A/N: Hey all, finally finding myself with a day off after like a week straight at work, and just in time since my store is going into a remodel and I'll be shuffled around to some other section for the better part of six weeks beginning in February. Oh well, I've got a good number of days off this week so I'll be getting some good chapters out for everyone. Hopefully this makes up for the sporadic updates. Probs not, but oh well, life and garbage like that. Hope you guys enjoy the chapter today, we're finally ending this trial and moving onto the next one.
"So, you've got friends?"
Shut the fuck up, Abigail says internally to her other half, I know people.
"Yeah, everyone I know and met for you. Seriously, you've got to get out more often."
Easy for him to say. Abigail is bound to only one body, the same as Samson, and he's the one in control most often. Not that there's a problem with that, she lived and died years ago, to be replaced by Samson in her new life and likely by the will of the Fates be brought back as a pseudo-companion for her newest reincarnation.
It's some complicated shit.
If you could hurry your lazy butt up and figure out how to split our essence then this wouldn't be a problem.
"Hey now!" Samson squawks indignantly, "Managing divine essence is a tricky art. I got lucky making Oculus, Ram and Juggernaut! This is brand new waters, though lucky for us surprisingly familiar the more I look into it."
Abigail tilts her head to the side and waits for Samson to continue, "I've become a surprising authority on manipulating divine essence over the years, and the information I gleamed from Mother's true form ties it all in a neat bow. I wager most gods took decades to master their powers, but with what I garnered from the 'incident', I say we can get it down in less than a year."
Sounds impressive.
"It is, you troglodyte! Do you know what this means?! The kind of strides we can make together with this knowledge alone! Think about it. Applying principles of divinity to everyday mortals could send the whole world into a Golden Age not seen since the Titans ruled."
Yeah, and think about what would happen if you did. Samson, you died when you looked at Athena's true form. By her hand no less. Zeus, Jupiter, any other pantheon wouldn't stand for humanity suddenly becoming godlike, and for good reason. You can't trust humans with power, even now. Tell me you honestly believe a worldwide war isn't brewing, and that nuclear holocaust isn't a possibility in the future.
"..."
Your silence is telling.
She hears Samson sigh in her head and start moving around. She even hears what sounds like him pouring tea and sitting back in a comfy chair of some kind. What the hell has he been doing inside of their head all this time? Did he seriously build a house while he was gone?
"I did, and when we switch back after this you'll be able to see it too. Shit, dropped my tea."
Abigail ignores the sharp pain in her forehead to silently urge Samson to continue his thoughts on the matter.
"I guess... yeah, you're right. I've still got the bad habit of trying to make everything better for everyone without thinking of the consequences. Kind of like a mad scientist, now that I think about it."
Okay, Frankenstein, keep it in your pants. Just keep working on the essence splitting. Two of us fighting together is far more effective than one at a time.
"Preach Queen."
Arethusa considers herself a woman of high standards. Even if she's only a lowly Neried given status by Artemis she's proud and damn all who tried to tear her down. How she came into Artemis' service is a story she's not fond of. Damn that river god, Alpheus! He was so madly in love with Artemis that he tried taking it out on her. Lucky she was that Artemis was there to save her. Though really she owes it all to Avigail, the wonderful woman was the one who spotted Alpheus and her and alerted Artemis who swooped in like an angel of death and kicked that bastard of a god into the deepest depths of his river and then some.
The wretched god didn't show his face for years after that, and never got within ten kilometers of anyone related to the hunt after.
Good. Let him rot in his little river. Arethusa hasn't been bothered by the thought of him for years. No, her woes now lie with the sudden arrival of Avigail, and the resurgence of unwelcome feelings she's been burying for years.
She's a Hunter, dammit! Why do I feel like this, even after all this time?!
Aphrodite would be gushing all over this situation if she knew. A Hunter who loves another fellow hunter, even after her death and subsequent resurrection. She can't let anyone find out! If this somehow found its way to Artemis, well, she won't let it get there. The punishment for lusting after a fellow Hunter is nothing short of hell on Earth.
