Chapter 79: The gates of the Underworld; The fight is over
"Talking"
'Thinking'
"Ghost Rider"
"Memory"
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Themyscira, in the fight
Edgar POV
'Shit' was my only thought as I 'saw' that again I had made a mistake. Again I had failed. I knew Ares was mine. A little more and his flesh, which by the way was quite resilient due to his divine power, would have turned to mere ashes.
But no. I was wrong again. And I let my confidence make me let my guard down. The same thing happened with Doomsday. I thought I had him, but my confidence made me slow and I let Sabbac take his head.
These mistakes had consequences. Doomsday was a murderous monster. An evolutionary killing machine that wanted only destruction. And Sabbac, or well, the Obscurus organization have in their possession such a weapon.
The consequence this time, for being oblivious to my surroundings and letting Ares use his power to control the sword and destroy the chains, were just as bad as the other time. The gates of the Underworld were open. And the queen, Hippolyta, was no longer there to stop it.
"Whosh!"
A strong wind, bringing macabre sensations, flooded the room. From there, I could feel the atmosphere in the room change to one of despair and death.
These winds felt as if spirits from beyond came out and flooded the room with their pain, bringing to the 'bones' of my body a slight ghoulish sensation.
Even with my fire, I could feel the room turning cold. As if this room was now synonymous with death.
But that wasn't the worst of it. Not even a little bit. For just at that, the room began to shake.
"BOOM, BOOM!"
"BOOM, BOOM!"
"BOOM, BOOM!"
If before Ares had made this room shake with his power, now it felt as if dozens of this god would bring out all their aura making the room vibrate uncontrollably.
And all because, in the distance, in the Underworld, millions of mythological dark beings were running rampant when they saw that the gates were open. A stampede of madness was approaching and threatening to come out and destroy everything in its path.
'Double shit' I thought. Thousands of thoughts raced through my head trying to find a solution.
Although my thoughts were running through my head, still, I could feel Ares get up and walk limping to the exit of the room. The smell of blood mixed with the charring of his skin, could make me 'see' him leave in pain. My radar could even notice as he gave one last glance towards where I was.
This alone made me feel a huge rage. I could feel the happiness in his feelings. He had achieved his goal. He had tricked me.
Unfortunately, as much as I wanted to go and keep burning him, it was counterproductive to do so. My energy was limited at this stage. And I had already expended enough of my power in the fight against Ares.
I knew that, if I turned around and kept burning him, I would eventually kill him. But that would prevent me from being able to solve the problem of the Underworld gates.
The problem wasn't that they were very powerful beings. Because in general, The Justice League and the Amazons are much stronger than these mythological monsters. The real problem was the absurd amount of them threatening to come out.
A battle-weary Justice League and Amazons would simply succumb to this army of monsters. And that was something that I, for one, had a job to do to avoid.
My mistake. I have to fix it myself. There was no doubt about that.
So I didn't stop Ares from leaving. As much as I wanted to, I didn't. I just ate my courage and swore that I would kill him next time. And, above all, that this time I would not trust. This time I would make sure to kill him.
'Your days are numbered, Ares'
That was my last thought before Ares teleported away and left me alone in the room.
"Well, now to make amends for my mistake" I muttered. There were several thoughts in my head. Good ideas about how to resolve this situation. And ones that surely wouldn't work.
I had, because of the speed of the monsters running and the distance they had to travel, a minute and a half to close the gates if I didn't want anyone to escape. So whatever I wanted to do, I had to be quick.
The first thing I did was to approach the gates and feel it with my hands. The gates were opening outwards, that is, towards the Underworld. In other words, whatever I did, I had to do it inside where the monsters were.
The room had no lever, no extra locking mechanism I could use to force the door shut. I mean, the door, it was a simple door, more or less iron from what I could feel, nothing special. They were heavy, that's for sure, but not that heavy either.
I tried to move the gates, and sure enough, as I suspected, they did not move an inch. It looked like the gates was simply stuck in the floor. The funny thing is that when you tried to open them a little more, i.e. force the door open further, they moved easily.
Conclusion. The door was easy to open, but impossible to close.
This caused a thought to come into my head. The memory of Hippolyta's words came into my head. Specifically, when she said to me:
"But I can't leave. If Ares should ever open the gates, I am the only one with the authority on the entire island to close them. Not even Diana has that power"
'Authority...authority is the key'
It wasn't about strength. It wasn't about power. It was a question of AUTHORITY. Hippolyta was the queen, and I was certain that this island commanded her orders. That is, that she had the authority to close these gates with her voice or with her command.
