Chapter 16
The Soultaker peered into the hallway that led to Mana's bedroom.
"Looks clear." She muttered, before moving back out of view. She glanced at Mana. She was extremely pale and did not look well at all.
"You sure you're alright?"
"I don't know." Mana replied, "I feel very strange, like something's missing."
"Well you better be well enough for this." The Soultaker stepped out into the hallway and started towards Mana's room. Mana fallowed, watching their rear. The reached Mana's room and quickly hurried inside. Mana waved her hand, locking the door, then walked to her bureau. She quickly opened a drawer and pulled out a communicator.
"Welsper?" she hissed into it, "Where are you?"
"That you Mana?" came the reply.
"Who else do you think it is? Now where are you?"
"Near the control room. Draco and Loki left it a while ago, but there's still a lot of Demons in there."
"Right." Mana thought for a moment. "Meet me at the core. We'll need to access the mainframe directly."
"Right." Welsper was silent for a moment, "Have you heard?"
"Heard what?"
"I'm sorry Mana. Sayoko is dead."
The Soultaker's face went from slightly annoyed, to neutral. Mana bit her finger in an attempt not to cry out. Blood was dripping from between her teeth
"How?" she asked when she pulled her finger away.
"Loki."
"I'm going to kill him." Mana said, "No…….I won't…..I'll cut his balls off and stuff'em down his throat….THEN I will kill him. Actually……"
"Plan that later please." The Soultaker interrupted.
"I'll meet you at the mainframe." Welsper said before ending the transmission.
The Soultaker looked over at Mana. Mana was looking away, her body shaking in rage.
"The time for revenge will come." The Soultaker said softly, "For now, focus your anger on the Rogue Demons."
"Oh I will." Mana replied, turning around. The Soultaker took a step back in shock. Mana's demon markings had appeared, and her eye glowed a fiery red.
"They will pay for killing my doublet." Mana snarled.
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Everything was a blur to Sentaro. He continued to hold on to his mother's body, regardless of Dawn pleading with him to let her go. Then everything became jumbled, more so then it already was.
He remembered a flash, then bright white. He heard his Grandmother crying, as well as his sister speaking to him. More voices, louder ones, then nothing.
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Kristine raced through the halls, pushing Gods, Goddesses, and Valkyries out of her way. Several times she paused, leaning against a wall or railing with one hand as the other wiped the tears from her eyes. She wasn't quite sure where she was going until she was there.
The Reaper office.
Kristine practically kicked the door in, causing all the Reapers to look up at her in shock. The Goddess looked around until she saw a familiar face. She charged at the Reaper, then leaped, sending both tumbling to the ground. Kristine immediately began pounding on the Reaper.
"Dammit George!" she screamed, "Where is she!"
"Where……is…..who?" George asked as she was pummeled by the young goddess.
"MY MOTHER!" Kristine shouted, pounding on George just once more before collapsing on the Reaper and crying into her chest.
George stared blankly at crying goddess before wrapping her arms around her. She then gently moved Kristine to the side, and stood up. With a grunt, she lifted the still sobbing Goddess into her office and kicked the door closed. George then set Kristine down in a chair and knelt before her.
"What happened?" she asked softly.
"Loki." Kristine said between sobs. "He…..killed her."
"And you thought I'd know where she went." George asked.
Kristine nodded.
George sighed.
"Kris, I know a lot of things. I know which mortals will die, how they'll die, and when they'll die. I even know where the mortals will go." George paused and frowned a moment. "Well actually, you do too. But as for Gods and Goddesses……" The Reaper shook her head. "I'm sorry Kris, I don't know where deities go when they die."
Kristine sighed and looked up, tears still streaming from her eyes.
"I didn't think you did." The goddess said, still choking back sobs, "I don't know why I came here. I'm sorry George, I didn't mean to……"
George held up her hand.
"Don't worry about it." She said, "I'm surprised more people haven't come down here asking the same thing." She then stood up and held out her hand. "Come on Kris, I'll take you back to your grandmother."
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Belldandy sat in her office. Her chair was facing the window, preventing anyone from seeing her. From here, she could see the battle for Heaven, still going strong. Urd and Skuld were present in the room, as was Kristine now. She however was sitting on the floor. The reason was Sentaro. He had completely shut down since finding his mother. Now his head rested in his sister's lap.
