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 http://www.angelfire.com/va3/shenandoah/ Last updated October 15, 2001. Ah, My Goddess! "In Search of a Wish" A Fan-fiction by Michael McAvoy From the point of ignition To the final drive; The point of the journey Is not to arrive. Anything can happen. -- RUSH -* Chapter 2 *- Some would argue that the idea of the Almighty and the Dark Lord meeting regularly to share a cup of coffee would be one of the greater absurdities imaginable. These same people might also be accused of having the tiniest imaginations possible by others, who might find the idea of good and evil sharing a cup of jo quite comforting. Indeed, the pro-coffee folks would also be the types who assumed that God had given them a mind and body to enjoy all the different flavors of beans out there. The more devout of the non-coffee factions would assume righteously shocked expressions and proclaim that the Taster's Choice people were going straight to Hell once the Y2K bug (according to Jerry Falwell) brought on the Apocalypse by crashing the world's computers. Bringing His existence into a special plane know only to himself and two others, as far as He knew, the Dark Lord materialized His presence. A world of motion and stillness, light and darkness, it was quite literally beyond the comprehension of any human being, as well as the immortals that walked the realms of, and between, Paradise and Damnation. Affording a moment's irony, the Dark Lord considered how much easier such fanatical religious leaders, in the name of Goodness, dulled and corrupted their followers' minds by filling them with fear and superstition. As far as He was concerned, a mind filled with religious induced phantoms and fears was a mind much more easily Damned by His minions than someone not exposed to religious fanaticism. And then the Dark Lord knew He had arrived as well. the Dark Lord said pleasantly. the Almighty acknowledged no less politely, agreed the Dark Lord, the Almighty responded, the Dark Lord repeated, said the Almighty, concurred the Dark Lord. the Almighty answered, said the Dark Lord, replied the Almighty, the Dark Lord mused, the Almighty indicated. complemented the Dark Lord, There was a mighty resonance in the ethereal plane as the two beings' wills set together to form an unbreakable agreement. It was only the fifth time such an agreement had been made by the two deities together since the human consciousness sparked. the Almighty pondered. the Dark Lord agreed, before removing his presence from the spiritual plane and returning to Hell. With only a moment's pause, the Almighty similarly left for Paradise. * * * Urd, Goddess Second Class, Limited License, Norse Goddess of the Past, and self-proclaimed Goddess of Love was in a grumpy mood. Somehow she just could not shake the nagging feeling that her sister, Belldandy, would have been able to handle the whole situation without having so many difficulties. In fact, though Urd *knew* her other sister, Skuld, had no way of knowing what had just occurred in the small, Alexandria home, Urd was certain Skuld would be sniggering if she found out. Looking down at the floor of a living room gone horribly wrong, Urd considered the young woman who was passed out from shock. Covered with bits of tinsel and twisted in lights that twinkled merrily, Bonnie MacMaster was a victim of the windstorm that had raced through her home. Her senses overloaded by the stress of seeing everything she owned flying about a goddess bathed in a brilliant blue light, which blew a small hole through her ceiling into the second floor and out the roof, Bonnie had opted to retreat into the relatively peaceful oblivion of a faint. The long platinum-haired goddess narrowed her exotic, green eyes and debated what to do next. There were a number of options available, and cleaning up the mess she had just made was not high on that list. However, Urd settled on reaching for one of the bottles of Guinness that had managed to survive the wish process. Leaning over to pick it up off the floor, the goddess popped the bottle's top on the edge of a coffee table and tossed it back. Nonchalantly throwing the bottle aside once it was empty ('After all,' she thought, 'the room's already trashed.'), Urd crouched down and tried to shake Bonnie awake. Not achieving any response from the unconscious woman, Urd stepped back and started to chant quietly. Building up a small amount of magical energy, Urd released a spell of levitation and opened her eyes. The coffee table beside Bonnie was floating serenely. "Dammit all!" swore the tanned goddess, "I wasn't supposed to miss!" Letting the coffee table hit the floor with a crash, the Norn deity redirected the energy until the young engineer was floating a few feet off the ground. With a negligent flick of her hand, Urd started to walk out of the room and up the stairs with Bonnie in tow. Once on the second floor, just as dark as downstairs in the late evening, Urd poked around until she found Bonnie's bedroom. Releasing the energy, Urd let Bonnie dump onto her bed in a heap where she remained unmoving. Urd sighed again and scratched the side of her head absently. For