Saturday Morning.
Somewhere, many
somewheres, in Tokyo and all over the world, children wake up in anticipation of
morning animes, students stay asleep, filling up their sleep quota before
schools open again. Parents and adults wake up to another day, a day to take
care of house, home and work.
But in a certain temple,
there are no children, or students, or adults. Instead two university
undergraduates and three Goddesses reside. And none of
them have woken up.
Leaning against the door to Skuld's
room, Urd's eyelids flicker as the first birdsong of the morning reaches her
ears. Then they snap open.
"Belldandy!" Urd hisses,
scrambling to her feet.
She opens the door, and looks in.
Urd lets go of the breath she didn't realize she had been holding.
Belldandy is sleeping, soundly, under a protective, warm
layer of blankets, eyes closed peacefully. Her mouth slightly open, and her
breathing smooth and regular. The blankets rise and fall slightly with each
gentle breath, to match the gentle face. Urd sighs in relief.
"Thank the Almighty Belldandy's alright." Urd didn't care
for the fact that He didn't have anything to do with this, she was just glad
Belldandy was alright. Urd left the room and went to the guest room to look for
Megumi. When she floated in, the guest room was as neat as Belldandy had left it
yesterday. Urd wrinkled her eyebrows and tightened her lips in irritation.
"Where'd Megumi go? She didn't even leave a note. Hmph."
Urd closed the door and went to check in on Skuld. When
she opened the door to her room, it was similarly untouched. Well, in this case,
Urd's room hadn't been touched by anyone except herself. Skuld wasn't in it, and
she was a late sleeper on Saturdays. Urd began to worry.
"Where are they?" Urd mumbled to herself. Then she hoped Keiichi wasn't AWOL as
well. (Absent WithOut Leave) She left for his room.
* * *
Megumi woke up when a piercing ray of sunlight broke
through her eyelid's protective sheath and made her world annoyingly bright. She
opened her eyes and wondered where she was for a moment. She was slumped over a
table, sitting in a chair where she had been for the last few hours. Her body
ached abominably from the uncomfortable position. She stood up and heard her
bones pop and crack. The relief that went through her body from fingers to toes
was welcome as she stretched, and yawned. She looked around. She was in her
pyjamas, so that was one relief. She hadn't been working on a school project
overtime.
Skuld was lying there, on the floor, looking
like a little angel while she slept. (Megumi though, had no idea that there were
real angels around) Skuld dozed, curled up on the futon that Megumi had ceded to
her last night... for what reason? Megumi scratched her head itchily and
thought. Then she recognized the room she was in as Keiichi's room.
Oh, yeah, that.
Megumi
looked around, and saw Keiichi sleeping on the bed peacefully, as if last night
had never existed. Megumi hoped her bro would remember it though.... she wasn't
selfish or cruel, but the talk last night really meant something to her, in
addition to the fact that she did not want to drag Keiichi from whatever mirror
there was and into her bed again.
Yup, it was coming back
to her. Megumi remembered trying to slap Keiichi awake after wrapping herself
with a towel, to no avail. Then Skuld came in, and saw what had happened. Megumi
had explained it to her, and together, the two had dragged Keiichi into his
bedroom. Megumi had gotten dressed quickly after that though, it was a cold
night and she didn't want to catch a cold. Skuld then insisted on sleeping in
this room, for no particular reason at all. Megumi wouldn't refuse her, so she
gave Skuld her futon and sat at the desk, thinking. Apparently, she fell asleep
without even knowing it.
The door slid open. Megumi
stared as Urd floated in. Megumi was still having a hard time believing these
three were Goddesses, they acted as naturally as normal human beings. With some
exceptions. But Megumi had to keep reminding herself her perception of Gods and
Goddesses would have to change soon, or she'd never be natural around the
Sisters again.
"Ara, I finally found someone. Ohayo,
Megumi." Urd greeted, cheerily. Megumi waved a hand in Urd's direction. Urd came
in.
"Well, I finally found you and Keiichi. That's the
first good thing all morning."
"Ohayo, Urd. Oh, erm,
don't step on Skuld." Megumi then stopped for a moment, stared at Urd, floating
inches above Skuld, and couldn't help herself. She laughed, but as quietly as
she could manage. This was hilarious, it really was. She was fully expecting Urd
to walk in like any normal person, and had to remember that she floated around.
After seeing landbound people such as Belldandy, Skuld, Keiichan and herself,
she just couldn't get used to the idea. Urd didn't get the joke though. She
looked incredulously at Megumi, one eyebrow raised and her mouth tucked into a
corner of her face.
"What's so funny, Megumi?"
"I forgot, you float!" Megumi said, pointing at Urd's
feet.
Urd looked. She let go of her levitation spell in
surprise and nearly dropped on Skuld. Only quick reflexes kept her floating, a
centimeter off Skuld's stomach. Then she quickly floated away from Skuld and
came down to earth on her feet.
"Oh, so here's where the
little ice-cream guzzler went to." Urd said, one hand on her waist, which she
had stuck out to the right. She was smiling though. Skuld did look like a little
angel while she slept. Sadly, she was anything but that, Urd knew.
"So what brought all of you here?" Urd asked. Megumi
suddenly stopped laughing, and looked at Urd with all deadly seriousness. That
one event last night couldn't be forgotten by Megumi, it was too scary to be
forgotten. She told Urd everything she rememberd while Urd listened intently.
Urd didn't like what she heard, it reminded her too much of Belldandy's
condition. Then Megumi ended the story with
"Take a look
at Keiichan's eyes."
Megumi was recalling the last night
and telling herself that it was real. Urd hmmed and went over to Keiichi's bed.
Megumi went over to Urd's side and watched, hoping that she really had been
seeing things last night and that it was all a figment of her imagination. She
didn't want to believe this was happening, despite the fact that she knew it was
true. It came across as a feeling deep in her stomach that made her want to
retch.
Urd lifted Keiichi's eyelid and peered in. Urd
dropped the eyelid almost immediately. Urd was shivering as she spun on her heel
and stared at Megumi.
"Keiichi....'s.... got...." Urd
said, trembling. Megumi nodded sadly and finished it for her, knowing full well
this wasn't a dream at all.
"Keiichan's got blue eyes."
Urd groaned.
Megumi stared.
* * *
Up in the Heavens, the Almighty brooded. The Decoder had
just finished his story, but from the start, it wasn't good. The Almighty
realized that the Ultimate Force had just initiated a spell of metamorphosis on
its own, as per the wish's parameters, whatever that was. The only good thing
that had happened during this time was that Uruz was going to furnish the
Almighty with bits and pieces of whatever she could remember about the wish
Keiichi had made. Uruz couldn't remember it all, the feedback had taken its toll
on her memory, but what she could remember would chill the Almighty.
Uruz took a deep breath, and thought hard. She was half
scratching, half pounding her head as she tried to recall what Keiichi had said
that day. She could only remember it from a third person perspective.
"I remember...." Uruz started. "Something about having
You as a witness to something, that involved the two being together."
Strike one. That had been what the Almighty had done.
Uruz continued.
"Then.... oh.... I can't remember this!
What was it? Erm... that is the worst came to pass and they switched places?
Something would happen, I think."
Strike two, something
was happening. The Almighty looked at Uruz.
"Is there
anything else you can remember?" Uruz shook her head.
Uruz was utterly ashamed of herself for not telling this to the Almighty
earlier, and even more so when she realized she couldn't remember the wish in
its entirerity. She knelt in front of the Almighty, head hung low.
"I'm sorry. I can't recall anymore."
The Almighty looked at Uruz for a moment. It wasn't too
late to do something about this though. But first off, the Almighty would need a
party not affected by these recent events to go investigate. Coupled with Urd's
information, the metamorphosis was truly taking place. The Almighty gestured to
Uruz in a rising manner.
"You may rise, Uruz my child.
You have provided me with enough information for now. Thank you."
Uruz looked up. The Almighty considered.
Perhaps the best way to investigate this would be to send
the person who knew the most about this situation to do the job. He smiled.
"Uruz, I have an assignment for you..."
* * *
Belldandy opened her eyes, slowly. Everything was blurry,
but Belldandy a lot stronger. She raised her hand over her eyes and looked at
it. She flexed them. They moved. She tried reciting a spell of light. That
worked. Well, everything seemed to be in working order. She sat up with much
effort.
"Hurk!"
She nearly
threw up, as the world spun around her, and dizziness and nausea hit her hard in
the head. She fell back to the futon, hand over mouth, taking deep breaths as
best as she could. The ceiling spun above her, and Belldandy's stomach twisted.
Her head felt like it was being spun on a top. Belldandy closed her eyes, and
tried to block out the sensation. Her mind felt like it was being pulled in four
different directions by wild horses, and her perceptions felt like they had just
been put onto a giant fan set at full. She couldn't stop herself from feeling
like she was on a roulette wheel, but she kept her eyes closed and focused on a
spell of calming. It worked. The world stopped spinning slowly as she chanted
the words to the spell. Then, with a sense of profound relief that went from
head to stomach, she stopped spinning. She opened her eyes.
