A Bridge Between Worlds

As Melody slowly awoke the next morning, she blinked her eyes and adjusted them to the morning light seeping into the tent. Slowly sitting up in bed, she stretched her arms out over her head, feeling very well rested despite waking up without Mike for the first time in her life. Seeing Selena's bed empty, Melody stood up and dressed in her blue workout shorts and black sports bra, grabbed a large cluster of grapes from the table for breakfast, and walked out into the sands of the Rub' al Khali. Selena sat cross-legged on the dune ahead of her, apparently in quiet meditation.

"Good morning," Selena said, sensing Melody approach.

"Morning," she replied cheerfully. "Did someone sleep well?"

Giggling, Selena opened her eyes and replied, "Quite."

"Thought so," Melody said playfully. "I bet you never realized just how...

talented

you are."

Laughing, Selena stood and faced her. "Melody, in all seriousness, thank you for last night. I have never been able to open up to anyone about those subjects before. I appreciate you wanting to be a friend and confidant to me."

"It's the least I can do after everything you've done for Mike and me."

Breaking off half of the cluster of grapes for Selena, the two women relaxed on the dune as they ate. After they had finished, Melody's eyes changed to a look of determination and excitement.

"So, what's on the docket for today?" Melody asked.

Standing up, Selena replied, "This." Conjuring up a thin scimitar, she stabbed the sword into the sand before Melody. "Today, we will begin the final part of your training, dealing specifically with combat and threat suppression. While it is my sincere hope that you will never need to use this aspect of your powers, you must be prepared for any extreme situation that might arise."

As Melody stood, she pulled the sword from the sand and began to inspect the weapon. It was extremely sharp, yet also incredibly beautiful. The handle was the perfect size for her hands, and the cross guard bore a carving of a water drop, the symbol of the Water Jinn. The base of the hilt contained a gorgeous blue sapphire, which seemed to glow slightly from the moment Melody touched the sword. The curved blade itself was made of strong, reflective steel, inlaid with wave-like engravings along the entire length.

"Incredible... it's so beautiful," Melody marveled.

"Indeed," Selena replied, conjuring up her own scimitar. "But beauty in and of itself does nothing when it comes to a weapon like this. These swords are the elite weapons of the Water Jinn. They are not only bladed weapons, but also conduits through which we can channel our magic. This will allow your powers to reach levels previously thought impossible. For example..."

Selena's eyes glowed a bright blue, and she began to focus her energy within the sword. As she did so, the sapphire began to shine brilliantly, eventually extending into the blade itself. After a few seconds of this, Selena pointed the sword directly ahead of her, shooting out a blast of blue energy. When this energy hit the sand dune ahead of her, a wave of water instantly scattered the sand, causing it to roll down the incline of the dune.

"Wow..." was all Melody could say.

"As you can see, much of our magic as it relates to combat is based around water, which is befitting of our tribe. You can use this type of offensive magic without the weapon as well, but the sword, specifically the sapphire, helps to focus your power to the level of intensity it will need to be at for the purposes of combat. Now, you try."

Taking up her own sword, Melody closed her eyes and searched the recesses of her subconscious, allowing her instincts to draw out her latent combat abilities. As she concentrated, she felt a tingling in the back of her mind, which slowly grew stronger, until she could see within her mind all of the combat powers and tactics of the Water Jinn. Opening her eyes, she saw that the sapphire on the hilt was now shining brilliantly, just as Selena's had. She focused her energies on the sword, channeling her magic into the blade, and pointed it ahead of her as Selena had previously done. A small blast of blue energy shot from the tip of the sword, spraying the dune ahead of her with water.

"Good," Selena said. "Not as powerful as mine was, but that will come in time. Next, charge your energy into the sword as you previously did, but this time release it by swinging the sword, rather than pointing it."

"Ok." Melody did as she was instructed, again focusing her energies into the sword until the sapphire and blade were glowing brightly. Focusing again on the dune ahead of her, she raised the sword over her head and swung it straight down. As she did so, an arc of blue energy flew off of the blade, traveling in the direction she swung. However, it dissipated before reaching the dune.

