(Steve Stachowicz)
gerrek@hotmail.com
(Matthew Frey)
MAFREY@charter.net
Webpage: http://www.geocities.com/tokyo/shores/2307
HARD QUESTIONS
By
Eric Thorsen and Stacko
LEGAL STUFF:
** The characters and concepts used in this story are the property
of their creators. Their use here should be seen as a sign of
respect. Everything else is ours.
NOW ON WITH THE SHOW!
CHAPTER TWO
"Where do little Immortals come from?"
Part Two
* * * * * *
"She what?" Minako asked in shock as she stared at Kevin.
The Senshi and Planetary Knights had gathered at Drakkenheim to
find out what had happened to Makoto.
"She blasted me into the wall." Kevin laughed as everyone
stirred uncomfortably. "The blast was so powerful, it killed me
on contact, luckily it didn't kill me permanently. Anyway, after
I recovered, Urd helped me into the house, but once I was sitting
down, Makoto ran into the room and tackled me, drowning me in
kisses."
"That's a switch." Haruka laughed. "I thought she wanted
a divorce?"
"She did." Kevin said with a shrug. "From what I can tell,
she doesn't remember that, or anything that's happened to her since
the Silver Millennium."
"What happened?" Usagi gasped. "That's not normal."
"No Usagi, it isn't." Ami said in a worried tone. "But
the goddesses said they should be able to fix the problem. It
may just take some time."
"You really believe that those three are goddesses?"
Haruka asked in scorn.
"Absolutely." Kevin said emphatically. "I've taken a
World Shaking and it only knocked the breath out of me. Urd's
Levin Bolt killed me outright. I doubt anything short of the
Imperium Silver Crystal could survive a fight with her."
"But why would three goddesses live in a shrine in
Nekomi?" Rei asked in confusion, and then smacked herself
in the forehead. "Duh ... where else would a goddess live."
The others laughed as she blushed in embarrassment.
"Have you told Makoto about that problem we discussed?"
Minako asked impatiently, getting angry when Kevin shook his
head. "Why not! I think Makoto has a right to know that she
can't have children."
"You're right Minako." Ami agreed. "But it wouldn't
mean anything to her right now. She doesn't even know that
she's Immortal."
"Isn't that dangerous?" Kiersten asked in concern.
"I mean, what about all those hunters that are after her?
She's defenseless!"
"Not entirely Kiersten." Scott said reassuringly. "She's
living on holy ground right now, which will protect her. Besides
that, the goddesses can protect her when she goes out."
"Maybe we should post a guard, just to be safe." Wesley
said consideringly.
"If you want to." Kevin sighed, yawning. "I'm still
tired for some reason though, so I'm going to take a nap."
He stumbled out of the room as the other Senshi watched.
"Okay, I'll take first watch." Wesley said, getting
to his feet. "Would you relieve me at four James?"
"Sure thing, Wes." James said. The rest of the Senshi
chose their watches and went back to their original plans for
the day.
* * * * *
Makoto sighed in boredom as she sat up in bed looking
around her bedroom. "I'm tired of sitting around here." She
muttered. "I wonder where my clothes are?" She got up and
started looking through the closets, getting frustrated and
slamming the door when she couldn't find anything. Belldandy
came in as she flopped down on the bed.
"Oh my, what's wrong Natasha?" Belldandy asked in
concern. "Were you looking for something?"
"My clothes." Makoto sighed. "I'm tired of sitting
around. It's not that I'm not enjoying your hospitality;
it's just that I don't like lying around. I need to do
things."
"I understand." Belldandy said with a smile. "Unfortunately
you didn't bring any clothes."
"That's strange." Makoto muttered. "My luggage should
have arrived by now. Maybe I should contact my mother to find
out what is going on?"
"Perhaps it would be better for me to call Ziggy."
Belldandy suggested. "He left me a way to get a hold of him."
"Okay." Makoto said nodding. "Is there something I can
do to help while you're contacting him?"
"Can you cook?" Belldandy asked, smiling when Makoto nodded
vigorously. "Then you may prepare lunch if you like. I'm sure
the others would like to try something new."
"Okay." Makoto said, rolling up the sleeves of her nightgown
as she walked to the kitchen. Belldandy went to the living room
and called the number Kevin gave her, and listened while it rang.
"Hello, Drakkenheim Castle, Jervis speaking." A voice said
from the other end. "How may I help you?"
