A smile appeared slowly on Kei's face as Mizuho entered the room in her nightie, the garment just barely covering her secret places.
"Kei." She whispered softly.
"Mizuho." He replied.
She knelt before him and wrapped her arms around Kei. Kei wrapped his arms around her as well and pulled her closer. Just as his lips were about touch her's, Mizuho said:
"I swear Kei if you kiss me I'm going to bite you."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"WHAA?!?!?!" Kei opened his eyes and started to sit up. A hand slammed over his mouth, preventing him from saying anything and forcing him onto his back. Celes' red eyes stared into his face. Then he remembered. Mizuho wasn't here. He wasn't at home. He was at Sayoko and Celes' house, only Sayoko was under the control of a Demon.
"Quiet now." Celes said before pulling her hand away from Kei.
He glanced around and noted it was still dark. The clock on the DVD player stated the time.
"Why are you waking me up at 4am?" he asked.
"Shhhh." Was the only reply he got. He then watched as Celes practically crawled across the floor to where Rei was kneeling, staring silently out the window. Celes muttered something to the Guardian who nodded. Celes then crawled back to Kei.
"Follow me and stay low." Was all the vampire said.
Kei followed the vampire, crawling on his hands and knees as she led him toward the stairs. She then went to the side of the stairs were a panel provided access to the storage place underneath. Celes moved the panel aside and motioned for Kei to enter. He started to open his mouth when Celes put her finger across his lips. She then motioned again for him to enter the storage space. With a sigh, Kei entered and then discovered it was by no means a normal storage space. He fell into a hole and dropped about 5 feet down. He fell flat on his back and moaned in pain. He was soon joined by Celes.
"You alright?" she asked in a normal voice.
"Ow." He muttered, "Where are we?"
"It has been my experience to always have a bolt hole." Celes replied, "Something the enemy never expects."
"Why would you need a bolt hole?"
"Let's just say I've had bad experiences being trapped in a home by Ghouls and a Priest and wished I had one."
Before Kei could ask anything else, Rei landed between them gracefully on her feet.
"Well?" She asked, "This is your hole......"
Celes nodded and started off down the bolt hole. As she moved, she grabbed a large black pipe like object.
"What is...." Kei began before Celes glanced back at him.
"From this point on remain silent. As for this....." she indicated the object, ".......This is insurance." She then turned and headed further into the bolt hole. Kei glanced at Rei.
"Just stick by me." Rei said softly, "And pray Celes does not have to use her 'insurance'."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
They had been walking for several minutes in complete darkness. Celes and Rei seemed to have no problem in the darkness, while Kei felt his way along using the wall. He had been trying to be very careful not to step on the heels of the vampire, and also keep his hands away from anything he might regret touching. Unfortunately he failed in the last part when the ground shifted behind him and the rumble of a loud explosion reached them through the earth.
"There goes the house." Celes muttered in the darkness.
"We'll fix it later." Rei replied.
"Right. Kei? Would you mind getting your hands off my arse?"
"GAH!"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Several minutes later.
"Alright. We're here." Celes' voice came through the darkness.
Kei blinked in the darkness. "Where is here?"
"The exit. Stay down."
Kei heard the sound of something heavy sliding across rock. He then heard Celes grunt as she climbed out. A few seconds later, Celes reached in and grabbed Kei's arm, pulling him to the entrance. Once he was on the surface, Celes let go of him to help Rei out. He took that moment to look around. They were obviously in the forest somewhere. A red glow came from one direction.
"The house makes a pretty fire doesn't it?"
Kei turned and stared surprised at Rei.
"That's the......?"
"Yep." Rei replied.
"That was the explosion." Celes added. She glanced over at Rei. "Think they figured it out?"
Rei shrugged. "They aren't really thinking. He is doing that for them."
"Good point." Celes shouldered the black pipe thing. "Let's get a bit closer."
