Useless Tenchi
Anime Roleplay => Our Oh My Goddess Universe => Topic started by: paladin313 on August 11, 2012, 11:41:38 AM
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Here is where we continue from the old Ayeka's Bliss site.
Mod edit:
http://www.mediafire.com/?bgbhdwrm1at9hsc (http://www.mediafire.com/?bgbhdwrm1at9hsc)
(File to past rp)
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(continuing...)
Ian headed for the house ready for class and breakfast.
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Z also went inside to get ready.
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Malek checked his phone when he heard it made the noise that he received a message.
When he checked it, he smiled.
'Gonna have to check on Deberk to make sure he isn't breaking any rules or laws.' Malek thought.
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The team was all there, and Ian wished he could be there to watch the 500 mile test.
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"ready for class Ian?" asked Z walking up.
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"Yeah...I just wish I could be there to watch the 500 mile test."
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"Maybe you could offer a prayer for good fortune like belldandy does." Z suggested.
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"Uh...if that's magic, I haven't learned that one yet."
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"well we can ask Belldandy if you want."
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"I think she would do so already, considering who's driving."
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"and who's forcing him to drive."
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"He kinda chose to drive, or that is, I think it defaulted to him."
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"didn't those two muscleheads graduate already?"
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"I think they're working to get their masters degree or something." Urd said.
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"Yeah," said Keiichi, "Though I think they only did it to stay connected to the Auto Club, though Bell and I are graduated ourselves. Personally, I don't think they trusted anyone else."
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"Well, good luck K1," said Z
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"Hey, I'm actually enjoying it," he said, "But, just doing 500 miles is going to be a bit dull. What I need is actual time against a few other stock cars to get the feel for that."
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"Why not aks Skuld to build some racing drones to race against?"
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"Would that be safe," asked Keiichi knowingly.
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"good point," said Z, "I could place you in an illusion of racing, but that would have to wait."
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"Of course it'd be safe, just leave it to me." said Skuld.
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"That's what I'm afraid of..." he said, "Knowing you, you'll have them ready for today."
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"Heh heh, don't worry. They're ready." she said as she pulled out a giant RC remote control.
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Everyone just stared at her, as Belldandy said, "Um...that is...very...um...clever of you..."
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"Don'cha have a camera on the drone so that you can see from its POV?" Urd asked.
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"Yeah, right here." she said, tapping on the RC remote control. There was a screen in the middle linked up to a camera on the front of the car.
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"I think I'm going to regret this."
(The scenes can take place at the track this time.)
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(what do you mean?)
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(Unless something interesting happens at class, they don't have much to do.)
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(ah)
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(Stepping out for a bit. BBL.)
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(So wait, they're at the track right now?)
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(Not yet, I was saying that the track should be the area of attention, though we could run both that and classes together.)
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(So, okay. Where is everyone right now?)
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(The temple, getting breakfast and getting ready to go, Tamiya and the crew with Chihiro are at the track waiting.)
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(kk, and are they doing anything tomorrow?)
There was also a variety of other buttons on the RC remote too. Some of them with images on them. A parachute, spilled oil, an explosion, rockets.
"This will put your racing skills to the test! You can count on it!" she beamed.
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"Skuld, this is Nascar not Mario Cart" said Z
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(Working on that one...)
"I just want to test how I do against that style of racing...it is different than motorcycles, rally racing, or open-wheeled racers.
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(I listed the tournament as 'a few days' [If I recall correctly] how about we make that tomorrow?)
"So, no rocket boost?"
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"Um...I don't think the NASCAR officials would allow that on the circuit."
(Sure.)
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"No oil slick? Parachutes? Self-destruct?"
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"you want us to win, right?" said Z
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"No, no, and no..."
Ian pulled out his laptop and pulled up some NASCAR racing on line for her to see.
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"Ehh, that's it? So can I keep the modifications on or do I have to remove them?"
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"One, you have to lose them, and two, did you put any on the car?"
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"No, just the drones."
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"Well, there is one thing," said K1, "Maybe a crash or two with the drones so we can practice avoiding that, and we need a pace car as well."
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"A pace car?"
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"Yes," said Keiichi, "When we start, all the cars are two by two, and a car is in front of them at a lower speed keeping them in line. Then, just before the green flag, the pace car ducks into the pits, and the race is on. If there is a wreck, the cars can continue to race until they come back to the start finish line, and then line up two by two behind the pace car under a yellow flag and stays there until the hazards are gone. Also, you have to put pit stops in for the drones. Nothing has to change, but just have them in there for the average times expected for a pit."
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"Okay." she nodded.
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"That way, we can simulate a race."
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"Alright, so you need it done by afternoon right?'
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"As soon as you can."
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"Okay, well I'm getting to work. I want to tweak around with it a bit before letting you race against it."
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"One, or several?"
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"Several." she said before leaving.
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"Well, that will keep her out of our hair for a while," Whispered Kei.
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Malek arrived at the arcade.
'Probably should see Hild before I go find out what Deberk is doing...' Malek thought.
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Chibi Hild was pouring over paperwork, surprised such an endeavor would take so much effort.
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Malek walked in and said, "How goes everything, Hild?"
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(I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOO sorry...alerts have not been working!) :-[
"I though I had a lot of paperwork!"
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(It's alright.)
"Just letting you know, Z's doing well and I'll be helping him learn a few variations on the Shield spell." Malek said, with a slighltly annoyed look on his brow.
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"Something wrong?"
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"From what I've learned, Deberk is doing something in the basement of the arcade, that is getting us an excessive amount of energy." Malek said. "Thing is, there's no deal associated with it."
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She raised an eyebrow, and then went to investigate.
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In the basement, Deberk was with a small group.
There was a dark elf that could pass as a twin of Urd. There was also three gremlins and a troll.
All of the group were using laptops that were hooked up to a large computer tower.
Deberk noticed Chibi-Hild and said, "Hello, Lady Hild."
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"What are you doing!"
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"Well, since it seems like so many people put so much energy and emotion in making all sorts of comments on the internet, I put together a group to collect some of the enrgy that's just flouting around online." Deberk said.
"...You do realize you're collecting a vast amount of energy that's associated with hateful, stupid comments that's posted all over the internet?" Malek said from the doorway.
"Yes, so in an odd way, we have a theoretical infinite supply of energy." Deberk said.
"That's all well and good, but shut your operation down." Malek said. "however, in an emergency, this might very well be the first thing we turn to for help."
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"What do we do with what we have?"
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(how am I supposed to have Deberk answer? I'm a bit stumped.)
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(You're the one that came up with this idea, and then told him to stop.)
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Before Deberk could say anything, Malek spoke up.
"Deberk, Think about it from Heaven's perspective. Imagine you just discovered that a demon has found out a way to gain far more energy then you or anyone else expected to." Malek said.
"But I just wanted to help..." Deberk said.
"But you found a way that gives strength to the gods that want to re-start the wars between gods and demons." Malek said.
"how so?" Deberk asked.
"When the enemy grows more powerful faster then one expected them to, it is a bit of a good idea to attack before the enemy becomes far too powerful." Malek said.
"But all I was doing was giving us another way to get energy..." Deberk said.
"We're in a bit of a cold war with Asgard." Malek said. "Your method, while it doesn't screw anyone over, threatens to destroy whatever peace we have."
Deberk became depressed.
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"You make sense," she said, "Regardless, he has gathered extra energy we must then disperse somehow."
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"Doubt we we could give it to Asgard as a sign of good will." Malek muttered. He then chuckled a bit as he said, "Imagine how that conversation would go. 'Hey, here's some energy that was with some hateful internet comments!'"
The dark elf then said, "Maybe you could use the energy to fuel a fireworks spell during the next meeting? There should be extra energy for one of the energy-intensive castings."
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"To what end: scare the wits out of them?"
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The dark elf shrugged.
"That's only if you cast a grande fireworks spell too close to the meeting and are dealing with the faint-hearted. As for what end, perhaps claim you felt like doing something flashy and extravagant for the meeting as a reason for the fireworks spell," The dark elf said. "After all, doesn't it take like a few months to usually gather the energy for a Grande fireworks spell? We have enough extra energy for a spectacular casting."
Malek silently chuckled as he shook his head.
'As if Hild needs any help at being showy and flashy...' Malek thought.
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"Well, in two days is the doublet merging. Maybe then..."
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"Well, Throwing a party to celebrate the fact that Z will protected by Doublet would be a bit expected of you, Lady Hild." Malek said.
Malek then faced Deberk's group.
"Pack up the device you made. I'll assist you in giving it and any information about it to the Energy Collection Division." Malek said.
"We're not in trouble, are we?" A gremlin asked, a bit nervously.
"You might have come close to getting into trouble, but you've certainly have made a device that we could very well be using in the future. Chances are that if you're looking for a job in either Energy collection or the Research division, you'd be likely to get a job." Malek said.
The group cheered a bit and began to get the device ready for transport.
'My friends get rewarded and I'm probably going to get punished. Typical of the old man to find more ways to punish me.' Deberk thought, as he began to help shut down the device.
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"Right then," she said, "What kind of mayhem can we cause today?"
