AUTHOR'S NOTE: Not much to say. Long chapter here…yare yare.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own. Sorry or I'd share.
Make My Dreams Come TrueThe tree was dying. Of that, Morgan was sure. Its life essence was slowly fading under the stress of time until Morgan could see it as clearly as a rapidly breaking strand. But it was still beautiful. It had a glossy aura around it, and in the morning light, with the dew just beginning to break across its sakura blossoms, it glowed perhaps more radiantly than any other tree in the nearby area.
It was perhaps bitter irony. Beauty was far more than just skin deep.
She gently placed a hand on the rough bark and closed her eyes. It was time. The cycle must come to a close.
Nothing lasts forever.
Holding her arms against her heart, she slowly shed her human form. Dissipating as if they were never there, her clothing slowly dissolved as from her back, two small wings unfolded and stretched out. Her skin grew more translucent and she slowly alighted an inch off the ground as a white aura seemed to wash across her body.
Fading into a soft glow, Morgan stretched her arms into the air as she allowed herself to grow accustomed to her usual form. Holding her hands in front of her, she noticed that her skin was a much richer tint of green and a strange, almost filigree designed laced from her fingers and wrapped around her body. She smiled briefly. Fairies were made of real flesh and blood. They were indeed children of the earth. All in all, she was not so different from a mortal.
That was not something to be ashamed of.
Stretching her hands towards the trunk of the tree, she tilted her head back and began to sing. Like an ethereal blanket, the melody seemed to lift from her voice and flow like water across the sakura branches.
To love something as it dies. To cherish its passing and imbue not only her voice but her soul into the words. It was not a joyful song. It was haunting and lilting and seemed to drain the energy from the body. Maybe it was an evil to do this…maybe singing a song of death was perhaps wrong.
But it was not a song of death. It was a song of mourning. She died as she sang.
Slowly, the last haunting note ended. Lowering her arms, Morgan opened her eyes and whispered, "Rest assured…you are beautiful still. To me, you will always be beautiful."
As if in response, slowly, a sakura blossom broke from it's stem and fluttered gently to the floor, landing at her feet in acknowledgement. In thanks? In recrimination? Perhaps just because it was finally free from a very mortal coil.
Tilting her head, she asked Keiichi who was standing to the side, "It is early. Why are you awake?"
Unabashed, Keiichi shook his head. "It was a beautiful song. But somehow…" His eyes grew soft. "Somehow I doubt you were trying to heal it."
This mortal was perceptive. Turning aside, Morgan scoffed, "It was but a verse. I don't have the power to save life." She ran a hand over the trunk. "The thread is cut. I did not sing to bless it. I am only a Fairie…my song is the melody of its end. Soon its blossoms will fall to the ground and it will grow barren and ugly." She smiled wryly, "Doesn't that frighten you? Does it scare you that I could do such a thing?"
"In a way. I don't like death."
"Me neither." Morgan regarded Keiichi curiously as her voice grew slightly warmer. "Sometimes I scare myself. It would be wrong to be able to sing that song without feeling pain."
"You might want to be more careful. Some people might get the wrong idea if they see you like that."
"Ah. You mean if they see me outside of my mortal form?" Morgan ran a hand across her shoulder and shrugged lightly, "That is easily remedied. But not now. Not now…" She asked, "Why? Does seeing me like this disturb you?"
"No." Keiichi shook his head. "I don't mind. Do what you want."
"You sound oddly reminiscent. Is this scene oddly familiar…or am I prodding too much?"
"No." Keiichi chuckled softly. "Kind of. I remember walking down the trail in the temple and into the forest. I found Belldandy singing to this broken tree…it was almost half-dead itself. But after Belldandy sang to it, it started sprouting again. It was the first time I've ever seen anything grow on it…" He sighed. "I guess seeing you sing brought some memories back."
"Belldandy was a goddess. She has the power to do so. That she bestows life so easily… is something I admire. But, you cannot force something to live. The thread of life and fate cannot be spun again. In time, it will die again…but this time there will be no one to bring it back Keiichi." Her eyes grew glassy. "It will die alone with only a memory of a song to guide it to Nirvana."
