After a long march along the tunnels inside Gaya’s legs, the two separated bands of Tesel’s army reached her knees. In exhaustion, they all fell on their knees, hungry and despairing over the prospect of facing another ambush of Aisa’s army in the pelvic region.
“We can’t do it,” one of the men said to Fil.
“We’ll all be killed,” a man next to him added.
“It’s a miracle that as many of us survived as we did,” a man said to Tesel.
“Aisa’s men are sure to attack us again, as soon as we emerge from these leg tunnels,” Lia said. “Still, we can’t give up. Gaya is depending on us.”
“I know,” Tesel said to her. “But look at these men. They are completely demoralized.”
“What are we going to do?” she asked.
“That I don’t know,” he said.
Tesel and Lia looked out at all of their tired, miserable soldiers, as did Fil in the tunnel of the other leg. They couldn’t give up, yet they could only give up.
Just then, they all heard a female voice from up above. Was it a goddess’s voice, or that of a heavenly, female angel? The soldiers all listened in total silence.
This is what they heard: GayathisisLilayourfriendpleasedon’tdieonmeIwon’tbeabletobearitIneedyouIloveyouInever toldyouthatbeforebutIreallydoI’vealwayslovedyoueversinceourfirstscenewefilmedtogetherandit’snotonlyyourbodyit’sallofyouyourmindyourheartyourpaineverythingIwanttoshareallthosethingsofminewithyoursandIcan’tdothatifyoudiepleasedon’tdiewakeupsweetiewakeup
Though it was hard for the soldiers to understand what the goddess was saying up there, the sobbing in her words voiced what language couldn’t. Tesel was inspired by the pain he heard, and he strove to translate it to the men.
“Men!” he called out in a voice so loud, even Fil’s men in the tunnel of the other leg could hear him. “I know you’ve suffered, I know you’re tired and hungry, I know you’re afraid, but you must remember that Gaya has also suffered, she is also tired and hungry, and she is also afraid, because she is dying. And if she dies, we will all die, too. This horrific reality is why we must not give up hope, as hard as not giving up will be. Did you all not hear the weeping of the goddess from up in the heavens? She was weeping for our dying world!”
The men were now looking up at Tesel, those on both sides listening with love in their hearts for their land. They were beginning to feel ashamed of themselves for their weakness and selfishness.
“Now,” Tesel went on, “if we die in our next battle with Aisa, then we’ll die; but we’ll die fighting–we’ll die having tried. If we just stay here, afraid to die, we’ll still die in the end, because Gaya will die. We’ll have allowed Gaya to die. But…if we go back up there and fight, and win…or fight, and retreat on the other side, and enough of us survive, there is already great honor in that feat alone. What’s more, our survivors can move up her body, feed on her breast-milk, feel the love of her heart, gain fighting skills from her hands, and gain insight from her mind. All of these together can be used to defeat Aisa’s army once and for all, and to save Gaya, to bring her back to health! Men, are you with me?!”
“YEAHHHHH!!!!” all of the men on both sides shouted.
This speech gave all the soldiers renewed strength and hope, and after having had enough rest, they all rose and continued their march in the tunnels of Gaya’s upper legs. Those led by Tesel and Lia, having heard his speech louder and right before them so they could see his encouraging eyes, were all the more inspired and energized, so they reached Gaya’s pelvic region sooner. Fil’s followers were slowed down all the more by his sporadic swigs of wine from a cup he’d been hiding from Tesel’s sight in a bag tied to his belt.
Aisa was watching the approach of Tesel’s men. He was pleasantly surprised to see so few.
“Is that all?” he asked his second-in-command, Lew. “Surely more than that retreated from us.”
“The other half went down the other leg,” Lew said.
“Yes, but why haven’t they returned with Tesel’s men?” Aisa asked.
“They may arrive soon after,” Lew said.
“Or they were so intimidated by our strength that they rightly don’t dare try to fight us again,” Aisa said with a proud smirk.
“That could be, but just to be sure, we should station some men to watch the entrance from the other leg.”
“Very well. Have three men wait there, and they can call out to us if the rest of Tesel’s men emerge. I suspect, all the same, that they’ll be too cowardly to face us again.”
So three of Aisa’s men were put at the other leg’s entrance. while the rest of them, grinning with ravenous teeth, watched Tesel’s group approaching.
“All of them are going to fight our half of the army?” Lia asked. “We cannot take on all of Aisa’s men at once, not without Fil and the others.”
“I suspect they think the half that Fil is leading won’t come at all,” Tesel said. “Fil is probably slowing them down with his pauses to drink wine. You know how he is. After all, I’m not with him to stop him from doing that.”
