Chapter 7
The Demon and the Marionette
"I don't know about this." said Otaru.
Otaru, Lorelei and Faust all sat around in the sitting room, waiting for Rei to show up.
"Otaru, this is my decision." replied Lorelei, "We need to find out what is happening, and Rei is the only one who can tell us."
"But we've only just met her."
"Correction," said Lorelei, "You have only just met her. I knew her 300 years ago, as did Faust. We know her."
Otaru looked at Faust, "Is that true?"
Faust stared at Lorelei for several seconds before replying, "Personally, I have never met her. But in a way, it is true that I know Rei. I do have the memories of the previous 9 Faust's, which include the memories of the original. But I am concerned about this situation."
"Why?" asked Lorelei.
"There were many safety and security precautions taken to prevent anyone from disrupting the colonization effort. Remember, there were many who felt to leave the earth for a new home in the stars was immoral and an affront to God."
Lorelei nodded, "I remember. But what does that have to do with Rei?"
"It concerns me how easily they got onboard. They were able to join the crew without raising the suspicions of anyone."
"Rei did say that their orders were to do exactly that."
"But it is still unnerving to know we were being watch by such powerful beings" replied Faust, "If they had wanted to help, why didn't they make their presence known while we were on Earth? They could have helped us to solve the problems on the planet."
"Because we were not and still are not allowed to do so."
The 3 turned to see Rei had entered the sitting room, the demon right behind her. Both walked up to the seated mortals.
"We are limited to what we can and cannot do." Rei said looking at Faust, "There are some things that mortals must learn on their own, without our interference. It is that, that allows you to grow and to mature as a society." Rei then looked at the others. "Since you wanted to discuss the demons, I brought along Mara. She is a Class 0 Demon, a very powerful demon, one of the few demons to reach that ranking."
"So why is she standing next to you?" asked Otaru, "Considering you blasted the other demon."
Rei turned and faced Mara, "You would be able to explain it better then me."
Mara nodded and turned to face the mortals. "The demons that have been attacking you are rogue demons, demons that no longer follow the orders of hell."
"Two sets of demons?" asked Otaru.
"Yes. 500 years ago, a large group broke off, wanting to return to the days when heaven and hell openly fought each other. With the help of a disgruntled God, they were able to take over heaven. It was with the help of an Army of Demons that remained loyal to Oni-sama, that the few remaining Gods were able to retake heaven. With many of their leaders killed, the rogue demons as they became called, became disorganized. The next 200 years were chaotic as various rogue demon groups plotted and attempted to cause as many problems as they could for Mortal, God, and Demon alike. The rogue Demons reorganized about 360 years ago under a new leader. Since then, they have been smarter and harder to find."
"But what are you doing here?" asked Lorelei.
"That explosion." replied Mara. She then looked at Otaru, "Rei said you were there when she was found."
Otaru nodded, "I was. So were Lime, Cherry, and Bloodberry."
"There were 2 more Goddesses there, along with another Guardian of Heaven, like Rei. They were found by a rescue party sent by the heavens. But they had no idea that Rei had been found by you. So I was asked to look for her."
"Why you?" asked Faust, "Why couldn't they find their missing person on their own?"
"The Guardian's are a bit different from Gods and Goddesses do to our Guardian role." replied Rei, "First, we have a lot more power at our disposal then they do. We also have the capability of healing quicker. We are also harder to detect then Gods or Demons. I am able to sense a God or Demon over extreme distances and if familiar with them, I can identify exactly who they are. But Gods and Demons are unable to do that for us. They would actually have to have physical contact with us to detect our power. The only way we have been able to successfully detect a guardian is by using another guardian."
"But that still doesn't explain why she is here." said Otaru, pointing at Mara.
"I'm here as a favor to a friend." said Mara, "The Goddess in charge of Terra 2 asked me to come here, because she is currently unable to send anyone from heaven."
"Why?"
"Apparently, there are those in heaven who are unsure about the situation here. After all, 2 Guardians and 2 Goddesses were defeated at the hands of the Demons."
"So what happens now?" asked Lorelei. "Will you be taking Rei home?"
Mara shook her head. "Currently, I am unable to do so. That fight with your robots weakened me to the point I am unable to use any of my powers."
"Which means I'm back to trying to repair the communicator." Rei said.
"Do you need any assistance?" asked Lorelei.
"No," replied Rei, "I'm doing alright for the most part. Luchs and Lime were helpful. That reminds me, what's wrong with Lime?"
Lorelei and Otaru looked at each other questioningly. Otaru then looked at Rei.
"What do you mean?"
"She seemed.....afraid when she came to get me." Rei shrugged her arms, "I was just curious if she said anything to you on why."
"She hasn't said anything to me." said Otaru.
"It's possible one of the other marionettes said something to her." said Faust, "They spoke very strongly against allowing Mara to remain here."
Mara and Rei looked at Faust. "What do you mean?" asked Rei.
"The girls are concerned about my safety. They are worried about allowing a demon to be here after all that has happened." said Lorelei, "There are also concerns about you Rei."
