Chapter 5

One Month Later

It had taken a long time for Urd to even talk to her again, and those had been agonizing days for Mara. Friendship in the Demon world did exist, but it was a very different thing than what she desired. Hild ruled by manipulation, by emotional control. And that was the norm for many others in Hell. There was also a sort of camaraderie based on mutual fear, a twisted form of respect and a desire to be admired. But never was there anyone for her to talk to, to drink with, to just have fun with.

And so those days where everyone had practically ignored her as a pariah had been particularly brutal and wearing. Mara didn't know what mysterious, sadistic urge had driven the Daimakaicho to send her here, but it hurt. It cut her deeply every day to watch those others, so happy, so full of life. As the night fell, she felt more alive, but it was never like Keiichi and Belldandy. She was alone, it was the one constant in her universe.

Dreaded conversation couldn't be avoided forever, though, and Mara once again sat across from her friend, and her enemy. As always, a bottle of sake called to both of them. For Urd, it was a power source, and a means of having fun. For Mara, it was a means of forgetting who she was and what she was supposed to be. Her carefree demon act had cracked and fallen apart around her, just leaving Mara, the woman.

She regarded Urd without her usual haughtiness. "I didn't betray anyone, you know."

"You should save it for people who care." Urd replied acidly, taking a sip from her glass.

"Shut up. You care." Mara said. "That's why you didn't stay in Hell, that's why you'll never go back."

"You'll sell us out for a bowl of rice, Mara. I don't understand why I bother with you anymore." But there was hurt in Urd's voice. Mara knew it was difficult for her, too, always being the outcast in Heaven, the tainted one.

"I don't really want to do it. But I owe the Daimakaicho my allegiance." Did she really believe that, though? What had Hild ever done for her, except use her as a punching bag for the enemies of Hell?

"Nobody owes my moth... her anything." Urd took nursed her glass slowly.

"I love her." Mara admitted. Urd's shocked expression forced her to clarify. "Not like that. I mean, she's all I've ever known. My only family."

"It's not like she adopted you, or anything. And she's my real family, Mara... and I guess... I still care for her too. But that doesn't mean I have to do a damned thing she wants me to." Urd's glass slammed onto the table with almost enough force to break it. There was a lot of pent-up anger in there, Mara knew.

"I don't know why I'm here, Urd. But I don't want to do it. I never wanted to. I had a duty to perform, it was never personal." Mara pleaded.

"Oh, it was personal. Just not for you. It was personal for her. You're just her tool, her device." The Goddess smiled cruelly for a moment, and Mara knew she was speaking to that part of Urd that was almost as terrifying as her mother. "And she used you. She's still using you, and you're just letting her do it."

"The only time I ever did anything right was when I defeated Momo. I brought him down, I defended the Daimakaicho!" Mara protested.

"A tool." Urd agreed. "You know why your powers worked for you there? You were trying to save a life, to do something unselfish. In other words, Mara..." She paused a moment, letting the truth sink in. "...you fought well because you were doing good."

Mara reached for the bottle, but Urd's hand caught hers. Urd's voice rattled her to the core. "Stop this. Switch sides before whatever Hild is planning comes out into the open."

"You've never tried to convert me before." Mara wondered.

"You've never been stuck with me for months, either." A hint of a smile crossed Urd's features. "And I admit, I'd like to stick it to the Daimakaicho where I can."

"So you'd use me as a tool, too?" The demon wondered.

"No, I'd set you free. That would spite her far more than me turning you into my servant, or something." Urd finished another glass. "You have a choice Mara, remember that, when she calls for you."

The Goddess sauntered away without another word, leaving Mara more confused than ever.

Keiichi was exhausted. Weeks of training under Belldandy's tutelage was interesting, but quite tiring. For a moment, he almost wished Urd was teaching him. At least the mischievous Goddess was less demanding of his time. But, beyond that, he could feel Belldandy's worry. She was preparing him as best she could, but it was clear she was frightened for him. Everyone knew the Daimakaicho was coming, and there wasn't really anything anybody could really do about it. It was as Velsper had said, if he didn't agree to summon her, she would just barge through their enchantments, and probably vaporize half the city in so doing.

For his part, he had never been as afraid of Hild as he supposed he should have been. It was true he was awestruck by her power and her ability to manipulate. Yet somehow, he couldn't bring himself to fear that power. Perhaps he had been living with Goddesses too long and had simply become so accustomed to strange things happening he lost the ability to be impressed by the demon. Or perhaps it was as Urd said, and he had just lost his mind.

That had served him well in training, at least.

