Dear Ms Lady Demigod: Twelve Days To Doom

7 7 Anton and The Fembrians

The tower slowly came down and Anton lay on the snow. Aleksei held his glowing frame, "His bones are breaking!" He yelled and Nataniel froze his limbs, but they would still break inside the ice, "It's not working,"
"What do we do?!"

"Listen," Anton looked at Aleksei, "It can't be fixed,"
"No, it can, we'll make it! You'll make it!"
"Aleksei..." Anton pressed his hand on Aleksei's face, "Take me to the tower, and repair the hollow with my remains,"
"No, no, don't say that—You cannot die yet!"

Anton smiled, "Why not? We are all just an island of time of intelligence with a terrible desire to be loved yet raw from wounds of matter and of being human,"
Tears left Aleksei's eyes, "But you're not human,"

Anton looked at his hands, turning to dust, "I am not," He looked at Aleksei and then at Maks, "We need to hurry. Open the portal,"
Maks brought his hands forward and tried opening a portal, but it wouldn't open. Nataniel and Ariel looked at him, "What happened?"
"It won't open,"

"You cannot open the portals anymore," Anton told them, "The planes are crashing, the tower no longer has the energy to make that rupture between two different worlds and let you go through them It's dying,"
"Well, how will we reach the tower without entering hell?" Maks asked.

Nataniel remembered the old portal Annelece made to hell, "Wait, if the tower doesn't have the energy to open portals, does it have the energy to close them?"
"No, everything just in a standstill, waiting to be ended," Anton told him. 
Nataniel stepped forward, "Follow me," He ran through the forest and they ran after him. Aleksei held Anton in his arms and ran behind Nataniel. 

. . .

Feline jumped down from the carriage, "I'll go alone from here. You go back to the castle,"
"What? No, we are supposed to help our friends!" Annelece told her, "We'll go together,"
"Your princess is pregnant,"
"WHAT?! YOUR HIGHNESS?" Annelece turned and looked at her from the window, "Is that true?" He whispered to her and she nodded, reluctantly. He didn't ask her any further questions and turned the carriage, Take care, Ms Feline. Do find the star spirit and write to us once everything is okay,"

"I'll come with you," Happiness jumped down from the carriage and stood with her, "I'll see you both after saving the universe," He smiled. 
Annelece smiled and went away with the carriage. They watch them disappear in the fog and continue ahead, on the stony way and the dried forest.

. . .

Phobos stood beside Peitho and looked at the churning seas of heaven, creating music. They almost looked like heavy blue clouds. They held gold goblets of ambrosia, "That ice monster," He drank his cup, "I would have killed Ajax if that monster didn't interfere. He called him his family," He snickered, "How far our half-brother has fallen,"
"It is a shame. Ajax has, what mother told me, great power,"
Phobos snickered, "Great power? I almost defeated him,"

"Maybe, that ice monster is the great power that he possesses. Maybe that's what mother meant from his "great power". A forlorn creature, homeless and unfriended, mesmerised by a lower-demigod, delusional of being in relation to something divine, just to find a place in heaven,"
"If that forlorn creature is his great power," Phobos grinned, "I will ensure he cannot interfere on my next hunt,"

"But they are always together,"
"Not if I interfere," He said as he thought of Ajax.
"What would you do? Kill him?" 
"No,"Phobos crushed his goblet between his fingers, "Break him,"

. . .

Nataniel stopped suddenly, "Wait,"
"Did you find the portal?"
"I feel something," He got down and touched the snow, "A silver light," He spoke as he saw a dagger in the air, the footprints of people, "Demons?" Maks asked.
"No," He focused deeper to see their face, suddenly he saw a pair of blue eyes turned red, "WHO'S THERE?!" Someone in a black cloak appeared before them. Nataniel jumped back and Ariel held his sword, which fell from his hand within a second, "Ouch!"
"You are still terrible with swords, huh?" Ariel and Nataniel recognised that voice and he removed his cloak from his head, and his black bags fell over his blue eyes, "Ariel,"

"DAD!" Nataniel yelled and hugged Akagi, "Hehehe"
"Dad?" Ariel looked at Akagi, "Wow, you look...crusty,"
"People age, cunt." Akagi kept his sword back in and looked at Nataniel. He patted his head, "You are the only one who doesn't boil my blood, Nataniel"
"Well, he does control ice," Ariel said, monotonously.

