The Olympian God of Destruction:
Chapter 22: The Titanomachy XV
"Honestly, dear brother, I'll have to agree with our sister. You really are something else…" Hera couldn't help but remark, shortly after she and Beerus' materialised in his master bedroom. The still naked goddess now sat atop her brother's soft, silky bed. Her back propped up against the wall adjacent to the top of the mattress where his pillows lay, as her brother's unconscious body continued to lay over hers.
Unwatched by anyone in the privacy of the bedroom, Hera began somewhat uncharacteristically stroking Beerus' head gently, running her dainty hand and fingers through his long locks of purple hair. A tired, yet relieved sigh leaving her lips as she gave a light smile down at her brother, who's face still rested nicely within her supple, mushrooming cleavage as one arm of hers remained circled around his neck in a tender embrace.
"What you just did out there was so damn reckless… and yet…" She couldn't help but chuckle. "Just like that day when you got us out of our father's rancid gut, you came through for us today, once again with that power of yours. Though this time, it seems, you reached a little too far ahead of yourself for our sakes…"
Feeling nothing but his hot breath still against her bare bosom, and knowing that a response would not be coming, she continued on. Not a trace of her typically more aggressive, haughty demeanour showing as her eyes stared down at him. "It appears as though I and the others still aren't as strong as we would like, seeing as today proved things haven't changed much since those horrid days we were imprisoned in our father's stomach. For just like then, it seems, we had to rely almost entirely on you to get us out of a precarious situation."
Halting in her stroking of his head for a moment, Hera let out another sigh, only this one carried disappointment with it. Though none of it was aimed at him. "Much as I hate to admit it, for all of my pomp and confidence that I demonstrated to you back on the Isle, I've proven thus far to be quite useless when it comes to accomplishing anything of note. Today, I had a chance to do something, and in the face of one of our enemies, with our dear sister Hestia in his clutches, the only thing I managed to do was charge in like an idiot and get caught."
The goddess closed her eyes briefly, as she exhaled a breath of further disappointment while hugging the male god's head a little closer to her chest, further squishing her bulging boob-flesh around his features. "About the only thing I was able to do was fail to even spit in his face and spew words of defiance at him that were about as effectless and useless as I was during our tenure in father's gut. Were it not for Hestia using her power on him, after he'd stripped me bare like this, I would've been totally at his mercy…"
She shuddered at the thought, recalling well what he said he could've done to her and her sisters there and then if he'd wanted to and she and him both knew there wasn't a damn thing she could've done to stop him, despite her words of defiance. "Much as I may despise him now, it is hard for me to deny what that bastard said of me, and what you too, have told me in a sense back during our training on Crete. That though I talk like I'm strong, in truth, even after all the effort I've put in, I am still powerless in the face of true adversity, like what we got a taste of today."
In essence, regardless of how it bruised her ego, she really was, as Hyperion had called her. Nothing more than an overly mouthy wench and that was it. It was only her arrogance that'd allowed her to believe higher of herself, until the Titan had utterly shot down any notion of that. He'd as good as made the promise of forcefully taking her and her sisters sexually, and then allowing his allies as many turns on them as they'd like too if he'd won. Which if Beerus hadn't come through at the end by cheating to obtain his ascended state, there would've been a strong possibility of, if not a guarantee even, of happening.
"I'm sure you'll end up poking fun at me for my pathetic showing later. You may have said you wouldn't say anything, but you and I both know you won't keep to that in the future after how much I mouthed off to you prior. And honestly, I don't think I'll blame you if you do, after I've basically proven you right in a sense." She shook her head somewhat despondently and humbly, leaving her vulnerabilities as bare as her body at this point. "A part of me sort of wishes you were still conscious, so I could say this all directly to your face and fully admit to my own shortcomings."
A self-deprecating laugh rose up and past her luscious lips. "Oh, who am I kidding? If you were awake right now, I'd not speak a word of this to you. My silly pride would no sooner see me leap off Olympus and crash to the ground below a bloody smear before allowing me to. I'd end up much too embarrassed to admit any of this to you, regardless of how you may react, and would just default back to how I usually act to try and save face. Kind of pathetic when I phrase it like that, isn't it, Beerus?"
No response came, but then she knew it wouldn't. Under all this privacy, she was free to let her guard down and just speak the truth that she would've otherwise hidden or obscured.
"Leaving my wounded ego aside though…" Being as gentle as possible, Hera moved the hand that'd been stroking her brother's head to below his chin, where she used it to help turn his peacefully resting face up off her creamy globes, which gave a light jiggle when puffing back upwards from the removal. With it balanced just fine, and the rest of his body firmly leaning against hers, she leaned her own head down, tilting it slightly as she pressed her lips against his once again.
Unlike their last kiss however, which had been packed with aggression and a passion mostly for vengefulness, this one was tender. Almost chaste, even, but packed with a ton of affection that Hera had yet shown in such capacity. Lasting only a few seconds before Hera pulled away with a light blush and a heartfelt smile.
"Once again, Beerus, you have my sincerest gratitude." She said earnestly, as she gazed down warmly at him. "Though I know you defeated him for much more than just my sake, I am no less grateful to you for keeping to your word and kicking Hyperion's ass like that for me."
For as much as she'd taken her playful digs at him in the past, there was no denying that he'd always kept his word. Her more aggressive side could take shots at how he went about it until her face went red verbally sparing with him, but what mattered was that he always got shit done. And that was honestly a trait she herself could do with taking more after him on, even if she'd probably never admit that either to his face.
"Hehe… It looks like I'll have to find a way to pay you back for this when you're up and about again. And I don't quite think a simple kiss or an awkward hug and 'thank you', will suffice. It didn't feel like it last time when we escaped father's fortress, if I'm being honest here, and it certainly doesn't now either." Shaking her head in bemusement, the nude goddess stiffened a bit when she felt something hard unexpectedly prod against her inner thigh a mere few inches away from her maidenhood.
It took her mind all of about two seconds to realize what that was, and when she did, with no one around to see her, she blushed much harder. Especially when she managed to tilt her head to the side enough to look down, and saw, now that Beerus himself wasn't conscious to hide it, a frankly massive bulge tenting the lower part of his tunic. One reaching from his pelvis and touching close to her crotch over a foot away, almost pushing its way out entirely were it not for the cloth being magically-enhanced to not tear so easily.