For a few moments they headed back towards the house. Then Celes reached out her arm and stopped them. She looked at Kei and placed a finger over her lips, then pointed. Kei looked in the direction. Kei looked but couldn't see a thing. He looked questioningly at Rei who was staring very intently at the area Celes indicated. He looked back at the vampire and shrugged. Celes smacked her head and handed him a small device that had a lenses on it. He looked through and discovered it to be a night vision scope. Through it he could see three figures looking intently at the burning house. The two smaller figures were quite obviously Sayoko and Mana, but the third, the third was enormous, easily three times his own height.
"We need to separate them." Rei murmured quietly.
"How?" Celes asked.
Rei thought for a moment.
"Take your Halconnen and move 500 yards left of here and circle towards them." Rei ordered, "When your in position, take a shot at Mana's Father. See if you can graze Mana a bit. If they react as demon's should, they'll charge at you. That will leave Sayoko for me."
"Right." Celes muttered, "So what do I do when they come after me?"
"Try not to get caught."
"Lovely." Celes grabbed her gun and raced off. Rei then turned to Kei.
"No matter what happens, stay close to me." Rei said, "And if I tell you to, grab me and hold on tight, no questions just do it. Understand?"
The look on Rei's face scared him.
"Yes ma'am."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Being a Vampire, Celes moved quickly through the forest, reaching the spot Rei had indicated within a few short minutes. She pulled out her Halconnen Cannon and lined up the crosshairs on the head of Mana's father. He seemed to be saying something to Mana and Sayoko, but what she could not tell. Her finger lightly touched the trigger, waiting for Rei's command.
It didn't take long.
NOW! came Rei's voice into her head. The Cannon's roar echoed throughout the forest. Celes didn't even bother to see wither her shot hit or not as she quickly loaded another shell into the cannon. Looking back through the crosshairs, she could see Mana's father looking about confused. Ignoring him, the vampire lined her second shell up just to the right of Mana's head. As her finger came down on the trigger, Celes could swear that Mana was looking right at her.
For the second time that night the Halconnen cannon roared. The shell barely missed Mana before it too exploded against the larger demon's shield. Celes had started to reload for a third shot, but quick glance up revealed that two were all that was needed. Mana and her father were now flying towards her.
Celes tossed the cannon aside and immediately began to run, leading the two demons off and away from Rei, Kei, and Sayoko.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From where she sat, Rei watched the two shells slam into the demon's shields. As they did, the Guardian noticed that for the briefest of moments, the stars had reappeared. Just as quickly they vanished. Turning back, she watched the two demons racing off in the direction of Celes, leaving Sayoko behind.
Rei waited until the demons had gone completely from her sight before speaking.
"Stay near me and speak to no one about what you are about to see."
Before Kei could reply, Rei had raised her hands in the air. Lightning crackled between them before a wave of energy burst forth and spread across area. As it swept over Kei, his vision went completely white, and then a scene appeared before him.
A scene from Sayoko's past.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sayoko felt the energy wave and turned just in time see it as it swept over her. Her glowing red eyes blinked and took in the scene before her. Part of her remembered this scene.
She stared, unblinkingly, as her the specter of past self talked to Kensuke Aida on the bridge of the German Submarine in Chicago. She felt a slight pang when the specters hugged each other.
The vision then changed again. Now she was in the living room of her family's apartment in Tokyo-2. Friends and family were gathered for a birthday party, her's. Sayoko's hand began to tremor slightly as her eyes found her past self, staring off with a vacant look in her eyes. Then Kensuke approached her........
The tremor that had begun in her hand began to spread.........
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kei watched from behind Rei as the brown haired man from the picture in Sayoko's bedroom walked up to the catatonic goddess. Of course it was part of what ever Rei was doing. The real Sayoko was watching the scene before her with her glowing eyes. But as the scene progressed, Kei noticed that Sayoko's eyes seemed to be flickering, changing from red to blue and back again.
Then the brown haired man got up and left down the hallway of the apartment.
"No...." Sayoko suddenly whispered. Her arm rose shakily towards the departing man.
