Deus Patronus

by Infinity1

Updated Nov 30: An OMG fanfiction, which introduces and mainly follows the life of an original character, who isn't exactly what he thinks he is. See my profile for updates

3. Apart we are weak

E-mail: kipp_loong@yahoo.ca
Homepage: www.geocities.com/kipp_loong/

= Thought
()=Author's opinion

Disclaimers: Oh! My Goddess (Ah! My Goddess, Aa! Megami-sama, and
whatever else they call it) is owned by Kosuke Fujishima and Kodansha.
English translations are owned by Dark Horse Comics. The work that I
am doing is in no way used for profit, nor am I taking credit for the
characters. This is purely for entertainment.

Kipp Long, Rantora Kenshin, Hiroshi Hamasaki, Makoto Kagirinai,
Hikaru Saitoku and Hikari Amatsu _are_ my own creations and are not to
be reproduced with out my permission.

Death is a creation of humanity's fears, and isn't my own
creation, but her personality and profile are, so they are not to be
used with out my permission.

The Japanese Specialized Self Defence Force: Supernatural
Division does not actually exist and is a figment of this author's
imagination (probably from watching one too many episodes of the X-
Files), therefore making it my own creation.

So without further ado, I present to you...

[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[

|nfinity Corps is

Proud to Present

An Oh! My Goddess! Fanficiton

Deus Patronus:

Episode 2

By:

Jeffrey Chow

[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[

Merlin sat at his desk in his Japan base, gazing at the five
figures in front of him. Although obscured in the shadows, the five
each gave off a sense of confidence and power, but on top of that, each
seemed concerned for something.

"Do you understand the mission perimeters?" Merlin asked sternly,
"Daecar is a serious threat, which is why I'm authorizing this, but if
any of you screw up, heads will roll."

"Yes Sir!" Five voices shouted.

"Very well Espers, go, and make sure that disciple of mine doesn't
get into too much trouble," Merlin muttered the last.

"Impossible Sir!" the five replied, then ran out of the office,
each laughing loudly.

"Damn smart asses," Merlin muttered, then sighed to himself. "It
takes a demon a minimum of four months to fully corrupt a good soldier,
and that damn disciple of mine did it in four weeks," he continued, then
grinned to himself, "Must have been the charming personality he picked
up from me!"

* * *

Kipp stood in the middle of the temple's yard, wearing a pair of
black sweat pants, and a white t-shirt. Around him were five wooden
posts, each pounded a foot into the ground. The young man stared
straight ahead, staring at none of the post, and yet, knowing where
everything was in the yard.

"What is he doing?" Belldandy asked, fascinated by Kipp's
behaviour.

"I think he's training," Keiichi replied, looking up from his
homework.

The two wear seated on the porch of the Temple, while doing their
homework. Although it was autumn, the weather was quite warm, so
Keiichi had decided to work outside a bit. Belldandy on the other hand
had just finished the housework and was just relaxing beside her
beloved.

With a burst of movement, Kipp began his training. Combining
one's magic with one's physical abilities usually enhances a person's
limits. But the benefits were only as good as the person was. Kipp
knew this, and although he usually fought with the combined two, he also
knew that if he increased his physical limits, the magic would do more
for him, and he needed every advantage he could get against Daecar.
Even with the combined might of the Espers, Kipp knew that the up coming
fight would be very taxing and would most likely result in a lot of
damage, maybe even the death of one of his friends.

I could never forgive myself if I let that happen Kipp thought
to himself,

In under a minute, the five post were broken, one even splintered,
but Kipp wasn't done. Kipp immediately launched into several katas,
running through them and then switching styles, moving faster and faster
as he went. When he had gone through every one of his unarmed styles,
Kipp pulled out his mana blade, courtesy of Skuld, and began going
through those katas.

"I think he might be pushing it a little too much," Belldandy
said, concern evident in her voice.

I will not give up. To do so will mean dishonour and failure,
both to myself, and to those that I wish to protect Kipp grimaced,
remembering the last stand of Serenity.

The sword katas were soon finished, leaving Kipp panting and
sweating. The soldier glanced around the yard, looking for any large
boulders he could pit himself against, but sadly, there were none.
Sighing to himself, and adding a boulder to his mental 'to get' list,
Kipp walked over to Keiichi and Belldandy.

"So, Keiichi-sempai, how much would a month of rent cost?" Kipp
asked, sitting down beside the two.

"I don't know, you have to factor in food, and all the other stuff
you use," Keiichi explained, before Kipp stopped him.

"Could you two wait a second, I need to get something," Kipp said,
rising and entering the temple.

"I wonder what it is?" Keiichi wondered aloud.

The couple sat in mutual silence, waiting for their friend to
return, which didn't take very long. As he returned, Keiichi and
Belldandy both noticed that he was currently on his, but who he was
talking to they had no clue.

"Uh-huh... wait a sec, I have how much? Define a lot..." Kipp
whistled appreciatively, then paused as he stared at the cell phone. "A
lot is several million in American, and I have 'a hell of a lot'?" The
young man paused again as he digested the information, "I'm richer then
most movie stars? Okay, then I have a question. HOW THE HELL DID I GET
THAT MUCH MONEY?!?!?!?!"

Keiichi and Belldandy, having finally made sense of the
conversation stared at each other in shock.

went through
both of their minds.

"You're kidding me... you're not? Oh boy, tell those bastards at
HQ that they'd better start running... okay, bye," Kipp sighed, putting
his cell phone away. Turning to the two started observers beside him,
Kipp grinned sickly, "Did you know that JSSDF:SD agents get paid several
million for every demon they kill? Did you also know that they pay us
obscene amounts of money so that we'll be to do whatever we want in case
we were to die the next day?" When the two shook their heads in a
negative response, Kipp continue cheerfully, "Neither did I! And to
think, I had trouble getting money to get here."

"So, you have how much?" Keiichi asked weakly.

"Give or take five hundred million in American dollars." Kipp
replied conversationally, taking a seat on the porch.

"Five hundred million?" Keiichi mumbled weakly.

"Yeah," Kipp replied, staring forward.

"Shouldn't you be happy?" Belldandy asked, glancing at Kipp's
bleak look.

"Oh, I'm happy about being rich, I'm just depressed at why it's
there," Kipp replied grimly, "So we can experience some measure of
happiness before we die."

"Oh, that... well don't think of it as that type of money. You
work for the JSSDF, hunting down creatures that could wipe out entire
armies, which therefore makes it a very hard job. Added on top of
that, you have to be the best of the best to do this job. From what I
know of your culture, don't the better workers, and the ones who do the
harder jobs, get rewarded with the highest pay for their work?"
Belldandy asked, in full-fledged mothering mode.

"Thanks Belldandy-sempai, I needed that," Kipp grinned, the
seriousness leaving his eyes. "Now then, how much do I owe you Keiichi
-sempai?"

* * *

In the garage of Kipp's ruined apartment building, two men stood,
both staring at the sleek black bike before them. Behind them was a
sleek red sports car. One stood 185cm in height, with a lean muscular
build. He wore a pair of blue jeans, a plain loose black sweater, and a
pair of white sneakers. Over his brown eyes he wore a pair of shades.
His short brown hair was spike upward. He looked around 20 years old.

The other was shorter, standing at 170cm, but as well built as the
other. He wore a pair of beige khakis, a white t-shirt, and a pair of
black military style boots. His black bangs hang down on either side
of his face, accenting his deep brown eyes, while the rest was tied in a
loose ponytail. Around his right wrist rested a silver watch. He
appeared to be around 18 years of age.

"No way am I touching that thing! Who knows what sort of safeties
Tentetsu and the rest of those psychos put in this thing," the first
muttered disgustedly.

"Well, I'm sure not touching it, the last time I even looked at
one of their inventions, I got zapped by it," the other retorted.

"Look Rantora, I don't know how to ride it, you do," the first
tried using logic.

"Well, it we agreed to bring my Hummer, we wouldn't be in this
mess Hiroshi," Rantora snorted.

"Always with the bloody hummer, get it into your thick skull, even
the bloody hummer isn't big enough for this thing to fit," Hiroshi
growled back.

"Boys, must everything be a pissing contest to you two?" a female
voice asked from the shadows.

"Oh, yippee, Makoto-chan's here, just what I need," Rantora
muttered to himself.

"Hey! Don't go dissing our pissing contests!" Hiroshi growled at
Makoto.

"Geez, you two are hopeless," Makoto sighed, stepping into the
garage's lights.

Makoto stood around 160cm in height, looking around 18 years old.
She wore a tight white tank top, a pair of black pants, and a pair of
black sneakers. She had left her long light brown hair along, the
strands reaching her waist. Her red eyes sparkled with barely hidden
amusement of her friends.

"Hey, have you ever been subjugated to Tentetsu's test?" Rantora
growled. When Makoto shook her head in the negative, Rantora shuddered
and muttered enviously, "Lucky you."

"Oh come on, he can't be that bad," Makoto prodded.

"Oh, how we envy you. Being female has rendered you immune to
Tentetsu's awful wrath," Hiroshi spoke, taking a dramatic pose, "Oh, but
for good reason, for if your swe-oof."

Hiroshi doubled over from the elbow blow Makoto gave him.

"And he wonders why I won't go out with him," she muttered to
herself, rubbing the bridge of her nose. Removing her elbow, Makoto
walked up to the bike and pressed her thumb against the print scanner.

"No! Don't do that!" Rantora cried, snatching Makoto's hand away
form the bike. "Who knows what kind of defensive measures Kipp
requested."

Makoto sighed and rolled her eyes. "You do realize we're his
friends, and he most likely gave us access. Besides, Tentetsu built
this for us, so our prints are probably in its data base," Makoto
explained exasperated.

As if to prove her point, the bike roared to life, and a calm
computerized voice spoke, "Hello agent Kagirinai, you have been
authorized to use this vehicle by agent Long, have a good day."

"See, told you so," Makoto said smugly at the two males.

"Oh, and tell agent Kenshin and agent Hamasaki that if they even
scratch the paint on me, agent Long will have their hides," the
computerized voice spoke again.

"What did I just say?" Rantora groaned, while Hiroshi tried to woo
the unimpressed Makoto.

"Your eyes are like sparkling stars..." Hiroshi trailed off when
he noticed Makoto ignoring him. "Cruel," he whimpered to himself.

"Baka," Makoto snorted.

"Is it just me, or do we not fit the roles of mega cool monster
slayers... besides me," Rantora smirked at the glare Hiroshi directed at
him.

"Stop with the damn pissing contest already and let's get going,"
Makoto growled, getting into Hiroshi's sports car.

"There is a god!" Hiroshi cried to the heavens, rushing to the
driver's seat. "Rantora-kun, you're driving the bike."

"I detest you," Rantora growled, grabbing a helmet from the car's
back seat, "Don't do anything I wouldn't do kiddies."

Hiroshi just gave Rantora the finger in response.

* * *

Meanwhile, the two remaining members of the Espers were in
Rantora's hummer, driving around Nekomi. Hikari sat in the passenger
seat, her eyes partially glowing from the use of her ESP. She had on
the typical girl's high school uniform, complete with the short skirt,
and a red ribbon adorning her blonde hair. For shoes, she wore a pair
of brown, soft leather, knee boots.

In the drivers seat, a young man, about 20 years old sat. He was around
178cm with a wiry build. He wore a pair of black jeans and a white
t-shirt under a dark blue blazer. His black hair was only slightly
longer the then crew cut fashion, sticking upward. His hazel brown eyes
seemed to absorb everything he saw.

"Hmm, Hikaru, did your intelligence reports give us any leads on
finding him?" Hikari asked the man beside her, giving up on her ESP.

"Feh, that fool hung up before I could trace the call," Hikaru
snorted, grinning despite his words. "Must he always be so secretive?"

"Look who's talking," Hikari giggled, looking at the university
they were driving past. "Isn't that NIT? Maybe we should see if he's
there," she suggested to Hikaru.

"Yeah right, that kid wouldn't stay an extra minute in school if
his life depended on it," Hikaru muttered, glancing at the school.
"Remember how set he was when Merlin suggested a tutor?"

"Yeah, but he did want to go to university," Hikari pointed out.

"True, but it's probably cause he wanted to meet people around his
own age," Hikaru countered.

"Just check the place out," Hikari snapped.

"Okay, geez, someone needs some Midol," Hikaru muttered under his
breath. Unfortunately for him, Hikari's telepathy picked up the words.
Sufficed to say, Hikaru was in for a world of pain.

* * *

"Umm, Kipp, you might want to slow down on those turns," Keiichi
said to his friend as the two prepared to take the new bikes for a trial
run.

"I'm going to make that bastard eat those words," Kipp seethed,
shoving his helmet on.

"Kipp, have you even been listening to me?" Keiichi asked,
exasperated at Kipp's stubborn streak. "Beating Aoshima isn't that
important."

"Yes it is! I'm sick and tired of people like him. Damn people,
acting like kings cause they have more money then us," Kipp growled.
"If I have to humiliate him to prove my point, then so be it."

"I think that's what you've been planning all along," Keiichi
muttered, pitying Aoshima.

"Quiet you," Kipp grinned evilly, revving the engine. "Sounds
pretty good, let's see how she handles."

With that, the two were off. Zipping down the course, the two
pushed their respective machines to the limit, searching for any flaws
in the designs. Kipp seemed to be beating Keiichi, but only because he
was much more reckless, barely slowing enough to avoid walls in turns.
The two rounded the last turn when disaster struck. The front wheel on
Kipp's bike began to shred for no apparent reason, while Keiichi's bike
swerved around the road, the steering toast.

* * *

"I just felt some magic!" Hikari exclaimed, pointing towards NIT.

"I'm way ahead of you," Hikaru said, turning the hummer around.

"If that's you Kipp, I'm going to kill you for making us worry,"
Hikari muttered, throwing her senses out, trying to locate her friend.

