Artemis laid her hand on the queen's shoulders as the older woman cried, it took its chance and jumped form Aella to Hippolyta, changing her as it had the other woman and continuing on its quest to find some source of entertainment.

Nathaniel was flying over the Atlantic, his new powers allowing him flight in the same way that Diana's godly blessings did. He was greatly enjoying the feeling of the wind blowing through his hair and the freedom that came with self-achieved flight.

'Where to next?' He wondered, watching as the ocean flew past him as he traveled slightly over mach 1. Scratching his neck as he though he came to realise that there were more than a few possibilities for his next destination.

'There are still a few loose ends to tie up. I can't have anyone knowing who I am.' Perhaps he'd have to speak with Waller again, the damn vixen still owed him for his help early in his career.

'No, that woman's a too calculating, she'll make a good ally but better to keep favours with her well stocked... I know, I'll visit 'her'... it has been a while.'

Making a quick turn and heading strait for the north pole, Nathaniel concentrated, feeling his powers rise up he opened he left eye, revealing the purple rinnegan instead of his normal eye. The fabric of space and time tore as he concentrated on the person he wanted to go to and before long a large hole in space appeared. Increasing his speed Nathaniel sped through the portal and closed it behind him so as to make sure none could follow him. After all what good was a vacation if you got called into work during it?

This was the first time since her brother's death that Diana had set foot on her home island, and she still didn't feel comfortable being looked at by her people. Nathaniel may have forgiven them on his death bed but that didn't mean that Diana had to forgive them for everything they had done to him. Although with the recent information she had obtained through her friends in the Justice League there was quite a bit that felt she should share with her mother.

Egeria walked up to her, bowing slightly and beckoning her to follow.

"Princess, I hope you are well." Was all the greeting that Egeria afforded to her fellow sister.

"I am fine, there have been no significant threats to the world that my team and I have had to deal with. If I may ask, why have I been summoned?" Her reply was cool as she addressed one of her brother's chief torturers.

"I am not at liberty to say princess, your mother will explain." The two climbed the steps of the palace, entering the throne room to see Hippolyta standing at the war table with the top generals of the amazons.

Diana's eyes widened at seeing them all here. If all of her mother's most experienced commanders were present then it must have been something important.

"Mother." She spoke clearly and Hippolyta turned, her face changing from one of dispairing frustration to happiness. However there was also something else in her eyes that she had almost never seen in her mother's eyes; worry.

"Diana, it is good to see you again my daughter." The two women embraced, happy to see each other again.

"Mother, why have you called me here? What has happened?"

"It is your brother Diana."

NATHANIEL!? What has happened, which of our sisters has desecrated his corpse? I'll have them drawn and quartered."

The amazons around her looked on, shocked and incensed at their princess' mistrust in them, but also slightly disturbed by her anger and apparent brutality.

"Nothing has been done to his body Diana, it is his spirit that we worry for, There has been a development regarding your brother's after death activities."

"After death activities?" Diana parroted back at her mother, incredulous.

"Yes my daughter. We believe that your brother has returned to life and tha-"

"WHAT!?" Screamed Diana. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE RETURNED TO LIFE? WHERE IS HE?" Hippolyta moved to comfort her daughter.

"We believe it was just yesterday. Aella came to me claiming she saw strange red lights emerging from a cave in the northern mountains of the island and went to investigate. When she arrived she saw Nathaniel covered in black seals and runes that crawled all over his skin. After that he lept from the cave and flew away into the sky."

"I have to go after him, I have to talk to him, it's been so hard this last month, I wanted to tell everyone in the world of what brother had done, but no one would ever believe such an outrageous claim. Where is he?"

"We do not know, all we know is what Aella has told us. Your brother emerged from a cave in the northern mountains covered in black ink drawings with a solid body of flesh and blood. We have not seen him or his spirit on our lands since then."

"Mother..." Diana said in a rather judging tone. "Are you sure all of this is accurate, that none of this is simply a ruse created by our sisters to slander my brother in some way?"

"How dare you?" Exclaimed Aella, who had been allowed into the meeting due to the sensitivity of the topic. "I have served our people as an amazonian warrior since before you were even a glimmer in your mother's eye. You believe that I would try to deceive our queen?"

