The guard with the drawn knife walked up to Prince William and grabbed him. The strong guard easily picked up the Prince and carried him across his shoulders. He walked the short distance from the suncar to a waiting security van. A second guard was there and put handcuffs on the Prince. Together they gently placed the twitching Prince inside the van. Once that was done, the two guards entered the van and sat next to the secured prince. A third, entered the front, started the van, and began to drive off.

"Wait!" cried the Princess. "He has the keys!"

After what seemed like hours, the driver cried out the window of the van, "They are still in the suncar!"

With that, they drove off. The Princess ran to the car and got in. Sure enough, the keys were there. Thus, she started the car and attempted to follow the van. However, the remaining guards barred her path.

"You are in enough trouble," stated the Princess sternly.

"As I have explained to your highness," replied the highest-ranking guard. "I am under strict orders from the King. We should not be in any trouble for obeying his orders."

"But..."

"You do not outrank your father."

"So why are you detaining me?"

"You are free to go at any time."

"Well..."

"That is, any time after the van is safely away."

"What is your name?"

"Captain Armstrong Romanov Miss."

"I will not forget this Captain, and if any harm comes to Prince William -- I will hold you personally responsible."

With those words, the Princess broke through the roadblock. The captain restrained any pursuit. He decided that pursuit of the Princess should not be necessary, as the van was well on its way. He believed that it would certainly make it to its objective before the Princess could do anything.

The Princess attempted to follow the van, but it was much faster than her suncar. She reasoned that it must use some other technology for propulsion. It certainly was not solar powered. This thought angered the Princess, but she was no longer surprised by the advanced technologies available to her father. He had kept a great deal from her and others.

Instead of attempting to keep up with the van, she decided to speed towards the castle. If she could reach her father in time, she could save Prince William's life. It puzzled her that the guards did not kill him at the roadblock. She could not figure that out. Perhaps her father had something besides death in mind for the Prince. She doubted it, but anything was possible.

It had been several days since she last drove this stretch. Hence, she was not certain how far she had to travel to make it to the castle. Moreover, she did not know when the van would reach its destination. Nevertheless, she drove as fast as she could. She was certain her father was keeping an eye on her with the tracking device; thus, he would know she was coming fast. She thought about how to use this in her favor. She wondered what she could do to get her father's attention and save the Prince. She puzzled on this for quite a long time. That is when she stopped. She did not stop thinking; she stopped the suncar.

She was still a great distance from the castle. Since she was not an experienced driver, a stop should mean something to her father. At least, that is what she hoped. Her father was not likely following her personally. However, his observer may report it to him and a specific conclusion could be made. She would be a long ways from any help if she had an accident. Her father would have to send help. The closest available help would be the van. This is why she stopped. She was sure that her father would conclude that the Princess crashed.

She sat there moving as little as possible. It was not long before the van pulled up.

"Are you all right?" asked the driver.

"I know you are in communication with my father," the Princess replied. "I demand to speak to him."

"I do not know of what you are speaking," replied the driver.

"The phone," demanded the Princess. "You must have some sort of portable telephone device. Give it to me."

"Your Highness?"

"Do not play with me!"

"The sat-phone is -- uh -- only a receiver."

"How were you to give my father information on what happened here?"

"Uuuummm -- wait a moment," replied the driver in a dejected tone.

The driver pressed some buttons on a small communications device. He waited for a few more moments until someone on the other end answered. They exchanged pleasantries and the driver then said into the phone, "She wishes to speak to you sire. Very good sir!"

He handed the phone to the Princess.

"Daddy?" the Princess asked.

"Yes dear," replied King Jonathan on the other side of the phone. "Are you all right?"

"Yes father, but you must not harm Prince William."

"What makes you think I was going to?" asked the King in his most innocent sounding voice.

"The things I know he knows you must also know."

"Run that by me one more time...."

"You and I both know that he knows too much."

"And you think that murdering him is the only way to keep him quiet?" asked the King.

"Not at all, I have several alternatives that I can give you."

"So, you do not think that I could also have alternatives?"

"What he knows can be used against you. Thus, you must keep him close -- or quiet."

"I will say that your views are well reasoned, but what makes you think that he can be trusted?"

"I do not, but I need him alive."

"How so?"

"I am not going to explain over this infernal thing..."

"Very well, I will allow you to bring him with you."

