Urd versus the Underworld
Chapter Three: For the Love of thy Sister
After Urd's capture in the park, Belldandy, Keiichi, and Skuld all rushed back to their home, hoping to find some way to save their dear friend. They were all standing in Skuld's Lab as she ran about the room, madly trying with all of her might to think up some machine that would transport them to the Underworld.
"I know there must be some way! I have to own some kind of transporting machine. How could I go about making one? Eraaargh!!! Where did I put that manual on teleportation devices?" Skuld screamed as tore through everything in sight.
Keiichi stopped Skuld in her tracks, grabbing hold of her arm. "Skuld, you mustn't get too out of control here. You need to calm down so you can think of a good idea."
Skuld lashed out, dropping everything in her hands. "CALM DOWN? Do you have any idea what I am going through?! That is my sister who's out there!"
"Skuld," Belldandy began, resting her hand upon Skuld's shoulder, "Keiichi is right. It is hard for one to think straight when they are as worked up as you are, and Urd is counting on us. We have to do this for her."
Skuld smiled as she looked up at her sister. "You're absolutely right, Belldandy. I have to focus," she murmured.
As Skuld foraged quietly through the room for her teleporting guide, Keiichi motioned for Belldandy to come with him into the privacy of the hall.
"Bell, how are we going to pull this off? Do you think we are capable enough to get into the Underworld?" Keiichi whispered.
Belldandy tried to smile as she said, "You must have faith, dear Keiichi, or we will have no chance."
Keiichi wrapped his arms around Belldandy in a friendly hug. "That's what I love about you, Bell. You always have hope in everyone."
"Eureka!" Skuld cried from her room. Keiichi and Belldandy instantly rushed into the room to find the source of the commotion.
"Skuld! Is something wrong? You're not hurt, are you?" Belldandy asked, concerned for her little sister.
"No, of course I'm not hurt, but I've found an idea for our transportation to the Underworld!"
Keiichi's eyes got big and his face twisted into a rather large grin. "Really, Skuld? Did you really find something?" He exclaimed.
"Yes, Kei. I did! Look here. If I combine these two compounds, and withhold them in a magnetic field, you get a dimension traveler. That is, of course, only when you add the correct amount of radioactivity."
"That would be great, Skuld, but the Underworld isn't a dimension of its own, is it?" Keiichi asked inquisitively.
Belldandy moved her hands silently over her little sister's magazine, taking in all of its contents. "Actually, the Underworld is considered a dimension for us goddesses, as is heaven," she said.
Keiichi just nodded while Skuld went to work on her machine. "Let's see, if I put that there, and I intertwine those two wires," she declared to herself. "Hey, Kei, would you go get me a chisel-nosed screw-driver from your supplies? I think Urd took mine to spite me for messing with her potions."
"Surely, Skuld," Keiichi answered, leaving the room for his tool chest. He wandered down the hall and outside to his work shed. It was growing late, but the sun was still high up above the trees.
Heaving open the heavy wooden doors, Keiichi entered his little haven. Inside were all of the things he was most proud of, like the first bike he had every built by himself. Near the back of the shed lay his most prized possession of all time. It was a picture of him and Belldandy on their first trip to Tokyo together. Keiichi had cherished that picture more than anything else he had ever owned. He glanced at it lovingly as he searched for the screw-driver.
Keiichi's tool-box was full to the brim with of all his bike repairing equipment. Finally, he found the driver below a box of spare screws. He wiped his brow as he closed up the chest, for it had grown much hotter throughout the day.
When Keiichi re-entered Skuld's room, he found the two girls admiring the already complete machine.
"I call it the Skuld Ultimate Transport 3000! It's a pretty flashy title, isn't it?" Skuld beamed.
Keiichi sighed. "I thought that you needed a screw-driver though?"
"No. Belldandy found mine. It was just under my bed. Hey! Now that you're back, we can test it!"
"Excuse me?" Keiichi backed away slowly. "What do you mean by test it?"
Skuld pushed him nearer to the big, shiny portal of light. "Don't you worry yourself, Kei. I'm coming with you."
Belldandy watched as Skuld forced Keiichi into her device. "I'll be back with him in a minute if it works," Skuld assured her sister, jumping into the swirling blue mirror.
THUD! Skuld landed with a crash. When she opened her eyes, she found herself surrounded with thick foliage. "Keiichi? Where are you?" she yelled.
Keiichi's voice rang out from a fair distance to the west of Skuld. "I'm over here. You have to see this, Skuld."
Skuld followed to where she had heard Kei speaking from. The bushes in this area were of great number and incredibly green. It did not seem to look like the Underworld at all.
