Of Aphrodite's Influence
Edited by Angelhawk Studios
About: Just a small little thing I written. Yes, the pairing is Seung Mina and Cassandra, because I like that pairing, and anybody who has a problem with that can stop reading this right now and shut the hell up 'cuz Chaos says so. 'Sides... they both kick ungodly amounts of ass. Details and canon could be wrong, but excuse if I've never played Soul Blade/Edge or Soul Calibur, only Soul Calibur II. Another thing, I also know that it's quite impossible for Maxi to be travelling without Kilik, but he's doing so now, so all you Maxi/Kilik yaoi fangirls can go sit in the corner until this is over. This was meant to be a one shot but we'll see if I feel like continuing it or not.
WARNING: Shoujo ai. (i.e. girl-girl lovin'.) Don't like, don't read. Bothered by it, tell someone that cares. And before you ask, no, I don't.
Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Calibur II, because if I did, Cassandra and Seung Mina would be getting it on for real. But I don't so I'm reduced to writing fanfiction where that does happen. And I don't own the song either, that's owned by The Corrs, a great band who happen to be extremely good looking, especially the girls.
Even If – The Corrs (Borrowed Heaven)
"For what it's worth I think there's nobody like you,
You've got grace got a heart beating and despite you're fun,
As I grew up I was terrified of darkness,
Now you're around I've no reason to be frightened.
'Cause even if the sun came tumbling down,
You light the ground I walk on,
Even if the moon fell out of the sky,
You light the ground I walk on.
Now that you're mine I can't picture life without you,
You're my friend,
You're my lover wanna bite you.
'Cause even if the sun came tumbling down,
You light the ground I walk on,
Even if the moon fell out of the sky,
You light the ground I walk on.
The world goes on spinning and I can't retrace,
My heady footsteps to this place,
I'm in heaven right now,
And don't wanna come down.
'Cause even if the sun came tumbling down,
You light the ground I walk on,
Even if the moon fell out of the sky,
You light the ground I walk on.
Now we're alone gonna show,
How much I need you,
Kiss you so you won't ever leave me.
'Cause even if the sun came tumbling down,
You light the ground I walk on,
Even if the moon fell out of the sky,
You light the ground I walk on.
'Cause even if the sun came tumbling down,
You light the ground I walk on,
Even if the moon fell out of the sky,
You light the ground I walk on."
The young blonde moved with the fluid ease that came from months and months of hard practice, her short sword humming through air as she guided the killing edge in a graceful arc around her body. She stabbed the weapon out in front of her in a straight, powerful motion, and then took a step backward before she swung the shield on her right arm outwards with enough force to break someone's neck.
The girl concentrated, giving a fierce yell before making a short jump, weapons pointed down, all of her body weight positioned into a blow that would have crushed her invisible enemy. Rolling sideways to recover, her shield flashed out in a low arc to allow her time to get up while crippling her imaginary opponent. Springing to her feet and managing a complete flip in midair, she flipped her short sword around so the blade was facing down, and cut three strokes; stomach, chest, neck.
Satisfied from the workout and sweating lightly, she caught her breath.
The blonde's name was Cassandra Alexandra, a Turkish warrior in search of the Soul Edge. The Soul Edge, the weapon rumoured to bring the best and bravest to their knees, the evil sword that had possessed people to search for it time and time again, for their own selfish purposes...
No, it's not like that. It's for them, not yourself...it's for her...
She had to destroy it. She had to destroy the Soul Edge. The evil could not plague her or her sister any longer.
She knew Sophitia wouldn't be exactly thrilled about her sudden disappearance to search for the Soul Edge, but she had to do something. The evil blade had caused Sophitia so much pain; even a tiny shard of the dark weapon had been enough for her to feel the evil power flowing around it, taking over the mind, overriding reason, inhibition... everything but the lust for power and the need to destroy. Finding the shard had opened up her all of her old mental wounds from when she'd destroyed half of Soul Edge so long ago; memories that she tried to hold so hard behind closed barriers had leaked out, leaving her a quivering wreck.
For Sophitia, the Soul Edge was an obsession that would continue until the day she died or the sword was finally broken, ground into dust and scattered in the flames of hell where it belonged... Cassandra couldn't just sit there and watch her sister in the depths of torment. All because of this one weapon. All because of the Soul Edge.
So Cassandra had stolen the fragment of Soul Edge, fleeing to the temple of Hephaestus demanding from the Gods to know why they'd done this to her sister. Understandable; Sophitia had earned her rest. She had obeyed the gods and followed their orders to destroy Soul Edge – a ludicrous enough command, as Sophitia was still only human.
Hephaestus hadn't answered Cassandra, so in a fit of rage she stole the sword and shield in the temple and went on a quest to purge the world of the Soul Edge's influence, until she was dead or otherwise...
