Do my eyes deceive me?  Is this a chapter of 'Oh, My Brother!'?  Why, I dare say it
is!  Probably one of the first fanfics I ever read...certainly one of my favorite.

Dear God!  One of the first?!  How long has it been?!

I'm not entirely certain how it seems to you, but to me...I owe you a great deal
Chris, and I hope this, in some small way, shows you how much I appreciate it.  This
is long overdue.

Quick note: If you want to read the previous chapters go to:
http://www.yggdrasil.org/omg/index.html.

I recommend it, since I think I posted the last chapter in early 2000.

Oddly enough, I did that about a month ago.

***********************************

*Knock.  Knock.*

Who's there?

Heh.

*Good morning, Christopher James Angel, this is your subconscious speaking.*

Great, my subconscious sounds like my mother.

Which is better than his succubus speaking, but that's a whole other can o' froggies.

*Very funny.  To be specific, we're the portion of your subconscious that's
tied to your Godhood.*

I guess that's why it can talk rather than communicate with vauge imagery and half
remembered memories.  Wonder what Galactus' subconscious says to him.

<GC Subconscious>  You are hungry.

Figures.

Ooo, my subconsious has an MPD.  This bodes well.

*Will you stop being an ass already?  We'd like you to know that there's a

Which is kinda funny since he's really just talking to himself.  I was about to
recommend restating the joke like, "Would *I* stop being an ass already?" but then
you already noted this thing had an MPD.

demon in Urd's vicinity.  No real urgency, right now, but we thought you
should know.*

Okay...I'll get right on that.

*Good.  Now get up and prepare yourself...after all you might just have to
do some BUTT-KICKING FOR GOODNESS!*

<Chris> Good.  Bad.  I'm the guy with the shield-blades.

And with that, I jerked awake.

***

Christopher Angel Presents:

Oh! My Brother!
Chapter 11 - The End

A Self-Insertion Story

A Ygddrasil Production
inspired by:

-OMG by Kosuke Fujishima


***


I was a man on a mission.  Fact: Demon in vicinity.  Fact: It was near Urd.
Fact: I knew Urd was near (aren't godly senses fun?).  Fact: Urd could
probably kick my ass unless I pulled that super-Chris thing again.

There is something to be said about being the guardian to a being who could probably
wipe the floor with you with minimal effort.  Puts things in a most unique
perspective.  Choosing how one lives with said fact makes for some unique story
telling.

Which explains why at that particular moment, my mission was to sleep for
ten more minutes.

Oh, and everyone gives me a dirty look.  Sheesh.  I get no respect around
here.

*raises a beer in salute to Rodney Dangerfield*

In all honesty, I didn't particularly WANT to go looking for said demon.  I
will cheerfully admit to being scared out of my wits by what happened with
the last one.

It wasn't that I suddenly had a hell of a lot more power to pack, scary
though that was.  It wasn't the possibility of fighting, even though I was
terrified.  What disturbed me so greatly about the whole "threat to sisters
= full manifestation" deal was the total change that came over me.

Ladies and gents, I do not NORMALLY consider the killing of another sentient
being - even if it  was a demon - a good thing.  As a matter of fact, I
consider it a very bad thing.  It's pretty high on my list of "Things I
Would Rather Die Than Do."

Heh, I don't recall off hand whether the force which binds an angel to a demon is in
effect in your story, there is still that little problem to deal with if so.  Kill
one, you kill the other.  And then piss off both factions, of course.

But when I was...like THAT...I was a different person.  I was determined,
relentless, ruthless.   To summarize, I was NOT a happy fun person.  All
those who blame me, you can leave now.

Odd that your character would put that last one in.  Honestly, I hardly see the
relevance to the explanation and makes him sound rather whiny...sort of like:  "DON'T
YOU JUDGE ME!  DON'T YOU JUDGE ME!"

All those who don't believe that little bit of rationalization, you know me
all too well.

Again, not too sure about the statements here.  Though I do get the idea he doesn't
like it and/or blames himself for this happening due to his own sense of ethics and
morals.

So there I was, doing my best to sneak - which is a trick on those bedarned
nightingale floors of the temple, let me tell you - up to where where Urd
was located.

