Across town, in a small trailer with the sign Whirwind over its entrance, Belldandy paused from the tea she was pouring, her eyes growing wide with alarm as the backlash of Skuld's magic reached her senses. Almost spilling the tea she had made for Keiichi and Chihiro, the goddess quickly set the teapot down, rushing into the next room.
Keiichi and Chihiro were bent over an engine a recent client had brought in, the duo's heads locked together as they quietly discussed the various repairs and upgrades that could be made. As Belldandy entered, Keiichi looked up, a smile on his face as he moved to greet the goddess.
The smile faded quickly, however, as the young man registered the anxious expression on the Norn's face. He quickly stood, worry replacing the smile. "Belldandy? What's wrong?" From where she sat hunched over the engine, Chihiro glanced up with a frown. It was rare for Keiichi's 'girlfriend' to be anything aside from upbeat and cheerful. It was more than a little disconcerting to see Belldandy in her current state.
"Keiichi, I need to return home immediately. Something is wrong with Skuld."
Keiichi stiffened. "What?" He looked down at Chihiro, who was looking at the two of them with concern.
At his gaze, she sent the man a half-hearted glare. "Stop with the look, Morisato. I'm not so cruel as to force you two to stay here during a family emergency. Go on and get out of here."
Keiichi sent his boss a relieved grin. "Thanks Chihiro." He turned back to Belldandy, only to find that the young woman had already vanished. "Bell?"
"Looks like you aren't moving fast enough for her, Keiichi. Better move it before she leaves on your bike."
The young man grimaced. It's not her stealing my bike that I'm worried about. None the less, he dashed out of the room, leaving Chihiro in his dust. The woman sat still for a second before standing on her feet, her mouth forming an 'O' as she recalled something. "Ah, that's right!"
She ran out after him, following Keiichi outside and around the back of the trailer. "Keiichi, just remember! This is coming out of your-" The words died in her throat as her employee came to a halt, just as Belldandy sent him an apologetic smile before disappearing into the rearview mirror of Keiichi's bike.
"…paycheck…"
Keiichi turned, a look of dawning horror on his face. "Oh no." Please tell me she didn't just see that. A futile hope, yes, but stranger things had happened.
As it was, it seemed that K1 was in the good graces of someone in heaven, as Chihiro chuckled weakly and, like most mortals unused to seeing things that would normally be impossible, she denied what her eyes had told her. "Heh, that Belldandy of yours is quite the magician isn't she?"
The woman turned away, bringing a hand up to rub her temples. "Never mind. Get out of here. I'll give you the rest of the day off this one time. It's not like we're exceptionally busy today, after all." Her back turned to him, she didn't notice her employee's shoulder's sag in relief. To herself she muttered, "but for a second there, I could have sworn that Belldandy actually disappeared into a mirror." The woman shook her head. "I must be overworking myself."
As for Keiichi, the young man decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth and sent a quiet thank you out to anyone upstairs who had sent that small bit of help his way. Then, he quickly climbed onto his bike, strapped on his helmet, and revved the engine. Whatever was going on back home, he hoped it wasn't anything Belldandy couldn't handle until he got back as well.
In an old abandoned building, Mara looked up from the game she'd been playing. Her attention from the game lost, the small digital avatar on the screen was quickly assaulted by the local monsters, and before long, the words 'GAME OVER' flashed across the screen. Mara paid the game no mind. There were other things to worry about at the moment. Like that spike of power she'd felt run through her a second ago.
The blonde demon frowned. "Senbei." At the sound of his name, the tiny minion appeared at Mara's shoulder, floating up in front of her face.
"Yes Mistress?" The self-proclaimed god asked, dancing in front of the red-eyed woman to a beat only he seemed to hear.
"Keep an eye on the place. Make sure those rats don't screw anything up. I'm heading out."
The little genie almost squealed in delight. "Oh! Of course! And I shall rein misfortune down upon any who would dare ruin your work! It'll be so much fun." The minion clapped his hands together, rubbing them together eagerly.
Down below, peering out through one of the many holes that covered the building, the rat in charge of Mara's latest project winced, his ears drooping and tail wrapping around his feet as he turned to his brethren. "And it's times like these that I sincerely regret becoming a sentient being." He muttered.
Around him, his kin could only nod their heads and murmur agreements.
Mara gave Senbei a half-hearted smile, somewhat amused at her small minion's antics. "You do that. I'll be back in a while." With that she disappeared from sight, leaving her small servants to their own devices for a time. Senbei grinned. The rats shuddered.