Then Sayoko's mother, Belldandy, stood up and picked up the flowers from the catatonic goddess' lap. A thoughtful look appeared on her face, and she vanished down the hallway the man had just vanished in. Kei turned to Rei and started to ask a question, but a quick glare from the Guardian stopped him. Within minutes the man stormed out of the hallway and left the apartment. Kei stared at the door a moment before he heard a loud cry of anguish from behind him. He turned to see the goddess on her knees, sobbing loudly.
Rei closed her eyes and waved her hand. The apartment vanished about them, returning them once again to the darkness of the forest. Rei silently moved to the goddess' side and pulled her close, holding her tightly against her body.
"I'm sorry." Rei said softly.
She allowed Sayoko to sob for another minute or so, then gently lifted Sayoko's head, looking her right in the face.
"Celes is in danger." Rei said, "Mana and her Father are currently chasing her through this forest. We need to snap Mana out of his power."
Sayoko sniffed and wiped her eyes. "How? The Soultaker......."
"He is using a different method." Rei interrupted, "One in which pain brings the person back. That is why you were forced to remember this............."
Sayoko nodded slowly, still sniffing. "I understand. And I think of know of a way........."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Celes was glad she was dead. Had she been alive, she would have passed out by now from all the running she had done. Every now and then, she risked a glance back to see if the demons were still after her. Each time she caught site of one or both of them. Then suddenly they were no longer behind her. She also was not in the part of the forest she had just been running through. In front of her she could see the glow from the wreckage of the house. The vampire slowed down, trying to figure out just what had happened when a hand reached out and grab her arm, pulling her towards the ground.
"GAH!!!!" she cried, "Bloody H...." A hand quickly slapped over her mouth.
"Shhh." Rei muttered.
Celes glanced up to see Rei kneeling over her. Just behind the guardian sat Kei and Sayoko. Celes lifted Rei's hand from her mouth.
"I assume you were successful?"
"Yes."
Celes took another look at the Goddess. "How is she?"
"'She' will be fine." Sayoko answered, "Where's Mana?"
Celes pointed. "All I know is that I was heading that way when you teleported me."
Rei closed her eyes. She opened them a second later.
"Her father is moving closer to us."
"What about Mana?" Sayoko asked.
"She is difficult to find." Rei replied, "As are you."
"How's that?" Kei asked from where he was sitting.
Rei turned and stared at Kei. "Mortal blood runs through both of their veins. It makes them harder to find then full gods and demons." Rei glanced over at Celes. "Are you up for being the bait again?"
Celes sighed. "If I have to be, I'm as ready as I can be."
"She won't need to be."
Rei, Celes, and Kei turned and looked at Sayoko. The Goddess was staring intently at the ground.
"He knows he lost control of me." Sayoko continued, "When he lost control of Celes, he kept us close, knowing Rei was out there." Sayoko looked up and gave a weak smile. "We were his protection."
"He'll use Mana as a shield." Rei said, catching on. "He knows we won't do killing attacks with her in the way."
Sayoko nodded. "He is a demon to the core."
Rei was quiet for a moment.
"There is more......" she said slowly. "When Celes shot at him, the stars briefly appeared."
Everyone's head whipped around and looked at Rei.
"They did?" Sayoko asked.
Rei nodded. "If we weaken him enough, maybe the darkness will fade."
"Great." Celes muttered, "So how do we weaken him?"
"You weakened him before when you shot him." Rei said,
"But he diverted power from whatever he's doing up there with that satellite to shield himself." Celes stated, "Nothing I have will penetrate his shield."
"Can't you get up close and kill him?" Kei asked.
"It's not going to be that easy." Rei said, "He very powerful."
Kei looked at Sayoko. "Didn't you kill a powerful demon before? The So.....you know who?"
Sayoko shook her head. "I didn't kill her. I just weakened her enough that when the complex blew up, she couldn't protect herself. She was still alive when I teleported out."
"How did you weaken her?"
"Well I....." Sayoko began before Rei slapped a hand over her mouth.
"Shhhhh." Rei muttered, "They're over there."
"So what's the plan?" Celes whispered.
