Yes, ladies and gents, this is the 2nd of the trilogy
we began with the surprisingly popular "Dire Fates".
There's not going to be much John Constantine here,
just a cameo or two in future parts, but I hope
that doesn't stop you from enjoying the story.
After all, this mess is partially John's fault...
^.-
-rpm
C&C appreciated, as always, ladies and gents :)
-rod m. & david tai
---------------
WRITER'S NOTES: AN INTRODUCTION TO "THE DREAMING"
"The Dreaming. A realm comprising tales and nightmares, woven on the
fragile loom of sleeping minds."
-Dr. Occult to Tim Hunter,
"The Books of Magic"
---------------
The Dreaming.
A vast landscape, a realm of dreams, ruled by a Prince of Stories...
A place outside of time, outside of space, where there be dragons...
where ravens roam through the sky..
Here, there is the House of Mystery, side by side with the House of
Secret, run by two brothers, Cain and Abel. Whether they be the true
Biblical characters, or part of the tales that live in the
Dreaming...
Here, there is a library, possessing all books ever written, and all
books ever imagined, run by Lucien the librarian...
Here, a grumbling pumpkinhead named Mervyn constructs sets to all
dreams that all creatures dream.
Here, the Corinthian dwells, a nightmare constructed to be the dark
mirror of humanity.
All myths, all fairy tales, all the wonderous dreams and fantasies
created reside here... and here nightmares and horrors also dwell,
light and darkness side by side under the watchful eye of Dream of
the Endless...
Welcome to the Dreaming...
---------------
Continuity takes place up to The Dreaming #21
And now....
-*-
Alone in the library, as he usually was, a tall, thin man with
brown hair and spectacles that made him resemble a thin
scarecrow with owlish eyes went about the task of sorting and
cataloguing the vast collection of books stored here.
This was no ordinary library. It held such rare works as
Happiness by Edgar Allan Poe, More Canterbury Tales by
Geoffrey Chaucer, and Ranma 1/2 vol. 39 by R. Takahashi.
This was the home of the stories never told, the books never
written, and there were a vast and endless amount of those.
The man walking down the endless rows pushing a cart full
of books was its sole caretaker, responsible for sorting and
maintaining this vast collection. His name was Lucien.
Lucien slowly walked down the corridors lifting up books
from the cart and placing as appropriate.
As Lucien lifted one book, he hesitated. He looked it over
carefully. This book was one he hadn't noticed before, a
somewhat thin volume, but with ornate and shimmering letters
on the cover.
He opened the book and began to read...
-*-
OOO
O O
OOOnce upon a time, there was a boy.
He was a lonely boy and a misfit, but he was content with
what he had. It was a humble sort of life.
Then one day he met a Goddess.
She offered him a wish.
He wished a Goddess like her would stay with him forever.
And she did.
Together, they lived in a temple.
They fell in love.
He met her family.
His life took strange and wonderful turns. It was a grand
adventure.
And as long as he had his beloved Goddess by his side, he
felt he could take on the world.
And then, one day, the dream ended.
-*-
David Tai & Rod M.
present...
Mortal Fates
A
The Dreaming
Ah! My Goddess!
Crossover
Part 1: "Season of Light"
(David: Better title needed. Suggestions?)
-*-
Sunlight streamed in through an open window, and surrounded
a sleeping figure.
Brown tresses sprawled all across the bed, the figure
stirred, and opened her vividly blue eyes. She yawned, and
stretched, and then winced as her body creaked and cracked.
She rose, and opened the shutters. It was a sunny day, but
those clouds in the horizon...
"<Belldandy?>" a voice called.
Belldandy turned around. Standing in the doorway was a
thin, gawky young Japanese man, with short, unruly black
hair.
Keiichi Morisato. Beloved.
She smiled briefly.
"<Um, Belldandy? I got you breakfast.>"
Her hands flew to her mouth in shock. "<Oh no, I got up
late!>"
Keiichi raised his hands, waving them frantically. "<No, no,
it's okay, I got it.>"
"<You're not going to be late for classes, are you?>" she
asked, worry and concern in her voice.
Keiichi smiled. "<No, no. Don't worry about it. Are you
feeling okay?>"
Belldandy yawned. "<Just a little tired, that's all.>"
"<Well, okay. I'll see you when I get back.>"
Belldandy yawned and settled back into the covers,
sleepiness clinging to her still. That was odd, she
thought. She'd never woken up late before. She felt bad
about it.
A few minutes later, she finally arose and went to the
washroom for her morning ablution. It was there that she
first realized something was wrong.
Very wrong.
Her goddess marks were gone.
