Chapter 4: Battle
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No one had said anything after Flash's honest statement. They followed the path of the battlefield until it ended at the forest on the other side of the city. With respect to the dead, they flew over the stained ground, following the forested trails that led in the direction of the mountains. The late mourning sun drifted through the gaps in the tropical treetops, the humidity rising quickly in the air around them.
Diana was leading the group, her eyes dull as she picked her way through the forest trails, scanning around her and the group for any signs of danger. Her mind was blank, switching off any thought that would slowly creep in and stir any kind of emotion whatsoever. Not even anger radiated off of her, afraid to let it out in any form in front of her team mates.
The forest around them was eerily quiet with the absence of all the animals; the signs of battle even present in the under-bush by the half concealed bodies of the dead by the ferns and the arrow shafts that were embedded in the trees. Minutes seemed to trickle into hours as they walked on, a slightly muffled sound coming from up ahead and beyond the forest.
"Hey, Superman, do ya know what that sound is?" Flash asked, the group coming to a sort of scattered halt in the undergrowth.
Diana stayed a little further away from the group, face turned towards the area the nose was coming from. A slight frown marred her exotic face, her thoughts quickly centring around the strange familiarity of the forest she stood in. It suddenly clicked, a fleeting memory of childhood rearing its head in her mind. 'I used to play in this forest as a small child with my fellow sisters. And then there was that excursion up to the mountains with the Elders…' "Hey, Superman, on the other side of this forest is a valley with a long and deep gorge running through it's middle. There is a bridge that leads to the other side and up an unknown path to the mountains.
"We Amazons would have to use this path if we were ever in serious trouble from any opposing armies." Diana finished, turning to face the forest around them, her eyes catching slight movement but dismissed it as a trick of the eye.
Superman, though, was trying his hardest to shift all the even slightest noises of the forest around him and filter out the humidity that was effecting his hearing so much. "I'm trying my hardest to get the noise just right… But this humidity is a killer…" His voice trailed off, his eyes widening.
"What is it Superman?" Green Lantern questioned, unfolding his arms at the look growing on the red caped superhero.
"The sound of battle. I hear the sound of a war being waged."
Diana was off like a bullet, her comrades following not far behind.
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Grunting with the added pressure of both swords bearing down on her, Kairi ducked down, crawling between her opponents legs and kicking it from behind and causing it to stumble. Quick to use this to her advantage, she stood up to her full height, and she swung down with her left elbow blade, slicing her enemies legs off from its body and cleaving the torso in two with her right elbow blade. Turning rapidly, she entered the ongoing fray, feeling the hours of countless battles and running from the undead army start to take its toll on her fighting, her movements becoming more sluggish and her blows becoming more weaker.
'Damn them for cornering us here in this valley!' she mentally cursed, pushing her long brown hair over her shoulder and out of the way. Ahead of her she saw the violet haired woman known as Talim, hack her through the skeletal army and towards her, nursing a deep cut on her upper arm.
"There are too many of them!" she cried, dodging a blow from a skeleton with her large shield and hacking it down quickly with her large broad sword. "We must cut down the bridge and protect our sisters on the other side!" she called, attacking another skeleton as it lunged between them.
Kairi, twirling her dual blades as if they were apart of her own body, grinned as she kicked the head off of a skeleton, and, jumping over the preoccupied creature as it searched in vain for its head, sped off in the direction of the frail rope bridge. "Don't worry! I'm on it!" she called over her shoulder, her athletic build easily dodging blows meant for her and cutting down a few skeletons while she ran towards the swaying bridge.
Before her stood an Amazonian built rock structure, thick slabs of rock creating the effect of stairs as they went up for about five metres, before becoming a solid platform, twin poles of wood having been impaled long afore she was born into this world, standing straight up. An enchanting aura surrounded the wood, the golden rope glinting in the glare from the late morning sun as Kairi stepped forwards, twirling her blades once and aiming for the rope that was tied on to the pole to her left.
