Onegai, Megami-Sama!

Part 3-2: Uh-oh.

For just a moment, Mizuho forgot to breathe. The thought of the Galaxy Federation coming to take her back, of losing everything she'd fought so hard to regain, of being pulled away from Kei. . . . She fell to her knees in shock, managing to catch herself on the table before she completely collapsed.

Kei was at her side in a second, his arm around her shoulders. She leaned against him, and they both looked across the table at Maho. "What do you mean," he said, "they're sending someone to get Mizuho back?"

"Just what I said, idiot,"Maho said, and Mizuho looked up at her. She looked worried, though Mizuho could tell she was trying to hide it. "Mother said they're sending some agent after her, some guy."

Mizuho reached across the table and grabbed the box of pocky. Once she'd gotten halfway through one of the candy sticks, she took a deep breath. She raised her head and looked around, glad to see that everyone was still here. "Did Mother say who it is?" Mizuho asked, trying to regain her composure.

"All she got was his number." Maho looked around, like she was noticing everyone else for the first time, and she blinked at Matagu. "Hey, I remember you," she said. "You're the one who--"

"You're Mizuho's sister?" Matagu interrupted, peering at Maho curiously. He looked down at Kei. "So she's not your cousin?"

Kei managed a weak chuckle. "That's a long story," he said.

"You do seem to have a lot of those," Peorth said, sounding rather amused.

"Everyone, please," Belldandy said, gently scooting past the gathered friends and heading toward the kitchen, "sit down. I'll put on some tea, and we can talk about this."

After a few minutes of shuffling, some cramped seating around the table, and a quick search for more teacups, the three goddesses, two half-aliens, and three humans managed to get the whole story out. Mizuho shared what she'd done after Kei had gone into a withdrawal that he'd been unable to awaken from, and how that had gotten her in trouble with the Galaxy Federation. Using the Federation's technology on the people she was supposed to be observing would have cost her license, among other things, and she would have been placed on remedial. Mizuho did her best to keep her voice from shaking as she told the story; it was something she'd wanted to put far, far behind her. She continued, telling of how she had to sneak back to Earth, all with the hope that Kei would remember her. Mizuho held Kei's hand as she told the whole story, thankful for his warmth and doing what she could to draw some strength from him.

"So after all this time," Urd said when the story was finished, "this Federation is finally sending someone after you?"

"I don't know how they found out where I was," Mizuho said, pulling out another stick of pocky. "I thought I would be safe here."

"There was something else," Maho said, "something about weird energy readings from Marie. That's why they looked. Some were from a few weeks ago, and one was from this morning."

"From Marie?" Mizuho echoed, then looked at Kei, who shook his head. "I don't know what that could have been, I've tried not to use Marie very often."

"We used it this morning, but that was just to get here," Kei said.

"Marie's that doll-thingy that you use to teleport, right?" Keiichi asked, and frowned when Mizuho and Kei nodded. "If you guys used it to get here this morning, maybe they picked up on that."

"But I've used Marie before, and nothing happened," Mizuho said, frowning. "Why did they find out now?"

"Wait a sec," Urd said, shifting her glance all around the table. "Kid, you said that they picked up something this morning, and that's why there's an agent after Mizuho?"

Maho grumbled at Urd, but nodded.

"So this morning, there were strange energy readings, same thing as a few weeks ago," Urd continued. She gave Belldandy a wry smile. "Say, Bell, you remember anything strange happening a few weeks ago?"

"Oh, that was--" Belldandy paused, her eyes wide. She put her hand to her mouth. "Oh, no," she said. "That was when everything happened with Mara, and we all had to go to where you live," she said, looking to Kei and Mizuho and Matagu. "We used Marie to get there, didn't we?"

"And to get to Okinawa after, and to get everyone back home," Kei said, nodding. He looked over at Mizuho. "We didn't take Peorth anywhere with Marie after that, right? Not until this morning."

Mizuho nodded, and lowered her head as she started to feel very worried. This couldn't be happening, not now. Everything had been going so well, and she'd thought that she wouldn't have to worry about the Galaxy Federation ever again.

"So that's it," Urd said, starting to frown. "Whenever you brought one of us along with Marie, they picked up on it." She actually chuckled, drawing glares and upset looks from around the table. "They must have really gotten something when that crystal Mara had went through," she said, giving a wry smile.

"Does this mean we can blame the demoness?" Peorth asked, looking like she was trying to seem innocent.

"Maybe," Keiichi said with a small chuckle, "but that doesn't really help us. Do you know what the agents do?" he asked, looking at Mizuho.

Mizuho looked down at the table, frowning. She still held Kei's hand. "It's hard to say, they're sent out for many different things," she said. "But they're trained to be able to do almost anything. The Galaxy Federation always gives the agents the newest technology, so that they can do their jobs better." She raised her eyes, looking around at everyone. "If there's an agent after me, I should leave. I don't want to get anyone else into this."

