The three Norns on Earth, despite their close links to Yggdrasil, remain blissfully unaware of the chaos that was happening in Heaven.
Matthew found himself seated on the tatami floor and being eyed at by the three goddesses. He tried to remain calm as he slowly sipped his cup of tea by avoiding eye contact.
"You're lying!!" Skuld suddenly exclaimed, startling the American.
"W-wha..."
"I'm sure I've seen you before!" the Goddess of the Future said in a accusotary tone.
"But, we've just met!" Matthew protested.
Urd shook her head. "No... for once I agree with the brat. There's something about you..."
Skuld nodded vigorously. "Yeah!" she enthused, before whirling on her eldest sister indignantly. "Hey, who you calling brat!?"
"The one who responds to 'brat' -is- a brat!" Urd replied.
In a movement that was too fast for Matthew's eyes, two Skuld-bombs appeared ready for dispatch.
Butb efore a new firestorm could appear, Belldandy intervened. "Skuld, Urd, we have a guest here. We shouldn't fight in front of a guest. As sisters, we shouldn't fight at all..."
Matthew watched as Skuld was chastened. Urd twirled a lock of her platinum hair, trying to be aloof, but failing (in Matthew's eyes) due to the sheepish look on her face.
"...Are you sure they are really sisters?" Matthew asked Keiichi.
Keiichi smiled weakly. "I often wondered about that myself."
---
Back at the Yggdrasil control hall, the racket continued.
"The system is still not responding to us, but cursory diagnostics reveal that all standard procedures are still working," one of Peorth's subordinate gods reported.
Peorth nodded in acknowledment. "Good, that means everything is still running. Have you found out what's Protocol Omega Zeta One?"
The subordinate shook her head. "No, there's nothing we can do. All major database functions have been restricted. We can't even find out what access level it is. All that we know about it is that it has been boosted to top priority over all system resources. So far it haven't done anything but to reserve resources for... something. We aren't sure, but we think it's waiting for something to happen."
Peorth sighed and waved a hand in dismissal. "Good work... try and see if you can find anything else," she said. The subordinate nodded and went away.
Left on her own, sitting high above others at her console, Peorth bit a fingernail in unaccustomed nervousness. She stared at the monitors and keyboard, gathering her thoughts. Her mind flickered briefly over the entity known as 'Matthew' that she had discovered earlier, but her top concern was essentially the total lockdown of the Yggdrasil system.
"Maybe I can hack into the database to find out what Omega Zeta One is..."
"That is no longer your concern, Goddess First Class," a deep voice interrupted her spoken thoughts.
Shocked, the Goddess of Forever turned around. Standing behind her seat (well, more like floating a few inches of the ground) was a dignified looking god dressed in long flowing robes (perhaps the reason for the floating). He was -aged-, which was pretty shocking for Peorth, seeing that gods and goddesses only show their age when they were very, very old.
His hair was pure white and combed back, his face wrinkled and creased like a tired scholar. But his eyes were alive with wisdom and purpose. There was only a single, rune inscribed on his lined forehead, a curious shape that Peorth couldn't identify.
If it wasn't for the simple pattern designs on his white robes and the single rune on his head, Peorth would have a hard time distinguishing him as an Elder God from a decrepit old mortal.
More importantly, a Judge from the Justice Department.
"My name is Judge Fides. I trust you know who I am, young one," the Elder God said gravely.
"Y-yes, of course, Judge Fides of the Justice Department..." Peorth stuttered, awed in the presence of such a ancient being.
"Good. Please order your subordinates to leave the Yggdrasil Control Hall immediately," Fides said.
"What!?" Peorth blurted. "We can't leave the system unattended!"
"Do not worry," Fides replied calmly, though it only made her even more agitated.
All doors to the control hall hissed open and more of the white-robed Judges appeared, each heading to the major terminals controlling Yggdrasil. Her subordinates goddesses were stunned by their sudden appearance. With gentle but forceful gestures, they motioned her goddesses to leave.
"What are you doing!?" Peorth demanded. Elder God or not, this was -her- control room. She wasn't about to let some bearded geezers to walk in unchallenged.
"We are taking over the facility," Fides answered simply.
Peorth stared at him. Fides' eyes hardened.
"Your presence... -all- the younger gods... are unnecessary here. Leave Yggdrasil to us," he continued.
Peorth felt the power and conviction in his words, but she wasn't about to give up so easily. "I've heard nothing of this! GOD has yet to give such an order!"
