Red Sonja: The 13th Sign of the Zodiac Part Fourteen -Ophiuchus By DeannaTroi This is a work of fiction. It contains adult material of a sexual nature and should not be read by anyone under the age of18. All characters depicted in sexual situations are 18 or older. Red Sonja does not belong to me especially since I could never defeat her in battle. I think Marvel is under the mistaken impression they own her. All other characters in this story are my own creation and please feel free to make use of them in your own stories. You can send all feedback to: troi@hotmail.com "It tastes a bit like chicken," said Red Sonja as she took another mouthful of the cooked meat the woman had given her. "I'm afraid there are no chickens around here," said the woman as she peered about the bog at the rotting trees and brackish water. "What is it then?" asked Sonja. "It is a rather large worm like creature," replied the woman. "They are quite abundant in this area." Withher mouth full, Sonja stopped chewing for a moment while she considered this information, then she continued chewing and swallowed. "I've been on many campaigns where the rations ran out and we ate pretty much anything that moved," said Sonja and took another large bite. "I found it is generally best to just think of it as chicken" "A sensible attitude," agreed the woman. Sonja finished her food and handed the cooking stick back to the woman who stowed it away in a sack where she apparently kept all her belongings. "You still haven't told me your name," commented Sonja as casually as she could. "I was trying to avoid doing that," said the woman with a sigh. "Normally the best reaction I can expect is to get yelled at. After that, they start throwing stones and getting a large bonfire ready." Sonja looked at the woman curiously. "What could you have possibly done to rate that kind of reaction? You don't strike me as the type who slaughtered entire villages and then played games with their skulls." "No, I did far worse than that," answered the woman with a sad smile. "I made the grave mistake of being first." "The first what?" asked Sonja. "The first woman," replied the woman. "You asked what my name is. It is Pandora." When Sonja's face remained blank, she went on. "Ah, you must be from some far off place or time, but I probably have an equivalent in your stories. The first woman, who released all evil into the world." "Oh, I remember being told stories when I was a young girl about Maruk, who was given a sack by the gods and told not to open it," said Sonja. "But she was too curious and when she untied the sack, evil escaped into the world and she spent the rest of her life trying to catch them and put them back in the sack. I always considered it just a story to scare children into behaving." "Most stories have some truth in them," replied Pandora. "The details may change a bit like the names or it might be a box or a jar instead of a sack, but the stories remain much the same from culture to culture." "How much truth is there in your story?" inquired Sonja. "A little. Some. A lot," said Pandora. ""Do you know the succession story about Uranus, Cronus and Zeus?" "More or less," replied Sonja. "Gaia gave me a version of it anyway." Pandora nodded. "I am willing to bet in that story that humans were barely mentioned, if at all." Pandora snorted when Sonja nodded in agreement. "The gods, even the best of them, think the story is always about them. The truth is the gods were meant to be the protectors and champions of humans,but most of them regard us as more like playthings or pieces on a gameboard, put there for their amusement." "How does your story fit into all of that?" asked Sonja. Pandora stared into the fire for several moments before answering. "The story goes that Prometheus created the first men from clay. If you are from as far away as you appear, then likely it was done by someone with a different name." "That's true," conceded Sonja, "but I have also met Prometheus." "He is a clever one is Prometheus," said Pandora. "Sometimes too clever for his own good. Still, he is among the better of the gods. You may have noticed, however, that I said he created 'men' from clay that I did not say 'humans' for all of those he created were male." "That doesn't sound like such a great idea," said Sonja with an arched eyebrow. "Oh, but it was," replied Pandora, "at least if you believe the myth. The men were all happy and everyone got along just fine." Sonja snorted. "I have never met a group of men who all got along with each other. Among other things, there is the little problem of sex, though I suppose there are obvious solutions to that problem. When no women are around, sometimes those solutions run to chickens and goats." "Well the 'everything was great' line sort of falls apart when in the next part of the story, Prometheus has to steal fire or the idea of fire and give it to man so he wasn't dying alone and cold in his dark caves. Personally,I always thought the phrase about stealing fire from the gods was a bit grandiose for teaching them about flint and tinder." "And for his trouble, Prometheus got himself chained to a rock with an eagle eating his liver everyday," put in Sonja. "When I talked to Prometheus, he thought Zeus was mainly pissed because he didn't get the credit for doing it." "Zeus was too busy banging every sea sprite or wood nymph he could get his paws on," said Pandora. "And when I say paws, they often were thanks to his little kink of changing shape to some animal before having sex." "We still haven't gotten to your part in this story though," noted Sonja "Almost there," replied Pandora. "Zeus in his infinite wisdom decided to punish the men for listening to Prometheus instead of dying cold and hungry until he got around to doing something for them. Zeus decided to make women, namely me. I don't remember much more than opening my eyes one day, being told my name, handed this jar and shoved out the door." When she mentioned the jar, Pandora gestured at the object beside her on the ground. "That was it?" asked an incredulous Sonja. "Well, to be honest, I wasn't the only woman Zeus created," replied Pandora. "There were too many men for one woman when you realize what one of the consequences of Zeus's little prank was. I was the only one initially given a name and the only one given a jar." "He never said anything about the jar?" asked Sonja. Pandora held up the jar. "No instructions on it, and he never said a word about it. He just thrust it in my arms and told me to get lost. I figured it was food or water or something I would need and so of course I opened it." Sonja felt like banging her head on a tree, but the ones here in this bog looked so rotton they would probably just fall over and sink into the mud without giving her the satisfaction of a good headache. "Out flew greed, lust, hate, vanity and all the rest," said Pandora quietly. "The perfect world had become corrupted and it was all done by women and especially by one called Pandora." "You mentioned Hope?" asked Sonja bitterly. "Yes and I wasn't being totally fanciful," said Pandora. "At the bottom of the jar was Hope. A poor trembling little thing after being locked up in the jar with all