Howdy folks,
Another chapter of AMG! In Search of a Wish has made its way to
completion. This chapter introduces several new characters.
Hope you enjoy it.
Also, All of Cycle 1 and the first chapter of Cycle 2 of No Need For Sasami
are complete at:
http://members.xoom.com/mmcavoy/
Sincerely,
Michael McAvoy
_______________________________________________
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@naxs.net
http://members.xoom.com/mmcavoy/
Ah, My Goddess!
"In Search of a Wish"
A Fan-fiction by Michael McAvoy
"One of the more peculiar notions widespread amongst
humans is their perception of the nature between Good and Evil.
Mortals, quite unnaturally, have the curious view that a perfect world
is one where only Good exists, wholly without Evil. Indeed, the
mortals have historically ignored the fact that Good and Evil must
coexist in equal amounts to achieve Balance. Hence, the goal of the
various immortals is not to defeat their foes, but to thwart them, thus
preserving the natural order of life.
Realistically, immortals do defeat their foes, causing
an imbalance in the world. Such an imbalance, be it Good or Evil,
will ultimately result in an opposite effect on the mortal plane. For
example, an excess of Good in society for a time brings prosperity, as
seen in the great Roman empire, fourteenth century middle east, and
most recently in the twentieth century western nations. With each of
these unbalances in favor of Good, Evil naturally blossoms and grows,
breaking down those societies in some drastic manner (for example,
the Dark Ages where the Black Death reigned, the horrors of the
Crusades, World War I & II, and most recently the invention of fast
food). Ironically, these radical swings towards Evil eventually result
in an imbalance as well. Where Evil dominates, Good then blossoms
at some point (note the Renaissance growing out of the Dark Ages).
Indeed, while Balance is the ultimate vision of the Almighty and the
Dark Lord, it is achieved only in the rare moments when the Ultimate
Force is in the process of swinging back and forth between Good and
Evil.
Sadly, those mortal societies that do comprehend the notion
of balance between Good and Evil have been historically enslaved or
eradicated by their fellow mortals in the name of the Good or Evil
factions."
-- excerpt from "Reflections on Thought and Other Mortal Curiosities"
by Clio, Goddess of History.
-* Chapter 4 *-
A wide expanse laid out in a glittering line under the morning
sun, Cocoa Beach for many decades had been the haunt of those
seeking to soak up a little of the Atlantic Ocean. Situated only a quick
stone's throw from Cape Canaveral, it had also become a favored place
to run for many astronauts in the first days of the NASA space
program. The first flash of a manned rocket engine, though, had
forever turned Cocoa from a sleepy paradise into a bustling tourist
center for people from all walks of life.
Today, several decades since the first launches off the
Mercury program, was certainly no different. The beach streamed
with people, despite the sixty degree temperatures of winter in Florida,
most eager to watch the liftoff of the first newtype space shuttle. Less
expensive, more reliable, and having more lift capacity, the new
shuttle bore a resemblance to its predecessors, but also incorporated
smooth curves and graceful lines of vehicles seen only before in
futurist movies. Perhaps that aspect was what had drawn so many
people to see its first launch.
The other shuttles, Columbia, Endeavor, Atlantis... they were
still in service, but with the new design on the pad one could easily see
the end was near for the gallant workhorses of NASA's past 25 years.
Sitting atop the launching platform, the new shuttle, Diligence, with
its crew of five waited patiently for the next thirty seconds to pass. In
that small amount of time, her engines would ignite and Diligence
would shoot into the heavens on a fiery tower of exploding gases.
Thousands of cameras aimed at her fuselage, Diligence began
to tremble as her engines roared to life. Shaking and sending
concussion air waves in every direction, the massive shuttle lifted off
her earthly confines.
"Diligence, Canaveral! You have cleared the tower! Houston
is in control!" came over the radio.
"R-roger, Canaveral!" came a rattling voice back. "Houston,
Diligence! P-prepared to initiate roll sequence!"
"Uh, copy, Diligence," came a calm voice from Houston.
"Initiate roll sequence."
"Roger, r-roll, Houston!"
Arcing delicately into the sky, Diligence began her roll and
continued to gain altitude and speed. For the better part of a minute,
the flight continued uneventfully. At the second minute, the shuttle
jettisoned its boosters and roared onward using only its main engines.
All seemed to be going well until...
"What the h-hell was that?" a nervous exclamation came over
the radio.
"Uh, Diligence, Houston," answered the calm man's voice.
"Could you repeat that?"
"Houston," came the reply over the background noise of the
engines. "There was a large v-vibration through the hull! It felt a-
almost like we hit something!"
"Copy, Diligence," said Houston after a few frantic moments.
"Our boards are showing you in the green for leaving Earth's
atmosphere. Can you confirm, Diligence?"
"Uh, r-roger, Houston," replied Diligence. "We con-f-firm
green across the b-board! E-everything appears to be normal!
Whatever it was is gone!"
"Roger, Diligence."
Diligence completed her assent into space without further
incident. Additionally, there no adverse affects from the mysterious
impact over the ten day mission. The astronauts returned Diligence
home without a hitch, and the entire mission was announced to the
media and the world as a success. The bump Diligence encountered
during liftoff was never explained and was never again experienced in
future flights. NASA did leave out one tiny little detail in its report
to the media, however.
Just to the right of the shuttle's nose section was a small,
almost delicate, dent.
* * *
There are a lot of misconceptions about angels, when you stop
to take a look at it. First and foremost, a lot of angels are not terribly
interested in what is happening in the mortal plane. They are much to
busy running around doing the Almighty's bidding, which is to keep
Ragnarok from starting. Actually, it's not as difficult a task as it
sounds, for there are many angels, in addition to faerie, gods and
goddesses, spirits, saints, etc, to help out in the job. So, as some
mortals might find very distressing, angels really are not standing over
people's shoulders answering prayers or providing miracles. Hardly is
the case. As such, Heaven does not let it get out what the immortals
are really up to, lest it devastate the mortals' fragile illusions.
And besides, as far as most of the immortals were concerned,
keeping Ragnarok at bay was miracle enough.
Angels also do not run around with harps, playing rather dull,
self-important sounding music you might be inclined to hear at a tacky
church service in some Utah suburb. They do not generally wear
white robes (except for some of the archangels who feel it is important
to keep up appearances), because white clashes with their wings.
Angels are not necessarily always chaste, sober, or particularly clever.
In fact, in a lot of ways they are pretty much like mortals in mind, if
not in spirit. They are prone to flights of fancy, whims, attitudes, and
egos just like you average mortal, except with nifty special powers and
a fashionable set of long wings. All that matters in the end is that they
get the Almighty's job done.
April was not particularly swift as angels went. April was
also not particularly swift as mortals went, for that matter. A
relatively new angel, April had only been around for about one
hundred and fifty of the mortals' years. In fact, her genesis had been
something of a surprise to the rest of the immortal realm. Generally,
the birth of an immortal came about only after a fairly large group of
mortals banded together and believed in an immortal's existence.
Even then, it took many, many years of belief and devotion before the
immortal in question would come to be in the immortal realm.
Ninety-nine percent of all the immortals, representing a host of religions,
in Heaven and Hell had come into being this way.
What surprised many in the immortal plane was that April had
just sort of plopped into being. One day, the archangel Michael, borne
of mortal belief himself, was coming back home from a morning jog.