* * *

"Guys! Magic detected at five o'clock!" Rantora yelled into the
helmet mike.

The group was speeding down a road, just behind NIT when all three
of them felt the unmistakable twinge of mana being used. Having sworn
the oath to protect humanity and the gods, the two vehicles immediately
changed direction to reach NIT as soon as possible.

"If that's our fearless leader, I'm going to wring his neck,"
Makoto growled.

"Um, Rantora, can we switch places?" Hiroshi whispered into the
com unit, nervously glancing at Makoto's furious visage.

"That time of month again, ne?" Rantora grinned evilly.

"Pull over a let me drive! I'm going to hurt that baka!" Makoto
growled at Hiroshi, brandishing her trusty shotgun for emphasis.

"You're so dead my friend. It was nice knowing you," Hiroshi
saluted Rantora while he obediently followed Makoto's commands.

"Let's see you catch me first!" Rantora tainted, gunning the
engine.

* * *

"What the Fuck?!" Kipp cried, fighting to maintain control of the
vehicle. Then his mind finally registered the telltale signs of magic,
"Daecar! I'll kill you!"

Meanwhile, as Kipp fought to regain control of his cycle, Keiichi
fought to maintain some semblance of steering. But even his best
efforts were in vain as the bike relentlessly raced towards the wall.
In desperation, Keiichi flung himself off of his vehicle, moments before
it crashed into a wall.

"What happened?" Keiichi asked weakly, watching as Kipp rode past,
the tires gone.

"Chikuso! I can't hold out much longer!" Kipp growled, fighting
the vehicle's suicidal tendencies.

But, like Keiichi, the bike refused to cooperate, forcing Kipp to
bail as Keiichi had before him. Kipp managed to rise to his feet just
as the bike flipped and crashed into the wall.

"I'll kill you Daecar," Kipp growled, clenching his fists in
anger.

"Keiichi-sempai! Kipp-kun! Are you alright?" Sora asked as she
and the rest of the MCC rushed out to meet the two drivers. "What
happened out there?"

"The steering just locked up, and the brakes didn't seem to work
either," Keiichi said, removing his battered helmet.

"My brakes weren't working either, and the tires just flew apart,"
Kipp stated, staring at the remains of two weeks of work.

"Dat's strange, me and Ootaki looked over dam earlier," Tamiya
muttered, scratching his head in confusion.

"Then what happened?" Keiichi asked aloud.

Kipp walked up to the bike and mentioned for Keiichi to follow.
When he was sure no one could hear, Kipp whispered into Keiichi's ear
his suspicions.

"I felt magic when we were riding," Kipp whispered in a low voice.

"Magic? So it could have been Mara," Keiichi whispered back,
wishing that the goddesses hadn't been recalled to Heaven.

"It also could have been Daecar," Kipp mused, then shook his head.
"It probably was Daecar, from what you've told me, this doesn't seem
like Mara's style."

"You're right, it was too small. Hell, the bikes didn't even blow
up," Keiichi murmured in agreement, then frowned, "But then why did he
target me as well?"

"Maybe he didn't know which of us was which," Kipp suggested.

"Right, and how was he supposed to not know," Keiichi asked
sarcastically.

"What do you mean?" Kipp asked, confusion written all over his
face.

"Your name's on the back of your suit," Keiichi groaned, pointing
to the back of the leather riding suit.

"Oh, yeah, that," Kipp grinned sheepishly. "Well, maybe he just
wants to kill everyone near me."

"I just wish the goddesses hadn't been called back to Heaven so
suddenly," Keiichi muttered. "And just before this too. Talk about
suspicious."

"I know what you mean," Kipp muttered, whispering a prayer to any
divine creature that would listen. "I just hope you're wrong. Because
if you're right, the implications are too great."

"Well, let's hope you're right," Keiichi glanced at the waiting
MCC members, then raised his voice. "Let's see if we can salvage
anything."

When everyone failed to move, Kipp joined Keiichi trying to
motivate them... well more like attack their pride.

"Look, we've only got a week until the race, which might I remind
you Aoshima bet in. So, if you want to prove that he's wrong, and WE
are the best, get your asses in high gear, and let's get a move on it!"
Kipp exclaimed, throwing every low blow he could think of in.

Sure enough, the thought of Aoshima showing them up was enough to
make everyone scramble. Within minutes, every bit of the totalled
vehicles was packed away, and the club was on its way back to the
clubhouse/garage, just missing the five members of the Espers.

* * *

Hikari and Hikaru were the first to arrive, the two stepping out
of the hummer, weapons in hand. Hikaru held a sniper rifle of sorts,
where as Hikari held an oversized pistol. While Hikari scanned the
area, Hikaru awaited the arrival of the remaining Espers. He didn't
have to wait long.

Rantora was the first to arrive, followed closely by an enraged
Makoto driving Hiroshi's sports car. Of course, Makoto didn't run
Rantora down, but she came awfully close.

"Told you it was that time of month," Rantora muttered to Hiroshi.
Makoto promptly smacked him. "But then again, I don't know if
demon hybrids get periods," Rantora smirked at Makoto.

Let's just say Rantora won't be feeling well for the next little
while, and leave it at that.

"We salute you, oh brave, valiant, stupid soldier," Hiroshi
saluted the twitching remains of Rantora.

"I hurt," Rantora groaned.

"Morons," Hikaru muttered darkly, shaking his head at the two.

"He deserved it," Makoto sniffed, turning her back to Rantora.

"I wonder if she has a tail," Hiroshi muttered, watching Makoto's
backside.

"Why did I get pounded when we have a perfectly good pervert right
here?" Rantora grumbled, jerking his thumb at Hiroshi.

"I'm not a pervert! I'm just admiring one of the greatest
beauties in the universe! How could I not gawk at the very vision of
beauty?" Hiroshi retorted.

"That would have sounded convincing... if you weren't drooling,"
Hikaru sweat dropped.

"Men!" Makoto sniffed indignantly.

"No, they're boys," Hikari corrected. "They don't have the balls
to be men, unlike a certain someone," the two girls giggled at that one.

"Hey! What does our fearless leader have that I don't?" Hiroshi
growled. "Besides a motorcycle. Besides, he's even more clueless than
us!"

"Baka," Hikaru growled.

"Where to start," Makoto sneered at Hiroshi.

"Guys, before the two of you start another one of your lover's
quarrels, I'd like to point out we're missing a leader," Hikari pointed
out, as Rantora and Hikaru forced the two apart.

"She/He started it!" the two chorused.

"Children! Quiet!" Hikari screamed, glaring at the two cowering
forms. "Get in that car and search the city!"

The two immediately leapt to comply.

"Hikaru, hunt around, learn all you can about the local gossip and
see if you can find Kipp with it," Hikari rounded on the hapless shadow
warrior.

"What did I do?" Hikaru asked Rantora, before darting away from
the steamed Hikari.

"I guess I'll just take the bike..." Rantora began, before
realizing that Makoto had taken it.

"You, Rantora, are taking me around town," Hikari glared at the
terrified expression Rantora wore. "We're going to see if I can detect
Kipp anywhere."

"Why me?"

* * *

As the Espers left the racetrack, two shadowed figures looked on
from above. One-stepped into the light, revealing the figure of Mara,
the other stayed hidden.

"So, what's so important about the boy, besides that fact that he
can use magic?" Mara asked curiously.

"It is not your concern," the shadow replied bluntly.

"We'll I just like knowing why someone's butting into my
territory," Mara growled back, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

"Fine, but he is Mine," the figure growled, stepping into the
light. "He is a thorn in my master's side, and he must be eliminated,"
Daecar growled, eyes flashing.

"And you're master is..." Mara pried.

"None of your concern," Daecar snapped. "All you need to do is
stay out of this, it concerns you not."

"Very well, the boy is yours, but only the boy. If you even harm
one hair on Keiichi, the goddesses, Megumi, or any of their heads, you
answer to me," Mara threatened, her eyes burning with flames.

"I didn't know you cared," Daecar sneered, showing rows of sharp
teeth.

"I don't, but they are MY targets. I will deal with them, no one
else," Mara snapped. "Is that clear?"

"Very," Daecar gulped, shying away from Mara's gaze.

"It's nice to see that some demons still have respect for their
betters," Mara smiled seductively. "I might reward you later."

And in a flash of sulphuric smoke, she was gone.

"Stupid whore, when my master finishes with his plan, you and your
blessed Demoness Grief Office will be my personal play things," Daecar
spat, disappearing back into the shadows.

"So we meet again Daecar," Merlin muttered amidst the shadows of
the building opposite the demon's. "This time, humanity won't need an
angel to defeat you."

* * *

"I want to change the world!" Kipp sang to himself, playing with
his new Discman, and assorted CDs. "Ah, it's good to have some money
for a change."

"Could you stop goofing off, and help us?" Megumi asked
sarcastically.

Having only a week to build a cycle from scratch was straining the
MCC member's patience and nerves. Having a member busy playing with a
Discman while the rest work wasn't doing much good.

"Oh, gomen, I forgot," Kipp grinned sheepishly, grabbing some
tools. "I'll start working now."

"Hmm, you're actually earning your keep now?" a voice asked from
the door.

"I know that voice!" Kipp exclaimed, turning around to face the
voice's owner.

"Of course you should, I've only worked with you for two years,"
Hikaru muttered sarcastically.

"So, had fun finding me?" Kipp asked cheerfully.

"Oh, of course, we all love our jobs as much as Hikari," Hikaru
retorted. "You try having fun finding a needle in a haystack."

"Kipp, less talk, more work," Megumi playfully slapped Kipp's
head, while turning to address Hikaru. "Who are you?"

"Saitoku Hikaru, at your service. The moron you have working for
you has the pleasure of calling me a friend," Hikaru gesture absently at
Kipp.

"Great way to address your superior," Kipp growled, before Megumi
smacked him again.

"You work," she said sternly, pointing at the bike frame.
Rounding at the smug face of Hikaru, Megumi grinned evilly, "Now then,
how fast are you?"

"He can out run a horse," Kipp muttered darkly. "I should know,
I've seen him doing it enough. Running away that is."

` "Hey! I only did that once, and it was under orders too... your
orders I recall!" Hikaru yelled, trying to strangle Kipp.

"Cause I knew you were a chicken!" Kipp yelled back, wrapping his
own arms around Hikaru's neck.

And before Megumi could interfere, the two were slapping each
other's backs, laughing at some sort of joke. Megumi stared at one
then another in shock, before grabbing a conveniently hose and spraying
the two down.

"What was that for?!" Kipp spluttered, wiping his hair out of his
face.

"Kipp, I can see doing that, but you barely even know me lady!"
Hikaru grumbled, removing his soaked blazer.

"Hmph! I seem to recall telling you to start working," Megumi
grinned at Kipp. "And you I recall asking how fast you were."

"Man, if I knew you were a slave driver, I'd have stuck with the
JSUumph!" Kipp began, before Hikaru slapped a hand over his mouth.

"The... the "Japanese Self-Defence Classes," right Kipp," Hikaru
smiled nervously.

"No, he meant the "Japanese Specialized Self-Defence Force:
Supernatural Division," Megumi said, looking very confused.

"She. Knows?" Hikaru slowly turned to Kipp. "You are so dead."

"She lives with spirits. Of course she knows!" Kipp snapped,
patting himself one the back for the clever half-truth.

"Spirits! Oh! I wanna see!" Hikaru begged with child like glee.
"I've always wanted to talk to one... when they weren't haunting
someone, or something like that."

"Kuso, I forgot about you're damn obsession with ghosts," Kipp
muttered.

"Ano, I don't live with spirits. My brother lives with
goddesses," Megumi pointed out, shooting Kipp a confuse look.

"Goddesses?" the idea bounced around Hikaru's head for a bit,
before he brightened again. "That lucky dog!"

"Not that type of goddess!" Kipp snapped, glaring at the drool
running from Hikaru's mouth. "Real goddesses, divine goddesses..."

"And damn hot goddesses!" Hikaru quipped, remembering Merlin's
description of Urd.

*SMACK* *SMACK*

"Hentais," Megumi muttered.

"And damn proud of it!" Hikaru quipped, again, with mock pride.

"Start running now, _if_ you want to live." Megumi growled.

Hikaru was out of there in a flash.

* * *

"Geez, you didn't have to hit me that hard," Hikaru growled,
glaring at Kipp.

"Yes I did, you made me screw the gas injectors up," Kipp shot
back. "Which ended up with me getting hell from the rest of the club."

"So sue me. Tentetsu-san warned you, but noo, you just had to try
your hand at being an engineer," Hikaru smirked.

The two were sitting in a restaurant, coincidentally owned by the
JSSDF (coincidental my ass!), waiting for the arrival of the remaining
Espers. Kipp, having been kicked off the engineering section of the
club, was quietly sulking over a cup of tea, trying desperately to
ignore Hikaru's smug expression.

"I told them not to let you anywhere near the tools, but did they
listen? Obviously not," Hikaru grinned, enjoying Kipp's frustration.

"And I told them not to let you within a hundred meters of me, or
else you'd be missing a head. But did they listen? Of course not!"
Kipp growled across the table at his companion.

"But I'm right across from you, and I do believe I still have my
head," Hikaru grinned mockingly.

Kipp snarled in response.

At that moment, Hikari and Rantora showed up, shaking their heads
at Kipp's and Hikaru's childish behaviour. The two ordered drinks and
sat down, before Hikari addressed Kipp.

"For some strange reason, I thought you were smarter... and much
more of a man," Hikari said lightly, taking a sip from her cola.

Rantora and Hikaru both winced in sympathy at the low blow, while
Kipp spluttered indignantly.

"I thought you were my friend!" Kipp wailed.

"Get over yourself," Hikari muttered.

"But you're me best friend! And you're insulting me!" Kipp
wailed.