"Hello, my name is Belldandy Morisato." Belldandy replied
pleasantly. "Mrs. O'Connell is spending a few day with me and
she wanted to do some shopping. Unfortunately she forgot her credit
card at home. Would it be possible for you to send it to the Nekomi
Shrine, that is where we are staying."
"Of course not Mrs. Morisato." Jervis said. "Before I do,
might I inquire as to Mr. O'Connell's age? Just as a precaution
mind you."
"Kevin was born 723 years ago." Belldandy said.
"The card will arrive in half an hour, Ma'am." Jervis said
happily. "Please extend to Mrs. O'Connell our wishes for a speedy
recovery."
"Of course, and thank you Jervis." Belldandy replied, and
then went to check on Makoto. She was cooking up a storm with
three dishes in progress at once. "Oh my, you really can cook."
She said in amazement.
"Wait until you taste it before you decide that." Makoto
chided, smiling at the complement.
"If that tastes as good as it smells Natasha, I'll have to
agree with Bell." Keichi said as he came into the kitchen.
"Keichi, why are you home so early?" Belldandy asked in
surprise, whirling around. "Didn't you have a test this afternoon?"
"Yeah, but it got canceled." Keichi said with a shrug.
"So I have the rest of the day off."
"That's wonderful, Keichi, go wash your hands and lunch
will be ready in..."
"Twenty minutes." Makoto said.
"Okay, I'm looking forward to it." Keichi said.
Keichi left to wash his hands, while Belldandy told Makoto
that they would be able to do some shopping after lunch. The meal
was excellent and one of the maids from Drakkenheim dropped off
Makoto's credit card a short time later. Then Makoto, Belldandy,
and Keichi left for the mall.
* * * * *
Kevin sat bolt upright in bed as he felt a flash of excitement
over his bond with Makoto. The image that accompanied it confused
him until he remembered the young man he'd met as he was leaving
the shrine. Getting out of bed, he showered and got dressed,
then activated his communicator.
"This is Kevin, who's watching Makoto?"
"It's my turn." Rei replied, a little out of breath.
"She's gone to the Crossed Blades Mall. I guess they decided
to go shopping." Kevin swore viciously and hit the emergency
all call button.
"Everyone, this is Kevin, I need you at the Crossed Blades
Mall in twenty minutes or less. Makoto is in danger." He grabbed
the keys to his DB 7 and ran down his private exit, roaring off
in a shower of gravel as he quickly brought the car up to 60
miles per hour. Once he was on the main highway, he took it to
120 mph and turned on his radar detector. He was almost to the
mall when his communicator beeped.
"What?" Kevin asked urgently.
"This is Scott, Kevin, we should be there in ten minutes.
Remember the rules." Scott told him.
"I know, no interference. All I'm going to do is tell her
where she can find a sword." Kevin said.
"Good idea Old Boy, see you in a bit."
"Don't take too long."
* * * * *
Cedric O'Malley sat in his regular spot on the third floor
concourse surrounded by six of his friends. They were all
sipping on a mixture of lemon twist, Sunkist, and squirt as they
waited for the spotters to find a nice juicy target. Cedric
smiled in anticipation when his cell phone rang.
"Incoming at the east wing entrance, ground floor. Target
is female, brunette in ponytail. Party with brunette girl and
short Asian male. Target is wearing tight green top and denim
pedal pushers. Has entered Victoria's Secret." The person on
the other end said.
"Monitor and let me know when she is moving toward the
central arena." Cedric and his friends left their vantage
point and made their way to the set elevator under the central
arena. As Cedric waited, he jerked in surprise when his call
phone rang again.
"What is it?" Cedric asked annoyed.
"Incoming on the southeast corridor." Another spotter
announced. "Target is young Angelo male, red hair, black pants
and shirt, black leather jacket. Target has joined a party of
two women and one man in the eastern corridor lingerie shop.
Target and companions appear unarmed."
"Is one of the women wearing a green top and pedal
pushers?" Cedric asked, stricken by a possibility.
"How did you guess Cedric?"
"Never mind, just keep an eye on them."
* * * * *
"Hi Natasha, folks." Kevin said with a smile, waving at
the counter clerk who smiled and waved in return. "Out buying
some clothes?"
"Ziggy!" Makoto cried happily. "I'm so glad you're here,
now I can ask you what you think before I buy anything."
"Cool, so are you going to model sexy lingerie first?"
Kevin asked wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. Makoto blushed
and hit Kevin playfully as Belldandy and Keichi chuckled.
"Maybe not huh?" Oh well, maybe later. So how are you feeling
today Princess?"