No, that couldn't be right. Not possible.
She ran her fingers over her forehead, just to be sure.
It was gone.
"<Urd-neesan! Skuld-chan!>" She fled from the bathroom and
went to their rooms, only to find them unattended.
"<Urd-neesan? Skuld-chan? Where are you?!>" She wandered
the temple, looking for them, but found herself alone.
She was alone, with no Keiichi, no Urd, no Skuld.
Desperation began to creep on her and she reached for the
telephone.
She paused.
And with a dread, cold chill running through her soul, she
realized she had forgotten God's phone number.
-*-
"<I'm home!>"
Keiichi Morisato sighed in relief, finally back home. The
day was a bit long, with projects, work, and the auto club
taking up every minute of his time.
But that didn't matter anymore. He was home.
Nice, quiet, peaceful home.
Hm.
Too quiet.
"<Bell-chan?>"
Strange. Usually she'd have greeted him by this point.
Offered some tea. Asked how his day went. All the nice
little things.
"<Bell-chan?>"
Still no reply.
All was silent, except for a very faint sound coming from
Belldandy's room. He found her door open and his heart
ached the sight that greeted him:
Belldandy curled up on the floor, sobbing quietly.
"<Bell-chan?>"
"<Oh Keiichi!>" She rushed up and held him tightly, sobbing
into his shoulder.
"<Bell-chan? What's wrong? What happened?>"
She continued sobbing, leaving the question unanswered.
Belldandy didn't know the words to explain how it felt, the
horror a goddess feels when she has lost every single link
to Heaven.
-*-
"<Good afternoon!>"
Keiichi looked up from his mechanic work. "<After- oh, it's you,
Megumi.>"
"<What, not a kind word for your little sister?>" Megumi retorted.
The bright-eyed brown-haired teenaged schoolgirl put fists to her
hips and leaned forward. "<What are you doing, big brother?>"
"<Working on the motorcycle. I've been trying to get the engine
running. I need a 80cc plug, but the club's been behind on
finances->"
"<I see. I'm here to see Bell-chan. Is she home?>"
"<-and so we... ah... um. Bell-chan's not herself today.>"
"<Oh? Well, I've got news that might cheer her up!>" Megumi beamed.
She pushed her way past her frantically waving brother, and headed
inside.
Sighing, Keiichi turned back to his work.
-*-
"<Hello? Belldandy? It's me, Megumi. I just came by to...>"
Megumi froze, as Belldandy turned from what she was doing.
The weariness in Belldandy's eyes...
"<Oh. It's you, Megumi... what do you want?>" Belldandy replied.
She turned back to look at the vegetables she was chopping.
"<Are you all right, Bell-chan?>"
"<Of course I am...>"
"<Okay. Oh! I just came by to give you some good news! You
remember how you encouraged me to enter the Nekomi Tech design
competition? The one where we need to develop a neat solar-powered
car? I won! The Motor Club's going to be over soon, so we can have
a party... because we're going to BUILD it! And then Keiichi's going
to drive it at a competition and... oh! Not a word to Keiichi, we're
going to surprise him, okay?>" Megumi smiled, a conspiratorical wink
on her face.
Belldandy smiled, if a bit wearily... "<I see. I'll prepare a cake
as well..>"
Megumi smiled. "<Okay... I'm going to pick on Big Brother some
more... remember, not a word!>" And she ran out of the kitchen.
Belldandy sighed as she turned back to looking at the knife. The
weight of the blade felt a little odd in her hands. As she put the
knife down for the first slice, she noticed her slice was slightly
off. Belldandy frowned. She slowly sped up her chopping, her
frustration growing with every slice until she felt a sting on her
hand. With a shout, she dropped everything and held her hand.
Red blood oozed from the deep cut in her hand.
And the world turned dark.
-*-
In dark woods, in the Dreaming, where all living souls go
when they sleep...
Matthew brooded.
Once, he had been able to love and hate, to take a woman in
his arms and love her, to punch a man because he hated
him...
Once he could run far and away, swim a long way... race a
car one hundred miles per hour down a screaming highway,
drunk out of his mind...
Once, he was Matthew Cable.
Now, he had lost all that.
But he didn't mind that all so much... for he had gained
wisdom in death, and the gift of flight in his rebirth..
For Matthew was a raven.
Ravens, as a whole, were advisors to gods. Ravens advised
Odin, the Chief Norse God, granting him wisdom and
knowledge. In American Indian mythology, ravens were
cunning and wise. But Matthew was more than that.
Matthew was the raven of Dream.
