{Chapter 13 : For the love of Goddess II}
"....I never knew how I should say my love; it were a cold house I kept!"
- Elizabeth Proctor, The Crucible by Arthur Miller

    The days had passed by quickly for Megumi. Time really did fly when you were having fun, and on the wings of a concorde too. Four days down, one day to go. Megumi had already done everything in her holiday plans : Fish, swim, sunbathe, cycle,  have fun. Her stay with the Auto-Club hadn't been too bad, she'd been able to use their common fund for her own purposes. Nobody would refuse Megumi, Chihiro had ordered it and Tamiya and Ootaki seconded it. Well, Megumi did have one thing she'd neglected to do so far. Call Keiichi.
    "Well, time I found out what Keiichan has been doing these past few days." Megumi said to nobody in particular. She found the payphone, dropped in a coin, and dialed Keiichi's number.
    *briiiing* *briiing*
    *click*
    "Hai, moshi moshi. Morisato desu." It was Belldandy's voice. Megumi smiled. Belldandy always picked up the phone. Talk about what a way to start a call.
    "Hey there, Belldandy. This is Megumi. Is Keiichan there?"
    Belldandy was oddly silent. Megumi blinked. Was the connection bad? Belldandy was always prompt.
    "Ah, he's not here at the moment...." The voice on the other side said, nervously. Megumi thought it was strange. Very strange. Belldandy was never nervous.
    "Hey, Belldandy? Is there something wrong?" Megumi said over the phone, concerned.
    "No. I was just thinking of something."
    Megumi sounded relieved.
    "Well, if Keiichan comes back, tell him I'm coming over tomorrow, ok?"
    "Of course, Megumi."
    "Right, thanks then. Bye."
    "Good bye."
    *click*
    *beep* *beep* *beep*
    "......." Megumi didn't put down the reciever yet. She frowned.
    That wasn't like Belldandy. Not like her at all. Megumi thought to herself. She wouldn't be nervous, at all! Maybe something just cropped up. Keiichi was probably in the middle of something important, or disasterous, to warrant so much of Belldandy's attention.
    "Ah... well, time I took a shower and packed." Megumi stretched and took a deep breath, savouring the salty morning air tinted with a hundred aromas. And wrinkled her nose. Not all of it was pleasant, she noted with disgust. Petrol fumes, coming from the garage. Probably Tamiya at that souped up bike of his.
    Well, I'll be seeing Keiichan soon enough, Megumi thought. I'm due for a long overdue visit. Besides... I need to get Belldandy's opinion on something....
    Besides, Belldandy could take care of things. She always had.

*     *     *

    Keiichi put down the reciever quickly, and gasped. Damn, that was close! It was Megumi. Keiichi knew Megumi would be coming over soon. And Megumi has mistaken Keiichi's voice for Belldandy's. Great, how was she going to tell Megumi she'd suddenly changed sex? Belldandy came along, curious as ever.
    "Keiichi-san? Who was that?"
    Keiichi smiled at Belldandy and shook her head. She knew he was cutting it close with her act, but it was all he had to go on with.
    "No..nobody in particular!"
    Belldandy had never heard herself nervous before, so this was a new experience. She knew Keiichi had something to hide, but it was probably for good reason. She walked a little closer, leaning over a little.
    "Oh?" Was all she asked. Keiichi nodded.
    "Y...yeah. Just a wrong number." This was beginning to feel awfully familiar. Belldandy thought so too, and smiled.
    "Keiichi-san, do you remember the time we first met?"
    Keiichi nodded.
    "Just a wrong number." They both said at the same time. They laughed, revelling in the moment. It was rare that they had so much in common, and these were moments to savour. Keiichi still hadn't worked up the guts to tell Belldandy anything, but this was as good a chance as any.
    "Say, Belldandy..." Belldandy was attentive now. Keiichi swallowed.
    "You know, I've wanted to tell you this for a long time." Nothing was going to stop them now. Belldandy looked on, curious.
    "I think...." Keiichi said, trying to make it as easy on herself as possible. She swallowed hard, and looked at Belldandy. She was looking back at Keiichi. She smiled.
    "We could...." Keiichi was turning a bright red now. Belldandy straightened herself and walked just a little closer, leaning over to Keiichi's side.
    "We could... what, Keiichi-san?" Belldandy whispered into Keiichi's ear.
    "We could...." Keiichi repeated, trying to find the strength to say it. This felt familiar too, but for no particular reason.
    "Get married...and have sex." Belldandy whispered into Keiichi's ear. Her breath warm in Keiichi's ear. Keiichi's eyes widened. Had Belldandy really said that? Keiichi grabbed Belldandy by the shoulders and brought Belldandy in front of her.
    "Belldandy?"
    Belldandy looked confused.
    "Keiichi-san?"
    It wasn't Belldandy who said that then. Then, it had to be....
    Keiichi looked around for Urd, shouting for her to come out. But nobody did. Keiichi looked at Belldandy again.
    But it wasn't Belldandy in front of Keiichi anymore. It was Keiichi, male. Keiichi looked at her double, blinking. Then at herself in the mirror.
    'He' was Belldandy.