"Much better today." Makoto replied as they left the shop.
"After lunch, Urd gave me an energy drink and I feel great. I
keep hearing a buzzing in my ears though."
"Really?" Kevin asked curiously, hiding his concern.
"When did it start?"
"When we first got here." Makoto replied as they walked
toward the center of the mall. "It's been there ever since.
Do you know what it is?"
"Probably nothing." Kevin said reassuringly. "We might
want to hurry up the shopping expedition though, then you can
go back to the shrine for some more rest. We don't want you
sick for the party."
"Okay, I guess not." Makoto sighed, a little disappointed.
"We haven't even started though."
"Let's get to it then." As they continued toward a boutique
on the other side of the mall, they walked into the center of the
mall and froze when several spotlights came on and music blared
around them.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, for your entertainment, Crossed Blades
Mall is proud to present the next of our randomly spaced mock duels
for the day. We have a special treat for you this time, in the
center arena ... Two duels at once!"
The crowds rapidly moved away from the center, but as Kevin
and Makoto tried to leave, they were blocked by a menacing figure
that stood in their path.
"Hi Kevin, long time no see." The man said with a smile.
"Is this the new protégé we've heard about? How careless of you
to leave home unarmed."
"What's he talking about Ziggy?" Makoto asked nervously as
the man led them back to the arena. As they watched, the center
of the arena sank into the floor and a chain link barrier rose
around the circular depression.
"He's talking about a duel to the death, Natasha." Kevin
sighed as he looked around for an escape route, he swore when
he didn't find any.
"But why us?" Makoto asked in confusion, gasping when
she saw a stage mountain rise out of the floor. "What did we
do?"
"Why nothing, my dear." Cedric said as he walked toward
them with one of his friends. "It merely has to do with the
game."
"Hello Cedric." Kevin growled, smiling at the man menacingly.
"Still hunting innocents I see."
"You're hardly that Kevin, old man, but I suppose it could
apply to your protégé." Cedric replied scoffingly. "So I'll go
easier on her, she can fight Max while you fight me." He and his
friend turned from their opponents and made a lot of showy moves
to get the crowd excited.
"How are we going to fight without swords, Ziggy?" Makoto
asked in confusion as Cedric and his friend pulled their swords
from a compartment in the set. As the crowd watched, another
platform sank out of sight and returned with a sword rack. When
Cedric motioned them toward it, Kevin only shook his head.
"No thanks, old bean, we don't need to borrow a blade."
He shouted, making the crowd gasp.
"What do you mean, Ziggy?" Makoto asked. "We can't go
bare handed against swords like this, and the law prevents us
from fighting duels as Senshi."
"The sword of Jupiter is in your sub-space pocket Natasha."
Kevin whispered, then thrust his hand into the air, summoning his
ninja-to. Makoto did the same and her rapier appeared in her hand.
The crowd went wild at the 'special effects'. The dueling pairs
saluted each other and began circling.
"Cedric O'Malley of Ulster." Kevin's opponent said with a
grin.
"Kevin O'Connell of Donegal." Kevin snorted with a smirk.
Makoto's opponent introduced himself similarly, and then growled
angrily when Makoto announced that she was 'Crown Princess of
Jupiter'.
Kevin started putting pressure on Cedric immediately, while
Makoto jumped around, dodging out of range of her opponent's
attacks. She was a little slow on one dodge and her opponents
blade cut her top under her breasts, showing a little skin. With
a shriek of outrage, she jumped completely across the arena and
looked down at her top. Seeing that the cut went halfway through
the top and that her opponent was a distance off, she used her
sword to cut away the lower half of the shirt and then threw it
to a boy after blowing him a flirtatious kiss. The cheers of the
male half of the crowd only spurred her opponent on and he forced
her on the defensive.
Kevin swore under his breath when he saw Max almost hit
Makoto, and then grinned at her show. When he saw that Max was
forcing her to the mountain, he disarmed Cedric and went to check
on her.
"How you doing?" He asked as he watched Cedric out of the
corner of his eye.
"Don't know if I can keep this up Ziggy." She gasped in
response as she drove max off again.
"Remember the Dragon Roll?" Kevin asked, getting back to
back with Makoto.
"But that's only for shows!" Makoto protested.
"We're in a very deadly show, my love." Kevin sighed as he
parried Cedric's attack. "When I say now, do it, ready?"
"When you are." Makoto gasped tiredly as she barely parried
Max's attack in time.
