Well... it's been a while since I've posted anything new - so here we
go... for those who can't tell - this fits in the middle of part 14..
An Oh My Goddess FanFic
Oh My God ? - Side Story
by
Brett Handy
INTRODUCTION:
This story is something different from the usual Oh My God
series.... I've not really put much specific in about myself or
my family and friends so far - but that changes with this part.
I should make it known that you *don't* have to read this - it's
a side story and there are only a few plot point for the main
series. I have put in a few clues and hints that explain in
detail what I skimmed over in part 14.
I guess you could say it's a bit of an 'indulgent' story -
I feature many of my friends and family, all of which know I'm
writing with them into the story and *should* have read this
before anyone else sees it.
Alright - enough talk - I hope you enjoy this peek into my
own life and I know I liked writing it....
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I enjoyed the sensation that teleporting brings, letting
myself flow into the clock. The first time it had terrified me,
the idea of passing into something so small, but I'd gotten used
to it over the last few months. Urd had insisted that I practice
so much that it had become routine. A few seconds later I
reappeared in what was once my room. Landing lightly on the bed
I glanced around in horror.
My once neat and tidy room had become a nightmare, the sci-
fi pictures on the walls had been replaced by photos of men in
various states of undress (none thankfully all the way). I
looked in shock at the condition of my bookshelves, they were
littered with old magazines, clothing and what looked like
screwed up efforts at essay writing.
Dropping my duffle bag I jumped off the bed and saw to my
amazement my computer, buried under a pile Encyclopaedias and
notebooks. "Aw no", I muttered, digging it out and wiping some
of the dust from the screen. It looked like it had been used as
a big paper-weight for the last couple of months.
There was only one thing I could do, "JANET!!!!", I screamed
in frustration.
"Brett??", I heard a voice call from upstairs.
I grabbed the bag and walked upstairs, heading into the
kitchen I saw my sister sitting amongst a pile of textbooks and
paper. "You're back??", she asked in an amazed voice.
I nodded and gave her an angry frown, "What the hell have you
done to my room?!?!?!", I demanded.
She did a double take, "Oh...", she said in a guilty, "I meant
to do something about that before you came home".
I nodded and shrugged off my jacket, it was *HOT* here. She
looked me up and down, "How'd you manage to get from the airport in
that?", she asked, indicating my jacket and warm clothes.
"Errr... the taxi was air conditioned", I replied.
She nodded, "Well I'd say you should get changed", she said,
"All your clothes are in my old room".
I nodded, "In a minute", I replied, picking up one of the
textbooks. "Common Australian Law and Changes Since Federation",
I read the title of the book out loud. Giving her a strange look
I examined the other titles, they all had something to do with law.
"What???", she asked defensively.
I shrugged, "You got into university then??", I asked.
Jan nodded, "Justice Studies", she replied.
I looked at her in shock, "You're going to be a *lawyer*?", I
asked.
She grinned, "Yup!", she responded happily.
I grimaced, "I'll go get changed then", I said, turning around
and heading for her *old* room.
"Hey Bro??", she called after me.
"Yeah??", I asked, itching to get into something cooler.
"Welcome home", she said sincerely.
I gave her a big grin, "Thanks Jan, it's nice to be back for
a while", I replied. With that I headed off to change. After
getting into a much cooler shirt and shorts I stepped out onto our
balcony and took a deep breath. The fresh smell of the gum tree in
the backyard was a pleasant change from what I'd been used to for
the last few months. Looking around I noticed no great changes
from when I was last here, everything was as normal.
Jan closed a her notes with a sigh as I walked into the room,
"I'll get it finished tomorrow", she announced.
"Sure Jan", I said knowingly.
She smiled, "Well *maybe* I'll finish it tomorrow", she said.
She gestured for me to take a chair, "So what was life like in
Japan?", she asked.
The over the next few hours I talked about what I'd
experienced in Japan (it was a *highly* edited description). My
parents were overjoyed (well.. at least *very* happy) to see me
again and I spent most of my first night talking about my
'adventures' overseas.
I was detailing a description of one of Belldandy's meals for
my mother when Dad suddenly cut in, "So you've been living with
three girls?", he asked.
I nodded, "Well how's the love life?", he asked bluntly (my
father's never really been shy about asking embarrassing
questions), "if you've been living with three girls I'm sure you've
got lots of good stories to tell".
"Err... well", I said, "It's fine".
He nodded knowingly, "I'm *sure*", he said, winking.
Mum gave him an irritated look, "You *wish*", she said
smiling.
Dad gave her an injured look, "No one around here understands
me", he complained.
Jan shook her head, "The problem is that we know you *too*
well", she laughed.
Dad frowned and crossed his arms, "Well since your back", he
began, "We're going away for a week to the coast, did you want to
come along?".
I grinned, "I'll be in that!", I replied, "Japan is sorely
lacking good surfing beaches".
He smirked, "I'm sure you'll make up for it", he replied,
standing.
He gave me a hug, "Good to have you back son", he said
gruffly.
I hugged him back, "Good to see you too Dad", I replied.
He smiled and headed off to bed, "Don't stay up too late
talking", he replied, "Otherwise I might be tempted to join
you...".
We still talked for another hour or two, I caught up on what
was happening in my absence. Other than Jan getting a place at
University not much new had happened. On the other hand Mum and
Jan were very interested in everything I had to tell them. Finally
I yawned loudly in the middle of one story and Mum gave me a smile,
"Perhaps you should get some sleep", she suggested.
I nodded, "I guess I'm in Jan's old room?", I asked.
She nodded, "All of your stuff is in there too", she added.
I grinned, "I'll be lucky to fit in the room then", I replied.
Mum smiled and gave me a quick kiss goodnight, Jan grinned and
ruffled my hair, "Nite Bro", she said, going downstairs.
I lay in the unfamiliar bed, not used to what had been normal
to me before and stared up at the ceiling. I missed the quite and
peacefulness of the temple. I also found it hard to sleep in the
heat, there seemed to be no escape from it. Then I drifted into a
restless sleep, not really comfortable, but so tired it didn't
matter.
******
"What is this?", asked the first spirit.
"I recognise this one", replied another, "He left the land a
few months ago".
"What is he?", the first asked in confusion.
The second spirit drifted nearer the sleeping Brett and
sniffed the air. "I don't know, on occasions I've seen things like
this before", it said, "But I've never really paid much attention".
The first spirit drifted nearer, "If I didn't know better", it
mused, "He looks almost like a spirit himself".
The second nodded, "I'll give you that", it said, "But I've
never herd of one of them becoming one of us".
The first frowned, "We must observe our 'visitors' more
closely", it said, "if they can change mortals into spirits, we
must be careful".
The two spirits observed for a moment more, before darting out
the window and into the moonlit night. They moved more swiftly
than a plane, moving on unseen wings out into the bushlands
surrounding and back to the places they called home.
