Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson or Harry Potter.

Consul of the Underworld: End of Disc 1

Chapter Nine: The Amazon Problem - Challenging the Queen

Beta: ShadowofAxios


Trigger warning: Slavery; Mentions of Sexual Slavery and Rape


It was a chilly mid autumn day when Alkaid and Pyrrha found themselves teleporting to the Amazons' headquarters, Amazon dot com's Mount Juliet, Tennessee warehouse. And as they materialized in front of the secret entrance of the massive complex that led to the portions housing the Amazons' main base, they were greeted by no less than a whole company of Amazons being led by the Amazon Queen, Tabitha, herself.

"Right on time. As expected of my soon-to-be consort." Tabitha said in lieu of a proper greeting as she leered at Alkaid, causing her wife, who stood beside her, to bristle.

"Over my dead body," Pyrrha hissed, her hands twitching in what Alkaid knew was a barely restrained urge to draw her labrys from Akoúo̱'s (Listen) hammerspace and slice the obnoxious Amazon Queen to pieces.

"That can be arranged." Tabitha said with a smirk as she lightly twirled the head of her flail around, its chain whistling through the air threateningly.

Oh, thank the gods that we managed to convince the girls not to follow us on this mission. With how Tabitha is behaving, we'd be at war with the Amazons already. Alkaid couldn't help but think with a barely contained sigh.

None of her and Pyrrha's daughters would have stood by whilst Tabitha flaunted her desire to subjugate her and reduce her to a sex slave. And even if she could trust Kura and Gracie to keep their cool enough not to attack her on sight, she could not say the same about Mina. And if Mina attacked the bitch then all restraints were off and her sisters would undoubtedly join in too.

I just hope we can find a mission where they can follow us.

She had made a promise to her daughters after all and she fully intended to keep it. Now, she just needed to find a mission where it would be safe to do so, both for her girls and its chances of success.

"Your Majesty," one of the Amazons standing next to Tabitha spoke up, her tone just a tad chiding. Like most of her sisters she had an athletic and lean physique but what set her apart was the long white scar on her forehead, her glossy, long black hair and black eyes. The Latina Amazon was dressed in a sleek black leather jumpsuit and had a sword hanging from a belt at her waist, unlike most of her peers which were armed and armored like a bunch of classical hoplites. "Olympus' Diplomats are here on the gods' orders. We should not disrespect them. Or would you risk their wrath more than we already have?"

"The gods' or theirs?" Tabitha asked with a narrow eyed glare at the brave subordinate that had spoken up. "But whatever! I'm afraid of neither. But if you want to follow protocol... How droll. But so be it. Let us continue. Proceed Lead-Buzzkill."

The outspoken Amazon just sighed in response to her queen's reply before turning to address Alkaid and Pyrrha.

"If you'd follow us, we'll discuss the message that the gods have for us in the Throne Room."

"Lead the way."


As Pyrrha and Alkaid walked between the labyrinthine corridors lined by endless shelves full of the innumerable products sold by Amazon dot com and further into the depths of the Amazons' stronghold, the daughter of Ares took her time observing her honorary sisters. They all looked at her and Alkaid, but especially her, with wariness, which was expected after the casualties they'd suffered courtesy of the Fiendfrye she'd unleashed on them in Sumner. What was unexpected however was the clear division that seemed to have formed in their ranks. It wasn't obvious and it took all the experience Pyrrha had gained since becoming one of Olympus' Diplomats to see it, but by their mannerisms alone she could tell that their escorts were split between one group of partly terrified sycophants loyal to Tabitha and another group of cautious but defiant dissidents that seemed to be centered around the girl who had spoken up earlier.

This division became even more obvious when they arrived at the Amazons' Throne Room, a room deep in the heart, or possibly below it if the gentle gradient of the path they'd taken was any indication, of the Mount Juliet warehouse complex. Tabitha's group followed her as she took her seat on the throne that sat on a stage in the amphitheater style chamber, which looked like a cross between a traditional wooden throne and a gaming chair. The other group on the other hand moved to join the large number of Amazons that filled the seats. All save their leader who strode forward to join Tabitha and her cronies on the stage, where she took a spot by the blonde queen's right.

She must be her chief advisor or something similar. Pyrrha realized even as she and Alkaid moved to stand where the orchestra would be if there was a theater performance. A spot which allowed both those on the stage and in the seats of the amphitheater to look down upon them unobstructed. This had Tabitha cocking an eyebrow at them as she settled into her throne and Pyrrha couldn't resist the urge to taunt her.

"We're Olympus' Diplomats," the daughter of Ares reminded her. "This isn't our first diplomatic mission. We know what we're doing."

Besides, considering how the Amazons' Throne Room was set up, it didn't take a genius to realize where to stand when addressing the chamber.

"So you are. And you two have a message from Olympus, right? What is it?" Tabitha retorted.

The girl from earlier shot Tabitha an unimpressed, borderline hostile look. And she wasn't the only one. Outside of a handful in the front row seats and her cronies surrounding her on the stage, almost every one of the other Amazons shot some displeased look their queen's way.

"If you wish to dispense with the niceties, Tabitha, then so be it," Alkaid said with a roll of her eyes. "I, Alkaid Potter-Branwen, daughter of Hades and Persephone, and my wife, Pyrrha Branwen-Potter, daughter of Ares, are here to formally issue an ultimatum from the Olympian Council to the Amazon Nation."

