Wish's End



by Tremor3258



Chapter 3-Failures and Shadow



Warning: This is a piece of darker OMG fiction, set in a divergent universe. Expect lots of angst with scattered showers of bitter recrimination.



Disclaimer: Dark Horse and Studio Proteus brought the manga to U.S. shores, and they own the rights.



**************



The spirit of an ancient Viking berserker stared at Skuld blankly. Behind him, eyes stared out amidst full beards in the flickering candlelight. "Keichii Morisato?" he asked slowly, sounding out the unfamiliar syllable combinations. He bent to one knee and explained, "I'm sorry, my lady, but no one answers to such a name here."



Skuld, still standing in the curve of Morgan's hand, deflated, sitting down. She shook her head, in denial over what reality presented her. "That's impossible. My search routines were perfect, everything else was exactly how Urd said it would be!" Tears in her eyes, Skuld glared up at Morgan, "Where did it go wrong?" she whispered starkly.



The Norsemen stared at each other in confusion. Skuld was a goddess third-class, and ranked several levels above them on the hierarchy of Heaven. Still, there are very few deferential postures which won't be broken on the sight of a sniffling child. The spokes-berserker stood up uncertainly, and pat mini-Skuld lightly on the back with a finger. "There, there child. It's possible he has assumed another title amongst the legions who stand guard for Ragnarok," said the mighty warrior paternally.



"That's it!" shouted Skuld triumphantly, and stood bolt upright, causing Morgan to flutter into the smoky air reflexively, as the berserker dropped his head back down. Looking up at the wooden rafters, Skuld began to giggle, stress soon breaking her into all-out laughter that had her collapsed on the ground, legs kicking spastically as she struggled to breath past her hilarity.



Morgan, annoyed with her panicked reaction, landed, and tapped her foot. There was still a faint trace of being hunted in the air, and her patience finally broke after a minute of listening to childish laughter. "Skuld, care to explain for us mere immortals?" the fae princess asked irritably.



Skuld held up her hand, trying to gain more time against the questioning stares surrounding her in the gloom. Finally, after a few minutes, Skuld regained enough control to stand back up, brushing herself off and smoothing her uniform slightly. "I'm really a kid sometimes," Skuld started to babble, "Of course Keichii wouldn't be here on his own name! Anyone could find him! Of course Kami-sama wouldn't just hide his data and leave it at that-"



"Skuld," Morgan said in warning, voice starting to warm with anger.



"Sorry," Skuld said, getting a hold of herself. "The stress is starting to get to me." Morgan's eyes softened, but her expression didn't change. Skuld blinked a few times and gathered her thoughts. "There must be a layer of security that we didn't find out about," Skuld explained, "But there still should be some sort of feature to remember."



Skuld turned to the spokes-Viking. "Great soldier," she said formally, "We're looking for a man, very young, with dark hair and eyes. He's probably slim, and has close-cut hair. A bit quiet." The ancient Norsemen's eyes didn't show recognition, and Skuld tracked to think of more details. "I also think he's quite short... probably not more than about 1 and two-thirds of a meter?"



The Viking tilted his head back and roared with laughter, many in the mead hall joining in. "Of course! You want the Smith! So, his legend has spread beyond these halls, eh?"



"Um, yes?" Skuld guessed tentatively.



"He'll be pleased to know that his skill has reached the highest ears in Heaven!" said the berserker reverently. "Please, bade your servant to follow me!" The man headed off into one of the many doorways dotting the entrance hall.



"You heard the incredibly hairy man, servant!" Skuld said, grinning while snapping her fingers, "Let's go!"



Morgan held Skuld up to her face. "You want to walk, my lady?" she asked sweetly.



Skuld subsided, "I'll be good," she noted meekly as they started walking through the complex.



*************



In a cleaner and better-lit portion of Heaven, Urd awaited her fate soberly, legs kicking rhythmically in the air, as her feet were six inches off the ground on the chair. Three guards stood behind the chair's back, clad in the harsh black suits Belldandy was mandating for her operatives. There had been four, but he was in the gutted remnants of the healer's wing, nursing a heavily bruised shin, courtesy of suggesting snidely that Urd might want a booster seat.



Irritated once again by thinking over the event, Urd snatched at the cup in front of her, a trifle disappointed to discover it only contained tea. Still, despite being sobered by the threat of being brought before Belldandy, she'd drunken enough sake before heading for the primary computer room to keep her empowered for a while yet.



"You know, sister, there's an easy way to not have to be such a disgrace to yourself all the time," said a warm, feminine voice behind her. Caught off guard, Urd froze, unswallowed tea tingling on her tongue. Urd mainly motionless, waited a few moments to swallow and then blinked in surprise, looking at the cup. Something tasted familiar about the tea.