******
I awoke the next day to find the sun already high in the sky,
getting out of bed, I found a note waiting for me in the kitchen:
Brett,
I've taken the car and gone to Uni, see you tonight
-----Jan
I grumbled a bit but finally realised that it'd be quicker and
easier to just teleport myself around (so long as I was careful).
I grabbed up the phone and began ringing friends, it didn't take
long to locate one of them....
"So how did things go in Japan?", Hubert asked. We were
sitting around one of the tables at my old role playing club, it
had been a long time since I'd had a chance to just sit and talk.
I smiled, "It was better than I'd expected", I replied, "I
picked up a few new tricks for handling memory allocation in C".
He nodded, "Yes, Yes", he said, brushing aside the learning
element, "I want to know how things worked out with that girl...
what was her name?? Urd???".
"Err yes..", I replied, "Well things are going fine".
Hubert leaned forward, "And?!?!?", he asked.
I looked around a little self-consciously, seeing that we'd
become something of the centre of attention in the club, "Well, we
went out on New Years", I said evasively.
Hubert grinned, "How was it?", he asked.
"Well.. aside from the fact that I got drunk...", I began.
"*YOU* got drunk?", came a familiar voice from behind me.
I glanced over my shoulder and grinned, "Long time no see", I
said to Bruce as he pulled up a seat beside Hubert. Bruce had been
visiting relatives in England when I'd left, so I missed the chance
to say goodbye.
"So what's this I hear about you living with three girls?", he
asked bluntly (and loudly).
Several gasps of disbelief echoed around the club, one from
Hubert in particular, "You're living with three girls and you
didn't tell *me*", Hubert complained.
"Where did you hear that from?", I asked Bruce curiously.
He shrugged, "I talked to Jan a week or two ago", he said, "So
anything interesting happen in Japan?".
Have you ever had a secret that you just *want* to tell
someone?? Well Bruce and I have known each other for about a
decade and I was sorely tempted to blurt out everything that had
happened. But I found myself responding with a, "Not really",
instead.
We sat and talked for several hours, various people coming in
and out of the club stopped by to say hi and catch up with me. On
the whole it was a very relaxing afternoon and I felt bad that I
was leaving in only two weeks.
******
Nilthar paced backwards and forwards across the rooftop
overlooking the temple, "Where the hell did he go?", he demanded of
Marller angrily.
Marller shrugged, "I don't know", she said, "We were off
following that Security Daemon.. remember?".
Nilthar fumed internally at having been tricked so easily,
they had left the previous morning following what they'd assumed to
be Brett. But Nilthar became suspicious when Brett just seemed to
be hanging around NIT, not really doing anything (from observation
Nilthar had concluded that Brett didn't go anywhere without a
reason). Quickly casting a detection spell, he pierced the
disguise and realised that they'd been duped.
They had rushed back to the temple, only to find Brett gone.
"Where's that friend of yours with the information?", Nilthar
demanded impatiently.
Marller sighed, "She'll be here", she replied, "For now all we
can do is wait, so I'd advise you to sit down".
A few minutes later Sayoko arrived with a folder, "Here, this
is the information you wanted", she said.
Nilthar snatched the folder away from her greedily, "Now", he
said, reading, "This should be all I need".
Sayoko nodded and gave Marller an inquisitive look, "How is
the plan progressing?", she asked.
"Slowly", Marller replied, "But then Loki was never one to
rush things".
"Loki?", Sayoko asked curiously.
"YES!", came an amused voice from above them, "LOKI - the God
of Mischief, Deceiver of Mortals, Annoyer of Thor... and generally
unpleasant doer of things of that nature...".
Sayoko looked up to see a good-looking young man with an
mischievous expression on his face floating above them. "You were
perhaps using my name in vain?", he asked Marller.
Marller sighed, "Can't you be serious about anything?", she
asked.
Loki landed beside them on the roof, "No", he replied bluntly.
Nilthar sighed, "And how are things coming with your
project?", he asked.
Loki lost his amused expression, "Not good", he said, "Those
damned security protocols are still getting in my way, I can't
access the network except from a primary terminal".
Nilthar nodded, "I thought it'd prove too much for you", he
chided.
Loki looked at him indignantly, "Oh?", he asked, "And I'd like
to see you do better.... you stuck up.. ".
Marller interrupted before things could get out of hand, "And
if we could get you to a terminal?", she asked.
Loki paused, "Then I'd have the Yggdrasil System down in a few
hours", he replied, "I've already worked out the perfect viral
code.. I call it 'Root Rot'".
{Author's Note: If you don't understand the Pun.. go look up what
Yggdrasil actually was in Norse Mythology}
Nilthar groaned at the pun, "How are *we* going to get access
to a primary terminal?", he asked Marller.
Marller pointed at the temple in the distance, "There's one
right in front of us", she announced.
Loki grinned, "Oh very good", he said, "I *might* just make
you my next consort".
"Call me after Ragnarok", she said, "I'll see what I can
do..".
Nilthar looked at the temple thoughtfully, "I will cause a
distraction", he said, "Loki, you and Marller go in once their
attention is diverted".
The Demons quickly headed off to break into the temple,
leaving Sayoko standing on the roof, staring off into the distance,
"Sometimes I wonder if it's all worth it", she murmured to herself.
Then she remembered Keiichi and how much she wanted him for
herself, "It's worth it", she concluded, walking downstairs.
******
Marller quickly levitated herself over the outer wall of the
temple, keeping her shielding spell tightly wrapped around herself.
She dropped to the ground and began to silently move towards the
temple, hugging the shadows as she moved. She felt a hand on her
shoulder and startled slightly, "Well done... you move very
nicely", Loki complimented her in a whisper.
Marller gave him an exasperated look and gestured for him to
follow her inside the temple. The two sprinted across to one of
the temple entrances and silently slid open one door. They found
themselves in a laboratory, vials and beakers lining the walls.
Marller carefully moved over to the main workbench and recognised
Urd's handwriting on some of the papers sitting there.
Loki moved to the inner door, waiting for Nilthar's signal,
"What are you doing??", he whispered sharply to her.
"Just having a bit of fun", Marller replied, changing the
labels on some of the containers. Then she switched some of the
contents around for good measure and joined Loki at the door, "That
should make things interesting around here", she whispered. Loki
grinned and the two of the waited silently for Nilthar's signal.
A few seconds later they felt a surge of magical energy and a
muffled cry of alarm from within the temple, "Slow down Chia-Yao",
came Skuld's shouted voice from outside the room, "Wait for the
rest of us".
The two Demons waited until the presence of the Goddesses had
left the area and slid open the inner door. They quickly made
their way to Skuld's room and switched on the computer. Loki
stretched his fingers and began typing away at the keyboard. After
a few moments he pulled a small disc from one of his pocket and
inserted it into Skuld's computer, "Now the system should last
about an hour or so and then it'll go *down*", he said gesturing
with his thumb.
Marller nodded, "Anything else I should know about?", she
asked.
