Wish's End
by Tremor3258
Chapter 4/Part 5- Regret
***************
Belldandy's currently favored ice imprisonment spells didn't truly freeze their victims
solid. They were ice elemental spells, true, but instead it merely froze a section of space-time
solid, locking them inside a single moment of time. From the outside, they looked terrible from
the shock of imprisonment, but Belldandy was intending to keep people safe, secure, and out of
the way. It was far more gentle than most sealing spells, keeping the people from suffering the
anguish of long imprisonment.
Belldandy had found the program in the archives, and indeed, she found it good. In her
mind, she considered it yet another failing of the old governing body in that this method wasn't
typically used. But then, she hadn't ever decanted one of her victims and heard their side of the
story, as the creators of the spell had long ago.
The prisoners were indeed trapped within a single moment of time, but a moment that
stretched out for all eternity from the inside... and the moment taken was the last tiny moment of
time before being sealed in totally, a moment of panic as the ice closed in and began to suffocate
the spell's target, repeated over and over again.
It was a credit indeed to Keichii that he still had the wherewithal to scream when the spell
was released. As the young man gasped for air several moments later, his eyes managed to focus
enough to see the concerned face of Belldandy in front of him, frown of concentration on her
face, hand raised in a spell-casting gesture.
The former engineering student jumped backwards... and slipped on landing, head
slamming against a surprisingly uneven floor. Frantically he tried to crawl away, but found his
arms restrained as he was roughly hauled to his feet, firmly placed between two large men with
god markings on their faces.
"I'm sorry if I surprised you, Keichii," Belldandy said regretfully, "But I needed to get
you safely away from my sisters... they're ill and I'm sorry you had to see that." Belldandy
moved and, after brushing off the seat, sat down in a rough-hewn looking chair. By the chair was
what resembled a golden loom.. set in place of a keyboard in what was some sort of organ.
Keichii followed the pipes up until his eyes watered... there was obviously a ceiling, but the pipes
seemed to extend farther than the ceiling was high. He returned his gaze to Bell, mind boggling.
Bell smiled at the surprised expression, "You should be very happy, Keichii!" she said,
"Not many people ever get to visit here, and you're the first living mortal in millennia."
"Belldandy!" Keichii shouted, "Where are we? What's going on? Why am I wearing this
dumb set of armor?" he demanded.
Belldandy frowned slightly, and Keichii found himself forced backwards, as the two gods
holding him took an involuntary step back. "I remember you as being more patient," she said
distantly, before shaking herself. "But no matter... just give me a moment, and it will be made
clear." Belldandy swivelled, working with the loom, which rang in clear crystalline tones
whenever Belldandy manipulated the threads. After a moment, the massive organ started to shift,
pipes turning.
Keichii blinked, wondering if maybe this was the nightmarish aftermath of one of Otaki
and Tamiya's parties. The organ pipes had seemed to be basically a flat wall, albeit out of a
series of pipes that twisted around like a bad fractal, but now it seemed to be rotating and take up
far less space, before returning to a mathematician's dissertation diagram.
Still, dimensions shifting in and out of each other was not as panic-inducing as what was
now visible on the wall. Looking more like branches, several rows of stops held a powerful
looking man, eyes gazing sightlessly. Keichii shuddered, sure that look had been on his face
himself moments ago.
"No, not him," Belldandy said, rising and grabbing Keichii's head with one strong hand.
"There," she ordered, lifting his gaze up forcefully.
Several branch-stops were framing a small window, which was either a monitor or a
direct-line to reality... post-celebration dreams could go either way. However the image was
being created, a blue, white, gray, and brown sphere, half of it plunged into black, was set against
stars. Keichii blinked, it looked familiar... but, while the west cost of the Americas were there,
what should be Asia was all wrong. The eastern-most recognizable figure from high school
geometry was the diamond of India. East of that was smaller islands, with massive fissures
running inland. More noticeably for one who knew about satellite photography, there was no
sign of cities anywhere in the night half of the planet.
Belldandy said softly, "What do you think?" before releasing his head.
Keichii turned his gaze back onto her. "Is that Earth?" he asked skeptically. "The
continents don't seem right.. and I don't see any cities, or, come to think of it," he said, eyes
narrowing, "Much plantlife."
"Well, a multinational nuclear exchange cuts down on most lifeforms," Belldandy said
matter-of-factly, but with a slight hint of regret. Keichii goggled at her, and Belldandy said, far
more warmly, "Don't worry, you won't have any trouble. It'll be all right now."
"All right?" Keichii found his voice, "Bell- that's-"
Belldandy interrupted, "All done for you Keichii!" she said cheerfully. Even Keichii's
expanded worldview had limits. Whatever else was to be said he missed, passing out from
shock.
She didn't seem to notice immediately. Keichii was there, more or less, and any health
problems could be corrected in the long run. Belldandy, beaming, advanced upon Urd, and with
a quick wave, dispelled the ice around her. Gasping for breath, and amazed to find herself
capable of movement again, she sank to her knees. Looking up to the face of Belldandy, Urd
scrambled backwards in terror, looking instinctively for a weapon. She knew that tight smile all
too well from happier days, but that old tired smile of half-chastisement looked as brittle as glass.
"Urd... despite everything, I want to thank you," she said warmly. "Only someone with a
mind twisted as yourself would try and turn Keichii against me, but you DID find him at last..
and everything can go back to the way they were now."
Urd snorted, something that burst into a guffaw after a moment, and made the guards take
an involuntary step backwards. Urd glanced at them for a moment, and nodded in what seemed
like approval. "Look around you Bell!" she said, stridently, getting to her feet, looking amazed.
"Is this what it's about? Thinking by bringing back Keichii you can undo everything and go back
to being the live-in girlfriend?"
