Arc I: Chapter Nine

Revelation

"Is it over yet?"

Israfel scowled at the hellish sky, watching the last few balls of fire sink toward the Earth. "I think we're through the worst of it. Did we loose anyone?"

Looking around the clearing they were standing in, Unowe shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. Just about everyone scattered when it started coming down."

"I know that," the Demon remarked snidely, "I was the one who told them to split up till it was over."

The other man reacted with a sort of cowed indignation. "I was just saying I don't know if we lost anyone."

He ran a gritty hand over the cuts on his bald head, breathing deeply. Just calm down and be patient. But we can't afford to loose anyone! We're too weak as it is, and if we loose anyone else, it's going to be impossible to attack this thing! Settling his nerves, he simply watched as the final strikes came at the planet.

"Hey, Israfel?" Unowe received a grunt in response. "You think this was the same thing that, well, do you think it was that thing? The thing that attacked us all?"

"Hell, I don't know," he admitted, "but it wouldn't surprise me."

"What makes you say that?"

He paused a moment to rub his goatee before answering. "Hell's already fallen, and the only Demons left are here on Earth. If it was trying to kill us, then it probably chased us here to finish the job. This is kind of a flamboyant way of doing things, though."

The other Demon didn't respond to this, at least he didn't say anything. Israfel was still watching the sky, so any expression his companion showed went unnoticed.

"So, did we loose anyone?"

For some reason, the sugary female voice chirping behind him irritated Israfel quite badly. "Kidara, does it look like we've even seen anyone else since everyone split up?" He turned to give the evil eye to the young Demon girl behind him. She ignored his look completely, springing forward and latching onto his arm.

"Oh, c'mon, Is-Is! You don't have to be so mean!" Her short, curled, jet black hair framed her youthful pout. He sometimes wondered if she was the only girl alive who could make puppy dog eyes with red irises.

"Kidara! This is serious!" he barked at her. "Stop being a pest!"

"Mou!" She suck out her tongue in a remarkable disregard for what was going on around them. "Well if you're going to be such a dork, I'll just play with Unowe! He understands me, don't you Uno-pon?" She turned and began floating toward the other Demon, arms outstretched for a big hug.

Israfel was ready to start beating his head on the nearest tree at her antics. Unowe, on the other hand, was wearing a big goofy grin on his face. "Come to me, my little princess!"

She was just about to land in his arms when Israfel heard something. Without thinking, he reached out and grabbed hold of the girl's leather belt from behind and yanked her back hard enough that the belt snapped. It was necessary, however, as it was less than a blink of the eye later that a loud crack was heard.

A small meteor, slightly larger than Kidara's fist, had impacted Unowe. The fiery fragment left little of the former Demon intact above the waist. In fact, much of his comrade was stuck to Israfel's clothes, blood on his face.

"Son of a bitch!" It was all Israfel could think to say. He had known Unowe a long time, and while he didn't know if he would have called the other Demon a friend, he was the closest thing Israfel ever had.

Damn it, we can't loose people like this. We need everyone we can get! He grimaced as he wiped the blood from his face with his already filthy hand. It was then he realized that in the shock of the moment, he had forgotten something important.

"Is-Is? Why is Uno-pon like that? Why is he all apart like that?" He turned to see her with wide eyes, and looking more pale than he had ever seen her. Like Israfel, she was also spattered with the blood of someone she had known since she was very little. He wasn't sure, but there might have even been a slight glint of tears in her wide eyes.

Unsure of what else to do, he put his hands on the girl's shoulders. "C'mon, sis. We need to find the others." All his previous irritation with her faded from his mind, and for some reason he was confronted by a peculiar urge that he rarely experienced. The desire to protect his only family.

"But what about Uno-pon? Why are we leaving him like that?" Her voice held an innocence that amazed Israfel. She honestly didn't understand what was going on. She had never been exposed to death before.

"Unowe just needs to rest for a while," he lied, coaxing her away from the corpse. "He'll catch up to us in a day or two. You know how slow he can be sometimes."

"Yeah," she nodded, though she didn't sound entirely convinced. "I guess you're right." Normally it was impossible to make the young Demon shut up, but she was eerily silent after she turned away from the remains.

