paixaorpg | In Fear And Faith [Completed]

Entry tags:

In Fear And Faith [Completed]

Character(s): Urd, Genie, Belldandy, Yorda
Content: Genie returns home with a rather disorientated Urd.
Setting: Home Sweet Home!
Time: Early Morning
Warnings: None.

For one of the rare occasions in his life, Genie did not know what to do. These creatures he had encountered here, Heartless; the product of a corrupted heart, they were quite literally a snap to get rid of. However, he had never tried to remove the Darkness from someone’s heart. Not physically, anyway. He had only ever faced the newly embodied Darkness that was known as Heartless. Where did he even start with such a thing? Aunt Barbra had never made mention of Heartless or Darkness in her book. Had she never encountered such creatures or had she simply no remedy for Darkness? He frowned at the thought. What else was there to work off of? All he knew thus far was that Light would counter the Darkness. However, he could not simply expose her to such a product. What if she were to go into shock? What if she were to experience overexposure to Light? There were too many unanswered questions, too many risks. They made him feel so… useless. Scared, unsure, powerless: was this what it felt like to be mortal?

He tightened his grip of Urd’s hand while he continued to guide her through the city’s streets. The exposure to Darkness had caused it to spread significantly throughout her body. And though he could gain entry to her heart, he could not maintain it for long. His time was limited. He had only been present for a moment or two before the Darkness had detected him. At which point it took action in removing him in the only way it knew how: corrupt his heart and take him over as well. Genie was sure if he were to enter her heart again he could fight off the Darkness but only if he could find a stable connection capable of withstanding the Darkness’ pull. However that was possible.

Wait, what about the Heart Bank, what had they used?

He had overheard the pasty demon known as Mao discuss it with another boy over the journals once. Somehow the demons had created a contraption which allowed them to go within their own hearts. If they could enter their own, could they not enter another’s as well? He was sure it was against a law, as serious as an intrusions of one’s privacy as such an act was, however he was sure this could easily be considered an exception. Maybe he could strike some kind of bargain with the boy. Surely there was something the boy wanted, some desire he could fulfill. Maybe even teach him how to swim.

Arriving at their home, he looked at the door with dread. He released Urd’s hand for a moment, but quickly decided it the best he hold onto her. Who knew where she could wander off to or what she would do in such a state. He took a deep breath before he opened the door and peered inside the house.

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"This is the way," Urd said quietly at no one in particular as she gazed up at the house. Obediently holding on to Genie, her vacant gaze slid down once more as he lead her to the front door and entered.

"Welcome back!" Belldandy's melodic voice resounded throughout the entrance way of their house, she in her apron as she came walking up toward the couple. "Oh, my, did you two go out together? It seems like so much fun!" A lighthearted chuckle came from the younger sister, but she halted in her tracks when she look a closer look at Urd.

This was a joke, right?

Shaking her head, she had to take this seriously. Something was obviously wrong, and Belldandy had never seen a case like this before. Obviously due to Genie-san's silence, he knew there was something off as well. "Genie-san, please take Nee-san to her room." She politely asked, her tone now serious. "I'm going to invoke World of Elegance, and see what happened to Urd."

Yorda had curled on the couch, having waited for Urd to return while hardly moving, she'd been so worried. She stirred when the door opened, and she sat up, rubbing her eyes before looking blearily around the room. She made a small, frightened sound in the back of her throat and leaped up, rushing over to Urd and taking the goddess' face into her hands. "You are different," she murmured, her gaze sliding from Urd to Genie before she glanced at Belldandy. Turning to her, she clasped her hands in front of her and looked up at her worriedly. "Please help her," she pleaded.

Genie had hoped to find the house absent upon return. However it would appear as though it was quite the opposite. Both Belldandy and Yorda were found home and well awake that morning. It looked as though they had been awaiting Urd’s return, as a consequence forced to see Urd in a state he’d of greatly preferred they hadn’t. The genie lowered his head as Belldandy’s warm greeting altered into alarm. He did not wish to upset her but if anyone had the right to know what had happened to Urd it was most definitely her. Moving further into the house, he watched Yorda hurry past him and reach for Urd. Unsure how she would react, he held his breath and, after watching the events unfold, then released it.

“We will.” He answered in place of Belldandy, confident – though somewhat absent. “We have to.” Genie nodded after this to Belldandy, then began to lead Urd up the stairs to her room. “I’m sorry.” He apologized, knowing she would have preferred he keep out of her room. "But this is important."

"Nothing is important," Urd replied as they entered her room. Nothing was out of place, no immediate clue as to why she'd been forbidding Genie to stay out. The same alchemical tools lined the table in the corner, though no potion currently brewed. The same decorations, the same rich opulence and varied magical items and decor.