That and we really don't have a whole lot of power. All of our energy is bleedoff from these three. MotorHead reminded him, pointing to where Urd and Skuld were watching today's events. It was true, most of the actual power he was using was leftover energy from those two. It was everywhere in the Temple, and while it was a meaningless trifle to them, it was incredible power to him.

Belldandy smiled at him, despite herself.

"Keiichi-san," she said, "remember not to use power too quickly. You'll tire and then..."

"And then I won't do anyone any good by sleeping." Keiichi agreed. Belldandy nodded in reply, and he allowed himself a moment of rest. Despite what Kami had told him, it was difficult to think of her as a wife. Their relationship had only just started to open up, to change fundamentally. He had never been exactly quick-moving about these sorts of things. But as he regarded her, he smiled. Whatever else, he felt as if he were the luckiest man alive.

Hey! Pay attention! MotorHead chastised.

Skuld built up a low-level fire spell, for Urd and Belldandy had both been training her more lately and this was as much for her benefit as his own.

"Can you do this Keiichi?" The young Goddess asked, smirking.

We're useless at fire spells. MotorHead explained. It was still strange to be doing any kind of magic at all. Keiichi had always been of a more mechanical mind, less concerned with all the metaphysical and philosophical implications of things. The angel, too, seemed to have a more mechanical way of looking at magic.

"No." He admitted. "Good job!"

"You're starting to grow up!" Urd clapped, winking at Skuld. "Maybe a thousand years from now you'll actually be able to do something with that little flame!"

"Neesan, she's doing really well." Belldandy chastised. She wasn't one to show anger, or even feel it very often, but Keiichi had long ago learned to read the signs. And Belldandy had become very serious about this training, for all of them. "You're learning very quickly Skuld." She smiled happily at her younger sister.

"Just you watch. I'll get Keiichi with this one!" Skuld manipulated the little flame, building up the power within it.

"Uh..." Keiichi managed.

"Be careful, Skuld." Belldandy warned.

"Well this will be interesting." Mara mused, taking a long pull from a sake bottle. "At least I don't have to be the target today." The demon was sprawled out on the deck, half drunk, watching with wry amusement.

Reflective Barrier? MotorHead inquired. It was the only spell he had demonstrated any real high-level talent for. Belldandy had explained that it was due to his nature, his desire to protect those he loved. His Goddess was never wrong about things like that.

No. Let's cool her off. That spell was powerful, but would knock him right out if he used it too often. Keiichi was no God, as Urd had explained to him, he simply didn't have the higher awareness they did. But his thoughts had been expanding since he had received his angel, and he caught a glimpse here and there of what it must be like for them. He caught hints of their true form from time-to-time, and his understanding of their energy had increased greatly. Exploiting the opposing form of magic could amplify its effect, and he needed all the help he could get.

He tried to build up a cold spell, but he was so tired... Still, energy coalesced out of the air, blasting Skuld's small fire with icy wind. The flame sputtered and died.

"Keiichi! I finally got this spell to work and you blow it out!" Skuld stomped her foot angrily. "Banpei!"

Uh-oh. MotorHead said unnecessarily. Should have seen that coming.

The last thing Keiichi saw was a missile flying straight at him. The barrier went up in time, but he had used the last of his conscious energy...

A McDonalds was certainly an odd place to meet, Hild thought to herself. But her underlings didn't get out much, and to them the fast-food restaurant was a true luxury. The Earth Realm offered many pleasures for the demons, though Hild doubted seriously if this qualified as one of them. The short lives of mortals produced a strange, driving need to do everything too quickly, and the food here spoke to that.

On the other side of the table, Hagal grinned as she sampled some kind of greasy substance. As odd as it seemed to her, Hild would greatly have preferred to sample Belldandy's cooking. Goddesses were annoying, endlessly sanctimonious creatures, but they definitely out-rated the mortals in cooking.

"Hild-sama... the box you needed." Hagal was deceptively child-like, something the demon used to her advantage frequently. Hild knew her lieutenant was incredibly dangerous. Even though the usurpation had gone according to her wishes, it had counted on Hagal being a devious and ambitious creature, addicted to power, fearful of almost nobody.

But for now, she had proven herself useful once more.

"The true Pot of Heresy." Hild explained, withdrawing the small ceramic piece from the box. "I once sent a cheap copy to Mara to, shall we say, stir up some trouble."

"The Guard wants to know when they can move into the Earth Realm." Hagal eyed the artifact, taking a sip from her chocolate shake. The arcane device was considered rather disturbing even in Hell. But the power it contained was undeniable.