the life of her, the goddess could not figure out why things had to always be *so* difficult. Looking around Bonnie's darkened bedroom, Urd's face became disapproving with what she saw. The room was simply furnished with little in the way of decoration that would mark it as distinctly Bonnie's. There were a few knickknacks here and there that appeared to be unusual and delicate minerals, but that was it. No posters, no pictures, nothing to indicate exactly what kind of life this young woman led. "Fine," muttered Urd to herself, "maybe Belldandy was right when she said I should read more than just the first page of her file." Stalking out of Bonnie's bedroom, the exotically dressed goddess made her way downstairs and steered herself back into the kitchen. Opening up the refrigerator, Urd poked about a bit searching for something to lighten her spirits. She had to admit, Bonnie had a decently stocked supply of good beer, but Urd was looking for a quicker fix. Closing the door, she began rooting through cabinets until she found what she was looking for. "Ah, ha!" exclaimed Urd, pulling a bottle down, "A bit of vodka would help me think much better!" Cradling the bottle like a baby, robes trailing, Urd swooshed back into the disorderly living room and sprawled on the sofa. Sitting in the darkness, Urd sat for a moment watching the lights that were still twinkling on the toppled Christmas tree. For a split second, prudence got the better of the Goddess of the Past as she closed her eyes and began chanting. Releasing the spell, there was a gentle pressure wave of energy that washed over the room, correcting all the damage done by Bonnie's wish. Urd opened her eyes and smiled at the results. "That should make her not so freaked out in the morning," Urd smiled, "I think I can safely have a few drinks, now." Unscrewing the bottle, Urd put her lips to the opening and took a straight snort. Dropping the bottle with a gasp and a smile, the goddess relaxed, letting the liquid pleasantly burn the back of her throat and warm her stomach. Her smile slowly faded, however, as Bonnie's wish came back to her mind. 'Figure out her heart's desire,' thought Urd, 'how the hell am I supposed to pull that one off? The girl doesn't even know what she wants, herself.' Then, Urd spied the cordless phone on the coffee table in front of her. Unbidden, the thought came into her mind and sat there, poking at her consciousness repeatedly. Urd's beautiful eyes narrowed in frustration as she tried to think of a reason *not* to pick up that phone. 'They're plenty of reasons not to pick up that phone,' she thought with annoyance, 'I make that call and it'll be all over Paradise. Everyone will know good old Urd, goddess limited in *everything*, can't even handle a wish...' Try as she might, no solution came to mind. Groaning as she leaned forward, still cradling the bottle, Urd grabbed the phone, switched it on, and began dialing. She put the phone to her ear and waited for a few rings. There was a click. "Goddess Relief Office!" a bright and cheery feminine voice answered. Urd's face went sour. "I need to talk to the Almighty." "Is that you Urd?" the voice asked with amusement, "I just finished filing that wish your human made. Don't think I've ever seen a wish come through here that was *that* vague before! Naturally, you'd be the one to grant it." Setting the bottle down, Urd rubbed a temple wearily. "Peorth," grumbled Urd, "how's life in the office today?" "Much better since I read that wish," drawled the other goddess, "I suppose you'd like to be connected to the Almighty now for an idea or two on how to do your job?" Several sparks of energy began to crackle around Urd as she clenched her fist. "Just put me through, Peorth," she said through set teeth. "I'd love to do that, Urd, honey," Peorth replied sweetly, "but look at this! In processing your human's wish, the Almighty has given *specific* instructions on the file that you will not be granted contact with Him until one Bonnie MacMaster's contract has been fulfilled." Urd blinked. "W-what?" she stammered, "Then what am I supposed to do? How am I supposed to figure out what the heart's desire of this woman is?!" "I don't know," the voice on the other end replied, "but I can't wait to hear about it!" There was a click as Peorth hung up and the line went dead. Urd brought the phone down in front of her and almost fell off the couch trying to strangle it. Aggravated beyond all measure by her rival, Urd finally slammed the phone down and fished about in the semi-darkness for her bottle. Calming down, Urd took another swig from the bottle and looked about the room, looking for more clues as to her client's lifestyle. Aside from some bland colonial artwork and some crafty Christmas decorations, there was not much to speak of. Urd did spy a bookshelf, but it was filled with college engineering texts and a number of unremarkable fictional works. There were a number of movies neatly stacked as well, but nothing that really caught Urd's eye. Also, there were two pictures on the mantle above the fireplace, neatly surrounded by bows and holly, of two older people that Urd assumed were Bonnie's