Gehenna Arch

The land was engulfed in mist, and though she tried, she could make nothing out in front of her. So thick was the haze that she barely saw her own nose in front of her face, the hair on her shoulders, or even the clothes on her body. The woman knew not where she was or where she was going; only that something was pulling her forward and she had no choice but to follow it.

Her feet were bare and the fog she traversed through muffled her footsteps. It felt as though her feet splashed through a never-ending puddle, yet she could not hear the splash that should have accompanied it. Whatever it was, the liquid felt thin and warm and pleasant beneath her feet, and though she walked for what felt like miles, the liquid eased the pain that surely would have risen to the point of non-existence.

She did not know how long she walked. There was no scenery, no sense of time to judge if she'd walked only a couple feet or halfway around the world. The realm seemed to be in a constant state of stillness, with only the mist for company and the tug in her breast for direction.

A decade passed within a minute, and slowly, the mist began to part. Gradual at first, it was long before she realized the swirls in the mist were shapes, that shades began to rise and mix with the endless grey, and with it shapes and figures sprouted like saplings. She called to them, unable to tell what they're blurry figures were, only to find her own voice muffled, as though speaking through cloth. Yet when she witnessed one of the shades move, saw its form grow into one more recognizable, she called again, and watched in relief as the shade paused in its doings.

She ran towards it, and now she could hear the splash of her feet as she raced through the puddles, and the faster she raced, the clearer the silhouette became; a person, a man, his frame long and thin. He must have seen her as well, for he gave a great shout before racing towards her. His voice was familiar, the words he shouted not. They were of a strange tongue, one alien to her, and briefly she wondered at the wisdom behind her actions.

Yet it was too late for second thoughts as the mist cleared and suddenly he appeared, a hand, dark with tan, wrapping around her arm tightly. "What are you doing here?" He hissed, eyes a shade of blue so bright and brilliant he seemed blind. "You shouldn't be here. You shouldn't even be able to get here!" He was angry, and his grip on her arm tightened painfully. "You need to leave. Now."

The mist around them was evaporating, burning up with the rising of a sun she only just noticed. And with it, the world around them revealed itself to her, and she gasped.

Whatever shined above her head was no sun.

She didn't know what it was, but it was the likes of which she'd never seen before. Red and bright, it pulsed in its prison, lined in a spider web casing of thin, black veins. The light it produced was great and terrible, and she found could only look at it for so long before she was forced to look away. It left an imprint behind her eyelids, throbbing and pulsing to the beat of some creature's great heart.

Yet where next she looked proved only to be worse, the landscape that greeted her light-speckled eyes showing red and white and black.

A corpse.

She was standing on a corpse.

Its blood was the liquid that warmed her feet, still hot with the life it once held and now staining her feet, her legs, her pants. Open, red muscle surfaced and dived beneath the red puddles in hills, their slopes so clean that she could make out the individual muscle fibers, each aligned neatly beside its brethren. Ribs, white and clean, protruded like an archway, and little finger bones created stairs that lead beneath the silver arches, rising to a stone gate, closed and barred and guarded by unfamiliar, monstrous statues.

To her left she made out mountains made of breasts, sharply cut and jagged and white, covered in a dark flesh that spoke of a different origin. Nerves erupted from the muscles as yellow bushes and pale trees, and they shuddered in the mist, the fog, the breath of the creature.

Up in the sky, what could have passed for a galaxy of stars was in fact a tail, its black flesh curled tightly and speckled with silver, and within it was the moon, a liver hidden and disguised as a red crescent against the sky, holding its place far east of the red heart-sun imprisoned above her. A lung, sliced in half and sewn together, produced the sky, the air sacks, the alveoli, producing clusters of white clouds, mixing with acid and swirling with the mist she breathed.

Off in the distance, along the rolling hills of muscle and mountains borne of sliced-breast, she spied a pair of eyes buried in the earth, and from them two rivers sprang weeping. Above and below, a spinal cord created a tower in the form of a rope, connecting the heavens to the earth. A stomach, two kidneys, produced lakes and oceans, with veins of blue trailing along the muscle as rivers.

And that was only what she could see. Beyond the mountains and the towers and the oceans the mist, the breath returned, obscuring whatever remained to be seen. She wasn't certain if she was grateful or not of it, and her knees wobbled weakly before giving out beneath her weight. She wanted to scream, wanted to cry, yet she found her face dry of tears, mute of breath. She wanted to retch, but her stomach was empty, and so she collapsed, her body shuddering with dry heaves as her clothes absorbed the blood at her feet. The color blossomed upwards, pink at first, before darkening into a bloody rose and further still into an ugly black.

"Stand up." The world beneath her feet rumbled angrily, and a pair of hands moved to her shoulders, gripping them hard and lifting her up, and numbly she felt herself pulled to her feet. "What's wrong with you? You can't grow sick in this realm. Now stand on your own two legs."

