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"Night Terrors"
"The best monsters are our anxieties given form. They make sense on the level of a dream - or a nightmare." - Victor LaVelle

-9-

Belldandy had nightmares.

Urd predicted she would.

They started tamely enough on the night of Belldandy's arrival to Keiichi's house. Flashes of memory that left her whimpering or crying out in her sleep, only to vanish with the rising sun casting its rays through the guest bedroom she shared sometimes with Skuld, sometimes with Urd, but never alone. Yet it did not last. Urd was afraid it wouldn't.

"Skuld, switch with me tonight." The goddess in question looked up at Urd in surprise who sent her a wane smile.

"What, the air mattress not doing it for you?" Skuld raised a brow in question, and Urd shrugged half-heartedly. "The futon isn't much better, you know," she warned. "The ground is hard, and Belldandy moves around a lot in her sleep. It's hard to get a good night's rest in."

"I know." Keiichi had set up a secondary air mattress in another guest bedroom, this one the smallest in the house. There wasn't enough room in the bedroom Belldandy had taken to fit all three Norns in, and so the two sisters had opted for a weekly rotating schedule. "You look like you could use some extra sleep though. I'll take tonight, if you want."

Skuld stared at her older sister in suspicion. "What are you getting at, Urd?" she demanded.

Another unassuming shrug. "Nothing," she said. "But it'll be easier on all of us if you aren't biting everyone's head off each morning because you didn't get your beauty sleep. Keiichi's got work tomorrow, and I can always catch a nap in the day, but I know you enjoy your waking hours, particularly now that Belldandy's back. It'll be kinder on us all if you get a good night's rest so you don't accidently snap at her." Skuld's brown eyes narrowed, and Urd sent her a sidelong glance. "Tomorrow's Belldandy's first day without another man around, so we gotta make it good, right?"

"Yeah…" Skuld muttered with reluctance.

"So switch with me tonight so you can enjoy tomorrow with her." Urd persisted. "I need to speak with Keiichi about something anyways, so Bell will be looking to you for guidance."

Skuld stared at her, her expression still questioning. "Alright," she caved, and Urd grinned. "I swear to Yggdrasil though, Urd, if I find out there's something else going on I'm going to punch you."

Urd smiled. "On my honor as a goddess," she claimed.

And Skuld scowled. "You know that doesn't mean shit to anyone."

XXX

"Good evening!" Belldandy announced, appearing through the mirror attached to a night stand opposite where the man, Toshiyuki Aoshima, was standing. The man appeared to be admiring his own reflection, however the goddess came up a little short when she saw him fall back and hit his head with a shout. "Oh my! Are you alright?"

"Wh… Who the hell are you!" he exclaimed. "And how the hell did you get into my room?"

"Oh my! Forgive me for not introducing myself. My name is Belldandy, Goddess First Class, Unlimited License," said the goddess with a bow, which she knew was a traditional greeting in Japan.

"Ok, who sent you?" the man demanded as he stood up. "It's a little late for strippers, but I can make some time. Did my cousin send you?"

It sounded a bit like he was trying to rationalize her sudden appearance, yet the leer on Aoshima's face made Belldandy uncomfortable. However, this was not the first time such a thing had happened. Mortals said the darndest things sometimes in their attempt to make reason out of the divine. Usually they could be pretty innocent and at times even amusing, yet there was always one or two that made her just a little uncomfortable. This was one of those times, but thinking little of it, she hid her discomfort away. "I'm sorry?" she asked.

"Yeah, you know," said Aoshima as he took a step closer to the goddess. "My cousin Sayoko who totally owns the 'queen bitch of the universe' routine?"

Belldandy shook her head. "Forgive me, but I do not know who you are speaking of. I was sent here because through your good deeds and pureness of heart, you have earned Heaven's Grace. As a reward-" The goddess stopped when the man started spitting in laughter.

"P-pureness of heart?" He sputtered. "H-h-how much they pay you to say that?!" He tossed his head back with the deep, roaring laughter of a man who'd heard the funniest joke in the world. When he finally regained control of himself, Aoshima stepped closer to Belldandy and grabbed her arms, a large, toothy smile on his face. There was something almost evil in that expression, and Belldandy made a noise in her throat as that smile regarded her. "You don't have to lie to me, bitch. Let's just get this show on the road." He stepped closer to her, trying to turn her toward the bed. Belldandy struggled, trying to ease out of his grasp without harming him. Mortals, she knew, were delicate creatures, and too much pressure was liable to rip this man's arm from his body. Yet this strange, somewhat discerning client was stubborn, his grip surprisingly strong for a man who looked so frail, and when he didn't catch the hint and release her, Belldandy switched to a more drastic measure.

With a blinding flash of light, Aoshima was thrown off Belldandy and onto the bed he was trying to get her to lay down on. A look of terror crossed his face and he tried to crawl away, only to meet the headboard of the bed.

"I apologize for that, Toshiyuki Aoshima-san, but your actions are completely inappropriate," scolded Belldandy.

"Holy shit! You're the real deal!" Aoshima screamed and cowered in fear in front of her. He brought his hands up to cover his face, peering at her from between the gaps of his fingers. "Please don't kill me! I'll be good from now on!"

The groveling the man was doing as he laid himself prostrate on the bed in front of Belldandy caused her a small amount of embarrassment. At least he now knows where the boundaries lie, she thought to herself. It was exceedingly rare for her to have to resort to such measures. The majority of her clients were extremely polite, but there were those very few that lost themselves in the moment.

The goddess recomposed herself and tried again. She took a deep breath. "I am not here to harm you. I was sent here because you have earned Heaven's Grace. As a reward, I will grant you one wish." Goodness, it'd be good to be done with this and return home. Something about this man put Belldandy on edge; he made the hair on the back or neck stand on end, and the sooner she was away from him, sorry to say, the better.

