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Ariadne and the Tales of Heroes This story is of my own creation based on historical events or mysterious happenings here on Earth. Tags: Swearing, Violence, Blood, Execution, Graphic, Drama, Love, Pregnancy, History, Myth, Gods, Religious Disclaimer: This story is a collection of stories dealing with mythological stories, and historical events. This version is the no-sex version. Sex is led and implied between characters but the sexual scenes are omitted (Both the Erotic version and No-Sex version are canon to this universe). This story is historical fiction or close to accurate with what-ifs with historical events serving as a backdrop. Careful attention to detail on historical accounts was made and liberties were used to ensure story flow. No intention is made by the writer to devalue religious or mythological views that some may hold sacred. With that being said reader discretion is advised. By CMed Prologue

What if we live in a world that the deities exist? What if we live in a world where myths were real? What if we live in a world knowing that the folklores were true? What if we live in a world in that the fairy tales were real? What if we live in a world where history and myth intersect? What do you believe?.....

Note: Due to the unusual setup in how SoFurry works in uploading stories (Poor quality of upload) I ask that you check out https://storiesonline.net/a/theuniverseofcmed to be able to read my stories better (Downloading Epub, Docx, etc) or https://docs.google.com/document/d/1D0QajUuRPDmtcULKndRZlIgw_xtASHLjaOtD9x7hVbE/edit?usp=sharing

Chapter 1: September 12th, 1918

"Incoming!" Private Toha Smith ducked his head behind the dirt entrenchment as a heavy 6 inch round fired from German artillery less than a mile away flew with unending speed near his position. Machine gun rounds were wising past his head. Toha had little to do but duck his head or risk losing it. The Germans were putting up a strong resistance. He held onto his rifle tightly. There was not much he could do. The private that warned Toha grabbed his M1917 Browning machine gun and started to return fire. A small squad of German soldiers charged at him, Toha, and the other men. It was in the middle of the day. The artillery round smashed into the dirt and exploded not more than 30 feet away. The dirt flung from the ground and flew into the trench that Toha was hiding in. Adrenaline flowed from his body. A small piece of debris smacked against Toha's helmet as it landed in the ground. It was the War to End All Wars or as it became called the Great War. The day was September 12th, 1918 when American Expeditionary Force led the assault in Saint Mihiel, a commune in Northeast France. This three day conflict would mark the first time the United States Army launched an offensive attack on the Germans. The French and United States forces were allied together. Toha finally mustered the courage as he looked up above the dirt with his Springfield rifle. He had five rounds to fire into the enemy. He stood up above the trench to look ahead of him. He could see the German soldiers getting close to hitting him. A heavy artillery round fired from a French Artillery piece struck dead center of the German squad. Five men lay dead between the Allied and Central trenches. Toha's head was fully poking out as he looked ahead of him. He could see more of the Germans closing in. Toha took aim with his rifle aiming at the rushing German soldier. In about less than a minute he would be on top of him. He found his mark and pulled the trigger. A powerful round struck the enemy soldier in the heart as he fell to the ground. "Good shot!" yelled the machine gunner. He continued to fire heavy weapons fire down range. "Seems some of the Indian blood flows in you still." Toha pulled the bolt handle up and back, ejecting the spent casing onto the dirt and resetting the bolt back, loading another round into the rifle. He aimed at the next soldier and pulled the trigger. The shot missed as an enemy round struck the dirt a mere foot away from his head. He was forced to duck his head behind cover as he loaded the next round into his rifle. Toha Smith was a volunteer from the Native American Pima Tribe. This small group of Native American Indians were forced off their land and forced to live in desert like conditions in Arizona. A large group of the Choctaw Indians had volunteered and used their language as code talkers during the War. Their own language used by their tribe served as the perfect coded words to pass along to friendly soldiers. As long as the Germans never captured one of the Choctaw there was little to no way the enemy could break their language. Other Native Americans such as Toha served as scouts advancing ahead of the group or fighting in the side lines. It was the most dangerous thing for the Native Americans to ever do. Most were alone, having to fight against an enemy that outnumbered them or gunned them down before they ever made progress. Native Americans like Toha usually had little problem doing such missions as they proved as a way to prove themselves to the tribes at home. The machine gunner continued to fire at the advancing soldiers. Three of the Germans were shot down. An Allied SPAD S.XIII fighter aircraft flew overhead of him and past the German trenches going after an enemy Albatros D.V. The crude construction of aircraft had proven to be pivotal during the warfront as they could easily fight and destroy enemy aircraft that threatened to bomb allied Trenches. Toha had little time to worry about the fight in the air. Toha looked around him in the trenches. There were four other Native American soldiers with him that were firing away at the enemy soldiers. He took another deep breath as he stood back up and stuck his head above the trenches looking for the next target to shoot. There were none to shoot. All the German soldiers were dead. The heavy machine gunner stopped shooting. He took the time in the calm of the storm to have his assistant reset a new belt into the machine gun. The gun was extremely hot from the constant firing. "Where is the tank battalion?" yelled one of the soldiers. They were supposed to be here five minutes ago. Before Toha could add his two cents into the conversation, a heavy artillery round fired from one of from their position behind them flew into the vast distance. The squad leader that was looking through his binoculars was looking at the location of the allied artillery. A smile was on his face. "Looks like our artillery is laying waste to them" said the squad leader. Toha was taking a look at the battlefield. The ground between them looked like a wasteland of death. Dead bodies or ones near death lined the countryside. Grass was reduced to dirt and mud. Crater marks from artillery and bombs littered the area. Trees shattered and shaken from the continuous fire from artillery marked the landscape. Toha was used to these images but those that have never seen it before would think the land was turned upside down. He felt remorse seeing the pretty countryside get destroyed. It reminded him of home when water was diverted from the reservation to fuel the ever-growing population of the White Men around the Pima. He looked at the other soldiers as they relaxed from the shooting. All the soldiers were dressed in the same similar US uniform. The uniform like Toha was wearing was the brown wool dress coat, wool service breeches, trousers, leather boots, belt, long sleeve shirt, and helmet. The allied artillery was still firing their shots towards the enemy entrenchments. The enemy artillery was firing less and less as allied artillery was laying waste to them. He looked at the soldiers as they closed their eyes and began to hum music of songs from their land and culture. "They hum beautifully" he thought to himself. "The humming and singing during the shooting would keep us from going mad." Native Americans were brave when the war started. Over 10,000 Native Americans volunteered to join the war to help the United States. They were not citizens and could just as easily decide to not be involved in the war at all. Some of the tribes even went as far as declaring war on Germany to show them that they were just a part of the war as every other nation out there. The shelling died down dramatically. Allied artillery was still firing off and on but it was apparent that the enemy formation was being pushed back or wiped out. Toha was breathing a sigh of relief. Toha went and removed the magazine of his rifle to insert new rounds from his belt. He reinserted the magazine back into the rifle. He sat the butt of the rifle into the dirt floor below him. He then closed his eyes as he hummed along with the fellow soldiers around him. He slipped his hand into his shirt and felt the necklace he wore underneath and pulled it out to look at it. The necklace he wore depicted of a small plate that showed a circular pathway that would slowly and eventually lead to the center. A silhouette of the man depicting the Elder Brother or guide, would begin at the edge of the maze to work his way to the center. "The I'itoi is cornerstone to our people" he thought quietly to himself as he gripped the necklace tightly. "Ancestors, Akmiel O'odham people, my parents, watch over us in our darkest days." "New orders" a new voice rang out. "We need to scout the location ahead of us as the Tanks are closing in to give us support. Toha it is your time to scout ahead." Toha was unnerved. He stuffed the necklace under his shirt again. He breathed hard knowing he was going into a dangerous area. The radioman looked at Toha as he added "You will head East, North East of us. If you encounter resistance, you will take this signal gun and fire it in the air. It will let us know where the enemy is located. He nodded his head as he took the single shot signal gun. He lifted up his rifle as he took deep breaths. "We wish you luck brave warrior" said one of the soldiers. Toha took a look. He almost stopped noticing that the artillery was still firing. One Krupp 3 Inch artillery piece from the German entrenchment was still firing at another allied position but it was still firing in the extreme distance. Allied artillery was getting close to hitting it. One of the soldiers looked over the trenches and could see that the last artillery piece in the area was taken down. A shell landed directly on top of it showering wood, metal, and blood from the gunner. "That is the last one; most of the opposition in the area is out. Go Toha, Go!" Toha jogged to the ladder and began to climb up the top of the dirt. With one last leap he planted his foot at the edge of the trench he was hiding behind. He was in clear sniping range. The heavy machine gunner had his hand on the handle ready to fire on anything that would try to fire at him. It was dead quiet except the distant sounds of artillery bombardment. The artillery behind him stopped firing to allow Toha clear access to the area without being accidently shot at. "Toha, take this! It had five rounds loaded. Use it well!" yelled one of the men below him. He looked down and saw what was thrown at him from the trench below. It was a Winchester Model 1912 shotgun made into a Trench Gun configuration due to the smaller barrel that also had a bayonet attached to it. "Thank you!" he yelled as he turned around and looked at the distance leading North East. He could see nothing but smoke rising from the trenches. Shattered debris from the destroyed artillery littered the area. Toha ran. He was in broad open field now. He noted that "The enemy did not have enough time to even put up barbed wire. That is a good sign. That will probably mean that there might not even be mines." He ran past a broken tree reduced to a wooden chipped pole. The mud and grass caked on his boots. Overhead the daylight shined brightly. Each footstep took him closer to the enemy trench. He was planning on jumping in and lay waist to any opposition that the trench gun was designed to take out. He was half way down to reaching the other trench. He noticed a German soldier popped his gun from the trench and aimed down as Toha. While the German soldier made his aim towards the incoming soldier, he noticed that he was also being aimed at. One of the Native American soldiers had fired at him but missed. The German ducked his head back down. "He will be the first to shoot when I jump into the trench" he thought to himself with his adrenaline pumping. He was three quarters of the way to there. He had to leap over two bodies that were shot down. He swore he heard one of them speak up as he jumped over. He would let the others deal with them when they came over. With one leap he jumped into the most Northern part of the trench. The perfectly ninety degree designed trenches highlighted German engineering at the time as the trench was designed to help limit explosions in the trenches if an artillery shell struck the trench. As soon as he jumped in he scanned" the area and saw none alive so far. He saw nothing but bodies. His shotgun was trained at the bodies. "Hilf Mir bitte" said a downed German soldier. Toha understood a little bit of German that he knew that the words meant "Help me please." The soldier lay on his stomach with shrapnel that struck the lower portion of his body. Using his foot he shifted the body right side up and aimed down at the soldier. He was conscious enough to look back at Toha. "Vielen Dank" he said as his eyes remained open and went still. He stopped breathing. Toha had little he could do. "The trenches were nothing but a grave for the soldiers" he thought to himself. "The artillery was instrumental. We all but had to wait for the guns to wipe out the enemy." Artillery amounted to 58% of the casualties in World War 1. 41% of the casualties were afflicted from small arms. For Toha, the man he gunned down earlier was the second man he ever shot down. He continued to scan but saw only a 90 degree turn to the left ahead of him. There was nothing else but bodies, mud, and dirt. He looked for a ladder or area that he could poke his head from. He saw it; it was a ladder near the turn. As he stepped over the body, a German soldier ran around the lip of the turn and he aimed his shotgun at him. He aimed his rifle at him. "Ich gebe auf.....I give up" the German said. He lowered his rifle and Toha nodded to him. He began to lower his shotgun but ready to pull it back up if the man was lying. The German dropped his rifle to the dirt. The German spoke to him "I...hope this....war ends....soon."

*******

Using his mirror as a communication device, Toha signaled the others that he secured the northern area of the trenches. The rest of the squad went and stormed the mid section of the trenches and encountered little to no resistance. It was a small victory for the squad. One of the Native Americans shook Toha's hand for his bravery. He was relieved that there was no more killing for the day. Toha would spend the rest of the day helping move the dead bodies out of the trenches. The squad would rest in the very trenches they tried to wipe out earlier. The German soldier was bound so that when reinforcements arrived he would be taken as a Prisoner of War. P.O.Ws were well treated by the United States. While it was true that propaganda promoted the idea that to surrender would mean harsh treatment, some German's didn't buy it at all and when faced with surrender they simply went ahead and did it. Some nations treated their own soldiers so badly like Italy in the mid days of the war that Italians would throw down their weapons at the enemy and thank them for taking them into custody. The Italians would ultimately have to revaluate their system in how they treated their soldiers. The Germans were slowly starving out and even by this time it was better to go ahead and give up with the coming storm. While it was true that the United States did not contribute too much to the war at the time as the army was small and inexperienced, their factories and navy were virtually untouched and served as a valuable resource in the war effort. The Ottoman Empire was already ready to fracture apart. The Austro Hungarians was barely holding up against Italy and the other nations were pelting it to death. This left the Germans having to take on France, Britain, United States, and other nations that piled on it in a combined struggle. By this time in the war the German Navy outright refused to go and fight in the war as it simply meant suicide going against the more powerful British navy. The British were basically blockading the ports and the Kaiser was considering surrender. For Toha, he only knew so much during this time. He only had to look at each day that was passing. He learned that the soldier he shot earlier that was running towards him survived and was taken to a hospital to be treated. This was some good news as the prior one that he shot earlier in the beginning of his military career did not survive. He lay in his rack as he looked at a fellow Native American soldier. His name was John Shikoba. Shikoba slept in his rack as well. The poorly lit room led to the outside into the trench as night time crept in. "So let me ask you Toha. I am trying to get a chance to meet everyone here since I just got assigned to the squad. What does your name mean?" Toha shifted his body to look at Shikoba across the room. There was another soldier in the racks not far from them but he simply just listened. Only a simple lantern lit the room. "My name is Toha Smith. It simply means 'white' in our language. I belonged to a family where my father was a White Man and my mother was an original native." "Were you happy with your family? Were you happy that your father was a White Man?" Toha nodded "My father treated me well. He was trying to teach me various things in religions in hoping that I would embrace Christianity. He respected my space in trying to embrace both my Native American side and his side. Both of my parents died a couple of years ago. I cannot say their names anymore as it would dishonor them." "I am sorry. My name is Shikoba or 'Feather' in the Choctaw language. I had an adopted name John to go along with my name." Toha went and saw a rat walk by in the room. It began to walk out of the room into the night outside. "What do you plan on doing after the war?" Shikoba asked. "I want to have a family and become a father." "Do you have someone waiting for you back at home?" Toha shook his head "No I don't. I wish I did." "I am sure somebody will show up." "Are you one of the code talkers?" Shikoba nodded "Yes. The Choctaw are valued right now for their language in this war. Ironic isn't it? Our own language is a weapon against the enemy." Toha never really thought of it as he asked "How were you able to adapt to some of the new words we have been exposed to such as aircraft or tanks were example?" "We had to make up the words as we went along. Sometimes we would use the word 'turtle' in our language to refer to 'Tank' but add other things to it to make sense just to give an example. Let me ask you though, why do you fight?" "Since I was born outside of the reservation I was born a citizen in the United States. I realized though that not everyone was born a citizen. My mother was not treated as a citizen. When this war broke out I joined up to ensure that we all become citizens. I admit that I was also curious when the war broke out to join up and volunteer. Beats being in the reservation anyway." Shikoba nodded "I joined to prove that I am a warrior. I have yet to kill one in combat." "Try to look at it from my point of view Shikoba. Kill when you have to. You will have your chance. Don't try to seek in killing because that is all you will have in the future." "I suppose you are right.....I miss home." "We will be home before you know it." The conversation ended before they knew it. Sleep overtook them as the night sky littered the landscape. Artillery was still being fired throughout the night occasionally rocking or shaking the room that they slept in.

Chapter 2: Early Day in September 13th, 1918

"You are getting close......" said an unfamiliar young male voice. "Wha? Who said that?" Toha asked. All he could see was darkness. The voice continued "It is important that when they offer you to take the scouting assignment to go north to Fresnes......" "Who are you? I can't see you." The darkness prevailed. Toha could swear that he did see something that looked like a pair of eyes looking at him but the darkness obscured him well. Suddenly his eyes opened. Toha could see light coming from the entrance of the room. He quickly put on his clothes and uniform on. "Another dream" he thought quietly to himself. "It is a dream where I am surrounded in darkness but somebody is talking to me. I can't see who he is though." Toha went through the long process of putting his uniform on. He was ready for this battle to end and get some rest. Surprisingly he was able to get a nights rest and did not have to go on watch. He used the bathroom, tidied up and stepped out into the trench. "Toha, we have an assignment for you since you were the last person to wake up. We need you to take this message to Lieutenant Colonel Patton in the 42nd division. He is not far from here. This message is priority one private. He is not far from here. He is by his tank. It broke down so you will know which one it is when you see it." "Roger that" he replied as he took the enclosed envelope. He took his rifle and began to march eastward. He took a good look and could see three tanks in the distance behind some ruined trees. He could still hear artillery rounds being fired from a distance. This area however had some barbed wire that was run over by the tanks that passed by. There was already a detachment of men ahead of him. There were bodies strewn across the landscape but people were tending to the bodies and a cart was being loaded up with the dead being put in place to be taken for proper burial. Suddenly Toha could hear the whizzing sound of an incoming artillery round heading in his direction. A random fired artillery round was heading in his direction. The only thing he could do was jump and duck to the ground floor lowering his profile as much as possible before the round landed. He face planted into the dirt as an artillery round landed and exploded with a defining sound forty feet away from him leaving a massive crater in the ground. He got back up and started wiping the dirt and mud from his uniform before he picked up his rifle and continued marching to the tanks in the distance. The dirt and mud caked on his boots as he marched on the ground. He started to hasten his pace as another random artillery shell exploded 100 feet away. Even with the distance of the shots and explosions no one wanted to be in an area for too long especially with explosive ordinance going off. Finally, Toha reached the three tanks. He could see smoke and burning fumes coming from two of them with the other non-functioning. He could see a man standing next to the tank and inspecting the tank with another soldier explaining things to them. Both of the men did not notice him and were busy explaining things to each other. He could hear the tail end of the conversation as he approached them. This was the first time Toha had a chance to see the tanks up close. They were the newest Renault FT-17 Tanks. They were loaned from the French to help provide the United States additional support when it came to ground combat. The tanks were unique compared to other tanks since they had a turret installed on top of the fuselage. Their small profile made them easy to manufacture, perfect for crossing trenches, and having a good enough speed to race forward ahead of infantry or simply keep up. They were essentially mobile pill boxes with a gun that could fire in any direction. He remarked the treads that lined its sides as it went to the back. This was a different tank than what he saw in a photograph of a British Male Mark V tank. In that picture the tank was big with massive tank treads that lined its entire structure with multiple machine gun emplacements and cannons that lined its hull. They were mobile fortresses. One man spoke "Sir, we have broken a tread and the engine is working at half its capability. We will have to take this tank back and do repairs to it." The man that he recognized as the Lieutenant Colonel took his leg and kicked the side of the tank. "Damn, that is one more tank that has broken down. We might as well use chariots against the Germans! For all we know those would actually work and they're easier to fix!" Toha noted that he could see a holster with a pearl ivory handle to his Colt 45. He waited for the two men to finish their conversation before giving the message. The other man spoke "Lieutenant Colonel we also experiencing supply shortages. We are pressing forward too fast and leaving our supplies behind. Perhaps this is a time to rest a bit and let our supply chain catch up." Patton spoke "Ugh....I guess it might be best to do so. Have my command changed from this tank to the tank on my right. We will proceed in the later part of the day once our supply line has caught up." "Incoming!" yelled one of the tank crews as everyone took cover. An artillery round fired from the Germans was whizzing close to their direction. Toha quickly ducked by the tank on his right hoping that if it landed close the armor of the tank would protect him. Patton did nothing but stare at the distance of where the shot was fired. Everyone but him was unfazed by the round as it landed forty feet away and exploded doing no damage. He got up and was surprised to see that Patton was unshaken from the explosion. The other soldiers with the exception of those in the tanks slowly got up and dusted off the sand that collected on their uniforms. Toha broke the sudden silence "Sir, I have a message from a squad that needed to be delivered to you." Patton turned his head and looked at Toha. He put his rifle butt to the ground as he held it close to him. He saluted him as Patton saluted in return. He reached into his coat and pulled out the letter to hand to him. Patton smiled "Ah...I wonder if Pershing had anything to say about our attack so far." Toha handed the letter that was decoded by the Choctaw from his squad to be delivered to George S. Patton. Patton accepted the letter as he opened up the letter in return. The other soldiers from the other tanks proceeded with the work in moving equipment and gear from the almost inoperable tank. Toha stood watching Patton read it as he awaited further orders from him. "Hmm..." Patton said as he had a bewildered look on his face. "Looks like we are to keep going that direction. Things are going well so far. The Germans are sure to lose in no time and pondering on surrendering. Allied Government is thinking of pursuing and helping the Whites in Russia. I am all for it. I think the Red Bolsheviks are going to become the next problem in the world. Communism will be our next great war if they are not stopped." "Sir?" Patton took the letter, rolled it up, and started to tap his other hand with it as he was in deep thought. He looked at the battlefield ahead of him. Toha watched him as he looked ahead of him. He knew the Lieutenant Colonel was thinking. He turned and looked at the soldier in front of him. Patton had a questioning look on his face "Private....you look like you are Native American but I don't recognize the full features of one." "It is because my father was white and my mother was Native American. I am fighting for the Native Americans." Patton smiled "Indians....now those are some brave warriors if I ever seen one. I have seen you warriors scout and serve as communicators. Nothing like giving the Germans a good run of their money when they have no way of deceiver what you are saying. You Indians are perfect to have in the battlefield and are honored for fighting with us. I know firsthand what the Native Americans are capable of in combat." Toha had a confused look "You fought directly with our squad before sir?" "No, I fought against the Native Americans in the Battle of Little Big Horn. I was with Custer in the 7th Cavalry the day the Indians wiped us out. I fought with all my might but in the end an arrow struck me in the throat. In the end, I am happy that you are on our side now. The Germans don't stand a chance against us." Toha was further surprised at his choice of words "Sir, what we call the Battle of Greasy Grass happened in June of 1876. You are too young to have been involved in that." "That is because I died in that battle Private. Don't you believe in returning to the Earth to fight again?" That was a question that perplexed Toha. He looked at the officer with questioning look "There is some belief in reincarnation sir. I have some doubts of it but I keep an open mind on it as my ancestors did before hand." "There is no proof nor yet any denial soldier. We were, we are, and we will be. I am sure of it. I fought with Alexander at the Siege of Tyre, I was a Viking once, I fought in Agincourt, and I was a pirate or privateer fighting on a ship trying to free slaves or was it prisoners of war? I was born to fight like you warriors and all the warriors of this conflict." Toha had a small smile on his face "I respect your beliefs sir. I feel something like that happens with us. We come back as the animals, the trees, anything living on this Earth." "With me, it is war. I make sure to always come back when I am needed for some great conflict. My timing was true as Europe burns that I fight as a soldier in this war." Patton walked up to his tank with a busted tread and looked at it closely. "These tanks are the future of warfare. If the French were able to come up with this then it is a matter of time before better and faster versions of these things come out to replace them. It will be a matter of time before Trench Warfare will be obsolete soldier. You will no longer have to hide in trenches waiting for an enemy that you cannot see shoots you down. Eventually warfare will be nothing but these machines. Like riding a chariot into battle." Toha stood and listened to listen to Lieutenant Colonel speak. He never met this man but he had a certain aura around him when he spoke. It was to him like talking to some aged warrior that knew that he was part of something greater and destined to be here. Only a few Native Americans to him thought like this and he felt that he was somehow Native American himself. Patton looked at the tank again and looked at the Tank "I look at this tank I have been riding on, watching it break down as it slowed down my own advance towards enemy lines and I feel like I did in June of 1912 at the Olympics." "What happened at this...Olympics?" He shook his head "In Sweden, I participated in the Olympics. It seems like I was hit by a stream of bad luck during the competitions. Fencing, polo, swimming, cross country riding, and then the shooting, I went through the competitions. It was the shooting that I felt that I was screwed at. I scored 21st place as they said that I missed one of my shots on the target. I got furious at the judges as I told them that I never missed. One of my shots went clean through one of the holes that I shot through and they didn't count it. The judges didn't believe me." Toha said "Perhaps it was better to be here then sir than in some competition of the white man." Patton smiled "I believe you are right soldier. It was better to be here than there anyway. From Pancho Villa to this....Great War, what future wars will I be a part of?" Patton snapped out of his dialogue and looked at Toha. "Here I am ranting along and here you are having to listen to some soldier you have never met. Perhaps I just needed another person to talk to, soldier or no soldier." "It's alright sir, I enjoyed the conversation. This war is allowing me to meet many people both good and bad. It is an experience for me that I will never forget. I hope to be by your side in battle and if I die then it will be a good death." Patton smiled as he looked back at the soldiers that were stopping to listen to the conversation he was having with the messenger. A stern look developed on his face "Alright, alright, what are you standing around here for? Get my equipment on this tank. I want to face the Kaiser myself!" Everyone snapped back to work as they continued moving the equipment. They were nearly done. Patton looked back at Toha with something he considered. "Private.....what's your name?" "Toha sir." "Private Toha, I have a mission that might be perfect for you. It will be a dangerous one; will you be ready for it?" "Yes sir, I am ready for anything sir." Patton nodded with a smile "Like a true Indian. With our advancement temporarily stalled I need to start getting more eyes on the surrounding area. Perhaps they are right we went too far too quickly. The Western advance almost completely bypassed the town of Fresnes north of here. For all I know the Krauts might be launching an attack to cut off our supply chain from there. I need to have scouts in the air and on the ground. I would like you to go to this town and scout it to see if the Germans are planning on launching a counterattack. If there are some stragglers do what you need to do, but I need to know if we are heading into an ambush. If I was a German commander I know I would hit us around there." "Fresnes?....." Toha was almost taken aback by surprise he said it out loud. "Sir, I would like to go to Fresnes and scout the area." "Good....no hesitation in you." Patton walked up to a soldier and directed him to give him a paper and pen to him. Patton then proceeded to write two letters on the side of the broken down tank. Toha watched as his hands wrote feverously "I am writing two sets of orders that need to be delivered to your chain of command. One needs to be sent back to Pershing, the other is for your chain of command. This order for your chain of command supersedes any orders that they may have for you. Is that understood soldier?" "Understood sir." About a couple of minutes later, Patton signed his two letters and gave them to Toha. They both saluted one another as Toha turned around and marched back to his squad. "Interesting man" he said to himself as he walked. "Fresnes though.....I felt like I had a dream last night and he said 'go to Fresnes.' There was no way I would ignore that possibility. Something is there or I am having premonitions to go to there. Either way, I must go to there and find out what is going on and why I am being driven to there." Patton walked down away from the tanks as he stood staring at the battlefield in front of him. Artillery was still being fired at a distance from both sides. He could see various smokes coming from various areas ahead of him. Machine gun fire could still be heard in the far distance as the battle waged in front of him. He said quietly watching as a shell landed by a tree in the far distance "Through the travail of the ages, midst the pomp and toil of war, have I fought and strove and perished countless times upon this star. So as through a glass, and darkly the age long strife I see where I fought in many guises, many names, but always me. So forever in the future, shall I battle as of yore, dying to be born a fighter, but to die again, once more."

Chapter 3: Later that Day

Toha arrived back at his squad with the orders firmly in his hand. He delivered it to his squad leader that promptly opened it and read it. His eyes expressed shock. The squad leader looked at Toha almost in disbelief "Lieutenant Colonel himself wants you to scout Fresnes north. It is a couple of miles away from us. Be ready to meet possible fierce resistance private. We have a couple of squads that are in the surrounding area trying to make sure the Germans are not pressing some counter attack on us, but you will be on your own. We will be helping the supply line get moved forward while you are gone. Go get yourself something to eat. You will be leaving in an hour." "Understood." Toha went into the trench and into the room that he slept in. Not far from the room was the galley a makeshift dug out room with a simple table and chairs. It had its own stove and bucket to clean and wash plates. On a cabinet the squad found food that was left behind after the place was captured. Food was being served for the men by another fellow Native American who doubled as a cook. "I am afraid all we have is German food. Let's see I found kartofflen, schweinefleisch, and möhren. Toha how good is your German?" Toha looked at the cook that was trying to figure out the food in the cabinets in the galley. The food was stuffed in heavy bags to help preserve their shelf life. His German was ok but with no one else being an expert it was better than nothing. "Looks like potatoes, pork, and carrots." "Good, I can get started with making a stew" the cook replied. Toha went and decided to head to the makeshift armory that the Germans used in the trench prior to its capture. There was not much but he took a look at the rack with the weapons. There were Gewehr 98 Rifles but Toha felt happy with the Springfield rifle that he already had. He went and made sure to take about fifteen rounds with him for the rifle. He said out loud "I need a pistol or revolver to take with me in case my rifle does not work or I run out of ammunition. I could go and ask for my squad leader's M1917 but there are a couple of pistols I can grab from the armory here instead. Wait, what is this?...." Toha found something that was smaller than a rifle but bigger than his rifle. Another soldier walked into the room and looked at what he was looking at. "By our ancestors, look at what you found" the soldier said to him. "What is this gun?" The soldier explained "I am actually surprised it's here. Their storm commandos that attack trenches use this. This is a MP-18. This is a wonderful gun to have. I have only heard of this gun, I never thought I would see one." "Is this a carbine or some powerful semi-automatic pistol?" The soldier replied "This is a very light machine gun or submachine gun depending on how the white men term it. It is the German answer to us using shotguns in the trenches. You could literally jump into a trench with this gun and pour automatic weapons fire with it." Toha's eyes widened. He had seen someone use a Chauchat but the thing was large and broke when it was being demonstrated to the division. The soldier nodded "If you are heading into a possibly dangerous area alone then I suggest you take the most powerful stuff you can use. The MP-18 is short range, it's basically an automatic pistol hence why the Germans called it a Machine Pistol in German obviously." Toha held the MP-18 in his hand. He nodded "I wonder if I can take this and my rifle at the same time? What's your name anyway?" "You can simply just call me Private Koi. I don't share my full names to anyone, I don't anyone getting too attached to me in case...well I get shot. It might be possible to carry both; it will be heavy for you though. The gun does seem to have some problems that I already see upon looking at it." "What do you see that has problems?" Koi took a good look. "Well....for one the way this thing is constructed. The loader drum is this snail drum that sticks out. It looks like it carries about 25 to 35 rounds in it. I imagine the spring would make it hard to try to load more rounds unless we have something special to load it. Out on the field you will have a hard time reloading this thing. Once you fire all the rounds it might be best to go and drop this thing or....I don't know find an expert on German guns. It does have some cool things though. The loader drum is mounted on the side so you can grip the side as you fire it and keep it stable as you kneel and shoot." Koi took a look at the snail drum and could see that it is fully loaded with ammunition. "It's up to you on this one, um what's your name?" "Private Toha." "Yeah, well....it's up to you on what you feel is the best for you. There is some Lugars that I see on the rack that you might take instead of that, they are very simple to use and fire in case the rifle jams." Toha was in deep thought. He took and held his rifle and tried to shoulder the MP-18 but it was awkward to do so. He would have to practically drop the rifle to use the MP-18 but if he was going to be the lone wolf he might as well go for broke and take the best he could find. "I think I will take the Springfield and MP-18 with me. I will have something short range and long range for me out there." Koi nodded as he took a look at the guns on the rack. "I know I am taking this Lugar as a trophy to bring back home. I love the simplicity of this pistol." Toha took a look at a crate that was next to the rack. He took his knife and broke the seal holding it closed. Koi took a good look at the crate as well. Upon opening the crate Toha and Koi knew exactly what it was. They were Stielhandgranates or stick grenades used by German soldiers. Koi nodded "Now there is something I always liked about the Germans. I honestly think that these grenades are better than the grenades that we use but not everyone agrees with me. If there was anything, I would at least take one of these grenades with you. You are already carrying a lot with you but this grenade. I recommend taking one of our F-1s. That way you will have flexibility in combat, you will have a grenade for close range and another to throw far away." Toha gripped the stick grenade in his hand. The design was simple for a grenade. By adding a wooden attachment to the grenade you could actually throw this grenade much further than a typical grenade. For the Native Americans they used an atlatl or spear throwers. You would put the spear on the thrower and then overhead throw fling the spear much further than a typical over handed throw. For the Germans this was their grenade and nothing was better than that. "I will take one." Koi added "Make sure you pull the pin on those things before you throw it or it won't go off, then they will take it and throw it back on you." Toha nodded "I agree." Make sure that you take a flare gun. One shot will be red to indicate that there are a lot of German soldiers in the area and that you are meeting resistance. It will warn us if the Germans are launching a counterattack on us. The other flare which will be blue will let us know that you are not only alive but that you haven't seen anything." "Agreed." Toha decided to head back into the mess hall after a short time to go get something to eat before commencing with his scouting mission. He closed his eyes and thought about the journey ahead of him. He ate the stew that was made as he thought to himself "It is very well possible that I will encounter nothing when I reach Fresnes. I must be ready for what will hit me." He closed his eyes as he thought about his parents. He missed them. There was nothing to return back to at home. He had his parent's home but that was it. No woman was interested in being with him and at the same time he felt discouraged from pursuing a relationship with anybody. He said quietly to himself "I can't think about them too much. The calmness before the storm can drive men mad. The battle is the shortest thing in a conflict. Most of the time is waiting for the struggle to begin and trying to keep everything working. Do they remember the warrior for the battle he fought or do they remember the majority of the time he spent keeping the home clean for himself? They will always remember the battle and nothing else. It is important for me to think that way too but in reverse." Toha loaded up with his gear in the armory. He took everything he said he was carrying. He carried no additional rounds for the MP-18. If he ran out of ammunition for it, he would drop the gun and keep going. He carried additional rounds for his rifle as he knew that was going to be his main weapon. He thought to himself "I feel like in some ways that I should paint my face in war paint but I am afraid that may advertise that I am Native American to the Germans. Even though I don't speak Choctaw I don't want the enemy to think I am either." He took out his necklace tucked into his shirt and looked at the picture again. "Se:he guide me for my journey will be perilous." Toha looked at the man of the maze on his necklace. The man destined to find his way to the center. After gathering the courage he tucked the necklace back into his shirt. Outside of the room, there were men to wish him luck. The squad leader, Koi, Shikoba, all shook his hand. Death was a natural process but it was still absolutely important to wish a person a good journey even if it might be a short one. Toha struggled to climb up the ladder with all the heavy gear on him. Carrying almost two full guns and gear to last a couple of days certainly could weigh any person down. The men helped him climb over the ladder to the edge of the trench. Toha looked north as he started his journey. What lie in front of him was anyone's guess. With his two guns in hand, Toha shouldered his MP-18 and began to proceed north. He stepped past a set of trees and began heading north. He saw allied aircraft flying overhead. The artillery bombardment still existed from the allied side but the front was getting quieter and quieter.

*******

Toha had found a dirt road and proceeded to walk down the road. He pondered about going off road as he could get shot more easily. When he reached the road he had a good view of the countryside. There were little trees as he was in the wide open. He was in danger of getting snipped from the grass but there was little he could do about it. Allied aircraft were flying in pairs of two or three overhead of him. They were heading eastward to go after any enemy aircraft. As long as the aircraft kept flying he did feel a little safer than usual. Anybody that tried to make a shot at him could risk getting strafed from allied aircraft. "It's beautiful" he said out loud as he looked at the countryside. It was still hot but a lot of the countryside where he was still mostly untouched by artillery fire. Further southward he swore he saw Mt Sec. It was the only high elevated area in the countryside. Capturing it was top priority for the Allied assault. Toha's eyes were distracted by everything around him. He was still amazed at the countryside. It consisted of long grass growing on a field. In the distance he could see smoke from destroyed emplacements and vehicles. It was the first attack made by the United States Army with the French providing 25% of the men and vehicles. Each foot folly would take him closer to the town of Fresnes. Twenty minutes of walking and finally he saw somebody. He readied his Springfield rifle and aimed at the people walking down the road. They were not retreating or showing any signs of hostilities. As he could see closer he could see that it was a wagon with people in it. He could still not tell if they were hostile or not. He did not want to gun them down if they were civilians which as they were getting closer and closer he could tell they looked like civilians. He took a prone position and kept his rifle ready. He still kept his eyes to the east as if any assault would come it would most likely come from that direction. He waited for them to approach. After a few minutes of waiting, he could now tell they were indeed civilians coming from the town of Fresnes or possibly Les Esparges. The town of Les Esparges was very small but was the first link to Fresnes. If this was a German trick it was a good one. He got back on his feet and decided to go ahead and continue his approach. He lowered his rifle down to show he meant no harm to them. He still had his MP-18 shouldered and marched forward down the road. Finally, he reached the wagon and waved at the people. It was a man, woman, and a little girl. "Hello, are you French?" he asked out loud. "Anglais,....englishman?" the man responded. Toha's knowledge of French was not good. He knew some German but extremely little French. He tried to speak with them in both English and French. "I am American.... Je suis américaine." "Ah....American dogs. I do.....know some English. My English is bad....sorry" the man responded in a thick French accent. The term dog was not necessarily an insult as the French had a tendency to call the men of the United States Army dogs due to the dog tags they wore. "It's ok. Mon français....est mauvais. Where are you from......D'ou.....êtes-vous?" Toha responded. "Fresenes...Germans are there.....they let us leave." "Hmm" Toha thought quietly to himself. "It was not a good thing that they went in this direction. They should have gone west but they are heading southward straight to the Allied assault. It would not be wise for them to turn around though as it could put them in danger. Most of the French civilian population does not even know we are launching an assault eastward and even less know that Americans are even involved in it. Shit." Toha explained as simply as he could "Umm....go south. French and American Army. They will help you.....allez au sud sur....cette route." He said the French sentence so bad that the man almost gave him a questioning look and then nodded and understood. Toha knew this was not the best solution but it was better than telling them to go back. "Merci beaucoup....vive la france et l'amérique" he concluded with the woman most likely his wife saying it as well. The child was too young to say much as well. Toha waved goodbye as he proceeded forward. He had a good few miles to walk. Fresenes was getting closer. The wagon and family continued traveling southward.

*******

Toha decided to avoid Les Esparges. This was not his intended location and with the family indicating that there were Germans in Fresnes there then it would mean that he would be facing opposition there and a lot of men. He was now half way there. He could see a small outskirt of the town in the distance. He could still hear distant shelling in the distance and see occasional allied aircraft fly overhead. He waved to one of the aircraft and the pilot jolted the aircraft to wave the aircraft back at him. They knew he was a friendly. Within a half an hour of the march he saw a reddish aircraft approach from the east. The hum of the engine told him that an aircraft was coming. Red paint on the aircraft usually meant an enemy aircraft which was not a good thing. "Shit.....I am vulnerable here on this road. I am in the wide open. If he sees me I am in trouble." The aircraft got closer and closer. He knew what it was. It was a Fokker D.VIII painted in red. He had been spotted and it looked like the pilot was going to strafe him. Toha had less than ten seconds to respond as he dropped his MP-18 on the ground and readied to try to shoot the aircraft with his rifle and be ready to jump out of the way at the last second. It was his only means of trying to avoid getting turned into pieces by the machine gun fire. Toha's heart began to race. He aimed his rifle at the plane and fired one shot. It missed. He then got on his feet as the aircraft began firing his machine guns at him. He could see the ground near him spit dirt as the machine gun rounds hit close to him. Toha quickly dived to the left just barely almost getting struck by the spray of bullets. The German biplane then pulled up and continued to fly away from him. He landed on the dirt with his rifle still in his hand. He pulled the bolt handle up and back ejecting a spent round as he pushed it back loading a new one. He then aimed at the aircraft that was flying back up into the air. He pulled the trigger as the rifle fired. He missed. Hitting an aircraft flying in the air was hard. It was his only means of defense. Toha could see a pair of aircraft coming from the west though that had spotted the German aircraft and were on an intercept course. The German aircraft had less things to worry about than going after one lone infantryman. It pulled away and began to head southeast leaving him behind with two allied aircraft in pursuit. "Like being saved by a pair of eagles" he said to himself as he walked to his MP-18, picked it up, and then proceeded northward.

*******

An hour passed. Toha was reaching the outskirts of Fresnes. So far the most he had to worry about was aircraft or getting sniped. He encountered no one else so far. The town was mostly untouched from what he could tell from the distance. The grass field was mostly untouched. Allied aircraft were flying around waving to him. He looked at another pair of SPADs that flew overhead. It was obvious that the Allies had control of the sky. Every time he felt that he was alone when he looked up and knew that a friendly flew overhead. "I can see the future of warfare being dependent on these large flying birds. They are almost making my job worthless." He looked to the right of him and saw something unusual. He saw an animal to the right of him coming from the field beside him. He turned his head away and then looked back in shock when he realized what it was. It was a coyote. The coyote looked stoically. The sun made its fur glisten. He stopped dead in his tracks in shock. "That isn't possible. It can't be....coyotes don't live in Europe. They live in North America, my land!" The coyote continued to stare at him. Toha stared back in disbelief. There was almost a smirk coming from the coyote as he continued to look at him. It was quiet. Explosions and flying aircraft in the distance could be heard but there was nothing else. The coyote then turned its head and looked straight ahead of him at the town ahead. Toha then turned his head to look at the town of Fresnes ahead of him. It was still far but he was getting close to it. He then turned to look back at the coyote. "Wha....it's gone." The coyote disappeared. Toha put his hand to his face. "I must be going crazy at the moment from the conflict." He took his canteen, opened it, and took a quick drink. He then put the canteen back on his belt. Toha decided that it might be best to take a quick break. He walked over to the grass on the side of the road and took a knee. He put his guns to the soft grass below. It would help lower his profile while he tried to concentrate on everything that was happening. He closed his eyes and began to concentrate. "The coyote is a sacred animal to our people" he thought quietly to himself. "It looked real. It couldn't have been anything else. I heard the voice in my head this morning. What is going on?" He tried to shut out the outside world as he let his thoughts continued in his meditative state. He knew that he was vulnerable right now but he did not care. He needed a time to just stop and think. "I must keep my mind at peace" he said out loud. He meditated and began to sing almost in a whisper of the Mountain of the Sea. He sang for a full three minutes of the lyrics he memorized as a child even slapping his uniform for a drum beat. He envisioned being back at home with the peacefulness of the night sky. No explosions, no shooting, no killing, nothing but peace. He felt a calm sensation in his mind. He still had not opened his eyes after he finished singing. He nodded to himself and knew that it was time to resume his journey. He was almost there. He opened his eyes and removed the magazine of his rifle. He reloaded additional rounds and placed the magazine back into his rifle. He was sure to meet resistance at Fresnes. Only the allied aircraft were his friend and hopefully it would be enough.

Chapter 4: Fresnes

"I am a walking target" Toha said to himself as he was at the outer edge of Fresnes. It looked almost barren. Buildings were still intact but there was no activity. If the Germans were here then they obviously had protection from the building that they were hiding from. He stood staring at the buildings in front of him. There was a small drainage ditch on the side of the road as he slowly got closer. He was 40 feet from the buildings. The silence was interrupted by machine gun fire. He only had a micro second to see that the shooters were from a balcony from atop of a roof. On top of the building was a pivot mount for a MG 08/15 Heavy Machine Gun. The bullets landed by his feet as he jumped to the ditch rolling into it. He listened as he heard about two or three riflemen were trying to shoot him. "Damn I am stuck" he said out loud. The ditch was serving as a natural trench for him. The top of the dirt was absorbing the bullets protecting him but he could not look up or risk getting shot at. Without hesitation, Toha went and took his flare gun, loaded a red marker flare and aimed it up into the sky. He could still hear the distant sounds of aircraft. "Hopefully somebody would see this" he said out loud as he fired the flare. The red flare flew straight up in the air, higher and higher. The flare was a clear sign that he was down there to his enemies but it also let the allies know that the enemy was here at Fresnes. Toha felt the dirt from the trench. He knew he had to act quickly. He grabbed his stick grenade and took a good look at it. It would be an act of desperation. He was in a perfect position to fling a grenade but at the same time he was vulnerable to somebody throwing a grenade at him. He had to act first. The rifle shots overhead started to stop when he pulled the pin of the stick grenade. He quickly jumped to his feet and with one quick overhead throw flung the grenade high at one of the buildings. He dived back into the ditch to avoid counter fire from the rifles. Amazingly the grenade he threw flew into a building window landed on the second floor and detonated a few seconds later. Whether it took anybody out was his best guess but there was a temporary delay in the shooting. A pair of Breguet 14 light bomber aircraft turned and flew to the sight of the flare that was shot into the air. They knew that somebody must have fired it and were in trouble. Both were armed with bombs ready to be dropped on anybody unlucky to be underneath them. The sound of roaring engines was getting louder and louder to Toha. The shooting stopped as the rifleman from the buildings noticed the incoming aircraft. The bombers were not planning on bombing the buildings but with the sight of the flare, one of the aircraft spotters saw the machine gun mount on top of the buildings. Private Toha did it. It almost meant him getting shot but he accomplished his job. Each second felt like a minute as Toha looked straight up and saw the pair of bombers flew overhead of him. One of the aircraft dropped a pair of bombs that landed straight on top of one of the buildings. The explosions completely leveled the house to the ground and set it on fire. The machine gunner was still active and firing at the bombers as they flew by. The rifleman had stopped firing at Toha completely. "Like an eagle dropping an explosive shit on a house" he said out loud. "Now I can shoot back at them." He poked his head out of the ditch with his Springfield rifle and aimed it at the machine gunner that was firing back at the aircraft. The rapid fire bullets were whizzing past the French bombers. Wither he was actually hitting the aircraft was Toha's best guess. Toha had a perfect bead on him. He was completely distracted. His aim was true as he aimed carefully using the dirt from the ditch to steady his aim. He pulled the trigger and a round flew from his rifle straight towards the machine gunner. The bullet struck and the gunner fell to the ground dead. He immediately ducked his head back underneath as he pulled the bolt handle to load his next shot. Meanwhile the bombers had made a slow 270 degree turn and perfectly lined themselves parallel to the houses. Another allied observation plane had spotted Toha's flare and flew high to get a good view of the activity from above. The aircraft could already see smoke and fires from one of the houses. "Please for the love of my ancestors stop shooting at me. Let this end soon." One of the greatest challenges in war was anticipating shooting somebody. You always envision firing your gun at a person in a war but a vast majority of people never envision being shot back. Toha was realistic in that he did his part in taking out the machine gunner, asking him to take out all the rifleman was not. It was two against one against him and they knew where he was while he did not know where they were. Thankfully he did not have to do much more; the bombers were in perfect position. They flew overhead and both started dropping their payload of bombs over the houses. The bombs landed dead center all over the houses. One by one, each one was set ablaze as the bombs detonated inside. It was a wall of death as the bombs exploded, leveling houses and setting fires. Pillars of smoke and fires reined the area over the town of Fresnes. Toha cringed but was happy. The riflemen were sure to be dead now. Debris from the explosion showered over him but it was nothing horrific. The deafening sound of the explosions was overhead from Toha as the ditch saved him from the sounds. Nonetheless, he had to just sit and wait now. The bombers went and began the process of turning around to prepare for another possible run. The observation aircraft recorded everything that was happening and began to turn around to head southwest to relay the information for Allied reinforcements. Toha closed his eyes and rested looking up at the sky above him. The sun was practically on top of him but he did not care. He closed his eyes and waited. He breathed in and out trying to get his nerves in control. There were no more shootings, only the sound of burning buildings and collapsing roofs filled the area. "Ancestors watch over them, both my allies and enemies." Ten minutes had passed. Toha had not moved as the fires consumed the houses. Some of the fires passed onto some of the other houses. There were no one else in the houses and any that were, were dead once the bombs were dropped. The civilian population had already been fully evacuated from the town long ago. He got out of the ditch and waved at the bombers that were still checking out the area. They tilt their aircraft back and worth to wave back at Toha. "It truly was the aircraft that did their part today" He said. Toha debated if he was going to turn the ditch into a make shift shelter for him. He debated if he should head back or not. He decided it was best to wait and rest. He rested his back on the dirt and grass. He took his canteen and took sips of water as he simply sat there. Minutes went by. His guns were on the ground as he tried to think of good thoughts. The town of Fresnes was knocked out of the war. The Germans could not use the place even if they wanted to or not. The burning wreckage of the homes was a mark of the scars of war. Homes and churches; nothing was safe from war anymore. There was an eerie silence almost. The fires and burning wreckage somehow deadened the sound of artillery fire and machine gun fire in the south. Toha was in a trance. If the enemy ever found him he would not care. His canteen was firmly clutched in his hand as he stared blankly at the distance.

*******

Toha lost complete track of time. A whole hour had passed. It was the afternoon now. Toha took a small amount of rations and ate them to keep his strength. He did not eat much but just to keep his strength up. He closed his eyes for a minute and then he reopened them. What he saw next shocked him. About twenty feet in front of him was the coyote. The same and only one he had seen so far. The coyote's piercing gaze stared at him. "What?.....Who are you? How is it possible?" The coyote walked on all fours and slowly approached him and sat about ten feet away from him. The coyote simply looked at him. "Now you must wait my old friend" the coyote spoke to him. Toha's eyes widened in shock "You....actually spoke. Who are you?" "It is time for your adventure to begin my old friend. You worked so hard to get here. All you must do now is wait. They are coming and you can help them." There was a pause in his voice as he comprehended his words. "Wait for who? How long must I wait? I am in danger if I stay too long. I don't know if the Germans are sending reinforcements are not." "You don't have to wait too long. They will be here very soon. Don't worry." Toha asked him again "Who are you? Your voice is the same one that told me to go to here. What are you?" "Let's say I owe you my old friend. Your adventure begins here. Rest here. My debt has been repaid for I am Coyote." A swirling mist of air and smoke filled and wrapped the coyote's body. Coyote's eyes glowed yellow as the smoke completely surrounded his body. The last thing Toha saw was the glowing eyes as the coyote. The smoke quickly dissipated along with the coyote. It was like the coyote had never existed. It was quiet. Toha's jaw had dropped. He thought quietly to himself "He is.....Coyote a great spirit or deity in the eyes of Native Americans. Some see him as a guide and others see him as a trickster. I wasn't going crazy, I saw somebody, I spoke to somebody, and this was real." Toha sat there and contemplated his thoughts. Whatever the case was, he felt that he did not want to move. If there was something coming as Coyote stated then they will get their time.