"My word. I didn't think you'd be that big…" The murmur tumbled out all on its own, as a not so wholesome thought of how she could pay him back entered her mind. One that lingered in her head for a good moment before a giggle eventually rose up from Hera's lips as she shook her head in amusement. "Heh, given how you've reacted thus far, I'm not sure you'd be too onboard with that, even if your lower head seems all in for it. And to be honest, I'm not really sure I'd want to go down that route either."
Letting out a calming exhale, Hera calmed her blush as she let the amorous thought of them both naked and involved in a very different kind of battle fall further back into her mind for now. "No. As… tempting as that opportunity may be if you were up for it, the idea of doing that as merely a one and done deal to pay you back just doesn't feel right to me." Looking past him then with a near-indecipherable gleam in her hazel pools, she muttered more to herself in a low whisper. "Not unless you were willing to marry me, that is…"
After taking another small moment to ponder the ramifications and the likelihood of such actually occurring, Hera lightly shook her head once more before turning her gaze back down to him. Lowering his head back and gently resting his face back down on her plump, pillowy boobs. Letting the pale, plush pair squish out around his pressing, lightly breathing features which both tickled and garnered a soft wobble from them.
"Heh… Something to be answered another time, I suppose. That is, if I can get past my pride to discuss any of this with you directly." Hugging his face deeper still into her billowing boob-flesh, she massaged his scalp using her other hand with a level of fondness that would've certainly taken quite a few of the other gods off-guard given her normal act. "And provided our brothers, sisters and allies are successful in repelling whatever's coming without you, as well. I have faith that they will be to though, as I'm sure you do too."
Leaning down, she gave a light kiss over his dome. "In any case, I think I've rambled on enough." She whispered with some humour, as she lightly slinked her own body, and by proxy, Beerus's to an extent, down on the bed until the back of her head softly laid over one of his amazingly soft pillows. All as Beerus did the same, remaining face-first on her perky, pliant 'pillows' as his body laid near flat on her own. His bulge being ignored even when much more of it pressed down along her thigh as a result of getting into a more comfortable position. The goddess uncaring as to how it would appear to anyone who would end up coming in.
"Sleep well now, Beerus." She almost cooed in a manner more befitting of Hestia normally than she, as she closed her eyes for a minute. Feeling a weird sense of freedom and ease being able to just let all of her walls down, even if only temporarily, as she embraced the purple-haired god closely. "Take as long of a respite as you need. I and the others, I'm sure, will still be here and waiting dutifully for you when you wake up…"
Early morning… The next day…
Metis stood tall and waiting, arms folded beneath her bosom as her eyes looked toward the direction of Othrys from the courtyard. Expression stoic and unflinching, as she waited for the inevitable to arrive.
She wasn't alone in the wait, of course. Practically everyone who'd been there to witness Hyperion's fall yesterday were present and littered throughout the courtyard in solidarity. Neither she, nor any of the others had spent even a minute resting, in case their enemies had arrived earlier than they'd like.
Thankfully, they'd been given enough of a reprieve to prepare and plan ahead as much as was possible, with nobody being left to simply slack off. Everyone today would have a role to play in the coming siege on Olympus. Of that, she'd made sure.
"Everything's rather quiet, isn't it?" The Oceanid found herself being asked by none other than Zeus, who she'd felt slink up to stand by her side just then.
"It is." She nodded, eyes narrowing. "And most certainly not the natural kind."
Leaving aside the usual rustle and bustle of training that took place on the mountain, everything was in a still, tense silence. Not just on their sanctuary, but even perking an ear up to the outside, also yielded no sound. Not even the quietest of them like the calm whistle of the pure wind of the heavens could be heard at this point, which she'd still vaguely been able to hear less than an hour ago.
That was a dead giveaway to her that something big was coming. Otherwise, she couldn't think of any other reason for Aether, the primordial god of light and the bright, blue ether of the heavens which they breathed, to have gone totally silent like this.
"They'll be here soon." Metis uttered in a matter-of-fact tone, as she glared out toward Othrys, obscured both by distance and the odd roll of misty clouds that blocked the way. "I do hope you're ready for them, Zeus." Her eyes then swiped over in his direction. "Both you and your brothers especially, given the risk you three took earlier in leaving Olympus."
"Don't you worry, Metis. Me and my brothers are more than prepared. The risk was more than worth it, should things become rougher than we anticipate." Zeus replied with stoic confidence, as he rested a hand on her shoulder.
"And if my plan goes well, then as I'd prefer it, you won't have to do that." Was her stern response. "I won't argue with you for yours and your brothers' decision to visit Lady Gaea on Crete and discover how Beerus pulled off his ascension for yourselves, as if things should somehow go down badly here, we'll need all the firepower we can get. However, it also brings its own consequences with it, as we all saw with your elder brother yesterday."
"We're well aware. It is just an added precaution, Metis. A last resort, in case my bastard father and his allies are able to get passed what we have in store for them. Nothing more." He asserted back with a light smile. "You won't have to worry about any of us going against the established plan the instant their forces show up. We know our roles, and will only alter them if it is absolutely necessary."
"And I believe you." The Oceanid nodded, showing a small smile for a brief instant, before her features flatlined back into a stony mask as her gaze flicked back out to the cloudy horizon. Her sharp eyes catching sight of something glimmering miles off in the distance. A menacing, darkish-red beginning to peel through the white and grey of the clouds before them, and bathe the previously serene heavens a more hellish shade.
Following it, there was a massive golden pulse sent out in all directions, passing over them and Mount Olympus and travelling well out for hundreds of miles beyond the majestic mountain. And with it, they all felt the familiar sensation of their abilities to teleport and shapeshift being blocked, as an invisible barrier was fully formed all around them. A manoeuvre that's intent was clear to cut off as much potential for an escape, as possible.
"Get ready, everyone!" Prometheus suddenly shouted out in alarm from further back, his eyes glowing gold and making everyone tense. "He's coming at us now!"
No sooner had this been uttered, did everyone fully push their divine auras to the surface as a loud BOOM echoed throughout the sky. The swift dispersion of the clouds following, with everything becoming bathed in much more intense, blood-red light as a massive arc of dark-red energy rapidly flew towards them at mind-bending speeds!
In no more than the blink of an eye, the arc of energy crashed into the barrier right in front of the assembled gods with an even louder BANG! The force kicking up an enormous shockwave that billowed out all around not just the barrier, but across a good portion of the divine mountain itself, making the ground beneath the rebels' feet shake somewhat.
Metis, and just about everyone assembled glared as cracks formed in their shield around the origin of impact. An occurrence that most certainly wouldn't happen with any other attack.
