Arc II: Chapter 11

Pains

Skuld slowly returned to consciousness, though she wondered if she was still in a dream. Whichever direction she turned her bleary eyes, there was only darkness. Her body felt light, nearly weightless, standing on an invisible platform as if her feet were just touching the bottom of a pool.

Looking around as she rubbed her eyes, she felt rather confused. She didn't know where she was, nor did she understand why she had fallen asleep in a lightless place like this. Still, it didn't occur to her that she should be worried. At least, not until several seconds later, when she tried to remember how she had arrived in such a place. Her eyes widened as she began to realize that she wasn't dreaming, and that something was horribly wrong.

Wanting to feel reassured, she began reaching for her various bombs and rockets. She felt rather nervous when, instead of reaching inter her pockets, she felt only her own skin. Looking down at herself, her eyes confirmed what her sense of touch had told her. Though she could not sense anyone nearby, she blushed as she wrapped her arms around herself.

As she crouched down, covering herself as best she could, she struggled to keep a level head. Calm down, Skuld. I have to think about this rationally. There has to be a way out of this place, I just need to find it.

Her eyes again searched the blackness, and again she could detect nothing. The Goddess felt very much alone in the dark expanse, cut off from everything save her memories. She could feel no life in the place, no shifting air, nothing. All she could sense was emptiness, a lack of everything. She had never before encountered something like this and it was extremely unnerving.

Over and over again she wondered where she could be and why she was there. Though trying her best to think positively, her mind continually found its way back to the same terrible fact.

The Cruel Angel had her. She had been captured and now…what? What were they going to do with her? Whatever it was, she was haunted by the nagging thought that it would be very painful, and Skuld was becoming more and more certain of that with each passing second. An unnatural fear loomed over her, ever larger, like the strange darkness that surrounded her.

"Belldandy?" She called out into the black, not receiving even the faintest of echoes. "Urd? Gil? Please help me, anybody!"

"Anybody?"

She jumped at the deep male voice that answered her. Her arms tightened around her as she yelled angrily at the black cloaked figure. "Who are you? What do you want with me?"

"You are the Cruel Angel's new servant," he responded in an odd tone.

"Never!" Her black hair thrashed about her shoulders as she shook her head. "I will never betray the ones I love!"

She could hear him sigh quietly, as if he had hoped she wouldn't refuse. "Have you ever heard of a domination program?"

Shuddering, she felt her fighting spirit collapse before his simple question. "Is that what you're planning on doing to me?"

"Not what I'm planning, my lovely Goddess," he corrected, "what I am in the process of doing. Though my method is somewhat different than how my master would do it. That's what all this is." He waved his hand around at the black surroundings. "This is all to prepare you for the final steps."

Final steps? Her breaths became short and irregular as she fought back against her tears. The fear that hovered over her head descended heavily, squeezing her heart. "Why?" was all she could manage.

"You are afraid?" he asked simply. "Well, you should be happy to know that I do not plan on expelling your soul into nothingness." His voice lowered to a whisper, leaning forward slightly. "Nor do I plan on simply giving your soul to him."

"What are you talking about?" she asked, her irritation at being led on beginning to override her fear. "How do you plan on using my body if I'm still in it? Dominations only work on a body with no soul."

"That is what everyone believes," he replied, slowly circling her, "however, I have discovered that a body may still be controlled if the spirit is unable to fight back against the program. Therefore, all I really need to do is seal away your spirit and the program will work just as well. Haven't you wondered why it's dark? We're in your psyche, my young Skuld. I've already shut off everything except your soul."

"Wait, how can you possibly seal my soul?" She spoke with a mix of confusion and fear. "The only one who can do something like that is the Almighty!"

"How could I know?" He laughed at her question, though she thought it lacked any real feeling of humor. "I know because I have seen it first hand, my dear little child."

She suddenly felt a flare of anger. Standing and thrusting a finger where his face should have been, she yelled at the man, "I'm not a child!"

He was silent for a moment before the opening of his hood turned to the side. "I can see that," he said, a hint of amusement in his voice. "You've grown quite a bit since the last time I saw you."