Rei remained quiet for a minute before answering. "I realize a lot has happened and I understand why they may be concerned, why you may be concerned. But you must believe me, I intend no harm to you or anyone else here. I promise."
Mara looked up, "You'll have no problems from me. I'll just help Rei and stay out of the way."
Lorelei looked at both Faust and Otaru before speaking, "We'll hold you to that."
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Rei and Mara walked silently back towards the laboratories below the castle. Mara finally could stand the silence no more.
"Dammit all! How could they not trust us!"
"Trust is a hard thing to earn," replied Rei, "But it is the easiest thing to lose. Give them time."
"Easier said then done." muttered Mara, "You knew Lorelei and Faust back on the Mesopotamia. They can at least vouch for you. I've got squat."
"They have my word about you."
"...Which is no good if they don't trust you." Mara closed her eyes, "Weren't you going to explain this planet to me?"
"I thought I did."
"No all you said was that the planet was populated my men and 'marionettes.' How the hell did it end up that way? Where does Lorelei fit in?"
Rei opened the door and entered the lab, Mara right behind her. "It's a rather long and complicated story. You might be better off going to the Terra 2 Pioneer History Museum."
"A Museum hmmm? Where is it?"
Rei glanced at Mara as she sat down in front of the repair table where the communicator lay. "It's on the edge of Japoness. I could see if one of the marionettes could take you."
Mara paled slightly, "Ahhh, I don't want to disturb them. I'll just wait for you when you have a break."
Rei's eyes narrowed, "Oh...Are you 'scared' of them?"
Mara's face turned red, "HELL NO I'M NOT AFRAID!! I just uhhh...well I don't see you that much and I uhh..."
"Mara...."
"Hmm?"
"I don't swing that way."
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"I just talked to Lord Faust." said Tiger as she entered the restaurant.
The other marionettes had gone there to wait for the results of their masters and Lorelei's meeting with Rei. Tiger had waited for Faust. Lime was nowhere to be seen.
"And?" asked Panther.
"The Demon went to the meeting with Rei. Both claim they intend no harm to us." replied Tiger. "And for now Lord Faust, Lorelei, and Otaru will take them at their word."
"So that's that then." replied Bloodberry.
"No it isn't." said Luchs, "Just because our masters trust them, doesn't mean that we should."
"What are you saying Luchs?" asked Cherry.
"One of our primary jobs to protect Lord Faust from danger. I see both the guardian and the demon as a threat to my master, and will treat them as such." Luchs looked at Tiger and Panther. They nodded in agreement.
"I don't know..." said Cherry, "I may not trust them....but declaring them a threat without any proof....."
"Cherry, that Demon is dangerous..." said Bloodberry, "Remember what it did when it showed up! We almost lost!"
"But Master Otaru trusts them....shouldn't we follow the Master's wishes?"
"Otaru wanted to go to Gartlant alone to destroy the computer, remember?" replied Bloodberry, "But we told he we were coming anyway. This is for his own good."
"I don't know......."
"Tell you what Cherry," said Tiger, "We'll just observe them for now...."
"Yeah..." said Panther, "And when they get out of line, we pound them!" She punched her hand for emphasis on the word 'pound'.
Cherry let out a sigh, "Very well. But we shouldn't tell Lime."
"Why not?" asked Bloodberry.
"Because she's scared of them as it is." replied Cherry, "And she might tell Master Otaru. I'm assuming you don't want the Master to find out."
"No." said Luchs, "Neither of our Masters should know, nor Lorelei."
"Speaking of Lime, Where is she?" asked Bloodberry.
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Lime sat by the statue of her, Cherry, and Bloodberry outside the Terra 2 Pioneer History museum. The statue had been erected in their honor shortly after the 3 had gone and rescued Lorelei from the Mesopotamia. At the time they were never expected to come back. Lime came here whenever she was upset or needed to think. Right now she was deep in thought.
'Cherry, Bloodberry, Tiger, Panther, Luchs.....they all think Rei is bad. But Otaru trusts her. She was really nice to me when I was talking to her. How can someone be so nice and yet be bad? I'm so confused.'
Lime's thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of footsteps. A voice was soon followed.
"....see if I ever help her again....tell me to get lost...."
Lime peered around the statue. Walking up towards the museum was the demon, Mara. She no longer wore the demon outfit she had fought in. She now wore a typical Japoness marionette outfit, only it was black. Lime was frozen in fear. She had heard from Bloodberry and Cherry about the battle between the demon and the 7 marionettes and had seen the aftermath. When she had gone to get Rei, she knew the demon would be there, but she was thought to be unconscious. Lime shivered as she remembered being stared at by the Demon. It was as if the Demon was sizing her up to attack. Lime watched as the Demon approached the statue. She quickly hid herself from view, leaning up against the back of the statues base. She listened as the footsteps stopped just on the other side of the statue.
She heard the Demon reading the plaque on the statue. " 'The saviors of Terra 2: Lime, Cherry, Bloodberry. My their sacrifice never be forgotten.' Still think that they are a walking pile of junk."
