Dumb question / request time, I beg your indulgence.
A) When did chapter 14 come out?
Err... *checks dates* - around the start of March....
B) Where can I get a copy??, could someone (Including Mr
Handy)repost?
OK - since I've had a few requests for a repost, here ya go...
An Oh My Goddess FanFic
Oh My God ?
by
Brett Handy
Chapter 14:
A ray of sunlight streamed in through a small opening in the
curtain and just happened to land right on my face. Now waking
up like that is something I don't find very pleasant, what made
this worse was the fact that I had a hangover.
Never having had a hangover before I tried cataloguing the
feelings. Firstly it felt like a nuclear weapon (something in
the 20 to 30 megaton range) was detonating inside my skull, every
seconds or so. Then there was the dry feeling in my mouth
combined with a *really* bad taste. I also discovered that my
eyes were a little sensitive to the light (did I say 'little',
make that: 'the sunlight burnt into my eyeballs like hot
needles').
Coming to terms with the varied feelings I rolled over out
of the sunlight and decided to get back to sleep. I lay for a
moment with my head in the pillow before a strange smell made
itself known. It was pleasant and rather sweet and it took a few
moments to register what it was, I sat up after suddenly
recognising it as Urd's perfume.
That was a mistake, the headache redoubled and I fought down
a wave of nausea, "What the???", I murmured looking around the
room.
I found myself in Urd's room, wearing only a pair of shorts
that I usually slept in. Now logically I remembered that memory
loss was sometimes a side-effect of drinking a lot so I lay back
down and went through my recent memories. Everything was
slightly fuzzy, but I remembered dancing with Urd, sitting with
Belldandy and Keiichi, getting roped into a car race.... kissing
Urd.... getting slapped by her.....
I then couldn't remember a thing. Glancing around the room
I decided I must have missed something *really* important. My
clothes were scattered on the floor and Urd's dress was hanging
in the open wardrobe. I was starting to panic and was about to
get out of bed when the door suddenly opened.
"Good Morning sleepy head", Urd said in what could only be
described in a sultry voice.
Now I *really* was panicking, "Nothing like *that* could
possibly have happened", I thought to myself, "I was unconscious
for the whole time, it's absolutely impossible". But even as I
thought it there was a niggling thought in the back of my mind
that it *was* possible and that maybe I just didn't remember.
She walked up the bed and sat down beside me, placing a tray
full of breakfast in front of me. My stomach turned a little at
the thought of eating, but I grabbed the orange juice up quickly
and was soon completely through the jug. Urd stood and walked
around the room, picking up my clothes, "I think we were in a bit
of a hurry last night", she said slyly.
OK, I said that I was panicked before, well now I was
terrified. She must have noticed because she gave me a small
smile, "I must say that it was a night to remember", she murmured.
"Uhhhh... well...", I began, then I realised that I'd better
be straight forward about this and admitted, "Well it's kinda
hazy...".
Urd smiled, "Well after you kissed me, I brought you back
here, laid you down on the bed and pulled your clothes off....",
she explained.
I closed my eyes and waited for her to continue. "... and then
went and slept in *your* room", she finished.
I opened my eyes and looked at her barely-restrained grin,
"Oh, thanks a LOT!", I said sarcastically.
She laughed and sat down beside me again, ruffling my hair,
"You were a little too far gone for anything else", she said.
******
By the time I'd finished the meal and dressed I had began to
feel a little better. The nuclear bombs in my head had been
downgraded to the 'kiloton' range and I'd lost the bad taste in my
mouth. I staggered out to living room, getting a grin from Keiichi
as he saw my condition.
I scowled at him, "Thanks for the warning mate", I said
sarcastically.
He shrugged, "Sorry", he said in an unapologetic voice.
I huffed and sat down opposite him, noticing that he was
studying a road map, "What's that?", I asked curiosity overcoming
me.
He spread it out, "This is our route for the race", he
explained.
I looked closely at the map and I realised why I'd been
volunteered to be Keiichi's Navigator. I was looking at a map of
Northern Australia, in particular it was Cape York.
{GEOGRAPHY NOTE: Alright for those that don't know Australian
geography well - grab an Atlas and have a look at northern
Australia... see that long pointy bit at the top?? that's Cape
York }
I gave Keiichi a puzzled look, "You expect me to help you
navigate through Cape York in the middle of summer??", I asked in
disbelief.