"Now!" At the same instant, Kevin and Makoto parried their
opponent's attacks and performed perfect jump rolls over them.
They pivoted as their opponents turned, and ran them threw. The
crowd went wild as the two regulars fell and the arena floor
lowered into the basement to be replaced by the floor plug.
"Well, go on O'Connell, finish me off." Cedric growled in
pain. "It's what you've wanted to do for the last seven hundred
years."
"What is he talking about Ziggy?" Makoto asked in confusion.
"Do we really have to kill them?"
"Is she for real, O'Connell?" Cedric coughed in shock.
"I thought you trained people better than that."
"No, Natasha, we don't have to kill them if you don't want
to." Kevin answered, ignoring Cedric. "Though I might just
castrate Max if he doesn't stop looking at your chest." Makoto
glanced down and saw Max staring up at her and realized what he
could see. With an embarrassed cry, she jumped away from him
and glared icily.
"Hey, you can't blame me for taking an opportunity." Max
said unrepentantly. Kevin and Makoto jumped when they heard
running footsteps, then Kevin swore and kicked Cedric's cell phone
out of his hand.
"You should have killed me when you had the chance, Kevin me
boyo." Cedric growled as he struggled to his feet. "Now it's
payback time." All of Cedric's friends, including his spotters
came in, all armed.
"What about the rules?" Kevin demanded, moving toward Makoto.
"No more than single combat, one on one, remember?"
"Screw the rules." Cedric growled. "You're going to pay for
making a fool of me up there. Welcome to my house of pain." Several
of the new arrivals charged Kevin and Makoto, who jumped away from
them.
"What do we do now Ziggy?" Makoto gasped in fear. "We can't
fight all of them like this."
"We can't transform either." Kevin muttered under his breath,
then smiled as he saw a flash of light from the corridor. "Maybe we
won't have to. I think our friends are here." As he said that, the
two men who had gone to find out what the flicker was, ran back into
the room then were knocked off their feet by blasts of fire, water,
and ice.
"House of pain is right, Cedric." Wolf Knight growled as
he and the other Senshi entered the chamber. "When we get done,
your ancestors will feel it." With a roar half of the group
surrounding Kevin and Makoto attacked the Senshi while the other
half rushed Kevin and Makoto.
* * * * *
"Belldandy, I'm sure it's nothing to worry about." Keichi
said as he followed her down one of the service tunnels. "They've
only been gone a little while. It was only a mock duel."
"The fight was real, Keichi." Belldandy said in concern.
"Those men were really trying to kill Kevin and Makoto."
"How could you tell?" Keichi asked in surprise, stopping
in the middle of the passage.
"After eight thousand years of watching Thor and Heimdall
practice every day, I can tell when someone is holding back."
Belldandy replied softly. "What we have to do is find Kevin and
Makoto if we can and help them, or avenge them if we can't help
them."
"Avenge them?" Keichi gulped in shock. "Belldandy..." Her
hand suddenly covered his mouth and she motioned for silence.
In the distance, running footsteps could be heard, and then
three shouts filled the air.
"Flame Sniper!"
"Deep Submerge!"
"Ice Bubbles Blast!"
Flashes of light and heat came down the corridor and
Belldandy turned to Keichi. "Keichi, I want you to go back to
that side door we just passed and go out to the parking garage.
Bring the motorcycle back to that door and wait for us. We may
need to make a fast get away."
"But..."
"Don't argue Keichi, you need to hurry." Without a
backward glance, Belldandy ran down the corridor. Watching
her go, Keichi sighed, and then turned back to the passage
Belldandy had mentioned.
* * * * *
Kevin growled angrily as the pressing bodies separated
him from Makoto, and started lashing out at those around him.
After several minutes of pure defense, Kevin was tired and
growled in anger at the people who kept coming. Running his
current opponent through, he jumped backward and raised his
sword over his head.
"Neptune Dragon Power!" A blast of brilliant green light
flashed from his sword, blinding his opponents. When they could
finally see again, he stood before them in black combat fatigues,
his sword giving off a green glow. With a feral grin he attacked,
eliminating several opponents before they recovered from the shock.
As he fought his way through them as he saw Makoto go down
and swore, shifting to his battle armor and calling the other
Planetary Knights. He crashed through those surrounding Makoto
and fired a 'Dragon Tsunami' at the sword poised to behead her.
