Chapter 11
Misato sat on the couch at the Suzuhara apartment, watching Kirika and Mereille play on the floor in front of her.
"They're so sweet Hikari."
Hikari smiled with pride.
"Yeah she's lucky they take after their mother. If they took after their father, they'd probably still be drooling."
Hikari turned around and glared at her friend.
"Asuka! I thought you were going to stop insulting Touji!"
"I said I would try and stop insulting him to his face." Asuka replied with a smile, "Never said I wouldn't insult him when he wasn't around."
"But the kids!"
"They aren't listening, are you Kirika?"
"No Auntie Asuka." replied Kirika, still playing.
"See!"
"Auntie Asuka?"
Asuka looked back down at Kirika. "Yes Kirika?"
"When is Uncle Baka Shinji coming over?"
Misato and Hikari both slowly turned their heads towards Asuka, who was turning bright red.
"They don't listen hmm?" asked Hikari.
"Uhhh well…….."
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Across town, in the goddess apartment.
The three sisters sat around the table in the kitchen, talking quietly in the god's language.
"It's weird Bell," said Urd, "Peorth has been doing extra work, and she won't tell me a thing about it. She even swiped Erie to help her! And now Mist has been avoiding me! Something's up."
"I know." said Belldandy, "Since I've missed several of the meetings. I tried to ask Peorth about the virus in Sayoko's PDS and she said she was in a hurry and couldn't talk. Even Father wouldn't talk to me about it." A look of worry came over Belldandy's face. "You think it's getting worse?"
"No." replied Skuld, "I've been looking at it. It hasn't changed at all. Something else is going on."
"You mean that attack on the UN building in Washington?" asked Urd.
Skuld nodded, "I was talking to some old friends from Debugging. They said during the attack, several bugs popped out of the Ultimate Force."
"Wait." said Urd, "I knew about the bugs….. but they came out DURING the attack?"
Skuld nodded.
"Ok it's official. I am confused." Urd sat back in her chair. "What do you think we should do?"
"Nothing."
Skuld and Urd stared at Belldandy.
"We continue on as best we can." Belldandy said, "Father is withholding information from us for a reason. We must trust that what he's doing is right."
"And if he's wrong?" asked Urd.
Belldandy was silent.
The silence continued for several minutes until Urd broke it.
"Misato's in town again?"
Belldandy nodded. "She's staying with the Ikaris."
Urd smiled, "Maybe I ought to check and see if she's interested in a little trip down to the bar."
Skuld and Belldandy both groaned.
"What?! I don't drink that much!"
Another groan.
"Meanies." grumbled Urd. Suddenly she brightened. "Hey! I can take Cayla to the bar!"
Belldandy glared at Urd. "You are not corrupting my trainee by taking her to the bar!"
Urd shrank under Belldandy's glare. "I was just kidding geez…….Hey where is she anyway?"
"With Keiichi……."
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Out in the living room, Cayla sat on the couch while Keiichi was sitting in his recliner. Cayla was staring at the TV, watching a show that she found most curious.
"I don't understand." She said, "They have to eat worms in order to win?"
Keiichi sighed, wishing he had never introduced TV to the young goddess. "Sometimes it's worms. Other times it's caterpillars, or even spiders."
"But why would they eat them?" asked Cayla, "Surely they could find something else to eat that is not so……..revolting."
"That's the point of the show. They have to eat more bugs then any of the other contestants and not get sick."
"So they must eat disgusting things, and perform dangerous stunts in order to win money."
"Yes!" replied Keiichi.
"And this is a form of entertainment?"
"Yes."
Cayla was quiet for a moment, watching the screen.
"You mortals have issues………."
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"It is time."
The brown haired Demon stared at Lucy bowing before her. She then held up a picture of Misato, Hikari, and the two children.
"Here is your target." She said pointing. Lucy raised her head on concentrated on the figure indicated.
"Go now." The demon said, "and don't fail me again!"
Lucy nodded and then turned and left.
Off to the side, Ceres watched, and began to feel twangs of revulsion
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Touji, Shinji, and Rei walked through the supermarket, picking up the items that Hikari had requested for that nights dinner.
"So is your mom coming?" asked Touji as he grabbed and item off the shelf.
"No." replied Shinji, "She said she had something else planned."
"She said Misato took care of us for so long, we ought to have a chance to catch up on things with her." added Rei.
"Oh." Touji pushed the cart further down the aisle., "What about the Goddesses and K1?"