Cassandra was clad in a short white summer dress, framed with a red hem sewn in a Greek pattern. Her green Valkyrie armour glinted in the morning sun as she continued to move with impeccable timing to a rhythm only she knew. Her short dress fluttered in the breeze as she shifted from side to side, her blade a blur of shining silver as she swung it in elliptical circles around herself.
The exercise completed, she collapsed to the ground, a sad smile escaping her lips as she landed on the grass, helm rolling off her head to reveal the full expanse of golden hair. She'd been training in an expanse of plain by the side of a lake, having stayed in an inn in one of the nearby villages for the time being. Even as she journeyed she was almost constantly training, so she didn't often get much time to herself to enjoy the bypassing scenery.
She unclipped the chest plate of her armour and placed it neatly on top of her overturned helmet, her sword planted into the soft earth to hold it upright. Unbuckling her shield and armguard, she meticulously removed her belt and sandals. Everything lay neatly in a pile as she rose to her feet, moving with the fluid ease that fighters and gymnasts had, wearing only her white summer dress.
She slid down the straps of the garment, yanking it over her head. Once she was completely nude she waded into the lake, sinking to her neck and allowing the water to soothe her battle scars and bruises.
Cassandra dunked her head underwater; running hands calloused from fighting and a hard life through her blonde mane, washing away the sweat of a workout.
Finished, she lay, contentedly floating on her back as the water stilled and grew mirror like around her.
She dressed quickly and efficiently, scrubbing her hair a few times with a dry cloth, letting what little moistness remained evaporate in the shine of Apollo's chariot.
When she reached the village it didn't take her long to locate the inn – it was one of the most run-down buildings in the place. She eased open the battered wooden door and slipped inside, noting the loud creak it made.
The inn wasn't excessively large or lavish (in fact, quite the opposite), but it suited Cassandra's needs. The entrance room consisted of a reception desk that had once been painted gold and a sofa that had seen much better days, with a grimy coffee table in front of it. Month old documents and aged coffee cup rings adorned its surface. The floor was bare, consisting of floorboards that had loose nails protruding from unlikely places; a potential hazard for anyone dumb enough to walk in with bare feet.
Her room wasn't large either; it contained a small (and uncomfortable, her back complained) bed and a table. It didn't really matter; she hadn't spent a lot of time in her room anyway. Recently, she had been finding it hard to sleep, plagued by bad dreams of the nightmare sort. When that happened she always left her room, going for a small walk around the village and then down to the lake to help her calm her troubled mind. There she sat, engulfed in her own thoughts, wondering how Sophitia was, if her family was worrying about her and if she'd ever truly be able to destroy the evil Soul Edge...
She headed up the stairs, going to her room to pack her stuff. She watched the creaky wooden floorboards carefully, not wanting to end up with a rusty nail in her foot and/or effectively crippled until she healed.
"Excuse me, but have you seen this person?" A youthful voice, full of energy and vitality, pierced the monotonous creak of the aged wood under Cassandra's weight.
Cassandra froze.
I know that voice...
She pounded back down the steps, ignoring the creaks of protest, to catch the owner of that voice before she left...
"No, sorry, try asking one of the other inns around here. I'm sure I'd remember a boy like that if I saw him..." The rotund innkeeper sniffed.
Cassandra could almost hear the pout. "...Father's going to kill me if I don't get Yunsung and White Storm back home safely..."
She flew down the stairs, just managing to avoid a wickedly sharp nail that poked out from beneath the floorboards. She breathed a short sigh of relief before she looked over at the reception desk.
And there, standing at the reception desk, a photo in her hand, was the red haired Korean girl Cassandra had met scarcely months ago. Her name was Seung Mina, and she too was in search of Soul Edge, even if it was only because she was hoping that it led to the boy she was looking for.
The boy –his name Yun-something or other... apparently had something that belonged to her family. And that aforementioned something was probably something very important indeed...
"Mina!" Cassandra called out from her position at the bottom of the stairs. Quite a few people turned to look at her, but she wasn't bothered.
Seung Mina spun, the long bladed naginata slung across one shoulder almost slicing the poor innkeeper into two halves of himself had he not ducked. Catching sight of the blonde warrior, her face lit up instantly. "Cassie!" She ran forward towards the girl, who returned the enthusiastic hug (okay, so more like tackle).
Mina slowly pulled away from Cassandra, poking one finger into the blonde's chest. "And what have you been up to?" She asked, a cheery lopsided smile on her face.
"I'm good, still haven't found anything..." She trailed off, looking at the floor. It was sadly true; she had neither trace nor trail of the Soul Edge since the day she'd taken the shard of the evil sword from Sophitia.
