Disclaimer: I don't own AMG.
Choix
Chapter 21
Damned
"The lonely road, the one that I should try to walk alone.
I'll be home tonight, take a breath and softly say goodbye."
Breaking Benjamin
"Here We Are"
Belldandy sat on her bed as she usually did when she wasn't in the viewing room or studying for the next part of her demonic checklist. Her hand lazily traveled down to her belly as she contemplated the future.
She was going to be a mother, a role Keiichi had told her she had been born to play.
The Vector had told her the child was normal, given its parentage and its very early stage of development. He had even been able to tell her that it was a girl.
But to raise a child in this place...
No, she wouldn't! She would raise it on Earth. Mother told her so.
Could Hild be believed?
She hadn't lied yet...
The goddess looked up as her Elites approached her bed.
"Is something wrong?" she asked quietly.
The captain whispered to her, and she blinked. It was true. Usually at this time of day she left for the viewing room. Today... Today she just couldn't.
"Not today," she whispered.
The Elites looked to each other, and the captain asked if she required a Vector.
"No, I'm all right."
The captain nodded, and the Elites turned to leave.
"Wait," she called.
Her guards turned back to her.
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He hadn't wanted to meld with her that night, much to World of Elegance's disappointment. His decision had surprised her, and made her feel... rejected.
Nyd explained that until the task he had been assigned was complete, he couldn't do anything that might disclose it, not even to her. And that meant no joining.
Urd blew air between her lips as she looked up at the ceiling. "Is it because of your mother?" she asked point blank.
He looked at her in surprise. "My mother? What makes you think that?"
"She doesn't like me," Urd told him. "You know why, you've seen it in my mind. Are you... having second thoughts?" she asked.
"No!"
"Is that why you..."
She broke off as she caught sight of his expression. The goddess had never seen him so sad.
"Nyd, what's this thing they want you to do?" she asked, her tone haunted with fear for her fiancé.
"I can't tell you," he said quietly.
"It's hurting you inside," she said, her eyes narrowing. "It's not just something difficult, it's something you know is wrong."
He smiled. "You already know me too well," he whispered.
"You also haven't stammered or apologized for anything in hours," she said. He blinked at this accusation. "That means that whatever it is, it's weighing on the professional side of you."
He swallowed. "Yeah," he said. "Actually, it's wrong no matter how you slice it."
"It has something to do with Belldandy, doesn't it?"
"Urd..."
"What are they making you do?" she pressed.
"I can't tell you."
She bit her lip. The goddess wanted to trust him, did trust him. But he was scaring her. "Nyd..."
He turned to her, tears in his eyes. "I love you, Urd," he said. "No matter what happens or what changes... I want you to know that."
"Nyd..." she whispered.
He got out of bed and started to dress. "I should go," he told her.
"Don't run away from me," she begged quietly. "I'm sorry I pressed."
Nyd paused.
"Don't go yet," she asked him.
He looked down at his feet. "I'm a pathetic excuse for a man," he whispered.
"What?"
"Say what you will about rampants," he told her. "But at least they have the strength to make a choice. All a god can do is obey."
She looked at him sympathetically, wishing she could know what was eating away at his soul.
What would Belldandy do? she asked herself.
The goddess closed her eyes. She knew. It didn't matter whether she knew or not. Urd smiled and lifted the blanket, inviting him back into bed.
He blinked at her.
"It's okay," she said soothingly. "It doesn't matter. Whatever it is, it's going to be okay. Because we're together."
"Urd..."
"Whatever happens, I'm going to be here for you," she told him. She bit the inside of her cheek nervously. "My fiancé is going to Hell tomorrow," she continued. "And I don't want him to leave without a proper goodbye."
He climbed back into bed, and she wrapped her arms around him.
888
"So you're..." Belldandy licked her lips and tried to contort her tongue in the proper directions to make the name pronounceable. "...Ashaaalaamantasssa," she finished. "And you," she pointed at the next Elite, "...are Ssselessmeshala."
The Elites, sitting across from her on the floor, nodded. Two were speaking to her while the other two watched the door.
"And the four of you are brothers?" she asked.
Ssselessmeshala nodded.