Finally reaching her, he gasped at the hundreds of wounds in her
body, then shifted his sword to a Claymore, growling in rage,
as a brilliant green light surround him. Smiling viscously, Kevin
beckoned the nearest opponent mockingly. The man advanced
cautiously, but his caution was pointless as he watched his sword
disintegrate under Kevin's attack, and then collapsed when Kevin
ran him through. Three more opponents and their swords met the
same fate before the other Planetary Knights fought their way to
Kevin's side and guarded him as he shifted back to his combat
fatigues and banished his sword. Lifting Makoto tenderly in his
arms, he carried her to the mouth of the exit passage where Ami
and Michiru were waiting for them.
"Take care of her." Kevin said gruffly, brushing her hair
from her face after laying her on the floor. "I'll be back after
I see a man about a sword." Accepting Makoto's sword from Gryphon
Knight, he put it into subspace and summoned the Sword of Neptune,
then shifted into full armor.
Slowly, inexorably, the Planetary Knights cut their way
through Cedric's friends, killing them, but not beheading anyone.
Finally Cedric was the last one standing and Kevin shifted back
to his fatigues.
"For crimes against Humanity and Immortals, for unnecessary
cruelty and violations of the rules of the Game, and finally, for
treason against the Kingdom of Ireland, the sentence is death."
Kevin growled, smiling vindictively. When Cedric tried to attack
him, Scott's sword lashed out and shattered Cedric's blade. "There
can be only one!" Cedric's head rolled several feet from the force
of Kevin's stroke and the energies of the Quickening gathered. Just
before they claimed Kevin, he heard a gasp of shock behind him.
* * * * *
Belldandy gasped at the scene of carnage in the basement area,
then cried out when she saw Makoto. Rushing to her side, she began
muttering a healing spell. Pushing the two people attending Makoto
aside, she placed her hand over the worst of Makoto's wounds and
began healing her. As the healing completed, she felt Makoto slip
away and began crying.
Kevin staggered as the Quickening subsided, returning him to
the mundane world. As he looked around, he noticed that Mars,
Uranus, and Venus were guarding those of Cedric's friends who had
revived. He heard crying coming from the place where he had left
Makoto and looked to see what was going on. Belldandy was crying
softly refusing the comfort Ami and Michiru were trying to give her.
With a sigh, Kevin walked over to the group as Scott and the others
started carrying the bodies over to the holding area Mars and Uranus
had set up. Belldandy stood when Kevin approached and hung her
head in sorrow.
"I'm sorry Kevin, I tried to save her, but she was too far
gone." She sighed sadly.
"It's all right Belldandy, I know you did your best."
Kevin reassured her. "Makoto will be fine though. Remember
that Skuld said our files were corrupted the same amount. The
effect of part of that corruption is that we can't die."
"But ..." Belldandy started then jumped as Makoto revived
with a gasp. Belldandy stared at her for several seconds then
turned to Kevin for an explanation.
"I don't really know how it works Belldandy, all I know
is that we do die, but something keeps us locked in our bodies
until we heal and then we revive. The only thing that will
kill us permanently is being beheaded."
"Strange." Belldandy murmured, wondering what would cause
something like that. She was lost in thought until Kevin got her
attention again.
"I don't want to bother you, but could I ask you a favor?"
"What is it?"
"Would you go over there and put the fear of a Goddess in
those men over there?" Kevin pointed at the men in the holding
area. "That way we won't have to do this again in six months."
Belldandy nodded and stalked over to them, shifting into
her formal uniform as she went. Kevin chuckled, amazed at the
difference a change in clothes made to the impression she made.
After she had spoken quietly to them and performed a demonstration
of her power, the Senshi let them leave. The instant there was
an opening, they all ran out of the chamber as if an enraged
demon was chasing them. Wolf Knight walked over to see how
Makoto was.
"What did she say to them?" Kevin asked, watching the last
Immortal run out.
"She told them that if they didn't leave Japan in the next
twenty-four hours, she and her sisters would personally hunt
each of them down and disintegrate them." Scott replied after
shifting out of his armor. "Then she took one of their swords
and showed them what she meant. She even scared me."
"Do you think she could really do that?"
"I don't think they or I wanted to find out." Scott
replied with a shiver. Belldandy walked over to them at this
point and smiled.
"Thank you for taking care of that Belldandy." Kevin said
gratefully. "I know we owe you some explanations, but could they
wait until after we get Makoto back to the Shrine? I'd feel much
better with her there, where she'll be safe." Belldandy nodded,
her expression saying she would want those explanations. Makoto
stood up and looked around dazedly at this point and Kevin walked
over to her.