*******

An hour went by. Toha sat and watched more aircraft flyby looking at the destruction of Fresnes. Toha did not even want to look at it, nor did he even want to go check the buildings for any survivors. A part of him was exhausted, a part of him was tired of war, and a part of him was afraid of what he would see. Toha suddenly started to hear something from a distance to his West. He grabbed his rifle as he was going to check out who it was. He poked his head out of the ditch and looked at what was coming. There were three people walking down the road heading to the town of Fresnes. It was a man and two women each beside him. At first it appeared as nothing new but as he saw them get closer he noted some of the odd features of one of them. One of the women was Chinese. The other big thing he noticed was that each person was carrying a gun. He pondered to himself "Odd....even the women were carrying guns. It seems to them that it did not matter they were approaching a torn up landscape. Are these the people that Coyote mentioned were coming?" No one else had come. Without much more hesitation, Toha decided that it would be best to confront these three individuals. They still did not know that he was there or at least he thought he was. They were at least thirty feet away. He stood up with his rifle and aimed it downward. He stepped out of the ditch and got on the road to face the three incoming individuals. Toha had a closer look at the group. One man looked like he was from south east European perhaps Austro Hungarian. He was holding a Mannlicher rifle but he noticed that he had no magazine inserted in it. He was dressed in typical civilian attire. The Asian woman indeed looked like she was from China. She was wearing typical thick female clothing of French creation. She was carrying what looked like a French rifle. He did notice that there was a magazine inserted in the rifle and that she was armed. The other woman however seemed to grab his attention most of all. She was dressed in lighter civilian attire. She was carrying some sort of revolver. She looked like she came from southern Europe possibly Greek? She was very pretty. She had long flowing blond hair. "I thought I smelled a mortal" the Greek woman said. "What do we have here?" "She knows English?" he thought to himself. "Good...that will make the conversation easy." "My name is Private Toha from the United States Army. This town has been destroyed and you are in possible danger. You are....." The woman interrupted him "We are in no danger mortal. I promise you that. The only one that is in true danger is you." The Chinese woman turned her head and looked at the man beside her. She whispered something to him and he smiled and nodded as her attention focused back at Toha. Toha had a look of confusion "Mortal?.....Why did you call me that?" "Because that is what you are. You are a mortal human." Toha shook his head "Who are you? You don't look like a normal group of people. You don't look like army or military. There are no resistance movements in this area of the land." The Greek woman looked at the group and then back at Toha "We have urgent business here. We are.....looking for one of my personal belongings that I left in a house somewhere in this town." Toha thought to himself "That almost sounded like a lie." He spoke to her "Good luck in trying to find it. There isn't much to this town. We....had to destroy the town since the Germans were occupying it." "I can tell that. We could see the aircraft flying to this town and hear the distant explosions as we were walking here." Toha felt that he was in no danger but was perplexed at the motives of this group. He shouldered his rifle. It was his way of showing them that he posed no threat to them. The Chinese woman was studying him and getting a good look at him. The group decided to walk forward, walking past him to the ruins of one of the buildings. The Greek woman had ended the conversation as she walked up to the ruins of one of the homes. She held up her arm and closed her eyes. Toha could swear he could see some sort of light coming from her hand. She then lowered her hand and shook her head. "I am not picking up anything here" she said as she opened her eyes and walked up to the next building. "I doubt you will find anything to be honest" Toha said to the group. "This place is destroyed." "None of your concern mortal. Leave and go back to your....unit" the Greek woman said. Toha watched as she stepped up to the next home and lifted her hand to check out the building. She closed her eyes again as Toha once again swore that there was some sort of light coming from her hand. The Chinese woman turned and walked up to Toha. The man watched over them carefully. The woman spoke to Toha "I think it is wise for you to go home. Your squad are probably worried about you." He almost snapped at her "How would you know? You are a woman and don't serve the army....no offense. You might be carrying a good rifle but that does not make you army. Who are you?" "I am Daiyu. Daiyu Lu" she politely responded. She went and wrapped her arm around his shoulder guiding him away from the group. Toha was getting a confused look on his face "I don't understand. Something told me to be here." The Greek woman lowered her arm and shook her head. She then started to walk to the next building. He spoke up to the Greek woman "There would be nothing worth salvaging here. These houses have been burned to the ground!" The Greek woman then turned around and then walked up to Toha. "Listen human, you have no business here anymore. Go away." Toha brushed Daiyu's arm away from his shoulder and walked up to the Greek woman in a challenging pose. "Listen woman, an army is coming this way. In about a day or two they will reach this town. The Germans are sure to send men to try to re secure this town if they are coming at all. For you and the group I recommend that you leave this town. Return wes...." The Greek woman smiled "You wish to know who I am. Very well. My name is Ariadne. Now go away. You are in the way of our search." "I am not against you searching; I am just telling you that it is dangerous if the Germans returned." Toha felt that he was not going to convince these people to leave. He decided that maybe going in absurd direction was the best route. He decided to tell them what he saw. "A coyote told me that you were coming." The entire group focused their attention on him. Daiyu had a confused look on her face. The man in the group spoke up. "What are you talking about lass?" Ariadne had a look of surprise in her face. Toha shrugged in return. "Look I saw a coyote and he told me that somebody was coming. Are you those people?" Ariadne asked him "What coyote? There are no coyotes in Europe." Toha had no answer to really give. He didn't know admitting this was just conveying that he was nuts to the group. "I know what I saw an hour ago. He called himself Coyote and then disappeared in a puff of smoke. He told me to remain in this town and wait for somebody to come. He...." Ariadne put her hand on his shoulder and then looked him square in the eye. "You have my attention human mortal. There is something strange about you. There is....some sort of aura coming from you that I can't recognize right off. Hmm...." This was all new to Toha and it felt awkward admitting that to three strangers that he never met. "I know what I saw. I think I might be losing my mind. Maybe it is best for me to go ahead and return to my unit. Do what you want; it's your lives anyway. I did my part in warning you." He politely took Ariadne's hand and brushed it away from him. He turned around and started to walk away from the group. He headed over to the ditch to go pick up the MP-18. Ariadne went and put her hand to her chin as she thought about his words. Suddenly she got a whiff of something that went into her nose. She had put her hand that she used to touch his shoulder to her chin. There was some sort of smell coming from her hand that caught her attention. "Wait....come back here human mortal" she told him. "I need to check something out. You said that Coyote told you that we would come? What else did he say?" Toha was just about to pick up the MP-18 from the ditch when he turned to speak to her. "He told me that he owed me a debt. That I was to remain here for.....somebody and that is pretty much it." Ariadne slowly nodded "I.......believe you mortal. I do need to do something to confirm my suspicions. Did anything touch you that you felt was unusual during your lifetime?" Toha looked down in almost confusion "No....that is a very unusual question to ask. I remember having a dream this morning that I needed to go to Fresnes. I practically volunteered to take up the assignment to go to here. Well....I am here. I helped get this town bombed to the ground. I just wished I knew what was going on. Coyote.....now you three. Nothing is making much sense to me right now." Ariadne took a good sniff of her hand again. Then she approached Toha with a stern look. "This is an unusual request. May I smell you?" Toha shrugged "I guess stranger things have already happened. Sure go ahead, I don't care." Ariadne came right up to Toha and she began to take deep whiffs. The first whiff was strong to her nose. She almost took a step back because it surprised her so much. She then took another whiff and she was more used to the smell this time. She started to breathe heavily. There was some sort of attraction that she felt deep down inside from the smell. It was almost intoxicating to her. She pulled back immediately snapping herself back to reality. "I know this....you have two spirits inside you Toha. One is your spirit and the other is a spirit that is very dormant." "Wha.....I don't understand. Am I possessed?" Ariadne shook her head "No. You simply have another spirit inside you. This is very rare. I can actually smell the dormant spirit inside you. It is very faint. I feel like I somehow know what it is but I need to question you further on this. Can you stay here with our group? Do they need you to return?" Toha looked around and thought about it. He shrugged "Sure why not? Just be mindful that enemy reinforcements maybe coming this way. The four of us would be no match against several squads of soldiers. No matter how well trained you may think you are. They will try to capture or kill me and then possibly imprison you three for helping the enemy." The man in the group spoke with a flamboyant persona "Have no fear mortal! I the great Sárkány will protect us! No one shall get past my bla.....gun!" He lifted his gun almost in triumph to Toha. He almost nodded with a raised eyebrow. Daiyu smiled "That is Sárkány for you. He is the perfect companion." "Are you two married?" he asked her. The Chinese woman smiled and put her rifle next to his rifle "Hmm it is....complicated." She turned her head to him "I do love him if that is what you were asking." Ariadne broke the conversation "The enemies you fear pose no danger to us Toha. I need to resume my search. If you excuse me then I will continue to travel down this road checking the ruins of each building. It has to be here. Sárkány stay here and protect our....new associate here." Ariadne then turned around and then proceeded to the next set of houses. She was doing the same thing using her hand and closing her eyes like she was either chanting something or saying something while some white light came from her hand. She would then lower her arm, shake her head, and then proceed to the next building. Toha went and spoke to Sárkány and Daiyu. He stood beside them as they watched Ariadne doing her "search." "Who are you three exactly?.....I see some sort of light originate from Ariadne's hand." Daiyu then had a surprised look on her face "You see that? Not many humans have that ability to see magic being casted." "Magic....." Toha said in surprise. "Too many things are happening. I might be part Native American but even my beliefs go so far on some things. It is hard to believe that I saw an animal that does not live in Europe come to me and tell that it is Coyote trying to guide me to meet you guys. It is hard to believe a group such as yourself would come to this destroyed town, tell me that you are in no danger, and then proceed to use magic. Ugh.....I feel like I need to sit down." Daiyu laughed "I can definitely understand your feelings Toha. There was a time that I never believed in such things. I have seen so much conflict......" She lowered her head. She then raised it again ".....this war is truly the war to end all wars. I pray to the gods." "You believe in more than one god?" She smiled "I most certainly do now. I used to believe in one god and now I believe in many gods. Toha let me ask you something. It is an old saying that I heard once long ago." "What was it?" "Toha what if I told you that we live in a world that the deities exist?" Toha nodded "I would say it would fly in the face of some certain religions. It wouldn't hurt mine that much though." Daiyu asked him "What if we live in a world where myths were real?" "I don't know. A part of me would be happy that it was." She asked him "What if we live in a world where the fairy tales were real?" "Then this world would be much bigger than I ever realize." She added "Then it is up to you to accept those beliefs and questions. You may if you want to return to your army and continue living your life. You would then most likely never see us again after this. Or you can keep going down the rabbit hole." "I always hear that quote; I never knew what it meant though." Daiyu smiled "Trust me Alice and Wonderland is a good story. That is where the quote comes from. It means to keep going in one direction regardless of the consequences." Sárkány slapped his head "Oh poor Alice. I should have caught her before she fell into that hole! Good thing she was able to climb out." He shook his head and looked at the ground in shame. Toha was genuinely curious "I don't have anything better to do than this anyway. I have been in the army for a month. They keep sending me on scouting missions and I almost keep getting killed. I have a feeling that I won't be really be remembered as a hero in the far future anyway. I fight to help ensure that Native Americans will become citizens. I don't know....I guess for now I will see what is happening." One of Daiyu's eyebrows rose "Well you might have to decide if you are coming with us or not soon. We will only be here so long. This is a warzone after all." "You don't live here?" Daiyu laughed "Toha, I wish I could......we live in a time of searching. We help others where we can, try to find.....well we get sent on missions all around the Earth." Ariadne was near the end of the block as she was using her magic to feel for whatever she was looking for. She was getting no luck. Daiyu turned to look at her. She shook her head. Daiyu looked disappointed "Well, we knew that we might not find it here. With all the fighting and destruction it is confusing our ability to find it. This war is stirring the mana flow heavily." "Mana?" Toha asked. "It is the energy of all of us. Our Chi if you want to look at it from my homeland or at least one of them. Mana is our ability to cast spells, channel teleports, control the weather, maintain a shape, do miraculous things, and a lot of other fun stuff." She sighed "I wish I could cast spells but thanks to a certain mythical traveler I ended up getting the ability to use certain magical gadgets and still serve as a guide in some ways. I try to keep myself useful." "You are always a great service to us my lady. I am always happy to have you with us" Sárkány replied. "I know my love. It's hard for me to fight other deities, creatures, or something that way beyond human intervention. As a mortal it makes things hard to fight at all. I do have some tricks of the trade to help out but....." "My sword is always yours my lady." "Oh....I already know.....both swords" she said with a smile and a wink. Toha didn't get it. He looked at Ariadne as she started to head back to the group. Daiyu shook her head "I knew we weren't going to find it. We might never find all of them." Toha noted "It must be important what you are looking for." "It most certainly is. Everyone is searching for them. Us and any other group out there." He went and tried to think. A thought occurred to him. Toha yelled to Ariadne "Hey did you try to check some of the other areas of town!? They might have an underground wine cellar or some hidden place here in town." Ariadne put her hands to her hips as she thought about it. Her gaze then refocused on Toha. She nodded as she began to walk by the houses in search for anything that she was looking for. "What did she lose that is so important?" Toha asked. "We will explain it later when we have the time to explain it." "Might be better to le......." Toha's voice stopped as he looked eastward downs the road. He saw something was in the distance. But it was very hard to see from the range. Both Daiyu and Sárkány turned their gaze to look at what he saw. It was still too hard to see what it was. What he did tell was that it was a medium size wagon or something with several people walking beside it. Beside them were German soldiers. "Damn! We have company heading our way!" Toha yelled. He looked at the ground below him. "Ok, I will try to distract them while you try to get away from them." Before he could step forward much further, Daiyu's hand halted his movement as she grabbed his shoulder. She looked at him with a smile. Sárkány in turn got in front of both of them like he was trying to shield both of them. "Don't worry about it Toha....." Toha could see what was closing in on them. It was no wagon that was coming with the squad of soldiers. It was an Ehrhardt E-V Armored Car. These vehicles along with other armored cars were some examples of turning ordinary cars into war machines. Armored Cars often had a hard time fighting in the mud and dirt of trench warfare limiting their use but it didn't mean that they can still use them on roads and rear guard moves. "Shit....there is no way we can beat that. That is an armored car. They are mobile machine guns on wheels. I don't have the firepower to counter it. Even if we all worked together there is no way we can outfight it or outrun it." Daiyu assured him "Ariadne knows that Toha. She knows what she is doing." Toha shrugged his head. What he saw next would amaze him to the end of his life. Ariadne single handedly walked up to the squad of soldiers and armored car to blockade them from entering the town. She stood defiantly at the center of the road. She held up her hand. She spoke in a loud voice in perfect German "Im Namen der Götter.....umkehren!" Toha heard the words and tried to translate to the group "In the name of gods turn around." One of the German soldiers with a pointed helmet with a pistol in his hand waved his arms at her and replied "Geh uns aus dem Weg!" "Get out of our way" Toha translated. Ariadne took her leg and slammed her foot on the ground hard and suddenly there was a rumble from the building. She stood about forty feet away from the group. Toha felt the ground shake some. The Germans were taken aback from the scene. There was some minor panic from the event. "Letzte Warnung" she said to them. "Final warning" Toha translated. He was amazed it was like she wasn't....human. The German officer took his pistol raised it at her and fired. The round struck her face and bounced off of her doing no damage. "Impossible......it's impossible" Toha said. "I said those same words practically 25 years ago" Daiyu said. "Watch everything and become a believer." Toha's gaze never faltered. He watched as Ariadne's form glowed white. A bright light emitted from her body and there was a flash of light that caused all but Sárkány to look away. The German soldiers were covering their eyes. Toha looked back to see something that he would never forget once the light faded away. Ariadne was no longer human. She was a nine foot tall Minotaur. He was looking at her from behind but he knew what he saw. She had a tail of a bull, her feet were hooves, she had fur that covered her body, horns from her head, and she had four fingers on each hand. She no longer wore clothing but bronze armor instead that covered her chest and top portion of her legs. One of the striking features was that the weapon she had in her hand when she was human was no longer a gun but a trident. Ice vapor radiated from the trident's tips. Toha's mouth was wide open in shock. She said in English "I am the Goddess Ariadne, granddaughter of Zeus the almighty. You are in my way!" The German soldiers were in total shock as some ran away in terror. Some stayed by the officer in complete shock or confusion. Amazingly the officer held his stance but even this was something he did not expect. He held his pistol trained on her. The German officer screamed "Feuer! Offenes Feuer!" as he began to fire his pistol at Ariadne. The armored car fired both its forward mounted machine gun and fired its top mounted machine gun at her. Only one of the other German soldiers complied with the officer's orders and began firing his rifle at her. All the bullets were bouncing off of her. One of the ricocheting bullets that bounced off her smacked the dirt by Daiyu. Sárkány took his rifle and smacked the butt of it to the dirt on the road. "Enough of this hiding! Stand back; I will protect both of you with my life!" Toha while watching Ariadne, saw as Sárkány morphed. His skin turned into scales, his clothing turned into armor, his rifle began to shift into what looked like a sword, and large wings quickly grew from his back. A serpent like tail grew from his rear. He grew in height at about eight feet in height. Daiyu was completely unfazed. She never even bothered to lift her rifle. It was like she had already seen this before. Within a few seconds of firing, the officer stopped firing and lowered it in complete shock. The armored car stopped firing as well knowing they did nothing to her. The German soldier that fired ran out of rounds and lowered his rifle. There was a dead silence. Ariadne said in a defiant voice "My turn......" She took her trident and lifted it as a spear and threw it had the officer. The officer was impaled in the stomach and flew to the ground several feet away. His body slowly began to get colder. His entire body was turning into ice. She then held her hand to the trident and it disintegrated and reappeared in her hand. The rest of the German soldiers seen enough, they all ran away. The German car began to go reverse. It pulled hard back and struggled to turn around as quickly as possible. It then floored it as it made a full ninety degree turn and drove back as fast as it could. Ariadne decided to hold her stance. She took the blunt end of the trident and slammed it to the ground almost making a tremor from the impact. "Amazing....." were the only words he could say. "Ha, Ha, nicely done Princess!" Sárkány said with his new transformed body. He still had his back pointed at Toha. Ariadne then walked up to the frozen body of the officer and she shook her head. "There was nothing I could do for you mortal. Forgive me." She then took her free hand, clenched it into a fist and slammed it at the ice form, shattering the form of the man into tiny pieces. After a moment of silence she turned around and started walking back to the group. Daiyu nodded "Witness gods at work Toha, for now you are a believer."

Chapter 5: The Mission

Ariadne walked up to Toha and the group, her powerful form dominated his vision. He thought quietly to himself "I only know so much about the Minotaurs of stories my mother read to me from my father's library. They were known as beasts that guarded the labyrinths. That is all I know. My Native American side however just sees a woman with a bulls form." It was hard to see all her features from behind. Up front Toha could see that Ariadne was wearing bronze armor that covered her chest and body. She had small horns protruding from her head. Her trident turned almost into a walking stick as the blunt head tapped the dirt as she walked. Her hooves left prints on the ground as she got closer and closer. Toha was still left with his thoughts "She is both powerful and beautiful." He noted her form; he could see a feminine look to her. She had orange fur with some white spots that covered her body that was not covered in armor. She had a small amount of brownish hair sprout from her head that looked like human hair. Her chest size was average size but proportional to that of a woman of her size. Her nine foot frame dominated the size of the group. Her tail waved to and fro as one of her hands touched her hips. She had brown eyes. "Are....is....are you truly that?" Toha struggled to ask her. "This is my true form Toha. I am Ariadne, the Goddess of Labyrinths. I am granddaughter of Zeus and Princess of Crete....or I was a long time ago. So much as happened from that time to today." Her trident then disintegrated in her hand as she then held her hand to point out the rest of the group. "This is Sárkány the dragon and this is Daiyu, a human and good partner to Sárkány." Daiyu interrupted "By the way is name is spelled Sárkány, I know to you it sounds like 'Zarkon'." Toha never had a chance to note his true form. Sárkány was an anthropomorphic bipedal dragon. He wore a suit of armor on top of the armored scales that he already had. He had a greenish coloration to his whole body. He wore a helmet that protected the top of his head but did not cover his face. He could see a pointed nose of a reptile, dragon like wings, scales that covered his body, five fingers on each hand, a broadsword in his right hand, four digit feet with talons dug into the dirt. He had a tail with spikes that protruded from the tip and he had yellow eyes that were reptilian like. "Is this your true form?" Toha asked. Sárkány smiled "But of course lad." Daiyu added "He has another from besides being human that I have seen once. He only does it if there is no other choice." Toha shook his head "This is all incredible. I never imagined that....you people exist. I had always heard of you as myths or made up stories. I.....I don't know what to say." "It is ok lad" Sárkány stated. Ariadne nodded "It will take time but you will get used to it. Everyone will." Daiyu explained "It is natural to feel the way you do. We.....they take on human form to help disguise themselves as human. The catch is that it is very draining on their mana. After about half a day they have to revert to their original forms to help recharge and do it again. Ariadne had her arms crossed "There was a time when we barely ever had to take human form. Now with things they are it is becoming a necessity." Daiyu nodded "Us humans are getting better at surviving. In the last forty years we have watched the population of this planet explode. I have seen it first hand when it came to places like China that it has affected them politically. Europe was the perfect example of increasing population and technological changes that when the war began in 1914 everyone thought that it would be over in less than a year. Four years later and we barely moved an inch. I hope that this war is a lesson on all of us." "That wasn't what I was meaning." "I know" Daiyu said. "The population of this planet is getting so large that it is hard for the deities to hide. They are invincible when it comes to mortal weapons but it is difficult to maintain human forms for the deities that are not human. They can maintain the form for several hours but it drains their power." Toha shook his head "Is there a place we can go to sit and talk about everything? There is a lot we need to talk about." Ariadne turned around and looked at the ruins. "Yes, I imagine the Germans will not be coming back here. But the allies will try to occupy this place." Sárkány jumped in "We can simply take human form Princess! The Allies will not bother us too much if they think we are natives of this town." "No.....I am not picking it up here at this town at all. I would have picked something up by now. If the Germans had simply waited a few minutes I would have given up and let them take the town instead of killing one of them." Toha shrugged his shoulders "I have had to kill....." Ariadne looked down "I have the power to kill a lot of human mortals. I try to avoid it when I can. I had to chase them off and the officer wasn't going to stop. That human might have been a father for all I know. Yes Toha, we have all had to kill but I don't take pleasure in killing other mortals like that......well we need to decide. Do we keep searching this town? I am not picking anything up here." Daiyu scratched her chin "The war and conflict is making it hard to pick anything up. I have a good feeling there is nothing here like the last four towns we have checked already. The war is disrupting the mana flow. I suggest we find a new spot where we will not be disturbed." "I am for whatever the group wants my lady" Sárkány said. Ariadne nodded "Fine. Let's get out of here. Daiyu put us in the open grasslands of Oklahoma, United States. I want us away from all humans by at least 10 miles." "You got it" Daiyu said as she stuck her hand into her coat. She then pulled out a small bag that Toha was trying to figure what it was. Her pointer finger and thumb entered the bag and then she pulled out a small sphere. "Toha let me ask you this question. Do you want to come with us and try to answer the questions you have now or do you want to stay with your unit?" Toha was in deep thought. He had genuine curiosity in his mind. "I think I will come along. Beats being in a war. I have no idea how much longer this is going to last anyway." "Then you will have to do something for us all. You need to leave your dog tags here and one of your guns. Put it in one of the ruins. They might think you are dead or possibly got killed from your mission. If you ever change your mind we will make sure you get back to your unit before night time." Toha thought to himself "Leave my dog tags.....leave my gun......I guess I can do it. I feel this is all new to me anyway. I need to know why Coyote guided me to you three." Toha walked back to the ditch and picked up his MP-18. He then walked up to one of the ruined homes. The place had been burned down to a blacked burned ash. He then put his rifle into the ash and threw some of it on top of it. He then reached onto his neck and snapped his dog tags off. He took a good look at the tags and read his name on it. He then tossed it next to the rifle. With all being done he walked up to the group and Daiyu nodded. "I understand what you have to consider Toha. Trust me you are doing the right thing. They might not be fully convinced you are dead but they will still think you might be dead or simply missing in action. Either way, they will less likely launch all out searches for you wherever you go." Toha nodded "Let's go." Daiyu closed his eyes as he raised the purple sphere to his mouth. He then said three words to the sphere marble and tossed it to the ground ten feet away. Suddenly the sphere flashed and transformed into a twirling spinning vortex in the street. Toha could see through the vortex and see a green field through it. It was a gate or portal to the location that Ariadne requested. The vortex was large enough even for Ariadne to leap through. "Let's go.....we have about ten seconds before it closes." Without hesitation all but Toha walked through the portal. Toha thought about it for two seconds and ran through the portal. To Toha's eyes there was some blur and distortion in his eyes as his body was transported from one location on Earth to a new location in less than a second. He emerged from the other side and saw the three looking at his direction wondering if he was going to go through or not. "Whoa....." he said as he turned around to look at the vortex. The swirling vortex suddenly collapsed. Toha suddenly realized he was no longer in Europe but in the United States now. There was nothing but grass around him. He was in the massive expanse of grass fields that dominated the Oklahoma landscape. He noticed immediately the location of the sun as well. What was around 1pm in France was now around 6am in the morning there. The sun was close to rising now. It was morning once again for him. "Incredible....." he said. He looked at the minotaur, dragon, and human that were looking at him. Ariadne was the first to walk away from the group as she walked around. She got about twenty feet from them. "I think we need to find a place to rest shall we" Ariadne said as she took her large hands and clapped them together. Then she opened her hands and light and string flew from her hands. The string flowed from her hands nonstop. The string wove itself as two large structures were being formed. Tents large enough to house them were being created from her hands. "You have this power?....." he asked her. "Of course. I am the Goddess of Labyrinths, the Goddess of Weaving, the Goddess of Wine." "You literally have the god of make whatever she wants" Daiyu added. "Give her a few minutes and she can give you any type of clothing and make shift items." "She made me a great sweater!" Sárkány also added. Within a couple of minutes two tents were being formed from her hands. These tents were large. They sat side by side and were large enough to hold Ariadne's or Sárkány's large forms with ease. They were simple pop up tents with its own flat roof. One was green colored and the other purple. Toha noticed two large beds in each of the tents. "One is for us" Daiyu said. "The other is for you two." Ariadne told him "I can make another tent when I am done if you are uncomfortable with being in the same tent as I am." Toha shrugged "It doesn't matter too much for me. I am being exposed to so many new things that I am struggling to keep my mind from snapping like a twig." "I imagine you have had a long day. You are welcome to go to sleep in the soft beds." Toha saw the formation of the bed. "Those beds must be wonderful. Beats the rough beds and racks from the trenches." Within a few minutes, Ariadne finished her work. Two fully formed tents with beds were constructed. There was even a privacy curtain over the tent's entrance. There was a smile in Ariadne's face. She genuinely enjoyed doing this and felt rewarded every time she did it. Toha nodded "Thank you for making these. It is beautiful. I could fall asleep in it." "Hmm we need more. To finish this all up, are you hungry Toha?" "Yes I am. I don't suppose you have any food? I do have some rations with me to eat." Ariadne smiled "Make yourself comfortable Toha. I have an idea. In about an hour I will have food brought here." Daiyu went and took her heavy coat off of her. She still wore a shirt and pants but she made herself comfortable. Sárkány followed suit. He took his sword and stabbed it into the ground by the entrance. Daiyu took her shoes and jumped onto the large bed in the green tent. Toha shrugged as he unbuttoned the top layer of clothing as he placed the MP-18 by the entrance of the purple tent. Ariadne then unfastened her chest armor and lower armor leaving just a bra and underwear that she wore underneath it. Toha's eyes focused on her body now as he noted her looks underneath her heavy armor. He could see her breasts lined with the orange fur with white spots that dotted the top of the breasts and see her cleavage well. He could see her abbs that lined her stomach. She looked like she could lift a house with ease. She then went and lay down on her stomach as Toha took off his boots and some of his uniform. Ariadne turned her head and noticed that Toha was looking at her body. Toha quickly looked away as she smiled. She nodded lightly and noted it. "Beats being in the battlefield isn't it Toha?" Daiyu asked. "Yes. I can't see you from my bed. There is a tent wall in the way." "I will handle this!" Sárkány said in a striking voice. In less than a few seconds Toha saw a large hand grab the curtain wall and list it so that Ariadne and Toha could see Daiyu and Sárkány. "Thank you" Toha said. He went and lay down on his stomach on the bed beside Ariadne. He felt ready to fall asleep. "Everybody looks comfortable" he thought to himself. "It is so quiet and peaceful....away from the explosions and violence. Ariadne certainly chooses a quiet place to be." Airadne explained to Toha "So.....we have all day to sit here and discuss things Toha. We can discuss anything that you want to. Name your topic and we explain everything to the best of our abilities." "Ok" he nodded. "My first question that I wanted to discuss is what is a dragon and an old Greek god doing near the area that I was fighting and struggling to survive?" "Goddess...." She corrected. "The answer is somewhat easy to answer. It is you that got near us. Our paths just happened to intersect ours. However that being said I believe you had helped encouraging those paths to intersect by the deity known as Coyote." "About a day ago, all those stories when I was told when I was young about gods and goddesses, deities, creatures, such as yourself were just that.....stories. Coyote is a legend in our people of a guide, a trickster, depending on who he works with." She nodded on her comfortable bed "Well.....nothing has changed much Toha. We do exist just not in the number that you think exists. Coyote is one of the deities or 'mythics' as some of us are starting to call ourselves, that do not serve in the Coalition of Deities but is not a malevolent deity either." "Coalition what?" Ariadne shrugged "Hmm.....perhaps I will explain this whole story when you tell me some more about yourself." Toha nodded comfortably in bed. He noticed that Daiyu had pushed her bed beside Sárkány and they were comfortably together. "Well...I was born in Arizona, United States in the Pima Reservation. I was born in May 1890. My father is white and was a Lutheran. He taught me a lot of the societies of white men and raised me with my mom. My mother was a Native American born and fellow part of the tribe. I lived off and on in the Reservation and outside the reservation. It is one of the reasons why I am a citizen of the United States." Daiyu was listening to everything. "I am not very familiar with the Indians. From what I know the Americans were either trying to convert the Indians to their ways or trying to eradicate them. It was only rumors though amongst the French until I have learned more recently. I am amazed you served in the United States Army. The French Foreign Legion could have used someone of your abilities very easily." "It is true that some of the Native Americans did join the Foreign Legion before the United States joined. I was not very interested in joining the Legion unless the United States decided to fully commit to it. Nonetheless, I had a sense of patriotism not towards the United States but towards my fellow people. I still cared about my tribe. Most of my people, what was left of my family, and fellow associates are not citizens. I joined the war to try to make sure that all Native Americans become citizens." "Even though the general opinion towards the natives was that of genocide and relocation? Your people certainly shine brightly against such.....evil." Toha nodded "I feel the same way to be honest. I am not ignorant against what the white men want of us. Even my father was a bit eccentric at times. I still loved my father but in certain beliefs he was a little aggressive towards attitudes against Native Americans. Him loving my mother was his way of making peace with those misconstrued attitudes. I think if time continued I think he would have continued to change his view points on things further. Unfortunately both my parents died in a regrettable accident. While I was spending time with my grandparents they died in a house fire while they were asleep." Ariadne looked down "I am sorry to hear about that." Toha shook his head "It's ok. That was ten years ago. As tradition amongst our people we make sure to never say their names. It would be disrespectful to say their names to others." "Seriously?" Daiyu asked. "Yes. Amongst our tribe even saying our name till the age of 15 is frowned upon. We have our ways and customs. At the same time though it is changing as our ways are becoming lost or adapting to the white man's ways. I live in a blended world of combining customs. I am.....trying to do my best." Daiyu nodded "Now here you are in Oklahoma. While Europe tears itself asunder. Four years of them trying to eradicate themselves. At this rate the Europeans are going to make themselves extinct. Colonialism will end and the nations controlled by the Europeans will be free as they keep trying to destroy each other. I feel sympathy for all sides in the war." Ariadne asked "What drove you to the town of Fresnes?" "During my sleep, I was told by Coyote that I was supposed to go to Fresnes. I fought some Germans there but I had help from the aircraft. That's why the town looks the way it does now. Coyote told me that there was some sort of debt that he was repaying. He 'guided' me to meet you." She was thinking hard as she replied "And now you are here. Do you feel comfortable?" Toha nodded with a smile "I certainly do. It feels comfortable under the nice sun in the shade. Well....enough about my story, tell me about what is going on. Why are a goddess, a dragon, and a Chinese woman doing at a wrecked town in a middle of war zone?" Ariadne responded "We are on a mission to find a Lintarsha Shard. It is part of a powerful crystal that can save the deities from extinction. I will explain more on this later. I suppose it is time to give you our full story." Daiyu added "I can fill in some of the story. I made a massive effort to study the deities and with the help of Sárkány, I have a library in my head." Ariadne shifted herself to her side and faced Toha. "A long time ago before Greece was ever united and when humanity was still pondering the wheel, the deities existed. We like you, were trying to figure ourselves out. We tried to learn of our environment, what we can do, how to use our powers, and at the same time learn about the human race. I can tell you things from my end from the Greek deities' perspectives but other deities can tell you a similar story in the end. We all learned that we were more powerful than you ever were. We took advantage of that and established ourselves as your deities, your protectors, and compass in life. In time we met the other groups of deities such as the Egyptians, the Norse, the Hindu, the Chinese, the Americans, Africa, Oceania, and more. We like them, held a certain place and belief to your society." Daiyu added "The gods, goddesses, mythological beasts, stories in your fairy tales, we all exist. Good and evil, they are all in a basis of fact." Toha's thinking made him ask "So.....you are saying that.....you the deities came into existence just like us humans and decided to be worshiped by the mortals?" Ariadne nodded "We all have a different story to tell Toha. Gods, Goddesses, mythical creatures, sometimes the odd ball fairy tale are all on a basis of fact. Eventually however a problem arose. So large in number we became that we started to compete against one another. Heaven and Hell, Chinese and Egyptian, Norse and Africa, American and Hindu, we all started to fight one another. While human societies sometimes worked around the sheer number of us in 1598 AD of your year the cataclysm began. By then Greek and Egyptian Gods were being looked at less and less as a massive disaster was being foreseen. The foresight and fortune deities were seeing a massive disaster coming. Something large and powerful was going to strike and it was going to wipe out everything. Heaven, all the deities, the underworld, and eventually humanity was going to be wiped out from this cataclysm. It was as if something was determined to wipe out everything was coming. We were left with little choice." Daiyu once again started to interject "Even with the most powerful magic, the ability to alter reality, alter the sun, alter time, this cataclysm was coming. The power of whatever this thing was at the time was unavoidable. Therefore a decision was made. The Hindu deities were the first to propose an alliance of all the deities. They were already in an area where the people had learned the face of many gods concept. To them, they were patient and knew that a massive alliance against the cataclysm was perhaps even if a small one, the only way to combat the end of all. They proposed the Treaty of Rudra and listened to see if all the deities would work together to combat what we simply called 'The Great End.' It worked and all the greatest minds worked together to resolve what we simply knew was unavoidable. Eventually a discovery was made." Ariadne shifted in her bed as she continued "It became known as the Lintarsha Crystal. This powerful crystal would combine all the magic of every deity from all the groups into one super powered reality altering device. When activated, the crystal could be used to destroy the cataclysm and save everyone. You could use this crystal for just about anything. It was too much power for one deity to use but we were desperate as any mortal could ever fathom. We set out to construct the crystal but time took longer to make than usual. There was no way even with the best foresight, intelligence, and wisdom to see that this thing would take to manufacture. Eventually our time was up and the crystal was at 98% of completion when it happened." Toha was glued to the bed as he looked at the other bed. Sárkány was almost asleep on his stomach as Daiyu was using one of his wings as a blanket. They were quite cozy. "We seem to be still here. It looks like we would be dead if you guys failed." Ariadne nodded "It was simply known as the Great Cataclysm. The end of everything. I don't know if it was alive or simply a force of nature. It was pure evil, bent on destroying all life, and with the power to destroy everything. It targeted the American Deities first, wiped them out almost completely before moving on to the Norse, the Chinese, the Hindu, the Underworld. One by one we were being systematically wiped out. The crystal was our last hope, we fought for a full year. Once we were wiped out then humanity would be next. We were your shield trying to fight Cataclysm on every level of reality. For the War gods even if it was a war of defeat it was truly a war to end all wars." "There would certainly be some sign on all of humanity's stories if Cataclysm was showed up." "Part of the Treaty of Rudra was just that Toha" Daiyu jumped in. "You were us and we were you. The deities would ensure that some of the magics they used would shield the world of any knowledge or destruction that Cataclysm raged. Cataclysm itself was not something that could be seen by regular sight of mortals. It consumed everything including light as it tried to approach behind Earth's shadow. The deities even the ones from the underworld had profound undying respect for humanity. You showed respect for all even with the some underworld aspects even respecting the concept of hatred as love and respect. Everyone knew what was at stake. However once the deities were wiped out the shield would collapse and Earth would be vulnerable." Ariadne jumped back in "During the struggle we did discover a weakness in Cataclysm though. It is very difficult to describe it in your terms but by the time we discovered it we were down to 10% of our deities and mythics left. Maintaining the shield to protect humanity and completing the crystal were the only main priorities left. Amazingly we did it and without hesitation we activated the crystal. Suddenly Cataclysm shattered and was wiped from existence never to be seen again forever. One of the things we did not anticipate however was that it did more than that. The crystal was designed to do more or at least that is what we thought." Like clockwork Daiyu jumped in "The Lintarsha Crystal was supposed to restore the deities that fell in battle that is, back to life but it did not happen. It might have been something we did not foresee or something that was supposed to happen but didn't because we were desperate to finish the crystal's completion. We believe that the crystal can do more but the crystal shattered upon using it. The crystal fragments flew to all parts of Earth. We have no idea how many crystals shards there are but the remaining deities proposed a more permanent alliance under the Treaty of Enki. Up to 85% of the deities accepted the proposal and united under the Coalition of Deities. The remaining deities that did not join the organization have become rouges or simply stayed out of our way as we search for the crystal shards." Ariadne continued "The Coalition has several goals. The 1st goal is the collective cohesion of the deities. We as a group are responsible to help one another out in times of danger or to simply help one another out. There are so few of us that we need to ensure our own survival." Toha asked "Can a mortal kill or injure a deity?" "There has been no recorded event of a mortal killing a deity. Even with the weapons you have now can do no damage. Only with god killing weapons that we give to you or the inflicted damage of another deity can you actually inflict harm. We have had to kill off some deities in the past that have gone too far in trying to bring harm to mortal beings. That brings me to the 2nd goal of the coalition. Our goal is to ensure that humanity survives and that we do not reveal ourselves to you." "You have a strong sense of loyalty to those that are not as strong as you" he added. "There are many reasons as to why. One we have become more enlightened to our time with you. At first we enjoyed the idea of being worshipped but the price was high. You would go to war with one another claiming that we were on your side. Some would wave banners with us backing you up. Sometimes we did get involved at first but it was becoming apparent you were becoming dependent on our miracles. Some of those miracles were your sacrifice and valiant efforts of man, not us. You should be praised for some of the things you have done to uplift yourselves. You truly don't need us anymore but at the same time we have the right to exist as well. A vast majority of us have the ability to take human form to disguise ourselves amongst you. It is however our weakness though." Toha had a questioning look "And why is that?" "Taking up human form drains our magic. It is also uncomfortable for us after some time. Usually we can maintain the form for half a day. It works well since night time usually hits for us by then. We make sure we take missions that involve us limiting our exposure to mortals to ensure no one ever finds out that we are the very things you worship or hold dear or at the very worst offend. We don't want to alter and influence your society anymore than we have to." Toha nodded "And what about Fresnes? You got involved in our war." Ariadne shook her head "That is what our 3rd goal is all about. We were not involved in your war and killing that mortal with my trident was a tragic event for me. The third goal is to find the Lintarsha crystal shards. So far we have found four of the shards. Our goal is to scour the globe and find these pieces so that we can assemble them or at least have them in our possession. We have been coming up with new ideas on what to do with our future if we can find all those pieces." "I saw you searching up Fresnes trying to find a shard. Have you ever found a shard?" Ariadne shook her head "I myself have yet to find a shard. They are very hard to find. You will know it when you find it. These shards require a deity to be very close to pick it up. We have no idea how many shards are out there. This mission may take a few years or it might take hundreds of years to find them all. The only few ways we can pick it up is through conflict. The more you inflict damage on the planet such as this Great War of yours the more it disrupts the magic flow of the environment. The shard poses no threat to anything but it gives off a massive disruption to everything around it. Your own wars give off a shard reading so we have to send in our own to see if a shard is around it. Even with the best foresight and wisdom gods cannot locate the pieces. We just have to luck out and find one. It is as if the shards have a will of their own and don't want to be found. I have been searching for almost five hundred years with no luck but some have managed to find one such as Sárkány here that has managed to find one." Daiyu was quiet as she was petting Sárkány's head. Her hand brushed the scales on top of his head. "It is still amazing that you exist. I mean I look at you and.....well...." Toha's head scanned her body and her form. He could see the loincloth dress that Ariadne was wearing as she lay on her stomach. He looked at her hooves and as his eyes were scanning from her legs to her ass. Her tail flicked a little bit on the bed. He could see the light orange fur on her back as it met the bra strap on her back. She had a womanly figure for a minotaur despite her powerful form. She looked like she could pick up a horse with one arm with simple ease. "Ah..." Toha said lightly as Ariadne had a smile on her face. She noticed Toha was looking at her in more than just curiosity. He blushed a little bit as Ariadne caught him looking at her. "Ha" Daiyu commented. He also caught the scene. "I have seen that look before...." "You like what you see human mortal?" Ariadne asked with coy. "I understand.....usually you human mortals prefer us to be in our human form but sometimes you like us for who we really are. There is no shame in being attracted to us." Toha blushed as he tried to change the conversation "Umm....what about the other gods? Who is Coyote? We have our own stories about him but what can you tell me about him?" Daiyu explained "Coyote is part of a non-aligned group of deities that are not part of the coalition. They are not violent or here to cause problems. If anything they have been basically helping us here and there. Why they won't join is anyone's guess. There have been multiple attempts to get him to join but he refuses and prefers to help everyone that he chooses to do so. Huehuecoyotl his 'sister,' Br'er Rabbit, Pan, and Kutkh are all members of this Non-Aligned Movement. They are led by the goddess known as Ori that can see some events in the future. We hold respect for her and if Coyote was acting out of her wishes then there was an importance on why he guided you to us. That is why we are talking right now." Toha scratched the back of his head. His black hair felt greasy and dirty from the lack of shower accessibility that the trenches had. "So Ariadne and Sárkány are from folk lore and myth? What about the other Greek gods? Did anyone make it?" Ariadne responded "Not many of us made it all together. We were reduced from tens of thousands to around the hundreds. Some of the Greek Gods made it but I would say we number around ten now. I was thankful that most of the Egyptian gods made it with about half their number survived and serves as the majority in the Coalition. Some deities here and there are worshiped from other cultures also are part of it as well. You might be surprised to the deities, mythical creatures, and other band of groups that form our coalition. I know a lot of you humans might be surprised that Diablo serves in our group too. He originally served alongside Hades but with the loss of the Underworld he has nowhere to go. Like the rest of us he is hoping that resembling the crystal might be able to make a difference somehow." "What happens when you resemble the crystal?" he asked. Ariadne looked down at the bed and away from Toha "We....don't know. Each of us holds different beliefs and possibilities as to what the crystal will do. Some believe that nothing will happen and that the crystal has served its purpose. Some like myself hold the belief that it will restore those killed from the Great Cataclysm. Some fear that it will not only restore those destroyed but also restore Cataclysm back to life but hold hopes that we will be able to mount a better defense since we now know Cataclysm's weakness. Others hold the beliefs that regardless of what it might do that it needs to be found and kept away from those that think it might do something such as those not part of the Coalition or just horrible deities." Toha questioned "You said the shards don't do anything by themselves though. What harm would they do by having it?" Daiyu jumped in "The shards don't do anything by themselves but we don't want others to think the shards give great power to them. Even you humans that might discover it will still think it does something special. Wars could be fought over a shard that should stay out of your hands. That was why Ariadne acted the way she did. If the Germans or the Allies that you are part of found it, then everyone might fight each other for it. So far we have not found anything." Ariadne nodded "The third goal is probably the most important goal in our Coalition. It does lead to the fourth and final goal of the Coalition and that is staying out of human affairs. This often clashes with the third goal so don't get me wrong when it does happen. The goal is to remain out of human affairs unless a shard is present or if we have to deal with a rouge deity that violates the Treaty of Enki. Sometimes us deities do fall to our lesser instincts and end up causing harm to you mortals. If one of us tried to show up proclaim ourselves god and told you to bow down to us then it is our responsibility to stop it. Most of the times instead of trying to find a shard we have to go in and eliminate a threat one of us pose onto you. When a deity goes and brings harm to a village for example for no reason it creates a magic disruption that we pick up." Toha asked "How do you deal with those in your Coalition that are well evil like the Devil?" "Evil is something of interpretation Toha" Daiyu responded. "Our Coalition is that of balance. Hades for example was responsible for handling Death in the mortal realm. Somebody had to do that. I remember even Anubis once telling me that if Death did not exist then mortals would not understand suffering and at the same time it is release from sickness and suffering. Tiamat that serves in our ranks is the embodiment of chaos. Without chaos then there is no concept of order. She does her best to keep herself under control but you would be amazed how she gets the job accomplished and she does it very well even if the actions can be questionable. The Devil or Diablo as he often prefers to be called, serves as one our blacksmiths after we lost Hepaestus, Wayland, Kothar-Wa-Khasis, and most of the others. Ptah often even commented how good of a blacksmith he is since he became one." Ariadne added "We are all trying our best to carry out the goals of what we established. We are not horrible deities; we are just trying to survive." Toha got off the bed and walked out of the tent. Ariadne shrugged and got out of the bed to meet him outside the tent. Her towering form dominated his size. "I am sorry there is still so much for me to understand what has happened. I feel that my belief system has been destroyed but affirmed in a different way." She placed her hand on his shoulder. Her fingers enveloped his right shoulder and chest "Let me tell you something, Toha. Everything that I am telling you is not designed to shatter your beliefs. I have lost so many of my friends and family Toha. Zeus, my Great Uncle Poseidon, Theseus.....my children. Lords of all....my dear children. Cataclysm took it all. It is why I am trying to get the crystal resembled Toha. If it holds even a smallest chance of restoring all that was lost then let's do it. It might not happen in your lifetime but that is what religion is Toha....it is faith that things will get better for all time." "I need a minute to re gather my beliefs Ariadne. This...is not easy. I believe in my ancestors and respect my culture's ideals highly." She went and slowly hugged him. Her arms held him in a comfortable embrace. His head rested on her chest. He resisted having his head pushed to her breasts. He went and pulled away from her and walked a couple of feet away from her. "Well.....in one day I have been exposed to things I believed in and had some things shattered at the same time. My world has been flipped around. I still have some hard things to believe." Ariadne had a look of content "It is very vital that you do not tell the other human mortals about us or what you have learned. It can....have a strong effect on mortals." Toha decided to play devil's advocate "Why? Why should I not tell them about everything?" Ariadne decided to placate and answer the question "Think of it this way, how would you feel if you were told everything that is happening now. That the gods and things that they have ever have believed in, have been practically wiped out. It would have dramatic consequences Toha. Religious foundations that are built on us would fracture and fall apart. People would lose hope. Look at this Great War that is happening in Europe. They are times that try men's souls. They need hope that things will get better. Faith is very important. I debated about telling you those things but you wanted the truth. Do not volunteer and tell others so willingly or you can't be a part of our team." "Your team?" Ariadne smiled "I figure that maybe there was a good reason for Coyote to lead you to us. The fact is.... Sárkány and Daiyu are made for each other. It took them time but they are happy together. I am...lonely. With most of my family and friends gone, I need a companion to come with me. Sárkány and Daiyu may not be with me on my patrols much longer and then I will be alone again. I need a mortal companion. I need someone to help me keep up with the present times or an intermediary between the deities and mortals. You can be that guide for me if.....you are willing?" Toha looked down and then back at her. He was thinking about everything she said. He stopped and looked at her and then her body. She was powerful. He could see her chest breathe in and out like that of a human being. He never been with a woman before and this one was asking for him to be with her. "This is brand new to me Ariadne. I was fighting in the trenches and now this. Being here compared to there is between night and day. It is so peaceful here away from all that. I feel like the answer to this question is yes but give me some time to answer that question." Toha went and pulled out his necklace that had the I'toha. He thought back about the other Native Americans that were fighting for their lives in the trenches. He thought quietly to himself "Maybe I have done my part in that war. I have little to go home to back in the reservation. I think my parents would be happy if I did travel with deities." Ariadne nodded "There is another name for us if you want to categorize us instead of just calling us deities and legendary creatures. Daiyu started the name 'Mythics' for everything that was not mortal being. I like it." Toha nodded as well "Yeah a part of me feels like going with you. I feel....safe being with a.....Mythic as you. You are very....beautiful even for somebody that is not looking like a human." "I can always try to be in my human form if you wish." Toha shook his head "No.....that is not you. This is your true form correct?" She nodded "Yes, this is what I truly am." Toha gripped his necklace as Ariadne had a questioning look on her face. "What is that that you are holding?" "This? This is an I'itoi. It depicts the man that travels down the maze to the center. It is something that my ancestors worship. It......" Ariadne's eyes lit up. She then took her hands and put it next to her snout as she took a big whiff. She could smell what it was and then it dawned on her. "Big Brother! The dormant spirit that is in your body. I know what is in you. By Zeus and the gods, it didn't occur to me until I just saw that. You have Se:he in you. You are the carrier of Se:he!" "The Spirit of Big Brother is in Toha!?" Daiyu said in the tent. She had been overhearing the conversation but remaining quiet. Sárkány was practically asleep now in the comfortable bed. Toha's eyes widened in shock "That isn't.....am I Se:he?!" "No but he is within you. Toha....this is why Coyote guided you to me. You carry and are the Man of the Maze." Toha had a happy look on his face "I....I never thought it was possible. How....did he get in me?" "Se:he is a traveling spirit. He like some of the mythics tried to find ways to survive after the Great Cataclysm. This was his way. He fought with me when I fought Cataclysm. He told me that he found a way to preserve himself before Cataclysm struck down the body that he traveled in. Well.....he did find a way. He would go from body to body to live in. When you were born, he went to you." Toha put a hand to his chest like he had never done it before it. "So....what does this mean though?" Ariadne put her hands to her hips "I will show you if you agree to become my companion. Do you want to return to the trenches or discover a new you?" It didn't take long for him to decide. He nodded "Yes. It seems Coyote wanted me to be here. I will be with you Ariadne. Show me what I need to do." Ariadne took her hand and began to chant something quietly to herself "Then it is time....be ready we are going somewhere else." "What are you?....." The minotaur goddess took her hand and raised it to the sky. A white light appeared from it as she flashed it to the ground beside them. She said one word "lavýrinthos!" and threw her hand to the ground. A flash of light erupted from both of them. Both Ariadne and Toha disappeared in a blaze of light. Daiyu watched almost in non surprise. "Well.....they will be back."

Chapter 6: The Labyrinth of Companions

Toha appeared in a grass field at the entrance of a massive set of green shrub and bushes that formed into walls. The walls stood at 10 feet above him so that he could not look over it. Outside he could see grass that grew so large that it seemed like it was guiding him to go into it. Ariadne was nowhere to be seen. He looked around and saw a blue sky and the occasional clouds. When he looked behind him he could see a series of Mountains that he could not recognize. A loud voice filled his head. It was Ariadne speaking to him through his mind.

Toha spoke out loud "I am trying to figure out everything. Where are we?"

"Wow. You have the power to create all this?"

"What if I fail?"

"Where are you?"

Toha nodded with a sigh "Alright then, I will do this."

Toha walked into the labyrinth and saw a grass wall that turned to the right. The grass around him was soft beneath his feet. He noticed that he was no longer wearing boots and only a simple shirt and pants. He proceeded forward and followed the walls as it led him. "I want to learn more about you."

He turned to the right and saw a crossroads of the grass path. The walls led to two directions the right or the left. He decided to go right. "Well....I mean that we are supposed to become friends right?" He followed the path to the right and it led to a dead-end.

He turned around and head to the other route that he decided against earlier.

_"I....I think that you are beautiful. I did not mean to show disrespect by looking at your body. I just never seen a minotaur up close." He reached a wall that led left and proceeded further.

He reached a crossroads. There were three paths ahead of him. One led straight forward to go to the right or left. The other paths led to the right or left beside him. "How do I know where to go Ariadne?"

He closed his eyes.

Toha did just that. He envisioned the man that stood at the edge of the clearing about to enter the maze.

"Se:he, hear my name. Toha....guide me. Guide me to the center." He felt a shift inside him. He felt a strange power reside in his system. It was like that of reserve of energy that kicked into his body._

"I feel like I have more energy."

He closed his eyes and focused. "Se:he, hear my name! Toha, guide me. Guide me to the center." The energy got stronger in his system. He felt a determination enter inside him.

He nodded "Ok...now what."

He looked at his right hand. He kept the image of everything in front of him and placed his hand on the bush wall. He felt the plant prick his fingers lightly. Suddenly he felt a surge of energy and a flash of light emitted from his hand. There was a light ping sound as it sounded from the adjacent walls. All through the grass walls, the light traveled filling all corners of the labyrinth.

He searched his mind. He felt the urge to go right at the crossroads. "Go right. I want to turn right at the crossroads."

Toha did so as he preceded the long corridor of plants. He noticed that the leaves were turning greener and greener. He saw white flowers sprout from the plant wall as he walked by them.

"It was to reach the center and to reach salvation."

Toha felt an urge that he never felt before. It was almost a sexual drive to reach the center of the maze. Like something wonderful was waiting for him. He reached a wall that turned left and he took a left and reached a path that led left and right.

He knew the answer. "Go left!"

He took a left and proceeded further. He noticed red flowers blooming on the plant walls.

"Maybe....maybe I do find you to be attractive. I think you are very beautiful. I just never was with any woman before." Toha stopped for a bit. "Yeah...I just felt like I was waiting for the right woman for me. I somehow feel an attraction to you that I never felt before."

He felt the urge to drive deeper forward. He continued to proceed down the corridor as it led to the right. "Maybe....don't you have any previous relationships that would interfere?...."

_He reached another crossroads that turned to right and left. "I feel like going to the right this time."

He almost sprinted as he reached another turn that led him into a wall.

He sighed as he closed his eyes and tried to let his conscious guide him. He turned around and proceeded down the path that he was supposed to take. "Why are you a Minotaur, Ariadne?"

"I am happy the way you are. But if I remember the story of Minos, Ariadne was never a Minotaur."_

He reached another crossroad. Each had a color pathway of grass with red leading to the left, white for the center and yellow for the right.

"Ok...." He closed his eyes and calmed his mind down. He heard the words. He stepped to the right down the yellow path.

Toha stopped as he responded "Do you have feelings for me or the spirit that is within me."

He reached a turn to the left and when he turned he found it was a dead end. "Damn" he said as he turned around.

He stopped and turned around. He closed his eyes and calmed his mind again. He then put his hand to the wall and the pulse of light emitted as it reverberated throughout the plant wall and throughout the entire labyrinth. The dead end collapsed and formed a walk way.

"That was almost unfair."

He proceeded down the corridor. Red roses and blue flowers lined the walls. He could see a bird he never recognize using its beak to drink nectar from a flower. The bird was ignoring his approach as he walked past it. He could see a turn arrive to his left. "So what happens when I reach the center?"

Toha blushed "I....um.....I don't know."

Toha could feel his heart beat faster. He was practically jogging through the maze taking each turn and knowing where to go.

"You know....if Theseus was restored to life and I was you're.....closest companion then what happens to him?"

"Good point" he said as he reached a small bridge made of marble. A small amount of running water ran underneath it. He stopped and looked at the water and could see fish swimming underneath it. "I don't know when this will come to an end Ariadne. I want to reach the end of this maze."

"I....I want to see you. I want to be with you."

He trotted past the bridge and walked to a set of two turns. He closed his eyes and knew to go left. He jogged down the path and reached a right turn. Ahead of him was a clear path of flowers that led to an opening. He could see the sun's rays as he walked to down the path of flowers. His heart raced as he knew he reached the end of the labyrinth. The sun's rays glistened almost making it hard to see as he continued to walk. Toha could see a silhouette of a figure in the distance. He reached the end as he could see the opening that led to a grove with the plant wall that completely encircled all around him. In the center of the grove was the silhouette blacked from the glare. He heard her voice no longer come from his head but ahead of him "Come forward and claim your prize Man of the Maze. You have beaten my labyrinth and proven to be my companion for all your life. Step forward." He kept his breathing under control. He continued to walk forward. He could see past the glare as the sun was blocked by the plant wall behind her. She sat in a marble throne with flowers all around her. A marble table sat next to her. There was a glass of wine on the table. She held her trident in her left hand. He continued to note everything in front of him. He saw her in a bra and loincloth. Her massive form dominated his vision. She was muscle and beauty with a head of a bovine with small horns and beautiful long hair. Her fur shined in front of him. Her tail sat comfortably on the throne behind her. Ariadne asked comfortably "Man of the Maze. Do you want to be my companion for the rest of your life? Do you promise to uphold the goals of the Coalition of all the deities that reside in it? Are you ready to defend the helpless against other Mythics that intend to bring harm to Mortals?" It did not take him long to respond. He felt like he was in another world "Yes, Goddess....my heart is yours. I will join and help you. It....." She smiled as she stood up. Her trident disappeared in a puff of smoke. Her towering form standing looked down at him. She nodded "Kiss my hoof." Toha looked down and saw her right hoof. He took a knee as she placed her hoof forward. He quickly without thinking kissed her hoof. She extended the palm of her hand to him "Kiss my hand Toha." Toha went and took her hand. The size of her hand was massive when compared to his. It was almost twice the size of his hand. She could easily grip his head and lift in the air if she wanted to. She then gave a firm kiss on the hand. Her breathing picked up. "It's like a dream" she said. "I never thought this day would come. To finally bed you. I am yours Toha until the end of your existence. I promise to protect you, to feed you, and care for you in sickness or when you are in trouble. This I vow for you." He placed his head on her hand as if trying to find peace. "This will be my first.....please be gentle with me. I fear you will do lot of harm to me if you are not careful." She chuckled "Trust me Toha, you have nothing to fear. I promise you are in good hands. As a command from your wife and Goddess I order you to claim me. Take my body and make love to me." Toha could see a large bed appear beside him in a glow of light. It was large enough to have both him and her on it. It was made with red silk with blue flowers that lined all around it. "Ok" he said.

