Arc II: Chapter 06
Changing of the Tides
Belldandy hugged her little sister tightly. "You be careful down there, Skuld."
"Don't worry, sis," she replied. Acting a little embarrassed, she still returned the embrace eagerly. "It's not like I'm going down there by myself or anything."
Pulling back, she gently caressed the younger Goddess' cheek before turning to the Templar. He was dressed for battle, wearing his sleek grey armor and his no-dachi at his belt. His dark blue cloak hung behind him, giving him quite the heroic look. "You be careful too, Gilgamesh. I don't want to see either of you hurt." Her eyes began to water as she briefly touched his shoulder.
He smiled reassuringly. "Your sister is in good hands. Just relax, and we'll see you back in Nekomi."
Peorth sauntered up to the trio. "I see you're getting emotional as always, Belldandy." She patted Bell on the shoulder as she tried to lighten the mood.
Wiping the tears from her eyes, she gave a small laugh. "I'm sorry, everyone. I know everything will be alright." Even as she spoke, she felt the worry in her heart pull at her.
"Looks like it's time, you two," the Goddess of Roses nodded at the two younger Celestials. "The gate to Earth is about to open." As if on cue, a small bead of light appeared near two elaborate statues against the far wall. The two carved angels had their arms outstretched toward one another, and between them the light quickly grew in intensity. Belldandy could feel the air pressure change slightly as the blue glow expanded outward and, in the blink of an eye, became a swirl of clouds, opening into a portal.
They could see the dark sky of Earth through the gate, and the distant, hazy horizon. "Alright then." Gil's voice carried over the hum of energy coming from the portal. He was grinning eagerly, obviously looking forward to going. He glanced back at her and gave her a nod before turning back to his ward. "Let's get going, Skuld."
"Right!" Skuld wore her own excited smile, tightly gripping her long hammer. As the pair floated toward the gate, she waved behind her. "Don't worry, sis! We'll see you back home! We'll all spend Christmas together!"
Belldandy waved back to the pair, silently praying that they would be safe. She wiped her eyes again as the gate swirled and collapsed on itself, and the two disappeared from sight.
"You know," Peorth spoke with a bit of regret, "I was actually hoping that this would last a little longer. It may not be boring over at Yggdrasil anymore, but now I can't get away from it."
"It sounds like you could use a vacation, Peorth." The two giggled at the thought. It wasn't that she didn't need the time off, Lord knew she did. The barely visible circles under her eyes and frequent yawning, like she was doing right then, proved how exhaustive her schedule had been.
Unfortunately, there was almost nobody who was qualified to take her place. Urd was on that short list of names but, like all the others, she was needed elsewhere. Bell herself might have been able to, but she had been away too long and Yggdrasil was too hectic for her to get back in the swing of things.
"Hey, Belldandy." Peorth had again put her hand on her shoulder and was looking at her with a bit of understanding. "You shouldn't let yourself be too worried about them. We all have more than enough to think about as it is."
Her hand came up to take the one resting on her shoulder. "Thank you, Peorth, but you shouldn't have to worry about me either."
"Who say's I'm worried?" The Goddess of Roses gave a sly smirk as she pulled away and floated toward the door. "We had a breakthrough this morning, so I need to get back. I'll be sure to come see you before you head down to Earth. I'll tell you all about it then."
"Bye, Peorth," she waved as they parted. Lingering in the chamber for a few more moments, she stared at the space where the gate had been. Peorth is right. Nodding, she resolutely turned and strode from the room. I shouldn't worry. Everything is going to be fine.
Walking down the corridors of Yggdrasil, she looked on in wonder at all the open panels and work tubes that marred the usually smooth walls. Cables and circuit boards and all manner of things hung out of place, some bundles of wires even hanging from the ceiling. As she sidestepped or ducked to avoid these work areas, she found it quite amazing at how much effort everyone was putting into fortifying Yggdrasil's systems.
It wasn't long before she was outside and feeling the cool breeze shift the long cloth of her blue and white robes. As she moved further and further from the towering structure that housed the operating system of reality, she began to realize that her feet were taking her on a more scenic path to her home in Heaven.