"…" Keiichi watched her intensely.
Smiling at her own revelations, Morgan faced him. "I cannot be there to save a life. But I can be there to guide its way towards death. I can let the sound of my voice remind it that someone is mourning…that it is not dying alone. It is the only thing within my ability that I can do."
"That's very different from what Belldandy told me. Life is precious."
"It is. Living is the only real way to show you love something." Morgan turned her attention back towards the tree. "I will live here and watch this life end. It is the only way I can show my love. It is the only way I can love someone even when they are gone." Her voice grew haunted. "Living…waiting…is the only way I've ever been able to show my love."
"You're an amazing person Morgan."
"You flatter me."
They stood together in silence until the sun finally broke from the horizon and bathed the earth in an eerie shadow.
"Do you want to stay here Morgan?"
"…Yes."
And through it all, the song echoed through the mind, heart, and soul. For one death, another has a chance of life. Life is precious like that; death is precious like that.
"Do you want me to leave?"
"…No."
Wait with me here. I'm tired of waiting alone. I'm tired of living life alone…you said I could stay until I couldn't stand it.You of all people should know how I feel.
***
"In some ways, I still envy you Second Born. It's foolish to feel that way…but I was never perfect like you. I could never make my dreams…and the dreams of my beloved come true."
She was probably defiling the goddess' grave by even standing here. This was not a place where she belonged. It was at this site that the mortal had chosen to place her final memories…and it was at this site that Belldandy waited for her mortal. She was perilously close to breaking something veritably sacrosanct.
Morgan smiled. She was already damned by Kami-sama…adding this to her list of transgressions would not tilt the scales of fate in any direction. Besides, wasn't Belldandy supposed to have the heart large enough to love a world? She grimaced at her own cynicism…Belldandy had already passed. Was it enough that she disrespect the dead?
She scoffed, "However, Belldandy, you will forgive me if I refuse to bow."
She didn't expect an answer.
Averting her eyes, Morgan dug her hands deeper into the pockets of her trench coat and sighed. "I do not come as a penitent pilgrim…I will not ask for your forgiveness or your favor. Perhaps given the same choices, I might have decided to make the same decisions all over again."
Belldandy did not pique her curiosity as her beloved had. To her, she had, and even now still, represented the classical goddess self-centered mentality. Celestine had reminded her of the pain Belldandy had gone through in her youth, but Morgan was not convinced. Not when the goddess had the luxury of forgetting the past and the luxury of being Kami-sama's pure-born daughter.
Morgan doubted Belldandy had ever understood true pain. And even though it was a futile thought at best, Morgan doubted Belldandy's life was in any way more difficult than hers. Belldandy had been able to be so idealistic…so secure in her naive way of thought…because she always had the things she loved beside her. She had Celestine…and when she had lost that, she had found a replacement in Keiichi and her sisters.
She never had the chance to see how long it would take before sadness and self-pity would manifest into the desire for retribution. Belldandy could chastise her for her selfishness and her hate because the goddess had everything to lose.
But it was all past now. Celestine's Ultimate Destruction Program had succeeded but the Norns had rebuilt the base Ygdrassil core programming. Belldandy had crossed the gate of Judgment and entered Nirvana with her beloved at her side. Morgan wondered how far Belldandy would have gotten without the constant love and support Keiichi provided. She wondered if the same compassion and empathy that radiated from Belldandy would have shined just as brilliantly.
Call Morgan selfish. Call her completely debauched and evil…but something deep inside the Fairie's heart had wanted to see that light extinguished. She had wanted to see Belldandy fall into the complete depths of despair and then ask her then if she could still believe in Kami-sama.
If the mortal was taken from you…if you lost him forever... What would you do?
Morgan had an eternity to answer that question. Belldandy had the love…the perfection of love to see her through the Gate. It was not something she could blame the goddess for. It was a definition…a validation of her being.
Standing there…watching the lovers join hands across the Gate had been the sweetest and most bitter moments of her existence. It had been a mixture: It had made her lifetime of waiting worthwhile…to see someone cross to the other side. It had been utterly worthless because it was not her who had received that blessing. The tears that fell as she had looked into Keiichi's eyes as he stood together with his love upon the other side…had been of pure happiness and profound sadness.
