An Oh My God FanFic

                             Who's a God??
 
                                   PART 6

                                     by

                                Brett Handy




     I was beginning to wonder about the sanity of my
counterpart as he unbolted the door to the room, "Err.. didn't
you say that Phalarus was behind that door?", I asked
cautiously.

     "Yeah", he replied, "But I think this will work!". 

     "What will work?", I demanded, "You haven't told me your
plan yet!".

     "That's easy", he explained, "You hold him, I'll hit
him!".

     I watched in dismay as he finished opening the last lock
and a gust of fetid wind struck me, I gagged at the foul
smell.  "Come on!", he said, pushing out through the door.

     Not knowing what else to do I followed.  We were standing
on a barren plane, flat ground as far as I could see in any
direction.  "We're going to attack him?", I asked in
confusion, "I thought you said that he was more powerful than
us?".

     "Well", the other me said, "He was in his universe.. but
this is *our* universe!".

     A dark cloud suddenly appeared on the horizon, it seemed
to flow across the sky like a black liquid.  "Get ready", he
ordered, snapping his fingers.  His normal clothing was
replaced with a set of blue body armour and he was carrying a
sabre.

     "Neat trick", I observed.

     He grinned at me, "Yeah, it's really convenient too", he
observed dryly.  I stood my ground as the darkness suddenly
became solid and fell on us from the sky.

                                  ******

     "What is *that* doing here?", Chia-Yao asked, levelling a
shimmering sword at Nilthar.

     Nilthar gave Chia-Yao a calm look, "I'm not here to
fight", he observed.

     Skuld grabbed Chia-Yao's arm, "Put that away", she
ordered, "He's here to help us".

     Chia-Yao's expression didn't change, nor did his arm
waver as Skuld tried to drag it down, he flicked a glance at
Skuld, "Back off", he snapped.  Skuld carefully released his
arm and stepped back a pace, amazed at the anger in his eyes.

     Urd moved to stand slightly in front of Nilthar, "Leave
him alone", she ordered.

     With a sudden snarled spellword Chia-Yao flung Urd out of
the way, she found herself lying several meters from where
she'd been standing, "Don't interfere", he growled, "This is
between the Demon and me!".

     Urd stood and was about to cast a spell when Nilthar
shook his head at her, "Don't", he said, "You'll only make him
angrier".

     "What do you know of my anger?", Chia-Yao demanded taking
several steps forward, "You killed my brother you bastard!".

     Nilthar didn't flinch as the glowing sword got closer, "I
did", he said with a nod, "I was ordered to".

     "Ordered to?", Chia-Yao sneered, "You think that makes it
right?".

     Nilthar shrugged, "How many Demons have you killed
because you were ordered to?", he asked.

     The sword slashed through the air only inches from
Nilthar's throat, "Don't ever try to compare yourself to me!",
Chia-Yao hissed, "You are nothing like me!".

     "Perhaps not", Nilthar allowed, "But you have a choice to
make now, take revenge or let me try to help your current
brother".

     Chia-Yao's eyes narrowed, "What makes you think we need
your help?", he asked, placing the tip of the sword on
Nilthar's shoulder.  Skuld took a step forward to try to stop
Chia-Yao, but Belldandy held her back with a hand on her
shoulder, "No", she said softly, "It's his decision".

     Nilthar raised his eyebrows, "Can you take that chance?",
he asked simply.

     Letting out a deep breath, Chia-Yao lowered his sword,
"You so much as sneeze out of turn and I'll cut you into
pieces", Chia-Yao threatened.

     "I expect no less", Nilthar said with a nod.  Chia-Yao
stormed outside, pushing past Skuld and ignoring her attempt
to call him back.  Skuld looked around in confusion and
finally ran after the angry young god.

     Urd let out a whistle, "You must have nerves of steel",
she observed to Nilthar, "I've never seen Chia-Yao that
angry".

     Nilthar sat down heavily and grinned, "Actually I was
only just able to contain my fear", he admitted, "That was
worse than staring down a pit fiend!".

                                  ******

     Skuld was very confused.  She raced after Chia-Yao,
taking the front stairs of the temple two at a time.  Never in
all the years she'd known him, had Chia-Yao ever acted so out
of control with anger.  She had seen him in battles before,
but he'd never been so scary.

     She found him sitting behind some bushes near one wall of
the temple, digging at the ground with his now normal-looking
sword.  He looked up as she approached, "Go away!", he
grumbled, returning his gaze to the ground.

     "I don't think so", Skuld replied, sitting down beside
him.

     He continued to dig at the ground, appearing to ignore
her, until the silence became unbearable.  Skuld suddenly
grabbed the sword, pulling Chia-Yao's hands from it, "Stop
that!", he said, moving to pick it up.

