"Born Again"
Chapter 4
"Ender's Game"
By Brian Welch
bwelchz7@yahoo.com
Based on the manga Aa! Megami-sama
(Ah! My Goddess!/Oh My Goddess!)
The wonderful world of Aa! Megami-sama was created by Kosuke
Fujishima. Aa! Megami-sama/Oh My Goddess! characters are copyright
Kodansha Ltd. Tokyo, Studio Proteus, and Dark Horse Comics, Inc.
-----
Throne Room of the Almighty
-----
"Almighty One, you requested that I inform you of changes in the
condition of the mortal, Eric Donovan."
"Proceed, Belldandy."
"Almighty One, he has apparently... somehow become able to interrupt
the execution of certain programs running within Yggdrasil." I did
not say that well at all, but how does one explain such a thing?
"Mm. What is the extent of this ability?" the Almighty inquired.
"As nearly as Urd and Skuld can tell, Almighty One, he can terminate
any spell program which targets him or which will affect him
significantly."
"How is his condition, otherwise?"
"He is still weakened but in good health otherwise, Almighty One."
"Thank you, Belldandy. You may return to your duties, now."
"Yes, Almighty One."
The Almighty stroked his chin in contemplation.
-----
Skuld was pulling her shift of baby-sitting, though she wouldn't
have called it that, and Eric was, as usual lately, resting in the
garden.
'Holding for observation, my foot!' Eric groused. Urd's just trying
to keep me from touching a terminal. I'm in perfectly good shape. I
need to get back to work! He was still sulking when the garden
exploded in front of him. At least that's what it looked like as
Eric shielded his eyes.
The god who appeared out of the chaotic display was even taller than
Troubadour had been. Where Troubadour was thin, however, this god
was powerfully, almost massively built. Yet, as he walked to where
Eric was sitting, he moved with a measured grace. The most
arresting thing about him, though, was an overwhelming sense of
PRESENCE. When he looked at Eric, his eyes... well, Eric couldn't
quite make out any details of his face, but his gaze certainly
seemed to penetrate deeply into Eric's psyche.
Eric shifted uncomfortably. Not again, I should have run while I
had the chance!
"Eric Donovan." It was a statement rather than a question.
"Y-yes, sir?"
The god raised an eyebrow. "I must say I am surprised to find you
in such a humble, even ignominious state. I trust this bodes well
for all that is?"
"Ah, er," Eric replied, brilliantly. Was what he just said supposed
to mean something to me? Who is this person, and why do I feel like
I'm sitting here in my underwear?
"I had expected someone more... brash. If I may, I would like to
ask a question of you."
"Yes, sir?" Uh-oh, here it comes. I'll bet this is about that
Troubadour thing.
"Have you completed all you set out to do, here?"
Huh!? How does he know? Eric shook his head, gathered his courage,
and answered. "No, sir, I haven't yet."
"I surmised as much. Very well, I leave you to complete your duty.
I will make certain that you are not further interfered with. Until
our fates cross again." The god nodded his head to Eric, and faded
from view.
Eric deflated into his chair. Wow. I haven't been affected like
this since I first met Belldandy. Who was that guy, and why does he
want me to try to hack Nidhog again?
"Eric!"
"Waa!"
"What was HE doing here? What did he say to you?"
"Oh, hi, Skuld." Pardon me while I go into cardiac arrest, girl!
"I'm not sure why he was here. He asked me if I had completed my
work, then told me it was my duty to finish it."
"That was all?"
"Yes, though I think he was surprised that I had been beaten up by
Troubadour."
"Oh, that was all Urd's fault! She's always getting us into
trouble!"
"Well, I don't think you're in trouble, he actually seemed kind of
pleased, maybe more like relieved that I had been beaten up."
"What!?"
"Doesn't make any sense to me, either. So, do you mind telling me
who that guy was?"
"You mean you don't know!? That was the Almighty!"
-----
"Look at him," Urd gestured to where Eric sat hunched over his
terminal. "You'd think the end of the world was around the corner."
"Why don't you just for once cut the poor kid some slack?" Peorth
replied.
"There's something different with him since that fiasco trying to
hack Nidhog. It's almost like he's racing against some deadline.
Why don't you go talk to him, see if you can find anything out?"
"I won't spy for you, Urd. If you want to interrogate him, you'll
have to do it yourself."
"He won't open up to me. Every time I come around now he clams up."
"If you weren't so hostile towards him, he might trust you more."
"I don't have time to be lovey dovey, I have a system to run."
"I'm not suggesting you seduce him," leave that to me, "I'm just
saying you could give him the respect he deserves."
"He's a hacker! With root privileges on my system!"
"In the few weeks he's been here he's done an extraordinary amount
of work to fix 'your' system for you. He also has the backing of
the Almighty."
"I know all that, but I still think he's too dangerous to be left
running around doing who knows what to Yggdrasil."
"What's gotten into you, Urd?"
"What if he tries to hack into Nidhog again? We're lucky the demon
admins didn't notice the last time."
Peorth sighed. "That's not what I'm talking about, Urd. You've
changed, and it's not for the better."
"Even worse, we have no idea what's driving him, giving him these
ideas," Urd continued, ignoring Peorth. "Heck, he even has the
Almighty spooked enough to check him out personally."
"Stop being so anal, Urd. How long has it been since you went on a
date? There's more to life than being sys admin and hanging around
your sisters all the time."
"Don't try to change the subject."
"Why don't you break with that old boyfriend of yours once and for
all and start enjoying life?"
"I don't need advice about my love life, and especially not from
you."
"Urd, believe it or not, I really hate seeing you this way. You're
a free spirit. You were never meant to be celibate."
"I still enjoy myself."
"Yeah, sure you do. Celibacy is Belldandy's thing, not yours."
Urd sighed. "In case you haven't noticed, Belldandy isn't any
more."
"Which makes your case all the more tragic, Urd."
Urd sighed again. "Point taken. You can drop the lecture now,
Flower Girl."
"OK, OK, but Urd... you really need to ditch Troubadour. He's like a
lead weight around your neck."
"We've been through for a long time."
"He doesn't think so."
"Let's stop this line of questioning now, all right?"
"Sure. You stay here and plot away as you turn into a bitter old
maid. I'm going to have some fun."
Urd growled.
I hate this, Eric thought. Wearing the headband, he was once again
cut off from his AI. He found he missed it more now than he had
before.
I know how important it is to fix this problem once and for all, but
I don't like being a pawn in some gigantic chess match, he groused.
At least it'll be over soon enough, assuming it works this time and
I don't get toasted. With any luck I'll have the code finished in
an hour. With a little more luck, this won't start a war. The knot
in his stomach reminded him the odds might not be so good.
"Bon jour, mon cherie," Peorth said as she settled beside his
terminal.
Eric nearly jumped out of his skin. After a few moments of
recovery, he managed to reply "H-hi, Peorth."
She leaned forward and sighed. "You have the most beautiful eyes,
cherie."