those other things." "It is still in there?" asked Sonja as she turned her eyes to the jar. "Yes," replied Pandora. "Actually, it gets up the courage now and then to venture out into the world and see what is going on, but it always gets frightened and come scurrying back to me. I sing to it and tell it stories until it calms down and then it goes out again for a little while." "How old are you?" Sonja asked suddenly. "Much older than the ages of my children, grand children, great grand children and several more generations all put together," replied Pandora. "How is that possible, if you are not immortal like the gods?" asked Sonja. "I lived in the world for many years before I tired of all the shouting, the rocks and the threats of a pyre while I still breathed," replied Pandora. "I stumbled into this place and have been here ever since. I didn't understand it when I first came, but I have had plenty of time to explore and study it. This bog which seems to go on forever or at least farther than I have been able to walk, seems to be outside normal reality. I call it a Nexus for all other realities seem to connect here. Over the centuries, others have wandered in and out again, though maybe not always back to their own world." "And you stayed?" said Sonja, not really asking a question. "There was nothing for me to go back to except the mobs and the hate," said Pandora. "You said it is possible to leave though?" asked Sonja. "Yes, but the openings to other worlds and other realities are constantly shifting," explained Pandora. "Even if you find a gate out, it almost certainly won't take you to the one you came from. It is an infinite universe afterall." "Then what do you suggest I do?" growled Sonja in frustration? 'Just sit here naked on this log eating your make believe chicken?" "No," responded Pandora. "I suggest you open the jar," and she handed it to the red haired warrior. Sonja stared at the other woman for several moments, then shrugged and unscrewed the lid on the jar. At first, she thought it was empty, but then at the very bottom of the jar was a small faintly glowing ball, the colour of the sky on a cloudless day. It didn't seem inclined to move, so Sonja gingerly stuck a hand into the jar, intending to give it a little poke. Before she could touch it, however, the little blue ball jumped onto her finger like a small bird. Sonja withdrew her hand from the jar and the ball remained on her finger, pulsing slightly. "Go on, " said Sonja rememembering that Pandora had said she talked to it. Gods knew she didn't try singing unless she was very drunk. "Go on and see what's out there little one. The world needs you." Hope hesitated for several seconds, then pulsed just a bit brighter and left Sonja's hand to hover in the air. It made a few small uncertain circuits around the fire as if gathering courage before flying off into the darkness surrounding the clearing. For a while, Sonja tracked it as it moved in and out of the trees and then it was gone. "Is all Hope lost?" she asked Pandora. Pandora shrugged. "We shall see. We have done all that we could. We cling to Hope like a sailor to the wreckage of his boat, hoping for rescue." "I wonder what rescue will look like?" mused Sonja. * * * It looked like an owl. It was hard for Sonja to know how long it had been since she had opened the jar as there didn't appear to be sun or moon in the Nexus. It sometimes got lighter and sometimes darker. She helped Pandora hunt for the fake chickens which were definitely not something whose appearance you wanted to think about when eating them. They were, however, slow moving and plentiful. They had just started to cook what they thought of as supper when the owl flapped across the clearing and landed on a tree branch. A little while later, the feebly glowing Hope returned and fluttered around the jar until Pandora opened it and it dived inside. The owl seemed to regard the two women carefully for a while before taking to the air. It flew behind a large tree and Athena walked out into the clearing. "My Lady," said Pandora with a slight bow of her head. "Want some chicken?" asked Sonja, offering the goddess a cooked piece of meat. "You are too generous," replied Athena with a twinkle in her eye. "I am afraid, however, I must decline as I just finished a sumptuous banquet on Mount Olympus." "Ah, well you don't know what you are missing," said Sonja as she took a large bite of the food and chewed enthusiastically. "I am surprised you are still feasting on Mount Olympus, or did Serpentarius lie to me about what he threatened?" "No, alas he did not if you are referring to his freeing of Typhon, Atlas, Cronus and the rest of the Titans from Tartarus," replied Athena. "He has demanded our surrender, but has not yet attacked. I believe he is enjoying making us squirm." "He is a bigger fool than I thought then," said Sonja. "A good general never gives her opponent time to organize. You strike quick and you strike hard. If there is anyone left alive afterwards then you can make them squirm if that is your thing. Personally, I just prefer my opponents dead." "Hmmm, you might make a better God of War than Aries," commented Athena. "He has thrown in with Serpentarius, so there seems to be a vacancy." "No thanks, and no offence," replied Sonja, "but after having observed you gods, I prefer to be human." Sonja frowned as something else occured to her. "I recognized you, but now that I think of it, we have never met." "Ah, but we have in a way," responded Athena. "Remember the girl you encountered when you were with Hercules and seeking the Hydra? I was communicating through her. One of my titles is Athena Parthenos, the virgin goddess." "I'm not sure the virgin title still applies after what we did," smirked Sonja. "Ah, but that was not my true body, laughed Athena. "That sounds like sophistry to me," replied Sonja and then she shrugged. "Oh well, be that as it may, what brings the virgin goddess of Wisdom to our beautiful bog if not the food?" "Well, for starters, I thought I would return these to you," said Athena and with a gesture, she held out Sonja's clothes and her sword. "Though, I must confess to having enjoyed the free show you have been giving me." Only then did Sonja remember she was still naked, Pandora not having any extra clothes for her to wear and she had gotten used to the lack of clothes over the past few days. "I see I should have been happier to see you and more grateful," said Sonja as she took her clothes and began to dress. She had just finished buckling on her sword, when Athena offered her the silver necklace that Gemini had given her. "I found all this when I visited the realm of Pisces," explained Athena. "I didn't know where to find you other than that realm had been your last destination. While I was there, that little blue ball of light appeared and led me back here." Sonja gave Athena a new look of respect. The goddess couldn't have known that Serpentarius and his brood wouldn't have been waiting in ambush on Pisces's realm and yet she had gone there alone. "If you were looking for me, I assume there is a reason beyond returning my clothes?" "Oh, by the way, I kept that little red stone Zeus gave you," explained