*Episode 3*
Now that my carefully formulated plans were in motion, I could not tolerate
interference. I didn't have to worry about Kami; he knew better than to do anything that
might disrupt one of my plans. His opposition, however, was another matter.
Accordingly, I kept track of Mara. When she did finally show up around the temple, I
'blinked' in.
"Who the HELL are you?!?" she said (hovering fifty feet in the air).
I responded by turning my eyes white and glowing again. "Neat trick. Now, who are
you?" she said.
"Someone who wants to talk to your superiors."
"That's a new one. Try someone who cares."
"Mara, demoness first class, I WILL speak to your superiors."
"Who the HELL are you to make demands of ME?"
"I am who I am. And I will not tolerate interference in my plans," I said and returned
my eyes to their usual brown.
"Oh? And what are these 'plans' of yours?"
"They're for me to know. Now, will we go see your superiors or will I have to drag
you to Hell myself?"
"Just try it!"
"Ok, you asked for it," I said. Next thing she knew, we were standing in Hell. Or,
more accurately, SHE was standing in Hell. I was still flying. "Now, let's go see your
superiors, shall we? Or would you rather if I just left you here for a bit? I assume you
DO recognize exactly where we are..."
"Oh, like I can't just leave," she said, obviously trying to do just that, "WHAT THE
HELL?!? Why can't I teleport out?"
"I blocked your power. Now take a closer look. You've obviously figured out that
we're in Hell, but pay attention to exactly where in Hell we are."
She looked around a moment. "Oh, SHIT!" she exclaimed when she finally
understood.
"Exactly. Now, I can leave you here until Cthulhu gets back (and when he does he'll
be really hungry), or we can go talk to your superiors. Oh, and when I return your
powers, don't bother trying to run."
"Fine. I'll take you to see them, but if you could do all of this, why didn't you just go
see them yourself? I mean, if you can break into Cthulhu's lair this easily, couldn't you
just go teleport in?"
"Sure, I could, but I knew what your reaction would be. Not even Kami could get in
here without major difficulty, yet I just did. And if I were a demon, I wouldn't need
much of an introduction, would I?"
"Exactly."
"Well, I'm *not* a demon, and I wanted to see *your* superiors. And to do it with a
minimum of force. Cthulhu invited me to use his lair for this purpose whenever I wanted
a few aeons ago, and I figured it was about time to take him up on his offer."
"CTHULHU offered you... You mean you've MET him!?! And he didn't eat you?!?"
"Yes, yes, and obviously not."
The expression on Mara's face was classic. "Who are you?" she said in a defeated
tone.
"I'm," I said and followed it with my name (Which is quite impossible for mortals to
say, I assure you). Mara gasped in shock. "Now, can we *please* go see your
superiors?"
"Of course, sir..." she said, and I restored her powers.
To make a long story short, we soon found ourselves in another part of Hell.
"First-class demoness Mara here to see the Council," she said to an imp.
"Annnnnndddddd youuuuuurrrrrrr
cccccooooommmmmppppaaaannnniiooonnnn?????" replied the imp.
"Just introduce me. I'll take care of the rest. Tell them it's important that I see them
immediately."
The imp wandered off and returned about a minute later. "Ttthhhheee
ccccooouuuunnnnccciiillll ssssaaaayyysss ttttthhhhhaaaaattttt ttttthhhhiiiisss
hhhaaaaaaaaddddd bbbbbeeeettttteeerrrr bbbbbeeeee gggooooooooodddddd.", it said.
"Oh, it is," Mara replied, "But not in the way they're probably thinking."
"Fffffooooolllllllllllloooooooowwwwww mmmmmmmeeeeeeeee," the imp droned,
and led us down a path. A few seconds later, we found ourselves face to face with the
Council.
"First class demoness Mara, why are you here? And what makes this so urgent that
you would interrupt our deliberations?" asked a particularly disgusting-looking devil.
"Actually, he asked to see you," she said.
"You took a MORTAL here? And interrupted us for nothing more?!? We should
feed you to Cthulhu!" exclaimed another.
"No, I did not. He's no mortal."
"Oh? Then who issssss he?" asked a large snake. I simply turned my eyes
white-and-glowing again. There was a gasp around the room. "What brings you here, of
all places? Don't tell us-" said one really hideous demon, stopping when I interrupted.
"No, I'm not here for any of you. I'm here to tell you to stay away from Nekomi for a
while. I will not tolerate interference in my plans."
"Of course, sir." said some pus-covered suck-up.
"Oh, by the way, tell Old Horny I stopped by."
"WHO?!?"
"Satan, of course. Feel free to tell him I called him that, if you'd like. And don't worry
about him getting angry about it. I warned him once that if he tried to get revenge on
one of my messengers for anything they did in that capacity, I'd let him spend the rest of
Eternity as a guppy."
The crowd stared in shock. A guppy is a particularly harmless fish, and about an inch
in size.
"Well, that being taken care of, I should be going." I said, and 'blinked' out.
