//------------------------------// // Amazon Training // Story: Let Them Wonder // by Onomonopia //------------------------------// "Come on Diana, where are you," Sunset muttered to herself when she glanced down at her phone, sighing since for the fifth time in twenty minutes she had checked it. "You were the one that was so insistent that I be on time, and yet you're the one that's not here...wherever here is," Sunset continued as she glanced around at the empty field around her. "Didn't even know we had an empty field this close to town," Sunset said as she placed her phone into her gym pants, sitting down with a sigh and gazing up at the sun. "Wonder how Twilight is doing in Equestria? I wonder how Celestia is doing? I wonder if she's forgiven me yet?" Sunset's thoughts were interrupted when the sky exploded above her and she snapped her head around to see a woman floating down towards the ground. "Diana? You can fly?" Sunset asked as Diana touched down in front of the girl, a smile on her face and a sword gripped in her hand. "Of course I can fly. Glad to see that you made it on time," Diana greeted as she walked towards Sunset. "I've been waiting for you for nearly half an hour," Sunset grumbled before she glanced down at what Diana was wearing and snickered despite herself. "Uh, I don't know where you do your shopping, but your clothes are...dated, to say the least." "Why do my students keep saying things like that?" Diana muttered while glancing down at her neon clothing. "This was perfectly acceptable to wear not that long ago? Why does everyone seem to hate it now?" "Because it belongs in the seventies?" Sunset suggested. "Ugh, I forget how quickly time can move for regular people," Diana muttered before stretching out one her arms. "Alright Sunset, you asked to be trained by me and today we'll be starting your training with something simple." "And what would that be?" Diana's response was to flip the sword over in her hand and offer the hilt to Sunset, whose eyes went wide at the blade that shone like the sun. "Um, Diana. I don't know how to use a sword. I don't think I've even held one before." "And that is why I am here. To teach you how. Now please, take it." Sunset did as Diana asked, grunting as she had to grip the blade with both hands to keep it from sinking. Sunset glanced up at Diana as the woman rolled her sleeves back to reveal her two silver bracelets, which she then slammed together to create electricity. Diana then wrapped her hands around the electricity and drew forth a blade that was made of the lightning, dropping Sunset's jaw as Diana flipped the sword around and caught it. "You really are a god, aren't you?" "Goddess. Now then, are you ready?" Diana asked as she placed her free hand behind her back while pointing the tip of her blade at Sunset, whose eyes shrunk with fear. "Do not worry, I will not be attacking. Not with any intent to hurt. All this exercise is for, is to show me how much you need to learn." "But...these are real swords," Sunset pointed out. "Yes, they are. Or, if you are worried about being hurt or harming me, allow me to calm your fears. I am skilled enough to avoid hurting you, and if you manage to hurt me then I have failed at far more than being a teacher. Now then, begin." With no idea what to do, Sunset hefted the sword over her head and prepared to swing at Diana. Yet she failed to accommodate for the weight of the blade, causing her to nearly tip over before she dropped it. Sunset let out an embarrassed laugh while she picked up the sword again, missing the raised eyebrow that Diana gave to her. The next time Sunset attacked she opted for a thrust instead, yet all Diana did was sidestep and the girl hurled herself right past Diana. "Well, at least I have an idea of where you're at," Diana positively said as she grabbed the back of Sunset's shirt to keep her from being dragged down by the blade. After retrieving her blade from Sunset and returning the other one to her bracelets, she then wrapped her fingers around Sunset's arm and squeezed once. "Hmm, far weaker than I believed at first. There we have our first step, Sunset, and that is to build your muscle and endurance. Come, we'll run." Diana and Sunset both took off at a considerable pace, though the brief jog was nothing to the Amazon. Sunset struggled to keep up with her teacher, however, and after thirty minutes Diana found herself shaking her head as Sunset doubled over while trying to regain her breath. "We have a long way to go," Diana noted as Sunset finally managed to catch her breath, giving her the chance to sigh before falling over. "Dear...Faust...that was exhausting," Sunset panted out in between lungfulls of air. "Come now, it wasn't that difficult. When I did my run at your age, my sisters would shoot arrows and flaming spears at me while I ran. Some days I had to dodge thousands of arrows before I was allowed to finish running." "Thousands? Dear Celestia, how many sisters did you have?" "An island full." "You really are a Spartan." "Actually, I am an Amazonian," Diana corrected as she sat down beside Sunset, reading the look on her student's face. "Go ahead, ask me the question." "Back when you were fighting my nightmare, it talked like it knew you or something. Is it a creature from your world?" "No, I can say for certain that I have never fought a being like that," Diana muttered as her brows furrowed, her thoughts drawn back to the being she had beaten back. "He may have heard of me through my deeds with the Justice League, but I know that was my first meeting with him. Doubt it will be my last, though." "Justice League...and it also called you a few other things. The Spirit of Truth, a member of the trinity...Wonder Woman?" Sunset asked Diana, who smiled slightly as she stared up at the sky. "Back on my version of Earth, I am considered to be one of the three greatest heroes known to mankind. My true name is Diana, but to the world I am known as Wonder Woman. The Spirit of Truth," Diana explained to Sunset, whose eyes shone brightly at her teacher's words. Then another question invaded Sunset's mind, and against her will she found herself asking it. "Do you think that the nightmare will be back?" Sunset asked with traces of fear in her voice, before she groaned and held her hands to her head. "Argh, why can't I keep my mouth shut? For weeks I've been unable to shut up! What is wrong with me?!" "That may be my fault," Diana said as she held out a hand. "May I have my lasso please?" Sunset did as Diana asked and returned the golden rope to its rightful owner, who clipped it to her side before glancing back at her student. "There you are, you should be able to control your thoughts now." "Wait, the lasso was what was making me speak my mind all the time?" Sunset asked, losing herself in thought for a moment before realization dawned on her. "Oh, I get it now, the lasso just doesn't embody truth, those who wear it are forced to speak the truth, aren't they? That's why I couldn't stop talking whenever I wore it." "You really do pick up on things quickly, don't you?" Diana asked before standing back up, holding out a hand when Sunset tried to do the same. "Not you. You've got to get started on building up your muscles. And we'll start with the oldest way first. Push ups." "Ugh, how many?" Sunset asked as she placed her palms onto the grass and glanced up at Diana. "Until I say to stop." The exasperated sigh that Sunset gave off before she started made Diana smirk, for it brought up memories of how she had been trained back on the island. 