Medusa: Fate's Game Ch. 06

The walk up the mountain side was easy, except for the heat. The ground was smooth, flat, black, and calm. Vibrations filled the ground, rumbling depth that reminded him of Chimera's voice, deep but gentle. It'd be almost soothing, if it wasn't for the heat. The blood of Gaia, as the giant said, was so hot he couldn't even approach it. The bleeding red poured down crevices of black rock in small rivers, slow like mud, but alive. Some of the strands of red were small enough that he could approach, and not find himself buried in a cloud of exhausting heat. Close, he watched the lava flow, watched the lines of black along it glowing reds and oranges, and watched Earth's blood ease its way down to the sea. He tossed a rock in, and smirked at how it didn't sink immediately when it landed, but rather coasted along the surface of the lava before eventually succumbing to the crimson.

"Is there anything else here?" Medusa said. "It's all rock, and heat, and... more rock."

"It was not always this way. But nothing remains of then, only the ashes." The giant shrugged, and motioned for them to continue.

A higher slope greeted them, steep enough it'd be difficult to climb, but the slope also broke way into a flat path that came to a quick stop at an entrance. A grand entrance, tall, obsidian rock not dissimilar to the color Darian's armor. Squinting, he could make out the faded remains of carvings, indentations, or designs that must have been carved into the rock long ago. A cave big enough for giants.

"Stay behind me," Chimera said. "This old home, it is one room, a stairway down, and then another room, larger, deep in the mountain."

Darian nodded. "Probably in the second room then."

The giant snarled, and gritted his teeth together hard enough Darian could hear it. Darian didn't care about the dead; what did the dead care if you touched their things? But he knew he was unique in that. Most people cared, and apparently that included the beast in front of him.

The cave was huge, tall, big enough that Chimera did not have to crouch at all. The walls were carved, polished, and shelves were cut into the odd rock. A couple of lit torches had been set on the shelves, out of place among the soot-covered relics. The shelves were decorated with carvings of things he only barely recognized: places, animals. And skeletons as big as Chimera were propped up against the walls. Odd decorations for a home.

Chimera stopped, and he stopped too. Darian blinked at Medusa, and she blinked at him, before the both of them looked to whatever the giant was looking at. He was staring at the skeletons, six of them, bones thick and long, tinted dark gray with age, and yet refusing to crumble with what must have been centuries of standing there. Real bones.

Real giants' bones.

"Gods," Medusa said. She came up closer to Chimera, raised her height to his, and put a hand on his shoulder. "They're... that's..."

Chimera sighed, pushed her hand off his shoulder, and turned to keep walking. "Come. I can sense them, just ahead."

He moved on, leaving Darian and Medusa staring at the skeletons. Who were they? Why were they standing up? Definitely not the time to ask. He tapped Medusa on the hip, and walked after Chimera.

The hallway, down a rough slope almost like a stairway, opened up into another huge room, tall, wide, and more skeletons. A room big enough that giants could have run around to play. In the center of the room, some more torches were laid out to provide light, and two people sat in the center. They were examining a pebble, a glowing white necklace.

Past them, a white horse stood, a gold ring of thorns around his muzzle, and dark eyes looking at Darian. Pegasus, he was still alive! He almost called out his name. The ring on his muzzle looked horrible, painful, thorny and brutal. Cruel. But, Pegasus was a tough old bastard. Darian breathed relief, smile sneaking in, and tried to step around the two in the center of the room.

They both got up, and faced the three.

"Otrera," Darian said. He'd been hoping they were distracted with whatever they were doing. No such luck.

"Bellerophontes." The Amazon plucked at the string of her unusual bow, a small grin on her lips.

"What are you doing?"

"Waiting for you."

"Is that it? Sort of looks like a ritual to me." He gestured to the center of the room, where the glowing bauble sat. Its white light mixed with the torches, and lit the room well enough for all to see. It made their bodies cast colossal shadows along the cavern walls.

"Forgive me. Perseus thinks himself an actor, and thought we should pretend to be doing a ritual." Otrera gestured to the man at her side with a nod of her head.

Perseus. A tall man, blonde hair reaching his shoulders from under his helmet, blue eyes, and he was wearing armor not dissimilar to Darian's, except gold instead of black. A radiant warrior, with an absurdly massive shield on his back.