No…you are not my beloved. You only look like something I thought I lost a long time ago…
She had let him go. She had held his face in her hands and slowly, let her fingers slide across his cheek and down his chin. She had watched them disappear from her life and had decided to wait. To do any more would be presumptuous…to do any less would be impossible.
"I would never hurt your mortal Belldandy. I would not hurt your beloved that somewhere along the way I thought was my beloved." Morgan placed a hand on her chest. "But I cannot say the same for you. I cannot forgive the daughter of Kami-sama who took away something I held too dear. We are too different. You are too white…and I am too stained."
Her heart ached sometimes. It had been a nagging feeling all her life but sometimes… sometimes as she looked at Keiichi…her heart ached. It was so tiring, that feeling. And standing here now, a piercing sense of hollowness seemed to wash through her body. It made her so dizzy, yet sharpened her view of the world so much more. Like realizing that walking up from a dream was the same as dying into enlightment.
"Your mortal has changed Belldandy. He has changed to the point where even I do not recognize him. But you still would. Of all immortals and mortals you would always recognize him. I admire that in you. Perhaps I never knew my beloved enough." It was the facet of Belldandy that remained an enigma. Morgan did not break very often…had an emotion-clamp that had pushed far too many people away.
But by no means was she a hollow shell. If pushed too far, she would react…and more often than not, react through violence. But these days, she just didn't feel like it anymore. It was too tiring to lash out…it felt as if her very existence was slowly being diluted. It would probably pass anyways. It always passed.
Placing a hand on the glossy cut marble gravestone, Morgan could feel the cold bite of the stone against her skin. The grave itself felt awash in love and sadness. Intermingled, it almost overwhelmed her in its intensity. "Rest assured…he still loves you more than anything. I do not know what Kami-sama intends…but he would choose you before he would choose saving his own soul. He has retained that purity of love. It's only for you. His heart and his soul…they have never changed."
It felt somewhat ridiculous to talk to something that would not respond. Even in life, Belldandy would not have acknowledged her words. But it felt oddly fitting. It felt better than reviling the goddess for something Belldandy probably could not change. For a moment, it eased the ache in her heart and made her feel light.
Those were precious moments.
"I do not envy your rank Belldandy…and I do no envy your title as goddess." Morgan shook her head. "No…I envy that it was you who met Keiichi Morisato first." Her eyes tightened, as her voice grew strained. "If I had the fortune…would it be you who would defy Kami-sama? Would you have had the courage to believe?"
It was there again…
"If I had met your beloved first…could he have loved me as dearly as he loved you?" Morgan smiled bitterly as her right hand clenched her heart that was starting to throb painfully. "Could he have made my dreams come true?"
***
"Are you sure you're alright? You don't look very good."
Morgan shook her head wanly as she sat on her futon overlooking the window. "No, don't worry. I probably just need to conserve more of my power." She coughed slightly. "It passes more often than not."
It had been perhaps one or two months at best since Morgan had staid here. She was an incredibly difficult person to keep track of…she didn't like to stay at one place at a time. He had gotten used to walking into the apartment room and finding it completely deserted. Keiichi didn't blame her. She was probably making up for all the time she had spent waiting at the Gate for an answer that didn't come.
Winter was starting to settle and the cold wouldn't do the Fairie's health any good. Privately, Keiichi was beginning to worry. Although she had always had a pale complexion, Morgan was beginning to look deathly pale. Her thin frame was beginning to look almost skeletal and although she masked her feelings well, there were too many times she looked completely worn down.
There were too many times he had caught her just staring at him out of the corner of his eye when she thought he wasn't looking.
Morgan was never as energetic or bright as Belldandy. She rarely smiled and the aura of sadness just never seemed to lift. But like Belldandy, she never complained although she was apt to insert an acidic comment when the time called. Morgan La Fey was not sociable in any sense of the word.
Shaking his head, Keiichi mixed two cups of instant green tea by the counter and walked back towards the main living room. Crouching down, he sat on his adjacent futon and handed her the second cup. "Here."