Dream was the Prince of Stories, the Master of dreams. More
than that, he was Dream of the Endless, one of seven
anthropomorphications of reality. Unlike the others...
unlike Desire and Despair, unlike Destiny and Destruction,
unlike Death and Delirium, Dream was... young. Even though
he was as old as the cosmos, Dream was still very new at his
job. Dream needed guidance.
For he was the second being to hold the title of Dream. The
first had been slain, but he'd made preparations. The
current Dream was the result of those plans.
Just as he had with the first Dream, it was up to Matthew to
be a voice of counsel.
But for now...
Right now he had an appointment to keep, to see the
brothers, the keepers of Mysteries and Secrets.
With a loud cry, Matthew was off and flying.
-*-
Keiichi stood in the corridors of the hospital waiting. It
seemed so very wrong, to be waiting for Belldandy to come
out of the emergency room.
Belldandy had cut herself.
She'd bled, like a normal human being.
Keiichi panicked when he saw her, passed out in the kitchen,
a pool of blood forming near her arm.
Belldandy was _bleeding_.
It hadn't really sunk in until now. He'd been used to her
being a Goddess for so long. Whatever happened, she would
always be there. She was a _Goddess_.
But not anymore.
Running into the kitchen when he heard Belldandy's scream and seeing
her lying there, watching her blood flow... that was the moment of
true realization.
Belldandy was mortal.
She'd eat like a mortal, sleep like a mortal, bleed like a
mortal...
And she could die.
"<Keiichi?>"
He looked up, fear in his eyes. "<Belldandy!>" Without
hesitation, he rushed up and took her in his arms, embracing
her. "<Don't scare me like that again,>" he said softly.
"<... I won't, Keiichi...>"
But Belldandy didn't sound so confident.
-*-
It appeared to be a traditional tea time between two men in
a room full of antique furniture.
"More tea?"
"Suh-suh-shure, th-thanks."
That isn't quite what it was, although it was close.
The furniture was indeed antique, most of the Victorian era
and quite a few even older. The bit with the tea was
traditional as could be.
Matthew flew through an open window into this cozy, traditional
scene, and perched on the stutter's shoulder.
"Ah, welcome, my feathered friend", the non-stuttering man spoke.
"Tea? Crackers? Rotting carrion?"
"How about just some peanuts?" asked Matthew, giving him an
irritated glare.
"Ruh-ruh-right."
The fat bearded one with a stutter was named Abel. The other, a tall
and lean man with oddly pointy hair, glasses, and an acidic persona,
was Cain. It was a distinct possibility that they were the Cain and
Abel from biblical legend. After all, in the Dreaming... stories and
dreams abounded.
Matthew started... Cain, at the moment, was staring outside at the
lands around them. "Something's amiss."
"Wuh-what was th-that?"
Cain's expression darkened slightly. "I said, bubble-butt,
something's amiss. Out there. In the Dreaming."
"That sorta thing seems to be a regular event nowadays,"
said Matthew.
The location of their tea time gathering was far from usual as well.
The house they were in was the House of Secrets, which was watched
over by Abel. It sat upon one of two hills in a place that seemed
perpetually cloudy. The other hill was topped by the House of
Mystery, watched over by Cain.
"I huh-huh-hope it's nothing too serious," said Abel.
Cain stroked his beard. "I don't think it's serious, no.
Just odd."
"Suh-sounds like a muh-muh-mystery to me..." muttered Abel
absently. Cain sighed. Accidental or not, it was a bad
pun. He pulled out a gun...
*BLAM*
There was one other thing that was highly unusual about the
pair. Cain had a habit of killing Abel on a regular basis.
"Jeez!" yelled Matthew.
Cain scowled and waved his hands dismissively. "He was due!
If there's one thing I can't stand it's a bad pun.
Besides, I hadn't killed him all week."
Abel would eventually recover from the murder, but it was
never a pleasant experience.
"But a gun?" asked Matthew.
Cain frowned. "No, doing it with a gun just isn't the same.
Next time I use the mallet. Haven't done that one in a
while."
He looked down at Abel's bloody remains, sighed, then
grabbed his feet and dragged him out of the room. "Come on,
blubber butt, you're bleeding on my carpet."
Behind him, Matthew shook his head.
-*-
"<PARTYYYYYYYYYYYY!>"
The sounds emitting from the temple was enough to make Keiichi groan.
<-- ... were enough
What, he wondered, in the name of the Gods was going on there?
"<Oi!!!! Where's Morisato???">
The Nekomi Tech Motor Club. Wonderful.
Belldandy grabbed his shirt weakly, and moaned. Keiichi frowned. He
had to get Belldandy home, quietly...