"A wish?" asked Aoshima as he sat up. "For anything I want?"

"Yes, anything your heart desires," replied Belldandy. "If you wish to become a millionaire, we will take care of it. You could even ask to destroy the world, if that was truly your heart's desire…" She paused, and her demeanor darkened somewhat at the thought. "We can do that as well, although we prefer not to associate ourselves with that sort of customer."

A grin formed on Aoshima's face, one that put Belldandy ill at ease. "So I can wish for anything I want?" he repeated.

"Yes, that is correct," replied the goddess, putting on a bright smile in order to hide her discomfiture.

Again the man leered at Belldandy, making her wonder for the very first time in her life if a mistake had been made. On some basic level, some long forgotten instinct seemed to detect that there was something not quite right with this man. Still… she recalled the one she'd been watching for so many years. She remembered how he endured his training after hearing such horrible news. She prepared herself, using him as her inspiration to get past this sad incident so that she can get back to waiting for his call.

"I wish," started Aoshima. "For a goddess such as yourself to be by my side so that I may do with her as I please, when I please, for all eternity."

Belldandy gasped when the wish was spoken and took a step back. She herself had never heard such a wish, nor had any of the other wish granters related any similar experience. Surely this was an impossible wish, and would be rejected out of hand.

Much to her surprise, the goddess felt the familiar rush of energy that signified a wish being processed, then accepted. She lost her awareness and control of her body as her eyes and facial markings began to glow. Her head lolled back, and a beam of light burst forth, shooting through the roof of the building and up into the sky.

What seemed like an eternity to the goddess actually only spanned a few seconds. When she regained control of herself, she looked around and saw the room in disarray. This was of course normal when a wish was accepted.

"OH NO!" she cried. Frantic, she looked around and saw a phone laying on its side next to a night stand. She rushed over and picked it up, replacing the receiver on the cradle before placing it to her ear. No longer caring about the mortal, she quickly dialed the seventy-three digit number that was the GRO's control center. "Hello, this is Belldandy," she said, tone urgent when someone picked up the other line. "I am calling to check on the last transfer."

Belldandy listened in shock at the answer. "Y-y-you mean it's… it's final?" Her whole body went numb as she heard the reply. She was about to protest further when she felt a hand take hold of her arm. Slowly, it forced her to hang up.

"It went though, didn't it," whispered Aoshima, his voice dripping with confidence.

Belldandy could only nod, as she was in too much shock to do anything else. Beside her, Aoshima chuckled lightly to himself. He reached up and caressed her hair. "My own pet goddess, to do with as I please," he said. The words caused her heart to nearly turn to ice. The hand on her head drifted to her chest, squeezing one of her breasts hard enough to hurt. The hand on her arm never released her.

"From now on, you will refer to me as 'Master'."

The brunette goddess turned to the man, the shock evident in her eyes as she tore herself from his grip. "I'm sorry, but I cannot grant that wish." She was alarmed now. This wasn't right. This wasn't how a wish was supposed to go and now the only thing Belldandy could think of doing was getting as far away from this man, this mortal, as quickly as possible. She backed away, yet found herself cornered between him on the bed and her against the wall, with little room to maneuver without going through Aoshima.

She had hoped that a little defiance may cause him to back off. Because of that, she was taken completely off guard when Aoshima reached back and grabbed a handful of her hair, jerking her head back with such brute force her head throbbed. "That wasn't a request." He glowered over her, menace filling his eyes. "I said that you will call me MASTER!" he commanded.

With her left hand, Belldandy called upon her magic, forming a small ball of power in her palm. If he would not back down after her polite refusal, she would resort to less than polite ways in order to save what shred of dignity she had after that wish. However, much to her horror, the spell fizzled out.

While Aoshima still held her, she turned her head to look at her hand. Concentrating as hard as she could, she began to conjure another spell, this one even more powerful than the first. But before it could even manifest, it also dissipated. This time, only a single, feeble spark fell to the floor.

For the first time, fear gripped her heart as realization sat in. A ball of ice formed in her chest. With the wish in place, the System Force would prevent her from doing anything other than follow the mortal's directions or to perform any task that he desired. Terror etched across her face as she turned to look at Aoshima. He wore a small smile across his face, and a disgusting leer appeared in his eyes as he looked over her body.

"I said to call me 'Master'," he said, calmly this time, evenly. Somehow that was even worse than the sudden spurt of anger he'd displayed, and Belldandy took in a shuddering breath of air. Again, that unwanted hand began to comb through her hair, playing with the locks in a gentle, almost loving manner before drifting down her back, down her shoulders, sliding down the small of her back before resting on her butt. He squeezed it, not in affection but with desire, with lust, with force. He'd obviously witnessed what had happened, and knew that she was impotent before him. With a smile; that calm, almost kind smile again, he stepped into her, pressing himself against the goddess. She felt a bulge press against her inner thigh.

Slowly, carefully, she swallowed the lump in her throat. "Yes, master."

His smile widened. Using his grip on her hair as leverage, Aoshima forced her down onto the bed. He fell on top, knocking the wind out of her. Gasping, she looked at him again. Gone was the leer that he was giving her earlier. Now he looked almost feral. Hungry. Mindless. She reached up and put her hands on his shoulders to push him away, but he leaned up and grabbed them, his hands hard and bruising, pushing them down and pinning them against the mattress. At the same time he leaned in and bit her shoulder. "You're mine now." He breathed, pulling away to look down at her with that hungry gaze and then crushing his mouth against her own. Her mouth parted in protest, in a scream, and she felt his tongue dip in, darting madly against her own and shocking her so badly that the thought of biting down on him never crossed her mind.

