Disclaimer: AMG is not mine. "First End" was written by Yumi Touma. "Joey" belongs to Concrete Blonde.

Foreword: When I heard that there was going to be an AMG! novel, I was pretty jazzed. I'm not a big manga guy, I prefer novels for the amount of detail you can get. When I finally read "First End," I was very disappointed. The story was such a downer, and I felt that Ms. Touma's characterizations of Keiichi and Belldandy in particular were off. I couldn't believe that I didn't like it. It bothered me, particularly how it ended things.

So, be forewarned. This is a continuation of the book "First End." If you haven't read it, you're probably going to be lost. If you have read it, this story picks up at the moment the book ended.

I hope you enjoy it.

Davner

Second Dawn

Chapter 1

Right Number

The phone rang again.

The goddess's hand hung over it as if suspended there by some unknown force. The most natural thing in the world for her, something she had done thousands of times before, was to pick it up and answer it. It was the first step in granting a wish, and yet...

It rang again, and still she paused.

The ring Skuld had given her that morning twinkled in the light over the device. Why did she pause? The person on the other end of the phone was a client, someone who was to be offered Heaven's Grace. There was nothing to fear from them.

Another ring. Other goddesses in the office were now craning their heads around the walls of their cubicles to see what the problem was. She knew without looking that that's what they were doing, and yet she didn't turn to them or react. Her eyes were transfixed on the phone.

"Um... Are you going to get that?" one of the other granting goddesses asked her pointedly.

She didn't answer as the phone rang again.

Why do I hesitate?! she asked herself. She couldn't explain it, she just knew that answering that phone was the wrong thing to do!

Silence.

As if snapping awake from a dream, her hand darted to the phone and snatched it up.

"Hello!" she cried into the receiver. "Hello!? Are you there?!"

Only a dial tone answered her. A ball of ice plunged into her stomach as she began to realize what she had done. The stars themselves had to align perfectly before a goddess and client were matched up. There was no redial, no Star-69. It was her job to grant that person's wish... and she failed.

You didn't fail, the professional side of her scolded her. Failing implies you tried and did not succeed. You simply turned your back on your holy duty...

Tears threatened to appear in her eyes. What had she done?

"Belldandy?"

Her head whipped around to the sound of the voice so fast, she was sure she would break her own neck. "Hai?" she asked.

Freya, the goddess in charge of the Goddess Help Line, stood at the end of the line of cubicles. Her blonde hair and perfect features could not lessen the disapproving look that was glaring accusingly at Belldandy.

"I'd like to speak with you alone," the elder goddess said politely before turning and walking away.

The rest of the granters looked at her in concern and wonder. Belldandy was one of the best granters in Heaven. Why would she simply freeze like that?

Belldandy took a breath and rose from her chair, giving one last look at the phone now sitting silently on her desk.

Who were you? she wondered. I'm so sorry...

Turning, she followed Freya down the hall.

Rather than end up in the other goddess's office, Freya led her outside into the courtyard garden and stood near the small waterfall and pond at the far right corner, admiring the multi-colored plants and flowers that were blooming there.

The sights were lost on Belldandy. The young goddess was staring at the ground in shame, bracing herself for the scolding that was sure to come.

Freya regarded her carefully for several moments before speaking. "Belldandy," she began quietly. "What's wrong?"

"Ms. Freya?" Belldandy asked, her gaze rising to meet the older goddess's.

The head of the Help Line took a breath. "Missing a call, Belldandy?" she asked. "That's not like you. What happened?"

Belldandy swallowed nervously, painfully aware that she didn't even know what happened. "The phone rang," she said. "And... I didn't answer it," she answered honestly. "I don't know why I didn't," she went on after a moment of silence between the two. "I just... Something inside me said I shouldn't... that it was important that I not answer that call..."

Freya took a breath and put her knuckles to her lips in thought. "Was there some warning from another goddess or..."

The young granter shook her head. "No, nothing like that!" she said, a tear running down her cheek. "I simply... failed to act..."

Turning away from her, Freya took a step toward the garden as Belldandy waited for her punishment.

"We have a duty, Belldandy, to make people happy by acting as the conduits of the Almighty's will," Freya told her. "Whether we agree with that will or not is irrelevant..."

"I don't disagree!" Belldandy defended. "I don't even know who this person is!"

