Island of the Fomors, Sunday Night
The time was near. As the sun set, everyone on the island could feel it. Mother was stirring. Soon she would wake, and bless them all, her children who had struggled, and endured through the eons. For thousands of years they had lived in exile, fearing discovery. They feared the Tuatha and their descendants. They feared the followers of the Christ and their tortures. They feared the modern weapons of mass destruction man had wrought in the last century. Bombs, chemicals, plastic. Living in secret undersea communities or in small coastal villages, they had interbred, diluted their blood to better hide.
But no more. Tonight they would begin anew. They would take back the land that had been theirs. They would have vengeance upon their enemies, ancient and new. And they would once more rule.
Ever since the island had risen from the depths, they had been gathering. No one knew how many there were here now. But the more that showed up, those who had come before felt their hearts gladden. Not only for the strength in numbers, but to see how many had survived.
Two cities had existed on the island before it sank into the waves. One at the top of the mountain, and one here at the docks. Already they were being rebuilt.
One of the younger and more human looking Fomorians, standing guard heard someone somewhere start playing music, a song he knew and thought particularly appropriate. He began to sing along, and soon all those nearby likewise were swept up in the tune.
His eyes widened however when he realized that in the cover of the music, his fellow guards were being brought down by two humans dressed in wet-suits. One had flaming red hair and was armed with a crossbow. The other sported a patch over one eye and used a katana.
He and the rest still alive stopped singing and rushed to the attack. But the song was still going.
*****
A wave moving faster and harder than could possibly be natural swept forward, destroying the dock and swamping all of the defenders. Sila rode the crest of the wave, ending the song with a flourish of her bow, and sliding to a graceful stop on the beach.
“That won't hold them off forever.” she told Billy and Scarlet.
“Just long enough.” Billy assured her. Shipwreck, Prescott, Strider and Polaris were coming up behind dispatching those who were recovering quicker than they'd prefer.
“Now we just need to figure out where to go, before anyone in town realizes what's going on.” Scarlet said. She was doing a remarkable job at dealing with the fact that they'd just used magic to help sneak up on these people.
That proved to be harder than they'd anticipated. It wasn't difficult to deduce that their people would be in that impressive looking complex up on the mountain. The problem was, apparently the path leading to it was hidden.
“Maybe Whisper can tell us where the trail-head is?” Sila suggested to Prescott. But then she heard something that both astounded, and delighted her.
Somewhere up on the mountain, someone had started playing a banjo. And she was certain she recognized the tone of the instrument, and the technique of the musician. She played the same bit on her violin, and soon heard an answering riff.
She grinned, laughing. “Never mind. We've already got a guide.”
*****
The Keldish was anchored off the coast. With any luck, anyone spotting her would be so confident in the secrecy of the island that they'd assume the ship was friendly.
Captain Oliver of course never stopped grumbling. About the existence of monsters, magic, having to answer to the military, and even about that 'damned rock and roll' Sila had chosen to play.
He was still grumbling as the Fomorian scout rose out of the sea, climbed the hull with claws that could pierce steel and crept up on him in the wheel house. He was still grumbling as it's shark-like mouth opened wide enough to bit off his entire head.
He was still grumbling as, with a speed and strength that seemed impossible for his age and stooped posture, he seized a fire-extinguisher and shoved it into the thing's mouth as far back as it would go. Then he drew a silenced pistol from his coat and shot it through both it's glowing eyes. Then just to be safe, he took a 'decorative' cutlass from it's case and cut off it's head.
He finally stopped complaining and studied his attacker closely. Then the captain seemed to shimmer and disappear, replaced by thing that lay dead at his feet.
*****
All was finally in readiness. The sacrifices were bound with spells to keep them complacent but aware, held in place by the mystical sigils on the floor.
The priest stood before the altar, that was also the lid to Domnu's tomb. Facing him was the child, the chosen host. He was not actually a cruel man. But the terror he saw in the girl's eyes never-the-less made him smile. It would make his Mother/Goddess' transition that much smoother. And Leda was no longer capable of fear.