He ended the kiss, then buried his face in the curve of her neck, groaning into her as he dry humped her. She felt his warm, stinking breath, and her whole body shuddered in disgust. He was pressing against her now, and she felt his arousal dig against her womanhood, felt him twitch against the fabric of their clothes, and tried to squirm away. "Please don't," she whimpered, her voice barely audible.

Aoshima sat up again, then backhanded her across the face. The smack rattled her whole body, and she felt a trickle of blood coming from a fresh cut on her cheek "Shut up, Bitch," he cussed, and then reached down and grabbed her white dress and began ripping at it to get to her flesh underneath. She screamed and he punched her hard across the temple stunning her when she saw stars. "You need to know your place."

She felt his fingers claw at the gown, felt the material rip with an awful tshh and felt fingers dig painfully into her cleft. "What's this? You ain't even wet?" They squirmed around inside her like a couple of bony maggots. The stars faded, and with it Belldandy renewed her struggles, renewed her screams, fighting him off with hands that once could have ripped his head off, now void of their natural strength. He laughed at her attempts, his eyes bright with lust and desire. "Sucks to be you, Babe." He removed his fingers, then dropped his pants. With her dignity exposed, he didn't even bother to take his boxers off. "Looks like I'm coming in a dry goddess tonight, Oh Baby!" He simply whipped it out and shoved it in as hard as he could.

XXX

When Belldandy sat up screaming, Urd was ready.

The woman had soundproofed the room with a small bit of magic after waiting for Belldandy to drift off. Only a tiny piece of her was surprised to find her magic still worked. Lind's definition of 'limitations' must have been broad indeed. It happened at roughly two in the morning. Skuld hadn't been lying when she'd said Belldandy tossed and turned in her sleep. Urd's own worries for her sister had kept her sleep light, and as such the woman had gotten very little in the terms of restful sleep when Belldandy suddenly began to scream.

They were sharp and shrill shouts, several in all and each drawn with a fresh breath of air. To Urd's ears it sounded almost as if her younger sister was being stabbed. Perhaps in her dreams, she was.

"Belldandy!" Urd was at her sister's side in an instant. "Belldandy, wake up, you're safe, you're safe!" Yet Belldandy didn't hear her, perhaps couldn't hear her over her own shrieks, and with a large grimace on her face Urd grabbed the goddess by her shoulders. "Wake up!" she cried, and Belldandy lashed out in her sleep, a long, forlorn cry rising and ringing through the room with such length that Belldandy's face grew red.

"No more!" She shrieked, and a hand slapped weakly against Urd's face. She didn't notice. "No more no more no more!" A broken sob tore from her throat, and frightened, Urd shook her harder, determined to rouse the goddess from whatever internal prison so confined her. "It hurts!" She screamed, long and hard, and then she was awake; awake and up and clawing at Urd, incapable of recognizing her sister from whatever demons so haunted her rest.

Urd fended off Belldandy's blows as best she could. She did not fight back. "Belldandy, it's okay, your safe!" She cried.

Yet Belldandy didn't hear her; indeed, Urd wasn't even certain the goddess was awake, though the terrified blue eyes that stared up at her begged otherwise. "I can't take it!" she cried shrilly. "You'll tear me apart! Stop!" One long, agonizing howl rose from the base of her throat, and Belldandy's struggles ceased. She collapsed against Urd, moaning pitifully. "No more…" she groaned. "Please, no more…" The moment passed, and the woman fell back into an uneasy slumber, resting propped up against Urd.

The Norn bit her lip, then wrapped her arms around her sister in a loose embrace. Belldandy groaned and leaned into her sister, perhaps seeking comfort in her embrace. If she was even aware of it. Urd hoped she was. Though Belldandy muttered and grumbled and grimaced, she did not awaken again that night. Urd did not move from her spot.

She got no further sleep that night.

XXX

Urd was not the only one who slept poorly that night.

Keiichi tossed and turned throughout his own rest as well, his sleep disturbed by the approaching encounter with McGuiness detailing Urd and Belldandy. He gave up on sleep some time around four in the morning, and with a sigh he put on his PT gear and headed down the stairs, easing his way past Belldandy's room to ensure he didn't awaken anyone. He was relieved when he heard nothing from the Norn's room, then pattered down the steps into the living room. The sun wouldn't break over the horizon for at least another hour or so, which made a morning run out of the question; too many wild animals out in the woods, too many chance attacks in the early morning while the larger critters were out prowling. He'd already heard about a bear attack with an early morning jogger, and there'd been rumored encounters with everything from lynxs to mountain lions from the occasional hiker. Keiichi had no intentions to make the headline news as maul-victim numbero dos.

Instead, the man turned on his phone and scrolled through his apps, coming across a tabata app that, while not the best, would do in a pinch for a good workout. He needed to burn off some of his nervous energy, and more importantly, he needed to speak with Urd so that he knew what to say during his approaching interrogation with McGuiness. Deciding on a workout, the SEAL began a series of core exercises, switching from crunches to flutter kicks to leg lifts and additional exercises every five minutes. He'd worked up a good sweat forty-five minutes later, and he could feel his abdominal muscles straining with exertion as a trumpet blared on his phone, signaling the end of his work out.

Groaning softly to himself, the man rolled onto his back, taking a short breather as his body recovered. He could hear footsteps upstairs, and found himself unsurprised when Urd crept down the staircase. He watched her descend, then rolled up into a sitting position. "You never struck me as a morning person, Urd."