"When is comes to my brother... I have learned from experience the lengths that everyone on Themyscira would go to to ensure that Nathaniel is not remembered as anything other than a stain on our so called 'purity'."

"Enough." Interjected the queen, forcing both amazons to back away from one another. "Diana, I went up to the cave myself, I saw what was in there. Dozens of different formulas that could be used to bring the dead back to life... and none of them were without their own share of sacrifice and consequences. The reason you are here is that of all the things we found there was almost nothing of any real value to locating your brother; some instructions on alchemical solutions, a few magic spells whose origins we do not know of, but there was one thing."

Hippolyta led Diana to the center table where there was a single note.

"This note was apparently important enough for him to encode. The positive side is that it appears to be similar to the code the two of you used when you were young to swap notes and cheat in your old classes." Diana looked down slightly bashfully as her mother gave her an amused smile.

"However because none of use managed to decipher your code we have been unable to actually read the note. I am asking you to translate."

Diana looked thoughtful for a moment before conceding, as she too wanted to know what her brother had left to say.

The next few minutes consisted of Diana decrypting and translating using the cipher she and Nathaniel had together created (a little project he had made up to make use of their boredom in the endless hours of study time in Themyscira's libraries). When she finally finished the translation she picked up the piece of paper with the now understandable text and began to read.

'Dear little sister.

If you are reading this then that means that my plan worked. I do not know if mother or your sisters have told you or not but the only way they would have found this note is if I am alive and not on Themyscira. Before you give this note to Mother, there are some things I wish to say to you before everything and I ask that you not show this part to mother or our sisters. The first is something I want to make absolutely clear that you know, and that is that I will always love you. No matter what you do or what atrocities you or I commit I will always be there for you as your older brother so do not ever hesitate to contact me for whatever you need, even if it is simply someone to talk to. I hope that you can say the same for me.

The second is the truth, because if anyone deserves to know the truth it is you. It was me. It was all me. As you know I gave Faust the amulet he used to conquer Themyscira, but that is not the end of my machinations. I am the one who gave Hades the idea to use Faust. I am the one who arranged everything that led up to and included my own death. I am sorry for the sorrow I have caused with my plan and I could never apologize enough if I made you cry. When we meet again we will have a long talk I promise you that. Until then goodbye and I hope that no matter what happens next you will not judge me too harshly, I am entitled to my rage.'

With Love

Prince Nathaniel of Themyscira

PS. Give me a call - XXXX-XXXX'

Shaking her head Diana finished the letter and was quite torn over whether to show the note to her mother or to keep her brother's secret he had trusted her with.

On the one hand, Nathaniel's actions were treasonous to the highest point and should not go unpunished, on the other hand, could she violate her brother's trust after he had so plainly put his faith in her? And if she did betray him would he simply see her as just another amazon waiting to stab him in the back?

Part of her told her that he would never simply cease trusting her. That his letter told her that he would always love and stand by her. The conflict came when the smallest voice in her head brought forth a little doubt; will you become like them? Will you betray him?

Deciding that the contents of the letter could be considered at a later date Diana tore off the first piece and did as she was instructed, tucking it away in her bracelets, contemplating getting longer pants with pockets to replace her shorts. Walking out of the small room she had been given to work efficiently she handed the rest of the letter to her mother.

'Dear Amazons of Themyscira

I am sure that this letter brings great dissatisfaction to all of you, but I am alive and I really must thank you for leaving the temple and the crystal completely undefended, it was very kind of you and it made my job so much easier. Now to start off this little letter I would like to say Fuck You, Fuck All of You. There now that we have that out of the way we can begin fully.

This letter is a warning, a warning to all the amazons who live on this island that I will be back, and when I return, every single one of you will feel the despair and contempt that I felt everyday of my past life. Know now that the next time you all see me I will bring ruin to this island and everyone on it, no one will be safe and no one will be spares my fury. Forgiveness is not so easily given nor is it earned with a few words and some kind gestures. It will take much more than that to convince me of your remorse and unlike my mother, none of you feel any for my treatment, for my suffering at your hands. You all will continue every day to convince yourselves of your innocence, that my treatment was deserved and that you acted reasonably, so I too will be reasonable.

