HEPHAESTUS

They weren’t the most talented fighter. They were the worst shooters. They could not handle the gun for an instant as Venus disarmed them in a second and knocked them to the floor.

‘’You became a mechanic for a good reason,'' Venus said with a tired groan.

Hephaestus tilted their head to the right and grinned flirtatiously.

‘’And you became a soldier to hunt people like me.''

‘’You are ,no people’’Venus loaded his gun. His sharp hateful voice became louder.

‘’And here I am’’ Hephaestus moved their head, closer to the front sight of the gun.

Venus clenched his jaw and his finger caressed the trigger.

An ordering whistle hit their ears. Venus took a step back and looked confused behind as Ma’at approached both of them with no cane and his helm only exposing his sharp jaw and a clean gentle and yet so twisted smile. His steps were formal and loud, echoing from the bridge to the top of the machine.

‘’What are you waiting for?’’ Ma’at asked Venus, confused. ‘’Shoot them in the head’’

Venus' expression became softer and more upset. Hephaestus could see that even after everything, he did not want it. His hands were shaking with the gun around the pistol and the trigger. As if he was a little kid all over again.

Hephaestus growled and jumped to Ma’at’s side, creating a sharp piece of steel with the rage kept growing even more.

‘’This could have worked before’’Ma’at explained with a single wave of his hand and pushed them back.

Hephaestus cleared their jaw and attacked again but before the fire tried to hit the scientists, three bullets hit their throat.

They collapsed on their knees, gasping for air with the blood falling to the iron. But their eyes did not let go of Venus' furious gaze.

"Venus please," Hephaestus said, lifting their hand above his body. Hope they can reach him. But instead, he moved away cowardly.

They looked back where Ma’at was. They just wanted to grab his arrogant grin and burn it with their own hands.

But the smile vanished. Hephaestus realized the reason soon as a heated wind brushed around their body, mind, and soul. Tears fell from their eyes. Tears that did not belong to them. They could listen to screams and tears that they had never heard. Memories that did not belong to them. And it was a burning nightmare.

''Janus'' They whimpered with a realization.

Ma'at sighed annoyed. '' The girl was far more troublesome than I thought.'' He said with a skeptical tone.

''She didn't kill him'' Hephaestus muttered, clenching their chest.

''Ah, a line died then'' He sounded even more disappointed than before. His head fell to Hephaestus with a grin curled around his hidden expression.

He was smiling. He was happy that Lucifer succeeded.

‘’I must thank her then,’’ Ma’at was ready to step away from them. ‘’You see, he was far too powerful to stay in line. She kept my hands from ending up dirty.’’

''What is your goal?'' Hephaestus asked him. ''Kill every warlock? Every demon in Babel?''

''Babel was always a problem for Akhet. For the Rulers.''He explained. ''They were never a problem for me.''

''Then what is..''

''I want the right thing for people like you'' He finally admitted. ''A power that you never wanted to put in, you can create so many things. ''

''You are killing warlocks'' Hephaestus shouted. ''You are using them.''

''Some of them, yes. But there were also desperate ones. Near-death. ''He walked around them, trying to explain everything. ''In those I gave them a choice, an offer. And when someone is near death, they can do even the most vile things.'' A slight smile curved around his face.

''Their weaknesses become strength, their dreams, goals, hatred. It is just something I am fond of seeing in every one of them'' his hand moved down. ''I give them what their lust, greed, pride, and wrath can hold and in return, I just need their help. Is it that terrible?''

The mechanic started thinking again''Prometheus...''

''He was old, desperate for more time. Safety'' He half shrugged.

''You chain him up, letting that fat bird.''

''When I found him, he was a half-burnt soldier of Babel, killing everyone he could find. He needed to stop.'' He tried to explain his tactics. Hephaestus almost believed in his words, even agreeing with him.

''So your goal is peace?'' Hephaestus snarled.

''Balance,'' he said. ''But for this, I need your eyes.''One step closer.

'' I need the thing you stole from me.''

He lifted from his hand, only two fingers, releasing all the pain that made Hephaestus scream. He moved to their side and grabbed them from their face as if they were his broken toy, shoving his nails deep into their skin.

''Unfortunately'' He let out a sigh. ‘’You are still useful to me’’

Hephaestus gritted their teeth and tried to back away. But it was useless.

''You always had this curious light in your eyes.''He complimented them. ''Intriguing to see what it was hiding, it gave me a slight interest in you''

''Oh, thank you'' They rolled their eyes.''But also ''They held their breath before they spat right at his chin.

''Fuck you'' They rasped with a narrowed spiteful gaze.

I just spat a made one, I just spat a Made One, I just...

They finally pulled slightly away and looked inside their bag, hoping to find something to fight for.

