A/N: Double update today since I didn't get around to it before…for those of you under several feet of snow, all I can say is that I'm lamenting for you while under my afghan sipping hot coco…may these chapters be a good excuse not to have to stick your head outside and witness the snowy white fluff known as hell that's outside…and please, drive safely in this mess.

I do not own Ah! My Goddess.

Chapter 2

Time was a harsh mistress.

As the judgment gate warned, there would be no solace for a goddess once her lover was gone, and Belldandy had not heeded that warning nearly enough. It was a dark truth, and one she knew she could not rectify. No matter what she did, a horrific sadness filled her heart, and she could not bring herself to smile. It was as if part of her very soul had died along with Keiichi. For some distant reason, that poison clung to her and she could not cleanse herself of it.

The truth hurt, unbearably so.

Keiichi would never breathe another breath, nor open his eyes and see her. He was a spirit, taken away to a faraway place, his memory blissfully clean of any dealings he might have had with heavenly administration. He would be at peace, warmed by the good graces of all of the goddesses and gods who honored him, respected him, and loved him as kin…family forever, even only in their memory.

It was an honor when one really thought about it. To live the life he had, bestowed upon him with one simple wish, it was more than most mortals would be granted. It was also the most beautiful death a mortal could hope to achieve, a soul carried on by the immortals who wept for him. There was nothing better than to be guided to the heavens by the blessings of the heavens themselves.

Such a thought should have been a comfort…

Belldandy should have bounced back. She knew that as a goddess, there was much more life left, eons for her to live. There was a greater creation beyond her own whims. Even if she knew that, it was as if she couldn't reconcile his loss and just what it represented. The fleeting notion that even all happiness came to an end.

Only weakness found her, and even as a first class goddess…or perhaps because she was a first class goddess, she could not push away the sorrow in her heart. It was a terrible ache that would easily be taken advantage of, and she knew it. She even wished it.

If she were to go through with her current plans, her pained desires would be manipulated…as that was what demons did. It was their nature to pray upon those in need. Yet, as she found herself weeping once again for Keiichi, she could only take comfort in the woman who slid under the perfect crimson sheets, ready to corrupt her memories in ways only a demon could.

If this happened to be any other demon, Belldandy was sure she would have flinched away in terror and regret.

It wasn't any other one though. It was a woman so powerful that she could do what others could not, and would dare to do so without a second thought. The mere threat of such an implication worried Belldandy as tanned fingers made their way across her thigh, bespeaking gifts absolutely little more than blasphemy.

"What would Urd say about this?" Belldandy's voice spoke the one thing both women thought. "If she were ever to find out about this hellish contract, the consequences would be dire."

It was an odd truth, spoken in the most simplistic of ways. Yet, it held merit, though Hild refused to answer such a question. Instead, she focused on an entirely different matter. "As the contract you desire stipulates, you may take comfort in me." Hild said with a low voice heated by her whisper. "However, I'm still unsure if that's something you truly seek."

"Take away the pain." Belldandy murmured, her lips trembling as her eyes closed, begging to be as free as she once was a long time ago…when she was not bound by the shackles of loss that so constricted her. Decades had passed, most mere mortals never even knew that a man such as Keiichi had once existed…but Belldandy knew. She remembered, she could almost hear his voice, and feel his touch in her dreams. "I am unable to go on like this. It will poison creation."

Not to mention, it tormented her.

"Are you sure girl?" Hild asked then, viewing this agreement with hesitancy, unsure of she really wanted to amuse this whim.

"A contract is a contract." Belldandy murmured.

"Indeed." Hild agreed, no truer words on the matter had been spoken. The fact that it was one to be made with a goddess was all the sweeter for unholy shares. "Yet that is not my question. You will not regret this, will you?"

"How could I be sure?" Belldandy returned. "I am a goddess, first class, unlimited license."

"I am a demon." Hild said with a smirk. "But I'm far more than that…far too much, far greater than the heavens care to express." Such a thought made Hild sigh. "You do not have to do this."

"Mustn't I?" Belldandy watched as Hild shook her head.

"Immortals work differently than that, Belldandy." Hild told her, although she was sure the girl already knew that little detail.

"I did not assume it would be so terrible." The mere thought of him called tears from Belldandy's eyes. "Death, it was merely a consequence of creation…before, that's all it had to be, and all it really should have been."

"That is all it will ever be." Hild reminded Belldandy coldly. "You've merely suffered the loss as well. He was not merely a consequence to you. His soul had a name, and that meant something to you." She reached out, taking Belldandy's hands into her own. "I could remedy this…but…" Another sigh fell from her luscious lips. "It is not needed." This was too good a contract to pass up, but, Hild would have. If the girl somehow felt terrified and retracted the request, Hild would have turned and looked the other way, just this once. "Your pain will ebb in time…though, I can't say it will happen soon."

"Make it stop." Belldandy begged. "Please, I'm begging you." Her voice shook. "Just let me forget this ache before it kills Holybell and consumes me so terribly…please."

There were potions that could have cleaned away any memory of the man she loved, but Belldandy had refused that. She needed him, even in her aching sadness, she could not let go…and yet, as she was now, she could not go on. Demons, however, had tricks they would willingly play. Spells to feed on a host, and take away such agony for a short time.

