Shifters

Revelations

Bubbles of magma formed atop the fiery surface, popping as remnant bits of rubble continued to fall into its depths. As heat escaped the clutches of its red hot captor below, it rose rapidly to the nearby storm clouds above, closing the gap within seconds of its departure. Trickling past the low hanging, swollen clouds, the nearly invisible mass of heat wrestled their burdens free from its mismatched, dark domain, immediately decreasing the surrounding visibility as the rains descended from the heavens. Cascading downwards in full force, the water bounced harmlessly off of the shimmering barrier as both Josh and Joana stared uncertainly at Cassandra's possessed form. Watching her carefully, they both tensed up even further as she advanced a single step towards them. 

"Mortals," Cassandra began, voice belonging to that of the proclaimed Goddess that spoke mentally earlier, this time physically rather than mentally, "Ever so cautious."

"Who are you?" Joana asked, shielding Josh with an outstretched hand, "What have you done to Cassandra?"

"The girl is fine," the Goddess replied, "Who might you be?"

Joana looked over to Josh who gave a slight nod before responding, "My name's Joana and this is Josh," she said gesturing to her still recovering companion. 

"I'm well aware of who he is," the Goddess replied, fixating her eyes on him, "Tell me, where did you attain such power?"

"I-," he stopped, glancing awkwardly at Joana, who watched him with interest, "I'm not sure."

The Goddess stared at him with pupil-less eyes, studying him intently as the three stood in silence. 

"How odd," she said after a few moments had passed, "I detect no lies yet I feel as though you're hiding something from me. Are your intentions pure or are they laced with hostility?"

"I'm not here to cause any trouble," Josh answered swiftly, holding up his hands defensively, "I just want to reclaim my memories."

"I see," the Goddess replied, seemingly appeased by his answer, "You truly seem to differ from the entity that surfaced earlier. Such power is dangerous, even to me."

Joana stiffened as the goddess spoke, warily observing his reaction to the divine entity's words.

Noticing her expression from a hasty sideways glanced, Josh mouthed, "I'll fill you in later."

Deciding their current predicament was the more immediate concern, Joana focused her attention on Cassandra's possessed form, "Who are you and why did you possess our colleague?"

The Goddess however, rather than answer, ignored Joana's questions, eyes still completely trained on Josh. 

"What are your intentions for us?" Josh tried, earning a wide smile from the deity. 

Josh frowned slightly as he noticed the action, averting his gaze slightly, somewhat disturbed by what he saw. The wide smile looked extremely wrong on Cassandra's face as her lips contorted into territory both new and unnatural. Regardless of her unsettling appearance, her actions made Josh realize that his question was exactly what she hoped they'd ask. 

"I mean you no harm," the nameless goddess replied soothingly. 

"Yeah right!" Josh scoffed, remembering everything both he and his companions had been through since their arrival, "I can really feel your divine hospitality shining through."

"Do not mistake my followers' actions as that of my own," she cautioned, tone growing hard, "They misunderstood my will and twisted it for their own gains."

"You'll have to forgive me if I find that hard to believe," Josh said, sarcasm laced in his voice. 

"That's purely up to you," the Goddess shrugged, taking him by surprise.