This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.5
License. To view a copy of this license, visit
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Commons, 543 Howard Street, 5th Floor, San Francisco,
California, 94105, USA.
To be more clear, I will say that I chose this license ("Some Rights Reserved")
so that everyone is free to use and distribute my work, even making derivative
works from it, for NON-COMMERCIAL purposes, as I intended it from the beginning;
you are entitled
to do so as long as you correctly report the author's nickname (hirumono).
Every person, fact, or circumstance told herein is purely fictional (and it is
not hard to understand why). The author realized this fanfic exclusively for
fun, and as such it should be seen. Whoever sees this writing as a way to
endorse, support or justify any
kind of mistreatment, abuse, exploitation or hate of women, has completely
missed its sense and should read no more.
Wonder Woman, related characters and insignia are Copyright DC Comics.
*** ATTENTION PLEASE ***
This is a small list of the sexual fetishes contained in this fanfic. If you
find something that is not suited to your tastes, maybe you want not to read any
more.
X-rated non-consensual sex / imprisonment and bondage / big breasts / big
clitoris / xenophily / monster sex / energy|power drain / tentacles.
For every (constructive) criticism, hints, praises, everything but hate mails,
you can contact me at:
hirumonoATtiscalinetDOTit
(please note: you have to change the AT into @ and the DOT into . to obtain the
true email address. Sorry for the trouble, it's just an anti-spam countermeasure
to prevent my email address to overflow with e-junk!)
The Yothga plant is a creation of Robert E. Howard, used in "The Scarlet Citadel" (1933).
___________________________________
**Chapter 5 ** ___________________________________
After a slightly long walk in some deep tunnels, they arrived in a wider
corridor which had two doors on each side. From the one on the right, heavy and
made of solid iron, horrible sounds came, like no beast or human could ever
make: insane laughters, creepy howlings and other unidentifiable noises that
gave Diana the shivers.
The left door was just an iron fence, behind which a big niche opened. In its
center was something that at a first glance could resemble a plant; but it was
obvious that the thing in front of Wonder Woman belonged to the vegetable
kingdom as much as the scaled owner of those dungeons belonged to the world of
human beings.
The creature's long, foul stem, whose end disappeared in a hole in the rock, ran
over the floor for about a meter before rising up high to a man's height,
spawning smaller tentacle-like branches which carried huge, heavy leaves, as
long as a human forearm, a deep green on the outside and crimson red on the
inside. A giant crimson flower, as big as a man's head and shaped like a
chalice, dangled from the top of the main stem, its petals almost closed. The
whole structure moved slightly, as if an ethereal wind ran through its
disgusting shape, but when Diana was brought near to it, the creature started
squirming and writhing with unmistakable greed and desire, moving its hideous
leaves like hands to grab the beautiful woman who was just out of its grasp, the
big flower opening and closing like a red mouth. The Princess felt an
instinctive repulsion for that abomination, whose simple existence was a an
insult to the will of the Gods and a threat to every life form on this world.
She knew that it couldn't have been born from Mother Gaea's womb; such a
gruesome entity had surely been called forth by dark magic, coming from some
deep abyss of darkness and terror, beyond the Light Realm...
Shass'haa opened the iron fence and looked at Wonder Woman. "Meet the Yothga"
she said with a cruel smile. "My precious little houseplant. You will not be
able to resist her kiss... and you will surely regret the moment that you broke
my spell. That would mean so less suffering to you. Tak! Throw her in!"
The slave hesitated, looking into Diana's eyes. Her breath was a bit faster, a
beautiful tone of red on her face. She held the naked Princess a bit more
tightly.
Hissing with anger, the scaled monster grabbed Wonder Woman's athletic body from
her arms and hit Tak with her open right hand, hurling the tall woman in the
air, to land many meters back. "Useless human!" she shouted. "What happened to
you? Listen to me, or I will rip your skin away with my whip!" Then, holding the
two meters tall Amazon by her neck with one hand, she looked into the beautiful
sky-blue eyes and hissed "Good-bye, Diana of Themyscira. When I will come back
here, you will have become an empty shell, just like that girl you cared so much
for!" With an elegant movement of her arm, the snake-woman threw her prisoner
right into the niche, and in a moment the big, heavy leaves closed around her
body.
