Chapter 12: The End of the Tests
Phantom Lady and Wonder Woman trudged to the next door. Wonder Woman looked at Phantom Lady to see how she was doing. The human was sopping wet and visibly tired. She was also – as Wonder Woman could tell – trying her best to avoid interacting with the Amazon. Wonder Woman wanted to ask her how she was doing, but she didn't think that would be the best idea. Instead, when they got to the door, Wonder Woman just said, "Whenever you're ready". She expected Phantom Lady to pause and take a breather. Instead, Phantom Lady immediately pressed the button and pressed on. Wonder Woman watched as Phantom Lady dutifully walked down the tunnel to the final trial.
After some time, Phantom Lady stopped walking. Wonder Woman came up behind to see what was the issue. Before them, the hall stopped at a small hole in the ground. The pair peered down to see that below the hole was a large body of water.
"Great, more water," said Phantom Lady, running her fingers through her wet hair.
"Do you know what we should expect here?" asked Wonder Woman. "Is there anything in the book?"
"I lost the book in the puzzle chamber," Phantom Lady said curtly.
"Well, we were able to handle the other two tasks," said Wonder Woman. "I know we will be victorious in our quest!" Phantom Lady smiled slightly. Despite her current feelings, she could not help but be influenced by the princess's attempt to cheer her up. "I'll go on ahead," Wonder Woman said. But before she can go forward, Phantom Lady blocked her.
"I got this," she replied. Wonder Woman stood back. Phantom Lady looked down, took a breath, and jumped into the hole. The air rushed all around her as she fell through. Soon, the hole stopped, and Phantom Lady found herself in a large chamber. She hit the water below her and quickly surfaced. Phantom Lady looked around to see herself floating in a circular pool. The water reached to the walls of the chamber, which were completely smooth. The water was relatively warm and pleasant, not what she would have expected out of a pool near the Artic.
Phantom Lady heard a voice echo out, "Hola!". Phantom Lady looked up to see Wonder Woman jumping after her. She hit the water, splashing the other heroine. Wonder Woman gracefully surfaced. "So, what are we supposed to do here?" she asked.
"I don't know," said Phantom Lady as she looked around. "I think we need to go below".
"Alright then," said Wonder Woman. The pair took a breath and dove under the water. The pool was deep, and the two could not see the bottom. Phantom Lady looked around to see the walls were as they were above the water: smooth and with no markings of any kind. But just a little bit further below, there was a massive hole to her left. The hole reached the bottom of the pool, looking like an archway. Surrounding the arch was ancient Norse script. Phantom Lady turned her projector on to look into the hole. They saw that the pool went far back, with multiple other holes scattered around. Phantom Lady motioned to Wonder Woman to go back up. Wonder Woman nodded, and the two swam to the surface.
"Well," said Phantom Lady when they were above the surface, "it's obvious where we need to go now".
Wonder Woman continued to look around the room. "How do you think this was made?" she asked. "The entire area is old, primitive even. Yet the mechanisms here rival those on Themyscira".
"I couldn't possibly answer that question," said Phantom Lady, "but I assume magic was involved". She then thought, Even the Themysciran is impressed! Well, I guess that'll teach her to stop being so conceited! "Ready to dive back under?" Phantom Lady asked her. Wonder Woman nodded her head, and the two went back underwater.
The two women went into the new section. There were lights in this area, but they were significantly dimmer than in the previous parts of the temple. The light from Phantom Lady's projector was more helpful for seeing what was going on. This room was massive, and had several tunnels connecting to it. Phantom Lady and Wonder Woman swam to the bottom of the room. In the bottom of the floor was another tunnel. The two swam through it as it curved straight back. Phantom Lady and Wonder Woman swam to the back of the tunnel, where they came upon a door with no handle. Next to the door was a sort of impression. Wonder Woman swam closer to inspect it. It looked like a jagged version of a hand. Wonder Woman stuck her hand in it, but nothing happened. Phantom Lady tapped on Wonder Woman's shoulder and motioned her to come back. Wonder Woman nodded, and the two swam back.
