Consciousness returned to him slowly, as if his mind struggled to awaken. A strange emptiness filled him, and in that single moment between sleep and wakefulness, he knew he had lost something that was very important to him.

Belldandy...

It was a name that should have awakened the love he knew he felt for her, and he waited for that feeling to wash over him, to push aside his unease. Nothing came, and worry flooded his awareness. Things were not as they should be. He felt different, changed somehow.

A pair of violet eyes blinked once, as they regarded him with a deceptively innocent curiosity. They were not the eyes he knew. There was coldness in them, and yet there was more, some strange drive, a singular purpose. The world came into focus with agonizing slowness. A face framed those eyes, impossibly beautiful yet fearfully dark. It should have frightened him, but it didn't.

Belldandy...

But it was not Belldandy. The face was wrong, twisted with an unnatural joy. Her voice spoke, and he shuddered. His memories seemed jumbled, as if they were in all the wrong places in his mind. Even so, Keiichi couldn't forget that face. Hild, the Daimakaicho, leered over him.

"Keiichi-san." The lustful undercurrent was apparent to him, even in his weakened state. It beckoned to him, tempting him with its seductiveness. The pieces fell into place in his mind. He remembered the dream, the strange device that hovered over him as Hild did her work. And finally, he remembered staring into his own eyes, another self.

"Hild." He deliberately left off the honorific. There was no gratitude in him, no need to show respect to the demon that had violated him.

"Good, you're conscious. We can begin."

"Begin what?" Keiichi wondered. "Are you going to attack me again?"

"My Keiichi," She began. "Why would I do such a thing?" She seemed friendly, caring almost. Hild always had an amazing capacity for shifting her personality to fit a situation.

"You're a demon. You tell me." He challenged defiantly. Yet even as the words left his mouth, he felt the wrongness of them. It was one thing to be unafraid of the Devil, especially around the presence of his Goddess. It was quite another to show such disrespect to her face, alone, here in... And that's when he realized, he had no idea where he was.

"The Pot of Heresy has unmade you, and remade you." Hild shrugged slightly, as if unconcerned over the trifling matter. "In simple terms, you've been split."

"You did this to Urd." Keiichi pointed out.

"No, Mara did that. Messed it up too." Hilds eyes were burning with intensity. "I once asked Belldandy if I could have you. Humans who can so easily contemplate our world, our dimension, are rare. Rarer still are those who are, shall we say, difficult to break."

"Put things back the way they were." Keiichi demanded. Yet there was something to Hild's words. His eyes traveled to her cleavage, taking in the sight of her. He didn't do the deed with his usual hesitation, he was brazen in his execution, feeling no embarrassment. His determination to win was there, he could feel that, but it was if all his moral restraints had simply vanished.

In some ways, this was wickedly exciting, for the possibilities it opened were beyond comprehension. But the fear overrode that, and he wondered just what else Hild had taken from him. Was he supposed to be the evil side of himself?

"I'm afraid that just isn't possible." Hild looked at her nails, as if preening them.

"You're telling me there is something the Daimakaicho can't do?" His taunts were barbs, and they shocked even him. He was prodding the Devil.

"No," she smiled. "I'm telling you there's something I won't do. Not, of course, unless a proper price is paid. That's the Demon way, you know. Make a wish, ask for anything!" Her arms swung around in a grand gesture. "You could even wish for me." Her eyes narrowed at that.

"Your price?" Keiichi was impatient. "For changing me back." He hastily appended. Best not to give the Daimakaicho the wrong idea.

"Well, as it so happens, it's not that high." The demon grinned happily and gestured to the room around them. He had been so caught up in the situation, so focused on the demon, he hadn't really stopped to contemplate his surroundings.

He was in what he had at first assumed to be a throne chamber, probably in Nifelheim someplace. Instead, it became increasingly apparent that this was simply a massive, oversized bedroom. Hild floated above him and gestured to the bed on the other end, a massive affair of wooden scrollwork and runes written in the divine language.

Belldandy...

His feelings had been stripped from him, and the name didn't bring the emotions that it should have. But he could remember how he felt. That brought focus to him. He wanted to feel that way again.

"You brought me all the way down here to..." Keiichi steeled himself. "Sleep with me?"

"Oh, no. I could do that any time." Hild floated next to him, her face whispering in his ear. "You will give me something far more precious than a few passing moments of pleasure."

"No." Keiichi didn't fully understand, but he was determined to wait this thing out, to defeat the Daimakaicho. His purity had been taken from him, his feelings had been ripped from his heart, but his determination and his memory remained to him. Regardless of what part of Keiichi he was... he was Keiichi Morisato.

