Hippolyta refused to let any representative of Themyscira to attend the funerals of Thomas and Martha Wayne, but she send a condolence letter and allow Diana to send a wooden box with the red flower of comfort inside for Bruce. Hippolyta made a prayer to her gods for the souls of the departed king and queen of Gotham, and retrieved her nation even more from the patriarch's world. She knew the Wayne's assassination will only unfold chaos, and she wanted Themyscira, as far from the political turmoil as possible. But just after that, Diana's nightmares got worse. Every night she wake up in pain, at first she screamed Bruce's name, but eventually she only wake up in tears, and spent her days with a great feeling of sorrow.
Hippolyta was deeply worried, no matter how many infusions of tea they served Diana, every night she had nightmares. The Queen decided to turn again to Hades, and ask him to erase Diana's memories from Gotham, 'With a few drops from the river of Lethe everything will be resolved, no more nightmares or memoirs from that hideous mortal boy; Diana will be as happy as ever' Hippolyta mused to herself.
However, Hades refused her proposal, he disliked the idea of removing his daughter's memories, specially since their time at Gotham meant also the period he started to bond with Diana as a father, and he was worry about her nightmares too, so he decided to visit Hypnus, the god of sleep. He went to his cave inside the underworld, where not day or night ever set; despite his primitive exterior, the cave was inside a regal palace, full of elegant objects disposed in a very peculiar way, tapestries of Hypnus favorite dreams were hung form the walls, the torches almost perpetually burning, cast a strange light that also provided shadows around every corner. Hades entranced the cave with authority, while everybody at the Olympus regarded Hypnus as a dangerous god, Hades was not going to tolerate that him or anyone else intruded on his daughter mind.
" Hypnus," said Hades as a greeting but also something on his voice sounded as a command.
" My Lord Hades, what do I own the honour of your company?," said Hypnus politely, he knew the Lord of the underworld, did not like to pay house visits for nothing, something deep was bother him.
" I want to consult with you about something," Hades said while casually pacing around the vast hall of Hypnus' cave, " Tell me my Lord."
" My daughter is having nightmares, not the usual bad dream, but vivid ones," Hades turned and looked at Hypnus directly in the eyes, his look was fearsome "What have you done to her?," he demanded.
Hypnus was surprise and he just replied, "My Lord Hades, I have nothing to do with Diana's nightmares. However, I'll have a talk to my son Morpheus."
"I don't want Diana to have nightmares again."
"I'm afraid that is impossible my Lord," said Hypnus and after looking at Hades furious eyes, he almost regret it.
" Why?"
" You know the nightmares are messages my Lord, and only the dreamer can sever them," explained Hypnus coldly.
" Are you saying that Diana has nightmares because she wants to?," Hades fury turned to surprise.
" In a way yes. Do you know what the dreams are about?"
" I cannot be sure, but I believe they are about a mortal boy she met while we where at Gotham."
" She befriended a mortal?," Hypnus said horrified "That is a never a good thing. I'll talk to Morpheus and I'll see how much involvement he had on this. In mean time, the only thing I can offer to help is to make her profound asleep and dreamless, she won't remember her dreams once she wakes up."
"That will be enough for now. Thank you Hypnos."
"You are welcome my Lord."
As soon as Hades left, Hypnus turned to a dark corner of his magnificent hall and his son Morpheus came out from the shadows.
" How much did you hear?"
" Enough."
" Are you involved on this?"
" I won't deny it. The princess asked for help and who am I to refuse the pledge of a demigod? Especially since, she is the daughter of the god of the underworld."
"You knew the consequences; you allow her to connected with a mortal boy."
"No father, even as powerful as I am, I didn't construct their link. They were already bound; I've just help them to communicate to each other."
" What did you do?"
" I allow them to have vivid dreams about each other. To be honest I thought I was enabling a fantasy, but I was surprise to find they can sense what happens to the other, they have a psyche link."
" That is impossible!"
" Is it? You can have that kind of bond through a love or blood relationship. You don't think they are siblings?"
" Of course not! Diana is Hades only child and as for Hippolyta, her other son died long time ago."
"Then love it is."
"That is even worst. That means Diana is the Amazon who will change Themyscira forever."
" What are you talking about?"
" There is an old prophecy among the Amazons, which says the day will come when one Amazon will change the world. She will be powerful, compassionate and fearless; she will help and love both mortals and immortals."
" That does not sound too bad."
" In the end she will die because of that love."
" Ok, that is not so good. Nevertheless, we are not sure if Diana is that Amazon, after all she is just a little girl of twelve years old, how deeply in love could she be with the mortal boy? This is a phase. It will pass, you'll see."