"We still need Mana on our side if we're going to stop him." Sayoko said. She glanced at Rei. "Maybe we don't need to separate them."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean we can free Mana and distract him at the same time. But I'll need your help to pull this off."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Demon walked steadily towards the still smoldering house. Walking just behind him was his half-breed daughter, still under his control. The Demon had heard much of the power of the Guardians, thus he waited until all were off planet before he raised the shroud over the planet.
Unfortunately, he overlooked one.
His first clue that something was wrong was when he lost control of the Vampire. Now he had lost control of the half-breed Goddess. It seemed the Guardian's strength had been confirmed.
"Come along." He muttered to Mana. He didn't really have to say a thing, she was completely within his power.
"Still a vicious monster hmm?"
Both demons froze. Mana's father looked stunned at the figure before him. It was that mortal female! Mana's mother! The mortal he had raped and then left for dead, only to find out later she had survived and given birth to the half-breed.
"Your dead." He stated simply. It was the truth. He had killed her with his bare hands before banishing her soul away from both Heaven and Hell.
"Did you now?" Mana's mother smiled at him, "You may have destroyed my physical body, but I still live." She pointed towards Mana. "In her memories and her heart."
"Not possible." Mana's father growled, not noticing that Mana's eyes had begun to flicker. "She is a Demon. Demon's feel no such emotions."
"Yet as you were so fond of pointing out, she is not fully demon."
"I killed you too quickly last time." The Demon muttered, "This time I will do it slowly, so that my half-breed daughter can learn what it is to be a true Demon!" He stalked towards her menacingly, reaching towards the mortal's neck.
"I believe you have forgotten something." Mana's mother said as the demon wrapped his giant hand around her neck.
"And that is?" he asked.
"She's not really here." Mana's voice came from behind him.
Suddenly his body was rocked with pain. It raced through his arms and legs like electricity, causing him to tremble before he opened his mouth and let out a loud bellow. High above, the sky flickered as well. The stars blinked several times. With one final cry of pain, the Demon fell to the ground. At the same time the darkness completely faded, revealing the glow of the stars so far above.
Mana stood silently over her father, still clutching the good luck charm in her hand. He had concentrated so much on the image of her mother, her father had not noticed Mana was no longer under his control. Nor did he notice when Sayoko flipped the Demoness the lucky rabbit's foot.
"Are you alright?" Mana glanced up to see Sayoko looking worriedly at her.
"I'm fine." The Demoness replied.
"Are you sure? After all you..."
"I'm FINE." Mana repeated more forcefully.
"So what happens now?" Mana glanced over to see that Kei Kusanagi and Rei had now joined them.
"Well," Rei said, "I believe we turn him over to Hell. Better hold on."
Mana looked quizzically at Rei until she felt the first tremor. The tremor became an all out quake within seconds. All three deities and the mortal fell on all fours, trying to steady themselves. That was when they noticed the lake.
I had taken on an unearthly glow, getting brighter by the second. Cracks developed in the ice and spew forth steam. Then with a roar, the entire lake exploded in a massive fireball that raced skyward. The shock wave from the blast raced out, knocking trees and homes flat.
In the center of the fireball, a figure appeared. Mana didn't even need to look twice. She knew exactly who the person was.
Hild, the Queen of Hell.
And she was pissed.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kei blinked several times, trying to clear the flash of the explosion from his vision. The huge white blur soon became a series of small white dots. He blinked several more times before he realized that they weren't dots in his vision, they were stars.
He rolled off of his back and slowly sat up on his knees. Most of the snow that had surrounded the lake was gone, melted or blow away from the blast. The lake too, was little more then a large pit of steam. He heard a noise, what sounded like someone whimpering. He glanced over to see the Demon, also kneeling on the ground, staring off at the lake. Kei followed the Demon's eyes and soon saw a figure floating in the steam of the lake, drifting towards them.
The figure was female and very beautiful. She had long platinum blond hair and look vaguely familiar. The woman drifted over to where Mana was sitting.
"Are you alright?" the woman asked.
