Howdy Folks,
As promised, here is chapter 2 of my AMG! story. For those of you who were
hoping I'd put out something a little more quickly.. hey, it's hard
writing two fics at once! 8)
This Chapter explains a little more, intros a new character, and sets the
ball rolling story-wise.
If there are any glaring grammer errors, let me know. I still need to
proof read it. Tell me whacha think.
Sincerely
Mike McAvoy
mmcavoy@acm.vt.edu
www.acm.vt.edu/~mmcavoy/
***************************************************************************
Credits:
Ah! My Goddess! copyright 1988, 1998 by Kousuke Fujishima.
This is a non-profit work of fan-fiction. As such, I'm getting no
compensation for writing this fiction other than my own enjoyment,
because the thought of getting sued is rather unpleasant.
Disclaimer: All characters *I* have created are purely a work of
fiction. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is pure
coincidence. Anyone who thinks otherwise is probably just itching for
a fight. Also, please do not try and distribute this story in a lame
attempt to make a buck; it would be bad karma to say the least.
C&C appreciated!
Send them to Michael McAvoy
mmcavoy@acm.vt.edu
http://www.acm.vt.edu/~mmcavoy/
Ah, My Goddess!
"In Search of a Wish"
A Fan-fiction by Michael McAvoy
From the point of ignition
To the final drive;
The point of the journey
Is not to arrive.
Anything can happen.
-- RUSH
-* Chapter 2 *-
Some would argue that the idea of the Almighty and the Dark
Lord meeting regularly to share a cup of coffee would be one of the
greater absurdities imaginable. These same people might also be
accused of having the tiniest imaginations possible by others, who
might find the idea of good and evil sharing a cup of jo quite
comforting. Indeed, the pro-coffee folks would also be the types who
assumed that God had given them a mind and body to enjoy all the
different flavors of beans out there. The more devout of the non-coffee
factions would assume righteously shocked expressions and proclaim
that the Taster's Choice people were going straight to Hell once the
Y2K bug (according to Jerry Falwell) brought on the Apocalypse by
crashing the world's computers.
Bringing His existence into a special plane know only to
himself and two others, as far as He knew, the Dark Lord materialized
His presence. A world of motion and stillness, light and darkness, it
was quite literally beyond the comprehension of any human being, as
well as the immortals that walked the realms of, and between, Paradise
and Damnation. Affording a moment's irony, the Dark Lord
considered how much easier such fanatical religious leaders, in the
name of Goodness, dulled and corrupted their followers minds by
filling them with fear and superstition. As far as He was concerned, a
mind filled with religious induced phantoms and fears was a mind
much more easily Damned by His minions than someone not exposed
to religious fanaticism.
And then the Dark Lord knew He had arrived as well.
<Brother,> the Dark Lord said pleasantly.
<Brother,> the Almighty acknowledged no less politely, <it
has been some time since We have deemed it mutually necessary to
meet together like this.>
<Indeed,> agreed the Dark Lord, <though I am to assume
Our Brother will not be joining Us?>
<I would be surprised at His arrival,> the Almighty
responded, <after all, the force of Neutrality has always had little
interest in Our doings.>
<Indeed,> the Dark Lord repeated, <but no matter. I feel You
have responded to My actions as I hoped You would.>
<As I have seen necessary,> said the Almighty, <when We
agreed at the dawn of human consciousness to remove Ourselves
directly from contact in favor of our faithful Dominions, We knew this
possibility might arise.>
<That the vows that bind Us from not interfering directly
with humans would prevent Me from correcting the situation within
My Dominion was not unexpected,> concurred the Dark Lord. <Then
We are in agreement to let this be determined by the human hand of
Fate, regardless of the outcome?>
<As has always been Our Plan of self-determination for the
humans and their world,> the Almighty answered, <though I feel if
this imbalance is not corrected, Our Creation may be annihilated by
Lucifer's lack of vision.>
<Indeed,> said the Dark Lord, <then let humanity's
immediate future rest on the shoulders of Your chosen. I certainly
wish to see how her saga plays itself out, considering the drama of her
first act.>
<It is something many in My Dominion can never forget,>
replied the Almighty, <However, I would like to spread the burden to
another human in this matter, with your consent. As We are balanced
by the will of the Universe, should not the humans be so represented in
this ordeal?>
<Perhaps,> the Dark Lord mused, <certainly Your chosen is
of particularly strong will and courage this time. Do you have a
suitable contrast already in mind?>
<This human female,> the Almighty indicated.
<Excellent choice,> complemented the Dark Lord, <this
human was been spiraling towards Damnation for several of her years,
now. She will balance the other chosen nicely. I consent to this
addition, so let it be Done.>
There was a mighty resonance in the ethereal plane as the two
beings' wills set together to form an unbreakable agreement. It was
only the fifth time such an agreement had been made by the two
deities together since the human consciousness sparked.
<It will be of particular interest to see how members of Our
Dominions either aid or hinder the chosen,> the Almighty pondered.