Wonder Woman started fighting to break free from the creature's embrace, but
even her Amazonian strength couldn't win against those hellish tentacles; her
arms and legs were finally restrained and the huge leaves started caressing her
skin with obscene movements of unmistakable lust. Some were massaging her
enormous breasts, rising and squeezing the warm mounds of flesh; some others ran
over her hard abdomen, her back, her toned buttocks, while small twigs were
pushing against her anus and vagina, finding their way through the hot openings,
or twisting around her big, unprotected clitoris. The naked Princess felt a
sharp pain in her every limb, like she was being pierced with needles, and
realized with horror that the assault she was undergoing had nothing to do with
sex, even with its most depraved form; at every touch of the plant-like
abomination her great courage writhed, her will was weakened, her heart became a
little colder. The obscene caresses were the way the Yothga used to drain her
soul!
Slowly, with languid movements, the big crimson flower approached her beautiful
face, then with a snap it closed over Diana's mouth. The big, meaty petals moved
slowly, in what seemed like a kiss, but the Amazon opened her eyes wide in
shock, squirming even harder; then her eyes closed shut, and a cry of
unberarable pain and suffering rose from her throat, to come out blunted in a
loud moan from the crimson lips that held her mouth tight in an unholy
embrace.
Some moments passed while the naked warrior and the plant-like horror writhed,
the first in pain, the second in disgusting pleasure; then the red flower rose,
its crimson tone now much brighter. Diana's head lumped slowly down, her mouth
partially open, panting; the light in her eyes was now paler, as if some of her
humanity and will had been ripped away.
Shass'haa burst in a cruel laughter. "How do you feel, noble Princess? How do
you like the Yothga's kiss? This creature will drink your soul bit by bit,
feeding on your will and personality, until nothing of you will remain!"
Her scaled head slumped a bit, her eyes half-closed. "I'm so sleepy" she
mumbled. "I have even more magic to assimilate, and I slept too little the last
time." She looked again to her future slave with a smile. "Farewell, Diana of
Themyscira."
With clumsy movements, the snake-woman walked away, leaving Tak behind. The
mindless slave was staring at the cruel show with a vacuous expression. Now the
big flower was kissing the naked Amazon again, sucking out another portion of
her soul. Her desperate cries were dampened by the big petals, whose color
became stronger and stronger as time passed; the lower, blood-red page of the
creature's leaves had now a much brighter tone, while the deep green on their
upper page was more intense. The plant-like abomination was still touching its
helpless victim with obscene caresses, not meant to give any pleasure; its
tentacle-like twigs wriggled into Wonder Woman's most intimate openings, and
stroke her delicate clitoris, savoring her pure sexuality.
Tak stood still there for a while. Then she turned and went away, with uncertain
steps.
Diana was floating in a deep, dark ocean of oblivion. How much time had passed?
She didn't know, nor did she care. What was time, anyway? Was it important?
Everything seemed to have vanished into nothing; her world was silent, clouded,
and there was only pain for her, a pain which grew stronger every now and then,
to return to a steady state of suffering after a while; and every time it looked
like her sensitivity, her sense of herself were a bit weaker. In the bottom of
her mind, a voice told her to fight, to resist this strange languor menacing to
obliterate her personality. But fighting was so difficult now...
Suddenly, a change happened in that still ocean of oblivion. Flashes of light
hit her mind's eyes, and a surge of strength seemed to race through her.
Somewhere near, someone (or something?) was shrieking, and she felt its death
convulsions. Slowly, her eyes opened, while the abrupt return to the real world
made her head ache. In front of her was a face... a beautiful face, almost like
an angel's, but tanned, with beautiful green eyes and strange platinum-white
hair...
"Tak!"
She fought to regain full consciousness, while memories flooded her weakened
mind. Now the world around was rotating a bit slower, and she realized she was
being held in the bronzed warrior's tender embrace, while those shining emeralds
stared at her with what looked like anxiety.
"Tak... you... you saved me...?" she mumbled, slowly caressing the beautiful
face. The silent slave hugged her, letting out a sigh of relief. Then she helped
the still confused Princess to stand on her feet.