"Belldandy is keeping Keiichi at the apartment." said Rei, "Skuld wanted to come, but something came up. I think it's related to Sayoko's disappearance."
"Oh." Touji grabbed another item, "That's too bad. After being treated to Belldandy's cooking, I was really looking forward to treating them to Hikari's." He looked over the item before deciding against it and returning it to the shelf. "Any word from the Kasumi's?"
Shinji shook his head, "Marie hasn't picked up any sign of demon activity since we left. It looks like they moved on."
Touji glanced at Rei, "You really sure their were two demons?"
Rei nodded.
"But why would a demon bandage you?" asked Touji, "I thought they wanted us dead?"
"That's the million dollar question." replied Rei.
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"Alright spill."
Hikari and Asuka looked at Misato curiously.
"What?" asked Hikari.
"Come on! I haven't been around in years." Misato said with an evil grin, "I want the latest gossip!"
"Not really much to talk about." said Hikari, "It's been pretty quiet here."
"Oh come on there has to be something! What about Rei? She dating anyone?"
"Not really." replied Hikari, "She's been on a few dates, but nothing really serious."
"Nothing serious hmm? What about Sayoko? I heard she found someone."
Asuka began to cough. Hikari glanced at Asuka, then looked back at Misato.
"How'd you know about that?" she asked.
"She told me of course!" said Misato, "We had a nice long talk. She told me about how much she cared for him, even though he was a mortal. The only thing was that their jobs got in the way so they broke it off."
"She told us the same thing." said Hikari, "It's so sweet……but so sad."
"Yeah," said Misato with a sigh, "But I wonder, did he dare for her as well?"
"He does." replied Asuka absentmindedly.
Silence.
Hikari and Misato slowly turned their heads towards Asuka. Asuka let out a quiet curse, realizing she'd just let the cat out of the bag.
"What do you mean 'he does'?" asked Hikari, "Sayoko never told us who it was."
"She didn't tell me either." added Misato, crossing her arms and glaring at Asuka.
"I uhh…she…you see…uhh.." Asuka stuttered.
She was interrupted by a loud thud against the front door of the apartment.
"Someone at the door?" asked Misato.
Hikari shrugged as she stood up. "Maybe Touji forgot his key."
THUD!
"Alright alright!" shouted Hikari walking towards the door, "Geez! So impatient."
Hikari had almost reached the door when there was a flash of light in front of her. She blinked to clear her eyes and when she could see again, Asuka stood in front of her in full armor.
"Hikari," Asuka said, her voice very serious, "Grab the kids and Misato and get the hell out of here."
"What?"
Asuka turned and stared at Hikari, "Get out!"
THUD! The door to the apartment began to splinter.
"But to where?! We're 4 floors up!" shouted Hikari.
"Shiest," muttered Asuka, "And I can't teleport all of us away." She thought for a moment. "Get into the room farthest from the door." Asuka looked back at the front door. "Lock it and hide. I'll hold them off as long as I can."
Hikari turned and ran back into the living room. Asuka turned as the door bent further inward.
* Shinji……I need help….now! * sent Asuka.
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Shinji stared at the row of coolers, then back at Rei and Touji.
"Do we really have to get beer?"
Touji looked at the list in his hand. "It says beer here on the list."
"Lemme see that." Rei grabbed the list and looked it over. She frowned. "The beer is written in a different handwriting." She looked up. "I think its Misato's"
Touji grabbed back the list and stared at the handwriting.
"Hey your right!" Touji exclaimed, "Alright Shin-man, No Beer!"
Shinji smiled. Just as quickly, his smile vanished.
"What is it?" asked Rei.
"Don't know." Shinji started looking around, "I thought I heard something." He shrugged. "Guess I was just hearing things."
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* DAMMIT SHINJI!! ANSWER ME!!! * Asuka screamed telepathically.
The door continued to bend inward.
'Alright Asuka." She thought to herself, 'Looks like its just you. Time to kick ass.'
She cinched her helmet down tighter and brought her staff out, pointing it at the door.
"COME AND GET IT!!" she shouted.
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Misato and Hikari struggled to push the dresser up against the door while Kirika and Mereille watched. The window was open, however it was just to far to climb from.
"Kirika," Hikari gasped out, "Grab your sister and get in the closet."
"But Mom….."
"No Buts! Do it!" shouted Hikari.