The first-class demon reappeared outside the building that was serving as her temporary base. Without a care as to who might see her, Mara floated upwards, coming to a pause when she reached the building's crumbling rooftop. Finding a spot on the roof that looked strong enough to still hold her weight, the woman's booted feet touched the ground once more and Mara looked out across the city, somewhat glad that her choice of headquarters had once been a skyscraper.
She looked outwards, her vision drawn in the direction the energy output had originated from. It was coming from the direction of the Morisato Shrine. Urd. It figured as much. Absently, the demon rubbed her left shoulder. Her shoulder blade was acting up again. "Seems like the old Angel Biter has nipped another God." She murmured.
She rotated her sore shoulder, going over the stretches her old Gramps had taught her. The ache eased somewhat. She remained standing on the rooftop for a good many hours after that, lost in her own thoughts.
"Sleep well Skuld. Something tells me you're going to be a bear when you wake up." Urd whispered, tugging the blanket further up Skuld's body, letting it fall at her chin. The child had fallen unconscious quickly after falling into Urd's arms, the exhaustion of using so much uncontrolled magic at one time mixing with the little girl's battered conscious and quickly sending Skuld into the realms of sleep.
With a soft groan, Urd stretched her arms over her head and moved to her feet. With Skuld having fallen asleep in her arms, Urd had taken it upon herself to return the child to her room. It, like everything else, was in a state of disarray, but a quick musical note with the help of World of Elegance had repaired a majority of what was damaged.
Currently Skuld's room was the only dry room in the shrine. But at least the girl wouldn't wake up to a wrecked room, something that would have only added to the temper she'd no doubt have upon awakening.
"You're lucky I love you Brat, otherwise I'd have just let you catch a chill." Urd muttered, exiting the room and quietly shutting the door behind her. "Not that a goddess can catch a chill from something like this…"
She trailed off, wincing slightly in discontent as her bare feet hit the cold, wet floor outside Skuld's room. She sighed, squeezing the bridge of her nose as she took in the state of the building. "And now the fun begins. Better clean all this up before Belldandy gets back. I'm not sure I want to explain this to her."
"And why would you not wish to explain this to me?"
Urd jumped, a feeling of dread falling over her as she looked in the direction of the Tea Room. The door was open and Belldandy stood in it's entrance, still dressed in the dirty jumpsuit she wore whenever working at the Whirwind with Keiichi.
She did not look happy.
Urd grimaced at the small frown on her younger sister's face before sighing. "Belldandy. I didn't hear you arrive." She'd been so preoccupied with Skuld, she hadn't sensed her other sister arrive.
Belldandy nodded curtly, the frown still on her face. She looked past her sister and to the door she was standing outside of. "How is she?"
"Asleep. She exhausted herself using all that magic. She's going to be ravenous when she wakes up."
Another curt nod. "What caused it? This was not a result of one of your usual fights, Urd."
The elder sibling looked away, and Belldandy knew her declaration was correct. She held her silence though, knowing from past experience that urging a guilty Urd would only bring the two of them to blows.
Several painstaking seconds passed, and Urd eventually brought her gaze back to Belldandy. The goddess of the present didn't like what she saw in her sister's violet eyes, and she prepared herself for the worst.
Hesitantly, Urd reached into the folds of her purple gown, withdrawing the blade from where it had lain tucked between her breasts. She had unthinkingly stowed the weapon on her person, stuffing it into her gown out of a long-dead habit when Skuld had fallen asleep against her.
Belldandy's eyes widened in recognition as her gaze traveled to the object, and the woman gasped. Bringing a clenched fist up in front of her mouth, the Norn took several steps backwards, moving out of the hallway and further into the room she had originally arrived in. She stared at Urd in open horror.
"Urd! I thought you said you got rid of that!"
The woman in question quickly stowed the weapon back into her dress, motioning for her younger sister to low her voice. "Keep it down, Bell! I don't need you to wake Skuld up right after I got her down!" She whispered hotly, following her sister into the Tea Room and shutting the door behind her.
Belldandy continued to back away, keeping a keen distance between herself and Urd, but none the less lowered her voice, recalling her younger sister's current state. "Urd you promised me you'd get rid of the Angel Biter. Why do you still have it? Especially after everything it's done!" Perhaps sensing her other half's distress, perhaps the appearance of the blade that so horrified Belldandy, Holy Bell emerged from Belldandy's back, and the Angel's bright blue eyes were hard as she stared at Urd, wrapping her arms protectively around her goddess.