     Skuld grabbed his hand, holding it in both of hers, "You
stop it!", she said, keeping him from standing up and
retrieving his sword.  She felt his hand trembling and noticed
that he refused to look her in the eye, "It's all right", she
said, "Everyone looses their temper now and then...".

     Chia-Yao shook his head, "You don't understand at all!",
she said, "I've dreamt of the day that I revenge Tlesta, I've
killed Nilthar in so many different ways and in so many
different situations...".

     "Let it go", Skuld said softly.

     "I can't!", Chia-Yao said sharply, "He *killed* my
brother!".  Then to Skuld's surprise Chia-Yao, leader of
Heaven's Security Daemons began to sob, "I wasn't there! it
was my responsibility!", he hissed.

     Skuld wiped a few tears from his cheeks, "It wasn't your
fault", she said, "You couldn't have helped your brother..".

     Chia-Yao looked up in confusion, "I'm sure Tlesta knew
what was coming", Skuld continued, "You think that he suddenly
became careless? after all those centuries of being the God of
Destiny?".  Noticing she had his full attention, Skuld leant
back against the wall, "He knew exactly what was going to
happen, how could he not know his own destiny?".

     "But Brett..", Chia-Yao began.

     "Brett's only been a God for two years", Skuld reminded
him, "He's not going to know everything about the job yet,
it's quite possible he never will, since he was a mortal..".

     "Then my brother knew he was going to die?", Chia-Yao
mused, "And did nothing to stop it?".

     Skuld nodded, "I'm certain there was a reason for it, but
if there was Tlesta kept it to himself", she said.  Skuld
stood and pulled Chia-Yao to his feet, "So you see Nilthar is
as much a pawn in all of this as we are, jumping though hoops
doing what he's suppose to do", she said, "Let's go back
inside".

     Taking a deep breath Chia-Yao nodded and the two of them
walked back towards the temple.  On the way Chia-Yao noticed
that Skuld still had a firm grip on his hand, deciding that it
was a pleasant feeling Chia-Yao said nothing.

                                  ******

     "The best tactic for getting rid of Phalarus is to ship
him back to his own universe", Nilthar explained carefully,
"If we can somehow create a portal...".

     Urd shook her head, "We have no idea how to create
portals", she sighed, "The only reason we were able to get
home at all was because of a mad scientist who knew how to
dimension hop".

     "Mad scientist?", Keiichi asked, raising his eyebrows.

     Urd smiled slightly, "You'd be surprised at the kind of
people you meet in other universes", she said dryly.

     "What about banishing him from our universe?", Keiichi
said.

     "And send him where?", Urd asked, "To a universe where
people won't be able to fight him?".

     Keiichi nodded, "I didn't think about that", he admitted.

     "We're getting ahead of ourselves", Nilthar broke in,
"The first thing we need to do is get him out of Brett, then
we can decide what to do with him".

     Brett suddenly strode into the room, "You are correct
Nilthar", he said with an evil smile, "You are getting far
ahead of yourselves..".  Nilthar rose out of his seat, only to
have a bolt of searing energy slam him to the ground. 
Belldandy stood protectively in front of Keiichi and Urd moved
around to flank Phalarus.

     Phalarus looked over at Urd and smiled, "We didn't nearly
have enough time together when we last met my dear", he said,
bowing slightly, "I shall make you mine this time..".

     "No chance!", Urd replied angrily, throwing a bolt of
lighting.  The energy bounced harmlessly off a shimmering blue
forcefield that appeared around Phalarus, "Not quick enough",
Phalarus chided her, "You know that forcefields are Brett's
most powerful spells, and I must say he's quite proficient!".

     Skuld and Chia-Yao walked back into the room at that
point, "Ahh.. more little godlings to play with", Phalarus
said with a smile, "How nice!".  Skuld was stunned as what
appeared to be Brett shot a bolt of dark energy at her. 
Luckily Chia-Yao deflected the bolt with a flick of his sword,
"What the hell is going on?", he demanded.

     "Hell is precisely what's going on", Phalarus replied,
"When I'm finished with this world, hell will look like a
vacation spot!".

     Chia-Yao sent a bolt of energy at Phalarus, but it was
deflected easily, "How disappointing", the evil god sighed, "I
was expecting a little more of a fig..".

     He broke off and suddenly clutched his head, "NO!", he
shouted in anger, "Not now!".  Phalarus collapsed on the
floor, twitching and moaning in pain.  Nilthar picked himself
up off the floor and looked over at Chia-Yao, "What did you do
to him?", he asked accusingly.

     Chia-Yao shrugged, "Nothing unusual", he said shortly.

     Urd gingerly stepped forward, "He looks like it did when
Brett was fighting him back on Lodoss", she observed. 
Suddenly his eyes opened and he said up, "If any of you have
suggestions, now would be a good time", he said.

     "Brett?", Urd asked in confusion.