It was about then that the barrier glowed a yellowish-gold, evidence of the Cyclopes' last-minute adjustments, and in real time, slowed down the forming cracks on its surface. The magical shield managing to endure the first strike long enough for the arc of energy to fizzle out before long, leaving quite the hefty spider crack that spread out over a hundred metres long and wide.
The barrier did not break despite this though, and Metis found herself both humming with approval and gratitude when the barrier steadily started to mend itself with new divine power being flooded into it from deep within the mountain's bowels. Courtesy of the Cyclopes themselves going the extra mile and pulling their weight even further, which Metis gave a silent thanks for.
"Hmm… So, your little barrier managed to withstand an attack from me, did it?" A warped voice distinctively different from a deity in their ascended state resonated from out of the clouds, reaching all of the rebel gods' ears with a hint of bemusement to go along with a cold callousness. "Well, I suppose I shouldn't have expected this to be that easy. Those ugly, one-eyed brothers of mine always were quite the clever little crafters, I'll give them that."
Everyone tensed up further at the sound of the voice. Not a single soul being unable to recognise who it belonged to despite the distortion. And soon enough, one of the clouds off in the distance dispersed enough to reveal the lone figure of the Titan Lord Kronos stood firmly upon nothing but the air itself, defying the very notion of gravity. His form still glowing a dim red as his infamous scythe was held at a downward angle, with its sharp edge pointing behind him, making it clear to all who saw him that said attack had, indeed, been launched from a swing of it.
"Tch. What an arrogant prick." Poseidon growled from his position by Hades, who himself wore a deep scowl. "I can already tell he thinks he can take us out in no time. And without using his True Divine Form yet, no less!"
They'd all been expecting at least the strongest of their enemies to arrive within their ascended states, but it seemed that for some reason, despite intending to annihilate them, Kronos had elected to show himself in his normal state first. And moreover, they couldn't sense any insanely high pressure that came with one being in a True Divine Form anywhere near them or him either.
Some of the rebels couldn't help but wonder if Kronos really was that arrogant as Poseidon had said, or after learning of his brother's defeat, and recognising his continued absence, had elected to play things more cautiously for a start by not using it right away. Given his reputation, it could honestly swing either way.
"You've done a good job hiding from me, I must say, but the time for playing such games is now long past." Swinging his scythe back up, the Titan king pulled it back with one hand over his head. "For those of you who so foolishly chose to ally yourselves with my children, I shall give you but only one chance here and now to cease your rebellious nonsense. Turn away and join our ranks now, and I will be merciful enough to spare you the horrendous fate that is about to befall the rest. Refuse, and you will guarantee your doom."
"You can cease with your threats, Kronos. If such a thing as fear of reprisal from you and yours were enough to sway anybody here, they'd have already been long gone by now." Metis spoke back cooly, using her divine power to make her own voice travel far enough to reach the current ruler of the universe clear and succinctly. "And after how brutally your brother Hyperion was slew here just yesterday by your eldest son, if there still had been any sort of doubt on us with some of our allies, it's been well put to rest."
The Oceanid's words were proven true when no one within the barrier, not even the weakest of nymphs, dared budge an inch from their spot. Most, like Metis did upon mentioning the aforementioned Titan's defeat, showed either a taunting or confident grin, which Kronos was able to see as the barrier's invisibility cloak over them faded purposely for a moment. "And besides, I doubt anybody here is fool enough to genuinely believe you'd give such a mercy, given the kind of god you've been over your millennia of rule."
"Is that right?" Kronos teeth clacked together, as his lips pulled down and formed a cavernously deep scowl, while his eyes glowed red and glared over at them with a cold fury. Angered, but not shocked by the answer given, as his aura spiked high around him. "Well then," With his distorted voice rising high, as he bellowed forcefully, "have it your way!"
The scythe then swung down again, sending another arc of blood-red divine energy hurtling toward them faster than light. Which was followed quickly by the authoritative, commanding roar of Kronos resonating throughout the heavens.
"Attaaaaaaaack!"
The mist barely covered back over the rebel gods' forms on Olympus peak, cloaking them in invisibility from the outside once more as Kronos attack yet again struck home, smashing into the barrier. Another immense shockwave billowing out over the shield with a second, just as large spider-crack forming around the point of impact as a whole slew of impassioned war-cries flew forth from around the king of Titans.
"Here they come!" Metis yelled back strongly, turning towards the litany of deities behind her with her own authoritative conviction, as she swiped her arm out toward them with a flourish. "You all know what to do, so get ready and wait for my signal!"
"Understood!" Everyone nodded in total compliance, some prepping to enter their ascended state, while others, like Beerus' siblings, simply focused as much power as they could to the surface in wait, with their auras flashing wildly.
No sooner had the impact of Kronos' latest attack on the barrier quelled, and the magical dome began to be healed, did a vast battalion of chariots numbering in the thousands rain out from the clouds at rapid speeds. Riders of all sorts manning them as a divine aura fell over each, most of which a similar colour to the one that Hyperion's had had. A true All looking poised to break through the shield and take them down at any cost.
There're the big ones to look out for. Metis thought, as she spotted Atlas leading the pack, with his father Iapetus and uncles Krios and Koios right behind him, and finally followed closely by his aunt who'd fled from them yesterday after her husband's defeat, Theia. Each and every one, especially her, looking out for blood, as an assortment of weaker gods flanked them. Either as a group of two-to-three in and around their own chariots, or were tagging along holding on to the elder Titans'.
Seeing the full army descend on them like this would've been enough to make almost anyone balk at what they were up against, were they not fully prepared. Fortunately for them however, she'd had more than enough foresight to predict this very attack. And they were going to show them their response soon enough.
"Heh. Look who's there, mother." Bia smiled ferally, as her eyes spotted someone that she and her family knew all too well coming up the rear of the 1st generation Titans.
Styx, as well as her other three children, were quick to follow Bia's line of sight. And as soon as they did, they all saw the figure of a male deity manning a chariot to the right of Krios. One clad in a brown tunic almost reaching his knees with dark, wild hair that barely fell to his shoulders, war-ready crimson eyes, a jawline just as well carved as Kratos' own and an impressively well-muscled physique that looked tailor-made for battle. A long spear being held at his side as the wind batted him and his large, bulky steeds pulling his chariot through the sky.
The mother smiled rather viciously herself, seeing her oh-so-missed husband flying straight toward them. "Ah… well isn't he a sight for sore eyes, my children?"
