Chapter 4
Search and Recovery
Otaru and the girls ran towards the location of the explosion. The fireball had long since dissipated, but a large plume of smoke marked the spot. As they got closer to the blast, they saw just how devastating the blast had been. Buildings, houses, and shops had windows shattered. Taller buildings were missing their upper floors and roofs, which now littered the street. Finally, they reached the city's walls. Several sections of the wall had been knocked over from the explosion. Cherry and Lime quickly leaped over the fallen wall, Bloodberry stayed back to help Otaru over. Lime and Cherry reached the blast area minutes later. At the center of the blast was a large crater. The ground around the crater was scorched and littered with rocks that had been blasted from the earth. Cherry began to slowly scan the area. Lime walked up and looked down into the crater.
"I don't know what you expect to find out here." She said to Cherry.
Cherry ignored her, continuing to scan, until she spotted something. Cherry began to hurry towards the spot.
"Not find," she called back to Lime, "Found."
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Bright white light. Followed by the sense of flying. That was the last thing she remembered. She felt a weight on her back, and some of her robes had ended up covering her face. She also found she was unable to move her legs. She slowly moved the object that was on top of her off and moved the robe. She was momentarily blinded as her eyes got used to the light. Wait. Light? She had been underground. How did she get up here? She slowly raised her head. Ow. Bad idea. She slowly lowered her head back down. She tried to concentrate her powers to heal herself, but she didn't have the power to. She then tried to telepathically contact the others, but found she was unable to. Her vision began to fade. Not good she thought. A crunching noise alerted her to the fact that someone was approaching. She slowly raised her head again, despite the pain. Two figures were moving towards her, both were marionettes. One was in a pink outfit and had purple hair. The other had dark blue hair, and a white outfit over a black jumpsuit. Both made eye contact with her. Her vision suddenly went blurry, and within seconds, darkness claimed her.
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Otaru and Bloodberry finally arrived on the scene of the blast. Otaru couldn't find and words to describe what he was seeing. So Bloodberry did.
"Wow."
"Master Otaru! Over here!"
Otaru and Bloodberry turned to see Cherry waving to them over to her location. Lime was with her, but was kneeling on the ground looking at something. Otaru and Bloodberry ran to them. Upon arriving, Otaru saw what it was Cherry and Lime were looking over.
"Is she alive?" he asked.
Cherry nodded, "She was awake when we got here, but has since lost consciousness. Master we should take her to the apartment quickly."
"Why not the castle?"
"She may not make it that far." replied Cherry, "Our apartment is closer, and fewer people will see her along the way."
While Otaru and Cherry had been talking, Lime and Bloodberry slowly dug out the partially buried girl. Finally, Otaru gave in.
"Alright, We'll bring her to the apartment." He then turned to Lime. "Run to the castle and tell Faust and Lorelei."
"Right!" Lime quickly raced off.
"Thank-you Master." replied Cherry.
Otaru looked down at the girl. "I'm not going to be able to carry her to the apartment very quickly." He looked up at Bloodberry. Bloodberry nodded.
"I can do it." She started to pick up the girl.
"Careful Bloodberry," said Otaru, "We don't know how badly injured she is."
Bloodberry shifted the girl in her arms. "I got her. Don't worry."
The three immediately headed for home.
Meanwhile, on the floor of the crater, several rocks began to shake. Finally, they moved off to the side, revealing a hand pushing its way upwards. The hand was followed by an arm, and then a head burst through.
'cough cough.' "Ugh....." the girl muttered, "Now I know how Shinji felt his first day in Tokyo-3."
The girl continued to pull herself out, being especially careful with her left arm and leg. She slowly scanned the crater. Finding nothing of interest, she then turned to focus on herself. She was covered in dirt and dust. She tried to heal herself, but also found she did not have the power to do so. She then also tried to telepathically contact her friends, but with no success. However, she had one thing going for her. She was no longer buried. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a round object. She looked the device over. Seeing no damage, she let out a sigh.
"Thank Goddess Auntie builds them well."
She jabbed her finger on a button, a red light immediately began to flash.
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Yggdrasil
Urd sat quietly in the SysOp chair. Below her, gods and goddesses moved about, tending to the day to day operations and maintenance of the world computer, Yggdrasil. This had become more important of late, as mortals had moved off planet and gone into the stars. Several planets now fell under Yggdrasil control. And other then the severe Plasma Storms that had threatened Terra 2, everything was going smoothly. Urd looked at her terminal.
'Another 10 minutes, and I get off duty.' She thought. A slow smile crept across her face. 'Then I get to challenge Misato to another drinking contest.'
Any further thoughts went away as her terminal cleared its screen and began to flash red. A phrase appeared on the screen, also blinking. Urd stared at the words in shock before her hand slapped on the alarm switch.
"Alert!" Urd's voice boomed throughout the building, "We have a Broken Wing. Repeat, We have a Broken Wing." All around there was a flurry of activity as deities scrambled to their stations. Urd turned and looked at Chronos.
"Confirm that Broken Wing message, its location, and who."
Chronos quickly looked over her terminal. "Broken Wing confirmed. Location Terra 2." Her eyes widened. "Message initialized by Goddess 1st Class Sayoko."
"SAYOKO?" a feeling of dread came over Urd. 'Oh hell.' Urd quickly reached for the nearby phone. She lifted it to her ear, quickly enYuing a number. "Commander Mist. We have a Broken Wing on Terra 2. Proceed immediately."
