Chris: Well, first Riviera fic. I hope you enjoy it, so enjoy!
Disclaimer: Don't own Riviera. The main characters of the fic are pretty much my own creation, however.
Chapter 1: I'll Get My Revenge!
Melissa was angry. Very angry. Who was she angry at? Namely a bunch of sprites that landed her and her cronies on the injured list for a very long time. What were the names of this dastardly group of do-gooders? She hadn't caught the name of all of the characters, but she knew that the leader was this dense, innocent, brown-haired kid that they called Ein. Melissa was angry and her cohorts were doing absolutely nothing to make her feel better.
"What's with the pacing?" Jordan, the rogue that had accompanied her on their ill-fated attack on Ein's group, chewed on a piece of applecot and spat it to the side. "We can attack a helpless village if it makes you feel any better."
"Why would we do that?" Melissa shouted, pausing to glare at the laidback warrior.
"We're demons. It's what we do." Jordan replied, taking another bite out of the applecot he held in his hand. "Besides, what good is pacing going to do? Face it, we got our butts kicked by Ein and that weird sword that he has."
"Never! I will never accept defeat!" Melissa clenched her fists in anger. Her horrendous defeat at the hands of Ein and company flashed in her memory and she shuddered angrily.
---
"Taste my magic!" Melissa shouted as she waved her staff in the air, causing a wave of flame to dart towards Ein. The boy quickly dodged the flames and the only ill effect was the fact that his pants were now on fire. He spent a couple of minutes futilely beating at the flames before readying himself for another attack.
"It's my turn now!" An Arc, one of the races of Sprites that had bat-like wings and small horns, charged at Jordan with a scythe, sweeping it in an overhead arc that would have beheaded the rogue if he hadn't ducked just in time. However, just as he was straightening, an arrow thudded against the leather armor he wore and Jordan was knocked backwards onto the stone bricks, gasping in pain.
Silvei, the archer that accompanied Melissa, readied her own returning volley, but her path was blocked by the Arc, who unleashed a flurry of attacks that were too fast for Silvei to counter, thus taking her out of the fight.
"I won't lose!" Melissa shrieked as she thrust her staff forward. A huge fireball erupted from its tip and launched itself towards Ein's group before splitting into miniature versions and crashing all around the floor. The crystal that topped her wooden staff shattered from the strain and when the smoke and fire faded, Melissa saw that her foes were hurt, but not killed. "No!"
"Time to finish this." Ein pulled out a thick, two-bladed, two-handed sword engraved with various runes that Melissa recognized as prayers to Thor, god of thunder. He lifted his sword in the air and a flash of magical lightning struck it. Melissa backed away in fear, but Ein seemed to move like the wind, appearing all around her and slashing her with his sword, causing currents of electricity to course through her body.
Melissa felt her limbs grow numb and soon the world faded out of her sight.
---
"Ouch…" Silvei groaned as she stumbled in to join the other demons. Series of bloody claw marks marked her body and the archer's face was screwed up in an expression of pain. Out of the three, she was the one that suffered the most in their defeat. "It's that stupid Ein. He's the reason they work so well together."
"What can we do about it? I think we proved that we're no match for him as we are now." Jordan said, grimacing. "That was the most pathetic match-up I have ever participated in."
"I'll tell you what we're going to do! We're going to train and kick Ein's ass, you got that? I can't rest until I see him crushed beneath my feet!" Melissa pointed a finger in front of her.
"And what about that crazy sword of his? Einher-something? From what I heard, it's what's called a Diviner and alone, that thing has killed hundreds of demons. It's a demon killer, Melissa. I like being alive, you know." Jordan muttered.
"Nevermind that! We'll think of a way to neutralize it! First of all, we have to strike at his partners. Three-on-three is fair, but three-on-one is not and I want to make sure we have the best odds possible!"
"Well…How are we going to find them?" Silvei asked, her eyes shut in concentration. "We're still stuck in these stupid ruins and it's a long walk to wherever they are."
"That's why I prepared this!" Melissa crowed in triumph and showed her comrades a magic circle she had traced on the floor. "One of the ghosts followed them and showed me the magic circle they used to head back to their home. I duplicated it so we could travel to the exact same place!"
"If you could duplicate it, why don't we just use the one already there?" Jordan asked with a raised eye.
