Chapter 2
This is my
December
This is my time of the year
This is my December
This
is all so clear
This is my December
This is my snow covered
home
This is my December
This is me alone
And I
Just
wish that
I didn't feel
Like there was
Something I
missed
And I
Take back all
The things I said
To make
you
Feel like that
And I
Just wish that
I didn't
feel
Like there was
Something I missed
And I
Take back
all the
Things I said to you
And I give it all away
Just
to have somewhere
To go to
Give it all away
To have
someone
To come home to
This is my December
These are my
snow-covered trees
This is me pretending
This is all I
need
And I
Just wish that
I didn't feel
Like there
was
Something I missed
And I
Take back all
The things I
said
To make you feel like that
And I
Just wish that
I
didn't feel
Like there was
Something I missed
And I
Take
back all the things
I said to you
And I give it all
away
Just to have
Somewhere to go to
Give it all away
To
have someone
To come home to
This is my December
This is
my time of the year
This is my December
This is all so
clear
And I give it all away
Just to have somewhere
To
go to
Give it all away
To have someone
To come home to
Linkin Park – My December
Sentaro sat in his room, staring at an old photograph. It had been taken in much happier times, back when he was ten and Kristine was fifteen. In it, the faces of his younger self and his sister smiled towards him. Standing behind them were his parents. He tossed the picture aside and pulled out another. This one was from a bit later, after they had found Mana. The Demoness, as well as Celes smiled at him from the picture. He tossed that one aside and pulled out another picture. This one caused him to raise an eyebrow.
He didn't think he even had this one. It was of his parents, taken days just before his father's death. Thinking about his father caused the memory of that fatal day to return……….
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"…to this end." Shogun Ieyasu the 16th said, "I propose to build a space ship, a ship that's sole purpose will be to restore communication with the planet of our ancestors, Earth!"
The crowd roared it's approval. Young Sentaro also cheered. If they restored contact with Earth, he could visit there without getting in trouble with his Grandmother. He started to turn to tell his sister Kristine as much when their father bolted from the corner he had been standing at and ran towards the Shogun. Just behind him, he heard his Grandmother, as well as Dawn, Mana, and Mara gasp.
Just as his father got to the Shogun, there was an explosion of red. Sentaro was hit full in the face and fell backwards in surprise. As he fell, something whizzed over his head and he heard Mana grunt in pain.
Sentaro lay on his back a moment, looking up at the sky. Sounds of the crowd screaming soon reached his ears. Then, his view of the sky was blocked by the worried face of his Grandmother.
"Sentaro!" she cried out, "Are you alright!"
"Grandma?" Sentaro asked confused.
"Are you hurt!" Belldandy repeated.
"I don't think so." Sentaro said.
"Milady!" Dawn cried out from beside him, "We must get inside!"
"Kris!" Belldandy called out.
Sentaro felt arms grab him and then the view of the sky was replaced by the ceiling of the castle.
"The Shogun is safe!" he heard Celes cry out, "I repeat Shogun is safe!"
"Where's Dad?" he heard Kris' voice.
"Mana are you alright?" came Mara's voice.
"Yeah, sure stings like hell."
"Mana where's my Father?"
"Isn't he in here?"
"No!"
"Then where………..oh no…….."
"Daddy? Daddy! DADDY!"
"No Kris! You can't help him!"
"DADDY!"
"MARA! HELP ME HOLD HER!"
"Alright alright!"
"DADDY!"
"Dawn, get on the phone. Tell Peorth or Urd or whoever's in charge who's on the way up."
"Yes Milady. What about Aunt Sayoko?"
Sentaro heard his Grandmother sigh.
"I fear…….she already knows."
The situation was finally too much for him, and Sentaro's brain shut down.
When he awoke, he found himself at home in his room. He turned his head to the side. Sitting in a chair beside his bed was a sleeping Mana. She wore a loose t-shirt and jeans. He could just see bandages wrapped around her left shoulder from the neck of her shirt.
"Mana?" he called out.
Mana's eye snapped open. She gave a quick look around, before her eye met Sentaro's.