I already had an idea of how to resolve this. But I had to confirm my second theory. So I bent down, and picked up the chains that Ares' sword destroyed. As I suspected, as well as the gates, they were simple chains.
The funny thing is that when you put the two destroyed parts together, they started to generate an energy that was not unusual in my knowledge. It was divine energy. A magical signature was flowing in these chains when it was not destroyed. Which made the chains the impediment for the doors to reopen.
These chains had the power of the gods in them. If I could guess, of Zeus or Hades. But that was a mere suspicion.
What he was certain, was that in these chains did not flow the power of Ares. For if it had, he would not have needed to destroy them by force.
Finally, I knew what to do.
One would think the best thing to do would be to call the queen and ask her to use her authority to close the gates.
But one, she was badly wounded and I sent her away for the same. Perhaps by now, my bike has already taken her to the castle or some infirmary.
And two, the truth is, I was embarrassed to ask her. I had told her that I had things under control and... I felt sorry for her to see my mistake.
I was afraid that the favorable thoughts, which Diana said she had towards me, would vanish because of this mistake.
You can't blame me. You always want to look good to the in-laws of the girl you like. Let them see your good sides. Not your faults.
Besides, like I said, this was my mistake. Therefore, I had to fix it.
I no longer hesitated. I knew what to do. But before I did, I had to take care of the vermin that approached faster than I thought.
I thought I would have more than a minute, but barely 40 seconds had passed and they were already less than 200 meters away from the door. Those creatures were fast.
"First, to fumigate this pest"
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General POV
Edgar, knowing what to do and with renewed resolve, entered the gates of the Underworld. He walked slowly until he was a good 20 meters away. In the distance you could see not 10, 100, but millions of monsters of all sizes and shapes.
Flying, the furies. Giants that with every step they took, they shook the earth. Minotaurs running at thunderous speed threatening to destroy everything in their path. Gorgons crawling with their serpentine bodies. Cerberuses with teeth and claws so big and sharp they would cut through skin like butter.
Wherever you looked, everyone was a deadly threat. Edgar, less than 100 meters from them, looked like an ant in a stampede of elephants. But he didn't waver a bit. His resolve was absolute.
Edgar just waited. And waited and waited. He waited for them to come closer before finally acting. One thought came into his head as he waited for these monsters to approach.
'I have never used my full power. Even to this day, I never have. Even with Doomsday I had to restrain myself to keep the fire from spreading and destroying the city. This is the first time I'm going to unleash myself'
When the monsters got close enough, Edgar moved. He crouched down and placed his hands on the ground. As he did so he could feel each approaching signature. Every step each monster took.
He also contemplated the wind, the smell and the atmosphere. He took into consideration each flying being that threatened to approach. He began to note eeach signature of every being in the stampede.
When he finished noticing each presence, he finally summoned his power
"SHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU"
If earlier the tornado Edgar generated to incinerate Doomsday was thought to be impressive, what was happening now could not be described.
A mad, unbridled flare erupted from Edgar's hands. From the ground, this flare mixed with the wind generating a dark red firestorm. This flare ran like a racehorse looking to reach the finish line. Like a predator looking for its prey.
At this moment, Edgar was unleashing ALL his power. All his heat. All his firepower. The red fire, that fire he has been perfecting with arduous training, at this moment had turned the entire Underworld into Hell itself.
The earth began to melt. The sky changed to a powerful red. The air turned to bursts of fire. Hell had broken loose. And all at the hands of the Ghost Rider.
When the fire touched the monsters, they could do nothing. At the slightest touch they... simply melted away. They vanished into ash dust. The flying creatures dropped like flies before turning to dust.
The temperature and power of the fire was such that even those ashes began to melt and evaporate, causing what little trace of the monsters to simply vanish, as if they had never been there.
It didn't even last a minute when Edgar finally stopped summoning his power. Slowly the flare, that flare that made the Underworld begin to melt, began to subside. The firestorm began to subside. And the sky gradually returned to the dull gray it had been.
However, the monsters.... The monsters were gone.
There was not a trace of them. Not a trace of a stampede. Not a trace that there was even anything there.
The only trace left was the melted floor as if lava had terraformed the area, and the wind smelling of sulfur and carbon dioxide.
"How tiring" Edgar muttered. He now understood that unleashing full firepower made his body and mind suffer unparalleled fatigue. However, even though he felt tired, another thought was invading his mind.
'Impressive'
The most surprised of all by this display of power was Edgar himself. He now realized that a Rider could indeed destroy the world. Just one minute and he'd undone the Underworld. At least a good couple of kilometers from the place. The worst part was that he couldn't control it. The destruction was even. It did not discriminate against any being.
