Chapter 2

Mana blinked.

She was on her back, staring up at a cloud filled, orange tinted sky. She turned her head to the side. All she could see was miles and miles of sand and rock. No trees. No grass. No signs of life.

The Demoness stood up and took another look around.

"Where the hell am I?" she finally muttered. She looked up again at the sky. It wasn't yet dark enough for her to see any stars. She reached into her robes and pulled out the small communicator she had been given by Skuld several months before. The communicator was the exact same type that many Gods and Goddesses now carried. Unfortunately, a glance at it's screen showed her it would be of no help. It wasn't receiving any kind of signal.

"What the Hell is going on?" Mana said aloud again. She then thought for a moment.

She needed to get to Heaven to find out what was going on. But, she was unable to get to Heaven without help from a God or Goddess. There was one alternative means of getting to Heaven though, and that was through Hell, a place Mana had tried to avoid as much as she possibly could. It wasn't as though she wasn't permitted in Hell, in fact, Hild told her she wished Mana would visit more. It was just that Mana preferred the surface world or Heaven.

With a sigh, Mana made her choice, and vanished in a fireball.

Hell

The spot Mana reappeared in surprised her. It was definitely Hell, but Hell as it looked many hundreds of years ago. Mana wondered through the streets of Hell, looking at things that hadn't existed in a long time. She would have continued to explore, but was bumped into by another Demon, sending both to the ground.

"Watch where you're going Scum." The other Demon said with a snarl.

Mana, having been raised by the Queen, wasn't about to let another Demon get away with calling her scum. Not while she was a Demon Class 0. Mana stood up and gave the demon her best glare, one that sent chills down others spines.

"Who are you calling scum, Worm?" Mana replied, her voice very commanding.

The Demon faltered slightly under the glare, then straightened.

"I'm calling you scum!" he replied, "I am a First Class Demon! You should be Honored I even spoke to you!"

Mana smirked. "And Class 0 doesn't usually talk to low level scum like you. Now get out of my sight!" Mana shouted, tossing a force bolt at the other Demon. The Demon took off running, the force bolt following close behind him. Mana waited for the demon to completely vanish from view before letting out a sigh. She hadn't had to face another Demon like that in almost 400 years. Not since she'd become a first class at least. Until she'd become a class 0, there had always been someone higher up you had to suck up to. Of course, Hild, Mara, or Welsper had usually been with her, so she didn't really have to boot lick, but still…….

Mana continued to wonder around Hell, looking for the Gate that would lead to the Heavens. Unfortunately, it did not seem like the Gate existed, and she wasn't about to ask for directions. That left one place for her to go.

Earth.

Mana appeared in the location her old house was located.

Or….apparently….where it used to be located.

All around her were trees and brush.

No sign of any human occupation.

Mana now walked over to a nearby rock and sat down to think this over. She'd been sucked into whatever device Sentaro had been working on. She'd ended up on some dust bound planet. Hell was looking as it did in several hundred years. And now the spot where her old home had been looked as if it had never seen a human. It was like………….

Mana's eyes widened. She quickly pulled out the God Communicator again. This time it picked up a signal. It wasn't Yggdrasil though. It was the GPS system that the mortals had put up into space so long ago.

And what it said on the screen of the communicator shocked Mana.

According to it, Mana was in the right spot, just the wrong time.

It was 2005.

Mana blinked and then had the communicator recheck.

It flashed the date again.

June 15, 2005.

Mana got up and paced about. This was impossible. There was no way she could be in 2005. It just wasn't possible. But then……… it did explain that planet she had appeared on. After all, Terra 2 wouldn't be found by Humans for another two hundred years. It also explained why Hell looked like it was hundreds of years in the past. What wasn't explained was why her home wasn't here. After Second Impact, new towns and housing areas were built all over away from the coasts in the US where she lived. There wasn't a sign of any housing anywhere near her current location.

Mana looked down at her communicator again. She still needed help. She knew no one in Hell would help her. She needed help from the heavens.

And there was only one place on Earth she could get that help.

Nekomi, Japan.

Mana, now wearing jeans and a t-shirt, walked down the street. She knew that Sayoko had been born in this town, but she herself had never seen it, or the Temple she had heard so much about. Nekomi itself looked pretty much like a University town in the US. College students were hanging out at various spots all over, either eating, studying, or chatting with friends. Mana fit right in with them for the most part. She did receive several curious looks due to the patch over her right eye, but there was little she could do to hide it.

