Greetings From The Past

Job:

It had been only a day or so since she had taken out the irritating cult that had attempted to slander her and Sarisha was still in the city, taking a brief break from the job grind. Oh, she loved moving from one side of the globe to the other and enjoyed the missions themselves but even she needed a moment to pause, now and again. Her encounter with the cult had left questions in her mind, ones that continued to pester and bug her. Had that cult been just a mind game of her brother, Valtorian? Heh, it was strange in a way that she called him a relative but that was how deep the bond between herself and Valara had become. The Goddess's memories were hers now and the mage remembered them as though they were her own. Yet, those memories were no help in answering her question. What was he playing at and why would he willing give his weapon to that moronic masked fool. A warning to her perhaps? A sign of things to come maybe or perhaps it was a sign of friendship. The last option was doubtful, given how they had distrusted each other for so long but times were changing and her deal with the water Goddess had seemed to have spurred the other Deities in to action.

Walking down one of the many grey and dull streets, the pinkette continued to ponder to herself, something that she rarely did at all these days. Her life had become one of action and she loved it that way. Before joining with Valara, she would not have thought of herself as overly violent but now? She longed for bloodshed and felt such pleasure from the chaos and mayhem of combat. Her old personality was vanishing and being replaced by a new one, something that she well aware of but actually happy about. She was no longer mortal and was adapting to her status as a God and her views were beginning to change with that. When she looked at regular people now, she viewed them more as just water bottles than anything, walking sources of nourishment that she could feed on at any time. Was that a Godly state of mind? Probably not but if Sarisha had learned anything up until now, it was that God's were not what humans had made them out to be. They were just as twisted, just as depraved and just as self centred as humans. There was very little holiness about them at all and one day, she would end them, once and for all.

Coming to a halt outside a takeaway, Sarisha was about to enter and order some lunch, when suddenly a figure came dashing down the street and blocked her path. A puzzled expression crossed the mage's face but her eyes widened when the figure rose their head to look in her the eye. She was female, standing at about five foot five with shoulder length brown hair. Her clothes were rather ragged and torn but she seemed to care little about it. She was panting heavily and the look in her green eyes contained a mixture of relief and sadness rolled in to one. It had been a long time since the mage had laid eyes on this girl, in fact, it had been so long that it must have been years, before she had set out on her trek to find Valara. They had been friends back then although much had changed since then. Her name was Melody.

"I finally found you," the girl finally said, a tired tone to her voice, "I've been searching for you for some time now, Sari, hoping that what I'd been hearing had all been just rumours. It's been said that you're just a wandering murderer, killing people at will for profit and pleasure. I couldn't believe it until I saw what you had done to those men in that warehouse yesterday. You killed those men without a thought about their families or those that were close to them and butchered them like cattle. I never thought that you meant those things that you said back home about becoming a God were actually true. I thought you were just dreaming. Was I wrong?"

"Yes, you were," Sarisha answered, having waited for the girl to finish her rant before answering, "Every word I said back then was true. I've always wanted to become more than just a farm girl and after travelling across Fiore, I finally achieved my dream. I've taken one of the Deities and shared myself with them and now, we are one. As for those men yesterday, they deserved everything that they got. I wasn't just going to stand there and let them bad mouth me like that. They paid the price for smack talking me and their families will have to struggle like everyone else does. Life's not fair, understand that."

"The Sarisha I know would never say that," the brunette answered, her voice beginning to fill with emotion, "The girl I know would have just laughed off their insults and smiled, shrugging them off as though they were nothing. She wouldn't have massacred them and left them as bloody corpses. She had a respect for life, one that I always admired."

"She's no longer here, Melody," Sarisha countered, "I've put that persona aside and taken on a new one. I'm not going to just be a smiling idiot who let's people walk over me any more and anyone stupid enough to insult me will answer for it. The Sarisha you knew was a fool and it's only now that I understand why. I've grown out of that phase and become something knew. I like who I am now and I will continue to do what I wish and for any reason. I'm no longer bound by human morality and I see things much clearer now."