Athena. "It did what he said, but he could also spy on your er activities through it. He made some rather crude comments about you and Gaia, but said he somehow lost track of you and didn't know why." "That son of a bitch," snarled Sonja. "Remind me again why I am helping him? Maybe Serpentarius wouldn't be any worse." "Trust me, he would be," replied Athena. "Zeus is sometimes an oversexed fool, but he is not really evil. Getting back to why I needed to find you, however, there is a task that will greatly aid us and is one that I am afraid is beyond the purview of a virgin goddess." "Oh great," replied Sonja. "To repeat the question I asked Gaia, who do I have to fuck?" * * * Sonja stared out the castle window which displayed an identical castle to the one she was in. The two structures faced each other from the tops of rocky cliffs with a deep chasm between them. That divide suited Sonja just fine and she even wished it was wider and deeper since she could see hundreds, if not thousands of the green scaled snake men infesting the other castle. The one she was in, by contrast, was totally empty of any signs of life and she could see her bootprints in the thin layer of dust. The red haired mercenary turned away from the window, recrossed the room to the corridor where she had been deposited by the portal and began to look for any stairs that led up. That was where Athena had said she would find her objective. There were no signs of life, but Sonja had been told she would find a body. That was precisely what she found an hour later in the topmost room of the highest tower of the castle. The body was that of a blonde man of medium height. He was lying on a slab made of black stone, dressed in a simple white robe with his arms by his sides. According to Athena, the man's name was Esculapius and his story had made Sonja angrier than ever with the stupidity of the gods. Esculapius was the son of Apollo and Coronis, but Coronis had been married to someone else when she became pregnant. The punishment for adultury was death for the woman which had come courtesy of Artemis. There was of course no punishment for the man and certainly not for a god like Apollo who just happened to be the twin of Artemis. Apollo had saved the baby from the funaral pyre and given him to Chiron the centaur to raise. Chiron , who Sonja had met, was renowned for his knowledge of herbs and medicine and Esculapius had grown up to be an excellent physician. Apparently too good, since saving one very sick patient from death had angered Hades who had wanted the man's company in the underworld. Hades had petitioned Zeus and the end result was Esculapius had received an express shipment of one of Zeus's thunderbolts. That still wasn't quite the end of the story. For whatever reason, maybe an outbreak of sanity, Zeus had tried to elevate Esculapius and make him part of the Zodiac, but Zeus had screwed that up too. There was a constellation Ophiuchus or Snake Charmer, but the Zodiac was limited to twelve members which left Esculapius in this coma like state. Hell, no one even seemed to know why there was a limit of twelve. It might have something to do with symmetry, athena had said. There had been 12 original Titans and they had been challenged by 12 Olympians, though even there someone had apparently failed math as there had been 13 without even counting Hades. There certainly were more than that on Olympus now at any rate. [Author's Note: The original 12 OLympians were Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, Hermes, Apollo, Artemis, Aphrodite Athena, Aries, Hephaestus, Dionysus and Hestia. Count them and you get 13. Some lists either don't include Dionysus or Hestia to get the magic number of 12. There are many other gods on Mount Olympus who either came later like Hebe or don't count like Hecate. Hades, despite being a brother of Zeus is not listed as one of the 12 since he lives in the underworld and not Mount Olympus. He still maintains Zeus cheated in that card game when they decided who got what. Little is known or said about some of the Titans and they seemed to have existed mainly just for the purpose of being ousted by the Olympians or as the ancestors of other characters in Greek mythology. With the 12 Titans, there are six male and 6 female Titans, often given in pairs of husband and wife as follows. Cronus & Rhea. Oceanus & Tethys. Hyperion & Theia. Coeus & Phoebe. Mnemosyne, Themis, Crius, Iapetus,. Cronus and Rhea are the parents of Zeus, Hera, Hades, Poseidon and Demeter. Two of the Titans Mnemosyne and Themis were among the wives of Zeus before Hera. Oceanus and Thetis were said to have not participated in the war. Iapetus is the father of both Prometheus and Atlas. ] Athena had convinced Sonja that waking up Esculapius would help them defeat Serpentarius who had been able to sort of appropriate Ophiuchus while the latter was in this state. The method of waking him up as Athena had pointed out, precluded her involvement as a virgin goddess. Sonja sighed, dropped her cloak to the floor and began to remove her armour. When she was naked, the red haired woman got onto the slab between the legs of the comotose man and reached into his robe to extract his cock. Athena had assured her that Esculapius was only in a deep sleep and not dead so this was not an act of necrophilia, but that still didn't keep it from feeling damn weird. Sonja gave another sigh, opened her mouth and wrapped her lips around the small, flacid cock. She sucked on it for several minutes, working on it with her tongue and lips before she started to get a response. Slowly, the man's cock began to harden and grow. The swordswoman continued to lick and suck the cock for another few minutes before it seemed to have reached a fairly impressive size. She sat back, letting it slip from her mouth and grasped it in one hand and gave it several long, hard strokes to get it to maximum hardness. All this time, there had been not a sound or indication of life from Esculapius with only the erection to show he was still alive. Satisfied that Esculapius's member was as ready as it ever would be, Sonja now moved to straddle his groin and slowly lowered herself onto his cock. She felt it rub over her pussy and then penetrate her as she continued to lower herself onto the stiff rod. Only when the entire length was inside her did Sonja stop to collect herself for a moment before starting to push herself up and down using her leg muscles. Up and down, up and down, squeezing her pussy as tight as she could around the cock, Sonja rode it for minute after minute until her legs began to get tired. She was just beginning to despair that this idiotic plan could ever work when she felt and saw the first stirring in the body under her. A finger twitched and then another and thus encouraged, Sonja began to increase the up and down pace. Her eyes were starting to glaze over with the effort of going on when the hands rose to cup her wildly swinging breasts and give them a squeeze. A little while later there came the first sound from the man as a low moan of pleasure escaped his lips and then he began to start thrusting his hips in time with Sonja to drive his cock deeper inside her. Sonja had