I'm really sorry for the every other week update shit I'm doing. I really need to get my act together! Still here though!
BUT
I do have a bargain for you guys. If you guys can get ten reviews on my desk by Wednesday, I'll post the next chapter on Wednesday! Don't even worry, cause it's already halfway done!
BUT
If you don't, I plan to post it on Friday! And then another one will go up next Monday! It's time to pick the pace up a bit.
Do we have a deal?
Enjoy!
Steph stared down at Simon weakly, not sure what to do. Nami, Mami and him were all horrifically battered, bleeding and unconscious. Simon was just barely clinging to consciousness, watching her warily.
"W-What happened?" She asked weakly.
"T-They ambushed us..." Simon hissed. "I...I couldn't fight them...They're too strong. Please. Don't fight them." Steph gritted her teeth as he said this, not knowing what to do.
"If I don't fight then what happens?" She demanded.
"I-I don't know, but..." His head drooped slightly, as he fought to stay conscious. "They're too powerful..."
"Let me speed this along," Steph watched weakly as Hades walked forward, sat on Simon's back and pulled out a knife. Grabbing Simon by the hair, he forced the mans head up and pressed the jagged knife to his neck, grinning at Steph.
"Hades," Zeus said as a warning.
"I got it," Hades replied. "You, blonde girl. Let me give you your options. You lead us to the pink haired one," to emphasise the second point, he pressed the knife closer to Simon's throat. "Or the redhead becomes red everywhere as blood gushes out of his neck. Which one is more appealing to you?"
"...E-Even if I knew where she was, which I don't, why would I do that?" Steph asked weakly, mind racing as she searched for options. "We all knew the risks coming here, so if S-Simon dies then..."
"Hm, so you're willing to watch as I slice him open then." Hades said, raising the blade. "What a callous decision. A good play though!"
"Wait!" Steph shouted, blade mere inches from Simon as it rushed to meet his neck. "Don't! Please!" Hades stopped and smirked at her. He'd called her bluff through and through.
"So here's what I'm thinking," Hades said. "You tell us where to find the girl, everything you know about the plan, and your friends get to live. You don't tell us, or try and double cross us, and I slice open swordsman. What say you?" Silence fell over the area as this question was asked, no one knowing what to do. Looking quickly, Steph noted that no one was up save her. She was the last one standing, and now she was being hard focused. What could she do?!
"Hades," Zeus said, making the man look up, "I hate to leave this to you, but I have other things to attend to here. Can I trust you to not kill everyone?"
"Does that imply I can kill a few?" Hades asked with a smirk, Zeus frowning. "I'm kidding. Go and do whatever you gotta do. I can handle a couple of toddlers." Zeus didn't seem the least bit interested in actually letting him go, but a hand on the shoulder from Poseidon was all it took for the two leave the God of Death alone. The man chuckled and tossed the blade between his two hands, watching Steph.
"So, what's the game plan little girl?" He said. "What's got you kids all over the place huh? I understand divide and conquer easily enough, but surely that's not all you had."
"We..." Steph started weakly, not sure what to say. Had they even had a plan outside of that? She couldn't think straight right now. Hades laughed.
"Was that really it?" He demanded. "Come on now, I thought you Fairies were smarter than that. Well, no matter. Can you lead me to the girl or not?"
"N-No," she replied meekly, Hades frowning.
"Well that's no good," he said. "What do I do now? I need to find her asap you know."
"I-I..."
"Steph run..." Simon murmured from underneath Hades. "Y-You can't beat him one on one...Please..." Steph's breath hitched in her throat as Hades glared down at the redhead.
"See, here's the thing." Hades said. Steph flinched as Hades drove the knife through one of Simon's hands, making the man groan in pain as the blade was torqued. "I don't remember asking you anything. So shut your mouth, kay?"
"S-Steph..." Simon tried, but the blade continued to turn.
"How much damage can the human hand take before it's irreparable?" Hades asked. "Bones can only heal so much, muscles can't grow back as strong as they were. Don't make me end such a promising career in swordsmanship here."
"Stop it!" Steph cried, feeling sick to her stomach as the blade caused Simon's flesh to gurgle. "Don't!"
