16.2

Egeria and Philippus had completed the fortifications about Hells Gate in excellent fashion. While completed years; or decades; or millennia ago – for time on Themyscira, just as it is for the gods, is measured differently than it is among men – the barricade held strong with no sign of assault or corruption.

"Here", states Egeria. "Removal of these logs will expose a rounded door that can be rolled away and quickly replaced. Once the timbers are re-set the fortress should again be impassable. If we move quickly to both open and re-seal the portal, nothing from the Underworld will know we have entered."

"Diana, it is not too late to turn back. No one will regard a change of mind as a weakness. Are you intent upon this purpose?"

"Yes, Menalippe."

"Very well. General, direct your warriors to remove the barricade and prepare to roll away the stone. Diana, proceed with care."

Eight warriors set themselves to pulling away tree trunks; massive branches that had been securely fixed between rock crevices; boulders set to plunge into the paths of anyone, or anything, not aware; and skillfully-designed devices that, if sections of timber were removed in an improper order, would cause the entire wall to converge and collapse. Six warriors stand at either side of the progressively revealed entrance, ready to rapidly roll the door open and just as swiftly, return it to position. Nearby, beside Aella, the remaining warriors both mounted and on foot wait, arms drawn and at the ready. In less time than would have been expected the barriers are cleared, warriors placing themselves in position and prepared to remove the stone doorway. Diana steps forward, takes her shield from her back and grasps the Sword of Athena; rather, of Zeus; in her hand. Egeria prepares her spear and unsheathes her sword. Menalippe stands with bow, arrow, and strapped to each of her upper arms, daggers at the ready.

"Open the portal."

The first impulse of all was to turn away. Not from any demon or Fury or evil being that emerged; but from an assault to the senses which is, in itself, a form of evil. While no grasping hands reach out; horned monsters or spitting imps or any other form known or unknown; the odor that burst forth cannot be identified as anything recognizable but rather the smell of pain and anguish and death. A blackness almost tangible in its void rushes from the opening, sheeting all it touches in gloom, for a moment draining all light until overcome by the sun. The sounds of endless voices fill the air; but these are not the pained screams of the tortured but the somber pleading and empty moaning of those forgotten yet who continue to clamor for help. Rousing her strength, Diana steps forward into the doorway, almost immediately disappearing into the blackness. Quickly Egeria moves ahead, following Diana and about to enter when, from the Underworld, two stone plates begin to close upon the entry securing the door from the inside.

Upon entering the Underworld, Diana was thrust from day to night; or rather, from brilliant sun to an eternal twilight were all is muted and every shadow appears whole. While from the outside the Underworld appears as an empty void, within its realms a murky illumination pervades all, spreading from underfoot to horizon to overhead with no variation in tone or intensity. While she could determine forms among her surroundings, these are only visible due to their motion and not their contrast. Looking back toward the entrance in an attempt to re-gain her bearings and assure herself that Egeria and Menalippe have safely entered, all she sees of the expected sunlight is a narrowing slit bounded by heaving, quavering shapeless forms between the closing stones.

"Diana!" Immediately as Egeria was blocked from entering the portal, she thrust her spear into the remaining opening, wedging it between the two stone plates. While formed of steel and olive wood , the spear would not long hold. Four warriors rushed forward, grasping the plates in an attempt to re-open the doorway; or at least prevent it from closing any further; but the pressures from inside were too strong and inch by inch the Amazons were loosing their struggle.

"Diana! Be strong!" Menalippe yells, bow raised but with no enemy at which to direct her arrow; "We will find a way inside! Do not falter!"

On the other side of the portal, Diana could only watch as the opening slowly closes, Egerias spear bowing, soon to splinter leaving Diana alone. She cuts and slashes at the grey forms surrounding the doorway; but for each shape she strikes down, more arise in its place. And these forms did not seem to be forcing the door to close; in fact, they did not appear to be attacking her at all but only acted to prevent her from approaching the entrance. Rather than threatening, they appear simply as a presence, resembling an eternal animate field; as a conscious fluid or self-aware ooze; just as the shapes and forms that had arisen from the whirlpool in an attempt to draw her downward.