'Starting off small is the best course of action. If she can still feel her arms after she is done, perhaps it is best that I teach her some beginner fighting techniques. If that creature is going to return anytime soon, I don't want her to be completely helpless before it again.' "Hey...Diana...?" Sunset asked in-between reps, getting Diana to glance down at her student. "You don't...need to worry...I'll keep...your secret for you. That you're actually a kick-butt goddess from another reality that beats monster and nightmares into glue." "That is kind of you Sunset, but I am certain that sooner or later the students here will find out anyway," Diana informed Sunset, who stopped for a moment to glance at her teacher. "Secret identities have a nasty habit of getting out no matter how hard you try to hide them." "Oh...okay," Sunset muttered. "So what are you going to do about your friend that's being held in the clutches of Hades? Are you sure that you don't want to give Hades our magic to free him? I'm sure that the other girls would be more than willing to help you if I simply explain the situation to them." "Thank you for the offer Sunset, but my answer is still no," Diana said with such resolve that Sunset didn't bother to argue. Diana saw the look on her student's face and let out a quick sigh, knowing that she needed to give her an explanation. "You may not know this, but Hades is a god that cannot be trusted with power. For every time he has gotten it, he has used it to either free himself from his rule of the Underworld or to overthrow the world above. Even if he was to keep his promise and free the soul of my friend, the tradeoff would be too risky." "I understand...I just don't think I'd be able to do it," Sunset muttered as she stared off into the distance. "I don't know if I could leave my friend down there without doing everything I could to save them." "And that is because you have a noble heart. That is also the other reason that I don't ask for your magic," Diana continued, getting Sunset to glance up at her teacher. "You and your friends use your magic to combat the magical forces that come to this land. You are making far greater use of your magic than Hades ever will. Besides, I am not giving up on freeing Steve that easily. For even though he is a god, I am certain that with the right amount of pain even Hades will become reasonable." "For such a kind person, you can be downright terrifying. Do you know that?" Sunset asked with a good natured smile. "Indeed I...wait a moment, I do not recall giving you permission to stop," Diana noticed as her eyes narrowed. Sunset's eyes widened in response when she realized that she was busted, averting her eyes as Diana gave her student a stern look. "Very well then Sunset, if you are tired of push ups...then it is back to running!" Sunset let out a cry to the sky before Diana grabbed the back of her shirt and pulled her to her feet, racing on ahead with a laugh while Sunset tried to keep up with the Amazon. But even though her lungs burned and her muscles ached, Sunset just couldn't help herself from smiling as she chased after Diana. -wWw- "Oh Diana, why must you always be so difficult?" Hades turned away from the orb that allowed him to gaze upon the Amazon, shaking his head with disappointment at what he had just heard. "All I asked was for six items of powerful magic and it seems that that was too much for you to handle...no, that cannot be it. All you lack is the proper incentive, my niece. Steve Trevor's soul was not enough it seems. But if his soul will not move you to bring me the girls...then perhaps I should send another to retrieve their magic for me." Hades then walked over to a large vortex of green plasma that swirled in the center of the room, the howls of the damned echoing out from within. Hades extended his hands over the vortex and closed his eyes, channeling his divine power into the pool to draw forth the creatures from within. "I will need something powerful, something that should be a threat to even Diana. Something that will not hesitate to go after the very students that she cares so much about," Hades laughed to himself as he felt the soul of the being he needed, using his power to draw forth its soul from within. Hades then grabbed hold of the green sphere that he had summoned and tossed in into the dirt behind him, watching with a smile of pure malice as a beast rose forth from below. The dirt swirled around the sphere and began to give the creature form, and eventually the creature's conscious returned along with its body. Moments later a monstrous being with grey skin towered over Hades, letting out a weak moan as it began to focus. "Where am I?" it asked in a wailing tone as it glanced around with yellow eyes, eyes that looked down at its hands moments later with fear. "What...done to me? What...me become?" "What have I done? My friend, you are dead. This you have done to yourself," Hades reminded the being before him. "But I am here to offer you a chance. A chance to reclaim your mortal form and correct the mistake that you made so long ago. All I ask of you is that you go and bring me six girls." "Girls? What girls you need?!" the being asked Hades, who found himself smiling as he motioned the creature to follow him. Hades then placed his hand on the creature's head and unleashed his magic, burning the image of the girls into its mind. "Those girls. But they are protected by someone you know well. My stubborn niece. Wonder Woman." "Wonder Woman. I know Wonder Woman!" the creature growled as it slammed its fists together, creating a small shockwave that irritated the Lord of the Dead. "Good. That means I don't have to explain what you need to do to her," Hades growled as he motioned the creature to the portal to the other world, extending his hand towards it only to have a beam of magic force him back. "So, bring me the girls ALIVE. I want their magic, not their corpses. But as for my niece, what will you do to Wonder Woman?" "Grundy smash her!"