I'm back again, sooner than I expected.
Despite my work, I've been writing like a machine-gun these days. Maybe it is the university after all which puts me back,
because I haven't stopped playing games, that's for sure :P
Happy Reading!
The gruesome death of Hermes along with the news he carried were enough to send the whole base into disarray. A few hours ago everyone was relatively calm and composed; they knew what was lying ahead of them, but now - now, most of the people in base were in a state of constant anxiety and fear that at any moment Chaos' forces would be at their doorstep.
As soon as the news reached Nox's ears, she immediately called an urgent strategy meeting in which the group was allowed to attend, since its decision would directly affect their immediate course of action. The meeting was tense; the personal emotions run deeper than they usually were. It was obvious that those news had shaken the composure of even the most reliable and calm minded gods.
In the end, their war plan changed drastically from the original. It was unanimously decided that the armies would stay back and protect the base from Chaos' forces at all costs; if his forces could reach Order, it would be all over. As for the group, Janus would use all of the magical energy stored inside in his three magical portals to bypass Chaos' base repelling wards and teleport only the group and their partners inside – an impossible feat for any god, but not for the god of portals and transitions from whom dimensional travelling was as normal as breathing.
"Ladies and gentlemen! Prepare yourselves! For you shall become witnesses to the greatest feat of dimensional travelling of all times. Ladies and gentlemen, I present you the Door!" Janus said excited to the group who didn't seem to share his enthusiasm.
"You name your greatest creation door?" Crowley asked a little bit ironically.
"Not just door! The Door! With capita D! This Door will teleport you inside Chaos' base and not only that – it would also transport you as close to your final destination as possible; I've pinpointed its location as accurately as possible based on the information we have." Janus explained.
"So, once we are there – we should be relatively close to the artifact's location, right? And according to what your leaders said there wouldn't be any of the Chaos' troops inside the base, so the only resistance that we may face would be Chaos' servants." Tohsaka made a brief recap of the plan.
"Yes, but we still won't be able to teleport back until we are out of this base. So we may have to face some of Chaos' army on our way out." Osiris said.
"Granted that we will survive that long…"Dean mumbled under his breath.
"It won't be the first time we'll die now, won't it?" Sam replied jokingly.
Dean let out a small chuckle. "No, I guess it won't be."
"It's time to shine Master! Let's go kick Chaos' butt!" Awilix said grinning at Tohsaka, she returned the gesture with a confident smile on her face.
"Just so you know, I can't guarantee your safety. I only need your magical energy – if you want to hide when we get there, then please do so, there is no shame in fleeing from a fight."
"Who the hell do you think you're talking to? I am the King of Hell! I couldn't care less about the fate of your world or whatever, I fight to protect everything I've worked so hard for. I won't let that joker Chaos take my gains away from me." Crowley gave a strong reply to his servant Loki.
"-and Castiel if I tell you to hide behind me, you will do so, okay? And if I tell you to run, you will do so, okay? And if-"
"Nemesis!"
"If I tell you to-"
"Nemesis!" Castiel said louder than before.
"Huh? What is it?" She asked.
"I get it! I'll follow your lead and do as you instruct me, but I want you to promise me that you won't do anything extremely reckless. I've made a promise to your mother to keep you safe." Castiel said in a serious voice.
"M-my mother made you promise that? Doesn't she realize that she should cast her personal feelings aside and focus on the enemy ahead. We have no time worrying about our own safety if we want to defeat Chaos." Nemesis stated boldly.
"Sometimes….sometimes, our true enemy is not the man who stands before us, but someone who stands beside us. I've learnt this lesson the hard way…" Castiel said in a regretful tone.
"I can tell that you want me to teach me something, but I am not sure I follow…" Nemesis said.
"It's nothing…just be sure not to put yourself in unnecessary danger." She nodded at him, tightening the grasp around her jeweled longsword.
"Shirou! Don't you think that you should talk to Sakura about the thing you've been asking me about."
"Come on Rider, there is a time and place for everything, but not now. It is not the right time!" Shirou said.
"Why does that excuse sound familiar…anyhow, at this rate you will never say to her what you want to say. Come on, go-go-go! Hey Sakura!" Rider called her over and at the same time turned around and went to talk with Isis.
"Why did Rider call me and then run away?" Sakura asked Shirou as she approached him.
"Hey Sakura! So…I was thinking….you know, now that we are getting married and you are having a baby. I was wondering about the name of the baby-"
"And…?" Sakura asked with a slight chuckle.
