Shades of Malice
Oh! My Goddess fic work of fanfiction.
The characters belong to Kosuke Fujishima, Dark Horse, and so
forth. No money is being made off of this... as if I had enough
confidence in my limited writing skills to think that I could make
a living off of writing.
-
A crash reverberated in an apartment as its single occupant
staggered this way and that with no coordination. Whatever
semblance of order the rooms had was no longer there as their owner
rampaged through her belongings like a desperate thief.
Her breathing was erratic and unstable as she jumped up from her
shelves and walked backwards into the wall. Collapsing onto the
floor, she rolled forward with no destination in mind. Yet, the
rolling eventually stopped as she came to a pile of clothing that
was so carelessly scattered a few days before.
The young woman's eyes stung harshly, making sight difficult as she
tried to get her bearings. Everything seemed so clear a while ago,
but now it was all nonsense. Worse, she did not know why it didn't
make sense.
It all seemed so distorted and foggy to the young woman as she
tried to stand, but felt her legs lose their strength momentarily,
keeping her on the ground. As her head wavered from one direction
to another, her eyes slowly came upon something that seemed would
help.
Imitating an insect, she crawled over to the disconnected phone,
but her connections to reality had left her to the point where
memory would not help her.
Grabbing the base of the phone, she shook it violently, repeating a
single phrase over and over as though she were speaking to someone
in person.
"Help me!"
-
The busy signal on the receiver continued to beep as Belldandy
waited in vain for the other end to pick up the phone. One
unanswered call by itself would not have bothered her, but several
others made the previous week did. All she wanted to do was speak
with Megumi.
With a sigh of resignation, she hung up the phone. Her hand
remained upon the receiver as she wondered how Megumi was doing.
Though Keiichi had assured her the other day that Megumi was fine,
the goddess had her doubts.
The Morisato siblings often kept in touch and for one to be silent
for as long as Megumi had been worried Belldandy. In addition,
there were other pressing matters that needed to be attended to as
soon as possible that involved Megumi.
From what the goddess could recall, there had been nothing that
she, Keiichi, or her sisters could have done that would have made
Megumi shun them. Even if there was something, she was not the type
to hold a grudge for very long. It only made the goddess believe
that something was very wrong.
All of a sudden, her left ear started to burn. In addition, the
powers she commanded also sensed a stirring of energies that gave
her pause. She winced and held her hand to the ear, hoping the pain
would cease. The pain was not so great that she had to yelp, but it
was strong enough to distract her. The energies that swirled
through her consciousness also made concentration difficult. The
disturbances soon vanished as soon as they appeared.
She knew what it was and what it meant, however, it made the
goddess wonder if it had something to do with Megumi. And if it was
true, then steps had to be taken immediately.
Some would say that the burning was more like a premonition in the
present that she could still intervene in. It would not have been
the first time.
She turned walked into the living room where Skuld was looking over
a schematic and Urd was watching a television show. Oblivious to
the situation at hand, she moved quickly to the entryway,
announcing to the others, "I am going out for a while. I believe
there's still some leftovers in the refrigerator if I'm not back
before nightfall."
Looking up from her plans, she stood up and followed her sister to
the genkan. "What's wrong?"
Turning back to her younger sister, Belldandy answered as she got
into her shoes. "I don't know. That's what I need to find out.
Megumi may be in trouble."
Blinking, Skuld was ready to join her sister, but a hand from
Belldandy stopped her in her tracks. "No, I can handle this myself.
What you and Urd need to do is not let Keiichi know for the time
being. Just tell him that I went out for a while and not to worry.
I'll tell him everything when I return."
Urd, who had overheard the conversation stepped into the hallway,
"It's not just that though, is it?"
Both the younger goddesses turned to the eldest. Urd knew what she
was talking about and though Skuld did not, Belldandy nodded
solemnly.
Crossing her arms, Urd continued. "If you have to do this alone, I
understand. I'll cover things from here. And be careful."
Belldandy's smile had an appreciative air about it as she nodded
again and turned to the door to leave Skuld asking Urd what she
meant.
