"Helloooooooo…" Siegfried called out whimsically. Wonder if it's any of the guards? He thought. The footsteps' echo grew louder with each passing second. "Light steps, barefoot, but in perfect rhythm. Hmmm…" He saw their source come into view as a pair of yellow eyes with black sclera looked his way, their owner still wearing his brunette hair in a ponytail. "Well, Týr!" Siegfried yelled with a vibrant smile. "What brings you down here?"
Týr stood on the other side of the cell door, his purple body paint now partially covered by a new brown vest to complement his black slacks and solid gold arm. "Getting a break," Týr said, smiling wryly. "I'm done training, so all that's left is to hype myself up."
"Going through your rituals again. Nice! But normally, you're up in Asgard rather than here. Plus, isn't it forbidden for anyone aside from Tartarus staff to be here?"
"Sieg…it's me. There's nothing any of them could do to stop me." Siegfried nodded and smiled."Besides, I would be up there if everyone would just relax for a moment." Siegfried tilted his head. "Round Eight's going on right now, and it's looking grim for both sides. The Greeks are bunched together, hoping Hephaestus wins. I don't see it happening, honestly. Take's doing the same thing I am, and Lugh is sitting with Nuada."
"What about Yama?"
"What about him?"
"He's fighting, too."
Týr scoffed. "Sieg, don't be the nice guy. Yama's a prick on a level close to my old man. Showing any concern for the deposed Tyrant of Helheim is pointless."
"Yeah…that's true. Kind of like worrying about you or Take!" Týr cocked an eyebrow as he leaned against the cell door. "You two are like no one I know. More than most Gods, you two know what it's like to stare death in the face." Týr glanced at his golden right arm. "Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if people were asking more out of obligation or something. If Baldr dying truly bothered you, you'd be like Vidarr and seek revenge or something."
Týr sighed. "Yeah, about him. Is this cell in his jurisdiction?"
"It is, but he's not on patrol today. I heard the guards talk about him meeting up with Set and a Valkyrie."
"Wait, a Valkyrie?"
"Just hearsay, and I doubt there's any truth to it."
"I hope so…Sieg."
"Hmm?"
Týr hung his head. "I lied, man. I'm really here to check in with you. Set…rubs me the wrong way, and I can't shake this feeling." He stood up. "Sorry about that."
"I know what you mean. He's a hard book to open and read. You can't tell when he's being genuine or not."
"I'm angry at him…I think he set up Baldr to die."
"Wait, what?"
"He played us like kids to get Baldr to fight in Round Three, and it got him killed."
"Týr." Sieg still smiled softly while Týr met his eyes. "Baldr was strong. So much stronger than we gave him credit for. His losing couldn't have been planned. I mean, who would have thought Humans with the ability to break through invulnerability exist? I didn't."
Týr nodded. "I know, but something isn't sitting right with me."
"Do you think Baldr didn't want to fight?"
"No. I think maybe it's the context of all this. Maybe Hephaestus fighting right now kind of makes this all feel messy. People should only fight if they're of sound mind and body. Bringing negative thoughts and such into a fight is asking to lose." Baldr's final words played in his head as he replayed his brother's final moments.
"And you think Set is using people by playing on their emotions?"
"No…actually. I think he may actually be the worst." Siegfried tilted his head to the right. "I've been observing him. He wants to win, but it's fueled by a vendetta more than pride. I don't know what happened to him, but whatever it was seemed bad enough to push him this far."
"You might be onto something."
"Or I could be overthinking this like I always do. Either way, I should go. The last thing I want is to run into Vidarr and deal with him." He leaned back away from the cell door. "Want me to pass anything onto Hilde?"
"Oh! Could you tell her I said hi?"
Týr chuckled a little. "That's it?" He sighed. "Sure thing." He took a few steps back and turned back the way he came. He saw a small, hooded figure pulling a large wooden cart full of metal boxes. "Huh, you must be the doctor I heard about." The figure stopped in front of him and set the cart down. It reached up and pulled off its hood, revealing pink hair with a few dark teal highlights, bright green eyes, and a coy grin. "Michel Nostradamus."
"Guilty!" He said, raising his hands to frame his face with his pinkies and index finger while sticking his tongue out to the side.
Michel Nostradamus
(France)
Týr looked back at Siegfried's cell and then back to Nostradamus. He glared a little as a slight twitch erupted on his left temple. You're one of those 'extra' kind of people. Pass. Týr walked past him and tapped his right fist on the crates as he passed. "Don't screw this up."
