Per Aspera Ad Astra
Chapter Decem
There were some people who told me they were getting confused, so I'm giving you a crash course in Roman gods (and for whomever told me the names were corny, you should take it up with the Romans, not me).
Athena (Minerva): Goddess of wisdom, medicine, the arts, science, trade, and war. She is the daughter of Zeus, born fully grown and fully armored from his head. She is the only god allowed to wield Zeus' thunderbolt. She is said to be level-headed on the battlefield.
Victoria (Nike): Goddess of victory, worshipped especially by triumphant generals. You all probably know her because Nike is a major shoe brand. Now you know why they named their shoe 'Nike.' She is usually seen winged (also explaining the 'whoosh' logo ...)
Fortuna (Tyche): Goddess of fortune, chance, prosperity, and fertility. She is the sister of Nemesis and also usually seen as winged.
Justicia (Dike): Goddess of justice and humanity. My artistic license came into play because she usually does not have wings, but she is associated with Athena.
Nemesis: Greek and Roman goddess of divine justice and vengeance. She directs her anger towards transgression of the natural, right order of things and the arrogance causing it. The sister of Fortuna, she is also winged.
Mars (Ares): God of war, spring, growth in nature, and protector of cattle. He is the son of Juno (Hera) and Jupiter (Zeus) and thought to be the father of the founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus, thereby establishing himself the title "Father of Rome." The Romans held him in higher respect than the Greeks did.
Discordia (Eris): Goddess of strife and discord as well as sister of Mars. Okay, I know I used the Greek name for her. I just like it better.
Fuga: Goddess of flight. She is the daughter of Mars and accompanies him on the battlefield.
Timor: God of fear. He is the son of Mars and accompanies him on the battlefield.
***
Dawn yawned loudly, bringing a thin hand up to her mouth, padding heavily into the crowded dining room. She rubbed the sleep lazily from her eyes. "Morning."
Everyone glanced up from the triple-benched table at her entrance. Sunlight flooded in from outside the room, and Lucius was hidden away in a corner from its harmful rays, Livia sitting next to him as all the places were taken up at the table.
"I saved you a seat, Dawn," Portia said, her mouth full of fruit, and shuffled over on the bench closer to Tara to allow room for Dawn. Dawn pulled the heavy curtain to the dining room shut, blocking the rays from reaching inside the room and relying on the flicker of the torches before taking her seat at the table.
"She kicked me off," Livia called back to her. "Feel special that you actually get to eat at the table." She bit down heavily into a piece of wheat bread, leveling her dark blue eyes at her sister.
Portia rolled her eyes. "Don't listen to her, Dawn. She probably would sit with Lucius, anyway."
Livia blushed lightly but ignored her, hiding her red face behind her dark hair as Lucius gave her a knowing look.
Tiberius cleared his throat. "Yes, well, while this is so highly entertaining, we still have other things to talk about." He set his spectacles on lightly graying hair, rubbing his eyes heavily.
"There are those goddesses from yesterday," Buffy agreed, sitting up on the bench next to Spike.
"And the ascension," Tara added meekly. Willow nodded in agreement from the bench beside her.
"Don't waste your breath," Lucius called from across the room. "They said they were coming back later." He leaned back against the wall and watched the room with wary dark brown eyes.
"Did you all know that Justicia is the inspiration for vengeance demons?" Anya asked excitedly from next to Tiberius, eyes sparkling.
Xander looked sideways at her, munching loudly on his food. "Which one was she again?"
"The one with the black hair," Spike answered matter-of-fact, taking another swig of his blood.
"At any rate," Willow intervened, "they're coming back later, so we should just hang tight."
Dawn flopped over. "So what are we going to do all day? Wait around?" Her head plopped into the palm of her hand. "But that's so boring."
"I'm sure you girls can find something around here to do. The horses could always do with some exercise." With that, Tiberius excused himself from the table with a plate full of food and escaped the hysteria to the quiet of his study.
"I guess the afternoon is ours then," Tara said quietly. "Um, Willow, I think I'm going to go eat out in the garden. Do you want to come?" Her hair fell lightly in front of reddening cheeks.
Willow smiled widely. "Sure." Standing from the bench, she gathered their plates up and the two left the room.
Buffy watched them go with a slightly wistful expression on her face. "That was sweet. I wish I could be like that."