Skuld felt her cheeks grow hot as she remembered her lack of clothing. Trembling in anger as she tried to keep herself covered with her left arm, her clenched right hand reared back. Her outrage drew out a torrent of energy from deep within her as she used one of the few powers she had learned. Her fingers stretched out toward the black hood as she screamed, "You pervert!"

In her mind, the Goddess envisioned those words plastered in big block letters across his face, as she had to Urd and Keiichi on so many occasions. All those successes left her totally unprepared when her power failed. Striking some sort of invisible shield, her simple program was shattered with a flash and a loud bang. Stumbling back several feet, she looked back up at her captor to hurl some insult or another. Instead, all she could do was stare in disbelief.

The black hood had been knocked away by the blocked spell, and she could now see the gray-green eyes looking back at her. She could see the dark hair that hung loosely around his face and shoulders. The right side of his face was nearly black, the skin dry and badly cracked, but the three blue marks on his face were unmistakable.

"C-Celestine?" she hardly more than whispered before her knees gave way once again. Looking up at him from the ground, she could feel her breath grow short again. "How? This isn't…"

"Possible?" he completed the question for her, a humorless smile on his lips. "You're right, I shouldn't be here. Nevertheless, the Cruel Angel found me and brought me back." He paused for a moment, apparently thinking about something. "I suppose there is no more point in playing games." She unconsciously shifted away from him as he approached, but found herself surprised when he knelt several paces in front of her.

"Skuld, I have a mission that I have to complete," he spoke quickly, "and I need your help to accomplish it. You, together with Belldandy and Urd, can bring this war to an end."

"I don't believe you!" Her voice was as forceful as she could make it. "You've betrayed us twice already! I won't help you and neither will my sisters!"

Celestine was opening his mouth to say more when a horrendous sound reached their ears. A chorus of a thousand terrible voices speaking as one. "YOU HAVE NO CHOICE IN THE MATTER, MY LITTLE NORN."

Sitting up violently, Gilgamesh gasped for air as his eyes frantically scanned the darkness. His armor was gone, reverting to his navy blue robes as he slept. Disoriented and unable to see anything that would indicate where he was, he quickly rubbed his eyes, hoping his vision would somehow sharpen.

His breath finally slowing, his nightmare nagged at him from the back of his mind. Visions of the black cloaked man kept assailing him as he slept. Images of Skuld's frightened look as he took her away. He suddenly wanted to feel the grip of his sword. Floating from the bed to the cold metal floor, he began to search through the darkness.

Hearing a quiet murmur from the corner, Gil froze. Preparing himself to activate an attack program, he turned and called out loudly, "Who's there?"

He heard the person jump slightly, causing the Templar to tense up even more. "Gilgamesh?" The soft, feminine voice was not what he was expecting to hear. "You should still be in bed. Why are you up?" His arms dropped from their ready position, and he felt an unpleasant nervousness churning in his stomach.

"L-Lady Belldandy," he managed as she turned the lights on. "Where are we?"

"We're in the infirmary on the Enterprise," she spoke with a strange sort of calm. "The lookouts here saw your battle near the coast and went to try and help."

The God weakly chuckled at the idea. "They couldn't have done anything. I was fighting against a God."

She didn't act surprised at this information, oddly enough. Her eyes darkened a bit, though, as if it saddened her. The pause between them was short, however, and she pressed on to the subject that he least wanted to talk about. "They said when they arrived, they found you injured and unconscious after your fight. They looked, but there was no sign of anyone else." He turned away from her when he saw the tears starting to shine in her eyes.

The room was silent for several seconds as she waited for an answer to her unspoken question. He gritted his teeth, unwilling to meet the gaze of the Goddess behind him. Gil could feel his rage, the anger that he had felt during the battle. It burned at the edge of his mind. He tried desperately to grab it, to make himself hate the dark God that he had fought against, to blame it all on him and make this a simple case of revenge.

But every time he felt his hatred rise, it turned against himself. He had known there would be those out there who wished them harm, and he had accepted his responsibility as Skuld's protector. He had been put to the test, and he had failed. It was his weakness that lost Skuld.

Slamming his fist into the bulkhead with a heated shout, the hard metal gave a little as it bulged away. The gray paint cracked under his fist, and he stood there for a moment after the echo finished reverberating throughout the ship.