The goddess looked at him, her face bleary and tired. "I'm not." She grumbled, before collapsing into one of the nearby folding chairs Keiichi had leaned against the wall. She sighed in discontent. "We're getting a goddamned couch next time we go shopping," she announced.

Keiichi raised a brow at her tone. "You good?" he asked.

The woman shrugged. "Didn't sleep well is all," she muttered. "Sorry, not trying to be snappy."

Keiichi didn't seem convinced. "Anything you want to talk about?" he offered, already knowing her answer.

The Norn shook her head. "I'm fine," she grumbled. "I'll catch a nap later today and be back to my chipper self before you get back from the shop today."

"You sure?" he pressed gently. "I've got some time before I need to get ready for work."

Again Urd shook her head, this time shooting the man a glare. He raised his hands and let the topic drop. "There is something I need to discuss with you though," he said, switching to his own anxieties. Urd gestured him on, now rubbing her brow, and Keiichi explained his situation to her. "What do I tell him?" he asked. "We need to keep our story straight otherwise McGuiness will pick up on our lie. He's like a goddamned bloodhound when it comes to tall tales."

Urd frowned and pursed her lips, looking past Keiichi and out the window. The sky was starting to lighten into the deep blue that came before the sun peaked over the horizon. The goddess rubbed her chin in thought, her left heel tapping out a beat on the wooden floor of the living room. The entire house had a wooden floor; they were easier to clean and more hygienic than carpet, so Keima always claimed, and his beliefs had passed down to Keiichi in turn.

At length, the goddess propped her elbows on her knees and steepled her fingers. She closed her eyes and sighed, then looked at Keiichi with a solemn gaze. "Keiichi, how much do you trust me?" she asked.

At once Keiichi straightened. "That's a tall question to ask, Urd," he said, frowning as he stared at the woman. "What about?"

The goddess chewed on her lower lip, observing him carefully. "Do you trust me enough to allow me to work a spell on you?"

"What kind of spell?" Keiichi scrutinized her, trying to get at what she was playing at. "Urd, it's not that I don't trust you, but I need more details before I commit to anything, and to be frank, none of the magic I've seen since meeting you have been exactly…" He waved his hands, words failing him as he tried to find the accurate description.

Urd sighed and nodded. "It's a simple manipulation spell." Keiichi recoiled from her, and the goddess held up her hands. "Whoa, whoa, hear me out, okay?"

Keiichi's frown deepened. "Urd, the last time you used a manipulation spell I was aiming my weapon at you because all of my team suddenly passed out and couldn't remember you're pretty face," he reminded. "I'm going into a SCIF. Lots of cameras all over the place watching for anything fishy because of the security clearance required to enter the damn building. You don't think it won't look suspicious if all of a sudden my OIC passes out while interrogating me on my whereabouts this past weekend?"

Urd shook her head. "Different manipulation spell," she said. "It won't knock him out."

Keiichi's brows furrowed together in concern. "There's more than one?" he demanded. "Just how many of these spells do you know?"

"More than you'd expect and none that I've worked on you, if that helps," Urd replied. "Except, well…this one is a bit different even regarding manipulation spells."

Keiichi stared at her evenly. "In what way?"

Urd scowled and leaned back in her chair, her fingers drumming on her knees. "You'll be affected by it too," she confessed, "…at least, if the damned System Force doesn't interfere." Keiichi stared at her, and with a grunt Urd continued. "Essentially it's a spell that works through a vassal in order to work itself on whoever is nearby," she explained. "I would speak through the vassal, and my words would be passed on to whoever the vassal approaches, weaving a tale that is appealing to the affected's sense of reasoning."

"And you want me to be that vassal," Keiichi said in disbelief. "So that you can manipulate my OIC for the second time into thinking that everything is okay, everything is peachy-keen, and that whatever fable you worked up sounds true to his ears."

Urd flinched. "That's why I need to know how much you trust me," she growled. "The vassal has to be a willing participant, and one who trusts the conductor of the spell. You want a believable story without worrying about minor details that McGuiness could call you out on? This is my answer. But if you don't trust me, fine. Fuck off and figure it out on your own."

Keiichi winced, and Urd looked away with a huff, her lips set in an angry, thin line. He stared at her, this time in concern, but the woman refused to meet his gaze. "I never said I didn't trust you," Keiichi said at last. "But I'm not going to lie to you and say that your magic, fuck Urd, your powers, don't scare me sometimes. This is all still new to me, and it's still pretty intimidating for a simple mortal who's biggest worries last Friday night were originally getting home and nursing Saturday morning's hangover."

He frowned and looked at the floor, observing the grains in the hardwood. "Will this spell have any lasting affects?" He glanced at her, brown eyes wary. "It's not going to cause any kind of brain damage, right? He-we're not going to start finding holes in our memories or anything, right?"

Urd bit the inside of her cheek, then glanced his way. "There'll be some amnesia," she admitted. "You won't recall what was said, only the gist of the conversation. Same thing with McGuiness. There will be a knowledge that you spoke, and a feeling you knew what you spoke of, but the words…what was explained…all of that will be gone, because that's when I'll be taking over, acting through you to ensure the spell takes effect." She shook her head. "But it will only be during that time, Keiichi. I promise."

She turned to stare at him, and the two met and held each other's gaze for a long moment. His hands and feet throbbed in recollection of the last time magic had been worked on him. But that was a demon. This is Urd. Keiichi sighed and bowed his head. "Fine," he grumbled. "But only this one time, okay?"

Urd nodded. "Just this once," she agreed, then hesitated. "Thanks for trusting me, Keiichi."