thought she had gotten the cock as large as it could get before climbing on board, but now it seemed to swell up even more inside her. Esculapius's eyes flickered open and they were a warm chocolate brown. He didn't really seem to see her yet, but he kept thrusting upwards and going even deeper as his moans of pleasure intensified. Sonja felt her nipples being gently pinched and then felt the body under her go rigid for a second just before a flood of warm spunk began to blast into her pussy. It was like the man had saved up a century of cum which Sonja reflected was probably true as the cum continued to pour into her in a torrent. "Am I dead?" said Esculapius in a rusty sounding voice. He cleared his throat and tried again. "I didn't think Hades had such beautiful sights." "You're not dead, or at least not anymore," replied Sonja as she climbed off the man, feeling his still hard cock slide out of her pussy followed by a flood of cum. "What's the last thing you remember?" "Just a loud bang and a flash," replied Esculapius. "That was probably one of Zeus's thunderbolts," said Sonja. "I think your being alive is his way of saying sorry about that." "Well, waking up to you is a lot better than waking up to see Zeus," laughed Esculapius. "I am afraid I don't even know the name of my rescuer." "I'm Red Sonja and Athena sent me for perhaps obvious reasons," replied Sonja. "I don't understand," said Esculapius. "What is this all about?" "That is a bit of a long story, but then again I have almost eleven hours to kill before I can open a portal out of here," replied Sonja which drew only another perplexed look from the man. Sonja glanced down at his still hard cock. "Shouldn't that thing be going soft?" "Um, not with a naked woman to look at with um breasts like you have," answered Esculapius and his cock twitched. Sonja stared at it and swore she had seen it grow a bit larger still. "Ok, I'll tell you the story afterwards," said Sonja. "Afterwards?" asked Esculapius. "After I suck that monster into submission," replied Sonja and she swallowed his cock into her mouth, tasting the mixture of his cum and her juices still on it. * * * It took several more attempts on Sonja's part to quell the erect beast between Esculapius's legs before they lay relaxing and Sonja told him the whole story as far as she knew it. "I am more than willing to go back to Olympus with you," said a clearly still bewildered Esculapius. "I still am not sure what good I will be other than to tend the wounded. I am no wizard and am not much use with weapons either. Chiron is a master archer and tried to teach me the art of the bow, but even he had to give up when I accidently shot him in the ass one day. He said he could never figure out how I had done it since he was standing behind me when I fired." Since they still had some time to kill before they could open a portal, the pair set off to explore the plainly never used castle. When they got to the lowest level, Sonja suddenly realized she was starving when the smell of bacon and eggs reached her nostrils. Sword in hand, Sonja and Esculapius cautiously approached the kitchen. Stepping inside, they saw a scaled figure tending to the contents of alarge cast iron frying pan on top of a wood burning stove. Sonja was about to leap forward and attack, when the figure noticed them and held up his empty hands. "Peace my Lady Sonja," he said. "I am a servant of Master Ophiuchus and not part of that rabble across the chasm. "You can tell as much by my appearance." Sonja paused and took a longer look at the figure. He looked identical to the snake men except that his scales were a light turquoise and not green. "Your colouring?" she ventured. "Indeed," replied the cook. "My name is Alfred. I was awakened when Master Ophiuchus awoke. I ahem noticed the Master was occupied and when I judged he and his guest would be needing sustenance, I started preparing food." "Are you all there is for servants in this entire castle?" asked Sonja sheathing her sword. "I am afraid so," said Alfred. "The number of servants and warriors available depends on the power of the ruler. Since Master Ophiuchus is new to his power and realm, I am afraid I am all there is." "I told you I didn't know anything about being a wizard," grinned Ophiuchus as he gave Sonja a bow and led her over to a small wood table already set with plates and cutlery. Sonja remembered seeing the hundreds of green scaled snake men in the castle opposite and began to worry about just how wise Athena's plan was. Her thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of Alfred who dumped generous portions of bacon, eggs and toast on their plates. "I believe you er expended a considerable amount of energy, so I prepared a large breakfaste," he explained. Sonja quickly dug into the food. "It's much better than the chicken I had for my last meal," she told Alfred with a huge smile. * * * "I think we had better be getting back to Mount Olympus," said Sonja a while later as she was once more looking out the window at the other castle. "The twelve hours is up and there seem to be a lot fewer of the green snake men over there. I suspect that means Serpentarius is calling in all his troops for the assault on Olympus." That did appear to be the case, for when Sonja and Esculapius stepped out of the portal on Mount Olympus, they saw an army gathering a hundred yards from the gates. Sonja could make out Serpentarius, Cronus, Atlas and Aries, and the others of the Zodiac who had sided with Serpentarius gathered with a dozen or so others in front of an army of several hundred snake men. Typhon stood off to the side, looming over everyone. Sonja wondered how Serpentarius had managed to keep the monster in check, but perhaps his snake like nature gave him some control or ability to reason with the part man, part snake. Zeus came rushing over to see Sonja, plainly looking worried. He barely glanced at Esculapius. "Athena said she had sent you on a mission. I was hoping for more reinforcements than what you brought." "I don't need any reinforcements to deal with that rabble," boasted Sonja, nodding her head towards the enemy army as it formed up. She knew it was an empty boast, but Sonja was damned if she would show any fear to this god. She had been in countless battles, often with hopeless odds and had come out alive, so she was ready to roll the dice and live or die as they fell. Chiron, Pricus and the other members of the Zodiac who had cast their lot with the Olympians were already there. Gemini seemed very much at home and Sonja commented on that to the pair when they greeted her with a hug. "Oh, we used to belong to this crowd a few millenia ago," said Gemini. as she pressed her bulge into Sonja's thigh. "Back then, we went by the name Phanes," added the other Gemini as she copped a feel of Sonja's tits. "We were the god of creation," said the first Gemini as she ran a hand over Sonja's ass. "We were singular at that time. Incomplete. We created ourself and became Gemini," said the second Gemini as she tweaked one of Sonja's nipples through her top. "Our function with the new gods had become redundant with that tramp Aphrodite appearing," said the first Gemini as she pressed