"Then seek GOD yourself and ask Him directly," Fides said grimly.
The Goddess was understandably angry at his brusque reply. "You-!"
"-Goddess First Class-," Fides interrupted, emphasing her rank, "we are His Will, and you are in our way."
"You can't do this!" Peorth yelled furiously, forgetting in the heat of the moment that she was talking back to an Elder God.
Fides' stare was cold and severe, his eyes glaring straight into the very core of her being. Peorth then understood that further discussion was -not- welcomed.
"We are Judges. There is nothing we cannot do."
---
Back on Earth, Matthew sweated profusely. He jealously guarded his cards close to his chest, and his eyes darted nervously left and right at Urd and Skuld respectively.
One mistake could end his chances immediately... that was how close the game was.
"C'mon, it's your turn," Urd said, her eyes narrowing. A triumphant smile was beginning to carve up her lips, which only increased Matthew's anxiety.
On his other side was Skuld, also with a hand of cards. Although the youngest goddess wouldn't admit it, there was a near identical smile on her lips as well.
They were playing a game of Uno, battling rights for the tv.
It all came about due to Matthew being unaware of the unwritten rules in the Morisato home.
"So, er, what's on the tv tonight?" he had asked innocently earlier. It was a lame excuse trying to get something to say, trying to warm up to the people that he would be living with for the next week.
It brought unexpected results.
"In this house, you have to play-per-view," Urd had smirked.
Even as she and Skuld snickered while getting the deck of well-worned Uno cards out, Belldandy excused herself.
"I will get some tea," she announced.
"I'll help you," Keiichi said hurriedly, following her to the kichen.
Keiichi watched as Belldandy gently prepared a freshly brewed pot of Japanese green tea. She poured the hot liquid into a small, elegant Japanese tea pot.
"Belldandy, what do you think of Matthew?" he suddenly asked. He was more than a little curious, remembering the goddesses' similar reactions when meeting the American for the first time.
Belldandy smiled as she set the pot down and reached to get several tea cups. "There is something about him, Keiichi. I cannot explain it, but maybe some things aren't meant to be explained."
"I see..." Keiichi muttered and frowned in thought. He was disappointed by the vague answer. Normally, any other man in his shoes would be insanely jealous, but Keiichi was Keiichi. There was a reason why Belldandy loved him.
"Keiichi, I am sorry."
"What? Why?"
"I invited him into our home without consulting you. It was rash of me," the goddess said apologetically.
Something tingled down Keiichi's spine when she said 'our home'. He smiled and touched her clasped hands tenderly.
"Nonsense, you did the right thing," Keiichi said softly. "We can hardly turn our backs on people who need our help, can't we?"
"Keiichi..." Belldandy smiled. This was what she loved about him, his tenderness... the innate kindness and love that was within him.
The sudden atmosphere stirred the courage within Keiichi. He leaned closer to her face, and Belldandy complied by slowly closing her eyes as he approached...
"DRAW FOUR! Hah! Read it and weep!" Urd's exclaimation from the living room ruined the romantic feeling around them.
"Nooooo!!" Matthew yelled in despair.
Keiichi and Belldandy opened their eyes and blinked several times at each other.
"Eheh... shall we get going?" Keiichi said awkwardly, not knowing how to salvage the situation. He inwardly moaned about another lost chance to kiss his beloved goddess. To top it off, Belldandy smiled and nodded in agreement, seemingly unaffected by the chance lost.
He didn't know it, but Belldandy had no qualms about the lost moment. There was no rush or feeling sad about one lost opportunity, for she knew they would have unlimited moments together.
And so, they stepped back into the living room, Keiichi a little disappointed at his luck.
Matthew was sadly drawing several cards from the deck as a penalty when the doorbell rang.
"I'll get it," Keiichi volunteered.
"Thank you, Keiichi," Belldandy said warmly.
As Keiichi headed to the door, he could hear Matthew moaning in further despair.
"No, not you too!"
Skuld was unrelenting. "Draw four!"
Keiichi chuckled as he heard Matthew's torment. 'At least he's settling in well with them'.
The doorbell rang again, this time with a sense of urgency.
"Coming!" Keiichi called out even as he opened the door.
His eyes widened and his jaw dropped when he saw his visitor.
"We need to talk," Peorth said tersely.
