Megami Joushou

Hello everyone! I'm baaaaaack. This is, as you should already know, the sequel to my ZADR fanfic "Goddess Rising." Original characters are the principal actors here. If you don't like that kind of thing, I apologize... But you should try to give this one a chance ;P If you enjoyed G*R, you'll enjoy this one as well. I PROMISE.

Head on over to http://goddess.nexusofworlds.com to see lots of ZADR artwork as well as drawings of all the principal characters in G*R and M*J.

C&C, babies! But no bitching about OCs, okay? That would be redundant, don't you think?

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It was obvious to Megami from a very young age that she wasn't at all like the other children. No secret was kept about the fact, either... As soon as she was old enough to sit upright, her family gathered around her and explained what exactly made her "special."

Though no one had to point it out to the girl. She was, of course, very bright, but the variances were obvious.

The other children had ears.

She had antennae.

They had two arms, she had four.

Her skin was pale green, their skins were not.

And none of the children had wings.

Papaw had attempted to cut the thin, silvery appendages off of her back a time or two, but it was a painful process and they always seemed to grow back. Mommy had told her that the wings were her unique gifts from God, and that she could always look at them and remember how much God loved her. After Megami learned this, she fought with Papaw's attempts to remove them. He eventually stopped trying.

Despite the fact that she looked so different, Megami was never the subject of ridicule. Of course, being related to the most respected leader in Nirvana can help in that area. There was, unfortunately, no real blood relation between Megami and Professor Membrane. He had been generous enough to give her his surname, but as mentioned earlier, Megami was informed of her situation at a very young age. She had no parents and no family to speak of. When she was an infant, she was dropped right in Nirvana's lap from an escape pod. Papaw theorized that a passing ship had met with a horrid fate and its passengers only were able to save Megami. So, her parents were obviously dead. She didn't know what species she was; she looked nothing like any other alien lifeform in existance. Mommy had shown her pictures of Earth butterflies, and told her that was what she could call herself. They were beautiful creatures, so that was enough of an explanation for her...

Though children were always satisfied with the simple explanations. As Megami grew older she got increasingly curious and wanted much, much more. More answers and more experiences.

She felt guilty hating her lot in life sometimes, seeing as how she could, by all rights, be dead. But being a Membrane wasn't all it was cooked up to be. Papaw and Aunt Gaz were both brilliant scientists who had made Nirvana's hot, dusty plains into a paradise. And Dib Membrane, who had died before she was even born, was savior of the entire universe from the Irken Threat!

And what was she?

A Horticulturist.

In training.

"I'm so sick of plants," Megami groaned, wrinkling her cute little nose.

Sighing, Valerie handed her another root and gestured toward a pot. "This work is very important to our survival, Meg! You should be honored someone so young--"

"--Yeah, yeah..." she interrupted, rolling her eyes as she stuffed the seedling none-too-gently into its bed. "Just like Papaw says, 'The quietest mouse does the most work.'"

Being quieted was bad enough, but Meg had been silenced. She possessed potential to become something great, and instead Membrane had stuck her with busy work. She had practiced self defense moves and martial arts for the past two years, hoping that she could eventually prove herself as a competent enough candidate for the Razier squad, but still Papaw refused.

The Irken Threat was re-emerging, and all Meg could do was plant seedlings? The Raziers had been successful at routing the Irkens' growth by going to their own worlds, but if they were underestimated it would only be a matter of time before they came to Nirvana. If their multiplication over the last five years was any indication, it would take them very little time at all to return to their former numbers!

Was this any way to honor Uncle Dib's memory?

"I bet Uncle Dib's life was SO exciting!" Meg sighed dreamily.

Valerie laughed lightly, looking away.

"You never tell me stories about him anymore, Mama."

Her smile hollow, Val replied, "I've told you everything there is to tell! I'm all told out."

"Nuh-uh!" Meg argued. "You told me a long time ago, you were gonna ask Gaz about what he used to do in school. Didn't he hunt Sasquatches and stuff?"

"Sasquatches aren't real," Valerie stated matter-of-factly. Her tone indicated she didn't want to continue the conversation.

Megami knew that she had unwittingly wandered into dangerous territory. But she wasn't one to shy away from danger.

"I never hear Aunt Gaz or Papaw talk about him," she said delicately.

"Well, his life was cut very short," Val answered just as delicately. "He was maybe only a year older than you when he died." She swallowed. "Speaking of him--still hurts."

"Why?!" the girl demanded. "If I had known someone who did so many great things, I would talk about him all the time!"