Speeding down the steps, she was about to turn onto the road before
nearly colliding with Keiichi, on his way home from classes. "Oh,
Belldandy, what's the hurry?"
Were it not for the many years of self-control Belldandy had built
up, she would have openly paled.
She smiled pleasantly, though a bit too surprised for her own
comfort. "Oh, I just need to hurry over to your sister's apartment.
She needs my help."
"Ah, good. You were able to get in touch with her. What does she
need help with?"
She placed her hand on his shoulder to settle his curiosity,
"Something that only I can help her with. I will tell you all about
it when I return."
Though still a bit confused, he figured that trying to get the
whole story at the present time would be a moot point. So, he
smiled and gave the hand she had on his shoulder an affectionate
squeeze before heading up the stairs.
As she left sight of Keiichi's home, the smile upon her face slowly dissolved.
She had just lied to the one she loved most.
Though it was not a direct lie, she had simply withheld information
concerning Megumi that Keiichi would have worried needlessly over.
Regardless, it was a lie of omission.
Belldandy knew that Megumi was under Mara's control several months
ago. Coerced into being a disguise for the demon, Megumi was one of
the few humans to experience true demonic possession. Mara had used
her fear and doubt as a waypoint to enter and control.
Though Mara was indeed exorcised properly, there was a pressing
matter of a follow-up visit to ensure no corruption had occurred
due to the possession. If not treated properly, it could fester
into a 'spiritual abscess' that could practically destroy Megumi's
mind and heart, along with the body.
Megumi was not the only one, Keiichi was possessed by the Lord of
Terror a short while before Megumi's encounter, but he had long
since been checked for any sort of post possession corruption.
However, the event was not a happy memory for her.
---
Temptation.
Belldandy had never felt it in such raw, pure form before. Even at
her worst, Mara had never been able to come near what the goddess
now felt, and she had come the closest.
Yet Belldandy was quite certain that no demon was the ultimate
source of what troubled her. Certainly, there were the remnant
strands of the Lord of Terror she now faced in Keiichi's soul, but
they were almost dormant now, unable to do much more than give
Keiichi an occasional nightmare. While they would have to be
removed, and soon, they could no more affect Belldandy than an ant
could direct a hurricane.
No, she knew she herself was the source of the near-demonic urges
that reverberated in her heart.
Keiichi trusted her completely, and had opened his soul utterly and
explicitly to her every whim. Nothing she now did could arguably be
against his will.
Even remaking him into a better lover.
It took little will to recast her vision of his soul to highlight
every little fault, every little annoyance she had ever seen in
him, and to trace down its cause. That, at least, did not itself
implement the changes, just made the prospect easier, more
compelling. But the further she got, the more the beast in her
heart hungered to go the rest of the way, to impose her will on
him, to reject the Keiichi that was and instead build up an idol, a
puppet of her projections of...
"YAAAAAH!" Belldandy pushed herself away from Keiichi, sailing
across the room from the reaction and crumpling into a shivering
heap when she landed.
"Belldandy?" Skuld blinked. "Whoa, this must be bad! Hold on, Keiichi, I'll-"
Urd put her arm in Skuld's way. "Wait. Hey, Bell, what'd you see in there?"
Belldandy did not dare look at any of them, though her disgusted
sobs at what she had seen in herself, and at the utter wrongness of
what she had almost done to Keiichi, were audible to all.
---
Her sisters and Keiichi had taken it in stride, Urd had completed
the procedure, and life had gone on as it did. Yet, the temptation
Belldandy felt at the time still bothered her.
Now, the possibility that Megumi was in trouble urged her to move
even faster. If the lack of communication wasn't proof enough, the
stirring of pain within Belldandy only confirmed it.
Turning to a garbage heap, she noticed a cracked mirror among the
debris and the mark on her forehead expanded and glowed with an
intensity that rivaled the luster of the mid day sun. With a
running start, she leaped into the air and into the mirror, sending
her through the ethereal byways of her mode of transportation.
-
The thunder boomed in the sky as Belldandy finally reached the
apartment building that Megumi resided in. Emerging from the
bathroom mirror, the goddess found the uppermost portion of it
shattered and it pieces scattered in the sink and tub.