Tabitha's eyes narrowed at the word 'ultimatum' but she otherwise didn't respond. Her fellow Amazons however began exchanging fearful looks and whispers, with even the leader of her opposition looking unnerved.

"In response to the Amazons' traitorous assistance of the Titans in the form of facilitating their purchase of contraband Jotun supplies." Alkaid continued, repeating the statement that they had been tasked by the gods to deliver. "Olympus demands that the Amazons reaffirm their allegiance to the gods and join in the war against the Titans."

The fearful whispers grew louder but were silenced when Tabitha spoke up.

"And if we refuse?"

Stunned disbelief filled the amphitheater and the gathered Amazons, even her cronies, looked at Tabitha in shock. Pyrrha honestly couldn't understand why. She was clearly used to doing whatever the hell she wanted, not what the gods decreed or was good for the Amazons. So why was this any different?

"Your majesty! You can't be serious!" Her chief advisor said, flabbergasted. "You would defy the gods!?"

"What do you think we've been doing this whole war by staying neutral?" Tabitha replied with an unconcerned shrug.

"You know most of us disagree with that decision!" The Latina said, with loud cries of agreement from many Amazons in the seats. "And we only got away with that because the gods never directly commanded us to fight by their side. Now they have! If you do this, we'd be unambiguously betraying Olympus!"

"So what?" Tabitha shot back, sounding bored. "What has Olympus done to deserve our loyalty?"

"They are the very reason we exist!" The Latina retorted harshly, with the crowd of Amazons in the seats shouting in support of her words. "They are our parents. They are our patrons. Isn't Ares the father of us as a people!? Did their protection and guidance not lead us, each and everyone of us, to the home we've found here among the Amazons!? Would you betray all that!?"

"You might have forgotten, but Olympus is hardly united. Many a minor god has joined with the Titans-"

"We are daughters of Ares! And he stands with Olympus!" The lower ranked Amazon shouted, cutting Tabitha off even as the crowd erupted with chants of 'Ares!' and 'Olympus!'. It was clear where the loyalties of the bulk of the Amazons lay.

"And I am Queen of the Amazons!" Tabitha shouted, leaping to her feet. "And my word is law! We are not a democracy! Remember your place! Unless you'd like me to remind you!"

By the way that the Latina was gripping the grip of her sword, she was sorely tempted to test Tabitha's right to rule right there and then, but after taking a long calming breath, she released her grip and with a frown, stood down. Similarly, most of the crowd quailed at the prospect of fighting Tabitha and likewise quieted. Though they did so with an angry disdain.

Seems no one is brave enough to challenge Tabitha for the role of queen yet.

Considering how angry the majority of the Amazons were however, Pyrrha suspected it was only a matter of time before some brave soul plucked up the courage to do what needed to be done. Her money was on the Latina chief advisor.

"Now that your internal discussions are concluded, may we continue?" Alkaid asked, looking at Tabitha pointedly.

"Yes, where were we? Ah! What will Olympus do if we refuse their oh, so generous offer?" Tabitha asked as she retook her seat.

It was Pyrrha's turn to speak up. She was after all also one of Olympus' Diplomats, she couldn't exactly let her wife do all the talking.

"It was decided that Father would start over." Pyrrha informed them with a shrug. "That all living Amazons would be purged and a new tribe be raised up to replace them."

Horrified gasps filled the room.

"Is that a threat?"

Pyrrha shook her head. "No, a promise. If you refuse Olympus' ultimatum, the Amazons would become its enemies and will be treated as such."

"I would like to see Olympus try!" Tabitha scoffed. "They are stretched thin as is. Where would they have the resources to-"

Alkaid coughing loudly cut her off and all eyes turned to her as she gestured at herself and Pyrrha meaningfully.

"You think the two of you can manage to defeat us all!? What hubris!"

"Pyrrha, dear, if you would?"

Offering the Amazons a bloodthirsty smirk, Pyrrha pulled her wand out of Akoúo̱'s hammerspace and conjured a small ball of Fiendfyre at its tip. The cursed flames took the form of a piglet that crackled and squealed in delight at coming into the world and eyed its surroundings hungrily, its desire to reduce everything to ash clear for everyone to see.

Every Amazon, even Tabitha, recoiled at the sight. Clearly the destructive power of Fiendfyre was deeply ingrained into their racial memory after Sumner.

"One. Little. Spark." Pyrrha spoke, threateningly enunciating each word one at a time. "That's all it would take."

"I see," Tabitha said, sounding sane for once even as Pyrrha dismissed the Fiendfyre slowly and deliberately. The deadly flaming piglet letting out one last cute squeal as it winked out of existence.

"Now that you know the consequences, Amazons," Alkaid asked, deliberately refusing to address Tabitha directly. Doing that was something that the both of them had agreed on doing as much as possible before they had come here. They wanted to delegitimize the bitch as much as possible, since even Father agreed that he'd rather someone else take over as Queen of the Amazons. So it was hoped that their little trick would help inspire someone to step up and dethrone her.

"What is your decision?" Alkaid concluded, looking meaningfully at the gathered Amazons in the seats.

"Olympus! We fight for Olympus!" The Amazons chanted.

"SILENCE!" Tabitha's voice boomed unnaturally and drowned out the chanting. Someone had clearly tapped into their power over kinetic forces to amplify the sound waves that made up her voice. "I am queen and it is I who will make this decision!"