<Perhaps they will learn valuable lessons with the conclusion
of this matter,> the Dark Lord agreed, before removing his presence
from the spiritual plane and returning to Hell.
With only a moment's pause, the Almighty similarly left for
Paradise.
* * *
Urd, Goddess Second Class, Limited License, Norse Goddess
of the Past, and self-proclaimed Goddess of Love was in a grumpy
mood. Somehow she just could not shake the nagging feeling that her
sister, Belldandy, would have been able to handle the whole situation
without having so many difficulties. In fact, though Urd *knew* her
other sister, Skuld, had no way of knowing what had just occurred in
the small, Alexandria home, Urd was certain Skuld would be
sniggering if she found out.
Looking down at the floor of a living room gone horribly
wrong, Urd considered the young woman who was passed out from
shock. Covered with bits of tinsel and twisted in lights that twinkled
merrily, Bonnie MacMaster was a victim of the windstorm that had
raced through her home. Her senses overloaded by the stress of seeing
everything she owned flying about a goddess bathed in a brilliant blue
light, which blew a small hole through her ceiling into the second
floor and out the roof, Bonnie had opted to retreat into the relatively
peaceful oblivion of a faint.
The long, platinum-haired goddess narrowed her exotic,
green eyes and debated what to do next. There were a number of
options available, and cleaning up the mess she had just made was not
high on that list. However, Urd settled on reaching for one of the
bottles of Guinness that had managed to survive the wish process.
Leaning over to pick it up off the floor, the goddess popped the bottle's
top on the edge of a coffee table and tossed it back. Nonchalantly
throwing the bottle aside once it was empty ('After all,' she thought,
'the room's already trashed.'), Urd crouched down and tried to shake
Bonnie awake.
Not achieving any response from the unconscious woman,
Urd stepped back and started to chant quietly. Building up a small
amount of magical energy, Urd released a spell of levitation and
opened her eyes.
The coffee table beside Bonnie was floating serenely.
"Dammit all!" swore the tanned goddess, "I wasn't supposed
to miss!"
Letting the coffee table hit the floor with a crash, the Norn
deity redirected the energy until the young engineer was floating a few
feet off the ground. With a negligent flick of her hand, Urd started to
walk out of the room and up the stairs with Bonnie in tow. Once on
the second floor, just as dark as downstairs in the late evening, Urd
poked around until she found Bonnie's bedroom. Releasing the
energy, Urd let Bonnie dump onto her bed in a heap where she
remained unmoving.
Urd sighed again and scratched the side of her head absently.
For the life of her, the goddess could not figure out why things had to
always be *so* difficult. Looking around Bonnie's darkened bedroom,
Urd's face became disapproving with what she saw. The room was
simply furnished with little in the way of decoration that would mark
it as distinctly Bonnie's. There were a few knickknacks here and there
that appeared to be unusual and delicate minerals, but that was it. No
posters, no pictures, nothing to indicate exactly what kind of life this
young woman led.
"Fine," muttered Urd to herself, "maybe Belldandy was right
when she said I should read more than just the first page of her file."
Stalking out of Bonnie's bedroom, the exotically dressed
goddess made her way downstairs and steered herself back into the
kitchen. Opening up the refrigerator, Urd poked about a bit searching
for something to lighten her spirits. She had to admit, Bonnie had a
decently stocked supply of good beer, but Urd was looking for a
quicker fix. Closing the door, she began rooting through cabinets
until she found what she was looking for.
"Ah, ha!" exclaimed Urd, pulling a bottle down, "A bit of
vodka would help me think much better!"
Cradling the bottle like a baby, robes trailing, Urd swooshed
back into the disorderly living room and sprawled on the sofa. Sitting
in the darkness, Urd sat for a moment watching the lights that were
still twinkling on the toppled Christmas tree. For a split second,
prudence got the better of the Goddess of the Past as she closed her
eyes and began chanting. Releasing the spell, there was a gentle
pressure wave of energy that washed over the room, correcting all the
damage done by Bonnie's wish. Urd opened her eyes and smiled at the
results.
"That should make her not so freaked out in the morning,"
Urd smiled, "I think I can safely have a few drinks, now."
Unscrewing the bottle, Urd put her lips to the opening and
took a straight snort. Dropping the bottle with a gasp and a smile, the
goddess relaxed, letting the liquid pleasantly burn the back of her
throat and warm her stomach. Her smile slowly faded, however, as
Bonnie's wish came back to her mind.
'Figure out her heart's desire,' thought Urd, 'how the hell am I
supposed to pull that one off? The girl doesn't even know what she
wants, herself.'
Then, Urd spied the cordless phone on the coffee table in
front of her. Unbidden, the thought came into her mind and sat there,
poking at her consciousness repeatedly. Urd's beautiful eyes narrowed
in frustration as she tried to think of a reason *not* to pick up that
phone.
'They're plenty of reasons not to pick up that phone,' she
thought with annoyance, 'I make that call and it'll be all over paradise.
Everyone will know good old Urd, goddess limited in *everything*
can't even handle a wish...'