"I do recall asking you a question though," Hades said as casually as ever as he finally took the knife away. "So, can you help me out or not?" Steph didn't reply, and this got another blade into Simon's hands as he cried out. "I'm not a patient man, Dreyar. Where's the girl?"
"I..." Steph was still finding words, but something caught her eye. Mami was slowly beginning to stand, eyeing Hades angrily. She glanced over at Steph, nodding curtly, before she continued to stand. "She's, uh..."
"Tsk tsk, Pegasus girl." Hades said. Steph's eyes widened as a skeleton rose from the earth beneath Mami, and grabbed her as she tried to run at Hades. More skeletons came out of the ground to grab her, and Mami hissed angrily as her plan was foiled.
"Damn it!" She shouted angrily as she fought against the bones. Hades smirked at her.
"I'm not one to be fooled by something like that," he told her as he got off Simon. "Although perhaps I need to work my way up to the bigger fish eh?" Before Steph could ask what he meant, Hades had grabbed Mami's hand and separated her pinky finger from the rest, holding the knife at it's base.
"W-What're you...?"
"For every question that doesn't get answered, cutie here loses a finger." Steph's eyes widened, as did Mami's.
"Just w-wait a second!" She shouted. "I need a second to think!"
"No you don't," Hades replied bluntly. "I give you a moment to think and you'll use it to figure out some kind of plan. This isn't a hard question baby. So, no thinking. No time. Give me what I want or your friends get hurt. It really is that simple. Where is she?"
"I-I..." He really was doing this. He wasn't giving her time. That was all she needed! Just a moment, only one! Someone was close by right? Anyone! She needed backup desperately!
"There goes one!" Steph grimaced as Mami screeched, her pinky finger falling to the ground. Hades bent down and picked it up, smirking at it. "She's got a nice manicure for someone in a war zone. So, can I get my answer now? How about this one; will you lead me to her?"
"Steph!" It was Mami who spoke now. "Don't tell him! I don't need my fingers! If we give her up, then we lose! I came here to fight for her, not give her up!"
"B-But Mami..."
"Man, what does everyone have against listening to me?" Hades demanded. Another skeleton rose from the ground and wrapped it's hands around Mami's neck, beginning to squeeze. "The girl. Lead me to her."
Steph needed to do something. But what?! She'd been given no options! Pain or loss? That wasn't a choice she could make!
"Clock's ticking," Hades said, making her frown deepen. "Ah what the hell, I can kill one right? Zeus won't be that mad." The man stood and made for the suffocating Mami, raising the blade horizontally to slash at her.
"Stop!" Steph shouted.
"Lead me to the girl!" Hades shouted, venom seeping into his tone. It made Steph recoil purely from his tone. "Where is she?! Huh?!"
"I-I'll lead you to her!" She shouted, caving to the pressure. "I'll find her! Just please don't kill her!"
"Steph...Don't...!" Mami hissed, out of breath. Hades smirked at her.
"Was that so hard?" He asked.
As if he had any idea.
"Now," Hades continued, skeleton releasing Mami's throat. "I'll have my boney brothers follow us with your friends in tow. If I see so much as an inkling of resistance out of you, the girl here loses her guts. After that, I'll kill the swordswoman who's missing a hand. Then I kill your buddy Simon! And if I have to, I can kill you too I guess. Zeus is too much of a buzzkill."
"O-Okay," Steph said weakly, willing to do whatever he said as long as he stopped hurting her friends.. "Just please stop. I-I can't watch this." Hades smirked.
"It's over now." He said. "Come here." Steph didn't move, but was spurred to action after the skeletons hands restricted Mami's airway again. She walked up to Hades, looking up at him fearfully.
In an instant, he slashed her face open. The blade sliced diagonally across her left eye, making her cry in pain and fall backwards. Hades caught her and propped her up, glaring at her.
"When your elders ask a question," He said, voice deathly low and cold. "You answer them swiftly. Is that clear?" Steph didn't reply as she clutched at her face as it bled, terrified of the aura he was giving off. Her entire body screamed at her to flee from him, and she felt herself devolving back to a terrified little girl the longer he stated at her. Tears began to well up in her eyes, her body trembled, the whole nine yards. She could hear herself whimpering as he glared, and the tears threatened to fall. His grip intensified, so she managed a nod. He smirked and released her. "Good girl. Now, find the girl. We're right behind you, comrade." Steph tried not to hurl as he called her this, turning to lead him off.
