Chapter 26

Urd wasn't happy about the fact that Hild had wanted to take Megumi to see the stars, as it dredged up painful memories and more than just a little resentment. Urd wasn't left alone to stew for too long, however, because there was someone else, just as bothered by the events as she was. Perhaps, if she had been in a different mindset, she would have taken comfort in that, or, at least noticed something that should have been very apparent to her.

"Aunt Urd…" The voice came meekly from the second born child of Belldandy's brood.

"What's up, Hikari?" Urd asked, as she found herself bent over one of her potions, trying to see if it had fermented enough. The little girl didn't answer, and Urd looked up to see the child hiding halfway behind the door frame. "Oh no…" Urd said then, she knew that look. Trouble was never far away, when such a frown graced Hikari's face. "What happened?"

Hikari dug her foot into the floor, her short fawn hair came only to the tip of her jawline, but Urd found that it was still just enough to hide the child's eyes from view. "The demons took Meg, didn't they?" The young goddess asked worriedly.

Urd bit back a curse. "Yeah, Meg's a demon now, she choose her side." It tasted bitter in her mouth. Urd wasn't happy about it, she was pissed in fact, but she wouldn't let Meg know about it. "But you know, she still has a goddess side too." The admission being what it was, gave Urd some measure of solace, and yet, not nearly enough. "Hikari, you and I have a demon side to us too, we just choose not to do demonic things that spread misfortune."

"Meg should be a goddess." Hikari said then, cowering in her own sadness on the matter. "She doesn't want to be one, but, that's only going to promote unhappiness."

"Come here, kiddo." Urd shrugged off her lab coat and hung it up on the hanger, picking Hikari up, so that she could sit on one of the metal surfaces that didn't have anything on it. Then, like the aunt she was known for being, her own brand of corruption as it was, she pulled a plate of cookies out of thin air. "So, why do you think Meg should be a goddess?"

Hikari frowned at that. She wasn't entirely sure. "Mother doesn't like it when we do bad things." Hikari said then. "She wants us to be the goddesses she knows we can be." Then she bit her lip, and looked away again, her voice hardly there at all. "Shouting and doing all of the things that demons do, only makes bad things happen. Mom gets hurt when she sees us acting rashly. I know for a fact that she doesn't really like it."

"You could do with being just a little more violent and outspoken." Urd said, knowing this particular child was the wallflower of the group, much like Belldandy had been in her youth. Quiet and pleasant to be around, but not nearly as outgoing or forthright as some might hope for. "Not all demons are violent." Urd said then.

"Dad gets mad…" Hikari said, the child never knew that she'd inherited her shyness, or her blush, from him. Thinking of a few times she'd seen him get angry, she began to shake a little. "He casts things Mara and Xic all the time. He tries to hurt them. To control them."

"To be fair, I blast Mara all the time too when she gets in my way." Urd said then, with a shake of her head. "Your mom gets angry, just like I do. All goddesses do." Urd said with a laugh. "She just chooses to bottle it up, just like you do." She forced the little girl to look her in the eyes. Gentle pools of brown, something all of the children shared in common, found Urd's own beseeching gaze. "You and I both know, I'm not so nice."

"You are…" Hikari said then, clinging onto her aunt. "You aren't a demon….you'd never be a demon, not ever!"

"You're right." Urd agreed, she couldn't deny that. "I chose to be a goddess, so that's what I am."

"I want to be one too." Hikari whispered. "But, I don't want to make Megumi mad."

This was exactly why Urd hated the idea of any of the children choosing their future. She knew it would come to this, it was bound to happen, and it made her sigh. She wanted to cry for them, take pity on what she knew would inevitably happen, but all she could do now, was encourage the young goddess before her to stay true to herself. "You are a fine goddess, Hikari, never let anyone tell you otherwise, not even Meg."

The young goddess grew quiet then, and pulled away from the comforting hug, a question lingering, even if it wouldn't be answered until far in the future. "What will my angel look like?" The goddess asked, almost wishing that it might look like Urd's own.

"I can't say." Urd shrugged. "Elegance was blessed by many, or so I've been told. Her egg was the product of holy and unholy power, just like your egg. Each angel is the representation of her goddess, so, it's only plausible to assume she will reflect you." As if a distant thought came to mind, she shrugged. "Some angels, for example, have feathers, but some have wings made of other things. I've seen ones with colorful wings, as if they were once birds, and ones with simply a covering of skin, like a bat wing."