Urd started walking forward, finger pointed directly at Bell's nose as the older goddess's
voice gained more strength and volume. "Yes, he's here and intact and you can think things will
go back to normal... but only because Gungnir attacks ONLY its target, the Lord of Terror, not
Keichii. Keichii's mind was protected. He's still, for the most part, dead Bell... and it's a death
whowould have saved the whole world from destruction, a sacrifice that YOU devalued!" Urd
stopped for breath, finger hovering an inch from Bell's face, wavering as if it had struck some
barrier and was seeking the strength to complete its travels. Urd, seeing red, felt the weight drain
off her shoulders as she finally, after biting her tongue for so long, spoke her mind, and inwardly
something gave. With a crackle of energy around the tip, Urd's finger lightly tapped Bell directly
in the forehead emblem.
Urd stiffened while the guards gasped at someone daring to touch the Master of Heaven.
The Norn looked at her arm, realization finally dawning that she was no longer looking UP to
meet Belldandy's gaze.. The crease of Belldandy's smile on her features eased, while the skin
around her eyes tightened. She waved her hand imperiously at the guards, who didn't hesitate or
question before leaving the room. Each word was clipped off when she spoke, as pointed as any
sword hanging on smoke-stained brackets.
"I see it finally came through at last. You speak of value, you even spent a year hanging
on by the fingernails to try and maintain your cover, swilling in sake, pretending to be a drunken
boor. But you finally saw your chance and tapped Nifelhelm. Well, you missed your chance to
destroy me. Now I have you Lord of Terror!" Urd never saw Belldandy move, before suddenly
the Goddess of the Past was sent flying through the archway leading away from the master room,
the sudden acceleration making the edges of her vision fade to gray before impacting against the
walls, making the whole wooden structure echo for a moment. Urd collapsed to her knees as the
force relented, gasping for breath, and sure at least a rib or two was broken.
Despite the ringing in her head, she felt revitalized, lighter than she had in months as
power flowed through her veins. As the ringing slowed to a bad-hangover roar, the feeling of
giddiness was replaced by shock. She had felt the imprint of these powers on her mind for years,
overheard whispered muttering that died down when she approached the speakers about its
source for even longer, tasted it once, and, just once, oh so painfully drank fully from it. The
taste a confirmation that had scared her into the study of potions and away from true spells for
years, but the true taste had-
Urd forced herself away from those thoughts, pulling herself up. "I'm not a demon," she
declared, swaying slightly as her inner ear continued to beat to a staccato rhythm all its own.
Urd's hand moved almost on its own accord towards her forehead, but she forced it down,
hoping (there was no one she felt she had the right to pray to) that it retained its familiar shape.
"I'm not the Lord of Terror, Belldandy," she said more loudly, voice echoing slightly off
the walls, and carrying perfectly to her sister, who stood still, power crackling slightly around
her. "I promised you never again. I don't know what happened, but I never wanted you dead,
despite everything. Please, Bell.. look at this! Even Keichii was afraid of you, so many who
only wished for the best in our mission are imprisoned, the system's continuing to degenerate.
There's still time to atone for all of our sins."
Urd smiled hopefully as Belldandy glanced at Keichii. Last-minute appeals did seem to
be his speciality, but Urd's countenance dropped as her sister looked back at her. Belldandy's
mask had dropped, and for the first time in Urd's memory, Bell was visibly enraged, alabaster
strands of hair lifting themselves on unseen winds as her full power as a Goddess First-Class
gathered around her. Belldandy raised her hands, and Holy Bell appeared, arcing over her master
protectively, in an attack posture. A blast of pure white energy arced out towards Urd.
Years of training raised Urd's hands to ward off the bolt, but she forced them down,
composing herself as best she could and making eye contact with Bell before the bolt seared into
her, running fire through her nerves. A scream began to force itself from her throat, before the
fire was suddenly extinguished. Urd felt submerged, like a warm bath for a moment, before
something tugged her forward. Her vision cleared to find herself a half-foot from Belldandy's
face, trapped in an invisible vise, though the pain was gone. Behind her, she could hear the
black-suited guards walking out of the room, boots clicking against the floor, before the doors
whisked themselves shut. The two goddesses were in silence, but for Keichii's slow breathing
and the deep pulse of Yggdrasil itself. The Guardians hung in the air, unconcerned in their
slumber.
"How?" Belldandy whispered harshly. "How did you know about time?"
Urd's muscles writhed as they sought release from Bell's hold on her, the words being
heard, but not understood as Urd's fear of confinement blotted out comprehension in white fire.
Mere muscles could not break the spell that was placed about the goddess, and Urd's struggles
eased as her instincts finally caught up with situation, struggle postponed until an opening
presented itself, yet she still trembled.
Calmness came and went quickly as Urd's mind processed Belldandy's final sentence,
and the conclusion that blazed across her mind reignited her struggling. "Belldandy, you -ow, let
me go!- can't do this! If Yggdrasil is put under any more strain the entire universe will collapse"
she said, trying to yell but only a whisper moving out of her strained lungs.
Belldandy resorted to her more typical calm countenance, "I can't do this? Why
shouldn't I, dear Urd? Yggdrasil won't last many more days without repairs, and I need
programs that have been hidden by me thanks to our little sister for that. I can't let that happen.
After all, my contract stated that I would be with Keichii forever. Now I have the power to
ensure the wish goes through *properly*," Belldandy's features twisted into a snarl for a
moment, "rather than just an echo of my dear sweet Keichii. Now, as soon as I crack the controls
to Yggdrasil's time maintenance functions, I can put things back to how they were, only better
for Keichii."
With a casual dismissal, Belldandy sent Urd slumping against the wall, and brushed her
hands off slightly before turning back to the other targets she brought bad. A slight nod led
Keichii, still unconscious, to being deposited gently in one of the control chairs at the foot of the
imprisoned Kami-sama.
Her love safe for the moment, Belldandy stepped forward and caressed the outline of
Skuld's frozen face with one hand. "You've been in the middle of this since the beginning dear
sister," she murmured, "But now, I have the chance to help you out of our mess one last time."
The undisputed Empress of Heaven took a moment to roll her sleeves back up above her
elbows, rubbed her hands together, and began the motions to unseal the prison spell on Skuld.
When Belldandy broke her sister free of containment, Skuld didn't bother with a scream, instead
curling into a fetal position as she reassured herself of her existence.