"For you own sake I hope it pass, I don't want to have the god of the underworld as an enemy."
In the mean time, at the Mount Olympus, near to the throne of Zeus, Ares was furiously strolling down.
" My son, I hate to see your beautiful face with that scar," said Hera with sadness.
" You and me both mother. I want revenge, lift my ban on Themyscira, allow me to show Hippolyta and her daughter how they should treat a god, that way Hades will understand that on the Olympus we are not merciful and he will fear us."
" Sometimes you are so childish. You seem to forget Hades is part of the Parthenon of the Olympus and Hippolyta is one of our most loyal subjects, she is our protégé. You went too far when you attacked Diana."
"Mother, that girl needs discipline; she befriended a mortal, and was help him by teaching some our fighting techniques."
" That is not a crime."
" It was a mortal boy from Gotham!"
" Perhaps Diana has a poor taste in friends, but what can I do? I'm not her mother, Hippolyta will take care of her."
" You know Hippolyta is worthless, looked at what she did with you grandson."
" Ares, we both know Hippolytus was a reckless boy."
" That was not true, he was intrepid and brave. He was perfect!, " Ares said passionately, his eyes were about to get teary.
Hera felt a sharp pawn of pain in her heart, so she decided to take a risk.
" Ares, dear, why don't you move on? After all if you love to be a father so much, you can have another child, I'm sure there are plenty of goddess, women and Amazon alike that will love to bear your son."
" My son cannot be substitute. Unlike his mother, I will always honour his memory."
" I hate to see you so grim, what can I do to help you?"
" Lift my ban on Themyscira."
" That is out of the question."
" Then punish Hippolyta, make an example out of her."
" Hippolyta has already suffered a lot. For instance, she was devastate when Diana was missing… Besides, I like her. She has always been a very loyal subject to me, not for once she gave in to your father advances, unlike so many others."
" Yet, you didn't help her to find Diana."
" Hades talked to us, he said he had everything under control and that it was a family affair. We respect that, in the end everything resolved well.
" Not everything, I have an awful scar, and Diana befriended a mortal boy.
" You knew Hades' temper, and what did you expected when you attacked his only child? I heard you whipped the girl with vengeance. You should be thankful your brother bestowed amazing healing powers upon her otherwise; you would fall the of Hades wrath. And as for Diana befriended a mortal boy who is inconsequential."
" You didn't see what I saw."
" What do you mean?"
"That boy was willing to kill me and to die for her, and she was willing to do the same for him. That relationship is dangerous."
"You are overreacting. How old is that boy?," said Hera dismissing her son assessment.
" I don't know, he looked around Diana's age."
" You are afraid of a twelve-year-old?"
" Of course not, but I don't like when mortals are disrespectful to us. Remember Theseus or Heracles?"
"Ok, if it makes you feel better, I will stop that relation."
" How?"
"If Diana and a mortal ever fall in love, I will stripped her from her immortality and from the gifts I grant her, she will die a mere mortal."
" I like that idea, " he said with a pleasant smile on his lips.
" I knew you would, now come, let's drink, all this discussion made me thirsty."
Clark went along with his mother and father to Kandor. He didn't know what to expect, now he felt responsible for the people of Krypton.
As soon as he arrived to Kandor, his heart broke; he only saw ashes and destruction, the splendors of the city long gone, the remains of the streets were ghosts of a glorious past that he knew it was not going to come back soon.
His parents made camp among the ruins of the palace of Kandor. There he could see the past glory of the House of El. It was an odd feeling, everything was confusing and at the same time familiar. He decided to walk around, and in the middle of the city in ruins he eventually found his way to the temple of Rao.
The temple was in ruins, but oddly enough, the altar was still standing untouched. Taken by a rare act of faith, he decided to make a small prayer to Rao, and then he walked around the place, when he saw an oval mirror still intact, he picked it up and brushed away the dust, he yelped when the image of a man appear in the mirror, as if he were looking trough a window, he almost drop the mirror in shock that moment.
"Don't be afraid Kal-El."
"Who are you?"
"I'm Rao. And I've been waiting for you."
"You know about me?"
"Yes."
"How?"
"I'm a god Kal –El, but most importantly you cannot run away from your destiny."
"And what is my destiny?."
"You will bring glory to the people of Krypton, you are the spirit of our people I come at this time to you, to guide you and to prepare you for what will come."
"What will come?"
"War has unfold, soon must of the kingdoms will be involve."
"Smallville! we must return to our farm," said Clark with alarm.