"Gods, sometimes I wish you were always serious," Hikari groaned.

"Hmm, that's number... five hundred?" Rantora remarked to Hikaru.

"Nope, number five hundred and twenty," Hikaru replied, consulting
a notebook.

"So, that means Hikari's complained about his pathetic nature
five hundred and twenty times this year," Rantora whistled loudly.

"Hey! I am not pathetic!" Kipp growled.

"Ano? I thought you were asking about the times this month,"
Hikaru remarked with all seriousness.

"I hate you two," Kipp groaned, face flat on the table.

"We love you two!" the two chorused.

"Dammit! I'm your leader, so I demand some respect!" Kipp growled
at the two.

"Good luck," Hiroshi grinned, strolling into the restaurant...
hand in hand with Makoto.

"Hmm, so they've finally gotten over their lover's quarrel,"
Hikaru mumbled, consulting his notebook. "Damn, I lost twenty bucks!"

"Ha! I might lend you some of the fifty I just won... if you ask
nicely," Rantora mocked.

"You were saying how _I_ wasn't serious?" Kipp asked Hikari
lightly.

"Am I the only sane person here?" Hikari asked herself.

"Well, if I were to wave the latest issue of Trigun in front of
your face, you wouldn't be sane any longer," Makoto remarked off
-handedly.

"Vash-sama..." Hikari gushed, drool running down her chin.

"Ano... is this a meeting, or are we still on leave?" Kipp asked
glancing at the silliness around him.

"Right," Hikari muttered, regaining her composure. "We're here to
discuses business, and to eliminate a threat, as ordered by
Merlin-sama."

"Understood. What is our current status, and how much support do
we have?" Kipp asked, going into full Captain mode.

"We have our abilities and weapons, coupled with a warrant that
gives us complete control of the local police force," Hikari answered,
pulling out a laptop. "As to JSSDF support, we have none. I don't
need to point out that we're ready to go at your command."

"And the status of our enemy?" Kipp asked, turning to Hikaru.

"At the current moment, 8th Class demon Daecar is hiding in a
warehouse by the industrial district. He has under his command over
twenty 12th class demons, as well as five 10th class demons," Hikaru
answered, placing several documents on to the table.

"Actually, Daecar has a 9th Class demon observer as well," Makoto
filled in. "Intel just contacted us a while ago."

"Hmm, what are the risks to civilian injuries?" Kipp asked,
rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"Depends. If we attack during the morning, I estimate that the
civilian casualties can reach over a thousand, and that isn't counting
any hostages they might have. If we attack during dusk, the risks are
even higher, with rush hour and all," Hiroshi supplied. "Our best bet
is to attack past midnight, to insure less civilian activity in the
area."

"Agreed. Finally, does Daecar have any human contacts?" Kipp
asked.

"Two," Hikaru replied with disgust, throwing two more documents
on to the table. "Both successful businessmen... both also linked to
the yakuza."

"Okay, here's what we'll do then," Kipp began pointing at a map.

* * *

"You'd think that being able to drive most known vehicles would
make him a better mechanic," Keiichi sweat dropped, staring at the mess
that once was a fuel injector... and what faintly resembled a striped
down motorcycle.

"It could have been worse," Megumi shrugged, shuddering at the
mere thought.

"How?" Keiichi deadpanned.

"The gas tank could have been full," Megumi grinned.

"You're right... just stop giving the universe ideas," Keiichi
ordered solemnly, before changing the subject. "I wonder when the
goddesses will get back."

"Your guess is as good as mine," Megumi replied, fiddling with the
bike. "What I wonder is who that guy with Kipp was... I think they
worked together."

"You mean the one who was fighting with Kipp over where the fuel
injector went?" Keiichi asked, picking up bits of scrap.

"Yeah, him. I wonder what he was doing here... you don't think it
has anything to do with Daecar, do you?" Megumi asked uneasily,
recalling the incident last week.

"My bet is that he's one of the Espers sent here to eliminate
Daecar," Keiichi replied grimly.

"But they're all so young! Kipp's only 16, and I think
Hikaru-san's only 19," Megumi exclaimed. "How can our government send
people so young to their deaths?"

"Because, they are the only ones with the power to fight the
demons that invade our home," a voice came from the doorway.

"Who are you?" Keiichi asked, reaching for a large wrench.

"No need for that," the figure motioned towards the wrench, which
instantly melted. "I am the one who trained the Espers, Kipp's sensei,
mentor, and friend. I am Merlin, founder of the Supernatural Divisions
across the globe," Merlin introduced himself, stepping out of the
shadows. "And you would be Keiichi Morisato, beloved of the goddess
Belldandy."

"How-how do you know that?" Keiichi asked, blushing at the comment
about Belldandy.

"It's my job to know," Merlin replied ominously, examining the
blackened remains of the bike. "Kipp did this didn't he. I recognize
his touch."

"Does he do this often?" Megumi asked, not expecting the answer
that came.

"More times then I, or anyone, care to remember. His mechanical
aptitude is on par with, to take a reference from one of Hikari's
mangas, Akane Tendo's cooking," Merlin deadpanned.

Both Morisato siblings sweat dropped, recalling one of Skuld's
many mangas. The infamous Akane Tendo, and her toxic sludge called
cooking.

"I told you not to let him near the stuff," Megumi whispered to
Keiichi.

"How was I supposed to know?" Keiichi muttered.

"Could you perhaps tell me where Belldandy is? I have some
matters to discuss with her," Merlin broke in.

"What business?" Megumi asked suspiciously.

"Generally, former heroes. Specifically, a prince named
Hyperion." Merlin replied, frowning slightly.

"You mean Kipp don't you?" Keiichi asked, perplexed.

"No, I mean Hyperion. I need to know how strong Hyperion was,
both mentally, physically, and spiritually," the arch mage replied.
"Now, where is Belldandy?"

"Heaven," Keiichi answered, smiling sadly. "She was just called
back today."

"How terribly odd," Merlin mused to himself. "And inconvenient."

"We'll be sure to tell her you were looking for her," Megumi
reassured.

"What? Ah, yes, arigatou," Merlin smiled slightly. "Just don't
tell Urd I'm in the area."

"Why not?" Megumi asked, curious at Merlin's uncomfortable
expression.

"My liver isn't what it used to be."

* * *

Kipp dropped face first into the futon he used the temple, to
tired to even remove his clothes. Groaning loudly, the young man rolled
on to his back to stare at the ceiling.

"They didn't have to hit me that hard," Kipp muttered to himself,
rubbing his sore arms. "I mean, it was only practice, but noooo, those
guys just had to take some sadistic pleasure in 'training' me! I don't
recall being used as a punching bag training."

"Yeah, but you're supposed to be the 'best,' or did you forget
that little detail," Makoto grinned from the door.

"Yeah, I am the best... or I'd like to think, but not even I can
beat three guys who've trained with me for two years," Kipp replied.
"I'm only a mere mortal human, remember?"

"Don't go there," Makoto growled, red eyes flashing.

"That was a complement," Kipp replied, hands making warding
gestures.

"Just don't go there," Makoto warned, red eyes watering. "I'm
sorry, I'm just sensitive about that."

"Hey, Makoto, you know me and the Espers don't care. You're one
of us, our friend, and we don't care what you are. Hey, at least you
don't have my problems," Kipp grinned as Makoto cheered slightly.
"I mean you don't have to deal with demons that want to kill you for no
reason, three sadistic guys, a life 'blessed' to live in interesting
times, memories that belong to a past incarnation, and girls flocking
all over you!"

"You do realize you've never had an actual girlfriend," Makoto
smiled, giving her friend an appreciative hug.

"Well, now that I've cheered you up, why don't you spill on what
you and Hiroshi have been up to," Kipp said as his eyes took on a
conspirative gleam.

"Sorry, that's reserved for girl talk, and you aren't a girl,"
Makoto replied primly.

"Rats," Kipp muttered, falling back on to the futon. "And here I
thought all women had something down there!"

"Kipp..." Makoto growled.

"That's my name," Kipp grinned to himself.

"SHUT UP!" Makoto roared, grabbing the young man's pillow and
beating him with it.

"Stop that! I'm not a masochist!" Kipp giggled as Makoto's face
rapidly went through several shades of red.

"You're so dead," Makoto growled.

"I love you too," Kipp smiled softly.

"Wh-wh-what do you mean by that?" Makoto stuttered, blushing
crimson.

"Like a sister," Kipp cackled evilly.

"DIE!!!" the enraged lady cried, flinging herself bodily
on to the laughing young man.

"Get a room!" Megumi called playfully, strolling into the room.

"Isn't this a room?" Kipp asked innocently.

"Ignore him, he's slow," Makoto whispered to Megumi. "I'm
Kagirinai Makoto, one of the Espers."

"Morisato Megumi," Megumi smiled at Makoto, before turning to
address Kipp. "Why didn't you tell me you were having friends over, I
would have baked a cake!"

"I'm sorry mother, I'll remember next time," Kipp bowed his head
in mock shame.

"You two sure are familiar with each other, what with only having
known each other for a week," Makoto commented, before grinning nastily.
"You sure move fast Kipp!"

"It's not like that!" Kipp spluttered, blushing beet red.

"He's too young!" Megumi protested, also blushing bright red.

"Geez, you guys are blushing redder then my eyes!" Makoto giggled,
doubling over in laughter.

"Redder then my eyes?" Megumi whispered, peering into Makoto's
eyes. "Kami-sama! You're a demon!" Megumi screamed, back peddling out
of the room.

"Megumi! WAIT!" Kipp cried, grabbing Megumi's arm. "What are you
doing!?"

"She's demon!" Megumi hissed back, staring uneasily at Makoto.
1"What if she works for Mara?"

"She isn't a full demon," Kipp murmured quietly. "I can't tell
you how she came to be this way, but I can assure you that she would
never help a demon like Mara."

"Are you sure?" Megumi whispered, guilt grasping hold of her.

"Yes I'm sure. I'm sure she isn't evil, and I'm sure she has
feelings too." Kipp admonished.

"Kagirinai-san, gomen ne," Megumi bowed to the saddened girl.
"I shouldn't have been so harsh, and there is no excuse for the way I
treated you."

"It's alright, I'm used to it now," Makoto gave her a smile.
"And it's not as if I wanted this power."

"What do yomph!" Megumi's question was cut off by Kipp's hand over
her mouth.

"What did I just say about having feelings?" Kipp hissed into her
ear.

"Keep your hands to yourself Kipp," Makoto growled, smacking his
hands away. "Don't mind him, he's just a little over protective of his
friends."

"So I've noticed," Megumi muttered, giving Kipp a pointed look.

"Sue me! When I asked about that, she nearly bit my head off,"
Kipp complained, and was ignored by all.

"My otou-san was a half-demon, half-human hybrid, while my
okaa-san was human. Otou-san once told me that his okaa-san was
attacked by a demon. The creature beat her, and then, when it was bored
of hurting its victim, forced itself upon her," Makoto's expression
darkened for a brief moment, before brightened, slightly at the next
thought. "When she learned that she was pregnant, she wanted to kill
herself, so that the darkness within her would never harm the world.
But she couldn't kill her own child, even if its blood was tainted.
Hence, Otou-san was born, but he appeared perfectly human... is you don't
count the red slitted eyes and the really thick finger nails."

"So that's why you have red eyes..." Megumi trailed off at the
implications.

"Let me finish! Otou-san was raised as any normal human, but many
of his peers were scared of him, and so he became secluded to the world,
refusing to become violent with the ones that tormented him, no matter
how much his demon nature wanted. Then, one day he met an old man. The
old man understood what was happening to my otou-san, and asked him to
help the old man to fight the creatures that had wronged Otou-san's
mother," Makoto smiled slightly at the similar offer she had received
early in her life. "Otou-san readily agreed, and his powers have been
used to help the JSSDF:SDs ever since. And now that he has reached the
ripe old age of 300, his daughter, myself, has decided to take up the
family business."

"300!?" Megumi exclaimed, her mind boggling at the thought.

"Most demons are immortal, since they are a physical manifestation
of a dark soul. But the creature that attacked Makoto's ancestor wasn't
powerful enough to achieve true immortality, gaining only the ability to
live for a very long time," Kipp explained, his knowledge of the beings
even greater then the one-quarter demoness. "So one hundred years to us
is about twenty physical years to them."

"So how old are you really Kagirinai-san?" Megumi inquired, trying
to figure out Makoto's physical age.

"I'm really 18, I didn't inherit the long life span, nor the claws
of my father. Oh, and you can call me Makoto, Morisato-san" Makoto
smiled.

"Call me Megumi then," Megumi smiled back.

"No claws my ass," Kipp muttered from the futon.

"Maybe you're right, care to find out?" Makoto asked, brandishing
her inch long nails.

"Nah, I'll just ask Hiroshi, he takes enough punishment from you
to know," Kipp smirked.

"Megumi-san, do you mind if I kill him?" Makoto asked.

"He was your friend first, you have first dibs," Megumi replied,
smiling at Makoto.

"I have a feeling I'm going to regret being born," Kipp groaned,
picking himself up.

"Definitely," Makoto smiled cutely. "So, when should I start?"

"Here's an idea! After you catch me!" Kipp volunteered, and then
darted out of the room, not waiting for a reply.

"When lives are at stake, he's more serious then Merlin, but when
the stakes aren't high, he's a freaking goof ball," Makoto lamented.
"I just wish he'd stay somewhere in between."

"I just think he's trying to make up for lost time," Megumi
suggested, recalling the tale Kipp had told them only a week ago.

"There is that, but at times I think he over compensates," Makoto
admitted with a sigh.

"True, so very true," Megumi agreed, nodding solemnly, then as
one, the two girls started to giggle.

Outside the room, Kipp winced, shaking his head ruefully.