Small birds chirped in the branches that reached over the stone walkway, fluttering from tree to tree. As she took in the beautiful landscape, she hummed an old song to herself. It was a tune that her mentor, Celestine, had taught her when she was just a child. He would sing it to her whenever she felt sad, and it had never failed to cheer her. She found herself wondering just what he would be doing right then if he had still been alive.
He'd probably be on Earth, trying to protect as many people as he could. Celestine never was one to stand by when others needed help.
Glancing to her left, she saw the nearby shoreline of the Crystal Sea. The shimmering surface reached out to the horizon, as far as her eyes could see. Floating down the grassy slope and onto the beach, she smiled at the memories the place brought to her. Feeling the warm sand between her toes, she thought back to those days. Long before she had heard of the Cruel Angel, before Keiichi's wish, even before she received her first class license as a Goddess.
"C'mon, Skuld!" Urd had called out, her hands on her hips. "You said you wanted to learn how to swim! Don't be a chicken!" She was standing up to her knees in the glittering surf, wearing a rather tame lavender, two piece bathing suit. Well, it was tame by recent standards, but back then she looked no more than sixteen years old.
A very young Skuld was in a frilly blue swimsuit, shaking her head vigorously and scuttling back when the waves washed over her feet. "No! No! No!" She cried out with tears in her eyes. "I changed my mind!"
Urd rolled her eyes. "Oh, for the love of…Don't be such a scardie cat! I'll be right here with you, so there's nothing that could possibly go wrong!" Her reassurances didn't have the desired effect.
"Noooo!" The child Goddess ran as fast as her legs would take her. A young Belldandy, barely a teenager herself, caught the fleeing girl in her arms. She had a white, single piece suit, with a sky blue bit of wafty cloth tied like a skirt around her waist. She held the squirming little girl, doing her best to console her.
"It's alright, Skuld" she spoke softly, smoothing out her young sister's dark hair. "I'll be right here watching. There's nothing for you to be afraid of."
Much calmer, but still sniffling, the little one looked up at her. "Why don't you teach me? I trust you."
Urd's annoyed voice sounded from the water's edge. "I can hear you, runt!"
"You asked Urd to teach you." The blue eyed Goddess smiled as she spoke. "She knows what she's doing. She's actually a better swimmer than me." Skuld looked suspicious of this but said nothing. "I'll be right here in case something happens. Now, go on." Patting the girl on the backside, she sent Skuld toward their older sister.
They started out in the shallows, splashing water at each other. Skuld came to like the water quickly, especially when she was able to drench her older sister. It was one of the few times in her life that she had the white haired Goddess on the run, and she enjoyed every minute of it.
When it came time to move into deeper waters, however, she was not nearly so daring. Urd decided to be relatively serious, something that didn't often happen in those days, as she held her baby sister. Though she did threaten to leave Skuld in the middle of the sea once or twice, the lessons came along rather nicely. Three hours after their arrival, Skuld had allowed herself to let go and swim on her own.
Immensely pleased with her accomplishment, she raised an arm out of the water and called to shore. "Sis, look at me! I can swim! I can swim all by myself!"
"That's wonderful, Skuld!" Bell waved back at the excited girl. "I knew you could do it!"
That was when it happened. Belldandy had found out later that there had been a massive overload in the environmental controls for Heaven due to a viral infection of that sub-system of Yggdrasil. This had caused a short that sent tremendous amounts of Celestial energy to random locations throughout the Eternal City. At the time, all she knew was that the Crystal Sea had suddenly filled with electricity.
Skuld's scream ended as abruptly as it started, as she passed out over ten meters from the shore. Urd was floundering badly, but managed to grab Skuld. She was able to keep them above water, but only just. Belldandy tried to push her terror aside as she flew out over the electrified surface to try and help her sisters.
"Take Skuld!" Urd tried to push the girl above the water as she herself went under. Bell reached down to grab her younger sister and felt the energy of the sea course through her arm. She winced and cried out a bit, but pulled the girl up tightly to her chest. Still worried about Urd, she turned to deposit Skuld on the shore when a powerful arc of Celestial energy jumped from a cresting wave. The painful shock stunned the unsuspecting Goddess and, with a yelp of pain, fell into the water.