"You're awake." Mana said.
"What happened?" Sentaro asked, "Where's Mom and Dad?"
Mana bit her lip.
"What do you remember?" Mana asked.
"I remember the speech, and then a bunch of red and….."
Mana raised her right hand, causing him to stop.
"Your mother is here." Mana said softly.
"By why isn't she here with me?" Sentaro asked.
"She's really upset right now." Mana replied, "She didn't want to bother you."
"Why is she upset?" Sentaro asked, "And where's Dad?"
Mana stood up. "I'll go get your mother." She started towards the door.
"Auntie." Mana froze. "Where is Dad?"
Mana took in a deep breathe before turning and looking at Sentaro.
"I'm sorry Sentaro," she said, "But he's dead."
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2574
Sentaro sat up with a scream. A quick look around showed that he was still in his room. Sentaro glanced at the clock on his bed stand. Eight A.M. Somehow he'd fallen asleep thinking of the past.
And now he was running late.
Very late.
He leaped out of bed, threw on a change of clothes, grabbed his bag and raced out the door.
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Lunch
Megami looked across the table at Sentaro. He was practically falling asleep while trying to eat his lunch.
"Bad night?" she asked.
"The worst." Sentaro replied.
"Want to talk about it?"
Sentaro looked up at Megami.
"Please?" Megami said, "It might help."
"Nightmares." Sentaro said flatly, "All about the day my father died."
Megami nodded. "Considering what you saw, I don't blame you."
Sentaro blinked. "And how do you know what I saw?"
"Your sister." Megami replied, "She felt your girlfriend should know everything."
Sentaro sighed, "Haven't we been over this already? You're not my girlfriend."
"I'm a girl, and your friend." Megami said with a smile, "Thus, I'm your girlfriend."
"Now you sound like Auntie Rei." Sentaro mumbled.
"Who?"
"Never mind." Sentaro said, waving his hand.
"Right." Megami looked down at her lunch. "So, have you decided yet?"
"Decided what?"
Megami rolled her eyes. "Wither you're going to Earth for Spring Break or not!"
"I still don't see why you want to go there." Sentaro said, "It's so dark and filthy. Hell, there's not a green spot on that rock."
"Actually." Megami said, "There are a few spots. I really want to go to Neo-Tokyo and see the Tokyo-3 Memorial Park."
Sentaro raised an eyebrow. "Why there?"
"Because that's the place where the Evangelions fought five centuries ago, duh." Megami rolled her eyes, "Don't you pay attention in history class?"
"Yes." Sentaro replied.
"Well then you know…." Megami's voice trailed off as the entire building shuddered. She and Sentaro weren't the only ones that noticed.
All over the cafeteria, conversations stopped as the students looked around.
"Earthquake?" Megami said.
"Probably." Sentaro replied, "Though we haven't had one in…"
His voice trailed off as the building shook more violently. Pieces of plaster rained down as the ceiling cracked in places. Students screamed and ran for doorways and arches. Sentaro dove under the table, then reached up and pulled Megami under with him.
"WHAT THE HELL!" Megami screamed.
"JUST HOLD ON!" Sentaro shouted back.
The room continued to shake for almost seven minutes. Finally, everything went still. Sentaro moved out from under the table, followed by Megami. Other students walked about in a state of complete shock.
"Come on." Sentaro said, tugging on Megami, "It may not be safe in here."
The two ran out of the building and paused on a grassy area of the campus. Smoke could be seen rising from several areas of the city. Several of the campus buildings had portions missing or had cracks running along their facades. The sky itself was another shock. The bright blue of a sunny day had given way to a black cloudy sky, yet it was still bright enough that it was as if the clouds weren't even there.
"That's weird." Megami said, looking at the sky.
"Come on." Sentaro said, leading her by the arm again.
"What do you suppose made the sky that color?"
"I don't know." Sentaro said, "But I know who to ask."
"Oh?" Megami replied, looking back down from the sky. "Are you on talking terms to Kami-sama?"
"He is my great-grandfather." Sentaro replied.