Seung Mina draped an arm across her friend's shoulders. "Cheer up! I'm sure you will, and soon. I haven't found a sign of Yunsung either! And when I get a hold of him, he's SO dead." She laughed lightly, although her voice held the promise of inflicting serious harm. Kind of like a sword wrapped in silk. Even though it was covered, it was still a sword underneath it all, sharp enough to cut air.
Cassandra nodded in reply, "How long are you here for?"
"Err... actually, I wasn't planning on staying here at all, but I guess I could stay for a while since you're here." Mina said grinning at the younger girl.
The blonde warrior shrugged. "I'm moving on to the next village, to search there. Who knows, maybe I'll get lucky."
"Okay, well, I guess I'll go with you then." Mina said, patting her naginata, not noticing the innkeeper who was whimpering and crossing himself. "Do you need to pack your stuff?"
"Yeah. I haven't got much, though..." Cassandra called back as she darted up the stairs as quickly as possible. "I'll only be a second."
In her rush to pack, the key that the innkeeper had issued her on her renting of the room snapped off in the lock. The warrior eyed it coolly for a while before kicking the door open, the lock breaking into a mess of bent metal and ill-put-together screws.
Cassandra swiftly gathered her things from the small set of drawers beneath the desk, stuffing them into the drawstring bag she had bought for her journey. A few extra clothes, money... a life on the road didn't leave much room in the way of material things.
Then she realised that with the door lock and handle smashed there was no way of opening it from the inside.
She opened it anyway.
The warrior made a mental note to pay the innkeeper the cost of the door, looking at the trashed piece of wood now bent both ways off the hinges. No matter.
Cassandra didn't want to keep Mina waiting long; it had been months since she'd been in the company of a friend. Not to mention travelling on your lonesome was boring. She just needed someone to talk to.
When she went back down stairs Mina was waiting in the same spot that she had been minutes before. The Korean girl grinned as Cassandra calmly walked down the rest of the stairs.
"I heard a noise. Was that you?"
Cassandra bowed her head sheepishly as she tossed a few silver coins to the innkeeper who looked like he just had a coronary. "The door wouldn't open."
Seung Mina laughed, a musical sound, and they strode out.
They walked out of the inn together, neither of them saying a word to the other. Cassandra finally spoke up, wondering how on earth they were going to get to the next town. It was at least four days' walk from what she had heard from the locals...
When she voiced her concern, the Korean woman just looked at her with that damned grin of hers. "You don't have to worry about that, I rented a wagon out with a friend of mine, he's waiting with it just outside of here." Mina jerked her head in a particular direction for emphasis, taking Cassandra's hand as she led her out of the village.
A small blush, unnoticed by anyone except herself, spread across Cassandra's cheeks as she looked down at her hand. Unintentionally or no, her fingers were intertwined with Mina's.
She'd never told anyone, but she'd always preferred women to men. Men just seemed to mostly care about getting themselves off, to put it bluntly. Luckily Sophitia had found a genuinely nice and caring man (an oxymoron if she ever saw one) that went by the name of Rothion.
Cassandra had to admit she didn't like the guy. But after watching him closely for many months she'd finally concluded that he was good enough for her sister, even by her own harsh criteria. She would have never allowed her own sister to marry a typical man; he had to be special, kind and caring. Which was more than she could say for most of the male half of the human species.
As she looked at their hands, still fighting down the blush and trying to appear nonchalant, an odd thought popped into her head. They were both fighters, searching the world for their own reasons and that alone...
Do I think of her in that way...?
Preposterous.
Well, to most people it was. She'd been raised to believe in the Greek Gods and Aphrodite never dismissed love. Even if they were both female. Rather, Aphrodite believed in screwing everything that moved. Cassandra gave a small, involuntary snort. She supposed it was better than Hades' solution to everything that moved - kill it.
Mina led her friend out to the village. Sure enough, there was a small horse-driven wagon waiting accompanied by a dark haired man with a natural smirk on his face that came from the absolute confidence in one's self.
The man grunted. "Took you long enough."
"Cassandra, this is Maxi. Maxi, Cassandra." Mina said introducing them both to each other as she jerked her head, indicating to them who the other was. That was all the introduction needed; the morbid explanation being that they might not live long enough to get to know each other.
Cassandra nodded her head, a cursory gesture, in his direction. He returned it; just with not as much respect. At least, until Seung Mina elbowed him in the ribs. Then he doubled over, a mock bow, clutching his chest.
"Well, guys, I think we should be going." Mina said, with a cold glare for Maxi, hopping onto the wagon with ease and offering a hand to Cassandra in order to help her up.
Maxi was at the front, steering the wagon, leaving the two female passengers in the back. Mina sat down on the wood floor of the wagon, placing her naginata carefully aside. She motioned for Cassandra to come and sit next to her, and the blonde warrior took her up on the request without a second thought. What was a little intimacy between friends?
