Part 17: Voices
The Moonlight gleamed down onto the forest outside of the Morisato temple, it seemed as of late that this place where the Morisato family would come for peace was now a ground where evil choose to dwell. Hope and Hild had found an open area that would be used as a stage for their battle, though Hope was extremely hesitant to fight. So many trees surrounded them; any stray attack would surely take the life of an innocent tree or animal.
"Now then, what a lovely scene..." Hild took in a deep breath and sighed. "Take a good look while you can, after this is over it'll be the last time you see Earth's surface in a VERY long time."
Hope sweat dropped, Hild was extremely confident and she had reason to be. She however, was just a hybrid with five years training as a goddess. "I'm sure I'll see the sun rise tomorrow morning Hild." Hope replied in a calm manner and looked past Hild to see Mara and Eldir. Eldir had a smug demon grin on his face, as did Mara, though Hope could see the sweat on her forehead. "Looks like Mara is as worried as they are..." Hope looked back at her family. Urd, Skuld, Nauthiz, Akina, Banpei, Sigel, and the black cat Velsper all watched her nervously, but Belldandy had a look in her eyes that relaxed Hope's worried soul. "Momma... she believes in me..." Hope thought and smiled happily, Keiichi stood next to her with a proud smile on his face. "Poppa too..."
"Ooh! Keiichi!" Hild waved. "I'm loving that mustache and goatee!! Very NASCAR!" She giggled.
Keiichi grimaced in response. "Thanks Hild."
"Hey! If I win Hope then you can come too!"
Hope glared at her with his same grimace. "HEY!"
"What?" Hild tilted her head in curiosity.
"Stop talking like you're a sure win already, it's really starting to get on my nerves." She grunted then got ready to fight.
"Fine, fine, geez aren't we moody? Can't you see I'm just having a little fun?" Hild asked. "Then again... I suppose you just want to get this over with as soon as possible."
"That's right, I have better things to do than fight."
"You started this... remember that." Hild said and held out her arms. "And so the fight begins!"
Hope didn't move an inch; Hild held her arms out so it was obvious she'd expect her to attack. "Hmph... so she's making the first move..."
Hild stared at her for a moment then snapped her fingers, two pillars of fire shot up on both sides of Hope.
"Thought so..." Hope fell back, but something in her told her to jump high. "And thought so again!" Hope kicked at the ground with all of her strength and shot into the sky, where her head would have fallen another pillar of fire shot up. "Well that's nasty! Are you trying to win me or kill me?"
"You're as smart as I thought you'd be..." Hild had snapped her fingers a third time. "You realize that fire is powered by Tyr don't you?"
Hope's eyes narrowed on her until she fell behind her target.
The demon queen glared back at her with a curious grin. "An attack from behind?"
She smiled at her as she began to change form.
"Hmm?"
Beautiful Melody appeared in Hope's place.
"Gotcha!" Hope came from up front and grabbed Hild's hands.
"Novice." Her hands sparked with electricity until they sent a shock through Hope's body.
Her eyes widened and her teeth bore from the intense pain. "I... I'll show you who's a novice!" Hope twirled around in their hand lock and flung Hild over her head and onto the ground. "I don't know who you're trying to fool, you're not even using one percent of your power, if you really want me to be your servant then you'll have to give it more effort than that. I'm not going without a good fight!" Hope let her hands go and jumped back a safe distance, Beautiful Melody quickly came to her side and covered Hope's back, both their eyes fixed on Hild, as she slowly rose up from the ground.
"Hmm... I like determination... is that something you got from Mommy and Daddy?" Hild asked, glaring back at her with the evilest of glares.
They both narrowed their eyes as Hope got into a dashing position, she could feel strong waves growing around Hild's body, stronger, darker, and pure evil.
"Come on then." Hild held out her arms again. "This is fifty percent! And it feels SO good!" She giggled happily.
"Ugh... what is it with this lady and power?" Hope thought and stared up at Beautiful Melody, only to receive a shrug. "That's nice Hild."
"Nice? NICE?" Hild stared at her in disbelief. "Oh I see, your poor little half human body can't comprehend the full wavelengths of my power can it?"
Hope looked up as if thinking about it then looked back at Hild. "Nope!"
"Hmm... that you got from my dear little Urd."
"Okay, okay!" Hope groaned. "I have homework to finish you know! So less talking!"