"WHAT!"
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Several detours, another earthquake, and three hours later, Sentaro and Megami walked up to the restaurant that he and Celes had eaten at the day before.
"Let me get this straight." Megami said, "Your mom, sister, and grandmother are goddesses?"
"Yep."
"And you hate them!"
"Let's just say we don't get along." Sentaro said, "And that's only my immediate family. I love my Grandmother to death."
"But why are we coming to a restaurant?" Megami asked, looking at the place.
"Because of my Uncle." Sentaro replied.
He walked up to the door and entered the restaurant. As he suspected, the dining area was empty, no customers nor waitresses in sight. Sentaro looked back at Megami, then walked up to the counter and peered back into the kitchen.
There he spotted his Uncle Keima and Aunt Lime, both talking quietly to his two other adoptive Aunts, Cherry and Bloodberry. Cherry was the first to notice Sentaro. She said something to Keima who looked over at Sentaro. Keima's face immediately turned to a frown. He walked towards the counter.
"Why are you here?" Keima demanded.
"The entire city just rocked and rolled," Sentaro said, "The sky has gone completely black, yet it's still as bright as day out. Why do you think I'm here?"
Keima was about to reply when Lime walked up beside him.
"I'm glad you're alright." Lime said.
Sentaro looked at Lime. "What is going on?"
"We don't know." Lime said, "Keima was on the phone to …….." Lime's voice trailed off when she noticed Megami standing at the entrance to the restaurant.
"It's alright." Sentaro said, "I told her."
Keima's eye twitched. "That was not your secret to tell!"
"I told her about my family." Sentaro said, "As dysfunctional as it is."
"You…." Keima started before Lime touched his arm. Lime looked back at Sentaro.
"All Peorth said was they were working on the problem."
"So we just sit here while the city shakes?" Sentaro asked.
"It's not just the city." Keima said. "The entire planet, even Earth was hit too."
"WHAT!" Sentaro shouted.
"I'm sorry." Megami said, walking up, "But how can Earth be affected by what's happening here?"
Keima looked at Megami, then at Sentaro. "You didn't explain everything did you?"
Sentaro shrugged, "I just told her what my family was, not the mechanics of the universe."
"Right." Keima looked back at Megami. "In a nut shell, what keeps the universe running smoothly is a giant computer called Yggdrasil. The Gods and Goddesses of Heaven keep Yggdrasil running, and have done so since time began. Of course there's been lots of upgrades since then, but the basic system is as it was. So, technically, the Earth is not being affected by what is happening here. Earth and Terra 2 are both being affected by what's happening at Yggdrasil."
"Oh." Megami said.
The restaurant trembled then. Everyone dove under a table or the counter as the building shuddered for six minutes.
"Peorth will handle it right?" Sentaro called out.
"Oh shut up." Came Keima's reply.
"Will you two knock it off!" Bloodberry shouted, "Keep it up and I'll pound the both of you!"
"Why is the room spinning?" Megami asked, holding her head. Blood could be seen between her fingers.
Sentaro looked up to see that some of the ceiling had fallen just over where Megami had been.
"Shit." Sentaro swore as he went to her side. He helped Megami to lay down, then looked back up over the counter. "I need a bag of ice."
"Forget that." Keima said, leaping over the counter. He knelt down beside Megami and placed his hand on her forehead. It glowed for a second, then he lifted his hand away. Megami blinked her eyes, then stared at Keima.
"You…….you really are a God!"
"Well…yeah." Keima replied, confused.
Megami turned to Sentaro and grabbed him by the collar.
"I THOUGHT YOU WERE JOKING!" she shouted. She stopped shaking him, but maintained a grip on his collar. "Or that you're all insane." She added.
"Nice to see your friend has such a high opinion of you." Keima said with a smirk.
Sentaro closed his eyes and sighed.
"Megami can you let me go?"
"Megami?" Keima looked at the woman, then back at Sentaro, "You hang out with a girl named Megami!"
"So what?"
Keima just shook his head up muttering about how ironic it was and that Kami-sama had a strange sense of humor. Sentaro rolled his eyes, then looked done at Megami.