Should have done some training with a ninja goddess or something. ^_^

Which, of course, explains why the Sneaking Music from Looney Tunes was
going through my head.

At least it wasn't 'Mission Impossible"

I heard voices on the steps of the temple, and crept up as close as I could.
I couldn't see anything, but audio's better than nothing.

"...the hell is with that guy?!"  Hmm..new voice.  The demon?

<Urd> Shouldn't you know?  You live there, after all.

Course that joke probably gets old after the first couple centuries.

I'm also told that elipses are best done as ... rather than ..

"I take it you didn't like your first meeting with my brother?"  Urd, in her
'sincerity has left the building' voice.

Uh oh, long silence.  I bet I can guess what's coming next.  'But you don't
have a brother.'

"But you don't HAVE a brother."  And the kick is good!

"But of course I do," Urd said smoothly.  "You met him earlier."  Gee,
someone's having fun with this.

"Urd..." What a remarkably pleasant concept - even demons feel annoyed with
Urd sometimes.

And all is right in the universe, heh.

"Let me explain," Urd began, and then stopped.  "No, there is too much," she
corrected.  "Let me sum up."  It took a great deal of my willpower to stop
myself from smacking my forehead.

A snort of disgust, "Do you HAVE to be a smartass all the time?"

"As a matter of fact Mara, I do, especially where you're concerned, but
that's another issue," came the prim response.  "But here's the story:
Stupid mortal gets wish.  Stupid mortal makes stupid slip of tongue.
Yggdrasil lets wish go through.  Stupid mortal is now a god."

See what I mean?  No respect.  At least she said it fondly.  Oh well, time
for yours truly to make an appearance.

I dunno, more information might be needed, but then it appears from the next
paragraph he's having problems that he'd really like solved.

"Mornin' Urd," I said cheerily and then frowned slightly at the demon.  To
it I said, "You would probably like to know that there's a little part of me

Heh, a bit of an issue as far as demons go as well.  I mean, a lot of the gods are
total jerks.  Some of the demons might be pretty nice guys (which would be kinda hard
to think about with something screaming in your head: "KILL CRITES!")  Then there's
Hild...she's a demon...very high in the heirarchy, but who knows what her true goals
are.

up here," I tapped my forehead, "that really wants to try to maim you
severely.  Could you just make with the leaving so I can go back to bed?"

He?...she? - look, I couldn't tell - stood up and pointed an imperious
finger at me. "We aren't finished here, Mortal! There will be a reckoning!"

Couldn't tell from the voice?

the androgynous wonder cried, and disappeared in a puff of
brimstone-flavored smoke.

My, how melodramatic.  I said as much.

Urd shrugged.  "You get used to it, Mara tends to take the whole Heaven vs.
Hell thing a little seriously at times."

Probably better said:  "You get used to it.  Mara "

"Which you clearly don't," I countered, and then was overcome by a yawn.
"What sort of unholy hour is this to be up, anyway?"

"'Niichan, it's 9am, it's not THAT bad."

"Sez you.  Single digit morning hours are for sleeping."

Amen.

***

I suppose we will all be taking a turn at this, since Oniichan was not the
center of our universe all the time, despite what he has taken great pains
to insist.  In my case, any of the time.

That last statement seems kind of awkward phrasing.  Perhaps stating it like,
'Certainly he's never been the center of my universe.'

But, as Oniichan would say, I am rather focussed.  Well, he would probably
say something like "Keiichi-centric," but he tends to aim for accuracy over
propriety.

I confess to being quite concerned with Mara's arrival into my circle of
influence on Midgard.  It didn't bode well for my hopes that we would have
some peace and quiet with Keiichi-san.  She just didn't ever seem to let go

With Urd and Skuld around you'd think she'd really just give the idea of peace and
quiet up, heheheh.

of her animosity towards me.  I suppose that could be expected, with my
being a Goddess and Mara being a Demon, but things often weren't quite as
black and white as they seemed.  She used to be quite a nice person when we
were children.

And she didn't ask what changed that outlook, or she knows and does not say?

Nonetheless, all this musing wasn't doing me any good at the time,
particularly while I was trying to make breakfast.  I had noticed Mara's
presence, but hadn't seen any cause for concern there.  The behavior of the
miso soup, however, was causing me great concern.  The confounded Aka miso
was not wanting to cooperate, and it just happens to be Keiichi-san's
favorite type.  I had hoped to make breakfast perfect.