Dizziness swept through her, and grimly she shook her head, grasping desperately for the hands supporting her. She heard him grunt in irritation, and the grip shifted, a hand moving off her shoulders to instead scoop her up in one swift motion. He cradled her against his chest as though she was a young girl, and together they walked towards the bone steps. Beneath his feet the ground rumbled again, the muscle stretching and shifting the landscape nauseatingly.

Climbing the bones, he deposited her on the highest step, leaning her against the closed stone doors. The pressed coolly into her back, their cold penetrating her shirt and chilling her skin. He sat down next to her, and she leaned into him, grasping his arm for support and closing her eyes, taking deep breaths as she tried to calm herself. He did nothing, said not a word to her, and for the longest time the only sound she heard was the pounding of her heart and her rasping breath.

"Wha-" Her voice was a pitiful mew, and she shut her mouth, swallowing several times before trying again. "What is this place?" She opened her eyes, keeping her gaze directed at him.

Her voice still trembled, yet the man chose not to comment, instead smiling wanly at her. "You mean you can't tell?" He asked softly, and when she shook her head his smile grew sad. "This is Tehom. My mother."

She stared at him in shock. "Your mother?"

He nodded. "The Heavens and the Earth." He explained. "This is Tehom-the true Tehom, its flesh and blood and spirit, made whole by the will of a god from the body of another."

She looked at him in horror. "How?" She whispered, the sound meek and soft. "The Heavens and Earth…they are alive yes, but not like this. Not from the body of another. This is…this is wrong. Nothing like this should exist."

He nodded absently. "Nothing like this should exist. But it does. And you exist because of it." Gently, he eased the vice-lock grip she held around his arm, rising smoothly and walking down the bone steps, a hand reaching out to graze the monstrous statues that lined the protruding ribs.

Beneath their feet the earth shuddered once more, and to her ears, it sounded almost like a groan arose from the realm. When the tremor faded, she stood trembling, her body shaking. "Then tell me how!" She demanded. "Why does something that should not be exist? Who would do such a thing?"

He paused in front of one statue, a hand moving up to gently rub its face. His blue gaze turned to her, and his smile was sad. "A deity would. And that deity would do it by destroying the old." He laughed humorlessly. "The old is constantly at war with the new. You should know that by now. The new will always destroy the old if it cannot adapt, and that was what we were-a bunch of old souls that couldn't change with the times. And the result…" He swept an arm in front of him, gesturing to the muscle-hills and mountain-breasts and bone-steps.

Another rumble swept through the ground, and as it faded she forced her unwilling body to move,walking step-by-step down the bones and passing fish that stood on two legs beside scorpion-men, snarling rapid dogs and horned-dragons, demons and monsters whose faces had been worn smooth and expressionless with the passing of time. She approached him, grasping his arm in as much support for herself as for the pain displayed on his face.

"Is that her?" She pointed behind him and to the statue he stood in front of. The statue proved just as odd and deformed as its brethren, displaying a vaguely human female. Its face was masked by the skull of some great and dead horned beast, yet the mouth that was visible displayed a snarling persona, one that seemed to scream for the blood of her foes with her four arms raised in and unholy fury. Each hand bore a weapon: In one hand a bow, another the arrow to be shot from it, while the lower two bore dagger and sword. From the upper arms feathers sprouted as though caught forever in a mid-transformation into wings, and her bare legs were covered in scales that could have been from a bird just as easily as they could have been from a snake. It stood adorned in silk, one long, large cloth that left one breast bare and exposed for all the world to admire.

It held a frightening sort of elegance to it, and he shook his head, looking over his shoulder back at the creature with a fond smile. "No…no, this is-was-the light of my life. My mate. A fierce one, she was. Passionate in everything she did, from life to love to war and…" He trailed off with a shake of his head. "I miss her."

She tilted her head to the side, examining the worn statue carefully. At the right angle, it almost looked familiar. Almost. "What happened to her?"

He sent her a sidelong glance. "She disappeared one day, on the eve of the battle that turned the tables of war. Some thought she ran. Others thought her slain. More thought her a traitor." He shook her head. "The answer I didn't know for a long, long while. But back then it is what I believe truly led to our downfall. She gave me strength, you see, for when I needed it most. Yet with her gone…"

He shook himself, his whole body, as though he were a wet dog ridding itself of water. "But that is a story for another night. As it is, my strength on this plane grows thin with your continued presence." As if in echo of his words, the world rumbled restlessly, sending bones clattering against each other noisily and nerves twitching and hissing irritably.

This time the tremor was great enough that she grabbed him with both hands, desperate to keep her balance. He looked down at her. "Tehom sense you here, and you're starting to wake her."

She gaped at him. "You mean she is still alive? Even in this state?" It was her turn to spread her arm, gesturing to the horrid land around her, and he laughed.

"Yes." He responded. "Yes she is. For she is the Heavens and the Earth. I would think you would know this already. Surely nothing can live within either realm if the Heavens and the Earth are dead, no?"

"N-no…"

He nodded. "And so instead she sleeps, with me, her son, to keep watch over her." He patted her head as though she was a child. "It means insuring little children like you do not come to this place, where your voice disturbs her slumber and rouses her, for her awakening would be a very, very bad thing."

