Sorry if some of this comes though more than once. I only joined the
list a few days ago and it's been giving me nothing but grief.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Sunnydale High
“Hey, Giles, you here?” called Buffy as she pushed open the doors of
the school library.
Giles, seated at the check-out desk, looked up from the papers he’d
been reading. “Right here, Buffy. Was there something you wanted?”
“Nothing in particular,” began the Slayer. “But I’ve been having a case
of the creppies ever since I heard about the earthquake last night. I
was hoping you could do your patented Giles look-stuff-up thing and see
if anything with tentacles and an attitude is due to pop out of the
Hellmouth this week.”
“I could recheck the Pergamum Codex, but none of my research has turned
up any indication that we’re due for any major supernatural activity,”
said the Englishman as he sipped from his ever-present cup of tea.
“Also, we’ve seen no unusual activity among the local vampire population
for weeks. At this point I’m willing to say that the earthquake was a
totally natural occurrence.”
“So it was just SoCal doing a shimmy shimmy shake and not Pumpkinhead
getting ready to pop out of Hell?”
Giles had no idea what Buffy had just said and decided not to ask.
“Er…no. I’m quite sure it was just an earth tremor.”
“Coolness,” grinned Buffy. “So what’s that you’re reading? The latest
issue of English Librarian Quarterly?”
“That doesn’t arrive until next month,” replied Giles as he moved the
papers to allow Buffy a better look. “I’m just looking over some reports
from the Watchers Council. It’s seems that there was a rash of strange
happenings just after that meteor shower a few weeks ago.”
“Meteor shower? Please don’t tell me I’m going to have to start
worrying about being replaced by a pod person every time I go to sleep.”
Giles momentarily considered a witty rejoinder but quickly decided it
wasn’t worth the effort. “No, no pod people. Just some very odd
phenomenon, most of it centered in Japan for some reason. Skies going
dark in the middle of the day, reports of a colossal wolf running about
Chiba Prefecture, a great ring of light in the sky and the unexplained
destruction of the Makuhari Messe Convention Center.”
“A giant wolf?” said Buffy. “I thought in Japan it was supposed to be
giant lizards and moths. So what’s deal with all this weird?”
“The Japanese government is being rather tight-lipped about the whole
affair, especially the leveling of the convention center,” continued
Giles. “They’re blaming most of this on rare atmospheric occurrences
caused by the meteor shower and mass hysteria. The Japanese branch of
the Watchers has been investigating, but have yet to reach any
conclusions.”
Giles took another sip of tea. “It’s quite a shame about the Makuhari
Messe Convention Center. It was quite a lovely building the last time I
saw it.”
At that Buffy boggled. “You mean you’ve been the Land of the Midnight
Sun? And when were you going to share this with the rest of the class?”
“It’s the land of the Rising Sun,” corrected Giles, automatically. “The
Land of the Midnight Sun is Norway. But yes, I’ve been to Japan before.
I studied there for six months as part of my Watcher’s training. I never
brought it up before because…well, I don’t like to discuss my past.
Plus, it has never been relevant to anything we’ve had to deal with.
Buffy mentally kicked herself. She knew that his past was a sore spot
for her Watcher. “Smooth, girl. Real smooth.”
Giles was again taking a drink of tea. “Marvelous country Japan.
Delightful people and lovely tea. Did you know that in the traditional
Japanese tea ceremony--”
“Uh, I’ve got, like, a avalanche of homework tonight,” interrupted
Buffy. “Thanks for the 411, Giles. See you tomorrow.”
With that, the Slayer beat a hasty retreat from the library.
Once Buffy was gone Giles allowed himself a small grin. “Nothing scares
an American teenager more than being given the chance to learn
something.” Still smiling, the Englishman again reached for his tea.
~*~*~*~*~
A site seen by every tourist to the City of Angels, the Capital Records
Building, is one of the most famous skyscrapers in the Los Angeles
skyline. Sitting on top of this landmark, a laptop in front of her, Mara
was reading.
“Well, there’s no shortage of information about Sunnydale up on the
DEMONet,” mused Mara as her figures danced across the keyboard. “I
wonder what’s been going on there since my last visit.”
For the next ninety minutes the blonde demon sat, reading though all
the information on the vampire-plagued town. Once she was done Mara
stood, stretched and began to pace. “From the looks of things, life in
good ol’ Sunnyhell has gotten a lot more interesting in the last few
years. Due in no small part to the arrival of the Slayer.
Mara stopped her pacing for a moment to look back at her laptop which
currently had a picture of Buffy on the screen. “Hhhmmm, she’s prettier
than the last one. Tough too from the looks of things. She managed to
somehow kill the Judge. Last time he was loose it took an army to stop
him. This one got the Master as well. Shame about that. He was one of
the few vampires I had any respect for. Hell, this little bottle of
peroxide with legs even offed Machida, Eyghon, Moloch and quite few
other big name demons. I’ll give her credit, she’s good.”