"Honestly, I'm not really good coming up with names, so I decided that If it is a girl, I' d like to name her Ilya and if it is a boy, I'd like to name him after my foster father, Kiritsugu. What do you say?" He said in one go without blinking or taking a breath.
"Hmm…a good name…a good name…" Sakura mumbled as she brought her hand on her chin. "As you know, I don't have the fondest memories from my father so, if it is a boy let's name him Kiritsugu. But for a girl would you mind if we named her Aoi after my mother?"
"Thank god, for a second there, I thought that you would suggest naming her after Tohsaka - ahahaha…" They both laughed heartily after a brief pause.
"tsk…" Rider clicked her tongue.
"So…Medusa, why are you exactly spying on them? Were you hoping that they would give their first child your name by any chance?" Isis asked with an unusually huge grin on her face.
"What?! No-no-no! I just wanted to know the name...only that!" She said flustered, blushing a bit.
"Is everyone ready?" Janus asked them after waiting a while for them to finish their small talk.
"We're ready Janus, send us in! And for your sake, be sure to not to pull any kind of pranks this time." Isis warned him with a stern look on her face.
"Don't worry Lady Isis, even I, know that not all times are suitable for my elaborate pranks –"
"I wouldn't exactly call them elaborate though. You just make people fall." Dean thought to himself.
"Anyway, please hold tight to one another and don't let go until everyone is there; sometimes, it takes longer to travel to the same place, because the particles move through different dimensions in order to arrive to the same destination. It's what I like to call lag-"
"Spare us your lecture and beam us up!" Crowley said displeased.
"Hmmph…as you wish! Watch your step now!" Janus said as he pushed the air in front of him, opening several portals on the ground beneath their feet; just like he did when he transported them from Shirou's home to the realm of the Gods.
A few moments later, they were there.
"Everyone alright?" Osiris asked as soon as they landed on solid ground, going around to check up on everyone.
"We're okay, but where to now?" Castiel asked.
"It looks like we're inside a building. So does that mean that Janus's successfully transported us inside Chaos' base?" Tohsaka asked.
"Hmm…we're certainly inside the base. I can feel my magical energy reverberating with the energy which the Hand of the Gods permeates. I'm sure you can feel it too." Isis said, referring to the immortals among the group.
"So, that's what this annoying tingling is." Crowley complained as he scratched his head anxiously.
"I don't feel anything." Sakura said.
"Me too!" Shirou added.
"Neither do we." The Winchesters said.
"Remember, the Hand of the Gods was constructed as a countermeasure to control the Divines. You don't feel that tingling, because you are mortals and it doesn't affect you as it is. But it reacts to anything that originates from the entity which we call Divinity; that includes, gods, angels and demons." Isis explained.
"We should move out. I am sure that they already know that there has been an intrusion." Awilix prompted them to move, with a silent nod thee started running towards the direction Isis indicated them.
As soon as they had fallen inside the portals a side door opened up and three people walked inside. It was Nox, Athena and Nuwa.
"Have you sent them safely?" Nox asked.
"I did the best I could so that they could land inside the base and as close to the vault as possible." Janus replied. "You should stop worrying for them and focus at the matter at hand. I am no expert, but even I can feel the magical energy of the forces that are approaching and it's huge! Am I right Lady Nuwa?" Janus asked, looking at the head of security of this base.
She nodded with a troubled look on her face. "Ever since we got those news from Hermes about Olympus, new reports from my familiars have been arriving constantly. And as you know my scales react to high concentrated magical energy. See for yourselves!"
With a wave of her hand, a significant part of her purple, silk robe dissipated into thin air, revealing a fair amount of skin; her arms, ribs and inner thighs were covered with glowing, white scales.
"The shinier they are, the highest the amount of magical energy in the air. If I were to compare it to their usual brightness, it would be like comparing a desk lamp with a huge fluorescent ceiling light."
"Your human comparisons always befuddled me Lady Nuwa. But I'll assume that it was not a good comparison for us." Janus said.
"No, it really isn't." Nuwa said as she reverted her clothes to their original form.
"As we speak, the other two, Ra and Odin are organizing their armies for a defensive battle. With my father, my brothers and sisters and a large portion of our army gone, I am responsible for the fate of the rest of the Greek army." Athena said.
"Have you decided on a plan?" Nox asked.