Just then Diana noticed the Yothga's stem cut at its base, and the obscene
creature still wriggling on the rocky floor, while an obnoxious black oily fluid
poured from its severed body. The stench was horrible.
Tak held in her hand a short sword, and she understood that the slave had
managed to find a suitable weapon to slay that thing without being captured
herself. Probably her knowledge as a monster hunter had helped; but still, how
did she reach that degree of self-determination? She had seen her eyes devoid of
any will just minutes ago!
Wonder Woman, still confused, seemed to feel dizzy as her head spinned faster
for a moment; the bronzed girl held her, then her strong arms raised the
Amazon's body with ease, and the slave carried Diana away from that place of
horrors.
They emerged from the deeper tunnels, and the tanned warrior headed to the wide
cave where she and the Princess of Themyscira had slept together. She gently
laid her naked lover over the pile of straw and then joined her, resting at her
side and looking at her with love in her green eyes.
Diana felt much better. It looked like the spiritual essence which had been torn
from her soul had returned back with the death of the ominous creature.
"Thanks, Tak" she whispered, holding the girl's hands. "You saved me from a
destiny much worse than death." She nestled those strong yet delicate hands on
her chest, and slowly said "Dia-na". With her surprise, the slave's reaction was
fast and clear. "D-Diana" she said with a sweet, young and firm voice.
Wonder Woman's face enlightened with a smile. That was very good! She didn't
know how, but the warrior had reached and surpassed the point she was at when
the hideous spider-like demon had attacked in her sleep. Probably it didn't have
the time to drain her soul completely, and now the young woman's strong
personality was surfacing fast. Maybe soon she would regain her full
potential!
The Princess gently leaned her own hands against the warrior's chest. "Tak" she
whispered.
She was startled when the beautiful face clouded, expressing denial. That was
strange. "Tak" she repeated, and the girls' head moved left and right, in an
unmistakable "no".
She had an idea. "My name is Diana. What's your name? Your name" she asked
slowly and gently.
"T... Tai... Tailike" was the answer, as the girl made a visible effort to
express herself.
"Tailike? Your name is Tailike?" asked the Princess, smiling. Now the warrior
was smiling too, with happiness in her face: Diana hugged her, caressing her
head.
Suddenly she felt a hand touching her left breast; she looked at her companion
and saw an eloquent stare in her eyes, which were shining with desire. Her legs
were moving against one another, her breath faster.
Wonder Woman smiled and stood up on her knees, starting to remove the slave's
primitive outfit. Tailike's small beautiful breasts felt the cold air, her
nipples already hard and erect, and she shivered. The Amazon caressed them
tenderly while she finished removing the chest piece; then she unwrapped the
long piece of cloth which protected her lover's femininity, and her eyes widened
with surprise when she saw the Ovulus of Torment, a bit shrunk but still
there!
She understood what had happened. The magic orb, though unable to reach its
destination in the girl's vagina, had remained in strict contact with her
genitals, melting slowly and exuding its strange substances, which had been
gradually absorbed; the warrior's sexuality had been stimulated constantly,
while the memories of the night they passed together had pushed her mind to
gradually overcome the oblivion, until she regained a partial state of will. How
mad would the hideous snake-woman be, had she known that her evil magic had
helped this girl recover her personality!
But now it was not the time to think about these things. That beautiful,
athletic body was shaking with desire, and Diana wanted to give all her love to
the strong, young warrior woman who had saved her. She positioned herself over
the laying girl and knelt forward, bringing Tailike's hands to cup her hanging
marvelous breasts. She guided her fingers to massage the pink nipples,
encouraging her with smiles and moans of satisfaction. Meanwhile, her own hands
caressed all that incredibly toned body, following the sweet bulges and dips of
her muscles, massaging the small, delicate breasts, the slender waist, the
feminine hips, finally coming to tickle the incredibly defined navel, and going
down, down over the big pubic mound, to the big, swollen clitoris...
A loud moan came from Tailike's clenched teeth, while her head bent backwards in
an explosion of extasy. Her thighs closed, her shins rubbing against one
another. Diana kissed her delicious lips, now red with passion, and laid beside
her to suck one of those small nipples, while her right hand went back massaging
her lover's erect clitoris, and her left hand touched her own one, which in turn
was growing bigger and harder with excitement. A deep, grateful groan welcomed
her fingers exploring the depths of Tailike's tight vagina, touching and
probing, looking for a particular spot she herself knew very well...