‘’I am not going to ..’’Hepahestus tried to speak.

‘’Consent is not the issue’’ Ma’at interrupted them, his gaze returning to Venus. ''If I wait for people to agree with me well''

He scoffed and moved away from them, standing up. He snapped his fingers causing them a loud headache. Hephaestus felt their skin burning once again with millions of swords hitting their skin. They moved their hands upon their head, hoping for it to stop.

‘’What are you?'' Venus tried to speak.

‘’No need to be afraid’’Ma’at answered him. Childishly.

‘’You are hurting them,'' Venus shouted, taking a step in front.

‘’And?’’ Ma’at asked surprised

Hephaestus found Venus looking at them with a frown.

‘’They are a monster’’

Hephaestus let out another painful groan and their head kissed the ground.

They tried to focus their mind, avoiding their pain. They took three heavy breaths. Remembering. They had to remember every detail, everything that happened, from the moment they first saw light and colors, till now.

A Made One could destroy or restore everything with a wave of their hand. If he wanted, Ma’at would now have destroyed Babel and every warlock or demon in existence.

‘’You are a Made One who got trapped'' Hephaestus grinned deviously.

The man stayed silent, lifting his chin proudly. ‘’And you are still weak like a mere warlock’’

Lifting his hand a wave of strong wind pushes them to the bars, hitting their back against the cold iron.

''You do not know what a mere warlock is then. ''He scolded them.

They let out a groan and glared at him with anger. They could see in the distance, Venus, who heard everything taking two steps back. His eyes dart and fear dances by his side, conquering his entire existence.

Ma’at did not show any sign of emotion as he was walking to their side.

''How did you do it?'' Hephaestus asked, in a curious pant. Eyes forced to not shut down.

''You have to be more specific.''

''Made Ones'' do not exist. They never did.''They took a deep breath. ''You are just a warlock who placed experiments''

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

That made the man's lips open. And then put out a sort of laugh.

''Your beliefs of science do not change,'' He sighed, amused.''Even in the face of death'' He flexed his fingertips.

A wave of memories pushed inside their head, finally seeing the blind girl once more. She was screaming, crying for help.

''But your mind believes in lost souls''

Hephaestus gulped and stretched their wrists, waiting for the right time to attack.

''Compassion is a fascinating weakness. '' He complimented them. ‘’So strong and easy to break.’’

''Shut -'' They shook their head, wiping the images far from their head.

‘’You think that you can win this?’’ Ma’at asked arrogantly. ''Believe it or not, I have seen thousands like you. All of them have the same fates. Dead or on my side.''

''No'' Hephaestus grinned confidently. ‘’You have never seen anyone like me''

Ma’at opened his mouth slowly, just an inch before his voice let a brutal insane laugh. His body shook, shrinking until he lifted his head. Hephaestus felt a dark shadow around their throat as there was smoke trying to get inside their lungs.

‘’So much hate for me, isn’t it?’’ He asked them, restraining his laughter and jerking his head to the left.

Hephaestus’s eyes subpoenaed wide.

‘’Everyone is always blaming the one except themselves,'' he said calmly.

''You are wrong'' They rasped, surprising him.

I hate you because you did things to him. You made me choose, you made people suffer.

I blame myself for the rest. Because I was a fool.

Ma’at pushed their body to the floor without even touching them, letting them be surprised.

Hephaestus did not give up and started attacking again and again. But every time they ended up on the ground, coughing blood. Then they had it. They had an opening for everything. Steel in their hand and one breath far from the endless goal. But a bullet hit their body a few inches away from their heart to the right. They fell on their knees and turned the other way to see Venus with the gun in his hand, aiming at them once more.

‘’Monster’’Venus said with a broken voice.

A light inside their eyes faded instantly. They shrank their body with their lips shaking.

YOU CAUSED THIS YOU CAUSED THIS YOU CAUSED THIS.

Ma’at smiled satisfied by looking at Venus and then back at them as he took a step closer to them. Hephaestus looked at him and pulled their shaking body, crawling back to the end side of the bridge. He sighed and got on his knees to touch their jaw and lift it slightly with his thumb and index so he could see the broken experiment's expression.

A smile. An empty painless smile. He hummed confused and then lowered his gaze, only to see a metallic sphere right at their dirty hands. The sound of a clock hit both of their ears.

Ma’at frowned.

''You wouldn't.'' He pressed his lips into a line.

‘’Can a made one heal when he is in a million pieces?’’ They asked him.

‘’You will be dead too when you find the truth’’Ma’at informed them.

‘’Perhaps’’Hephaestus pushed the sphere, murmuring numbers beneath their teeth, and moved their prosthetic to his stomach, kicking him, pushing him away as for their body weight breaking the iron bars of the bridge.