Edgar's conclusion was that this attack was quite powerful, but quite dangerous. An attack he would only make if he was in a desperate situation. And an attack he had to think of a way to perfect.
"It's not over yet"
Edgar turned around and, despite the sheer fatigue he was feeling, forced himself to walk towards the exit. It wasn't over yet. It would probably take time for these monsters to reform, but, even so, they would try to get back out. The gates of the Underworld needed to be closed.
Edgar knocked on the door, and generated his power again, this time in a controlled manner. He did not seek to destroy it but to transform it with his power.
Fire began to bathe the door. Making its appearance begin to change to a more retro look very much in the style of Ghost Rider. There were even several skull-shaped reliefs when the fire finished transforming the door. Obviously, the door continued to be bathed in Edgar's fire.
When it finally finished transforming from Edgar's power, Edgar simply commanded.
"CLOSE!"
Like the most loyal soldier following the general's orders, the doors began to slowly close at Edgar's voice command.
As he had thought, these doors were being closed by authority. Authority that Edgar did not have, but had gained by using his power.
This has a very simple explanation. When Edgar transforms any weapon with his fire, be it swords, his chain or otherwise, he is technically endowing them with his power. He is bathing them in his fire. But, he is also showing them his authority.
Authority that he, at that moment, is the master of those weapons.
Therefore, with his fire, he tricked the door into believing that his master is Edgar. And that his voice is the commands it has to follow without question.
The door, after a few long seconds, closed. But now, Edgar had to put the chains on.
He took the chains and generated his fire in them again. With a quick movement, he began to twist the chains on the door, making them tighten and tighten on it.
Even though they were broken, Edgar's fire was practically welding them back together, like a blacksmith using his fire to temper the chain.
As before, when they came back together, the chains began to let the power of the gods flow into them. As Edgar had suspected, in these chains lay the power of Zeus, who gave his last magic to imprison Ares before he perished.
Before, the door had no chains, but Zeus in locking up his son thought he needed extra security to keep him from leaving the Underworld. And that is why he imbued these chains with his power. Power that was still intact when Edgar joined the chains together.
After a long minute, the chains lay intact, binding the gates of the Underworld as if they had never been destroyed. Edgar had done it.
When it was all over, Edgar simply stopped his transformation and dropped to the floor panting.
"Whew, whew, whew, whew, whew, whew, I made it"
'I'm so sleepy'
Was the last thought Edgar had before his eyes closed and his breathing calmed down from sleep.
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(AN: to avoid confusion. I will call the Diana created by Tezcatlipoca as 'D' (Evil Diana), and Diana will be the Wonder Woman we know)
"How can you possibly be so strong" said D, as she tried to defend herself with her sword from Diana's onslaught.
They had barely spent a couple of minutes fighting, but Diana was showing her that she was the definition of a warrior machine. Something that frankly D couldn't understand.
Despite being a construct created by Tezcatlipoca, such a construct was supposed to be the ultimate version of Diana. The perfect warrior. And yet, she couldn't even scratch her. Try as she might, she couldn't hurt our favorite Amazon warrior.
Diagonal slashes, horizontal slashes, punch combos, using the lasso, nothing could stop Diana who, at this moment, was bringing out her full potential. If Edgar or anyone in the League saw the Diana of this moment fighting, they could easily see that she was always holding back in training.
At this moment she was not holding back. The force of her blows, the power of her kicks, even the slashes of her sword were so powerful that D could only try to defend herself so as not to get hurt so badly.
Even if Diana wasn't as strong as Superman, or as smart as Batman, that doesn't mean she was any less dangerous. She was the ultimate warrior. The perfect Amazon in every aspect.
Even if she sometimes had difficulties in fights against strong opponents, she overcame them by learning as the fight went on. She herself had an unlimited combative evolution factor. Something that D, could never have. Since she was a mere mental construct of Tezcatlipoca based on how little or how much she knew the Amazon.
And that was the big difference. Tezcatlipoca had created this simulation thinking that Diana was being held back by her morality and justice. Because of her ideals. Ideals that made her limit herself when it came to fighting and that held back her potential. A hidden potential that he was sure she had no idea of.
But that was a mistake. Diana was not made weak by her morality. It was her morality that made her the strong woman she is. It was her motivation to fight for justice, love and kindness that made her never stop or give up.
Diana didn't care about those morals at this moment, though. At this moment she was not fighting for justice or goodness.
She had only one thought. Destroy the face of this bitch with blows who deigned to speak so of her beloved.
Diana threw her fist hard into D's plexus, connecting a good hook to her liver. D gasped as she felt all the air leave her body. She bent over a little from this pain.