Chapter 7: Sometime in 1102 BC

A fist slammed onto the table "Tha to po xaná......King Aegeus, you have lost this war! There will be no terms given to you. My armies have beaten you. Surrender!" It was a dark night after a large battle in which hundreds to thousands lay dead somewhere in the land off of Athens, Greece of today. Aegeus sighed as he looked down onto the marble table. He sat with his generals as he spoke with Minos across the table. Ariadne the daughter of Minos, along with her sister Phaedra, and other generals in support of Crete, stood behind Minos as he they discussed the end of the war between Crete and Attica. It was in the middle of a night as both sides met to discuss the surrender of Attican forces. Camp fires burned on both sides as the fate of an army was being discussed. King Aegeus had called a truce or watch as he himself and his army get slaughtered. Minos agreed to the discussion of terms. Aegeus sighed "So much death.....we had no hope of winning against your might King Minos." His voice was gravely and sad. A tear rolled down his face. Ariadne stood in her human form along with her sister and father. She along with her sister stood with a face of contempt. She also along with her sister wore her Greek tunic or chiton woven by herself with the finest silk. She stood and watched the negotiation take place. An angry look filled the King of Crete's face "That will teach you for killing my son!" Aegeus held his hands up "We were not responsible for the death of your son Minos!" "That is King Minos!" he slammed the fist on the table again. Phaedra serving as a form of intermediary went to the center of the table. "Father, we understand your anger towards the loss of Androgeus but are they truly to blame for his death?" The King holding his anger looked down at the table before he looked up again "He died by your hands. The people of Attica were responsible for his death. I adopted that boy, raised him as my own, I loved that boy." Ariadne looked across the table and saw the greatest soldier fighting for the side of the Atticans, Theseus son of the King Aegeus. He wore the best armor the Atticans could ever make. Even the best however was no match against the superior forces of King Mino's army. Their eyes met as she blushed. Ariadne snapped back to attention as she tried to calm her father down. She took her hands and put them behind her back as a faint amount of light came from her hands. She brandished two glasses of wine as she went to the table. "Father, King Aegeus.....this war is over. The Atticans have lost, let them go in peace, you have proven your point." She placed the two glasses of wine in the center beside the hands of both Kings. Minos sat in his chair and held the glass of wine. Aegeus looked down. "I swear on Zeus, that your son's death was a tragic one. He volunteered for the assignment that resulted in his death. I did not order him to do so." Minos snapped back "Then tell me the whole story.....no lies this time. What did he volunteer to do? What did he do to get himself killed?" "The Marathonian Bull went on a rampage killing forty people in our village. We sent our best men to slay it. No one came back alive. We were powerless against it. We had no wa...." Minos held anger in his eyes. "Lies.....all lies." Ariadne and Phaedra looked at each other in shock. They had never heard this side of the story. Phaedra jumped in "Father....we need to hear about this. King Aegeus....please tell us again. What was that bull?" Aegeus nodded "It was the Marathonian Bull. He attacked one of our villages and slaughtered forty villagers." Ariadne looked down in disgust. She had a horrified thought of everything that just transpired. Thousands of soldiers lie dead from both sides of the war. King Minos had just won a great battle that culminated between the nation of Crete and Attica. Minos had declared war on King Aegeus in a revenge spree. Rumors circulated that King Aegeus had ordered Mino's adopted son Androgeus to kill a monster that was terrorizing Attica's countryside knowing that he would die in the process. A villager found Androgeus's body crumpled mangled almost beyond recognition was properly identified and returned to King Minos to see. When the rumors circulated, he blamed the Atticans. There was no hope for Attica. Crete held a more powerful navy and had a more powerful army. A tear rolled down Ariadne as she thought to herself quietly "Grandfather.....why? Why did you attack those villagers? I sense that Aegeus is telling the truth at this part. Did you go insane grandpa? Did your senile and age dictate your actions when you killed those people? If we had only known we would have sent our best men or even family to put you down. Now hundreds lie dead and the fate of an entire army is being decided. Androgeus did not know who he was going after. He thought he was going after an ordinary bull. Father why did you not tell him?" Phaedra continued to ask "What did Androgeus do when he learned of the Marathonian Bull and its actions? Please tell us." Minos lifted his hand "Don't bother asking them; they are more lies just to save themselves from my sword." Aegeus said professionally "We held meetings in the town square. We placed a bounty on the bull's head. Androgeus was among those volunteers. He asked to go and slay it. He was hoping that...." He was determined to get through to Minos. "He said that he wanted to impress you King Minos. He said that he wanted to prove that he was more than just a mortal.....whatever that means. We swear it. We told him that it was dangerous.....beyond dangerous." Phaedra once again looked at Ariadne. She nodded to her. They had to regain their composure to the truth. Phaedra and Ariadne decided to put their hands on the table and look at their father. Phaedra was the first to speak to Minos. "Father....he is telling the truth. Androgeus was always known to be headstrong. The Atticans did not know that. We....the family never told him what the Marathonian Bull was. If he knew then he would not have gotten himself killed. This battle....it was for nothing. We must face reality. We lost our brother in attempt to kill o....to kill the Marathonian Bull. You know this to be true. The King has sworn it to Zeus himself." Ariadne added "Father, we must let this battle, this conflict come to an end. I believe that the Aegeus is telling the truth. Please father....please for the love of all the gods....let this conflict come to an end." King Minos closed his eyes and sighed. He thought for a full minute as his fingers tapped the table. A small smirk developed on his face. Then he opened his eyes and looked at Aegeus. "Very well....I needed to have some of my family here so they could hear and ridicule your defeat. I wanted to enjoy my revenge in stopping your people that ordered my son's and their brother's death" as he pointed to his daughters. "In the end, they convinced me to spare your army on certain conditions. Airadne and Phaedra I want you to leave the table; there is no more reason to have you here. We have terms to discuss with one another." Before they turned around King Aegeus said something to both of them "Wait.....I want to ensure your daughters' safety when they return to your camp. May I send my best soldier to escort and protect them? Consider it a gesture of my faith in wanting good relations for our people." Minos had a small smile develop on his face, he knew that his daughters were in no danger of being harmed "Very well....send your best champion to escort them." King Aegeus looked at Theseus and nodded to him. He walked around the table and walked between the two ladies as they left the table. King Minos then looked at King Aegeus. A devilish smile developed on his face. "Alright King Aegeus this is the terms that I want met if you want your army to leave here...alive."

*******

Theseus, Phaedra, and Ariadne walked down the grass fields at night as they walked to the camp. Theseus took a good look at the two women. Their pale skin and luxurious hair waved in the moonlight. He had to admit they were very beautiful. He vowed to protect them both even if they were the daughters of the enemy King that he fought. He looked at Ariadne "Thank you both....for believing in my father's words. If you didn't convince your father to stop the fighting he would have resumed and we would have been slaughtered." Phaedra nodded "We believed him about Androgeus. Our adopted brother was known to get himself in trouble and put himself in danger. It....was most regrettable that he is dead. The loss of more lives in this conflict was a tragedy." Ariadne added "If there is any way that we can reach a peace between our peoples I want it to happen. Crete and Attica can enjoy a great peace between us." "I want that as well" Theseus replied. "I want to see a unified Attica one day. I swore that to my father King Aegeus." "You are the prince of Attica?" Ariadne asked. "I admit....you look quite dashing in that armor." "Thank you dear Princess. Both of you." They walked for sometime as they reached the camp. Ariadne and Phaedra reached their large tent as Phaedra stepped inside. Theseus bowed as he turned around and began to walk away. Ariadne decided to not walk in the tent and ran up to him as he turned to meet her. "Theseus....I wanted to ask you. Do you.....have a wife or somebody that you are betrothed to?" He bowed graciously "No Princess....I am not with anyone." She looked at him and held out her hand "I want to extend my.....hand to you. I want to let you know that I find you to be handsome and want to.....spend more time with you." He had a surprised look on his face "I....I suppose we can make the time for us when the peace talks are concluded and assuming your father isn't going to wipe us out." She gave a determined look "He will make the right choice. I trust him. I just....worry about him." He nodded "It took courage for him to know that this was all a misunderstanding. The Atticans are in your debt for convincing him to stop." Tears began to fall from her eyes "I miss my brother Androgeus. He was the cutest baby to ever be adopted into our family. He might have been headstrong but he always meant well. I promise you that we will get a team available to slay the Marathonian Bull, he will be stopped before he can do anymore damage." He used his hand and wiped the tear from her eye. "I believe you Princess. Thankfully for now he disappeared far north where there have been no reported incidents. If anybody can do it it's your family. Let me know and I will join the team to slay him. You have my word." "Thank you prince Theseus.....well....I should head back to my tent." He nodded "Of course Princess, I will await seeing you again one day. I hope it will be soon." He turned as Ariadne watched him walk in the distance to the table. She had a small smile on her face as she jogged back to the tent. Her heart fluttered from seeing him. Her face was bright red. She ran into the tent to see Phaedra happily combing her hair. She turned to look at her. Phaedra smiled "I saw you two talking out there. If I could only see your face turn redder than it is now. Ah....it makes me shiver in excitement." "For a mortal, I have never seen one so handsome as he." She took her comb and pointed to her as she spoke softly "He will have to know though....if you two are going to have a relationship that well....that we are not....human mortals. He must accept you for who we are. We are keeping that entire secret. We don't want to alarm the humans anymore than we have to. It could....alter their thinking about our father and our family to the Cretians." Ariadne had a disturbed look as she replied back quietly to her "I know....I should keep my heart still and hope for the best" she looked at ground. "I am worried about.....our grandfather. Has the Marthonian Bull truly gone insane? Our grandfather....he took out all those people and went North." "It is possible.....poor Androgeus. It is our fault for not telling him that the Marathonian Bull was his adopted grandfather. He would not have been so hasty to go and get himself killed. If we only told him. He knew and protected the secret of our family but did we go too far by not telling him about the family lineage? We would have come in as a family and ended the problem together." Ariadne nodded "Theseus wants to be part of the team to slay....grandfather. I feel that it is justice and fitting to have it that way. He can avenge for the loses in this conflict and restore the honor of our family." "I agree, but we need to have our other brothers and sisters agree as well. For now let us sit and let politics ease everything." Ariadne went and took a seat she felt tired. "Maintaining this form for this long. It's so taxing...." Suddenly a soldier outside the tent arrived. "Princess Ariadne I have brought a letter for you from King Minos." He could not see inside the tent since the cover was pulled over and strict orders maintained that no one would enter or fear of punishment of death unless given permission to enter. Ariadne got up and walked out of the tent to pick up the letter. She thanked the soldier and told him he could leave. She walked back into the tent as she had a seat. She opened up the letter and read it. "My Dearest Daughter, I have reached a compromise with King Aegeus. I will let his army return and let him tend his wounded. I want you to create one of your finest Labyrinths by the shore of our capital in Crete. I was originally going to hire Daedalus to do the job but I know you well daughter. Your labyrinths stand better than his ever was. Every seven days, they will send a group of people to help negotiate and improve trade between our two peoples using your creation as a meeting place. I want them to be wowed by your wonderful work. Signed, King Minos." Ariadne nodded as she put down the letter. A bright smile filled her face "I will do that father. I will make you proud."

Chapter 8: The Labyrinth of Trade

Two days had passed. Ariadne had done her part. Using her magic she created the Labyrinth of Trade in which the trade negotiators could come and navigate the beautiful garden plant walls that led to the center. It was not a complicated maze for anybody. It was designed for aesthetic purposes. Every flower she could think of lined the plant walls. Pathways made of marble, gemstones, and carvings of the gods lined all around it. It all lead to the apex center that had a marble table that led to the center where the delegates would meet. After the creation of her beautiful labyrinth she notified her father that the maze was completed and ready to be used. This was one of the few times she had a chance to truly impress her father of her abilities. She returned to the palace of Crete to await word of the trade negotiators and what they thought of her work. Nobody arrived to thank her work. "Odd" she thought as she sat on her chair of her room. "I am disappointed that no one but my father complemented my work." She lay back on her chair to wait of any word but none had arrived. She was still mostly distracted from the terror of the Marathonian Bull that was still out there in the territory of Attica. Xenodice, Deucalion, and Phaedra, brothers and sisters of Ariadne were sent to Attica to go hunt down the bull. This left Ariadne and Catreus to stay and protect the palace of Crete while King Minos would leave to negotiate with the arriving trade negotiators. She thought to herself "I am troubled after a couple of days that I have not heard of anyone when it came to the trade negotiators. It was as if they arrived and left without saying a word. Perhaps they were so busy that they could not come to the palace?" Her thoughts still wondered on Theseus. Her mind would calm at the handsomeness of the Prince of Attica. She even had distant thoughts of their future together. She picked up her needle and thread as she began to weave a tunic for him. It would consist of the finest cotton that only grew in one area on Earth. She always had the choice to use her magic but sometimes she liked to use the old needle and thread because it simply felt good to do so. "I think if things go well between us, then Attica and Crete can live in a new era of peace" she thought out loud. Catreus walked in to the room to look at her weaving and talking to herself. He like her were both in their human forms. "I overhead what you said sister" he told her. "You have feelings for Theseus the Prince of Attica?" She nodded as she focused on her weaving. She was half way on her progress. It would still take some considerable to complete it. He nodded "I have only heard of some rumors about him but not much afterwards." "What have you heard about him?" "One story was that he killed a robber named Sciron that was attacking random people that traveled by his area. He fought him and shoved him over the cliff side to be devoured by sea creatures in the sea below. Another story was that he killed the Crommyonian Sow." She put her weaving down on the table and looked at him. "That would be impossible..... the Crommyonian Sow is supposedly the daughter of a terrible....terrible creature that we have not identified yet. She would be a deity of the stories of it were true....no. There is no way a human mortal with mortal weapons could kill something similar to us. That is a false story." He finished up "He supposedly killed a criminal named Procrustes the Stretcher. The criminal was known for capturing his victims and using two beds and an axe to kill them. If the stories are true then he is out there trying to help his people." She resumed her knitting "It means that he does have heroic deeds under him. Even if not all the stories are true then it means he cares for the people. He believes in justice....." Her face turned red and Catreus smiled. He nodded "Make sure that if you pursue a relationship with him that he knows...." "I know....I know....to let him know that our family are not human mortals. I think he will accept me for who I am. The hearts of men can be pure and gold at times." Catreus shook his head "You get too hopeful at times Ariadne. You need to learn that the world does not always operate as pure as you might think." "Yeah....my father seemed to prove a little bit of that recently. The Marathonian Bull is also proof of that as well. I think things will be better now once all of that is settled. Have you heard of anything from our brothers and sisters up North?" He shook his head "Not much yet. Deucalion however might have found some old tracks that might be him but we have not heard anything else yet." "Hmm...." "Something else troubles you sister, what is it?" She stopped weaving and looked at him "I had a labyrinth built for father. He wanted to create a place for the trade negotiators from Attica to arrive. He left yesterday to go and talk with the first dispatch of negotiators. He came back last night but he said very little." "Maybe he is still in a rough phase with the Atticans. Maybe things didn't go the way he wanted in the first set of negotiations. You know how father can be at times." She sighed "Maybe you are right....I fear for him. He has never been the same since Androgeus was killed. His loss....I felt it so much from us. I think it affected him more than any of us." "He wanted to raise a mortal son. Nothing special....nothing incredible. He wanted to raise an ordinary boy. We all loved him even if he wasn't immortal. I think dad had the right idea of raising him. He would have served as link between us immortals and the mortals. Sadly that time has passed." She chuckled "You remember when we used to play tag with him. He would run up and grab our tails and yank so hard. I swore I almost felt the pain when he grabbed my tail..... I feel that he was on his way to challenging anything that came in front of him. It could have been the most powerful of deities and it didn't matter. I want to live in a world where humans respect us for who we are.....not look at us as monsters. We always had the power you know brother?" He nodded "I feel like we have this conversation so many times you know. It always leads to this circle of hope and faith of the mortals. We try to learn of ourselves and the same time they are learning about themselves. Somewhere on Earth there is something immortal working a mortal being. It will be a matter of time before we intermingle with one another. You never know Ariadne you will probably have Theseus in your bed in no time and he will be grabbing your tail." She laughed "Yeah.....well.......you know I think I need to take a look at the Labyrinth of Trade. It's been a couple of days; I want to check up to see how it is fairing." "Yeah, you have been trapping yourself in this palace. I think you should get some sunshine." She placed her weaving tools on the table. She got up from her chair and stood a fair distance away from him. "You want to come with me and check out my maze?" "Sure thing, why not?" He stepped next to her. She closed her eyes as she began focusing her spell. She pictured the entrance of the labyrinth in her head. Light started to emit from her hands. She lifted her arm up and then drove it towards the ground as she said the word "Teleport" causing both herself and her brother to vanish in a blink of any eye. Instantly they appeared at the entrance of the labyrinth. They travelled miles in just a second. "Ugh....you do that next time Catreus. That is so draining." Her brother smiled and nodded as they looked at the entrance. "Let's go brother" she told him. "I love this Ariadne. You got the aesthetics down very well." She looked at the plant walls. Sets of white lilies grew on the side of the plant wall as they walked through the maze to the center. Wooden benches lined some of the walls, with light torches for night time walking dotted the sides of the walkway. As they walked she led the way to avoid walking into any dead ends. The maze was designed really to guide the individuals to the center of the maze rather than accidently sending them into a dead end. There were occasional dead ends in the maze but it was obvious that it was a dead end when you turned and looked in the direction rather than going some distance and noticing that you went the wrong way. One of the big attractions she did was having trees that overextended some of the walls. There was a different tree at some of the areas you walked through. She even had a small waterfall that dropped down one section of the maze and created a small bridge to walk over that drained to the ocean. "My favorite of this labyrinth is the waterfall." "Sister I think this is the best labyrinth you ever made so far." "Thank you Catreus." They reached a turn and they arrived at the middle of the maze. "Here is the apex of the labyrinth brother. I have a grand marble table and eight chairs that the trade negotiate......" As they reached the center they beheld a most grotesque scene. In the center of the labyrinth, they saw that the marble table was smashed into two pieces. Some chairs were knocked over. Blood covered the broken pieces of the table. Below them in front of them were skeletons. Over a dozen human remains littered the grass floor beneath their feet. "Wha....Oh my.....what happened?" she asked with much dread. Catreus began investigating the scene. He went and picked up a skull from one of the remains and looked at it closely. He tilted the side. Catreus noted the skull in front of him "Bones were picked clean. These are recent remains, about a day old. It is smaller than typical human bones. I would say that this skeletal remains is that of a child between the age of seven to ten years old." "By the name of Zeus" she said almost in panic. "What happened?" "I don't know......whatever did this....it was like something ambushed them. All these remains are that of human children. It appears something large ambushed them as they traversed the maze to the center. All that was at the center for them was..." "Death...." She said. "Death." Her face was looking at the ground. Day old blood lined the grassy field. Catreus was checking all the remains. "Looks like they had little chance or any chance to put up any resistance. Whatever it was... it made sure no child was alive to tell the tale. Some of the spines are split down the mid....." "Please brother.....I can't keep listening to this. It is too horrible. Too.....horrible." Ariadne's eyes were filled with tears. She went and picked up a skull of once was a child. She took careful note of the entire scene. It was still daylight as they noted the whole scene. "Catreus, do you think it was the Marathonian Bull that did this?" He looked carefully at the grass and dirt "The markings on the ground don't match that of a four legged creature. This was something running around on two legs....our size." Ariadne started to get angry. She had a good feeling at who did this but she didn't want to accept the truth. "Brother, revert back to our original forms. Whatever could do this could ambush us too. We might be in extreme danger." He nodded as they both closed their eyes. Within a short flash of light "They reverted into minotaurs. She still held the skull in her hand. She held out her hand to summon her Xiphos bronze sword. This one handed sword had a handle big enough to fit her hand. Compared to her size, the Xiphos was a basically that of a woman pulling out a knife. While moderate in size for a human, it was small for her. Both had the forms of a Minotaur. Her brother being a male minotaur had more male features than Ariadne. He stood about the same height at about 9 feet. His fur was slightly darker than hers being a brownish colored fur than orange. He had a silver nose ring pierced into his nostrils. His horns were slightly longer. His tail, muscles, and face were very similar to hers. His face did show that a human like male. He held out his hand and in a puff of smoke a large two handed maul appeared in one of his hands. They readied against any threat that was coming their way. Ariadne looked around some more but saw nothing. They looked around some more but still didn't see anything of consequence. "It doesn't make sense......where are the trade negotiators? There are signs of a massacre but they wouldn't be sending children for trade negotiators......unless.....no. No......it can't be. Where is father?" Casteus scanned the open area again with his hands firmly holding his maul. "I don't see him. He told me earlier today that he was going out to speak to some representatives from Attica. Why do you ask?" "Father has been getting more and more agitated with Attica since Androgeus died. He sent me a letter a couple of days ago after he negotiated a cease of hostilities with the Atticans. He wanted me to create a labyrinth so that trade negotiators could be invited to Crete. At first I thought that he wanted to create something for peace. No.....he couldn't have done this. It isn't possible. He would never hold that much anger....." Casteus was looking at the scene again "We have to put everything into possibility. It is very likely that father was responsible for this. He would have motive to do this. He knows where this labyrinth is. He could very well organize something with the Atticans while your back was turned. Were you there for the entire peace negotiations?" "I....no....now that I think of it. When I was there he said nothing of this." He gave a stern look to her "It is very well possible that father made this agreement while you were separated. Holding his hatred, he waited for you to leave before he told them what he really wanted." "No.....no.....dad why? Why would you target children?" Tears were welling up in her body. She looked at the skull in her hand. She was repulsed by the scene. "I am sorry sister.....I am just trying to bring you to reality. I am just as shocked as you are but you hold such high hopes on things." She was looking at the skull "You poor boy.....you came from another place. Did they tell you good things before the person or people took your life? I need to confirm this Casteus. I need to have Janus look at this. He could confirm....our suspicions." Casteus nodded "Call him. Janus would help confirm it." Ariadne threw her sword down and in her true form lifted her hands with the skull high in the air. "Zeus! Poseidon! Hades! Hear my call! I call forth one our own family to here. I need to know the mystery for the fallen here. I need to speak to Janus. I call forth Two Face Janus the man of beginnings and endings." There was a stir in the clouds above her. Clouds stirred and swirled above her. Within seconds the clouds turned gray and dark. Suddenly a lightning bolt flew and landed by her as a god materialized in front of her. The man was in a Greek tunic. He had a forward face with a large flowing white beard. He had another face behind his head that allowed him that had horns with the same white beard. Ariadne knelt to him. Her eyes looked to his feet "Two Face Janus. I am sorry that I disturb you. You are always busy for me to call you it may seem that I don't care for me to call upon you." Casteus took a knee from a distance to offer his respects. He held his maul in a resting stance. Both faces of Janus smiled "You are always family Ariadne and Casteus. I know this must be an emergency to call upon me. Tell me why you needed to have me here." Ariadne stood up towering the two faced god. She struggled to wipe the tears with her free hand. She then handed the skull of the boy to Janus to hold. "This skull belongs to a child slain recently. I need you to look at the child's past and show me what the child looked upon before his or her end." Janus held the skull firmly in his hand. One set of eyes closed on his head in full concentration. Then his other set closed "I can see the beginning and the end for this child. I can tell you what....he saw before his end. It would be the last five minutes of his life." Casteus stood up and spoke "Who was responsible for the boy's death." Janus held the skull and focused on the past. Seeing all for the boy's end he explained. "I see 14 children......7 boys and 7 girls. They were......promised by their mothers and fathers that Crete was giving them gifts of plenty. Joy filled their hearts......Minos made an agreement with Aegeus to spare the Atticans if they would send 7 boys and 7 girls.....belonging to the soldiers that were defeated in the battle. The boy was the furthest ahead of the kids. They traversed the labyrinth in joy. They.....loved your creation checking every corner. They wondered to the center. A creature that looked like yourself appeared and struck down the children......screams. I hear screams.....the boy tried to protect two of the girls......the creature grabbed him and ate his flesh in front of the others. For the rest to die.....for them to see before their end." Janus dropped the skull to the ground before her as his eyes opened. Ariadne's blood boiled. Anger filled her heart as her tears remained. She stomped her hoof to the grass "He......used me. He used me to create a maze to kill! He turned my creation of beauty into a place of horror and destruction. There is no forgiveness....no he never forgave them. He has truly gone insane. He will suffer......I will show him the true meaning of deceiving the Goddess of Labyrinths!" "Where is my father?......." she asked Janus. "The child spoke as they were entering the labyrinth. One set was yesterday.....another set is coming late this afternoon.....another set for tomorrow." Casteus looked at Ariadne "Today....another set of children of the soldiers from Attica are coming today. We need to do something." Ariadne nodded with a fierceness in her eyes "Janus....thank you for telling me all of this." Janus bowed as both his heads can be seen to her. He then raised his hands as both of his heads said "Teleport." He then disappeared in a puff of smoke in front of them. There was a quietness and stillness in the center of Ariadne's labyrinth. "My father....our father.....lured the children here......he killed and ate them. I have no choice.....father has committed a horrible thing. There is no forgiveness for him. He must die." Casteus nodded "I agree with you. There is no honor in slaying those that cannot wield a sword to defend themselves. Father must die." "We must plan on killing him to protect the next batch of children coming. We must save them. I will need to go to talk to Zeus and the family at what has transpired now. I need to ask their help." Casteus spoke "You go and talk to them. I will remain here in case father returns. I will fight him alone if need be. We don't know when he will return." She nodded as she picked up the skull from the boy. "You will not die in vain boy. You were powerless against something so powerful. You tried to protect others against a terrible foe. I pray you forgive us boy." She lifted her free hand and began to close her eyes. Light emerged. She pictured Mount Olympus in her head. She then pointed her hand to the ground and yelled "Teleport!" as she disappeared in a puff of smoke. Casteus went and picked up her sword from the grass. He knew she would be back soon. He took a guard stance in the opening ready for King Minos to show up.

*******

Ariadne materialized somewhere in a world between worlds. It was a very brightly lit area. She could barely see what was in front of her. She could see pillars of marble in the distance and some walls of gold in the far distance. "Zeus, Poseidon, any of the gods. Hear me! I am Ariadne the Goddess of Labyrinths, the Goddess of Fertility, the Goddess of Wine, and the Goddess of Weaving. I came to you in search of one thing. I need your help to stop my father King Minos of Crete. He has committed a horrible act of killing children of the enemy for the joy of it. He has lost his mind and deserves to die. I need your help to put an end to Mino's terror." There was an eerie silence that filled the room. A voice came from a distance. A silhouette of a man appeared in front of her. The silhouette of a man with a tail of a large sea creature appeared. He wore a Greek Tunic and wore a small crown on his forehead. He had a white beard. Ariadne already knew who it was. "Great Uncle Poseidon.....it is good to see you. How are you?" Poseidon had a stern look on his face "My great niece.....I have not seen you in some time. I heard what you just said. It is with sadness to hear of this news." She began to cry. Her towering form was still nothing compared to the God of the Sea. He was more powerful than most of the Greek gods. Poseidon slithered to her and wiped the tear from her face. "You wish to kill your father?" "Yes Poseidon. My father cannot bring harm to children anymore." He nodded "There is only so much we can do to help you. Janus has already offered help to you." His focus looked away from her and then back to her again. "I am feeling the boat of children coming across my waters to Crete as we speak. One of the children in this boat is that of a man." Ariadne looked down "It might be......no I don't know who it might be." Poseidon looked to her "Ariadne, these actions maybe horrible but we can only help so much. This is something that you and your brother must take care of yourself. You have failed to realize that your father would have done this in the first place before it happened. You are partially to blame in the deaths of those children by not observing enough in your father's intentions. That being said, I do have a gift for coming here to plead your case. It would be wrong to deny you any help in this situation." He flicked his wrist in front of him and a swirl of mist formed in his hands. The mist dissipated and what appeared in his hands was a trident. The ends had swirling ice that would flicker. "I have been looking for someone to take possession of my old trident. Hephaestus constructed a new trident for me for some time but I still had my old one that I could give. You have practically been my granddaughter to me. You hold such a positive view on things and life. It is your greatest strength and your weakness. I used this trident to bring down Cronos, my own father. I think it would be fitting that you used this trident to stop your own father." He handed the trident for Ariadne to hold. The large three pronged weapon began to glow as it fixed to its new holder and user. "You won't be able to control the seas with that weapon like mine does but it will freeze an opponent to the core and that is of course if you don't kill them with it. You can smash your opponent to pieces or capture them. The choice is yours Ariadne. Good luck against Minos." Ariadne gave a hug to Poseidon. Even in her towering form Poseidon was more powerful than she ever was. He was the god of the sea and the controller of the water element. She broke the hug as she held the trident high above her head. "Thank you great uncle. I will cherish this weapon and restore honor to my family." Poseidon nodded "I know you will. You will always be honored and respected by the rest of the great family of Zeus." Ariadne took the blunt end of the trident and slammed it to the ground below her. The sound it made reflected a powerful hammer blow to the ground. Poseidon turned around and disappeared in shimmering light ahead of her. "I am ready to return to protect the next batch of children from my father who would devour them." She took her free hand and held it open. She began to concentrate on the Labyrinth of Trade in her head. Light got brighter and brighter from her open palm. She lifted her arm high in the air and pointed it down while she shouted the word "Teleport" causing a flash of light to emit from her hand. Instantly she was transported from Mount Olympus to the center of her Labyrinth. Her brother stood where he was before. The blunt end of his maul stood on the ground. With a simple lift he could hold with both hands to face any threat. He watched as her sister reappeared. "Any ne......wha......is that?" Ariadne with her hand holding onto the trident held it up to him. "Poseidon gave me his old trident. We might have something better now to face up against father." Crateus asked "May I hold your weapon?" With one hand she held it to the side for him to pick it up. He grasped the trident and held it with one hand. "The trident of Poseidon. Crafted by Hephaestus it was used to help strike down Kronos. A weapon used by a son to stop their father......the perfect weapon to stop our father." Crateus handed the weapon back to his sister. "Are they sending any help?" "No....they said it was our job to absolve his sins and that we were partially responsible for his crimes." He nodded "I see.....it was our fault for the loss of the Attican children. We should have seen it sooner that our father would go insane. It is no matter though. In the end I will take the pleasure of driving my maul into his brain." "I was thinking of going to the Egyptian Gods next but I feel you are right. It is our responsibility to take care of this. Let us head to the beach not far from here. We need to ensure that the next batch of children are safe. Call the guards, we will use our soldiers to help protect them as we go and hunt father." He smiled, his snout snorted "Good thinking sister." Ariadne took a good look at the direction they needed to go. Seeing that the plant wall blocked them, she went and took a knee with her trident. With her open palm she drove it to the ground. Light emitted from her hand as the plant wall collapsed to the ground forming a straight path to the exit and to the beach that was half a mile away. They charged through to the exit. After exiting the labyrinth, she turned back to the labyrinth and she used her arms and crossed them. Light emitted from her furry hands as the plant wall instantly grew back to show that there was no disturbance to the maze. Crateus ran to the palace to summon as many guards as possible while Ariadne ran straight to the beach to intercept the coming shipment of children before it was too late.

Chapter 9: The Fight at the Labyrinth

An hour had past, and it was getting more and more dark. Ariadne had taken her human form as she stood at the beach ahead of her. She took a light red flare of a dress as her clothing as the wind from the beach pushed and pulled her dress to and fro. It would be a welcoming look for the coming children. She said to herself "I will kill my father when this is done....there is no mercy for his acts. He used me to create a labyrinth of slaughter. He made that first batch of children from Attica come in....they were probably told that we would be treated well." A faint outline of a small Greek ship showed up in her view. She had some lit torches to help guide its approach. It was getting hard to see it as it came into view. She could see its sail and oars as it closed in. Within a few minutes it was ready to pull ashore. It was a medium sized boat capable of holding 10 crew members including its passengers. She waived at the boat as the boat beached itself on the soft sand. Some of the crew got off the boat and began to help disembark the children. She watched as seven girls and six boys got off the boat. Ariadne was there to make sure that no harm would come to them and that they would not go to her maze of death. The children had no fear in their hearts. They were perfectly calm as if no harm was coming to them. It was her job to ensure that they remained that way. "Hello children, my name is Ariadne, princess of Crete. I am here to make sure that you enjoy your time here on the Island of Crete. When my brother arrives, I will have my men escort you to the palace where you will get to eat, relax, have fun, and stay the night. Whatever they told you before my word goes over that." A little girl at the age of seven approached her. She had a smile on her face as she tugged at Ariadne's dress. "Will I get a dress like you are wearing? It is so pretty." Ariadne smiled at the little girl "I will create a pretty dress for you myself later on tonight my dear. Where is the seventh boy?" She looked at the boat and a man that she recognized jumped off the boat. He wore a light bronze armor on his body. Her heart began to flutter as she started to recognize his features as he stepped into the light. Finally she knew it was him. "Theseus! It is wonderful to see you." Theseus had a look of surprise and happiness as he recognized her as well from not long ago. He bowed and approached her. "It is good to see you Princess. We were told to go to a labyrinth not far from here where I and the children would be greeted by your father and aids." "There has been a change of plans Prince Theseus. My brother is bringing soldiers from the palace to escort the children to there. I need to have a private talk with you away from the children. It is vital that you know everything that has happened. Do not be alarmed, I do not want the children to worry." He understood her words and he nodded.

********

After five minutes had passed Crateus and a squad of soldiers along with palace aids came to the scene. "Attention soldiers, you are to escort these children to the palace. No harm is to come to these kids. Aids it is your responsibility to feed and provide proper care to the children. They are to be treated well is that understood?" The lead soldier saluted the prince and the aids acknowledged his demands. The kids were rounded up and taken to the palace to be cared for. The boat departed leaving Ariadne, Crateus, and Theseus to talk alone under torchlight. "Princess Ariadne, Prince Crateus....would you mind explaining to me what is going on?" Crateus let Ariadne speak "Prince Theseus, I wish we had met under better circumstances last time. I am afraid that this is none the better. The fact is....you and the children that were sent with you were heading to an ambush. My father was waiting to go and slaughter all of you." Theseus eyes went wide in shock "What? King Minos lied to us?" Crateus nodded "Yes.....we had checked the maze where the last batch of what we knew was dignitaries that went to Ariadne's labyrinth. All we found were remains of the children. None survived." Theseus looked down and back up to both of them "I guess all us owe you our lives for stopping our deaths as well." Ariadne nodded "We were planning on confronting our father. King Minos is sure to show up at the labyrinth knowing the timing of your arrival. We plan on killing him for the crimes of what he did to the children and to your people. We have heard many tales of your actions in fighting evil. If you wish, you may help us out or you can head to the palace where you will be treated well." Theseus had a determined look on his face. He nodded "I should have sensed your father had gone insane. You are good people that could have let us die. The question is how you a lady like yourself and the Prince here are going to fight King Minos and his men. Surely he will have a squad of soldiers under his command and the three of us alone will have a hard time fighting that many men." Crateus and Ariadne looked at each other and back to him "It will only be King Minos that should be there. Our father.....he is not human. He is a beast that has the body of a bull and a human. He has the strength of many men and cannot be harmed by mortal weapons. He can take up human form at will to not raise alarm." Theseus had a concerned look "What about.....if this is true and you are his children then that would make you the kin of Minos......Minotaurs." Ariadne nodded ".....Yes, we inherited our father's abilities and appearance. We are not mortals Theseus. We are, we have always been. The people of Crete have no knowledge that their leaders are beasts and deities. It has been our job to ensure that they do not know that." Theseus had a questioning look "What about Androgeus? How did he die when he is your brother?" Carteus responded "Androgeus is our adopted brother. He was a human mortal that went and tried to hunt our grandfather the Marathonian Bull that also went insane. He never knew that the very thing he was hunting was adopted family." "I see.....let us head to the Labyrinth. We will continue our conversation as we discuss our plans to kill Minos and end his madness."

*******

They reached the entrance of the Labyrinth of Trade. The cold darkness marked the entrance of the Labyrinth of Death. Carteus asked "My question that I still have is why did they send Theseus on this journey with the children?" Ariadne knew the answer "It is obvious that father went and asked that the soldiers send their children to here. King Aegeus had to agree to father's demands or face destruction. Children include everyone. Theseus is the son of the king. Knowing father he wants revenge on the death of Androgeus. What better way to invest in that revenge by killing the king's son. Theseus you will be in grave danger but if our father has the revenge motif and he sees you he will come out to face you. His desire will be nothing but your destruction. You may still return to the palace with the children if you wish." Theseus nodded "I must avenge the honor of all. The children, ourselves, and our future. I need a weapon." Ariadne lifted her hand in the air. A swirl of mist appeared in her hand. When the mist cleared she held her Xiphos blade. She then turned to him, bowed to him, and handed it to him. "This sword is my own personal defense weapon. It was crafted by Hephaestus himself and supposedly will never break against the torrent of blows it may receive. It was a weapon crafted by a god and can kill a god. I entrust this weapon for you." Theseus looked at the sword. What looked like a bronze made sword hid its true destructive properties. "What about you Princess, without your sword you will be defenseless." She laughed "I already have a weapon of my own. It was entrusted by Poseidon himself." He swung the sword in the air to feel the weight of the blade "If the gods are behind us then we will never fail." "How are we going to do this?" Ariadne asked. Carteus spoke "We all go in together. Ariadne light the torches of the maze, we want our father to know we are coming. Theseus already knows who we truly are. We no longer need these mortal forms anymore." "Agreed." Ariadne lifted her hands and all the torches of the maze lit up. The illumination filled the area. Darkness became light. They stood outside the maze. They could clearly see the path ahead of them. "It's time to see what you will fight Theseus. Do not be alarmed." He watched as he saw the light emit from Crateus and Ariadne. Their forms shifted from that of human to that of a nine foot tall walking bull like humanoids with the tail of a bull, the hooves of bovines, horns that protruded from their heads, and head and snout of something that was not human. Their muscles and skin was partially disguised by the soft fur of their bodies. Bipedal like a human with only their male and feminine features help describing their gender, Ariadne and Crateus were models of their father. Ariadne had the beauty of a female. Her armor bronze armor glistened from the torch light. It was perfectly molded to her shape, her chest, and lower abdominal muscles. Crateus wore a similar bronze vest that covered his body. This would be a combat that they would need everything at their disposal. Each one produced a cloud of haze as Crateus summoned his great two handed bronze maul. Ariadne produced her trident. "Incredible" was the only word Theseus could say. He did not display shock but it was something that he still never seen before. He remarked all the features. He knew that King Minos would be of a similar construction. "This will be challenging, but you are human enough that I know that you would have the similar weaknesses of human beings. If we all gang up on him then we will surely win. Having both of you by my side is sure to our victory." Crateus looked down upon him "Do not count this as a victory yet. Our father is stronger than us. He stands slightly taller than me. His strength is not only equal to mine he might potentially take both me and my sister down if we are not careful. You will have to rely on your smaller stature if necessary to win the day." "I will have to use my smaller size to fight something bigger than me. I will make sure he doesn't touch me then. I imagine one of his blows would be more than enough to finish me then. He will not touch me." She turned to look at him "I will do everything I can to protect you, just like you did when you escorted me to camp after the war between our peoples not long ago." "Heh....you never needed my protection Princess. I can see that now looking at your form." She smiled "I.....enjoyed having you with us actually. My sister has high regards for you as do I." Theseus smiled in return "Then perhaps there will be good things in the future for the both of us then." Crateus looked at Ariadne "Is it possible to use your maze spell and lock him up in one your labyrinths where he can never do anymore harm?" She shook her head "I can cast the spell but it takes half a minute time to cast it. I need to concentrate and cast it and if he sees me try to cast it or I am under attack I won't be able to cast it. He will have to be knocked down or incapacitated for a time for me to cast it on him. I also never tried it on somebody as powerful as us. It might not even work. I recommend that we just kill him here and now before anyone else get hurt by him." With her free hand, Ariadne created a golden string of yarn that rolled up into a ball. She then looked at Theseus "I am going to open up the plant wall to let us into the center. I will then close the center exits to make any escape from him difficult. If for some reason you get separated from us and get lost in the labyrinth you can drop this ball of yarn. It will roll and unravel towards the exit. All you have to do is follow the string and it will lead you out." "Thank you" He took the small ball of golden string in his hand and put it into his pocket. Ariadne then took her hand and she concentrated on creating an opening in the labyrinth. She opened her hand and the plant walls parted open. Foliage and greenery formed a path straight to the center. The path was lit to the center. It was time. All of them charged into the center of the labyrinth. Two Minotaurs and a human champion to challenge the King of Crete was about to unravel. Their pace was quick and unrelenting as hooves and sandals struck the soft grass below them. Within less than half a minute they reached the center. The only things that they could see were the still remains of the children. The bones picked clean by King Mino's insane and literal hunger for revenge. The broken marble table still slewed on the ground with blood still traced on it. Crateus was the first to say something as he came to a halt. He stabbed the blunt end of his Maul to the ground. "Father we came for you! We know what you have been doing; show yourself so you can face your sins!" There was the still silence as they await word from King Minos. Ariadne spoke next "Father, we know that you brought children here from Attica! We know that you killed them and planning on doing it again! How could you......use your daughter to help satisfy your desire for revenge?" Still silence. There was no response or any signs of anybody. Theseus was next "I know what you came looking for King Minos! It is I Prince Theseus son of King Aegeus! I am here, with your children. You want to fight somebody that can even pose a risk to you or do you prefer fighting people that can't fight back!" Finally a rustle of sound came from the other side of the labyrinth center. From a dark unlit area of the labyrinth emerged a large figure. Standing at 10 feet in height was a large Minotaur. Wearing a heavy suit of bronze armor with pauldrons, heavy bracers, and armor that lined his frame, this mighty creature was bigger and more powerful than his children. He wielded a large double bladed bronze battle axe that required both his hands to use and several knifes of various sizes on his belt that he could use to cut, throw, or lacerate his victims. His body was lined with dark brown fur and large horns bigger than his children had. Anger filled his face. A deep booming voice filled the quiet area. King Minos spoke "Theseus.....I finally get to kill you and exact my revenge!" Ariadne spoke "Father.....why? Why did you do this? Have you gone mad?" Minos looked at his daughter "Why my poor Ariadne? Your labyrinths are the most beautiful of them all. Never have I seen such artwork in your designs in creating them. I wanted the most comfortable environment for my victims." Crateus spoke up "Victims? You freely admit your crime to us. You used my sister to create a place to bring people that have already lost to us to commit your perversions of revenge. Do you hate the Atticans so much that your revenge has blinded you?" "Revenge? No....I want my son back. That is what I want....they killed Androgeus. No matter how many times King Aegeus say it, it is a lie. They purposely put him in a situation for him to die. They knew that he was the most vulnerable person in this family and they took advantage of it. Now I will target those that they find most vulnerable and kill them all." A tear welled up in Ariadne's eye "Father....listen to yourself. It was an accident. He did not know that he was going into a fight that he could not win. He knew what he was going into. The Atticans don't know who we really are. Your letting your anger clouds your judgment. Think father....think!" "I want them to die....all of them. Androgeus must be avenged. I loved him as my own son. He knew who we are. He accepted us for who we are. We had the choice of taking the world for ourselves as gods. Our forms....unstoppable, and my wife and I agreed to be rulers of Crete instead. If the people of Crete knew who we were....we would be denounced or ridiculed." Ariadne got next to Theseus, she stood beside him, her towering form dominated his frame. "Father....Theseus has accepted me for who I am. He is a good man. If there are people like him then there would be oth..." Minos exploded in anger "Accepted! He is using you to stop me. He sees you as an ally to end a means of his own survival. Once we are done here, he will look at you as enemies. All the Atticans are the same. They deserve to die!" "You have betrayed our brother, father" Crateus told him. "I don't think he would have wanted you to slaughter innocent children from his own death. I must carry out my duty and honor for my brother's sake. You have gone mad like our grandfather and it is up to us to put an end to this." Minos looked at all of them. All were posing in a stance ready to attack him. He roared with anger as he readied his battle axe. "My children....all of you have betrayed our family and what it stands for. I will end you....then I will I have a new family to call my own." He started to snort and laugh. Crateus was the first to charge at him. He flew at Minos with a powerful overhead swing of his maul. Minos held up the double bladed axe to shield to powerful blow of the maul as it slammed into it. The maul's blow was aimed at his head. A powerful sound of metal on metal boomed in the labyrinth's interior. Ariadne turned around and used her magic to seal the exits of the labyrinth. Plant walls grew on all the exits. It would be difficult to escape if Minos wanted to leave. Minos shoved back as Crateus pushed with all his force on his axe. With a powerful shove he pushed Crateus back. Theseus charged forth at Minos with his given sword. He tried to aim for his legs to help weaken or slow him down. Minos saw the incoming strike and he leapt out of the way in time. Theseus swung wide but missed. Before Minos could ready a counterattack Crateus swung overhead with his maul aimed at his head. Minos used the pole of the axe to push upward deflecting the shot again. He used the blunt end of his axe to jab into Crateus's stomach staggering him backward. Theseus then got back in stance and charged at Minos but he used his axe to jab forward into his direction causing him to recoil before being slammed by the powerful sharp blade. Ariadne got in a throwing stance and readied the trident to be thrown at Minos. She used her other hand to aim at his chest. The problem was that the fight ensuing she risked throwing it into her brother or Theseus by accident. "I can't get a clear shot!" she yelled. She then charged forward and waited for an opening to appear where she can stab into him, with the trident. There was a momentary pause as Minos looked at them all. "Heh....you are right. You are more of a challenge than those children. I watched as some tried to shield the others hoping my axe would somehow stop my blade from hitting the others. In the end, they all proved to be a good snack." He then pulled out one of his knives and threw it at Theseus. Theseus recoiled and swung his sword deflecting the blade from hitting his head as the knife flew over the broken table. Ariadne saw the opening as Minos threw his knife. She thrust her trident into him but he swung his arm and the trident smacked his arm bracer deflecting it. She pulled back. There was a short scream that came from Minos as the bracer that deflected the trident froze and burned his skin and flesh. She thought to herself "It's working....the trident can freeze things. Even with his armor I can still inflict harm on him." Crateus came back with a sideways swing of his maul. It impacted his armor and lifted him off the ground. The sound of heavy metal slamming into a slab of metal put a dent into his armor. He was shoved back a few feet and he staggered from the blow as Theseus charged into him. With a quick swing Theseus slashed his right leg. The cut was not severe as his armor took most of the hit but he was bleeding a little bit from the cut. "Ha...Ha" Minos laughed. "It takes all three of you to even have some impact on me. I might lose this battle but I will have my final revenge by killing you Theseus. It will be a good death." Ariadne took a throwing stance and with one quick overhand hurl she threw her trident at Minos. He used the double blades on the axe to shield himself as the trident bounced off the blade and into the dirt. "My turn!" he used his right hand to pull two of his knives from his belt as he used his left arm to do a sideways throw of his axe. Theseus charged forward as Minos let his axe fly straight at him. The axe spun horizontally straight at his chest as Minos turned his hip and threw two knives, one aimed at Ariadne and the other Crateus. Theseus almost did a split as he drove to the ground as the axe flew over his head. Ariadne and Crateus were taken by surprise by the flying knives. Crateus was struck first as the knife drove in his right arm. Ariadne felt the knife implant into her right hip striking the bone. She roared in pain as she held her arm. Her trident disappeared into a cloud of smoke and reappeared in her hand. Ducking the flying axe, Theseus pressed forward with his charge. Seeing Minos without his axe he swung straight into Mino's belly. Minos however held up his hand and his axe vanished in smoke and reappeared in his hand and his blade met the swing of his sword. The sword was deflected as Minos struggled to get a good swing of his axe on him. Crateus charged forward it would take a few seconds as he pulled the knife out of his arm. Blood trickled from his wound. He was running on pure adrenaline now as he prepared for an overhead swing of his maul at Minos. Ariadne pulled the knife from the side as threw it to the ground as she ran up to prepare to throw her trident or get close enough to stab him with it. Theseus recoiled from the deflection. He flew a short bit as he spun around and meet Minos face to face. Minos was already on him as he swung overhead with his axe. Theseus quickly got out of the way as the axe slashed into the dirt. One of Mino's hooves stepped on a crushed a skull from one of the human remains. Mino's snorted as he pulled his axe and jabbed it forward at Crateus's direction anticipating his overhead swing. Crateus quickly spun to the side to avoid getting hit by the blades as Mino's pulled his axe back and swung again at Theseus. With his smaller stature he was able to duck the sideway swing as Theseus went and flew forward and stabbed his sword into the side of Minos. The blade penetrated his armor but it slowed it down enough that it only did so much damage to him. He pulled the sword back and recoiled backwards to anticipate another swing from Minos. "Hold still, you stupid little mortal! You are making it hard to crush you beneath my hoof." Crateus managed to get a good swing in with his maul. His maul slammed into Mino's right shoulder. The armor again mitigated the damage but left a sizable dent mark on his shoulder. He pulled back in pain as he readied his axe to swing at whoever was closer. Ariadne was still not close enough to stab at him. Theseus charged again at Minos to get a good opening. Minos saw the charging human as he swung his exe sideways to hit him. Theseus dodged and thrust his sword into him but Minos delivered a kick into him. The kick hit him directly in the center; he flew backward to the ground. Minos using the swing to propel him spun almost in place and swung directly at Crateus. Crateus swung his maul to help parry the blow but the blade won out. Crateus was flown back from the hit. Within a split second, Minos gaze saw that Theseus was on the ground. He was in a perfect position to deliver an overhead smash on him, his anger and desire and revenge knew it was time to kill him even if he was in a battle that he was destined to lose. Mino's charged forward as he lifted his axe above his head on Theseus. Theseus was about to roll out of the way when a trident slammed into his chest dead center. The three points impeded into his armor and his chest. The axe fell from his hand as it landed on the ground. There was a pause in the fight. Ariadne's throw was true. The trident given by Poseidon began to freeze his body. Ice formed across his chest and to his arms. Crateus stood definitely with his maul as Theseus rolled out of the way. Minos looked at Theseus with nothing but anger in his eyes. "Die...you cursed mortal. I will not stop until I crush the life from your body. I will drink your blood and feast on your bones. I vow that till my life is snuffed out." He took the trident and ripped it out of his chest. The damage was done, the ice and cold spread through his chest and body. His torso and vital organs were suffering extreme hypothermia and freezing solid shutting his body down. He was getting weaker and weaker now. Almost out of defiance, Minos pulled out one of his knives to act like he was going to fight even if he could barely do anything more. Crateus readied his maul to swing at him but it wasn't needed. Theseus got back on his feet sword at the ready as Ariadne walked up to her father. His body was completely frozen solid now. With his dying vision he looked at all of them and finally at Theseus. Theseus walked up to Minos his sword ready to deliver the killing blow. "Do it Theseus. You have our permission to do it." With one thrust, Theseus's sword drove straight into Mino's head. He pulled the sword back and stepped back. Blood pooled onto the grass below. Mino's fell still and silent. Theseus looked at Ariadne to see more tears come from her eyes. She looked down at the dead body of her father as the tears ran down her cheeks. The deed was done and Mino's reign of horror and destruction was at an end.

*******

All three of them walked out of the labyrinth. Ariadne turned to look back at the maze she created. She concentrated as she lifted her hand high in the sky and held out her hand. Slowly the labyrinth started to collapse on itself. The plant walls decayed withered and fell to the ground to rejoin the soil. Flowers withered and turned brown, the wooden benches rotted and fell the ground. All that remained was a marble table and the human remains. A couple of lanterns lit their location. Ariadne and Crateus held their weapons up as they vanished in a puff of smoke. Theseus looked at his sword and sheathed it on his belt. Crateus looked at Theseus "On behalf of the Kingdom of Crete we are sorry for the loss of the children. We will ensure that all the parents that lost a child will be compensated for their losses. We can offer full burial services here or ensure that the remains are returned to Attica." Theseus nodded "Thank you. I would like the remains to be sent back to Attica. Thank you for letting me deliver the final blow on that monster." "You are more than welcome to our kingdom" Ariadne said. "You or any of the people of Attica, we promise you that. We offer you every treaty of friendship, partnership, or trade that you are willing to accept." "I am sure that King Aegeus would be happy to accept a treaty of partnership now that King Minos is dead and that his children now rule." Ariadne created cloth bandages in her hand as she wrapped them on Crateus's wounds. Crateus nodded "I need to return to the palace so I can make arrangements for all of you to stay here for the night." "I understand" said Theseus. A light emitted from Crateus as his form shrank and reverted to a human again. He walked towards the palace leaving Ariadne and Theseus behind. "Much has been done today than ever between our peoples.You have my gratitude in meeting good people as yourselves. You have proven to not be like your father was." She nodded "I did not want to see my father die. There was a time he was a good king. He....like his father." "What about the Marathonian Bull?" "We have family trying to hunt him down. It will only be a matter of time. If it becomes too much of an issue we can go and help them hunt him together." He smiled "I would like that." "What will you do now with the new changes to happen?" He looked at the ocean in the distance as he was in deep thought "My father and I are planning on making a new city for the people of Attica. It will serve as a place of unity and strength for all people of this land." "What will you call it?" He said one word "Athens." She nodded "It sounds like a wonderful name. Fitting for a future ruler such as yourself. I do wonder....will I be a part of that story too?" He looked at her eyes above him "If you will have me." She extended her hand as he kissed it. Her hands were massive compared to him. She had a smile on her face and she almost blushed even for a minotaur "You know, you are welcome to stay in my quarters in the palace. I could use the company and companionship tonight more than anything." He had worrisome smile on his face "Umm....yeah I could do that. I admit....I never spent the night with a.....Minotaur before. I will need to adjust to being with a woman such as yourself." "You will not need much time to adjust, I assure you. The hearts of men can be pure when directed in the right direction." He joked "Or the right position." She nodded as her heart fluttered.

