Clustering Wisps

Zeus narrowed his eyes as he watched the contract seal disappear from his palm, its demonic magic fading into the wind. Simultaneously, he could feel the surrounding presence of the miasma receding, though he and the others were immune to its effects. His hand formed into a fist with the raging aura's vanishing, glaring out into the southern horizon.

"So, he really is that strong of a pain?" he griped.

Behind the Olympian leader, the group's seismic hammer smashed into the earth once more, momentarily causing those nearby to stumble, save for Zeus himself. He turned to look at their device, spotting his younger brother among its various pistons. Poseidon was evidently exhausted, releasing the lava surges he'd been pumping into the hammer. The fire elemental fell to his hands and knees, panting heavily as magma-like sweat fell down his skin.

"That's enough, brother." Zeus turned again to see his middle sibling stepping forward, concern etched into his features. "There's no reaction. We'll have to bet on these final two locations."

It was meant for both his brothers than anything, which Zeus understood, nodding to no one in particular. "Take a moment to rest, then we'll head off, Poseidon." Hades seemed grateful his elder was willing to give them time, despite the situation they were in. Their group was spread thin, with only the three of them present at the site. As the two oldest prepared their next movements, they were drawn to the sound of moving lava, looking back to their younger sibling in confusion.

Poseidon was gritting his teeth, shaking as he got to his feet and held his arms out to command the molten rock. "No! I can go on! We don't have time to waste, not anymore." Zeus and Hades furrowed their brows, exchanging glances briefly before setting sights on their determined brother. He stared back at them with determined eyes, continuing to have his lava encapsulate the seismic hammer for transport. As the luminous substance wrapped around the construct like a thick blanket, its metal groaned slightly, heaved off the ground and ready to be moved elsewhere. "Just lead the way, Zeus. We have to succeed!"

Even the madman below was touched by the man's unwavering will, finding it in himself to give a faint smile in his brother's direction. Before confirming anything however, he turned to his middle sibling. "What's the status of the legion?"

Hades offhandedly glanced to the south, but was quick and concise in his reply. "They're holding against the fire army forces. With Athena there, it shoul-"

He stopped, sensing something amiss. Before Zeus could ask, Hades closed his eyes, focusing on the far off souls he'd summoned. Their numbers had suddenly… begun dropping, rapidly! The middle Olympian brother opened his eyes, facing his leader with alarm.

"Something's come. I can feel… not quite fire elementals, but their souls are strong, two in particular." At this news, Zeus was inwardly glad at Poseidon's insistence to move. However, there was one other angle to account for. Raising his hand, Zeus generated a fiery portal in his palm, connecting to their final ally. The swirling image of a female fire elemental appeared, bored yet beautiful.

"Aphrodite, move in towards the palace ruins. They've set up a base for their operations, though it's been left lightly guarded due to their recent mobilizations. Get over there and secure Hera. We may yet need her."

The Olympian woman seemed to sigh in annoyance, but nodded all the same.

"Fine. I'll fetch our little renegade. You know that'll weaken our control of the legion with me running around, right?" Zeus nodded in return, ignoring her casual retorts.

"I know. It doesn't matter, they're riled up enough from the miasma and the fighting thus far. Besides, we can always summon more. It will take time for the kingdom's forces to realize our next move, but we should have succeeded by then. Meet us at the eastern impact zone, that's where we'll attempt our next penetration."

Aphrodite simply grumbled in reply, then cut the connection between them. Satisfied with his maneuver, Zeus lowered his hand and locked eyes with his brothers. The three nodded in sync, then made their move, Hades and Zeus flanking their younger sibling as he dragged the seismic hammer along in the clutch of his lava, straining each second with its weight.

Minutes ago, outside the northern outpost

Each and every fire soldier in Weis and Tellus' platoons carried a fresh cut or scrape, each passing moment beset by more and more of the reincarnating army that opposed them. Even with all the intelligence they had on the legionnaires, it wasn't always possible to strike their weak point. In the moments of instinctual defense and furious offense, these men had been trained to their core to take any opportunity to inflict damage. Yet each arm severed or head bashed in simply regenerated from the Fire Kingdom's omnipresent heat energy.