Sonja's hand against her erection. "We do so hope to fuck you again when this is all over," added the second Gemini as the twins finally moved off, leaving Sonja feeling like she had been sexually mugged. [Author's Note: I just stumbled across a reference to Phanes, a little known member of the Greek god mythology, when writing this chapter Phanes was considered one of the primordial deities along with Chronos, Chaos etc. and was part of the whole creation myth where the universe came from a great egg. What floored me was reading that Phanes was a hermaphrodite with both male and female genitalia. It seemed like the perfect origin story for Gemini. In later Greek stories, Phanes seems to have disappeared and his / her functions taken over by Eros. I guess fiction is stranger than fiction] As it turned out, they did get some unexpected, if somewhat unusual reinforcements when a portal opened and a dozen or so figures marched through. Sonja gave a surprised gasp when she recognized Clarabelle, Daisy and more of the vaguely cow featured women from Taurus's realm. "Our lord has not yet returned to us," said Clarabelle, "but those snake men invaded our realm and killed some of us. We cannot just stand aside and do nothing." Sonja was still absorbing this when a second portal opened and two figures stepped through. Sonja was even more surprised to see the dark haired Princess Alluria and blonde Valourys, her maid. Both were wearing ill fitting armour and clutching spears like they were on fire. "My uncle Fandal is down there with that rabble," asserted Alluria. "When he left, I searched his library and found a spell to bring us here." The helmet perched on the princess's head slipped forward over her eyes and she pushed it up again. "Valourys recounted her memories of having you share her body and I have a score to settle with my uncle for his treatment of me and the serving girls of his houshold." Sonja could hardly believe the self centered princess was showing such backbone, but Pricus had said something about events sometimes changing people for the better. Alluria probably had a ways to go on that journey, but she had at least started it. Sonja just hoped the two womenlived long enough to take those steps. At the moment, it looked more likely that they would trip and fall and impale themselves on those spears. She was going to have to keep an eye on them during the battle. There was one additional figure that Sonja was surprised to see among the Olympian ranks and she crossed over to talk to Pandora. "Are you sure you should be here?" she asked quietly, not wanting to offend the woman's nobility of purpose, but concerned about her being even less suited for war than Alluria and Valourys. "I have spent far to long in that bog," replied Pandora. "Perhaps I will die here today and that at least will put an end to my suffering. On the other hand, I still have Hope," and she held up her jar. "Well all help is welcome," said Zeus uncertainly. ÈI am sure I can still take Cronus, even without my thunderbolts, but Typhon is another matter. They hardly need an army if they have him. Hephaestus," and he gestured towards the lame smith who was holding a very large hammer," has the Cyclopes creating more thunderbolts, but they aren't likely to be ready in time. They need special ores, long rites and time to cool. Without my thunderbolts, I don't think we have a chance against him. Athena said she had a plan and it involved Aphrodite and Eros of all people. Whatever it is, they aren't back yet and I think we are almost out of time." "Then we must use trickery," said Prometheus coming up to them and nodding at Sonja. "Do you have something in mind?" Sonja asked him. "Always," grinned Prometheus."It is what always gets me in trouble." "Then you better do it quick," said Sonja as she saw the enemy start moving purposefully towards the gates. Prometheus turned and faced the oncoming army He made a few gestures and suddenly a second Zeus appeared far off to the side on a small hill. "Hey Typhon you snake legged moron," shouted the second Zeus. "You have gotten uglier over the years and you were the ugliest fucking baby I ever saw. It is no wonder your mother couldn't stand to look at you!" Typhon gave a bellow of rage and ignoring Serpentarius's imprecations, rushed towards the fake Zeus. That figure laughed and jumped down the far side of the hill with Typhon in mad pursuit. "It won't last forever, but it might buy us time for whatever Athena is planning," said Prometheus. "Good enough for me," said Sonja drawing her sword. Zeus might be the king of the gods, but she didn't wait for him to give orders. She screamed a war cry and charged straight at the center of the opposing army. She laughed as she ran and the light flashed off her sword. She was tired of games and being used by one god or another. There was a battle to be held, death would claim some, but she was the finest swordswoman in the world and fuck the enemy. Instinctively Zeus and the other Olympians and their allies sprinted after the red haired she devil. * * * Despite the beserker rage that often overtook Red Sonja in battle, she retained enough self control and awareness to not try really stupid things. She let the Olympians deal with the Titans and the powerful wizards deal with the powerful wizards while she concentrated on Serpentarius and his snake men. By themselves, the latter might not be a credible threat to Zeus and the other gods, but like a pack of small animals they could pull down larger prey who were injured or distracted. Accordingly, Sonja circled around the "heavyweights" keeping the snake men off their backs. Cronus and Zeus had squared off in a father versus son battle with no love lost on either side. Likewise the other Olympians and theTitans were engaging each other in pitched battles. Out of the corner of her eye, Sonja saw Clarabelle go down from a sword in the side from one of the snake men. Her daughter Daisy stood over her wounded mother, fending off half a dozen of the green scaled enemy. Sonja ducked under a sword blow, ran the snake man through and sprinted over to help Daisy. Those attacking the young girl were so intent on her, they never saw Sonja coming until she had already cut three of them down. When they turned to face the red haired warrior, she dispatched two more of them and Daisy took out the sixth. "Chiron, I need you over here," yelled Sonja. "We have a wounded woman down." "I can still fight," gritted Clarabelle trying to rise using her sword for support. "Don't be an idiot,"replied Sonja as she carefully as possible managed to sling Clarabelle over Chiron's back. "We need you now as a healer more than a fighter," Sonja told the centaur and he just nodded and raced off. Glancing at Daisy, Sonja saw the girl had a cut on her forehead and was about to try and order her off the battlefield too when she preempted Sonja's words. "I'm staying and that's final," said Daisy and she whirled around and attacked a group of the snake men who were trying to sneak up on Hephaestus. "I guess she told me," muttered Sonja as she hurried to help. The battle seemed to be about even with neither side gaining a clear advantage. Scorpio turned into