XXX

What followed was an experience that Keiichi would later revisit in his mind on multiple occasions. Each time he tried to make sense of what he'd done and each time his mind failed to dredge up images of just what exactly had transpired during that time. He recalled Urd casting some sort of hoodoo-voodoo on him, remembered the strange, violet light that had passed across his vision and the sick, dizzy feeling that accompanied it before everything faded back to normal.

He remembered showering and changing into his uniform, making himself a shake and ensuring a fresh PT uniform was in his gym bag before heading out for the day. At one point he thought he saw Belldandy watch him leave from the window of her room, but even that event was fuzzy, and all this before Urd's magic activated. He remembered the drive, the morning race to base and cursing out a couple of the more reckless drivers as they hit the gas with a lead foot. There was the traffic that came with the morning drive onto base as Sailors checked ID's at the front gate and him navigating around police barriers and onto the main base itself.

It wasn't until he approached building 5019 that things grew really hazy. He remembered parking and walking inside…handing his ID over to a sailor who had to check his clearance…waiting for McGuiness in a conference room. Then violet. Gentle, light violet that clouded his thoughts and fogged his mind. And then only snippets of scenes. McGuiness's stern face. Questions he could not remember and answers that sounded strange to his ears. A woman's voice whispering in his ear. The sense that someone was always peering over his shoulder, though McGuiness and him were the only ones in the room. And then it was done and over. The fog cleared, and Keiichi found himself following McGuiness outside the building and to their own vehicles. "…make an appointment with her either today or tomorrow." McGuiness was saying, and Keiichi was nodding dutifully.

He stopped at once, and McGuiness stared at him. "Morisato?"

He blinked and looked around, disoriented. "M' fine." He thought he sounded a bit like Urd in that moment. The words felt odd and clunky in his mouth. "S'good." He muttered. "Need caffeine." This time the words came a bit clearer, and shaking the remaining violet cobwebs from his head he blinked and looked at his boss. "I'm going to run and grab some coffee before heading to the shop. You want anything?"

"An Irish Coffee, but they don't sell that here," McGuiness replied, then frowned, his gaze thoughtful.

"What's up?" Keiichi asked in curiosity, and McGuiness glanced at him.

"The office…" he started, looking over his shoulder back to the SCIF. "We were the only ones in that briefing room, right?"

Keiichi felt a lump settle in his gut. "Yeah…" he started. "You requested no one bother us, and the Intel bubbas know better than to interrupt a meeting."

McGuiness nodded, but his gaze remained quizzical. "Perhaps it's spirits," he grumbled. "I can nah shake the thought that a woman was with us as we spoke."

"Huh." Keiichi cursed internally. "Weird. That's some hunch, Sir."

McGuiness grunted. "If I still held the faith I'd tell you to get yourself blessed," he said. "The woman…I feel like she hovered above you, Morisato." He frowned. "Ye'd best watch yourself. I can nah shake the feeling the presence was malevolent."

Keiichi laughed weakly. "Don't be getting superstitious on me, Sir," he said. "You know it was probably just the Ghost of Intel. They say there's one in every vault and SCIF out there."

"Maybe." McGuiness still looked uncertain. "Maybe not."

XXX

The day continued on as normal. Team 12 trained. McGuiness held meetings. At one point Bravo approached him hunting for details on Urd, and Keiichi threatened to hog tie him to a chair if he didn't let the topic drop. "You wouldn't," Bravo bated him. "You don't know the first thing about knots, Jank."

"You want to have a go?" Keiichi retorted. "You'd be surprised the tricks you learn from the chair force." He retrieved a pair of handcuffs he'd gotten from his buddies over in SERE, twirling the metal loops on a finger. Bravo wisely backed down.

It was close to six thirty by the time Keiichi returned home that night, and the house was peaceful. Belldandy was there to greet him at the front door, which he found a bit disconcerting and a tad bit creepy. She seemed uncertain though, and Keiichi chalked it up to another one of Aoshima's requirements that had been instilled into her behavior over the course of ten years.

"You don't have to wait for me like that," he assured her, taking off his cover and slipping out of his blouse with a happy sigh. It was good to be home. "Seriously-work can be unpredictable sometimes. I don't want you staying at this door when I might be working a twelve hour shift for some last-minute exercise."

"Are you certain?" Belldandy looked worried, but not disappointed. She almost looked relieved, actually. Keiichi took that as a good sign.

"Sis, we need to get you a hobby," Skuld groused from the stairwell. "Something like sewing, or maybe recreational shooting," she suggested. "Oh! I know! Fencing! Not the 'stab you with a toothpick' kind but the 'off with their heads' type, like Papa likes!"

"Well, that's quite a leap," Keiichi muttered dryly. The Norn did have a point though. "What do you do in your free time, Belldandy?"

The goddess frowned, then shook her head. "Nothing so enjoyable as any of those activities," she mumbled, then looked away. Keiichi snuck a glance to Skuld. The younger Norn shook her head, don't push it, and Keiichi sighed with disappointment.

Not this time, Bub. Close, but no cigar. Try again tomorrow, yeah?

"Where's Urd?" he asked. "I need to ask her something."

Skuld shrugged. "Taking a nap. Bell and I were just about to get started on dinner since she's snoozing upstairs. Any preferences?"

"Um." Belldandy looked at him with rekindled interest, and Keiichi stole a glance back at Skuld for help. Shit, he'd been living off protein shakes and, admittedly, MRE's since Deb had left him. Such a diet created all the palatable appeal of a brick. He hadn't even bothered turning on the gas for the stove since he'd returned from his last deployment. Now that Belldandy had come into his life with her interest in cooking, he would have to do that sometime soon.