Nearly crashing through the bathroom door, Belldandy found her
suspicions confirmed. Clothes, papers, and other odds and ends were
strewn everywhere. Worse yet, Megumi was nowhere to be seen, but
the draft she felt rushing through the apartment made her divine
blood run cold.
She dashed through the apartment to the kitchen to see Megumi lying
in a pool of her own blood. Her legs and arms were bleeding from
multiple gashes made by a sharp kitchen knife that had fallen from
Megumi's hand.
"Megumi!" the goddess cried in shock and dashed to the younger
Morisato's side. By the looks of it, the cuts had only been opened
recently, yet Megumi's chances of survival were still uncertain.
Carrying the unconscious mortal as gently as she could, Belldandy
took Megumi to her room and set her down on a patch of floor that
wasn't covered in debris.
Taking a wrist, she placed her palm in front of the cut and began
to whisper in the archaic language of the gods, commanding the skin
and sinew to repair itself. Within seconds, the damaged skin and
muscle tissue reformed in its previous state.
She repeated the procedure for the rest of the wounds and sat by
the inert mortal as the rain poured against the window. One wound
after another closed at the touch of the goddess' hand and with
every gash, Belldandy noticed that the farther she went down, the
less severe the wounds were. It led her to assume that as the
self-injury went further, Megumi's strength waned by the loss of
blood.
With a sigh of exhaustion, Belldandy placed Megumi's hand at her
side and sat on a cushion beside the mortal's head. With a sad
countenance on her face, the goddess leaned over and smoothed the
student's hair. "Poor dear..."
With a glance, Belldandy could tell that Megumi's condition was
much worse than she initially thought. She silently berated herself
for not seeing this sooner. No one deserved to suffer like this.
If she was to help Megumi, she had to be conscious and coherent,
but her mental condition was precarious. However, what she could do
was stabilize Megumi's mind for long enough to accomplish her goal.
With her hands on Megumi's forehead, the goddess whispered several
more words as a soft blue light emerged from her palms and into the
mortal woman's head. The spell Belldandy applied was a temporary
answer if nothing else. It would connect the primary functions of
cognition and speech and hearing long enough for the goddess to fix
everything else properly.
Removing her hands from Megumi's head, the goddess sat back and
waited patiently as the younger Morisato's eyes fluttered opened
slowly. She attempted to look around, but she winced as though a
nerve was pinched.
"I... I can barely feel anything... what's going on?"
"Much of your mind and body has been through a tremendous strain.
You've also lost much blood and need to recover."
Megumi's eyes were wavering, doing her best to remain conscious,
"Why does my whole body hurt?"
"Aside from the damage you did to yourself, there's a disease in
your system that needs to be taken care of."
The mortal girl's eyes opened more and her head slowly turned to
her guest despite the pain. "Belldandy... are you a doctor?"
Belldandy shook her head and stood up, keeping herself well in the
younger Morisato's sight. "Megumi, there has been something I have
been hiding from you since we first met."
Belldandy then raised her head to the heavens and once more, the
mark on her forehead expanded. A sphere of light enveloped
Belldandy and as soon as the sphere formed, it erupted. Her old
clothes were gone and in their place were the same blue and gold
trimmed dress she wore when she appeared to Keiichi. She looked
down from the heavens and into Megumi's eyes.
Without letting her lips move, the goddess spoke to the mortal's
mind, "Megumi... I am a goddess of fate. Belldandy of the present."
The young woman looked around for the source of the voice she heard
in her head. Until a peculiar realization made her realize that
Belldandy was the one who had spoke.
In addition, the goddess was now slightly hovering over the ground,
her feet barely dangling over the surface of the tatami.
Though Megumi was surprised, it was mild when in comparison to
Belldandy's introduction to Keiichi's dorm room. Curiously, the
younger Morisato pushed herself up, wincing on occasion, and waved
her hand beneath her feet to make sure that it was not some sort of
sick joke the other tenants were playing on her.
"I'm missing something, but I don't know what. But, you don't lie,
I... I'm not even sure," Megumi said, scratching her head.
