[Caterpillar] Chapter 39 - Tartarus (II) (Patreon)

"Goddamnit, they keep following us." Naruto cussed when saw the thousands of demons still in hot pursuit after them.

His hands formed a simple Bird seal but the technique he cast was not trivial. A vortex of pressurised air was shot from his mouth, one that kept increasing in size the longer it travelled through the air until a full-fledged tornado came into existence. Then, his hands made a Tiger seal and a serpentine dragon of fire was cast at the tornado. The cataclysmic explosion that followed engulfed thousands of demons in an instant. The aftershocks carried so much heat that the ground and even rocks started to melt for half a mile around the now-flaming tornado.

Wonder Woman maintained her flying speed, heading towards a particular spot in the distance where she could see a myriad of chains covering the sky. The wails and shrieks coming from that place let her know that the souls of the dead were being tortured over there. She was aiming to find an intelligent being and interrogate it with her lasso.

"How is your chakra?" she asked a bit worried.

"It's not like I suddenly became an invalid," he answered with a laugh. "Even as a kid, my chakra reserves were huge, let alone now. I can probably cast another 50 or more techniques of widespread destruction like the one from before. But I have to be cautious because I don't know how powerful Hades is. He is a god after all and we don't know what other servants and creatures he has around him either. It would be really stupid if I gassed myself out and then tried to fight against a god with an empty tank."

"What's stopping your chakra regeneration anyway?" Kyuubi asked from his seat on his shoulder.

"You know that chakra is the result of physical energy combined with spiritual energy. We've entered the realm of the dead, we are in hell. My spirit is affected by the energy of death in this place because I'm feeling the beginning of a kind of mental tiredness. It's not bad enough to affect my concentration but I guess it's just enough to hinder my chakra regeneration. Thank the Void it doesn't drain me or anything like that."

It did not take long for them to reach their destination. But when they finally arrived, even Naruto and Kyuubi who had seen all kinds of horrors during their many adventures, had yet to see something as terrible as the sight in front of their eyes.

"Great Athena..." Wonder Woman whispered, her face pale.

As far as their eyes could see, countless people were hanging in mid-air. Chains that seemed to sprout from the very sky and from the ground below were tying their hands, legs, and neck, forcing them with their limbs spread wide. There were so many that they could not be counted. However, an even greater number of demonic eagles were flying around them, their sharp talons and their curved beaks tearing into the flesh of the captives. Screams of pain and despair came from the souls as their eyes were being gouged out or as entire chunks of their body were being ripped off by the eternally hungry demons. They were being eaten 'alive', devoured.

The souls that still had eyes to see noticed the three newcomers' arrival.

"Save me!"

"Help!"

"No more torture! Please, save us!"

Thousands of people were pleading, crying, screaming. It was despair like the three of them had never witnessed in their lives before. Her eyes wet with unshed tears, Diana unsheathed her sword and lunged at the captives, snapping the chains hanging them in the air. Dissatisfied and angry caws came from the demonic birds but none of them dared to attack her. The Amazon had already rescued about 5 of them when Naruto caught her from her arm and stopped her.

"Diana! Come back to your senses!"

"Can't you see their torment?" she said and tried to break free from his grasp but he embraced her forcefully to his chest.

From atop Naruto's shoulder, Kyuubi said coldly:

"You told us that virtuous people were sent to Elysium. This is Tartarus. Good people don't get sent to hell, do they?"

At the fox's words, Wonder Woman stopped resisting. For a moment there, overwhelmed by her compassion and pity for the tortured souls, she forgot just what kind of people had been sent to Tartarus after dying. Furthermore, she realized that for someone to be subjected to such horrifying torture, their sins had not been light.

'But not all people that were sent to Tartarus were guilty of something.'

She closed her eyes. As an Amazon, she knew very well how whimsical and vengeful some of the Olympian Gods were. Goddess Athena had been one of the most respected and widely-worshipped gods in the world back in ancient times for her wisdom, kindness, and support to humankind... however, even she had had her moments of cruelty against those who crossed her, to speak nothing of other gods; most other gods were much, much worse. Even if one was a virtuous person, they could still end up in Tartarus if they offended the gods.