So, like she's done for millennia, she'll push her feelings deep into the recesses of her heart. Surely nothing will happen? Right? Ah fuck, this is going to end horribly.
"So... what do you girls do for fun around here?"
The twenty odd Hunters glare in response. A few make hand signals showing the many creative ways they'd like to kill him. Thankfully Ivy is here, though she's being shunned just as hard as he is. Surprising, considering that she's acquainted with the Amazonian-esque Hunters in some way.
"Normally, we'd-" Ivy's cut off by a rock smacking her dead center in the forehead and knocking her off her stone bench. Samuel sighs silently and rolls his eyes, glancing at the giggling gaggle of warriors with just a hint of disdain visible in his blood-red eyes. He helps Ivy back onto her seat (using his sleeves rather than his skin as he doesn't want a repeat of that incident to happen again).
Her forehead is scratched a nasty red with faint speckling of blood leaking from the damaged skin. He tsks distastefully and turns to glare at the attackers.
"Hey, there's no reason for that!"
A particularly large Hunter sneers at Samuel and slowly walks over to the cowering Ivy, her shadow rising high above the seemingly shrinking nymph. Samuel barely comes to her chin in height, the Son of Eris sizing up the monster without so much of a speck of fear.
Ivy cowers, face hidden behind her hand, but peeking through her fingers she can see Samuel standing unafraid against her torment. For the longest time she thought of the whole 'demigod heroes' thing as not really anything to bother with, but looking at him now, she can see why even gods hold demigods in some respect.
Samuel's a hero, as violent as his reputation is, he's a bloody hero. Quite literally, too.
She can't help but feel in awe. His presence becoming even more noteworthy with every second that passes as he stares down with the large warrior.
The seconds pass like hours, and after an eternity of a few moments the mountain bellows out a deep laugh and turns back to her herd of women with a slightly disturbing smile on her face. She waves back at Samuel and calls out to him as she leaves, back still turned but voice still strong.
"You're alright, kid! Got a warriors spirit! Lets head out, ladies, we need to shore up our defenses."
The group follows after the giant Hunter, each sending Samuel a passing glance before departing without a single word. Some shoot Ivy nasty glares, but she doesn't notice, only uncovering her face once the Hunters are gone from earshot.
"Why do they treat you like that?"
Ivy glances at Samuel who gives her a questioning look.
"I'm only curious. Artemis trusts you to lead us here, yet her followers hate you like you're a man. What's the deal?"
She sighs and slumps down in her seat, "I might as well be filthy as a man!"
"Sitting right here."
Ivy ignores him, continuing her self-degrading rant, "I was never a Hunter, but I tended to the grounds. The local Nymph caring for the plants and vines. Artemis never bound me to a law of chastity, and when I came across a handsome man, well, a girl has her needs, you know? We did it, we got caught and they killed the poor man in front of me and ran me out. Artemis never punished me, but she obviously never said anything to her Hunters either. I guess she was shaming me, which I suppose is better than being turned into an animal and flayed alive. Gods, I was such an idiot!"
Samuel rolls his eyes and fishes a small flask from his jacket, taking a good swing from it before capping and stowing it away. He's already becoming the drunk uncle. Dammit.
"Listen, I'm not good at this kind of shit, but you're not bound to a law, so what you do with yourself is your business, not theirs, got it? Honestly, if I were you I'd pack up camp and go somewhere else. Maybe ask Abigail. I've heard she's got a forest hidden somewhere with a bunch of psycho ass Nymphs running around. Might try your luck there."
She nods and sits silently next to Samuel. He sighs feeling awkwardness in the air and picks his rear off the bench and points his thumb towards the entrance of the temple.
"I'm gonna... uh... see if I can figure out what the battle plan is."
Abigail glances over and sees Samuel quickly shuffling into the temple. She sighs internally in relief as he nearly books it to Arethusa and herself, glad that someone not so obviously awkward is here to break the tension in the room. He comes up to the table and looks down at the map of the temple and the immediate surrounding forest.
"What's our plan?"
He's met by a scoff from the former Hunter, "Nothing. No wards. No hidden army to call for aid. Only two dozen elite Hunters and a crumbling ruin for cover."