The doors of the temple flew open, and with a shout of "<MORISATO!>",
Tamiya came running out, tears streaming down his face as he pulled
Keiichi into a bear hug. "<Morisato-kun! I am so happy! Once again we
showed everyone that the Nekomi Tech Motor Club is the best!>"
Keiichi groaned. So much for quietly getting Belldandy home. He pushed
ineffectually against Tamiya, but fortunately for him, he was quickly
released from the crushing embrace as Tamiya turned around and
shouted, "<Hey, people! Morisato is here!>"
People streamed out of the building, and in seconds, they were swarmed
by the members of the motor club, most of them already in varying
states of intoxication.
Surrounded on all sides, Keiichi and Belldandy had no choice but to
follow them into the temple, where the party was already in full
swing. As soon as he entered, someone handed a half-empty sake bottle
to Keiichi. Helplessly, he held an arm around a shivering, quiet
Belldandy, observing the chaos.
"<Keiichi, I will go into the garden to get some fresh air.>" With
these words, Belldandy disentangled herself from him and walked away,
ignoring the partying people around her. As the door closed after her,
everyone fell silent, and turned around to look at Keiichi.
Tamiya walked up to him, slowly, his dark expression promising doom,
or at the very least, lots of pain. He grabbed Keiichi and shook him.
"<Morisato-kun, what have you done to Belldandy-sama!>"
"<N .. n... nothing, sempai!>, Keiichi managed to reply, weakly, still
staring at the door.
Tamiya dumped him unceremoniously, and proclaimed, "<Let's party!>",
giving Keiichi one last look.
Keiichi sighed, as someone pushed a beer into his palm.
-*-
Outside, Belldandy noticed nothing of the commotion inside. Alone with
her thoughts, she sat there, leaning against the ancient oak tree,
drawing a small measure of comfort from its silent presence. Her
thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a car coming to a halt
outside the gate, and seconds later, an elegant young woman entered
the temple grounds.
Spying Belldandy sitting alone under the tree, Sayoko Aoshima smiled.
If Belldandy was out here, alone, during the party, she might have a
chance to take her Keiichi away from that woman.
With a false smile, she nodded to Belldandy.
"<Good evening, Belldandy-san. It is so nice to see you again.>"
Her expression turning nastier, she continued.
"<I see you are not with Keiichi-san tonight ... how sad. Did you two
break up?>"
Belldandy, didn't answer, not even indicating that she had noticed
Sayoko, only staring off into space, a sad expression on her face.
Sayoko smiled, and walked away towards the temple, calling back over
her shoulder, "<I am sure you won't mind if I help Keiichi-san over
his loss then.>", before vanishing in the house.
Belldandy looked after her.
Why didn't she say anything?
With a sigh, she looked at the ground, a lonely tear running down her
cheek.
"<Keiichi, my Keiichi ... I should be with you now ... but I am too
weak ... I can hardly face myself in the mirror, how could I face you
and our friends? And now Sayoko is there, too. She will try to take
you away from me, I am certain.>"
Dark thoughts running through her head, Belldandy sat in the darkness,
cold, vulnerable, and above all, alone.
-*-
(David's Note: This seems optional. Is it worth it if I expand on
it?)
In the temple Sayoko circulates, smiling and charming, at her best.
Congratulates Megumi, finds Keiichi, hangs onto him despite his
visible discomfort. As he wants to go out to check on Belldandy, she
follows him. Outside the door, she hugs him and kisses him on the
cheek, with Belldandy seeing them. Keiichi of course stiffens, and
tries to push her away, but Sayoko is too quick and runs off with a
"Good night, Keiichi-san." Breakdown Belldandy, Keiichi trying to
comfort her. Party ends, everyone leaves.
-*-
Meanwhile, somewhere else in the Dreaming, a dream was being
built. The foreman of the construction crew was, at the
moment, having some problems with the plans.
His name was Merv. He was a pumpkinhead.
He would have scratched his beard in irritation, but he had
a pumpkin for a head. So instead he just rubbed his chin.
Scratching his chin would have resulted in some nasty
peeling.
"Dey want what?" he asked incredulously, the tip of his
cigar flaring up. "I dunno. Cripes, we gotta use THOSE
candles? And we gotta use HIM?"
The faceless worker next to him shrugged. "That's the
orders, boss."
Merv scowled and puffed out a few clouds of smoke. "Great.
Okay. Fine. But I ain't happy 'bout dis, and I know HE
ain't gonna be cooperative "
-*-
At the front porch of the shrine, Belldandy sat and watched
the world go by. Soon, her Keiichi would return, and she
wished to see him. She didn't know what she would do
without him now that she was truly mortal.