"Soon." Hild explained, tucking the artifact back into its box. "We will need a new First-class demon to replace Mara before that, however. Any candidates strike your fancy lately?"

Hagal considered that a moment, smiling in dramatic fashion. "Are you planning to demote her? She certainly deserves it." Mara's repeated failures were practically a legend in the underworld.

"I'm considering a kind of trade, actually. But never mind that." Hild regarded her subordinate curiously. "So, you had ideas for me?" The demon leader smiled graciously. Hagal caught the warning, sinking slightly in her chair. The Daimakaicho preferred not to threaten outright when subtlety would do.

"Well, there's that guy in the Legal Department, Forseti. You remember, he verified your interpretation of your new term after... er... the incident." Hagal squirmed uncomfortably for a moment, before deciding it was actually somewhat amusing. Demonic Lawyers were a special sort of evil, and they often found themselves in the wish granting business, much to the dismay of their clients.

"Interesting. There hasn't been a First-class Demon in that department for awhile." A bit of laughter escaped her lips at that. "Good. Send him up here when you get back down." The Daimakaicho stood theatrically, her breasts spilling out of her loose clothing. A teenager struggled to look away, but the demon leader simply smiled, enjoying the feeling of corrupting the young man. The man's girlfriend glared at the demon, but that too was enjoyable. Jealousy was a delicious emotion, except when it afflicted her. Kami's wife would get what was coming to her soon enough.

"Hild-sama... may I ask what you are doing here?" Hagal looked up at her leader with a tinge of admiration.

"You wanted a perfect world for Demons, right?" She smiled, adjusting her dress to give the awestruck teenager a better view.

Hagal merely nodded.

"You thought you could just build a new Nifelheim up here. But we already have one. Why do we need two?" The demonic leader turned away from the lustful young man and stole a sip of Hagal's shake. "Heaven says we are corrupting these mortals, but aren't we actually freeing them to do what they truly desire? That's why we're here. How boring would it be if we ran out of innocent souls to.. enlighten?"

"But I thought we wanted to take all the shares of..." Hagal considered this a moment, grinning as she suddenly got it. "You want to keep the balance with Heaven so new innocents are created that we can... enjoy?"

"I knew you were smart." The Daimakaicho smiled, grabbing the box and turning away.

"But... why the invasion then?" Hagal called out.

Hild turned around and laughed, her eyes glowing faintly. "Sometimes you have to stir the pot a little." She clutched the box tightly and vanished out the door, the approving eyes of several men following her departing figure as it left.

Velsper didn't even flinch this time, as the familiar apparition of the Daimakaicho reached for him through dimensions beyond the comprehension of the mortal realm. It was nighttime in the outskirts of Nekomi, and the abandoned factory he found himself in was certainly auspicious enough, even if it wasn't Hild's normal style.

He didn't even bother to greet her. They both knew why he was here.

"Velsper!" Hild said excitedly. "It is good to see you again." She was wearing her happy, excited personality today, as if she just picked it up out of a closet somewhere and had decided it looked good on her.

"I'm sure." The cat replied.

"You're such a good cat, helping me visit my daughter." She exclaimed.

"I suppose." Velsper growled. "We had better be on with it." He began drawing the circle, placing within it the password of welcome.

"Your summoning skills have improved." She said. "Maybe I should make all my senior demons spend some time as a fourth-level creature."

"I haven't had much else to do except study the programming language." The cat mused, drawing out more of the circle. "I'll need you to sing the entrance password, however."

"You can't sing?"

"It doesn't work when you're a cat." A slight hiss of displeasure accompanied his statement.

"What is the password you need me to sing?" The demon leader asked innocently.

"First thing is first. You are adhering to our contract?" Velsper wasn't about to give up his price, it was far too expensive to forget.

"Of course, of course." Hild dismissed it as if it were a mere trifle. And apparently for her, it was. He didn't even hear the spell that transformed him. One moment he was locked in a cat's body, the next he was himself again. "Now, the password."

He told it to her, and for a moment her eyes glowed and her face took a dark turn. Energy leaked out from around her form and for a moment he saw the real Daimakaicho. That terrifying shadow might have rendered an unprepared mortal comatose. Violet light shone around her form, lighting the chains and abandoned scraps in the factory with an ominous flow. She stepped into the circle.

"You aren't taking me back?" Velsper wondered, suddenly.

"That wasn't in our contract." Hild said wickedly. "You'll also find that while your form has been restored, your powers are not restored to their previous levels. You can walk." And she was gone in a flash of demonic energy, shadows flickering in the dark.