"Very, very bad thing how?" She eyed him warily, and he smiled.

"If you're lucky, you'll never find out."

He placed his free hand on top her own, gently guiding her away from the fierce creature he claimed as his consort and down the stairs. Tehom rumbled restlessly once more, yet he continued without pause, his step sure and steady against her own weak and clumsy ones. When she stumbled and near fell from the tremors, he caught her, and with an easy swoop he was carrying her once more, leaving her face warm and red at her own incapabilities.

"Where are you taking me?" She asked, fighting though her blush and meeting a pair of eyes that watched her in amusement.

"Home, of course." He stepped onto the muscle, and the tremors seemed to calm instantly. "Now hush. I need to concentrate for this to work." His eyes grew distant, silver brows furrowing together in concentration as he focused on some point beyond her. Before them the muscle stretched and retracted, and she watched nauseously as the muscle fibers parted and snapped with a 'twang' more felt than heard. A hole appeared before them, and the blood on top the muscle vanished as it fell through.

She strained her neck to see what lay within the hole, yet she saw nothing but darkness. She stared at it, perturbed, and suddenly her grip on him grew stronger. "And where does that lead?"

He stepped towards the hole, and she grew restless in his arms as they drew near. Had it been possible, she'd have climbed atop his head if it meant keeping away from the hole. Yet it was not, and as he drew near it he easily separated her death grip on him, holding her out in front of him and over the hole as though in offering to some higher power. "You know that as well as I." He replied, and his smile was cruel. "It's time to fall, Little Songbird. You don't belong here anymore."

And she fell with a scream, through the hole and into the darkness, watching as the red light of the world that was a god grew feint, the one who guarded it small, and the world around her black.

"Kingu!" Belldandy awoke with a shriek, sitting up in her bed so quickly that she grew lightheaded. The world spun nauseously within her blue eyes, and dizzy, the brunette fell from where she rested, landing on the hard ground with an audible 'thump'. A weak moan escaped her lips, and with an effort she rolled onto her back, meeting the violet gaze of Kin-Urd staring down at her.

The demon raised a silver brow. "Have a nice trip?" She muttered, resting her chin upon her arms. They rested on the back of the chair she was sitting in-the same place Belldandy recalled seeing her before falling into an uneasy sleep.

Belldandy looked at the demon blankly, and Urd rolled her eyes with a sigh. "Forget it." She grumbled, instead narrowing her eyes at the goddess. "But now you've got me all curious, little sister." Her voice held a false sweetness to it that left a bad taste in Belldandy's mouth. "What do you know of Kingu?"

Carefully Belldandy propped herself up on her elbow, staring up at the false-goddess in surprise. "You know the name?" Her voice was harsh-not as harsh as it had been, Urd's potion had done miracles-yet it still had an unfavorable rasp to it that made Belldandy want to wince every time she spoke.

The demon snorted in dour amusement. "Know the name? Hon, every demon and their sire know the name 'Kingu'. I'd be willing to bet even the Daimakaicho's heir even knows the name 'Kingu'. What I want to know is how a first-class goddess like you came about the name."

You would lose that bet. Belldandy thought, recalling her sister's initial confusion at the first mention of the name. She kept the thought to herself. "It is the name of a man. One who visits me in my dreams. I've even seen him while awake, here on the Assiah. Although those times are rarer."

Urd hummed in thought, chewing on her lower lip as she scrutinized the goddess with critical violet eyes. "And what does he say to you in these visits. Do you remember?"

The woman shook her head. "Not always." She admitted. "He appeared to me during last night's battle-" She stopped, feeling her throat lock up painfully, and for a moment it grew hard to breath as a wave of despair swept through her. Swallowing, the goddess took a deep breath, releasing it slowly as she regained her composure. When the Norn spoke again her voice was strong and composed. "I had…I had been healing Keiichi. Yet I was still weak from the potion, and did not have the strength to mend his wounds. I was going to unlock my seal when he appeared. He stopped me."

"Why?" Urd prodded.

Belldandy hesitated for a moment, then with a frown said, "Kingu claimed I'd kill myself if I undid the seal. He said I was already at my limit, and to go any further was suicide." Carefully the goddess sat up, wincing as she shifted into a more comfortable position against her bed. "I believe I fainted after that. For after he disappeared I could only remember reawakening in this room." She eyed the disguised demon with curious blue eyes. "Now will you tell me who he is?"

Urd rubbed her chin in thought, and Belldandy watched as the hand moved from her chin to her temples, rubbing them as though her head ached. The bronze woman muttered something incomprehensible under her breath and then leaned back in her chair, rocking on its front legs. "So you were near death when he appeared on the Assiah?" She asked, and after a moment's hesitation, Belldandy carefully nodded.

The demon's breath came out in a drawn out hiss. "Perhaps that is why…" She mumbled, violet eyes growing distant before focusing on Belldandy. "Kingu's dead." The demon confessed. "Has been for ages-since the Daimakaicho's been around, at least. Perhaps even longer, if one's to believe the rumors and myths surrounding him." The woman smiled raucously at the shocked expression on Belldandy's face. "Rumors say he visits demons that are about to die, and those who have near-death experiences claim to see him from time to time, but I've never heard of a goddess meeting him. Supposedly he doesn't like gods very much. They're the ones who killed him, after all."