Hearing the hated word that usually came out of Hanagata's mouth, Lime's temper flared. On instinct, she stood up and faced the speaker. "I'M NOT JUNK!!"
It was then that Lime realized that she was not addressing Hanagata, but the Demon. Mara had jumped in surprise as Lime appeared. She hadn't been expecting anyone to be around. Both locked eyes and stared at each other. After several minutes, Mara finally spoke.
"Umm, aren't you going to do anything..."
"No," replied Lime, "Aren't you?"
"Should I?"
"You're a demon. Shouldn't you be attacking someone?"
Mara looked at Lime confused, "What for?"
"Cuz that's what the other Demons did..."
"I'm not like the other Demons. I follow a different set of rules then they do." Mara took another look at Lime. Suddenly, it came to her. Lime was afraid of HER! "What's your name?"
"I'm Lime."
Mara pointed towards the statue, "Then that's you?"
"Yeah." replied Lime.
"You don't need to worry, I won't hurt you."
"You won't?"
"Just so long as you don't hurt me."
Now it was Lime's turn to look confused, "Why would I do that?"
"You guys attacked me while I was looking for Rei."
"I was with Rei. I wasn't with the others."
"Well in that case, why don't you give me a tour of the museum?"
Lime thought about it, "Alright."
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"What's she doing?" asked Panther.
"She's still sitting there," replied Bloodberry, "working on that communicator thing."
"This is boring."
"Maybe we were wrong about her."
"We've only been watching her for 4 hours."
Bloodberry let out a sigh, "You think Tiger found Lime yet?"
"Don't know." replied Panther, "Don't want to radio then either just in case Rei or Mara can pick up radio."
Bloodberry looked at Panther funny, "I don't see any antennas on them. How are they going to detect radio waves?"
"They were able to arrive in the knick of time somehow. Besides, Lime said Rei was able to detect Mara when she attacked us. They apparently can communicate somehow besides radio."
Bloodberry looked back at Rei through the two-way mirror. "I wonder how Luchs and Cherry are doing."
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"I can't believe you got me to do this." Cherry said quietly.
"What? You look great!" replied Luchs.
Cherry glared at Luchs. Both of them were wearing camouflage outfits, complete with helmets that had grass and other plants sticking off of it. They were currently walking along in the forest outside of Japoness.
"I still don't see why this is necessary to follow Mara in these ridiculous outfits." muttered Cherry.
Luchs turned her head, "Gartlant Military training. Since our target has moved into the woods, we must blend into the surroundings, to avoid detection by Mara and Lime."
"Baiko and Tamasaburo are fairly good at avoiding detection and I don't see them wearing ridiculous outfits. And why is Lime out here with Mara anyway?"
"Shhh." Luchs crouched down. "There they are." She whispered.
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"Mew!"
"Mara, these are Ponta! Aren't they cute."
Mara stared at the four-legged multi-colored creatures, "Uhh, sure what ever you say." 'Ewwww.'
"They're my friends." Lime said happily, "We usually play hide and go seek or tag. Want to play."
"I'll pass." 'I want to throw-up.'
"Their still babies. They get a whole lot bigger when they grow up."
"Oh, how much bigger......" 'These have got to be the most hideous creatures I have ever seen.'
"About 30 to 40 stories tall or more."
Mara stared at Lime in shock, "30 to 40 stories!?!? Are you kidding?"
The ground shook at that moment. It was followed a few seconds later by another shake.
Mara looked around and back at Lime, "What in the name of hell was that?!?!"
"It's their momma." replied Lime. She turned and pointed. "There she is!"
Mara turned to see a huge monster walking towards the Pontas. It looked like Godzilla's twin. Mara looked from the monster to the Pontas and back to the monster. She then turned to Lime. "THAT'S a full grown Ponta!?!"
"Yep. Why?"
Mara turned back to the full-grown Ponta, "She's adorable!!"
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Rei sat back in the chair and wiped the sweat from her forehead. She had been working on the communicator of two days now and she still had a long ways to go.
'How in the heck does Skuld make these things anyway? She makes it look so easy.'
Rei looked back at the mirrored window. Using her divine powers, she could easily see Bloodberry and Panther watching her. Rei let out a sigh. After seeing Lime and the other marionette's reaction to Mara, she expected them to do this. She suspected they were doing this without their masters knowing. She, Asuka, and Sayoko had gathered many reports over the years about the Saber Dolls. She expected this type of response from them. The fact that Bloodberry was there surprised her and made her wonder. Rei reached out with her mind to find Mara.
* Mara? *
Mara's replied immediately. * What? *
* Where are you? *
* Lime and I are out in the forest. You know these Ponta things are really cool once they're full grown. I'm thinking of making one a pet. *
Rei rolled her eyes, * You're not going to take it home. Now take a look around. Do you see anyone besides you, Lime, and the Pontas? *
* Hold on. No I don't see any........ oh shit. *
* Mara? What is it? *
Silence met Rei's question. * Mara? *
Still no reply. Now Rei was getting worried.