The slave screamed with joy, now carried over by the raging flood of her
passion. She started thrusting with her hips, twisting and squirming as her
powerful body throbbed with extasy. Her femininity was now overflowing with her
love juices, and Diana increased her pace, recognizing the signs of a huge
orgasm building up... with a cry of liberation Tailike came, squirting a
generous amount of lubricant fluids, shaking for the physical effort.
Diana caressed her strange platinum hair, looking at her beautiful face, still
blushed, her powerful chest rising and lowering with her every pant; the girl
opened her emerald eyes and smiled with gratitude and love. She opened her
mouth, still not used to talking, and said one word: "More..."
Wonder Woman laughed, sincerely amused by the slave's strong sexuality. "Your
first word besides your own name, and it's 'more'. You should be an Amazon,
sweet Tailike" she thought. Her right index finger went to her lover's delicious
mouth, touching its lower lip. "Yes. More" she whispered, looking at those green
eyes with a mischievous stare.
She raised the bronzed, athletic legs and leaned them over her shoulders. Her
mouth approached the girl's still aroused femininity, kissing the head of the
swollen Kleitorìs, savoring the sweet scent of her feminine juices. Her fingers
drew the meaty hood down, and her tongue flashed, licking the pleasure organ,
following its shape, drawing even more powerful pants from the naked warrior
female. With a gentle suction, the Princess of Themyscira drew the hot clitoris
into her mouth and started moving her lips, massaging Tailike's most sensitive
part. When it was fully erect again, she rose and leaned one of her lover's legs
on the pile of straw, while raising the other vertically. She admired its toned
muscles and licked the warm inner thigh, going up to the knee and shin, finally
kissing the beautiful tanned foot; then she sat on the other leg and approached
her hips, bringing her genitals into contact with the slave's, and started
moving slowly, rubbing their clitorises together. This was her favorite position
when she played with her Amazons sisters, and she noticed with satisfaction that
Tailike liked it very much too: she was rubbing her own breasts, her eyes closed
in extasy, moving her head side to side while thrusting weakly to aid Diana's
movements. Their juices mixed like their passions, their pace increased, and
their hot bodies began shaking while a strong orgasm was building into both of
them. Her head leaning against her lover's leg, feeling the twitches in her
muscles, Wonder Woman knew that Tailike was about to come, and she herself felt
that tingling sensation deep inside her, together with the warm wave of pleasure
radiating from within her womb... she increased the pace again, and in a few
moments both warriors were shaken by an intense orgasm which left them panting
and covered with sweat, nearly exhausted.
After a short rest, Diana helped Tailike stand on her feet and brought her to
the small subterranean stream of water. The girl knelt beside it and the Amazon
positioned in front of her, then she washed her genitals carefully. "You can't
put your loincloth on with this mess, right?" she said, smiling.
With her great surprise, Tailike took some water with her hand and poured it on
Diana's genitals, copying her movements and gently cleaning her intimate places.
Then she stared at the Princess of Amazons, an intense feeling in her emerald
eyes, and finally, with great effort, she said: "I... love you... Diana."
Wonder Woman stood there for a second, astonished by the speed of the girl's
recovery. A deep joy overwhelmed her and she threw herself on the slave, hugging
her and kissing her beautiful mouth. "I love you too, Tailike. I am so happy"
she whispered in her ear.
As soon as she helped her lover getting dressed, they set forth to finding a way
to defeat the hideous monster who had imprisoned them. The right time was now,
as she slept deeply, thinking that the Amazon was still being held in the
Yothga's obscene embrace and "Tak" was the mindless drone she had always been.
The two warriors explored many tunnels, checking rooms and niches for every kind
of weapon or magic item they could find. Tailike still had her short sword, but
Diana doubted it could be of any help against the snake-woman's dark magic,
despite its obvious lethality and exquisite finish.