"…Shut up!"
---
"So this is Elendia. Nice place. I can't wait to pillage it." Jordan said to himself as they appeared in a cavern covered with numerous crystals and gems. The rogue tugged at a loose gem and held it critically up to his eyes, grinning as the light shined through the many facets. "Oooh…Valuable stuff."
"We're not here for that, Jordan. We're here to kidnap one of Ein's compatriots." Silvei said as she elbowed the rogue in the side. The orange-haired archer wore an unhappy expression as fingered her bow nervously as she looked around the cave. "I don't like this. I feel like we're trapped. This is sprite country. They'll kill any demons they see."
"We'll be fine." Melissa said confidently, running a hand through her braided, purple hair. The witch looked around the cave and whistled. "This place must be a natural for conducting magic."
"It is, as a matter of fact." A tall, thin girl with pale skin and long, light-blue hair stepped out of the shadows and stood in front of the three demons.
"Whoa!" Jordan leaped backwards and withdrew his axe, holding it cautiously in front of him. Silvei said nothing but notched an arrow to her bow, her eyes narrowed with suspicious. Melissa, on the other hand, did nothing but look at the girl.
"What are you doing here? You don't look like a sprite."
"I'm not. I came from Asgard to enact the gods' will." The girl bowed slightly. "My name is Sif."
"Nice to meet you, Sif." Melissa nodded. "So, what do you want?"
"I have to kill you. You are demons, demons that would come to Asgard and throw off the natural order of the world." Sif lifted her weapon, a long, jagged staff that seemed to resonate with a wild, gray-white color.
"Why would we go to Asgard? This place is good enough for us." Jordan shrugged. "There are places to loot, villages to pillage, things to steal. Why go to the gods' home and get killed for our troubles?"
"W-What?" Sif lowered her weapon reluctantly. "But Lord Hector said that demons wanted to kill everything in the world."
"Can't believe all that you hear." Jordan shrugged again. "So, anyway, why don't you lower that demon killer and help us out. We're looking for this guy called Ein."
"Ein? You know one of the Grim Angels?" Sif's reaction was a lot more surprised and heated than the three demons expected, so it took them a while to adjust.
"Grim Angels?" Silvei asked.
"Angels sent from Asgard to do the gods' will. How could you know Ein? Is he here in Riviera too?" Sif asked frantically.
"Well, yeah. He kicked our asses." Jordan said before getting smacked in the face by Melissa's staff.
"That makes no sense…Lord Hector said I was the only Grim Angel here…" Sif whispered to herself, looking around confusedly. "This cannot be right. I must talk with Ein now."
"We don't know where he is!" Jordan said, looking embarrassed. "You see, we wanted to kidnap one of his friends so that we could find some way to best him in battle."
"That's dishonorable."
"We're demons! What'd you expect? A box of applecots and banangos? Some healing herbs?" Jordan protested.
"Anyway, it was nice meeting you, but we have to be going along our business now." Melissa said, grabbing Jordon and dragging him away. Silvei followed, remaining silent.
"Wait, let me go with you." Sif said. "I need to find out what's going on here and sticking with you three seems to be the right decision at the moment."
"You're a Grim Angel sent to kill demons. And you want to stick with demons. Are you crazy?" Melissa asked.
"Just let her." Silvei interrupted, frowning. "Don't make so much commotion. We'll be caught."
"Hey, what's going on around here?" A voice, distinctly sprite-like in nature, echoed through the caves.
"Great. Told you." Silvei sighed.
"Hide!" Melissa hissed angrily.
The four of them found suitable hiding places among the crystals and watched as a young, red-headed girl walked through the caves, a puzzled expression on her face. A pointed, black hat topped her hair and she carried a musty tome in her hands.
"It's that girl from earlier!" Melissa hissed to Jordan. "One of Ein's friends! This is perfect!"
"What should we do?" Jordan asked.
"Knock her out, duh!" Melissa replied.
"I got this." Silvei responded, pulling a flat-headed arrow from her quiver and aiming in carefully. She released the bowstring and watched with satisfaction as the missile thudded into the girl's head and sent her crashing to the floor.
"Perfect shot!" Melissa cheered. "Come on, Jordan, get her."
"What? Me? I don't know where to grab her." The rogue protested, but Melissa silenced him and dragged him towards the unconscious girl.