Naruto sighed and let go of her.

"Let me borrow your lasso for a moment," he said and she made no move to stop him from taking the lasso hanging at her waist.

Anyone could use the Lasso of Truth, it was not charmed only for Wonder Woman. He went to one of the souls that the princess had freed from the chains and wrapped the lasso around their torso.

"The Lasso of Hestia compels you to tell the truth. What is your name?"

The bound soul had been tortured to the point where it was impossible to recognize whether it was a man or a woman. But when the lasso started to glow with a golden light, the soul was forced to speak:

"Felix Cornelius."

"For what sin were you sent to Tartarus?" Naruto asked. He was not curious himself, he was doing it to put Wonder Woman's mind at peace, not really knowing what she was actually thinking about at that moment.

"I was a pirate. I pillaged, killed, and raped people my entire life."

Naruto did not ask any additional questions regarding his life. Instead, he asked about what he was interested in:

"Do you know where Hades lives?"

"Yes, I do." the soul replied robotically.

"Good. Lead the way there."

Under the compulsion of the lasso, the soul was forced to obey his commands.

⁂

Although she had been greatly disturbed initially, Wonder Woman soon recollected herself. She understood it was impossible for her to do anything for the ones trapped in there. Most of the ones that had been sent to Tartarus had been terrible people in their lives. She had no way of searching for the innocent ones among millions of other evil souls. Even though she was telling herself that and tried to think rationally, it was difficult for her to find closure. The lightheartedness from before could not be seen on her face anymore.

After passing through the 'forest' of chained people hanging in the sky, the horde of lesser demons from before no longer pursued them. It appeared as if there was an invisible boundary that they were unable to cross. They were finally given a moment of respite.

For a while, Naruto, Kyuubi, and Diana flew in silence.

Regardless, following the directions of the lasso-controlled soul, their mood only continued to become more sombre and darker as they passed by many more torment zones. There were courtyards where souls with presumably lesser sins were only being whipped or beaten up, but there were also other zones where people were being slowly submerged into smouldering pits of lava or were being skinned 'alive' by demonic butchers... ... Cries of agony, screams, curses of despair, and the cruel laughter of demons pierced the pitch-black sky. It was hell. It was Tartarus.

Suddenly, a scream different than that of the tortured souls reached their ears and a piece of rock the size of a millstone barely missed them, going past them with a loud whooshing sound. Turning towards the direction from where the piece of rock had been thrown, the silhouette of a giant entered their line of sight.

A man taller than a 10-story building was charging towards them, his large feet turning both demons and the tortured souls it stepped on into a bloody paste, squashing them like bugs.

Before Naruto could say anything, Wonder Woman lunged at the giant and punched him in his massive head with all her strength. Compared to him, she appeared no different than a mosquito. However, when her punch impacted his face, the giant stumbled back several steps, only regaining his balance by chance, with difficulty.

"So you are the newest offspring of that Zeus bastard. Not bad." the giant's voice rumbled as he rubbed at his chin. One punch and it had already made his jaw sore.

"Who are you?" Wonder Woman asked. "Did Hades send you to kill me?"

"You don't recognize family when you see it? You bruise my feelings. I am one of your many brothers, Ixion, the King of Lapiths." the giant said mockingly. "Zeus is my father too. The 'mighty' King of Gods!" Ixion said and spat on the ground in distaste. "More like a rabid dog in heat."

Wonder Woman frowned at the giant.

"Who sent you after me?" she asked.

Maybe it was because he had not spoken to someone for thousands of years but Ixion seemed to be very talkative.

"Fret not, since we are family and all that, I can at least show you this little bit of courtesy and tell you who sent me to kill you. Mind you, it is not personal. Hera sent me. Your life, in exchange for my freedom."

