Chapter 5

Posiedonis was difficult to find if you knew where it was, impossible to find if you didn't, and this was before war and the revolutions, insurrections and civil unrest that occurred after the war on the surface had stopped.

Where before there had always been a soft glow filtering up through the water from the impossible depths, now there was no signs of what had once been the greatest city on Earth. Again, she was struck with remorse. While her Gods had been gracious to her, she had humbly thrown herself at their feet, begging that her Amazons, who had already suffered so much, so wrongly, pawns in her Aunt's game and victims of Diana's rage, be spared from any more war, any more pain.

She knew how lucky she was that the Gods looked kindly upon her; a last gift of blessing before being all but abandoned.

Arthur and his kingdom hadn't been so lucky. When she had last spoken to him, he looked aged, haggard and like the war hadn't even paused. He informed her that while peace had returned to Themyscira, war had broken out below the surface. She wanted to help him, but was unsure how to offer without sounding… useless.

She had a rebreather in a pouch at her hip. Taking it out and affixing it to her face only took a moment, and in the mean time she cleared her head. It was not her fault that Arthur's grip on his throne was slipping; he might try to blame her but it was not her fault.

The Amazon Queen shot into the air; she wanted to gain enough speed to fight off the crushing depths of Poseidonis. While she was aware of the pressure, and the cold water, she didn't feel it. Her armour held up wonderfully, even as she reached the edges of the city.

The water was dark, the light from the rising sun was unable to penetrate, and even if it were to get that deep, the water was tainted with blood. Even through the rebreather, Diana could taste the bitter, metallic taste of blood in the water, along with the same scent of decaying flesh she had smelt when Triton had taken her.

She had to be very close to the city before she could really get a handle on the devastation laid out before her. The once glamorous sub-marianian metropolis of Poseidonis, the capitol city of Atlantis, was in ruin. The once grand towers had been destroyed, little more than broken and decimated piles of rubble and rock. It was enough to stop the warrior queen in her steps, bringing a hand to her face as if to hide the shock from unseen eyes.

When Arthur had told her that Atlantis was going, she had never imagined this level of devastation. It truly was gone – there was nothing left of the once great empire.

"Oh Arthur," she whispered… She knew well the pain he would feel, the loss of home and comfort, if it had ever offered him that in the years following the war.

As she crept closer, her strides and strokes steady but becoming slower. As she crept closer to the large centre of the city, the debris got thicker, corpses littered the seabed floor, bodies in various stages of decay were found resting, floating, being picked over by the various bottom dwellers. Angler fish came out then darted away, fearful of Diana as she passed through on her way to the Imperial Palace.

The stairs remained, though most of the grand architecture was gone. She walked up the stairs with caution, her heart racing. She hadn't been to the palace in years, since before the war. It had been a beautiful construction; it had even survived the sinking of Atlantis, and stood the test of time through other wars and insurrections.

"Arthur?" she called as she reached the top of the steps, her voice quieter than she had intended. She didn't want him to think she was sneaking up on him, or trying to get the drop on him. She knew well enough that she was unwanted, and pushing the envelope in this case was probably not the smartest of ideas, but she needed Arthur's help... Bad.

"Orin?" she tried his Atlantian name, speaking a little louder this time.

She saw him at a distance across the grand chamber and her heart raced. His profile was aimed to her, and the angler fish set off a soft glow, but they wisely kept their distance.

He was aware of her presence before she spoke, of course, he could smell her, a scent he used to enjoy, long for even, now turned his stomach more than that of the rotten fish that hovered around him. He felt her heart beat next, growing steadily quicker with each step forward. He found it odd that she was walking rather than swimming, but imagined that it was her prerogative; even when they were courting he would try to get her to swim, she would prefer to walk, even when he likened it to "flying in the water."

He mentally rolled his eyes with the thought of all the wasted effort he had spent on the insufferable woman now entering what was formerly the grand hall. What fresh hell did she come to torment him with? Beat him over the head with his lost wife's name? Compare herself to the dead woman to no end? Oh how he wished he had just gone through and killed her...