Urd was there, looking over her. She looked worried.
"You alright, Belldandy?" Urd asked. Belldandy nodded,
head still on the pillow. It wasn't easy, the dizziness was returning. Urd
turned around for a moment to fetch something from besides the bed, and came
back with a small thermos. She unscrewed the cap and poured out a steaming
brownish liquid. It wasn't tea, Belldandy could tell. It didn't smell like any
teas she'd ever tasted before. It must be one of Urd's own concoctions then. Urd
held out the cup to Belldandy's lips.
"Drink up,
Belldandy." Urd said. The smell was sweet, like syrup. It looked and acted thin
enough to be water, but it was absolutely opaque. Belldandy wondered if it was
safe. Urd kept the cup there.
"Come on, this'll get rid
of any lingering dizziness and put some strength back in your bones. I promise."
Urd said, smiling. Just then, Skuld came into the room. She saw Urd offering
Belldandy something and shrieked.
"Hey! Urd! Get that
stuff away from Belldandy! Who knows what it'll do!?"
Urd
flashed an irritated look at Skuld, but ignored her otherwise. Returning her
attention to Belldandy, who was a little surprised at Urd's tenderness, Urd
smiled again. She waved the cup slightly, and Belldandy could smell it again. It
had a hint of mint.
"Come on, this stuff's best hot."
Belldandy nodded, and tried to sit up, but Urd held her
down. Belldandy was glad though, she had nearly retched.
"You know you're in no shape to sit up now. Just drink lying down."
Belldandy gingerly took the cup from Urd's hands, and
smiled softly at her. She still felt a little weak, but she could manage the
smile. Barely.
"Thank you, Urd one-san." Urd nodded.
Skuld watched, helpless, from the doorway. Urd held the cup up to her and put a
straw in.
Belldandy took a sip. It tasted like warm cough
syrup, but with a lot of brown sugar in it. There was that minty aftertaste too.
Belldandy felt her insides warm up considerably, and suddenly, her arms and face
didn't feel so tired anymore. The dizziness faded as well. Belldandy's face lit
up, obviously. She didn't notice it, but she looked a lot healthier now. Urd
grinned, and looked Skuld's way.
"There, I said I could
do it, right?" Urd winked at Skuld. Skuld sulked and crossed her arms.
"Lucky try."
Urd shrugged.
"Coming from someone who doesn't know a thing, I'd say
that's a compliment." Skuld glared at Urd. Then she stuck a tongue at Urd
indignantly, eyes shut tightly.
"Bleah! I'm not gonna
bother with you! I'm going to check on Keiichi!" Skuld said, giving Urd a final
raspberry, and ran off. Belldandy watched in concern as Skuld mentioned
Keiichi's name.
"What's wrong with Keiichi-san?"
Belldandy asked. Her voice was a little raspy, but otherwise it was fine. She
cleared her throat and could sit up in her bed now. Urd looked at Belldandy,
almost too intently, and shook her head. She spoke softly, in a deep, sonorous
voice that rang through the hearts of those who heard it like balm. Urd was
surprisingly sensitive when she needed to be.
"Nothing,
much, Belldandy. Come on, fininsh it first. You'll need your strength."
Belldandy nodded, and drank down the rest of the cup's
contents. Urd emptied a second helping into the cup and stood up with the now
empty flask.
"Finish that, and we'll meet you in the
living room, Belldandy. Ok?"
Belldandy nodded, and took
another sip. The drink improved her strength and mental alertness considerably.
She was beginning to notice the things she couldn't have noticed when she first
woke up. Urd was almost out the door when Belldandy thought to ask.
"Urd?" Urd stopped and turned.
"Yeah?" Urd was still wearing a smile. Belldandy thought it looked like her own.
"What's this? It's wonderful. I'd like to learn to brew
it sometime." Urd chuckled.
"You'd have to search the
ends of the Earth and the Heavens to find the ingredients you'll need,
Belldandy." Belldandy's eyes widened in surprise. Urd just spent her most
precious herbs in this brew? Urd caught the look, and laughed.
"Well, almost the ends of the Earth. The herbs are pretty
pricey, but you can find them for sale. Come on, you've still got the day ahead
of you."
Belldandy nodded, and drank down the rest of the
brew as Urd disappeared from view. Then she just sat there, in bed, with the
blankets covering her from the waist down, thinking. Apparently someone had
thought to dress her in some more comfortable pyjamas, probably Skuld or Urd.
She looked at herself, and brushed back the strands of hair that hand come loose
from their braiding behind her. She sighed.
"What was
last night all about? I suddenly felt so weak." Belldandy said to herself. She
hadn't felt anything like it before, that was new to her. She held her hand in
front of her again and balled it, experimentally. Urd's potion did work wonders,
she felt strong enough to walk. Outside, she heard birdsong. Scraps of twitters,
some throaty callings, and some full bursts of singing. Belldandy took it all
in, savouring the morning beauty from Skuld's room. She wasn't worried about
Skuld's salvage operations anymore, she had faith in her sisters. A twitter
interrupted her from her thoughts. She recognized Mr. Swift's voice. She turned
and saw Mr. Swift standing on the windowsill of Skuld's room. He sounded happy.
Belldandy smiled.
"Ah, good morning Mr. Swift!" Her mood
was also getting better. She felt like her old self again. Mr. Swift tittered
something. Belldandy listened.
"Oh, did you? That's
wonderful!" Belldandy said, happily. Mr. Swift turned around, twittered a few
times, and a screech came back in reply. Then another swift joined him. This one
was his mate. Belldandy observed her, and nodded.
"She's
beautiful. Congratulations, Mr. Swift. You've got yourself a beautiful wife."
Belldandy smiled and giggled. It was good when your friends had found a
happiness of their own. Mr. Swift tittered a question. Belldandy looked slightly
confused.
"Why, of course you can, Mr. Swift! I'm sure
Keiichi wouldn't mind you building a nest in the old garage roof hole. Just
remind me to remind him."
Then Mrs. Swift tittered
another question. Belldandy listened to this one. The swift's voice wasn't as
musically inclined as her mates, but it had a sense of refined beauty. It was
long and smooth, and her clicks and warbles were better enunciated. Belldandy
nodded. She looked a little worried.
"Oh, you mean
Velsper? I'm sorry, he's mine. He's been eyeing you lately?"
Both swifts bobbed in their equivalent of a nod.
Belldandy looked out the doorway, half expecting Velsper to come in.
"Well, I'll be sure to make him understand he isn't
allowed to eat birds. Thank you for telling me this, Mr. and Mrs. Swift."
Both swifts bobbed their bodies once, then took off.
Belldandy watched them fly freely into the sky, then stared into the distant
view afforded by Skuld's window. She heard a meow. Belldandy turned her
attention away from the scenery and saw Velsper leap into her lap. She stroked
Velsper.
"Oh, you heard everything now did you, Velsper?"
Belldandy scratched Velsper behind the ears. He purred appreciatively, eyes
closed, rubbing against Belldandy's body. She giggled.
"Then you know I'll be cross if you try to eat any of my friends." Velsper
opened his eyes and meowed once, then licked her face. It tickled. Belldandy
laughed as Velsper licked her again.
"Ok, ok! I get it!
You understand!" Then Belldandy looked out the doorway again. Velsper followed
her gaze.
"I think I'd best be getting to the living
room. Everyone's waiting for me." Velsper meowed, and leapt off the bed. He sat
down and waited for Belldandy, tail swishing. Belldandy took the blankets of
her, and turned to bring her feet to the floor. She tested her footing
experimentally, like a paralyzed patient trying to walk under his own power for
the first time, then stood up. A heady rush of warmth ran up from her legs,
making her feel a little giddy for a moment. But this was a 'good' giddy. She
changed her clothes with a thought as she walked out towards the living room,
Velsper in tow.
* * *
"Daijobu, Keiichan!" Megumi laughed, slapping
Keiichi in the back. "What's wrong with blue eyes?" (Daijobu = It's all right!)
Keiichi sighed sadly. So far, when she'd woken up, she
remembered everything from the night before, eyes included. Megumi lost her
happy face and looked at Keiichan sympathetically. Urd and Skuld were also
there, sitting at the table watching. They were all waiting for Belldandy, who
might or might not take a while to arrive. Keiichi sighed again. There was a
tray in the center of the table with a pot of tea and several cups, but nobody
seemed to be touching it.
"What's next? Don't tell me my
hair's going to start become silver-blonde." Keiichi said, depressed. She was
leaning her cheek heavily against her palm, elbow on the table as she stared out
blankly. As Urd and Skuld watched, Megumi knelt besides her brother,
straightened herself and looked through Keiichi's hair. Keiichi didn't bother to
stop her, for all she knew, it was true. Megumi looked at the base of his hair
for signs of foreign colouration. After a cursory inspection, she sat back down
and shook her head, grinning.