Hephaestus was now falling, counting the last three numbers.

Three, two, one. An explosion snapped right at their eyes with bright reddish and orange colors dancing with a loud familiar cry singing.

Hephaestus smiled and closed their eyes, waiting for their fall.

Back to the fire, there were screams as they tried to escape outside. Screams that once more did not belong to them. Their fingers were burning, back-breaking from the flames as there was no breath to take. Not theirs.

A hand slipped on their remaining leg, pulling them down.

Facing back, they could see Leviathan, forcing themselves to escape from the ruins of the house. Blood dripped and my eyes were ready to shut down.

''You caused this you little''They shouted. Hephaestus screamed and kicked their legs to get free.

But they were far stronger than the young gunsmith.

''Do you think that just because you have this power you are special?'' They let out a tired hiss like a snake.

''You are nothing brat. You don't deserve this power. ''Their lips curled a deep hideous grin.

''But have the fun of being a livestock. Because when you die either the line will stop or will move.''

I wish for the line to stop. I want my flesh to stop burning. I want my dreams to come true. And I know that it can't happen.

Falling was a dream come true. They were never interested in flying. They were interested in how their body would work in Gravity, how their hair would move from above, their clothes would wrinkle all over and what result would cause to the ground.

But their dream stopped when a tight grip caught off their wrist, stopping the fall in the middle of the air.

They opened their eyes, only to see Mordred’s eyes looking right at their face. He was in pain but he did not let

‘’You…’’ Mordred shouted with the scars keeping growing. ''Are a complete idiot.''

Hephaestus took a deep breath, feeling his fingers sweating and slipping around their skin.

‘’Why are you here?’’ Hephaestus yelled.

Mordred growled.’’I am saving you. Again.''He answered. ''Now come on we have to'''

''Let me go''Hephaestus interrupted him, trying to make his hand ache from their heated flesh. Hoping that he would pull away.

''It is best for all of us.''

''If you die we all die''Mordred shouted, forcing them to remember as his fingers moved tighter on their body.

''So''His eyes looked away before facing them once more.

''I will kill you. I will kill you

over and over again if it needs to,

in any way I can think of.''

''What?''Hephaestus flinched. Has he gone mad?

''I will be the only one to kill you. No matter what. I'' He took a deep breath. ''That is my vow, my promise.''

Their eyes lit up and their body moved front and back, watching Mordred's body slowly trying to push them up. There was silence. No more screams, no sound of the engines.Complete silence as if only two people existed in the entire world. The entire world was spinning around a bird and a priest. For once, the firebird did not feel alone.

Hephaestus moved their other hand to his arm and pulled them higher. They found the edge of the floor and placed their hand right at it, pulling their own body higher than the bars. Mordred took a step back, leaving their hands and gravity pushed them close to his side.

Close enough to share the same breath. Close enough to see fear in his eyes. The two suns were shaking, dilating.

Hephaestus moved to his side and tried to hide their frightened expression from him.

‘’I am going to help you fix this’’ Mordred’s hand was wrapped around their fingers. Hephaestus shook a yes.

‘’And if I have to, I will kill you myself.'' his voice broke with one scar moving up to his eyes and his lips forced a sweet smile. A smile so sweet that could make everyone forget even their names just by looking at it.

Hephaestus chuckled a satisfied smirk. ''You care about me'' They teased him, restraining every tear, every spite they could attack him with.

''You are my friend Gunsmith'' He grinned back. ''Whether we both like it or not,''

Friend. They had to just push each other from cliffs, hate, despise each other, fight and lie, and keep secrets for both of them to call each other friends. Friends that could either destroy each other or make a difference, a choice.

''Well,'' Hephaestus looked down and stretched their wrists.

They stood up slowly and faced him with excitement’You won’t live long enough to use them'' They informed him and both of them walked to the room right in front of them with Hephaestus taking slow steps.

When they were right in front of the control room, they found fallen dead bodies. The engine kept shaking as if they were getting hit by a strong force.

Both Mordred and Hephaestus took a step font and then a step back from the explosion.

The familiar sound of iron boots approached the room. Venus was holding a carbine, shakily. His handsome face was snow half burned and his clothes had dark pits of smoke, reflecting the white fabric.

Hephaestus flinched and stretched their wrists again. ‘’You killed all of them’’ Venus yelled in pain. ‘’It is all your fault. All your fault’’ He repeated again and again, making Hephaestus sick to their stomach.

‘’I did ‘’Hephaestus admitted and moved their hand inside their bag.

Venus shoots and an iron bullet hits their hand.

Mordred moved closer to them but Hephaestus bit their lip and placed their other palm to him.