Clasping the cup in both hands, she murmured softly, "It's warm."
"It's not as good as Belldandy's Darjeeling. Do you want any sugar with it? Sometimes I make it a bit bitter."
Morgan shook her head and took a sip. "What you do…what you see in this world…you don't have to compare everything to what and how Belldandy does it."
"Do I do that a lot?"
"No. Not a lot…but you do it enough."
"Is that how it is…?" Keiichi watched the ripples in the cup distort his reflection in the smooth water. "Yeah. Perhaps."
"Isn't it time?"
"Eh?"
Morgan glanced at him. "Every two weeks you visit Belldandy's shrine. Two weeks have passed. I believe your goddess is waiting for you."
"…Maybe." Keiichi smiled. So she had noticed. He wasn't too surprised. Morgan was keenly perceptive although she didn't share her knowledge too much. It was oddly refreshing really…
"Don't let me be a hindrance to you." Morgan tilted her head back and slowly poured the tea down her throat.
"You're not." Keiichi smiled. "You really like the tea don't you?"
Morgan nodded her head. "Why do you ask?"
"No. It's nothing…" Belldandy never could stand instant green tea. In fact, she abhorred tea bags altogether. It was probably why Bell's tea was always so fragrant and sweet. Finishing his cup, he laid it against the table and sighed. "It's starting to get cold. Do you need any more blankets?"
"No. I'm fine."
"Then I'll be going…Do you want to come?"
"No. You don't mean that." It was scary how well Morgan knew him. Frowning softly, she shook her head. "You ask that simply out of courtesy." Softening her tone as she saw Keiichi's discomfort, she continued, "Belldandy is yours and yours alone. You would not be willing to sacrifice the moment to one such as I."
It was true. He had always gone by himself…always. It was his sadness to hold. That, he doubted, was he willing to share. Averting his eyes, he whispered, "I'm sorry."
Wordlessly turning away, Morgan resumed staring out the window. Really, that girl was not sociable at all. But somehow, he did feel a bit guilty. There was nothing he could do about that feeling though. Getting to his feet, as he began turning away, Morgan suddenly reached back and gripped the bottom of his coat.
"Wait…"
Startled, Keiichi looked back at her. "What is it?"
Morgan opened her mouth to speak but slowly, shook her head and replied, "No…it's nothing." Letting go of his jacket, her hand drooped loosely to the ground. "It wouldn't change anything."
"Are you sure?"
"…Yes. I apologize."
"If you want some more tea, I made a thermos for you in the kitchen…" Keiichi trailed off. "I'll be back soon so don't go anywhere."
It was a mortal concern. It implied that Morgan was beholden enough to actually listen to him. But for the time being, Morgan was willing to accept it. "I'll be waiting."
The door closed and left Morgan alone to contemplate. Her cup of tea slowly rippled and swirled as a soft breeze blew outside. There were so many promises to keep…promises broken…and promises that could not be kept. But Morgan was sincere. Even though she hid herself well from others, she could never lie to herself.
There was something she needed to do…just like Keiichi.
Opening the window, she vaulted over the edge and aligned the winds to gently lower her to the ground. It was a simple trick that did not require much power to use. Alighting onto the earth below, Morgan took some time to carefully study her surroundings. Even though winter had yet to begin, sakura blossoms lined the drive from the apartment room and scattered across the pavement. The wind spread the pink leaves everywhere, but it wasn't too difficult to find their source.
It was dead. It really…really was dead.
Standing still, barren of any life, was the sakura tree she had sung to. It had not taken long…it's bark was peeling at certain spots and it's branches were dry, spindly and withered. It seemed so at odds with the trees lining the edge of the block, still laden with fragrant pink blossoms.
In some ways, it was her fault. If she had been Belldandy, she might have been able to save this life. But her song could not do that. Her song was not that of a goddess. It was the song of a Fairie who in many ways was far too mortal. It was a curse and a gift.
