This was a hard chapter to write! I hope you enjoy!

11

I sit up and lay my hand on Steve's chest, but the gentle touch seems to be too much as his body jerks more violently. I pull my hand back and look at his face contorted with pain and I feel the tears coming. This will be unbearable and I can't even imagine what he's feeling.

"Shh, shh. It's going be okay, Steve. I promise. I promise."

His head tilts in my direction when he hears my voice and he opens his eyes with great effort. He seems to want to say something but he struggles for a little bit.

"Sh- shirt. Off. Off,"

I nod understanding what he's saying. I start unbuttoning his shirt, already covered in sweat. I place one hand behind his neck and the other one behind his back and pull him up into a sitting position. I close my eyes at the pain that simple action seems to cause him. I remove his shirt as gently as I can and lie him back down on the bed.

The light coming off of the candles around my room are enough to let me see how very red his whole chest and neck are. I don't know if it is from the physical exertion or from the heat he feels it's burning his body.

I start looking at him feeling the desperation crawl its way up to my throat. I don't know what to do. I don't know how to help him.

He starts thrashing his body, the sheets of my bed getting all tangled in his legs and the screams… the screams are the most horrible thing I have ever heard. Nothing but pain and despair, tearing right through me. I rip the sheets off and throw them on the floor to try and minimize anything that might cause him more pain.

But now what?

"Steve, I don't know what to do. I don't know what to do," I tell him kneeling on the floor, trying not to touch him even though there's nothing more I want to do than hold him in my arms until this is over.

He grits his teeth, his hands clenched into fists. He tries to stabilize his breathing, but the pain is too overpowering. "T-tell me about the countries you l-lived in. Which one w-was your fav-favorite?"

He attempts to swallow his screams, but each time he seems less capable of doing it. I try racking my brain for anecdotes or anything about the countries I lived in, but the sound of his screams make it quite hard to focus. But I will myself to concentrate. He's asking for a distraction and even though it probably won't do much, this is the only thing I can do for him right now.

I nod, having found a little piece of information for each country I lived in to share with him.

"Peru had the best food. So diverse and completely different for each region you went to. But Thailand had the best beaches. They reminded me of home, the water crystal clear. The Norwegians, they knew how to have fun. I was in a village that was completely flat and during the cold winters, they would get creative and make incredible things with snow. Haiti was alive with music. They never stopped dancing and their energy was contagious. I lived in this cottage in Poland that was right in front the most beautiful grass covered mountains I have ever seen in man's world. Even in winter when they were covered in snow, they were beautiful. And in Namibia, I lived with the nomadic Himba pastoralists in Kaokoland. Their traditions have remained unchanged for generations and they are the most welcoming people I have ever met."

He tries to smile but the pain won't allow him to even fake one. "It s-sounds like you had f-fun."

I feel the tears pooling at the bottom of my eyes. "Yes, I really did. They were peaceful people. I only had to put my armor on 3 or 4 times during my 20 years of teaching abroad, and some of them were not even to fight someone. They were to help people during fires or some kind of natural disaster."

Those 20 years were truly peaceful and helped me fuel my desire to help. Modern society still has these stigmas about the natives of their own countries or from people who have less than them, and if they just bothered to look a little closer or tried to understand, they would realize that you don't need much to be truly happy. You just need people who love you and people you love back. That's what the people in Peru, Thailand, Norway, Haiti, Poland and Namibia were; happy.

Steve starts scratching his arms quite desperately, breaking the skin and drawing blood.

"Steve, stop. You're hurting yourself. Steve." I try pulling his hands away but he fights me on it. Eventually I'm able to stop him, his energy running out. I keep telling him stories about the people I met and the places I've been. He tries to pay attention, I know he is, but the pain is too much.

He eventually runs out of energy and loses consciousness, but his rest is anything but peaceful. He mumbles things I can't quite make out. Sometimes I hear my name. Sometimes he fists the fitted sheet until his fingers are purple. I massage his hands until he lets them go.

It's torture.

The sun eventually comes up and with it a new revelation.

Steve was unconscious all through the night and watching him now with the light illuminating my room, I get to see how much pain he's actually in. He's completely soaked in sweat, his whole torso looks like somebody threw hot water on him and his face – his face is contorted in pain, constantly grinding his teeth and his hands looking for something to grip.

"I can't do this."

"Diana?"