"Th-thanks," Eric replied, leaning as far back in his chair as he
could. His gaze came to rest on the considerable amount of cleavage
she was showing. WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? a part of his mind screamed
as he wrenched his eyes away from Peorth's chest and locked them
onto her face.
"So you find me attractive after all?" Peorth purred. "I was
beginning to wonder."
Eric opened his mouth, but nothing came out.
Peorth chuckled. "Penny for your thoughts."
"Ah... um... gazelles?"
"Excuse me?"
"I was thinking about gazelles."
"Gazelles? As in antelope?" He's African... are gazelles
considered to be fertility symbols in his culture? Yes, of course
they are! It's obvious! "Oh, yes! Gazelles bounding across the
African savannah, so full of life, energy, passion..."
"Hello, Peorth." Skuld trotted up the steps to where Eric was
working.
"Hello, Skuld," Peorth replied. How does she always manage to show
up at times like this?
"Hi, Skuld!" Eric said. I'm saved!
Skuld reached the platform and looked suspiciously at Peorth.
"Don't worry, I was just leaving," Peorth said. "See you later,
blue eyes."
When Peorth had gone, Skuld peeked over Eric's shoulder. "Wow!" she
exclaimed. "What a cool looking program! You know, I've seen a
picture of that, somewhere."
"Oh, this? I got it out of a book I once read."
"That's it! It was in Mom's 'Big Picture Book of Supernatural
Beasts'!" Skuld looked at Eric. "How did you get ahold of that
book? Did you read it while you were recuperating at home?"
"No, the book I'm talking about was written a long time ago by a man
named Tolkein. This thing's called a Balrog. Well, it's a Balrog
without the wings and a little more fiery. Oh, yeah, and a sword
instead of a whip."
"Wow, it looks just the same. Freaky. So, are you almost done?"
"Getting there."
"OK, just let me know when it's ready, because I want to be here
when you activate it."
"Will do."
"Well, I'm going to go talk to Urd. I just came by to save you from
Peorth."
"For that you have my undying gratitude."
"Hey, I had to save Keiichi from her too, once, so I knew what to
expect." Skuld summoned her command chair and joined Urd and
Peorth.
Eric sighed. I hated lying to you, Skuld, but when this thing goes
off, you can't be associated with it. The least I can do is take the
blame for this. Just a few more minutes.
"Did you see what he was working on?" Urd asked Skuld
"Of course I did!"
"Honestly, Urd, now you're picking on the child?" Peorth asked.
"Child?" Skuld bristled at the "C" word.
"Well she, at least, took a look at what Donovan was doing while she
was down there. So, dear sister, why don't you tell me all about
it?" Urd asked sweetly.
"If you want to know what he's working on, you should ask him
yourself," Skuld replied.
Now Urd bristled. "You know he won't talk to me. And I was trying
to be nice to you, too!"
"You've got to be kidding. My nice and sweet sister isn't here
right now. And anyway, it's not what I came to talk to you about."
"Oh? What did you want to tell me?"
"The Ultimate Force program has been checked out. It's ready to
go."
"Well, well, well. That's the best news I've heard all day!" Urd
said.
"I can go back to the Earth Help Center!" Peorth cried.
"And get out of my hair!" Urd added.
"Hey, now." Peorth warned.
Urd smirked.
"Well I'm in such a good mood I'll forgive you this once," Peorth
said. "I'd better go make sure everything's ready. I want to open
the phone lines as soon as the Ultimate Force is running. Oh, I can
already feel those desperate voices crying out for assistance from
the number one Earth Help Center."
"Mmf!" Urd stifled a laugh. "You'd better hurry, then. As soon as I
run these final checks I'm going to fire it up."
Peorth left.
"Hehe," Urd shook her head. "You know, Skuld, the last few years
with Flower Girl have made me realize how good it's going to be to
have you back."
"Well, I'll be glad to be off of debugging detail for at least a
little while," Skuld answered hesitantly, not sure how to take what
sounded like an honest compliment from her eldest sister.
"Speaking of that, you've done a fine job through all of this,
Skuld, heading the debugging effort. Still, it's going to be even
better to see you back in an admin's chair. Welcome back, kid."
Urd extended her hand.
Skuld stared at Urd's hand for a moment before shaking it. "Thanks,
sis. Um, you aren't just buttering me up so that I'll spy on Eric,
are you?"
"What?" Urd looked upwards. "I try to give her a compliment and
look what it gets me!" She turned back to Skuld. "Believe it or
not, that was honest. Right now, getting the Ultimate Force online
is more important even than keeping an eye on Donovan."
"Peorth wants to keep more than just her eyes on him."
Urd chuckled. "Yeah, I almost feel sorry for the guy. Being the
object of Peorth's attention is never a good thing, no matter what
her mood is. Speaking of Peorth, let's see if we can have the
Ultimate Force running before Peorth gets her phone lines open."
Urd cracked her knuckles. Besides, you'll be in a better mood after
this and it'll be easier to get you to spy on Donovan for me.
"Hey, I'm on it!" Skuld cried, calling up control panels on both
sides of her.
"Ere, get your tail in gear! The rest of you look sharp!" Urd
called to the operators as her fingers began flying across the
panels surrounding her.
Below the goddesses, off to the side of the operators, Eric stared
at his terminal. This isn't your decision, Eric, so stop acting
like you have a say in it. Besides, even if this is viewed by the
other side as some kind of attack... at least you've made sure Skuld
and the others won't be blamed. So, just do it. Angst ain't your
thing.
Alarms blared.
"Of all the lousy timing!" Urd cursed.
"What happened!?"
"I'll give you one good guess!"
"But Eric said he'd tell me before he tried anything!"
"Looks like he lied."
-----
The Balrog invoked inside the Nidhog Maintenance Facility in an
exploding ring of flame, sending demon operators scattering and
alarms screaming.
Garm, the watchdog defender of Hell, snapped to alertness, his
senses tingling. Something had invaded the realm he was sworn to
protect, and that something would pay.
"Nidhog root level access confirmed," the Balrog reported.
Three meters tall, its body blackened by the flames which licked
across it, the Balrog roared, swinging its flaming sword, sending
fire cascading about the room.
"Worm delivered. Awaiting final status."
Garm announced his arrival in a howling ring of fire, much like the
Balrog. The invader was larger than he, but it mattered not to the
hell hound.
Balrog stalked through the maintenance facility, making impressive
waves of its sword, waiting for the Worm to report back its final
status. It only needed to keep the admins and operators distracted
for a few more moments. As soon as that final status was logged, it
could terminate.
Hidden within Nidhog, the Worm reported success back to the Balrog.
"Worm successful," the Balrog reported. "Patch in place." The next
log entry would announce termination.
It never got the chance. Garm hit it from the side, his great jaws
rending the form into pieces as the Balrog program crashed. In a
moment the watchdog of Hell stood alone in the facility with the
taste of victory in his mouth.
-----
"Well, no sparks this time, at least," Eric noted with relief.
Urd landed beside him. "You hacked Nidhog again, didn't you?"
"Of course I did. The error still existed on the Nidhog side."
"Don't get smart with me."
"Sorry," Eric sighed, "you're right. I shouldn't have been flippant
with you."