"I'm sorry your shopping trip was ruined like this Princess,
but I think it would be a good idea for us to get you back to the
Nekomi Shrine. It isn't safe here right now."
Makoto nodded shakily and Kevin lifted her into his arms.
After Scott checked the room for video cameras, the Senshi
transformed into their normal forms and made their way out separate
exits. Kevin followed Belldandy to the exit where Keichi was
waiting and after assuring Makoto that he would contact the palace
for more clothes, let them leave. After a quick stop at Drakkenheim,
he drove to the Nekomi Shrine where everyone was waiting for him.
* * * * *
"Now that Makoto's asleep, I expect you want some answers."
Kevin said to Urd, Belldandy, and Skuld, once everyone had found a
seat. "What would you like to know first?"
"What did you mean when you said Makoto would be safe here?"
Belldandy asked. "Why would she be safer here than anywhere else?"
"Mainly it's because the shrine is Holy Ground." Scott
explained when Kevin indicated he should answer the question.
"One of the 'Rules of the Game' as we call them is that no
fights can occur on holy ground. There are two reasons for
this, the first being more practical than a reason. It seems
whenever anyone breaks that rule, the minor affect is that
their weapons would shatter to the most extreme I heard of,
is that it destroyed a whole city."
"What city was that?" Keichi asked.
"Pompeii." Scott replied and received several gasps
of shock for it.
"Father wondered what had caused the destruction of that
city." Belldandy said.
"The second is to provide an automatic neutral territory
if things start to get out of hand." Scott finished.
"A good rule." Urd said nodding in acceptance. "So
since she can't be attacked on holy ground, this would be
one of the safest places for her. But why are people attacking
you in the first place? That isn't normal."
"No it's not, but then neither are Scott, Kevin, and
Makoto normal people." Ami replied, laughing at Kevin and
Scott's offended expressions. "The three of them are part
of a secret society that are called 'the Chosen Ones', or
more recently simply 'Immortals.' The only qualification
required for membership is a stubborn refusal to stay dead
and a total disregard for the aging process."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Skuld asked in confusion.
"What it means is that all Immortals have at least four
things in common." Kevin replied. "First is an inability to
stay dead unless we are beheaded. Second is a complete lack
of physical aging after their first death. Third is an
inability to have children. The last is something most of
us don't notice too much, since it doesn't directly involve
us, but none of us remember our birth parents or any close
relatives."
"None at all?" Belldandy gasped in shock. "Don't you
even know who they were?"
"So let me get this straight." Skuld said. "After
you die once, you don't age, you can't have kids, and you
won't stay dead unless someone cuts your head off?"
"Basically yeah." Kevin said nodding.
"So just how old are you?" Urd said, looking at them
speculatively.
"Uh, well ... " Ami said, embarrassed. "I'm nineteen
and so are the others except for Scott and Kevin."
"Mr. O'Connell?" Urd said pointedly.
"Seven hundred and twenty-one." He replied blithely.
"And you Mr. Schwartzstern?" Belldandy asked with a
hidden smile.
"Oh, I'm only about two thousand and twenty-three."
Scott said dismissively.
"How old were you when you became Immortal?" Urd asked.
"Twenty-three."
"Seventeen." Kevin added.
"And unless I miss my guess, Makoto was the same age as
Kevin." Urd finished looking at Scott speculatively. "Tell me
Scott, don't you feel you're a bit old for Ami? I mean, two
thousand and four years is a pretty hefty age difference."
Belldandy glared at her sister, recognizing the jab.
"Not really." Scott replied, seriously considering the
question. "My feeling is that if two people love each other
as much as we do, age shouldn't be an issue. But in any case,
decisions which may effect the relationship should be made
together, protecting your loved ones from choices is going to
do more harm than good in the long run."
"I couldn't have said it better myself." Urd said,
smiling triumphantly at Belldandy, who blushed guiltily at
everyone's stares.
"But why were those men trying to kill you?" Skuld asked,
missing the byplay between Belldandy and Urd.
"The Game." Kevin said simply. At Skuld's confused
expression, he smiled. "The game is Mother Nature's way of
dealing with a group of people who are otherwise only slightly
inconvenienced by what she does, because of a phenomenon that
occurs when an Immortal dies, something we call 'the Quickening',
some immortals start hunting the others."
"Why would they do that?" Belldandy asked in horror.
"Because they're addicted." Scott replied with a shrug.