The goddess smiled pleasantly. "It was a bit of a shock to your
brother as well. However, he too believed my words in time."
"Well, as neat as it all sounds, where did it all start? I'm still
a bit confused."
Belldandy nodded, expecting her questions. "There is a way how I
can show you everything much more easily than words can.
However..." she turned away slightly before gathering the courage
to continue, "You must allow me to 'share' your body temporarily."
Megumi blinked several times, more confused than shocked.
"Do you remember a woman with white hair and a pair of marks on her forehead?"
Megumi nodded, the memory of that woman appearing out of the smoke
and speaking some odd language and practically assaulting her was
not something she forgot easily. Though what she did was not
entirely clear, for after the woman attacked, she passed out and
found herself waking up at the racetrack. From time to time, she
wondered if she had sleepwalked there and never knew it.
"The woman was a demon that possessed you. I believe that it has
left an infection in your mind or soul and it must be repaired.
What I intend to do is along those same lines, however with this
one important difference. The other woman used your fear to control
you. I, on the other hand, must be allowed in before I can do
anything. You have to trust me to allow my entry."
The goddess knelt down on the floor and patiently awaited Megumi's decision.
Upon knowing what the other woman had done, Megumi felt rather
apprehensive about letting it happen again. Though the concept was
far beyond anything she had ever heard of before, the way Belldandy
talked about it made her words true.
The recent events had made life tough enough, besides, what was one
more ordeal to endure to Megumi. She nodded and whispered, "Go
ahead."
The goddess crawled once more over to Megumi and placed her
forehead against the younger Morisato's. The central mark on
Belldandy's forehead glowed once more and in a flash of blinding
light, she was gone, leaving Megumi alone and unconscious with the
blue marks that Belldandy had on her face.
-
Drifting through the various layers of Megumi's psyche and soul,
Belldandy began a thorough check to ensure that the infection was
found. The goddess could tell it was close... but time had allowed
the infection to integrate itself in the system so that it would be
much harder to find.
Angered for letting her friend suffer so, she descended several
more layers without finding a thing. However, it did not surprise
Belldandy that a standard search would not lead to anything,
considering that Mara was quite notorious for keeping her
corruption well hidden.
Yet, no matter how well the demoness hid her tracks, she would be
more than able to find them.
Soon enough, she noticed the first signs of decay of Megumi's
reason. The way the strands were arranged almost made them
unnoticeable by the untrained eye, but Belldandy's were too good to
be fooled. Even at this level of expertise, no one could hide
anything like this from her.
Though externally, the signs of decay were quite minimal, but upon
closer observation, the core of the reason processors was heavily
damaged. That, in part, explained the self-injuries with the knife,
but the goddess figured it was more of a final resort security
protocol that took over when Megumi's subconscious realized that
someone else was trying to take over.
The signs were woven into a pattern that started its way deeper and
deeper into the heart. As more layers were passed, the goddess
frowned upon seeing the corruptions getting progressively worse.
The further she got, the more worried she became. There could be a
greater corruption in the core, waiting for any sort of healing
agent to stop it. It could block pleasant memories, choke
happiness, and literally starve the soul of its much-needed
nourishment.
Blinking, the goddess discovered that barriers were being erected,
as she got closer to the core. Belldandy's presence was known.
However, it would take more than a few mental barriers to stop her.
With a wave of her hand, the goddess easily dispersed the walls and
with a small frown, discovered her suspicions confirmed.
In a large sphere of diminishing light, stood a semi-ethereal
apparition of Mara on what looked like a marble colored floor in
the center of the sphere.
Attached to the apparition's foot, a trail of ethereal matter
floated outward and towards what appeared to be Megumi's core.
The core Megumi was suspended in a state of melancholy inertia,
being drained of her life and personality and would inevitably be
replaced by Mara. The form of the core, though still human-shaped,
had various chunks of matter missing. By the looks of things, she
still seemed to move as though she were whole.
The core turned slowly to Belldandy with a look of numb
indifference and then turned away. It appeared that the psyche was
never the target in the first place, but instead the infection had
latched itself to the core.
