(A/N: Thanks again to Em for reviewing and to all those who read. Close to 1,500 hits now. Keep 'em coming guys! Here's part two. Read on…)
Chapter Eleven: Twins
"Well? Come and get it…"
All at once, the Earthbornes charged. Ashton stood calmly with his swords raised. He simply sidestepped on the first Earthborne and sliced it across the chest. What's strange is the blade didn't even leave a mark. It made it look like he missed it completely. What happened next was even stranger. The creature grasped its chest, fell over and began to trash madly on the ground. The Earthbornes simply stood there and watched their brother slowly, very slowly dissolve into nothing bit by bit while writhing in absolute pain.
"Ulltimo agone…" Cera whispered. "The ultimate agony…"
Ashton took another deep breath and lunged at the nearest Earthborne who just stood there and watched as the blade easily went through its thick body like it was made of thin air. As he pulled the blade away, the creature this time grabbed the sides of its head and collapsed; trembling violently. What happened next was the same as earlier; slowly dissolving bit by bit while suffering all the while.
"Ultima timor…" Cera continued. "The ultimate fear. With Fear on the left and Agony on the right, one could break anyone's soul but that someone could not use their power without him knowing what they truly felt. That's why he never wanted to use it but he was chosen to do so."
"Chosen?" I asked as I watched him battle three dozen Earthbornes at once who were at first very reluctant to attack. On the ground were several of those who were writhing in either extreme fear or pain or maybe both while slowly dissolving. Just by looking at them sent shivers down my spine. I can barely imagine those blades cutting through a human being but I have a strong feeling it already had. The undead army, with their moral boosted upon seeing him, let out a battle cry and charged to help him out.
"Yes. Chosen." Cera continued. "He and dad said so themselves. They wouldn't tell me why though but if you're gonna ask me, I would prefer it to be used by nobody. It's just that the user also suffers. I can clearly see it and I can't stand seeing him like that."
Ashton materialized in front of us. He stuck his swords on the ground and used them for support. He had a wild look in his eyes and he sounded pretty shaken when he spoke. "A-are you guys okay? You guys go on ahead. I'll have to push them back as much as I can."
"Are you nuts!" Cera blurted. "You look like you'll black out any second!"
An Earthborne burst through the chaos and charged at us. I flicked open Desolator and sliced its head off. Ashton stood up shakily and Cera helped him up. "Hey listen," He told her. "I've got to use them as much as I can and as long as I can. Go get yourself some ambrosia and nectar then come back here and take over. Okay?"
Cera shook her head slowly. "You're an idiot. A dumb, stupid, crazy idiot…"
Ashton just gave her a silly grin. "Yep. That's me. Go on ahead. I'll make sure there's still some left for you guys to take care of."
Cera sighed and tapped his cheek. "Don't overdo yourself. We'll be right back as soon as we can. C'mon Mark."
I looked behind me before I shadow traveled away. The undead army was doing well pushing the Earthbornes back and most of them were already on the run. We just might have a chance at this.
***xvx***
Most of us were already at the coliseum save for Liz, Brandon, Haley and Ashton. The coliseum had dramatically changed while we were gone. Several large green tents were perched up. An endless line of undead warriors were lining up on several of them where ghouls would hand over different kinds of weapons before marching straight to the battlefield. Rick and Michael came in a few seconds after us with Michael immediately being put in a stretcher.
"Knocked some teeth out of me. Who knew they could punch that hard!" He babbled. "Hey Mark, hey Cera, looking good…"
Cera and I watched as he was carried off by a pair of medic ghouls. He obviously won't be in action for a while. Rick limped towards us still wearing his signature grin though he looked pretty busted up himself; his curly hair all messed up. "Hey guys. You made it. We both came back since The Fields of Punishment are all under control."
An undead clinical nurse walked towards us with a tray of nectar boxes. We each took one gratefully.
Rick continued his story between sips. "They kept on coming *slurp* and coming but then they all stopped and scurried back to their *slurp* hole. Guess they got the message not to *slurp* mess with us."