Her cup was still half-full. Tipping it, the green liquid splashed against the trunk and flowed down to the roots. The tea soaked into the damp earth, turning the loam into mud, quickly draining into the crevices of the earth. Watching the last drop fall of the edge of the clay cup, Morgan whispered, "Maybe I should have asked Keiichi. It might have been better than this."
She couldn't expect this tree to respond…and unlike Belldandy's gravestone, there wasn't even an aura she could feel left behind. Sighing, she said, "But accept this gift. I am still mourning your passing. I have told you, to me, you will always remain beautiful. Drink well."
Time seemed to slow down. Time almost seemed to stop. Morgan wished it could last forever.
***
"Why are you just standing here?"
Morgan blinked. She had lost track of how long she had been outside. She had more of that trouble these days…she had difficulty retaining her focus. It grew harder to follow her train of thought and sometimes, her mind would wander without her permission. Shivering slightly, she realized that it had gotten much colder since Keiichi had left.
Sighing, Keiichi took off his jacket and slowly placed it on the Fairie's shoulders. "Don't make me worry so much. You'll catch something out here. At the very least, wear your jacket when you go out."
Blushing slightly, Morgan held the jacket closer against her. "I'm sorry."
"No. It was my fault. I shouldn't have kept you waiting so long."
"Did your beloved tell you anything while you were there?"
Keiichi smiled. "No."
Morgan averted her eyes uncomfortably. "That wasn't what I meant. I didn't mean to sound presumptuous."
Slowly stepping forward, Keiichi crouched in front of the barren sakura tree and laid a soft-white bouquet of white roses against the trunk. Morgan's eyes widened as Keiichi prayed quietly for a moment and then stepped back. It seemed too surreal…a mortal deigning to pay remembrance to something so insignificant. A mortal who was ignorant of life…and the precious value of life.
There was no doubt in her heart. This mortal was special. It was not a fluke that a goddess had seen so much in him. It was not a mistake that Morgan had wanted to meet someone like him.
It…It moved her. It moved her to the point of tears.
"Why?"
"I…I saw the way you looked at that tree…" Keiichi offered his excuse lamely. Shrugging helplessly, he sighed. "I always thought this tree was really beautiful. It's not much…but it seemed too sad to just leave it that way." Bowing his head Keiichi didn't notice Morgan reach across and hold his face in her hands.
Tilting his chin up to stare into his eyes, Morgan looked past the slightly shocked flash in his eyes and just looked at him. With her eyes, she slowly traced the contours of his face and the color of his aura. For the longest time, she focused only on the sight, touch, and sense of this mortal before her. Running her hands down, she let go and simply stared up at him. "I wonder…"
"Eh?"
"You're kind Keiichi. You are so…very…kind…" Morgan's soul seemed close to shattering on itself. This was too much. She had not been prepared to receive this answer. She had not seen this in Keiichi before. "If only Keiichi. If only…"
I wish I had been the one who met you before. I wish I had the chance to see what I see in you now before anyone else.
For truly, you are nothing like my beloved. I know who you are…
You are something far more.
***
"Why are you so kind to me?"
"Huh?" Keiichi looked at Morgan curiously as he filled her rice bowl and handed it to her. "What do you mean?"
"You owe me nothing…" Leaving the bowl untouched, she laid the chopsticks on the table and looked at him. "Yet you are still so kind. I don't deserve this. Why?"
Keiichi looked uncomfortably away. "It's nothing. Don't mention it."
"No. I don't understand why. You're a mortal…you are a creation of Kami-sama. Yet…" Her tone grew pensive. "Yet you have been far kinder to me than Heaven ever has. I…I don't know how…"
"You aren't evil Morgan. I saw that in you."
"What?" Morgan leaned closer. "What did you see in me?"
"I saw someone in love." Keiichi nervously scratched the back of his head. "I saw someone very much in love." His voice softened and threatened to tear out her soul with its gentleness. "It must have been so hard for you. You must have been so much in love with your beloved."
In love? Am I truly like that…? Morgan's vision was getting fuzzy. It was as if someone was wrapping a sweater around her senses, turning the world so strange. She had fallen in love with a mortal against other's better judgment. And exactly as Heaven had probably predicted, she had lost that love.