Hearing that, the princess was done listening. When he saw her lunging at him, Ixion's large palm swung at her, in an attempt to swat her away like a fly but her agility was too much for him to keep up with.

'Being kind to your enemy is cruelty towards yourself.' she thought, repeating in her mind the words that she heard Naruto saying a while ago.

She was not going to hold back. Unsheathing her god-slaying sword, she stabbed it into the giant's heel tendon. A savage roar of pain came from him and his enormous body wobbled back as he lost his balance, unable to stand properly on just one leg. His massive fists smashed into the ground like meteorites as he tried to squash her to death but she easily dodged his clumsy and slow strikes. She buried her sword up to the hilt into the heel tendon of the giant's other leg too.

With his slashed tendons and feet unable to carry his enormous weight anymore, Ixion fell on his knees, rupturing the ground when he crashed. While screaming in pain, the giant threw his fists in rage but his wild punches did nothing except for stirring the air. Easily evading all of his strikes, Wonder Woman flew up to his head and kicked him in the face with all the strength she was capable of. It was so formidable that the over 60-foot tall giant was actually lifted off the ground and flung back through the air like a dead dog.

Sensing his impending doom, Ixion abandoned his previous haughtiness and cried out, begging for mercy:

"Wait! Don't kill me!"

However, it was too late. The moment he finished his words, the Amazon's sword pierced his throat. Compared to his huge size, her sword was no bigger than a toothpick. Nevertheless, when that 'toothpick' slashed at his neck arteries, a large gaping wound was opened.

"No! Not again! Not the wheel! Nghhrkh" he screamed while choking on his own blood.

Upon death, since he was still in Tartarus, the judges of the Underworld were going to send him back to be tortured by the flaming wheel. As Ixion temporarily died, a thought came to the front of his mind:

'That harlot...she knew I wouldn't stand a chance...she sent me to my death...'

⁂

The moment that Ixion breathed his last, Hera made a displeased sound.

"He could not buy me even 1 hour? That useless oaf!"

It had been within her expectations that Ixion would lose - Hera was not that 'kind-hearted' as to actually offer freedom to someone who tried to rape her even after several millennia of torture. From the very beginning, the giant had been sent as cannon fodder to buy her some time.

Though he had played his part poorly, Hera was not anxious. The reason for that was that she had already arrived at her destination. Ahead of her was a mountain range that even Hades, the God of the Underworld, could not control. It was a territory occupied by one of the most terrible beings known to both men and gods alike.

After she stepped into that mountain range, several grotesque silhouettes appeared in front of her, barring her way. Beings that looked like out of someone's nightmares, creatures with multiple heads and body parts coming from different animals. They were chimaeras, a myriad of them.

A look of distaste flashed in Hera's eyes when she looked at the monsters growling at her threateningly. But she did not make a scene. Keeping her face neutral, she said in a pompous tone:

"Send word to your master and inform him that the Queen of Olympus, Hera, wants to speak to him."

When the chimaeras did not immediately heed her words, she snapped:

"Do not keep me waiting, beasts! Move!"

The group of monsters became restless at her words and started growling menacingly. However, they did not rashly make a move to attack her. They were smart enough to understand the difference between them and a goddess. One of them, a creature resembling a jackal for the most part flapped its 4 hawk wings and flew away, heading towards their master to inform him in regards to the intruder.

Neither Hera nor the group of monsters had noticed the inconspicuous black snake hiding between the roots of one of the numerous dead trees around them.

⁂

A blackish-red sky, pitch-black heavy clouds and perpetual darkness. There was no day, there was no sun, there was no moon, and there were no stars either in Tartarus. The only source of light in the eternal darkness was coming from the countless pits of fire and the ever-flowing rivers of lava melting their way through the land. Because of that, everything that could be seen was tainted by shades of orange and red.

Four silhouettes were flying in the air, above the rivers of lava and the masses of souls that were being tortured by demons below. They were not paying attention to what was happening on the ground. Instead, their eyes were pinned up, towards the sky: a several miles-long island was floating in the sky, its entire surface covered by a black citadel.

