Memories are calling,
Rain is still falling,
For tonight into another day.
I keep on dreaming,
Throughout the seasons,
That tonight you'll be by my side.
Galimar – "Sunshine"
Sited in one of Nakomi's business districts, Dominique's Café was a hubbub of noise and activity as the lunch hour approached. The small café was nestled between several large office sky rises which made it a prime choice for businessmen on the go. The restaurant served a variety of cuisines, ranging from Japanese, American, and even Mexican (as the name implied). The most popular attraction of Dominique's was neither the cuisine or location – it was the large outdoor seating area. Here, under table-mounted umbrellas, over three hundred people could easily sit and eat at the tables provided for them.
Marcus Cole, also known as Omega, had already found himself a seat near the sidewalk. Deciding what to order from the menu, he sensed the approach of Belldandy and Keiichi. Both had been guided to his table by one of the waitresses ranging the restaurant's outdoors area. He set his menu down on the table and managed his best smile.
"Hello again, Ms. Belldandy! You must be Mr. Morisato," he turned his attention to the racer and gave him a long look. "It's hard not to recognize you with all the races you've been in." Smoothly sliding a hand into his suit jacket, he withdrew a business card and handed it to Keiichi. "It is a pleasure to finally meet you. Would you two like to have a seat and get comfortable?" I'm sure you'll want to be relaxed as your end approaches.
The two took their seats across the table from the newspaper reporter. Keiichi looked over the card and then placed it in his pocket. "It is nice to be interviewed by the newspaper for something other than a race," he conceded to the reporter who was also getting comfortable in his seat.
"There are certainly first times for everything, aren't there?" Marcus Cole withdrew a pad and pencil from his pocket and flipped the pad open to a blank page. "I suppose, while we wait for a waitress to take our orders, that I could ask you a few basic questions. How long have the two of you been engaged?" I wonder how I should deliver their bodies to Loki and Nemesis... perhaps with big pink bows and Digimon wrapping paper.
The two lovers shared a look before Keiichi nodded to Bell. "It's been about three years," she replied softly.
"Oh my, what a long time! I wonder… how did Mr. Morisato propose to you? Was it romantic and old fashioned, like a dinner, or more modern, like a display at a baseball game or race?" I must get them to drop their guard, but this "nice" act is starting to grate on my nerves. Loki would be impressed if he could see this.
"It was really a comedy of errors," Belldandy replied with a wistful chuckle. "I was getting ready to return home, and he just came to me with a ring out of the blue. After that, I had no choice but to accept and stay."
Omega pretended to write these things down as the sounds of crashing dishes reached his ears from across the restaurant. "How romantic! It must be very exciting and joyous for you two to finally be tying the knot after so long." Their story makes me want to hurl.
"It took some work," Kei smiled and nodded, "And several close calls to make us realize that we were meant to be together. The only real difficulty was in convincing her… parents… to let us get married." Their hands found each other in a public display of affection that made it hard for Omega to not blanch at.
"I see," Omega paused to scribble a few more notes on his pad and smiled as the sounds of more crashing plates and cups could be heard. "Well, you two are certainly made for each other, and I am sure that your lives will be most joyful together…" The remaining few seconds of them, if my signal ever arrives!
Keiichi's stomach growled, reminding him where they were. "I wonder where the waitress is. Shouldn't she be here by now?"
But before he could finish the thought, (which really didn't matter since Omega had cast a spell on every waitress within range causing them to drop their trays whenever it was time for one of them to take his order), a low rumble resonated through the ground. It felt like a minor earthquake to the experienced residents, but Omega rejoiced at knowing that this was really his signal to proceed. A column of smoke could be seen rising ominously in the air some distance away as the sounds of police and fire engine sirens began to fill the air. Belldandy looked around, wondering what was going on. "My, my. I wonder if something's happened. Maybe there was an accident…"
Standing up slowly, Marcus Cole removed his suit jacket and set it down gently on his chair. It was made of fine silk and he had no desire to damage it in the upcoming fight. "Oh, I wouldn't be too worried about that," he replied slowly, nodding toward the rising column of smoke. "I think you'll find that there's a more severe accident about to happen here, Goddess First Class Belldandy!" The pencil he had been holding extended itself, turning into a black sword as his business attire transformed in a flash of black fire and revealed metallic black and red battle armor.