-tbc-
---
Thankees
--------
devil-urd: Thanks for the encouraging review. That was what all Chapter 1 was all about, just getting attention. This is my first O!MG fic, so I hope I can keep your interest.
kate: ^_^ dost thou ever heard of 'judge not a book from its covers'? Actually, I understand why you came into that conclusion: Matthew is a blue-eyed American linguist who rides a classic bike in Japan and posseses... something that riles up Yggdrasil something fierce. Sounds ridiculous isn't it? ^_^;;
Yes, maybe no, but leaning towards yes... About what? About the theory of yes and no. In anycase, Matthew is much more than meets the eyes (no, he doesn't transform into a cassette deck or something). On another note, what type of villain would you suggest as a foil against the powerful Goddesses? Not much choices if you think about it.
Maybe this will be a nice time to segue to...
Creation Notes (aka Excuses For Why I Did What I Did):
------------------------------------------------------
Matthew
1) Why a new character? Because I've looked around the existing cast and I couldn't find anyone to pull the storyline off. Because I suck at writing 'in-character'.
2) Why 'Matthew'? Why not? This has nothing to do with the fact that the one who dared me to write this fic was a lousy friend named Matthew. Nope, nothing to do with you at all, Matt. Move along...
3) Why an American? Because I'm Asian and I do not wish people to mistake Matthew to be a self-insertion.
4) Why a linguist? Since he's American, I need an excuse for him to be able to talk in Japanese.
5) Why a classic bike? Honestly, no idea. I just need an excuse for Matthew to meet Keiichi via Chihiro.
6) Why not Matthew meeting Keiichi directly in the first place? Because the "new character meets the major character (and gang) directly" theme has been done to death. Plus, Keiichi riding with Belldandy getting into an accident? Unlikely (it only happened rarely in the manga).
The Judges/Justice Department
1) Why? I needed a sinisterly group hanging above everybody's head (and halo).
2) I am a fan of 2000AD's Judge Dredd (please forget the awful Slyvester Stallone movie).
Elder God(s)
1) Who? Gods who are very, very old. Here's a rough comparison, say, if Belldandy is 21 human years old, Elder Gods are in the vicinity of 65 and above. They are GOD's first servants and His closest advisors, later grouped into the Justice Department. Very powerful beings, but are basically 'retired' for the younger gods to take their place.
Judge Fides
1) Why 'Fides'? Fides is Latin for 'trust, belief, faith'.
Protocol Omega Zeta One
1) Why? I liked the acronym (OZO). Haw haw.
-eof-
Matthew found himself seated on the tatami floor and being eyed at by the three goddesses. He tried to remain calm as he slowly sipped his cup of tea by avoiding eye contact.
"You're lying!!" Skuld suddenly exclaimed, startling the American.
"W-wha..."
"I'm sure I've seen you before!" the Goddess of the Future said in a accusotary tone.
"But, we've just met!" Matthew protested.
Urd shook her head. "No... for once I agree with the brat. There's something about you..."
Skuld nodded vigorously. "Yeah!" she enthused, before whirling on her eldest sister indignantly. "Hey, who you calling brat!?"
"The one who responds to 'brat' -is- a brat!" Urd replied.
In a movement that was too fast for Matthew's eyes, two Skuld-bombs appeared ready for dispatch.
Butb efore a new firestorm could appear, Belldandy intervened. "Skuld, Urd, we have a guest here. We shouldn't fight in front of a guest. As sisters, we shouldn't fight at all..."
Matthew watched as Skuld was chastened. Urd twirled a lock of her platinum hair, trying to be aloof, but failing (in Matthew's eyes) due to the sheepish look on her face.
"...Are you sure they are really sisters?" Matthew asked Keiichi.
Keiichi smiled weakly. "I often wondered about that myself."
---
Back at the Yggdrasil control hall, the racket continued.
"The system is still not responding to us, but cursory diagnostics reveal that all standard procedures are still working," one of Peorth's subordinate gods reported.
Peorth nodded in acknowledment. "Good, that means everything is still running. Have you found out what's Protocol Omega Zeta One?"
The subordinate shook her head. "No, there's nothing we can do. All major database functions have been restricted. We can't even find out what access level it is. All that we know about it is that it has been boosted to top priority over all system resources. So far it haven't done anything but to reserve resources for... something. We aren't sure, but we think it's waiting for something to happen."
Peorth sighed and waved a hand in dismissal. "Good work... try and see if you can find anything else," she said. The subordinate nodded and went away.
Left on her own, sitting high above others at her console, Peorth bit a fingernail in unaccustomed nervousness. She stared at the monitors and keyboard, gathering her thoughts. Her mind flickered briefly over the entity known as 'Matthew' that she had discovered earlier, but her top concern was essentially the total lockdown of the Yggdrasil system.