Inside the crate Týr knocked on, Myrddin sat curled up into a ball with his cheeks puffed out, trying to stay still. His eyes widened. Shit! How did he know we were in here!? He thought. He heard Týr walk away as his eyes darted left and right.
Valhalla Arena
"Leo's pulling out all the stops!" Heimdall shouted. Hephaestus had closed in and began swiping away with the Bident, Trident, and Bolt. Each swing, hissing and buzzing with burning energy, exuded heat and force. "Hephaestus isn't letting up, though! Each swing is getting closer and closer!"
He's not kidding! Leo thought as he jumped back, the Trident barely missing his torso. Hephaestus wasn't this fast before!
"Damn it I wish he was exaggerating!" Brünhilde said through gritted teeth. Göll looked her way. "Zagreus isn't just an armor designed to repair itself. It's an armor that's constantly evolving!"
"E-evolving!?" Göll yelled.
"Dad designed the armor to assess the one wearing it and adapt itself to compensate for the wearer's weaknesses," Pandora said, looking at the screen. "It's a complete antithesis to a lot of his stuff before."
"You mean like the Trident and such?" Heracles asked.
"Yeah." She leaned back on the couch while fiddling with her hair. "Dad always made things custom-made for their wielders. This armor tailors itself."
"That seems lonely," Dionysus added. "A weapon that has no destined partner. Doesn't seem right."
"No, it doesn't."
"You pushed me this far, Leo!" Hephaestus roared, stabbing the bolt into the ground. The floor crackled and melted from the heat. "You pushed me to bring this out! Been savin' it for a special occasion, but since that chance went to hell, I thought I'd never have a chance to use it!" He grabbed the Bident by the pommel and swung down, missing Leo and sending gravel flying from the arena floor.
"You made this just to kill Prometheus!?" Leo shouted. He slammed the pistons in his boots down to jump further back, clearing several meters between the two. He aimed and fired. Hephaestus hopped back as the stream sailed into the wall several meters away and cleaved through.
"Kill him!? I was going to butcher him! Him and every single Human who joined his stupid little smear campaign to demonize Pandora!" He dashed towards Leo, all three weapons ready.
Only two shots left! You've got to make them count! Leo dashed towards Hephaestus. Brain, don't fail me now! The HUD lit up, and Leo's mind went into overdrive. The world around him slowed down as adrenaline pumped through his system. He took in the massive burning monstrosity heading his way. Two shots. A self-repairing armor. Does it also heal his wounds? Is it stimulating his muscles and nerves with chemicals? Is it just piloting his body like mine does? There's so much I don't know! Crap! Got to make a gamble! His eyes focused on the apparatus connecting Argetlam to the armor. Hephaestus thrust all three spears at Leo. Leo let his legs go out from under him and fell into a slide. He could feel the heat and weight from all three weapons as they sailed overhead. His body hit the ground as he slid under Hephaestus. He kicked himself back up, aimed the rifle at his back, and fired. A powerful stream of solvent pierced through the looping apparatus and slammed into the red armor it covered. The apparatus and Argetlam fell off Hephaestus' back, and the bolt went cold. Hephaestus turned his head back slightly, finding Leo in his peripheral vision. I knew it! That silver arm wasn't originally part of Zagreus! Its coloration and the external apparatus meant it was still an independent system! He caught a quick glimpse of the red armor under the stream. No cuts, burns, or scratches. Damn, it adapted! But it's still better than- Hephaestus jumped back without turning. What the? The gap was already closed; Hephaestus' right arm had curled forward and wrapped around his torso. He jumped right towards me without looking. How!? Hephaestus' right arm swung overhead.
Hephaestus, his face hidden by his helmet, snarled with frantic joy. "Got to love it when a plan comes together!" His right arm swung down. Leo tried to shift his weight, but the Bident's head found its target. Bone snapped clean as his right arm flailed up, the shoulder plate caving in with a heavy thud. The bident's blade shaved against Leo's helmet as it flew down.
No…The world still felt slow to Leo. He…baited me? He quickly replayed the moment in his mind. I fired the shot, and he…He saw Hephaestus' eye. He was waiting for me. Worse… He caught sight of Hephaestus' shoulder. It was jutting back several centimeters out of place. The armor only repaired itself…it never reattached your shoulder? How…are you still controlling your arm!?