Kratos cracked his knuckles against either palm in anticipation for a confrontation they'd all been waiting for, as he too, along with the other two siblings smiled similarly to their mother and sister. "Guess it's finally time for the family reunion, isn't it, mother?"
"That it is, my son." Styx' eyes flashed venomously, promising nothing but pain as her full lips peeled back to show glistening teeth. "Just don't get carried away too early and mess up my sister's plan. So long as he doesn't flee like a coward, there'll be plenty of time for you all to get reacquainted with your dear father!"
Speaking of Metis' plan, the Oceanid waited until the Titans and their allies were closing in on them. The section of the barrier that'd been hit only half-way healed over by the time Atlas and co had sped along and were less than a quarter of a mile away. Clearly intent on striking into it themselves before it had a chance to fully mend itself, which in a weakened state, could very well lead to a shattering.
Atlas in particular had let go of his reins, his muscles bulging high as his immense aura pulsed outward, focusing particularly on his fist as he clenched it hard, condensing like a bubble around it. The musclebound behemoth pouring what was sure to be a monumental amount of his base state's power into one blow as his knees bent, and he got ready to propel himself toward the still cracked section.
It was then that the first real phase of Olympus's defence plan began. For as soon as Atlas launched himself with a THOOM from his chariot in an arcing jump toward them with his fist reeled back, Metis pulled two digits together and brought them near her mouth. Her divine power bolstering her lungs as well as her mouth with the same enchantment she'd used for her voice previously and blew the single loudest whistle she'd ever done in her life. One that easily filtered out off of the mountain and passed the fast-approaching body of Atlas in the heavens, reaching the ground below in no time at all.
Being so close and being one of the first to hear it, Atlas was immediately able to tell that the whistle was a signal of some sort, as his body hurtled towards his target. Even if he had been able to react physically in that small instant though, nothing could've prepared him, or the rest of his allied forces for what came next.
"KRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"
Atlas, and indeed, the rest of Kronos' forces were left unprepared, as a truly deafening, horrid screech empowered by divine magic resounded out all across the area, covering a massive radius around Olympus. The atrocious sound slamming head long over every one of them in the blink of an eye, and piercing through their ear canals with a high, scraping pitch like a sharp, grating spear over a wall of bronze, only about ten thousand times worse!
"Argh!..." Atlas groaned loudly in pain, attack ceasing, as his hands immediately clamping over his ears as he tumbled through the air in a vain attempt to shut off the horrendous, brain-scrambling sound echoing into his ears. The Titan's body falling just short of the barrier and slamming into the enormous mountain's hide just below the magical shield protecting the peak. His bulky frame bouncing right off it and being sent on a one-way trip down to the ground a million kilometres below as golden blood began to pool from his ears. His chariot and the minor gods that'd been attached to it falling not long after.
"Gruh! Shit… Atlas!" Iapetus cursed in agony, watching his son fall from heaven in a tumbling heap in alarm as he too, along with his brothers, sister and allies held their now bleeding ears in pain. The screeching sound generated being beyond the point of unbearable torture to hear, and no amount of muffling their hearing with magic was able to stave off the shrieking cry, as it assaulted their senses in savage fashion.
While the elder Titans, as well as a select number of others were just barely able to withstand the terrible noise without losing control of themselves and their chariots, the same could not be said for the majority. A plethora of deities, numbering easily in the thousands both around and behind them gaining looks of true, agonising terror as panic swept through them like a tidal wave the likes of which they'd never come close to feeling before.
The horrific shriek either paralysed them before long so badly with pained fear that they simply failed to keep hold of the chariot they were holding on to and fell, or worse, lost control of their chariot all together. The latter leading to numerous Titan allies crashing said vehicles into one another as they veered in random directions, causing even further chaos as the chariots and bucking, neighing steeds driving them were bashed out of the air by their own comrades, sending stallion and deity alike divebombing to the ground far, far below as both were left totally disoriented.
Their abysmal cries and screams of panicked torture as they dropped like flies being almost completely drowned out below the still on-going shrieking coming from the ground far beneath everyone's gaze.
"Urgh… This infernal screech!... I-I recognise it…" Krios moaned in suffering, pushing down the panic that now suddenly clawed at his being with all of his will, as he recalled the only god he was aware of that could produce such an abhorrent scream.
"Pan!..." Kronos, who'd remained back from the pressing battalion, growled disdainfully. Not even bothering to cover his ears even as his blood flowed from them, for he knew it'd be a useless gesture before these torturous waves of nasty noise. The Titan Lord glaring down to the ground below, searching for the god of the wilds as he resisted the panic being summoned up through him thoroughly.
Meanwhile, behind the cover of the vastly huge mountain, effectively blocking him from the sight of all who may try to find him for the time being, the goat-legged god Pan stood. His fists being clenched by his sides, face pulled up to the heavens above as he let loose the longest, harshest, magically-infused screech of his life. One which was so strong it burned his lungs and made his greenish aura coated body vibrate as his wide-spread jaw strained itself to the max.
His followers, the nymphs and satyrs, who due to their connection with him were thusly the only ones outside of Olympus's barrier unaffected by the weaponised ear-rape he was generating, kept an eye out for the plummeting gods throughout the area. For once they fell down, it'd be their job, as per Metis' instruction, to help handle all the stragglers taken down by their leader's shrieking in whatever way they deemed fit.
Back atop Olympus, as this was happening, Themis propped one hand on her hip and gave an impressed whistle as they all watched the carnage play out, without any of them so much as lifting a finger just yet. "Up to now, I'd only ever heard tale of what Pan's screech was capable of, but to see it in action, on full blast like this, is truly something else. No wonder those who'd crossed him in the past were so wary of angering him, when his voice alone can be so fearsome."
"Fearsome indeed, but it won't last forever." Metis reminded them. A small smirk dancing over her mostly stoic features at just how successful phase one was being. The actual army still left in the air but a tenth of what it had been mere moments ago, by her count. "You all know what needs to be done as soon as Pan finishes his first screech."
"And that can't come soon enough." Demeter spoke with almost a growl, her expression one of impressive agitation as she barely held herself in, waiting for their signal. Those closest to her, other than Hestia, raising a brow at her oddly aggressive attitude, but otherwise just shrugged it off for the moment as her getting herself psyched up for what came next.
A few seconds later, Pan's screech, which they could see waving off their barrier as a visual cue, finally came to a stop. And once it did, Metis was near instantaneous in yelling her command out to everyone. "Counter-attack, now!"
