Sentaro moved into the house along with Arael. The Valkyries slammed the door behind them. Sentaro started to looked for something to lay Arael on when he ran into the Soultaker.
"Would you mind getting out of the way?" Sentaro asked.
The Soultaker moved, revealing the occupant of the house before them. Sentaro's eyes went wide.
Chapter 13
Across the room, sitting before a small fireplace was Mana.
"Sentaro?" she asked as she rose to her feet.
"Auntie?" Sentaro replied, "What are you doing here?"
"Questions later." Mana raced over to him and looked down at Arael. "What happened? You look like you've been through a war! Did those Valkyries….?"
"No Auntie." Sentaro replied, "The Rogue Demons have attacked Terra 2. They brought back Adam."
"Oh hell." Mana muttered, "He could….."
"He already wiped out Earth."
Mana sat down on the floor hard.
"No…….."
"Arael stopped him though."
"With help." Arael added, leaning her head back against Sentaro and looking up at his face.
Mana looked up at Sentaro and frowned slightly as she saw the look Arael was giving him. The Demoness then rose to her feet and looked at the Soultaker.
"Who's your friend?" Mana asked.
"You know her." Sentaro replied. "She's your grandmother."
Mana blinked, "The Soultaker?"
"Don't mind me." The Soultaker muttered, "I'll just go sit in the corner. Take care of Snowflake. We'll have plenty of time later to talk no doubt."
Mana frowned at the Demoness, then led Sentaro over to a bed in the opposite corner of the room.
"What the hell are you doing with her?" Mana whispered as Sentaro lowered Arael onto the bed.
"She showed up and saved me and Megami." Sentaro replied, "Asuka and Arael showed up on Terra 2 around the same time." He then reached down and pulled a blanket over Arael's body. "Rest." He said to the Angel. "I'll be right here."
Arael nodded, then closed her eyes. Sentaro stared at her a moment longer, before turning to Mana. Mana led him a short distance away.
"Just what is going on between you two?" Mana asked.
"It's complicated."
"Don't give me that. She wasn't looking at you like your were just a friend, or even the son of a friend."
Sentaro glanced back over at the now sleeping Angel.
"I found out she likes me." He said, "More then just as a friend." Sentaro turned back to his Aunt. "She and Megami got into a fight over me."
"I thought you were dating Megami."
"No." Sentaro said, "I always cared for her, but only as a friend."
Mana looked at the sleeping Angel.
"So," she said, "What about Arael? What do you feel for her?"
"She asked me that," Sentaro began, "Before she got hurt, she asked what it was. explain. I cared for her, but it was all going so fast……. She took it as a rejection and teleported away." Sentaro looked back at Arael. "I was worried about her. What she was thinking, where she went. Then Soultaker should up, told me Arael needed help." Sentaro looked back at Mana. "I watched Adam rip through her AT-Field and then watched her fall. All that was running through my mind was how I would never get to tell her, that I do love her."
Mana stared at Sentaro for a long time.
"You know this is kinda weird." Mana said, "Didn't she change your diapers?"
"Don't think so. I think it was Yui."
"Still……."
"Mana, please." Sentaro pleaded, "From what I understand, Mom knows. We haven't actually spoken, but don't you think she'd demand to if she objected?"
Mana bit her lip.
"You realize you're in love with a several hundred thousand year old being that once sent fear through the hearts of God and Demon alike?"
"Yes."
"And that she did attack both your mother and Asuka?"
"I am well aware of this." Sentaro replied.
"Just so long as you know."
Sentaro looked back to Arael.
"I don't suppose you have healing powers?"
Mana shook her head.
"Sorry. It's a demon thing."
"Yeah, Kay told me."
"Kay?"
"Soultaker said we could call her that."
"Oh."
"So," Sentaro began, "Where exactly are we?"
Mana nodded her head towards the window.
"You saw what was out there when you came in right?"
"Yeah, looked like something out of a history book."
"In a way it is." Mana replied, moving to the window. "Everyone out there was taken from the field of battle by the Valkyries."
Sentaro's jaw dropped.
"What?"
"That hall IS Valhalla. Everyone in there was worthy enough to taken from the field of battle by the Valkyries."
"So we're in Heaven." Sentaro said, "Where is the Yggdrasil building then!"
"We aren't in Heaven."
"But you said……."