Urd bowed her head, knowing full well that the scorn the angel was directing her way was entirely deserved. After all, she'd given Belldandy her word that she'd get rid of the old blade. Once upon a time it had been the cause of a great deal of problems for the two Norns, and for Belldandy to see the source of those problems once more rising its ugly head must have been an unwanted shock for the goddess.
Urd looked up once more. Her sister stared back, alarm clear in her eyes, Holy Bell a silent sentinel hovering above her. She steeled herself, her posture stiffening. "I know what I said Belldandy." She brought a hand to her chest, feeling the blade through the fabric of her gown and almost taking comfort at its feel. "But I couldn't bring myself to get rid of it." Urd smiled bitterly. "Some part of me just refuses to let it go."
She shook her head. "But we can discuss this later. For now, we should probably focus on repairing the Shrine. Skuld did quite the number on this place."
Several seconds of silence passed, and Urd sent her younger sister a pleading glance. Finally, Belldandy sighed, the frown melting from her face as she gazed up at Holy Bell. Her angel returned the stare before inclining her head in understanding. As her wings folded up around her, the angel shot Urd one last angry look before sinking once more down into Belldandy's back.
Urd grimaced. "She's not going to forgive me for this anytime soon, is she?" It was more a statement than a question, and Belldandy looked over at her. While the frown was gone, there wasn't exactly a smile on her face. "Did you not say that we would discuss this at a later time and date?"
It wasn't the answer Urd had been hoping to hear. Not a confirmation…but not exactly a denial either. She shoved it to the back of her mind. For the moment, it didn't matter. "Right. I'm going to see just how badly Skuld wrecked my room. I take it you'll take care of this?" She motioned to the room. Belldandy nodded, and Urd was somewhat relieved to see that it wasn't as sharp as the others.
"Let us hurry. I would like for the shrine to be in the same state Keiichi and I had left it in this morning before Keiichi returns."
Urd nodded. "I'll leave you to it, then." She said, turning and exiting the room, the door shutting softly behind her.
Belldandy watched her sister depart, her expression somewhat solemn. "Oh Sister…" She murmured. "For how long do you plan on keeping that weapon? You know better than I it is the property of Demons." An almost fond smile came over her features. "And I am sure Mara would love to see it returned to her."
The goddess gazed around the room. "But I'm sure you already know that." From her back, Holy Bell emerged once more, and Belldandy gazed up at her affectionately. "That which once attempted wound you has left. I believe Urd will keep it under control for the time being. Will you help me restore this room to its former state of glory?"
Their song followed Urd out the hallway and into her room. Opening the door, the woman took a second to simply stand in the doorway and observe just how bad her room was. "Oh boy."
Various vials and bottles lay scattered on the floor, the only thing having kept them all from breaking being a reinforcement spell Urd habitually placed on all her potions. Living with a younger sister who periodically blew things up, be it on purpose or accidently, would do that to a person. These were the least of her worries, however, as they could be easily picked up and reorganized on their proper shelves. The same could be said for the various items within her dressers, all of which had seals on the inside of the drawers to prevent any serious damage from befalling them.
It was the items in the keystone, however, that caused Urd to moan in anguish. The small piece of fabric she'd fashioned into a crude bag holding the various fangs and claws lay hanging over one of the fallen vials, it's contents more than likely scattered in various locations across the house.
She swore. It had taken her years to collect all the pieces she'd need for the bracelets she'd been making. They were supposed to be part of a set: bracelets, anklets, and a matching necklace. Urd had originally been planning on giving them to Mara as gift when she had been younger. She'd even completed the necklace, though somewhere down the line she'd lost it. It had been a surprisingly painful loss, and Urd had made a promise to herself that if nothing else, she'd complete the bracelets and anklets for her old friend. The goddess still intended to keep that promise, and had even found some spare time since her arrival in the Assiah to work on the pieces.
"It'll take forever to find all the missing pieces without a proper locator spell." She muttered to herself, gathering the fabric and all the visible pieces in the room and placing them on a dresser. "And those aren't my strong suit." A long, pained sigh followed at the acknowledgement of one of her weaker areas in magic. "What else?"
The unicorn horn was easy enough to find. Like the fangs, it too had come loose from the cloth it was wrapped in, but do to it's unique energy signature, Urd had no problem finding it. "And thank the Almighty for that too. You're too precious for me to lose track of." The woman picked the horn up from where it had rolled under the dresser, rubbing it to her cheek affectionately before placing it next to the fangs.