"Thank you daddy! I will see you soon."

The Princess handed the satphone over to the driver and said, "The king wishes to speak to you."

After a few yes sires, the driver exited the van and freed Prince William. He was still groggy from the rough treatment, but he was conscious. Princess Angelina helped him into the waiting suncar. She got into the drivers seat and drove off towards the castle.

The Prince was silent for most of the trip. His head was still swimming with what had happened. The Princess attempted to concentrate on the road and not worry about Prince William. She had not anticipated that roadblock, nor the blind obedience of the guards. Her anger towards Captain Romanov would occasionally boil to the surface. However, the Prince did not seem to notice.

After a few hours of driving, the Princess drove up to the castle compound's gate. Since her disappearance, her father had greatly tightened security. Perhaps it was just a show. In any event, she would not be able to slip out as she had before. She wondered if something else had happened while she was gone. She would find out soon enough.

Charon released the three-headed dog, Cerberus. The giant canine ran towards the trenches and dove in. The ravenous dog started grabbing men by ones and twos, and tearing them apart. The bullets from the rifles did little to halt the dog's assault.

Ares was not far behind. The god in his bloodlust began ripping men apart with his left hand. He would drive the evil looking serrated blade deep into his adversary and then gut the poor victim. In his right hand, he wielded his red sword and hewed defenders right and left.

Thanatos, armed only with his scythe, slashed men down like one harvesting wheat. The skeletal embodiment of death kicked his horse urging it up and down the long trenches that were now embroiled in hand-to-hand combat.

Hades, still in his chariot, rode the vehicle back and forth in front of the trenches. Any soldier trying to escape through this route found it blocked by the god of death. Hades would strike down anyone with his cold-blue sword.

Hermes joined the fray as well. The god of thieves was well adept at hiding in shadows. The god would either stab a passing defender in the back or just cut his throat with his black dagger. As the defenders pulled back from the trenches to the city gates, the army of Ares pursued.

The Sherman tanks surged forward, their machineguns and the main cannons firing to halt or distract the advancing army. The giant bronze Talos again would try to overpower one of the tanks. For every tank a group of Talos turned over, the bronze giants would lose three to four of their numbers.

King Podaistas fired the cannons lining the city's walls into the approaching army of the dead. The iron balls would bounce across the ground rolling until it smashed into the onrushing dead. Body parts would fly in the air as the ball cleared a path through the ranks of undead. Again the dead did not take heed of the damage sustained in their ranks and marched ever onward. Any living mortal, who did not flee from the marching horde, the undead warriors put to the sword or spear that they wielded mechanically.

The organized retreat to the city soon became a rout as men ran for their lives. The one redeeming quality for many of them was that the undead were unable to run. The undead did not slow down either. Great numbers fell to bullets from rifle, aircraft, and machineguns or the blasts from the mortars, cannons, and howitzers. Nevertheless, there were always more undead to fill the ranks.

The M4 Shermans raced back and forth attacking Talos and running down undead. When the last defending foot soldier entered the city gates, the tanks rushed towards the entrance themselves. The M4s flew through the mighty oaken gates before the first advancing undead reached the walls.

The garrison of Atlantis slammed the great gates shut, bolted and barricaded them. The men on the walls opened up on Ares' army below them. The few soldiers with bazookas that still had ammo rushed up the steps to the walls.

Ares was pleased; he had finally bested the mortals at their own game. They were now huddling behind their walls believing that they were safe. The god of war laughed at the fools who trapped themselves behind the stone walls of the city. He thought that soon the last resistance would be crushed.

"What do you find amusing Ares?" Hermes asked.

"We have them," the god laughed harder. "The fool mortals were so kind as to place all their remaining forces behind those walls. Those very walls I will soon have crashing down."

"There are still the forces in Zakrostas," Hades reminded Ares.

"Yes, I am aware of that. But, most of those Otherworlders' forces are now locked behind those walls. However, you are right in reminding me about them. Hades I want you and the Necro-lords to take one out of three of the warriors and head north. Zakrostas should fall easily now that we have the bulk of the Otherworlders penned in Atlantis."

Hades nodded his head and stepped into his chariot. He summoned Thanatos and Charon to his side. Cerberus obediently loped next to the god of the underworld's chartiot. One-third of the remaining undead started to trail Hades and his retinue north.