"Maybe I can hack into the database to find out what Omega Zeta One is..."
"That is no longer your concern, Goddess First Class," a deep voice interrupted her spoken thoughts.
Shocked, the Goddess of Forever turned around. Standing behind her seat (well, more like floating a few inches of the ground) was a dignified looking god dressed in long flowing robes (perhaps the reason for the floating). He was -aged-, which was pretty shocking for Peorth, seeing that gods and goddesses only show their age when they were very, very old.
His hair was pure white and combed back, his face wrinkled and creased like a tired scholar. But his eyes were alive with wisdom and purpose. There was only a single, rune inscribed on his lined forehead, a curious shape that Peorth couldn't identify.
If it wasn't for the simple pattern designs on his white robes and the single rune on his head, Peorth would have a hard time distinguishing him as an Elder God from a decrepit old mortal.
More importantly, a Judge from the Justice Department.
"My name is Judge Fides. I trust you know who I am, young one," the Elder God said gravely.
"Y-yes, of course, Judge Fides of the Justice Department..." Peorth stuttered, awed in the presence of such a ancient being.
"Good. Please order your subordinates to leave the Yggdrasil Control Hall immediately," Fides said.
"What!?" Peorth blurted. "We can't leave the system unattended!"
"Do not worry," Fides replied calmly, though it only made her even more agitated.
All doors to the control hall hissed open and more of the white-robed Judges appeared, each heading to the major terminals controlling Yggdrasil. Her subordinates goddesses were stunned by their sudden appearance. With gentle but forceful gestures, they motioned her goddesses to leave.
"What are you doing!?" Peorth demanded. Elder God or not, this was -her- control room. She wasn't about to let some bearded geezers to walk in unchallenged.
"We are taking over the facility," Fides answered simply.
Peorth stared at him. Fides' eyes hardened.
"Your presence... -all- the younger gods... are unnecessary here. Leave Yggdrasil to us," he continued.
Peorth felt the power and conviction in his words, but she wasn't about to give up so easily. "I've heard nothing of this! GOD has yet to give such an order!"
"Then seek GOD yourself and ask Him directly," Fides said grimly.
The Goddess was understandably angry at his brusque reply. "You-!"
"-Goddess First Class-," Fides interrupted, emphasing her rank, "we are His Will, and you are in our way."
"You can't do this!" Peorth yelled furiously, forgetting in the heat of the moment that she was talking back to an Elder God.
Fides' stare was cold and severe, his eyes glaring straight into the very core of her being. Peorth then understood that further discussion was -not- welcomed.
"We are Judges. There is nothing we cannot do."
---
Back on Earth, Matthew sweated profusely. He jealously guarded his cards close to his chest, and his eyes darted nervously left and right at Urd and Skuld respectively.
One mistake could end his chances immediately... that was how close the game was.
"C'mon, it's your turn," Urd said, her eyes narrowing. A triumphant smile was beginning to carve up her lips, which only increased Matthew's anxiety.
On his other side was Skuld, also with a hand of cards. Although the youngest goddess wouldn't admit it, there was a near identical smile on her lips as well.
They were playing a game of Uno, battling rights for the tv.
It all came about due to Matthew being unaware of the unwritten rules in the Morisato home.
"So, er, what's on the tv tonight?" he had asked innocently earlier. It was a lame excuse trying to get something to say, trying to warm up to the people that he would be living with for the next week.
It brought unexpected results.
"In this house, you have to play-per-view," Urd had smirked.
Even as she and Skuld snickered while getting the deck of well-worned Uno cards out, Belldandy excused herself.
"I will get some tea," she announced.
"I'll help you," Keiichi said hurriedly, following her to the kichen.
Keiichi watched as Belldandy gently prepared a freshly brewed pot of Japanese green tea. She poured the hot liquid into a small, elegant Japanese tea pot.
"Belldandy, what do you think of Matthew?" he suddenly asked. He was more than a little curious, remembering the goddesses' similar reactions when meeting the American for the first time.
Belldandy smiled as she set the pot down and reached to get several tea cups. "There is something about him, Keiichi. I cannot explain it, but maybe some things aren't meant to be explained."
"I see..." Keiichi muttered and frowned in thought. He was disappointed by the vague answer. Normally, any other man in his shoes would be insanely jealous, but Keiichi was Keiichi. There was a reason why Belldandy loved him.
"Keiichi, I am sorry."