Loki shrugged, "Well it's also erasing every bit of
information on Brett that it can find, soon as far as Yggdrasil is
concerned he'll never have existed", he finished.
Marller frowned, "We'd better get out of here then", she said,
turning to the door.
Loki switched off the computer with a flick, "Loki strikes
again!", he giggled, "Sometimes I amaze even myself".
Marller and Loki headed out into the night, easily exiting the
temple before the Goddesses returned from their unsuccessful hunt
for Nilthar.
The Demons met again a short time later, "How did it go?",
Nilthar asked.
Loki grinned, "Easy as stealing candy from Thor", he replied.
Nilthar shook his head at Loki's attitude, "How can you be so
irresponsible?"", he asked in exasperation.
Loki's face lost it's humour and an evil glint came into his
eye, "It puts my enemies off balance", he said in a cold voice,
"That gives me a tactical advantage".
Nilthar nodded, "Very well then, I'm going to find Brett", he
said, "I'd appreciate it if the two of you remained here and made
sure that the Goddesses don't interfere". With that he stepped
into the shadows and disappeared.
Loki looked at Marller, "I don't know why you continue to hang
around that guy", he said, "You'd do better with one of the greater
Demons".
"Such as yourself?", Marller asked sweetly.
"Now that you mention it..", Loki said.
Marller gave Loki a smile, "Perhaps if You'd tell me why *you*
are helping him I might...", she replied.
Loki gave her a smile, "Nilthar is doing important work", he
replied, "Brett is a threat to our way of life... and he must be
dealt with".
******
Jan Handy had just finished having a shower and was walking
past her old room (now being used by her brother while he was back
from Japan) when she heard a furious beeping noise emanate from
within. She walked into the room and looked around, "Not the alarm
clock", she noted absently. The beeping had suddenly increased in
volume as she looked around the room.
She grabbed up Brett's bag and picked her way through it,
locating a strange looking object. "Must a computer gizmo he
picked up in Japan", she thought, flicking a few switches. She
played around with the switches and noticed that there were several
blinking characters displayed on the device's small screen.
Absently shutting it off she put it back in Brett's bag and closed
the door to the room.
If Jan had been able to read the language of the gods, she
would have been quite upset at the message displayed, "Warning...
Recall Notice... All Gods/Goddesses/Angels and like beings are
ordered to report back directly to heaven... Repeat... Serious
malfunction of the Yggdrasil System... General Warning..".
******
Dave Handy picked his way through the construction site with
practised ease. He'd spent twenty years of his life working on
similar sites and he'd become quite familiar with the day to day
operations, so familiar that he'd been promoted up to managing
construction for the company. He fidgeted with his tie and wiped
his forehead, "So how much longer till we can pour the concrete",
he asked Michael.
The foreman checked his notebook and sighed, "At least another
week", he replied.
Dave shook his head, "That's going to be cutting things pretty
fine", he said, checking the job plan he'd written out months
earlier.
"Sorry Dave", Michael apologised, "But we've been having
trouble with the supports for the upper level... the steel came in
substandard and we had to replace half the floor".
Dave sighed, "Nothing to be done about it then", he said
regretfully, "I'd hoped to bring this in under time..".
Michael nodded, "I know", he said, "But we're stuck with
finishing on schedule instead".
The two men turned from their inspection of the lower levels
and headed back towards the site office, "I hear your son's back
from Japan?", Michael asked.
Dave smiled, "That's why I'm taking next week off", he
replied, "It'll be nice for the whole family to be together.. even
if it is just for a week".
Michael laughed, "Well say hello to him for me", he said in
farewell.
Dave nodded and headed off towards his car. He was walking
past the crane when he saw a curious site. A pair of dogs were
sitting in the middle of the construction area. He stopped beside
them and stretched out a hand patting one on the head, "What are
you doing here fellas??", he asked, "Come on and I'll take you
outside, if you hang around in here you'll get hurt".
Dave led the dogs over to the gate, beside which his car was
parked, "Go on... off you go", he said, "I've got to get back to
the office".
Dave turned to the car and opened the door, only to have the
one dog growl loudly at him and the other start barking. He turned
to face them, "What's your problem?", he asked.
A moment later, one of the cables holding the newly arrived
steel to the crane broke. Three tons of high-tensile building
steel impacted into the driver's compartment of Dave's car. Dave
staggered back from the car, looking at the twisted wreck that used
to be his vehicle. Workers ran over to him and asked him if he was
alright.
"What the hell caused that", Michael wondered in amazement,
"I've never had one of those cables snap in my whole career".
Dave nodded, "It was just lucky that these dogs were here..
otherwise I'd have been *in* the car", he said.
"What dogs?", Michael asked, looking around.
Dave turned around, but could see no sign of the pair, he
scratched his head, "You know it they actually looked more like a
dingos than a domestic dogs.. now that I think about it", he
observed.
"Yeah.. right Dave", Michael laughed, "A dingo in the middle
of Brisbane City...".
******
The Bagadjimbiri brothers looked at the confused builders
below them, "Tell me again why we had to save him?", one asked the
other.
"Call it pride", the other responded, "We can't let a foreign
spirit make a mess of our land..".
"I suppose You're right", the first allowed, "But why don't we
simply rip it's throat out??".
The second sighed, "Do you have any idea how messy that would
be?", he asked.
The first smiled and nodded, "But it'd be fun", he complained.
"Tough.. if we kill this one.. more might come... ", the
second said, "It's better to study an enemy first.. remember what
happened the last time we let out appearances startle us??".
The first brother shuddered at the thought of their encounter
with Ngariman, the brothers had been a little insensitive towards
their fellow spirit's looks. It had resulted in the two brothers
being killed by an angry Ngariman and only the intervention of
Dilga (the earth Goddess) had saved them.
"Alright", the first agreed, "We'll just watch for now.. but
if he tries to kill any more mortals... I'm gonna rip out his
throat and be done with it..".
******
Nilthar heard the whispered conversation between the Dingo
Brothers and waited silently for them to leave. "This is something
I hadn't considered", he mused out loud.
Every god new that the spirits of Australia were suppose to be
sleeping, to find them awake and active was a shock to say the
least. Nilthar made his way from the building site, cloaked in
magic. He took a glance back at Brett's father, who was shaken but
unharmed, "I might try something less spectacular next time", he
thought to himself, "Something more subtle might be in order".
Nilthar had already decided on his next victim, following
Brett around for a day or so had allowed him to pick out likely
targets and while he was now unlikely to kill any of them....
things might start going wrong.
******
Hubert Santos wiped his brow and hastily pulled together his
customer's order. Grabbing everything up he hurried back to the
table, "There you go Sir", he said, "Enjoy your meal".
He cleared another table on the way back to the kitchen,
lugging the plates over to the dishwasher. As the dishes were
cleaned he took a moment to relax, the restaurant was packed with
people today. He walked over to grab himself a drink of cool water
when he spied a familiar figure standing in the crowd, it was his
girlfriend, Lisa.