I turn my head towards the door to see Mother standing there and looking at me on the floor, head resting on the mattress with tears running down my cheeks.

"I was with Antiope all night, she lost consciousness not too long ago. I wanted to come see how the Captain was handling the pain and how you were managing."

I shake my head. "I can't do this, Mother. He made me promise not to give him anything for the pain, but I don't know if I can do that after watching him suffer all night. I think I'm going to call Epione,"

She walks in and stretches her hand out to me. I take it and let her help me up. She pulls me in for a hug and I accept it, needing the comfort.

"I know it's painful. Trust me, watching my sister, the strongest woman I know, crying out in pain and not being able to do anything about it – it's incredibly hard, to say the least."

She pulls back and holds my face gently. "This is not permanent. Keep repeating it to yourself and remind the Captain every time he feels he can't take any more. It will stop and the rewards of this suffering will be worth it."

I nod, trying to picture a future with Steve with no pain and no wars. I know we can be happy, but we'll have to fight for it. Which is why when we do have that happiness, it will be even more cherished than it otherwise would've been.

"Diana,"

I turn around at the sound of Steve calling me. I move and kneel on the floor again. "Hey. How do you feel?"

Stupid question, Diana.

His breathing is still shallow and I start to really worry about dehydration.

"It feels like someone poured lava on me." He moves his eyes over my shoulder, noticing my Mother. "Your Majesty. H-how's Antiope?"

Mother gives him a little smile and walks closer to us. "As well as you are, Captain. Thanks for asking."

With a shaking hand, he wipes the sweat from his brow and I notice his breathing hitches when his hand touches his skin. "I t-thought maybe she would have an eas-sier time than I was."

"No, apparently for this case, we're all the same in the eyes of the Gods."

"Too bad." Steve's body starts convulsing in pain and his screams resume. "Diana, I think you shou – " He's interrupted mid sentence by another devastating scream. "You should go n-now."

I shake my head. "No. You're in too much pain. I'm not leaving you."

He takes my hand and squeezes with more strength than I was expecting. "You've been here all night. Go distract y-yourself. I'm going to be right here when you come b-back."

I search his face and see the determination in not letting me be a prisoner of this pain too. It truly amazes me how incredibly selfless Steve can be.

So I decide to listen to him. After all, I did say I would try to honor his wish. "I will go train with Phillipus for as long as she wants me to, but if at any point you need anything, you call someone to come look for me, okay?"

He nods, unable to speak anymore. I kiss his hand and stand up to leave.

"Captain, I'll be sending someone over to help you freshen up a little bit," Mother tells Steve.

Again, he only nods.

I look at him one last time and leave my chambers with Mother. As we're descending the stairs I remember to tell her about Bruce.

"Mother, I forgot to tell you. I came here with a friend. His name is Bruce Wayne. I asked him to come get me after four days and that's today. Expect a white vessel to cross the barriers of the island in about 4 hours."

She nods. "I'll send Menalippe and three others to wait for him. Anything you want them to tell this man?"

I haven't really thought about what Bruce should do. It's not like I've had a lot of time to think about anything these couples of days. Should he just go back out and wait for me? But I don't know how long I'll have to stay. Should I tell him to go back by himself? Steve and I went to man's world in a regular vessel. We could do that again. But that will take us a lot longer compared to going back in the yacht.

"Tell them to explained the situation to him and give Bruce the option of going back by himself or stay in Themyscira until we're ready to leave. If he does stay, tell Menalippe to take him to the training grounds. I'll explain to him the situation with Steppenwolf."

Mother nods. "I'll relay your message to Menalippe. I'll be in counsel meetings all day long organizing potential battle plans. I'll b – "

"What?" I ask surprised at her schedule for today. I had thought about asking Mother for the Amazons' help, but it wasn't something I was yet convinced to voice, considering how reluctant she was the last time I suggested she send a group of warriors to man's world.

She looks at me with a small smile and eyebrows raised. "You weren't expecting I send my daughter to fight an extraterrestrial being with unknown powers all by herself, did you?

"I- well, you," I exhale at a loss for words. "The last time you weren't exactly… willing to send help."

She looks down and nods. "That was a mistake and I made my decision based on fear. I was thinking of you and the risk of exposing Themyscira to Ares, but I also knew that even with your innocence, you would have been able to handle whatever men threw at you, at least on the battlefield."