"And what is that decision?" Alkaid asked grudgingly.

"I am not adverse to bending to the gods' will." Tabitha said as she leered at Alkaid, causing Pyrrha to once again restrain herself from pulling out her labrys and gutting the bitch. "But only at a price."

"And what price is that?" Alkaid asked, sounding resigned and disgusted. They all knew what Tabitha wanted.

"Why you, of course, Alkaid Potter." Tabitha said with a lustful smile. "I want you with my collar around your pearly neck, naked as the day you were born and serving my every whim."

"Screw off!" Pyrrha thundered, face twisted into a vicious snarl. "You'll touch my wife over my dead body. If you try, I'll show you what a real daughter of Ares can do!"

Seeing the blonde bitch bristle was well worth throwing her lineage around.

"So what if you are?! As if you even understand how to use a wondrous prize like Alkaid!" The Bitch of the Amazons proclaimed, jumping to her feet. "In fact, I challenge you for her!"

"I am no prize to be fought over." Alkaid hissed, magical energy bubbling around her in her rage.

"'Kaidy, just let us fight." Pyrrha told her as she dropped all pretense to formality, not that she hadn't already when she lost her cool earlier, in a bid to calm her down.

Her wife's anger was sharp and vicious. If she let loose, she'd be liable to level the Amazons' base of operations. And as much as they'd threatened it earlier and were more than willing to do so if necessary, they didn't want to wipe the Amazons out.

"Yes beloved, let me and this meager butterface duel." Tabitha purred from her throne. "But this shall be a formal duel. One where Alkaid is the prize for the winner."

Just as planned. Pyrrha couldn't help but think with satisfaction even as she let her very real anger boil over as she spat out a reply.

"Fuck that noise. Alkaid as a prize is off the table."

Plan or no plan, she was going to fucking enjoy breaking this bitch's legs for this.

Tabith's face pinched, as if she swallowed a lemon. "Fine, I will allow it. I will just kill you and claim Alkaid for my own afterwards."

And breaking her arms was now on the to-do list.


Of course, the whole duel being official and all, an arena had to be prepared. Tickets for the event had to be printed and sold. That and preparation for a whole bunch of, in Pyrrha's opinion, unnecessary fanfare had the Amazons rushing about like headless chickens setting everything up, all just to satisfy the diva that was Tabitha.

"I know it was the plan and all but I was fucking ready to break her skinny ass in half right there" Pyrrha muttered as she and 'Kaidy explored the Amazons' base whilst their hosts made the preparations.

She kept her arm firmly wrapped around her wife's as she did. The daughter of Ares didn't trust Tabitha to not pull some cheap trick. Between that and the wards her amazing sorceress of a wife had cast to keep them safe from spies, .they felt it was safe to discuss their mission as they moved through the endless rows of shelves full of products the Amazons sold via Amazon dot com.

"Yes, I felt the same." 'Kaidy agreed. "But this is the best option. We both know Tabitha will never accept Olympus' ultimatum."

"Yeah, yeah. I know. And if one queen won't listen then all we need is someone who will to take over the job instead. But I still don't like the idea of becoming the Queen of the Amazons." The daughter of Ares grumbled. The job sounded like it sucked. It would probably triple her workload. "I'm just glad it's not a permanent thing."

"It crossed my mind, but I discarded it. Plus, I don't want to share my queen with others." 'Kaidy said with bedroom eyes that brought a heat to her breast. "Plus, I know you would loath it, dear. At least long-term."

"You know me too well." Pyrrha said honestly. "But setting that side. Oh, amazing and maniacal wife of mine, any idea who we should make the next proper Queen of the Amazons?"

Alkaid hummed consideringly, probably weighing the viability of a dozen different candidates all at once. Her 'Kaidy was just that brilliant. But before she could reveal her conclusion, the couple's wandering feet brought them to what looked like a training area and a sight that distracted them both.

Said training area was a mix between a modern gym and a military training ground out of the classical period. On one side were a whole set of modern gym equipment and on the other there was a classical style archery range, several training circles marked by chalk, and several straw filled training dummies. All which were maintained by a trio of the slaves that the Amazons kept.

Yes, disgustingly the Amazons practised slavery. And they treated their slaves deplorably too. More like pets than slaves at times. As evidenced by the two men and one woman that manned the training area. They each wore large collars around their necks with leashes that were attached to hooks in the wall, a set up that limited their range of motion to the training area where they lived and worked. Yes, lived and worked. For, in one corner of the area, at the extreme limits allowed by their leashes was a hovel for them to sleep and a portable toilet for them to relieve themselves. They were also dressed in rags that barely covered anything on their well endowed bodies, a clear sign that they were chosen not just for their work ethic. Though if that was ever in doubt, the way that every slave they had seen in this terrible place reeked of sex dispelled that notion.

But as nauseating as the presence of the slaves were, it wasn't what had caught Pyrrha and Alkaid's attention. Sadly, they had seen enough of them since their arrival in Mount Juliet to be almost numb to them. That and the fact that slavery was in fact quite a Hellenistic thing to do, like it was for all cultures until modern times, meant that their divine sides, attuned to accept everything classical Hellenistic as it was, dulled their disgust for the practice. Add their need to bring the Amazons on side for the Titanomachy and they were able to look past it. Mostly.