"Lady Artemis will save us," Arethusa interjects, "You should know, lady Avigail, never to underestimate our lady. Just her alone will deter any would be attackers."
"Then you're an idiot."
Arethusa turns to Samuel, face set like a stone despite the fury in her deep blue eyes.
"Diomedes is an arrogant bastard with a horde at his side. I have no doubt we'll win, I just don't know if it'll be a Pyrrhic Victory or not. Chances are good we'll lose a lot of people and maybe even the temple itself."
The hunter remains quiet, but even in her silence Samuel and Abigail can feel her worry. And for good reason. Even with Valiona at their side it's not a given victory will be assured. They can only hope Artemis finishes her solo hunt of the stronger monsters so only the weak ones are left to attack the temple. Samuel would prefer none at all, but he'd take a horde of weaker enemies over a force of elite fighters any day.
"Still, we have nothing to fear. With Artemis on our side, nothing can go wrong."
Samuel and Abigail wince, both cursing to themselves and turning to the door like they're waiting for someone.
"...What are you doing?"
"Someone's going to run in any second and say something like our doom is at hand or something."
Arethusa rolls her eyes, "Surely you're not so paranoid as to believe-"
"ARETHUSA! ENEMIES HAVE BEEN SIGHTED APPROACHING!"
Arethusa blinks blankly a few times as a Hunter runs in screaming about the scouting party having discovered a horde of monsters approaching from a few miles out. Slowly Samuel turns to stare at her, a single eyebrow raising with a look basically screaming 'I told you so'.
The Nereid pinches the bridge of her nose and inhales sharply, waving her companion away with a silent command to prepare for battle. Abigail sighs and takes the condensed spear from her pocket, twirling it around in her hand and staring with no small amount of sass at her former companion.
"Well, we need a plan now."
The day slowly passes as but a scant few Hunters barricade entrances, dig trenches and move lumber about to create cover in case of enemy archers. Not that dodging an arrow is of any difficulty to elite Hunters, but with tight quarters and enemies heavily outnumbering them more cover is better than having none at all.
Arethusa is well skilled in the art of battle, having participated in many before, but those were long ago and always with an Olympian goddess by her side. But now? Now she's without a proper goddess for backup and the enemy is knocking on her door. Literally. Samuel's words continue to echo in her mind as the horde of monsters camp out in the trees just within eye shot of the temple. She can almost feel their eyes on the back of neck, hear their hungry pants and smell their foul stench.
Where he hell is Artemis?! According to Avigail, the enemy horde shouldn't have gotten here for another couple days, so why now? Unless... no, they're more clever than she gave them credit for. The dragon sacrificed his stronger monsters to distract Artemis and attack while she was busy handling them.
Move the strongest defender from the temple and destroy it through sheer numbers. Whatever numbers they have its sure to be well over a hundred. And with the dragon on their side the danger of their enemies easily triples at the least.
"Ivy. Step forth."
The shamed Nymph steps forward, surprising Arethusa with the determination burning in her eyes. Good. She'll need it for what she's about to ask.
"You're the only person that knows where Artemis is, and the only one of us that can navigate the forest with natural ease. For the sake of all of our lives, you have to run. Keep running until Artemis hears our call for help, only with her will we survive the day."
Ivy nods, eyes burning with even more passion than before. Arethusa puts a hand on her shoulder (her gloves on purely for the sake of avoiding her poison) and meets Ivy's eyes. An unspoken conversation passes between them, and in her burning orbs Arethusa finds herself respecting Ivy once again. The lack of fear. The undeniable sense of duty. It's likely she runs to her death, and even in the face of that inevitability Ivy is fearless.
She turns around and sprints past Samuel as he tips a bookcase over and covers most of a large hole in the temple. The vines holding the building together grow down and encase the bookshelf, incorporating it into the structure itself and slowly knitting itself into a tight wall that one can barely stick a spear through.
He watches Ivy book it through a back wall in the temple and melt into the forest, almost invisible even to the horde slowly encircling the temple. He shakes his head and starts rolling a barrel to a different hole.
"Think she's going to make it?"
Arethusa doesn't even look at him while she responds, "She must."