At the end of their route, they found nothing of use, and Wonder Woman noticed
that the slave was beginning to tire. It was strange, given her impressive
physical strength. But her head was slumping, her movements a bit more clumsy,
and finally the Amazon decided to let her rest. They stopped in a small room
which looked like it served as a herbs warehouse. As soon as she sat down,
Tailike fell in a strange state of dullness: Diana feared that her mind would,
for some reason, revert to the previous condition of emptiness. Maybe the effort
had been too much, the change too fast for her; maybe, now that her sexual need
had been fulfilled, the stimulation to contact the outside world had ceased,
too. She hoped that things would go differently, that she was just a bit
exhausted from their love games and the new condition of awareness she had
reached. The Amazon herself felt a bit weak; after all, she had not slept much
lately, and maybe a small nap would aid them both. She sat next to the girl and
leaned against her, closing her eyes.
She woke up after a while, feeling a movement next to her. Tailike was raising
on her feet. Hopefully she had regained enough strength not to let go of her
hold on reality; the Princess opened her eyes and saw the young woman looking at
her, puzzled. After some moments of embarrassment, she spoke with a low voice.
"Um, hello. Who are you, if I may ask?"
Wonder Woman did not answer. She was completely startled; it looked like her
companion had completely recovered! She stood on her feet, staring at her; the
beautiful green eyes now showed a strong personality, courage, and a little bit
of naivety.
"You... Tailike, you are yourself! You regained your will, your soul! Oh, I'm so
happy!" Diana hugged the startled warrior, who apparently didn't know how to
behave in that situation, embarrassed by that display of affection and by the
enormous breasts touching her naked skin. "You... know my name? What happened?
My head is so... full of strange dreams..."
The Princess moved a bit away from her; her face became serious. It was the time
to let her know what had happened until now. She knew it would be a shock for
the brave girl.
"They were not dreams, Tailike. You have been captured and enslaved by a
treacherous monster. I will tell you everything; you have to believe me, because
we are both still in serious danger and we could soon have to fight a very
powerful menace. Please be strong."
Diana explained everything she had heard from the snake-woman, all that had
happened up to that moment, how she had come there and been captured. She
intentionally skipped the part about their love games, suspecting that such
intimate things would need more time to be fully accepted.
When she finished talking, the bronzed warrior was sitting on the floor,
shocked, her head between her hands. "Two years" she said, her voice trembling.
"For two years I have been an instrument to that perverted being. Gods, what
have I done?! Oh, my honored ancestors, how I have failed you!"
"You don't have to say that" said the Princess of Themyscira, gently. "You are
young, while that creature is incredibly old. She had time to plan your fall...
as well as mine, too. With all my powers, I could do almost nothing against her.
And it was you who saved me, when I was in terrible danger." She smiled with
gratitude.
"You said... you are Wonder Woman." The young warrior raised her head, staring
at the naked Amazon. "But if this is true, you are the most powerful heroine in
this world! You have slain mythical monsters! Why can't you just... go there and
grab that vile thing and smash her through a wall?! It's just an overgrown
lamia, after all!"
"A lamia?!" Diana's eyes widened. "You mean that... she's one of those
serpent-women who suck blood from humans? But how could it become so powerful? I
know lamias are dangerous to young men, who are attracted by their allure; but I
never knew they could grow so strong!"
"She is very old, as you correctly said. In these centuries, she nourished over
some unknown source of power, and reached a level of strength which could prove
very dangerous. She is totally evil, and she will use her magic to perform any
wicked act you can imagine of. I was sent here by my mentor to eliminate her. I
was given this sacred blade" she looked at her short sword, which she still held
in hand "which would surely prove fatal to such a dark servant of evil. But I
was tricked by her... I became too confident... a trap was set for me... and I
failed." Her eyes lowered, in shame. "Hadn't it been for you, I would still be
her mindless servant. As a monster hunter, I should be much smarter than this. I
guess you're right; I'm still young, and I have so much to learn."
"Your young spirit allowed you to recover much faster than I thought" said
Wonder Woman. "And your strong, healthy body let your mind reach the outside
world through the power of love."
"The power of impure sex, you mean" replied the hunter, looking away while her
face blushed. Then her eyes widened. "Wait! How can you know of my dreams
about... about you and..." She looked at the Amazon and started to stutter.