"Perseus?" Darian said. Chimera stood beside him through all this, arms at his side, fingers flexing into fists. No doubt, the beast was looking to break the people who sullied the home of the giants.

"Bellerophontes. I've been looking forward to meeting you." Perseus drew his sword, a perfect mirror of Darian's except for the gold grip, and smiled. A great smile.

Darian stabbed the shaft of his spear against the floor, hard enough to bring a loud thud of wood to rock. "I've never heard of you."

"No, I don't suppose you would have, Fates' favorite."

Darian froze. Otrera's and Perseus's eyes began to glow.

Oh shit.

But before Darian could react, Chimera took a step forward, and slammed a foot down hard enough to shake the mountain.

"I have no fear of Fates' children. I'll devour you all." He pointed a finger at the Amazon, and rumbled. "I owe you."

Something wasn't right. Darian reached out for Chimera's hand, to try and pull back the giant, but rustling grabbed his attention. He looked back at Medusa; she had a bow in hand, arrow ready, but she was looking around in confusion as well.

There were more skeletons. Four giant monoliths of bone, taller than even Chimera, stood along the walls of the great cavern, and they began to move. They stirred from their sleep with the crack and twitch of snapping rock and grinding of sand in the joints. Bone clicked against bone, and each skeleton took a step forward. Some had lost a finger or two, one their jawbone, but each rose from their slumber all the same. Their steps were harsh, uneven, and they twitched with unnatural cracks of their bone. But as they approached, their movements grew more and more fluid, until each was standing, moving, and prowling the same as Chimera would.

And their empty eye sockets leaked a black, heavy mist down their torsos, rows of ribs, all the way down to their ash-covered talons.

It was Chimera's turn to be shocked. He stood up straight, and stared at the oncoming dead. His mouth opened, jaw hanging slightly at the sight.

"You dare?" he said.

Perseus chuckled. "Andromeda dares. And before you ask, no she is not here. She works her magics from a distance, because she is no fool." The gold warrior slipped his enormous shield off his back, and hooked it onto his left arm. The face of the shield held two swirling vortexes that looked more like a pair of eyes than anything. "I don't suppose you will surrender if I threaten to kill your beloved Pegasus, Bellerophon?"

"Sorry," he said, and he pointed his spear at his new foe. "Pegasus would never forgive me. You probably treat him like a cart horse, but he's a war horse." They'd never understand his old friend.

Pegasus neighed in response, and tapped one of his hooves against the rock. Don't worry Pegasus, I'm coming for you.

"He's so... beautiful," Medusa said, eyes switching back and forth between Pegasus and their targets. "How could you do that to him?"

Perseus frowned. "You probably think me cruel."

Darian stepped toward the man, his own frown turning into a grimace and growl. "Then I have you to blame for Pegasus's capture? I'm going to cut out your innards and-"

"You'll be killing no one. Murdering bastard." Otrera raised her bow - great, another magical weapon - lined up one of her massive arrows, and aimed it straight at his head.

"He captured my friend!" Darian pointed the spear at the Amazon. "I'm sure you've both been using him to drag you around places! Or is that what your Andromeda wants? An army of slaves?"

Otrera winced.

Darian blinked.

"Enough!" A booming voice erupted from one of the skeletons, and echoed throughout the cavern. The voice of a god? It filled the cave, vibrated the walls, stirred the dust and ash around the skeleton's feet, and made Pegasus jump away. "Perseus, you know better than to entertain a victim. Stop playing with your kill, and kill him. Hu-"

An arrow lodged its way into the skeleton's forehead. The mass of bones took a step back, then reached up to pluck the shaft from its skull. A hole remained.

"You'll be killing no one!" Medusa nocked another arrow, hissed, and slammed her tail against the rock floor.

The skeletons screeched, high-pitched wraith-like sounds, and charged.

A part of him had hoped they could have settled this diplomatically, but it was a fool's hope. And, another part of him was hoping for a fight.

Chimera didn't need any orders, the huge beast lunged toward the bones of his kin, and the mayhem began. His voice turned into loud roars and rumbling growls that filled the mountain halls; for a moment, Darian was sure it was the dead cat on his head making the sounds.