"Okay!" Hild appeared in front of her and grabbed Hope's shoulders. "This is for getting my lovely garb dirty." She launched her over her head then slammed her down on the ground the same way Hope had.
"UGH!" She hit the ground at such a speed that if felt like she had fallen off of the high school's roof. "You're stronger... that's for sure." Again she jumped back, she knew Hild was onto her. She was trying for just physical attacks before but now it was time to dig deeper.
"You know... I really wish that we didn't HAVE to go through with this." The demoness sighed, leaving Hope clueless.
"Eh... really... you don't want to show off your power or anything?"
"Well..." She rolled her eyes. "That's true... but I'd rather not damage my toy before I ever get the chance to play with it." Hild giggled and started to walk towards her. "Now just think about it..."
Hope stepped back from her nervously and got her fists in position.
"Whoa... easy girl." Hild smiled then held out her hand in an illustrative manner. "Just think about it, being a demon wouldn't be so bad... I won't even go hard on you like I do with everyone else."
"HEY!" Mara and Eldir barked in jealous protest.
"Hmm?" Hild glared back at them, they both quickly cowered in fear and sweat dropped.
"Nuh... nuh... Nothing Hild-sama..." They both gulped.
"Thought so..." She grinned then looked back at Hope. "Besides, I know that Tyr-chan would highly disapprove of that, and the last thing I want is another insane King of fire." She laughed then waved her hands when she saw an angered look on Hope's face. "Seriously... and after all, you'd be with him again. I don't know why you'd pass such an opportunity up, I'm actually being lenient for someone, me, Hild, The Leader of Demons, the Queen."
"Hild, could you ever stop being a demon?"
She raised an eyebrow. "Hmm?"
"Of course you couldn't." Hope looked up at her with a smile. "I could never stop being a human, and I could never stop being a goddess. Those are the two halves of who I am." She said then looked to her family. "I'm sure that when I arrived in heaven for the very first time, I would have never qualified for a second class license if it wasn't for them... my family and friends shaped the person who I am today. To just throw all of that away and become a demon is just unimaginable, because I might loose that part of me that is a girl, or a goddess. And Tyr..." She looked back over at Hild. "He's still a god, not the demon King of Fire that you have pegged him to be." Hope held her hands over her heart. "I know, even though I haven't seen him after all these years, that he is still the God of War..."
Belldandy looked at her daughter with pride filled eyes, glistening with tears. "Hope..."
"I'm not going to loose against you Hild, at any cost I won't loose. I refuse to become a demon for my family and friends, and I refuse to become a demon, because Tyr loves me this way. Now that you understand..."
Hild clapped her hands. "Wonderful speech, so adorable." She wiped tears out of the corners of her eyes. "True, I couldn't dream of being anything but a demon!" Hild puffed out her chest and held her hands proudly on her hips. "But as a demon, I have so very much pride, so I don't intend to loose today." Her hair swayed in the breeze. "Not even to the goddess of revolution..."
Hope tensed up. "What did you say...?"
"Hmm..." Hild grinned and held out her hand. "Watch out..."
Hild's warning came to late, or so she thought.
"HYAAH!!" Hope spun around; her hands looked as through they were clasped down onto something. Four bolts of lighting came hurdling down towards her, quickly she held her clasped hands up, the bolts slammed down on her only to wrap around what looked like a dome.
"What's that... oh?" Hild stared as a sword appeared in Hope's grip. "Half of Mjollnir...that's right, and Tyr has the other half."
"Heh... it's sort of futile to attack me with lightning while I have the thunder god's weapon!" Hope grinned as she struck the lighting to the side and held the sword's blade out to Hild.
"True, I guess it might be... just as long as you have that piece of scrap metal." Hild laughed sarcastically. "You have a lot of faith in that thing don't you?"
"Of course I do!" She stepped forward until she was in the right position, with a kick she darted towards the demon queen, ready to take a strike.
"You shouldn't be so reliant on the tools of others." Hild held out her hand, a barrier formed around her just at the right moment. Hope slammed face first into the barrier and collapsed onto the ground. "Oh my! That looked like it really hurt!"
Hope grimaced up at her and quickly got to her feet. She held her sword back and slashed through her barrier, leaving the queen just slightly impressed.
"Looks as though that sword is just a little powerful..." Hild sighed and caught the blade before Hope could slash at her again.
She got her footing and tried to force the blade against her but it was useless. "Hrrngg!!"
"Hope-chan?"
