Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone from either of the television shows Xena: Warrior Princess or Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. So don't sue me, okay. I do, however, own this story and the characters of Darius and Variea.
Author's Note: This story is set sometimes during the episode Looking Death in the Eye of the fifth season. Also, this story contains violence, if this disturbs you please do not read this story.
A/N: Well, this is the fifth chapter, hope you enjoy it.
The three warriors left the woods, heading across the grassy plain that was
in front of them.
Xena led the pack, with Eve
held securely in the sling on her back, followed closely by Gabrielle, with
Hercules taking up the rear. The three of them stuck closely together, each of
them focusing solely on getting as far away from the village as was humanly
possible—and yet—at the same time—they all kept a watchful eye out for a sudden
attack…Hercules most of all. The demigod knew all too well how Athena could be.
They may not have had the best relationship over the years but that didn't mean
that he didn't know just what she was capable of doing or just how cruel and
bloodthirsty she could be. And he also knew that, given even half the chance,
she wouldn't hesitate to kill Eve and he couldn't—wouldn't allow that to
happen. Even if it meant that he had to die just to protect Eve so be it. If it
happens, it happens, He thought. But one thing is for sure, Athena's not going
to get her hands on that child! Not if I have anything to say about it!
Hercules shook these thoughts
from his head and was about to pick up the pace when he was suddenly
overwhelmed by a powerful feeling. He didn't know how, but somehow he got the
distinct impression that something wasn't right.
Suddenly, Xena came to an
abrupt stop and held up her hand, motioning for her friends to do so as well.
"I think we need to stop and rest a minute before we go on any further." Said
the warrior princess. Both Gabrielle and Hercules nodded in agreement and
together the small group began to rest their tired muscles.
For a few moments the small
group was enveloped in silence, each of them gasping for air, their hearts
beating merciously against their chests.
They had traveled almost nonstop
since they had left the village and Xena wasn't sure but she guessed that they
had traveled for at least a mile or two.
"Xena," Hercules said, causing
her to turn her gaze toward him, "something's not right. I don't know how but I
can feel it."
"I know what you mean. I've
been feeling the same thing myself." Xena replied. She was about to say more
when she was suddenly overwhelmed by a sudden feeling of uneasiness. She spun
around, facing the wood line of the forest they'd just come from only moments
before. She studied the shadowy outline of the trees, her keen warrior senses
detecting nothing in the thick brush. But even though she didn't see anything,
something just wasn't right. Something or someone was out there. She
didn't know how she knew it but she knew it nonetheless. They were being
watched.
Xena glanced over at Hercules,
only to find him doing the same thing. The tall demigod studied the thick brush
of the tree line of the surrounding forest, his face growing more and more
dismayed by the second. Clearly he was feeling the same things she was feeling.
Hercules gazed intently at the
lush, green forest ahead of him, a feeling of dread growing in the pit of his
stomach more and more each passing moment. Something was indeed very wrong
here. Even the air seemed different, like it was charged with electricity. And,
although he couldn't see or hear anything, Hercules didn't doubt for a second
that Athena's army could be there. His half sister was very clever and could be
hiding her army from their sight at this very moment. She'd wait until just the
right moment and then, when the time came, she'd strike. The attack would
probably be quick and brutal so they had better be prepared for it or else
she'd make short work of them. They could very well be surrounded by now and
not even know it.
"Xena, is something wrong?"
Gabrielle asked, noticing the worried looks that Hercules and Xena both wore.
"We're being watched," Xena
answered coolly, not taking her gaze away from the woods in front of her.
Gabrielle turned and looked in
the direction of Hercules's and Xena's gaze, taking in the lush, green, thick
brush of the surrounding forest before her. But, try as she might, however, she
couldn't see or hear or even feel whatever it was that had caught the demigod's
and warrior princess's attention. After all, she hadn't been a warrior for that
long, unlike Hercules and Xena who'd been warriors for years, maybe practically
their whole lives.
"Alright everyone, we need to
stick together. The closer we are to one another the better our chances of
escaping this thing in tact are. 'Cause if we get separated then we're all as
good as dead. Everybody got that?" Hercules said, moving beside Gabrielle, all
the while his gaze remaining on the forest before him.
"Agreed," the warrior princess
answered, moving to stand beside Gabrielle as well. Xena drew her sword, her
gaze calm, cool, and collected as she readied herself for battle.
"Agreed," replied the bard,
taking her cue from Xena and drawing her sais from her boots.
"Alright, everybody get ready
'cause they could come at any time." Hercules warned.
Suddenly, men burst forth from
the lush, green, brush of the surrounding forest, a single, deafening roar
erupting from their bodies as they charged toward the waiting heroes at full
speed. Athena's army was here, each man filled with bloodlust, as they wanted
more than anything in this world to please their goddess. And nothing, no
matter how big or small, would stand in their way.
************************************************************************
"Me and my big mouth," Hercules
replied, his eyes widening as he noticed that the number of soldiers coming toward
them seemed to increase exponentially. In fact, their number increased so much
that they seemed to come forth in waves. Oh boy, Hercules thought glumly,
realizing that this could be the last time they ever fought again. Could
this be it? Could this be the moment of truth? Could this be the day that we
all die? Or, for that matter…me?
Hercules shook these thoughts
away almost violently, turning his attention back to the matter at hand. If we
lose, we lose, Hercules thought. But if you want Eve dead, Athena, you're going
to have to earn it 'cause we're not giving up without a fight! Hercules readied
himself, preparing to give everything he had—every ounce of his strength—to
ensure that Athena failed and Eve lived. If she wanted Eve dead then she'd have
to get through him to do it.
His decision made, Hercules
stood there, his body posed to react. And with cool precision he waited until
just the right moment until one of the men was closest to him before rearing
back his arm. Then, like a coiled spring, he sent his arm flying forward,
causing the man's nose to break in a deafening crunch of bone and spew
of blood, the force of the blow sending him flying backwards.
The approaching army swarmed
upon them like ants, oblivious to the fate of their fallen comrade.
Hercules waited until they were
right upon him before releasing an unrelenting assault of punches at his
enemies that sent man after man flying back through the air. His blows were
fast and brutal, the demigod seeming to deliver them at almost inhuman speed--a
fierce battle yell erupting from his being—as the son of Zeus had no intention
of tiring just yet and fully intended to make Athena wish she had heeded his
words and left Eve alone.
The tall, powerful demigod
glanced over at Xena and Gabrielle only to smile in spite of himself as he saw
that they apparently had the same idea that he did.
A fierce battle yell erupted
from Xena's lips, which quickly curled into a feral smile as she delivered fatal
blows for her sword, slicing and dicing every soldier she saw.
Meanwhile, Gabrielle held her
own against the onslaught of their enemy, sending several powerful kicks
rocketing into a nearby soldier before finally knocking him to the ground with
a roundhouse kick to the head, plunging her sais deep into his chest, killing
him instantly. Then she rose sending a deadly series of punches, kicks, and
slashes with her sias into every unlucky soldier that was dumb enough to come
too close to her.
But, regardless of how many
soldiers they managed to take out, Hercules noticed to his dismay that their
number seemed to be increasing infinitely as wave after wave of soldiers
continued to descend upon them.
Hercules sighed, then gathering
all of his strength, he pushed on, fully determined to see this thing through
to the end. "Bring it on, Athena!" He said, meaning every word.
************************************************************************
Darius stood there in the clearing,
not far from the border of the surrounding forest, watching the battle before
him unfold with growing dismay. It would be a miracle if they survived this.
Frankly, Darius wasn't sure exactly why he was needed here. As far as he was
concerned the army Athena had amassed was more than enough to kill Eve.