"Nope. No golden roots.
You're safe there, Keiichan."
That was surprisingly
refreshing for some reason. Keiichi lost that look of forlorn hopelessness, and
sat up a little straighter. She looked at Megumi, still smiling. She blinked.
"Ah..... ano...."
Megumi looked at
Keiichi.
"Yes?"
Keiichi shrugged.
"Why're you so happy?"
Megumi's
smile went from a happy one to a bemused one. Exaggerating her expression with
one eyebrow as high as it could go and beaming Keiichi a lopsided smile, Megumi
laughed.
"So what's wrong with getting nice blue eyes
like those? As long as you're still Keiichan, who cares what you look like?"
Keiichi sighed. She could think of at least a dozen
others.
"Aoshima, Sayoko, erm, all the guys and most of
the girls on campus, mom and dad, and about several billion strangers whom I
have a chance to meet, however slim that chance may be."
Megumi just kept that cheeky grin on. She slapped Keiichi on the back with an
audible thump.
"Me and the girls at the softball club
have been looking to whack a few oddballs anyway. Anyone say anything bad about
my Keiichan, they're oddballs!" Megumi said, laughing. Keiichi watched for a
moment, peturbed by Megumi's over cheerful act. Then Megumi stopped laughing and
looked at Keiichi seriously.
"But you really won't stay
like this for long, will you, bro? The most we can do is keep the rumours at
bay, Keiichan." Megumi looked at the two Goddesses. They nodded.
"Megumi's right." Skuld said. "I could let you use the
Voicebox, but you're going to have to watch out for people who're paying too
much attention to your face. It shows."
And then Urd had
an idea. She couldn't help herself, she had to add it. She'd heard Keiichi
complain about this once too often to pass up a good chance to rib him good.
"And watch your toilet breaks too. People tend to wonder
when you use cubicles exclusively when there're perfectly good urinals around."
Well, that worked. Everyone stared at Urd, sweatdrops
rolling down their heads. Urd looked around with an incredulous look on her
slightly raised head, eyebrow raised and mouth stuck in a coy smile.
"What, you guys never seen a guy's toilet before?" Urd
shrugged nonchalantly, looking to one side to avoid their stares. Of course, she
knew the answer perfectly well.
Skuld and Megumi fell
over with a crash. Keiichi stared and blinked at Urd. Skuld pulled herself off
the floor first, and looked like she was climbing a vertical cliff from the way
she hung onto the table edge as she pulled herself up, panting. Megumi followed
soon after, with much less drama. Urd was laughing.
"What
kinda perverted girl would peep into guy toilets!?" Skuld and Megumi shouted at
Urd, half pleadingly, blushing a furious red. Urd chortled and put a hand to the
side of her mouth as if she was telling them a private message.
"Not a perverted one," Urd said. She paused for effect.
Tossing her hair behind her with a practiced swing of her head, Urd kept her
chin held high with that haughty look of knowledge and put a few fingers on her
chest. Using a breathless voice full of arrogance and enjoyment for her little
act, Urd continued. "But I happen know everything. Oh ho ho ho
ho ho!"
Everyone at the table looked at her with
forced smiles, twitching eyelids and a drop of sweat. They held it there as Urd
stared at them disbelievingly, a sweatdrop of her own rolling down her head.
"Geez. You guys can't take a joke, can you?"
They nodded. Urd blinked and scratched her head.
"Wow, you guys are for real."
A
minute of silence.
"What's going on? Keiichi-san? Megumi?
Urd? Skuld?"
Everyone suddenly snapped out of their
trances and looked towards the voice. It was Belldandy, looking hale and hearty
with a curious look and Velsper pracing around her like a kitten in catnip.
Belldandy flashed them a smile when she reached the table.
"Ohayo-gozaimasu, mina-san!" (Good morning, everyone!)
Skuld looked at Belldandy up and down. Well, everything
seemed in order. Belldandy looked and sounded like she was supposed to be, acted
as usual, and she even had her good morning cheer. Skuld smiled and ran up to
Belldandy, hugging her.
"One-san! You're alright!"
Belldandy nodded and patted Skuld on the shoulder. She
smiled at Skuld.
"Yes, thanks to Urd."
Skuld flashed Urd a dagger filled stare. Urd deflected it
with a huge grin.
"Told'ya she'd be fine, Skuld." Urd
said with all the confidence in the universe. Skuld stuck a tongue at Urd.
Keiichi and Megumi laughed. Then Keiichi looked at Belldandy.
"Ohayo, Belldandy."
"Good mornin',
Belldandy!" Megumi hailed Belldandy with a mock salute. Belldandy returned it.
"Come on, take a seat. We got something to talk about."
Belldandy looked concerned. She sat, with Skuld putting herself down right
besides her. Belldandy started pouring the cups of tea from the pot, wondering
who set it this morning.
"What's the matter?
Keiichi-san?"
Keiichi looked at Belldandy, and stared.
Belldandy's first reaction was to blush, wondering if Keiichi wanted to give her
the hint. Then she noticed Keiichi's eyes.
It was almost
like looking in a mirror.
* * *
Mara could hear Belldandy's shriek from her vantage point.
She nearly fell out of the tree she was camping in, but hastily turned in her
tree to see what was going on. The stupid seals were still up, and they had
Urd's magic in them this time. Mara wondered how they kept remembering to
refresh it everyday. Frankly, it was annoying. Mara had seen a couple of
Keiichi's friends come and go, totally unaware of their observer, and Mara had
considered cornering Urd again and getting her answers, but this little Mara in
her head kept telling her she would be well rewarded if she kept waiting, and
Mara wouldn't trust anyone but herself. So she resigned herself to waiting. She
sighed and stretched like a cat on the tree, yawning.
"I
wonder how many more days they're gonna coop themselves up in there for?"
Well, Mara wouldn't be bothered by the council anymore to
make sure Keiichi was in a lot of trouble. He was deep enough in it as it was.
Mara grinned. Maybe Belldandy just found out Keiichi had turned/was turning into
a monster?
It would be interesting to see a real
life version of Godzilla. Mara would have a good show then.
* * *
Belldandy was shivering. She had quite literally jumped
back when she noticed the eyes she saw on herself everytime she looked in the
mirror. Of course, she never looked in the mirror for vanity, but for travel,
but she never failed to observe herself first.
Keiichi
had her eyes.
But Keiichi didn't look like she cared
about that. Keiichi held a haunted look of her own she refused to let go.
Everyone noticed it. It wasn't there before?
"Keiichan?"
Megumi said, waving a hand in front of Keiichi's face.
Keiichi blinked once, rubbed her eyes, and pointed at Belldandy.
"Look at hers."
Everyone did. Urd
blinked, then copied Belldandy's shocked expression.
"Belldandy! YOUR eyes!"
Belldandy blinked. She
grabbed a mirror from a pocket somewhere and looked in it. Skuld stared. From
this angle Belldandy's face was obscured by her hair, but she could hear
Belldandy choking on her gasps.
"Belldandy one-san?"
Skuld asked, tentatively. She was afraid Belldandy would suddenly blow up again.
Belldandy turned to look at them. Her breath came in ragged, halting breaths,
and she carried the same haunted look as Keiichi did. She was crying, tears
dripping down one at a time, her eyes red and puffy.
And
brown.
* * *
Uruz stared at the portal before her. Beyond it, she could
see a portion of the Morisato's residence. She wondered if it was a good idea to
go back to a place which she would probably be scared silly at the slightest
sound, ever since that accident. Although everything looked fine now from her
vantage point, her sixth sense was telling her something was wrong, and that it
wasn't a good time to visit.
But the Almighty had given
her the order to go and check in on Keiichi and Belldandy, observe them
throughout this period, and report back with the wish in full detail if she ever
got it. Uruz couldn't go against the Almighty, and sooner or later she'd have to
face them again.
So what the heck.
With a deep breath, Uruz stepped through the portal and into the mortal realm again.
* * *
Belldandy calmed down remarkably quickly. She took a
tissue from Urd and wiped clean her wet eyes. Keiichi hadn't moved this whole
time, wondering just what in the Heavens was going on here. She wished she could
get some answers, this was getting waaay too weird for her liking. Urd sighed as
Belldandy sat back at the table and took a few deep calming breaths. She was
hunched over the table, her face half covered by errant locks of hair, and
looking at her reflection in her cup of tea.
"Metamorphosis, Belldandy. Ever heard of that?"
Belldandy
looked up, suddenly. Her head just snapped back like a crack of a whip. Everyone
jumped.
"Me-ta-mor-pho-sis?" Belldandy reiterated for
Urd, drawing each syllable out like a word on their own. She turned slowly, and
looked at Urd.