In agony and very disoriented, she managed to hold onto Skuld as she thrashed about frantically. Bell could feel the angry water spirits, driven mad by the unprecedented surge of energy. Her muscles were contracting against their will and she couldn't right herself. She couldn't get away from the spirits that were assaulting her, nor could she drive them back in her weakened state.
A wave of fear washed over her when she realized that no one knew they were there. By the time anyone thought to look for them, it would be too late.
I…I can't hold on. Her body jerked as the water poured into her lungs. As she felt the water spirits begin to poison her, the world turned to darkness.
Through the black, she heard a voice. His tone was gentle and warm, and she at once felt safe. "Belldandy. It's time to wake up, Belldandy." Slowly opening her eyes, she squinted as the visage of Celestine came into focus. "I'm glad you're all right."
I don't understand. All right? The memories came flooding back as she abruptly sat up, clutching the front of his robes. "My sisters! Are they safe?"
Setting a calming hand on her still wet shoulder, he replied with a smile. "They're fine. We drew the water spirits and their poison from your bodies." He motioned to a place nearby where she saw Urd and Skuld, laying unconscious on the grass. "All that's left is for them to wake up."
Relief washed over her and she felt tears sting her eyes as she threw her arms around her mentor. "Thank you! Thank you for saving them. I don't know what I would have done…" The young Goddess began to cry as she thought of what might have happened.
Celestine held her as the tears dampened his tunic. She soon heard a melody from the God. He was humming her favorite tune for her, the one he always sang to her when she was down. Wiping her eyes as she pulled away, she rewarded his efforts with a radiant smile.
The relief still had not fully faded from her as she glanced back at her siblings. As she saw them lying there, a thought occurred to the blue eyed Goddess. "Celestine, how did you know we were in trouble? How did you find us so quickly?"
"I can hear your thoughts." He laughed a little at the curious expression he received. "Don't you remember me telling you years ago, that I would always be able to find you, no matter where you hide? It's because I'm always thinking about you."
"I see tha lassie is doin' better now!" A booming voice behind her gave Bell a start. "I suppose tha will mean tha other young 'uns ought ta be wakin' up soon." She stared at the huge, burly God, his scarred and wrinkled face less than welcoming.
"Belldandy, this is Lord Odin." Celestine gestured toward the ancient Templar. "He helped me to save the three of you."
Favoring him with a smile, she bowed, her voice filled with gratitude. "Thank you very much, Lord Odin! I just can't tell you how glad I am that you helped us!"
The grey bearded man chuckled as he scratched at his tangled whiskers. "Twas nothin', lassie. An don't call me lord. Jus Odin is good enough fer tha likes ah me."
Her hand covered her mouth as she shook her head. "Oh, I couldn't just call you Odin! It would be disrespectful to you!"
Feeling her mentor's hands gently squeeze her shoulders from behind, she heard him whisper quietly into her ear, "Why don't you call him uncle?"
The smile returned just before she flew forward to wrap her arms tightly around the neck of the surprised elder God. "Thank you, Uncle Odin!"
The cold water washed over her feet as she let out a small giggle at the memory. I was worried that Skuld would be terrified of the water after that. Instead she was intrigued by the power of electricity, and helped lead her down the path of an inventor. Urd ended up being more wary of these waters than anyone, and she was the best swimmer. She laughed again as she continued her slow walk down the beach.
Taking in the scenery, she realized that she had unconsciously made her way along the water's edge as she thought of the past. She was standing in the very spot that Skuld had been when she decided she didn't want Urd to teach her. A little up the grassy hill behind the sand was the place that she had met Uncle Odin for the first time.
As she studied the familiar area, she saw a figure further down the beach. They were leaning against a tree on the grass a little ways away, simply staring out at the shimmering sea. As she approached the black clad God, she was about to say hello when he tensed suddenly, looking at her with glowing green eyes. Bell felt the huge spike of power in the air and let out a startled yelp at his unexpected reaction.
He studied her for a second before sighing a bit, his power subsiding as he relaxed back against his tree. She wasn't quite sure what to make of him, but she put on her best smile anyway. "I'm sorry if I startled you. My name is Belldandy."
