Fiera stood up for the first time in what felt like hours. The previous pain of having all her power taken out of her body was nothing compared to the pain of having it put back in. It was very frightening to know there was so much power being put into her that it was possible that her body wouldn't be physically strong enough to handle it.
But her strong body held out, and she was an entirely new being.
Walking over to a mirror Helena was helpfully holding up for her, Fiera inspected herself, finding no facial differences. However, when she examined her palms, there were two glowing silver tattoos in them. In the left was a shield, and in the right was a sword. The tattoos blazed with warmth and light.
"What's with the tattoos?" she asked, looking up at Helena.
"The shield on the left signifies that the left hand is the hand that defends. It's stronger than the right. On the right, the sword signifies the right is the hand that fights. It's quicker than the left."
Fiera looked back at her hands and felt the strength pulsing down her arms into them. The tattoos, in reaction, glowed brighter.
"You'll notice that you can disappear and materialize over short distances," Helena said as Fiera continued her inspection. "Your eyes are the same color, but they are stronger, and your ears are also more sensitive. Your strengths haven't changed much; you can still grow exponentially as needed, as a human does. However, you are more susceptible to some attacks. Demons will pose more of a problem than before, but nothing too drastic. You'll still be victorious more often than not."
"What kind of attacks?" Fiera asked.
"Guardian magic, for the most part. But Fallen Guardians will be no problem for you, as far as a battle of beings goes, meaning it will be just as challenging as a Guardian fighting a demon, but you are now the Fallen Guardian's sworn enemy, as a Guardian is a demon's sworn enemy."
"I understand."
"You can manipulate nature to some degree, but it isn't good to keep it up for long, as it is tiring on your body. Be very careful, as I don't know how many more times I can save you."
Fiera smiled, but it went away after a moment. "I appreciate this second – third, actually – chance, but no more. If I'm going to die the next time I fight, then so be it. If my number's up, then it's up. I can't but feel we may be fighting fate by trying to keep me alive. Anyway, I think it's time for me to get back."
"Yes, it is," Helena agreed. "I will tell you before you get there; Odette has many more challenges to face than Leda, which is why I trust you to fight the Fallen Guardian. This is not Odette's battle. It's yours. Good luck. Step through the mirror, and you'll see where Odette is."
Fiera's reflection in the mirror shifted to a scene of a village, with a mass of people surrounding something in the center. Fiera couldn't help but think that Odette was in the center, and the people who were surrounding her weren't well wishers. She stepped through the mirror, and faced the fight ahead.
XxX
"We're trapped," Odette said. "There's no way out."
"There's always a way out," Angel returned, lifting his sword threateningly, brandishing it at Leda's minions, who were moving in on them.
"You can't do that!" Odette yelled at him as the crowd closed in on them. "These people aren't under their own will. They can't stop themselves."
"Odette, what choice do we have?" Derek asked, driving some of the mob back by moving aggressively toward them, as if he were about to strike. However, most of them quickly recovered their courage and continued their advance.
Suddenly, the crowd broke, leaving space for someone to walk through them.
"Well, well, look what I've caught in my trap," Leda purred, smiling menacingly.
"You murderer!" Angel shot back.
Leda continued walking toward them. "Hold your tongue, whelp. I'm not here to deal with you."
"Then deal with me!" A voice called.
Suddenly, an adamant sword whizzed by, barely missing Leda's face. It embedded itself in a nearby wall so forcefully that some of the wood splintered and was visibly falling off.
The voice came from the main street Odette, Derek, and Angel had taken while they were investigating the village. Everyone, Leda and her minions included, turned in that direction. Upon facing that way, they saw a settlement of fog that hadn't been there before, as the weather would not have allowed for it.
Walking gracefully through the fog was a shadowed figure. Suddenly, the wind picked up, blowing in the opposite direction of what it had been, and cleared the fog.
There, standing heroically, cape flying behind her, was Fiera in all her newly found glory.
"You! Abomination!" Leda spat. "How many times must I kill you?!"
Leda rushed at Fiera, sword drawn, eyes blazing in maniacal rage. Fiera stood there coolly, eyes half closed as if in boredom, until the last second. Just as Leda was about to hack Fiera's shoulder with the sword for the second time, Fiera's hand shot out and caught the blade with her left hand.
The trail of warm, red blood that ran down her arm was visible to Odette, Derek, and Angel, all of whom stood in shock, amazed at Fiera, who seemed different – not to mention the fact that was miraculously alive as well.