Cobra Commander stood on the Priest's left, facing the Queen. He'd actually only tranquilized her, so no healing had been necessary. Pythona, being Domnu's champion (recent difficulties aside), and the Priest's chief acolyte was on his right, facing the champion of the Fae.
Mera and Barnabas Marsh stood at the door of the temple, eagerly awaiting the moment when Domnu would rise. Then Marsh's phone rang.
Mera gaped at him. “Are you kidding me?”
Marsh frowned, looking down at his cell. He answered, hissing that it had better be important. He did Elven deadpan almost as well as an Elf, but his eyes revealed that something serious had happened. He hung up and turned to Mera. “We have to take care of something. Now.”
Mera was dismayed. “But-”
“I want to be here for this too.” he said, almost gently. “But we have a problem.”
*****
They met them at the gates of the citadel. Leading a squad of heavily armed, and highly skilled Fomors, Marsh and Mera found themselves facing the loved ones of two out of their three victims.
Apparently Billy had never realized that Marsh was part of all this.
“You!”
“For what it's worth,” Marsh told him calmly, “You really were the most qualified candidate.”
What followed was little short of chaos. The Fomorian Guards opened fire, scattering the rescue party. Polaris tackled Sila out of the way, taking a bullet to the shoulder, and one in the hip. Strider and Scarlet took cover behind a rock.
“Let me guess,” Scarlet sighed. “You've never used a gun.”
“Not so much. I am however competent with a crossbow.”
She handed hers over to him and drew her pistol. “Welcome to your first shoot-out.”
Agent Prescott's magic had nothing to do with the Tuatha De Danan, so the countering force of the island had no affect on it. Fueled by her hatred of Mera, she put up a shield that also protected Billy.
“I don't know what your end-game is.” Billy snarled at Marsh. “But if you hurt my daughter, I swear to you her sacrifice will be in vain.”
“That's a very nice threat Mr. Kessler, but even you can't contend with the will of a Goddess. You're already too late. Domnu will rise and take possession of your daughter's body. Then she'll kill Mr. Desmond and Leda, and their blood will complete the seal.”
He and Mera backed away as Billy and Prescott advanced.
“It's entirely possible she'll retain enough of Ana's mind and spirit that she'll still think ofyou as her father.” Marsh continued. “You and yours would be spared from the horrors that await anyone else who resists.”
And then Mera asked Rose Prescott;
“So, how's Michael?” Whether it was the question itself, or the seeming genuine interest and concern in her tone, Mera's question broke the stalemate.
Everyone in front of them was an enemy, and there were so many of them, that aiming wasn't as much of an issue. Billy and Prescott lunged forward, guns blazing.
“You had to bring him up?!” Marsh shouted, just before Billy speared him. The rest of his concentration was taken up by trying to ward off the blows Billy rained down on him. He didn't do very well.
Mera likewise had her hands full with Prescott. She did slightly better though. She fled, Agent Prescott in blind pursuit.
Shipwreck, who'd been guarding their rear arrived on the scene just in time to dive behind the same cover that Sila and her mother were using. Which also gave him his first good look at Gobo and Robin, their guides.
“This day just keeps getting' weirder.” he muttered.
Strider's borrowed crossbow took out two Fomorians before one of them managed to shoot, not him, but the weapon itself. The bow exploded in his hand, crippling it, and he felt shards of the weapon bite into the forearm he threw up to protect his face.
Scarlet took a look at the situation. Billy had taken out Marsh, but now he was cornered himself by some really freaky looking bad guys. Mera had drawn Agent Prescott off to who knew where. Strider was out, and she had limited ammo.
“Shipwreck!” she called. “How's things on your end?!”
“Dandy! Except for we got one walking wounded and I'm pinned down!”
Sila gritted her teeth. This was taking too long. “Robin, Gobo, I need your help.” Polaris gripped her hand, adding her strength to her daughter's.
Together, they created a burst of music that energized Billy, and lent unerring aim to Scarlett and Shipwreck. They managed to take out the remaining Fomorians, and regrouped.
“Shipwreck, stay here, do what you can for Strider and Polaris.” Scarlett said.