With a neutral gaze, Belldandy hovered several meters from where Mara stood.
The demon's locked sneer made the atmosphere much colder as
Belldandy spoke calmly. "It does not surprise me to see you doing
this to her."
Not changing her stance a bit, Mara snorted. "I have my own right.
Got to survive somehow."
Belldandy remained neutral as her retort brought forth the truth.
"The right to commit spiritual murder, you mean. What makes it even
worse is that your creator is not even around to give you proper
substance to leave Megumi be."
Mara blinked in surprise, she was certain that she could pass for
the original. It didn't matter though, even if she couldn't fool
Belldandy of all people.
"I have known Mara to commit to horrid things to torment the world
of men, but I cannot deny that this is a new low, even for her."
"Ha! As if my 'master' had the brainpower to even try doing
something like this. No, I'm going to show that bitch that she
can't just dump me off like some piece of garbage."
Belldandy's lips formed into a straight line as she replied, "I
would prefer you leave Megumi out of your personal vendetta. She is
innocent and has done nothing to deserve this."
"News flash, lap dog, she wouldn't have been the first. Countless
people get used, abused, and killed for things they never deserved
in the first place. It doesn't make her any different from the
faceless masses."
A small frown formed on the goddess's lips as she countered. "That
is where you are wrong. By fate's decree, she was never meant to
suffer like this. So, I am willing to come to an agreement, which
will leave us both satisfied. I doubt you would receive such an
offer from most others of my kind."
"No deal! My master never trusted your kind and I don't dare since
you consider me less than she is."
The goddess's eyes narrowed dangerously. There would be no turning
back after this. "I will not ask again. Leave Megumi in peace."
The demon's shadow started laughing. It developed into a riotous
guffaw that echoed throughout the void. "You?! Threaten someone?!
That'll be the day!"
The goddess remained quiet and closed her eyes. It appeared that
the shadow would never listen to words. Then again, demons hardly
ever did. With a sigh, the goddess knew that there was no
alternative anymore.
"Do you now?" Belldandy said casually.
"Oh, is the puppy going to bite me?" the shadow sneered again.
The goddess opened her eyes and locked them onto the demon's. "You
claim to know me. I would imagine you coming to that conclusion,
considering how I behave regularly."
The goddess's voice remained as calm as when she started when she
waved her hand across her left ear, causing an obsidian colored
earring to appear. "What you have seen is who I am. However, it is
not all of me. In fact, when compared to all that I am,� an
unexpected edge appeared in her voice, �you know nothing!"
The demon's gaze remained locked on that obsidian earring, quicker
and quicker its ethereal heart beat as Belldandy reached for it. It
knew the white one, the seal that kept the goddess's powers in
check, yet this one was a complete and total unknown.
It could be anything.
Then again, the concept of gods sealing up their worse halves,
releasing them periodically to satisfy their darker appetites, was
not a new one.
Could it be that the immaculate Belldandy had such a nature?
It could not be possible... could it?
The goddess reached up with her left hand and clasped the earring
gently, ready to remove it. Seeing her reach for the earring made
the shadow reach forward and screamed upon impulse.
"Wait! I'm convinced! I'll let the girl go! I'll do whatever you
say! ANYTHING!"
All time stopped as Belldandy's eyes and voice turned cold. "You
have made your choice... all choices have consequences... and now,
you must face the consequences of your choice!"
In one instant, Mara's shadow saw Belldandy remove the earring and drop it...
In a second instant, she saw the earring fall to the floor and shatter...
In a final instant, the demon saw what Belldandy had become and
screamed in horror as its oblivion took form.
-
As the last of the shadow was obliterated, Belldandy could feel no
pity for the remnant of the demon. The hand of mercy had been
extended and refused. Maybe it was the releasing of the obsidian
ring had blocked any sort of compassion.
She began to weave her hands in a circular motion to reset the
seal, when a powerful voice screamed suddenly, �NO!�
With the seal interrupted, she clutched her sides as though she
were being torn apart from inside. There was always a good reason
why things like this were sealed. They had a strong reluctance to return to their dormant state and a nasty habit of remaining unsealed.