"That wasn't an answer."
She quickly spins around, fire in her eyes, "What would you have me do?! We can't call for Artemis because of whatever is blocking magical communication, this is the only way!"
Samuel shrugs his shoulders and pushes the barrel into the waiting vines, "Chances are Artemis is on her way already. I doubt she'd be unaware of the location of this group at all times. More than likely you've just wasted her life."
The Nereid scoffs and marches away to help her comrades on the outside. Samuel leaves her be, instead focusing on shoring up the defenses. He knows all too well the stress of leadership. Even if he doesn't really like her, Arethusa does share some similarities with Samuel when he was younger.
Arrogant. Prideful and completely self absorbed. He just hopes she sees the fault in her ways sooner than later. The path he lead is one that ends in tragedy, and she's charging straight down it.
He shakes his head and stares out into the forest one last time before the vines completely cover his view.
Not long now, and the fight will begin.
Samuel's general plan is a simple one, but it relies on stages which gives the Hunters and herself some leeway with maneuverability. A dozen Hunters including herself man the trenches outside of the temple and draw as man of the monsters as they can into close quarters combat while Samuel and Arethusa command the rest of the hunters inside and use the gaps in the temple walls to pick the enemy off with arrows. When they're eventually forced to retreat inside the sturdiness of the temple stones and the self-mending vines will give them a great advantage and help them last long enough for Artemis to arrive with Valiona as backup.
Dusk slowly forms in the sky, red and black gently riding across the sky. Abigail motions for the Hunters to get down and take cover, as she's sure that as soon as it gets dark enough they'll be attacked.
One more hour passes and as soon as the sun is completely gone from view the rain of arrows begins. Hundreds are loosed upon their position from all angles, the enemy archers probing their position for weak points.
The cover they built holds true, not a single arrow takes a life or even grazes a Hunter. Abigail's night vision makes it easy for her to see the archers hiding in the shadows, and with some coordination from her pointing out their positions manages to get many killed from the Hunter archers. She sees no dragon in the sky and guesses that either Diomedes is still healing from his wounds or is waiting for the Hunters numbers to drop.
Likely a mix of both. With his scales still weak from her spear a well placed arrow would end his life in one shot. She curses the sly dragon and cries out to her sisters-in-arms, "Get ready for the first wave!"
Fifty are coming from the forest, the archers are backing off!
Abigail readies her spear an motions for the Hunters to duck down in the trenches again. The ground rumbles as dozens of feet of varying weights stomp across the field with fervor. Cynocephali snarl and bark, saliva dripping from their gnarled maws as mad hunger possesses their minds. A few scattered dracaena join the charge, spears and other crude weapons in their hands as the hiss out orders to the dog-men like they're the scum of the earth.
The Hunters brandish their sleek, silver swords and wait for the signal to attack. Abigail holds a hand up, eyeing the approaching battle group and holding back the Hunter's counterattack.
They toy with their weapons impatiently, and just when the charging monsters are upon them she slams her hand down, and from within the safety of the temple dozens of arrows fly out, each one hitting their mark and taking a monster down with only one shot. A few seconds pass, and the scant dozen Cyocephali that managed to survive the volley are picked off with clean, efficient cuts by the elite warriors.
Abigail has to admit, a couple dozen elite fighters like these women might be able to pull this off by themselves. Of course, the true danger lies in what hasn't been seen yet. Diomedes has yet to enter the battlefield.
Like a dam collapsed, the mighty horde of Diomedes charges down the clearing. Monsters of all shapes and sizes burst from the treeline, each weak by the individual but in mass more than enough to make even the greatest warrior worry. The second wave more than three times the size of the last rush forth with frenzy.
Samuel screams from inside the temple and dozens upon dozens of arrows fly out, thinning the enemy numbers significantly but still barely noticeable from the horde about to descend upon them.
Trickling's of monsters quickly reach the trenches, and even more quickly are cut down by the mighty warriors. For many minutes they manage to maintain the trenches under the cover of arrow fire, but the true mass of the horde comes barreling down on their position. Making the call, Abigail brings the hunters out of the trenches and lets the enemy have them, to their detriment.