"Please Skuld, drama will just make this messier," Belldandy said patiently, "You've
been a great help, since Kami-sama gave you codes that would have taken me years to unearth,
not to mention my dear sweet Keichii." Belldandy gave the boy still slumped in the control chair
a fond glance, before touching Skuld gently on the shoulder. Skuld jerked away reflexively.
Belldandy sighed maternally, then yanked Skuld up by her hair.
Skuld shrieked, the sound ringing painfully off the walls to the chamber, but Belldandy's
expression didn't flicker as she countered the sound vibrations coming from Skuld's vocal cords,
leaving Skuld loudly sighing. Belldandy's free hand twisted into another gesture and the tip of
her index finger started to glow. "Please relax Skuld, and this will be over that much more
quickly," assured Belldandy.
Keichii stirred as ancient traditions and ingrained habits set about kicking his psyche back
awake at the sound of a girl's cry of distress. In a match between conscience and shock, memory
problems, a psychotic Belldandy, and possibly being dead didn't stand a chance. Keichii's eyes
flew open. "Skuld?" he asked in amazement.
Belldandy's paused, glowing fingernail a scant centimeter from Skuld's emblem. Skuld,
her legs under her again on reflex, stared cross-eyed in terror at the finger. "Keichii dear, please
go back to sleep," she said soothingly. "Just a few more minutes and this nightmare's going to
be over."
"So you can replace it with another one?" Keichii asked. "That girl was right, wasn't
she?" he continued softly, observing the screens and harp-like interfaces, blanching slightly as he
saw the man hanging from it. "I know a computer lab when I see one, Belldandy. This can't be
the kind goddess I know. My Bell never had this sort of anger, even towards her worst enemies."
The engineering student's eyes pointed downwards, before finishing, "Even towards an immature
idiot who pulled her away from heaven."
Belldandy's head sagged a little at that, but she still held Skuld. "Heaven was with you,
Keichii," she said, weakly, "and I killed it. It was so selfish of me, but... my world broke, and
then I broke yours." Bell brightened, "I'm good at fixing things, and I always swore to guard you
with my life Keichii, and that's what it came down to. A duel to the death between the old order
and myself. I won't let your wish end and your dreams die, Keichii," she said, voice starting to
rise in pitch, "Not like this, never like this!" Eyes focused venomously on Skuld.
"Belldandy, stop! I can't let you do this! I admit I'm not quite up on all the procedures,
but would an eternity here be so bad? I can't let you hurt anyone else and lose yourself more. If
you touch that girl... I'm going to try and stop you," he warned.
Belldandy giggled at that, and explained, "Keichii, I know you've put up with a lot, but
this area is far more complex dimensionally then your eyes are letting you see. You're stuck here
as you were, never to actually struggle and achieve your potential, a tiny loop repeating in a great
mesh. Yes, this echo would've been happy, but there's so much to be done and improved upon!"
With that, Bell tapped her finger against Skuld's emblem. There was a quick flash, like a
static bolt only larger, as something was exchanged. Bell dropped Skuld and staggered for a
moment, before starting to move towards the command console. A gesture, and the shuttle and
mini-loom by Keichii started to weave. The world-tree groaned for a moment, creaking slightly
as the universe shuddered as Bell's commands started to be entered.
"You see Keichii?" Bell said, sounding distant, "That's it for the lockouts, and the
temporal system is starting up, well, shutting down to be more accurate. It'll all be over, all the
pain ever, in just a few moments. You'll be free to live again, and I with you-" Bell was cut off
as a blast of fire struck her in the back.
Bell whirled around to see Urd back on her feet, smoke rising from an outstretched palm.
"I don't think so sis," Urd said quietly. "You're good. I mean, you ARE a goddess first-class,
but trying to rewrite existence would just leave everyone else stuck in on themselves." Bell
gawked at Urd, who faked surprise. "Oh come on, you don't think with your concentration
spread between so many things, I couldn't manage to get to my feet. Don't forget, I am the
mighty Urd!" Urd laughed imperiously, raising a hand to her mouth and getting her diaphragm
into it.
Belldandy's composure was starting to crack. "Do you really think, dear sister, that you
could possibly win against me? I've seen your code... there's no way you could work fast
enough AND safely enough to stop it at this stage, assuming you could even get past me to the
console. The time portal will be forming in a few moments, and then I can reweave fate."
Urd tapped her lip for a moment, looking worried. Then she brightened, "I may flub this,
but there's someone in here who can!" She pointed dramatically at Keichii, standing by the main
console, who took a step backwards in shock.
Bell laughed, "Keichii's many things Urd, but he's never been fantastic with computers."
"So?" Urd said, casting a spell. "Who said anything about my reaching the console or
Keichii needing to know what he's doing? Though the boy HAS been quick today," she said,
quickly aside before finishing the spell, "Urd Remote Body-Control!" The bronze-skinned
goddess's fingers wiggling as she pulled someone else's strings. Keichii urked and, stumbling
forward, started to work the console.
Bell shrieked in dismay, and, with a gesture cut the spell out, but the healing had been
done. She spun towards Urd and raised a hand in fury, which glowed with energy as Bell
prepared her attack, but Urd waggled a finger in warning. "You might want to save that for
dealing with the boss, Sis. I guess with ALL the lockouts being disabled, you might have a
chance, but then again, I'd NEVER have managed that code if you didn't spend a year ripping the
security structure out. Hoisted by your own petard, eh? Keichii, I'd advise getting under some
cover. There's about to be a bit of a light show" Urd said with a cocky grin.
Bell grimaced, and flicked a finger. The universe wavered around Urd, who fell asleep as
Bell rerouted the molecules of Urd's eardrums to vibrate to a polka beat. She gave the core of
Yggdrasil a glance. Cables started to pull away from their host and retreat to their panels, leaving
a line of sap as they cut open the tortured computer. Kami-sama started to stir, an action
heralded as a crackling of energy formed into a rough sphere in front of Bell, cutting off her view
of Skuld. A gap in the middle of the contained electrical storm showed the shattered remnants of
a large home. Several long-haired figures were arrayed on the wreckage, behind which could be
seen a traditional Japanese temple. Nothing in the scene moved yet. Belldandy smiled and
summoned a staff from the air, beginning to trace a circular ward around the structure in glowing
lines.