"Wh...WHAT!?" Hope growled as she kicked up dirt trying to move the sword against her.
"The thing about Mjollnir is... that it's only as powerful as it is, when both halves are together." Hild grinned and snapped the sword in half.
Meanwhile, not to far away in the forest, Tyr appeared on top of a boulder and glared to the side. "I'm too late... they already started fighting." He sighed, but his eyes widened when he felt a wave of sorrow. "What's that? Ah!?" An orb emerged from his chest, it was his half of Mjollnir, and it beamed with light in the rhythm of a heartbeat. "Something's happened to Hope's sword...?" He asked, the thought made his teeth grind. "Hope, what are you doing!? Fighting Hild..." His fists clenched. "There's no way she'll win... there's just no way, I can't even force myself to believe that she could..." He cursed then looked over at the trees. He stared at them for a moment and his eyes narrowed. "Forest... you hold an importance to her do you not?" He asked only to be answered by the rattle of their leaves. "Then, you'll sacrifice yourselves for her sake..." A grin appeared on his face as he held out a single flicker. "Don't worry, with that power of hers, she'll bring you all back from the dead..."
Hild grinned in delight, a lesson well taught. Hope fell to her knees, still clasping onto Mjollnir's hilt. "You shouldn't have been so reliant on it... after all since it snapped like a twig under only fifty percent of my power, that is proof enough that it was just a useless piece of scrap!"
Hope's bangs covered her eyes, but her tears streamed down her face. "Hild... that was too cruel..." She sobbed and looked up at her with a glare.
"It's your fault for using it in the first place."
"Hrrnnn..." Hope quickly got to her feet and held her hand at Hild's face.
"And what do you plan to do now?" She asked, showing that she was highly unimpressed as a pink orb formed in her hand.
Hope glared at her with hatred, though her eyes softened, and her hand lowered.
"You can't do it." Hild shot her hand out and grabbed her neck. "Is this what the goddess of revolution is capable of? What a disappointment, you're in for some serious training..."
Skuld shook her fists in frustration. "Come on Hope! Fight her!!"
"You always give those other spirits and creatures Hell! You can do it!" Akina called out until Nauthiz put a hand on her shoulder.
"Miss Akina, those spirits and creatures are of no comparison whatsoever to Hild..." He said calmly.
"No way!" Akina shook her head. "Hope's always been good at anything and everything, because she always puts her heart into it!"
"She's not putting her heart into this fight..." Belldandy said and held a hand to her heart. "Her heart is the key to her power, to all of our power. If only she could open it..."
Keiichi looked at Hope nervously until he saw a soft glow coming from the forest. "Hey... did we leave the lights on?"
Urd glared over at him and sweat dropped. "Keiichi, the temple is that way." She pointed behind them.
"Then what's that?" He pointed over at the glow.
Hild threw Hope to the ground and sighed. "There's no point in carrying this out. You've lost."
Hope lay there on the ground, silent for words but gasping and writhing in pain. "M...Mjoll...nir..." Hope coughed and grabbed at her sides as she curled into a fetal position on the ground. "I'm so sorry..." she whimpered as she clenched tightly to the hilt with its half shattered blade.
"...Help us..."
"Please..."
Her eyes seemed to shimmer. "Wh...who..?"
"Help us, Hope..."
"The pain!"
"Please show mercy!! The fires!! THE FIRE!!"
Hope grabbed at her head, the voices filled her ears. "Who... Who are you!?"
Hild stared down at her, until a light caught her attention from the corner of her eye. "What on... Oh dear..." She stared as flames raced across the forest canopy.
"The forest!" Belldandy exclaimed in shock, but was quickly filled with worry for Keiichi and Akina. "Nauthiz, please protect Keiichi and Akina!"
"Yes Miss Belldandy!" Nauthiz summoned forth his angel, Honorable Mention, and had the angel cover them with his expansive wings.
Urd growled then glared over at Hild. "What's this? Fireworks to celebrate your victory!?"
"Hey!" Hild growled back loudly. "Those are not my flames!"
Skuld grabbed her sister's elbow and tugged her off. "Come on you dummy! This isn't a time to argue!!" She said as she summoned Noble Scarlet and ran off with Belldandy towards the source of the flames.
Urd stared at Hild for a moment, somehow she knew she was telling the truth. "Fine... but this is demon fire." She said coldly and ran after her sisters, Skuld was already cascading the fire with water in a vain attempt to extinguish them. The fire however was just too strong, it roared ferociously as it refused to die out.