a choking red mist and surrounded Pricus, but Libra opened up a hole to Limbo and it sucked Scorpio away. At the last moment, the mist changed into a large scorpion and managed to snag a hold on something to keep himself from being pulled through the opening. Sonja saw Orion fire an arrow at Hera, but a bolt from Artemis hit it in midair and split it in two lengthwise which Sonja would have sworn was impossible. Suddenly things took a drastic turn for the worse for the Olympians and their allies as Typhon, apparently having detected the ruse that had lured him away, came roaring back. The monster swept all who dared to stand in his path away with sweeps of his snake infested arms as he made for Zeus who was locked in a struggle still with Cronus. Sonja saw Pandora shrug and open her jar as the monster bore down on her. The little blue wisp of Hope fluttered out, and seemed on the verge of retreating right back into the jar, but instead buzzed a short distance away as a portal began to open. To Sonja and anyone else watching, it looked like Hope had failed as a second monster slithered out. She was nearly as large as Typhon and most certainly female with the head and chest of a beautifl woman despite the oddity of her bright green hair. The rest of her, however, was a huge snake. "Echidna," gasped Apollo, looking up from his wrestling match with aAries. "We're so fucked now," said Hebe who had just kicked one of the unnamed Titans in the nuts and was winding up to smash a fist into his face. "My darling Echidna, it is good that you have come just in time to witness my victory," rumbled Typhon. It was the first time Sonja had heard anything but a bellow from the monster and she had assumed he couldn't speak due to limited intelligence. "No my darling, that is not why I came," replied echidna in a voice that any minstrel or story teller would have envied for its richness. All the fighting had ceased by this point as all the gods, titans, wizards and warriors looked as confused as Typhon appeared to be and heads swivelled back and forth between the two immense beings. "What do you mean? demanded Typhon. "We swore that we would crush Zeus and assume our rightful rulership over all the realms. They have hunted and killed many of our children without mercy and must pay for that. As he said this last part, Typhon seemed to be scanning the field as if looking for someone and Sonja rather suspected that someone was Hercules." "I know what we swore, but now I think we were wrong," replied Echidna. "We were born out of Hera's anger and hatred for the faithlessness of Zeus and we let that anger and hate define us. We became the monsters they wanted in both body and mind and we spawned our own children to carry on that legacy. I, for one am tired of being what others want me to be or think me to be." Typhon shrugged. "What else can we be but monsters? A monster is all anyone can see when they look at me and his statement was punctuated by the hissing of a hundred snake heads projecting from his chest and arms." "Monsters are made by what they do, not by how they look," countered Echidna. "You are a monster if you think you are one. Come away with me my love. I know a wonderful little cave under Mount Edna where we can be together and apart from all those who call us monsters. Who knows? Maybe if we stop acting the part of the monster, maybe one day the external form may even come to resemble the interior core of what we truly are. If tht doesn't happen, I will still be content as long as I share that eternity with you, the one I love." Typhon hesitated for a moment then held out his hand to Echidna. "Sounds good to me. I never wanted to live up here anyway." The pair turned and walked towards a portal that was opening. "You can't go!" screamed Serpentarius. "I freed you from Tartarus. You owe me you ungrateful monster!" Typhon didn't seem to even here him as he stepped through the portal with Echidna. Sonja rubbed her eyes, thinking she had been seeing things. Just before the portal closed, she could have sworn that Typhon and Echidna were walking on human legs and not slithering on snake tails. She also now noticed aphrodite and Eros standing near where the portal had been. Well, maybe the two lovers had gotten a litle boost from the two gods and that had been the mission Athena had sent them on. There wasn't time to consider it anymore though as Serpentarius began to scream again. "Fine, I don't need that ungrateful bastard," he yelled. "Kill them, kill them all!" With a growl, Cronus leaped at Zeus once more and they wrapped arms around each other trying to get a grip to throw the other. Suddenly, Zeus began to gasp and choke as if someone was strangling him, but Cronus's hands were nowhere near the other god's throat. Sonja remembered one of the visions Serpentarius had shown her when he was bragging about his great plan. "The invisibility helmet," she cried and pointed at Zeus as she tried to get to the god, but a dozen snakemen barred her path. Hecate and Hermes, however, had heard Sonja's cry. The messenger of the gods and also the god of thiefs raced over to Zeus and his unseen assailant where he snatched off the helmet revealing a mind controlled Hades. With a frown, the goddess of magic made a few gestures in the air and said a word of command. There was a loud crackling sound and a burned looking blue chunk of metal fell to the ground. Hades looked momentarily confused and then very angry. Having the god of the underworld pissed at you didn't look like something Sonja wanted to experience. "My apologies brother," said Hades to Zeus. "I still think you cheated at that game of cards we played to divide up the realms, but right now I am a lot more annoyed with these bastards." "You both are a pair of pathetic weaklings," laughed Cronus. "When I rule again, I will maybe allow you to polish my boots with your tongues." Acting as one, Zeus and Hades turned and punched Cronus as hard as they could. Their father flew backwards twenty yards, making a furrow in the ground where he landed and didn't move. Sonja finished with her dozen snake men with the surprising help of Princess Alluria and Valorys who seemed to have taken a crash course on how to use their spears. Both women were sweaty, dirty and bleeding from several shallow wounds, but they were grinning like maniacs. "I made sure Uncle Fandal isn't going to be abusing his servants anymore," yelled Alluria triumphantly. "Good for you," yelled Sonja "Just be careful out there." "I;m watching her back," Valourys assured Sonja then she surprised Sonja by stopping to wink, "and her front too!" Then the blonde maid raced after Alluria as The pair headed back into the fray. Sonja looked around and She saw Atlas knock Hephaestus to the ground as the smith's lame leg had hampered him in battle. She saw Cedalion crash into Atlas and just bounce off as the horny little dwarf tried to protect his master which at least brought him up a notch in Sonja's opinion. Atlas picked up Hephaestus's own hammer, and drew it back planning to smash in the lame god with is own weapon. On the backswing, however, a large hand reached out and ripped the hammer away from Atlas. "Ho weakling, why dont you