The soldiers were losing ground fast, pushed against the entrance to the abandoned temple that served as their scouting area. With the passing of the Infernal Miasma, it was realized that although the heinous aura infused any who came in contact with immense fury, it also granted a boost in stamina and power. Only the fire soldiers felt fatigue, their hollow, soul-infused counterparts unaffected as the surge of violent energy finally left them. The men were burned out, barely able to sputter out fireballs. Exhaustion would begin to set in any moment now, leading to their ultimate defeat.

The men retreated to the far wall of the structure, its entrance still blocked off by whoever had laid the trap for their smaller groups that escort their leaders inside. Swords, spears, and shields were raised high as the Phoenixian Legion closed in, single-minded in their quest to destroy the kingdom's last lines of defense. In the midst of it all, one soldier pointed out towards the top of the overlooking rock-face to the west.

"Look! There's something else coming!"

More and more eyes followed his direction, widening in mixtures of fear, confusion, and surprise at what they saw. Even the legionnaires, possessing the necessary cognitive functions, turned to look, though their faces remained blank.

Upon the crest of the sheer cliff stood a blue light. No, several, flanking one another. More and more by the second, an entire line dotting the divide between stone and sky. The fire soldiers stood in awe, barely even registering the humanoid shape of the light, the flames, that had come to their rescue. The two most prominent stood at the center of the line, a pair of towering men whose cobalt flames gently danced across their shoulders and heads, despite the rather harsh winds prevalent around them. The cloaked one stepped forward, wise eyes observing the legion below. The enemy apparently decided this unknown appearance was more a threat than the defensive fire soldiers, immediately changing priorities and facing the elevated group, hands and bows raised to unleash a hail of arrows and fireballs.

Aecus grinned, pushing aside his cloak as he turned to glance at his oldest friend, who stepped up beside him with a grin of his own, though one etched with far more edge.

"Let's show them how you got your name, old friend."

Salvo's grin widened, stepping up and setting his eyes upon each and every reanimated elemental below. The will-o-wisp's perception slowed, seeing the blank expressions on them. His smile faltered just slightly, the ringing of screams and explosions in the back of his mind. His hands balled into fists, his body stiffening, memories of long forgotten battles building to the foremost of his thoughts.

And then they passed.

No, these weren't soldiers bound by oath and sword, lives to be taken for pointless control. These were captured innocents deprived of a peaceful afterlife, forced to battle in the name of insane machinations. Salvo's actions would free them, and for this, he would not hold back, his past trauma acting as fuel rather than dousing.

The mountain of a will-o-wisp flexed his arms at his sides, the crater-like openings along his body suddenly generating great light. Aecus backed away, knowing what was coming next. Salvo's body gave off a sound like a jet engine about to take off, his blue flames growing rigid and clinging to their owner tightly.

"Be free, my lost brethren!"

With that, dozens of high-density magma shells burst forth from his form, firing out of the craters several at a time. The projectiles' trajectories shifted upon release curving and sailing down towards the lumbering legion. They stood no chance of evading or defending, merely groaning halfheartedly as the shells impacted either their bodies or the ground, unleashing a devastating carpet of explosions that tore their reanimated bodies apart, instantly vaporizing the imprisoning matrix inside.

Salvo took a knee as his openings began smoking, his breathing faltering as he huffed to regain his composure. Even as his eyes fell to the ground, he could hear the distant moans of relief from numerous souls drifting back into their respective dead worlds, freed from Hades' clutches. The will-o-wisp smiled with satisfaction, then felt his best friend's hand on his shoulder.

"You alright there?" Aecus asked warmly, even as his other arm generated a flame sword for battle. Salvo just looked up and grinned at him.