Ares did not watch Hades leave. Instead, once he gave his orders to the lord of death, Ares gave orders to the bronze giants. There were still a number of them left even though the defenders had greatly depleted their former numbers.

The army of the dead stopped yards outside of the city walls and parted to allow the 10-foot tall bronze Talos approach the gates. The defenders continued to fire their myriad of weapons. The bullets from the rifles would down a warrior but would bounce harmlessly off the metal skin of the giants. The arrows fired from the bows of the royal archers did nothing to either until they were set on fire. Then a few undead went up in flames.

Bazookas fired and destroyed several Talos, however, there were more giants than ammo for the bazookas. When the bronze giants approached the gates, the soldiers started dropping grenades on them. Most of the exploding grenades just cracked the skin allowing wisps of steam to rise into the air and thin trickles of ichor to flow to the earth.

The Talos continued to pound on the stout oaken gate with their heavy fists. The doors started to crack under the constant assault. It would not be long before the giants forced their way into the city.

General Crist ordered the defenders to retreat over the first canal to the first ring of the city. Tanks, men and horses rushed over the huge bridge spanning the wide canal. The Pima was on hand to offer any covering support.

As the last of the defenders crossed the bridge, the gates finally splintered inward with a shower of wood. The giants pushed their way into the city, followed by the undead. Ares and Hermes rushed into the city of Atlantis. The god of war ordered his warriors to capture the bridge.

Hundreds of the undead soldiers of Ares were on the bridge and marching to the first ring when suddenly the bridge exploded and collapsed into the canal. General Crist had the bridge rigged for demolition and now ordered it destroyed. The undead toppled with the broken stones into the canal where the bloated bodies of dead griffins and dragons already bobbed. The Pima fired every weapon she had into the thousands of undead overwhelming the city.

Ares quickly sent his giants to the harbor entrance. The destroyers in the canals fired upon the bronze giants. The ships destroyed several of the giants with their big guns and the shattered fragments of bronze flew through the air. However, the remaining Talos were in sufficient numbers that they were able to carry out Ares bidding and topple the towers guarding the entrance into the canal blocking it so no ships could enter or leave the city.

It had cost the last of his bronze giants but Ares laughed. Ares had now trapped the remnants of the Otherworlders' army along with the bulk of King Podaistas forces. It was now only a matter of time before they were destroyed leaving the rest of the realm exposed to the genocide Ares had planned for all mortals.

It was shortly before dawn when Prince William awoke. He looked over at the beautiful sleeping princess. As silently as he could, he grabbed his things and headed to the suncar. Because he was the driver, he had the keys. He quietly opened the doors and packed all of his things. As soon as the sun peeked over the horizon, he drove off.

Leaving his childhood friend behind, Prince William drove off in the suncar. He was not sure where he was going to go. Since he was close to the ancient highway, he would begin driving upon it. Nevertheless, he was certain he could not go back to where this journey began.

However, where would he go? When he got there, would he be safe? He was currently in the middle of what could be considered enemy territory. Could he make it to his father's kingdom? Further, he did not have any navigation aid to get him home. When he left, he had only consulted the map of Calmondak. It was all he needed when he first left on this adventure. Without navigational help, he knew that if he headed east, he would eventually reach his father's kingdom. In any event, the Prince wondered what obstacles he would encounter on his journey.

He continued driving for a while, but his thoughts kept returning to the stranded Princess Angelina. Despite being well into the mountains, it was still going to be a hot day. How was she doing? Had she panicked? What was she doing?

Further, how was she going to get back home? Did leaving her at the camp sentence her to death? After all, she let him drive. Thus, she trusted him with the keys. She did not even consider that he would run, so she did not even ask for the keys when the bed down for the night. Further, she did not protect herself from any advances he might make. She completely trusted him. Hence, by his actions, he had completely betrayed her trust.

After much debate with himself, the Prince turned around. The guilt was too much for him. He could not abandon her like that. She was far away from civilization in both directions that she would not survive the trip on foot. He would have to improve his situation in some other manner.

When the Prince returned to the camping spot, he found the Princess cooking breakfast over an open fire. She did not even looked surprised as he drove up. He got out of the suncar and walked over to where the Princess sat.

"Breakfast?" she asked nonchalantly.

"You knew I could never abandon you out here..."

"You can never tell with some people, but I can read you pretty well."

"You do know my life is at stake here."

