It was a clear day outside of the forest, and yet the sky betrayed the ominous feeling that hung over the five-year-old child as she wondered through the forest. She was alone, tired, wounded and had nowhere to go. Her hazel eyes betrayed her fear as she walked through the shadows of the forest where demons were said to dwell. Something got stuck in the girls' pure-white hair, and she screamed as she grabbed the branch that had been tangled in her hair. Her white dress had been muddied, and her shoes had long ago been lost in the dark woods that surrounded her. Her arms, legs and face had been badly scratched by thorns and she was bleeding from the small wounds. She heard something behind her, and began to run for her life. She could not see where she was going, but she could care less. All she wanted now was to get away before she was killed. Her foot struck a root, and she fell down hard in the mud. And then it was upon her; teeth like daggers that dripped blood, dark evil eyes that were filled with hunger, claws that could tear through steel and fur dark as night. It stood above her, its wolf-like howl echoing through her mind victoriously. But the howl changed quickly to a yelp as a sword cut into the lesser demon's spine, spilling its blood and ending its evil life. It collapsed and started to evaporate next to the girl, who had her eyes shut tight from fear.
"Hey, are you OK?"
She opened her eyes and saw a man with a large sword standing over her. And then, the tears flowed freely as the man picked the girl up and carried her off…
…And then Sarah woke up with tears streaming down her face.
"Josiah," she thought. That nightmare was actually a memory, and it reminded her of the lie that she had perpetuated when she arrived here.
"Josiah, I'm so sorry," she thought sadly. "I didn't want to kill you, but she made
me…"
Six hundred years previously
"Sarah, no!"
But Sarah did not stop. She continued to rip the house apart with her bare hands, the evil side of her taking control. Josiah could do nothing except watch his 'daughter' rip the house to shreds as she searched for the sword that would kill her. Her face twisted into a grin as she picked it up and took it out of the sheath. She turned to Josiah and raised the blade.
"I will kill you before you can kill me, Demon Slayer!" she said in a deep, growling voice.
Josiah closed his eyes as Sarah cut his head into two with his own sword.
Later, when Sarah had regained control, she had found out what she had done and had vowed to destroy the she-demon that had lied to her and caused her to kill her 'father'…
The present
Sarah stared blankly into her tea, half expecting the liquid to show her something of the past, present or future. She sighed and downed it in one gulp. Her first night at the Garden had been unsettling, to say the least.
"Morning!"
Sarah turned and saw Selphie waving to her with a wide grin on her face.
"Good morning Selphie," she said.
"So how'd ya sleep?" Selphie asked, plopping herself down in the chair next to Sarah.
"Don't ask," Sarah replied. "I…remembered something in the form of a nightmare."
Selphie looked thoughtful, but didn't ask about it. Instead she asked: "So, when're you gonna start?"
Sarah looked at her with a puzzled expression. "Start what?" she asked.
"Your SeeD training of course!" Selphie said. "If you're gonna be workin' with us, you're gonna have to be trained like a SeeD so that you blend in."
Sarah blinked at her. "Who decided that?"
"Squall of course! He's the Commander, so he decides what happens here," Selphie said. Sarah sighed.
"Fine," she said. "When do I start?"
"In three hours," Selphie said happily. "Uh, are you gonna be using that sword you came in here with yesterday?"
"What…? Oh, yes I am. Why? Is there a problem with me using it?" Sarah asked. Selphie shook her head.
"No, but I needed to know so that I could put it in your student form," she said. "What's the sword called?"
Sarah sighed. "Destiny," she said. "The sword is called Destiny."
"Okie dokie!" Selphie said. "Oh, and you might wanna get yourself a schedule from Squall."
Sarah nodded. "What about a uniform?" she asked.
"We don't have a very strict dress code here," Selphie said. "You can wear what you're wearing now, or you could wear a uniform. It's up to you."
"All right," Sarah said, standing up. "Is there any place that I can train?"
"Sure. The training center is just down the hall. It's the path with the green floor. Be careful though, the monster's inside there are real."
Sarah smirked. "You think that monsters like the ones you have around here will frighten me? I've killed hundreds of Shadow Claw demons that are a thousand times more powerful than these 'monsters'."
Selphie chuckled. "Yeah, I see your point. But you should be careful anyway, especially if a T-Rexuar attacks you."
"A what?" Sarah asked.
"You'll know it when you see it, trust me," Selphie said. "Well, see you later."