"There's the inner Fighter," Zeus said, smiling triumphantly.
"What just happened!?" Ares shouted.
"Hephaestus tricked him," Hermes interjected. "He wasn't letting Leonardo Da Vinci have space to think or plan, which was a problem at the start of the match when combined with his evasion."
"He forced panic to set in and made Leonardo go for what he thought was a way to get some momentum back." Hades said. "By making his focus on removing the third arm and the bolt."
"By doing that, he forced a misplay from Da Vinci that left him open…" Hermes' gaze softened. This just shows how bad things are. Please end this soon, Hephaestus.
Leo slammed down on the floor. Hephaestus spun to the left, scraping the trident across the ground as he turned.
"Leo, you gotta move!" Hrist Alpha shouted through the HUD.
"Trying to-" He couldn't get it out. The Trident's head slammed into his side just below his ribs. His body folded from the collision. The armor crumbled. The swing picked him up off the ground like a wet cloth on a pitchfork. Hephaestus roared and swung with all his might and flung Leo. Leo lost his grip on the rifle as his body rocketed in the air and smashed into the arena wall several meters above the floor, denting the wall and crashing into the ground.
Hephaestus stood silently, breathing heavily. "Not how I wanted this to go…please just stay down." He walked over to the rifle a few meters away and stomped on it. The rifle crumbled underfoot, and the solvent poured out onto the floor with a hiss.
"D-Dooooooooown! Leonardo Da Vinci's down! Hephaestus crushed Da Vinci in a brutal move and swatted him into the arena wall! Is it over!? Has this mauling finally come to an end!?" Heimdall yelled.
"Leo…" Brünhilde whispered. "Not you too…" The Human audience went silent, watching. Hoping. Praying. Ghulam, Li, and Johannes watched in the hangar. Hlökk covered her eyes as Samson refused to look away from the monitor. Nuada glared at the monitor in his hospital room while he changed into his new armor, Lugh sitting in the corner watching it too. Pandora and her friends sat on the couch, waiting.
The HUD display in Leo's helmet went black, and everything went quiet.
Kingdom of France
Clos Lucé, Amboise
Spring of 1519
"Francesco!" An old, bearded man yelled from an ornate, four-poster bed. The bed sat in an ornate room with polished, dark wood furniture and three open windows. The white window dressings flowed in the soft breeze from outside. "Francesco!"
"Coming, Leonardo!" A young voice yelled from behind a pair of wooden double doors. They swung open, and a young man barely twenty-eight strode in. His pants were a deep black, his shirt a pristine white, and his bright brunette hair in curls. His soft shoes barely made a sound as he walked across the hardwood floor to the bed.
Francesco de Melzi
(Italy)
"What is it? Do you need something?" Francesco asked in a rush.
"What? No." Leo said, his voice hoarse and scratching against his throat. "I just…well, I just woke up from a nap."
Francesco's head shook slightly. "That's it?"
"God, no, Francesco. Wait a moment." He slowly lifted himself off his pillow and sat up. His long, grey beard stuck out at odd ends. "Had a weird dream and need someone to talk it through with."
"Leonardo, as much as I want to sit and listen, I need to ensure your works get prepped for delivery. Your will states-"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. That can wait. Sit down." Francesco sighed. He walked over to a desk and pulled away its matching wooden chair. He set it next to the bed and sat down. He rolled his wrist, signaling Leo. "What year is it?"
"1519. Why?" Francesco laughed.
"That's what I thought it would be." Huh, this is around the time I died. Why am I here? He thought. Was all that a dream?
"Are you okay?"
"I think so." Leo's eyes darted from left to right. "The dream I had put me in quite an ethical pickle. One I thought I would never face." He looked over to his protégé and friend. "I was in a scuffle with an extremely hurt man whose daughter suffered undeserved humiliation and scorn. And he was taking it out on me."
"Well, that seems dumb."
"Is it?"
"Of course it is. That's just someone being petty and vengeful, looking to make someone else feel their pain. The worst kind of person."
"I thought so…or I did." Francesco went silent. "I never dealt with someone like that or was even someone like that in my younger days. Yet, what would I have done in his shoes? What if someone hurt you or my other students?"
I'm sure you would have handled it correctly.