Try as she might, no solution came to mind. Groaning as she
leaned forward, still cradling the bottle, Urd grabbed the phone,
switched it on, and began dialing. She put the phone to her ear and
waited for a few rings.
There was a click. "Goddess Relief Office!" a bright and
cheery feminine voice answered.
Urd's face went sour. "I need to talk to the Almighty."
"Is that you Urd?" the voice asked with amusement, "I just
finished filing that wish your human made. Don't think I've ever seen
a wish come through here that was *that* vague before! Naturally,
you'd be the one to grant it."
Setting the bottle down, Urd rubbed a temple wearily.
"Peorth," grumbled Urd, "how's life in the office today?"
"Much better since I read that wish," drawled the other
goddess, "I suppose you'd like to be connected to the Almighty now for
an idea or two on how to do your job?"
Several sparks of energy began to crackle around Urd as she
clenched her fist. "Just put me through, Peorth," she said through set
teeth.
"I'd love to do that, Urd, honey," Peorth replied sweetly, "but
look at this! In processing your human's wish, the Almighty has given
*specific* instructions on the file that you will not be granted contact
with Him until one Bonnie MacMaster's contract has been fulfilled."
Urd blinked. "W-what?" she stammered, "Then what am I
supposed to do? How am I supposed to figure out what the heart's
desire of this woman is?!"
"I don't know," the voice on the other end replied, "but I can't
wait to hear about it!"
There was a click as Peorth hung up and the line went dead.
Urd brought the phone down in front of her and almost fell off the
couch trying to strangle it. Aggravated beyond all measure by her
rival, Urd finally slammed the phone down and fished about in the
semi-darkness for her bottle.
Calming down, Urd took another swig from the bottle and
looked about the room, looking for more clues as to her client's
lifestyle. Aside from some bland colonial artwork and some crafty
Christmas decorations, there was not much to speak of. Urd did spy a
bookshelf, but it was filled with college engineering texts and a
number of unremarkable fictional works. There were a number of
movies neatly stacked as well, but nothing that really caught Urd's eye.
Also, there were two pictures on the mantle above the fireplace, neatly
surrounded by bows and holly, of two older people that Urd assumed
were Bonnie's parents. Suddenly, Urd made a judgment.
"This girl's dull," she disapproved, "If she's an engineer kinda
like Keiichi, I guess that makes sense. Nothing interesting on her
shelves, no entertainment, hardly anything resembling a life..."
Suddenly, Urd's eyes brightened noticeably as she spied what
looked like a large photo album. Twitching a finger in the general
direction of the bookshelf, the goddess summoned the album, causing
a few National Geographic issues to fall to the floor as well. Purposely
ignoring the fallen yellow magazines, Urd caught the album.
"This *has* to give me a better idea of her life!" she
exclaimed with force, trying hard to not think of the lecture she would
receive from Belldandy if she sneaked back to the temple in Japan for
a second look at Bonnie's file.
Opening the book, Urd began to scan over the pictures. The
photo album was a collection of pictures and writings that seemed
more of a scrapbook than anything else, made in chronological order
starting from Bonnie's birth. As far as Urd could tell, everything in
her scrapbook looked frightfully normal. Bonnie had made her way
through elementary school, won a few awards, had perfect attendance
several times, been in a school Christmas play...
"Boring," Urd muttered, taking another pull from the vodka.
High school was a bit of a change. The pictures Urd saw
were definitely of a teenage girl neck deep in her awkward years.
Slightly overweight with large glasses, braces, and a bad haircut,
Bonnie had transformed from a cute youngster into a goofy looking
young adult. Urd winced a little at the pictures.
'Can't imagine the poor girl getting a date like that,' she
sympathized, 'no wonder she has all these academic awards. Not like
love was probably knocking on her door Friday nights.'
That thought made Urd a bit melancholy for a few moments.
She adjusted herself on the sofa, drawing her smooth legs up under the
rest of her body until she was comfortable. Continuing to flip the
pages of the scrapbook, Urd proceeded with her assessment of Bonnie's
life.
Field hockey, soccer, an award for placing in the regional
debate, a picture from the senior prom. Urd raised her eyebrow a bit at
that one. Flipping a couple of pages back to Bonnie's freshman picture
staring at it, Urd had a hard time believing that was the same young
woman in the prom photo. Something had apparently happened to
Bonnie in the couple of years between, but there were no other pictures
marking those years, just articles and awards.
'Well, something happened,' mused Urd, 'she looks a lot more
attractive in that prom picture. Her date looks like a loser, though.'
Certainly, the Bonnie in that picture had lost a noticeable
amount of weight since her freshman year, gotten rid of the braces,
found smaller and more fashionable glasses, and let her hair fall out
more naturally. In fact, as far as Urd was concerned, Bonnie looked
rather fetching, especially in a tasteful and well-cut dress. Certainly
she could have nabbed a better date than that.
Urd blinked. 'Unless everyone you knew just saw who you
used to be,' she thought sadly, with some empathy.