parents. Suddenly, Urd made a judgment. "This girl's dull," she disapproved, "If she's an engineer kinda like Keiichi, I guess that makes sense. Nothing interesting on her shelves, no entertainment, hardly anything resembling a life..." Suddenly, Urd's eyes brightened noticeably as she spied what looked like a large photo album. Twitching a finger in the general direction of the bookshelf, the goddess summoned the album, causing a few National Geographic issues to fall to the floor as well. Purposely ignoring the fallen yellow magazines, Urd caught the album. "This *has* to give me a better idea of her life!" she exclaimed with force, trying hard to not think of the lecture she would receive from Belldandy if she sneaked back to the temple in Japan for a second look at Bonnie's file. Opening the book, Urd began to scan over the pictures. The photo album was a collection of pictures and writings that seemed more of a scrapbook than anything else, made in chronological order starting from Bonnie's birth. As far as Urd could tell, everything in her scrapbook looked frightfully normal. Bonnie had made her way through elementary school, won a few awards, had perfect attendance several times, been in a school Christmas play... "Boring," Urd muttered, taking another pull from the vodka. High school was a bit of a change. The pictures Urd saw were definitely of a teenage girl neck deep in her awkward years. Slightly overweight with large glasses, braces, and a bad haircut, Bonnie had transformed from a cute youngster into a goofy looking young adult. Urd winced a little at the pictures. 'Can't imagine the poor girl getting a date like that,' she sympathized, 'no wonder she has all these academic awards. Not like love was probably knocking on her door on Friday nights.' That thought made Urd a bit melancholy for a few moments. She adjusted herself on the sofa, drawing her smooth legs up under the rest of her body until she was comfortable. Continuing to flip the pages of the scrapbook, Urd proceeded with her assessment of Bonnie's life. Field hockey, soccer, an award for placing in the regional debate, a picture from the senior prom. Urd raised her eyebrow a bit at that one. Flipping a couple of pages back to Bonnie's freshman picture staring at it, Urd had a hard time believing that was the same young woman in the prom photo. Something had apparently happened to Bonnie in the couple of years between, but there were no other pictures marking those years, just articles and awards. 'Well, something happened,' mused Urd, 'she looks a lot more attractive in that prom picture. Her date looks like a loser, though.' Certainly, the Bonnie in that picture had lost a noticeable amount of weight since her freshman year, gotten rid of the braces, found smaller and more fashionable glasses, and let her hair fall out more naturally. In fact, as far as Urd was concerned, Bonnie looked rather fetching, especially in a tasteful and well-cut dress. Certainly she could have nabbed a better date than that. Urd blinked. 'Unless everyone you knew just saw who you used to be,' she thought sadly, with some empathy. After that, there were more pictures from Bonnie's college years. Urd took a particular interest in these, because they would certainly indicate her charge's most recent activities. True enough, the scrapbook portrayed Bonnie not just as a good engineering student, but also highly active. Football games, rock climbing, a few party pictures. Page after page hosted four years worth of activities and ideas, but towards the end Urd came to a conclusion. 'It doesn't seem like there are many guys here who aren't anything more than friends,' she thought, 'no date pictures or anything like that... hrm... it would make *my* job a lot easier if her heart's desire was just a little loving!' Urd turned to the last page of the scrapbook and began to read the article there. Almost instantly, her lustrous green eyes began to narrow slowly as she absorbed the information. After a couple of minutes, Urd finished reading and closed the book gently. Placing the scrapbook on the coffee table, the goddess sat back in the sofa and watched the lights on the Christmas tree with a depressed expression on her face. "What a way to go," murmured Urd, "and on her graduation, no less." Rubbing her temple in exhaustion, Urd looked town at the bottle in her hand. There was still half of the clear liquid left, which was more than enough to pass the night away. Suddenly, Urd felt very alone and isolated, something that had been happening more and more ever since her sister, Belldandy, had been assigned to Keiichi. With a frown, she realized she had been more or less drinking alone for all that time. In fact, Urd had not had a good drinking buddy since... well, she could not remember when the last time she had someone to get sloshed with. Her sisters did not count, since they did not drink. "Belldandy has her Keiichi, Skuld has her little toys and Belldandy," Urd soured, "but it's always useless, old Urd sitting alone and drinking in a dark room." The goddess wondered idly if Bonnie felt the same way as she did. It really did not matter, she eventually decided as she tilted