Kiss the ground I walk on, call me your king and declare me supreme ruler of the amazons, you will be my slaves for all eternity and will follow my every order to the letter without a hint of resistance or hesitation. You will be my servants, my caretakers, my whores for all time and maybe I will not raze the island and slay you all with my blade. If not, then I will gladly kill you all without discrimination or a care in the entire world.

Now that my piece has been said, feel fear, feel despair, feel utter hopelessness, knowing that no mater what preparations you make, no matter what precautions you set, I will return for my revenge."

Sincerely yours

The future King of Themyscira and the ruler of the amazons,

Nathaniel'

Setting the letter down on the table Hippolyta was so shocked by the words written by her son that she collapsed into her throne. She felt tears flow down her eyes as the feelings of despair that her son would soon force all of them to face overtook her, she placed her head in her hands and sobbed. Her boy, her son… she realised that her apologies would never be enough but to think they had meant so little, then she remembered that he had mentioned her remorse, did that mean that there might be hope for her and her people?

Diana was also in shock. His letter to her had said not to judge him harshly but the price he demanded for his forgiveness and mercy were too hight, the amazons would never allow themselves to submit to a man in the way he wanted them to, they would fight, fight to the bitter end and Diana knew that if what was written in the letter was accurate most, if not all, of paradise island would be rendered into a crater and as a proud warrior of Themyscira she could not allow that, no matter how strained her bonds with her sisters were.

The other amazons were staring at their queen who was sobbing into her hands on the throne. Normally when some kind of outside male force threatened the the amazons she would be the first to decree hostilities and prepare for war. Ever since the death of her mother by a male assassin she had been especially hard on any male intruders to the island, even sentencing males born of their trice a century copulations with sea vessels to be thrown from the cliff to the waters below had Hephaestus not interfered and offered to trade the boys for weapons.

Now instead of that strong willed, capable and fearless leader they had relied upon for many centuries, there was a broken woman who was wrought with hopelessness and sorrow.

"My queen." Said one of the council members. "My queen what are your orders?"

Now may not have been the time to ask the woman however, as her anguish seeped from her thoughts on her son to her stance on their defense.

"My son…" She stammered through her sobs. "I am sorry, I am so sorry Nathaniel."

Diana took charge, seeing her mother so vulnerable and devastated was something she had never seen before.

"Defend the islands boundaries, have extra sentries at all times, we must ensure that if my brother returns then we will be able to repel him if we cannot find a way to defeat him."

"Princess…" Said Philippus; one of generals and one of her mother's closest friends and advisors. "You do not truly believe that he could defeat all of us. We are amazons and we will not be felled by one arrogant man."

Diana's temper flared as her sisters once more underestimated and insulted her brother.

"Do not underestimate Nathaniel general. He is stronger and better trained than most others on this island, he single handedly defeated and killed the god of the dead himself as well as defeating both myself, several of my compatriots and even our queen. You would do well to remember just how dangerous your tortures have made my dear brother."

Philippus narrowed her eyes at Diana, recognizing the blatant insult to her intelligence and the reminder of the fact that everything that was happening with the prince was a direct consequence of their own actions.

"Very well, I will ensure that our sisters know of the increase in security and make sure extra defenses are establish-"

An enormous 'boom' interrupted their conversation, followed by several more in quick succession. Once of the guards rushed in from outside, a panicked look on her face.

"My queen the city, it is burning!" The entire group immediately left, rushing into the main city even as more explosions rocked the island and set fire to more buildings. Diana flew up into the air, hoping to scope out the damage and identify the most vulnerable areas. From the sky she looked down on the city and saw, saw just how well her brother had planned this assault. The armories, weapons lockers and food stores were all alight, amazons running to and fro to try and save what little they could as the majority of their supplies were destroyed. Diana knew that the food was not a real problem practically, on the island amazons did not need food to survive as they were kept sustained through the magic of the island. The real problem with attacking such a resource was much more a moral victory while the destruction of weapons and forges served a much more practical end.

Staring down at her burning home, Diana began to realize just how bloody this war could become between her brother and her sisters. More importantly, if it came to an all out battle, who's side should she chose?

And there we go, I hope this is the answer you were all looking for. I hope you all enjoyed. I knew the forgiveness was way too over the top but that was the idea, it was so unreasonable that it wasn't real.