“Aye-aye.” he agreed. Gobo and Robin volunteered to aid him. Agent Prescott returned, bleeding from one or two stab wounds, and spattered with someone else's blood. She and Billy exchanged a hard look, and Sila swallowed. She didn't want to know.
Billy hauled the beaten and bloody Marsh to his feet. “Now, take us to your leader.” he snarled. “And pray we're not too late.”
*****
They were too late.
”AT LAST!” Domnu rose up from her tomb, towering, terrible in her beauty, and loomed over the screaming child.
Billy and the others arrived, and froze in uncomprehending terror. ”No.” Billy and Sila said. At the same time, Marsh, frozen in religious ecstacy said;
”Mother.”
Cobra Commander stared, and felt something in his mind, that had been wearing thin all his life, snap.
”MY CHILDREN YOU HAVE DONE WELL! NOW LET US CLAIM THE WORLD THAT IS OURS BY RIGHT!”
“I think not Megatron!”
Domnu froze, turning to look at the man who had spoken. Wasn't he on their side? What was that he was holding?
”WHAT?”
“You thought you could trick me did you Serpentor?” Cobra Commander sneered, leveling his gun at the Fomorian Priest.
“What?!”
Without giving the treacherous clone a chance to deny plotting against him, Cobra Commander shot him in the head. The priest collapsed, and with an unearthly wail, Domnu was drawn back to the Shadow realm where she belonged.
“I did not see that coming.” Billy admitted.
*****
Shipwreck heard a scuffing noise and looked up from where he was tending to Polaris. Three fierce looking Fomorians stood at the top of the path, apparently having come up from the town below. They eyed the sailor and his charges hungrily.
"All right you scurvy bilgerats." he said, rising. He held a gun in one hand, and a knife in the other. "Let's see how you deal with-"
The Fomorian in the center drew a pair of evil looking daggers from it's belt, and stabbed it's companions in the throat. They barely had time to be stunned before they died.
"What the-" Shipwreck's eyes widened as the form of his unlikely rescuer shimmered, and finally resolved into;
"Zartan!"
*****
Pythona, to put it mildly, completely lost her shit. “Noooooo!!!" She stared in dismay at the body of her mentor, and then turned her now glowing eyes on the outsiders. "I'll kill you all!” she screamed, and lunged for the closest target, Tim.
[Continued from the previous entry in this journal. Open for pings from Gwynn.]
But no more. Tonight they would begin anew. They would take back the land that had been theirs. They would have vengeance upon their enemies, ancient and new. And they would once more rule.
Ever since the island had risen from the depths, they had been gathering. No one knew how many there were here now. But the more that showed up, those who had come before felt their hearts gladden. Not only for the strength in numbers, but to see how many had survived.
Two cities had existed on the island before it sank into the waves. One at the top of the mountain, and one here at the docks. Already they were being rebuilt.
One of the younger and more human looking Fomorians, standing guard heard someone somewhere start playing music, a song he knew and thought particularly appropriate. He began to sing along, and soon all those nearby likewise were swept up in the tune.
His eyes widened however when he realized that in the cover of the music, his fellow guards were being brought down by two humans dressed in wet-suits. One had flaming red hair and was armed with a crossbow. The other sported a patch over one eye and used a katana.
He and the rest still alive stopped singing and rushed to the attack. But the song was still going.
*****
A wave moving faster and harder than could possibly be natural swept forward, destroying the dock and swamping all of the defenders. Sila rode the crest of the wave, ending the song with a flourish of her bow, and sliding to a graceful stop on the beach.
“That won't hold them off forever.” she told Billy and Scarlet.
“Just long enough.” Billy assured her. Shipwreck, Prescott, Strider and Polaris were coming up behind dispatching those who were recovering quicker than they'd prefer.
“Now we just need to figure out where to go, before anyone in town realizes what's going on.” Scarlet said. She was doing a remarkable job at dealing with the fact that they'd just used magic to help sneak up on these people.
That proved to be harder than they'd anticipated. It wasn't difficult to deduce that their people would be in that impressive looking complex up on the mountain. The problem was, apparently the path leading to it was hidden.