"Oneesan!" Maho yelled, pounding her fists on the table. "You can't just run away! Fight him, send him back with all his stuff broken!"

"The kid's got a point," Urd said, earning another glare from Maho. "If he's going to come for you, it'd be better if you're here with all of us. I'm sure we can handle whatever this Federation can throw at us."

"Of course," Belldandy said with a nod, giving Mizuho a smile. "And we wouldn't leave you alone for this. When Skuld gets back, we'll have her see what she can do to keep someone from getting in. We'll make you safe here."

Mizuho looked around the table, seeing her friends nod in agreement. "Thank you," she said, and managed to smile.

Agent #42, his eyes already well-adjusted to nighttime driving, cruised down the road that led toward the main entrance of Nekomi.

The long drive had given him plenty of time to reflect, and he now understood what had been left out of his training. Upon his successful return, he would have to inform his superiors of the importance of having agents study the culture of the countries they visited, the better to understand their destination and be able to move more effectively. Had he known of the importance young females of Japan placed on their 'movie stars' and other 'idols,' he'd have made better choices when designing his appearance.

But, such a lapse in information was behind him now. He had arrived at his destination, and would now begin the hunt. First for the source of the strange energy, then for Kazami. Certainly, nothing else on this uncultured planet would stand in his way.

It wasn't until he pulled into one of the main parking lots that Agent #42 realized that, due to the late hour, most of this institution's students would not be either in class nor studying. While he was familiar with the concept of a 'weekend,' he had not been informed of the curious cultural ways of the students at this university.

Also, despite his lack of information about this institution's curriculums, he was certain that running around carrying torches and wearing skirts made out of some kind of plant matter was not part of any of them.

Keeping a safe distance, Agent #42 tapped the side of his helmet's visor, and quietly spoke a voice command. A small screen showed him a magnified view of the bizarre ceremony. According to the analysis, the ritual involved consumption of various intoxicants and the singing of songs somehow related to the social gathering. Curious, but ultimately less than helpful.

Agent #42 turned his back on the strange ceremony, and removed his helmet. "Mata!"

There was the standard white wavering to the air, and the green-clad navigation system appeared, sitting next to him on the bike. "MYAH!"

"Perform a search," Agent #42 said, his voice still soft yet strong. "See if you can locate the energy anywhere within fifty miles."

Mata's flat eyes squinted, then rolled back and forth as the system calculated. A moment later, its eyes opened wide. Mata pointed. "MYAH? MYAH!"

"Really." Agent #42 let out a satisfied laugh. "That close? Excellent."

"MYAH. . . . MYAH."

Agent #42's eyes widened. It wasn't often that he was surprised, but this was a rare exception. "Kazami is near the energy? You're sure?"

"MYAH."

"Ah, so a Marie unit was used near that location earlier today. Very good. Dismissed!" He pulled his helmet back on as the navigation system disappeared, and started his vehicle's engine again.

Agent #42 grinned broadly beneath his helmet. His mission would soon be complete. His quarries were nearby, closer than he'd imagined. He would not fail.

When night came and it was time for everyone to sleep, Matagu found himself concerned for more than a few reasons. He lay on the futon in the spare room, trying to think. The idea that the Galaxy Federation - whatever that was, he wasn't sure other than that they were after Mizuho - had sent someone to get Mizuho was kind of scary. While he'd gotten used to the idea of her being half-alien, the thought of full-aliens coming after her was just plain weird. Sure, there had been a time when he'd thought about meeting an alien, but. . . .

Matagu suddenly realized that he hadn't even thought about that since Peorth showed up. He shook his head, trying to clear it.

And then there was everything with Peorth, both her energy being tracked and that big guy in the motor club, Tamiya. Matagu didn't know what to think about the energy thing; Mizuho wasn't sure how the Marie thingy worked and didn't know what taking a goddess from one place to another would do. He had to admit that he wasn't really worried about her. Even if someone from another planet came after her, she was a goddess, and he didn't think there was much anyone could do against that.

Of course, that left the other problem.

Matagu stared up at the ceiling, trying not to start counting the ceiling tiles again. Peorth would be back from her bath soon. He'd had to practically beg off of taking one with her, saying that he didn't want to do that at someone else's house. Naturally, she'd pouted, but Matagu could be stubborn when he wanted to be. Not that it was easy.

He sighed. None of this was really easy, but he could let the others worry about the thing with the agent. Thinking about Peorth, about Tamiya following her around like some puppy and her . . . her acting like she was with him.