Hikari crinkled her nose at that. "I don't think I'd want an angel with bat wings. I'm a goddess and having bat wings would make her more of a devil, wouldn't it?"

"Oh, Elegance is devilish in her own ways, regardless of her angelic feathers." Urd digressed with a distant smirk. "The dark markings on her body, for example, are the personification of the darkness within."

Hikari nodded, but didn't say anything beyond that as she looked at Urd's back, poking at a little spot that she knew for a fact would get the angel's attention, it made a dim light protrude from Urd's back, a soft glow and little more, though elegance didn't come out to greet the calling goddess. "I've always wanted an angle like Elegance."

"Funny, but I've always envied Belldandy, because of Holybell." Urd said then. "That was before I got to learn about Elegance mind you, and we've grown closer as adults…well as close as a goddess can get to a partly devilish creature, I suppose."

"She does bad things?" Hikari wondered then, but Urd just shook her head.

"All angels are far more willing to do things that bring them a sense of fulfillment. They seek out things that which brings themselves and others great joy…devils on the other hand are like their demon masters. They do what they want, when they want to do it." It was time to see if her latest creation had fermented enough for the next phase of her concoction, and as she measured out the powder she would use, she gave the child a sideways glance. "Elegance struggles with it, because I struggle with it." She knew that Hikari would as well. "You'll see, when you have your angel."

…

Megumi, at first, was happy as a demon.

Content to train and study demonic arts, and yet, still enjoy her sisters at her side. Belldandy prayed that such a thing would last a lifetime for Megumi, but she knew just by the tiny hints she saw, that such a thing was impossible. Megumi's demonic outlook was something she began to grab hold of tightly, unwilling to let go of it, even if she also didn't understand all of the implications of a demonic life.

It soon became part of her entire world in a big way. Her training consumed her time, and Hild came to earth more often as a direct result. Megumi strongly relied on her father's influence, and her desire for wrongdoing was a strong one. She was not an inherently evil demon, not really. Even so, her once soft eyes of brown had been filled with grim satisfaction whenever she went against her mother's wishes.

Megumi was growing a taste for spite, and anger pounded through her veins.

It was not an unexpected outcome, but it was one that the household had feared might happen. To make matters worse, Hikari had finally decided to begin her training as a goddess, and although all of the heavens rejoiced in such a fact, and the demons remained indifferent to it, the household waited with baited breath. Megumi didn't take the news well, and, as Hild had once told Keiichi long ago, demons gained their power through loss…

To say that Megumi felt betrayed was an understatement, and her growth spiked as the end result. The only problem was, Megumi was not yet ready to have such power flow into her very being. "Are you stupid! That's insane, you should never accept a goddess's training. It'll make you weak."

"Who asked you?" Hikari replied, after having told her sister of her choice.

"You're making a huge mistake." Meg growled, her fist clenching as the marks on her face began to glow. "Why the hell would you want to be like them?" She hissed, though she hadn't been very particular in just who she was referring too. "Goddess don't understand the world, they're too caught up in crap that they don't understand. They're blind, Hikari."

"No weaker than a demon who hates everything and everyone!" Hikari finally shouted, a rarity, unless she was in a dispute with Megumi. "Look at you, do you really think you're so strong right now?"

The damn broke, and Megumi lost control. In a fit of pure rage, pain within the depths of her soul, she's flung the first blast of magic, and it hit head on. "See what I mean?!" she hollered. "Worthless!" It hurt to see her own sister consumed in the level one elemental fire that left slight burns. "Don't you understand what you're doing?" Yet it was the only thing she could do.

Belldandy was the first to coming running, having been near the tea room at the time. With severity in her eyes, she forced herself to stay calm, although she was quite unhappy. "Megumi!" The sharpness of her raised voice bright her daughter to pause. "You absolutely cannot become argumentative with your sisters, Megumi." Belldandy told her, a harsh edge to her voice that wasn't normally there. "You're strong, and you must be careful. Hikari isn't like you."

"Yeah, no duh." Meg replied in a heated whisper. In truth, she wanted to cry, but she was just too angry, too prideful to do that. "She's nothing like me. Just look at her face."

"That's isn't what I mean." Belldandy sighed. Hikari was alright, merely sleeping, as most young goddesses did when struck with a spell they couldn't deflect. It was merely a weak elemental spell, without any true guidance behind it, and yet even so, there was a horror in that. An understanding of just where it had come from, of who had cast it. "She has not awakened her powers fully, and you can gravely hurt her."

