Ah My Goddess Fan Fiction ❯ The Secret of the Fae ❯ To the Clouds ( Chapter 11 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Chapter 11 - To the Clouds

Keiichi couldn't sleep. Belfar's mound-home was extremely cold for some reason, much colder than Keiichi remembered. And even if it was a comfortable temperature, Keiichi doubted he would have fallen asleep.
He kept thinking about Belldandy, Skuld, and especially Urd. He really didn't realize how real this all was until he saw Torvus kill her. And then there was Pacatus. Keiichi scowled at the mere thought of him. All Keiichi wanted was the reason Pacatus couldn't help. Otherwise, he was just a coward in Keiichi's eyes.
And if this all wasn't enough, thoughts of what Belfar had said occurred to him.
"We are going to the clouds, Megumi. Without Belldandy, Skuld, and Urd. To the clouds…but things are much more difficult now. But we still have to go about what must be done if we are going to war. And now that they have Bell and Skuld, and Urd's life, we are most definitely going to war," he had said.
What did he mean by "to the clouds"? And what did war mean for he and Megumi? They knew it would happen eventually, but without the Goddesses on their side, Keiichi didn't know what they would do.
Then he heard something coming from outside the mound. It sounded like talking. Keiichi got out of his bed, the cloud disappearing behind him, and walked to the entrance.
He listened closely to the voices outside.
"I still don't understand Pacatus," he recognized Megumi's voice instantly.
"I can't explain myself," Pacatus's voice replied. "It's just something we accept, unquestioned. It's not something I can really explain to someone who doesn't understand."
Who was this `we' he referred to? Keiichi wondered. And why were he and Megumi talking at such a late hour?
"Don't be like that. You're only looking for a reason not to tell me," Megumi said.
There was a long pause. "All I can tell you is that everything will work out if you let it."
"Pacatus, you're just confusing me more," Megumi said, sounding frustrated.
"Maybe that's best," Pacatus returned.
There was another pause. "I'm going to bed," Megumi said, still sounding frustrated.
Keiichi moved from the door way, staying against the wall. Megumi walked in and went right to her cloud, thankfully, putting her back to where Keiichi stood.
Pacatus, however, did not come back. Keiichi waited patiently, but finally he decided to also go to sleep.
Thinking about what Pacatus said, Keiichi became as confused as Megumi had been. What did Pacatus mean by his cryptic comments?
Finally, Keiichi fell into a restless sleep as he saw the first rays of the Fae sun beam across the mounds of the Faerie village.
It seemed like when he stirred awake, he hadn't really slept at all. But what had most likely awoken interested him enough to forget that fact. It was voices again, but this time he didn't recognize them, or, initially where they were even coming from.
"It's time, I tell you," one voice said indignantly.
"Why would you say now is better than later?" another voice returned. Keiichi had never heard either voice before.
"Because later could mean we are all dead," the first voice said in a condescending sort of way.
Now there was a mixture of a lot of voices, but Keiichi couldn't discern any words from the mass of chatter.
"Stop!" a booming voice finally broke through. Keiichi did recognize this voice. It was Belfar.
They all stopped immediately.
"There is no place for arguing at a time like this. The Elves have the advantage right now. Arguing will not take that away. I agree now is the time to show them. That may be our only hope."
Keiichi frowned. He half-wished he hadn't heard this. It just confused him more. Another thing he couldn't figure out was where the voices were coming from. He had been listening against the right side of the mound, and figured they were outside. But the talking seemed concentrated, like they were indoors.
Keiichi put his ear closer against the wall. Suddenly he didn't hear anything and then he fell forward, the wall no longer there.
He could already tell he was somewhere he hadn't been. The floor was marble and it certainly didn't help his fall.
He looked about him to find twenty or so Faeries, both male and female, Belfar among them, all looking at him. The actual room was quite expansive, made completely of marble. There were cushy chairs along far wall, the middle one bigger than the others.
"Um…sorry?" Keiichi said. He had to shake himself off a bit to get used to this new surrounding.
Belfar smiled. "What did you hear Keiichi?" he asked in a jovial tone.
Keiichi thought for a second. "Nothing."
Beflar laughed slightly. "Everything then? Well, you were bound to find out sooner or later. Sooner, actually. Considering it's happening today."
A male Faerie glared over at Belfar. Keiichi assumed he was the one who was against the issue, whatever that issue even was.
"Shall we find the others, then?" Belfar suggested.
Keiichi finally got up and brushed himself off. He hadn't looked at his clothes in some time. They were beginning to look as if they were in need of a wash.
Belfar seemed to read his mind. "Want a change of clothes Keiichi?"
Keiichi smiled. "Seems I need one."
Belfar led Keiichi out of the room, leaving the others inside. The doorway closed behind them.
"What was that?" Keiichi asked.
"Faerie Senate," Belfar explained. "Rather boring place, really."
"But…I've never seen that place before. Can you even tell it's there from the outside?"
"No, you can't," Belfar answered, as if this should suffice Keiichi's question.
Keiichi decided that was enough questions. Belfar and he had by now left the mound and were walking outside in the village. Keiichi saw in the distance was Malaya's mound. Belfar seemed to be leading him there.
"Are we going to see Malaya?"
"Yes, we are."
They didn't speak again until they reached the large mound that Keiichi remembered Malaya giving him his prophecy, or at least a preview. Belfar tapped the mound three times, creating an opening. Keiichi vaguely remembered him doing that before.
They both walked inside to find Callida, Megumi, and Pacatus waiting. Belfar didn't seem surprised to see them there. Keiichi did a double take as he looked around. No Belldandy? No Skuld? Then it hit him. Hard.
"I see we're all here," Belfar said.
And just as Keiichi remembered, (it seemed to be coming back to him more now) Malaya, hunched over her scepter, that purple crystal still there, and that same faded indigo dress and tattered wings, came into view from seemingly nowhere. But it was really the far end of the mound, concealed by the shadows.
"Welcome back Keiichi," she said, smiling toothily at him.
"Thank you."
She then looked around at them all. "Then it is time. It is time to let you in on the biggest secret we, the Faeries, have concealed from the rest of the realm for oh these many years."
All six pairs of eyes looked at her in anticipation.
"With the death of Urd, the capture of Skuld and Belldandy…" Belfar began. "It is now the best time to tell you something that you would have found out, anyway, in due time," he turned to Malaya, who nodded resolutely.
She looked the same as ever. Same faded indigo dress. Same bug eyes. Same tattered wings. And the same decrepit wooden scepter.
"It is time…we show you the real Faerie village," she said importantly, tapping the ground with the scepter seven times. A large blue light engulfed the inside of the mound and Keiichi could feel something pulling at him, a sensation he hadn't felt since first being transported to the Fae realm.

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REVISED A/N: Yeah I haven't updated since like January. Sorry to those of you who are reading this. Which is more than I realized… Well, this was just a rather small edit. I found a huge mistake that embarrassed me to keep up, so I had to change it. I added a very small bit at the end. ::shrug:: I've had massive writer's block on all my fics. So I apologize for the lack of anything. I've been concentrating on some originals. I make no promises, but I hope in the very near future Chapter 12 will come. I may finish the fic up a little quicker than I expected…we'll see.

Thanks for reading and sorry for this pseudo-update.