    "KIYAAAAAAAAH!"
    Keiichi jolted awake, screaming. That had been horrible. It was still horrible. It was the most singularly, scarily real dream Keiichi ever had. The feelings had been there, everything from the heat of Belldandy's breath to Keiichi's own torrid emotions.
    But Keiichi didn't have time to ponder. Her scream had brought all three sisters running to her room.
    "Keiichi-san! What's wrong!?" Belldandy exclaimed, clearly expecting Keiichi to have woken up as some ugly monster and then looking at herself in the mirror.
    "Oh hoh. It was Keiichi. In that case...." Urd said, suddenly bored. She thought Belldandy had screamed.
    "It wasn't one-sama then, thank the Almighty." Skuld heaved a sigh of relief, having thought it had been Belldandy who had screamed because Keiichi was doing something to her.
    But all three of them were still there waiting, at the doorway. Keiichi was gasping. Terror didn't describe Keiichi at the moment, it was like as if Keiichi had just been skinned alive, thrown into the Dead Sea (a lake in the middle east with a salt content high enough to float a human body) and left to soak for days, and then told it'd been repeated over and over until Ragnarok arrived, if it ever.
    In other words, it had been like being tortured by a demon.
    Belldandy quickly made her way to Keiichi's side. She was obviously worried. Keiichi was sitting up now, gasping still, eyes wide. Keiichi was staring at the sheets, but she saw nothing.
    "Keiichi-san? Are you all right?"
    Keiichi shook her head. There was that haunted look in her eyes, that she'd seen something absolutely forbidden to Man, mind, body and soul.
    "I just had the worst dream ever."
    "Please, tell me about it?" Belldandy asked. Whatever it was that made Keiichi this scared, was serious.
    Keiichi shook her head.
    "But it's got nothing to do with any of you... just a really bad dream."
    Belldandy didn't like this, but she couldn't force Keiichi to say anything she didn't want to. Belldandy stood up, still looking at Keiichi, hands clasped in front of her. Her lips were drawn tight.
    "If you want to talk about it, I'll be in the garden, Keiichi-san."
    Keiichi nodded, and the three of them left. Keiichi was left, sitting there, staring into space. What had brought that dream on? It was unreal. It was so totally unreal.
    *briiing*
    Keiichi nearly jumped out of her skin. For real. Belldandy picked up the phone.
    "Hai, moshi moshi. Morisato desu."
    Belldandy listened to the person on the other line. Belldandy's eyes widened for a second, and she looked to Keiichi, who had come out into the corridor to see who was calling. Keiichi was shaking her head furiously and waving her hands in an obvious "No, don't want to take it" gesture. Belldandy looked torn between telling Megumi Keiichi wasn't there and telling Megumi Keiichi was busy. She decided not to lie. At least, not in the conventional sense.
    "Ah, he's not here at the moment...." Belldandy trailed off. Keiichi looked distraught. She had her forehead in her right hand, pushing some hair up and some between her fingers, and breathed heavily. She rested the elbow of that hand on the wooden support, which was what Keiichi probably needed now, and shook her head. Belldandy looked on, scared. What was going on that Keiichi knew she didn't? That dream? What was it in that dream!?! Belldandy grew nervous.
    "Hey, Belldandy? Is there something wrong?" Megumi said over the phone, concerned. Belldandy snapped back to reality and regained her composure. She hastily answered.
    "No. I was just thinking of something."
    Megumi sounded relieved over the phone.
    "Well, if Keiichan comes back, tell him I'm coming over tomorrow, ok?"
    "Of course, Megumi." Belldandy was glad the conversation was winding down. She needed to talk to Keiichi, desperately.
    "Right, thanks then. Bye."
    "Good bye."
    Belldandy heaved a sigh of relief as she put down the reciever. Keiichi was obviously in some sort of terrible distress, Belldandy thought. She would talk to him, now. She walked over to Keiichi and put a hand on her shoulder.
    "Keiichi-san, something is wrong, and I want you to tell me what it is. Please." Belldandy said, firmly, with a no-nonsense attitude. Keiichi opened her eyes, hand still holding her forehead, and Belldandy saw tears in those reddened eyes.
    "Not here." Keiichi said, trying to hold her voice together. Belldandy heard it cracking, she knew that sound from her own voice. Belldandy nodded.
    "Let's go to my room." Belldandy said. "We can talk there."
    Keiichi just nodded.

*     *     *

    "Urd, what are we looking for?" Skuld asked, in mini form, as Urd led them under the temple. Urd looked back irritatedly at her.
    "That's what I brought you here to find out!" She hissed. Skuld blinked once, and shrugged.
    "I knew you couldn't live without my genius." Skuld said. Urd burst a few veins on her head with the distinctive cross. But she had to put up with it. Keiichi was obviously in trouble, and Urd could feel it all the way to her bones.
    "The things I put up with...." Urd reiterated to herself, reminiscent of what she had just said the previous day. They finally came up to the backyard of the temple, where Skuld saw nothing but activity.
    There was a millipede, walking on half its legs, and carrying bits of strange material in the other half. A grasshopper was hopping to some leaf blades with more of the material tied to its back. There, Ganchan was unloading the stuff into a bucket. A big one. And there was an Earth Spirit, with his impressive mane of hair. Skuld whistled.
    "You did this? I'm impressed." Skuld said, genuinely. Urd elbowed her.
    "There's no time to joke around, Skuld!" Urd sounded urgent.
    "Well, what do you want me to do then? Build something to gather all those weird things?" Skuld asked. Urd nodded. Well, Skuld was a lot more perceptive than she gave herself credit for after all.
    "And not only that. I want to see if you can identify this stuff." Urd said, picking a piece off the floor. Skuld realized that the material was quite literally everywhere, although she wouldn't have seen it if she weren't mini. She was standing on some herself. She picked a piece up.
    And her hair stood on end. A chill ran down her arm, froze her bones, tingled in her brain and toes. Skuld dropped the vile thing as if it would kill her. It probably could, for all the demonic presence in it.
    "It's.... revolting!" Skuld said, and shuddered. Urd nodded. If it hadn't been for her half-demoness heritage, Urd would've been shivering the way Skuld was. It had had its uses, Urd had once said. She smiled to herself sardonically. Damned right it does. But Urd needed to know.
    "What is this stuff?" She waved the fragment in Skuld's face. Skuld retreated from it. She took out a pair of tongs from behind her and held a piece up with it instead.
    "I'll check it out, and maybe I can find out what it was part of." Skuld said. "But how did you find it?"
    Urd looked at Skuld, incredulously. As if touching it hadn't told Skuld. But Urd decided not to scare the kid.
    "Call it a gut feeling."

*     *     *

    Somewhere, somehow, Mara almost sneezed. She sniffled, and was disappointed. A hot spring, and she could catch a cold? She'd been soaking for way too long. She got out of the spring, and realized she'd been soaking for nearly four days straight. She must've fallen asleep in the spring.
    But the holidays were almost over, Mara noted with a twinge of regret. Maybe she'd check back with the Goddesses, just to make sure nothing really bad had happened. Mara was growing rather partial to the group of people she kept causing trouble for, and it would be a pity to lose them now.
    What an irony.
    Mara sighed, and toweled off. Getting into a kimono, Mara headed for her room. Senbee was still inside his bottle, doing his jig. Apparently, he'd been keeping his Happy level high. Ah well.
    "Come on, we're leaving tomorrow. Go pack, Senbee." Mara muttered. Senbee stopped for a moment, and looked at Mara.
    "Senbee no need to pack, missus. Senbee always ready to go!"
    Mara was impressed. Senbee's happy level was almost too high.