Kami-sama and Verdandi were also in the office. They stood silently by the door. Outside the office in the waiting area, Cayla and Dawn stood watch, preventing all but a few access.
"I can't believe she's gone." Belldandy said, her voice barely audible. "What will I tell Keiichi……Kensuke……everyone?"
"The truth." Verdandi replied, "They deserve to know what happened, regardless the circumstance."
"Yes." Belldandy replied. She then turned and looked at the Norn. "I thank you for your help, but I would like to speak to my family right now."
Kami-sama looked up.
"Bell," he said, "Verdandi is family."
"Close family." Belldandy amended, "Not Norse……"
"It still applies to her." Kami-sama said, looking Belldandy right in the face.
Belldandy frowned.
"I don't understand." She said, "How is she family?"
"Well," Kami-sama scratched his head, "she's……"
"I'm your mother." Verdandi said, "Yours, and Skuld's."
Everyone but Kami-sama and Sentaro just stared at the Norn.
Belldandy looked at Kami-sama.
"Father?" she asked, "Is she……?"
"Yes." Kami-sama confirmed, "She is."
"I left a bit after Skuld was born." Verdandi said softly, "At the time, it wasn't my place to stay."
Urd frowned, "You can't be Bell and Skuld's mother. I remember their mother and……."
Verdandi held her hands together. In a flash, her appearance changed. Her outfit changed from one of battle, to simple robes. Her hair became slightly lighter, and was now in a ponytail. Lastly, her face was cleared of the dirt and grime accumulated from her time in the Viking village.
Urd and Belldandy stared in shock, while Skuld looked confused.
"Mother?" Belldandy whispered, "Is it really you?"
Verdandi nodded. "I see Mist took good care of you."
"MOTHER!" Belldandy cried as she leaped form her chair and embraced the Elder Norn. Urd rubbed her eyes, then prodded Skuld.
"Go say hello to your Mother." She said.
Skuld continued to just stare at Verdandi, her face a mixture of many emotions.
"Now," Verdandi said, "can someone please tell me about Sayoko. I wish to know of the Granddaughter I have lost."
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Mana, The Soultaker, and Welsper stared at the display screen in the core of the Hell Mainframe. Few people knew this room existed, even fewer had access. Currently they were using the sensors to scan Hell, trying to find the hidden cloning facility.
"It would have to be in a isolated area." Mana murmured, "Otherwise we'd have noticed them."
"I'm overlaying a map of Hell with the Guard Patrol routes." Welsper stated, "That should eliminate quite a bit of the area."
The display flashed the map of Hell. Then multicolored lines appeared on it, crisscrossing the map several times. The Soultaker let out a low whistle.
"You have Demons crossing and recrossing each other. That's either brilliant, or insane."
"The idea was to try and keep major areas of Hell under watch." Mana replied, "With the Rogues on the loose, we couldn't afford to not watch them. With this plan, there was never a time when an area wasn't unguarded."
The Soultaker frowned and tapped an area.
"What's this?"
Mana glanced at the spot.
"That's where the Rogues created the Angel clones. It was destroyed when one of the Angels blew up."
"You sure it was destroyed?"
Mana frowned.
"Why wouldn't it be?" she asked.
"Did you actually see the place?"
"Well…..no."
The Soultaker smirked.
"Then how do you know it was destroyed?" she asked, "After all, I was supposed to be 'dead'."
Mana mulled that over in her head. She then glanced at Welsper. The cat shrugged.
"It's worth checking out." She said.
"Fine." Mana grumbled, "Let's go."
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"She's dead."
Draco looked over from the battle.
"Excuse me?"
Loki walked up beside Draco, then turned and looked at the ongoing battle.
"The half-breed is dead." The former God repeated, "I took her soul myself."
Draco smirked as he looked back to the battle.
"How'd it taste?"
"Sugary." Loki pointed towards the battle. "How are things here?"
"Stagnate. We are neither advancing nor retreating." Draco sighed, "It's really annoying how these Valkyries showed up."
"Fear not." Loki replied, "With our clones, we have the advantage. All we have to do is keep pressing the attack."
Draco nodded.
"I intend to do so."
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Arael opened her eyes.
The white ceiling of the infirmary greeted her.
