Hmmm.. Never expected this fic to do quite well. Guess people
_do_ make mistakes.
Anyway, I just want to thank each and everyone for giving me all
the more reason to write this fanfic in as much a way as I am doing with
the Angel�s Chronicles I�ve been writing and sending to the FFML for the
past few months.
Since I've decided to slow down a bit on my other work, this one
came to mind and viola! New fic series I've decided to write.
This story is dedicated to the people in the FFML. You guys -- and
gals! -- are the best.
Chapter Two: A Home Away From Home
Somewhere far form the hustle and bustle of sprawling MegaTokyo, a
small town rested peacefully on and around a mountain whose majestic peak
was crowned with snow. Upon it rested an old temple that housed a young
couple who had lived there for quite some time. No one paid them too
much notice and that was something that pleased the couple greatly.
The town was small enough not to attract the notice of anyone
important enough to consider the small city-town worth the trouble of
taking over. Those who lived here in Nekomi were blissfully thankful of
this. The outside world was a terrible place; one filled with the evils
that Pandora had unthinkingly released.
Everyone was pleased and thanked what deities they worshipped in
this age for it.
They just didn't know how close one of those deities were.
Belldandy happily hummed to herself as she set about her task of
peeling the potatoes. There were others in her kitchen. Young ones whom
she had adopted into her family. She and her husband, Keiichi Morisato,
were unable to have an issues for it was a necessary sacrifice if she
wanted her husband to be with her for as long as she lived.
Belldandy felt someone tugging at the hem of her skirt. She looked
down to see little Alanna proudly showing off her drawing. Belldandy
smiled as she knelt before the little girl and gave her a hug.
"Ara! Such an artist you are, little Alanna." she complimented the
silent girl. Belldandy had found her outside the temple a few weeks ago;
bleeding and hurt. The little girl had yet to talk to anyone save to
herself.
And that normally consisted of one or two words.
"Mmmm! Arigato." Alanna happily crowed as she left the kitchen
with a burst of childish energy.
Belldandy watched the little girl leave as she grasped the drawing
Alanna had given her. She went over to the fridge and stuck the drawing
on it before continuing her task. She wasn't too worried about Alanna.
Her nightmares were less severe and becoming more infrequent. And in
time it would stop.
She glanced once more at the picture Alanna had drawn of her before
returning to her duties and supervising her kitchen staff.
One little boy stared at the crude crayola-rendered image of an
angel.
===================
Light flared suddenly in the baths.
The water opened up to spew out a raven-haired goddess with a
slightly defeated look in her face. Skuld, Goddess of the Future,
stepped out of the baths; carrying a load of things that could not have
possibly fit in such a small knapsack she had slung behind her.
She did not like the arrangement one bit and made it plain when she
had returned to the heavens. No one had a ready answer for her save that
Kami-same had accepted the wish. With that, all she really could do
about it was throw a temper tantrum.
Well, she did just that but it really never did accomplish
anything. She sighed as she walked out of the baths.
"Skuld!" a soft, melodic voice called out behind her. "Nice to see
you've dropped by."
"Onee-san!!" Skuld cried out as she launched herself into her
sister's arms. Skuld clamped her arms around the sister she so loved.
She bit back a sob as Belldandy took a good look at her.
"Going somewhere?" she asked good-naturedly. Skuld visibly
relaxed. Belldandy had that effect on _anyone_ even her. How Belldandy
did it remained a mystery for the young Goddess of the Future. "From the
looks of it, I don't think you came her for a break. Or for some ice
cream."
Skuld smiled at that.
"No. I just came by to tell you guys that I'll be staying in
MegaTokyo for an indefinite amount of time." Skuld stared at the floor
boards; one foot idly scrubbing at it.
Her sister, Belldandy; however, guessed the reason for this.
"Someone made an unexpected wish?"
Skuld nodded sullenly. "Uh-huh. And it just _had_ to be on the
one day I was filling out for a friend. Why me?" she asked, casting her
arms in the air.
Belldandy merely flashed her little sister a smile. "Don't worry
too much, Skuldo-san. I'm sure you'll be alright." She patted her
younger sister's head as she headed for the baths.
"But I don't want the job!!"
No one heard her plea save for Kami-sama and He chose to ignore
it.