And yet, a little part of him, a part he would suppress and deny, was titillated by the fact she would come to him. At the very least he was curious: what would draw the Amazon queen into his realm, so far away from her safety, so far under the waves. One good strike to her face and she would be at his mercy; he had done it before and she had chosen to flee rather than continue the fight, he wondered if he could be so lucky a second time.

His head crooked to the side as he finally turned, looking over to the Amazon queen, regarding her carefully. He didn't speak, but his blue eyes were cold, shooting daggers towards the entreating rival.

"Arthur, I need your help," she said, finally coming within reasonable distance of the brooding king.

He continued to stare at her, unblinking and without responding.

"Triton has... threatened Themyscira, and I need your help to stop him," she said, her voice honest and blue eyes pleading for him.

The blonde man raised his eyebrows, his eyes narrowing just a little as he observed and listened to her request. "One, Triton is dead," he started by stating the obvious. The battle between Orin and the eldest son of Poseidon was a long, drawn out and bloody one. "I killed him with my own hand," he added, as if it was necessary. "Two, why should I help you?"

"He has threatened my home... The Amazons; he will sink Themyscira," she said, taking another step forward, closing the gap between her and the base of the stairs rising up to the throne. It was set slightly off centre, clearly meant to be one of a pair. She had no desire to find out what had happened to the other throne, there was no scenario she could come up with that was anything but tragic.

"He was right there, as real as you are now," she said. "He held me captive, and even knew my weaknesses..." She was confused.

Arthur looked at her, knowing she was telling the truth, she always told the truth. Arthur wasn't sure she was even capable of lying. He pondered this for a moment, stroking his chin with his black gloved hand. "I have been assailed by magical constructs of Mera and yourself," he said. "Perhaps there is something more to this. Someone trying to manipulate us again."

Again. Now there was a frightening idea. Once the pair had been manipulated, turning their love into one of the most bitter hatreds either had ever had the displeasure of experiencing.

"I was afraid of this," Diana spoke softly, looking down. She was keeping something from him; he may not have got to love her in the way he was hoping, but he knew the Amazon well enough to read her tells. "There is always the chance that someone, given the right knowledge and proper... bribe, could release Triton from his uncle Hades' kingdom..."

Arthur didn't want to hear it. "He is dead!" the blonde man said, standing up, slamming the base of his trident into the ground as he backed the words at his onetime would be Queen, as if to menace or frighten her. He leaned forward, still standing at the top of the royal dais. "I watched as the life drained from his soulless eyes myself," he answered, coldly. "I kill him with my own hands, I think I am sure."

He didn't get it. The person they were potentially up against would be more than willing to free Triton from the Land of the Dead, paying both the Ferryman Charon and Lord God Hades handsomely for their time.

"We both know that Gods can return from the dead," she started, but was cut off.

"He is dead!"

"My Mother had a powerful enemy, she was freed when the war started," Diana failed to include that they suspected Mera of being the one who released Circe. "A sorceress, strong enough to conjure images and fantasies from nothing, who would think nothing of promising anything to Hades to free someone to harm me..."

Her voice trailed down, as did her face, she didn't need to look at Orin to know his face would be alight with rage at the thought of being used as a pawn, especially a pawn in a game designed to hurt Diana. She knew it wasn't because he cared for her, it was quite the opposite; being used in a game against the Queen would mean he would be forced to interact with the Queen he hated so very much.

"What more are you hiding from me?" his voice was calm and low.

"What were the visions?"

"I asked you first."

"Triton has promised to leave the island, and you, alone provided I fulfill my end of the bargain," she said, not wanting to tell him that she promised her hand to the devious, disgusting son of his patron in order to save him, but the look on his face told Diana that he knew there was more to the story. "He wants me... In addition to Atlantis; he wants me to be at his side." She hung her head simply.

Arthur raised an eyebrow. "Interesting..."