Urd looked suspicious. "Why the sudden courtesy, Donovan?"
"Because I'm done, and I'd prefer not to leave on a sour note."
"You've eliminated the problem between Nidhog and Yggdrasil?"
"Yeah. I have to verify it from the logs, but things should be
running a lot smoother, now."
"Did you use that... Balrog, did you call it? The thing that looked
like Surt?" Skuld asked.
"Yes, I used the Balrog. It--"
"Hey, hold up a minute, what's this about Surt?" Urd asked.
Eric shrugged.
"The Balrog program he was working on looked just like Surt," Skuld
said.
"What do you mean 'looked just like Surt'?" Urd asked.
"I mean it looked just like the picture of Surt in Mom's 'Big
Picture Book of Supernatural Beasts'."
"And you hacked this thing into Nidhog!?" Urd turned to Eric.
"I needed a diversion while the worm completed the repairs."
"So you sent them Surt!?"
"I sent them a fictional creature out of a book I read once. I
wanted it to look big and impressive to keep them distracted. I
didn't know that it looked like anything real."
"They must be freaking, right now. So, what exactly does your
little diversion do?"
"Nothing, really. It just walks around and looks fierce. I didn't
give it any offensive capabilities other than some low level flame
effects. I didn't want to damage anything on the other side. I
only needed the diversion for a few seconds."
"Can you prove that's all it did?"
"Sure, it logged everything."
"Skuld, get those logs. I have a phone call to make."
"Sure," Skuld said.
Urd summoned a phone and began dialing a number.
"Hi, it's me."
"I'm a little busy now, Urd dear," the ruler of Hell answered.
"Let me guess. You've had reported sightings of Surt down there."
"... How did you know?" Hild's voice betrayed suspicion.
"It wasn't really Surt that you saw. Somebody here hacked into
Nidhog and planted that Surt look-alike."
Hild's voice went icy. "Have you caught the hacker?"
"Yes, and we're investigating just what happened."
"Who is it?"
"I'm not at liberty to say."
"This is serious, Urd. I need to know who did this."
"Take it up with the big guy, then. This isn't the first time
someone from the other side has hacked one of our systems, you know.
In fact, this should just about even the score between us for that
Welsper incident."
Hild made an exaggerated sigh. "Then can I at least expect that the
hacker will receive the standard punishment? Will he, she or it be
stripped of all powers and reincarnated as a low order life form?"
"Well, I'm not so sure about that."
"WHAT!?"
"You may have to settle for a memory erasure."
"Memory erasure? A slap on the wrist? For hacking our system?
That's completely unacceptable! You know the standard procedures
for an infraction of this magnitude as well as I do."
"Those rules only apply to immortal beings."
"Immortal beings? Urd, dear, are you withholding information from
me, again? You should show more respect to your mother."
"Withholding information!? I've been trying to tell you, you old
cow, but you keep interrupting me!"
"Then tell me, Urd, dear."
"Gaah! You're so--"
"So much like an eldest sister I know," Skuld remarked.
Urd glared daggers at Skuld before turning back to the phone. "The
hacker is a mortal."
There was a pause on the other end of the phone line. "A mortal?"
"Yes, so reincarnation as a lower order life form would be
tantamount to a life sentence, and it's not like it'd be that much
of a demotion anyway. He'll be punished," she gave Eric a level
stare, "but our options are kind of limited." Besides, the Almighty
has been so protective of him, there's no telling how he might
intervene in the judicial process.
"Very well, then." Hild suddenly sounded preoccupied. "You will
inform me of the hacker's final status?"
"Yeah, I'll let you know. But only if you stop pissing me off."
"You really are too much like me sometimes, Urd dear." Despite her
words, Hild's voice held a trace of pride. "Well, give me that call
as soon as you know something."
"Bye." Urd slammed the phone down. Why does she always gets to me
like that?
"How could you say we would erase Eric's memories?" Skuld demanded.
"Like I said," Urd looked at Eric, again, "the standard punishment
of reincarnation as a Level 4 life form would be either too harsh or
not harsh enough, depending upon how you look at it. Besides, this
isn't our decision. The council will decide what happens to him.
Now, what about those log files?"
"There's a problem," Eric said.
"I didn't ask you."
"The log stops before the program terminated," Skuld said.
"What do you mean, 'before the program terminated'? How can you
tell?"
"They just stop. They could have been truncated or the program
could have stopped logging prematurely."
"Let me see them."
She was still examining the log when Belldandy walked up.
"What's happened?" Belldandy asked.
"Donovan hacked Nidhog with a program which looked a lot like Surt,
Hild about blew her top, and now Donovan's program has gone off to
who knows where," Urd replied, her attention on the log.
"It wasn't Surt," Eric protested. "It was just something I made up
to distract the admins and operators while the worm patched the
synchronization errors."
"Does Hild know this?" Belldandy asked.
Who's Hild? Eric wondered.
"I told her. She wasn't happy, but at least she isn't doing
anything drastic," Urd said.
"That's why I didn't tell any of you what I was doing or when I was
going to do it," Eric said. "I didn't want you to be involved if
this thing created an incident." So Hild is the demon admin Urd was
talking to on the phone?
"You still should have told us," Skuld said.
"And now we have a high level program running amok on Nidhog," Urd
added.
"It isn't still running. I programmed it to terminate once the worm
had patched the system."
"Except your own logs don't show it ever terminating," Urd said.
"Even if it didn't terminate, it was designed only to look menacing.
It isn't going to crash anything."
"Donovan, every time you do something on the system, impossible
things happen. I know you say your program won't misbehave, and I
may even believe you're sincere, but the fact of the matter is that
nobody can predict the consequences of your actions."
"I can," Eric said.
"Like the first time you hacked Nidhog?" Urd replied.
Eric looked at his hands for a moment. She's right, of course. How
do I know for sure my program isn't still sitting in the process
table on Nidhog? "I've finished what you brought me here to do.
I'd like to go home, now."
"That'll be up to the judicial council, though even considering the
severity of your crime I think they'll let you go back. You're too
dangerous to have around here," Urd said.
"I don't trust those old fogeys," Skuld said.
"The Council will be fair..." Belldandy was interrupted by the phone
ringing.
Urd answered. "Hello? ... Yes, sir, he said he's ready to go back.
... Sir? ... Yes, sir." She hung up the phone. "The big guy said
we're to handle this ourselves, in a manner that we deem
appropriate."
"Then he doesn't have to have his memory erased after all!" Skuld
said.
"I don't know, it's still probably a good idea." Urd looked to
Belldandy.
"What do you mean, a good idea!?" Skuld asked.
"Perhaps we should ask Eric?" Belldandy offered.
The three goddesses turned to face the mortal.
"Since that's the penalty, I think it'd probably be a good idea to
go ahead and erase my memories. Will it just be the ones from
here?"
"We could erase just your memories of us and of Heaven," Belldandy
suggested.
"We don't have to erase anything!" Skuld said. "Eric, tell her you
don't want your memory erased!"
"No, this needs to be done," Eric said.