"He took her from me." The God's voice was quiet and thick with self-loathing. "The black cloaked man. He beat me, and he took her away." Turning back to the Goddess, he saw the tears trickle down her cheeks, but this time it was she who averted her gaze. "I know this is my fault. It was because of my failings that she was taken by the Cruel Angel's pawn."

Belldandy's eyes were clenched shut, the pain on her face stinging him deep in his heart. Her hands trembled as she clutched at her heart. The sight cut him to the core. This is my fault. It's my failure that's twisting the knife in her heart. "I…" he hesitated, trying to compose himself. "I know you're angry with me, or disappointed. You have more than enough reason to never want to speak with me again. Before I go, I just…I will track them down, and I will bring Skuld back."

Dropping to one knee before her, he bowed his head low. His long hair fell around his face as he spoke. "I swear to you, Lady Belldandy, I will do everything I can to bring your sister back to you! I will gladly die for her, and if I have to hand my soul over to the Cruel Angel himself to get her back, I will do so without hesitation!"

He held himself perfectly still for a moment, keeping silent to listen for any reply that she might give him. The Templar was startled when Belldandy dropped to her knees herself, cupping his face in her hands. "I thought we'd agreed that you wouldn't call me 'lady' anymore?" He looked up to see her blue eyes watching him, filled with a mixture of sorrow and compassion. "You've been here for a day and a half. Marler has been out looking, but if there was a trail to be followed, it's gone cold. You can't find her right now."

He was about to object when she pulled him forward into an embrace. "There is enough blame for both of us. I should never have let her go. But now we have to use every ounce of our strength to bring her back home. I understand how you feel, Gilgamesh, but we cannot do this alone." She pulled back until she held the God's hands in her own. "Promise me that you won't try anything until you've spoken to me about it first. I think that Skuld would be very sad if you were to die trying to get her back."

Holding her hands firmly, he looked at her with unwavering eyes. "I, Gilgamesh, pledge my sword to you, Belldandy, until the day Skuld is returned to us."

She weakly smiled through her tears, "I know that you will never give up on her. I just pray for her safety until we can save her."

Damn! What is he doing here?

Unable to do anything else, the former God knelt, bowing his head deeply as the form of the Cruel Angel strode past him toward the raven haired Goddess. His Master wore the guise of a humanoid, tall and well built. The tips of his long, deep red hair floated and wavered like embers carried away from a bonfire. His cat like eyes shone golden despite the lack of ambient light. Black edged the crimson tunic he wore, the black pants flowing seamlessly into boots that echoed with every step, as if he were walking on stone.

Out of the corner of his eye, Celestine could see the look of terror Skuld wore. She tried desperately to scramble away from the embodiment of fear, managing to flail herself little more than a meter before the evil being reached down and grabbed a fistful of black hair. Yanking so hard that even the God winced, she was jerked backward with a terrified shriek of pain.

Taking hold of her left arm, he lifted her from the invisible floor easily, her toes struggling to reach the surface that was just out of range. Not willing to open her eyes and face the creature holding her, she kicked and punched wildly at him. Each time her strike came close, her hand or foot was diverted by a shield of some sort.

While Skuld was probably too frightened to feel it, Celestine knew all too well the futility of her struggle. The Cruel Angel's powers were beyond that of any Celestial now. A Goddess who could barely use her own powers certainly had no chance, but he could understand her need to fight back despite that. After all, Celestine had done the same thing when the Cruel Angel had found him, his spirit floating in the ether between the worlds. As hard as the God had fought, the monster had only shown a fraction of his incredible power.

Waving his free hand, the Cruel Angel abruptly halted the Goddess' struggling. Tears streamed from her tightly closed eyes as she tried to move with all her might, but all she could do was turn her head. Releasing his grip and stepping back, the humanoid creature smiled in satisfaction as he looked at her naked form, suspended in mid-air where he had held her.

"YOU KNOW, MY DEAR NORN," the countless voices spoke without any movement from his mouth, "YOU HAVE A POWER WITHIN YOU. A GREAT POWER THAT EVEN YOU ARE LIKELY UNAWARE OF." His smile grew as he watched her desperate attempt to hold in her cries. "THAT POWER WILL BE MINE AFTER I DEVOUR YOUR SOUL. THEN I WILL USE YOUR BODY TO DRAW YOUR SISTERS TO ME, AND EAT THEIR SOULS AS WELL."