"Of course."

"How could you be sure that I would find your life more valuable than my own?"

"I do not really look at it that way," replied the Princess. "I have given you plenty of assurances that you would live."

"You by no means can assure that."

"While that is true, you knew that I would not survive out here by myself."

"Sure death vs. possible death -- that is a pretty big chance."

"I also had one more thing going for me. I trusted you."

"Guilt. You knew that I would feel guilty about abandoning you."

"It is an ancient emotion that has plenty of power."

"What is for breakfast?" asked the Prince with a sigh.

The pair ate a fine meal. For a pampered daughter of a wealthy aristocrat, the Princess had surprising good cooking skills. She probably had only made herself a handful of meals, yet she somehow learned to be a competent cook. In her youth, she had garnered numerous skills. The surprisingly good meal calmed the Prince's guilty conscience. He quietly ate his meal.

When they both had their fill, the pair packed the remaining supplies in the car and drove off. Because of the incident that occurred earlier, they were behind schedule. Nonetheless, they still had plenty of daylight to make it back to King Jonathan's castle. The Prince drove a little faster, but he knew he could not get lost during this stretch of the journey. He remembered that there were very few turnoffs off the ancient road. He had driven slowly across this stretch the last time, but he was no longer tracking anyone. He could just go.

After several hours of driving and pleasant conversation, the Prince William noticed a roadblock up ahead. It had been the first sign of life they had encountered since they left the ancient city. There were a good number of people attending this obstacle.

"I will handle this," asserted Prince William as he stopped the car and got out.

The Princess attempted to stop him, but he was out of the car before she could warn him. The Prince strutted towards the front of the car, but before he could say a word, the guards fired their tasers at him. In a painful convulsion, everything went black for the Prince. He tumbled to the ground as the group approached. One of the guards drew his long knife as the group made their way to the convulsing Prince.

"Wait!" exclaimed the Princess as she jumped out of the car.

"Pardon us your highness," replied the guard who appeared to be in charge. "But, we are under strict orders to not let the Prince pass."

"You know that I am the Princess and he is Prince William then."

"Yes Miss."

"How would you know that?"

"I am not at liberty to discuss it."

"The tracking device..."

"I do know not of what you speak," lied the guard.

"In any event, you do not have all the required information."

"Is that so?"

"Prince William and myself have additional information that the King will wish to hear."

"I am sorry your highness, but we do have our orders."

"The King will be quite upset when I get to him."

"There is no way to override the King's orders. We cannot disobey."

"I am telling you that you will be in greater trouble if you do not disobey his orders than if you obey them."

"We will take that chance," replied the guard as the one with the knife approached the Prince.

"I know you have long distance communication," asserted the Princess. "I demand you let me speak to him."

"Please your highness, we have our orders."

"We were just following orders is a poor excuse. I am positive my father would want to hear what I have to say."

"What does that have to do with Prince William?"

"Everything."

"I am sorry mistress..."

The guard with the knife walked right to the Prince. The Princess lied across him to block the way. However, another guard removed her from the still quivering Prince. Thus the one with the knife had full access to the vital parts of the Prince.

"Please..." begged the Princess.

"We have our orders," replied the head guard.

Just after the sunset, Hermes returned to the trenches where Ares set up camp. The chewed up ground contained bodies from both sides that lay strewn across the landscape. Jagged scraps of bronze and heaping piles of stone told of the combat that took place earlier in the day. The god of thieves looked the worse for wear. His tunic usually clean and white was now torn and dirty. His well kempt hair was in disarray.

"I hope you have faired better on ground than I did in the air," Hermes said.

"I fear not," Ares grumbled. "However, tomorrow we will gain the city. I am sure of it."

"I believe you have said that before," Hermes mumbled under his breath.

"What was that?" snapped the god of war.

"Nothing," Hermes lied. "I was wondering if you had seen Zeus."

Ares forgot about Zeus. The king of the gods was free to do as he pleased. However, Ares was certain that Zeus would have had a hand in the combat. But the god of war had not seen Zeus since that morning.

"I have not. Maybe he has returned to Olympus."

Hades now walked over to his companions. "I have not seen Zeus either. Perhaps the Otherworlders have killed him as well," Hades replied grimly.

"If that is so then it is imperative that we destroy these mortals before they kill the rest of us," Ares stated coldly.