* DAMMIT MARA ANSWER ME! *
* I'M HERE. You don't need to yell! *
* What the hell is going on? *
* I can see two marionettes in camouflage. Looks like the one with purple hair and the one with blue hair. *
* Cherry and Luchs... * Rei let out a sigh. * I'll be right there. *
Rei set down the tools and then waved her hand, vanishing in a flash.
In the observation room, Bloodberry and Panther gasped in shock.
"Where the hell did she go!??!" shouted Panther.
"Dammit! I knew this was a bad idea." muttered Bloodberry.
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Mara sat with her back to a tree. Her eyes kept darting back to see where the marionettes were. Lime looked at Mara confused.
"What the matter Mara?" she asked.
Mara looked up at Lime. "They're here."
"Who?"
Mara glanced back at the brush. "The other marionettes."
With a pop and a flash, Rei appeared next to Mara, startling Lime. Rei took a quick look around and then turned to Mara.
"Come on Mara, let's go back to the Castle."
Mara nodded and got to her feet. She slowly began walking off. Lime turned and looked at Rei.
"What's wrong with Mara?"
"She's nervous about the other marionettes." Rei said quietly.
"Why?" asked Lime, "She's a powerful demon."
"Not right now. She barely has the power to light a light bulb." Rei looked back up at Mara, "When she's back at full power, I think she'll feel better."
Rei and Lime took off after Mara. As they passed a particularly dense bush, Rei stopped and spoke.
"We're going back to the castle. You want to walk with us or continue to hide in the brush?"
Cherry and Luchs slowly rose out of the bush.
"I uh..." Luchs scratched her head in embarrassment, "I guess we'll go back to the castle."
Rei turned and continued walking. Lime looked at Cherry and Luchs before laughing. "You two look silly." Lime continued to laugh as she followed Rei.
Cherry turned and glared at Luchs. "Gartlant Military Training.....The outfits will help us avoid detection......RRRRRRRR!!" Cherry through her hands up in the air and stormed off towards Japoness, angrily tossing her helmet off into the brush.
Luchs let out a sigh as she watched Cherry stormed off. "I guess I need to brush up on my training."
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2 hours later.
Rei was back working on the communicator, Mara right next to her.
"How much longer are you going to be?" Mara asked.
Rei glanced at Mara, "I'm not Skuld. I can't throw these things together like she can. You want to try?"
"Jeez, I'm sorry alright!" Mara sat quietly for a few minutes. "You know Lime reminds me of someone..."
"Who?" Rei asked, keeping her eyes on her work.
"Belldandy."
Rei turned in her seat and stared at Mara. "What do you mean? Lime is nothing like Belldandy."
"I meant Belldandy before 2nd Impact." Mara sat back, "She was this sweet, innocent Goddess, curious about everything on the mortal world. And she always put a positive light on everything." Mara shook her head, "It makes me ill thinking about it."
"I'm sure it does. Hand me that micro-socket."
Mara handed Rei the tool. "Of course there were times where Belldandy could be as dense as a brick..."
Rei glared at Mara, "That's not a nice thing to say about my boss."
"It's true! Ask Keiichi about the time she put him to sleep when she thought he had a fever! I'm surprised they were even able to have a kid!"
Rei snapped the cover on the communicator shut. "I think I got it."
Mara practically jumped out of her seat. "Well try it damn it! I want to get off this rock!"
Rei tapped a button. A loud hum began to fill the air and the communicator began to glow. Mara peered at the device.
"Is supposed to do that?"
The hum got loud and the device began to smoke. Rei frantically press buttons on it.
"DAMMIT!" Rei shouted as she tossed it to the far side of the room and dove behind a desk, Mara right behind her.
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Lorelei was sitting in the library still trying to catch up on the last 300 years of Terra 2 when the entire Castle shuddered. Lorelei looked up.
"What the...?"
A guard ran into the room, "Miss Lorelei! Miss Lorelei! There's been an explosion in the labs!"
Lorelei immediately stood up, "The clones?!"
"No the other side. Where that Goddess or whatever she is was working."
"Was anyone hurt?"
"I don't know." replied the guard. "But one of Maimya's marionettes is down there right now."
Lorelei knew which one. After talking to Lime, both Otaru and Faust had had a long talk with their marionettes, followed by a discussion with Rei and Mara. That lead to the decision that Lime would stay at the castle, as Mara was not as threatened by her.
'Lime.' thought Lorelei, 'Be careful.'
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Lime raced through the shattered smoke filled corridors towards the labs. The same explosion that had destroyed the corridor had also snuffed out the fire as soon as it had started She burst through the Lab door and looked about. The room was completely dark.
"Rei?! Mara?!" she shouted.
"Over here."
Lime hurried towards the voice, her eyes allowing her to see through the darkness, but not very far. Finally she found Rei and Mara. Rei was kneeling on the floor, holding small pieces of electronics.
"What is that?" asked Lime.
"Our one shot of getting home quickly." replied Mara.
Lime looked at Rei and then back to Mara. "What will you do now?"
"Hope that Mara gets back to full power soon." replied Rei quietly, "I sense our problems have only just begun."
