"Hey Catch!"

The demon turned just in time to see a shield fly at him. He fell to the ground stunned. Keiichi smiled at his toss.

"You may have defeated them.."

Belldandy and Keiichi turned to see the Akuma standing triumphantly holding the tablet over his head.

".But I now hold the key to victory."

Chapter 5

Akuma brought the tablet down and looked upon it.

"With this tablet, our queen will achieve ascension and rule over both hell and heaven."

As Akuma spoke, the two demons stood up and glared at Belldandy and Keiichi. Akuma glanced at his minions.

"Let them be."

"But Sir...!" began one of the demons.

"I SAID LET THEM BE!" shouted Akuma, "Remember your place."

"Yeah...a target."

The three demons turned to see the 1st now up on her knees. Within seconds, one demon was dead, a disk wedged between his eyes, the other losing his head as a force bolt explosively removed it, leaving only Akuma remaining.

"I'm beginning to find you very annoying Goddess." muttered Akuma.

"Yeah yeah." replied the 1st. "Tell me something new."

Akuma held the tablet protectively. "With this I can insure your mission fails."

The 1st smirked. "What makes you think that's the artifact you need?"

Akuma glanced at the goddess then at the artifact. "Huh.."

The 1st quickly released several force bolts as the demon looked away. One smashed into the tablet, destroying it. The others crashed into the walls of the room. Loud creaking noises echoed throughout the room as the second floor began to sag downward. The 1st turned and fired off several more bolts. Pieces of the second floor began to give away. The 1st turned towards the door where Belldandy and Keiichi still stood.

"K!! Get Onee-sama out of here."

Keiichi quickly grabbed hold of Belldandy and ran from the room, heading towards the museum's exit.

"YOU FOOL!" shouted Akuma, "You'll kill us both!!"

The 1st fired off more force bolts before replying.

"You underestimate me." She replied. She then waved and vanished in a puddle of water from the sprinkles.

Akuma let out a growl of frustration as the room continued to collapse around him, smashing artifacts and displays all over.

"Dammit." Akuma swore before he vanished in a fireball.

With a roar, the rest of the room collapsed into the spot Akuma had just left.

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Belldandy and Keiichi finished telling their story to Urd and Lind at the dinner table that night.

"She leveled the entire wing?" asked Urd.

Belldandy nodded. "She seemed determined to prevent the demons from finding what ever they were looking for."

"What about that tablet?"

Belldandy shrugged, "It had all our symbols on it. Other then that, I couldn't tell."

"That demon thought it was important." said Keiichi.

"It is pointless to discuss the purpose of the tablet now." said Lind, "It and everything else in that room has been destroyed." Lind stared at the table. "I am finding this Goddess to be very disturbing. To cause such destruction and death with little to no remorse is....disturbing."

Urd raised an eyebrow. "Lind disturbed? Now I'm worried."

Lind stood up. "I will report to the heavens about this latest attack. They should know of the dead demons." She turned and left the room. Urd sighed before standing.

"I'm gonna go watch TV." She also then left the room, leaving Keiichi and Belldandy alone. Belldandy stood and began clearing the table. Keiichi followed her into the kitchen. Belldandy started to wash the dishes. Keiichi walked up behind her.

"How come you didn't mention that the Goddess called you 'Onee-sama' and me 'K'?"

Belldandy tensed up. "I....I didn't want to worry Urd."

"But if it is..."

Belldandy whirled around. "It CAN'T be her! She's not like that! She couldn't be so.." Belldandy's eyes teared up. "No matter what happens, she would never try to kill Urd. I refuse to believe it could be her. It..it just can't be...."

Keiichi placed his hands on Belldandy's shoulders.

"But what if it is?" he asked softly.

Belldandy closed her eyes. "As long as I live, I will never let her become like that."

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An abandoned apartment.

The 1st sighed peacefully as she finished her evening meal. She then walked over to the old mattress and laid down on it.

'Tomorrow,' she thought with a smile, 'the future is rewritten.'

She then went to sleep, a smile on her face knowing the nightmares of the past 180 years would be no more.

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Across town

Akuma sat quietly brooding over the 'incident', staring at the flames that rose from a burning fuel drum. One moment, he had held in his hands the instrument that would bring the downfall of the heavens. The next, it was rubble. Then the Goddess had gone and destroyed the rest of the exhibit, so that even if he had picked the wrong artifact, he had nothing left intact to choose from. Now the future that he was looking forward to was gone....

Akuma covered his eyes and pondered what he should do. To go off on his own or join the demons of hell in this time. He uncovered his eyes to look back at the flames and nearly had a heart attack.

Floating in the flames was the head of his queen.

"Report." She ordered.

Akuma was stunned.

"My Queen! You..you live!"

The queen frowned. "Of course I live! What kind of idiot are you?!"

"But my queen! The Goddess destroyed the artifacts used in your ascension....or at least an artifact...actually a room full of artifacts..and the building that housed them..."

"SILENCE!" the queen stared at Akuma, "So...you have failed yet again."

Akuma could only look at the ground.

"Very well.." continued the queen, "You are no longer in command. I will send your replacement with the renforcements. They will decide what to do with you."

Her face then vanished from the flames, leaving Akuma to ponder his fate.

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Approx. 180 years into the future.

The Queen of Hell turned the chair away from the flaming bookcase and looked over the office she now controlled. It had once been Kami-sama's, but he had been killed years ago. She reached over and grabbed a phone.

"Give me the 'GRO' office." She ordered.

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At one time, the room had held the phone bank for the Goddess Relief Office. The room's function had ceased to be once the world had been conquered by the demons. It had remained abandoned for the next 100 years. Until now. Now two demons occupied the room. One sat in a chair snickering while her comrade continued to smash and destroy the room. Suddenly the phone next to her began to ring. The demoness picked it up.

" 'Good Riddance Office'. Demoness of the Present Sayoko speaking."

"I have a job for you." Came the queen's voice.

Sayoko sat up. "K! Knock it off. Auntie's on the phone!" Turning back to the phone." What do you require?"

"How would you and your brother like to pay a visit to the good seed of the family?"

Sayoko grinned evilly.

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