Everybody, other than Metis herself who remained to hold down the fort, sprang into action. Both minor to major deities alike bursting forth from the ground and either taking flight, or hitching a ride with those who could. The barrier giving way and allowing them all to pass through like it wasn't even there. And within no time at all, the rebel side had gone from the ones being charged, to being the aggressing chargers intent.
The Titan forces that had been closest to them, and still remained in the air, cursed as they saw the rebel gods zoom out from their fortress towards them. Exceptionally few being able to react in time as their enemy reversed roles almost and descended upon them. All hell breaking loose as the gods and goddesses allied to Beerus attacked without mercy, divebombing into the floating chariots and knocking the remaining riders off with varying blows.
Those who held on to others winging their legs and damn-near decapitating their vulnerable foes with punting kicks that had weaker deities doing either cartwheels or backflips far off their chariots. Others rushing in and either cloths-lining or dropkicking whoever they came upon off their perch. The sickening crunching and breaking of bones echoing throughout the sky as jaws, skulls and chests were caved in or shattered in equal measure with remarkably brutal efficiency. Even for those who'd previously never been involved in an actual battle before.
In Themis case, a sword had materialized in her hands, enveloped in the same divine aura as her curvy, athletic form, as she blitzed through several enemies at a time. Her blade swinging and slashing ruthlessly, golden blood spurting out in various directions across the chariots gaps as she cleaved off limbs, cut off heads, stabbed through chests and backs, skewering multiple gods at once before kicking them into the great beyond below.
Those who were able to somewhat react and attempted to defend themselves or repel the Titaness, were bisected barbarously with darkly graceful movements for their troubles. Meeting the bite of Themis blade despite their best efforts and were either cut in half at the hips, diagonally down the shoulder to the hip, or most savagely, from head-to-toe, sending separated halves, bottoms and torsos dropping off in a spray of ichor that barely managed to graze the fem fatale with how fast she moved.
Zeus, Poseidon and Hades were nearly grouped together, as they assaulted their opposition. The youngest of them summoning his thunder bolt gifted from the Cyclopes and using it to hurl massive bolts of deific lightning at anyone in his immediate range. The bolts blowing up and electrocuting those unfortunate enough to be singled out by the young god in equal measure.
Tormented cries from Zeus' victims littered out for barely a second as the obscene voltage short-circuited their bodies, making them flash and giving an x-ray of their skeleton as their forms spasmed with full-on seizures. They then either fell or were hurled in a charred mess from their exploding chariots, or straight up exploded with their chariot in a blast of gore! Charred remains of organs, bones and body parts flying in various directions toward the ground far below with sprinkles of darkened ichor.
His brothers were a bit more hands-on. Poseidon summoning his trident as he flew in to one chariot full of deities after another, shearing through them and their chariots like they were made out of wet paper, as he mercilessly thrust his weapon forth. The force of each thrust alone ploughing through flesh and bone, as he impaled and skewered his enemies in equal measure with stabbing attacks so fast that they literally blurred before the vision of some, and couldn't even be seen by others.
Some were dealt with in a single, blurringly fast strike that gored them like a fish, while others who attempted to fight back in their disoriented state were barraged with multiple thrusting attacks equally as fast that punctured, perforated and prised them apart in a shower of blood. Their mutilated bodies sent falling down below just like the rest, alongside the shredded remains of their chariots, leaving only the horses unharmed as they made to flee in fright.
Hades' helm appeared and made his form and presence vanish as he threw himself into a group of god-driven chariots. None of the poor bastards being able to do a thing against him, as he ran through them one-by-one. His invisible body becoming tangible only when he attacked as his oppressive aura of fear laid over his foes, adding to the lingering effect of Pan's earlier screech and paralysing them on their feet as he struck out against them in unarmed combat.
His punches and kicks were fast and strong, slamming hard and breaking bones in the faces, torsos, arms and legs of wherever he aimed them. His hands grabbing and snapping arms over his knees like twigs, his fists and elbows crushing the faces of others in spurts of blood and chipped skull fragments and occasionally smashed right through their heads. His hardest blows decapitating them in a gruesome gush of ichor splattering over the soon-to-be wrecked vehicle with chunks of flesh and bone.
What remained of those he'd felled already, he either left to fall to the earth as he destroyed their chariot with a powerful punch or kick, or he picked them up and threw them over with all the strength he could muster. Their limp bodies slamming brutishly with a KERCHUNG into their allies on other chariots so hard they crashed through the vehicle and flung out the other side of the obliterated, crumbling vehicle a crippled, flailing mess with limbs and heads bent out of shape.
The stragglers falling down from such were then grabbed by their head or feet as Hades came upon them and were then thrust unceremoniously into each other. Their bodies crumpling together and shattering yet more bones, as they were sent rocketing towards the earthen soil to join their battered and broken comrades.
Hestia, out of all her siblings, was the least violent in her approach to handling the enemies she came across. Her glowing eyes flashing as she sent out a concentrated pulse of her aura to one chariot after another as she flew by, slamming its dangerously calming effect over the already disoriented lesser gods. Something that, rather than unintentionally help those suffering from Pan's panic-inducing scream, only amplified its effects as her aura untensed them, weakening their defences drastically.
This allowed the lingering effects of Pan's magic to dominate them to a far greater extent than anybody else who'd been afflicted by it, and made even the strongest willed of those she came up against utterly defenceless and weak beyond belief. The twin of Beerus, with both grace and practiced ease running through them. The mostly gentle goddess weaving through and using no more force than was necessary in her palm-strikes and kicks to knock her foes off their vehicles, making them the followers of Pan's soon-to-be responsibility.
Whilst Hestia was being more merciful in a way, Demeter was practically the complete opposite. Her body whirring into motion as she soared and ran though her own set of god-driven chariots. Each chariot she descended upon having its inhabitants get assaulted in a whirlwind of agony, as she rained down a hail of punches, kicks, elbows, knees and stomps to just about everywhere on the gods' bodies that she could. Her attacks earning her sprinkles and gouts of ichor, along with the jarring crunching and shattering of bone.
Her movements were far more aggressive than they normally more, outstripping that of even Hera at her worst as she maimed and battered anyone in her way on the opposing side with startlingly barbarous initiative. Broken faces, jaws, skulls, ribs, legs, arms, spines, all in no particular order, was what she inflicted upon any poor bastard or bitch within reach.
