The first of the Amazons roared forward, her blade held out beside her as she charged. Only to be pulled upwards so that its point was directed towards Grim's chest. The Spartan moved quickly, batting the blade away with the back of his left hand before the barrel of his pistol crashed into the side of the Amazon's helmet. He then reared back and kicked the woman away, sending her flying into the tall grass.
Grim then raised his pistol and fired a series of three rounds over the closest Amazons. Sending them diving into the grass below them. A new contact then appeared on his motion sensor as another woman burst from the forest, wielding two axes. She slashed downwards, towards his right wrist. So, Grim dropped his weapon and pulled his hand back, feeling the swoosh of the air as the blade passed by harmlessly.
Capitalizing on the woman's hunched position, he drove his hand downward, cupping the back of her helmet and slamming her face into the ground below. He then gripped the back of her cuirass and hurled her into her sisters, knocking down two.
"Move with me," Grim ordered over his shoulder to the woman behind him, whose eyes were bouncing from figure to figure. He started slowly stalking into the grass, keeping himself between the Amazons and Barbara. The warriors watched on as they moved, assessing him for any sort of weakness they could exploit. Once they made it so that Barbara had a direct shot toward the Katoptris, Grim turned back toward her once more.
"Go!" He ordered and the woman didn't need to be told twice. She bolted as fast as her legs would carry her.
Unfortunately, the Amazons had a new weapon to test out on the Spartan and his new companion. From the grass, a silver chain shot out and looped itself around the cat-woman, making her suddenly stop. But her legs had kept pressing while the rest of her body snapped back, causing her to slam onto her back. She barely had time to groan as her lungs fought for oxygen before she felt herself start to be reeled in. She scrambled to dig her claws into the earth, trying desperately to find something to grab onto. But all her hands found were dirt and grass.
Meanwhile, Grim had noticed the silver chain and Barbara slamming into the ground and was moving to help her when another chain appeared and wrapped around his right gauntlet. He threw his arm across his body, hoping to pull the Amazon into the open while also freeing his arm, but it seemed they had accounted for his augmented strength as it became a tug of war.
He turned to look down its length and saw five Amazons pulling with all their might, their greaves digging into the ground as they pulled.
"Ok." He growled lowly as a new plan came to mind.
He pulled the chain towards him, making it go taunt. He then wrapped his right arm around the chain and pulled himself forward. He then dipped his left arm low and wrapped the chain around it.
One of the nearby Amazons noticed what he was doing and rushed forward, her blade held high. Grim's left hand lashed out, ensnaring her sword hand before it could come crashing down. A quick right-handed jab to her stomach forced the air from her lungs and a final headbutt rendered her unconscious as her body slumped in Grim's hold. He pulled the woman's body across him and threw her into another of her team before resuming wrapping the chain around himself.
He quickly closed the space between himself and the five Amazons, much to their own amazement, as they tried releasing the chain, hoping it would throw him off balance. But Grim saw that coming and settled himself as they dropped the chain. He quickly pulled on the now-freed chain and unwrapped himself from its grip, allowing it to settle in a small pile below him.
Grim then turned and leveled his grappleshot at the two Amazons dragging Barbara back towards them. He wrenched the woman free of her hold on the chain before catching her mid-air and slamming her into the ground, knocking her out.
The other Amazon, noticing her teammate had disappeared, snarled and threw down her end of the chain before taking up a sword and charging toward the cat-woman. Barbara scrambled on the ground to get her feet under her, the singular thought in her mind:
"Get back to Grim!"
She flipped onto her stomach and crawled as quickly as she could towards the dark shape, who had turned away as another Amazon flew at his back. She turned up with wide-eyed horror as the Amazon charged her, her form blocking the sun. Only for the Amazon to be ripped away by a cord that had appeared on her armor. She sailed back toward Grim, an angered cry leaving her lips the whole way.
The Spartan didn't even spare her a glance, instead allowing her body to crash to earth somewhere beyond him as he fought two of her sisters. The duo figured a tag-team approach may be enough to best him, so one went low, targeting his waist and legs. While her sister focused on his chest and arms. A bold strategy, but nothing Grim hadn't seen before.