It is all in the details, you see.  If I can attain perfection, why settle
for anything less?

I wonder how she'd react to someone who's point of view is that perfection in and of
itself is a point of view, and hardly valid to everyone.  Or perhaps one that defines
perfection as a path to be followed, without the ability to make a choice...the
choice having already been defined by the path.

Interesting word, 'perfection.'

Let me never be complete.  Let me never be content.  Deliver me from Swedish
furnture! ^_-

Oh dear, I suppose that could have been taken as a somewhat naughty comment
about Keiichi.

Heh.

I hope he doesn't read this.

One thing to note, perhaps, in some part of this last chapter is where they are all
writing this stuff down.

***

I did, but Belldandy doesn't need to know that.

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!

***

Keiichi-san seemed out of sorts that morning as he worked on his homework.
I confess to not really noticing at the time, since my mind was focussed on
the problem of Mara and what problems she was going to cause.  I resolved to
keep a look out in the meantime, and continued my work on breakfast.

It was shortly after Keiichi and I finished our breakfast that Urd came out
of her bedroom.  I knew she had been up for a while, likely reminiscing of
happier times when all of us were younger, and Mara was a friend, not an
enemy.  Yawning, she strolled over towards the kitchen and stopped to look
in disgust at Keiichi.  With a grumble, she stormed over and snatched his
homework up from the table.

"Hey!  Give that back!  That's due tomorrow!"  Keiichi-san jumped to his
feet and tried to grab the pages from Urd, but she pulled it back.

"Nope.  It's too nice a day to stay inside.  You two go out and have some
fun!"  She danced away, holding the papers tauntingly.  "If you spend all
your time indoors, you'll turn into a mushroom!"  Keiichi growled and dove

Kept in the dark and fed bullshit, hehehehehe.

after her, but Urd split into a bunch of miniatures and scattered away.

Now that was taking things too far.  "STOP IT RIGHT NOW!!" I demanded.   I

Hmm...while I know that Belldandy has, on occasion, been put in a position to use
deadly force and has been willing to use said force (even did so once if the movie is
to be taken as canon), gets jealous (with some interesting consequences to the local
environment), and even screams emphatically from time to time when what she cares
about is imperiled...I don't believe I've ever heard her yell in such a manner.

For her it would be more like, "That is enough, Urd."  Making sure that all the
chibi's heard...the very sterness in her voice would be more than enough to stop them
cold.  And not even so much the sternness, but the feeling she'd convey with it.
That I think is more how Belldandy would do it.

suppose it was a little too loud.  Oh dear.  The Urd-lings collapsed back
into one body as she and Keiichi held their ears in pain.  They glared
accusingly at me while I lectured Urd.  "Now, Keiichi couldn't get his
homework done with all that trouble with Mara."

She began to look somewhat ashamed of herself, but was still ready to argue.
I decided to give her (and myself) a small victory and allowed "But, you do
have a point, I suppose."  I took Keiichi and helped him to his feet, and
then started to pull him out the door.  "Let's go out for just a little
while, okay?"

As Keiichi put on his shoes, I heard Chris thumping through the halls.  His
low voice reverberated through the walls as he grumbled himself awake.  "Guy
can't get a decent sleep with all this racket..."  Luckily, Keiichi and I
managed to escape.

It was a very pleasant day, considering we were in the middle of an urban
center like Tokyo.  I guess you could even say it was perfect, all things
considered.

At least until I sensed Mara's presence, that is.  I searched for her while
Keiichi went to get us some sodas.  I didn't detect her for a few moments,
but then I felt her very strongly - in Keiichi's direction!

I flew to him as fast as I could, knowing that I was expending my energy at
a horrendous rate.  As I approached him, I could see the results of Mara's

Needs to take some Z fighter lessons, heh.

meddling - a loaded truck, speeding towards him.  I had no time to spare, so
I formed an energy ball and used it to fling Keiichi out of the way.  The
truck slammed into the soda-machine Keiichi had been standing at, but he was
safe.  Or not.  The straps on the truck had broken, due to the impact.  Mara
does her work well.  The pipes loaded on the truck began to fall, rolling
towards where Keiichi sat stunned.