That was unacceptable to Belldandy; she held her arms above her head and began her spell. "Spirits of Vapor... Spirits of water... Scatter far through the air! Overflow! Come together! Come to me, to my command!!" Her spell summoned forth-towering rain, but the flames roared fiercely against it. "It... it's so strong!" Belldandy exclaimed in horror, at this rate the entire forest would be destroyed.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAH!! HELP US!! PLEASE HELP US!!"
Hope's eyes widened. "Their voices... they won't stop..." Tears streamed down her face, she was almost hysterical, the screams were so frequent and jumbled she couldn't hear herself speak or think!
Hild ignored Hope's insane fit as she held up a barrier to shield her from the rain. "This fire... Tyr..." She thought with a raised eyebrow. "Now why would he cause such a thing... he's killing the forest and all the creatures that live within it! Maybe he is a real demon after all... no that can't be it..."
"Help us! The pain!!"
"THE FIRE!!"
"IT WON'T STOP!!"
"MY HOME!!"
"MY CHILDREN!!"
"MOMMY!!"
"IT'S EATING ME!!"
"IT BURNS!! OH GOD IT BURNS!!"
"HEAVENS!!"
"SHOW MERCY!!"
"SOMEONE PLEASE!!"
"SAVE US!!"
Hope spun over onto her back, her eyes flashing not only blue, but also green, and every color known. "Hnng!! HNNK!!" Her teeth clenched tight, all these emotions poured from the forest and became Hope's own emotion, all their pain and agony became her pain and agony! "KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!" Hope's chest jutted up from the ground, all the emotion kept pouring into her heart; it was becoming her power.
Hild kept staring at the fire until Eldir and Mara ran to her side.
"Hild-sama! We should help them!" Mara pleaded.
"Perhaps we should, okay you two..." She started her plan, but it was then she began to hear Hope's screams. "What on... Earth?"
Eldir and Mara quickly stared over at Hope, their eyes widened in shock.
Nauthiz and Honorable Mention kept Akina and Keiichi covered from the rain and falling twigs that burned with fire. "Don't worry Miss Akina, Mr. Morisato! This will be over soon!"
"Thanks Nauthiz, but what about Hope!? Is she okay!?" Keiichi tried to see through the angel's wings, but the rain was so hard that he could barely see the ground.
"Mr. Morisato, don't worry I'm sure she..." He stopped, a wave like he'd never felt before, just the sheer power of it turned him white. "She..." He looked back, seeing a great holy light through the rain. "..."
"What's wrong!?" Keiichi shoved the protection of the angel's wing away, this light stunned him as well, and it made his heart skip a beat.
Akina felt the same way. "What... What is this... feeling?"
A body of pure light slowly rose from the ground, wings of unimaginable size emerged from her back as she held out her arms, with an aura of mercy all about her.
"H... Hope..." Mara stuttered as the shining being stared out towards the fire, her eyes were the only things visible, though they were like looking into a kaleidoscope. "What, this can't be... Hope!?"
The demon queen stood her ground as Eldir fell back on the ground in shock. "Count yourselves fortunate my loyal minions..." Hild smiled slightly. "We are first to witness the true form..."
The being stretched her wings out, and reached her hands out to the forest.
"... This is... the Goddess of Revolution..."
To Be Continued....
*A Fan-Author's Worthless Rant! *
Well you won't believe the trouble I had typing this fic X*D and you're thinking... I waited three weeks for four and a half pages!? X*D There's a good reason, when I first attempted at typing this chapter, it filled up two weeks, however, my computer was feeling sick, turned out we needed to get Windows XP cause 98 had had it, and as punishment towards me for not heeding it's warnings, it messed up my floppy disk and ruined the first copy of Ch 17 X*D. It was however a mixed blessing, the first attempt wasn't very good... at all... it consisted mainly of Hope getting her butt kicked by Hild.
Hild: What's wrong with that? ^^
Anyhoo... I hope this one turned out okay, it's shorter than usual but I wanted to get a chapter out to y'all sooner and this gives another nice little cliffhanger for me to work off of :3
Also... Check out 'Destined Siblings' by Player0, it's a joint fic between 'Destined Goddess' and his 'Son of Urd'. Check that out too if you haven't read it ;3 It's pretty darn interesting!
See ya next time!