*     *     *

    Keiichi was giving an account of the vividly real dream she had just a few minutes ago to Belldandy, who was listening intently. Belldandy was distraught, even more so than Keiichi. She was biting her lips, which she had drawn inwards, while she listened. She was gripping her skirt and grinding it in her fingers.
    She was scared. This was almost like the dreams she had had herself recently, or the dreams her sisters most likely would have too. It was terrifying.
    Keiichi was faring no better, she was still carrying that haunted look in her eyes as she told the story in a single breath. Keiichi wasn't looking at anything in particular, but her eyes were wide open. She was staring at the floor, but she didn't register anything in her mind.
    Finally, Keiichi finished retelling the haunting dream. The two of them sat there for a few minutes, in the silence of the temple. When Keiichi had first stopped thinking of Belldandy as a Goddess, it had seemed so natural to do so. Belldandy did everything she could manually, she had emotions just like any woman would have, she loved just like any other. But Belldandy knew things Keiichi could never have access to, she had powers Keiichi had only read about in fantasies. And it was during this time Keiichi was reminded just what it meant to be a Goddess on Belldandy's part. Belldandy looked aboslutely terrified.
    "Keiichi-san..." Belldandy started. She really didn't know what to say.
    *meeeew*
    Velsper was meowing for attention outside. Belldandy and Keiichi looked at each other, and Belldandy went to get Velsper. Hugging him closely, Belldandy came back and sat down again. Velsper looked at Keiichi, then up at Belldandy. He mewed again. Belldandy smiled gently at Velsper, glad that at least some things wouldn't change. Velsper was a great companion cat.
    "Yes, Velsper. That is Keiichi."
    Velsper mewed once, and licked Belldandy's arm, then struggled a little and Belldandy let him go. He went over to Keiichi's lap, curled up on it, and fell asleep. Belldandy stifled a giggle, and settled for a broad smile.
    "He likes you, Keiichi."
    Keiichi looked down at the special little black cat with a special little pattern on his forehead, and stroked him. Velsper purred in his sleep. Keiichi smiled slightly.
    "He does, doesn't he?"
    Then the two looked at each other. The fear for the moment had been forgotten, the gravity of the situation lost in that few minutes between getting Velsper and having him go to sleep on Keiichi's lap.
    It was almost as if Velsper had known what to do.
    The two of them smiled slightly. Belldandy spoke first.
    "Don't worry, Keiichi-san. We'll find a way. You just hang on there."
    Keiichi was reassured, Belldandy's words always rang true. She just couldn't lie.
    "Yeah, I guess you're right, Belldandy."
    But the fear was coming back. Keiichi swallowed hard, and was shivering. It wasn't a conscious effort on Keiichi's part, it was just real fear, and the proverbial cold that came with it.
    "Keiichi, you're cold." Belldandy noted. It was still summer and Kewl-Aid kun had proven unnecessary now, since the temperature was winding down considerably. But it was still very warm, in or outside the temple. Keiichi shuddered once, suddenly, violently, then clutched herself. Her breath came in ragged gasps.
    "I'm scared, Belldandy. I've never been this scared before, even when Mara first appeared in my dreams." Belldandy put a finger to Keiichi's mouth. It was icy cold.
    "No, Keiichi-san. Admitting your fear is one thing, and for you to take this situation as you are is the other. You're one of the bravest people I know." Belldandy smiled, sadly. She was more fearful for Keiichi than anyone else in this universe, herself included.
    Belldandy decided to comfort Keiichi in the only other way she could, when words were utterly, powerless. She shuffled up besides Keiichi and hugged her, warmly.
    "Don't worry, I'll be here, Keiichi-san. I'll always be here." Belldandy whispered.
    Belldandy had closed her eyes, her head tilted at a slight angle and was resting on Keiichi's shoulder. Her hug was firm enough for Keiichi to feel, but not strongly enough to the point where Keiichi couldn't move. Belldandy did that sometimes. Keiichi hugged Belldandy back and whispered.
    "Thank you."

*     *     *

    Up in the Heavens, the Almighty was watching the scene unfold between Belldandy and the boy He'd come to think of as his future son-in-law. Although all humans were His children, this one was special. Very special.
    Crushing the globe of energy with which He observed the two from, the Almighty asked for a report from the other departments working on the investigation. So far, all investigations, His ones included, had been for naught. This demon or demoness, whoever it was, had covered all evidence of the crime flawlessly. It was perplexing.
    Suddenly, there was an incoming call, an unexpected one. It was from the Morisato's. The Almighty had wanted to call up Belldandy to ask for her eyewitness accounts, but hadn't had the time recently. At least this saved Him the hassle, but it wouldn't be Belldandy making the reports now. The Almighty pressed the 'recieve' button floating in the air. Urd's image appeared in the view screen, looking worried.
    "It is I. What is it, Urd?"
    Urd looked more than relieved to hear His voice.
    "Our Lord, I may have just found what caused the disruption on that wish."
    Now this was interesting. The Almighty sat forwards, looking more intently at Urd. Urd lied often, yes, but for a good cause. She wouldn't lie to Him, she wouldn't dare.
    "Yes?"
    Urd swallowed.
    "We... we found some fragments of something at the temple.... has traces of demon magic in it."
    "Show it to Me."
    Urd held up a palm to the screen, as if she knew where it was, and the Almighty had the screen magnify by 1000 times. On Urd's palm (which was smooth even at this magnification, with no more lines and creases than necessary) was a tiny piece of metal. It was too small to guess what it had been part of once, but the Almighty could feel its emanations even through the screen.
    Well now, it turned out that a demon had been involved after all. The Almighty smiled, pleased.
    "Good work, Urd. You may just get that promotion yet. But for now, collect what you can, and send me a sample. Report to me once every two days. Understood?"
    Urd nodded.
    "Understood, my Lord. But I have just one question to ask."
    "Speak."
    "Could it be possible to just cancel the contract and pretend as if nothing had ever happened?" Urd looked hopeful. The Almighty almost laughed.
    "No, Urd. First of all, this wish appears to be have unexpectedly coded three times over by high-security passwords, which appear to have some security defences built into them. Too risky for us to just remove like that. No telling if Yggdrasil will crash again, and we have almost one thousand humans out there who have a contract to be kept. I'm sorry, Urd."
    Urd nodded, her hopes dashed against a brick wall. She was a little slumped now, obviously disappointed.
    "Understood, my Lord. The sample will be up there in a few minutes."
    And the connection was cut. The Almighty stood up, and boomed to the room.
    "This is the Almighty. A breakthrough has been made in the investigation. A sample of the evidence will be brought up here in a few minutes, I want all Class One personnel working in the labs to report to Research and Development immediately."