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'I wonder how long it'll be before she decides to try to form a team to beat Keiichi and his friends in their upcoming race? Probably an hour or two. Sooner if she' gets bored.' Malek thought.
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"So, what has been up with our Keiichi-kun lately? I hear something about an auto race."
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"They're going to be in a race. NASCAR, If I remember correctly," Malek said. "Z's going to be helping them it seems. But it doesn't very fair that one team gets help from a few goddesses, a demi-god, and a semi-demon, does it?"
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She raised an eyebrow to this. She had an idea what he was suggesting, but she wanted to hear it from him. She then said, "So, are you suggesting we put our own car in?"
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"Either that or offer a bit of support to a team," Malek said. "It'd be a nice change of pace to let the goddesses escalate things for once. Skuld or Urd would be a bit easy to trick for that purpose."
"We're ready to bring the device to the energy collection division, Mr. Malek." A gremlin said.
"Just wait a bit and I'll be ready to go with you all," Malek told the gremlin.
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"We can't use the Four Wheels club," she said, already considering it, "They are doing a rare cooperative with the auto club, considering how expensive this all is, and how there would be a driver from Japan for the first time in the race. They may be bitter enemies, but, for the sake of Japan, they would do this. So, who could we use? Perhaps we can find someone in America to give them some trouble."
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"Yes, that is a good question..." Malek muttered.
(Should we make a team up or use one from another work of fiction? Or should we use the team that Aoshima used waaay back in the beginning of the manga? Not the four wheels club, but the couple from America in chapter 22.)
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(We can use them independent, looking for revenge.)
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"Well, I'll be back in an hour to help you with that matter," Malek said, before he and the group teleported away.
(So if we can't think of a group, we'll use them? Personally, I'd like to go on something different instead of the couple seeking revenge. Yes, they seem like jerks, but revenge seeking? I kinda doubt they'd be the type, even for one-shot characters. Personally, I like to go with Keiichi and the gang keep thinking the couple is out for revenge, but the couple are the type that become nicer if you beat them in a competition. Make them into the "mean to newbies" character type. Yeas, that eliminates some conflict, but it prevents us from re-treading the story that the manga did.)
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In an asteroid, a timer of a prison seal finished counting down. When the door that the seal was on opened, there was the sound of a little girl giggling.
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(That way, it can blow up in the demon's faces.)
With that she went back to her paperwork.
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(That's if you view the demons' purpose for helping a group as defeating Keiichi and the gang. Malek doing it for another purpose entirely. Should I tell you now or let you find out later?)
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(I want it to be part of the fun if you say nothing right now.)
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(Alright, but there have been a few hints for it in a few things that Malek said. Timeskip an hour or two?)
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(Sure.)
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Malek then returned.
He walked to Hild's office/room and knocked.
"I've returned." Malek said.
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By this point, she had finished, and had out the NASCAR rule book and was learning about that world.
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Malek knocked again.
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"Come in."
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Malek walked in.
"The device that Deberk and his friends built is being looked at. It's surprising how much energy it collected, even though it is a prototype." Malek said.
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"Too much hi-tech with the youth these days," she mumbled, and then said, "Can you believe how rich the history of this is?" holding up the book.
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"So you're seeing a bit what Ian and Keiichi see in it?" Malek asked.
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"Well, there is the thrill and risk thing," she said, "Can you believe this actually started with the rum runners in the Great Depression?"
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"I can believe it. Always is fascinating to discover how things get their start, isn't it?" Malek said
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"Yes, and they started challenging each other in who had the faster car, and it just grew from there."
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"Sort of like how the broom races between gods and demons came to be?" Malek asked
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"Refresh me on that," she said, "I never got into it."
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"Sort of the same, except with messengers and scouts instead of bootleggers. And didn't you have a broom race with Belldandy awhile back?" Malek asked.
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(287 chapters...a little hard to remember everything!) ;)
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(It's alright. While I remember they had a race, I couldn't quite remember what it was about until I looked up some information about the chapter. There was the expected 'If Bell lost, She would have to leave Keiichi from Chibi-Hild, Bell had to win to get information about why Velsper has polka-dots on his fur.)
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(Okay...)
"Well, the reasons were quite different."
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"So are you going to allow Z to continue helping them, get him to stop, or tell him he must make a deal with one of them to continue working with them? He does have the energy storage orbs that I gave him so he can make a deal with one of them." Malek said.
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"Z has made his decision. He has to deal with the consequences of that. He stays with them."
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"Another way of looking at Z's choice is that regardless of whether the team we support wins or Keiichi's team wins, our side has a hand in victory." Malek said.
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"Strange, isn't it?"
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"Not really strange. I actually prefer all paths leading to victory." Malek said with a slight shrug.
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"Well, we need a driver. Have any ideas?"
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"What about that Team that Keiichi and Belldandy drove against in their go-kart race? Diana Lockheed and her boyfriend, David Proter?" Malek asked. "Didn't one of them place third in the Daytona 500?"
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"Proter," she said, "I'm sure he's itching for another chance."
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"Most likely. I'm certain they'll accept our help, once we tell them that Belldandy and her sisters are goddesses. We'll have to provide proof, but I'm certain they'll accept." Malek said. "After all, how fair is it when gods and goddesses choose to help one side with in a friendly competition?"
Malek stopped for a moment. as he remembered something about that race. he snapped his fingers.
"When Aoshima stops his car, it will then fall apart. I may be a demon, but I despise cheaters." Malek said.
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"One, are you seeking to make a contract with them, and two, are you talking about Keiichi's car. After all, Aoshima is a sponsor."
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"I aimed the spell at Aoshima's personal car. The one with the license plate of "Smarm-E"." Malek said. "As for Proter, I think the chance of a fair race between him and Keiichi will be a good offer for a contract. Problem is, what do we ask for our help?"
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"Oh, I think you can figure that out," she said, "You are a senior demon after all."
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"Due to how we're seen in the west, I believe it might be a good idea to go easy on the deal for once." Malek said. "After all, a repeat customer is better then a one-time customer. So probably I might get an appointment at some high class restaurant, paid out of Proter's wallet."
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"Of course...I leave you liberty to do what you need to."
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"I will and I'll be leaving now." Malek said, before teleporting away.
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She went back to the books and decided to send an avatar to check on K1 and the race crew.
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(what'd I miss)
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(They're getting ready for K1 to race Skuld's drones, and there is something involving excess energy that was grabbed by Malek when it should not have been, and a discussion of what to do with it, also recruiting someone to race against K1 in the Daytona 500, and involving you helping to recruit them without knowing you were aiding the demon side. Something to that effect.)
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"Final tests complete... Drones are ready to go." smiled Skuld as she got out from underneath the car. The head of the car looked like the head of a giant teddy bear. The tail bumper had a small puffy tail and the side-view mirrors were ears.
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(Is that one the pace care, and, I am surprised the rest don't look like Banpei. ;))
Kei got in line and prepared to let the pace car lead the pack.
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The other two drones drove up next to him. Each one looked like a Banpei on wheels.
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"She has a distinct style," said Z.
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"Indeed she does...Okay," said Belldandy, "They take three laps, and as soon as the come out of turn four over there, the pace car is to pull away. Tamiya will wave the green flag, and then it is open racing."
(Auir, really, you need to address how the Tenchi RP has been approached, and one of the posts to see if that was okay for him to do.)
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"Heh heh..." grinned Skuld as she sat on the bleachers, holding onto the large remote control. Banpei was next to her, also holding onto a large remote control.
"Ready when you are!"
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They finally came around to the third lap and they waited for the pace car to roll away.
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The pace car rolled away and immediately the drones sped forward.
"Okay, time to see what this baby can do!" she grinned as she pushed the joystick all the way to the top.
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The green flag went and Keiichi tore off with the others. The race was on!
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Banpei one decelerated as they came around the corner while Banpei two didn't and was skidding alongside the edge.
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K1 decelerated and drafted behind B1 to avoid colliding with the skidding car.
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As soon as they cleared the curve, the accelerated again.
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K1 was just keeping pace, doing the kind of pack racing for which NASCAR is known.
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They began decelerating again as they came near the corner.
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K1 didn't make a move yet. He was waiting for the backstretch to make his move.
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Once cleared and they floored it. Or rather, pushed it.
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Kei kept pace and tried to make a pass before the next turn.
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Skuld clenched her teeth with frustration as she watched Keiichi pass by her.
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'I wonder if Skuld managed to resist her urge to put in self-destruct devices in anything she builds?' Urd thought, as she watched the race.
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He was now leading the pack, but he also knew they could be hot on his heels. Knowing Skuld, there could be a few tricks up her sleeve yet.
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"Grr, take this!" she punched a button and Banpei #1 suddenly had an extra burst of speed.
"Boost!"
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Someone from the auto club asked, "Isn't that cheating?"
"Actually, no," answered Otaki, "In every car is something called an overtake button. However, you are limited to so many presses in a race."
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Banpei #1 was in the lead now, followed by Keiichi and finally Banpei #2.
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They were soon in a line, zooming around, lap after lap, K1 and Bell chattering back and forth instructions. What Keiichi wondered was if those cars had a learning program...they learned what to do as they advanced. That could make strategy sticky, but more realistic, as humans are far more unpredictable.