The only one fast enough to attempt to fight her, even in their weakened state, was punished gruesomely for their efforts. The male deity managing to throw a punch which landed against Demeter's cheek, but all he was met with was a snarl, as Demeter ate the blow and batted his arm aside, before reaching over at speeds beyond light and plunging her thumbs deep into the god's eyes. This earned her a pained scream from him as she gouged them out, which was silenced down into a high-pitched, wheezing squeal, as she took a page out of her younger sister's book and swung her leg up with full force upon stepping foot on the vehicle. The front of her foot crushing into his groin in the blink of an eye.
The force of the brutish kick alone was enough to pull his feet up off the floor of the chariot, as his balls were bashed down and burst like grapes. The, for the moment, ball-less god barely having time for his face to show the overwhelming agony over what Demeter had just done, before she grabbed him by his tunic, torqued herself downward and slammed him head-first into the chariot's floor with enough power to make his body contort well out of shape as it made the vehicle all but explode into pieces below her now hovering form.
"That'll teach you to try and fight me, you piece of shit! I'm already in a bad mood as it is!" Demeter shouted down to the falling, contorted god with a furious expression in a somewhat out-of-character outburst. Her straw-blonde hair floating up wildly as her aura flared up, before she turned and rocketed herself toward the next and nearest chariot.
The allied nymphs that were nearest to her and saw this play out after taking out their own latest enemies cast befuddled glances at the fiery-tempered goddess. A few knowing her a bit better than most, and could tell at this point that something had well and truly managed to get under her skin beforehand, but none were quite sure what that could've been. None of them were in a position to ask her though, and not many were sure that was even a good idea given her mood, so they simply shrugged once again and moved back to following Metis' instructions.
Meanwhile, Prometheus and Epimetheus, rather than head for low-hanging fruit, made a bee-line straight for their father, Iapetus. The elder Titan, unlike the weaker gods who could scarcely defend themselves against the assault, was able to recover enough of his bearings from Pan's shriek to pull up a guard and block the two fists sent toward him with his forearms. The force of which still sent his body careening back and off his own chariot, until he halted and righted himself in the air.
"You really dare to stand against your own father like this, boys!?" Iapetus roared, sounding both offended and genuinely hurt to a degree, seeing his sons fighting for the opposite side. "Do you have no shame!?" Tensing his body up in a defensive stance, the father could only be met by his two sons charging him without the use of teleportation, as they started raining down combinations of punches and kicks against his sturdy frame. His arms and legs thrusting out in near equal measure to block and parry as many blows as he could from his traitorous sons.
"It's nothing really personal against you, father." Prometheus grunted as he and Epimetheus laid into him with a shower of blows from both sides, giving their parent no quarter with their assault, as he barely managed to avoid the worst of their strikes from landing home. "It's more both of us being fed up with Kronos than anything else, and the other side offering a better deal for us then what we were getting."
"Hmph! So, you were swayed by the mere promise of a higher standing then. How utterly foolish!" Iapetus scoffed, only to wheeze in pain a second later, as Prometheus broke through his guard and buried his fist into his sternum. The blow somewhat bending the older Titan down over his forearm with blood spitting from his maw.
"More like I saw what the future held for this war, and decided I'd rather have some autonomy over my own than just sit back and fight a losing battle for a side I no longer care for." Prometheus sniped back, getting a widening of the eyes from his old man before Epimetheus wound in and clapped him across the face with a punch that rang out for miles with the crunch of bone and a solid shockwave that snapped his body back. The older titan's form being sent flying off with his nose caved into his face and the spritz of ichor where he'd been.
"Let's keep on him. He's our responsibility, after all." Epimetheus said with a thin smile and a glance to his older brother. Inwardly not all that happy about fighting his dad like this, and he knew Prometheus wasn't very much either, even if they were on opposing sides, but was willing to do what needed to be done regardless.
"Yeah. Let's go!" Prometheus nodded back in agreement, as the two brothers then shot down for their streaking father with the full intent to either defeat, or at least, keep him totally occupied.
In the meantime, Pallas found the dozens of allies around him getting swiftly and resoundingly defeated, with their broken bodies tossed to the wayside down to Earth one after the other by four blurred, speeding figures. Their divine-aura coated bodies zipping around him as they cut off any possible close aid he could've had, before they slowed down and surrounded him from his front, back and sides.
"Good morning to you, father. Been awhile, hasn't it?" Bia greeted with faux-kindness, waving almost mockingly at her father who glared back. Now almost completely over Pan's screech from before, as his body tensed up.
"You four really intend on opposing me with your mother, huh?" He asked, more rhetorically than anything as his head and eyes moved to look at each of his spawn for the first time in months. "I honestly fail to see what she and you four viewed as so wrong with Kronos' rule that you were willing to switch sides and face me like this. You are aware of the fate that'll befall you all for continuing this revolt effort of yours, should you lose this war, right?"
"Of course, they are. You complete oaf." Styx's voice spoke stingingly from above the 2nd generation Titan, bringing is attention upward to meet the icy gaze of his wife, as her arms folded beneath her chest. "Unlike you, they could listen to reason and could see everything wrong with how things were, just as I did. And the only side that'll be losing this war, is the one you foolishly chose to side with over us."
"Tch. You really are something else, you know that?" Pallas grunted in displeasure as his body tensed for battle. "I'm really starting to wonder how I was ever drawn to you."
That last bit only earned him an amused smile from the eldest Oceanid. "I could say the same to you, Pallas. About the only thing I'd say you were ever good for, in hindsight, was impregnating me with our wonderful children." Turning away from him and her children then, Styx's eyes zoned in ahead of her to the chariot of Krios, and then of Koios, as she sensed the two glaring back her way and theirs. Neither attempting to ascend to their higher form just yet. Which whatever the reason for that was, she was fine with. A battle in base meant no concern for getting knocked out potentially for an extended period of time, after all.
"You four be sure to take good care of your father without me for now." She said to her children, as she saw both Titan brothers tensing up and getting ready to attack. "I'd love to join you in teaching your awful father a lesson, but it'd appear I'm needed elsewhere for now."
With her piece said, and getting a nod or grunt of acknowledgement from her children, Styx burst forth towards the Titan brothers, who did the same toward her. Or perhaps in Krios' case, attempting to get past her to help out Pallas.
She would not allow that, and so made a bee-line for Krios first. Her body spinning around as she flew forward and propelling a foot out with her blue aura fully up, which slammed into the Titan's forearm as he blocked it. The force behind it still sending him back a good few dozen metres, as she used the force from her own blow to spin her body around at an angle and block Koios' oncoming punch with the knee of the same curvy leg.