“Then the drunken fool won’t lead his men into battle!” she said.
“Oh, he will,” Tesel reassured her. “Fil may be a drunk, but he’s trustworthy, we know that. He and his men will just be a little late.”
“Late enough for us to be massacred!”
“I don’t think so, Lia. Aisa’s men have a hungry and overconfident look on their faces, as you can see before you. They’ll take the fight lightly. We know Aisa’s pride. Meanwhile, Fil’s tipsiness will bring out his aggression, and his men will charge right in as soon as they see what’s happening. They’ll surprise Aisa’s men, taking them all off guard, and this just might aid us in a victory, or at least a severe weakening of Aisa’s men, which will be an encouragement to us.”
“That just might be,” she said with a smile.
“All of you back there,” Tesel shouted back at his half of the army. “Fight hard! Fil and his men will arrive to help us soon enough! Take heart! The more of Aisa’s men we kill without Fil’s men, the greater glory for us. Charge!“
All of Tesel’s men yelled as they rushed forward.
Aisa’s men didn’t bother with the illusion of dancing nude women this time. They considered this battle an easy win without the need of tricks, and they knew that Tesel’s men wouldn’t be fooled by that illusion a second time in a row, as enticing as it might have looked. They just charged in as their enemy was doing.
Aisa and Tesel ran straight at each other, their swords raised up high, and their teeth clenched to show their lust for each other’s blood. Their swords clashed with an ear-splitting clang and locked together, and looking each other in the eye, the men struggled to bring the other’s sword down.
Both armies smashed into each other like colliding cars. Aisa’s men imagined they would just eat up Tesel’s but they were surprised–and impressed–to see so much bravery and resilience in such a small group of troops.
Tesel’s army managed to mow their way through a large section of Aisa’s. Blood was spraying everywhere, but Aisa’s men in the back assumed most of it was the enemy’s blood. Lopped-off heads and arms flew in the air.
Tesel and Aisa kept clanging their swords together.
“This is suicide for you and your men, Tesel,” Aisa said when both men paused to regain some strength. “You should not have come back. You have no hope of defeating us. All of this bravery your men are showing will have been for nothing. Give up!“
“We still have a few surprises left, Aisa,” Tesel said, then lunged at his enemy. Their clashing of swords resumed.
Fil’s followers emerged from the top of Gaya’s leg. As soon as they saw the three men stationed there by Aisa, Fil and two others threw knives at them, hitting each dead in the chest. They fell before they could call out to Aisa’s army. Fil and his soldiers could come up and attack their enemy from behind unseen.
They all lined up behind Aisa’s rear guard and began by stabbing each man in the back. The men’s cries of pain were heard by those immediately in front of them, but when those men turned around, swords were stabbed in their guts before they could defend themselves. The next line of Aisa’s men were ready, though, and Fil’s warriors had to clash swords with them.
Aisa’s men had adjusted to fighting on two fronts now, and they were no longer taking the fight easily. They were making all of Tesel’s men feel the full power of their fighting ability. They were turning the battle around in their favour.
Aisa’s sword slashed a deep cut in Tesel’s arm, making him slip and fall. Aisa raised his sword, ready to deal the killing blow, when Lia raced over and slashed Aisa’s left leg. Aisa limped with a groan of pain.
He swept his sword in the air in an arc that would have sliced off her head had she not dodged it. Then he tried a lunge at her guts, and he would have killed her, except…
…an earthquake…
Everyone fell to the side. Luckily for Tesel’s men, most of them–including himself, Fil, and Lia–fell upward in the direction of Gaya’s heart and breasts, farther off from Aisa’s men to be able to retreat. They all heard voices from above:
That’sitletsgetheroverontothisbedoverherethenwecanreplacethesheetswithfreshonestheregoodnowlet’sgetthedirtyoldsheetsandpillowcaseoff
The earthquake ended as quickly as it had started, and Tesel’s men quickly got up and took advantage of the situation.
Aisa’s men watched them retreating. “That’s it,” one of them shouted. “Run away from us again, like the cowards you are!”
“Don’t listen to them!” Lia shouted. “We’ll be back, and we’ll be better!”
“That’s right,” Tesel said, his hand on his bloody arm. “We’re heading for Gaya’s stomach, then to her heart and breasts, where we’ll feed and revive ourselves. We’ll reach her hands, where we’ll improve our fighting skills, then finally to her brain, where we’ll learn a battle plan to defeat Aisa once and for all. Onward!“
His surviving soldiers were tired and hurt, but with much more confidence and hope. They could see a real possibility to defeat the enemy.
Infinite Ocean 