He had been a beautiful mortal. He had been kind to her as well. But this was far in her past…when the world had not been so bitter and Kami-sama was the farthest thing from her thoughts. It was a time she had never dreamed that the weight in her heart…her soul…would come crashing down upon her. She had felt so alive back then, without the aching hollowness that slowly killed her.
That still killed her.
Uncertainly getting to her feet, she slowly tried to stumble to her futon but the world wouldn't stop spinning. Her heart was hurting so badly, she had trouble thinking past each beat that rang in her ears. Something was going to break…something soon. Losing consciousness, she tripped on the bamboo matting and fell to the ground like a sodden rag. Anata…are you still in love with me?
"Morgan! OI!" Rushing to her side, Keiichi turned her around and held her loose body in his arms. Her pulse was weak, and her breathing seemed long and interspaced. Her skin felt icy-cold to the touch and she seemed so weak. "Morgan!"
Her eyes suddenly flashed open.
It happened too fast. With a loud thump, Keiichi's back hit the bamboo tarp hard. Coughing as the wind was knocked out of his lungs, Keiichi numbly saw Morgan lying on top of him with the strangest look on her face. Her normally clear jet-black eyes were milky and foggy and the gaze she shot into his eyes bordered on chaos. "W…what?"
Her voice had a strange musical quality to it. "Anata…do you love me?"
Keiichi felt his eyes widen in shock.
Slowly stroking his cheek lovingly, she whispered, "Anata…did you know how much I missed you?"
"Morgan…what are you doing?"
Ignoring him, she slowly brushed her body along his, sliding her hips seductively against his midsection as she cradled his face in her hands. Her long trench coat covered both their bodies like a long blanket as she bent her head forward until Keiichi could feel her soft breath brushing onto his neck. A strange smile that didn't seem to fit her face raised the hairs on the back of his head as his mouth suddenly went dry and he couldn't seem to breathe.
In that same sing-song voice, Morgan whispered into his ear, "I thought of you everyday Anata. I so wanted to be with you…" Sliding down, she slowly captured his earlobe between her teeth and pulled gently.
Fighting a very irrational fear, Keiichi panicked as Morgan adjusted her weight and straddled his waist, effectively pinning him to the floor. "Morgan…what the hell is wrong with you? Get off me!"
"I won't let you go!" Smiling that same insane smile, Morgan shook her head. "I won't ever let you go again Anata."
"Mor…uummph!"
Anything else he had to say was effectively cut off as Morgan suddenly cupped his chin and kissed him passionately. It was nothing like any of Belldandy's kisses. It was not soft or chaste. It was harsh with a demand that refused denial. Yet, what unnerved Keiichi more than anything was the sightless stare that Morgan directed at him through it all. Even when she broke the kiss off and took a deep breath for air, ignoring his struggles and holding him close against her. She looked completely lost and unfocused, as if painted on by a careless marionette.
It was too much like last time…when Morgan had kissed him in the infirmary room. This time though, there was no question in her eyes, only a blinding lust and sightless confusion. Belldandy wasn't here though…
"Anata. Do you still love me more than anything?"
Belldandy...
"Get…OFFF!" With a strength borne of pure fear, Keiichi gripped Morgan's shoulders and forcibly shoved her off him. Tripping over his legs, she fell backwards with a stunned, disbelieving expression on her face. Eyes wide, she stared at him as her lips quivered uncertainly, "Anata? Why? I don't understand…?"
Pushing with his feet, Keiichi hastily backed away until his back hit the wall, leaving a good three meters in between them. His heart hammered against his chest as he stared at the Fairie. Her lips were slightly red and swollen as her normally straight hair was disheveled and tousled. Reaching out to him, she cringed back as Keiichi snarled, "Don't!"
"Why? Anata…"
"I'm not your beloved!" Keiichi shook his head viciously and wiped his mouth with his left sleeve. "You said so yourself Morgan! I'm not your beloved!"
"I…I what?" Her voice sounded broken as she whispered in disbelief. "Why would I say something like that?"
"Get a grip on yourself! What has gotten into you Morgan? This isn't like you at all!"
