Arc I: Chapter Six

When He Fell From the Sky

"Overcast again," Keiichi mumbled to himself, staring at the angry sky.

It had looked as if it would rain ever since she left, and yet not a single drop had fallen. The dark clouds had only swirled about overhead, hanging low and giving the feeling that even the forces of nature had been filled with the fear and anxiety that had so affected Belldandy only the day before.

The depressing atmosphere was wearing on the college student, and today he was feeling as lethargic as ever. If it hadn't been for Urd threatening him, he would never have gone to classes this day. He knew that she wanted him to keep his mind occupied, and he knew that it was for the best, but he wasn't so sure that it was really helping. Rather than wallowing in depression, he constantly felt as if he should be doing something to help, but he had no idea what.

"Hey, Keiichi?"

Turning away from the slowly churning clouds overhead, he looked behind him to see someone trotting across the university parking lot. "Oh, hey, Megumi. What's up?"

She frowned at her older brother's dull response. "Are you alright, Kei? You sound like you're pretty bummed out about something."

He shook his head as the pair continued to where his motorcycle was parked. "It's no big deal. Things have just been a little weird recently."

She arched an eyebrow at his answer, "Weird? What's that mean? And where's Belldandy, anyway? I would have thought she'd be trying to cheer you up right about now."

"Well," he began, trying to think of a good excuse, "something came up. She and Skuld had to go home for a while."

"Really?" She nodded as she spoke, giving the impression that things were coming together in her mind. "Was it some kind of emergency or something?"

"Yeah." His little sister, along with everyone else that he knew, was completely unaware that Belldandy and her sisters were not human. Ever since Bell had first entered his life years before, he had been careful to ensure that nobody found out. "We're not really sure when they'll get a chance to come back home. We'll just have to wait and see, I suppose."

"So that's it," Megumi smiled sympathetically at her big brother, "I'm sure she'll be back soon enough. She doesn't like it when you're apart any more than you do." He looked over as she gave him a light pat on the shoulder, "Maybe I'll come by and keep you company."

Keiichi's eyes went wide as he imagined her walking into a swarm of warrior Gods. "No, no you don't have to do that, Megumi!" She blinked at his abrupt and insistent reaction. He tried not to sound nervous as his brain cranked out possible excuses. "Eh, I mean, you've got those two exams this week, don't you?" He was feeling very transparent as she eyed him suspiciously. "Besides, I've got to work on my bike. I fixed that stuck valve, but it still runs a little rough when it's idling." This isn't going to work.

"Oh, that reminds me," she snapped her fingers as her brain instantly shifted gears, "Chihiro asked me if I had seen you today. She said that part you ordered came in, and she left it at the Motor Club for you, since she wouldn't see you for a few days."

"Oh, thanks," he said, veering off to his right, "I guess I should go pick it up before I go home."

"Mind if I tag along? I wanted to talk to Sora if she's there." Megumi seemed intent on sticking with him until she was convinced that he had cheered up. She really was a good sister.

"Sure, let's go."

Megumi made no effort to strike up further conversation, something that Keiichi was thankful for. It seemed that she understood his wish to simply wander in his thoughts as they made their way across campus to the NIT Motor Club's house. It was actually the old club building, as the newer one still had some repairs left, thanks to Otaki's failed fire-breather act.

The old building, which somewhat resembled two large shipping containers set side by side, was surrounded by bits and pieces of various machines. A half assembled motorcycle sat under a nearby tree, and a simple wooden sign sitting upright next to the door announced that this dubious looking construct was the home of the Nekomi Institute of Technology's Motor Club.

"Hello?" he called out as he opened the door, "Anybody here? Sora, Tamiya-sempai?" Only the quiet whirr of the small refrigerator across the single room answered him as they closed the door behind them.

"That's odd," Megumi mused, turning on the light and looking around, "There's usually at least one or two people around here after classes. I wonder where everybody's at?"

It's just as well. I'd rather not have to keep explaining to everyone about Bell being gone. Crossing to the desk against the far wall, he sifted through the various boxes, greasy parts, and blueprints for a vehicle that he thought looked like a three wheeler with the single wheel in the back. I sure hope they don't plan on me racing something like that. Thinking for a moment, he shook his head with a half hearted smile. Of course they'll want me to race it. And somehow I'll wind up doing it, just like always.