His green eyes were no longer glowing as he glanced up at her again. "Lady Belldandy? Urd's sister?"
"Why yes," she replied with mild surprise. "Are you friends with Urd?"
He hesitated for a moment. "I work with her."
"Do you mind if I sit with you?" He motioned silently to the ground. Bell settled on the cool, shaded grass beside him. "What's your name?"
"Sephiroth."
"Oh, so you were the leader of the Templars on Earth," she chirped. "But why are you here?"
"I ask myself that same question," he replied flatly. "Your sister seems to believe that I need more time for my injuries to heal."
Belldandy nodded as she listened. "I understand. I was told that you were badly injured when you attacked…I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring up unpleasant memories. I know it's a bit late for me to say this, but I'm sorry for the loss of your fellow Templars."
His eyes searched the horizon as he looked out over the sea. "It's nothing. They died as warriors. In the end, that is all a Templar can truly hope for."
A moment of silence passed before Bell spoke up. "But that isn't all you can hope for. Those men had people who they loved, and who loved them. Isn't there someone that you care for? Someone that would be sad if you were to die in battle?"
"There is no one." He quietly sighed, still watching the waters. "I have been alone almost all my life. My father died when I was young, and I never knew my mother. All I had was the way of the warrior, though even my brothers in arms seemed distant to me.
"The day when I ascended to the Third Order, I was given the opportunity to free the holy sword Masamune from a stone near the Lord's Palace. It had been there for a thousand years, and I pulled it out with ease. The weapon began to communicate with me and, though it is only a sword, it became the closest thing I had to a friend. For years I hardly needed to speak with others. All I wanted was to become stronger, and Masamune helped me. It knows everything that its previous wielders ever learned, and it has taught me programs that haven't been used in generations."
Belldandy, curiosity getting to her, asked him, "Where is Masamune now?"
"On Earth," he replied. "I lent it to Urd so she could carry on the fight down there. Masamune was the one who suggested it stay with her." He blinked and shook his head a bit. "Why am I telling you all of this?"
She smiled at the stoic warrior. "Maybe without Masamune around to talk to, you were just a bit lonely. No one likes being by themselves all the time."
The white haired God seemed the slightest bit amused by her words. "Has anyone ever told you, Lady Belldandy, that you have an unnatural ability to make people trust you?"
"It's nothing, really." Her cheeks became a bit colored as she shifted in place, embarrassed by the compliment. "I just try to understand the feelings of everyone around me. Seeing other people happy makes me happy, too."
Sephiroth seemed to ponder her words for a few seconds. "I don't understand that at all."
"I'm sure that you do," she responded. "There must be someone who you want to see happy. You and Masamune are friends, right? You two have talked a lot over the years."
"Masamune is a loyal friend," he said, thinking hard about her words, "and I do feel some amount of pleasure when he is happy, but I don't know if that is what you are talking about. It just doesn't feel like the same thing."
"The same thing as Urd?"
If she hadn't been watching for his reaction, she wouldn't have seen his eye twitch at her words. "I don't know what you mean."
"You said 'Lady Belldandy' every time you've used my name," she explained, "but you never used 'Lady' in front of Urd's name. The way you say her name holds a certain amount of familiarity." Bell watched him but he kept his face neutral. "You said before that you have sought strength since you were young. I've found that the desire, the need, to protect someone that you care about can make a person stronger than anything else."
He was silent for a moment before responding in a rather serious voice. "You may be right, but what if your thoughts about someone do nothing but confuse your emotions? What if that person irritates you as often as they calm you? The destabilizing effect that it has on your concentration seems to make you weaker."
Belldandy looked up at the sky, watching the slow drift of the shifting clouds. "As often as the person may do things that bother you, it doesn't change the fact that you don't want them to come to harm, right?" He looked over at her blankly as she met his eyes with a bright smile. "As long as you want to keep that person safe, then you will find your true strength."
"Lord Sephiroth!" The girl's voice drew their attention to the young Goddess who was flying up to them. The two Celestials stood as the red headed, pig tailed girl landed before them, panting heavily.
Belldandy put a hand on her shoulder to steady the young Celestial. "Arimeia, what's wrong? Would you like to sit down?"