A loud crash, followed by the sound of Asuka swearing in German told them that the front door had finally given way. Within seconds the sound of a struggle could be heard coming from the living room. Bangs and crashes and more German cursing followed.
Misato and Hikari finally had the dresser in position. They then ran to the closet and shut the door behind them. Hikari moved against the far wall, holding her children close to her, while Misato peered through the crack in the door, her gun out and ready to fire.
The sounds of struggling continued out in the living room.
"Why hasn't Asuka finished her off yet?" whispered Hikari, "I thought she was all powerful."
The wall to the room visibly rocked, knocking a picture from the wall, as something impacted against it.
"I don't know." whispered Misato, "Where are the others?"
Another crash, followed by a yelp of pain. There was one more loud thud, then all was quiet. Hikari and Misato held their breathe as footsteps sounded in the hallway. There was a slight pause as if the person was looking into each room. The footsteps stopped just outside the door. The doorknob turned as the person tried to open the door. The door slammed into the back of the dresser, preventing the door from opening more then a crack. With a crash, the dresser and door went flying across the bedroom and into the wall. In the doorway stood a figure all in black. Misato instantly recognized the figure from the photo Kensuke had sent of his attacker. The figure slowly looked around the room. She walked over to the window and looked out, slowly running her hand along the window sill. She then turned and knelt to look under the bed. She then went upright and turned and looked at the closet. She stood up and slowly approached the closet. Misato raised her gun, pulling back the hammer with a click. The figure froze at the sound. The gun roared as Misato pulled the trigger. The bullet never hit her target. A blue shield formed in front of the figure, deflecting the shot. Misato fired again and again, until her clip was empty. She then ejected the empty clip and inserted a fresh one and continued to fire. A hand punched it's way into the closet and took hold of Misato. While Hikari, Kirika, and Mereille screamed, Misato was pulled through the door and tossed against the wall. Misato slammed hard into the wall, leaving her impression in it. She fell to the floor in a heap and did not get up. The figure then turned and looked at Hikari and the girls.
"RUN!" shouted Hikari.
The girls took off running. The figure didn't even try to stop them. Instead she reached out and grabbed Hikari by the neck. She lifted Hikari off the ground. Hikari struggled to get air into her lungs as the figure's grip began to tighten. A smile appeared on the woman's face, the only part visible. The world began to turn red for Hikari as her blood built up in her head. The world had just started to go black when it started spinning. It stopped spinning when she hit the floor. Hikari gasped for breath. As she did she looked up to see what had happened.
Asuka, her helmet gone and blood streaming from a gash on her forehead, wrestled with the attacker, slamming her head repeated into the wall.
"Hikari!," gasped Asuka, "Grab Misato….and get…..out!"
Asuka then lifted the attacker and slammed her against the floor. A loud creaking noise could be heard just above the sound of the struggling fighters. Hikari ran to Misato and pulled her out into the hallway. With a snarl, the figure tried to reach out and grab at Hikari, only to be slammed back into the floor by Asuka. With a groan the floor of the bedroom collapsed, taking the attacker and Asuka along for the ride.
Hikari stared wide eyed at the hole that had once been her bedroom.
"Wha….Who…" muttered Misato.
"Misato!" Hikari grabbed Misato and pulled her to her feet. "Get up we have to get out of here now!"
Hikari led Misato toward the living room. As she did, she took in the destruction that had occurred. Walls were smashed, the floor dipped in several spots. The wall that had once separated kitchen from living room was completely gone.
"Oh man…" muttered Hikari, "We'll never get the deposit back….."
The sound of German swearing coming from the remains of the bedroom reached her ears.
"Come on Misato." Hikari led the way out the front door of the apartment.
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Shinji, Rei and Touji walked back towards the apartment, their arms loaded with groceries.
"Think Misato will say anything about the beer?" asked Touji.
"Yes She will." replied Rei, "But she'll get over it."
"She'll grumble and moan," added Shinji, "maybe even cry, but yeah, she'll get over it."
"DADDY!!!"
Touji looked up to see Kirika and Mereille running towards them. Touji dropped his bag and ran towards them.
"What is it?" he asked, "What's wrong?"
"A lady broke in!" shouted Kirika, "She hurt Mommy, Auntie Asuka and Auntie Misato!"
"Rei watch them!" Touji shouted. He vanished in a flash, Shinji right behind him.
Rei blinked and looked down at the girls.
"Don't worry. Your father and Uncle Shinji will………"
With a thud, Touji and Shinji reappeared and hit the ground. Touji looked around.