the vodka bottle back and knocked off its contents. Outside, a fine layer of snow gathered on the streets and houses, muffling the sounds from DC that usually wafted over the Potomac. * * * The jarring noise of an alarm brought Bonnie up from the depths of sleep with a fright. Falling over herself in a panic, she tried desperately to grab the digital clock that was on a nightstand by her bed. Failing completely, the bewildered woman slowly toppled over and landed on the soft carpet of her bedroom floor with a squeak. Reaching up from a twisted pile of sheets and blankets, Bonnie reached up and grabbed the clock, turning it off. Looking around dully, she wondered exactly where she was. It was six in the morning on a Saturday. That information did not really register on Bonnie since she had her clock set to go off every day that early, except on Sundays. The fact was the young engineer more often than not went into work on Saturday mornings to finish up things from the past week. Struggling out of her bed linens, Bonnie noticed she was still in her clothes from the day before. 'Huh,' her sleep fogged brain thought, 'don't remember going to bed. Musta been really tired.' Plodding across the neat and tidy room, Bonnie methodically began to take off her clothing, uncharacteristically letting them just land on the floor. After several moments of fumbling, she finally removed everything and made her way for the bathroom. She shivered. 'Damn, it's cold in here,' Bonnie thought as she left her bedroom, 'but the heat's on... did I leave a window open in my room?' Entering the bathroom, she quickly turned the shower on full hot, waiting a minute for the scalding water to totally steam up the small facilities. There were many cold mornings and nights were Bonnie would have killed for a sauna, but a small bathroom filled with steam was the best she could do in this home. Once the air was suitably warm and cloudy, she reached into the shower and turned the cold up enough so she would not burn herself. Stepping into the shower, Bonnie let the hot water take away all her weariness. For several minutes, she simply stood there, trying to put a finger on how weird she felt. 'A dream,' Bonnie finally decided, 'What a strange dream that was... maybe I've been working too hard like everyone says...' Shaking her head briskly, Bonnie did her best to wake up and continue with her shower. She lingered a bit in the hot water, since it *was* a Saturday, washing her body and her hair. Finishing up, the young engineer flailed for a towel and dried herself off. Getting that done, Bonnie stepped out of the tub and grabbed her hair dryer, watching the steam swirl around her. While using an electric appliance in a steam filled room was probably not high on the list of smart things to do, on cold mornings Bonnie was loath to let go of the small comfort of having one really warm room in the house. Anyway, she rationalized, if she had to go it would be amusing to possibly win a Darwin award for a really silly death. When her body and hair were sufficiently dry, Bonnie got around to opening the door to her bathroom. The wall of cold air that rushed into the little room made her wince. "Damn! Why is it so cold?" she asked no one in particular again. Stepping bare-skinned quickly down the hall, her shoulder length hair flying behind her, Bonnie made for her bedroom, shivering noticeably. Slinging a dresser drawer open, she hopped on one foot and then the other, trying to stay off the cold floor. At that moment, one of the central decisions of her day was underway: Women's or men's underwear? Bonnie was not exactly certain when she first decided wearing boxers was comfortable, nor why it had ever occurred to her in the first place to try them, but she found them nice enough, especially on a job with a lot of outdoor work. Grabbing a pair of heavy, flannel boxers, Bonnie turned and stuck her first leg through them. Getting her left ankle into the garment, the engineer looked up and became very still. There was a small, delicate pile of snow on her floor at the foot of her bed. It was melted around the edges slightly where it made direct contact with the wood. Bonnie's head slowly came up. Snow was trickling down in a gentle stream about three or four inches wide. It looked incredibly serene. Bonnie forced her eyes up to the ceiling. There was a hole, perfectly circular with scorch marks around the edges. On the other side, a gray and snowy sky could be seen. Almost falling over in her haste to get her other leg into her boxers, Bonnie adopted a panicked look on her face and very wide eyes. Getting the shorts on, she raced out of her room and all but fell down the stairs. Her feet still slightly damp from the shower, Bonnie skidded around the corner until she slid to a stop in the dark living room. Everything was perfectly in place, and Bonnie's tree still twinkled happily in the corner of the room; everything was fine, except... Except for the scantily clad, well tanned, platinum blonde slouched all over the sofa. Bonnie tried to put the hazy events of the previous night together in a rational order, but failed miserably. "W-what the hell?!" she demanded