"Hera help me with strength! Demeter, forgive me now as I cut into your sacred wood!" and with that, one blade set firmly in her mouth, she chopped down hard with one blade in both hands, and watched as the blade sunk firmly into the wood, the golden rope loosing its sheen of magnificence and falling to the ground at her feet.
The rope bridge, which was held up by eight pieces of rope, four on either side, sank slightly to the left.
She sank down to her knees to prepare to cleave the next rope in half, and, when her blade was lifted above her head, a cold, boney hand caught her wrist. She turned to stare up at her captor, her blue eyes going wide as she saw the glint of its pointed spear come bearing down on her.
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It was a battle alright.
Below them was an army of two hundred skeleton warriors and fifty or so Amazon women, defending a lone Amazon warrior who knelt by the rope bridge, battling her own skeleton warrior.
Diana, though, stood firm in the face of adversity. Her hand went for her sword that was resting by her hip, and she pulled it out, raising it high above her head. "Sisters!" she called out, her voice loud and clear, echoing around the valley before her.
The battle seemed to come to an abrupt halt, both parties turning to look to her as she stood on the small hill overlooking the battle. Her friends flanked her on both sides, their ready stances signalling their readiness to join in on the fight. She nearly laughed, an honest laugh, when she saw a skeleton size up Flash and he did the same thing.
Lowering her sword so that it was pointed at a skeleton directly in front of her, she smirked. "BATTLE!" she cried out suddenly, charging down the hill and into the fray of the battle, her adrenaline pumping through her veins like it never had before.
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Kairi, swiftly dodging the downward blow with a well-placed armour-clad leg, had frozen on the spot in her same position of crouched down with her leg still in the air, when Diana had cried out.
Turning her head to look at her fallen sister, she grinned, realising that her sister had come back… And with reinforcements. She had no choice to ponder the thought when she was kicked from behind and she fell forwards, sprawling on the dirt in front of her. Rolling swiftly to dodge the blow of the spear she knew was coming, she used her small amount of free time to find her dropped elbow blades.
Above her stood the same skeleton that she had hacked down earlier, hopping on one of its legs that it had managed to find and stick back on. Spear as its weapon of choice for this round, its half grin turned into a sickening snarl when Kairi rolled for the second time as its spear stabbed down. Her eyes caught sight of a silver glint, and with an audible sigh, she noticed that they rested by the bottom rope of the left-hand-side of the bridge.
Taking a moment, and dodging another blow again, she examined her position. She looked back at the skeleton and pushed it firmly back with a kick to the ribs, causing it to fall backwards and lose its balance and tumble over the side of the platform, landing with a literal one-breaking impact at the bottom.
Scrambling up onto her legs, Kairi dashed forwards and towards her fallen elbow blades. Picking them up once more, she stood and looked out towards the battlefield, noticing how more powerful the newcomers were; they were turning the tide pretty easily and quickly. Thinking for the time being that the bridge was safe and fine, she joined in the battle at the bottom of the platform, making sure that no skeleton got past any of her sisters.
From the corner of her eyes, she could see her other sister, all scattered about the battlefield and her new Queen's associates slowly beating back the army of the undead.
Left blade fixed firmly in her mouth once more as she performed a small pirouette and cracked more than a few skulls from her opponents and wiping the sweat from her brow. Kairi stood still for a moment and contemplated the small hand-full of men that so willingly fought with her sisters. It went against everything that she had been taught, but it instilled within her a sense of awe and pride as she saw them team-up and fight.
She couldn't help but smile, a new sense of hope flooding through her body as she returned to defend the bridge.
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The red swirled in the glass goblet like an oblivion of red nothingness, the familiarity of the wine bringing a cold smile to her face as she set the glass down and picked up the gilded silver mirror. Its surface was cold, a hostility of endless proportions creeping out of the confines of its surface. Its once black surface came alive suddenly as a grey mist appeared deep within its core, a shadow forming within it, gradually becoming more human-like.