I know what I said. This isn't Heaven though." Mana walked towards the fire and sat down. Sentaro followed.
"It's like this," Mana said, "When the doublet system was created, there was a problem. Through battles, the Angels, and flat out treachery, there were more Gods then there were Demons. Something had to be done, or else the Doublet system would fall apart." Mana pointed towards the Hall. "Verdandi came up on an idea. A 'pocket universe' would be created. It would be linked to Yggdrasil, but would have it's own world computer. They would still be part of the whole, but separate. Those gods that wanted to could 'retire'. Once here, they couldn't return."
"How'd you find out about this?"
"Remember," Mana said, "I'm the Queen of Hell. Kami-sama told me of this place, as well as a few other things."
"So why don't they go back?" Sentaro asked, "They could help fight back the Rogues!"
"They won't leave." Mana replied, "Only Hild could release them."
"Hild is dead." Sentaro said, "You're the queen!"
"Heh."
Sentaro and Mana turned and looked at the Soultaker.
"What," Mana asked, "is so damn funny?"
"Hild dead. That's a good one."
"I saw her body!" Mana snapped, "She's dead!"
"You saw 'a' body." The Soultaker pointed out.
Mana frowned, as did Sentaro.
"What do you mean?" Sentaro asked.
"I figured it would be obvious by now." The Soultaker replied.
"Right now it's obvious that you're a pain in the ass." Mana growled.
"Is that anyway to speak to your Grandmother?"
Mana started to snap a response, but Sentaro covered up her mouth. She turned her eye at Sentaro and glared. Sentaro glared back and pointed towards the bed.
"Keep it down."
Mana muttered curses behind his hand. She then reached up and moved it, before glaring at the Soultaker.
"Tell us exactly what the hell you're talking about Old woman." Mana hissed.
"I'll give you a hint." The Soultaker replied, "Snowflake and I have something in common."
Sentaro frowned. What could the Soultaker and Arael have in common? He could think of several things. Both had been around for many thousands of years. Both had been against Heaven. Both……..
Sentaro looked at Mana curiously. She had paled considerably.
"I think she figured it out." The Soultaker smirked.
"What?"
"A clone." Mana murmured, "They cloned a Hild, then killed the clone. They took the eyes because we would have been able to tell."
"How?" Sentaro asked, confused.
"The eyes are windows into the soul." Mana replied, "Hild was still alive. The clone they created would have been mindless, like the cloned demons that have been attacking Heaven and Hell."
"So they kidnapped Hild? Why?"
"With Hild captured, they could gain access to the Hell mainframe. Her codes were left because she was……" Mana looked away.
"I suppose this is a bad time to tell her about her kid?" The Soultaker asked.
Mana whipped around.
"WHAT?"
"Very bad." Sentaro replied, holding his head.
"Oh well." The Soultaker shrugged, "I leave it to you then." She then wondered off.
"What's wrong with Dawn?" Mana asked.
"Nothing." Sentaro said, "It's your 'other' kid."
Mana looked confused.
"What other kid?"
"Your child with Shinji." Came a female voice.
Mana and Sentaro looked beside them. Standing there was the ghost form of Sayoko. Sentaro's jaw dropped.
"Mom!"
"Hello son." The ghost replied.
"Wh..hat? How?"
"She's from the future." Mana explained, "She came with that kid."
"She came with your daughter!"
"My daughter? That's my daughter?" Mana looked at the ghost in shock. "With Shinji! Oh Asuka's going to kill me."
"No." the ghost replied, "she won't."
"Why not?" Mana asked, "I had a kid WITH HER HUSBAND!"
"Mana," Sentaro muttered, "Arael."
"Sorry." Mana looked back at the ghost. "With Shinji?"
"Let me tell you a story………" The ghost began, "This is my past, something that has already changed because of my being here, as well as Yoko's. It began with an attempt to plant a transmitter on the Hell mainframe………."
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I know there's something in the wake of your smile.
I get a notion from the look in your eyes, yea.
You've built a love but that love falls apart.
Your little piece of heaven turns too dark.
Listen to your heart
when he's calling for you.
Listen to your heart
there's nothing else you can do.
I don't know where you're going
and I don't know why,
but listen to your heart
before you tell him goodbye.
Sometimes you wonder if this fight is worthwhile.
The precious moments are all lost in the tide, yea.