Yet Belldandy was looking at him like she was expecting Keiichi to confess his heart's desire for food, which was a horrible idea because there was some evil little piece of him hankering for that veggie omelet MRE hidden in the cabinet. It'd be kinder if Belldandy chose something instead or hell, even Skuld, because at least then there was a chance of getting the goddess to cook something she wanted for herself rather than something Belldandy felt she needed to cook for Keiichi. The SEAL wasn't Aoshima and wanted to quash any correlations between himself and the man who'd so ruined the Norn's life. Yet for the life of him, Keiichi didn't know what kind of foods Bellandy enjoyed. The woman guarded her joys almost as much as Keiichi horded protein powder and MREs, and neither of the two of them would get anywhere without some kind of outside assistance.

Skuld mouthed something to him, eyeing Belldandy and leaning a bit towards the goddess. "How about…" The Norn repeated it, and Keiichi tried to follow along with what Skuld said. "…Swedish…Meatballs?" He glanced back at Belldandy, who eyed him pensively before sending a shrewd look back to Skuld who stared back with a curious look of her own. Belldandy looked back at Keiichi. He smiled at her.

"Do we even have the proper ingredients for that?" she wondered aloud, and Keiichi shrugged his shoulders. The Norn narrowed her eyes. "Have you ever had Swedish meatballs before?"

Skuld nodded her head from the corner of Keiichi's eye, and Belldandy's head whipped back to her younger sister, who's face returned to it's ever-curious innocence. "Skuld…" there was a note of warning in her voice, and the Norn tilted her head to one side in confusion.

"What?"

Belldandy stared at her sister a moment longer, then returned her attention once more to Keiichi. The smile did not leave his face, and his eyes danced with mirth. "Course I've had Swedish Meatballs." He'd never even heard of the dish up until now. "I've just never made them myself is all." Behind Belldandy Skuld gave him a thumbs up, then swiftly grabbed the stairwell's handrails when Belldandy whirled to face her.

"Hey, I haven't had Swedish Meatballs in years!" Skuld proclaimed. "Good call there, Magilla!" Keiichi scowled at the nickname. "Come on Bell, let's go see if we've got what we need to make it." She drummed her thumbs on the wooden railing, then trotted down the rest of the steps. "Wasn't that one of your favorite recipes? Don't tell me Aoshima spoiled that for you too."

"Well…no, but—" Skuld hooked an arm around Belldandy's and dragged her off to the kitchen.

"Wonderful!" She crowed. "Then let's have us a real meal for a change!" She glanced back at Keiichi with a wicked smile on her face. "Congratulations Keiichi. You get to wake the demon now."

"Skuld!" Belldandy protested. "Don't call Urd that!"

"You've never had to wake her up before, have you Bell?" Skuld asked lamely. "She's worse than a bear covered in porcupine quills with bullet ants in her hair." This time when the goddess looked back at Keiichi, it was with pity. "Nice knowing you, Keiichi!"

"You too, Poodle." Whistling, Keiichi made his way upstairs, ignoring the curses Skuld threw his way as he headed for his room to change. He'd speak with Urd about McGuiness when she woke up on her own, but he wasn't about to wake the woman from a nap.

XXX

The problem with napping during the day was the sense of disorientation that accompanied waking. The grogginess that muddled the thoughts and the sense of lost time that rested in the back of one's mind, the odd, fuddled memories of what was and still is and what may have passed all in the span of mere hours, and, on occasion, the loss of logic, the loss of recognition that so bewildered the mind as a person woke up in a strange bed, in a strange house, with a sun that was only just starting to set behind the expanse of trees.

Urd hated that part about naps. She also hated the fact that now, she wouldn't be getting another good's night rest until well into the evening, possibly around midnight or even into the following day. Grumbling and spitting curses, the woman struggled out of the bed she was in, finding it hard and lumpy with scratchy blankets that felt too hot in the spring heat. "Bell…?" she mumbled. The bed smelled a bit like her sister now, though the scent was light. "You were screaming…" she muttered, and then with a groan fell back on the bed and buried her face in the pillows. Screaming… screaming… what about? When? Was it still 'today'? Or had she slept all the way into 'tomorrow'? It'll happen again tonight, regardless. Avoice whispered in her ear. She was too drowsy to differentiate it between her own inner monologue or World of Elegance. What will you do?

Same thing we do every night, Pinky. She thought, and somewhere perhaps a piece of her even laughed. Try and take care of Belldandy. The thought of another argument with Skuld and another long, sleepless night made her moan in distress. You can't keep this up forever, Dearheart. Oh, that was definitely World of Elegance, no question about it. Only two people called her that, one of them was in her head. Skuld isn't a child like she was ten years ago. She knows how you think and is already suspicious. You'd be wise to inform her of what's going on.

"Don' wan' her to deal with it." Urd growled into the pillows. She doesn't need to see Belldandy like that.

She does. World of Elegance argued. She may not have seen the videos, but she's no fool. The sooner she understands the faster she can help. Same with Keiichi. You can't take this all on alone.

"Watch me," she grumbled. With her face buried in a pillow, the words came out as, 'Fight me' instead. World of Elegance fell silent, perhaps recognizing it as a battle she would not win this time, and with a sigh Urd picked herself up once more and stumbled out of the bed.

Time for another long night.

XXX

And so the week continued.

Urd continued to heckle Skuld into letting her sleep on the futon. Each time grew harder than the last, and Urd could see the growing suspicion, the growing irritation in her youngest sister's eyes when Skuld finally allowed herself to be coerced out of another night watching out for Belldandy. "You know I can help too," she said one night later in the week. "Whatever's going on is wearing you thin Urd. You aren't fooling anyone."