With deliberate purpose, Valerie put her supplies away. "I'm going to go check on our open-air samples," she state a little TOO calmly. "Finish these up for me, okay my love?"

Before Megami could even reply, Valerie was gone. Oh well. There's always another day for asking questions. Chewing her lip absently, she tried to finish potting the remaining seedlings as quickly as possible before she fell asleep with her face in the dirt. When she saw through the dusty greenhouse window that the visor was finally beginning to rise over the sun, she left two plants remaining and gathered up her things.

Her mind wasn't really fixated on anything in particular as she made her way out of the laboratory. Which, for her, was a bad thing. She couldn't help but feel increasingly BORED with her entire existance... The same old crap, day in, day out... Nothing excited her anymore. She was no longer content with being locked in her room doing research... Reading about the planets was getting old. Megami wanted to SEE them. She knew all there was to know about Earth. Now she wanted to know about everyplace else.

Tonight, even singing didn't heal her wounded soul. Whenever she stepped onstage beneath the bright lights, the cigarette smoke enveloping her, she felt as if she were in another world. Even the cheers didn't reach her. But tonight, when she crooned with all of her might into the microphone, all she felt was cold. When she slowly stepped down from the stage and ambled over to the bar, Old Man Mitchell lightly patted her on the shoulder and turned to her, smiling.

"What's troubling you, butterfly?" he asked her as the bartender handed her a soda.

Swallowing the drink, ignoring the slight burning sensation in her throat, she answered, "Nothing in particular."

Mitchell didn't believe that at all. Meg looked sadly at him; he was one of the first to colonize Nirvana, and he had seen Earth fall. During the first months of exploring the new planet, he had been in a Rover accident and his legs were crushed. Instead of returning to the laboratory, he opted for permanent retirement. Nowadays, he spent most of his time in the bar, drowning his sorrows in liquor. The one night Meg had sung and he wasn't around, the bartender told her that he never wanted to come to Nirvana; he would have much rather died on Earth. Rumor had it that he used to be Membrane's right-hand man... But now they never spoke.

"Butterfly! You're fibbing to me," Mitchell growled, grinning mischeviously. "I can tell. I could hear your singing. Normally, when you sing, my heart feels lighter than air. But tonight..."

Frowning prettily, Megami sighed, "Sorry, Mitchell." She had spent months upon months memorizing a large catalogue of songs from Earth so that she could help cheer up the old man. He said that her singing was the highlight of his day on many occasions. And she had let him down. What did she have to complain about? Why should she feel depressed? At least she had her health and a future ahead of her.

The owner of the bar, Jagen, tapped her on the shoulder. "You have to head on out, Megami," he whispered. "Got some bigshots coming in and I don't want to get into trouble."

"But I'm not going to DRINK!" Megami pleaded. "I just want to SING."

Patting her on the head and handing her five credits, Jagen said, "Go buy yourself an ice cream or somethin', babe."

"ICE CREAM," she huffed, shoving the the bill back in his hand and stalking out the back door, not even remembering to say goodnight to Mitchell.

He was right, of course. She had been lucky so far in that nobody who frequented the bar had tattled to Papaw. It was most likely because they enjoyed her voice like Mitchell did. Yet another downfall of Nirvana's relatively small stature. It was growing in size every day, but EVERYBODY still knew EVERYBODY. Meg could barely sneeze without Membrane knowing about it.

After wandering the streets alone for an hour or two, chewing her lips more still, she finally decided to call it a night. When she entered the humble yet sturdy Membrane homestead she found that nobody was around. All the better for her. She didn't feel like talking to any of them.

"You're hoooooooooome!" GIR cried when she slunk into the door of her room. He held up a dish with some hideous brown goo jiggling in the center of it. "I made pancakes!"

Megami laughed and dipped the tip of her finger into the concoction. After a cautious taste, she turned up her nose. "Oh, GIR-dude, this is disgusting."

Not altering his stance, GIR announced, "They're pancakes!"

"For someone who's never been to Earth, you sure know a lot about Earth dishes..." she sniffed it again. "...or not..."

Tapping his head, GIR cried, "It's all up here, baby!"

Knowing that it would otherwise have to be scrubbed out of her carpet, Megami grabbed the plate from the little robot and threw it in the trash.

"Awww..."

"Stop making so much trouble," Meg ordered him as she plopped down on her bed. "I don't want to know where you got the ingredients to make that seeing as how you're supposed to STAY IN MY ROOM. I'll lock you in the closet if you don't be good." As he abashedly kicked at the carpet, she sighed, "I'm too old to be playing with toys anyway..."