Disclaimer: Belldandy's rain spell was from "The Devil in Miss Urd"
The Moonlight gleamed down onto the forest outside of the Morisato temple, it seemed as of late that this place where the Morisato family would come for peace was now a ground where evil choose to dwell. Hope and Hild had found an open area that would be used as a stage for their battle, though Hope was extremely hesitant to fight. So many trees surrounded them; any stray attack would surely take the life of an innocent tree or animal.
"Now then, what a lovely scene..." Hild took in a deep breath and sighed. "Take a good look while you can, after this is over it'll be the last time you see Earth's surface in a VERY long time."
Hope sweat dropped, Hild was extremely confident and she had reason to be. She however, was just a hybrid with five years training as a goddess. "I'm sure I'll see the sun rise tomorrow morning Hild." Hope replied in a calm manner and looked past Hild to see Mara and Eldir. Eldir had a smug demon grin on his face, as did Mara, though Hope could see the sweat on her forehead. "Looks like Mara is as worried as they are..." Hope looked back at her family. Urd, Skuld, Nauthiz, Akina, Banpei, Sigel, and the black cat Velsper all watched her nervously, but Belldandy had a look in her eyes that relaxed Hope's worried soul. "Momma... she believes in me..." Hope thought and smiled happily, Keiichi stood next to her with a proud smile on his face. "Poppa too..."
"Ooh! Keiichi!" Hild waved. "I'm loving that mustache and goatee!! Very NASCAR!" She giggled.
Keiichi grimaced in response. "Thanks Hild."
"Hey! If I win Hope then you can come too!"
Hope glared at her with his same grimace. "HEY!"
"What?" Hild tilted her head in curiosity.
"Stop talking like you're a sure win already, it's really starting to get on my nerves." She grunted then got ready to fight.
"Fine, fine, geez aren't we moody? Can't you see I'm just having a little fun?" Hild asked. "Then again... I suppose you just want to get this over with as soon as possible."
"That's right, I have better things to do than fight."
"You started this... remember that." Hild said and held out her arms. "And so the fight begins!"
Hope didn't move an inch; Hild held her arms out so it was obvious she'd expect her to attack. "Hmph... so she's making the first move..."
Hild stared at her for a moment then snapped her fingers, two pillars of fire shot up on both sides of Hope.
"Thought so..." Hope fell back, but something in her told her to jump high. "And thought so again!" Hope kicked at the ground with all of her strength and shot into the sky, where her head would have fallen another pillar of fire shot up. "Well that's nasty! Are you trying to win me or kill me?"
"You're as smart as I thought you'd be..." Hild had snapped her fingers a third time. "You realize that fire is powered by Tyr don't you?"
Hope's eyes narrowed on her until she fell behind her target.
The demon queen glared back at her with a curious grin. "An attack from behind?"
She smiled at her as she began to change form.
"Hmm?"
Beautiful Melody appeared in Hope's place.
"Gotcha!" Hope came from up front and grabbed Hild's hands.
"Novice." Her hands sparked with electricity until they sent a shock through Hope's body.
Her eyes widened and her teeth bore from the intense pain. "I... I'll show you who's a novice!" Hope twirled around in their hand lock and flung Hild over her head and onto the ground. "I don't know who you're trying to fool, you're not even using one percent of your power, if you really want me to be your servant then you'll have to give it more effort than that. I'm not going without a good fight!" Hope let her hands go and jumped back a safe distance, Beautiful Melody quickly came to her side and covered Hope's back, both their eyes fixed on Hild, as she slowly rose up from the ground.
"Hmm... I like determination... is that something you got from Mommy and Daddy?" Hild asked, glaring back at her with the evilest of glares.
They both narrowed their eyes as Hope got into a dashing position, she could feel strong waves growing around Hild's body, stronger, darker, and pure evil.
"Come on then." Hild held out her arms again. "This is fifty percent! And it feels SO good!" She giggled happily.
"Ugh... what is it with this lady and power?" Hope thought and stared up at Beautiful Melody, only to receive a shrug. "That's nice Hild."
"Nice? NICE?" Hild stared at her in disbelief. "Oh I see, your poor little half human body can't comprehend the full wavelengths of my power can it?"
Hope looked up as if thinking about it then looked back at Hild. "Nope!"
"Hmm... that you got from my dear little Urd."
"Okay, okay!" Hope groaned. "I have homework to finish you know! So less talking!"