"Heh, been a while since I've fired off. I'll be fine." Glad to hear it, Aecus nodded, then turned his attention back to the outpost ahead of them. The fire soldiers were still stunned by the display of power, though the straggling legionnaires kept their attention on the newly arrived elementals. With a motion of his sword, Aecus signaled the others to charge forward, the line of will-o-wisps quickly leaping off the cliff and into the fray below, self-fabricated weapons at the ready. Upon landing, the blue-flamed beings tore through the attacking reanimations, striking their weak points and ensuring the retreating fire soldiers were safe.

Aecus joined in soon after, followed closely by Salvo, who opted to simply use his massive fists to crush any foe who came close. Each freed soul seemed to lift his spirit. His companion easily blew past the line of legionnaires to reach the trapped soldiers, offering them a smile as he stopped before the stunned fire elementals.

"Hope you don't mind the intrusion. May I speak with your superiors?"

Though much of the surviving platoon was still stunned and simply gaped at the man, one chanced the move of pointing towards the collapsed entrance to the temple.

"Um… th-they're in there. Something blew the archway in though." Aecus glanced at the rubble blocking their entry, then felt the earth shake as his oldest friend stepped up next to him.

"Think you can get us in?" he asked the bombardment will-o-wisp. Salvo just grinned and smashed a fist into his palm.

"Not a problem."

Athena slowly circled, eyes trained carefully on the newly arrived ice-wielder. Said wizard tried his best to match her glare, but noticeably gulped, his hands fidgeting with magical energies. Behind him, PB struggled to decide where to keep her eyes; the injured Tellus, the groaning but freed Weis lying on the ground, Ice King's back, or the dismembered but seemingly unfazed Olympian. She decided to tackle each one at a time.

"Ice King! How? How didn't you get detected by her?" The wizard seemed glad at the distraction from his skirting enemy, flashing his jagged smile.

"Magic, of course! Don't forget, I used to sneak up on you princesses all the time." On any other day, Peebles would've rolled her eyes, scowled, and dismissed the looney idea of 'sorcery', but now wasn't the time. She instead focused on what had transpired to give the ancient ice user an opening. Her guess was that the 'spell' IK used masked his presence, even to thermal vision. There was no reason to think he was aware the enemy could see infrared, so she chalked that up to luck on the 'spell'. He was also floating when he'd fired off the ice blast, so no sound was generated.

Unfortunately, it had been iterated multiple times that Athena never fell for the same trick twice. This was proven efficiently when Ice King suddenly vanished, leaving behind little more than a giggle as he went in for another attack. Bonnie watched Athena's reaction, seeing the woman instantly bring up her hand, fire runes circling her wrist. It was obvious by now the primary source of the Olympians' fire magic was her; from her communication portals to the shared sight they possessed.

The runes suddenly spun faster, before halting and adhering to Athena's hand. She raised it high above her head, unleashing what seemed to be a heat sense. Instead, the wave of fire struck the formerly invisible Ice King, the old wizard yelping as his robe caught fire, doing his best to pat it out as he retreated back towards the others. While the attack itself was a failure, it allowed Weis to slowly crawl his way to PB and Tellus. As Athena settled back into a defensive posture, the injured commander managed to sit up, motioning for Bonnibel to hand the mortally wounded general over to him. She complied, hesitantly, unaware how bad the younger militant's own injuries were, but knew Tellus was far closer to his subordinate than her.

Ice King had successfully doused his clothing with some ice, his initial confidence lacking as he met eyes with Athena again. She took a step forward, a precursor to charging.

"Ice King, put up a wall, now!"

The old man responded quickly as their foe made a beeline for him, frigid magic flying from his hands and carving a line between them. A solid wall of ice surged up, blocking Athena's advance. However, an orange glow soon appeared within the wall, indicating it wouldn't last long. PB used the opportunity to turn to Weis and Tellus, instructing the commander to help the elder sit up. As he did, the princess worked her suit, dispensing a strange gel from her glove which she then slapped onto the arrow wound on the general's back. He didn't react much from the contact, but the material quickly began smoking and warping.