"Acknowledged." came the reply.
Urd then hung up. She sat, staring at the phone, dreading the call she now had to make.
'I can't put it off' she thought. She picked the phone back up and dialed yet another number.
"Bell, its Urd. You'd better sit down......"
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Sayoko sat patiently waiting near the hole she had dug herself out of. The transmitter continued to send her distress call.
"Come on." she muttered, "Where are you?"
"You rang?"
Sayoko jumped, the movement causing her a lot of pain. Clenching her teeth, she turned to see Commander Mist and 15 Valkyries.
"Took you long enough...." muttered Sayoko, her voice betraying the pain she was in. Mist was immediately at her side. Mist ran a hand over Sayoko.
"You have a broken arm and your leg is broken in 4 spots." Mist looked up at Sayoko. "You want to tell me what happened?"
"We were exploring a cave." replied Sayoko.
Mist looked around. "A cave? Then what are you doing in this crater?"
Sayoko let out a sigh, "Someone decided to redecorate using an N2 mine, while Rei, Asuka, Auntie Skuld and I were in it."
Mist stared at Sayoko. "You mean the others are....?"
Sayoko nodded, "Somewhere around here, probably buried."
Mist quickly turned and shouted orders to the Valkyries. The Valkyries immediately spread out and began to search, 2 remained near Mist. Mist nodded to them, and they carefully lifted Sayoko onto a stretcher they created.
"Hey!" shouted Sayoko, "What do you think your doing?!"
"Your going back to Yggdrasil." replied Mist. "We'll handle it from here."
"I'm not leaving until you find the others!"
Mist gave Sayoko a slightly irritated look. "You know, you look tired."
"WHAT?!?! I'm not..." Mist waved her hand over Sayoko's head. Sayoko dropped to the stretcher, fast asleep.
Mist let out a loud sigh. "Now, then...." She then nodded to the Valkyries, who quickly vanished. Mist then turned and watched as the others continued their search of the crater.
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Gamorr bowed low before the throne, "It has gone as you had planned my Lord. The mine exploded and caught the 4 Goddesses in its wake."
Draco smiled, "Excellent."
"Do we move against the clones now, my Lord?"
"No." replied Draco, "Consider this. We have just detonated a large explosive device that hopefully killed or severely injured the Goddesses. The heavens will be alert now. We must wait for a few days, let them expend resources trying to find us. I will send for you when it is time."
"Yes my Lord."
Draco slowly turned his throne away from Gamorr, "Now leave me."
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2 Days later.
Belldandy walked slowly through the streets of heaven, deep in thought. The last several days had been very difficult for her. First of all, her daughter and her sister had been injured in an explosion. Sayoko was recovering, but was very anxious to get up and back to work. It had taken both Belldandy and Keiichi, with the help of Megumi, Urd and some rope, to get her to stay put. Skuld was a different story. She had been right next to the device when it went off. Although alive, her status was shaky at best.
The other thing on her mind was what occurred at the council meeting. As a result of that meeting, she was now on her way to talk to someone concerning the other two involved. She was not looking forward to it. Belldandy pulled herself from her thoughts to concentrate on where she was. She quickly spotted her destination, a fairly large house located just inside the Norse section of heaven. Belldandy smiled as she remembered why they had chosen this spot. She walked up to the door and knocked. The door creaked open and a girl of about 12 peeked out. She had blue eyes and red hair, just like her mother. Belldandy smiled at the younger version of Asuka.
"Yui, can I come in? I need to speak with your parents."
"Of course Auntie Belldandy." Yui replied with a smile, "You know you're always welcome."
Belldandy smiled as she walked into the house. Ever since she was able to speak, Yui had referred to Belldandy and her sisters, even Sayoko , as 'Auntie', even though they were not related. Of course Yui also referred to Misato and Rei as Auntie, but that was to be expected for Misato was like an older sister to the former pilots and Rei basically was Shinji's sister. Belldandy followed Yui into the living room.
"Wait here, I'll go get them." said Yui before disappearing up some stairs.
While Belldandy waited, she looked around the living room. On a shelf were pictures from the past. One showed Asuka, Shinji, Rei, Touji, Hikari, Kensuke, and Sayoko when they were still in high school. Another was from a bit further back, and showed the 5 children in their Plug Suits. In front of this picture were two red plastic pieces. Belldandy realized that they were Asuka's old neural interfaces. Also on the shelf, leaning against the back was a hand written sign, which stated simply, 'Shinji's Lovely suite'. The sound of footsteps caused her to turn around. Shinji was coming down the stairs, carrying an injured Asuka. He very carefully set Asuka down on the couch. Belldandy and Asuka's eyes met. Asuka gave a small smile and nodded to her 'boss'. Asuka had been just as close to the blast as Skuld, however, because she recognized the device quicker then the others, she had been able to get a full shield up, while the others could only manage a partial. Still, the shield could only do so much. While it had blocked out the worst of the blast, the shield used a lot of energy to do so. Thus when the caves collapsed, the shields had failed entirely. Asuka had under gone several healing spells, and would be under going several more.
After making sure that Asuka was comfortable, Shinji turned and looked at Belldandy.
"Alright, you said we needed to talk."
Belldandy was about to speak, when she spotted movement on the stairs. She looked over to see Yui listening in. Noticing, Shinji turned and spoke to his daughter.