Yet Urd only smiled and denied her claims, and every night, without fail, Belldandy would awaken; sometimes as soon as sleep claimed her, sometimes in the early hours before dawn, but always, without fail, with screams and cries for mercy in a sleep so deep that Urd was unable to rouse her. And always, without fail, Urd would be at her side, attempting to awaken the goddess in whatever way that would not cause her harm, her own terror over whatever nightmares so befell Belldandy spurning her on even when Urd felt herself spent, her emotions exhausted and her nerves dead by the time the sun lit up the sky.

Each morning Belldandy would awaken to find Urd at her side. Sometimes with herself leaning against the older goddess on the bed, sometimes awakening to her sister holding her hand, rubbing it gently and without thought as she stared out the window with a lackluster expression. Always awake though. Always exhausted.

"What do I say in my sleep?" Belldandy asked her once. Urd grunted without comment, and as soon as Belldandy left the bed Urd crawled in it, falling into a sleep of such pure exhaustion that Belldandy doubted the arrival of their father would be enough to rouse her.

Twice Skuld recruited Keiichi in attempting to corner Urd and convince her to talk. Both times yielded little, and even conferring with Belldandy provided little in the ways of information. Keiichi's attempts to speak with Urd about the strange encounter were forgotten in place of worry. Urd simply would not talk, nor see to reason and allow Skuld a night with Belldandy. Everyone had their own suspicions, but nobody seemed to have the courage to conference what they were.

Not until Friday night.

Friday night the dam broke.

Belldandy was having another nightmare. It was a violent one. The Norn was screaming with such ferocity Urd feared she'd go deaf, feared her spells would fail, feared that Hagall, demon that she was would hear Belldandy's cries of fear and pain and would laugh. "Belldandy!" Urd had stopped hoping her sister would hear her words after the third night with her. "Belldandy, please wake up! I'm begging you, it's a dream, it's only a nightmare, he can't hurt you anymore!"

A howl tore from her sister's throat, the wild and sheer terror of a trapped animal locked away in a woman's voice. She writhed in the bed, where sheets and blankets tangled around her limbs like the coils of a massive cotton serpent. There were no words with this nightmare, no, this was the inarticulate terror of those monsters that dwell in the psyche; those beasts of the unspeakable name whose personage were left as shadowy after images in the waking world, where the light of day did little but cast them into deeper darkness.

Now Belldandy fought those creatures off with the desperation of a woman on her last legs, certain that this fight was the final fight, and that her strength was spent and the beasts were moving in to devour her. "Belldandy, come on! Fight this! Wake up!" Urd grabbed her by the arms, her own fear spurning her into action, and it was in that moment that Belldandy's eyes flew open; not the glazed eyes of a sleepwalker but the clear gaze of one who'd succeeded in tearing herself from the jaws of a beast. Yet her terror was real, the beasts still fresh afterimages, and perhaps it was one such monster that she saw when her gaze focused on Urd. Not that of her sister but perhaps some shadowy enigma in the form of a man, leering down at her as it grabbed her on the bed.

The goddess released a howl that was equal parts fear and rage, and her magic swirled around her in response, plowing into Urd with such force that she was flung into, nay, through the wall and into evening night. The wall exploded, and with it whatever spell that had so locked in the noises of terror and depravity that had emerged from Belldandy's throat night after night over the expanse of a week.

Her surrounds not yet familiar to her recovering unconscious, Belldandy drew her legs up to her chest and screamed, burying her hands in her hair as she squeezed her eyes shut, desperate to be rid of the shadows of her mind. There came a thundering at her door, shouts from voices that should have reached her yet failed, and as Keiichi barreled into the room Belldandy's wild magic lashed out once more. It discriminated against no one, man or god or something else, and it was only Skuld's immediate reaction behind the SEAL that prevented the magic from ripping Keiichi in half.

The younger Norn drew him back with one arm, throwing the larger man out of the guest room as though he was nothing but a ragdoll, and as he hit the back hallway wall the door to the guest room splinted, cracked, and then collapsed in chunks of debris. "Stay outside!" Skuld roared, then raced inside, risking the magic that had so easily tossed Urd about in an effort to reach out to Belldandy.

Keiichi ran to the threshold, then ducked when a twisted chunk of metal that had once been a window frame barreled towards his head like a projectile. He felt it breeze through his hair in passing, and then it was buried in the wall behind him, where it dangled at least three inches into the wood, swaying like a wobbly arrow on the breeze. The SEAL stared at it, his eyes wide with how close he'd come to death's door, and then he looked back inside.

Skuld was shouting Belldandy's name. Shards of glass larger than Keiichi's fist flew towards the goddess as though guided by invisible hands. With a bellow that was inhuman, the youngest Norn smashed her foot into the ground. Whatever strings that held the glass were cut, and the dangerous shards fell to the floor and inch from the Skuld's face.

Belldandy released a howl that chilled Keiichi to the bone, and against his own desires the man found himself stumbling back, his head almost colliding with the twisted frame that had almost casually ended his life a moment prior. Something-Keiichi couldn't see it but he sure as hell felt it-collided with Skuld, striking her hard across the stomach and sending the younger goddess off her feet and crashing into the opposing bedroom.

"Skuld!" Keiichi screamed. He glance towards Belldandy. A Whirlwind of items-turned-projectile that danced around her head like something from The Poltergeist. A shiver raced down Keiichi's spine, and the SEAL raced into the other room-his room, as Skuld pick herself out of the wood works with a groan.

"Did somebody get the name of that bus?" she moaned, and Keiichi pulled her to her feet. She wavered unsteadily, then bent over with a dry heave.

"Where's Urd?" Keiichi asked, letting the goddess lean into him as she straightened.