The gel was designed to close injuries to any lifeforms, but fire wasn't in her mind while creating it, Bonnie being certain it did little beyond stopping the bleeding for a few minutes. Still, buying any time at all was key at the moment. She turned her sights back to the ice wall, seeing it crack rapidly. PB bit her lip, trying to think of a solution. She was used to cooperative plans with a large force, not taking care of everything by herself, at least not when it came to a fight where the opponent was much smarter than her.

The ice wall shattered into a flurry of particles, shrapnel-like projectiles striking with omnidirectional fury. Though most melted harmlessly against the environment, the fire elementals in the room hissed upon being struck, even as the ice evaporated moments later. PB's suit shielded her once again, though she still instinctively shut her eyes from the blast. Upon opening to see what was next for them, her pupils shrank.

Athena's high-temperature hand was directly above her faceplate.

On contact, the protective glass began warping, Peebles too frozen in fear to move, even as her face began to feel softer and sweat poured out from every pore on her skin. This feeling, it was rare for her, unheard of until recently even. Not since her possession by the Lich had she felt this way, the utter terror bestowed on one who thought themselves immortal: the possibility of death.

Tellus and Weis were just as stunned, both ignoring their wounds to stare at the princess about to be melted into slag if no one stopped the Olympian. Ice King wouldn't be fast enough, even if he could snap out of his shock.

And just like that, a large arm grabbed Athena's. She was quickly yanked away from Bonnie, then tossed halfway across the room. The woman flipped and landed on her feet, arm out for balance, then looked up to glare at the new opposition.

As PB fell backwards, resting against her elbows, she could just barely make out the shape of two towering, blue figures through the warped glass of her suit. Her eyes, still wide from earlier, now beckoned surprise and awe.

"Blue… fire elementals…"

Aecus and Salvo stood beside their group, both grinning widely as they carefully kept an eye on Athena, who seemed livid at their interference. Or perhaps, not expecting it? PB accepted either answer, regaining her sense of orientation and reaching up to pull her helmet off. Ice King and Weis shouted in concern, but she merely flipped out her sweaty hair and huffed, immediately feeling the kingdom's immense heat.

"It's alright. I can handle it for a while."

Despite her assertion, she could tell her body was weakened just by standing there, exposed to the environment. Even so, it was better than fighting blind. The fire elementals and ice wizard were convinced, for the moment, and turned their attention to the new arrivals. Tellus in particular, furrowed his brow at Aecus.

"You there, do I… know you?"

The imposing will-o-wisp shifted his attention to the general, his smile refusing to fade even upon seeing the elder's state.

"For another time, sir."

Sir?

Aecus and Salvo spread apart, covering their injured comrades as Athena's stance relaxed, her eyes studying the two will-o-wisps with scrutiny.

"Those flames, who are you?" Aecus merely grinned wider, changing his posture to ready an attack.

"Just a geezer who's visiting the old stomping grounds." Athena was unamused, even as Salvo chuckled beside the man. However, she backed away, her analysis of the two's flames complete. She couldn't handle this on her own; not with one arm. Fire runes spun all around her intact arm, the Olympian whispering a spell under her breath. Her opposition braced themselves, ready for anything. Then, the rouge elemental slammed her open palm into the floor, causing two runic flame circles to emerge before her.

The circles burse to life, jutting twin jets of flame into the air. As they did, volcanic rubble from the surroundings was suddenly pulled in. The Fire Kingdom's defenders watched with bated breath as whatever spell Athena cast came together, unsure if it was even safe to approach her. The rock gradually came together, forming two mostly humanoid figures, though with large upper bodies and a few eccentricities. As the silhouettes were pieced together, recognition sparked in the eyes of those watching. At last, the flame columns disappeared, leaving behind two large elemental shells. These quickly ignited, their profiles matching those of the Phoenixian Legion, yet clearly different. Even in that form, their infamy was prevalent.

"F-Flame King?!"

"Don John!"

The two conspirators, fully formed, blinked a few times as their reanimating flames fully manifested, focusing their sights on the gathered defenders. Immediately, they both grew villainous smirks on their faces, snickering at them.

"Well, isn't this a surprise! I get the opportunity to crush the pitiful leadership of two kingdoms and reassert my position." Flame King's declaration only received glares from both Weis and Bonnibel, Tellus too weak to offer any animosity.