"Urd, dear sister, I need you to pay attention now," continued the voice as it started to move around the chair, though Urd could hear frost creeping into the pleasant tone. The goddess of the past slapped herself mentally. All too typically, she was wandering into immediate puzzles than the important one.



*Maybe that last cup was too much after all,* Urd mused. After a moment, she shook her head. *Nah-but now, I think I'd better start talking before Bell loses her temper.* A chill ran down Urd's spine, and she nodded, agreeing mentally, *Yeah, just keep that in mind and maybe you'll live to drink again, Urd my girl.*



Mentally braced, Urd started coldly, "Disgrace is a lot better than using that sort of power, dear sister, and I've done what I could all my life to avoid it." Urd sipped the tea again, throat going dry. Whatever was grabbing her attention in the blend was jumping up and down now, "And I'm not too fond of your methods either, sis." she finished defiantly.



Belldandy, goddess first class, tsked slightly to herself as she moved around the chair. Urd's mouth dropped open slightly as she saw Belldandy clearly, feeling something approaching culture shock.. She wasn't wearing the heavy black coat over white skirts she had adopted as her uniform, or her old Goddess Relief outfit she wore, usually fervently, when off-duty. Instead, it was perfect springwear for Earth, and Urd even vaguely remembered having seen Bell wearing it. She wore a simple blouse and dark skirt combination, even with heavier footwear that even had ankle support, as opposed to the soft boots normally seen, without a trace of jewelry. Belldandy's outfit was fantastically out of place in Kami-sama's old residence hall, and unless Belldandy had some spares conjured up, it was the last of its kind in existence.



Bell looked at Urd's expression with wide eyes and looked down at herself, before shrugging slightly and starting in a merry tone. "What is the problem, Urd? Even I feel the need to relax every now and then, and I have to be relaxed and have all my strength for what's coming next," she said, voice growing warm and soft.



Urd's capacity for shock was exponentially larger when she had stepped out of a TV to help out her little sister, and she quickly refocused. "What's next?" she asked, pouncing on the line.



Belldandy opened her mouth happily, and then paused, eyes clouding for a moment. When she spoke, it was in a flat, mechanical tone, "Urd... you should be more careful. There's already talk of charges and treason against you... and your background doesn't help the situation. I want the family to be together for the celebration, not sealed away somewhere."



"What about my background?" Urd demanded angrily, standing up on the chair to look Belldandy in the eye. "I've gone through the simulators, passed all the dumb classes, and got my license! I'm perfectly qualified to be a goddess! I am!" she trailed off sullenly. As she sat down, she muttered mutinously, "Compared to you right now, I'm overqualified."

Belldandy's eyes narrowed to slits, and Urd froze...training reacting in a reach for power to build a shield, but she caught herself. Without her Yggdrasil connection, power carried far too high a price, even for this, and Urd closed her eyes, steeling herself for reincarnation as she started to hear the majestic windows cracking under the strain that Belldandy's powers put on space-time when her control slipped.



The blow never came. The sound of glass grinding itself to powder trailed off... before a tinkling sound indicated the windows reassembling themselves. Urd cautiously popped one eye open. Belldandy was smiling again, sipping her tea calmly.



"Still, the fact that you consider yourself yet to have morals will play well at your trial Urd," Belldandy continued as if Urd had never interrupted, "The jury will like that. However, I don't have much time for pleasantries... I'm still being blocked from full control, and then there'll be plenty of time to set things straight."



"Time?" Urd asked, before breaking into a cold sweat.



"Belldandy, Sis, you can't mess around with that! It would end the multiverse completely. It's the final taboo. You can't alter the Temp-" Urd started to demand, but Bell cut her off with a single word.



"Quiet," the ruler of Heaven said simply, and Urd felt her mouth snap shut, somewhat to her surprise. Belldandy explained, "I appreciate your advice, and I understand no one would know better than you about destroying worlds, but I'm decided on my path." Urd winced, but her sister gave no outward notice.



Belldandy sighed, and continued, "I'm sorry Urd, but I can't have you trying any more distractions. Your little actions caused the guard to shift, and allowed someone to steal information from the archives. Worse, they already corrupted poor dear Skuld." Urd's eyes widened in panic, but she could still say nothing. Wiping sweat from her forehead, she wondered what had been done to her... and to Skuld. "After all, we wouldn't want anyone getting hurt, would we?" Belldandy asked, staring into Urd's eyes, and Urd felt her jaw muscles ease, allowing her to speak again.