He frowned, "Summer??", he asked.
I nodded, "Seasons are reversed", I said shortly, "You should
also realise that summer is what's known as the 'wet season' - most
roads are unpassable for weeks at a time".
He frowned, "Well according to the map we won't be using roads
very much", he observed. I looked closer and noticed that the
routes were laid out across rivers (where there were NO bridges)
and straight through what looked like several lakes.
I shook my head, "You've gotta be kidding", I sighed.
He shrugged, "Well Tamiya decided that you would be a good
navigator since you lived there", he explained.
I grabbed the map turning it over to the larger map of the
whole country, "Look", I said firmly, "This is where the race is",
I said pointing to the top of Cape York. He nodded and I
continued, "Now.. this is where *I* live", I said pointing to
Brisbane.
He nodded again, "So??", he asked.
I smiled thinly, "That's nearly a 1000 miles from the area
that I'm familiar with!", I stated.
"Oh...", he said, "Well we'll just have to wing it then".
I covered my face with my hands, "It's too early for this", I
sighed.
Keiichi grinned, "Don't worry", he said, "I'm sure it'll work
out fine".
I shrugged, "Well speaking of Australia, I was planning on
leaving this morning", I said standing up, "Where are the
Goddesses?".
Keiichi shrugged, "Urd's in her lab, Belldandy's out in the
garden and Chia-Yao took Skuld shopping", he said, re-examining the
map. He looked up at me "Summer?", he asked, "Wet season?? Tamiya
never mentioned that".
I nodded, "I *had* wondered how he convinced you", I said,
walking towards my room, "But now I know....".
Leaving him with that comment I went to pack a few things for
the trip. I didn't need much since most of my stuff was still at
home in storage. Throwing the bag over my shoulder I went off to
find Urd. She was busily mixing a potion and I was happy to see
that she was using the Christmas gift I'd given her (the computer
measuring thingo) ... well... anyway I was glad to see that she
liked it.
"Don't make too much noise", she whispered, "This might be a
little sensitive to shocks".
"What is it?", I asked whispering.
She carefully placed it in a metal container and closed the
lid gently, "It's alright now", she said, "That box is pretty much
sound proof".
I nodded and repeated my question, "Oh sorry", she said,
"That's a concentrated version of Nitro Glycerin".
"What on earth do you use something like that for?", I
wondered.
She shrugged, "Remember those bomb-bottles I threw at you when
you arrived??", she asked.
I winced, "How could I forget.. it's not every day you almost
get blow to ashes...", I replied.
She smiled, "That's what I use it for", she said.
Then she looked at the bag I had over my shoulder, "Going
somewhere?", she asked.
I nodded, "It's time for me to go home for a bit", I replied,
"I don't really like leaving with all the problems going on at the
moment... but I have some things that I need to work out with my
family".
She smiled, "I understand.. when will you be back??", she
asked.
"I don't know, it shouldn't be more than a couple of weeks at
the most...", I explained.
She nodded, "Are you sure you don't want some company?", she
asked for about the tenth time.
I smiled, "I think It'd be better if I go alone, that'll make
it easier to explain things...", I broke off noticing that she had
lowered her head and was walking a long with an expression of
sorrow on her face.
I placed an arm around her shoulders, "Hey, don't get
depressed about it", I said comfortingly, "I'll be back before you
know I'm gone".
We walked outside to where Belldandy was tending something in
the garden, "I see your ready to leave", she said noticing the bag
slung over my shoulder.
I smiled, "It's only for a short time, I'll be back in a
couple of weeks".
She nodded, "Chia-Yao thought you'd be ready, he left this
morning disguised as you and I'm happy to say that when I checked
I found no one watching the temple", she explained.
I grinned, "I hope he doesn't get me into too much trouble",
the I shrugged, "Well it'll be worth it to see my family again".
The three of us walked inside and I shook hands with Keiichi,
"I'll see you in two weeks mate", I said, summoning up the energy
to cast the transport spell.
Skuld walked into the room and noticed everyone standing
around me, "You're leaving??", she asked. I nodded and she quickly
ran off to her room for a moment. Skuld reappeared, holding that
infamous Christmas gift she'd made for me, pressing it into my
hand, "Take it", she said, "It'll let you know if there's anyone
magical around".