try your luck with me?" said Hercules with a broad smile on his face. Atlas was still gaping at Hercules when the latter's fist connected and sent him flying farther than Cronus had gone. "There is nothing I like better than a good fight, yelled Hercules as he saw Sonja and winked "Unless of course it is a busty wench in my bed." Hercules laughed and punched Atlas's brother Menoetius who had been trying to sneak up on him and sent him flying. "Fuck that moron reminds me more and more of Conan," muttered Sonja as she tried to locate Serpentarius. With Typhon out of the picture and Cronus down, she felt they could end this battle if she could deal with the red scaled wizard. Throughout the battle, she had seen Esculapius trying valiently to close with Serpentarius despite his claims of not being much of a fighter. Even odder, Serpentarius had been seemingly trying to avoid the physician turned reluctant warrior. It was almost as if Serpentarius feared the mere touch of his opposite number. Now that was an interesting thought. Serpentarius was obviously like his minions, a snake like creature and Ophiuchus meant 'snake Charmer'. "Just try and touch him," yelled Sonja at Esculapius as she moved to cut off Serpentarius's retreat, but more of the damned snake men got in her way. Serpentarius danced back away from Esculapius and drew up his hands to launch some magical spell at his opponent to end the threat to him permanently. Suddenly, Serpentarius gave a cry and stumbled forward. Looking down, Sonja saw a small crab with its pincers latched into Serpentarius's calf. Before the wizard could recover and kick of the clinging creature, Esculapius reached out to sieze him by the shoulders. Serpentarius immediatly stiffened and fell unconscious. All around the battlefield, the remaining snake men also collapsed like puppets with their strings cut. Beside the unconscious Serpentarius, a small meek looking man stood up and stood there blinking his eyes. He noticed the body of Serpentarius and gave it a kick in the ribs. "That is for attacking my realm," said Cancer. The remaining enemy also looked around and saw their best fighters were down and threw up their arms, suing for peace. Aries was among them, but rather than surrender, he sneered, opened a portal and stepped through it. Let him go back to his crumbling realm, thought Sonja. If he leaves it again to bother me then his head is going to depart his shoulders and it will take him a fucking long time to regenerate from that! * * * "Are you sure you won't reconsider and take the position as God of War?" asked Zeus as he made a valient attempt to stop ogling Sonja's breasts and failed while Hera glared at him. "Im sure," replied Sonja. "I prefer to serve my own goddess and her cause which is that of justice for mistreated women." She deliberately emphasized the main concern of her goddess, but that hint went right over Zeus's head. He never really considered what he did was harmful to women since he never really considered the women at all. It was several days after the battle and Sonja had stayed in Olympus at Athena's request to help sort things out, but now the swordswoman was eager to be gone. Cronus and the rest of the escapees from Tartarus were once more locked up there. Scorpio, Leo and Aquarius had all scampered back to their realms to lick their wounds. Pisces had been freed by Hecate's spell as had beenPersephone. Hades had threatened dire things for the Furies who had begged forgiveness. In the end, he had decided to grant it as Sonja had pointed out that he probbly didn't want his wife to know about his little session with them and how he had been taken prisoner. Orion seemed to have vanished and maybe that promised trouble in the future. Atlas was imprisoned inside his mountain again which pretty much looked after everything. except for Serpentarius There appeared to be some odd symbiotic relationship between him and Ophiuchus where only one could normally be awake at a time. The red scaled Serpentarius was currently sleeping on a black stone slab in the tower of his castle. "What are your plans?" Sonja asked Pandora after she took her leave from Zeus and Hera and saw the woman sitting on a bench with her jar beside her. "You aren't going back to the bog and eating fake chicken I hope?" "I think I am going to do a bit of travelling," said Pandora. "Maybe see some more of the world besides that bog. I will take Hope with me to keep me company and I was planning to use a new name. What do you think of Eve?." Sonja shrugged. "It is as good a name as any. Good luck to you and Hope." Sonja gave the first woman a bow of respect before turning away. * * * Sonja sat beside her fire, listening to the night sounds around her camp. She heard some wolves howling not far off, but she was sure they were smart enough not to bother her. The large roan stallion she had found waiting for her nickered as it took its muzzzle out of its feed bag and pricked its ears. Sonja listened as well and her hand went to the hilt of her sword as she heard the hoofbeats of another horse approaching the camp. She smiled and removed her hand from her weapon when Killia rode into the firelight on a black mare. "It is good to see you again," smiled sonja as she rose and moved to hug the dark skinned woman. "And you as well," replied Killia as she returned the hug. "Just let me look after my mount and then we shall see which one of us is gladdest. When Killia returned from looking after her horse, she and Sonja wrapped their arms around each other again and kissed passionately. Breasts pressed tight against the other, their lips and tongues played and danced for several long minutes before they broke apart, both panting slightly. "Did you have any trouble while I was gone?" asked Killia. "Nothing too unusual," Sonja said and paused for a second before grinning widely, "at least for us that is. I will tell you all about it afterwards." "Afterwards?" asked Killia coyly. "After we have both satiated our lusts," replied Sonja as she laid her cloak on the ground for a blanket and undid her top and tossed it away. "How long do you think that will take?" asked Killia eying Sonja's breasts hungrily as she stripped off her own top and her own large boobs spilled into sight. "Oh, two or three days at most," said Sonja as she pulled down her bottoms and also tossed them away. "Only such a little time," teased Killia. "I am not sure you missed me as much as you say if you can only keep it going for two or three days." She finished removing her clothes and tugged Sonja down onto the cloak beside her and began to run her nimble hands over Sonja's naked body. "Well, I didn't want to tire you out too much," replied Sonja as she also began to caress the other's body, savouring the softness of her lover's large dark breasts and playing with the nipples. "I am the avatar of the goddess of whores," pointed out Killia. "I dont think a mere warrior can tire me out." "Let's find out shall we?" challenged Sonja as they kissed again before shifting positions to place their mouths on top of the other's pussy. "First one to cum has to flash Conan her tits the next time we meet him," said Killia as she sucked Sonja's clit into