"I'm undergoing metamorphosis?" Belldandy
asked, worriedly. Urd nodded.
"So far, we've only noticed
your eyes. Actually, Keiichi did."
Belldandy considered.
So that was what the weakness was. Her body was burning every reserve of energy
in her body to start the process off. Then she looked shocked.
"Won't this mean I'll be breaching regulations? I've not
signed up for any forms yet!" She said, as if she had just forgotten to buy
cooking oil after coming back from a shopping trip.
*crash*
Everyone fell over, and the temple shook for a
second. When the dust settled, Urd pushed herself off the floor.
"Belldandy-" She started.
"Belldandy!"
Everyone looked at the new voice from the
floor.
Standing there were a pair of booted feet, and
looking a little up was a sight that reminded them of Peorth. At least, those
who knew her.
"Uruz?" The three Goddesses and one Keiichi
exclaimed.
* * *
Uruz looked. She knew it was a bad time to drop by. When
she had come in, the whole temple had shook for a moment. Probably her fault
again, she thought. She saw that she was in Keiichi's room. Then she had
come into the living room and found that everyone but Belldandy was floored. She
blinked.
"Belldandy!"
Belldandy
looked up at her. Urd, Skuld and Keiichi followed not long after.
"Uruz?" They asked. They were obviously surprised. Uruz
hung her head shyly and tucked her hands in front of her. They probably still
hadn't forgiven her for her misdeed yet. She couldn't blame them.
"Did I come at a bad time? Am I welcome?"
Belldandy nodded her head, as did Urd and Keiichi. Skuld
was neutral, like Megumi. Megumi was just a little bit confused here.
"Ohayo! What brings you here, Uruz?" Belldandy asked.
Belldandy looked like her good old normal cheery self. Uruz suddenly felt warm
again.
"Orders by the Almighty... I'm supposed to stay
here with you all until this mess is cleared up." Keiichi blinked, and sat up.
".......doing?" Keiichi asked.
Uruz looked at Keiichi. Well, if nothing else, Keiichi was cute. Uruz stifled a
giggle. Physically, she hadn't hurt Keiichi as much as she'd hurt her pride.
Uruz made it obvious she was trying not to laugh though, a flicker of the eye
and the hand covering the mouth was too well known to be passed off as anything
else.
"Great. Now even she finds me funny." Keiichi
grumbled. Megumi was looking at Uruz, wondering who this scantily clad girl was.
She wouldn't speak up though, not until everything else was cleared up. But
Megumi knew this girl was a Goddess, at least, by the markings on her face. Uruz
shook her head.
"No! It's just that you're so adorably
cute!" Uruz said, not bothering to stop herself from laughing now. Keiichi
moaned, and Belldandy looked in her direction and smiled.
"It is true, Keiichi-san. You shouldn't treat it so badly.... after all, you are
what you are. Take it as it is!"
Keiichi looked up at
Belldandy. What was it about Belldandy that always convinced her so? Belldandy
just said something and everyone would fall over themselves just agreeing,
convinced. Looking at her hands, Keiichi nodded.
"Well...
since I'm like this now, I guess I should take it as a compliment, right?"
Everyone nodded. Keiichi looked left, then right, then
straight ahead. Uruz came to sit down besides Belldandy, who was sitting
opposite Keiichi. Urd and Skuld were sitting at the right and left ends of the
table respectively, and Megumi was sitting besides Keiichi. That teapot was
still in the centre. Keiichi took a sip of tea.
"I'm
supposed to see what happens between and to the two of you." Uruz spoke up,
suddenly. Everyone blinked. Uruz continued.
"I'm sure you
all know by now... Belldandy's undergoing metamorphosis?" Uruz asked. Everyone
nodded. Megumi filed this information away for later research. This was really
interesting, Goddesses could undergo that?
"So I'm
supposed to see what happens to her and report back." Uruz said, simply enough.
Keiichi looked at herself, and at her chest.
"Then what
about me?" Keiichi asked, looking up. Uruz shrugged, grinning apologetically.
Keiichi scratched her head and sighed.
"He didn't ask me
to check in on you. Sorry." Uruz clapped her hands together.
"Ah, that's alright." Keiichi said. She sighed once, and
rested her forehead against her fingers. Why would the Almighty care about
this one little mortal anyway? Keiichi reasoned. He's got a Goddess to
take care of!
Then Uruz looked around.
"Why's everyone sitting here doing nothing?"
Everyone looked up, not knowing they were all staring at
the floor or at themselves. They looked surprised.
"Ara!
Breakfast!" Belldandy exclaimed. "I'll go prepare some!"
Uruz watched as Belldandy left the living room. She got up. Urd eyed her
suspiciously.
"Where do you think you're going, Uruz?"
Urd asked, dangerously. She promised a lot of pain in that voice.
"I gotta keep an eye on Belldandy-san." Uruz said.
"Orders." Then she grinned, cheekily at Urd, daring her to do something about
the Almighty's orders. Urd clenched her fist a little tighter and growled, but
did nothing. But all this time, she glared reproachfully at Uruz. But Uruz
looked worried now.
"Urd? Is there something wrong?" Uruz
asked, innocently. She really didn't know what Urd was angry over.
Urd looked at Uruz for a moment, wondering about this
question herself. The moment Uruz had stepped into the room, Urd had felt
defensive for Belldandy and Keiichi. There was this debate going on in her mind
with the winning side telling her to be wary of Uruz, while the losing side told
her there was no real reason to be suspicious of her. Urd couldn't blame Uruz
because what had happened then wasn't her fault at all. But Urd also wanted to
blame Uruz for causing this, just because it would make her own burden lighter,
it would make her feel better, and because Uruz was the convenient scapegoat to
blame.
But Urd couldn't do that. They had no solid
evidence yet, but they were sure Mara was behind it. Yet, Urd didn't feel
satisfied when she blamed Mara. Mara wasn't there at that time to have the blame
put on her.
So why did Urd feel that blaming Uruz was
then the logical choice? It was unreasonable. Urd thought back to the day Uruz
had tried granting Keiichi's third wish. Uruz had done everything she could to
grant it, but immediately after that came the explosion and then this. Where was
Mara? She wasn't around, Urd felt no need to blame Mara. Uruz though, was the
odd one out. By simple virtue of being there, Urd felt the need to blame Uruz.
Urd grabbed her head and shook it as everyone looked.
"Arrgh...." Urd moaned as she kept her hands on her head and shook it slowly.
Uruz went over to Urd and knelt behind her.
"You alright,
Urd?" Uruz asked. Everyone, Skuld included, felt a twinge of sympathy go through
their hearts like a dart. The way Uruz asked made them feel guilty of ever
doubting her.
Urd nodded slightly.
"I guess I was just being unreasonable." Urd said. Uruz smiled slightly.
"Hey, I was the one there. You didn't see anyone
else..."
Urd's eyes widened and she sat up straight,
hands still on her head. They looked funny now, out of place for the expression
Urd was wearing on her face. She turned around and looked at Uruz.
"You understand that?" Urd asked, simply, quietly. Uruz
nodded.
"When you come to think about it." Uruz grinned.
Urd returned a shaky grin of her own. Uruz stood and started running off.
"Well then!" Uruz called out behind her. "I'll be in the
kitchen with Belldandy-san!"
Uruz disappeared through a
door, leaving a very confused bunch of people behind. Somehow, her logic made
too much sense for them to comprehend at that time.
* * *
In the kitchen, Belldandy was closing the door to the
fridge with a pile of frozen foods in her arms when she saw Uruz at the doorway.
"Mind if I come in?" Uruz asked, worried that Belldandy
might get angry. She didn't know what would set Belldandy off, and it was
strange that Uruz had developed a fear for annoying Belldandy even a little bit.
Belldandy nodded and smiled.
"Of course you may, Uruz!"
Uruz nodded shyly and came in. She saw what Belldandy was doing and stopped near
the sink, not wanting to get in Belldandy's way. She was looking at her feet and
scuffing her shoes against the floor.
"Erm, if I'm not
bothering you...." Uruz said, tentatively. She was treading on thin verbal ice,
since she didn't know what else to say. Belldandy shook her head as she pumped
some water into the wash basin to soak the vegetables, looking at her for just a
fraction of a second.
"Of course not, dear." Uruz blinked
and straightened for a second. Belldandy then went off to get a knife. "In fact,
if you don't mind, could you please help me get the packet of miso out of the
cabinet under the counter, third door from the right? Put it by the sink
please."
Uruz nodded eagerly and started counting
cabinets. She found it and fished the packet out. She suddenly felt wanted and
useful, and a little throbbing inside of her agreed. Belldandy smiled and said
her thanks when the miso packet was waiting for her by the sink.
"Thank you, Uruz." Uruz blinked and blushed from
embarrassment.
"Erm... ah..." Was all Uruz could say.