"Yui, why don't you go visit Auntie Misato and Uncle Kaji."
"Awwww." A disappointed Yui muttered as she left the house.
Now assured of privacy, Belldandy turned to Shinji and Asuka.
"There have been some developments regarding Terra 2." began Belldandy.
"They found Rei?" asked Shinji.
Belldandy looked down at the ground, "No. There is no sign at all of Rei. They searched based on what Asuka and Sayoko saw, but they haven't found any sign of her."
"Maybe they should expand the search area." stated Shinji.
Belldandy finally looked Shinji in the eye. "We have been ordered off Terra 2."
Asuka closed her eyes while Shinji stared at Belldandy in shock. "WHAT?!"
"By order of the Council," said Belldandy, quietly, "Terra 2 is now off limits to all deities."
"What about Rei? Are they giving up!?" Shinji was furious. "We're abandoning them both!?"
"No, the Terra 2 office remains," replied Belldandy, "But the council wants to study the situation in more detail."
"By the time they're done 'studying the situation'," Shinji said, "the demons will be in control."
"I'm sorry Shinji, I tried. But I was out voted."
Shinji looked down at Asuka. She appeared to be asleep. "How's Skuld and Sayoko?" he asked quietly.
"Skuld is still unconscious. They still don't know if she'll recover. Sayoko is another story." A smile slowly creep onto her face. "She keeps trying to get up and out of bed, against the healers orders. Keiichi and I had to practically tie her down to keep her in place. I do believe however, Asuka is beginning to rub off on her a lot more." Belldandy noticed that Asuka had opened her eyes and was looking at her questioningly. "She's cursing."
Shinji shrugged, "Sayoko's cursed before. That's nothing new."
Belldandy looked directly into Asuka's eyes, "She's cursing in German."
Asuka began to turn a deep red. A large smile appeared on Shinji's face as he turned and looked at Asuka. "I see."
Belldandy then got up.
"I have to get back to the office." Belldandy headed towards the door. Before she left she turned and looked at Shinji. "Don't worry. I haven't given up on Rei yet. We will find her."
Shinji looked back at her. "I'm going to hold you to that."
Shinji watched Belldandy head down the street a bit before he closed the door. He then walked back and sat down next to Asuka, letting out a loud sigh.
* Don't worry. Belldandy always keeps her promises. *
Shinji glanced over at Asuka. "I know that. But there are some things that are beyond her control."
Asuka frowned at him. * Baka. Rei is a survivor. If anyone could survive that blast, it would be Rei. Besides, she wasn't even that close. *
"I suppose your right."
* I'm always right. *
Shinji reached over and put his arm around Asuka, pulling her closer to him. "How long till your able to speak again?"
* Another 3 days. Why? *
"I miss your voice. It's too quiet around here."
Asuka smiled and leaned on Shinji's shoulder, closing her eyes. * Baka. *
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Terra 2
"Sir. I have gotten the information you requested."
"Excellent. You have done well. There were no problems I assume?"
"No problems. Their residence is well known to all who live in Japoness."
"We move tonight. Soon, the enemies of Gartlant will die, and with their sacrifice, a new order will arise."
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Ever since Belldandy had left the house, she had been in deep thought on how she could fulfill her promise to Shinji.
'I can't send anyone to Terra 2, not god, nor guardian. And I can't send any mortals, that would break all the rules. Who can I.....' Belldandy stopped dead in her tracks. A smile appeared on her face as the answer came to her. She began to run towards the building.
* Urd!! *
*OW! Dammit Bell! Don't yell! * came Urd's reply, * What is it? *
* Meet me in my office. * sent Belldandy, * I just figured out how we can find Rei AND save Lorelei. *
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Terra 2
Later that evening,
Lorelei knelt next to the unconscious figure. "She's still out?"
Cherry nodded, "She was awake when we found her, but since then....."
Lorelei nodded, "But her condition has improved?"
"Yes. Its very strange." replied Cherry, "When we brought her in, both her legs were broken and she had other sever injuries. Yet, yesterday when I scanned her, her legs had healed and her injuries were not as life threatening. I'm at a loss to explain it."
Lorelei listened as she looked at the girl before her. Other then the blue hair and the red eyes, she looked exactly as she did back on the Mesopotamia. "Don't worry about understanding it Cherry. According to the fingerprints you gave me, she was on Mesopotamia and is approx 324 years old, give or take a few years."
Lorelei stood up and left the room, Cherry following. Both walked downstairs and entered the restaurant area, closed for now. Waiting there were Bloodberry, Lime, Otaru, Tiger, and Panther.
"How is she?" asked Panther.
"Still out, but better then she was." replied Lorelei.
Otaru looked up, "Have you figured out yet what that was in her pocket?"
"Faust and Luchs are still examining it." said Lorelei, "But it looks something like a communicator."
"To her friends?"
Lorelei nodded, "But in its current condition, we won't be sending them any messages anytime soon."
Bloodberry shrugged, "We found it as is. It must have been damaged when she was injured."
Tiger glanced at the clock on the wall, then turned to Lorelei. "We have to go back now. Baiko and Tamasaburo don't like it when your out of their sight for too long."
Lorelei let out a sigh. "I'm beginning to really hate that castle. It's all I ever see." She turned and looked back at Otaru. "You and the girls keep and eye on her, and be careful. There's no telling who she's working for or what she'll do when she wakes up."
