Sunnydale High
As promised Xander and Willow had arrived at the library and were
helping Giles sort though the books. At least Willow was. Something else
had grabbed Xander’s attention.
“Hey, Will, remind me to stay really, really far away from this
place,” exclaimed Xander as he held up The Tragedies of Jusenkyo. “This
Jusenkyo place sounds like something right out of the Twilight Zone.
Listen to some of the weird springs at this place. Spring-of-Drowned
Panda, Spring-of-Drowned-Piglet, Spring-of-Drowned-Cat,
Spring-of-Drowned-Duck,
Spring-of-Drowned…Yeti-riding-a-Bull-holding-a-Crane-and-Eel?”
“Xander, you’re making that up,” accused Willow.
“I am not! Look, it says so right here.”
To appease her long-time friend Willow looked. Much to her surprise
the listing was just as Xander had said. “Wow,
Spring-of-Drowned-Yeti-riding-a-Bull-holding-a-Crane-and-Eel. Boy,
that’s weird even by Sunnydale standards.” Willow took the book from
Xander and began to flip though it. Something about the stories of
Jusenkyo seemed to draw the novice witch.
“Spring-of-Drowned-Octopus? How did an octopus get into the
mountains of China? Spring-of-…” A puzzled look crossed Willow’s face.
“What’s an Akane?”
“Having fun are we?” asked Giles as he stepped out of his office.
The duo jumped a bit in surprise. “Sorry, Giles,” apologized
Willow. “But Xander found this really cool book and we got distracted.”
“Can you believe it? Me actually reading a book that doesn’t have
Spider-Man or the X-Men on the cover,” joked Xander. “This Jusenkyo
place must really be magic.”
Giles put on one of his mildly annoyed looks but secretly he was
pleased. Anything that could get teenagers into learning was perfectly
fine with him. “Looking at The Tragedies of Jusenkyo, were you? I must
admit it is a rather fascinating tome. If you found that interesting,
Willow, then you may want to have a look at this,” said Giles as he held
a small leather bound book.
“What is it?”
“The diary of one of the last century’s greatest Watchers, Makoto
Hibiki. He was Japanese but he visited the four corners of the Earth and
recorded the legends of the all the places he visited.”
“Quite the world traveler, huh?” asked Xander.
Giles adjusted his glasses and looked a bit uncomfortable. “Er, no.
It seems that he just had a absolutely dreadful sense of direction. A
common family trait as the stories go.
“Anyway, one of the most fascinating stories he ever came across
was in his native country. According to Hibiki, 700 years ago a demon
fell from the sky. For weeks the creature terrorized the countryside
until one day a great warrior came to challenge the demon. After a great
battle he managed to steal the demon’s three gems, the source of its
power. The warrior then placed the gems in his sword and sealed the
demon in a cave. The sword then became the key to the seal. Should the
sword ever be removed from the cave the demon would then be free again.”
“And knowing our luck it would head right for Sunnydale,” sighed
Xander.
It was then that Buffy and the goddesses came though the library
doors. “Hey Giles, set a couple extra places at the table. We’ve got
company.”
As Willow looked at the two newcomers something gave her a faint
prickling sensation. It was similar to the feeling she had when she was
casting spells. A small feeling of unease began to creep up Willow’s
spine. Her magical abilities were still limited, but these two women
were somehow setting them off. To do that, the young witch realized,
meant that they must wield some very powerful magic.
Xander, however, had no magical abilities so he did not share
Willow’s unease. But he had noticed that the older auburn-haired woman
was incredibly beautiful. Under normal circumstances the sight of a
beautiful woman would send Xander’s mind off into any number of lusty
directions. He was a teenage boy after all. But for some reason that
didn’t happen when he looked at this woman. For some reason she just
seemed to…pure for such thoughts. That unnerved Xander in a way he’d
never felt before.
Giles was also feeling uncomfortable. Newcomers to the circle the
teens called the ‘Scooby Gang’ were rare. And when they did come it
usually meant trouble.