Celestine's eyes widened at the Cruel Angel's words. "Master!" He called out before he realized the stupidity of doing so. "You said that I would get to have Skuld for myself!"

When those golden eyes turned on him, he realized just how terrible of a mistake he had just made. Grunting in pain, his body splayed out violently, pressure building on his bones. A sickening crack echoed through the darkness as his right arm broke in half, followed by several bones in his left hand. A shin snapped loudly, and he could feel the pressure on his ribs, preventing him from breathing.

His teeth were clenched tightly together to prevent what little breath he had from escaping as a scream. If he was going to die here, he refused to give his Master the pleasure of hearing his tortured cries. His back arched suddenly, and the pain in his compressing vertebrae became enormous as his body began to fold backwards on itself. The agony became ever sharper, and he knew if it lasted much longer he would let out a cry.

Suddenly the pressure stopped, and his torso came down to the invisible floor before he realized what was happening. His face slammed hard into the surface, but he could barely feel it over the residual sensation of nearly being broken in twain. He struggled to breathe as he lay, unable to even move his eyes as he wished.

"ALL SOULS IN HELL, ON EARTH, AND IN HEAVEN BELONG TO ME!" The voices spoke dangerously. "IF I DECIDE TO GIVE YOU SOMEONE TO HAVE FUN WITH, IT WILL BE ME WHO DECIDES WHO IT SHALL BE!"

The door lock slid into place with a click. "Okay," Peorth said, turning to the other two Goddesses, "I know it's been hectic, but now's our chance to get everything straight."

Chrono and Ere nodded as they sat down on the bed. The three hadn't been able to speak about the events of the last half day for fear of being overheard by Daedalus or one of his men. This had been the first time since the incident that they had found the chance to talk.

Peorth had just finished setting up eavesdropping wards on the makeshift bedroom she and Ceres had been using when the two operators arrived. They could finally talk freely.

"What I want to know, Lady Peorth," Chrono spoke, fatigue evident in her voice, "is just what exactly are we doing all this for?"

Ere nodded. "Yeah. I mean, I like Lady Urd and all, but if she's become a criminal…"

The Goddess of Roses fell heavily into a chair as she answered. "We're trying to keep Urd safe until we can figure out what's going on one way or the other."

"But she helped Sephiroth escape! She even attacked the High Council." Ere didn't seem very convinced that they were doing the right thing at all. "Are we really sure we're helping the right people here?"

The elder of the three Goddesses shook her head. "No, Ere, we can't be sure right now. Still, we can come up with theories. For one, she really could have turned to the enemy, whether she was forced to do so or not. On the other hand, she might have reason to believe in Sephiroth's innocence."

Chrono leaned forward. "If that's true, and Sephiroth is innocent, then that means that there is still a traitor somewhere in Heaven. That person might even be on the Council itself!"

"It's an unpleasant thought, but still possible. We have to be careful, though," Peorth cautioned. "We don't really know anything right now. Until we do, we just have to trust Urd and try to contact her covertly as soon as possible. I want to know what she does before someone tries to throw a noose around her neck, don't you?" The two younger Goddesses nodded. "Alright then. Chrono, tell us exactly what you did to help cover for them."

"Well, by the time I started," she began, "the Sentinels had already found them. I started scanning the system for any irregularities that the Haguruma might be causing and I noticed that Lady Urd was gathering data for a gate to Earth. The coordinates she pulled were rudimentary at best, so she could have gated down anywhere in southern Japan. Anyway, before she left, I set up a dummy program that made it look like she had used Yggdrasil's computer to set up the gate. Then I disguised and encrypted the file."

"And that's when you pretended to discover how Urd activated the gate," Peorth finished for her. "The encryptions worked very well. The girls who relieved you had a hard time breaking into it. They only figured out a few hours ago where the gate led to. By then, Urd and Sephiroth were long gone. Good work, Chrono."

She smiled a little. "Thank you, ma'am."

"What about you, Ere?"