"Who do you think you're talking to?" Athena said half-angry.
"Watch your tone child! You're talking to me, not your fellow gods. Remember! You are the general of our armies and commander of the Greek army, you bear a responsibility towards everyone. They depend on you to lead them." Nox said in a strict tone.
Athena inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly. "I apologize for losing my cool. My feelings from before have yet to subside….
Ahem…Let me explain you our course of action, the plan is to hold the line with the Greek hoplites and Norse Einherjars, while the Egyptian divine beasts will provide ranged artillery and aerial support between fixed intervals. Gods' will be deployed with the troops in the battlefield and at strategic positions around the base. Chaos will also sooner or later send out his servants to aid his own army; we will focus all of our firepower on them; the troops are no match for them and even us will have a problem fighting them. That's why I told everyone not to take them on, unless it is three to one at least."
"Do you think you can hold out until they come back?" Nox asked Athena.
"…" Athena remained silent for a moment, before giving her answer.
"Twelve hours! Sixteen at most! I don't think we can keep them out of this base longer than that. Unlike Olympus, this place is not as well fortified. After that my estimate is that this base will fall in about 5-6 hours and all that considering that I have not underestimated the power of Chaos' forces." Athena said with a stern look on her face.
"I see." Nox said briskly. "I'll have to speak with Order, considering our situation, I may be allowed to lend you my strength in this conflict only. Also, Nuwa! I know that you will be busy with the communications throughout the battle, but do you have magical energy to spare? Nox asked her.
"Depends…what do you have in mind?"
"Are you capable of spawning an additional army with your magic?"
"You are aware that I downright opposed to using my children as cannon fodder!" Nuwa said slightly insulted.
"I am. And I am not asking you to create living, breathing human beings, just an army of mud soldiers."
"Hmm…I'll have to disable the protective mist around the base and also need a huge amount of fertile soil."
"Mr. Geb might be able to help with the latter. He's a god of earth after all." Janus said.
"The mist won't hide us if they are right in front of our doorstep, so when they are within firing range from the base, drop the spell and summon your army." Nox said commandingly.
"How much time do you think you can buy if you have an extra army as large as all of our armies combined?" Nox asked Athena.
Athena took some time calculating the variables inside her head, before giving her reply.
"It's hard to predict such a thing. Those mud soldiers are not an army you can directly give orders to. Still, with their numbers we might be able to hold them off for at least 6 hours."
"Fine, proceed with this one then. I'll summon you again once I speak with Order. Nuwa, return to your duties - Athena, you're dismissed for now -Janus, come with me. I would like to visit Chronos, before speaking with Order."
"How is he? Has his condition improved? You never really talk about him." Nuwa asked.
"…"Nox said nothing, but as she was about to exit the room she stopped. "He has yet to wake up." She said without turning around. "Let's go." She said at Janus and they both left the room, leaving Nuwa and Athena alone inside.
"Sigh…I could never understand her. That mask, she constantly wears doesn't help either." Nuwa said in an effort to lighten the mood a bit.
"Hmm…I think she's scared… scared, sad and troubled with everything that's been going on. She's not like she used to be during the Golden Ages of the Gods. Cold, expressionless, calculative, absolute, the epitome of a perfect monarch!
She's gone soft, maybe it is because she and Chronos are the last living primordial forces; maybe her close encounter with death made her rethink her whole perspective on life. She knows that she's not one of the dominating powers anymore and that scares her, as she fears about her future." Athena said.
"Maybe you're right Athena, but not entirely! I think that there are more reasons which would explain her current behavior. Maybe if we survive today, she would indulge us sometime."
They have been running inside the base for a while; Isis who was more sensitive to the tingling than the rest, was guiding them based on her intuition; in other words they were going wherever the tingling was stronger.
"It's strange, we've running for a while, but we have yet to encounter a single enemy." Shirou said.
"If we assume that Chaos sent all of his servants to conquer Olympus and our main base, it's not much of a surprise. And there wouldn't be any army grunts inside the base to begin with-" Nemesis said.
"Turn left here – running noises - Now, bring down this door!" Isis said in a commanding voice as she pointed at the large metallic gate before them.
"Stand back!" Osiris said as he stepped forth; the dead flesh and bandages on his right arm were torn to shreds, revealing a blueish, phantasmal arm.