The Demon and the Marionette
"I don't know about this." said Otaru.
Otaru, Lorelei and Faust all sat around in the sitting room, waiting for Rei to show up.
"Otaru, this is my decision." replied Lorelei, "We need to find out what is happening, and Rei is the only one who can tell us."
"But we've only just met her."
"Correction," said Lorelei, "You have only just met her. I knew her 300 years ago, as did Faust. We know her."
Otaru looked at Faust, "Is that true?"
Faust stared at Lorelei for several seconds before replying, "Personally, I have never met her. But in a way, it is true that I know Rei. I do have the memories of the previous 9 Faust's, which include the memories of the original. But I am concerned about this situation."
"Why?" asked Lorelei.
"There were many safety and security precautions taken to prevent anyone from disrupting the colonization effort. Remember, there were many who felt to leave the earth for a new home in the stars was immoral and an affront to God."
Lorelei nodded, "I remember. But what does that have to do with Rei?"
"It concerns me how easily they got onboard. They were able to join the crew without raising the suspicions of anyone."
"Rei did say that their orders were to do exactly that."
"But it is still unnerving to know we were being watch by such powerful beings" replied Faust, "If they had wanted to help, why didn't they make their presence known while we were on Earth? They could have helped us to solve the problems on the planet."
"Because we were not and still are not allowed to do so."
The 3 turned to see Rei had entered the sitting room, the demon right behind her. Both walked up to the seated mortals.
"We are limited to what we can and cannot do." Rei said looking at Faust, "There are some things that mortals must learn on their own, without our interference. It is that, that allows you to grow and to mature as a society." Rei then looked at the others. "Since you wanted to discuss the demons, I brought along Mara. She is a Class 0 Demon, a very powerful demon, one of the few demons to reach that ranking."
"So why is she standing next to you?" asked Otaru, "Considering you blasted the other demon."
Rei turned and faced Mara, "You would be able to explain it better then me."
Mara nodded and turned to face the mortals. "The demons that have been attacking you are rogue demons, demons that no longer follow the orders of hell."
"Two sets of demons?" asked Otaru.
"Yes. 500 years ago, a large group broke off, wanting to return to the days when heaven and hell openly fought each other. With the help of a disgruntled God, they were able to take over heaven. It was with the help of an Army of Demons that remained loyal to Oni-sama, that the few remaining Gods were able to retake heaven. With many of their leaders killed, the rogue demons as they became called, became disorganized. The next 200 years were chaotic as various rogue demon groups plotted and attempted to cause as many problems as they could for Mortal, God, and Demon alike. The rogue Demons reorganized about 360 years ago under a new leader. Since then, they have been smarter and harder to find."
"But what are you doing here?" asked Lorelei.
"That explosion." replied Mara. She then looked at Otaru, "Rei said you were there when she was found."
Otaru nodded, "I was. So were Lime, Cherry, and Bloodberry."
"There were 2 more Goddesses there, along with another Guardian of Heaven, like Rei. They were found by a rescue party sent by the heavens. But they had no idea that Rei had been found by you. So I was asked to look for her."
"Why you?" asked Faust, "Why couldn't they find their missing person on their own?"
"The Guardian's are a bit different from Gods and Goddesses do to our Guardian role." replied Rei, "First, we have a lot more power at our disposal then they do. We also have the capability of healing quicker. We are also harder to detect then Gods or Demons. I am able to sense a God or Demon over extreme distances and if familiar with them, I can identify exactly who they are. But Gods and Demons are unable to do that for us. They would actually have to have physical contact with us to detect our power. The only way we have been able to successfully detect a guardian is by using another guardian."
"But that still doesn't explain why she is here." said Otaru, pointing at Mara.
"I'm here as a favor to a friend." said Mara, "The Goddess in charge of Terra 2 asked me to come here, because she is currently unable to send anyone from heaven."
"Why?"
"Apparently, there are those in heaven who are unsure about the situation here. After all, 2 Guardians and 2 Goddesses were defeated at the hands of the Demons."
"So what happens now?" asked Lorelei. "Will you be taking Rei home?"
Mara shook her head. "Currently, I am unable to do so. That fight with your robots weakened me to the point I am unable to use any of my powers."
"Which means I'm back to trying to repair the communicator." Rei said.
"Do you need any assistance?" asked Lorelei.
"No," replied Rei, "I'm doing alright for the most part. Luchs and Lime were helpful. That reminds me, what's wrong with Lime?"
Lorelei and Otaru looked at each other questioningly. Otaru then looked at Rei.
"What do you mean?"
"She seemed.....afraid when she came to get me." Rei shrugged her arms, "I was just curious if she said anything to you on why."
"She hasn't said anything to me." said Otaru.
"It's possible one of the other marionettes said something to her." said Faust, "They spoke very strongly against allowing Mara to remain here."
Mara and Rei looked at Faust. "What do you mean?" asked Rei.
"The girls are concerned about my safety. They are worried about allowing a demon to be here after all that has happened." said Lorelei, "There are also concerns about you Rei."
