Happy Friday, readers! I want to tell you that nothing much happens in this chapter, unfortunately we need one of these from time to time to set things up for the next one. But next chapter... Well, let's just say plenty happens. I have some more Steve and Diana for you today! Enjoy!

6

We walk at a painstakingly slow pace. Several times I have the urge to start running towards the door at the end of the corridor, but then I remember Antiope's advice. Remember where you are and you won't become careless. So we walk slowly, our heads constantly moving right and left, expecting something to jump at us from the wall, the ceiling, the floor…

It's all very terrifying, but what unnerves me is the quiet. I feel like someone is trying to shove their fist down my ears. The thing about my job was that it was hardly ever quiet. Silence is not something I'm accustomed to during high-risk missions. Like the one we're currently on.

"With all the planning for our escape, I never asked…", I look up at the ceiling to find it completely covered in sinister paintings. Demons tearing humans apart, blood dripping from their fangs and claws. A warning. "What do you have to warn Diana and the Queen about?"

I ask in the barest of whispers, afraid of disturbing the rhythm we've managed to create.

She continues moving forward, putting one foot in front of the other with the upmost care. I continue following her lead.

"When I crossed the gate, I crossed it with 7 other souls. 3 of them were Amazons, the others, I had never seen before. One of them kept muttering to himself that he didn't have the chance to tell anyone about the fault in the design. I ignored him, too preoccupied with my own death,"

We keep walking down the endless corridor. Even though we can see the door at the end of it, it's like we're walking over the same spot, not making progress. But Antiope never mentions anything, so I figured she must be seeing the progress in our movements I'm unable to.

She continues, "After some time though, his mutterings were beginning to aggravate me, so I walked up to him and told him to shut up. His eyes cleared somewhat, but then he grabbed me by the arms and started saying everyone on Earth was doomed. He said the evil that was approaching would be like no other. I asked him to explain himself, since in my experience as General, you should never ignore someone who tells you danger is coming."

I raise my eyebrows at that. Back home normally you ignore everyone who tells you danger is coming, unless they're military and have a 1000 different confirmed sources, if not, you're not even acknowledged.

"This man, his name was Dertiri, was kidnapped from his planet and brought to Apokolips, were he was enslaved by the ruler, Darkseid. He was put to labor in the camps of the research laboratories and without raising suspicion, he would read the diaries of the people working there. Dertiri was an inventor in his planet, so he understood what they were making."

I feel a sense of dread at where this man's story might be leading. One thing is to deal with bombs, gas and machine guns, but with aliens? Or whatever these things are, mankind might be out of its depth.

"Through the diaries, he was able to learn all the details of how a technology known in Apokolips as Mother Boxes work. But he also learnt of a fault in the design of the boxes. Dertiri discovered that the Boxes were made with volcanic metal, which with the incorrect quantity, are more than likely to destabilize the intended function of any device,"

I make a mental note to ask Antiope later how she knows of things like laboratories and technology in general. I thought everyone on that island had the same knowledge of modern technology as Diana.

"According to Dertiri, the Mother Boxes will only perform their desired purpose for a limited amount of time. Which means that who ever takes possession of them won't know that they will not have it function properly for long."

I feel as confused as I was when I first landed on Themyscira. It would seem that every second that I spend here I discovered some other terrible thing to add to my list of terrible things.

"What do these Mother Boxes do?" I ask starting with the basics.

"Dertiri said they can heal, teletransport, manipulate energy, sense danger and life, create energy shields, rearrange molecular structure of matter, control the mental state of a host, communicate telepathically, manipulate the life force of a host to sustain it past fatal injuries, among other things. They can love too."

"Oh, that's it?" She gives me a sideways glance a little bothered by my choice to approach her revelation with humor. "You said you risked your soul to find out more. What'd you do?"

Before she has the chance to answer, we hear a rumbling noise coming from the direction of the door. We look at each other and then around us trying to find somewhere to hide, but since the only things adorning this place are pillars, we run towards a corner behind one of them hoping the darkness of the place will conceal us enough.

The doors burst open and what looks like a huge cloud starts floating at a steady pace down the corridor. Both our eyes stay locked on the floating… thing. When it reaches us, I make out what they are.

Souls floating in a cluster, unconscious not knowing yet that their lives just ended. I feel a chill that makes me shiver and I stick my hands into my pockets to keep them warm. Realizing that I entered the Underworld in the same manner makes me nauseous and my desire to escape grows stronger.

I'm about to ask Antiope if we should wait for the next group of souls to enter so we could make a run for it before the doors close, that it hits me what I just did without realizing it.

I take my hands out of my pockets and look at them. I turn them and inspect them, touching my face and feeling the cold fingertips on my cheeks.

"I'm cold. I feel cold!" I say a little louder than intended to Antiope.

She snaps her head back at me and takes my hands. "You feel cold?"

I nod my head enthusiastically. "Yes! You don't?"

She smiles down at my hands. "Amazons are not affected by weather like men are. Good thing you decided to come, Captain. I would not have been able to tell we're in the right direction if not for your sensitivity to temperature change."