"Well, I tried to make sure that they didn't get their powers cut off from them," Ere replied. "Lady Urd had set up the Haguruma to supply herself and Lord Sephiroth with energy after it was cut off by the Yggdrasil mainframe. I knew it wouldn't take long for someone to realize they were still getting power, and not much longer after that till the lines were severed. With that in mind, I started creating a program that would run in the system background that gave the appearance that it was supplying their powers. In those last four hours of my shift, I was continually modifying it until I came up with something that I don't think even we can delete."

Peorth and Chrono looked at her with raised eyebrows, intrigued by her last statement. "What do you mean by we won't be able to delete it? Just what did you make?"

"Well, I modified the original program into what I call the 'Ere Super Jumping Bean, version 1.'" She smiled proudly at the announcement. Noticing the strange looks she was getting, Ere explained further. "Basically, the program periodically jumps to a totally different part of the system, and the pattern is totally random. When you do manage to track it down, I encrypted it with a tri-linear rotating fractal code. By the time anyone comes close to cracking it, the program jumps again and changes its defenses. They won't have enough time to access it, so they can't delete it. Even if they did destroy the program, it won't matter. The one Lady Urd made is still running in the Haguruma, and nobody will think to look there until the Ere Super Jumping Bean v1 is gone."

Chrono suddenly began to giggle, trying to cover her mouth with her hand. Peorth herself couldn't hide her amused smile. Ere seemed a little indignant. "What? I thought it was a pretty good plan."

"It's not that," Chrono managed between laughs. "It's a good idea, really!"

Peorth leaned back in the chair, crossing her legs as she did so. "She's right, Ere, it's a brilliant piece of programming. It's just that you seemed so worried that we were doing the right thing by helping Urd escape, and yet you put so much effort into making it nearly impossible for her to be cut off from her powers."

Ere blushed a little. Her fingers began to fidget with her robes as she shrugged. "I guess I got carried away."

"NOW, MY DEAR," the voices bombarded her again, drawing an involuntary whimper from the Goddess. Her eyes were still tightly clamped shut. While she had been able to shut out her sight, she had still been forced to hear Celestine's clenched breaths as his bones were broken. Will that happen to me, too? That thought alone made her want to cry. "WHERE WERE WE? AH YES, I WAS GOING TO GIVE YOU A TASTE OF WHAT IS IN STORE FOR YOU."

Almost against her will, Skuld's eyes flew open just in time to see the Cruel Angel swing a huge blade across her abdomen. Her breath caught in her throat and she felt an odd sort of tingling sensation across her stomach. Seconds passed, and nothing happened.

Starting to exhale in relief, it quickly transformed into a scream as she felt her insides pull at her. A paper thin line of crimson, the same color as the creature's tunic, drew itself around her before trails of blood began to seep out and run downward. The Goddess had no experience to compare to what she felt at that moment. She watched in horror as she remained suspended in the air and everything below the cut fell to the floor, her insides splattering around her splayed legs with a disgusting sound.

"THAT IS JUST A SMALL TASTE OF WHAT YOU WILL KNOW AFTER I HAVE DEVOURED YOU, MY LITTLE NORN."

She blinked, then blinked again. Her hips and legs were still attached, and there was nothing on her body to suggest that she'd been cut. She still wanted to vomit. The sensation was still resounding through her nerves, as if it were still happening. An illusion? But it felt so real! No, I can't give in to this! I can't give up! A shot of pain distracted her from her fears as she bit down on her lip. She could taste the blood on her tongue as she tried to meet the evil eyes of her torturer as bravely as she could.

"I-I'm n-not scared of y-you!" She could barely stammer out her words. "I'll n-never join you of m-my own free w-will!" What little bravery she had mustered was crushed like an ant when she saw his excited smile.

"MY, HOW FIESTY YOU ARE!" The terrifying voices somehow sounded admiring. "I WILL HAVE TO GIVE YOU EXTRA TORTURE, WON'T I, MY DEAR? PERHAPS I CAN INTRODUCE YOU TO THE EXQUISITE SENSATION OF HAVING YOUR SKIN PULLED AWAY?"

Oh, God. Please, I can't…I can't do this! I can't handle this! I'm not strong enough! Unable to control her fears any longer, her sobs burst forth. She could barely see through the tears, and she mouthed her prayers as she cried loudly for salvation. Somebody! Please help me!

