Bean Bandit was not a happy camper as he passed the "Welcome to Grantville" sign.
To be honest, he usually preferred to work alone. Some bondsman (a legit one, for once) asked him for a courier job taking some teenaged girl into Washington for questioning; seems she was so dangerous that they couldn’t even trust turning her in at Chicago. They kept her sedated, of course; the sedation, however, was only supposed to last another two hours, and making it into Langley in time would be close.
He knew she was trouble from the moment he saw her. It was just something he could tell; from the videos he’d been supplied of her, she had bathed in blood. He knew he’d need added muscle just in case all hell broke loose; in this case, he asked for the best – and got it. And, to be honest, Rally did make for pleasant travel; they had some things in common, and it was nice to talk to someone he could understand and who could understand him.
He just wished Minnie May would stop drawing on the cargo’s face. He didn’t know who this “Sena Robin” person was, but he really didn’t want her angry if she woke up…
***
At a local motel, Seras Victoria slept.
It was something she’d accepted; after all, a No-Life-Queen in command of her powers had to accept it. The daytime was not her element; while she could operate in the light if need be (sunblock worked wonders nowadays), she still needed to sleep, and the overnight flight to Washington, followed by the dawn car trip here, had taken a great deal out of her. She was practically falling into the bed by the time she’d made it to her room.
Master (Alucard, she corrected herself; not Master anymore) had spoken of ominous forebodings and dark plans converging here. He didn’t know why he had offered her the blood; she had her suspicions, though, some of which chilled her to the bone. There was another No-Life-King here – there had to be – and this was her trial by fire. She had to find out what was so wrong about this place, and fix it before things got out of hand.
However, her kind operated at night. Nothing would happen while the sun ruled the sky. She could afford a few hours of rest.
***
As she sat in the commotion of the restaurant, Belldandy was at peace.
This was Father's will, after all. When the wish had been made, she and Keiichi had been bound together forever. Both he and Megumi had won contests for a vacation in the United States; even a trainee angel could have seen Marller’s handiwork. While the timestorm to come would not be her doing, it was plain to see from the darkest pit of Hel to Heaven’s throne the temporal devastation to come.
She took her worries to Father, and Father Spoke.
She took Father’s words to her sisters. They nodded, and understood.
She then took Father’s words to Keiichi, and to Megumi. Their reactions were marvelous; they were both sad and excited at the same time, but did not turn away – did not even flinch.
All five of them knew what was about to happen. Knew the dangers and challenges that lay before them. Knew that everything they knew, save each other, would be gone forever.
She said a quiet prayer as Skuld began to count backwards.
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(Posted Tue, 09 May 2006 09:17)
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