He unconsciously gave the young girl's shoulder a squeeze. She was shaken pretty badly, and the older Demon wondered how his little sister would survive in this harsh world that had been thrust upon them.

Fires raged in seemingly random parts of the cityscape. Though the meteors had stopped falling, the few clouds left held a faint orange glow, a reflection of what was happening below.

Demon First Class Marller didn't particularly care about the humans that were suffering out there, nor did she feel any real sorrow over those who died. More precisely, they didn't matter enough for her to think about them. She had far more pressing worries than the cattle of this planet.

Her red, cat like eyes darted all around as she cautiously landed in the temple yard. She had been here many times in the past, causing as much grief as possible to those who resided there, but never had she been more worried about not getting caught. The Goddess sisters would drive her back however they could, but the Templars were another story. They were zealous to say the least, and she didn't want to find out what they would do if they found her.

Urd had fallen unconscious, her limp arm around Marller's neck. Her feet drug the ground as the Demon silently stole into the house. Listening intently for anyone else, she wondered if anyone was there. With every second that ticked by, she felt more and more uncomfortable. She had to find Belldandy or Keiichi, or even Skuld, before any of the Gods flying around the city caught her there.

She was halfway across their living room when she heard footfalls. Before she could decide what to do, a short, dark haired human came around the corner from the hall. He took only one step into the room before he stopped, obviously not expecting to see what he did.

"M-Marller!" His surprise quickly grew into a scowl as he pointed at her. "What are you doing here? What did you do to Urd?"

It took her a moment, but she managed to free one of her hands, putting it up in a non-threatening manner. "Hold on there, you don't understand." She tried her best to sound reassuring, hoping to calm him. "I just helped Urd after she passed out up there! She just needs to sleep for a while. Uh, is Belldandy here by any chance? I really need to talk to her."

"Just let Urd go," he said, edging forward now. "Just give her to me and go. You shouldn't be here when the Templars get back."

"Don't you think I know that, you idiot?" Her nervousness was turning into irritation now. "Now tell me, where the hell is Belldandy at?"

"She's not here," he said simply.

Son of a bitch! I don't have time for this crap! Marller struggled to contain her anger. Don't yell at him, just act cool and he'll tell you. "Damn it, human, I can see that she's not here! Where is she?"

"She's in Heaven right now," he replied, taking another step closer. "But there are about thirty Templars out there who aren't. I seriously doubt that they are going to be impressed with your assurances that you're on the level."

The Demon flashed a toothy smile, "You could put in a good word for me, right?"

"Are you nuts?" It seemed astonishing to him that she would even suggest it. "You turned me into an iguana. And you turned Megumi into a car! Should I even mention the Lord of Terror?"

"Yeah, yeah, we all remember that stuff," she said impatiently, "but that was the past. I haven't done anything to you guys since April."

He crossed his arms, less than impressed. "You mean when you put our number on every telemarketer list in Japan?"

It would have been a struggle to maintain a straight face as he spoke, had her situation not been as dire as it was. That was pretty funny, though. "I haven't bothered you guys at all since then, either!"

Keiichi was scowling now, waving his arms around in irritation. "You didn't have to. We've been putting our names on do not call lists for five months."

She snorted. "Well, I am a Demon, after all. I'm supposed to tick you guys off. It's my job."

"Exactly," he replied, "which is why you should probably get out of here before they get back."

She frowned at his line of reasoning. He's got a point. Even if he did stick up for me, those single minded Templars will probably kill first and ask questions later. I should probably get out of here for now. "All right, fine. I'll leave for now." She laid Urd on the tatami floor, then turned to leave. "Tell Urd that I've got something really important to tell her," she called over her shoulder. "I'll find her in a day or two."

Turning back to the door, she froze, sweat quickly forming on her brow. Her red eyes were wide open, staring uneasily at the blade hovering less than an inch from her throat. Oh crap.

"Why are you really here, Demon?" The deep voice drew her attention to her right. Standing there, against the wall just outside the room, was a tall God, dressed all in black. His long white hair reminded her of Urd's, except that his was straight, with two long bangs hanging on either side of his face. The Templar's eyes glowed green, and she could easily feel his power in the air.