Otaru smiled, "Of course we'll be careful."
Lorelei got up and headed towards the entrance, Tiger and Panther right behind her. "Later girls!"
"Bye Lorelei!" replied Cherry, Lime, and Bloodberry.
Lorelei turned and opened the door, but was unable to step out. A figure in uniform stood in her way. "Well well. It appears we won't even have to knock."
Tiger grabbed Lorelei and moved her away from the man. "Who are you?"
The man smiled, "So you don't recognize me hmm? I must have been right about you Saber Dolls, you're all defective equipment.
Tiger and Panther's eyes narrowed with recognition.
"General Prien." said Panther, her voice dripping with hate, "Why are you here?"
"I am here to complete the job that you could not," replied Prien "The defeat of Maimya and his Marionettes."
"Why?"
"Because with them gone, nothing will stand in the way of a new and powerful Gartlant."
"Gartlant is dead and gone." said Tiger, "Nothing you do will b ring it back."
"Well we'll just see won't we." replied Prien with an evil smile. "GET THEM!"
Prien moved out of the way and in his place stood 12 Gartlant Sabers. Shoulder compartments opened and gun barrels extended. The Sabers immediately opened fire. Otaru was pulled out of the way by Lime and Cherry, Lorelei by Tiger and Panther, Bloodberry dove for the floor. Bullets riddled the wall of the restaurant. Lorelei and Otaru scrambled into the living room area, the marionettes right behind them.
"What are we going to do?" asked Lorelei over the roar of gunfire.
"Get out of here for starters" replied Bloodberry. "Lime, Cherry, Tiger, Panther and I will handle them. You two get out of here."
"What about..?" asked Lorelei, pointing upwards in reference to the girl who still lay unconscious upstairs.
"They don't know she's here, and they don't want her." replied Tiger. "They want you. Now get her out of here Otaru!"
Otaru grabbed Lorelei's hand and pulled her towards the back room, just as the Gartlant Sabers entered. Both fell to the floor as bullets ripped through the wall next to them, just above their heads.
"Remember when I said I hated the castle?" asked Lorelei.
"Yeah?" replied Otaru.
"I just changed my mind. At least those walls stop bullets." She then looked around the room. "Why did you take me in here?! There's no exit!"
Otaru ran to the wall and kicked it, creating a hole. "Your exit Milady." Both leaped through the hole into the next apartment, which belonged to......
"OTARU-KUN!!!" shouted Hanagata, "This is so unexpected!" he then noticed Lorelei. "AHHH!! Why did you bring her?!"
Otaru was about to reply when the sound of gunfire reached them. Lorelei and Otaru dove to the floor. Hanagata followed as the bullets shot over their heads.
"Otaru! What have you done now!!" shouted Hanagata.
"Don't ask!" replied Otaru, "We have to get away from here!"
"This way!" shouted Hanagata as he ran from the room. Lorelei and Otaru followed him to a back door. "I had this put in case your Marionettes ever went crazy." He opened the door and ran through it, colliding into the figures that stood there. Lorelei and Otaru stared at the Gartlant Sabers as they leveled their guns at them.
"You will surrender." one said. It was not a request.
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Lime, Cherry, Bloodberry, Tiger, and Panther stood before a pile of Marionettes.
"This is more like it." said Tiger, "Standard, Non-regenerating Sabers."
"3 left." stated Panther as she tossed another onto the growing pile.
"3!?" shouted Cherry, "But there were 12!"
Tiger looked around as she eliminated the 8th Saber. "Where did they go?!"
"I can answer that." The marionettes turned to see Prien, standing next to the missing marionettes. In front of the marionettes, their guns targeted and locked, were Lorelei, Otaru, and Hanagata. "I suggest you surrender now, or these 3 will suffer."
"Damn." muttered Bloodberry. Cherry and Lime glared at Prien. The two surviving Sabers walked over and stood just off the side of Prien.
"All of you," ordered Prien, "Line up over there." He pointed towards the fence. The 5 marionettes complied. The two Sabers not targeting the humans, line up their sights on the marionettes. Prien looked over at Otaru.
"I hope you have nothing important to say to them," he said with a smile "Because they are about to become scrap!" Prien turned to the Sabers. "FIRE!"
"NOOOOOOOOOO!!" shouted Otaru, as the Gartlant Sabers opened up on the marionettes. Lorelei closed her eyes, unable to watch. Even Hanagata looked away. The view of the marionettes was clouded from smoke and dust as the Sabers continued to fire. Prien finally ordered the Sabers to cease fire.
"That should be enough." He said. "Anything that is left can be dealt with by hand."
"You basterd." muttered Otaru quietly. Lorelei was on her knees, sobbing quietly.
"This is war." replied Prien. "In a war, there are casualties."
"Sir." Prien looked up at the Saber that spoke. "The targets remain."
"WHAT!?!" The 4 humans looked over at the wall. The smoke had cleared enough to show the 5 Sabers still standing. All were wide eyed and appeared to been in shock that they were still standing.
"How!?!" shouted Prien.
"I believe I can answer that."
Everyone turned and looked towards the balcony where the voice came from. Standing there looking down at the scene before her was the girl, her blue hair moving in the slight breeze.
"You just made a mistake." she said, "A very serious mistake." Her eyes began to glow red. "And you will be punished severely."