"You mean you didn't push them back?" I asked.
"Well, I did some of the *slurp* work with this baby here of course." He threw away the empty juice box and unsheathed his sword halfway; a four foot long Stygian Iron blade with strange silver markings. The moment I looked at it, I felt shivers run down my spine as if it radiated an aura of fear. I swallowed and tried my best not to whimper. "But yeah, they sort of ran off."
"Rick, put away Metus. We're talking here!" Cera snapped though I could notice her voice was slightly shaking. She was sitting on a wooden stool as a medic ghoul came over and fixed her arm.
"Sorry." He sheathed his sword though he really didn't look that sorry. There was a sudden woosh sound and Haley appeared a few meters away. She ran up to us.
"Hey guys. I'm back!" She was out of breath but she looked better than any of us. "I sent back Ryan and Kim earlier. Not much to do back there anyway. Even dad's Vanguard barely did anything. The Earthbornes just ran off after a little fight even though they still outnumber us three to one. I saw the Keres. They only seem to concentrate on the Gates."
"Wait." Cera cut in. "I have a feeling they didn't really retreat because of us."
Just then, Kim ran out of one of the largest tents were a couple of suits of armor were displayed on both sides of the entrance. She was out of breath when she spoke. "Rowena's calling everyone in. She said that something bad is coming. Very bad. And it's almost here."
We all rushed to her tent. Cera didn't wait for the medic ghoul to finish and she arrived at the tent with her fixing the bandages on her own. Not that she mind. Ryan was already sitting on the floor mat and we joined him.
Rowena was sitting in the middle. On the far corner were about a dozen of bowls filled with her blood along with empty boxes of nectar. She looked really pale and her life force was almost non-existent. When she spoke, her voice was shallow and her eyes were in a daze. "I-I summoned Charles Martell and his army to reinforce the Gates… Brandon and Liz should be back here in a minute. As…for…As for Ashton, he's pushing himself to the limit and he's almost at the pit. He-he has to go back. One more thing…"
She coughed violently and almost collapsed if Rick and Haley hadn't caught her.
"Shouldn't you rest for a while?" I said worriedly. I glanced at my siblings and their faces were all grim.
"If she does that, three-fourths of the undead army you see out there would be gone and we'll be overrun." Cera explained.
I glanced at Rowena in awe and in pity. She's behind most of the undead warriors who fought with us? I guess it's part of being an Ultimate Medium but the price she pays for doing it…
"As…I was saying…" She winced and coughed again; her lips tinged with blood. "It's almost here…It's-"
A loud rumble shook everything. Rowena's eyes widened into that of shock. "It's here. No wait… They're here…"
"Wait. What about Ashton?" Cera sprung up. "You said he's near the pit! He-"
She was cut off by a pair of laughter bellowed somewhere faraway but we all heard it loud and clear from here. Before she could continue, a huge explosion rocked the Underworld. It reminded me of a movie. Was it Terminator or something? The explosion was quite similar to that and I remember Rick telling me what kind of explosion it was: a nuclear explosion.
All of us, except for Rowena and Haley, ran out of the tent and saw a huge mushroom cloud from where the pit was. In the next split-second, the shockwave hit the coliseum and we were all thrown aback.
"Keep your head down!" Cera shouted amid the thick storm of dust and flying rubble of all shapes and sizes. I even recalled seeing a tank being carried off or maybe it was only my imagination.
"It'll be a while before I can watch Terminator Salvation again." Rick whimpered beside me.
And then, just as fast as it came, it was over. If it weren't for the coliseum's walls, we would have been blown away for sure. The tents didn't survive though and were probably swept hundreds of miles away. Strangely enough, the suits of armor though were still standing where they were earlier and Rowena and Haley were lying flat behind one. The area surrounding us was dead silent though we can still here explosions by the Gates.