"Aaah!" he yelled as his punch cut through the air with supersonic speed-
Click
He stopped himself as soon as it was to connect. The door cringed and slowly opened by itself; a strong smell of rotting flesh reached their nostrils, a smell so intense that Sam and Shirou barely held back their urge to vomit. The place was dimly lit, there were some lit crackling bonfires across the place, but the place itself reeked of death.
"It's one of them! One of Chaos' servants." Isis said briskly.
Her words instantly put everyone on edge. Shirou materialized his short-swords, Tohsaka readied a spell on one hand and held tightly on some gemstones on the other, Sakura made a partial Avenger metamorphosis, transforming only her arms. The Winchesters, Castiel and Crowley took out their usual weapons which had been imbued by the gods with the power of heroic artifacts from the past; For example, Dean's and Sam's pistols have been granted the relative power of Odysseus and Hippolyta's bow. Castiel' s angelic blade had been blessed by the Nordic rune Tywaz (Tyr's symbol, an arrow facing upwards) by Tyr himself as an apology for his rude behavior earlier; as for Crowley, his servant Loki engraved some Jotun symbols on the blade which were meant to make the blade able to cut through rock like butter.
The gods readied themselves as well. Awilix materialized her hunting spear with the purple gemstone at its tip and also, Suku appeared beside her; Isis took out her golden, winged staff and the hieroglyphics on the hovering disc behind her, glowed brightly; Osiris took out his flail and sickle, while a blue aura surrounded his whole body; Nemesis and Rider who already had their weapons out, readied themselves; and finally Loki just stood there without moving a muscle.
"Aren't you going to draw your weapon?" Nemesis shouted at him.
"Not yet, this is not my fight and it's not yours either." He replied calmly.
"What do you mean by-"
"Show yourself you vile abomination!" Nemesis question was cut short by Awilix's angry voice.
Hahahahahahahahahaha
A creepy laugh from the shadows echoed throughout the room, giving them the chills.
"Who would have thought?! You came indeed!" A hoarse voice reached their ears; they heard footsteps, growing progressively louder as the figure to whom they belonged to slowly approached the open door.
"You know him?" Tohsaka asked.
"Oh yes! Yes, she does!" The voice replied to her question. "In fact, why don't you tell her Awilix? Tell your human master! Tell her how well we know each other!" At that moment, the figure revealed himself to them.
His appearance was just as creepy as his voice. He was short and scrawny, with dark- gray skin and was only wearing a tribal-cloth skirt and several adorned ornaments which were not obviously just for decoration; they were brimming with magical energy. He was holding a wooden staff with a glowing, red-crystal skull atop of it. Lastly, he was wearing a huge, in comparison to the size of his head, mask on his face which had the design of a human skull adorned with black feathers and with two long horns protruding from its mouth.
"Chaos knew we were coming?" Awilix asked, ignoring the provocative comments the enemy said a moment ago.
"Hahahaha!" The man laughed creepily. "Did you really think that we would actually let you, insects, inside our base just like that?! Even now, my minions march forth, claiming this world in my name!"
"That's enough, it doesn't matter if you knew we were coming. I won't let you hurt one of my friends again."
"Second time?" Tohsaka mumbled in a low voice.
"Oh! Haven't you learnt your lesson yet? Well…even if you haven't! I am sure your friend Chaac has. He's become one my most loyal minions- hahahahaha."
Awilix tightened the grip around her spear, she was ready to charge at him at any moment, but for now she held back; only glaring at him with bloodthirsty eyes; the usual happy-go-lucky expression on her face was nowhere to be seen. Instead, fury and hatred were painted all over her face. Suku, her jaguar pet, was restless as well; standing by her side, growling menacingly at the masked man. It was quite obvious at this point that those two parties had met before in the past and they had a score to settle.
"I am a kind master though…I would never…separate my minions from one another…So, what do you say?
Would you…care to join him?"
At that moment, two bullets of dark energy were shot with blindingly fast speed towards Awilix and Suku.
KAPOW
But they never reach their intended targets. Instead, they smashed on an invisible wall of light right in front of them. Despite the sudden attack, Awilix and Suku didn't budge a muscle.
"Thanks…" Awilix said abruptly.
"Don't mention it!" Isis replied.
"Now…let's take down that necromancer! I've always hated those who used magic to defile the dead." Isis said angrily; the rest of the team raised their weapons as well and prepared themselves for battle.
"Hold! We cannot afford to stay here for long. You have to keep moving." Awilix said.