They're swept away and nothing is what is seems,
the feeling of belonging to your dreams.
Listen to your heart
when he's calling for you.
Listen to your heart
there's nothing else you can do.
I don't know where you're going
and I don't know why,
but listen to your heart
before you tell him goodbye.
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2650
Sayoko and Mana walked down a hall in Heaven towards the infirmary. Behind them trailed two Demons, part of Mana's honor guard.
"Did they get through?" Mana asked.
"I don't know." Sayoko replied, "They definitely had enough time to do it. From what Chrono told me they were on their way out when they were spotted."
"Do we know who got hurt?"
"No." Sayoko replied, "They teleported immediately to the infirmary. Mom went down there, and immediately sealed it off."
"So why do they want me?" Mana asked.
"I really don't know."
Rounding a corner, they spotted the infirmary. Several people were waiting outside the doors. As they got closer, they were able to identify them.
Yui Ikari was sitting on the floor her head in her hands. Beside her knelt Arael, calmly rubbing Yui's back. Also present was Dawn. She was standing directly in front of the doors, preventing entry. Belldandy stood further down the hall from the doors, talking quietly to Shinji. Shinji was covered in grime. His robes were scorched and frayed in places. A haunted look was on his face. Belldandy noticed Sayoko and Mana and after a word to Shinji, walked up to meet them.
"I'm glad you're here." Belldandy whispered.
"What's wrong?" Sayoko asked.
A look came over the elder goddesses face.
"Touji is dead." Belldandy said. Sayoko held her hands to her mouth in shock while Mana bowed her head.
"Rei was injured, but is expected to pull through." Belldandy continued, "Shinji made it out with a few scrapes."
"What about Asuka?" Sayoko asked.
Belldandy's eyes betrayed her.
Sayoko felt tears forming in her eyes. Mana was holding on to the wall, trying to keep from falling over.
"She wants to speak to you Mana." Belldandy said softly, "Before she sees Shinji or Yui."
Mana looked up, tears falling from one eyes, while blood dripped out from under her eye patch.
"Why?" Mana asked.
"I don't know."
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And there are voices
that want to be heard.
So much to mention
but you can't find the words.
The scent of magic,
the beauty that's been
when love was wilder than the wind.
Listen to your heart
when he's calling for you.
Listen to your heart
there's nothing else you can do.
I don't know where you're going
and I don't know why,
but listen to your heart
before you tell him goodbye.
Listen to your heart, mm-mmmmmm
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Mana moved into the room that held Asuka. As with the rest of the infirmary, everything was white. Only on the bed was another color found.
Red.
Blood red.
Asuka lay mostly hidden under the covers. Half of her head was wrapped in bandages, covering her right eye. Her left eye opened as she heard Mana approach.
"About….time ……you got here." Asuka's voice was very quiet and strained.
Mana knelt down beside the bed, bringing her head level with Asuka's.
"Asuka, I….."
"Shut up. I'm…….talking."
Mana went silent.
"I…….want you……..to marry Shinji."
Mana was on her feet in a second.
"What?" she asked, "You what? You can be serious!"
Asuka closed her eye and waited for Mana to stop. The Demoness did a moment later. Asuka reopened her eye and continued.
"We're alike you know……….. We both……..love him." Asuka turned her head towards the door. "He's….a baka……..he couldn't…..handle being…….alone."
"He'll have Yui." Mana whispered.
"He needs more." Asuka replied, "He needs……..a wife……someone to confide in……..and to love him."
Mana looked down at the floor.
"I couldn't…….I promised you……."
"Mana," Asuka said, a little louder, "I want you to do this……….as a last wish."
"But…….."
"He needs you." Asuka said. She then coughed up some blood. Mana wiped away the blood. Asuka looked up at her friend's face.
"Please do this." Asuka whispered, "For Shinji……..and for me."
Mana looked away.
"Please……..Mana."
Mana looked back at Asuka.
"I promise." Mana said, "on my mother's grave."
"Don't need…..to go that far." Asuka replied with a smirk, "Besides……..if you didn't…..I'd comeback and haunt you."
Mana smiled.
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I don't know where you're going
and I don't know why,
but listen to your heart
before you tell him goodbye.