"This will all be over soon, haha!" the Flame Lord added, fire magic encasing his fists. PB just growled, taking a defiant step forward.

"What did they do to you two?" It was spoken out of disgust rather than empathy, but the two megalomaniacs just gave a confident smirk once again.

"We wanted power, and it was given! The two of us, seen as worthy of surpassing all others, now wield the awesome might of-"

"You tried to betray them immediately, got your butts kicked, and your souls ripped out to be used as backup," Bonnie deadpanned.

"…"

"…"

"…"

"Wh-WHAT?! NO! No! No, no… no… ok, yes."

Despite that rather pitiful admission, Flame King just returned that vile grin of his. "Who cares though, they gave me this sweet immortal bod," he insisted, flexing his arms. Across the room, Aecus was studying the tyrant carefully, almost knowingly, until finally reaching up to tear off his cloak. As the fireproof material fell gently to the floor, Salvo stared in shock at his old friend.

"A-Aecus! Are you…?" The man in question didn't turn his eyes away from Flame King, who stared back with a questioning look, narrowing his eyes as if contemplating. Aecus' body suddenly being surging, his blue flames dancing faster across his body. Everyone in the room had their attention glued to the will-o-wisp, wondering, save for Salvo, what on Earth he could be doing.

"The time has come to settle an old battle, one that I always regretted running from." Aecus' friend gasped lightly, turning back to look at their new enemies. Flame King was still lost, Don John cautiously observing, Athena just staring with a neutral expression. And with all eyes on him, Aecus' flames burst out like a shockwave, never managing to escape his body, but shocking all spectators as the color shifted to orange and red in an instant. The will-o-wisp caught himself chuckling, feeling the astounded expressions of his fellow fire elementals.

"That's… that's impossible!" Flame King actually took a step back, his normally slit eyes trembling in apparent fear. Back on their side of the room, Tellus was equally as baffled, almost unable to believe it. Memories flashed through his mind of days long forgotten, training a young but spirited warrior who pledged himself to defend the kingdom and become its greatest leader. Countless battles, occasional bickering, the sorrow of losing him to a horrid upheaval. Yet here that man stood, his image recaptured by the swath of orange clinging to his skin.

"Aecus… but… that's not… your name."

Weis and PB both blinked, glancing at the elder, wondering what he was talking about. Fortunately for them, the will-o-wisp in question craned his neck to address the wounded general, smile ever-present.

"I will never be that man again, but I can let his memory rest in peace, by fighting now instead of fleeing." With those words, seven rings sprung to life on Aecus' upper arm, visibly aged and not particularly bright. This seemed to be the final piece of whatever puzzle was being assembled in Flame King's mind, his fiery fists clenching in response.

"Those rings, that face. I snuffed you out!"

Aecus just shook his head gently, then some of his flames pulled away from him, spinning in a miniature cyclone until unveiling an exact replica of the man.

"No. You snuffed a flare clone." FK's eye twitched, completely unaware of this ability, unsure whether to be furious or terrified at what else may be lurking beneath that calm smile. "You threatened to slaughter hundreds if our conflict persisted, knowing I was stronger than you. That mixture of cowardice and pride you hold left me with no other option. I let you stand on top, in exchange for the people's lives. But now that your rule has been washed away, now that you're little more than an attacker upon this land, I'll do everything in my power to ensure the kingdom my niece restored won't fall to anyone ever again."

It was here that Bonnibel and Weis realized who was standing before them, their eyes wide in disbelief. Athena, although holding it back, was visibly surprised at such an unknown element jamming its way into her plans. Aecus let his flare clone fade away, then ignited the seventh ring on his arm. The flames at his feet and hands hummed with power, the man bracing himself to charge. Flame King had finally broken out of his shock, choosing to angrily prepare himself for battle as well.

"This time, I'd definitely kill you, BROTHER!"