"Are you sure? I could barely understand it, that anger. That pain. How would I handle it? Honestly, I'd probably make a fool of myself!"
"Ha…yeah, maybe."
"It'd be another mistake in my history, but maybe I would at least know how to deal with it in other people."
"What're you talking about?"
"I…made so many mistakes in my life, Francesco. Some I cannot undo. How many people came into my life and left it worse? Did I fail them? Did I not truly reach out to try and understand them? Could I, even with my limited wisdom?"
"You're Leonardo Da Vinci! The man many could only hope to emulate! Why does any of this matter?"
"Francesco, our accomplishments don't mean anything if we fail as people. If we fail to try and find some sense of common ground. In that dream, I not only fought against a grieving father but stood side by side with warriors and soldiers!" His eyes lit up.
"Now you're going crazy. I'll go get the doctor." He stood up.
"Francesco." Leo stared daggers into his eyes. "Listen." He sighed and sat back down. "I hate war. You know this. I despise violence and conflict, despite them being intrinsic to our nature. But they…those men and women…they helped me see it in a different light. Not that it was good, but sometimes painfully necessary. Sometimes, we have to do painful things, including trying to understand our enemies, to truly succeed. I wish I had known that earlier. Maybe I wouldn't hate Michelangelo and his pompous face so much!" He chuckled a little, then broke into a coughing spell.
"I wish I understood what you were saying, Leonardo…"
"Me too. Maybe I am trying to say my pacifism did me no good. Maybe had I faced our violent side instead of shunning it, I could have fixed something. I could have built something."
"But you built a lot!"
"I did, but many of those things never worked. Hey." He leaned over to Francesco. "Want to know a secret?"
"Eh…sure?"
"Remember Mona Lisa?"
"The painting of the merchant's wife?"
"Yeah, the painting commissioned by that entitled ass and his nagging wife."
"Leonardo!"
Leo smiled. "What!? They were an awful couple!" He chuckled a little. "Anyways, the portrait I sold to them. Remember it?"
"Yeah. One of your best works!"
"I never finished it." Francesco fell out of his chair. "It was only halfway done!"
"What!? But…but if word gets out-"
"No one would care."
"No one!?"
"Yes. They bought it without any insistence from me. Came to my while I was taking a break from it and demanded they buy it then and there. They thought I was drunk, thinking it incomplete." He hunched over and propped his chin on his left hand. "Still full price."
"I…don't know what to say."
"What's there to say? To them, then, it was done. To me, then, it was room and board and a gnawing feeling at the back of my head. I thought myself a failure for not getting it where I wanted it to be, but I think I was wrong."
"Because they still liked it?"
"Exactly. I was so angry at myself trying to get it perfect that I just kept beating myself down and calling myself a loser…" Leo recalled the hours, sometimes days, he would try and touch the canvas with a brush. Sometimes a different color, and sometimes even try it by candlelight in the dark of night.
Francesco hung his head. "I've felt that before."
"It took me so many years. So many years!" His voice raised a few decibels. "To find peace with it."
"How did you do it!?" Francesco's eyes were pleading.
Leo looked at his student. A slight tinge hit his heart when he saw that expression. Ah, that's right…it was around this time you hit a block. Leo thought to himself…and I wouldn't help you. I was too proud to help you and admit my shame…that's how all this ended. How I left you, Francesco. I failed you then, but I won't this time.
"I accepted that I gave it my best, and sometimes that's all I can do. People will still love what I do, I can still enjoy what I love, and I can do what I love with the people I love. If I can still do that, it's enough."
Francesco leaned back in his chair, his breathing going shallow. "I don't know if that's enough, Leonardo."
"Maybe it is. Maybe it isn't, but I don't want to make you feel that you have to be perfect to be proud of yourself. I hope I never did that." Leo lay back down in his bed. "Did I?"
"No!" Francesco said, popping out of his chair. "We just didn't want to disappoint you! Any of us!"
"Well, good news! You didn't and still haven't!" Leo said, smiling. "Just keep trying and don't let perfection and failure hold such tight grips on you. If you avoid that…you'll be better than me!" Leo said, still smiling. Now...I guess I have to wake up from THIS dream...if I can.
Valhalla Arena
"Get up, Sir…" Melzi said under his breath, sitting amongst the audience. "I know this is too much for you…I know!" He watched Leo's body slowly inhale and exhale. "You're a polymath…you're not a killer!" Leo shuffled a little. "But even we need to stand up and fight! Please, get up!" He screamed. His scream echoed from the stands.