Matagu started to frown. That, he thought, was the root of it. He'd never had a girlfriend before Peorth, so he'd never had to deal with meeting an ex, or even someone who'd liked her. Maybe it'd be easier if she wasn't so flighty about it. Sure, she obviously didn't think it was important, or else she would have said something. And it wasn't like he had to worry about losing her; he'd made his wish and he didn't want it to change. From everything Peorth said and did, he felt she didn't want to either. So why was he even worried about this?

Because he was, dammit. And because he really didn't like the idea of Peorth with some muscled giant. And because it was bad enough that half the guys in their school looked at her like they wanted to jump her. Sure, the other half of the guys looked at Mizuho like that, but still. She was his girlfriend. She was supposed to only be with him. She was-

"Matagu-kun. . . ."

She was standing in the doorway wearing only a towel.

Despite having similar things happen nearly every day for the past month, Matagu froze, and didn't regain movement until Peorth had closed the door, turned out the light, and crawled under the futon blanket next to him. Once his brain unlocked, he still didn't move, but kept looking up at the ceiling.

"What's wrong, cheri?" Peorth asked after they'd lay there quietly for a moment. "You've said hardly a word to me since we returned from Nekomi." She leaned close, resting her head on his chest. "Could something be troubling you so much that you can't say it?"

Matagu tried very, very hard to continue being able to think despite her warmth and closeness. He took a deep breath, and asked, "What happened with you and Tamiya?"

Peorth raised her head, and Matagu glanced at her in the dim light. He could see the amusement in her eyes. She laughed, quietly but with feeling. "You've nothing to worry about, dear boy. As I said, he fell rather hard for me when I was last here. Such things can't be helped."

"So what happened?" Matagu pressed. He looked back at the ceiling.

Peorth sighed, and drummed her fingers on his chest. "If you must know, we simply toured the campus, much like we did today," Peorth said. "He showed me all of Nekomi, all the classes and clubhouses and hidey-holes, that's all." She paused, and though he wasn't looking at her, Matagu was sure that she was smirking. "If you wish, we could sneak off somewhere during the race tomorrow. I'm sure we wouldn't be missed, cheri."

Matagu grumbled. "I don't think Tamiya would let you out of his sight once we're there," he muttered. "If we disappear, he'd probably go looking for you."

"Matagu-kun," Peorth said, her voice firmer. She sat up, pushing the blanket back. In the dim light, Matagu saw her holding up one hand, and a rose that glowed with a hazy red light appeared, floating above her palm. He looked up at her, and his breath caught in his throat.

"I am a goddess," Peorth said softly, her face taking on an otherworldly glow in the rose's light, "and I cannot help how mortals react to me. Tamiya was not the first, and he will not be the last. It's simply the way things are.

"But you've nothing to worry about, dear boy. A mortal cannot make a goddess do what she does not want to do, save perhaps by a wish, and the Almighty would not grant a wish to one who would take advantage of a goddess. I granted your wish because I wanted to, you know this. And that has not changed." She leaned closer, and whispered, "You understand, oui?"

Matagu managed to pull his eyes away from her. "Have you ever granted my wish for someone else?"

"Come now, Matagu-kun, you're being ridiculous," Peorth said with a small laugh. "Really, how could I have done the same for another?"

"You're a goddess," Matagu said with a small shrug. "How old are you?"

"Don't you know it's impolite to ask any woman her age?" Peorth waved her hand, and the glowing rose faded away. She lay her head on Matagu's chest again. "And no, I've never granted the same wish as yours for another. Many mortals might have thought so, but it was not their heart's desire."

"So . . . what did they desire?" Matagu asked, not entirely sure why.

"I'm not revealing others' wishes," Peorth said, the firmness back in her voice. "Please, Matagu-kun, set it aside." She reached down and gently took his hand in hers. "I'm here for you because I wish to be. I would hope that is enough." She sighed, and pulled the cover back over them. "Almighty help me, I'm starting to sound like Belldandy."

Matagu lay there, considering, feeling Peorth's warmth next to him and wondering if he was just thinking too hard. The goddess did have a point. How much could the past really matter, if she was here for him now? Besides, it wasn't as though anything had happened between her and Tamiya, and he didn't have to worry.

And some very small part of him, a part that he didn't really want to admit having, kind of liked having a girlfriend that made other guys jealous. He remembered the first day that Peorth had shown up at school, and how she'd kissed him in front of everyone else. She'd pretty much proclaimed that she was his then and there. The closest thing he'd done to protesting was to blush, and that didn't even count. He'd never doubted her back at his high school, so why'd he started now? Did he really have a reason to?

Matagu sighed, then pulled the cover off of himself slowly wormed his way out from under Peorth, letting go of her hand with some regret. He didn't think he'd get away unnoticed, and he was right - she started to sit up before he even reached the door.

"Matagu-kun?" she asked quietly. "Why are you leaving, cheri?"