She spent the better part of two hours walking about the town, looking for, but finding no temple. Finally she gave up on finding it on her own and walked into a small motorcycle shop.

"Hello!" the woman behind the counter said, "Welcome to the Whirlwind!"

"Hi." Mana replied, "I need directions."

"Well I can certainly help you with that!" the woman replied cheerfully, "Where are you going?"

"I'm trying to reach the Tariki Hongan-ji." Mana said.

The woman behind the counter blinked, and Mana noticed.

"Well." The woman said recovering, "I know where that temple is! I'll write down some directions for you." The woman quickly jotted down directions on a piece of paper and handed them to Mana. "Here you go."

"Thank you ma'am." Mana replied, bowing slightly. She then turned and left the shop, but paused just outside the door. She could hear the woman walking around, then dialing on a phone.

"Urd? It's Chihiro." The woman said into the phone. "Someone was in here asking about directions to the Temple. I never saw her before. She has red hair and looks Japanese. She even spoke it clearly. She might show up in awhile, I gave her looping directions. I figured I'd warn you because of the squirt. Alright. Say Hi to Bell and K."

Mana walked away from the shop.

"It's Auburn hair lady." Mana muttered, "I don't have Asuka hair." Mana paused and looked around. A few people were looking at her funny.

"I have to stop talking to myself." Mana muttered again. She pulled out the directions, then compared them to what she had on the Gods communicator. The route 'Chihiro' would have her take looped back around several times before reaching her destination. Mana turned and looked off towards the hills. She could just make out the roof of the temple in the distance.

'Better to get there and get this over with.' Mana thought.

She turned and headed down an alley. Within seconds she vanished from the alley, reappearing just beside the outer wall of the Temple complex. Mana walked along the wall until she came to the front entrance. She walked up the path towards the temple, then turned and headed towards the caretaker's house beside it. A young girl was playing out front with a cloth doll. Mana walked up to her.

"Hello." Mana said in a friendly voice.

The girl jumped and turned around. Mana's eye widened at the girl's features. She had a blue elongated diamond on her forehead, as well as triangles beneath each eye. Her hair was a dark brown and her eyes a bright blue. Mana's mind finally registered that she was looking at a young Sayoko. The young girl pointed at Mana.

"You're a Demon!" she said.

Mana blinked, then realized that her markings hadn't yet vanished from her teleport.

"Well……yeah." Mana said.

"Demons are bad." The young Sayoko said.

"Yeah," Mana replied sadly, "They are."

"GET AWAY FROM HER!" came a sudden shout.

Mana turned just in time to see a lightning bolt heading straight towards her. Mana raised her shield just in time to absorb the bolt. When the smoke cleared, Mana found herself confronting a very angry Urd. Behind her was Megumi Morisato, Sayoko's Mortal Aunt. She was holding the young Goddess in her arms. Mana looked back at Urd.

"I'm not here to fight." Mana said.

"I don't care!" Urd shouted back, "There's no way I'm going to trust any Demon. Not since you tried to abduct Sayoko!"

Mana blinked. "But I…."

"I don't want to hear it!" Urd shouted, "Now get out of here!"

"But…..!" Mana began again.

"I SAID LEAVE!" Urd tossed another lightning bolt at Mana. Mana leaped out of the way and tossed a weak force bolt at Urd. The bolt slammed into Urd, causing both Megumi and Sayoko to shout in surprise. Urd landed hard on the porch of the house. Mana walked quietly up to Urd and looked down at her.

"I only came here to…." Mana began before something slammed into her head. "….get help." She finished before collapsing on top of Urd.

Urd looked up at her youngest Sister, who still held her mallet at the ready.

"Nice one Skuld."

"Thanks." A nineteen-year old Skuld put her mallet on her back and then helped her oldest sister out from under the Demoness. "Is this the one Chihiro warned us about?"

"She does have red hair." Urd said, "But why didn't the Demon wards work? They should have detected her and repulsed her before she got anywhere near the house."

Megumi put Sayoko down. "Go inside and watch TV ok?"

"Ok Auntie." Sayoko replied before running off. Megumi waited then turned to Skuld.

"Why didn't your robots detect her?" Megumi asked.

Skuld turned and looked over at Banpei, who was just rolling around the corner.