"I'm alright, Lady Belldandy. Thank you." Her breathing started to slow a bit as she looked up at the stony faced Templar. "I'm sorry to bother you, Lord Sephiroth. There's a situation over at Yggdrasil. Lady Peorth has requested your presence as soon as possible."
"I will be there shortly." He turned briefly to the adult Goddess. "If you will excuse me, Lady Belldandy."
"Perhaps I should come, too," she said, stepping forward. "If there's a problem, then I might be able to help a little."
"As you wish."
Heaven was arranged around the Palace of the Lord Almighty. Many homes and parks surrounded the magnificent structure, which rose higher than any other. Centered on the Lord's home, three major structures were arranged equidistant from each other, forming the corners of a triangle when viewed from above, and were visible from anywhere in the Eternal City.
One of these corners, near the Crystal Sea, was the Tower of Yggdrasil, its massive tree reaching into the sky. A river flowed by the tower, feeding into the shimmering sea. This river snaked its way through the city, running through part of the Lord's Palace, from its starting point in the mountains. It was here that a huge waterfall glittered next to several large structures that seemed to climb the mountain itself. These were the Halls of the Templar, the second point of the triangle.
The third point was a hill, surrounded by carefully maintained forests, gardens, and a small lake. It was amidst this beautiful landscape that the glorious structure that housed the Council of Heaven stood. It was many stories tall, with hanging gardens and artificial waterfalls along its walls. Its many colors of stone caught the eye, as most places in Heaven were built in pure white. It was truly one of the most amazing structures in Heaven.
Within its walls, the Council normally saw a great many Celestials going to and fro, taking care of whatever business was at hand. Like most places in Heaven, though, the pace had picked up dramatically in the last month. Things in the Council had almost grown as hectic as they were in the Goddess Relief Office. Constantly messengers darted between chambers, sometimes flying out of the courtyard to some other part of Heaven. Like sparrows they flitted from place to place, taking files and letters to various members of the Council as they moved from one meeting to the next.
The Celestials who made up the High Council were very busy making most of the decisions concerning the war in place of the Almighty, who had withdrawn to take care of an unknown matter of great importance. The Council members were not perturbed in the least by their Lord's absence at such a crucial time. In fact, they felt honored that He would entrust them with the responsibility He had given them.
As one of many Gods made his way through the open air courtyard, he wondered if he would be able to get to his next meeting on time. Had he been anyone else, they would simply start the meeting without him. In his case, though, that was impossible. They could not begin the meeting without the leader of the Council.
Chancellor Marduk brushed the dark purple strands of hair from his eyes as he briefly read the key points for this meeting. Cursing himself for taking a long lunch, he wondered how this would affect his schedule. I'm behind enough as it is. I'll just have to rush this briefing and try to make the next one on time.
He glanced at another sheet of paper, showing what he had the rest of the day. First the Templar Draft Initiative. After that is the Secret Report on the Traitor Investigation. Then the Goddess Relief Resources petition. Then five more hours of debate on the floor of the Council Assembly. He unconsciously rubbed at his eyes.
Truth be told, the only thing that occupied his mind was the traitor investigation. Everyone knew that without leaked information from someone in Heaven, the Demons would never have found, much less freed, the Cruel Angel. The fact that someone might have been working for the ancient foe of Heaven had made many Celestials very nervous, and the investigation had proceeded in earnest.
It seemed, though, that the perpetrator had covered his or her tracks quite well. The investigation had stalled almost as soon as it had begun. Marduk had used this fact as an excuse to become directly involved with the search for the traitor, and ever since he had been making suggestions and offering advice to the Templars in charge. The whole issue was worrisome to the God, and he made it a point to stay very involved in the progress of the search.
"Lord Chancellor!" A young boy called to him from the sky. Marduk looked up to see a young God floating down into the courtyard, landing in front of him. "I have a message for you, Chancellor!"
"What is it, my boy?"
The messenger bowed as he held out a sealed folder. "Lord Commander Daedalus said that this was important, and to give it only to you."
Marduk took the folder from the boy, who stood upright again, watching as the Chancellor broke the seal and began to read the information within. His eyes grew larger as they raced down the page, a small smile showing on his lips. "Daedalus gave this to you, did he? Did he say where the person in question is?"