"Y-yes, of course Belldandy. I'll help you however I can," Urd stammered, before shaking her head, "Wait.. what did-"



Belldandy held up a small stoppered bottle for explanation. "I was afraid you'd still be stubborn, so I put this in your tea to help you relax. Something I found in your old training notebooks when we were under house arrest under our..." Belldandy shook, and then swallowed before finishing, "return. See? You've already helped me greatly. This made it much easier to help people cut through the old lies and see the truth about what's going on. Even your mother was quite interested, and gave me this modified version as a present. Even demons need total understanding between people sometimes. Thank you, Urd."



"You're welcome, dear sister," Urd said brightly then shook herself, struggling to resist. After one of many nights out partying too hard, Urd had misread the directions for an assignment and brewed something strictly on the banned list... and she'd kept detailed notes on what she was constructing. Once she found she'd brewed a control potion, she poured everything down and ended up failing the lab, but kept the notes, feeling such a thing, in small doses, could be incredibly useful for a hopeful Goddess of Love.



"Of course I am, Urd!" Belldandy said happily, before leaning forward. "Now... why don't you tell me everything you know about our recent little break-in." And Urd, despite all her efforts, found herself complying, Belldandy's smile growing larger and larger as the tale went on.



**************



"So, if he's disguised, how will we be sure it's him and not some layer of security?" Morgan whispered to Skuld as they walked through the hall, passing by the occasional servant bearing various trays, though generally they carried mead .



"Well," Skuld explained, "the base personality shouldn't have modified... Kami-sama didn't want him going insane, naturally. From what Urd told me before she left to go check on Big Sister, we'll be looking for a quiet, shy, near-recluse type whose good with machines, and has a terrible tendency to lust after innocent young women!" Skuld finished dramatically. Morgan eyed her skeptically, and Skuld subsided, "Well.. I've heard two sides to that last part," she admitted.



"That explains that Smith thing, anyway," Morgan muttered.



The Viking leading them stopped in front of one doorway among many, and flung it open, admitting the sounds of a party, with conversation volumes up in the jet-engine range. Morgan took several steps backwards, ears folding flat against her head in pain. Backlit by firelight, the Norsemen called, hands cupped around his mouth, "Hail, noble warriors!" Over several minutes, the noise of the room subsided merely to loud construction work. Apparently considering this sufficient, the fallen warrior continued, "A great goddess has come bearing a supplication!"



This shut them up. "Do we ride?" called someone near the door, backed by another round of roars. The guide waited patiently, before shaking his head sadly, "Not quite yet. Instead, she asks a question of the great Smith!"



Various noises of agreement rang out, before a helpful voice noted, "Two floors up, third door by the stairs!" The Norsemen raised his arm in thanks, before continuing down the hallway.

"You mean we have to go through that AGAIN?" Morgan demanded, a bit too loudly, as she shook her head to try and clear it of the ringing.



Skuld poked a finger in one ear to clear it. "It was pretty bad, huh?" she sympathized, "And I guess being bigger means that you caught more of it... and those ears look pretty sensitive."



"What?" Morgan asked, still squawking a little. Skuld nodded in sympathy, before Morgan chuckled, "Relax, it was a joke.. give me a minute and I'll be fine," she said cheerfully.



Skuld sat down in Morgan's hand again, pouting. "Don't try things like that!" she demanded, "I'm not a little kid, I wasn't bragging." Morgan grinned again and started to chuckle. Skuld looked down at her current petite size, "You know what I mean!" she huffed.



**************



A few minutes later, they made it to the room. The halls were more crowded on this level, and the hallway not as smoky. Morgan especially enjoyed the greater vision radius. The building was too cramped, and that, combined with her instinct of something still pursuing them, meant it was taking a sizable chunk of willpower not to raise a defensive spell or two. Even this cramped place was better than having all of Heaven after them, though Morgan was growing increasingly unsure about that. Something thumping in the background on this level wasn't helping matters.



"Ow! Morgan, watch it!" Skuld squeaked, and Morgan relaxed the hand she had rolled into a ball.



Morgan started to apologize, but Skuld waved it off, though pleading, "Just don't do it again."



"Ah ha! Found it for sure this time!" their erstwhile guide stated. Skuld's eyes lit up, and she started rummaging through her pockets while the guide placed his hand on the door handle. Suddenly, he jumped back as the door swung open, apparently on its own accord.



"Ha! I see the main hall hasn't fully diluted your talents!" stated a young voice from in the room.



"Of course not lad, but I'll be ready if YOU ever need a refresher!" stated the guide cheerfully, before sobering at Morgan's loud throat clearing. "You've got some visitors Smith. An honest-to-true goddess!"