loudly. The woman on the sofa groaned audibly, dropping an empty glass bottle to the floor. It bounced with a clang, but did not break. Pushing some of her long, blonde hair back, the woman opened an eye and peered blearily at Bonnie. "Not so loud," Urd said with another groan, "my head is a little delicate this morning." Urd then opened her other eye and took a look at Bonnie. She smiled in a playful seduction noticing Bonnie's mostly undressed condition and stretched out on the sofa. "Well, honey," drawled Urd playfully, "if this sort of thing is what you had in mind to begin with, you shoulda made you wish a little more specific!" Bonnie's amazement quickly turned to anger. "W-whoever you are," she demanded covering her breasts with an arm and a hand, "get the hell outta my house, now!" "Sorry," Urd replied, sitting up straight, "can't do that until your wish is fulfilled. It's part of the contract." "Contract?!" yelled Bonnie, "What contract?! Who are you, and why is there a hole in my damn ceiling?!" "Hole?" asked Urd blankly, looking up at the ceiling, "I thought I fixed... oh, right! Upstairs. Just a sec, hon." Urd closed her eyes and began to chant softly. Bonnie's eyes widened again as a blue aura began to envelop Urd. As Urd finished her spell, there was a sigh in the air as the power was released. Urd opened her eyes and blinked owlishly. "That should do it," smiled the goddess, "and maybe you could use a robe while we're at it." There was another bout of chanting and the same blue light. Bonnie suddenly felt a tingly sensation all around her. Backing up a step, she cried out in fright as she was covered by a thick, green robe. Bonnie looked down at herself in amazement, then up at the slyly smiling Urd. "Ready to go?" the goddess inquired. * * * Urd leaned out the front door and look around with distaste. It was a gray and yucky morning as far as she was concerned, despite the white blanket of snow that covered everything. It was also way too cold for her liking. She grumbled and looked at the back of the retreating engineer. "Now where are you going?" asked Urd, shivering in the doorway. Bonnie fumbled with the keys to her Blazer. "I'm going to work!" she yelled back. "But, I *told* you," Urd sighed in frustration, "we have to fulfill your wish." "Why do you keep prattling on about this wish?" Bonnie demanded. "Because," Urd explained for the third time, rolling her eyes, "I can't leave until I get your wish fulfilled, and I really doubt you're going to find your heart's desire around here or at work. Obviously, we need to go somewhere else where we can find it." "Leave? I can't leave!" Bonnie countered, "I have to go to work, regardless of this wish junk you keep talking about! Just... just don't be here when I get back!" Bonnie finally managed to get the door of her truck open and vault herself inside. Starting the engine with a roar, she set the vehicle into four-wheel drive and easily muscled her way out of the snowy parking space. Urd watched blandly as the Blazer disappeared around a corner. "Work is her excuse for not wanting to leave, huh?" pondered the goddess, "Well, not for much longer." Urd sniffed and went back inside of the old townhouse, closing the door behind her. The ruts in the snow left by Bonnie's wheels slowly began to fill as another shower began. * * * Despite the several inches of snow and slush that covered the roads, the DC Beltway was fairly empty of cars, since it was so early on a Saturday morning. The normal traffic that brought the highway loop to a standstill on a daily basis was usually a little less insane on the weekend. The snow was doing a lot to keep people, who normally went out on Saturday mornings, inside and in bed where it was warm. Bonnie cruised down the Beltway from Alexandria like a madwoman. Wholly dependent on the ability of her four-wheel drive to keep her from sliding all over the place, Bonnie sat hunched over the steering wheel, grumbling to herself. Words like 'nutcase', 'weirdo', and 'call the cops' were only a bit of what was rattling around inside her mind as she drove. Crossing over the Potomac at a dangerous speed for the road conditions, Bonnie nevertheless made it into Maryland and off the Beltway without incident. Zinging down a number of side streets off the highway, the engineer finally pulled up in front of an office that had a large warehouse connected to the back. Parking her Blazer, Bonnie got out of the truck and stalked up to the office. Opening the front door to the building, she kicked the snow off her boots and shrugged off her jacket. Looking around the front part of the office, it was plain to see most people, like almost every Saturday, were at home and probably still asleep. However, there were at least two other people in this morning based on the cars parked out front. "Morning, Bonnie!" a cheerful voice bounded up. Bonnie looked over and saw a perky eyed girl about her age with bright, green eyes and red hair. She was also dressed down for work similar to Bonnie, and was holding a stack of papers in her arms. "Morning, Amanda," Bonnie mumbled back, "you're in early for a Saturday." "For me, yeah," the redhead bubbled, "but