The first thing Medusa noticed about the place was the ground, seeing as she woke up with her face against it. The ground here was made of rock- volcanic, in look and texture- and under the cracks came a blinding red light that appeared to be the calm flow of lava coursing between the cracks in the ground. The rock itself should have been hot, if that was the case, but to her surprise just the opposite seemed to hold true- it was almost unpleasantly cold to touch.
She stood up slowly, and looked around, only to find that there wasn't much to see. The only source of light seemed to come from the rocks below her. Everything else was black. The sky- if there even was one, this could be a giant cave for all she knew- offered no moon or even stars to light the way, and the horizon was the same pitch black as what was above and below. The strangest sight, however, was the ground off in the distance; the light from underground seemed to only appear in some areas. In fact, very little of the ground actually was illuminated by this threatening glow.
Medusa walked a little ways, treading lightly on the rock under her, until she came close to one of these dark spots. The witch knelt down and examined the area. It seemed at first to just be a smooth part of the terrain. Still, she knew that it was best to apply caution to this unknown situation, so she didn't allow herself to step onto it. Instead, she found a small pebble, and gently tossed it a few feet away from her, in the direction of the darkness. She expected to hear the faint sound of the pebble hitting the ground.
She heard nothing. The spot in front of her appeared to be a kind of pitfall.
She backed away swiftly, and looked around. How much of this ominous area is covered in pitfalls such as these, She wondered. Where do they lead? Somewhere even darker? She wasn't usually bothered by darkness in the slightest, but there was almost nothing about this place that didn't bother her greatly.
Still, she decided that there was no good in standing motionlessly here, and that as long as she stuck to the winding path in the rock where the light shone through, she would be okay. She proceeded along the path slowly, checking her surroundings with every step. She walked calmly, not hesitating, but not very fast either. Her energy was mostly dedicated to her thoughts, as she tried to figure out what was going on.
She thought back to her last memory before waking up here- at her hideout in the desert. She had just delivered a fatal blow to that worthless son of hers, and was in combat with one of his schoolmates. This girl was a meister, like her own son, and wielded a powerful looking sythe by the name of Soul Evans. Maka Albarn was her name, and she was just about the most annoying girl Medusa had ever met. Still, the witch had to admit that Maka had bested her in combat, and even managed to save the professor she had kidnapped and manipulated into doing her bidding. Medusa could only hope that her last words had at least shaken the girl up a little.
So now what? Was she dead? Probably. She specifically remembered dying, though it hadn't been the first time. Maybe not the last, either. She didn't remember being dead though, and she certainly didn't remember being here, so something must have been different.
She kept walking down the path for some time, her bare feet making no noise against the rocks below her. She could have made noise if she wanted, but chose to remain silent so that she would hear anything that happened around her. And after a while, she did.
She stopped. The footsteps behind her did too. The sound came from a couple yards away at most, she figured. So someone else was sent here, too? Or was she about to find out who- or what- lived here? Medusa spun around smoothly and, with a silent command, conjured several deadly vector arrows and pointed them at her target. One wrong move, and the newcomer would be dead before they could cover any ground.
The light from her spell allowed Medusa to examine her prey, and what she saw took her by surprise. Before her gaze stood a woman much younger looking than herself. She stood taller and firmer than Medusa, and had long, dark hair that contrasted Medusa's short blonde hair. In fact, just about everything about the two seemed to contrast. Medusa's dirty clothes were made to stand out even more in the presence of the woman's long black dress, the bottom of which was invisible against the rocky platform they stood on. She had black gloves to match, and stood in an elegant manner. In fact, she would have looked like an ordinary human with the exception of the ominous looking tattoo of a dragon just below her collarbone.
The woman made eye contact with Medusa; here, the witch saw the biggest contrast of all. Both women had a look of evil in their eyes, but Medusa wore the look of a wild animal. The newcomer, however, had a sense of tranquility in her eyes; Tranquility that hinted at something darker, much darker, hidden beneath the surface. This woman, from what Medusa could tell, had the power to kill, but didn't think much of it. She simply killed when it suited her, not feeling anger, or passion or anything at all towards her victims. That was the aura the witch got from the woman. And she liked her already.
Medusa canceled her spell, and abandoned her fighting stance. The woman didn't move, but took the time to look around once the tense moment had passed. It was a few seconds before Medusa spoke.
"What do you know about this place?" She asked the woman. She received no answer, so instead asked another question. "Who are you?"The woman did not look at Medusa, but after a few moments had passed, she did answer.
"You can call me Lust" came the soft yet firm sound of her voice. A pause, and then "I don't know anything about this place, or how I came to be here"
Medusa sighed. It was a disappointing revelation, but at least she wasn't alone anymore.
"And you?" Lust asked as if she didn't care whether she got an answer or not.
"Call me Medusa" the which replied matter-of-fact-ly.