"You seriously thought I was joking?" he asked.
"Well yeah!" Megami replied, "I mean who seriously tells someone they're descended from Gods?"
"Point taken." Sentaro said.
"So what happens now?"
"Now? We wait." Sentaro sat back against the counter and closed his eyes.
"Wait?" Megami asked, "For what?"
"For whatever happens next."
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For the next three hours, everyone remained in the restaurant. Several times the building shook as yet another earthquake rocked the city. During those times, Sentaro could hear his Uncle cursing either Peorth or his Aunt Urd, wondering what was taking them so long.
Finally after the eighth earthquake in twenty minutes, Keima leaped to his feet.
"I can't take it anymore!" he shouted.
He stomped to the phone and dialed a long number. After a moment of listening to the phone, he set it back on the receiver, a strange expression on his face.
"What is it?" Cherry asked.
"I couldn't get through." Keima said, still looking at the phone.
"Keima!" came Lime's shout from the back, "The Mirror is glowing!"
Keima quickly ran back into the kitchen. Sentaro grabbed Megami's arm and pulled her along as he followed his Uncle. Once in the kitchen, he could easily see the glowing mirror just beside the sink. With a slight pop, Kristine burst through the mirror and landed gracefully on her feet.
"Holy Shi!" Megami started to say before Sentaro covered her mouth.
Kristine glanced at Megami with a stunned expression.
"Don't worry about it." Keima said, "She knows and we'll deal with it later. Now what's going on?"
"Yggdrasil is down." Kristine said, her voice cracking slightly.
Keima just stared at his niece. Sentaro spoke up.
"How can it be down?" he asked, "If it goes down the Universe ends!"
"I know that little brother." Kristine said, turning, "It's still running, but we can't access it at all. Everyone, even Kami-sama was locked out. Nothing we tried did anything."
"Great." Keima said, "So the Universe is screwed."
"No." Kristine replied, her face beginning to grow upset. "Mom tried something, a last ditch effort."
"What?" Keima asked.
"She….tried to access Yggdrasil directly."
Keima's eyes went wide.
"No one has been able to do that in Eons! The system became too big for one mind to encompass it! It would fry a God's mind in a second!"
"That's what Grandma said," Kristine said, sniffing, "But Mom thought her being Half-Mortal might help."
"How did she figure that?" Keima asked.
"I'm not sure." Kristine said, "She had some kind of idea and Auntie Skuld agreed. So……they tried it."
"What happened to Mom?" Sentaro asked.
Kristine turned and stared at her brother. "Why do you care?"
"Just tell me!" Sentaro shouted.
"She's locked in Yggdrasil." Kristine said, tears now falling from her eyes. "We can't disconnect her because it'd kill her and we can't leave her hook up for long because that could kill her too!"
Keima sat down on a nearby chair and held his head in his hands.
Kristine looked at Keima.
"Grandma sent me to get you all," She looked over at Sentaro. "Even you."
Keima looked over at Sentaro, his face neutral. Sentaro knew his Uncle was wondering what he'd say to going up to Heaven. Sentaro decided to give him a shock.
"Fine." Sentaro said, "Let's go." He glanced at Megami. "And you are coming with."
"ME!" Megami exclaimed, "Why?"
"….The last thing that I need is to end up surrounded by family. They'll drive me nuts within minutes."
"Oh."
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The Heavens
They appeared inside the small forest that had been planted beside the Yggdrasil Building. Looking up, one could just see the enormous building that housed the world computer. Sentaro ignored the sight, having seen it all before. Megami just stared in awe as they moved towards the doorway. They entered the entry hall and once again, Megami stared in awe.
"Wow." She whispered.
"Yeah." Sentaro said, "You get used to it."
Kristine led them up several flights of stairs before heading down a hallway. She stopped before a set of massive doors, flanked on either side by six Valkyries.
"I have brought Lord Keima and the mortals Lime, Cherry, Bloodberry, as well as the son of Lady Sayoko." Kristine said, "Let us pass."