Rei remained quiet for a minute before answering. "I realize a lot has happened and I understand why they may be concerned, why you may be concerned. But you must believe me, I intend no harm to you or anyone else here. I promise."
Mara looked up, "You'll have no problems from me. I'll just help Rei and stay out of the way."
Lorelei looked at both Faust and Otaru before speaking, "We'll hold you to that."
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Rei and Mara walked silently back towards the laboratories below the castle. Mara finally could stand the silence no more.
"Dammit all! How could they not trust us!"
"Trust is a hard thing to earn," replied Rei, "But it is the easiest thing to lose. Give them time."
"Easier said then done." muttered Mara, "You knew Lorelei and Faust back on the Mesopotamia. They can at least vouch for you. I've got squat."
"They have my word about you."
"...Which is no good if they don't trust you." Mara closed her eyes, "Weren't you going to explain this planet to me?"
"I thought I did."
"No all you said was that the planet was populated my men and 'marionettes.' How the hell did it end up that way? Where does Lorelei fit in?"
Rei opened the door and entered the lab, Mara right behind her. "It's a rather long and complicated story. You might be better off going to the Terra 2 Pioneer History Museum."
"A Museum hmmm? Where is it?"
Rei glanced at Mara as she sat down in front of the repair table where the communicator lay. "It's on the edge of Japoness. I could see if one of the marionettes could take you."
Mara paled slightly, "Ahhh, I don't want to disturb them. I'll just wait for you when you have a break."
Rei's eyes narrowed, "Oh...Are you 'scared' of them?"
Mara's face turned red, "HELL NO I'M NOT AFRAID!! I just uhhh...well I don't see you that much and I uhh..."
"Mara...."
"Hmm?"
"I don't swing that way."
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"I just talked to Lord Faust." said Tiger as she entered the restaurant.
The other marionettes had gone there to wait for the results of their masters and Lorelei's meeting with Rei. Tiger had waited for Faust. Lime was nowhere to be seen.
"And?" asked Panther.
"The Demon went to the meeting with Rei. Both claim they intend no harm to us." replied Tiger. "And for now Lord Faust, Lorelei, and Otaru will take them at their word."
"So that's that then." replied Bloodberry.
"No it isn't." said Luchs, "Just because our masters trust them, doesn't mean that we should."
"What are you saying Luchs?" asked Cherry.
"One of our primary jobs to protect Lord Faust from danger. I see both the guardian and the demon as a threat to my master, and will treat them as such." Luchs looked at Tiger and Panther. They nodded in agreement.
"I don't know..." said Cherry, "I may not trust them....but declaring them a threat without any proof....."
"Cherry, that Demon is dangerous..." said Bloodberry, "Remember what it did when it showed up! We almost lost!"
"But Master Otaru trusts them....shouldn't we follow the Master's wishes?"
"Otaru wanted to go to Gartlant alone to destroy the computer, remember?" replied Bloodberry, "But we told he we were coming anyway. This is for his own good."
"I don't know......."
"Tell you what Cherry," said Tiger, "We'll just observe them for now...."
"Yeah..." said Panther, "And when they get out of line, we pound them!" She punched her hand for emphasis on the word 'pound'.
Cherry let out a sigh, "Very well. But we shouldn't tell Lime."
"Why not?" asked Bloodberry.
"Because she's scared of them as it is." replied Cherry, "And she might tell Master Otaru. I'm assuming you don't want the Master to find out."
"No." said Luchs, "Neither of our Masters should know, nor Lorelei."
"Speaking of Lime, Where is she?" asked Bloodberry.
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Lime sat by the statue of her, Cherry, and Bloodberry outside the Terra 2 Pioneer History museum. The statue had been erected in their honor shortly after the 3 had gone and rescued Lorelei from the Mesopotamia. At the time they were never expected to come back. Lime came here whenever she was upset or needed to think. Right now she was deep in thought.
'Cherry, Bloodberry, Tiger, Panther, Luchs.....they all think Rei is bad. But Otaru trusts her. She was really nice to me when I was talking to her. How can someone be so nice and yet be bad? I'm so confused.'
Lime's thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of footsteps. A voice was soon followed.
"....see if I ever help her again....tell me to get lost...."
Lime peered around the statue. Walking up towards the museum was the demon, Mara. She no longer wore the demon outfit she had fought in. She now wore a typical Japoness marionette outfit, only it was black. Lime was frozen in fear. She had heard from Bloodberry and Cherry about the battle between the demon and the 7 marionettes and had seen the aftermath. When she had gone to get Rei, she knew the demon would be there, but she was thought to be unconscious. Lime shivered as she remembered being stared at by the Demon. It was as if the Demon was sizing her up to attack. Lime watched as the Demon approached the statue. She quickly hid herself from view, leaning up against the back of the statues base. She listened as the footsteps stopped just on the other side of the statue.
She heard the Demon reading the plaque on the statue. " 'The saviors of Terra 2: Lime, Cherry, Bloodberry. My their sacrifice never be forgotten.' Still think that they are a walking pile of junk."