*     *     *

    Urd put down the phone and pulled an elbow back, fist clenched. She was grinning. For good reason.
    "YES! I'm gonna get promoted soon! You watch me, Skuld! Oooh ho ho ho ho!"
    But first things first, after Urd had finished with her little laugh, she took the sample material in her palm and cast a small spell on it.
    "Wrapped in light, shielded from all but the truth, send thee now, send thee true!"
    The metal piece was immediately wrapped in a glowing orb, and started floating out of Urd's palm. Then it shot straight into the Heavens. Urd watched it go.
    "I hope this works." Urd muttered to herself.
    Then her stomach growled.
    "Oops, forgot to eat. I wonder if Belldandy's cooked yet?"

*     *     *

    Skuld was in her room, putting the finishing touches on her nano-machine manufacturing device, she just called Nanokun one. There was no time to adore it, Skuld ran a couple of programs through it and booted its CPU up. The screen flashed her an all OK sign.
    "Skuld's own Nanokun one, switch on!"
    The machine's function was simple. Manufacture thousands, possibly millions, of nanomachines per minute and program them to search for and retrieve the innumerable fragments of this 'demon's metal', as they'd come to name it. Nanokun one chugged once, and production got underway. Skuld fed it a few metal rulers and went to her microscope. (Nanotechnology means making machines the size of molecules or smaller.)
    The sample she had accquired was being scrutinized by Skuld under an electron microscope. Skuld was checking its molecular composition.
    "This is incredible." Skuld muttered to herself. She look up and away from the microscope, rubbed her eyes, and checked it under her microscope again. Her fears were realized.
    "It's decaying!" Skuld exclaimed. This thing wasn't just metallic, it was radioactive too. Skuld growled once, at the back of her throat, something nasty.
    "I'll bet Mara's behind this."
    She went to find Urd.

*     *     *

    Urd was staring into the Tea Room again. Keiichi hadn't worked up the guts the previous day to tell Belldandy anything, but from what Urd could see, Keiichi probably didn't need to. Urd was smiling like a catwoman, feline eyes, lips and all.
    "Huh huuuh, isn't he the stud." Urd thought to herself. She kept her peace though, she didn't want to spoil the moment for them.
    "Urd!" Someone called from the corridor. It was Skuld. Urd tsched. That kid could be so annoying sometimes! Belldandy and Keiichi suddenly looked up, and disengaged from their hug. Velsper purred once, and slept on. They saw Urd at the doorway, and she grinned, nervously, sweating.
    "Giku! Ara... hi." Urd said, waving a hand. Then Skuld appeared in the doorway with Urd, looking upset.
    "Urd! I've got som-oof!"
    Urd grabbed the unpleasantly surprised Skuld by the mouth not too gently, paused to wave and smile one last time at the couple in the room before walking off, dragging a muted and kicking Skuld. Belldandy and Keiichi watched in surprise for a moment, before they looked at each other again.
    "It's time for breakfast...." Belldandy noted. She got up.
    "I have to go prepare breakfast."
    "Yeah, sure thing, Belldandy."
    Keiichi watched as Belldandy left the room, while unconsciously stroking Velsper.

*     *     *

    "What's the meaning of this, Urd!?" An irate Skuld asked. Her voice was getting louder by the moment. Urd ssh'ed her.
    "Didn't you see those two lovebirds hugging!?" Urd said.
    Skuld blinked once. She screwed her face up indignantly, nose wrinkling, lips sulking upwards, furrowing her eyebrows.
    "What!? Them!? Hugging!?"
    Urd nodded.
    "Leave them be. Anyway, what did you have to tell me, Skuld?" Urd was keeping a terribly cool calm, and Skuld should've had reason to be scared if she weren't so pissed.
    "I found out something about the demon metal." Skuld said, firmly.
    "Go on." Urd urged. Skuld sighed, and slumped her shoulders.
    "It's a wasted effort. Even if we did ever manage to collect every single scrap of that stuff, we wouldn't be able to divine what it originally made up." Urd raised an eyebrow.
    "Why's that?"
    Skuld looked up at Urd, as if she were pleading. Skuld looked like she couldn't swallow back her emotions, she probably couldn't.
    "It's because it's decaying, Urd!"
    Urd looked at Skuld for a second.
    "Decaying? It's organic?"
    "No! It's decaying like a radioactive object! Its molecular structure is extremely unstable. At its rate of decomposition, there won't be much of it left after next week!" Skuld was frantic, as if she were personally assuming responsibility for the decay of the object.
    Urd looked at Skuld. She bent over, and put her hands on Skuld's shoulders.
    "Can't you build some sort of stasis machine or something? Anything to stop it."
    Skuld nodded, but shrugged. Urd stood up again, and scratched her head.
    "I could, but the decay has already been going on for four days, at least. Another four or five, and it'll be useless to do so."
    Urd cursed under her breath whoever it was that did this. And she had a certain Mara in mind. She swept her hand across the air in a cutting gesture, swiftly, strongly.
    "Do it, Skuld. We'll need everything we can find. Double time if needed."
    Skuld nodded. She was almost about to run off when someone called from the corridor.
    "Urd! Skuld! What are you two hiding from me and Keiichi?!"
    It was Belldandy. She was running up to the two of them. Urd and Skuld wore guilty looks on their faces and were sweating profusely.
    "Ara... Belldandy!" Urd said, smiling nervously. And guiltily. It couldn't have looked more false. Skuld was smiling the same way. Urd was waving her hand up and down, as if trying to calm Belldandy. "It's nothing!"
    Belldandy stamped her foot once, and from outside the temple, a loud rustling was heard.
    "I won't have any of this, sisters." Belldandy said, her voice straining. Belldandy was becoming angry, and they knew it. "I want answers, now." Belldandy's forehead wrinkled a little as her eyebrows began knitting in irritation. But it didn't last. Her face softened, and she looked worried.
    "Please."
    Urd and Skuld looked at each other, and sighed.
    "We know who's behind it."