"Needs to be? Intuition, again?" Urd asked.
"Yeah. Besides, it could make trouble for you if you made the
punishment too light."
"What could they do to us?" Skuld argued.
"Skuld does have a point, Eric," Belldandy said. "You shouldn't
worry about us. We'll be fine regardless of the action we take
here."
"Yeah, well, it just needs to be done. Besides, I've made a jerk of
myself while I was here, and I'm not sure I want to remember it."
"An apology?" Urd asked.
"No you haven't!" Skuld said.
"Yeah, I have, Skuld. Maybe I needed to be one, or maybe I was just
too lazy to find a better way to get the job done. Regardless, I'm
sorry for running rogue on all of you like this."
"Eric, so you are serious about this?" Belldandy asked.
"Yes, I am."
"Then, perhaps it is for the best." Belldandy began to prepare a
spell.
"One thing, though, could you take me back to my apartment in
Berkeley instead of the Blacktail B&B? I sent my car back, and it
would be hard explaining a sudden arrival to the Schefflers."
Belldandy nodded. A sphere appeared in her hand.
"Sis!" Skuld protested.
"It's OK, Skuld. I really do want this," Eric assured her.
Skuld looked at Eric, then dropped her gaze to the floor. "Goodbye,
Eric."
Eric seem to fall asleep as energy from sphere in Belldandy's hand
washed across him.
"Sis, how could you?" Skuld whispered.
"I only sealed them, Skuld," Belldandy said as she looked at the
seal sphere. "They haven't been erased, and I think perhaps he will
have a chance to be at peace, now." Belldandy said as tears welled
up into her eyes.
"Hey, don't take it so hard," Urd counseled. "Here, I'll take him
back myself. You aren't in any condition right now." She placed a
hand on Belldandy's shoulder. "Don't be so down, Bell. You did what
had to be done."
"It's not that, so much."
"Oh, then what?"
A tear slid down Belldandy's cheek. "He never got his wish."
-----
The holovision blazed for a moment as Urd stepped through. She
walked to the couch and dumped her burden unceremoniously. "So,
this is your apartment." She looked around at the food wrappers,
computer equipment and occasional article of clothing scattered
about the room. "Yeesh, what a dump."
She walked back to the holovision and paused. Turning, she looked
at the unconscious Eric.
"Try to be a good boy this time, Donovan."
Then she was gone.
-----
EPILOGUE:
Urd heard the music before she saw him. Fortunately, he wasn't
singing. For a moment, the simple beauty of the piece almost made
her reconsider this.
"Urd!" Troubadour cried, setting aside his instrument as she landed
beside him.
"Hi, Troub, nice tune."
"Thank you. Why do you look so serious, Urd my love?"
"We need to talk. No, it's more like I need to talk."
"Oh? What about?"
"About us. I've been doing a lot of thinking about our old
relationship and, well, it's time we formally called it off."
"Why, Urd? I'm here, now. I can give you all the attention you
deserve!"
"It isn't you, it's me, Troub. I can't get over the fact that you
ever put anything ahead of me. There was a time when I wondered if
after you had your license and we had more time together, if I could
put aside my anger. But I can't."
"Urd..."
"If we were together, I'd always be remembering the past. Every
time you had to renew your license or somebody mentioned it, it
would remind me, and I'd hate you for it. You don't deserve that.
It's like you said the first time you left. Pursuing your license
is what plum tree spirits do. Just like all the gods and goddesses,
they're expected to get their licenses."
"I would support you in getting your first class license any way I
could, Urd. You wouldn't have to do it alone."
"I'm not talking about my license here, Troubadour, I'm talking
about our places in the grand scheme of things. You play by the
rules, do what's expected of a plum tree spirit. I can't be like
that. If I have to spend the rest of eternity as a Goddess Second
Class then so be it, but I will never be a regular goddess." Even
the Almighty couldn't seal away my demonic heritage. "You need to
find yourself a regular goddess, one who can do regular goddess
things with you. I'll never be that goddess, and if we're together
I'll hate both of us every day because I'm not."
"No, you're wrong!" Troubadour said, rising to face her. "You're
the only goddess for me. You're unique, Urd. There isn't another
goddess in Heaven like you. I know in the past I haven't been as
attentive as you wanted, but things are different, now. We'll work
this out, you'll see!"
"You're too hard on yourself, Troub. Other than that jealousy thing
you've always been a nice guy. Don't worry, you'll find someone
else."
"No, I won't! There is no one else but you, Urd. Give me a chance
to prove myself!"
"It won't work, Troub. Why can't you see that? I can't go back to
being that young goddess who sat underneath a tree and exchanged
gifts with you. I don't know why, I just can't." Have I been
spoiled by Belldandy and Keiichi? Are my expectations too high?
Troubadour stared past Urd, out to the horizon. After a while, he
turned his eyes back to her. "Is it another god, then? I don't
care. I'll never give you up, Urd."
"What? Of course there isn't another god! This is about me, not
you or any other god. It's my problem."
Troubadour rose to his feet. "Something else, then, is causing you
to turn your heart from me. What is it, Urd? Tell me."
"Haven't you listened to a word I've said? This is about ME!" Urd
sighed and shook her head. "Even now, you aren't concerned about
what I want, are you? You're still doing what _you_ want to do.
Nothing has changed."
"Urd, I only want what's best for us."
"There is no 'us', Troubadour." Urd blinked back a tear. "Not any
more."
"Urd..." Troubadour reached out and began to pull her into an
embrace.
Urd pulled away. The movement dislodged tears which ran down her
cheeks. She wiped the tears with the back of a hand. Damn, I swore
I wasn't going to cry.
"Urd, I can understand you're upset. We can talk about this later.
"No, there isn't going to be a later. Goodbye, Troub." Urd turned
and, springing into the air, raced away.
Finally within the comfort of the home she shared with her sisters
and walked to her room. "Well, whether that idiot realizes it or
not, it's time for me to move on." She stopped in front of the
single table in the room and opened an ornate box. Removing a
bracelet, she looked one last time at the inscription inside the
band, 'To Urd from Troubadour'. She placed the bracelet gently
inside the box and closed the lid. "I only wish I knew how or where
to."
-----
End Chapter 4
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
The biggest surprise for me so far has been how much fun I've had
writing Peorth. She makes a wonderful foil for both Belldandy and
Urd, since she combines the carefree nature of Urd with some of the
insightfulness of Belldandy and isn't afraid to use both to the
consternation of those around her. I've never been much of a Peorth
fan, but she's definitely grown on me.
When did Skuld save Keiichi from Peorth? Well, Skuld's memory of
events may be a little colored, here. Actually she once tried to
Skuld bomb both Peorth and Keiichi when she discovered Peorth waking
Keiichi up in her usual manner. However, the end result was that
Keiichi was able to escape.
For those who have read the Dark Horse translation, Troubadour was
incorrectly described as a cherry tree spirit when he first appeared
in the manga. The second time he appeared in DH he was correctly
described as a plum tree spirit, giving the impression it was 2
different guys when actually it was Troubadour both times.