"Next on the list: the Dragon's Tear Whiskey. Oh, that should be fun." She muttered sarcastically, staring down at the various bottles and vials at her feet. She shook her head regretfully. "Guess it can't be helped." From behind her, she felt the warmth of World of Elegance emerging from her back, the angel moving to look over her shoulder. Urd sent her other half a tight smile. "Think you can help sort this mess out?" The angel responded with a calm smile, patting the woman's shoulder before moving to pick up the many bottles that littered the floor.
Urd followed suit behind her, picking up various bottles, vials, and jars, reading their labels, and promptly setting them down into what would soon become piles to be sorted through later. "One of the only drawbacks to having so many seals in my room. You can't use any good magic to clean up and sort out a mess of this magnitude." She smiled as she caught her angel's nod of agreement.
"Now, where could that bottle have rolled off to…no wait! Here it is!" She smiled in victory, raising the pale green bottle into the air, the liquid inside sloshing around in discontent. Several seals were engraved into the dull glass, precautions she had taken when she had received the gift from Mara. "Dragon Tear's Whiskey- the best liquor you Niflhiem has to offer. And completely illegal in Heaven."
She still didn't know what Mara had gone through to get the alcohol to her, but sure enough, on one of the few days she'd decided to play hooky on her job, one of Mara's minion's had found her alone and had promptly delivered it to her. It had been only a few days after she'd reached the leagle drinking age in heaven. The only explanation she'd gotten from the little creature that had delivered it was a note: If you're going to get drunk, you might as well go full out. You never were one to hold back, Urd. So here's to hoping you make a complete fool out of yourself.
Fool indeed. The stuff had been so potent that she'd gotten plastered after the second shot of it. She still couldn't quite recall just how she'd made it back to her room that day. Not to mention the thrice-cursed hangover she'd woken up to the next morning. It'd felt like Hild had decided to smash her way into Urd's skull and start a heavy metal band in her brain.
Shaking her head, Urd brought herself back to the present, setting the bottle to one side where she knew it wouldn't get mixed in with her other potions and ingredients. "And of course, the vial of bicorn's blood." She looked up at World of Elegance. "Be careful with that one if you find it. If it's cracked or broken in any way, don't touch it. It's supposed to be poisonous to divine beings."
The angel gave her a look that clearly said, I know that, before turning once more and rummaging through the messy room. Urd rolled her eyes. "Of course you do. You're my angel, after all. What I know, you know." She muttered, following the black and white angel's example and searching for one of the more dangerous items in her possession.
After several minutes of searching and categorizing other ingredients, it was World of Elegance who eventually found the sought after vial.
Urd looked up when she felt the wave of satisfaction traveling through the link she shared with the angel. World of Elegance stood from where she was crouched over, a small, dark blue vial cradled in the palms of her hands. The goddess sighed in relief, walking over and gratefully taking the object from the angel.
"Thank Heavens the Old Man decided to give this thing extra seals." She muttered, carefully examining the small container for any cracks or chips. Like the Whiskey, it too had been a gift-though the circumstances had been much different, and Urd herself had been little more than a child back then.
"Ah yes, that was a long time ago. Back when Mara still went by Marller. The two of us had been stupid enough to wander around in Mrykwood's Forest without a guide. We stumbled upon that lone Bicorn and…" She trailed off, suppressing a shudder. It had been one of the few memories she'd have willingly given up. "Thankfully Mara-Marller's-Old Man had found us in the nick of time.
The silver haired woman shook her head, wrapping her hand around the vial and clutching it tightly. "And soon after that I was sent to Heaven." Urd moved back to her dresser, retrieving the items that had been in the Keystone and gathering them on her table. "Well, aside from the fangs, this is everything."
World of Elegance gave her a look, and she shook her head. "No, I don't think I'll return it just yet." Her various possessions placed securely on the table, Urd reached into her dress, rubbing the weathered leather of the Angel Biter's handle. "I think I'll keep it on me for a little while longer."
A/N: …Damn…I was hoping this would only last one chapter. Once again, It seems I'm splitting the chapter in half. For some reason, this fills me with dread on the second part of the story I want to write. If this is turning into three chapters, I'm afraid what orignally was supposed to be the second chapter will turn into…Anyways, to all who have reviewed, I'm glad you're enjoying the story thus far. I hope I don't dissapoint in this and upcoming chapters. Wish me luck and feel free to drop me a pm or something if you have any questions.
Comments of a Madwoman: As of 2011, reposted with some much needed editing.