Anything more than that was simply overkill. Clearly such a move like this
meant only one thing: Athena and the other gods were desperate to kill Eve. Why
else would they need an army such as this one?
Yep, and guess what champ, His
mind whispered sarcastically, in just a few moments you'll get the chance to
kill Eve. To kill an innocent child. Those little, innocent eyes looking up at
you fearfully as you plunge your sword into its soft chest.
Stop it! He shouted inwardly,
giving himself a mental slap across the face. You're an assassin for the
Olympian order for the gods sakes! So start acting like it and do your job so
you can get this whole mess over with already!
Suddenly, Athena, Hades, and
Hephaestus appeared in separate flashes of light beside him.
"Well, looks like our prey's
doing better than I expected. Looks, like they're putting up quite a fight."
Athena mused, with a slight laugh, a slight smile popping up onto her face as
she eyed the on going battle with dull interest.
Then, with a slight sigh, the
goddess of war shook her head at her opponents' foolishness. "Variea," She
called, her smile dropping from her face, snapping her fingers. As commanded,
Variea stepped out from the brush of the surrounding forest.
"Yes, my goddess?" Variea asked
expectantly.
"Set up positions and begin
phase two of my plan." Athena commanded, not turning her attention away from
the battle unfolding before her.
"Yes, my goddess, it will be
done." Variea replied, taking a small bow of respect before turning and
disappearing into the arms of the thick forest beyond.
Athena smiled once more,
knowing in her heart that Eve didn't stand a chance and would soon be dead.
Soon, she thought. Soon this whole mess will be over and Eve will be dead and
all will be right with the world. Until then, however, the least she could do
was enjoy the show. After all, how often did you get the chance to see a good
battle being waged?
Athena laughed inwardly,
suddenly feeling better than she had all day.
***********************************************************************
Hercules ducked, causing his
opponent's punch to go sailing harmlessly over his head. Not giving his enemy
time to react, he sent a punch of his own rocketing into his attacker's
abdomen. The man bent over, a loud groan escaping his lips, his eyes bulging
outward—only to be hit by a powerful uppercut from the mighty HERCULES, which
sent him flying through the air.
Hercules rose, smiling
inwardly. It wasn't that he liked causing someone else pain, but even so he had
to admit that there was a certain satisfaction that came with defeating an
opponent.
Hercules sighed, and was about
to rejoin the ongoing battle around him when, suddenly, he stopped abruptly. He
wasn't sure but he thought that he'd heard something. It had sounded like
something was whistling through the air—and then he heard it. And, whatever it
was, it was coming straight at him! And, almost a spilt of a second
later—before he even knew what he was doing—his hand darted out, catching the
hurtling object only mere inches from his head.
It was an arrow and an
expensive on at that. Judging from the material Hercules concluded that it was
made almost entirely out of silver. Hercules frowned, noticing the extricate
symbols carved on the arrow…and then his eyes widened as he realized who the
arrows belonged to. That's just great! Hercules thought sarcastically. Could
this day get any worse?!
"Xena!" Hercules shouted,
turning his attention to the warrior princess.
"Yeah?!" Xena asked, impaling
an approaching soldier with her sword.
"Athena's archers are shooting
arrows at us!" Hercules shouted, clotheslineing two attaching soldiers as Xena
pulled her sword out of her attacker's body, causing him to drop to the ground
like a ton of bricks.
Xena turned her attention to
Hercules and was about to reply when she whipped her hand out instinctively,
catching an arrow only inches from her face!
Gabrielle had just finished
knocking an opponent to the ground and was about to ask Hercules and Xena what
was going on and why in tartarus both of them were standing around when
there was a battle being waged all around them, when Hercules whipped his hand
out, stopping an arrow from embedding itself in the bard's beautiful face.
So, Hercules thought, I guess
Athena's archers figure that the best way for them to kill Eve is to kill us
first. He had thought that Athena would obviously order the archers to kill Eve
but he hadn't expected them to target them as well. Guess I should of figured
that and stop under estimating Athena's willingness to kill this child. He
thought, sighing inwardly.
One thing was for sure though,
either way Athena didn't care who died. As long as Eve died she'd be happy.
Hercules sighed inwardly once
more, before pushing these thoughts aside and putting both arrows in one hand.
"Xena, could you toss me that other arrow?" Hercules asked, determination
filling his face as the mighty demigod decided right then and there to turn the
tables on his half sister and, if possibly, buy them and Eve some more time.
Xena tossed Hercules the arrow,
which he caught easily with his free hand. Then he turned his attention to the
surrounding forest.
The son of Zeus strained his
eyes, struggling to use his sharp vision to find some evidence of their sudden
attackers.
Several moments passed by as
several arrows came flying by them, one of them, just barely missing his head!
It had been so close he'd felt the wind off of it as had whisked by him.
Finally, he saw it! The tiny
glimmer of silver amongst the thick brush. And, taking careful aim, and,
without hesitation, the powerful hero sent all three arrows hurtling back in
their direction.
To his surprise and not a
little delight, he was rewarded with three sharp cries of surprise and pain as
his arrows had clearly found their mark. Hercules smiled, and then, sighing
inwardly, he turned his attention away from the brush and once again resumed
fighting in the ongoing battle.
************************************************************************
Athena watched the events of
the ongoing battle before her unfold, feeling the good mood she had been
experiencing earlier begin to slip away. The smile she had been wearing was
quickly replaced by a frown, which gave hints to all those around her that she
wasn't to be messed with at all at this particular moment because there was a
very strong possibility that her mood could darken very quickly, and no one
wanted to be the object of this goddess's wrath.
Before her the battle was beginning
to move at a breathtaking pace.
Massive amounts of arrows
continued to rain down on the three heroes out on the battlefield, while
Athena's troops swarmed around them like angry bees, only to be knocked to the
ground or killed just as fast. In fact, the goddess of war and wisdom's men
were literally dropping to the ground like flies, regardless of the fact that
there were still several hundreds of them. But there won't be for long if this
keeps up! Athena thought. And, if her dismay at seeing her soldiers failing
miserably against only three people wasn't bad enough, it only deepened when
her beloved archers seemed to be falling just as fast.
It seemed for all their skill
they couldn't even hit any of their assigned targets. Worst of all, they could
even hit Eve! Which, as far as Athena was concerned, was the most important of
all of the targets. At least they could hit her! The goddess of War and Wisdom
thought miserably. Then we'd all get to go home and all this madness would finally
be over with.
As a matter of fact, her
archers seemed to be hitting everything but their assigned targets as
soldier after soldier fell to the ground at the onslaught of their arrows!
Either that or their arrows landed harmlessly on the ground.
Athena sighed inwardly, knowing
that all of this was very bad indeed as it gave Hercules all the time he needed
to make his move against them. Athena even saw to her horror that the
demigod seemed to be throwing her archer's arrows back at them just as fast as
they were firing them, injuring some and killing many each time it
happened! If this kept up then pretty soon she wouldn't have any more archers
under her command.
You see, unlike most armies
Athena's archers didn't have that many members in its ranks.
Having a spot in Athena's elite
guard was very honorable indeed as only the best fighters Greece had to offer
(this, of course, excluded any male fighters due to a decision made by Athena
herself a long time ago long before she'd started the group). And, because of
this, the archers were very few in number as there weren't that many female
warriors to start with. That is, unless of course, you counted the Amazons. But
even they turned up low numbers, as most members of the Amazon nation were
perfectly content to stay with their fellow sisters and their tribes and thus
saw no need to leave them.