But on the smaller table by the window, just next to the curling bamboo plant Genie had long ago given Urd as present, a small velvet ring case lay open, a tag with Genie's name attached to the top. In it glittered something golden. A closer inspection revealed it to be a golden hoop earring, nearly identical to the one already in Genie's ear. But an inscription along the inside, too small for normal sight to see, read simply:

You are my greatest wish. -Urd

Urd stood in the center of her room, staring at the wall with no great interest.

Belldandy held Yorda's hand in her own, giving a heartfelt smile. "My elder sister is honored to have someone like you caring for her well-being, Yorda-san. I, too, am honored to know that my elder sister has made such a dear and true friend in you." Belldandy followed Genie to Urd's domicile.

As they entered, Belldandy wasn't entirely certain what to make of Urd's condition; she wasn't comatose, but she did seem without life. Just a while ago all that energy Belldandy sensed from the outskirts of the city showed that Urd was more than vibrant and vivacious enough just hours ago, so what could have happened?

Laying Urd's body face down on a futon Belldandy had magically already unfolded and laid out before the door even slid open, Belldandy looked to her two other housemates. Their love and concern for Urd was energizing, adding onto Belldandy's, as Belldandy had to whisper a quiet prayer to herself for her elder sister's well-being. Pulling down the back of Urd's battle outfit worn from the battle before in order to expose her back, Belldandy placed her right hand in between her elder sister's shoulder blades as Belldandy kneeled down, closing her eyes, focusing. A sudden burst of energy instantaneously created a magical working to be placed on the floor of the room, as a magical wind caused Belldandy's hair to go flying behind her with enough force to have it defy gravity completely.

Before the three of them, loosely wrapped in a white cloth to barely over its hips, floated Urd's black and white angel, World of Elegance. With its flowing hair and divine wings clearly showing the duality of black and white, its skin was embroidered in tribal-like and elegant tattoos in black. Its eyes were closed, its body as lifeless as its host.

However, something was clearly wrong with World of Elegance.

In its chest stood a gaping heart-shaped hole.

Gasping, Belldandy visibly flinched as her eyes widened, the magical wind emanating from World of Elegance's invocation settling down. "I... I've never seen this before...!"

[ooc: If any edits need to be done, I'll take care of them tomorrow. My apologies in advance.]

Yorda didn't smile back, looking worriedly from Urd to Genie to Belldandy and back again. She squeezed Belldandy's hand back, almost listlessly, then let go as she followed them into Urd's room, a shudder running through her as she bit back a small, frightened sound. The girl stepped back to allow Belldandy to work, trembling a little in her fear and worry. As she watched World of Elegance emerge from Urd's back, she knew instinctively that something was wrong - surely something coming from Urd would have been more energetic than that! But no, this only served as an underscore to the situation, emphasizing how wrong Urd was right now.

"What has happened to her?" Yorda asked, shrinking back as a cold, sick feeling began to spread in her stomach.

The fact that nothing had been particularly out of place in Urd’s room had not occurred to him. His focus remained on the goddess and her alone. At least, what remained of her. He knew such words were not her own and did his best to ignore them. They were a lie; her sister, Yorda, and even he as he had recently learned were important to her. Poncho he was on the fence about.

He stood back and left Belldandy to her work. There was no need to intervene unless directed to. She knew what she was doing, her ability to awaken World of Elegance proof enough. But in doing so she appeared to provide yet another surprise. The hole through W.O.E’s chest, he had not seen that before. He stumbled back, equally as horrified as everyone else in the room by the sight. What… What did this mean? Had the ‘infection’ worsened, the darkness spread itself further into her heart? But how did that explain the hole? The only explanation for that was if she had somehow lost her h- Genie shook his head at the thought. No, it couldn’t be. Not yet.

“She’s been exposed to Darkness.” Genie spoke up. Guilt hung over him to share such information with the pair and worry them further but it was nothing compared to that which would have hung over him had he not. He looked to Urd in worry, unsure what was to follow his words. “Something or someone has planted Darkness in her heart. If left untreated, it will continue to spread and eventually consume her heart completely. Somehow, we will need to remove the Darkness before the infection furthers.” He shook his head and turned his gaze back to the Yorda and Belldandy. “I’ve never dealt with such a force before but I have heard Light may be able to conquer this Darkness. It only makes sense. But I’m not sure how we should use it. Do we try to achieve balance, expose her to just enough Light to fare the Darkness or do surpass that and try to overcome the Darkness in her completely?”

Genie rubbed his forehead in frustration. “That’s assuming all goes well. I’m not even sure how she would react to the Light. The sudden exposure may risk her going into shock.”

Darkness? Paixao was indeed a mysterious place which defied all of the laws of the universe that Belldandy knew, but one thing was for certain: Urd was going to get better. She had to get better, because they weren't going to let her stay like this. Genie-san was far more knowledgeable than Belldandy about the workings of Paixao, although it was far from an intimate knowledge that would have been ideal. But he was going to help, and that was enough.