The Norn's grip was trembling. She drew in a ragged breath. "Outside?" She didn't sound too sure of herself. "Dunno, got to get to Belldandy." She pushed him away, teetered on uncertain legs, then rushed back into the room in a dead man's run. She broke left, and in the next instant-again with that eerie feeling of something-the floor splintered in a deep indent. With a gasp she teetered right, and with a roar Keiichi felt more than heard, the floor crumbled and broke, displaying the garage below.

Then there was Urd, haggard and bruised but alive, and with an inarticulate scream Belldandy's eyes were drawn to her. "Urd—" the strange presence that surrounded Belldandy went mad with its new target, and Skuld forgotten the many projectiles that danced around her head lurched forth in a final affront. They shattered against an invisible wall before the Elder Norn with the ferocity of debris lost in a tornado. "Urd, I can't—" Belldandy's cry was lost in a shriek like a heavy gust screaming through a cavern. She looked around her, no longer dazed but very, very aware, and her face was the look of panic when one found themselves attempting to outpace a twister.

For ten years Belldandy's magic had been suppressed. Ten long years where her magic had ebbed and waned. Ten years of abuse, Ten years of no use, ten years of building, gathering, rising and bubbling with every strike, every blow, every touch that had been extracted on her person or against her will. Ten years with no outlet, to gather and toil and build, like a can of soda that had been shaken to the point of explosion and then left to sit.

Now, someone had punctured that can, and the magic surged forth like a geyser, uncontrolled and unrestrained, lashing at anything and everything that approached like a blinded, wounded animal, seeking to maim, to hurt, to kill as had its mistress so desired but had been incapable of working. Now though…oh, now it was bringing down the house with everyone and everything in it, with no discretion whatsoever.

"We got this Bell, we got this!" Skuld had managed to reach her side, and Belldandy grabbed her sister and pulled her onto the bed with a yell, shielding Skuld with her body as another plunge of magic left a man-sized depression in the floor. Both sisters screamed, hell, Keiichi screamed, and Urd raced forward in the hopes of aid.

"Ride it out, Belldandy!" Urd cried. "Ride it out! Direct it! Aim it somewhere else and let it run itself dry!" She darted past her sisters, and Keiichi saw the air waver in front of her. Urd noticed it too late, and with a terrible crack the magic presence whipped across her face. The goddess dropped bonelessly, and Keiichi heard Belldandy scream her sister's name. Before he was aware of what he was doing, the man was in the room, racing towards the fallen woman and gathering her up in his arms.

Her neck isn't broken her neck isn't broken it's not broken she's a god its not broken because she's a fucking god-again the air wavered, this time with sparks, and with wide brown eyes he followed its path as it pulled back, like a whip about to crack or a snake about to strike. Instinctively, he turned away from it and squeezed his eyes shut, bringing his back up to take the brunt of the blow and shield Urd all at once. We're both going to—he braced himself for the blow, for the pain and the blood and the broken bones that would follow, and then Belldandy released a shriek so demanding that Keiichi felt his head crane up. His head was pulled to the ceiling, his eyes bulged in their sockets, and he saw his hair rise as though gravity had taken the night off.

The ceiling exploded. Yet like his head (he couldn't bend his neck, couldn't move, and it felt like his eyes would be ripped from his sockets if he so much as tried) didn't move. No shrapnel rained down. Instead it soared upwards, and the SEAL watched in a mixture of awe and terror as ceiling tile and plaster, wood chips and support beams, danced above his head in a swirling typhoon. The air was pulled from his lungs, but he didn't care. His flesh felt like it would rip from his body. He didn't care. He felt like he was going to die and he didn't care. He sat, he kneeled, clutching Urd to his chest as pain tore into his body, too in awe over the sight above his head to wonder what ill fate would befall him.

It's an aura. He thought. A living aura of destruction.

And It's beautiful.

The presence, the magic, glittered with deadly mystique against the light of stars, and in it Keiichi saw not galaxies but the universe; a map of such a grand scale it bordered on infinite. It held there, a glittering expanse that threatened to consume him beneath a white sliver of moon, and then the pressure, the demand, was gone, the aura was gone, and Keiichi fell forward with a strange heaviness that he did not immediately recognize as gravity.

Debris from the roof began to rain down into the room, but Keiichi was too stunned to think, and he sat dumbfounded where he'd fallen, staring blankly as around them, wood struck wood and shattered into dangerous splinters. And then even that ceased; an aura of a deep shade of blue engulfed the room in a globe, and as Skuld concentrated on her magic Belldandy crawled off the bed, racing to Keiichi's side.

"Urd! Keiichi!" Belldandy cried, and collapsed on the floor next to them both, her eyes wide with a familiar panic that would have worried Keiichi had he not already been so bemused. He stared at her, uncertain if he recognized the goddess, and then looked down as Urd groaned in his arms.

"…Feel like someone hit me in the face with a melon." Urd grumbled, then grimaced. A large, red welt was swelling across her right cheek, and the Norn rubbed her jaw, wincing before staring up at Belldandy and Keiichi in question. "Wha…?"

Belldandy's lower lip trembled with suppressed emotion, and then with a cry she embraced them both. "I didn't-Oh Yggdrasil, I couldn't stop it!" she sobbed. "Why couldn't I stop it, Urd? I hurt you! You and Skuld both! I-I almost killed Keiichi!"

That seemed to stir Keiichi from his stupor.

And it was in that moment, that Gunner's Mate First Class Keiichi Morisato began to scream.


A/N: Is that how Bell and Aoshima's first meeting went? Maybe, maybe not. That was the wish, though.

She certainly has her demons. I wonder how Keiichi and company will deal with them?


Comments of a Madwoman: What does it take to drive a man to madness? A fight with a demon or an experience with the divine?