Pyrrha had noticed Alkaid slipping spells into the collars of more than one slave she's passed that would trigger at a random time and would grant them a chance at freedom. She herself had slipped a delayed portkey to those 'Kaidy had missed. It wasn't remotely enough but it was all they could do at the moment.

With their plan being as big as a distraction as it was, nobody would miss a few dozen slaves slipping away.

But those were thoughts for another time. Right now, Pyrrha's mind was preoccupied by the sight of the Latina Amazon that was Tabitha's chief advisor and lead rival as she practiced with her sword.

She moved with a fluid grace like few mortals Pyrrha had ever seen. It was like she was dancing. Each thrust and slash were like they were part of some kind of choreographed performance. Each movement across the matted floor of the portion of the training area she was using was as swift as a gale and silent as a ghost as she glided around the straw dummy she was using as a target. A dummy that quickly fell apart in the face of her powerful thrusts, only for her to move with the elegance and hidden strength of a flowing stream as she switched targets.

"Remind me to get you a catsuit like that." 'Kaidy muttered to her, eyeing the Amazon's attire longingly.

Hmph, my ass would look better in one.

"Sure," Pyrhha said without betraying her thoughts. "Should we greet her?"

"Yes," Alkaid said with a nod. "She's our prime candidate for the next Queen of the Amazons."

Pyrrha nodded in agreement. She'd pegged this girl as their best choice too.

"I'm dropping the wards now."

"Gotcha." Pyrrha said as she felt the magic that surrounded them lessen.

From the Amazon's perspective, she and 'Kaidy probably just appeared out of nowhere. So Pyrrha was unsurprised when she startled and gracefully shifted into a guarded position, her sword interposed between them and ready for her to shift to the offensive or defensive as needed.

"Sorry about that, we didn't mean to startle you." Pyrrha said with both her hands out, to show that she was unarmed. Not strictly true since she was wearing Miló (Speak) and Akoúo̱ but the girl didn't know that. "We were just walking around and saw you."

"And we wished to offer you our greetings." Alkaid added with a smile. "Apologies for appearing out of nowhere. We were using magic to hide our presence from unwanted eyes."

"Greetings, Diplomats of Olympus." The Latina greeted them kindly as she relaxed her guard. She did not however sheath her sword. "My name is Hylla Ramírez-Arellano, daughter of Bellona."

She spoke her lineage with pride. Which was good. Between her self-confidence and the spine from earlier, the girl would go far.

There was one thing she needed to clear up though, so Pyrrha turned Alkaid, mouthing 'Bellona'?

'Roman', her wife mouthed back.

The daughter of war nodded with a frown. She had been briefed on the whole Greek-Roman divide after they had gotten back from their dealing with the Jotun arms smuggling mission. Man, talk about a waste of manpower to keep their Greek and Roman children apart. Just think about all they could do together!? Though, since the last time the two sides mixed they had fought a bloody war against each other, she guessed she understood why the gods kept them apart.

"And no worries about your sudden appearance. You merely startled me. I understand the need for secrecy. Tabitha has spies everywhere. Though I would advise against any further wandering around under invisibility like that. You might give the wrong impression."

"That we were scoping the base out in case we needed to level it?" Pyrrha asked with a smirk. "'Cos you know that's exactly what we are doing."

Hylla raised an eyebrow at this. "And you're honest about it?"

"It's obvious." 'Kaidy admitted with a shrug. "So why lie? An obvious threat has its uses."

"I see." Hylla said with a frown. She was interrupted from saying anything else by the two male slaves manning the training area stepping forward to begin replacing the training dummies she'd wrecked and the female slave stepping forward to offer her a water bottle. "Thank you, Hannah. You too, Mike, Ralph."

"We live to serve, Mistress." All three slaves said in a monotone that had Hylla frowning even as she accepted the bottle she'd been offered, prompting the woman, Hannah, to bow respectfully to her and move over to help the two men.

Hylla sighed at the sight. "I wish they weren't so browbeaten. They're so broken that I fear we can't even free them. They wouldn't know how to survive if we did. It would take a divine act, I think, to make them normal again."

"You disagree with the Amazons' keeping slaves?" Alkaid asked, sounding genuinely surprised.

"Let's just say that I disagree with how we run things." Hylla replied with a sigh. "But there is only so much I can do to change things."

"So not all of you are meatheads like Tabitha, huh? Color me surprised." Pyrrha mused, only half joking. The Amazons had not made a good impression on her.

"Not at all." Hylla assured her as she finally sheathed her sword. Her wary caution fading as she was seemingly finally satisfied that they weren't a threat. "There are just as many of us who, unlike her, are just as smart as we are strong."

"And that includes yourself?" 'Kaidy teased.

Hylla blushed. "I hope so, but I'm not arrogant enough to say that I am."

"That's humble of you." Pyrrha said with a smile.

"I've been through a lot to learn humility."

"And what do you mean by that?" Alkaid asked, her curiosity clearly piqued.

"Since you're mapping our base, why don't I help you out and give you a tour!" Hylla deflected quickly. Her past was a sensitive topic it seemed.

"That would be most helpful." Alkaid said, playing along. "But are you sure you should be helping a potential enemy with that?"

"A potential enemy? No. But an ally? Most certainly." Hylla said, clearly spelling out her loyalties.

"If that's the case, then lead the way."