He raised his knee into the Amazon's blade and deflected it with a loud clang, while his right arm backhanded the other Amazon away. He then shifted and leveled a right hook on the first woman's head, completing his knock-out of the two women.
"Watch out! Coming from the trees!" Phoebe called out as Grim heard the quiet pang of bows releasing arrows. He dove forward and swept up a discarded shield into his hold, using it to block the arrows.
"Mark them." He ordered before three red outlines appeared on his HUD. He pulled the shield back, before sending it hurtling at the closest target. The woman dove away, but not before her bow was snapped in half by the flying disc. Grim took care of the next two by throwing whatever swords and axes he could scrape together around him. He aimed for their weapons, not wanting to kill one of them accidentally. It was already bad enough they had managed to slip through their lines before he could switch to TTR rounds.
During this, the other Amazons had managed to regroup behind him.
"Get the creature! We'll take care of the man!" One of the warriors ordered before one of their number raced towards Barbara once more.
Grim turned and started to sprint towards the woman, hoping to intercept her before she ever came close to the civilian, but a trio of three Amazons barreled into his side, sending him sprawling into the grass as their shields impacted. He rolled with the hit and came up with his hand on his kukri's handle before he mentally forced his hand away. Old habits and drills being hard to break.
He stood and pivoted back towards the Amazon bearing down on Barbara, but found a shield wall of three Amazons blocking the way. Without a second thought, he charged into them, cracking the centermost Amazon's shield and sending her falling to the dirt. Her sisters jabbed and stabbed at him in response, aiming for his undersuit.
Behind them, Barbara clambered up to her knees, only to have the Amazon step forward and kick her in the stomach. A pained gasp escaped her lips as she flew a few yards away. She rolled with the landing before coming to a stop on her back. She gasped like a fish out of water, trying and failing to refill her lungs once more.
Above her, the Amazon wasted no time, slamming her sword down towards the center of Barbara's chest. The archeologist acted on instinct, her hands closing around the blade as she fought against the woman. She felt the sharp blade cut into her palms as her blood began to drip downwards and onto her shirt.
"Die!" The Amazon growled as she shifted her grip and pressed down harder.
Barbara grits her teeth as she forces herself to fight through the pain. She shoved the blade to the side, before releasing her grip. The blade slammed into the earth next to her head. Barbara then lashed out with a roar, her claws finding something soft and warm to cut through.
The Amazon cried out in pain as she lurched back, clutching her left eye. Red poured from between her fingers as she scowled down at the woman. Her remaining eye screamed death. She then reached behind her and pulled a large, serrated blade from a sheath on her back. Its silver blade glinted in the light of the sun and Barbara felt her blood run cold.
"I'm going to enjoy skinning you creature!" The Amazon growled as she stalked forward again.
Barbara quickly stood and pulled the sword free, holding it out before her like she had seen in some ancient guides and movies. But she was no swordswoman and the Amazon knew it, if the evil smirk was anything to go by.
The warrior strode confidently forward before leaping at Barbara. Their blades clashed with an eruption of sparks as Barbara did her best to match the Amazon. Her strikes were fumbling at best and mediocre at worst, but still, her enhanced reflexes gave her the edge she needed so as to not be cut down.
But the Amazon was far more experienced. She adjusted her grip on her dagger and stabbed it forward, forcing Barbara to try and deflect it, but then she pulled the blade back, a feint. Barbara's sword was now out of position, dipped downwards toward the ground below her. The Amazon pushed her blade forward once more and then ripped it across her body and outwards, taking Barbara's blade with her as she did. The Amazon then rocked back and delivered a savage punch to Barbara's chest, sending her flying again.
Barbara landed and rolled over her shoulders before coming to a stop on her stomach. She jerked upwards, her eyes searching all around her in a panicked haze as the Amazon advanced again. But this time, there was nothing to save Barbara. Just grass and dirt.