I stood up shakily along with the others. Cera on the other hand just sat there motionless; her expression was that of pure shock. "I-I can't feel him…" She whispered; trembling a little. "He's… gone…"
I didn't understand what she meant at first but then it hit me. I couldn't sense Ashton's life force anywhere. Being a child of Pluto, we can all sense each other's life force miles away though Cera told me that we can hide it if we wanted to. I searched for Brandon and Liz and luckily, I found them somewhere near the Gates. They disappeared for a second and now they're on the coliseum. Brandon was right next to me. Rick and I caught him before he hit the ground. He looked totally beat up with several cuts in different parts of his body probably from fighting the Keres.
"Hey." He greeted us. He looked close to passing out. "We decided to drop in. Look who we found on the way back. He doesn't look good though."
I looked over where Liz was. She was down on one knee and lying beside her was Ashton. The remaining medic ghouls rushed into the scene. We handed Brandon over to them. Cera spun around with a look of disbelief and that of relief as well as she ran to where Ashton was. We followed her. Liz was carried away as well. Just like Brandon, she was just as badly beat up but it still wasn't anywhere near Ashton's state.
We surrounded him. His eyes were staring dully staring at the ceiling. He had a nasty cut on the side of his head and several more on his body. His shirt was all tattered up revealing some of his grotesque wounds. His breathing was shallow; a pool of blood was forming on where he lay. His life force was still present though very, very faint. He wasn't just wounded. He's dying…
"ROWENA!" Cera called out. Rowena came as fast as she could manage. "Please. It isn't too late yet, right?"
"It would be risky but if it's to save our brother, I'll do it." Rowena said; determined. She placed her hand on his forehead and frowned. "I'll need more spiritual energy. Show me your weapons. All of you."
Everyone was puzzled but we did it nonetheless. I flicked open Desolator. Rick unsheathed Metus. Kim and Cera pulled out their daggers. Haley and Ryan drew their swords. Everyone except Rick and Rowena shifted uncomfortably when Metus was drawn. I took a closer look at their weapons and I noticed that they were somehow translucent. They weren't pure black anymore unlike Desolator which didn't seem to change at all.
"Stygian Iron is known to absorb the essences of any living thing it touches." Rowena explained as she prepared Ashton's body for the ritual. "The more essence it absorbs, the more powerful it becomes. Absorb too much though, and it will break and release all its stored energy at once. I'll use the essences your weapons have gathered to temporarily bind his soul to his mortal body."
"Temporarily?" Cera cut in. "You mean, you can only make him stay alive for a short time!"
Rowena nodded. "I'll try to prolong the bonds as much as I can. His body must be ready to accept his soul by then or else he would die that's why he would need all the healing he can get before the bonds expire."
"Well…I guess we should give it a shot." Haley raised her sword. We all followed soon afterwards. Rowena began to chant in an unknown language with one hand raised and the other still on Ashton's forehead. The words didn't sound like Latin or Greek or any other language I've heard of. It's probably something more ancient.
I felt vibrations coursing through Desolator which began to emit white wispy smoke like the other weapons. The smoke rose to the air and collected into Rowena's palm until she's holding a white ball the size of a basketball. She continued chanting as she placed that hand on Ashton's forehead as well and the smoke dissipated. Their weapons returned to their natural color. An explosion shook the ground. It was followed by the same pair bellowing laughter all coming from the direction of the gates. We almost forgot about our new visitors.
For the first few seconds, nothing happened. Ashton took in a deep breath and sank back. His eyes fluttered open and glanced around as if wondering where he is. His life force flickered on and is now a little below normal.
"You idiot!" Cera exhaled in relief almost close to tears. "You went too far. Look what happened!"
Kim, Ryan and Haley joined in; both teary eyed. Rick and I stood back. I inched a little farther since he hasn't put away Metus yet.
"Too stupid…" Ashton's voice was tight. He was obviously in pain but he still tried to smile. "Should've seen that one coming…tried to move away…too late…"
Rowena sat back panting. "I-I've just lost control of five hundred undead soldiers just by doing that. The bonds will only last for half an hour unless I can get a hold of more essences. Earthbornes don't really possess that much essence in them. I've managed to use up three thousand of them only to extend his life for thirty minutes."