     "Right", Brett replied, "At the moment I'm holding
Phalarus down, you must do something to get rid of him now,
while we have the upper hand...".  Brett suddenly collapsed
unconscious again, "What do we do?", Skuld asked in confusion,
"Where do we start?".

     "I think I can answer that", a chillingly familiar voice
said.  Suddenly one wall of the temple disappeared in a shower
of red flame, throwing everyone to the floor.  Tupnixua slowly
walked through the rubble, a pair of powerful-looking Demons
flanking him.

                                  ******

     Tupnixua was content.  It had been an excellent day. 
Three Goddesses and one God (who happened to be the leader of
the Security Daemons) and a traitor-Demon captured.  He'd
toyed with the idea of bringing them back to hell, but the
last time someone had captured a god and taken him back to
hell it had led to a rather nasty encounter with some of the
elder gods.

     So he was hold-up in a temple dedicated to himself, or at
least it was now.  The ancient Temple at the foot of Mount
Fuji was a sight of much historical significance, and also a
source of ancient power.  It lay at the middle of a ring of
power that ancient humans had discovered produced all sorts of
evil creatures.  They had built a temple over the site and the
monks that lived there had been charged with one purpose,
fighting the monsters that occasionally appeared.  It had been
several hundred years since the last appearance and Tupnixua
had found little resistance among the monks.

     The temple had been rededicated in a simple ceremony that
involved the destruction of the wards and the opening of a
portal to hell itself.  "What do you think?", Tupnixua asked
quietly, gesturing to the sacrifice alter that was being
prepared.  It's companion nodded thoughtfully, "A most
pleasing sight", he observed, "A pity it will be stained with
such pure blood tomorrow night".

     "Phalarus!", Tupnixua chuckled, "You are a creature after
my own black heart!".  The irony of the situation further
added to the Devil's humour, Phalarus had taken over the God
of Destiny's body, it was an incredibly evil situation.

     "I would ask something", Phalarus said smiling, "Before
they are sacrificed...".

                                  ******

     Urd was chained against a filthy dungeon wall.  It was
like a nightmare come true.  Nilthar hung against the wall
opposite her, "Well this isn't exactly what I had in mind",
Nilthar observed, "If this is what you get for being nice to
people, I think I was better off as a Demon!".

     "Just shut up!", Chia-Yao growled, he was on the
remaining wall, "I've never heard anyone complain so much in
my life!".

     "Well I don't know what all the fuss is about", a voice
said from the doorway, "But perhaps I can make it all
better..".  Phalarus walked into the room, followed by
Tupnixua, "Well my brother", he said, looking closely at Chia-
Yao, "you really should take better care of yourself, your
uniform is a mess!".

     "I'm not your brother you slimy piece of worm-riddled
filth!", Chia-Yao spat.

     Phalarus smiled slightly and then backhanded Chia-Yao
splitting his lip and slamming his head against the wall,
"Just hang out here for a while", Phalarus said, laughing. 
Tupnixua walked over to Urd and placed a talon under her chin,
forcing her to look up, "Are you sure this is the one you
want?", he asked Phalarus, "Belldandy or the little one would
be more fun...".

     Chia-Yao winced, "You leave Skuld alone!", he said,
straining against the chains that held him.

     "Oh?", Phalarus said raising an eyebrow, "Perhaps I shall
see to her myself, once I finish with this one".  Urd gave him
a defiant look as two Demons unchained her from the wall and
dragged her outside.

     "If you so much as touch her...", Chia-Yao began.

     "You'll what?", Phalarus asked sarcastically, "Bang your
head against the wall until it bleeds?".  Phalarus turned and
walked from the room, Tupnixua following him out.

     After the door shut Nilthar sighed, "You know that was
really stupid", he said.

     "Oh please just shut up!", Chia-Yao said desperately.

                                  ******

     Urd found herself thrown into an ornate room.  Dominating
the centre of the room was a huge bed.  The windows were
barred and locked and there was no other way out of the room
except the way she'd come.  The manacles on her wrists
prevented her from casting even the simplest of spells and she
looked around for something to fight with.

     The door to the room opened and she picked up a chair. 
Phalarus stood there, dressed in Brett's uniform.  The door
slammed shut behind him and he cast a spell.  She recognised
it as a force-field spell.  A blue-glowing shield spread out,
surrounding the room, "Now we won't be disturbed", he
observed.

     Urd raised the chair, "You come one step closer and
I'll..", she began.

     Phalarus raised his hands, "Oh no!", he said, "Not that!
not the dreaded chair over the head attack!".

     Urd frowned, "What did you say?", she asked in confusion.

     "Urd, it's me!", Brett said, "I've got control at the
moment!".

     "Brett?", she asked, lowering the chair slightly.

     Brett nodded, "Yup", he said quickly.