"She doesn't look gravely hurt to me." Megumi replied, not giving an inch, nor backing down.

"If you use your powers without considering that she can't use any sort of shield, you will end up causing your sister undue amounts of damage." Belldandy wouldn't relent either. "Damage Megumi, that may not be able to be repaired." Belldandy pressed sternly. "Do you understand? You cannot expect them to stand as your equal in combat. You are their senior, you should be protecting them." She admonished.

"Hikari's just a stupid goddess anyway." Megumi crossed her arms, leaning onto the wall nearby. "She won't ever be able to use her power at this rate. She'll be as worthless as they come."

Megumi was trying to mask her own pain, and Belldandy didn't like that. "Your aunt, Skuld, isn't magically inclined either, and she's a fine goddess. We do our part, just as you do yours." Belldandy told her pointedly. "For some, powers come early, but that's not true for everyone." Belldandy sighed, seeing the bruise on Megumi's knee. Her daughters were nothing if not rough when it came to their debates, and Hikari was not without fault of her own, even if she didn't have powers. She had a knack for explosives, just like her aunt. "Here's let's fix that knee of yours, shall we?"

"No, I don't need a goddess's help." Megumi backed away from her mother. "It's Hikari's fault. I lost control of my powers in the first place because of her!" Megumi shouted. "If she would just be a demon, we wouldn't have to be enemies. If she wants to be on opposing sides, fine then, but I won't go easy on her! I can't!"

"Meg…that's enough." Keiichi's voice was quiet, but dangerous. "You never speak to your mother like that." He grabbed her wrist and turned her to face him. "You don't have to be enemies with anyone. You should know that."

"Yes we do!" Megumi told him. "It doesn't matter that we're sisters. Hikari and I…" She pulled her hand from his grip. "We were always together until that happened." Megumi pointed to the heavenly colorations on her sister's face. "She chose to be a goddess, over being a demon…she doesn't give a shit about us." Megumi spat, tears spilling from her eyes. "So why should I care about her?"

A loud slap cut through the room, but it was not from the demon male before her. It wasn't even from Belldandy, who sat near Hikari's prone form, awestruck.

As Megumi's breath came back to her, she sat up, gazing at the most fearsome form she'd ever seen. "Pathetic." Hild growled, her eyes a deadly glint. "To think I've taken such a whelp under my blackened wing. You've no right to stand to your betters and sling such distasteful barbs, nor to turn against your own blood. It begs the question if I should do the same to you…" The hiss was outright deadly.

"Stop…" Belldandy staid standing from her place, embracing her shaking daughter. "That's enough, Hild." She held Megumi close, ready to face Hild in the event that she just might have to go for blows, but Keiichi's stance seemed to tell her otherwise. He wasn't on the defensive, and Koiji wasn't out for blood. He was however, eyeing Hild in careful study, as if such a thing could change in an instant.

"I am the ruler of demons, and that is what Megumi is at her core. Although, perhaps I should speak of her as mere filth." Hild's words fell heavily on the room. "Even I do not hate all goddesses. I would never harm my own blood the way Megumi unquestionably seeks to do so." Hild turned to Keiichi. "Be thankful I'm feeling merciful. However, at this rate, she is unfit to be a demon of even the lowest caliber."

Urd had not trifled in the dispute, even though she had been well aware of it. She wisely kept the tiny Saria well away from the angry visitor, having to put faith in Belldandy and Keiichi. She couldn't be in two places at once and expect to challenge Hild, but her youngest needed her. Still, when Hild was about to leave, Urd stormed after the woman that had had cast the stone. "That's it, going back to old ways?" Urd asked her. "You know better than that..."

"Urd, do not misunderstand me." Hild replied, her voice tinged in rage.

"Oh, don't worry, I understand perfectly." Urd crossed her arms, taking a breath to steady herself. "You'll just walk right out and you'll turn your back on her. You won't even spare that girl a second glance to see her face." Urd told her mother pointy. "You're good at that, Hild."

"Demons covet that which they do not have. Megumi will hunger for sister to join her." Hild couldn't feed that lust for control. She couldn't, in her right of mind, continue to teach such a student. "She's a poisonous demon right now." Hild said with a grave assurance. "To continue to train her, would result in problems later." Hild turned to face her daughter. "You've only yourself to blame…she's learned to hate from you, Urd."

"I would never teach my niece such a thing." Urd shot back, as the sky grew dark around them.