Aecus surged forward, rapidly flame shifting at irregular intervals to avoid interception. Athena's eyes tried to track his movement, look for a pattern, but found none. She shifted away from her newly called reanimations, skirting the outer room to retarget Bonnie and the others. She was quickly met by a barrage of fiery shells, exploding at her feet and nearly knocking her to the ground. She cursed, darting her eyes over to Salvo, who was eyeing her carefully. Before the hulking will-o-wisp could let loose another round however, he was suddenly wrapped by several fiery snakes, which clung to his limbs in an attempt to bind him. Though distracted, he took but a moment to tear out of them, allowing the creatures to fizzle into embers. Salvo turned his attention to Don John, the Flame Lord readying another combusting spell. Finally finding her voice after studying the newly formed battlefield, Bonnibel shouted to her allies.

"Don't worry about us! You two focus on the reanimations, we'll deal with Athena!" Aecus was currently dodging a violent flamethrower attack from Flame King, but nodded all the same. Salvo, although hesitating briefly, nodded as well, turning to fully face his horned foe. Athena, for her part, narrowed her eyes at the candy woman. PB noticed she was shaking slightly. It occurred to the princess that the Olympian wasn't suited for long, drawn-out battles. She'd spent a great deal of time fighting herself, Tellus, and Weis, then lost an arm from Ice King's appearance. She had to be feeling fatigue by now.

"Ice King," she spoke, waving the wizard over. The looney old man, having been lost to most of what was going on for the past few minutes, complied, eyeing Athena warily. "Your ice will be key in this exchange. Aim low, look for an opening, keep your control fine. I'll go in to draw her attention."

Simon grimaced nervously. "You sure? You're pretty much a pink snowman now." PB nodded, shakily getting to her feet and fiddling with the wrist controls of her suit.

"It'll be fine. We need to take her out, we can't wait for Aecus and his friend to deal with those two maniacs." The two will-o-wisps were now fully engaged with their respective opponents, leaving the Olympian as their only target. A second later, Bonnie's forearms were enveloped in her suit's shielding, followed by her adopting a stance to reengage the Olympian before her. "Give the floor some ice."

IK acknowledged, somewhat confused, holding out his hands to the volcanic ground and allowing a flash of ice magic to strike. In an instant, the frost spread thinly across the area, blanketing it in what amounted to an ice rink. Before Athena could question anything, Bonnibel ran onto the ice, the bottom of her suit's boots adapting to give her immediate traction.

PB knew that Ice King's frost was far more resistant to passive heat than normal ice, giving her an idea of how long she had before the floor stared melting. Until that point, she'd use it to her full advantage, switching between sprints and sliding across the ice to hopefully give herself routes of escape while engaging Athena. The Olympian seemed unperturbed by her strategy, ignoring the sounds of Aecus and the others fighting in the background.

The will-o-wisp and Flame King had clashed, Aecus immediately using his flame sword to stab into the reanimation's chest. His persistent smirk finally dropped, replaced by the tyrant's, as the action left no discernible effect. A fierce slug to the jaw sent the former emissary back, staggering but still keeping his eye on his foe. It was clear now that FK's soul-trapping matrix was mobile, somewhere in his massive body.

Salvo was stuck in a stalemate against Don John, the Flame Lord using his necromancy-boosted magic to create fire zombies that took the blunt of the will-o-wisp's projectiles. The hulking man grimaced, feeling the fatigue of constantly using his barrage, but kept it up in hopes of exhausting his opponent's archaic stamina before his own ran out.

PB slid around to Athena's backside, raising her shielded lower arm and attempting to smash her fist into the shoulder supporting the woman's remaining good arm. The response was expected, the Olympian shifting slightly to the right before grabbing hold and flipping the princess over her. What PB thought would be a painful slam onto her back, became a rather bumpy, but less devastating landing on an elevated platform of ice. Athena glanced over at Ice King, who flinched at the hard expression on her face, even as his hands remained on the edge of the frost floor, clearing manipulating his powers through the frozen ground.