     The chair was suddenly flung across the room at Brett's
head, he ducked away, "Hey!", he protested, "What are you
doing?".

     Urd suddenly jumped at him, her fists lashing out, "Stop
it!", Brett protested, "What the bloody hell are you doing?".

     He forced her away and rubbed his chest where she'd
connected with a good punch, "Will you please stop it!?", he
asked desperately, "I really am who I say I am!".

     Urd's eyes narrowed, "Phalarus has fooled me before", she
said.

     "Ok", Brett said sitting down on the bed, "Then here's
the deal! I won't do anything, hit me as much as you want".

     Urd started forward, her fists ready.  Brett sat calmly
on the bed, his eyes closed, waiting.  Urd suddenly hugged
him, "Brett!", she said, "It really is you!".

     Brett opened his eyes and suddenly found himself glomped
onto by Urd, "Yeah it's me!", he said, hugging her back. 
Instead of releasing him she suddenly pressed herself tight up
against him, kissing his neck, "I want you", she said in an
incredibly sexy voice.

     "This probably isn't the right time...", Brett began.
trying to disentangle himself from her, "We have to work out a
way to escape and rescue the others..".

     "We've got time", Urd insisted, shrugging her dress off
her shoulders, "Don't you want me too?".  She suddenly threw
herself at him, Brett only just managed to avoid another
glomp, "Please stop it!", Brett begged, "I don't know what
they did to you but I might be able to help..".

     Urd suddenly sat up and straightened her dress. "I accept
that you're Brett", she said, smiling.

     Brett frowned, "You mean all that..", he began.

     "Phalarus wouldn't have passed me up", she said with a
grin, "I know only one guy that would..".

     "Thanks so much", Brett said sarcastically, "Your faith
in me is underwealming!".

     Urd poked out her tongue, "Tough!", she said.  Brett sat
back on the bed, "Right", he said, "I'm keeping Phalarus under
control at the moment, but I don't think I'll be able to keep
it up for much longer...".

     "How long?", she asked quickly.

     Brett frowned, "Perhaps a few more hours at best", he
said, "I don't know, its totally different than the last time
I was fighting for control over this body...".

     "Different how?", Urd asked in confusion.

     "It's strange", Brett said, "but last time there seemed
to be something that let him past my defences.. this time it's
much easier to keep him down...".

     "So what happened to the other Brett?", Urd asked
curiously, "You seem to have all the memories..".

     Brett nodded, "We were fighting Phalarus and I don't know
what happened, but we seemed to merge together... it was weird
I suddenly had two sets of memories.. I could see things from
two perspectives... ", he sighed, "I know everything the other
me knew and I know everything that I knew... but it's all
meshed together somehow... ".

     Urd placed a hand on his, "Do you remember..", she began.

     "I do", he said softly, "I remember everything now".

                                  ******

     It's amazing the kind of plans you can come up with when
you're desperate.  I found myself dragging Urd along one of
the corridors, towards her cell.  The Demons that passed me
didn't even give me a second look (although some of them
looked hungrily at Urd).  We arrived at the cell and the Demon
on guard duty gave me a smirk, "Finished already?", it hissed,
"That was quick!".

     I did my best to give him a sneer, "I'm going to try one
of the others now", I said trying to sound like I was amused,
"this one was a bit of a letdown".

     As the Demon was opening the door Urd gave me a pinch on
the arm, "Try not to sound so happy!", she whispered.  I
ignored her and hefted her onto my shoulder to carry her
inside.  I chained her back on the wall (being careful to
leave enough room for her to squeeze her hands out of the
manacles.  Chia-Yao gave me a hate-filled glare and I smirked
at him, "Perhaps little Skuld would be more entertaining", I
said, hating myself, but forcing myself to stay in the role.

     Chia-Yao was bursting with frustration as I walked from
the room and I promised myself I'd apologise to him later.  I
had the Demon guard take me to where the two Goddesses and the
mortal were being held.  It opened the door and I gestured for
it to lead me inside.  As I walked inside I whispered a spell,
encasing the room in a forcefield.  "What are you doing?", the
Demon demanded.

     "Not much", I replied, snapping my fingers.  I split-
second later I plunged my sabre into the Demon's chest,
ripping it upwards.  The Demon let out a scream and
disappeared in a gout of black smoke.

     Keiichi, Belldandy and Skuld were looking at me in
amazement and I grinned, "Anyone call for a lift?", I asked,
sheathing my sword.

     "Brett!", Keiichi said, "Am I glad to see you!".

     "Took yoush long enough!", Skuld said with a lopsided
grin.

     Quickly releasing Belldandy I let her work on Keiichi's
Chains while I released Skuld, "Let's get out of here!", I
said, "Urd is already letting Chia-Yao and Nilthar out".

     Skuld was having a little trouble standing and I reached
out to steady her, "What's wrong?", I asked in concern.