The past few days and nights passed like a blur, unreal and
hazy. Nothing seemed clear. It was as if the world was was
cast under a haze of grey.
Belldandy found herself becoming tired frequently from mere
daily chores. The wind seemed a bit more harsh, the sun a
little more stinging to the skin.
Sometimes, when she was watching the television, she thought
she saw Urd. Her sister seemed to be a dim apparition,
staring sadly at her. When Belldandy called out to her, Urd
would disappear.
Sometimes, every now and then, when she gazed at her tea,
she saw the face of her sister Skuld. Again, it was a sad
look her younger sister seemed to have, and it never lasted
for long.
Were they lamenting her fall? It seemed to be. She wished
she could talk to them once more, to say her final goodbyes,
but she was allowed nothing more than a ghostly image of her
family.
She sighed, as she headed into the house, walking slowly,
into the living room.
To be with her sisters once more, thought Belldandy. My
Lord, is that too much to ask?
She received no reply.
Keiichi wanted her to see a doctor, but she knew whatever
was ailing her was far beyond the ability of mortal healers.
She had been cast from Heaven. She was one of the Fallen.
That almost made her laugh. She would not fit in with the
other Lords of Hell, not at all.
Was this her punishment for loving a mortal more than her
duty to Heaven?
So be it.
She loved Keiichi, and that was all that mattered.
Keiichi...
Yes, he'd be coming home...
Any...
Minute...
Now...
And Belldandy slept.
-*-
o/~ Happy birthday to you o/~
Birthday?
o/~ Happy birthday to you o/~
Oh! Skuld's birthday! The anniversary of her reconfiguration,
actually, but for gods and goddesses it was the same thing.
But wasn't that next month?
Belldandy opened her eyes to the sight of a room full of
people. Surprised, she stood up and looked around,
realizing that all these people were their friends and
family. At the center of everyone's attention was Skuld, her
back to Belldandy, standing before a gigantic birthday cake.
The cake and the candles, however, were all black. And the
flames burned with an eerie blue light.
o/~ Happy birthday dear Skuld o/~
o/~ Happy birthday to you... o/~
The crowd cheered as the song came to an end. Skuld, her
back still to Belldandy leaned forward and blew out all the
candles.
With a gust of wind the room went dark. Why was it so cold
suddenly?
"<Skuld-chan?>"
She was surprised and frightened when her voice echoed
through the darkness.
"<H-hello? Anybody?>"
"There's no need to be afraid," said her little sister, somewhere
in the darkness.
"Skuld? What's happening?"
"I've been reborn again, just like you."
Reborn? That can't be right! Skuld had only been in her
current incarnation for 15 years... it was too soon!
"Skuld? Where are you?"
"Over here, sister."
Blue flames came to life once more a few meters away.
Belldandy saw Skuld standing before the fire, her back still
turned away, idly tossing a marble around. There was the
sound of something... clacking?
"Skuld?" She slowly walked up to her sister, and with a
trembling hand, touched her on the shoulder.
Skuld turned around, eyes closed, and faced her sister.
There was a smile on Skuld's face, an artificial and vacant
smile.
She opened her eyes. They were smiling too. Literally.
Shock, fear, and repulsion washed over Belldandy. She
looked down, away, anywhere but into Skuld's... eyes... no,
those weren't eyes...
"What do you think, dear sweet sister?" said the chattering
row of teeth that had become Skuld's eyes. "It's a new
look. Isn't it nice?"
And then the laughter began, low and malingering sounds of
bemusement and mockery, intermingled with Belldandy's
screaming...
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-----------"
-*-
"---OOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!"
She woke up screaming, eyes open wide and shuddering, being
held by Keiichi. Panting, in a cold sweat, Belldandy found little
relief being in the arms of her beloved.
"<It's only a dream, Belldandy. It's okay. Everything's
okay,>" Keiichi whispered to her...
She clung to him for a few minutes, as Keiichi reassured
her. "<It was only a dream, Bell-chan...>"
Finally calming down, Belldandy laid her head down on Keiichi's lap,
trying to regain her calm. It was only a dream... after all.
Skuld was up in the heavens, and she was down here, and she was
alive.
And she had Keiichi. Things would be fine... she would eventually
learn to be mortal.
If only there wasn't this little voice in her head, a little fear
that whispered...
"But what if it wasn't a dream...?"
-*-
Down in the dark woods of the Dreaming...
A man, clad in a white tank top and white pants, slowly looked up,
running a hand through his short crew-cut hair, and frowned as
he lifted his dark shades covering his eyes...
And revealing two rows of chattering teeth in his eye
sockets...
-= end part 1=-