"I have information for your side," she said with some worry in her voice. "Urd and I go way back, so I figured I'd approach her about it." His eyes narrowed on her, though he still didn't move a hair. "If I had wanted to harm anyone, I would have taken care of her during the meteor shower. The fact that I brought her back here ought to count for something."

He continued to stare at her for a few terrifying seconds. She couldn't read him at all, and the only thing she could think of was whether he was going to lop her head off or not.

"Her name's Marller," she heard Keiichi speak up behind her. "She and Urd do know each other. She's telling the truth about that, at least."

"See?" She did her best to sound trustworthy. "You heard him, I haven't lied to you. I really do have information you guys will want to hear. You have my word that I won't harm anyone while I'm here."

"The promise of a Demon holds little weight with me," he replied, seeming even more menacing even though he hadn't moved a hair. "Tell me why I should trust you."

"I can tell you what started all this," she answered ominously. "I don't know everything, but I was there just before it happened. I was standing at ground zero just before it was unleashed on the world."

He began to scowl, but the green glow of his eyes became less intense. Her nervousness had built to the point that she let out an audible sigh of relief as he lowered his sword. "Go inside and sit down." It was obviously not a request, so she moved back into the room.

Keiichi had already moved Urd, laying her near the table in the middle of the room. Marller sat next to her old friend and nemesis, resting her elbows on the short table. She took a deep breath as her adrenaline subsided. At least it looks like they aren't going to kill me now. She sat quietly for a moment before she realized that Keiichi was nowhere to be found.

"While we're waiting, how about some tea?" The young human was walking toward the table from the next room and sitting to her right, with Urd laying between them. "I'm sure if she was here, Bell would make some for you. Since she's not, I guess we'll have to make due with this." He offered a green can to her, which she eyed warily.

"There aren't any tea stalks standing upright in there, right?"

A mildly amused look came over him. "It's in a can, Marller. I'm pretty sure it's okay."

She was still suspicious, but took the proffered drink. She set the cool can on the table and relaxed a little. Leaning back with both hands on the floor behind her, she closed her eyes. Her mind ached, much the way a muscle aches, but this came from the strain of using her powers. Urd had been so weak when she tried to stop that last meteor, Marller almost had to repel it on her own.

Normally a Demon would not be able to mix her power with that of a Goddess, but Urd was only half Goddess. The demonic blood that flowed through her veins changed Urd's programs just enough that Marller had been able to add her own power to the shield.

"Aren't you going to have some?" Keiichi was nodding toward the can on the table before her.

Hesitating, she popped the top and sniffed at the beverage. Feeling as convinced as she could be, she closed her eyes and took a huge swig.

Keiichi had a curious expression on his face at her dramatic manner of consuming the tea, but didn't say anything. Marller decided that it would be better to wait quietly until her captors, as she saw them, returned to question her. Or rather, she would have waited quietly had she not noticed the suddenly humorless look that the human now bore.

"What's bugging you?" The Demon's voice was somewhat less than empathetic.

He leaned forward, elbows on the table, and clasped his hands together in front of his mouth. His serious eyes turned toward her as he spoke. "Those voices, the ones that supposedly did all this. Can you hear them, too?"

Her nose scrunched up in displeasure. "Yeah. We Demons can adjust our sensitivity to spiritual energies on the fly, so I can shut them out of my mind, but I can hear them if I try."

"Bell passed out when she heard them." The dark haired man stared solemnly at the can of tea in front of him. "That's why she and Skuld are in Heaven right now. Urd managed to hold herself together until help arrived."

The Demon sighed grimly at the news that the one person that she had never been able to win against had fallen so easily before this insane threat that loomed over all of them. "Well," she responded quietly, "that girlfriend of yours is nothing if not sensitive." Taking another, more sensible drink of her tea, she continued. "Honestly, I had no idea how the Goddesses would react to the whole thing, but I guess I shouldn't be surprised that it hit everyone so hard when even I had a bitch of a time with it at first."

Keiichi sat up straighter, his curiosity obviously piqued. "Marller, what do you know about what's going on? If you know anything, please tell us."