Belldandy wiped her hands on her apron and walked up to Uruz, looking at her
intently. Uruz looked back, and noticed the first sign of the metamorphosis. Her
good cheer almost disappeared completely when she noticed Belldandy's brown
eyes.
"What's wrong, Uruz?" Belldandy asked. "You're
unusually withdrawn today?"
Uruz shook her head. Well,
better to get this over with.
"I-I just thought you-you'd
be angry with me.... B-Belldandy...." Uruz half-stammered. She had both her
hands clenched nervously and held them together in front of her. Belldandy
stepped back and put her hands on her hips.
Here it
comes. Uruz told herself. Then Belldandy brought a hand up to her mouth and
chuckled. Uruz's jaw dropped.
"Uruz, dear. What made you
think I'd be angry at you?" Belldandy said with all mirth, half smiling, half
laughing in good cheer. She held her hands out in front of her invitingly.
Uruz's self-confidence picked up again and she smiled, but shyly.
"That day." Uruz said, hoping this wouldn't ruin the
moment. Belldandy paused for a while, but kept smiling.
"Oh, that. Don't worry, Uruz. I'm not angry." Belldandy said. She came a step
closer to Uruz and put her hands on Uruz's shoulders. "Don't worry, everything's
working out fine." She said, softly, smoothly, silently. Uruz felt Belldandy's
warm, sweet breath as Belldandy leaned closer.
"In fact,
I have to thank you...." Belldandy was whispering now.
"Oh..." Uruz gulped. Belldandy was getting awfully close. Uruz wondered what she
had in mind.
Belldandy tiptoed and kissed her on the
forehead, tenderly. Uruz's eyes opened wide. Then Belldandy stepped away and
looked at her innocently. Her head was tilted slightly to her left, and she kept
her hands in front of her.
"That was my special spell for
you." She said, smiling. Uruz hesitatingly returned the smile. She could feel
her face burning up.
"Thanks, Belldandy-san."
"Now, let's cook breakfast! Everyone'll be starving if we
don't."
* * *
Back in the living room, Megumi was looking over at Urd.
Skuld was off with Keiichi, designing another, better, Voicebox. Urd was
brooding there, her cheek resting on her knuckles, her eyes half closed and
looking listlessly into nothing. Megumi wondered what Urd was brooding over.
That conversation?
"Hey." Megumi called to Urd. Urd's
eyes flickered a little, but she didn't do anything else.
"Hey! Urd!" Megumi called, louder. Urd looked at her disinterestedly.
"What is it, Megumi?" Urd deadpanned. Megumi looked
wonderingly over Urd's hostility.
"Why the long face?"
Megumi asked. Urd chuckled once, sardonically.
"That's
because I suddenly realized how much I've been holding a groundless grudge
against Uruz, and when I come to think of it, I can't blame Mara no matter how
guilty she is. That's my sin." Urd said. Megumi blinked.
"Mara?" She asked. Could it be... someone she remembered? A face came to mind,
but it disappeared too quickly.
"Mara." Urd nodded.
"Demoness. Two red stripes on her head, two pairs on her cheeks, white-blonde
hair, possessed you once and turned you into a car the other. Looks like a guy
when she wants to hide it, got a pair of fangs."
Megumi's
eyes widened in shock. She did know Mara! All those times! Megumi took a
deep breath like a gasp, and let it out haltingly.
"Mara..." Megumi muttered.
"Careful, Megumi. Third time's
the charm, sometimes." Urd cautioned, jokingly. Her eyes still looked tired,
like she needed sleep, but Urd still had plenty of energy. Her own mood was
perked up now by Megumi. She'd taken Urd's mind off the blaming. Urd owed Megumi
one. Megumi nodded.
"Speak no evil." Megumi joked. Urd
laughed.
"Too bad, you tell her that." Urd said,
jokingly. Megumi laughed.
"You're right." Megumi agreed,
nodding. Urd smiled, then let out a long, voiced breath and stood. Megumi stood
with her.
"Where're you going, Urd?" Megumi asked as Urd
floated out the doorway.
"Going to refresh the seals
around the temple." Urd replied.
"Hey! Wait for me! I
wanna come too!" Megumi called as Urd left.
* * *
Mara watched as she spotted two figures walking out the
doorway. The weakening seals allowed her to see so much, but she grumbled
nonetheless.
"Waiting half a week straight and still
nothin'." Mar sighed. "I wonder if I should stop listening to myself?" Mara
wondered if her gambit would work.
Mara watched as Urd,
she could tell by the colouration, chanted something and her view was blocked
again by that annoying golden glow. Whatever it was, a First Class Goddess's
seals were a lot more powerful than what First Class Demonesses could break.
Mara growled and went back to sitting in her tree.
"Mara!" Mara fell out of her tree and hit the floor, two stories down, hard.
"Ouch!" Mara yelped. She looked around. There was Urd,
and the girl she recognized as Megumi, standing just outside the seal's range,
looking straight at her. Mara smiled once. She remembered that Megumi was quite
desirable, even to her. But this wasn't the time to consider that. She floated
over, arms crossed, looking haughtily at them.
"So, what
does the high and mighty Urd want this time?" Mara asked, sarcastically. Urd
held her temper remarkably well, and had one hand on her hip, alluringly bent
outwards to one side. Megumi was half hiding behind Urd, scared that this
demoness she remembered all too well would do something to her. Mara sniggered
at Megumi, the mortal wasn't safe anywhere. Urd shrugged.
"I'd just like to let you know that when we gather enough evidence against you,
we're going to see some fireworks." Urd said. She was remarkably calm on the
outside, but in truth, Urd was just itching to see Mara get zapped by the
Almighty. She stopped herself from grinning like a fool and laughing at Mara's
appointed plight, and continued.
"Because we know what
you've been using to disrupt wishes." Urd said.
Mara was
quite literally taken aback. She took a few steps back and gasped. She thought
her crime had been perfect! The device had blown up so cleanly she thought
nothing would be left of it. Even the manufacturers had guaranteed
untraceability.
Apparently, she thought wrong. She would
see them about this too, soon. But for now...
"Whaddaya
mean you know!?" Mara hissed like a snake, spitting venom. She wasn't going to
get zapped anytime soon, she wasn't going to let anyone zap her. Urd shrugged
again.
"Well, your little machine was almost perfect,
almost. And where all the Almighty's horses and all the Almighty's Men
couldn't put it back together again, our resident genius Skuld did when the dust
settled." Urd chuckled. She allowed herself this one chuckle, just to unnerve
Mara. It worked.
Mara blinked once. She was going to get
that little twerp when she got the chance. If only she knew Skuld's weakness....
"No way!" She yelled, shaking her head. Urd nodded.
"Yes way, and if you own up now, we just might be able to
let you off light. The Almighty isn't too happy about a demoness disrupting one
of his dear Goddess's job, and even now..." Urd said, crossing her arms and
stretching her body from that position. Her bosom heaved noticeably. Mara
considered. Even with all the power at her command, her defenses could be worn
away. It wasn't nice to be zapped, it wasn't nicer still to be zapped by the
Almighty. And if what Urd said was true, and that little spud called Skuld did
manage to reassemble the machine, then.......
Mara
slumped. Fine. They caught her, and even the Almighty was involved now. There
was no escape. Mara was furious with herself for being caught, twice.
"Fine." Mara said, nodding more than reluctantly. "You
got me."
Urd smiled. Her gamble had worked.
* * *
When Belldandy came out with Uruz in tow, one carrying a
tray of mochi and the other a pot of rice, they were in for a very
unusual surprise. Uruz nearly dropped the pot of rice, but by some feat of sheer
will, kept it in her hands. There was that one and the same demoness as the one
in the Lodge the other time, although her tiny companion wasn't with her at the
moment. Uruz blinked once at her, then stared.
Urd and
Megumi were sitting with Mara at the table, having a tea together. Mara was
describing something to Urd, who was listening with intense interest. Every once
in a while, she'd flick her eyes over to Skuld's room. It was during one of
these flicks that she noticed Belldandy and Uruz, standing there stupefied,
watching them. Urd waved.
"Hi! Good to see you all here!"
Urd grinned. Belldandy blinked once. Then looked at Mara, who in turn turned to
look at the newcomers. She saw Belldandy, her usual unusual self, and some new
Goddess she didn't recognize. They appeared to be carrying the morning's
breakfast. Mara paid more attention to the new Goddess, who was looking at her
incredulously. Probably someone who'd never met her, she wagered.
"Mara? How did you get in?" She asked, simply. What was
scary was that she didn't sound the least bit angry or disappointed, she was
asking out of plain curiousity.
"Urd invited me." Mara
replied, not bothering to look behind her. She took a long draft of tea and
downed it noisily. Belldandy nodded. Then the two went to the table and set down
the morning's breakfast. Mara looked at it disheartenedly.
"What, no liquor?" Mara whined. Belldandy nodded.
"I'll get it." She said, getting up again.