Belldandy shook her head. "Darkness alone wouldn't have done this to Nee-san." It wouldn't have; Urd was a melding of light and darkness, dusk and dawn. If darkness truly did grow stronger in her heart, it was without a doubt in Belldandy's mind that Urd's light would have shone ever brighter in order to compensate. But... what if that did happen? Much like the human immune system going into overdrive was a disease in of itself, something similar might have caused this in Urd... there were too many unanswered questions. "The important thing we must do now is protect Nee-san's heart. We must graft World of Elegance onto a new host." She looked at Genie and Yorda.

"The only problem is, World of Elegance is unconscious." Belldandy's eyes turned back to the hunched-over angel. "She cannot willingly cross over to a new host in this state. We must find a means of removing the angel. I'd be willing to keep her safe until we find a way to cure her of this ailment, and return her heart back to her body. When that happens, Nee-san should fully recover."

Looking across the room at Genie, through World of Elegance's heart-shaped hole in its chest, Belldandy's face showed a determination unmatched by anybody in Heaven or Earth. Even if the strain of hosting two angels would be difficult, Belldandy would bear that burden as well as set up a spiritual partition in her own soul to make sure that whatever affected her sister wouldn't affect her by taking on her angel. "Do we know of anybody who could assist us in extracting World of Elegance?"

Yorda lowered her eyes again. "I would be willing to do it, too, if someone could extract World of Elegance," she replied. "Urd has been very kind to me. I was born to become my mother's vessel, and I believe I am strong enough to hold this, if it will help her." She met Belldandy's eyes, determined to help the goddess, whom she loved so dearly. "There must be some way I can help her."

All this time, Yorda had been unable to really do anything to help anyone; she could neither fight nor defend herself, she had yet to learn guile, and even her healing was minimal and weak. Even so, she was more resilient than she appeared; perhaps she could do something at last.

If this was not the cause of Darkness alone, what else could there have been? What could he have possibly missed? He stared at the goddess intensely in thought. Had she already been exposed to Light, her prevailing state in fact an after affect of one’s prior attempt to remove the Darkness? To tamper with that, it would be a different story all together. Genie’s hand curled up into a fist, his expression stone. He should not have been so careless. He had been so focused on the Darkness he had failed to look for anything else inside her heart. And when that Darkness found him, begun to pull him in, he had withdrawn too soon. What if this… What if what he had missed… Cost Urd her life?

Genie’s eyes grew wide and focus drew to Belldandy at the mention of W.O.E. The action was drastic, but to remove her was their best chance of her hearts survival. His gaze followed Belldandy’s to World of Elegance, whom he felt the strong desire to touch, regardless of her lack of consciousness and ability to feel his presence. He gently slipped his hand under hers and held it devotedly while he looked up at the angel. He would do all in his power to return life to her, to see her smile again, to see Urd smile again, even if it meant to host W.O.E himself.

He remained silent at Yorda’s offer to host the angel, understanding her desire to do something in return for the goddess after all she had done for her. And though he did not doubt her ability, he could not help but fear if whatever had affected Urd affected Yorda as well. It was not a risk he wanted to take. This was his fault. If anyone was to face the strain and suffer the consequences, it was him.

“I may know someone,” the genie replied. His focus remained on W.O.E. “a young scientist. His experience in exploring the heart has proven him most knowledgeable. Though he is limited in the workings of others hearts, I’m confident he will develop an adroit way to transfer W.O.E without harm. He is both passionate and very engaged in his work. I expect only the best from him. If anyone can help us, I believe it would be him. We will decide how best to graft W.O.E with him.”

Belldandy was almost certain that Yorda wouldn't be able to handle World of Elegance. The only reason Keiichi could hold one of Lind's angels was because Keiichi gained the favor of several godesses; an angel's sustenance was the love of a goddess, after all. Also, if Belldandy took World of Elegance, there may be a rejection factor given World of Elegance's intrinsic coding; a full goddess as Belldandy couldn't support an angel of light and shadow for very long. Even if she could, what if what happened with the demonic familiar happened to World of Elegance?

Being absorbed by Belldandy and becoming an angel of pure light, Belldandy shuddered to think of the consequences; when Urd's divine and demonic halves were cleaved into two beings, neither half matched up to the sum of Urd's parts. Urd was a unique deity, a goddess composed of light and shadow, dusk and dawn.

Losing one half meant losing the other.

Nevertheless, it had to buy them time. But when it came down to it...

Belldandy looked at Genie with earnest eyes. It was only a theory, and she'd have to test that theory, but it was better than seeing Urd die. "Please, Genie-san, summon this young man."

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In Fear And Faith [Completed]

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