Back in the main room, the two women looked around for what should be their next point of interest. Phantom Lady was starting to feel uncomfortable from holding her breath for too long. Just then, the two heard a noise in the water. The pair turned to where the they thought they heard it. They saw a shadow briefly in one of the tunnels, but then it was gone. Wonder Woman looked to Phantom Lady. Phantom Lady looked stressed from the lack of air. Wonder Woman motioned to her mouth and then her own, asking if she needed her to feed some more oxygen. Phantom Lady stared briefly and then quickly shook her head. She then started swimming towards one of the upper tunnels by herself. Wonder Woman followed.
The tunnel Phantom Lady selected twisted and turned. Phantom Lady struggled through, hoping some relief would appear. The tunnel narrowed to the point that only one person could squeeze through it at a time. Phantom Lady pulled herself along the rocky tunnel walls. She was starting to go faint again. This time, though, Wonder Woman wouldn't be able to give her air if she ran out. I hope I didn't make a mistake, Phantom Lady thought.
Soon, the tunnel branched upwards. Phantom Lady looked up and saw the water become a surface. Phantom Lady bolted towards the section. Her head broke the surface as she found herself in an air pocket. The area was rather small: the ceiling was just above her head, and the tunnel she was in could only fit two people side-by-side. Phantom Lady spat out water and gasped for air.
Just then, Wonder Woman emerged in front of her. Phantom Lady could feel the metal bustier against her own chest, but the back wall prevented her from backing up. The two women's faces were just a few inches away from each other. "Well, this is nice," Wonder Woman said. Phantom Lady had a puzzled look on her face. "I mean, it's a good spot for rest," Wonder Woman clarified. Phantom Lady was still taking heavy breaths. "Whenever you're ready, I'll follow you," Wonder Woman said gently. Phantom Lady took some more breaths, and when she was ready, she slid past Wonder Woman's body and continued down the main tunnel.
The tunnel was now larger than before. The two swam through the tunnel and entered a room. They looked around the room and didn't see anything of note. They started to turn back, but at that moment, Phantom Lady felt something touch her leg. Phantom Lady looked down and saw what appeared to be a snake swim past her. Phantom Lady observed it swimming away and then looked up. Before her was about a dozen snakes swimming right at her. Phantom Lady tried to get out of the way, but it was too late. The snakes attacked Phantom Lady's legs and arms as she tried to fend them off, swinging her arms and legs all around. At the same time, the snakes swam at Wonder Woman. Wonder Woman was quicker than Phantom Lady, and was able to snatch two of them while they were swimming. Wonder Woman slammed them against the wall. Hurt from her attack, the snakes swam away.
Meanwhile, the snakes continued their assault on Phantom Lady. Two of them wrapped themselves around her legs. When they did so, they pulled themselves towards each other, binding her legs together. Another snake wrapped itself around her arm and dug its fangs into her arm. Phantom Lady screamed in pain, releasing much needed air. Instinctively, she swung the arm up, hitting the snake's head against the ceiling of the room. Phantom Lady unwrapped the snake and threw it away.
Wonder Woman was making quick work of the snakes attacking her. She could feel them swimming between her legs and around her hair. Wonder Woman would grab them and throw them away. Sometimes they would come back, sometimes they wouldn't. At one point, Wonder Woman grabbed two snakes at the same time and tied their tails together.
While Wonder Woman was dealing with her enemies, Phantom Lady was struggling with hers. Her legs were still incapacitated, while another long snake swam appeared by her. It wrapped itself around her neck and then made its way around her chest. It squeezed itself, forcing more air out of Phantom Lady's lungs. Wonder Woman heard this sound and turned around. She swam to her trapped friend and assessed the situation. Immediately, she grabbed the snake on Phantom Lady's chest and pried it off. Phantom Lady and Wonder Woman then turned their attention to the snakes on Phantom Lady's legs. Phantom Lady focused on the one on her thighs, while Wonder Woman went lower. Wonder Woman easily ripped the snake off of her and flung it away. Meanwhile, Phantom Lady pulled and pulled on the snake. Eventually, it loosened. Phantom Lady kicked her legs free of the snake. Wonder Woman grabbed the snake as Phantom Lady swam away. Wonder Woman dealt with the other snakes, continuing to hit and throw them.
Phantom Lady left the room and went back into the tunnel. The ordeal left her begging for air. With what strength she had left, she swam to the air pocket. But as hard as she tried, she wasn't making a lot of progress. She was too focused on not inhaling water to swim fast. She could see the light about ten feet away from her, but it may as well had been a mile away. Phantom Lady couldn't reach it.