"What is it, Keiichi?" Skuld questioned as she pushed away the last of the leafy browse.
As she took her place next to Keiichi, Skuld became perfectly aware of where she was.right in the middle of her backyard.
"Well, I guess I need to make some minor adjustments if I want that thing to take us all the way to Urd," admitted Skuld.
Keiichi smiled as he chuckled to himself. "Yeah, that would probably be a good idea," he said.
"So, I take it that you weren't successful?" Belldandy asked as Skuld and Keiichi came into the house.
"No, not hardly," Skuld sighed. "I need to add some things now. This might take a while, so feel free to go sit somewhere while you wait for me."
"Alright," Keiichi murmured as he started off for the tea room.
When Belldandy sat down next to Kei, he noticed how worried she looked. "I know that you're concerned for Urd, but you mustn't fret. I promise you that she will return home with us just as soon as Skuld finds a passage into the Underworld," he promised.
Belldandy looked deep into Keiichi's eyes. "I know we'll get her back," she began, "just as long as we keep on searching for her. I just fear for my sister's safety. I don't know what Mara could have done to her by now, and I dare not try to imagine it." Bell's eyes filled with tears, but she held them back bravely.
"Please don't cry, Belldandy." Keiichi grasped her hand. "I'm sure she's ok. Urd's one tough cookie, you know."
"Thank you for comforting me," Belldandy whispered, tears beginning to release themselves down her cheek. "You've been great, Keiichi."
Within the hour, Skuld and Keiichi had been to four different places, none of them showing any sign of Mara and her demons. "Ok. I think I've got it now. Actually, I'm sure of it! You come too, Belldandy. I have a good feeling about this one!" Skuld pronounced.
As the three of them entered the Skuld Ultimate Transport 3000 (version 5.0), they flipped the switch and were hopefully on their way to Urd. The machine fizzed, sparked, and popped while it sent them all through time and space. Finally, Skuld, Belldandy, and Keiichi landed at their destination.
Skuld was the first to step out of the portal. She glanced about herself at the barren wasteland she was in, followed by her sister and Kei. As her gaze fell upon a small bonfire with the demons of the Underworld dancing around it, she instantly recognized the two people sitting in the middle of the celebration.
"Belldandy! Look, it's Urd and Mara!" she said, delighted to have finally found her older sister.
Chapter Three: For the Love of thy Sister
After Urd's capture in the park, Belldandy, Keiichi, and Skuld all rushed back to their home, hoping to find some way to save their dear friend. They were all standing in Skuld's Lab as she ran about the room, madly trying with all of her might to think up some machine that would transport them to the Underworld.
"I know there must be some way! I have to own some kind of transporting machine. How could I go about making one? Eraaargh!!! Where did I put that manual on teleportation devices?" Skuld screamed as tore through everything in sight.
Keiichi stopped Skuld in her tracks, grabbing hold of her arm. "Skuld, you mustn't get too out of control here. You need to calm down so you can think of a good idea."
Skuld lashed out, dropping everything in her hands. "CALM DOWN? Do you have any idea what I am going through?! That is my sister who's out there!"
"Skuld," Belldandy began, resting her hand upon Skuld's shoulder, "Keiichi is right. It is hard for one to think straight when they are as worked up as you are, and Urd is counting on us. We have to do this for her."
Skuld smiled as she looked up at her sister. "You're absolutely right, Belldandy. I have to focus," she murmured.
As Skuld foraged quietly through the room for her teleporting guide, Keiichi motioned for Belldandy to come with him into the privacy of the hall.
"Bell, how are we going to pull this off? Do you think we are capable enough to get into the Underworld?" Keiichi whispered.
Belldandy tried to smile as she said, "You must have faith, dear Keiichi, or we will have no chance."
Keiichi wrapped his arms around Belldandy in a friendly hug. "That's what I love about you, Bell. You always have hope in everyone."
"Eureka!" Skuld cried from her room. Keiichi and Belldandy instantly rushed into the room to find the source of the commotion.
"Skuld! Is something wrong? You're not hurt, are you?" Belldandy asked, concerned for her little sister.
"No, of course I'm not hurt, but I've found an idea for our transportation to the Underworld!"
Keiichi's eyes got big and his face twisted into a rather large grin. "Really, Skuld? Did you really find something?" He exclaimed.
"Yes, Kei. I did! Look here. If I combine these two compounds, and withhold them in a magnetic field, you get a dimension traveler. That is, of course, only when you add the correct amount of radioactivity."
"That would be great, Skuld, but the Underworld isn't a dimension of its own, is it?" Keiichi asked inquisitively.