Hephaestus stood near the center of the arena, eyeing Leo's crumpled-up body. "Still alive, Leo?" He spoke, his voice still reverberating." Smoke began to plume from the joints in his shoulder. A small emergency icon began blaring on the inside of his helmet.
WARNING. WARNING. A monotone voice spoke out in Hephaestus' helmet. BLOOD LOSS SIGNIFICANT. FURTHER ACTION WITHOUT TREATMENT WILL LEAD TO HEMORRHAGIC SHOCK.
"Shit, shut up…this won't take long…" Something made Leo's body briefly convulse. "Wha?" It happened again.
Within the darkness of Leo's helmet, Hrist's voices spoke in unison. 3…2…1…CLEAR!" His body convulsed again. "Shit! He's still out!" Hrist Alpha shouted. Leo jerked up and gasped. "Wait! It worked! He's up!"
"What…what hap-God, why does everything hurt!?" Leo yelled. Pain surged from his right clavicle and down. Oh no, my right clavicle is busted! I can't even lift my right arm! What about…Then, a chill ran down his spine as he resumed his self-assessment. Wait, no…why can't I feel my legs!? He replayed the last few moments before he blacked out. He saw Hephaestus swing down the bident, then swing the trident across. "My God…he did this much to me…in just two hits?"
"Son of a bitch, that didn't kill you?" Hephaestus sighed as he strode slowly over to Leo. "Guess I'm still bad at this."
"Hrist, status update." Leo tapped his remaining hand on his helmet. The HUD came to life and displayed Leo's body in a 3-D Display.
"L1 through L5 discs of the spine are pulverized." Hrist One said sternly. "Severe nerve damage present, and everything below the L5 is paralyzed. Liver and Stomach show bruising and starts of tearing. The right clavicle is snapped clean in two, and the top three ribs on the right side are broken. Lung not yet punctured but near collapse from blunt-force trauma."
"On top of increasing blood pressure and the potential for an aneurysm…"
"Well, look on the bright side! At least your left arm still works!" Hrist Alpha said sardonically.
"Yeah…about that. Hrist, is the autopilot function still operational?"
"Yes, but Leo-"
"Do you want to die!?" He roared. Hrist went silent. "Hrist, I know the risks! Activate it now!"
"On it!" The Light-blue HUD turned green. Leo, if we take control and move you around like this, your broken bones could pierce your lungs! The damage to your spine could worsen to the point that not even the Valhalla Medical Wing may be able to repair it! You'd be…broken beyond repair! Are you willing to go this far just to win?
Leo's legs began to move, and he grunted and winced in pain. "This…might be a bad idea!" He mirthlessly laughed. His armor got his feet under him and made him stand up. He felt like jelly in a tin can. He looked over to Hephaestus, eyeing him. "Hey! Hephaestus!" He yelled, emphasizing the name. This may end poorly for me, but the plan earlier can still happen. Please work…
Hephaestus said nothing and stopped.
"I'm going to win…and I'm going back…and I'm going to help your daughter." Leo's stance widened as the disc on his back split into four cone-shaped slices. Clamps popped out of the sides of Leo's boots and bit into the floor. I don't mean what I'm about to say. Please forgive me. "The way you couldn't be bothered to!"
Hephaestus' back straightened. "You…" Half a dozen arrows were fired out at Hephaestus. Hephaestus turned his body to the side, letting all six pass by. "Did you think saying something like that would get a rise from me? From You?" He broke into a dash. "You're not that heartless, Leo!"
The wires went taut as Hephaestus ran. "You're right! But it was worth a shot!" He saw the arrows embedded in the wall on the other side of the arena. "Pull!" The disc pulled him slightly forward as it reeled away, but he stood firm and anchored. Hephaestus continued to run his way, Bident and Trident ready. Come on! He heard the wires reel back as metal screeched behind Hephaestus. Then, it happened. The one thing Leo needed more than anything. The culmination of their brutal battle. Leo saw it earlier and prayed Hephaestus did not. The one thing he needed to win could only be formed by the bolt and the solvent, carving away at the arena. A piece of the wall tore free, cut away by the earlier exchanges. It bounced off the ground as Leo reeled it in as fast as he could. Hephaestus stopped his rush and turned around. He turned slightly to look behind.