"Not bad," Selena said. "With concentration, you can increase the range of this ability, though it is typically meant as a medium range attack, which is why it did not have the energy to reach the dune. Try again, but this time, move closer to the dune and swing the sword horizontally."

Walking towards the dune, Melody stopped about ten feet from it and began charging her sword once more. She was becoming far more accustomed to this feeling, and was able to fully charge the blade in only five seconds this time, where previously it had taken twenty seconds or more. Taking dead aim at the large dune, she drew the sword back and swung across her chest, sending out a horizontal arc of energy. As the arc made contact with the dune, it did not turn into a concentrated wave as her previous attempt had, but rather sliced the entire pile of sand in half.

"Holy crap!" Melody squealed.

Laughing, Selena replied, "Attacking in this manner essentially makes the energy you released an extension of your blade. It does still contain properties of water, but will not completely turn into water upon contact, as it would if you had fired the energy from the tip of your sword."

"Wow... this is so amazing," Melody marveled.

"Oh, we are just getting started."

For the next hour, Melody practiced what she had learned thus far, quickly becoming more proficient in her usage of her new sword. Soon, she was able to fully charge the weapon almost instantly, feeling more in tune with its tendencies. As she sat back on the sand, sipping water from a canteen, Selena applauded her efforts.

"Very nicely done, I must say. Now, it is time for the next step."

Standing, Melody replied, "I'm ready."

"Good. Now then, as Water Jinn, we obviously have extensive powers over the element of water. This includes all forms of water, such as ice and steam. In your training thus far, all of your energies have defaulted to the standard from of liquid water. With proper concentration, however, you will be able to fully control the state of your attacks. Like this."

Again charging her sword, Selena pointed it forward and shot the familiar beam of blue energy from the tip. Upon hitting a nearby pile of sand, the sand was instantly encased in a thick sheet of ice. Without pause, Selena again readied her weapon. Once it was fully charged, she released the energy without firing it off, turning the blade into a jagged, icy weapon. Demonstrating its power, she ran towards a nearby boulder and sliced it cleanly in half without even breaking a sweat.

"Your turn," she said with a grin.

Despite a few unsuccessful attempts, Melody finally got a feel for controlling the temperature of the energy blasts before firing them. After successfully freezing several rocks, she then worked to replicate Selena's technique of encasing the blade in a sheet of ice. It took her nearly ten minutes to figure it out, but she was finally able to produce the desired results by allowing the energy she charged within the blade to remain in the sword after its release, rather than it being fired off in a ranged attack.

The women soon relocated their training efforts back to the abandoned city that they had found yesterday. Melody continued working with the ice variation of her magic, eventually becoming proficient enough that she could instantly switch between ice and water attacks at will. After another hour, Selena introduced her to the opposite end of the spectrum: steam. While Melody found that steam was not as useful as an offensive technique, Selena demonstrated its versatility by covering the surrounding area in a thick layer of mist. Melody caught on very quickly, needing only to control the temperature of her energy in the opposite direction to achieve the desired results.

"Well done," Selena said. "I'd say you've grasped the basic concepts. Now, there is one additional aspect of these techniques for you to learn."

"What's that?" Melody asked.

"You have mastered extreme temperature variations, however, you can also vary the temperature of your attacks to smaller degrees as well. For this exercise, I want you to try to push the temperature as far as you can in each direction while keeping your attacks in liquid form, not allowing them to become ice or steam, does that make sense?"

"I think so," Melody replied. Heating up her energy as she charged the sword up, she kept it under control so as to ensure that the result was still liquid. Upon releasing the attack, the result was a blast of scalding water, heated to just below the boiling point.

"Very good," Selena said. "This, as you can see, can be a nasty surprise in the event you find yourself faced with a crafty opponent. Now, try the other direction."

Repeating her technique from before, only with colder temperatures, Melody was able to release a blast of water that was nearing the freezing point. "Nice!" she shouted. "That would stop someone in their tracks!"

"Indeed," Selena replied with a smile.

Taking a break for lunch, the two women sipped on their canteens of water and ate a couple of chicken wraps to recharge their energies. After they had finished, the training resumed in earnest.