Upon reaching his front doorstep, he noticed a rather plain looking
wicker basket sitting there. Low and behold, inside the basket
wrapped in fine linen was a tiny female infant immortal. Taking the
infant inside, Michael quickly made inquires with the Goddess Relief
Office as to what gathering of mortal belief had sprung the little
immortal into existence. The Goddess Relief Office, totally caught by
surprise, consulted with Yggdrasil and discovered that the infant had
not been created by mortal belief at all. That meant only one thing...
The Almighty had brought the infant into being.
Well, this caused a mighty uproar in the gossip circles around
Heaven, and even a few raised eyebrows in Hell. Only a few of the
most ancient and mysterious of immortals had been created directly by
the Almighty or the Dark Lord, and all before the dawn of mankind.
In fact, almost all of those first immortals were no longer around,
having willed themselves out of existence long ago. The few that
remained were dark, mysterious, and never seen. This was fine as far
as most immortals went, as they were more than a little afraid of the
ancient ones.
To get back to the story, though, a large number of immortals
in Heaven were excited about this little girl. A smaller number were
slightly disturbed by her. An even smaller number were rather ticked
off with envy, wishing *they* could have been brought about directly
by the Almighty. One thing everyone could agree on was their
curiosity of the infant girl's purpose, for all immortals regardless of
their genesis have a purpose. Anyone could find it out; all you had to
do was send your query into Yggdrasil. So, the next day the archangel
Michael took the infant to the Goddess Relief Office and made an
official query about the baby girl's name and purpose. To everyone's
continued amazement, the little infant's file was totally blank.
The Almighty was suspiciously quiet about the whole affair as
well.
Most of the immortal realm shrugged its collective shoulders
and got back to the task at hand, namely thwarting agents of Hell and
keeping Ragnarok at bay. Since the infant had been left on his
doorstep, Michael took the baby in. Having no file in Yggdrasil to
give the name of the child, Michael called the little girl April, since it
was that month on the mortal plane. All seemed well. However, he
met with instant attack and resistance from his three brothers, Gabriel,
Raphael, and Uriel.
The three other archangels were, not to put too fine a point on
it, rather insufferable. They had adopted, since their genesis, a certain
arrogance and holier-than-thou attitude that went along with their
station in the Jewish/Christian religion. Despite the fact that their
biblical descriptions did not include such principal characteristics, the
self-importance of being archangels more or less went to their heads a
couple thousand years ago.
It was no surprise, then, that the three archangels also made
up the majority of members of the small group who were envious of
the infant, April. Together they cornered Michael and demanded he
give April up for a formal inquiry. Michael, also the head archangel
in case you did not know that fact, crossed his arms and wings in an
annoyed fashion and told his brothers to battle off and do something
useful for a change, like maybe pull their heads up out of their ---
At that point the Almighty decided to direct a fairly good
sized rumble of disapproval at Michael's three brothers, indicating He
was more than interested in Raphael, Gabriel and Uriel leaving the
angel April alone. The three brothers hastily departed Michael's
residence and did not return for many decades. It was probably just as
well, since Michael had a reputation for wielding a mighty dose of
`holy whoop-ass' when angered.
Under Michael's care, the angel April grew up normally, a
exceedingly cute child with a mop of curly brown hair. Easily
mesmerized by shiny objects and equally confounded by tasks other
child immortals would have found simple, April proved early on that
she was not exactly in line to perform rocket science. However, she
was still young, and Michael, indeed all immortals who helped raise
April, was too fond of the child with her never-ending well of
cheeriness to be too critical of her. However, each year Michael did
make a trip to the Goddess Relief Office to see if April's file was ever
updated with more information about her existence and purpose.
It never was.
The years passed, and April developed into an attractive,
bubbly young angel with a fine set of wings. At the age of sixteen, it
was terribly obvious to everyone that April, while not exactly stupid by
any means, was simply not inclined to any of the tasks other immortals
were engaged in. There was the notorious failure of Michael's well-
meaning attempt to get April a job at the Bhuddist Office of Nirvana
(because who would have more patience than bhuddist deities?), but
even that was well beyond April's grasp (and the deities' vast
fortitude). In a last ditch effort, the archangel Michael went before the
Almighty and entreated Him for whatever illumination He could offer
as to April's role in the immortal realm.
"Just let her be," came the Almighty's cryptic reply.
An immortal without a purpose in Heaven? Scandalous!
However, no one was going to argue the Almighty on this one.
April was more than content to explore happily the many
wondrous realms of Heaven as the years passed by. Quite simply, she
was adorable, with her curly locks of brown hair tumbling over a
pleasantly bemused face, dimples twinkling frequently at any of the
countless items that caught her short attention span each day. Despite
the fact she did not contribute to the effort for which the rest of the
immortals were working so diligently, she was quite popular and well
received due to her innocent and happy personality. However, the
blank expression her eyes took on from time to time did frighten a
number of the most unflappable of immortals.
Surprisingly enough, in the one hundred and fifty-odd years
of her existence, April had never once noticed Midgard, the mortal
realm. Never once even realized mortals existed. She was, to use a
phrase, totally clueless. However, that all changed one day not long
after the turn of the second millennium.
April was laying out on top of a tall cloud one afternoon, working
on her sun tan. Though being as old as she was in mortal terms, April
looked every bit the part of a normal twenty-five year old, immortal
aging being what it was. Decked out in nothing but her skin and her
wings (after all, who wants to deal with unsightly tan lines), the angel
rather enjoyed the way her golden skin looked against her snow white
wings and took time frequently to lay out under the sun.
Minding her own business and not exactly paying attention to
her surroundings, as usual, April failed to notice a distant roaring
sound coming from somewhere far underneath her. Wrapped up in a
pleasant daydream or some such, and warmed to complacency by the
sun's rays, the angel paid no attention as the distant roaring grew ever
closer. In fact, April only managed to open her eyes when the cloud
she was on, not to mention herself, began to shake and tremble
violently.
With a sudden and rapid jolt, April was struck mightily on
her perfect rear and thrown some distance as a thunderous white and
black bolt of fire and noise shot past her, heading straight for space.
Knocked out of her senses, April plummeted towards the surface of the
Earth for several minutes. Finally, she struck Midgard with a mighty
thunk, in the process smacking her rump again and breaking
numerous feathers in her wings. Fortunately, her landing was made a
little softer as she had plopped on an emptier section of Cocoa Beach.
After a while, the angel lifted her face up out of the sand and
looked around blearily. Not exactly in her right mind just yet, April
winced in pain, putting a hand backwards on her bare rear, rubbing it
tenderly. Pushing herself up on her hands and knees, April then
rocked back with her legs underneath her, tears in her eyes, and tried
in vain to straighten her broken feathers. Completely covered in sand,
her ass aching, and totally miserable for the first time ever, April
continued to cry and, also for the first time ever, began to swear.
"Oh, damn!" she wailed loudly to the empty beach. "Oh,
spite!"
The crashing waves more or less ignored April's keening
complaints. After a while, her fit had degenerated into a session of eye
wiping and sniffling. Taking stock of her surrounds, the angel looked
around bleary eyed, wings flexing gingerly in the ocean breeze.
"Oh, hell," April sniffed one last time.