"Thanks Skuld", I said, placing it in my bag and turning back
to Urd.
"Well?", she asked. Then noticing my lack of reaction, she
stepped forward and kissed me on the cheek, "Take care of yourself
Brett", she said into my ear.
I nodded, not trusting myself to talk. Then I completed the
spell and stepped into the clock, teleporting myself to my old room
and the clock above the bed.
**********
TWO WEEKS
(and one interesting adventure)
LATER
**********
I jumped down into the living room with a swing in my step.
Things had gone well at home and I was happy that'd I'd managed to
explain things in terms that my family could understand. I still
laughed remembering the expression on my sister's face as I had
appeared at home on that first day.
"Jan's given me enough shocks over the years", I thought to
myself, "But I think I made up for most of them". Smiling, I
looked around the room, no one appeared to be at home. Grabbing up
my bags I walked down the hall and into my room. Chia-Yao had left
the room in quite a mess, but I fixed everything up quickly and
chucked my bags on the bed.
I was glad that I'd remembered to wear warm clothing, after
the last week of high temperatures, it was positively freezing
here. Rubbing my hands to keep warm, I decided to make myself
something to eat. Noticing that it was much colder than usual I
checked the heating system, only to find that it had been shut off.
Frowning I checked the kitchen, there was rotting food in the
fridge and it looked like nothing had been touched for a while.
I cautiously walked towards the front veranda. Catching a
grey patch out of the corner of my eye, I was horrified to see it
expand quickly towards me, down the corridor. I looked around for
an area that wasn't covered by that tell-tale grey haze, spotting
a clear space near one wall I sprinted over to it and hunched down.
A moment later a huge wrecking ball smashed straight into the
temple, cutting a swath of destruction down it's length. The
ceiling collapsed and wood fragments rained over me from the
impact, the ball continued out through the back wall and then came
through for a second run, doubling the damage.
I remained safe in my small area, somehow the ceiling above me
fell over and gave me some cover from the flying glass, plaster and
wood fragments. However I was still cut in several places and I
quickly muttered a spell, placing a sphere of force around me. It
was none too soon as the ceiling choose that moment to fall
straight towards me. The spell held and I sighed in relief as the
wrecking ball failed to come back.
Gingerly I released the spell, the ceiling had cracked and
crumbled to the ground so I was in no danger of being hit by it
again. I stood and dusted myself off, wincing at the cuts covering
my face and hands. Then I heard a shout from what used to be
outside.
"There's someone in there!", came the hoarse voice, "Stop the
crane!!".
I squinted through the haze of dust and saw several workmen
running over to me, "You crazy fool!", one shouted, "You trying to
get yourself killed??!?!?".
I shrugged off the helping hands and looked around, the Temple
was in ruins, Keiichi's garage and Urd's lab were completely gone
and the main temple was now crushed. I ignored the stares of the
workers as I picked my way over to where my room used to be,
grabbed up my bags and walked out.
"Hey, just a minute", said a guy wearing a hard hat, "How did
you get in here?? what were you doing in there??". I simply walked
past him and out into the street, glancing to my left I saw a
familiar sign announcing the construction of a mall. I looked at
the hated sign and stopped for a moment to think, "Where would they
go??", I thought to myself.
Noticing the stares I was getting from passers by I picked up
my stuff and walked off in the general direction of NIT, someone
there would be able to tell me what was going on. I walked as
quickly as I could with the heavy load and arrived there in about
a half-hour. The college was closed for the moment, but I was sure
that Tamiya and Ootaki would still be in the Motor Club's garage,
working on that thing they called a 'car'.
Picking up the pace I couldn't shake the feeling that someone
was watching me. I finally reached NIT and strode towards the
autoshop, noticing that the place seemed nearly deserted. Suddenly
I stopped and looked at doors, they were covered in a series of
runes and mystic-type symbols. Racking my memory I tried to come
up with what the pattern had been designed to do.
"It's a warding circle", came a voice from behind me.
I spun to see Marller standing calmly watching me, "It's
designed to keep demons out", she explained.
I backed up a step or two and put my bags on the ground,
freeing my hands in case a spell was required, "What are you doing
here?", I asked bluntly.
Marller shrugged, "Just visiting", she said, "And I wanted to
congratulate you on how you kept Nilthar away from your family".