Belldandy stared long and hard at the demon, her mouth agape. "Who was he?" She finally asked, and the smile on Urd's face faded.

"Who was he indeed…" The demon murmured, closing her eyes with a scowl. "The Father of Humanity, I suppose."

"Father of Humanity?" Belldandy echoed, and Urd nodded.

"An old, old creature dating back from a time before gods and demons existed. When he was slain by the younger gods, his blood and the clay from the newborn earth were used to fashion the first humans. With his death the victors declared him and those who fought at his side as demons. Any man can trace his lineage back to Kingu if he searches hard enough, just as any demon can trace their bloodline back to any of the eleven demons that fought under Kingu's reign."

"Kingu is the blood of man drawn off from this early war,

In your veins you find the strength from the demon's heritage."

The demon didn't so much sing the verse as quote it, and Belldandy listened with a disgruntled frown. "Thus humanity is related to the demon-kin, thin though the blood may be, and as you can see, we still sing of it to this very day-a reminder of humanity's heritage, and why we form contracts with them and why they must be respected. For they can be as sly and cruel as any demon, lesser-kin to us they may be."

"I'm not sure I agree with what you're telling me, Urd." Belldandy murmured, disliking the direction the conversation was going.

Urd shrugged. "You don't have to agree with it. Or like it, or even believe it if you don't want." She said. "I'm just telling you what I know of Kingu, and from what I know, he lost a war, and we-the demon-kin-were on that losing side with him. We didn't write the history books, Belldandy-we didn't get to pick and choose what was written in stone versus what was omitted-the only person who could truly tell you that are your betters, not mine."

The bronze woman took a shaky breath, trying desperately to calm her nerves. Yet somewhere behind her she could still hear the shhhrink of a blade against a grindstone, and rather than easing her nerves it sent her heart leaping into her throat. The silver-haired woman swallowed it back down again, fidgeting uncomfortably in her seat.

Across from her, a golden-haired youth smiled, revealing teeth that looked more at home in dog's maw than a man's. "Calm down Bright Lady, you're only making it worse for yourself." He didn't speak Japanese-the language was thick and sharp, with words rising in pitch to the point of shrieks and falling to the point of growls. Had Urd not been raised at least part of her life under her mother, the language no doubt would have left her panicked and half-mad by now.

Instead Urd glared at him. "I'd love to." She growled, speaking to him in his own tongue-her tongue now as well. "However given the current circumstances, I find that a little difficult at the moment." She fidgeted in her chair once more, and this time the ropes that held her in place bit snugly into her body. As if the chair wasn't uncomfortable enough-the ropes were unnecessarily tight against her frame, and they did their job of reminding her of that with every breath she took, every small move she made.

Shhhrink, shhhrink.

Valu-Mara's cousin, Urd reminded herself-nodded in false sympathy, patting the hand he held spread across the table in support. It was the only limb not bound to the chair, and it laid splayed straight across the table, her sleeve pulled back and displaying the shiny metal band around the woman's wrist. "Understandable." He replied. "However, you mustn't forget that it is Sir Furcas the Cruel who is doing the deed, Bright Lady, and he takes great pride in his sadistic tendencies. To show him your anxieties is the same as a rabbit running from a dog-the dog will chase, and Sir Furcas shall go out of his way to ensure that you scream."

Despite her nervousness-or perhaps because of it-Urd laughed. "Valu, I can assure you, it doesn't matter if Sir Furcas comes with a knife, a mace, or a hacksaw-I will scream, and it will be loud." She smirked. "I can only hope my scream is loud enough that it ruptures the eardrums of all those who hear it and give me the pleasure of seeing all you fools bleed from your deaf ears."

The demon in front of her roared with laughter. "Ah! And to think, this one was a goddess at one time!" He crowed. "With how you speak, it sounds as if you never left us Bright Lady! Tell me, do your younger siblings know such dark thoughts run through your mind?"

Urd raised a silver brow. "No more than a fish eats the cat that catches it." She retorted. "Now could you tell that silmey old bastard to get a move on, Mr. Lizard? My ass is growing numb in this chair and I can feel the blood circulation in my arm being cut off with how tightly you grip my hand." She snorted. "You cling to it so tightly one would thing you were about to wed me, not hold me down as an old man lops my hand off."

Shhhrrrink.

Urd had found the Goetia with little difficulty after parting ways with the Morning Star. Or rather, they'd found her, appearing from the shadows as though they were phantoms and guiding-no, dragging; she'd panicked at their sudden appearance-her off to places unknown. The silver-haired demon didn't know where they were or how they'd gotten there; there'd been a portal, and where they'd appeared was no place Urd was familiar with.