I act the way I do because if I was always serious, I'd go insane
from the things I've seen. Because none of you grew up with the
hardships I've had to endure, you've learned to balance your
personality. I, on the other hand, have had to make do with what I had,
making up different personas to compensate for the inexperience of
living. Coupled with the fact that I have two personalities in my head
fighting for control. Kipp thought to himself.

Sighing sadly, Kipp wandered down the hallway, searching for
something to do, and finding Keiichi trying to repair the cycle Kipp had
screwed up. Flushing in embarrassment, Kipp went to apologize.

"Keiichi-sempai, gomen for braking the cycle, I didn't mean to,"
Kipp murmured, scratching the back of his head. "It just sort of
happened."

"Don't worry Kipp-kun, I'm sure I can fix it," Keiichi waved off
the apology.

"I'll help... no wait, that's a bad idea isn't it," Kipp laughed.

"Yes that would be a bad idea," Keiichi agreed, laughing himself.

"Seriously, do you need anything? A drink, something to eat,
maybe Belldandy?" Kipp asked, grinning slightly.

"Actually, I'd have to say yes to all three," Keiichi replied,
returning to the mess once known as a motorcycle.

"Well, I'll see what I can do about the first two... as to the
third, you know any shrines dedicated to the Norns I could pray at?"
Kipp asked, getting up.

"Unfortunately, no, other wise I'd be there now, rather then
working on this... how did you do this anyways?" Keiichi asked, staring
at the thing.

"Well, I'll go get you a sandwich and some tea, that sound okay?
Great," Kipp replied, jogging out of the room, and dodging the question
in a very clumsy manner.

"Must be like me and swimming," Keiichi mused, before returning
to his work.

After giving Keiichi the sandwich and tea, Kipp proceeded back to
his room, and found that it was indeed empty. Shaking his head
ruefully, Kipp proceeded to flop on to his futon, before grabbing a
textbook and studying.

It wasn't long before the goddesses returned, having finished
their business up in Asgard. The three trudged into the sitting room...
well Urd and Skuld trudged, Belldandy was elegant as ever. Throwing his
textbook down, Kipp wandered into the sitting room, both to welcome back
the goddesses, and to introduce both Makoto, and the Esper's plans.
What he found wasn't very pleasant.

"Be gone demon, trouble this place no more!" Urd shouted, shooting
a thunderbolt at Makoto.

"Hey!" Makoto cried indignantly, pulling two handgrips from her
pockets. The two grips instantly ignited into twin mana weapons.
From the grips, a single bar of white mana extended both forward and
back. The bar stretched from a few centimetres in front of her clenched
fist, to several centimetres behind her elbow, making them two very
deadly mana tonfa. "You wanna rumble?" she growled, twirling her
weapons at the three goddess.

"Why are you here?" Belldandy asked calmly, seemingly ignoring the
hostility in the room.

"I'm here because of a certain lad named Kipp Long," Makoto
growled, red eyes fixed on Urd.

"I won't let your kind hurt him again!" Skuld cried, rushing
forward intent on dealing Makoto massive bodily harm.

Skuld's hammer fell, just as Makoto's tonfa flashed forward. Both
never reached there targets, but rather the person they were arguing
over. Skuld's hammer slammed into Kipp's face, while Makoto's tonfa was
blocked by Kipp's mana blade, which, having been fixed and enhanced by
Skuld, was now a deep gold in colour.

"Mufh ov ouy doup eat," Kipp's muffled voice called from behind
the hammer.

"Kipp!" both Skuld and Makoto cried, then glared at each other.
"This is all your fault!" the two yelled at each other.

"I said; BOTH OF YOU STOP IT!!" Kipp cried, removing his face from
Skuld's hammer.

"You two should be ashamed, threatening a guest like that,"
Belldandy admonished both Urd and Skuld.

"But she's a demon!" Skuld cried, pointing at Makoto.

"Something, I'm not exactly proud of!" Makoto growled back.

"Yeah right," Urd snorted.

"She's telling the truth," Kipp growled, standing in front of
Makoto protectively. "And if you want to hurt my friend, you'll have to
go through me."

"How can you protect her if you swore to fight the darkness in
this world?" Urd asked, lightning crackling around her clenched fist.

"How can one who has fought at my side time and time again,
against the darkness, be one who serves the darkness?" Kipp asked,
gesturing at Makoto. "She's saved my life when she could have as easily
left me to die."

"But she has the taint!" Skuld cried, brandishing her hammer
menacingly.

"Only because my obaa-san was raped by one with the taint!" Makoto
growled, red eyes flashing in anger. "Only because she couldn't bare to
kill her own child, even if it was tainted. Only because Otou-san
wanted to live, to fight the things his otou-san stood for."

"A likely story, but how do we know it's true?" Urd asked, then
silenced Kipp before he could say anything. "How do we know you didn't
lie to Kipp? How do we know you didn't use an enchantment spell on him
and you're 'allies'?"

"I don't know how I can prove it!" Makoto protested, eyes tearing.
"I thought you were different from my people. I prayed that I could be
accepted for who I was, not what I was."

"How can she prove that she's telling the truth?" Kipp asked
quietly.

"A Mind Scan," Urd replied bluntly.

"Onee-san!" Belldandy exclaimed.

"It's the only way we can be sure," Urd returned.

"It won't work," Kipp shot back. "All of the Espers know how to
block Mind Scans, they also know how to create false images in their own
minds."

"Then she'll just have to let down all her defences," Urd growled.
"Either way, I won't let a demon hurt my imouto-chan again!"

"Urd," Skuld whispered, staring at her sister in shock.

"Look, I'm not exactly thrilled about getting my ass kicked again,
and I'm even less thrilled about endangering Skuld, but I won't let you
invade my friend's mind," Kipp growled.

"It's alright Kipp, I don't mind," Makoto said quietly. "I don't
have anything to hide from them, just as long as they don't screw around
in there."

"Makoto-chan! Are you sure?" Kipp asked, turning in surprise.

"I don't have anything to hide, and if you want a better chance in
beating Daecar, then I have to do this," Makoto replied in utter
conviction. "I don't have anything to hide, and I'm not scared of you!"

"Wait!" Belldandy cried. "Urd, Skuld, I need to talk to you two."

The three goddesses moved away from the two Espers, all the while
keeping an eye on them. When they were far enough not to be heard, and
after Urd had cast an anti-listening spell, Belldandy began to talk.

" I think I should be the one to do the Mind Scan," she suggested.
"You're too impulsive Urd, and you don't have the proper experience or
training Skuld."

"But I'm the strongest of us! If she tried something, I'll be
able to fight her off easily," Urd pointed out.

"Like I said earlier, you're too impulsive. If you find even one
bit of incriminating evidence, you would fry her brain, even if there
was a reason for the actions she took," Belldandy pointed out.
"Besides, I'm as concerned about Skuld as you are, and almost as adept
as you with Mind Scans."

"Fine Bell-chan, but if she tries something..." Urd left the last
part hanging ominously.

"Very well, then we're agreed," Belldandy nodded her head.

Meanwhile, one the other side of the shield, Kipp and Makoto were
having a similar discussion.

"You're absolutely sure about this?" Kipp asked, glancing
worriedly at the three goddesses. "If Urd finds anything, I wouldn't
be surprised if she killed you."

"I'm sure Kipp, don't worry about it," Makoto reassured, not
really feeling reassured herself.

"The hell I won't worry!" Kipp exclaimed, pacing back and forth.
"The Espers have been part of my life for over six years now, that's a
quarter of my life! The hell I won't fret if one of them's putting
their head on the block!"

"But I'm not! They're goddesses, they have to be fair, besides,
what do I have to hide?" Makoto retorted, and wasn't very comforted by
the pained look Kipp gave her.

"You don't know Urd like I do... Hell! I don't even know Urd
that well, but what I do know is that if you harm someone she cares
about, you're dead," Kipp exclaimed. "If she thinks you'll harm someone
she cares about, she'll do things to you I shudder to think about."

"She can't be that bad!" Makoto protested, nervously eyeing the
platinum haired goddess.

"That's when she's sober, she's at least a hundred times worse
drunk!" Kipp whimpered, remembering the one time he had agreed to a
drinking contest.

It was then that the goddess turned back to the two Espers. When
Makoto glanced into Urd's eyes, she began believe the warnings Kipp had
given her. Swallowing noisily, Makoto walked up to the goddesses and
bowed.

"I'm ready," she said, sweating nervously.

"Then I shall begin," Belldandy replied, smiling kindly. "Don't
worry Makoto-san, I won't hurt you."

"H-hai, let's begin," Makoto smiled back nervously.

"This won't hurt... unless you resist. I suggest you drop all of
your defences now, I don't want to hurt you," Belldandy suggested,
waiting patiently for Makoto to acknowledge the command.

"You don't?" Makoto asked, surprise written all over her face.
"But your sister was hurt by one of my kind."

"Daecar isn't one of your kind. He is a pure demon, you are a
honyou," Kipp broke in, giving Makoto a hard look. "Don't you ever
think you're like that thing."

"Kipp! You shouldn't talk to your friends like that!" Belldandy
scolded.

"It's alright Megami-sama, Kipp's just concerned that I might slip
into one of those depressions that us Espers are famous for," Makoto
replied, giving Kipp a kind smile. "You're almost as good as Hikari at
the pep talk thing."

"I should be, she's given 'em to me enough times already," Kipp
muttered, leaning against a wall.

"Famous depressions?" Keiichi asked raising an eyebrow, but left
it at that.

"Ready when you are Megami-sama," Makoto whispered, bowing her
head.

"You can call me Belldandy," Belldandy smiled again, before
lightly touching Makoto's forehead. "I'll begin... now."

And the two zoned out.

"If she hurts Oneesama, I'll kill her," Skuld growled, while Kipp
frowned.

"Makoto doesn't have the mental powers to do that, only Hikari
could stand a chance against one of you in a mind battle," Kipp
muttered, frustration mounting.

"Look, why don't the three of you calm down," Megumi blurted out.
"We're all friends here right?"

"You're right Megumi, but I just can't stop worrying about my
friends, especially the Espers," Kipp sighed, plopping on to the ground.
"I can't stand this suspense much longer."

"Why don't I get us something to eat?" Keiichi offered. "I'm sure
there are some leftovers in the fridge."

"Eating does help take the mind off some matters," Megumi agreed,
slightly wistfully. "But I'm too tense to do much right now."

"Same here," Urd nodded. "But some sake might be good."

"Or ice cream," Skuld chimed in.

"Is there anything in there that could take my mind off of this?"
Kipp finally asked, peeling his eyes away from Megumi and Belldandy.
"If not, just give me some leftovers."

"As you command my lord," Keiichi replied, giving everyone a mock
bow.

"Then hop to it servant!" Megumi called, grinning from ear to ear.

* * *

Makoto thought glancing around the vast expanse of
nothingness.

Belldandy's voice called into
her mind.

Makoto blinked, glancing around the void.



Belldandy replied, appearing before her.

Makoto jerked back in surprise, then realized that she was
floating... sort of. The two women were standing on nothing, and yet
they stood on something firm. All around them was nothing, and yet it
felt as if they were surrounded by everything.

Makoto asked, blinking in confusion.

Belldandy
asked, smiling reassuringly.

Makoto smiled in realization. I forgot all
about them! Just wait a second okay?

Makoto closed her 'eyes' for a moment, deep in concentration.
Moments later the void began to 'dissolve.' All around them, the
nothingness gave way to colours, feelings, thoughts, sensations,
memories. The void gave way to the very essence of the being called
Makoto Kagirinai.

"It's beautiful," Makoto breathed, taking in herself.

"Of course you are," Belldandy smiled, and began moving into the
memories.

"Hey! We're talking!" Makoto suddenly realized. "But we were
thinking our words only a moment ago."

"In this world, what you believe happens Makoto," Belldandy
explained. "In the void, you thought you were alone, so you thought
your words. Here, you see everyone you've known, and so you talk, like
you did with them."

"Now I remember why Hikari never bothered to elaborate on the
matters of the mind," Makoto muttered. "It makes no sense what-so-
ever."

Belldandy giggled a bit, but continued on her way. At various
intervals she would stop and glance into a memory, and feeling, a
thought, and then continue onward. Makoto too stopped to look into her
memories and such, always smiling at the events that had occurred.
Eventually they reached a 'dead-end,' a wall of sorts.

"I don't remember putting any defence up here, not even in my
subconscious," Makoto frowned. "At least I don't think my subconscious
did, but then it's my subconscious."

"Don't worry Makoto, it isn't any defence you could put up,"
Belldandy reassured, examining the wall. "This is the final barrier of
the human mind, one that preserves and protects your secrets, good or
evil."

"So, this is the centre of my being essentially," Makoto deduced.
"Then leave me out here, I don't want to learn what I am like this."

"I understand," Belldandy smiled, and disappeared behind the wall.

And then everything went dark.

* * *

The group had just finished a light snack while waiting for
Belldandy to finish, when a dark ball of energy appeared above them.
The goddess were instantly on their feet, magic and technology at the
ready.

"Hello children, how are you all?" Daecar's voice said gleefully
from the ball.

"Daecar?!" Kipp cried, leaping to his feet, mana pistols drawn.
"Tell me where you are so I can blow your' bloody ass into itsy bitsy
little pieces!"

"Why, I'm right where your intelligence told you I was... and I
have a few friends here too," Daecar's voice dripped with sarcasm. "Why
don't you talk to them?"

There was a brief pause on the other side before normal
transmission began again. What happened next surprised everyone in the
room.

* * *

Makoto had become completely bored as Belldandy rifted through the
deepest recesses of her mind, so she had decided to examine the various
objects that floated around her. She almost gave up hope of finding
something amusing when she came across a window showing something very
disturbing

"This is what my eyes are seeing right now!" she exclaimed,
watching as events unfolded.