     Belldandy frowned, "They had to drug her to bring her
along", she explained, "She resisted their spells and wouldn't
give in..".

     I gestured to Keiichi and he helped Skuld up onto my
back, she weighted very little and I could carry her easily,
"Ohhh", she said, looking down, "It's high up here".

     I grinned at her, "Let's go!", I said, cancelling my
force-field spell and opening the cell door.

                                  ******

     Urd was not having a good time.  She'd freed Chia-Yao and
Nilthar and they'd made their way towards where she thought
the exit was.  However they'd made a few wrong turns and ended
up standing in front of a portal that was glowing with a
sickly green colour.

     "You there!", a Demon hissed.

     "As if things couldn't get worse", Urd muttered.

     The Demon advanced on them but was struck in the chest by
a bolt of golden energy, it disappeared in a flash of white
light.  "I'm not in charge of the Security Daemons for
nothing!", Chia-Yao muttered when she looked curiously in his
direction.

     A few moments later across the other side of the room,
Brett ran in, carrying Skuld and being followed closely by
Belldandy and Keiichi.  The two groups met in the middle of
the room, "She's ok", Brett assured Chia-Yao, "It's just an
aftereffect of the drugs they used".

     Chia-Yao glared at Brett angrily before he shook his
head, "Sorry", he said, "It wasn't your fault".

     Brett grimaced, "Who says?", he asked.

     Keiichi cleared his throat, "We can blame each other
later!", he insisted, "How about someone find us a way out of
here!".

     "I can tell you a way out of here", a voice called.

     Urd glared up at where Tupnixua was standing, "Must you
always interrupt when others are talking?", she demanded.

     Tupnixua smiled, "Yes", it said, "That's part of my
charm!".  Around the room Demons began to appear, not just
dozens, but hundreds.  Some in beast form, some in human form.   

     "How nice you're all here in time for the sacrifice!", he
gloated.

     "What do we do now?", Urd asked, turning to Brett, "Got
any more bright ideas?".

     "This is a portal right?", Brett mused.

     "Yeah!", Keiichi said, eyeing the approaching Demons
fearfully.

     Brett snapped his fingers and a small device appeared in
his hands, Skuld (who was still groggily looking over his
shoulder) grinned, "Yoush brought along my gift!", she
announced, hugging Brett, "I'm glashed you like it!".

     Urd recognised what Brett was going to do and she grabbed
Brett's arm, "Everyone hold on!", she said.  There was a
flurry of movement as everyone grabbed hold of everyone else
and then Brett depressed the button on the device.  Nothing
happened.

     "Oh great!", Urd said, "And I thought she was suppose to
be the greatest mind in their universe!".

     A few seconds later the portal (which had been glowing
green) suddenly changed to a light blue colour.  A voice
suddenly boomed out of the portal, "You've reached Washu, the
greatest mind in this or *any* universe, I'm a little busy at
the moment, please leave your name and dimensional address and
I'll get back to you as soon as possible!", it said.

     "WASHU!", Urd screamed angrily.

     There was a flash of blinding blue light and suddenly a
large shape loomed out of the portal.  The ten-foot tall
figure lumbered thought and stood in front of Brett and the
others, "Commander", it said, "Orders Please?".

     Brett blinked in confusion, "Nemisis-1?", he asked.

     "Correct", the huge robot replied.  The robot then
noticed the Demons approaching, "Hostile targets approaching,
orders please?", it asked.

     "What the hell is that thing?", Keiichi demanded.

     "It's a robot made by the ancients of EL Hazard", Urd
explained.

     "How did it get here then?", Keiichi asked.

     Brett grinned, "Let 'em have it Nemesis!", he called.

     Robot's shoulder's opened, revealing some kind of weapon. 
There was a sharp whining sound and the lead Demon suddenly
found five holes in his chest, with a muffled thump the Demon
disappeared in a flash of smoke.  The whining sound returned,
this time five or six Demons disappeared.  A small sphere of
metal rolled up and stopped against Keiichi's shoe, he bent
down and picked it up, noticing how it appeared to be the same
size as the holes that kept appearing in the demons.

     "Mass driver", Skuld observed, "Very efficient".  Any
demons that got close were being cut down by Chia-Yao's sword. 
The God of Truth stayed close to the robot, protecting it from
attack.

     "Cast spells at it you fools!", Tupnixua roared at his
massed Demons.  Two Demons stepped forward, both casting a
bolt of dark energy at the robot.  A shield of some kind
flickered around the Robot and the energy was absorbed without
damage.  Nilthar, who was examining the robot from behind
found a note attached to it's back, "It's for you", he said,
handing it to Brett.

     Dear Brett

          Please find attached one Model-4000 combat robot.      
Shortly after your departure, a large Robot appeared,  being
followed by several blue-skinned individuals.     Apparently
the robot had been following you since you left   El Hazard
and the people (who I'm sure you know call   themselves the
'Phantom Tribe') were aiding it.