After that, there were more pictures from Bonnie's college
years. Urd took a particular interest in these, because they would
certainly indicate her charge's most recent activities. True enough, the
scrapbook portrayed Bonnie not just as a good engineering student, but
also highly active. Football games, rock climbing, a few party
pictures. Page after page hosted four years worth of activities and
ideas, but towards the end Urd came to a conclusion.
'It doesn't seem like there are many guys here who aren't
anything more than friends,' she thought, 'no date pictures or anything
like that... hrm... it would make *my* job a lot easier if her heart's
desire was just a little loving!'
Urd turned to the last page of the scrapbook and began to read
the article there. Almost instantly, her lustrous green eyes began to
narrow slowly as she absorbed the information. After a couple of
minutes, Urd finished reading and closed the book gently. Placing the
scrapbook on the coffee table, the goddess sat back in the sofa and
watched the lights on the Christmas tree with a depressed expression
on her face.
"What a way to go," murmured Urd, "and on her graduation,
no less."
Rubbing her temple in exhaustion, Urd looked town at the
bottle in her hand. There was still half of the clear liquid left, which
was more than enough to pass the night away. Suddenly, Urd felt very
alone and isolated, something that had been happening more and more
ever since her sister, Belldandy, had been assigned to Keiichi. With a
frown, she realized she had been more or less drinking alone for all
that time. In fact, Urd had not had a good drinking buddy since...
well, she could not remember when the last time she had someone to
get sloshed with. Her sisters did not count, since they did not drink.
"Belldandy has her Keiichi, Skuld has her little toys and
Belldandy," Urd soured, "but it's always useless, old Urd sitting alone
and drinking in a dark room."
The goddess wondered idly if Bonnie felt the same way as she
did. It really did not matter, she eventually decided as she tilted the
vodka bottle back and knocked off its contents.
Outside, a fine layer of snow gathered on the streets and
houses, muffling the sounds from DC that usually wafted over the
Potomac.
* * *
The jarring noise of an alarm brought Bonnie up from the
depths of sleep with a fright. Falling over herself in a panic, she
tried desperately to grab the digital clock that was on a nightstand by
her bed. Failing completely, the bewildered woman slowly toppled over
and landed on the soft carpet of her bedroom floor with a squeak.
Reaching up from a twisted pile of sheets and blankets, Bonnie
reached up and grabbed the clock, turning it off. Looking around
dully, she wondered exactly where she was.
It was six in the morning on a Saturday. That information
did not really register on Bonnie since she had her clock set to go off
every day that early, except on Sundays. The fact was the young
engineer more often than not went into work on Saturday mornings to
finish up work from the past week. Struggling out of her bed linens,
Bonnie noticed she was still in her clothes from the day before.
'Huh,' her sleep fogged brain thought, 'don't remember going
to bed. Musta been really tired.'
Plodding across the neat and tidy room, Bonnie methodically
began to take off her clothing, uncharacteristically letting them just
land on the floor. After several moments of fumbling, she finally
removed everything and made her way for the bathroom.
She shivered. 'Damn, it's cold in here,' Bonnie thought as she
left her bedroom, 'but the heat's on... did I leave a window open in my
room?'
Entering the bathroom, she quickly turned the shower on full
hot, waiting a minute for the scalding water to totally steam up the
small facilities. There were many cold mornings and nights were
Bonnie would have killed for a sauna, but a small bathroom filled with
steam was the best she could do in this apartment. Once the air was
suitably warm and cloudy, she reached into the shower and turned the
cold up enough so she would not burn herself. Stepping into the
shower, Bonnie let the hot water take away all her weariness. For
several minutes, she simply stood there, trying to put a finger on how
weird she felt.
'A dream,' Bonnie finally decided, 'What a strange dream that
was... maybe I've been working too hard like everyone says...'
Shaking her head briskly, Bonnie did her best to wake up and
continue with her shower. She lingered a bit in the hot water, since it
*was* a Saturday, washing her body and her hair. Finishing up, the
young engineer flailed for a towel and dried herself off. Getting that
done, Bonnie stepped out of the tub and grabbed her hair dryer,
watching the steam swirl around her. While using an electric
appliance in a steam filled room was probably not high on the list of
smart things to do, on cold mornings Bonnie was loath to let go of the
small comfort of having one really warm room in the house. Anyway,
she rationalized, if she had to go it would be amusing to possibly win a
Darwin award for a really silly death.
When her body and hair were sufficiently dry, Bonnie got
around to opening the door to her bathroom. The wall of cold air that
rushed into the little room made her wince.
"Damn! Why is it so cold?" she asked no one in particular
again.
Stepping bare-skinned quickly down the hall, her shoulder
length hair flying behind her, Bonnie made for her bedroom, shivering
noticeably. Slinging a dresser drawer open, she hopped on one foot
and then the other, trying to stay off the cold floor. At that moment,
one of the central decisions of her day was underway:
Panties, or boxers?