"We're finally here," Naruto said. The golden lasso in his hands began increasing in length until the feet of the soul tied up at the end of it touched the ground. Then, the lasso untied itself and shrank back in size. "Go. You're free to go," he told the soul.

'Go where? No matter where he goes, this is Tartarus.' Wonder Woman thought.

She was trying to tell herself that the soul was a pirate that had killed and pillaged countless innocents when he was alive and he deserved his fate. However, seeing the torture and suffering in Tartarus had shaken her to the core. She could not help recalling the lyrics of a song she had heard on the radio when she had just come to the Man's World for the first time.

Imagine there's no heaven It's easy if you try No hell below us Above us only sky.

At that time, still unaware of what Zeus had done to her mother and how she had come out to be, the princess's reaction was to get angry and shun in her mind the singer as blasphemous. However, in the present, disillusioned with the gods and having lost her blind faith in them, her thoughts were vastly different. Most of the gods she used to worship were even worse than average humans. They killed their family, raped innocents, and dished out cruel punishments for the slightest affronts to their names.

'Maybe it was better if there was no heaven and no hell. Maybe it was better if gods never existed in the first place.'

But then she closed her eyes and tried to calm down her troubled mind. She understood that the shock of witnessing the horrors of hell for the first time was clouding her judgment.

'It is not entirely bad that a place like Tartarus exists. A simple death would be too easy of a punishment for a bastard like Zeus who raped my mother.'

When she thought of that, her previous feelings of pity for the tortured souls were replaced with rage towards the king of gods.

Noticing the tumult of dark emotions and the intensity of negative feelings coming from the Amazon, Kyuubi said:

"You're not planning on fighting against a god with your mind clouded by anger, are you? Get a grip or stay behind. We don't need baggage to drag us down."

"Oi, Kurama." Naruto rebuked him.

"No, he's right," Diana admitted with a sigh. "I need to get my emotions under control or I might end up causing everyone problems."

The shinobi, the bijuu, and the Amazon looked at the eerie floating island in silence for a while, everyone having their own thoughts. Kurama, in his tiny fox cub form, was wagging his nine tails slowly but the mere fact that the proud bijuu was behaving like that was betraying his excitement and restlessness.

On the other side, Wonder Woman had a look of seriousness as she tried to settle her feelings and recollect herself.

As for Naruto, he looked like he had something on his mind. It seemed as if he was not influenced too much by the wails of agony coming from the tortured souls around them or by the grim scenery. His mentality could not be shaken just by that. As far as he was concerned, the souls tormented in Tartarus deserved their fate. He did not feel a shred of pity or mercy for people who committed all kinds of atrocities when they were alive. They were just reaping what they sowed. There was something else occupying his thoughts. Eventually, he spoke:

"What do you plan on doing after we kill Hades?"

Diana was startled by that question.

"I-, ...I haven't thought that far."

Way too many things happened in the past 2 days. First, she had had a life-and-death battle against a bloodlusted Kryptonian. Then, she was forced to kill Maxwell Lord IV. Then, almost all her friends denounced her and washed their hands off of her. Then, Hermes delivered her the orders of Zeus to go to Tartarus. Then, she saw tens of thousands of people protesting against the Justice League and against her. After that, she went directly to Themyscira. Amidst all the tragedies that kept coming one after another, she was given a short moment of bliss when she finally became one with the person she loved.

That said, so many things took place in such a short time that she had not had the chance to think about tomorrow, about the future.

"What if killing Hades is not the end?" Naruto pressed on.

"What do you mean by that?" she asked.

"Who's to say that after you deliver them Hades' head they won't ask for something else?"

It was like a bucket of ice-cold water was poured on her head.

"Your situation is not that different than a hostage situation. The Amazons' fate is in the gods' hands and because of that, they can coerce you to do their bidding. We have no leverage against them. If things continue like this we'll end up just playing in their palms."

"And what would you have me do?" Wonder Woman snapped at him. "It's my mother! And my sisters! You want me to abandon them?"