In the few seconds since Diana had entered the Underworld, Aella evaluated the situation and shaped the only plan possible. "Ram!" she commanded, yelling above the confusion and gesturing with her arms the general arrangement of wood, rocks, and doorway. Without further direction four mounted warriors secure ropes to their saddles, throwing the lengths around two large boulders on either side of the portal and to six Amazons on foot who immediately wrap and fasten the coils to a large timber that had only moments ago served to bolster the fortification. Directing their horses in unison, the log is drawn between the rocks until the ropes strain as the beam angles into the air, supported only by the pull of the horses and directed by two women who had scaled the boulders, grappling the timber until it is perpendicular with the portal. When all was prepared; actions which took no longer to complete than it would have taken to direct; at Aellas cry of "Away!" each of the four cavalry, as one, slice their ropes while the two Amazons atop the rocks set the log along its final path.

"Diana! Make way! Ram!" Menalippe calls out as the log sweeps by in a flourish, crashing into the two rock slabs – now almost closed upon themselves – with a resounding 'crack', followed by the rush of hundreds of rock fragments spinning through the air. When all is settled, the doorway stands clear, the slabs destroyed but the doorway itself enlarged so the opening now exceeds the diameter of the rounded stone fashioned to guard the entrance. Only the stacks of lumber and rock piled above the portal – a final trap set by Egeria and Philippus during construction of the fortification – remain to seal the gate.

As Egeria and Menalippe rush forward they are met by dozens of horned, fanged, and slavering demons emerging from above, below, and beyond the Gate; each seeking a victim to possess as well as those to kill. Placing her bow over her shoulder and pulling both knives from their sheaths Menalippe fights her way into the doorway even as she spots Diana, from the inside cutting down Furies before they can exit. Egeria remains behind in an attempt to prevent any of the demons from entering into the bodies of horses – or Amazons; spearing one even as she slices into another, feeling the tear of talons ripping at her armour before that creature, also, is severed on the point of a warriors sword.

"Aella – seal the portal!" She cries out, her voice nearly overpowered by the unearthly screams and screeches of the Furies. "Now! Before all of Hades is let loose!"

"Egeria, fall back!" Aella, still mounted yet steadily drawing her bow at the marauding hellions, sees that Egeria has positioned herself just to the outside of the doorway; to seal the opening now would kill the Captain.

"Aella – do not wait! Seal the Gate!" For every demon struck down, it is as if ten more emerge. "Aella! It is your duty!" The battlefield is filled with blood and bodies; yet, until now, all the bodies appear to be those of Furies. While some Amazons have fallen, they continue to fight on one knee, or by favoring one arm as the other hangs useless. It is only a matter of time before her warriors will begin to join the dead.

"Calista! Euboea! Seal the portal!" Both warriors, in the split second between slaying one demon and engaging another, look toward Egeria, defending the doorway; and to their General. Obeying their commander's order both slice at the ropes supporting the rockfalls until the massive logs begin to break free, forming an avalanche of wood, rock and debris that smashes into and carries still more rubble; clouds of dust obscuring and blinding all until the cliff face itself is in motion, scattering demons among warriors who quickly dispose of them; crushing Furies who attempt to escape by hiding among the crevices. Gleaming within the dust the blade of Egerias sword and tip of her spear can still be seen, defending the royal family; fulfilling her duty; until the end. Suddenly another light appears within the haze; a golden strand wrapping itself around Egeria, pulling her beyond the portal, into the Underworld, just as the avalanche crashes into the opening destroying the Gate itself and surrounding the entrance under tons of rock compressed and thickened with the remains of beams, board and timber, sealing within the Underworld all those condemned to its void; along with three who plan only a brief visit.