"Master!" Celestine's weak voice croaked out between the Goddess's cries. He had somehow managed to drag his broken body to the Cruel Angel's boots. "I beg of you, Master! Please let me have this girl! I swear that I will get the other two for you quickly! I have a plan! Just let me have this one!"

Skuld's sobs quieted, but still continued as she prayed for the lesser of two evils. The humanoid eyed his prone servant with disdain. For several terrifying seconds, she feared that she would be victim to another excruciating illusion.

"VERY WELL," the voices finally relented. "I SHALL LEAVE HER TO YOU." He turned his back to Skuld as he walked away. "IT'S A SHAME REALLY, TO HAVE SUCH A GIRL AS THIS WASTED ON YOU. NO MATTER. HER SISTERS WILL BE ENOUGH TO PLEASE ME, I AM CERTAIN."

Skuld suddenly fell to the invisible floor in a heap. When she looked up, the Cruel Angel was gone. Her whole body shook as a feeling of relief washed over her, and she began to sob once again.

An odd pop, followed by a pained exhale, drew her attention and reminded her that she wasn't alone. She slowly crawled closer to the broken God as he tried to heal himself.

"Why?" she asked simply.

Sweat trickled down his brow as his arm straightened out, the bones knitting themselves back together. "Why what?"

She sat at a distance that she felt was safe, her arms wrapped around her legs as she tried to keep herself covered. "You almost got yourself killed so that you could control me instead of the Cruel Angel. I would have thought you would want Belldandy more than anyone, since you were her mentor. Why do you want me so badly?"

"I told you, I have a mission to complete, and I need your help." He gingerly rolled into a sitting position, massaging his left hand back into its proper shape. "You are Belldandy's little sister, and I don't want you to loose your soul. I don't want you to spend eternity within Cthulhu."

"Cthulhu?" Skuld had never heard that name before. She wanted to ask, but Celestine shook his head.

"Never mind that now," he said, finally standing. His healing programs had mended his bones, but he looked extraordinarily tired. "We don't have any more time. I don't have enough power now to force your soul into the seal. You must submit to it. Any resistance will prevent your mind from resting during the seal. Your soul may be partially bound and driven into insanity. Or you may not sleep the way you should, leaving you awake to see everything that happens around you, but unable to change it."

Deep down, she was grateful that Celestine had saved her from further torture, but that didn't make him any less of an enemy. The Goddess didn't trust him, and she couldn't help being afraid of what he might do to her, or what he might use her to do. "How do I know that you won't use me to lead my sisters to the Cruel Angel?"

"You don't," he answered frankly, doing little to ease her concerns. "I'm afraid that you are just going to have to trust me."

"So you guys are really going to try and hoof it all the way back to Iwakuni?" Ergaddas shook his head. "That's a long way to go. I'm still amazed that your group made it all the way here."

Captain Ramos grinned a bit. "Yeah, it was a heck of a long road, but they're going to need us back there. If we wind up moving the civilians from the air station to here or Yokosuka, we're going to need every man we can get to guard them."

The God looked over at the human as they continued their walk to the Temple. "Well, I don't think it would be too difficult to have one of our raiding parties go part-way with you, just in case. Unfortunately there's no way we could go all the way there with you, we just couldn't spare the men for that long."

"I'd be happy with any help you could offer, even if it's only a couple of miles out," Ramos told him.

The Templar was about to say that it was nothing when he heard a strange noise. Concentrating, he tried to figure out what the faint sounds were.

"Something wrong?" Ramos asked.

Ergaddas shook his head. "Well, I think I hear Morisato up ahead. I don't know, it sounds odd. It's like he's grunting or something."

"Well, maybe he's doing push-ups," the man said simply. They looked at each other for a moment before bursting into laughter.

Approaching the gate, they quieted down, listening as well as they could. As they came into the yard, the pair couldn't help but grin in wonder at the sight.

Gunny Taff and Keiichi were facing each other in tight fighting stances. They were taking turns kicking each other in the leg, and from the looks of it they weren't holding back much. Keiichi grunted with effort as he swung his rear leg forward, and moaned in pain each time the older man kicked back. The Marine made hardly any noise at all, save a few words correcting Keiichi on his form.