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Skuld and Banpei sat on the sidelines, remote controlling the two Banpeis.
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(Who has Chihiro?)
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(I don't remember.)
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Chihiro came up and said, "They should be coming up for their first pit...fuel and tires. Do you have something for that?"
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"Ehh? Why would my Advanced Banpei bot X220 need fuel and tires? I built them to be long lasting!" said Skuld.
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"Well, you can simulate it...put them in for the average time a pit in NASCAR is done. You've watched them practice, so you know how long...just make it random how long."
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"Ehh, fine..." said Skuld as she began driving Banpei into the pit.
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K1 took the hint as he saw this and ducked in himself. Chihiro then said, "Have the other car pit on the next lap. I want to see what he does with that."
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(who should control David Proter?)
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"Fine fine, got it. Heard that Banpei-kun?" asked Skuld. Banpei nodded.
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Keiichi pulled in and saw the other car still going. He growled, but he knew he could catch up when it did finally have to duck in.
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After waiting for some time, Skuld sped Banpei out of the pit and back onto the track.
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K1's pit crew was a bit slower in that, so now he was behind, with Banpei 2 way out in front.
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It was now Banpei#2 in lead, followed by Banpei#1 and Keiichi.
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Kei was itching to go for the overtake button, but Bell said, "Save them for later. You may need it, knowing the tricks Skuld has up her sleeve."
Chihiro then said, "Okay, pull the next car in and see how they handle it."
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Banpei pulled in Banpei #2 and had it sit in the pit stop.
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Kei tried to time his move to that and approached Banpei 1
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"Eh? You're not going to get past me!" Skuld tried to move Banpei #1 in front of Keiichi.
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Tamiya saw that, and radioed to her, "Careful: had you made it look like you were going to let him by and then cut him off, that would be called blocking, and you would have been penalized."
Kei saw the move and just pulled in right behind her bumper, trying to draft on her, and use that to slingshot past when they came out of the next turn.
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"Tch..." she then maneuvered the car so she could stay in front of his car.
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"Kiddo," said Chihiro, "There are rules to racing, because it is so dangerous. One wrong move, and it could mean death for a driver, even something that seems minor. It is what killed Dale Earnheart the very next year after he had finally won the Daytona after so many second place finishes."
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"Oh..." said Skuld, realizing that while she may be safe on the bleachers, Keiichi wasn't.
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"He swerved into the wall on the last lap and hit it just right. It snapped his neck!"
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"I get it." said Skuld.
"It's not like playing a game, it's really dangerous for him out there on the track. I'll be careful."
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"So, you understand how vital this training is. He won't be facing two other cars, there will be 35 others on that super speedway, and it will be pack racing, because on a track like that, the rules people have them put governors on the cars, not permitting the cars above 200 mph for fear they may leave the track and flip."
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"Hmm... So, we have to train him to where he can safely drive pass a pile-up?" asked Skuld.
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"Well, it can happen. Sometimes, in a close race, if a young and inexperienced driver loses it, he can cause a chain reaction wreck that drivers often call 'the big one.' If that, happens, he has to try to get past that, even if he gets bumped. Even if he gets hit hard, if his car can still operate, he can get back into the race, but he has to know how to get through that mess. However, there are only three cars, and I am wondering just how you can simulate 'the big one.'"
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"Simple, like this!" she pressed a button. The back of Banpei #1 opened up to reveal a salvo of rockets.
"Heh heh, and fire!" she said as the rockets were launched into the air. They struck the ground randomly and exploded into green and red clouds that quickly solidified into gel.
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"WHAAAAA!" cried Kei as Bell cried out in fear. He then had to do some quick maneuvering to get out of the way. Tamiya then waived the yellow flag, which meant the pace car would come out and they could keep racing until the reached the start/finish line. They would then have to line up in the order they were when they crossed it.
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"My instant-solidifying-jello-rockets!" beamed Skuld proudly.
The bear-faced pace car came out again.
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However, the team were assessing the situation, and considering the amount of stuff on the track, Tamyia then flew the red flag, which meant, normally, they were to pull into the pits until the track was clear. However, because they had already pulled out, the pace car was to stop them, and they were to stay there, in their cars, until the hazard was cleared.
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"You can clear them away by hosing them down. They melt upon contact with water, pretty nifty huh?" said Skuld.
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"Um...then we have to wait for the track to dry," said Chihiro, "We still have to put the red flag out...though something like that can happen in a race: a severe enough hazard that will not allow cars to run during the fix."
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"Well, we better get started then!" said Skuld, jumping to her feet.
"Let's grab the hoses."
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Everyone just stared at the odd girl, robotic ally handing her a hose as they followed with a couple more and with buckets of water.
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Skuld turned on the hose and began to water down the giant jellos.
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The substance cleared down the drain, but the track was still wet.
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Now they had to wait for it to dry.
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"Is there any way to dry it faster?" asked Sayo.
Belldandy started to mutter, and a warm breeze began to blow over the track.
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Skuld and Banpei returned to the bleachers.
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The track dried surprisingly fast, and Tamiya put the yellow flag back out, meaning they could proceed.
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They drove Banpei #1 and Banpei #2 out onto the track.
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They thus proceeded in line behind the pace car and Chihiro said, "Okay, on the third lap, pull away the pace car. Tamiya will wave the green."
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Once they finished the third lap, the pace car pulled away and the Banpei models sped forward.
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Bell shouted into the radio, "GREEN, GREEN, GREEN!" and Keiichi floored it.
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And thus the race was on!
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Lap after lap, stop after stop, they went on, K1 spending most of his time drafting the other cars, not trying to beat them.
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"He's not going to do anything?" wondered Skuld out loud as she played with the joysticks.
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Chihiro smirked and said, "He is...but not what you want him to do. He's biding his time. He knows this is a 500 mile race. He doesn't have to push his car all that hard if he does not want to."
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"Eeh, that sounds boring. Are all races this long?"
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"Some are 400 miles, some 250...it all depends on the race and the track. Believe me, when there are 36 cars out on the track at the same time, it can get pretty exciting.
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"Hmm... 36 cars right?" asked Skuld.
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"Yes...typically."
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"Okay, better start getting to work tonight then. We want Keiichi to win don't we? And that means lots and lots of practice."
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"What are you going to work on?"
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"Building lots and lots of Banpeis! So Keiichi can really race like he was in nascar right?"
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"Whoa...you could have that ready for tomorrow?"
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"Well, no. But I'll have it done by the end of this week!"
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After a minute or two, she said, "Can you do virtual personalities?"
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"Of course, I made Banpei-kun here didn't I?" she beamed as she proudly patted Banpei's shoulder.
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"Then look up the personalities and driving styles of the following drivers:"
She gave her a list that included Richard Petty, Cale Yaburrough, Mario Andretti, Dale Earnheardt senior and Junior, and some others of note. She then said, "Program each car with one of these to give him a real challenge!"
-
"That's going to be a bit hard... But I'll see what I can do." frowned Skuld while thinking and considering the odds.
-
"Good, because if he can learn to race against them, he can stomp what is there now!"
-
"Yeah!" Cheered Skuld. Banpei did too, but it's other hand moved and accidentally pressed the launch rocket volley button on the remote control.
-
Keiici screamed and started to lose control of the car, heading right for the wall.
-
Urd, a bit glad she was sitting behind everyone, silently used a spell that would temporarily give the car a mind of its own, along with giving it the mission to not crash into the wall.
-
The car suddenly swerved from the wall and started to dodge the things on its own.
-
'Chances are he'll thank Bell for it.' Urd thought as she disengaged the spell.
-
The red flag came out again, and essentially would put an end to the day's practice due to the large craters now on the track.
-
Urd sighed as she shook her head.
'Skuld's not Skuld unless something goes boom. Probably would like Mythbusters.' Urd thought with a smile.
-
"Great..." said Chihiro, "It's going to take a week before we can use the track again!"
-
"Uhhh, oops?" said Skuld quietly.
"At least Keiichi will be able to race against a full set of 36 by the time we can use the track again! Hahahaha...."
-
"And first, you are going to build a device that repairs all the damage you did," said Belldandy with love, but firmly also.
-
"*sigh* Yes onee-sama..." sighed Skuld with her head down.
-
Belldandy felt a little twinge, but she knew that she still had to discipline her, though one observing could never have seen it that way, knowing the amount of love that exuded from her, and from the way she dealt with it. Yet, then she added, "Because, if you are a good girl, and fix what you broke, there could be lots of ice cream in your future."
-
'Hopefully Skuld will have enough time to make that device I asked her for. I got the ice cream payment for it hidden away in my fridge.' Urd thought . Then a slight grin appeared on her face. 'Then I'll use it to find out Malek's musical weakness.'
-
"Haa, onee-sama! Daisuki!" squealed Skuld as she ran over and hugged Belldandy.
-
"But, you must fix it, and say you are sorry to Keiichi and the others."
-
"Just leave it to me!" nodded Skuld as she began mentally planning on the device.
-
With that, they put the car away and all went home.
-
By the temple's front door was what looked like a 10-year old girl. She was dressed in ripped-up clothing.