"Oh, you are refusing me?" Hild's eyes narrowed, the tinge of threat dripping from her voice. This was the face that had reduced Skuld to tears merely for being displayed. "How unwise. I have love potions you know... I used one on you before bringing you down here. I don't think Belldandy liked that much." The demon made a kissing face at him.

"No." Keiichi repeated, trying to banish that scene from his memory. "If you could do whatever it is you want with a love potion, you'd have done it already."

The demon contemplated this for a moment, and smiled genially. "Smart. I'll give you credit for that, Belldandy chose from the best of the Earth realm." Her voice turned dark, seductive, playing into the fantasies rolling around in the back of his mind, and the smile vanished. "But you won't be able to resist me long, Keiichi-san."

Hild leaned toward him, her cheeks flushed, her eyes soft with desire. She had done this to him before, the Daimakaicho had a way of reducing others to obedient affection through a simple kiss. She could be cute one moment, soft and almost vulnerable, every gesture of her body language oozing love.

Keiichi closed his eyes, turning away from the seductive demon, trying to summon his love for his Goddess. A tiny spark of it remained to him, it grew in his heart, and he held onto it dearly. He would get back to her, somehow. Underneath, wicked thoughts raced in his mind, mingled with worries that the demon leader might actually be right. But for now, he simply avoided looking at the Daimakaicho. It was the only way.

"Have it your way, Keiichi." The demon decided to give up for the moment. Keiichi half-expected an outburst of anger, but the demon seemed to be only slightly annoyed. "You'll find all the comforts of home here. But you won't be leaving until we come to an accord."

Hild turned her back on him and sauntered out, pausing at the threshold of the chamber. "Come now, Keiichi, is it really so bad to be with me? Think of the possibilities."

She vanished, leaving him alone in the oversized room, wondering just what he could do to fight her.

Mara felt worn out, by this time she had been repeatedly electrocuted, blown up and had her mind reduced to a barely-functioning wreck by a succession of demons and goddesses. But when Hild had shattered her defenses, she finally felt freed of her need to serve. There as something to that, after all.

Urd was confused and angry. "I don't understand what my mother expects to achieve with this. This will never make me come with her to the Demon realm."

It had taken Mara several tries to convince the group of her fundamental innocence. In the end it had taken Velsper, freshly returned to his true form, to convince everyone that Mara had done her best.

"Maybe she wants to trade you for him, Urd." Mara pointed out. It seemed like an obvious move.

Urd sighed, as if she felt she were dealing with children. "Doesn't make sense. She could have just taken Keiichi whole, and done that. Why split him like this?"

"I don't feel any different." Keiichi said, MotorHead hovering on his shoulder. "Not really."

Belldandy smiled at him, but there was worry underneath. "Your aura has changed."

Mara rolled her eyes. "Keiichi is even more pure and goody-goody than he was before." She said. And it was true, whatever Hild had pulled from the man, it had definitely been from his more primal side.

"So Keiichi has been split into good and evil?" Skuld asked curiously. "And we have the good Keiichi."

"I don't think you could split Keiichi into evil." Urd pointed out. "More like Really Good and Not so nice. I can't imagine even the 'bad' Keiichi being all that terrible."

Mara chimed in again. "Much as I don't care for the goody-good act, is this really all that bad? I mean, you Goddesses like purity and such, right?"

Belldandy looked hurt at that suggestion. "Keiichi isn't whole. It's not right." Even as Keiichi looked pained at the suggestion, Belldandy held him close to her. "Keiichi-san..."

"I'm sorry, Bell." Keiichi said. "I didn't know what she was doing to me. I couldn't resist her."

"She's the Daimakaicho, moron." Urd said, as if to imply he was a moron for even trying. "You were powerless against that sort of energy."

"Still. I wish I could do more." Keiichi touched Belldandy's cheek in a gesture of affection. Wings sprouted from her back as Holy Bell came partly out, filling the room with white light. Incomplete or not, Belldandy's love for him was evident. Holy Bell's wings wrapped around them both.

Mara just rolled her eyes again and left the room, Urd following her out the door. This display of affection was becoming too much for her. She felt embarrassed on their behalf, for the loving feelings that threatened to inundate the immediate vicinity.

"What's wrong." Urd whispered in the demon's ear. "Don't like PDA? Or do you wish it were you getting touched like that?"

"You'll regret that." Mara felt anger rising within her at the sudden realization that Urd was right. The real reason the Goddesses pissed her off so much is that she was, somehow, jealous of them. She hated watching how happy they were, how much fun they had, knowing that she had to serve the Daimakaicho and was forever barred from any sort of pleasure for herself. She hated her job, she hated being a stooge, a punching bag for the Demon realm.

