Foreword: This chapter is a darker one.

Ah! My Goddess!: Ah! Keiichi Gets a Devil!

Chapter 7

Ah! Mara Has a Brilliant Plan!

Before the race:

Mara sighed for the fiftieth time. She hated going back to HQ to give a report. Hild was never happy with ANY results.

Two demons snickered as they opened the giant doors to Hild's throne room. Here goes nothing, thought Mara. She walked in with a brave face that dissipated the moment she saw Hild. "Lady Hild! I apologize for -"

"Shut it, Mara. You are lucky I'm in a good mood today. I'm going to race against Keiichi today," said Hild.

Mara sighed in relief. Hild smiled. "But, you'll still get your punishment. I'm holding a party for you and the successes you've had for the past years." Hild smiled even wider. "Everyone will be there."

Mara almost bursted into tears. "Please, Lady Hild! Anything but that!"

Hild laughed. She transformed into a red racing suit.

"Enjoy your party!" said Hild. She lightning-teleported out of the throne room. Mara started to run out of the throne room. She hoped she could escape before the guards came, but they were already waiting.

"Mara! Your banquet awaits you," snickered the guards. They escorted her to the banquet hall.

Mara wished she were dead. Her reputation was already faltering, and now she was going to be the laughingstock of all demon kind. The guards opened the double-doors into the huge banquet hall. There was a long table filled with every first-class demon. All of them started clapping, hooting, and whistling. Mara looked at the ground in shame as the guards walked her to the head of the table. They forced her to sit down, and then they put a giant rainbow flower hat on Mara's head.

Mara slumped as low as possible in her seat. She heard someone scoot their chair back and stand up.

Ting ting ting! Mara looked towards the sound.

It was Weth, Mara's nemesis, banging her spoon on her wine glass.

"I'd like to start off this banquet with a toast to Mara." She held up her glass, looked Mara in the eye, and sneered.

"To Mara!" Everyone held up their glasses and gulped down their wine.

Weth, still standing, pointed at the giant movie theater TV. "Now that we've toasted Mara, let's enjoy watching her amazing achievements for the past year!"

All the demons cheered as the TV played all of Mara's failures throughout the years.

Mara shrank in her seat as she saw herself get blown up by Banpei, fail in her schemes, and be ignored by the goddesses. She felt like crying. All the demons laughed whenever she was blown up or when she did something stupid. The demons were having the time of their life, talking to each other, getting drunk, all while watching Mara fail miserably.

Mara got up to leave, but Weth walked over to her and sat her back down. "Now Mara, it would be rude to leave this party held in your honor," said Weth.

Mara gave the dirtiest look to Weth. "Hello Weth," said Mara with extreme malice in her voice.

Weth smiled. "Mara, why so cold? You did ALMOST beat a few goddesses like three times. That's something."

Mara wanted to rip the hair off her ugly egg-shaped head.

"Well, at least I've done better than you for the past year," countered Mara.

Weth smiled even wider. "If you haven't noticed, I've had such good successes that Hild is considering to promote me. Oh, that means I'll be your rank as a higher first-class demon."

Mara scoffed. "If you were in my position, you wouldn't have even gotten close to getting Belldandy."

Weth smiled. "You go on telling yourself that."

Mara smiled because she had a genius idea that would get Weth in big trouble.

"Okay Weth, how about a bet? You capture Belldandy, and I'll personally step down and give you my rank. Oh, and if you capture Urd too, then I'll buy you dinner everyday until I die." Weth smiled, for she loved wagers. "And if you lose, you will call me Lady Mara for the rest of your life," continued Mara.

"Deal!" said Weth. She cackled in excitement. "You know what? I'll go capture them right now and bring them back before the party ends."

She started walking out of the room. She paused. "Let's write up an official contract," she said. Mara smiled. An official contract meant that both sides had to uphold their positions no matter what. "Okay," said Mara.

A few minutes later, Weth was gone, and Mara was hugging the contract.

Ahahaha she will either fail to capture Belldandy, or succeed and then get in trouble for interfering with Hild's master plans! Mara, you are so evil!

Mara deeply wished that Weth would succeed.

