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. Special thanks to my pre-reader, Athena N Sournian. 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 Hey, your glass is empty It's a hell of a long way home. Why don't you let me take you It's no good to go alone. I never would have opened up But you seemed so real to me. After all the bullshit I've heard It's refreshing not to see. I don't have to pretend. She doesn't expect it from me. -- Sarah McLachlan -* Chapter 3 *- [Six Centuries Ago.] There were definitely better things to be doing than sitting in a hovel of a broken down church in terrible heat, swatting flies away from a sweat dripped nose. Irritation growing past his endurance, the Cardinal Francis de Massone wiped at his face with the sleeve of his fine robe. It was ungodly hot for this time of the year, even for summer. The cardinal, sighing in exasperation, watched unhappily as the shooed flies quickly made their return. Wrinkling his nose in distaste, he wished nothing more than to complete his business and return to the Pope's palace, which was several day's ride away in Avignon. It had been almost seventy years now since the seat of the Catholic Church's power had been moved from Rome to southern France, and the cardinal wondered distractedly if God made the weather in Italy any cooler. No matter. His business would soon be finished in this little hole of a village. The place simply stank with sweat and other odors, its people not very well off under their vassal's care, starving and covered in grime and disease. That morning's burning had done little to improve the situation; the cardinal sent a quick prayer to God for a breeze to help alleviate the summer heat and stench. "Bring in the heretic," the cardinal commanded in a loud and tired voice. A commotion began just outside the awful little church. Moments later, under the rough handling of several knights templar, a another knight was hauled before the cardinal. Covered in mud, the man was groggy from an apparent beating. A nicely flowing stream of blood worked its way down his face from a gash on his temple. Cardinal Massone did not even bother to look up from his rapid scribbling on a piece of parchment. "Templar Jean de Cornette," he intoned, brushing another drop of sweat that threatened to leave the tip of his nose, "you are found guilty of heresy. Admit your crime before being put to your death and you will be forgiven by our most loving Lord Jesus Christ and his holiness, Pope Gregory." The man called Jean de Cornette peered through swollen eyes and attempted to gather himself. His armored feet shuffled on the dirt floor of the church as he steadied himself against the tight holds of his one time compadres. "I-I," he began, "I am not guilty of heresy, your grace." Cardinal Massone continued to write. "Did you not attempt to defend the heretic woman and prevent our Lord's most divine justice from being carried out?" "S-she was... not a heretic," he tried to argue wearily, "just a peasant woman who thought she could t-talk... to angels-" "What she *was*," countered the cardinal angrily, "was a heretic tempted by Satan! Her soul, may God have mercy upon it, could only be cleansed by the purifying flames of the fire. Obviously, the heretic woman with her false claims infected your soul as well." The man let his grimy and bloody head fall, shaking it side to side and muttering the woman's innocence. The cardinal observed the knight for a few brief moments before returning to his parchment. "Heretic Jean de Cornette," he continued, "you are found guilty on this day, August 12 in the year of our Lord 1371, and shall be put to death immediately by beheading. May God have mercy on your soul." Cardinal Massone then crossed himself and began to wearily ramble in Latin, waving at the knights to drag the man outside and be done with the sentence. Not even bothering to watch the weakly struggling Jean de Cornette leave, the cardinal proceeded to finish writing on the parchment, frowning irritably at the sweat stains that dotted the paper. From outside, there were some muffled grunts and cries from the doomed man as he was held down. There was a brief sound of drawn steel, and then the commotion abruptly ended in silence. The cardinal did not even notice. His thoughts were already far ahead to getting out of the filthy village and back to Avignon and the pope's court. * * * [Present Day.] What do you call a hundred lawyers sent on their way to Hell? A good start. Seeing as how it is the destiny of the majority of lawyers out there to go to Hell, it would stand to reason that the Underworld would be quite full of them. Prosecution and defense attorneys, business and liability types, and the ambulance chasers. *Especially* the ambulance chasers... with the notable exception of the 1993 Anomaly, as it was officially referred to in Heaven, or as it was referred to in Hell, Syn's Screwup. It seemed that Syn, Norse Goddess of Trial Defendants, those unfortunates usually in the greatest need of protection from ambulance chasers, inadvertently entered the wrong data into Yggdrasil which allowed approximately four thousand of those sorry lawyers into Paradise. Three actions then resulted from the mistake: 1. Syn received a stern lecture from the Almighty. 