Bonnie was not exactly certain when she first decided
wearing boxers was comfortable, nor why it had ever occurred to her
in the first place to try them, but she found them nice enough,
especially on a job with a lot of outdoor work. Grabbing a pair of
heavy, flannel boxers, Bonnie turned and stuck her first leg through
them. Getting her left ankle into the garment, the engineer looked up
and became very still.
There was a small, delicate pile of snow on her floor at the
foot of her bed. It was melted around the edges slightly where it made
direct contact with the wood.
Bonnie's head slowly came up.
Snow was trickling down in a gentle stream about three or
four inches wide. It looked incredibly serene.
Bonnie forced her eyes up to the ceiling.
There was a hole, perfectly circular with scorch marks around
the edges. On the other side, a gray and snowy sky could be seen.
Almost falling over in her haste to get her other leg into her
boxers, Bonnie adopted a panicked look on her face and very wide
eyes. Getting the shorts on, she raced out of her room and all but fell
down the stairs. Her feet still slightly damp from the shower, Bonnie
skidded around the corner until she slid to a stop in the dark living
room. Everything was perfectly in place, and Bonnie's tree still
twinkled happily in the corner of the room; everything was fine,
except...
Except for the scantily clad, well tanned, platinum blonde
slouched all over the sofa. Bonnie tried to put the hazy events of the
previous night together in a rational order, but failed miserably.
"W-what the hell?!" she demanded loudly.
The woman on the sofa groaned audibly, dropping an empty
glass bottle to the floor. It bounced with a clang, but did not break.
Pushing some of her long, blonde hair back, the woman opened an eye
and peered blearily at Bonnie.
"Not so loud," Urd said with another groan, "my head is a
little delicate this morning."
Urd then opened her other eye and took a look at Bonnie.
She smiled in a playful seduction noticing Bonnie's mostly undressed
condition and stretched out on the sofa.
"Well, honey," drawled Urd playfully, "if this sort of thing is
what you had in mind to begin with, you shoulda made you wish a
little more specific!"
Bonnie's amazement quickly turned to anger. "W-whoever
you are," she demanded covering her breasts with an arm and a hand,
"get the hell outta my house, now!"
"Sorry," Urd replied, sitting up straight, "can't do that until
your wish is fulfilled. It's part of the contract."
"Contract?!" yelled Bonnie, "What contract?! Who are you,
and why is there a hole in my damn ceiling?!"
"Hole?" asked Urd blankly, looking up at the ceiling, "I
thought I fixed... oh, right! Upstairs. Just a sec, hon."
Urd closed her eyes and began to chant softly. Bonnie's eyes
widened again as a blue aura began to envelop Urd. As Urd finished
her spell, there was a sigh in the air as the power was released. Urd
opened her eyes and blinked owlishly.
"That should do it," smiled the goddess, "and maybe you
could use a robe while we're at it."
There was another bout of chanting and the same blue light.
Bonnie suddenly felt a tingly sensation all around her. Backing up a
step, she cried out in fright as she was covered by a thick, green robe.
Bonnie looked down at herself in amazement, then up at the grinning
Urd.
"Ready to go?" the goddess inquired.
* * *
Urd leaned out the front door and look around with distaste.
It was a gray and yucky morning as far as she was concerned, despite
the snowy white blanket of snow that covered everything. It was also
way too cold for her liking. She grumbled and looked at the back of
the retreating engineer.
"Now where are you going?" asked Urd, shivering in the
doorway.
Bonnie fumbled with the keys to her Blazer. "I'm going to
work!" she yelled back.
"But, I *told* you," Urd sighed in frustration, "we have to
fulfill your wish."
"Why do you keep prattling on about this wish?" Bonnie
demanded.
"Because," Urd explained for the third time, rolling her eyes,
"I can't leave until I get your wish fulfilled, and I really doubt you're
going to find your heart's desire around here or at work. Obviously,
we need to go somewhere else where we can find it."
"Leave? I can't leave!" Bonnie countered, "I have to go to
work, regardless of this wish junk you keep talking about! Just... just
don't be here when I get back!"
Bonnie finally managed to get the door of her truck open and
vault herself inside. Starting the engine with a roar, she set the
vehicle into four-wheel drive and easily muscled her way out of the
snowy parking space. Urd watched blandly as the Blazer disappeared
around a corner.
"Work is her excuse for not wanting to leave, huh?" pondered
the goddess, "Well, not for much longer."
Urd sniffed and went back inside of the old townhouse,
closing the door behind her. The ruts in the snow left by Bonnie's
wheels slowly began to fill as another snow shower began.
* * *
Despite the several inches of snow and slush that covered the
roads, the DC Beltway was fairly empty of cars, since it was so early
on a Saturday morning. The normal traffic that brought the highway
loop to a standstill on a daily weekday basis was usually a little less
insane on the weekend. The snow was doing a lot to keep people who
normally went out on Saturday mornings inside and in bed where it
was warm.