…

Three hours later,

Sayoko sat down in her luxury suite. She had planned to go congratulate Keiichi. She had even been at the race. She frowned. I guess I'm not over him. She shook her head. How could the queen fall for such a loser? Well, he isn't a loser anymore. He placed second in a huge race and got swarmed by his own fan club! She slumped down on the couch with a glass of pineapple juice and turned on the TV. Keiichi was being interviewed by a reporter.

Sayoko couldn't escape from reminders of Keiichi, so she sighed.

"How do you feel now that your winning streak is broken?" She heard the reporter say. She grabbed the remote and was about to turn off the TV, but then an attractive racer lady hugged Keiichi. What? How does Keiichi know all these beautiful women?

The lady teased Keiichi, and the reporters asked how they knew each other.

"Keiichi's like a brother to me. I've known him ever since he started dating my sister, who should be coming any second now," said the lady.

Sayoko, about to take a sip of her pineapple juice, paused. The lady looked kind of like Urd, so it was plausible that she was related to Belldandy. She shrugged, drank her juice, and then spit it out all over the carpet.

"Who is that girl? That's definitely not Belldandy. What's going on here?"

Some petite girl had her arms around Keiichi.

Sayoko turned off the TV. Keiichi was dating Belldandy, now he's supposedly with that other stylish girl…

But that girl seemed more like Keiichi's type. She was his height, and was a cute sexy, unlike Belldandy who was more of a beautiful. Sayoko blinked. If Keiichi and Belldandy were broken up, then she could swoop in and claim Keiichi. But then there's that other girl with him. Sayoko thought for a second, and then picked up her phone. After about thirty seconds, Ayoshima's secretary picked up the phone.

"Hello, Ayoshima residence," said the secretary.

"Yes, could I speak to Ayoshima?" asked Sayoko

She tapped her finger against her leg impatiently. After an agonizing minute, the secretary handed the phone to Ayoshima.

"Hello?" asked Ayoshima.

"Hey Ayoshima, it's Sayoko. I have a big favor to ask of you that involves Belldandy." Just mentioning Belldandy would be enough to get him hooked on the plan.

"Okay, I'm interested. What do you need?" asked Ayoshima.

"I need information. Apparently Keiichi and Belldandy aren't together anymor -"

"WHAT? Since when did this happen? Oh! It doesn't matter. I'll find out everything!" Click.

Sayoko smiled. And the she had another idea. She picked up the phone again.

…

Urd sighed in happiness. It was nice to be home.

"Oh how I've missed my TV!" exclaimed Urd while yawning.

Skuld grumbled, "We've only been gone for half a day."

Eir glided in, looked around, and smiled. "What a nice place!"

Even Lind smiled.

"Hey Keiichi! Belldandy! Where are you guys?" Urd opened the door to Belldandy's room.

"That's weird. It's late too," said Urd.

I hope something bad didn't happen, thought Urd.

"They are probably driving here right now," said Skuld as she entered her own room.

"Ooh, I'm so excited!" exclaimed Eir. She opened up her bag and pulled out tons of medical equipment. Peorth stepped over the equipment and looked at everyone.

"Okay, first things first. We have to sort out rooms. Urd, I'll be with you. Eir can room with Skuld. And Keiichi can room with Belldandy. Lind, you get Keiichi's room," commanded Peorth.

Skuld popped her head out of her door. "ABSOLUTELY NOT! Keiichi and Belldandy CANNOT be in the same room!"

Peorth smiled. "Skuld, you told me you needed an expert love goddess. I can't be an expert if you don't let me."

Skuld opened her mouth to talk but decided not to. She huffed and went back into her room.

Haha, didn't really think that one out, huh Skuld? thought Urd to herself as she sat down. She grinned.

Peorth continued talking. "Normally I would have Keiichi in his own room, but he needs to be more intimate with Belldandy, so Lind, you get a room to yourself."

Lind stood up. "I should be in Keiichi's room to protect him."

Peorth smiled. "Oh, I'm not worried about the devil girl. She could kill Keiichi anytime, but she would never do that because that would kill her too."

