Fleeting Innocence.
"Only a few miles north, you said. All the energy we would want, you said. Face it, Adagio, we're lost and even if we do make it to that stupid concert, I doubt anyone would still be there." An ill-tempered passenger sitting in one of the back seats of the car, grumbled.
For hours they had driven along the dark, desolate, dusty roads. A trip they had planned; in an attempt to gather more energy to fuel their powers, had gone very wrong. Somewhere down the line, they had taken a wrong turn and now they were lost.
Amethyst eyes gazed out of the window; the canvas resembled that of a woodland, flowing with vegetation and teeming with the local wildlife. It sickened Aria. The abrasive girl would have much preferred to be at home, reading some comic books, maybe playing some video games. But it seemed her boss had other plans.
"Well, maybe if one of you numbskulls could learn how to read a damn map properly, then we wouldn't be in this situation!" The driver snapped. Spending half the day in an enclosed space with two imbecilic followers seemed to have taken its toll on the siren leader. No amount of energy was worth this torture.
"Hey, It's not my fault! I mean seriously, have you read this map? It's like I'm reading it upside down or something!" A third siren; sitting beside Aria chimed in. She tried and failed to read the confusing sheet of paper.
"That's because you are reading it upside down! Now hand it over, idiot!" Annoyed, the hot-headed girl ripped the map out of her fellow siren's grasp.
"No fair! I was still reading that! Give it back, Aria!" The two began to scuffle over the chart.
"Sonata, you can't even read that thing, and who put you in charge of it, anyway?" Aria held the now crumpled paper just out of Sonata's reach.
"Will both of you morons just shut up? I'm trying to drive here and if you keep screaming like a bunch of children then--" A booming honk was all Adagio heard before their car collided with an oncoming truck. The sheer force of the vehicle sent the car propelling through the air, flipping over a number of times before finally coming to an unsteady halt as an upside down metal wreck.
Blood trickled down Adagio's forehead. Her eyes had glazed over from the stinging pain of jagged shards of glass cutting into her flesh; leaving large, savage gnashes along her face and forearms. The ear-piecing ringing combined with a pounding headache blurred her vision. It was getting very difficult for the siren to concentrate, let alone stay conscious.
Adagio snapped out of her mental stupor once adrenaline began to take hold of her. With a surge of new found energy, the siren leader crawled out of the overturned wreckage; ignoring the scatted fragments of twisted metal tearing at her skin and clothes.
Shakily, the siren stood to her feet. She turned back to the wreck to see her lackeys still struggling to get out.
"Adagio! Help me out! The stupid seat belt's jammed or something!" Aria remained suspended in her seat while Sonata managed to undo her restraint, though she had a bigger problem.
"Dagi! My leg; it hurts! I-I think it's broken!" Tears fell freely as fear and anguish filled the panicked siren.
Adagio chose to deal with Sonata first. She rushed to the injured siren's side and helped her out of the ruined vehicle.
Carefully; she carried Sonata away from the wreckage and sat her down by the side of the road. Just as she was about to return for Aria, Sonata grabbed and pulled the siren leader back.
"Look out!" Sonata screeched. Another car violently crashed into their already wrecked vehicle; with Aria Blaze still inside.
The color drained out the siren leader. Adrenaline that was once furiously coursing through her veins, ceased. Everything seemed to have slowed down. A flurry of emotions gripped the Dazzling: sorrow, shock, fear and rage. She wanted to react, she wanted to refuse to acknowledge Aria's demise. But she couldn't. After fighting to stay awake, Adagio finally succumbed to the temptation of sleep. Everything went dark.
Cold, empty, weightless. Aria couldn't feel anything but these few sensations. The pain she had felt was gone; replaced with a feeling of numbness throughout her entire body.
"Aria. Aria, wake up~" Commanded a beautiful, melodic voice that rivaled any siren.
As amethyst eyes lazily opened, the siren regained feeling and warmth. Though, the sight that greeted her wasn't the backseat of the car. No. This was something out of a feverish dream. Nothing but the blackness of an abyss surrounded her; she simply floated in the mysterious void.