Time seemed to slow around them as onlookers realized there was a problem. The moment she had heard her true name and title spoken aloud, Belldandy was on her feet, reaching up to remove a part of her earring which quickly unfolded and extended itself to reveal her staff. Less than two seconds after that were the muted screams and yells as onlookers, reacting to both the column of smoke and the sudden transformation of someone into a menacing form, took to their feet like the ripples following a drop of water hitting a pond. Belldandy quickly reacted to the situation and pushed Keiichi behind her. Her gaze never left her opponent. "Who are you really? You are no reporter!"
"How astute of you to finally realize this," Omega smiled and gave a courteous bow. "Allow me to properly introduce myself and apologize for my duplicity. I am Omega of the Dark Realm." He sensed her getting ready to ask a question and simply put a hand in the air to silence her. "And before you begin to ask the same useless question that always gets asked, I have come to this planet to stop the union between Earth and Yggradsil. My orders are simple: I am to eliminate both of you in the name of the Realm." He gave an almost feral smile. "Thank you for accepting my invitation to a meeting today. It makes my job immensely easier."
"You're… one of the Council?" Belldandy's eyes widened in surprise and fear for a moment before she squared her jaw. "I cannot allow you to do this."
Behind her, Keiichi's mind was a whirlwind. "Wait. What do you mean? He's going to… kill us?" He reasoned this aloud, trying to figure out the sudden stomach-lurching chain of events that was unfolding before his very eyes. He'd lived with the goddesses long enough to know that something like this was a possibility, and he'd faced many demons and goddesses in his time with Belldandy, but this was the first time that they'd ever encountered a demon who was… well… clever and cunning.
"This union is a threat to the Council, and we cannot allow Yggradsil to gain such power over us. Therefore you must both be terminated as an example to Yggradsil that such tactics will not be tolerated." Omega's voice dripped with disdain for the human who was obviously quite oblivious to the inner workings of things.
"Bell, what's he talking about?" Keiichi looked up to Bell, whose features had taken on a resolved air.
"But why, Omega? This is not a matter of politics; it is a matter of love! Surely you of all should understand this!" In an uncharacteristic turn Belldandy had ignored Keiichi's question, focusing instead on the threat ahead of her.
Omega's retort was mocking. "Don't make me laugh, Goddess! I gave up such beliefs long ago. They are nothing but bedtime stories for little gods and goddesses to make them feel better when they go to sleep."
"I will not allow you to do this, Omega." Belldandy's repeated words carried a dangerous resolve now.
Even Keiichi had seemed to develop a bit of backbone. "I don't know who you are, but you have no right to try and take our love away from us! Bell and I love each other, and we believe in our love. We've been through enough trials as it is."
"I don't expect a mere human to understand, nor do I care. All you must know is that you're about to die." Omega looked Belldandy square in the eye, his features serious. "And your little angel's body will be right next to yours soon enough, wings and all."
Belldandy didn't have to look around to know that her stalling tactic had bought enough time for the innocent bystanders to make their escape. She had resolved one of her responsibilities as a First-Class Goddess, to prevent the innocent from coming to harm. Now, though, it was time to resolve her second charge. In a flash, Holy Bell appeared behind her, grabbing Keiichi in her arms before the human could protest and taking to the sky as fast as she could.
Omega smirked at this. "Why does this not surprise me?" He asked as he drove his sword into the ground in front of him. Runes appeared on the ground around the sword as a summoning spell was activated. Three women appeared around Omega, their wings black as coal and their stares completely vacant and devoid of life. These were harpies, the tortured souls of women who were trapped in the Realm, whose wills were bent to his command. "Bring me their heads. The rest you can do with as your little black hearts please." The harpies took to the air in pursuit of the angel who was, even now, fading in the distance.