Hubert stuck his head around the corner of the building to
give her a shout and a wave, when the call died in his throat.
Lisa was suddenly hanging all over another guy, she was laughing
happily and kissing the newcomer furiously. Hubert felt his anger
rise, "What the hell is she doing?!?!", he thought to himself. He
and Lisa had been together for months and had been virtually
inseparable.
Hubert pulled off his name-tag and dumped his waiter's tray.
He ignored a questioning look from one of his workmates and
muttered a quick, "Cover for me", as he walked outside.
As he drew nearer Hubert stopped in shock as he realised who
the guy was, "BRETT!", he hissed in disbelief. Hubert went numb in
amazement, Brett was stealing his girl. Clenching his fists Hubert
began to walk towards them purposefully. The couple suddenly
turned and walked in the opposite direction, through the crowded
mall. Increasing his pace, Hubert began shouldering people out of
the way. He saw them turn off the main walkway and darted around
the corner a few steps behind them.
"ALRIGHT.....", he began angrily as he turned the corner,
"WHAT THE HELL?!?!?!?!". The alleyway was empty, not a person in
sight. Hubert shook his head in confusion, something was screwy.
He returned to work quickly, shrugging off a dark glance from his
supervisor and resolved to talk to Lisa about it tonight at the
small get-together they were having for Brett.
******
Lisa was having a hectic day, all morning the coffee shop had
been busy and now the afternoon rush was starting. She had just
about finished making up the last order when she noticed Hubert
standing across the street outside. Smiling slightly she wondered
what he'd brought her this time. Hubert had the annoying (but
welcome) habit of turning up while she was a work with flowers for
her. She raised her arm and waved at him, only to get no reaction.
Frowning she walked over to the window and gaped in astonishment as
an unfamiliar girl walked up and KISSED Hubert.
Lisa watched as the two continued to kiss and then walked off
hand in hand down the street. She ground her teeth in frustration,
not being able to leave the shop unattended, "I think Hubert and I
will be having a little talk tonight", she said to herself.
Several of the customers looked at her a little nervously and she
realised that she'd been twisting a spoon that she'd been holding
into unusual patterns.
******
I was having a good afternoon, it was sunny and hot.. and I
was lazing in a pool. I had swum a few lengths of the pool
earlier, but decided that it was more fun just to laze around on a
day like this. I was still surprised at how fast this new pool had
gone up, it was quite a big complex (tho it was much smaller than
the one I'd visited in Japan). I relaxed against the side and just
enjoyed the heat of the sun on my face.
An object suddenly obscured my sunlight and I looked up to see
an amused Bruce looking down at me from the side of the pool,
"Hey... no sleeping in the pool", he ordered. Bruce was wearing a
yellow shirt with 'Lifeguard' emblazoned across it in red.
I raised my hand in mock salute, "Yes Sir.. Mr Lifeguard
Sir!", I said.
Bruce grinned and sat on the edge of the pool beside me, "So
how did you get this job again?", I asked him.
Bruce shrugged, "I spent most of my time for the last couple
of years earning Lifesaving certificates", he said, "Unlike some
people, who just lazy about in the sun".
"So sue me", I replied, "I associate swimming with fun.. not
work".
"Aww.. come on", Bruce said, "If You'd be bothered to let me
teach you, I might be able to get you a job here".
I sighed, "Bruce... If I was staying here I'd probably say
yes", I said, "But the fact is that after next week I'll be back to
Japan".
"Why Japan of all places?", Bruce asked, "I mean if you can
get a place there, why not try for the US or the UK??".
"Let's say that Japan has something unique for someone
studying what I am", I replied.
Bruce slowly smiled, "That girl??", he asked, "Urd isn't
it??".
I shrugged, "Maybe", I said, "But I'd rather just enjoy myself
here than argue with you for the rest of my holiday".
Bruce nodded and stood, "Well once I'm off-shift, we're going
to meet Hubert, Lisa and a couple of the guys for dinner", he said,
"So I'll see you...". Bruce was suddenly cut off as one of his
feet slipped out from under him and caught on a guard-rail. He
screamed in pain as I heard a distinct *crack*.
I jumped out of the pool and rushed to his side, he was
swearing his head off and moving his leg carefully. Several of his
fellow lifeguards rushed over to us and helped me carry Bruce over
to a chair without hurting his leg too much. Looking at the
unnatural bulge in his leg there was no doubt that it was broken,
"Did you want us to call for an ambulance?", one of the asked
Bruce.
Bruce shook his head, "It's not *that* serious", he said
slowly, "Just splint it and someone drive me to the hospital".
I nodded, "I'll get changed and grab my keys", I replied,
heading for the change room. Something made me turn and look over
to the other side of the pool, a strange man was watching us
intently. He seemed familiar and I suddenly got a horrible
suspicion. Rushing into the change rooms I muttered a quick
spellword and emerged a moment later fully clothed.
Bruce looked at me in amazement, "That was fast", he noted.
We carried Bruce out to my car and made him as comfortable as
possible, "Don't worry about your shifts", one of the lifeguards
said, "We'll cover for you till you can talk to the boss".
I slipped into the driver's seat and drove out of the parking
lot, carefully avoiding as many bumps as possible for Bruce's sake.
Glancing in the review mirror, I caught another glance of the
strange figure and I accelerated away quickly.
"Hey... slow down!", Bruce protested, "It's not that much of
an emergency".
I nodded and slowed down, but if what I suspected was true, it
*was* an emergency, quite a serious one indeed.
******
I dropped Bruce off at his place after getting him fixed up at
the hospital, according to the doctors he'd be off work for a month
at least. Pulling into the driveway, I noticed the absence of Dad
and Mum's cars, "Isn't anyone home yet?", I called up to Jan.
"Where here", came Dad's reply.
"Well what happened to your car?", I asked in confusion, "And
where's mum's??".
"It's been a bad day", Mum confirmed.
Now usually I'm not a suspicious person, but things seemed to
be a little strange. Firstly Dad's car had been crushed at work
and Mum's car was stolen from the school where she taught. Hell,
suspicious, I was *sure* that things were going wrong.
I confirmed my suspicions when Jan arrived home, "I just got
suspended", she informed us.
"What happened??", I asked.
Jan informed me that somehow her department was missing nearly
ten thousand dollars from it's books and unfortunately *she* was
the one in charge. I shook my head and walked up to my room,
"Someone's trying to ruin my family", I said to myself, "Now I
*wonder* who that could be??".
******
John Collins was closing up DreamLink for the night when he
noticed an unfamiliar figure standing at the top of the steps, "Can
I help you?", John asked politely.
The man turned to face John and smiled, "No thank you", he
replied, "I was just looking around".
"Well I'm afraid I've got to close for the evening, I've got
to meet a few friends", he said, turning to switch out the lights.
"Right", the man replied smiling slightly, "Tell Brett that
Nilthar says hello".