It had the feel of an old fort, whatever, wherever, it was. Walls made of brick and stone and mortar surrounded her, and what wasn't brick or stone was metal or wood. The only source of light came from the small peepholes that rose along the corners of walls and ceiling, formed from bricks that had been removed only to be piled as steps beneath the holes. Sunlight shown down from the holes, yet when they'd passed through the rays Urd had found little warmth in their light. It was a cold place that smelled of mold, rust, and rotting wood, with enough corridors and hallways that after the first three turns Urd was at a loss as to how to return to the room with the portal.

The Goetia who'd found her-the winged hound and the fireman-had led her to a room, guided Urd to a chair, and promptly left. Valu had been in the room already when she'd entered, along with the overgrown wolf and the old man Valu referred to as 'Sir Furcas the Cruel'.

"You've been branded." He'd told her. I can smell the Valkyrie's stench from here. They like to put trackers on the brands of those they wish to keep, you know. They'll find out you are gone. They'll discover Gamori, and then hunt you down like a rabbit. We need to remove it before that happens."

Yet a careful examination of the brand had shown no way to remove it; there was no wedge, no hair-thin line showing where one end met with the other. It held a strange elasticity to it that moved and stretched with Urd's skin, preventing anyone from slipping anything under it and showed no signs of damage when Valu had carefully sawed at it with a knife.

It had proven remarkably resistant to magic-in fact detrimental to the wearer when magic was used. The wolf's-Amon's- careful flame had heated the metal to the point where it had grown red-hot against Urd's skin and caused the new demon to lash out at the beast in pain. That was how the table Urd's arm laid stretched out upon had gained its long, black burn, as well as the floor and an adjoining wall. She'd punched him hard enough in the nose that the flames he'd been breathing onto the brand had gone wild.

Valu and Sir Furcas-especially Sir Furcas-had been none too happy with that, especially after Sir Furcas had nearly been set alight by Amon's flame. The old man had sent the wolf running in his rage before the old demon had turned his anger on Valu.

That was how Urd found herself bound to her chair.

It was for her safety.

Really.

Shhrrink. Shhhrink.

When the brand had cooled to its original gold once more, about the only thing Urd could tell that had been burned was her own skin. No scratches, no edges, no warping-it seemed nothing could be done to get rid of the band.

"Your options are slim with this brand, Bright Lady." Valu had started. "We cannot afford to take you with us if you bring Valkyries with you. We have no time to waste fending them off if we are to find Vikoka and rescue my cousin. You have two options while you wear the brand: Fend for yourself or return to Niflheim, where your trail will be buried so deeply no Valkyrie will dare follow it. If you return to Niflheim, the Lady Daimakaicho might find a way to remove the brand."

That had been out of the question, of course. Urd was no tracker, and she didn't even know where they'd taken her, let alone how to find Vikoka. Nor did she have the resources or information the Goetia seemed to have-it had been why she'd sought them out in the first place. And Urd wasn't about to return to Hild. She'd become a demon, yes, but it was for the sake of her sisters, not the Daimakaicho. Returning to Niflheim and its ruler were the last things Urd wanted to do.

Which was how Urd found herself sitting tied to a chair in a room somewhere in the middle of nowhere, readying to have her hand chopped off by a demon she'd pissed off less than thirty minutes ago.

Shhhrink. Shhhrink. Shhhhhrrrrink.

The grinding stopped, and Urd heard the soft steps of boots moving behind her. She saw Valu look up above her head and grin, and from the corner of one violet eye Urd caught sight of the brown uniform the old man wore. She looked up at the demon, meeting a face so wrinkled and sagging with age that his flesh hung down atop his eyes. The bronze woman could see nothing but a pair of black slits where his eyes should have been as a result, and had it not been for the ugly snarl that spread across his lips as she looked up at him, Urd would have been hard pressed to say he was actually looking at her. His teeth were old and brown and rotten, and the smell of smoke hung from his body as heavily as his flesh.

The man was bent with age, yet even stooped Sir Furcas proved to be just as tall as Urd, with hands as large as her head. Now, one of those leathery, aged hands held a large, thick knife. Its wooden handle was decorated with runes, and the blade dripped water onto the ground as he approached; freshly-cleaned of metal grindings and stone-ash from the sharpening.

Urd eyed the blade nervously, feeling herself start to sweat as the old demon approached, his free hand gripping the back of Urd's chair as he loomed over her. This was a stupid idea, she realized. Yes, she needed to save Skuld and Keiichi and yes she needed the Goetia's help in doing it, but was it really worth losing a hand over? Why not? A cruel little voice teased in her mind. You've already sacrificed your heart for power-is sacrificing a hand any different?

Urd grit her teeth. Last time had been different. Nidhogg had given her something to replace what had been consumed. Last time was always different. You always say that. You ask me, I don't see what's so different this time. It seems to me all you need to do is eat the hand of something else then. You'll regrow your hand as you replaced your heart. Why not Sir Furcas here? Especially since he's the one taking your hand from you in the first place…

The demon scowled. I don't want to be remembered as a cannibal. She told the voice. And even if I did, I sure wouldn't want to be eating anything that came from his body. I don't want to have a hand large enough to crunch a melon and covered in age spots.