"Don't be stupid! This is not some kind of competition! We will all take him down quickly and then proceed together." Isis shouted at her.
KAPOW
"Tsk…" The man clicked his tongue as his second barrage of dark energy bullets failed to break through Isis's barrier.
"Even if we attack him all at once, he will either flee or call his allies. It's better if I fight him alone-grrr- I meant with you Suku." Awilix said calmly.
"She has made her mind. We should move out." Nemesis said.
"Sighing- watch out!" Isis said to her as she walked past her.
"Everyone! Take cover behind Isis's light shield! Mortals! Stay close to your partner- you, girl! What are you doing!" Osiris shouted at Tohsaka who had moved beside Awilix.
"You said it – stay close to your partner – that's what I am doing." She replied confidently.
"it's no time for jokes girl-"
KAPOW – this time, an even stronger barrage smashed on the light screen.
"Master! What are you doing? You don't need to stay here to provide me with magical energy! Our link is strong enough as it is. Go with them! It is dangerous here!"
"I am staying!" Tohsaka stated adamantly. "Even if we succeed in our mission, there would be none to escort us back if we let you all to fight Chaos' servants alone. You said it yourselves! They are way stronger than you are and even with our magical energy, it is not sure that you can take them on. But what about if we fight them two on one?"
The necromancer was preparing to launch another barrage when he heard Tohsaka's words and decided to stay his hand.
"So…you think you can take me on…? You?! A mortal woman?!
Hahahahaha – I like this woman. She has a nice sense of humor. She will make a fine slave once I'm done with her."
KAPOW
"Honey…I can't keep this barrier up forever. We have to go!" Isis said to Osiris, then turned her attention to Tohsaka.
"Young lady! You better live through this one. I had high hopes for your future as magus, it would be a shame to die now."
"Don't worry…I don't plan to…" Tohsaka said smiling confidently, taking out a couple of her jewels in the process.
"Let's go!" Isis shouted.
KAPOW- KAPOW- KAPOW- KAPOW
"Tsk…He won't let us." She mumbled as she put more of her magical energy to fix the barrier which had cracked in places.
"Master! No matter what, do not go one on one with him! Follow my lead and we will take him down together! And also….thank you!"
"Let's go Suku!" She said as she jumped on him. "You too Master, come on!" She pulled Tohsaka on Suku as well. "Suku! Charge!"
"Die insects!" The man yelled as he launched several dark energy spheres at them. "Die-die die-di-what?!"
Fooooooosh
"Now! Everyone move out!" Osiris shouted, prompting them to move.
"Tsk…he dodged it…" Awilix clicked her tongue displeased at the fact that her spear failed to pierce him.
"W-worm…you dare raise your hand against your Master. I will make learn to respect me-"
"You talk too much- POW" Tohsaka emerged from the shadows; she was standing right where she supposedly climbed on Suku, meanwhile the Tohsaka next to Awilix disappeared.
"Who would have thought that your parlor tricks would be useful for once Trickster. Nice illusion spell!" Isis said at Loki.
"Why thank you, but we should leave before that joker comes around." Loki said with his usual grin on his face.
Sighing from Crowley
They burst through a shut door which Osiris broke open with his fists at the far end of the room, leaving behind their comrades to fight the necromancer.
"Spitting blood…That trickster…will pay….once I get my hands on him! - grunting- Well…I suppose that for now, I will keep myself entertained, by making you two submit to me!" The man said in a creepy, threatening voice.
Grrrr – Suku growled menacingly at him baring his sharp, shiny fangs.
"Brr…this guy is creepy. Is he from your pantheon?" Tohsaka asked.
Awilix nodded. "Yeah, one of the evilest and foulest of the Mayan Death Gods-"
"Hehehehe… "I come from the darkness of the underworld... and all will tremble before me!" The man softly tapped his staff on the ground once.
"Minions, servants, soldiers of the underworld, rise and obey the call of Ah Puch!"
So that's it.
The war has started! A war on two fronts.
Hope you enjoyed this prologue for the events to come.
Gods' WIKI
Ah Puch:
He is one of the Death gods for the Mayans. In SMITE he is portrayed as an evil necromancer, so I decided to go with that personality. He's an awesome and very fun god to play and has one of the best voicelines in-game. If you play SMITE, you might have noticed them in the story; I've quoted them a couple of times.
If you don't play SMITE, you can find his voicelines and any of the gods mentioned in the story voicelines by googling:
" god's name" smite voicelines.