* * *

"M-my name's Daisuke. I-i'm 8 years old, a-and I-i-i-i don't
wanna DIEEEEE!" a little boys voice cried, even as his image was
projected within the ball.

"Daisuke, don't worry, the police are on the way," Kipp said,
concern written all over his face. "Have you ever heard of the Sailor
Senshi?"

"Uh-huh, I-i like S-sailor V-venus the most," Daisuke sobbed.

"Well, then, I know Sailor Venus and I'm going to get her to
save you right this moment," Kipp promised, pulling out his cell phone.
"Don't you worry, she'll get rid of those nasty monsters!"

"R-really?" Daisuke asked, hope appearing in his eyes.

"Hmm, can't have that," Daecar's voice suddenly muttered.

For a moment, Daisuke's image wavered, and then Daecar was behind
him, grasping his neck. Everyone watched in horror as the demon
clenched its massive fist, snapping the little boy's neck like a twig.

"Can't have hope here, no sir!" Daecar rumbled, pleasure written
all over its grotesque features.

"YOU'RE DEAD DAECAR!!" Kipp scream in fury, guns wavering in
anger. "YOU HEAR ME YOU PEICE OF SHIT!! I'LL GIVE YOU THE MOST PAINFUL
DEATH ANYTHING HAS EVER DEVISED!! HELL WILL FEEL LIKE A VACATION
COMPARED TO MY PLANS FOR YOU!!"

"I welcome the pain, but I doubt you can give it to me," Daecar
sneered contemptuously. "Better hurry, because for everyday that passes,
I'll kill one of my eight friends."

"Don't move a muscle Daecar, I'm going to rip you limb from damned
limb, then I'm going to feed you to your minions," Kipp growled, malice
enough to poison the world dripping from each word. "Just you wait
Daecar, I'm coming to get you, and not even Lucifer can save your sorry
ass."

"Such exquisite pain!" Daecar grinned from ear to ear. "Come, so
that I may feed off of your pain."

And then the ball was gone.

* * *

"Damn you Daecar, damn you," Makoto cursed, tears coursing down
her cheeks. "I swear, if Kipp doesn't hurt you enough, I will."

"Now I understand why you don't want to be one of them, why you
can't. You're too kind, too caring, too good, too human to be one of
them," Belldandy said gently from behind her. "Let's leave this place,
you have work to do."

"Let's," Makoto growled through sobs. "I'll get you Daecar, I
swear it."

And the two disappeared, vengeance consuming one, and sorrow the
other.

* * *

Kipp slowly put his guns away, head bowed, and his entire body
trembling from barely suppressed rage. After several moments, tears
began to drip from his chin, which were soon followed by muffled sobs.

Both goddesses and the two humans bowed their own heads, and said
a silent prayer to the young Daisuke.

Urd swallowed her sobs, knowing that she may appear cold-hearted,
but she knew the child was in a better place. Skuld let her tears fall
openly, hating the fact that a child never had the chance to truly
experience life and all of it's joys.

Megumi too cried, for she had never thought such a creature
existed like Daecar, heck Mara didn't ever go that far! And she was a
1st Class Demoness! Keiichi was like Kipp, fighting the urge to
throttle something, anything! The feelings inside of him were just like
the time he had lost one of his friend in a car accident.

"Even if it take the rest of my life, I _will_ make you _Pay_,"
Kipp swore, punching the wall.

"I'm with you Kipp," Makoto whispered from behind him. "I will
make that bastard pay, and pay in spades he will."

"Makoto? You saw that?" Kipp asked quietly, turning to his face.
"I'm sorry about draggin you and the Espers here..." He began.

"Shut up! I'm tired of you trying to be the hero. I know you
want to protect everyone, figuring that if you die, nobody would care,
but you're wrong! I care, Hikari cares, Hiroshi, Rantora, Hikaru,
Merlin, and hundreds more!" Makoto cut in, anger and pain in her eyes.
"How do you think the kids would feel, knowing their onii-chan's dead,
gone forever. One of their only constants, and one of their best
friends' never coming back, never to visit them again!"

"But..." Kipp tried again.

"No buts, the Espers are coming, and I won't let you take the
easy way out," Makoto exclaimed, daring Kipp to contradict her.

Kipp stared in shock for a moment, jaw hanging open, and eyes wide.
Slowly, ever so slowly, Kipp closed his jaw and smiled softly, eyes
alight with gratitude.

"Alright then Commander Kagirinai, we have work to do," Kipp
ordered, grinning slightly. "You go ahead, I have some things to tell my
new friends," he ordered, gesturing at the goddesses and humans.

"You promise?" Makoto asked, and smiled when Kipp nodded solemnly.
"Yes Sir!"

Kipp waited until Makoto had left before turning to the gang. He
smiled at them, looking for all the world as if he was just going out
with some friends.

"I'll see you guys later okay?" Kipp said, waving goodbye.

"Don't even dare Kipp," Megumi growled, grabbing his shirt. "We
all know what you're going to do, and we're not going to let you run
off to fight a losing battle."

"Yeah, all you have to do is ask and we can help you kick some
demonic ass!" Urd whooped, giving Kipp a playful wink. "After all,
it's not fun just beating on Mara!"

"I won't let creatures like that run loose," Belldandy said
grimly. "I will fight if that creature truly does plan to kill those
children."

"Hey, maybe ramming a car into it might cause it some pain!"
Keiichi said grinning slightly. "We all want to get at it for what it
did, let us."

Kipp smiled softly, shaking his head in rueful amusement. Raising
his head, Kipp waved again.

"Sorry guys, can't let you be hurt," Kipp said quietly. "Besides,
this is my job."

Before anyone could protest, Kipp dropped a smoke/sleep grenade,
and was gone. Only the two humans were sleeping when the smoke cleared,
but the goddesses were feeling slightly drowsy.

"That sneaky little punk!" Urd grumbled, rubbing her head.
"We've got to find him!"

"Luckily, I planted a tracking bug on him!" Skuld grinned, pulling
out one of her many do-dads. "Let's see."

* * *

"What's this?" Kipp muttered, staring at the top of the handle
bars, where a odd little gizmo sat. "Maybe it's a bomb..."

Shrugging to himself, Kipp flicked the offending doodad off the
bike and sped the vehicle up.

* * *

"Shoot! It's broken!" Skuld wailed, flinging the tracker away.
"This sucks!"

"I guess we rely on the old fashion way," Urd smirked. "Magic."

"Hmph, you two go ahead, I'll go cook up some weapons to use on
that demon," Skuld smiled grimly. "I'll make sure they hurt, a lot."

"Make me one too," Urd said, before turning to her pot of
bubbling... stuff. "Now then, where are you Kipp?"

* * *

Kipp hopped of the Prototype, and rushed inside a plain looking
two story house. Inside, the Espers sat, each checking and rechecking
their weapons, and most weren't testing their technological orientated
weapons. Dropping the duffel bag in his hands, Kipp grinned and rubbed
his hands together.

"Alright guys, we have exactly one hour before the strike," he
said, vengeance filling his features. "I want you all ready to go
fifteen minutes before!"

With that said, Kipp opened his bag and removed the assorted
Atlantian tech weapons. What surprised him though were the odd clips
for his guns. There were only two, and both were 'empty.' Examining
each closely, Kipp shrugged and loaded them up and took an experimental
shot at a barrier set up at one end of the room. Nothing happened.

"Odd," he mused to himself, before spying a white sheet of paper
tucked into his bag. "What's this?"

Pulling the note from the bag, Kipp opened it and began to read.

"Ohhh, Kipp's already got admirers!!" Rantora grinned, watching
Kipp read the letter. "Funny how he's always got a girl chasing after
him!"

"Indeed, I mean what could they want in the kid?" Hikaru mused,
grinning to himself.

"I would be jealous, but then I already have a girlfriend,"
Hiroshi said, looking at Makoto.

It was a common joke among the guys, since Kipp almost always
seemed to attract some girl wherever he went. Of course, this
usually was only because he saved their lives, or the lives of their
family/friends. Well, more like the Espers, led by Kipp, but it didn't
really matter to most of the starry eyed ladies, who figured the leader
was usually the coolest.

"Actually, these are technical specs on my weapons," Kipp said
absently. "Seems Skuld upgraded them, and clips draw off of mana I
feed them."

"So basically, you can fire until you tire yourself out?" Makoto
asked.

"Yeah, and they require very little mana for a shot of equal
strength to our own shots," Kipp replied, distractedly. "Very
intriguing."

"Hold on a second you two," Hikari interjected. "Who's Skuld?"

"One of the three goddesses you sent me to meet," Makoto answered.

"She's the youngest, and the most technologically inclined," Kipp
filled in. "She makes things from scratch that we would consider
technological miracles."

"And she just upgraded and fixed your weapons? For free?" Hikaru
said incredously. "What's the catch?"

"She wanted to study Atlantian technology, since she couldn't get
her hands on any herself," Kipp explained, tucking away the note.
"In other words, she's a young, female version of Tentetsu."

Everyone in the room 'ahh'ed in immediate understanding, before
returning to their work.

"Let's try this baby out," Kipp said quietly, pointing the gun at
the target. "All I have to do is focus my powers into the handle, and
pull the trigger."

Kipp squinted, focusing on the handle, and watched in fascination
as mana seeped from his hands into the clip. Slowly, the clips began to
radiate a blue light, signalling that mana capacity was at max.

"Here we go!" Kipp grinned, pulling the trigger.

From the nozzle, blue light gathered, pulling in additional mana
as it prepared to let loose. In a split second, the blue energy flew
forth, obliterating the target, and cutting a large hole into the steel
wall behind it. Every single one of the Espers stared in shock, their
jaws touching the ground.

"I want one," Hiroshi breathed, awe struck at the power of a
mere pistol.

"You're not the only one," Rantora said, fingers twitching.
"Say, Kipp, ol'buddy, ol'pal, won't you lend me one of your pistols?"

"Get your own!" Kipp growled, cradling his guns. "Besides, you
have that shotgun of yours!"

"Yeah, but I want one in case my shotgun breaks!" Rantora
replied, reaching for the weapons.

"Will you stop that?" Kipp asked irritably. "You only have ten
minutes left."

"They'll be mine! This I swear!" Rantora declared... and was
promptly clobbered.

"Shut up and suit up," Hikari growled, loading up her gun.

"Yes Ma'am!" everyone saluted, then rushed off to make final
preparations.

* * *

"He's moving again," Urd said, staring into her pot of stuff.
"And fast too, must be using his bike."

"Alright, I'm ready!" Skuld grinned, hefting her mallet, a large
tube like canon, and an Uzi like gun.

"Anything for me?" Urd asked, eyeing the canon greedily.

"Yep!" Skuld said cheerfully, handing Urd the canon. "This is the
Demonic Pest Eliminator Mark III, DPE3 for short."

"And what does it do?" Urd asked, eyeing the canon dubiously. "It
does work right?"

Skuld pouted angrily momentarily, before pridefully explaining the
capabilities of her weapon. "The DPE3 fires a blast of "positive"
energy, just enough to force most to retreat back to Hell, and injure
anything that doesn't," Skuld stated proudly, grinning like a maniac.

Urd grinned evilly, hefting her new toy. "Nice, and what do you
have there Skuld?" she asked, indicating Skuld's uzi-esque weapon.

"This doesn't have a name yet," Skuld explained, raising her
weapon. "But it's based on the Atlantian weapons Kipp has. I was going
to make it into something I didn't have to hold but I didn't have time."
she said, disappointment written all over her features, which quickly
turned to excitement. "This is going to be so cool!"

"You two take care!" Belldandy called. "I would go with you, but
somebody has to take care of Keiichi and Megumi. You two bring Kipp
back, okay?"

"No problem Oneesama, we'll bring him back!" Skuld smiled
reassuringly.

"Right after we kick Daecar's ass!" Urd chirped, jumping into the
TV.

"Definitely after we kick Daecar's ass!" Skuld agreed, hopping
into a cup of tea.

"Have fun you two!" Belldandy called, knowing full well the
implications of _that_ statement.

* * *

The silver half moon hung almost delicately in the sky, its silver
light illuminating a large, not quite abandoned warehouse. Inside the
are house, its large interior housed dozens of demons, ranging from the
lowly 16th Class demons, to the powerful 9th Class Demons. But what was
even more intimidating was the large throne, made from bone and flesh,
and the 8th Class that sat upon it. The intimidation obviously affected
the two black suited males at the foot of the throne.

"We are agreed then?" Daecar asked, addressing the two humans
before him.

"Y-yes, the Serpent Fangs of the Yakuza will assist its patrons
when you call upon us," one replied shakily.

"And you will give us the weapons," the other insisted boldly.

"May I speak with my associate for a moment... privately,
Daecar-sama?" the first asked humbly.

"Do hurry, I might not be interested soon," Daecar replied
boredly, waving a hand dismissively.

The two suits moved aside, to what they felt was a safe distance
away (it wasn't), before whispering angrily amounts themselves.

"What the hell are you thinking Daisuke?!" the first growled.
"They could wipe us out without even trying!"

"Yeah, but they want our help, and we need everything we can get
if we want to be at the top of Yakuza!" Daisuke argued. "You want to
be at the top don't you Keitaro?"

"But demanding something of Daecar-sama, in that tone of voice
too!" Keitaro wrung his hands. "You could have us all killed!"

"But think of the payoff!" Daisuke pointed out. "With those
weapons Daecar promised, we could rule this city!"

"Very well, I see your point," Keitaro sighed in defeat. "But
don't do anything so rash again, he might fell like adding your corpse
to his throne." he warned, glancing nervously at the throne.

"Agreed," Daisuke shuddered involuntarily.

Conference concluded, the two moved back to their former
positions. Daecar glanced up from sharpening his claws, and smiled
lazily at the two, it was a truly frightening smile.

Daecar mentally
smiled. "Have you made up your minds?" he asked the two yakuza thugs.