"Okay!" Hild appeared in front of her and grabbed Hope's shoulders. "This is for getting my lovely garb dirty." She launched her over her head then slammed her down on the ground the same way Hope had.
"UGH!" She hit the ground at such a speed that if felt like she had fallen off of the high school's roof. "You're stronger... that's for sure." Again she jumped back, she knew Hild was onto her. She was trying for just physical attacks before but now it was time to dig deeper.
"You know... I really wish that we didn't HAVE to go through with this." The demoness sighed, leaving Hope clueless.
"Eh... really... you don't want to show off your power or anything?"
"Well..." She rolled her eyes. "That's true... but I'd rather not damage my toy before I ever get the chance to play with it." Hild giggled and started to walk towards her. "Now just think about it..."
Hope stepped back from her nervously and got her fists in position.
"Whoa... easy girl." Hild smiled then held out her hand in an illustrative manner. "Just think about it, being a demon wouldn't be so bad... I won't even go hard on you like I do with everyone else."
"HEY!" Mara and Eldir barked in jealous protest.
"Hmm?" Hild glared back at them, they both quickly cowered in fear and sweat dropped.
"Nuh... nuh... Nothing Hild-sama..." They both gulped.
"Thought so..." She grinned then looked back at Hope. "Besides, I know that Tyr-chan would highly disapprove of that, and the last thing I want is another insane King of fire." She laughed then waved her hands when she saw an angered look on Hope's face. "Seriously... and after all, you'd be with him again. I don't know why you'd pass such an opportunity up, I'm actually being lenient for someone, me, Hild, The Leader of Demons, the Queen."
"Hild, could you ever stop being a demon?"
She raised an eyebrow. "Hmm?"
"Of course you couldn't." Hope looked up at her with a smile. "I could never stop being a human, and I could never stop being a goddess. Those are the two halves of who I am." She said then looked to her family. "I'm sure that when I arrived in heaven for the very first time, I would have never qualified for a second class license if it wasn't for them... my family and friends shaped the person who I am today. To just throw all of that away and become a demon is just unimaginable, because I might loose that part of me that is a girl, or a goddess. And Tyr..." She looked back over at Hild. "He's still a god, not the demon King of Fire that you have pegged him to be." Hope held her hands over her heart. "I know, even though I haven't seen him after all these years, that he is still the God of War..."
Belldandy looked at her daughter with pride filled eyes, glistening with tears. "Hope..."
"I'm not going to loose against you Hild, at any cost I won't loose. I refuse to become a demon for my family and friends, and I refuse to become a demon, because Tyr loves me this way. Now that you understand..."
Hild clapped her hands. "Wonderful speech, so adorable." She wiped tears out of the corners of her eyes. "True, I couldn't dream of being anything but a demon!" Hild puffed out her chest and held her hands proudly on her hips. "But as a demon, I have so very much pride, so I don't intend to loose today." Her hair swayed in the breeze. "Not even to the goddess of revolution..."
Hope tensed up. "What did you say...?"
"Hmm..." Hild grinned and held out her hand. "Watch out..."
Hild's warning came to late, or so she thought.
"HYAAH!!" Hope spun around; her hands looked as through they were clasped down onto something. Four bolts of lighting came hurdling down towards her, quickly she held her clasped hands up, the bolts slammed down on her only to wrap around what looked like a dome.
"What's that... oh?" Hild stared as a sword appeared in Hope's grip. "Half of Mjollnir...that's right, and Tyr has the other half."
"Heh... it's sort of futile to attack me with lightning while I have the thunder god's weapon!" Hope grinned as she struck the lighting to the side and held the sword's blade out to Hild.
"True, I guess it might be... just as long as you have that piece of scrap metal." Hild laughed sarcastically. "You have a lot of faith in that thing don't you?"
"Of course I do!" She stepped forward until she was in the right position, with a kick she darted towards the demon queen, ready to take a strike.
"You shouldn't be so reliant on the tools of others." Hild held out her hand, a barrier formed around her just at the right moment. Hope slammed face first into the barrier and collapsed onto the ground. "Oh my! That looked like it really hurt!"
Hope grimaced up at her and quickly got to her feet. She held her sword back and slashed through her barrier, leaving the queen just slightly impressed.
"Looks as though that sword is just a little powerful..." Hild sighed and caught the blade before Hope could slash at her again.
She got her footing and tried to force the blade against her but it was useless. "Hrrngg!!"
"Hope-chan?"