With a sigh, Arael sat up and looked around. Others were present in the room. Valkyries, Gods, and Goddesses occupied the other beds, many being treated by Healers. More injured were being carried in by other Healers. Then something caught Arael's eye.
One bed had been moved off and away from the others. A figure occupied that bed, yet when the Healers walked past it, they made no move to check on the person's status. Arael climbed out of her bed and moved slowly over to that bed. She still walked with a limp, and pain was still very much with her, but her left arm no longer felt like it was in multiple pieces.
Arael reached the side of the other bed and looked at the face of the person there. Her eyes went wide in shock. Laying before her was Sayoko. Her eyes were closed and her skin was very pale, almost a grey. Arael reached her hand out slowly and placed it on Sayoko's shoulder.
The Goddess was cold to the touch.
"It's tragic."
Arael looked over to see a Healer beside her.
"What happened to her?" the Angel asked.
The Healer shook his head.
"It's so horrific." He said, "From what I was told, the traitor Loki destroyed her soul, much like that Demon did to those mortals so long ago."
Arael's eyes went wide as she looked back to Sayoko.
"Isn't there anything you can do?"
"We've done everything in our power." The Healer said softly, "Without a soul, Goddess Sayoko is no more." He then turned and hurried off to treat more injured.
Arael slowly fell to her knees. Her hand moved down and took hold of Sayoko's.
"I promise you," Arael said, "Loki will pay." She then looked down at the floor for a moment. When she lifted her head again, her eyes were softly glowing red. "Your son will be protected. I swear it."
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Mana peered into the cave, then looked at Welsper.
"Well?" she asked.
Welsper squinted into the cave.
"Looks clear." She said.
Mana glanced back at the Soultaker, then turned back to Welsper.
"Lead the way."
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Mana could hardly see Welsper as they walked deeper into the cave. The only way she knew where the cat was located is when Welsper swished her tail against Mana's legs. The Soultaker was following Mana by holding on to her cape. Mana found it annoying when the Soultaker took a wrong turn and yanked on the cape, causing Mana to be choked.
After the fourth time, she turned on the demon.
"Dammit old woman!" Mana hissed, "Knock that off!"
"Well if we'd actually used our powers to see, maybe you won't choke!" The Soultaker snapped back.
"Well maybe if you'd……OW!" Mana shrieked as something bit her leg. She looked down to see a pair of eyes glowing at her.
"Would you two knock it off." Came Welsper's voice. "We're there."
"We are?"
"Yes." The eyes slowly moved off further into the cave. Mana and the Soultaker followed. The cave began to light up. After more walking, they found the source of the light.
They entered a chamber. Filling the chamber were twenty glass cylinders filled completely with a reddish orange substance. Floating in each cylinder was a figure.
A demon.
The only sound that filled the room was the machinery pumping and circulating the reddish orange substance through the cylinders. Then there was the smell……..
"Is that…?" Mana started to ask, holding her nose shut.
Welsper padded over to a panel and read it.
"LCL." She replied.
Mana gagged.
"How the hell could they stand this stuff? It smells like……."
"Yeah yeah." The Soultaker muttered, "We know. Blood." She walked over to the panel while Mana wondered around. "Well can we destroy them?"
Welsper tapped at the panel.
"We might be able to overload the system." She said, "The chain reaction will probably be enough level this room."
"Could it do more?" Mana asked. She was now standing in another doorway.
"Maybe." Welsper replied, "Why?"
"Because we might need to bring down more then this room." Mana replied.
Welsper and the Soultaker walked over to where Mana was standing. Looking through the door, they saw over a thousand cylinders with demons floating within them. Mana looked down at Welsper.
"Well?"
Welsper ran back to the panel.
"I need time."
"We don't have much." The Soultaker suddenly called out.
Mana looked back to see a group of cloned demons walking towards them, swords drawn.
"Oh shit." Mana swore. She raised her hands and threw a force bolt.
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"Sir!"
Draco glanced over as a cloned demon hurried towards him. The demon bowed, then looked up at Draco.
"We have received word that the cloning facility is under attack!"
"What!" Draco shouted.
"Problems?" Loki asked as he walked over.
"The Cloning Facility has been found." Draco replied, "I'll go and handle it."
"No." Loki said, "I'll go. You stay here and finish the battle."
Draco frowned, then nodded.
"Very well."
Loki crossed his arms and vanished.