Ergaddas looked over at Ramos who was smiling, looking on with a tinge of pride. The Templar found himself wanting to chuckle. Not at the style of combat or how badly Keiichi was performing it. On the contrary, the diminutive mortal looked somewhat competent. What was truly amusing to Erg was that Morisato was doing something like this at all. In the few times that the Templar had met Keiichi, it had mostly consisted of the mortal serving tea or working on some machine in the city. The young Japanese man had never really seemed the fighting type.

But he looked different now. Not just the stance or the kicks, it was his eyes. There was a look of determination, one might even say fierceness, in Keiichi's eyes that Ergaddas hadn't expected to see. It struck the Templar as odd.

"Ah, Captain," Taff called out, ending the training session, "I didn't expect you until later."

"It's alright, Gunny," Ramos waved his hands. "I was just going to wait inside until word came back from Yokusuka, but it looks like this is the place to be." He turned to look at Keiichi with an amused grin. "Looks like Gunny Taff's puttin you through the ringer!"

Keiichi, who was limping up to Taff's side, showed a strained smile. "It definitely feels that way, sir. He's not cutting me any slack."

Taff nodded. "Yeah, we were talking the other day about how he wanted to be able to fight, so I figured I'd help him out a little."

Ergaddas was impressed. He hadn't met all that many humans who were willing to take the difficult path of the warrior. "So, Morisato," the Templar spoke, "what makes you want to be stronger?"

It was a simple question, but one that most would have difficulty answering truthfully. Even a Templar would have to think a minute before giving a real answer. Keiichi didn't hesitate, though. His voice was clear and decisive as he answered. "I'm tired of sitting around here while the Templars and the Marines go head to head with the bad guys. I'm sick of not being able to do anything. I want to be able to protect the ones I care about, and I know that I'm not good enough to do it yet."

Ergaddas smiled broadly. He clapped the short human on the shoulder, causing him to stagger a bit. "An excellent answer, Morisato. There's more to you than meets the eye, it seems. I'd like to see what kind of warrior you can make." Cracking his knuckles, the God placed his hands near Keiichi's sternum. Realizing that he was getting a strange look, the Templar told him, "It'll only take a minute." Receiving a nod, Erg proceeded with the program.

True to his word, a minute later the God removed his hands. Keiichi began to move his limbs about, stretching and eventually hopping without any trace of discomfort. "It's something I learned after I had been in the Templar order for several years. It causes accelerated reconstruction of the muscle tissue, so you don't have to wait two or three days to recover from your training."

The Captain laughed. "I wish I had something like that when I was in OCS!" Walking up to Keiichi, he patted the young man on the shoulder. "Would you mind sparring a little with me, now that you're good as new? I need a little practice myself."

Watching from the side as the pair began fighting, Ergaddas chuckled and shook his head. Just a couple of months ago he, like most other Templars, held the human race in rather low esteem. After seeing them struggle to survive in this devastated world, though, he had to admit he was rather impressed. Keiichi Morisato was yet another human who had surprised the God, and one who was starting to genuinely earn the Templar's respect.

A/N:

I know, I suck. I've been busy, and will probably continue to be busy in the foreseeable future. I do intend to get the next chapter out well before another month has passed. All I can say is sorry for the massive slowdown.

Well, this finally puts me over 100k words. Hooray! Thank you to everyone who has kept up with this so far. I am humbled by your continued support.

For anyone who is wondering, in the second to the last paragraph when Ramos says 'OCS', he's talking about Officer Candidate School. Think of it as boot camp for officers, since that's pretty much what it is.

Celestine is a character from the OMG movie. I thought he was a pretty cool villain, and I had some interesting plans for him. At least, I hope they're interesting.

Cthulhu is something that was cooked up by the visionary mind of H. P. Lovecraft. That's about all there is to say there. I would highly recommend reading Lovecraft's works, as they are quite cool (a little dated, but still awesome).

I'm really freaking tired right now, so that's it for the author's notes. I hope you guys liked the chapter. I'll try to get the next one out as soon as I can.

Please let me know what you think, and I'll see you all next chapter.

Katamari Damacy