DHT – Listen to your Heart
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"She died an hour later after seeing Yui and Shinji." The ghost said softly, "Mana kept her promise, but she did it her way. She let him mourn Asuka's loss. Shinji was very quiet, he never smiled. Yui and Rei were worried for him. Then Mana began to come by. At first, Shinji turned her away. Once he even threw her out of his house. Rei was also annoyed by Mana at first, but when she persisted, Rei saw Mana was just as worried about Shinji as she was. In time, she started to help Mana. Even got Yui to help."
"Finally, about forty years after Asuka died, Shinji asked Mana out. They dated for another four or five years before Shinji finally asked Mana to marry him."
The ghost then smiled.
"Then four years ago, at least to me, they got wonderful news. Mana was pregnant. Shinji was excited, as were Yui and Rei." The ghost looked on wistfully. "We all were. The future was beginning to look hopeful." The Ghost looked to the floor. "But all things come to an end. Months later, I had gone to Terra 2 with Arael and some Valkyries. Years before, all the mortals had vanished because of Adam. I thought I had a way to bring them all back."
The ghost glanced over at Arael.
"We were attacked on arrival. By Adam, Loki, and a score or more of demons. Arael defeated Adam, but was herself badly injured. The Valkyries were all killed. I fought Loki……..
……and lost."
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2966
"Where is she?" Mana asked as she sat on the couch. Her stomach was swollen from the child within.
"She'll be back." Shinji replied, "You know she's been busy with this. She wants to see Kensuke and Sentaro again."
"She's obsessed with seeing them again." Mana muttered, "Even Kristine is worried." She sat for a moment and picked up her book. Five minutes passed and she tossed the book aside.
"I'm going." Mana said.
"What!" Shinji shouted. "No you are not! You're in no condition to……"
"Sayoko is MY doublet!" Mana said, "I will go to her."
"Fine." Shinji said, "But Yui, Rei, and I are coming with."
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The four appeared on a charred black landscape. All around them, smoke rose from the burnt land.
"Damn." Yui muttered, kicking aside a burnt broken tree branch. "This place is……." A sharp glance from Shinji cut her off.
Rei moved beside Mana.
"I don't see anything." She said.
"I do." Mana whispered. She pointed.
Just in the distance, they could make out several figures laying on the scorched earth. Moving closer, they recognized the uniforms of the Valkyries, as well as several demons. Yui knelt beside one Valkyrie.
"Dead." She called out. "Force bolt to the chest."
"Same here." Rei was kneeling beside a fallen Demon.
"The Valkyries didn't go down without a fight." Shinji said.
"But where's Sayoko and Arael?" Mana asked.
They walked along, passing more dead Demons and Valkyries. Then Yui spotted something leaning against a tree.
"Oh no." she whispered as she ran. The others followed.
When they caught up to Yui, they found her kneeling beside the shattered body of Arael.
Or what was left of it.
Arael was missing her left arm, as well part of her left leg. The left side of her face was scorched and unrecognizable. Her right eye was open, staring blankly off into the distance.
"Oh…." Mana murmured, she turned away, covering her mouth and trying not to get ill.
Rei walked a short distance away. She came back a second later.
"I found a crater." She said, "I don't know what made it though."
"Oh my god!" Yui suddenly shouted.
Mana, Shinji and Rei turned to her.
"What?" Shinji asked.
"She's alive!"
"What?" Shinji knelt down beside Arael, while Mana peered over his shoulder.
Arael's eye was no longer staring into the distance. It was now focused and was slowly moving to look at each person present. She then tried to speak, but though her mouth moved, only a gurgle came from her throat.
"Easy." Yui said, placing her hand on Arael's undamaged shoulder, "Don't try to speak."
Arael nodded slightly, then stared at Yui hard with her undamaged eye. Yui froze for a moment, then shook her head.
"Whoa." Yui sat back.
"What?" Shinji asked, "What happened?"
"Arael just zapped me." Yui said, "Used her mind reading powers on me, but didn't pull out my memories, she stuck one in." Yui pointed over to where Rei had found the crater. "That's where Adam fell."
Shinji let out a low whistle. "No wonder Arael's in bad shape."
"She's regenerating." Rei said as she looked at Arael's injuries. "But it will be awhile before she's back to normal."
Mana gently touched Arael's right hand.
"Arael," she asked softly, "Where's Sayoko?"
Arael looked up at Mana, then looked off to the side. Mana stood up and walked in the direction Arael had indicated. More scorched trees marked the landscape. Mana moved past them, stepping over broken branches. She moved around one clump of trees and entered a clearing.