Bonnie cruised down the Beltway from Alexandria like a
madwoman. Wholly dependent on the ability of her four-wheel drive
to keep her from sliding all over the place, Bonnie sat hunched over
the steering wheel, grumbling to herself. Words like `nutcase',
`weirdo', and `call the cops' were only a bit of what was rattling
around inside her mind as she drove.
Crossing over the Potomac at a dangerous speed for the road
conditions, Bonnie nevertheless made it into Maryland and off the
Beltway without incident. Zinging down a number of side streets off
the highway, the engineer finally pulled up in front of an office that
had a large warehouse connected to the back. Parking her Blazer,
Bonnie got out of the truck and stalked up to the office. Opening the
front door to the building, she kicked the snow off her boots and
shrugged off her jacket.
Looking around the front part of the office, it was plain to see
most people, like almost every Saturday, were at home and probably
still asleep. However, there were at least two other people in this
morning based on the two cars parked out front.
"Morning, Bonnie!" a cheerful voice bounded up.
Bonnie looked over and saw a perky eyed girl about her age
with bright, green eyes and red hair. She was also dressed down for
work similar to Bonnie, and was hold a stack of papers in her arms.
"Morning, Amanda," Bonnie mumbled back, "you're in early
for a Saturday."
"For me, yeah," the redhead bubbled, "but not for you, ya
workaholic! I'm just doing a little extra paper work for the big man
down the hall."
Amanda leaned her head towards Bonnie's in a conspiratorial
manner.
"I'm here because we were just awarded *three* huge
contracts yesterday afternoon," she whispered with a smile, "and guess
who's to blame for it?"
Bonnie looked blank. "Uh, whom?" she asked.
"Miss Hollaman!" a loud, male voice roared from an office
down the hallway.
Amanda spooked and launched herself up straight. "Y-yes,
Mister Frank!"
"Is that Bonnie you're chattering with?" Mr. Frank asked
loudly again, "If it is, send her on down here, immediately!"
Amanda got behind Bonnie and started pushing her down the
hallway. "She's coming, sir!" she proclaimed.
"W-wha?" stuttered Bonnie, as she was manhandled down
the hall.
Finally collecting herself, Bonnie shook Amanda's hands off
with a look of confused annoyance and entered Mr. Frank's office
under her own power. Knocking politely on the side of the door before
entering, Bonnie walked in and sat down. The man across from here
was the owner of the contracting firm Bonnie worked for. About fifty
years of age, he had a slight belly on him and was in the throws of
balding. Nevertheless, Mr. Frank was one of those type-A
personalities that was always moving around and giving commands,
never resting. As a result, his firm, though not the largest in town,
was quite successful.
"About time, Bonnie!" he boomed, with a pleased smile on
his face, "I was starting to wonder when I didn't see you in the office
at six-thirty sharp like you normally are!"
"Uh, sorry about that," Bonnie began to apologize, "I just had
some-"
"Never mind about that!" her boss said, "I got a call from the
Preservation Committee yesterday!"
Bonnie straightened up immediately. The Preservation
Committee was the group in charge of overseeing the restoration of
many of the old federal buildings in town, including the one Bonnie
was working on. They were the ones who awarded the restoration
contracts to engineering firms, and they were also the ones would take
them away if they were unhappy with the work. Bonnie wracked her
brain in a panic, trying to think of what she might have done wrong.
"The committee was so impressed with the work you've been
doing at the Treasury Building," Mr. Frank said, "they've decided to
award us with the restoration contract for several of the Smithsonian
buildings!"
Bonnie's jaw dropped.
"Do you *know* what a coup this is?" he chortled, "Those
other big contracting companies would gnaw their own legs off to get
these contracts, and thanks to your excellent work, we've won them on
our reputation alone without even having to competitively bid them!"
"T-that's great!" Bonnie stammered, starting to get excited,
"but, surely it's not my doing."
"'Fraid so, miss!" her boss grinned, "The committee
mentioned you directly by name. Seems they've been entirely pleased
with the quality of work under your direction, your professionalism,
your constant communication with the committee, as well as the all
important keeping of our deadlines these past twelve months!"
"I'm speechless," Bonnie smiled, starting to feel better,
"that's a wonderful compliment, but our crew has a lot to do with that,
too."
"Very, true! Very true!" agreed Mr. Frank, "But a crew is
only as good as it's leader, and that is why you're taking a leave of
absence!"
"I'm what?" Bonnie stared.
"Taking a leave of absence!"
"B-but why?" she blinked, "Is there something-"
Mr. Frank silenced her with a hand gesture. "Your work for
this company has been superb," he said, "and I certainly want you to
head up the work for these new contracts. However, the work at the
Treasury Building is almost complete, and I am perfectly aware of all
the hours you've been putting in the past year."
"The hours have never been a prob-" Bonnie tried to say.
"Regardless!" interrupted Mr. Frank, "You've not taken any
vacation the past three years at all, and I will not have my best
engineer and manager getting burned out just as our biggest work is
set to begin later this year! Therefore, you will take two months paid
vacation. You will get out of this town for a while and go relax
somewhere. I don't want to see you in this office for the next eight
weeks!"