Spike gave her a sidelong look. "You want to be gay, too?"
Buffy opened her mouth to respond but was cut off by laughter.
"It was sweet, though," Dawn agreed, coming down from her giggles. "Hey, maybe they'll get back together." She smiled happily. "Then everything could get back to normal."
"Yeah, normal," Buffy added under her breath.
"I'm sure they're already back together, Dawn," Anya said from her position next to Xander.
"I think so, too, Nibblet," Spike agreed. He quickly downed the rest of his blood.
"Well that's good then," she concluded.
Portia rolled over onto her back. "This has got to be the most boring apocalypse ever." Her long dark hair fell over the side of the bench and she dramatically threw her arms over her face.
"Why do you say that?" Xander asked, his hand pausing momentarily from its route to his mouth before he quickly swallowed a grape.
"We're not doing anything. Just waiting," she answered, her voice muffled by her arms.
"One day, you'll get it, kid," Xander told her, grinning slightly, "and you're going to want to have more of this just waiting time." He bit happily into another grape.
"I doubt it," Portia answered, nonchalant. Soon, all the food at the table was gone, leaving everyone to stare at one another. "I told you," Portia continued. "Absolutely nothing to do."
Dawn messed with the tassels on her tunica and reached over, poking Spike in his side. "Spike?"
"Yeah?" he grunted, squirming away from her finger.
"Tell us a story." She looked up at him hopefully.
"What?" Spike maneuvered himself into a sitting position. "I'm not your bleedin' babysitter," he scoffed at them. His hair stuck at odd angles, and he didn't look very menacing.
Dawn lifted an eyebrow but said nothing.
Spike continued to stare back. "Fine," he relented, sighing. "What do you want to hear?"
"Something ... happy," Dawn decided, settling back down in preparation for a story.
"Happy," Spike grinned mischievously. "Well, define happy. Personally, I thought the girl in the coal bin story was happy." He lifted a scarred eyebrow at her.
"Ew, Spike!" the teenager squealed. "That was okay a couple years ago but now ..." she wrinkled her nose and let out a laugh.
Buffy smiled lightly at their banter. "Tell them something like what you told me the other night."
"You told Buffy a story?" Dawn asked, smirking cheekily.
"It wasn't very happy, though," Spike corrected her. "So you want a happy ending, is that it?"
Portia and Dawn nodded as Xander and Anya watched interestedly. Glancing across the room, Buffy stifled a laugh as she saw Lucius and Livia arguing quietly. She turned her attention back to Spike.
"I think I've got one, but I'm pretty sure you've already heard it," he told the girls who shrugged in response. "It's pretty long," he said and they shrugged again. "Anyway, it always entertained the little sis so maybe you'll like it, too."
"Get on with it," Buffy told him dryly. "We're waiting."
"Pushy," he mumbled before continuing. "Once upon a time," he said, grinning at his beginning, "there was a king and he had three daughters. Now, the oldest two looked alright as far as princesses go, but the youngest chit looked so beautiful that people thought she was a goddess."
Dawn smiled, biting the corners of her bottom lip. "Did she have a name?" she asked, playing along.
Spike continued. "This girl, Psyche, was so pretty that people stopped worshipping Venus and journeyed from all over the world to just see her. Of course, Venus couldn't put up with this as she was a goddess and therefore full of envy."
Anya grinned. "Sounds like she needs a vengeance demon."
"As always, she called on her son to help her. I'm sure you know who he is," he addressed the girls. "He is that youth that some call Love but most call Cupid." He shifted his eyes to Portia who was grinning at him. Obviously, she knew the story. "Venus explained to her son what Psyche had done to her, and he was happy to help her out. She sent him to make Psyche fall in love with the ugliest man on Earth."
Dawn wrinkled her nose at the thought but remained silent.
"Well, as most plans backfire, naturally, this one did, too. Venus didn't count on her son falling in love with Psyche himself. So, Psyche did not fall in love at all, and no one fell in love with her. This disturbed her parents as her older sisters were already married to kings. So, her father went to the oracle at Delphi to ask for help. Of course, Cupid had asked Apollo for advice, and the two fabricated a plan. Apollo told the king to dress Psyche in all black and leave her on a hill to meet her husband, a large snake.