Smirking, Omega turned back to the goddess, readying his sword. "Be glad I was gracious enough to let your little human bystanders escape." The words made Belldandy's stomach drop with a sickening lurch. That he'd known what she was doing the entire time was as worrisome as the fact that he was here to begin with. If he'd known she'd do that, what other of her secrets did she know? "You will not, however, be as lucky." His last words were punctuated as he lunged at Belldandy, sword swiping down.
Belldandy was quick to block with her staff, taking a small leap backwards to disengage as a table rose up to block Omega's advance. "I don't know why you have done this, Omega, but I will not permit you to get away with it!"
Both Omega and Belldandy were incorrect in one assumption. All the human bystanders had fled the scene, but that still left onlookers who were not human. Sitting at a table not far from the fighting, Enigma and Tsui watched the two fighting deities square off. Enigma furrowed his brow, sweat dripping as he struggled to make this difficult decision before him. Finally, he sat back in his seat, the verdict rendered.
"All right. I think I'll order an ice cream sundae. What do you think, Tsui?" He asked, placing the menu on the table beside him.
His companion looked up from her sketchbook, where she had been rapidly sketching the two fighters who were poised for battle. Brushing a loose strand of dark chestnut hair away from her eyes, she selected another pencil and focused again on her work. Her eyes were almost vacant as her fingers moved the pencil swiftly over the paper, the sketch rapidly coming to life before her. "Whatever you want, Enigma. I want a piece of cheesecake, though."
Omega hardly paused at the table that was blocking his path. Bringing his sword down, he sliced the table in half and continued his advance. "It has been far too long since I have had a chance to kill a worthy opponent!" He called out and stalked forward. "Come now, Belldandy, you are considered one of the best of the host of Yggradsil. Killing you would be most fulfilling!" His sword was a blur as he swiftly pressed her steadily back.
"I do not like having to fight, Omega, but I refuse to allow you to kill me!" Again and again, Belldandy blocked Omega's sword with her staff, then disengaged and released a fireball from the end of her staff at the demon.
Omega hardly flinched as he sliced the fireball in half with his sword, causing it to disperse. "Weak," he commented disdainfully as he pointed the tip of his sword towards the goddess who was hovering in the air, sending multiple bolts of lighting at her.
Hardly flinching, she brought her staff up as the lightning dispersed against the shield that had formed to protect her. A sudden wind blew up around Omega, closing in on him. Extending his free hand, Omega dispersed the wind with his own shield of flames. Closing his hand into a fist, he watched as a sphere of fire formed around the goddess and closed in on her.
Belldandy was ready for this. She extended her staff and directed a single bolt of lightning from the staff directly at the demon. Omega, caught off guard, had just enough time to cross his elbows in front of him to activate his shield. The lightning arced off of his shield but one stray bolt struck his right arm, causing a part of his sleeve to freeze. Shaking his arm, the frozen part of his sleeve broke off. "That's more like it!" The demon cried out, feeling the rush of the battle in his veins.
While Omega was distracted by her sudden offensive, the goddess raised one hand and aimed at the weak spot in the sphere where the lightning had crossed through. A ball of energy emitted from her hand, causing a hole to open in the sphere. Quickly, she flew through to freedom and then brought her staff to bear on Omega. Wordlessly, she released a binding spell on him that manifested itself in the form of physical chains.
"Good, very good," Omega called out, not even sounding winded. "But you're still thinking like a human!" A flick of his wrist dissipated the binding spell as he, in the same moment, flew into the shadow of an umbrella and vanished. In the blink of an eye Omega reappeared behind her, sword already swinging downwards in an attempt to slice her from end to end.
Reflex kicked in as Bell back flipped through the air without a sound, avoiding the onrushing blade by centimeters. Even as she reached the apex of her maneuver she brought her staff down towards the demon, who, anticipating her stratagem, was already bringing his free hand to bear, unleashing an energy sphere. Changing her attack to defense, her staff connected with the sphere, sending it back towards Omega. Completing the flip, she wheeled to face him, the tip of her staff glowing as she released another potent lightning attack at Omega.