"W-Well, l-let's go..."
"Hey, one more thing." Steph gulped and turned, and Hades tossed something at her. Steph instinctively caught it, and looked down to find Mami's severed pinky in her hands, making her stomach turn.
"Keep that as memorabilia," he said. "Now, find me the pinky, or you lose your pinky. Damn I'm funny."
"Are we sure he's around here?" Zeus asked. Poseidon nodded.
"Yes, I'm positive." He said. "Although we're going to have to part ways here, I think. I sense trouble off to our left." Zeus turned as he said this, watching the direction he'd mentioned. Before long he sensed Dionysus' magic, along with two others.
"I see," he said. "Provide him with backup. Take out the trouble and work with Hades to find END. With luck she's nearby."
"I will," Poseidon replied. "See to it Asclepius is ready to treat us as well. We're all fairly damaged." Zeus nodded. With this the man departed, Poseidon heading off to help Dionysus as Zeus continued on his path by himself. He could sense the man's magical barrier was nearby, so he knew he had to be nearby as well.
"Asclepius!" He called out. "Let me in!" At first nothing happened, but before long a pocket in space in front of him opened up, revealing an old man in a lab coat that smiled at him.
"How do you do, Master?" He asked. Zeus nodded.
"Asclepius," he said as he stepped inside the magical barrier. "How is everything going?"
"Ah just fine Master!" Asclepius said. "We've treated all the civilians we found in Magnolia!"
"Is that so?" Zeus asked as they walked. The Doctor nodded.
"Indeed! So far we've rescued about 65,000 people I think. I sent many off to receive treatment at out main facility, but there are many here." The number would have seemed massive to anyone who didn't know Asclepius. Zeus knew better. The man was an absolutely monster when it came to healing others.
"Do we know how many we lost?" Zeus asked weakly, fearing the answer. Asclepius stared at him before he huffed.
"We saved who could be saved." He said. "You did what you had to do in order to force the Fairies hand."
"Aren't Doctors not supposed to take a side in a war?" Zeus mused. Asclepius chuckled.
"A patient is a patient to me," he said. "But I have my own beliefs and ideals I abide by. So any lost lives are not something you should concern yourself with." Zeus made a face at this. He didn't know how many people had lived in Magnolia, but he knew that no matter what some lives had been lost. He only had an old census from Magnolia, but the number of saved already outnumbered the resident count from then. So that was good right?
"Master Zeus sir!" A new voice said. Zeus watched as a woman in a nurse's outfit ran up to him.
"Ah, hello Hygieia." he said. "How are you?"
"I'm good!" She replied, smiling. Hygieia was a small redheaded woman, with kind green eyes. She was suited for medical work. "I just wanted to report that from all accounts I got from civilians, the total civilian count for Magnolia is roughly 77,000!" This made Zeus frown despite the news.
"So we've killed twelve thousand people? He said, head spinning at the large number. He'd done that. He'd pressed the button, he'd given the go ahead. He'd killed them.
"Master..." Asclepius started.
"Don't start," Zeus replied as he looked towards the Doctor. "I have blood on my hands, there is no way around it. I dropped that blast on Magnolia because we agreed it was our only option. END was not meeting our power expectations, and we don't know how much time we have left before the King rises. I made the choice to drop that blast. I made the choice to sacrifice those people. But I will not let their lives end in vain."
"Sir?" Hygieia asked. Zeus frowned as he tightened his grip on his staff.
"If END is not prepared by the time he rises, then humanity is doomed to the dregs of history. Pythia foresaw it, as did her mother and her mother. In order to make those lives have meaning, we must not fail. Is that understood? No more lives are being lost." Both nodded, and Zeus sighed. "I will carry this weight on my shoulders as long as I live. But if it works out in the end, then even my worthless life with have had meaning."
"Stop talking like that!" Hygieia shouted angrily. "You're doing the right thing Master! If the Fairies won't help us, then we have too! And it's not just your fault that they died! We agreed to the blast! You asked everyone of merit who works for you! We agreed it had to be done!"