-
Belldandy immediately went to the child.
-
"Hello. Who are you?" the little girl asked.
-
"I am the goddess Belldandy, first-class second category unlimited. I live in this temple."
-
"I am Kakarine. I've been alone for a very long time." The girl replied.
-
"what's going on?" asked Z walking up.
-
"Oh, you poor thing," answered Belldandy, "She is a girl that has been alone for a long time, Z. Dear, are you hungry?"
-
Z's face softened, "hello," he said kindly kneeling down, "my name is Z. What's yours?"
-
"My name is Kakarine." Kakarine said. "And I think that I'm hungry."
-
"that's a nice name," said Z, "you know I was alone for a good part of my life too."
-
"Oh, you poor thing," and she was scooped up right away and brought in, Belldandy intending to put a full meal into the girl.
-
Z followed them in, feeling a sort of kinship with the child.
-
"This Kakarine girl... Something in her eyes is telling me that she is up to something. Something that I don't like...' Urd thought as she followed Belldandy.
-
Belldandy set her in the kitchen and started to use her magic to speed cook dinner. (As we all know, she never shies away from using her magic openly.)
-
"So why did you come to our temple?" asked Z
-
"I wandered around and I felt like coming here." Kakarine replied.
-
"so you've been living on the street?"
(night)
-
"No, I've been sealed for some time." Kakarine replied.
(Night)
-
Everyone in the room but Belldandy shuddered at the word "sealed."
-
Meanwhile Skuld was in her room, working on both devices.
-
K1 then said, "Sealed...does that mean that...you know...you're a...um..."
-
"Goddess? Demon? Neither. I am of the Pah 'reeni race. Perhaps the Pah 'reeni are an offshoot species of either the Divine or the Demonic, perhaps not." Kakarine replied with a shrug.
-
Bell was near tears as she said, "Who could have been so cruel to seal you off like that?"
-
"I do not know. Whoever did it, they were well hidden when they sealed me." Kakarine said.
-
"But why," asked Ian.
-
"I played one too many pranks. I guess whoever sealed me was an old fuddy-duddy that didn't like anyone having fun that wasn't allowed by them." Kakarine answered.
'That's a bit believable. I've met too many beings in Asgard that never appreciated my pranks.' Urd thought.
-
"So, you know Loki?" she asked.
-
Kakarine stopped and thought about it.
"Only from rumors." Kakarine answered.
-
"Well, tell me your story, please?"
-
"I'd like to hear it too" Z said
-
"Pride is a bit of the cause why I've been alone. The Pah 'reeni accidentally used a bad gem batch that wound up draining the life of whoever wore them over a long period of time and they were too proud to even think of asking for help. And since I've been alone, I've played pranks on anyone I could find." Kakarine said.
"And why didn't you ask for help, before you were sealed?" Urd asked.
"I guess I was too proud as well." Kakarine replied.
-
"Wait," asked Kei, "Who are the Pah' reeni?"
-
"The Pah' reeni created magical items. I guess you could claim the items allowed any beings to have an additional ability. Other then that, they are another race that's pretty much extinct because of their pride." Kakarine said.
-
"Oh, you poor thing," said Belldandy, giving her a hug.
-
"So, have you come to us for help, sweetie?"
-
"I'm just merely traveling around, seeing what has been changed since I was sealed." Kakarine said.
-
"This going to seem like a dumb question, but, when was that?"
-
"I would guess... about 800 years ago?" Kakarine answered.
-
Silence from the mortals. Keiichi then said, "Much has changed. Technology has advanced greatly, and we are no longer a feudal society. We are actually a free people with a republic governed by the rule of law."
-
"I've noticed. After all, isn't one of the rules when dealing with something new is to observe and learn before taking action?" Kakarine said, as she snapped her fingers to use a spell that restored her clothes back to their shinto priestess look.
-
Everyone stepped back a touch from this, and Belldandy said, slyly, "You were not really a lost waif, were you?"
-
"I am lost. I merely remembered that my clothes were torn. Being sealed does sometimes give the sealed one some problems with memory and awareness, especially when the seal was illegally extended from its usual length of 500 years, does it not?" Kakarine asked.
-
"Wait, you were held longer than they said you were supposed to be?" asked Keiichi, "Who did this to you!"
-
"Like I said before, I do not know who." Kakarine said.
-
"Then...we must find out at once!" said Belldandy, "They must be punished because they did you wrong."
-
"If you want to find out who, then go ahead. I don't have any interest in finding out." Kakarine said. "As for why, I'm the last of the Pah 'reeni. The sealing gave me a bit of an extension of my life, in an odd way."
-
"So, you are mortal."
-
"Not everyone has a supercomputer supporting them." Kakarine said, with a touch of bitterness in her voice. "At most, I can create a ring that can make the wearer immortal, but immortality does not imply eternal youth, as Tithonus learned."
-
"It seems then you are looking for a place to stay?" she asked as Kei sighed.
-
"No, I only came by to see how the latest relationship between a divine and a human is going." Kakarine said.
-
"Well, I can say that the test was not easy, but worth going through!" said K1.
-
"I heard a little bit about it." Kakarine said.
"Oh, where?" Urd asked.
"From a few conversations in the nearby dimensional pockets of magic communities." Kakarine said.
-
"But now...we have consummated the new contract," said Belldandy, "We are one now!"
-
Kakarine then lightly smiled.
It brought chills down Urd's spine, because it was a similar smile that Hild often had when she was about to partially ruin something for someone for no real reason.
Kakarine opened her mouth but didn't say a word before closing it. Urd had gotten off her seat and was standing right next to Kakarine. Urd was holding an Urdbolt a few inches away from Kakarine's head. Urd also had a look of anger on her face.
"What?" Kakarine asked.
"What are you going to do?" Urd asked, through gritted teeth.
"I was going to ask a question, before you had gotten up to threaten me." Kakarine replied.
-
Belldandy observed the child's aura, for, if she was lying just now, it would show.
-
It was chaotic. that meant either she was scared or was using a small series of magical pulses to hide any intention she has.
"My, oh my, Belldandy. It seems that I was wrongly told about your hospitality towards guests, if you're allowing Urd to hold one of her Urdbolts right next to my head." Kakarine muttered.
-
"Normally, I would protest," she said, "But your aura is all in a tither...I cannot tell if you are scared, or just covering something, which makes me wonder if Urd is partially justified."
-
"I choose a third option. I prefer having some privacy when it comes to my intentions." Kakarine said.
-
"Now Urd...we need to give her the benefit of the doubt."
-
Urd slowly did as Belldandy asked and returned to her seat. Urd continued to glare at Kakarine.
"Shall I ask my question that I intended on asking?" Kakarine asked.
-
"Of course."
-
"I realize that I actually have two questions. Do you or Keiichi plan on having any children in the future? I'm curious." Kakarine asked.
-
"We were thinking about it until we met Z and Ian," she said.
"You talk like it's a bad thing, sis," said Ian.
"Oh, please forgive me," she said, "It was nothing like that. I mean, to bring in a demigod to the world is not something that you do with happenstance. Something like that has to be carefully planned. We are waiting for that one."
-
"And there's also the fact that if any child of yours has the slightest possibility of a destiny to be a hero, you will be forced to leave your child, so as to prevent you from interfering with their destiny." Kakarine said.
-
"But...that is not necessarily true," said Belldandy, "It all depends on the need."
Ian cocked his head, not sure what that meant.
-
Kakarine tilted her head a little.
"But just about all Demi-gods have great destinies. It's very likely that you will have to leave Keiichi and your possible child, to prevent you from standing in the way of your possible child's destiny." Kakarine said. "At the most, you would be only able to help your possible child in the most indirect of ways."
'Just give me the word, Bell, and I'll throw Kaka-jerk out the door.' Urd thought-sent to Belldandy.
-
Belldandy was starting to become upset at this...something she knew was not entirely true...and outside, it suddenly turned stormy...
-
Kakarine looked out the window.
"And what's happening outside can be used as proof for you to leave your possible child." Kakarine said. "Keep it up and you might not even be allowed to help indirectly."
-
"No...NO!!!!" she screamed as she ran out of the house, crying, and it began to rain...general rainfall that would inspire poets to write sorrowful sonnets.
-
Without a moment's hesitation, Urd hit Kakarine with a supercharged Greater UrdBolt.
Kakarine was sent flying until she hit a nearby building, then she fell off the side of the building.
As she hit the ground, Kakarine's slight smile grew bigger.
"She definitely is your daughter, Hild." Kakarine said.
---
Urd picked up Keiichi and then flew after Belldandy.
-
"What, hey...WHOA!" said Keiichi as they went off. Ian, now left with Skuld, felt he had a job to do. All he had mastered is force push and shields along with a force whip, but all he had was his personal abilities. He felt he would have to finish the job for the sake of the family--not kill her, but subdue her until something could be figured out as what to do. He took off the tags, pocketed them, and felt a surge of energy. He then said, "Father, give me your wisdom as what to do here, for I go to confront the little monster! No wonder she was sealed!"
He then proceeded outside.
-
Kakarine waved goodbye at Ian.