*******

In Oklahoma Ariadne and Toha slept in bed together as she thought to herself "That is who I am. Humans will write the story of me and Theseus however they want to but they don't know what truly happened. To me I don't care too much. It is nothing but old memories and dust now. Athens remains to this day a testament to our actions. King Theseus and I got married. Being the Goddess of Fertility that I am I made sure that he gave me as many children as possible. I loved him for all he was. He was the first human mortal I went to bed with and I could tell you it felt wonderful. It was adjustment for him at first but he adjusted." Her thoughts continued "Theseus died of old age. I almost wished I could die like him together but I had to care for the children even if they could live as long as I could. Regardless of the written stories of our children none of them died and Theseus never lost interest in me. It was only until the day of the great Cataclysm that I lost my children. They all gave their lives trying to defend the 'Mythics' as Daiyu calls us. After Cataclysm was defeated I wept for my family and the others around me. Phaedra, my Egyptian friend Hathor, we are all that are left of the Minotaurs. I often lived with Hathor to keep close to whatever bonds us Mythics could maintain." She looked at Toha as she quietly thought to herself "I am thinking of taking his seed and making myself a mother again. I admit that our relationship is just recent but time flows quickly when one is happy with another. I can do it right now and be done with it but I feel that I cannot do it without his permission. I want to ensure that when his time comes to an end, I will not be alone again and help preserve the gods and their lineage. For the story of Theseus and the Labyrinth this is one tale of how I was involved with Earth's history. I have many more." She wondered to herself "I wonder how Daiyu is doing. Her story is one that would fill a tale. It all began 25 years ago, on the day of her birth."

Chapter 10: September 19th 1892

Somewhere near the town of Dogba a place in Western Africa, a Foreign Legion Battalion led by Major Faurax had made camp in the forests. Their goal was to seize the city of Abomey belonging to the Kingdom of Dahomey. It was about four months in a war that would be ultimately known as the Second Franco-Dahomean War. This little known war was one of many examples of European conquest into Africa during the time of colonialism. France just like all the European nations of the time period tried to expand their influence outward by any means necessary. This war was no different. The small French army of almost 4,000 was ultimately led by Commander Alfred Dodds, a man of mixed race that was responsible for the entire campaign. His goal as directed by politicians was to dispose the ruler King Béhanzin that ruled the Kingdom. By doing this, the Kingdom of Dahomey would be dissolved and be made a part of French West Africa. The expedition to the capital of Abomey was a long and tedious one. The Dahomey or sometimes referred as the Fons were supplied with purchased British and German weapons including sometimes artillery. Disease, weather, and ambushes plagued the invasion force but the superior technology of the French, including the control of the seas, better equipment, African volunteers, and Sengalese marksmen were making the trek to the central capital relatively easy. The army was split into three columns as they traversed through the Queme River. Marius Paul Faurex was a Frenchman responsible for leading the forward most columns as they tried to march by the City of Dogba. "Majeur, nous sommes encore.....waiting on the word of General Dodd on what to do next" said one of the messengers. The soldier was dressed comfortably despite the heavy heat that beat down in the forests. "Right..." said Faurex. "I guess we will stay here for another day then shall we. We have been here since the 14th, we need to get moving again. I believe in Dodd but we are still vulnerable in this forest even if he thinks this ambush proof. Alright soldier that will be all." The soldier saluted the Major as he went back to his sentry post. Faurex took a good look around him. He was in a column of hundreds of soldiers as they had made camp by the river. He had the river to one side and nothing but heavy thick forest. French gunboats had already been helping reinforce the river side but there was nothing available to protect them from the other sides if they got attacked. Faurex began to walk about the camp as he was inspecting the men and tents. It was not a formal inspection he was just curious as to the condition of the men. Some men sat and slept in their tents, some played games, some French soldiers interacted with the African volunteers, all in all it was a relatively peaceful day. "We are in the most likely situation of getting attacked by Dohemmey soldiers" he thought to himself. "With us being the forward most group attack is likely. We should be able to defeat them easily though, even their best soldiers have failed to stop our might. We will teach them what it means to take on the French. Yet why do I feel a sense of dread coming. It's like I am a fly about to find a great snack when a frog is about to devour me. I can't shake this feeling." He walked furthest north to check at the sentry post. It was cobbled together wood forming a barricade with nothing but thick foliage and trees ahead of them. They already had to use machetes to cut through the forest. "We might be superior but we are fighting the people in their land" as he continued to think to himself. "Dodds may feel that we are safe from attack but the enemy knows how to use their land to their advantage. With it being their land they will be more likely to fight to the death as well even if they are outmatched." Faurex sighed as he wiped the sweat off his head. Some of the sweat reached his mustache as he proceeded to wipe it away. He approached the sentry post and the guards saluted him. "Sir we have nothing to report." He saluted back "Good....keep an eye on that forest ahead of you. I am getting a bad feeling. If the enemy is gathering its forces to attack our expedition force it would be around this time. As you were." "Aye sir." The guards turned around and kept an eye out at the dense forest trying to spot anything. Faurex walked back to the camp as he continued to pace the camp. Besides the activity and occasional music being played in the camp it was a beautiful day. The forest had activity of the wildlife that chanted and spoke to one another. He could hear the birds chirping and singing. He was not much a wildlife person but it was noticeable. He thought to himself "Sometimes I worry that our people advance too much. We think we are superior so much that we can do anything. I wish the French learned from the Franco Prussian War. That was truly a war. We went in thinking that we could defeat the Prussians and instead they marched into Paris. We now have our Third Republic as a consequence. I watched as good men died in those battles. Now the Prussians united to form the Empire of Germany. If they were able to do that without even being united, imagine the power they have now. If they conquer Paris again we might not regain it ever again. Our firepower gets stronger and stronger to the point we have to dig holes and hope our artillery do the job. Here though the battle will be different. Sometimes I feel our invasion into Dahomey is just to save face from our past loses. We win we go home and we say 'we at least did that'." In the African campaigns some of the greatest victories for the French were attributed to the Foreign Legion. Sometimes battles were turned around by the legends of what the legion did. While some Europeans would freak out and drop their guns during a battle and retreat, the Foreign Legion would not do so. These brave men were formed from all walks of life from Africa, to France, to Asia and time and time again would pull the French army out of the fire. They participated in the Franco Prussian War, the Mexican Expedition, Crimean War, the Algerian Campaign, and now this conflict. Faurex wiped more sweat from his head. He sighed "This damn heat....it will be the death of me." He stopped and looked at a bird that was perched on a branch. He did not recognize it at first but he starred at it from a distance. It was a parrot of some kind that simply watched him in return and looked around. "Do you see anything up there?" Faurex asked the parrot. "I don't suppose you happen to know when we are heading out again do you?" The parrot took flight as its wings opened wide and it flew to the more distant trees away from him. "I guess you don't." Suddenly gunfire erupted from the sentry post that he left from. He turned and began to run back to camp. The sentries that were there came running into the camp. "Alarm! We are under attack! Hundreds of soldiers are coming!" "I knew it...." He said out loud. "Everyone get off your asses! Grab your gun! And take defensive positions. Form a line now!" Everyone in the camp scrambled. Some ran to the racks grabbing a rifle while others ran to the tents getting dressed as quickly as possible. It was chaos but everyone was getting ready. A small line of soldiers of various color, uniform, and culture assembled to form a defensive position at the edge of the camp. Right on cue, men of dark complexion came running out the forest sporting rifles and even machetes came running out the forest ahead of them. "Fire at will! Fire at Will!" Faurex yelled. He unholstered his revolver and was at the ready as he pointed at the enraged group of men as they drove forward. Gunshots erupted from both sides. French were firing their deadly Lebel Rifles at the Fon soldiers. These bolt action rifles, capable of holding eight rounds, were so good that it became the standard rifle of the Great War almost twenty years later. The Dahomey soldiers and warriors fired and charged at the enemy. They came in firing their rifles from the hip at the French soldiers. While not effective as most of their shots missed it had a layer of shock and awe at the ferocity of the warriors. Another Fon soldier jumped onto a French soldier when he lifted his machete high in the air ready to slice open the soldier below him. Fureax aimed his revolver at the machete wielding soldier and fired. The soldier dropped to the sandy grass below bleeding to death. He took aim at another enemy soldier and fired missing the target. Some of the Dahomey soldiers had stools that they brought with them. They formed a line as they placed the stools down and perched their leg to get a good shot at the enemy. Some of the French soldiers were in panic as they struggled to gun down every enemy soldier they could see. It was panic survival mode for the army as every man fought for their life. A round whizzed past Fureax's ear as he turned to see a Dahomey soldier was firing at him from one of the trees. He was using the tree as cover. Fureax was out in the open as he took aim and fired his revolver at the shooter. The round smashed into bark. "Damn!" he said out loud. "Men stay in the fight! We can win this!" A screaming sound came from one of the Dahomey warriors as they charged into the line. The warrior took a bullet wound as they jumped and started slashing a nearby French soldier. Blood rained on the ground as another French soldier pulled out his knife and stabbed the warrior to death. It was to Fureax's shock when he looked at the dead Dahomian warrior. The body rolled over as it revealed breasts. He had not spotted it during the mayhem of the battle. This warrior was a woman. "My god...." He said out loud. He looked at some of the enemy soldiers and could tell that some were women now. They ran into the battle with their chests bare screaming into battle shooting or slashing anything that they could use. "The stories are true....." he said quietly to himself. "We are fighting amazons. The Dahomey are using female soldiers in their attack." The stories were indeed true. The Battle of Dogba featured the warrior women of Fons. This Dahomean regiment consisted of all women. They were called amazons by some, they themselves called themselves the Mino or mothers. These women were hardened going through intense military and survival training. They would even claim that they were no longer women but men. Some of the French soldiers were beginning to hesitate as they saw that some of the enemy soldiers were women. One of the soldiers aimed at a woman that charged at him as he looked in shock. He could not shoot a woman but the woman did not hesitate to aim her rifle at the French soldier as she pulled the trigger. The French soldier dropped dead from the gunshot. Fureax aimed his revolver at the woman and pulled the trigger. She dropped to the ground bleeding as the Major pulled his sword and slashed the woman in the chest as she finally fell to the ground dead. Fureax yelled "Don't hesitate men! Shoot them all! Man or woman they will show you no mercy!" The French soldiers seemed to get the hint. This was a battle of survival now. If they retreat, the Dahomean soldiers will likely chase them down, gut them, or do something worse to them. The French line was holding. More Dahomean soldiers were falling now than ever before. Despite the rushing attack most of the enemy soldiers were disorganized in their fight. Shooting from stools, and rushing your opponents with knives was no way to win a battle against soldiers that had good training and good weapons. Fureax took aim at another shooter and fired. The shot missed. He took aim again and fired another shot. This shot struck the shoulder of the shooter. He recoiled in pain as he lifted his rifle to aim at the French soldiers before another bullet took him down. The sounds of machine gun fire could be heard as it came from the river itself beside them. It was the gunboat Opale that showed up and joined up in the fight. It used its Hotchkiss Machine Gun to litter the enemy column from the river side. Men cheered at the sight as the gunboat tore into the enemy. The boat fired round after round at the Dahomey. They had no way to combat an attacking boat from the water. "We are winning" he noted to himself. "They will be retreating in no time." A soldier yelled at the major "Sir above us! Some of them are shooting at us from the trees!" Some of the Dahomey soldiers had actually climbed the trees and were shooting down upon them. "Take them down men!" he yelled. Some of the French soldiers were shooting at the trees above them hitting the Dahomey soldiers. Some men here and there rained to the ground dead or dying as they got shot. Suddenly a shot rang out as Fureax felt it. He felt a burning pain on his hip. He looked down and saw blood trickling from a bullet hole on his side. "Damn!" he took aim at the shooter that shot him. He aimed his revolver not caring if he hit or missed. He pulled the trigger and the sound of click gave out from his revolver. He was out of rounds in his revolver. He looked at his revolver and at horror at the soldier above him. The shooter fired another round as it struck him almost at the same spot on his left hip. Fureax started to breathe heavily two bullet holes filled his side. Blood pooled to the dirt and grass below him. "No...." he said. "We were so close to the end....." He fell to the ground. Another soldier took aim and shot the sniper dead as he fell to the ground from the treetops. Gunshots still filled the area but it was starting to die down slowly. "Major has been hit!" yelled one of the French soldiers. A fellow French soldier ran up to the Major and tried to tend to his wounds. Fureax felt nothing but burning from his side as he struggled to bare the pain. "Keep going men!" he yelled. The battle was coming to a close. The Dahomey soldiers and warriors started to retreat. Hundreds lay dead on the ground. It was a victory but not a victory for the major. Fureax struggled to stay conscious. Some of the French cheered at the running soldiers as others tried to tend to the wounded including the major himself. "We did it sir. The enemy is in retreat" said one of the soldiers. There was a look of shock as the soldiers saw their leader was on the ground bleeding to death struggling to stay alive. "We need to get him down river, we don't have the necessary medical supplies to treat him" another soldier spoke. Fureax's hand was on his wound. He was doing his best trying to stay awake.

*******

The smoke of the battle had cleared. The French won a battle that could have easily turned against them. Thousands of Dahomean soldiers lie dead. French soldiers were still in shock as they realized that some of the very people they were fighting were in fact women. They wore a blue garment with a red headdress that exposed their breasts to the enemy. A few soldiers were captured including two of the Mino. One was discovered disemboweling a French soldier. She like the rest of the captured soldiers was executed. A large fire was built to burn the bodies. The smell of burning flesh filled the camp. Fureax was brought to a boat that would ferry him to a hospital. His condition was not good; he was suffering from peritonitis in which bacterial infection from the wounds combined with blood rupture from his abdominal area was slowly killing him. "I don't want to die" he thought to himself. He was in severe pain struggling to stay alive. A nurse was tending to his wound. He looked out from the boat and could see the river and forest beside him. Some of the soldiers waved farewell to the major as he was sailing back away from the expedition to port. The boat swayed slightly by the waves. It was not a large boat but big enough to house at least 30 individuals. He lies in a small cabin of the boat as he thought of everything. He looked at the room he was in. A nurse sat beside him as she tended to him. He tried to look at his wound but it was bandaged up. The nurse placed her palm on his forehead to encourage him to keep his head down. "How bad is it nurse?" he asked cringing in pain. His breathing was staggered. She looked down and looked at him "I am sorry Fureax but its bad. You are suffering from infection and bleeding heavily. It's in god's hands now." "Thank....you nurse.....for being honest....." A tear ran down his face, he knew that he had not much longer to live. He knew he would most likely die before reaching proper medical facilities. He thought to himself as the pain rode him nonstop "I have gone through an entire war as we fought the Prussians. I survived that war for what?....to die in a forest in the middle of nowhere. God don't let me die now...please." "Is there anything you want to pass before...." The nurse implied. "Yes....Tell Dodds.....I need to know how our men performed." She nodded as he looked at the river. His vision got blurry.

*******

Fureaux was in and out of consciousness. Minutes were hours for him. The cabin was filled with darkness with a candle lit in the corner. It was morning of the next day. He woke up, as his face was pale. His breathing was slowing. He awoke as the pain was still hard and strong at times. "God....let this pain end.....please....." The nurse was stirred awake as she looked at Fureaux. She stood up next to him as she got a damp cloth to wipe his forehead. "I am sorry....Fureax....I am sorry.....we can't do anymore. We almost reached the hospital. I went and passed your message and it was sent to Dodd. He is informed of your condition. He managed to respond back with your question." "What did.....he say?" he struggled to ask. She answered with one word "Admirably." A tear ran down his face. He knew his time had come. He nodded to her. His body began to shut down. His heart beat very slowly then stopped. His eyes starred into space as death became his final release from pain. Major Marius Paul Faurex would die on September 20th of 1892 at 4am. A French officer that participated in the Second Franco-Dahomey War would meet his end. He died a hero to his men and was practically forgotten today. At least that is what is written down in the history books........ Fureax awoke in his bed. He felt no pain as he looked around him. Time had stopped. His breathing was normal. He looked beside him and saw the nurse next to him. Her eyes were open but she was not moving. He looked at the candle and while it was lit the flame did not flicker or move. Light filled the room. He tried to look out the window but saw only darkness. "Wha......what is going on?" he asked out loud. "Nurse.....nurse can you hear me?" The nurse sat in her chair and did not move. It was hauntingly unnerving for him. "I am either dreaming or I am dead" he said to himself. "Anybody.....anybody can you hear me?" Silence. The cabin was filled with absolute silence. Light still came from the corner but it was as if watching a still painting. He looked around him. "I feel no pain. I can move my body freely." He went and looked at his bandages and they were still there. He was still on a bed. "I have to know" he said out loud as he started to unwrap the bandages. "I feel no pain but.....what the hell is going on?" He fully lifted up the bandage as he looked at his body. He could see two bullet holes in his body. He felt no pain from it. He was able to lift his body with ease. "I must be dead.....I am sure I am dead." Suddenly he saw a flash of light as it flew by the window. A streak of fire flew by the window as it caught his gaze. "What is......I saw something out the window. A see a trail of fire whatever it was." A line of flame burned outside the boat. It was out in a void of space. "Whoever you are....I hope you are not the devil. I am not a man of sin. I did my best to serve my nation. Please....." The room lit up as he saw a burning light outside as it circled around the boat and turned towards him. It left a streak of flame behind it as it got closer and closer to him. A voice rang out in the room. It was both male and female combined together. Fureax stood up from the bed. He was no longer bleeding anymore. It was if he was alive and dead at the same time. "Looks like I arrived just on time" the voice said to him. The burning light got closer and closer to him till it was at the window of the cabin. The window was closed but it easily went right through it as if it wasn't there. The burning light was a bird with flames coming out of its body. Unlike everything else in the room, this bird was quite alive and moving around. It perched itself on the edge of the bed and with its claws grasping firmly on the bed frame. "What?.....what are you?" he asked the bird. The flames extinguished from the bird as it walked on its two legs like that of a chicken. In all manners it looked very similar to a rooster but its frame also looked like a falcon. Its head looked at him as their eyes scanned each other. The beak of the bird of flame opened as it spoke to him. "You died just now....I am sorry to tell you that...." He looked at his body and then at the bird "Am I in....hell?" The bird shook its head to him and continued "No....you are not in hell. I saved you as you reached your final breath. You are in a world between worlds, my world." "Who are you? You almost look like a flaming rooster." The bird laughed at him "Ha, ha.....I suppose some have called me that.....how would you like to call me?" He looked at the bird noting its features. It had red and green feathers that lined its body. It had a beak of a falcon, but the legs of a rooster. It almost looked like a rooster and a bird of prey made a baby together. The back had these orange and greenish feathers that lined its back. He swore they almost looked like scales from some ancient beast. "You were on fire when you flew" he remarked. "You don't seem mean or cruel....I feel no fear from you." The bird nodded its head "I see.....I go by many names Fureax. The Egyptians called me the Bennu, the Jews called me the Chol, some may refer to me as the Phoenix. The bird of flame. My true name is Fenghuang, the Zhuque, the father of birds and one of the four celestial animals of China." Fureax was at a loss of words. He had no idea what to say as he just stared at this bird. "You are the phoenix?" "That is correct.....and I am here to present you an offer. It will be a rather.....interesting offer for you and I will only offer to you once so listen carefully my human mortal." Fureax nodded and listened to what Fenghuang had to say to him. "Would you like another chance at life?" the bird asked him. "Wha......you can bring me back to life?" The bird chuckled "Heh....I can. I am the bird of resurrection. From the ashes I rise again over and over again. Where there is death there is life. I am the opposite of the end. I am life. I am the bird of second chances and beyond." "Are you offering me a second chance at life? To live again?" "That is correct Fureax. I will even give you a gift along the way. The gift of memory. You shall pass on to the next life with the memories that you have now. You will awaken as a new human with your all your knowledge that you obtained in this life. Your birth, your childhood, your first love, your first fight, the battles you participated in, all will be yours when you reach this new life. The question is will you take it?" Fureax thought about it. He looked down as Fenghuang starred him down. The fierce gaze of the bird could burn a hole through his soul. "What is the alternative?" he asked. "To the great beyond....both are great journeys in their own right but for me I prefer the one that I return to life on Earth." "Why do you say that?" he asked him. "The joy of life on Earth is knowledge. To come back to life over and over allows one to fully enjoy everything that Earth has to offer. Mistakes are made and then remembered to hopefully prevent them from happening again. I want to make that offer to you." "Why do you make such an offer for me? Why not somebody else?" The bird practically smiled and shook his head "Maybe you will find out. Somebody told me that it might be best to make this offer to you. I happen to agree. Would you like to find out?" Fureax lifted up his hands and shrugged "Why not? I was not ready to die at this battle. To be given a second chance would be a wonderful thing to have. I accept." Fenghuang nodded "So be it." The bird jumped to his bed and landed on his leg. He could feel the claws prick his leg as the bird walked around him. The bird spoke "Give me your hand mortal." He extended his hand as the bird extended its wing and touched his fingers. He felt an intense level of heat rise from his hand. Suddenly the bird lifted from him and the bed, as the bed from under Fureax gave way. He began to fall, and fall, and fall...... He watched as the bird turned into flames and flew towards him to follow him as he fell. The room was gone and darkness was all around him. He could feel the air around him as it hit him. He felt nothing but air around him as his body was pulled downward as gravity pulled him down an endless chasm. The bird of flame created a trail of flames behind him as it flew next to him. Fenghuang said as he fell and flew "I always like this part Faurex. Every mortal reacts differently. Sometimes I do it differently when I get bored." Fureax was unable to describe his words. He transfixed his sights on Fenghuang. The bird of flame was diving as it kept of up with him. "Look where we are falling to my mortal companion." No longer looking at the Phoenix he looked ahead of him and a round blue ball appeared in front of him. "Where are we going to?" the man asked. "This is Earth. We are falling to Earth. This is what your world looks like from high in the great void of space. I am taking you to your new home and your new life." The bird of flame sped up its rate of decent as it slowly got in front of the falling man. The trail of flames it was leaving behind slowly got in front of him as he was getting bathed in flames. Fureax was feeling a burning sensation as it got more and more intense. The planet was getting bigger and bigger in front of him. Eventually he could see China as he was falling straight towards it. He yelled "The heat.....I am burning alive!" "One must feel the fire before rising from the ashes. When you reach the age that you feel is the best, go west into the forests and find me. You might be able to help me out. Consider it repayment....." Fureax began to scream in pain as Earth and China got closer and closer until darkness....... Fenghuang, Earth, and even himself, it all disappeared and he could see only darkness. The pain was gone. "Where am I?" he asked. There was silence. "What is this?" Finally he could see light as it got brighter and brighter. It eventually got so bright he had to close his eyes. He heard talking and a woman screaming from the light. "No.....she is not screaming in pain....I have heard this type of scream.....like that of.....giving birth." He had to close his eyes. Eventually he was in a room. He was looking at a woman's face. She looked like she was Chinese. He was being held by this woman. He felt small like he shrank. "No" he thought to himself. "Am I reborn? Have I been brought back to life? I can breathe, I can feel air around me, and I can feel her chest breathing in and out." The mother was breathing hard. She was happy as the nurses pulled out a mirror for her to look at. She took the mirror and looked at herself, her new baby, and who he was now. He was indeed given a second chance. He had reincarnated back on Earth as a new human being. He was now.... His horror to what he saw in the mirror. He saw himself as what he was now and it would give him nightmares for the years to come. He was....a girl. His mind screamed one word "Noooooo!"

Chapter 11: October 1st 1899

He was reborn as a girl. It took him time to adjust. Fureax was at first shaken up as he realized what he was and how his world was taken upside down now. His new name was Daiyu, born from a medium wealth family. The home was dilapidated having two rooms, one for her and her sister and the other for his family. It was a struggle for the mother to take care of the place while raising a family. Daiyu lived in the outer edge of Peking outside the main wall that led inside to the European controlled areas. The walls led to another series of walls that was the Forbidden City. Daiyu thought to herself "Seven years old. I might not have forgotten who I was but there are times my brain can't make sense of everything. I look at my body and I see that of a little girl. I remember the day that I was shot and the day that I died but how does one make sense of reality anymore? I had to learn the Chinese language and I still am learning it. I feel that I am seven years old but I am not. How does one identify themselves through such a change as this? My name is Daiyu and I am determined to learn more about my surroundings and possibly make my escape from my family." Daiyu had one sister and that was Biyu an annoying older sister that often made fun of her wherever she went. Her mother was named Lanfen and her father Liu that lived in this place you would be called home. The home consisted of a small living room connected to a kitchen and two rooms. Toilets were in outhouses in the street or worse there were bedpans. "N? shì shénme......doing sister?" Asked Biyu. Daiyu was posing in front of a mirror as she took a good look at herself. Daiyu ignored her sister as she continued to look and spin around. She wore a simple dress that she spun around to see what it looked like around her. She had a devious smile on her face as she knew that she was annoying her sister. She often got aggravated if her sister ignored her too long. "Like being in front of that mirror huh?....well it is my mirror and you can't stand there forever." Biyu grabbed Daiyu by her arm and shoved her to the side. That was more than enough that Daiyu needed. Biyu being seven started to look at herself in the mirror as Daiyu gave a staunch deviant look at her sister. She nodded as she charged at her sister and tackled her to the floor. Daiyu went and grabbed the hair of her sister and forced her head down. "Mom!" she tried to call as Daiyu was holding her down. "Ha, ha...." She thought to herself. "I maybe younger than her but I still have control in the end. I am more powerful than her. I also have something she doesn't and that is intelligence from my past adulthood." Daiyu holding her sister's hair like a leash inflicted massive amount of pain on Biyu. The little girl held lifted her head as she was slamming her fists down in pain and frustration. Daiyu said a few words as Lanfen was in the kitchen making food. She whispered to her "In the end, sister, I always win. I am smarter than you in every way possible." Biyu yelled "Mom!....Mom!....my sister is beating me up." "Ha, ha" he thought to himself. "Even if I get punished, I got to stick it to my sister. She means well but she is still too young to make a friend of." Lanfen sighed as she put her utensils down. She left the kitchen and walked to her bedroom to see Daiyu and Biyu fighting each other physically. Their mother spoke "Daiyu, let go of your sister this instant!" Daiyu gave a mischievous smile to her mother as she slammed her sister's head to the floor and released her as she got off of her. Biyu grabbed the back of her own head in pain. A small tear ran down her head. She might have been almost nine years old but she had to admit to herself that Daiyu was a capable fighter. Lanfen shook her head "Ugh....get out the house. Go outside Daiyu and think about your actions. I should punish you heavily but I feel that it isn't working." Daiyu smiled "I am sorry mom, I will go outside." Lanfen continued "I want you to stay outside until your father returns. Do you understand?" She nodded as she looked at her sister "Ok mom. Biyu, come after me again and I wi....." "Daiyu!" her mother interrupted. "I am going mom......" she responded. Daiyu grabbed her head cover and put it on as she walked to the door. She took a quick look at her home seeing the wooden table in the center of the living room and kitchen from the distance. She then rotated the door handle, opened the door, went outside, and closed the door behind her. She went and grabbed her sandals and put them on. She went and had a seat by the porch of the house as she looked from her home. Her home was situated not far from the outer wall of Peking. She could actually see the walls from where she sat. Other homes lined the sides of the wall. Peking was originally a city fortified to withstand attacks in the past but due to overcrowding and an ever-growing population it eventually spilled over. She was ever happier not to be in the walls although she had some curiosity about seeing it for once. Inside the fortress walls of Peking were the outer city and the inner city. The inner city consisted of the Forbidden City that had only become open up with the arrival of the Europeans and Japanese. "The Japanese....." she thought to herself as her legs swung from her sitting spot. "I was born at time when the Chinese tried to fight against the Japanese just to lose. It was like watching the Franco-Prussian War all over again. Even at the age of two and three, I heard of the troop movements from Peking as Chinese soldiers left to go fight in a war that they were destined to lose. The War of Jiawu as we called here although the Japanese soldiers that walk around here now call it the Qing-Japanese War was a war that sealed my home countries fate against other nations. Our fleet was decimated by the Japanese Navy and we were wide open to invasion. China lost the Korean Peninsula as the Japanese laid claim to it." Daiyu examined her surroundings as she kept her thoughts to herself as she analyzed the situation. To her family she was an enigma of mystery. She exhibited a strong intelligence that they did not know but demonstrated time after time. She grew up differently knowing her past life. It was a difficult adjustment for her going from man to girl in such short time. She had to go through the adjustment of being unable to walk with memories of her past strong in her mind as she had to wait for her body to grow and accommodate basic functions of normal living adults. She had to use her cunning to make sure she not attract too much attention or risk causing a panic to her family. She was seemingly disobedient at times even risking her own honor to the family but making sure that she did not overdo it either. She sat on the porch as two young women walked by the home. They paid no attention to the girl that sat on the porch starring at them as they walked by. They were dressed in the typical Chang Pao clothing of a singular dress that outlined their whole frame. They did not wear any covers nor did they wear any extravagant hair altering modifications that some women did to themselves. Daiyu was always intrigued with the Chinese women. She loved their looks. No French woman in her past ever had the look that these women had. If she had lived as she originally was, she might have considered courting one as a gentleman. "Mmmm" she commented to herself quietly thinking of lustful thoughts incurred by her past life of being a man of the women. Before she could think of it anymore, she took a look at herself and was reminded of herself that she was a girl now and that it would be problematic to pursue a relationship with another woman and being the age she was. "Damn" she thought to herself. "Sometimes I feel I am being punished for something. It is easy for myself to say that I wanted to have a second chance at life but to be made into....well, I guess I said yes to having a second chance and this is what I would end up getting. Nothing like trying to go to the bathroom and piss and not being able to aim now." The great thing with her home is the people that pass by the street to go to the outer city entrance of Peking. There are people that pass and go all the time that she could watch and remark. A pair of soldiers in French uniform passes by her home as they talk to one another. "Hmm" she thought to herself. "I admit I feel like going to those soldiers and saying that I am a Frenchman in a girl's body but they would think I was mad though. I do find it disturbing though to see what is happening to China. After the War of Jaiyu, the Japanese, the French, the British, the Russians, the Germans, the Austro-Hungarians, the Americans, the Italians......they started taking claim of jurisdiction in China. It's like the Europeans and the Japanese are carving China up like a roast. I never thought to see the day that the French are claiming China like this. I have seen more Japanese than anything else now but my peop....the Chinese are getting dominated like this. Christian missionaries are trying to convert people. I overheard a French pastor and his wife speaking French to one another as they looked at the Chinese as....savages. I...I am not a savage. I was a loyal soldier to my people. I believed in my nation and what it could become." Daiyu watched as the French soldiers spoke to one another as they stopped and spoke to one another. She understood what they said with simple ease as must Chinese did not understand the language. It was her secret way to identify things not normally spoken about. She pretended to not listen looking away from the soldiers as they listened very carefully. "These Boxers are getting worse and worse. We could be facing a revolt from the Boxers soon" said one of the soldiers. "The Boxers will not be able to launch an attack on Peking. We control this place, how are they going to lay siege to the place knowing that other nations have it to" the other soldier responded. Daiyu thought to herself "Sounds like they are worried about them. I would be in their shoes. We call them by many names but I like the 'Militia United in Righteousness' the best. To others outside of China they called them....Boxers. They started due to many reasons including the attempts from the outside to convert them to Christianity even going as far as replacing religious buildings into churches. Another big reason is the blatant disregard of respect the foreigners have for us. I fear that I might have been born into an area that might be seeing a savage conflict coming in and if it does, I will be right in the middle of it. My parents seem to be indifferent when it comes to this but my family is a different problem all together. My sister is too young to know the difference, my mother does not seem to care, and my father....I don't know what to say about him." She looked down as she shook her head. She watched as a trader walked up to a British merchant and began to talk. Once again Daiyu looked away as she watched and listened. She did not understand English yet but she watched as the action unfolds in front of her. "I can make you an offer of some of the best stuff my friend and it can be yours for a simple price" said the gentleman. The other man a simple Chinese trader nodded his head quietly and pulled out of his pocket and handed it to the merchant with ease. The merchant responded by pulling out of his satchel a packet that Daiyu recognized as opium. Daiyu clenched her fist as she thought quietly "Fucking opium, if there was one thing that I despise what the Europeans did was introduce that shit. I feel like they are trying to control us by using that crap to become dependent on them for more. Lives have been turned upside down by that terrible shit." She had to keep a blind eye for the poor now. Famine has broken out in the city and landscape. Her family still had some food but they had to tighten their belts so to speak. Her father worked as a wagon hauler moving people and items around. It was barely enough to maintain the place. Recently with the threat of an uprising closing in the only thing Daiyu had to keep an eye on is the family. She did worry about her father. He had been acting differently these past few weeks so far. He has been giving signs of being drowsy, disoriented, and randomly falling asleep everywhere even falling asleep standing up. She thought at first that he had been overworked but money for the family has been dwindling rapidly. Her father had not returned home yet. She sat outside buying her time and thinking to herself as she watched random people pass by. "I know what I must do as I grow older" she thought to herself. "I must teach myself everything I need to know about the deities, every legend, every myth, every story that I can find. If the Fenghuang exists who knows what also exists? He even told me to come seek him out when the time is right but when is that time? I wish I truly knew. Instead I am a weak little girl now. Ugh...." She looked at her hands. They were soft and simple to touch, the hands of a little girl. All in all for somebody as her she was a cute little girl. She could be innocent if her mind was not in a different mindset. Her legs swung from the porch bench that she sat from out of boredom. "I need change" she said out loud. "For the better." It was getting dark. An hour had passed when her father returned home. He looked tired by the way he walked. A smile appeared on her face. Even with who she was now, she did look forward to being with her father more than Biyu ever did. He walked staggered like he had worked himself harder than ever before. His braided hair swinging to and fro as he got closer and closer to home. She watched as another man approached him, it was the same merchant that traded with the other man earlier. He came up to her father and said in Chinese to him. She could not hear the conversation but she dreaded what it was. He nodded his head in agreement as he pulled out money from his small satchel he wore and handed it to the merchant. The merchant smiled as he pulled out a packet of opium to hand it to him. The father smiled happily as he accepted it and continued on. Anger developed on Daiyu's face. She now knew why her father acted strangely. He had become an opium addict. Less money was coming into the household stripping her of less and less food because her father was spending it on this....drug. She clenched her fist as her father put the opium in his satchel and approached the household. She hid her anger from him as he smiled at his daughter. She ran up and hugged her dad as he entered inside. The door closed as she clenched her fists. "Damn this world" she thought to herself. "One of the few things I treasure and that is being destroyed in front of me. The foreigners that come to this land are destroying it. I am beginning to truly understand what the people of China are feeling now. I am beginning to understand what these Boxers are so upset about now. If we are on our way to a revolution I hope to play a part in assisting it otherwise I am done with this system. I want to find Fenghuang and begin learning more about what other....creatures exist out there. It's ironic....maybe there is a purpose to coming back to here in China instead of being reborn in France. How many of the French people are trading opium to the Chinese right now? I fought for a nation that tried to repel us as they thought we were invaders to try to alter their lives. I feel as the Dahomey did now. I was on the other side of the fence. Perhaps this is why I was brought back to this place to face reality and that reality is frightful. I am afraid that there is not much I can do now but try to keep the family together. My father truly does not know the resourcefulness of his daughter and what she will do to keep him together." As she was left to her thoughts the door opened from the house. It was Biyu that came out to the porch of the home. She looked around and then walked up to Daiyu as she went and had a seat by her. Daiyu was ready for whatever snide comments she had to say to her. If anything she was expecting another possible conflict. She looked sad. "Daiyu" she said quietly. "I am....sorry sister, for.....pushing you away from the mirror. It was....I was wrong to do that to you." Daiyu was a bit surprised by her comment. She pondered "Why the sudden change? Perhaps she is trying to trick me in some way." She simply listened to her. Biyu looked down; she had a tear in her eye. "It was wrong of me.....please say something sister, I didn't mean to......" Daiyu went and held her sister's hand. "I.....didn't mean to grab your hair Biyu. I am sorry attacking you like that in response." Biyu started to cry in front of her. She took her other hand and smacked the porch bench. "I am.....worried about mom and dad." Daiyu took a good look at her and then looked down. "I am worried about them too. We are part of a system that is changing quickly around us. We are living under a strict environment of others." "I don't understand sister." "Our parents have other parents that are telling them what to do and these parents are not good parents at all." The simplicity of her words made some sense to her. She looked at the walls of the city and at one of the guards that were Japanese. "I can't understand what they are saying sister" Biyu responded. "Me neither....I only understand a few of the soldiers' words." Biyu stopped crying as she held her sister's hand tightly. "The ones that are not Chinese, that are not us, are giving bad things to dad." Daiyu told her. "Does it hurt dad?" Daiyu nodded "It most certainly does. What scares me is that dad does not know it is hurting him." Biyu had a change of looks on her face. She had a look of determination and renewed strength in her. "What do we do? How can we help daddy?" Daiyu got off the bench. She looked at her sister while still holding hands. "We go in together. We confront our parents and let them face the truth. I have to go into dad's belongings and remove the bad medicine they gave him. Expect....confrontation from our parents." "Will dad be angry?" "He might. This stuff he is taking, he might not know it is hurting him. He is addicted to it and if he wants more he might do whatever he can to keep getting more. The more he buys, the more we start to starve because he is not getting food now. It's up to you if you want to confront dad with me big sister." Biyu nodded nervously "Alright Daiyu, let's do it." They held hands as Biyu stepped off the porch bench. With a turn of a handle, Daiyu opened the door and they stepped back inside the home. "Mom!" Daiyu yelled. The shuffling in the kitchen was quieting down. The smell of food cooking filled the air. Within less than a minute Lanfen walked to the living room to look at her daughter. She was shocked to see both daughters holding hands. A small smile perked on her face. "Good....." she said. "I see that you two are getting along again." Daiyu without hesitation spoke up. "Mom.....we are worried about dad." Lanfen looked at the two daughters. Whatever it was was so important that the daughters were locked in hands. Without hesitation Daiyu spoke "I believe dad bought opium from a person near our home." There was some shock in her face as she went to her own thoughts. She nodded as she took a knee and opened her arms to them. She beckoned them to her arms. Daiyu and Biyu went to her arms as she embraced them. She whispered to their ears "I believe you daughters. Your dad has been acting less and less himself anymore. Less food comes in everyday. His personality is no longer what it was anymore. I....am scared." Daiyu responded in her mom's embrace "It is alright to feel that way mom. We need to unite if we are going to get him out of this. We must be strong." Lanfen patted her daughter "You are very smart young one. I think it is time we do confront your dad on this." Liu slowly got out of the room. He had the same exhausted face in his eyes. He went and said quietly as he picked up his satchel "I need to go. I went and brought in some food today." Daiyu knew exactly where he was going to go. He was planning on going to an opium den and enjoy his time there with his new bought goods. She was going to have none of it. "Father.....I can't let you do this" she explained to him. He laughed at her as he looked tired, disconnected, and slightly confused. "Why.....what is it? Why are you stopping me?" Daiyu got in the way of her father as he was about to open the door to leave. She formed a tiny barricade at the door. "Dad....I have gone through so many things. Changes in my....past. Changes that I have to adjust to now. Part of me wants to run away from this home. I can't take this life and some it stems with what is going on right now. Some of it is you dad. You have taken up opium!" Liu seemed unfazed. Biyu held her sister's hand tightly. Lanfen had a worried look on her face but she looked down. Daiyu didn't care either way. Liu was ready to push her aside but doing so now would shove not only Daiyu but Biyu as well. "Little one....step aside. Your father needs to relax." Daiyu stomped her foot "Dad you are home! You can relax here with your family. We promise to be on our best behavior but you are using opium to make yourself feel better. It is changing you for the worst." "Please daddy....stop hurting yourself" Biyu begged. Liu had a look of anger; his fist clenched "Get out of my way!" "No dad....I will not." Liu swung his hand at her, smacking Daiyu on the side of the head as she tumbled to the floor in pain. Biyu was knocked loose from her into the floor away from her. Lanfan put her hands to her mouth in shock. Daiyu wiped a small amount of blood from her mouth inflicted from the cut in her mouth from flesh contacting teeth. Biyu started to cry. She was not hit directly but the shock scared her. Daiyu chuckled a little bit "Heh....dad, I have faced worse. Look at what you just done. Is it worth it? You want enjoy opium? Well then you have to beat me every day to enjoy it. Are you going to do that to your wife, to mom?" Liu dropped his satchel to the floor. He looked at his hands. There was a moment where he realized what he became. He just struck his own daughter. "Husband....." Lanfan looked at him. She shook her head at him in disappointment "I am sorry but......I will take this family away from you right now until you get your sanity back. I must look after the kids again." It seemed the combined effort made a lasting impact on him. He picked up a satchel and rummaged through his sack. His hand eventually found the packet of opium he just bought. He pulled out the opium and looked at it thinking hard at what to do next. Finally he knew what to do next. With his daughters out of the way he stepped up to the door and opened it. With a simple heave he threw the packet into the street for somebody else to take it. He wasn't a man to litter but this was something that needed to be tossed away for good. The family watched as he committed the deed, Daiyu smiled at her father's decision even after getting struck. He closed the door. He knelt to the ground and began to cry. Biyu came up to her father and they hugged one another. No words were said, the father did not apologize but he gave up opium then and there, never to touch it again. Daiyu sat on the ground looking at her father. She thought quietly "perhaps my family is worth staying with after all." Her mother nodded to her as she went to get a cloth or something to wipe her face. From that day she had more respect for her daughter than ever before.

Chapter 12: August 15th 1900

Terror ruled the streets of Peking. It was another day of the Boxer Rebellion. A group of fanatics known as the Militia United in Righteousness opposed to foreign control revolted against the Europeans and Japanese control. Their targets were anybody foreign including Christians and mercenaries. Crop failures during the years resulted in widespread famine encouraging a population that the foreigners are not just a threat but a divine threat. The Boxers massacred individuals that represented the foreign threat. There was nowhere to run from the Boxer Rebellion. When asked to fight against the Boxers the Empress Dowager turned and helped the Boxers. The Qing Army joined the attack to suppress and push out any foreign control. Peking was the biggest target as most foreign control lied there. It was an open debate for the family for Daiyu. Should they stay under threat of being pulled into the conflict directly? Should they move to the countryside? Do they help the Boxers or Qing Army? The decision was made as far back as the beginning of the conflict. The Boxer Rebellion was happening throughout China but still focused around Peking and its neighboring cities. There was really nowhere to run and if anything the family like most felt embolden to stay and cheer on the Boxers and Army in their actions. It was however a decision that they still knew was dangerous. The Foreigners were encased in the inner walls of Peking completely surrounded by the Boxer and Qing Army as they fought for their very lives. All nations that had control of China had families that lie inside those walls. If the Boxers or the Qing managed to penetrate those walls, then there was a strong possibility they would be slaughtered. Men, women, children, no one was spared the atrocities that conflict brought with them. For Daiyu and the family they decided to move out a mile away from Peking's walls. It had been a long year. Peking had been a city under siege. With Peking turned into a war ground the economy around it shut down. It was not to say there was still work for Liu but it was not a place for children to watch soldiers attack a city. Artillery bombardment and bombs were every once and while thrown into the city to scare the soldiers from within. The foreigners responded back with their own artillery piece known as the "international cannon" made from various components from various nations to shoot back. Daiyu woke up very early morning to hear gunfire outside the home. She was now used to hearing the sounds of weapons fire. There were occasional nights where Biyu got close to her sister and held closely to her to keep herself safe. "Another night of this racket" Daiyu thought to herself. "I thought coming back as a little girl would somehow keep me away from war and conflict. I was wrong. I am used to it though. I just wonder if my chapter in this life ends here but it has been several months of this and nothing ill has fallen on the family." Her thoughts were interrupted by her sister as she spoke out loud. She grasped her sister hard as they heard a cannon shot from the far distance. "I thought you would be used to this by now Biyu" Daiyu said to her. "Are you?" She tapped her shoulder keeping her assured "I am used to this....interestingly. To be honest though, I wished it would come to an end. I hope to see a peaceful end to this conflict and that the foreigners are expelled peacefully. The Boxers response in......." she stopped speaking out loud. She felt that she had said enough to her sister. Biyu closed her eyes "How do you have the strength for this sister?" Daiyu rolled to look at her sister in bed. She held her sister close "What if I told you I was a warrior in the past?" Biyu chuckled a bit "You mean that you were like those men? You were a boy?" Daiyu nodded "I imagine you wouldn't believe me. To be honest I have a hard time believing it too sometimes. I came back as a little girl in the opposite side of the world. I saw Fenghuang one of the four divine animals that reincarnated me here." Biyu nodded "You silly, you came from mom and dad." She laughed in response "Yeah you are right on some of that.....but there is more to it than that. It's ok if you don't believe me, I just feel better if somebody else knows that for a chance." Biyu looked away from her sister and back into her eyes. "You say you were a boy once.... Were you a foreigner once?" She nodded "I was a Frenchman." Biyu nodded "You were a boy....were you cute?" She had a questioning look as she thought about it. "To be honest I really don't know. I think so." "Heh, my sister is trying to tell me that she could have been my brother. You do fight like a boy sometimes. The times we fought in the past you fought like one. Remember three years ago when I took your food, you threw a punch into my face?" Daiyu nodded "Yes." Biyu nodded "I feel safer close to you sister.....I always felt safer next to you." "Me too." Biyu started to close her eyes as she muttered something else to her sister. "You know sister.....if your story is true.....I wish I met you when you were a boy." Biyu fell asleep as Daiyu was left to her own thoughts again. She was happy with her family as she ever so slowly accepted her new life. Her eyes closed with the morning quickly approaching.

*******

Screaming erupted from outside the home. Men, women, and children ran by the house from the street outside of Daiyu's home. Daiyu got up as she looked outside the window of the room. Biyu stirred a little bit as Daiyu quickly took the sheets off the bed and put it back on Biyu. She could see individuals running as she tried to make sense of the scene. She could see the morning light. Biyu was still asleep as she stirred awake as well. She could only see so much at what was going on. She would occasionally see an individual running by the window of their home. They were trying to escape into the forest and countryside but what was what she was trying to figure out. "Oh no" she said quietly. "I know what this is." She ran up to Biyu and shook her awake. "Sister get up! Get dressed now!" she yelled. Daiyu was still wearing a form of nightgown. She ran up and put on her dress as quickly as possible. She then ran to the living room and into her parent's room. "Mom, Dad, get dressed now!" she yelled. The parents stirred awake and looked at her. A gunshot rang out outside. It startled everyone except Daiyu. She knew what was coming. She ran out to the edge of the door and cracked it open to see what was going at better angle. She saw two Boxers ceremoniously dressed in red running against an onslaught of five soldiers with rifles and revolvers firing at the Boxers. Gunshots rang out as the small village by Peking was turned into a warzone. The International army of Europeans, United States, and Japanese created the Gaselee Expedition. Its goal was to recapture Peking and any other city that was under siege from Boxers and wipe them out once and for all. The combined forces of many nations were more than enough against the Qing Army and the Boxers that fought as well. By August 14th the expedition re-conquered Peking and the rest was followed by a string of bloodshed and rape that filled the countryside around it. The boxers were armed with rifles as they stopped to fire back. One of the Boxers was gunned down by the house. The soldiers began to fill the small village as the other Boxer fled from the area. It was too dangerous to leave the door open any further. Daiyu went and closed the door. She said quietly to herself "From the looks of the soldiers, I would say that they were Russian soldiers." Liu and Lanfan were dressed enough that they were looking at her and then one of the windows trying to understand the situation. Everyone knew that they were in danger and that the conflict finally reached their doors. Lanfan looked at the two little girls "Daiyu, Biyu, find a place to hide in the home. We will try to barricade the doors in case they try to enter the home." Biyu ran back into the room and began to look around. Liu and Lanfan began to grab the table to place it to the door. Daiyu went into the kitchen and began to fiddle around the cutlery. She knew exactly what to get. She found a sharp steak knife that she could use to defend herself and her sister. "I know where this is going" Daiyu thought to herself. "The soldiers are finding any resistance to them. They are systematically wiping out the Boxers and even executing them outright when caught. The soldiers will then go into the houses to search for them and they will find us. I must brace for the reality that my mother, my sister, and I are going to be raped and killed if the soldiers make it in here. If we are very lucky they will let us go, if we have some luck they will just kill us instead of raping us. War drives men mad." She looked at the knife and ran to the room. She knew that Biyu had already found a hiding spot and regretfully it was their only hiding spot. She crawled underneath the bed and kept her mouth shut. Tears fell from her face she was so scared. Daiyu with a knife in hand crawled under the bed. The wooden planks did not buckle from their light frames. The bed was enough to provide some shield from sight if soldiers came searching but all they had to do was look under the bed and they were finished. The small group of soldiers spilt up. More came from the street behind him. Altogether it was about ten soldiers. They scattered around the village as they began to search. One Boxer was dead and fled to the area beyond the small village. The village itself was not big consisting of at least six buildings. It was really a small village that served as part of a larger community. This village would then connect to other sets of homes half a mile away and places of utility. Daiyu was listening closely at the door as her adrenaline started to kick in. She sat close to the edge underneath the bed. If soldiers entered, Daiyu would be the first they could grab. With one hand she held her knife and the other hand she took her sister's hand and held it tightly. She whispered "I won't let them hurt you Biyu, I promise you." Biyu cried and whimpered as she held her sister's hand tightly. Daiyu thought to herself "God help me, I will do whatever I need to do. I did not reincarnate as a little girl just to be slaughtered or raped." She looked at her sister "I will do whatever is needed to ensure that she does not see it happen." A pair of soldiers broke into the neighbor's home that belonged to the Lee brothers. With one firm smashing of their boots, the soldiers broke the door lock and ran inside. The brothers were a pair of carpenters that made the table for Daiyu and her family. The soldiers found the brothers as they begged for their lives. The soldiers had no care for them. One of them raised his revolver and fired at both the men executing them without mercy. Daiyu and her family were scared. They knew there was nowhere to run. Even if they broke one of the windows and ran outside the soldiers could gun them down. Even if they chose another place to live, the war would only follow them. Liu found some other items that he used to try to brace the door but they only had so much available to use. "Lanfan, hide yourself in the closet" Liu ordered. Lanfan in her panic stricken moment ran to the room, opened the closet doors, climbed in, and closed it. Liu looked at the door; there was nothing more he could do. If the soldiers broke in, he would act as the only person in the home. There was one photograph in the room of the family. He quickly grabbed it and threw it in the stove of the kitchen. It was his only way to discourage the soldiers from looking for others. A pair of footsteps reached the door. There was a knock by one soldier that was brandishing a rifle. Another appeared to be an officer that had a holstered revolver that he used to recently gun down the two men earlier. Daiyu did not know Russian, she had no way of understanding what they were saying to one another as they yelled over the door to anybody that might be inside. "Boksery! Osvobodit'sya ili umeret'!" yelled one of the soldiers. Daiyu said to herself "I will make sure if I survive this and grow older that I will learn as many languages as possible. If only those soldiers learned some Chinese maybe people would cooperate better." The one soldier looked at the other officer and nodded. "Posledneye preduprezhdeniye!" There was no sound from the house. Everyone was quiet. The soldier started to kick the door hard. His boot smashing the wood was creating a thumping noise that reverberated throughout the house. Biyu was shaking next to Daiyu. Her fear level was at an all time high. Daiyu gripped her hand harder. Each kick weakened the door frame and the door itself. Barricaded it made no difference. Eventually the third kick the officer joined in as he kicked the door hard. Liu knew that a determined enemy was ready to end their lives. He went and grabbed a knife from the kitchen as he walked back to the living room to meet his fate. Finally a fifth kick to the door broke the hinges and the door came undone. The officer pulled out his revolver and aimed at the opening hinges as the soldier kept pushing and kicking the door. The table and few items gave way to open the home in front of them. Liu was in the opening, there was nowhere for him to hide. The officer saw Liu and steeped forward with his revolver aimed at him. The soldier pointed his rifle at his head. Liu pleaded "Please.....I did nothing to you. Leave this home and I promise that I will never go after you or your family." The officer looked at Liu and said "No, all of you are savages. I know what the Boxers are like." Daiyu was shocked as she thought to herself. "He knows Chinese. I have to give the Russian that." The officer then looked around the home and he then looked at Liu "A home this large should have more. I think they are hiding in here." The officer then looked at the soldier and said "Arestuyte yego i pristrelite." The officer still had his revolver aimed at him. Liu had no choice, he charged at the officer and the soldier pulled the trigger. The deafening shot inside the house rang out in the home as it hit Liu square in the chest. Both the officer and soldier shook off the closed indoor shot. Liu fell over dead to the ground. Blood pooled on the floor. Biyu was silently crying next to Daiyu. Daiyu's eyes closed as she held the urge to cry. "Pereyti k sleduyushchemu domu" the officer ordered. The soldier nodded and left the home as he went to go and explore the other houses with the other men. The officer still had his revolver drawn and was looking at the two rooms ahead of him. Both of the rooms were bedrooms. He took note that one of the rooms had a smaller bed than the other. He decided to go and check the main bedroom to search for anybody else. "Not much to hide in this home" the officer said. His boots scuffed the wooden planks as his weight pushed down upon it. He walked into the bedroom and looked at the bed. Then he looked at the closet. Lanfan was busy crying but holding her composure to the best she could. The officer nodded and opened the closet door to reveal Lanfan. She threw some cloths at the man but he swatted them away. He had his revolver aimed at her. She held up her hands. There was nothing she could do. "Looks like I found another rat in the den" he told her in Chinese. "I wonder how good you are. Take off those clothes and get on the bed. I might spare you if you are good." She was crying as she started to slowly take her dress off. "Too slow!" he grabbed her by the wrist and practically threw her to the bed. She was screaming now. Daiyu could not take it anymore. She had to act now. She quietly got out the cover from underneath the bed. Her knife was clutched tightly in her hand. She had to let go of Biyu's hand. She was too scared to do anything at the moment as she watched her sister leave her. Daiyu slowly creeped along the floor as she neared her parent's bedroom. Lanfan was fighting the officer as he smacked her. She fell to the bed as the officer grabbed her dress and tore it. She was being stripped naked against her will. She was screaming as the officer holstered his revolver as he began to unbuckle his pants. Daiyu could now see the officer as his head was turned to the bed. She was in a perfect position to sneak up to him. His pants were nearly free as he was about to pull his underwear down when Daiyu snuck up and stabbed the man in the back as hard as she could with the knife. The knife embedded about three inches near his hip. The officer recoiled in pain as he turned and struck Daiyu. Her hand was still on the knife handle as it pulled out of him. Blood was pooling out of him now. He had his hand on his back as he unholstered his revolver. Without hesitation he aimed his revolver at Daiyu. Before anything else happened, Lanfan jumped the officer and tried to wrap her arm around him. He spun around and knocked her back to the bed. This time he would have no more of that. He aimed his revolver at her. Daiyu leapt back on her feet and charged at the officer with her knife. The officer pulled the trigger and a bullet lodged into Lanfan's heart. The gunshot like before was deafening inside the home even causing the officer and Daiyu's ears to ring. Daiyu's knife found its way to the officers back again. This time it struck his spine. He fell over as Daiyu pulled the knife out and began to stab the man over and over again. Blood pooled all over the bed. Running on pure adrenaline she made sure that this officer would never get up again. He was dead by the fourth stabbing. Daiyu looked at herself seeing the blood on her body. She went and took the revolver in the officer's hand. Then she went and grabbed some bullets from his pockets. She walked back to see Biyu looking at the carnage. She crawled out of the bed. She saw mom and dad dead. She was shaking in place. Daiyu was holding back the tears in her eyes. She would have to mourn the dead later. It was that or be gunned down or raped by the soldiers outside. She took a look at the revolver for a split second. It was large for her size but she could still wield it. She dropped the knife so she could wield the revolver. "Biyu we got to go! We need to escape or the soldiers will kill us." She nodded lightly "They killed....mom and dad." "I know sister....I made a promise to protect you. I will do that. Let's...." There was commotion from outside. The gunshot attracted the sound of the soldiers. It was time to get out now. Daiyu handed the bullets to her sister and grabbed her free hand with hers. She had a gun now to defend both of them. Her sister Biyu was barely with it. She thought to herself "I cannot leave through the front door. That will risk both of our lives. We will have to escape through the window." "Come on" she said to her sister. "We have to go through the window. They will be here any second and we will be dead or worse." Biyu nodded as she was being tugged to their bedroom. Daiyu went and shoved the hatch of the window open and told Biyu to go through it. With the bullets still clutched in her hand Biyu began to climb through it. Daiyu went and checked the revolver a second time as she tried to open up the cylinder to see how many rounds she had left. The design made it hard to do so. Daiyu had a good revolver but not the best in a hurried firefight. She had a Nagant 1895 Revolver. This revolver could carry 7 rounds in it instead of the old revolver he had in the past that held 6. Another catch was that the trigger required a lot of finger strength for a girl of her size. She said to herself "Too bad I didn't have this in Dahommey, the extra shot might have saved my life." She used her small fingers to push out the spent casing and inserted a new round she was carrying in the revolver cylinder. She had seven rounds to use up. Biyu had climbed through the window and onto the grassy dirt below. Daiyu then quickly ran up to the window sill and climbed up and over to join up with her sister. Outside of the home both looked around and did not see a soldier in sight but it would not take long. Two soldiers entered the house just as Daiyu lept out. They were sure to see the officer murdered and start searching for whom did it. Daiyu spotted the nearby forest from the village. She only played at the edge of the forest once but her sister knew it slightly better. "Into the forest sister, be ready." Biyu nodded as she followed her. Daiyu had her revolver ready. The moment they started to run they would be spotted by the soldiers. They would need to use the homes walls as cover. This was not going to be easy. Only their small frames would help give some protection as hitting small targets such as children would be harder to hit, barely. Daiyu would have to provide cover once they ran to the nearby house leading to the forest. "Biyu when I say 'now' you run to that house's wall just like where we are at. Do not run inside it. We will then try to make a break for the forest." She nodded more scared than anything. Daiyu got ready as she poked her head to look at the street leading to the house and forest. There were three soldiers out in the open with two more in the household. Most were focused at the house. "Now." Biyu ran as fast as her legs could carry her to the house. Daiyu was ready as she ran close behind her. Just before reaching the house, one of the soldiers spotted them and pointed to children calling attention to the other soldiers. Three of the men started to close to their spot behind the house. "Run to the forest Biyu, I have you covered." She ran at her top speed to the other side of the wall of the home. Daiyu looked back but decided to only fire at them if they got too close. She might have seven shots but there could be more men coming. Biyu was just about to make it and run to the forest but a Russian soldier was ready to meet them on the other side of the wall. He popped out when Daiyu was looking away. He had his rifle ready but was shouting orders to the children. It was now or never, he was blocking their escape. His rifle was not aimed at them. Daiyu went and raised her revolver at the soldier, much to the soldiers' shock. He was not that far from him but within grabbing range of Biyu. Daiyu knew it was kill or be killed. In his sights, Daiyu with one hand and full of adrenaline squeezed the trigger. A shot rang out as the round hit his hip. The man staggered back as Daiyu fired another round into the soldier this time hitting him in the chest. He slumped over to the ground dead. The way was clear for them, Biyu kept running as Daiyu was running and looking back. The soldiers would be there to start shooting them in an instance. From the house it would take about six to eight seconds to reach the trees at full run. As Biyu was running at her fastest speed, Daiyu got to the other side of the wall of the home and readied herself to start shooting at the soldiers. Two of the soldiers appeared at the other side of the home as they spotted Biyu making a run for it. The soldiers readied their rifles to take aim at her. Daiyu got at the edge corner of the building to use as a shield as she took aim at the soldiers. She went and pulled the trigger hard on the revolver when it fired another round at the soldiers. The shot missed. The soldiers stopped in their tracks as they took aim at Daiyu's direction with their rifles. "Ubit' malen'kuyu suku!" said one of the soldiers. The soldiers were out in the open shooting at Daiyu. Biyu was nearing the forest entrance. It was near her time for Daiyu to make a run for it. Suddenly a shot rang out from another building. A soldier that Daiyu had not seen nor Biyu had aimed at Biyu and fired his rifle at her. The shot struck her in the hip. Her small frame was no match for the rifle and she fell to the grass. "Nooo!" Daiyu screamed. She saw her sister fall to the ground as she went and turned and aimed her revolver at the two soldiers. She pulled the trigger and one of her rounds hit the soldier in the shoulder as he recoiled in pain. The other soldier had her in his sights. He pulled the trigger of his rifle and the round struck the edge of her shooting hand. The bullet flew to other side as her blood flew from the edge of it. She screamed in pain as the revolver flew from her hand. Daiyu was bleeding from one of her fingers. She took her other hand and grabbed her revolver as she made a run for it. There was nothing more that she could do. She ran up to her sister Biyu that amazingly got up and was struggling to get to the forest edge. The soldier that fired at Biyu fired another shot but missed. He was firing from one of the houses that Daiyu now spotted. In a desperate act, she took aim at the window and pulled the trigger with her left hand. Her finger could barely pull the trigger from her weak non main hand. The rounds struck the window sill and did not hit him. It seemed to do the trick though as it caused the man to back away from the window to give a few precious seconds to both the girls. Daiyu reached her sister and helped guide her to the forest. Another man that had shot Daiyu took aim at his rifle clear of the building now and fired. It grazed her dress and nearly missed. The children's small frames made them hard to hit as they were almost in the clear. Biyu continued into the thicket of the trees. Daiyu got behind the tree to look at her hand. She would be alright but she needed to bandage it. The wound she took to her hand caused some blood to pour from her right middle knuckle. The round apparently hit the revolver handle lodging off her knuckle. With only adrenaline, she threw her revolver to her injured hand and took aim at the soldiers in the distance. She used the trees for cover as she fired at the soldiers. The tree was thick enough to absorb the shots as she returned fire at the soldiers. She aimed at the soldier that shot her since he was in the opening. One, two, three rounds were fired. The shots were distant shots and she was not hitting him. It looked like however that the soldiers were ready to give up as they saw that they were about to escape. Daiyu made her get away; Biyu was safely away from them. They could no longer shoot her.