"We have," Keitaro spoke up.

"And...?" Daecar asked the two impatiently when neither cared to
elaborate.

"We have decided to..." Daisuke swallowed nervously before giving
the final answer. "...accept your offer Daecar-sama.

Daecar smiled broadly, displaying his sharp teeth. "Excellent."

"If that is all, we will be leaving now," Daisuke said rather
nervously.

"Very well, the weapons shall be delivered soon," Daecar assured
one last time, before turning his attention to other matters. "Be gone,"
he said, dismissing the two rudely.

The two thugs beat a quick exit, neither wanting to spend another
minute in the foul creature's presence. Outside, Keitaro pulled out a
cigar and began to smoke, offering Daisuke one as well.

"That was unpleasant to say the least," Keitaro sighed, taking a
deep drag.

"Definitely," Daisuke second, taking a puff from his cigar.
"Lets get out of here."

It was then they noticed the shadowed figured in front of them.
There looked to be six figures and three vehicles. Arrayed in a semi
-circle around the entrance to the warehouse, the figures almost
seemed like they were just relaxing.

The figure in the middle sat atop his sleek black motorcycle.
Headphones adorned his head, and his black hair bounced as he nodded his
head to the music. To his left was a sleek red sports car with two
figures around it. One, the male one, sat inside of the vehicle,
reading a novel illuminated by a flashlight. The female stood outside,
leaning on the car's frame, doodling on a sketchpad. To the middle
figures right sat a large black hummer. Sitting in front of the foreword
tires, the male figure leaned against the tire and seemed to be writing
something on a pad of paper. Within the vehicle, a female figure sat, a
laptop open in front of her. On the roof of the hummer, another male
lay, staring up at the stars.

The two yakuza agents reached into their suit jackets, each
reaching for a gun, but their hands never reached that far. Both
screamed in agony as a bullet of mana slammed into the offending hands.

Keitaro was the first to overcome his shock. "You're so dead
kid!! Do you know who I am?" he raged, clutching his bleeding hand.
"I'm Orochi Keitaro, leader or the Serpent Fangs!"

The male in the middle raised his head, brown eyes a cold as ice.
"Am I supposed to be impressed?" he asked coldly.

"You punk!" Daisuke growled, pulling the gun out with his other
hand.

Instantly, all six of the Espers had guns out, aimed to Daisuke.
Hikari with her really large _normal_ pistol, Hikaru and his Atlantian
Tech sniper rifle, Makoto and her Atlantian Tech automatic rifle,
Hiroshi and his Atlantian Elemental Canon Mk III, Rantora and his
Atlantian Tech duel barrel shotgun, and Kipp with his twin goddess
altered Atlantian Tech pistols. Daisuke gulped audibly and dropped
the gun.

"Good boy," Makoto growled from her position by Hiroshi's sports
car.

Keitaro started to edge back towards the warehouse while the
Espers were occupied with Daisuke, but unfortunately for him, Kipp wasn't
looking at Daisuke. In a flash, Kipp was off his bike and in front of
the thug, one hand wrapped around Keitaro's neck.

"Did you know that your patron Daecar-sama," Kipp spat out
Daecar's name. "Kills little children?" When Keitaro nodded his head
in affirmative, Kipp snarled savagely, hurling the yakuza man on to the
street. "Then you, and your gang, are next."

With that said, the rest of the Espers shoved Daisuke out on to
the road beside his boss. The two yakuza thugs looked positively
terrified for a moment, before both put on the "Tough Yakuza That's
Going to Kill You" look. It had no effect. The two yakuza thugs
decided that the night was a great time to run when every single one of
the Espers began casting spells. Once the two were gone from sight,
Kipp turned his attention back to the warehouse, and his pray within.

"Alright, you all know the plan!" he cried, dropping his diskman.
"Rantora, Hiroshi, Makoto, you're with me," the three nodded, and
positioned themselves around the entrance. "Hikari, Hikaru, you two
guard our backs in case they decide to get smart, also, Hikari try to
alert us if you sense anything."

Orders given, the leader of the Esper's raised his gun, and blew
the door apart, and as one, the four Assault Espers charged in, weapons
blazing. Outside, the Intelligence Espers scanned the streets,
prepared to put a round of mana/telekinetic bullets through anything
that moved.

* * *

Through the night sky, two goddess flew towards a demons lair, to
stop what could be the end of their new friend Kipp. The young man had
only been in their lives for a week, well in Skuld's case, two months,
and already he had told them much of himself, had given his trust
completely to them, and had fought on two occasions for the life of one
of them.

No matter how one looked at it, he had indeed made an impact in
their lives, possibly changing for the better, or for the worse. But
now, he fought not out of duty or honour, but to avenge the deaths of
the countless children the demon Daecar had killed. In short, he fought
now out of anger, and any fighter can tell you that anger makes you
vulnerable. And if this vulnerability killed him, than the impact he
created would be one of the worse kinds.

"How much further Urd?" Skuld called urgently. "We have to
hurry!"

"You think I don't know that?" Urd snapped angrily. "I don't want
to see him die either!"

"Well than hurry!" Skuld retorted.

And than they were stopped.

"What the?" Urd muttered, pushing at the invisible wall before
her.

"What is this?" Skuld asked, prodding the unseen barrier.
"Maybe a demon decided to intercept us," Skuld muttered, and was
instantly on guard.

"It's not demonic energy, but it does feel similar," Urd
muttered.

"Of course it should, my dear Urd," a voice came from behind them.

Instantly, the two goddesses turned, weapons at ready. Before
them floated a clocked figure, the hood obscuring its face in shadows.
In its right hand it clutched a wooden staff with a large gem of some
sort at the tip.

"After all, you granted my wish," Merlin said, raising his hood.

"Merlin!" Urd gasped, than growled. "Let us through, we have to
go save that thick-headed soldier of yours."

"You mean Kipp?" Merlin asked, amusement lighting his face.

"Of course we mean Kipp!" Skuld exclaimed. "We have to save him
from Daecar!"

"I'm sorry, but this has to happen," Merlin said, genuinely
saddened. "I too would love to help that baka of a student, but I have
been forbidden."

"But we haven't, now let me through or I'll break this damn shield
of yours!" Urd growled, raising the DPE3.

"I wish I could, but you can't help either," Merlin explained
sadly.

"By whose orders?" Urd asked. "Never mind! I'll blow my way
out!"

With that, the eldest goddess began shooting bolt after bolt of
azure energy at the shield, but to no avail. frustration mounting, Urd
began casting Lightening Bolts at the shield, again to no affect.
Screaming in frustration, Urd fired a single Force Bolt... and nothing
happened.

"What. Are. You. DOING?!?!?" Urd screamed, rounding on the
immortal mage.

"Me? Nothing, but you might want to ask Him," Merlin smiled
wanly, pointing upwards, towards the heavens.

"You can't be serious!" Urd smirked.

"Ummm, Urd," Skuld began, trying to catch Urd's attention.

"Not now Skuld, I have to beat up an old friend," Urd grinned,
advancing on Merlin.

"URD!!!" Skuld yelled angrily. "Turn around now!!"

"What is it?!" Urd roared, spinning around.

Standing where the shield once stood was a very handsome man. He
had deep blue eyes, and golden hair, which reached his shoulders. He
wore shining gold plate-mail armour, and a crimson cape. Over his
heart, the image of a blazing sun was engraved. On his face were the
three blue markings of a god, his were perfect circles, the one on the
forehead was the only one different. It too was a circle but with four
triangles pointing out from the one on the forehead. But if the
markings weren't enough, the being also had an aura of light.

"Hello, Urd," he said, his voice rich and melodies.

"Hello, Apollo," she replied hesitantly.

"Hi, Uncle Apollo," Skuld said cheerfully. "Are you here to help
us save Kipp?"

"Skuld, be quiet," Urd shushed her youngest sibling.

"No Skuld, I'm not here to help Hyperion," Apollo replied, eyes as
cold as stone. "This has to happen. The boy has to experience this."

"Apollo, I don't doubt your wisdom, but why?" Urd asked, lowering
the DPE3.

"I too wish to know," Merlin said, floating over beside Urd. "I
would like to limit the pain that poor child must experience."

"You are aware that the Chosen have Awakened, are you not?" Apollo
asked, without waiting for an answer, he continued. "And he is one of
the Chosen, yet he has not Awakened yet."

"But he knows of his past!" Merlin argued. "He knows he was
Hyperion, he knows of the fall of the Silver Millennium..."

"But he doesn't know how to use his power," Apollo finished.

"So you intend on forcing him to Awaken?" Urd asked hotly.

"If it comes to that, yes," Apollo replied sadly.

"Are you so arrogant that you must torture that boy, just so you
can be represented in the fight against Hell?" Urd asked.

"NO!" Apollo yelled, appalled. "If I could avoid this I would! But
I can't."

"What do you mean can't?" Skuld asked. "For that matter, what are
you talking about?"

"Skuld, I'll explain it later," Urd said rather tightly.

"Skuld was it?" Merlin asked, floating up besides the young
goddess. "I'll tell you, since I can't compete with those two."

"You're Merlin right?" Skuld asked, eyeing the old man beside her.

"Yes, I am," Merlin smiled at the girl. "Now than, what do you
want to know?"

"Well, what are those two talking about, and why does he want Kipp
to 'Awaken' so badly?" Skuld asked, confusion evident in her voice.

"You know Kipp is from the Silver Millennium, and one of the heroes
of that time, correct?" when Skuld nodded, Merlin continued. "Well,
when Kipp was reborn, his memories of that time were sealed away, to be
returned when they were absolutely needed."

"But they aren't needed!" Skuld said frustrated.

"I'll explain that soon enough," Merlin soothed. "To Awaken is to
return his memories, to awaken Hyperion from his slumber, and this can
be done in two ways." Merlin explained. "The first, and safest way, is
to have somebody blessed with the power of the Ginzuishou, or the
Ginzuishou itself, from the Silver Millennium use thier abilities and
unlock the memories. The second is to place the person in a situation
of extreme stress," Merlin's eyes hardened.

"But why can't a god just break the seal?" a puzzled Skuld asked.

"Like the enchantments of a demon, the spell that sent Kipp forward
also has a pass code of sorts," the old arch mage explained.

"So Apollo wants to force Kipp to remember?!" Skuld cried in
distress. "Urd!! You can't let Apollo do that!"

"I know Skuld," Urd said from the corner of her mouth, eyes still
fixed on Apollo. "And I have no intention of letting him either."

"Urd, you don't understand!" Apollo pleaded. "I didn't decide
this!"

"Then who did?" Urd asked, raising the DPE3.

"Kami-sama," Merlin answered, realization striking him.
"Kami-sama ordered it to be so, because of Chaos."

* * *

Inside the warehouse, complete and total hell had broken loose.
The Espers were almost guaranteed to hit something no matter which
direction they shot. The demons on the other hand were completely
disorganized, madly rushing the four SD agents, and getting riddled with
mana almost as quickly. Never less, the demons were thinning, and the
SD agents were running out of ammo and explosives.

Outside, the two Info agents were picking off anything that
decided to try and flank the Assault agents, and there were a lot of
them. But unlike the Assault team, the Info team had both cover and a
large hummer filled with ammo and explosives, so they were faring much
better than their hot headed counterparts.

And than things went from bad to worse for the Assault team.

"Hello boy, come to play?" Daecar sneered, shrugging off
everything the Espers inside had to throw at him. Grinning like the
maniac that he was, Daecar rushed forward and slammed Rantora into a
wall, pivoted, and kicked Hiroshi into another wall.

"Dammit, this isn't working!" Makoto growled, ditching her useless
rifle and pulling out her mana tonfa. "Come here and die bastard!!"

"Hehehe, why do you attack me?" Daecar asked, dodging Makoto's
strikes. "You're one of us, your blood screams to do as we do. Join us
and let yourself be free!" he crowed.

"Never!" Makoto screamed vehemently. "I'm not one of you!! And I
never will be!" as she screamed, each strike she made slammed into
Daecar's leathery hide, causing only minimal damage.

"Very well, I gave you a chance to live, and you denied me,"
Daecar growled in mock sadness. "I guess I must destroy you now."

"Not fucking likely!" Hiroshi growled from behind Daecar, a very
large mana blade in each hand.

"Yeah, you'll have to kill all of us first!" Rantora grinned,
three mana claws ripping out of the gauntlets on each arm.

"Because when one falls, another will be there to protect them,"
Kipp said, raising his mana blade, shield at ready.

"Hehehehehe, than I'll kill you all now!!" Daecar grinned evilly.

* * *

"You think they're almost done?" Hikaru asked, glancing at the
hoards of demons that covered the front entrance.

"Well the demonic hoards are thinning, so it's safe to assume
that they've almost finished," Hikari nodded, than frowned.

"What is it?" Hikaru asked, noting Hikari's frown.

"They're mad about something," Hikari muttered, straining her
senses.

"Well, maybe they just found that Daecar bastard," Hikaru
suggested, tossing a grenade over the hummer's roof.

"Nooo, I don't think that's it," Hikari shook her head, squinting
slightly. "Makoto's the maddest, and if they found Daecar, than Kipp
would be even worse."

"Hmmm, true, but I still wonder what's going on in there," Hikaru
muttered, shooting a lowly 12th class between the eyes.

"I don't know..." Hikari stopped in mid-sentence as a human shaped
indent appeared on the metal door.

"What the fuck?!" Hikaru exclaimed, staring at the odd impact.

And than the door burst open, throwing Hiroshi and Rantora out
onto the street. Makoto soon followed, flying through a wall. Kipp
flew through the ceiling and landed on the asphalt in front of the
hummer. Hikari and Hikaru both winced as each of their comrades flew
out of the warehouse.

"That hurt," Rantora groaned, rising to his feet.