"See you later. At the moment, my job is done." Kakarine said, before teleporting back to her home dimension.
---
Urd landed near Belldandy and then loudly said, "Bell!"
-
He just screamed out, "I'M WATCHING FOR YOU! HURT MY FAMILY AGAIN AND I'LL MAKE SURE YOU PAY DEARLY!"
"COOL YOUR JETS!" was heard from behind. He wheeled around to see Lind and she said, "You are not prepared for that! High marks for ambition, an F for wisdom, and F- on procedure!"
______________________________
She was in a tree, the leaves forming over her to keep her dry as she cried.
-
A mini-Malek landed near Lind and Ian.
"I came too late..." Mini-Malek muttered.
---
Urd let go of Keiichi and then she began to walk over to Belldandy.
"Bell... Me and Kei are here..." Urd said.
-
Keiichi lifted off the ground and was drawn to Belldandy, who then caught him and held him tight in an embrace. "Tell me this isn't true! Oh, my love, tell me this is not true!" she bawled.
______________________________
Lind was cross with him and said, "You know, you have to get a catch on your temper! It is odd someone that grew up as you did with the heart for people you have, and to have such a short temper...that is dangerous, young demigod!"
He hung his head, and he said, "I...I just felt...well, Aren't I supposed to protect..."
"Stop," she said, "How did you feel when you leaped up?"
"Well, powerful...it felt...invigorating..."
"...and I see you feel shame for that, don't you?"
He could now only nod. She said, "Come inside to your shack, and we can talk. Malek, I sense you. Oddly enough, we could use your input on this, because there is a great danger for both sides if we don't deal with this."
-
"I agree." Mini-Malek said, as he floated into view and followed them.
---
'Damn it! We can't use the method of sealing off Bell's powers and memories to make sure that Bell wouldn't interfere with any of her possible kids' destinies because Bell would be too irresistible of a target for Hild because of all the skills, knowledge and abilities that Bell has acquired over the years.' Urd thought to herself. 'It's kinda ironic. All the effort that Bell put into making sure that she would meet with Keiichi, might very well wind up keeping her away from him in the future until their possible kids can reach their destinies.'
A thought came to Urd, but she banished it from her mind as soon as it came to her.
'I refuse to believe that Hild would try to use Belldandy's love for Keiichi to get Bell to switch sides.' Urd thought to herself.
(Yeah, I made a slight reference to my "jealousy makes 'em fall" fic.)
-
Once inside, she used a simple spell to dry them off and she started coffee going, saying, "There is much to discuss."
___________________________
"Tell me you won't let them take our children! Please, I beg you."
All he could do was hold her right then.
-
Urd closed her eyes and meditated.
'Alright, Help us out here!' Urd thought-sent to the mental representation of her demonic half.
'Tell her to adopt. The wording of the rules that state Belldandy would have to leave her kids only applies if the kids are Demi-gods and/or Demi-goddesses. ' Urd's demonic half Thought-sent back.
'...Why are you so helpful at the moment?' Urd Thought-sent.
'Hey, I care about our family.' Urd's demonic half thought-sent back.
Urd shook herself out of the meditation.
"I think that I might have a bit of a solution..." Urd said
----
"So what happened while she was here?" Mini-Malek asked Ian.
-
She looked up, her eyes all red and puffy from crying.
_______________________
He relayed what happened, and Lind said, "And he wanted to go play Siegfried."
-
"The rules state you would have to leave your demi-god children. You can work around it if you adopt human kids or any other race. They just can't be demi-gods." Urd said.
----
"The seal used on Kakarine wasn't illegal at the time, but it required numerous forms to be filled out by a single being before the seal could be used." Mini-Malek said. "It was one of the few times that Hild truly terrified me. While she was filling out the forms and then using the seal on Kakarine, Hild was.... cold and detached all through it. Then again, considering what Kakarine did, I guess it was I was expecting a loud roaring rampage from Hild instead."
-
"But...I never heard of such rules!" she said, followed by a clap of thunder.
______________________________
"What exactly did she do?" asked Lind, bringing over the coffee for Ian the way he liked it.
-
"Think of all the gods and Goddesses who had children with humans. As soon as the kids were able to face their destiny, The divine parents immediately appeared." Urd said. "If it's there's no rule, then whatever it is concerning the situation about divine parents and their demi-god offspring comes pretty damn close to one."
------
"Frigga and Hild had, and still have, a similar relationship that Skuld and Urd have. This was before Hild or Frigga married Odin, mind you. One of Kakarine's pranks severely wounded Frigga. " Mini-Malek said. "As for why Hild didn't blast Kakarine off the face of existence... I'm not sure... My theory is that Frigga used her power of prophecy and told Hild to avoid killing Kakarine to avoid setting off a deadman's switch."
-
"But...why? Why does it have to be that way? It should not be! What would be wrong about us raising them right? If anyone can, I know my Keiichi can."
_____________________
"...."
"How so?"
-
"Keiichi would raise your possible kids the right way. That I do not doubt." Urd said. "But we're taking about you being forced away from Keiichi and your possible kids. Yes, we know that you know when to help and when to stand back, but the same argument can be used for Father and the matter about Ian."
---
"How so what?" Mini-Malek asked.
-
(Is this REALLY the rule?)
_____________________
"What's this thing about a deadman switch?"
-
(I think we should talk about if there should be a rule concerning the matter in the coffee house before continuing. I'll be able to post later. I'm heading off to bed.)
-
(Let's do that.)
-
(...What did I miss?)
-
(Quite a bit.)
-
"We need to call one of the offices and see if we can schedule the trials to see if you'll be permitted to stay with your kids." Urd said. "Kakarine only pointed out the worst possible even happening and we panicked."
----
"Stop and think from a troublemaker's perspective. If you're going to do something that would really piss off the head of Hell, wouldn't you want there to be some insurance for your safety or at least make sure that you take your killer with you?" Mini-Malek asked.
-
"Wait," said Lind, "Was that an attempt to get Urd off kilter?"
-
Mini-Malek shrugged.
"Possibly, possibly not." Mini-Malek said. "It'd be best for all of us to keep on guard."
---
"When you've calmed down, Bell... We can call and see if we can schedule the trials at a time that you feel ready for them." Urd said.
-
"And what Bell was told was not entirely true. It is true that they passed their tests, but if they want a child, there are certain sanctions and more trials they must face. Ian, considering what you faced, I think you know what that might entail..."
"That would be bad...very bad."
_________________________
She nodded, but Keiichi asked, "Uh...trial?"
-
"But as difficult as the test and the trial might be, even if she has her powers sealed to the point where she's no stronger then a human, she does have many beings around her that are willing to protect her and her hypothetical kids." Mini-Malek said.
---
"A test and a trial to determine what will happen to Bell, should she and you have kids." Urd said.
-
"Well, she has me, Ian...once I have him trained, her sisters, Ace...hmmm, yes, it could work."
_______________________
"No, I do not wish to put you through it!"
"Oh, Bell, if it's for you, I'd undergo another trial in Hell if it meant we could be together."
"Oh, Keiichi!" she said, embracing him tightly.
-
"When we're done here, I'll let Hild know of the situation." Mini-Malek said.
---
"Let's go back to the temple." Urd said.
-
"Check...and Ian...remember...don't dive in like that when you are not prepared!"
_________________________
She nodded and picked up Kei to go home .
-
"Because next time, she might take you to her dimension.. And then things will get bad in a real hurry." Mini-Malek said. "Lind, it might be a good idea for us to inspect the temple and see if Kakarine left anyone one of her...'Gifts'...."
----
Urd followed them.
-
She looked at him and said, "Gifts?"
-
"As in the extremely bad kind. Like cursed items or magical items that have too high a cost." Mini-Malek said.
-
"Then let's get looking. I'll find Ace: we need his nose."
-
"Right. I'll go check Keiichi's beemer, since Z made a bit of a prophecy about it. " Mini-Malek said. "Ian, go tell the others that a search is being done."
-----
Ace was sleeping outside, under a tree.
-
He nodded and saw Ace, saying what was up.
-
"It has been awhile since I've been on a case." Ace said, before starting to sniff out for any foreign magical energy signatures.
---
Once reaching the beemer, Mini-Malek had split into even tinier Maleks and began to look inside the beemer.
-
Ian followed closely.
-
After some searching, one of the tiny Malek found an odd clip near the beemer's seat. He did a scan spell on it.
'The charm would have gone off tomorrow. It would have reversed the beemer's luck and would have caused the beemer to get into an accident. A darn good way to get pass the Utlimate force.' Tiny-Malek thought.
----
(Time skip about thirty minutes? Feel free to make any magical items that would have done more harm than good.)
-
In the kitchen, Ian noticed a charm by the thawing chicken.
-
"Found another one? That's now four we found in this room alone." Ace said. "Let's see... First one was making food spoil faster. Second was similar, but for drinks. The third did both."
Ace then did a scan spell on the charm Ian just found.
-
(It was a meat spoiler.)
-
"A meat spoiler charm. " Ace said. "Bell will definitely not like what Kakarine has left..."
-
"Is all the food bad, or was this to be tripped?"