Athena sighed inwardly, her
already icy-cold gaze turning even colder as a dark, seething rage began to
fill her heart. And, as she continued to gaze at the ongoing battle before her,
she finally had more than she could stand. She was a goddess of crying
out loud and she wasn't about to let three, mere warriors—mortals—put a
halt on her plans! She would succeed even if it took everything she had
to do it.
Athena smiled, as the solution
to her problem hit her with the force of a hurricane. Now, why didn't I think
of that before? She thought.
She shrugged inwardly, shaking
the question off before it had time to take root in her mind. It was about time
she ended this little charade and put the next phase of her plan into effect.
With her decision made, Athena
disappeared in a flash of light.
************************************************************************
A few seconds later, she
reappeared behind the archers, where Variea was pacing back and forth, barking
orders like mad.
Athena smiled, amused at the
sight before her, all the while barely containing the urge to snap Variea's
neck like a twig. Athena calmed herself, taking a few moments to tell herself
that that wouldn't do her any good right now as she needed her. Besides, she
could always do it later after this whole mess was over with.
"Variea," Athena said, causing
the unexpected captain to flinch involuntarily. Variea recovered quickly and
turned around to face her goddess. "Yes, my goddess?" she asked, bowing before
her.
"Rise," commanded Athena.
Variea did as she was commanded
and rose to her feet.
"Send out three of your best
fighters to attack the enemy. Leave the rest of the troops here to continue
firing at their assigned targets." Athena commanded.
"But, forgive me my manners, my
goddess, but won't there be a chance that they'll be hit by some of the
arrows?" Variea asked.
"Variea," Athena said, sighing
loudly and rolling her eyes. She wasn't in the mood to have a mortal back talk
her right now. Especially one that was under her command, "don't question my
orders. Besides, that isn't going to happen. Or at least it had better not
happen. Because if it does then I'm holding you personally responsible. Do you
understand what I'm trying to tell you, Variea?"
"Yes, my goddess. I understand
completely." Variea answered quickly, hanging her head solemnly.
"Good," Athena replied coldly.
"Then see that it gets done and if everything works out right you won't have
anything to worry about."
Then, in a flash of light,
Athena disappeared, leaving Variea alone with her thoughts. Would she be able
to pull this off for her goddess? Or would she fail miserably and suffer death
at her hands later? Variea sighed, realizing that only time would tell.
Gathering all of the strength she could muster, Variea turned back around and
resumed her duties as captain of Athena's archers.
************************************************************************
Hercules unleashed a powerful
punch, hitting his would-be attacker square in the face, the force of the blow
sending him flying backward through the air.
But just as soon as he'd dealt
with that guy, two more took his place, charging him on either side, with their
swords raised over their heads. Hercules sighed, waiting until just the right
moment before ducking and stretching his arms out, his fists balled. With a
loud "Oof" both men collided with the demigod's outstretched fists before
doubling over, their swords falling from their grasps and to the ground with a
soft thud.
Wasting no time, Hercules rose,
grabbing both men by the back of their vests. "Goodnight boys!" He said,
slamming them into one another, causing them to fall to the ground like a ton
of bricks. Then he sighed inwardly, clearly tiring mentally as well as physically
of the ongoing battle that was happening all around him. It was then that he
realized how much they needed to get out of there.
Athena was probably desperate
to kill Eve right now and there was no telling what she might throw at them.
Which is all the more reason to leave, He thought.
"Xena!" Hercules yelled,
turning in the warrior princess's direction. But he quickly saw to his dismay
that she hadn't heard him as she was presently in a duel with two men. Xena
issued a savage war cry, disarming both of them in the blink of an eye.
Xena uttered a sinister battle
laugh. "Come on boys," she said, her face transforming into a feral smile.
"Come and let me help you meet your maker."
And, instead of turning tail
and fleeing as any sane person would do, her attackers simply turned to one
another and laughed mischievously. Then they both turned back to Xena, and,
like the complete idiots that they were, they charged her.
Xena only shook her head in
disbelief before unleashing an unrelenting combination of punches and kicks
that sent both men tumbling to the ground like rag dolls. And, just when she
thought that they were down for the count, they both rose to their feet and
begin hobbling over to her, determined to show her who was boss. Aw, good
grief! Why must they be so stupid? For once in my life could I fight an
opponent who knows how to stay down?! Then, sighing inwardly, Xena shook these
thoughts away, turning her attention back to her two—stubborn—opponents.
Gabrielle, meanwhile, seemed to
be having her own fair share of problems and was currently locked in a heated
battle with one of Athena's soldiers. Both fighters exchanged heavy blows back
and forth so rapidly that Hercules found it dizzying to watch.
Finally, after watching this
whole confusing spectacle continue to drag on and on, with no apparent end in
sight, the demigod decided right then and there that he'd had enough of this.
After all, they had to get out of here and they didn't have time to play knock
down the soldier with these guys.
Hercules walked forward, his
anger building as he neared Gabrielle's opponent. It was often rare that the
tall demigod got upset or angry but when he did you had better look out 'cause
he was often very dangerous to anyone who just happened to cross his path and
give him any trouble at all. After all, he did have the strength of a god and
you did not want to be the unlucky individual to find this out when the
big guy got ticked off.
With that said, several
warriors, apparently obvious to his mood, decided that now was the time to
charge him, only to find themselves flung—or rather tossed—various directions
through the air courtesy of the big man.
The tall demigod never slowed
momentum as he descended upon Gabrielle's attacker like plague of darkness,
grabbing the poor man and tossing him through the air with ease.
"Thanks!" Replied a stunned
Gabrielle.
"No problem," said Hercules,
continuing on toward Xena, intent upon handling her problem as well.
Just then, yet another warrior
charged Hercules, stepping in front of him, effectively blocking his path. "I
really don't have time for this." Hercules growled through clenched teeth,
narrowing his eyes. With a brutal slap to his face, Hercules stopped him cold,
quickly disarming him and lifting him high into the air.
"HEY!" Hercules shouted,
causing both of Xena's attackers to spin around in his direction. "Catch this!"
He yelled, throwing the man in his grasp toward them both at frightening speed.
With a loud thud the man hit the other two men, causing them all to fall
to the ground in a bloody heap, a chorus of groans escaping from their still
forms.
"Xena, I don't want to state
the obvious here, but we've got to retreat and we've got to do it now! 'Cause
if we don't get out of here now and I mean right now then we're all as
good as dead!" Hercules warned.
Xena nodded her head quickly.
"Agreed. We'll fight as one and make our way to the woods and then run like all
tartarturus. If we're lucky we'll lose them in the forest." Hercules and
Gabrielle nodded their heads in agreement. "Good, then let's move!"
But, just as they were about to
do just that three of Athena's archers came charging at them from the woods.
Sure! Why not?! It's not like we had anything important to do anyway! Hercules
thought sarcastically.
In mere seconds, the archers
were upon them, their swords raised high. The three heroes faced the archers,
taking them one-on-one. It was then that the arrows started to fly again.
Great! Hercules thought. It's
not like things could actually work out right for us like we wanted them too!
Gods knows we can't have that now, can we?! Why it would screw up the natural
order things 'cause it'd be too easy!
Hercules sighed inwardly and
readied himself against his opponents attack. He didn't have to wait long for
it as his opponent ran at him, a savage cry of rage erupting forth from the
depths of her being as she tried to impale him with her sword.
But her attack was short-lived
as Hercules grabbed her by her outstretched arm, and, by one hand, picked her
up off the ground, slinging her through the air like a rag doll before slamming
her to the ground. Needless to say, she was out cold and would probably stay
that way for quite a while.