"Alright, Melody, time for your next lesson. Put away the sword," Selena instructed.

"Ok." Snapping her fingers, Melody's sword vanished.

"You have become quite good with using our signature weapon, however, you must now learn to fight without it," Selena said. "All of the feats you were able to perform with the sword can be done without it, only requiring greater effort and concentration. Try for yourself."

It took more effort than she had expected, but Melody was finally able to replicate the water magic she had used with her sword that morning. Ice and steam took her nearly half an hour to perfect, but she was eventually able to use those techniques as well. At the end of it all, she was breathing heavily, feeling the additional strain these abilities were putting on her body.

"Are you alright?" Selena asked.

"Yes... just give me... a second," Melody replied.

"Don't worry, this is normal. With practice, you will not even notice the strain anymore."

"Good. I think... I'm ready for more."

"Very well," Selena said with a smile. "Next, we will work on using your powers to enhance your own natural abilities. This should be very easy for you to do, as you likely have done so at some point in your life."

Nodding, Melody asked, "I assume you mean enhancing things like my strength, speed, and flexibility?"

"Precisely. The only difference is that, as with the teleportation we practiced yesterday, you are now able to use this magic at will, rather than only having access to it for the purposes of protection. Let's start with something simple. Try shattering that boulder over there with your bare hands."

Nodding, Melody turned to face the boulder and, getting a running start, plowed directly through it, turning it to rubble. Her hands trembled slightly, since she had never had to use this power of hers before, even for protective purposes. She was a bit terrified of the strength she apparently possessed. Pushing those thoughts from her mind, she focused in on another nearby boulder. This time, she leaped high into the air, coming down straight on top of the rock and shattering it with a kick as the landed.

Over the next few hours, Melody worked mostly on her own, experimenting with using her magic to enhance her physical abilities. Selena merely watched from the sidelines, providing guidance and pointers when they were needed. Melody was a fast learner, quickly becoming adept in feats of superhuman strength, speeding up her metabolism to run faster than the eye could see, and even enhancing her senses to be able to hear when someone approached her from behind. Eventually, Selena stepped back in to begin the final phase of her training regiment.

"You have done well Melody," she said. Conjuring up a pair of swords in her hands, she tossed one to Melody, who deftly caught it. "Now it's time to put it all together. Come at me!"

Unsure at first of if she was serious, Melody's confusion was quickly put to rest when Selena charged full force at her, sword raised overhead. Thinking quickly, she back flipped twice, avoiding the first two swipes. The third, however, caught her on her shin, causing Melody to gasp in surprise. When she quickly glanced down to examine the damage, she was perplexed to see that there was no wound.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"I have enchanted this area we are in, to ensure that we will not be harmed from our fight. Thus, you have no need to fear injuring either yourself or me. Do not hold back. Now, prepare yourself!"

Selena immediately charged once again, ready to strike. Melody, however, was ready this time, assuming a defensive stance with her blade protecting her diagonally. Selena attacked in a flurry of slashes, but Melody deftly blocked each one of them, refusing all the while to give ground. Deciding to go on the offensive, Melody blasted Selena in the face with a gush of water, stunning her momentarily. As she moved to strike at her exposed backside, Selena quickly recovered and hit Melody with a powerful wave of water, tossing her onto her back about ten yards away.

"Far too predictable," Selena scolded her. "You have all the tools you need at your disposal, but you must use them in unexpected ways if you wish to beat me. Remember, I have been overseeing your training for over twenty-four hours straight; your tendencies are glaringly obvious to me."

"How's this for glaringly obvious?" Melody retorted. Leaping to her feet, she instantly covered the area in a thick fog of steam, so that neither woman could see anything more than two feet in front of them. Melody then closed her eyes and heightened her senses, listening for Selena's every movement to track her location. Thinking she had found her, she turned and swung to her right side, but hit nothing but air. Suddenly, she felt an arm wrap around her neck firmly, putting her into a chokehold.

"Clever, but not clever enough," Selena whispered. "You'll have to do better than that."