“Good, but not perfect,” grinned Mara as she continued to pace. “Under
her watch the Hellmouth has been opened a number times. True, in each of
those instances it was only for a very short time, but that’s not
important. What matters is each time the Hellmouth was opened it poured
more of the power of Hell into this plane. That makes Sunnydale the
perfect place to cast all sorts of fun spells if you want to give them
an extra kick. Ideal for the little party I’ve been thinking of
throwing.”
Mara stopped pacing and pulled a large black book from under her
jacket. On the cover, written in a language that no human could
pronounce, were the words The Big Pop-Up Book of Apocalyptic Magic.
“Mom always did give me the best presents as kid,” chuckled Mara.
But the demon’s laughter was cut short by a sudden urgent beeping from
the laptop. With a growl of annoyance, Mara trotted over to see what was
going on.
She studied the screen for a few seconds and what she saw did not make
the demon happy. “There’s a divine being in Los Angeles?! The Powers
That Be in Heaven couldn’t be onto me already. Damn! This could ruin
every--” Mara stopped as the computer suddenly brought up some more
information.
“I don’t believe it,” muttered the demon. “I know that energy
signature. It’s Urd! But what in the Nine Worlds is she doing in LA?”
Now feeling a bit nervous, Mara again began to pace. “Could the Powers
That Be in Heaven know what I’m planning and have sent Urd to stop me?”
she wondered. Mara then stopped in her tracks and threw her head back in
a deep laugh.
“What was I thinking? Of course the Powers That Be didn’t send Urd. If
they knew what I was planning they’d have sent someone *competent* to
stop me.”
Slowly, a grin began to spread over Mara’s face. “Hhhmmm, now that I
think about it, this could be a stroke of good luck. Ever since they
cost me the Lord of Terror I’ve been itching to get back at those damn
goddesses. And now fortune has dropped one of them right into my lap.
Mara grin keep getting bigger. “Oh yeah,” she sneered. “This is going
to be to perfect. Watch your ass, Urd! Mara’s got herself a plan!”
With a final blast of staccato laughter, Mara and her computer
vanished.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
While separate from Los Angeles proper, the city of Santa Monica is
still forever linked with LA. This small but famous city is a treasure
throve of condos, trendy eateries and one very famous stretch of beach.
Josh Garcia hoped he wasn’t blushing. It wasn’t as if a woman had never
blown him off before. Not that he was bad with women. No, of course not.
He’d had a number of girlfriends over the years and was still on good
terms with most of them. Josh Garcia wasn’t bad with women at all. It’s
just than no one can hit a home run every time they step up to the
plate. At least that’s what he told himself.
“Oh, crash and burn,” chuckled Winston Coleman from his position on a
large beach towel.
“Shut up,” growled Josh as he sat down and looked out at the Pacific
Ocean.
“Touchy.”
“Cork it. I don’t know how I let you talk me into coming to the beach.
I should be back at school going over those earthquake reports with
Prof. Jurgens.”
“All work and no play makes Josh a grouchy boy,” said Winston. “Look
man, if it makes you feel any better I saw that woman shoot down five
other guys before you tried your luck.”
Josh turned his head to have another look at the woman who had rebuffed
him. She was tall, had a long mane of platinum hair, bronze skin, and a
curvaceous body set off in every way but the yellow two piece she. Much
to the envy of just about ever other woman on Santa Monica Beach.
“I guess that one was just out of my league,” Josh.
“You and me both, buddy,” agreed Winston as he stood and brushed some
sand from his bathingsuit. “Come on, there’s a shop nearby that sells
really good icecream and I’m buying.”
“Sounds good to me.”
With that, the two set of in search of solace and sprinkles.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Nearby, laying in a tanning chair only a few feet from the Santa Monica
Pier the object of Josh’s failed advances watched the two wonder off.
“Oh yeah, I’ve still got it,” grinned Urd as she took a drink from the
margarita in her hand. “Not that there was ever any doubt. But it’s nice
to know I can still make men drool.”
Enjoying the sensation of the margarita flowing past her lips, Urd
adjusted her sunglasses and shifted her position in the chair a bit.
“Ah, now this is just what I needed. I’ll have to do something nice for
Keiichi when I get back home. Maybe one of my special love potions for
him and Belldandy. As a surprise, of course …”
Still in a state of utter contentment, Urd reached down beside her
chair and turned on the small portable radio that lay there. Instantly,
a woman’s voice and twangy guitar filled the air.
I'm a bitch
I'm a lover
I'm a child
I'm a mother
I'm a sinner
I'm a saint
I do not feel ashamed
I'm your hell
I'm you dream
I'm nothing in between
You know you wouldn't want it any other way
Urd grinned and raised her margarita into the air in a mock toast.
