Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040 Fan Fiction ❯ A Goddess Comes to Call ❯ Chapter 21

Part Eighteen

Sylia paced the upper office in the Silky Doll restlessly, her hair messed and her normally stylish look in disarray as the others sat around the room and watched her. They had fled Genom's tower before the AD Police finally broke in, not wanting to stay and try to explain what had happened in there. She rather regretted leaving Jacobson and his friends back there, but they at least had some kind of official standing.

Sylia closed her eyes, and across her mind's eye she saw Mara smiling at her sadly as she simply disappeared. "I'm going after her," she exclaimed to them suddenly, striding towards the hidden elevator and the hardsuits that waited below.

Urd and Priss exchanged a worried glance, communicating silently. Urd nodded, and Priss spoke up, "We'll back you, boss, but..."

"Does she want you to go after her?" Belldandy asked quietly.

Sylia stopped and turned towards her angrily, "She did what she did to help save us and Peorth. Doesn't your side understand those kind of debts?"

"Don't yell at my big sister," Skuld said dangerously, repeatedly tossing one of her bombs up into the air and catching it..

"Please don't drop it," Nene whimpered.

Linna gently put her hand on Sylia's shoulder, stopping her restless movement for a moment. "If she wants a rescue," a smiling Linna said quietly, "I'll bet Mara finds a way to let us know. She certainly has before."

Sylia sighed softly, slumping a little as she said in a whisper, "I just don't think I can stand this waiting, not knowing what's happening."

"I bet Peorth is doing everything she can for Mara right now," Urd reassured her, trying to sound as optimistic as possible.

Belldandy seemed to weigh her next words carefully, "And we do acknowledge those debts, Sylia Stingray. I will join you, if a rescue is needed."

"Me, too," Linna smiled.

Skuld looked at them all like they all were insane, then sighed loudly. "I'm coming along, too, if only to help my sisters," she grimaced.

The telephone rang, slicing into the silence, and they all hesitated a moment. "I'll get it," Urd stepped up, holding the receiver to her ear. She listened, not speaking, for several moments while she listened to the message.

"What?" Priss finally had to ask.

"She's recieving her judgment right now," was all a pale Urd said.
Mara stood waiting in a pool of light, not looking up to face those that stood in judgment. 'Reminds me of the setup at Genom,' she thought, a small smile teasing her lips as she remembered accompanying Jacobson for his interview. That had started this whole chain of events, so maybe it was fitting to be in a similar place, not that they had ended it.

"You have violated our greatest law," the voice boomed, "granting a wish without recieving anything in return. How do you plead?"

"Guilty," Mara answered, "but there were extenuating circumstances..."

"Peorth has spoken to us of this," another voice rumbled, "but such a deed can not be allowed to go unpunished."

Several voices conferred softly, and Mara stood, waiting.

"We have decided," the first voice finally boomed out. "Are you prepared to hear out judgment?" it demanded.

"Yes," Mara said quietly. 'I'm sorry, Sylia,' she thought with a sad little smile, 'we would have been so good together.'

Another voice, "Your punishment will be short, merely the span of a human lifetime, to be bound in the form of..."
Jacobson looked around his cramped office sadly, then he thumped the large cardboard box on top of his desk and began to clean it out. He heard footsteps out in the hallway, and saw Megumi standing at the door.

Megumi sighed, "You didn't have to take full responsibility, you know." She pushed her graying hair back, "We all joined in willingly."

Jacobson shrugged, "It was my decision that started the ball rolling." He paused, and smiled, "Did you read my glowing recommendation?"

Megumi laughed shortly, "From the tone of what you wrote, you'd think we'd all be able to walk on water."

"All right, so I got a bit carried away," Jacobson smiled.

"You might want to stick around here for a few days," Megumi said to him, a mysterious smile on her face.

Jacobson raised his eyebrow, "Why, exactly? I'm certain that our new chief executive will be quite happily kicking me out of here."