"Banpei." She commanded, "reinitialize your demon detectors and scan the area."

Banpei bleeped, then paused a moment. He then bleeped again and continued to patrol.

Skuld looked at the others confused. "He says he can't detect any Demons."

"What about her?" Urd asked, pointing at Mana.

Skuld walked over and nudged the Demoness in the side with her foot, rolling her over. Both goddesses and mortal gasped when they saw her face.

"But she had demon markings earlier!" Urd said, "I know I saw them!"

"You did." Megumi replied, "I saw them too. You think she was taken over by a Demon? Like I was by Mara?"

"She still wouldn't have made it this far inside the wards." Urd replied.

Skuld bent over and gently frisked the Demoness. Finding a lump in the Demoness' pocket, she reached in and pulled out a wallet.

"How many demons carry a wallet?" Skuld asked.

"None." Urd replied.

"This one does." Skuld opened the wallet, then blinked. "This is a driver's license says she's Mana Kirishima, and its set to expire in the year 2078!"

"WHAT!" both Urd and Megumi shouted.

"Gets better," Skuld continued, "This says she was born in 2001."

"She sure doesn't look 4." Megumi said.

Urd frowned. "No. She doesn't. Anything else in there Skuld?"

"Well yeah." Skuld flipped through the wallet. "Got a picture of Mana here and your mother, Mara and……" Skuld looked over at Urd. "Welsper, as a cat."

Urd and Megumi blinked at each other, then looked back at Skuld.

"What's up?"

The three turned around to see Keiichi and Belldandy walking up the front walk.

"We caught ourselves a Demon." Urd said, "Only….there's something off about her."

"What do you mean?" Belldandy asked.

"Well first she's carrying a mortal Driver's license, which claims she was born in 2001, and the license expires in 2078."

Belldandy and Keiichi looked at Urd, then down at the unconscious Demoness.

"We also found a picture of her, my Mother, Mara, and Welsper."

Skuld flipped through another page. "Got another picture here. Looks like it was taken in school with………" Skuld's face went white.

"What is it Skuld?" Urd asked.

Skuld continued to stare at the picture and say nothing. Urd walked over and grabbed the wallet, then looked at the picture. Her face too went white. She then turned and handed it over to Belldandy. Keiichi and Megumi both peered over the goddess's shoulder to see the picture.

In it, the Demoness was sitting beside seven other students. Five they couldn't identify. But two they knew all too well from eight years before. One was a red head by the name of Asuka Langley Sohryu. The other was a young teenage goddess by the name of Sayoko Morisato.

"Oh my." Belldandy whispered.

"Ow…..my head." Mana mumbled. She felt something wet pressed against her forehead. It was very nice, but her head still throbbed. Slowly she opened her eye and found herself looking up at several blue-eyed goddesses.

"Sayoko?" Mana mumbled softly.

"No." the Goddess replied, "I'm Belldandy."

Mana chuckled. "First time I've made that mistake."

"So you've met me before?" Belldandy asked.

"Yep." Mana replied, blinking her eye. She'd finally stopped seeing multiple goddesses. "You make a great curry."

"Thank you." Belldandy said with a slight smile. "But you know who I am. Who are you?"

"Mana Kirishima, Demoness Class 0. At your service."

"If I may say Miss Kirishima, you are unlike any Demoness I have met."

"Call me Mana. And I assume you've never met a Half Mortal Half Demon before."

Belldandy blinked. "I never knew they existed."

"I'm the only one." Mana slowly sat up and looked at Belldandy, then down at the wet cloth in her hands. "You always treat Demons this pleasantly?"

"Only ones from the future." Mana turned to see Skuld standing in the doorway, her mallet at the ready. "The rest we boot out of Nekomi."

"How did you know I'm from the future?" Mana asked confused.

Skuld flipped Mana her wallet.

"Interesting pictures in there." Skuld said, "Including a Goddess and a Red head we met about eight years ago."

Mana blinked and looked back at Belldandy.

"Let's go into the kitchen and we can explain." Belldandy said.

Mana sat at the table across from the three goddesses, as well as Keiichi and Megumi as they told how Sayoko and Asuka had come to visit them eight years before. Young Sayoko was still off watching TV. When they were done speaking, Mana stared at the table a moment.

"She never told me." Mana whispered.

"Well you are a Demon." Urd said, "Maybe she didn't want to share that with you."

"But we talked about everything." Mana replied.