*******

Daiyu found her sister at a fair distance. Biyu was bleeding badly. "We made it, sister. They stopped pursuing us." Daiyu took a good look at her side. She recognized the wound she had. It was not good. The bullet she took went right through her small frame. Children and rifles meant to kill adults were not a good combination. In war and conflict even kids were not safe. Biyu fell to the ground. She was getting light headed. She was on the grassy floor below her. "Nooo" Daiyu said as she got next to her. "Come on sister....you are all I have left." Biyu was getting more and more light headed. "I....am....sorry.....big sis." Daiyu was crying "Please....stay with me.....I promised that I would save you." Biyu had a few tears from her eyes as she was bleeding out. There was nothing more that she could do. "I miss mom....and." "I miss them too.....I wish I could have been a better sister to you." Daiyu said as her tears landed on her clothes. "Always....my sister....love you." Biyu was no longer coherent. She was about to pass out for good. Daiyu took her hand and closed her sister's eyes to allow her to rest forever. She went and kissed her sister's forehead. In Biyu's hand were still clutched bullets for her revolver. "I don't know what to do. My family is gone. I was ready to abandon them when I was so young to go into the forest. I don't know what I am anymore. I came back from the dead from a war on the other side of the planet. I was plucked right into another one. Is there no place safe from this world or are we doomed to destroy ourselves? Not even the children are safe anymore." There was a strong moment of pause as she sat next to her sister. She let herself mourn and re gathers her thoughts. "Fenghuang told me when it was the right time to go to the forest by Peking. There is nothing left in my life but that. If I die in the process then I rejoin my comrades that died on the day of the Battle of that forest in Africa and Europe. I am no longer that French officer so long ago. I am Daiyu, daughter of Liu and Lanfan. I will try to make this world a better one, safer for everyone, and where chaos no longer reigns. This I promise will be my goal."

Chapter 13: The Reborn Warrior

The forests by Peking were dangerous and isolated. Daiyu bandaged her hand as she went deeper and deeper into the forest. She had no direction to go but forward. She had no idea where to go but forward. Hours went by for her. She didn't care if she was lost for she clearly knew that she was lost. It was her mission to do so. "I don't know where to go!" she yelled. Daiyu put her hand on a Chinese fir tree. She was proceeding west, northwest. She walked and walked and did not know where to go. Each tree she passes, each plant she passed, each insect she passed, gave no indication as to where she was heading to. It was a long and arduous journey of no indication. All she knew was that she had nowhere else to go but west. The further she got away from Peking the better. It was mid afternoon as she stopped and rest. Her stomach was growling from the lack of food. Thirst was beginning to take hold of her. "Anybody!" she yelled. "I need help!" Silence reined the trees and countryside. "Anybody" she quietly said. "Where do I go?" She sat down on the grass to catch her breath. She took a look again at her bandaged hand. She used part of her dress to seal up the wound. It was not serious but she still kept an eye on it. "A girl is nowhere to be in an isolated area as this" She said to herself. "Maybe I am destined to die of starvation or thirst in China. If only....I knew where to go and how to get there." She concentrated as she got up and continued walking. Another hour passed by as the sun was getting close to hitting later afternoon. She was getting light headed from thirst. "Anybody! I need help!" She yelled. Again there was silence. She started to cry a little. "Everyone is gone....nobody....nothing, there is no one to save me anymore." After a little bit of reassurance to herself she nodded and knew that she had to continue. Each step she took she felt was heading in the right direction. She took a branch and saw that she could use it as a walking stick to help her trek through the grassy plains and forest. "I must accept myself as who I am now. I must accept myself for who I will be." She watched as the sun was getting lower and lower as she continued to walk. Her feet ached and her legs were having a harder and harder time to keep up. "I am Daiyu.....I am Daiyu.....my sister is Biyu.....my father is Liu.....my mother is Lanfan." She took a deep breath as she continued to struggle her walk. The countryside was beautiful from China. Mountain ranges such as the Yan and Xishan far far in the distance West and North of Peking. Trees such as the Chinese Fir lined some areas that she could see and touch. "My name is Daiyu!" she yelled at the top of her lungs. There was a slight wind that picked up that blew the foliage around her. There was still silence. "I feel like madness is going to get the best of me. I am used to having my pesky sister around me.....my dad to give me company when he wasn't doing his back breaking work or my mother as she quietly worked at home. Nothing.....there is nothing now. I don't know what to do anymore." She collapsed on the grass and dirt below her. The sun was setting and it was getting dark. She figured that it was madness but best to say it anyway. Who was to criticize her in the middle of nowhere anyway? "My name is Daiyu!.....I am looking for Fenghuang!" The wind picked up around her. It was the same wind as before when she yelled out her name. "Was that?.....Was that a response to my words or have I truly lost it out here?" She looked around her surroundings as she saw the plants and leaves blow in the wind. She looked around but saw nothing. "Please....if there is somebody here.....I need help......I am looking for Fenghuang." A voice appeared behind her. It was a voice she never heard before. "I thought I heard somebody looking for Fenghuang. You seem to be lost young one." Daiyu turned around to see a Chinese boy possibly a young teenager perched with his back onto a tree. He was dressed with silk armor with some ancient writing on his chest. "Who are you?" she asked. Upon further inspection he appeared to be a young teenager with a walking stick of some sort. He cocked his head lightly with a smile on his face. "Hmm" he said. "You say that you are looking for Fenghuang young one?" She nodded her head "Yes, I was told by him to go in the forest and search for him when the time was right." "That seems kind of a generic term for a saying like that. When do you know when the time is right?" She gave a questioning look and thought about it. "I....don't know. I have nowhere else to go. My family is dead; there was nothing else I could do." He went and pulled a knife out of his pocket and held out his hand. A small amount of smoke appeared on his hand. The smoke quickly disappeared to reveal an apple. He then started to peel the skin off the apple. He began to peel the apple while he continued to talk to her "Terrible, what happened to you. I have seen enough bloodshed on this side of the country. I feel sad that I can't do much to resolve it anymore. Humans are hell bent on eradicating themselves that even if I did interfere it would make no real difference. Plus everyone would know we exist and it would only make things worse on your society." She went and sat down tired and exhausted. She put her gun down to the grass. "I don't know what to do anymore." The teenager nodded "Understandable why you would say that. You didn't really answer my question. Why do you feel you were ready to seek Fenghuang out?" "There was nothing else for me to do. I tried to save my family but they were killed by foreigners from another nation. I....." He went and pointed the knife at her in a friendly tone while he resumed his peeling of the apple. The skin was falling to the grass below. "Fenghuang can be a busy character, why are you seeking him?" "He....gave me a second chance at life." "Oh is that it? Heh." He nodded and smiled. She looked down as the teenage boy looked at the apple. "Here" he got her attention as he threw the peeled apple to her. It caught her of guard as she put out her arms just in time to catch the apple in her hands. Her hunger and thirst was getting the best of her as she began to bite and eat into apple quickly trying to devour it almost madly. He had a small smile on his face. "You know, I almost lost interest in you earlier. I was told to look for a young girl that might say Fenghuang but the countryside can be big place and the conflict that tears this countryside dislocates many people." She swallowed the bits of apple as she nodded and horridly swallowed it. "Thank.....thank you for this." He nodded "You don't have to thank me; a friend of Fenghuang is a friend of mine. I believe your story but you still haven't fully answer my question. Why do you feel ready now?" She stopped chewing and spoke "I feel that I am ready to see him. I am old enough to see him. My body was not ready to make the journey into the forest." He shifted off the tree with his walking stick as he leaned onto it. "What about your mind? Do you mentally feel ready to meet him?" "Yes" she said without hesitation. He shook his head "No....I don't believe it. You might feel ready to see him but you still need training to be with him. He is not the type to test you but you need to be ready to face the unknown out there. This world is a much bigger place than you ever realize." He picked up his walking stick and placed it on his shoulders where he wrapped his arms over it. "Who are you?" she asked him. "Well...since you stated your name I figure it is ok to tell you who I am." A cloud of smoke appeared over his walking stick as it rematerialized as a large long thin lance with a rather sharp tip. It formed two points on the side of the main point. He was still holding his arms over the spear as the smoke dissipated. "You can call me Nezha, young Daiyu." Her eyes looked down as she knew some of who he was. "You are Nezha.....the god Nezha. Yes I think I know who you are but....." "It must be impossible right? I am a myth right?" She held the half eaten apple in her hand. "There was a time I would have considered you a fraud by you telling me that but I know you are telling the truth. You are Nezha, the Third Lotus Prince." He sighed "Dah....I was going to impress you and convince you that I am who I say I am to you. I was going to throw one of my fire wheels into the sky and throw my flame lance right through the center of it in the air. I guess you are hard to impress Daiyu." She continued to devour the apple as quickly as possible. She said with a mouthful "I don't see flames coming from your lance." He smiled "Good, heh, now I get to impress you." He went and grabbed his lance and stabbed the blunt end onto the ground as flames emerged from the tips of his lance. "What do you think now?" She smiled and nodded with a mouth full of food. Nezha held his lance as the flames dissipated. "Well, then.....I have some good news and bad news for you." "What is the bad news?" She asked. "You might have been given a second chance at life but you are still not ready to see him again yet." She looked down as she finished up her apple. All that was left was the apple core which she tossed on the ground. Nezha went and completely leaned on his spear to hold him up "You might feel that you are ready but you are not. You need training and knowledge about us. This is where the good news comes in." She stood up to look at him "What is it?" "You will get that chance young Daiyu. I will take you to somebody that will train you and take care of you. He has been looking for some company for some time." "Alright" she said. "There is one bit of a price though young Daiyu." "What is it?" He held the back of his hand "I deserve a kiss from you. I can't ignore somebody that looks like around my age." She blushed a bit. He did look cute to her. With hunger compelling her earlier she wasn't thinking about it too much but the fact that he gave her food to her deserved some reward. She often ignored boys when she was younger but the remoteness of the place and the fact that things changed for her motivated her. She stepped forward and instead of planting a kiss on his hand she went and planted a kiss on his cheek. It was a simple peck on the cheek but it surprised him as she stepped back. She blushed as it was a first time experience for her. "Well....more than good enough" he nodded. He went and held his free hand and smoke and mist formed on his hand. A large Chakram formed in his hand as fire formed on it. Then he turned to the side and threw it vertically spinning in the air as the ring got bigger and bigger and spun with flames around it. In the center of the ring was a portal that emerged. The ring spun in place in the air in front of them. The ring was so large it was enough for them to walk through. "Ready? Let's go" as he took his free arm and wrapped it around her arm. She was nervous going through this. She was watching things that never happened before but she had some used to this in the past already. She nodded as they walked through the ring to emerge somewhere else in China.

*******

They stepped through the portal to be somewhere deep in a thicket of trees and woods around them. A small cabin lay in the forest in front of them. It was not a big cabin but habitable. There was smoke coming from the top of its chimney. The portal behind them closed as the flaming disk disappeared along with it. "Good he is here" Nezha said as he let go of her arm. His lance slowly turned back into a walking stick again as he approached the door. Daiyu stood at a distance from the door. It was a simple house in the middle of a forest. She looked around her and saw large mountains all around her. It seemed very isolated. Nezha used the blunt end of the stick as he poked the door a couple of times to knock. He stepped back and threw his walking stick back onto his shoulders where he wrapped his arms around it again. He smiled and winked at her. Daiyu felt neither fear nor danger from this situation but only happiness and curiosity at everything. At a time when the real world seemed like a massive threat and represented sadness, seeing gods and mythical creatures was a nice change of pace for her. She was no longer thinking about dying or getting killed but now thinking of wonder at what was around the corner. She above all else simply felt safe now. This place felt like sanctuary for her. The door opened to reveal a young man in what looked like his twenties or thirties as he stepped out to greet the young people in front of him. He was simply dressed in comfortable clothes of a forest man that lived alone. "Hello" the stranger said to both of them. "Nezha, it is good to see you. Looks like you brought a guest to us. She is....I don't recognize her" as he put his hand to his chin. "She is mortal." She bowed to him "I am Daiyu." "Nice to meet you. Nezha what are you doing with her?" Nezha answered calmly "We need her...." He looked at her "We have found another representative for our Coalition. We need to have human mortals to help represent us. Fenghuang saved her and gave her a second chance at life for her for reasons I don't know yet. I feel that there is a good reason she is here to be a part of our organization. The only catch is that she is very young and inexperienced. She needs training to help learn more about her environment and ours. I think you would make a good candidate to it." She turned to the teenager "Well.....why not you Nezha?" Nezha smiled "Because he knows more than I do. Besides....I am not as young as you might think that I am." Daiyu felt slightly rejected "Fine....." she whispered under her breath "I was hoping that you would be my teacher." Nezha looked at the man "What say you? Do you feel that you are interested in taking her in? I know that you could use the company." The stranger looked at the little girl. He walked up to her and kneeled to meet her eye to eye. He looked at her and he kept a neutral look to him. Daiyu looked at his eyes. She sensed no evil. "My arrow flies straight....young one....my arrow flies like a bird and never ends. I see potential in you. A lot of potential in you. If you were like one of my arrows and I shot you from my bow, I know that you will be like a bird and fly forever. Yes I will teach you, train you, and raise you like a daughter. Once you reach full adulthood though it will be time for you to meet Fenghuang once again." Daiyu looked at the man. He was a young man, clean shaven, and when she looked in the cabin entrance she could see a bow perched by the door. The stranger smiled "I am the deity that killed the nine sun demons. Husband of Chang'e.....or maybe I still am. I am Shen Yi the god of the bow and arrow." Daiyu's eyes widened "Hou Yi! Shen Yi, you....husband of Chang'e? My parents always spoke about some of the gods they worshipped. I never thought that I would be taken in by her husband. You bring great honor to me." Shen Yi smiled "Well in that case step into my hut, get something to eat. We have a lot of learning about one another and what goals we need to put forward." She nodded "Of course." She was about to walk into the cabin when she turned around, walked up to Nezha and hugged him. Nezha returned the hug by smiling and patting her back "I might come from time to time to help you out and check on your progress. Us deities don't abandon one another." She released her hug "Thank you for saving me from the forest and giving me a new life." He responded back "It's up to you to make that happen, not me." "I won't let you down, both of you."

Chapter 14: January 28th 1911

Like a river time was friendly for Daiyu as she was no longer a little girl but an adult woman. Her beautiful raven silk hair waved in the wind from the outside of the cabin in Shen Yi's home. She no longer had the frame of a little girl but a woman. It had been ten years since she had been with the God of the Arrow. She used her time wisely and well. Shen Yi sat by on his chair by the cabin mid day as he looked at the high mountains. Daiyu sat on a stump that she often studied from. The cold was apparent here as snow would sometimes creep up in the area but she was used to it. The trees around them were comfortable as an atmosphere. Shen Yi himself was busy smoking a pipe with tobacco. He was enjoying the relaxing comfortable atmosphere. He was busy quizzing her as she was reading one of his many books that only he had on everything related to the gods. He tested her reading "Once again, I want you to go through the roster for me. Name the surviving dragons of the Great Cataclysm that are part of the Coalition of Deities." She looked away as she struggled to answer the question "Vishap, Quetzalcoatl, Sárkány, Tiamat, Ikuchi, Zhinü,.......Q?nglóng, Ry?jin, Ayida-Weddo, Drakaina, and.....um....Víbria." "Very good, like anything else keep in mind that the information you have in those books that you are reading is old and outdated. We actually do have additional dragons born over time that have joined up in the coalition as well" he replied. "Now which of the four main deity groups has the highest surviving amount of deities?" "Oh that one is easy....." He interrupted "In order of highest to lowest." She got an angry look "Damn....um....Egyptian, Hindu, Greek, and Roman." "Ehhh....not completely accurate. Greek and Roman are same tree in our studies because?....." "Romans borrowed the Greek Gods and renamed some." He nodded "Good, Norse is the last group you are looking for. Now when was the Coalition of Deities created?" "It was created in 1589 AD in Roman Calendar after the signing of the Treaty of Enki." "What was the treaty before that that was the forerunner of that treaty?" "The Treaty of Rudra." He asked "When was that signed?" "1580 AD." He blew smoke from his lips from his pipe. "Very good. If you are confronted with a hostile deity what do you do?" "Run" she responded. Shin Yi nodded "Yes.....as a mortal you don't have much. Mortal weapons are very ineffective against us. What is the main way a human can kill us." "Weapons of a god." He nodded but also shook his head. "Weapons forged by mythical or deity can kill one in return." "I do have a question. In your book, why are the mythical creatures and fairy tale characters counted as deities?" Shin Yi scratched his chin "I don't know, we just don't have the terminology for it." "Seriously? Hundreds of years have passed and you guys don't have the word to call yourselves that fits more appropriately of what your group is? Hmm.....I have to find a word that fits a name that identifies not just deities but mythical creatures, folklore creatures and people, fairy tale characters, and legendary characters all in one. I know it! I have a word that I can use to identify yourselves that I think will work. How about....immortals?.......no that won't work it sounds too generic. How about Mythics? Yeah that would work. It sounds more correct to call yourselves mythics that are creatures or people that consist of deities, folklore characters, fairy tale characters, or creatures of legend that are not ordinary human mortals." Shin Yi nodded "It is a word you could recommend to the council for the Coalition. Just because you are a mortal doesn't mean that they will ignore you. Believe it or not we have actually used the term immortals in the past to sometimes describe ourselves but it is true we have never had a specific term yet to encompass who we completely are." "I am always curious; why not show yourself to the world? You are gods, mythological creatures exist, the fairy tales that exist." "Some of us were born immortal, some of us were created immortal, some of us happened to find their way to immortality. The fact is after the Cataclysm we knew it was time for us to never reveal ourselves to you humans. We got involved in your histories a few times and the results were not promising and catastrophic. We cannot be hurt by human weapons but what if one day you could? How does humans look at us knowing that behind the scenes the gods and fairy tale creatures exist and all their history was brought forth. Some of the members of our Coalition are considered evil by the humans because of what they did. How would those humans respond if they saw those they considered evil?" She thought about some of the members of the Coalition that were considered evil by the humans. She sighed. Shin Yi sighed as well. "You have asked this question before Daiyu. I know how you feel. What if the gods got involved in the Boxer Rebellion? Would your family still be alive right now? Answer that question." She looked down "I don't know." "Then what if the ones that you fought pled to the gods to help them out in their struggle to take control of the Chinese? What if the gods got involved in that? How would your life be right now with that change?" "I would be angry." He smiled "Then you can see why the Treaty of Rudra was ultimately signed. All our past history good or bad was erased and we united together. It is not perfect. In fact it is far from perfect but it is better than what we had back then. That being said, there is nothing wrong doing some things from the established rules every once in awhile, as long as it does not dramatically alter their future. Of course there are the shards and that is to us as gold and diamonds are to the humans. Here comes my next quiz question to you. Why did we survive the Great Cataclysm?" Daiyu knew this question. "The answer is simple, the....mythics managed to craft the Lintarsha Crystal, that they used on Cataclysm." "Why did that crystal save us then? Why did the immortals just try to fight the Cataclysm?" She answered without hesitation "Cataclysm was more than just a foe. It was a force of nature that could strike all realities no matter where you hid. Magic had no effect on it and in fact it dispelled our magic. Even time magic was useless against it. The ability to alter reality proved no affect on it. The most powerful of gods could do nothing against it. The thing consumed good and evil with no care. The Cataclysm did have a weakness though. If the mythics could great a crystal and pour a part of their magic into it then the 100,000s of mythics would create a powerful beam of energy capable of overcoming any force as it. It worked but the crystal shattered after its use. Some say it's on purpose and some say it is an accident from the imperfections of making it." Shin Yi blew a puff of smoke into the air "The one thing that my book does not explain well that you need to know is the price that crystal had on us. We were desperate to make it and survive. The crystal permanently drained some of our powers as well in attempt to create it. It would be actually impossible to make another one. There isn't enough for us to make another one and we would possibly perish trying to make another one. One of the reasons we want to assemble it again is to have the crystal ready in case something else shows up like Cataclysm. If only we had more time to assemble it." "What did Cataclysm look like? I am sure humanity would have seen such destruction from above us." "Humanity would never see what it looked like. We fought it in the outer rim of the solar system. It was pure nothingness. A giant ball of darkness that was slowly creeping to this planet. You would have only seen the night sky above you go even darker as it slowly came and consumed the planet as a whole. You would have barely known what it looked like then....poof....no more. We created different realities to fight it but it did nothing to it. I watched my arrows simply fizzle to nothing against it. It was there though that we started to discover the weakness in it." Daiyu scratched her head "What was its weakness?" "Besides the crystal obviously, it was showing a shift in movement when we kept ultering reality while striking its core. Each time we did it in very rapid succession it slowed momentarily as it was trying to adapt and reorganize its reality to normal again. The problem is that Time magic and reality altering magic is finite to cast it. You can only cast it so many times before you are drained and need to recover. Every method to adapt and come up with new ways to fight it only drained our resources and we had already lost half our number. If only we knew sooner then we might have put a dent into it. Sadly it was not meant to be." "Why not go back in time or alter reality to manipulate the past?" He shook his head "The crystal drained some of our powers making it. It limited that ability. We did use it as much as we could. The catch is using time and reality altering magic can cause long term damage to the surroundings the more you use it. Eventually it will weaken space itself and make places like Earth uninhabitable unless done sparingly. There is always the threat of paradoxes which is something that is difficult and annoying to fix. Let's get back to your test of knowledge. Name at least five Egyptian deities that are part of the coalition today." Without hesitation, Daiyu named five individuals "Anubis, Tefnut, Reneutet, Taweret, Nemty." "Very good" Shin Yi responded. "Who is the most powerful of those five?" She thought about it and guessed "Anubis?" "Yes and no.....that was a trick question. None of them are more powerful than the other. Anubis is quite the fighter and can put up an incredible fight but it does not make him more powerful than the other four." "What do you mean?" He responded "Each god or deity or mythic as you would put it, has an ability that the other does not. For example of those five gods you told me, who has the most importance if you wanted to grow crops? Would you go to Anubis that you just told me?" She thought about it "No I would not." "Who would you rely on? You have crops that will die if they don't get the care they need. Who of those five would you go to?" Once again she thought about and answered "Tefnut, she has the ability to bring rain." "Very good. I met Tefnut once, she is quite capable of bringing a good fight to someone if she wanted to. Just because she can summon rain doesn't mean she is helpless in a struggle too. I have seen her bring a powerful acid rain on a group of individuals because they tried to bring harm to an individual she was trying to protect. Those individuals regretted their actions I promise you." She continued reading her book. She read the next page of her book out loud. "The dragons of today much like many.....mythics, have the ability to take on two or three forms to hide themselves from society and mortals. They have an in-between form that they take on that is most comfortable for them to use that resembles that of an anthropomorphized version of a true dragon. These walking bipedal dragons can typically fly and fight in armor and weapons while carrying their invincibility into battle. When pressed they can transform to their 'true' form of their bodies but it will drain their power like when they transform into a human form." Shin Yi pointed his pipe at her "That book is not completely accurate when it was written. There are a wide variety of dragons and as a result it can be difficult to categorize what each one can do. Some dragons are barely what you can describe as dragon but that of a flying snake like Ayida-Weddo for example. She has three forms, human, her in-between form, and her ultimate form. The idea of three forms is that the one that is most stable is one that in between the form of a human and dragon. In the end, it really comes down to the individual. Zhinü for example has only two forms and that is her original powerful jade dragon form and human form." Daiyu continued to read her book "Assuming human form is the hardest thing to do when staying with mortals. The price of using magic continuously drains an immortal's energy. Half a day is usually the limit of how long an immortal can assume a human form. That being said some immortals are already human like as is and can fit with mortals relatively free from suspicion and don't need to worry about this limitation. Once a human form is casted by the magic user even going beyond half a day is not something to worry too much about. It is possible to go beyond that time period maintaining a shape as it truly depends on the immortal such as shape shifters that can take any form or simply the individual itself. Usually going beyond the time period is not fatal but once the magic is fully drained from the immortal they cannot cast any magic unless they revert back to their original form. Within a full day of maintaining the shape the immortal will exhibit signs of illness and fever. Within beyond of holding continuous form of that shape the symptoms will worsen but not be fatal. No immortal has ever perished from holding human form for too long." Daiyu closed the book for a bit as she scratched her head. "Shin Yi, you have always been human before you became immortal. I never had the chance to ask, but how did you become immortal?" "Actually you did ask me that question twice but I avoided the answer. You asked a year of when you first arrived and a second time a year later after that. I was nervous telling you that because you would try to seek it out and bring harm to others trying to find it. I guess it is safe to tell you this now that you have been here long enough that I can trust you. The fact is.....I discovered a pill that can give immortality." Daiyu almost interrupted him "The pill of immortality from your legend, of course. In the legend of your story you had a pill of immortality that another individual wanted from you. You decided to give it to your wife Chang'e and she went to the moon." Shin Yi chuckled a bit "Heh, Heh, one of the things you forgot in your learning is the importance of knowing that not all legends are accurate. History and myth get skewed over time and as a result stories are not always the same that the mortals have written. The fact is the pill was large enough to be divided in two. I gave one to Chang'e and one for myself. I mean think about it, if I was going to give one for my wife then it was hell for sure that I would have one for myself so my wife and I could live forever.....and remain together." "I won't ask anymore about the pill father." "Thank you. Immortality is a gift and a curse. I took the pill and I live forever. I outlive all that I live. Chang'e is gone and I am alone. Sometimes I wish I never took that damned pill." Daiyu tried to consul him as he looked down and smoked "Without you, the nine sun demons would have destroyed the region. The Chinese have you to thank for in making their lives better." Shin Yi nodded "Yes of course. About that.....Daiyu there is something you need to know about that story. The legend of the nine sun demons was the fact that there were ten not nine. I never found the tenth demon. It disappeared. The mortals went and wrote in their legend that the tenth sun demon went deep into the sky to become our sun. I wish the story was true and I want the mortals to think that is the case. I don't want them to fear that another sun demon is still out there ready to scorch the region again." Daiyu had a look of shock "I did not know about this part of the story. To think that another creature that you hunted may still be out there ready to strike anytime is unsettling." "As I said, I want the mortals to think that the last sun demon became our sun. You and I know the truth, don't tell anyone this. I don't want to spread fear." "I understand father." Daiyu went and continued reading out loud from her book. "It is well known that mortals and immortals are able to but not always capable of having children between one another. This includes in some cases cross species. Deities of bulls and humans can produce human bull hybrids for example without the need of magic for example. Deities of horses and humans have been known to produce hybrids. Vampires and Humans have managed to produce children but require much effort from the parents to be able to produce a child together. When children are not capable of being produced by the parents of an immortal and a mortal or between immortals magic can be used to help impregnation. The 'Fertility' ability that Gods or Goddess of Fertility for example allows magic to be used to impregnate themselves or others with simple ease. Gestation times can vary however though." "There are often cases where some mortals don't even realize that they are partly immortal or even have access to magic without knowing it. Some end up finding out that they were descended from a deity without even knowing it. Zeus for example was quite prolific in fathering quite a lot of children with various women and the children born did not even know they were a son of a deity." She listened to Shin Yi before she continued reading "Magic is the embodiment of the.....mythics. Not all mythics are capable of casting magic but when they can it can vary from each one. Some can manipulate light, some can manipulate time, some can alter fate, some can create food with a snap of a finger. Most magic is casted by simply chanting the word and releasing the energy to whatever you want. There are some remote cases of magic being combined into spell. Technically it is impossible for two beings that can channel lighting to make it more powerful for example but it is possible to have a deity of ice and a deity of lightning cast their spell together to form a lightning strike that freezes their foe instead of killing them. Dragons generally have no access to magic with the obvious abilities such as altering their forms or fly but can breathe fire, ice, poison, or acid depending on the type of dragon they are." Shin Yi got up from the chair he sat from as he held the smoke pipe handy. "Now, I have a surprise for you today. I think it is time that you gain something to help you stand a chance against immortals or mythics as you have come to call us. The fact is you are vulnerable to immortals. Name some of the rules of immortals to me." "Sure. Mortals are unable to inflict harm on immortals err mythics unless they are made immortal or given a weapon or tool that is specifically capable of harming one. Otherwise there is nothing we can really do about it." He walked into the cabin as he continued to speak. "Yes...that part is true and it is time I did something to help you out. You are 18 now and more than capable of defending yourself. You are responsible enough that I can give you something to be able to utilize and defend yourself with." Daiyu was more than curious as she watched Shin Yi search inside the house. He then walked out of the house and held out his hand. "Ah there they are. Remember that chest I told you to never touch when we first met? Well it is time to open that chest. Here is the key for it." He handed the key to her. The key was small about the size of her thumb. She looked at the edges. She thought to herself "I always stayed away from the chest he told me. I figured it was old mementos of his anyway so I never bothered to go after them. Besides if it was old pictures of his wife then who was I to go snooping around without his permission." "Thank you" she said as she walked into the cabin. Her foot and sandal smacked the wooden plank of the door she lived in for ten years. She used her time well in these walls and outside. He had a small collection of books that she used to teach herself the world in combination of her own acquired knowledge of the past. She became a treasure trove of knowledge on the ancients, civilizations, stories new and old, history, and languages. She taught herself English, Spanish, German, Japanese, and some Russian. She looked at the top of the cabinet to see the small chest sitting locked up by her hammock. She went and picked up the chest and looked at it. It was a normal wooden chest with an ancient inscription that read "The destiny of the ancients will drive men to glory." She inserted the key into the key hole and turned it. With a simple click the lock came undone and she popped open the chest. She looked inside to see it was a bag and a bronze knife with a handle made out of jade. She took the knife and bag of whatever was in it and put the chest down on the cabinet. She walked out of the cabin to check up with Shin Yi staring up at the mountains with his pipe in hand. He turned around to meet Daiyu. "Looks like you got both items. You have proven worthy my daughter to wield them." She took a look at the bronze knife. The knife looked nothing really interesting but the jade on the handle was pretty and stood out. "The knife is an immortal knife given to me by the Jade Emperor. Use that if ever in an emergency. Never lose that knife. Even for a bowman such as me, a knife is a tool to use for survival. Even a lone man given a simple knife can feed himself for life." Daiyu held up the bag as she stuck the knife into her makeshift belt. She looked at the bag. It was not heavy but it looked silly to hold. It was made out of brown leather. "I feel like I am holding a bag of pebbles or rocks." Shin Yi smiled "That is the key item that will help you out there if you are ever interested in joining up the Coalition. They are the Marbles of Destiny. The bag is endless inside safely carrying marbles with each capable of doing something different. It is time that you learned how to use magic from this bag. Think of each marble as a contained spell ready to be cast." Her eyes widened "I....get to use magic? I thought mortals did not have the ability to use magic?" "Only if they are given an object or something that imbues them with magical power. I have seen some humans given the spirit with magic for example. There are circumstances that can give a mortal magical power. Now, go and reach into the bag and pull out a marble." She opened up the bag as it appeared as a dark abyss inside. She went and reached her hand into the bag and felt a variety of small glass marbles inside. She plucked one from the many and held it in her hand. She looked at the marble. It had a dark green color to it that shimmered in front of her from the afternoon light. He looked at it "Perfect.....now throw the green marble by one of the trees and sit and wait. Make sure you throw it and not drop it." Without hesitation she threw the green marble at a pair of trees as it landed between them. For a few seconds nothing happened. Then the marble cracked open and a tree just like the two fir trees grew rapidly. Within a few seconds the tree was the same size as the other trees as it stopped growing and became just like the other trees. Daiyu's mouth dropped and hanged open as she was in shock. "Incredible." "Heh, I had a feeling you would say that. That is one of many of the color marbles. I will teach you what all ten colors do. Go and pull another marble out." She stuck her hand into the bag and pulled out a red colored marble. "Oh, we get to use that one now. Well if we are going to be using that one then we need to make sure you find a blue one. Hand me the red one so you can find a dark blue one." She complied as she handed the red marble to Shin Yi as her fingers delved into the bag. She pulled out a pink marble and put it back in. She then pulled out another dark green marble and also put it back in. She then finally pulled out a dark blue marble. "Perfect, now hold onto that dark blue marble tightly, you will need it." He threw the red marble at the newly created tree she made. The moment the red marble hit the tree it exploded with an eruption of flames. The tree caught fire and started to spread up the bark of the tree. The explosion would be large enough that it could consume the inside of the cabin if it was thrown inside. "Quickly throw your marble at the tree." She did as she was told as she threw her dark blue marble at the burning tree. The marble landed into its sides and the marble exploded into water that flew into all directions. Much like the fire one, the dark blue drenched the side of the burning tree. The water put out the fire instantly and drenched the ground below it. "Amazing. Simply amazing" she said. The water evaporated as it put out the fire completely. The tree was charred from its side from where the fire burned. Daiyu sighed as she lowered her grip of the bag of magic marbles. "Never turn that bag upside down or ever lose it" he told her. She nodded as she wanted to sit down and keep reading. "What is wrong? I thought you would like to learn casting magic of your own." "It isn't that father. I am happy to learn magic but I was just thinking of my family and what I have lost. In a lot of ways I would sacrifice this bag of marbles to bring them back to life." He sighed "I miss my wife. I think of her every day. It's why I truly never gave up hope in trying to find her. It's one of the reasons I never joined the Coalition in the first place. I don't mind helping them if it meant finding her again. I just don't mingle with them too much now, not like I did so long ago. However, I feel that she is still alive though. She is out there; I just wish I knew where." "You know of my past father, I have had to put aside my past life and embrace this new life. I wish to find out what my destiny is. My religious beliefs have been altered and changed after learning everything that gods and mythical creatures exist. I might have had eighteen years to adjust to this but it is still difficult. Hell.....I don't even have a dick anymore, it is something that some men may find interesting of an experience at first but when they have their first period, I think they would change their minds." Shin Yi shook his head "I imagine not, then again I don't remember my past life. Consider your experiences as a gift though not a disservice. Your past knowledge is a gift that travels with you...." Daiyu interrupted "I know father. I can't believe that it has been ten years we have been together. I have learned a lot from being with you. I feel.....that I want to see things out there now more than ever. I feel that my knowledge will benefit the people in some ways or the mythics out there. I want to seek that out." He nodded "I feel that you are ready to seek the world out there. Can you fetch my bow for me?" She turned her head to the door, her long flowing single braided hair whipped to her side as she spotted the bow with dust on it at the door frame. She walked up to it and picked up as she looked at it. "For a god of the bow or god of the arrow this thing does not look anything special" She quietly said out loud as she turned around and carried it with her free hand to hand it to him. Shin Yi looked at his bow and felt a small wave of nostalgia. He had taken her out to hunt every once and awhile but this time was different. This time he was going to be using it for something special. He held out his free hand and with a small amount of mist and smoke, a golden arrow appeared in his hand. After the smoke cleared from his hand he knocked the arrow on the wooden bow and pulled the string back. He aimed high in the sky at what looked like a random direction. With a simple release he let the arrow fly. "What are you doing?" she asked. "Something I have been awaiting since you finally told me what you just said now. It is time you began on your journey. I am summoning someone, they should appear in about five, four, three, two, and......" There was silence as he silently counted to one. Five seconds passed by and nothing happened as Daiyu almost shrugged her shoulders trying to figure out what was happening. "Ok so I am not perfect....." a portal appeared beside them as a familiar face appeared next to them. An individual stepped out of the portal as he appeared before them. It was the teenage boy that Daiyu knew all too well. "Nezha! It is good to see you again" she cheered lightly. The portal behind him closed behind him. Nezha smiled, he was no longer looking down at her as he did off and on again. He had showed up once or twice to watch her grow up. He even showed up once to train her how to defend herself with a spear. Daiyu even had to shake off any feelings she had for him as well. She approached him and gave him a hug as he wrapped his arms around her in response. The hug was short lived as she pulled back to allow him and Shin Yi the ability to speak. "You called for me?" Nezha asked. "Yes, I have a mission for you. Do you happen to know when the next Divine Animal Meeting is? I believe it is a couple days from now...." Nezha's eyes widened "Actually they are preparing to have one now. Something has popped up that they are accelerating their meeting. They were originally going to muster additional members of the Coalition to come and show up but they feel the Divine Animals in this region could take a look at it. They said it might be nothing and want no one else but I have a feeling this would be an opportunity for our young and experienced Daiyu to enjoy if you consider yourself ready that is?" Daiyu nodded "I am ready to do this Nezha. Let's do this." "Now that is some assurance from somebody that I met so long ago. You have definitely shown now that you are ready to meet him again." Shin Yi spoke up "I am going to give you one last teaching for you. It will be up to you to learn what the other marbles do except this one that I am going to teach to you. I want you to pull out a purple marble in your bag." Daiyu began to fish out a purple marble. Her fingers fumbled around for the marble she was looking for. "Sorry I am taking the excitement out of this trying to find what I am looking for." Shin Yi assured her "You will get very good at it as time progresses. I am quite sure that you will be able to pull out exactly what you are looking for even in dire emergencies as you learn about the powers that the bag holds." She nodded as she pulled out a purple marble and held it in her hands. "Good" he said. "Now I want you to hold the marble close and state the destination that you want to go to." Nezha added "Ten miles north of Yulin. Make sure to avoid saying Yulin or we go to the town and trust me that is not where we are trying to go to." "This is where we will part ways until you return. Do come and say hello to me from time and time again ok?" Realizing this would mark a time they would be apart for awhile she came up and hugged him. "Thank you for everything. Thank you for giving me shelter and feeding me. Thank you for all of it." "Daiyu....I wish you luck out there. Find a good person that will be your closest companion. If you ever happen to find a woman holding a white rabbit, send her in my direction ok?" "I will try to find her father if she ever shows up." She released her grip on him. She held the marble close and spoke the words of her future destination and threw it several feet away at a clearing. The marble flashed and a portal appeared in front of her and Nezha. The vortex revealed a different side of trees in the opening. It was their future stop. She walked forward and stepped into the vortex with Nezha close behind her. The portal closed leaving Shin Yi isolated by his isolated cabin in the forest. He shed a tear as he held his bow tightly in his hand. He realized how quickly the goodbye was for him and how quickly he was alone again.