"Not necessarily," Fairchild said, walking in beside her. Hitomi lingered in the hall, looking inside hesitantly before he waved her in.

He looked at the three ladies with a frown. "What, exactly, do you all know that I don't?" Jacobson asked.

Hitomi just smirked in reply.
Sylia looked at Urd in stunned shock. "The judgment's already been carried out?"

"It's nearly instantaneous," Belldandy said softly.

Sylia swayed, nearly looking like she was going to fall over. Linna stepped forward and tugged her towards a couch, "Maybe you should sit down?"

Sylia shrugged off her hand, turning to Urd, "What happened to her?"

"I don't know," Urd said softly, "but I swear I'll find out."

A soft chime rang, indicating someone had come into the store. "I'll go down and tell them you're closed," Nene volunteered.

"No," Sylia murmured softly. She straightened up, wiping a shaking hand across her face as she said, "I need a distraction right now." A sad smile, "If I think about it, I'll break down." Before they could act, she was gone.

Belldandy and Urd exchanged a look, then Belldandy sighed, "I wish there was something more we could do for her."

"All we can do," Priss sighed, "is back her up however we can."

The elevator opened, and Sylia put on her shopkeeper face. The flighty, flirty persona she used to sell her products. She scanned the room, spotting a woman standing by the dresses. She held up one against her body, then another, as if she couldn't decide.

"Those are both lovely," Sylia gushed.

The brown haired woman turned with a grin, "Really, Sylia? I didn't really think they were quite my style."

Sylia gaped at her a moment, frozen. "Mara?" she whispered.

Mara put the dresses back, stepping forward, "I'm sorry I scared you like that."

"Mara!" Sylia threw her arms around her, crying loudly.

Mara held her close, softly saying "I love you."

Sylia's eyelashes glittered with her tears as she laughed, "I love you, too."

A few moment's later and the other Knight Sabers, along with the three goddesses stumbled out of the elevator, having heard the joyful cry.

"How in the world?" Urd demanded. "We heard you had been judged!"

"I was," Mara said, keeping her arms wrapped firmly around Sylia. She smirked, "I received quite the difficult punishment, too."

Sylia looked a bit worried at that, "What punishment?"

"For a human lifetime," Mara sighed dramatically, "I'm trapped as a human."

Belldandy blinked at her in surprise, then she began to laugh. "A poetic judgment, indeed," she chuckled softly.

"Our friend here," Priss nodded to Sylia as she grinned at Mara, "was ready to bust down the gates of hell itself to save you."

Mara looked up at Sylia thoughtfully, "I'm honored." She slid a hand behind Sylia's head, drawing her down into a fierce kiss. Softly she murmured, "When I lost my powers, I also lost my apartment. Do you think I could stay here?"

Sylia smiled, "Oh, I think we can fit you in somewhere, but space is kind of tight. Would you mind bunking up with someone, say, the owner?"

"I think I could bear it," Mara grinned.
Jacobson, along with all the other employees of Genom, nervously watched the broadcast of the executive board meeting. The new CEO of the company was going to be announced, and rumors were swirling about who it might be.

There was a disturbance, and two figures strode up the length of the table. The man looked strangely familiar, a pleasant faced, steely gray haired figure, and the woman beside him was simply beautiful. They both exuded confidence as they stood at the head of the table.

The woman tipped the microphone up with a smile, "I'm Chihiro Fujimi, and this is my husband, Keichii Morisato. We represent Whirlwind engineering."

"Morisato?" Jacobson blurted, looking at the screen. 'Isn't that Megumi's last name?'

Keichii smiled, taking up the mic. in what was obviously planned move, "And on behalf of Whirlwind, we're here to announce that as majority shareholders, we're taking over Genom." He paused, "You know that by reputation Whirlwind have always been straight shooters." A grim smile, "There's going to be some changes around here."

The End.