"So..." Mina asked, spiking Cassandra with the Classic Quizzical Stare, patented by some female in the region of Japan where girls learned to look both cute and surprised at the same time. "How have you been these past months?"
"I've been... good. Training a lot..." Cassandra replied with a weak smile, feeling slightly nervous. She kept her eyes on the base of the wagon and a small hole in the wood through which she could see the ground moving past. Geez, what the hell kinda answer was that?
"I'll have to challenge you sooner or later, to see if you've improved. And hopefully, we won't get interrupted this time." Mina replied, rolling her eyes at the last part. When they'd fought against each other last time, their battle had been interrupted the Random Yunsung Sighting of the Moment in a nearby village. Mina had dashed of as quickly as possible leaving Cassandra quite bewildered.
"Who ran away with their tail between their legs that time?" Cassandra laughed, giving Mina a nudge.
Mina rubbed an area on her arm that had been badly bruised from the last time they had clashed. "I don't seem to remember you having the upper hand in that fight, either. My memory must be pretty bad." She joked, jostling Cassandra in return.
Cassandra cracked her knuckles. "Then I'll help make new ones."
It was good to be back with a friend. Especially one as attractive as... damn. Tell me you did not think that. Cassandra chided herself.
Eventually the wagon slowed, coming to a complete stop. At some time between her getting on the wagon and their stopping, Apollo must have stopped blazing across the sky to give the world some much needed darkness.
"Why are we stopping?" Cassandra asked, slightly worried. She grabbed the hilt of her sword in case that the need for a battle arose. In Apollo's wake, there was night, and night was always a dangerous time, especially on a deserted road in between two villages. Bandits, thugs, and thieves were more than common.
"Relax," Seung Mina spoke, noticing her friend's white-knuckled grip on her Omega Sword. She shook her head lightly, a small laugh escaping her at Cassandra's nervous demeanour. "We're going to rest in the fields over there. The horse is tired and we'll continue in the morning."
However, Cassandra didn't look pleased or even convinced in the slightest that it was a good idea. A practiced pout came into motion on her Korean friend's face. "Cassandra, stop being such a wimp. Look. Maxi's here and I'm here, nothing's going to happen. You'll be just fine, don't worry about it."
Eventually the blonde warrior sighed with the air of one defeated. "Alright. Just don't end up being the one I have to tell 'I told you so' when we're surrounded by bandits." Cassandra sighed as she exited the wagon, being sure to keep her short sword and shield with her. At least somebody had to be careful.
"Cassie, Maxi took on a horde of Berserker. I think he and I can handle some lowly thieves, and I'm positive you can as well, even without us here." The Korean woman poked. "Weren't you boasting about some great fighting ability earlier?"
Ignoring the taunt, Cassandra focused on the issue she felt garnered more importance. "Berserker? The servants of Ares? As in, big, hulking seven-foot guys with bigger axes?" She looked at Maxi with new respect. However, he didn't even shoot her a glance; he was too busy with the horse. Or maybe he didn't even want to look at her.
She had heard that Ares had tricked a desert dwelling cult into creating a hideous monster... the one called Astaroth... with the sole purpose of finding the Soul Edge and handing it over to the God of War... the others were nothing but failed experiments, powerful still... berserkers true to their name that had survived and roamed the lands still, crazed with their need for the evil energy that emanated from the Soul Edge. "How... how did you survive that?" Cassandra spoke, trying to make conversation with the silent brooding member of their party.
Maxi turned to Cassandra, a dark look cast upon his face as if he'd rather not talk about it. Which in fact, he did. "They were the lucky ones. They were killed in battle." He gave a brief glare to Seung Mina before he stalked away into the woods, the horse trailing after him, not mentioning the companions not left for dead taken back, to be transformed by unholy power and encased in a shell of armour for all time, a new addition to the Berserker ranks...
Cassandra's face fell, she hadn't meant to make him upset, but by the looks of it...
Mina shook her head, "Don't let him ruin your mood, Cassie. He's just a little sore about the whole subject, that's all." She placed a hand on Cassandra's shoulder and squeezed lightly. "Come on, we'd better follow him."
Mina led the way into the trees that covered the land for a mile in every direction away from the road. They hadn't gone far when they found a small clearing, good enough for the night. The horse and wagon secure, Maxi stood in the centre of the clearing trying to make a small fire from the wood he had already gathered.
The warrior simply regarded the two with a cold, distant stare as he continued fruitless attempts to start a fire. The two girls took seats on an over turned log, watching Maxi at work.
"He's had some rough times, I suppose." Cassandra finally ventured. It was a relief to hear something of a human voice in the quietness that fairly oozed the words 'uncomfortable silence'.
Mina yawned and stretched. "You have no idea."
It wasn't long before Maxi lit the fire (although it took quite some time) and leaned back to rest on a log. He still he didn't say a thing to the two, as if the silence would help him forget the ghosts of his past.