"And you're the youngest?" Belldandy asked.
The Elite nodded.
Belldandy smiled. At first, she had thought the idea seemed hopeless. But she was terribly lonely. She couldn't talk to Hild without the fear of being made to do some new and terrible thing. And Peorth surely had escaped by now. The Elites were all she had.
"I have a younger sister," she shared. "Skuld. She's the engineer of the family, always inventing new things," she said, a trace of happiness entering her voice for the first time since she arrived in Hell.
Ssselessmeshala whispered something to her. The Elites' language was difficult sometimes to understand. It was made almost entirely of whispers, a trait that developed over millenia as a survival mechanism. Their realm was a harsh one, and the Elites, impressive warriors though they were, were not on the top of that realm's food chain.
"Me?" Belldandy asked. Her voice turned wistful. "I granted wishes. My job was to make people happy. Now..." She turned away, saddened by the reminder of what she had lost.
Ashaaalaamantasssa whispered, drawing Belldandy's attention back to the conversation. "Yes, Urd is my sister," she confirmed.
The older Elite whispered again, and Belldandy blinked in surprise. "Truly? You were one of her guards while she lived here?"
Ashaaalaamantasssa nodded and whispered again.
Belldandy smiled again, the act becoming less and less rare as the day went on. "She is very well!" Belldandy told him. "She just turned a thousand and was placed in a Pairing."
The Elites looked at her quizzically, their blood-red eyes conveying confusion.
"It's when two gods are arranged to marry," she explained.
Ashaaalaamantasssa seemed to hiss and cough at the same time, something Belldandy had learned was laughter. He whispered to her again.
"No, I can't imagine her as a housewife either," Belldandy allowed.
The youngest Elite entered the conversation again.
"No, I am not married," Belldandy answered sadly. "We were... interrupted, I guess you could say. He lives on Earth."
Ssselessmeshala whispered again.
"That is a kind offer," she said with a smile. "But I would not want him brought to this place. He wouldn't like it."
He whispered again. "Earth? Earth is not like this," she said, gesturing to the room. "It's bright, and happy. People laugh, and the sun shines, and the wind is cool and clean." She sighed.
Ssselessmeshala whispered another question. "I'm sure you'd like it there very much," she said with a smile. "When I return to Earth, will the four of you come with me?"
At their nods, she brightened. "That's wonderful."
They looked up as the captain, Melassschala, waved for them to come to him. The two guards stood.
"Thank you very much," Belldandy told them. "I know you are not here to chit chat with a lonely goddess."
They bowed to her before turning and walking away.
Belldandy smiled. Perhaps some good can be found even in Hell.
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"Ah! Belldandy!" Hild cried happily as her adopted daughter entered the throne room. Hild shooed away a few advisors and generals and strode up to the goddess, who was flanked by her Elites.
"Mother," Belldandy greeted respectfully.
Hild took Belldandy's arm and led her toward the center of the throne room. "You seem to be feeling better today," she said. "I take it the shock and irrational fear you had has worn off?"
The goddess nodded. "I am still shocked," she said honestly. "But I am not as fearful as I was."
"Glorious! Simply glorious! I don't want you to put too much stress on my grandchild."
They found themselves approaching Hild's onyx throne, and the archdemoness placed her hands on Belldandy's shoulders, leaning in to whisper to her. "You want to try it on?"
Belldandy blinked. "Me?"
Hild smiled evilly. "Why not? You are my heir. One day it will be yours, I'm sure. Go ahead. Sit down."
The Norn looked a little uncomfortable at the idea of sitting on the throne of Hell, but she straightened her skirt and did as she was told, letting her hands rest in her lap.
Hild applauded. "You look wonderful! Quite like the ruler of Hell!" The demoness smiled. "I am so proud of you, Belldandy. You've come so far so quickly. Even Metheus has commented..."
The archdemoness smiled at the sudden change in Belldandy's eyes. The hatred was palpable. But she wasn't in the mood to push her daughter too hard. Not on such a wonderful day.
"Tell me, my Belldandy, what are you doing a week from Wednesday?"
Belldandy blinked. "I... I suppose I will be training or testing," she answered honestly.