Hercules looked up, noticing
that Gabrielle and Xena were still engaged with their opponents.
Gabrielle fought with all she
had, gritting her teeth, as she blocked her opponents almost unrelenting
attacks before sending several punches to her head, knocking her to the ground
with an uppercut that caught her opponent totally off guard.
Meanwhile, Xena fought just as
fiercely, unleashing a devastating series of kicks to her opponents midsection,
ending it with a roundhouse kick to the head that sent her opponent crashing to
the ground.
To the group's relief none of
their attackers rose again.
The three of them stood there,
casting one last look at their fallen opponents before turning and beginning
their fight toward the woods behind them that would ultimately grant freedom
and safety.
************************************************************************
Athena stood there, once again
standing amongst Hades and Hephaestus as she surveyed the ongoing battle before
her.
She cursed under her breath,
her face filling with disgust. Athena sighed inwardly, barely able to contain
the rage she felt at seeing the three heroes defeat the three archers so
quickly. Oooooooooooh, I could scream! She thought, turning around,
looking desperately for someone to strangle and thus free herself of the almost
blinding rage that had descended upon her and that was presently building to an
almost intolerable level.
She looked from Hephaestus to
Hades but quickly decided against attacking either of them very quickly
as it would most likely be a very bad idea. She didn't know about
Hephaestus but she knew without a shadow of a doubt that Hades certainly
wouldn't tolerate it. After all, he wasn't called the dark lord of the
underworld for nothing. And there was no telling what he might do to her in
retaliation. Besides, she also knew that right now she needed both of
them to help her deal with Eve. Clearly, attacking either of them would be a
very dumb thing to do as they would not only turn against her but such a stupid
stunt would also mean that they'd stop helping her as well. And that was one
loss that she knew she couldn't take. At least not right now when she needed
them the most.
She turned away from them only
to have her gaze fall on Darius. The goddess of war and wisdom smiled a sweet
smile, her eyes twinkling with joy, her whole face lighting up like a Christmas
tree. Yes, he would be the perfect target to vent her rage upon. She started to
go over to him, intent on doing just that when, suddenly, she stopped herself
abruptly, her better judgment getting a hold of her as she realized that such a
move would probably result in the death of her best assassin and she couldn't
allow that to happen. He was just too important to her right now.
It was then that an idea came
to her and she wondered why she hadn't thought of it until now. As a matter of
fact, she should have thought of it much sooner and thus saved herself the
frustration she had already experienced. That's twice today that's happened,
She mused silently. Athena shook these thoughts away, smiling once more as she
shook her head at her stupidity, once again beginning to feel in control of the
things that were going on around her.
Darius stood there, calm and
collected as he watched the battle before him unfold. He sighed inwardly,
taking in the senselessness of it all.
Most of all, his gaze fell upon
the bodies of the fallen warriors, only to realize with despair that not long
ago that those same men had been alive and kicking. Men with lives—perhaps
even families—only to die for what?! So an innocent child might die so
that a selfish pack of gods might live? Where's the justice in that?
Darius shook his head, realizing the foolishness of it all.
"Darius," Athena said, breaking
his thoughts. He turned to face her, seeing almost immediately that she had
something on her mind.
"Yes, my goddess?" He asked
solemnly.
"The next phase of my plan is
about to go into effect. I want you to go down there and kill Eve for me. You
know—help me eliminate my little problem? You think you can do that,
Darius?" Athena said, her tone strangely quiet and menacing.
"But, my goddess-" Darius
began, trying once more to voice his previous protests to killing Eve even
though he knew that it was hopeless.
"That wasn't a request, Darius.
Do what I say. Is that understood?" Athena replied, her tone harsh, her gaze as
cold as ice. Darius turned to the other gods, searching for answers only to
find none. Instead they only looked back at him expectantly, awaiting his
answer.
Darius held his head down,
sighing slightly. "Yes, my goddess, I will obey. Please forgive my outburst."
He answered quietly.
"Good. Then it's settled then.
You have your orders, now get to it and dispose of Eve already!" Athena hissed.
Sighing inwardly, Darius turned,
drew his sword and began walking towards the three heroes, telling himself that
all he had to do was kill Eve and then after that everything would be okay and
he could finally get away from all of this madness and run away with Variea.
And when that happened it would be then that he would finally have the freedom
he always dreamed of and longed for with the only woman who had ever loved him.
Besides, with Eve dead Athena would probably care less about what happened to
him then.
Darius pushed these thoughts
aside, sighed inwardly once more, and continued on his course to intercept them
and, ultimately, complete his mission and end this whole nightmare that had
been his existence for so long and finally have the peace he so richly
deserved.
************************************************************************
They had managed to get within
a few feet of the forest borderline, on the other side of the clearing, when
the battle begin anew.
Xena spun around and raised her
sword, blocking a blow from an enemy soldier that had been meant for her head.
Xena smiled, her face transforming into a feral grin as she sent a brutal kick
into his stomach. His face contorted in pain as he issued a silent scream
before falling to the ground like a ton of cement.
But she didn't get to enjoy her
victory long—her keen warrior senses telling her that someone was behind her.
And, without really thinking about it, Xena raised her sword over her head,
blocking a blow from an enemy soldier's sword that would have surely cut her in
two.
With an angry yell, Xena spun
around, sending a powerful front kick into her opponent's midsection, causing
him to bow over in pain, only to receive a brutal kick to the head, which sent
him spinning. And with a hard thud he hit the ground, out cold.
Xena looked down at her fallen
enemy, taking in his still form before turning her attention back to the raging
battle all around them. And then she saw something—something that she really
didn't want to see—but saw nonetheless.
Before her, less than thirty
feet away, stood Darius, his handsome form standing out amongst everything else
around them, reminding Xena of death itself.
Darius stood there, eyeing her
coldly, wearing the hardened expression of a professional on his face.
For several seconds the two
warriors stood there silently, their gazes locked onto one another as they
studied each other intensely. Then Eve cried, breaking the silence between them
both. Xena turned and tired to calm her daughter down.
Seeing his chance, Darius drew
his sword from its case on his side and charged forward, closing the distance
between them both in the blink of an eye.
Xena turned her attention from
her daughter back to her opponent just as quickly—and barely managed to raise
her sword to defend herself from harm as Darius sent his sword rocketing toward
her—the blades clashing with a loud Ching!, a deafening explosion of
sparks erupting off them.
Xena grunted and managed to use
all of her strength to knock him backwards. But the blow had little effect,
Darius seeming unfazed by it. He charged her again, unleashing an unrelenting
series of blows from his sword her way, all of which she managed to block, but
just barely.
Xena issued a blood-curtling
war cry and retaliated, sending a powerful kick to his midsection, causing him
stumble backwards. Then, seeing her advantage, the warrior princess didn't give
him time to recover, unleashing a brutal combination of her own, lunching a
series of blows from her sword that sent him reeling backwards.
But the assassin of the gods
wasn't about to give up so easily, and, issuing a blood-curtling roar of his
own, he sent a series of punches and kicks toward Xena that caught her totally
by surprise.
She stumbled backwards but
quickly regained her footing before turning her head to the side, spitting
blood.
Then she turned her attention
back to Darius, a wicked laugh erupting from her lips, a sinister smile
spreading across her face. Xena charged, determined to end this fight once and
for all, which quickly began anew.
Hercules stood there, watching
the brutal battle between Darius and Xena unfold at a breathless pace. But, as
much as he might like to watch it go on and on, he knew he couldn't afford to.
Athena's army would surely overwhelm them soon if they stayed her much longer
and that was one risk Hercules couldn't allow them to take.