Suddenly, Phantom Lady felt something grab her body from behind and pull her up. Phantom Lady realized it was Wonder Woman trying to swim her to safety. Soon, the pair had reached the air pocket. Phantom Lady gasped for air as Wonder Woman hugged her body. "Are you ok?" asked Wonder Woman. Phantom Lady took large breaths as she was fully supported by Wonder Woman's powerful arms. Eventually, Phantom Lady said she was ok. "I don't know what we were supposed to do in that room," Wonder Woman said. "I can check it out again if you can stay here".
"I'll be fine," Phantom Lady said. Wonder Woman took a breath and went back down. Swiftly, she swam back to the snake room to see what else was there. She swam to the bottom to see several human bones scattered about. She also saw another tunnel. Wonder Woman swam back to the air pocket and faced Phantom Lady.
"All I saw as an additional tunnel," Wonder Woman said. "I guess we should probably go that way".
"Are we sure that's what we're supposed to do?" Phantom Lady asked.
"I'm not," Wonder Woman admitted. "Back in the main room, I saw the door in the tunnel at the bottom, and I think the thing next to it is some sort of lock".
"Well, the hole I saw wasn't a keyhole," Phantom Lady replied.
"It didn't look like it, but maybe it was. This is a test of courage, right? Maybe by courage, they mean slaying a monster. And we show that we killed a monster via that lock".
"I don't suppose that by 'monster', you mean those snakes in there," Phantom Lady said.
"Unfortunately, I do not. The snakes wouldn't work in that indentation. I feel that this was just a precursor to our main prey".
Phantom Lady groaned. How much more can I take of this? she wondered.
Wonder Woman saw a despairing look on Phantom Lady's face. "Have courage, my sister!" she said. "This fiend will not be able to overcome our combined forces!" Phantom Lady looked at Wonder Woman's large smile. What she said sounded a little corny. Yet looking at Wonder Woman's wet face and her crystal blue eyes made Phantom Lady feel calm and inspired.
"Alright," Phantom Lady said. She took a few more breaths, and the pair dove under. The two swam to the snake room, and then through the other tunnel. The trip was actually rather short, and soon they found themselves back in the main room. Wonder Woman looked at Phantom Lady to see how she was doing. Phantom Lady gave Wonder Woman a thumbs up. She then turned to another tunnel and began swimming. Wonder Woman followed her.
The two went along the tunnel's many twists and turns. It was far more spacious than the tunnels they had gone through previously, allowing the two women to swim side-by-side. Phantom Lady and Wonder Woman came to a fork in the tunnel, which basically formed a 'T' with its two branches directly opposite each other. The two swam towards it, but suddenly, they saw another shadow fly across the back wall. Phantom Lady and Wonder Woman stopped. What was that? they both thought. Slowly, the two swam to the crossing. Wonder Woman motioned to Phantom Lady to go to the left while she went to the right. The two swam to the fork and looked down their respective tunnels. Phantom Lady saw nothing. Wonder Woman saw nothing. The two ladies turned to each other and shook their heads.
Just then, something caught Phantom Lady's eye. The thing that had caused the shadow was heading straight towards Wonder Woman. Phantom Lady pointed behind Wonder Woman and screamed. Wonder Woman turned, only to be immediately hit by the creature. Wonder Woman flew into Phantom Lady, and the pair tumbled through the water. Despite the water resistance, the force of the attack was large enough to send them back a considerable distance.
When they stopped, Wonder Woman straightened herself out and faced her assailant. The creature was a massive snake monster, over ten feet in length. It had large grey scales up and down its body. It had two powerful arms as well. Its head was smooth, with red beady eyes and sharp teeth. Despite the monster's fearsome appearance, Wonder Woman swam straight towards it. She wrapped her arms around its neck and started attacking its head. The monsters grabbed her back and swung her towards the walls of the tunnel. Wonder Woman held on as she collided with the rocky tunnel wall, sending bits everywhere.