"So they carried out the orders and left her there. Soon, the Zephyr wind lifted her up and set her down on a meadow. She was so tired that she lied down and fell asleep. When she woke up, she was beside this huge mansion. She couldn't see anyone, but she could hear voices."
Xander grinned mischievously. "She's going crazy."
Rolling his eyes, Spike ignored him. "They told her to bathe and eat and that everything there was for her. So she did as told and knew her husband would be with her by nightfall. And he was there, and she knew he was the husband she had waited for."
Buffy glanced over at the other side of the room again only to see Lucius spontaneously reach over and kiss Livia. Her eyes widened when Livia kissed him back. Glancing over at the rest of the people, she realized no one noticed. Shrugging, she let them be.
"She was happy until her husband told her that her sisters were coming to mourn her. He tried to convince her not to go, but he relented and told her not to let her sisters convince her to look at him. He said that if she did, he would leave her forever. She agreed.
"Her sisters came and were green with envy at her wealth. Psyche told them that her husband was away, but they quickly learned she didn't know what he looked like. They told her he was a snake and would eat her one night. Psyche filled with fear, and they devised a plan. That night, she would kill him in his sleep and steal away with her sisters.
"And so, when night came, Psyche lit a lamp and gazed at her husband. Relief filled her as she saw a beautiful youth there, and she dropped her knife. She stared at him for so long that some oil fell from her lamp to his shoulder. When he saw her, he left without a word and cried out, "Love cannot live where there is no trust!"
"Psyche felt awful and offered herself to Venus as a servant in hopes that she may see Cupid in Venus' palace. Venus sent her out on many impossible tasks, but sympathetic animals always aided her. Her final task was for Psyche to go to the Underworld and fill a box with Proserpina's beauty as she was tired from nursing her sick son. So Psyche did the task and became curious. She wanted to look her best if she ever ran into Cupid.
"As soon as she opened the box, she fell asleep. Cupid, of course, was feeling better and missing his wife. He flew out of a window and found Psyche asleep near the palace. He wiped the sleep from her eyes and woke her. He told her to bring the box to his mother, and afterwards everything would be fine. Psyche rushed off happily, and Cupid went straight to Jupiter.
"Jupiter formally married the two and gave Psyche immortality so that Venus could not argue. So, Cupid and Psyche live happily together on Mount Olympus with their children, a marriage of heart and soul."
Everything was quiet for a while until Dawn broke into a grin. "That was a nice story."
"I agree," a voice called from behind them. They turned to see Minerva, divested of helmet and spear. "Psyche was always a sweet girl." She turned her eyes to Lucius and Livia who had flown several feet apart at her arrival. She grinned at their awkwardness.
"So the story's true?" Portia asked bashfully. She played with the tassel of her tunica nervously.
"Of course it is. You think someone made it up?" Minerva smiled kindly before turning back to Spike. "Beautiful ending. Psyche does, after all, mean soul."
"Where are the other birds?" Spike asked her, rising to his feet in a semi-defensive stance beside Buffy.
"I have come alone, only to talk this time." She clasped her hands earnestly in front of her, emphasizing the fact that she held no weapons.
"I'll get my father," Portia mumbled before she and Dawn rushed out of the room to the secluded study.
Minerva watched the girls leave silently, her regal head arched in their direction. Then, suddenly she turned to Lucius but did not speak a word.
He grew flustered under her gaze. "What?!" He checked himself over conscientiously.
Minerva smiled secretly. "Nothing." She regarded him quietly. "You are different, vampire."
"Of course, I'm different," he told her indignantly. "You think every vamp is jumping at the chance to help the Slayer? ... Or Slayers ... yeah." He cleared his throat nervously.
"You are the first of your kind to do so," Minerva answered him, her gaze unwavering.
"Like I said earlier," Lucius remarked once more, cocking his head to the side. He drew a hand quickly through his hair and leaned back against the wall.
Just then, Tiberius entered the room with Portia and Dawn. He was struggling with the writing supplies he had brought and was unknowingly dropping several quills along the way. Giggling, Dawn and Portia did their best to keep up with his mess.