That's true. Once I saw what their weapons could do, I knew how to defend myself. It was what they did to me psychologically and emotionally that caught me completely off guard.

"Are you sure, Mother? A war like the one coming could greatly reduce the population of the Amazons."

"I'm perfectly aware, Diana. But I will repeat your own words, 'As Amazons it is our fore ordinance'. That is what we were put on this Earth to do, after all. You have been fulfilling your sacred mission, while I have been more worried about preservation. That ends today."

"Thank you, Mother."

I spend all morning and all afternoon training with Phillipus. When I met with her and a group of about 15 other Amazons, she informed me she had been studying the Gods who had the same powers that I did and she believed she had found the best method to completely unlock my powers.

I was surprised by how seriously Phillipus was taking my training, but then again, Amazons are nothing but fierce and passionate in all they do. The training was even more intense than I was expecting. We began with simple armed combat. One on one just like last time, Artemis picked up an axe and started throwing blow after blow, and it took all of my strength to block every single one. Last time I trained with her, she hit me right on the jaw with the butt of her axe, but even then I knew she was holding back. Not this time, though.

All the other Amazons were watching in respectful silence as Artemis and I battled each other. I lunged with my sword, but Artemis deflected it masterfully and hit me on the side of the head with her elbow. Dizziness rushed through me, but I tamped it down. We started to circle each other, daring the other one to attack. Artemis faked a lunge, causing me to reflectively block, revealing to her what my natural approach was.

Deciding that it was time, Artemis ran a few steps before jumping and doing a 360 spin and slashing with her axe at every turn. I blocked all of her attacks, but I also knew that she wasn't giving me much space to do any of my own. When she landed, bringing her arm in a full arc and bringing her axe down hard over my head, I rolled on my shoulder to the left and taking advantaged of my crouched position, I swept my leg to try and knock her down, but she saw it coming and jumped in time, but it was enough of a distraction. When she landed, Artemis stumbled backwards and I stood up fast and kicked her with all my strength in the hand and her axe flew off.

I pointed my sword at her and she bowed her head in submission.

I lowered my sword and then I heard an all too familiar boom. Everything slowed down as my arm instinctively stretched to block the bullet that was shot in my direction. I turned to see Phillipus pointing one of the rifles the Germans had when they invaded the beach. My eyes widened at the surprise of seeing an Amazon holding a gun.

I heard a battle cry as Trigona, Euboea and Niobe charged towards me, their swords poised for an attack. I dived and grabbed Artemis' axe. Now armed with my sword and axe, I analyzed any potential weakness. I didn't find any before they were on me. I started blocking and kicking, all in a flurry of movement. I'm not sure whom, but somebody pushed me and I lost my balance momentarily. In those 2 seconds with my guard down, Trigona punched me in the stomach and I fell on my knees. I recovered though and raised my sword just in time to block Niobe's strike.

I stood up fast and threw the axe at Euboea, the butt of it hitting her straight in the chest and knocking her down. Trigona and Niobe backed up a little and assessed the situation, much like I did. We circled each other, waiting for someone to attack first. I saw Niobe reach for her rope and I wished I hadn't forgotten the lasso, but no matter, I knew what I had to do the moment I did it.

I dropped the sword and axe and with a cry pulled from the deepest parts of me, I slammed my fist on the floor and boooooooshhhhhh. A field of pure energy washed over the training grounds sending Trigona and Niobe flying across the field.

I stood there for a second, regaining my breath and I walked towards them and stretched out a hand to help them up. They took it and smiled at me, if not with a little pain.

"Diana, I hope you don't mind if I am not your combat partner when you reach your full power," Trigona said wiping the blood coming from the cut on her arm.

I laughed at their request. Phillipus dismissed all the warriors and thanked them for their hard work.

"You shot me," I stated a little offended at the lack of warning.

"Yes, and it was curious that it was when I shot you that you seemed to move and think faster. Try to meditate on that and tell me if you find an explanation for that tomorrow when we resume with your training."

She walked away, head held high with pride at her discovery. I follow her figure thinking about what she just said. I hate guns and the damage they cause; there's no honor in them, so they definitely trigger something in me. But can I channel that into a more stable source of… inspiration, I guess?

I'm pulled from my inner wanderings by the slow clapping of somebody. I don't even need to look for the source. I know exactly who it is. "Impressive, Diana. Although I've seen you do much more damage."