===============
Mackie Stingray dreaded the fact that none of the women were doing
anything to him. He was sure they'd have pulled their revenge by now.
He did not like to think what they had planned for him.
The door opened.
"Mackie?" his sister called out to him.
"Yeah, sis?" was his reply from his bed. He stared at the bare
walls beside him where once hung some risqu� photos he had made. He
hated Priss for ruining all those painstakingly captured photos of the
Saber's.
"Got the time to talk to your sister?" she wanted to know. Her
voice calm and as always, held that teeny tiny note that told him she was
not making a request of sorts.
"Sure thing." Came his answer. He really didn't have anything to
hide right now. Save for what would come a bit later. He prayed Skuld
wouldn't accidentally barge in while his sister was here.
A shadow loomed over him. He glanced at his sister and asked,
"Uh... anything I could possibly be of assistance?" He cringed at that
ice-cold stare she habitually sent his way. You'd think being a brother
was worth anything. "Errr... Sorry."
Sylia sighed. How many times in so many days in a year did her
brother have to go around and do something to make her lose it? To
everyone she was the Ice-Queen. Someone who'd have challenge the Yuki-
onna, the Snow Woman [wonder where this came from. ^_^ ] for the right
to be the woman of ice. Of any who lived in this world, no one could do
what her brother could do to her at times.
Infuriate her like hell.
She sat down and looked at her brother straight in the eye.
"You really shouldn't have done that to Nene and the others you
know." She began.
Mackie grinned. "I just couldn't help myself."
Sylia blinked, at a loss for words. She wondered why did young
males have to go and acquire such hentai-ish attitudes at the onset of
puberty. Her brother had been such an angel -- well, almost -- when he
had been younger save when he went out on a limb to try and irritate her.
That hadn't changed a bit save for how he did it. She didn't mind
the pictures -- even if it had included her in the nude -- or the various
sneaky ways he did it. She was more worried on what the others were
bound to do to him whenever they caught him.
Sylia mentally shook her head.
"Nene's cooked up something very bad for you today." She warned her
brother who was still smiling -- and trying to look confident. She knew
better. "Why did you have to go and pull that crazy stunt of yours.
Taking photos by remote was one thing but to actually do it on your
own?!!! What possessed you to do that?!! The girls had been quite
lenient with you and your transgressions. But to do _that_...."
Mackie shrugged.
"I got tired of making remotes that Priss destroyed. And besides,"
Mackie grinned impishly, " it was lots more fun and certainly more worth
it."
Sylia sighed; wondering what she could do to make her brother see
the error of his ways. Then again, that would have been a waste of time.
"Why, oh, why do you do this, Mackie-kun?" Sylia asked her little
brother.
"Little else to do?" he answered impudently.
Sylia felt her hand twitch. "Mackie! You're treading dangerous
ground here."
Mackie gulped.
"You're not all that worried about what they're going to do to you,
aren't you?"
Mackie looked worried now. "Yes. I am, in fact, scared shitless
of what's going to happen."
"So why did you do it? I know you like Nene and all. She never
did mind those pictures you occasionally managed to take of her. But to
do that...."
"I know. Believe me, I regret doing that. But one _does_ tend to
regret everything they did wrong when they have a moment to contemplate
their actions."
Sylia blinked. "Since when did you turn into a philosopher?"
Mackie smiled sheepishly. "No matter." She stood up; unconsciously
adjusting her dress. "Just take care of yourself today, Mackie. And
pray that whatever it is they've got planned for you isn't as bad as I
think it is."
=============
Skuld sat down and gazed longingly at the way the children milled
around her older sister. Once, she had been like those children. Always
needing someone else to be there for her. But no longer. She was now a
full time Goddess who had been assigned Earth-side. She'd be kidding
herself if she said she wasn't looking forward to it.
She was. But the wish Mackie had made her pretty nervous.
Of course, she had done a quick check on the guy. The records
clearly indicated that he was prone to doing hentai-ish things. That
alone made her wonder just why Kami-sama had gifted the man with a wish.
"Heard you'd gotten a job Earth-side, kiddo." a faintly slurry
voice said to her.
A rustle of silks told Skuld that her eldest sister, Urd, Goddess
of the Past, had sat down beside her on the veranda.