"Those weren't dreams either, my sweet Tailike" whispered Diana with a smile.
"It was our love which gave you the strength to win the oblivion within your
soul."
The young warrior's face blushed violently, and she became even more nervous.
"You mean we actually...? Oh, Gods... I have made love with a woman!!" She
looked at the stunning Amazon with uneasiness, and corrected herself. "Well, I
don't mean I don't like you, Wonder Woman... in fact, I always admired you.
You're my living example, the ideal of every monster hunter. You-you're so
strong, and bold, and..."
Diana held Tailike's hands, looking into her emerald eyes. "And I'm just a woman
like you, dear. For Amazons, love between two women is neither to blame, nor to
be seen as impure. I was very happy to give you all the love I could, because
you wanted me, and I hoped it would help you regain your will. But if this
bothers you, then just regard it as a dream, and put it behind your back. Now
you're yourself, and this is what really matters. You can decide who to give
your love to, and when."
The girl held her eyes down, recalling those fantastic moments which - now she
knew - were really a part of her life. They were so vivid, and thinking back to
them would make her blush more, had this been possible at all. Her head rose a
bit, slowly, and she managed to stare into her heroine's sky-blue eyes.
"No, I don't regret the things I've done with you, Wonder Woman. I don't care if
we're both women... I just..." tears came into her eyes, and her voice trembled.
"Deep in my heart, I always dreamed to make love with you and I... just regret
I...wasn't myself... when we... we..."
Diana hugged her, cradling her head and whispering into her ear "Shhh, my sweet
Tailike. This doesn't matter. We have so much time to do those things again. I
will be happy to make love with you, if you want to."
That beautiful face smiled at her, despite the tears running down, and she
smiled back. "You're so pure" thought Wonder Woman. "Grow strong in your purity,
and you will become a great monster hunter, Tailike."
Then she remembered of the evil being who had taken advantage of the young,
innocent girl and defiled that purity, almost destroying such a beautiful soul.
She felt a cold anger rising into her, and her fists clenched. She looked at the
young warrior, her eyes as hard as blue crystals. "Now we have to think about
that abomination. I will need all your courage and strength, because I can't
defeat her by myself alone."
"But why?" asked Tailike, drying a tear. "Has she grown so much stronger since I
was captured? Even I could defeat her two years ago, hadn't I been so naive."
"I'm afraid she has, and I'm responsible for this. She sucked my magic energy
out, draining my powers and expanding hers at the same time. When I saw her,
hours later, the increase in her strength was enormous. She sucked me again
before giving me to the Yothga, so I think she will be even more powerful
now."
"Oh, no!" The monster hunter was shocked, hearing that her heroine's magic
essence had nourished such an evil creature. Then she had an idea. She
approached a table where some herbalist instruments were kept, and grabbed some
herbs from the warehouse. "If she took your great mystical resources, she must
have become incredibly dangerous. We must restore your powers back, if we want
to have some chances of victory." She mixed the herbs with experience and
powdered them, putting the result into a primitive device made to distill. After
a while she smiled with satisfaction. Giving the elixir to Wonder Woman, she
said "Please drink this. It greatly increases recovery of magical energy."
"You seem to be an expert of these things" observed Diana, taking the clay
cup.
"Though I have no magic powers, I received my arcane herbalist training like
every other monster hunter" replied Tailike, smiling. "I think the lamia was
very upset when she found that she could suck nothing out of me."
The Princess of Amazons drank the potion, and her head started spinning. She
almost lost her balance, but the bronzed warrior grabbed her. "Whoops. I'm
sorry, Wonder Woman. I should have told you to sit down." She held her heroine's
magnificent body, and she couldn't help but stare at those magnificent breasts,
warm and soft, which were now sweetly pushing against her arms. She forced
herself to look away, blushing again.
After some minutes, Diana's senses returned at normal. "How do you feel?"
Tailike asked her.
"A bit... like I have been thrown through the whole universe and back" answered
the Amazon, still shaken by the experience. "But you were right. My powers are
coming back fast."
An horrible scream of anger and frustration echoed around the caves, sending
shivers along the back of both warriors. A moment after, a thunderous strike
shook the very rock around them, sending the two women head over heels.