The giant reached for one skeleton, grabbed it by the hand, and yanked. Whatever magic that raised them from their slumber was strong enough to hold the pile together, but not agile enough to move with Chimera's attack. The skeleton fell down onto its face, and Chimera crushed the bones of its skull into powder. The other three jumped him like beasts themselves, and fell into the center of the room. Claws and fangs on them all, they bit and tore into the giant, and he returned with his own.

The sound of teeth and fingernails on bone was ear wrenching.

Darian brought up his shield at the snap of Otrera's bowstring. One of her great arrows cut into his shield, stuck into it, with a bit of its sharp tip poking through the thick wall of his protection. He blocked a hundred arrows with the magical shield in Tiryns, but hers were not so easily dismissed.

Another arrow came, and he raised his shield again to block it. But when he heard the thud of it stabbing into the shield, he ran forward, and charged, spear pointed toward the Amazon. He didn't reach her. Perseus jumped in, and with his larger shield, ran into Darian's side. Shield on shield sent Darian flying, but he landed backward onto a rolling heel and practiced hands. He backflipped onto his feet again, drove his heels into the ground, and stabbed his spear at the other Fate's Child.

Perseus. A true Fate's Child. Darian could see it from the way he smiled, from how his exposed biceps held no scars, how his movements were fluid with no hard edge or hesitance. Like water. Perseus brought his enormous shield up, blocked the spear at a steep angle so Darian's balance fell forward an inch. Only an inch, but Perseus took advantage and spun around, moving toward Darian in the spin and slicing out with his sword with the spin's momentum.

Darian only had enough time to see Otrera draw an arrow, and fire it. His heart and lungs froze for long enough to feel time freeze along with them. The arrow was for Medusa, and it cut through her snake hair as the serpent ducked.

Darian fell to the floor like a stone; it was the only way to get under Perseus's sword fast enough. Shield hit the ground hard, and he rolled onto it, dropped his spear before getting back up onto his feet between Otrera and the serpent, and swung out with his sword as he drew it. She stepped back, but his sword swing was a feint. The next moment, his shield slammed into her hands, and her bow was sent to the rock floor.

He turned to face Medusa, to try and get back between her and the enemy, but Otrera was quick to take advantage. She charged him, hands reaching down to her sides. He expected her to draw a sword and run him down with a shield, but where one hand drew a sword, the other did as well.

No time to defend both himself and Medusa, Darian brought his shield up to block one sword, only to have to do his best to block her other sword with his own. Not easy. The clang of metal hitting metal in a harsh snap, fueled by the strength of Fate's Children, threw both their arms backward from the impact.

"I'm going to kill you. You understand me? You don't get to be sorry. You don't get to apologize. You killed my world!"

Sword came down, then the other, and he stepped back from the impacts. Again, and again she brought a sword down, a whirling maelstrom of rage crashing down into him with each swing of the blade. Her swords were not special gifts, just regular xiphos blades of ordinary metal, but they cut flesh just as well, and while they couldn't damage his shield, they left him with no opportunity to regain control. All he could do was block as Otrera pushed him further back, away from the center of the room, the roaring giant on the floor, and Medusa.

Perseus walked toward the serpent.

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~~Medusa~~

She probably shouldn't have shot first.

Before her, Perseus walked, shield pointed at her with its huge, weird, swirling eyes. Perseus himself seemed like a beautiful fellow, from what she could see under his helmet. The cross in the helmet's face was bigger than Darian's, exposed more of Perseus's face, and there she found someone with the same confidence and sexual allure as her lover. But, instead of coming to her rescue, the killer's confidence was directed at her.

Her whole body started to shiver, down to the tip of her tail. She shot another arrow, and another, but Perseus blocked them with ease. They were meaningless against armor that magical anyway.

Chimera rolled around the floor. Somewhere in the mess, a host of bones and claws were digging into him. Was this how giants always fought? So brutal and savage, with hands instead of weapons, skin instead of armor. Not far from them, the Amazon was beating Darian's shield down like an anvil and hammer. That left no one between her and the killer.

And he was a killer. It was in his eyes. They glowed white, same as Darian's and Otrera's, but while the Amazon and Darian were all fury, Perseus, whoever this man was, was dead calm. Calm and smiling.

Pain hit her. Lost in the murderous sociopath gaze of the man, she'd forgotten about her hair. Blood dripped from a couple of the headless snakes, and their bodies wriggled and squirmed like fish on hooks. Living hair, it bled and hurt same as any flesh, like a dog whose tail was cut off. She did her best to ignore the wet red dripping down her back. Focus on the man in front of you!