"No, you mission is here. The farm and Smallvile, are now your past, you must prepare to master your powers and you have to learn how to lead the people of Krypton"
"But…"
"Kal –El you are not destined to be a farmer, you are the prince of Krypton, and you have duties with your people. Now listen to me. I've passed to another spiritual plane, the only place where I can have a physical form now is at the fortress of solitude, a palace that is at the coldest place on earth. You will easily survive there with the powers I conferred you, but Jonathan and Martha won't . They must stay at Kandor, here they will be safe from the devastations of the war. But I need you to be swift. We have little time, before, the fortress will be blocked by the war."
"But that will mean that I have to leave my parents."
"Yes."
The answer make him nervous and left him with a feeling of uneasy, he had just reunited with the Kents and now he will have to leave them again. He felt like a sharp dagger was piercing his heart.
"Kal-El, you must have faith and trust me. You need to learn to control your powers and to get used to your long-term mission in life."
"What is that mission?"
"To reconstruct Krypton."
"But I'm only a boy, I do not know where or how to begin."
"I will guide you."
The hard winter with its long dark nights and emptiness was gone but Bruce felt completely heart-broken and more than anything, he felt a rage that consumed him. He knew someone inside his castle wanted his parents and him dead, and that he survived the attack was merely because his mother and the wolf sacrificed for him. That made him felt so guilty and paranoid, he distrust most of the people around him, except from Alfred and Lucious.
Bruce spent his days training relentlessly and thinking of possible scenarios of things he could have done to prevent the assassination. While his nights were plague with nightmares, where he dreamt of pouring rain that turned into blood, or beautiful gardens that burned into ashes, but every time when he thought in his dreams that he was about to die, the shadows play in the shape of Diana, and he heard her calling his name. Only once when his parents recently died, he could see her in his dreams as vivid as if she were next to him, and as she ran to him, he embrace her so tightly as if his life depend on that. But most of the nights her image became less clear as if she were a shadow, a voice that whispered at his ear.
When spring arrived at Gotham, the seneschal told Bruce he was going to send him to the Easter Nation "for safety reasons" he said. Although Alfred and Lucious opposed to the idea, Bruce didn't care, he had fallen in a depressed spiral, where everything was black, and his beloved Castle, felt like a tomb and a prison. He went away with only Alfred as escort to the dangerous roads of East. Many times during their travel thieves tried to robbed them, but Alfred was a great swordsman and not once they were rob, despise their adventures and the deep bond he had with Alfred, Bruce melancholy as well as his nightmares remained.
After weeks of hazardous travel they finally arrived to the East kingdom. Bruce was astonish by the eastern palace's magnificent. The emperor was courteous but indifferent and although he provided for Bruce and Alfred, it was obvious he didn't want them there. The war between Gotham, Metropolis and their allies against the Nordic Nations was turning into a gruesome massacre, where thousands were dying on daily basis, and it has just started. The eastern imperator didn't want to get too much involved on it, he felt that having the prince of Gotham as a refugee inside his palace made him a perfect target for the Nordic.
The eastern court was very rigid; they have hundreds of protocols, and most of the time Bruce felt like a prisoner inside the castle of the eastern imperator. One day he overheard sounds of sword fighting; curious he went there and observed how the two eldest sons of the emperor were engross in some sort of sword playing, although the techniques were like fencing, their swords were different in shape to any he had seen before, and the rules seem different too. He observed them carefully, when suddenly they came to halt, the oldest son of the emperor, Takaharu, who was a couple of years older than him, whispered something to his younger brother, Kuniharu, and both turned around to see Bruce.
"You are not allowed to be here, " said Takaharu.
" I didn't know that. Besides, is this the way you treat a royal guest?, " asked Bruce not without a hint of irony.
" No, but you are wondering our palace uninvited. Are those the manners of a prince?, " replied Takaharu.
" I guess, I'm not like most princes. What were you doing?"
" Is not of your business, " said fast Takaharu.
" It looked from a far as fencing. "
" It was not fencing; it was Kenjutsu," said with pride the younger of the brothers, Kuniharu.
" You won't mind if I try?," asked Bruce.
Both brothers looked at each other, with a mix of surprise and amusement.
" I don't want to hurt you, it will be rude, " said with arrogance Takaharu.
" No worries, you won't ," said Bruce with a smirk "Come on, I'm dying of boredom here. It will be fun."
Takaharu was annoy, it was obvious he didn't like Bruce's attitude, but he saw in his dare an opportunity to taught a lesson to his overconfident guest.
"OK, let's do it. Kuniharu, lend Bruce a katana."
"But Takaharu…" protested the younger brother.
"Let's do this fair. Why don't I borrow your katana and you borrow your brother's weapon?"
