HBH IV: Forges Of Hellfire

IX: Worse Than Tangled Wires And Legos

There are very few things worse than tangled earphones and stepping on legos. One of those things is being a tunnel that reminds me of my right nostril because I sleep. We turned left and saw a man. He was an absolute unit- of ego and pride. He looked at his reflection in the water. "Since when did I look like a high school line back?" Claudia scowled. She whispered under her breath. "Does he even know what a line back looks like?" He turned around. "Who goes there?" I poked my head out the wall. "Hello, kind sir?" He scoffed. "'Kind sir'? No, no, no. To you mere mortals I must look like a god." Mere mortals? "I am the Son of Lugh, Greatest Warrior of Ireland, Hero of Ulster, the Youngest Soldier in the royal guard, the Greatest Hurler Champion- CU CHULAINN!" He posed dramatically to the non-existent wind. "You mean the guy who rejected Morrigan and was totally killed by her?" He turned to me. "I'm willing to guess you're not mere mortals."

"We're not." Claudia snapped. "We're demigods, like you." Cu Chulainn nodded. "And who might your godly heritage be?"

"I am a daughter of Danu-" He cut me off. "A daughter of the mother goddess, certainly an honor to your father. If he is still alive, that is." I shook my head and he hung his head sadly. "I am truly sorry for thou. But do not worry, thou hast the greatest future ahead. To the sad other one, who is your godly parentage?"

"Morrigan." She answered. Cu stepped back shocked. "You stand in the presence of me? By far your mother hates me."

"Yeah, cos' you decided to swipe left on her."
"I was fighting a war."

"You couldn't have given her a greeting? Not even a 'Hello'?"

"I was fighting war."

"So?"

"I was fighting a war."

"Is that all you know how to say?!" Claudia lashed out at him. I pulled her back. "With all due respect, we'll be leaving." Cu shook his head. "I'm afraid I can't let you escape." He drew his sword. His entire right forearm was lined with black veins which circled around a golden eye which was burned into his skin. "Oh, you work for him."

"So I do. What of it?"

"I thought you're like, with the gods and stuff."

"No, I am not."

"Because of my mom?"

"Absolutely."

"That's dumb, you hold a grduge for one person and that sparks enough hatred to join Fomorians?"

"Yes, it does."

"That's not how it works."

"You're one to talk. One betrayal sparks enough hatred and anger to kill someone you considered a friend." He was ready to swing but I stood in front of him. He paused. "I have an offer for you Cu Chulainn."

"Really? What is it?"

"If I'm correct, the King of Chulainn had a hound and you were tasked to find its puppies?"

"Yes, I was."

"We'll help you find them-"

"Really?"

"If you help us find a way out." He sat down and thought for a second. He stood up. "A DEAL IT SHALL BE!"

"Great." I stood up and we looked around. We walked through the other tunnel. "So how many puppies are there and how many do we need?"

"There are 7 puppies and we need 3." He replied. I sighed, we didn't need to get all of the puppies. Soon enough we reached a large chamber. "Would the puppies be interested in staying here?" Cu shook his head. He pointed down and brushed away some dirt. It revealed a thinly woven net and under that there were spikes. "So, no?" He nodded. "That's our only exit." Claudia threw a rock and the entire woven net disintegrated. "No way out." Cu jumped down into the pit. He nimbly avoided every spike. Cut to me and Claudia slowly inching down the wall. We reached the bottom, where the spikes were much easier to maneuver over. "You don't think he's gonna lead us to our death- will he?" Claudia asked me. "I'm not sure."

"Then why are we trusting this guy?"

"Same question I asked myself when I trusted your brother."

"They're not the same."

"Really?" I raised my eyebrow. "Obviously, for sure my brother was a chaotic neutral. Cu Chulainn? He's really with Gray. That's your difference." I nodded. "Then we'll be careful." She hung her head. The protruding spikes looked like teeth- preferably dragon teeth. Cu reached the end much faster than we had. I helped Claudia up and she rolled onto solid ground. Cu Chulainn helped me up.

We reached another clearing. "How about here?" He shook his head. "It's too hot. After all this is the center of a dormant volcano."

"A volcano? That's where we've been the entire time?"

"Yes."

"At least it won't erupt." Claudia sighed. I shook my head. "Dormant is different from extinct. An extinct volcano can never erupt again. A dormant one can still erupt, it still has magma." Claudia made an 'O' shape with her mouth. "That's a bad thing?"

"I'm not sure, but there could be magma pools. That explains the acidic and boiling water. Along with all the empty chambers, they could've been old excess magma chambers." Cu nodded in agreement. "Where is this volcano?"

"Somewhere in Iceland. However, I've heard there's a bigger operation in a volcano in Alaska."

"Oh."

"Yes, in Alaska." Time to pull a little Elmo from Sesame Street and drive to Alaska. He pointed across the chamber. He took a step and the ground began to crack. Fissures of magma began to seep through the cracks. Me and Claudia followed quickly. I felt like face planting into the ground. The heat began to rise and we managed to get across with minimal injury. "You okay?"

"I'm good." Cu replied.

"I wasn't talking about you. Claudia, you okay?"

"I'm fine."

"We gotta get a move on, we gotta find those puppies."

"We must."

"And we will. Cu?"

"Yes?"

"What is your rank amongst the soldiers?"

"I am a major general. Pandora is captain and Rowan is General. Gray is General of the Army."

"So, you can boss Pandora around?"

"I wouldn't say boss." He said slowly.

A/N

Soo, new update schedule, everyday of the week either 1 or 2 chapters, why? bcuz i'm gonna get rlly busy in august so expect a mini hiatus and longer time periods between the posting of each chapter. if  the story seems rushed? um yeah, sorry. I wanna get it done before august so i don't have to do a hiatus in the middle of the story.