"I doubt it." Urd laughed. "But this is twice now you've been on the wrong side. I'll buy your explanation about trying to fight back against Hild. But we can't afford to constantly question your loyalty. You said Hild released you..."

"Yeah? So what of it?"

"To avoid any future... misunderstandings," Urd began. "You need to officially switch sides. It's the only way I'm going to trust you. Swear allegiance to The Almighty."

"What? You can't be serious." That was out of the question. She was a demon. Even released from service, even with her license revoked, she was not some loving, pretty little Goddess. The mere thought of it left a bad taste in her mouth. Or did it?

"I am. At this point, either you swear allegiance to Him, and join our side, or I'm kicking you out of here and leaving you on your own. Well, maybe we'll use you to open a portal first, but still, after that you're gone."

"I don't have anywhere to go. She won't let me back in Nifelheim now." Mara had always been a loner in the demon realm, but on Earth, it would be far worse for her. She had no home, no place to go, and with her license revoked, her access to higher forms of energy had been effectively blocked. She wasn't powerless, but it was still bad.

"You could stay here." Urd offered. "But the only way we won't constantly suspect you of betrayal is if you do this. Make up your mind. At least this way we won't blow you up every time something bad happens around here."

"I'm evil." The demon protested.

"You're not. Stupid, maybe. Self-centered, arrogant and cynical, definitely." Urd's face fell. "But, I know how that is. Look, I'm the wrong person to talk to about this anyway. I'm almost as bad as you."

"Heh." Mara smiled a bit. "That's truth."

Urd picked up the phone and dialed a few numbers before handing the handset to Mara. "Talk to him and get back to me."

"Who is it?" Mara asked, but part of her already knew...

"Mara." The voice said.

"Uh... hi." She managed. "Urd said I should talk to you."

"My daughter is, shall we say, a bit hasty." The voice said. "But she means well. Of course, I know all about what's going on down there."

"So why don't you fix it? Why don't you come down here and make it right for your daughter!" Mara accused, finding a strange sort of righteous anger inside herself. The Almighty had always taken such a hands-off approach, letting the Goddesses sort out his messes.

"Maintaining reality isn't a simple task." The Almighty began. "But that's not really why. Free will, Mara. You have it. Urd has it. So do Keiichi, Belldandy, and even Hild. I don't interfere with that much. And even the little I do interfere in is more than I'd like."

"In other words, it's not your problem." Mara spat. "So you're not going to get involved."

"It's everybody's problem." The voice chastised. "But never mind that. Let's discuss your situation."

"There's nothing to discuss. I'm a demon exiled to Earth." Mara said simply. "Urd says I should swear loyalty to you, and join Heaven's side. I say no, I'm a demon."

"As it so happens, you're both right. If it were easy to just switch sides, it'd happen a lot more often than it does. But I know you. Hild knows you. There's a reason she released you."

"I'm useless to her." Mara reflected.

"Not that. Give her credit for more than that." Kami said.

"She wants a demon to be in Heaven?" The demon offered. She realized that such a thing could be very useful to the Daimakaicho, indeed.

"Bingo."

Mara's face fell. As much as she thought to the contrary, even swore to the contrary, for a moment she had almost wanted to join their side, to be a nice, pretty little Goddess. The desire sickened her, but couldn't be denied. She couldn't even explain why. "Well, we can't give her what she wants."

"No, we can't." Kami agreed. "Anyway... I hate this next part, but it's part of the binding contract you and I will be making. Kneel, please."

"What?" Mara asked, flabbergasted.

"Kneel. I'm going to give you a provisional license."

"But you just said that we can't give her what she wants..." Mara protested, but some hope flared up in her chest. She couldn't believe she actually wanted this to be true.

"I did. She wants a demon in Heaven. Instead she'll get a newly-minted Goddess on Earth. I admit, I shouldn't find so much pleasure in it, but I do enjoy surprising her from time-to-time." The voice said. "Anyway, this is your chance, and you won't get another. Kneel and repeat the binding spell..."

I'm a demon, she thought. But it rang hollow in her mind. She wasn't anything more or less than she wanted to be. Her mind flashed back to watching Belldandy and Keiichi, being so maddeningly happy. She thought back to her only real friend, Urd. Even as much as that bratty child, Skuld, annoyed her with her destructive inventions, she actually liked the kid. Everything and everyone that meant anything to her was on the other side of the divide.

She didn't even realize she had kneeled, at first. The binding spell began to take effect, and she swore her allegiance. The energy of the Almighty overtook her for a moment, and she felt that power course through her, banishing the remaining demonic energy within her. Mara felt as if an impossible weight had been unchained from her. There was something else in that power, too, a subtle warning. The Almighty was trusting her, but he was not a fool.