John turned around quickly, but the man was gone, checking
things over carefully, he finished turning things off and locked up
the doors. Unfortunately, John failed to notice a spark leap
across to the curtains and being to smoulder.
******
Bruce and I were sitting waiting for everyone else to arrive
at the restaurant. I'd picked him up after he insisted that he not
be left out of the little get together. I was telling him about
the Auto Club when Hubert walked into the restaurant, I raised my
hand and waved him over.
Now I've always been a pretty good judge of people's moods and
I'd say Hubert looked *angry*. I've never in my friendship with
him *ever* seen him angry before, not once. "What's up?", I asked
as he reached the table.
Hubert sat down opposite me, "Did you have a nice afternoon?",
he asked in a cold voice.
I frowned and exchanged a confused look with Bruce, "Not
really", I replied, "Bruce here broke his leg and I had to take him
over to the hospital".
Hubert frowned, "You weren't in the city??", he asked.
I shook my head, "Nope.. why??", I replied.
Hubert shook his head, "Never mind.. How's Bruce??", he asked.
We talked for a few more minutes until John turned up, Hubert
forgot his angry mood and we were all enjoying ourselves.
"So *here* you are", came Lisa's voice. We turned to see her
standing over Hubert with her hands on her hips, obviously furious.
"Where else would I be??", Hubert asked blankly.
Lisa gave him a look that could freeze water, "Don't give me
that.. I *saw* you this afternoon.. with some floozy...".
Hubert raised his hands, "What are you talking about?", he
asked, "I was working all afternoon".
Lisa nodded, "Oh sure", she said, "Except for that break you
took, walking out without telling anyone where you were going".
Hubert frowned, "How did you know about that?", he asked.
"My sister works on your shift.. remember??", Lisa replied,
"As far as I'm concerned I don't ever want to see you again...".
We were interrupted a second later, by a fire engine rushing
past outside, followed by another a moment later. At that point a
out of breath Robert (who was late) turned up, "DreamLink...", he
rasped, "It's burning down...".
I jumped up and ran outside, to see the building DreamLink was
in, engulfed in flames, "No!", John cried from beside me, "I
checked everything before I left!".
I placed a hand on his shoulder, "I'm sure it's not your
fault", I said confidently.
He nodded sadly, "Well at least that friend of yours can vouch
that I'd turned everything off", he said.
"Friend of mine?", I asked, confused.
John nodded, "Oh.. sorry.. this guy named Nilthar was there
when I close up.. he asked me to say hello to you for him", he
explained.
I froze for a moment, "You did say 'Nilthar' didn't you?", I
asked.
John nodded, "He said he was a friend of yours", he replied.
I turned to watch Lisa storming off down the street, followed
by an apologising Hubert, then I looked over at Bruce, leaning
against the wall. "This is because of me", I thought to myself.
"Could two help Bruce?", I asked John and Robert, "I'm gonna
go and catch those two, meet us back at the cars".
They nodded and I took off in pursuit of the arguing couple.
Catching them quickly I stood in front of them, "Hold it you two",
I said, "Something unusual is going on around here.. and I think I
can explain".
Lisa turned her 'freeze' gaze on me, "Start explaining then",
she ordered.
I looked around the crowded street, "How about I tell you in
private", I said, "Meet me at my place in an hour".
Lisa gave me a long look, "Alright, I'll listen", she said,
"But it had better be a damn good explanation".
******
An hour later everyone was assembled at my house, including my
sister who just happened to be at home. I'd been trying to decide
on the best way to tell everyone what was going on, but it was
going to be difficult, "OK!", I started a little nervously, "This
is going to be difficult for you all to believe...".
"What's got you so on edge?", Jan asked.
I sighed, "I just don't know if you all are going to be able
to accept it", I replied, "But these 'accidents' that have been
happening lately are no accident".
Everyone frowned, "What are you talking about?", Robert asked.
I filled them all in on the unusual (and unfortunate) events that
had followed my return from Japan.
"All that's happened since you came back?", Robert asked in
disbelief.
I sighed, "Actually it's all happened today", I replied.
"So how is DreamLink's fire, Bruce's broken leg, your father's
close call, your mother's car being stolen, your sister getting
suspended from work and me seeing Hubert with another woman
connected??", Lisa asked out of breath.
I pointed at my chest, "Me", I replied simply, "The only
connection between them all is *my* presence".
John shook his head, "How could you be the cause of all
that?", he asked.
"It looks rather co-incidental..", Jan mused.
Lisa stood, "I don't see where this is getting us... I'll be
leaving now", she said standing.
I carefully spoke a few spellwords under my breath and
concentrated on projecting an image of Hubert beside me. The
echoed gasps around the room confirmed that my spell had worked and
Lisa sat back in her chair with a thump, "How...???", she began.
I banished the image and looked around the room at the faces
of my friends, "It's a *very* long story....", I began. It took me
nearly an hour to explain everything that had happened to me after
I'd left home last year.
"So You're a god??!!?", Jan scoffed, "You've gotta be joking".
I shook my head, "No Sis", I said to her, "It's not a joke..
it took me a while to come to terms with it myself".
"So How'd you do that image projecting thing?", Robert asked.
I wiggled my fingers at him, "Magic", I replied.
Bruce, who had remained silent during my explanation spoke up,
"Brett", he said seriously, "If this is all true... how come you
didn't tell any of us before?".
I smiled in apology, "I didn't think I was suppose to tell
*anyone* about it", I replied.
"But You're telling us now?", Hubert asked.
"Well....", I began, "It's gotten a bit more complicated".
I then proceeded to tell them about Nilthar and how he was
trying to eliminate me, "And I now know that he's followed me back
here", I finished.
Everyone was silent, until John broke the mood, "So not only
are there Gods... but there are Demons too?", he asked.
I nodded and everyone was again silent for a time, "If he
wants you, why is he attacking everyone except you?", Robert asked.
"Because if he attacked me I'd be able to fight back", I
replied, "The last fight we had, he came off second best".
Bruce groaned a moment later, "Sorry", he said, "The pain-
killers are wearing off".
"I can fix that if you like", I said to him.
Bruce frowned, "You can?", he asked hopefully.
I began casting one of the more powerful healing spells that
I'd learned, the room was lit by a huge burst of white light as it
was completed. Bruce winced in reflex as the spell finished, but
then he grinned broadly, "The pain's gone", he said, standing up,
"If it wasn't for this damn cast I'm sure I'd be able to walk
properly".
I sunk down into a chair to catch my breath and Robert gave me
a frown, "What's wrong?", he asked.
I gave him a grimace, "I'm not very good at this", I replied,
"It takes a lot out of you".
Lisa had sat down beside Hubert, "I'm sorry", she said
quietly.
Hubert gave her a smile and a kiss, "That's alright", he said.
I shook off the after effects of the spellcasting. "Now
everyone has to be careful", I said seriously, "I don't know why
Nilthar is trying this 'attack' the friends and family business,
but I'm sure that it'll get more serious before I finally leave".