Fiera right arm sprang out and her fist smashed into Leda's face, sending her back a few paces before she could recover herself. "Well, don't just stand there, you fools!" she yelled at her minions. "Kill them!" She turned back to Fiera, who was advancing. "I don't know how you're alive, but your friends are as good as dead."
"You say that as if you yourself need convincing," Fiera replied calmly. "However, I'm sure they can manage. All I have to do is beat you. Odette!"She called to her friend, who was having trouble keeping the converted villagers away from her without killing them.
"Fiera!" Odette cut in. "I'll handle Leda. You get these men out of here!"
A stern "No" was the reply. "This is my battle, not yours. You have more than enough challenges ahead of you without wasting your time here. I'll be the one to deal with Leda. We have a score to settle."
Odette nodded in understanding. "What do you want me to do?"
"Just worry about those men. They are still human, and they still have human weaknesses. Sheathe your swords and just knock them out. Some of them will probably get the hint and leave on their own."
"Shut up!" Leda screamed as she once again went after Fiera, whose attention was had been held by Odette, swinging her sword wildly. Fiera nimbly stepped out of the way, clearly unimpressed.
Fiera dug her foot into the ground for better traction. In the next instant, she sprang forward, eyes ablaze. She caught Leda, who was retreating, by the wrist and snatched the sword from her hand. Fiera flung it to the ground, and walked forward. It was then Fiera switched tactics.
As Helena had advised her she could do, she began to disappear and materialize around Leda's retreat, appearing and disappearing in a most menacing and confusing way around Leda's backwards path. Leda, not knowing what to do, stopped moving altogether, too frantic to think clearly and catch Fiera.
Leda's wings appeared and she launched into the air, high above the village. Derek, Odette, and Angel were finished with the villagers. Those of her minions who weren't incapacitated were running away. Leda knew she had lost, but she was not going to go down alone. Flying higher into the air, she suddenly dropped, sword extended, aiming perfectly at Fiera, who didn't move.
Fiera waited until the last possible moment, when Leda's sword was just about to pierce her chest, to step a fraction to the side and grab Leda's arm. Using a technique Odette had seen the first day she began training with Fiera and the Guardians, Fiera utilized all her knew found strength and slammed Leda into the ground, visibly breaking her wings.
It was a bloody break, and it took a moment for Leda to recover. Meanwhile, Fiera had stealthily picked up Leda's sword and placed her right arm behind her so that it was somewhat obscured by her bright red cape.
Leda, who was mad with rage, unthinkingly sprang up and jettisoned forward, not watching as Fiera lifted her right arm.
Like a careless, charging bull, Leda ran herself through on the sword. Fiera's face remained as stony as it had been for the entire fight.
"It seems we will both die by this sword," Fiera intoned, her voice strong and steady. "However, I pray nothing will save you from the damnation a traitor like you deserves."
With somewhat of a flourish, Fiera let go of the sword's hilt, and watched as Leda fell backward. The blade remained in place even when its victim hit the ground with a dull, but somehow satisfying thud. Fiera knelt down to inspect the body. Leda had been dead before she hit the snow covered ground.
Odette, Derek, and Angel especially dashed over to Fiera, who had stood back up to face them, still amazed that she was, indeed, alive.
Odette was the first to come up with something intelligible to say after everyone had finished embracing her and congratulating her – though most of the words had been drowned out among the voices that were speaking them. "Fiera, you're different. I don't sense anything demonic in you anymore."
"You're right. I am different. I don't feel like myself," Fiera said thoughtfully. "I feel better. I don't have those demonic tendencies. I don't hate myself as I did before. But I did get stronger I'm not really anything, not demon, not human, and not Guardian."
"Then, what are you?" Odette asked.
"It doesn't matter," Angel declared, taking Fiera into his arms, gathering her into them and holding her close as he cried silently into her hair. Nothing moved for a few minutes as they whispered to each other.
"You're back," Angel said in amazement, lacking better words.
"Yeah," she replied, tired from expending her powers. "And I'm certainly not going anywhere."
"So you have no idea what you are?"
"No. Helena, the one who made me a repentant demon, said I'm not Guardian, human, or demon. I'm completely new."
"Paladin," Derek said simply.
"Paladin?" Odette looked at him questioningly.
"The most noble of all heroes," Derek explained. "Better than a knight. I think it fits Fiera perfectly."
"Paladin," Angel repeated the word. "I like it. Fiera?"
"Hmm…" she pondered the word a moment before answering. "Fiera Bivar Reed, the first known Paladin. I like it."
"Then let's introduce the Guardians to the greatest of all heroes," Angle said, gathering her into his arms as his wings formed on his back. "I assume you still can't fly," he said, smiling.
"Some things don't change."