Standing on top of a rock I see Bruce Wayne in all his Wayne-ness.

"Bruce, I see you decided to stay."

He jumps from the rock and starts walking towards me. "I wouldn't dream of leaving. First you tell me you're a demigod, then Zeus himself decides to be our GPS and now your long lost love has come back from the dead? Next thing I know, I could be sprouting wings. I'm staying, Your Holiness. Plus, it doesn't seem half bad here. Would you mind presenting me to your trainer there? She looks absolutely glorious."

I try to look disapprovingly at him, but I can't help the little smile that pulls at my lips. "Be careful, Bruce. You wouldn't want to piss off any of them. Trust me."

He shrugs. "At least give them the chance of knowing me first."

I raise an eyebrow. "That's what I'm afraid of."

He smiles at me and I nod to the direction of the palace. "Come on. There are a few things I have to tell you about."

On our way to the palace I tell him all the information we have on Steppenwolf and the Mother boxes. Again, his demeanor completely changes and I can already see the wheels turning in his head. As we approach the palace, he tells me that as soon as we arrive at Nice, he's going to start his recruitment immediately.

"I hope they say yes."

"I thought nobody could resist Bruce Wayne," I tell him jokingly as we climb the stairs towards the chambers he's going to be staying at.

"Turns out my charm doesn't work that well on men. Good thing we have you."

I snort at his insinuation. "I don't think I cou-"

I'm cut off mid sentence by a desperate scream. My heart sinks at how his voice cracks. For how long has Steve been screaming?

"Is that…?"

"Yeah. I'll see you tomorrow, Bruce."

I leave him and walk towards my chambers to see Ersa and Epione attempting to restrain Steve.

"What's happening?"

I don't need an answer. When I walk close enough to my bed I see deep scratches all over his torso, all of them are pulsating blood.

"Steve, what did you do?"

He fights Ersa and Epione, thrashing and screaming. Eventually they manage to restrain Steve's arms, tying the strong bandages on the rings that were put on my bed as decoration.

"His wounds need to cleaned. He's sweating quite profusely, they could get infected," Ersa tells me pulling from her satchel clean bandages and a bottle filled with the glowing blue water from the springs that run all over Themyscira.

"I'll do it." I say stretching my arm out for the bandages and water, but my eyes remain firmly on Steve.

I feel Ersa put the things on my hand and they both leave without saying anything else, understanding I want to be left alone with him.

His screams turn into moans and I approach my bed slowly. I pour the water all over his chest and he screams in pain.

"I'm sorry. I have to clean them. I'll do it fast." I dab at the wounds as gently as I can, but it doesn't really matter. The pain is always bad.

With that same towel I also clean his hands, trying to remove the blood from under his nails.

"Diana, make it stop. I can't – please make it stop."

I bite down on my lip and kneel down on the floor so I can look at him in the eyes. "You made me promise, remember? You told me to not stop the pain."

He starts getting agitated. "I know what I said! But it's too much. Please. Please."

The tears spill over. This is what I was afraid of. But I know this is the pain talking and the Steve that made me promise to ignore anything he said would not want me to agree to anything.

"This is temporary. This will pass, and we're going to be so happy when it does. You'll see."

He starts pulling on the restraints on his arms. "You're not listening! I can't take it! It's too much. If you love me, please stop it. Please!"

"It is because I love you that I won't do anything. I promised you that. I'll keep my promise."

He screams, but this time is not in pain, is in anger.

"Leave me alone." He says not looking at me.

"Steve – "

"Get out of my sight!"

The amount of hate in those five words cut through me like a hot knife. I look at him, unable to hide the pain his words have caused and remind him, like Mother suggested,

"This is not permanent. This will pass. I love you."

And with that I walk out of my chambers.

AN: That. Was. Brutal. What did you think of the 'torture'? I've never written anything like this before, so I truly have no clue how I did. Let me know!

Okay, some bad news. Work has been eating my time lately, but now it's monstrously eating it! Therefore I regret to say that from now on I will only update once a week or all Wednesdays. It sucks balls, but I want to make sure I keep giving you guys quality stuff and not just some shitty writing. It's going to be quite a shock going from 3 updates a week to 1, and I accept that I will probably lose some of you. I hope I'm wrong, but we shall see. See you in a week guys. Hope you'll be here for it!