"Yes my Queen." Mana replied.
"Queen?" Kei said softly.
"She's Hild," Sayoko's voice whispered beside him. "She's the Queen of Hell and my Aunt Urd's mother. She took care of Mana after Mana's mother was killed by her Father."
Hild turned and stared at the now quivering Demon.
"Unfaithful Servant!" she cried, "You were condemned to eternity as a lower life form. Yet, you still defy me!"
"Mercy!!" the Demon shouted, "I beg of you Mercy!"
Hild closed her eyes for a moment, then looked over at Mana. Mana met the Queen's gaze but did not speak. Finally she turned and looked back upon the Demon.
"I know of no such word."
She snapped her fingers. Flames engulfed the Demon. His cries of pain echoed into the night before the flames consumed him and disappeared. Rei walked up to Hild.
"Nice entrance. Could you leave the forest standing next time?"
Hild chuckled, "Come now. A flashy entrance never hurt anyone."
"YOU LEVELED THE FOREST!" Rei shouted.
Hild looked around. "So I may have over did it a touch."
"A TOUCH?!!?!"
While Hild and Rei argued, Sayoko walked over to stand beside Mana. The Demoness was staring at the spot where her father had once been.
"Are you alright?" Sayoko asked softly.
Mana blinked then looked at the Goddess. "Hmm?"
"Are you alright?" Sayoko repeated.
Mana looked back at the spot. "Part of me wants to say yes, I'm glad he's gone. But another part of me........." Mana looked back at Sayoko, tears forming in her eyes. "He was my Father."
Sayoko wrapped her arms around Mana and pulled her into a hug. Tears soon fell from the Demon's eyes, only to be soaked up by the Goddess' robes.
Kei watched the two for a moment, then looked over to where the Queen of Hell and the Guardian of Heaven were now arguing how to fix everything. With a sigh, he sat down and waited, wondering where Mizuho was and how she was doing.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mizuho stumbled and fell. For the past several hours she had been trying to struggle through the snow in the direction her equipment had told he was a city. She could only hope she was still headed in the right direction, as her equipment had long since died from the cold.
Died..........
Mizuho shook that word from her head, concentrating on thoughts of Kei. She climbed back to her feet and resumed her slow march. Fifty yards later, she stumbled once more into the snow. This time she felt there was no getting back up, that it was the end.
"I'm sorry Kei." She said softly into the ground.
"Mizuho........"
Now she knew she was at the end. She was hearing voices.
"Mizuho......."
Yep, people hallucinated lots of things right before they died.
"...I am not a hallucination....."
She must be really close now. Her hallucination was yelling at her.
"LOOK UP MIZUHO!"
Mizuho's head shot up automatically from the command. There, just barely visible in the blowing snow was Belldandy.
"Are you here to take me?" Mizuho asked, slowly rising to her feet.
"No Mizuho," Belldandy replied, shaking her head. "It isn't your time yet."
"Then why.....?"
"Things have changed slightly." Belldandy replied, "Mortals were not responsible for the planetary darkness. A Demon was. Thus, we in heaven must set things right." Belldandy smiled. "Which brings me to you."
Belldandy vanished, leaving behind a small ball of light. The light floated over to Mizuho. Instinctively, Mizuho grabbed it and pulled it closer to her body. As she did the light grew more intense. Then with a flash, she vanished.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kei was still watching the arguing deities when something flashed behind him. He turned around and saw Mizuho standing there, looking slightly dazed. He was on his feet in a second.
"Mizuho?"
Mizuho turned and saw him. A smile slowly creped across her face.
"KEI!" she exclaimed, running towards him.
"MIZUHO" Kei shouted, also running.
When they met, their arms found their way around the other as they embraced each other tightly. Tears fell freely from Mizuho's eyes as she hugged her husband.
"I feel slightly ill." Hild muttered, her and Rei's argument having ended at the shouts of the joyful couple.
"You'll get over it." Rei replied.
"No." Hild replied, turning back towards Rei, "This display of affection is going to scar me for life."
"How can you say that? Don't you have feeling for Urd?"