Chapter 4
"Ender's Game"
By Brian Welch
bwelchz7@yahoo.com
Based on the manga Aa! Megami-sama
(Ah! My Goddess!/Oh My Goddess!)
The wonderful world of Aa! Megami-sama was created by Kosuke
Fujishima. Aa! Megami-sama/Oh My Goddess! characters are copyright
Kodansha Ltd. Tokyo, Studio Proteus, and Dark Horse Comics, Inc.
-----
Throne Room of the Almighty
-----
"Almighty One, you requested that I inform you of changes in the
condition of the mortal, Eric Donovan."
"Proceed, Belldandy."
"Almighty One, he has apparently... somehow become able to interrupt
the execution of certain programs running within Yggdrasil." I did
not say that well at all, but how does one explain such a thing?
"Mm. What is the extent of this ability?" the Almighty inquired.
"As nearly as Urd and Skuld can tell, Almighty One, he can terminate
any spell program which targets him or which will affect him
significantly."
"How is his condition, otherwise?"
"He is still weakened but in good health otherwise, Almighty One."
"Thank you, Belldandy. You may return to your duties, now."
"Yes, Almighty One."
The Almighty stroked his chin in contemplation.
-----
Skuld was pulling her shift of baby-sitting, though she wouldn't
have called it that, and Eric was, as usual lately, resting in the
garden.
'Holding for observation, my foot!' Eric groused. Urd's just trying
to keep me from touching a terminal. I'm in perfectly good shape. I
need to get back to work! He was still sulking when the garden
exploded in front of him. At least that's what it looked like as
Eric shielded his eyes.
The god who appeared out of the chaotic display was even taller than
Troubadour had been. Where Troubadour was thin, however, this god
was powerfully, almost massively built. Yet, as he walked to where
Eric was sitting, he moved with a measured grace. The most
arresting thing about him, though, was an overwhelming sense of
PRESENCE. When he looked at Eric, his eyes... well, Eric couldn't
quite make out any details of his face, but his gaze certainly
seemed to penetrate deeply into Eric's psyche.
Eric shifted uncomfortably. Not again, I should have run while I
had the chance!
"Eric Donovan." It was a statement rather than a question.
"Y-yes, sir?"
The god raised an eyebrow. "I must say I am surprised to find you
in such a humble, even ignominious state. I trust this bodes well
for all that is?"
"Ah, er," Eric replied, brilliantly. Was what he just said supposed
to mean something to me? Who is this person, and why do I feel like
I'm sitting here in my underwear?
"I had expected someone more... brash. If I may, I would like to
ask a question of you."
"Yes, sir?" Uh-oh, here it comes. I'll bet this is about that
Troubadour thing.
"Have you completed all you set out to do, here?"
Huh!? How does he know? Eric shook his head, gathered his courage,
and answered. "No, sir, I haven't yet."
"I surmised as much. Very well, I leave you to complete your duty.
I will make certain that you are not further interfered with. Until
our fates cross again." The god nodded his head to Eric, and faded
from view.
Eric deflated into his chair. Wow. I haven't been affected like
this since I first met Belldandy. Who was that guy, and why does he
want me to try to hack Nidhog again?
"Eric!"
"Waa!"
"What was HE doing here? What did he say to you?"
"Oh, hi, Skuld." Pardon me while I go into cardiac arrest, girl!
"I'm not sure why he was here. He asked me if I had completed my
work, then told me it was my duty to finish it."
"That was all?"
"Yes, though I think he was surprised that I had been beaten up by
Troubadour."
"Oh, that was all Urd's fault! She's always getting us into
trouble!"
"Well, I don't think you're in trouble, he actually seemed kind of
pleased, maybe more like relieved that I had been beaten up."
"What!?"
"Doesn't make any sense to me, either. So, do you mind telling me
who that guy was?"
"You mean you don't know!? That was the Almighty!"
-----
"Look at him," Urd gestured to where Eric sat hunched over his
terminal. "You'd think the end of the world was around the corner."
"Why don't you just for once cut the poor kid some slack?" Peorth
replied.
"There's something different with him since that fiasco trying to
hack Nidhog. It's almost like he's racing against some deadline.
Why don't you go talk to him, see if you can find anything out?"
"I won't spy for you, Urd. If you want to interrogate him, you'll
have to do it yourself."
"He won't open up to me. Every time I come around now he clams up."
"If you weren't so hostile towards him, he might trust you more."
"I don't have time to be lovey dovey, I have a system to run."
"I'm not suggesting you seduce him," leave that to me, "I'm just
saying you could give him the respect he deserves."
"He's a hacker! With root privileges on my system!"
"In the few weeks he's been here he's done an extraordinary amount
of work to fix 'your' system for you. He also has the backing of
the Almighty."
"I know all that, but I still think he's too dangerous to be left
running around doing who knows what to Yggdrasil."
"What's gotten into you, Urd?"
"What if he tries to hack into Nidhog again? We're lucky the demon
admins didn't notice the last time."
Peorth sighed. "That's not what I'm talking about, Urd. You've
changed, and it's not for the better."
"Even worse, we have no idea what's driving him, giving him these
ideas," Urd continued, ignoring Peorth. "Heck, he even has the
Almighty spooked enough to check him out personally."
"Stop being so anal, Urd. How long has it been since you went on a
date? There's more to life than being sys admin and hanging around
your sisters all the time."
"Don't try to change the subject."
"Why don't you break with that old boyfriend of yours once and for
all and start enjoying life?"
"I don't need advice about my love life, and especially not from
you."
"Urd, believe it or not, I really hate seeing you this way. You're
a free spirit. You were never meant to be celibate."
"I still enjoy myself."
"Yeah, sure you do. Celibacy is Belldandy's thing, not yours."
Urd sighed. "In case you haven't noticed, Belldandy isn't any
more."
"Which makes your case all the more tragic, Urd."
Urd sighed again. "Point taken. You can drop the lecture now,
Flower Girl."
"OK, OK, but Urd... you really need to ditch Troubadour. He's like a
lead weight around your neck."
"We've been through for a long time."
"He doesn't think so."
"Let's stop this line of questioning now, all right?"
"Sure. You stay here and plot away as you turn into a bitter old
maid. I'm going to have some fun."
Urd growled.
I hate this, Eric thought. Wearing the headband, he was once again
cut off from his AI. He found he missed it more now than he had
before.
I know how important it is to fix this problem once and for all, but
I don't like being a pawn in some gigantic chess match, he groused.
At least it'll be over soon enough, assuming it works this time and
I don't get toasted. With any luck I'll have the code finished in
an hour. With a little more luck, this won't start a war. The knot
in his stomach reminded him the odds might not be so good.
"Bon jour, mon cherie," Peorth said as she settled beside his
terminal.
Eric nearly jumped out of his skin. After a few moments of
recovery, he managed to reply "H-hi, Peorth."
She leaned forward and sighed. "You have the most beautiful eyes,
cherie."