not for you, ya workaholic! I'm just doing a little extra paper work for the big man down the hall." Amanda leaned her head towards Bonnie's in a conspiratorial manner. "I'm here because we were just awarded *three* huge contracts yesterday afternoon," she whispered with a smile, "and guess who's to blame for it?" Bonnie looked blank. "Uh, whom?" she asked. "Miss Hollaman!" a loud, male voice roared from an office down the hallway. Amanda spooked and launched herself up straight. "Y-yes, Mister Frank!" "Is that Bonnie you're chattering with?" Mr. Frank asked loudly again, "If it is, send her on down here, immediately!" Amanda got behind Bonnie and started pushing her down the hallway. "She's coming, sir!" she proclaimed. "W-wha?" stuttered Bonnie, as she was manhandled down the hall. Finally collecting herself, Bonnie shook Amanda's hands off with a look of confused annoyance and entered Mr. Frank's office under her own power. Knocking politely on the side of the door before entering, Bonnie walked in and sat down. The man across from her was the owner of the contracting firm Bonnie worked for. About fifty years of age, he had a slight belly on him and was in the throws of balding. Nevertheless, Mr. Frank was one of those type-A personalities that was always moving around and giving commands, never resting. As a result, his firm, though not the largest in town, was quite successful. "About time, Bonnie!" he boomed, with a pleased smile on his face, "I was starting to wonder when I didn't see you in the office at six-thirty sharp like you normally are!" "Uh, sorry about that," Bonnie began to apologize, "I just had some-" "Never mind about that!" her boss said, "I got a call from the Preservation Committee yesterday!" Bonnie straightened up immediately. The Preservation Committee was the group in charge of overseeing the restoration of many of the old federal buildings in town, including the one Bonnie was working on. They were the ones who awarded the restoration contracts to engineering firms, and they were also the ones would take them away if they were unhappy with the work. Bonnie wracked her brain in a panic, trying to think of what she might have done wrong. "The committee was so impressed with the work you've been doing at the Treasury Building," Mr. Frank said, "they've decided to award us with the restoration contract for several of the Smithsonian buildings!" Bonnie's jaw dropped. "Do you *know* what a coup this is?" he chortled, "Those other big contracting companies would gnaw their own legs off to get these contracts, and thanks to your excellent work, we've won them on our reputation alone without even having to competitively bid them!" "T-that's great!" Bonnie stammered, starting to get excited, "but, surely it's not my doing." "'Fraid so, miss!" her boss grinned, "The committee mentioned you directly by name. Seems they've been entirely pleased with the quality of work under your direction, your professionalism, your constant communication with the committee, as well as the all- important keeping of our deadlines these past twelve months!" "I'm speechless," Bonnie smiled, starting to feel better, "that's a wonderful compliment, but our crew has a lot to do with that, too." "Very, true! Very true!" agreed Mr. Frank, "But a crew is only as good as it's leader, and that is why you're taking a leave of absence!" "I'm what?" Bonnie stared. "Taking a leave of absence!" "B-but why?" she blinked, "Is there something-" Mr. Frank silenced her with a hand gesture. "Your work for this company has been superb," he said, "and I certainly want you to head up the work for these new contracts. However, the work at the Treasury Building is almost complete, and I am perfectly aware of all the hours you've been putting in the past year." "The hours have never been a prob-" Bonnie tried to say. "Regardless!" interrupted Mr. Frank, "You've not taken any vacation the past three years at all, and I will not have my best engineer and manager getting burned out just as our biggest work is set to begin later this year! Therefore, you will take two months paid vacation. You will get out of this town for a while and go relax somewhere. I don't want to see you in this office for the next eight weeks!" "But my work at the Treasury," began Bonnie weakly. "Handing it over to Jim," answered her boss, "he's more than able to finish up the last bits of the work there. You'll take your vacation, and when it's over, you be back here rip roaring ready to go on these new Smithsonian contracts, you got that?" "Yes, sir," Bonnie replied unhappily. * * * "It's called the Ultimate Force," Urd stated matter-of-factly. "Get used to it." There was always a certain amount of disbelief inherent in every wish granted to a mortal. You really could not blame them, actually, especially the ones living in the more advanced and technology driven societies. The wonder and acceptance of myth being alive and well in the world was something that had died some time ago for most people. Even after having a wish granted and being shown an example of power by an immortal, you could always expect that a few mortals would *still* have a hard time believing in