Hearing the hated word that usually came out of Hanagata's mouth, Lime's temper flared. On instinct, she stood up and faced the speaker. "I'M NOT JUNK!!"
It was then that Lime realized that she was not addressing Hanagata, but the Demon. Mara had jumped in surprise as Lime appeared. She hadn't been expecting anyone to be around. Both locked eyes and stared at each other. After several minutes, Mara finally spoke.
"Umm, aren't you going to do anything..."
"No," replied Lime, "Aren't you?"
"Should I?"
"You're a demon. Shouldn't you be attacking someone?"
Mara looked at Lime confused, "What for?"
"Cuz that's what the other Demons did..."
"I'm not like the other Demons. I follow a different set of rules then they do." Mara took another look at Lime. Suddenly, it came to her. Lime was afraid of HER! "What's your name?"
"I'm Lime."
Mara pointed towards the statue, "Then that's you?"
"Yeah." replied Lime.
"You don't need to worry, I won't hurt you."
"You won't?"
"Just so long as you don't hurt me."
Now it was Lime's turn to look confused, "Why would I do that?"
"You guys attacked me while I was looking for Rei."
"I was with Rei. I wasn't with the others."
"Well in that case, why don't you give me a tour of the museum?"
Lime thought about it, "Alright."
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"What's she doing?" asked Panther.
"She's still sitting there," replied Bloodberry, "working on that communicator thing."
"This is boring."
"Maybe we were wrong about her."
"We've only been watching her for 4 hours."
Bloodberry let out a sigh, "You think Tiger found Lime yet?"
"Don't know." replied Panther, "Don't want to radio then either just in case Rei or Mara can pick up radio."
Bloodberry looked at Panther funny, "I don't see any antennas on them. How are they going to detect radio waves?"
"They were able to arrive in the knick of time somehow. Besides, Lime said Rei was able to detect Mara when she attacked us. They apparently can communicate somehow besides radio."
Bloodberry looked back at Rei through the two-way mirror. "I wonder how Luchs and Cherry are doing."
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"I can't believe you got me to do this." Cherry said quietly.
"What? You look great!" replied Luchs.
Cherry glared at Luchs. Both of them were wearing camouflage outfits, complete with helmets that had grass and other plants sticking off of it. They were currently walking along in the forest outside of Japoness.
"I still don't see why this is necessary to follow Mara in these ridiculous outfits." muttered Cherry.
Luchs turned her head, "Gartlant Military training. Since our target has moved into the woods, we must blend into the surroundings, to avoid detection by Mara and Lime."
"Baiko and Tamasaburo are fairly good at avoiding detection and I don't see them wearing ridiculous outfits. And why is Lime out here with Mara anyway?"
"Shhh." Luchs crouched down. "There they are." She whispered.
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"Mew!"
"Mara, these are Ponta! Aren't they cute."
Mara stared at the four-legged multi-colored creatures, "Uhh, sure what ever you say." 'Ewwww.'
"They're my friends." Lime said happily, "We usually play hide and go seek or tag. Want to play."
"I'll pass." 'I want to throw-up.'
"Their still babies. They get a whole lot bigger when they grow up."
"Oh, how much bigger......" 'These have got to be the most hideous creatures I have ever seen.'
"About 30 to 40 stories tall or more."
Mara stared at Lime in shock, "30 to 40 stories!?!? Are you kidding?"
The ground shook at that moment. It was followed a few seconds later by another shake.
Mara looked around and back at Lime, "What in the name of hell was that?!?!"
"It's their momma." replied Lime. She turned and pointed. "There she is!"
Mara turned to see a huge monster walking towards the Pontas. It looked like Godzilla's twin. Mara looked from the monster to the Pontas and back to the monster. She then turned to Lime. "THAT'S a full grown Ponta!?!"
"Yep. Why?"
Mara turned back to the full-grown Ponta, "She's adorable!!"
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Rei sat back in the chair and wiped the sweat from her forehead. She had been working on the communicator of two days now and she still had a long ways to go.
'How in the heck does Skuld make these things anyway? She makes it look so easy.'
Rei looked back at the mirrored window. Using her divine powers, she could easily see Bloodberry and Panther watching her. Rei let out a sigh. After seeing Lime and the other marionette's reaction to Mara, she expected them to do this. She suspected they were doing this without their masters knowing. She, Asuka, and Sayoko had gathered many reports over the years about the Saber Dolls. She expected this type of response from them. The fact that Bloodberry was there surprised her and made her wonder. Rei reached out with her mind to find Mara.
* Mara? *
Mara's replied immediately. * What? *
* Where are you? *
* Lime and I are out in the forest. You know these Ponta things are really cool once they're full grown. I'm thinking of making one a pet. *
Rei rolled her eyes, * You're not going to take it home. Now take a look around. Do you see anyone besides you, Lime, and the Pontas? *
* Hold on. No I don't see any........ oh shit. *
* Mara? What is it? *
Silence met Rei's question. * Mara? *
Still no reply. Now Rei was getting worried.