* * *
It was snowing a half a world away.
In Tokyo, a week before Christmas, the snow fell on the
mega-city, muffling the normally busy landscape. It was a smooth
blanket, generally unmarred by the lack of traffic and pedestrians that
were about so late in the evening.
Perhaps it was the late hour that allowed the young woman to
make it as far as she had. Clad without a protective jacket or even
shoes, there was no one around to notice her or to ask whether or not
she was in trouble. And if there had been people around, how many of
them would have averted their gaze from the empty look in her
drained eyes, pretending not to notice until they were well past?
The young woman looked up through the wet and matted
strands of long black hair that covered her face. She smiled thinly,
having reached her destination.
A subway station.
Swaying slightly, she passed through the gates into the
station, her feet mercifully out of the snow, but still exposed to the
chill air. The trains were not running as frequently at this hour, but it
did not matter.
Nothing really did anymore.
* * *
Cocoa Beach, Florida.
April was amazed by this `new' world she had found.
The new world was amazed by her, too.
Or at least the people she passed along the beach boardwalk
were. Forget the fact that April was still lacking anything
resembling apparel (for which a healthy number of men and a few
women were very appreciative), because what simply stunned most
folks were the pair of fifteen foot wings that outstretched seamlessly
from her slender shoulders. Quite a few winced at the numerous
broken feathers she had as well.
It is all well and good to believe in a religion, or in the
existence of heavenly beings. It is quite another thing to see a naked
one walk right in front of you on a beach right after a shuttle launch.
This was evident from a good number of people, most of them middle-
aged to elderly women, who had passed out in April's wake.
Most people who witnessed her passage, however, quickly
recovered from their shock and began tagging along after her from a
small distance. After all, having survived shock-jock radio and
Monica Lewinsky, nothing really bothered most Americans anymore.
April herself seemed quite unconcerned with the curious mortals
following her; she was too bewildered by this strange new realm she
had stumbled upon. Noises, shops, hordes of people walking past (all
with wide eyes)... it was better distraction than she had found in all of
Heaven, more or less.
It was about that time that April's eyes went totally wide.
Half running up to a store window (you can picture the scene of a nude
angel running), April plastered her face and hands against the glass.
On the other side was a mannequin wearing a surfer's wet suit that
was awash in a dozen different darkly shaded colors, all sort of
blended together. She had not really ever seen anything like it in
Heaven on any angel (despite the fact the Goddess Relief Office
sported rather nice shifting, multicolored garments, but that is neither
here nor there).
"Woooow!" she exclaimed.
Searching for the entrance to the shop, April successfully
navigated the front door, her wings magically avoiding getting caught
as they closed. What you might consider a bull in a china shop with
those wings being so long, nevertheless they also managed to not
disturb a single thing in the store. April marched right up to a rack of
the suits and read the tags that identified them.
"Wet-suits," they read. "50% off Winter Sale!"
April snagged one at random and began working her legs
through the stretchy garment. A shocked gasp from behind her made
the angel rotate around awkwardly, her head and arms sticking out at
wild angles from the suit. The owner of the beach store, a woman of
about forty-five with beads in her hair, and looking decidedly `new
age-ish', turned pale. Eyes rolling back in her head, the store owner
fainted dead away, collapsing in a soft heap on the carpeted floor.
April frowned in curiosity a moment before continuing to put on her
new multicolored outfit.
Wherever April was, she decided, a whole lot of these
creatures sure seemed to fall on the floor for no apparent reason.
The angel was distracted by a commotion outside of the store
front. Finished with putting on the wet-suit, which was form-fitting
and hugged in all the right places, April noted the large crowd of
people trying to get a glimpse of her. Smiling broadly and waving,
she went to meet the natives.
It would be the first angel sighting ever that the supermarket
rag-papers were *not* the first to lay coverage on.
* * *
Tokyo, Japan.
On an ordinary day in an ordinary life, visiting a new city
might have been rather interesting. Ordinary had pretty much been
thrown out the window, however.
"Crap," grumbled Bonnie MacMaster, trudging through the
snow.
Stalking through the darkness and chill beside the American
brunette, a vividly lovely woman with platinum blond hair walked
with an equally dark expression. Not getting a reaction from her
companion, Bonnie hunkered down in her snow jacket and crossed her
arms sullenly. She was confused, tired, and more than just a little bit
put out by the whole ordeal.
"I *said*, crap!" Bonnie swore directly at the goddess, Urd.
Urd's head whipped around. "I heard you the *first* time!"
she snipped back. "In fact, I've been hearing you for the past thirty
minutes, and you're giving me a damn headache!"
Bonnie skidded to a halt in the snow. "Me?" she demanded.
"I haven't said anything since we left that temple!"
"Not with your mouth, stupid," Urd scathed. "Thanks to the
Almighty, blessed be His infinite power and wisdom and the *hole*
from which It spouts, my new Goddess Rating allows me to hear just
about every vapid thought ratting around in your head! And I don't
know how to shut you off yet!"
Bonnie's next insult more or less died in her mouth, as the
implications of Urd's little revelation seeped into her mind.
Analyzing the goddess's declaration and attitude, only one thing came
to her mind.
`Bitch,' she thought.
"Imbecile," retorted Urd.
Together, the two women moved on into the night. The
cheery Christmas decorations and lovely snowfall were lost on them
completely.
* * *
Hell, somewhere around the 5th circle, the Shopping District.
Nagle might have once been a promising and bright daeva,
but seven hundred-odd years as a receptionist had a way of dulling the
mind quite effectively.
It had been a few hours since Nagle had more or less gotten
the not-so-subtle hint from Lucifer that demon first class Mara was
more or less pain that ached the chief executive of Hell's ass most.
And, it did not take a rocket scientist (fortunately for Nagle) to figure
out that knocking off Mara was an sure-fire way to ascend the demonic
ladder. Now, Nagle was wandering around the vast confines of Hell
trying to figure out what to do about it. Sighing in frustration, the
daeva shuffled into a Starbucks (demons required coffee, too) and
ordered a cup of `lava'.
Sitting at a pleasant table, adorned with little plastic daisies
in a small vase, Nagle sipped his molten coffee and pondered his next
move. Only, there was no next move. After all, how the Hell would
he, a receptionist, track down a demon first class on vacation? He
watched dully through the coffee shop window as an enthusiastic imp
jogged by, energetically whipping a group of newly Damned political
strategists.
Nope, nothing was coming to mind. Looking past the imp
and it's suffering mortals, Nagle's eyes focused on a billboard across
the Hellish avenue. There was a book in flames with a pair of spindly
fingers walking across it.
"Can't find it?" asked the billboard. "Try the Infernal Pages!
Brought to you by Hell's Bells Atlantic!"
A small light began to gleam in the humanoid's eyes.
Throwing back the rest of his drink, Nagle tore out of the coffee shop
and raced for the nearest Underworld pay phone.
* * *
Sea of Japan, about ten thousand feet above mean sea level.
Thundering across the heavy and snow laden cloud banks, a
black horse galloped in the night. Ominous and foreboding, the
preternatural equine bore a rider, garbed in ancient leathers and
tattered robes. A pair of ghostly white and thin hands gripped the
primitive reigns that ran down to the horse's halter. Every other part
of the figure was obscured from view.