That and as he continued to
watch the fight before him, he realized that the rage that he'd been feeling
earlier was by no means dead, and, like any monster, it wanted to be fed. They
didn't have time for this and it was high time they got outta here already.
His nostrils flaring, his heart
thudding against his chest, his skin practically boiling with rage, Hercules
stared forward, fully intent on ripping Darius in half.
He had made his decision: he
was either going to end this whole mess once and for all..or he would die
trying.
************************************************************************
Athena stood there, with her
back to the wall of the lush, evergreen forest behind her, coldly surveying the
scene before her. Beside her stood Hades and Hephaestus.
The goddess of war and wisdom
frowned, a look of disgust filling her face at the outcome of the battle so
far.
At least there's Darius, she
thought warily, sighing inwardly. Clearly, regardless of what else happened,
Darius was the one thing she could depend on at that moment. And, from the look
of things, her assassin was quickly proving her right. The warrior princess was
good but she wasn't that good. And, with the almost unrelenting assault Darius
was throwing her way, she was as good as dead. Athena realized this without
question and it was just a shame that Xena hadn't realized it yet, but she
would soon enough. And, after that, Eve would be slim pickings for her assassin
and once he had done his duty then they could all return home and all this
madness would be nothing more than a bad dream and would finally be over with.
It was then that Athena saw
something—something that she just couldn't believe. Her eyes widened as she saw
Hercules running full speed toward Darius. Then her gaze turned even colder
than it had all day, her eyes filling with an anger that transcended any she'd
ever known.
How dare he! Her mind
screamed inwardly. How dare he think of even interfering in Darius's mission!
The tall demigod clearly meant to put an end to Darius's fight against Xena and
thus completely ruin any chance she had of killing Eve. Oh, yeah, well, we'll
just see about that now won't we Hercules?! Athena thought darkly.
"Hades, Hephaestus," Athena
said, " I think it's time we made our presence known in this whole little
conflict. Target Hercules. Kill him if you have to…but keep him away from
Darius!"
"But, Athena, I thought you
wanted to kill Eve—" Hades began only to be cut off by Athena.
"DO IT! DO IT NOW!"
Athena screamed through clenched teeth, her face turning as red as hot coals,
her body literally shaking with rage. Both gods flinched involuntarily at her
sudden outburst. Although they didn't really fear her they were both smart
enough to know that Athena wasn't one to be messed with when she was angry like
she was now. That said, neither one of them wanted to be the object of this
goddess's wrath.
Hades sighed inwardly,
squashing down the annoyance her reaction was causing in him and then nodded to
Hephaestus to comply with her demand. Both gods turned their attention from her
back to the battlefield and pointed their arms at Hercules.
Athena turned her attention
back to the battlefield and pointed her arms at the mighty hero as well. Athena
smiled, her dark mood lifting as the familiar feeling that she was on the top
of the world and totally in control began to slip over her once again.
"Fire," She said coldly. Hades
and Hephaestus obeyed, releasing a barrage of fireballs and energy balls at
Hercules.
Athena laughed inwardly,
suddenly feeling like she was a child again and had just been rewarded by Zeus
for a job well done on something that he'd assigned to her. A dark smile slowly
spread across her face—and then the laughter that she'd been trying for so long
to suppress suddenly burst forth from the depths of her being—from the depths
of the dark prison it had been confined to all this time, which seemed to
disturb her fellow gods. With a sadistic gleam in her eyes and with malicious
and devious glee she let loose a ferocious of barrage of energy blasts. Let's
see him dodge that! Athena thought smugly, suddenly very satisfied that her
little problem that was Hercules would soon be out of her life for good. And
once that happened Eve was as good as dead.
************************************************************************
Hercules walked along, totally
oblivious of the battle raging all around him. The mighty demigod had one
purpose and only one purpose now and that was to stop Darius any way
possible and get himself, and, most importantly, his friends out of here before
it was too late and Athena succeeded in killing them all.
Suddenly, something extremely
hot passed by his head, sizzling as it went past—and then, with a huge it
explosion of dirt and grass, it hit the ground like a comet. Hercules stood
there, a million thoughts whirling through his head in a split of a second as
to what in tartartus the mysterious object that had just nearly took his head
off had been. But just as his tired brain was about to reach a conclusion,
another of the mysterious objects passed by him at break neck speed.
He dodged, his instinct taking
over as he barely stepped out of the way of the object as it careened past
him—and yet—at the same time, somehow managing to catch enough of a glimpse of
it to know what it was.
It was a ball of energy. And if
Hercules didn't know any better he could have sworn that it had been a ball of
electricity.
Hercules turned around, facing
the direction the blasts had come from—only to come face to face with a
scorching, hot fireball that was aimed directly for his head! He dove to
the ground, the ball of flame flying over his head, hitting the ground several
yards away from him in a fiery explosion that quickly caused the grass around
the point of impact to burst into flame.
Hercules looked up, his ice,
blue eyes scanning the horizon for what he knew to be a divine opponent. After
all, he had dealt with the gods before and knew from years of experience when
he was being attacked by one and when he was not.
Then he found them. They were
standing by the forest, nearly a hundred yards or more away from where he was.
Athena, Hades, and Hephaestus as I live and breath, He thought.
Sure enough, the three gods
stood there eagerly firing energy blasts at him. Hades and Hephaestus stood as
still as statues, seeming not to be enjoying themselves at all.
Athena, however, seemed to be
the exception to this, as the goddess of war and wisdom seemed to be thoroughly
enjoying herself. Even at this distance Hercules could make out the facial
expressions she wore. The goddess wore an expression of sheer delight, her face
literally beaming like a happy two year old's would, except for her eyes of
course, which seemed to bore straight through him. He quickly turned away from
her gaze, the goddess giving him one of the coldest stares that he'd ever
received.
And to think that at one time I
thought that she was one of the good guys and that she actually cared about
people. Hercules thought. But why are they after me?! Shouldn't they be
trying to kill Eve right now?
Well, maybe it's because
you're Mr. Popular? His mind added answering sarcastically. Shut up! He
thought, silencing the thought. Besides, I think you better make that Mr. Unpopular.
After all, you did kill Zeus. No sooner had he thought that thought than
did the answer to his previous question come to him, hitting him like a ton of
bricks. Gods, now why didn't I think of that?! Hercules thought, wondering why
he hadn't noticed it before. Clearly, Athena saw Darius as her only means of
killing Eve and obviously would do anything to keep something or someone from
foiling her plans, even if that someone just happened to be Hercules.
It was clear: Athena was
desperate to kill Eve and things were about to get real ugly and around here
when they did. All the more reason to get out of here, don't you think,
Hercules? His mind quietly reminded him.
Hercules rose as the ground all
around him exploded in clouds of dust from the onslaught of the three god's
attacks. Hercules ran forward, his pace fueled by the rage that had by now
become his traveling companion and something else…fear. Would they truly get
out of here? Or would they die now?
The mighty hero trudged onward,
shrugging off his doubts as his heart thudded in his chest, his massive,
bulging muscles propelling him along like a raging locomotive, his speed
increasing more and more as each second passed, the ground around him
continuing to explode into massive clouds of dirt due to the unrelenting
assault of energy blasts from his divine opponents. And if that wasn't bad
enough, some of them landed only mere inches from his feet, causing him to
nearly loose his footing and go tumbling to the ground, a move that Hercules
knew would probably result in his death. Countless blasts of electricity and
fire whizzed by him as well as other types of energy that Hercules couldn't
identify but knew were just as dangerous as any of the others.