After Ares thought for a bit, he finally spoke again, "Tomorrow when the sun rises we will hit them with everything we have. We must take the city tomorrow!"

As the sun broke over the Dragonspine Mountains, the defenders in the trenches outside the city wall could see a sea of undead soldiers marching towards them in the dawn mist. Amongst the reanimated corpses of fallen warriors, the 10-foot tall bronze Talos towered over their companions.

General Crist had not spent the night in idleness. He knew that Ares would push for one major assault on the trenches. The sad realization is that Crist also knew that he could not prevent Ares from taking them. He only hoped he could make it as costly as possible.

The artillery pieces General Crist had ordered moved into Atlantis itself in order to keep them from falling into enemy hands. It was unlikely that Ares would be able to use them against the defenders but he could not afford to lose them. Crist also had to contend with the fact that he had used a lot of the ammunition for the guns in the previous day's rolling barrage.

King Podaistas came to the trenches in the night. The general and the monarch made plans and prepared defenses well into the early predawn hours. Now the king awaited back on the city walls. He would have to give a good account of himself once Ares took the trenches.

The advancing undead did cover half the distance between the two trench works when the familiar hum of aircraft broke the still air. General Crist was saddened to learn that the previous day's battle had cost him five of his fighters and seven of the torpedo bombers. The aircraft laden with bombs flew low towards the encroaching army. They did not worry about dragons or griffins anymore. The beasts of Hermes were vanquished the day before by the aircraft.

Ares was not surprised to see the planes fly towards his army, there was nothing he could do to prevent their attack. He had to rely on his numbers to withstand the air assault. There would be no retreats today, just the order to move onward and forward.

The bombs tumbled down through the air whistling on their descent. As the impacted with the earth, great geysers of dirt and body parts erupted into the air. The undead just closed ranks around the gaping holes created by the explosions.

Soon the artillery began to rain their ordinance upon the undead. The barrage was not as devastating as the day before. However, the damage was still considerable. But like with the bombing run the undead pushed onward heedless of the damage being inflicted on them.

The aircraft then began to dive and fire their machineguns into the oncoming army. The .30 and .50 rounds chewed up the warriors and left the Talos undamaged. When the undaunted dead were within range, the men in the trenches opened up with their guns. Bullets flew through the air and ripped into the reanimated soldiers.

Ares deliberately held Hermes and Hades with his Necro-lords back. He wanted to release them when the time was right. Plus, he did not want to risk losing another god to these humans.

The Sherman tanks fired the guns from outside the city walls. They aimed their shells specifically at the bronze giants. The Shermans were able to shoot many arms and legs off resulting in huge explosions of steam and hot ichor flying into the air. The stricken giants stopped in their tracks and would simply topple over often crushing some undead beneath them.

The defenders kept up a hail of fire as the undead army marched closer toward the trenches. The lead elements would fall only to have their companions trample them. The waves of reanimated warriors crept ever closer to the trenches.

General Crist knew that the holding the trenches any longer against Ares undead would be futile. The number of soldiers he had were nowhere near the numbers Ares had available. Therefore, as the advanced elements of Ares' soldiers reached the trenches Crist ordered a pull back to the city walls.

Ares smiled to see the defenders pulling out of the trenches. The god of war looked over at his fellow gods. He raised his bladed-left hand and pointed towards the trenches.

"Now!" Ares cried to his companions. "Now, we will take the city!"

Princess Angelina made preparations to return to her father's kingdom. She gathered provisions and placed them into her suncar. She had a technician recondition the batteries. At a moderate speed, it would take about fourteen hours to make it back to her father's castle. Thus, there was a need to camp somewhere along the way. She wanted to be in the cooler mountain areas before the need to stop. Further, she did not want to breakdown before reaching her father's castle in Calmondak. The car was going to travel through some pretty harsh areas, and there would be no help available. Thus, preparations were important.

Once the car was prepared, the Princess left the hotel and went back to her library home. She looked up tracking devices on the google. She found out about ancient radio ID tags for pets. While they were not exactly the same thing, the technology could have progressed to the point it was now. It could have become smaller and more powerful. Likely, it was another technology obtained from the ancients but refined by her father's people.