2. Four thousand creeps discovered that profiting off of other's misery not only paid the bills on Earth, but was a ticket straight to Heaven. 3. Syn's hellish counterparts in the Demon Barrister Barbecue Department did not stop laughing for six months straight. But that is neither here nor there. At any rate, it would be accurate to assume that Hell was *full* of lawyers. While some might sniff in distaste at the thought of a lot of lawyers in one place, even if they *were* Damned, those same people would be hard pressed to identify another source of legal knowledge so concentrated. And to be certain, there was at least one person in Hell who really knew how to make use of all of his available resources. Sitting in a plush blood-red office chair, the chief executive of Hell, Lucifer, eyed a document on his massive desk with distaste. Flicking his eyes from the document, a directive from none other than the Dark Lord, the devil stared impatiently at a rather nervous and tormented looking lawyer. "Weeell?" questioned Lucifer, tapping his long and bony fingers with deceptive patience. The lawyer adjusted his scorched suit collar and wiped his sweating forehead, gulping slightly. "And yes," drawled the devil with a raised eyebrow, "it *is* hot in here. Unless you wish to see it get a great deal hotter, you'd do well to answer quickly." Running a pasty colored hand over his balding head, the lawyer nodded and pointed to the document in question. "W-well, your most, uh excellence, uh, sir," the lawyer rambled, "based on the translation of the document, if it is literal, uh, it specifically states that you are forbidden to take action against Demon First Class Unlimited, Mara." Lucifer continued to tap his fingers. "Is this what I torture you and your colleagues for? Information that I *already* know?" "Y-yes sir! I mean, no sir!" back-peddled the Damned lawyer, "What I mean is, you are forbidden by this contract to in any way impede, or by command have others impede, the Demon Mara. In that sense, there is no way around the contract for y-you... sir." Lucifer continued to stare at the tormented lawyer, his distaste growing. "Loopholes," said the devil. The lawyer swallowed. He was amazed, quite frankly, that he had not been blasted into one of the darker circles of Hell by this point. He cursed his colleagues who were not having to endure this audience. Why had *he* had to pick the shortest straw to come up here, anyway? "For you, your excellence, there are no direct ones," the lawyer continued, trying to sound somewhat professional. "However, the contract does not forbid anyone else from doing Mara harm of their own free will. The only catch is you can't order, uh, anyone to do anything to her." "Is that it?" frowned Lucifer. "Sir," the lawyer offered, "you can't so much as suggest anything along those lines. If you do, you will most certainly be in violation of this, uh, contract." Lucifer sighed in annoyance. "I figured as much," he admitted, "but I *do* appreciate the effort of you and your esteemed colleagues in reviewing the problem, taking time out of your busy schedules of being tormented." "Oh," the lawyer admitted a little forlornly, adjusting his tattered tie, "it was no effort, really. In fact, it was nice to get to do a little work..." Lucifer smiled. It was ghastly. "Still and yet," the devil mentioned, "you and your colleagues should receive something of a favor for this service. Say! How about I send you someplace a little cooler than your current torment! Would you find that agreeable?" The lawyer looked wary. "I'll even cease the torture sessions by the demons," smiled Lucifer. "What do you say?" "Well," the lawyer hedged, "a cooler atmosphere would be nice..." "Say no more," grinned the devil. "You and your colleagues will be spending the next five hundred years completely free of torture by demons..." "Oh, thank you, sir!" the lawyer smiled, relieved. "... in the most frigid section of Hell," finished Lucifer. "With all the shivering, endless frostbite, and stinging ice, what need will there be for demons to give you torment?" The lawyer's jaw dropped. "Begone," Lucifer smiled, dismissing the astonished man in a puff of smoke with the wave of his hand. Rocking back in his executive chair, Lucifer became pensive. Chewing on his lower lip with his