"The Quickening can be best described as a highly addictive,
beneficial, sensory drug. Since the only negative is obtaining
it. Those of us who aren't addicted have to stay ready to
defend ourselves all of the time."
"And you've lived under these conditions for two thousand
years?" Urd asked, impressed. "This guy could give Thor a run
for his money Belldandy."
As the three goddesses stared at Scott in surprise, a
beeping sound came from Skuld's room and she jumped to her feet
with a yelp and ran to find out what it was. A short time later,
she came back into the room with a dazed look to her eyes.
"Umm, Belldandy, could I talk to you privately for a moment?"
She asked her confusion obvious.
"What is it Skuld?" Belldandy asked, walking over to her
little sister. Skuld whispered into Belldandy's ear for several
seconds, then Belldandy stared at her in shock. She asked her a
question, and Skuld only response was a slow nod. After a short
conversation, Skuld went back to her room and came back a short
time later with a stack of printouts.
"What is it Bell?" Urd asked, surprised at Belldandy's
agitation.
"Skuld's discovered something that involves Scott and his
friends." She replied, glancing at Skuld, who smiled nervously.
"Would you please introduce us to your friends?"
"Sure." Scott said confused. "You already know Kevin,
Ami, Makoto, and myself. The others are Minako Aino, Rei Hino,
Kiersten Dean, Wesley Sorenson, Michiru Kaiou, Haruka Tenou,
James Rosenfeld, Usagi Tsukino-Chiba, and her husband Mamoru
Chiba." Each person waved as they were introduced.
"And your former names and titles are Princess Ruri Cathal
of Venus, Princess Krystal Bakkari of Mars, Princess Cassandra
Bontrager of Minerva, Prince Ivar Horst of Pluto, Princess Meri
Drakkar of Neptune, Princess Hadria Ammya of Uranus, Prince
Marcus Cathal of Venus, Princess Serenity of Luna, and Prince
Endymion of Earth." Belldandy finished, smiling at their shocked
expressions. "With Prince Siegmund Drakkar of Neptune, Princess
Meriel MacDougall of Mercury, Princess Natasha Damek of Jupiter,
and Prince Gerrek Bontrager of Minerva, that leaves Princess
Kiana Horst of Pluto, currently Setsuna Meiou, and Princess
Talia Burnaby of Saturn, currently Hotaru Tomoe, unaccounted
for. We've found the 'Lost Ones' Urd."
"Not too surprising that they're all together Bell." Urd
replied blandly. "It actually makes some sense."
"How do you know all of that?" Usagi asked fearfully.
"Who are you?"
"Calm down little girl." Urd said soothingly. "I doubt
anyone would believe that the last Senshi of the Silver Millennium
are alive and well in the twentieth century, two thousand years
after they died. I doubt anyone has ever heard of it, let alone
you."
"The reason I mentioned who you used to be is because of
what Skuld just told me." Belldandy explained. "You see,
each person on Earth is represented by a file in the Yggdrasil
Network. Now, when we met Scott and the others yesterday, we
discovered their files had been corrupted."
"What does this corruption do?" Usagi asked in fear.
"Are we going to get sick or something?"
"We don't know yet." Belldandy replied. "File corruption
of this kind that makes you sick usually will weaken you immediately
and would set of an alarm in Yggdrasil. Since that hasn't happened,
don't worry about that. Most of you were only affected by only
one event as well, so anything would have been corrected as you
were born."
"What does that mean?" Haruka asked impatiently. "Why
would it have been fixed?"
"It's why some babies are born later than expected."
Skuld explained. "If Yggdrasil detects file corruption during
it's pre-birth routines, it delays the birth and corrects the
file corruption automatically."
"Then why are some people born with birth defects?" Minako
asked in confusion. "Shouldn't this Yggdrasil correct those before
they were born?"
"Not exactly." Belldandy sighed understandingly. "Yggdrasil
can correct spiritual defects caused by file corruption, but
physical defects usually results from the choices of the child's
parents or others, so Yggdrasil can't correct it without Kami-sama's
approval, because of the personal choice aspect he usually won't
approve any changes."
"Oh." Minako said, thinking it over. "I guess I can accept
that. Sure it would be nice to a world without birth defects, but
I'd rather be free to choose how to live my life."
"How much corruption do our files have?" Scott asked curiously.