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Search and Recovery
Otaru and the girls ran towards the location of the explosion. The fireball had long since dissipated, but a large plume of smoke marked the spot. As they got closer to the blast, they saw just how devastating the blast had been. Buildings, houses, and shops had windows shattered. Taller buildings were missing their upper floors and roofs, which now littered the street. Finally, they reached the city's walls. Several sections of the wall had been knocked over from the explosion. Cherry and Lime quickly leaped over the fallen wall, Bloodberry stayed back to help Otaru over. Lime and Cherry reached the blast area minutes later. At the center of the blast was a large crater. The ground around the crater was scorched and littered with rocks that had been blasted from the earth. Cherry began to slowly scan the area. Lime walked up and looked down into the crater.
"I don't know what you expect to find out here." She said to Cherry.
Cherry ignored her, continuing to scan, until she spotted something. Cherry began to hurry towards the spot.
"Not find," she called back to Lime, "Found."
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Bright white light. Followed by the sense of flying. That was the last thing she remembered. She felt a weight on her back, and some of her robes had ended up covering her face. She also found she was unable to move her legs. She slowly moved the object that was on top of her off and moved the robe. She was momentarily blinded as her eyes got used to the light. Wait. Light? She had been underground. How did she get up here? She slowly raised her head. Ow. Bad idea. She slowly lowered her head back down. She tried to concentrate her powers to heal herself, but she didn't have the power to. She then tried to telepathically contact the others, but found she was unable to. Her vision began to fade. Not good she thought. A crunching noise alerted her to the fact that someone was approaching. She slowly raised her head again, despite the pain. Two figures were moving towards her, both were marionettes. One was in a pink outfit and had purple hair. The other had dark blue hair, and a white outfit over a black jumpsuit. Both made eye contact with her. Her vision suddenly went blurry, and within seconds, darkness claimed her.
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Otaru and Bloodberry finally arrived on the scene of the blast. Otaru couldn't find and words to describe what he was seeing. So Bloodberry did.
"Wow."
"Master Otaru! Over here!"
Otaru and Bloodberry turned to see Cherry waving to them over to her location. Lime was with her, but was kneeling on the ground looking at something. Otaru and Bloodberry ran to them. Upon arriving, Otaru saw what it was Cherry and Lime were looking over.
"Is she alive?" he asked.
Cherry nodded, "She was awake when we got here, but has since lost consciousness. Master we should take her to the apartment quickly."
"Why not the castle?"
"She may not make it that far." replied Cherry, "Our apartment is closer, and fewer people will see her along the way."
While Otaru and Cherry had been talking, Lime and Bloodberry slowly dug out the partially buried girl. Finally, Otaru gave in.
"Alright, We'll bring her to the apartment." He then turned to Lime. "Run to the castle and tell Faust and Lorelei."
"Right!" Lime quickly raced off.
"Thank-you Master." replied Cherry.
Otaru looked down at the girl. "I'm not going to be able to carry her to the apartment very quickly." He looked up at Bloodberry. Bloodberry nodded.
"I can do it." She started to pick up the girl.
"Careful Bloodberry," said Otaru, "We don't know how badly injured she is."
Bloodberry shifted the girl in her arms. "I got her. Don't worry."
The three immediately headed for home.
Meanwhile, on the floor of the crater, several rocks began to shake. Finally, they moved off to the side, revealing a hand pushing its way upwards. The hand was followed by an arm, and then a head burst through.
'cough cough.' "Ugh....." the girl muttered, "Now I know how Shinji felt his first day in Tokyo-3."
The girl continued to pull herself out, being especially careful with her left arm and leg. She slowly scanned the crater. Finding nothing of interest, she then turned to focus on herself. She was covered in dirt and dust. She tried to heal herself, but also found she did not have the power to do so. She then also tried to telepathically contact her friends, but with no success. However, she had one thing going for her. She was no longer buried. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a round object. She looked the device over. Seeing no damage, she let out a sigh.
"Thank Goddess Auntie builds them well."
She jabbed her finger on a button, a red light immediately began to flash.
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Yggdrasil
Urd sat quietly in the SysOp chair. Below her, gods and goddesses moved about, tending to the day to day operations and maintenance of the world computer, Yggdrasil. This had become more important of late, as mortals had moved off planet and gone into the stars. Several planets now fell under Yggdrasil control. And other then the severe Plasma Storms that had threatened Terra 2, everything was going smoothly. Urd looked at her terminal.
'Another 10 minutes, and I get off duty.' She thought. A slow smile crept across her face. 'Then I get to challenge Misato to another drinking contest.'
Any further thoughts went away as her terminal cleared its screen and began to flash red. A phrase appeared on the screen, also blinking. Urd stared at the words in shock before her hand slapped on the alarm switch.
"Alert!" Urd's voice boomed throughout the building, "We have a Broken Wing. Repeat, We have a Broken Wing." All around there was a flurry of activity as deities scrambled to their stations. Urd turned and looked at Chronos.
"Confirm that Broken Wing message, its location, and who."
Chronos quickly looked over her terminal. "Broken Wing confirmed. Location Terra 2." Her eyes widened. "Message initialized by Goddess 1st Class Sayoko."
"SAYOKO?" a feeling of dread came over Urd. 'Oh hell.' Urd quickly reached for the nearby phone. She lifted it to her ear, quickly enYuing a number. "Commander Mist. We have a Broken Wing on Terra 2. Proceed immediately."