I'm not too certain about this one either.  Has Mara ever really tried to kill
someone?  Or to be more accurate, ever really tried to kill Keiichi?  I mean, if she
did that, that'd almost put her in a 'put into extreme amounts of pain and/or capture
on site' list.  Especially where the 3 goddesses are concerned, and now she has one
slightly disgruntled war god to deal with as well.

I had almost no energy left, but I had little choice.  I focussed on some
steel parking barrier spikes and chanted a quick spell:

"O, Staves of Steel,
Strength of the Earth Below!
Gather, Strike, and Halt
The Demon's Rampage!"

The barrier spikes flew into the air and slammed into the ground in front of
the pipes, stopping them with a thunderous crash.

I looked into the sky and began berating Mara.  I don't recall what I said -
I suppose I was too low on energy, because all I remember is falling
unconscious.

***

"...People roughhousing and yelling like children," I complained.  "Is it
too much to ask to sleep in on my day off?"

<Skuld> Quit yer complainin'!  Ya know yer like the miltary!  24x7!  Ya get no
breaks, bub!
<Chris> Would you please not read those Wolverine comics anymore?

Urd scowled at me from her place on the couch, and went back to watching TV.
"You know," she mused conversationally, "I wonder what Tyr would have to say
about all this complaining."

I froze and glared at her.  "Now that is NOT fair," I snarled, and stormed
into the kitchen.  I rummaged arround for a Diet Coke - why does Bell always
shove them into the back of the fridge, anyway? - and popped the can.

Probably due to something about its placement being antithetical (if that's even a
word) to her sense of asthetics.  Either that or its so she doesn't accidently grab
one and slug it really quick.  Caffeine tends to have an intoxicating effect on her
after all.

Puts her drinking tea in a whole new perspective, don't it? ^_^

Taking a deep slug, I wandered back into living room, where Urd had a Look
on her face.

You know, the one that means there's going to be a lecture.

Don't know it?  I'm very familiar with it.  All three do it exactly the
same.  Familial resemblence is never so strong as with that Look.

Heheheheheheh, wonder where they learned it from.

Where was I?  Oh yeah.  Urd being sanctimonious.  "What is your problem,
anyway?" she demanded.  "You've been acting like a jerk for the past week."

Well.  I guess they noticed.

I shrugged uncomfortably and took another slug from the can.  "I can't
really describe it.  I know I've been having weird dreams lately, but I
can't remember them.  It's driving me nuts.  I ALWAYS remember my dreams."
I finished off the can, and crumpled it slighly.  "Be right back."  I headed
back to the kitchen and picked out another drink, and then returned to the
living room where I found Urd with a vaguely alarmed look on her face.

"Explain that further," Urd inisted. "I mean about remembering your dreams."

I cracked the can, took a sip, and then sighed.  "Remember when I played
Final Fantasy VII for a whole weekend?  I SHOULD have been having
game-related dreams.  I always do when I abuse myself that way.  I've not
had a `finals are coming up, and I've done no course work and am going to
fail' dream for ages.  I usually have those once a week.  Hell, I haven't
had a sex dream in I don't know how long."  I took another sip, and then
choked on it as I realized what I just said to her.  As I sputtered, I
caught the bemused look she was giving me.  "Well, it's true," I spat.

Of all his sisters, that would be the one that he could probably talk to freely about
such things.

Urd laughed brightly at me for a moment, and then sobered quickly.  "How
long has this been happening?"

I thought hard about that question before answering.  Have you ever tried to
remember your dreams?  I mean REALLY remember all of them?  I couldn't for
the life of me - but then, I have a hard time remember what I did last
Tuesday, so it's not that surprising.  "I can't really say," I admitted
sheepishly, "but it's been a while."

Urd rose and patted me on the shoulder.  "Don't worry about it," she
advised, a little too breezily for my comfort.  "But let me or Belldandy
know if you feel weird at all."

"Right," I said evenly.  "I'm a god, I have superpowers, my last attempt at
a spell turned Keiichi's hair green, and this morning I was awakened by a
particularly vocal part of my subconsious, and I'm supposed to look out for
something weird."