-
"My sense of smell tells me that the food is still fairly good to eat." Ace said.
-
(When do they get back?)
-
(Urd's following Keiichi and Bell. You're the one that decides when they get back.)
-
They landed to see them all doing their thing.
-
"We've found a number of trinkets from Kakarine, located all over the temple, each designed to annoy you." Ace said.
----
the tiny Maleks was still looking throughout the beemer.
'That now makes 15 bad luck clips found in the beemer...' Mini-Malek thought, as he looked at the small pile of clips in the bag that disabled any magic within it.
-
"The little brat played us like a harp," snarled Keiichi.
-
"I guess we have to be thankful that she has an excess amount of pride and showed herself. Otherwise, we might not have found these." Ace said. he then sniffed the air. "Malek is still in the garage."
-
They all headed there.
-
"Hello, everyone." Mini-Malek said.
Besides Mini-Malek was a bag with some unusual symbols on it. The Beemer was still being inspected by the tiny-Maleks.
-
"What in the world happened to my bike?"
-
"I'm looking for traps, charms, bugs, and whatever else might be harmful." Mini-Malek said. "The rest of the room is clean. Only the Beemer was meddled with."
-
"Is it all safe now?"
-
"I'm still looking through the beemer. What I found... isn't very pleasant..." Mini Malek said.
-
"Do tell," said K1 sarcastically.
-
"Kakarine placed bad luck clips on your beemer. One merely makes it a bit more likely for anyone on the beemer to get in an accident. Adding more bad luck clips increases the probability and the severity of the accident happening." Mini-Malek said. "I've found 16 and I suspect there may be more."
-
The clouds started to form again, as she said, "She wanted to hurt my Keiichi!"
-
"Or anyone riding on the beemer tomorrow. The clips aren't attuned specifically to anyone." Mini-Malek said. When he was handed another bad luck clip, Mini-Malek sighed as he put it in the bag. He then asked, "Do you plan on going anyplace tomorrow, Mr. Morisato?"
-
"Well, only to the track to see what we can do to rebuild the damage...right Skuld?" as he eyed her.
-
After getting another clip from a tiny Malek, Mini-Malek said, "Due to the possible number of the clips and magical residue due to the possible large number of clips, you might not be able to use the beemer tomorrow, due to how long the purification spell is. But I offer a deal if the Beemer can't be used in time."
-
"Well, I can always ride in with the fellas...they'll be by to see us anyway."
-
"Oh, yes. The fellows who get in trouble and then tell you that it's your fault and that you need to bail them out." Mini-Malek sarcastically said. "Surely, they won't use the ride to try to give you their support by threatening you."
Another clip was put into the bag.
-
He just looked a little steamed and then said, "I think they'll understand if I tell them the bike is under the weather?"
-
Mini-Malek looked at Keiichi as he put another clip in the bag.
"With the amount of talent that they know you have with riding and repairing vehicles? Do you really think they'll believe that?" Mini-Malek asked.
-
"Oh, and what do you think they'll say?"
-
"I suspect they'll pass it off like it was a joke that you told them and then they'll tell you to get your beemer." Mini-Malek said.
"Behave yourself, Malek, or get out. Lind, Bell, or I could look through the beemer and take out all the bad luck clips ourselves." Urd said, with a slight glare.
"Considering some of your pasts guests, I thought was was behaving. I haven't called anyone any names. I haven't threatened anyone. I'm also doing a task, free of charge, that's saving Keiichi's life by defusing a trap." Malek said.
"You're insulting Keiichi's friends." Urd said, crossing her arms.
"The same people, who while they might be handy and helpful during a emergency, will sign Keiichi up for a race without telling him. And then either threaten Keiichi into doing it or they go tell Belldandy that they made a promise and then Belldandy makes Keiichi fulfill a promise that he never made." Mini-Malek said.
-
"Hey!" said Lind, "Remember, you are also a guest here, which means giving common courtesy to the host."
-
"I apologize for my attitude. People like Tamiya and Otaki, even if I talk about them, tend to give me a quick temper." Mini-Malek said.
-
"Wow, you actually sound like a demon cares about the well being of a human," said Ian, still not up on how the whole thing worked.
-
Mini-Malek shrugged before putting another clip in the bag.
"So I have a bit of a fondness for humans. Does it matter? I still do my duties as a demon." Mini-Malek asked.
-
"It seems you are doing part of it now," said Lind, "Trying to get them riled beyond what is needed."
-
"To be honest, I expected to work while being observed that I don't try to cause a bit of mischief of my own." Mini-Malek said. "I wasn't expecting to get into an argument about Keiichi's friends."
-
"You seemed to succeed."
-
"Mischief and arguments are not the same thing." Mini-Malek said.
-
"They can cause mischief."
-
"Only if the ones arguing are too childish to argue correctly." Mini-Malek said.
-
"In any case, what do you suggest Keiichi say?"
(G2G...catch you tomorrow.)
-
"Actually, he was arguing correctly, and I argued incorrectly by attacking his friends' characters." Mini-Malek said. He then faced Keiichi. "Mr. Morisato, I apologize for that."
-
"Well...uh...I guess it's okay, considering you're trying to fix my bike and all. I'm surprised the engine trolls didn't clean things out. I mean, they're German, after all, and pretty efficient at that."
-
"The clips don't interfere with the Engine Trolls' work, so they get ignored." Mini-Malek said.
-
"They know the bike. Maybe they can help."
-
"Perhaps. I'll tell my tinier selves to ask for help from any engine trolls they meet up with." Mini-Malek said.
-
"How long is this going to take?"
-
"Probably until tomorrow morning. I want to make sure that all the bad luck clips are removed."
"I bet you're going to leave one or two behind, aren't you?" Urd muttered.
"I will not leave any behind. I said I would clean the beemer of the bad luck clips and I will do it. I will not half-ass a task, just to cause some trouble." Mini-Malek said.
-
"And your payment in return is...?" asked K1, a touch suspicious.
-
"I'll be taking the clips." Mini-Malek said.
"AH-HA! You're going to be using them in a future task against us, aren't you?!?" Urd said, as she pointed at Malek.
"... You really are suspicious of me aren't you?" Mini-Malek muttered.
Urd said nothing.
"Bad luck clips aren't my thing. I'd rather use non-magic stuff to cause people some mischief." Mini-Malek said.
-
Lind took a moment to say to Ian, "Remember: don't go after something before you know what it can do, okay?"
He sighed and nodded.
-
Skuld popped her head in, wondering what the scene was about.
-
"Hey, Skuld. Malek's removing the bad luck clip that our recent 'guest' left in the beemer." Urd said.
-
They explained to her about the girl that tormented Bell and left all the trinkets behind that could cause harm to K1, especially the seeming endless number of them in his bike.
-
"Just letting you know, making a vaccum to remove them would be bad. some of the bad luck clips might break while they were being sucked out, their magical energy then would enter the beemer, and the purification spell would then be extended." Mini-Malek said.
"How many are there?" Urd asked, clearly getting annoyed at Mini-Malek. "I'm beginning to think you're purposely working slow."
"I'm being cautious and making sure there aren't any other traps." Mini-Malek said. "But if you feel I'm working too slow, feel free to help."
-
"Oh, that's great." she nodded.
"By the way, I have your device ready."
-
"Good. Let's go to your room, so you can tell me how it works." Urd said, as she summoned the two cartons of ice cream that she promised Skuld. The two cartons appeared in a bag that Urd was holding.
-
Her eyes instantly lit up when she saw the ice cream.
"This way!" she said and disappeared. All that could be heard was a thudding of footsteps fading away into the house.
-
"Doesn't take much to make that girl happy," said Ian.
-
Urd followed after Skuld.
-
There was a large machine on the floor and cables connecting to a Banpei cap.
-
"Is this it?" Urd asked.
-
"Yep! The scanner is actually wireless, you can detach it." said Skuld, holding up the Banpei cap. With a pop*, she removed the cables attached to it.
-
"Now we'll have an ace in the hole against Malek." Urd said as she handed Skuld the ice cream.
-
Keiichi passed by and said, "Don't forget the drones, and the repairs of the track."
-
Several depression lines hung over Skuld's head while looking down at her feet.
"I know..."
-
The smells of dinner began to waft through the house.
-
"Better put the ice cream away for after dinner, Skuld." Urd said. "Oh, and how does the scanner work?"
-
"Oh, simple. You put in on the demon's head and it'll scan their musical weakness." said Skuld.
"You could just point it at them, but the signal will be really weak. You're going to have to hold it there for 5 minutes straight."
-
Urd thought for a few seconds as she looked at the device.
"Let's see.... I could ask him if I can talk with him in private. Once I get him away from his tiny selves, I'll use a sleeping potion on him." Urd said. "If I use a sleeping potion on him, will it effect the results?"
-
"It should work." said Skuld after a moment's hesitation.
-
"Well... I'll Ask Malek after Dinner. Why don't you be with me when I use your device on him? That way, you can make sure that it works." Urd said.
-
"Okay." she nodded.
-
"Let's go see what's for dinner." Urd said, heading off to the kitchen.
-
She was preparing a general stir-fry.
-
Skuld sat down in her seat, swinging her legs back and forth.