Sighing, Seung Mina got to her feet, pulling two tents out. She threw one at Maxi, who obligingly got hit in the face by the folded tent.
"Camping for the night?" She asked Cassandra. "We can share the tent..."
Cassandra flushed. "No, I'm fine, it's..."
Mina poked her. "Heeey. What's wrong with sharing a tent? Besides, we're both girls, right?"
The blonde girl nodded, although the red glow on her cheeks was from more than just the fire.
"Besides," The Korean girl snickered. "Would you rather share a tent with him?" She jerked a thumb in Maxi's direction. "I'll have you know he snores."
Maxi obviously heard, because he gave them the finger. (...no, not in that way, pervs.)
Seung Mina began setting up the tent, with a skill that said many previous nights spent this way. It took her less than ten minutes. By that time, Maxi had already set up his tent and retired for the night, a pair of nunchaku hanging on a stick impaled into the dirt.
"That was... uh, quick." Cassandra commented as Mina sat back down on the log.
"Him or me?" She laughed.
And if you're a total perv or have spent at least some time in an all-male boarding school, you will have caught the subplot. Now go have a cold shower. Trust me, it'll help.
Cassandra shrugged.
"Well, you know what I'm like." Mina replied with a laugh, obviously not understanding well what she'd actually just said.
And those people who are total pervs and/or have spent some time in an all-male boarding school, shut up. Yes, you, old guy in the back.
Cassandra looked away, the Blush (yes, it's evil) making itself known once more. Not for the first time, she was glad of the fire's soft light. After all, what would Seung Mina say if she knew she thought of her that way...?
...Did they even have lesbians in Korea or whatever?
"Well, I'm gonna head off to bed." Mina yawned. "You coming?"
"Yeah, I will... In a minute." Cassandra replied, she wanted a little time alone before she went to sleep; she needed to clear a few things up.
"Right. Well, good night." Mina said, before sticking her naginata into the ground, the blade sinking easily into the soft earth, and leaving it there. Satisfied that her weapon was secure, she lifted a tent flap and disappeared.
Cassandra's gaze lingered on the tent, and stayed there. She had a warm feeling inside, a feeling of excitement.
And you pervs can have a fuckin' field day.
A familiar rush of homesickness hit her and she winced. Cassandra hated being away from her family, but it was the best way she could think of to make sure she still had a family left. She remembered clearly the day Sophitia returned home, having destroyed half of one of the evil blades. She had been brought home by an Asian youma-huntress that went by the name of Taki. The mysterious woman had removed a single shard of metal from her sister's body and then disappeared as quickly as she had come.
The rest of the Alexandra family hadn't believed Sophitia's story. According to her, she'd received an oracle from Hephaestus, the God of Fire and Forge... going on a journey to save the world from a terrible fate at the hands of an evil sword called Soul Edge.
Who would believe her?
Cassandra had been the only one to believe this.
Her life had been pure hell, as if Hades himself were casting a spell upon her life, making it harder to live, punishing her for not aiding her sister in her time of peril. Her family, no matter what she did and how well she did it, constantly compared her to Sophitia; they would always find something that Sophitia did that made Cassandra second best. As if to ask her why she wasn't more like her elder sister.
Unjust tears flowed, and she was envious of Sophitia, envious then, for it was clear to Cassandra that Sophitia would always be first and foremost in their parents' eyes. However, she wasn't bitter. She loved Sophitia too much to allow that to happen. But there were always times when the sharp edge of jealousy would stretch their relationship as siblings...
She worried about Sophitia often.
After all, that was the only reason she was doing this, wasn't it? So she could suffer and hunt the world for the Soul Edge while her sister had a family, and children, and people that gave a damn about whether she lived or died...
Cassandra sighed. Broken hand-me-downs and second-rate.
The blonde girl wiped away the single crystalline drop that left a glistening trail down her face. She blinked hotly; she was a warrior. Warriors weren't supposed to cry. She tried to concentrate, breathing deeply, although what breaths she took were ragged and broken. Wiping away the tears with her sleeve, her fingers lingered idly on the shallow scar she had on the left of her forehead; a little memento from a fight with a platinum haired woman named Ivy, her sword enchanted to fall apart and take on a whiplike state. That fight had been too close to call; the female warrior had to disarm Ivy in order to win the day. Not to mention that the whip-wielding woman's (lack of) costume had been very, very distracting...
...Dammit.
"Hey... Cassie?"
Her stomach did a 360 Air Jordan and her head snapped up, trying to hide the fact that she had been crying. Luckily, it was only Seung Mina, not your ancient Nordic god of revenge guaranteed and able to make your life living hell. Her face flushed with embarrassment.
"...Yeah?" Cassandra sighed, looking away and scrubbing furiously at her face. The tears had come and gone, but the evidence of them was all too clear.
