The Lucky Ones

Chapter Fifty-Three: The Aftermath.

My eyes fluttered a couple times before I could officially open them. Once they were open, I looked around to find that I was in the Kinishan infirmary (basically a friendlier version of a hospital). I felt that my hand was in someone else's, and someone was dabbing something on my forehead.

"She's awake." a woman's soft voice said. I looked to the side to find a nurse attending to a head wound that I received during the Tournament. I turned towards Sans and found that he had been panicking. I relived the moment of killing his clone when I saw him, it was all I could think about, but I forced a smile anyway. Relief flashed over his eyes once he saw I was awake.

"Tesla, you are the bravest woman that I have ever heard of, taking on a clone of me like that. I didn't think it was possible for anyone to defeat me. I learned a valuable lesson today: if you want to live, do NOT piss off Salanta Eshtal, the Goddess of Light." Sans said. We both chuckled. He kissed my forehead and said "I just want you to know that what my clone said wasn't true. I've never had a better kiss from anyone except you. He was only trying to break you." I gave a dry smile and nodded. Father then came in.

"Salanta, what you did was remarkable! You defeated the God of Gods. That's physically impossible! You did the impossible. I am very proud to call you my daughter." I looked at him with a flabbergasted look on my face. I had wanted to hear those words all my life, and I had just received them. It was an amazing moment for me. Tears came to my eyes as I felt happiness overcome me.

I decided to ask what happened to me when I was fighting Sans' clone. "Father, what happened to me right towards the end of the Boss battle? It's almost like I morphed into some fighting machine or something." He laughed and smiled. "It was your God form, Salanta. It's when you harness your God powers and fight as your strongest form. Although it was amazing, it shouldn't have happened yet, considering you aren't the Goddess of Light yet. We haven't had the ceremony."

"Speaking of ceremony, did she pass the Tournament?" Sans wondered. Ciano gave a calm smile. "Of course she passed. She passed with flying colors. She did better that I did, to be quite honest." We all laughed. It was a good revival from me basically slaughtering everyone I cared about.

Father told me about when the ceremony would be and all the other necessary information. While I listened to all my friends praise me for my success after they came in, the nurses fixed me up and got me ready to walk around again. Once I was standing, I recognized that I had my wings back. I tried to spread them and fly around, but nothing happened.

"What? Where are my wings? Why aren't they spreading?" I asked frantically. Sans, Abby, Jason, and Kristin all exchanged glances of concern when my dad chimed in. He said "You don't have any wings, Salanta. They were torn from your body by Nileta." I got really confused. But I JUST had them. I piped up, not sure how to correctly respond. I said "But during the Boss fight, I had them..! Where did they go?"

Ciano looked down solemnly. "I'm afraid they only appear when you're in your God form, they don't stay permanently. I'm sorry."

My stomach dropped as those words rolled off his tongue. I was so excited that I would be able to fly again. Now I could only fly whenever my emotions got out of control and I wanted to kill something. I could never enjoy the sensation of flying.

A sudden thought popped into my head, distracting me from my disappointment. "Where are Cucco and Max?" I asked Sans. He answered, saying "Cucco had to go back home for some personal reasons, but he wanted me to wish you well. Max had to go fight some random guys chasing after him."

"Do you know about the people chasing him?" I wondered. What would some random guys want with Max? I surely hoped he didn't piss any of them off, he had a tendency to do that from time to time.

"No, he wouldn't tell me. I was shocked to see that he even told me why he had to go in the first place."

"Hmm... Well, if these guys are dangerous, maybe we could help him with fighting or something." I offered and Sans agreed. I was sure that Max would appreciate the extra help.

Abby and the others went home while Sans and I walked back to the Palace. Walking hand-in-hand, we observed the beautiful nature of my homeland. It truly was a beautiful place, it was like a paradise. The skies were almost always blue, the bodies of water were usually crystal clear, and the creatures living there were unique. I missed the place when I was banished.

Once we got back to the Guest Room of the Palace, I collapsed onto the bed. Sans laid down next to me. "Tired?" he asked. I nodded. I said "Definitely. That short 'nap' after I passed out in the Arena did absolutely nothing to help regain my energy. I think I need to sleep for like... a week to get back everything I used." He smiled at this and kissed my cheek. I rolled closer to him and let him wrap his arms around me. He said "No offense, sweetheart, but you need a shower." I laughed.

"Of course, dear. I'll get right on that."

I grabbed a pair of white sweatpants, a grey tank top, some underwear, and walked into the bathroom down the hall. I started the shower and got in, rinsing myself. The steaming water felt good on my aching body.

I showered, taking all of the necessary hygienic actions to clean myself. I had strawberry cream scented body wash, lavender shampoo and conditioner, and a sharp cucumber scented shaving cream. As my ancestors as my witnesses, I was gonna smell like the most delicious damned thing that was ever created.

Once I got out and dried off, I achingly walked back to our room. It hurt to move. Everything was sore. My arms, legs, chest, abdomen, everything. It really sucked. I closed the door once going inside, tossing the clothes I wore under my armor into a basket. Sans asked "Are you okay? You're walking like an old lady." I nodded as he sat up. He sat me down on his lap and kissed me. It was nice to have something distract me from my sore self. "I'm just sore, that's all." I answered him.

He bit his nail for a few moments and took out his phone. "You got WiFi here?"

"Mhm, some of the best WiFi ever. Why?"

"Oh, nothing. Just doin' something."

I got underneath the blankets and snuggled close to the mattress. Sans got next to me after taking his clothes off and getting into sweatpants and setting his phone on his nightstand. He put an arm around me, kissed my cheek, and stroked my hair.

I eventually fell asleep, slipping into the calm and comforting setting of a peaceful dream.