"You're not human" Lust observed after a minute. Medusa could hardly be surprised by this realization. She had, after all, almost unleashed a spell on her new ally, but she was still unused to the question. She did make it a habit to keep her identity a secret from most, and she was quite good at it.
"...no." she replied quietly. "From the way you handled yourself earlier, I'm going to guess that you're not either". Lust shook her head.
"You probably wouldn't understand what I am even if I told you, so I'll just leave it at that." Medusa laughed.
"Try me" she smiled. "I've seen a lot more than you might believe" Lust opened her mouth the speak, but before any words came out, the only source of light in the room disappeared.
Both women were silent; The faint sound of rumbling came from far below. Then, gradually, it became louder and felt closer. They could feel it under their feet. The tremors surrounded them, and they both struggled to keep their footing. Then, suddenly, the rumbling stopped. The ground was still and the only noise was the faint sound of rock shifting. It came from right behind them.
The light turned back on, but shone with an energetic blue light this time. The blue light shone a lot farther than the red one from before, and allowed Medusa to inspect the area fully. They were both indeed in a giant cave, only the top of it was miles high. Below were indeed pitfalls, so deep that the light did not show the bottom of them. Medusa backed away from the edge of the path, and turned around. That's when she saw it.
It appeared to be a giant made of rocks. It's eyes were the same blue as the light from below, and it's body was covered in cracks as well, which shone with the blue light. Medusa summoned an array of vector arrows, and adopted a fighting stance. Lust straightened out her slender arm, and pointed her fingers towards the center of the Golem.
Nobody moved for a few seconds. Then, with alarming speed that should have been impossible for such a huge beast, the rock monster slammed a fist into the ground, crushing the area Medusa had just been standing. Luckily, Medusa was slightly faster. The monster lifted up it's hand, and Medusa saw Lust, lying on the ground. She had taken the full force of the blow, and she wasn't getting up.
Medusa was disappointed at the loss of a possible new comrade, but she had to focus on defeating this monster. She jumped, dodged another swing from the beast while airborne, and landed on it's shoulder. She examined the body, looking for a weakness. One was found without difficulty- If I just use the cracks to my advantage, I can just tear it apart piece by piece, she said inwardly. I have to keep it from killing me at the same time, though. However, she noticed that the beast wasn't even looking at her anymore- it was locked onto the spot where it's fist had just come down; where Lust was now standing, adopting the same fighting stance as before. The woman eyed Medusa.
"Witch, you'll want to move. I believe we have the same idea" Medusa nodded, and vaulted back to the platform that Lust occupied. While Medusa was in the air, Lust struck.
Her fingers extended into long, sharp blades. Two went through the creature's empty eye sockets, and one through a hole in the neck. All three protruded from the back of the head, and when the woman closed her hand into a fist, it's head was crushed. Lust could help but smile. Medusa landed and stared at the gaping hole where the monster's head once was. What exactly was this woman? she wondered.
The beast wasn't dead yet, though. It still stirred, not attacking for the moment. Lust raised her arm again, but Medusa had a better plan.
"No, not yet! Wait for my signal!", she shouted. Lust kept her arm raised, but did not attack. Then, with a sudden roar, the headless beast raised an arm high above it's head, ready to strike. "Now! Pin the arm!" Lust fired her blades into the wrist of the creature, suspending the arm in midair. In apparent rage, the beast attempted to swing with it's other arm, but Lust pinned that one with her free hand.
"Now what?" Lust asked impatiently. Medusa grinned.
"Now... Vector Arrow!" She shouted. Six black arrows appeared in the air around her, slithering and hissing eagerly. Medusa paused, then pointed at the Golem's chest. Her arrows shot through the air, piercing the armored body. She pressed her hands together, paused again, and then spoke. "Kill" She commanded, as she threw her arms apart.
The beast exploded into a shower of boulders falling down the shaft. Her arrows returned to her, wrapping themselves around her arms and legs, and dissolving into her skin. She laughed triumphantly, staring down into the pit she had just sent the beast hurtling into. Lust eyed her with a new found respect.
"You fight ruthlessly" She noticed. "You used the most cunning strategy at our disposal. It never stood a chance"
The light changed again. The blue light dimmed and faded away swiftly, followed by the almost immediate return of the red tone from before. Accompanying this, however, was a new voice.
"I think you two have passed" It rang. "I have great plans for you"
"What now?" Medusa muttered. Lust was ready to fight again, eying the room for another threat. The voice came again.
"There's no point being on the offensive. As powerful as you are, you wouldn't stand a chance against me"
Lust did not let her guard down. She extended her claws, and frantically searched the cave for the source of the voice. Medusa, on the other hand, tried speaking to it.
"What is it you want? And who are you anyway?" The voice let out a loud laugh, and responded to Medusa.
"How about I show you instead?" It offered. Medusa tensed up, and summoned her arrows. The pair stood back to back, ready to fight whatever was thrown at them next. Just then, the light went out again. They waited, motionlessly, but this time it didn't come back on.