"Well you, Kevin, and Makoto were actually affected by two
events." Skuld explained. "So your file corruption is naturally
higher. Kevin and Makoto have the highest corruption levels with
forty-five percent, while you are only a little lower at thirty-
nine percent. The others all have levels at around twenty-three
percent. I'm trying to isolate the two changes to find out if
either of them has a pattern, but I haven't finished yet." Kevin
nodded, then jerked in surprise as a flash of pain came over his
bond with Makoto. Without a word to anyone he ran out of the
room, gasping at what he saw in Makoto's room.
Makoto was floating in mid-air surrounded by a dark cloud.
As he watched flashes of darkness struck her repeatedly as he
felt surges of pain over their bond. Belldandy, who had followed
him into the room gasped as well and called for her sister's.
The three goddesses arranged themselves around Makoto's bed and
began chanting, and a blue light filled the room. As they
continued chanting, the light became brighter and the cloud faded,
and finally the light was all that remained.
"What was that?" Kevin demanded as the Norn's stopped
chanting. He waited patiently for an explanation as they all
tried to catch their breath.
"Demon attack." Urd gasped out hoarsely. "Very powerful
demon attack."
"But why would a demon attack Makoto?" Skuld asked in
confusion. "They normally ignore mortals when they get that
strong. I'm going to check the source code." She ran out of
the room, while everyone else came to find out what was going
on.
"What happened?" Kiersten asked with a worried look at
Makoto who was sleeping restlessly.
"We don't know why, but a demon lord attacked Makoto."
Urd replied, looking at Belldandy, worried. "Skuld's right,
Demon Lords ignore Mortals, they're usually plotting a breakout."
As they all stood thinking about this turn of events, Skuld came
back looking shocked.
"Umm, Belldandy ... could I talk to you alone again?" She
asked, avoiding everyone else's eyes. "There's something really
strange here." Belldandy followed her out of the room and
talked for several minutes. After asking her little sister
to continue her search, she turned to the curious Senshi.
"What is it Bell?" Urd asked in surprise.
"It seems one of the effects of the change in their
files is that none of them will die." Belldandy replied.
"We're becoming Immortals?" Rei gasped in horror.
"No, not Immortals." Belldandy said with a reassuring
smile. "Or at least not the way you mean it. At the age of
twenty-six, you will simply stop aging and become resistant to
diseases. The part that I sent Skuld to check on had to do with
what the source code said about your eventual destinies."
"What about them?" Minako asked, confused.
"After four thousand years in that resistant state, you
will all become gods and goddesses." Belldandy said calmly.
Urd gasped in surprise, staring at everyone else in the room.
"That's probably why that demon lord attacked Makoto. They try
to limit the number of gods and goddesses there are."
"But why attack Makoto and not the rest of us?" Wesley
asked, looking at the two goddesses. "What's different about her?"
"She's in dimensional flux!" Skuld shouted as she ran
into the room with Banpei right behind her. Without another
word, she threw four devices into the corners of the room and
activated them.
"What's going on?" Kevin demanded in surprise. Skuld
motioned everyone out of the room and shut the door behind them.
"Makoto is in a state of dimensional flux." Skuld repeated.
"That would explain her memory loss, as well as the demon attack."
"What does that mean?" Scott asked patiently.
"Oh, I forgot you don't know yet." Skuld said blushing.
"Normally all beings are anchored to one dimension, the one they
come from. By using up a lot of energy, they can go to another
one, but most beings never do. Being in dimensional flux means
that Makoto's anchor is shifting to another dimension, and if
that happens, she'll snap into that dimension and we might never
see her again. That's why I put a dimensional barrier in her
room. It won't stop her anchor from shifting, but it will
stop her from leaving this dimension."
"Very good Skuld." Belldandy said, smiling in approval.
"What did you find out from the source code?"
"Not much, it just verified that the files were changed.
That's why I decided to check the alteration codes."
"What would that tell you?" Scott asked.
"There are only three alteration codes." Belldandy
explained. "System change, operator change, and evolution
change. System change is the code Yggdrasil uses to identify
file corruption and the effects of bugs. Evolution changes are
the results of human choices."
"And operator changes?" Minako said curiously.
"Operator changes are usually the result of a wish or file
corruption." Urd explained. "In either case, Kami-sama has to
authorize the change and it will have the log number attached to
the code string."
"Except that twenty percent of their files that makes Scott,
Kevin, and Makoto Immortal are made up of unauthorized operator
changes that were not being detected by the system filters."
Skuld put in.
"So the name 'Chosen Ones' was pretty accurate huh?" Urd
said, intrigued. "But chosen by whom?"
"More importantly, chosen for what purpose?" Scott
growled angrily.
* * * * *
To Be Continued ...