Realizing the disadvantage, Athena raised her foot and prepared to slam it down with a fiery blast. Unfortunately, Bonnie had been given too much time to recover, readjusting her arms and turning the tables, flipping her foe over her and attempting to pin her. Athena merely flame shifted out of the hold, landing further away and proceeding to blast the ice at her feet with a continuous stream of flame from her hand. Ice King gritted his teeth as he did his best to refreeze it, watching Peebles charge in to assist.

With only a single appendage, their enemy was forced to halt her blast and jump away from PB's flurry of punches, occasionally pushing a fist aside with her hand. Bonnie took note of the sloppiness of one of her blocks. Athena was definitely tired. A smart tactician would retreat at this point, despite the reinforcement Flame King and Don John provided. This only meant what PB feared: that their opponent was stalling for time.

As Athena moved to retaliate with a swing of her dagger aimed at the princess's neck, a forest of icy spikes suddenly erupted from beneath her. She avoided getting skewered, but still sustained numerous cuts across her body. PB used this distraction to nail her in the face with a fist, throwing the woman to the other end of the frosted floor. The Olympian flame shifted back to a stable stance, then chanced a look in the direction of the other battles raging on.

Aecus was furiously stabbing at every point along Flame King's body, hoping to hit the moving matrix in his form. The tyrant, in turn, laughed heartily as he, nearly unopposed, laid into his brother with punch after punch, which Aecus was weathering out with gritting teeth. Salvo seemed to have exhausted his most powerful attack, now defending against dozens of scatter shots Don John sent at him.

Athena shook her head, deciding their battles weren't important. She flame shifted directly at PB, startling her somewhat, but giving her the sense to at least bring her arms up in defense. What truly shocked her was when Athena's fiery form slipped around her shoulders and sides, reforming just behind the candy princess with a dagger at the ready. No matter how fast Ice King tried to form a pillar to slam into the Olympian from the ground, it wasn't fast enough to stop PB from being stabbed in the arm socket.

She screamed out, losing her balance and falling to the ground, clutching her injury. The woman instinctually deposited some of her gel to seal the wound, but the pain from the internal damage remained. As she lay there attempting to get back up, Ice King desperately formed pillar after pillar from the icy floor to keep Athena away. When she began slicing through them with fiery chops, he opted for entire walls jutting from the ground. Even then, she started flame shifting around them, now moving her focus on the wizard himself as Peebles trembled on her knees.

"Oh crud oh crud oh crud!" he sputtered, throwing up walls like a madman. Athena burst through his last one, hand raised and firing a precision flame directly at the exposed king. IK's eyes widened in terror, his hands moving up from the ice floor to counter, but knowing he'd be too slow to stop it.

Instead of hitting him however, the blast struck Weis, who grunted and took a knee while his body strained from the impact. The commander had jumped in front at the last second, having left the injured Tellus gently against a rock. The general was working through the pain of his reopening injury, PB's gel finally burned away, keeping an eye on the battle before him.

Athena growled under her breath, then sidestepped, dodging an attack from behind by Bonnie. She was allowing her essentially crippled arm to dangle, ignoring the searing pain from her arm socket with assistance from her body's adrenaline. The princess turned around and eyed her opponent up and down, the Olympian's shakiness now more obvious than ever.

Athena shifted her eyes between PB, Weis, and Ice King, who had fallen on his behind from fright at the attack earlier. She was at her limit, but she knew that every second keeping them here was beneficial. She had to find some way to extend the battle. The best way to do that would be to "take a piece". But which was the best target? Ice King was nearly behind Weis, so he wasn't the correct option. Bonnibel still had emergency shielding, making attacking her a gamble, even injured. This left the vulnerable commander, still huffing and crouched to the ground.

The Olympian made her move, flame shifting towards the militant. PB was too slow to react, her eyes barely able to keep up as Athena closed the distance. However, a sudden flash of light made her hesitate, reforming as a figure appeared to block her approach. The image of Tellus, arms wide to protect his subordinate, appeared before her, giving the woman a hard stare. She briefly glanced over to the side of the area, seeing the old man still propped up against a rock, eyeing her with effort. Athena's eyes noted the thermal composition of what was in front of her, scowling at the result.

