Diver Deep the Second

 
"But there was a trial.  It was the twilight of the gods."

 

From her stone at Har-Megiddo's edge in the late eve, the Maiden of today watches the investigators walk away.  The field clearing, dust settling, sullen losses walk their ways from Sanctuary's gates to the keeper's gate.

 

She stares after the high flying wind dragons, then a sideways glance from the Queen of the Sidhe, mistrust.  The maiden smiles back to a grunt from the queen before she mounts her dragon.  

 

Amazon bikers roar past with looks upon her with concern ... all cleared in time's end the Maiden stands, stretching her arms high in joy, a cracked back and a laugh at it.

Maiden - "Freedom."

Laughter spinning before gone in a dervish.

A distance away through the sandy mist, the metallic slats at the fore of Boadicea's chariot unfold, she falls from it to her knees in exhaustion. 

Her two archer daughters follow the same from the sides of the fore plates, staring coldly.  She looks to the eldest, the eldest looks back, a nod.  

 

The daughters turn to the chariot and tear Boadicea's armor violently from it in chunks twisted off.  They rip their own armors from their placements and slam them into the structure, slats absorbing their form to two.

 

The eldest steps into Boadicea's place on the chariot as the youngest stretchers her arms to become the fore, the heads of falling kings dragged behind staring, their ghosts staring alike as the chariot's steeds.

They throw the daughter's bow. 

Boadicea kneels, a sad smile, a tear.  She holds the bow and twisted armor pieces to her chest, head bowed as they stare.  A quiver lands before her, arrows dumping.  She slumps in tears gathering it.  A sword.  A dagger.  Waterskin.  

She gathers in sobs as the chariot turns away into the dust.

She falls back, scattering it.  The sun passes, she lay on her back staring, hard breathing.  Clouds pass in shapes.  The sounds of the real world traffic starts to fade in, from the plains in farmer fields today.

"Boadicea."

She looks.

Maiden - From the spinning sand settling, "We're free !  On the very same day !"

She rolls over away in her tears clutching her gear.

"Boadicea"

She controls to a heavy breathing.

The sound of a car driving by.

Maiden - "The dead abandon you.  It means it's time to live again.  It means you're free."

Boadicea - "i know."

________________ 

 

Felicia stares from the open house side into the backyard, Hector and Sally very badly damaged, rockets missing and tail blown off.  UFO peeps it's head behind Hector.

Felicia - "What are you ?  What happened to ... this ... ?"  She runs a high hand across the broken wing.

The UFO drops to wheels and zips through the bushes and off over the golf course to away.  After a stare, Felicia looks over the damage, feeling over the charred out gaps along Sally's hull.

Felicia - Stepping back, "This is bad."  She looks up at Hector's top.  "Isn't it."

~ As they leave Uranus ( ... ) ~

 

Sally - "I can't believe those two showed up at the arena."

 

Hector - "I know !  Check it out, I made a little ring out of mine."  He pulls out an arm and shows the golden ring with the belly-disc on top, body crushed around his finger.

 

Sally - "Ha !  Mine's a thimble."  She pulls out an arm, a finger with a blue and white thimble, silver cap.

 

Hector - "Wow ... hey can I ... "

 

 

 

The Princess Gunship (shut up) ports out behind them, spinning them off in the reverse vacuum of entry.

 

 

~ The Continuing Adventures of Diver Deep ~

 

Evil - Squelching into their internal speakers, "Youuuu ... Where ... is the Nocturnal One ?!"

Hector - "Ummm ... who ?"

 

...

 

Evil - Not impressed with acting skills, "Really ?" 

The aliens sigh and shake their heads in their seats behind her.

Sally - "Run."

They blast for the asteroid field, the gunship barreling through behind.  The side cannons mounted to the heavy fore track their pursuits until they cross the gunship bow.  The main cannon lights through the stony field, sending shards of debris across their path.

Side cannons hit as they try to avoid the pelting shower (the aliens high five), the ship grinds into a turn sending a wide beam across their path and through the field.

 

~ The Nocturnal Ones ~

 

(back  in the yard)

 

Hector - "It's bad."

...

Felicia - "Okay."  She pulls the phone on her front where a schoolbus of insane children pulls up creaming from its windows.
________

Walking through the desert, a car roars by, leaving the real world farms in place of Har-Meggido.  another, it's the desert again. 

Boadicea's twisted piece armor looking as awesome as intended, the maiden skipping from dervish to form around her in nearly a dance.

Maiden - "Boadicea ... "

...

Boadicea - "What."

Maiden - "Do you have any food ?"

...

Boadicea - "No.  And if you must keep mispronouncing my name, please just call me Buda.  It's ... what they used to call me."

Maiden - "You mean like the ... "

Buda - "No."

...

Maiden - "Oh." 

...

(hunger sound)
________

Outside the school where the kids all run in circles for the door, some missing and running into the wall.  Felicia talks on the phone while off in the background one tries jumping through a closed window and bounces off again and again, children inside cheering him on.

Agent Geneva - "I got the message.  But you should know I'm not the kind of agent you think I am.  We've settled them.  And yes we can help you.

"And then we settle your parents."

Felicia - "Ah.  So ... you're the kind of agent who settles children's parents."

AG - "In some certain situations in which we have purveyance, yes.  I'm the kind who settles it all.  But we keep them locked down for now.  And you."

She hangs up annoyed looking up at the bus. 
________

Agent 'Geneva' puts away the phones the repair and construction crews set to work and continue arrival, repair braces being constructed around Hector and Sally. 

Agent Geneva - To another agent standing alongside, "I hate kids so fucking much."

Agent Blank - (jogging tracker) "How long ?"

AG - "Until we find out if she's worth filling a tube.  Or not."

...

Blank - "I hate those fucking gigs."

AG - Looks at him smiles, then turns for the work crews.  Points up toward Hector, "Mixed opinions.  We need this, you need that, and they need these operational.  So let's get hop, hop, hop on ... to it."  Turns walking.

...

Blank - "Hey !"

AG - Turns stopping, "Yah."

Blank - "What about Sanctuary ?  You know they protect their students over all."

AG - "We need an agent there.  And we need that agent aware, of her operational environment.  Just like the last one was."

Blank - "The last one betrayed you."

AG - "Did she now ?"  Smiles, looks back to Hector, at the agent again, then turns back to it.
____________

Another car roars past in the desert.

Maiden - "It's just ... I didn't know I would get 'hungry'.  It isn't really something you'd think of ..."

...

Boadicea - "Me neither."

Another car roars past.