"Oh? Really? That's too bad," Hild told her. "I would hate to make Keiichi wait any longer to see you..."
"Keiichi san!?" Belldandy cried, shooting to her feet. "Keiichi san?!" she repeated.
Hild grinned unctuously. "Indeed."
"But... you said you wouldn't let me go back to Earth until..."
The archdemoness waved that aside. "You have performed so wonderfully that I think you deserve a treat."
The Norn collapsed back into her chair, her eyes wide in silent shock. "I get to see Keiichi san?" she asked quietly.
"Yes," Hild told her. "For a day, next Wednesday. But!" She held a finger up to punctuate her next sentence. "You will not go to Earth."
Belldandy looked puzzled.
"It's far too dangerous," Hild told her. "I fear for your safety. Brave and capable as they are, the Elites will not be able to repel a large enough assault."
"But... that doesn't make sense," Belldandy told her. "Who would want to attack us?"
Hild smiled at her use of the word, "us." "Belldandy, I've explained this to you," she said quietly, as if speaking to a child who couldn't comprehend why she shouldn't wander off in the park alone at night. "You're not one of them anymore. And now you carry a grandchild of the Almighty. They won't allow that."
She looked down at her lap sadly. "I can't believe that."
Hild smiled softly. "Fortunately, you don't have to. I will arrange for you and Keiichi to have some time alone in another realm where you can give him the good news in private." She took the goddess's chin in her hand and pulled her gaze to hers. "In another few weeks, Belldandy, you'll be back on Earth, making Keiichi breakfast and picking out strollers for your baby. I promise."
The goddess smiled. "Thank you, Mother."
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"Time to go," Nyd said, pulling his white healer's cloak around him.
Urd watched him go to the sink and fill the basin before mixing a few cups of salt into the liquid. The god stirred the liquid until the salt completely dissolved into a run-of-the-mill saline solution.
"Do you have a message for her?" Nyd asked, not turning to face the Norn.
"That I love her," Urd told him. "And that we'll see her soon."
He paused. "Urd... if you have more to say... I think you should."
She blinked. "You say that as if we're not going to see her again," she whispered.
He licked his lips. "You might not," he told her.
"Nyd, what are you talking about?"
The healer turned and looked into her eyes. It was in those pools of jade that he found what he was searching for, the strength to disobey.
"They've asked me to deliver something to her," he said quietly. "Something terrible. A poison. One that will cause a massive cascade failure throughout the spirit and body."
She shook her head. "What? Why?"
"Hild is winning," Nyd told her. "The market is on the verge of collapse. For the first time since before the last war, there are more souls aligned with Hell than with Heaven. The Almighty is being made to look weak, and that can't happen if faith in him is to be maintained. They want a symbol they can rally around."
"So what?" Urd asked. "They expect Belldandy to poison and kill Hild?! That's stupid! It'll never work!"
He blinked back tears and took her by the shoulders. "The poison's not for Hild, Urd."
The idea was so foreign, so awful, so inconceivable, that it took Urd a moment to comprehend what Nyd was saying. "No," she whispered. "That's..."
"They want her to choose," Nyd told her. "Obey Hild or defy her. The Almighty and his council believe Belldandy will choose to defy Hild... and take the poison. When she does, she'll become a martyr and the pendulum will swing back toward Heaven."
"And you're going to do this?" Urd asked, shocked to her core.
"I can't defy the Almighty," he said.
"But you can kill my sister!?" she hissed, the fury in her eyes and voice surprising even him.
"Do you think I want to do this?!" he asked, tears pooling in his eyes. "I hate this, Urd! My whole life I've fought to preserve life!"
"I can't believe this," she muttered, shaking her head. "I can't believe you're going along with this."
"Urd..."
"You know she won't do it," Urd told him quickly. "Belldandy cherishes life. She won't end hers."
"I hope you're right, Urd," he said. "I really do. And even when I speak to her I'll beg her not to do it. I promise you, I will do whatever I can to convince her not to do this. But the Almighty has made his decision. I have to obey."
Urd looked at him, her eyes firm. "She won't do it," she said again with certainty.