Her eyes turned to the sky for a while, the stars glowing brightly in contrast to the expanse of deep velvet. She made her own silent prayer, hoping that Sophitia and her family were okay, that her journey ahead would come to an end quickly, and that nothing would go wrong...
Later, she would remember her prayer, and then she would know that she had literally asked for it.
"Your eyes look bloodshot." Mina commented, now wide awake. "Maybe you should get some rest." She walked over to Cassandra and offered a hand up. Mina never took her eyes off Cassandra until they entered the tent; even the Korean girl's happy-go-lucky mindset she could sense there was something up with Cassandra. As a matter of fact, Seung Mina herself had never seen the warrior look so upset. But, then again, she had been searching for the Soul Edge for quite some time now, and with everything from demented monks to ninja to samurai warriors to demigods after it as well, she was allowed a little emotional leeway.
After all, as a great man once said, to be able to cry is another form of strength.
The tent had but one blanket, presumably the two were meant to share. Mina lay down under the blanket on her stomach, her head resting in her arms. Cassandra set her trusted (and stolen) sword down on the floor near the tentflap and unfastened her armour, because... it would be uncomfy to sleep in, idiots. Does ANYONE sleep in their armour? (Well, probably Nightmare. How the hell does he take that off anyway?)
Cassandra lay down next to Mina, facing the wall of the tent, trying desperately to will herself to sleep without thinking of the nubile young girl next to her. She purposely kept her eyes on the dark blue material that served as a blanket.
She felt a hand on her bare shoulder, along with the electric thrill of skin on skin. The reflex in her arm would have snapped up and broken the wrist that the hand on her shoulder was attached to any other day. But today wasn't any other day.
The warrior turned her head slightly to see Seung Mina, propped up on one elbow and looking at her, the same concerned, quizzical look upon her features.
"You looked... upset back there." Her russet eyes met Cassandra's for a second, concern etched across her features. "You okay?"
Cassandra glowed, her blush deepening from a light shade of pink to a deeper red. "I... I'm fine... I was just thinking." She turned away from the other girl, closing her eyes.
"About Sophitia?"
Would the damned girl not shut up?
Cassandra opened her eyes fully; Mina obviously knew what was going on in her head well enough to guess that she had been thinking about her sister earlier. "Well... yeah."
"Look, I'm sure she's fine." Mina spoke, reassuringly. "She's a strong woman, you know that. Plus, she's got Rothion to look after her." The Asian girls paused before leaning in and pressing her pleasantly cool lips lightly to Cassandra's forehead. "Get some sleep."
DAMN.
Cassandra's face felt like Hades was lighting his farts under it.
She nodded weakly, her face scorching, as Mina shut her own eyes. Taking her advice Cassandra slammed her eyelids tightly shut and tried to drift off, not even noticing that she was facing Mina this time.
Dreams... darkness... shadows.... A memory...
"Cassandra, honey, would you please take these to Mrs. Korene's house?" Cassandra's father said, handing her a basket containing two loaves of freshly baked bread, still warm from the oven.
Cassandra nodded solemnly, "Yes, father." She took the basket and headed out the house without a second thought. Finally, she had an excuse to get out of the house, away from her parents.
She strode out, following the worn path that led to the small cluster of houses where the rest of the townsfolk lived... Her destination happened to be around the area where her elder sister lived, so naturally her young mind put two and two together. After delivering the bread she would take a "detour" to see her sister...
She knocked lightly on Mrs. Korene's door. A moment later, her eldest daughter Katherine answered. She smiled kindly when she saw Cassandra. "Cass', come on in, we're just about to have dinner."
"Sorry, I can't. I'm just dropping off some food..." Cassandra said with an apologetic smile. She handed the basket over to Katherine, who took it graciously and tucked it under her arm.
"Well, maybe another time then." Katherine spoke, as Cassandra headed away. "Tell Sophitia I said hello, okay?"
"...You know me too well." Cassandra sighed. "Is it that obvious?"
"Bye." Kathy said with a wave and a smirk.
Cassandra sighed, habits ingrained even from this early age. Katherine was a nice enough girl... but she was crazily persistent sometimes. Cassandra was just happy to have had an excuse to not stay for dinner. Trudging down the path she took a left and headed up to Sophitia's house.
She walked uphill towards Sophitia's place. Reaching the front door she walked around the side, preferring to go in the back door; her sister was almost always in the garden.
She rapped lightly on the wooden gate before pushing it open and entering her sister's courtyard. There was no one around except for two small children huddled closely on a stone bench, sleeping.
Cassandra smiled. Pyrrha and Patroklos looked so innocent when they slept. They were her sister's children and Cassandra cared for them as if they were her own. She tiptoed over to the two and knelt down in front of them.