"How is she?" Belldandy finally asked, "Is she in college? Is Asuka still with the boy she liked?"

Mana blinked. "Um, Sayoko graduated College a long time ago."

"She was still in High School eight years ago." Skuld said, "So she what? Graduated from College 2 years ago?"

Mana shook her head. "You don't understand. If I get what you're telling me, Sayoko ended up here one year before I arrived at her High School. That was over 540 years ago."

All the goddesses and mortals present stared at Mana stunned.

"But….that…" Skuld stuttered.

"540 years…." Keiichi repeated.

"Damn." Urd muttered, "That's old."

"How did you meet Sayoko?" Belldandy asked.

"That all depends on which time you mean." Mana said with a slight smile. "See, I was raised by Hild, Mara, and Welsper."

"What about your parents?" Megumi asked.

Mana's face darkened. "Father was a high ranking Demon that decided to have 'fun' on the mortal world."

All three goddesses winced. Megumi and Keiichi saw the goddesses' reaction and figured it was bad.

"Mom survived the attack, and I was born. Later, Father came back to finish what he started. He killed Mom………I was saved by Hild's Guards. She then raised me." Mana paused a moment, then continued. "The first time I met Sayoko was when we became Doublets."

"But your not supposed to remember that!" Urd said. "That's what makes the system work!"

"I know that." Mana replied, "Neither of us remembered that event until we had met for the second time, at Toyko-2 High School. I was trying to earn my First Class Demonship. I didn't know Sayoko was even a Goddess till she came to rescue her friends from me. There was a brief fight, and I lost. Sayoko forgave me for it, and eventually, so did her friends." Mana chuckled. "Asuka took a bit longer. We may have seen each other off and on other the past 500 years, but Sayoko and I have still remained good friends, through bad times and good."

"So what brought you here?" Skuld asked.

Mana frowned. "I don't know exactly. Sayoko and I were outside her house when we heard shouting from inside. As soon as I entered the house, I was pulled upstairs by something. I ended up in her sons room with a death grip on a ceiling light, trying not to get sucked in by a rice cooker."

"Rice Cooker?" all three Goddesses aid, looking at each other.

"Yeah. Why…..?" Mana began before Skuld ran out of the room. She returned a second later with a machine. Mana immediately backed away. "Keep that thing away from me!"

"I made this a few years back to remove bugs." Skuld said, "It would suck them off to another dimension."

"All I know is that thing suck me here." Mana said, "And Sayoko and her daughter were also trying to keep themselves from being sucked in."

"We'll try to help you out." Belldandy said, "You belong in your own time, just like Asuka and Sayoko."

"Thank you." Mana said, bowing slightly.

"I'll go see if I still have that spell the other Skuld used to bring them all back." Skuld said, standing up. "Maybe Mana can adapt it for her use." She then left the room.

"I'll go up to Yggdrasil and see what it says." Urd said, "Between Peorth and me, we'll find something." She turned and went into the living room and vanished into the TV.

Keiichi glanced at the clock. "I need to get to work. Chihiro will be worried." He looked over at Megumi. "You need a lift into town?"

"No." Megumi said, shaking her head, "I'll be fine."

"Alright." Keiichi left. Soon the sound of his motorcycle starting up could be heard. Mana let out another chuckle.

"What's so funny?" Megumi asked.

"That motorcycle saw a lot of use." Mana said, "And I was an unfortunate victim of Sayoko's need for a passenger several times." Mana let out a sigh, then looked at Belldandy. "I don't suppose you could tell me why your sisters and Megumi here freaked out over me being a Demon?"

Belldandy looked off towards where her daughter sat in the living room.

"Since Sayoko was born," she began, "Hild has tried to kidnap her numerous times."

"What for?" Mana asked.

Belldandy shrugged. "I don't know. Urd thinks Hild wants to make Sayoko a demon and use her against Heaven. Some in heaven think Hild would use Sayoko to break Keiichi and myself up." Belldandy sighed. "Regardless, Sayoko won't be safe until she goes to meet her doublet."

"That won't be for another two years." Mana said softly.

Belldandy nodded. "Until then, my sisters and I are constantly watching her."

"What about Chihiro? I know she called up here."