"Acknowledged." came the reply.
Urd then hung up. She sat, staring at the phone, dreading the call she now had to make.
'I can't put it off' she thought. She picked the phone back up and dialed yet another number.
"Bell, its Urd. You'd better sit down......"
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Sayoko sat patiently waiting near the hole she had dug herself out of. The transmitter continued to send her distress call.
"Come on." she muttered, "Where are you?"
"You rang?"
Sayoko jumped, the movement causing her a lot of pain. Clenching her teeth, she turned to see Commander Mist and 15 Valkyries.
"Took you long enough...." muttered Sayoko, her voice betraying the pain she was in. Mist was immediately at her side. Mist ran a hand over Sayoko.
"You have a broken arm and your leg is broken in 4 spots." Mist looked up at Sayoko. "You want to tell me what happened?"
"We were exploring a cave." replied Sayoko.
Mist looked around. "A cave? Then what are you doing in this crater?"
Sayoko let out a sigh, "Someone decided to redecorate using an N2 mine, while Rei, Asuka, Auntie Skuld and I were in it."
Mist stared at Sayoko. "You mean the others are....?"
Sayoko nodded, "Somewhere around here, probably buried."
Mist quickly turned and shouted orders to the Valkyries. The Valkyries immediately spread out and began to search, 2 remained near Mist. Mist nodded to them, and they carefully lifted Sayoko onto a stretcher they created.
"Hey!" shouted Sayoko, "What do you think your doing?!"
"Your going back to Yggdrasil." replied Mist. "We'll handle it from here."
"I'm not leaving until you find the others!"
Mist gave Sayoko a slightly irritated look. "You know, you look tired."
"WHAT?!?! I'm not..." Mist waved her hand over Sayoko's head. Sayoko dropped to the stretcher, fast asleep.
Mist let out a loud sigh. "Now, then...." She then nodded to the Valkyries, who quickly vanished. Mist then turned and watched as the others continued their search of the crater.
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Gamorr bowed low before the throne, "It has gone as you had planned my Lord. The mine exploded and caught the 4 Goddesses in its wake."
Draco smiled, "Excellent."
"Do we move against the clones now, my Lord?"
"No." replied Draco, "Consider this. We have just detonated a large explosive device that hopefully killed or severely injured the Goddesses. The heavens will be alert now. We must wait for a few days, let them expend resources trying to find us. I will send for you when it is time."
"Yes my Lord."
Draco slowly turned his throne away from Gamorr, "Now leave me."
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2 Days later.
Belldandy walked slowly through the streets of heaven, deep in thought. The last several days had been very difficult for her. First of all, her daughter and her sister had been injured in an explosion. Sayoko was recovering, but was very anxious to get up and back to work. It had taken both Belldandy and Keiichi, with the help of Megumi, Urd and some rope, to get her to stay put. Skuld was a different story. She had been right next to the device when it went off. Although alive, her status was shaky at best.
The other thing on her mind was what occurred at the council meeting. As a result of that meeting, she was now on her way to talk to someone concerning the other two involved. She was not looking forward to it. Belldandy pulled herself from her thoughts to concentrate on where she was. She quickly spotted her destination, a fairly large house located just inside the Norse section of heaven. Belldandy smiled as she remembered why they had chosen this spot. She walked up to the door and knocked. The door creaked open and a girl of about 12 peeked out. She had blue eyes and red hair, just like her mother. Belldandy smiled at the younger version of Asuka.
"Yui, can I come in? I need to speak with your parents."
"Of course Auntie Belldandy." Yui replied with a smile, "You know you're always welcome."
Belldandy smiled as she walked into the house. Ever since she was able to speak, Yui had referred to Belldandy and her sisters, even Sayoko , as 'Auntie', even though they were not related. Of course Yui also referred to Misato and Rei as Auntie, but that was to be expected for Misato was like an older sister to the former pilots and Rei basically was Shinji's sister. Belldandy followed Yui into the living room.
"Wait here, I'll go get them." said Yui before disappearing up some stairs.
While Belldandy waited, she looked around the living room. On a shelf were pictures from the past. One showed Asuka, Shinji, Rei, Touji, Hikari, Kensuke, and Sayoko when they were still in high school. Another was from a bit further back, and showed the 5 children in their Plug Suits. In front of this picture were two red plastic pieces. Belldandy realized that they were Asuka's old neural interfaces. Also on the shelf, leaning against the back was a hand written sign, which stated simply, 'Shinji's Lovely suite'. The sound of footsteps caused her to turn around. Shinji was coming down the stairs, carrying an injured Asuka. He very carefully set Asuka down on the couch. Belldandy and Asuka's eyes met. Asuka gave a small smile and nodded to her 'boss'. Asuka had been just as close to the blast as Skuld, however, because she recognized the device quicker then the others, she had been able to get a full shield up, while the others could only manage a partial. Still, the shield could only do so much. While it had blocked out the worst of the blast, the shield used a lot of energy to do so. Thus when the caves collapsed, the shields had failed entirely. Asuka had under gone several healing spells, and would be under going several more.
After making sure that Asuka was comfortable, Shinji turned and looked at Belldandy.
"Alright, you said we needed to talk."
Belldandy was about to speak, when she spotted movement on the stairs. She looked over to see Yui listening in. Noticing, Shinji turned and spoke to his daughter.