"You like this happening to me." Skuld shot back.
"Yup!!" agreed Urd, not bothering to hide her satisfaction.
"You'll need to broaden your horizons a bit. Most of us First Class
Goddesses tend to get Earth-side assignments anyway."
"But I thought that's the realm of the GRO?!"
"You are with the GRO, Skuld." Urd reminded her. "For the day
anyway."
Skuld blinked before she swore. Urd had one delicate eyebrow
raised at the chosen words Skuld had spat out. Looks like her sister was
growing up.
<High time!> she thought to herself. <She'd been tugging at Bell's
skirt for centuries. About time she learned to be on her own.>
"So why aren't you getting assignment like mine?" Skuld asked.
"I'm the _HEAD_ of the GRO, silly!" Urd answered. "Rank doth have
its privileges."
"Grrrrr...." fumed Skuld while wondering how under the heavens did
Urd manage to get _that_ position.
"Oy! Skuldo!" Keiichi greeted warmly. "Heard form Bell-chan you
got some assignment."
"Yeah." was her sullen reply.
"Congratulations then!" he said merrily as he left for the kitchen
to be with his wife.
"Don't take it so bad, squirt." Urd tried to console her sister.
"It isn't like MegaTokyo's going to be a bore. From what I've gathered
from the Yddgrassil Net, it's the hottest hot spot in the entire plane.
"
Skuld shrugged. "So what?!! I'm stuck with someone whose a hentai
for crying out loud!!!" Skuld screamed directly into her sister's ears.
"Yeow!" Urd tried to clear her eardrums of that horrendous ringing.
She should have known better than to stay too close to Skuld. All these
years of being separated form Skuld had dulled her reflexes. "Did you
_have_ to shout like that?!!" Urd demanded. "I can hear you just fine,
you know."
No answer was forthcoming. Urd just stared at her for a while
until a sudden realization dawned on her. "You're afraid you might get
attached on the guy in more ways than the one that's binding the two of
you now, huh?"
For once, Skuld did not challenge her sister's words. "Uh-huh."
Urd chuckled. "Don't worry. Keiichi and Belldandy were in _love_
with each other since they were kids! And even they didn't know about it
until they got separated." She looked meaningfully at Skuld. " Love
doesn't happen overnight you know."
"Like you know anything about it." Skuld shot back.
Urd blinked. She stared at Skuld with one hand resting on her
chest. "Me? Not know anything about love?" Urd laughed. A deep-
throated laugh that would have sufficed for a maniac. "I'm the Goddess
of Love, my dear little sister."
Skuld stared at her sister with half-lidded eyes. "Yeah, right!
Like you got oneesan and Keiichi together with your parlor tricks."
Before the situation got any worse, Belldandy came by and called
them both to lunch.
===================
Deep within the bowels of the conical fortress best known to
everyone who lived in MegaTokyo as the GENOM Tower, another plan was in
the process of being completed. One that, as always, was tested in the
streets of MegaTokyo.
"How goes the construction of the prototype, Madigan?"
She turned towards the speaker. The purple haired executive bowed
before she delivered her report. "Chairman Quincy! We've finished
preliminary tests on the hyperboomer. The new AI system devised by Dr.
Uzura is most impressive. From all estimates, this type of hyperboomer
would be more than enough to handle five Dobermans easily." Madigan's
smile was sinister in what it implied. "And no doubt more than a match
for all the Knight Sabers."
The aged chairman of the world's most powerful corporation
considered this pronouncement. His smile was no less sinister.
"Interesting, Ms. Madigan. Convey my appreciation to the good doctor for
a job well done." He turned and left without another word.
Kate Madigan turned her attention once more to the silver-hued
monstrosity that lay on the huge table below her as it was tended by the
techies that were busily fitting the new boomer's weapons.
<Soon.> she mused. <Very soon.>
====================
Ha! Finally finished another chapter!!
With all this exams popping in and out these days, its a damn
wonder I can still write anything. Sigh. Anyway, I just decided to wait
until chapter 3 to do anything about Mackie and his punishment. Some of
my friends gave me an idea but somehow I find it quite lacking in
something.
You people out there got any ideas to help out??? ^_^
Radler
"A man's house is his SDF. His car, his valkyrie."
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