"Th-thanks," Eric replied, leaning as far back in his chair as he
could. His gaze came to rest on the considerable amount of cleavage
she was showing. WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? a part of his mind screamed
as he wrenched his eyes away from Peorth's chest and locked them
onto her face.
"So you find me attractive after all?" Peorth purred. "I was
beginning to wonder."
Eric opened his mouth, but nothing came out.
Peorth chuckled. "Penny for your thoughts."
"Ah... um... gazelles?"
"Excuse me?"
"I was thinking about gazelles."
"Gazelles? As in antelope?" He's African... are gazelles
considered to be fertility symbols in his culture? Yes, of course
they are! It's obvious! "Oh, yes! Gazelles bounding across the
African savannah, so full of life, energy, passion..."
"Hello, Peorth." Skuld trotted up the steps to where Eric was
working.
"Hello, Skuld," Peorth replied. How does she always manage to show
up at times like this?
"Hi, Skuld!" Eric said. I'm saved!
Skuld reached the platform and looked suspiciously at Peorth.
"Don't worry, I was just leaving," Peorth said. "See you later,
blue eyes."
When Peorth had gone, Skuld peeked over Eric's shoulder. "Wow!" she
exclaimed. "What a cool looking program! You know, I've seen a
picture of that, somewhere."
"Oh, this? I got it out of a book I once read."
"That's it! It was in Mom's 'Big Picture Book of Supernatural
Beasts'!" Skuld looked at Eric. "How did you get ahold of that
book? Did you read it while you were recuperating at home?"
"No, the book I'm talking about was written a long time ago by a man
named Tolkein. This thing's called a Balrog. Well, it's a Balrog
without the wings and a little more fiery. Oh, yeah, and a sword
instead of a whip."
"Wow, it looks just the same. Freaky. So, are you almost done?"
"Getting there."
"OK, just let me know when it's ready, because I want to be here
when you activate it."
"Will do."
"Well, I'm going to go talk to Urd. I just came by to save you from
Peorth."
"For that you have my undying gratitude."
"Hey, I had to save Keiichi from her too, once, so I knew what to
expect." Skuld summoned her command chair and joined Urd and
Peorth.
Eric sighed. I hated lying to you, Skuld, but when this thing goes
off, you can't be associated with it. The least I can do is take the
blame for this. Just a few more minutes.
"Did you see what he was working on?" Urd asked Skuld
"Of course I did!"
"Honestly, Urd, now you're picking on the child?" Peorth asked.
"Child?" Skuld bristled at the "C" word.
"Well she, at least, took a look at what Donovan was doing while she
was down there. So, dear sister, why don't you tell me all about
it?" Urd asked sweetly.
"If you want to know what he's working on, you should ask him
yourself," Skuld replied.
Now Urd bristled. "You know he won't talk to me. And I was trying
to be nice to you, too!"
"You've got to be kidding. My nice and sweet sister isn't here
right now. And anyway, it's not what I came to talk to you about."
"Oh? What did you want to tell me?"
"The Ultimate Force program has been checked out. It's ready to
go."
"Well, well, well. That's the best news I've heard all day!" Urd
said.
"I can go back to the Earth Help Center!" Peorth cried.
"And get out of my hair!" Urd added.
"Hey, now." Peorth warned.
Urd smirked.
"Well I'm in such a good mood I'll forgive you this once," Peorth
said. "I'd better go make sure everything's ready. I want to open
the phone lines as soon as the Ultimate Force is running. Oh, I can
already feel those desperate voices crying out for assistance from
the number one Earth Help Center."
"Mmf!" Urd stifled a laugh. "You'd better hurry, then. As soon as I
run these final checks I'm going to fire it up."
Peorth left.
"Hehe," Urd shook her head. "You know, Skuld, the last few years
with Flower Girl have made me realize how good it's going to be to
have you back."
"Well, I'll be glad to be off of debugging detail for at least a
little while," Skuld answered hesitantly, not sure how to take what
sounded like an honest compliment from her eldest sister.
"Speaking of that, you've done a fine job through all of this,
Skuld, heading the debugging effort. Still, it's going to be even
better to see you back in an admin's chair. Welcome back, kid."
Urd extended her hand.
Skuld stared at Urd's hand for a moment before shaking it. "Thanks,
sis. Um, you aren't just buttering me up so that I'll spy on Eric,
are you?"
"What?" Urd looked upwards. "I try to give her a compliment and
look what it gets me!" She turned back to Skuld. "Believe it or
not, that was honest. Right now, getting the Ultimate Force online
is more important even than keeping an eye on Donovan."
"Peorth wants to keep more than just her eyes on him."
Urd chuckled. "Yeah, I almost feel sorry for the guy. Being the
object of Peorth's attention is never a good thing, no matter what
her mood is. Speaking of Peorth, let's see if we can have the
Ultimate Force running before Peorth gets her phone lines open."
Urd cracked her knuckles. Besides, you'll be in a better mood after
this and it'll be easier to get you to spy on Donovan for me.
"Hey, I'm on it!" Skuld cried, calling up control panels on both
sides of her.
"Ere, get your tail in gear! The rest of you look sharp!" Urd
called to the operators as her fingers began flying across the
panels surrounding her.
Below the goddesses, off to the side of the operators, Eric stared
at his terminal. This isn't your decision, Eric, so stop acting
like you have a say in it. Besides, even if this is viewed by the
other side as some kind of attack... at least you've made sure Skuld
and the others won't be blamed. So, just do it. Angst ain't your
thing.
Alarms blared.
"Of all the lousy timing!" Urd cursed.
"What happened!?"
"I'll give you one good guess!"
"But Eric said he'd tell me before he tried anything!"
"Looks like he lied."
-----
The Balrog invoked inside the Nidhog Maintenance Facility in an
exploding ring of flame, sending demon operators scattering and
alarms screaming.
Garm, the watchdog defender of Hell, snapped to alertness, his
senses tingling. Something had invaded the realm he was sworn to
protect, and that something would pay.
"Nidhog root level access confirmed," the Balrog reported.
Three meters tall, its body blackened by the flames which licked
across it, the Balrog roared, swinging its flaming sword, sending
fire cascading about the room.
"Worm delivered. Awaiting final status."
Garm announced his arrival in a howling ring of fire, much like the
Balrog. The invader was larger than he, but it mattered not to the
hell hound.
Balrog stalked through the maintenance facility, making impressive
waves of its sword, waiting for the Worm to report back its final
status. It only needed to keep the admins and operators distracted
for a few more moments. As soon as that final status was logged, it
could terminate.
Hidden within Nidhog, the Worm reported success back to the Balrog.
"Worm successful," the Balrog reported. "Patch in place." The next
log entry would announce termination.
It never got the chance. Garm hit it from the side, his great jaws
rending the form into pieces as the Balrog program crashed. In a
moment the watchdog of Hell stood alone in the facility with the
taste of victory in his mouth.
-----
"Well, no sparks this time, at least," Eric noted with relief.
Urd landed beside him. "You hacked Nidhog again, didn't you?"
"Of course I did. The error still existed on the Nidhog side."
"Don't get smart with me."
"Sorry," Eric sighed, "you're right. I shouldn't have been flippant
with you."