In order to reach the Hunters, they have to crawl through the trench and scale it back up again, making them easy pickings for the Hunters.
Abigail stabs a snarling doberman-headed monster in the throat and follows with a jab right into the eye of a dracaena. Quickly the minutes pass and more an more monsters climb from the trenches like maggots, forcing more and more of the Hunters to lose ground, even with the support of Samuel and his archers.
"ABIGAIL!" She hears someone scream, "GET THEM OUT OF THERE!"
She looks up in the sky and feels her heart freeze as a massive shadow visible only to her starts diving from the sky. The flapping of wings kicks up the wind like a hurricane, a roar like a lion and light of a building blast of fire starts building its way in the beasts maw.
Diomedes has entered the battlefield.
Ivy comes to a breathing halt, her lungs finally giving up as her numb legs collapse beneath her. The arrow lodged firmly in her middle-back tingles lightly, the arrowhead lodged in her lung scrapes against her heart and the sharp sting of such a feeling sends shivers down her quickly numbing body.
Finally, she redeemed herself. Even at the cost of her life, she did something good for a change. Feet silently march across the grass and a gentle hand touched her forehead, much like a mother, before it all goes black.
Artemis looks at the spot Ivy once occupied, her body becoming a simple Poison Ivy plant, and feels a tear roll down her cheek. She wipes the tear away and turns east, fire burning in her eyes.
She nods at her companion, and the two take off, message received and their next course of action clear.
Abigail winds back and launches her spear into the air with speed and might Samson never possessed as a demigod. The legendary Dragonslayer spear flies through the air like a missile, and with inhuman precision the weapon flies directly into Diomedes chest right where his heart would be. Unfortunately, the spear stops just short of piercing his heart, requiring only one more good push to fully end the dragon's life.
Diomedes' burning swoop is ground to a halt as he sudden;y pulls up from the temple and flies over it, kicking up a fierce wind and he shoots past and crashes into the forest on the rear end of the property.
Weaponless and outnumbered, Abigail makes the call to her companions, "Retreat! Fall back to the Temple!"
With quick agility and stunning cooperation, the elite warriors work in tandem with one another, covering blindspots and alternating fighters to shuffle the warriors inside without so much of a casualty.
Even so, many were injured in small ways that were sure to affect them as time went on. Cuts on arms and legs, a few spears in abdomens and even a nasty gnawing of an arm. Once everyone was rushed inside, the fight to close the temple doors was quick and bloody.
Two Hunters died in the choke point, sacrificing themselves as the doors closed behind them. Samuel gives them a forlorn nod and slams the door shut. He has to give it to her, that behemoth of a Hunter went down exactly as he imagined she would. Outnumbered, bloody, and doing it for the ones she loves.
He glances at Arethusa as the vines grown down the door and lock it in place. The lead Hunter is frozen, eyes wide like a deer in headlights. He pats her on the shoulder and lets her have her moment to mourn.
"Get some ambrosia and nectar, the doors won't hold them long."
Quickly Abigail hands out cubes of Ambrosia and bottles of nectar to the battered Hunters. They gulp them down with fervor, and still healing, move to shore up the front door with as much heavy things as they can.
Samuel looks around the quickly emptying temple and feels an unpleasant, hollow pit growing in his stomach. He's been in hairy situations before, and even if he knows Artemis is on her way he can't help but feel those anxious, gnawing questions in the back of his mind.
Is he going to make it out of this?
Will everyone survive?
He shakes his head and calls out to Arethusa, his voice overpowering the pounding, crying, screeching and scratching of the horde surrounding them.
"Arethusa!" She slowly turns, seemingly look through him rather than at him. He growl, voice scratchy with anger and frustration, "The fuck is the plan!"
Life returns to her eyes, and within moments she's returned. Quickly she turns to Abigail, desperation faint in her voice, "Abigail. We need the big guns. We need magic."
The former Hunter nods, light encompassing her body. As hard as it is to accept, without a weapon her help is useless. She quickly wishes her replacement good luck, he's going to need it for what's expected of him now.