"Hey, is that it, Keiichi?" Megumi pointed to a small box near the refrigerator. It bore a small note in Chihiro's handwriting.

K1,

Here's the part you wanted.

Enjoy your time off this weekend.

Chihiro

P.S. – Be sure to bring the money

for this when you come back to

work on Monday!

"Business first, eh?" Keiichi couldn't help but chuckle. "Well, I guess that's it, Megumi. Let's get going before…"

"Morisato!"

The sudden yell that filled the clubhouse and almost gave Keiichi a heart attack could have originated in the mouth of only one man, and it was that very man he saw when he turned around. "T-Tamiya-sempai! Where'd you come from?"

Tamiya, the co-leader of the Motor Club, was a bear of a man, standing head and shoulders over almost anyone else on campus. As muscular and huge as he was, he had an uncanny ability to appear and disappear the moment Keiichi turned away. This time he had appeared just off Keiichi's right shoulder, his eyes seeming to burn as he very nearly growled, "Morisato, what happened to Miss Belldandy? You didn't upset her, did you? Cuz if you did…"

What kind of conclusion is he jumping to? "Er, no, not really," he began, still shocked at Tamiya's sudden appearance in a room that had, until a matter of seconds prior, held only Megumi and himself. "What I mean is, she had to gurk!"

The large man had grabbed the smaller man in mid-sentence, lifting him over both shoulders into some sort of wrestling move, and began to yell. "Morisato! How could you do this?"

"Yeah!" yelled the blond haired Otaki, the other co-leader of the club. He had appeared quite suddenly next to a startled Megumi, shaking his fist and wearing the strange smile he always displayed. "Miss Belldandy is like our Goddess of Good Luck!"

Keiichi might have laughed at Otaki's unintentional labeling of Bell as a Goddess, but the humor was completely lost on him as he struggled in vain to free himself. He tried to explain that it was a misunderstanding, but could only manage to grunt a few times.

"Wait a minute, Sempai!" Megumi had to yell to be heard over Tamiya's yells and her brother's pained cries. "Belldandy just had to go back home for a while! She'll probably be back in a couple weeks!"

Tamiya looked at her in surprise, as if he had just noticed she was there. "Oh," he said simply, calm as a reflecting pool. Keiichi found himself unceremoniously dumped in the middle of the floor, groaning as he struggled to turn over on his back. "Walk it off, Morisato! You're supposed to be a man!"

Keiichi rolled his eyes in frustration. "I thought I was gonna die."

Without warning, two sounds echoed through the room. The first sounded like something skidding across the roof, something metal. The second, coming only an instant later, was the resonant vibration of a heavy impact. A rain of bits of wood and splinters of ceiling tiles filled the air as Megumi let out a yelp and Keiichi clamped his eyes shut, coughing from the dust cloud descending on him.

"Good God, Keiichi!" cried his sister, "Are you alright?"

As the visibility cleared, Keiichi could do little besides laying flat on his back. He stared wide eyed and open mouthed at the thing that had very nearly ended his life.

A long, thin sliver of metal, apparently the curved blade of an absurdly long Japanese style sword, extended from a buckled spot in the ceiling. It stretched all the way down to the silvery tip, which came close enough to Keiichi's nose that he was going cross eyed trying to focus on it. "Kei! Are you hurt?" Megumi had rushed over to kneel beside him, "It didn't hit you, did it?"

"Cool, Morisato!" Otaki sounded very impressed as he pulled his underclassman out from beneath the blade. "You didn't even flinch! I guess you're a man after all!"

It wasn't long before he was struggling to maintain his balance as Tamiya began to knock the debris from the shorter man. The muscle bound senior actually had tears in his eyes. "I'm proud uh ya, Morisato. You've learned well from us."

Keiichi wasn't convinced that the praise being heaped upon him was really a good thing, but he managed a crooked smile. "Uh, th-thanks, guys."

"So what is that thing?" Megumi asked, relieved that her brother was unharmed.

The two upperclassmen crossed their arms and stared up and down at the shining blade, making grunting noises as they considered it. Finally nodding, the two turned back toward the siblings. "It looks like ah really long sword," Tamiya stated, as if he'd solved the case.

"Yeah, and it's coming through the ceiling," added Otaki, "and there's a dent up there where it's stuck through at, which can only mean one thing."

Tamiya nodded, speaking ominously, "There's somethin else up on da roof."

