Song is, "Hall of the Mountain King" performedby Apocalyptica, composed by Edvard Grieg and Amadeo Mariscal Lopez.

Chapter is rated M for graphic gore.

https/youtu.be/VWEmsUiQELU

Chapter 28: Battle Dance of the Twins

Apate gulped as she held Cahira tighter, moving to block Vu and Darrach's view of her lover. "Carman...hi!" Apate cheeped nervously. "I uh...I thought you were heading to the mainland?"

"I was!" Carman snapped, the tendrils getting closer. "But I had a vision!"

Cahira whimpered as she snuggled into Apate's arms. "Momma, you're scaring me!" she whined.

"I'm not your Momma!" Carman snapped, a tentacle of dark magic hitting a shelf of lab supplies and knocking it to the floor with a crash. "You're an imposter!"

"Give us your location and we'll get you both out," Darrach whispered.

Apate didn't have much of a choice. Over time, Carman had been getting more unpredictable and violent. The Goddess of Deceit couldn't help but feel like it was her fault, but right now, she needed to focus on getting Cahira to safety. "Fifteen miles east of Gibraltar," Apate said as Carman slowly made her way over. "Cahira, hang on."

Cahira nodded as Apate reached behind her to grasp the acorn and pocket it, then in a puff of black smoke, Apate and Cahira were transported just outside the Hangman's Tree. "Ceq! Let us in!" Cahira yelled.

"I will let you in, but not Apate," Ceq's voice said over the loudspeaker from one of the branches.

"Please make an exception!" Cahira cried.

Carman's portal opened up behind them and Apate rushed Cahira to the door of the tree. "Get inside!" she yelled as the doors opened.

Before Cahira could say a word, The Morrigan pulled Cahira inside and the doors slammed shut as Carman's tendrils wrapped around Apate's throat. "You're gonna regret making a fool of me!" Carman snarled.

Apate's own dark magic spiraled out of her body and hit Carman in the face. The sorceress' head merely turned to the side before she gave Apate a deadly, cold stare.

"Oh shit," Apate said.


The Morrigan sighed as she watched Apate and Carman fighting a bloody battle with one another, black tendrils of dark magic filling up the viewing screen.

"Please make them stop, Grandma!" Cahira begged with tears in her eyes, clinging to The Morrigan's red dress. "They're gonna kill each other!"

The Morrigan gazed down at her crying granddaughter before picking the child up in her arms and wiping her tears. "No they won't," she said while kissing Cahira's cheek. "Please don't cry, darling. It'll be fine."

Ceq appeared next to the Goddess of Death, War, Fate and Prophecy before stroking Cahira's red hair. "Trust in your grandmother, Cahira. She is a powerful seer."

The Atlantean being and the Irish Goddess continued to watch the fight while Cahira buried her head into her grandmother's shoulder. The Morrigan started to chuckle when Carman materialized a cast iron skillet in her hand and started hitting Apate in the face with it. "Oof, that had to hurt," she said in amusement.

Cahira's face turned slightly to watch the screen, wincing every time Carman or Apate managed to harm each other. They were pulling out all the stops with their arsenals of dark magic, random objects appearing to smash into Apate while dark, sticky webs attached to Carman in an attempt to slow her down. Both the women were screaming all sorts of profanities at each other. The Morrigan had to admit...they certainly brought it on themselves, but both their battle prowess and determination were commendable.

The two villains stabbed, sliced, diced, punched, kicked and tossed each other about for a while before they finally gave up on physical confrontation and headed straight into an oral battle of name calling and finger pointing, assigning blame to one another. Cahira started sobbing, so The Morrigan did her best to comfort her.

"Perhaps Cahira shouldn't be watching this," Ceq uttered.

"No, she needs to," The Morrigan said as she kissed Cahira's temple. "It'll come in handy later."


"How could you do this?!" Carman snarled after tackling Apate to the ground, wrapping her hands around the goddess' throat and squeezing as her eyes raged like fire. "You lying bitch, why?!"

"You were unhappy!" Apate gasped as she removed Carman's hands and flipped the woman over on her back. "I had to do something!"

"I don't want a surrogate child, I want my child!" Carman spat.