Blond hair appeared on the shadows head, blue eyes forming quickly after it as the pale, slim face of a woman appeared in place of the shadows. "What is it that you seek now, Eris?" the woman asked, red, full lips pursing together as her eyes darted about her.
"Oh, do calm down Persephone, he won't know you're are on this. I was the original Goddess of the Underworld, remember? My magics are stronger than his." The first woman said, a slim hand coming up and twirling a strand of dark hair as her purple eyes narrowed. "Now, onto business. As you can guess, they've arrived on the Island. Diana is feeling the blood-lust already."
Persephone frowned, her blue eyes looking down as a hand came to her chin in thought. "This is grave news indeed. I must get into contact with Mother, or even at least Hermes." She stopped, looking up at Eris square in the eyes. "We must send word to Diana about her birthright. If she does not know and unleashes her power in the final battle with Hades, it will all be over… A greater evil coming to the throne… No! We must not let it happen."
Eris smirked, her glass goblet back in her hands and to her lips. "You are quiet fetching when in a rage, my dear Persephone. But, not to worry, I have already sent word to Hippolyta concerning the events." Her smirk turned into a snarl then. " What I find annoying is that Hippolyta was, and in some ways, still is the Queen of the Amazons. She was such a coward in denying Diana knowledge of her parentage that she was willing to die to keep it a secret!" she quietened herself by taking a long sip of wine.
"Eris, all blame must not be put on Hippolyta. Nor on Diana, for she is in complete ignorance. Only one must be to blame, Eris, Goddess of Chaos, Strife and Discord, and that is Hades himself. For now we must rely on that message you have sent to Hippolyta and pray that she does not bend in the adversity of family affairs. She had quailed once, let us hope we do not have a repeat performance." Persephone's face was stern, her serious expression dissolving when the sounds of a deep, baritone voice started calling her name. "For all our sakes, let us hope that she understands how important her decision is for all of humanity and for all the Gods as well."
The mirror in Eris' hands went blank once more and she put it aside, calling out a servant of the mists that was apart of her ever-present exiled solitude. Having her glass filled up with wine once more, she turned, conjuring a seeing portal out of the mists and watching the scene unfold before her. "My dear Hippolyta. I know that you can hear me. Though, such a pity that you can neither open your eyes or answer me." She sneered, watching as a grey-suited medical person checked on the various monitors that the comatose Queen was hooked up to, shaking her black head when there seemed to be no change.
"You once loved my brother, did you not? Yes, I must admit, he is quiet a stunning specimen. Cronos was lucky to have given the seed of such a perfect being. I very much miss him… Oh, how I flew into such a rage when I found him start to love you in return." She paused for a moment, taking a sip of the wine in her goblet. "Though, I did not do anything to tear such a romance apart, it would be his own fault. He was his own undoing… And slightly yours as well
"My dear, that mother of yours was something. I especially enjoyed the part of your little romance when she banished you to the tower on the cliff overlooking the ocean… I swear, it's like what the humans call a soap opera. Such young love!" she sighed almost dreamily.
A sneer appeared on her face once more and she took a long draught of wine. "And he actually came to you, took all of who you were and when he had had his fill, he left!" she roared, grinning in malice when the comatose Queen flinched slightly. "Everyone know the rest of the story. A scorned woman, especially an Amazon is no laughing matter, and you showed him his just deserts, Hippolyta. And for that, I give a thanks.
"Not all women are like you, Hipplyta. You show courage in the face of Hades himself, but quake in fear when you have to tell your daughter who her father really is. Tsk, tsk. And for a while I prattled on to my brother that he got burned… And, hehe, quiet severly too." She shook her head, placing the goblet down and turned her eyes on the Queen, pouring into that link some magic that would hopefully benefit the both of them in a way that would perhaps be their turning the tide in the up-coming war.