“Hello, I’m Rupert Giles, the librarian here at Sunnydale High,”
said the Englishman as he offered his hand. Belldandy took it and shook
politely. “Over there are Xander Harris and Willow Rosenburg. They’re
helping me organize some new books for the school. And it seems you’ve
already met Buffy.”
“You can drop the act, Giles,” informed Buffy. “They know.”
Giles did his best to look mystified. “Know? Know what?”
Buffy rolled her eyes. “Everything, Giles! Slayers, Watchers,
Vampires, the Hellmouth. Everything. And do they ever have a story to
tell.”
“We’re goddesses,” interjected Skuld, happily.
Willow, Xander, and Giles looked at the young girl as if she’d just
grown an extra set of eyes.
“I know that it sounds strange but it’s the truth,” said Belldandy.
“My name is Belldandy and this is my younger sister, Skuld. And it is as
Buffy says. We’re both goddesses.”
The humans turned to look at Buffy. They all had a “Is the
crazy?” expression on their faces.
“Yeah, goddesses, I know how it sounds,” began the Slayer. “But I
saw Belldandy crispy fry four vamps and fly not twenty minutes ago. And
Skuld dusted a vampire using just a croquet mallet. Guys, I’m not really
sure what these two are, but I’d say goddesses is definitely on the list
of possibilities.”
Willow was starting to feel her initial unease die down. None of
her senses, magical or otherwise, felt anything evil coming from
Belldandy and Skuld. “Buffy may be right,” the redhead began. “I’ve read
a lot about goddesses and stuff and I think they’re real. If they say
that’s what they are then maybe we should give them the benefit of the
doubt.”
“I know it’s hard to believe but please give us a change to prove
what we say,” said Belldandy.
Giles was about to demand the goddess make good on her claim when Skuld
made a surprised noise. Everyone looked as the little goddess pulled the
portable TV from her pocket. Its case keep bulging and raising as if
something were trying to break free from within.
“Looks like someone’s back from her trip,” observed Skuld as she
flipped on the TV. Instantly Urd soared out of the device and stopped in
the air above her sisters and the humans.
“Oh my god!” gasped Giles as he looked up at the woman floating
before him.
Urd glanced at the Watcher and gave him an amused smirk. “Goddess.
You mean ‘Oh my goddess!’ Or goddesses if you want to get technical
about it.” Urd floated to the ground and gave Giles an appraising
look. “Say, you look familiar. Were you ever on TV? Maybe a
coffer commercial or something.”
“Well, I was once an extra on an episode of Dr. Who but, I, er…”
fumbled Giles.
“Hey, Will, I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that these
women just may be goddesses,” said Xander who was still trying to get
over Urd’s entrance.
“I, uh, think you might be right,” concurred the shaken redhead.
“Somebody give the rocket scientists a prize,” grumbled the goddess
of the Past as she turned her attention to her sisters. “Hey, sis. Hey,
brat. Who are these guys and why are you two in what looks like a high
school library?” Urd’s eyes then fell on Buffy. A look of surprise
appeared on the goddess’s face. “Any why does that blonde have ancient
magic in her veins?”
“It’s because she’s the Slayer,” informed Belldandy. “Her name is
Buffy Summers and she’s offered to help us. That man over there is Mr.
Giles, her Watcher, and over there are her friends Xander and Willow.”
“I told them a bit about us on the way over,” added Buffy who
looked slightly embarrassed.
Urd was busy giving the Scooby Gang the once-over. “So the Slayer
is in Sunnydale. It would have been nice knowing that before we came
here.”
“I suppose we should have done a bit more research on this place
before we left Japan,” sighed Belldandy.
“Will someone please tell me what the heck Slayers and Watchers
are?!” demanded Skuld.
“Yes, I think a round of explanations would be most helpful at this
point,” said Giles.