"Yes," added the one who had almost killed her moments before. "I think that now would be an excellent time to hear this important information of yours." He finally entered the room, his great sword now concealed within a glossy black sheath. As he slowly made his way to the wall across the room in front of her, she could see the fresh blood that matted his hair together from his shoulders down. He sat with his back against the wall, closing his eyes for a moment as he did, showing weakness to her for the first time.

She was impressed with his fortitude, maintaining himself with such a loss of blood was something that she was not sure she could match. His respite barely lasted more than a second before he again stared at her with those unnerving green eyes. At least they aren't glowing anymore. "My name is Marller, Demon First Class." She looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to reply in kind. It was several seconds before he did so.

"I am Sephiroth, First Order Templar, Special Class." His voice didn't betray his wounds in the least.

"Let me get right to the point," she began. "Some of my former comrades were informed that there was some sort of ancient spirit trapped somewhere on Earth. Supposedly it was as evil as the Lord of Terror, and perhaps even stronger. They were told the location of this spirit's resting place, or prison, or whatever you want to call it. A group of us who had been assigned Earth side for a few years now decided it was worth a look and followed the ones who had the location." She took another sip of her tea. "It was some sort of old stone formation, practically falling apart. The negative energy at the site was enormous, almost visible. We all went snooping around, and I started to realize that the strongest energy was coming from a huge stone disk near the center of the ruins. Most of the carvings were pretty badly worn, but I could tell that the design looked like a Celestial program mandala."

Sephiroth raised an eyebrow at this, "You say that the spot with the most negative energy had Celestial designs on it?"

"Yeah," she nodded, "and Celestial writing, too."

The Templar seemed very interested in her story now, his features intense. "What did the writing say?"

Marller was a little surprised by the question. She had expected that he would require convincing that there were Celestial runes on this stone, but he took it in stride. "Well, most of it was too worn to read, but there were a few words that I could pick out. From what I could figure out, it was a prison for something called the Cruel Angel. Does that name ring a bell?"

She hardly needed to ask the question, it was obvious that he knew what it was. "I have heard of it," he spoke calmly. His expression, however, showed how much he was rattled by this.

Ironic that I'm usually so happy to see a Celestial shaken up or worried, but now it's just making me feel like I swallowed a ball of ice. "Well, anyway, a couple of us started to get a bad feeling about the place, so two of us split. The other guy said he was going back to Hell to report on the site. I started heading back to Nekomi to try and forget about it all." She sighed, irritated at how afraid she was feeling just thinking back on what had happened. "Apparently, the guys who stayed behind figured out how to crack the seal, cause the next thing I know a wave of energy slams into me from behind and all these voices are screaming in my head. I managed to shut them out, but it drained me and I passed out. I'm not sure for how long, but when I woke up, I decided that I had to find out what those idiots had done."

Keiichi was watching her with undivided attention, though she was sure that the human wasn't able to follow everything she was saying. Heck, I was there and even I can barely follow it. Sephiroth seemed to be turning something over in his head, but still looked like he was carefully listening. "As I came closer, there was this mist and smoke all over the place. After a while, I couldn't see more than five meters, just the brown grass under my boots. I decided to open my senses a little, see if I could detect anything." She couldn't help but shiver as she spoke. "I was greeted by the voices of my former Demon comrades. I got the hell out of there as fast as I could after that. Whatever this Cruel Angel thing is, it's absorbed all those Demons into itself. I'd guess that it can do the same thing to Gods and Goddesses if it wanted to."

The dark haired human now looked very pale indeed. It seemed that he fully understood the implications of this things power, and how precarious their situation was. The white haired Templar had closed his eyes in thought however. "How is Hell responding to the threat?" he asked.

"I don't know," she admitted, "but things look really bad right now. I've only seen a few survivors that managed to escape to Earth, but…"

"What?" His eyes were wide open as he interrupted her. "Survivors? It already attacked Hell itself?"

The blond haired Demon nodded sullenly, "Yeah. I'm guessing it was happening while I was going back to check out the site, which is probably the only reason I'm still alive. Nobody I've talked to knows exactly how it happened, but Hell has definitely fallen." She paused to let this information sink in. "I've heard that the survivors are trying to gather together, that they're going to try and retake Hell, but I don't know if it's even possible. That's why I came to you guys. I knew if Heaven's forces were still intact, you would have the best chance against this thing."