"Send her and her servant in, at their pleasure, of course," replied the voice. The guide nodded, and turned to them and bowed, before walking down the hall back to his party. Morgan cautiously stepped around the doorway.



Skuld paused in her search as she caught sight of the door. It was of thick oak or another hard wood, Skuld wasn't good with biology, and had been worn from hard use. Its most noticeable feature, however, were the three daggers embedded in it... at roughly head height on a normal human. Morgan looked at them grimly, moving to pull one out and examine in.



"Yes, you won't find a finer edge anywhere!" stated the room's occupant proudly, tearing the two's attention to the room and its inhabitants. The two were speechless for a moment as they took in the surroundings.



Though built in the usual lodge style, the owner of the room had accessorized to a great extent. Almost every inch along three of the walls had a melee weapon of some sort hung upon it, edges gleaming dangerously in the light of the fourth wall's in habitants, a massive fireplace. Morgan relaxed slightly as she spotted why this floor was thumping, due to a bellows assembly before the fireplace. Along one side was a simple bed, but much of the medium-sized room was dominated by a forge, at which the speaker was continuing to work on a new masterpiece.



"Keichii?" Morgan asked. The man was indeed young, barely in his twenties as mortals go, with dark hair and Japanese features. However, her mental image hadn't included all the weapons... and especially not the heavy leather armor and hammer the man swung casually.



He continued his task, but answered after looking up for only a moment "Yes indeed, good woman. Are you and your mistress here to place an order? I can handle my lady easily," he said respectfully, "But getting something to match your form will be a challenge I can sink my teeth into."



"Keichii?" Skuld asked skeptically, watching as the man quenched the sword temporarily and started to move towards them. "We're not here for weapons, we're here to pick you up so that you can help us fix things?" Skuld looked up at Morgan, "What's he talking about, anyway?"



Morgan explained, "Your basically human-shaped, but my center of gravity's a little different from the wings, you have to get differently balanced weapons," she explained, sounding impressed. "He's pretty good to pick it up so quickly."



Keichii shrugged, and said modestly, "I try," as he arrived a respectful few feet in front of them, inclining his head towards Skuld. "Has your carriage broken down my lady? Wheels are a little out of my line of work, but I'll see if I can help... though I'm not sure I'm any good at this 'keichiing'"



"Hmm," Skuld thought aloud, "Maybe his talents have been diverted a little." Keichii looked confused, and Skuld changed the subject. "Keichii, that's your name. You were loved by the goddess... before something bad happened, and we're trying to help set things right." Skuld went back to searching her pockets with renewed purpose.



"Well, Keichii has a nice ring to it, but I don't answer to that ma'am. I'm the Smith, forging the weapons to finally defeat the demons," he explained slowly, looking more and more confused as he spoke, "And it's nice of you to say that, but what goddess would love me next to true men of valor. I'm far too short to get the heft for front-lines work. I'm good for training, but I lack the strength and angle to slay demons," he said apologetically, bowing his head.



"Talk about self-denigrating," Morgan muttered to herself, "And Heaven's Chief Control Freak fell for someone like this?"



"Well, I think so," Skuld said absently, before holding a small, shimmering blue crystal aloft. "Ah ha! I was afraid I'd lost it in one of those teleports." Skuld examined it closely and then nodded happily, "Yup, you're definitely Keichii!" Skuld drew her hammer, cleared her throat, and said in a more dignified tone, "Kei-Smith, please bend forward a bit, and receive a blessing."



The Smith shrugged, and kneeled, with bowed head. "Excellent, my faithful servant!" Skuld praised. Morgan stifled a groan and rolled her eyes. Goddesses inability to lie extended to inability to act, evidently. Skuld stuck her tongue out slightly in concentration as she raised the crystal. "Now, close your eyes and hold very still!" she commanded. The man did as commanded.



Skuld crouched before leaping into the air, placing the crystal on his forehead before giving it a mighty whack with her mallet, causing a startled yelp to emanate from her supplicant. The crystal cracked under the blow, ringing out in a clear tone before letting loose a wave of light. When it cleared, the man was on his back, clutching his forehead.



"How long does it take for mortals to reboot?" Morgan asked, a bit excited.



Skuld looked at Morgan, curious over the sudden burst of enthusiasm, but eagerness to lecture won out. "Memory reinstalls like this are pretty rare.. I didn't have all the right equipment and training to do a really safe, clean job of restoring everything... so he might remember both.. and some of the last parts in here might be hazy, since they're near where when Kami-sama gave him the false ones."