sharp teeth in distraction, the devil did not even notice as a trail of searing hot blood worked its way down his chin. The devil sat, wondering what he was going to do to get around this silly contract. He could not directly tell any of his demons to go out and interfere or kill Mara, nor could he even mention to anyone how much seeing her dead would please him. He needed someone to think up the idea on their own, someone willing to go after Mara on their own initiative... except, everyone in Hell probably knew about the contract sitting on Lucifer's desk by now. No, Lucifer was in need of someone either completely ambitious or totally stupid in his ranks of hell. And for the life of himself, the devil could not... think of... anyone... That stupid? A bloody grin spreading from ear to ear, the sleazy looking devil reached out and touched his office pager. After a few attempts, a bored voice answered. "Yes?" "Daeva Nagle," smiled the devil, "would you be so kind as to join me?" There was a stunned silence. "Nagle?" asked Lucifer innocently. "Are you still there?" "Y-yes sir!" an excited and nervous response came. "Be right there, sir!" Lucifer laughed and removed his finger from the intercom system. His mind working rapidly, he began to formulate a way of complaining about Mara that might encourage Nagle to take a little leave of absence on his own initiative. Daeva Nagle... ambitious and stupid. It might just work. * * * It was late evening across the islands of Japan. Shrouded in low and heavy clouds, a series of fitful snow showers made their way across the islands, moving slowly and serenely over the cities and countryside. It was a peaceful front that past over Japan, bringing a gentle snow despite the frigid temperatures. All over the more urban areas of the country, people moved about finishing up an evening of shopping, preparing for the holiday season. Since the snows were rather light, people were not having a hard time traveling. Still, the streets were beginning to empty as time wore on, folks eager to get back to their warmer residences and families. Through it all, however, in one area of Tokyo a solitary figure moved without much urgency. Staggering slightly on the snowy sidewalks, the person was dressed in expensive finery, long skirts and a beautiful vest. As people walked by the woman, though, they all noticed her strange lack of shoes... Her stalkings were not very thick, they would notice, so how could she be enduring the coldness of the ground? Regardless, the passersby simply decided to ignore the woman, since she seemed uninjured and under her own power. Under the glow of festive and seasonal lights strung along merchant shops on the busy street level, the woman continued her trek, oblivious to the cold and all those around her. With a kind of hopeless satisfaction, the woman smiled to herself in a drunken haze. Her torment would be over soon, she thought. * * * Adjusting to new situations was something Bonnie MacMaster never had a hard time with. In fact, she tended to quietly pride herself on her own internal resilience when it came to difficulty or radically changing conditions. Preparation, her father had often told her as a child, creates success out of opportunity. As a result, despite personal tragedies in recent years, Bonnie had turned bad situations into successes by simply never failing to continually prepare herself academically and personally. As her friends were also fond of noting, there was no one else you wanted to be stuck out on a deserted highway with other than Bonnie, because even though it was unlikely to happen, she would have everything necessary to get through it already neatly stowed away in her trunk. That perception her friends had similarly extended into most other areas of Bonnie's life. Quite simply, Bonnie was dependable. Sitting on a matted floor of a beautiful temple, however, Bonnie was finding herself hard pressed to adjust to her new situation. As far as she could tell, she was now in not only another residence, but another country with a cup of steaming tea on a table in front of her. Looking up from the cup, Bonnie's gaze traveled to a woman who appeared to be about her own age. Stunningly beautiful like Urd, except without the overtly sexual tone, the young woman had perfect skin and a mane of flowing brown hair that cascaded in splendid torrents down her back. Added to that, she was dressed in simple house clothes that nonetheless looked marvelous on her. Her fingers moving on their own accord, Bonnie irrationally picked at her own shoulder length brown hair as she felt completely shabby sitting across from the other woman. Moving to try and straighten her clothes self-consciously, Bonnie winced in pain a little from her sore arm. The woman sitting across from her spoke up. "Are