Urd looked suspicious. "Why the sudden courtesy, Donovan?"
"Because I'm done, and I'd prefer not to leave on a sour note."
"You've eliminated the problem between Nidhog and Yggdrasil?"
"Yeah. I have to verify it from the logs, but things should be
running a lot smoother, now."
"Did you use that... Balrog, did you call it? The thing that looked
like Surt?" Skuld asked.
"Yes, I used the Balrog. It--"
"Hey, hold up a minute, what's this about Surt?" Urd asked.
Eric shrugged.
"The Balrog program he was working on looked just like Surt," Skuld
said.
"What do you mean 'looked just like Surt'?" Urd asked.
"I mean it looked just like the picture of Surt in Mom's 'Big
Picture Book of Supernatural Beasts'."
"And you hacked this thing into Nidhog!?" Urd turned to Eric.
"I needed a diversion while the worm completed the repairs."
"So you sent them Surt!?"
"I sent them a fictional creature out of a book I read once. I
wanted it to look big and impressive to keep them distracted. I
didn't know that it looked like anything real."
"They must be freaking, right now. So, what exactly does your
little diversion do?"
"Nothing, really. It just walks around and looks fierce. I didn't
give it any offensive capabilities other than some low level flame
effects. I didn't want to damage anything on the other side. I
only needed the diversion for a few seconds."
"Can you prove that's all it did?"
"Sure, it logged everything."
"Skuld, get those logs. I have a phone call to make."
"Sure," Skuld said.
Urd summoned a phone and began dialing a number.
"Hi, it's me."
"I'm a little busy now, Urd dear," the ruler of Hell answered.
"Let me guess. You've had reported sightings of Surt down there."
"... How did you know?" Hild's voice betrayed suspicion.
"It wasn't really Surt that you saw. Somebody here hacked into
Nidhog and planted that Surt look-alike."
Hild's voice went icy. "Have you caught the hacker?"
"Yes, and we're investigating just what happened."
"Who is it?"
"I'm not at liberty to say."
"This is serious, Urd. I need to know who did this."
"Take it up with the big guy, then. This isn't the first time
someone from the other side has hacked one of our systems, you know.
In fact, this should just about even the score between us for that
Welsper incident."
Hild made an exaggerated sigh. "Then can I at least expect that the
hacker will receive the standard punishment? Will he, she or it be
stripped of all powers and reincarnated as a low order life form?"
"Well, I'm not so sure about that."
"WHAT!?"
"You may have to settle for a memory erasure."
"Memory erasure? A slap on the wrist? For hacking our system?
That's completely unacceptable! You know the standard procedures
for an infraction of this magnitude as well as I do."
"Those rules only apply to immortal beings."
"Immortal beings? Urd, dear, are you withholding information from
me, again? You should show more respect to your mother."
"Withholding information!? I've been trying to tell you, you old
cow, but you keep interrupting me!"
"Then tell me, Urd, dear."
"Gaah! You're so--"
"So much like an eldest sister I know," Skuld remarked.
Urd glared daggers at Skuld before turning back to the phone. "The
hacker is a mortal."
There was a pause on the other end of the phone line. "A mortal?"
"Yes, so reincarnation as a lower order life form would be
tantamount to a life sentence, and it's not like it'd be that much
of a demotion anyway. He'll be punished," she gave Eric a level
stare, "but our options are kind of limited." Besides, the Almighty
has been so protective of him, there's no telling how he might
intervene in the judicial process.
"Very well, then." Hild suddenly sounded preoccupied. "You will
inform me of the hacker's final status?"
"Yeah, I'll let you know. But only if you stop pissing me off."
"You really are too much like me sometimes, Urd dear." Despite her
words, Hild's voice held a trace of pride. "Well, give me that call
as soon as you know something."
"Bye." Urd slammed the phone down. Why does she always gets to me
like that?
"How could you say we would erase Eric's memories?" Skuld demanded.
"Like I said," Urd looked at Eric, again, "the standard punishment
of reincarnation as a Level 4 life form would be either too harsh or
not harsh enough, depending upon how you look at it. Besides, this
isn't our decision. The council will decide what happens to him.
Now, what about those log files?"
"There's a problem," Eric said.
"I didn't ask you."
"The log stops before the program terminated," Skuld said.
"What do you mean, 'before the program terminated'? How can you
tell?"
"They just stop. They could have been truncated or the program
could have stopped logging prematurely."
"Let me see them."
She was still examining the log when Belldandy walked up.
"What's happened?" Belldandy asked.
"Donovan hacked Nidhog with a program which looked a lot like Surt,
Hild about blew her top, and now Donovan's program has gone off to
who knows where," Urd replied, her attention on the log.
"It wasn't Surt," Eric protested. "It was just something I made up
to distract the admins and operators while the worm patched the
synchronization errors."
"Does Hild know this?" Belldandy asked.
Who's Hild? Eric wondered.
"I told her. She wasn't happy, but at least she isn't doing
anything drastic," Urd said.
"That's why I didn't tell any of you what I was doing or when I was
going to do it," Eric said. "I didn't want you to be involved if
this thing created an incident." So Hild is the demon admin Urd was
talking to on the phone?
"You still should have told us," Skuld said.
"And now we have a high level program running amok on Nidhog," Urd
added.
"It isn't still running. I programmed it to terminate once the worm
had patched the system."
"Except your own logs don't show it ever terminating," Urd said.
"Even if it didn't terminate, it was designed only to look menacing.
It isn't going to crash anything."
"Donovan, every time you do something on the system, impossible
things happen. I know you say your program won't misbehave, and I
may even believe you're sincere, but the fact of the matter is that
nobody can predict the consequences of your actions."
"I can," Eric said.
"Like the first time you hacked Nidhog?" Urd replied.
Eric looked at his hands for a moment. She's right, of course. How
do I know for sure my program isn't still sitting in the process
table on Nidhog? "I've finished what you brought me here to do.
I'd like to go home, now."
"That'll be up to the judicial council, though even considering the
severity of your crime I think they'll let you go back. You're too
dangerous to have around here," Urd said.
"I don't trust those old fogeys," Skuld said.
"The Council will be fair..." Belldandy was interrupted by the phone
ringing.
Urd answered. "Hello? ... Yes, sir, he said he's ready to go back.
... Sir? ... Yes, sir." She hung up the phone. "The big guy said
we're to handle this ourselves, in a manner that we deem
appropriate."
"Then he doesn't have to have his memory erased after all!" Skuld
said.
"I don't know, it's still probably a good idea." Urd looked to
Belldandy.
"What do you mean, a good idea!?" Skuld asked.
"Perhaps we should ask Eric?" Belldandy offered.
The three goddesses turned to face the mortal.
"Since that's the penalty, I think it'd probably be a good idea to
go ahead and erase my memories. Will it just be the ones from
here?"
"We could erase just your memories of us and of Heaven," Belldandy
suggested.
"We don't have to erase anything!" Skuld said. "Eric, tell her you
don't want your memory erased!"
"No, this needs to be done," Eric said.