She did more looking at things on the internets. From some of the things she learned, she was certain her father had access to this technology in his castle. However, he clearly hid it from other people in and out of the kingdom. She would force him to reveal it to her. Thus, she could continue looking up things that interested her. When she left this ancient city, there would be many more wonders she would want to study. The she learned the more she realized that the ancients were more advanced than anyone was taught in the schools. There was probably a reason for that, but she would not let her father interfere with her search for knowledge.

After her searches were finished and after she gathered her things, she went to the hotel where she left Prince William. She found him wandering around the casino area. She could tell that the machines intrigued him greatly. However, she wished to get to the mountains before it got too late. Thus, she urged him to come along.

"Why should I?" asked the Prince.

"Can we talk about it in the car?" she replied. "I want to get going before it gets too late in the day."

"Again, why should I?"

"The temperatures in the mountains will be much more comfortable for our camp out."

"You are not listening," asserted the Prince. "Why should I leave the Forbidden Zone?

"Because I want you to," she replied with a pouty look.

"Uhhh..." he replied.

He could not resist that look. Thus, he followed her out of the hotel. She walked directly to the waiting suncar.

"I am driving," the Prince insisted.

"What?" she asked with a glare.

"At least let me drive," he said softening his tone.

"What...?" she added.

"Please!" he replied with a sigh.

She waited by the passenger door. The Prince taking the hint opened the door for the Princess. She got in, and the Prince ran around the car and got into the driving position. The pair headed out on the ancient road towards Calmondak.

"So...," he began after a brief pause.

"So what?" she answered.

"You said we could talk about your plans in the car."

"We are not even out of the city. You sure are anxious to discuss it."

"It does involve my future..."

"Very well," the Princess replied with a sigh. "I will talk to my father and convince him to let you live."

"Wait!" he said as he slammed on the brakes.

"I will be successful," she replied bracing herself.

"How can you be certain?"

"I know my father."

"What if you are wrong?"

"I am certain that I am not," replied the Princess with confidence. "I have enough on him, and he would not dare deny me -- anything."

"What assurances do I have?"

"You will simply have to trust me."

"I am sooooo dead," he replied as he began driving again.

After fairly long stretch of silence the Prince asked, "After you have insisted upon my survival, what then?"

"What do you mean?"

"How do you intend to get my father to agree to giving me the land without a wedding?"

"Oh that?" replied the Princess with a giggle. "I will throw the prophecy in his face."

"I thought you did not believe in it...."

"I do not, but that does not mean that it will not be useful to me. This Prophecy just mentions you rescuing me. Clearly, you have done that, which is all that is required."

"But there is an assumption there..."

"The assumption that I will be so grateful, that I will marry you..."

"Yeah that!"

"You can forget it."

"I think my father will insist."

"Your father is in no position to insist on this."

"But, he can still deny me the land."

"And go against the Prophecy? I do not think so."

After another brief silence, the Prince asked, "How does all this benefit you?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean," replied the Prince with a thoughtful look, "You do not need me to get back home. You simply do not need me for anything. Why did you save me from spending the rest of my life back there."

"Oh that -- are sure you want to know?"

"Are you sure you are fourteen?"

"I am pretty sure," replied the Princess. "My reasons are complicated..."

"We have plenty of time."

"Okay, I will tell you the truth."

"What?"

"I was going to ask your father to cede the land to me -- without you."

"I think that would be even harder to do."

"Not when he realizes that I rescued you, and not the other way around."

"You would use my father's prophecy against him?"

"It was the plan."

"Where do I fit in?"

" You know, there is an ancient saying -- Curiosity killed the cat."

"I have a right to know."

"You can do whatever you like."

"You promised me my own kingdom."

"I lied."

"I do not think you are fourteen at all!"

The pair drove for quite a while in silence. They would occasionally speak, but it was more reminiscences of their youth than the talk of the future. Eventually, they arrived at the place where Prince William had camped what seemed like ages ago. It was a good camping location, and they made a fire and had a nice meal. They would easily make it to the Castle the next day.

General Crist watched as the unrelenting army of undead marched towards the trenches. The men had to hold these trench works because after that there would only be the city walls and the three canals to hinder Ares' advance.

The defenders fired their weapons at the advancing troops lumbering towards them. The stench of the half-decayed men may have been one of the more effective weapons of the undead. Nonetheless, the defenders were determined not to give up.