you sure you are okay, Bonnie?" Even her voice was beautiful. Bonnie wanted to cry. "No," she answered, shaking her head. "I'm fine, really, Belldandy... my arm is just a little sore from where Urd, uh, kicked me, that's all." As if summoned by mention of her name, the Goddess Second Class Limited Urd walked into the room from the hallway. No longer dressed in her official uniform, she had changed into something more comfortable, but no less sensual. Plopping down onto a cushion beside the table, the tanned goddess waved a hand in Bonnie's direction. "Maybe next time," she said loftily, "you won't be keen on pushing me from behind so roughly." Bonnie turned her head away a little guiltily. "You didn't tell me we were going to be going *through* my television," she accused. "So sue me for being a little panicky." "You didn't ask," countered Urd with a haughty frown. Belldandy brought her hands together and took control of the situation before it got out of hand. She knew her sister's habits well, and Urd was not one to let go of an argument without getting the last word in. Problem was, Bonnie, despite being a little off balance by her trip through the televisions to Japan, looked like she was not one to let go of an argument either. "Regardless, Bonnie," Belldandy smiled, "I am very much pleased to have you here in our home. It is an honor to meet you, and I am sorry that Keiichi can not come out to greet you as well." Urd looked around puzzled. "Oh, yeah," she muttered. "Where is the shortround, anyway?" "I *wish* you would not call him that, Urd," replied Belldandy with a frustrated voice. "He's sick with the flu and in bed right now, if you must know." "Uh," Bonnie spoke up, "is he, uh, you know... a god, too?" Urd took one look at Bonnie and promptly fell over laughing hysterically. Gasping for breath, she rolled around on the floor slapping her fist on the carpet. "Did I say something funny?" Bonnie asked, puzzled. "Pay her no mind," Belldandy answered with a sigh. "No, Keiichi is not a god. He is a mortal like yourself who was granted a wish by the Almighty." Bonnie's ears perked up. Brushing her hair back, she leaned forward with interest. "No kidding," she said. "What did he wish for?" Belldandy blushed a little. "Well... me, actually." Bonnie looked confused as Urd managed to pick herself up off the floor. "Uh, come again?" Bonnie asked. "Basically," Urd answered before her sister could say anything, "my sister gives Keiichi a wish for anything he desires, so the shortround points at her and wishes for her to stay with him forever! Can you imagine?" A look of annoyance crossed Belldandy's face. "Well, it did not happen *exactly* like that," she complained. "So what?" Bonnie inquired, frowning. "This Keiichi made you into a servant, right? Urd told me that my wish binds her to me until it's fulfilled, but you're bound... forever? That doesn't seem fair." Smiling a little, Belldandy picked up her teacup and shrugged happily. "Oh," she said, "it's really not so bad at all." Urd added, "What my dear sister is failing to mention is that she and Keiichi both met when they were just children, and she has been smitten with him, in a repressed sort of fashion I might add-" "Urd!" protested Belldandy loudly. "- ever since," concluded Urd. "She was only too happy to throw herself into his waiting arms when the chance came!" Belldandy simply crossed her arms and stared at her sister. Urd reached for a cup of sake and prepared to take a pull. "What?" she asked innocently. "Um, excuse me," Bonnie interjected, sensing a building storm between the two sisters. "Not to get off the subject of your love life or anything, but I *do* have this little problem here..." Belldandy gave her sister one last chilly look. Uncrossing her arms, her face melted of its annoyance and took on a calmer appearance. "Yes," the goddess nodded, "Urd tells me you wished for your heart's desire." "I'm afraid so," Bonnie admitted, nodding. "And you have no idea what that could be?" probed Belldandy. Bonnie shrugged her shoulders, thinking hard for a few moments. Finally, she expelled a lot of air in a sigh and shook her head in the negative. "Really, Belldandy" she said, "if I knew what that was I'd wish for it in a second. Hanging out with your sister isn't exactly my idea of a good time." "I should have kicked you harder," Urd muttered through her drink. "Urd!" chastised Belldandy angrily. "It's not her fault she can't figure out her heart's desire!" Urd sat up straight and put her drink down. "Well, why do you think I brought her here?" she asked. "I know you have a more sensitive touch than I do, so just scope her out and find out what she really wants, then I can get her wish fulfilled." Belldandy narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "You didn't