"What the hell happened?" he asked stunned.
"Forget teleporting." replied Shinji, "Fly!"
Both jumped into the air and flew off at high speed towards the apartment. Rei grabbed the hands of both girls.
"Hold on tight." She said softly.
"Where we going Auntie Rei?" asked Kirika, "To Mommy?"
"No." replied Rei, "We're going to go see Auntie Belldandy. Your daddy is going to bring your mommy there."
Kirika looked up at Rei. "But Auntie Belldandy lives too far to walk!"
Rei smiled. "Who said we're going to walk?"
"But Mommy doesn't……"
"Just this once, I don't think she'll mind."
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Touji and Shinji landed in front of the apartment building.
"See anything?" asked Shinji.
"No." muttered Touji. He looked up at the building. "Shouldn't we be sensing something?"
Shinji frowned. The entire building should have been pulsing with life. He felt absolutely nothing. The main doors to the building then burst open as Hikari ran out, pulling along Misato.
"TOUJI!" she shouted out.
Touji ran up to her and grabbed her into his arms.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
Hikari nodded. "Asuka's still in there with the de….." She wasn't able to finish.
With roar, a large section of the apartments wall exploded outward, a figure tumbling amongst the debris. The figure hit the ground hard, and tumbled for several feet before stopping.
The figure had red hair.
"ASUKA!" shouted Shinji as he ran to her side. He carefully rolled her onto her back. Asuka blinked at him several times, as if trying to figure out who she was looking at. Then a smile slowly crept across her face.
"About time you showed up." she said quietly, "I softened her up for you."
"Her?"
A thump answered his question. He turned to see a figure slowly standing up straight upon stepping off from the second floor of the building. She turned and began to walk towards Hikari and Misato. Touji moved in front of them. Shinji rose to his feet and pulled out his staff, taking aim at the demon……..
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Lucy smiled to herself. Victory was at hand. Her Mistress would be very happy with her. It did not matter that she had defeated one guardian, nor did it matter that two more were prepared to attack. All that mattered to her was the completion of her mission, the death of her target.
* Lucy! Return! *
Lucy frowned. That did not make sense, her victory was certain. Why did her Mistress wish her to return, her task not yet completed?
* Obey me Lucy! Return! *
Lucy had no choice.
She had to obey her Mistress.
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Shinji and Touji watched as the demon approached. They then felt a dark presence. The demon stopped walking and frowned. She then pulled out a small sliver of mirror and vanished. Wait……a mirror?
Shinji cleared his head. Time to think about that later. He bent down and lifted Asuka into his arms. He looked over at Touji. Touji grabbed Hikari into his arms, then took hold of Misato's shoulder.
"Hold on."
The 4 vanished in a flash.
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Thirty minutes later.
Rei, Touji, and Shinji sat at the kitchen table with Skuld, Urd, and Belldandy, telling the three goddesses what had just occurred. Asuka lay in Sayoko's room under the care of Cayla. Misato and Hikari were in Skuld's room recovering from their experience. Keiichi was in his recliner, while Mereille and Kirika sat on the floor in front of him watching TV.
Urd leaned back in her chair. "The demon went after Hikari? Why Hikari?"
Rei shrugged, "We don't know."
Touji slammed his fist on the table. "That demon is dead! No one messes with my family!"
Shinji nodded, "We'll get it, don't worry. In the meantime…….. where are you going to……"
"You'll stay here."
Touji looked at Belldandy, "What? You can't mean that!"
"Really, It's no trouble." replied Belldandy.
"But there's 4 of us and……."
Belldandy just smiled. "You forget, we're Goddesses. We can make room." She glanced over at Skuld. "Just not too much this time."
"Yes Onee-chan." replied Skuld, not really paying attention.
Belldandy and Urd frowned.
"Skuld, I ate all the ice cream." said Urd, "There's none left in the entire house."
"That's fine Urd." Skuld replied. Then blinked twice. "You what!??"
"You haven't been paying attention have you?" asked Urd.
"I've been paying attention." replied Skuld angrily, "I heard everything that they said!"
"Then what were you doing?"
"I was thinking."
"About?"
Skuld looked at Shinji and Touji. "You two said you felt a presence, like someone was contacting that demon?" The two nodded. "Well, I want to know what was so important that she was called off before she had completed her mission. Demons hate doing that. That's why Mara never left us alone."
"Whatever it was," said Belldandy quietly, "I think we'll soon find out."