The sound of the voice's laughter was drowned out by the sound of Valu speaking to her once more. "Tell me when you're ready." He said, readjusting the grip on her hand and tugging it closer to his body.

The silver-haired demon grunted at the tug, flexing the fingers of her hand nervously. "Then we're going to be here for a long time Valu. There's no way in the heavens or the hells that I'm ready for this."

Valu snickered and Sir Furcas moved away from the back of Urd's chair. "That's fine then. We'll just go at the count of three. How does that sound?"

Urd bared her teeth in something too mean to have been a smile. "Considering I'm at the mercy of you two? It doesn't matter how it sounds to me. Just hurry up and get it over with."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Positive?"

"Posi-will you just get on with it?" Urd snapped.

Valu chuckled. "Alright, alright, just wanted to make sure. We demons don't like it when things come back to bite us, you know."

Urd growled. As if this isn't going to come back and bite you…or me, for that matter.

"Alright, on the count of three. Count with me. Ready?"

"One."

"One" Urd repeated.

"Two." They said together.

"THREE!" Sir Furcas roared.

And true to her word, Urd screamed.

Skuld squeezed her eyes shut as tightly as possible, leaning as far back into the wall as she possibly could. Her hands covered her ears, yet they only proved to muffle the harsh moans arising from the injured man on the other side of the cell. Upon hearing his cries, Mara had quickly lost interest in Skuld, and in that time the child had moved as far away from the demon as possible as the blond turned her attention towards the wounded mortal.

She hated to say it, but for a brief moment, the demon had actually scared the young Norn. From anyone else, Skuld might not have been so disturbed, however this was Mara who'd scared her-harmless, weak Mara who was allergic to good luck charms and couldn't stop dancing to rock and roll. Or was it disco? Skuld couldn't quite remember, but it was one of the two, and for as long as she'd known the demon, Skuld could never recall a time she'd even been intimidated by the blonde, let alone flat out scared.

The moans rose into screams, harsh and ragged and desperate, and gritting her teeth Skuld's eyes popped open once more. The man was lying on his stomach, yet from where Skuld sat, only his legs were visible, his feet kicking the stone floor. The rest of Keiichi's body was blocked by Mara, and before the girl realized what she was doing she was racing towards the duo. "Mara! Leave Keiichi alone!" She cried, reaching into her shirt to withdraw something she realized only too late that she didn't have any more.

Mara wasn't deaf to her cries, either. The blond head of hair rose, and the demon twisted to face the Norn, a fist racing towards Skuld and aimed at her head. Something not quite a curse escaped the girl's throat, and the youth came to a sliding halt, instinctively Skuld raised her hand to shield herself from the incoming blow.

It never connected.

Instead, a voice, rough and harsh and grinding, spoke one word. "Look."

Grimly, Skuld opened eyes she hadn't even realized were shut, peering through her arms and finding Mara looking up at her from where she kneeled at Keiichi's side. Her eyes held a soft glow to them that illuminated the red of her irises, and she held a hand up for Skuld to examine.

Slowly, Skuld lowered her hands, and when she did the youth quickly wished she hadn't. Mara's hand was red. It shown darkly in the light of their cell, still wet from whatever source the blood had come from. Skuld gasped, a hand moving to cover her mouth as a wave of nausea swept through her. "Is...is that?" She stammered, swallowing bile as her stomach rebelled, and Mara nodded.

"Hurt." The woman grunted. "Sick." She placed her other hand-this one free of blood, thankfully-against her forehead. Another moan-scream arose from Keiichi, and the demon winced. "Has..." She trailed off, muttering under her breath, and Skuld made out the words 'drawing', 'sleep', and several more that sounded more like gibberish than actual words. "Sick-pictures." The blond finally decided, tapping her head and clutching her forehead as though sick herself.

"Sick-pictures?" Skuld repeated, and Mara nodded with a scowl. "Like...fever dreams?" This time the woman nodded vigorously.

"Sick-pictures-fever dreams." The woman continued. "Has…dreams? No…fever!" She cried. "Keiichi has fever." The woman leaned to one side, giving Skuld a better view of Keiichi as she pointed to his back. The jacket he wore was shredded badly, and Skuld could see the inner lining peeking through the black leather, red and clumpy with blood. "Fever from hurt."

The woman grunted, rolling off the balls of her feet from where she crouched next to the man and allowing herself to fall to the ground. "Need fix." A leg thrust out away from Keiichi, and the demon banged her heel hard enough against the ground to make Skuld jump. "I fix." The demon shifted to sit cross-legged, bringing the foot she'd slammed against the ground close.

Her own curiosity getting the better of her, Skuld peered over the demon's shoulder, staring at the wedge that had broken off from the blonde's boot. The woman tugged at it, and with a hollow pop the piece was removed. The demon examined it for a moment before looking to Skuld. "Catch." She said, tossing it to the youth, and startled Skuld scampered to catch it.