Diana took advantage of this and grabbed her by the head. Then, with force, she grabbed her and threw a hard knee right in the nose. Then another. And then another. Each knee she delivered made D a bloody mess. D's nose was slowly coming undone from so many blows Diana was giving her.
D threw an elbow in anger, but Diana intercepted the elbow easily and then used that same momentum to put her in an armlock. D gasped in pain, and could only stomp on Diana's foot to break free.
D, now freed, did a sweep on Diana, but Diana managed to jump and avoid being knocked down. D, seeing that she had missed, wanted to get up fast, but just at that, Diana's lasso grabbed her by the neck and held her on the ground.
"Fucking bitch... agh, agh, agh" she wanted to insult Diana, but D couldn't finish speaking when the lasso started to tighten leaving her without air. Diana was tightening the lasso without caring about this woman's suffering.
However, when it was thought she was going to suffocate to death, Diana let her go. However, she did not stop making her suffer. She reached over and plunged her sword right into her chest.
"AHHHHHHHH" D screamed in pain. The worst part is that Diana cut in a non-lethal place. Meaning, she only did it to make her suffer slowly so she wouldn't die until she felt all the pain in the world. Then she slowly pulled out her sword, generating more pain for D.
If Diana was thought to be someone kind and good before, at this moment, it didn't show. The Diana of this moment wore an emotionless face, but her actions were the definition of ruthless.
And that is because, for the first time, Diana really hated someone. She truly, wholeheartedly, wanted to make this woman who had her face and her body features suffer. This pirate version of her.
"I've had enough of playing with you. Even though it hurts that it's my voice and face, it was satisfying to watch you suffer. But it's time for me to go help Edgar. It's time for you to die" Diana said with a coldness in her voice that sent a chill down D's back. She knew she had no chance of saving herself. Her days were numbered. And her executioner, was right in front of her.
However, she was not going to leave without playing one last card up her sleeve. A card she would only play in desperate moments. And this was that desperate moment.
D began to change her features. All the skin, flesh and bones began to transfigure at an incredible speed changing her entire appearance from a carbon copy of Diana to another person.
Her shoulders began to swell. Her skin became browner. Her hair became shorter. Her eyes also changed color. In the end, all that remained was an exact copy of Edgar.
That's right, at this point, D had become like Edgar. But this Edgar wore a totally terrified face. Terrified of Diana herself.
!!!!!!!
This transformation shocked Diana. Stopping her from her actions. D, in her Edgar form, began to plead.
"Diana, it's me, Edgar. Please have mercy. I... I love you. If you kill me, we'll never be together"
Diana began to tremble. Her hands began to tremble, causing her sword, which had previously seemed steady and ready to kill, to begin to quiver with hesitation.
D smiled inwardly. Her magic card had worked. Diana's only weakness was Edgar. She would never hurt him. And that, to D, was great news. For Diana began to let her guard down.
D, seeing Diana let her guard down due to her doubts and erratic thoughts, began to approach her sword discreetly. When she took it, she gathered momentum and prepared to slash. As she did so, she never stopped acting like a pleading Edgar.
"Diana, please, I beg you, don't kill me, you're not a murderer. I... I... I... I don't want to die. I beg you"
'Yes, let your guard down more'
Diana was still hesitating. Her thoughts were racing a mile a minute. When D readied the thrust, and had her weapon ready and primed, she moved.
"Die, bitc-"
"SHING!"
..
..
..
D never registered when she had only taken one step, and now her head was severed from her body.
She could never feel when Diana had decapitated her in one movement.
She did not register the speed. Nor the movement of her sword. Nothing.
She simply lay there, decapitated, looking at her headless body still kneeling.
The last thought she had was a 'How did she do it?'
Diana left her act in doubt. All the trembling, and her conflicted face was merely an act to make D think she had believed her act. She never believed it. Not even close.
Maybe she looked like Edgar. He talked like Edgar. But her actions, those pleading actions, Edgar would never do. Edgar would never beg.
"My Edgar is strong and brave. Not a coward like you, bitch"
D was dead.
Diana had beheaded her without hesitation. And she felt satisfied in doing so. After a few seconds, everything began to crumble into thousands of shadow dusts. The whole place began to fade away, bringing Diana back to reality.
When it was over, Diana returned to the forest where she had fought with Tezcatlipoca, but the god was nowhere to be found. Even the dark dome had vanished. The forest had returned to normal.
Diana no longer sensed any divine signature in the forest. In fact, she could feel in the distance how the divine signatures on the beach were fading away one by one as a sign that the gods were retreating. The fight, it was over.
But that didn't interest Diana. She had only one thought.
'Edgar!'