"Think about me for a second will you?" Hiroshi groaned from
beneath Rantora.

"Oh shut up you two," Makoto growled.

Kipp just groaned in agony.

"This is fun!" Daecar grinned, stepping out on to the streets.
"We should do this more often."

"Oh shut up," Hikaru muttered, throwing a grenade in the demon's
direction while Hikari dragged all of the Espers behind the hummer with
her telekinesis.

The grenade did hurt Daecar, but unfortunately, the Espers were
entirely out of elemental grenades. But they weren't out of tricks yet.

"Alright, this time you die," Kipp growled, circling Daecar, blade
held low.

"I'm not one of you, and I never will be!" Makoto yelled, tonfa at
ready.

"We'll stop you here and now, even if it means dieing ourselves,"
Rantora grimaced, but the determination in his eyes never left, even as
he raised his claws.

"Apart we are weak, together we'll kick your ass!" Hiroshi grinned
ferally, joining his two swords at the hilt to create a vicious double
bladed spear.

"You are the shadow, and we the light," Hikaru growled, holding a
mana kodachi in each hand. "And the shadow always cowers before the
light."

"Die!!" Hikari screamed, her blues eyes blazing with power.

By now, all of the Espers, except Hikari, were circling Daecar in
a star formation. Hikari stood behind them, her psychic powers active.
The formation, without Hikari, was known as the Cage, to attack the
target from five sides with five completely different fighting styles.
It was a technique meant to overwhelm the target.

"Hehehe, brave words for a bunch of lowly mortals," Daecar sneered
with contempt. "But know this, Espers, you cannot Cage this demon!"

Not even a flicker of surprise showed on their faces as the Espers
as one struck. Daecar was hard pressed to defend against the five
physical assaults and the one mental attack, but this was no ordinary
8th Class demon, and it fully intended to make them aware of that fact.

"ROAR!" Daecar screamed, and everything within a five-metre radius
of him was flung back twenty metres.

"What the fuck?!" Rantora groaned.

"Shit, he must have been augmented some how," Hikaru groused,
clutching his right arm.

"Your arm's broken Hikaru..." Hikari began, hand on his shoulder.

"Don't bother, I can still fight," Hikaru said, wincing slightly.

"Remind me to get padded armour next time we do something like
this," Hiroshi grumbled.

"Quit whining you damn pansy," Makoto growled, shaking off her
headache.

"Damn, there go three ribs, and I just got them healed too!" Kipp
groaned, holding his shield over his chest.

"Awww, did I hurt the whittle mortals?" Daecar said in a singsong
tone. "I'll try to be more gentle next time."

"Alright guys! All out!" Kipp ordered, hands glowing with arcane
energy. "Attack!"

From all around Daecar came six entirely different attacks, all
non-physical, but all much more damaging.

"ELEMENTAL STRIKE!" cried Kipp releasing the built up energy.

"WILD TIGER!" Rantora screamed, punching forward and releasing a
torrent of uncontrolled mana.

"Shadow Storm," Hikaru whispered, and the shadows themselves
rushed to do his bidding.

"DARKSIDE!" Makoto howled, her eyes completely red, as she
released the power of her heritage.

"LIGHT ARROW!" Hiroshi yelled, as he threw a bolt of light that
was much too large to be an arrow.

"Pyrokenisis," Hikaru smirked as Daecar burst into flames.

The five attacks struck home, causing a massive explosion, but
none of the Espers let their guards down for even a moment to celebrate.
And their precautions were well founded as the dust settled and Daecar
still stood, relatively unscathed. The demon turned its black orbs on
Hikari and frowned.

"You hurt me," he said simply, and than his face contorted into a
mask of pure rage. "YOU HURT ME!! DIE!!!!"

And than Hikari screamed as he invaded her mind, attacking her
very sense of being. But in order to do so, he had lost complete sense
of the "Real" world, allowing the Espers to rush him. The physical pain
hurt it, and it was forced to retreat from the psychic before he could
any lasting harm, but he had managed to put her completely out of the
fight.

"DIE!!! ALL OF YOU DIE!!!" Daecar screamed, bodily hurling the
Espers away. Its black eyes quickly analyzed the fighters arranged
around him, and sought out the first that would fall. "You first," he
grumbled, pointing at Hikaru.

And then it moved, striking faster then any human could move. One
hand dug into the boy's leg, causing blood to gush forth, the other
dislocated Hikaru's left arm. Even as Hikaru scream in agony, the
Espers were on Daecar again, slashing, hacking, clawing, and blasting
the demon's leathery hide.

"You're next," Daecar growled, throwing Hikaru into the side of
the hummer, after slamming his head into the ground a few times, and
grabbed Makoto. "You know, I've heard that half-breeds make excellent
whores, they have the stamina of our kind, but the beauty of the weak
humans," Daecar grinned darkly, one hand wrapped around the girl's chin.

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF HER!!!!" Hiroshi screamed, slamming into
Daecar's side, his lance cutting chunks out of the demon's already battered
flesh., even as Makoto slammed her tonfa into the demon's face.

"FINE!! TAKE HER!!" Daecar raged, grabbing Hirohi's head and
slammed it together with Makoto's repeatedly, completely ignoring Kipp
and Rantora's attacks.

He finally released the two when both had fallen into sweet
oblivion from the injuries they had sustained. Slowly, Daecar turned to
face the remaining Espers, and he smiled a truly terrifying smile. And
either the two males ignored the look, or they were just plain stupid,
because both continued to hack at Daecar's flesh.

"Inny, minny, mineny, mo, catch a TIGER by the toe!" Daecar
grinned, grabbing Rantora's leg. Even as Rantora flailed about, Kipp
desperately tried to hack off Daecar's arm, but was backhanded into a
wall. "Wait your turn!" Daecar growled at him.

Nuisance gone for the time being, Daecar began to swing Rantora
around, building up momentum, and than slammed him face first into the
asphalt, lifted him, and slammed into the asphalt on the other side of
the demon. This was repeated over and over again, into Rantora could
was barely alive. Throwing his unconscious victim away, Daecar turned to
the groggy Kipp and smiled a vicious smile.

"And then, there was one,"

* * *

Meanwhile, the gods, and one immortal arch mage, were watching as
the battle unfolded before them. As each Esper fell, Merlin lost a
little more of his restraint, with each of Daecar's attacks that
connected, Urd grew even more agitated, as Daecar committed brutality
after brutality, Skuld came closer and closer to tears. Apollo on the
other hand had already snapped, and was uselessly cheering on the Espers
and cursing the 'Foul, hell spawned, villainous, infidel, creature
Daecar.'

"Burn it!" he yelled, clutching his golden bow. "Die you
blasphemous creature!"

"Cut that out!" Urd snapped, staring into the view gate they had
created. "It's getting really annoying."

"To say the least," Merlin muttered under his breath.

"Come on Kipp! Beat in his ass!" Skuld whispered to herself.

"If only I could let loss my golden shafts!" Apollo bemoaned.

"Yeah, and if only I could fire off the DPE3, or a Thunderbolt,"
Urd sighed, and then winced when Rantora hit the ground.

"Kami-sama! Please let me help him!" Merlin called to the
heavens. "Please! They've suffered more then any mortal should!"

But his pleas went unheard as the wall of air refused to budge.
And then inspiration hit Skuld.

"He's still got that wish!" she realized, hope filling her.

"Wish? What wish?" Urd asked, turning to Skuld.

"Indeed, what wish?" Apollo asked, eyes still on the gate.

"Kipp qualified for a wish, according to the Peorth," Skuld
explained. "And since Peorth was busy with the virus that had hit
Yggdrasil, she sent me to grant the wish."

"Was that perhaps the day Daecar made himself known?" Apollo
asked suspiciously.

"Yeah, it was!" Skuld gasped. "Kami-sama! Are you saying..."

"Yes, I'm afraid I am," Apollo whispered, turning back to the
gate. "Hell as finally managed to break our codes. Hell has access to
the Heaven section of Yggdrasil."

"At the exact moment we gained access to theirs," Urd whispered.

"And the exact same day the Doublet System was hacked," Skuld
added fearfully.

"May Destiny have mercy upon us all," Merlin whispered, turning
away from the battle between the Esper's and Daecar. "It puts this
entire battle into perspective doesn't it?" he murmured, gesturing at
the gate.

"He could still win," Skuld said at Merlin's side.

"Yes, even if the War is about to start again, he can still be
saved from Death," Apollo agreed, taking some comfort in the thought.

"The wish could save him," Urd nodded, a small smile showing on
her lips. "Better to save one life, then none at all."

"And maybe, just maybe, this fight is like our own," Merlin
whispered, turning back to watch the battle with renewed hope.

* * *

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" Daecar laughed, holding the battered body of
the remaining conscious Esper in his grasp. "Finally! Lord Chaos'
dreams are coming into fruitarian!"

"Chaos?" Kipp managed to say through his broken jaw.

"Oh no, I'm not going to tell you," Daecar shook his finger to
accent the point. "You see, when you die, you're most likely going to
end up in Heaven, and then you could ruin everything for my master," the
demon explained."

"So, I'm going to die now aren't I?" Kipp grinned despite the
morbid thought. "Oh well, life was good, can't say I have that many
regrets."

Daecar frowned, he
thought to himself angrily. Braking
Kipp's remaining good arm, Daecar yelled through Kipp's agonized scream.
"Why aren't you scared?! Don't you fear Death?!"

"Yeah, I do," Kipp managed through clenched teeth. "But hey, at
least when I die, I'll get to face you again!"

grinning like the maniac
that he was, Daecar slammed Kipp into the ground, then turned and
stalked towards Hikari's prone form. "No, I won't kill you yet," Daecar
said. "I'll kill your friends first!"

"no... please, no," Kipp whispered, trying futily to stand.
"please, leave them be."

"No, I want to hear your anguished screams as I snap each of their
necks," Daecar growled gleefully. "Watch as I end the distinguished
careers of every single Esper! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"



Slowly, Daecar bent over to grab Hikari's head.



Raising the blond girls head by her hair, Daecar turned back to
Kipp and grinned.



"How does it feel to be absolutely helpless?" Daecar asked.



"Lets begin shall we?" Daecar asked, placing Hikari's body
in front of him. "Here, I'll give you the best view."

"i want to be stronger," Kipp sobbed quietly, closing his eyes.
"i wish i had Hyperion's power."

And the world vanished in a blaze of white.

* * *

Skuld's eyes suddenly turned white, as her head turned to the
heavens, and then a light burst forth from the symbol upon her
f0orehead.

"Alright!" Urd cheered, catching Skuld in her arms.

"But is Hyperion's power enough to defeat Daecar?" Merlin asked.

"I don't know," Hyperion admitted. "It has been a long time since
I last saw the boy fight,"

"He will win, I'm sure of it!" Skuld insisted, shaking her head to
clear it..

"True, he does have the advantage of surprise," Merlin agreed.

"And now the battle truly begins," Apollo sighed, returning his
attention to the battlefield.

* * *

Kipp thought, staring at the scenery of white.

All around him was white, making it virtually impossible to
determine if there was anything around at all. The only thing that Kipp
had been able to confirm was that he was in perfect condition, and that
his clothing was in one piece.

"What just happened?" he asked aloud, waiting for something to
happen. "Umm, hello? Anybody there?"

At first, there was only an echo, and then something responded
ever so softly. As the echo reached him, Kipp frowned, straining his
ears to make out the voice and the words.

"Hello?" he called again, looking around for the person who had
first responded.

"hello..." came the reply, louder now.

"Who's there?" Kipp asked, turning slowly, eyes flashing back and
forth.

"you..." the voice replied.

"Me? Me what?" Kipp called, wishing that he had better psychic
abilities.

And then a shadow appeared at the horizon, growing in size, shape,
definition, and texture as it came closer. Kipp stared for a long
while, and then he grinned, laughing like a fool.

"I'm dead! There's no other explanation!" he laughed, sitting
down to steady himself. "I'm dead, an-and it's all over!" he laughed
wildly, and then he began to sob. "I'm dead, and they'll be soon."

"Not necessarily," Hyperion said, stopping in front of Kipp.

The Atlantian prince was dressed in his typical combat gear, light
plate mail over his chest, shoulder guards, thigh guards, gauntlets, and
greaves, all golden in colour, yet stronger then almost every substance
known to man. Over his shoulder guards was a cloak, black on the
outside, green on the inner lining. Under all of his armour, the man
wore a black tunic and black pants held up with a silver belt buckle.
Over his heart, and on the belt buckle were the stylized infinite
symbol, the one over his heart coloured green, while the one on the
buckle was silver.

At his waist, the Blade of Eternity was sheathed, the blade said
to have been wielded by an archangel in the years of the War. A arrow
shaped ruby served as the blade's pommel, and weapon if need be, while
two arrow shaped sapphires were placed on opposite sides of the hand
guard, and an emerald at where the blade connected with the hilt.
From pommel to blade tip, the Blade of Eternity rivalled the size of a
bastard sword.

But the most distinguishing on the young prince was the royal
marking on his brow, a green infinite symbol interposed on top of a blue
circle. According to Kipp's memories, he was the only one of the
Atlantian royal family to have one, mainly because it wasn't a symbol of
the royal families, but that of an avatar.

"What the hell do you mean by that?" Kipp growled, angrily
grabbing Hyperion's cloak. "Who's going to save them?"

"You," Hyperion replied simply.

"Me? How am I supposed to do that when I'm dead?" Kipp spat,
pushing Hyperion away.

"Whatever gave you that idea?" Hyperion asked, genuinely amused.

"Well, let me see, my body's perfectly fine, I'm in some place
that's completely white, oh, and you're here," Kipp growled.

"So?" Hyperion asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You died, and the dead go to the afterlife," Kipp pointed out.
"You and I are the same, but you're personality was locked away inside
my head, and the only way I can possibly see you would be if I died, or
if somebody released you, which I'm fairly certain nobody did."