�I WILL NOT BE CHAINED AGAIN!� the voice boomed.
Despite the pain, Belldandy resumed the sealing and several rings
gathered around her body to limit the power of the creature she had
released.
�I AM NOT YOUR SLAVE!� The seals around her were shaking and
wavering from the power of the being disrupted, but Belldandy would
not allow them to vanish.
With a tone of finality, she screamed
into the ether, �You will submit!�
�NEVER!� It roared back and increased the disruption of the seals,
but it was too late. The circles flattened into two dimensional
patterns and shrunk to recreate the obsidian earring.
Even at this late in the sealing, the being continued to fight and
was on the verge of tearing Belldandy apart as she began to apply
the piece of jewelery. Screaming in agony only divinity would know,
Belldandy rolled around on the ground and to her feet, struggling
to place the earring back on.
Several streams of pale light along with a piercing hissing sound,
which came from the earring, filled the air as the last clasp was
closed.
The goddess gasped for air as she fell to her knees once more and
held her head to keep down the pounding headache she now
experienced.
It was never pleasant to go through such an ordeal, but it could
not be helped.
However, now that the source of the corruption was gone, the
healing and repairs could begin. The only thing that stood in her
way now was the fact that the core was nowhere to be seen.
With sweat pouring off her brow, the goddess struggled to remain
conscious before she collapsed and fell silent. The exertion of
unsealing and resealing the obsidian earring had taken a much
higher toll than she expected.
-
The goddess' eyes opened slowly as the void she saw at first was no
more. Instead, a scene of a spacious and grassy field filled her
vision as she pushed herself to her feet. As far as the eye could
see, she saw nothing but grass, the occasional rock, and a cloudy
sky above.
"The healing has started..." she whispered in relief at the scene
before her. The place she was in now could be best described as a
figurative representation for Megumi. Since every mortal was
different, everything around could represent some sort of random or
evident influence in her life.
Shaking her head, Belldandy returned to the task at hand. Sensing
the core of the younger Morisato nearby, she waded through the knee
length grass until she reached one of the larger rocks.
"Megumi! Where are you?" the goddess called, but no answer came.
Walking around, she came to find the core Megumi sitting alone on
the top, staring at the sky.
The core, though still damaged by Mara's corruption, appeared to be
reassembling at a very slow rate. The core turned to the goddess
slowly and smiled tiredly. "Hello... Belldandy..."
Sitting by the core, Belldandy replied, "Do not speak. Your core
can recover faster that way. Besides, I need to tell you everything
from the beginning. It is your turn to know, after all."
The core Megumi listened intently as Belldandy slowly reiterated
the story of how she met Keiichi while he lived at the men's dorm.
Then came their moving into the temple and Belldandy's sisters'
inevitable trailing, then the bug crisis, and, finally, when
Belldandy reached the point where her brother was nearly lost
because of the recall order, Megumi could not help but feel proud
of him. Not every guy had a chance to try and defy a decree from
the heavens to simply give the girl he loved a ring.
Belldandy tried to be as clear as she could when all the other
unusual events that occurred since her arrival on Earth from the
Earth Spirit in her apartment to the multiple encounters with Mara.
When at last, Belldandy had reached the end of her recollections
Megumi whispered a thank you. The core seemed tired, but relieved
at not only being released from Mara, but also honored that
Belldandy would tell her so much.
Belldandy then reached over and took the core's hand and whispered
several words in the language of the heavens, causing the mark on
her forehead to expand once more and glow.
"Almost done..." she whispered before her form began to distort and
glow to a blinding radiance. Her figure started to disintegrate
into countless ethereal particles that gathered into Megumi's core.
-
Rubbing her head, Megumi mumbled and sat up. For a reason she
couldn't put a name to, she felt... focused, unlike before where
everything seemed vague and distorted. Looking about her apartment,
she noticed that most of the debris she scattered about was cleaned
up and the sound of running water came from the kitchen.