The circle had just met itself when the air above it crackled with energy. Bell looked up
at the Sysadmin of Creation and smiled. Kami-sama, despite several visible wounds that oozed
slightly from Bell's cracking procedure, smiled and bowed gracefully.
"You caught me by surprise the last time, Belldandy, and if you've learned anything since
taking this course, it's that no one can keep their defenses up all of the time," the Lord of Heaven
said warningly, firing off a few more energy bolts.
"I've more power now... and I'm defending my love! How can you hope to match that in
the short time you have?" Belldandy said.
"The truth... logic, fear for that which is my responsibility," Kami-sama replied evenly,
"You can not maintain the universe by will alone. The superstring is already present at this
point. The universe will resist attempts to change it strongly. This is not the first time it has
been tried. Generally, the universe tends to behave normally except for the part that is being
looked at. The people will still be dead, Belldandy, no matter how hard you think them to
move."
"I know that... but I'm not just reweaving time. Replacing mass tends to cause enough
bugs that you can slip things around. I can stop the second bolt, Lord," she said mockingly, "And
that's your one shot."
"True," he said sadly, "But I hoped there was more of the goddess who held such promise
left. Without that-" Kami-sama was cut off as Keichii spoke.
"Belldandy... what about the Lord of Terror?" Keichii asked, stepping forward now that
the pyrotechnics were done, eyes locked on the scene growing in the rift. "You can't just patch
one of these things. That's what you've told me. The Urd-approach just isn't going to work."
Belldandy looked stricken. "But Keichii... what else can I do but to try? I don't have the
computer experience of my sisters, and I'm not letting you die!"
Keichii sighed. "Silly... the old Belldandy had the right idea in this situation. You need
to protect the people you love and hold them close. We had almost won Bell, I remember that
much. If you change anything... please hold onto what we had, and remember everyone else."
"I don't-" the goddess of the present started before looking into Keichii's eyes. They had
pain in them, but so much of the warmth she remembered... but the compassion and mercy she
had shoved aside. She looked down at her hands for a moment, and tottered on her feet.
"Keichii... I don't know what to do anymore," she whispered. She looked into her love's eyes.
"I"ve done this but-"
"I know Belldandy. I don't care about that. I believe in you. We can still fix this,"
Keichii said encouragingly.
Belldandy's eyes cleared. "No, we can't. I think I know who can though." Belldandy
looked up at Kami-sama and smiled. "So did you all this time, didn't you?"
The Holiest of Computer Geeks shrugged and smiled enigmatically. "I think it has a
serious chance of succeeding. Love has conquered all, even me, here... so it has a chance in the
past. It has a price though. Holding the timeline through someone else's presence will cost you
a... piece of yourself," he warned.
"If it's the piece that's done this," Belldandy sighed, "Then I think it's more than worth
it." Belldandy walked around the rift, and bent down next to her younger sister, patting her on
the cheek gently. "You've suffered so much through this, haven't you? You've always sold
yourself short, dear sister, but I'm afraid I have to put some of the weight on you."
"Wait... Belldandy, you're not shutting down the rift?" Keichii asked.
Belldandy smiled, "No Keichii... things are too far gone for that. Why do you think we
have a temporal control system? Sometimes things need to go back a bit and be done again. At
least we assume so, since we have the system, and sometimes odds work out in our favor. It
doesn't leave a lot of traces. So we need hope for the future as well as the past. Skuld has the
training, and she has the outlook, and she's done so much that she should be the hero." With a
soft, sad smile, Belldandy began weaving one last spell.
Skuld rose off the ground, and the air rippled around her as time began to reweave.
"Good-bye Keichii, and I hope hello." Skuld dropped into the rift... and then the universe started
to unravel around the rift, in preparation for a new, unknown, and hopefully better future....
*************
Keichii awoke with a gasp, feeling as if someone had walked over his grave. He looked
around his room at the temple desperately. Something felt out of place. Nothing looked out of
place, however. The sunlight streamed cheerily into the temple, looking lovingly aged despite
being rebuilt only a short time before. Keichii could just make out the gentle brushing noise as
Belldandy cleaned up the yard of whatever debris had fallen during the night, as things had
settled back into the general routine, more or less, though Belldandy seemed to be throwing
herself even more into household chores than usual, if that was possible.
Suddenly, the routine halted. Keichii could hear the broom clatter against the ground,
before soft, but urgent, footsteps pounded through the house. The wall panel slid open to reveal
Belldandy, looking beautiful even while worried. "Keichii, are you all right? I thought I felt
something wrong!"
Keichii blinked. This seemed odd for Belldandy somehow. Lately, after the robot duel,
she'd seemed a bit muted. But really, it hadn't been that long ago when she'd been ever alert and
active. "I don't think it's anything, Belldandy," he stammered with Bell's gaze on him. She
sighed and started to close the panel. Keichi spoke up. "Wait!" Belldandy opened it again,
looking harried. Keichii swallowed once and continued, "I don't have much in the way of
classes today. Want to see if we can sneak away from the crowd and get a snack later? It seems
we've just been so caught up lately..."
Belldandy blinked once and smiled. "I'd like that very much, Keichii," she said happily.
"Now, I'll go get breakfast ready. There's not a lot of time left before the day starts." Keichii
nodded and Belldandy closed the door gracefully. Keichii leaned back for a moment and
surveyed the room again, before starting out on the next day of the rest of his life.
The End.
Author's Notes: This has proven to take four times as long as I thought it would, and be a bit
more painful to write. Ah well, at least it's done and off the checklist. That's good, because I'm
emotionally wiped out.
I'm sorry to note I used a literal deus ex machina to get the story finished, but that was basically
intentioned from the beginning. Skuld NOT being on Earth was the problem. How to get her
ON Earth. Well, this is OMG. Nothing is stronger than love, for better or worse. And at the
end, better.