*     *     *

    Uruz heard the announcement from the Almighty, and silently praised whoever it was that had made the breakthrough. The day after her meeting with Freya, her mood gotten considerably better. It was fast becoming a blessed time for her, there was the rumour going around now that the Almighty would reinstate Uruz, and some had added "with promotion to boot.". That one Uruz didn't mind hearing. Oh yes.... things were going so right for her at last.
    She had even enjoyed herself debugging today. She was happily swinging her hammer left and right, smacking bugs into whatever oblivion they went to when they were 'debugged'. And she was singing.
    Then the announcement came.
    "Will Uruz please report to the Almighty's office? Any debuggers on inactive duty, please report to sector Diana-40-E-67. Thank you."
    Uruz dropped her hammer, on a bug (by pure luck), and flew off.
    This got better by the minute.
    Uruz couldn't be happier.

*     *     *

    "Mara!?" Was all Belldandy could say when she heard her sisters explain their findings so far.
    "Afraid so." Urd said, shaking her head. She was looking down, eyelids lowered. Terrible, Urd thought.
    Belldandy whimpered a little. She'd known Mara would always do her job well, but this had gone a little too far. Belldandy couldn't take much more, she just fell to her knees and knelt there. She was clutching her hands together over her chest, taking deep, shuddering breaths. Skuld kneeled down besides her sister.
    "One-san. There's nothing we can do. Urd has already given her report to the Almighty, and now all we can do is wait for the results." They knew it was almost true, nothing could be done. Belldandy hated it, this helplessness of waiting, but they all knew that while they were the Norns of Fate, Fate hadn't had much role to play where the Almighty was involved.
    "Pull yourself together, Belldandy." Urd said, joining Skuld. Belldandy turned to look at her. Urd smiled encouragingly at Belldandy. Her voice was solemn, serious.
    "Don't worry, things'll work out fine. I'm sure of that." Urd said, standing up. "On my word as a Goddess Second Class, and as sure as my name is Urd, I promise." She raised a flat palm to her side, as if swearing.
    Thunder clapped once, in approval, and everything was silent.

*     *     *

    Uruz happily flew by the various cities and offices leading to the Almighty's office, hoping for the best. Everyone had been more or less cheering her on as she passed them by, once in a while shouting a word of encouragement. Well, Uruz was quickly becoming popular up here. That wasn't bad.
    When she arrived, there was a long elevator that led high into the Heavens' skies. Reaching the top, there was only a black corridor that blocked out the view from the outside world. Uruz felt isolated. She took a few resounding steps towards the office.
    She stopped outside the Almighty's office, and knocked on the "door", a glassy piece of wall that looked no different from the rest of the shell encasing the office. The sound rang out crystalline and pure.
    "Enter." Came a voice from the other side.
    Uruz walked through the wall like it were water, and emerged in the Almighty's grand office. Simply put, she was overawed.

    All around her, she could see the Heavens. They were at its zenith, the tallest point in the universe. Floating structures, discs, buildings, trees, everything. They were there, all perfect in the Almighty's infinite wisdom and planning. To Uruz, the buildings swept out in a fashion not unlike a funnel. Looking at the floor beneath her to the lowest point, Uruz saw the garden homes, flowing like a great river out and away from the Office as its source. Following it, there were cliffs and hills, sheared faces cutting into the gardens from the sides. It wasn't forced cutting too, it looked more like as if they were supposed to be cutting in at the sides. More buildings, some ovoid, some rectangular, most of them modular, hung in the air or were embedded into the rock, brown and orange and gold. As they went on, the hills rose, sweeping over the Heavens. Then the cliffs and hills gave way to a mass of floating structures in the distance, which Uruz recognized as the main "capital" of the Heavens. The pattern of the structures looked absolutely chaotic, floating in the air without design or intent. Then Uruz peered a little closer and looked.
    It was more like the pattern was emphasizing something. >From up close, the capital was utterly huge, but Uruz realized that she'd only seen a tiny portion of it. From the Almighty's Office, it was just a smattering of dots in the distance. And the dots went on left and right too, representing the different religions and their branches. Even though there were buildings and trees blocking some of the Office's view to those directions, whatever it was Uruz saw was impressive enough. Then she saw something rise in the distance.
    It was the Sun of Earth. Uruz sucked in a mouthful of air and kept it there.
    The city in the center of the Office's view was letting the light through in a peculiar pattern, and it was all over the Office's walls.
    Well, it turned out to a be a page from the Bible. Uruz guessed the city shifted everyday to create a new page to read. This one was on the Exodus, 15:26.
    She didn't have time to read it though, the Almighty put a hand on Uruz's shoulder. There was power in that hand. And there was also softness, benevolence, and love.
    Uruz looked at the Almighty, His face still covered in the shadows of the cloths He wrapped around himself.
    "I never get tired of this view, this Kingdom." The Almighty said, wistfully. "And the script changes everyday. I think it should be a page from the Quaran tomorrow." There was pride, for sure. Then suddenly, He remembered what He'd called Uruz for.
    "Uruz, my child?"
    "Yes, Father?"
    "Do you still remember that day?"
    "What day, Father?"
    "When the disruption occured."
    "Of course, Father."
    "Good. I need you to tell me everything that you remember. I have a hunch..."

*     *     *

    Keiichi helped Belldandy to wash up after a late breakfast. Belldandy had wanted to refuse, but Keiichi reasoned that since Belldandy had already taught Keiichi a lot of everything else the last four days, there was no harm teaching her how Belldandy washed these dishes so clean. Belldandy had been flattered, so she didn't refuse. Watching from the doorway, downing a 'huge' bottled cocktail of gin and cognac, was mini-Urd. She was stone drunk, but she didn't care. She raised the bottle as she watched the two start splashing soapy dishwater at each other, obviously enjoying themselves, and laughed.
    "Here's to good times with bad!" Urd said, and took another swig. She gasped after that round, the cocktail burning her throat raw, and laughed drunkenly.
    "Aaaaah haaa! That was gooood!"

*     *     *

    Skuld had nothing else to do, so she had gone to start her designs on the stasis field generator and composite projector. Her plan was to stabilise whatever materials her projected two million nanomachines collected in the field, and then use the projector to try fitting the pieces together. It wouldn't be complete, but it was better than nothing, Skuld reasoned. But whatever it was, she had to work fast. 'Nothing' would be what they have if Skuld couldn't get that stasis field working. But first things first, Skuld whipped out her ice cream spoon and went to get the gallon and a half tub of ice cream from the freezer. She'd need all her energy.