“Sing it, sister!”
I'm a bitch
I'm a tease
I'm a goddess on my knees
When you're hurt
When you suffer
I'm your angel undercover
I've been numb
I'm revived
Can't say I'm not alive
You know I wouldn't want it ANY other way…
As the guitar began to fade there was but one thought on Urd’s mind.
“It doesn’t get any better than this.”
-SPLASH-
“WHAT THE HELL?!” howled the goddess as she felt something icy splash
on her. As she whipped off her sunglasses at looked down at her torso
Urd saw that she was covered with sticky, slushy red ice.
“A Slurpy?! Who in Hell would have the guts to dump a Slurpy on ME?!”
“That would be me, I’m afraid,” called a voice.
Urd looked up to see Mara, sporting a black bikini, looking down on her
from the railing of the pier. She also noticed the empty Slurpy cup in
the demon’s hand.
“I’m so sorry about that, Urd,” apologized Mara in a sickeningly sweet
voice. “Can you ever forgive me?”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Unaware of the two higher being within their midst the people visiting
the Santa Monica Pier continued on with there lives. A sand sculptor
pondered which color to use next in his latest work, a tourist from
Oklahoma paid ten dollars to have his photo taken next to a cardboard
cut-out of C-3PO, a group of kids poured quarters into the games in an
arcade, someone threw the remains of a hotdog at a street mime, two
German tourists complained about how hot it was. In short, just another
day in paradise.
Urd, however, was to pissed to notice any of that. A bit of magic had
cleared the remains of the Slurpy from her body, but cleaning up had
done nothing to improve the goddess’s mood. “Bad enough Mara makes my
life at home miserable. Now she has to ruin my vacation. This time she’s
gone too far!”
At this range Urd had no trouble sensing Mara’s energy. Within moments
she found her quarry at the very end of the pier, gazing out over the
Pacific.
“Sorry about the Slurpy, Urd,’ cooed the demon as she turned to face
the goddess. “You know me and my butter fingers.”
“Cut the crap, Mara!” snapped Urd. “What the hell are you doing here?!”
“You mean you’re not glad to see me?” asked Mara while faking hurt.
“You wound me.”
“I’ll do a lot more then wound you if you don’t knock it off!”
“Fine, fine,” sighed Mara. “Truth is I’m here for the same reason you
probably are. Just a little R&R. I have to say, I think I like this
city. It’s much easier to get a tan here then it is back on the Shore of
Corpses back in Niflheim.”
“Mara, just how dumb do you think I am?” muttered Urd. “You don’t
really expect me to believe you’re not coming up with some plan to get
back at us, especially me, for what happened with the Lord of Terror, do
you?”
The blonde demon rolled her eyes. “Of course, I’m planning my revenge
on you damn goddess and your little pet mortal. What kind of demon would
I be if I wasn’t? It’s just that I’ve got bigger fish to fry right now.”
“Oh? And what kind of fish what that be?’
“Sorry, Urd baby, but that’s my secret for now,” grinned the demon.
“But let’s just say thing are starting to look real sunny for ol’ Mara.”
With a final grin and burst of laughter the demon vanished leaving only
the slight smell of brimstone behind.
“Dammit,” cursed Urd as she turned to look out at the sea. “I know that
smile. Mara only smiles like that when she’s up to something REALLY
nasty. But what am I going to do about it?”
The goddess stood there for a long time, gazing out at the Pacific
Ocean and thinking. Eventually, she reached a conclusion.
“I need a drink.”
With that, Urd also vanished.
~*~*~*~*~*~
The disappearance of the demon and the goddess went totally unnoticed
by everyone one the pier. Everyone but two young men who were far more
than they seemed.
“Well, now isn’t this interesting?” commented Wally as munched on a
corndog.
“That’s hardly the word I’d use,” said Zack after taking a drink from
his can of Sprite. “Thanks to that damn Mara, Urd and her sisters are
sure to stick there noses into this. The last thing we want is for the
three Norns to know what we’re planning. This could ruin everything the
boss has been planning for.”
“You’re so negative,” sighed Wally. “The boss has been planning this
for ages. And it’s going to take a lot more than the Norns and a Slayer
to stop the plan.”
“My, aren’t we confident?”
“Yes, I’m confident! The boss hasn’t steered us wrong yet. Besides,
once the plans succeeds Mara and the Norns will be easily destroyed. The
Slayer even easier. I’m telling you, the boss’s plan can’t fail.”
Zack was silent for a long moment. “I suppose you’re right. After
everything the boss has been though, the interference of three
demi-goddess and one Slayer can’t count for much. Still, we’d better let
the boss know about this. Who knows? Maybe this little wrinkle can be
turned to our advantage.”
Wally simply nodded. The pair’s eyes again glowed red and they too
vanished.