"I well.....you see....." Hild stuttered, "THAT'S NOT THE POINT!!!!"
"Then what is?" Rei asked with a smirk.
"Why you little......"
"They are starting to scare me." Sayoko whispered to Mana.
Mana nodded. "Hild just wants to uphold her image as Queen."
"I know that." Sayoko said, "I think Rei knows that. I hope Rei knows that."
Mana shrugged. "Either way, Hild will figure a way out of it. Meanwhile, how about we fix the lake and surrounding area together?"
Sayoko nodded. "Let's do it."
Demon and Goddess proceeded to use their powers to restore the area. As they did another watched from a distance. With a smile, she turned and vanished into a mirror fragment.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Namida no kazu dake otona ni nareru to shinjite kidakeredo todokamu omoi ni memai oboete tachi tomaru
I always thought that you can become an adult only by shedding enough tears but I stopped as I realized the confusion of the feelings locked up within me
"Sayonara" to ugoite mieta kimi no kuchibiru ga kanashikute mou doko ni mo ikanai deto itai hodo dakishimeta...
When I saw your sad lips mouthing the words "good bye"
I begged you to stay with my painfully tight embrace
konnani mo soba de warrateru noni mada shiranai kimi ni kataomoi sa umaku kotoba ni dekinai kimochi ni kizuite...
Even though I laughing by your side like this you don't yet know that I love you Please realize these feelings that I can't find words for...
toki o tomete matte ita tatta hitori kimi o sagashiteta toki wasureta jikan tachi ugoki hajimeru...
I stopped the flow of time and waited,
searching for you, my one and only and now those forgotten moments are starting to flow on once again
setsunai koto darake demo yorisoi ai hito ga ikiteru sora ni ukabu kono hoshi de deatte shimatta...
Even though love is full of agitation people still live on by cuddling side by side having met each other on this star floating in the sky...
dareka ni hanashite shimau to kiete shimai sou na koi dakara futari kiri sugosu jikan ga daisetsu na dakaramono...
When I end up talking to somebody it's because I fear that our love is coming to an end That's why every moment we spend together is like a priceless treasure
hitori jime dekiru hazu ha naikedo minna ni yasashii to fuan ni naru hi ni hi ni mashiteku dokusenyoku ga tsurai yo...
Having you all for myself shouldn't be possible but I still get anxious when you get too nice to others This daily growing need to own you completely is so hard to bear...
tokubetsu da toieru kara uso nanka mo hitsuyounai kara sunao na mama ugokidasu kimochi mitsumete...
Because I can say that it's special,
because lies and such are no more needed I can now look at my surging emotions without pretending
setsunai koto bakari nara mou koi nado shitaku ha naito ano hi kimeta hazu nano ni deatte shimatta...
That day I thought I had decided that if all I get is agitation I definately don't want to fall in love ever again.
But nevertheless, we ended up meeting each other
yakusoku o dekinai mama ni wakareta yoru ni ha sabishikute nemurenai yo onegai hontou no kimi no kimochi oshiete.
We couldn't even make a promise when we parted and now I can't sleep at night because I'm so lonely Oh please tell me what your true feelings are...
toki o tomete matte ita tatta hitori kimi o sagashiteta toki wasureta jikan tachi ugoki hajimeru...
I stopped the flow of time and waited,
searching for you, my one and only and now those forgotten moments are starting to flow on once again
setsunai koto dake janai koko de futari ashita o miteru hiroi hiroi kono sora de deaeta no dakara...
Agitation definately wasn't all that I got Here1 we are, looking at the future together It's all because we met each other on this wide wide sky...
Kotoko - Love a Riddle
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Christmas Eve
Two Lycans walked quickly through the crowd. Their target was a mortal, his head covered by a hood trying the best he could to keep dry. The Lycans didn't care about getting wet, they couldn't get sick. All they cared about was following the mortal. They tracked him into a subway, where a train was waiting to pull out. One of them stopped, sensing something was wrong.
He turned and looked around the station and soon spotted what it was.