"And you'll have her!" Apate hissed, pinning her arms down. "Calm the fuck down so I can-"

"Shut up! I hate you!" Carman yelled. "You've done nothing but lie and hurt me!"

Apate sighed as she straddled Carman, relaxing a little but not enough to let her lover move. "I know! But I did what I promised anyway!"

Carman blinked, the anger in her eyes slowly changing into confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Olena is no longer in the Underworld. I sent Rose there when we drugged Lilly."

Carman blinked a few times, tears filling in her eyes. "W-What?"

"Rose seduced Cerberus into getting Olena out of Hades' palace, which is where she was and not in Tartarus, and her, Lilly and O'Callaghan got Olena out. She's been at Arthur and Lilly's estate ever since. And...she's alive. With a new body."

Carman started sobbing as Apate let her go, and she covered her face as she cried uncontrollably. "Why didn't you tell me?!"

"I didn't know how to tell you," Apate muttered, placing her hands on her thighs. "And I knew you'd react like this."

"What the hell else haven't you told me?"

"Darrach built Olena a body and she's been alive and well at Darach ar an gCnoc. Arthur, Lugh and Sir Jack are on a mission inside Lilly's mind to rescue her, Rose, O'Callaghan, Brian, James, Sean, Hosea, Tilly and Lenny from Mallacht's clutches."

"That's where Rose went?!" Carman snapped. "He took all three of them? How is he taking all those other people?!"

"We don't know," Apate said regretfully. "We've been trying to figure it out."

"We?! What do you mean "we"?!"

The goddess rolled her eyes. "I...kinda formed a temporary truce with the Dutch van der Linde clan."

Carman glared up at Apate, breathing forcefully through her teeth. "Get off me."

Apate frowned before getting up, then she held out her hand. "May I at least help a pretty lady up?" she said with an innocent smile. "Please?"

"Fuck off!" Carman snapped as she smacked Apate's hand away, getting herself up and brushing off her clothes. "You and I are done. I want my daughter. Now."

"That will have to wait until tomorrow."

"Why?"

"Cahira is having a birthday party tomorrow at her parent's home. They even invited me. I'm sure I can get you in." Apate pulled the acorn out of her pocket. "You still with me, Darrach?"

"Apate, we have a new problem," Darrach said, looking breathless like he'd been running for miles. "Zeus is trying to get into the estate. And he brought friends."

Carman gasped as she put her hands to her mouth. "Olena," she cried softly.

"Go. I'll catch up," Apate said. "Darrach, we're on the way."

As Carman made her own portal and ran through, she turned to the tree. "Morrigan! Darach ar an gCnoc is under attack by Zeus!"

The tree doors opened and The Morrigan came running out with Cahira trailing behind. "I can't transport out of here, Apate. Not with your shields up."

Apate held out her hand. "Take my hand, I'll help you through it."

The Morrigan raised an eyebrow before looking at Apate's hand. "Give me one good reason why I should trust you."

"Because I want to fix the mess I made!" With a quick nod, The Morrigan grasped Apate's hand. "Cahira, you stay here."

"No! I want to go with you!" Cahira yelled.

"It's too dangerous!"

"They're my family! This might be my last chance to ever see them all!"

Apate blinked before looking at The Morrigan. "I...don't know how to respond to that."

The Morrigan grabbed Cahira's hand. "As soon as we get there, you listen to everything I say. Do not deviate from my instructions, do you understand?" The Morrigan asked firmly.

"Yes," Cahira replied with a nod.

"Alright, brace yourselves," Apate said as she took Cahira's free hand. "It's gonna get rough."

After a few moments, all three of the mystical beings were enshrouded in black fog before they and the smoke blinked out of existence.


"Hold the line!" Cernunnos shouted to his men as they all battled with swords, knives, axes, and other various weapons and magic.

Ogma laughed with glee as he pummelled a centaur's head in with his club. The Dagda was off in the distance, his own giant club making waves of men and gods alike, their bodies flailing into the snow as their souls left them. "Ya gotta do better than that tah keep up with me notches, old man!" The Dadga barked with amusement.

"Just you wait!" Ogma cackled.