The crack of the rifles and the constant thumping of the machineguns sounded down the trenches. Mortars and artillery pieces from behind the trenches fired round after round into the advancing army. Occasionally, a remaining wisp of smoke would obscure the approaching undead. However, once the wind shifted the army would be that much closer.

The reanimated warriors would fall as a bullet would tear a leg or head off. The explosions of the mortars and artillery shells flung rotted body parts through the air. Yet the undead marched steadily onward oblivious to the carnage.

Ares smiled, these troops would not run. The dead did not fear anything. Their only purpose was to obey Ares' commands and to kill the living. Ares figured that the sheer numbers of the undead would easily overwhelm the trenches.

Hades, still in his chariot, advanced towards the god of war. "What are your orders?"

"Have your Necro-lords prepare to enter the trenches once the warriors flood the defenders," Ares laughed. "We will be in Atlantis by nightfall."

Hades summoned his Necro-lords, Thanatos and Charon. Death still rode his sickly looking horse and the boatman still held a harnessed Cerberus at bay. Hades started to give his orders when suddenly a new sound exploded upon the landscape.

General Crist hung up the field phone on the backpack of one of his soldiers. The order for a rolling artillery barrage started. The initial artillery assault would begin yards in front of the trenches and then advance towards Ares' army. The 105-mm Howitzer M2A1 artillery pieces and the mortars now had the added strength of the nine 8 inch guns onboard the Pima.

The ground outside the trench-works suddenly exploded in a shower of earth and shrapnel. The artillery shells continued to fall relentlessly. Even the undead warriors could not make much headway in this rain of steel.

Entire lines of warriors would suddenly disintegrate as multiple shells fell upon them. The burst of fire and steel would send body parts flying in all directions. The explosions continued to advance through the advancing undead.

The Talos mixed in with the undead army did not escape the wrath of the bursting shells. The steam stored inside them would rupture forth as shrapnel tore through their bronze hide. The hot red ichors that functioned as the giants' blood would splash onto the ravaged ground.

Crist then grabbed the field phone again and gave another order while the barrage continued. Instantly, the ten M4 Sherman tanks Crist had held back raced past the trenches and entered the combat. The tanks would stop only to fire their main guns.

Ares again caught unprepared by the latest tactic of the Otherworlders ordered Hades and his Necro-lords back before the barrage caught them in its deadly explosions. Ares looked across the broken landscape to see tanks fire their guns into the 10-foot bronze giants.

A few of the giants were able to overcome one of the Shermans flipping it onto its side. However, it cost them dearly for the other tanks quickly reduced their numbers. The giants and tanks jockeyed around the battlefield oblivious to the undead warriors still advancing towards the trenches or the artillery barrage still detonating around them.

To make matters worse the smoke had finally cleared enough that the remaining fighter planes and torpedo bombers were now strafing the field. The undead were being mowed down in such great numbers even Ares wondered if he had enough warriors to conquer Atlantis.

Ares did not like the fact that the aircraft were now able to assault his ground forces. For that meant that the Otherworlders' planes had finally destroyed Hermes' Draco-lords. The god of war did not have time to worry about whether Hermes himself had survived.

Ares also reasoned that the defenders could not continue such an intense counterattack indefinitely. Therefore, the god of war continued to feed his undead warriors into the battle. The ranks of undead fell before the onslaught of the combined arms of General Crist's forces.

White smoke, shattered bronze limbs, and random body parts filled the broken black field. However, the undead warriors continued to attempt to cross the no-man's-land. The artillery fire began to slacken and the aircraft finally retreated from the field, as did the tanks.

Ares army suffered greatly from the assault. However, he still possessed a huge army. The numbers of Ares forces were finally starting to tell. The defenders would not be able to last much longer.

"Hades!" Ares yelled. "Prepare to send out the Necro-lords. They are faltering."

"Nay, my lord," Hades sadly replied. "We have tarried too long and now the sun is sinking into the ocean. We cannot hope to fight in the dark."

Ares so caught up in the combat did not notice that the sun had started to dip into the western sea. With a mighty curse, Ares ordered his forces back to the first line of trenches. Tomorrow, Ares promised himself the mortals shall fall.

It was getting dark, and it had been a long day for Prince William. However, with the darkness came the realization that he was not that far from the strip. The bright lights he had seen while in the desert came from those hotels. He would just have to head north and east to get back from where he came. He was not as lost as he thought.