"Wh...WHAT!?" Hope growled as she kicked up dirt trying to move the sword against her.
"The thing about Mjollnir is... that it's only as powerful as it is, when both halves are together." Hild grinned and snapped the sword in half.
Meanwhile, not to far away in the forest, Tyr appeared on top of a boulder and glared to the side. "I'm too late... they already started fighting." He sighed, but his eyes widened when he felt a wave of sorrow. "What's that? Ah!?" An orb emerged from his chest, it was his half of Mjollnir, and it beamed with light in the rhythm of a heartbeat. "Something's happened to Hope's sword...?" He asked, the thought made his teeth grind. "Hope, what are you doing!? Fighting Hild..." His fists clenched. "There's no way she'll win... there's just no way, I can't even force myself to believe that she could..." He cursed then looked over at the trees. He stared at them for a moment and his eyes narrowed. "Forest... you hold an importance to her do you not?" He asked only to be answered by the rattle of their leaves. "Then, you'll sacrifice yourselves for her sake..." A grin appeared on his face as he held out a single flicker. "Don't worry, with that power of hers, she'll bring you all back from the dead..."
Hild grinned in delight, a lesson well taught. Hope fell to her knees, still clasping onto Mjollnir's hilt. "You shouldn't have been so reliant on it... after all since it snapped like a twig under only fifty percent of my power, that is proof enough that it was just a useless piece of scrap!"
Hope's bangs covered her eyes, but her tears streamed down her face. "Hild... that was too cruel..." She sobbed and looked up at her with a glare.
"It's your fault for using it in the first place."
"Hrrnnn..." Hope quickly got to her feet and held her hand at Hild's face.
"And what do you plan to do now?" She asked, showing that she was highly unimpressed as a pink orb formed in her hand.
Hope glared at her with hatred, though her eyes softened, and her hand lowered.
"You can't do it." Hild shot her hand out and grabbed her neck. "Is this what the goddess of revolution is capable of? What a disappointment, you're in for some serious training..."
Skuld shook her fists in frustration. "Come on Hope! Fight her!!"
"You always give those other spirits and creatures Hell! You can do it!" Akina called out until Nauthiz put a hand on her shoulder.
"Miss Akina, those spirits and creatures are of no comparison whatsoever to Hild..." He said calmly.
"No way!" Akina shook her head. "Hope's always been good at anything and everything, because she always puts her heart into it!"
"She's not putting her heart into this fight..." Belldandy said and held a hand to her heart. "Her heart is the key to her power, to all of our power. If only she could open it..."
Keiichi looked at Hope nervously until he saw a soft glow coming from the forest. "Hey... did we leave the lights on?"
Urd glared over at him and sweat dropped. "Keiichi, the temple is that way." She pointed behind them.
"Then what's that?" He pointed over at the glow.
Hild threw Hope to the ground and sighed. "There's no point in carrying this out. You've lost."
Hope lay there on the ground, silent for words but gasping and writhing in pain. "M...Mjoll...nir..." Hope coughed and grabbed at her sides as she curled into a fetal position on the ground. "I'm so sorry..." she whimpered as she clenched tightly to the hilt with its half shattered blade.
"...Help us..."
"Please..."
Her eyes seemed to shimmer. "Wh...who..?"
"Help us, Hope..."
"The pain!"
"Please show mercy!! The fires!! THE FIRE!!"
Hope grabbed at her head, the voices filled her ears. "Who... Who are you!?"
Hild stared down at her, until a light caught her attention from the corner of her eye. "What on... Oh dear..." She stared as flames raced across the forest canopy.
"The forest!" Belldandy exclaimed in shock, but was quickly filled with worry for Keiichi and Akina. "Nauthiz, please protect Keiichi and Akina!"
"Yes Miss Belldandy!" Nauthiz summoned forth his angel, Honorable Mention, and had the angel cover them with his expansive wings.
Urd growled then glared over at Hild. "What's this? Fireworks to celebrate your victory!?"
"Hey!" Hild growled back loudly. "Those are not my flames!"
Skuld grabbed her sister's elbow and tugged her off. "Come on you dummy! This isn't a time to argue!!" She said as she summoned Noble Scarlet and ran off with Belldandy towards the source of the flames.
Urd stared at Hild for a moment, somehow she knew she was telling the truth. "Fine... but this is demon fire." She said coldly and ran after her sisters, Skuld was already cascading the fire with water in a vain attempt to extinguish them. The fire however was just too strong, it roared ferociously as it refused to die out.