Jan looked around nervously, "So how do we know he's not
hanging around here listening to our every word?", she asked.
I smiled, "Do you hear anything?", I asked, seeing everyone's
blank expressions I explained, "I've got a little device in my bag,
it'll go off beeping if anything magical is around".
Jan blanched, "Is that what it was?", she blurted, "I turned
that off..".
I jumped up and ran into where I'd put my bag, rummaging
around I grabbed Skuld's detector out and flicked it on, to my
relief there were no detected magical beings around. I walked back
out to where everyone was waiting expectantly, "No problem", I
said, "No one here but me".
There was a general sigh of relief at my announcement,
"Where'd you get that?", John asked.
I passed it to him, "It was a Christmas gift from one of the
Goddesses", I replied.
Hubert grinned at me, "So you've been living with three
*Goddesses*??", he asked.
At my nod he continued, "So how are things going with Urd?",
he asked.
I blushed slightly as everyone looked at me, "Hey!", I said,
"Some things are private!".
Everyone laughed and after a few more minutes of discussion
Hubert and Lisa stood, "We're getting out of here, bye all", Lisa
said, dragging Hubert along behind here (not that he was
complaining.. in fact he was grinning like an idiot).
Robert nodded to John and they picked up Bruce (who was
complaining that he could walk fine on his own) and headed off.
Leaving me sitting with my sister, "I thought You'd go places", she
said to me smiling, "Just never quite this far".
******
The next few days where uneventful, no more unusual things
happened, nothing was amiss. That in itself told me that something
was going on, Nilthar didn't seem like the type to give up easily.
I also had the strange feeling that I was being watched, it was
never anything specific, just a shadow on the edge of my vision.
There was nothing unfriendly about this shadow, it was just there.
I was sitting on the bed in my room when I finally got tired of
being watched.
"You might as well come out!", I called out, "I know
something's in the room with me".
"You're very perceptive", replied a voice from under the bed.
I looked over the side of the bed to see a small snake
slithering across the floor, towards the window, "I'm usually not
discovered so quickly", the snake said.
I examined the snake closely, it shimmered in the morning
light, "What are you?", I asked.
The snake grinned (not a pleasant sight actually), "My name is
Yurlunyur", it replied, "Or perhaps you would recognise my title??
'The Rainbow Serpent'?".
"Somehow I expected something more impressive", I said,
looking at the tiny creature in front of me.
The snake nodded, "Yes, I'd expect you would... but I didn't
want to delmolish half the city getting here", it replied.
I nodded a little nervously, "Probably a wise choice", I
replied.
We exchanged a long glance, "So what do you want with me?", I
asked it finally.
Yurlunyur began pacing back and forth across the windowsill,
"You are something unusual", it said, "You look like a man... but
you smell like a spirit".
"I 'smell' like a spirit?", I asked.
The snake nodded, "And it disturbs us to think that a man may
become a spirit", it finished.
"Us?", I asked.
The snake slithered off the windowsill and onto the bed,
"Us... the Spirits of Alchera... what you would call the
Dreamtime", it said.
I sat silently for a moment, "And what are you planning to do
about it?", I asked quietly.
The snake's eyes flashed, "We haven't decided yet", it said
carefully, "You and the other one are quite different".
"Other one?", I asked, "You mean Nilthar?".
"That is what he calls himself, he's the one that has been
attacking the members of your family", it said.
"I've come to realise that", I replied.
The snake slithered back to the window, "One of us will be
watching you", it said in farewell, "We will also watch after
You're family".
"Why?", I asked, "I mean why are you helping me?".
The snake turned to face me, "We do not allow other spirits to
harm the people", it said. With that it went out the window and
was lost in the light of the sun.
To say I was amazed would have been an understatement, I'd
never actually figured the Aboriginal Dreamtime into my new view on
a universe populated by Gods and Demons. I tried to remember what
I'd learnt at school I went over what I'd be told. Alchera (or the
Dreamtime) was the Aboriginal's explanation for the creation of the
earth. Spirits roamed the land, creating people and animals and
shaping the countryside. The stories that I'd heard were almost
frightening in a way, to think that there was something so powerful
that it changed the very features of the country.
I picked up the device Skuld had given me from the bedside
table, it wasn't registering anything magical in the area (except
me). It hadn't even registered the Rainbow Serpent's departure,
"I've gotta get Skuld to upgrade this thing when I get back", I
muttered to myself.
******
"BRETT!!", Bruce said, nudging my arm, "Come on, it's your
turn".
I shook myself out of the half-doze I was in and refocussed on
the game being played, "Err.. right... what was happening again?",
I asked.
The rest of the players groaned, "Come on Brett, what's wrong
with you tonight?", Kevin asked, "This is the fifth time you've
lost track".
I gave the GM a weak smile, "Sorry Kevin", I said, "I'm a bit
distracted tonight".
I was sitting around a table playing a game of Star Wars, with
about eight of my friends. Unfortunately my mind was elsewhere,
"Sorry guys..", I said standing, "But I don't think I'm gonna be
much good tonight".
"What's the problem?", Aaron asked, "You've been distracted
all night".
I smiled, "Oh.. this evil Demon wants to kill me and I'm just
pondering what to do about it", I replied blandly. My friends
responded with a groan (except for Bruce and Robert, they paled and
then laughed a little nervously).
"Funny Brett", Colin said, "But this is Star Wars, not AD&D".
"Well.. sorry but I'm gonna head for home", I said, grabbing
up my keys.
I trudged out to the car and got in with a sigh, "This being
watched thing is getting annoying!", I said loudly.
"Well... get used to it", came a growling voice from the back
seat.
"Yeah.. we're suppose to keep an eye on you", agreed another.
I glanced over my should to see two dingos strapped into the
back seat, "The Bagadjimbri Brothers?", I asked.
One of the dogs nodded, "I see you put that trip to the
library to good use", it said.
I started the car and nodded, "I did familiarise myself with
a few of the more well-known spirits", I replied.
One of the dingos unstrapped itself and hopped into the front
seat, "We're well know?", it asked eagerly.
I gave it a quick glance as I was driving along, "Well", I
replied, "From what I read You're amongst the better know spirits..
if only for that fight with the cat man".
From the back seat I heard a growl and the dingo in the front
seat bared it's teeth, "Don't remind us about that", it advised,
"It's not something we like remembering... being killed is never
fun".
I drove silently for a while, until one of the brother spoke
up, "Why do you do this?", it asked, tapping the dashboard with a
paw.
"Drive?", I asked, "to get from place to place".
It shook it's head, "No... why don't you simply transport
yourself through your watch?", it asked.
I shrugged, "Why don't you go about in human form?", I asked.
The dingo in the back seat made a sound that I took to mean
laughter, "It would frighten the people", it said.
I smiled, "That's why I don't go teleporting in and out of
places, it would scare people", I said.
The two dingos looked at each other, "The other one is not
like this", one said.