*     *     *

    Keiichi spent the rest of the day gardening with Belldandy, upon Belldandy's behest. Sometimes, Keiichi thought, it was fun to just get out and have fun. Keiichi had always thought gardening was boring, back breaking job. Well, the back breaking part was almost true, but it was far from boring. The first thing Keiichi had to learn though, was to get used to the smell of the different kinds of earth that could be found on temple grounds, since they had to get close to the plants to do much of anything. Belldandy enjoyed taking care of the plants as much as looking at them, Keiichi noted. Well, of course she does. That little Keiichi was saying. They're living, just like everything else.
    So Belldandy taught Keiichi how to tell thirsty plants from diseased ones, by looking at their leaves. Dry or hungry plants, she said, would normally lose the colouring in their leaves first before their leaves began to turn brown, mostly from the edges first, indicating wilting from thirst. Diseased plants were a lot more random in their withering, among other ailments, so it was easier to tell. Belldandy also taught Keiichi how to dig properly so the roots wouldn't be too heavily damaged, as well as tell what plant was what. There were the fragrant plants in the temple, as well as pretty ones, tiny ones, ones which attracted bees, ones which attracted animals like bats and parasitic plants, among other things. Keiichi was amazed. She'd thought gardening only involved watering, fertilizing, and pulling out the weeds. It was amazing that plants could be diagnosed like animals, and just by looking. Belldandy even taught Keiichi that weeding was a lot more than just pulling, the roots had to be taken out. There were some specialised weeds that could grow from a living root even if everything else was ripped out, Belldandy said. Keiichi wondered at Belldandy's attitude to the weeds.
    Keiichi got a little sunburnt from staying out in the gardens for so long, but there was shade from the trees, so skin damage was minimal. It was nearing evening when they finally decided to call it a day. Wearing work gloves, both Belldandy and Keiichi were sitting under the plum tree side by side, resting. Keiichi used the back of her arm to wipe away all the sweat that had formed on her forehead. A brown smear came across as well. Keiichi hadn't been terribly skilled at digging hard earth, and had scattered dirt everywhere. A lot of it had ended up on Keiichi's face, arms and shirt. Luckily, Belldandy had advised Keiichi to switch to a threadbare working shirt beforehand. The shirt literally looked ready to bite the dust.
    "Ah, Keiichi-san! There's dirt all over your forehead!" Belldandy noted. She wore work gloves herself, to minimise staining. She still had to prepare food for the family.
    Keiichi looked up, realised that she couldn't see her own head, and nodded. Belldandy leaned over and wiped it off for Keiichi. Keiichi smiled in thanks, and felt a warm beat in her chest.
    "Thanks, Belldandy."
    Of the things they'd forgotten, Keiichi had forgone a hat. Being a Goddess, Belldandy didn't really need a hat to prevent sunburn and she did tend to overlook such things every so often when she got enthusiastic. The sun had burnt Keiichi's face and neck the most. The burnt skin was pretty hot now, but Keiichi knew it would be a lot worse later. But that didn't matter, it was only temporary. The burning was bearable, Keiichi told herself.
    Belldandy took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. She look out at the sunset, setting over Tokyo's west. The Land of the Rising Sun, Keiichi noted, was noted for its just as spectacular sunsets.
    "It's beautiful, isn't it, Keiichi-san?"
    Keiichi looked. Beautiful wasn't exactly correct. The bright orange-red sun was casting its light in one direction, throwing shadows over somethings, reflecting off others, but embracing everything in its descent over the populated horizon. In this way, Keiichi felt the shadows did emphasize certain things with a special meaning. Looking at Belldandy, Keiichi noted that Belldandy's sky blue eyes were reflecting the light as the rest of her was shrouded in darkness. It was impressive, the effect it created. Keiichi thought though, that saying impressive was different from feeling it. So it was true, the way sometimes people were at a loss of words and had to use the next best alternative.
    "Yes, Belldandy." Actually, the way things weren't turning out weren't too bad. The only impediment was that it would've been an unnatural pairing of the same sexes to those ignorant, when those within the temple and Up Above were the only ones who knew the truth.
    The truth, Keiichi wondered. Why does it have to be so unpleasant sometimes?
    "I've always wondered." Keiichi said, stretching her arms for a moment. The shirt adjusted accordingly. Belldandy looked. Which reminded her, she'd have to insist Keiichi wear some appropiate underwear when Megumi visited. What she saw was a little embarrassing, even to her.
    "Wondered about what, Keiichi-san?"
    "When people are told the truth, it sometimes seems more ridiculous, or more painful, or more disappointing than the lies we make to cover them. Negative, in other words. Sometimes the lies are even more believable than the truth."
    Belldandy smiled. People tended only to look at the side of things they wanted to look at, to believe in, such as the bad side. It was the only thing they didn't take for granted, strangely, when there were a lot of other things they shouldn't have taken for granted as well. Such as happiness.
    "But the truth is only what we make of it under our own power, to lie or to be true to ourselves and others. If we want to believe in the lie, it becomes more believable. And the hurt, just the predecessor to the sweetness that comes after it, Keiichi-san."
    Keiichi blinked once.
    "And what about happiness? Why don't we ever notice it, even when some of us have so much of it?" Keiichi knew Belldandy would understand the meaning behind this. Belldandy laughed, tucking her knees closer to her body and then linking hands in front of them. Keiichi had one leg stuck out full length, and the other leg in Belldandy's curled up position. Keiichi shifted a little. Belldandy look up at the sky through the space in the plum tree's crown of leaves.
    "Keiichi-san... the thing is, we sometimes lack so much in joy and happiness that when it does come, we live for the moment and never look back again. And it's because we neglect looking back at it that we never feel the profoundness of our happiness, as we do with sadness. It's hard to feel joy like that, I know. But we do our best, right?"
    Belldandy was looking at Keiichi now, her head tilted to her left slightly. She was watching Keiichi's response. Keiichi was looking wistfully skywards too. Keiichi was smiling knowingly.
    "I get your point, Belldandy. And I have so many memories to look back at which, strangely, I never felt the need to. Is it because you're always creating so many great memories that I never need to?" Keiichi smiled, and looked at Belldandy.
    They both shared a laugh, and got up.
    "Go wash up, Keiichi-san. I'll prepare dinner." Belldandy said, wiping her somewhat stained hands on her gardening shirt. "Just let me get changed first."
    Keiichi nodded, and they headed back to the garden. All this while, they never noticed the nanomachines that Skuld had set out to collect the pieces. Urd had helped Skuld by casting a cloaking spell over each and every tiny nanobot, which would shield both the emanations from the fragments and the nanobots themselves. Belldandy was just so perceptive sometimes, she might've noticed something.
    Which probably explained why the overtaxed mini-Urd who had been following them around was gulping down that over-alcoholic cocktail. She just hoped Keiichi wouldn't notice some funds missing...
    Mini-Urd held up her bottle again, and toasted to the sky.
    "Here's to Belldandy and Keiichi's booming relationship! Haa haa haa haa!"
    And Urd promptly fell asleep, too drunk to stay awake.