Belldandy moved her hands silently over her little sister's magazine, taking in all of its contents. "Actually, the Underworld is considered a dimension for us goddesses, as is heaven," she said.
Keiichi just nodded while Skuld went to work on her machine. "Let's see, if I put that there, and I intertwine those two wires," she declared to herself. "Hey, Kei, would you go get me a chisel-nosed screw-driver from your supplies? I think Urd took mine to spite me for messing with her potions."
"Surely, Skuld," Keiichi answered, leaving the room for his tool chest. He wandered down the hall and outside to his work shed. It was growing late, but the sun was still high up above the trees.
Heaving open the heavy wooden doors, Keiichi entered his little haven. Inside were all of the things he was most proud of, like the first bike he had every built by himself. Near the back of the shed lay his most prized possession of all time. It was a picture of him and Belldandy on their first trip to Tokyo together. Keiichi had cherished that picture more than anything else he had ever owned. He glanced at it lovingly as he searched for the screw-driver.
Keiichi's tool-box was full to the brim with of all his bike repairing equipment. Finally, he found the driver below a box of spare screws. He wiped his brow as he closed up the chest, for it had grown much hotter throughout the day.
When Keiichi re-entered Skuld's room, he found the two girls admiring the already complete machine.
"I call it the Skuld Ultimate Transport 3000! It's a pretty flashy title, isn't it?" Skuld beamed.
Keiichi sighed. "I thought that you needed a screw-driver though?"
"No. Belldandy found mine. It was just under my bed. Hey! Now that you're back, we can test it!"
"Excuse me?" Keiichi backed away slowly. "What do you mean by test it?"
Skuld pushed him nearer to the big, shiny portal of light. "Don't you worry yourself, Kei. I'm coming with you."
Belldandy watched as Skuld forced Keiichi into her device. "I'll be back with him in a minute if it works," Skuld assured her sister, jumping into the swirling blue mirror.
THUD! Skuld landed with a crash. When she opened her eyes, she found herself surrounded with thick foliage. "Keiichi? Where are you?" she yelled.
Keiichi's voice rang out from a fair distance to the west of Skuld. "I'm over here. You have to see this, Skuld."
Skuld followed to where she had heard Kei speaking from. The bushes in this area were of great number and incredibly green. It did not seem to look like the Underworld at all.
"What is it, Keiichi?" Skuld questioned as she pushed away the last of the leafy browse.
As she took her place next to Keiichi, Skuld became perfectly aware of where she was.right in the middle of her backyard.
"Well, I guess I need to make some minor adjustments if I want that thing to take us all the way to Urd," admitted Skuld.
Keiichi smiled as he chuckled to himself. "Yeah, that would probably be a good idea," he said.
"So, I take it that you weren't successful?" Belldandy asked as Skuld and Keiichi came into the house.
"No, not hardly," Skuld sighed. "I need to add some things now. This might take a while, so feel free to go sit somewhere while you wait for me."
"Alright," Keiichi murmured as he started off for the tea room.
When Belldandy sat down next to Kei, he noticed how worried she looked. "I know that you're concerned for Urd, but you mustn't fret. I promise you that she will return home with us just as soon as Skuld finds a passage into the Underworld," he promised.
Belldandy looked deep into Keiichi's eyes. "I know we'll get her back," she began, "just as long as we keep on searching for her. I just fear for my sister's safety. I don't know what Mara could have done to her by now, and I dare not try to imagine it." Bell's eyes filled with tears, but she held them back bravely.
"Please don't cry, Belldandy." Keiichi grasped her hand. "I'm sure she's ok. Urd's one tough cookie, you know."
"Thank you for comforting me," Belldandy whispered, tears beginning to release themselves down her cheek. "You've been great, Keiichi."
Within the hour, Skuld and Keiichi had been to four different places, none of them showing any sign of Mara and her demons. "Ok. I think I've got it now. Actually, I'm sure of it! You come too, Belldandy. I have a good feeling about this one!" Skuld pronounced.
As the three of them entered the Skuld Ultimate Transport 3000 (version 5.0), they flipped the switch and were hopefully on their way to Urd. The machine fizzed, sparked, and popped while it sent them all through time and space. Finally, Skuld, Belldandy, and Keiichi landed at their destination.
Skuld was the first to step out of the portal. She glanced about herself at the barren wasteland she was in, followed by her sister and Kei. As her gaze fell upon a small bonfire with the demons of the Underworld dancing around it, she instantly recognized the two people sitting in the middle of the celebration.
"Belldandy! Look, it's Urd and Mara!" she said, delighted to have finally found her older sister.