Oh yes, and the end is a slight complaint on how Bell doesn't quite seem to be there as much
after Lord of Terror, but we love it anyway, right kiddos? Please review with the usual
complaints or concerns.
by Tremor3258
Chapter 4/Part 5- Regret
***************
Belldandy's currently favored ice imprisonment spells didn't truly freeze their victims
solid. They were ice elemental spells, true, but instead it merely froze a section of space-time
solid, locking them inside a single moment of time. From the outside, they looked terrible from
the shock of imprisonment, but Belldandy was intending to keep people safe, secure, and out of
the way. It was far more gentle than most sealing spells, keeping the people from suffering the
anguish of long imprisonment.
Belldandy had found the program in the archives, and indeed, she found it good. In her
mind, she considered it yet another failing of the old governing body in that this method wasn't
typically used. But then, she hadn't ever decanted one of her victims and heard their side of the
story, as the creators of the spell had long ago.
The prisoners were indeed trapped within a single moment of time, but a moment that
stretched out for all eternity from the inside... and the moment taken was the last tiny moment of
time before being sealed in totally, a moment of panic as the ice closed in and began to suffocate
the spell's target, repeated over and over again.
It was a credit indeed to Keichii that he still had the wherewithal to scream when the spell
was released. As the young man gasped for air several moments later, his eyes managed to focus
enough to see the concerned face of Belldandy in front of him, frown of concentration on her
face, hand raised in a spell-casting gesture.
The former engineering student jumped backwards... and slipped on landing, head
slamming against a surprisingly uneven floor. Frantically he tried to crawl away, but found his
arms restrained as he was roughly hauled to his feet, firmly placed between two large men with
god markings on their faces.
"I'm sorry if I surprised you, Keichii," Belldandy said regretfully, "But I needed to get
you safely away from my sisters... they're ill and I'm sorry you had to see that." Belldandy
moved and, after brushing off the seat, sat down in a rough-hewn looking chair. By the chair was
what resembled a golden loom.. set in place of a keyboard in what was some sort of organ.
Keichii followed the pipes up until his eyes watered... there was obviously a ceiling, but the pipes
seemed to extend farther than the ceiling was high. He returned his gaze to Bell, mind boggling.
Bell smiled at the surprised expression, "You should be very happy, Keichii!" she said,
"Not many people ever get to visit here, and you're the first living mortal in millennia."
"Belldandy!" Keichii shouted, "Where are we? What's going on? Why am I wearing this
dumb set of armor?" he demanded.
Belldandy frowned slightly, and Keichii found himself forced backwards, as the two gods
holding him took an involuntary step back. "I remember you as being more patient," she said
distantly, before shaking herself. "But no matter... just give me a moment, and it will be made
clear." Belldandy swivelled, working with the loom, which rang in clear crystalline tones
whenever Belldandy manipulated the threads. After a moment, the massive organ started to shift,
pipes turning.
Keichii blinked, wondering if maybe this was the nightmarish aftermath of one of Otaki
and Tamiya's parties. The organ pipes had seemed to be basically a flat wall, albeit out of a
series of pipes that twisted around like a bad fractal, but now it seemed to be rotating and take up
far less space, before returning to a mathematician's dissertation diagram.
Still, dimensions shifting in and out of each other was not as panic-inducing as what was
now visible on the wall. Looking more like branches, several rows of stops held a powerful
looking man, eyes gazing sightlessly. Keichii shuddered, sure that look had been on his face
himself moments ago.
"No, not him," Belldandy said, rising and grabbing Keichii's head with one strong hand.
"There," she ordered, lifting his gaze up forcefully.
Several branch-stops were framing a small window, which was either a monitor or a
direct-line to reality... post-celebration dreams could go either way. However the image was
being created, a blue, white, gray, and brown sphere, half of it plunged into black, was set against
stars. Keichii blinked, it looked familiar... but, while the west cost of the Americas were there,
what should be Asia was all wrong. The eastern-most recognizable figure from high school
geometry was the diamond of India. East of that was smaller islands, with massive fissures
running inland. More noticeably for one who knew about satellite photography, there was no
sign of cities anywhere in the night half of the planet.
Belldandy said softly, "What do you think?" before releasing his head.
Keichii turned his gaze back onto her. "Is that Earth?" he asked skeptically. "The
continents don't seem right.. and I don't see any cities, or, come to think of it," he said, eyes
narrowing, "Much plantlife."
"Well, a multinational nuclear exchange cuts down on most lifeforms," Belldandy said
matter-of-factly, but with a slight hint of regret. Keichii goggled at her, and Belldandy said, far
more warmly, "Don't worry, you won't have any trouble. It'll be all right now."
"All right?" Keichii found his voice, "Bell- that's-"
Belldandy interrupted, "All done for you Keichii!" she said cheerfully. Even Keichii's
expanded worldview had limits. Whatever else was to be said he missed, passing out from
shock.
She didn't seem to notice immediately. Keichii was there, more or less, and any health
problems could be corrected in the long run. Belldandy, beaming, advanced upon Urd, and with
a quick wave, dispelled the ice around her. Gasping for breath, and amazed to find herself
capable of movement again, she sank to her knees. Looking up to the face of Belldandy, Urd
scrambled backwards in terror, looking instinctively for a weapon. She knew that tight smile all
too well from happier days, but that old tired smile of half-chastisement looked as brittle as glass.
"Urd... despite everything, I want to thank you," she said warmly. "Only someone with a
mind twisted as yourself would try and turn Keichii against me, but you DID find him at last..
and everything can go back to the way they were now."
Urd snorted, something that burst into a guffaw after a moment, and made the guards take
an involuntary step backwards. Urd glanced at them for a moment, and nodded in what seemed
like approval. "Look around you Bell!" she said, stridently, getting to her feet, looking amazed.
"Is this what it's about? Thinking by bringing back Keichii you can undo everything and go back
to being the live-in girlfriend?"