-
"So," asked Belldandy, "How has your magic practice been going?"
-
Z walked in and sat at the table for dinner.
-
"Where have you been?" asked Ian.
-
"working on a draft of a story for english class." said Z.
-
"We met a little creep that made Bell cry and also put a trap In Keiichi's Beemer to kill Keiichi." Urd said. "Malek is taking apart the trap."
-
"If you find her can I send her into her worst nightmare?" asked Z with an evil look.
-
"Sure." Urd said.
-
"You'd have to get that one past her," whispered Ian.
-
"What do you mean?" asked Z
-
"Bell," he whispered, "She may want to see justice, but that girl doesn't have a vindictive bone in her body!"
-
Z sighed, "you're probably right. I wonder what will happen if they create a new Demigod?"
-
"Um..." he whispered, "Not so loud on that one. There may be issues with that."
-
"I see," said Z, "so how's your magic training coming along?"
-
Returning to normal tones, "Well, I have shields mastered, and figured out how to make force whips."
-
"force whips?"
-
"I learned how to shape the shields and use them as bludgeoning whips." he answered, to which Lind said, "Which begins to lend to what may be your central magic. Each of us have an area where we specialize: Belldandy uses wind, Urd uses electricity, Skuld is a techno-mage. I am wondering about Ian, though, but I now have a guess."
-
"When will you test him, Lind-sama?" asked Z
-
"Once I figure out what his central gifts are, and train him in that direction."
-
(has the doublet already taken place?)
"I wonder if mr. Malek can help me with a spell I'm working on?"
-
"Go and ask him. A portion of him is in the garage, removing some bad luck clips from the Beemer." Urd said.
-
"Wait, isn't that doublet-thingy tomorrow?" asked Ian.
"Come to think of it, you're right," said Lind, "I forgot!"
-
"Which means you'll forget about each other when it's done." Urd said.
-
"Not necessarily," she said, "All they will forget was that they were paired. Even then, it won't be long for them to get reacquainted."
-
"wait so will we forget each other or not?" Z asked confused
-
"You should not, because you are going to be in close quarters with each other, and only forget that a ceremony took place at all. However, if you do forget, since you two have not known each other all that long, it would not be long before you two would come reacquainted, with no memory of what had happened, so there is nothing lost."
-
"Ok," said Z, "I'm going to go find Mr. Malek. Call me when dinner is ready."
Z headed to the garage.
-
In the meantime, Lind said, "I am beginning to wonder if psychology was not your calling, Ian/"
"What do you mean?" he asked, with an odd look on his face.
"I mean, I have a guess that your ability falls in the area of chemistry," she answered. This only brought a curiouser look to his face.
-
"Mr malek are you in?" asked Z as he entered the garage.
-
"Hello, Z." Mini-Malek said, as he put another clip in the anti-magic bag.
-
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"I think your skills lean more towards Alchemy...but on a manipulative way, not the way Urd does it."
-
"I was wondering if you could help me with a spell I'm working on." said Z, "it involves using lightning to charge and shape a fire blast into a beam form."
-
"It sounds like you are trying to create a spell that has a high cost but low payout. What you seem to describe is a flamethrower spell with a secondary effect of lightning, but done in a complicated way." Mini-malek said. "It'd be easier to use a laser spell with a secondary effect of either fire or lightning. Not both, but only because the payout isn't very good when you compare the energy output to the energy cost."
-
"In a laser spell, is it possible to alter the direction of the beams?" asked Z
-
"Yes and there are three ways. Just add a secondary effect of increased accuracy, a homing ability, or a remote guiding effect." Mini-Malek said. "Keep in mind that they do increase the energy cost of the spell. The increased Accuracy effect is the cheapest, but all it does is increase the accuracy of the spell. The homing effect makes the spell seek out your target, but it can be tricked by a decoy flare spell. The remote guiding effect is the most expensive, but you guide the spell's direction by concentrating on a target."
-
"so how would I add a remote guiding effect?" asked Z
-
"I can't teach you here. Sort of for security reasons. The sesson will have to be at the arcade." Mini-Malek said.
-
"ok," said Z, "anything I can help you with?"
-
"If you know how to split yourself and be able to see things that humans can't, then you can help me remove the bad luck clips. To humans, it looks like there are only a few clips in the beemer. In reality, there's close to five hundred, with most of the clips hidden from human eyes by a special seal embedded on the clips." Mini-Malek said. "I have to be careful. The clips are attached to each other and arranged in a way that it is incredibly easy to break a clip."
Mini-Malek sighed.
"I strongly suspect that Kakarine might simply be gunning to ruin Belldandy's happiness by any means. But I am not going to rule out that that might simply be a ruse to cover whatever Kakarine is really planning." Mini-Malek said.
-
Z removed his limiter, "Hmmm, I see about 487 clips left. How do we remove them?"
-
"By removing them very carefully by hand. Trying to remove them by summoning them might wind up releasing the bad luck magic early." Mini-Malek said. "My scans earlier showed that the clips are on a timer. they won't activate until noon tomorrow. I can get them all removed by morning. Then either I or one of the goddesse will have to do a purification spell, just to make sure that the beemer wasn't tainted by the vast number of clips."
-
"May I help?" asked Z
-
"Like I said before, If you know how to split yourself and be able to see things that humans can't, then you can help me remove the bad luck clips." Mini-Malek said.
-
Z frowned, "no one taught me to split, but unsealed I can see the clips."
-
"Ordinarily, I'd say go ahead and unseal yourself to help, but don't you have work tomorrow?" Mini-Malek asked.
-
"I have slight insomnia so a tiring activity will do me good," said z, "and I'm already unsealed."
-
"Then be careful when you take out any clips. Better to be slow and cautious instead of fast and careless." Mini-Malek said. "My tiny selves are working on the inside of the beemer."
-
"got it," said Z getting to work on the exterior, "so how does one split oneself?"
-
"By willing a part of yourself to leave the majority of yourself, sort of like a drop of water leaving the ocean." Mini-Malek said. "And to return, just will the fragment to rejoin the majority, like a crop of water returning to the ocean."
-
Z concentrated and managed to create two mini selves. "Let's get to work."
-
Mini-Malek nodded.
"Should you feel like you need help with a spell and I'm unavailable, My son, Deberk can help." Mini-Malek said.
-
"Thanks," said Z.
(what now?)
-
(I'm heading to bed, but tomorrow I am going to have Urd try to find out Malek's musical weakness.)
-
(what if they accidentally find out Z's musical weakness too?)
-
(I think that's up to Auir about whether or not Skuld's device can detect Z's musical weakness.
Considering that Urd has a musical weakness, It might be a good idea for you to make a musical weakness for Z, if you haven't already. As for why Demons have musical weaknesses, Paladin313 and I talked about it a long time ago. I think we decided on that the Demons made a tradeoff in the past. They have more basic power then the gods, but it came with the price of a musical weakness.
So think of a style of music and what it makes Z do against his will when he hears it.)
-
(I was thinking Death Metal music causes Z to be paralyzed)
-
(There'll be some error when reading Z's. Maybe it'll say 'rock' or something else similar to Death Metal.)
-
(sounds interesting. maybe death metal can somehow come on and affect him?)
-
(So, they think ____ affects him but it's wrong due to the error. Then while scrolling through the list of music, they come across death metal and he starts dancing?)
-
(Actually it affects him by paralyzing him from the neck down, causing him to collapse.)
-
(kk)
-
(Is the dinner done yet at the temple?)
-
(Maybe. wo could just skip it if nobody minds.)
-
Bell's singing kind of voice called to everyone that dinner was ready.
-
"Can't wait~" said Skuld as she sat at her spot, waiting for dinner to be served.
(Did you fix your computer?)
-
Everyone was there, ready to eat, yet, something seemed different.
(It was a corrupted program I removed, and now everything is okay again. Oh, and a question is going to the Coffee House.)
-
"Hm?" Skuld looked around, wondering about the odd thing that stood out.
-
Mini-Malek was still in the garage.
----
Urd looked at the food. some of it was undercooked, some of it was overcooked.
"Bell, If you had wanted to take the night off to collect yourself, you could have." Urd said.
-
"I am...fine..." she said, but with a quiver to her voice.
-
"Nee-sama, are you sure you don't want to rest for a bit?" asked Skuld.
-
"I am...fine...it is just...why...cannot they...leave us...alone..."
Tears were starting to flow anew.
-
Skuld got up and buried her face into Belldandy.
"Don't cry onee-sama.."
-
"They...they might want to take my children away...fear of destroying them...I cannot stand it!"
-
"We'll figure out a way... We always do, right onee-sama?"
-
Lind then said, "If they want to both be there for their children, they will have to undergo a test not to dissimilar to what they faced in Niflheim when your mother came to test if they could stay together in the new contract."
-
"No matter the situation, we overcome it. You'll be there for Keiichi and your kids, Bell." Urd said.
---
Mini-Malek began secretly telepathically communicating with Chibi-Hild.
'Lady Hild, I have some news to tell.' Mini-Malek thought-sent.
-
"Test...trials...this is all getting old hat," grumbled Keiichi.