"Hmph! You intend to fight us both by yourself, Styx?" Koios scoffed, as the two struggled against the other for dominance. "I do believe you might be biting off a bit more than you can chew with that kind of decision."
"I couldn't care less what you believe, Koios!" Styx grunted, noticing from the corner of her eye that Krios had turned his attention away from her, and was now bull-rushing towards her children and Pallas. The latter of which had left his chariot and was now bobbing and weaving his way through as many attacks as he could from his four spawn. "If taking you both on is what I must do, then I shall do so!"
With that uttered unflinchingly, Styx surprised Koios by disengaging from their brief battle for dominance and spinning around, effectively giving her enemy her back. The Titan, realising that she was going to try and fly away to intercept his brother, made to grab for her hair to yank her back, only to get the wind partially driven out of him, as the soles of both her feet planted themselves into his solar plexus for but the smallest of instants. The moving stunning him just long enough for Styx to create a burst of air using him as a springboard and launch herself towards Krios again at blinding speeds.
"Tch! Damn bitch!" He roared out, unable to do much in that moment as she shot toward his brother like a bullet.
Krios took notice however and positioned himself properly to defend himself with a forearm block as she propelled into him with a strong punch of her own. A shockwave billowing out as Krius kept himself from being launched backward this time, though he did still grunt at the effort needed to take her attack. "Ugh!... damn, you're a nuisance!..."
Pumping more power into his arm, he pushed it out and managed to throw hers back. His aura rising like a flame as he threw a punch of his own which she ducked under before throwing another of her own right back for his gut, which he blocked the same way she'd done, with a knee. And as soon as both pushed back from the other, their auras spiked as a rapid-fire exchange of blows occurred, both battling for supremacy as they swung with a mixture of light and heavy punches and kicks to either slip or break through their opponent's guard. Neither giving way as they blocked, parried and evaded the others strikes.
Styx' divine senses kicked into overdrive however, and warned her of another enemy's swift approach just as a forearm clash between her and Krios forced them away from each other. The Oceanid's body being a little too slow in this instance to react in time, however, and as a consequence, all she could do was turn a little before the air was knocked out of her lungs and mouth. Spittle mixed with ichor flying out of her yawning maw as a pair of feminine feet all but drilled themselves into her gut.
The momentum of the attack was enough to send both her and the assailant shooting back as little more than a blur into the hide of Mount Olympus. A heavy gust of air billowing from the spot where the Oceanid had been, a sizeable shockwave passing all over the mountain itself shortly thereafter as Styx' body impacted into it back-first. A small dust cloud getting kicked up as her body indented into the absurdly durable mountain, before a snarl echoed out, the cloud getting blasted away with another shockwave, as a dainty fist smashed into Styx' face.
Past the pale knuckles breaking and smushing her nose into her face with twin spouts of ichor coming out of her nostrils, Styx grunted in pain as she saw none other than Theia right on top of her. The Titaness looking downright furious, as she thrust forth a front-kick that bashed into her sternum, sending rivulets of blood catapulting from Styx's open mouth, as she felt the bone crack and fragment from the blow, as it kicked up another shockwave and pushed her further inside her own indentation.
"You fucking bitch!" Theia screamed angrily, the muscles all around her shapely form tensed beneath her flaring, sapphire aura, as she followed that kick up with a wild, dangerous flurry of hellish punches and kicks. Her limbs thrusting and flying forth in fast, punishing blows that sent a plethora more of shockwaves around the majestic mountain, breaking plenty of Styx' bones and mangling her gorgeous features into a bloody, pulped mess as she forced deeper still into the mountain. Parts of broken teeth flinging from her gums occasionally, as she brutalised beneath the powerful Titaness' onslaught.
"Where is my brother-husband!?" Another infuriated cry came out, Theia being almost bestial, as she continued to lay into Styx with godly bone-breaking force. "What have you done with him you damn bitch!?"
A hand struck out to catch her latest punch successfully, but Theia only snarled again and grabbed her fellow Titaness' wrist with her other hand, forcefully yanking her out from the mountain's hide and ramming a knee straight into her gut that drove what was left of the wind out of her temporarily wrecked lungs. The features of Styx face, mashed up as they were, already beginning to mend themselves before Theia grabbed on to the back of her head, spun her around and then slammed her face-first into the mountain with a harsh CRUNCH!
"We'll leave Styx to Theia. She can manage her well enough on her own." Krios called out to his brother, getting a nod in turn as both began turning away from the two female deities. The Titan's eyes zoning back in on his son, as he desperately did what he could to defend and evade his own four spawn's attacks. "Let us move forth now and give Pallas our aid!"
Neither made it far though, barely moving a foot ahead before the two were forced to narrowly dodge out of the way, and then continue dodging around, as a hail of seemingly pressurized, shockwave projectiles imbued with divine power rained down over them. Their holy skin and flesh getting sheared through here and there, sending small spurts and streams of ichor out from several sections of their bodies, as they were still grazed by a number of the razor-sharp attacks.
"Neither of you two bastards are going anywhere on our watch." Both turned their heads up, partially to the side, as the downpour of sharp attacks ended. Their wide eyes landing on the floating form of Poseidon, with his trident drawn and pointed down at them, blades dripping in both their divine blood, showing that not all of those attacks had been ranged ones. The young god having manoeuvred his way back around after dealing with the lesser gods.
"Agh!... First Styx and now yourself! What makes you think you can hold off the both of us alone?" Koios growled up at him, as both he and his brother glared at the recently born deity.
"Alone?" Poseidon smirked. "You old timers must be hard of hearing! I do believe I said our watch, if I'm not mistaken!"
Before either Titan had time to process that fully, both found their jaws getting belaboured into by an invisible force, cracking them and snapping their heads away as their bodies were sent soaring away in somewhat of a tumble in opposite directions.
Meanwhile, Theia's grip over Styx's head was broken, as the rebel Titaness swung her heel up behind her and struck the consort of Hyperion in the chin. The blow snapping her head back and stunning her just long enough to allow Styx to turn away from the mountain, mashed features mending rapidly, as she grabbed the older Titaness by the back of her head, and smashed her face-first into the mountain, just as she 'd done to her. Digging her face as deep as she could into deific, rocky hide.
Her vicious streak came out with a vengeance then as she moved forward at high speed, grinding the Titaness' face over and along the divinely durable mountain hard enough to dig a trench with it. The Titaness's blood oozing over the rocky trench, as skin and flesh was ripped from her features over the course of a dozen metres long drag in a savagely violent display. All before she was wrenched free from the mountain at the end, Styx snarling herself as she forcefully tossed the facially shredded Titaness with a booming shockwave far off into the distance.