Keiichi sighed at their analysis. "Thanks, guys. I don't know what we'd do without you." He did his best not to sound sarcastic.

Making their way outside, Megumi asked, "Do you guys have a ladder here?"

As they all looked up at the flat roof, Keiichi shook his head. "No, the only one we have is at the new clubhouse, and that's halfway across campus. Maybe we can ask one of the groundskeepers to borrow one."

"What do you need a ladder for?" Otaki queried.

Tamiya grunted his approval, "Yeah, you got us, don't ya?"

Keiichi had an ominous feeling that danger was approaching, something that was confirmed when he looked over his shoulder. Before he could get out a protest, the two men had grabbed him from both sides. "Tuck and roll, Morisato!"

Otaki's advice was the last thing said before Keiichi was launched skyward. The unprepared young man tried to do as he was told, but only managed to flop heavily onto the roof, one leg still hanging over the edge. What the hell was that? Grimacing, he wondered to himself if his sempai would ever stop to think about his health. Probably not. They really are going to kill me one day.

Pushing himself up, he scanned for the source of the disturbance from before and immediately found it. There, in the middle of the roof, was the handle of the Japanese style sword. Next to it was the unmoving body of a man.

He was face down, his hand next to the weapon that had almost killed Keiichi. A long black trench coat was fastened tightly around his waist, black pants and boots underneath. Two metal plates covered his shoulders, and the long white hair that had fallen haphazardly around him was tinted with dark red streaks. As Keiichi approached he saw many more spots of the same color, glistening wet, all over the man.

Carefully turning the stranger over, Keiichi hoped that he wasn't dead. There were more wounds on his bare chest and his legs, huge gashes as well as numerous smaller cuts and bruises. He was even more shocked, however, to see the man's face. Three blue marks stood out amidst the crimson, each shaped like a rounded 'V'. One mark under the corner of each eye, and one centered on his forehead.

He's a God! What the hell happened to him? Quickly checking the unmoving form, he was relieved to find that he was still breathing, but Keiichi didn't know how much longer he would last. Quickly deciding that he needed to get him back to Urd and Peorth, he called over his shoulder. "Sempai! Get a ladder! This guy's hurt bad! Help me get him down!"

As the mortal began to drag the injured God toward the edge of the roof, Tamiya and Otaki had somehow already found a ladder and were standing next to the sword. They were tugging and straining, trying to pull the weapon from the roof of their clubhouse. Keiichi might have snickered at the sight if someone's life wasn't in the balance. "What are you two doing? Hurry up and help me get him down!"

Otaki shrugged and started over to help. Tamiya, on the other hand, scowled at the sword with all the anger he could muster. "Just come outta our house, will ya?" With a mighty yell, he kicked the handle of the massive weapon. It again refused to budge, but seconds later began to lean. Faster and faster it moved as the three humans looked on. Keiichi found himself questioning his knowledge of physics as the blade somehow sliced through the roof and wall as it fell to the ground.

After some effort the three men managed to bring the wounded Celestial off the roof. Otaki carried the white haired God on his back as they all made their way to the parking lot at Keiichi's direction. Arriving at his BMW, they secured the God in the sidecar as Keiichi put on his gloves.

"Wouldn't it be better if we just called an ambulance?" Megumi asked.

Keiichi hesitated as he reached for his helmet. She thinks I'm taking him to the hospital. I guess that would be the natural assumption, wouldn't it? "Well, you know me, Megumi. I can outrun an ambulance any day of the week." He smiled nervously, hoping she would believe him.

"Morisato!" Keiichi dropped his helmet as Tamiya bellowed right behind him. "Here, tell him to watch where he's stickin dis thing from now on. And tell him that he owes us for da damages to tha clubhouse!"

He looked to see his sempai securing the huge sword between the bike and the sidecar with several pieces of chain. The curved blade was protruding out almost a meter in front of the motorcycle. Laughing weakly as he donned his helmet, he nodded, "Yeah, I'll be sure to tell him."

Jumping onto the seat, he revved the engine. Jeez, I've wasted too much time. I hope I can make it in time to help him. Glancing down at the sword, nearly twice the length of his vehicle, he shook his head. I hope I don't kill anyone with this thing, either.

Grabbing the clutch lever, he tapped his foot on the gear pedal and throttled up. He gave a confident smile to Megumi, who had a somewhat worried expression, and released the clutch. His rear tire gave a brief chirp before gripping the asphalt, and he tore out of the parking lot.