Not that anyone in their right mind would want to get a close
look at one of the incarnations of Death anyhow.
* * *
Oji, suburb of Tokyo.
Despite her clothing, Bonnie was starting to get just a little
bit cold. The snow spiraling out of the dark night was melting in her
hair and slowly starting to soak her scalp. Plus her hiking boots were
encrusted in snow, its chilling effects migrating through the various
layers of the shoe. Bonnie shivered and wished she had something
warm to drink, but at the late hour it was unlikely she would find
coffee or tea.
Bonnie's eyes blinked a little wide as she suddenly recalled
what was buried in an inner pocket of her coat. Unzipping the snow
jacket a little, she fished around with a cold hand, groping until her
fingers found their prize. Removing her hand, Bonnie peered as she
walked at a small pack of cigarettes. Actually, they were not exactly
cigarettes, but `cloves'. Cloves were similar to cigarettes, except
chock full of the spice, made in India, and tastier than the sweetest
candy.
And it was rumored they were about three times worse for
your health than your standard nicotine stick.
Pulling a pack of matches that were jammed in the pack of
cloves, Bonnie lit one up and inhaled shallowly. She usually had
about a pack of these a year and as such could not inhale very much.
Despite the delicious taste of the cloves, Bonnie was keenly cautious of
becoming addicted to them, and hence rarely smoked. Their
aroma reminded her of college coffee houses where the art students
used to congregate.
The clove warmed her body as Bonnie sighed happily.
"You smoke, huh?" a semi-rude Urd observed out of the blue.
"And here I thought you were more uptight than that."
Bonnie pulled the clove out of her mouth, exhaled and
bristled. "I not smoker!" she denied adamantly. "I just have a clove
every now and again!"
Trudging along under the snowy lamplight, Urd frowned and
looked highly doubtful.
"I don't see the difference," she replied imperiously. "The
cigarette, or whatever you're calling it, is in your mouth, therefore
you *are* a smoker."
Bonnie did not like to think of herself as resembling anything
like a smoker. Smokers' clothes stank, their cars stank, and their
homes simply reeked from their habit. Bonnie would never do
anything like that disgusting, she would always tell herself.
"You like having a beer?" she demanded in reply.
Urd blinked, not expecting such a question. "Well, yeah, I
have a drink every now and-
"Then are you an alcoholic?"
"What? Why, of course not!" Urd answered a little panicky,
backing up just a step.
A little knot began to form in the pit of the goddess's
stomach. Sure, Urd like to have a little drink *now* and again, but it
was no big deal. Of course, some unsophisticated immortals in
Paradise had accused her of uncontrollable excess, but that did not
mean she was a lush... did it?
"--H-hey, I can quit anytime I want!" Urd added with a
defensiveness that bordered on the verge of being vehement.
Bonnie blinked in surprise, not expecting anything
resembling an outburst from the tawny blonde. The mortal's eyes
narrowed in a sudden suspicion.
"You sound very convincing," Bonnie drawled knowingly
with a smirking smile on her face.
Eyes flashing with anger, Urd raised up before Bonnie, her
exposed skin beginning to crackle with energy. Suddenly realizing
she was in really big danger, Bonnie took a half step back in the snow,
an anxious look on her face.
At that moment, there happened to be an unexpected an
ominous rumble from the snowy heavens, almost as if someone or
something was clearing its throat. Not heeding the loud noise from
above, it took a second, more pronounced rumble before the wild look
began to ebb from Urd's eyes. Her hackles settling down, Urd took a
step back and turned around.
"You're damn lucky He's on your side," was all the tanned
goddess said before walking down the city street.
Bonnie shook herself a little and slowly moved to catch up.
Somehow, she had a good feeling that Urd was right.
* * *
Almost all the lights were off in the Morisato residence.
Staring out a window, the goddess first class unlimited license,
Belldandy could see across the dark expanse of snow that covered the
temple grounds.
Holding a hot cup of tea in her hands, the fair goddess sipped
slowly. Belldandy's mind was on a half-a-dozen different things, from
her sister Urd's assignment and promotion, to how she was going to
spend the next day with her dear Keiichi. Certainly, Belldandy over
the past several years since their inevitable (and memorable) wedding
had more than enough spare time to spend with him. Their seemingly
constant immortal problems were almost a thing of the past, and even
Mara had suddenly disappeared for no reason.
Maybe the Almighty was finally giving her household a
break, she mused.
And then the phone rang, almost causing the goddess to drop
her cup.
Stepping silently over the floor to the phone, Belldandy had
an instant premonition that she was not going to be getting any sleep
that night. Settling her tea on a table, she reached for the phone with
one hand while pushing her long brown hair away from one of her
ears with the other. Belldandy answered it.
"Hello? Morisato residence."
"It is *I*."
So much for the bliss of home life. Belldandy listened
wordlessly for several moments as her boss outlined the task at hand.
At one point, the goddess's eyes went very large in shock, then
softened in bemused resignation. At the end of the Almighty's
instructions, Belldandy simply nodded and placed the receiver back
down. Forgetting her tea entirely, she began to quietly move down the
hallway. Opening a sliding door with a slight rasp, Belldandy looked
down at her Keiichi, already fast asleep after a day at a professional
motor race.
Bending down, she gently shook her husband awake.
"Eeh?" Keiichi managed to mumble.
"Keiichi-san," Belldandy. "I have to go away for just a little
bit."
"Oh..." her husband replied, blinking in mild confusion
brought on by sleep. "... big man upstairs again?"
"Yes, dearest," Belldandy. "I think I'll be back sometime
tomorrow morning... it's nothing too serious. I just wanted you not to
be looking for me."
"Oh," replied Keiichi sleepily again. "Okay, then... I'll see
you tomorrow, Bell."
A loving kiss between them and Belldandy departed the
room. As she walked towards the hallway mirror, there was a
beautiful shimmer of light. When the glow was gone, Belldandy's
more Earthly clothes had been replaced by her radiant Goddess Relief
Office uniform. Placing her hand up and sinking it through the
mirror, the goddess thought about her sudden assignment.
`Poor goose,' she thought. `She probably has no idea what's
going on. It makes sense the Almighty would call me, though. I'm
already on the mortal plane... and Michael would just get too upset,
being as protective as he is."
The mirror rippled and swam in a rainbow of colors as
Belldandy disappeared from sight into it.
* * *
Uchigaya Station, Chiyoda-Ku suburb of Tokyo.
To say that Bonnie was glad to get out of the snow was a mild
understatement. Having had a little forethought, she had put on warm
clothing, a snow jacket, and hiking boots to prepare for the
Washington, DC weather. True, the last thing Bonnie expected was to
be dragged through her television straight into Japan, but at least she
was still dressed for the climate. However, the little things sometimes
got past Bonnie, and she had forgotten to put on thicker socks before
leaving her home. Despite her hiking boots, her toes were getting
quite cold.
Bonnie squinted through her wet locks of hair as she made
her way though a turnstile under the brightness of many lights. Just
ahead of her, Urd was stalking up the stairway through the deserted
train station. The stiffness of Urd's body more than indicated she was
still bent with Bonnie, as did the fact she had not spoken a word in the
past fifteen minutes. The engineer sucked in a breath of the cold air
and let it out in a resigned sigh. She had no idea where the hell they
were going, really. All Belldandy had told her evasively was that they
were going to see an old friend of the lovely goddess's.