even bother to read the file beforehand, did you?" Urd reached for her drink guiltily. "I glanced at it," she evaded. "I have a file?" Bonnie asked, paling slightly. "In Heaven? Uh, what's on it?" Urd shrugged. "Everything important to deciding where you go in the afterlife," she answered. Bonnie looked a little woozy. "There's an afterlife," she echoed, "for real?" "Yup," the platinum goddess nodded. "I need a drink." "That's usually my line." Belldandy shook her head impatiently and stood up. Walking around the table, she sat down on the floor next to Bonnie gracefully. With practiced ease, Belldandy's features smoothed into a gentle landscape of happiness and compassion. Again, the desire within Bonnie to attain even a piece of the goddess's beauty stabbed upward with a little envy. "You don't need to be envious," smiled Belldandy with understanding. "There is plenty within you that is just as special as, say, the beauty of a goddess." Bonnie blinked. "How... you didn't just... read my mind did you." A slightly apologetic shrug of Belldandy's shoulders was enough of an answer. "B-but," stammered Bonnie, drawing back from Belldandy, "Urd said she couldn't read my mind." Suddenly, the engineer was terrified of her innermost secrets being privy to a complete stranger. A stranger who just happened to be a goddess. Bonnie cringed stiffly as Urd waved a hand negligently from where she was laying down on her side, contemplating her empty sake cup. "I can't; she can," reproached the tanned goddess. "Remember, I told you my sister has a more sensitive touch than I do." Without warning, Belldandy leaned forward and touched Bonnie's cheek with a delicate hand. Bringing her fingertips around the contour of her face, Belldandy let her hand come to rest at Bonnie's chin, cupping it gently. Staring into the goddess's luminous eyes, Bonnie froze. Her expression resembled a deer caught in the headlights of a car. "What are wishes, Bonnie?" asked Belldandy. Bonnie's confusion did not evaporate, but the engineer still found herself captive under the goddess's gaze. Struggling to process her question, Bonnie's mouth worked slowly with no sound coming out of it. "Wishes," Belldandy, "are desires that reside deep in the hearts of humans and immortals alike. The secrets that motivate us to remarkable highs and terrible tragedies. Such is our fate." Bonnie sat in silence, her mouth hung slightly open. Without realizing it, however, her shoulders had relaxed noticeably. "My sisters and I," she continued, "we are part of the Almighty's system of granting wishes, but only a very few ever get granted compared to the tide we receive every day. Do you know why that is, Bonnie?" Managing to shake her head, Bonnie mumbled a sound that Belldandy understood easily. Looking bored, Urd sat herself up and reached for the sake bottle on the table. She was glad the mortal was out of her hands for a while. Maybe her sister would be able to take care of all this messy wish business after all. "Because almost all wishes are denials," answered Belldandy. "They are denials of the power all people carry within themselves to make their desires come true on their very own. Mortals can achieve great things by their own motivation, but so often they simply hope for their wish to come true without being willing to put in any effort." "Is... is that true?" whispered Bonnie. "Wishes are denials?" "Or fancies," the goddess murmured. "How many people have you known who have wished for fame, money, love... divine intervention to give themselves an advantage over a situation? The Almighty rarely answers those kinds of wishes, Bonnie." "R-really?" asked Bonnie in a slow and dazed voice. She felt as if someone were gently smoothing out her emotions and thoughts on purpose. Somehow, she sensed it was tied into the goddess's voice, but she was not alarmed by this. Bonnie did not want Belldandy to stop. Belldandy nodded with a soft smile, her lips flushed with color. "We do not always understand the reasoning behind the Almighty's decision to grant certain wishes while leaving other's unanswered," she acknowledged, "but each candidate is always a special person. You too are a special person, Bonnie. I can sense that. And I want you to trust that I can help you find your heart's desire." Bonnie sagged forward a bit, lulled by the serenity of Belldandy's words. "Somehow... I believe you," Bonnie whispered again. "I need to trust you... and I don't even know why... something inside me just tells me I need to." Belldandy brought her other hand up to Bonnie's face, positioning both on her temples with a light touch. Gathering her powers around her, Belldandy enticed the engineer to close her eyes with a thought. Urd finally showed some signs of interest, curious about her sister's technique. "Listen