The mention of Dark Radiance made Urd realize something. "We can't have Dark Radiance - that's Keiichi's devil's name - room with Belldandy. Last time Holy Bell and Dark Radiance almost destroyed the whole temple," noted Urd.

"Oh, I didn't think about that," said Peorth as she sat down. "I guess I'll room with Keiichi. I could give him all the training he needs!" Her eyes sparkled.

"Absolutely not!" said Urd.

"Why not?" asked Peorth.

"He does not need training, he just needs a way to get away from that devil, right?" interjected Eir.

"Yes, but that's impossible. I don't have any potions that do that," admitted Urd.

"Okay, then what will be the best for Belldandy and Keiichi's relationship?" asked Eir as she pulled out more tools.

"If I roomed with him!" exclaimed Peorth.

"No, I should be with Keiichi. He wouldn't be comfortable with you," argued Urd.

They glared at each other with fire in their eyes, and then they heard the door slide open.

A really cute and stylish girl walked in.

"Oh, I didn't know we had visitors, Keiichi! Urd and her friends are back," she said.

Keiichi, looking tired and wearing a racer suit, walked in behind her.

"Oh, hey Urd, Lind, Peorth, and -"

"Eir. I'm so glad to finally meet you!" said Eir. She stood up and started scanning Keiichi with her MTS.

Keiichi stood there awkwardly.

"She does that. It's good to see you Keiichi," said Lind.

Keiichi opened his mouth to reply, but the MTS device beeped and Eir spoke:

"Urd, I thought you said he has a devil in him," said Eir, looking at the screen on the MTS device.

She looked at Urd, who was pale from shock. Impossible! thought Urd.

"Urd?" asked Eir.

Urd looked the girl up and down.

"Dark Radiance?"

"Yes, happy to see me?" asked Dark Radiance.

Urd turned to Keiichi.

"What happened while I was gone?" asked Urd.

Keiichi glanced at Radiance. "Hild came and somehow Radiance got legs -"

"Hild came?" exclaimed Urd. Things were definitely not good. Keiichi sighed. "Yeah, she kind of raced -"

The phone started ringing.

Everyone looked in the direction of the phone.

"I'll get it," said Keiichi. He walked to the phone and picked it up. "Oh hey Meg -" Keiichi held the phone away from his ear. Urd could hear Megumi yelling from the phone.

Urd dashed over and took the phone from Keiichi.

"Megumi! What is going on here?" demanded Urd. If Megumi was calling to yell at Keiichi, then something really bad must have happened. Urd bit her lip as Megumi spoke: "KEIICHI! I'M GOING TO - oh. Hey Urd."

Urd continued, "Hey Megumi, I need you to tell me everything, and if it was Keiichi's fault, I'll beat him for you."

Megumi sighed. "Well, I was watching TV, and I flipped to the news, and I saw Keiichi being interviewed. And then the first place racer from who knows where came and hugged Keiichi and said she knows Keiichi because he's dating her sister. And then some girl, who is actually really pretty, hugged Keiichi, fussed over him, and apparently is his girlfriend! Since when did this happen?"

Urd had a pretty good idea of what happened. "Did the first place racer look like me? With moonlight silver hair and purplish pinkish eyes?"

Megumi thought for a second. "Yeah she kinda did look like you. Why?"

Urd sighed. "Megumi, I'm going to have to get back with you." Click.

Urd grabbed Keiichi by the arm and started walking out the door. "Come on Keiichi! We're going to the docks!"

They were gone before Skuld had turned on her TV.

"Soo. Are you guys just as lost as me?" asked Eir.

…

Keiichi felt awful, not because he lost against Hild, not because he missed out on the party, not because he was sitting side-saddle like a princess on Urd's broom, not because Radiance had legs, not because Hild suddenly hooked him up with Radiance, not because Belldandy was upset, but because he wasn't a good enough boyfriend that Belldandy could be totally confident of. And he wasn't even officially her boyfriend.

Keiichi you stupid loser!

Belldandy deserved a perfect, handsome god that would have Belldandy's complete trust. She would never get jealous, and he would be able to protect her and keep her happy forever.

"Keiichi, it's not your fault that Belldandy's upset," said Urd. She turned her head and gave a small smile. "Belldandy feels this upset because you're HER man, and Hild is trying to change that."