what their own eyes were telling them. However, every mortal eventually came around, either quietly or kicking and screaming. Bonnie was finally past the kicking and screaming stage. "The Ultimate Force?" asked Bonnie in a dazed manner, watching Urd scarf down the food and wine from the opposite end of the table. Urd looked up from a bag of take out food she had in front of her. Even though it was still midmorning, the goddess had a terrific hunger and needed food. Using her powers, it had taken almost no effort to locate an extra credit card Bonnie had stashed away in a desk for emergencies. Urd considered hunger an emergency, and ordered an early lunch from one of the best take out joints in DC. "Sure," nodded Urd, emptying her wine glass, "when you wished for your heart's desire, you entered into a contract with the Almighty through one of his agents, me. From that moment on, anything you, I, or anyone else does that interferes with the fulfillment of the contract gets dealt with by the Ultimate Force." "And this is why I was given a leave of absence?" asked Bonnie again. "Sounds good to me," replied Urd with a wink, "Who knows? In this case maybe it was just coincidence based on you doing good work." Bonnie looked very tired. "And the Almighty is the same as God?" came the inevitable question. Urd paused with a fork just below her mouth. "Hrm, yeah, more or less, I suppose. He's the Almighty." "Whose god *is* He?" Urd thought about that for a moment. "Everybody's, I guess," she answered, continuing with her meal. Bonnie shook her head. "That doesn't make any sense," she argued, "how could He be everybody's God, or Almighty? Everybody believes in totally different gods." "Try not to confuse Religion with the Almighty," offered Urd, "they usually aren't one and the same." "My head hurts." Urd filled up a glass of wine and leaned across the table, her blonde hair spilling everywhere. Taking the glass, she slid it up in front of the unhappy engineer. "Better than aspirin," declared Urd seriously, "in my humble opinion." Bonnie slowly took the wineglass and lifted it up off the table. Putting it up to her lips, she swigged it all in one gulp. Setting the glass down on the table, Bonnie beckoned for more. "I could really get to like you," smiled Urd pleasantly. "So," said Bonnie, "I've made this wish. What happens now?" Urd furrowed her brow as she poured wine into Bonnie glass. Thinking hard for a minute, the goddess considered her options. "No idea," she finally admitted. Bonnie choked on her wine. "W-what?" she sputtered, "What do you mean by that?" Urd sat the wine bottle down on the table and adopted a thoughtful pose. With one hand on her supple hip, she scratched her head with the other. "Well, it's kind of like this," said the goddess, "you made a *really* vague wish which could be interpreted many ways. Usually, the Almighty interprets the wish as He choses, and I fulfill it on His behalf. But, this time I have no idea how He's interpreting your wish. The other problem is, I have no way of knowing what your heart's desire is, and since you have no clue, you can't tell me." "Oh," nodded Bonnie with disappointment, "I thought you could read minds or something like that. So, what do we do now, since you have no idea how to grant my wish?" Urd sighed and crossed her arms. "Well, I didn't want to have to resort to this, but I'm in over my head," she answered, "so, I guess we'll have to ask someone for help who's had more experience with granting these wish things." Bonnie gulped. "T-that Almighty person?" "Nah," Urd grumbled, shaking her head, "He's not talking to me for some reason. I was thinking about my sister, Belldandy." "She's a goddess, too?" Urd nodded. "Yep, a pretty good one, too. Goddess First Class, Unlimited. We should probably go ask her for advice." Finishing off the second glass of wine, Bonnie set her chin down on the table and looked up. She watched as Urd politely refilled the glass again. "Great," mutter Bonnie, "well... I guess I *do* have two months paid vacation coming to me. Couldn't hurt to spend it running around with a weirdly dressed woman, who claims to be a goddess, looking for her sister, could it? Where is she?" "Japan." Bonnie rolled her eyes. "Oh, no problem then," she said while rolling her eyes, "I'll just call the airport." Urd raised an eyebrow and smiled wickedly. "Won't be necessary," she grinned, "just do me a favor and go turn on the television." Bonnie looked confused at first, but then decided things really could not get any weirder than they already had. Taking the glass, she tossed the wine back in one gulp again and got up from the table. Leaving the kitchen, she went into the living room to turn on the television. Urd nodded and began to think this might not be so difficult after all. Sure, she had sort of botched the initial meeting last night, and sure, she had helped Bonnie choose a *really* vague wish, but at least things were moving now. Putting the wine bottle to her lips, Urd tipped the bottle back until all the wine was gone. She then set the bottle down and followed Bonnie into the living room. 