"No Belldandy, let me." Urd held a hand up. Belldandy
paused, and Urd got up. She grinned.
"I have a new brew
that I've been waiting to try for a long time." Mara blanched.
"You ain't gonna make me try it, are you?" Mara asked,
shakily. Urd shrugged.
"Depends on how much you're
unwilling to try it." Urd laughed and left. The colour flushed out of
Mara. Nobody noticed. Megumi clapped her hands once upon seeing the food.
"Ara! Mochi topped with miso! Mm!" Belldandy set out the
last of the bowls, then called out towards Skuld's room.
"Skuld! Keiichi-san! Breakfast's ready!"
Then she looked
at Mara, who shuffled back a little. Belldandy smiled.
"Won't you join us, Mara?"
* * *
"Skuld! Keiichi-san! Breakfast's ready!"
Belldandy's voice rang out through the corridors. Skuld looked up from her table
while Keiichi turned her attention away from the stasis cube and the weird thing
forming in it. Skuld wiped her forehead.
"Whew! That was
exhausting." Skuld muttered. Keiichi stood. Skuld pointed to the doorway.
"Let's go have breakfast."
Keiichi
nodded. She had to thank Skuld properly for her help one of these days. Keiichi
wondered if Skuld like toffee selight?
The two walked
into the corridor and towards the living room and met Urd on the way out. Urd
had a small bottle of something in her hand which was bubbling strongly, judging
by the sound it made. Urd grinned at them.
"What's so
amusing, Urd?" Keiichi asked.
"We've got a guest who may
just be the last piece of the puzzle." Urd kept grinning. Keiichi looked at
Skuld.
"Mara!" They both exclaimed, and broke into a run
for the living room, leaving Urd in the dust. She coughed a few times, and waved
her hand and blew the dust away.
"Tsk. They couldn't even
wait for me."
* * *
Skuld and Keiichi arrived in a cloud of dust, panting. The
first thing they asked when they arrived was :
"Where's
Mara!?"
Everyone at the table pointed to the cloaked
figure sitting in front of them. They looked down and jumped back. Skuld took
out a bomb.
"Look at what you did to one-sama!" Skuld
yelled. Mara turned around, slowly, purposefully. Skuld's grip on her bomb began
to waver and it shook in her hand. When Mara was fully around, she grinned
evilly. A sweatdrop formed on Skuld's head.
"Did what?"
Mara hissed challengingly. Just because she agreed not to cause trouble, if it
came to her, well....
Skuld swallowed once, and stuffed
the bomb back into her shirt. Keiichi watched as the lump of a bomb disappeared
after it dropped back into her shirt. Amazing. Mara laughed a bark of a laugh.
"Skuld, Keiichi-san? Shall we take a seat first?"
Belldandy asked, patting the cushions besides her. They nodded and gave Mara a
wide berth as they sat. Mara looked at Keiichi as she sat, Keiichi cringed away
from the look. She grinned toothily.
"Ah, my dear
Keiichi. It seems that you've grown a blasted sight better from the last time I
saw you." Mara purred, dripping sarcasm from every word. Keiichi glared at her.
Mara looked Keiichi once over, and pointed to her chest, feigning surprise. Or
maybe she really was surprised. Nobody could tell.
"Those
real?"
"Yes, they-" Mara reached over and poked Keiichi's
chest. Keiichi shifted uncomfortably and tried to push Mara's rude finger away.
She protested indignantly.
"Cut it out, Mara."
Mara laughed. Then she kept laughing. And laughing. And
laughing.
"Oh hoh. So I see you two have met our guest."
Urd voice wafted around the corner. She appeared around the corner with a vial
of something bubbling. Mara heard it, saw it, and swallowed. Urd grinned
maliciously at Mara.
"Don't worry. It's safe to drink.
Hasn't eaten anyone yet."
Urd walked up to the table and
sat down besides Mara. Mara shifted away from Urd, worried that something might
spring out from the bottle and decide that Demonesses were a lot more edible
than Goddesses.
Breakfast went smoothly, everyone ate and
chatted with the usual pleasantries, with the exception of Mara of course. Once
it was over, everyone's attention turned to Mara. Mara looked up and saw
Belldandy looking straight at her. Mara couldn't tell exactly, but there was
something different about Belldandy today...
"Well, it's
time you explained things to us, Mara." Belldandy said. Mara shrugged.
"But first of all, I've gotta have a guarantee nobody's
going to hurt me."
Skuld pounded a fist on the table
lightly. She was looking indignantly, sternly at Mara.
"And who said you could have that guarantee?"
Megumi and
Mara stuck a thumb in Urd's direction, eyes lowered in resignation. Urd sat up
for a moment, sweating, eyes looking around. Almost everyone was looking at her.
Skuld was glaring. Urd raised her hands for peace, looking rather embarrassed.
"Heh... I did promise her that. Besides... Mara's our
good friend, right?" Urd brazenly threw an arm around Mara and squeezed hard.
Mara urked once at the sudden gesture of friendship.
Uruz
blinked. She was unfamiliar to the concept of demonesses being friends. She
pointed, rather rudely, at Mara. Mara glared at her finger and looked like she
wanted to bite it off.
"Friend? Her?"
Urd nodded solemnly. She swept her hair behind her and
shrugged.
"Mara, at least. We were childhood friends."
Uruz looked at Urd. Urd was smiling. She looked around.
Everyone else was smiling too, nervously, more or less. Mostly less. Uruz
blinked once, and scratched her head. Then she shrugged.
"Whatever." Uruz finally proclaimed. Then she bowed slightly in Mara's
direction. Everyone jumped off the floor. Uruz smiled at Mara and held out a
hand.
"Pals?"
Mara stared at the
hand which held the finger she wanted to bite off a second ago. Uruz held it
there as everyone came out from their hiding places from behind the TV, under
the table, outside the doorway, and on the ceiling lamp. Mara blinked.
"Is this for real?" Mara asked, pointing at the hand.
Uruz shrugged, arm still held out. She grinned impiously.
"Unless it's against the Almighty's rules, yes. And since
He didn't put that rule to be on good terms with a demoness, well!" Uruz
nodded. She had no idea what made her do this, she just felt like it was the
right thing to do.
Mara looked at it, and slapped it.
Uruz looked at her hand and blinked. Urd, crawling out from under the TV set,
blinked. Then she couldn't stop herself from laughing herself to tears.
"You got yourself a deal." Mara said, giving her a
toothy, lopsided grin. Uruz clapped her hands once and nodded.
"I hope we get the chance to talk some more!" Uruz
laughed.
"Excuse me? Uruz?" It was Belldandy. Her voice,
anyway.
Keiichi poked her head out from under the table
and looked at them. Everyone else was at the table by now, having recovered from
their shock. Belldandy wondered if this was a serious breach of regulations.
Mara blinked and stuck a finger in the air.
"Oh, yeah,
that."
Everyone gathered around as Mara began her
'confession'.
* * *
Up in the Heavens, Peorth was busy looking through page
after page of historical texts. With nothing else to do, Peorth decided to brush
up on her history of metamorphosis. Everyone up here was talking about the
Belldandy incident, and Peorth had a very nasty hunch that she'd need this
information and soon. Leaning forwards in her chair, Peorth stared intently at
the information that scrolled up at her command, absorbing it letter by letter.
After pages of boring texts stating the rules and regulations and such (so far,
200/700 of them), Peorth's mind began to wander from sheer boredom and nothing
else.
"What's Uruz doing now?" Peorth said aloud, with
nobody to listen. "She must be having a grand time at Keiichi's place now..."
Peorth trailed off wistfully. She was still thinking about 'him'. Peorth hated
herself for this, but the more she thought of Keiichi in 'his' new form, the
more used she had gotten to it and the more she liked it. It was strange, so
far. Everything that was happening was happening so quickly, and Uruz was in the
middle of it all. She wished she were the one doing this for Keiichi, but Peorth
che'ed herself for this wishful thinking and went back to reading the texts.
But a nagging feeling persisted in her mind. She scrolled
back a few dozen pages. Something was missing, Peorth knew. It was a word, she
had read but absentmindedly passed on.
* * *
*crash*
Uruz's hands glowed with
blue flames as Mara backed into the corner and knocked over something. Everyone
else had taken cover in the corner of the living room by the television set as
they watched the confrontation between Uruz and Mara. Urd moaned. She knew she
should've been the one who let Uruz in on the news. After all this time, they
realized that Uruz only knew that a demon/ess was involved.
She hadn't known that Mara was the one who'd caused her
so much pain.
Neither did Mara know Uruz was the one
she'd done in. That twerp Senbee had only told her a Goddess had come. She'd
assumed Uruz was just another friend of the Norns' when she first saw her.
Senbee hadn't even bothered to describe Uruz. Mara would get her sweet revenge
on him later.
Keiichi yelled to Belldandy over the roar
of flaming energy, which bathed the entire room blue and white.