"It looks that the lamia has just discovered about your escape, Wonder Woman"
said Tailike, with a smirk.
"And she's obviously not happy at all about this" replied Diana. "I'm still too
weak to fight her, and you can't do it by yourself alone. We must devise a
strategy."
The scaled monster was wandering around the big hall, consumed by rage. Her
hideous voice roared "Tak! Tak!!" while she tried to imagine how could that
damned Amazon escape the Yothga's embrace. Her power was almost out of her
control; dangerous lightnings emanated from her figure, striking the walls
around and leaving black stains on the burned rock. The golden throne had been
melted down almost completely, while pieces of the sacrificial table could be
seen all over the ground. Many small stones fell from the ceiling, hinting that
such a burst of anger could lead to very unpleasant consequences.
She stopped and forced herself to calm down. Her prisoner couldn't escape the
dungeons, this she knew very well; no matter how she had managed to break free
once again, she would find her... and then, nothing would save that despicable
'heroine' from a slow, painful, excruciating reward.
She asked herseld what had happened to her mindless slave. By now, she should
have heard her call. Had she been defeated by the runaway prisoner?
It wasn't impossible, she decided. Though Tak could still fight like a trained
warrior, her lack of own will and discernment could lead her into a trap. No
matter, though. She would...
A great boulder striking the wall just behind her shook her mind from those
thoughts. She looked where the rock had come from, and she saw Wonder Woman, her
fists on her hips, in a defiant pose. "Turn around and fight me, you vile beast!
You're alone now, and your hideous magic will not save you!"
"Save... me?" hissed Shass'haa, rage boiling again into her cold blood. "What do
you think you can accomplish by challenging me, foolish Amazon? You couldn't win
even if you had your divine powers!" Her slender fingers moved with elegance,
and a big lightning bolt burst forth, aimed to her enemy.
Diana had foretold such a move, and she jumped forward, helping her movements
with her still uncertain power of flight. She landed and parried another blast
with her bracelets, though the effort made her grin her teeth. But she faked
ease, and stood up again with a smirk.
"I do have my full power now, evil creature" she uttered. "Don't even think you
can escape from me!"
The lamia's eyes closed a bit, wary. "How can this be?! I drained all your
magic! How could you regain it in such a short time? Is there something I didn't
know about you?"
"You can bet" replied Diana, showing confidence. "Your little houseplant wasn't
a problem for me, and now I will slay you once and for all!" She rose her right
arm, and in her hand Shass'haa saw a short weapon with an unmistakable,
beautiful finish.
"Tak's sword!" she hissed, now on alert. She knew that such a blessed weapon was
a danger for her, even with her actual level of power. In the hands of an expert
warrior such as the Princess of Amazons, it might well mean her death!
Another blast of electricity leapt from her hands, but this time it was not well
aimed, and the Princess easily avoided it. "What's the matter, monster?" she
asked, mocking her furious enemy. "Can't your magic even hit me?"
Now Shass'haa was afraid as well as angry. She was not facing an helpless woman,
but a mythical heroine, well armed and determined to slay her. Worst of all,
this situation had not been prepared in advance: she didn't have a trap ready to
spring! Unless...
She started moving slowly sideways, always facing her opponent. She stopped when
Wonder Woman was perfectly in line between her and the center of the room...
where a light started shining faintly with one slight gesture of her hand.
Suddenly, she raised her arms while evoking all her power. She was surrounded by
a huge aura of dark magic, and the very rock around them seemed to vibrate. With
a fluid movement, she pointed her arms towards Diana, who took her defensive
stance, and unleashed a mighty strike of pure magic energy. The flux of power
hit the Princess of Themyscira, surrounding her, and only the sacred bracelets
and her feeble returning strength prevented her from being consumed by such an
enormous energy. Though she couldn't see it, the rock of the wall far behind her
began crumbling, just from receiving a feeble shadow of that devastating power.
The Amazon was running a huge risk, and she had known since the start that
Shass'haa would not hold back if she thought that Wonder Woman's powers had been
fully restored. She prayed that her limited strength was enough for her to hold
on until their plan came to its final part.