Sarah smiled at her and left.
Seifer cut the Grat into two pieces with his gunblade and sighed. Although Grats were easy to kill, they usually attacked in groups of two or three, and that presented a problem.
"It feels so good to be back in here, training," he thought, smirking. Another Grat attacked him, but was soon enveloped in a Firaga spell and burnt to a crisp.
"Another one bites the dust," Seifer thought. "That's what you get for messing with Seifer
Almasy!"
Seifer walked across the bridge that
connected the two islands to each other. So far, he had run into nothing but
Grats, and it was getting a little boring just killing them. "Come on!
Where's a T-Rexuar?!" he thought. "I need a challenge!"
He heard something in the bushes nearby, and assumed that it was a monster. He raised his gunblade in front of him.
"All right, come out and fight!" he said. He soon swallowed his words; because what came out of the bushes was unlike any monster he had ever seen. It looked like a T-Rexuar, except that it was pitch-black with burning white eyes and large, skeletal wings protruded from its back, and its teeth and claws where longer and sharper than anything Seifer had ever seen. It looked at Seifer and roared loudly.
"HOLY FUCKIN' SHIT!" Seifer screamed. The creature lunged at him in an attempt to scoop him into its mouth, but Seifer jumped out of the way. Seifer had no choice but to fight, so he raised his gunblade and swiped at it. He hardly made a scratch. "Oh shit!" Seifer thought.
Sarah suddenly felt the presence of a demon nearby, and drew Destiny. It glowed brightly. There was a powerful demon nearby! She ran toward the islands, and found Seifer doing battle with a large black dinosaur-type monster with large skeletal wings protruding from its back.
"Kataba!" she yelled. The demon turned towards her, and its eyes glowed brightly.
"You!" it said. Sarah raised Destiny in front of her and closed her eyes.
"Spirits of Light, aid me now in this time of need! Empower my sword with thine own power!" she said. Her sword was enveloped in a bright light, and Sarah opened her eyes and looked at Kataba with a smirk.
"Have at thee, demon!" she said. She ran toward Kataba and swung her sword in a wide arc, cutting a deep wound in its side. Kataba reeled back and roared in pain and anger. Its eyes glowed brightly as it used its demonic powers to summon forth a wave of fire to envelope Sarah in searing pain. Sarah gritted her teeth.
"Sprites of Water, protect me from the flames," she said softly. Her body glowed blue, and the fire wave was extinguished. She looked at the demon, her eyes betraying her anger and hatred.
"Time to finish this," she said. "My sword will feast on your blood this night, Kataba!"
She held the flat end of her blade to her forehead. "Blade of Destiny, I beseech thee! Grant me the power to vanquish this evil one!"
The runes on the blade glowed crimson, and Sarah leaped into the air and brought the sword crashing down in between the neck and body, severing them from each other and spilling Kataba's black blood on the ground. Where the blood spilled, it killed the grass and befouled the soil so that nothing would grow there ever again. Kataba's head dissolved into nothingness, and Destiny fed on his spilled blood. When the sword had drunk its fill, the body evaporated into nothing. Seifer finally found his voice and said:
"What the hell was that, and who the fuck are you?!"
Sarah looked at him as she sheathed her sword. "My name is Sarah Phoenix," she said. "I'm a new student here. Who might you be?"
Seifer crossed his arms on his chest. "For a student, you sure do know how to kill a monster," he said. "The name's Seifer Almasy."
"Ah, Ultimecia's Knight," Sarah said. Seifer glared at her. How had she known about that?
"Don't worry," Sarah said, seeing the look on his face. "She was a powerful demon and quite capable of controlling a human mind with empty promises."
"What do you mean 'demon'?" Seifer asked. "Ultimecia was a Sorceress!"
"She was a demon who could mimic human form," Sarah said. "I know because I hunt them!"
"So you're a demon hunter?" Seifer said. "Yeah, right, and I am the President of Esthar."
"Ohh, sarcastic, aren't we?" Sarah said. "I can't stand your type: arrogant and self-centred with nothing better to do with your time than annoy your betters."
"Why you!" Seifer said. "I outta!"
Sarah grinned. "I would not advise it," she said. "You saw what I could do to a powerful demon, just imagine what I could do to you."
Seifer glared at her and walked off.
"Hmm…he's kind of cute," Sarah thought to herself. "Nice butt, too."
Author's Notes: First battle! YAY!
Review, please!