Belldandy nodded. “I suppose we’d best start with Slayers and
Watchers. You see, Skuld, into each generation, a Slayer is born. One
girl, in all the world, a Chosen One. One born with--”
“The strength and skill to hunt the vampires, to stop the spread of
evil, blah, blah,” interrupted Urd. “You get the gist of it. The
Watchers are a secret society who’ve existed in one form or another
since the time of Babylon. They’ve made it their duty to help keep the
monsters in this world under control. Part of that duty includes
training the Slayer. The Watchers have had their main headquarters in
England for the last few centuries, but they have chapters in every
country on Earth.”
“And this Slayer is you?” asked Skuld as she looked at Buffy.
“Right,” confirmed the blonde girl. “Well, I’m a Slayer. There’s
two of us now.”
“Two Slayers? How is such a thing possible?” said Belldandy.
“Okay, long story really, really, short,” began Buffy. “About two
years ago I fought a really nasty vampire called the Master. He managed
to put the blood brain on me, killing me. Xander and…another friend of
mine came along in time to give me CPR and save my life.”
“But the minute or so you spent dead was enough to call the new
Slayer,” concluded Urd. “Wow, I’ve heard a lot of stories about Slayers
over the years, but that’s a new one on me.”
“On us too,” informed Buffy. A somber look then appeared on the
Slayer’s face “A few months after I died a girl named Kendra showed up.
She was the new Slayer. But we really didn’t get a chance to know her.
Not long after she came to Sunnydale she was killed by a vampire named
Drusilla.”
“And when Kendra died a new girl was called to take her place,”
said Skuld. “Now I’m starting to understand.”
“It’s truly is a unique situation,” said Giles. “The new girl,
Faith, is a bit wild and something of a loner. But she’s very talented.
I’m sure that with the proper training she’ll calm down and excel in her
duties.”
“’Wild,’ eh?’ This Faith sounds like my kind of girl,” mused Urd.
“Figures you’d think so, Urd,” grumbled Skuld.
It was then Giles’ eyes opened as if a revelation had come to him.
“Excuse me, but you say her name is Urd?”
“Correct,” confirmed Belldandy. “You see my sisters and I--” the
goddess was cut off as Giles suddenly dashed off into the stacks. “Uh,
we’re the goddesses of--”
“Don’t interrupt him,” advised Xander. “This is what Giles lives
for. Just sit back, relax and listen to the nice man’s soothing voice as
he explains a bunch of stuff you don’t understand.”
It was then that Giles reappeared, a large read book in his hands.
“Urd, Skuld and Belldandy. I knew I’d heard those names before. It just
took me awhile to remember where,” the Watcher explained as he sat the
book down on a table. He then looked at the goddesses. “You three really
are goddesses. You’re the Norns, aren’t you?”
“B-I-N-G-O!” grinned Urd.
“Norns?” said Willow, a look of puzzlement on her face. “I think
I’ve heard that name before.”
“Okay, Giles, enough with the mystery stuff,” demanded Buffy. “Will
you tell those of us who didn’t take mythology 101 what a Norn is.”
“Oh, yes, of course,” nodded Giles as he flipped open the book.
“This book is the lost volume of the Icelandic Eddas, a collection of
ancient writings that provide the most authoritative source on Norse
mythology. According to the Eddas, the Norns are goddesses of destiny.
They control the fates of both gods and men, as well as the unchanging
laws of the universe. The Norns consisted of three sisters. The eldest
was called Urd or sometimes Urth. Her name meant ‘fate.’”
Urd smiled and gave a mock bow. “Thank you, thank you. Please, no
autographs.”
Giles continued unabated. “The youngest sister was Skuld whose
named meant ‘being.’” The little goddess said nothing but gave everyone
a glowing smile.
Giles adjusted his glasses and gave Belldandy an appraising look.
“The middle sister was named Verdandi. Her name meant ‘necessity.’”
“Wait, I thought you said your name was Belldandy,” said Willow.