to that voice, Bonnie," encouraged Belldandy in a sweet hush. "Listen to that voice within you that knows what your heart's desire truly is. Let that voice speak so that I may follow it to the hidden places inside." A worried tightness came over Bonnie's eyes for a moment. "You'll... you'll be able to see other things.... about me..." Belldandy smiled and weaved patterns of comfort around Bonnie, making the woman feel further at ease. "I'll only look for your heart's desire, Bonnie," she assured. "All your other secrets will be yours alone to hold. I promise you." And then Belldandy was within Bonnie's heart. Like a gate opened without warning, the goddess dove into the engineer's soul with a freedom and ease that came from total trust on Bonnie's part. Concentrating deeply, Belldandy closed her eyes and followed a voice that rose up from the many dozens of inner voices that made up Bonnie MacMaster. Sliding past the other voices through a vivid mixture of color and sound, Belldandy honed in on the one that echoed Bonnie's greatest desire. It was a voice that all mortals had within them to some degree or another. Finding her way down to that secret place deep in Bonnie's soul, Belldandy finally reached her destination and reached out to bring the young woman's secret desire out into the light. But then, much to Belldandy's surprise, she was forced to stop. It was there, right in front of her. It was so close, Belldandy could feel the very texture of Bonnie's heart's desire. Try as she might, though, the goddess could not dive that last distance into Bonnie's soul. There was something preventing her from reaching it, something blocking her path with a gentle insistence. Almost as if there was another... Another spirit there? Belldandy could not help emitting a soft gasp of amazement as she moved about the other spirit at the center of Bonnie's existence. All beings, mortals and immortals alike, had one spirit that made up their life. For someone to have two spirits, however, it could mean only on thing. "Urd," Belldandy called out softly. "Please come here. I think you need to see this." "Wha?" mumbled Urd, getting up. "Is there something wrong with her?" Belldandy, her eyes still closed, shook her head softly. "No, not at all," she disagreed. "It's something very special. Come see for yourself." Urd moved around the small table and sat down beside her sister and Bonnie. Looking at the two of them, she scratched her head self-consciously. "You know I can't see these kinds of things very well," Urd hedged. "Mmmm, that's okay," assured Belldandy. "Just follow me in, sister. I will guide you." Shrugging her shoulders, Urd gathered her own power. Reaching out, she covered Belldandy's hands with her own and closed her eyes. Concentrating on her sister, Urd had no problem following Belldandy down within Bonnie's spirit. Urd had so rarely had the opportunity to experience this sort of thing that she could not help but listen to all the many different voices that made up the human's consciousness. "Respect her privacy, Urd," came Belldandy's gentle admonishment. "Uh, right," mumbled the tanned goddess a little guiltily. Immediately, Urd's attention was swept away as Belldandy led her to the very center of Bonnie's being. Urd looked around in confusion for a moment, but then managed to focus in on the one voice that sang above all the rest in Bonnie's soul. Urd could not help but gasp. "It's... it's..." said Urd in amazement. "There's *two* of them!" Her sister nodded in astonishment as well. "Yes," agreed Belldandy. "Bonnie has two spirits residing within her... a second life from sometime before. And I can not see into it. This other spirit won't let me see its secret." "Won't let you?" gaped Urd in shock. "Sis, you can see into anyone's spirit! That's part of your gift!" "I know, Urd," nodded Belldandy, drawing away from the second spirit and moving out of Bonnie's heart. Urd followed along with her sister, using her lead to also leave Bonnie's soul. Reaching the surface, the two sisters opened their eyes simultaneously and looked at each other in simple amazement. Looking back towards Bonnie, they watched as she sighed peacefully and gently slumped to the floor fast asleep. Urd watched her charge begin to snore softly, a contented little smile on the engineer's face through her tousled hair. "Belldandy," Urd said, still in shock. "What was that? That's not supposed to happen in mortals!" Belldandy watched the sleeping Bonnie and pursed her lips in thought. Drawing her skirts up, the goddess rose up and silently wandered out of the room and into the kitchen. Leaning up against the kitchen sink, Belldandy looked pensively out into the temple yards. Urd followed her into the darkened kitchen and leaned up against the refrigerator. "Sis?" she asked