Chapter 16: Meeting of the Four Great Divine

Daiyu and Nezha arrived in a forest clearing that was completely different than where she was before them. Shortly afterward the portal closed behind them. They stood at an area that had grass all around them. There was a tree that fell over beside them that formed a perfect place to sit. The stump of the tree also marked a spot where one could sit. Nezha called his spear in which he used to stab into the ground and turn it into a leaning post to perch while standing. Daiyu went and tied up her bag to her belt as she went and had a seat on the fallen tree. Nezha broke the silence of the forest "Now we wait for them to arrive. They should be here relatively soon." "Ok." Daiyu went and gave a good look at the teenage god that stood before her. He smiled as he watched her looking at him. Nezha himself blushed a bit. "You are attracted to me?" he asked. "Well.....not as much as I felt when I was younger. I admit I do feel a wave of nostalgia when I look at you though. I guess I am still trying to get my feelings in order. I am sorry I did not mean to....." Nezha laughed "I am not insulted Daiyu. I am sorry though but I don't feel that way in turn. You are good company though." She nodded "It's ok; it was just young attraction for me." He nodded as well "If you have a thing for gods trust me there are some single bachelors right now that are always looking for a mortal for a mate." "Really?....Why?" "For simple reasons, one, they have lost the ones they love and searching for someone to take that place. Another reason is that mortals have short life spans. Hundred years for you is a speck of time for us. We enjoy our time with you through your life and move on afterward. I know Taweret for example has married and taken on so many suitors during her whole time that she lost count. Tiamat is another that is happy to take a mate. The Dragons like the humans. I.....well I might need a break for a few decades. Some of us immortals are just real party animals when you really think about it." She took a look at the surrounding environment again. Trees were abounding them. Some areas were completely sealed from getting through at the edge of the forest clearing the brush was so thick. The setting was pretty though with the smell of trees just like she lived at in the cabin with Shin Yi. She continued the conversation "So tell me about you. I know the story about you fought Li Jing but what happened after that?" He shifted his stance as he explained "So long ago.....It is difficult to remember everything. Yes, I fought Li Jing and he had help from Randeng Daoren. I managed to subdue Randeng Daoren but the combined force of both of them was too much for me. I was forced to retreat from the fight. I never returned to fight them after that but I became a traveler helping those every once in awhile with their travels like you. The Great Cataclysm was almost the end of me. The Deities felt that I was too 'young' even though I was the same age as them. I stated my protests but I decided to go ahead and stay behind on Earth while they fought and died going against Cataclysm. I joined the Coalition of Deities and help in the search of the Lintarsha shards like everyone else. To be honest I wish I did fight the great battle but on the other hand I might not be here helping you out. Life works out that way doesn't it?" She nodded "Thank you for everything in helping me back there ten years ago. You have been a great self defense instructor too." "That is what I do. I enjoy helping others. It is too bad that things are going in China the way things happened but they will be alright in the end." He pointed at her "Did you improve your upper block? You were a little slow with those overhead blocks three years ago." She scratched the back of her head "Well....I did try to improve my fighting ability but you were not there enough." Nezha nodded "I agree, I should have been there more than I was, I was actu....." He was interrupted from a sound from the edge of the clearing as a large animal came slowly at the edge. "Sounds like they are coming....do not be afraid Daiyu." A pair of large cat eyes appeared from the clearing as a large white tiger walked out of the clearing. It was much larger than any typical tiger. The white stripped fur was a clear indicator of who he was. "Baihu, it is good to see you" Nezha greeted him. He walked on all fours as he reached the center of the clearing. He was not alarmed seeing the two individuals before him. Baihu's tail twitched "It is good to see you too Nezha. Who is this....mortal woman doing here?" "She is a friend of mine, her name is Daiyu and she needs to see Fenghuang." The tiger looked at Daiyu "Well then, Daiyu you are at the right place." "The four divine animals! You are the White Tiger of the West." Baihu nodded but didn't smile "You are correct Daiyu." On another side of the clearing there felt like a small tremor as the ground shook. They were followed by the apparent footsteps from their distance. Nezha explained "That would be our big friend Xuanwu coming up. She always likes to make a big appearance when humans are not around. She might get a little surprise when she sees you." Daiyu watched as a large silhouette appeared at the edge of the clearing. It was very large. Something that walked on two legs slowly was emerging from the bushes. It looked like she could push the very trees down just by leaning on them. "Looks like she is using her in-between form. She always avoids using her regular tortoise form. I guess it makes her feel more....intimidating." A large bipedal tortoise walked out of the clearing as she yelled "Here comes Big-X here to rumble the forest down! Yeah!" A large club slammed on the grass ground by the silhouette shaking the earth around them. Daiyu almost leapt from her seat. Xuanwu walked out of the clearing. She stood at almost ten feet in height, with huge muscles that held a giant club in her hand that could crush a small house if she wanted to. She had a shell that protected the front part of her and her back like any typical tortoise. She was essentially walking armor that could take on an army with simple ease. Daiyu's eyes were wide open gathering the sight of the impressive beast. She had feminine like features for her head. She had a small beak like nose that stood out with yellow reptilian eyes. Her shell on her back had a blackish color symbolizing her being a black tortoise. Her underside belly was displayed to them. It was a hard tan colored armor plate. Daiyu noted that she actually had breasts that were covered up by the underside armor plate. The plate itself even protruded to fit her breasts perfectly. She had a large tail behind her. It almost had a snake like head at the tip of the tail that looked like it could be a third like hand that could grab an object and throw it. The tail dragged behind her that she could wrap around herself if she wanted to. Her hands were consisted of three fingers with one serving as a thumb. The scales on her back lined up to her head to almost form spikes giving a slight appearance of hair. All in all her skin was a green tanish color that lined through her body and in the shell. The club she wielded was practically the size of a tree log crafted into almost a large wooden bat with metal spikes protruding at the end point. "Wow" Daiyu added. Xuanwu saw the human mortal and knew almost immediately that she was mortal. She backed up a bit with her club at the ready. She actually yelped "Ah! A human mortal! What is she doing here?" "Relax Xuanwu" Baihu barked. "She is here to see Fenghuang." She lowered her club to the ground as she walked up to the center. She was no longer stomping the ground creating her tremors as before instead walking at an easier tempo and planting her ass on the ground by the fallen tree. As she sat down she threw her club aside as it accidently smashed into a tree stripping some of its bark with a hard thump. She looked at club and said "Whoops! Didn't mean to do that! Anyways, nice to meet you human. What is your name?" "Daiyu." "A wonderful name to have." Before more could be said a familiar trail of fire began to appear above Daiyu. The flame trail could only symbolize one thing and that was the fiery phoenix was near. She saw the flame trail as it circled around the opening in the forest. A bird engulfed in flames was coming to land. "Him and those fiery appearances" Nezha added. The large fire bird that came to help Daiyu so long ago landed on the fallen tree as his flames extinguished revealing the red bird that stood before them. "Fenghuang!" Daiyu greeted with surprise. The bird looked at her with one of his eyes and you could see a smile appear on his beak. "Well, there you are. Nezha told me about you Daiyu. It is good to see that you survived all the conflict to eventually make it here. How are you enjoying life?" Daiyu had a look of anger "Yeah you are the one to ask such things. I came back a girl!" Fenghuang almost chuckled "Luck of the draw my human companion. I said you would come back to Earth I didn't say which way. Most humans I bring back usually don't remember their past lives, it helps in cases.....like this." "Ugh....you know what it's like when you look down and see that you have breasts and missing a penis I think you will truly understand." "Hey!" Xuanwu interrupted. "I have breasts and a vagina too! There is nothing wrong with it; it's how you use it, besides my human mate didn't have a problem with it." She looked at the whole group and added "His son is doing fine by the way." "You....had a child with a human mortal?" Daiyu asked. "Well I did have some assistance from a certain goddess of fertility but yes I did. I got to admit I didn't know if I was going to give birth to live young or lay an egg. Trust me it gets weird at times." Nezha commented "It's good to hear he is doing well. I trust he takes up his mother's side very well?" Daiyu decided to drop the conversation and nodded as she turned her head to look at Baihu. She was shocked to see that he changed form to a bipedal white tiger. He was also large that could stand up at eight feet in height. He had muscles covered in white fur with black stripes. He wore a loincloth that covered his lower extremities. All in all he looked like a bipedal walking cat. His hands had five fingers with razor sharp claws that could cut into the strongest of armor. Daiyu herself almost blushed noting his appearance as he looked like a fit man. He could lift a tree himself with simple ease. His tail was wrapped around his legs as he sat cross-legged. "You have an in-between form too?" she asked. "Of course" Baihu replied. Fenghuang decided to break up the small talk by getting to the point "Any sign of our dragon?" "Yeah, isn't Q?nglóng supposed to show up?" Daiyu asked. "Umm..... Q?nglóng doesn't always show up for these meetings Daiyu" Xuanwu told her. "Then....who is the fourth divine animal?" Fenghuang explained "Actually Q?nglóng is the fourth divine animal of China but we reached an agreement with the Coalition that a dragon is supposed to show rather than just Q?nglóng. It is a random dragon chosen from the Coalition that shows up for these meetings." Baiho added "You will note that human history and written information about us is often not always correct or skewed from the truth." "Yeah" Xuanwu added. "They can't even get my gender right. They think I am a male in the stories dealing with me." Nezha told her "Yeah, well you do look like a man in human form and your tortoise form gives no real clues to your gender either. No wonder the humans think you are a guy." She balled her fist and hit the dirt below her "Hey! That is not fair. My human form is screwed up due to my size. So what if I look like a seven foot muscle woman, still allows me to disguise myself as a man easily when I need to. Still I think looking at me now you can tell I am a woman." She looked at the group "Should I lie on my back so you can get a good look at downstairs and know that I am who I say I am?" Daiyu shook her head "I get it, you're a female." "I hear something" said Baiho. "I believe our dragon is coming." Daiyu looked at the grass floor and could see a large winged creature overhead. She looked up to see a human like dragon with wings was flying overhead and trying to come in for a landing. "Wow" she said. "My first dragon that I will ever get to see." She stood up looking at the sky. She could see a large silhouette of flying creature overhead as it was dropping altitude to land. A loud voice boomed over the group. A voice that was reminiscent of a Hungarian accent that amazingly spoke Chinese very well. "Have no fear! Your knight in shining armor has arrived to save the day and save the land!" "Wow." Daiyu added. "Ugh is that Sárkány?" Xuanwu asked quietly. "Are all dragons that.....dynamic and over the top or is that just him." Baiho closed his eyes "Yes...more or less. Each has a quirky personality when....." "Clear the landing zone, I the great Sárkány is going to land! Clear the way, clear the way!" "Oh here we go" Xuanwu added. "Watch the show." Daiyu watched as a human like dragon performed a dive in the air heading straight down to the grass near them. His wings that were wide open closed in so he could head to the ground as fast as he could. His speed was fast, so fast that he..... Sárkány reached near ground level and smacked solidly into a tree knocking him from his flight plan. He hit the opening of the forest and lost complete control. "Ha!" he yelled as he smashed into the grassy floor beneath him. Dirt and grass was thrown in the air as he hit the floor and his fast momentum carried him into a roll on the grass. Wings, tail, limbs were flaying about as he was coming to a slow stop. He eventually rolled up on the ground almost ten feet from the gathering as he landed on his back. "Is he?" Daiyu asked. "Oh he will be fine" Xuanwu told her. Daiyu had a good look at the dragon that crashed onto the floor near them. He was a bipedal dragon that wore plate armor that covered his chest and legs. He wore a helmet that protected his head. He was also quite large being about eight feet in height. His eyes were closed and suddenly they opened. He held up his hand in a fist and triumphantly said "Perfect landing! All glory to the great Sárkány!" Nezha and Xuanwu started to applaud the dragon as Daiyu followed suit hesitatingly. Xuanwu added "Never have I seen such a powerful landing." The dragon got off the ground with simple ease. Daiyu noted that he had a tail with spikes at the end and had a scabbard with what looked like a broadsword of some type. He began to wipe the dirt off of him. Behind him was knocked up dirt, grass, and a damaged tree for several feet in his wake. Sárkány turned to look at Fenghuang and kneeled to the phoenix bowing his head, putting a closed fist to his chest, and closing his eyes. "My liege, I have reported for the meeting. Name your mission and I will proceed immediately at the task before me." Fenghuang lowered his head looking at the dragon almost as if he was sighing "Sárkány you say the same thing every time in these meetings, you don't have to do that. We are all equal here." The dragon lifted his head unwavered as he stood up and looked at the group. He bowed graciously to all. The dragon then looked at Daiyu with confusion. "My liege, we have a human mortal amongst us, has somebody brought her here?" Nezha jumped in "Yeah, I brought her here. She wishes to join the ranks of the Coalition of Deities. Her name is Daiyu. Daiyu this is Sárkány, one of the dragons of the Coalition." Daiyu went and lifted her hand to say hello to him but the dragon saw her hand and he took a knee to her. His defiantly large form was massive compared to hers as he carefully took her hand with his. His five scaly green fingers were smooth to the touch but he was careful not to hurt her. He politely put his beak to the top of her hand and kissed it as a form of high respect as he then let go of her hand and stood up to face her. "It is an honor to have a woman such as yourself in our meeting lady Daiyu!" He clenched his fist and held it defiantly "I promise to be in my best behavior!" Daiyu nodded and smiled as she blushed a little bit. "I am sure you will great knight." She thought quietly to herself "This dragon really looks at himself to be some valiant knight of ages past. I admit he does give a rather pleasant.....vibe. With such strength and power he could.....no I shouldn't think that way. Focus Daiyu, focus." There was a moment of silence as Sárkány went and sat on the fallen tree waiting for Fenghuang to speak up. The phoenix bird hopped on the tree to get closer to everybody as he broke the silence. "I have called a meeting of the four divine animals to bring attention to recent events. A couple of days ago there was an earthquake in Hebei or what the mortals call the Zhili Province now. After the earthquake ended we ended up picking up a magical disturbance in the area far north of the province in a nearby forest. We believe that the earthquake has unearthed something. "A Lintarsha shard?" Baiho asked. "We are not sure. What is known is that something is there and we need to investigate this before somebody else finds it." Fenghuang looked at Sárkány "Do you feel you are up to the task?" The dragon unsheathed his sword and held it up defiantly pointing high above the phoenix "I am at your service my liege!" Xuanwu whispered to Daiyu "He is one of the few immortals that have actually found a Lintarsha shard. Despite whom he is, luck has always been with him." Daiyu nodded. Fenghuang looked at the human woman and shifted his bird stance to face her. "Would you like to go on this trip to search the disturbance? This would be your first and serious test to verify that you are capable of being a member of the Coalition. You would not be alone as you would be with Sárkány." Without hesitation she nodded and accepted. "Without a doubt I would like to go. I feel like I would benefit the group by going." There was a general acknowledgment from the group. Nezha smiled as Xuanwu clapped her hands together. "It is good to have a human that is so willing to come with us. You mortals are always a party to have." Fenghuang nodded "So be it, Daiyu. That being said, I can't let just you two go alone. It is tradition that we normally send two immortals together on missions. You mortals are a little too frail to help us out alone. Xuanwu care to join them?" She got up from the ground and stood tall looking down at all of them. "Go with Sárkány? I would be glad too we haven't done a mission together in some time not since against that.....rodent." Daiyu looked at her and then at Sárkány with wonder at what she meant by just now. Fenghuang looked at Daiyu "Make sure you don't get yourself killed Daiyu. Unless I am in a good mood I might not give you a second chance again if you die. Is that clear?" The bird cocked his head a little bit to look at her. She was a bit worried "I.....understand." "You can count on me to protect you my lady!" Daiyu was startled by Sárkány's bold words of confidence. "My sword, my life, I vow to protect you on this mission. I will not fail!" She turned to look at him and she nodded. He was standing tall that towered her five foot four frame of hers. He was truly somebody that you didn't want to fight against. He sheathed his sword away. Fenghuang looked as he shifted his stance to look at all of them "Good luck to all of you. Find out what is causing this disturbance. Investigate it fully and we will proceed further. If it is hostile or represents a threat to life take it down. If it is a shard find it all costs." Sárkány, Xuanwu, and Daiyu nodded. They broke away from the group as they all looked at one another. Xuanwu asked "Now here comes the question, how do we get there? I have my way that I can take us all there if you want us to. Perfect way to get there as the mortals won't be able to see us from the ground although they are getting better lately with these....aircraft.....of theirs." "I do have my marbles that can teleport us to the region but without a more specific area, we could be a long way from it." Daiyu added. "If you have the better idea we will take it." Without hesitation Xuanwu held out her hand and a small amount of mist and smoke conjured from her hand. A small magic flute materialized in her hand that she brought to her beak. She played three notes on her flute for four seconds and then she looked up. She then tossed the flute aside as it disappeared in a puff of smoke. A small cloud came down from the sky as it descended upon the group. Like a flying magic carpet the cloud layer came to a stop on the open area of the forest. "My good cloud carpet can take us there" she noted. From the air we will be able to spot whatever is there and the humans will see nothing but a cloud overhead. Better than just teleporting to there. I would recommend though that you stay close to Sárkány on the ride in case you fall off. Don't want to have a red smear on the ground below. That poor poor man......" she noted as she looked away. Daiyu had a look of worry as Xuanwu looked back and then laughed. "I am just playing with you Daiyu it has never happened to me or anybody else when it came to my rides." She relaxed as the cloud carpet had come to a full stop as foot level. The cloud formed a white thick layer like a soft silk carpet that allowed even Xuanwu's massive heavy frame to stand on to sit at the front of the cloud carpet. "The last human I had with me on this ride.....he was a good man. A great fighter and great friend to the end. Our child is a stable of his bloodline." Xuanwu sat firmly on the carpet. Before Daiyu could put her foot on the carpet, she felt a large set of hands coming from Sárkány as he lifted her from her hips and softly planted her on the carpet. "It's ok, Sárkány" Daiyu told him. "I know how to step onto a magical cloud." Sárkány went and had a seat by her. The carpet was easily large enough to accompany their large frames. She went and had a seat by the dragon. "Stay close to him, we will be moving fast. It will be cold up in the clouds too so stay close for the warmth too." She looked at the dragon. He had a look of stoicism as he looked like he could challenge any person in battle. She blushed a little bit as she decided to sit just next to him. She sat cross legged like both of them. The cloud below her was soft to the touch but firm. Xuanwu took her hands and clapped them as the cloud carpet lifted off from the ground at a fast speed. It went higher and higher as it left the forest opening behind. Fenghuang and Baiho watched as the three took off on their ride. Baiho added "Good luck." The carpet rose higher and higher till they were hundreds of feet in the air. Daiyu dared not look down. Even from her position she could still see nothing but forests and mountains that lined the countryside. "It will be a matter of time where even I will no longer be able to do this anymore" Xuanwu added. "The humans are claiming everything including the sky. In the years to come they will see me fly my cloud carpet and it will bring unwanted attention to me." The large tortoise held her hand as the cloud came to a stop. They were several hundred feet from the ground. Daiyu started to feel cold as she clutched her arms around herself. "My lady to me." Sárkány requested. Daiyu thought to herself "I can't believe I am doing this." She got in the dragon's lap and clutched him closely. He wrapped his arms around her offering his warmth. It wasn't completely enough but she could feel his body heat keeping her body warm. Xuanwu turned around in her sitting position as she closed her eyes and pointed at a direction leading east. The cloud carpet began to move at a faster and faster rate as they sped towards their destination. The tortoise explained "I suggest you sleep Daiyu, this will take a couple of hours to get there. Make yourself as comfortable as possible." Daiyu nodded as the wind blew into her face as she lies in the arms and lap of a dragon. "Ok..." she said cold as the wind pierced into her clothing. She was beginning to shiver. "Allow me to help you my lady." He opened up one of his wings and slid it over her to protect her from the wind. Almost instantly the wind hitting her came to a stop and she started to warm up a little more. "Sárkány....thank you" she replied. She rolled up in his lap to the best she could as his warmth kept her safe. She could feel his scales rub against her skin. She felt like a child being held by her mother. It brought sweet memories of her being with her mother and the time before that. She placed her hand on the part that wasn't covered in armor. She felt safe in his arms and she admitted that she even had some pleasant thoughts in her mind. She thought to herself "I must keep my mind still and relax. I admit that he is....attractive but he does seem like a man that would run into head long danger if he wanted to." Daiyu could do nothing else but close her eyes. She would be there in no time.....wherever it was that they were heading to.

Chapter 17: The Temple of Guicang

It had been hours as Xuanwu told them that they were now in the province. She held up her hand and closed her eyes. She used her senses to try to guide her movements. Sárkány was still holding Daiyu in her arms and lap that was still asleep. The cloud carpet was slowing down as the tortoise felt around. She used her arm to try to feel where the magical disturbance was coming from. "I do feel something.....it is very faint" Xuanwu said quietly. "It is coming northeast of here." Her hand went to the direction and she pointed. The cloud carpet began to speed up as it went to the direction she was pointing. She repositioned her tail so that it was wrapped to the other side of her body and shell. "I would say another few minutes we will be there. I feel it getting stronger the closer we get." Sárkány said "Understood lady Xuanwu." Daiyu was shifted awake from his words. She had been asleep for a couple of hours. They had reached the area and were now getting closer to whatever was creating the magical disturbance that everyone was looking for. "I don't think this is a shard we are looking for by the way I am feeling it" Xuanwu said. "It would be too easy if one just popped up here....trust me I know. No this is something else. It is good that you are here Big-D we might be heading into trouble." "My sword stands ready!" Sárkány yelled. Daiyu was definitely awake now. "Are we.....there yet?" she said stirring in his lap. "We are near the location, my lady." She looked up to see a dragon's head peering down at her. She stayed where she was trying to keep warm. Daiyu told him "You can be really loud at times Sárkány, did anyone tell you that?" "Trust me I have told him that a lot in the past. Always the valiant knight running into danger oh so willingly" Xuanwu said as her hand continued to guide them. The carpet was slowing down now as it traveled at a running man's pace. The wind was no longer a burden anymore. Xuanwu said lightly "It looks like the recent earthquake unearthed something. That is why we are picking it up now. Whatever it is it's big but not monstrous either. I am picking something up that is....evil but I am also picking up something pleasant at the same time. It is coming a few miles away. We should be able to see something from the forest canopy. It might be the spot depending on how thick the forest is." Daiyu shifted herself so that she could get out of his lap. He released her hold on her as she lay down on the carpet trying to bring herself to the edge of the carpet. This would allow her to see the forest below. Sárkány feeling entitled to protect her got besides her lying right next to her. His body rested easily beside her. His tail smacked her leg but did not hurt her. His left wing lay on top of her. Daiyu was nervous looking at the forest below her but with a dragon close to her though she had nothing to fear of falling. She instead focused on trying to find what was creating a "disturbance" that she could look for. Xuanwu said "We are very close to it now. It is to the right of us now." Daiyu and Sárkány were looking. Daiyu swore she saw something hidden beneath the forest canopy below. It was hard to tell what it was from their location. "I think.....I saw it" Daiyu said. "It looked....no I can't tell what it was." The cloud carpet began to adjust to the direction as it continued to get closer to the location. "We are almost on top of it now" the tortoise said. "I am taking us close to the ground now." The cloud carpet began to descend slowly. Daiyu was keeping a close eye and it was there at the same spot where she last saw it that she saw it again. "I see something down there. It looks like a cave in of some sort. Some underground cavern that caved in when the earthquake hit. It looks like whatever was done there was knocked open." "We are definitely here" Xuanwu said. Sárkány stayed quiet as he looked below the forest floor below. The carpet was getting lower and lower each second. Eventually it reached the tree tops as it progressed below it. Daiyu could see a cave in clearly now. It was quite large for an opening. It was as if the dirt below had opened up to something dark below them. The opening was so large that the carpet could easily enter it and go below. "Looks like something wasn't trying to be found, if an earthquake finally opened it up" the tortoise said. "From what I know" Daiyu explained. "Those shards are so important for you guys to find. Conflict usually unearths it too." "It does both usually" she responded. "It draws us to the area naturally. The problem is that the fighting masks it very well too. We can go through whole conflicts and wars and find nothing. Those shards are incredibly difficult to find. I mean you could be standing on it before you will even notice them if you're lucky." "What do they look like?" Xuanwu explained "They give off a variety of colors when you look at it. All colors of light reflect off its surface. We have been fortunate that extremely little human contact have found them. We fear that much like gold if you humans find it, you will go to war over something that trivial. It's one of the reasons we place so much value in finding them. We are even willing to kill mortals if they refuse to hand it over to us. We usually try to avoid it on the very few times they were ever found and steal, buy, or coerce mortals to giving it up. We have had to do it twice so far one of them even becoming Oya's longest assignment ever." "Oya?" The tortoise looked at her "Oh, you will get a chance to see her sometime eventually the route you are going. If you are joining up our ranks you are going to meet a lot of...." "Mythics" Daiyu interrupted. The tortoise scratched her head "Hmm....I like that term. It encompasses all immortals, mythical characters, and fairy tale characters into one term. You might want to recommend that to our counsel of deities. That might become a universal saying in no time." The carpet began to reach ground floor as it reached the opening of the mouth of the cave-in. The place was still lit up well as light flooded into the depths below. The carpet traversed into the mouth as it revealed dirt walls all around them with the exception of one direction. Stone walls and a large entrance exceeded in front of them. The entrance was made of stone just like the walls but had a closed door with inscriptions on them. The carpet reached the ground floor of this stone building buried in the sands. Xuanwu looked at the entrance and said softly "Queue in Sárkány in three, two, and...." Sárkány unsheathed his sword and got off the carpet. "As he stands at the door of destiny, the valiant knight and his trusty companions set forth to certain danger. What lies before him? What dangers come into play? What...." Daiyu looked at Xuanwu as he kept talking "Does....he do this regularly? Talk and monologue everything that is happening out loud?" The tortoise sighed "Just let him do his thing. He loves missions like this. He really puts himself in the moment that is for sure." Sárkány continued "Come! Come evil heathens and face my blade! For I am the great knight sworn to protect my friends from harm! But first what befalls him but a closed door!" Daiyu tapped her chin as she thought out loud "It looks like this is some underground temple that is buried in the dirt. I have no idea how old it is. There are inscriptions on it that I can try to read if the dragon will stop talking to a closed door." Sárkány turned around and lowered his sword as he watched Daiyu step up to the door. She put her hands on the door and tried to read what was written on the door. "I am having a hard time seeing it. The light fills the room but it only goes so far. Do we have a way to light up the area?" Xuanwu looked around and could see some old torches placed on holders at the side stone walls near the entrance. Sárkány spoke "As the valiant knight steps back from the entrance his eyes befall on....yes a set of torches that we can use to light up everyone's path!" he picked up a torch with his free hand and picked it up. He held it and continued "Yes, but how to light up these torches, can it be? Yes! The great knight knows the gift of fire!" The dragon with a short puff blew fire from his mouth onto the torch lighting it up. The area became better lit. He handed the torch to Xuanwu and took another torch and lit it up as well. The light got better as the dragon brought his torch near Daiyu so she could read the inscriptions. Politely she responded "Ah....that is much better. Thank you." Daiyu began to read the inscription "It is old Chinese text. I can barely read it. Xuanwu are you able to read this text written on the door." Xuanwu looked at the door "Good thing this door is large enough for me or I would never fit and I would have to take another form to proceed on through." She began to read the text "Boy.....I have not read this type of text in a long time. Let's see.......Those that befall this temple. You have reached the Temple of the Moon. The resting place of the great goddess Chang'e....." Daiyu's eyes lit up "What!? That can't be possible. In the old story that Shin Yi told me, Chang'e his wife fled to the moon where she became the Moon Goddess. At least that is what he thought. The books I read also conveyed the same story as well. She took one of the pills from Shin Yi and was granted immortality where she went to the moon." Xuanwu backed up and looked at her "Not every story about us can be taken so seriously at times. Some of our true stories are twisted up and mangled by mortals and every once and awhile ourselves." Daiyu continued "Shin Yi told that when she disappeared it was during the fight with the ten sun demons. After the last sun demon fled the battle so did she. He scoured all over China trying to find her but could not find her. He even sensed she was still alive like she was trapped somewhere." "I do remember now" Xuanwu stated. "That the Coalition of Deities launched a small search for her when Shin Yi joined the Coalition. I was not a part of it as I was on a mission of my own at the time; in fact...oh it was that mission now that I remember." She started to laugh as she got lost in her own thoughts. "It was the same mission that Sárkány and I were on." Daiyu looked at the inscription on the door itself as she spoke out loud. "Have we truly found you Chang'e? If so....why here? Why did you seal yourself in a temple? Did you not love your husband? Did you not care for him anymore? I have so many questions." Xuanwu continued to read the text on the door "If you wish to save me, follow the white hare." Daiyu scratched her head "So what does that mean? I don't see any rabbits." "Rabbits! Where!?" Sárkány demanded as he looked around the temple entrance and caved in room. "Show yourself foul creature!" Xuanwu stopped reading and looked at the dragon on guard, his sword at the ready looking for anything dangerous. "Relax Sárkány, I don't think the inscription meant it literally. It must mean.....I......I don't know what it means." Daiyu scratched her head as she looked at the walls. "Something tells me this door is magically sealed. If Chang'e made this then it would repel magic. I have to try it out. Stand back I am going to try to blast the door." Both Sárkány and Xuanwu stepped back a little bit to give her room as Daiyu turned to her bag of marbles. She fished her hand and began to search for something. She pulled out a green marble and then put it back in. Then her fingers pulled out a red marble. "Perfect....here goes nothing." With a simple heave she threw the marble at the door and the marble exploded on contact. It created a concussive blast and a pillar of fire as it burned brightly on the door. As quickly as it happened, the flames died quickly revealing a perfectly untouched stone door. "Nothing. Yep....it's magically sealed." "Step back my lady and allow me to bust open the door!" Sárkány ordered. Daiyu stepped away from the entrance to give the dragon his wide berth. The armored dragon knight stepped up to the door where he swung his sword at it. It gave loud metal clank sound as the stone didn't even chip. "Hmmm, what foul magic seals such a perfect temple!?" he yelled as he stepped back. Daiyu looked around and saw something on the side of the stone wall. It was a picture of a rabbit inscribed in the stone itself. "That's it!" she said in realization. She walked beside the entrance towards the etching and put her hand to it. Xuanwu looked at her and saw what she was looking at. Daiyu then realized that it was a button of some sort. She pushed the button but nothing happened. "Well I thought it would work. Shit." Xuanwu looked at the other side of the wall of the entrance and saw another etching of a rabbit. "Looks like there is another button here, Daiyu. Hold on I will press it and see what happens." The tortoise kept pressing the button but nothing was happening. Daiyu yelled across "Wait, let's both press it at the same time and see what happens. At the count of three we push the button." "Wait" the tortoise said confused. "Do we press the button at the exact time you count to three? Or do we press the button after you have reached three? Are you counting up from one or counting down from a higher number?" She clarified "I am going to say one, two, and three then push the button ok?" Daiyu got ready and she counted "One....two.....three" as she pushed the button. Xuanwu got confused. Sárkány was poised ready at the entrance. "What happened? Why didn't you press it?" The tortoise shrugged innocently "I thought you said 'one, two, and three' all you said was 'one, two, three!' come on I am trying here." "Ugh alright, one......two.......and three!" she pressed the button. A half a second later Xuanwu pressed the button. Nothing happened. Daiyu looked back at the giant tortoise "What happened you hesitated!" "No I didn't I am still confused with how we are supposed to do this......I know, we push the buttons at the same time we hear Sárkány tap the stone wall with his sword. Sárkány tap your sword by the entrance sound good?" Daiyu shrugged "fine." The dragon took his sword and used the flat line of his blade and tapped the stone wall. A metallic sound ringed as both Daiyu and Xuanwu pressed the buttons at the same time. A rumbling around the temple as the front entrance stone door slowly opened. "With great effort" the dragon spoke "The great door of the temple opened! Without hesitation the valiant knight rushes in to face his foes!" The door was fully opened revealing a dark passageway in front of him that could only be seen with a lit torch. Daiyu walked up to Sárkány as Xuanwu followed suit as well. Before she could say anything Sárkány charged into the entrance yelling "Bang the war drums! I am coming to face you heathen foes!" He ran at full speed with his wings almost open and sword defiantly at the ready against a dark corridor. Daiyu shook her head as the dragon continued to charge. The talons on his feet made noise as it struck the stone floor. "You can't stop me fate! I am ready for whatever you throw at me! I....." Suddenly his foot hit a button face plate as the stone wall itself slammed into him crushing him to the wall. "Sárkány!" Daiyu yelled. She stepped forward but the tortoise put her hand on her shoulders to stop her. "Trust me, I have seen this before. He will be fine." Daiyu looked back to see that he was not crushed as he slowly pushed the wall back in its place. He was completely unharmed. "I am alright my lady! I can take many....." Sárkány's foot touched another button as the top ceiling slammed down on him crushing him to the floor. Daiyu had a look of shock. Suddenly as quickly as it happened the dragon used his body to push the pillar back to its place. "The great dragon can take many blows! His strength and valor go hand and hand! Nothing can stop him when....." His foot pressed another plate on the floor when a stream of arrows flew from hidden arrow launchers implanted in the walls itself. The arrows bounced off his armor and scales doing nothing to him. The tortoise laughed "This is why I am happy to have him with me. He just sets off all the traps. At this rate the place will be safe in no time." "I the great dragon knight fear no traps, no foe, no challenge! I can...." His foot landed on another trap button. He could hear rumbling in the distance as he listened closely. Daiyu and Xuanwu watched in silence as the dragon was doing his job in disarming the temple of traps. A large rolling stone boulder came rolling down towards Sárkány from deep in the temple. The boulder was massive in size capable of crushing anything in its way. "Fool! No boulder can stop the valiant knight from......" There was a sudden crash as the boulder slammed into Sárkány with a massive force. He had his sword and torch in his hands as he tried to catch the boulder as it slammed into him. The boulder pushed him back as it looked like it was going to crush him. His claws on his feet imbedded into the stone below him as he managed to stop the boulder dead in its tracks. He then began the process of rolling it back as he pushed it deeper and deeper into the temple. "Come on" Xuanwu beckoned to Daiyu. "I will get in front of you as we walk down the corridors before he gets too far ahead of us. I will use my shell and armor to help take any blows from any trap that he hasn't set off yet. At this rate I think he probably set all of them off by now." There was another crash far ahead of them followed by more yelling from him. The tortoise nodded "Yeah.....I think he got them all." Daiyu walked behind the towering walking tortoise. She was so large that if there was another trap the tortoise's massive shell could absorb the blow with relative ease. Her hand was placed on the back of her shell. She avoided walking on her long tail as it dragged behind her. "So what do you do when find a shard?" Daiyu asked. "We have a place where it is guarded. So far four have been found. Not all our stories end up with us finding a shard though due to how difficult they are to obtain. Sometimes the missions go like this where we end up finding a long lost deity that wasn't taken out by the Great Cataclysm. That in itself is a great find so don't get us wrong if we end up failing to find a shard. At this rate it will take hundreds of years to find them all. If we can ever find them all." Xuanwu stepped on another plate that Sárkány already stepped on. Nothing happened. "Good don't have to worry about that one." "Why are you worried about the traps?" Daiyu asked. "It's not me that I worry about. Us immortals are pretty.....well.....invulnerable. When it comes to us encountering mortals the true thing that we fear is them getting killed. Believe it or not stories like us really involve us protecting you guys from harm and not the other way around. At the same time I am worried more about mankind and where it is going at times. They are still here though and going strong so at least that says something." "Not with China. I fear for what is happening to the Chinese. I had a past life as a Frenchman and came back as a Chinese woman. I had a life with a family and they were wiped out by foreigners." Xuanwu stopped and turned around in the corridor. "I am sorry to hear about that. If I had it my way I would come and try to defend the people in China from harm. I had a past prior to this too. I served in Genghis Kahn's army once since I was born around Mongolia long long ago before the stories about me were even written from the Chinese themselves." "You were an invader once?" She nodded "We all have our pasts Daiyu. Some of us were pretty evil before we joined up the Coalition. The Treaty of Enki really became our saving grace for all of us. We became spectators for mankind. We would take part in your history but do what we could to stay out of it. Nonetheless.....love can affect your decision making. Our histories are filled with us.....mythics falling in love with a mortal to do something we don't normally do. Thankfully in an amazing turn of events us falling in love and taking a mortal for a mate is allowing us to fill those ranks that were wiped out from the Great Cataclysm. My son serves in the Coalition on missions when called upon. He is just like his father." She turned around and continued to walk as they spoke. Daiyu asked "Why not get more involved? I am sure that you could guide and protect us in the future to come." The tortoise said "I often get that question a lot from you mortals. The fact is simple and there are many reasons. If I ran up to the capital of Peking right now showing who I was how would it affect your beliefs right now? If I started to fight against foreign armies as the giant tortoise in this form and started bashing every attacker to the ground how would that affect the other mythics in their decision making? Other deities would side with the foreigners because they feel it is right and I would be fighting against fellow mythics. Our number would be reduced ever the more till we are no more. My son would be dead and everything we worked hard for would be gone forever. It isn't like we don't truly get involved. We do help in the sidelines. We can take up human form and on occasion meet and associate with others. Few humans that discover who we are, people will either not believe them or we simply take them in to be a part of us. If anything we are generally a welcome sight to most others when they find out who we are." "It sounds like you talk from experience" Daiyu replied. "Aye....we all do, even our valiant knight the dragon who ran down the corridor taking all the traps. He has his own story to tell. Simply ask him about how he got that sword; you might enjoy the story he has. Maybe one day we will reveal ourselves to the public and let the mortals know that we exist. For now we are to simply stay away as much as possible or enjoy moments such as these and help out humanity along the way or when somebody from our ranks or a non member of the Coalition decides to go nuts and wreak havoc on mortals. It's not like we are heartless though. We have been known to go and help out areas that have been ravaged by war or natural disaster in our human forms for example." They stopped talking to see a light at the end of the corridor. It led to a large room that led to another open door. They safely traversed the trapped corridor to see Sárkány had pushed the rolled boulder to the corner of the room where it lies safe and away from everybody. "Thank you for courageous acts in taking on the terrors of the temple and waiting for us Big-D." The dragon took his sword and bowed with the torch still brightly lit in his hands. Daiyu went and started to look around the room. There was really nothing there as it was just an empty room. She was about to walk into the next room when Sárkány ran up to Daiyu and stopped her before she went any further. "My lady there maybe untold dangers in there! Let me be in front of you so I can protect you." Daiyu sighed as she looked at the towering dragon "Alright, lead on my valiant knight." The dragon stepped in front of her as they both walked towards the entrance to the next room. Xuanwu was about to follow them in but something caught her sight in the room. Her torchlight revealed in the side of the room an inscription that was written on the wall. The tortoise stepped forward to take a look at the text written on the wall. "What is this that I am reading?" the tortoise read. "Hmm, for the next room, it required that two....." She kept reading the text and her reptilian eyes widened. Daiyu and Sárkány walked into the next room and saw that it was also an empty room with another door. With the exception of one thing and that was the floor. There appeared to be sets of unlit torches around the room that were set in holders in the wall. The floor was covered in red silk. It was a circular room instead of a square room that Xuanwu was still in. Xuanwu turned towards the entrance and yelled "Don't go in there! Otherwise....." Daiyu turned around to see a tortoise try to run to the entrance but a large stone door slammed closed on both sides of the circular room trapping them inside. The tortoise slammed into the door with her might but bounced off the door. "Well.....shit" the tortoise said as she looked at the stone door. On the other side Daiyu yelled "Xuanwu can you hear me?" "Yes.....I can hear you but just barely. Might have Sárkány try to talk I would hear him just fine." Sárkány stood defiant ready with his sword and torch at the ready. He looked the other way at any possible escape route which there was none. Daiyu continued to yell "Is it possible you can break the door down Xuanwu!?" The tortoise looked at the door and stepped back "I can try! I don't think it will work if it is magically protected. It might repel my attacks!" Xuanwu threw the burning torch aside as she held out her hand. A massive amount mist and smoke enveloped her hand as her massive club formed in her hand. She gripped her massive club in her hand as she spoke to her club. "Alright old faithful, I have used you in many battles before. It will be just like the Chicago White Sox I saw in 1907. The mortals truly know how to create a game by using a club to smash a ball to try to out beat the other team. One day I should get a chance to finally play that game they call Baseball." She got to the side as she lay her club to her front plate of her shell as she spat on her hands to get a good grip. With both hands she stood like she was ready to strike a flying ball thrown to her. "Alright...." She lifted her club up. "Here comes the pitch....." she pulled back her club behind her shoulders and gave a mighty swing into the door with all her might. The club smashed hard into the stone door creating a heavy smack of enchanted wood and metal against a powerful stone door. A stone door magically sealed to repel such attacks. A massive sound could be heard from both sides of the door as the club smashed into the door. The door did not even budge; it didn't even chip as the club bounced off the door like it was nothing. If the tortoise had a battle axe she could chop a large tree down with one blow. Not even she could put a dent into the door. The shockwave of a club not going anywhere traveled up Xuanwu's arms and wrists as it caused searing pain to travel up her arms. "Owww!" she yelped in pain. She dropped her club to the floor as she shook off her pain. "Yeah, I don't think it is going to work Daiyu!" "Let me try one of my marbles out!" Daiyu yelled back. She reached into her bag and fished out a marble but there was no color to it. It was as if she was starring into a glass marble. She sighed "I don't think it's going to work! There is something wrong with my marbles, it's as if!....." Xuanwu yelled back "I don't think these doors are magically protected! This temple has a magical dampening field it's generating! It's preventing the marbles from having any power inside here!" Sárkány yelled "I can try my fire my lady! My fire is not magically based, it comes from within!" "I wouldn't risk doing that Big-D!" the tortoise shot back. "Fire is not going to do much on a stone door anyway! It will be just like it did when Daiyu tossed the marble at the door! Generating fire will only eat more air you are breathing Daiyu! I don't think we can change forms inside this temple either Big-D. You won't be able to go heavy hitter form!" Xuanwu took her torch and held it close to the door. She did notice that there was still air coming through the door edges so it meant that she would not suffocate in there. Sárkány walked up to a torch and lit one in the room on one of the holders. He then sheathed his sword and took his free hand and smothered the burning torch in his hand tossing it aside with simple ease so that way his hands were free. He looked uneasy. "Well.....fuck! How do we get out?!" Daiyu yelled. The tortoise laughed "Well.....I don't think you will like this my mortal companion or you Big-D but I did find out! I tried to stop you from going inside when I read an inscription that was written on the wall in my room! Remember those rabbit buttons on the outside that we had to press together?!" Daiyu nodded "Yes!" "Ugh rabbits!" Sárkány replied. "Most dangerous creatures on the planet." Xuanwu explained "You know why there was two buttons that we both had to press at the same time!? This temple was designed for couples to enter and hopefully break the seal holding Chang'e! That is why it requires two to enter the temple not just one individual!" "Why do that!? This place had traps in it that had to be passed; this does not fully explain why this is for couples." The tortoise explained "I am getting to that! The inscription on the wall in my room explains that Chang'e did not want to have one individual alone to break her seal! The inscription here explains that she is in this temple waiting to be freed! The problem is the room that you are in now is the final true test of the temple!" There was a sense of dread as Daiyu asked "What is that test?!" "The room is designed to sense your emotions Daiyu both of you! According to the inscription it states that 'To reach the center of my temple and free me, I must have a pairing of true love enter to break my seal' and that to access this center one must 'be a couple locked in the greatest way possible through true undying love, mind, emotion, and body'!" "And.....no.....you don't mean?!" The tortoise chuckled "Yes! You two must make love to one another in that room! I am not kidding on this, I swear! The room registered when you two entered and literally locked the doors to ensure you two would do it!" Daiyu threw up her hands "Uh no......no, no, no! You are telling me that Sárkány and I got to......have sex!?" "It's the only way Daiyu! I know you can do it!" Sárkány looked back at her and then back the other way. Even he had to admit it was a bit....ludicrous. She was flustered "Seriously?......no.....I can't do it Xuanwu! We are.....there are size differences between us! He would.....he would be too big for me. He would crush me!" The tortoise explained "Trust me Daiyu, I have personal experience with this, I had a human mate and I can tell you that if he could make love to someone that was twice the size of him then I know you two can certainly do it!" Daiyu was face palming "I don't know......" Sárkány got real quiet but said only one thing to her "I promise to you my lady that I will respect whatever decision that you make. If this is required and you take no pleasure in this that I will treat you with the outmost honor that I can offer you. I will be as easy as you want me to be...." "Ugh" she replied. "I......I need time to think on this!" Xuanwu shrugged "I can try to summon reinforcements to try to break this seal but its some powerful shit! Even I could not budge it or put a dent in this door and it might take some considerable time! The question that you should be asking yourself is how long are you going to last in there without food and water?! There is some air coming in but how long can you last?!" Daiyu looked at the dragon ahead of her. He did look handsome but she was filled with various emotions swirling in her. "I just.....need a little bit of time so I can sort it out in my head! This is....." "I know" the tortoise said. "It's crazy! I promise that I will not spread the word that you two had to.....fuck one another to open a set of locked doors but what else is there to do you know! I mean you can't exactly get pregnant from him! He is a good immortal and if I know one thing is for sure......the Chinese certainly love dragons!" Daiyu shook her head "I just need a few minutes or hours.....whatever comes first." Xuanwu nodded as she put her hands to her shell as she thought on what to do. The fact is there was really nothing that she could do but wait and find out what happens next.

*******

An hour passed as Daiyu sat on the red silk carpet. The torches had to be switched around to keep some light in the room. Conservation was made but at the rate, they would be in total darkness in a few hours. She curled up into a ball sitting by the entrance as she was in deep thought. Sárkány sat cross legged looking at the opposite of the closed door away from Daiyu as if to give her space to think. Xuanwu snuffed her torch as she could still see light coming from the exit down the corridor from her end even if it was very little. Daiyu's mind went back and forth as she thought quietly to herself. "It's not that I don't find him attractive. He is strong and powerful. He looks like he could be a lot of fun but I never thought it would go that far. I was a man and now I am a woman. I told myself long ago that I am Daiyu now and should not think too much on the past. I admit that it's not like I had fun with my new.....body at first with the realization of attraction to the opposite sex to becoming the opposite sex. I was attracted to some of the boys back with my family." She took a deep breath "My family.....how much I miss them. None of them deserved to die like that especially my sister. She was so innocent and even in such a situation that happened to her she actually kept her cool under such danger. She was braver than some men in my past." She looked at the dragon that was looking away from her. Her thoughts continued deep within her. "He is honorable, I will give him that. He did not jump up and down being excided that he was going to fuck me. Instead he is being a gentleman. I could simply say no and he will give me space. Perhaps I should go ahead and get it done before we run out of light and really start to go insane. First though I should try to break the ice with him." "Sárkány, how many mortal women have you been with....sex wise?" He turned his head lightly towards her direction and answered "You would be the first mortal woman, my lady." "You are so quiet during this time. You are always so courageous running and taking anything in front of you." He actually did not respond to the comment. He continued to focus on the door. Daiyu looked at the scabbard and sword he had as he sat with it. She never really looked at the sword too closely. But she remembered something the tortoise told her and that was ask about the sword. "Tell me about the sword that you have" she requested. This seems to break him out of his trance. He looked back at her and then turned on his butt to face her with his tail wrapping around his leg. He looked shocked as of her request. "My lady" he unsheathed his sword and placed it where he could hold the sword in both his hands to show her the blade. It might have looked like a typical broadsword but there was something off about it. "Almost 700 years ago before the time the Coalition was made, there was I. I was the lone dragon that scoured the countryside. I had no purpose, no goal, and I consumed what I could find. I would sometimes take human form and sometimes I would take my dragon form to see how humans reacted. In times learned that my country, my nation, and dragons of Europe were looked at as terrifying creatures. I would do what I could to show we were not a bad people. People reacted with fear and terror when they saw my real form. I didn't know what I could do to solve this problem. We the dragons were doomed to be looked at as monsters." Daiyu looked down "Not everyone thinks dragons are bad. Places like here look at dragons as a good thing and even a blessing." He continued his story "One day so long ago, I decided to take to the air and fly trying to find some food. It was there that I heard a scream. I went and investigated it. It was there that I realized what was happening. It was a woman that was about to get raped by two heathens that would not bother nor had the honor to fight fairly towards another individual. I saw the scene and swooped down. I took the men down easily and saved the woman from harm. Surprisingly the woman did not run away but instead thanked me for helping her. She accepted me for whom I was and even offered a home to me with her child. Her husband was in a battle and was not there to help protect her. I accepted the woman's offer and enjoyed the shelter. The child a boy of ten enjoyed the idea of having a dragon for a companion. No one but the woman and child knew who I truly was. I used my human form to hide my true identity." "Please don't tell me this ends in tragedy" Daiyu added but he continued his story. "I spent a good year with the family. One day the husband returned to find me. He was worried that I was taking his wife and that I was sleeping with her. Twis never true as I convinced him. The wife and child tried to convince him and me showing my true form to him scared him at first but was finally convinced that I had saved his wife from being assaulted by other men. He was grateful however, he had returned and it was not my place to disrupt their reunion. The husband happy of my actions wanted to reward me for my service to his family. He went to a family member of his and decided to give a family heirloom to me as a farewell gift. It was this sword that was kept in the family for generations to be given to me. I thanked the man for what he did." Daiyu's eyebrow lifted as she commented "It is just a sword though. You can't be harmed by mortal weapons though. You are powerful without it." "It was not just a sword. As I held the sword in my hands I felt something radiate from it that the family or other humans did not feel. I felt power radiate from the blade as if there was something magical from it. I said my goodbyes to the family and even came to check up on the family from time to time. Years I scoured the countryside with this sword as I tried to find out what it was and why I felt this power from it. It never left my side as I eventually met a great blacksmith whose name was Weyland the Smith. The old man took the blade and knew exactly what it was." Daiyu remembered in her readings about legendary smiths. She recognized who Weyland the Smith made and interrupted him. "Excalibur....you were holding Excalibur?" The dragon shook his head "It was not Excalibur; somebody I know already had that sword already. But this was a great gift to me. Weyland constructed this very sword and knew that it was Clarent a sword used by King Arthur." Sárkány took his hand and ran it on top of the flat of the blade as a set of runes that Daiyu have never seen before appeared and glowed blue. "Clarent, the sword of peace, it was the sword used by King Arthur to make his men into knights. It was used for his ceremonies when he did not use Excalibur. This mystical blade was used to kill King Arthur from his foul son Mordred. I knew immediately what this sword was and why it found its way to me. This sword was tarnished with a history of killing a great and honorable man. It is a sword of harmony and beauty to it that King Arthur was happy to use in a time of valiant and legendary mortal men. I knew then that it was destiny that I obtained this blade. King Arthur himself wanted me to find this blade and become a knight. I heard the call of destiny and decided to accept the offer. I bowed my head and vowed to be the greatest dragon knight ever. I became a dragonian, had armor crafted to myself and took to the honor of creating the dragon's circle where all dragons would live the lives of valiant knights like the round table. All dragons and humans were equal to my eyes. Some of the European dragons heard the call and joined the circle where we would vow to protect human mortals from dangers that the humans could not beat." He waved his hand over the blade as the runes disappeared resembling a normal broadsword again. "The Dragon's Circle was one of the first examples of a Coalition that we have today for the deities." "Wow" she replied. "We came to help those that were in need of help....after the Cataclysm only five of the circle remained, myself, Vibria, Drakaina, and her son and daughter." Daiyu expressed surprise "I thought there were ten surviving dragons from the Cataclysm. Now that I think about Shin Yi did tell me that the books I read were pretty old." Sárkány shook his head "I haven't counted but I do know that the humans and dragons have produced children that are like me. Drakaina had a son and daughter long after the war against Cataclysm. Vibria is another example of somebody that is like me but her wings and arms are one. She also likes her Zweihänder very well. The Dragons and the Dragon's Circle are proud members of the Coalition." Daiyu's heart fluttered. She finally had to admit to herself the events that brought her here. She embraced her fate and decided to face the events that transpired. She looked at the environment and then she decided to stand up. She said to him "So....in the end humans and dragons are finding harmony with one another. Perhaps......it is time." Daiyu gave in and decided to commence with the deed. Some time passes......

*******

The doors opened as Xuanwu entered the room to see a Daiyu and Sárkány in a rather compromising position. The tortoise covered her eyes and smiled. "Don't say a fucking word!" Daiyu yelled at Xuanwu. "Don't worry....I know.....I have had my share trust me" Xuanwu replied. "Good job." "Ugh....." Daiyu replied with a smile.

Chapter 17: The Goddess of the Moon

It took a few minutes for both Daiyu to get dressed with a Xuanwu looking the other way. Sárkány went and put his armor back on. He unsheathed his sword when he was ready. Daiyu felt embarrassed at the love making that took place to have a tortoise come walking in. Xuanwu promised to not tell anyone at what happened. Xuanwu thought out loud "Hmmm. Might not want to use the club since the doorway is narrow. We already got a dragon to take the fight up close. Might want to use the repeater instead." Her heavy spiked club disappeared with a puff of smoke as a new weapon materialized in her hand. What appeared looked like an oversized ancient repeating crossbow for large people her size. The box like crossbow was like that of ancient Chinese crossbows. It included a box that slipped on top of the crossbow as a lever was pulled over the box loading a new bolt and stretching the pull string back to be fired again. Truly an incredible weapon of its time, the Repeating crossbow could hold five bolts. The bolts were really not that powerful but the bolts could be dipped in poison to help increase its danger and lethality. "A nice crossbow you have" Daiyu said looking at it. Xuanwu explained "This is my only weapon for long range. Some mythics have good long range capability but poor me all I got was this. It is capable of killing a mythic if hard pressed though and as expected from a human you don't want to be hit by this." "I got to admit that does look primitive compared to rifles we mortals use. You might need to look into getting an upgrade on that thing. You too Sárkány even a sword is no match for a gun when it comes to a mythic against a mythic." Sárkány shook his head but Xuanwu thought about it. "You know you might have a point on that. Us mythics rely on such basic weapons. Now that I really think on that, I would like to get an upgrade." The room was well lit as Daiyu and Sárkány picked up a lit torch from the room. The next room was not lit but they could see things inside it. Sárkány took the front as Xuanwu stood behind Daiyu to cover the rear and help protect her. They decided it was time to proceed to the next room. When they stepped inside the next room, it appeared to be bigger than the previous room. It was round just like the other was. There appeared to be something in the center of the room but like the other rooms it was not lit and pitch dark. Only the torches provided some light. Sárkány walked to the center of the room as Daiyu and Xuanwu began to look at something that was written by the wall of the door. Daiyu went and tried to read the inscription but it was proving hard to read as the other inscriptions. With her torchlight, Xuanwu stepped forward with her massive body to read the writing on the wall. Xuanwu read the writing "Here lies Chang'e, the Goddess of the Moon. This temple was created thousands of years ago by her during the struggle against the ten sun demons. Her husband Shin Yi, successfully killed nine of the sun demons but the last escaped." Daiyu interrupted "Yeah, in the story the surviving sun became our sun that provides us light at least that is what the texts used to say. The catch is that it was not true. My father stated that the last sun demon escaped and he could not find it. He vowed to destroy this last demon for it would scorch the region of China and continue from there. Even one of these things could burn entire forests down and reduce grasslands to deserts. They were a threat to the planet that nobody knew before." The tortoise stopped and looked at her "It is terrifying that the last sun demon was never found. It's like it just vanished." The massive room was enough to put hundreds of people in it. It was like the other rooms in that it was simple in design and had stone walls around them. It was circular in design and had a simple podium in the center. There appeared to be something on the podium as the dragon was slowly stepping up to it. His sword was at the ready to be used. The tortoise continued to read the inscription. "I Chang'e am the only true knower of the fate of the last sun demon. During the battle, my husband shot and killed nine of ten of the demons with ease. However he watched as the last arrow he shot at the final one dodged his attacks. It fled from the battle and escaped into the forest to hide from his hunter and hopefully find a new time to spread its terror. It was too fast for his arrows and to save his life, I have created the temple to encase it forever. I wait the day that somebody can slay this foul demon once and for all. In my last dire attempt I used myself as bait and lured the demon to this temple where I encased both of us to prevent it from causing anymore danger. I hope you forgive me husband for my acts in protecting everyone from such harm while keeping us apart. I await a group of individuals that can finally release me and help me defeat this final demon before it can threaten the world again." Sárkány took a look at the center podium and saw what it was. It was a simple statue of a wood carving of a white hare. The tortoise continued reading "In order to release me, you must also release the sun demon from its captivity. One must be ready to face the foul creature. The sacred hare in the podium is the key to our prison. Destroy it and it will once again flee the temple and out there. Please destroy this thing before he causes any permanent damage." "Rabbits! Such foul and heathen creatures" Sárkány said as he lifted his sword in the air. He was preparing to slice the statue apart. Daiyu turned around to see a dragon lift his sword into the air to drop onto the statue. "No! Don't......" they both yelled at the dragon. It was too late. The dragon brought his sword on the statue. With a simple metal clink, the sword cut the statue apart releasing whatever magic onto the world. "Oh you big...dofus! We weren't ready for this yet!" Daiyu yelled at him. A large quake started to befall on the temple. Sárkány backed away from the center as an opening began to form from the bottom of the floor as a large porthole began to appear. There was a light coming from deep from the pit below. "I am ready to face you foul creature.....whatever you are, I will cut you down!" Daiyu face palmed "Now we are in for it. This temple was designed to be a prison and now just released whatever was trapped in the temple. I.....think we are fucked." The light got brighter and brighter till they felt something large and hot fly from the open porthole into the ceiling. It then slammed into the ceiling with a hard force as it burned a hole through the ceiling into the roof of the building through the dirt floor of the forest floor. The hole was burned with such force and intensity that it melted the stone ceiling blowing through it and knocking small amounts of dirt and rock about the room. Whatever it was it was trying to escape the temple at the fastest speeds possible. "What? What was that?" Daiyu asked. "It looked like a ball of fire like that of.....the sun" Xuanwu replied. "The sun demon......" Daiyu responded. "We found the last sun demon my father told me about. It was the one that escaped from him.....and we just set it loose on the world again." "I would not fear too much Daiyu. We are used to things like this....that is why we made a coalition to help save humans from dangerous creatures like this. There is a perfect tunnel we can escape......" Xuanwu was interrupted from something that lit the bottom floor where the sun demon flew from. It was a light that was traveling slowly as it rose from the same place in the porthole below. It was a benevolent light that appeared as a ball of white pure light. The ball of light then stopped before them. Sárkány held still with his sword at the ready at the ball of light that stood before floating by them. The light pulsated as it spoke to them. It was a feminine voice that was warm, soft, and pleasant to hear. "Whoever you are....I created this temple as my last attempt to stall the last sun demon. I was left no choice in my actions but hold the sun demon here. It could not hurt me but I could not hurt it. All I could do was prevent it from escaping. I designed the temple where only the most determined ones like the gods could defeat the last sun demon." The light materialized into a beautiful Chinese woman that could levitate. She wore a bright red silk dress with white rabbits drawn on the silk dress. White flares from the dress would dance around the dress. She had a calm and happy look to her face but also a worried look to her. The woman spoke "My name is Chang'e, the Goddess of the Moon and husband to the archer Shin Yi." Daiyu spoke up "Chang'e, my name is Daiyu, your husband adopted me as his daughter. We came to investigate the temple....we did not know that we released the sun demon until just now. We need to track down the sun demon before it begins its reign of destruction." Chang'e nodded "We must make haste now, I can slow it down but I am unable to destroy it." "I am immune to fire damage my lady!" Sárkány interjected. "I can also try to fight it!" Chang'e responded "Only one god can truly kill this creature, he was fighting too many at once, which is why I trapped the escaping one with me in this temple. My husband is the true god that can kill this sun demon once and for all. Let's go!" Sárkány ran and opened his wings running to the large hole blown in the ceiling. He leapt as his wings flapped hard. "Too glory!" he yelled. Chang'e hovered by the dragon as the dragon was slowly gaining speed and flew through the large burnt hole in the ceiling. Chang'e herself followed suit as they both took off heading in the direction of the sun demon's course. Daiyu and Xuanwu were left behind in the temple. "We need to warn my father as they go and distract the sun demon" Daiyu stated. Xuanwu nodded "We can fly out of here but my sky carpet will be too slow. The magical barrier should be down now. Your marbles might work now." Daiyu almost snapped her fingers in realization. "Of course! We can teleport back to my father now that the magical barrier has been weakened." Sárkány meanwhile was flying high in the sky now as fast as his wings could take him. "Come back and face me foul demon!" he screamed at virtually no one hoping that the sun demon could hear him. The sun demon was a few miles ahead of him heading eastward. His sword firmly in his hand he openly antagonized the creature. "I the Great Sárkány challenge you to a fight one on one! Can't face against a dragon can you?!"