“Maybe Whisper can tell us where the trail-head is?” Sila suggested to Prescott. But then she heard something that both astounded, and delighted her.
Somewhere up on the mountain, someone had started playing a banjo. And she was certain she recognized the tone of the instrument, and the technique of the musician. She played the same bit on her violin, and soon heard an answering riff.
She grinned, laughing. “Never mind. We've already got a guide.”
*****
The Keldish was anchored off the coast. With any luck, anyone spotting her would be so confident in the secrecy of the island that they'd assume the ship was friendly.
Captain Oliver of course never stopped grumbling. About the existence of monsters, magic, having to answer to the military, and even about that 'damned rock and roll' Sila had chosen to play.
He was still grumbling as the Fomorian scout rose out of the sea, climbed the hull with claws that could pierce steel and crept up on him in the wheel house. He was still grumbling as it's shark-like mouth opened wide enough to bit off his entire head.
He was still grumbling as, with a speed and strength that seemed impossible for his age and stooped posture, he seized a fire-extinguisher and shoved it into the thing's mouth as far back as it would go. Then he drew a silenced pistol from his coat and shot it through both it's glowing eyes. Then just to be safe, he took a 'decorative' cutlass from it's case and cut off it's head.
He finally stopped complaining and studied his attacker closely. Then the captain seemed to shimmer and disappear, replaced by thing that lay dead at his feet.
*****
All was finally in readiness. The sacrifices were bound with spells to keep them complacent but aware, held in place by the mystical sigils on the floor.
The priest stood before the altar, that was also the lid to Domnu's tomb. Facing him was the child, the chosen host. He was not actually a cruel man. But the terror he saw in the girl's eyes never-the-less made him smile. It would make his Mother/Goddess' transition that much smoother. And Leda was no longer capable of fear.
Cobra Commander stood on the Priest's left, facing the Queen. He'd actually only tranquilized her, so no healing had been necessary. Pythona, being Domnu's champion (recent difficulties aside), and the Priest's chief acolyte was on his right, facing the champion of the Fae.
Mera and Barnabas Marsh stood at the door of the temple, eagerly awaiting the moment when Domnu would rise. Then Marsh's phone rang.
Mera gaped at him. “Are you kidding me?”
Marsh frowned, looking down at his cell. He answered, hissing that it had better be important. He did Elven deadpan almost as well as an Elf, but his eyes revealed that something serious had happened. He hung up and turned to Mera. “We have to take care of something. Now.”
Mera was dismayed. “But-”
“I want to be here for this too.” he said, almost gently. “But we have a problem.”
*****
They met them at the gates of the citadel. Leading a squad of heavily armed, and highly skilled Fomors, Marsh and Mera found themselves facing the loved ones of two out of their three victims.
Apparently Billy had never realized that Marsh was part of all this.
“You!”
“For what it's worth,” Marsh told him calmly, “You really were the most qualified candidate.”
What followed was little short of chaos. The Fomorian Guards opened fire, scattering the rescue party. Polaris tackled Sila out of the way, taking a bullet to the shoulder, and one in the hip. Strider and Scarlet took cover behind a rock.
“Let me guess,” Scarlet sighed. “You've never used a gun.”
“Not so much. I am however competent with a crossbow.”
She handed hers over to him and drew her pistol. “Welcome to your first shoot-out.”
Agent Prescott's magic had nothing to do with the Tuatha De Danan, so the countering force of the island had no affect on it. Fueled by her hatred of Mera, she put up a shield that also protected Billy.
“I don't know what your end-game is.” Billy snarled at Marsh. “But if you hurt my daughter, I swear to you her sacrifice will be in vain.”
“That's a very nice threat Mr. Kessler, but even you can't contend with the will of a Goddess. You're already too late. Domnu will rise and take possession of your daughter's body. Then she'll kill Mr. Desmond and Leda, and their blood will complete the seal.”
He and Mera backed away as Billy and Prescott advanced.
“It's entirely possible she'll retain enough of Ana's mind and spirit that she'll still think ofyou as her father.” Marsh continued. “You and yours would be spared from the horrors that await anyone else who resists.”