in the semi-darkness. "What's going on? I've never seen anything like that before." "I think..." began Belldandy, "I think it's another life." Urd narrowed her eyes. "Reincarnation, Bell?" she said dubiously. "Hey, even *I* know that a reincarnated mortal still has just one soul, just one spirit. It's a spirit brought over from another life into a new one... not two spirits sitting in the same sleeping engineer on our floor! It just doesn't work like that!" "No, not reincarnation," murmured the Goddess of the Present thoughtfully. "A second soul, hanging on to this life so tightly that it can't move on into the next world... with a purpose or desire so great, that even Death can not make it leave." Urd uncrossed her arms and moved beside her sister. "Belldandy," she said seriously, "we both know that Yggdrasil is designed specifically not to let things like this happen. One mortal, one spirit, that's the way it works. Do you think this is a Bug?" Belldandy shook her head slowly. "Nooo," she said. "If this was a Bug, we would have sensed it in the system and in Bonnie... this is something totally different." Getting impatient, Urd re-crossed her arms and pouted. "Well if it isn't a Bug, just what the heck would cause a second spirit to be in her body? What else besides Yggdrasil has the power to do that?" Belldandy turned in the darkness towards Urd, her face half illuminated from the living room lights. She had a serious expression. "Only a wish," she said simply. "Only a wish granted by the Almighty." Urd laughed loudly in disbelief for a moment before finding very little funny. She stuck her hands on her hips and gave Belldandy and incredulous look. "Oh, come on, sis," she scoffed. "If this was due to a wish, we'd know about it, right? Aren't we *in* the wish granting business?" "Would we?" whispered Belldandy. "Think about it, Urd. We are nothing more that conduits for the Almighty's power, are we not? And there have been others in the God and Goddess Relief Office besides you, me, and Skuld. Maybe it is something we aren't supposed to know about, or... oh, I don't know." Urd turned and looked back through the kitchen into the living room. Bonnie was still sprawled on the floor, snoozing away the evening. "Well, anyway," the sensual goddess replied, "if you can't see into her other spirit, there's nothing we can do, right? If her heart's desire is locked away in that second one... Oh maaaaan, I'm never gonna get this wish fulfilled!" Belldandy blinked. "Michael," she said. "Huh?" "Michael may be able to see into her second soul," Belldandy pondered, her voice growing more confident as the idea took hold. "He has always been the only immortal who had a more sensitive touch into mortals than I do. I think he needs to see this." "Him?" Urd asked suspiciously. "Are you serious, Belldandy? I can't imagine him having any time to make room for our little problems. He and that bunch of angels he hangs out with are such *stiffs*." Belldandy shook her head and walked back into the living room. Stopping beside Bonnie, she bent down and gently stroked the woman's forehead. Bonnie murmured softly in her sleep. "Michael isn't like the rest of them," Belldandy disagreed. "Almost everyone has your perception of him, I think, but that's just because he has to work with the other angels who's attitudes are..." "Stuck up?" Urd inquired archly. "Elevated," replied Belldandy diplomatically. "At any rate, we both know for a fact all the angels Michael associates with are not all... self-impressed." "I guess," grumbled Urd. "That still doesn't make your idea any better, though. We both know Michael is forbidden to come to Midgard until the day of Ragnarok, and it is also forbidden for mortals to enter the immortal planes unless they have died first." Belldandy could only nod her head. "True," she said. "But what else can we-" Belldandy halted in mid-sentence as both she and Urd sensed a great power building from another plane of existence. Before either of them could move or speak, there was a blinding light outside and a clap of thunder. Shaken a bit from the discharge of energy, the two sisters immediately recognized the source of the power, and they quickly ran outside to see the results. Above, though the swirling snow, the dark clouds above were settling from the release of energy that had split them momentarily. Below, still smoldering on the frozen ground, was a message. A message written in the Almighty's language. Both sister's leaned forward with a mixture of excitement and trepidation. Pulling her long platinum blonde hair out of her face, Urd looked at the message and began to read out loud. "Urd, Goddess Second Class Limited License: due to the important nature of your assignment, you will proceed to immediately secure the mortal Bonnie's safe