I nodded, "Now tell me the truth", I said.
She sighed, "Why do people *always* suspect my motives", she
asked of the world in general. Then she focused on me again,
"Dreamtime spirits may work in Australia", she said, "But I don't
expect they'd have much influence here".
I shrugged, "They were nice enough to take care of my family
for me", I replied, "But I'd have to admit that they seem to be
rather attached to one place".
Marller suddenly snapped her fingers, "Oh!", she said (as if
remembering something), "How did the 'remodelling' of the temple
go?", she asked sweetly.
"So *you* were behind that?", I asked.
She tried (and failed) to look innocent, "ME???", she asked,
"Oh no, I've got no influence with the government".
I smiled, "Thanks for the information then", I said, turning
my back on her, I picked up my bags and walked towards the ward-
covered door.
"What makes you think I'm gonna let you just walk in there?",
she asked in an amused tone.
I shrugged, "If you were going to do anything to me you'd have
tried already", I replied, "Now if you don't mind I need to talk to
Keiichi".
I closed the door behind me and breathed a sigh of relief,
"That was close", I said to myself. Looking around I spotted a
light at one end of the building and carefully sat down my bags.
Moving quietly I hugged the shadows and peered through the open
doorway. To my relief Keiichi was sitting cross-legged in the
middle of the room, trying to fix a gearbox.
I stepped into the room, "I go away for two weeks..", I began,
"And everything goes to pieces".
Keiichi turned around and a grin split his face, "Brett-san!",
he greeted me happily it's a relief to see you".
I nodded, "Good to see you too mate", I replied, "But how
about filling me in on what the hell's happened??".
He rubbed the back of his head, "Well there's a lot to
explain", he said apologetically.
I shrugged and sat down in front of him, "That's alright, I'm
not going anywhere for a while..", I said.
"Well..", Keiichi began, "It started two days after you left,
things started going wrong".
"What kind of things?", I asked, getting a bad feeling.
"Well for a start Urd blew up her lab on night", he said.
I looked at him in shock, "Is she alright?", I asked, looking
around for her.
He nodded, "She was a little singed, but was alright last time
I saw her", he said.
"But Urd making that kind of mistake is rather unusual", I
mused out loud.
He shrugged, "Everyone makes mistakes", he replied.
"Urd's always careful with her potions (well the destructive
ones...)", I reasoned, "So that would make me believe that
something else had to be effecting her".
Keiichi nodded, "We didn't know at the time, but it turns out
that Marller managed to swap a few components around in their
containers", he said.
I frowned, "How is that possible??? I mean the Goddesses
should have been able to detect her if she visited the temple", I
said.
He shrugged, "So they made a mistake", he said.
I looked at him carefully, "According to what Urd taught me,
*those* kind of mistakes *DON'T* happen", I said, "The Yggdrasil
System is suppose to take care of problems like that".
"Your absolutely right", he said, "Unfortunately it went off-
line just about the same time as you went to visit your family".
"WHAT!!!", I exclaimed, "That system is what keeps the Gods
and Goddesses functioning properly.. without it.... it'd be
like...".
"Exactly", he said, "That's what the problem is, without the
system, there are no safeguards or control over the universe".
I looked at the ceiling for a moment, "No wonder the spirits
were doing backflips", I said out loud.
"Spirits??", Keiichi asked.
I nodded, "I found some help when I visited home in the form
of the Spirits of the Dreamtime", seeing his blank expression I
explained, "To put it simply the Dreamtime is the rough translation
of the Australian Aboriginals' call their creation story".
He frowned, "And you were able to talk with them?", he asked
amazed.
I nodded, "Yeah, they were quite helpful and friendly", I
said, "They're keeping an eye on my family while I'm busy".
Keiichi smiled, "That *was* nice of them", he said, "So
Nilthar found you 'eh??".
I smiled sourly, "I guess it had something to do with the
system going down", I said.
Keiichi nodded, "Probably", he said in a depressed tone.
I looked around the room again, "Where are the Goddesses?", I
asked, "I mean I can see you moving out of the temple, but I can't
imagine them leaving you alone for this long".
Keiichi looked miserable, "They're gone", he said in a dead
voice.
"What do you mean *gone*", I asked quickly.