Takaharu was upset but he didn't want to be perceived as unfair, specially if he was going to defeat Bruce.
"All right. The rules are simple don't get yourself kill."
For the next twenty minutes, Bruce and Takaharu took turns to trounced each other. Bruce, couldn't help but to admire Takaharu's technique, that emphasized the early thrusts and the throat as a primary target. However, he was a good fencer, and in the end he parried Takaharu and left him without his katana.
" You are good ," said the eastern prince with sincerity.
"Not really ," said Bruce with a voice devoided of emotion.
"Don't patronized me, I know when I lost, " said Takaharu angry.
" I'm not patronizing you…I just need to become better ."
" Why? "
" You won't understand ."
" Try me. "
" If I were a better fighter, I could protect the people I cared the most. "
" You have an army and lot of guards to protect you and I'm sure you can use some to protect any people you want. "
"You can bribe guards or just indifferent towards the persons I love, that is why I need to be a better fighter and that also why I need an invulnerable armour."
" Armour's are useless unless you know how to fight. In the later stages of kenjutsu, one can win without a blade, " said Takaharu.
" Is that truth? " asked Bruce with hope.
" That is what the legend says, although I haven't seen anyone do that, " replied Takaharu.
" There is one that can, " interjected Kuniharu.
" He is a myth Kuniharu," said Takaharu scolding at his younger brother.
" He is not! ," insisted Kuniharu.
" Even if he lives, he most be really old," pointed out Takaharu.
" Age is meaningless. What matters is the state of mind," said Kuniharu.
" Yeah, yeah, those words are nice poetry but when you are old, your bones will beg to differ ."
" A true kenjutsuka doesn't aged," said Kuniharu.
" You had listen too much Kenjutsu's stories… Nobody has seen sensei Shihan Matsuda in years."
" Is that his name? Is he the one who can win a fight without a sword?" asked Bruce.
" Yes Bruce, and if you really want to become a great warrior, you will have to learn from the best, and he is the greatest master of martial arts in the world," said Kuniharu with determination.
"I'd have to agree with Kuniharu on that," concurred Takaharu.
"Where can I find him? ," asked Bruce with earnest.
"He lives at the top of the mountain near the Himalayas, but even if the sensei is alive I wouldn't be very confident he will accept you as an apprentice, " mentioned Takaharu.
"Why not ?," asked Bruce defiant.
"With a sensei such as Shihan Matsuda is all about honour and commitment, he will see through any lie you may try to play him with, and he is not dazzle about power or wealth. If by any chance you become his apprentice don't expect him to treat you with deference because you are a prince, for him you will be nothing more than a servant; you will have to prove worthy of the knowledge he will share with you. Moreover, the training will be brutal ."
"Yes, but at the end of that training of you survive you will more than a man, you will be invincible," said Kuniharu with pride.
"Then I'll go and met him," said Bruce with total resolution.
"The road is dangerous," said Takaharu.
"Not as dangerous as the roads were when we came here," said Bruce.
"It different …when you came here, you faced common thieves, when you train with Sensei Matsuda, the road in itself is a test. The road is treacherous, and narrow, if you don't look careful you can easily get lost or fell in the cliffs."
"I'm not afraid of highs," said Bruce with a smirk.
"Well if you are so determinate, I'll help you. I will provide for you," finally stated Takaharu.
"Perfect it's settle then," concluded Bruce.
"There is something else you need to know: you must go alone," said Takaharu as a warning.
"Then I´ll say my goodbyes," mentioned Bruce in a cold way.
Both brothers watched Bruce go, and for a moment they went silent, until the younger brother Kuniharu smacked his older sibling.
"Takaharu are you serious?! Is your offer legit?," asked with worry Kuniharu.
"Yes".
" What will father say? Bruce is our guest!".
"Father will be please; Bruce's presence here endangered us," replied Takaharu with a light smile on his lips.
"Why?," asked Kuniharu perplexed.
" Kuniharu, don't you see? The world is at war, and Bruce's kingdom is the one leading the others to battle, that he is here, turns us into an easy mark and father cannot negotiate any alliance or truce because of his presence. But if he leaves by his own will…."
"Father could negotiate with whomever he wants, " said Kuniharu finally realising what was behind his brother offer to Bruce.
"Look, I don't have nothing against Bruce, but maybe he is right and he needs to be a better warrior. Is obvious he doesn't trust his own guards."
"So you by helping him you are in reality helping us?, " asked Kuniharu hesitantly.
"Yes little brother, and that is politics to you. You need to think ahead if you want to be my successor one day, Kuniharu."
E/N: Love to read your comments on the chapter.