Urd started walking forward, finger pointed directly at Bell's nose as the older goddess's
voice gained more strength and volume. "Yes, he's here and intact and you can think things will
go back to normal... but only because Gungnir attacks ONLY its target, the Lord of Terror, not
Keichii. Keichii's mind was protected. He's still, for the most part, dead Bell... and it's a death
whowould have saved the whole world from destruction, a sacrifice that YOU devalued!" Urd
stopped for breath, finger hovering an inch from Bell's face, wavering as if it had struck some
barrier and was seeking the strength to complete its travels. Urd, seeing red, felt the weight drain
off her shoulders as she finally, after biting her tongue for so long, spoke her mind, and inwardly
something gave. With a crackle of energy around the tip, Urd's finger lightly tapped Bell directly
in the forehead emblem.
Urd stiffened while the guards gasped at someone daring to touch the Master of Heaven.
The Norn looked at her arm, realization finally dawning that she was no longer looking UP to
meet Belldandy's gaze.. The crease of Belldandy's smile on her features eased, while the skin
around her eyes tightened. She waved her hand imperiously at the guards, who didn't hesitate or
question before leaving the room. Each word was clipped off when she spoke, as pointed as any
sword hanging on smoke-stained brackets.
"I see it finally came through at last. You speak of value, you even spent a year hanging
on by the fingernails to try and maintain your cover, swilling in sake, pretending to be a drunken
boor. But you finally saw your chance and tapped Nifelhelm. Well, you missed your chance to
destroy me. Now I have you Lord of Terror!" Urd never saw Belldandy move, before suddenly
the Goddess of the Past was sent flying through the archway leading away from the master room,
the sudden acceleration making the edges of her vision fade to gray before impacting against the
walls, making the whole wooden structure echo for a moment. Urd collapsed to her knees as the
force relented, gasping for breath, and sure at least a rib or two was broken.
Despite the ringing in her head, she felt revitalized, lighter than she had in months as
power flowed through her veins. As the ringing slowed to a bad-hangover roar, the feeling of
giddiness was replaced by shock. She had felt the imprint of these powers on her mind for years,
overheard whispered muttering that died down when she approached the speakers about its
source for even longer, tasted it once, and, just once, oh so painfully drank fully from it. The
taste a confirmation that had scared her into the study of potions and away from true spells for
years, but the true taste had-
Urd forced herself away from those thoughts, pulling herself up. "I'm not a demon," she
declared, swaying slightly as her inner ear continued to beat to a staccato rhythm all its own.
Urd's hand moved almost on its own accord towards her forehead, but she forced it down,
hoping (there was no one she felt she had the right to pray to) that it retained its familiar shape.
"I'm not the Lord of Terror, Belldandy," she said more loudly, voice echoing slightly off
the walls, and carrying perfectly to her sister, who stood still, power crackling slightly around
her. "I promised you never again. I don't know what happened, but I never wanted you dead,
despite everything. Please, Bell.. look at this! Even Keichii was afraid of you, so many who
only wished for the best in our mission are imprisoned, the system's continuing to degenerate.
There's still time to atone for all of our sins."
Urd smiled hopefully as Belldandy glanced at Keichii. Last-minute appeals did seem to
be his speciality, but Urd's countenance dropped as her sister looked back at her. Belldandy's
mask had dropped, and for the first time in Urd's memory, Bell was visibly enraged, alabaster
strands of hair lifting themselves on unseen winds as her full power as a Goddess First-Class
gathered around her. Belldandy raised her hands, and Holy Bell appeared, arcing over her master
protectively, in an attack posture. A blast of pure white energy arced out towards Urd.
Years of training raised Urd's hands to ward off the bolt, but she forced them down,
composing herself as best she could and making eye contact with Bell before the bolt seared into
her, running fire through her nerves. A scream began to force itself from her throat, before the
fire was suddenly extinguished. Urd felt submerged, like a warm bath for a moment, before
something tugged her forward. Her vision cleared to find herself a half-foot from Belldandy's
face, trapped in an invisible vise, though the pain was gone. Behind her, she could hear the
black-suited guards walking out of the room, boots clicking against the floor, before the doors
whisked themselves shut. The two goddesses were in silence, but for Keichii's slow breathing
and the deep pulse of Yggdrasil itself. The Guardians hung in the air, unconcerned in their
slumber.
"How?" Belldandy whispered harshly. "How did you know about time?"
Urd's muscles writhed as they sought release from Bell's hold on her, the words being
heard, but not understood as Urd's fear of confinement blotted out comprehension in white fire.
Mere muscles could not break the spell that was placed about the goddess, and Urd's struggles
eased as her instincts finally caught up with situation, struggle postponed until an opening
presented itself, yet she still trembled.
Calmness came and went quickly as Urd's mind processed Belldandy's final sentence,
and the conclusion that blazed across her mind reignited her struggling. "Belldandy, you -ow, let
me go!- can't do this! If Yggdrasil is put under any more strain the entire universe will collapse"
she said, trying to yell but only a whisper moving out of her strained lungs.
Belldandy resorted to her more typical calm countenance, "I can't do this? Why
shouldn't I, dear Urd? Yggdrasil won't last many more days without repairs, and I need
programs that have been hidden by me thanks to our little sister for that. I can't let that happen.
After all, my contract stated that I would be with Keichii forever. Now I have the power to
ensure the wish goes through *properly*," Belldandy's features twisted into a snarl for a
moment, "rather than just an echo of my dear sweet Keichii. Now, as soon as I crack the controls
to Yggdrasil's time maintenance functions, I can put things back to how they were, only better
for Keichii."
With a casual dismissal, Belldandy sent Urd slumping against the wall, and brushed her
hands off slightly before turning back to the other targets she brought bad. A slight nod led
Keichii, still unconscious, to being deposited gently in one of the control chairs at the foot of the
imprisoned Kami-sama.
Her love safe for the moment, Belldandy stepped forward and caressed the outline of
Skuld's frozen face with one hand. "You've been in the middle of this since the beginning dear
sister," she murmured, "But now, I have the chance to help you out of our mess one last time."
The undisputed Empress of Heaven took a moment to roll her sleeves back up above her
elbows, rubbed her hands together, and began the motions to unseal the prison spell on Skuld.
When Belldandy broke her sister free of containment, Skuld didn't bother with a scream, instead
curling into a fetal position as she reassured herself of her existence.