"Haven't they lived for like 5 thousand years or more already? Life moves on." Kyuubi said uncaringly.

"Kurama, shut up!" Naruto and Diana both shouted at him in unison.

Over the past few months, Kyuubi's affection extended from Naruto to encompass Diana as well but that did not mean that he had suddenly started caring about the rest of the Amazons too or any of the princess's friends. Naruto and Diana were the only beings he treasured. For all he cared, the rest could simply perish, it was no skin off his back. He was indifferent to their fate. The weak died, and the strong survived. Things were very simple in his mind. But his selfishness had bared its teeth again at the wrong time, making both of them snap at him.

"I'm not saying you should abandon your family. Far from that. The day you hear me say something like this you have my permission to beat me to an inch of my life. What I am saying is that we need to think of what comes next. We haven't had the chance to talk about it. But we need a plan or you'll end up as nothing but the Olympian Gods' attack dog."

The princess calmed down at his reasonable words.

"Tell me more about your gods." Naruto began but Diana cut him off with a glare: "They're not my gods!"

"Right, it was a poor choice of words on my part," he said and raised his hands as if to say he meant no harm. "Tell me more about the Olympian Gods. Who exactly created the Amazons? Basically, I need to know who we can attack and who is untouchable. I need to get a better picture of the situation because I know next to nothing about them."

In the meantime, Diana and Naruto (with Kyuubi sitting on his shoulder) stopped flying and landed in a deserted place with no demons or any other beings around. They could not just float in the air and talk, it was too conspicuous.

Paying no regard to the ash covering the ground everywhere, Naruto just plopped himself down and leaned with his back against a boulder. He placed his right hand on his left wrist and a small bottle appeared with a cloud of smoke. Unscrewing the bottle cap, he shook the bottle lightly and dropped 2-3 pills into his palm.

"What's that?" she asked. She was curious because she had never seen him take any pills of any kind until then.

"Vitamins."

"Vitamins?" she asked incredulously, thinking he was poking fun at her.

"They're a complex of vitamins and other substances needed by the human body. There were times during my missions when I ended up away from any sort of civilisation for days or weeks at a time and I rarely had the chance to cook. I had to be prepared. One of these pills is enough to feed my body enough nutrients to last me for an entire day. Want some?"

They were not as good as the pills from his homeworld that could directly replenish chakra but they were still better than nothing.

After she refused his offer with a soft shake of her head he said:

"Anyway. Tell me about the Olympian Gods and their relationship with the Amazons."

Wonder Woman followed his example and sat down too but she placed her shield on the ground before sitting on it.

"The Amazons worship 5 goddesses: Aphrodite, Athena, Demeter, Artemis, and Hestia. In fact, my mother named me Diana in honour of Artemis who was also known to Romans as Diana."

Then, she explained the roles of each goddess in the Amazons' culture and religion.

"Aphrodite is the one that came up with the idea of creating the Amazons. She is the Goddess of Love and Beauty and she blessed the Amazons with her beauty."

Naruto inwardly nodded at that. During his brief stay on Themyscira, he had not seen even one unattractive woman among them. If they went to the outside world, each one of them could probably pursue a career in modelling if they desired so.

"Goddess Hestia is the one who gifted our home, Themyscira. If there is one goddess in the entire Pantheon that could be said to have no faults at all, it is her. Even now, I still respect her a lot. She is the Goddess of Home and Family."

He was listening to her words with genuine interest. Even Kyuubi was paying close attention. He was going to become a god soon and he wanted to learn more about it. Though they had seen much of the world and travelled the Universe for centuries, they had not really had any significant encounters with the so-called gods.

"Demeter is the Goddess of harvest and fertility. Themyscira has a small number of farmers but the Amazons have never suffered from a lack of food due to her blessing. She also blessed the Amazons with superhuman physical strength and durability."