Matagu looked away, knowing that he didn't have reason to be embarrassed but feeling it anyway. "I have to use the bathroom."

Agent #42 nearly passed the side road to the temple, and only his superior maneuvering abilities and his vehicle's technology kept him from skidding off of the road.

He put the vehicle on its silent running mode as he rode, keeping alert for anyone who might be around. While his information had said that most people on this planet slept when the sky was dark, his recent visit to Nekomi had shown him that such was not always the case. However, he theorized that Kazami had been on this planet long enough to have adapted to its ways, and so she would likely be asleep. It would suffice.

As for the source of the strange energy, Agent #42 had to admit that he wasn't sure about it. If the source was a machine of some kind, as Engineering was theorizing it was, then it would not be a problem, as long as the machine was able to be shut down. Transporting it to his ship would be a small matter, and it would alert his superiors to his victory.

If the source was a person or a similar entity, then he had the weapon to neutralize them. His success was assured.

The road led to a wooden building. Sensors in Agent #42's helmet registered the construction as a temple, a place of some kind of worship. He rolled his vehicle to a stop, and frowned. While he had received information about the various types of religions and ceremonies that the people of this country involved themselves in, he was fairly certain that very few would choose to actually live in their place of worship unless they had truly dedicated their lives to it.

Kazami must have been quite desperate to secret herself among the followers of one of this planet's strange religions, Agent #42 reflected. Perhaps being on this planet for so long had affected her mind. Not that it mattered; his orders were to return her unharmed. If she was mentally unstable, then it would likely be easier to bring her in. It might make the return trip less enjoyable, but he would endure.

Agent #42 left his helmet with the vehicle, and activated a series of commands in his clothing, which rendered him nearly invisible. It was a regrettable but necessary precaution; if the simple people of this planet stopped him before he could accomplish his goals, then he would hardly be able to retain his place as one of the Galaxy Federation's top agents. He was near to his goal; nothing could get in his way now.

It took him a full ten minutes of reconnaissance on the temple before he was able to find a door.

Cursing the bizarre thin paper-and-wood construction of the primitive building that made the doors look exactly like the walls, Agent #42 slipped into a narrow hallway and slid the door shut behind him without a sound. The stealth field in his clothing kept his footsteps silent, and so he made his way down the hallway, staying close to the walls. There were ambient sounds coming from up ahead, registering as those of sleeping individuals. Agent #42 smiled. He had been right.

Before he had a chance to fully congratulate himself, Agent #42 heard approaching footsteps. He pressed himself against the thin wall, and waited. A moment later, an earthling male walked around the corner. Agent #42 guessed him to be of middle-to-late adolescence, in reasonably good health, and weary, judging by the expression on his face. The young male walked past Agent #42 without a glance in his direction. Once the small chance of being discovered was past, Agent #42 continued down the hall.

His clothing registered no further approaching sounds, so when he reached a corner, Agent #42 opened a small channel to Mata. "Direction and distance to the source of the unusual energy, Mata," he whispered. Locating the energy would likely be the less challenging task, so he would take care of it first. "It's a priority one."

"MYAH," the navigation system said, sounding oddly loud in the quiet hallway.

Agent #42 winced. While he'd always believed that a competent individual should never have reason to blame his tools, he would have to keep this communication short. He would also have to ensure that his next navigation system understood the purpose and methods of stealth.

A moment later, the reading from Mata popped up. Agent #42 smirked, and would have laughed aloud if he were anywhere else. His first quarry was near. "Thank you, Mata," he whispered. "Dismissed."

"MYAH!"

Agent #42 sighed.

He continued moving silently down the hallway, edging past more of the strangely thin walls. He passed several more doors, now able to recognize them for what they were. Surely, his quick learning abilities would enable him to accomplish this mission with all speed. One of the doors had a sign on it, labeled 'Skuld Labs.' He paused outside that one. There was an energy reading coming from inside it, not the same as what he was looking for but quite similar. Perhaps he would examine it after acquiring his quarry.

Finally, after moving past another door, Agent #42 arrived within a few steps of the place where the energy reading was coming from. Only another door stood between him and his quarry. Agent #42 wasted no time. Drawing the weapon that Engineering had made for him, he slid the door open without a sound, and peered in with his enhanced night-vision.

For the second time since arriving on this backward planet, Agent #42 found himself stunned. This time, it was not due to fear.

The source of the energy was a woman. No, more than a woman, to call her only that could not do her justice. There was a way about her, an aura of beauty that would rend most men into helpless, drooling sods, willing to obey her every command in the mere hope that she would look upon them favorably.

However, Agent #42 was not most men. Smiling at the thought of making the return trip with both this being and Kazami in his ship, he stepped silently into the small room, holding the weapon before him as it charged.

The vision of loveliness did not move. Agent #42 activated the weapon.