"Lord Commander Daedalus said something about someone being at Yggdrasil. It sounded pretty important," the boy responded. "I wasn't supposed to hear that, though. Please don't tell Lord Daedalus that I was eavesdropping, sir! Please?"
Smiling, Marduk snapped the folder shut and rustled the boy's hair. "You have done very well, young man. Go tell Daedalus to meet me at Yggdrasil with as many Templars as he can find. Hurry!"
The boy bowed quickly. "Yes, sir, Lord Chancellor! I'll tell him straight away!" With that, the young God turned and sped off into the sky.
Looking back at the folder in his hands, the leader of the Council felt a wave of satisfaction and relief wash over him. I didn't think things would work out so well. Lifting off the polished stone walkway, he soared away from the Council building. The meetings will have to wait. Smiling to himself, he lanced through the blue sky, straight toward the Tower of Yggdrasil.
"Don't worry, sis!" She waved over her shoulder as they passed through the gate. "We'll see you back home! We'll all spend Christmas together!"
Gilgamesh smiled at her confidence. She was certain that everything would go smoothly. Though he knew from experience that things seldom followed the details of the plan, he hoped that on the whole her optimism wasn't mistaken. Looking at the Earth below them, however, caused his smile to quickly fade.
"What happened, Gil?" Skuld was horrified at what she saw. "It's been demolished!"
Demolished wasn't the word he would have used. More like obliterated.
They had gated in a few hundred meters above the Naval base at Yokusuka. Rather, they were where it used to be. The ocean churned angrily to the south, and Tokyo Bay roiled to the east. Everything inland, however, was destroyed. A few steel girders, bits of concrete still clinging to them, tried to reach above the devastation, but everything else was little more than rubble and ruin. It was as if something had reached out and wiped the place from the Earth.
"I've never seen anything like this," he remarked grimly. "I don't think that even the meteors could have done all this."
Skuld looked at him, not quite as confident as before. "But if the Hell Storm didn't do this, what did?"
He scanned the destruction, looking out over the nearby waters for an answer, but found none. "I don't know," he finally answered. "Whatever it was…"
Both whipped around at the sounds they were hearing, looking inland with disbelief at what awaited them. Neither Celestial spoke as they stared for several seconds at the unlikely sight. "Gil, do you see what I see?"
"I'm not sure," he replied frankly. Gripping the hilt of his sword, he glanced over at her. "Let's go, Skuld. Stay close to me." She nodded as she gripped her hammer, Mjolnir, and the two flew inland.
As they approached, Gil realized that what they had seen was actually far bigger than he had originally thought. A massive ship was resting in the middle of the destroyed city. Massive amounts of tracer rounds could be seen streaking out of the land locked vessel. "That's an aircraft carrier!" The Goddess' disbelief was apparent in her voice. "But that thing is over three hundred meters long! It probably weighs tens of thousands of tons! How did it get all the way here?"
As they got closer, the weapons stopped firing. Whatever battle was being fought was apparently over. Looking at each other, the pair descended slowly onto the massive flight deck. Gil was allowing his power to flow through him, ready to protect Skuld at a moment's notice.
The flat top of the ship had what appeared to be piles of sandbags in various places around the edge. Each pile had a large machine gun or small cannon, protected and stabilized by the sacks of dirt. As they touched down atop the seventy five meter tall carrier, almost all the humans stared wide eyed at them. Gilgamesh bent to the side and whispered to the raven haired Goddess. "Maybe we should go find the person in charge."
Nodding, she strode across the flight deck like she owned it, smiling and waving at the dumbfounded men. Some waved back absentmindedly while the rest simply gawked, unable to convince themselves that they had just seen two people float out of the sky and onto their ship.
Apparently, someone finally realized that there were intruders on board. Gil stepped forward protectively as the pair was surrounded by a dozen camouflaged men, all pointing their rifles at them. I could take these guys out with ease, but Skuld might get hurt. Besides, we're supposed to be helping these people, not killing them. Slowly, he raised his hands above his head.
Skuld, obviously nervous, tried to look as if she were in control of the situation. Planting her hands firmly on her hips, she ordered the men in English, "Take us to your leader!"
