Chapter 2

Who am I?

Urd and Skuld had been hours into their work, as was Belldandy, trying to keep things running smoothly as the Help line Goddesses transported in and out of the Office. Many returned with complaints about their transport medium not working at all and leaving them with no immediate means of returning at all. Hard as they worked it seemed that the anomaly was a type of system worm eating away at the fabric of the Ygdrassil service line between itself and the Earth. Urd and Skuld had the worm contained and eliminated once, only to find that the worm had already replicated itself and infiltrated the system as soon as the other one was abolished.

Bell: " Urd, Skuld, we have to do something soon or I'll be forced to contain it from inside the system itself."
Urd: " Please Bell just a few more minutes. I think I have an idea. If I can force the worm to replicate, then mail the entire file to earth. Could you go there and eliminate it? I mean it's the only way I see we can destroy this thing without having to isolate it by cutting earth off from the system temporarily. "

Bell: "Well,"

Belldandy thought for a moment. It had been quite some time since she had been to earth. It made her feel, uneasy. Earth used to be the homeland of her beloved, and a place she once enjoyed going to before to absorb the sights and sounds of the mortals. It intrigued her very much at one time. But now it only brought back painful memories.

Urd: " BELLDANDY! Will you do it! WE don't have much time Please!"

Belldandy startled by Urd's shout, made her snap out of her memory trance.

Bell: " Yes Urd, I..I'll do it!"

Belldandy rushed over to the Transporting area, as Urd charged up the program to send her along with the worm file that was affecting the Ygdrassil's command structure.

Bell: " OK Urd I'm Ready!"

Urd: " Ok Bell. Just open the file on the computer I'm sending you to, once it's open press the Escape- Control and F5 key and the containment program will abolish the worm permanently ok? "

Bell: " Got it! I'm ready go ahead"

Urd initiated the transport of Belldandy to just inside a closed Best Buy store in the Southeast US. Figuring that the store would likely have a few computers booted up at night so that Bell could easily load the worm and execute the termination program before anything else terrible went wrong.

At least that was the plan.

Once Belldandy got inside the store Urd could see her and directed her to the Computer that she sent the worm file to. It was easily found since the screen displayed the Ygdrassil's Mainframe screen saver as she approached it.

Belldandy quickly opened the worm and waited. Once the file was installed she waited for Urd's command to eradicate the worm from earth.

Bell: "Hurry up URD! The worm file is infecting all the store computers too!"

Urd: " I know Bell, that's what I want, one more second…"

Bell: "Hurry!"

Urd: " Do it now Bell !"

Belldandy pressed the Escape-Control and F5 Key just as Urd commanded it and the worm slowly began to mutate into a harmless virus file that was quickly contained and eliminated from every computer that was infected, including the Ygdrassil.

Urd: " Bell, that was close huh?"

Bell: " You bet, I was starting to worry if it would actually work."
Urd: " What? No more faith in me than that?"

Bell: "No I never questioned you're ability Urd."

Urd: " Oh, well. Okay. You can come back anytime you're ready Bell."

Bell: " Ok be there in a sec then"

Belldandy looked around in the empty store, took a deep breath of air. It was sweet with pollen and sniff-sniff dogwood tree blossoms. She paused as she took in the sweet smell and returned to the women's bathroom to return to the Ygdrassil from the mirror.

Just as she drifted to touch the mirror, her fingers slowly penetrated the mirror, she suddenly felt strange. The mirror shocked her hand lightly but then it suddenly felt as if something were biting her hand and her arm she quickly tried to recoil from the mirror but it held her fast in it's grip, not letting her further in but not letting her go.

Back at the Debugging room alarms rang loudly as the worm that was just eliminated, came back in full force. Urd and Skuld frantically trying to stop the invasion of the violent file destroying incarnate as it rapidly spread to parts of the mainframe that were the most vulnerable.

Urd: " DAMMIT were the Hell did it come from! Belldandy! Are you there! BELLDANDY!"

Skuld: " Urd! WE HAVE TO CONTAIN IT NOW! IT'S almost at the MAIN KERNEL!"

Urd: " Alright! Disconnecting all throughputs to the OS, preparing to disconnect from the prime network, releasing all system countermeasures! OH KAMI SAMA! Where are you Belldandy!"

Skuld: " Main system OS disconnect complete! Urd! I have it contained now, we have to…!"
Urd: " I know, i..i know"

Urd releases the lock on the main panel below the sign marked "Media disconnect"

As she unlocks it a small panel appears and she looks to Skuld.

Urd: "I .i have no choice Skuld.."

Skuld: " I know Urd. I..it's ok. We'll figure something out ok?"

Urd closed her eyes as she pressed the large red button. The alarms stopped sounding; the worm was contained and eliminated. But what they feared the most happened.

Meanwhile back in the bathroom of the Best Buy, Belldandy was screaming with pain as the worm channeled its way from her body to the Ygdrassil. Somehow the worm had invaded her personal protocol and affixed itself to her signature once she was transported to where she is right now.

As her fingers penetrated the mirror as she tried to transport back, the worm released itself in the only known area of the Ygdrassil's network that was the least protected. But as the Media Disconnect was activated Belldandy lost the ability to transport, and the physical properties of the mirror became solid again, clamping down on her hand as the energy that was released slammed her back from the mirror, causing it to shatter around her. She was literally thrown back from the mirror like a rag doll into the door of a toilet stall as the mirror disintegrated around her, causing minor cuts to her hands and arms, and knocking her unconscious to the floor of the bathroom, where she remained for the next few hours.

Belldandy woke in a stupor a few hours later, her head throbbing in pain, her hands stinging with tiny cuts, and a large bump on the back of her head. She slowly gained her composure, stood up and walked slowly to the shattered mirror.

Bell: " Oh my. How did this happen?" "Ouch! My fingers. Why, why are they bleeding so?" "Where.. Where am I?"

Bell slowly walked out to the short aisle just outside the bathrooms.

Bell: "Umm.. Hello? Is anyone there? Hello?"

No one answered her call it was still very late, only 2:45 am earth time, so the store was still silent with no movement.

Bell: " Why am I here. I don't understand. And. Who. Who am I ?"

Bell walked slowly to the closest seat and sat down and began to sob.

Bell: "I don't understand what's going on. who am I ? Why am I here? Someone please help me!"

She rose again, quickly at first. Almost falling to the floor, from the dizziness that set in on her as her head throbbed away, relentlessly. She noticed the clothing she had on from a reflection off of the counter across from her.

Bell: " My what extraordinary clothing I have on, why would I have clothing such as this on? O…oh. My here's a card? Belldandy.. hmm. Goddess 1st Class 2nd category unlimited?" Am I .. I Belldandy? It's such a pretty name. But, why only one name? Why not a last name? And, a Goddess 1st class? What is that? Do I have these as a.. joke or something? I just don't get any of this!"

Belldandy stood and quickly moved across the storefront toward the doors when the alarm began to go off and the indoor emergency lights came on. She was startled senseless, from the loud blaring of the horns and sirens and she slumped down covered her ears and began to cry. Begging the noise to stop.

Bell: " If I'm Belldandy, what's my last name? I don't understand anything! My head is hurting soo bad. I feel so weak I can't take this anymore. Maybe someone will come and help me soon. I just want to be where I'm supposed to be! But I don't know where that IS!"

Belldandy cried uncontrollably as the sirens blared and the lights flashed. She sobbed so hard she once again blacked out into nothingness, as the three police cars rolled up to the storefront and jumped out with their flashlights.

T.B.C.

Chapter 3

Hospital Blues