"What the!?" The piece of the wall, guided right towards him by the wires surrounding him, smashed into his back and took him off his feet.
Leo placed his left hand on the contraption on his left hip. It wrapped around his left arm and opened to reveal a smooth bullet-shaped duster. He pulled his left arm close and twisted his body back to the left. He released the clamps and fired the pistons out of his boots, rocketing forward. I had to save this! Once that armor began adapting to the solvent, I couldn't just use this randomly! He flew towards the oncoming Hephaestus.
He tricked me! Hephaestus thought. He wasn't trying to rile me up! He just wanted me to focus on him…while he pulled a piece of the wall off!? How far in advance did he plan this!? He quickly twisted the Bident and Trident into a reverse grip and raised them. It won't be enough! You're just saving me the effort to chase you down!
"Leo!" Brünhilde shouted.
Samson…this was the same punch you threw to win before…Hohenheim, you stared down such a monster and resolved to fight to the end. Leo thought. The HUD displayed HYDRAULIC SYSTEM RELEASE. "Accepted!" He shouted. The central unit of the disc on Leo's back opened, and water exploded out. Let me show you what you all taught me! Leo felt the push send him forward as pain erupted behind his eyes. Hephaestus stabbed down just as the water ejected out of Leo's armor. Leo fired his left arm forward. The bullet casing collided with Hephaestus' armored abs. It broke away as the shell's inner gel permeated out across the armor. Leo felt the single-point duster contained in the gel collide with the armor. The points of the spears were just above Leo's lower back. Leo clamped down on the duster's grip, activating a small hammer mechanism to strike the primer under the Duster's point. A loud pop erupted between his hand and Hephaestus' torso. The armor…shattered. Leo's arm surged through, his fingers and forearm breaking as his arm blasted through Hephaestus' torso. The spears stabbed straight into the ground as Leo passed by and through Hephaestus' body. Flesh, metal, and boiling blood exploded out behind Hephaestus as Leo sailed to the ground and skipped across it like a stone, bouncing heavily several dozen meters before coming to a stop.
Pandora and everyone in Aetna stared in horror. Zeus and his party stared silently. The Gods in the audience dropped their collective jaws. Humanity went silent. Hephaestus stood, revealing a giant hole and tear where his torso was. He looked down as he held himself up with the embedded spears. "Oh…well damn…" His waist separated from his torso and plopped to the ground. Blood poured out from the wound and pooled on the ground below him. The blood hissed and steamed as it collected on the ground. His grip on the spears did not weaken as his upper body hung limp off them. The damn armor…won't let me fall…guess that's a flaw in the design. He heard something clawing at the floor below him. I'm supposed to be going into shock… Is the armor stopping that, too? He could not see it, but the audience did.
"Oh my God…" An older, bearded man in Humanity's audience said under his breath.
"His armor…" A God with a crocodile's head in the Gods' audience began to feel nauseated. "…Is putting itself back together?"
The severed lower half sprouted dozens of small hooks out of the torn metal. They coiled in the air and hooked into Hephaestus' torso. Slowly, they pulled the waist and legs back up and reconnected to the torso. The broken pieces of metal began twisting and meshing back into a single piece. It finished, and Hephaestus' back straightened. He pulled the Bident and the Trident out of the ground and slowly turned to face Leo. His breathing ragged, Hephaestus began walking over to Leo, blood pouring out of the joints in the armor's sabatons.
"How…is he still alive?" Hrist Alpha shouted, looking through the helmet. The partition began lowering, but the two jumped over it before it finished.
"He's not. He's dying," Hrist One said while running to Leo's side. "But the armor's acting on its own!?"
"You have got to be shitting me!" Hrist Alpha yelled at her side. "Is he trying to take Leo with him!?"
The armor continued its slow walk as a trail of blood flowed from the leg and right shoulder joints. Hephaestus' breathing grew shallower with each step. I…He thought. I am not done…just a little more…He stopped just two meters ahead of Leo. Finally…He twisted the polearms. Now I can…and stabbed them down.