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Mana slashed through one demon with her sword, then followed it up with a swipe at another.
"WELSPER!" Mana shouted, "NOW WOULD BE A GOOD TIME!"
"I AGREE!" the Soultaker added as she threw a demon at a group charging towards her.
"I'm working on it!" Welsper shouted back, "I only have two paws!"
"If you don't hurry," Mana shouted, slicing the arm off a demon, "I'll turn you into a Newt!"
"I'm not letting you watch Kensuke's movies anymore!" The Cat replied.
"You won't have to worry about anything." Came a booming voice.
Mana looked up to see Loki standing atop one of the cylinders. Immediately her eye became a bright furnace.
"Loki!" the Soultaker shouted, "You ass kissing son of a bitch!"
Loki smirked.
"Coming from you I'll take those as complements." He replied, "Now then, if you would be so kind as to give up….."
"Why should we?" Mana growled.
Loki held his hands wide apart.
"Look around you. You are outnumbered and surrounded. Don't throw you lives away uselessly."
"Why should we believe you?" The Soultaker asked.
"It is not a matter of belief." Loki replied, "It is a matter of fact."
"You want a fact?" Mana growled, "I'm going to drive my sword right through your lying face!"
With a shout, Mana charged the demons.
"Is she brave or stupid?" The Soultaker asked.
"Both, and then some." Welsper replied, "I need another five minutes, then we have something to check."
The Soultaker glanced at Welsper.
"Check? What is there to check?"
"I think I found the Queen."
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"The Demons are advancing again." Chrono called out.
"Damn." Mist swore. The large display began to flash red in spots. Yui's image appeared in the lower corner. Her face was covered in grim and blood.
"Mist we're being over run!" the Guardian shouted, "We need back up!"
"There isn't any." Mist replied, "We'll have to regroup. Prepare to pull back."
Freya's face then appeared.
"Valkyries don't pull back." She stated, "I thought I taught you that."
"You did." Mist replied, "But our forces are made up of more then Valkyries."
Freya sighed. "Very true. I apologize."
Mist nodded, then looked at Chrono.
"Send out the word. Pull back to the second defense line."
"Yes ma'am."
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"What's happening?" Kami-sama asked softly.
Dawn looked nervously into Belldandy's office, then back to Kami-sama.
"Mist is ordering a retreat." The young Valkyrie replied, "She's pulling our forces back to the second defense line."
The entire building shuddered, bring down pieces of dust from the ceiling and shaking the paintings in the hallway. Cayla looked nervously around from behind her desk. Kami-sama looked around, then looked at Dawn. Dawn quickly pulled out her communicator.
"Ma'am?"
"Dawn!" Mist's voice came, "Inform Kami-sama that Demons have flanked us. Several groups are heading towards the main building!"
"Send out a signal." Kami-sama said, "All Gods and Goddesses that can are to report for defense duty now."
"Yes sir."
A moment later, Chrono's voice boomed throughout the halls.
"Attention! We are under attack! All Gods and Goddesses that are able must immediately move to their emergency stations. Demons are approaching Yggdrasil!"
The sounds of running quickly filled the halls.
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"………..are able must immediately move to their emergency stations. Demons are approaching Yggdrasil!"
Arael lifted her head and looked over at the others in the ward. Several Gods and Goddesses climbed out of their beds and limped, hobbled, or floated out the door, despite the Healers begging them not to.
Then she felt it.
Arael looked down at her hand. It was still holding Sayoko's. She watched for a moment, unsure of what exactly she had felt. Then she both felt and saw it.
Sayoko's hand twitched.
Arael's eyes grew wide as color began to return back to Sayoko's skin, as did warmth. Then the goddess's eyes snapped open, but they were no longer bright blue. Instead, they were now a cold grey.
Arael continued to stare in amazement as Sayoko sat up. She then slowly turned her head and looked down at Arael. She gave the Angel a smile, and squeezed her hand. Then she vanished.
Arael slowly rose to her feet and stared at the spot where Sayoko had been.
Then she turned and ran out of the infirmary.