*     *     *

    Up in the Heavens, Uruz was busy hanging around Peorth. Some things wouldn't change, Peorth noted, half smiling and half sighing. It was both great to have Uruz back to her old, happy self, and a burden, because it meant Peorth would have to deal with a pair of undulating, adulating and adoring eyes on her all the time. Sitting in her chair, Peorth swivelled to look at Uruz, who was busy sorting through some files she had brought with her. She was sitting floating in the air, half curled with the files on her lap.
    "So, what did the Almighty ask of you, Uruz?" Peorth asked. Not many Goddesses were called to the Almighty's office, Uruz had been called twice in almost three times as many days. Uruz looked up from her files, and at Peorth. Uruz was in her smiling mood again, therefore, Uruz grinned when she would normally smile.
    "The Almighty asked me to tell Him everything I remembered from that day," Uruz said, as if unfazed by the mental trauma that day had caused her. "And I did. It turned out there was demon interference, so I wasn't to blame. He reinstated me!" Uruz was pretty hyper when she was happy. Peorth was glad Uruz had that stack of files to balance, if not Uruz would've been flying circles in the air. Peorth smiled once, more as out of courtesy than genuine gratification. Peorth had always believed Uruz would get out of it A-OK, so it wasn't a surprise to find out Uruz had been reinstated.
    "Congratulations, Uruz." Peorth said. Just then, the computer panel on her chair beeped. She pressed a button, and a data rod popped up from a hole in the floor. Peorth looked at it, and inserted it into the chair's built in computer. A small projected screen flickered into existence before her, and text scrolled across it at inhumane speeds. Peorth read it all, her eyes never once glazing over. Uruz was pretty much lost by the time the text had finished scrolling, a good five minutes later. Looking utterly confused, Uruz looked at Peorth and asked.
    "What was it, one-sama?" Uruz still addressed Peorth by that title. Peorth still hadn't gotten used to it.
    "Turns out the sample Urd sent up is unstable, and decays radioactively. But no doubt, it was demonic. So far, our top scientists have been unable to identify its original form and for all intents, its function. They've hazarded a guess that it has something to do with the wish-disruption, but for all we know, it could've been demon black magic, and this is just here to throw us off the actual trail. That's the condensed version." Peorth said. Uruz slumped a little. She'd been so hoping to find out what could've actually affected a Goddesses's communications uplink that adversely. Peorth noted Uruz's expression, lips flattened and eyes looking down.
    "There's a little more too. The corrupted wish isn't irreversible, but we're going to have to spend a week or two at least, sorting out the blasted bad sectors and debugging whatever crops up while we're doing it, and find the codes as well. That part could take a few years." Uruz suddenly perked up, and some of her files dropped to the floor. She groaned, and went to retrieve them.
    "Need I do anything to help?" She asked as she stacked the fallen files up again. Peorth shook her head.
    "Nope. They'll need to ask you some other things later."
    "Ok."
    Peorth drew a deep breath, and let it out in a huff as she put her hands behind her head and leaned back, resting her feet on the footrest she summoned.
    "What is it you do know, Uruz?" Peorth asked herself.

*     *     *

    That night, Keiichi had just finished the last touches to all the post-holiday plans for Nekomi Tech's next semester and was lying on her futon, arms tucked under the pillow, staring at the ceiling. Thinking.... thinking.
    "Ah......" Keiichi started. "I wonder if I'll ever grow the guts to tell Belldandy just how much I really love her...?" Keiichi thought about these past few days. It just seemed to strange.
    "It's so surreal...." Keiichi muttered. "Like I was living out a dream."
    Then Keiichi suddenly remembered that dream. She shuddered.
    "Fortunately, not that one. Thank God."
    Well, Keiichi didn't know just how much of a part the Almighty had, and would be, playing in this series of events.
    "But I have to say it, sooner or later." Keiichi nodded. "How should I go about saying it? Belldandy.... thank you for these few years of love, and for seeing me through... nah, too formal!" Keiichi shook her head, disgusted with that soppy idea.
    "The mood just isn't there." Keiichi moaned. "Just saying it like this, it's so... insincere!"
    "What's insincere, Keiichi-san?" Belldandy's voice came from outside, as soft footsteps padded their way across Keiichi's door. Keiichi sprang off her futon with shock. For some reason, she'd broken out into a cold sweat. Heart pounding, Keiichi tried to calm herself. Hearing your own heart pounding in your head wasn't condusive to helping one think.
    Get a grip on yourself, Keiichi! Keiichi thought. Here's your big chance!
    "Belldandy?" Keiichi's voice was straining with the effort of keeping calm. It trembled slightly.
    "Keiichi-san?" Belldandy said, sliding the door opening and walking in. Keiichi motioned to Belldandy to shut the door with a sidewards wave of her hand. She did. Belldandy walked over to Keiichi and sat down besides her. The futon hardly made a sound, as if Belldandy were as light as a feather.
    "Is everything all right, Keiichi-san?" Belldandy asked. Keiichi didn't move.
    "Well... Belldandy...." Keiichi said. Better to answer her question first. "It's just seemed so unreal of late. All this time we've been able to get together." Belldandy chuckled.
    "What, am I such bad company?" Belldandy joked. Keiichi took that too seriously and panicked, nearly crashing into the wall in a flurry of movement.
    "No! No, of course not! I just mean, first the Couple's Lodge, then this. It's really hard getting used to the idea we're finally... well, getting together." Keiichi swallowed. She hoped Belldandy got the clue. Belldandy nodded, looking straight in front of her, distracted.
    "We've always been disturbed, haven't we?" Belldandy said. Then she turned to look at Keiichi again.
    "And now that we've got some time alone..." Keiichi said. Well, dream or not, this was the time. "I've got something to tell you, Belldandy."
    "Yes, Keiichi-san?" Belldandy seemed absolutely oblivious to Keiichi's intentions. Keiichi swallowed again.
    "But before that, can I ask you to pinch me? Hard?" Belldandy looked confused.
    "Why, Keiichi-san?"
    "So I'll know I'm not dreaming."
    Belldandy nodded, set her lips tightly, and pinched Keiichi hard in the arm. Keiichi yelped once and jumped.
    "Ah! Keiichi-san! Did I pinch too hard!?" Belldandy said, suddenly scared.
    "No... no, Belldandy. That was just what I needed." Keiichi reassured her.
    And the truth that was, the cutting pain had sent a hard, head clearing spear into Keiichi's head. The mental fog that had accumulated in the past few hours of being consumed by work dissipated immediately. Keiichi was acutely more aware of her surroundings now, from the sounds to the sights, smells and feelings.
    Those feelings. Keiichi felt her heart rap against her chest with its knuckles impatiently, and a tingly, strange feeling welled up inside her chest.