The tour of the Amazons' Mount Juliet base that Hylla took Alkaid and her wife on led them to quite a few interesting sights. The first had been the mundane side of the operation where they had glimpsed the immense warehouse where the many, many products sold by and which passed through the facility were sorted. Next was the underground town, complete with all the necessary facilities, ranging from a school to a bathhouse and even a shopping mall, that the Amazons had built in the vast caverns that they had carved under the complex. And now she'd taken them to see the Amazons' central weapons workshop.

It was, like all the Amazons' infrastructure here in Mount Juliet, located in the caverns under the facility. Being underground made Alkaid, a daughter of the Underworld, comfortable. Though that was undermined a great deal by the hundreds of furnaces of all types that dominated the place, each hard at work melting down or heating one metal or the other so that the various smiths, both Amazons and slaves, could work on them and shape them into all manners of weapons. Alkaid just hated extreme temperatures of any kind!

Which was why even as Pyrrha and Hylla both gushed at the various smiths working on creating one wondrously crafted weapon after another, she stayed in the portion of the workshop where the 3D Printers and other modern manufacturing equipment was stored and hard at work producing components and products that the more traditional methods could not. It was much cooler there. She could watch her two companions from there just fine.

"Oh! Look at the lance they are working on there!" Pyrrha said, practically drooling as she pointed at the half finished weapon in question where a collared slave was hammering it into shape and a Amazon cast some spells to imbue it with lightning magic. "Think it can shoot lightning when it's done?"

"Yes, it can. That's a lightning lance. It's one of the most popular magical weapons that we sell. A lot of riders love it. One Party Pony chapter has taken to using them exclusively. At least so I've heard." Hylla explained.

"Cool. I can just see it. A whole herd of centaurs galloping at their enemies whilst shooting lightning? That's just epic!"

"I know right!"

"Though, nothing can hold a candle to my labrys." Pyrrha said smugly, looking away from the workshop and the mountain of weapons it was churning out. Crate upon crate of them being loaded and hauled away by forklifts every minute.

"May I see it?" Hylla asked Alkaid's wife as the two of them walked back to her, an eager gleam in her eye.

"Sure," Pyrrha said with a shrug as she pulled her weapon out of hammerspace and handed it over to Hylla for a closer look.

"Oh! Wow! It's both a labrys and a spear isn't it?"

"Yup, though I don't usually use the spear mode. I like to get a little closer to my opponents than the spear lets me, but having the option for a little distance is always a good thing."

"Yeah, options are always good." Hylla agreed. "And these gems that you've got socketed? They are magical somehow, but what do they do?"

"They contain stored spells." Alkaid explained on her wife's behalf. "With the right incantation and a little channeled magic, Pyrrha can cast them using her labrys as a focus."

"Which gives you even more options." Hylla said with a nod as she handed the weapon back to Pyrrha. "This is really a great weapon. I'm jealous. Its utility far surpasses my sword."

"Ah, but you're not just a swordswoman are you?" Alkaid replied. "As a daughter of Bellona, you are a master of any weapon you can get your hands on, aren't you?"

"True, but I favor the sword." Hylla said, patting the pommel of her blade where it rested hanging from her belt. "But maybe I should consider socketing some magical gems into it?"

"I'd advise it." Pyrrha agreed. "It worked out for me. But that might make me biased."

"It's something to try out at least." Hylla said with a thoughtful hum.

"Yup."

Pyrrha and Hylla continued talking about the utility of socketing magical gems into her sword and what type of magic she should seek out but Alkaid tuned them out. The way the two of them were gushing about weapons was adorable. But-

I think that's enough weapons talk for one day. She decided. Besides, I think we've built up enough camaraderie with Hylla to ask a little about her past. If she is to be a candidate for the next Queen of the Amazons then it would behoove us to learn more about her.

"Sorry to interrupt," Alkaid said with a polite cough, cutting into Pyrrha and Hylla's adorable ongoing conversation. "But perhaps we could talk about something else?"

Both her wife and the Amazon looked embarrassed at having taken the conversation in a direction that had left her out and readily agreed.

"Sure, 'Kaidy."

"Of course, Miss Potter."

Smiling at them, Alkaid turned to look at Hylla.

"I don't want to pry but I am deathly curious, Hylla. You mentioned earlier that you went through a lot and that's how you learnt humility. If you don't mind, I would like to know what you meant?"

The caramel skinned beauty stiffened at this and her shoulders tensed.

Seeing her error, Alkaid hastily added, "If that's okay of course. If you do not wish to speak of it, we can discuss something else."

"N-No." Hylla shook her head and visibly steeled herself. "It's alright. My therapist told me that talking about it helps. Though I will keep some details out if you don't mind."

"Of course, you need only share what you're comfortable with." Alkaid reassured her. As much as she wanted to know more about Hylla, she didn't want to alienate her and pushing too hard for the information she wanted would do just that. It was better to let the Amazon tell them what she wanted, no more and no less. If need be, they could fill in any missing details later on their own.

"Thank you," Hylla said, offering Alkaid and Pyrrha a grateful smile. "Like I said my therapist encourages me to talk to people about things but it's hard sometimes, you know? Some people let their curiosity get the better of them and get pushy."

"We won't." Pyrrha promised. "If we seem to be doing that, just tell us and we'll back off."

Hylla nodded and gestured for them to follow her as she led them away from the weapons foundry and back onto the winding paths that made up much of the underground city of the Amazons.

"Let's walk and talk. I don't keep my past a secret or anything but I also don't want it bandied about, and there's less chance of anyone eavesdropping if people think we're just chatting as I continue giving you ladies a tour."