That was unacceptable to Belldandy; she held her arms above her head and began her spell. "Spirits of Vapor... Spirits of water... Scatter far through the air! Overflow! Come together! Come to me, to my command!!" Her spell summoned forth-towering rain, but the flames roared fiercely against it. "It... it's so strong!" Belldandy exclaimed in horror, at this rate the entire forest would be destroyed.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAH!! HELP US!! PLEASE HELP US!!"
Hope's eyes widened. "Their voices... they won't stop..." Tears streamed down her face, she was almost hysterical, the screams were so frequent and jumbled she couldn't hear herself speak or think!
Hild ignored Hope's insane fit as she held up a barrier to shield her from the rain. "This fire... Tyr..." She thought with a raised eyebrow. "Now why would he cause such a thing... he's killing the forest and all the creatures that live within it! Maybe he is a real demon after all... no that can't be it..."
"Help us! The pain!!"
"THE FIRE!!"
"IT WON'T STOP!!"
"MY HOME!!"
"MY CHILDREN!!"
"MOMMY!!"
"IT'S EATING ME!!"
"IT BURNS!! OH GOD IT BURNS!!"
"HEAVENS!!"
"SHOW MERCY!!"
"SOMEONE PLEASE!!"
"SAVE US!!"
Hope spun over onto her back, her eyes flashing not only blue, but also green, and every color known. "Hnng!! HNNK!!" Her teeth clenched tight, all these emotions poured from the forest and became Hope's own emotion, all their pain and agony became her pain and agony! "KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!" Hope's chest jutted up from the ground, all the emotion kept pouring into her heart; it was becoming her power.
Hild kept staring at the fire until Eldir and Mara ran to her side.
"Hild-sama! We should help them!" Mara pleaded.
"Perhaps we should, okay you two..." She started her plan, but it was then she began to hear Hope's screams. "What on... Earth?"
Eldir and Mara quickly stared over at Hope, their eyes widened in shock.
Nauthiz and Honorable Mention kept Akina and Keiichi covered from the rain and falling twigs that burned with fire. "Don't worry Miss Akina, Mr. Morisato! This will be over soon!"
"Thanks Nauthiz, but what about Hope!? Is she okay!?" Keiichi tried to see through the angel's wings, but the rain was so hard that he could barely see the ground.
"Mr. Morisato, don't worry I'm sure she..." He stopped, a wave like he'd never felt before, just the sheer power of it turned him white. "She..." He looked back, seeing a great holy light through the rain. "..."
"What's wrong!?" Keiichi shoved the protection of the angel's wing away, this light stunned him as well, and it made his heart skip a beat.
Akina felt the same way. "What... What is this... feeling?"
A body of pure light slowly rose from the ground, wings of unimaginable size emerged from her back as she held out her arms, with an aura of mercy all about her.
"H... Hope..." Mara stuttered as the shining being stared out towards the fire, her eyes were the only things visible, though they were like looking into a kaleidoscope. "What, this can't be... Hope!?"
The demon queen stood her ground as Eldir fell back on the ground in shock. "Count yourselves fortunate my loyal minions..." Hild smiled slightly. "We are first to witness the true form..."
The being stretched her wings out, and reached her hands out to the forest.
"... This is... the Goddess of Revolution..."
To Be Continued....
*A Fan-Author's Worthless Rant! *
Well you won't believe the trouble I had typing this fic X*D and you're thinking... I waited three weeks for four and a half pages!? X*D There's a good reason, when I first attempted at typing this chapter, it filled up two weeks, however, my computer was feeling sick, turned out we needed to get Windows XP cause 98 had had it, and as punishment towards me for not heeding it's warnings, it messed up my floppy disk and ruined the first copy of Ch 17 X*D. It was however a mixed blessing, the first attempt wasn't very good... at all... it consisted mainly of Hope getting her butt kicked by Hild.
Hild: What's wrong with that? ^^
Anyhoo... I hope this one turned out okay, it's shorter than usual but I wanted to get a chapter out to y'all sooner and this gives another nice little cliffhanger for me to work off of :3
Also... Check out 'Destined Siblings' by Player0, it's a joint fic between 'Destined Goddess' and his 'Son of Urd'. Check that out too if you haven't read it ;3 It's pretty darn interesting!
See ya next time!
Disclaimer: Belldandy's rain spell was from "The Devil in Miss Urd"