"Needs to be? Intuition, again?" Urd asked.
"Yeah. Besides, it could make trouble for you if you made the
punishment too light."
"What could they do to us?" Skuld argued.
"Skuld does have a point, Eric," Belldandy said. "You shouldn't
worry about us. We'll be fine regardless of the action we take
here."
"Yeah, well, it just needs to be done. Besides, I've made a jerk of
myself while I was here, and I'm not sure I want to remember it."
"An apology?" Urd asked.
"No you haven't!" Skuld said.
"Yeah, I have, Skuld. Maybe I needed to be one, or maybe I was just
too lazy to find a better way to get the job done. Regardless, I'm
sorry for running rogue on all of you like this."
"Eric, so you are serious about this?" Belldandy asked.
"Yes, I am."
"Then, perhaps it is for the best." Belldandy began to prepare a
spell.
"One thing, though, could you take me back to my apartment in
Berkeley instead of the Blacktail B&B? I sent my car back, and it
would be hard explaining a sudden arrival to the Schefflers."
Belldandy nodded. A sphere appeared in her hand.
"Sis!" Skuld protested.
"It's OK, Skuld. I really do want this," Eric assured her.
Skuld looked at Eric, then dropped her gaze to the floor. "Goodbye,
Eric."
Eric seem to fall asleep as energy from sphere in Belldandy's hand
washed across him.
"Sis, how could you?" Skuld whispered.
"I only sealed them, Skuld," Belldandy said as she looked at the
seal sphere. "They haven't been erased, and I think perhaps he will
have a chance to be at peace, now." Belldandy said as tears welled
up into her eyes.
"Hey, don't take it so hard," Urd counseled. "Here, I'll take him
back myself. You aren't in any condition right now." She placed a
hand on Belldandy's shoulder. "Don't be so down, Bell. You did what
had to be done."
"It's not that, so much."
"Oh, then what?"
A tear slid down Belldandy's cheek. "He never got his wish."
-----
The holovision blazed for a moment as Urd stepped through. She
walked to the couch and dumped her burden unceremoniously. "So,
this is your apartment." She looked around at the food wrappers,
computer equipment and occasional article of clothing scattered
about the room. "Yeesh, what a dump."
She walked back to the holovision and paused. Turning, she looked
at the unconscious Eric.
"Try to be a good boy this time, Donovan."
Then she was gone.
-----
EPILOGUE:
Urd heard the music before she saw him. Fortunately, he wasn't
singing. For a moment, the simple beauty of the piece almost made
her reconsider this.
"Urd!" Troubadour cried, setting aside his instrument as she landed
beside him.
"Hi, Troub, nice tune."
"Thank you. Why do you look so serious, Urd my love?"
"We need to talk. No, it's more like I need to talk."
"Oh? What about?"
"About us. I've been doing a lot of thinking about our old
relationship and, well, it's time we formally called it off."
"Why, Urd? I'm here, now. I can give you all the attention you
deserve!"
"It isn't you, it's me, Troub. I can't get over the fact that you
ever put anything ahead of me. There was a time when I wondered if
after you had your license and we had more time together, if I could
put aside my anger. But I can't."
"Urd..."
"If we were together, I'd always be remembering the past. Every
time you had to renew your license or somebody mentioned it, it
would remind me, and I'd hate you for it. You don't deserve that.
It's like you said the first time you left. Pursuing your license
is what plum tree spirits do. Just like all the gods and goddesses,
they're expected to get their licenses."
"I would support you in getting your first class license any way I
could, Urd. You wouldn't have to do it alone."
"I'm not talking about my license here, Troubadour, I'm talking
about our places in the grand scheme of things. You play by the
rules, do what's expected of a plum tree spirit. I can't be like
that. If I have to spend the rest of eternity as a Goddess Second
Class then so be it, but I will never be a regular goddess." Even
the Almighty couldn't seal away my demonic heritage. "You need to
find yourself a regular goddess, one who can do regular goddess
things with you. I'll never be that goddess, and if we're together
I'll hate both of us every day because I'm not."
"No, you're wrong!" Troubadour said, rising to face her. "You're
the only goddess for me. You're unique, Urd. There isn't another
goddess in Heaven like you. I know in the past I haven't been as
attentive as you wanted, but things are different, now. We'll work
this out, you'll see!"
"You're too hard on yourself, Troub. Other than that jealousy thing
you've always been a nice guy. Don't worry, you'll find someone
else."
"No, I won't! There is no one else but you, Urd. Give me a chance
to prove myself!"
"It won't work, Troub. Why can't you see that? I can't go back to
being that young goddess who sat underneath a tree and exchanged
gifts with you. I don't know why, I just can't." Have I been
spoiled by Belldandy and Keiichi? Are my expectations too high?
Troubadour stared past Urd, out to the horizon. After a while, he
turned his eyes back to her. "Is it another god, then? I don't
care. I'll never give you up, Urd."
"What? Of course there isn't another god! This is about me, not
you or any other god. It's my problem."
Troubadour rose to his feet. "Something else, then, is causing you
to turn your heart from me. What is it, Urd? Tell me."
"Haven't you listened to a word I've said? This is about ME!" Urd
sighed and shook her head. "Even now, you aren't concerned about
what I want, are you? You're still doing what _you_ want to do.
Nothing has changed."
"Urd, I only want what's best for us."
"There is no 'us', Troubadour." Urd blinked back a tear. "Not any
more."
"Urd..." Troubadour reached out and began to pull her into an
embrace.
Urd pulled away. The movement dislodged tears which ran down her
cheeks. She wiped the tears with the back of a hand. Damn, I swore
I wasn't going to cry.
"Urd, I can understand you're upset. We can talk about this later.
"No, there isn't going to be a later. Goodbye, Troub." Urd turned
and, springing into the air, raced away.
Finally within the comfort of the home she shared with her sisters
and walked to her room. "Well, whether that idiot realizes it or
not, it's time for me to move on." She stopped in front of the
single table in the room and opened an ornate box. Removing a
bracelet, she looked one last time at the inscription inside the
band, 'To Urd from Troubadour'. She placed the bracelet gently
inside the box and closed the lid. "I only wish I knew how or where
to."
-----
End Chapter 4
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
The biggest surprise for me so far has been how much fun I've had
writing Peorth. She makes a wonderful foil for both Belldandy and
Urd, since she combines the carefree nature of Urd with some of the
insightfulness of Belldandy and isn't afraid to use both to the
consternation of those around her. I've never been much of a Peorth
fan, but she's definitely grown on me.
When did Skuld save Keiichi from Peorth? Well, Skuld's memory of
events may be a little colored, here. Actually she once tried to
Skuld bomb both Peorth and Keiichi when she discovered Peorth waking
Keiichi up in her usual manner. However, the end result was that
Keiichi was able to escape.
For those who have read the Dark Horse translation, Troubadour was
incorrectly described as a cherry tree spirit when he first appeared
in the manga. The second time he appeared in DH he was correctly
described as a plum tree spirit, giving the impression it was 2
different guys when actually it was Troubadour both times.