But the mighty Hercules was
unfazed by all of this and kept on running. Then, just as he had started
launching himself into the air, a blast of energy hit the ground almost right
under him. Hercules went flying forward, using the force of the explosion and
his awesome strength to propel himself toward his unsuspecting target.
************************************************************************
With skilled precision Darius
brought his sword back, managing to block what would have surely been a fatal
blow from Xena's sword.
The warrior princess only
shrieked a fierce battle cry, unleashed a savage display of strikes from her sword,
determined to destroy the assassin of the Olympian order once and for all.
With skill brought only by
countless years of training and experience, Darius managed to block them all,
surprising Xena with a kick to the chest that sent her stumbling backwards.
Darius was about to take
advantage of this and strike, when suddenly he stopped. Was it his imagination
or did he hear something? Darius whirled his head around, looking in all
directions for the mysterious sound.
The sounds of the battle filled
the air, men falling under Gabrielle's expert hand, a massive shape flying
toward him—What a minute? What TH--?! Is that…Hercules?! Too late!
With a deafening thud and
with a roar of anger, the tall demigod slammed into the unsuspecting Darius, a
loud "Oof," escaping his lips, causing him to drop his sword. And, with another
loud thud, the two men fell to the ground, rolling end over end before coming
to a stop several feet away from where they'd last been.
For several seconds both men
lay there, breathing heavily. For several more seconds, Darius lay there
stunned, literally seeing stars.
Then he got his bearings,
shaking his head to clear it of the nonsense he'd been seeing. And, with all of
the strength he could muster, he shoved Hercules with all of his might, trying
desperately to remove the mighty superhero off of him before he came to his
senses and started using his massive strength to unleash a beating that Darius
knew he wouldn't survive.
To his surprise and relief, he
managed to succeed, causing Hercules to topple off of him and hit the ground
like a ton of bricks. With a groan Darius rose painfully to his feet, followed
by Hercules.
For several seconds both
warriors stood there, both eyeing each other warily, perhaps remembering the
outcome of their last fight against one another.
Then, with frightening speed,
both hero and assassin charged one another, each unleashing some of their most
powerful blows.
Although Darius had to struggle
to block Hercules's attacks, he knew that, regardless of the big man's far
superior strength, he could and more likely would defeat him. It
wasn't that he was cocky, he just knew it would happen. After all, it always
had before, why should now be any different? Ultimately, Darius's problem was
that he was simply too good and sooner or later he would kill Eve. It was just
a shame neither Hercules or Xena hadn't figured that out yet. Darius sighed
inwardly, realizing with more dismay than he'd ever known that he would have to
kill these two great warriors and possibly Gabrielle, and knowing that was the
greatest heartbreak of all.
Then, suddenly, with a fierce
cry of rage, Xena joined into the fray, a look of rage spilling across her rage
that instantly told Darius that the warrior princess had teamed up with the son
of Zeus to bring him down.
With frightening speed the two
heroes unleashed an unrelenting display of punches and kicks that sent Darius
reeling backwards. With all of his might he somehow managed to block a
surprising number of their attacks. But, regardless of this, he still managed
to take more blows than he could block.
And, before any of them knew it
had happened, the fight quickly turned into a free-for-all. Hercules punched
Darius. Darius punched Hercules. Xena punched Darius. Darius punched Xena.
This went on for several
seconds before, with a savage roar, Hercules tried to knock out Darius with a
single punch, only to be beaten to it as he was caught by surprise by a punch
to the face by Darius. And, with a deafening thud, the mighty hero hit the
ground.
But, no sooner had Darius
started to enjoy his victory over the powerful demigod, did Xena put a stop on
his party by sending a punch rocketing into his face that knocked him
clear off of his feet. And, with a deafening thud, the assassin of the gods
fell to the ground and lost consciousness.
Xena sighed with relief,
overjoyed when he didn't rise to his feet.
************************************************************************
The gods had long since stopped
firing. Athena watched the heated exchange between Darius, Hercules, and Xena
with growing interest.
And when Darius had knocked
Hercules off of his feet, giddy laughter had escaped from her lips. The goddess
of war and wisdom sighed, a slight smile claiming her pretty face, shaking her
head. When would they ever learn? They couldn't possibly hope to defeat her
assassin in combat so why did they even try? As a matter of fact, why couldn't
they stop fighting and give up already? Athena thought.
And then it happened—with a
single punch to the jaw Xena knocked Darius off of his feet, sending him
crashing to the ground, where he lay unconscious.
Athena's smile and good mood
quickly fell away, only to feel the cold pangs of anger creeping up on her.
Athena tilted her head back, letting loose a chilling scream. The other gods
looked at her, disturbed looks spreading across their faces.
Athena brought her head back
down, now completely consumed with a blind rage that was so intense that it
must be sated or she knew that it would drive her insane, that is, unless, of
course, she hadn't already crossed that line.
Athena whipped her head around,
desperately searching for someone or something close by to rip apart.
Panting like a wild animal, her vision clouded with a red haze, her eyes
glowing like two, red, hot coals.
She turned to the other gods
and had to restrain herself from tearing into either of them. That and judging
from the looks they were throwing her way she caught on real quick that not
only did they know what she was thinking but would by no means tolerate such an
act either.
Athena turned away, her gaze
suddenly focusing on Hercules, Xena and Gabrielle. And it was then that she
finally understood who was to blame for this whole mess. The answer was clear:
they were.
First off, Xena had given birth
to her little spawn, bringing about the death of her father Zeus,
dooming the Olympian order, and putting a death warrant on all of their heads.
Gabrielle had foolishly stuck by her friend's side and thus had helped to
protect Xena's little brat from death. And let's not forget HERCULES,
Athena thought sarcastically, He had killed Zeus by stabbing him with one of
Cronos's ribs, thereby starting this whole nightmare. Finally, as if all of
this wasn't bad enough, the three heroes had managed to defeat her most
precious toy: her assassin Darius and now fully expected to retreat to the
safety of the surrounding forest to live another day.
Well, not if I can help it!
Athena thought darkly. THEY ARE GOING TO DIE AND THAT IS THAT!
"I think it's time we go to the
final stage of my plan." Athena said coldly. "Except we're going to make…a few
changes to it. Now, all of them will die."
"But, Athena, I thought that we
were only going to kill Eve-" Hades began.
Athena spun around, giving him
a dark look.
He responded with one of his
own, letting her know right then and there that he didn't fear her at all.
"Very well," The dark lord of the Underworld replied, "but if we do this and we
succeed, don't you ever ask for my help in anything else again 'cause,
chances are, I won't grant it! Xena and I are old friends so I don't want to
kill her unless I have to! And Hercules is family need I remind you!
But, whatever you wish, Athena, just as long as Eve dies, right?!"
"And what about you,
Hephaestus?" Athena asked sharply.
The god of the forge looked
away for several seconds, pondering her words carefully. Then he turned back
toward Athena's beautiful form.
"I agree with Hades for the
most part. Eve must die. But I want to kill Hercules. Do you understand me,
Athena? If anyone's going to kill him it should be me." Hephaestus answered.
"Okay, now that everything's
settled," Athena said, turning her attention back to the battle at hand, " we
can begin the attack. Hades, you take Gabrielle. Hephaestus, if you want
Hercules so bad then you can have him. As for me, I'll deal with Xena myself.
Any questions?"
There were none.
"Good. Okay people, let's get
this show on the road!" Athena shouted. And, with that said, the three gods
disappeared in flashes of light, head bound toward their unsuspecting targets.