"Be nice," she said mildly, and then looked faintly disgusted with me as I
took another sip of my drink.

Yes, my backup power source is artificial sweetener.  No, it doesn't matter
what kind.

Just to be absolutely certain...this includes Aspartame and Saccarine, but what about
Sucralose?

Hey, at least MY backup power source doesn't get me plastered.  Or give me
brainfreeze.  Or make me useless.

And it's low in carbohydrates.

I was about to tell her just that when Keiichi staggered in with a comatose
Bell on his back.  "Woah," I yelped, ran over to them, pulled Bell off his
back, and set her down on the couch.  "What happened?"

After looking at her sister for a moment, Urd bestowed a somewhat evil grin
on Keiichi.  "Overdid it with her powers again, didn't she?"

Keiichi sighed and nodded, and then explained what happened to Urd, who
nodded and sighed, "Mara."

I took a deep breath, brushed some hair from Bell's face, and then stood.
"Right," I snarled, summoning my armour.  "Time to go demon hunting."

"Christopher James Angel," Urd snapped.  "Don't you DARE."  At my attempt to
make a smart remark back at her, she overrode me.  "No, shut up.  Before you
go off like an idiot, why don't you think of your little sister?"  I looked
in confusion over at Bell, and she snarled in exasperation, "No, not her,
SKULD."

I stared at her in horror.  I could feel my face paling as I considered what
kind of trouble Mara could get Skuld into at an engineering college.  I
swore, and (from her viewpoint, anyway) disappeared.

My self-recriminations rolled around my skull like a perverse mantra as I
flew towards the school.  I was pissed of with myself, and rightfully so.  I
was also ticked off with Thor and the other Aesir.  I had been thinking like
them, proactive, instead of the way I was supposed to be acting - reactive.
Going after Mara was not in the job description.

Still, sometimes the best defense is a good offense.  Even so, action without thought
tends to get one in worlds of trouble either way.

I was so busy cursing myself I almost flew right into something.
Thankfully, the key word is almost.

Running into things when I'm in no-time is not fun.  The reason for that is
that time hasn't really stopped, I've just sped up immensely, so that a
minute for me takes Planck time (one really-big-number-th of a second) for

Why this sudden change in power description?  In the previous chapters I think you
described his power as more him leaping out of time...into a continuum between
moments.

everyone else.  It also means that when I run into things, it takes the
impact in Planck time.  I'm fine, though.  Gets messy when I'm not paying
attention when I'm flying and hit planes at Mach 2.  Not for me, for the
plane.  Oh well, I haven't caused any major damage - well, not to anyone
that counts, that is.

Sheesh.  I'm starting to sound like Urd.

Don't ask me why air isn't affected.  I don't know.  It's magic.  If it
followed real physics I wouldn't be able to see, either.

Depends on what he's using to see with.

THIS, friends, is the reason I'm forced to drop back into real-time when I
get too close to people.  Stops me from smearing them into a grease spot.

I learned over time (heh) how to use the ability to do some tricks.  I can
hover in real-time if I leave my feet in no-time, but it hurts like a
sonofabitch.  I can throw or drop things, letting them to build up momentum
in no-time and then slipping them back into real-time, but I can only really
do it easily with small things.

Yes, I know I'm rambling, but one of the things my little ability taught me
is that there's really no need to rush.

So, back to what I nearly flew into.   I almost dropped back into real-time
with shock.  There was Mara, floating in mid-air, looking down towards the
temple.

Hell, I almost expected her to have a Frieza Ball fully formed the way she's been
going this fic so far. ^^;;;;;

*Well, isn't this conveeeeeeenient?* I thought to myself snidely.  I wasn't
about to try to get into a fight with someone in mid-air, especially since I
can't fly normally (I also hadn't learned that trick with the hovering yet).
I mentally ran over what I had been taught about demons, and an evil little
grin stole onto my face.

I flew over to the nearest Christian Church (near being relative, it was way
the heck away) and 'borrowed' some holy water.  Then I zipped back, and
considered how I wanted to do this.  Carefully, I began to leave drops of
water in mid-air, creating an upside-down "cup" of drops that would entrap
Mara.  When time ran again, Mara'd have a nice little rainstorm to deal
with.