"You have." Hild hissed darkly. "You have finally done it! You've warped her…distorted her impression of what it means to be a goddess and a demon." Hild grinned, a dark, evil grin. "You've let your pride engulf you, and Megumi sees that…she sees, and she understand."

"What, that you're a total bitch?" Urd shot back. "You made sure to prove that just now."

There was no point to shout, so Hild merely shook her head, sucking at her teeth and biting back a retort. "She's not stupid, Urd." Urd finally managed to say. "She knows you deny me, because I am a demon. She knows that she herself, chose to be a demon. Do the math kiddo." Urd stayed quiet, but Hild continued. "Why shouldn't she deny her mother?" Hild asked Urd. "When you deny a demon as a parent, why should she accept a goddess?"

"It's different, damn you!" Urd murmured quietly. "You walked out on me. Belldandy has never walked out on her kids...but you're about to screw up with meg."

Hild struggled with that, wondering why Urd was fighting her choice so hard. "She knows not what she does, and you can't coddle her along, Urd. You'll only do more damage to her later, and if you truly care for her at all, you'll see my heavy handedness for what it is." Hild said then, opening a portal to leave. "Let my fury strike fear into her, let my wrath be known to her. That is the only way she will learn."

"How the hell do you know?" Urd spat.

"She's a demon, Urddy." Hild said simply. "She'll fight fire with fire...surely you can understand that."

…

It wasn't the first time Urd was forced to take a good, hard look at her life...

However, it was the first time she questioned her mother's words as factual. Hild could infuriate her at the best of times, but, this was different. Her mother delighted in truth, and in casting harm to those who suspected it the least. Urd had let her guard down, perhaps too much. Yet, perhaps it had not been nearly enough.

In fairness, Urd had expected something like this sooner…much, much sooner.

Hild was not unlike Megumi, they were both vicious demons, however Urd had to admit, Hild had more foresight. More control over her ideals, her power, and her whims. Her fury was not haphazard, nor childlike. It had a place in creation, and, though Urd never welcomed it, she knew that her mother was a sight to behold. The fact she could unify many, and keep a bunch of degenerates from starting wars on principle, spoke of just how well respected her mother really was.

Despite her hatred of Hild, she had to respect her as an individual.

"On the roof again, Urd?" Skuld said, having come for a visit. When her oldest sister merely nodded, Skuld sighed. "Big sis told me what happened."

"Yeah, well…welcome to life on earth." Urd muttered. "I knew they should have been forced into being goddesses from the start."

"Why not demons?" Skuld asked, sitting down beside Urd.

"No one should be a demon." Urd replied. "It's unhealthy to have that kind of malice."

"Odds are, that even if they all were demons, it would be the same as if they were all goddess." Skuld said, having toyed around with the math in her head. "My job keeps me busy, so, I don't really know them like you do…but…" Skuld, older and wiser than she used to be, had a better and complex understanding of demons, having to work alongside them in the law offices. "If Meg were a goddess, she'd be a lot like you…always so angry all the time anyway."

"She doesn't fit in anyplace." Urd agreed with a shake of her head. "Being a demon will turn her into something she should never be, and as a goddess, she'll end up resenting everything anyway."

"Urd, you've been in a better mindset ever since you started living here on earth." Skuld said then, a distant thought in her mind. "You even got to be with your angel again, because earth helped you to see that it was okay. To have that dual nature at war in side of you, was something this place helped you to accept." Skuld didn't know if Megumi could find the same solace, but she hoped so. "Maybe Megumi doesn't belong in heaven or hell."

"It all remains to be seen." Urd said with a sigh. "That's what bothers me."

"Lind once told me, you have to want to fight…that you have to desire to actually do damage, because like it or not, that's what those in special operations do." Skuld smiled a bit bitterly at that. "She always says, in that way, we're exactly like the demons we fight against. At first I didn't believe her, but then one day, I got into a fight in the training yard." She swallowed hard. "It reminded me about back in heaven…about how you and I used to fight, and how I wanted so badly to win when it came to you."

"It's not unlike them." Urd replied, she'd already noticed that too. "Megumi's just too strong."

"No, we're just too weak." Skuld said then, fully believing Lind's words as law now. "We have to get stronger, that's the only way any of us can help them."

"Magically Skuld, I'm right up there with some of the best." Urd said then. "Being stronger won't help."

"Who said I was talking about magic?" Skuld asked her sister. "Stop looking at all the little things, and more at the big picture. We're strong...but maybe we're not the right kind of it."