"DO SOMETHING, BELLDANDY!" Keiichi yelled. Belldandy
looked on, blinking.
"I CAN'T!" Belldandy yelled back. "I
DON'T HAVE ENOUGH POWER!"
Keiichi stared at Belldandy
disbelievingly. Who was this Goddess!? One moment she was a bubbly
teenager, the next moment, her fury knew no bounds. Keiichi looked at Urd.
"DO SOMETHING!" Keiichi yelled. Urd took a finger out of
her ear.
"WHAT!?" She yelled back.
"DO SOMETHING!" Keiichi repeated. Urd looked at Uruz. She shook her head.
"NO CAN DO!" Urd yelled. "WAY OUT OF MY LEAGUE!"
Keiichi looked forlornly at Uruz, who was closing in on
Mara now with steps that seemed to shake the earth everytime she put a foot
down. There went her beautiful temple for a second time, by the same person. But
Keiichi couldn't understand it. During their introduction, Uruz had claimed to
be only a Second Class Goddess. How could she have enough power to
overwhelm even Belldandy and Urd? Keiichi didn't even consider Skuld, cowering
behind Urd. Skuld didn't have enough magic to hurt a fly, let alone pause Uruz.
And Megumi? Megumi had her hands over her ears and hiding behind Keiichi. This
wasn't going to leave a good impression of Goddesses on her anytime soon.
Who was this person!?
Uruz's eyes flared with the light of her flames as she
neared Mara, murder in her eyes. Her hands opened like claws, she kept her
flaming hands pulled behind her as she advanced on Mara.
"YOU were the one who did this to me and the rest!? YOU!?" Uruz
boomed. Mara didn't do much but feebly set up a few shields, hoping she'd at
least die in one piece. Mara was half whimpering by now, staring at this Goddess
of Death. Uruz's breath came out hot and angry. Mara could only think of
surviving for a little while longer.
But Mara knew...
something familiar about Uruz. She had trusted Uruz enough to take her up on her
offer.
"W....wait... wait there, Uruz!" Mara stammered,
holding her hand out in front of her. Uruz paused for a while, shadows covering
her entire self. The only part that could be seen were her eerily glowing eyes,
which lived apart from the flames and Void that appeared to make up Uruz at the
moment.
"You have three seconds to live." Uruz growled.
Mara didn't waste any time.
"The... wish... has a code!
That's it, a code, yeah!" Mara stumbled across her words. Her eyes flitted to
the rest of the residents of the temple, huddled up in the corner opposite to
them. She didn't notice the overly surprised looks they all gave her. Uruz
paused.
"Go on." She demanded. Mara swallowed and steeled
her nerves.
"Well, if I can remember what it was..."
"REMEMBER!?" Uruz howled, half laughing. Her
flames flared brighter for a second. She was clearly berserk, everyone could see
that. Whatever it was that had brought Uruz to the edge, then tossed her
straight over it, it must've hurt Uruz enough to make her want to kill this
demoness very dearly. Mara cowered. She wasn't going to survive this one.
"What good will REMEMBERING do!?" Uruz chortled.
Keiichi only thought that berserker rages came in fantasy storybooks. She'd
never wanted to see anyone go berserk, especially not in her own house. Uruz
couldn't stop laughing now, but it was a hauntingly soft, low chuckle that
continued even as she brought one hand forwards. Keiichi could almost imagine
Uruz's face, covered in shadows with only those glowing eyes and flashing white
teeth in a cruel parody of a death mask. Belldandy knew that this wasn't normal
energy Uruz was using. Truth be told, she'd never seen anyone use this before.
The energy coming from Uruz was tainted, like blood. It was as if Uruz had done
a lot more than she admitted to for her age, and not all of them were very
Goddesslike. But all Belldandy had felt was the purity of Uruz's soul, she could
never have powers like this.
So why did Uruz suddenly
light up like a christmas tree on fire? Belldandy became worried. This was not
normal.
Belldandy?? A voice called through her
head. Belldandy didn't recognize the voice, but it sounded mature and strong.
There was power and firmness behind that voice. It reminded Belldandy of a
queen, only better.
Belldandy! Answer
me! The voice persisted. Belldandy snapped out of her voice analysis and
nodded to no one in particular.
Who's this?
She replied. The voice sighed in relief.
Freya.
Belldandy thought for a second and recalled a face. Then she remembered Peorth
had told her Uruz was under Freya's tutelage. Maybe she could do something.
Uruz's gone berserk! Belldandy shrieked, mentally.
She watched from the corner of her eyes the confrontation between the two, and
worried. Freya could feel it on the other end of the line.
I know! Freya sounded harried. But there's no
time to consider that. You've got to stop Uruz before she does something
foolish, that child!
Well, duh, Belldandy
thought. Then she put her hand over he mouth and wondered how she got that
thought. Freya continued.
Do you know how to Shield
things? Freya asked.
Of course.
Good. Use it now on Uruz's hands, seal the flames!
Belldandy didn't argue. She held her hands out and
focused, quickly. A small, white sphere appeared on each of Uruz's hands. Uruz
paused for a moment, looking at her hands. She brought one up and considered the
sealing sphere holding her flames captive. She grinned. Keiichi shuddered at the
white row of teeth in a seemingly black void.
I'm
going to send you the spell to calm Uruz now, Belldandy. Recite it exactly as I
say and pray it works.
That was a weird thing to say,
pray. They were Goddesses after all, people prayed to them. But Belldandy nodded
mentally. Freya started the chant in Belldandy's head.
As
those in the corners watched, Belldandy flung her hands out in front of her and
started reciting something that Keiichi remembered was similar to the computer
coding language. She put her hands over her ears, the whining pitch made by the
spell's recital reminded her of a binary code being read out. Megumi didn't dare
look up throughout this time, and Skuld and Urd watched in fascination as
Belldandy suddenly casted a spell they didn't know she knew.
Uruz was bathed in a small white glowing matrix, and her
face and body emerged from the shadows. As a terrified Mara watched, Uruz's eyes
became drowsy despite her resistance, then she closed them. Her facial features
appeared to soften from that hard, maniacal killer's into the usual bubbly,
albeit tired, Uruz she had met earlier on. She looked in the corner. Good old
Belldandy!
Good old Belldandy? What was Mara thinking?
Mara knocked herself in the head once, just in case some of that goody-two shoes
propaganda was getting into her head.
Belldandy broke out
in sweat as she kept her hands out in front of her and kept reciting the spell.
Slowly, the blue glow faded as Uruz's flames went out. As the rest watched, a
small diagram appeared on the floor. Keiichi didn't recognize it, all the
diagrams looked alike to her. But she had the weird feeling it was a sort of
sealing spell.
Then a column of energy rose from the
diagram and enveloped Uruz, who screamed soundlessly as the column converged on
her and crushed her.
* * *
Uruz couldn't remember a thing. Mara was sitting there
like a guilty child, telling them about their actions after the hot springs
stay. She'd listened as Mara told them of the catalogue she'd ordered something
called the T.C.D 666 from.
Then she told them what
it was used for.
That was when Uruz's world went
white and a sound like glass shattering was heard. Uruz could feel her anger
bubbling up, but she couldn't feel her body anymore. She tried to calm herself,
but watched from her own eyes as she blasted the living room into charcoal as
she summoned the blue flames into existence.
Where'd she get them? She never used flames!
Especially not to hurt... who was this demoness!? What was she doing to
her!?
But Uruz realized she wasn't controlling her
own body anymore. She was just a seperate entity watching her own body move and
act from the body's point of view.
She felt déja
vu creeping up on her as she heard, watched, and felt her body corner Mara and
speak in a voice that wasn't hers. Uruz wasn't even aware her larynx could
produce such a voice.
But nobody had taken over
her body or mind, she was sure of that.
So what
was going on!?
Uruz realized she couldn't see any
more than her body was seeing. But then why did she feel so seperated?
Then suddenly, the world went white again.
* * *
Seconds later, it was over. The living room was charred
and in a horrible mess, but otherwise everything and everyone was alright. Mara
stared at the quietly sleeping Uruz on the floor in front of her, looking
unusually angelic. Everyone crawled out of the corner and gathered around Mara.
They all looked concerned. For her or for Uruz, she didn't know and she didn't
care. All she knew was that she wanted out, fast. As Megumi and Skuld surveyed
the damage, Belldandy went up to Uruz's side and rolled her on her back, looking
her over. She seemed to be communicating with someone.
Urd came up to Mara, head hung a little lower than Mara would've expected of
her.
"Sorry." Urd said. She meant it. "I didn't know Uruz
would just... blow up like that."
Mara blinked.
Here was Urd, arrogantly haughty, her good friend (of a
sort), powerful, and a Goddess to boot, which meant she was her enemy by job,
kneeling in front of her and apologising.
Oh, this was
too good. Perhaps this was what Mara had been waiting for. The chance to see Urd
apologise! Mara chuckled a little, then she broke out into full scale laughter.