After that, Hephaestus threw a metallic sphere at Venus. He looked at it frightened and looked at Hephaestus once more.

Two seconds passed and instead of an explosion, an iron net appeared, wrapping his entire body tight, making him fall with the carbine falling from his hands.

He was screaming and crying but his eyes did not move from them. They just kept glaring at the person they once knew. His body squealed from left to right, legs kicking. A few seconds passed and then, the soldier gave up.

Hephaestus did too and let out a melancholic sigh.

‘’Die’’ Venus cursed them.

But they approached him with soft jumps, dragging their prosthetic to the iron floor. Mordred tried to reach them but they were already far from him. They got on their knees and unleashed their old loved one by pressing another button.

Tic, tic.

His eyes lit up and stretched his shoulders and wrists. Venus jumped to them, his hands clenching to their throat as he tried to growl. Hephaestus did not attack or react. They just smiled

‘’I am not trying to kill you'' Hephaestus rasped. ‘’That is the truth’’

Venus’s eyes opened wide, tears falling from his blue eyes with blood trying to hide around the water from his eyes.

''I am alone'' He whispered.

They hummed and smiled with their hands reaching his knuckles.

I am alone too.

‘’Such a shame’’Ma’at’s voice appeared calmly as Venus’s body from Hephaestus was pulled away by a strong grasp.

Their eyes found the man being unharmed, even if he had a strong scent of fire all around him.

His hand was wrapped around Venus's collar, pulling him higher and making the soldier kick in the air.

‘’I almost felt fond of you’’ He sighed with a musically upset hum. He then simply shrugged.

‘’Almost’’

‘’Wait’’ Hephaestus lifted their upper body and tried to confront him.

But he forced his thumb on Venus' skin. For Hephaestus, watching the action, it seemed so easy for a mortal to burn to a crisp.

Venus first was panting, looking all around. Then he was screaming as the fire found his skin. And then, his eyes looked at Hephaestus.

Two kids were looking at each other, offering their hands to one another. Two kids filled with dreams and hopes different from one another. But those two kids were having the same thought.

I am sorry. It was my fault.

Ashes like snow fell to their face as tears fell to their warm skin. They could hear Mordred moving to their side, screaming their name. They could not respond. They could only think that every day, Venus was the brave one, the one who was protecting them from everything. And after everything. They could not even try to repay him.

Ma’at sighed and wiped the blood from his clothes with a single move of his finger. Then, he turned to Hephaestus.

They could see Mordred starting shooting at the man but nothing happened. The cracks became more pronounced as he backed down. Ma'at faced him and snatched Venus' pistol.

One on his chest, in the center of the curse. Two on his legs. He did not scream, he did not say anything. Because his eyes told everything. His gaze was looking at them, screaming to get up. To fight.

''Maybe I will send you to the superior, ''Ma'at suggested with a smile. ''Would you prefer whole or into pieces?'' He almost sounded curious, interested in how Mordred wanted to die by his hands.

''Let him go'' Hephaestus finally spoke. And that drew every attention back to them.

''It's me that you want'' They panted. ''I will do everything you ask just please.''

They cried like a kid. They were a kid. Ten years old. Back to a dark house. Back was the only person they understood was getting hurt.

Make a choice.

''Oh,'' Ma'at gasped amused.''It's always, always like this.''Words got out like poison.

''Of course I will let him'' His hand played with the cylinder.

Mordred had the right time to shoot one more bullet. This time, it hit his helm, making a small scratch.

''Get up'' He shouted at Hephaestus, forcing himself to stand up.

One sound. One bullet. To the head. To the priest's head.

''I will let him out of his misery'' Ma'at finished his promise as he kicked Mordred's body with his dark boot, even closer to the bars. He did not even move.

I am going to help you fix it.

Hephaestus saw every light inside him fading slowly. His flesh was losing its bright playful color and was rotting, decaying, forcing himself to breathe. The two suns had fallen asleep. He was breathing but hardly. He was healing but not fast.

There was no time.

Ma'at walked to their side and kneeled. Broken, Burned and he was a body trapped in time. Something that they could not kill. Not like that.

Make a choice.

Hephaestus made their fingers into tight fists and bit their lower lips harshly to restrain their screams and tears.

A spark of an idea appeared once more, the engine worked again.

‘’What’s the matter?'' He asked curiously. ‘’No more ideas?’’

Hephaestus lifted their chin and frowned looking at him.

‘’Just one more’’ Hephaestus said, stretching their wrists.

Ma’at hummed, tilting his head to the right.

‘’You are in’’

Shivers and electricity hit their body with their eyes finding everywhere white circles with peculiar shapes around the air. None of the others seemed to notice it. A warm voice whispered to their head and let those words come out from their mouth and voice.

WE MEET AGAIN