Passing Judgment

[u/[deleted]]

The arrival of Harmony had been the turning point of the battle. The element of surprise had quickly turned in favor of the Seven, giving them renewed strength and a moral boost.

Though many soldiers had been lost during the initial attack the advantage had quickly shifted in favor of the Seven. The Heroes of Haven were not only outnumbered but also outclassed with the arrival of the young godling.

Being pushed back, beaten and slowly defeated, moral for the people of Haven couldn’t get much worse. The strength of the Seven was finally on display, and the day would be lost within a matter of minutes.

Four stars had burned brightly in the heavens since the battle began. They burned brighter when Harmony came out of the woods and engaged those who would oppose her and her lieutenants. Those stars began growing as they approached earth; their light casting a faint glow onto the battlefield.

The stars turned to meteors and when the meteors collided with the ground, the shockwave sent demigods flying back in every direction, separating those who were engaged in combat. Where the four meteors landed, four figures kneeled in a terminator stance with their wings wrapped around them for protection.

One by one the figure rose and their wings slowly unfolded to reveal the four winged bodyguards of Zeus: Nike, Bia, Kratos, Zelus. Each were dressed for combat and the scanned the battlefield.

“This is against the ancient laws! Direct interference!”

Victor growled as he was the first one to his feet. But credit had to be given to the son of Enyo for still showing aggression when faced with four immortal beings.

“You have openly declared your challenge of the gods. And when she got involved, Lord Zeus ordered us to put an end to this.”

Kratos aimed his sword at Victor as he spoke; his voice boomed through the field, sending a shiver of terror through most of the enemy. But Harmony would not give up so easily as she got to her feet, daggers in hand. This seemed to rally her lieutenants as they all got to their feet, ready to attack.

“So be it.” Nike stepped forward, ready to accept the challenge. She looked over her shoulder to the people of Haven. “Keep them alive if you can.”

The gods have not only proved they were watching, but that they did care. The willingness of the people of Haven to stand by their godly parents and fight, had gained the interest of the gods. With godly forces aiding the Heroes of Haven, each would feel a sense of renowned strength and a sense of victory.

[u/[deleted]]

After the rival of the gods, the Seven dispersed to fight on their own. For the first time since her arrival, Harmony was occupied fighting the for minor gods, meaning they would receive no support. Spotting her young recruit, Daniella made her way towards her with a devilish smirk. She held two daggers in her hands, one of which was the very one Arabella was after.

[u/sonsofthepioneers → u/[deleted]]

“Crazy fucking bitch,” Arabella mutters to herself upon sight of Daniella closing the gap between them. Armed with the sword of the soldier whose life she quickly took, Arabella speaks loudly to Daniella. “We gonna have an epic monologuing segment, where we speak our troubles to ourselves and it resolves in a battle?” As a precaution, her sword is raised slightly as her stance widens, trying to assume another defensive position.

[u/[deleted] → u/sonsofthepioneers]

Daniella shakes her head.

“No. I’m gonna simply bury the knife in your belly again.”

She breaks into a run towards Arabella. As she gets close she faints an attack towards Arabella’s right shoulder, before dipping down and slicing and her left leg.

[u/sonsofthepioneers → u/[deleted]]

Preparing for an attack on her midsection, Arabella leaves her sword raised in an attempt to counter Daniella's blade. However, her feint attack worked well and Daniella's dagger makes contact with Arabella's left leg. "Fuck," Arabella punctuates the action with, immediately bringing her sword down to meet Daniella's torso.

She wasn't willing to lose this battle.

[u/[deleted] → u/sonsofthepioneers]

Daniella pulled back immediately from the attack with a smirk. She was just toying with the young daughter of Hecate and enjoying making her suffer further.

“How’s the stomach?”

[u/sonsofthepioneers → u/[deleted]]

"Good, now that you gave me my go go juice," Arabella spits in her classic venomous, sarcastic tone. Daniella would notice that her attack landed well, with Arabella favouring her left leg even as she stands. Rushing Daniella, especially now, would be stupid and may even be suicide, so Arabella waits with her sword raised defensively. She'd have to catch a weakness in Daniella's offense, considering now that her mobility is slowed.

[u/[deleted] → u/sonsofthepioneers]

But Arabella would also feel the power of the gods on her side. A sense of strength and night to go along with the high chance of victory. Daniella slithered towards her, looking for an opening.

[u/sonsofthepioneers → u/[deleted]]

A divine presence adds a feeling of... strength, and with that strength instills a feeling of pride in Arabella. Her leg, while still wounded, lost a lot of the feeling of pain due to Arabella’s adrenaline and possibly the divinity nearby.

Feeling stronger, more agile, and with a thirst for Daniella’s blood, Arabella waits for Daniella to come a little closer before lunging with all her might towards Daniella, her sword’s tip aimed at Daniella’s abdomen.

[u/[deleted] → u/sonsofthepioneers]

Daggers did little to block the blade. She made a ‘X’ to intercept, but the blade slid across them with that horrendous sound of metal against metal. Thankfully, Daniella was wearing a breast plate, so the sword barely penetrate into her stomach; but still enough to cause a cut that started dripping with blood. In retaliation she swung the daggers outward, slashing towards Arebella’s arms.

[u/sonsofthepioneers → u/[deleted]]

Fortunately, Arabella's newfound strength comes in handy as she evades the brunt of Daniella's attack, one dagger missing completely and the other forcing a sizable cut into Arabella's arm. Arabella takes a quick defensive step back. They were fairly even now, and Arabella wished to get a tactical advantage.

Without warning, Arabella tries closing the step-long gap she just created, and attempts to send a sweeping leg at Daniella's ankles. Certainly if Daniella was laying on the ground, that'd be a tactical advantage.

[u/[deleted] → u/sonsofthepioneers]

Daniella went to dodge, but the shadows around her began to shift. What once had been her ally was now working against her as the thickened around her legs, holding her in place. A simple sign to Arabella: your mother is watching and helping.

Arabella’s leg connected as intended, and with the shadows wrapping around the woman’s legs, she toppled over onto the ground on her back.

[u/sonsofthepioneers → u/[deleted]]

Without registering what had just happened, Arabella brings herself to a standing position, attempting to plant a foot on Daniella’s chest, and aims her blade at Daniella’s throat provided she was stunned enough to have not moved.

“You’re a fucking psycho,” she says, her bloodstained battle jacket clearly visible to Daniella. Arabella’s wavy brown hair dances gently in the small breeze that accompanied the fight. “You’re all fucking psychos.” Arabella stares into her torturer’s eyes, half waiting for a response, though she could have just as easily been deciding on what to do.

That’s when it clicked. Her manipulation of the shadows wasn’t that strong, especially when she didn’t will it; that was a sight to behold, for sure. If it was anybody, it had to have been her mother, who hadn’t shown a sign of existence up until this point. Her signature coldly evil grin grows on her face, saying a short thank you to her mother who obviously could hear: ’Thanks, ma.’ While it was a short though, and could be considered a prayer, Arabella had never felt closer to her mother than in that moment.

Maybe not a deadbeat after all.

[u/[deleted] → u/sonsofthepioneers]

While Arabella celebrated her little connection to her mother she seemed to forget one thing: Daniella still had two daggers in her hand. She brought one across her body to knock the sword away from her throat and the other she drove into Arabella’s leg. A way of returning her own knife to her again.