"LEOOOOO!" Both Hrists shouted. The Human audience looked on in horror. The Gods are in shock. The fury and determination of a God torn in two refused to let him fall. His anger, his pain, his love. The fuel of his vendetta. The spearheads stabbed into the ground and pooled blood next to Hephaestus' feet. The two stopped. Hephaestus slowly reached up to his helmet and tapped on the back of it with his left hand. The helmet clicked and whirred as the back and top of the helmet flowered open. He yanked the helmet off his head and tossed it to his side. Everyone in Zeus' box looked on in silent shock, save for Poseidon, who let a brief, furious glare. Hephaestus' face had turned pale white, his once neatly done hair now a clingy mess, slightly obscuring his face. Blood flowed from his mouth and soaked his chin.
"Fuck…it's hard to breathe with that thing on…" Hephaestus rasped. "Hey…you still alive, Leo?"
"I'm…" Leo choked out. "Paralyzed from the waist down, my right clavicle is shattered, I," He coughed," cannot feel anything below my left elbow except ungodly amounts of pain, and I am blind! But would you…believe I'm still alive? What a day!" He chuckled mirthlessly.
"Smartass…" Hephaestus chuckled. He reached his right arm over to his left forearm and tapped it. It flipped open, showing a small screen and keyboard. Despite his hand shaking, Hephaestus tapped at lightning speed while still staring at Leo. "Remember…what you said…earlier about not allowin' the efforts of your buds to be in vain?"
"…Yeah? Why?"
Hephaestus stopped typing and softly closed the lid back onto his gauntlet. He twisted the whole brace and ninety degrees to the left and slid it off, his forearm and hand sliding clean through the gauntlet. He walked away from the embedded weapons over to Leo's left side. He dropped the gauntlet next to Leo's mangled left hand. "There."
"What…what are you doing?"
"Right next to you is everythin'. I tried…" Hephaestus could not stop himself. "I tried so damn hard…to fix everythin'…I couldn't bring him back…to bring back the one who made her happy…to make her pain go away…I'm such a shit dad…"
"Hephaestus! Please-" Leo began coughing.
"Shut your mouth, you sentimental shit." Cracks began growing from his mutilated torso. The armor tried to patch them as they grew, but cracks grew over the patched work. "I have such a damn hard time lettin' go of things and lettin' things in!" He raised his voice a little. "Why the hell did I have such a hard time noticin' things change? My baby girl grew up and tied the knot! She made friends and fought through all that shit in her way and I don't know how she did it!" The cracks continued growing. "Leo…I can't continue my work anymore…and there's still too much to do." Hephaestus looked down at Leo. "Please take my screw-ups and make somethin' of them. I'm beggin' you…"
You bastard! Leo thought. I can't stand it when anyone talks about themselves like this! Why!? Why, damn you!? He let out a ragged sigh and closed his blind eyes. "You're leaving me a lot... you trust me with your world?"
"And no one else." Hephaestus' body began to glow green. "My baby girl…is strong…but she's not her old man…no, she's better than me and knows…she needs people around her…" The light faded from Hephaestus' eyes. He felt something latch onto his left hand. He slowly looked over, his vision blurring. Standing there next to him, barely taller than his thigh, was a young girl with long, cumbersome black hair and large red eyes. Her small hands wrapped around his massive, callused one. She looked at his hand in awe, then looked him in the eyes for a brief moment. She flashed a wide, goofy smile that made her eyes close. "…Hey Baby Girl…" Hephaestus' body shattered into green crystal and vanished into the air.
"Leo!" Hrist Alpha yelled. She and her twin resumed their run and stopped by Leo's side.
"Hrist…" Leo whispered.
"What!?"
"Grab the thing Hephaestus left. Please don't ask why."
Hrist One looked over to it. Her green eyes blinked a few times, but she slowly reached over to the gauntlet and grasped it. She fell back. "This is…" She gasped.
"His world…" Leo failed. He failed to stop it from shattering like Hephaestus. "He left it to us…" He could not stop the tears as the information slowly flowed into his head from the helmet. It's so damn heavy…
Is…is a Human crying for a God? Heimdall thought. His vision began to cloud. Crap, I'm getting caught up in this! I need to end the match. He brought Gjallarhorn back to his face. "It's oveeeeeeer!" Heimdall's quivering voice roared as his goggles flooded with tears. "The battle of minds, muscles, and machines has ended! With a body broken but a will unbreakable, the winner of Round Eight and Workshop is LEONARDO! DA! VINCI!"
Leonardo Da Vinci VS Hephaestus
Victor: Leonardo Da Vinci
Match Length: 21 Minutes 12 Seconds
Deciding Move: Rifle Duster
Humans 4 – 4 Gods