"Back to where they came from", he said point up, "Heaven I
suppose".
I reeled back, "You mean they've *all* gone?", I asked amazed.
He nodded, "Just before she left, Belldandy brought me here,
set up the wards and explained that *ALL* Gods and Goddesses were
being recalled to heaven for the emergency", he said.
I scratched my head, "Well I guess that answers my argument
with Urd about if I'm a God or not", I said to myself.
Keiichi looked worriedly at me, "Your probably in more trouble
than me", he said, "Marller want's to do unpleasant things to
me.... but I don't really think she'd *KILL* me out of hand..
but...".
"But Nilthar wants to hang my guts from a flagpole", I
concluded for him.
He nodded, "So I think you'd better get yourself to heaven
quicksmart", he said.
I looked at him quizzically, "Could you point the way?", I
asked, "Urd never told me how to travel there".
We both sat looking at each other in silence, before Keiichi
stood sharply, "I think we've got some planning to do", he said,
gesturing for me to pick up my bags, "There's a spare room
upstairs, I'll make us some dinner".
I nodded, and headed upstairs. I found a place for my things
and then returned to find Keiichi pulling two steaming bowls of
noodles out of a microwave, "It's not up to Bell-Chan's standards",
he said, "But it'll keep you going".
******
Two figures crept towards the construction of the new shopping
mall, "Are you sure no one will recognise us?", one whispered in a
quite voice.
"Come on mate", replied the other, "No problem there, the
spell is active".
The guard at the gate failed to notice the figures dart across
the ruins of the temple and hide amongst some of the larger piles
of debree. "So where was Urd's library again?", Keiichi asked
quickly, looking around at the destruction.
"She kept most of the important books under her bed", Brett
whispered back.
"That sounds like Urd", Keiichi replied.
The two searched for several minutes before finding the
remnants of Urd's room. The after a bit more frantic searching
Keiichi came up with a large leather-bound book, "That's what we're
looking for!", Brett said happily.
Keiichi passed it over to him and picked up something lying
beside it, "I think you'd probably want this too", he said, holding
up a small crystal rose.
Brett smiled, "I'm amazed it survived", he said, taking it and
examining it carefully. It was intact and looked in good shape.
Brett placed the rose in his top pocket and gestured to Keiichi to
get moving, "The spell won't last much longer", he whispered.
The two hurried back past the guard and out into the street,
Brett looked back at the destroyed temple and sighed, "It wasn't
any magical battle that drained the life out of the place", he
observed, "It was taking away the people who lived there".
Keiichi nodded, "Well let's get this mess sorted out so that
life can get back to the way it was", he said.
Brett nodded and stopped under a lamp light, opening the book
and quickly leafing through it, "According to this, Heaven is
guarded against intruders by an impenetrable barrier against
teleportation", he read, "Only those invited or authorised are
permitted to transport through".
Keiichi frowned, "So how do we get ourselves invited?", he
mused.
"I don't think you'll have to worry about that", came a
sarcastic voice, "You two won't be going anywhere".
Brett and Keiichi spun around to see Aoshima and several men
wearing guard's uniforms standing in the middle of the footpath.
Aoshima had a victorious expression on his face, "Now how will this
look, two NIT students stealing from a construction site?", he said
slyly, "I'm sure that the police would be interested too".
Then a voice echoed from the other direction, "And let's not
forget the immigration people", came Sayoko's voice, "I'm sure that
they'd be *very* interested in someone that can travel
internationally without stopping at customs".
She was standing flanked by Nilthar and Marller, "So good to
see you again", Nilthar said, "I was quite put out when you had
those spirits kick me out".
Keiichi and Brett looked at each other, "I think we're in
trouble", Brett observed.
Keiichi nodded, "You could probably say that", he agreed.
******
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
Ok - sorry I know I promised no more cliff-hangers... but well
I couldn't resist - it just seemed so appropriate to end this part
here :)
Now - for those interested I'll be detailed Brett's adventure
home in the near future (I just need to do a little more research
on Aboriginal culture and their legends).
Part 15... well... that will be a couple of weeks in coming
I'm afraid - since it's gonna be two to three times as big as
normal :)
Alright - well I hope you enjoyed this part, things are
happening hard and fast now as the conclusion to the series get's
closer...
-----Brett (27/2/96)
---------------------------------------------------------------------
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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