A Vampire.
"BLOODS!!" he called out before pulling out duel machine guns and opened fire.
Mortals screamed in terror as roar of the guns echoed through out the station. Then a second vampire, a female, stepped out into view. The other Lycan pulled out his gun and fired at her. She ducked, and his bullets slammed into the first vampire. The vampire hissed in pain as his skin began to cook from the inside out, burning up as if the sun itself had hit him.
The female vampire watched her comrade turn to dust before her eyes. She then pulled out two pistols and moved around the column that had been providing her cover, opening up on the Lycan. The Lycan turned and ran, but the female vampire wouldn't let him get far. She continued to fire on him until the first Lycan had reloaded and resumed firing at her.
"YEAH!!! THAT'S IT!!" Celes shouted, as the female vampire killed off one Lycan, "SHOW THE WEREWOLVE SCUM WHO'S BOSS!"
Mana turned and looked at Sayoko with a raised eyebrow.
"Christmas movie?"
"Oh yes." Sayoko replied dryly, "Nothing like violence to get into the Christmas spirit."
"Then why is it......?"
"She got it as a Christmas present last year." Sayoko replied, "Technically making it a Christmas movie." The Goddess then waved her hand. "It'll get turned off when the kids arrive."
Both Deities turned and looked back at the Vampire as she let out another cheer for the movie.
"CELES!!" came a shout from the kitchen.
Celes turned and sheepishly looked towards the kitchen.
"Sorry!" she called out.
"....Or it will get turned off when Mom gets tired of telling Celes to tone it down." Sayoko added.
"Why is your Mother here?" Mana asked softly.
Sayoko noticed the change in Mana's voice.
"She's here mostly because of you actually."
"Me?" asked the Demoness surprised.
"She likes you." Sayoko continued, "And after......what happened, she wanted to make sure you had a nice Christmas. So she decided to come down and cook dinner for everyone."
"Oh."
They were quiet for a moment, listening as more gunfire came from the television.
"I got a letter from Taro." Sayoko finally said.
"Misato's son?" Mana asked.
Sayoko nodded. "He writes me every now and then, letting me know how things at the University are."
"He ask about his mom?"
Sayoko shook her head. "We left it up to Misato to decide. She decided not to tell him, so as far as he is concerned, Auntie Sayoko is mortal."
"What about Touji and Hikari's kids?"
"They know." Sayoko replied, "But they also know it's a secret."
At that moment the doorbell rang. Sayoko glanced over at Celes who was still into her movie. She then stood up and walked to the front door. Within seconds she was flat on her back as two young girls leaped at her.
"AUNTIE SAYOKO!!!!" they cried.
"I thought Auntie Sayoko asked you not to knock her over anymore?"
Kirika and Mereille immediately turned and pointed to someone just outside the door.
"Auntie Asuka said we could. And Momma and Poppa didn't say no." Kirika replied.
Sayoko looked over the girls' shoulders and glared at the redhead that stood just outside. Asuka gave Sayoko a small smile, then hid behind Shinji and Rei. Touji and Hikari only looked away, trying to act innocent. Sayoko finally sighed, and then gave both girls a hug.
"You know," she whispered to them, "Aunt Belldandy is in the kitchen. Why don't you see if she needs any help."
Both girl's eyes lit up. They practically flew over Sayoko and into the house. A minute later, a shout followed by a loud thump was heard from the kitchen as the girls greeted the elder goddess.
"They tackled your mother?" Hikari asked horrified.
"It's not like she'll yell at them." Sayoko replied, standing up. "Come on in. You can help me pry Celes away from the DVD so we can have a REAL Christmas movie playing."
"She's watching Underworld again?" Shinji asked as the group entered.
"You know it."
The group entered the living room and found not Underworld but an old black and white movie. Celes was watching with only half-hearted interest, waving as the group entered. Mana greeted the group as well, then glared at Rei.
"You have caused a lot of problems Rei." Mana stated.
"What did I do?"
"Ever since you had that conversation with Hild, she been stomping around Hell in a foul mood."