* DAMMIT MARA ANSWER ME! *
* I'M HERE. You don't need to yell! *
* What the hell is going on? *
* I can see two marionettes in camouflage. Looks like the one with purple hair and the one with blue hair. *
* Cherry and Luchs... * Rei let out a sigh. * I'll be right there. *
Rei set down the tools and then waved her hand, vanishing in a flash.
In the observation room, Bloodberry and Panther gasped in shock.
"Where the hell did she go!??!" shouted Panther.
"Dammit! I knew this was a bad idea." muttered Bloodberry.
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Mara sat with her back to a tree. Her eyes kept darting back to see where the marionettes were. Lime looked at Mara confused.
"What the matter Mara?" she asked.
Mara looked up at Lime. "They're here."
"Who?"
Mara glanced back at the brush. "The other marionettes."
With a pop and a flash, Rei appeared next to Mara, startling Lime. Rei took a quick look around and then turned to Mara.
"Come on Mara, let's go back to the Castle."
Mara nodded and got to her feet. She slowly began walking off. Lime turned and looked at Rei.
"What's wrong with Mara?"
"She's nervous about the other marionettes." Rei said quietly.
"Why?" asked Lime, "She's a powerful demon."
"Not right now. She barely has the power to light a light bulb." Rei looked back up at Mara, "When she's back at full power, I think she'll feel better."
Rei and Lime took off after Mara. As they passed a particularly dense bush, Rei stopped and spoke.
"We're going back to the castle. You want to walk with us or continue to hide in the brush?"
Cherry and Luchs slowly rose out of the bush.
"I uh..." Luchs scratched her head in embarrassment, "I guess we'll go back to the castle."
Rei turned and continued walking. Lime looked at Cherry and Luchs before laughing. "You two look silly." Lime continued to laugh as she followed Rei.
Cherry turned and glared at Luchs. "Gartlant Military Training.....The outfits will help us avoid detection......RRRRRRRR!!" Cherry through her hands up in the air and stormed off towards Japoness, angrily tossing her helmet off into the brush.
Luchs let out a sigh as she watched Cherry stormed off. "I guess I need to brush up on my training."
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2 hours later.
Rei was back working on the communicator, Mara right next to her.
"How much longer are you going to be?" Mara asked.
Rei glanced at Mara, "I'm not Skuld. I can't throw these things together like she can. You want to try?"
"Jeez, I'm sorry alright!" Mara sat quietly for a few minutes. "You know Lime reminds me of someone..."
"Who?" Rei asked, keeping her eyes on her work.
"Belldandy."
Rei turned in her seat and stared at Mara. "What do you mean? Lime is nothing like Belldandy."
"I meant Belldandy before 2nd Impact." Mara sat back, "She was this sweet, innocent Goddess, curious about everything on the mortal world. And she always put a positive light on everything." Mara shook her head, "It makes me ill thinking about it."
"I'm sure it does. Hand me that micro-socket."
Mara handed Rei the tool. "Of course there were times where Belldandy could be as dense as a brick..."
Rei glared at Mara, "That's not a nice thing to say about my boss."
"It's true! Ask Keiichi about the time she put him to sleep when she thought he had a fever! I'm surprised they were even able to have a kid!"
Rei snapped the cover on the communicator shut. "I think I got it."
Mara practically jumped out of her seat. "Well try it damn it! I want to get off this rock!"
Rei tapped a button. A loud hum began to fill the air and the communicator began to glow. Mara peered at the device.
"Is supposed to do that?"
The hum got loud and the device began to smoke. Rei frantically press buttons on it.
"DAMMIT!" Rei shouted as she tossed it to the far side of the room and dove behind a desk, Mara right behind her.
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Lorelei was sitting in the library still trying to catch up on the last 300 years of Terra 2 when the entire Castle shuddered. Lorelei looked up.
"What the...?"
A guard ran into the room, "Miss Lorelei! Miss Lorelei! There's been an explosion in the labs!"
Lorelei immediately stood up, "The clones?!"
"No the other side. Where that Goddess or whatever she is was working."
"Was anyone hurt?"
"I don't know." replied the guard. "But one of Maimya's marionettes is down there right now."
Lorelei knew which one. After talking to Lime, both Otaru and Faust had had a long talk with their marionettes, followed by a discussion with Rei and Mara. That lead to the decision that Lime would stay at the castle, as Mara was not as threatened by her.
'Lime.' thought Lorelei, 'Be careful.'
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Lime raced through the shattered smoke filled corridors towards the labs. The same explosion that had destroyed the corridor had also snuffed out the fire as soon as it had started She burst through the Lab door and looked about. The room was completely dark.
"Rei?! Mara?!" she shouted.
"Over here."
Lime hurried towards the voice, her eyes allowing her to see through the darkness, but not very far. Finally she found Rei and Mara. Rei was kneeling on the floor, holding small pieces of electronics.
"What is that?" asked Lime.
"Our one shot of getting home quickly." replied Mara.
Lime looked at Rei and then back to Mara. "What will you do now?"
"Hope that Mara gets back to full power soon." replied Rei quietly, "I sense our problems have only just begun."