"I believe you, and I'm glad," he said. The healer started to lean in to offer a kiss of comfort, but she turned her head. He closed his eyes painfully and stepped back. Turning to the basin of salt water.
"Nyd!"
He turned back, and caught her as she kissed him. When they parted, she looked into his eyes. "Be careful," she told him. "Hild is no idiot. Tell my sister I love her and if she even thinks of taking that pill she's a bigger idiot than you are for taking it to her!"
The healer smiled. "I will."
"And be careful!" she said agian.
"I'll be fine," he told her. "I'll be okay."
She kissed him again. "I love you."
"I love you too," he told her, pulling away and reaching back to touch the water. A moment later, he was gone.
Urd leaned against the kitchen counter and started to cry.
888
"You shouldn't do that," Tabitha warned Peorth from the ledge.
The goddess ignored her. She was hanging by her fingers from the overhead grate, trying to figure out the locking mechanism.
"There's a monster up there," Tabitha told her breathlessly.
"There are a million monsters up there," Peorth told her calmly. She kicked herself a moment later. Tabitha was a child. That was probably the last thing she wanted to hear.
"This one is big," she argued. "And... and mean!" Tabitha added.
They're all big and mean... Peorth thought. She managed to squeeze her hand through one of the gaps, and pulled it back a second later with a shriek of terror as some thing's foot struck the grate next to it.
The goddess fell back into the water with a splash. Surfacing a moment later, she spat out rancid water and looked up.
Whatever it was, it was big... and mean, Peorth was willing to bet. It looked like a deep sea diver, only bigger. The portholes of its suit glowed angrily at her. It made a loud noise like a demonic foghorn that shook the walls.
Tabitha screamed and held her hands over her ears. The monster battered its hand against the grate in warning.
Peorth swam back to the ledge where Tabitha was still screaming in terror. The goddess pulled herself up and grabbed the young girl, putting her hand over her mouth.
"Shhh! Shhh!" Peorth hissed. "Your screams are agitating it!"
Tabitha, breathing like an exhausted sprinter, clammed up, her eyes wide and searching the gloom around them.
The monster stopped its assault on the grate and hooted again. A moment later, they heard its mammoth footsteps as it walked away.
Tabitha was crying again, pulling her knees up to her chest. Peorth held her and shushed her again.
"Mama," the girl sobbed. "I want Mama..."
"I know," Peorth whispered, holding her tenderly. "I know. It's okay. It's gone."
The goddess searched for a way to take the girl's mind off things. "Do you want to hear a story?" she asked.
Tabitha sniffled and nodded.
"Bon," Peorth replied. "Once upon a time in a far away realm there was a boy named Kei. Kei was born under an unlucky star, and the Almighty determined that he was to get a wish..."
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The Elite whispered into her ear, and Hild arched an eyebrow in response. "Again?" she asked. She took a seat on her throne and crossed her legs. "Then by all means, see him in."
The throne room doors opened, and Nyd entered, alone this time. The healer forced himself to bite back fear. This time he was alone in this dark place with no one to help him should his true purpose be discovered.
His hand delved into his pocket and grasped the tiny gold ring there, his fingers wrapping around it so tightly he was afraid he might bend it.
Urd is with me. She's my strength... he thought.
"Nub!" Hild greeted with delight. "You've returned! You have no idea how happy that makes me." This last sentence was said with a total lack of emotion.
He didn't bother correcting her. Swallowing nervously, he spoke up. "I... I have come to press our rights under the Armistice to..."
Hild sighed. "Very well."
He blinked. That was easy.
"Same rules," she said. "No letters, the Elites will check you out."
It was too easy. He cleared his throat nervously. "Have there been any changes that you've noticed in Miss Belldandy's condition?" he asked her.
Hild smiled cruelly. "Huge changes," she said. "But you'll see for yourself, I think." She snapped her fingers. "The Elites will take you to her."
"Thank you," he managed as the shadowy warrior gestured to the doorway.
As he followed the Elite, his hand gripped the ring tightly.
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Frigga found her on the roof of Miranda's apartment building, looking out over Nekomi.
"Urd, honey?" she asked, stepping closer. "Are you all right?"