"I could throw up some privacy wards." Alkaid offered.

Hylla shook her head. "Like I said, nothing I'll share is a secret. I just don't want casual gossips eavesdropping and they won't think there's anything worth listening in if we pretend to be just chatting."

"So spies are okay, but gossips aren't?" Pyrrha teased.

"Pretty much," Hylla agreed with a chuckle. "So my backstory, huh? Well, I won't bore you with how I discovered I was a Half-blood, since as ones yourselves I imagine you'd have an idea."

Alkaid could tell Hylla was hiding something but said nothing. She had said that she wouldn't pry beyond what Hylla had to share and she would keep that promise. Even if the traces of dealings with a Mania that surfaced in her aura as she mentioned her discovery of her nature as a Half-blood piqued her curiosity something fierce.

Unaware of the impact her words had, Hylla continued retelling her life story. "So, shortly after that, my sister, Reyna and I, both of us are daughters of Bellona by the way. It's a little uncommon, but our father managed to catch Mother's attention twice."

The way Hylla talked about her father, Alkaid could tell he was a sore spot for her. Her sister too, though to a much lesser extent. But that wasn't really all that surprising. Families were troublesome things at times and demigod families were often ten times worse!

I pray that my family never suffers that fate.

Rest assured, Alkiad, you have my blessing. Aunt Hestia whispered comfortingly into her mind.

And mine. Aunt Hera added.

Thank you, Aunt Hesita, Aunt Hera.

Alkaid could also sense her mother's disappointed presence in her mind and suppressing a chuckle reached out to the Goddess of Spring telepathically.

It's alright, Mother. I know none of your domains are really appropriate here so you can't exactly give your blessing. Having your love is more than enough for me and my family.

The burst of joy that Alkaid received from her adoptive divine mother warmed her heart.

Thank you, Alkaid. Bring your girls to see me soon. I'll make them cookies.

Alkaid mentally chuckled. I'm sure they'll love that. I'll bring them over next weekend.

Great! See you then, Alkaid! But for now, I think you should pay attention to what the Hylla girl has to say.

Offering her mother a mental nod, Alkaid returned her focus to the world around her. Telepathy might allow for conversations to pass far more rapidly but even then a few seconds had passed whilst she had been communing with the gods and it seemed that Hylla had continued with her story in the interim. Thankfully, it seemed that she hadn't missed anything important.

"-ed up working for Lady Circe at her island resort in the Sea of Monsters. We were there for a few years until some pirates that happened to be released from the goddess' imprisonment by a Half-blood on a quest named Percy Jackson raided the island as they escaped."

Alkaid and Pyrrha exchanged an uncomfortable look at the mention of Percy. He had mentioned releasing a bunch of pirates that had wreaked havoc on Circe's island back during his Quest for the Golden Fleece. It seemed like Hylla was one of the unintended consequences of one of his actions during that particular Quest.

Hylla caught their look and hastened to reassure them. "I know both of you know Jackson, since you both also work part-time at Camp Half-Blood. But don't worry! I don't blame Jackson for what he did. He was on a Quest. He did what he needed to do. And besides, even if the consequences of what he did were difficult for me, it was ultimately a good thing. I wasn't going anywhere stuck working at Lady Circe's resort but I was too blind then to see it. Being forced to leave made me realize that I wanted more out of life than being an attendant at some silly resort."

Alkaid and Pyrrha both nodded.

"On behalf of Percy, thank you." Pyrrha told Hylla with a genuine smile before adding encouragingly. "So, what happened after the pirates raided Lady Circe's resort? You decided to leave after that?"

"I wish," Hylla said with a sad smile. "No, Reyna and I were captured as booty by the pirates as they fled the island and were taken aboard their ship."

Alkaid sucked in a breath at that. She knew what pirates did to their captives, especially female captives. By the way Pyrrha paled, her wife did too. It was no surprise to her then that they both opened their mouths to try to get Hylla to skip over what happened next, but before they could utter a word, the Amazon ignored their attempts and determinedly continued her story.

"And for months afterwards, the pirates used us as slaves. They made us clean the ship, service their equipment, and when they felt like it, used our bodies as their personal playthings."

Alkaid winced as her worst fears were realized. Pyrrha meanwhile moved to get Hylla to stop but Alkaid put a hand on her shoulder to restrain her. Her wife turned to her and shot her a questioning look but she just shook her head. Hylla had chosen to tell them this story. She needed to get it off her chest. They shouldn't belittle her bravery in doing so or deprive her of the opportunity by stopping her. She couldn't be sure Pyrrha reached the same conclusions but she probably did if the reluctant nod she gave her was any indication.

Offering them both a brittle smile when she saw she would not be interrupted, Hylla continued her tragic tale.

"We tried to fight back of course, especially when the pirates raped us. But we failed miserably. Reyna and I might have been daughters of Bellona but whilst we knew that, we hadn't awakened our powers and neither of us knew the first thing about how to fight back then and the pirates were experts at it. And after a while, they beat the fight out of us entirely and we just grew numb to it."

Hylla took a shuddering breath then as if talking about the horrors she'd endured brought back unwanted memories. But she nevertheless soldiered on.

"My therapist tells me that was a normal reaction. That many people put through similar situations end up doing the same, but… I can't help but think back on things and feel disgusted at how weak I was. Thankfully, that all changed one day."