"Please Skuld, drama will just make this messier," Belldandy said patiently, "You've
been a great help, since Kami-sama gave you codes that would have taken me years to unearth,
not to mention my dear sweet Keichii." Belldandy gave the boy still slumped in the control chair
a fond glance, before touching Skuld gently on the shoulder. Skuld jerked away reflexively.
Belldandy sighed maternally, then yanked Skuld up by her hair.
Skuld shrieked, the sound ringing painfully off the walls to the chamber, but Belldandy's
expression didn't flicker as she countered the sound vibrations coming from Skuld's vocal cords,
leaving Skuld loudly sighing. Belldandy's free hand twisted into another gesture and the tip of
her index finger started to glow. "Please relax Skuld, and this will be over that much more
quickly," assured Belldandy.
Keichii stirred as ancient traditions and ingrained habits set about kicking his psyche back
awake at the sound of a girl's cry of distress. In a match between conscience and shock, memory
problems, a psychotic Belldandy, and possibly being dead didn't stand a chance. Keichii's eyes
flew open. "Skuld?" he asked in amazement.
Belldandy's paused, glowing fingernail a scant centimeter from Skuld's emblem. Skuld,
her legs under her again on reflex, stared cross-eyed in terror at the finger. "Keichii dear, please
go back to sleep," she said soothingly. "Just a few more minutes and this nightmare's going to
be over."
"So you can replace it with another one?" Keichii asked. "That girl was right, wasn't
she?" he continued softly, observing the screens and harp-like interfaces, blanching slightly as he
saw the man hanging from it. "I know a computer lab when I see one, Belldandy. This can't be
the kind goddess I know. My Bell never had this sort of anger, even towards her worst enemies."
The engineering student's eyes pointed downwards, before finishing, "Even towards an immature
idiot who pulled her away from heaven."
Belldandy's head sagged a little at that, but she still held Skuld. "Heaven was with you,
Keichii," she said, weakly, "and I killed it. It was so selfish of me, but... my world broke, and
then I broke yours." Bell brightened, "I'm good at fixing things, and I always swore to guard you
with my life Keichii, and that's what it came down to. A duel to the death between the old order
and myself. I won't let your wish end and your dreams die, Keichii," she said, voice starting to
rise in pitch, "Not like this, never like this!" Eyes focused venomously on Skuld.
"Belldandy, stop! I can't let you do this! I admit I'm not quite up on all the procedures,
but would an eternity here be so bad? I can't let you hurt anyone else and lose yourself more. If
you touch that girl... I'm going to try and stop you," he warned.
Belldandy giggled at that, and explained, "Keichii, I know you've put up with a lot, but
this area is far more complex dimensionally then your eyes are letting you see. You're stuck here
as you were, never to actually struggle and achieve your potential, a tiny loop repeating in a great
mesh. Yes, this echo would've been happy, but there's so much to be done and improved upon!"
With that, Bell tapped her finger against Skuld's emblem. There was a quick flash, like a
static bolt only larger, as something was exchanged. Bell dropped Skuld and staggered for a
moment, before starting to move towards the command console. A gesture, and the shuttle and
mini-loom by Keichii started to weave. The world-tree groaned for a moment, creaking slightly
as the universe shuddered as Bell's commands started to be entered.
"You see Keichii?" Bell said, sounding distant, "That's it for the lockouts, and the
temporal system is starting up, well, shutting down to be more accurate. It'll all be over, all the
pain ever, in just a few moments. You'll be free to live again, and I with you-" Bell was cut off
as a blast of fire struck her in the back.
Bell whirled around to see Urd back on her feet, smoke rising from an outstretched palm.
"I don't think so sis," Urd said quietly. "You're good. I mean, you ARE a goddess first-class,
but trying to rewrite existence would just leave everyone else stuck in on themselves." Bell
gawked at Urd, who faked surprise. "Oh come on, you don't think with your concentration
spread between so many things, I couldn't manage to get to my feet. Don't forget, I am the
mighty Urd!" Urd laughed imperiously, raising a hand to her mouth and getting her diaphragm
into it.
Belldandy's composure was starting to crack. "Do you really think, dear sister, that you
could possibly win against me? I've seen your code... there's no way you could work fast
enough AND safely enough to stop it at this stage, assuming you could even get past me to the
console. The time portal will be forming in a few moments, and then I can reweave fate."
Urd tapped her lip for a moment, looking worried. Then she brightened, "I may flub this,
but there's someone in here who can!" She pointed dramatically at Keichii, standing by the main
console, who took a step backwards in shock.
Bell laughed, "Keichii's many things Urd, but he's never been fantastic with computers."
"So?" Urd said, casting a spell. "Who said anything about my reaching the console or
Keichii needing to know what he's doing? Though the boy HAS been quick today," she said,
quickly aside before finishing the spell, "Urd Remote Body-Control!" The bronze-skinned
goddess's fingers wiggling as she pulled someone else's strings. Keichii urked and, stumbling
forward, started to work the console.
Bell shrieked in dismay, and, with a gesture cut the spell out, but the healing had been
done. She spun towards Urd and raised a hand in fury, which glowed with energy as Bell
prepared her attack, but Urd waggled a finger in warning. "You might want to save that for
dealing with the boss, Sis. I guess with ALL the lockouts being disabled, you might have a
chance, but then again, I'd NEVER have managed that code if you didn't spend a year ripping the
security structure out. Hoisted by your own petard, eh? Keichii, I'd advise getting under some
cover. There's about to be a bit of a light show" Urd said with a cocky grin.
Bell grimaced, and flicked a finger. The universe wavered around Urd, who fell asleep as
Bell rerouted the molecules of Urd's eardrums to vibrate to a polka beat. She gave the core of
Yggdrasil a glance. Cables started to pull away from their host and retreat to their panels, leaving
a line of sap as they cut open the tortured computer. Kami-sama started to stir, an action
heralded as a crackling of energy formed into a rough sphere in front of Bell, cutting off her view
of Skuld. A gap in the middle of the contained electrical storm showed the shattered remnants of
a large home. Several long-haired figures were arrayed on the wreckage, behind which could be
seen a traditional Japanese temple. Nothing in the scene moved yet. Belldandy smiled and
summoned a staff from the air, beginning to trace a circular ward around the structure in glowing
lines.