"Pyrrha, Patroklos, listen to me carefully. If you don't hold on tight to your mother, she might go running off again to carry out the will of the gods." She spoke jokingly to the two knowing that they couldn't hear her. But it was so much more than a joke...
She heard a soft laughing behind her and a hand on her shoulder. Starting, she noticed that Sophitia had been standing behind her, listening in.
"I doubt that's possible, sis." Cassandra said playfully, to her sister this time. "The gods willing."
Sophitia hugged her sister. "Cass! How have you been?"
And the bond between sisters was renewed; the two chatting together like old times. However, they had both been through battles fought and unfought, and neither had come through unchanged...
Footsteps echoed within the house and Sophitia's eyes flickered towards it, her warrior priestess instincts flaring as she readied herself for combat; one light defensive guard easily moulded into a thousand and one parries. However when a dark haired Turkish man walked through the door, whatever doubt and guard she'd had dropped.
"Rothion, you're home!" Sophitia bolted from her seat and jumped forward, the man catching her in a loving hug.
"How was your day, Sophie? Kids not causing you too much trouble, I hope."
Cassandra, unnoticed, off to one side, made little fake gagging noises.
"No... no, they've been like angels." Sophitia replied with a grin, as the noise of their father returning woke both the children up. They clustered around their father, choruses of 'Daddy' from innocent voices.
He nodded in Cassandra's direction. Rothion still didn't totally see eye to eye with Cassandra but they got along for Sophitia's sake. "Hello, Cassandra."
"Rothion." Cassandra replied, matching him stare for stare.
"Daddy? What's that in your hand?" Pyrrha asked innocently as she eyed the glowing red... something in her father's hand. Rothion knelt down in front of his children as he held his hand out.
"Somebody gave it to me today. Beautiful, isn't it? I have no idea what it's made from..." He said examining it shortly before Patroklos snatched it from his hand.
"Patroklos!" He yelled as the boy ran away into another corner of the courtyard, only to be followed by his sister.
"Gimme it!" Came Pyrrha's squeals as she clawed at her brother, trying to obtain the metal shard from his hand.
"No, go away, it's mine!" Was Patroklos' reply and he pulled his hand away from Pyrrha. "It's all mine..." He said in a slightly different tone of voice, his child's face twisted in a snarl that sounded somehow wrong, coming from his young throat.
Sophitia's eyes widened.
"Children, don't fight... share it." Their father said, walking over to try and calm the children down, totally oblivious to Sophitia's distress.
Allliiiiiive.... Awaken........ the mimic.... The blood to be spilled.....
Sophitia flung her head back, mouth open in a wordless scream....
"Sis? SIS!"
"No! No! This cannot be... I... I destroyed it. Please..." She sunk to the floor clutching her head, rocking back and forth... it could NOT be back, it couldn't, this wasn't possible, this was a bad dream, let it be one oh please oh please make it stop...
Cassandra watched, wide-eyed, as Rothion ran over to Sophitia's side, wrapping his arms around her in an attempt to calm her. A sudden, irrational burst of anger came over her. Sophitia was acting so weak... and she was supposed to be a warrior. How was she supposed to serve the gods as she was now?
She stalked over to where the children where and snatched the dully glowing shard away from Patroklos. He bit her, and in her fury she backhanded him viciously, sending him sprawling across the grass. His sister lunged for Cassandra; she sidestepped and raised an arm to slice down viciously at the nerve clusters at the base of the neck-
-NO!
She changed her blow from a killing one to a stunning one, turning the flat of her hand. Pyrrha crumpled anyway, hitting the dirt.
Rothion was there, his own sword now drawn. "You will not hurt my children."
Cassandra didn't listen. The red shard of Soul Edge seemed cold and hot all at the same time; although she couldn't see it, her eyes burned with the same light.
Rothion's sword swooped towards her neck; she closed her eyes-
The man blinked, as his sword, clearly labelled with runes 'insert pointy end into enemy' was caught by Cassandra, blade between two fingers. In her other hand the precious shard of Soul Edge rested...
Letting him stand there in shock for two seconds, Cassandra raised her other hand and slapped the sword away from his now loose and shaking grip. It hit the fence and snapped in two, the blade end quivering like an arrow embedded in the wood.
A kick sent Rothion down, his back slamming painfully into the wall of the house. Then, and only then, did Cassandra notice the pitiful wails of the children, her sister buried head in hands and sobbing...
"Sis?" Tentatively, she walked over to where Sophitia was...
Sophitia's eyes raised, her body rising up like a coiled spring to face her sister... "Get... get the hell away from me." Even though her voice shook, the words were like a razor into Cassandra's heart. "You are not my sister anymore."
Cassandra shook her head. No... no... what... what did she just do...
She ran from the lodging of her sister, not understanding why her eyes felt hot, not understanding why there was something sharp and hard lodged in her palm, cutting through the fleshy part of the hand and drawing blood...