Keiichi managed to smile. Urd always seemed to know what was going on in his head. She always knew what to say and when to say it.

They zoomed over the docks and saw Belldandy standing on a cruise boat. She was staring at the sea with a pained expression.

Keiichi's heart throbbed: he felt so sad whenever Belldandy was upset.

Urd and Keiichi lighted on the ground behind Belldandy.

"Belldandy? Are you alright?" asked Keiichi.

Belldandy turned around, except she looked different. Keiichi almost peed his pants. Her eyes were yellow.

She smiled and then a flash of red blinded Keiichi for a second. He opened his eyes and saw an attractive demon standing where the fake Belldandy had been standing.

"Hello, Urd, I've come to capture you and take you to Hild."

She snapped her fingers, and, out of nowhere, a red bubble trapped Urd.

"Urd!" yelled Keiichi.

The demon laughed. "Too easy!"

She looked up. "Senbei! Are you recording?"

Senbei, floating about 10 feet above the boat, was holding a demonic video device. "Yes, milady. Live, in 3,2,1."

She turned to the camera. "Hey, everyone, Weth here. Look who I just captured!" She cackled. "Mara! You owe me dinner for the rest of your measly existence!"

Urd, trying to get out of the bubble, stopped struggling.

"What's going on here?" asked Urd.

The demon smiled. "I just won a bet with Mara, and I'm broadcasting this to every first-class demon in Nilfheim."

Keiichi forgot that Urd and him were in trouble for a second. He rubbed his head and asked, "Um, who are you?"

The demon smiled and flipped her hair. "I'm Weth, first-class demon, unlimited license."

"Oh, so you're Weth. I expected prettier," said Urd.

Weth looked at Urd and sneered. She pointed at Urd's bubble. It electrocuted Urd who jumped in shock.

"Ouch!" yelled Urd.

"Hey!" yelled Keiichi.

Weth cackled. Evil showed in her very being. She stopped laughing and glanced at Keiichi.

"You must be Keiichi Morisato, Belldandy's boyfriend." She grinned. "Well I have news for you."

She pointed her finger and a red bubble appeared next to Urd's except Belldandy was lying in it. She looked singed everywhere and she was barely conscious.

"Behold! Belldandy, one of the finest first-class goddesses!" announced Weth.

Keiichi took one look at Belldandy and immediately ran to her bubble. "Belldandy!" He placed his hands on it, and the bubble released a wave of energy which sent Keiichi flying. He landed next to Weth, who picked him up, and threw him toward the other side of the boat. He landed next to Belldandy's bubble. His ankle throbbed so bad that he guessed it was broken. He was in a lot of pain, but it was more emotional than physical. Here he was, getting thrown around by some demon. He felt so helpless that he couldn't protect Belldandy.

Belldandy... he thought. Keiichi stood up. Seeing Belldandy in pain made him feel angrier than he had ever felt before.

"Oh, is Keiichi angry?" Weth cooed mockingly.

"Keiichi! That's not Belldandy! She wouldn't be easily beaten. It must be a trick!" said Urd.

Weth flipped her hair. "This is Belldandy all right. She was standing here on this boat with a really sad face, so I captured her and tried to cheer her up by electrocuting her. You should have seen how loud she screamed!" cackled Weth. Keiichi cringed at the thought.

"And then I had the brilliant idea that someone would come looking for Belldandy, so I decided to wait here. Now I have two goddesses in the palm of my hand!" continued Weth. She bowed to the camera.

Weth casted a spell, and black portal opened up next to her. "Senbei! Time to leave," said Weth.

"NO!" yelled Keiichi. He managed to stand up. He started limp-running at Weth, who pointed her finger at Belldandy's bubble.

"Not another step or Belldandy gets fried," said Weth. Keiichi stopped limping. What should I do? Belldandy and Urd are going to be captured and I'm just standing here! thought Keiichi. Weth cackled, for she saw that Keiichi was struggling to come up with a plan. She sneered and shot a bolt of lightning at Keiichi. He tried to move out of the way, but he was hit right in the chest. He felt like his whole body was on fire as he was shot backwards. He landed near the edge of the boat. The lightning bolt was so painful, that Keiichi didn't even scream in pain. He just lay there, in shock. Weth cackled, and said something to Senbei, who laughed in agreement.