passage into Paradise through one of the ancient Midgard gates still in existence." Belldandy gasped. "Furthermore," Urd continued to read, "you will acquire another mortal before you leave Midgard. This mortal is essential to your assignment being completed, and should you fail in this all will be for naught. To facilitate seeing your charges safely through a Midgard gate, you have been temporarily been promoted to Goddess First Class Limited License. So it is written." Urd fell silent in a composed manner. Belldandy looked up from the message with wide eyes and gazed at her sister. "Congratulations, dear sister," she said. "Thanks, Belldandy," replied Urd in an unbelievably calm voice. "So... I'm a Goddess First Class now, huh?" Belldandy nodded and turned her haze back to the Almighty's message. It was rapidly fading into the ground, snow covering where the Almighty's language once was. "I actually made it before Skuld did..." added the tanned goddess. "Think she'll be pissed?" Belldandy stopped and gave that some thought. "Probably." Turning away from the disappearing message, the two sisters walked back inside of the temple and shut the sliding door with a soft clack. All over the city, the snow continued to gently drift down, blanketing the streets and buildings in a soft serenity. * * * A thunderous noise echoed across a featureless backdrop of gray mists. Set to a rapid rhythmic timing, the sounds were low and deep. Coming from seemingly everywhere in a world of no time and no space, the echoes and vibrations were the only things that gave indication of life not being completely frozen. Rising from the swirling and unnatural mists, a pearl white stallion crossed the otherworldly plains, its hooves in perfect timing to the horribly loud echoes. A powerful beast, it strode in a mighty gallop with a foamy froth at its nose and mouth from exertion. Muscled sides rippling, the gigantic horse strained at a tattered and primitive bit that was haltered in its mouth. With eyes that were at once wild and disturbingly intelligent, the beast moved at an unnatural pace as if it were spurned by some terribly fearsome force. For indeed, it was. Attached to the other end of the reins that ran up from the halter, black and worn cloth whipped wildly at a pair of snow white hands. Frightfully thin, the long delicate bones of the hand gripped the reins so tightly it seemed the visible tendons might leap away on their own accord. The rest of the phantom was covered entirely in its black clothes, a terrible robe of darkness that contrasted starkly with the color of the raging stallion. On a saddle no more modern than the horse's halter, the figure spurned the beast on with some intense purpose. Draped with a large and heavy hood, the face of the phantom was shrouded in total blackness giving no clue to its identity, age, or gender. Suddenly, the phantom raised its head up slightly, turning to one side as if straining to hear a voice in a noisy room. Pulling back firmly on the reins, the black robed figure waited patiently as the stallion gradually slowed and eventually came to a stop. Panting heavily, the sides of the horse continued to heave as it took in the dark and misted air of whatever strange existence they were in. Its head still cocked to one side, the phantom stirred slightly, causing the ancient leather of the saddle to creak and groan quietly. Listening deeply to whatever siren call was reaching out to the figure, it maintained its death grip on the reins as if letting go meant its very demise. And then the message was clear. There was a soul in need of collection, and very soon at that. It took only a moment for the figure to reach out to all of its other aspects with a mental call to see if they had claimed the rights to collect this soul of an unfortunate mortal about to meet its death. Finally satisfied that the prize was free for the taking, the phantom reared back on the reins and tapped the left side of the horse's flank with an ancient black leather boot. The stallion obediently swung around to the left before leaping to a full gallop with barely a suggestion from its master. Riding in a fury, the son of the Greek night goddess Nyx flew across the void, focusing on its destination. Heading for a series of large and densely populated islands in the mortal plain, Thanatos focused in on the human soul that called so clearly for an end to its own life. The rider and the stallion disappeared into the swirling vapors that made up a featureless world which had no name, heading for Midgard. * * * Coming up in Chapter 4: Urd begins the dangerous trek to bring Bonnie into Asgard, and a woman bent on self-destruction confronts Death. Comments and Criticisms welcome. Mike McAvoy http://www.angelfire.com/va3/shenandoah/ Last updated October 15, 2001.