"Whoever they are," Freya replied, turning back to her. "They have lost their opportunity for a happiness you were supposed to provide!" She shook her head in disbelief. "Belldandy..."

"Please, Ms. Freya!" Belldandy begged. "Let me make this right! I don't know why I didn't act! I can't explain it to myself so how can I explain it to you?! All I know is that... I... I failed." She swallowed back a sob and took a breath. "Is there any way I can make this right?"

The elder goddess studied her for several moments, unsure what to think. Belldandy was one of her best granters. This was so out of character for her...

But the bottomline was that she had a duty and she didn't do it. She had to punish her. She couldn't play favorites with her girls. She sighed.

"Go home," she said. "I'll think about it."

Belldandy wiped tears from her eyes. "Hai," she said. She turned and started for the door. Stopping at her desk to pick up her things, her eyes fell once again on the silent phone, its rotary dial staring accusingly at her.

"Who were you?" she whispered aloud.

888

"Keiichi Morisato," Hild whispered with a smile as she sat on her onyx throne at the heart of the Demon Realm. She stared into a small spherical crystal that held the real-time image of a young man sitting by himself in a dorm room. She watched as he dialed a phone and waited...

She bit her lip. The suspense was awful... She hoped it would last...

The boy hung up the phone and tried another number. Hild's eyes went to the mirror over the boy's shoulder.

Nothing.

The demonic queen closed her eyes in ecstacy. "Glorious," she whispered.

A year-and-a-half of planning, of careful calculation, had all come down to this one moment, and she exulted in it, basking in the warm feeling that came when a historic moment turned just the way she wanted it to.

"I love it when a plan comes together," she noted with a grin. It was the understatement of the millenia, and anyone who had seen this plan in action would say so. It was unfortunate that so few gods and demons retained linear memories the way she did, allowing her to remember events even after they'd been changed by alterations to the timestream.

She had tried to undermine the Norns through time manipulation before when she went into Morisato's past and inserted herself into his life as his girlfriend. The three goddesses had gone back to stop her, and sure enough, that damn connection between Morisato and Belldandy had gotten the better of her. It became obvious to her then that time manipulation wasn't the way to go... until she found out about the singularity.

Nidhogg had alerted her that there was something odd about the way Yggdrasil had been acting for three years, but she hadn't paid much attention. It wasn't until the demonic computer system, working on its own, had discovered a connection between Yggdrasil and Morisato that she stood up and took notice. For a year and a half, she watched the singularity between Yggdrasil and Morisato grow like a tumor, knowing that when it was finally broken she would either win or be given an opportunity to accept a smaller victory.

So she planned and schemed and manipulated. It was art, a work of love.

And she now had her "smaller victory."

Her daughter had almost screwed it up, of course. By not resetting Nidhogg at the same time as Yggdrasil, her demon blood allowed her to retain her memories and created a separate universe, and Hild had to conduct some off-the-cuff spinning and tale-telling to make sure things worked out the way they were supposed to. But she had done it.

Belldandy and Keiichi never met. She could have him at any time.

She smiled. It was truly beautiful. Of course, there was a downside: She couldn't take him herself. After all, the arch-demoness and ruler of the Demon Realm didn't just go to Earth and pick up college boys just for the Hell of it. The Valkyries watching her would surely take notice and wonder what she was doing. She would simply have to live vicariously through another, and who better than...

The doors to the throne room opened, and her chamberlain entered.

"Your Majesty," he said with a bow. "The Duchess of Malebolge has arrived."

Hild smiled, a genuine act of happiness at this news. "Send her in."

The demoness entering a moment later stood a head shorter than Hild. While she did not gain her mother's height, she did inherit her hair. A streak of violet in her hair interrupted the river of moonlight that hung in a pony-tail nearly to the floor, a colorful reminder of her father that matched her eyes, likewise passed down from the general-priest Hild had at one point mated with.

Hild rose to her feet and offered her hands to her youngest daughter. "Sitri, it's so good to see you."

The demoness smiled back as she approached her mother, her blood-red skirt swishing around her legs, and took her mother's hands.

"Mother," she said in greeting. "When I received your letter, I knew I had to come. It was so... intriguing. What is it you need me to do?"