Gilgamesh winced as he barely contained a moan of frustration.
Hild felt a small smile on her lips. Taking a moment to adjust the red fleece blanked that she had draped over Kidara, she watched the young Demon as she snored quietly. If she had been the type to run away from her problems, she would have envied the black haired girl. She was carefree, and knew almost nothing of the incredible danger that they all faced. Yes, it would be wonderful to be so blissfully ignorant.
But she was not one to run from her problems. She wasn't one to give up, to admit defeat. She bowed for no one. It was her feet that people groveled at, her favor that they fought each other to win. She was the most powerful Demon alive.
She was the leader of Hell, god damn it.
Kidara grinned and giggled a bit as Hild's small hand brushed her cheek. "You're a lucky Demon," she whispered to the sleeping girl. "When I get Hell back…well, I'll let you choose your reward for entertaining me." She gave a silent huff of a laugh before standing, making her way out of the dark cave.
It was cold outside, but that didn't bother her that much. The sky was dark but it seemed as though the clouds were starting to thin. The bare trees stood silently as they spotted the craggy rock face where the Demons had made their temporary home. It seemed like a wasteland, which was appropriate for the refugees. At least, that was what she felt.
Hild was thankful that in her child form she didn't have to stoop to enter any of the caves. She strode in, hearing the jumbled conversations of several individuals. Turning a corner, she found them arguing amongst themselves. A few of them were huddled on the hard floor, trying to light some pieces of dried tinder.
Israfel, looking irritated with his comrades, saw their diminutive ruler as she approached and bowed low. "Mistress Hild!" His loud announcement caused the others to bow in respect as well, echoing his welcome.
She gave no sign that she heard them. "We require more light," she stated simply, sitting on a nearby stone.
"Of course, Mistress," one of the three working on the tinder responded. "We're trying to start a fire right now."
She rolled her eyes, quickly growing impatient. Snapping her fingers, the dry twigs exploded into a raging fire, drawing yelps from the Demons who were huddled around it. The flames subsided to a more reasonable level in a matter of seconds, and she began to look at her followers. She was a bit surprised to see that they all looked at her as if she had broken their favorite toy. "What?" When no one responded she fixed her eyes on Israfel.
He didn't seem to want to say anything, but he answered anyway. "M-Mistress, we've been trying to avoid using our powers anywhere near the caves."
She cocked her small head a bit to the side, still watching him carefully. "Why?"
"Well, since our enemy is occupying Hell," he explained, "they have access to Nidhogg, which means they can monitor when and where we use our abilities. We didn't want to draw attention to ourselves."
He obviously wasn't expecting her to laugh at him, nor was anyone else, because they got the most peculiar expressions when she did so. "Is that all?" She pretended to wipe a tear from her eye as she waited, but no one responded. "Nidhogg doesn't function without our authorization. We disabled the system's controls before we escaped. It was difficult, but we couldn't have the Cruel Angel using our own system against us, could we?"
"The Cruel Angel?" Israfel seemed intrigued. "That's our enemy? You fought with it, Mistress?"
"Yes," she answered him quietly, trying not to remember the struggle. "He is the most vicious and evil thing to ever live." The Infernals remained silent, pondering what could be so horrible that Hild would claim it to be more evil than she.
One of the other Demons began to smile. "Mistress Hild fought their leader during their surprise attack and at least managed to battle it to a draw. That means we have the advantage if we surprise them! All we have to do is slip a small team in to secure Nidhogg. Then we'll have our powers back and we can regroup to attack this thing."
"You're wrong." She spoke with a little more emotion that she had planned, but it got his attention. "You can't get to Hell. A barrier has been erected so that no one can get in or out. Heaven sealed it just as we escaped. Obviously He realized that the Cruel Angel was there and tried to contain him. Though we hate to admit it, it was a sound plan. But it only bought time. Cracks are already forming in the barrier, and it won't be long before the Cruel Angel makes his way back here to Earth."
The cave was silent, save for the crackling of the bits of wood in the fire. Israfel was the first to speak. "If that's true, Mistress, what do we do? How can we fight back?"