Hey, don't give me that look, it wouldn't do anything bad, only hurt like
hell.

And she'd probably know, being she's from Hell and all. ^_-  Still, if the doublet
system isn't in effect in your fic, she deserves a bit worse today.

Yes, it's mean.  NORSE Pantheon, remember?  Mean is part of the job
description.  I practically had to take night classes on the subject.

***

Apparently, Skuld takes her courses a lot more seriously than I expected her
to.  She wouldn't let me pull her out of class, and pointed out several
worthies she felt could protect her just as well.  (She had a point, one of
her classmates is a warrior-angel under Michael, a rather martial Archangel
in the Judeo-Christian pantheon.)

While humorous, this hasn't been mentioned in past chapters that I recall.  And while
you give an explanation below, you should really explore this a bit more to flesh out
the details of this 'nexus' in one of your sequals.

Don't ask me why there's so many of the good guys hanging around Nekomi.
The girls know, and won't tell me much other than it has something to do
with the temple.  Or me.  Or the alignment of Neptune with Pluto causing

Uranus would be so jealous...or want to join in. ^_-

harmonic peturberations in the etheric flow of mana in the region.  At
times, getting a straight answer out of my sisters is impossible.

He should start talking like Yoda then.  On that note, how does Chris mess with his
sisters?

I entered the house in a decidedly bad humor, one that wasn't helped by the
fact that I discovered Urd and Belldandy BOTH comatose on the floor.  "What
the hoeck happened here?!"

Urd shifted, and from under her crawled out this...THING.  A miniature Urd.
"Hi 'Niichan.  Mara came by to visit."  I could only stare in horror as a
grotesque little caricature of Urd climbed up on her body and sat there
talking to me.  She snapped her fingers a couple times.  "Pay attention!"

You'd think her screaming would have tipped them off long before Mara had a chance to
do anything.

Give me a break, I'd never seen one one of those things before.

Really?  She does that enough.  Wonder what he'd think of her friend, the rat Gau.

It took me a few tries to speak.  "How..."

The mini-Urd pointed to an audio player laying beside full-Urd's body.
"Polka music," she replied.  At my incredulous look she barked, "Hey, don't
give me that look, you hate rap!"

"Yeah, but it doesn't put me into a coma!"

You'd think he'd destroy it.

"You Aesir," she intoned. "Me Vanir.  Different rules."  The mini-Urd jumped
to the floor and pointed an imperious finger at me.  "We don't have time for
this!  Go find Keiichi - Mara's got something planned for him.  I'll wake up
Belldandy."

Other than crushing the life out of him?  Or was that to put Belldandy out of action?
If the second was her plan, that was pretty ballzy.  Even the slightest
miscalculation concerning Bell's power levels and she'd have killed said mortal.

"But..." I protested, gesturing vaguely at Bell.

"GO!  It'll kill Belldandy to lose Keiichi!"

With those words ringing in my ears, I flew out of the house.

It didn't take me long, subjectively, to find Mara.  There said demon was,
standing in a tree, holding a weird crystal ball with a balance in it and
watching the road below us intently.   As I landed out of sight to listen, I
noticed with no small amusement that Mara's face and arms were covered with
pale pink spots - almost like faint burns.

Good to know.  I guess she would have a pretty good pain threshold given where she
works so no screaming and rolling around in pure agony to tip off the good guys .

Below me, I heard Keiichi and some girl talking.  I edged over to where I
could get a look without getting caught by Mara.  Somewhat good looking,
"hot" by general standards, too skinny for me.  I studies her face for a

studies = studied

second before I decided it was likely Saykoko - Miss Queen Nekomi.  I had
seen her around, and heard the rumors about how she had it in for Belldandy.

(Sayoko: "It sounds like Belldandy helps you out by her own choice.  Soo why
feel guilty over that, Keiichi?")

Oh, I don't know, maybe because he's a decent guy and doesn't like taking
advantage of people?  What the hoeck is this?

Saoko is a typical anime lass in desperate need of a good long............well, I'm
sure you can figure the rest out, hehehehehehe.

(Sayoko: "So why don't you go out with me? I'm not the possessive type.
You'll always be free.")

