[IC] Love Buried Within War (TC and Genkai)

[Genkai]

Themyscira, 1918

The winds were exceptionally fierce as the gleaming sunlight bathed Diana Prince in rich warmth.

The hidden island of Themyscira had been her only home, surrounded by the strongest and bravest Amazon women. And while Queen Hippolyta was her mother, Diana had a strong connection with her aunt, General Antiope. Diana wished to train, knowing she would need to be prepared to one day fight Ares upon his return. Her mother had different views and didn't wish for Diana to get involved in such fights when they were likely to remain fantasy, never to fully be realized in reality. Diana refused to sit on the sidelines and watch her fellow Amazons fight and train so she and Antiope took to training in secret. Diana's progress was slow but steady and in time, she was able to make tremendous progress that challenged even the most skilled of fighters on the island.

This progress did not go unseen by her mother who eventually relented and agreed to allow Diana's training to continue, providing that Diana be pushed even harder. All Diana wished to do was focus on her training and to become strong enough to protect not just those she cared about but also the world. While she had been sheltered in her upbringing, she did have a budding interest in knowing more about the others parts of the world. In her heart she believed that there had to be other societies much like hers; societies where people were doing good, where they too, were resisting the evils of war. Diana remained unaware of the temptations that plagued the world, that conflicts were still threatening to prey upon humanity's weaknesses.

Allowing Ares to torment man was not an option in Diana's mind.

As she had completed another afternoon of tiring training, the dark haired woman found herself lingering by the tall jagged cliffs that overlooked the white sandy beach. Her breathing was slow and concentrated as she surveyed the liquid field of sapphires that stretched out before her. There was never any rain or bad weather in Themyscira. The sun was always shining and when it faded into the horizon, the moon provided the women with ample light and comfort from the darkness overhead. Diana found herself wondering about the other places she hadn't been. There had been stories told about what the world had to offer. While Diana had been taught many subjects in her youth, much of it remained abstract in concept.

Amazon women knew of men but had yet to encounter one. Themyscira was protected by barriers which prevented ships from sailing into their territory and stumbling upon their existence. At least that's how it had always been up until now. To any outsiders getting close to the island, they would see rocks and fog, preventing them from further advancement. And yet as Diana stood in the warmth of the familiar sunlight, the light grass tickling at her ankles, she spotted something fall from the sky and land with a distinct crash into the ocean. Looking down at the mess of debris, Diana spotted a figure caught in the crash, sinking into the water at a steady pace.

Without hesitation, she ran forward and jumped from the cliff, raising her arms above her head to allow for maximum propulsion as she dove into the water. Diana swam towards the man and pulled him free of the sinking wood and metal which his leg had become wedged between. Pushing them back up to the surface, she held an arm around his wide sternum as she swam them towards the shore. The wind had died down as she pulled the man up onto the sand and knelt beside him. Her eyes scanned his body, noting he had a rather broad muscular shape though he was still much smaller than the woman she trained alongside. Still, this being her first impression of a man, she was certainly intrigued.

Leaning over, she placed her ear to his chest, trying to figure out if he was still breathing or not.

There wasn't a heartbeat and Diana knew she had to do something rather than wait to go get help. She leaned over and began to push on his chest, right between where the ribs started. She stopped after about fifty-five compressions and moved her mouth over his blowing gently before she moved back to keeping his heart stimulated. Despite having been in the water just moments ago herself, Diana's leather attire remained quite dry, having resisted the water. She had a tan leather top and skirt that acted as very light but flexible casual armor. Diana heard coughing and stopped as the man was thankfully coming back around. Starting at him, she found hundreds of questions clamoring to the tip of her tongue. "Are you hurt?" She asked, her priority still the stranger's safety.

"What is your name? How did you get here? I saw you fall from the sky like a shooting star..." Immediately she was sure this was a dangerous situation for them both to be in. "Where are you from?" She asked, even if she didn't know much of the outside, it was impossible to restrain her curiosity. Even if his statement meant nothing in context, she felt she needed answers and somehow, this man had surely fallen into her world for a reason. "My name is Diana." She decided to offer him as she got to her feet, her leather boots sinking into the sand. "You must come with me." She urged him, holding a hand out for the fallen soldier.

[The Cleaner]

Why the hell he had ever agreed to such a ridiculous idea such as this one. War was no stranger to the man named Logan, yet he had never been a spy before. His unique abilities never allowed him to be more than a front-line warrior. His brother was still on the front-line, yet he had been reassigned due to some kind of new weapon.