    *doki* *doki*

    "Belldandy...." Keiichi said. This was NO dream. It was real. Keiichi got off the futon, knelt in front of Belldandy, and held her hand in her own. Keiichi made sure the feeling was there, the smooth skin of Belldandy's hand, warm to the touch, the same tingling sensation coursing through her hand as in her chest.
    Life stopped for the two.
    "I love you. I have nothing else to say, except I love you with all my heart, no matter what I look like now."
    "I just hope I never have to look like this much longer." Keiichi added, as an afterthought.
    Keiichi knew that had done it. She'd tried once, a long time back, but Skuld had popped in between them. This time, she'd said it, under strange circumstances doubtless, but it had worked. Keiichi suddenly felt lightheaded. That rushing, tingling feeling raced up Keiichi's body and filled her head, Keiichi saw white for a second and her vision cleared. Her heart beat faster now, and Keiichi felt her cheeks flush red. So this was love, true and pure.
    Belldandy gasped once, and her hands slipped out of Keiichi's. She held them to her own face, feeling, and pinched herself. She wasn't dreaming. Keiichi had confessed. Belldandy felt something well up inside her, she took several breaths, which only served to aggravate that feeling, and covered her face with her hands. She cried.
    "Did I say something wrong!?" Keiichi said, suddenly flustered. Maybe Belldandy wasn't prepared for it? Maybe Keiichi'd rushed things a little? Had she mistaken Belldandy's actions these few days as a chance to get closer to Keiichi?
    Belldandy shook her head. She just cried. Keiichi stood up and bent over, looking down at Belldandy.
    "Belldandy?"
    Belldandy suddenly looked up, and sprang off the futon, grabbing Keiichi tight and hugging her close to herself, afraid to let go.

    "Keiichi. San!" Was all Belldandy said. It was incredible, this feeling. Belldandy always thought she'd known what it had felt like to feel love, hot and true. She'd thought that whenever Keiichi looked at her like that, whenever he'd held her hand, whenever he'd confided in her, whenever he did something with her, she'd felt it, love.
    But this was the best of love, pure and true. It was The Moment of confession.
    It was a lot better than being the one to say it, for some reason. She'd never felt more wanted.

    Keiichi felt like she was being crushed, but didn't complain. This was incredible, the feeling. Keiichi had always felt that by just looking at Belldandy, had felt that in that first real kiss, had thought that with all the hugs and pecks she gave him, that she'd felt true love.
    No, this was real love.
    It was a lot better than their first kiss.

    "Ssshhh." Keiichi said, patting Belldandy's back. "Everything's all right."
    Belldandy let go of Keiichi, rather unwillingly, which Keiichi could second. They were afraid they'd suddenly lose each other if they did. It was an irrational fear, they knew, but it was possible.
    Fortunately, this was the time for the improbable.
    "Let's just keep it between us, ok, Belldandy?" Keiichi winked conspiratorially at Belldandy with a finger over her own lips. "Urd would throw a wedding if she found out. Bunny girl in the cake and all."
    Belldandy moved to wipe away her tears, but Keiichi did it for her first. Belldandy's tears were hotter than anything Keiichi had felt in a while, she realized.
    "Come on. Megumi's coming tomorrow." Keiichi prompted. "We've gotta get ready."
    Belldandy wouldn't disagree. She nodded.
    "I think it's safe we told everyone now. About me."
    Keiichi wondered what it was that had stopped her from announcing Belldandy's origins to the world. Then she remembered. The being used part, the disbelief, the overawe, and if the news got around, well....
    But who cared? Sayoko had passed Belldandy off as some magic user, which didn't bother them. Much. Some religions still saw magic users as demonic or evil.
    Boy, didn't these people know Gods and Goddesses had magic too?
    "Come on, Belldandy. We need some rest. Tomorrow's a big day." Keiichi said. "I can't hide forever, for sure." Keiichi was feeling a lot braver than she'd normally feel. Must've been that confession. Belldandy kissed Keiichi once, quickly, and turned to leave. When she got to the door, she turned around once.
    "It would've been nice though," She said. "If someone had been watching as witness."
    "Yeah..." Keiichi said, pinching herself again to be sure this wasn't a dream. Definitely not. That pinch hurt, sunburn and all. "Ouch! Yeah."
    Belldandy left, singing. The song had never been happier.

*     *     *

    Up Above, in the Heavens, the Almighty was mightily pleased. Glancing into the observation globe of power He'd created, he'd heard and seen everything that happened in that room. He smiled.
    "And I would bless this relationship, if Belldandy weren't a Goddess already." The Almighty said.
    It was impressive, truly, to finally see a human treat one of His Daughters like a real person, with real feelings and thoughts and emotions, with real honesty and conviction. Some of the others the Almighty had seen had been almost impossible to persuade that the Gods and Goddesses were for real, or had suddenly dropped in awe and grovelled before these representatives sent to help them like a statue of a mighty God to be worshipped. Keiichi was really different. He'd believed Belldandy and everything she did or said from the words "Why don't you have a girlfriend?" on, those two years ago. Few mortals held such trust, even in their friends. Keiichi even hadn't even been greedy with the three wishes he'd had. This person was really something.
    "I find thee, Morisato Keiichi, a most worthy mortal." The Almighty said to Himself.
    And thus, it would be writ.

{End of Chapter 13}
{Chapter 14 : Revelation Revealed}