“Verdandi is technically my name,” began the goddess. “But few
people have called me that in the last three hundred years.”
“May I inquire as to why?” quizzed Giles.
Urd rolled her eyes. “Looks like we get to hear the Julian story
again.”
Belldandy pretended not to notice. “In a nutshell the story is this.
In 18th century France, in the city of Avingon, there was a young man
named Julian. He was deeply in love with a girl named Lydia and she
loved him as well. But their fathers were bitter business rivals who
forbid their relationship.
One day, in the midst of a horrible depression, Julian decided to
visit the seaside in hopes of lifting his spirits. While he sat by the
ocean he wrote a letter detailing his love for Lydia, his frustration at
his father for not allowing them to be together and the emptiness he
felt in his heart.”
“Oh, that’s so romantic,” cooed Buffy.
“Sounds like the plot to some of those trashy novels they sell at
the supermarket,” grumbled Xander. Buffy, Willow and Urd gave him dirty
looks.
Belldandy continued her story unabated. “Once his letter was done
Julian put it in a bottle and cast it into the sea. As he watched the
bottle float away he prayed to any deity who may hear him to help unite
he and Lydia.
Fortunately for Julian, someone did hear his prayer. It was Alpan,
goddess of love to Etruscans. She was touched by his words so she passed
the letter on to the Powers That Be in Heaven. The Powers were also
moved by Julian’s plight and so a decision was made. Because of the love
in his heart, and the fact that he had led a virtuous life, Julian would
be granted one wish. I was chosen to carry out this order and grant
Julian his wish.
“So I descended to the earth to grant Julian his wish.” Belldandy
then began to look a bit embarrassed. “After seeing me appear out of a
mirror Julian had no trouble believing me to be a goddess. The problem
came when I introduced myself. You see, Julian was a bit hard of
hearing--”
“The guy was deaf as a post!” exclaimed Urd.
“He wasn’t deaf, Urd. Just rather hard of hearing,” defended
Belldandy. “As I was saying, when I introduced myself Julian misheard my
name. He though I said my name was Belledandy.”
“Belle, spelled b-e-l-l-e, is French for beautiful,” informed Skuld.
“My big sis is really beautiful and plenty dandy.”
Belldandy gave her young sister a warn smile. “Considering how happy
he was to see me I couldn’t bring myself to correct Julian. He quickly
wished that the hostility between the two families would end. His wish
was granted and soon he and Lydia were married. They spent the rest of
their lives together and were very happy.”
“They even named their first daughter Belle,” added Skuld.
“That’s story is so sweet,” sighed Willow.
“So sweet it’s givin’ me cavities,” muttered Urd. “Anyway, to wrap
this up Belldandy comes back to Heaven and told everyone what happened.
As you can see, Skuld loves this story. So she took to calling Verdandi
Belledandy. Pretty soon everyone was calling her that. Over the years
Belledandy somehow turned into Belldandy.”
“I always took it as a term of endearment,” explained Belldandy.
“Well, I think Belldandy is a fine name for a goddess,” commented
Willow.
“I think it suits you too,” added Buffy.
“A most facinating story,” mused Giles. “But could you perhaps tell
us what it is that has brought you to Sunnydale.
“We think a demon named Mara might be here,” said Skuld. “Belldandy
and Urd are worried that she might try opening the Hellmouth or
something.”
Buffy’s eye’s narrowed. “Mara? That’s the name Angel mentioned to me
last night.”
“Who’s Angel?” inquired Urd.
“That’s yet another long story,” replied Xander. “One I’d really
rather not hear.”
Buffy’s retort to Xander was cut off by Giles. “Yes, I remember
Buffy asking me to look into that name this morning. I haven’t had time
yet, but if I recall correctly there may be some information on her in
this book.”
Urd opened her mouth to say something but Belldandy gestured to her to
be quite. Urd looked as if she would argue for a moment, but then
nodded.