"I'm not sure I can picture Lady Urd doing that sort of thing to your inventions," Gilgamesh grinned at the young Goddess sitting across from him.

They were sitting on stools set up on either side of the sleeping Belldandy's bed, talking about life on Earth. It was actually the first time that the two had really spoken since she had first awakened.

"You wouldn't say that if you knew her," Skuld sniffed. "When I was little, she would force me to make machines that were completely useless." She scowled at the memory, gritting her teeth as she angrily recalled the last time her eldest sibling had tortured her so.

Gil seemed somewhat confused by her last statement, but she didn't notice. Her mind was too busy thinking up a good way to get back at Urd when they finally returned to Earth.

"So, ah," the God spoke up, apparently trying to cheer the irritated Skuld. "What about Lady Belldandy? How does she react to your inventions?"

Flowers began to bloom in Skuld's mind as she thought of the smiling face of her dear sister. The black haired Goddess almost sighed as she answered him. "She's always so supportive, and she always smiles at me, even when outside forces cause a malfunction."

"Outside forces?" Gilgamesh seemed somewhat dubious of this, but was ignored as she looked down at the sleeping Goddess.

"Belldandy sometimes brings me ice cream when I'm working and I forget to come to dinner." She reached out and took her sisters limp hand in her own, smiling warmly. "Sometimes she understands my inventions better than I do. I hope that someday I can be as wonderful and kind a person as she is."

She was startled out of her reverent thoughts as Gilgamesh jumped to his feet. Within a fraction of a second the great wooden doors opened at the end of the room. Looking over her shoulder to see who had burst into the room with such little regard for the noise they made, she was a little surprised to see a Goddess even younger than herself running toward them.

The girl, who looked to be ten or twelve, finally stopped at the foot of Belldandy's bed, struggling to catch her breath as she spoke. "Lord Gilgamesh, Lady Skuld," she nodded to each of them. "I bring an urgent message from Lady Ere at Yggdrasil." The red haired messenger seemed agitated beyond just carrying an important message.

Skuld met the eyes of the young Templar as they looked apprehensively at one another. She suddenly felt an uneasy chill pass through her, and she knew that she wouldn't want to know what this girl had been entrusted with. "What is the message?" Gilgamesh finally asked.

"The mission to stop the disturbances on Earth has failed." Her voice wavered as she spoke. "Bravo team was destroyed. We're still searching, but there is no evidence that anyone survived."

The black haired Goddess, her fears confirmed, leaned heavily on her sisters bed. How could this have happened? The long, bed lined corridor was silent as these words sunk in. After several long seconds, a quiet voice could be heard.

"Impossible." Gilgamesh was very pale, his eyes wide and focused on, as far as Skuld could tell, nothing. "You can't expect us to believe that thirty First Order Templars were just slaughtered by some damn thing we don't even know about!" His voice was steadily rising as his words became more heated. "It's not possible!"

The young messenger was shrinking back from the God as his reason began to falter. Quickly lifting off the ground, Skuld floated between Gilgamesh and the frightened girl. "Calm down and stop yelling, your scaring her!"

"Three of my best friends might be dead, and you want me to calm down?"

"It doesn't give you the right to take out your feelings on an innocent girl! You're supposed to be a man, act like one!" The two stared angrily at each other. Skuld thought he would yell something else at her, but instead he just walked past her and toward the balcony, not saying another word.

The red haired messenger girl looked quite worried as she watched the warrior God move down the long room. "Lady Skuld, did I make him angry?"

Skuld tried to smile as she patted the younger Goddess on the shoulder. "It wasn't you. Like he said, some of those Templars were his friends."

She nodded at the response as she stared at his silhouette against the sky of Heaven. "It's so cruel. Would you tell him that I'll pray for his friends?"

Skuld blinked at the sudden request, then nodded. "What's your name?"

"Goddess Trainee Arimeia," she replied. "I was supposed to be taking my final exams to get my license in two weeks. It doesn't seem very important right now, though."

"Thank you for delivering the message, Arimeia, and thank you for your prayers. I'm sure he'll appreciate them." The girl nodded and quietly turned to leave, but Skuld didn't watch her go. Her eyes were upon the Templar out on the stone balcony.