Even if he was just a toy, GIR seemed alive to her. When she pulled him close to her, she felt as if she were hugging a long-lost friend. Of course he knew her threats were all idle, as she would never have the heart to get rid of him.

Feeling a bit of a chill, she grabbed up Dib's old trenchcoat and cuddled against the wall, pulling up her laptop terminal.

"Give me strength, Uncle Dib..." she whispered, looking up at the sky. When she opened the computer she heard a low chime. "Another message from David..."

Why did he never get the point? She tried as hard as she could to ignore him, but still he persisted. Of course, she would do better to ignore him if she didn't ALWAYS open every message he sent. He knew she opened them... And she was aware that he knew. But...

...They still hurt.

As she touched the icon his voice, awkward as ever, filled the alcove around her bed.

"I saw you sitting up on your 'little spot' today. I know you go there when something's bothering you, so... umm... You know, Meggy, even if we're not, like, you know... I still--I still CARE and... I know you're rolling your eyes right now." She giggled, because she was. "But I just wanted you to know that... That I'm here for you if you ever want to talk." A pause. "Okay? I miss talking to you SO much. Love--Love you, Meggy. Uh... Bye."

"Love you too, David," she whispsered as she moved his message into the 'delete' box.

GIR, who was rolling around under Meg's bed, cried, "I like macaroni and ham!"

There were no other messages in her folder. Pushing the terminal away in disgust, she lay back on the bed and curled up in Dib's coat. How pathetic could she be? Having conversations with a toy robot and ignoring the nerdy guy she met in Psyche class.

Calling him a "nerd" wasn't exactly fair. He was brilliant but very humble. Hiding chiseled good looks behind glasses and a sloppy haircut, David was the kind of guy you came to appreciate more and more with every layer you peeled off. At least, that was how Megami felt. At the age of two, he had tested into the relocation program easily and was with the refugees who left Earth before the Irkens laid it to waste. He was always at the forefront of the class and everyone admired him.

Though their human classmates treated HER with civility, most kept her at arm's-length. Megami was more a curiosity than anything. But David respected her mind and saw her for the person she was inside instead of her looks.

That was his first mistake.

Oh, sure, things were fine in the beginning. He held the door for her on dates, they talked for hours on the terminal... Eventually he got bolder and began putting his hands in new places. Neither one of them had ever done much in the relationship capacity before... They were too bookish. At least, Megami pretended to be for Membrane's sake.

The first time he had asked to kiss her, her stomach was in knots. Their lips touched gingerly... Her face tingled. He smiled. She was titillated. It was just like in the movies! More pecks. He got closer. His warm tongue slipped into her mouth and she was startled.

This was no movie plot! It BURNED! Like HELL!

"Are you okay, Megami?" he had asked in concern, gripping her shoulders.

Blinking and licking her lips, she nodded shakily.

"Would you... like to continue?"

Tears blurring her vision, Megami turned to the wall and tried to forget.

"GIR... sing me a lullaby."

***********************

Like usual, all of the adults were up before her. Her antennae perked in interest when she caught snippets of their conversation from the end of the hallway.

"The Raziers are returning today?" Gaz asked, her mouth full of food.

"Why so early?" Valerie continued, always expounding on the taciturn Gaz's lines of questioning.

"It's a big one," Father Membrane said, pride evident in his voice. "If our sources are correct, it appears they've captured the 'Irken Prince.'"

The one responsible for the recent revival of the Irken race?? Excited, Megami ran the rest of the way to the kitchen. When she entered, however, her face immediately drooped. Every adult at the table looked at her with an expression that said, "This conversation is going to focus on YOU now." Well, except for Gaz. She had that highly detached glare like always.

Meg felt like asking, "What the fuck did I do wrong THIS time?" but instead she just smiled sheepishly and chirped, "Good morning!"

"Sleep well?" Valerie asked, an earnest smile on her face.

Before she could answer, Gaz bit in, "You should have, what with cutting out of work early and all."

"What do you mean?"

"Overtime is the ONLY time," Papaw lectured, shaking a gloved finger. "If you don't even work a full 40 hours a week, how do you expect to get anything done?" When Meg simply blinked in reply, he continued, "I scheduled you until 8pm for a REASON, Megami. I wanted to see those seedlings taking root by 4pm TODAY."

Helping herself to a piece of bread, she mumbled, "Sorry. I forgot."

But he certainly wasn't finished, much to her chagrin. "You know, young lady, if you were just another employee you would be disciplined or even fired for this. I could easily give your job to someone else."