Tiberius set up shop at the table, pushing Xander and Anya from their spots to set down several books and scrolls. Once Dawn and Portia had set their collections down, he stood and wiped his hands down the front of the tunica, smearing a big of blank ink, and sighed loudly. Setting himself down on the bench, he dipped a quill in a vial of black ink made from soot. "Okay, I'm ready," he announced, out of breath.
"Yes, well, Tiberius," Minerva began. "The entire situation is quite simple, really." She pressed her lips together. "It is borne from the pettiness of a god ... my brother."
"You've got to give us a bit more detail than that; you've got a lot of brothers," Livia pointed out from her position next to Lucius, leaning with her back against the wall.
"My brother Mars," she answered. "As you all know, reverence for the gods is slowly dying," she explained. "It has been," she sighed, "for quite a while. Very few of the old rituals are being performed, and the people just do not believe in us anymore. They have lost faith."
Dawn immediately jumped in. "But during the reign of Augustus, isn't there supposed to be a religious ... revival ..." she trailed off, her eyes wide. "And I should not have said that ..." Her hand covered her mouth, as if she felt it would stop her from saying anything further.
"It's alright," Minerva assuaged her fears. "My brother, being the hot-tempered person he is, is taking this quite badly. Do you all know what the Feriae Marti is?" she asked, moving to cup her hands behind her back.
"Isn't that a festival?" Willow asked, the wheels in her brain working furiously to figure out the question.
Minerva nodded in response. "I believe the beginning of your year is in January," she said, "but for us, our new year begins with March. Therefore, the Feriae Marti is the celebration of the new year. It is meant to last all month, and the people are to pay homage to my brother for protecting their fields as well as protecting them in battle." She looked down before continuing quietly. "They did not celebrate it this year."
"But didn't you say none of the gods were being paid honor?" Dawn asked skeptically. Her brows furrowed in confusion.
"Yes, but he does not understand." She shook her head sadly. "Or he is not willing to. He went to our father, Jupiter, to ask him to send punishment down on the people, but he refused. Now Mars is angry at Jupiter as well." She shrugged, somewhat disbelieving herself. "And what better way to punish him and the people than by hurting the Slayer herself."
"So this entire thing is trivial?" Tara asked timidly. "It's all about power and who gets the most sacrifices?"
"Isn't everything?" Minerva answered quietly.
"Plus, it's very like the gods to argue over petty issues," Lucius added, smirking silently at Minerva who had the grace to blush.
"That was a long time ago," she murmured almost to herself.
"What?" Buffy asked, her eyes trailing back and forth between Minerva and Lucius. "I'm lost."
Spike leaned over to whisper in her ear, "The Trojan War, love."
Buffy's mouth formed a silent 'o' in recognition.
"So why are we here?" Xander asked, getting straight to the point. "It's not like we have anything to do with this little story."
"Against my brother and Eris, the current slayer is no match alone. But with you all here ..." she trailed off. "You are quite formidable."
"Yeah, we've been up against a god before," Anya interjected, feeling a bit frantic, "and you all know how well that went." Her eyebrows lifted and she shook her head disbelievingly. "Hello! We're not only up against one god now, guys!" she cried out. "Now we're up against the god of war and the goddess of discord! And we don't even know if there are any others."
Xander patted her on the back comfortingly. "Breathe, Ahn."
"But that is the reason we chose you," Minerva addressed Anya's fears. "No other Slayer has had as much experience," she told the group, "or as many friends."
Silence grasped the room for several seconds as the goddess left them time to mull over their newfound knowledge.
"When the time comes, you will not be able to kill Mars or Eris," she told them, breaking the quiet.
"Then how do we win?" Livia asked, feeling a bit of dread build up in the pit of her stomach before she pushed it away stubbornly.
"We did kind of kill Glory," Buffy jumped in. "We killed her human counterpart. Does Mars, by any chance, have a human counterpart?" she asked, wrinkling her nose.
Minerva stared at her for several seconds. "No."
Buffy pressed her lips together and quirked an eyebrow quickly. "It was worth a shot."
"Glorificus was a lesser god; Mars, however, is not as easily defeated and definitely not as stupid." Minerva brushed a wayward lock out of her face. "He is a higher being."
"You mean like a Power?" Willow asked, intrigued.
"I suppose you could say that. Religion after all employs the same basic ideals and principles. People worship a being or several beings as someone to preside over them and judge them. Essentially, every god is the same god, only with different names. So, yes, I believe you could call him a Power."