"Artemis is the Goddess of the Moon, Wilderness, and the Hunt. She blessed the fauna on Paradise Island and gifted the Amazons with a connection with nature and skill at hunting. She's also the reason why Kurama purrs like a cat when I scratch his back." she said, making Naruto chuckle and Kyuubi growl a little at her from his spot on his shoulder.

"As for Athena, she's the one that blessed the Amazons to have skill in battle. She gifted them her wisdom, education, and technology. Currently, she is the most important patron goddess of the Amazons."

Naruto hummed in thought for a few seconds.

"The way I see it, Zeus and Hera have no direct dominion over the Amazons. Unless I'm missing something? Why can't we just kill them and be done with it?"

Wonder Woman let out an involuntary snort. Naruto was talking about killing Zeus as if he were some random street thug, not the strongest god in the world (as far as she was concerned).

"Things aren't as simple as that. Goddess Athena is Zeus' favourite daughter; Aphrodite and Artemis are his daughters too. Goddess Hestia is Zeus' sister. Demeter is Zeus' sister as well and, on top of that, they even made a kid together. Even if we could kill Zeus, do you think they'd just sit and watch indifferently from the sidelines?"

Naruto looked at her in doubt.

"I don't know much about the Olympian gods but, from the little you've told me so far, Zeus seems like a massive cunt. You're telling me everyone loves that guy? After how many people he killed or raped? I'm actually amazed nobody tried to kill him after so many years."

"Oh, the other gods did try. Several times in fact. But he's managed to stay on top every time. That's why nobody dares to go against his words. And that's why the other gods haven't tried to dethrone him anymore for thousands of years." Diana said.

Despite her words, however, Naruto smiled.

"They're afraid of moving against him by themselves...but what if they saw an opportunity? Killing Hades should be enough proof that we're more than capable of killing any other god too. Won't they take the chance if they see one? They're just not willing to shoulder the responsibility of spearheading the rebellion because, in case of failure, the leader of the rebellion would definitely be punished the worst."

"But what if we take that spot for them? We'll take on that responsibility!"

Diana did not immediately dismiss his words. She had never seen Kyuubi at his full strength but the entire Universe was aware of his most recent feat - that of destroying the Psions' home planet. That was a level of power that she had not heard of even in the myths about the Olympian Gods. Furthermore, there was Naruto in the equation too and she, herself, was no slouch either.

'Maybe defeating Zeus and Hera isn't that far-fetched after all...?' she thought.

Nevertheless, she could not just simply jump on the train without properly weighing everything about the situation in her mind.

'Maybe Naruto, Kurama, and I would be able to survive the war and escape if we failed. But what about my mother? What about my sisters? If we lost, they'd end up here, in Tartarus.'

Recalling the terrible tortures she had witnessed ever since she stepped into Tartarus, she shook her head. This was not a matter of courage.

"If it was only myself, I'm not afraid of taking on anyone. But this isn't just about me. This will implicate my mother and the rest of the Amazons too. Their livelihood is at stake. I won't gamble. I can't agree with starting a war against unless we are absolutely certain of our success."

Naruto did not find her answers weird. His attitude would have been no different than hers if he had been in her shoes. He would also not willingly risk his loved one's lives on a gamble.

"I can already destroy planets as I am now, what about after I become a god?" Kyuubi said.

"There he goes again-" Naruto muttered with a roll of his eyes.

"No one will be my match. I will be invincible. Hahahaha!" Kyuubi said and laughed arrogantly.

The fox's pride and arrogance were already sky-high as they were. Naruto could only imagine the bijuu's attitude after he really became a god. Regardless, now that they sat down and talked about their future course of action, things weren't looking as bleak as before.

⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂

AN: The scene with the souls hanging in the air by chains was inspired by Supernatural TV show when Dean Winchester died and went to hell. Actually, there is an episode in the animated series where Wonder Woman went to Tartarus but due to it being a "kids' show" it was presented mostly in a comedic fashion, in a trivial manner, ignoring the heavy aspects of hell. I felt like it would be interesting to see how someone as kind-hearted as her would react to seeing the eternal torment of the souls sentenced to hell.