And then Mera asked Rose Prescott;
“So, how's Michael?” Whether it was the question itself, or the seeming genuine interest and concern in her tone, Mera's question broke the stalemate.
Everyone in front of them was an enemy, and there were so many of them, that aiming wasn't as much of an issue. Billy and Prescott lunged forward, guns blazing.
“You had to bring him up?!” Marsh shouted, just before Billy speared him. The rest of his concentration was taken up by trying to ward off the blows Billy rained down on him. He didn't do very well.
Mera likewise had her hands full with Prescott. She did slightly better though. She fled, Agent Prescott in blind pursuit.
Shipwreck, who'd been guarding their rear arrived on the scene just in time to dive behind the same cover that Sila and her mother were using. Which also gave him his first good look at Gobo and Robin, their guides.
“This day just keeps getting' weirder.” he muttered.
Strider's borrowed crossbow took out two Fomorians before one of them managed to shoot, not him, but the weapon itself. The bow exploded in his hand, crippling it, and he felt shards of the weapon bite into the forearm he threw up to protect his face.
Scarlet took a look at the situation. Billy had taken out Marsh, but now he was cornered himself by some really freaky looking bad guys. Mera had drawn Agent Prescott off to who knew where. Strider was out, and she had limited ammo.
“Shipwreck!” she called. “How's things on your end?!”
“Dandy! Except for we got one walking wounded and I'm pinned down!”
Sila gritted her teeth. This was taking too long. “Robin, Gobo, I need your help.” Polaris gripped her hand, adding her strength to her daughter's.
Together, they created a burst of music that energized Billy, and lent unerring aim to Scarlett and Shipwreck. They managed to take out the remaining Fomorians, and regrouped.
“Shipwreck, stay here, do what you can for Strider and Polaris.” Scarlett said.
“Aye-aye.” he agreed. Gobo and Robin volunteered to aid him. Agent Prescott returned, bleeding from one or two stab wounds, and spattered with someone else's blood. She and Billy exchanged a hard look, and Sila swallowed. She didn't want to know.
Billy hauled the beaten and bloody Marsh to his feet. “Now, take us to your leader.” he snarled. “And pray we're not too late.”
*****
They were too late.
”AT LAST!” Domnu rose up from her tomb, towering, terrible in her beauty, and loomed over the screaming child.
Billy and the others arrived, and froze in uncomprehending terror. ”No.” Billy and Sila said. At the same time, Marsh, frozen in religious ecstacy said;
”Mother.”
Cobra Commander stared, and felt something in his mind, that had been wearing thin all his life, snap.
”MY CHILDREN YOU HAVE DONE WELL! NOW LET US CLAIM THE WORLD THAT IS OURS BY RIGHT!”
“I think not Megatron!”
Domnu froze, turning to look at the man who had spoken. Wasn't he on their side? What was that he was holding?
”WHAT?”
“You thought you could trick me did you Serpentor?” Cobra Commander sneered, leveling his gun at the Fomorian Priest.
“What?!”
Without giving the treacherous clone a chance to deny plotting against him, Cobra Commander shot him in the head. The priest collapsed, and with an unearthly wail, Domnu was drawn back to the Shadow realm where she belonged.
“I did not see that coming.” Billy admitted.
*****
Shipwreck heard a scuffing noise and looked up from where he was tending to Polaris. Three fierce looking Fomorians stood at the top of the path, apparently having come up from the town below. They eyed the sailor and his charges hungrily.
"All right you scurvy bilgerats." he said, rising. He held a gun in one hand, and a knife in the other. "Let's see how you deal with-"
The Fomorian in the center drew a pair of evil looking daggers from it's belt, and stabbed it's companions in the throat. They barely had time to be stunned before they died.
"What the-" Shipwreck's eyes widened as the form of his unlikely rescuer shimmered, and finally resolved into;
"Zartan!"
*****
Pythona, to put it mildly, completely lost her shit. “Noooooo!!!" She stared in dismay at the body of her mentor, and then turned her now glowing eyes on the outsiders. "I'll kill you all!” she screamed, and lunged for the closest target, Tim.
[Continued from the previous entry in this journal. Open for pings from Gwynn.]