"But my work at the Treasury," began Bonnie weakly.
"Handing it over to Jim," answered her boss, "he's more than
able to finish up the last bits of the work there. You'll take your
vacation, and when it's over, you be back here rip roaring ready to go
on these new Smithsonian contracts, you got that?"
"Yes, sir," Bonnie replied unhappily.
* * *
"It's called the Ultimate Force," Urd stated matter-of-factly,
"get used to it."
There was always a certain amount of disbelief inherent in
every wish granted to an immortal. You really could not blame them,
actually, especially the ones living in the more advanced and
technology driven societies. The wonder and acceptance of myth
being alive and well in the world was something that had died some
time ago for most people. Even after having a wish granted and being
shown an example of power by an immortal, you could always expect
that a few mortals would *still* have a hard time believing in what
their own eyes were telling them. However, every mortal eventually
came around, either quietly or kicking and screaming.
Bonnie was finally past the kicking and screaming part.
"The Ultimate Force?" asked Bonnie in a dazed manner,
watching Urd scarf down the food and wine from the opposite end of
the table.
Urd looked up from a bag of take out food she had in front of
her. Even though it was still midmorning, the goddess had a terrific
hunger and needed food. Using her powers, it had taken almost no
effort to locate an extra credit card Bonnie had stashed away in a desk
for emergencies. Urd considered hunger an emergency, and ordered
an early lunch from one of the best take out joints in DC.
"Sure," nodded Urd, emptying her wine glass, "when you
wished for your heart's desire, you entered into a contract with the
Almighty through one of his agents, me. From that moment on,
anything you, I, or anyone else does that interferes with the fulfillment
of the contract gets dealt with by the Ultimate Force."
"And this is why I was given a leave of absence?" asked
Bonnie again.
"Sounds good to me," replied Urd with a wink, "Who knows?
In this case maybe it was just coincidence based on you doing good
work."
Bonnie looked very tired. "And the Almighty is the same as
God?" came the inevitable question.
Urd paused with a fork just below her mouth. "Hrm, yeah
more or less, I suppose. He's the Almighty."
"Whose god is He?"
Urd thought about that for a moment. "Everybody's, I
guess," she answered, continuing with her meal.
Bonnie shook her head. "That doesn't make any sense," she
argued, "how could He be everybody's God, or Almighty? Everybody
believes in totally different gods."
"Try not to confuse Religion with the Almighty," offered Urd,
"they usually aren't one and the same."
"My head hurts."
Urd filled up a glass of wine and leaned across the table, her
blonde hair spilling everywhere. Taking the glass, she slid it up in
front of the unhappy engineer.
"Better than aspirin," declared Urd seriously, "in my humble
opinion."
Bonnie slowly took the wineglass and lifted it up off the table.
Putting it up to her lips, she swigged it all in one gulp. Setting the
glass down on the table, Bonnie beckoned for more.
"I could really get to like you," smiled Urd pleasantly.
"So," said Bonnie, "I've made this wish. What happens
now?"
Urd furrowed her brow as she poured wine into Bonnie glass.
Thinking hard for a minute, the goddess considered her options.
"No idea," she finally admitted.
Bonnie choked on her wine. "W-what?" she sputtered, "What
do you mean by that?"
Urd sat the wine bottle down on the table and adopted a
thoughtful pose. With one hand on her supple hip, she scratched her
head with the other.
"Well, it's kind of like this," said the goddess, "you made a
*really* vague wish which could be interpreted many ways. The
problem is, I have no way of knowing what your heart's desire is, and
since you have no clue, you can't tell me."
"Oh," nodded Bonnie with disappointment, "I thought you
could read minds or something like that. So, what do we do now,
since you have no idea how to grant my wish?"
Urd sighed and crossed her arms. "Well, I didn't want to
have to resort to this, but I'm in over my head," she answered, "so, I
guess we'll have to ask someone for help who's had more experience
with granting these wish things."
Bonnie gulped. "T-that Almighty person?"
"Nah," Urd grumbled, shaking her head, "He's not talking to
me for some reason. I was thinking about my sister, Belldandy."
"She's a goddess, too?"
Urd nodded. "Yep, a pretty good one, too. Goddess First
Class, Unlimited. We should probably go ask her for advice."
Finishing off the second glass of wine, Bonnie set her chin
down on the table and looked up. She watched as Urd politely refilled
the glass again.
"Great," mutter Bonnie, "well... I guess I *do* have two
months paid vacation coming to me. Couldn't hurt to spend it
running around with a weirdly dressed woman, who claims to be a
goddess, looking for her sister, could it? Where is she?"
"Japan."
Bonnie rolled her eyes. "Oh, no problem then," she said
while rolling her eyes, "I'll just call the airport."
Urd raised an eyebrow and smiled wickedly. "Won't be
necessary," she grinned, "just do me a favor and go turn on the
television."
Bonnie looked confused at first, but then decided things really
could not get any weirder than they already had. Taking the glass, she
tossed the wine back in one gulp again and got up from the table.