I've never been more excited to be practically called weak!

"Let's keep moving, Captain. We're getting closer."

We stand up and start walking down the corridor once again. With my hands shoved down my pockets and feeling the cold sip into my bones, I've never felt so glad to be chilled to the bone.

Mother and I walk into the city side by side. We make our way towards the throne room where council meetings are held through the market. Much like when I was a kid, as soon as the merchants see me, they greet me with the same kindness and respect.

"Hello, Diana,"

"Hello," I answer back with the most sincere smile and I continue to feel incredibly out of place with the clothes I'm wearing.

Mother of course notices and gives me the up down. "Is that what women wear in man's world?"

I look down at myself and pat my shorts. "Yes, during the summers at least. Through the years clothes have evolved a lot. With each decade they become lighter and lighter. When I first got there, I made a friend. Her name was Etta, and with Steve, they took me to a department store, which is basically a very big market all contained within one big building. The first thing I tried on was this big, ugly, purple dress, that had so many layers, I could barely move."

I proceed to demonstrate how I walked liked a fat duck. She laughs and shakes her head.

"I'm glad you made friends there. I'm certain that helped your transition into man's world."

My smile becomes wistful and I nod. "Yes, they helped me a lot. Especially Etta. She was so patient with me and I stayed with her after –" I pause not wanting to call upon any feelings that might disarm me once again. "After the war was over."

I clear my throat. "That's one thing I wasn't counting on; to make friends. I thought I would be in and out. Defeat Ares and then try to find my way back home, but I encountered so many things that blindsided me. Disappointment, grief, anger, loneliness. Throughout all my life here in Themyscira, I never felt any of those things with such intensity. But as time went on in man's world and all the people I called friends started dying, I found myself not quite feeling like there was a place for me anymore."

I keep my eyes on the road ahead, but I can feel the sadness on my Mother's eyes. "You didn't make anymore friends?"

I shake my head slowly, "None that really meant something to me. I figured, what's the point? I will outlive them all. Just like Etta, Charlie, Sammy and Chief. My only consolation was that they lived happy lives after the war was over. It took time for some, like Charlie, whose wounds went beyond the physical, but they were happy. That's my mission for mankind, Mother. To try and get rid of anything that may threaten that happiness. It depends on them to pursuit it, but it's my job to take out all the big obstacles."

We cross the threshold to the hallway before the throne room. Mother touches my arm, signaling me to stop.

"Leave us," she tells the guards softly, but commanding.

They nod and close the big metal doors behind them. I look at her confused.

"Diana, I understand your reasons for wanting to protect mankind. Your mission is one that commands honor and respect, and I realize I did not know the Captain as well as you did, but he didn't give me the impression that he would be okay with you sacrificing your own happiness for that of everyone else's."

I look down at the far corner of the room, avoiding her eyes. She's not telling me anything I don't already know. Steve would not have wanted me to live like this, but I don't know how else to live.

"You're right, Mother. But how could I even attempt to have a happy live when I could've saved him and I didn't?"

She narrows her eyes in confusion and takes a step closer to me. "What do you mean?"

I swallow and steel myself to say out loud the words I have never said to anyone but myself. "After killing who I thought was Ares, he asked me to come with him to try and stop a plane full of toxic gas that would kill millions of people and I refused to. He begged me to come with him and I said no. He gave me several opportunities to change my mind and every time I said no. Mother, I forced him into having to stop that plane alone. He blew up that plane with him inside because I didn't leave him a choice. I was immune to the gas and I still said no. I killed him. I loved him and I killed him."

She shakes her head and takes both my hands firmly. "No. I know you better than anyone else, Diana. You must have had your reasons for refusing, if you regret them, that is understandable. But you didn't refuse to go with him because you didn't care what happened to him. I know your heart. You are good, and if you need confirmation of that just look at how you're punishing yourself for something, I believe, you had no control over. You didn't kill him, he made his decision and you made yours. You said it yourself in the beach. He sacrificed himself. You know that, so I don't understand why you're blaming yourself. You. Didn't. Kill. Him."

I bite down on my lip, tears blurring my vision. "But I could've saved him."

"You can't save everyone, Diana. You do your best and you hope that's enough and sometimes, it isn't. But if you tried your best, then there's nothing you should feel guilty about."

I wipe the tears away, feeling quite annoyed that's all I seem to be doing today. "I don't know how not to feel guilty."

She tucks a piece of hair behind my ear. "You start by remembering the ones you did save. The happy lives those people lead because of you and him. That's how you keep going. That's how you honor him."

I nod and look up to allow my eyes to dry out. "I think Steve would like that,"

"I think so too. Do you want me to delay the council meeting? Give you some time to freshen up?"

I shake my head. "No, I'm fine. I don't have a lot of time, so we shouldn't waste any,"

"Shall we then?" She says pointing to the doors and together we go meet with the council.

AN: I told you! Nothing much happened, but I still hope it was fun and I hope to see you on Monday when the fun begins!