          One young man named Najato who appeared to be their    
leader made mention of you and I explained that I'd    
returned you to your home.  Najato seemed rather  disappointed
and when I asked him why he explained his    people's history. 
Never being one to ignore people in     need I returned Najato
and his people to their homeworld.

          I hope this letter finds you in good spirits and I     
hope you and Urd are getting along well (as if I have to    
ask!).  Everyone here sends their best wishes.

     Your Friend
     Washu
     Inventor/Genius/Greatest Scientific Mind of The Universe

     Brett looked up from where he was reading the note with a
grin and handed the letter to Urd.  "Looks like we just got
some help", he observed.

     "Warning ammunition level is low", Nemesis-1 announced,
"Switching to hand to hand combat".  The robot suddenly rushed
forward, grabbing demons as he went.  Chia-Yao hurried to
catch up with it, but soon found himself bogged down by
opponents.

     Tupnixua was looking on in frustration, his hordes of
demons had been reduced to only a mere two dozen.  The robot
was now wading through them, smashing armour and bones as he
went.  With a primal scream of rage, Tupnixua charged the
robot.

                                  ******

     The fight between Nemesis-1 and Tupnixua was frightening
to behold.  Every other small skirmish in the room stopped as
the fight began.  The huge robot, a marvel of Roshtarian
Technology that was lost thousands of years ago had been
trained in the arts of war by creators.  It's creators
couldn't have realised that one day the robot would be
fighting a Devil, pure evil and nearly indestructible.

     After five minutes of combat one of Nemesis-1's arms was
missing, after ten it's legs were damaged.  By this time
Brett's companions had dealt with the other lesser Demons and
only Tupnixua was left.  The fight continued, the robot was
obviously losing, but it wasn't giving up.  However Tupnixua
was tiring.

     Keiichi's attention strayed from the fight and he found
himself noticing the strange expression that had come over
Brett's face, "Brett?", he asked, "What's wrong?".

     "Wrong", Phalarus said evilly, "I'm afraid Brett isn't in
charge anymore".  Three things happened almost immediately. 
Phalarus suddenly tossed Skuld at Chia-Yao, Urd began casting
a spell and Nemesis-1 finally broke through Tupnixua's
armoured hide.

     "NO!", Tupnixua shouted, the pain from his shattered
armour forcing him into a fury.  Phalarus began running
towards Tupnixua just as Urd's lightning spell caught him in
the shoulder and Chia-Yao managed to catch Skuld without
dropping her.

     Phalarus was lying on the ground in shock, the smell of
burnt flesh filled the room and Keiichi was look at Urd in
shock, "How could..", he began.

     "That's not Brett", Urd said, "And Brett told me he'd
rather be dead than have that thing inside of him!".

     Phalarus looked across the room to where Tupnixua was now
fighting a losing battle against the relentless robot.  A
smile creased his lips.  Everyone stepped back as a dark shape
seemed to rise from Brett's body, "Fools!", a harsh voice
echoed through the room, "I shall be even more powerful now!".

     The dark shape suddenly flashed across the room and
flowed into the cracks in Tupnixua's armoured chest.  The
Devil shuddered slightly and then the fear in it's eyes were
replaced by an even evil glint.  The armour's cracks suddenly
sealed and the Devil picked up the attacking robot with one
hand.

     Brett groaned, "What the hell hit me?", he asked,
wincing.

     Urd cradled his head in her lap, "I did!", she said,
kissing him on the cheek.

     He grimaced, "Oh", he said through a grimace of
discomfort, "That's all right then..".

     "We are now invincible!", Phalarus/Tupnixua announced,
"Your pitiful lives mean less than nothing to me!".  He
crushed Nemesis one on the floor, the robot's super-strong
body folding like a crushed can.  The horrible creature looked
to the heavens, "You are mine now!", he said, "I'm coming for
you Kami-Sama!!".

     Everyone had clustered in a group around Brett, Belldandy
and Chia-Yao exchanged concerned glanced, "Do you really think
he's powerful enough?", Keiichi asked, "To take on Kami-
Sama?".

     A huge pair of wings sprouted from the creature's back,
"Wait in heaven and I'll soon break down it's gates!", it
growled.

     "I think we're in trouble", Skuld observed dryly.

     Suddenly a metallic arm shot out and gripped the Devil-
God's leg.  "System failure imminent, activating Eye-Of-God
protocol", Nemesis-1 announced.

     Urd and Brett exchanged a glance, "We want to leave,
now!", Urd said quickly.

     "The exit's that way!", Chia-Yao announced, pointing at
the door.

     "Too slow!", Urd said, looking around desperately.

     "Hey", Brett said weakly, "Anyone got the time?".