“Ah, here it is,” announced Giles. “Mara, sometimes refereed to as
Mahler. A Norse demon from the realm of Niflheim. Supposedly she’s very
fond of nasty tricks and was a favorite deciple of the god Loki.”
“Oh, Loki, I know this one,” exclaimed Xander. “He was the Norse god
of Mischief. He runs around in this funky yellow and green outfit and
wears a helmet with these whopping huge horns on the front and is always
saying stuff like “Curse mine half brother, Thor. Yet again his
interference has fouled mine schemes. But I shall have my vengeance upon
him anon!”
Giles tried very hard not to roll his eyes. He failed. “As amusing
as that was, Xander, I do not think it wise to believe everything you
learned from reading Thor comic books as an actual lesson in mythology.”
“Uh, yeah, I guess so,” conceded the young man. Then Xander perked
up a bit. “Wait a second. How did you know that stuff was from the Thor
comics?”
Giles flushed slightly red but he regained himself. “Well, er, I was
a child once myself. And the do sell American comic book in England…”
“Our stuffy book guy Giles was a comic fan?” grinned Xander. “This
belongs on the front page of one of those British tabloids. Right next
to the story and Prince Charles’ secret wedding to the two-headed clone
of Elvis.
“Hey, what books did you read?” rambled the Scooby Gang member. “No,
let me guess. You liked Green Lantern. You seem like the Green Lantern
type.”
Giles was now looking very embarrassed. “Actually, I preferred the
Flash. However, to bring this back to something remotely relative, I
will enlighten Mr. Harris here will real facts on Loki.”
Urd somehow surprised a groan. This Giles guy talked *way* to much.
Plus, just the mention of Loki’s name brought back a lot of bad
memories.
“Loki was one of the Aesir, the primary pantheon of the Norse gods.
He was the god of fire as well as a shapershifter and trickster. He was
also responsible for the death of Balder, the god of light.
As punishment for killing Balder, Loki was chained to three large
boulders; one under his shoulders, one under his loins and one under his
knees. A poisonous snake was placed above his head. The dripping venom
that lands on him is caught by Sigyn, his faithful wife, in a bowl. But
every now and then, when the bowl is filled, she must leave him to empty
it. Then the poison that falls on Loki's face makes him twist in pain,
causing earthquakes.”
“That’s kinda romantic,” said Buffy.
“And sad,” added Willow.
“Poor Sigyn,” whispered Belldandy. “I remember the day Allfather
Odin sentenced Loki. She cried and begged Odin for mercy for her
husband. But all of Asgard was stricken over Balder’s death. They wanted
Loki to suffer for what he’d done. Sadly, because of her love for him,
Sigyn was forced to suffer as well.”
“Try not to think about it, sis,” advised Urd. “I know it’s tough,
especially since you used to be close to Sigyn before all that happened.
But we’ve still gotta find Mara. She’s looking to pay us back for
destroying the Lord of Terror and she just may be using the Hellmouth to
do it. We can’t let that happen.”
Giles’ face suddenly lost quite a bit of color. “Did you say the
Lord of Terror?”
“Yep, she did” confirmed Skuld. “Mara managed to free him a few
weeks ago and he went and possessed Urd. It took everything Belldandy
and I had to stop him from destroying the universe.”
Urd burned her hands in her face. “Thanks, Skuld. Thanks for letting
strangers in on the worst experience of my life.”
“I’m getting real tired of saying this,” began Xander “but could I
have an explanation. Who or what is the Lord of Terror? Other than the
name of a movie that probably had Vincent Price in it.”
“The Lord of Terror is a legendary demon,” informed Giles. “A demon
said to have fantastic power. Power enough to destroy all of creation.
It’s also said that when Lord of Terror returned to the Earth he would
possess skin of bronze.”
“Nevermind my long legs and tone body,” joked Urd. But then her face
darkened somewhat. “As much as I hate to admit it, what Skuld said is
true. Lucky me, I was the one the Lord of Terror wanted to use as a
vessel to destroy the universe and then remake it in his own image. As
it is, we’re fortunate that all that got destroyed was the Makuhari
Messe Convention Center. Never mind the mess all that left the Yggdrasil
in.”