Tagging along to the top of the platform, Bonnie doubted she
would get much more information from Urd, either.
The platinum-haired goddess, at that moment, was peering
intently at a map of the entire Tokyo city rail system. Her eyes
scrunched in annoyance, Urd tapped the side of her chin with a finger
irritably. Bonnie had no idea what exactly Urd was looking for, but
easing up behind the goddess, the engineer saw that the map looked
pretty much like the DC Metro station maps.
Lots of tangled lines in different colors that would give you a
headache if you stared too long. Bonnie decided to break the silence.
"Uh," she began tentatively, "where are we going?"
Urd stepped back and crossed her arms, deep in annoyed
thought.
"I have no idea," Urd answered curtly.
"Oh," Bonnie replied.
Another minute of silence passed as the pair stood on the
totally deserted platform. Nature abhors a vacuum, and right then so
did Bonnie.
"Uh, where are we... anyway?" she asked again.
"Tokyo," came the deadpan reply from Urd. "Look, hon, I'm
a Nordic goddess, okay? This isn't my home turf, and I'm trying to
locate a hidden mortal passageway into Asgard. And as *if* that wasn't
hard enough even back in my homeland, it's even moreso here, so I'd
appreciate it if you'd just leave me alone till I figure out where it
is on this map. Does that work for you?"
Bonnie bit back any number of retorts, opting to instead grind
her teeth and walk away. Leaving the goddess to her map, Bonnie
moved out across the platform. There were no trains in the station at
that late of an evening, the frequency of arrivals made much slower
after midnight.
The engineer hunkered down into her black and gray snow
jacket unhappily. So far, Bonnie had been more or less willing to
follow along out of shear amazement. After all, the events of the past
day certainly lent themselves to something quite out of the ordinary
that was hard to turn away from. The novelty and wonder of her
adventure so far was now starting to wear thin, and Bonnie was
seriously starting to consider ways of getting back home.
It was about this time that Bonnie really started to take stock
of her surroundings. Everything about the rail station was quite
familiar with what she was used to in an American rail station.
Advertisements on the walls, tiled floors, and yellow striped lines
leading in all directions. The absence of anything resembling her
language, though, was enough to keep Bonnie from forgetting where
she actually was. She kept staring blearily around at the deserted
station, watching snow fall slowly beyond the protective covering over
her head. It was very quiet out among the twinkling lights of city.
Bonnie did not actually realize it, but she was looking out towards the
Imperial Palace in the darkness.
Was it a chill? No, not exactly, but it was a strange sensation
that slowly pulled Bonnie's gaze away from the night skyline. Her
head turning mechanically to the right, she found herself looking
down most of the length of the edge of the platform where it dropped
off down to the tracks. There in the distance, standing at the farthest
end of the platform, was a woman.
`Someone else out...' Bonnie's thoughts began to register,
before dribbling off into silence.
But there was something more. She could not figure out what
it was that was suddenly nagging her so, but something was eating at
Bonnie terribly from within. Deep within.
The air was getting heavy as well.
Turning halfway around, Bonnie looked back at Urd. The
goddess was still staring intently at the map, and she was glowing
slightly from what Bonnie's mind analyzed in a detached fashion must
be magic. Bonnie turned away from Urd's direction and once again
looked down the length of the station.
Something was wrong.
A foot lurched hesitantly, and then another. Moving stiffly at
first, Bonnie found herself plodding slowly down the platform. A
strange fog had layered over her mind... everything moved in slow
motion, but details were also becoming crisp and clear, not unlike a
sparkling and cloudless winter night.
Details like the woman was standing on the very edge of the
platform, looking away down the tracks into the darkness. Details like
the woman was dressed in clothes of expensive finery. That her hair
was wet and plastered against her head. That she was swaying ever so
slightly, and...
And her feet were covered only in torn stockings. Bonnie
began to walk a little faster. Something was definitely pulling her
along from inside, but Bonnie was slowly beginning to catch up to the
worried feeling she could not place.
There was also something in the distance. A spot of very
bright light off in the snowy night. It seemed to be a long way away,
but was it getting closer?
Snapping her fingers with a flash of energy, Urd stepped back
from the railway map. Grinning impishly, she winked at the diagram
rubbed her hands together.
"Not bad!" she beamed. "This goddess first class stuff is
really a lot better than I thought it'd be! I divined the location of a
mortal entrance to Asgard with ease. Whadya think about that, miss
dull engineer?"
As Urd turned around to shine in the glow of her new
abilities, she found that she was suddenly quite alone on the platform.
In fact, the only thing around her was wet and slushy snow on the
floor tiles and the eerie glow of the station lights. Urd blinked several
times, her face confused.
"...Bonnie?"
* * *
Coastal highway A1A, somewhere between Cape Canaveral and Cocoa
Beach.
Terry Adams was pissed.
The realization that she had gone through six years of
journalism school to be sent on crap assignments for a crappie local
television station that any bum off the street could accomplish with
flying colors was setting heavily on her mind. Staring grumpily out of
the passenger side window of the her news van, Terry reflected on the
sudden assignment that had just come from the station dispatch.
Apparently, someone had phoned in a near riot on the Cocoa
Beach strip. Police, emergency crews... the whole nine yards was on
the scene, and the apparent cause was the appearance of an angel.
A snort managed to escape Terry. It was bad enough to be
sent to cover a shuttle launch, even if it was a new orbitor. After all,
launches for the longest time had ceased to make the news except for a
five second blurb that no one at home probably paid attention to anyway.
The only reason camera crews even were sent to launches now was no news
group wanted to miss out on full coverage on the off chance another shuttle
blew itself to pieces. But shuttles were not blowing up, which meant
no air time for Terry and those journalists who commiserated with her
at the launch site.
And no air time meant no advancement.
In the meanwhile, she and her crew of two were being sent to
cover some event best handled by the World Weekly Tabloid. Where
was the justice in the world, Terry wondered.
"God, this sucks," she complained.
"Yeah," replied her camera man, Steve, who was driving the
van. "I covered a religious nut-ball sighting once. Turned out to be
mold on the side of a toilet."
"Oh, that," answered Bob, the video technician riding in the
back amongst the gear and editing equipment. "Say, didn't that drive
what's-her-name to quit her job as the correspondent? Whatever
happened to her?"
"Lots of therapy last I head," said Steve.
"Oh... was it helping?"
"Not really."
"I'm in Hell," whined Terry.
"You get used to it," nodded Steve wisely. "Hey, we're here."
Steve pulled the van onto the main drag of the Cocoa Beach
strip. There was a fairly sizable crowd of people milling around,
trying to move down the street where a larger commotion seemed in
progress. Here and there on the fringes, paramedics and police were
helping a number of folks who seemed to have fainted or something.
Steve stopped the van, not able to drive any closer due to the crowds.
"Whadya think?" he asked.
Terry bit her lip and tried to look through the van window
down the street, but there were too many people in the way. Opening
up the door with a heave, bumping several people, Terry climbed up
onto the van seat and more or less used the door to get a better
vantage. Peering about down the tightly packed street for a few
moments, she struggled to figure out what was going on.
"What a mob," commented Bob. "Somebody musta spotted
Elvis."
Then Terry froze.
"H-h-h-h-" she tried to stammer.