"Finally awake, are you? That's good, there's something we need to discuss" A giant clawed hand reached out, Aria suddenly fell as gravity returned; landing on the palm of the hand.
Darkness obscured the giant being's features, all Aria could make out were two piercing teal eyes gazing down at her. "W-what's going on? How do you know my name? And just who-- no, what the hell are you!?"
The being chuckled darkly before replying. "I am known by many names. Iblis, Shaytan, The Fallen Angel. But you..." Flames quickly engulfed Aria's vision; as fast as they appeared, they vanished. The siren found herself standing in a magnificent throne room, before a throne made of black iron and pure fire. A girl, whose flaming hair matched her attire, sat on the decorative seat. "...May call me Sunset Shimmer.
A simple black, spiked crown sat at top the creature's head. Two gold armlets rested on both of her upper arms. The girl wore a dress that was both wild and torn yet elegant and noble. It showcased a more-than-generous amount of flesh. Aria caught herself staring, she immediately focused on something else, eventually settling onto those unnatural, predatory eyes.
"That's swell and all, but that doesn't explain how you know me or what's going on"
"It's my business to know everyone's name. As for what's going on? It's simple, Aria. You're dead"
Did she just hear that right? Aria couldn't be dead, this was all just some crazy dream she was having, probably after eating something off. The siren would wake up any second now back in the car and forget all about this nightmare. But she never woke. Rage and denial took hold of her.
"You're lying! I can't be dead! We were on our way to a music event and then..." The rest of Aria's memory was fuzzy, she couldn't recall anything after arguing with Sonata.
"You don't remember, do you? How you met your gruesome end? I'll remind you" With a flick of the creature's wrist, she summoned a ring of fire onto the stone floor. Through it, Aria could see the events of what happened to her. She could see the crash and Adagio run off with Sonata; leaving her alone to die. She saw herself once the other vehicle hit. The look of agony in her dying, blood shot eyes, the way her bones snapped out of place and ripped through her flesh, her twisted blood-stained body was a mangled mess.
The revelation of her death had left Aria nauseous, she just stood there, dumbstruck. Like a deer caught in the headlights. But at the same time, she was enraged with Adagio for abandoning her.
The creature smirked, satisfied with her work. She dissipated the fiery ring and moved in for the kill. "I can sense your hate, your, pain and your anger, Aria" Sunset teleported just a whisper away from the broken siren. "I know you crave vengeance, and I can give you it to you"
"There must be a catch, what do you want from me?"
"I don't want anything from you, in fact, all I want is to help you by granting you the powers to have your revenge, nothing more"
"Why?"
"Yours is an interesting case, I'd like to be apart of it"
The siren gave in. What had she to lose? "If that's what it takes to deal with Adagio, then I guess I'll take you up on that offer..."
The creature grinned before stepping back. "An excellent decision. Now, hold still, this might hurt a bit..."
The siren screamed and doubled over in pain as a furious crimson blaze consumed her. Bones began to sprout out of Aria's back, quickly glazing over with flesh and skin, forming great, black wings. Her canines grew twisted and twice their original size. Her once amethyst eyes became as black as the abyss she was once in. Her hair though still purple, resembled that of a roaring fire.
The last of the embers had died away, the pain was still lingering as Aria stood to her full height. She was practically towering over the girl.
"What... What have you done to me!? I look like a monster!" Aria looked at her hands, or rather, claws. They resembled the one that caught her from before.
"Don't worry, you can change between forms. As for what I did, I gave you power, and by doing so, I took your soul. You now belong to me, Aria Blaze" With a snap of Sunset's fingers, Aria's panicked state was gone, only her need for revenge and the desire to serve her new mistress remained.
Sunset opened a portal to the mortal world. "Now get out there and have your fun with Adagio" Aria jumped through the portal. She would find her prey, no matter where she goes or what she did. It was only a matter of time before Adagio would come face to face with her greatest mistake.