                                  ******

     I awoke to the sounds of birds singing.  Looking out the
window the scene was one of peaceful tranquillity.  The room
was familiar and I knew it was mine, but for the life of me I
could remember where it was.  I rose from bed, wondering why I
wasn't hurting anymore.  "They must have healed me", I
observed.  Then I wondered who 'they' were.

     A women then walked into the room.  She was tall and
rather pretty and her expression was happy.  "How are you
feeling this morning Brett?", she asked.

     I knew her, that much was certain, "I'm feeling fine", I
said, "I know you, don't I?".

     The woman's expression became almost sad, "Yes you know
me", she said, "My name is Urd".

     "Urd", I said, various things flashed through my mind,
her smile, her laughter and other images of her.  It was
remarkable how much I knew about this woman.  As I looked at
her I noticed that she was rather downcast, reaching out I
took her hand, "Hey", I said, "What's got you so upset?".

     "You don't even know me", she said, "How do you know I'm
upset?".

     I frowned, "That's a good question", I mused, "Perhaps I
do know you.. ".

     Urd frowned at me, "How can you know me and not know my
name?", she demanded angrily.

     "I dunno", I admitted, "But I do know you... you like
eating the omelettes I make.. you enjoy it when we go
swimming.. ".

     "But.. if you've lost you memories...", she began.

     "Again", I interrupted her, "I seem to remember losing
them once before...".

     "Again", Urd allowed, "This time it's different..".

     I nodded, "It's not the same as before", I explained, "I
know this room, I know you, I know your sisters (but I can't
remember their names), I know how to make omelettes..".

     "Well enough of that", Urd said, "All this talk about
omelettes is making me hungry".

     I nodded, "I feel the same way", I admitted.  She helped
me up and led me outside, "Belldandy should have something
edible on the table by now", she said.

     "Belldandy always has something edible on the table", I
laughed, "She could turn a leather shoe into something fit for
a king!".

     Urd was glaring at me in confusion and I shrugged, "I
don't know!", I protested, "As soon as you said her name I
knew who she was and remembered a whole heap of stuff about
her".

     "How much do you remember about her?", Urd asked.

     "Well, she's totally in love with this guy named.. err..
I can't remember his name.. anyway, he's a good friend and so
is she.. although her little sister doesn't seem to approve...
I can't remember her sister's name...", I explained brokenly,
"Oh, she's also your sister too..".

     Urd nodded, "How much do you remember about me?", she
asked curiously.

     I was saved from having to answer that by Belldandy, who
appeared around the corner of the room, "Keiichi and Skuld are
already waiting", she said.  I nodded and then snapped my
fingers, "That's who they are!", I said finally remembering.

     "This is going to be weird", Urd observed.

                                  ******

     It was weird for about a week, after that I'd heard just
about everyone's name and remembered ninety percent of what
had happened.  Apparently just after Nemesis-1 had activated
it's self-destruct device, I teleported everyone home.  Now
I'm not an expert but teleporting seven people after being
blasted by one of Urd's lightning bolts was probably what
triggered a new case of amnesia.  We don't know what happened
to Tupnixua or Phalarus, the authorities had reported that a
huge explosion had wiped out the ancient temple at the foot of
Mount Fuji.

     "So are you back to normal now?", Keiichi asked.  The two
of us were working on my car, apparently Tamiya and Ootaki had
decided to let me keep the car even if I didn't get around to
racing it in the rally as they'd liked.

     I grinned, "I'd say I'm close to right mate", I observed,
"So long as there arn't too many other things you guys haven't
told me?".

     Keiichi shrugged, "Nothing that can't wait until you find
it out yourself", he observed.

     Just after I'd woken up we took a trip up to heaven.  The
doctor told me that I was perfectly normal and he couldn't
tell where one soul ended and the other soul started.  He put
me through lots of tests and asked me lots of questions, but
in the end I don't think he knew why it had happened any more
than I did.  I gave Keiichi a curious look, "That doesn't
sound too promising", I observed, "What haven't you told me
about?".

     Keiichi laughed, "I promised I wouldn't tell", he said.

     Giving him a sour look I threw a towel at him (hitting
him right in his grinning face) and began to clean up the
tools that were strewn all over the place.  "So what's
happening tonight?", Keiichi asked, noticing how I was
cleaning the inside of the car too.

     I glanced back at him, "What makes you think something's
happening tonight?", I asked innocently.

     Keiichi grinned, "I know you wanted everything working by
this afternoon and now you're cleaning it", he pointed out,
"That means you're gonna be using it tonight...".

     "Well.. ", I said, with an evil grin "I'm afraid I'm not
going to tell you".

     "Great", Keiichi said sourly, "thanks so much".

     I grinned at him, "Take it easy mate", I said quickly, "I
promised I'd take Urd to that Motor club party a couple of
months back, but due to circumstances beyond my control..".