Standing, she stumbled a bit, remembering all too well of the
ordeal she had just been through. She realized that she never got a
chance to thank Belldandy in person for what she did. Using the
wall, she moved slowly to the kitchen to find the woman in question
cleaning the last few dishes Megumi had failed to take care of
herself. She also appeared to be in the same clothes that she had
initially arrived in.
"You're awake."
"How long was I out?"
"About two hours. It took me half that time to be able to repair
the damage. Then I had to rescan and defragment all the loose
sectors. It was standard procedure, if nothing else."
Blinking, Megumi looked to her and then maneuvered herself into a
chair. "Really?"
Turning from the sink, the goddess nodded and turned off the water.
"I do not suppose that I need to explain everything again."
The younger Morisato shook her head. "No, I still remember pretty
clearly what happened. Though it's still kind of hard to take in at
first."
The goddess smiled pleasantly. "Take your time. Not everyone learns
how to believe in an instant."
"Thanks. But, I'm kind of surprised that you'd trust me with
information like this," she said, referring to the fact that
Belldandy and her sisters were goddesses.
The goddess nodded and placed a cup of warm tea on the counter for
Megumi to take. "I would never have told you if I did not believe
you worthy of that knowledge."
Though appreciative, there was still something that tugged at the
back of Megumi's memory when Belldandy had encountered the shadow.
"I wasn't sure exactly what happened that made the shadow go away,
but what I do remember was seeing the obsidian earring. What
was..." the younger Morisato asked hesitantly. When Belldandy stood
still, Megumi figured it would be best if she let it go. "Sorry, I
shouldn't have asked."
The goddess shook her head. "No. It is well that you did. However,
forgive me for acting selfish, but I would prefer that to be left
alone."
Though Megumi would honor her request, it would continue to bother
her from time to time as to what exactly it was. Yet, considering
the kind of person Belldandy was, it'd be much wiser to let
sleeping dogs lie.
-
Walking back home, the goddess went over the events in her mind
repeatedly. A single question continued to repeat itself in the
back of her mind when she confronted the shadow.
Was it really necessary to let her out?
Worse yet, the sealing was much more difficult than the time
before. Belldandy was fortunate enough to be able to contain the
situation now, but it would be getting trickier as time went on on.
Reaching the bottom of the steps, the goddess sighed in relief as
she felt this whole ordeal was behind her. She was stepping up the
first step when she felt something call her back. Walking down the
street, she noticed the convex mirror at the street corner. For no
reason she could discern, she reached up to the smooth surface of
the mirror and placed her fingertips against it.
Her reflection in the mirror mimicked her actions perfectly. Until
the reflection's face suddenly developed a hideous snarl on her
face and hissed, �I WILL ESCAPE!�
She gasped, hopped back, and whirled around to see if the being was
out. All she found was the shadows on the street and nothing more.
The End
1/06/05 Update notes:
After finally pinning down ideas for the fic after this one, I
figured it was time to go over this one another time. Though I do
like the additions in the 'core', I still can't help but feel there
was something else I could have added for the story as a whole. Try
as I may, nothing. What do you folks at home think? Anyway, thanks for reading. If you enjoyed the story, then I've done my job. :)
Original Notes:
Special thanks goes to:
DB Sommer: for surviving the first draft and yet still giving an
approving critique.
Gary Kleppe: for helping with more of the grammatical aspect and
giving pointers for the story.
Nidoking: For helping me get that piece of humble pie down my throat.
Adrian Thymes: for the flashback scene where Belldandy is tempted.
Chan Wei Lik: For also tackling the awful first draft.
Whoever said that 2/3s of your first draft often ends up getting
changed up or cut spoke true. I can hardly recognize that first
draft that I made... whoa.
Well, you can pretty much guess my stance on Belldandy as a
character. Sweet, affectionate, perfect, and downright boring! So,
of course, it's up to losers like me who believe that Belldandy
harbors some deep, dark, and dangerous secret that can ruin her
image. And yes, I plan on continuing this story idea someday. When
exactly, I don't know, but I will continue it.
For pointless fanfiction, go to:
http://www.fanfiction.net/~twh
For a Live Journal to waste your time with, go to:
http://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?user=twh