"What happened?" Alkaid asked, carefully. She would've said something to reaffirm what Hylla's therapist had told her but the way that the Latina had quickly sidestepped the mention of how she felt about her past told her it was a subject she wanted to avoid and the daughter of Hades obliged her. Not only because she didn't want to alienate the younger woman but also because retelling her story was clearly harrowing enough for the Amazon already and Alkaid was loath to make things harder for her.

"Well, one day when the pirates were gangraping me and Reyna at the same time. It was something of a favorite pastime for them." Hylla said, her tone distant. Almost dreamy. Like she was at once reliving and distancing herself from what she was describing.

Pyrrha couldn't contain the growl at the mention of the atrocity that had been done to Hylla and her sister and even Alkaid barely managed to rein in her anger, her shadow writhing in response. Not that Hylla paid any attention to them as she continued recounting the horror story that was her life.

"They were in the middle of doing that when one of them decided it would be fun to stuff an empty wine bottle up Reyna's asshole. It was already slick with cum, shit and gods knows what else, but there was no way something as big as that could fit. Shoving it in… The pain must've been unimaginable. I knew it was. Reyna's scream. The look of pain on her face as they jammed that thing up her asshole…"

The description of what happened had Alkaid trembling in rage even as green sparks of her magic crackled into being across her body in response. Pyrrha for her part was clenching her fists so tightly that the only reason she wasn't bleeding was the armor wards that Alkaid had cast on her.

"It snapped something inside me." Hylla continued, still heedless of the reactions her story was engendering. "Everything became a blur after that and when I finally came back to my senses, Reyna and I were being held down by a dozen pirates and surrounded by the dead bodies of even more whilst their leader, Blackbeard, was looking at us with a new light. Apparently when I snapped, I had activated my Half-blood powers as a child of Bellona and entered a berserker rage and ended up killing the swines violating me and Reyna."

Hylla's face sported a vicious smile. As if the bloody rampage she'd gone on against her tormentors had been the greatest experience in her life. And it probably was.

"My berserker rage probably triggered my sister's and she joined me in the slaughter. By the time we were done, seventeen of the brutes were dead before the rest managed to hold us down." The younger woman closed her eyes, face pinched. "That day we stopped being pirate slaves and we were 'welcomed' into the crew by Blackbeard."

"And then things got better?" Pyrrha asked hopefully.

"Nah. It wasn't as much of an improvement as one would think. We still had to do everything we used to do as slaves. Only now we could say no when the men propositioned themselves. Even then we couldn't do it too often or the men would get fed up with us and attack us and try to rape us anyway."

"Half the time the men would end up dead for trying. Though that wasn't without a… cost." She said, a finger tracing the scar on her forehead.

"And the other half of the time?" Alkaid asked delicately.

"The men got what they wanted." The young Amazon shrugged. "It wasn't new, Reyna and I were used to it by that point."

They shouldn't have been. It never should be something to get used to.

"Eventually Reyna and I proved our worth. Or, heh, perhaps proved to be more trouble than we were worth. I believe by then we had killed Blackbeard's crew twice over and he was running low on people to run the ship. And so we were blessed with permission to leave that Tartarus damned ship. He dropped us off in Miami."

"And then you joined the Amazons?" Pyrrha asked, hopeful that this was the end of Hylla's trails.

Hylla nodded. "With guidance from Mother, yes. She led me to the nearest Amazon base and I signed up."

"And your sister?" Alkaid asked whilst Pyrrha breathed a sigh of relief.

"She asked Mother to guide her to Camp Jupiter. I have not seen her since we went our separate ways a year ago." Hylla said, her voice just a tad bitter.

Alkaid nodded in understanding. She would be bitter too if someone she endured hell with chose to go their separate ways from her the moment they had a chance to do so.

"So how are you liking being an Amazon?" Pyrrha asked, fingers in her pockets, clenched.

"I love it." The Latina smiled brightly. "The Amazons know I've been through a lot, but they still happily took me in. They also do everything they can to take care of me. They arranged for therapy so I could work on the trauma that I've faced and have been supportive and sisterly even."

Though Hylla gained a pensive look and sighed before continuing. "I do, however, have two main issues with them. One is their practice of slavery. I know the horrors of being in such a position. It's why I try my best to do everything I can to be kind to the slaves and help them regain their freedom whenever possible. Yet in order to do more than that, I need to take care of the other issue first."

The younger woman let out a gusty sigh at that admission, looking frustrated.

"And that other issue would be?" Alkaid asked, even if she already had an idea.

"The Amazon leadership is a massive problem. Tabitha is, without question, a terrible queen. She only does things that benefit her and not the Amazons as a collective whole." Hylla said as she held up her hand, ticking off her fingers as she proceeded to list her complaints against Tabitha. "She doesn't listen to our concerns. She has no qualms about keeping slaves. If any are mistreated, she ignores it. She regularly takes new Amazons to her chambers to satisfy her twisted desires. Her greed has driven shipping prices for our products up the walls too! The only good she's ever done was start the Prime program. Yet she gets a large cut of the profit from that too!"

Alkaid and Pyrrha exchanged a deliberate look, something Hylla caught.

"You have a plan to replace her, don't you?" The younger girl asked, eyes eager and hungry for change.

"I have no comment." Alkaid said with an obviously fake smile.

Hylla smirked in turn. "I understand. The only way to get what Olympus tasked of you is to get someone who is more levelheaded to become queen."