"You will always remember him." Hild murmured. "The agony you feel now, it is something transient, and it will not simply end." The cruelty was that the pain of such loss would eventually return. The cycle was a vicious one, filled with its own brand of tragic, unrelenting truth…then again, contracts with demons always were. "You're making a pact with the hells, there is no redemption in something such as that."

"Then, I will come to you again." Belldandy told her. "That is what the contract demands, unless this somehow sickens you."

"Though I am a demon, I do pride myself in my own sense of moral foundation." Hild told Belldandy, again her thumb traced that smooth, perfect thigh. "We are related by mutual relatives only. You are not of my blood, and so, I have no qualms about taking you." Even as she said that, she refused to think that such a thing didn't come with ramifications. "However, Belldandy, you speak truth. Contracts hold demands, and I will hold you to yours."

"You've not given me any." Belldandy told her, not sure about the unusual gentleness that Hild seemed to possess. "Demons are very good at bewitching and captivating others. I know deep down, that you are able to do so." Belldandy closed her eyes, a sense of shame as a goddess engulfed her. "That you would...and not out of malice." She took Hild's hand that was on her thigh and kissed it, replacing it with a soft pressure just a little higher than it had ben before. "I'm begging you to make love to me as only a demon can."

"What would your mother say?" Hild asked slowly. "Have you spoken to her? I'm sure there are gods in the heavens powerful enough to cast this spell."

"I have spoken to her." Belldandy said quietly. "It is how I know you are able to cast it." She admitted, pulling her lower lip between her teeth. "I do not think I could allow any man to touch me in good faith…knowing that Keiichi once touched me in such a way." Belldandy said, swallowing hard. "There are indeed goddesses who could perform this ritual, but I have never asked for a holy coupling, Hild."

"You would not be permitted back into the heavens again after this." Hild warned her. "You do realize you are merely a tool for me…a way in which to watch your father suffer."

It was almost comical, and if it were any other situation, Belldandy would have laughed. However, as pained as her soul was, the only thing she could do was cling onto the faint hope of momentary blissful ignorance. "Aren't you supposed to taunt and tease your pray into your vices?" Belldandy asked her, a darkness in her words. Desire to be such a victim laid open before them. "I'm not new to these games we play."

"Oh, but you're not playing with any mere demon, girl." Hild said with a soft, yet stern voice. "You should seek a god instead."

"I refuse to be touched by the heavens, because Keiichi was not a god. He never wanted to be a god." A terrible pain flooded Belldandy at that, and it seeped out of her, an angry, ill-begotten flow of power. She felt as if it was disgusting. "He refused to take my father upon his offer." The venomous nature was so powerful, that Hild was taken aback by it, and was forced to dispel it with the use of her own devilish aura…Belldandy's confession continued, engulfed by that warm demonic light that Hild cast around her…protecting her. "My mother, upon hearing my request said she could only permit it, if it was you."

Hild rose an eyebrow to that. "She permits this?"

"I do not think…rather I am sure that I will never be able to ever be as cruel as a demon." Belldandy admitted. "However, I have fallen from grace. I do not wish to stay in the heavens…" She felt as if saying these things already made her a demon, and that alone irked her. "Urd doesn't know. I don't have the strength to tell her right now…but, you know how my father feels about demons." Belldandy said, her voice so weak, Hild struggled to hear her. "It must be you."

"Alright." Hild said quietly, cupping Belldandy's cheek as their eyes met. "You must be calm, and trust within my power." The incantations of a spell echoed as chanting in the shadows of Belldandy's mind, as soft and full lips met her own, partaking her inhibitions and dashing them away, as the voluptuous woman adjusted their positions, one firm thigh slipping between Belldandy's own when she guided the goddess to lay down on the bed. "I will ease you."

It was a promise sealed with a kiss, as knowing fingers pushed a silk robe away from soft, ivory skin. Violet eyes softened when she noticed a panic rise from within the goddess, watching when an arm lifted to cover her exposed breasts. It was shameful to ask for what Belldandy had, to desire to be released from the pain licking at her heart the way a forest fire did a landscape, and Hild grinned.

It was almost cute, in its own ungodly way. "Something else?" Hild asked her, but Belldandy could only continue to shield herself.

"I have never…" She closed her eyes and sighed.

"Been touched by a female immortal?" Hild asked gently, one slender finger reaching out to caress a teasing line down Belldandy's throat, watching the young woman beneath her shudder. "It will be an enjoyable experience, I assure you."

Belldandy shook her head. "By a demon." The implication was left hanging in the air, and Hild found that the goddess amused her once more with the games she had quite obviously played. "I want to feel the true nature of one." Belldandy said, a plea there. "The rapture of the hells."

It was almost a sinister chuckle, one velvety and dark, that seemed like music to Belldandy's ears. "Of course, it is as the contrast stipulates." Hild told her, taking the goddesses arms and holding them above her head. "When I'm through with you, you will be a most precious pet." A dark seal formed on the bed around them, and lavender eyes began to glow a soft red. "I must bend your mind to my will, so you must give into the unholy melody that you hear. Only then, can this contract between us be of any use."