The battle raged on. Gods, goddesses, monsters, faeries, animals and all sorts of mythical creatures were fighting and killing each other. Zeus was in the thick of it just outside the shield, straining as he kept using his thunderbolts to bring the estate's blue and white shield down. It was no use, however. Nothing he was doing was working. As his army fought against other religious deities, he went digging around in his satchel. As he pulled something out, a hunting knife came flying and embedded into his hand, making him drop the object. He growled in pain as he pulled the knife out, a thunderbolt appearing in his other hand as he turned. A look of shock appeared on his face when he saw his daughter.

"Artemis," he said. "You...you're with them?!"

"Yes, Father," Artemis said cheerfully. "I joined up with them a while ago."

"Why?!"

"Because Mother suggested it," Apollo said as he came up behind Zeus. "There are things going on far beyond your understanding, Father," he said as Zeus turned around.

Zeus glared at his son. "If you both are not with me, then you both are against me!" he shouted before aiming his thunderbolt high.

Just when he was about to lay a blow, Cerberus came charging through the shield and headbutted Zeus in the side, sending the god flying across the cold, blood-stained ground. Apollo laughed while throwing his head back. "Nice one, Cerberus!" he chuckled.

"Thanks," Cerberus said with a grin before licking his chops. "Arthur was right, that move sure is an ego boost."

Artemis came walking over and picked up the object that Zeus dropped just as the god in question was dusting himself off. She gasped in horror at the jar in her hands. "Oh no."


Arthur Jr. was scrambling through his bedroom along with Aoífe, grabbing what they needed for the war that was waging on their property. They were told to stay put, but they weren't going to do that.

"Ya got Little Boah's acorn?" Aoífe asked as she loaded up O'Callaghan's Vengeance and Morgan's Justice with bullets.

"Of course I do!" Arthur snapped before discreetly grabbing the acorn from his nightstand drawer.

"Ya woulda fergotten it if I hadna reminded ya," the little girl giggled.

"Ya got Little Lady?"

"Yep!"

Once they were done packing things up and storing them into their acorn bracelets, the twins ran to their bedroom window and opened it up, staring in awe as the sounds of battle echoed off in the distance. "Gods, this is gonna be fun!" Junior exclaimed happily before looking at his sister. "Ladies first."

Aoífe stuck her tongue out at him with a chuckle before jumping out and landing gracefully on the ground. Arthur Jr. immediately followed suit and they both went running across the way. "Really glad I learned that super strength ability," Aoífe commented.

"Wanna test out yer legs?" Junior asked before racing ahead of her.

"Oh no ya don't!" she laughed as she went to catch up with her brother.

Junior dashed through the trees and Aoífe came in right behind him, their feet making soft crunches in the snow. When they got to a clearing and saw the shield and the fight going on, they smiled happily at one another. "Shall we make an entrance, dear sister?" Junior asked playfully.

"Let's!" Aoífe replied with a giddy gleam in her eyes.

They both clicked on their animal suit acorns and light flashed around them.


Start music here

Apate, The Morrigan and Cahira ran through the forest that was just north of the Darach ar an gCnoc property, finally reaching the protective shield. "Take Cahira in, I gotta find Carman," the Goddess of Deceit, Trickery and Guile said.

"I'll open up the shield for you and Cahira, Lady Morrigan," Darrach said on the acorn com.

A square opened in the shield and the two ran in before it closed. The Morrigan picked up Cahira and looked at Apate. "Thank you for your assistance, Apate," she said before running off towards the direction of the house.

Apate sighed before shutting the communications off and looking around. "God dammit, where are you, Carman?"


On the battlefield, Vu was knocking people down with his martial arts and wooden black staff, twirling it about before cracking someone on the skull. "This out of control!" he yelled.

Tora ripped her claws and teeth through another fighter before tossing him into the ground. "No shit!" she bellowed with a roar.

The two continued with the fight, taking multiple enemies down at once. Blood spilled all around them and the air was thick with the smell of it. People were covered in mud and snow as they fought, dead bodies strayed about on the ground. Metal clashed against metal, wood against wood, and bone against bone. It was total chaos.

Until the air started to crackle with electricity and the wind began to pick up.

Everyone stopped fighting to look up at the night sky, a large black cloud forming above. Vu's senses picked up two life forces inside the cloud. "What the hell?" he said. The cloud got bigger and bigger, lightning flashing inside and thunder clamoring.