There she found Sayoko.
At first she though Sayoko was alive and well, standing against a tree, but as she grew closer, she found it wasn't the case. The goddess was actually a good three feet in the air, being supported by a broken limb that went through her back and out of her stomach, just below the rib cage. The entire front of her robes as well as the ground below her was coated in blood. Sayoko's head was slumped down on her chest.
"Sayoko?" Mana whispered. She moved closer to her friend. Behind her, she could hear Shinji and Rei's footsteps. A moment later she heard Rei's gasp.
"Sayoko?" Mana called out again. There was still no response from the goddess.
"Mana," Shinji whispered from where he stood. "She's gone."
"No." Mana replied, "She isn't."
"Mana, look at her! She's……"
Sayoko's head snapped up. Mana leaped back, her heart skipping a beat. Behind her, Rei let out a shriek.
Sayoko stared at Mana, her eyes unfocused, empty. She then raised her right hand towards Mana and spoke.
"Morn…ing…….B……ell…..c…ome…..f…….orth."
Morning Bell, Sayoko's Angel burst forth from Sayoko. The Angel circled the tree before flying straight at Mana. Mana's eyes went wide and she threw her arms in front of her. Morning Bell slammed into Mana, sending the demoness flying backwards through the air almost ten feet. Mana landed hard on her back and was still. Of the angel there was no sign. Shinji and Rei quickly went to Mana's side.
"She's alive." Rei said.
"Thank God for that." Shinji said, "Why would Sayoko…….?" Shinji's voice trailed off. He looked over at the goddess. Her head had slumped back down and her arm had returned to her side.
Shinji stood up and moved to the goddess. He slowly peered up into her face. Sayoko's eyes were still open, but unseeing.
"Is she…..?" Rei asked.
Shinji reached up and placed his hand on the goddess's forehead. He closed his eyes. After a moment, he looked back at Rei.
"She's gone."
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"I appeared before Mana shortly after Yoko's birth." The ghost of Sayoko said, "She was shocked as hell. Then again, so was I. Mana was the only one that could see me at first. Then we noticed that Yoko was able to see me too. After many long talks, we finally figured it out why I was still around. Morning Bell."
"Your Angel?" Mana asked.
"That was Morning Bell?" Sentaro asked, "She looked so……..creepy."
The ghost nodded. "Goddesses co-exist with their angels. A goddess that loses her angel feels empty, lost, and is pretty much unable to function."
Sentaro nodded. "Grandma told me about when Hild removed her Angel and replaced it with a Devil."
"You sent your Angel to Yoko." Mana said, "Through me."
The ghost nodded. "My intention was to protect Yoko. I thought Morning Bell could do that." The ghost sighed. "My mistake was thinking Morning Bell would be willing to let me go. She wasn't."
"Morning Bell did this to you?" Sentaro asked.
"In a way. I'm still connected to her, even though she is Yoko's now. That is why I'm still here."
"But the creepy look of her?"
The ghost shrugged. "She was there when I died. She felt me die. In a way, part of her died with me. I think it affected her, and thus, her appearance."
"So," Sentaro said, "What happens now?"
"We have to get back." Mana replied.
"You have to do more." The ghost said.
"Do what?" Mana asked, "What else is there besides going home?"
"You go home now, you'll just be going back to die." The ghost said, "My past has already been changed. The Rogue Demons have moved faster. You don't have another four hundred years. You may not have even four months."
"Again," Mana said, "What else is there?"
"When you return," The ghost said, "You must bring an army."
"What army?" Sentaro asked.
"The only Army I have is in Hell!" Mana added, "And they're trapped in the bottom."
The ghost wondered over to the window.
"Not that Army." The ghost replied. She then nodded at the window. "That one."
Mana frowned, as did Sentaro. Both walked to the window and looked out. Outside they could see the Vikings, moving about.
"THEM?" Mana hissed, "You want me to get them to come back!"
The ghost nodded.
"Yes."
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Outside the window, ducking just below was a figure. She had walked over and had heard much of the discussion. She could even hear the ghost, which surprised her. She hadn't seen it when the Kirishima girl had arrived.
Now she heard what the ghost wanted them to do.
Verdandi let out a sigh, then walked back to the hall. She needed time to think.
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