"Blue Lance." He called, and the angel was there. She had once been converted to light by Belldandy, but had since grown with him, and had come to reflect his conflicted nature between light and dark. One wing was beautifully white and elegant, the other was spotted, deformed, covered in gray tones. A sadness had overcome her, too, one that she never seemed to have with Belldandy. It was all proof, in his mind, of his conflicted, fallen nature. He admired the purity of the Goddess, but could never achieve that himself.

She smiled at him, but it was a hollow thing. She knew how he felt, she had become him.

You will help her... Blue Lance said. You will fight.

Yes, I will. I just wish I didn't have to. He answered. She nodded in turn, and vanished again.

He conjured up some clothing, for walking around the city in the nude would hardly help his cause. That, at least, remained in his power. The entity, neither Demon nor God, put his hands in his pockets and trudged out onto the streets of Nekomi.

Urd could feel her mother's presence, and it was thing she dreaded. Of course, with Velsper's confession, she knew it was only a matter of time. She could have kicked the demons out, but then Hild would just break through the defenses of this place with brute force instead of finesse. There was no escaping the Daimakaicho when she truly decided to come calling.

"Urd-chan!" Hild smiled genially, embracing the Goddess. Urd refused to return the hug, refused to even acknowledge her as anything other than one more demon in a temple that already had no more vacancies for them, least of all at midnight.

"Hild." Urd said blankly. "Why are you here?"

"I can't see my own daughter?" She looked hurt, even offended, and Urd allowed herself some grudging admiration for how well her mother played people.

"You can skip it. Velsper told us everything."

"Of course he did!" Hild smiled. "I didn't want to drop in unannounced. It would be rude of me! Ah, Belldandy!" The demon leader caught Belldandy in a tight hug. The Goddess returned it, for that was always Bell's way. But Urd knew her sister well, and she could see the turmoil behind Belldandy's eyes. Everyone had been dreading this moment for almost two months.

"Ma-chan..." Hild called. "I know you're out there..." Her voice was silky and flirtatious but Urd knew that sound for what it was.

"Hild-sama." The first-class demon answered, walking out from the temple as if her legs were not her own. She came to a stop just before the steps, bowing to one knee.

"Oh come now, Mara. Am I really that bad?" The Daimakaicho asked.

Mara wisely said nothing. Skuld took one look at the demon-leader and quickly fled back to her room, probably in search of more explosives, Urd mused. That just left Keiichi who, foolish mortal though he was, was probably the only person in the entire scene who didn't show an ounce of fear. Once, Urd thought Keiichi was just ignorant, but the Goddess had come to realize that the human had his own sort of bravery, and it was inspired almost entirely by her sister.

"Keiichi." Hild's voice changed in that moment. It was a subtle thing, but Urd was a Goddess of Love, and she was trained to pick up on these things. Something was very wrong about the way she spoke his name.

"What do you want." Urd spoke for all of them.

"Well, I sent Ma-chan here as a gift, you know. And I wanted to see how things were working out! I told that cat..." She looked around, as if searching for him. "...to tell me when she had learned to get along."

"I've obeyed your instructions, Hild-sama." Mara said flatly. "I have been on good behavior."

"Have you now? Well, you never were very good at being bad." The Daimakaicho winked at the hapless demon. "It's nice to know you can be a good servant, though. That will be useful."

"Is that it then? Yes, Mara is being good. No, I don't want to go be a Demon or get sappy with you." Sarcasm laced Urd's voice. "So can you go home now?"

"Really, there is no need to be so rude. How about I join you for tea?" The demon stared at Belldandy for a moment, before the Goddess nodded.

"Hai." Belldandy said crisply. "Tea..." There was a hint in that voice, however, that no one could miss.

"She makes the best tea, doesn't she Urd-chan?"

Urd groaned.

Hours had droned by, and Hild made every effort to keep the conversation going, which was a major achievement when her own daughter was trying so hard to get rid of her. But politeness was a character trait of both Keiichi and Belldandy, no matter her origins, and she could count on that politeness carrying through until her job was done.

A piece of herself flowed beneath the floorboards, coalescing under the temple. It wasn't a large piece, in fact it was actually smaller than most of her daughter's small forms. But it would do the job. Hild was a model demon, truly polite and utterly sincere in her contract. No harm would come to anyone from this visit, but she was already making arrangements for a second visit, and that one had no contractual stipulations.

"Why are you really here? Keep in mind, Tamiya told us you were snooping around." Urd asked.