"Isn't she supposed to be in a foul mood? After all she is the Queen of Hell."
"Well....yeah....but now she calls me up a lot more to 'talk'." Mana replied, "Then she talks about her day and asks me about mine."
"So?" Rei said with a shrug. "She cares about you. What's wrong with that?"
"She's never done that before and frankly its weird. Mara, Welsper, even Urd are getting freaked out about it."
"It'll pass." Rei then motioned to the TV. "What's that? I thought Underworld was making it's Christmas come back."
Mana chuckled while Celes scowled. "This is an old classic I dug up from some of my.......mom's things. It's 'A Christmas Carol'. Sayoko might get a kick out of it."
"Oh." Rei then turned her attention to the TV were an old man was chasing off Carolers.
"Why would I get a kick out of it?" Sayoko asked.
"The Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future."
Sayoko cocked her head slightly. "Christmas Past, Present, and Future hmm? Interesting."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The night went past rather quickly. Belldandy, after finishing up making dinner and staying for some pleasant conversation had left, wishing to get back to Heaven in time for a quiet dinner with Keiichi. Mizuho and Kei had popped in briefly, but then also left for their own celebration. Christmas movie had given away to Christmas Movie. Soon, only Sayoko and Mana remained in front of the TV, everyone else having gone to bed. Curled up beside them using their laps as pillows were Kirika and Mereille. Both had tried to wait up to see Santa, and failed.
"I wonder......." Mana said softly as 'It's a Wonderful Life' now played on the TV.
"Hmm?"
".......if I'll be a good mother." Mana finished.
"Where did that come from?" Sayoko asked.
Mana shrugged, "I just........I've been thinking."
Sayoko turned back to the TV.
"I wouldn't worry about it." The Goddess finally said, "One day maybe we'll both be parents. We'll just have to remember what our mothers and guardians taught as children, and pass it on to them."
Mana rolled her eyes. "Somehow I don't think teaching my kid how to create chaos and mayhem at age 2 is a good thing."
Sayoko chuckled. "No, I doubt that would be a good thing. That's where you'll have to fall back to your mom." Sayoko glanced over. "Besides, I'll be there to help you."
Mana smiled, "Just like I'll be there for you. After all, we half mortals have to stick together."
"Of course."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
OMAKE
Mizuho stumbled and fell. For the past several hours she had been trying to struggle through the snow in the direction her equipment had told he was a city. She could only hope she was still headed in the right direction, as her equipment had long since died from the cold.
Died..........
Mizuho shook that word from her head, concentrating on thoughts of Kei. She climbed back to her feet and resumed her slow march. Fifty yards later, she stumbled once more into the snow. This time she felt there was no getting back up, that it was the end.
"I'm sorry Kei." She said softly into the ground.
"Luke........"
Now she knew she was at the end. She was hearing voices.
"Luke......."
Yep, people hallucinated lots of things right before they died.
"...I am not a hallucination....."
She must be really close now. Her hallucination was yelling at her, though why was it calling her Luke?
"LOOK UPLuke!"
Mizuho's head shot up automatically from the command. There, just barely visible in the blowing snow wasthe shape of a man in brown robes.
"Wha......?" she muttered.
"You must go to the Dagobah system." The man said.
"Dagobah?"
"There you will find Yoda. The same Jedi who instructed me."
"What the hell is a Jedi??" Mizuho asked.
The man frowned and looked off to the side. His image became more clearer.
"Oh!" he said, "You're not Luke. Sorry about that." He began to fade from view.
Mizuho reached out with her hand. "No....wait!!!!"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Author's notes
Sayoko steps out from behind the curtain onto the stage to the cheers of the audience.
"We would like to apologize for the lack of an update." She says with a smile. "The Author apparently escaped from Legato Deathscythe's dungeon. Rest assured, he has been re-captured and put to work.
"Help meeeeeeee" comes the pitiful cry of the Author.
Sayoko stomps on the stage and the cry goes away.
"Don't go away," she continues, "There's just a bit more to come!"