While holding her defensive position, Diana started moving back, one step at a
time, as if the effort was too much for her. In fact, this was definitely the
truth, but she had to play smart, faking a level of power she didn't have, while
concentrating every little bit of her energy on deflecting the roaring flux of
devastating black magic. Now she was approaching the center of the room, and the
circle of light became brighter. The lamia was panting, her concentration
absolute, her teeth clenched, her every muscle tensed, putting everything she
had into the mighty spell. "One step more" she thought, focusing even more.
"Just one step..."
She didn't understand what happened next, what broke her concentration and her
spell just a split second before her victory, until she found herself held high
in the air like a rag doll by two powerful, tanned arms. She heard from below a
voice she hadn't heard for two years.
"I will tell you just once, monster. My name is Tailike!"
She found herself flying through the room, the cold air blowing around her body
as she passed over her enemy, who was now crouching, and landed over a white
circle of light, a symbol she knew very well...
An anguished scream pierced the air, filled with pain and horror. Diana stood
up, looking at the scene: Shass'haa was surrounded by an impossibly bright
light, squirming like a wounded snake, twisting her body in ways that would be
just impossible to any man or woman. She made horrible noises, neither human nor
animal, while she fought to break the seal holding her.
"You told me that when you captured me, monster. 'Every magic creature is
powerless in that circle.' I guessed this could apply to you as well." The
Princess was smiling weakly, panting, her legs shaking: the effort had been
almost too much for her, and she felt incredibly exhausted. She didn't hear the
light sound of naked feet running to her until a strong hand grabbed the sword
she held; Tailike jumped towards the writhing creature like a lioness, in a
magnificent display of power and beauty, her body arching in the air as the
sacred blade flashed, drawing a half-moon which ended into the lamia's chest.
The hunter, thrusting her weapon with all her strength as she held her prey on
the floor, yelled her battle cry with such a passion and rage as Diana would
never think she was capable of.
"In the name of the Gods, for all my glorious ancestors, DIE, MONSTER!"
A sprinkle of green blood came from Shass'haa's open mouth, as her eyes looked
at the sword sticking out of her chest, without understanding. She arched
backwards in a violent convulsion; her body seemed to change its shape as her
legs turned into a long snake tail, her fingers became long claws, her beautiful
face now a mask of horrible reptilian features. She twisted violently again and
stood still. The light in her yellow eyes was fading, now just a small spark of
hate and disgust sustained by her vanishing black magic.
"You... will... never... see the light... again" she hissed, with a voice almost
too faint to be heard. Her right hand made a slight gesture; the last sparkle of
life left her, and her lizard-like eyes stared at eternity.
Diana ran to Tailike, who was now crouching on the floor, shaken by tears. "I
remembered..." she sobbed, "when I saw her... I remembered... everything she
had... done to me... in these two years... I had t-to kill her... if I ever
wanted to be proud of myself... again..." she covered her face with her hands,
crying.
Wonder Woman knelt and hugged the girl from behind. "Cry all your tears,
Tailike" she whispered to her ear, with sorrow in her eyes. "You have avenged
your suffering and atoned for your mistake. Your honor is safe."
When they both recovered from the ordeal, the two warriors prepared to leave
that horrible place. A fast inspection of what had been the lamia's room
rewarded them with Diana's costume and magic items: Tailike was a bit sad when
the stunning Amazon princess covered her beautiful body, but she thought that it
would be so much sweet to uncover it again.
When they returned to the main hall, Diana opened the big door she had come
from, and saw the large tunnels of the ancient temple opening in front of them.
But her companion was a bit puzzled, and watched the inner landscape without
understanding.
"This cannot be" she mumbled, taking a step forward. "I didn't come from here
when I was captured. But the door is right, I'm sure."
Wonder Woman thought about these words. The girl's memories could be a bit
twisted by time and all the manipulations her mind had gone through. But
suddenly she felt that particular sensation, like arcane words whispered from an
unimaginable distance, webs of thought being threaded into the air... and in a
flash she remembered the lamia's last words. "You will never see the light
again..."
"No!!" she shouted, reaching for Tailike, trying to hold her back; but the girl
had already crossed the threshold, and the air around her seemed to boil, to
twist as if space itself had been stretched and then released... and where the
monster hunter had been just a moment before, now there was just an empty space.
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End of Chapter 5
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