The demon, totally caught off guard by her swiftness, was even more surprised when his own attack was redirected into him followed closely by the lightning. With a groan, the energy of the two attacks threw him backwards several hundred feet into one of the neighboring buildings across the street. The scene was quickly shrouded in a growing cloud of dust as rubble fell to the street below.
From his vantage point, Enigma had taken up giving the play-by-play. "It looks like… yes! It's going, going, and GONE!" His voice sounded like a sportscaster's voice watching and relaying a baseball game. "Belldandy's hit a home run off of Omega. And now she's hit Omega! Wow! What range!"
Reaching for a nearby cup of tea, his companion sighed and shook her head sadly. "You men are all alike, I swear," were her only words as she went back to sketching furiously.
The cloud seemed quiet for a moment. Without any warning, several black discs of energy shot from the cloud, all rushing towards Belldandy. Wordlessly, she dodged them and flew lower. The end of her staff glowed for a moment before a ball of energy the size of a small Toyota rushed from it towards the enshrouded demon. The dust was lit up for a moment by the bright ball of energy before it passed through, striking whatever was within. Suddenly, the cloud exploded outwards as a narrow black beam of energy penetrated the cloud on a course for the goddess.
Omega emerged from the rubble as Belldandy dodged his energy beam. His features were dirty and dust was caked in his dark hair giving him the appearance of having aged. The chest plate of his armor had been cracked and was melted near the center. The outer edges had scorch marks from the lightning attacks. He was quite clearly angry.
His anger only grew as Belldandy launched several of her own energy discs at him. Even as she dodged, Omega emerged from the rubble. His features were dirty and dust lined his dark hair making him almost seem old. The chest plate of his armor had been cracked and melted near the center, and the outer edges had scorch marks from lightning attacks. His eyes glowed as he pointed his sword at the goddess, dissipating her attacks with a bolt of pure-black lighting that arced straight for her.
Belldandy raised her own staff as the lightning struck. Fingers of it danced on the edge of her shields, causing her to wince in pain as the energy expended approached her limits. As soon as the attack had settled, she brought her own staff back overhead and twirled it. In her mind, she called forth the ultimate in spells that she could use without destroying herself. Using her energy reserves, she began the process of putting the spell together in her mind as a ball of energy formed on the end of her staff, growing slowly.
Omega realized what she was about to do and was already working on a counter to it. Sheathing his sword in the sheath on his back, he dropped to his knees on the pavement below. The incantation flowed from his lips like water from a fountain, and the runes formed on the ground around him. Forming a triangle with his hands in the center of the rune, he watched as three shadowy figures emerged at the triangular apexes of the rune. Three identical clones of Omega stood, ready to do their master's bidding. Without a word, they lept into the air around the Goddess, each charging his own energy attack aimed at her.
Forced to abort her attack, Belldandy closed her eyes and disappeared from view. She reappeared a moment later on the top of the restaurant, resuming the spell from where she had left off. The three figures quickly sighted where she had gone and pursued her. Before she could do anything to stop them, two pairs of hands sprouted from the building she was on. One pair grabbed her arms. One pair grabbed her legs. They held her tight, preventing her from escaping. The goddess struggled in her bonds, attempting to find the source of the new problem.
Directly below her, in front of the restaurant's entrance, was the real Omega. His hands were pressed against the building. He looked up with a smirk. "I know what you're thinking, Goddess. There's no way out of this trap. You need not worry – you shall soon join your fiancée… in the afterlife!"
"I won't allow you to win, Omega!" The goddess cried out, even though she knew she was in a tough spot. She did not despair, for she had not felt Holy Bell's death. She knew that her companion (and Keiichi) was still alive. This gave her some comfort but did not stop the weariness that permeated her body from the use of so many spells.
Enigma looked up from his sundae even as the tide of battle turned against the young goddess. He knew she was wearing down. Knew that soon it would be all over. Omega readied his sword for what would be a final, fatal, decapitating blow. "It is too late for you to stop me. Now die, First-Class Goddess Belldandy."