Diana ran to the chamber where the gates to the Underworld was located. When she arrived, there she saw an Edgar lying on the wall. His eyes closed, and his breathing calm. Diana thought the worst.
"EDGAR!"
Diana quickly picked him up, and checked his body for injuries. She let out a sigh of relief when she noticed that Edgar was only suffering from exhaustion. And he had no serious injuries on his body. Now she understood that he was simply asleep.
Edgar was awakened from his sleep by Diana's alarmed voice. When he sensed that she was at his side, he smiled.
"How was your fight?"
"Easy. Though Tezcatlipoca escaped, and yours?"
"Easy, though Ares escaped. And opened the gates to the Underworld, but I figured it out. By the way, your mom is fine. I don't know where she is, but my bike took her to safety"
"Sigh. To Hera. That's such a relief. Thank you, love. I also felt the gods were retreating. The fight is over"
"Perfect, now if you'll excuse me, I want to sleep, I'm very tired" Edgar snuggled into Diana's arms. Slowly, sleep overcame him and he fell asleep again.
Diana stroked Edgar's hair. A beautiful smile of affection and love could be seen on her face as she watched her beloved surrender to Morpheus. Now calmer, and seeing that there were no more problems, she turned her head to analyze the room.
It was a mess. A reminder of the hard fight that Ares, Edgar and maybe her mother, for sure, had in this room. Also, from the soot on the gates, and the chains, she could tell how Edgar had been able to close the doors to the Underworld. Now she understood why he was tired. He had surely expended a lot of energy avoiding a major disaster.
Diana looked lovingly at Edgar again. Reaching over, she gave Edgar a tender kiss on the lips.
"Rest, love. You've earned it"
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"My princess, the queen has sent me to fetch you" Ariel's voice was heard, as said Amazon approached where Diana was cuddling Edgar.
Diana, simply waved her hand at her to keep it down. Ariel nodded in understanding. Diana gently put Edgar down and walked out of the room with Ariel. When she was outside, she finally spoke normally.
"Now, Ariel. You can tell me now what my mother told you, is she all right?"
Ariel nodded. "Yes, my princess. Don't worry. She has already been attended to by the best doctors on the island. She is in no danger. But she needs rest. A couple of days and she'll be as good as new"
"That's a relief. I've been worried sick"
"She sent me to see if there hadn't been any trouble with Mr. Edgar and you. I'm glad to see that nothing serious has happened"
"No. Everything's fine. Thank you for your concern, Ariel. But tell my mother that unfortunately Ares escaped. Ariel, do you know what the gods were looking for or why they attacked the island?"
"Yes, in fact, that was the second thing I had to tell you, my princess. The queen has requested that a search be made of the entire island for places invaded by the gods. The investigation has compiled that there were two violations at sacred sites. The weapons room and the library"
"By Hera. And what did they take?"
"From the weapons room, nothing. Artemis defended it well and prevented any theft. But from the library we still don't know. Alexa is investigating right now looking for a missing book or document"
Diana brought her hands thoughtfully to her face. It was all clear to her now. Ares had done everything to take something from the island.
Weapons, there were plenty of dangerous ones in the armory. But what he had taken from the library was a mystery. There were many books. But all public knowledge for the Amazons. Nothing secret.
"I understand. Thank you, Ariel. Tell my mother I'll be over in a little while to see her. There is much to discuss"
"Yes, my princess. She also asked me to tell you to let The Justice League know if they can send a couple of their representatives to the meeting. The queen feels this is a matter that concerns the whole world, not just Themyscira. And, also, you should let your colleagues know that the barrier is going to be restored in about 10 minutes, so they can take that into consideration with their tech machines"
"Thank you, Ariel. I'll let them know right now"
Ariel nodded and with a small bow left on her way to the castle. Diana didn't wait and quickly activated her communicator to communicate with the Justice League.
"Wonder Woman to the Justice League, do you copy?"
The one who answered was Batman.
"We copy you, Wonder Woman, how's the situation on your side?"
"All good here. Ares escaped, though. How's it on your side?"
"Also the gods escaped. But there is a situation..."
These words of Batman began to generate a fear in Diana. Perhaps a tragedy had occurred. She hoped that no one had died in this fight. She didn't want to see any more friends die.
"What happened, did... did someone die?"
"No. Just a couple of injuries, but nothing serious. The problem is... Cyborg isn't responding to communications and his signal is down"
"What do you mean...?"
"What I mean is... Cyborg has been kidnapped by the gods"
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AN:
Next: Abduction
Next Next: Deal with the devil
Next Next..... Next: Thor vs Wonder Woman
My P@treon
TioIroh99 (10 chapters ahead)
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