************************************************************************
Down on the battlefield Xena
and Gabrielle had just defeated yet another wave of troops from Athena's
immense army when, suddenly, in three flashes of bright light, Athena,
Hephaestus, and Hades appeared. Gee, that's just great! Xena mused, sighing
inwardly at the sight of the three gods and wondering if they would ever escape
this place alive. And just when I thought we might get outta here they show
up! Can this day possibly get any worse?!
A few seconds passed by as the
gods stood there, quietly observing their prey—and suddenly they were upon
them.
Athena charged Xena, a chilling
cry of rage erupting from her being and, with a deafening ching and a
shower of sparks they began to exchange heavy blows with their swords.
With an ear-splitting roar
Hades ran at Gabrielle, bringing his sword downward in at lightening speed,
utterly determined to cut her in half. Using all of her strength, the warrior
bard managed to block his blow—but just barely.
Hercules quickly rose from the
depths of unconsciousness and groaned, trying to get his bearings. Then, hearing
the sudden commotion that seemed to be going on all around him, he tried to sit
up.
With breathtaking speed and an
ear-splitting roar, Hephaestus brought his ax flying down toward Hercules's
chest. Acting on pure instinct alone, and even before he knew what he was
doing, Hercules caught the god's ax, with his bare hands, only mere inches from
his chest.
With a roar of his own,
Hercules sent a brutal kick rocketing into Hephaestus's stomach, causing him to
stumble backwards, giving Hercules all the time he needed to rise to his feet.
And, unwilling to give the god
of the forge time to come back to his senses, Hercules sent a powerful uppercut
backslap flying into his half brother's chin that caused him to drop his weapon
and knocked him clean off of his feet. Hercules bent down, grabbing his half
brother's ax from off of the ground. Hephaestus shook his head, quickly getting
his bearings back. And, shouting a fierce battle cry, he charged. With a wham
Hercules swung the ax like a baseball bat, hitting Hephaestus square upside
the head, causing him to hit the ground like a ton of bricks. Hephaestus
uttered a loud moan before darkness began to cloud his vision and he lost
consciousness.
Hercules shrugged, surprised
that he'd beaten his half brother the god of the forge and fire so easily.
Sighing inwardly, Hercules took one last look at the form of his half brother
and friend before turning and tossing his weapon to his side, where it hit the
ground with a dull thud.
Hades struck at Gabrielle yet
again, a savage roar erupting from his being.
The bard managed to block the
blow only to receive a surprise kick to the chest that sent her stumbling
backwards. Hades roared yet again, unleashing an unforgiving combination of
punches and kicks that sent Gabrielle stumbling backwards, desperately trying
to avoid his ferocious attacks. The dark lord of the Underworld didn't halt in
his attack sending a punch slamming into her face—and in the same instant—she
found herself lifted high off of the ground as he held her by her throat, by
one arm, his hand wrapped firmly around her throat.
Hades laughed sadistically,
tightening his grip ever so slowly on his prey, watching with growing
satisfaction as her face began to turn a deadly shade of blue. The dark lord of
the Underworld gazed into her beautiful face, giving her one of the coldest
stares she'd ever received, her vision growing darker and darker by the minute
as she felt her life slowly draining away.
Then, without warning, he
suddenly tired of this game and dropped her, sending her crashing with a hard
thud to the ground, coughing and wheezing as she struggled to breath. Finally,
regaining herself, Gabrielle looked up, only to see Hades standing over her,
his sword raised high, clearly meaning that he was ready to send his sword
rocketing into her strong, yet fragile warrior's body. The dark lord of the
Underworld laughed coldly, a sadistic gleam covering his face as he realized
just how vulnerable she truly was and how easily he could kill her.
"Hey!" Hercules shouted,
causing Hades to spin around to face him. Hades roared, his sword still raised
over his head as he charged the mighty demigod, only to receive a powerful
punch to the face that knocked him clear off of his feet and sent him toppling
to the ground with a hard thud, where he quickly lost consciousness. Hades was
out of commission, though for how long Hercules couldn't be sure.
Athena brought her sword down
lightening fast, only to watch in dismay as Xena somehow managed to block it.
Athena laughed, a sadistic grin
transforming her beautiful face into the hideous mask of a monster—her eyes
filled with malicious intent.
"Give it up, Xena!" Athena
shouted venomously, clearly enjoying herself. "You know we're going to win
sooner or later!"
"Never!" Xena answered
defiantly, issuing a fierce battle yell as she used all of her strength to push
Athena's sword from off of her own—and in the same instant sent a bone crushing
kick flying into the goddess's abdomen that sent her reeling backwards.
Then, just as she was about to
lose her balance, Athena managed to stop herself, before looking up at Xena.
For a moment the two of them locked gazes, the warrior princess and goddess of
war and wisdom giving each other looks that were as cold as ice.
Then the moment passed,
Athena's face contorting with a feral rage that chilled Xena to the bone.
Uh-oh, here we go…Xena thought. Athena let loose a blood-curtling scream,
literally throwing herself at her opponent, striking at her sword again and
again relentlessly and without mercy.
Xena managed to block the
blows—but just barely as it took all of her might, strength, will power and
warrior skill to do it.
Suddenly, Athena sent a low
kick flying towards Xena's feet, taking the warrior princess totally by
surprise.
Xena fell to her knees and
began trying to get up. With lightening speed, Athena brought her sword flying
toward Xena's head. Xena looked up, her eyes going wide—and with a loud ching
she managed to use her sword to block the blow only mere inches from her
head.
Athena retaliated, a primal
scream erupting forth from the depths of her being as she struck at Xena again
and again with her sword, the attack even more unforgiving than before. Finally
their blades clashed, both warriors now locked in a fierce struggle to win as
only one of them would walk away from this fight.
Not daring to give Xena even a
glimmer of hope at defeating her, Athena knocked her to the ground with a
brutal backslap to the face.
The warrior princess lay there
on her side for a few moments, dazed, trying desperately to get to her feet.
But, unfortunately for her, luck, apparently, wasn't on her side on this day,
and, despite her best attempts, her body refused to cooperate and she collapsed
to the ground, once again on her side and lost consciousness.
Athena smiled, a triumphant
grin spreading across her face. She'd won. Now all I have to do is take care
of business and then I can go home and this whole stupid mess will be finally
be over with. Athena thought smugly.
First, she'd kill Eve, the
bearer of the prophecy that had shattered her family and doomed them all. Then,
she'd kill Xena for choosing to oppose her. As for Gabrielle and Hercules, that
would have to wait for the moment. For now it was time to have some fun.
Athena sighed, preparing to
deliver the blow that would kill Eve and finally set things right once and for
all.
"ATHENAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Roared a very ticked off Hercules. Athena spun around to face him, her
face showing her annoyance at his interruption. The two warriors locked gazes,
Athena picking up on the grim determination that seemed to ooze off of
Hercules's massive form.
He meant to stop her. To stop
her mission. He meant to ruin the moment of triumph—her moment, just so
he could play hero! Even if it means my demise! How DARE HE! How dare
he interfere with my plans! Athena thought, her previous rage toward him
rekindled once again. And, as the goddess reveled in this familiar sensation,
she reached a decision: Hercules must die. Not later as she had originally
planned but right now. And once she realized this it dawned on her that
there really was no other choice, as he would surely try to stop her from
killing Eve.
Both warriors charged one
another, savage roars of rage erupting forth from their beings. Athena swung
her sword towards Hercules's head, determined to cut him in two. Hercules
managed to stop the blow, catching Athena by the arm, and, sending a brutal
backslap rocketing into her face, he threw her to the ground, literally
slamming her down on its hard surface with a hard thud.