The circle had just met itself when the air above it crackled with energy. Bell looked up
at the Sysadmin of Creation and smiled. Kami-sama, despite several visible wounds that oozed
slightly from Bell's cracking procedure, smiled and bowed gracefully.
"You caught me by surprise the last time, Belldandy, and if you've learned anything since
taking this course, it's that no one can keep their defenses up all of the time," the Lord of Heaven
said warningly, firing off a few more energy bolts.
"I've more power now... and I'm defending my love! How can you hope to match that in
the short time you have?" Belldandy said.
"The truth... logic, fear for that which is my responsibility," Kami-sama replied evenly,
"You can not maintain the universe by will alone. The superstring is already present at this
point. The universe will resist attempts to change it strongly. This is not the first time it has
been tried. Generally, the universe tends to behave normally except for the part that is being
looked at. The people will still be dead, Belldandy, no matter how hard you think them to
move."
"I know that... but I'm not just reweaving time. Replacing mass tends to cause enough
bugs that you can slip things around. I can stop the second bolt, Lord," she said mockingly, "And
that's your one shot."
"True," he said sadly, "But I hoped there was more of the goddess who held such promise
left. Without that-" Kami-sama was cut off as Keichii spoke.
"Belldandy... what about the Lord of Terror?" Keichii asked, stepping forward now that
the pyrotechnics were done, eyes locked on the scene growing in the rift. "You can't just patch
one of these things. That's what you've told me. The Urd-approach just isn't going to work."
Belldandy looked stricken. "But Keichii... what else can I do but to try? I don't have the
computer experience of my sisters, and I'm not letting you die!"
Keichii sighed. "Silly... the old Belldandy had the right idea in this situation. You need
to protect the people you love and hold them close. We had almost won Bell, I remember that
much. If you change anything... please hold onto what we had, and remember everyone else."
"I don't-" the goddess of the present started before looking into Keichii's eyes. They had
pain in them, but so much of the warmth she remembered... but the compassion and mercy she
had shoved aside. She looked down at her hands for a moment, and tottered on her feet.
"Keichii... I don't know what to do anymore," she whispered. She looked into her love's eyes.
"I"ve done this but-"
"I know Belldandy. I don't care about that. I believe in you. We can still fix this,"
Keichii said encouragingly.
Belldandy's eyes cleared. "No, we can't. I think I know who can though." Belldandy
looked up at Kami-sama and smiled. "So did you all this time, didn't you?"
The Holiest of Computer Geeks shrugged and smiled enigmatically. "I think it has a
serious chance of succeeding. Love has conquered all, even me, here... so it has a chance in the
past. It has a price though. Holding the timeline through someone else's presence will cost you
a... piece of yourself," he warned.
"If it's the piece that's done this," Belldandy sighed, "Then I think it's more than worth
it." Belldandy walked around the rift, and bent down next to her younger sister, patting her on
the cheek gently. "You've suffered so much through this, haven't you? You've always sold
yourself short, dear sister, but I'm afraid I have to put some of the weight on you."
"Wait... Belldandy, you're not shutting down the rift?" Keichii asked.
Belldandy smiled, "No Keichii... things are too far gone for that. Why do you think we
have a temporal control system? Sometimes things need to go back a bit and be done again. At
least we assume so, since we have the system, and sometimes odds work out in our favor. It
doesn't leave a lot of traces. So we need hope for the future as well as the past. Skuld has the
training, and she has the outlook, and she's done so much that she should be the hero." With a
soft, sad smile, Belldandy began weaving one last spell.
Skuld rose off the ground, and the air rippled around her as time began to reweave.
"Good-bye Keichii, and I hope hello." Skuld dropped into the rift... and then the universe started
to unravel around the rift, in preparation for a new, unknown, and hopefully better future....
*************
Keichii awoke with a gasp, feeling as if someone had walked over his grave. He looked
around his room at the temple desperately. Something felt out of place. Nothing looked out of
place, however. The sunlight streamed cheerily into the temple, looking lovingly aged despite
being rebuilt only a short time before. Keichii could just make out the gentle brushing noise as
Belldandy cleaned up the yard of whatever debris had fallen during the night, as things had
settled back into the general routine, more or less, though Belldandy seemed to be throwing
herself even more into household chores than usual, if that was possible.
Suddenly, the routine halted. Keichii could hear the broom clatter against the ground,
before soft, but urgent, footsteps pounded through the house. The wall panel slid open to reveal
Belldandy, looking beautiful even while worried. "Keichii, are you all right? I thought I felt
something wrong!"
Keichii blinked. This seemed odd for Belldandy somehow. Lately, after the robot duel,
she'd seemed a bit muted. But really, it hadn't been that long ago when she'd been ever alert and
active. "I don't think it's anything, Belldandy," he stammered with Bell's gaze on him. She
sighed and started to close the panel. Keichi spoke up. "Wait!" Belldandy opened it again,
looking harried. Keichii swallowed once and continued, "I don't have much in the way of
classes today. Want to see if we can sneak away from the crowd and get a snack later? It seems
we've just been so caught up lately..."
Belldandy blinked once and smiled. "I'd like that very much, Keichii," she said happily.
"Now, I'll go get breakfast ready. There's not a lot of time left before the day starts." Keichii
nodded and Belldandy closed the door gracefully. Keichii leaned back for a moment and
surveyed the room again, before starting out on the next day of the rest of his life.
The End.
Author's Notes: This has proven to take four times as long as I thought it would, and be a bit
more painful to write. Ah well, at least it's done and off the checklist. That's good, because I'm
emotionally wiped out.
I'm sorry to note I used a literal deus ex machina to get the story finished, but that was basically
intentioned from the beginning. Skuld NOT being on Earth was the problem. How to get her
ON Earth. Well, this is OMG. Nothing is stronger than love, for better or worse. And at the
end, better.
Oh yes, and the end is a slight complaint on how Bell doesn't quite seem to be there as much
after Lord of Terror, but we love it anyway, right kiddos? Please review with the usual
complaints or concerns.
