Introduction to the latest and last of the Vertigo Fates Trilogy, 
following in the steps of Dire Fates and Mortal Fates...

-David Tai and Rod M.

                           ~*~

                    Rod M. & David Tai
                          present

                     The finale of the
              Oh My Goddess / Vertigo Trilogy

                       Meddling Fates

                            Foreword

                              ~*~


"And once you begin to walk the path of Magic, you can never step 
off it."

	-The Phantom Stranger to Tim Hunter,
	 "The Books of Magic"

                            ~*~

Imagine if you will a skinny, somewhat reclusive,
bespectacled British boy, age approximately 15.
His home, a small, modest apartment.  His only family,
his father, a one-armed man who sat in front of the 
television all day.  His mother, passed away long ago.

Now, believe if you can, that this boy was destined
to become the next great Magus.  Given a brief
lesson of the history of Magic by four of the most
powerful Magic practitioners of his time (The Phantom 
Stranger, John Constantine, Dr. Occult, and the dangerous
Mister E), the boy was given a choice: to follow
the path of Magic, or to live the life of the Normal.

He chose Magic.

Soon after that, trouble came looking for him.
It came in many forms.  There was Titania, Queen
of Faerie, who for some odd reason claimed
Tim was her son.  They didn't get along very well.
There was Titania's former servant, Tam Lin the 
Falconer.  A man who could turn himself into a falcon.
He claimed to be Tim's real father.  There was Cupid
and Psyche, who crossed paths with Tim when trying
to spread the gospel of Love in the Nineties.

And then there was a Tim Hunter from an alternate
future, arriving in the boy's time to make sure
Tim turned evil.

His love life wasn't any simpler.

There was Molly, an odd, energetic Irish girl that 
became Tim's girlfriend.  Soon after they met, she
ended up in Hell.  It wasn't as bad as it sounded.
Tim went after her, and they had their first kiss.

In Hell.

And then there was the time Tim liberated a succubus
from slavery, giving her total freedom for the first
time in her life.  Her name was Leah, and she fell 
in love with him too.  Somewhere along the way, she 
disappeared.  Tim wasn't sure what happened to her.

But the Magic was always there.  It called to him,
it beckoned it... it seduced him.

Until he lost focus of everything but Magic.

Even Molly.

Inevitably, Molly left him, sending Tim into a depression.
Eventually, he decided to surrender the Magic within him to
the world, believing it needed it far more than he did.

Meanwhile, his family life had improved.  His father,
thanks to some mysterious surgery, regained his other
arm.  He met, fell in love with, and married a woman he'd
met during his stay at the hospital.  Her son, only
a few years old, had some mental problems and was sent
away to an institution.  Otherwise, with Tim seemingly
rid of the Magic, he'd finally gotten a Normal household.

And this time, Normal was to his liking.

It wouldn't last.

Leah returned, briefly, to remind Tim that he wasn't 
rid of the Magic at all.  It would always be a part
of him, no matter what anyone tried.

And now, powerless and yet told he was not, Tim was left
wondering....

                            ~*~

"Why is a Goddess like you playing Servant to a mere human?!"

 -Mara to Belldandy,
  "Oh My Goddess:  Love Potion No. 9"

                            ~*~

Keiichi Morisato can be considered one lucky guy.

He's got a live-in Goddess living with him.  Even after many 
struggles, he has the love of Belldandy, one of the Three Norn 
Sisters.

Of course, dealing with the love of Belldandy means dealing with 
HER sisters.

Poor sucker.

Skuld, Belldandy's younger sister, is smart, and generally a pest 
about it.  Her inventions can be spectacularly explosive (as in, 
brilliant, but just a bit... clumsy.)  However, Keiichi could live with
that.

Urd, Belldandy's oldest sister, on the other hand, is just a bit more 
of a
problem.  She fancies herself the Goddess of Love.  And her 
encouragement
of Keiichi and Belldandy's relationship can often be a biiiiiiig
hinderance.

It'd be just terrible, terrible, if Urd were unleashed on the world,
instead of staying with Keiichi, now, wouldn't it?