There was silence in the room. Only the distant alarm sirens of the human city could be heard. Sephiroth was frowning, deep in thought. It was almost a full minute before he spoke again. "You said that it was the Demons who opened the seal. You're sure of this?"

"I think so," she nodded. "They were the only ones there when I left."

"I don't know everything about it, but I know that ruin is kept under constant surveillance from Heaven. It's difficult to believe that a group of Infernals could simply walk up to it without a Templar force being dispatched immediately." He looked at her intently. "And it's even more difficult to believe that they could have simply stumbled onto the correct method of dispelling such a powerful and complicated seal. The mere existence of the Cruel Angel is a tightly guarded secret. Even some members of the Council of Heaven don't know about it. Leaking information about it is an extraordinarily serious crime."

Keiichi finally found his voice as something clicked in his head. "So, what you're saying is that a Celestial must have told those Demons how to find and open the seal?"

Marller blinked. She had never even considered something like this. "If that were true, though, it would mean that someone very high on the food chain in Heaven…" Sephiroth interrupted her.

"…is a traitor."

Epilogue: Hell Storm

On that fateful day, the Earth itself was attacked by one known only as the Cruel Angel. Billions of humans perished that dark day, and millions more died in the days following. The fires raged and black smoke choked the skies. Many believed that the Final Days had come, that judgment was being dealt to humanity for its wicked ways.

Fire and brimstone raining from the sky, tsunamis caused by meteors landing in the oceans, and the sickness from inhaling the acrid smoke and dust. The suffering this day brought was a scene straight out of the Book of Revelation.

In those dark times, many claimed that they were visited by angels. Bringing food, clean water, and healing the sick, the sightings of these beings became so numerous that it was difficult for one to not believe in some sort of divine power. Many who survived resented God and his angels for protecting and helping such a limited number of people, but leaving the rest of the world to suffer. They blamed Him for allowing it all to happen, and cursed His name as they felt He had cursed them.

Still others were strengthened in their faith, believing that the Almighty God would see them through this troubling time. They prayed for the success of God's angels, and hoped for the success of the forces of Heaven.

In Japan, however, during the days and weeks following the 'Hell Storm' (as it came to be known), the Celestials were not the only things that appeared. Strange creatures were seen, monstrous entities that seemed to multiply with every sighting. No one knew from where these things came, but everyone had soon heard stories of how they would viciously kill anyone they found.

Some humans tried to fight back, but with limited success. The few JSDF (Japan Self Defense Force) and US Armed Forces troops that had survived were the only mortals who stood any chance at all, and even that chance was slim.

In a city called Nekomi, the Gods and Goddesses gathered, making it their headquarters on Earth. The humans there lived in relative peace, under the protective wing of the divine creatures from Heaven. In the months after the city grew by leaps and bounds as more and more survivors came seeking refuge. Buildings began to rise up as the refugees came, and in a short time, the college town had grown into a near metropolis.

However, even divine beings have their limits. In the months following the assault by the Cruel Angel, those limits would be sorely tested.

AN:

Well, Mother's Day snuck up on me, so this is late coming out. That's not really an excuse though, so sorry it's so late.

Okay, about the Doublet system: It didn't come up when I wrote this the first time, since I forgot completely about Hell last time. Basically, I don't know, so I guess we'll have to wait and see. Thanks to () for that question. BTW are you the same () that wrote so many reviews the first time around?

We have now officially finished Arc I! I'll be starting on Arc II soon. If we're lucky I'll have Arc II Chap 1 this upcoming weekend, but I may be working so it might be delayed. Please bear with me.

To all of you who reviewed so far, a hearty thank you to you all! I'm pretty jazzed that you guys are so interested in this (and in my opinion, we haven't even made it to the good part yet!). Please keep reviewing and I hope to see you all in the next arc!

Also, I have set up a forum for this story. I don't know if there's enough in the story for anyone to have a discussion there, but feel free to do so. I'm not sure if just anyone can create a new topic, so if you can't, let me know what you would like to discuss and I'll add a topic for you.

See you all in the next exciting arc!

Katamari Damacy