"Anata…"
"Stop saying that! I'm Keiichi! Keiichi Morisato! I'm not your beloved!"
"Kei…" Trailing off, Morgan's eyes flashed. "You are…not…" Definite recognition flashed through her eyes as suddenly, the fog in her eyes broke and she stared at him with her true vision. "What did I do…" Bending over as if someone had hit her hard in the plexus, Morgan looped her hands into her hair as she shook her head. "I don't understand…what's happening to me?"
Keiichi stared at her wordlessly as Morgan's voice grew more hoarse and thick with fear.
"What's happening to me? My head hurts so much…ahhh…" Weeping uncontrollably, tears pooled in her eyes and splashed to the bamboo mat as she held her head tighter. "What did I do? I don't know…I don't KNOW! I DON'T KNOW!"
Sweat ran down her face, as something inside her seemed to break and collapse on itself. Closing her eyes, Morgan screamed as she buckled to her knees and continued screaming. Her chest convulsed in tremors as one hand gripped her heart tightly and the other seemed very close to pulling off her hair at the roots.
Electricity seemed to pulse from her body and waves of raw energy created a wind that almost physically knocked Keiichi back. It was far more elemental than any of Belldandy's jealousy storms and had none of the focused control of the goddess. There was an air of desperate misery around the Fairie as the screams of her voice rang through his ears.
It was nothing he had ever seen before. Morgan, ever the impassive, emotionless one, was destroying what was left of her self-composure as her emotions ran ragged and uncontrolled through the room.
The lights flickered on and off through the room as with a crackle of electricity, they finally went dim. "MORGAN! Stop it!"
"I…I don't know how! I…I never felt this before!" Her nails were digging far too hard into her chest and they were only growing tighter still. "My heart hurts…it hurts too much…" She screamed again.
Reaching his hand out towards her, suddenly the glass window behind him imploded and a shard of glass gashed the back of his palm from the thumb to his wrist. Flinching, he gripped the wound tightly as blood began to flow freely, spotting the tarp underneath with red dots.
Ignoring the pain, Keiichi slowly crawled forward and grabbed her shoulder. The blood leaking from his hand seemed to blend in perfectly with the crimson of her coat. Registering his touch, Morgan spun around and buried her head into his chest; wrapping her arms so hard around his waist he had difficulty breathing.
She screamed into his chest, "IT WASN'T MY FAULT! IT WASN'T MY FAULT KEIICHI! I DIDN'T WANT TO LOSE HIM! IT WASN'T MY FAULT! I LOVED HIM!"
Her voice was completely ragged from screaming and she was holding him as if he was anchoring her sanity. The dishes on the table shattered from the energy discharge as an edge of porcelain clipped his face, cutting the soft flesh of his cheek. Wincing, Keiichi did the only thing he could do. Ignoring the slick of blood on his palm he held her as tightly as she was holding him. "It wasn't…it wasn't."
"WHY?! WHY DID I LOVE HIM SO MUCH AND STILL LOSE HIM?! WHY DID BELLDANDY PASS WHEN I DIDN'T?! IT WASN'T MY FAULT!" She balled her hand into a fist and slammed it against his chest. "It…it wasn't my fault for loving him so much…"
The raw power storm was subsiding as Morgan body grew less tense and weaker. Quickly losing all her energy, the very fiber of her being seemed to die on itself as her grip on him began to wane. Unable to support herself, she whimpered to him, "It wasn't…it just wasn't…"
"I know. It couldn't be."
Staring up at him, Morgan's eyes slowly closed as whatever strength she had left dissolved and she lost consciousness. Her hand dropped to the floor and with a last shuddering hiccup, she slumped against his body. Slowly, her mortal frame dissolved and Morgan became the Fairie once more.
Worriedly shaking her, Keiichi tilted her comatose head up. "Morgan…Morgan! Oi! What's wrong with you? Tell me what happened…" His eyes sparked with anger as she held her tightly against him. "Don't…don't do this to me! I lost Belldandy…not this! Not this again…dammit Kami-sama. DAMMIT!"
The phone rang.