The Valkyries moved enough to permit entry through the doors, which opened as Kristine approached. Sentaro now found himself in a room he'd only seen once, the Yggdrasil Control room. Terminals were scattered throughout the chamber, all surrounding the main core. In the main core, the three spindles slowly turned about, the only visible sign that Yggdrasil still functioned.
Kristine led them to the main control area, where the admins typically sat before the SysOp. Erie, Ex, and Chrono were all busy at their terminals, still trying to gain access to the system. Urd sat on the SysOp chair, typing commands into her own console. In front of them, the main screen was dark.
"How's that?" Urd shouted out.
"Better!" came a reply. Sentaro looked down to see a pair of legs sticking out from under the SysOp terminal. "Gimmie a second……."
With a slight pop, the main screen lit up. Information scrolled up the screen, moving so fast, Sentaro couldn't make any sense of it.
"Well the screen works again." Urd shouted out.
The legs began to kick, and soon Peorth appeared from under the terminal. She looked up at the screen.
"Anything else?" she asked.
Urd tapped out a few things on the terminal.
"Nope." She finally said, "Still nothing."
"Damn."
"Auntie Urd, Auntie Peorth." Kristine called out.
Urd and Peorth turned towards the group. Their eyes narrowed slightly when they spotted Sentaro and Megami.
"I see you brought him." Urd said.
"Yes Auntie." Kristine replied.
"Very well." Urd stepped off the SysOp platform and floated to the floor. "Follow me." She said to the group.
Urd led them towards a wall. She paused for a moment, then waved her hand. The wall parted, opening to reveal an elevator. Everyone moved inside and the doors closed. The elevator began to descend even without input from Urd. It was quiet in the elevator, though Sentaro did see Urd glancing at Keima every now and then. Kristine too glanced at Keima, but also through a glance at Sentaro. He knew then that just because one couldn't hear the talking, didn't mean there wasn't any conversation going on. Before he could say anything about telepathically talking behind people's backs, Megami whispered in his ear.
"Where are we going?"
Sentaro glanced at her. "I don't know. I've never been in the control room before."
The elevator plunged into silence once more. Finally, the elevator reached it's destination and the doors opened. The room beyond was much darker then the control room. Pipes and conduits raced about overhead and along the walls.
"This is the core of Yggdrasil." Urd said, answering the unspoken question. "No one comes down here unless there're bugs detected here."
The group followed Urd through the room, taking turns past several large pieces of conduit. Finally, they reached a small open area where a terminal had been set up against what at first seemed to be a wall. Belldandy was kneeling beside the chair, head down, not noticing the group. Skuld was tinkering off to the side with what looked like a laptop. The laptop had several cables running up to the terminal. It was Skuld that first noticed the group. She said something to Belldandy.
Belldandy's head shot up and turned so fast, one might have thought she'd been electrocuted. She was immediately on her feet and running towards the group. She didn't stop until she had Sentaro wrapped tightly in her arms. Everyone present seemed slightly shocked by the Elder Goddess' reaction. Sentaro blinked for a moment, then returned the hug.
"I've missed you so much." Belldandy said softly to Sentaro. He felt something dampen his shoulder, and realized his grandmother was crying. They remained this way for several minutes. Finally, Sentaro spoke.
"Where's Mom?"
Belldandy released her Grandson and wiped her eyes. She then took him by the arm and led him towards the chair.
"She's here." Belldandy said softly.
Sentaro moved around beside the chair to get a better view. There was a goddess in the chair. Her eyes and part of her face was covered by a strange device. But he could see the marking on the goddess' forehead, the same marking that adorned the foreheads of his Grandmother and sister. Other then the marking, nothing else about the goddess helped him to recognize her as his mother. She was very frail and her once brown hair was completely white.
"What happened to her?" Sentaro asked, "Is it because of Yggdrasil?"
"No." Belldandy said softly, "It's not."
"Then what?" Sentaro asked.
"You."
Sentaro turned around. It was his sister who had spoken. Kristine pointed her finger at Sentaro, her face one of anger.
"You did this to her."