Leaving the kitchen, she went into the living room to turn on the
television.
Urd nodded and began to think this might not be so difficult
after all. Sure, she had sort of botched the initial meeting last night,
and sure, she had help Bonnie choose a *really* vague wish, but at
least things were moving now. Putting the wine bottle to her lips, Urd
tipped the bottle back until all the wine had been drank. She then set
the bottle down and followed Bonnie into the living room.
`This will be a piece of cake,' thought Urd, `Belldandy will
know what to do.'
* * *
Being the number one chosen of the Dark Lord to overthrow
Hell's current chief administrator had a way of ruining a vacation.
Having the same Dark Lord hint that not attempting such an
overthrow by the end of a year would probably result in pain and
suffering, with much gnashing of teeth, did not do much good either.
Mara, Demon First Class, Unlimited License, was in a funk.
For the better part of a day, she had been wandering her way out of
Hell and into the Mortal plane. Since she was beyond Lucifer's
control for the next twelve months, she really did not see much use in
hanging around his domain, anyway. After all, she reasoned Lucifer
was bound to see her as a threat and move to eliminate her. Why give
him the home court advantage?
Usually, Mara rather enjoyed being on the Mortal plane.
After all, she was a demon by profession, and tormenting and damning
mortals was her bread and butter. The past three years of Keiichi
Morisato induced frustration aside, it was a fairly nice way to make a
living. Except, in the preoccupied state she was in, Mara took no
amusement in playing with any mortal she wandered past. Those
mortals were lucky enough only to experience a nasty chill and
foreboding sensation as she passed by.
Eventually, Mara got bored and irritated with the Mortal
plane. What she really needed was a place where she could sit back
and think all this through... for a few months. There was only one
place where she could safely do that, and neither Paradise, Hell, nor
the Mortal plane would do.
Phasing out of sight, Mara left the Mortal plane and wound
up in a near featureless existence. Mostly gray in color, it was a world
of rolling terrain and mist. Mara instantly recognized she had entered
this plane of existence at the wrong place. Closing her eyes, she
concentrated on where she wanted to go...
When she opened them again, Mara had arrived in what
appeared to be a rather large, yet sparsely constructed village. There
were large numbers of humans wandering around rather unhurriedly
as far as the eye could see in any direction, as well as a few immortals.
Looking up at a significantly more substantial building in front of her,
Mara found the destination she was looking for. It was made out of a
variety or materials, and looked to be like a European pub, hundreds of
years old, only with new and modern neon signs in the smoky
windows.
`Welcome to the Infinity Bar & Grill,' the sign out front said.
In smaller letters below, the sign read, `An Immortals Only
Establishment. No Fighting, Politicking, or General Mayhem
Allowed.'
Off to the side, Mara noticed a sizable listing of every popular
brew ever to be on tap as well as every drink ever made throughout
human history. She instantly spied her favorite brew.
"Nice to see that some things never change in this world," she
said with satisfaction, entering the bar.
* * *
The thick, glass pane of the window was bitterly cold. Below,
in the early Japanese December evening, snow swirling around the
lampposts, cars blurred by in streaks of white light, followed
immediately by red ones. Behind the frigid glass, in the warmth of an
expensive and well-furnished apartment, a young woman pressed her
hands up against the window.
Twenty-four years of age, the woman was beautiful, with
long, dark hair that reached to her waist. Pale skin and eyes that were
equally as dark as her hair, the woman was dressed in a selection of
finery that must have cost a fortune. A beautiful series of skirts,
topped with a silk blouse and finely woven vest, she dripped money,
but would have been just as beautiful in a pair of ragged jeans. Strewn
about the floor behind her were several empty bottles of liquor and a
broken wineglass.
Letting her eyes open and close in drowsiness, the woman
sighed and pressed the side of her face up against the frozen window,
wondering if there was anything in this life she could feel anymore. In
her state, the chill from outside was lost to her.
Having been caught up in a downward spiral of increasing
alcoholism for the past several years, demons, both imagined and
*real* had tormented the woman almost constantly, until just recently.
She had happy increased her consumption of spirits to push away the
demons, but when the demons had left, the alcohol had not.
"Cold," she whispered, "I should feel cold, but instead... I feel
empty."
More noises from the street below filtered through the third-
story balcony window. She did not seem to notice.
"Tired."
An empty sadness came over her handsome face as she
pushed herself away from the window slowly. Turning away, she
walked through her apartment and opened its door. Exiting into the
hallway without any shoes, the woman slowly and woodenly walked
into her hallway, down the stairs, and out of the building onto the
frigid streets.
She had a last appointment to keep, and it simply would not
do to put it off any longer.
* * *
Coming up in Chapter 3:
Urd and Bonnie begin their quest, and in the process pick up another
companion.
Comments and Criticisms welcome.
Mike McAvoy
mmcavoy@acm.vt.edu
www.acm.vt.edu/~mmcavoy/
Last Updated January 8, 1999.