"Just remember this, Queen Hippolyta, that if you do not wish to tell your daughter the truth, the man you least like in this world and the next, will tell her the truth, and the results will not be good for any side.
"This family secret of yours is a double edged sword. With this sword could mean the salvation of you puny planet and the survival of your beloved Amazons… Or it could mean ultimate destruction for both the Gods and the Universe. Your choice, Hippolyta, but for your sake and everyone else's, make the right one."
With a snap of her fingers the portal closed, the connection to the Queen diminishing. Now hopefully she can rest up and restore her limited powers before the real battle would take place. Summoning another servant, she ordered a new goblet and new drink.
Declining the wine this time, she chose the blood of her human sacrifices that were still being performed till this day and admired the acidity of bloods metallic taste.
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Blue eyes snapping wide open, Hippolyta sat up in bed, the one-sided conversation that Eris had had with her still ringing in her ears.
The Goddess of Chaos, Discord and Strife had called her a coward, something no one had ever called her in her entire lifetime.
It was folly to think that she was not, though. She really indeed was a coward for not telling Diana her parentage when she had had the chance. And now she was facing the undeniable task of somehow telling it to her daughter. That in itself was almost an impossible task.
Placing her head in her hands, she felt the sting of tears but bit them back, instead trying to concentrate on where exactly she was. To her right was a wide window that showed nothing but endless space, punctured by thousands of tiny white dots that she came to a shocking realisation, were stars. Not a moment later, as the space-station orbited around the planet Earth, its rotation cycle showed the planet Earth, in all its blue, white and green glory below.
Hippolyta stared in awe at the little planet below her and watched as it slowly moved out of sight as the space-station rotated out of its viewing range. "By the Gods." She whispered, her eyes now darting about the room and noticing that she had been hooked up to strange machines which emitted quiet whirring noises and another machine that was hooked up to the tip of one of her fingers, give off a gentle beep every second or so.
The conversation came back to her three fold and Hippolyta started to rip off the devices in hand full. As soon as the one that had been clipped to her finger had come off, a loud, high-pitched siren went off and she stumbled out of bed. She dismissed the siren, standing tall in the white gown that covered her body and concentrated, calling on the power of the Gods to take her back to Themyscira.
Moments later an emergency medical team, wheeling in a crash-cart, came into the room, only to find it empty and devoid of any life. Not even a dead body lay on the bed for them to work on.
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Amity-Star: Ah… Yeah… I'm really sorry for not up-dating in over a year… I'm really sorry! Please take pity on me and how bad I am at up-dating this fic. I'm honoured to all those that still even now submit reviews... It makes me only kick myself more to up-date. This chapter took me quiet a while to crank out, apologies once more for those who are still faithful.
Life has just been really hectic right now, even more so with College/University next year and my HUGE HSC exams coming up in term 4. I'm dreading October people.
With that said, I plan (and pray to any God listening) that I can finish this fic before the end of the year, making up for the vast emptiness that was last year… But family problems and other… stuff… happened and you just have to deal one step at a time.
Ce la vi, show must go on!
Kris.
Chapter Notes: This chapter introduces three new, but important characters.
Kairi the Amazon, though is my character and not some kind of mythical goddess of some kind, will be important for later in the story… But a warning, she might seem Mary-Sue-ish, but it must be there for the purpose of the fic.
Eris, Goddess of Chaos, Discord and Strife. She is the keeper of the Golden Apple of Discord. Is thought to be believed to have started the chain of events that led to the abduction of Helen of Troy. Said to have given birth to abstract divinities of Hunger, Pain and Oblivion. Eris is important in this story, though I don't know all that much about her, because of her relationship with Hades. More to come later.
Persephone is the daughter of Demeter and Zeus and was once kidnapped by Hades to serve as his Queen of the Underworld. For six months every year, she stays with him in the Underworld which is when autumn and winter plague the world. When the six months are up, she returns to Olympus for another six months which is spring and summer. In this story, she's fed up with the cycle and sick of his temper.