"Would they have helped us?" Zeus asked wistfully. "Were we to prudent in thinking that they wouldn't want to help us? Were we right in thinking that our stakes were too high for them to agree? Perhaps if we had tried, we could have saved lives. We could have prevented this."
"You made the call sir," Asclepius said. "Only the future can tell us if it was the right call. DO not dwell in hindsight." Zeus frowned at this. He really didn't know. It was a bad look for a leader to be so unsure, but what leader had the utmost certainty in themselves? Fools, that's who.
"Call up Aceso and Panacea," he said. "Make sure these people are good and healthy. And it goes without saying, but don't tell them we did this. Go find Ares and Apollo while you're at it. They need you."
"Of course sir," Asclepius said. "Now, I do believe you have a mark to retrieve."
That he did.
Deciding to take his leave, Zeus left the Doctors to themselves and began to leave. As he did so, he raised his hand to his head.
"Calling all Olympians still in combat," he said. "This is Zeus. You are hereby requested to access your War Form. We cannot lose this battle. You all know the stakes. I will join the battle shortly."
The tide of the battle needed to change. But not just a little. It needed to become a tsunami that washed everyone away. Not jut the Fairies, but the doubts in Zeus' mind.
"Huh, I guess the old man is upping the ante." Hades said as he came to a stop, Steph was still too terrified to turn around, scared of what he might do. So far she had just been wandering aimlessly looking for Luna. She couldn't think of a plan, her entire body was trying to come up with a way away from Hades. The longer she spent in the mans company the more scared she became, and she could barely think straight.
"Oi, Dreyar." He said, making her freeze. "Do you know where you're going?" Steph opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. "Hey dumb ass, I'm talking to you."
"I-I'm looking..." She whispered weakly as tears threatened to fall again. Who was this guy?! His mere presence was terrifying her! He was a whole league above Artemis/Diana and then some. He was a whole other beast completely.
"Look harder," he instructed. "I don't have time to play your game of 'how long does it take me to wet myself'. Has that happened yet, by the way? I'm curious." Steph didn't know, she was drenched in sweat regardless. She just wanted to get away.
"I-I'll do my best..." She whispered, voice cracking as a few tears finally managed to escape her eyes. This was all it took for Steph to nearly break down, hugging herself with one hand as she covered her mouth in an attempt to strife her cries.
"Are you crying you pussy?" Hades demanded. Steph could hear him walking closer, and she felt like screaming with every step. "I can't believe you. I'm not that scary."
Someone please...
"I mean I haven't even done anything to you yet. How are you this torn up?"
Drake...Mom...Dad...
"Of course if you want me to do something keep crying. Test me."
Damien...Someone, anyone... I'm so scared!
"That's it, someone's throat is slit. That'll shut you up."
Steph couldn't act. She couldn't think, she couldn't breathe. The only thing on her mind was escaping. She could hear Hades walking to someone, but she couldn't act.
Thankfully, an explosion sent her off balance and into the dirt. The skeletons were also blown away, and Hades stumbled a bit.
"What the hell was that?" He demanded. "Who's joined my game?"
"Is this a game to you?" A new voice asked. Steph looked up to find a new person stood in between Hades and her. She saw the other lying on the ground out of the corner of her eye, a blonde woman standing over them.
"Kinda, yeah." Hades replied. "Are you really gonna get in my way kid?"
"I came here to do that yeah." The man said as purple flames danced on his skin. "Yo, your name is Steph right?" Steph was still scared, but whimpered in a positive note. The man turned and smiled at her. A warm one, like the flames she was basking in.
"I'm Neptu, you may remember me." He said. "I'm here to help."
This chapter ended up way differently than I initially envisioned it, but I'm such an on the fly writer it's insane. Fun fact for you guys, most stuff in this story was written on the fly with no planning. I mean I have a basic outline (Basic is underselling it btw) but this whole chapter was essentially on the fly writing. How'd it go? Let me know in a review! Let's try and get five!
Chapter 331: Neptu vs Hades
Wow that title is a bit to hype for me. Gotta wait though!