......rrriiiiggghhhttttt

Either I've entered Bizarro-World, or Mara and Sayoko are working together.
This was sickening - I mean, the blatant horseturds she was spouting aside,
why the heck is Sayoko teaming up with a DEMON to get at Belldandy?  And why
is Keiichi listening to this?

(Sayoko: "But now you find out she's engaged to someone else - sounds like
some kind of cheesy soap opera.")

Pot, kettle, black?  And SINCE FREAKING WHEN is Belldandy engaged?

(Keiichi: "You're a real sweetheart, Sayoko.  Thanks for trying to make me
feel better.")

Heh.  At least Keiichi is still himself (sorta) even under a goofy spell.  I
peered over at Mara, who was focussing harder on the crystal ball.

I'd heard enough.  I shifted into my armour and rushed forward, snatching
the sphere from Mara's grasp.  Yelping with surprise, the demon jumped back
and glared at me in angry chagrin.  "You!"

"Yeah, me," I snarled.  "Low, don't you think, Mara?  Even for a demon?"

(Belldandy: "Then I guess I won't be needed here anymore, Keiichi.")

She is not that gullible.  Especially not with Mara in the mix.  Either she's under a
spell or this is a gambit on her part.

I glanced over to see Belldandy standing there, tears forming in her eyes
and a false smile on her face.

Oh Fnord no.  This could NOT be happening.  Couldn't she see that this was
wrong?  Belldandy was wiser, stronger, smarter than I was on my best day -
why couldn't she see this was a trick?

Indeed!

(Belldandy: "If you don't want me...")

Frantically, I examined the sphere, keeping one eye on Mara just in case.
Inside, I could see a stylized set of scales, and I just knew it was a
representation of Keiichi's love for Belldandy.  I lifted it to smash it
into the ground, but Mara laughed, walking over to a tree and leaning
against it with a smug expression.

(Belldandy: "...I have no choice but to return home.")

"Try it, Mortal," Mara sneered.  "Smash it now and they'll drift
apart...forever."

(Belldandy: "Th.. Thanks for the lovely time, Keiichi!")

I looked at Mara for a moment, trying to figure out if the demon was lying,
but I couldn't tell - I mean we're talking demons, they're pros at that.  I
stared at the crystal ball, turning it this way and that.

So are a lot of gods, just in a different way, heh.

"Did you really think I'd have used some basic spell that any foolish mortal
like you could break?"  Snarling, I stepped towards Mara, who laughed
scornfully.  "What are you going to do, mortal?  Attack me?  Kill me?
Torture me?  Don't be an idiot."

(Keiichi: "Yeah, sure... I guess that's probably the best for both of us,
huh?")

"NO!" I snarled helplessly.  "It can't happen like this!"    I was supposed
to protect my sisters, not stand here and watch while Belldandy was being
tortured before me.  I wished I hadn't been such a failure at magic.  I
wished I knew what to do.  I wished I could do something.  I wished someone,
anyone, would help me - please!

Whom do the gods pray to when all hope for them is lost? ^_^

Just then...I felt something.  A touch, deep in my soul.

*Of course, brother.*  A sudden vision.  A man - myself? - with the weight
of a world on his shoulders.  Three girls - red, green and blue?  Names -
Rayearth, Windam, Selece.  A child, a girl, whom I hated, pitied, blamed.  A
power, an intimate knowledge of the mystical.  A determination to lead, not
to protect.  To guide, not to shield.  To aid, not to coddle.

Doesn't sound like Zagato.  Lantis then?  Or someone else?

And with this realization, I felt a strange merging, an expansion of my very
being.  I looked around me, and could SEE the threads of magic before me.  I
could see the lines of enchantment wrapped around Keiichi, running through
his head and warping his thoughts.  I could see the bond - the love -
between him and Belldandy, that channel strangled by the choking invasion of
magic. Following those threads, I could see them wrap around Sayoko, and
then flow back to the sphere and to Mara.  I focused on the sphere, and I
saw the myriad tangles and knots that made up the enchantment.

Then I KNEW.  Mara wasn't lying - if I broke the sphere now, the tangles
would tighten into a knot that could never be broken.  Like a vision before
me, I could see the way things would fall out. Keiichi would go to Sayoko,
who would eventually cast him aside.  He would continue his life, always
missing something, always feeling incomplete, but never knowing why.
Belldandy would return to Heaven, and her family would follow, and she would
spend the rest of her days silently suffering.