"You won't fool me with a flare clone, you fossil!"

She continued on, knowing from her study of Aecus' demonstration earlier that a flare clone was little more than a frame, easily punched through with sufficient speed. She threw out her flattened hand, aiming to pierce through and continue to Weis. Impact came a second later, and the Olympian was left astounded.

The image of Tellus didn't dissipate at all. Her hand speared through a solid, fiery body.

Bonnibel, Ice King, even Aecus and Salvo, all stared in absolute horror, none more so than Weis, whose trembling eyes witnessed his superior's devastated backside, now adding Athena's fiery hand to the arrow wound. Athena herself was in too much shock to even move, allowing Tellus ample time to swiftly wrap his arms around her. The action snapped the Olympian partially out of her stupor, though she found that his grip, along with her impaled hand, prevented her from flame shifting away. She heard the general gently chuckle as his chin rested on her shoulder.

"You rely too much on those eyes, Niolie. Remember during our first chess game? I switched two of my pieces around while you weren't looking as a joke. The pout you gave was just adorable." As he spoke, Athena's eyes drifted over to what she believed was the elder militant sitting against the rock. The seemingly immobile figure dissipated into fiery embers, proving that it was the actual clone. "Who do you think taught Aecus that technique? Well, I may have forgotten to teach him one last thing. With practice, you can sufficiently split your body's flames between yourself and the copy to make it seem like the real thing to methods other than a simple visual, like your infrared."

Athena was still too baffled to reply, just listening to him as he continued to hug her. "I miss your smile, I wish I could've seen it… one last time." In that moment, the Olympian in his grasp felt the old man's arms tighten warmly. She could feel the care, the pride, the sorrow in his hold. She didn't know what her mind was thinking. Her father, her father had finally beaten her at something. Yet somehow, she didn't feel anything; disappointment, shame, thoughtfulness. She couldn't form a response, no matter how much her brilliant mind ran its paces. Only Tellus' finally cry snapped her out of it.

"NOW, ICE KING!"

The wizard flinched, but the sheer power of the elder militant's voice had his arms moving automatically, raising them up and causing two massive slabs of ice to rise up and form on either side of the joined general and Athena. Before anyone could object, the wizard clapped his hands together hard, causing the blocks to violently rush to meet. Weis and Aecus cried out, reaching out a hand pointlessly.

In those final moments, unseen by anyone, Athena's eyes shifted, in a way similar to Finn's, yet different all their own. She buried her face into the crook of her father's neck, and the ice crushed them.

The ice slabs fused together at their point of contact. Ice King moved his hands so that his fingers interlaced, then squeezed. The mound of solid ice blasted out a wave of chilling air, causing everyone to shield themselves. As the temperature reasserted itself, eyes gazed upon the hardened mass of ice. Before a second of silence could pass, the surface began to crack. The painful sound traveled across the entire object, until at last, the mound shattered into hundreds of pieces, clattering to the ground.

Leaving behind nothing in their place.

Aw yeah, now that's much better timing! I know a bunch of you are super eager for me to update, while simultaneously being patient, so it brings me joy to deliver a new update. In the grand scheme of things, I doubt I'll be able to finish this story before the series finale airs like I wanted, but it'll still be close enough, so I won't dwell on it too much.

Gamelover41592: Indeed, this was what I was building up to.

Bio team2: I pretty much had to add some positivity at this point, so yeah.

The Book of Eli: It may take a while for relief, but I'll definitely give the pooch some love.

Major144: Hm, yeah I guess I didn't write it clearly, but Jake does know. And of course I had to send off Ares with the last word.

Ledgeion: I know right? This has felt like such a long journey. Hard to think it'll end soon.

Fiery Crusader: Always a pleasure to see your COD references. And don't you worry, there will be much more fulfilling content than simple sweeping death.

Glob: I absolutely love that enthusiasm, and appreciate it immensely! This will certainly be getting updated faster than it has been, so look forward to it!

Hope you enjoyed and thanks for any comments/reviews!

next: Chapter 39: Brothers