*******

Back at the cabin where Shin Yi resided he was reading one of his books in his small library. He smoked some sort of weed in a pipe thinking of things long past. He looked relaxed as he always was. He flipped the page on the book Mythical Creatures of South America written in Chinese by gods long gone now. He thought out loud "I miss so many of my friends and family....Daiyu was a wonderful distraction of my sorrows. She was so well behaved and smart for a person of her age. Perhaps she truly was right that she was some warrior of another person. Fenghuang, Nezha.....I must thank you for your efforts one day for finding someone to provide me company again." He shifted on his chair as he put his pipe down on the table. He read the pages quietly to himself while thinking "Anhangá is still alive protecting the forests in South America. I hope he comes around and joins the Coalition of Deities. Iara is still trying to convince him but he is in a firm belief that joining will mean him abandoning protecting the forest. Let's see....it was only until a year ago that a Peuchen was spotted in Amazon rain forest by one of our own. So few of the South American...mythics ever made it. Chalchiuhtlicue, Mixcoatl that was just found a week ago, Coatlicue, Camazotz, Vucub-Caquix, Cabrakan, Ixchel, Colel Cab.....if only there were more to help shape the Coalition ranks I believe tha....." He stopped and his focus was driven to something else. He felt something bad had just happened. It was not a sound, smell, or something he saw it was just a feeling. Something he had not felt in ages and ages in the past. His heart began to race as he was starting to remember what it was. He said quietly to himself "I know that feeling again.....the feeling of doom. The sun demon has returned. The last sun demon of the ten I killed. It intends to scorch China and then the world." Shin Yi got out of his seat and ran to a large chest that he had always kept closed. It was never locked. He went and undid the clasp and opened the chest with a squeaky thump as the top lid hit the wall in was mounted to. He put his hands in and immediately put it on. There was a series of large wooden arrows that he had in it. He shouldered the quiver as he looked by the door and saw it. His nostalgia returned as he looked at his bow. It looked like an ordinary wooden bow as he picked it up and examined it. "I used you to slay nine of the ten sun demons. I think it is time you complete your quest and eliminate the last one, wouldn't you say?" He gripped the handle of the bow hard as he held it to his chest. "One more time.....this time I will kill it and end their reign of destruction." He exited his cabin and saw a portal appear outside his home by some trees. Daiyu and Xuanwu stepped out of the portal to stare at Shin Yi. "Xuanwu it is good to see you and you as well daughter." "Father, we have a problem, the last sun demon has been found and trying to make its escape." Xuanwu said "It escaped a temple established by Chang'e. You hunted the ten but one escaped. Chang'e found it and imprisoned it and herself in the temple." Shin Yi sighed "If only I knew.....I would have come to her and we would have fought it together." "You were fighting nine of them at the same time Shin Yi, the last one seems different somehow. It's possible this one would have overpowered you." He took a deep breath "We will not fail in killing this creature. We must kill the sun demon, it will burn everything and turn the Earth into desert and ash. It has only one mission and that is to watch the world burn. I know where it might show up though. We need to head to an area that we can kill it and away from the population otherwise there will be innocent casualties. I have hunted these demons for some time and I know its behavior. It wants revenge and to kill me for destroying its......brothers." "What do we do dad?" "You have two choices; you can stay here and come and help me or stay here. I know what it wants more than anything and that is to hunt and kill me. It will be its downfall. I am the bait and the mousetrap. It should be seeking me out before it is going to begin incinerating everything. He knows I am its biggest threat." Xuanwu noted to him "We have someone already tracking it and that is Sárkány. He is a dragon and already immune to fire." Shin Yi thought for a moment. "I know where we will confront it. Daiyu, I want you to take us to the Chen Tuan temple in Mount Hua. It is high and mostly in an area away from people. It will allow us a high vantage point where I can shoot it and allow our dragon friend the maneuverability to fight it. Xuanwu, your responsibility is to protect my daughter. Are we clear with the plan?" Daiyu did not need any time to think. She fished out another portal marble from her bag and focused as she stated the words of one of the higher areas of China. She threw the marble down and the portal appeared from the marble itself as it opened a hole to the temple high in Mount Hua. They took their steps through the portal. Instantly as before arriving at the cabin, they appeared in the high elevation of Mount Hua. Before them they stood at a small shrine placed in honor of Chen Tuan. It was a small stone open shrine that can shield people under it from the sun and meditate. Shin Yi explained "It will be easier for it to track me now that I am in a high vantage point. It should be coming here at its fastest speeds possible. I would say that we have about ten minutes before it will reach here. I hope Sárkány is a fast flyer." Daiyu took a good look at her surroundings. They were almost 7,000 feet up from the ground. It was cold but the lack of rushing wind from a moving cloud carpet. She had a magnificent view of the area around her. It was beautiful as she could see the tree foliage below her thousands of feet below. It was still mid day and you could see the sun above radiate its bright light down the canyon and ground below. It was truly a marvel to behold. Some areas you had to be careful where you walked. While they were on a relative flat platform there were no guard railings if you fell. One wrong step and you would roll off the peak or mountain and have enough time to think about your mistake before you landed on the ground far far below. "I will warn anyone around us that a fight is going to break out and that they need to seek shelter." Shin Yi stated "We are safe enough that no one would get hurt from the fight that will begin. Xuanwu I want you to get your cloud carpet ready and have Daiyu on it. I will make my stand here on this peak but with you two, the sun demon might accidently hit you when it tries to attack me." Xuanwu nodded "I am not much use here on the ground anyway. My shell can withstand some of its attacks." "That is why I am counting on you to shield my daughter in case it targets you. Daiyu's marbles might be able to do some damage to the sun demon but if it doesn't then I am counting on you to keep her away from the battle. Only my arrows can kill it." There were footsteps in the far distance. Xuanwu quickly reverted to her human form. She was a tall six foot five foot tall woman that looked like she was from northern part of China or even Mongolia by her features. She was a unique figure of her kind even for a human. She looked like she could out bench any human male on the planet with her muscles. She wore Mongolian armor with leather and iron pieces strapped to the armor with gray silk fabric that lined underneath the armor. She had her wooden flute ready. Daiyu went and saw a wondering monk from the high steps that wondered to the scene. She went and spoke to the monk to warn him of the imbedding battle to take place and help guide him away from the area. There was a small amount of dirt and gravel that Shin Yi saw that he saw was a perfect spot to make his stand. He took some of his arrows from his quiver and stuck them to the dirt and gravel turning it into a makeshift quiver. "It is time to take my true form in facing this foul creature" Shin Yi said. Shin Yi's form began to change. While he was human and his true form was human what he wore was completely different. His clothes began to shift and morph. The fabric began to reform into red lamellar with iron armor that formed its rectangular plates. Dark red silk formed underneath his armor. His leggings consisted of red silk with leather padding. A helmet formed over his head with golden hair that stuck from its top. Gold lining formed the rest of the areas of the armor that helped support it. His bow, what looked like old wooden bow shifted into a large golden metal bow. Small golden wings were etched into the bow that flared outward that could allow him to shield himself from blows if need be. The arrows even changed to golden arrows with large serrated point to the edges. Feathers donated from Fenghuang himself formed the feathers to the arrow. Xuanwu played her flute and tossed it away as it disappeared in a puff of smoke. She took a good look at him. "I miss seeing you in that form Shin. I wish you were more involved in the Coalition that you have before. At least you raised Daiyu to the proud woman she is." Shin Yi said to her "It brings back memories.....I think after this I will get more involved now that Daiyu has grown up. This last sun demon has been holding me back. I always feared its return. Now we get to kill this thing once and for all." The tortoise in her human form saw her carpet made of clouds land next to her as she sat down on it. She waited for Daiyu's return. After a few minutes Daiyu came back to sit on the carpet. She sat by Xuanwu as the carpet began to take flight leaving Shin Yi at his vantage point. "Did you warn everyone you saw?" Xuanwu asked. "Yes, there were a couple of monks at the temple nearby but I told them to keep their shutters closed and stay tight till we tell them otherwise. I told them a fight of the heavens was about to take place. For some reason they believed me." The cloud carpet maintained at least a hundred foot distance from Shin Yi. Now it was time to wait for the sun demon to arrive.

*******

It had been ten minutes when a bright ball of fire appeared from the Northeast. The sun demon had indeed altered its course and was heading straight towards Shin Yi. It looked like a small fast moving sun of its own with flares that rolled its sphere. It could have easily been mistaken for the sun itself. It was coming in fast as it left a flame trail behind it. Daiyu was watching the ball of fire getting closer to them. She took a good look at Xuanwu as she returned to her tortoise form. She told her "You know if I was told that I was going to die in some battlefield 18 years from now in Dahommey and then come back as a Chinese woman that bedded a dragon to fight a sun demon with mythics abound. I would have told you that you were nuts." Xuanwu looked back at her "You were in Dahomey? I am surprised that you hadn't met Ayida-Weddo. Dahomey and Haiti are usually her stomping grounds but she has been focusing more on Haiti now that I think about it. I think she finds more beauty there than the Dahomey region now." Daiyu responded "We weren't exactly the friendly invasion. I think she would have been saddened with the French controlling it now." They watched as the ball of fire got closer and closer it began to slow down as it neared the top of the mountain peek where Shin Yi stood. "I wonder why the sun demon is returning to face him when it retreated from the battle with him prior." Xuanwu explained "Perhaps it is the fact that it knows all its family is dead and that it is the last remaining one. It is either its way to commit revenge or it purposely and genuinely has a death wish. Either way it all ends today." The sun demon was the size of a house as it continually radiated fire from its core. It had no face and looked like a moving sun. It began to slow as it started to see the great slayer Shin Yi. Shin Yi took his bow and with both of his hands lifted it high in the air. He yelled at the top of his lungs to ensure the sun demon could hear him. "Sun demon! Remember me?! You should as I killed your brothers! Today is where you meet your end!" Shin Yi quickly grabbed one of his arrows sticking out of the gravel and loaded it into his arrow. He pulled the shaft back on the pull string. He aimed dead center of the sun creature. His hand let go releasing the arrow towards its target. A shockwave erupted from Shin Yi's arrow as it broke the sound barrier flying at speeds faster than any arrow could ever travel. As the arrow flew it sent shockwaves in all directions in rapid succession. "Wow" Daiyu said in reaction. As fast as the arrow travelled the sun demon rose upward dodging the arrow and narrowly getting hit by it. "He missed?" "It's expected that this one will be harder to kill as it has had time to......" A massive solar flare fired from the sun demon as it travelled straight to Shin Yi. He quickly jumped out of the way as the sun flare smashed into the rocks leaving a scorch mark where he originally stood. Shin Yi quickly pulled another arrow from his quiver, loaded onto his bow, pulled the string back, and aimed at the sun demon for a second shot. His aim was true as he unleashed another arrow at the creature. Shockwaves followed as the arrow flew towards its target. Once again the sun demon pulled away as the arrow nearly struck it. "Getting smart aren't you foul creature!" Shin Yi yelled in response. "It's too fast" Daiyu told Xuanwu. "This thing must have learned to anticipate his shots." The tortoise remarked "It has had a long time being alone to think about it past battles with him. It knows him as well as he knows it. We need to help him." The sun demon fired another solar flare at Shin Yi. He quickly got out of the way as the flames struck the pole inflicting a searing black mark on the pole of the tiny shrine. He jumped back to the sand and gravel that held his other arrows. He picked up two arrows this time and loaded them onto his bow. "One way or another you will die sun demon just like your brothers." Shin Yi remarked. The cloud carpet holding Daiyu and Xuanwu flew high in the sky as they flew above the burning ball of flames. Diayu was hastly looking in her bag of marbles pulling out a slew of different colored marbles. Shin Yi pulled the two arrows with one hand on the bow string. He aimed to the best of his abilities with the two arrows. It would likely increase the chance of hitting it but it would deplete his supply of arrows if he kept using two at a time. He released his hand as dual shockwaves radiated from the arrows in flight. They flew in a vertical arc to see if the sun demon would fall for it and fly up or down to at least get hit by one of the arrows. Sadly the sun demon dove to the right avoiding both arrows again almost getting hit. The sun demon fired in response two solar flares at him hoping to hit Shin Yi. One shot flew by completely missing Shin Yi and dissipated in the air. The other one narrowly hit him as he jumped out of the way to one of the shots. The shot was so close that it nicked his shoulder setting the armor on fire. Shin Yi quickly smothered the fire before it spread with his free hand and grabbed another arrow from his quiver. "I can't hit the bastard" he commented. It's gotten smarter and faster than the previous ones." Suddenly three tiny objects smacked the sun demon from above. It didn't "look up" as Daiyu dropped three marbles on it. These marbles were water and ice based marbles that exploded on the sun demon's surface. Two piles of water erupted and ice shattered onto it as it quickly erupted from the sun demon. The water and ice quickly evaporated but it did seem to hurt it. The sun demon let out a low pitched screech as if a bird was inflicted a wound onto its body. The sun demon fired a solar flare upward trying to hit Xuanwu and Daiyu on their cloud carpet. The shot missed as Shin Yi pulled his arrow on the bow string and let the arrow fly at the target. Concussive blasts from the flying arrow and another dodge by the sun demon showed that this thing was determined to win the battle. Daiyu and Xuanwu looked down at the sun demon. "It's still not enough, we need something to seriously distract this thing or slow it down so Shin Yi can hit it." Suddenly as if on cue something flew fast as it smashed its blade into the burning ball of fire. It did no damage to the sun demon but it responded as it tried to fire its solar flare at the target missing the target completely. "Have no fear comrades! The great dragon knight has come to your rescue! My steel, my life, my promise that I will slay thee!" Sárkány said as his he was pulling a large u-turn in the air. His blade was hot red as his wings kept him flying in the air guiding him to make another attack run on the sun demon. Shin Yi smiled as he ran to grab another arrow from the gravel and dirt. He loaded another arrow. He was going to wait till Sárkány would complete his attack run again and fire at the sun demon while it was distracted. "I told you he lives for these moments" said Xuanwu as she looked at Daiyu. "I am taking us away from the fight. Sárkány and Shin Yi got this." The cloud carpet sped off to a safer distance as Daiyu had front row seats to the spectacle. The sun demon was firing several solar flare shots at the dragon but failed to hit him. Sárkány did a nose dive with his frame as he ready to swing his sword at the sun demon. He flew fast as the sun demon fired another shot at the dragon this time hitting him dead center in the chest. Flames engulfed him. "Sárkány!" Daiyu responded in shock. "No flames can hurt me foul demon!" Sárkány yelled in triumph as the flames dissipated around him. He pulled his sword back as he flew past it and swung wide in the air. The blade bounced off its surface doing nothing to it as it turned his sword red hot again. Shin Yi fired his arrow at the sun demon while it was distracted or at least he hoped it was distracted. Several shockwaves emitted from the flying arrow as the sun demon fired its solar flare at the arrow destroying it in the air before it struck it. "Damn" Shin Yi said. "Damn thing is getting smarter by the minute." Sárkány did another u-turn in the air facing the sun demon in a courageous stand off in the air. His wings flapped furiously as he flapped and held in the air. The sun demon rose up to almost as if it doing a stare down to the dragon. "You are no match against a dragon foul demon of fire!" Sárkány yelled at it. "Perhaps my greatest form is more than a match for you!" He took his sword and sheathed it as he clapped his hands together. A massive ray of light emitted from Sárkány as it caused Daiyu to look away. When she looked back she was stunned to see what she saw. Sárkány was no longer the bipedal dragon with wings he was before but a large dragon. The dragon was the size of a windmill with green scales that lined its surface. He had eight heads with long necks that stuck out of his body. His wings were massive as well with a spiked tail that flew behind it. One of the heads spoke "You are no match for me sun demon!" The dragon went and began a dive on the sun demon. "Wow" Daiyu said. "It's like...." "Watching gods fight. Enjoy these times Daiyu" the black tortoise told her. Sárkány the dragon had five of his heads breathe fire on the sun demon in unison. The sun demon responded on turn by firing a steady stream of fire at him. Both were hitting each other but doing nothing to each other. It was fire versus fire as both were not gaining ground. Shin Yi meanwhile picked up another arrow from the ground and loaded up the arrow. Sárkány flew past the sun demon as it stopped firing its solar flares and then fired another shot at Shin Yi. Shin Yi narrowly got the arrow flying as he hit the solar flare with the arrow. Both the fire and arrow exploded in the air that knocked him to the ground. "Damn it's still not enough!" Shin Yi said. "We just keep throwing everything at it and it is still going." Shin Yi took a deep breath. Suddenly a series of energy ripples radiated from the sun demon. It started to make a screeching sound. It looked like it was trying to move but it couldn't. It tried to fire its solar flares but it was unable too. Shin Yi had a confused look as the rest did. Daiyu looked at Xuanwu in disbelief. Sárkány was doing another large u-turn in the air to prepare another strafing run on the sun demon. Behind Shin Yi a red silk dressed woman slowly descended from the air. She was floating so easily and endlessly. Chang'e had finally arrived to fight in struggle. "What is happening?" Daiyu said to Xuanwu. The black tortoise scratched her chin "It appears the Goddess of the Moon had finally arrived. She using her gravity magic to hold it in place and preventing it from attacking. Shin Yi has a clear shot at it." Sárkány fired another stream of flames at the sun demon. It was no longer firing back at the dragon. It was powerless as it stood frozen in the air. The flames were still not doing anything to it. The dragon flew past the ball of flame. Chang'e landed on the ground softly by Shin Yi as one of her hands was being held towards the ball of flame. She was concentrating with all her might. Shin Yi almost stood in shock when Chang'e his long lost wife said to him gently "Now is your time my husband to deliver the deathblow to the last sun demon." Without any further hesitation, Shin took another arrow from his quiver. He looked at the sun demon knowing that it could not win. He pulled the arrow on the bow string and aimed at the sun demon. He released his grip and the bow string threw all its force into the arrow. Shockwaves bellowed from the golden arrow as it flew straight into the sun demon. The sun demon had no way of defending itself and no chance of getting out of the way. The arrow struck dead center as it penetrated its core. The arrow exploded in its core and the sun demon made a horrible screeching sound. All watched as the sun demon's core sounded its death throes. The ball of flame turned into a hot blue sphere of fire and then it got bigger. It then collapsed and it sent off a harmless super nova that was little more than a light concussive blast. After the blast, the flames ceased, the screeching ceased, and the core turned into a black cinder. The blackened core then collapsed into a ball of sand that fell to the bottom floor thousands of feet below the mountain side. The sun demon was dead. Shin Yi with both hands lifted his bow high in the air and yelled "Victory!" followed by lifting his bow again yelling "Victory!" Xuanwu and Daiyu landed in the cloud carpet by Shin Yi and Chang'e. Daiyu watched as Shin Yi turned and looked at Chang'e. So much happened in the expression of their faces. Shin Yi dropped his bow and resumed his regular civilian attire that he wore. His armor vanished. He stood speechless at Chang'e. "It's.....it's......I.......I missed you" he struggled to say to his wife. Chang'e had tears run down her face as she struggled to handle the emotions. Shin Yi without anymore hesitation grabbed her and they locked lips. They hugged each so hard that he left welts and marks in her skin. They broke their kiss after what seemed like minutes. They stared at each other's eyes. "I had to my husband......." Chang'e struggled to say. "The last sun demon retreated......during the battle of the nine. I knew this one was.....the leader. It was getting smarter as it watched the battle with the others. I think it was hoping to come back and ultimately kill you. I chased it and found it. I encased ourselves in that temple to ensure it stayed there. I knew if it escaped that we needed reinforcements to kill it. You were doing everything in your power to kill them all. I knew that even it was just one that it was going to be the one that ended your life." Shin Yi wiped the tears from his wife's eyes "It is alright my love. I have so much to update you on. It will be a new adventure for us. We have suffered so much and lost so much but we have scored a victory today. We get to realize that one more goddess has survived." He gestured his hand to Daiyu "I also want you to get a chance to meet Daiyu, my adopted daughter." He gestured to Daiyu and she stepped forward to bow to her. Chang'e went and hugged her new daughter. "It is good to see you. We have a lot to talk about. If it weren't for you then I would have never been released. I designed that temple to make it hard for the sun demon and I to be released. I truly didn't think anyone could break the seals until I saw you and that dragon at the temple." She blushed "Well.....one of your seals for your temple had an odd lock that required...." Chang'e gave a questioning look to her. "What do you mean?" "Well.....if you designed that temple, why in the world did you design it so that two people had to have sex in the adjacent room to the main room?" "I did not." Daiyu was flustered "What do you mean?" "The temple was designed so that my husband would break the seal. It was only designed to discourage human mortals from entering the temple. It required my husband to enter the room with another that was a friend or family and hug one another for a little while. There was nothing really else with that room. I had it clearly written on the walls on what you needed to do." Daiyu was scratching her head "Wait a minute, that's all we had to do was just hug each other!? Who the fuck made that mistake in telling me......" She looked at Xuanwu that was in her tortoise form pretending to look away hoping that she wouldn't notice her looking at her. Finally the tortoise turned her head and looked at an angry Daiyu along with the others looking at her. Her fingers were tapping her other fingers. "What?....." Xuanwu asked. "So I made a little mistake in the translation of those words.....no harm no foul......whoops." Daiyu sighed. Chang'e decided to break the akward silence "Well.....anyways I saw you Xuanwu. It is difficult not to miss you, you are so big.....I am happy to see you are doing alright." The tortoise smiled. "Speaking of our dragon....." Sárkány in his pure dragon form did a flying dive towards their location. His wings were closed to ensure max speed. Before he reached the ground a white light emerged from his eight headed body. It reverted back to his bipedal winged dragon form as he impacted the stone ground. He used one fist to stop his momentum as he slammed hard. He then stood up and looked at their faces as he pulled out his sword and held it high above his head in triumph. "Glory!" he yelled. "Victory!" "I think that is going to be the only time I will ever see your big guy form" Xuanwu noted. Daiyu came up and wrapped her body around his hip as he was still holding his sword high in the air. She only managed to hug his waist with his high stature. "Thank you big guy for distracting it" Shin Yi told him. "Without you I might not be standing here." "My vow as a dragon knight, god of the bow! I will protect you all with my life" He said stoically. There was a brief pause as she saw the dragon's blade reflected light from the sun. "So where does that leave us?" Daiyu asked as she released Sárkány from her hug. "We are all part of the Coalition now as we all have before daughter" Shin Yi replied "You are old enough obviously to do whatever you want. After everything that has happened today I am sure that Fenghuang and the rest of the....mythics will not have any objections to you being part of the Coalition now. You would be one of the few humans amongst gods now." "Well.....as long as I am with the big dofus here then I have no problem." Daiyu remarked as she pointed her thumb at the dragon that was still holding his sword like he was waving and cheering to a big audience. "Typically we always go in pairs or in groups anyway on missions so I see no issue with that" Shin Yi turned to look at his wife. "We have a lot of time to catch up on my love. I think we have earned a good three months of rest to spend time together. After that I think we will be our own pair to help out the Coalition out. The Goddess of the Moon and the God of the Arrow will be together to face new threats and issues for the Coalition." Sárkány went and sheathed his sword as he put his hands to his hips. He gave a stoic look at the high sky. "Well.....I don't know about you but I think it is time I get going. I will relay everything that has happened to Fenghuang and Baihu" Xuanwu remarked. "Thank you for all your help.....all of you in making this happen" Shin Yi said. "Anytime father, thank you for everything. It is time for the dragon and I to get a chance to see what else is out there. I promise to come back and see you and get to know you more....mom." "I look forward to learning more about you my dear daughter" Chang'e responded. Daiyu went and grabbed Sárkány's attention as he looked down at her. "What is it my lady?" "I want to see the mountains from your point of view. Take me to the air champion." She went and took his hand as they walked away from the group. He looked at the high mountainous side and nodded "Of course my lady." He went and picked her up with ease cradling her in his arms. She felt like a child being held by her mother again. She was pressed to his chest and armor but felt warm and belonging. She was about to take to the air in his arms. He opened up his wings as he approached the edge of the cliff side. She felt scared of the tremendous height drop but she felt safe in his arms. He leapt from the side and they were in the air. They began to fall at an incredible speed. Daiyu held her breath as she was holding onto the dragon the best she could. Suddenly his wings opened up and he started to glide in the air. The wind pushed against her face and hair as it blew freely in the wind. She was cold but warm in his arms. They were travelling at breakneck speeds but she was able to get a wonderful view of the air and mountains. He made slight adjustments to his flight as they saw the series of cliff sides and high peaks associated with Mount Hua. "It's so beautiful...." She remarked as she was getting over the fact that she was thousands of feet from the ground. She thought to herself "I think that tonight I am going to reward him with everything my body has to offer to him. I am enjoying my time with this ancient Austro-Hungarian knight and I want to be with him more. That will be my choice." She could see the tree and foliage below as she thought more to herself. "My name is Daiyu, a reborn warrior. I have lost so much but I have gained a new family. I vow to serve the Coalition of gods and help in their long quest in the search for the shards and other mythics that might be out there waiting to be found again. To seek out enemies that intends to bring us or humanity to harm. This I vow with my companion to victory, love, and till the end of my natural life."

Chapter 18: September 14th 1918

There was a small patch of dirt that Toha stood by as his eyes were closed. Ariadne stood by him. Her towering figure dwarfing his height as she stood with her hands to her hips. "Close your eyes my love" Ariadne told him. Toha closed his eyes. "Now.....I want you to focus on the patch of dirt you were looking at. Lift up your hand towards that dirt. Picture it in your mind as it moves." It was the next day of the grasslands of Oklahoma. The beautiful day was marked with clear skies. Ariadne was teaching Toha how to access his new discovered powers that were deep within him. She was wearing a striking blue woven dress reminisced with the clothing of ancient greek women and at the same time being in her minotaur form as well. Toha was still wearing part of his uniform. Toha lifted his hand and concentrated on the patch of dirt. He focused on the patch of sand. "Now" she said. "I want you to focus on the sand and picture it moving towards your hand." He did exactly what was instructed. The soil began to shift very slightly. Some of the soil began to move. "I feel it moving....." he said. "How is that possible?" "You are with me. By us being together and joining the spirit within you is awakening as well. You will have access to his abilities now. All you need now is guidance." The dirt began to move more and more till it started to levitate towards his hand. The small patch of dirt touched his fingers. "Very good Toha. Now I want you to stop concentrating on the dirt and now take your hands and drop it to the ground and lift them into the air while you are concentrating." He took a deep breath and then bent over placing his hands on the ground. The patch of soil that floated to his fingertips fell to the ground. He then stood up lifting his hands high in the air as is eyes were closed. A small patch of dirt spit up in the air like a jet stream of water. The dirt dissipated in the air. She explained "Se:he is the embodiment of a sand mage. He can manipulate the dirt and sand to his will around him. He can also feel the sand and dirt knowing how to navigate his way through anything with the exception of flying creatures. He is taking the form of a spirit now using the human body as a source of power. He will then jump from human to human as each one is born and ultimately dies." "Let me ask you this then Ariadne. Why do you feel such an attraction towards me?" She looked at him with a questioning look "Why do you ask this? Did you not enjoy our encounter together?" "I did enjoy it, but I still have to ask.....why the attraction and feelings?" She looked down, her snout snorted as her hoof hit the grass hard. "I feel this way....because I feel something for him. I have not been with a human mortal for some time despite some of the advances of some mortals and even mythics. The fact is....I was lonely." He focused his attention to her "....I understand. I am enjoying our time together. Yesterday was....very fun. It felt so liberating to be away from war. I worry about those that are still trapped in that battlefield wither they want to be there or not. Nonetheless, I feel that I would be better here with you by your side then in the battlefield alone. I would rather be with you." She took her hand and took his hand and held it tightly. "There is something I need to discuss with you after I get done teaching you more of the basics." They were far from the tents that she erected where Daiyu and Sárkány reside. The winds of the grassland blew hard in their direction. She explained "Your magic is the key to defeating mythics. Normal mortal made weapons cannot hurt us. I am sorry to say this but you are mortal so you can be hurt normally but with your discovery of magic you have a chance against those that want to bring you harm." "No offense but how is dirt going to hurt them?" Toha asked with frustration. "If a human went and flung dirt in my eyes I would not feel anything from it. It would mask his view for a very short bit but I would not be feeling anything. However, with your magic combined, if you flung dirt into my eyes it would cause me to recoil in pain as I desperately try to get the dirt out of my eyes." "Oh...well in that case, I guess I should continue." She went and had a seat on the soft grass. Her tail shifted to her right side as her fur blew delicately by the wind. "I want you to focus on the dirt again Toha. Take that dirt as you levitate it in the air and wrap it up to a ball." He closed his eyes again and lifted his hand. He envisioned the dirt lifting from the ground and seeing it clump into a ball. As he did this a patch of soil began to lift from the ground. The dirt began to clump up slowly into a ball of packed soil. "Good....now you can form the dirt into whatever you want. Form the dirt into a blade of dirt." He focused as the sand began to shape from a ball of dirt into a sharpened blade of sand. "Excellent....focus on the dirt hardening into a solid piece like it was forming into hardening clay." Toha did as he was instructed. The dirt began to harden into a sharp blade of dirt like a splintered piece of clay. "Now, you can do whatever you want with that hardened piece. You can throw it like a projectile with your mind, use it like a personal weapon, or break it apart. Whatever to your heart's desire. Trust me I have seen some mythics with a similar power like this that could create lances of spiked soil and dirt at the enemy and be quite dangerous." "What is my limitation?" he asked. "You do have limits of course. The power will drain and you will have to eat or sleep or you will get weaker. Your concentration can naturally be interrupted of course during a fight making it hard to use your magic. Rest will naturally restore what you use up. Much like the mortals often mistaken us we do have our limits too. A healing Mythic might be able to restore a person to life though depending on their abilities. It does not mean however that they can go and revive a whole graveyard of dead people. Mythics are much, much harder to revive and some might not be able to do it at all except just heal them. I can use my 'maze' spell to banish a person to one of my labyrinths but it takes time to cast it and I can get interrupted easily. It does not always work on some mythics too because they are simply too powerful." He asked "So it basically would bounce off of someone?" "More like nothing would happen. One thing to keep in mind is not all us mythics have access to magic accept altering to a human shape and back or being able to teleport or fly. So feel lucky that you have access to magic. Plus you are mortal as it is so you never had to 'blend' in." He added "Except against some racist prick that dislikes Native Americans." "You know what I mean. Being a walking talking cow is way more noticeable to the public than being human." Toha laughed "I guess that makes sense." The winds got big as it distracted him. The sharp hardened blade of dirt fell to the ground. The breeze almost blew him hard practically displacing his stance. Suddenly something came and touched Toha's arm as he turned around to see what was getting his attention. Even Ariadne was not looking behind him as she was turned to look at who it was. "Wha.....who is there?" Toha asked. What stood behind him was a curious understatement indeed. He was a dwarf that stood at four feet tall. He wore a simple red tunic that wrapped his lower body like he was dressed as a monk. He was bald and had a wooden umbrella that he held in both his hands. He had a set of bead necklaces that he wore on his chest and he had a painted third eye on his forehead. The wooden umbrella was a red color that was like the color of his tunic. The dwarf spoke to him "I should be asking that to you human. What are you two doing here with one of our kind?" He had a strangely British Indian accent. "Vamana! It is good to see you again" Ariadne reacted upon seeing him. "It is good to see you too Ariadne. Now....what are you doing with this human mortal? Hmm I do sense something from him." The dwarf began to sniff the air around Toha. He was deeply curious. "I found him in war torn Europe. He had the embodiment of Se:he in him. We have found another mythic." He spun his umbrella in his hand and smiled "Very good. Always good to encounter more and more of our kind as the years progress. What is your name human?" There was certain innocence to the man. He seemed harmless compared to others and gave a gentle aura around him. It was like speaking to a Buddhist monk. "My name is Toha, um Vanama?" Ariadne almost gave off a sigh "Where are my manners? Toha this is Vamana, Vamana this is Toha. He is a Native American that is or was served in the United States Army." Toha extended his arm to the tiny man as he reciprocated and shook his hand in greeting. "Hmm....indeed a spirit resides in him. I can feel it simply in our handshake. How are you Toha?" "I am doing well, Ariadne has been....taking good care of me and training me how to use my powers." Vamana spun his umbrella again and smiled "I can tell she has been taking good care of you. I can smell your auras mixed together very well." Toha scratched the back of his neck as Ariadne looked away for a short bit. Vamana closed his umbrella and pointed downward as he leaned on it as if it were a walking stick. There was concern in his face. He explained "I have received some disturbing reports from some of our other teams in Europe as we search for the shards. Have you found anything?" "Besides Toha there was nothing we found so far in France. I am afraid that we might be just feeling the disruptions from the war as always." Vamana nodded "I ended up hearing some reports of a certain attack from a minotaur that killed a German officer. Is it true?" He took his umbrella and lightly smacked Ariadne's leg. "Well?...." as he perched on his umbrella again. "I did get overzealous and killed a German officer in a town. There were about to over encompass us I felt that I needed to take matters to my own hands." Vamana nodded "Well from Berchta and Drakaina, the information they gathered from the Germans seems to indicate that no one believes that squad of German soldiers anyway. Nonetheless you need to be careful out there and exposing yourself to the mortals. We....." "I know" she responded. "I am sorry that happened. I just.....wish we could get more involved with human affairs and situations than what the treaty limited us to do." "Until the humans learn to accept us or show signs that they are willing, we can't keep exposing ourselves to the mortals. I won't have to preach to you. Sometimes it's beyond our control anyways. Some of us are far worse at than we admit to it anyway. Anyways I do have some troubling news to report to you that I need to have you, Sárkány, Daiyu,...." He looked at Toha. "....and I guess you now, to go to an area that is by the town of Épehy in France." "Why there? What is at this place that warrants attention?" she asked. "We have heard reports of a supposed German marksman that has been making a name for himself." Toha shrugged "That doesn't sound like anything big, both sides of the war have their marksman's and sharpshooters." Vamana shook his head "Not when there is magic involved. We picked up magic use from the area that he supposed to be at." "Any idea what this person is?" Ariadne asked. "We don't know much. It appears he is hiding himself well amongst the German soldiers. We might be dealing with a rogue mythic that is trying to use magic to his or her own means against other human mortals. This violates the treaty we established and presents a possible danger to humanity if someone is trying to use magic to benefit themselves in this particular fashion." "Do you have a description of this possible foe?" she asked. "All we know is that it is a person or mythic named 'Lambert.' Tell Daiyu since she has become one of our experts in mythic folklore and theological studies. She might know more about it." Ariadne asked "What do we do if we encounter resistance? We are heading into a warzone again. Knowing that area it will be close to the frontlines." "If for some reason this Lambert does have magic, tries to use it, and is some sort of rogue mythic on the loose then you have permission to engage him and if necessary kill him. I would prefer if he were captured alive if possible." He bowed to her "Now if you excuse me I am needed in India. Good luck to both of you." Vamana turned around and started to walk away with his umbrella in hand. He began to sing some ancient Indian song as he unraveled some spinning disk similar to a Chakram. He spun it in his hand and then threw it upward as the disk got larger and spun in the air. The ring got so large that it could easily engulf his body. The ring was spinning as it slowly descended on him. As it reached his body he slowly disappeared as the ring got closer to the ground. Eventually he completely disappeared as the ring landed on the ground. The ring itself then disappeared in a puff of smoke. Ariadne smiled "Good ol Vishnu. He always comes in as a different person." "Who?" Toha asked. She turned to him "That was really Vishnu in disguise. He likes to take up different forms as a way to have fun with everyone. I swear he does it on purpose. I have seen some of parties where he would come as one avatar then leave and come back as another. He would always do it to fool everyone and see if he could get away with it. I think he really enjoys doing it. He is one of the greats though." "Is he a trickster....mythic?" "No...just another one of the Hindu mythics. He really is a good guy; just don't get on his bad side. Speaking of which, your powers.....make sure not to display to the other mortals alright. It will not be respected amongst us." "I won't but what happens if I do?" Toha asked. "Obviously if you are trying to fight somebody that is using magic you can try to defend yourself but displaying it in front of human mortals will make them too interested in capturing you or scare them. Plus you are not a member of the Coalition yet but you are being tested in this mission if you can. You would be treated as a rogue mythic on the loose otherwise." "Rogues?" he asked. "Mythics that are blatantly using their powers wither they are showing it or not. Usually they themselves try to hide it or it will gather our attention or some human mortal. Usually we leave these rogues alone as it's their choice but other rogues are known to not care if it brings one to harm or not. This Lambert maybe a case of that where he is using his powers to bring harm to other human mortals. The human mortals would not stand a chance against him." Toha looked around as he looked back at her and the far distant tents. "What is it my love?" she asked. "It's still so much to stomach. A couple days ago I was fighting for my life in the trenches wondering if I was going to be shot dead in some battle someone is probably not going to remember in the future. I envisioned myself returning to home and being ridiculed or ignored for my actions in the war because I am part.....Native American. Now I am with essentially gods trying to help them on some mission and ended up bedding a goddess." She smiled and almost seemingly blushed if the fur didn't hide it "And have you been enjoying it so far?" He nodded "Yes.....I want to see what happens next....together." She approached him and held his hand. Her hands were so large compared to his but he did not care. She then backed up as she looked down. "There is something I need to let you know about who I am Toha. It is very important that I tell you this." "What is it?" he asked. "I am a Goddess of Fertility. Our magic goes into the realm of childrearing and insuring that mortals have a symbol of that to help make sure they are able to procreate and produce children if magic is needed." "Do you have the ability to make....people become pregnant? Is that what you are telling me?" She tilted her head "Not entirely. Mythics, mortals, that have a hard time producing a child can always come to me to ensure that they do. They still need the seed from their partner and have sex to make it happen. I just go to the next step and use my magic after they have sex to make the woman be able to get impregnated. I have had my magic called upon a couple of times in the past for example. Mythics and humans that have sex together and want to produce children will come to me and plead for me to ensure it happens. I have not yet failed at that task. Drakaina for example that Vamana mentioned is just one of my examples of my work." "Who is she?" he asked. "A dragon. She had a relationship with a human a long time ago. They came to me to ask for a child and I made sure she got pregnant. She has two children that serve alongside her. Us mythics are essentially finding a way to replace our lost numbers by taking up humans as mates." "So.....a dragon like Sárkány?" "Yes" Ariadne replied. "Makes me curious what the child would look like if a human and mythic were to cross. Do the children look more.....human?" She smiled "I think it is different from encounter to encounter but usually the children born inherit the strongest features physically and ability wise. Her children essentially look exactly like her." He laughed "I wonder what happened if a human woman and a dragon had sex and wanted to produce a child. Would she lay an egg or give birth to live young assuming of course dragons lay eggs." She nodded "Yes they lay eggs but to be honest I am not really sure on your prior question. I never went back and asked to find out on that question. Daiyu has told me that she has no interest in having a child with Sárkány even if they will stay together forever which I am pretty sure they are. I am.....sure about one thing.....I want to tell you." "What is it?" "With my magic I can impregnate myself as well. Your seed is inside me right now. I want......I want to have a child Toha." He had a bit of a shocked look on his face "You can? Have you already had children before?" She nodded "I did.....so long ago. They were all wiped out by Cataclysm." A tear rolled down her eyes. "I miss them so much. My original father for those children has long been buried. Toha.....I need to replace what I have lost before you are longed and buried. Hundreds of years for us is like a speck of dirt on a beach for us compared to human lives. Some ways we want to have those short lives as well but we have had to accept ourselves for whom we are and enjoy the time we have together while we can." He started to breathe fast "You want to have my baby? Heh....." "What is it?" "I always figured that our time yesterday I wouldn't have gotten you pregnant because of our......differences. Even if I did get you pregnant I never imagined you would give me a choice anyway. I mean women get pregnant whither they like it or not. One thing is for certain......sex can get a woman pregnant. It's the law of the universe. I was acknowledging the fact I could have gotten you pregnant yesterday and there would have been no control on it. Are you trying to tell me you are giving me the choice on this?" She nodded "Yes....please all I have to do is put my hand to my stomach, concentrate, and it's done." Toha was not phased or nervous by her request. He was really curious "If we had a child would the child be.....like you?" She nodded "Yes. I had five children as proof of that." "Would our child have our.....abilities?" "That....I do not know. Children born from mythics or humans with mixed traits and abilities have the tendency to have a combination of certain abilities or traits from the parents. Sometimes they would have traits that are beyond our understanding. We would never truly know until that day. I wish I could give you that answer." "It's ok" he took a deep breath his heart was racing. "To be honest I want to be a father. This is very sudden to be requested this. I actually want to be father. I was....." He sat down on the soft grass below. She walked up and took a knee to try to be close to him as possible. "I was too quick to ask Toha. I am so sorry to ask you that. I should have...." "Yes....." Her bovine eyes expressed shock and confusion. "What?" "I will have a child with you Ariadne. It is.....happening so fast." He started to breathe hard. He was nervous and even scared. "I wanted to be a father since I reached adulthood. I never found the right woman for me back at home. One I met even left me because I wanted to become a father and she didn't. Now here you are.....right in front of my eyes telling me you want to have a child with me. I....I just need a minute." Her hand rested on his shoulder. She went and pressed her snout to his head. He was breathing so hard that he was on the verge of passing out. "Breathe, my maze runner" she consoled him. "Breathe in and out for me." "The bombs, the explosions, death everywhere" he began to cry. She took his hand and held him close as he began to cry. "I was in a war where the world seemed.....to obliterate itself. I hold no hatred towards the Germans. I imagine that many are like me that....are fathers or want to be fathers. They spit propaganda that they are horrible people. You know what are horrible people, the people that tried to wipe the Native Americans from the face of the Earth! The ones that forced us off our lands!" He slammed his fist onto the grass in anger. "Let it all out Toha" she told him. "If you need to throw your fists at me then do so. Get the poison out of your system." "I don't want to hurt you Ariadne, my beloved. I can't throw a fist at you....I can't." She closed her eyes. Her fur rubbed against his face and arms. "You can't hurt me.....I am a goddess. Let your anger out." He was so close to her face and snout he could feel her breath on his face. He shook in his seat. "Us deities know what you humans are facing Toha. It is something that many humans from the war are facing now. The shock of the shells exploding over and over again. I am sure the mortals will have a name for it soon to spell it out that maybe the warfare and intent for nations to wipe one another out will come to realization. I know......I know you have been fighting it deep down within you Toha. I pulled you out of that war and fighting. I am sure you have no outlet to let it out. That is why I am here for you to get it out of you. You are greater than anything you ever imagined. You don't deserve to be treated as just another human mortal. You are amongst gods now. I saw it in Daiyu's eyes as well. I don't know her full story but I do know that she faced conflict in her past. She has Sárkány to get it out of her system. You....have me." She went and put her lips to his mouth as she kissed him firmly. As she began he went and kissed her with his might. He took his hand and felt her from the top of her head feeling the hair and horns as it went down feeling the fur on her face and cheeks. He said quietly as he broke his kiss with her "Ok.......do it." She stood up and she placed her hand to her stomach. A glowing light emerged from her hand. The light lasted for half a minute as she closed her eyes and focused. She then opened up her eyes and looked as the light faded from her hand. "It is done" she said simply as the light faded. She took a knee as she put her hand to his.

*******

"Lambert?" Daiyu asked. "Hmmm......I don't recognize that name at the moment." It was later that day at the tents. Ariadne had explained everything to Daiyu and Sárkány. They were both naked with bed sheets wrapped around them as the Goddess explained everything to them. Ariadne was in her tunic and Toha dressed in uniform as they had to listen to what she said. Daiyu was lying on her stomach as she was snapping her fingers trying to remember who this character was. "Hmmm....now that I think of it, I have heard of the name Lambert in my readings awhile back. It is mentioned once in some folktale. Something about the name though scares me." "What do you mean it scares you?" Ariadne asked. "It is something about that name that makes me nervous. It is something terrifying about who this 'Lambert' is." "It sound like this guy might be a very dangerous foe to fight" Toha asked. Toha looked at Sárkány that was still fast asleep. Daiyu was tapping her fingers to the bed as she was trying to think of the character and what they were facing. Toha went and grabbed his MP-18 that was still perched by the bed that Ariadne slept at. The moment that Daiyu saw him pick up the gun was what triggered her memory. She knew who it was and it made her face turn white. "Oh no....." she said. "What do you mean 'Oh no'?" "Lambert.....that is his one of his names.....son of a bitch." Toha had a discouraged look "Who is he?" Daiyu explained "A long time ago I read a story of a folktale about 'The Marksman.' It is a tale of a German with the power to shoot and kill any target which is people like myself. Technically he is no real threat to mythics but he does have something that will help him if he is pressed to." "Like what?" She asked. "The story is about a German born sometime in the 16th Century when firearms were coming into fruit in Europe. The German was racked with the desire to commit revenge against his enemies. His family made enemies with just about everyone of high status. The people he wanted to kill wanted him and his family dead. His enemies managed to kill his wife and father before he cursed at the prospect that the people he was after would never truly stop. Their goal was to slowly watch the human suffocate as he lost support all around him and then ultimately kill him. They were that sadistic." "Sounds horrible" Ariadne responded. "Eventually, Lambert decided that he had no choice left. He went to the Devil for help. The Devil decided to grant him powers in exchange for something in return." "Wait....this is The Devil right? I mean that this is the same Devil right?" Toha asked. Daiyu nodded "If you want more information about it, we but need to ask him in the furnace." "The Furnace?" Daiyu looked at Toha "It's his personal hell he constructed after Hell was destroyed by Cataclysm. It is a massive furnace and wasteland where he constructs and repairs our weapons and armor for everyone." Toha shook his head "The Devil....I still can't believe you have the Devil working for you guys." Daiyu nodded hesitantly "Trust me, I understand. Diablo is what he prefers to call himself now. I think he just prefers the Spanish name over anything else. However from all the reports he has actually been doing his part and pulling his weight in the Coalition. He is using revenge towards cataclysm as is motivation to keep himself going and from betraying us. He is a strong believer in reuniting the shards, bringing back Cataclysm, and then having all the available weapons needed to re kill cataclysm. The Treaty of Enki allows us to look pass all prior misdeeds to allow one to join the Coalition. Those that committed horrible acts before 1589 AD were forgiven when joining the Coalition itself but anything prior to that is considered new crimes. Even Diablo has avoided any further incidents." "Sounds like though that we are dealing with something that he did might have led to this situation." The Chinese woman smiled "I am afraid that on that part you are right. We might be able to get some answers if we ask him, if he is willing to help us. I do have some ideas on what to do next regardless. Of what I know, we are dealing with a typical rogue Mythic." Ariadne asked "What abilities do you know that he has?" Daiyu explained "We are looking at a potential Nationalist that had allied with the Germans. He is a marksman capable of hitting targets from long range. If the Devil imbued him with eternal life that will pose a problem but it is possible that your trident, this dofus's sword, or magic can hurt him. He will obviously be human otherwise they would have run him out or kept him somewhere important. He himself does not have much that can hurt us or in this case have much that can kill you two. We would be in danger of it. He does have something that he could use that can hurt or kill a mythic though." "What would that be?" "The original story of Lambert is that he was given six magical bullets by the Devil. These bullets would give him one special ability. Whatever he wanted to hit he could aim his gun at the target and never miss with this bullet. They were designed to ensure he never misses in what he wanted to kill. I would be quite sure that he has used some of these bullets already which is what we might be picking up. He would use these rounds sparingly as well since he only has six rounds. Once they are used up.....well then he is fucked. He might have only a few shots left. I would not want to get shot by one of these bullets. They are designed to kill the target for humans and mythics it might bring great harm to you. Be aware that even if he doesn't use these six bullets that his ability to fight would be better than most mortals. He was already a great marksman as it is." Toha asked "If his normal bullets can't hurt mythics than what danger could he pose to them?" "If he has been alive for hundreds and hundreds of years, he would have the ability to analyze fights with potential Mythics and come up with ways to kill or harm one. Mythics are vulnerable to enchanted or mystical weapons. He could construct his own bullets with mystic silver, mystic gold, or some other alloys that can still hurt Mythics. I would be nervous with this guy if I were you." Ariadne put her hand to her chin as she thought. "Hmmm, it seems that when we go after him we will need to go in quietly. Brute force would be unwise. He would be much easier to go in silently and then take him down." Daiyu smiled "Precisely, the question is do you know where he is supposed to be at?" "The town of Épehy is where he supposed to be located. He is most likely posing as an officer or simply serving as an officer amongst the ranks." She nodded "Hmmm, that is buried behind enemy lines, we will need your talent at creating German uniforms and civilian attire to get us as close to them as possible. Find where he is and then take him down and get out before we get resistance from human intervention. If we go in guns blazing then we would start to violate the rules established in the Treaty of Enki in bringing awareness of the deities." "Yep" said Ariadne with some annoyance. Daiyu nodded "Ok....well then let's get started in creating a plan then. We should also be aware of what his real name then before we continue. If that is who we are fighting." "What is it?" Toha asked. "Freischütz....Lambert is his other name. His real name is Freischütz where he was born from. I wouldn't be surprised if he jumps around in name to help discourage people to think he was the same guy that could live forever until his task was complete. It is possible that he also might have a seventh bullet given by the Devil as well. Once he uses up the six magic bullets the last bullet was to be used for whatever the Devil wanted to kill. Freischütz himself would have no choice in who he wanted to kill. This is what I propose to do to help our plan work." Toha, Daiyu, and Ariadne began to construct a plan of how they would get into the small town of Épehy secretly with little bloodshed as possible. Meanwhile Sárkány slept comfortably on the bed almost excluded from the planning. It seemed unfair to such a character as he a dragon that dreamt of glory and honor amongst a team such as this. His sleeping mind instead revealed certain actions of his past that depicted events that he did. He dreamed of what he did long, long ago. Hundreds of years ago.........