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I'm tired of being what you want me to be
Feeling so faithless lost under the surface
Don't know what you're expecting of me
Put under the pressure of walking in your shoes
(Caught in the undertow just caught in the undertow)
Every step that I take is another mistake to you
(Caught in the undertow just caught in the undertow)
I've become so numb I can't feel you there
I've become so tired so much more aware
I'm becoming this all I want to do
Is be more like me and be less like you
Can't you see that you're smothering me
Holding too tightly afraid to lose control
Cause everything that you thought I would be
Has fallen apart right in front of you
(Caught in the undertow just caught in the undertow)
Every step that I take is another mistake to you
(Caught in the undertow just caught in the undertow)
And every second I waste is more than I can take
I've become so numb I can't feel you there
I've become so tired so much more aware
I'm becoming this all I want to do
Is be more like me and be less like you
And I know
I may end up failing too
But I know
You were just like me with someone disappointed in you
I've become so numb I can't feel you there
I've become so tired so much more aware
I'm becoming this all I want to do
Is be more like me and be less like you
I've become so numb I can't feel you there
I'm tired of being what you want me to be
I've become so numb I can't feel you there
I'm tired of being what you want me to be
Linkin Park - Numb
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Shinji, Touji, Rei, and Yui backed slowly down the street towards the second defense line. Before them were hundreds of demons, shouting as they moved forward.
"This is bad." Yui said as she sent a force bolt at the charging demons.
"You've said that already." Shinji pointed out, "Would you mind being positive for a change?"
"I'm positive that this is bad."
"Wrong kind of positive." Rei muttered. She quickly tossed a force bolt at the demons.
One of the Demons broke away from the others. He moved quickly straight towards Yui with his sword held high. Yui sent a force bolt hurtling at him. The demon blocked it with his shield and continued forward.
"YUI!" Shinji shouted.
Yui threw a shield up as the Demon started to bring his sword down.
Then a force bolt tore through the air, slamming into the demon and sending him hurtling off to the side. Yui winced as the demon's sword bounced off her shield and landed on the ground beside her. The Guardian's then watched in horror as the demon writhed on the ground, screaming as the force bolt literally ate him from the inside out.
"Where the hell did that come from?" Touji asked.
"Oh my god." Rei said. Everyone turned to see her looking behind them. There, standing several yards away from them was Sayoko. Her face was turned slightly downward, clouded in shadow from her hair.
"But isn't she…..?" Yui began.
Sayoko then looked up.
"Get down!" she called out as she raised her hands over her head. Energy began to flow between them.
"Do it!" Shinji shouted as he dropped. The other Guardians followed his lead.
Sayoko lowered her hands. Her face was now lit up from the energy crackling from her hands. She then flung her arms wide open, sending forth a wave of energy. The energy wave roared over the Guardians before it slammed into the Demons. As the wave touched them, Demon after Demon vanished in an explosion of ash. Soon, there were no more demons in the street.
"What….." Touji murmured.
"….in the hell….." Rei added.
"……was that?" Shinji finished.
Yui turned and looked back at Sayoko.
"Auntie?" she whispered.
Sayoko smiled, then vanished.
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Draco stared stunned at the battlefield. Several hundred of his Demons in various spots had just been wiped out. Now the Valkyries were charging forward, pushing his forces back to the walls of Heaven and even beyond them.
"Confusing isn't it?"
Draco turned towards the voice, then froze. The half-breed was standing before him, watching him with grey eyes. Two of the cloned demons assigned to protect him leaped into fighting stances.
"One moment you're on top of the world." Sayoko said, "Then the next, you….. are…… nothing. Just like those clones out there."
"Loki said he killed you." Draco said, backing away, "You shouldn't be here."
"Shouldn't I?" Sayoko asked, slowly walking towards Draco.
Draco waved his hand and the two clone demons jumped at Sayoko. Sayoko dodged the first one's sword, then brought her fist into the second's face. As the second one reeled back from the punch, the first demon tried to swipe at Sayoko again. This time she sent a force bolt straight into the demons stomach. The demon screamed as he exploded into ash. Sayoko then grabbed the head of the second demon and twisted, breaking his neck.
Draco stared stunned as the demon dropped to the ground dead. He then looked back at Sayoko. Her cold grey eyes met his and froze him in place. Sayoko walked up to him and place a hand on his shoulder.
"You know," she whispered in to his ear, "Loki did tell the truth….."
"About what?" Draco asked.
Sayoko formed a force bolt in her hand and stared at it a moment.
"He did kill me." She replied, right as she slammed the force bolt into Draco's stomach.