Hild studied Sitri's face. Unlike her older daughter, Sitri had no qualms about acting in her mother's interest. If anything, it was Sitri who often took things too far; her zeal and cold-heartedness were legendary in the Demon Realm.

The arch-demoness held up a crystal. "There's a young man I want you to meet," she said with a smile.

888

The goddess growled to herself as she approached the front door of the home she had grown up in and turned the doorknob. She loved her sisters, she truly did, but this idea they had that they could summon her at will as if she were nothing but a servant was truly annoying. She may be the youngest, and true she didn't join in the "family business," but she had her own responsibilities, and she couldn't just toss those aside whenever they wanted a favor.

That wasn't a completely fair statement, of course. River would have had nothing to do with it. She was constantly... busy... after all. No... this was Oracle's doing... again.

The goddess tossed her hair, aware that now that it was approaching mid-morning, it was turning from a burning gold to a bright yellow. Oracle could go on about how important it was that she meet with them as soon as possible, but Aurora was the goddess of the dawn, and she wasn't going to leave her job early just to entertain her older sister's "emergencies."

She entered the parlor and found her oldest sister sitting on the sofa, her lips moving so rapidly that, as usual, Aurora had no idea what she was saying.

"Good morning, River," Aurora told her.

The other goddess, a tall, willowy woman with dark brown hair, waved in reply, but did not look at her or speak to her. Her lips continued moving, silently speaking to no one.

"Where's Oracle?" Aurora sighed. "She's having another 'crisis.'"

River pointed to the balcony that overlooked the Styx, and Aurora headed toward it. Opening the glass door, she found their middle sister looking out at the river, her blonde hair blowing lazily in the breeze.

Sensing the other goddess there, she turned and smiled. "Aurora, I'm so glad you came!"

Aurora bit back a retort. She always came when Oracle called. If she didn't, her sister would simply call, page, e-mail, text message and carrier pigeon her constantly until she did.

"Okay," the fiery blonde began in resignation. "What is it this time? Did you get stood up? Lose your keys? What?"

Oracle stepped toward her and placed her hands on the younger goddess's shoulders.

"We've lost three years," she said simply.

Aurora arched an eyebrow. "Did you check all your pockets?" she asked sarcastically.

"Aurora," Oracle warned quietly. "I'm being serious. You, me, everyone. We've lost three years of our lives."

"I thought I felt lighter today," Aurora quipped.

Oracle pursed her lips in disapproval. "It wasn't planned," she said. "It's not in the script! See?!" She held up a large book written in screen-play format.

The younger goddess sighed. "If that's so, then how do you know?"

"River told me," Oracle said. "She was sitting there, narrating like she usually does while I knitted and all of a sudden... she stopped."

That got Aurora's attention. River didn't "stop." Ever. Her job was to narrate the world. Every act of every person, mortal and immortal, everywhere, was described as it happened by her sister. She literally spoke billions of words per second. For her to stop meant...

Oracle nodded. "She stopped, looked up at me and said, 'Wait,' as if she couldn't believe what had happened."

"What did happen?" Aurora asked, no longer annoyed, but enthralled with her sister's story.

"She showed me," her sister said. "Time was reset by a period of three years... twice."

"By who?" the dawn demanded. "Demons?"

Oracle shook her head. "Norns."

"The Norns?" Aurora repeated, unable to believe it. She rubbed her temples. "Them again?!"

The blonde smiled sheepishly. "They have made something of a name for themselves recently... actually... no. Not recently... That hasn't happened now." She shook her head as if trying to get her bearings. Aurora watched in concern.

Oracle saw her expression and smiled. "It's all right," she said. "I had River restore my linear memories. It's quite... weird... to remember doing things that haven't happened yet. The problem is, however, that those things were supposed to happen. The change they made is... unauthorized. And now... I don't know what's going to happen. The script I've written is no longer valid!"

"You mean the future is... unwritten?" Aurora asked in near-horror.

"No, it's still written," Oracle told her, raising the book again. "It's all right here. The problem is, they're diverging from it. It has to be corrected quickly! Which... brings me to why I called you..."

Aurora sighed. "I knew it..."

Oracle smiled. "You know I can't leave River alone. I need you to handle this for me."

Another sigh. "Can't you just pick up the phone and call them or something?"

"I don't know the extent of the damage, but I do know the catalyst, the act that has been changed."