The powerful Oceanid then briefly turned her gaze to Poseidon, who whistled at her brutal counter, and then to the space that Krios and Koios had previously occupied, where she knew Hades to be. The 2nd generation Titaness giving both young gods a nod of trust which both – even though one couldn't be seen – returned, before each fired off in a different direction. Poseidon moving toward Koios, Hades toward Krios, and of course, Styx toward Theia.
Watching all this carnage play out from his position away from the action, Kronos' scowled darkly over at the barrier after a moment, glaring at where he knew Metis must've been viewing the action herself.
Her absence as of now, along with her being the one to have answered him earlier, gave him the strong suspicion she was the one behind everything the other side had done so far. That being the case, she was quite the clever little girl, managing to turn his siege on its head and put them on the backfoot in no time at all with their forces.
How incredibly irksome… but not unmanageable just yet.
There were multiple reasons related to each other that he'd elected to have his stronger forces hold back and not enter into their ascended states before or at the beginning of the battle. And his intuition to hold back during the beginning instead of going all-in had been rewarded. He hadn't known of Pan siding with them before, but now he did, and knew to be wary of his presence, as did his army now.
He alone, had they rushed in with their full might, would've made things even worse than they were now, had that infernal screech gone off while they were ascended. Because factoring in its disorienting effects alongside a number of their allies being able to ascend as well, things would've been uglier for his side for sure had they thrown all their pieces unto the board at once.
And that was just with Pan's intervention. Those blasted Hekatonkheires, which he knew must've been allied with the rebel faction, had yet to make an appearance. And as daunting as they were out in the open, Kronos would've honesty felt more at ease if he could see them in front of him right now, rather than not at all. Because all that told him, was that most likely, those massive, hundred-handed brothers of his were being hidden from sight until a later time. And not knowing where or when they could attack had the Titan lord incredibly on edge, for good reason, and acted as yet another big reason he hadn't charged in full-force from the start.
Because forget Pan. Those monsters alone, if they got the drop on them, could do a severe amount of damage to his army and brethren. Doubly so even in their True Divine Forms, because those monsters were powerful enough to match them on their own, and he knew from experience that in terms of raw, physical might, only he and Atlas at their best could fend off a full-scale attack from all three of them. The others wouldn't fare well, and the weaker ones especially would get flat-lined even faster than they were now.
Much as he wanted to crush them, he couldn't rush in blindly. Until he had a better understanding of what they'd have to deal with. They had the upper hand for now, what with his damned children and their allies running through his forces mostly, but that could certainly be changed, he felt. Atlas, he knew, was not preoccupied and was clutching on to a lower section of the mountain after taking Pan's scream the hardest, his disorientation shook off by now, and was already looking up with the intent to re-enter the fray.
Their weaker allies were being bashed away by the opposition's forces, while his brothers and sister were now locked in battles of their own with the stronger gods of the enemy side. Those who'd fallen already, he got the feeling, wouldn't have it any better once they reached the ground, as if Pan was down there, his followers weren't far behind.
And then there's still him to look out for… Kronos thought darkly, the image of Beerus in his mind. He has yet to show himself in this conflict. I do not know why that is, but it is concerning. Is he hiding until the right moment, like the Hekatonkheires likely are, just waiting for his moment to strike with some secret weapon? Or is something else at play here?
He highly doubted, after all, that after what his eldest son had said to him back then, that he'd have on involvement in a battle like this. Sure, his words could've been little more than a boast, but after doing what he did back all those days ago in their fortress, Kronos didn't buy that for a second. He simply had to be involved in this defence strategy of theirs in some way. It made little sense to him that that bastard son of his wouldn't be.
And considering that he was his primary target for this siege, he damn well would love to know what exactly he was up to or prepping for, most likely still within that mountain's barrier. All whilst his brothers and sisters, seemingly bar one other from his headcount, were out here fighting.
"Perhaps it's about time I try and figure that one out myself." Kronos whispered to himself in suspicion, as he brought his scythe back up over his shoulder. His aura flaming around him as his trusted weapon glowed a sickly, darker red than himself. "That barrier can take one good hit from me, but if I barrage it, I know I can get it to collapse and make my way down there."
He acknowledged the possibility he might be rushing into a trap, but right now, with the biggest thorn in his side unaccounted for as of yet, he was willing to take such a risk.
Before he could attack the barrier again, however, his senses kicked into high gear, and he was forced to dodge out of the way as a massive lightning bolt dropped down where he'd been, lighting and electrifying the cloud he'd previously been camped by.
"I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to refrain from attacking our barrier, father, for you have more to worry about now than trying to crack your way into our abode." The king of the universe shot his annoyed, but calculative gaze up at the masculine voice speaking down to him, who'd been brave and stupid enough to get in his way personally.
With his godly thunderbolt clutched in hand, and muscles tensed and ready for a harsh fight, Zeus glared down at his father, with his electric blue eyes having sparks of lightning crackling around them menacingly.
"I'd advise you to get ready, old-timer. Because I'm about to make you regret not ascending when you had the chance!"
AND CUT!
Phew… Okay, that's this one done. And unfortunately, it comes with some bit of bad news.
I hate to say it, but I'm going to have to delay the third chapter of this month into February. The reason is simply to do with the work from college and such getting in the way again, more than I'd expected. I know I'm going back on my word again, and I apologise for that, but I really didn't have the time to smack all three out of the way, like I'd thought I would, and I really don't want to try and rush the third chapter out by the end of tomorrow, because while it's been started, its nowhere close to done. I prefer whatever I put out to you guys to be at least somewhat decent, and to do that, I know I can't rush this too much. If I were close to half way done, I'd go for it and see if I could pull it off, but I only have like 600 words out of a potential 12K chapter penned right now.
Yeah, as gung-ho as I was before about getting them out no matter the cost, I'm not stupid enough to think I can blitz through 11K+ words potentially in only a day, with the other stuff I've got to do on top of that. There's simply just no way, no matter how much I wish there was.
So, in other words, you'll be getting two chapters in February. Originally only going to be one, so I could put my focus on other things, like college of course, and one or two of my other fics that have been neglected long enough. Now it'll be two, with January's last chapter being the first, of course. Know this isn't the ideal I set out, but sometimes, or I guess with me its quite a bit, fate just has other plans.
In any case, I hope you all got some enjoyment out of the chapter, and I'll see you in the next one!