"Come again?" asked Steve.
"Holy Shit!" yelled Terry, climbing down. "Steve! Get your
camera! Bob, call the station and get ready to transmit live!"
"Are you nuts?" asked Bob. "What's going on?"
"Just do it!" Terry screamed frantically. "We can't miss
this!"
Jumping out of the van, Terry all but dragged Steve along
through the crowd, trying desperately to reach the center mass of
people down the beach street. However, the crowds were too thick to
make any real headway. Looking around in agitation, Terry saw
others were having a similar problem as well.
"Police! Make way!" yelled several cops at the crowd.
No response.
"Paramedics! We got injured people! Make way!" yelled the
EMTs.
No one moved.
"MEDIA!" yelled Terry viscously. "NBZ-TV! GET THE
HELL OUT OF THE WAY, WE GOT A CAMERA HERE!"
Instantly, a sizable hole opened in the crowd, allowing Steve
and Terry to pass quickly. Sure, police and paramedics were
important in life, but who could pass up the opportunity to help out a
camera crew? After all, thought the folks in the crowd who let the
pair pass, maybe they would get to be on television.
Pushing hard for several moments, Terry and Steve finally
burst into the center of the commotion. Throwing her hair back out of
her eyes, Terry grabbed Steve and forced him to point his camera at a
terribly cute young woman.
A young woman dressed in a wet-suit, who just happened to
be an angel with a pair of beautiful wings stretching a good fifteen feet
from her back. With a big smile on her face, the angel seemed to be
having a fine time with all her admirers.
Not wasting a moment, Terry called back to Bob in the van
over her microphone.
"Are you friggin getting this?" she demanded.
"Holy crap!" came a crackling reply in her ear piece. "W-
we're going live, Terry, in one minute!"
Pushing past the last few people, Terry threw herself up
beside the angel and shoved her microphone under the woman's nose,
preparing for the interview that would rocket Terry into media
stardom. The crowd respectfully gave her and Steve some extra
working room as the interview began.
By the end of the interview, Terry's career would be set. By
the end of the day, any number of fundamentalists across the world
would suffer aneurysms from shock. By the end of Terry's life, a nice
spot would also be reserved for her in Hell, right along with all the rest
of the television journalists.
* * *
Uchigaya Station, Chiyoda-Ku suburb of Tokyo.
The fog that had partially clouded Bonnie's mind was no longer
confined there. Only a few dozen feet from the mysterious Japanese
woman with no shoes, time seemed to slow even more. Oozing like a
sickly pea soup, the mist in the approaching engineer's head began to
weep from the cracks in the station tiles, clinging low to the ice and
slush covered ground. Going from unnatural brightness to a dense shade
of black and purple, the halogen lights in the ceiling above also
disappeared from sight.
There was a rumble in the near distance, and it was growing
louder, driven ahead of two dots of light that broke the black.
But something else was coming, a speechless voice warned from
somewhere deep in Bonnie. Something as terrible as it was old. A
sense of forbodding, urgency, and dread threatened to overwhelm the
American.
A distorted siren, not so far away now, sounded, piercing the
muffled world of mist and dark that had engulfed the station. Now,
in an endless instant, Bonnie was only an arm's reach from the woman
who stood at the station platform's edge. How could she still be
standing so calm was a puzzle to Bonnie, as she stood facing the other's
back. She was obviously soaked to the core, with no shoes to cover
the shredded stockings on her feet. In that freezing weather, no sane
person could have kept from trembling violently, right?
Moving for the first time, the dark long hair of the unknown
woman swung in time lapse towards Bonnie. The mangled and matted locks
of beautiful hair parted as a pair of dark eyes looked dully across the
misty black at Bonnie. Meeting that gaze, Bonnie was terrified to
find an emptiness in those eyes.
An emptiness that had almost caused Bonnie in the past to end
everything in the world she knew.
A look of hopelessness, weariness, abuse...
Longing...
The horn blew again, what was clearly a commuter train approaching
very rapidly now. Very close now.
Bonnie put her hands to the sides of her head with agonizing
slowness as her eyes narrowed in wordless pain. Those eyes the woman
had... Bonnie knew what they desired, she knew what they were hungering
for, because she had felt that hunger herself not so very long ago.
A hungering for...
And then the darkest black erupted just beyond the morbid looking
Japanese woman. In a terrible fury of rippling horse flesh and tattered
and rotting robes, Death was present. A spindly claw of a pale hand
stretching out from the dark figure on the frothing black stallion,
Bonnie watched in abject horror as Death beckoned. Turning her
head slowly as she turned back to the edge of the platform, the woman
gave Bonnie the tiniest of hapless smiles, a faint expression of
anticipated relief forming on her face. Looking forward across the
commuter train tracks several feet below, the battered woman began to
tremble.
The horn of the approaching train howled. It was so close, even
Bonnie through her muted panic could feel and register it.
A dragging, hesitant first step was taken by the woman towards
the edge of the platform, half of her front bare foot now over the
side. The phantom steed stamped the air with impatientence, it's
breath frosty on the night air. From underneath the tattered hood,
Death beckoned again with expectation. She shifted her weight forward
as the train screamed, her body now trembling uncontrollably.
A wordless cry of definance tried to leap from Bonnie's throat,
but no sound could be made. Finding the power to fling herself forward,
despite the haze that slowed her, Bonnie wrapped an arm around the
beautifully dressed woman and pulled away from the edge of the platform.
There was an infinite moment when the nameless woman's front foot
dangled over empty space, while the entire station shook from the
approaching train, now only a few yards away and barely slowing from
its rapid speed.
Death reached across the void and tried to snag the woman, its
steed baring its teeth wickedly only scant feet from Bonnie's frozen
face.
Then balance shifted, and the Japanese woman began to fall
backward away from the egde. With gleaming eyes of hatred, the midnight
horse backstepped in the other direction with its rider as the late
night commuter train hissed by with a rush of air.
Now separated by the gleaming train from Death, Bonnie latched on
tightly around the woman's waist, who had begun to faint. The train
continued to hiss along, slowing rapidly. A few moments more, and there
was a pleasant and artificial sounding bell.
The empty train doors opened.
Not thinking, Bonnie lurched forward towards the open door. She
needed to get away from that thing that stared with hatred from across
the opposite windows. Dragging the now unconscious woman along, the
doors to the train whooshed shut quickly. Looking up, hair strewn
across her drained face, Bonnie could see the steam from Death's horse
as its breath fogged the outside of the train window.
There was another piercing horn, and the train heaved with a
sickening sensation. A second later, it began to move, pulling out
of the station as an unnatural rate. Bonnie watched in wide eyed
fear as the stallion and its rider began chase.
Bonnie only began to breathe again when she saw the pair rapidly
falling behind as the train sped up. Shivering uncontrollably,
the engineer collapsed on the train floor, hyperventilating to the
point of almost throwing up. The Japanese woman lay on the floor,
unmoving but breathing.
Bonnie never even noticed one of the overhead television monitors
in the train as it began to glow brilliantly. A scarce moment later,
and Urd was towering above her, the goddess's face a mix of anger and
anxiety.
"S-sayoko?! Bonnie, what have you done?!" the goddess demanded
almost frightfully.