Until the sun's glare glinted off a piece of metal a few yards away. Barbara rushed forward, running on all fours as she dove toward her perceived salvation. Her hands reached out and grappled for the metal. But then, a hand wrapped around her tail. She spun, her eyes wide as the Amazon pulled Barbara back towards her, her sword held out, readied for a slash.
Barbara kicked at the Amazon's hand. Loosening the woman's grip and freeing herself, and not a moment too soon as the woman's blade rushed by. She then rolled and scrambled for the metal, her hands clawing at the earth. Her left hand eventually found purchase and she fumbled for the piece of the metal. Until her hand wrapped around what she recognized as a barrel.
She pulled the object towards her and immediately recognized it as Grim's pistol. Her right hand shot up and wrapped itself around the weapon's grip and she rolled to face the Amazon. She centered the three dots on the woman's chest and cried out.
"Stop!"
But the Amazon just growled and walked forward, raising her blade above her head.
"Please stop! I don't want to shoot you!" Barbara pleaded.
The Amazon's sword crashed down toward her and Barbara pulled the trigger. The pistol bucked in her hand and a spray of red appeared on the Amazon's chest. All around them, the field became silent. The Amazon stared at her in surprise as her eyes slowly descended to the hole in her chest. Her gaze then returned to Barbara and she took a stuttering step forward, her eyes filled with determination.
Barbara pulled the trigger once more and then didn't stop, emptying the pistol's magazine and dropping the warrior. Even with an empty magazine, Barbara found that she couldn't stop pulling the trigger. The pistol just clicked uselessly in her hands.
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Grim's head whipped around at the sound of his pistol firing, while the Amazons all froze in their movements around him. They all stared dumbstruck as Barbara fired round after round into the Amazon towering over her. Red spray painted the sky until the woman fell backward in a heap. Without another thought, Grim shoved the nearest Amazon away and rushed to Barbara's side.
He fell to a knee and slid up next to the archeologist, who was staring wide-eyed up at where the Amazon had once been, his pistol clicking as she tried to fire. He quickly scanned her form, checking for any life-threatening injuries and finding none. He reached out and pulled his pistol free from her grasp, before lowering her hand back to her side. He then stood and turned.
He eyed the Amazons surrounding them, their eyes locked on their fallen sister. But slowly, one by one, they all turned to face the two unwelcome visitors. Their eyes were filled with a mix of rage and fury. Grim listened as the screeching of swords leaving scabbards and the rattle of armor signaled the Amazons' choice.
With an efficiency only perfected by those who had been trained for years, and then thrust into a war far greater than them. Grim cleared the empty magazine and slapped in a fresh one before pulling back on the slide and chambering around. His left hand then reached up and pulled his knife free as the first of the warriors charged.
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Ten Minutes Later
Orana blinked awake to the sound of clashing metal and the repeated cracks of some sort of object. Her gaze wandered over the surrounding grass as a scream echoed all around her. Slowly, her memories began to return. Organizing the hunting party, pulling weapons and armor from one of the many armories in Themyscira, and then finally riding out towards the forest. They had only paused to cover themselves in mud and leaves, believing it may shield them from the Spartan's traps and alert system. As all other attempts had failed to catch him by surprise.
From there, she remembers stalking and crawling through the forest during the night, before watching the Spartan and his new creature performing some sort of test on the plains the next morning. Zoe had then handed her two axes in return for her bow and arrows before disappearing back into the surrounding foliage to join their sister's ambush.
Orana had bid her time, allowing her sisters to pull the Spartan's attention before rushing out to try and confront him. She had swung downwards toward his wrist with a warcry and found she had hit nothing but air. Her final memory was of the ground coming up to meet her and then blackness.
A warm, wet substance then splashed over her helmet and face, causing her to jerk upwards in shock. She pressed her palms into the dirt below and raised her upper body up as she looked for the source of the liquid. It didn't take her long to spot its source.
Nearby, the Spartan was fighting off three of her sisters. His blade flashed for less than a second before it disappeared into the chest of the closest Amazon as the strange object in his hand coughed once and obliterated another of her sister's helmet. Coloring the grass red.