She narrowed her eyes, looking at each of the Demons in turn before answering. "We must leave this place. We need to find more of our comrades before we can even begin to pose a threat to the Cruel Angel. After that, we may have a chance."
One of the men asked her, "A chance at what, Mistress?"
"A chance of finding a way to get our home back."
Peorth found it difficult to hide her surprise. "Belldandy? What are you doing here? I thought you were going back to your house?"
"I was talking to Lord Sephiroth when he got your message," she replied. "I thought I might be of some help."
She shook her head, still sitting in her command chair. "Sorry. I know you mean well, but there really isn't much for you to do here. I do need Lord Sephiroth, however."
The Templar finally spoke up. "Why did you summon me, Lady Peorth?"
The Goddess of Roses scowled a bit as she responded. "There's a problem in the Haguruma section."
"Haguruma?" Sephiroth crossed his arms, obviously unfamiliar with the term.
"It's an ancient section of Yggdrasil," Belldandy answered him. "Think of the Haguruma as the original version of Yggdrasil. This computerized version that we know was built over the original system, and has only been in use for a millennium or so."
"As you know," Peorth took over, "our systems didn't detect the Hell Storm until it was almost in the atmosphere. We've been working for weeks now to discover how the Cruel Angel was able to execute such a huge program without our knowledge. This morning we finally discovered why. The Cruel Angel didn't summon the Hell Storm at all. It was Yggdrasil."
The blue eyed Goddess was taken aback by this revelation. "How can that be?"
Sephiroth's gaze narrowed on the watch commander. "So you're trying to tell me that someone in Heaven went into an obsolete part of Yggdrasil and triggered the Hell Storm from there?"
"Exactly." Peorth looked grim as she spoke. "But you shouldn't think of the Haguruma as obsolete. It's capable of executing the same programs. Whoever it was even managed to hide what they were doing until it was too late. The only reason we don't use it anymore is because the computerized system is more user friendly and easier to maintain."
"If we've switched to the new system," he asked, "how was the old one able to activate the meteor program?"
"It was never disconnected," Belldandy answered, looking a bit disturbed by all this. "The Haguruma is still a hardwired part of Yggdrasil. It would have been a massive undertaking to remove all the connections and move all functions to the current system, so they just left it there. It probably never occurred to the Council that someone would use it in this way."
"So you want me to go into the Haguruma and discover who or what is behind all this?" Peorth shook her head at the Templar.
"No, you don't have the training," she answered. "We need you to escort one of our technicians inside and keep her safe."
Sephiroth arched an eyebrow at that. "You sound fairly certain that there is a reason for your Goddess to have an escort when she goes. I assume there is something other than a few bugs wandering around down there."
"I'm not sure, to be honest," Peorth sighed. "We sent in two Goddesses this morning, as soon as we found out the connection to the Haguruma. We don't know if it's some sort of glitch, but we lost contact with them half an hour ago."
A/N:
A little more than seven thousand words, the longest chapter so far! It looks like the Demons are getting ready to make a move, and who knows what lurks within the Haguruma (look up haguruma in the Japanese dictionary to get an idea what that will be like). Plus, who is this person at Yggdrasil that Chancellor Marduk is after? Why is an aircraft carrier miles inland?
The flashback with the near 'drowning' incident hopefully makes more sense than it did the last time I wrote it. Before it was just electricity and drowning. Now it's Celestial energy and water spirit poisoning.
By the way, it's kind of obvious from my mention of Celestine, but I will be using the OMG movie for some source material in addition to the manga. Just so you know.
Haha, looking back at my notes I found out that when I had made it to this point in the story last time, the OMG section of ff net had just had its two hundredth story posted. Now that we're up to, what, four hundred and something fics, I thought that was kind of funny. Plus, I think Zankoku is now longer than it was when I stopped posting last time, and I've still got six more chapters of material from back then. That ought to show how much bonus material you guys are getting this time around!
Oh, I remember wanting to do sort of an omake style chapter after the story is concluded. Sort of a cast party for all the characters, good and bad. I'm definitely going to try to do that when we finish, so look forward to that!
As always, thanks for reading, and kudos to you reviewers out there. You guys are making this worthwhile. See you next chapter!
Katamari Damacy