She attempted to walk around the girl but Melody blocked her path again, her emerald eyes starting to tear up. "I can't let you pass, Sari. I made a promise to our friends back home that I'd either bring you back or stop you from your blood filled rampage. You see, you're not the only one who's been in contact with creatures from another realm and I reached out to a being in order to gain the strength to stop you. He's no God and I don't think that he's holy either but I don't care. This is going to end, here and now. Even if I have to.....finish you in order to do it. Now, come back with me and we'll try and get that menace out of you."

There was no verbal answer from Sarisha but as both her hands and body began to take on fluidic forms, there was no need for her to say a word. She would not allow her soul mate to be ripped from her, no matter what.

Sighing, Melody took a step backwards and then became shrouded in black energy, her form temporarily hidden from view. When it faded away, a demon stood before the mage, standing at eight feet tall with blood red eyes that were focused on Sarisha's face, "I'm sorry, Sari but you leave me little option," was all it said.

Melody then launched a powerful punch towards the pinkette which was swiftly dodged, before Sarisha moved in and struck it with a powerful punch to the abdomen. There was no need for words now and they both knew that. Not allowing her quarry to escape, the God unleashed a flurry of water enhanced punches, each connecting with a powerful thud as they made contact. The force of them knocked Melody back but her demonic form was strong and she unleashed a bone crunching punch in return which crashed in to Sarisha's water body. It was a strong blow but the pinkette could feel the hesitation behind it and she pounced on that weakness. She leapt backwards before unleashing her water abilities on the creature, causing a cyclone of water to send it up in to the air, following it up with a powerful burning geyser of water and then completing her combination by spinning in a circle and unleashing a barrage of razor edged blades. It was a combination that had felled many foes and the demon crashed to the ground once it was done.

Yet, unlike normal, Sarisha did not go in for the kill and jumped backwards slightly. Yes, the insatiable blood lust was there but there was something else as well. Memories of the past had begun to play through her mind, memories of the times that the pair of them had shared together. They had been the best of friends back then, or perhaps something more? Neither of them had ever spoken of it but had there maybe been a hint of desire as well?

The demon hauled herself back to her feet, a nasty burn down the entirety of her left flank. Yet, Melody did not give up and lowered her horned head, unleashing a blast of darkness energy towards Sarisha. Surprised, the Slayer had to react quickly and swiftly turned in to moisture, becoming little more that water molecules, with the blast doing nothing to her. She then reformed behind the demon and sent a crunching blow in to her flank, scoring a direct hit on the spot where she had been burned, causing Melody to screech in pain, before catching the demon again with a powerful claw, causing blood to spill from the place she struck. The fight was one sided and there was only one result here. Melody was not ready for combat and they both knew it.

Deciding to end it here and now, Sarisha then unleashed a wave of water which picked up the demon and sent her spiralling forwards in to the middle of the street, before unleashing a torrent of water from her mouth which put Melody down for good. Her demonic form crumbled to the floor and vanished, leaving the wounded girl laying in the street, staring up at the miserable grey sky. The fight was over and as she lay there, tears began to fall from the brunette's face.

Deactivating her powers, Sarisha slowly walked over and knelt down beside her fallen friend, her crimson eyes focused intently on Melody's green orbs, "You never did have the heart for a fight, Melody. Why did you go so far? You could have just walked away."

In answer, the brunette slowly raised her arms and pulled Sarisha in for a kiss, one which the pinkette mage returned after a moment of indecision, knowing that Valara would not like it. However, she pushed that aside and enjoyed the moment, wrapping her arms around Melody and pulling her up, deepening the kiss. All of the tension, the harsh words and even the fight that they had just shared was forgotten and for a few tender moments, it was like they were kids again. A dome of water soon surrounded the pair, shielding them from any prying eyes in the street as they made their private and intimate farewell to each other. Words were meaningless and they simply let their actions speak for themselves, fulfilling a desire that had been created long ago.

When the dome finally vanished, Sarisha was alone once more. She stood there for quite some time, finally understanding as to why Melody fought so hard to try and changed her, before eventually turning away. It was time to get moving again and she suddenly had a hankering to leave the city for a while and return to the road. She had been in one place for too long and she knew that is she stayed any longer then she may end up attracting more trouble. There was still an entire world to explore after all and more adventures to be had, her Godly partner by her side as always.

(2006 Words)