The Norn didn't turn. "You're a seer," she said simply. "Tell me everything will be okay."
The queen sat next to her. "Define... 'okay.'"
Urd sighed. "I was afraid of that."
Frigga smiled at her. "Don't be afraid," she said. "All things change as do all people. I meant my question. 'Okay' in my mind means that Belldandy will be safe and out of that place, back here with her Keiichi and her sisters. But if you are asking me if things will ever be the way they were before..." She looked down and sighed. "No, they will not. We are all the slaves of our choices, Urd. What we choose to say or do or who we love or hate. Time can be undone to some extent, but not our choices. Those live with us forever."
Urd looked up at the stars. "Our choices, huh?"
"Indeed. For good or ill, they are what define us." She took a breath. "And I believe Belldandy, even as we speak, is making choices that will shape her destiny forever. Hers and ours."
The Norn looked at her stepmother and chewed on this. "Will she die?"
Frigga looked up at her in surprise. "Will she die?"
Urd looked back and blinked.
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"Nyd san, it's good to see you," Belldandy said, warmly embracing him.
"How are you?" he asked. "Have they mistreated you?"
"To be honest," she said, looking away. "I... I don't know."
"You don't know?" he asked, blinking.
The Norn went to her bed and sat down. "To be mistreated would mean that they have treated me below the norms of how they treat one another. In that respect... I believe I am being treated well."
It was an odd answer. Alarm bells went off in the healer's mind. "Miss Belldandy," he said. "I don't have much time. There is something we must discuss."
"First, I must ask," Belldandy said. "Did Peorth make it back all right?"
Nyd blinked. "Peorth has not been seen in several days. She was captured and brought here."
Belldandy's face fell, but to Nyd's amazement, it started to harden.
"She stayed," she said quietly. "To try to help Metheus and the others."
"Huh?" Nyd asked, blinking.
Abandoned again...
No, not true! the part of Belldandy that was still unstained cried back. She said she would stay until she could get you all out! If she stayed, then she did so to help us all!
"Miss Belldandy?"
She looked up, the anger seemingly forgotten. "Hai?"
Nyd looked distinctly uncomfortable. "I..." He swallowed. "I have brought a message from the Almighty."
Belldandy's eyes lit up. Finally!
"What does my father say?!" she asked happily. "Has he appealed to Mother to release me?!"
He blinked. "'Mother?'"
Belldandy blinked in confusion. "I... I meant Hild..." she trailed off. She shook the confusion from her head and turned to him, anger flashing in her eyes. "Just tell me what he said!" she demanded.
The healer stepped back a pace in surprise. He hadn't known Belldandy long, but the look of rage in her eyes was simply... unnatural.
"Haud Vulnero, come forth," he said quietly. With a flash of light, his angel ascended from within him.
Belldandy watched, both delighted at the sight of another angel and jealous of its beauty. Would Holy Bell ever be as beautiful again?
Nyd closed his eyes as Vulnero held out the pill, placing it in the healer's hand.
"Belldandy," Nyd said quietly. "The Almighty is charging you with a horrible test."
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"Okay, you're going to love this," Skuld said excitedly as she placed ten bone mics on the table in front of them. "I took the bone mics you gave me and added a little invention of my own, Skuld's Patented Probability Synchronization Chip!"
"What does it do?" Miranda asked, picking one of the comm devices up. Each held a dark blue gem that fixed to the front of the wearer's throat, allowing them to communicate with one another in whispers.
Skuld crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm glad you asked. BANPEI! VISUAL AID!"
The robot held up a poster board with a drawing of a black tree and several stick figures.
"Not up to your usual standards," Keiichi noted.
"I'm on a budget!" Skuld growled at him. She cleared her throat. "The big problem with communications in Hell, according to all the military history books Miranda loaned me, is that Nidhogg, Hell's version of Yggdrasil, controls all the frequencies. Slide!"
Banpei held up a new poster board. All of the stick figures now sported sad faces.
"Whenever an unidentified signal is detected, Nidhogg can home in on it and either tap it or jam it. Slide!"
The robot switched poster boards again. This time all the stick figures had happy faces.