Urd looked up. Had the berserker rage infected Mara too!?
"Mara?" Urd asked. Mara paused for a while, but one look at Urd and she broke
out into another fit of laughter.
"Ya twit! Didn't you
realize you're apologising? To me!?" Mara's eyes were streaming tears. Urd
looked at her once, and realized Mara had never recieved this sort of treatment
before. Urd grinned.
"Why, yes, I do recognize the fact
that I am apologising to you, Mara." Urd said, formally. Too formally. Mara
stopped laughing and looked at her. Something was up.
"Eh?"
Urd continued.
"In fact, I
should be apologising for everything I've ever done to you, since I've been
making life difficult for you, right?" Urd said, bobbing her head. Their
conversation had attracted Keiichi, Megumi and Skuld's attention. They stared,
eyes wide. They couldn't believe Urd was doing this!
"Urd! What are you doing!?" Skuld yelled. Urd ignored her.
"Yeah." Mara said, suspiciously. "So what?"
Urd laughed once.
"Well then, all
fine and dandy I guess. This only proves that I am worthy to be a Goddess, since
in return, I also forgive all your sins, Mara."
Mara's
veins bulged. So this was Urd's game. She was looking down on Mara for
being a demoness!? She snapped a fist up in Urd's face. The three watching Urd
relaxed visibly. So Urd was just playing with Mara, what a big relief.
"You saying that I need your stinking forgiveness,
Urd!?"
Urd pushed the hand away with all the confidence
in the world.
"You started it. I apologised sincerely and
you made a big deal out of it. In fact, you even scolded me for apologising.
Isn't that strange?"
Mara's fist dropped. There was cold
logic in there. She'd called Urd a twit.
Great, there
went her good rapport with the Goddesses. Mara groaned.
"Urd! Mara! Stop bickering!" Belldandy called from Uruz's side. She stood up.
Everyone's attention was fixed on her.
"None of us is to
blame for what happened to Uruz." She looked at Mara, who was twiddling her
fingers guiltily. "Everyone, can we please forget our differences for now? Uruz
needs our help now, and I sincerely hope everyone can give it."
Belldandy looked half angry, half pleading. Everyone
looked at her. They knew she only ask them for their favour and behave, because
Belldandy wouldn't force anyone to do anything they didn't want to even if it
were within her power. That look on her face made everyone, Mara included, feel
guilty of a great sin they could never carry.
They sat
down around what was left of the table.Uruz slept in the corner, peacefully.
"Mara, please." Belldandy pleaded. "Tell us
everything."
* * *
Up in the Heavens, Peorth suddenly had this horrible
premonition that something bad was going to happen. She immediately summoned a
projection tuned in to the Morisato household. She thanked her sixth sense, for
as soon as the image cleared up, she saw that Uruz was in a very bad
mood. What Peorth didn't comprehend was how Uruz could've suddenly become so...
dark. She considered contacting Freya from her chair terminal, but it told her
Freya was busy. Peorth gritted her teeth and uttered something under her breath
most unladylike. Peorth could only watch as Uruz cornered a demoness - Peorth
suddenly got the impression that this Mara, as she was sure they'd met, held
some answers - and was about to burn her away - which Peorth suddenly panicked
over, since that meant their answers would be gone along with a good God/dess,
since she remembered the Doublet System - in a flame of tainted energy.
Tainted? Peorth slowly realized that Uruz's energy held
traces of taint, like as if she had committed some unspeakable sin which marked
her for life.
Young, innocent Uruz? Peorth told herself.
Impossible!
But it was obviously not so on her screen.
* * *
Freya leaned backwards heavily on her throne of stone,
exhausted. But she had done it. A valkyrie appeared and wiped her head for her,
working silently. Freya blinked a few times at the sky, then let out a long
breath. That had been too close.
Freya. A voice
echoed in her head. No mistaking who that was.
My
Lord. She replied. Thank Him that He'd forseen the event and informed her in
time.
Good work. Freya smiled at the sky, knowing
full well that He could be looking at her and she wouldn't know it. Her wrinkles
creased around her eyes and lips.
Thank you, my
Lord. Freya replied. But I'm worried for Uruz. Was sending her down such
a good idea?
The voice that replied sounded a little
hurt at her faith in Him.
Of course. Do not worry, all
will come in time.
Freya hoped He was right. He was
always right so far.
* * *
Uruz woke up in a clean room, covered in blankets. The air
was blessedly cool, and Uruz couldn't remember a thing for the life of her. She
turned her head to look out the window, the only source of light in this dark,
dark room. It was evening. She'd been asleep half the day.
Hold on, what happened during that half!?
She suddenly remembered everything, and like always, it
hurt.
Her fault again. She didn't know what
happened, but she knew it was her fault again.
Why did
she have this sense of deja vu as well? It was strange.
But she remembered what happened. She'd lost control of herself somehow, and had
nearly killed Mara.
Great, there went their good
relationship.
Then she remembered a white flash, and she
was back to normal. Then she remembered waking up. She blinked at the darkness.
"Ah, you're awake?" A voice called out from the murk.
Uruz sat up in a snap, looking around. A yellow glint. Uruz's eyes widened. They
were Mara's.
"No fear, no fear." Mara's voice called out
soothingly. Another pair of eyes joined hers in the darkness, but these were
distinctly feline. A meow of a yawn sounded, and Velsper was awake. Uruz looked
on. What was going on? Did Mara... no, she didn't want to think about that. Who
knows what would happen?
"I've agreed to a truce for
now." Mara went on. "Since I don't have to trouble the world for at least
a year, I figured I could spend some time with my old drinking buddy." Uruz
could almost swear she saw Mara grinning. Those fangs. Scary.
"So where am I?" Uruz asked.
"Guestroom, temple." Mara replied.
"What happened?" She
was hoping someone would know. A rustle of cloth, which signalled a shrug.
"You ought to know better than any of us." Mara replied.
"I don't."
"Tough."
Uruz felt a sting of frustration hit her through her
heart, but it was at herself for having lost control... for whatever had
happened. She could barely remember what had happened, but she had the feeling
she knew.
*schrrriiiip*
The door
opened. A pair of brown eyes glinted with the evening sun.
"Ah, you're awake." It was Belldandy's voice, but Uruz
couldn't be sure. She knew Keiichi was under the awry wish's effect, and she
remembered that 'he' had Belldandy's voice. Those eyes were unmistakable though,
they were his brown.
"Ah, Belldandy." Mara called. Uruz
could see her now, the sliver of light from the open door cut through the room
and landed on Mara like a knife. But Uruz caught the name.
Belldandy?!
"Dinner's
ready. Come on." Belldandy said. Mara got up with a soft groan, a few popping
bones, and floated out. Mara had obviously been babysitting her for quite some
time. Belldandy stayed there, looking at Uruz. Uruz was staring obtrusively
back, not knowing it herself.
"Is something the matter?"
Belldandy sounded remarkably calm and caring for all Uruz had done to mess up
the lives of both Keiichi and Belldandy and then everyone else she'd met. She
felt absolutely guilty.
"I.... I didn't know... I did
that to you, Belldandy...san." Uruz said, her head dipping low in regret. "I...
don't know! I just keep losing control of myself!" Uruz half wailed. She was
getting hysterical now, she knew. But everything kept going wrong for her, so
what was happening? Why was she to blame?! Uruz was crying, but she didn't know
that.
Belldandy came into the room and shut the door
behind her. Her eyes were surprisingly clear and shiny, like crystals, for all
their colour. She hugged Uruz gently. Uruz took her shoulder and cried on it.
Belldandy quietly accepted it, patting Uruz and stroking her hair.
"Don't worry about it. I'm sure everything's all right,
the Almighty will see to that. He did send you down here because He trusted you,
right?"
Uruz nodded. She felt like a small child again,
for all that she was 14. Belldandy smiled, and Uruz could feel it, somehow.
"Then you must have a reason for being here, for better
or for worse. And no, I don't think a Goddess being here is for the worse."
Belldandy's soothing voice made Uruz sleepy again. But she quietened Uruz's
unspoken question about what if it was worse. Uruz felt more and more drowsy by
the second.
"I'm sleepy." Uruz said, softly. She didn't
care if she sounded like a toddler now, she just wanted someone with her. "Can I
just stay here for a while?"
"Of course." Belldandy
whispered like a mother. She was rocking and patting Uruz like a little girl
too. Uruz liked it. She couldn't remember a time she had had this care and
attention.
"Can you stay here with me?" Uruz asked. It
was too much to ask, but she was scared. She didn't know what of, she just
wanted someone to hug her.
"Yes, of course I can, dear."
Belldandy whispered. Uruz hugged her tighter and closed her eyes, letting her
quiet tears flow. Belldandy remained quiet.
{End of Chapter 16}
{Chapter
17 : Quietness}