"When we say Power," Xander stepped in, "are we talking about the Powers That Be?"
Minerva nodded in response.
"So that would make you a Power, too," Willow concluded. "Wow." She nodded to herself. "You're definitely not as scary as I thought you would be ... You know, big with the menacing and the ... right."
"At any rate," Minerva caught on with her speech, "Mars will not be killed." Her eyes scanned the room, taking in the people that would be the warriors for good in this battle. "But when you do meet him in a final battle, he will go for something large and extravagant. He will attack on the solar eclipse this Friday. Perhaps you should come to him."
*
Minerva had left a solid three hours ago, and the Scoobies et al. were waiting for the sun to set, bringing on the darkness and the night. Minerva had tipped them off, and they were simply waiting to make a move.
The study was covered with leftover books and scrolls from their frantic research session, only to be disregarded now that they had all the information needed.
"You guys know this majorly sucks?" Xander asked from his position sprawled out over a bench.
"At least it's not gonna happen on a Tuesday," Willow quipped lightly. "I was getting enough of those already ..." Tara cracked a smile.
Buffy was curled up on the floor of the study, her skirts around her legs, next to Spike. Surveying the room, she noticed that Livia and Lucius were over by the weapons chest, sharpening several axes and the such.
"This is so boring," she told Spike under her breath. "All we're doing is sitting here until Friday." She glanced over. "I feel helpless."
Spike watched her, contemplating silently. "You can't do everything." He turned his gaze back to the room. "All I'm worried about is dying in a battle that's not our own." He exhaled loudly. "Everything here is so confusing. With the apocalypse and them," he nodded at Lucius and Livia. "And I miss my telly."
Buffy tried unsuccessfully to cover a snort of laughter.
*
The sun set and the moon rose high in the sky, shining brighter and more magnificent than any other star in sight. Within two days, that very orb would be covering the sun.
Buffy, Spike, Livia, and Lucius stealthily trekked across the Forum. Buffy and Spike took in the large, looming buildings with complete awe. Marble surrounded them on all sides. She stopped briefly before the Colosseum, marveling in its size but also sensing a dreadful feeling of foreboding.
All had stakes hidden away safely in the folds of their attire, and they kept close together during their entire trip from the outskirts of the city to the center.
The gravel streets were practically deserted except for several men journeying out to their favorite haunts and several drunken men returning home. Small flames burned brightly within street lamps, illuminating the empty roads softly with their flickering.
A high pitch scream sounded from far off to their right. Glancing at one another one last time, they four took off running towards the source of the terror.
The first thing they noticed was the blood. There was blood everywhere and too many bodies to count. Dozens of vampires loitered around the dead carcasses, scavenging on their dead remains like animals.
Buffy fought down the bile rising in her throat. She had seen massacres before but none like this. Entrails hung from shredded stomachs, and she thought she could see that they had gouged the eyes out of one man's head. Pulling the stake from her tunica's tassel, she grounded herself steadily before she took off into battle right next to the others.
Ignoring the bodies strewn among them, they started dusting vampires left and right, feeling no hesitation, no remorse. They vampires launched themselves at the group left and right, only to be dusted upon impact.
Buffy and Spike had taken up one side and glanced over only to see Livia and Lucius do the same. It was uncanny.
Just within minutes, all of the vampires were either dust or had deserted, and the group stood there among the mass murder.
Swallowing tightly, Buffy surveyed the carnage around her. "You say they lost hundreds of vamps last night?" she asked Spike.
He stood next to her, almost comfortingly. "Reckon' this is 'sposed to make up for yesterday," he answered, on the same train of thought.
"Well, let's go find us a nice alley to wait for them to rise," Lucius interjected. "It's gonna be a long night."
***
Well, guys, that's it. I know it's been a while. Two whole months! Sorry, sorry! Everything's been very busy lately. Thank you to everyone who's been patient with me.
This chapter is for Diana for kicking my butt to continue writing and Jackie who bugged me to let her read the story and then bugged me some more to continue. Thanks Jackie for beta'ing the first half and adding in the "gay" joke. *bg* (BTW, Jackie, if we get into college in England (that is, if we don't get stuck at TCC), I bet we could find some nice British guys there ...) You guys are awesome.
Eva