"Ah." Belldandy replied with a smile. "You see, a few years ago, Mara tried to ruin an Motor Club race. Only she wrecked the Formula One club's car instead. Aoshima was furious and yelled at Mara, in a spot where our Motor Club saw them. She then went and tried to curse the club, but I stopped her. Afterward, Keiichi and I explained everything to them. So now they know the secret of myself and my sisters."

"So when Demons started to try and abduct Sayoko…." Mana began.

"The Club and its members are all over the city." Belldandy said, "And as I said, the entire club knows the secret. So when they see a suspicious person, they report it to us right away."

Mana looked over at Sayoko, who was clutching her doll tightly to her chest as she watched TV.

"Don't worry Belldandy." She said, "As long as I'm here, no Demon will touch a hair on her head. I promise you that."

Belldandy normally didn't take Demons at their word, manly because demons most often always broke their word. But something about Mana made her trust the Demoness, and believe that she would carry through on her promise.

That night.

Mana couldn't sleep.

It wasn't that the bed she was in wasn't comfortable. In fact, it was probably the most comfortable bed she'd ever been in. This was different. Something was nagging Mana at the back of her mind and wouldn't go away. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw a brown haired demon, one that was familiar, yet unknown to her. There was something else besides that vision that kept her awake. The feeling someone else was near.

Mana stood up and moved past the sleeping Megumi to the door. She slid it open and looked out into the hallway. All the other doors were closed. Mana moved silently past Keiichi and Belldandy's room, and then paused at Sayoko's room. She slid open the door and peered in.

The young goddess was fast asleep, holding her doll. Sitting against the wall was Sigel, one of Skuld's robots. Seeing nothing out of place, Mana walked out into the living room, and then outside.

Banpei-kun still patrolled the yard. He paused for a moment and took notice of the Demoness, then continued on. Mana walked down the walkway and out onto the street. When she was about one hundred yards from the temple, she stopped and spoke.

"Show yourself." She ordered.

With a flash of smoke, a small three-foot tall version of Hild appeared.

"I'm surprised that a mortal such as you was able to detect me." Hild said.

"Maybe there is more to me then meets the eye." Mana said with a slight smirk. Her demonic markings flared into existence. Hild's eyes widened slightly.

"So, there is a wolf amongst the sheep. Excellent."

"This wolf will guard those sheep." Mana said.

Hild frowned. "You dare defy me? I wish that child of mortal and goddess to be mine."

"What for." Mana said, "What use do you have for a half mortal half Goddess?"

Hild smiled, "I wish to make her a demon, a weapon against the heavens. Should that happen, I'm sure the mortal will gladly break the contract with that goddess in order to get his child back. But then, the child will be his own destruction."

Mana turned away from Hild. "You're a monster."

"No. Just the Queen of Hell, doing her best to cause the mortals to despair."

Mana turned around and glared at Hild.

"Hear me Queen. I will defend that child from you."

"You're a Demon." Hild replied, "You must obey me."

"You are not my Queen though." Mana replied, "My Queen has long decided to live in peace with the Heavens."

Hild's eyes narrowed. "Rest assured, that is not my intention."

"We shall see won't we?"

"You will regret defying me." Hild said, "You will live out your days in pain."

Mana lightly brushed the eye patch over her right eye.

"I've experienced more pain then you can ever hope to inflict on me." Mana then turned and started back towards the temple.

Hild snarled and sent a force bolt after her. Mana turned and easily stopped it in mid air, then sent it right back at it's owner. Hild raised a force field just as the bolt hit. The Queen of Hell was momentarily covered in black smoke. When it cleared, Mana was no longer in sight.

"It appears there is a new player." Hild muttered to herself, "Plans will have to be adjusted."

Mana walked back into the house. There to greet her was Belldandy in her night robe.

"What happened?" Belldandy asked.

"Nothing." Mana replied, "I just needed a bit of fresh air so I took a walk."

"Mana," Belldandy said, her eyes showing her concern, "I felt a demonic presence near to the temple."

Mana sighed. "I should have expected that. I ran into Queen Hild."

"And?" Belldandy asked, a hint of worry in her voice.

Mana gave Belldandy a confident smile. "She is temporarily rethinking her plans regarding your daughter."

Belldandy clutched her hands. "But won't you be putting yourself in danger?"

"Perhaps." Mana replied, as she slowly walked back to the bedroom she shared with Megumi, "But it's a small price to pay when one has a lot of debt to repay." Mana then vanished into the bedroom, leaving Belldandy to ponder the Demoness' words.