Now that my carefully formulated plans were in motion, I could not tolerate
interference. I didn't have to worry about Kami; he knew better than to do anything that
might disrupt one of my plans. His opposition, however, was another matter.
Accordingly, I kept track of Mara. When she did finally show up around the temple, I
'blinked' in.
"Who the HELL are you?!?" she said (hovering fifty feet in the air).
I responded by turning my eyes white and glowing again. "Neat trick. Now, who are
you?" she said.
"Someone who wants to talk to your superiors."
"That's a new one. Try someone who cares."
"Mara, demoness first class, I WILL speak to your superiors."
"Who the HELL are you to make demands of ME?"
"I am who I am. And I will not tolerate interference in my plans," I said and returned
my eyes to their usual brown.
"Oh? And what are these 'plans' of yours?"
"They're for me to know. Now, will we go see your superiors or will I have to drag
you to Hell myself?"
"Just try it!"
"Ok, you asked for it," I said. Next thing she knew, we were standing in Hell. Or,
more accurately, SHE was standing in Hell. I was still flying. "Now, let's go see your
superiors, shall we? Or would you rather if I just left you here for a bit? I assume you
DO recognize exactly where we are..."
"Oh, like I can't just leave," she said, obviously trying to do just that, "WHAT THE
HELL?!? Why can't I teleport out?"
"I blocked your power. Now take a closer look. You've obviously figured out that
we're in Hell, but pay attention to exactly where in Hell we are."
She looked around a moment. "Oh, SHIT!" she exclaimed when she finally
understood.
"Exactly. Now, I can leave you here until Cthulhu gets back (and when he does he'll
be really hungry), or we can go talk to your superiors. Oh, and when I return your
powers, don't bother trying to run."
"Fine. I'll take you to see them, but if you could do all of this, why didn't you just go
see them yourself? I mean, if you can break into Cthulhu's lair this easily, couldn't you
just go teleport in?"
"Sure, I could, but I knew what your reaction would be. Not even Kami could get in
here without major difficulty, yet I just did. And if I were a demon, I wouldn't need
much of an introduction, would I?"
"Exactly."
"Well, I'm *not* a demon, and I wanted to see *your* superiors. And to do it with a
minimum of force. Cthulhu invited me to use his lair for this purpose whenever I wanted
a few aeons ago, and I figured it was about time to take him up on his offer."
"CTHULHU offered you... You mean you've MET him!?! And he didn't eat you?!?"
"Yes, yes, and obviously not."
The expression on Mara's face was classic. "Who are you?" she said in a defeated
tone.
"I'm," I said and followed it with my name (Which is quite impossible for mortals to
say, I assure you). Mara gasped in shock. "Now, can we *please* go see your
superiors?"
"Of course, sir..." she said, and I restored her powers.
To make a long story short, we soon found ourselves in another part of Hell.
"First-class demoness Mara here to see the Council," she said to an imp.
"Annnnnndddddd youuuuuurrrrrrr
cccccooooommmmmppppaaaannnniiooonnnn?????" replied the imp.
"Just introduce me. I'll take care of the rest. Tell them it's important that I see them
immediately."
The imp wandered off and returned about a minute later. "Ttthhhheee
ccccooouuuunnnnccciiillll ssssaaaayyysss ttttthhhhhaaaaattttt ttttthhhhiiiisss
hhhaaaaaaaaddddd bbbbbeeeettttteeerrrr bbbbbeeeee gggooooooooodddddd.", it said.
"Oh, it is," Mara replied, "But not in the way they're probably thinking."
"Fffffooooolllllllllllloooooooowwwwww mmmmmmmeeeeeeeee," the imp droned,
and led us down a path. A few seconds later, we found ourselves face to face with the
Council.
"First class demoness Mara, why are you here? And what makes this so urgent that
you would interrupt our deliberations?" asked a particularly disgusting-looking devil.
"Actually, he asked to see you," she said.
"You took a MORTAL here? And interrupted us for nothing more?!? We should
feed you to Cthulhu!" exclaimed another.
"No, I did not. He's no mortal."
"Oh? Then who issssss he?" asked a large snake. I simply turned my eyes
white-and-glowing again. There was a gasp around the room. "What brings you here, of
all places? Don't tell us-" said one really hideous demon, stopping when I interrupted.
"No, I'm not here for any of you. I'm here to tell you to stay away from Nekomi for a
while. I will not tolerate interference in my plans."
"Of course, sir." said some pus-covered suck-up.
"Oh, by the way, tell Old Horny I stopped by."
"WHO?!?"
"Satan, of course. Feel free to tell him I called him that, if you'd like. And don't worry
about him getting angry about it. I warned him once that if he tried to get revenge on
one of my messengers for anything they did in that capacity, I'd let him spend the rest of
Eternity as a guppy."
The crowd stared in shock. A guppy is a particularly harmless fish, and about an inch
in size.
"Well, that being taken care of, I should be going." I said, and 'blinked' out.