She still wore the white cotton hospital dress that she had awakened in, and her bare feet made no sound as she approached the brooding God. Even so, he spoke to her before she had reached his side. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," she replied quietly as she placed her hands on the smooth stone railing. "I yelled, too. I guess it's pretty hard to not know if, well, uh, never mind."

"One of those men down on Earth is like a brother to me." Skuld looked up at the God as his grave voice filled the silence between them. "Can you imagine what it would be like to loose a sibling to something like this?"

These words struck the Goddess deeply, so much so that a tear rolled down her cheek before she could bring herself to speak again. What if it was Belldandy who was missing after a battle? Or Urd? Could I handle it as well as he is? How can he stand it? "Arimeia said that she would be praying for your friends." He simply nodded, but she could tell that it meant a great deal to him.

Urd, Belldandy, I don't ever want to loose them! It was all starting to hit her now. Her emotions began to swirl as she thought of the men who perished. Templars whose faces she had never seen, voices she would never hear. Gods who might have belonged to that fan club that Gilgamesh had told her about. People who had come to the end of their story without giving a proper goodbye to the ones they loved.

Turning to look over her shoulder, she felt a strong urge to run back to Belldandy. She wanted to take hold of her dear sister's hand and never let go. She needed to go to Bell, but she didn't want to leave Gilgamesh alone. Reaching out, she grabbed the God's sleeve. "You should come back inside. It'd be bad to be by yourself right now, right?"

His eyes widened in surprise as she spoke, and she felt her face get hot as he looked at her. A pained smile quickly came over his features as he looked to the side. "You go on ahead, I need to think for a little while." She felt his hand cover the one she held his sleeve with before he spoke again. "Thank you."

"S-Sure," she responded before swiftly walking back into the ward. Her speed quickened as she struggled to quell her fears and sorrow. Even though she was running full out halfway down the row of beds, she was already sobbing by the time she buried her face in the sheets of Belldandy's mattress.

Keiichi received a great deal of strange looks as he rushed home, but he made excellent time. Anyone who noticed the piece of metal protruding in front of him generally gave him plenty of room.

Occasionally sparing a second to glance at his passenger, Keiichi became more and more worried as time passed. There was so much blood on the God's face, it was difficult to tell if he looked better or worse.

His tires gave a squeal as he rounded a tight curve and accelerated up the final hill. Seeing the gate to his home, he gave a silent thank you to the Almighty that no policemen had seen him during the trip. How on Earth would I have explained all this?

He came screeching into the temple yard, causing two Templars to leap out of his path. Scattering rocks and gravel everywhere as he slid to a stop, the dust was still lingering in the air when Urd and Peorth came running out of the house. They spied the unconscious God before Keiichi had a chance to point him out.

"What the hell happened?" Urd yelled as they came to a stop next to the sidecar.

"He's badly hurt," he said as he hurriedly pulled off his helmet. "I got him here as fast as I could."

Peorth had been holding a faintly glowing palm over the bloody form as they spoke. Looking up at Urd, she nodded, then turned to the two Gods he had almost run over seconds before. "You two get him inside quickly!" Turning back to Urd, she grimaced, "It's bad. I'll try a healing program, but I'm not as good as Belldandy. He'll need something else to help him heal."

Urd nodded, "Give me ten minutes. I'll mix a poultice that will help stabilize him." She turned and flew into the house, rushing to begin her alchemical work.

Peorth turned back to the human. "Tell me what happened, Keiichi."

"He crashed into the Motor Club building. By the time we got to him on the roof, he was already unconscious." Turning his head, he watched as the God was gently lifted out of the sidecar. "He was like that when I got up there." Peorth listened intently, then nodded, following the two Templars as they carried him into the temple. "Do you know who he is, Peorth? Who is he?"

Peorth stopped, not answering for a moment. Slowly turning her head, she spoke gravely over her shoulder. "His name is Sephiroth, First Order Templar, Special Class. He is the leader of the failed mission to stop the disturbances, and the only survivor that we know of."

AN:

Just so everyone knows, yes Sephiroth is from Final Fantasy VII. This version of him, however, is fully integrated into the OMG world. In other words, it's not like he just got teleported from FF7, so don't expect him to act like he did in the game.

Oh, before I forget. I am aware that Peorth has that whole French accent thing going, but my one class of French almost 10 years ago has failed me. If you want, you can just imagine it, I guess.

Hope you are all enjoying. Next chapter may be delayed since I will have to work into next weekend. We'll have to see how it goes.

Katamari Damacy