"Yui, why don't you go visit Auntie Misato and Uncle Kaji."
"Awwww." A disappointed Yui muttered as she left the house.
Now assured of privacy, Belldandy turned to Shinji and Asuka.
"There have been some developments regarding Terra 2." began Belldandy.
"They found Rei?" asked Shinji.
Belldandy looked down at the ground, "No. There is no sign at all of Rei. They searched based on what Asuka and Sayoko saw, but they haven't found any sign of her."
"Maybe they should expand the search area." stated Shinji.
Belldandy finally looked Shinji in the eye. "We have been ordered off Terra 2."
Asuka closed her eyes while Shinji stared at Belldandy in shock. "WHAT?!"
"By order of the Council," said Belldandy, quietly, "Terra 2 is now off limits to all deities."
"What about Rei? Are they giving up!?" Shinji was furious. "We're abandoning them both!?"
"No, the Terra 2 office remains," replied Belldandy, "But the council wants to study the situation in more detail."
"By the time they're done 'studying the situation'," Shinji said, "the demons will be in control."
"I'm sorry Shinji, I tried. But I was out voted."
Shinji looked down at Asuka. She appeared to be asleep. "How's Skuld and Sayoko?" he asked quietly.
"Skuld is still unconscious. They still don't know if she'll recover. Sayoko is another story." A smile slowly creep onto her face. "She keeps trying to get up and out of bed, against the healers orders. Keiichi and I had to practically tie her down to keep her in place. I do believe however, Asuka is beginning to rub off on her a lot more." Belldandy noticed that Asuka had opened her eyes and was looking at her questioningly. "She's cursing."
Shinji shrugged, "Sayoko's cursed before. That's nothing new."
Belldandy looked directly into Asuka's eyes, "She's cursing in German."
Asuka began to turn a deep red. A large smile appeared on Shinji's face as he turned and looked at Asuka. "I see."
Belldandy then got up.
"I have to get back to the office." Belldandy headed towards the door. Before she left she turned and looked at Shinji. "Don't worry. I haven't given up on Rei yet. We will find her."
Shinji looked back at her. "I'm going to hold you to that."
Shinji watched Belldandy head down the street a bit before he closed the door. He then walked back and sat down next to Asuka, letting out a loud sigh.
* Don't worry. Belldandy always keeps her promises. *
Shinji glanced over at Asuka. "I know that. But there are some things that are beyond her control."
Asuka frowned at him. * Baka. Rei is a survivor. If anyone could survive that blast, it would be Rei. Besides, she wasn't even that close. *
"I suppose your right."
* I'm always right. *
Shinji reached over and put his arm around Asuka, pulling her closer to him. "How long till your able to speak again?"
* Another 3 days. Why? *
"I miss your voice. It's too quiet around here."
Asuka smiled and leaned on Shinji's shoulder, closing her eyes. * Baka. *
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Terra 2
"Sir. I have gotten the information you requested."
"Excellent. You have done well. There were no problems I assume?"
"No problems. Their residence is well known to all who live in Japoness."
"We move tonight. Soon, the enemies of Gartlant will die, and with their sacrifice, a new order will arise."
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Ever since Belldandy had left the house, she had been in deep thought on how she could fulfill her promise to Shinji.
'I can't send anyone to Terra 2, not god, nor guardian. And I can't send any mortals, that would break all the rules. Who can I.....' Belldandy stopped dead in her tracks. A smile appeared on her face as the answer came to her. She began to run towards the building.
* Urd!! *
*OW! Dammit Bell! Don't yell! * came Urd's reply, * What is it? *
* Meet me in my office. * sent Belldandy, * I just figured out how we can find Rei AND save Lorelei. *
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Terra 2
Later that evening,
Lorelei knelt next to the unconscious figure. "She's still out?"
Cherry nodded, "She was awake when we found her, but since then....."
Lorelei nodded, "But her condition has improved?"
"Yes. Its very strange." replied Cherry, "When we brought her in, both her legs were broken and she had other sever injuries. Yet, yesterday when I scanned her, her legs had healed and her injuries were not as life threatening. I'm at a loss to explain it."
Lorelei listened as she looked at the girl before her. Other then the blue hair and the red eyes, she looked exactly as she did back on the Mesopotamia. "Don't worry about understanding it Cherry. According to the fingerprints you gave me, she was on Mesopotamia and is approx 324 years old, give or take a few years."
Lorelei stood up and left the room, Cherry following. Both walked downstairs and entered the restaurant area, closed for now. Waiting there were Bloodberry, Lime, Otaru, Tiger, and Panther.
"How is she?" asked Panther.
"Still out, but better then she was." replied Lorelei.
Otaru looked up, "Have you figured out yet what that was in her pocket?"
"Faust and Luchs are still examining it." said Lorelei, "But it looks something like a communicator."
"To her friends?"
Lorelei nodded, "But in its current condition, we won't be sending them any messages anytime soon."
Bloodberry shrugged, "We found it as is. It must have been damaged when she was injured."
Tiger glanced at the clock on the wall, then turned to Lorelei. "We have to go back now. Baiko and Tamasaburo don't like it when your out of their sight for too long."
Lorelei let out a sigh. "I'm beginning to really hate that castle. It's all I ever see." She turned and looked back at Otaru. "You and the girls keep and eye on her, and be careful. There's no telling who she's working for or what she'll do when she wakes up."