"Is this the mighty power of Zeus?" Tora asked.

As this went on, Vu could barely make out the figures of a griffin and a winged wolf inside the storm cloud. "Oh shit!" he gasped before clicking on his communications bracelet. "Everyone!"

People's faces popped up over his bracelet. "Is that Zeus?" Anubis asked.

"It's the twins! Turn your acorn shields on now!" he shouted before clicking on his.

Tora shifted back into her human form and put her shield on. Others in the area did the same as a bolt of lightning struck the earth, a blaze starting as the thunderbolt clapped. The cloud started swirling slowly around, still growing in size but slowly started to disappear. The wind blew harder and more lightning came, and soon Vu could see a green and yellow winged wolf mecha, electricity swirling as its eyes glowed yellow. Little Boah's eyes were glowing silver as its weapons started powering up.

The machine gun turrets on its shoulders popped up and the chambers began to turn while Little Lady's body crackled more with lightning. Little Boah and Little Lady dove towards the battle, and the lightning and bullets went flying into anyone who wasn't protected. Vu stared in awe and shock inside his shield as the twins mowed down the enemies, people screaming and running in fear for their lives. Anyone who tried to fight died quickly.

That's when the explosions started.

Junior was dropping bombs from his suit while Aoífe was electrifying and killing anyone that she could lock onto. The zing of bullets flying through the air and hitting flesh and snow was an unfamiliar sound to Vu and he watched as all the bad guys were being smited down with the fury of two overpowered gods.

He watched as the twins flew over towards the encampment of Zeus' army, magic heavy cannons shooting at them with fire and metal. They proved to be no match for the kids and Vu gawked when their lightning and bullets decimated the heavy artillery with their abilities. Once the big weapons had been obliterated, Little Boah flew around the army while dropping more bombs. Big ditches were created in the ground to trap the enemy in.

"Dutch isn't going to be happy about this," Aphrodite said into the acorn com.

Little Lady and Little Boah rejoined in the middle of the encampment, a blinding light surrounding them both. As they landed on the ground, Vu saw Aoífe and Junior in heavy winter clothes.

And they both looked happier than ever.

"They're just like their mother," Vu laughed as Zeus' army surrounded the kids.

The next thing Vu knew, he saw Junior use his powers to pull a large clump of land from the ground and Junior hopped on while all his guns and machines came floating out. Meanwhile, Aoífe's lightning crackled around her as she raised above the snow, both the kids eyes glowing with their respective colors. That's when Junior went flying, shooting down anyone who got near him and his sister.

As the bad guys attacked, Aoífe let out a loud scream and her lightning turned into animal shapes. Horses, wolves, hares, deer, and other various animals made out of electricity zapped, kicked, bit and headbutted anyone who dared get in the vicinity of her. Vu's eyes went wide with wonder as bullets flew, knives buried themselves into enemies and lightning burned people, tents and other objects in the area.

"You must be joking!" Anansi the Spider God said. "They're only four!"

It wasn't until a tornado formed around Aoífe and grew that people really became suspicious about what the twins were truly capable of, and as Junior began shooting metal out of his hands to smite down the attackers who weren't being sucked into the vortex that Aoìfe created, Vu knew the secret of what Lilly and her children really were wouldn't be a secret for long.

All he could do about it was protect them at all costs. The fate of the planet and the Ethereal Realms were at stake.

The tornado grew larger and larger and Vu could hear the twins laughing like maniacal little devils as they killed their foes. Junior was riding around the tornado, screaming in delight as he stabbed one guy right in the eyeball with a floating knife. An electrified eagle flew out of the tornado and into the sky with a limp chimera in its talons. The eagle let the chimera go before disappearing completely, and Vu watched the mythical creature descend before crashing into the snow.

Soon the whole army in that area was dead, and as the tornado died down, Junior and Aoífe rejoined near Vu before giving each other high fives, hip bumps and chest bumps. Many others came rushing over to the laughing kids.

"That was so fucking great!" Junior laughed as he bent over at the waist.

"I've never felt more alive in me life!" Aoífe cackled loudly. However, when The Dagda came over with an arched brow and a not so happy expression, the kids immediately calmed down with looks of penitence. "Please dunna tell Mummy and Daddy."