Urd…
"Don't you dare go." Rushing to the wall, Keiichi almost tore the receiver off the hook as he screamed into the speaker, "URD!"
"Don't you Urd me!" For once, leaving off the suggestive greeting, Urd's voice was at the same time worried and irate. "What the hell is going on down there? Keiichi, what kind of stunt are you pulling this time! We registered an energy signal all the way from Heaven! Are you setting off nukes in your apartment?"
"It's Morgan!"
Urd's voice grew slightly panicked. "Morgan La Fey? She's down there? SHIT! Keiichi, I want you to lock the doors and barricade the window. Jesus Christ, how the hell did the damn mainframe miss her?"
"NO! You don't understand! I'm alright!"
"AND I WANT TO KEEP YOU THAT WAY!" Her voice seemed to grow more distant. "Peorth…ah where the hell is that woman? Not enough time."
"Urd!"
"Hold on, I'll get down there myself! Stay right where you are Keiichi!" Immediately the television began glowing deep blue and in a spiral of energy, Urd erupted from the TV with a very angry expression on her face. "DAMMIT MORGAN! You're going too…"
Her voice completely died.
The apartment was in shambles with most of the windows in dangling shards and anything breakable in the room completely pulverized. Although she noticed Keiichi had a cut across his face and his hand, what grabbed her attention was the prone form of the Fairie. Like a broken doll, she was lying in the middle of the room, unconscious and her breath coming far too slow in between.
"Keiichi…what in Kami-sama's name happened here…?"
"I can't explain to you now, but you have to help her." Keiichi slammed the receiver back into the hook and whispered, "I lost Belldandy, don't let me lose her Urd."
"I can't…she's a…" Wildly looking from Morgan to Keiichi, Urd asked bewilderingly, "Like Belldandy? What…what are you talking about K?"
"There isn't enough TIME!"
Urd had not become a first-class goddess without a very quick flow of thought and an almost intuitive sense of when to just let something go. Giving Keiichi one last searching glance, she turned around and crouched in front of Morgan. "She's not in good shape. Keiichi, get me some water and some blankets. This is going to be a long night."
It probably was.
***
"Her pulse is stabilizing and the worst of her fever is gone." Urd moved her hand away from the Fairie's chest and dipped her hand into the bucket. Wetting another towel, she gently placed it over Morgan's head. "She seems to be over the worst of it, but I'm not a doctor. We need to get her to Heaven to do a more thorough scan."
She turned around and glanced sharply at Keiichi, "Don't touch those bandages. Your wounds are still fresh and I never had Belldandy's skill at healing."
Placing his hand back on the table, Keiichi slowly nodded his head, wincing at the tightness in which Urd had wrapped the dressing around the wrist and cheek.
"Don't complain. It stops the bleeding and it'll prevent infection."
Ignoring the attention on him, Keiichi asked, "What about Morgan? Is she going to be alright?"
"That's not my point. You should be worrying more about yourself! You can worry about the Fairie later. As in when you don't have a cut across your hand that looks like the San Andres fault line."
Urd was good. She was really good…but Keiichi had known her for too long. There was a certain falsity in the edge of her voice that hid a trace of uncertainty and guilt. It was the tone of voice Urd used when she was either very unsure, or didn't want to risk an opinion. Getting up and setting himself down in front of her, Keiichi stared into her eyes. "Urd."
Unable to meet his gaze, the white-haired goddess turned around and began wetting another towel. "Not now Keiichi…"
Grabbing her wrist gently, Keiichi squeezed her palm. "Urd…please. Tell me what's wrong."
Hesitating, Urd sighed and turned around to face him. "I'm not a doctor K. I can't give you a 100% answer. I…I'm probably wrong anyways…"
"When you're this serious it would be the first time. I trust you. Tell me."
"Alright…remember. I could be wrong." Placing her hand over his, Urd shook her head. "It's not good. If I'm right, it's probably one of the worst cases I've ever seen."
"Worst case of what?"
"The same as Belldandy's." Urd swallowed the lump in her throat and ran a hand through her hair. "It's the same soul malaise that killed Bell, Keiichi."
tbc