She didn't, and it hit the stone floor with a hollow clunk. "Oops." Skuld muttered, catching the raised eyebrow Mara directed her way before stooping down the pick up the fallen object. It wasn't very large; little more than a chunk of hard resin that fit easily in the palm of her hand. "What is it?" She asked, flipping the piece over and running her fingers along its sides, searching for a hidden latch or button that might reveal something more. Finding a clip along the corner of one edge, the girl dug a finger into it, prying the clip open after a small struggle and popping the top off.

Brown eyes blinked in confusion at the inner contents. "…A sewing kit?" She looked at the demon then back to the resin's contents, bemused. "Mara, what am I supposed to do with this?" She rummaged through the thread and odd looking pair of tiny scissors, withdrawing a needle from the clear casing it was it. "What, do you want me to sew up the tears in Keiichi's jacket or something?" She demanded, shoving the needle out in front of her. "I can't even do that! The needles are bent! What am I supposed to do with a sewing kit and a bunch of bent needles?"

For a long time Mara stared at the girl blankly. Then golden brows furrowed together, and Mara's red gaze shifted from Skuld to the needle and back again. "…Wha?" The woman finally asked, and Skuld bit her lip angrily. Yet before the dark-haired youth could let loose a tirade on the demon's incapability to listen, the blond spoke again. "Too…fast." She managed. "Speak slow. Soft. Can't…" A frustrated growl arose in her throat, and the woman gestured wildly at the girl, and despite herself Skuld felt her cheeks heat up in a blush.

I spoke too fast. She couldn't understand me. "Oh." She looked down at the little sewing case, whispering in a softer voice, "Stupid language barrier." As if things weren't bad enough…Taking a deep breath, Skuld tried again. "The sewing kit." She held it case and needle in front of her for Mara to see. "What do I do with it?"

The demon still had a confused look to her, and Skuld began to wonder just how much of what she said was understood. Yet she seemed to get the gist of Skuld's question when the Norn thrust the kit and needle at her. With a grunt she made a circle with her forefinger and thumb, then directed a blood-encrusted finger through the circle. She said something in a harsh, guttural language that made little sense to Skuld, then pointed from the sewing kit to the needle.

The demon repeated the gesture once more, and this time Skuld thought she understood the meaning behind the demon's actions. "Okay, I think I get it. You want me to thread the needle, right?"

Mara stared.

With an aggravated sigh, Skuld readjusted her grip on the needle, pointing to the eye. "Thread. The. Needle."

This time the demon nodded, and without another word the blond turned her attention back to Keiichi, shifting once more to crouch over the pained mortal. The woman carefully manipulated the man's arms through the sleeves of the jacket, and Skuld quickly focused on the sewing kit, preferring to stare the small bit of steel and thread to whatever it was the woman was doing.

"Guess she really does want me to fix his jacket." She decided, cringing as another moan arose from Keiichi's throat.

Turning her back to the demon so as not to accidentally catch sight of whatever Mara was doing, Skuld set the little case in her lap, removing a small spool of black thread and grabbing the end from where it poked through on one sliced edge of plastic. Licking the tip of the string, the girl poked at the needle's eye with no small amount of effort, and after several trial-and-error misses the young goddess finally fit the tip through the eye. "Got it!" She cried, feeling a small bit of joy momentarily flare in her chest at the little victory.

She turned to Mara. "Alright Mara, I've got it. Now wha-" The words died in her throat as she looked past the demon and to Keiichi. The woman had removed her cloak, and Keiichi now laid on his stomach, spread across the cloth on the floor with the remains of his jacket acting as extra cushioning for the man. His torso bare and naked, Mara hovered over the pained man, straddling his arms to his sides' in-between his legs. The woman was practically lying on top the unfortunate mortal, one hand baring down on Keiichi's shoulder as the other hovered over the wounds in his back.

The Norn had known Keiichi had been injured, but with the jacket removed Skuld saw the true extent of his injuries. Keiichi's back was torn to shreds. Several long gashes, deep and narrow, covered his back. Even the shortest went from the small of his back to his shoulder blades, and Skuld found if she focused long enough she could see bone beneath the black-red torn flesh. The skin around the gashes were swollen and red, oozing pus and fresh blood now that the jacket was gone.

And Mara's face was close enough to Keiichi's injuries that it looked as though the demon wanted to bury her face in the wounds.

For the life of her, Skuld was unsure if she wanted to scream, attack, or vomit at the sight before her. And so she settled for the last option, which proved to be freezing in horror, staring at the sight before her aghast.

Mara looked up at the sound of Skuld's voice, and upon seeing the horror-struck youth, plucked something from Keiichi's back before propping herself up on her knees. The woman wiped her mouth on a torn sleeve of her uniform before holding out her hand expectantly. When Skuld didn't respond, the blond grunted irritable and gestured the youth towards her.

Numbly Skuld felt herself walk towards the fanged woman. "Wh-what were you doing?" Her voice came out a whisper, and swallowing, the Norn tried again. "What were you doing to Keiichi?" This time it came out a shout, and the blond bared her teeth in an aggressive snarl.