"Partially correct," Hyperion nodded. "But not entirely."

"How so?" Kipp sneered.

"Like they say, there is more then one way to skin a cat,"
Hyperion smiled kindly. "And stress is one way to unlock the seal,
another is a wish."

"And I wished to be as strong as you," Kipp breathed.

"Exactly, and you know where my power comes from don't you,"
Hyperion unsheathed his sword.

"You are the Knight of Eternity, avatar of the Archangel
Eternity," Kipp said.

"And in order for you to get my power, you too must become a
Knight of Eternity," Hyperion held out his sword, hilt first.

"But aren't you me?" Kipp asked, confused.

"Partially," Hyperion sighed. "You see, the powers were given to
me, and to me alone, but technically, you are me."

"So what's the problem?" Kipp asked.

"The powers were sealed away like our memories, to be unlock only
when you have accepted the oath," Hyperion explained. "The very same
oath I took when I received the powers."

"So, what is this oath?" Kipp asked, reaching for the blade.

"Swear, swear upon this blade, upon you soul, that you will always
fight for the ideals Queen Serenity believed in. Use your powers not to
create another Silver Millennium, but to create a future of your own,"
Hyperion recited. "Swear it now, and return to help your friends."

"I swear it! Upon the Blade of Eternity, upon my immortal soul, I
will fight to uphold the very principles and morals Queen Serenity
believed in, to help those weaker then myself, to protect the innocent,
and to use the Powers of Eternity to help create a better future, this
do I swear!" Kipp whispered, his voice getting louder with each word.

And then everything returned to normal. Daecar stood in front of
him, holding Hikari by her hair, except now Kipp knew what he had to do.
Closing his eyes, Kipp focused his mind, and sent a single mental
command to the ruins of Atlantis, a command that hadn't been used in
over 14 000 years.



"What are you trying to do boy?" Daecar sneered, hearing the
mental call. "Calling a long dead angel?"

"no," Kipp whispered. "i'm calling for my legacy."

"*Sigh* Dammit, the boy's snapped from the strain," Daecar growled
in frustration. "There's no fun if he can't even understand what I'm
going to do."

And from the east came a bolt of green energy, raging like a mad
dragon. Before Daecar could even react, the bolt slammed into his
chest, throwing him away from Hikari, and back into the warehouse. As
it floated in the air, the green orb of energy settled over Kipp's body.
Smiling weakly, Kipp struggled to his feet and reached for the green
energy, just as Daecar burst out of the warehouse.

"SCREW IT!!" the demon hollered. "I'LL KILL YOU FIRST!!!!"

Narrowing his eyes, Kipp reached up and grabbed the emerald
Eternity symbol within the orb. Instantly, energy began to course
across his body, energizing him in one of the most painful ways known to
the Atlantian, the most painful, but the most effective. The energy
ran over the length of his body, healing broken bones, knitting flesh,
and rejuvenating the battle wary warrior. But the healing was not
without cost as Kipp let loss an agonizing scream. Even as the energy
held Kipp, it lashed out, attacking Daecar whenever the demon came too
close for comfort.

"What's this?!" the demon growled in impotent fury. "Come out and
fight, or I'll kill your friends."

Kipp slowly lifted his head, turning glowing brown-green eyes upon
the demon. Tilting his head to the side, Kipp frowned listening to
something only he could hear.

Hyperion whispered in his head.

Kipp asked, clutching the Eternity
talisman in his hand.

Hyperion explained.

Kipp asked, eyeing Daecar warily.

Hyperion supplied.

I see... Kipp frowned again.

Hyperion laughed at that.

Kipp grinned.


Hyperion said, then 'nodded' when Kipp complied.

Kipp slowly turned his eyes back to Daecar, and grinned. Raising
the talisman above his head, Kipp stared upward, and shouted a single
word to the heavens.

"ETERNITY!"

The talisman shattered in his grasp, the green shards forming a
perfect halo above his head. As the halo fell, every part of Kipp's
body that it passed altered, becoming more like the mental image of
Hyperion. The halo reached the ground, but rather then settling on
there, the shards flew up, and converged directly in front of the
knight's chest, forming a perfect four-pointed crystal. From the
crystal, metal emerged from the four points, forming the Blade of
Eternity. Turning glowing eyes upon the blade, Eternity reached out
and grasped the blade, then swung it in several complex, dazzling, and
intimidating patterns.

"Now the battle really begins," Hyperion said, finally turning
back to Daecar. "Let's see how well you fare against my new powers."

"Hahahaha, this is what I've been looking for!" Daecar grinned
back. "A decent fight! Alright boy, let's rumble!"

The two combatants charged, meeting with a clash of metal against
bone. Both pressed forward, hoping to gain ground, yet the two were
equal in strength. Jumping back, both eyed the other warily, claws and
sword ready.

"Impressive," Daecar said blandly.

"Indeed," Hyperion replied, in a rather bored tone.

A grin tugged at Daecar's lips before the demon rushed forward,
letting loose a relentless barrage of slashes, pressing Eternity back,
but in his arrogance, the demon overextended on one of its strikes.
Without even thinking, Eternity exploited the opening without
hesitation, slashing upward and giving the demon a rather nasty gash.

"That hurt you little bitch," Daecar growled, one hand over the
gaping wound.

"Good," Hyperion sneered, rushing forward and delivering his own
barrage of attacks.

Slowly, but surely, Daecar began to lose ground, stepping slightly
back with each of Hyperion's raging attacks. Glee, changed to
amusement, to seriousness, and finally to rage for Daecar. Roaring in
defiance, Daecar pushed back, renewing his own assault, and pushing
Hyperion back, till the two were back at square one.

"This is getting us nowhere," Daecar growled, panting slightly.

"Then let's try something new," Hyperion panted, jumping back.

"Magic it is!" Daecar agreed, his eyes crackling with power.

Hyperion nodded, and raised his sword, with his right hand, so
that the flat was facing Daecar. Fire began to twist and twine all
along the blade as he placed the palm of his left hand over the side of
the green jewel facing him. As soon as his palm made contact with the
jewel, the entire length of the sword burst in to flames.

"BLAZE DRAGON" and he pushed.

From the green jewel, the fire rushed forward in a single long
column, twisting and turning as if it were alive. As the last of the
fire left the sword, the torrent of flames, almost twenty-five meters in
length and five meters in width, 'moulded' itself into the very image of
the great Asian dragons as it rushed towards Daecar.

Roaring ferally at the sky, Daecar turned his dark eyes to the
dragon and snarled as he raised his hands so that they were parallel to
the ground. The demon winced as large blades burst forth from his
wrist, forming wicked wrist blades. As the dragon closed in on him,
Daecar crossed his blades, and struck forward, swinging his hands back
as he went.

"DARK WAVE" and twin slashes of black energy slammed into the
dragon, creating a massive explosion.

"Equal there too," Daecar growled.

"Think again!" Hyperion cried, as the dragon burst from the
explosion.

Daecar dove to the side, but to no avail as the fire dragon seemed
to have a life of its own as it turned and wrapped itself around Daecar,
its head hovering several meters above his head. As Daecar tried
futily to free himself, the dragon seemed to give the demon a
serpentine grin, contracting itself tighter and tighter until the demon
cried out in agony. Smiling widely, the dragon plunged its head down
upon the helpless demon and exploded into a fury fireball.

Hyperion smiled grimly, watching the fires burn, satisfied with
his victory. But that smile soon turned to a frown when Daecar stumbled
out of the flames, hurt, but still ticking.

"Ouch, if I was any weaker, that might of actually killed me!"
Daecar winced, dusting the sot off of himself.

"Next strike will however," Hyperion sneered.

"I think not," Daecar grinned evilly, raising a fist to his face.

"STOP" a voice bellowed out from the night.

"Master!" Daecar cried, falling to his knees.

"Master?" Hyperion muttered, dread filling his soul.

"THE MISSION HAS FAILED," the voice called.

"Then I shall return," Daecar murmured, eyes flashing in
suppressed anger.

"Not if I can help it!" Hyperion cried, snapping out of his stupor
to rush Daecar.

And yet the demon paid the young knight no attention, for he had
much bigger concerns in his mind. Scanning the battle field, Daecar
noted his fallen minions, and smiled ever so slightly to himself. Just
as Eternity was about to strike, Daecar jumped high, dodging the attack,
and at the same time, getting a very clear view of the battleground.

"Excellent, this will do nicely," He murmured to himself.

"What are you talking about?" Hyperion asked, even as he prepared
another spell, his eyes drilling into the demons back.

"Nothing to concern yourself with boy, nothing to concern yourself
with," Daecar muttered, raising an arm above his head.

"Whatever the fuck you say," Hyperion growled, using his left hand
to bury the blade of his sword into the ground, while the right hand
wound up for a throw.

As Daecar's hand started to sprout ghostly tentacles, Hyperion's
hand started to glow blue with pent up magic. As if by an unspoken
challenge, the two unleashed their spells at the same moment.

"SOUL STEAL" Daecar roared, taking the souls of his minions into
his own, and giving him a brief boost of power.

"GRAND TSUNAMI" Infinity yelled, swing his hand over his head, and
touching it to the ground.

A massive tidal wave of water rolled over Hyperion, leaving him
relatively dry, and surged forward, crushing everything in its path. But
even as the water closed in on him, Daecar remained focused on his task,
waiting for just the right moment to finish his spell.

"Good bye Hyperion, may we meet again," Daecar grinned,
disappearing just as the water crashed into where he had stood.

"CHIKUSO!!!" Hyperion howled at the sky.

* * *

Every single one of the observers heaved a great sigh of relief as
they watched the conclusion of the battle. But the relief was only a
brief distraction from the greater concerns, like who was Daecar's
master? How had Kipp known the abilities of the Knight of Eternity?
And most worrisome, how had a demon learned a variant of the powerful
spell Soul Reaver, known and used only by the Deaths?

"This isn't good," Apollo thought aloud.

"Of course it isn't!" Urd retorted. "This could very well lead to
Ragnarok, or whatever you call it!"

"Don't you think I know that?" Apollo snapped. "It's my duty as
an Alpha class god to make sure things like this don't happen, and it
just did!"

"Both of you shut up!" Merlin snapped, pointing into the view
gate. "We have to make sure they're alright first, then we can worry
about the other things."

"What do you two think you're doing anyways?" Skuld scolded.
"This isn't the time or place to be talking about these things."

"You are right," Apollo sighed. "I shall consult with Kami-sama
after we've taken care of out champions."

Merlin flinched at the mention of the word champion, but chose
not to comment as he floated off towards the scene of the battle.

* * *

The Gods, and one immortal, arrived at the scene of the battle, to
find that Hyperion had reverted into Kipp, who was busy setting the
broken bones of his teammates.

"Kipp!" Merlin called, dropping to the ground, and rushing to his
disciple. "You did great my boy! Better then I expected of you under
the situations."

"Arigatou Merlin-sensei," Kipp wearily smiled. "But if you don't
mind, could you help me heal them first?"

"Of course, of course," Merlin nodded, as began casting a powerful
healing spell on Hikari.

Skuld winced as she looked at the blooded faces of all the Espers,
bile rising in her throat as she remembered the sheer brutality that had
befallen them.

"Is this the price of victory?" Urd asked silently, watching the
two busy mortals.

"They knew the price when they came," Apollo said, standing
slightly behind Urd. "They knew, and they were willing to pay the
price."

"But they're so young..." Skuld began.

"And they are the only ones who have even a remote chance of
winning," Apollo cut in. "The Senshi would have won if they were here,
but they aren't, they have more important matters to attend to."

"So you send children to do our work," Urd scowled.

"Not I," Apollo answered resolutely. "Kami-sama."

"And we accept our fate with open arms," Kipp cut in, looking up
from his work.

"We know, all of us know, and we salute you for it," Apollo
replied.

"We don't need your acceptance, or your backing," Kipp growled.
"We need your power."

"We can't give you that," Apollo returned, sadly.

"Then leave us be," Kipp growled, turning his back to the gods.

"Do you not think we would help if we could?" Apollo yelled.
"Do you not think we would destroy these demons if we could?"

"But you can't, it's as simple as that," Kipp snarled.

"Not by choice, it is by Kami-sama's orders that we stand and
watch," Apollo protested fiercely. "I hunger for the chance to destroy
these vile creatures, but I am bound by my oaths."

"Forget it god, forget it," Kipp sighed, waving off Apollo's
protests.

Hyperion whispered.

Kipp replied
with much disdain.

Hyperion growled.

Kipp's eyes widened at the revelation.

and Hyperion was gone.

Taking Hyperion's advice to heart, Kipp turned, and eyed the sun
god warily, comparing the figure before him, to the image within his
mind. Doubt disappeared, to be replaced with relief, and a little bit
of shame, which was quickly replaced with child like joy.

"Well, I'll be damned," Kipp whispered, smiling up at the god.
"Hello Apollo, how are you?"

"Hello Hyperion, it has been a while hasn't it?" Hyperion smiled
down upon his former charge.

But Kipp had already fainted, the emotion, physical, and mental
strain having finally caught up with him.

* * *

This concludes Episode 2 of Deus Patronus, but this story is far from
finished. Destiny unfolds, lives change, lives end, and lives begin
anew, next time, on Deus Patronus, Episode 3: My Fate is my own.

* * *

Authors Blurb: Sorry that took so long people, I just lost my muse
there, for a while.... that and I've been spending a lot of my time with
the APC, fine, and the Mega Tokyo forums. This one was really annoying
in the fact that I didn't know how to lead up to the end, really
annoying that. Anyhoo, the next episode won't be out for a while, since
I have a job now, but I promise you that I will finish the first season,
that I assure you. Anyhoo, C&C will be greatly appreciated, as usual,
and I'm still looking for some beta-readers. Email me if you care ^___^

Later.