"What's that?" Aurora asked.

"A wish," Oracle told her. "Requested by a mortal man to the goddess Belldandy. It was supposed to happen today and didn't."

"And that act is really going to screw up time's script?" Aurora asked.

Oracle suddenly went evasive, looking away. "Let's just say... it doesn't help restore it..."

"Huh?"

The blonde raised her hands as if to ward off other questions. "The point is, a wish is supposed to be granted! I need you to keep an eye on things and make sure it happens! Something is afoot here. This didn't occur in a vacuum. I fear the involvement of the other side in this."

"Fine," Aurora sighed. "I'll handle it."

"Thank you, Aurora!" Oracle gushed. "I knew I could count on you!"

"Whatever..."

888

Belldandy stood in Freya's office and waited patiently as her boss spoke on the phone. She wasn't certain that the conversation was about her, but several glances Freya shot in her direction hinted that it was. Finally, the blonde woman hung up and faced her, gesturing to a seat opposite of her.

"Frigga thinks we should give this one to her agency," she told Belldandy point-blank. "She said Peorth is standing by, ready to go."

The Norn went cold. This was her mistake. She should be the one to correct it. "Ms. Freya, I..."

Freya held up a hand. "I have asked her not to send her." She sighed. "If you wish to atone for this, you may," she said quietly.

"What must I do?!" Belldandy asked eagerly, shooting to her feet in anticipation.

"The call came from a place called Nekomi," Freya said. "The wisher is a young man named Keiichi Morisato."

"Keiichi Morisato," Belldandy repeated in a whisper. For some reason, the name sounded poetic to her, like something you enjoyed saying or hearing.

"Go to Earth," Freya continued. "Meet with him personally and apologize. Then grant his wish. You must handle this carefully. No barging through the mirror. The highest standards of protocol must be met."

Belldandy nodded, following along.

"Make certain he is satisfied and come home," Freya concluded. "If he is satisfied, we're satisfied."

"I understand."

"I'll see you when you get back," Freya told her, handing her a piece of paper with all the pertinent information. It was obviously a dismissal.

Belldandy rose to her feet and left the office. Standing outside the door, she raised the paper and read over it.

"Keiichi Morisato," she whispered again. She smiled, unsure as to why. The name just made her smile. Or perhaps it was that she would have the opportunity to grant him happiness after all.

For some reason, her eyes wandered from the piece of paper to the hand holding it, locking onto the ring again. She blinked. Skuld didn't know where the ring had come from. Were these two things connected?

Absurd, she thought. How could that even begin to be possible? I've never even heard of Keiichi Morisato before today.

"Keiichi Morisato," she whispered again. Lowering the paper, she started for the exit. She had a lot to do before she could leave for Earth.

She wasn't sure why, but for some reason, she wanted to make sure she was prepared for an extended stay.

888

"I don't get it!" Skuld cried as her sister finished tidying up the living room of the house they shared. "You've granted bunches of wishes before but you've never had to spend long down there doing it! Why is this one different?"

"Because I failed," Belldandy told her as she dusted. She wanted to make sure Skuld and Urd had a clean place to live while she was gone. She loved her sisters, but the Almighty knew they weren't going to clean it...

Skuld blinked. The idea that her sister was even capable of failing at something was alien. "I don't want you to go," she finally said.

The middle Norn smiled. "It's only for a few days at most," she said. "I need to make sure I do this right. I owe it to him."

"Fine," Skuld grumbled. "But if he lays a hand on you, I'll..."

Belldandy broke in before she could finish. "Skuld, where did you get this ring?"

The youngest Norn blinked. "Huh?"

"The one you gave me this morning. Where did you get it?" Belldandy elaborated.

"Oh," Skuld said. "I don't know. It was in a box I found lying around." She shrugged. "It's got your name on it. I just assumed you lost it or something."

Belldandy said nothing.

"Why?" Skuld asked.

The middle Norn shook her head. "I just can't remember who gave it to me," she said. "That makes me sad. Someone went through a lot of effort to pick out a ring for me... and I can't even remember who it was."

Skuld shrugged. "Maybe Mama or Father?"

"Maybe," Belldandy allowed.

The younger goddess watched as her sister fretted. She couldn't imagine being so spun up about a gift. She was starting to think she shouldn't have given it to her.