"What? Why?"
"I invited him into our home without consulting you. It was rash of me," the goddess said apologetically.
Something tingled down Keiichi's spine when she said 'our home'. He smiled and touched her clasped hands tenderly.
"Nonsense, you did the right thing," Keiichi said softly. "We can hardly turn our backs on people who need our help, can't we?"
"Keiichi..." Belldandy smiled. This was what she loved about him, his tenderness... the innate kindness and love that was within him.
The sudden atmosphere stirred the courage within Keiichi. He leaned closer to her face, and Belldandy complied by slowly closing her eyes as he approached...
"DRAW FOUR! Hah! Read it and weep!" Urd's exclaimation from the living room ruined the romantic feeling around them.
"Nooooo!!" Matthew yelled in despair.
Keiichi and Belldandy opened their eyes and blinked several times at each other.
"Eheh... shall we get going?" Keiichi said awkwardly, not knowing how to salvage the situation. He inwardly moaned about another lost chance to kiss his beloved goddess. To top it off, Belldandy smiled and nodded in agreement, seemingly unaffected by the chance lost.
He didn't know it, but Belldandy had no qualms about the lost moment. There was no rush or feeling sad about one lost opportunity, for she knew they would have unlimited moments together.
And so, they stepped back into the living room, Keiichi a little disappointed at his luck.
Matthew was sadly drawing several cards from the deck as a penalty when the doorbell rang.
"I'll get it," Keiichi volunteered.
"Thank you, Keiichi," Belldandy said warmly.
As Keiichi headed to the door, he could hear Matthew moaning in further despair.
"No, not you too!"
Skuld was unrelenting. "Draw four!"
Keiichi chuckled as he heard Matthew's torment. 'At least he's settling in well with them'.
The doorbell rang again, this time with a sense of urgency.
"Coming!" Keiichi called out even as he opened the door.
His eyes widened and his jaw dropped when he saw his visitor.
"We need to talk," Peorth said tersely.
-tbc-
---
Thankees
--------
devil-urd: Thanks for the encouraging review. That was what all Chapter 1 was all about, just getting attention. This is my first O!MG fic, so I hope I can keep your interest.
kate: ^_^ dost thou ever heard of 'judge not a book from its covers'? Actually, I understand why you came into that conclusion: Matthew is a blue-eyed American linguist who rides a classic bike in Japan and posseses... something that riles up Yggdrasil something fierce. Sounds ridiculous isn't it? ^_^;;
Yes, maybe no, but leaning towards yes... About what? About the theory of yes and no. In anycase, Matthew is much more than meets the eyes (no, he doesn't transform into a cassette deck or something). On another note, what type of villain would you suggest as a foil against the powerful Goddesses? Not much choices if you think about it.
Maybe this will be a nice time to segue to...
Creation Notes (aka Excuses For Why I Did What I Did):
------------------------------------------------------
Matthew
1) Why a new character? Because I've looked around the existing cast and I couldn't find anyone to pull the storyline off. Because I suck at writing 'in-character'.
2) Why 'Matthew'? Why not? This has nothing to do with the fact that the one who dared me to write this fic was a lousy friend named Matthew. Nope, nothing to do with you at all, Matt. Move along...
3) Why an American? Because I'm Asian and I do not wish people to mistake Matthew to be a self-insertion.
4) Why a linguist? Since he's American, I need an excuse for him to be able to talk in Japanese.
5) Why a classic bike? Honestly, no idea. I just need an excuse for Matthew to meet Keiichi via Chihiro.
6) Why not Matthew meeting Keiichi directly in the first place? Because the "new character meets the major character (and gang) directly" theme has been done to death. Plus, Keiichi riding with Belldandy getting into an accident? Unlikely (it only happened rarely in the manga).
The Judges/Justice Department
1) Why? I needed a sinisterly group hanging above everybody's head (and halo).
2) I am a fan of 2000AD's Judge Dredd (please forget the awful Slyvester Stallone movie).
Elder God(s)
1) Who? Gods who are very, very old. Here's a rough comparison, say, if Belldandy is 21 human years old, Elder Gods are in the vicinity of 65 and above. They are GOD's first servants and His closest advisors, later grouped into the Justice Department. Very powerful beings, but are basically 'retired' for the younger gods to take their place.
Judge Fides
1) Why 'Fides'? Fides is Latin for 'trust, belief, faith'.
Protocol Omega Zeta One
1) Why? I liked the acronym (OZO). Haw haw.
-eof-