"I missed you." Hild said, with none of her usual flirtatiousness. It was truth, she knew. The demon couldn't say why this bothered her, or how she had come to love her daughter so intensely. In the underworld, it was uncommon to be have such strong attachments to one's offspring. Oh, there was a certain level of connection that was allowed, and pride ran in families as strong as blood and power. But it was different for her daughter.

"That, I believe." Keiichi said.

Hild withdrew her spade, drawing a glare from Belldandy.

"Uh, let's not be hasty now." Keiichi added, nodding to emphasize his point.

Hild let it linger a bit before thinking better of it. It wouldn't do to prod him too much at this point. And she did, unfortunately, promise that fallen demon not to attack anyone.

"Thanks." The human sounded relieved.

"You are welcome." She smiled genially. "You must forgive my temper. People are always saying I'm so deceitful!"

"You are." Urd supplied helpfully. Her daughter made it a point to not offer to share her sake, downing the liquid in large gulps.

"I keep my contracts." The Daimakaicho protested. "In fact, that's one reason I'm here."

"We have no contracts with you." Belldandy kept a watchful eye on the demon, obviously torn between her politeness and her deep-seated suspicions of all things demonic.

"I would like to make one with you. All of you."

"Here it comes." Urd hiccuped. Mara sat next to her friend, watching Hild with a mixture of fear, adoration and hatred. The conflicted demon wouldn't last much longer as such, she knew.

"What kind of contract?" Belldandy asked, pouring more tea.

"I will leave you alone, all of you. No attacks for a century, if you will visit me, Urd. in Nifelheim. At least once a year. Just for one day each year." Hild smiled at her daughter, genuinely this time.

"No way." Urd replied. "I told you, I am a Goddess. I'm not becoming a demon, I'm not going to Hell, and I'm not calling you... that word." But her daughter's face was clouded with emotion, the same emotions the demon leader had seen upon her face once before. She felt that familiar ache in her heart, the same one she had felt when she let go of her daughter's hand and Kami had taken her.

She frowned. Even at this juncture, if Urd had taken the offer, she might have withdrawn her plans. But she was committed now. The piece of herself hid itself beneath Mara, the First-class demon masking her tiny piece's energy, which otherwise would have been easily detectable by the Goddesses. Thanks Ma-chan, she thought.

Mara couldn't be relied upon to do anything, but this plan didn't require to do anything except be there, to hide the energy of her small self. The Pot of Heresy appeared beneath the floorboards, still unknown to the Goddesses.

"Why not?" The demon leader asked.

Urd seemed to consider that for a long while. Silence hovered over the table like a blanket.

"I can't. Even being there for such a short time... I nearly lost control of it." Urd admitted finally. "You know that, too."

"I guess I do." Hild answered. "I still want to see you."

"Why? Why do you care? You just left me!" The thin veneer of control left Urd for a moment, and tears started to pool her eyes.

"Neesan..." Belldandy whispered, her hand gripping her sister's shoulder in support. "It's okay."

The Daimakaicho smiled. "Yes, it's okay." She agreed.

"I hate you." Urd lied, her voice dripping with acid.

"Can the rest of you leave for a moment? I want a word with my daughter, alone." Hild said.

"You'll just take Urd away and..." Keiichi began.

Anger flooded Hild's awareness, and her energy cascaded around her like a roiling storm. "I keep my contracts. Don't question me foolish boy." For just a moment, her genial self vanished entirely, replaced by the Empress of the Underworld, the Queen of Hell. Her expression was twisted in rage.

"It's okay." Belldandy soothed. "She loves her daughter very much, Keiichi-san. We can go for a moment." Keiichi still didn't look convinced, but he followed the Goddess out of the room. Hild allowed herself to appreciate the former mortal's attributes. Physically he was, of course, rather unimpressive, but he actually contained a small amount of divine power. She could sense the angelic presence within him, and that only made the idea of corrupting him so completely even more delicious. It was his spirit which had attracted Belldandy, and had even won over her daughter and Skuld. Beings such as they, Demons and Gods, had a much different concept of attractiveness, and Keiichi was about as high on that scale as a mortal could possibly be. This would actually be fun for her.

Mara, on the other hand, had needed no encouragement to escape the Daimakaicho's presence. She slunk off in a hurry, with a brief bow of respect before taking taking off.

"What do you want?" Urd's voice hovered on petulance. She dropped the finished sake bottle, as if afraid to face her mother sober. Hild surprised her, reaching for her in a tight hug.

The demon whispered in her daughter's ear. "Mama loves you."

And in a sudden flash the embrace was broken, and Hild was gone. Most of her, anyway.

Beneath Keiichi's room, a tiny figure draped itself over the true Pot of Heresy and smiled in anticipation.