Morgan watched Keichii continue to writhe for a moment, before, concerned, she asked, "When you say couldn't do a really safe job, you did mean that he'll actually be all right? I mean, he's wearing all that leather, but those sounds he's making when he's kicking the floor sound like an army! Can't we do something?"



Skuld chuckled nervously, "Well, the manual said that brute-force installations had an eighty-percent success rate." Skuld watched Keichii and commented, "He's not really hitting the ground that hard... just give him a minute.. I think." Skuld listened, "No... maybe the forge is causing the bellows to expand and contract unrhythmically. Poor thing," Skuld said sympathetically, looking at the forge.



"Well.. it looks like he's asleep now, actually." Morgan said, relieved.



"Huh, oh, right! Keichii!" Skuld shook herself free of mecha-lust and studied him, ignoring the disturbed expression that Morgan was making. "Right, he should be waking up any time now!" Skuld explained, as Keichii's eyes flew open.



"What the- where am I? What's that pounding? I didn't drink anything last night!" Keichii demanded, jumping to his feet and looking around. "Belldandy?" he called plaintively, before looking down at himself. "Why am I wearing an apron to bed?" Keichii asked, before answering his own question, "Urd..." he said grimly.



Skuld asked, "Hello? Mr. Morisato?" as she waved her hands.



Keichii looked at Skuld, blinking slightly. "Urd? I think this subdivide went a little off," he noted, amused.



"Are you okay to travel, sir?" Morgan asked, impatiently. In her experience, catching up was something that could be done anywhere... and they'd been here for a while. Besides, massive emotional trauma was better delivered someplace pleasant and open, if anyone was willing to ask her.



Keichii shook herself from the quasi-Urd to look at the being holding her. And looked. He swallowed slightly against a suddenly dry throat, and shook himself free. "This is definitely one of Urd's tricks! Who else would go and put on a rock video or something as background? Urd, it's not funny, take me home!" he demanded of Skuld.



"I'm not Urd, Keichii! My name's Skuld, I'm Belldandy and Urd's sister," she explained. "We haven't met yet.. but there's some really important stuff I need to tell you-" Skuld was cut off as she was suddenly tossed through the air to Keichii's hands. Reflexively, the armored college student grabbed her safely.



Morgan, meanwhile, turned towards the still-open door, unfurling her wings and gathering power. "I'm a fool!" she berated herself, "That wasn't the forge or the people.. those were troops moving in! Keichii, get close! We need to leave now!"



"No problem!" Keichii said, rationalizing he might as well enjoy getting out of whatever Urd drugged him with.



"Why leave that way when you can walk? It's much more healthy?" said Belldandy, entering the room. Several black-suited gods and goddesses surrounded her, as well as the glassy-eyed form of Urd. Keichii's eyes widened in delight.



"Belldandy! Thank god you're here so we can get out of this mess!" he happily exclaimed, before noticing Urd. "Wait.. Urd's there? Belldandy, who are these people? What did Urd do?" Keichii asked.



Belldandy winced. "It's best to tell you later, Keichii. Now... please, everyone just come along and we will 'get out of this mess'." The other gods started to move into the room.



Morgan's eyes widened mutinously. "Oh no," she warned, green energy crackling in her hands. "I won't let you get me, not after I've worked so hard!" Screaming, Morgan launched a blast of green energy at Belldandy, who seemed remarkably unconcerned.



"Holy Bell," Belldandy ordered, awakening the angel from out of her body. The angel took one look at the situation and started to blow a stream of air from her mouth... that grew exponentially as it moved away from the angel and goddess pair. Morgan's blast simply fragmented when it struck the current, and a moment later, Keichii and the two female immortals were struggling to hold their feet in the cyclone-level winds. Holy Bell gestured, and the breeze suddenly contracted, holding the three in ice.



Belldandy stumbled forward, and patted the frozen Keichii on the cheek. "Don't worry, Keichii. This will keep you safe and out of harm's way... everything will be as it was," she said, before lightly kissing him on the lips. Straightening herself and dismissing Holy Bell, she turned to the retainers. "Move them, and the rest of Skuld, to the Master Control Room." Belldandy smiled at Urd, who shivered slightly, though still holding her feet still as Belldandy commanded. "Congratulations Urd, you've given me the opportunity to fix everything right, at last."



To be concluded...



Author's Notes: It took a little while, but I hope the wait was worth it. A lot of stuff here, but if you're an obsessive manga reader you can catch them. Otherwise, all should be cleared up next time. Thanks to Xerlic for assistance with research for this chapter.



Last chapter: Belldandy puts her plan into operation, with the fate of the universe resting on the outcome. No pressure, huh?