"You've grabbed lots of girls. Don't get cold feet right now."
"Grr…" Jordan grumbled under his breath, but he managed to lifted the girl in his arms. "Now what?"
"Now you two…three, go to our hideout while I leave a message here for Ein. Then we just get ready to fight, okay?" Melissa instructed, motioning the others to take the magic circle towards Niflheim, the location of their hideout. Once she was certain that the others had left, Melissa began tracing magical runes in the air to carve out a message that she was certain Ein would be able to see.
Chuckling to herself, she retreated back to the magic circle and directed her thoughts back towards Niflheim. As the scene in front of her evaporated, Melissa smiled. This time, she wouldn't fail to defeat Ein.
---
"So, tell me more about this Grim Angel stuff." Melissa said to Sif, curious out how Grim Angels operated. "I need to know, just in case this comes in handy to use against Ein."
"I shouldn't tell you. You're a demon." Sif responded, looking forward and barely moving. Apparently, the female Grim Angel felt nervous in the presence of demons.
"Aw, come on, Sif! Just a little trivia! Besides, not all demons are bad. How about when we defeat Ein, we help you out on your quest. Please?" Melissa begged.
"Fine." Sif sighed, closing her flat, red eyes. "Grim Angels are angels chosen by the gods to carry out their will. We are fighters, avengers, soldiers, messengers, anything the gods need, we deliver. Our existence is only there to serve the gods."
"That's horrible. At least a demon doesn't have to serve anyone."
"Don't interrupt." Sif said softly. "Anyway, one of the Seven Sages, Lord Hector, told us that demons were running wild in Riviera and we were instructed to kill them all." She ignored Melissa snort and continued with her story. "He blessed us all with special weapons, saying that we could overcome any barrier if we had these at our side." She motioned to the jagged metal staff at her side.
Melissa looked at the weapon closely. It barely resembled any staff that she knew and a perpetual gray-white sheen covered it. The head was sharp and various runes coated the surface. "Go on."
"This is my Diviner, Draupnir." Sif showed the staff to Melissa. "In order to get a Diviner, one is supposed to sacrifice one thing that is dear to him. Ein, your rival, sacrificed his wings in order to gain his Diviner, Einherjar. Ledah, another Grim Angel, sacrificed his emotions in order to get his own weapon, Lorelei. I, on the other hand, sacrificed the ability to dream in order to get Draupnir."
"So…You don't dream? Isn't that good?"
"It's good and bad. Each sacrifice is double-edged. Because Ein doesn't have wings to rely on, his legs get a lot more exercise than the rest of us. Because Ledah has no emotions, he can approach everything with the same level-headedness that many would envy. Because I don't dream, I don't get nightmares. However, I also don't get the funny dreams, the nice dreams, the good dreams. Every night is just an inky blackness, the same thing over and over again." A tear fell out of Sif's eye and she rubbed at it hastily. "But I talk too much."
"That's okay. I never knew it was so hard to be an angel." Melissa mused. "Well, anyway, you're with us now, so don't you worry. We'll figure out what's happening and maybe you'll get the ability to dream again." The witch stumbled to one of the rooms in the hideout, before pausing. "This might sound impertinent, but could you show me your wings? I've never seen real angel wings before."
"O-Okay…" Sif mumbled, clasping her hands. With a small chant, a pair of feathery, black wings erupted from her back, scattering loose feathers everywhere. Melissa watched with fascination, looking at the wings that flapped in the air.
"So that's an angel…" She breathed. The wings were a dark black, turning slightly gray and light-blue near the center, close to her body. Feathers kept falling from her wings, giving Melissa the impression that Sif was shedding. Shaking her head, she nodded her thanks. "That is amazing…Good night, Sif."
Still shaking her head, she walked inside her room. Sif hid her wings and dropped lightly to the room. She propped Draupnir on one of the walls and looked around in confusion. Melissa hadn't told her where she would be able to sleep. Looking worriedly, Sif lay down on the ground and shuddered.
Letting loose a small sigh, she let herself dwell on the circumstances. Meeting the demons seemed like a mixed blessing, just like everything else in her life. Sif sighed again. Another dreamless night loomed ahead of her and she was afraid to close her eyes.
Chris: Well, I hope you enjoyed my first foray into the Riviera section! Review please and tell me what you think!