Melody struggled and squirmed, attempting to get free from Selena's grip, but it was no use; she couldn't make her budge even an inch. She tried turning herself intangible, but Selena merely countered by generating a gauntlet of energy around her forearm that allowed her to keep her grip on Melody. Suddenly getting an idea, Melody focused her energy once more, this time not within her sword, but within herself. Releasing the energy within herself, she turned her entire body into a watery figure, causing Selena's arm to slip right through as Melody leaped away, returning to her normal appearance.

"What... was that?!" Selena asked, dumbfounded.

Giggling, Melody replied, "I altered my body's chemical makeup temporarily. I essentially

became

water. What? You didn't see that coming?"

Smirking, Selena said, "Nice trick, but it won't work again."

Pressing her attack, Melody got up in Selena's face and began a close quarters onslaught, slashing at her from every direction. Selena defended admirably, but was still driven back by Melody's sudden aggression. After locking their blades momentarily, Selena disengaged and broke into a sprint, hoping to tire Melody out by forcing her to chase after her. Melody, however, wasn't content to let Selena define the rules of engagement, and decided to throw her a curve ball.

After charging a massive amount of energy in her sword, she stabbed it into the ground on which she stood, coating the entire battlefield in a thick layer of ice. Melody then conjured up a pair of ice skates for herself, beginning to chase after Selena, who was struggling to maintain her balance on the slick surface she now found herself on. Seeing Melody closing the distance between them, Selena instantly teleported herself to the other side of the area, giving herself a moment's respite. Undeterred, Melody circled back around and took dead aim at Selena, launching three quick energy blasts from the tip of her sword.

Using her natural agility, Selena avoided them and quickly fired a blast of her own, not at Melody, but at the ground. The scalding hot water began to melt the ice, quickly decreasing the amount of space on which Melody had the speed advantage. Seeing her strategy, Melody attempted to counter by refreezing the ground, but found only minimal success. Realizing that this strategy was futile, she shifted once more to attacking Selena with ranged energy blasts, forcing her to stay on the move and close the distance between them.

Dammit, she's getting good at that,

Selena thought.

Deciding to end this fight, Selena broke out a piece of magic that she had used only sparingly throughout her life. After a moment's concentration, she released a large pulse of magical energy and summoned no less than twenty clones of herself to surround Melody.

"Holy shit..." Melody muttered.

At first thinking they might be only illusions, she was quickly proven wrong when a nearby trio nearly knocked her to the ground from behind. Back flipping over them, Melody slashed each of them quickly from behind, causing each to disappear in a flash of blue light. She continued in this manner, finding that each of the clones were significantly weaker than Selena herself. However, Selena had anticipated this, and was merely using the clones as a distraction, gradually working her way behind Melody. As Melody defeated the last of the clones, Selena charged at her backside, attempting to run her through.

"Not so fast!" Melody shouted.

With a wave of her sword, a thick block of ice rose up from the ground, wrapping itself around Selena's arm and forcing her to drop her sword to the ground. Though she struggled momentarily, Melody quickly approached and placed her blade at Selena's neck.

"Checkmate."

Sighing, Selena said with a smile, "Very impressive. How did you know where the real me was in the middle of all that?"

As she dispelled the ice, Melody replied, "I reached out with my mind, like you mentioned yesterday. I could tell which one of you was emitting a larger amount of magical energy, and safely assumed that was the real you. When I sensed you moving around behind me, it was pretty clear what your strategy was."

Selena stretched her arm out, working out the kinks from her time in Melody's ice trap. "Well, well, someone who is actually able to take instruction! I always knew you were a smart one. Ready to go home?"

"Definitely," she said excitedly.

*****

Mike relaxed in his quarters, stretching out on the huge bed as he read through the files given to him on their first target. He had enjoyed working with King Ardashir immensely yesterday, finding him to be extremely knowledgeable about the human world. Still, he was not without a dry, sarcastic sense of humor. At one point, Mike had made an unintended sexual innuendo in their conversations, to which the king had deadpanned, "That's what she said," resulting in stunned silence from Mike, followed by a complete giggle fit.