The display, combined with the already unnatural glow of her eyes, produced a rather intimidating appearance, yet though Skuld flinched she did not back down. "You were hurting him, weren't you?" The Norn demanded. "What were you doing-"

A hand thrust out before her face, and once more youth flinched. Blinking angrily, the girl fought to focus on the fingers hanging in front of her, finding something dangling from Mara's red fingers. "…A string?" Long and red, it hung listlessly from Mara's hands.

Mara nodded, bouncing her hand up and down and causing the red string to dance like a thin red worm. "Yes. From hurt. Needs leave or cause…" The demon trailed off again, once more groping for the proper words. "Ah…cause fever in hurt?" She tried, releasing the bloodied thread and shifting to point at the puffiness around Keiichi's wounds. "Yes?"

The blond looked to Skuld for clarification and the girl nodded. "Yes…" She started hesitantly. "So you were getting rid of the string stuck in his wounds, right? To stop them from being infected?"

Mara tilted her head to one side but offered no comment beyond that, and Skuld knew she'd lost the demon once more. "…I'm just going to have to hope that you were…" She muttered dourly, before offering Mara the needle and thread. Looks like a language barrier isn't the only thing I'm going to need to work on. It looks like Mara wants to help, but I trust her about as far as I can throw her without Banpei.

A grim smile spread across Mara's face at the sight of the thread and needle, and with a nod the demon took the items from her, gesturing Skuld closer to Keiichi. Cautiously the youth approached, sitting down next to the haggard man as Mara's gesture.

With a grunt the demon waved the girl closer, and as the girl hesitantly moved to better examine the wounds Mara bent across Keiichi's back once more. "Watch." She said. "Learn." And without another word the demon plunged the needle into Keiichi's skin. Bent as it was, it poked through the flesh torn open from his injuries, and with a small tug, the needle was out of his skin and the thread moving through the new piercings.

Keiichi did not scream.

Lost in the throes of fever dreams and the pain of his own injuries, the man did not so much as twitch in response to the needle.

Skuld however, did.

And she screamed long and hard, brown eyes large and appalled. She screamed so loud that Mara near dropped the needle. Beneath her, Keiichi moaned, but otherwise showed no signs of rousing.

"Mara, what are you doing?" Skuld shrieked, covering her mouth as a wave of bile rose at the back of her throat. I think I'm going to be sick. "I thought you were trying to help Keiichi, not hurt him!"

The look Mara gave her was murderous, and with a snarl the demon bellowed at her. Skuld didn't know what it was the demon bellowed at her, but it was loud enough to drown out her own screams an silence the young Norn. Never mind Keiichi, Mara looks like she really wants to hurt me! Stunned at the rage splayed across the demon's face, Skuld leaned back, certain that the blond was going to leap off from Keiichi and attack her.

Yet again Skuld misjudged the demon, for rather than assault they youth, the demon kept her place over Keiichi, roaring some ugly mixture of growls, roars, and words Skuld both could and could not understand, all the while pointing to Keiichi's injuries. Showing no comprehension of whatever it was the fanged demon was trying to communicate to her, Skuld did nothing but stare, which seemed to only further aggravate the demon.

This time Skuld distinctly caught the name 'Urd' in the snarling tirade that was Mara, and just as quickly as it appeared the fury suddenly vanished, disappearing under a smoldering scowl. "You." The demon pointed to her. "Here." She pointed to Keiichi. "Now." And despite herself Skuld did exactly as ordered, all but leaping to follow the demand.

"You will listen." The woman's voice was thick with rage. "You will watch." She spoke carefully, and the woman's heated red eyes bore into her with a terrifying intensity. "You will learn." Faster than the Norn could follow Mara's hand lashed out, grasping Skuld's chin painfully. "You will survive. I make sure. Gets it?"

"Got it." Skuld's voice was barely a whisper, yet none the less Mara released her, examining the young goddess up and down with eyes like magma before nodding. And with the same amount of intensity she'd regarded Skuld with, the woman redirected her focus once more to Keiichi's back. Again, she pierced his flesh, drawing the needle out through the broken skin, only to knot the thread and pull it tight, drawing the flesh together.

She did it again, first on one side, then the next, slowly and methodically working her way down the wound and leaving a line of stitches, small and black and neat, it its place. After the first wound was sewn shut, Skuld found herself trembling. When Mara started the second, the youth had to swallow back the nausea that threatened to engulf her repeatedly.

And upon the third, one the two longest wounds stretching from the base of Keiichi's spine all the way to his neck, Skuld couldn't help it.

She feinted.

Her vision graying to black and the stone floor rushing up to meet her, the last thing she heard was Keiichi's pitiful moans and Mara's growl-screech of a language.

Comments of a Madwoman: Yeah…Skuld's reactions to Mara stitching up Keiichi's back based on a mixture of the belief that she has no medical knowledge what so ever, is a child, and how my own pansy-ass would react to watching someone get stitches. The very thought makes me lightheaded, and here I am writing about it. So either I'm a masochist or I'm trying to work through my own fears, though I'll leave that up to you to decide. Hadn't really meant for it to be so long but…such is life.