The goddess of war and wisdom
rose to her feet and glared at him defiantly, pure hatred oozing forth from her
steely gaze. Athena grimaced in disgust and ran forward, this time intent on
taking the tall demigod's head off.
But her charge was short-lived
as Hercules stopped her dead cold with a powerful kick to the stomach. And,
with skilled precision, the mighty son of Zeus knocked her sword from her hands
and then proceeded to grab her and send her flying through the air.
But, just as he was about to
grab her, she suddenly recovered, kicking him square in the abdomen. He
stumbled backwards only to steady himself just as quickly. But no sooner had he
done so, did Athena send a volley of punches and kicks his way, most of which
he somehow managed to block.
Hercules retaliated, sending
series of punches and kicks of his own her way that sent her reeling backwards.
For several seconds the two
warriors exchanged heavy blows, the battle going back and forth, with no clear
winner in sight.
Hercules grabbed Athena's arm,
with the intention of throwing her to the ground, only to have her suddenly
turn the tables on him and twist his arm around and send him crashing to the
ground.
Hercules rose to his feet
almost instantaneously and dove for Athena. The two collided with a
bone-jarring thud and hit the ground equally as hard, rolling end over end.
When they finally came to a stop Athena sat perched on Hercules's chest, with
his arms pinned securely to his side with her legs. Athena stretched her arm
out in the air, and a second later her sword came flying into her waiting hand.
Athena raised her sword above her head, pointing the business end at Hercules's
throat. The goddess of war and wisdom looked at him coldly, a sadistic grin
claiming her face almost instantaneously.
"Well, well, well." Athena
said, clearly amused at the sight of her mighty half brother's sudden plight.
"Things just aren't going well for you at all today, are they?"
Hercules didn't answer,
choosing instead to cast her a look of defiance.
Athena laughed, amused at his
antics nonetheless. "Well, I warned you now didn't I, Hercules. I told you to
stay out of my way but you wouldn't do that now, would you? Tsk, tsk, tsk,"
Athena chided, shaking her head at him as if he was naughty two year old.
"Foolish. Very foolish indeed. But I'm afraid you won't be around to realize
the wrongness of your actions." Athena said almost sadly. "I'm afraid it looks like
your time to die has come, brother." Athena said as she raised her sword even
higher, preparing to deliver the blow that would kill the noble hero. "It's
been nice knowing you, Hercules."
"Hey, Athena," a voice purred
dangerously from off to her right.
Athena turned her head in the
direction of the sound only to find Xena standing there solemnly with her arm
held out in front of her, coiled around her—chockrum? Athena thought,
only moments before Xena released her special weapon from her grasp, sending it
flying at her head.
The chockrum whirled through
air at breathtaking speed—and slammed into Athena's head, causing the goddess
to cry out in surprise as she was thrown violently to the ground, where she
quickly lost consciousness. The chockrum whirled around through the air some
more before finally returning faithfully to Xena's outstretched hand.
Xena walked over to Hercules
and helped the stunned, yet extremely grateful and relived demigod up to his
feet. "Hey, what can I say? She deserved it." Xena replied, a devilish grin
spreading across her face.
Hercules stood there, several
seconds passing before he caught the joke, unable to suppress a grin of his own
as he chuckled to himself quietly.
Then the two warriors wiped the
grins from their faces, turned, and walked over to Gabrielle who was already
coming around. They both helped her to her feet and embraced each other in a
brief, but warm hug before turning toward the forest. Then, as one, they fought
their way forward and disappeared into the lush, green arms of the surrounding
forest.
************************************************************************
Several minutes later Athena
emerged from the depths of unconsciousness, rising to her feet at once. For
several seconds she simply stood there, trying to get her bearings.
When she was finally able to
determine where she was and remember what had happened before she'd lost
consciousness, Athena quickly noticed that her fellow gods were standing calmly
on either side of her. Athena looked around the battlefield, only to discover
that it wasn't a battlefield anymore.
Before her, scattered about
like confused insects, her remaining troops looked at her with a mixture of
fear and loyalty, as if they were unsure whether they should run or stay put.
Athena sighed inwardly,
disgusted at the sight of them all. Before the battle had begun they had
numbered in the hundreds, now they were lucky if they even had a hundred men
left. And all because they let three little warriors stop them! Pathetic!
Athena thought. Athena looked away from them, knowing that if she looked at
them any longer she would vomit.
Athena turned her attention
toward the forest where her remaining archers lay in wait. Even they had failed
her. Athena looked away from them as well, her depression at the outcome of the
battle quickly turning to anger. Athena looked desperately around her for
someone to punish. Clearly she needed someone to blame for the defeat she'd
been forced to suffer. It was a familiar rage that was like a raging beast that
would have to be satisfied now or it would consume her and she would be at a
loss to control it.
It was then that she spotted
Darius's unconscious form. Yes, he would do quite nicely. After all, he had
failed her and who better to vent her rage upon than her little toy as she
called him. She had depended upon him to get the job done and he'd let her
down. Athena smiled, realizing how much she was going to enjoy this.
************************************************************************
Darius lay there, slowly
emerging from the depths of his mind as he began to gradually regain
consciousness.
"Get up!" A voice shouted,
grabbing him roughly and lifting clear off of the ground.
It was then that he came face
to face with a very enraged Athena. She looked like she might just kill him.
Oh, what now?! Darius thought sourly, ill to the point that he really no longer
cared what she did anymore or why she did it.
"You failed me, Darius!" Athena
spat harshly.
"I'm sorry, my goddess, but I
didn't expect Xena and Hercules to double team me like that." Darius replied,
his voice sounding more sarcastic than he wanted it to be.
"Failing me is becoming a habit
with you as of late, Darius! You're better than this and you know it!" Athena
yelled hotly.
Darius looked at her beautiful
face, unable to stop the incredulous look that spread across his face. After
all I've done for you, you dare to treat me this way?! For the love of
the gods, why must I be submitted to torture such as this?! Darius thought
glumly.
Then, Athena suddenly dropped
him, causing him to hit the ground like a ton of bricks. Athena looked at him,
a look of disgust filling her face, instantly replacing the rage that had
previously been surging through her firm, muscular body. She turned around
towards the woods, unable to look at him any longer.
Athena sighed loudly, annoyed
with him beyond measure. If I didn't need him so much…She thought. "They
obviously left her through the woods, how long ago I can't be certain." Athena
said. "Find them. Do whatever you have to do, but get the job done. I want
Eve dead once and for all! IS THAT UNDERSTOOD?!" Athena said darkly. Then
she spun around on her heel.
"Do not fail me again,
Darius! Or I'll have your worthless hide!" Athena said between clenched teeth.
"Now get going!"
Darius got up, practically
jumping to his feet and heading for the shadowy, lush, green forest beyond.
"Oh, and, Darius," Athena said,
causing him to stop and turn around, "I don't think I need to remind you of
what will happen if you fail."
"Yes, my goddess. I understand
you completely." Darius said, bowing before her. Then he rose, picked up his
sword for off of the ground, slid it into its case on his side, turned, and ran
off into the forest before him.
Athena looked on in the
direction he had gone for several seconds more, hoping that if he found them
not only would he kill Eve but Hercules, Xena, and Gabrielle as well and that
their deaths would be slow and very, very, painful. Either way,
she'd send her army after him after a certain amount of time just to make sure
the job was done just incase he failed her yet again. And it really wouldn't
surprise her at all if he did indeed fail her since he'd been doing that a lot
as of late. Athena shook these thoughts off, hoping against hope that that really
wouldn't happen and that her assassin would do as just she'd trained him to do
and kill his assigned targets.