Otaru smiled, "Of course we'll be careful."
Lorelei got up and headed towards the entrance, Tiger and Panther right behind her. "Later girls!"
"Bye Lorelei!" replied Cherry, Lime, and Bloodberry.
Lorelei turned and opened the door, but was unable to step out. A figure in uniform stood in her way. "Well well. It appears we won't even have to knock."
Tiger grabbed Lorelei and moved her away from the man. "Who are you?"
The man smiled, "So you don't recognize me hmm? I must have been right about you Saber Dolls, you're all defective equipment.
Tiger and Panther's eyes narrowed with recognition.
"General Prien." said Panther, her voice dripping with hate, "Why are you here?"
"I am here to complete the job that you could not," replied Prien "The defeat of Maimya and his Marionettes."
"Why?"
"Because with them gone, nothing will stand in the way of a new and powerful Gartlant."
"Gartlant is dead and gone." said Tiger, "Nothing you do will b ring it back."
"Well we'll just see won't we." replied Prien with an evil smile. "GET THEM!"
Prien moved out of the way and in his place stood 12 Gartlant Sabers. Shoulder compartments opened and gun barrels extended. The Sabers immediately opened fire. Otaru was pulled out of the way by Lime and Cherry, Lorelei by Tiger and Panther, Bloodberry dove for the floor. Bullets riddled the wall of the restaurant. Lorelei and Otaru scrambled into the living room area, the marionettes right behind them.
"What are we going to do?" asked Lorelei over the roar of gunfire.
"Get out of here for starters" replied Bloodberry. "Lime, Cherry, Tiger, Panther and I will handle them. You two get out of here."
"What about..?" asked Lorelei, pointing upwards in reference to the girl who still lay unconscious upstairs.
"They don't know she's here, and they don't want her." replied Tiger. "They want you. Now get her out of here Otaru!"
Otaru grabbed Lorelei's hand and pulled her towards the back room, just as the Gartlant Sabers entered. Both fell to the floor as bullets ripped through the wall next to them, just above their heads.
"Remember when I said I hated the castle?" asked Lorelei.
"Yeah?" replied Otaru.
"I just changed my mind. At least those walls stop bullets." She then looked around the room. "Why did you take me in here?! There's no exit!"
Otaru ran to the wall and kicked it, creating a hole. "Your exit Milady." Both leaped through the hole into the next apartment, which belonged to......
"OTARU-KUN!!!" shouted Hanagata, "This is so unexpected!" he then noticed Lorelei. "AHHH!! Why did you bring her?!"
Otaru was about to reply when the sound of gunfire reached them. Lorelei and Otaru dove to the floor. Hanagata followed as the bullets shot over their heads.
"Otaru! What have you done now!!" shouted Hanagata.
"Don't ask!" replied Otaru, "We have to get away from here!"
"This way!" shouted Hanagata as he ran from the room. Lorelei and Otaru followed him to a back door. "I had this put in case your Marionettes ever went crazy." He opened the door and ran through it, colliding into the figures that stood there. Lorelei and Otaru stared at the Gartlant Sabers as they leveled their guns at them.
"You will surrender." one said. It was not a request.
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Lime, Cherry, Bloodberry, Tiger, and Panther stood before a pile of Marionettes.
"This is more like it." said Tiger, "Standard, Non-regenerating Sabers."
"3 left." stated Panther as she tossed another onto the growing pile.
"3!?" shouted Cherry, "But there were 12!"
Tiger looked around as she eliminated the 8th Saber. "Where did they go?!"
"I can answer that." The marionettes turned to see Prien, standing next to the missing marionettes. In front of the marionettes, their guns targeted and locked, were Lorelei, Otaru, and Hanagata. "I suggest you surrender now, or these 3 will suffer."
"Damn." muttered Bloodberry. Cherry and Lime glared at Prien. The two surviving Sabers walked over and stood just off the side of Prien.
"All of you," ordered Prien, "Line up over there." He pointed towards the fence. The 5 marionettes complied. The two Sabers not targeting the humans, line up their sights on the marionettes. Prien looked over at Otaru.
"I hope you have nothing important to say to them," he said with a smile "Because they are about to become scrap!" Prien turned to the Sabers. "FIRE!"
"NOOOOOOOOOO!!" shouted Otaru, as the Gartlant Sabers opened up on the marionettes. Lorelei closed her eyes, unable to watch. Even Hanagata looked away. The view of the marionettes was clouded from smoke and dust as the Sabers continued to fire. Prien finally ordered the Sabers to cease fire.
"That should be enough." He said. "Anything that is left can be dealt with by hand."
"You basterd." muttered Otaru quietly. Lorelei was on her knees, sobbing quietly.
"This is war." replied Prien. "In a war, there are casualties."
"Sir." Prien looked up at the Saber that spoke. "The targets remain."
"WHAT!?!" The 4 humans looked over at the wall. The smoke had cleared enough to show the 5 Sabers still standing. All were wide eyed and appeared to been in shock that they were still standing.
"How!?!" shouted Prien.
"I believe I can answer that."
Everyone turned and looked towards the balcony where the voice came from. Standing there looking down at the scene before her was the girl, her blue hair moving in the slight breeze.
"You just made a mistake." she said, "A very serious mistake." Her eyes began to glow red. "And you will be punished severely."
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