"With my new chip, however, after each transmission, the transmitters all retune to a random frequency on the net, making it impossible for Nidhogg to jam or tap our communications. What my chip does is synchronize the laws of probability among each transmitter so that each individual transmitter retunes to the exact same frequency at the same time. Slide!"
Banpei held up a poster board that said, "Questions?"
Urd was only half listening. Her thoughts were on Belldandy and Nyd.
Her conversation with her stepmother concerned her, but she couldn't figure out why. It wasn't necessarily what she said, it was how she said it...
"Skuld, this is above and beyond," Miranda told her. "Well done."
The youngest Norn smiled. "I should have a jammer for you soon too."
"Great," Frigga said. "Things are falling into place."
Or falling to pieces... a voice in Urd's head whispered.
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Belldandy was silent. Her mind was having a hard time comprehending what Nyd had just told her, what the Almighty... her father... was asking her to do.
"I don't believe it," she whispered.
Nyd said nothing. What could he possibly say?
"Nyd san... I'm pregnant," she told him quietly.
"I know," he told her. Her eyes widened in surprise, and she turned to him, searching for the truth in his face. The sadness there told her everything. "Belldandy... I... I don't know what to say... They said... They said the choice must be yours."
She reached out and took the pill from him, her eyes studying it, trying to make some sense out of it.
"You know?" she asked, her whisper coming out with an edge.
He nodded.
She turned away from him, leaning against the bed as her breaths came in sharp gasps.
"Belldandy..."
They know... They know and they want me to...
"They want to kill my baby," she whispered.
"No, Belldandy, it's..."
"Be silent!" she growled.
Nyd's mouth clapped shut at the anger in her voice. His hand instinctively wrapped around the ring. Something was wrong. Very wrong. This was not Belldandy...
It's true, she thought. Everything Mother said was true!
Her hands tightened on the blanket until her nails had punctured it, shredding the silk.
They can't save me! They can't save my baby! They know Mother's won, so they'll try to hide their defeat behind my nobility!?
"Belldandy, listen to me..." Nyd began again.
"No," she whispered.
Nyd sighed in relief. Urd was right. Belldandy wouldn't kill herself. Thank goo...
"I will not listen," she continued in a low growl. "Not anymore. Not to you. Or the Almighty."
He blinked at her. "Belldandy..."
All of it! She was right about all of it! They're not even trying to get me back! Instead, they're trying to use me as... as... a political too! A way to embarrass Mother! That's my destiny?! That's what I'm worth!? A momentary victory?! A way to save face?! THAT'S ALL MY BABY IS WORTH TO THEM?!
Belldandy felt the anger boiling within her, blocking out everything else. She couldn't feel anything else but that overwhelming, all-encompassing, fiery hate!
She turned to him, and that darkness in her eyes was there. The goddess stared at him hatefully for a moment. Then, finally, she did speak again.
"GUARDS!"
Nyd didn't even have time to flinch before two Elites leapt through the door, spurred to action by their mistress's call. Ssselessmeshala's red eyes locked onto Nyd and raised his lance.
Belldandy pointed at the healer. "This god was sent to kill me," she said. "I want him..."
Enraged by this statement, Ssselessmeshala howled and leapt forward without waiting for Belldandy to finish. Hooking the end of his spear around Nyd's foot, he pulled, throwing the god onto his back!
Nyd's eyes went wide and he raised his hands instinctively as the Elite brought the end of the spear down into the healer's stomach and into the marble floor below.
The healer gasped in shock and pain as dark energy flowed into his body, infecting his spirit.
"NO!" Bellandy screamed in panic, pushing the Elite away. "Don't kill him! I wanted him captured!"
Belldandy knelt next to Nyd as the hateful storm in her spirit broke. Her hands went to her face in horror at what she had done. "Nyd san?!" she whispered, reaching out to him. "Nyd san?!"
He blinked, trying to breathe through the immense pain running up and down his body. As a healer, he knew the worst thing he could do was look down at the wound, but he did so anyway, gasping at the sight.