He then wrenched his blade free and spun, catching the third warrior in the neck as her body went slack. He raised the object to the original Amazon's head, who was clutching at the large hole in her chest and fired. She jerked and then fell backward, dead.
He repeated the process again with the final warrior and then dropped her to the ground. A click then rang out and the Spartan pulled a small box from his belt and slid it into the object in his hand. His gaze then slowly panned the surrounding grassland, searching for any other targets before settling on Orana's shocked look.
He raised the object towards her and Orana scrambled to get her feet under her, all while her eyes were locked on the darkness from within the object's length. Her life flashed before her eyes and everything just fell away. She heard the object cough and felt something whoosh by her head.
When she came back, one of her sisters was grappling with the Spartan, doing her best to wrap herself around his arm. She watched as the Spartan's left elbow slammed down, dislodging the warrior and freeing his arm. The Amazon fell to the ground, out of Orana's sight. All she could make out was the Spartan raising his right foot before slamming it down in a geyser of red.
His golden visage then snapped back to her, and Orana felt herself pale and her blood go cold. She forced herself to her feet and stared at the behemoth for only a second longer. She then turned and fled into the forest. Praying to every god she knew that she'd make it to their horses before he caught up with her.
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"All hostiles down," Phoebe reported quietly.
"Mobilize the drones, sanitize the field, and collect the remains." Grim ordered.
"Already done. I've also taken the liberty of adjusting our fabricator's current builds. I project six M5 Talos turrets ready for deployment within the week." Phoebe said.
"Launch the Owl, standard combat load. I want hourly reports on the Amazon's movements and if they even twitch in our direction, I want to know about it." Grim growled.
"Tasking."
"Have any Archer pods been uncovered yet?" Grim asked. He could feel Phoebe's hesitance as the AI ran a quick scan of their ship.
"Missile pods three and seven are currently operational." She reported
"Check and then recheck that they're fully operational and then I want them on stand-by. Also, run a scan on our mine loadout. If we have any HORNETs I want to know about it."
"What about the SHIVA?" Phoebe asked.
"Too valuable," Grim answered as he quickly glanced back at Barbara, who had fallen into shock.
"Have one of the engineers guide Ms. Minerva back to the med bay and then run a full scan." He ordered.
"And where are we going?" Phoebe asked grimly.
"To buy us as much time as possible."
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Thirty Minutes Later
Orana raced out of the surrounding treeline, sprinting as fast as she could towards the group of horses beyond. Their riders never to return.
She had long ago shed the heavy helmet and breastplate she had been wearing, along with her greaves. Their weight was slowing her considerably and she felt she would need every ounce of strength and speed to get back to Themyscira alive.
The world blurred and her vision tunneled, only the nearest horse was within her view. Everything else in the world just faded away.
She made it about halfway to the horse when a hiss of air broke through her trance. Something slammed into her back and she pivoted forward and fell on her face, sliding a short distance. Her head whipped up, her eyes locking on the horse beyond. She scrambled to pull herself forward, but then felt something go taunt.
Without warning, she was pulled backwards, completely spinning around as she was dragged back into the shadows of the forest.
"No! No! No!" She screamed as she flailed. Looking for any sort of salvation as she rapidly felt around for a blade or other piece of metal to free herself. But there was nothing to save her, her weapons far beyond her reach in the clearing behind her. So, she did the only thing she could.
She dug her hand into the ground and pivoted on her back. Her legs then settled in front of her and she gripped the dark line, before slamming her feet into the earth. Her legs dug a deep trench as she fought against her fate. But all she had managed to do was slow the inevitable, as the line continued to pull her.
The line then started to heat up in her grip, not enough to cause any damage, but enough to be noticeable. That was the only warning she had before an explosion of electricity flowed into her body. She convulsed and jerked before falling limply forward, the line dragging her into the tree line.
If anyone were around, the last they would have seen and heard of Orana was a limp body being pulled into the shadows of forest, before three faint coughs announced her end.