     Keiichi sighed in relief, "Thank goodness", he said with
feeling.

     "Why react that way?", I asked in confusion, "Who did you
think I was taking out?".

     Keiichi grinned, "I refuse to answer that on the grounds
I might incriminate myself", he replied.  I walked back inside
to my room and began to get changed.  I was down to my boxers
when I became aware that I wasn't alone in my room.  A figure
dressed in grey was standing along one wall.

     "What the hell?", I demanded.

     "Brett!", the figure said, lunging forward.

     I found myself sprawled back on my bed holding a sobbing
young woman, "I was so worried about you!", she sobbed.

     I knew her, that much was certain.  Unfortunately for me
the door slid open at that point in time and Urd stepped into
the room.  Have you ever wished you could disappear?  Well in
most cases I *could* disappear, but I was like a Kangaroo
caught in the headlights of on oncoming roadtrain.  And a
roadtrain doesn't have any more destructive capability than an
angry Urd.

     "Syliana!", Urd snapped, "Get off him!".

     Syliana (whom I now remembered) gave Urd a defiant look
and hugged me tighter, "No!", she growled, "I want to check if
he's all right!".

     You know, it was the middle of winter and I was in my
boxers, yet I was sweating like I'd run a marathon.  I gently
tried to unentangle myself and grab a shirt.  However Syliana
had a grip of steel and I found myself gasping for air.  Urd
grabbed on of my arms, "Stop it!", she said, "Let the poor guy
breath!".

     Syliana latched onto my other arm, "You just want to keep
him for yourself!", she snapped, "Just like when we were
kids!".  I'd seen one other person in a similar situation a
guy named Tenchi over in another universe.  Now apparently
Tenchi had never learnt to stick up for himself when he was in
the middle of something like this.  I decided to take a
different strategy.

                                  ******

     "AND STAY THE HELL OUT OF MY ROOM WHEN I'M GETTING
DRESSED!", Brett shouted, slamming the door.

     Syliana and Urd exchanged confused glances from where
they were standing outside in the hall, "You upset him!", Urd
accused Syliana.

     "I did not!", Syliana protested, "I was worried about
him!".

     Urd glared at Syliana, "You stay away from him", she
ordered, "He's mine!".

     Syliana glared back, "Say's you!", she replied, "He's my
'brother' after all so I can see him whenever I like".

     Urd grimaced, "Oh now who's being perverted!", she
replied with a sneer, "Trying to latch onto your own
brother!".

     "He's not *really* my brother and it's better than being
a cheap tramp!", Syliana taunted, "That's what you always
where back at school!".

     Urd's eyes flashed dangerously and the air seemed to fill
with electricity as both Goddesses began to build up their
powers.  The door to Brett's room slid open sharply, "No
blowing things up in the house!", he reminded them, walking
past.

     Syliana frowned as Brett walked past, "Brett!", she said,
"Arn't you going to tell her to leave us alone?".

     "Arn't you going to straighten her out?", Urd growled,
cracking her knuckles, "Cause if you won't, I will".

     Brett turned around and glared at both Goddesses, "Why
should I do anything, since it's obvious that both of you are
now making my decisions for me", he said dryly, "Let me know
what you both work out, I'll be in the kitchen".  Urd and
Syliana stared after Brett in disbelief.

                                  ******

     I chuckled to myself as I made a quick snack.  Putting on
some tea I hoped that the girls wouldn't do too much damage to
the house or each other.  It was surprisingly quiet as I
sipped my tea.  I walked into the dining room to find Urd and
Syliana sitting at the table, "Please sit down", Urd said
calmly.

     I looked around suspiciously, "Please join us", Syliana
announced.

     Warily sitting down I looked back and forth between the
two of them, "What exactly is going on?", I asked.

     "We've decided something", Urd said evenly.

     "Yes we have", Syliana echoed.

     "Why do I get the feeling I'm not going to like this?", I
mused out loud.

     At that point in time Skuld walked into the room,
followed by Belldandy and Keiichi, "What arn't you going to
like?", Skuld asked curiously.

     Urd and Syliana stood together in front of Brett, "Make a
decision", Urd said firmly.

     "Yes", Syliana agreed, "It's up to you".

     I grimaced, "What brought this on?", I asked.

     "Well", Urd said sweetly, "We didn't want you to think
that we'd made the decision for you".

     "So we agreed to abide by your decision", Syliana said. 
Both of them looked at me with a smile and said, "Choose!". 
Keiichi and Skuld were trying desperately not to laugh and
even Belldandy had a big smile on her face.  "Oh great", I
muttered.

                                  ******

Author's Notes:

	Well.. there arn't really any notes at this point.. I'm in the middle of three other stories at the moment so I'm gonna concentrate on them rather than make any profound statements here..

-----Brett