"I'm sure you'll think of it," Skuld said helpfully. "You've just got a lot on your mind right now, that's all!"

Belldandy smiled. "Hai. Perhaps I do."

"Is there anything I can do?" Skuld asked.

The older goddess shook her head. "Just tell Urd I'll be back in a few days."

"Okay."

"And tell her not to worry."

"Okay."

"And please ask her not to try to help!"

"Okay!" Skuld said, exasperated.

Belldandy hugged her sister and sighed.

"I'll see you soon," Skuld sniffled.

"Hai," Belldandy promised.

888

Keiichi Morisato stepped out of the movie theater and lit a cigarette before turning right and walking down the street toward the NIT dorms. He adjusted his leather jacket against the February chill. It wasn't snowing, at least, and spring was just around the corner.

He turned to the sound of two people laughing and found a young couple walking out of the theater after him, holding hands with a sense of comfort that could only come from two people who've dated long enough to know they were in love.

Keiichi bit back a familiar pang of loneliness and replaced it with a drag from his cigarette. It was his own fault, he knew. He couldn't blame anyone else. He just wasn't good at talking to girls. The one time he tried was with Sayoko Mishima who turned him down flat. He had tried to discuss the problem once with his sister, who told him the answer was easy: Walk up to a girl and ask her out. But how could an answer that sounded so easy be so hard to actually do?

The college student walked. There was no point to staying out any longer. It was getting dark, and he was just about out of money. Not only that but once again his beloved Beemer was down until he could find an inexpensive fix for it, not an easy thing to do with a foreign bike, hence the walking.

He entered the dormitory and walked up the steps to the second floor. Offering a wave to Takehiro, who was passing him on the way to the bath, Keiichi stopped at his door, turned his key and stepped inside.

"Honey, I'm home!" he called out to the chilly darkness. Nothing but a bunch of old, broken down parts and appliances presented themselves. He had given some thought to tinkering in his off-time to raise some money, but nowadays it was actually easier to just throw old stuff away and buy something new. Unless, of course, you were a college student down on his luck, in which case, collecting junk had its advantages.

Stripping off his jacket and sweater, he reached out and hit the play button on an old cassette player before sitting down at his table.

You know I used to wonder why,

I used to cry 'til I was dry,

Still sometimes I get a strange pain inside,

Oh, Joey, if you're hurt'n, so am I!

Picking up a screwdriver in one hand and his Beemer RS's throttle assembly in the other, he began what he knew would be a long night of frustrating work.

All is forgiven...

Listen... Listen...

If I seem to be confused,

I didn't mean to be with you,

And when I said I scared you well I guess you scared me too,

But we got lucky once before,

And I don't wanna close the door,

And if you're somewhere out there passed out on the floor,

Oh, Joey, I'm not angry anymore!

"Augh!" he growled, tossing the part back on the table. There was nothing for it. It would just have to be replaced. He lit another cigarette in frustration and immediately set it down, rising to his feet to get a drink from his aging mini-fridge.

He pulled the tab on a soda and swore as brown fizz erupted all over his white tank top.

"Dammit!" he cried, trying to shake the sticky liquid from his hand.

"Keiichi Morisato sama?"

"What?!" he cried in frustration, forgetting for a moment that no one had entered his room so really there shouldn't be anyone calling his name. He blinked as he turned to the sound. "What?" he asked again, this time in disbelief.

In the center of his room stood the most alluring woman he had ever seen. How she got into his room suddenly wasn't important. Who she was, what she was doing there, that was important. She gazed at him with smiling eyes and her face was adorned with some kind of tattoos or body art on her forehead and cheeks.

She smiled. "Keiichi Morisato sama," she said in a musical voice. "I've been sent by the Goddess Help Line to grant you Heaven's Grace," she informed him.

He stared, wide-eyed, and had to shake his head in order to bring him back to reality.

"Did the senpais put you up to this?" he asked with a smile.

The woman shook her head. "No, Keiichi Morisato sama," she said. "I'm here because you are entitled to a great gift, a gift I have been sent here to offer you personally."

He shook his head in wonder at her. "Who are you?" he whispered.

She smiled. "I am the Goddess Sitri," the silver-tressed demoness told him. "I am your guardian angel."

To Be Continued...