Miss Meg's hackles were raised. "Then DO it!" she spat back, ungraciously spewing bread crumbs everywhere. Now was NOT a good time for this.

"Megami!" Valerie began. But the girl could not be stopped.

"I hate that job!" she cried, throwing down her bread, which was now a mashed ball. "I'm not 'just another employee' because I never APPLIED to work there! You FORCED me into it! Just because I look like a bug doesn't mean I LIKE PLANTS!"

"MEGAMI!" Val's voice was cracking. Papaw, however, was unruffled. His unbreakable calm just annoyed Meg even more.

"I want to be a Razier!"

Completely unruffled. "Out of the question, young lady."

"Why?!"

"You're too young. You're a lady. You're a scientist."

"I'm not a SCIENTIST!" Megami blustered. "And what's sex got to do with it?! You don't even KNOW my sex for sure. I'm an alien lifeform. I might be, like, a THIRD sex you've never even heard of!"

Gaz couldn't help but guffaw at that. That was bullshit and they all knew it. Megami was certifiably a female; she had the tits to prove it. When Meg glared at Gaz she waved a fork and said, "Continue."

Dutifully, Megami did. "And I'm NOT too young! Dib was only a year older than me when he saved the universe!"

All eyes were suddenly on Valerie, who buried her face in her hands.

"What kind of tripe are you feeding her NOW?!" Gaz sighed.

Peeking at Gaz over her hands, she cried, "I didn't tell her anything! I swear!"

"So YOU'RE the one keeping her from telling me anything about Uncle Dib?!" Meg demanded, balling up her little fists.

Reaching out a hand to steady her, Membrane said, "Megami... There comes a time in everyone's life when they have to grow up... And live in REALITY."

Even more affronted at his attempt to calm her, Meg whirled toward him and growled, "I AM trying to grow up! To become my own person! And YOU'RE not letting me!" She threw up her hands in exhasperation. "When Earth schoolchildren graduated, they got to backpack through Europe! Where's MY backpack?? Where's MY Europe?!"

"In the rubble of Earth, with the rest of your childish dreams," Gaz finally snapped, banging her fork down on the table. "You wanna know more about 'Uncle Dib,' do you?"

"Gaz--!"

"No, Valerie, she's an 'adult' now. She's ready to hear this." Gaz pushed Valerie's hand away, simultaneously glaring down the warning in her father's face. "Dib was no hero. He didn't save SHIT. He was run through like a hot knife through butter. You understand?" Megami's legs were shaking. "That's right, Meggy. He was a fool. He ran headfirst toward his death, ignoring every warning we gave. And in the end his guts were painting the floor of Irk's Massive."

Valerie sobbed and covered her face. "Gaz! That was completely unnecessary," Papaw said, putting a hand on Meg's shoulder for support.

Rising from her chair, Gaz replied, "I disagree." She approached Megami and gathered all four of the girl's hands into her own two. "I'm telling you this because I care about you, Megami. I don't want you to share his fate. The Irken race is indeed stupid... lazy... altogether weak. But they are also vicious... immoral... and totally unafraid of anything. And their recent surge in numbers is proof of how difficult they are to defeat. It's a very tough battle to fight, Megami..."

Meeting Gaz's stern face with her jaw set, Meg answered, "I understand that, Aunt Gaz..."

"Good," Gaz sighed, letting go of Meg's hands.

"Which is why I don't get what is keeping you from letting me go! I want to make very single one of those bastards PAY for what they did to Dib! To EARTH!" The adults all looked at her with concern, her empassioned pleas not affecting them in the slightest. Faltering a little, she trudged on, "I know... I'm not human. But... I feel like I am. I feel Earth's oceans pulsing through my veins. I feel its wind caressing my hair. I feel... I feel as if I knew Dib myself. Like he and I were good friends."

"Romantic, idealistic bullshit," Gaz groaned. She shot Valerie a withering look. "Straight from the bullshitter herself."

"Can I have a hot dog?"

A gloved fnger shot toward the doorway as GIR waddled in. "Megami!! I told you to keep that annoying little beast locked in your room!"

"I'm sorry Papaw!" Meg cried, upset beyond her own control. "He must have snuck out." Membrane gestured back toward her room and she gingerly pulled GIR into her arms. "He gets lonely..."

"More fantastical nonsense," Membrane sighed. "Inhuman creatures like that do NOT get lonely."

"I do," Meg whispered, too low for anyone but GIR to hear, as she slid somberly back into her room.