Chapter 19: December 1st, 1589

"Come fellow squire! We have a mission to complete today!" Sárkány said as he was addressing to his partner. "I am not your squire...." Tefnut said in an almost quiet irritation. It was a beautiful day in a place that would eventually become Dare County, North Carolina. Sárkány was in his human form dressed in colonial attire as he looked at the Egyptian Goddess Tefnut that was also in her human form. Sárkány looked like a Hungarian man that stood at six feet tall. Tefnut on the other hand looked like an Egyptian woman. "Nonsense my cat friend! We have a mission of great importance! A mission of glory, honor, and respect amongst the gods and goddesses. It is our first mission from the Coalition of Deities! We search high and wide for the Lintarsha Shards to restore our lost brethren and to slay Cataclysm once again!" he said in a bright and prideful manner. Tefnut took a good look at her surroundings. They were deep on the island by the Roanoke Colony. Forest and trees surrounded them. The landscape was beautiful and the sun was shining brightly. "Hmmm...." She said almost bored. "I will keep on a lookout." "That is the spirit squire! Today we shall find a shard and prove that we can resemble this crystal in the name of a united group of gods of Earth! Just like my circle of dragon companions, we shall prevail and set a great and wonderful example of what gods can do!" "I am not your squire....." she quietly. "And for that my great cat friend! I shall narrate this great tale! This story of how we will find a shard and lead us to respect and recognition amongst others!" "Whatever......" Tefnut said as her eyes rolled. Sárkány walked as he took a good look at his surroundings with Tefnut showing a bored side to herself like she did not want to be there. "Today we are on an assignment from the Coalition to seek out a magical disturbance that has been spotted in this area! Could this be a shard we wonder? Could it be a lost deity misplaced after our challenging battle with Cataclysm? Could it be a rogue immortal for us?" he lifted his finger in the sky "Only we can find out!" They were heading towards a place known as the Roanoke Colony one of the first founded colonies in North America by England. It was first established in 1585 by Sir Francis Drake. It was plagued with problems including bad relations with the Native Americans that by 1587 the colony was reestablished by John White. In 1587, the colony was established with about 116 men, women, and children. It was marked with struggle to establish but the war with Spain meant that England could not lend any relief efforts for the fledgling colony. The birds chirping and wildlife in the forest highlighted the scene. It produced a calm island and it seemed all was well. "The heroes" Sárkány explained. "Was on a quest to search out the Roanoke Colony and ask the villagers of any activity they considered unusual! We march through the forest determined to reach the colony. There our human disguises will allow us to learn of the surrounding environment leading us one step closer to our goal! Come fellow kitty squire!" "Ugh...." She said hesitantly as she walked close by the marching man. He walked in a proud stance as if nothing could hurt him. The march southward took twenty minutes through the forest. "The trek long and hard did not faultier our heroes as they were close to the settlement! We stand ready, ready to come our search in finding the sacred piece of shard! We march through thicket and bush! Nothing can stop us as we search through this island with my trusty cat squire! Nothing will stop us! Nothing will hamper us! Nothing will get in our way!" Tefnut's nose began to perk up as she could smell something. She gave a quiet hand signal to Sárkány. "What is this?! It seems that our trusty comrade has picked up a clue! We near the colony!" Tefnut's face cringed as she lifted up her hand to sense something bad had happened. She had an expression of anger and disgust. "I smell blood" she commented. Sárkány's face went from proud and happy to seriousness. "What is this!? Danger awaits us! We must get to the colony immediately!" Tefnut began to run in the direction to investigate the danger she was picking up. Whatever it was, she was picking up magic ahead of her. They were close to the colony and it seemed something had already reached the colony before they did. It was powerful whatever was ahead of them. Their foot folly marked their run as they plowed through forest, shrub, grass, and tree to get there. Nothing could stop them. "I stand ready to help you my trusty feline comrade!" yelled Sárkány. Tefnut seemed unfazed as she neared the settlement of Roanoke. She stopped immediately as she came to a quick stop. They were at the outer edge of the colony. The colony was marked with a dirt mound that served as a makeshift fence. Her hand shifted as she was trying to read the area of any magic and any usage of it. It scanned the entire area around her. She closed her eyes as she focused. "I am sensing powerful magic" Tefnut said. "....something came through here and....." The dragon got in front of her almost to shield her. "Don't worry trusty squire! I am ready to face whatever evil stands in front of us and to......oh." His eyes befell upon a human body. His body was that of a man that was near the outer edge of the colony. He was dressed in typical colonial ware of the time period. It sat by a tree that displayed the words "Croatoan" on it. It seemed like he managed to etch the words before he died. Tefnut went up to the body and checked it out. It seemed as if the body was drained of all life as it slumped to the ground. Blood poured from the mouth as the lifeless body starred at one direction. "Quick and painless" Tefnut noted as she put her hand on his head. "Whatever attacked this man hit him so fast that he did not have a time to respond. He looked like he was in the middle of writing a message on the tree." "Croatoans! Whatever did this must be them! We must confront these people and....." She interrupted the dragon "Sárkány we have no idea what the history of this colony is and who and what they are doing. We have no idea if they are responsible for this. We need more evidence before we start assigning blame. I can tell though from this that this is foul play and something magical did happen here. It was quick whatever it was. I am sensing no life ahead of us at the colony." Sárkány cringed as he starred at the colony entrance ahead of them. There were still smoke plumes coming from the distance of the colony ahead of them. In the far distance they could see another body. This was another man with a similar look. They ran up and checked up the body. It was completely dead and lifeless starring at a direction with blood coming out of the body. Tefnut also examined the body. "Once again" she said "I sense no life. Whatever did this was fast. He had little time to react and little time to put up a defense. It almost seems to be invisible that did this. It attacked, left him dead and went to the next target." Sárkány held up a fist "Are we in danger fellow comrade?!" "I don't sense it is here. Whatever it was it struck killed everyone at the colony, and left. This thing seems to feed on humans. It could ambush us but I would sense it coming. It's gone now. Hmmm....." He was ready. "Do we need to keep up these forms!?" The Egyptian woman shook her head "There would be no life here to see us the way we are now. I think we should return to our normal forms and be ready for anything that might be around here. We need more clues." "Agreed!" Sárkány and Tefnut emitted a bright light from their bodies as they reverted to their bodies. Sárkány stood as a bipedal dragon with wings and armor. His sword sheathed in his scabbard ready to be used. His armor newly furnished from Diablo himself made with the finest magical steel he could make. His wings stood ready if he ever needed to take flight. His spiked tail hung low from his back. He stood ready to challenge any foe that could pose a danger to them. Tefnut on the other hand stood as a bipedal seven foot walking cat. She had the features of a lioness with fur that covered her body. She wore an ancient Egyptian dress. Her fur was that of a tan color. Her breasts stood out as average for a woman of her height covered in a dress. Her tail was also typical of that of a lioness as well. Like that of a cat she had whiskers, a tail that would perk and move around as she looked and walked, and pointed ears that protruded from her head. She carried a small one handed Egyptian staff with a blue emerald at the top of the staff itself. On the bottom of the staff was a blade that protruded about one foot in length that she could use in self defense if need be. Her true power lied in her magic casting abilities than anything else. She was the Goddess of Moisture after all. "Ah....much better" Tefnut said as her feline eyes beheld the area. She took a good look at the surrounding environment as she carefully examined one of the dead bodies. Sárkány pulled out his sword and maintained a careful and observant stance checking to make sure they were not going to get ambushed. Tefnut's furred hands checked the dead human's body. "We need to head to the center of the colony to learn more." "Right fellow cat comrade! I will charge forward!" he yelled as he began to run past the walls and into the center of the colony. It was not big as it consisted of several buildings surrounded by dirt and log walls that protected its center. Again it was oddly quiet. Sárkány's feet and claws dug into the ground hard as he charged. His tail swung to and fro but there was nothing to face him. Tefnut walked up behind him to investigate the surrounding area. There were more bodies all exhibiting the same signs. All were dead. It was obvious that foul play was set in motion. "These human mortals were alive recently, whatever did this did it hard and fast" she said. Sárkány's sword was at the ready as he looked around. Tefnut decided to check one of the large homes most likely the home that belonged to the person in charge of the colony. It was a primitive grass hut building put together by basic materials. Inside all indicated the same thing that the people had little to no time to react. "Hmmm....." she said out loud. "I think I found something Sárkány" The dragon got to the edge of the entrance still keeping a lookout for anything hostile. Tefnut was checking the table of John White's home and found a journal that was on the table. She looked around the home and did not find anything else. There was no body or any sign of his family. She decided to open up the journal and read the latest entries. "November 24th 1589" she read out loud. "Our crops are struggling to grow to meet the demands of the population. Without relief aid we are sure to be stripped of more food. We are doing everything we can to keep ourselves going. We met more of the Crotan Indians that are offering help for us but we are not sure if they are true to their word or not. During our tilling of the soil one of our men discovered a rock that gave a rainbow color....." Tefnut had a surprised look as Sárkány looked at her. Tefnut nodded "Looks like the human mortals did discover a Lintarsha shard before we did. I will keep reading more of the events that transpired" as she flipped the page and continued reading. "November 26th 1589, it feels nothing has gone right since we found this glowing crystal shard. It gives a radiant variety of colors. Some can't stop staring at the thing. One of our men has even been preaching that god gave us this shard and that we are destined to pave a new future with this colony with it. All it does is ensure that we do not get any food on the table as I have to remind them to keep trying to make more food. One of the men swore he was keeping an eye on the coastline and saw a Spanish warship traveling by. I almost feel like waving a signal to the ship and take us off this island but I am not ready to give up yet. I have kept this mysterious crystal in the nearby home under guard. I am worried this crystal is only fueling something sinister." Sárkány decided to check the nearby home but found nothing in there. If the crystal shard was there it isn't anymore. "No luck my feline comrade!" he yelled into the hut almost breaking her concentration as she nodded, flipped the page, and continued reading. "November 27th 1589, We just lost two of our men today. During the night there was a scream and we found both of the men dead. It was as if the Reaper showed up and drained their bodies of life. Blood poured out of their mouths as their bodies lay still. I feel scared. It's all that stupid discovery of the rainbow crystal a couple of days. I am tempted to cast it far into the sea as possible but I just don't know what to do anymore. I am currently in plan of taking as many people as possible and bringing them south to live with the Croatan Indians but they might just as well kill us. This colony is cursed." "Hmm" Tefnut thought. "Blood pouring from the mouth and drained of energy and life. We are dealing with a blood sucker that attacks and drains blood from the mouth. It strikes hard and fast." "Whatever it is fellow cat friend, we will slay the creature!" he yelled. She flipped the page. "November 28th 1589, We lost three more men during the night. I went and had the families rounded up and sleeping under heavy guard. The problem is whatever is doing this is targeting the guards instead. We only heard one of the men screamed while the others did not. Whatever it is, it strikes with such speed that they have little chance to react. All the bodies exhibit the same results in death. None of us are experts on what has happened. It must be the work of the savages or the Devil himself. Some of the men have also come to the conclusion that the crystal we found must be the reason we are suffering right now. We spotted the same Spanish warship again in the horizon. Where are John White and our damn relief so they can get us off this island?" "We can at least rule out that Diablo is not the culprit" Tefnut explained. "He would not bother doing something so trivial is this. He always works at the Furnace anyway and never leaves." "I stand ready! Come out foul creature so I can chop you down!" Sárkány yelled. Tefnut flipped the page. "November 29th 1589, We lost two men during the night. Panic has spread throughout the colony. I have no choice but to get rid of the crystal. We have been burying the bodies in a make shift grave not far from the Colony. One suggested that I burn the bodies to prevent anything from coming back to go after them or to prevent them from rising from the grave and I agree. I was thinking of casting the crystal into the sea but I am afraid that someone else will find it and the cycle will begin again. If we just had more resources we could put up a resistance against whatever this vile creature is. I grow weary as the day passes. I have decided to have the crystal disposed. There is a small cave not far from here. I plan on tossing the crystal in the low level cave. There I will bury this accursed crystal into the cave to never be seen again. John White's granddaughter Virginia Dare has exhibited some signs of fever, another example of the curse of the crystal." "There are two more pages on the journal" Tefnut said as she flipped the page. "I would like to take this journal with me so I can present this to the Coalition of Deities. I do not want the humans to know that they uncovered a Lintarsha shard. It would affect their society and they would start massive campaigns to search for more of them or worse influence their societies in ways we never imagine." She flipped to the next page. "November 30th 1589, We have agreed to evacuate the town. We cannot reach an agreement on what direction to go. Some are heading south to the Croatoans to hopefully take us under their wing. One of the men even inscribed the message on a tree in case White ever returns. Some are heading west inland. I have agreed to stay here with ten brave men that have agreed to bury this crystal and in case that bastard White ever shows up again. I have setup the task at hand to venture to this small cave with the men that is north from us. Five will stay at the colony to safe guard it. I informed the men that they should stay indoors as much as possible and only come out if they hear our signal." "Hmmm...." Tefnut said as she scratched her chin. Her claws played with the fur on her face as she thought about the clues in the writing. "The moment they found the crystal they were attacked by this creature. The moment the crystal was unearthed is when we started to pick it up. It also attracted this creature as well that was drawn to it. It saw the people as food or a threat or both." She held out her hand and felt the air. She nodded "This area has seen drought. Looks like there hasn't been much rain in this area for some time. We are dealing with a creature that hits fast leaving the human little time to respond. It draws blood from the mouth or possibly the end result is blood leaving the mouth. We are dealing with a vampire like creature but a very unusual one." She flipped the page to the last entry. "Name the place fellow cat Goddess and we will seek it out! We will find the crystal and slay this vile creature!" the dragon yelled. "December 1st 1589, One of the men is dead. I swore I saw what has been attacking us these last few days. It was a cloud of smoke that seemed to take the manifestation of a man for a brief moment then it would vanish. Four of us remain. It must be the Devil I am sure of it. The other colonists have fully evacuated the area. I write this in hopes that whoever reads this ensures that the crystal is destroyed or buried forever and find the other colonists. The men that went to the dispose of the crystal have not returned yet. I will stay here as long as I can in hopes that help will come. God help us." She closed the book and knew what it was as she turned to look at Sárkány. "We have only reported sightings of this thing in Japan but it appears it is close in its description. We are dealing with an Enenra. It is a creature of air and smoke that can manifest into a human shape. I have never heard one that attacks in this fashion though. The Jubokko are known to drain blood and take a manifestation of a tree to attack its victims. Perhaps we are dealing with a hybrid? It looks like this Enenra is far from home, obviously attracted to the Lintarsha Crystal. We are thankful the colonists have had time to get out before more rogue immortal creatures have come to bring harm to them if they haven't already met that fate." She took the book from the table and held it firmly in her hand. "I know where we will need to go next Sárkány. We will venture North. If the crystal has been unearthed it will leave a small magical trace to it that will dissipate in a day. I can follow that trail and that will lead us to the crystal and most likely our creature as well. The crystal is of no use to it. It will think that it is important but the shard has no special qualities in its current state. Nonetheless we need to be ready to deal with it." Sárkány yelled as his fist waved in the air "A quest it is then fellow squire! Come, we shall venture to this cave and seek out the creature to slay! A quest of glory! A quest of honor! A quest....." "Let's go" Tefnut said annoyed.

*******

"Tefnut and Sárkány navigated through the forest in search for the vile creature that attacked the colonists" Sárkány said out loud. "Our quest was getting close. My fellow squire grew tired of using her magic to trace the whereabouts of the shard...." "Who are you talking to?" she asked. "I am the only one here and I well aware of what is going on." "Why for future readers out there that one day enjoy the tale of how we found a shard my fellow comrade. Our deeds will be sung one day; our efforts will not be in vain!" "Ugh....." Tefnut held her hand as she felt something faint not far from her. The clear sky above them was an indication that it was midday. The trail was getting old very fast. She could barely pick up the shard now. It was a clear sign of how the shard was very hard to find. In one hand it could radiate a strong energy and on the other hand this energy was intermittent. Sometimes the energy was so strong other creatures and deities could pick up from a vast difference. Other times like this the energy was so dormant that you would have to be virtually next to it to even when it was out of the ground to pick it up. There was no pattern to it. Even when it was buried the signature that it gave off was that of someone trying to hear a flying bee miles and miles away. "We have been traveling for at least half an hour now" Sárkány continued. "My fellow companion was getting tired. She like myself could not wait to find the mystical shard. My sword stood sharp ready to cleave the foul creature if it had the courage to stand up against us." She stopped for a bit. They stood in a small clearing in the forest. They had found the cave in the far distance. It was hidden by brush. It was a cave that leaned far into the ground. Essentially it was a cave you walked down into it rather than a cave on a hillside or mountain. The cave was at least a hundred feet away but Tefnut was zeroing in on it. She dropped her hand and pointed at the entrance. They could already see signs of a struggle. There were two dead bodies that could be seen. One looked like he was running for his life before he was killed by the creature. "Looks like we found the cave where the colonists tried to dispose of the shard" Tefnut said. "Right! This is it! We have found our cave!" the dragon held his sword high. "This is our time to shine! We charge into the cave at our farthest speed possible fellow cat Goddess! We must claim the shard in the name of the Coalition! Bang the war drums for our foes will cower beneath our feet begging for our mercy!" He pointed his blade at the entrance of the cave from far away. "Here we come destiny! Our destiny has arrived to find a shard and have our names remembered!" The dragon stepped forward as he leaned forward. He gave a cold stare at the entrance. "Fellow squire, we need to heighten the mood for this quest! Bring the rain down! Show that we are on a serious quest by having the rain and lightning!" "For the last time I am not your squire.......ugh" she relented and decided to offer his entertainment. She lifted her staff in the air as the blue gem on her staff radiated a glow. She chanted the words "Tumtir!" as the staff's gem went back to normal. The sky immediately began to get cloudy. A swirl of clouds got darker and grayer. The sun was blocked out to them within a few seconds after she casted her spell. She lowered her staff as the clouds everntually formed a large rain cloud. Within ten seconds a small amount of rain began to fall. The forest was filled with the sound of falling rain drops. The smell of rain water permeated through the area. Rain droplets splashed against her fur and Sárkány's armor. The dragon closed his eyes as he took a deep breath imaging all the events that were going to transpire. He opened his eyes and gave a cold stare at the cave entrance at the far side. He held his sword high. "To glory!" he charged forth. The claws on his feet dug into the grass as his wings were folded up close. His tail swung back and forth from his heavy movement. He left Tefnut behind as she shook her head and decided to walk slow while he ran ahead. Meanwhile the charging dragon was running at full speed. He was even saying something like "Du, Du, Dun, Du, Du, Dun, Da , Da, Du, Du, Dun" over and over ahead as he ran like he was trying to create his own set of drum sounds. The rain bounced off his scales as he was getting close to the entrance. Tefnut sighed "This is my second mission for the Coalition and I am stuck with him. Can I not have the weird partner for once?" Sárkány's charge was that he narrated he ran with his sword drawn ready to attack anything that was going to pose a threat. He ran past the dead bodies and was nearing the cave entrance. The bushes itself could not deter him. The rain did not deter him. If there was a foe there then that would not have stopped him. Tefnut meanwhile walked slowly behind him and observed everything around her. She took a look at the dead body of a man and another man not far from her as she continued walking. Both showed the same signs of attack. Blood came from their mouths and they were lifeless with their eyes open. "Full swing!" he yelled as he reached the cave entrance and swung his blade at the bushes covering the entrance. The blade cut a large amount of bushes in one swing. He then swung again and most of the branches cleared away. He then leapt through the remains straight into a dark entrance. "Come out foul creature!" he yelled. "Challenge me! I challenge you to a duel!" He readied his sword as he held it vertically ready to deliver a downward or side swing. There was silence in the dark cave. Tefnut slowly but surely was approaching the entrance. He could hear his yelling in the cave knowing that he was fine. The dragon stepped forward and his foot hit a dead body. He looked down and saw three dead bodies. All had a look of terror with the same signs. The silence was broken when he could hear the sound of a little girl in the distance. She was obviously crying. Sárkány held a tough stance as he was ready for anything that could be a threat. He listened closely. "I am ready! Come and get me!" he yelled. Tefnut was at the mouth of the entrance. She noted the cut down brush that lie by the entrance. She nodded as she stepped forward. Not far from her was the dragon yelling down at the dead end of a cave. There was something there but she could not see it at first as Sárkány was in the way. The crying got louder as it got closer to Sárkány. Finally with the light that was coming from the entrance it revealed to be that of a little girl at the age of ten. She wore colonial attire. Surely from the Colony....right?..... Tefnut's feline eyes allowed her to see the night better than the dragon was. She could clearly see it was a human girl. But there was something off about it. She lifted her hand holding her staff and closed her eyes. She knew immediately what it was as she reopened them and looked at Sárkány. She could see the dead bodies. "These humans must have realized they were being attacked by our creature" she said quietly. "They attempted to barricade themselves in the cave to save themselves from their attacker and they only realized that there was no escaping from this thing." The little girl went and slowly walked up the dragon. Tears were coming down from her face as she held something in her hand. It was a crystal that gave a rainbow of colors. "The shard! You have a shard young lady, may I have it!" the dragon asked. The girl walked next to the dragon and then placed the crystal in his hand. "The shard! We have found a shard!" he said triumphantly. The girl then walked past the dragon was proceeding to head out of the cave while he was distracted. She was surprised to see an Egyptian cat goddess staring at her. She held her hand to halt the little girl. Tefnut could see right through her appearance. "You are not going anywhere Enenra. I can see right through your smoky appearance. You have committed several violations of our laws and made numerous assaults and murders on the people of this island. You must face your crimes or perish." Sárkány clinching the small crystal shard in his hand held his sword tightly as he faced the back of the little girl. He went and aimed his sword at the little girl. "Surrender and we will surely show you mercy!" he yelled at the girl. The girl's crying turned to a devilish smile. She started to laugh maniacally as her form melted into smoke. A dark figure of smoke and gases took up the original form of the girl. Suddenly she dissipated but the form started to move. "Halt vile creature!" Sárkány yelled as he swung his sword at the form. A hand materialized to swat at the swinging blade. It deflected his sword as he pulled back then tried to stab at it again. This time the blade went to the center but the smoky form created a hole in its center making his stab miss completely. The form then created a human fist that went straight to the dragon's face. The magical mass connected to his jaw and knocked him back a little bit. Tefnut took a couple of steps back as the smoke form was fighting back. The dragon had a look of determination. He then tried to swing at the smoke form and another hand swatted the blade away. "It's no use fellow squire! My blade is not effective enough against such a creature!" The smoke filled mass then started to laugh again. It was the sound of an older man now. It was determined to try to make its escape. The smoke turning into a sphere of dark mass as it tried to float out the exit and into the open into the rain. "Come back here foul creature!" the dragon yelled. "We are not finished with you!" The mass ignored him and flew outside. Sárkány ran out of the cave at full speed ready to chase it wherever it went. Tefnut walked outside right behind him but she was in no hurry. "I will chase you down vile creature! You will face your crimes!" He pointed his sword at the enemy. The dark spherical cloud was getting ready to leave the canopy of trees. It started to go higher and higher when suddenly all the rain water surrounding the dark mass came to a stop and froze dead in the air. It was as if something commanded the very rain to come a halt around it. The dark sphere slowed its accent as if it was in surprise of everything that was happening. Sárkány turned around to see Tefnut holding her staff high and focusing on her next spell. The very water in the air started to gather all together fast and quickly. It was on its way to creating a wall of water than enveloped the front part of the sphere blocking it from escaping. Tefnut's eyes were closed now as she manipulated the very water in the air. The smoke filled mass came to a dead stop now. If it continued to flee then it would run into the water and destroy itself. "I know what you are vulnerable to creature of smoke" Tefnut explained. "You might be hard to hit with a blade but a solid stream of water will be your end." She tossed the journal and staff to the ground as she lifted both her hands to the sky. Her face and intensity increased. The water meanwhile formed a spherical wall that completely enveloped the smoke. It had nowhere to escape. She took her hands and focused as she cupped them and brought them together. The water did the same as the walls shrank completely trapping the smoke inside it. Eventually the smoke was completely smothered by the water destroying it. The water turned black and then clear again as she released her hands and the sphere of water fell down to the ground. The creature was dead and gone. "Well done squire! Well done! You have claimed victory against a creature that was sure to get away with its acts on humans!" Sárkány said with a triumphant smile. He lifted his sword up high. She went and picked up the journal and her staff and put it in one hand as she looked at the dragon. She actually had a smile on her face as it was genuine complement from him. The rain began to dissipate as the sun once again shined on the forest. Light steam began to rise as the humidity would eventually take over. Tefnut turned around as her feline eyes focused on what the dragon was holding. "The first Lintarsha shard has been found. How many are truly out there will remain our mystery." Sárkány went and sheathed his sword as he held the shard in his hand. He walked up and put his arm around her shoulder as buddy-buddy. He practically patted her back as she got knocked forward from his patting and weight pressed on her. "Such magical prowess from an Egyptian Goddess! I could use a spell caster like you for my circle of dragon knights! How would you like to join my team fellow cat squire?!" She shook her head "No.......no, I would not want to be with your band of knights" she sighed "But......I guess I wouldn't mind having you as a partner again." "That's the spirit my feline comrade! I look forward to our next quest together!" He began to look back at the cave. Then he looked at the bodies by the entrance of the cave. Then he looked at the distance of where the Roanoke Colony was at. "But first, we must go on another quest! A quest of great importance that we need to do together and we will be done with this island!" "And that is?" She asked with some hesitation. The dragon put the tip of his blade to the ground standing firm. "We must go on an important quest. We must quest for a shovel!" Tefnut looked at the bodies, looked up, sighed, and then facepalmed. And thus in August of 1590 a British supply relief would arrive to find the Roanoke Colony completely abandoned. There was no sign of the colonists accept the message left on a tree saying "Croatoan." It would remain one of the greatest mysteries in North America with only the gods knowing. At least that is what is recorded in human texts......

Chapter 20: Where the Tales End and Where the Tales Begin

"Sárkány?......... Sárkány?.............Hey Sárkány wake up!" Sárkány was asleep as Daiyu was smacking his back. She felt the scales on his back as her palm was smacking against it. The dragon's eyes stirred open. "Smoky girl!" he yelled as he shot awake. Everyone was looking at the dragon as he saw everyone looking at him. They were giving him a questioning look. "Right" he said. "Are we on another quest?!" "Yes....Sárkány, we need your help to stop a gunman in Europe. A rogue mythic." "Of course!" he yelled as he got out of bed. He inched forward and stood without his armor on. He stood with his fists to his hips. He stood with a smile. "Your dragon knight stands ready to face all challenges!" Daiyu looked at the dragon knight. He was practically naked without his armor but it did not matter to him. He was already walking armor as it was. She went and picked up her rifle. Toha had picked up his MP-18. "Put your armor on silly." Daiyu told him. "We are heading out in a few minutes." Daiyu turned around as she began to shift away. Ariadne turned around and walked several feet away from the tents leaving Toha and Daiyu alone as they turned to look at each other. They awaited the dragon to put his armor on as they spoke to one another. "I hope this plan works in trying to sneak into the German lines" Toha said to her. Ariadne did a good job giving us these German uniforms to sneak in but if they look too closely or starting asking too many questions are cover is blown and we will have to fight our way through." "It should give us enough time to get through" she remarked. "I wish I had their abilities to morph into not only a different form but the clothing they want. Truly it is a power of convenience....." Sárkány had put on his chest armor piece as Daiyu and Toha continued their conversation. "So....I have been told you are some warrior of another person in the past" Toha commented to her. "Is it true that you remember your past life?" She nodded "I certainly did. I was a French soldier. I was brought back by Fenghuang the Phoenix and father of birds. At least that is what he calls himself. I have no idea if the story is true or not but that is what he says." "There was somebody I spoke to a few days ago that claims that he remember fighting in battles in the past." She shrugged "It's very well possible he may have served in battles in his past life. Resurrection does exist and we can come back to this planet to live again. It only makes sense with the cycle of life. I don't think we are destined to remember them though. It makes our new lives all the more meaningful starting over again and again. We get to enjoy new things in our new lives. I was given the choice to remember all my past experiences. I decided to accept the offer. Sometimes I wish I didn't though. I imagine others that would be given that offer might not be so fast to do so." "Why is that?" "Well for one" she took her uniform and stretched it so she could look at her chest underneath. "I still end up looking at women like I want them and have to remind myself that I lack some parts that can do the job. In a lot of ways finding Sárkány here has been the turning point to that past life. With being with him I am happy with who I am now. I accept myself for what I am and can stay proud of that. Plus I get to do something for the Coalition for the rest of my life." "It looks like you two are quite the pair" Toha told her. She chuckled a little bit "He is quite a handful. To be honest though, I do love him and happy to be with him. He maybe a lot of talk and cheering but he keeps a happy attitude towards life when he sees action. His actions do serve inspiration to other mythics that if he can do it, so can they." "Is it true that he was one of the first mythics to find a shard?" She nodded "Absolutely. He found it long ago. Four shards have been found so far." "What do you do when you find them?" "We have what is called 'The Vault' where the most powerful and legendary items found in history are placed at. The shards are guarded by some of our most powerful deities in another world they created. Technically by themselves the shards do nothing but we want to make sure if we ever find all the shards that we can decide what to do next and be ready for whatever shows up when we resemble it." Toha asked her "You plan on being a part of the Coalition for the rest of your life?" "Of course, do you plan on being a part of it?" "I am not sure....I want to settle down and not have to worry about war and conflict. I want to have a family." Daiyu patted his shoulder "Trust me, I understand your feelings. I have seen a lot of conflict and fighting. Ariadne is looking for someone to be with. After Cataclysm her and a lot of deities became widows and are trying to fill in the missing gaps. Not saying that you two have to be together of course." He nodded "I think she is going to be happy at least from what I have seen with her. I still have many questions though about Coyote that led me to you guys." She put her hand to her chin as she thought about it. "Coyote like the other members of the non-aligned group have always done things separately and outside of the Coalition of Deities. We have no mistrust with them and sometimes we often help each other when things are pressed against us. They are led by a seer mythic that believe that the Coalition is not necessarily needed. Simple little tweeks are needed here and there and the world will be fine, at least that is what is believed." "Do you think that Coyote purposely guided me here for a reason?" She shrugged "I don't know you know more about Coyote than I do. I do know that something informed Fenghuang about me. That I was destined to be part of the Coalition and serve an important part of it. I am doing things here and there but nothing very big or epic." "What about the Coalition? Don't you have seer gods or anything like that?" "We have one and that is Tiresias, he is an older man blinded by the gods by accident in which he was given the ability to 'see into the future'." He commented to her "I will need to see this man sometime soon." "Keep in mind that his powers do not always guarantee what you are looking for. Some things you don't want to know. His powers are still limited as well. He can see some things and not others. He helped us when it came to Cataclysm but he tends to avoid saying anything that is trivial or something that would lead you to personal greed. For example, he won't give you the winning horse at the horse races. Trust me I tried doing that." "You tried to do that?" he said with a smile. "Yeah.....I was just curious and all he did was laugh at me. He told me unless it is something you truly find important and worthwhile to others then he would help guide them otherwise let history write itself and simply be a part of it. He can be very cryptic with his wording too. I do believe though he was the one that came up to Fenghuang and told him that I was important for something though. That is why he came to help me after I....died." She turned and pointed her finger at him. "One thing to always keep in mind Toha. The Mythics are not perfect. Their powers are there and seemingly unstoppable but they are still vulnerable. Humanity is getting powerful and more powerful as each day passes. The mythics need to adapt right along with them or they might actually pose a threat to them. For example I keep pushing the Coalition to make sure mythics start using guns and other types of weapons that can shoot. Ariadne wielding a magic trident may seem pretty but she is essentially using a spear against well....guns. Sárkány is well.....try convincing him not to use his sword. Freischütz is an example of a mythic that is adjusting to the times. He only has one power and that is to live forever until he can complete his revenge. Besides the bullets that were given to him, that's his only true power. With that being said I would not be surprised that he has had a chance to learn as much as he could about what things mortals not normally see or hear about and come up with ways to counter other mythics." "Why don't we go and ask....Diablo on how to stop him." She shook her head "One of the things he pushed before the Treaty of Rudra was signed was that he was unable to create anymore contracts with mortals but he would be excused from any results from contracts signed from the past. He has the right to stay quiet if one of things he created in the past leads to disaster. The Treaty protects him from that. I have to say he would make a good lawyer if he wasn't busy crafting weapons and armor for us." Daiyu adjusted her hold on her rifle. "Take a good look at this rifle. It is a Fusil Automatique Modèle 1917 Rifle. I used to fight with a Lebel Rifle back in past life. I found this from a French soldier that died in battle. It is one of the first rifles that I have ever seen that is a non bolt action rifle. It is a semi automatic. It's heavy and I only really carry it because of the nostalgia of my past. It is the future of warfare in the next thirty possibly or more years. We are in a road where we are getting stronger. Eventually we will be at their level. I only pray that we mortals can try to find a way to establish peace on Earth or we will end up obliterating ourselves." Sárkány finished putting on his armor. He walked up beside Toha and Daiyu. His armor glistened in the sun. She asked him "So are you happy with the plan Toha? Last chance before we go." He nodded "Yep, we will arrive near at night so it will make them harder to see us as we sneak in. Ariadne will use her magic sense ability to track Freischütz and we go in and apprehend him or take him down." "It is important that we do as much as we can to avoid attracting a fight with the Germans themselves. Ariadne and Sárkány will be taking up human form to avoid attracting unwanted attention. We don't want to have the story at Fresnes get reinforced in anyway. Try to avoid killing unless there is no choice. The person that will be speaking if we encounter them will be Sárkány since he already comes from around the area. Austro-Hungarians are allies with the Germans so they will be less alert if they see him talking. Think you can do it big guy?" The dragon nodded "Of course my lady! I will get us within the trenches and serve as a communicator! I have one question though my lady." "What is it?" Daiyu asked. "May I use my sword!?" She thought about it. "Well......if we are in a situation where we have to fight back then of course you can. Officers still use swords I see no issue with that." "Yes!" he said as he held a fist up in celebration. Daiyu explained "It's best we use your teleport ability Ariadne. My portals will be more noticeable then a teleportation flash." Ariadne turned around and walked back to the group. She looked and spoke to them. "Are we ready to go?" All of them nodded. She then acknowledged the group and stepped back to the tents. She held up her hands as energy reverberated from her hands. She then took her arms and swung them down. All of a sudden the tents collapsed on themselves. The fabric started to disintegrate before her eyes. Eventually the tents collapsed into nothing but the grass below. Smoke rose from the tents as it became part of the air itself. Eventually all the fabric was gone, the tent completely disappeared, leaving a small patch of grass that was touched. If there was a tent there by the next several days the grass would hide any signs that they were there. She began to form into her human form as her minotaur form gave way. She shrank down in size as her fur receded into her body. Her horns and tail receded into her body. Within seconds she was a walking human woman. Sárkány followed suit as he assumed his human form. His wings and scales turned into tan coloration of skin tone. His armor disappeared as it turned into a uniform of a German soldier. Within seconds he looked like a six foot walking human. Fake rifles appeared in Ariadne's hands and Sárkány's as well. "Do those work?" Toha asked. She looked at the Mauser she held in her hand. "No they don't, they are just illusions." Toha nodded "I would imagine.....I don't even see any rounds loaded into them." Toha took a good look at Ariadne in her human form. "You look.....beautiful. It's weird seeing you this way." She ran her hand through her hair as she almost blushed. "Thank you...." Toha added "Seeing you in German uniform though.....that's the weird thing."

*******

Meanwhile somewhere in one of the German trenches near the town of Épehy, deep down in the tunnels burrowed where an officer stands interrogating a prisoner...... "Fuck you, Lambert I am not telling you shit!" yelled a British POW that was handcuffed to a chair. "If you tell me the whereabouts of the Allied forces I will see if I can give you good treatment in prison" said the German officer. "Otherwise I will go ahead and execute you right now." The British soldier a burly man captured in battle and known for a ferocious temper was brought to Major Lambert to provide intelligence information that the Germans needed. The soldier tried to resist with all his might but could not break free. He instead yelled back at the German officer in the shadows of the light. "If I had it my way I would have killed every German that poked his head out of the trenches. I will kill you and then I would go after your family next." "Ha, ha" The German officer laughed. "Your looks, your accent, that personality, that confirms that you are indeed Lieutenant Dexter Albie, the butcher of Germans among other things..... You can fight with all your might Lieutenant but you cannot escape. I am doing the world a favor by hurrying your execution." Dexter looked at the shadowing figure obscured in the light. He spat at the ground next to where Lambert was standing. "Let me ask you something" Lambert asked him. "Is your family tree from the Albie from Bristol? The family that lives by the Anon River? The little house with a missing roof tile?" Dexter gave him an angry but surprised look "How do you know all that about me? How did you have access to that information?" Lambert stepped out of the shadows. He had a clean shaven look to him. He was dressed in a typical German officer's uniform. He even had the point on top of the helmet. He gave a laugh. "Revenge....my dear Dexter. I have had hundreds of years of anger that filled my heart when five men broke into my home, raped, and murdered my wife. Then they went to my father's house and killed him just to add the extra insult to me. Yes Dexter, you might not be one of those men but you are the last of the bloodline of one of those men. I have hunted and killed three of my murderers. You will be number four. You have committed horrible acts of butchery against the Germans in this war and you come from a family history line of those people. Your line of savagery will come to an end here and now." "I don't know what you are talking about" the Lieutenant said to him. "How do you know about all this? How do you know about where I live?" "About 320 years ago, I was a roofer. I fixed people's rooftops. Then I joined the military to survive. They discovered that I can shoot well with the primitive flintlocks at the time. I ended up marrying a wonderful woman after I finished up my service. She became my wife. But I had to make myself an enemy to the local gangs. They wanted me dead but I always eluded them. They somehow found out where I and my family lived and decided to target my wife and dad. I then swore that I would hunt and kill every one of those murderers even if it meant hunting down those related in blood to those murderers." He unholstered an old M1883 Reichsrevolver from his holster. He opened up the cylinder to show that he had two bullets in the cylinder. He took one of the bullets out and showed Dexter as he sat restrained to the chair. "I made a deal with the devil. I wanted to kill those that hurt me. He gave me seven magic bullets to go, and eternal life till I kill my murderers. I have already killed three of them. Two more to go. You know what is so good about these bullets?" "Just get it over with you piece of shit!" Dexter yelled at him. Lambert chuckled as he sat down on his chair at a table not far from him "Perhaps I should prolong it. Revenge is only so great until the event happens in itself. Then you are left empty after doing it. So I think I will do just that. So I ask again, you know what's so good about these bullets?" Dexter said nothing but gave an angry stare at the German Major. "I can never miss with these bullets. I can hold my gun anyway I want and it will hit you square in the heart or your head. Of course it doesn't matter too much since I usually end up in similar situations such as you where I don't need to worry about aiming. It truly does not matter because it is the principal of these bullets. I was given the ammunition to go and kill my murderers once and for all. I know all too well what the seventh bullet is for. Satan can have it. If he wants me to use it on myself then I will do it. I hate my life anyway." Dexter shook in his chair trying to break free. "I don't know what you are talking about!" he yelled. "Tsk, tsk......I was hoping to get a man that was going to beg for his life. Such as revenge is....no matter. Perhaps you should remember what my real name is." He gave an angry look at him. Lambert trained his revolver to Dexter from the table. "Call me Freischütz. Remember it in the afterlife for me will ya?" He pulled the trigger of his revolver without even aiming it at Dexter. The weapon's shot made a loud explosion in the enclosed room. The bullet altered its course in mere split seconds as it went straight to the man's heart. Dexter slumped over dead on his chair as smoke pillared from the cylinder of his revolver. He sighed as a German soldier walked in to investigate the shot. Freischütz went gave a nod to the soldier as he pointed to the dead bleeding body on the chair. The soldier then went and made the process of removing the corpse from the room as Freischütz pulled out the revolver's loading rod and removed all the bullets in it. He then put the last magical bullet with his "seventh" in his pocket as he pulled out six rounds from his other pocket and loaded it into his revolver. He said quietly "Now let's see if they show up......"

*******

A small teleportation flash erupted near the town of Épehy France. Ariadne, Toha, Daiyu, and Sárkány appeared. They adjusted to their bearings of their environment. They appeared by a knocked down building that helped mask their appearance. The darkness was setting in very well that also made them hard to see. Unfortunately it also made it hard to see for them as well. Daiyu looked at Ariadne "I can't believe we have to wear fake mustaches and beards to help us sneak in. If only they could have women serve in the frontlines it would make things so easy for us." Toha looked at Daiyu and Ariadne as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. He thought to himself quietly "It's ridiculous that we are trying to sneak into a German stronghold to stop a rogue mythic. Gods and Humans working together having to disguise themselves as human and having to further disguise themselves by wearing fake mustaches to make themselves look like men." They stepped out of the hiding of the building as they took a good look at the field. They could see lights coming from a trench. Explosions from the far distance echoed the signs of an all out war in Europe. Ariadne held one of her hands out and closed her eyes. She was using her senses to track where this German Marksman was at. Her hand eventually pointed to the nearby trench that was about a hundred feet away. "Let's go" Ariadne said quietly. They all started to venture further from the toppled building. They were making progress when Toha ran up and stopped Ariadne. "Stop!" Toha said in a very quiet whisper. "Do you feel that?" "What?" she reacted. Everyone stopped. "I feel something near us" he said. "I am trying to focus on it as my senses try to tell me what it is." Ariadne put her soft hand on his shoulder "If it is part of the Earth and soil you can use your magic. Call upon your hidden spirit." Toha closed his eyes as he lowered himself to the ground. He put his hand to the ground. He could feel the soft soil on the ground. "Focus" she said quietly. "Picture the ground lighting up. Picture the soil underneath and everything standing on top of it. What do you see?" He did exactly what she asked. He opened his eyes as he looked at the ground. While he could not see the lit sky, he could see everything on the ground and in it. He could see the underground tunnel network. He could also see what was making him scared. "Mines.....landmines....we are near a mine field." "Goodjob" Daiyu said quietly then she looked at the dragon disguised as human. "Sárkány has a habit of stepping on them. Sometimes I think he does it on purpose." "Why not?" Sárkány said quietly. "They add to the drama and suspense and...." "No" Daiyu shook her head. "You just like explosions." Toha explained quietly "The minefield is dead ahead of us leading to the tunnel. I can see the tunnel network. I see a couple of German's on guard but none are currently watching too closely at the trench. I think we are far enough from Allied lines at least from this area that they are not too worried about an assault coming. Follow my lead and I will walk around the mines as we approach." He stepped forward and started to walk. Everyone followed him in a line. He was careful as he could clearly see the mines and where to walk around. It was like the ground was lit with torches and the mines had light coming from them. "Amazing" he said quietly. "I can see the ground and everything on it and in it." Ariadne responded back "Behold your power. This is Se:he's ability. This is why he is the maze runner. He could feel the walls and Earth around him. This is how he could navigate the mazes so well and why I feel such.....desire from you. Why I feel that you are my perfect soulmate and why I want you to be with me. We were destined to be together." They stepped around a series of mines to the right of them. One misstep and you would walk on an exploding device that can blow you to pieces or lose something that you value dear. Ariadne and Sárkány were in no danger of the mines but if they stepped on one it would alert the Germans and that was the last thing they wanted. Daiyu and Toha of course had to worry about it. Daiyu added as they stepped past a mine to their left and whispered "Can you guys talk about your romantic attraction to each other some other time? Even I don't advertise my attraction with dofus here......too much. Speaking of which Sárkány you are doing a good job not bringing attention to everyone by your self narration." Sárkány added "Of course my lady. We are sneaking; self narration involves talking out loud." "Yep, I noticed....." she responded. They walked past the minefield. Within a minute they were approaching the trench. Toha could see the men as they did not see them at first. Toha stated "Be ready. They will see us pretty soon. Just act like we got separated from our unit, trying to get to a friendly position, and everything will be fine." They nodded as they reached the edge of the trench. A German soldier that was near the machine gun nest came up to them. He seemed to be nervous but the poor light helped mask their disguises. "Wer bist du?" said the soldier. "Identifizieren Sie sich" Toha thought to himself quietly "Here goes nothing." Sárkány said in his best German "Wir wurden von unserer Einheit getrennt" The German soldier nodded and waved them in. He seemed like didn't care when he noticed that they were fellow German soldiers. One by one Ariadne, Daiyu, Toha, and Sárkány hoped into the trench. Toha thought to himself quietly "That went amazingly better than I expected. Sárkány told them we were separated from our unit and he bought it. Now we need to find another soldier and ask to see if we can get to this Freischütz. Ariadne seems to feel where he is at. She held up her hand and pointed in the direction of where he was at. Toha could see the tunnel network and see that he was not far. There was a German soldier posted outside the door underneath the ground. He could see a man sitting on a chair on the table." He nodded to her and she nodded in return. The team began to progress the dirt walls of the trench. Another German soldier looked at them but paid no real close attention. It was getting late at night and most were asleep with the exception of those that either stayed awake or on watch. They reached a turn as they were getting close. Finally it led to an underground tunnel as they traversed into it. Only the packed dirt walls and few lights around the tunnels provided any type of light. They walked through the tunnels. Toha could see that the room they needed to go to was less than a minute away. They stepped around another German that paid no attention. They took a turn and before they knew it they could see a door that led into a room. A guard was posted outside the door. They walked up to the guard who seemed tired as it was. Toha had his MP-18. He came up to the guard with the rest of the group. Toha said "Wir haben uns..... von unserer Einheit getrennt und müssen...... den Kommandanten sehen." He thought to himself "Damn that was badly said. He will notice that I have an accent I don't think this going to work." The guard gave him a questioning look but he seemed hesitant. He looked at the guns that they held. "Steck deine Waffen weg. Dann kannst du eintreten." Toha thought to himself "shit well that was expected. He told us to put our guns away, then he will allow us to see the officer." There was a weapon's rack not far from the door. The team walked over to the rack and one by one they left their guns on the rack. As Ariadne and Sárkány put their guns on the rack and no one was looking, the guns slowly vanished into nothingness. Daiyu was pissed as she had to leave a rifle she never had a chance to fire yet on a rack that she knew was going to be in the hands of the enemy now not like they already had captured rifles in the past during wartime anyway. Toha was saddened to leave a good sub-machine gun behind as well. The guard seeing that the team of men was disarmed opened the door and shouted to the commanding officer inside. The commanding officer of this portion of the trench was none other than Major Lambert or Freischütz. He took a peak at the team that was in disguise. His eyes narrowed in question. He got out of his chair and walked up to them. He took a good look at the team. He had a smile develop on his face. "Lass sie rein" as he spotted the team. "Schließen Sie die Tür, nachdem sie eingetreten sind. Lass niemanden diesen Raum betreten oder verlassen." Toha thought to himself. "He pretty much told the guard to let us in, address our problems and to not let anyone enter or exit the room. I don't sense good things coming." The team walked into the room as they took a look around them. It was an open room with a desk, a table, a makeshift cabinet, and a bed that's seen better days. There was a chair in the room that caught Toha's attention. There was a small amount of blood on the chair. Much like the rest of the underground rooms, dirt lined the walls along with some makeshift lights were installed. As soon as the guard closed the door was when things went south immediately. The officer went and quickly pulled out his revolver and aimed it at Toha and the rest of the group. He surprised them when he started speaking English. "Don't be surprised American, I know who you are and the rest of you. You live as long as I do you teach yourself various languages to make sure you hunt the people you need. I was originally born in England but I lived most of my childhood and early adulthood in Germany. I moved back and forth trying to make a living. You can take off those stupid fake mustaches and beard as well. Don't think I didn't notice that?" Ariadne and Daiyu pulled off their fake mustaches and beard with ease as they fell to the floor. He continued "A Greek woman, a China woman, a, Austro Hungarian, and.....who are you? I don't recognize you." "Native American" Toha remarked. "I imagine you are the deities that they sent to come and get me. You are not the first ones to come after me. I killed a man just recently now and another man not that long after that with one of my magic bullets. I had a feeling that you were coming to apprehend me. Well....it's not going to work." Ariadne spoke up "Under the Coalition of Deities you are under the arrest of using your magic to hurt human mortals. You will come with us.....Freischütz." "Ha, ha, I think not. You are saying that to a man that has a gun aimed at you and all of you have nothing. How do you think you are going to get out of here? My men will fight you all the way out." Daiyu spoke up "You underestimate our abilities Freischütz. We have the means to get out of here fast if need be. Now surrender or come quietly with us." "You do realize who I killed?....The last man I killed just recently was a man named Lieutenant Dexter Albie. He is a butcher to the German Army. He was the last of a bloodline that killed my wife and father. He himself went into a German Trench and used his gun to kill each soldier. He then used his knife to slowly cut their hearts out as they screamed. It wasn't war to him, it was pleasure to him. I even tracked down and killed the man named Jack the Ripper during this war. Did you know he fled to Germany after his murders? No you didn't because you don't care. I did you all a favor by ridding the world of these menaces. Even Satan endorsed my actions saying that I would 'shape the future of mankind with my actions'." Daiyu looked down as she noted everything that he said. Ariadne explained "That does not excuse your actions Freischütz. You were using magic against mortals and using it to commit murder and revenge. Diablo can no longer endorse you either. You are a rogue and must be dealt with." A pillar of smoke came from her hand as she summoned her trident. In defiance of him aiming a gun at them she lifted her trident over her shoulder and threw it at him. He quickly dodged as the trident missed him by inches and it flew into the dirt wall behind him. She held out her hand as the trident dematerialized from the wall and reappeared in her hand. Freischütz regathered himself took aim and fired at Ariadne. He struck her hand that was holding her trident. She yelped in pain as blood flowed from her hand. There was shock from the group at what they just saw as Sárkány stepped forward and summoned his sword. He got in front of the group to try to shield the rest of them. Ariadne backed up to the door as Daiyu went to take a look at the wound. There was commotion outside as the guard tried to open up the door. Daiyu went and held it closed as Ariadne blocked the door from being opened. "How?" Daiyu turned to face Freischütz. "How did you wound a?....." The German Marskman went and pulled out one the magic bullets from his pocket to show them. "Long ago, Satan gave me the bullets I needed to commit my revenge. I only needed five of the bullets while it left me with an additional one to use for my own. These bullets could be melted down and converted to anything I wished for. They were after all originally used for the ancient flintlocks. In time I eventually converted my remaining bullets into rounds that could be used for my revolver. I figured that eventually I might end up fighting Satan myself and his bullets could be used against him. I melted the sixth bullet and deluded it with other metals to make as many bullets as I can. These bullets might not have the same punch or magical properties that they were intended to give me but I figure that it just might hurt or kill gods. I guess they work after all. Time to die." He went and put the bullet back into his pocket. Toha used his hand and did a sweeping motion as he focused on the dirt wall next to Freischütz as dirt flew into the air and into his eyes. He recoiled in pain as he pulled the trigger and the next round he fired went into the wall missing Toha's head by mere inches. A bright light came from Sárkány's body as he reverted back to his dragon form. He marched forward with his sword at the ready to strike down the marksman. Freischütz regained his footing fast. He took aim at the dragon and fired another shot hitting him square in the chest. His armor however deflected the shot and the round ricocheted into the wall. "Same metal?" he said as he took aim at Sárkány's leg that wasn't covered in armor. He fired another shot and the round hit him in the leg. He recoiled in pain as blood pooled from his leg onto the floor as the dragon fell to the ground as he used his sword to help stabilize his fall. Toha used his magic as he focused on the dirt wall. He flung his hand again as a hard clumped up piece of dirt in the form of a sharp edge flew from the wall into Freischütz's gun and hand. He yelped in pain as the revolver fell from his hand to the ground. Blood trickled from his hand to the ground. Ariadne held the door as the guard outside was calling for help. She barricaded the door as the guard tried to open the door. Daiyu was tending to her wound and also trying to keep the door closed. Freischütz chuckled a little bit as he looked at his hand. "I figure that something like this would happen. However....." he put his hand into his pocket and pulled out a small clear sphere. "If you live as long as I do, always have a good escape plan." He dropped the sphere as it smashed into the ground. A great flash of light appeared from the sphere as he vanished. This left the group alone as the marksman disappeared to wherever he planned to go. "Quickly! Sárkány, Toha gather next to Ariadne" Daiyu commanded as she looked at the revolver that belonged to Freischütz. She quickly ran up to the revolver and grabbed it from the ground as the dragon summoned his strength and limped over to Ariadne. Daiyu then quickly ran back to Ariadne. They all extended their hands to her as she held her non injured hand and touched their hands. She closed her eyes as she said "Teleport." Suddenly a flash of light emerged from all four as they vanished in a blink of light as the marksman did. Ariadne's trident dematerialized on the floor. The room was empty as the door gave way with two German soldiers that stormed into the room. Their commander was gone and so to be the four that came in. This left the Germans with an uncalled mystery on their hands as only some blood was left behind.

Epilogue: September 18th 1918

Toha once again stood in the grasslands of Oklahoma a favored area to be away from war. It had been a few days as he stood relaxed by the grass and feeling the wind blew into his hair and face. The sun was shining brightly. Ariadne managed to pull the bullet as Daiyu examined the bullet that was lodged into her hand as she healed. She was in her original form as she walked up to Toha. Her hand was bandaged. At the town of Épehy, the allies launched an assault onto the German front. The trenches that they were originally at had been captured by the British, French, and Australians. It was disastrous for both sides as the Australians without relief were continually forced to fight until they mutinied. Eventually a compromise was made with the Australians as they were spared execution. The war was getting close to coming to an end for the Central Powers and it was not in their favor. Daiyu approached them as Sárkány sat on the grass not far from them. She commented to both Ariadne and Toha "It looks like you two will make a full recovery. The bullets inflicted damage on both of you but nothing but a little time and healing will fix. Poor Sárkány felt like he failed back there but he should pull out of it." Ariadne asked her "And the bullets?" "Freischütz was telling the truth. The bullets that were lodged into both of you were made of 'mystic lead' he deluded the metal with normal lead. Pretty clever of him to do so. How many rounds he still has will remain a mystery for now." "He still has one man left to kill. He is still out there" Toha said. Ariadne stated "The Coalition of Deities sent a team to try to track where he went. He appeared somewhere in a city in Russia but when the team arrived to track him he quickly departed." "If he had the ability to do that, why did he wait for us to arrive?" Toha asked. "Why not just used his....whatever he had to just teleport away before we even got there." Daiyu jumped in "That is what made me think for a few days and I began to talk with the other deities in trying to reach a conclusion. To be honest my only best theory is that Freischütz was a German Nationalist. He was already an officer that worked his way into the ranks using simple administration to help him gather the information he needed to track those he really wanted to kill. He believed in the cause and he would only abandon it if he was cornered like he was. Toha did a good job with his magic. It saved us from being gunned down. I actually think that he was telling the truth about the men he killed too." "What do you mean?" Ariadne asked. "I did some research on the recent man that was killed by him, the man he recently killed was a man named Lieutenant Dexter Albie. This man has a bit of a history to him. Apparently he was a man that was on trial before the war. He was accused of murdering an elderly man by using his knife to rip out his heart. There however was not enough evidence on him and he was let go with some accusation that he might have bribed his way out. He joined the military, became an officer, and they found him in a German trench in a battle two years ago. He had killed five German soldiers almost in the same way that the elderly man was killed so long ago. Instead of putting the man on trial again they gave him a medal." Toha shook his head "I am glad to be done with that war. I have done my part, there is nothing more I can do." Ariadne asked "Was there anything else you could learn about his victims?" Daiyu nodded "I went and inquired about the other victims of Freischütz. Two he tracked down and killed hundreds of years ago. They were indeed already murders and rapists that he killed. The one before Dexter was one that had an oblique past as well. I can believe him that he says that he tracked down and killed Jack the Ripper and that that man was bloodline to the murderers of his past." "Hmmm...."Ariadne responded. "I am left with an odd feeling when it comes to Freischütz. Something really bothered me when it comes to him. I believe that he was being perfectly honest with us. Yes...he was misguided and on a vendetta of revenge but it was something else that had me questioning things." "What is it?" Toha asked. "He made a comment about satan's words of 'shaping the future of mankind with my actions' I went and tried to have a chat with our local blacksmith Diablo about our Marksman and he simply laughed and continued working. He isn't talking. This has left me with a mystery that I tried to poke around. I went and managed to find out that the recent man he killed Lieutenant Dexter Albie was in the process of being transferred to the 5th Duke of Wellington Regiment before he was captured and executed by Freischütz. With his execution, the British went and replaced him with another man named Private Henry Tandey. I decided to look up Henry Tandey's history and I found very little. He seems to be a nice man from the research I made but the trail runs cold from there. Nonetheless....I am left with some feeling that we over looked something, something very important." Ariadne got worried "It appears that Diablo had a seer working for him. A very powerful one that he foresaw Freischütz as some means to meet those goals. I am afraid that we are left with nothing to do but simply wait and see what happens next. We can't do anything to him due to the Treaty. For now he works at The Furnace as he continues his work. His hammer and anvil continue to make the sounds of metal on metal as he crafts the latest and most powerful weapons and armor humanity will never know. Hmm..." Daiyu shrugged "Anyways, I guess you are parting ways with us. It was nice having you as a partner. You have been better company than most others. I swore the last time I was teamed up with Reneutet or Tefnut, man they were just stiff as boards. Poor Sárkány went on tangents with them and they just nodded like they already knew him. You on the other hand have been nicer. I hope to be partnered up with you again." "Me too" Ariadne commented. "It will be sometime though, probably about another twenty years before you will see that happening." "Why do you say that?" Ariadne took and patted her stomach and held her hand there to gesture to her. Daiyu looked at what she was doing and it dawned on her. Her eyes widened as she looked at both her and Toha. "Boy you two were fast........well it looks like I will have to stop by from time to time to see how it all goes." Daiyu went up and hugged Toha and Ariadne as she parted ways with them. Ariadne looked back down at Toha that was looking up at her. Daiyu went to Sárkány and sat next to him. His leg was bandaged up. "Well big guy, you ready to head out and try to find a shard in Europe?" The dragon put his head down and said nothing. Daiyu punched his shoulder "Come on, you are the Great Dragon knight. What would this world be without you?" Like lighting a match the dragon peaked his head up. He looked up at the sky and a new determination. "Of course!" he yelled. He stood up almost knocking Daiyu out of the way with his tail as he put his hands to his hips. "I have many quests that have yet to be fulfilled!" "You sure you want to take a break from the Coalition?" Toha asked Ariadne. "Of course, it's not like gods take a break now and then. We are not busy one hundred percent of the time. You have to see Taweret sometime. She is the laziest one of us but man does she know how to party. Besides we have a baby to take care of." He nodded "I am still left with so many questions of the future. What will happen to us? What our baby will be like? About my future abilities. So many things......" "You are ultimately the controller of your future Toha. If you ever need guidance just rely on your guide. He is after all..." she poked her large finger at his chest "In you after all." He nodded with a smile "What about the other Native Americans though? What will happen to them? I guess I should calm down. I have done my part. Let history write itself." She took her arm and wrapped it around his shoulder. "Whatever happens together...." He smiled "forever." Far far in the distance from the four a coyote was standing watching them in silence. He had a smile on his face as he turned and walked away.

..........In September 7th 1901 the Boxer Rebellion came to an end. Those massacred by both sides have never truly been documented. The Europeans eventually left China leaving Japan to dominate China's affairs..........

...........In the eleventh hour, of the eleventh day, of the eleventh month, the Great War came to an end for all to cheer. The Central Powers were defeated and the Allies sought their gains over Germany and Austro-Hungary. Patton would later serve in World War II.........

...........In September 28th 1918 Henry Tandey would be near the village of Marcoing. There he spotted a German soldier that was wounded. He raised his rifle towards him but decided to spare the man's life seeing that he was already wounded. The German soldier waved back and thanked him as he carried on. The young German soldier's name was Adolf Hitler.........

..........The Native Americans that fought bravely in World War I would inspire future Native Americans to fight in World War II again calling on their language as codes against the Nazi Regime. They never broke their language. The people that had been in North America longer than anyone else were finally given US citizenship in 1924 under the Indian Citizenship Act.......