Raising his right hand into the air, Enigma felt the flow of time seem to slow for him. A plain grey staff materialized in his outstretched hand with a blue orb on its tip. The orb glowed brightly as an azure bolt of energy spat from it, passing in the space between demon and goddess. In a heartbeat a second one followed. Two of the three shadow-clones evaporated under the attack. The odds were again evened.
This forced Omega to stop as reflex overtook experience. He had managed to barely stop himself before running into the beam face-first. "What is this! Who dares to interfere in my battle?" The anger and surprise dripped from his words and Enigma had to restrain himself from smiling too much at them.
Enigma unleashed two more bolts before giving a proper response. Both bolts took out one of the restraints that held the goddess hostage. Lowering the staff to his side, the faerie looked up at Omega with resolve. "I dare. I cannot allow you to continue to course of action you have embarked upon, Omega."
Realizing that his advantage had been lost, the demon cast a glance at his final remaining shadow-clone. He gave a brief nod, the telepathic message passed between master and dark servant. Realizing what type of creature he was facing, Omega laughed incredulously. "A faerie? A faerie dares to interfere? This is between Heaven and the Council; it has nothing to do with you and your kind."
"It has more to do than you think, Omega. Your battle threatens the very existence of all on this planet. As a faerie, I have no desire to see my home destroyed."
Two things happened at this instant. The shadow-clone vanished into the shadow of the building, reappearing directly behind Enigma and wielding a sword identical to that the real Omega carried. Belldandy recognized the grasp of the words and gasped in recognition. "You're Engima, aren't you?"
Enigma was well aware of the shadow-clone that now was behind him. Instead he chose to maintain his focus on Omega. "Yes," he responded to Belldandy's question, "I am Enigma. And I will not permit you to go any further in your plans, Omega."
Before the shadow-clone could press his advantage, an old-style fountain pen zipped through the air and embedded itself squarely in the clone's forehead. The shadow-clone fell to the ground and dissipated into smoke. Sitting in her seat below them, Tsui had already pulled out a second pen. "Now, now. Let's have a fair fight, boys, shall we?"
Grimacing at the scolding he knew he would receive after this for his impulsiveness, Enigma gestured down to his comrade. "I would be remiss if I did not introduce my partner, so to speak, Tsui Li." Tsui gave only a polite nod, her nose already back in her sketchbook.
"Enigma? The goddess certainly knows who you are, but I do not." Though I have heard that name before somewhere.
"I should hope the Goddess knows who I am," Enigma replied, features totally relaxed as he stood there, dressed in normal street clothes. "I used to be among her number…"
"I do not care," Omega's retort interrupted Enigma. "Anyone who interferes in this battle shall be dealt with accordingly. If you leave now, I might let you live."
Enigma shifted on the balls of his feet, clearly ready for a fight. "I'm sorry, Omega. I really can't do that. It wouldn't be sporting-like."
Belldandy had taken the opportunity to free herself of her remaining restraints and was now standing at the top of the restaurant, watching the two intently. Her breathing was heavy – a sure sign that she was worn down from the fighting. Glancing back at his escaping victim, Omega's frown turned into a feral grin.
"Well, since my current partner is taking a break, I guess I will have to quench my sword's bloodlust with you! Sporting-like or not, I will not allow Yggradsil to go through with this plan! The boy is already being hunted by my harpies as we speak, but I must insure that this plan of theirs dies with the death of the girl." He shifted, redrawing his sword and dove from where he's been hovering. "Prepare yourself, faerie, for death awaits you!"
Shaking his head, the faerie hardly shifted. "My, my. You have always had such a bad temper." His voice was even as he brought his staff up and rose to meet his challenger, aiming to block the attack and then sweep behind to counter. "But why are you so eager for this plan to fail? Could it be the reason you are now one of the council?" There was a gleam in Enigma's eye at these words.
His words created a nearly uncontrollable rage in Omega, just the desired effect that Enigma had sought. "YOU KNOW NOTHING OF MY PAST!" The demon yelled as his attacks sped up, becoming a blur.
Following his namesake, Enigma simply smiled in an enigmatic fashion, quickly blocking every attack. "I know more of it than you think, O fallen one. Not even the Almighty could ever seal who you once were and what caused your fall from grace."