"Never said we'd get Queen Bitch replaced." Pyrrha shrugged, playing it cool.

"Yet you didn't say you wouldn't either."

Alkaid smoothly changed the subject. Their message had been delivered, there was no point beating the dead horse.

"So are there any more interesting places you would like to show us, Hylla? And if you're willing, maybe you could tell us more about yourself? We'd love to get to know more about you and your home." The daughter of Hades offered as she shot the Amazon what Pyrrha had described as her knee-knocking smile.

Hylla offered her own pretty smile in return and said, "Yes, I would love to. Come, let us go to the coliseum."


That night in the quarters that they had been provided in the Amazons' town built in the seemingly endless underground catacombs of their Mount Juliet headquarters, Pyrrha and 'Kaidy were cuddling in bed and enjoying the afterglow of some fantastic sex. And as they did, they began discussing the state of their plan to deal with Tabitha.

"So I'm thinking Hylla's our best bet." Pyrrha said even as 'Kaidy's hand trailed along her stomach, drawing little circles over her toned abs. No doubt her wife was still feeling frisky as a minx, but she was settling for gentle touches for now so the daughter of Ares could catch her breath. Her 'Kaidy was considerate like that. "She has the hard won humility, skill at arms and political acumen for the role."

And that I feel no small amount of pity for what the Latina has been through was something that Alkaid doesn't need to know about.

Not that Pyrrha thought her wife didn't already figure it out. She probably felt the same. But if neither of them spelled it out then they could at least plausibly deny their bias.

"We might want to keep ourselves open to other options. We didn't exactly get much of a chance to vet other candidates." Alkaid pointed out even as 'Kaidy continued her gentle ministrations, her hand moving to trail over her lower belly. "I agree that Hylla is the best we've spoken to so far, not that we've had a chance to speak to many of them.

With how much time they had spent getting to know Hylla, they had only managed a few brief conversations with some of the other potential candidates in the evening. And none of those conversations were anywhere as in depth as the one they had with Hylla.

"But she's got her disadvantages." Alkaid continued. "She has only been an Amazon for a year versus the decades some of her sisters have to their name. Some of them were born into the tribe. Her relatively short tenure as one of them will make things difficult."

"Not really." Pyrrha retorted. "The Amazons don't pick their queens by seniority. They do it through trial by combat. If Hylla can defeat her challengers, she'll be queen, all other considerations be damned."

"True," Alkaid conceded, pressing her naked body deeper into Pyrrha's own unclothed body. "But can Hylla overcome the experience her potential rivals have?"

"I think the girl has a chance."

Alkaid hummed noncommittally. "I suppose that is wise. If the Fates will it and Hylla does prove her skills sufficient, she will be the next Queen of the Amazons."

"Exactly," Pyrrha said before she shifted their positions so she was straddling Alkaid. "But enough scheming for tonight. I've caught my breath. Are you ready for another round?"

Alkaid just smiled coyly and reached up to bring Pyrrha in for a kiss.


Done and done! Thanks to Nameless and Axios as always!

And here it comes, the dawning to the end of Tabitha. She's been a pain for a long ass time, but prepare you twisted bitch. You are going down! Seriously, though, the only good thing she did was make Prime. Though on a more serious note, we did touch some very heavy topics in this chapter that changed things for both Reyna and Hylla. Personally, we both feel Rick whitewashed them joining up with Blackbeard. That was so not willing, but then again the books were aimed at children to read so he couldn't get into the gritty details of it. Also the fact that the Amazons just have slave boys and possibly girls in collars and kept like pets? Yeah, it's really dark with what that implies.

Nameless: So we touched on some pretty sensitive/controversial topics in this chapter so we included some trigger warnings at the start of the chapter. I personally disagree with using them at all. At least one study has shown that their use is even more triggering to the majority of people than just encountering the triggering material they supposedly warn people of or makes encountering them more triggering, something along those lines. Can't remember which it was exactly, just that including trigger warnings does more harm than good. Sadly, I know if we didn't include it we'd be review bombed so we conceded and added them. To those that were triggered by them, I apologize but political correctness forced this upon us all.

As for the topics themselves and our handling of it… On the slavery issue, just keep in mind that what Hylla said about slaves not being able to survive being a concern even if they emancipated them is a very real concern that abolitionist slave owners had in the past. They were worried that if they emancipated their slaves they would starve or just sell themselves back into slavery, this time to people who would treat them poorly. It is why many abolitionist slave owners never emancipated their slaves. I'm not going to say if this logic is sound or not, it will take a large amount of research on the laws surrounding slavery and the economic conditions at the time of whatever hypothetical emancipation to do so and I don't have the wherewithal for it. We included it simply because it is a good representation of how slave owners who wanted to free their slaves could justify to themselves why they didn't just emanicpate them.

On the sexual slavery and rape, remember that Hylla is describing things that happened to her. She might come across as too blasé about it at times, but that's because she's disassociating herself from the traumatic experience somewhat. Especially during the worst parts of it. It might not be the response for all victims but it certainly is a common one for many and it's the one we chose to use.

E4E: And so we have Alkaid and Pyrrha plotting the end of Tabitha with Hylla as the next big contender for the queen's throne. It's going to be a wild ride, so we hope you stay tuned in for it!

You know what to do! Smash that review button and tell us what you love! No flames and peace off my peeps!