A weapon that even frightened him. The sheer thought of torment that people would suffer through based on that evil woman's plan. Doctor Poison they had called her. The immediate thought inside of Logan's mind was to go in and slaughter everyone that he could. Deep down he knew that would only propagate the war just that much further. He could only imagine the retaliation that would be given for the death of Isabel Maru and Erich Ludendorff. Even he couldn't imagine being able to sleep at night knowing that many more deaths were on his hands.

Though one key factor into all of this that everyone seemed to forget was inevitably they would find out he was a spy. It was quite obvious that he wasn't German. The ability to apprehend the notebook that had just been left out in the little room that Ludendorff and Maru had been in was simple enough. The escape? Not exactly as planned. Being followed by tons of German soldiers and being shot out of the sky towards what looked like certain death in fog and rock? Not exactly how he had seen himself going out.

The impact the plane had made with the water had caused his head to slam into something, he couldn't exactly tell what had hit him. All he knew was he could feel his brain shutting off for a moment, but his body quickly moved into overdrive to start healing the damage that had been done. Though once he had been drug across the shore, it would only be a matter of moments, faster due to the Amazonian that seemed bound and determined to make sure he was alive.

The sudden urge to cough and spit the water that had been deep in his throat had caused his solid wet black hair, that extended down past his cheeks, to harmlessly bounce slightly around. His lungs felt like they had fire coursing through them as he felt his body push the foreign water out of his body. The Nazi uniform that he had been forced into wearing to undercover was completely soaked to the core of his body.

Then his eyes caught her eyes.

Then the endless questions seemed to start rolling away from her, quite beautiful lips. Immediately he pushed that thought out of his head, as that was the least of his worries at the moment. Germans had been pursuing him. The war was on this woman's doorstep, and he needed to make sure she was to safety before all hell seemed to break loose.

“Don't pray on me like you would a shooting star. I'm afraid I've brought the bad guys to your doorstep.” His voice seemed rougher than most peoples ever would. It held an edge, his hand slowly slid into her hand as she was helping him to his feet. “Logan.” The name always seemed to ground him in reality. His own boots seemed to be causing some of the sand to form small patters of mud.

The boats off in the distance had drawn his attention. Without even hazarding to think if the woman that had found him could take care of herself, he put himself between her and the boats. At least he knew he could heal a few bullet wounds. “They are after me, and they are not good people. I can handle them once they land.” This wasn't him trying to talk down to Diana, this was his fault. He had to correct the problem that he had brought her.

Wherever the hell here was. The sun and wind were certainly a thousand times better than what he had originally thought he was crashing into.

What had even happened the fog and rocks from before? Another thought for another time. Logan could feel the slight jagged pain as his skin right between his fingers started to tear open so that his bones could push through. Normally he liked to hide this little fact from people, yet this moment was different. He had to draw all the attention away from her.

[Genkai]

The man's tone was a bit rough but she had to consider him lucky, had she not been nearby she was sure his lifeless body have been washed up on shore along with the tide. Diana pulled the man up to his feet and glanced over her shoulder, knowing there would be others who may seek her out when her presence was noting to be missing. The woman knew whatever danger may have followed Logan was something she had to take care of herself. "Logan," She spoke testing his name. "What bad people?" She asked him, not at all sure what he was implying. It was easy to note how uncomfortable the man looked, though one might attribute that to him having recently been resuscitated. "Who are they?" She pressed him.

With the man moving between her and the shore, she recalled that her training sword had been left by the cliff's edge when she had dived into the ocean. Her eyes glanced upwards, spotting a glint of sunlight reflecting off her weapon which were terribly out of reach. Diana knew she could go up and get them but she didn't feel comfortable leaving Logan to fend for himself, even if he knew the threat better than she did. She had a choice to make and soon.

Diana eyed the ocean stretched out in front of them as Logan seemed to be expecting more like him to appear. She looked to see something coming out of the top of his knuckles. She wasn't sure what he was doing or what he was capable of but she knew she couldn't leave the fighting to him. This was her home and she would defend it with her last breath. "I'll be right back!" She assured him as she took off toward the cliffs, running up along the sandy cliffs as the ground under her soon changed to more solid foundation. She reached her sword and gripped it while peering over to see two boats appear out of nowhere.

Jumping back down to the beach, she landed with a large thud, her knees bent to soften the landing. Diana stood up, sword still in hand as she hurried to rejoin Logan's at his side. "Those are the bad men you spoke of? Why are they after you, Logan?" She asked him. While she didn't sense deceit from within his soul, Diana could figure out that there was something going on. Any sort of conflict Diana came across, was something she had to resolve. It was within her nature to do so.

But before anything else could be said, the boats made land.