The other nodded, "I don't think I want to rip this one's
throat out", it agreed.
I frowned at the comment, but took it as a compliment, "So can
I drop you anywhere?", I asked.
The Dingo in the front seat lolled it's tongue out, "If you
could leave us near the park on your way home it would be
appreciated", it said, grinning.
I gave it a small smile, "So long as you don't leave any dog-
hair on the seats", I replied.
******
Nilthar sat on the top of a water tower, the view it afforded
of Brisbane was spectacular to say the least. But Nilthar had no
interest in the flickering lights of the city, he was intently
staring at Brett's home.
He had tried again and again to get close enough to listen in
on conversations, but something kept foiling him. The last time
had been when a flock of Galahs decided to join him in the gumtree
in Brett's backyard and start squawking. He was still having
trouble hearing anything in one ear.
"Damn these spirits", he muttered to himself, "This is taking
too long, I should have finished him before this".
He glared at the house and tried to think up something
suitably devious to do to those that dwelled there. Unfortunately
for Nilthar, he failed to notice a pair of large lizards, crawling
up one side of the tower. The two iguanas moved silently up behind
the distracted Demon. One was a pale white and the other a jet
black.
"You will please come with us", said Kurukadi, the white
iguana.
"Come..", echoed Mumba, the black iguana.
Nilthar turned around sharply, his hands moving quickly as he
called out a quick defensive spell.
The two iguana's blinked as a shimmering shield suddenly
covered the foreign spirit, they looked at each other in confusion,
"What is it that you do?", Mumba asked Nilthar curiously.
Nilthar, who hadn't lowered his hands frowned, "Isn't it
obvious", he asked sarcastically, "I'm defending myself from you".
"Defending himself?", Kurukadi mused, "How does that light
protect you from spears?".
"Spears?", Nilthar asked.
Kirukadi gestured with his tail to the other side of the water
tower, there stood a tall Aboriginal warrior, he held a spear in
one hand. What made this a bit more intimidating to Nilthar was
the fact that the spear seemed to buzz with raw magical energy.
"You should come with us before you make Kapoo angry", Mumba
said, "It's not a pretty sight when he uses that spear".
Kapoo gave a broad grin and hefted the spear into a throwing
position, "Are you coming with us or not?", he rumbled.
Nilthar sneered, "You think that I'm intimidated by that
spear?", he asked.
"*I* am", Kurukadi muttered, hurrying out of the way of the
impending fight.
His companion Mumba joined him, "This is the last time we let
that damned Rainbow Serpent talk us into anything", he muttered.
Nilthar concentrated, pushing all of his energy into the front
of his shield, "Give it your best shot!", he snarled.
Kapoo shrugged and in a swift motion flung the spear at
Nilthar. It impacted with the shield in a shower of sparks and a
deafening roar. The two iguanas clung to each other as the water
tower shook with the force of the blast.
When the light faded, Nilthar was standing, laughing loudly,
"I told you it wouldn't work!", he scorned.
A short whistling was all the warning Nilthar got before a
Boomerang hit the back of his head. He crumpled to the ground
without a sound, unconscious.
Kapoo walked over to the fallen Demon and picked up the
Boomerang, "Alright Bobbi", he snapped, "Come out where I can see
you".
A rustling in a tree a short distance from the tower produced
a smiling figure, "I told you to let me do this in the first
place", Bobbi-Bobbi announced.
Kapoo looked disgusted, "Well, hurry up and help me, we've
gotta meet the others at Mirrimina soon", he ordered.
Bobbi-Bobbi leaped over to the tower and retrieved his
Boomerang, "I hope you'll remember this next time you start going
on about how wonderful that spear of yours is", he teased.
******
I was lying in my bed, trying to sleep after yet another
uneventful day. Things had been going well, tomorrow was suppose
to be the first day of our week at the beach. Something still
wasn't right though, it was just a feeling but I felt like
something had to be settled before I could enjoy my holiday.
A scratching at the window snapped me out of the half-doze I
was in and I opened the window slowly, a young man was hanging onto
the windowsill. "What are you doing?", I asked in confusion, the
young man was Aboriginal and dressed in only a loincloth.
He silenced me with a gesture, "You must come with me", he
said, "There is to be a meeting and you are invited".
I frowned, "A meeting of what?", I asked.
He gave me an exasperated look, "Of the spirits!", he snapped,
"Now come on or I'll have to take you by force".
My frown deepened, "Why do the spirits want me at their
meeting", I asked.
"Because you are some kind of spirit yourself", he explained,
"And if you are going to remain here we must explain the rules to
you".
"Very well then", I said, "I guess I'm going with you... where
are we going by the way and who are you?".
He stuck out a hand, "I'm Ulanji", he said, "And we're going
to Mirrimina".
I shook his hand a bit weakly, "What does the Rainbow Serpent
want with me this time", I asked (recognising the name of the
legendary resting place of the Serpent).
"I don't know", Ulanji replied, "But when he asks *this* snake
for a favour, I help him".
A rustling of wings overhead drew out attention and I noticed
a large flock of flying-foxes (fruit-bats) outlined in the sky
above us, I also saw to my discomfort that Ulanji was licking his
lips as he observed the flock. He shook his head and then looked
at me regretfully, "No time for dinner", he said, "Follow me".
With that he walked *into* the gum tree in my backyard.
I cautiously approached the big tree and gingerly pressed a
finger to it. My finger disappeared into the tree and I quickly
pulled it back, verifying that it was still attached. Taking a
deep breath I jumped into the tree, closing my eyes.
******
Yurlunyur was observing the prone figure lying in front of his
waterhole, "So he was taken by surprise easily?", he asked.
Bobbi-Bobbi nodded, "I took him down with one of my lesser
Boomerangs", he replied.
"That's only cause I weakened his shield with my spear!",
interjected Kapoo.
Yurlunyur let his two friends argue, he slithered around,
trying to find a more comfortable position, it was difficult to be
comfortable when using his natural form (let's face it, You'd be
cramped too if you were 40ft long).
"I thought Ulanji was suppose to be bringing the other one",
said one of the Bagadjimbri Brothers, "That snake is never
reliable, he probably stopped to eat a few flying foxes".
"I'm here", called Ulanji, "And I brought the other one".
Yurlunyur watched as the Brett moved slowly towards him, he
could sense that it was nervous, "We wish to determine if you are
a threat to the people", he announced, setting out the reason for
the meeting.
Brett nodded, "I can understand that", he replied, "But I'm no
threat, I've live here most of my life..".
Yurlunyur flicked his tongue out, "*YOU* have not lived here..
you are nothing like the one that left the land several months
ago", he replied, "*YOU* have power".
"I can accept that I'm different in that I've got power now",
Brett conceded, "But I'm still the same person underneath".
There was a groan from Nilthar and he slowly pulled himself to
his feet, "You'll pay for this insult!", he said as he shakily got
to his feet.