I noticed Ashton's blades which just lay on his sides. "What about these ones? They might have absorbed some."
"Mark, NO!" Cera tried to stop me but it was too late. I grasped the handle and the moment I did so, pain exploded from inside me. My arm felt like it had been injected by molten metal. My skin felt like it was peeling off. My muscles felt like they were melting slowly. I managed to let go of the blade and I collapsed on the ground. All the pain went away the moment I let go of the blade.
Rick came up and held out his hand. I took it. "Guess that makes the two of us. I picked the Fear one though. One of the reasons why I'm not afraid of Metus' powers anymore. I've seen and felt something way stronger than it."
"Multiply that a hundred times and you'll know what those Earthbornes back there felt." Ashton said in a raspy voice. Does he feel the same way when he wields these blades?
"Uh guys?" Haley was by the stands staring at the direction of the Gates. "Who and what are those two?"
I glanced at the Gates and saw two large identical humanoid figures amongst a thousand Earthbornes. They stood nearly forty-feet tall with dark green scaly legs and a serpent's tail. Their torsos were sky-blue in color covered in strange tattoos. Their faces were human; bald and had long gray beards. Both were wielding huge clubs almost the size of the stalactites that hung on the ceiling. They, along with their army of Earthbornes and the horde of Keres were all laying siege on the Gates; destroying the remaining defenders in it.
"I should've expected this." Rowena said grimly as she stared into the chaos and destruction out there. "Earthbornes were children of Gaea…and so are the Giants."
"So that's a Giant." Rick nodded. "Gigantic…"
"Otus and Ephialtes." Rowena continued. "The giants that stacked three mountains atop the other so they can reach Olympus to take Artemis and Hera as their wives. Artemis killed them. Or to be exact, made them kill each other."
"Rowena can I ask you something?" Cera stood up. I can imagine the gears turning in her head. "Will it be enough if we supply you with two Giant essences?"
Rowena's face lit up in realization. "It might not just extend the effect of the bonds; it can speed up his healing!"
Cera nodded and knelt beside Ashton. "We'll be back soon. Just hang tight, okay? AND DON'T DO ANYTHING ELSE STUPID! Got it!"
"Alright, alright. Sheesh." Ashton rolled his eyes. "As if I can do anything stupid at this state."
Cera sighed, leaned and kissed him on the cheek. She then stood up and faced us with her face slightly red. "Alright. Get yourselves some nectar and ambrosia. Fix any minor injuries and stuff like that. Rowena, keep us updated about his condition. We'll be back in fifteen minutes." She drew out her daggers; her dark green eyes blazing with determination. "We got a pair of twins to absorb."
(A/N: And done! The second part of the war is over and the next chapter would be its conclusion (way far from the conclusion of this story though). A little hint for the next chapter: I'll be using one of the deceased canon characters from the first series (the PJO). It will only be a cameo appearance but he/she would be responsible to end this little war we have here (it's still little compared to what I have in store! *laughs evilly*). You guys are welcome to guess. It will be in another week or so before I update and I've decided to add some spice to this. You're free to guess which one is it and if you guessed correctly, you get a chance to have the character you created to be one of the two remaining children of Pluto whom I haven't introduced yet. (Remember the first chapter? There were twelve of them that time minus Rowena). Only one guess is allowed and must be coming from an official account. (Anonymous suggestions will be ruled out to avoid cheating and such)One more thing, it's quite obvious that I made up a lot of stuff regarding their powers (especially Rowena's) and also the nature of Stygian Iron. I hope it's alright and not overrated and such. If you have any reactions and suggestions or if you want to point out errors and stuff, I'll be happy to know about it. There's always the "Review this chapter" link at the bottom and it's open for everyone. That'll be all for now. It's the longest author's note in this Raven's history. See yas! Iron Raven out…)