Meanwhile, Phantom Lady swam past the two combatants to the tail of the monster. She figured she wouldn't be of much help facing the monster head-on, and Wonder Woman was already doing that. She looked at the tail as it writhed viciously. As quickly as she could, Phantom Lady reached for the knife on her ankle and unsheathed it. She waited for the tail to slow down, looking for an opening. The monster continued to thrash about, trying to shake the Amazon off of it. Eventually, Wonder Woman lost her grip, and the monster slipped out of her headlock. It paused to take a moment to size up its prey. At that moment, Phantom Lady struck. She jabbed the knife under some scales in the middle of its tail. The monster screamed as blood spurted out of the wound.
Instinctively, the monster thrashed its tail around, striking Phantom Lady. The heroine was sent back down the tunnel in which she came from. She lost her grip of the knife, which fell to the floor. Phantom Lady realized she was in danger from the monster. Swiftly, Phantom Lady turned to the tunnel entrance and tried to swim away. The monster was far too fast for her, though. Within seconds, the snake creature swam through the tunnel, covered the distance between it and Phantom Lady, and grabbed her ankle. Phantom Lady felt the monster's claws dig into her bare leg. She screamed in pain, releasing whatever air she had left in her lungs. The monster grabbed her opposite arm with his other hand. Phantom Lady was not strong enough to break the creature's grasp. The monster stretched out the flailing lady, preparing to take a bite out of her. The monster reared back its head to deliver the fatal blow.
Suddenly, the monster's body jerked, and it missed biting into Phantom Lady. The monster turned around and saw Wonder Woman. She had grabbed onto its tail and pulled the monster back while standing on the floor. The creature let go of Phantom Lady and arched its long body backwards to face the Amazon. Sadly, this came too late for Phantom Lady. As she was in the monster's grasp, she could no longer hold her breath and started choking on water. As the creature let her go, Phantom Lady blacked out and ceased to move.
Meanwhile, the monster slammed into Wonder Woman and drove them both into the floor. The creature pinned Wonder Woman down with its arms and tried to bite her. Wonder Woman protected herself by grabbing the monster's head. Wonder Woman struggled to keep the creature at bay, as it was just as powerful as her. She looked around, trying to think of a way to get the upper hand. Just then, she saw by her foot the knife that Phantom Lady had dropped. She kicked the knife several times so that it landed near her midsection. When she got the chance, Wonder Woman swiftly grabbed the knife and stabbed under the monster's arm. She stabbed several more times before the monster let go of her. When it did, Wonder Woman sprung up and sliced the monster's throat. The monster flailed its limbs as Wonder Woman continued her assault. Soon, the monster stopped. Wonder Woman then went to the arm. She knew that she needed the arm as proof of her victory. She grabbed the hand and started hacking at the wrist of it. It took several tries, but eventually the hand was separated from the arm.
Satisfied in her conquest, Wonder Woman turned around only to see her compatriot floating lifelessly. Great Hera! she thought. In a flash, she swam to Phantom Lady to check on her. Her eyes were half-opened and her mouth was agape. Wonder Woman checked her neck. She felt no pulse. Wonder Woman wrapped her arm around Phantom Lady's waist and started swimming. Wonder Woman had previously tempered her speed to stay with the human Phantom Lady, but there was no time to waste now. Wonder Woman used her superhuman speed to swim through the tunnel in a flash.
Wonder Woman emerged in the main room. Right below here was the entrance to the tunnel that led to the door. The door is closer to me than the surface, Wonder Woman thought. Would it be better for her to go through there? Wonder Woman dove into the tunnel. The princess of Themyscira strained to reach the door quickly. Despite her fantastic lung capacity, the fight had taken a lot out of her. Now, she was trying to swim as fast as she could to save her drowned friend. Wonder Woman got to the door. She let go of Phantom Lady and reached for the hand she had hitched to her waist. She took it and put it into the corresponding slot. The hand fit into it like a glove. The door slid open to reveal a circular chamber. Wonder Woman took Phantom Lady into the chamber. The door slid shut, and the floor started to move upwards. Wonder Woman stood on the platform as it moved. She looked up to see them approaching the ceiling. Soon, the ceiling opened up and Wonder Woman saw a light. The platform continued upwards as Wonder Woman held onto Phantom Lady.
Wonder Woman felt her head break the surface of the water. Wonder Woman gasped for air as the platform continued rising. Phantom Lady's body soon emerged as the Amazon held her in her arms. The platform continued until the water was just above Wonder Woman's knees. Wonder Woman looked around and saw the water's edge. She raced to it as she carried the other woman. When she got there, she laid her down gently to examine her. She checked her mouth; she felt no breath. She checked her chest; she felt no heartbeat.