her mouth. "He loved your tits the last time you lost that bet," gasped Sonja and then set to work trying to win the bet by shoving her tongue deep into Killia's pussy. "It's really too bad he can't defeat you in a fight," moaned Killia as she added her fingers to her assault on Sonja's pussy. "I think a threesome with him might be fun." "I'd rather sleep with his horse" came Sonja's muffled voice as her tongue began to lap at Killia's g spot. "My you have been getting kinky while I was away," moaned Killia as she inserted another finger inside Sonja's slippery slit and began to pump them in and out, making sure her thumb rubbed over Sonja's clit on each stroke. "You have no idea," gurgled Sonja as her mouth filled with Killia's juices and she had to swallow before she could speak again. "But I think you are just trying to distract me so you can win this little game." "Is it working?" asked Killia as she continued her steady finger fucking of Sonja's pussy while now licking her clit when her thumb wasn't rubbing it. "Not a chance in Hades," moaned Sonja as she redoubled her licking. "Aaaaaaeeeeeeeiiiiiioooouuuuuu," screamed Killia as she climaxed. "Aaaaaaaeeeeeeeiiiiiiooooouuuuu," screamed Sonja as she climaxed. "I guess that was a tie," said Killia when she could speak again. "Does that mean we both have to flash Conan?" "I am sure he would love that," grinned Sonja as she leaned forward to capture Killia's lips in another kiss with the added bonus of tasting herself on her lover's lips. "Ouch," said Killia breaking the kiss as something poked her in the ass. "What have you got in your cloak pockets that is so hard anyway?" "Oh crap, I forgot about Hebe's gift," said Sonja and reached behind Killia to extract the strap-on cock from her cloak pocket. Killia's eyes widened in delight. "Is that what I think it is? Who gets to use it first?" "It was my gift, so I think I do," said Sonja as she buckled the fake cock into position. "Besides she made it to match the colour of my hair." "That she did," laughed Killia as she looked from Sonja's trimmed red bush to the dildo. "I meant the hair on my head," laughed Sonja. "I bet she didn't," replied Killia as she leaned forward and wrapped her lips around the red cock. "Mmmm, I don't know how, but this thing is leaking something very tasty." "I think it must be magic, since it seems to have an unlimited supply," said Sonja as she pulled illia's mouth further down onto her cock. "It has other tricks too," moanes Sonja as she felt Killia's warm lips as intensely as if the fake member between her legs was real. "It is truly a magic wand. Remind me to thank this Hebe," said Killia in a surprisingly clear voice for having most of the fake cock in her mouth. As the avatar of the goddess of whores, however, she had gotten plenty of practice in this arcane art. "You aren't jealous about me meeting someone who would give me such a gift?" asked Sonja as she stroked her lover's dark hair. "How could I be with a magnificent gift like this?" asked Killia as she began to bob her mouth up and down on Sonja's cock. "Just remember I get to try it on next and I get to pick the hole to use it on." "If you meant that s a threat, you should know I am taking it as a promise," moaned Sonja. * * * It was several days later and other than feeding and watering the horses, the two women had spent the entire time barring a few hours of sleep enjoying Hebe's gift and catching up on lost time. The pack of wolves had wandered near the fire one night until Sonja growled at them and they ran off yapping. "I suppose we should get dressed one of these days and go back into the world," said Sonja as she leaned down to suck on one of Killia's dark nipples. "Must we?" moaned Killia. "I am afraid you both must," said a new voice. "Yes, I have to agree," said a second new voice. Startled, Sonja and Killia both looked up to see Sonja's goddess and her sister Clitoria standing there at the edge of the camp looking down at them. They started to scramble to their feet, but both goddesses waved them back down. "The morning will be soon enough," laughed Sonja's goddess. "What is going on my lady?" asked Sonja. "I am afraid the King of Yerk's daughter has been kidnapped by a rival," said the goddess. "The man is hopeless when it comes to a sword, so I think he is going to need your help to retrieve his daughter." "As you wish my lady," replied Sonja. "Hmm, and remember that the normal price for rescuing a captured princess is her hand in marriage," teased the goddess. "Sister dear, you are incorrigible," said Clitoria and gave her fellow goddess a sslap on the ass before turning to look at Killia. "As for you my avatar, the Empress of Poldoon as outlawed the profession of prostitution in her land. I need you to go set her straight." "Hah, I think that is the wrong term for what is likely to happen between the Empress and Killia," laughed Sonja's goddess. "Well, here we go again," said Sonja as she turned to Killia and kissed her gently. "We do have until morning though," and then she looked at the two sister goddesses and grinned. "Do you two have to rush off or do you have time to join us tonight?" "There is nothing on my schedule for tonight," said Sonja's goddess as she dropped her robe to the ground and stood there naked. "Mine either," confirmed Clitoria as her robe also fell away. "Whoever makes their avatar cum first gets to use Hebe's gift first on the other," said Sonja's goddess as she crawled on top of Sonja. "You're on," said Clitoria as she dived between Killia's spread legs "I'm the goddess of whores remember? You haven't got a chance!" Sonja's goddess had her mouth too occupied to reply. All the rest of that night, frustrated wolves howled at the moon from a distan hilltop. The End [Author's Note: The idea for this multi-part story came partly from my previous Red Sonja story (Red Sonja in Hells) where I had named the three villans Taurus, Aries and Gemini after signs of the zodiac without really thinking any more about it. Recently I stumbled over an article about Ophiuchus and how there really should be 13 signs of the zodiac. Other than knowing I am a Sagitarius, I knew little about the zodiac and certainly don't believe in astrology, but the headline piqued my curiosity. It was also kind of funny to read astrologers try to use "science" to dismiss Ophiuchus. The zodiac consists of the constellations that the sun moves through on the ecliptic and the article pointed out that it travels through more than the standard 12 and that includes Ophiuchus, the Serpent Charmer. Actually, there could be over 20 constellations that could make a case for being in the zodiac, but 13 had a better ring to it for a story title. If I understood things properly (no promises), Serpentarius was the old name for the Ophiuchus constellation and that led to the name for the reoccurring villain and his relationship with Ophiuchus. One correction I need to make. Back in partthree (Taurus), I said one of Europa's sons was Midas, but that should have been Minos. I didn't want all of the serious Greek scholars who read this smut to bombard me with flaming emails. Hopefully you all enjoyed the story and learned a few things as a bonus.]