All Keiichi could do was look at the sky. Belldandy and Urd were going to be taken away from him. He imagined never seeing Belldandy again, yet Keiichi didn't feel fear, he only felt anger. Toward Hild. Toward Weth. Toward himself. He couldn't stand being helpless when Belldandy needed him. It caused him to feel an emotion stronger than anger. It was a deep hatred, that started to boil within the depths of his soul. The hatred brought Keiichi to his senses. He struggled to get up.

Weth! Stop!" yelled Keiichi as he stood up.

Weth, about to step through the portal, turned around. "Oh, you're tough for a mortal." Keiichi was limping towards Weth, who just yawned. "I told you. Not. Another. Step." She pointed her finger at Keiichi and shot another bolt. This time Keiichi was ready. Keiichi held up his hands and stopped the lightning with a magic shield. He kept limping toward Weth.

Weth had a surprised look on her face. After a second, it disappeared instantly.

"Well, if I can't hurt you, then I can hurt Urd and Belldandy instead!" sneered Weth.

She pointed at Urd and Belldandy, and electrocuted both of them. Urd yelled angrily. Belldandy screamed, and that scream echoed through Keiichi's mind.

And then, at that moment, Keiichi snapped. His stress, pain, anger, hurt, frustration, and hate emerged in full force. He imagined shocking Weth so bad that it would kill her.

He pointed his finger at Weth.

...

Meanwhile, Eir was scanning Dark Radiance, who yawned. "Are you done yet?" asked Dark Radiance.

Eir ignored the question. She was muttering things to herself. Dark Radiance felt like she was going to die from boredom.

All of a sudden, she sat up straight.

Keiichi's angry?

She felt a tremendous amount of energy flowing from Keiichi. It continued to increase. Dark Radiance wondered what was happening that would make him this angry.

And then, the strangest thing happened. Dark Radiance felt all of her energy leaving her and flowing into Keiichi. "Uh oh," said Dark Radiance. Then, she fainted.

…

Lind hoped she wouldn't be too late. She had placed a sensor on Keiichi the moment she had arrived on Earth, and she knew there was a strong demon in Keiichi's presence.

She looked in the direction of the docks, and zoomed there faster than light itself.

When she got to the docks, she fell to the ground. "I'm too late!" she yelled in frustration as she punched the ground. Three boats were in flames, there was a giant lightning storm above, and Keiichi was nowhere to be seen.

She was supposed to protect Keiichi, but she failed. Anger surged through Lind. She flew around looking for anyone sign of life. She saw a body floating in the water. It was a demoness! She was almost dead too. Whoever did this must be nearby, thought Lind. She scanned the area, and she had the biggest shock in her life. Keiichi was walking on the water toward land. Belldandy was cradled in his arms. His eyes were purple and lightning was crackling from his very being. Lind was actually scared. And she never got scared. But seeing Keiichi with a hate-filled and determined face made Lind shiver. She shook her head. It's Keiichi.

He walked to the shore, and placed Belldandy on the ground next to Urd.

They were both singed really badly.

Keiichi turned around and started walking toward the demoness. At this point, Lind was worried that Keiichi would kill her.

She flew in front of him and lighted down on the water. "Keiichi! Snap out of it!" Keiichi stared blankly at her. A surge of emotion flowed through Lind. Part of it was awe, part of it was pride in Keiichi, and part of it was sadness. Keiichi's eyes were filled with so much pain. Before she knew it, Lind had Keiichi cradled in her arms.

"It's okay, Keiichi. Belldandy and Urd are safe. The demon is gone. Everything is alright."

Keiichi blinked. His purple eyes filled with tears, and then he fainted.

Lind chanted a spell.

"Eir! Belldandy and Urd are in critical condition. I need you to be ready. I'll be home in 5 seconds."

…

Author notes: This is my first darker chapter in this story. Feedback is appreciated. Expect Chapter 8 in a about two weeks. Thanks for the favorites, follows, and reviews.