Cassandra stormed from the house and up to the Hephaestus Shrine located up the top of the hill. Bursting through the doors of the Shrine, hand drenched in blood but still clamped tightly about the glowing red shard, she stood atop the great towering statue of the god of Fire and Forge.
"Why are you doing this to my sister? How can you claim to be an almighty god? Answer me!" She demanded the god.
Hephaestus was silent.
Cassandra sunk to the Temple floor on her knees, tears streaming from her eyes.
"Why are you doing this to me!" It wasn't a question, it was a statement. Blood ran down her arm in rivulets, but her punch was forceful, and it cracked the marble visage of Hephaestus himself. Her knuckles complained.
She couldn't bear to see Sophitia go through that kind of pain again, she couldn't even see her again after doing... doing that... knowing what Soul Edge did to people... she didn't want to have to go through the pain, despair and suffering for a third time... it was all too much.
She looked up at the statue of Hephaestus once more and noticed the gleaming sword and shield resting against the idol's leg. She slowly staggered to her feet, leaving a trail of blood, and slipped off the statue, falling to the floor metres below, a heap of blood and pain and tears and sweat...
Cassandra grasped the hilt of the Omega Sword and drew it out of the scabbard in a glittering arc, drawing new strength from the ring of metal on metal, making a silent vow to rid Soul Edge from the earth...
"I have to destroy it. For both our sakes..."
The sword and shield were still in surprisingly good condition, considering that they had been exposed to the elements for almost four years. Rothion had created the sword with Sophitia's aid as an offering to the god for blessing them with marriage and two wonderful children.
As the sun rose the next morning, Cassandra Alexandra was nowhere to be seen.
Yet one thing echoed in her mind, the cold, and ear piercing screams of Sophitia as she clutched her head in pain from the echoes of evil within the metal fragment....
Dreams. Darkness. Shadows. A memory...
Cassandra sat bolt upright, sweat streaming off her as she panted in desperation. She'd had that dream again, the one she'd been having for the past months, ever since she'd left Athens to destroy Soul Edge.
Glancing across at the sleeping Seung Mina beside her she made sure she hadn't woken the other girl. That was the last thing she needed, someone asking her about what had happened and her having to explain it all over again.
As if anyone could forgive her after what she did to her sister's family.
Wiping her clammy forehead, she silently got up and left the tent, settling down on the over turned log she'd been on just a few hours ago.
She controlled her breathing and let her thoughts wander, but to her surprise it wasn't of the dream she thought, but of the sleeping Korean girl in the tent close by. Her stomach flipped and she felt the burning return as she continued to think.
The blonde looked up at the star-studded night sky, now a dusky purple. "Aphrodite, why torture me so?" She whispered quietly. What was it about the girl... what was it that wouldn't allow her to stop thinking about her?
"Cass'?"
Cassandra turned at the drowsy voice to find Seung Mina coming out of the tent, rubbing her eyes. She sat down on the log next to Cassandra and gently rested her head on the younger woman's shoulder, in direct threat of dozing off again.
Cassandra smiled and wrapped her arm around the other girl. Mina lifted her head slightly, as if to inquire what the blonde was doing but soon relaxed, snuggling into her friend's shoulder.
"You worry too much Cassie, you need to lighten up." Mina mumbled sleepily.
"I'm sorry if I'm a bit moody tonight, but I can't help but think about Sophitia." Cassandra replied, still staring at the sky as if seeking an answer other than sex from Aphrodite herself.
"No, you don't dampen my mood, it's just... I hate seeing you unhappy." Seung Mina yawned. "You're trying to save your sister, and for that, you don't deserve to be unhappy."
Cassandra was silent for a minute, "Mina..."
Mina lifted her head, "Yeah?"
"Thank you." The blonde paused. "Thank you for being so friendly to me."
Seung Mina nodded, very close to being 100% unconscious.
"Even when we fought you didn't show me the same aggression as the other pursuers, those possessed or those looking for the Soul Edge..." Cassandra spoke into the quietness, poking at the fire which had died to a dull mix of embers.
Seung Mina looked at Cassandra, struggling to stay awake. "It's because... you're special Cassandra."
The warrior began to shake her head, but Seung Mina held a finger to her friend's lips, still speaking.
"You deserved better than them. You're trying to save someone by destroying the Soul Edge. You're not in search of it for your own selfish needs or dreams of power. You have a true purpose." Mina whispered as she finally fell into the sweet, sweet embrace of sleep, K.O.'ed in Cassandra's arms.
Shaking her head slightly, the blonde girl cast her gaze once more to the sky "Aphrodite..."
The moment stretched as she searched her mind for the words, before giving up. "I pray to you."
Author's Notes: A big, big, BIG thank you to Chaos for editing this for me.
And just so you know... some of the comments are his that's he's put into this fic.