"Yes, you though," He looked at Ariel, "I leave your golden ass alone for a few years, and you pull me this giant surprise,"
Ariel looked down, "I'm sorry, dad,"
Akagi looked surprised, "Did you just...apologise?"
"Yes, because I know I did something horrible. I shouldn't have let anger control me, I'm sorry I let you down,"

Akagi was completely taken aback, "Wow...You've changed...A-A lot, actually,"
"Huh? Have I?" Ariel looked into his eyes.
"The little shit I knew, would never apologise. Where's Jevelene?"
Ariel looked down, "We lost her,"

Akagi was at the loss of words, "...She...died?" He looked at Nataniel and he nodded, "What? How? Why didn't you write to me?" 
"It all happened too suddenly," Nataniel explained. Akagi looked at Ariel, "Are you okay?"

Ariel took a deep breath, "Trying to find peace," He smiled.
Akagi hugged him gently, "We'll find it together,"
Ariel hugged him back and Akagi patted his head. Lict walked out from the darkness with Lobelia and Evgeni "Oh! You guys are here!"
Nataniel bowed, "Oh my god, we found our second elite star," He pointed at Maks.

Maks, Lict and Lobelia hugged each other, "How have you been?" Lict asked with a smile.
"Very well," Maks turned towards Aleksei, who was still holding Anton in his arms, "Cannot say the same for him,"
"Is that Ymir?" Lobelia recognised Anton, "Yes, but he would soon die,"
"As he ought to," Lobelia looked at Pierre. 

He bowed, "A cat?"
"Yeah, I picked one," Maks told her and Lobelia rolled her eyes, "You and your fancy towards beasts,"
"Hey, you frame it so weirdly. I'm not attracted to beasts! I just like caring for them,"

Ariel looked at Evgeni, "How might you be, good sir?"
"I'm Evgeni Medvediva, Demigod of Yolanda. And that," He pointed towards Lobelia, "Is my star spirit, Silence or as I lovingly call her,"
"Lobelia," She introduced herself, "There is no time for formalities, Milord. We still yet to break that portal,"

"What portal?" Ariel asked and they took them to the hardened portal. Nataniel touched the portal, "This is cold," He punched it, "And quite solid,"
"We tried everything to break it, but it won't,"
Nataniel made an ice spear and tried to penetrate the portal, the spear broke but the portal didn't. Maks tried breaking it with magic, but couldn't.
Ariel looked at them and finally looked at his hands, "Maybe I can break it,"

Akagi looked at him, "You can?"
Ariel touched it and rubbed his fingers over it, "It's copal." He recognised it immediately.
"What is that?" Evgeni asked.
"A botanical tree resin. It's made of hydrocarbons, which means," Ariel's eyes began turning golden, "Now, if I just move the right atoms,"

His skin turned golden, the amber began boiling and slowly steam rose from the portal. Ariel could see the atoms grow apart, he could see the electrons moving across, changing places, and slowly, the atoms began moving away from each other into a liquid matrix. The amber slowly melted away and the portal was soon open. Ariel moved away from the hot amber and turned back. They all just stared at him, "Let's go,"

They all followed him and looked at the mesmerising patch of vines, grass, moss and flowers in hell, ending as far as the eye could see. There were horses grazing on that grass. Anton looked at the horses, "I see them... I see Fembrians..."

-To be continued

Maks
Dear Ms Lady Demigod: Two Days To Doom