'This'll be a piece of cake,' thought Urd, 'Belldandy will know what to do.' * * * Being the number one chosen of the Dark Lord to overthrow Hell's current chief administrator had a way of ruining a vacation. Having the same Dark Lord hint that not attempting such an overthrow by the end of a year would probably result in pain and suffering, with much gnashing of teeth, did not do much good either. Mara, Demon First Class, Unlimited License, was in a funk. For the better part of a day, she had been wandering her way out of Hell and into the Mortal plane. Since she was beyond Lucifer's control for the next twelve months, she really did not see much use in hanging around his domain. After all, she reasoned, Lucifer was bound to see her as a threat and move to eliminate her. Why give him the home court advantage? Usually, Mara rather enjoyed being on the Mortal plane. After all, she was a demon by profession, and tormenting and damning mortals was her bread and butter. The past three years of Keiichi Morisato induced frustration aside, it was a fairly nice way to make a living. Except, in the preoccupied state she was in, Mara took no amusement in playing with any mortal she wandered past. Those mortals were lucky enough only to experience a nasty chill and foreboding sensation as she passed by. Eventually, Mara got bored and irritated with the Mortal plane. What she really needed was a place where she could sit back and think all this through... for a few months. There was only one place where she could safely do that, and neither Paradise, Hell, nor the Mortal plane would suffice. Phasing out of sight, Mara left the Mortal plane and wound up in a near featureless existence. Mostly gray in color, it was a world of rolling terrain and mist. Mara instantly recognized she had entered this plane of existence at the wrong place. Closing her eyes, she concentrated on where she wanted to go... When she opened them again, Mara had arrived in what appeared to be a rather large, yet sparsely constructed village. There were large numbers of humans wandering around rather unhurriedly as far as the eye could see in any direction, as well as a few immortals. Looking up at a significantly more substantial building in front of her, Mara found the destination she was looking for. It was made out of a variety of materials and looked to be like a European pub, hundreds of years old, only with new and modern neon signs in the smoky windows. 'Welcome to the Infinity Bar & Grill,' the sign out front said. In smaller letters below, the sign read, 'An Immortals Only Establishment. No Fighting, Politicking, or General Mayhem Allowed.' Off to the side, Mara noticed a sizable listing of every popular brew ever to be on tap as well as every drink ever made throughout human history. She instantly spied her favorite beer. "Nice to see that some things never change in this world," she said with satisfaction, entering the bar. * * * The thick, glass pane of the window was bitterly cold. Below, in the early Japanese December evening, snow swirling around the lampposts, cars blurred by in streaks of white light, followed immediately by red ones. Behind the frigid glass, in the warmth of an expensive and well-furnished apartment, a young woman pressed her hands up against the window. Twenty-four years of age, the woman was beautiful, with long, dark hair that reached to her waist. Pale skin and eyes that were equally as dark as her hair, the woman was dressed in a selection of finery that must have cost a fortune. A beautiful series of skirts, topped with a silk blouse and finely woven vest, she dripped money, but would have been just as beautiful in a pair of ragged jeans. Strewn about the floor behind her were several empty bottles of liquor and a broken wineglass. Letting her eyes open and close in drowsiness, the woman sighed and pressed the side of her face up against the frozen window, wondering if there was anything in this life she could feel anymore. In her state, the chill from outside was lost to her. Having been caught up in a downward spiral of increasing alcoholism for the past several years, demons both imagined and *real* had tormented the woman almost constantly, only just recently leaving her with a moment's peace. She had happy increased her consumption of spirits to push away having to deal with the demons, but when the demons had finally left, the alcohol had not. "Cold," she whispered, "I should feel cold, but instead... I feel empty." More noises from the street below filtered through the third- story balcony window. She did not seem to notice. "Tired." An empty sadness came over her handsome face as she pushed herself away from the window slowly. Turning away, she walked through her apartment and opened its door. Exiting into the hallway without any shoes, the woman slowly and woodenly walked into her hallway, down the stairs, and out of the building onto the frigid streets. She had a last appointment to keep, and it simply would not do to put it off any longer. * * * Coming up in Chapter 3: Urd and Bonnie begin their quest, and in the process pick up another companion. Comments and Criticisms welcome. Mike McAvoy http://www.angelfire.com/va3/shenandoah/ Last updated October 15, 2001.