I saw this vision, and rejected it.  I would not let it happen.  Deep in my
soul, I felt the other presence agree with me, and we focused on the sphere
and how to break the spell within it.

I had to turn it just SO, and then say THESE words, and then twist it like
SO, and turn it like SO, and say THOSE words... The scales suddenly leveled
out, and Mara swore.  I smiled grimly at the angry demon, and cast the
sphere down to the ground, where it shattered into a multitude of shards.

Then, the other left me, as suddenly as he came, and took his vision from
me.

Mara has been pretty resourcefull in the past concerning her mission to break up
Belldandy and Keiichi.  However, this is one heavy duty artifact.  The ability to
twist and redirect the bonds of love itself?  One wonders who's backing her.

One also wonders why Mara bothered to tell him the truth?  I suppose it could be
argued that he couldn't have possibly known the counter.

Or there's another game afoot.

"DON'T GO!"  Keiichi's cry echoed in an uncanny stillness.  As I gazed, he
ran up to a shocked Belldandy and hugged her tightly.  "I didn't mean what I
said just now!  That wasn't ME saying it!"

"No," I growled, surprising both of them as I walked up.  "It was Mara.
Some weird crystal ball."  I pointed vaguely behind me to the debris.  "It
was making Keiichi not care about you any more."

"A Balance Sphere."  I turned to see Urd (thankfully the full version)
kneeling beside the shards, and Mara...dancing?  I vaguely heard some disco
music playing.  Urd looked at me in confusion.  "'Niichan, how did you know
how to break its spell?"

"Yeah..." panted Mara.  "Since...when does a...newbie know an advanced
spell...like...uh...that?"

Guess it was that he couldn't have possibly countered it.

I scratched my head.  "Someone told me."  I spread my arms at the
disbelieving glares I was getting.  "Hey, it's the truth!  I was desperate
for help, and someone told me in my head."  I summarized what happened.  "I
guess one of the guys upstairs decided to lend me a hand."

Now would not be the time for a corny anime explanation in the middle of a fight, or
just after in front of everyone when you should probably be performing clean up (or
at least walking home).  Perhaps in the comfort of their home away from Mara, but not
now I think.

Urd and Belldandy exchanged a concerned look, and then Urd finally said
warily.  "Umm, let's talk about that later, Chris."

I shrugged - frankly, I didn't care at the time.  "'Kay.  What about the
demon?"

"Isn't Mara engaged to you?" Keiichi asked Belldandy.

Things become clear all of the sudden, heh.

<snip of the warm and fuzzy ending>

***

Well, that's the end of the start of my story, of how I met the Norns,
became their brother and a god in one fell swoop, and how my life with them
began, and how I disrupted the first two of Mara's many schemes.

I know you said that you hadn't planned to bring 'closure' to the thing with the two
girls Chris was involved with this time, but I do hope in the sequal you deal with it
more as well.

We had a lot more adventures together - some good, some bad, some downright
bizarre.

But I never regretted the Wish that made Christopher Angel into the God of
Moments, also known as Paradox, the God of Never.  The wish that gave me a
new family.

Not too bad.  Not too bad at all.  When I first wrote this, I had a problem with the
flow of the narrative, but now that I've sat down and reread the darned thing, I can
say there was no problem with that particular bit at all.  There were a few plot
points I had problems with, but for the most part you addressed them almost
immediately so it's all good.  There weren't too many other questions I had, and
should be pretty easy to pick out.  Hmm...that latter part, that one from about the
point that Chris goes off to check on Skuld on up til the end seem...I guess rushed
is the feeling I got.  I mean, it's pretty self contained, nothing missing or the
like, but it seems like a lot of minor details were missed.  That's the best way I
can think to describe it.  Grammar and spelling were, for the most part, beyond my
meager skills to critique, so I couldn't find much flaw there.  All in all...that I
live to see this fic finally done...well, it is truly a moment to be savored.

I hope this helps in some small way.  Thanks for writing...and finally
completing...this wonderful story.

K'thardin
"I'm a soldier.  I fight.  That's what I do."
	-Optimus Prime


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