Nilthar looked around and noticed that he was standing a few
feet from Brett, "YOU!", he shouted, "You sicked these spirits onto
me!".
Brett shook his head, "I was asked here the same as you", he
replied.
Nilthar raised his hands, "Well come on then", he said, "Let's
go!".
Brett refused to move, "You think You're in a position to have
a brawl here?", he asked.
Yurlunyur thought for a moment, "Let's see which is more
powerful", he said, "You may fight, but take care not to damage my
waterhole".
Brett was speechless, "But...", he began.
Nilthar smiled and began chanting, Brett reluctantly raised
his hands and muttered a quick shielding spell. Yurlunyur and the
other spirits watched silently as the two strange spirits cast
bolts of energy at each other.
******
"DAMN!", I shouted, deflecting yet another energy bolt from
Nilthar. So far all I'd been able to do was defend myself, he
hadn't given me a chance to attack. I muttered a spellword and
summoned my epee, raising it into the en-guard position.
Nilthar's eye's narrowed and he summoned a sword of his own,
it was a wicked-looking scimitar, "Come on then!", he said, jumping
forward.
Once again I found myself on the defensive, blocking and
parrying, trying to keep my footing. Slowly I began to
counterattack, slicing at Nilthar and opening several cuts on his
arms and legs. But the more I fought the more angry he became,
throwing away caution and attacking furiously. Now this would
probably have been a good thing if it was the beginning of the
fight, but I was starting to get tired and it was becoming harder
and harder to block his blows.
Then lady luck decided to shine on me, Nilthar tripped over a
small branch, falling to the ground. Taking the opportunity, I
stabbed him in his sword hand, he dropped the scimitar with a curse
and I kicked it away.
"Now.. are you going to give up?", I asked him, the point of
my sword resting against his chest.
Nilthar then did something that I didn't expect, his probing
hands had wrapped around a large tree branch, and he suddenly swung
it at my face, knocking the sword away and smashing me to the
ground.
I groaned and tried to regain my feet, only to have him it me
again with the heavy branch. Again and again he hit me with that
branch, until a voice stopped him, "Enough!", called Yurlunyur,
"You have beaten him".
Nilthar however had other ideas and blows continued to rain
down on my back and shoulders. A pair of growling dingos bowled
into Nilthar, knocking him away from me, "Stop it!", one of the
Bagadjimbri brothers ordered.
I slowly hauled myself to my feet, I hurt all over. Nilthar
was standing in the middle of a circle of spirits, "I WON!", he
shouted, "I'm the more powerful one!".
Yurlunyur nodded, "That is what we suspected, you may leave
now", he said.
Nilthar made an attempt to dust himself off, "I'll see you
back at your place", he said to me dangerously.
"NO!", announced Yurlunyur, "Leave the land!".
Nilthar stopped, "What?", he asked.
Bobbi-Bobbi (who was testing the edge of one of his
boomerangs) spoke up, "You are dangerous", he said, "You must leave
the land".
Nilthar was shaking with rage, "But what about him?!?!", he
asked, point to me.
"Obviously he cannot defend himself or his family from you",
said Yurlunyur.
Nilthar smiled evilly, "Once you leave him alone I'll have
him", he concluded.
"Then we won't leave him alone", said Kapoo, who was leaning
against his spear, "You have until sunrise to leave.. after than we
will begin a hunt...".
Nilthar turned to look at me, "Now you've just made things
worse!", he announced, "I'm not just going to kill you.. I'm going
to take away everything you are and use it against those you care
about!". A moment later he disappeared in a flash of light and
noise.
I sat down heavily on the grass, "What's going to happen to me
now?", I asked tiredly.
A wet nose touched my cheek, "You will heal and life will move
on", said a Bagadjimbri brother to me softly.
I absently patted it's head, "But what about when I leave.. my
family?? what happens to them?", I asked.
Yurlunyur hissed his laughter, "We don't let other spirits
harm the people", he said, "That includes your family.. but it also
includes you".
"Me?", I asked, confused.
"You are still one of the people, even with your power", he
continued, "So we will help you if you require it".
I smiled, "Thank you", I said simply.
******
"So you worked out a deal with the Dreamtime Spirits?", Jan
asked in disbelief.
I grinned, "It's a good idea, this way I don't have to worry
about you all when I got back to Japan", I continued.
"But..", she said.
"And lets not forget that I also fixed the problem with your
company's computer system.. on Monday they'll find the glitch in
the system that got you suspended", I explained, "I'm sure you'll
get a phone call Monday to confirm it".
"But..", she said again.
"And I visited DreamLink the other morning... and fixed most
of the damage that the fire caused with a repair spell, there's no
problem there", I continued.
"But...", she said a third time.
"Mum's car was found and Dad's was covered by insurance.. so
that should be fixed up soon....", I was saying as she suddenly
stepped on my foot, "OW!!!.. what's that for?!?!".
Jan grinned, "That's so I can get a word in", she said, "Now..
as I was about to say: 'What about the vacation to the beach'??".
I frowned, "Well until the police are finished with Mum's car
it looks like the vacation is off for a while", I said sadly.
She grinned, "What do you think Mum and Dad would think about
travelling through those clocks of yours?", she asked.
I nodded, "I guess this job does have some nice fringe
benefits", I concluded.
******
Author's Ending Notes:
Well.. that was certinally larger than I'd even considered.
I should probably put in that most of the references to Aboriginal
Spirits that I've used was from a book called 'Myths & Legends' by
a guy called Arthur Cotterell. I've tried to put a more modern
light on the spirits, as I do with all the ancient gods in my
stories, hopefully it worked out alright.
Now, let's see.. the friends I've included in this part are
(in no particular order)...
Hubert
Bruce
Lisa
John
Robert
Colin
Aaron
Ron
---Thanks for letting me put you in guys!!
I should also mention my family, Jan has been a big help to me
in my writing of stories - she reads everything I write and tells
me what she thinks of it :) Mum and Dad (that's Marylyn and David
to everyone else) are portrayed just as they are and I'm sure
they'd approve - if they ever read this :)
So.. what do you think of this particular story... as I
mentioned it has a few plot points for the main series of OMGod
(YES! - I'm trying to finish part 15 now everyone!!!) - anyway I
hope you all enjoyed it!!
Now - I should probably inform you all that I'm now working
full-time (as well as studying part-time) - so I'm afraid that my
stories are gonna come more slowly... I'm gonna keep writing them,
never fear - I won't leave you hanging forever :)
As for part 15 - I've written the 1st half and the second half
is on the way, so it shouldn't be too much longer - have
patience...
-----Brett (6/5/96)
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Address: darkwnd@sv.net.au WWW page: http://www.sv.net.au/~darkwnd
Spock: Sir, what these people are saying is logical; If we use up a
finite resource, logic dictates that eventually all
resources will be exhausted and the resulting calamity
will expunge all life forms...
Kirk: Meaning???
Spock: We're rooted....
-----Fast Forward (1989)
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