He did wish that he had thought about eating before this very moment. Nonetheless, his journey back to the hotels would have to wait. He was more tired than he was hungry, but that situation would reverse in the morning.

The Prince was accustomed to roughing it. When on the trail, one does not find much in the way of luxury. In fact, this house was more luxurious than most of his camping experiences. He would have no problems sleeping in the abandoned house. In fact, the emptied bathtub seemed quite inviting. Thus, he stretched out in the enormous tub and quickly fell fast asleep.

While the fancy tub was by no means soft, it was comfortable enough to provide the Prince with a sleeping spot. Further, its cool marble surface afforded a better night's sleep in the heat of the desert. The sun was peeking over the horizon when he awoke. He had slept quite soundly despite the sleeping conditions.

He slowly got up and looked around further. Perhaps something around would be edible. His stomach had been growling for a bit. Having found nothing to eat, he resigned himself to walking back to the hotel for food. It was at that moment that Princess Angelina walked into the ancient home. He was quite surprised to see her, and he wondered how she had found him.

"It is a long story," replied the Princess.

"You can tell me it over breakfast," responded the Prince as he headed for the door.

"Oh please! I could not eat another thing."

"But, you will tell me?"

"I have not decided yet."

"What?"

"I understand that you have a right to know, but I do not know if you are in a state to handle more shocks."

"I have a tracking device on me..."

"I am afraid so."

"Why am I not surprised?"

"I had nothing to do with it."

"Sure."

"I did not!"

"Whatever you say. Can we -- er -- I get something to eat now?"

"I am sorry to keep you," the Princess replied waving towards the door.

The pair walked west along the cul-de-sac before they could begin their northeasterly trek. They were silent for a portion of the walk. Each did not know what to say to the other. They just walked in their own thoughts.

"So, you are tracking me to make sure I do not leave," began the Prince after a long silence.

"That is not it at all," replied the Princess. "I was unaware of the tracking device until this very morning."

"And you expect me to believe that?"

"It matters little what you believe; however, it is the truth."

"But, you show up at my door in the middle of nowhere..."

"Because I asked around. That is how I found out about the tracker."

"And subsequently my position."

"True, but I came because we have much to discuss."

"Why would I discuss anything with you? I do not know if I can trust you."

The silence between them returned. They walked and the tall hotels came into view. They were almost back to civilization -- such as it was. The Princess gave out a small sigh.

"Do you have the power to have services restored to that house back there?"

"That small place? Why do you ask?"

"These hotels are nice, but are filled with common people. They are not fit for a man of my situation."

"You -- you are just a minor prince..."

"I am still royalty. I feel I have the right to live in better accommodations."

"These are the finest hotels in all of Morica."

"While that may be true, they are not filled with royalty such as myself."

"So you believe you deserve special treatment because of it."

"Naturally."

"What have you done in your lifetime to deserve this treatment?"

"I -- I -- I came looking for you."

"As my knight in shining armor. You came to save me from some unknown evil..."

"Something like that," the Prince said with a sigh. "Anyway, do you have the authority or ability?"

"I do, but it will not be necessary."

"What!?!! Why?"

"Things have come to light that has made me re-evaluate your position -- and mine."

"Things? What things?"

"The tracking device for one."

"And...?

"And what?"

"Are you going to tell me more?"

"What would you like to know?"

"These things that have come to light."

"There is very little need to explain it further."

"And just why is that?"

"You know enough now for my father to kill you on sight," sighed the Princess. "That is if you leave the Forbidden Zone. Why would you like even more reasons?"

"Would he come for me here?"

"He may."

"How likely is that?"

"There are plenty of people here that will do his bidding. You may not be as safe as you think. After all, you are already considered dead outside of here."

"However, I am certainly more safe here than I would be outside."

"So what are you trying to say?"

"I am not sure I wish to leave this place."

"Is living in that house your wish?"

"If services could be restored, it would be a fine residence."

"You would not even leave to have a kingdom of your own?"

"What do you mean?"

"In my reconsiderations, I have given some thought to the kingdom by the gulf."

"Do you know what that entails?"

"It would not entail what you think."

"My father would not cede that land to you unless we got -- married."

"I believe I could convince him otherwise."

"But what about the pirates and raiders?"

"Is it your intention to learn my entire plan?"

"Well yes..."

"That is too bad because we are here. I have no intention of watching you eat. Thus, you will have to wait."