Bonnie turned from Urd and slowly collapsed on top of the woman,
named Sayoko, her eyes wide and her breathing still very rapid and
shallow. She was not sure, herself, and she was not certain she ever
wanted to know.
* * *
What Belldandy saw...
A narrow and tall mirror began to shimmer and pulse like
illuminated liquid, humming with energy. Easing her head out into
the new environment, the Norse Goddess of the Present peeked
around. The first thing Belldandy noticed was that she was in a surf
shop. As a matter of fact, there were several swimsuits that caught her
eye.
The second thing she noticed was a woman lying on the floor
passed out.
Exiting the mirror, Belldandy wondered exactly what was
going on. She had not really had the opportunity to ask details.
Anyhow, when the Almighty said `go and do', even a goddess first class
went and did without discussion.
Maneuvering through the store, dressed in full official
Goddess Relief apparel, Belldandy quickly noticed a very large
mingling of mortals. They all seemed very excited and pointing their
attention somewhere just out of the goddess's view. Belldandy pushed
through the front door of the surf shop and tried to look around. Even
dressed as colorfully as she was, Belldandy was more than surprised to
see that the mortals were barely taking interest in her.
That was an unusual sensation for the goddess.
* * *
What the rest of the world saw...
It would be shown repeatedly over and over again for weeks
to come, but for the moment it was a picture being broadcast live in
Florida homes everywhere. In the center of several hundred thousand
televisions, the face of a slightly frazzled and intense young reporter
holding a microphone began the mayhem.
Little did anyone realize at the time, such reports would
become disturbingly frequent in the years to come.
"Terry Adams, NBZ-TV!" the female reporter identified
herself. "We are live on the Cocoa Beach strip where an event of
Biblical proportions is unfolding!"
"I wish my wings would unfold," came a worried feminine
voice just off screen. "Look how many feathers are broken!"
Terry ignored the voice with a fervor, staying focused on her
camera man. "Here," she continued, "only moments after the launch
of the shuttle Diligence in to the heavens, an *angel* has descended
on us!"
Panning away from the reporter smoothly, cameraman Steve
swung curious viewers towards April. All around the woman in the
background, large numbers of people could be seen crowding, but
keeping a small, yet respectable, distance.
"Since the angel's arrival," reported Terry from off screen,
"items that can only be described as miraculous have been occurring!
All manner of plants and flowers here dormant for winter have
exploded into full bloom in a matter of minutes! Several people on the
scene have reported injuries or ailments disappearing without
explanation!"
As Steve panned back to get a full view of the woman
identified as `the angel'. She was very beautiful, with short, curly
locks of soft brown hair, tumbling down in a fetching manner across
her cheeks, while wearing a skin-tight surfers suit. Terry strode up to
the woman and motioned to the viewers dramatically what was
momentarily hidden from the view of the camera.
"Perhaps most incredible," she said to the viewers intensely,
"is what this reporter can only describe is a real and functional full set
of wings!"
Pushing the bemused angel by the shoulder to turn her
around, suddenly, almost out of nowhere, a pair of near-fifteen foot
wings leapt into existence. Viewers at home gaped.
"Can you tell us," Terry asked in a dramatic voice, turning
back towards the Angel, "who you are and why you are here?"
"Oh! My name is April-" the angel began brightly.
"An angel named April?" Terry asked demandingly.
April paused. "Yeah... you got a problem with that?" she
huffed a little suspiciously.
"No, no!" Terry back peddled, suddenly very aware of the
large wings that were moving with some attitude above her. "Uh, why
are you here, Angel April?"
"Oh..." the angel replied, putting a finger to one cheek
thoughtfully. "Well there was this big rumble and shaking, and
something struck me *hard* in the rear, and I fell-"
"Were you sent here by God?" demanded Terry, interrupting
April completely.
"Huh? Sent by God?"
"Yes, yes! Were you sent here in the name of Christianity?"
"Umm... what's Christianity?" replied April, causing any
number of evangelists watching the news to faint dead away.
Terry looked puzzled for a minute. "You're not a Christian
angel?" she finally asked, wracking her brain to recall other world
faiths. "Then what religion are you here to represent? What is your
purpose in being here? Does your presence signal the end of the
world?!"
The crowd reacted nervously to the reporter's questions.
April pulled her head back with an expression not unlike one would
have given to a dog that suddenly started barking for no reason.
"Religion?" she echoed uncertainly. "I'm not sure what you
mean... Um, where am I, exactly?"
"You mean you don't know where you are?!" Terry asked
with only semi-feigned incredulity for the camera.
"Nope, not really... see, I was just sunning myself-"
"Sunning?" interrupted Terry quickly. "There have been eye
witness reports you were first seen with no clothes! Does this mean-
?"
"Well, it'd be pretty silly to get tan lines, wouldn't it!"
answered April, like Terry must not have a single clue about anything
important at all. "But, really... where am I... you don't look like
you're from Paradise."
April eyed Terry and cameraman Steve suspiciously. "Are
ya'll demons?"
Several people in the crowd blinked hard in surprise.
"N-no!" Terry replied quickly into her microphone. "This
isn't Paradise, this is Earth!"
"Earth?"
"Yes, and we're people... you know, humans," added the
reported a little more slowly.
"Oh..." April dribbled off with a small frown, not
understanding at all. Flexing her wings a little, she winced at the pain
in the broken feathers absently.
Terry felt she was starting to lose focus on the singular most
important interview of her life. "So, why are you here? What is your
purpose?"
"Oh!" April brightened noticeably. "I don't have a purpose!"
"Eh?"
"Yup, Michael tells me not to worry about it-"
"Michael?" Terry asked loudly, shoving the microphone even
closer to the April. "The Archangel Michael?!"
The angel pouted. "You sure do interrupt people a lot."
"Sorry..." apologized Terry almost sheepishly before catching
herself. "As you were saying?"
"Anyhow," continued April with a comically stern look at the
reporter, "Michael says it's okay that I don't have a purpose yet, no
matter what the other angel's say, but the Almighty-"
"The Almighty! Do you mean God?!"
April stared hard at the reporter.
"Oh... sorry..." said Terry, actually looking embarrassed this
time.
"*Anyhow*," said April again, "the Almighty told everyone
to just let me be, even those other mean archangels."
"Mean archangels?"
"Oh, sure!" nodded the angel seriously. "Gabriel, Raphael,
and Uriel... can be real jerks."
April then bent over and whispered in a conspirator tone to
Terry. "Michael says when Ragnarok comes, they'll be the first ones
to get their heads lopped off by the minions of Hell!"
Quite a number of people watching the television, already
stunned by the angel, blanched at the mention of words like `head',
`lopping', and `Hell' all together in one sentence.
"T-there's a real Hell?" stammered Terry ever so slightly.
"You didn't know?" asked an amazed April with wide brown
eyes. "Gee, what a strange place this is. *Everybody* in Paradise knows
about Hell."
Terry shook herself, trying to get back on focus. She had the
chance of a lifetime to ask the big questions, the hard questions.
"April, you say you're not a Christian angel? Well then, are
you part of the Jewish faith? Islam? Some other religion?!"
April looked at the reporter in patient confusion.
"I have no idea what you are talking about," answered April honestly.
"Do you humans always as such strange questions? Are... are you sure
you're not a demon?"
"Strange questions?!" probed Terry, trying to spark the angel
into more a deeper interview, but the angel was already starting to lose
interest.