Buffy arched her eyebrows. “Makuhari Messe Convention Center? Isn’t that
the place you told me about this morning, Giles?”
“Indeed it is,” confirmed the Watcher. “So it wasn’t mass hysteria
and such. It really was the Lord of Terror. Facinating.”
“Uh, question,” said Willow as she raised her hand tentatively.
“What’s a Yggdrasil?”
Everyone looked at Giles. The Englishmen looked at them confused for
a moment. Realization then hit him and he reached for his book. “The
Yggdrasil , also called the World Tree, is the giant ash tree that links
and shelters all the layers of the universe. It is guarded by the Norns
who pour water from the Well of Fate into its branches to prevent
decay.”
“Now that is a perfect example of why you should never believe
everything you read in books,” muttered Urd. “I’m a goddess, not a
gardener. Before I got stuck here on earth I was the System Operator for
Yggdrasil.”
“‘System Operator?’” repeated Willow. “You mean like with
computers?” The young witch felt her curiosity raise. Just what kind of
computers did goddesses use?
“And I was the debugger,” added Skuld. “Of course, Yggdrasil bugs
are a lot tougher than normal computer bugs. For one thing they look
like rabbits with eight legs and they move really fast. It takes real
skill to fix them.” Skuld then gave a quick demonstration of what she
meant by ‘fix’ by giving her hammer a test swing.
“Do you mean to tell me that the Yggdrasil is…a computer?” demanded
Giles. The Watcher had again gone a bit pale.
“Yes, it is” confirmed Belldandy. “The ancient people of the
Norseland described our system as best they could using things they
understood to explain what they didn’t. Esentually, the Yggdrasil is the
computer that runs the operations of the universe.”
“The universe is run by a computer?” boggled Buffy. “This doesn’t
mean that Bill Gates is God, does it?”
Xander was also having a hard time buying this bit of news. “Isn’t
this the part where they’re supposed to ask if we want to red pill or
the blue pill?”
Willow, unlike the others, had no problem with this news. Computers
were cool. Except when there’s demon with its eyes on you living inside
one. “So did you work on the Yggdrasil too, Belldandy?”
The goddess shook her head. “No, I was in the Goddess Relief Office.
The job of the GRO is mostly to grant wishes to people deemed worthy.
People like Julian.”
Xander rubbed his temples as if he had a headache. “Okay, I now
declare no more learning. It’s Friday, school’s over, I don’t want to be
within 300 yards of a fact until Monday.”
That was when Giles giggled. “Of course, the universe is run by a
computer,” he said. “That explains so very, very much. London drivers,
Eddie Izzard, people who won’t stop talking during movies, those
dreadful Australian soap operas, spam, why it’s so hard to get a good
scone in this country, even the French.”
Everyone stared at Giles as he continued to ramble.
“What’s wrong with him?” asked Skuld.
“Giles doesn’t like computers. Big time,” said Willow. “I guess
finding out the universe is run by one was a bit much for him.”
"Buffy, Giles is going bye bye. Maybe you should do something,"
suggested Xander.
The Slayer nodded her head. “Right. Do something. Like what?”
It was then that the library doors flew open and Oz hustled in “Hey,
guys, we’ve got trouble. I just--” The musician stopped short as he saw
the newcomers to the Scooby Gang.
“Who invited the werewolf?” asked Urd.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Picture if you will an ordinary hand-held video camera. Now picture
what said camera would look like if it grew legs, a tail and wings. If
you can imagine that, then you can picture the creature that was
currently peering though the library windows.
It had been positioned there since before Buffy and the goddesses
had arrived, the lens that served as its eye recording all. Now the
thing felt that it had seen enough. With a few flaps of it’s wings the
creature pulled itself into the air. It then flew off silently in the
Sunnydale night.