Outside, The horde parts way as a lumbering laestrygonian forces his way through the crowd. Fashioned around his fists are forging anvils held inplace with rope and leather, forming some kind of glove, steel-knuckle around his fits. With a heaving grunt he pulls his fist back and crashes it against the door, rattling even the stone columns supporting the massive roof. To his displeasure, the door holds. He grunts are lets loose another devastating blow, followed by another and another. Over and over again his steel fists crash into the door, each strike weakening the thick, ancient wood until, with a final strike, the door breaks.
The laestrygonian reaches in and starts pulling the doors apart, piece by piece until all that's left are a bunch of old shelves and weak bed frames in his way. He shoves the pathetic barricade aside and steps first into the room just in time for an all consuming fire to lick away his flesh before he can even register the pain.
Coming to a halt, the frightened horde stands shaken in the entrance to the temple. Piercing, silver eyes glare at the cowering mass, hand extended out with the faintest whisper of fire dancing between his fingers.
Samson faces the horde stoically, behind him nearly two dozen Hunters bows at the ready, each aimed to kill as efficiently and quickly as possible. Samuel grins and holds his flaming sword out, ready to unleash a blast of brilliant blue fire.
"C'mon, you bunch of pussies! You a bunch of cowards or something?!"
With rejuvinated angry and madness, the horde rushes into the temple. With fierce cries of battle, arrows loose, magic shreds, fire burns and swords cuts long into the night.
Diomedes growls as he flies away from the temple. The bitch lodged the spear good into his chest and his claws are too clumsy to pull it out without accidentally shoving it into his heart. The attack on the temple most likely was a failure, his puny followers likely got butchered, but if it keeps him alive the stain of defeat means nothing compared to the jewel that is his life.
He spots his bitch of a sister perched high on a rocky outlook over-viewing the valley. Diomedes comes to a crashing halt at the lower end of the outcropping. He growls as she stares down at his with those three, cold, calculating eyes, looking at him as though he were nothing. Just like the cunt to do so. Probably gets off to having false power over him. She really is pathetic, no wonder their father disregarded her.
To his reluctance, she's the only one that has the grace to remove small objects cleanly. All of the dragons he's met and she's the only one that mastered fine control with even her relatively large size.
"Brother," the bitch says, "Looks like you've failed again. And where does that take you? Right back to me."
"Hrmmmm, shut your flapping maw and help me! I've got the bane of our kind lodged in my chest and I can't get it out!"
Valiona doesn't move, not even to blink. She's still, like a statue, red eyes looming down on him, weighing his value and comparing it to dirt. He roars and slams a fist into the ground, shaking the very earth for miles. Still, she remains unfazed. An empty feeling starts crawling up Diomedes back. An anxious desperation mixed in with a healthy amount of fear.
Surely she wouldn't kill him now, after everything he's done fore her?! Food, comfort, his presence? What has Archrimedes given her? Nothing! That's what! Why would he ever worry about her betraying him? Family has always meant everything to-
Shrk!
He looks down as a tiny, brown haired goddess shoves the spear the rest of the way into his chest, piercing his heart cleanly.
Diomedes looks up and meets Valiona's hollow, barren eyes. Truly? After all this time this is how she does it? He looks at his claws in fervor, desperately trying to scrape away the gold flecks in some misbegotten way of staving off his own death, only to make it worse.
Desperate, he claws rocks, breaking the weak talons off but continuing even with just the stumps, slowly grinding away more of his quickly dissolving flesh. His desperation becomes mania. The dying beast starts thrashing his head against sharp, jagged rock, wailing like a temperamental trial. A sharp rock pierces his last good guy, blinding him fully and throwing hill vile blood about, painting the rocks an iron red.
With one final wail, he cries out for mercy just as his neck dissolves, decapitating the manic beast and ending his thrashing for good. The head rolls down the cliff and crashes into the trees below, leaving his twitching, bloodied carcass to fountain a torrent of blood down the cliff side.
Valiona huffs and allows Artemis to crawl onto her back, "Dramatic fool. Couldn't even die good. Let's go save your friends before they burn down the forest."
"Please. I can't imagine the idiot boys have anything control without a proper woman to control them."