She started to slither backward, but backward slithering was very hard. No chance she was going to turn her back to the man though. Slithering backward up the stairway she came from, she shot a couple more arrows at the man, but in vain. They didn't scratch his shield, let alone pierce like Otrera's had. If she could get past Perseus, she'd have made a grab for Otrera's beautiful bow, but there would be no getting past the gold warrior.

She had to get him away from the others. Away from Darian, and their target, she would be free to turn this bastard into stone. It'd take more than a shield to block Athena's cursed gaze.

"Did you know, Medusa, that a few years ago, I was tasked with killing you?" Perseus said. He chuckled, pleasant voice like bugs on her skin. Didn't he realize what he was about to do? Why was he so tranquil about it?

"Another hero come for my head? What was your excuse?" A little further.

"A man wanted me dead. Sent me on a suicide quest."

"Ssssounds familiar."

Her uncontrolled hisses earned a chuckle from the handsome devil. "Ah yes, you mean Bellerophontes's issue with King Iobates. A little different for me, but then again, a little the same. Before I left though, Andromeda intervened."

Both of them were in the first room now. The skeletons of dead giants stood along its walls, but they were still. The growls and cries of battle rang throughout the caverns from below, and for all she knew, Darian was dead. No time to think about him, Medusa, you can save him when you kill this man. No one behind him, no one else around, no space, no room to dodge, nothing to hide behind. Perfect.

"Why did she intervene?" This Perseus fellow liked to talk, and any information was better than none.

"She needed the strength of a Fate's Child. Her goal is admirable, and I'm willing to do what it takes to make that happen."

She hissed louder, and threw her bow down after another failed arrow. "The Fatesss said it was your Andromeda who attacked Darian when he was on the prison ship. It was attacked by a huge sssea creature!"

"It was." Perseus grinned, and raised his sword.

No time left. Medusa let out her own roar, and changed. Her human skin covered itself in the same scales as the rest of her snake body, her mouth and nose morphed into a gargantuan snout of teeth and fangs as her body grew in size. Her torso expanded, she became taller, her arms thicker, her eyes bigger and pulled to the side of her face, like a mutated snake. The snake hair both healed, and grew, grew and grew until and they were pythons, each the length of a man and then some. Claws, fangs, everything became a monstrous, larger version of itself.

"Oh, twice the monster? I-"

She unleashed her gaze. Eyes wide, the gold wave of petrifying death shot out of her eyes with the speed of light. Perseus had already raised his shield when she readied the attack, but the man would be stone regardless. Many men had blocked her gaze with their shields, but the cursed gaze could not be blocked by armament.

She put out a clawed hand against the wall of rock to stabilize herself. Exhaustion tore through her, left her breathless, until she was reduced to panting and struggling to stay upright.

Perseus was not stone. He lowered his shield; its eyes now glowed the same gold as her deadly gaze. From behind the massive shield, Perseus stuck out his head, and gave her another smile.

"Ah, this makes more sense. I'd heard you were a truly ugly creature, but you seemed fine a moment ago. A bit more snake than I'd like, but pretty nonetheless. Now though, you're quite the monster, aren't you?" The bastard walked closer, smile never wavering. He spun his sword over his hand, used the balanced weight to catch the sword against his wrist so it spun around, before he caught it again. Like a dance.

She hissed and forced herself to rise. Her body weighed so much more after using her gaze, but she forced herself up anyway. The maelstrom eyes on the killer's shield glowed with taunting familiarity, but faded away after a few seconds, until the shield was dormant once again.

A shield meant for killing her.

Perseus jumped forward. She was still transformed, the only way she'd have the strength to fight a Fate's Child, but when Perseus slammed his shield into her face, it hit just like a punch from Chimera. He was only the size of a human, but the shield was meant for a giant! It didn't look it at first, but the wall of gold with its strange eyes was heavy, heavy enough it sent her top half spiraling over itself and onto the rock floor.

"Andromeda tells me Athena had a plan for me. It began with killing you. Imagine that." He came closer, and smiled down at her prostrated body. Through the corner of her eye, she could see his sandals step across where her bloodied hair left a trail.