A dozen men marched onto the beach, having climbed off from the small boats that had been tracking Logan since his theft and subsequent escape. At the moment Diana had to put her trust in Logan, that he was someone worth defending. With her mind and motives made up, she raised her sword. As the soldiers aimed their guns, Diana hesitated, having never seen such objects before. Her eyes traveled to Logan who seemed unfazed by the men who began to fire. Unwilling to be a bystander, Diana ran forward, dodging many of the bullets that flew in her and Logan's direction. As they were out numbered, Diana was unable to keep track of all of the men; one saw an opening and aimed for her as she swung her sword, using it to shield herself from the bullets as she closed the gap and attacked those close to her.

[The Cleaner]

His eyes seemed to tear away from the horizon and the boats once the woman had said she would be right back. In actuality, he was hopeful that she wouldn't return. Enough innocent blood had been shed during this forsaken war. Soldiers knew what they were signing up for when it come to war, but this Diana was not a soldier. At least, he didn't believe with the way she had appeared to be a soldier.

Though she had made her return just before the boats had washed up on the beaches, his eyes turned towards her. “I can't tell you the exact reason they are after me, I'm on a classified mission, but how do you not know about the war?” Logan seemed to actually look sorrowful for a solitary moment. Had he brought this war to a place that had been completely cut off from it? His eyes hardened when he heard the first boat land.

Then he had noticed the sword and the way she was raising it. To say that he was more than a little confused was beyond him, but now was not the time to discuss her choice of weaponry. Logan had already closed the distance between him and some of the soldiers that had chosen their own fate. Terrorized screams started to echo over the battlefield as he felt his bones enter the chest of one man, before he twist around to use the man a shield for the bullets that were spray towards him.

Blood seemed to soak over him as he charged himself forward, the body still being used as a personal shield. His second set of claws on his other hand tore through another unknowing person that didn't seem to understand what exactly they were fighting at this point. Worry and panic started to spread as they watched a single man and woman starting to rip through their ranks, even if they had been outnumbered.

Time seemed to slow around Logan as he took notice of Diana. She had such a determined look crossing her face. She had a more noble look to her than any other person he had ever met, and something about her made him feel like she would have his back. He couldn't place his finger on why just looking at her caused that sense to wash over him, but it had, and now she needed him to watch her back.

Pushing the dead soldier off his claws, he felt his legs spring into action, as he moved in a far more animalistic way, one that reminded him of his half-brother, as he dove in front of the bullet meant for her, taking the shot in his chest. Now the anger was finally released as he felt his claws being drove into the man that had aimed the shot at her, before finally taking an actual weapon off the ground and started to use it instead, so he could better cover the other warrior on the battlefield that he called an ally, for the time being.

[Genkai]

A war?

A war meant conflict, it meant unnecessary hardship and bloodshed.

Diana felt a chill run up along her spine as she hadn't considered the other parts of the world were at war with one another. Had Ares already returned to wreck havoc upon innocent souls? She clenched her fist even tighter, clenching her sword so hard that it would leave an imprint against her soft palm. When Logan moved and shielded her from the flurry of bullets, she continued to fight the men that foolishly advanced on them. Within minutes the battle had ended with her and Logan standing among a collection of bloodied bodies.

Only when she surveyed the beach did she allow her guard to lower. Looking to Logan, she stepped toward him, her eyes scanning his body for signs of injury. "You have been hit...why are you left uninjured?" She questioned as she ran her fingers along his shoulders but saw no profuse bleeding or broken bones. She took a step back, studying him once again. He was...different. Where there should be wounds, his body seemed to be untouched by the bullets that had been whizzing through the air.

Before her mind could further linger on the matter, it circled back around to the concept of war and why Logan was in it to begin with. "This war you mentioned, when did it start?" She questioned, trying to reel in her growing curiosity. Diana had so many questions and the more she spent time with the foreign man, the more she needed to know. It was clear she would have to take him to her mother and let them question him and his motives. The Amazon women had their ways and though Diana felt she could trust Logan, she needed to make sure war was not coming to her home.

The woman thought back to the men and considered the fact that if those bullets had hit her, she would not have been as lucky as Logan. Even though he had saved her life, just as she saved his, she still felt indebted to him. Life for Diana was tough but becoming stale. She was becomingly increasingly restless and suddenly this strange man had already delivered change to her life. She would ensure he got whatever help he needed to end the war.

"Please...if you are unhurt, please come with me. There are others would need to know of this war." She said, knowing full well how difficult this interaction will be for those close to her. An outsider was unheard of and Diana had a feeling this war he spoke of was only the beginning. In her heart, she knew it was something she had to seek out and bring relief to everyone involved. In truth, she had no idea how expansive and how costly the war had been and that it wasn't the first to ravage the planet. "Why did this war happen?" She needed details. As they walked up along the grassy slope, she kept stealing glances toward LOgan, still carrying her sword in hand, just in case the enemy still lurked in the shadows.