Nyd raised his head, tears running down his face as the dark energy, a spiritual poison in itself, ran through him. "Almighty," he gasped out, quietly begging. "Almighty." He gasped a few more times, and lifted his right hand, reaching for something on the ground nearby.
Belldandy looked down and saw what he was reaching for. When he had thrown his hands up, he had dropped a small white-gold ring. Without even wondering what it was, she picked it up and placed it in his hand, wrapping his fingers around it as the sigil on his forehead began to blacken and fall away like ash.
"I'm sorry," she sobbed. "I'm so sorry..."
Tears fell from her eyes as his breathing came faster. He shook his head as if he could feel her thoughts.
"Don't take it," he told her. "D...Don't... Don't take it..."
"Shh," she replied, on the verge of hysterics herself. "Don't move," she said. "Just... just breathe..." She turned to her Elites. "GET A VECTOR! GET ONE NOW!"
One of the Elites rushed out of the room. She looked back down at him. Patches of his skin were starting to blacken as the poison ran through his soul. He choked on something and coughed, drops of black liquid dotting his lips.
She wanted to comfort him, to help him, to do something!
Have you not done enough? an accusing voice in her mind taunted her.
She looked up as Hild, flanked by four armed Elites stormed into the room. "I just heard," she said. Looking down at the dying god, she crossed her arms over her chest and smiled a little.
"Take your medicine, son," she said cruelly.
Belldandy looked up at her in horror. Her gaze fell back to Nyd as he suddenly took her hand. She felt the ring press into her palm. A black fluid leaked from the corners of his mouth, and his breath came in spastic jerks. His eyes locked onto hers.
"T..T...Tell Urd... I'...I'll be okay..." he begged.
His chest heaved one last time, and his hand went limp in hers.
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"All right, now this map is a little old," Miranda said. "But we'll synch it with whatever Skuld can get from aerial..."
Urd checked over the map along with the others, searching for anything that seemed out of place based on her time in Hell. She leaned over to make a mark on the paper near a bridge she was sure was no longer there and paused, her hand hovering just over the map.
She stayed like that for more than a minute. Finally, Keiichi prodded her gently.
"Urd? You okay?"
The pencil fell from her hand as she suddenly straightened, her eyes going wide in terror, pain or both. The others stepped back as World of Elegance erupted from the goddess's body, looking straight up.
The angel looked down, her eyes shut. Suddenly, her mouth opened as if she were screaming, but no sound emerged.
As one, they all cried out as every window, every cup, every item in the apartment made of glass shattered. World of Elegance disappeared, and Urd fell to the floor.
Frigga rushed to her side. "Urd! Honey?! What is it?!"
"He's...He's..." Urd babbled, tears running down her face. "He's gone! HE'S GONE!" She clutched at Frigga so forcefully, the older goddess cried out in pain. "Mama!" Urd sobbed, her eyes focused on nothing. "Mama!"
Frigga held her and shushed her as best she could. "It's okay, hon. Mama's here!" She looked up at Miranda. "Your bedroom."
The valkyrie nodded and knelt to help Frigga lift her, but Keiichi stepped in ahead of her, taking Urd's left side while Frigga took the right.
"Mama! Mama! I can't feel him anymore!" Urd babbled. "Mama! Please! Please help me! I can't... I can't feel his soul! MAMA! I CAN'T FEEL HIM! MAMA!"
The others watched as Keiichi and Frigga carried the sobbing goddess into the next room. Skuld flinched, tears in her eyes as she heard Urd give another soul rending scream as the door shut behind them.
"W...What just happened?" she asked quietly.
It was Gaeriel who knelt next to her. She took the girl by the shoulder, her expression grim and sympathetic.
"Skuld... I'm afraid... I mean..."
"Doctor Nyd is dead."
They looked up and saw Miranda light a cigarette. The valkyrie took a drag and let it out. "Come on," she said quietly. "We have work to do."
"Heartless bitch," Gaeriel remarked.
"You know better than that," Miranda told her, leaning over the map again and brushing away a few shards from a shattered coffee mug. "You're a valkyrie. You want to honor his memory? Complete the mission. He's not the last we'll lose."
Gaeriel and Skuld turned back to the bedroom door as they heard the Norn crying out for him.