April's eyes turned away from Terry and focused somewhere
just off camera. Her face brightening incredibly, the angel began
waving her arms wildly.
"Hey! Hey! It's Belldandy! Hey, Belldandy!"
The camera swung wildly where a brilliant figure was arcing
above the huge crowds of milling people. A pair of brilliant white
wings outstretched behind the approaching goddess, showering those
below with a million magical feathers.
"My God! Is that another angel?" gaped Terry.
"No, silly, she's a Norn!" chided April. "You sure don't
know much, do you? Hey, Belldandy!"
"April!" called a frantic looking Belldandy.
"Belldandy!" cried April happily, hugging the goddess
unenthusiastically as she landed. "Look at this strange place I've
found!"
"April, we have to leave now! B-but, your wings!"
"I know," she pouted. "It hurts to move them."
Reaching her arms around April's delicate waist, Belldandy
extended her own wings full and rose up into the sky. Cheering
excitedly, April tried to wave at the crowds that were rapidly falling
away below them. On the ground, the crowds gasped and waved back,
shouting for the pair to return.
Terry Adams stood with her mouth open for a few moments
before realizing she was still broadcasting live. Hitting her camera
man, Steve, she gathered herself and delivered the rest of her report. It
would be the beginning of a lucrative and Damning career in
broadcasting.
April looked a little disappointed as she and Belldandy flew
low through the air. Belldandy was concentrating on finding
someplace quiet where she could get her beautiful hands on a good
mirror.
Wind whipping her hair, April looked up at Belldandy.
"What a strange bunch those humans were! I never realized they
existed!"
Belldandy made no reply. As they began a descent towards a quiet
Florida suburb, April began to look thoughtful.
"I think that human I was talking to was definitely a demon,"
she said quite seriously.
* * *
Shinjuku Station, end of Toei Shinjuku Line.
With a brushing softness, the commuter train eased to a stop
beside the platform. In the emptiness of the station, a pleasant
sounding automated voice of a Japanese woman announced the arrival
of the final train of the night. Politely reminding the non-existent
passengers on the platform to stay away from the train for a few
moments longer, a series of small lights winked on simultaneously. A
small but clear chime sounded, and the commuter train's doors all
opened.
Stepping off the train and into the frozen night air first was
Urd. Her face crossed with annoyance, Urd's eyes flashed with
contempt.
"What are we going to do?" she asked back into the train.
"I'll tell you what we're going to do. We're going to leave that viper
right here, *that's* what we're going to do!"
Struggling out of the train door next was Bonnie. Carrying a
near limp Sayoko around the shoulders, the American moved slowly,
dragging her charge along. Making it out onto the platform with
difficulty, Bonnie grunted with effort.
"We are *not* going to leave her out here!" Bonnie countered
hotly. "She's completely blasted, or haven't you noticed?"
Urd had turned her attention away from Bonnie and the near
unconscious Sayoko. The goddess seemed to be peering intently all
around the station.
"So she's had too much to drink," Urd mumbled. "Just leave
her on a bench. Someone will find her and take care of her. This isn't
like America, you know."
Bonnie almost stumbled, but managed to catch herself before
Sayoko slid limply to the ground.
"I don't care if this is NeverNeverLand," Bonnie almost spat
in anger at the goddess. "We are not leaving her just sitting here!
Didn't you see what she was trying to do back at the other station!
She's not even wearing any shoes, dammit!"
Eyes widening in satisfaction and ignoring Bonnie, Urd clapped her
hands and rubbed them together happily. Moving briskly down the
platform, she stopped over an innocent looking manhole. Nodding
thoughtfully at the manhole, Urd peered at it and smiled.
"This is it!" she grinned. With a little magic and a small
heave, she lifted the cover aside with ease.
Looking back over her shoulder, Urd sighed at the pair of
humans. "So? It's not our problem the girl wants to off herself.
Personally, I'd just as soon not get in Thanatos' way when he comes
back looking for her."
Bonnie found herself catching a sharp breath. "Just what the
hell kinda goddess are you, anyway?" she demanded angrily.
Urd stood up straight and put her fists on her hips
threateningly. "One that's trying to fulfill your damn silly wish,
that's who," she shot back. "You think I don't have better things to do
than baby sit some dull *mortal*? You think I'm here just to please
*you* and keep *her* from taking a dive in front of a train?"
"Go to hell, Urd!" yelled Bonnie.
"I've been there, and it's overrated," the goddess snarled
back. "I am Urd, Goddess First Class, Norse Goddess of the Past, and
I say drop the lush and get the hell in this hole before I stuff you
down it!"
Shifting her weight under Sayoko, Bonnie was taken aback
quite suddenly. Sometime during the yelling match, Urd had begun to
glow harshly in a color that was almost red. The long strands of her
hair were standing out ever so slightly, pulsing with energy. All
around the goddess, snow on the platform floor was melting rapidly as
if from some great heat.
"N-no," answered Bonnie with a gulp.
The engineer had become wary of the goddess as would a
deer be of a mountain lion. Bonnie was fully aware that despite her
appearance, Urd was not of this world. Perhaps, she decided, Urd
would not even really mind ramming Bonnie down that hole,
regardless of the consequences. Resting her weight mostly on Bonnie,
Sayoko took that moment to groan pitifully.
At that moment, Bonnie began to recall the conversation she
had with Belldandy before leaving the temple for the Uchigaya
Station. What was it the beautiful goddess had said to her?
Something about looking out for another companion. Bonnie's head
snapped up at Urd with a new glare.
"I say she's the one," Bonnie declared.
"The one, *what*?" echoed Urd in an annoyed tone.
"The one Belldandy told me He said we'd meet," answered
the mortal woman. "You know, Him... That Almighty or whatever it is
you call Him."
Urd was brought up short just before she began a vehement
denial. "I don't believe it," she finally replied. "Just because you
stumbled upon a suicidal drunk doesn't mean she's the one supposed
to go with us."
A gleam entered Bonnie's eyes as she smiled thinly.
"Oh yeah?" she challenged. "Then just what the hell is on
the other side of that manhole?"
Urd shrugged. "It's a mortal entrance to Asgard. Only an
immortal can unveil it, though. What's your point?"
Bonnie smirked and began moving forward, half dragging a
droopy Sayoko with her.
"Belldandy said we had to find a companion before we left,"
she said, brushing past an infuriated Urd and kneeling down with the
Japanese woman beside the manhole.
"So?" Urd asked irritably.
"So help me get her down this ladder, Urd," Bonnie
commanded coldly. "If we're really leaving this world right now, I
sure as hell don't see any other humans waiting in line to be along for
the ride."
Urd's face went from annoyance to a confused attempt at
rationalization to being royally pissed off.
`Fuck,' she mouthed silently.
Leaning over, she helped Bonnie get Sayoko down the dark
and musty smelling manhole. Clambering down after them, Urd
almost negligently used her goddess powers to seal the manhole
behind them.
And then, everything was very, very dark.
* * *
Coming up in Chapter 5:
Belldandy has her hands full, Bonnie and Urd make their way to
Paradise with their new companion, and an ancient trickster is
awakened.
Comments and Criticisms welcome.
Mike McAvoy
mmcavoy@naxs.net
members.xoom.com/mmcavoy/