You have a provisional license, Second-class. His voice echoed in her mind. This is only good on Earth, for now. This is your home, now, anyway. When your time there is done, we will discuss what happens next. Be good, Mara. I think you will find it comes more naturally to you than you think.

The phone clicked off.

Mara saw her face in the mirror and struggled not to smile. She didn't want to be happy about this. But it was a battle she was losing, and the edges of her lips seemed to move against her will. Her markings were blue, but a purple tint remained to them, not unlike Urd's own. Her broken V had shifted into a connected one. Her demonic outfit was gone, too, replaced with the simple robes of a Goddess. She lost her battle against her own happiness, and she smiled broadly.

"Well that went better than I expected." Urd said.

"You were watching the whole time?" Mara demanded, suddenly extremely embarrassed.

"It was really quite cute." Urd taunted. "You gave such a pretty smile, you know."

"You'll regret that." Mara said again, feeling her way around the different energy she possessed now.

"But what about your contract with us?" Urd chided, wagging her finger as if she were being a naughty child.

"That was with a resident of Nifelheim." Mara smiled. "Do you see any of them here?"

"Oh..." The smile fell from Urd's face. "But I'm sure you're supposed to behave now."

"You mean, like you?" Mara smiled. "I will behave just as good as you do, I promise." She charged up a blast of divine energy, the first time she had ever manipulated something like this.

"Well, at least you'll be more fun than Skuld." Urd laughed.

Keiichi's sense of time was skewed, somehow. He couldn't tell if days had passed, or only mere minutes. It was as it Hell didn't obey the normal rules of reality. He had spent an eternity alone with his own thoughts. They were wrong, off somehow, but he had finally started to make sense of them.

"Yes." A seductive, almost kindly voice said. Hild was back, and she looked as if she were filled with concern on his behalf. "It's different, but this is the real you."

"What do you mean?" Keiichi asked.

"What would you have done if you had met me, instead of Belldandy, that day? What if I had granted your wish?" Hild asked innocently, hovering beside him. "Would you have wished to be by my side forever?"

"No." But the statement was hollow. Honestly, he had no idea what he would have done.

"You were alone, and misfortune plagued you. You would have wished for any beautiful woman who came through that day." The Daimakaicho pointed out. "Maybe it could have been my daughter, Urd. Or even me. Imagine how different things would have been."

"That's not true. Belldandy is special. She was then, too." Keiichi said angrily.

"Was she? Heaven had been manipulating your mind, you know. They even gave you an angel, all to make you more pure, more like them. Belldandy made you into the man she loves. I've given you a chance to start over." Hild tilted her head, as if to say he should appreciate this favor.

"That's not true." He said, but the first cracks started to show in his certainty. Kami had admitted to tampering with him. Was it possible?

"It is very possible, Keiichi." Hild's face shifted slightly, and it seemed as if her cheery personality had simply sloughed off her. "I admit, I have my own motives for bringing you here. But I could have chosen anyone on Earth, and I chose you. Doesn't that mean something to you?"

"Hild I..." His cheeks flushed.

"Yes, Keiichi?" The demon smiled expectantly. She pursed her lips, waiting for his declaration.

"I know you love your daughter very much." He began. "I feel similarly for Belldandy."

Shock wormed its way onto Hild's features. "What if I told you that you would never see her again?"

"You would do that to me? Are you really that cruel?" Keiichi wondered. Of course she was the leader of the demons, but would she really do that to him?

"No, I'm not that cruel. It is simply that Belldandy will be happier with your... other self. The pure Keiichi, the more innocent version she and Heaven created." Hild conjured up an image into the air, and Keiichi watched it.

Holy Bell's wings surrounded him, and even he could see the aura of purity about his other-self. It was almost as perfect as Belldandy's aura was. His other-self touched Bell's cheek, and kissed her softly. They seemed as if they had been made for one another.

"Would you deny her that?" Hild asked softly.

Keiichi took a deep breath and struggled to keep the tears from forming in his eyes. Watching another, even another version of himself, holding her like that had nearly broken him.

"No. If she is happier then..." Keiichi looked down at the floor, crestfallen.

"I will never ask you to be anything other than what you are." Hild offered her hand in comfort, touching his shoulder. He didn't bother to shrug it off. But she's a demon, he thought, I can't trust anything she says...

Belldandy...

As the human drifted off to sleep, Hild smiled to herself. Keiichi had proven to be far stronger than she had ever suspected, but she was wearing him down, slowly. It wouldn't be long now. Despite herself, she found that she liked the man, he almost reminded her of Kami, albeit without all that self-righteous power. But that was a dangerous thought, full of implications she didn't want to consider.

For now, she allowed herself to enjoy the moment. Soon, she would be reunited with her daughter.