Wonder Woman began compressing Phantom Lady's chest. She was trying to be careful with it, as her superhuman strength could accidentally crack her ribs. Still, wracked with fear and guilt, it was hard for her to control herself. With each press, water spewed out of Phantom Lady's mouth. Her lungs were totally filled with water, and she needed to get it out. Wonder Woman stopped her compressions to focus on Phantom Lady's mouth. She put her lips onto the human's and blew into her lungs. Careful not to hurt her, she did it again. Each time, Wonder Woman saw Phantom Lady's chest rise and fall. Still, she did not respond.
Wonder Woman began again on her chest compressions. Oh Aphroditie, she prayed, please allow this woman to live! Wonder Woman stopped her compression to breathe into Phantom Lady's mouth again. Every time she put her lips onto the other woman's, she hoped she would get some response. Instead, it was the same. Wonder Woman started working on the chest again. Tears were forming in her eyes. She knew there was only a small chance that someone who had drowned would regain life. Still, she tried. She put her mouth on Phantom Lady's mouth again, this time, not in the clinical manner she was taught, but with passion and longing to see her friend alive again.
When Wonder Woman tried the kiss of life again, she felt some movement in her mouth. Wonder Woman disengaged and looked at Phantom Lady's face. Phantom Lady's eyes fluttered. Reflexively, she coughed up more water. Phantom Lady's eyes went wide as she gasped for air. Her body jolted as she moaned and looked around. "Sandra!" yelled Wonder Woman, and she went to hold her in her arms. Phantom Lady continued to cough and gasp as Wonder Woman held her. The resuscitated woman acknowledged her savior by squeezing Wonder Woman's shoulder and nuzzling against her chest.
Phantom Lady took several more labored breaths as Wonder Woman held her. Emotion threatened to overcome the princess. "If you had died, I would not have forgiven myself," Wonder Woman said, close to sobbing.
"What... happened?" Phantom Lady asked.
"I killed the monster, and I got us past the door. We're here now," Wonder Woman replied.
Phantom Lady rested her head against Wonder Woman's bare legs. "That was... the closest to death I had ever been," she said.
Wonder Woman caressed her wet face. "And I did everything I could to bring you back from the brink".
Phantom Lady stared into Wonder Woman's beautiful eyes. Phantom Lady knew what she was feeling, but it was a feeling she wasn't expecting in this situation. She could act on it, but she was told her whole life it was the wrong thing to do. And if she did act on it, how would Wonder Woman respond? Looking into the Amazon princess's face, she felt a desire she had rarely felt before. And she had the idea that if she did do something, Wonder Woman would be more than receptive. Still, she was not going to make the first move. She continued staring at Wonder Woman, waiting. Waiting for... something.
Eventually, Wonder Woman looked up at the rest of the room. "Look!" she said. Wonder Woman stood up. Phantom Lady sat up. Wonder Woman grabbed Phantom Lady's hand and helped her up. Their bedraggled bodies were up against each other as Wonder Woman held Phantom Lady in her arms. "Can you walk?" the Amazon asked.
"Yeah," said Phantom Lady. "Now, what did you see?"
Wonder Woman pointed down to the other side of the room. "Over there!"
She let go of Phantom Lady started walking by herself. Good, thought Phantom Lady, we don't need to do anything about THAT. The two walked forward along a slightly elevated path. In front of them was a set of stairs leading to a circular pedestal. Phantom Lady and Wonder Woman walked up it. On the pedestal was a curved blade, about a foot in length, in a sheath. Wonder Woman picked it up and pulled out the blade. The material did not appear to be metal, but rather something akin to bone. On the tip was a black liquid that had a foul odor.
"This is it!" said Wonder Woman.
"So, it's a literal tooth?" asked Phantom Lady.
"Looks like it," Wonder Woman replied. Merely examining it gave Wonder Woman a bad feeling. "I can feel its power already. We must take care when we use this weapon".
Phantom Lady nodded. It was clear that between Wonder Woman's determination and this weapon, they had a chance to defeat Brünnhilde. "Now," Phantom Lady said, "how are we supposed to get out of here?".