Belldandy looked horrified and said, "Does that mean I weary you!"
"NONONONO!" he said very quickly, "Look, if it's for you, I'd go to Hell and back...come to think of it, I did do that...but then you know that I would. Whatever it takes. I was just saying that, well, how many times is something like this going to happen?"
-
"Once for every kid, if I remember right." Urd said.
-
"What..." said Keiichi. ???
-
"unless they changed the rule, Bell will have to go through the test and the trial every time she decides to have a kid." Urd said. "I'm pretty sure that it changed though. I'll have to check later.
-
"But, why would we have many?" asked Keiichi, "One is fine, if that's what Bell wants."
"Well, you know it is a woman's prerogative to change her mind," she answered with a weak smile.
-
'Lady Hild, come in. Where are you?' Mini-Malek thought sent. Mini-Malek was still in the garage.
-
"*sigh* yes...what's going on?"
-
'Kakarine appeared at the temple, made Belldandy cry, and set up a trap to kill Keiichi. Z and I are currently taking apart the trap.' Malek thought-sent.
-
"Really...and how was she made to cry."
-
'Kakarine talked as if Bell was going to have to leave her children, should she have any.' Malek said.
-
"Ooh...low blow...but not entirely true."
-
'True, but sensitive topics and emotions tend to make that fact about anything easy to ignore.' Mini-Malek thought-sent. 'My main self is either still looking for Proter, or has found him and waiting for the right time to make the offer.'
(Who should play Proter?)
-
(It's been a while since we touched that plotline. Please refresh me on that one?)
-
(David Proter appeared in Chapter 22 of the manga. In the OMG universe, he placed third in the Dayona 500. His girlfriend was the All-USA kart champ. He and his girlfriend wanted to see how good Belldandy and Keiichi were when Aoshima claimed that Belldandy and Keiichi were the unofficial champions of the Japanese go-kart circuit.)
-
(Ohh...that's right...you take Proter, since that was your idea.)
-
(Well, I kinda was hoping that someone else would take him, but alright, I'll play him.)
-
(You know the character, so it would be useless for me to do so.)
-
(Actually, I think you'd still do a better job then me. As for characterization, he's mostly a blank slate. Little was done with the character in the manga in the sole chapter that he appeared in. Other then the fact that his girlfriend raced Belldandy and the bit about the Daytona 500, he only had three lines. Shall I type up the conversation that he had with Aoshima?)
-
(*sigh* no...I'll take him, and make him a typical American racer...southern redneck.)
-
(I'm sorry. It's just that I know very little about sports and I fear that I might screw something up with the character.)
-
"Well, how do you think he'd deal with Keiichi racing?"
-
'From the memories that my main self sent me, he seems like the kinda guy likes to face challenges. He also seems to share a few traits with his girlfriend. Quick to taunt their opponents, but plays fair.' Mini-Malek thought-sent.
-
"Okay, are you going to have him compete, or help?"
-
'I believe Proter is competing. My main self plans on offering Proter the ability to temporarily hear any vehicle that he touches as a way to even things up with Keiichi, since Keiichi will be having the supernatural help of Skuld and Belldandy.' Mini-Malek thought-sent.
-
"Odd you say that," she said, "I always knew her to be one of fair play...Bell, that is...and she only used it to counter foul play."
-
'I don't know what my main self is intending. For all we know, he might be intends on making it look like we're using magic to cheat, so that Belldandy will try to use her magic to make things fair, only to find out too late that we weren't cheating at all.' Mini-Malek thought-sent.
-
"Ooh...that would be fun!"
-
'Yes, it does sound like quite a bit of fun. But what do we do if she doesn't fall for it? Ask her what would have happened if it wasn't a trick, but in a way that makes her feel bad? It'd be a good idea to go with a plan that guarantees that no matter we win or lose, we walk away with a victory.' Mini-Malek Thought-sent.
-
"Well, do you think you can handle that?"
-
'My main self is the one handling the thing with Proter. For all I know, My main self might simply only be there to see if he can make a deal with Proter, and then later ask Belldandy just how fair is it that Keiichi and only a few others in the race receive supernatural help that no one else is getting.' Mini-Malek Thought-sent.'Honestly, I'm not even sure if my main self is even considering the thought of trying to trick Belldandy into cheating. Shall I try to contact my main self?'
-
"Well, I would be coordinating."
-
"That's good to know.' Mini-Malek thought-sent. He then sent out a contact thought to Malek
'Yes, what is it?' Malek thought-sent.
'Are you setting up a plan to trick Belldandy into cheating?" Mini-Malek thought-sent.
'In my opinion, there's no point in it.' Malek thought-sent.
'Why?' Mini-Malek thought-sent.
'Because if it fails, it fails and we gain nothing out of it.' Malek thought-sent.
-
"Well, what about this racer? Could we make it look like we were cheating? Belldandy always acts to counter such things, but if she is caught, we destroy her reputation, threaten her license, and even maybe split the pair up, though by the new contract, their binding is a bit more solid."
-
'The Racer is a bit of a Jerk, but seems to obeys the rules. I have a bit of a suspicion that Proter and Keiichi might wind up becoming friends after all is said and done. That's why I plan on offering an ability that is more useful out of the race, for our side to at least walk away with something.' Malek thought-sent. 'As for making it look like we were cheating, that plan is more or less doomed to fail. Ms. Happy Hippie seems to have a sixth sense when it comes to anything dealing with Keiichi or competitions. Besides, if we were to make it look like we were cheating, Urd or Skuld are more likely to counter-cheat to try to make things fair.
But if Belldandy were to be caught cheating, I'd put my money on her powers being heavily restricted, instead of anything else. And considering how little magic she uses for doing chores, it's not much of a punishment for her. I'd also put my money on the punishment being lifted the moment we try anything against the temple or its inhabitants. '
-
"Then you have to talk some sense to your avatars, because they seem to think up foolish things."
-
'Yes, They do. I think that may be a sign that I never should have stepped down from your personal security forces. I'm getting bored enough that my avatars are becoming silly. Ah well, live and learn.' Malek thought-sent. 'Oh, when I make the deal, is there any particular restaurant that you want a reservation for, Lady Hild?'
-
"Only the finest five-star Japanese restaurant," she said, "Complete with the cooks and grill at the table."
-
'I'll make sure that will be the price for the offer. After all, when one stops to ponder it, The ability to listen to vehicles simply by touching the vehicle for the price of a reservation at a restaurant is a pretty good offer from a human's perspective.' Malek thought-sent.
'How did you come up with the offer? Mini-Malek thought-sent.
'When the auto club was trying to put together an airplane that they discovered was buried under their college in pieces, Belldandy gave Keiichi the ability to hear the plane. The plane told him where to find its parts. That gave me the inspiration for the deal.' Malek thought-sent.
(Yeah, Malek is mimicking something that Belldandy did and he's doing it to further Hell's agenda. I find it amusing.)
-
"I just may have Hild Prime be there...to better things."
-
'Alright.' Malek thought-sent.
(I'm going to bed. See you later.)
-
(anyone on?)
-
(I am.)
-
(so what now?)
-
(hello?)
-
(It's doublet time!)
-
(what about the musical weakness event?)
-
(When is that supposed to take place?)
-
(after dinner the night before the Doublet.)
-
(Then that's on you guys...I wouldn't be involved with that.)
-
(where's Katz?)
-
(???)
-
(any idea when he's usually on?)
-
(He comes on when he comes on.)
-
(so what do you think, will Z and Ian remember each other or not?)
-
(Still haven't worked that one out yet.)
-
(well either choice would add flavor to the plot.)
-
(I say...not remember each other.)
-
(cool. looks like they'll meet twice.)
-
(Sorry, had to finish a few things. I thought The doublet thing was going to happen the next day and I need Auir to play Skuld for the musical weakness thingy-ma-bob.)
-
(I guess we wait. so how is the machine supposed to work?)
-
(Either from a distance for a potentially inaccurate scan or do a scan close up for an accurate scan. Unless Auir changed his mind about it.)
-
(um Auir if you're there can we continue?)
-
(anyone there TT_TT)
-
(I am, But I'm heading off to bed.)
-
(maybe tomorrow then?)
-
(Your choice. Either inaccurate long distance scan or accurate scan. Thin of something that would allow them to put the hat on him.)
-
(Should we skip ahead to after dinner?)
-
(I'm game)
-
*Lines up Trace in his crosshairs...BANG!*
(You said you were game...) :P
(Where were we?)
-
(we were thinking of skiping to after dinner. *activates barrier to deflect bullet*)
-
Finally, dinner was over.
-
"That was a great meal," said Z
(we might have to stall until Auir and Katz are on)
-
(Once they see some activity, they may.)
Bell was better, but a bit shaken still.
-
"Things are rarely as bad as you think they will be," said Z.
-
Ian said, "You know, for a demon's son, you're not half bad."
(Well, I have to hit the sack, but I will be here most of the day tomorrow. Nite!)
-
(night)
"Thanks," said Z, "I am an oddity in that way."
-
"Well, Skuld and I gotta go talk to Malek in private" Urd said, as she got up.
-
"I have something to ask when your're done too," said Z
-
"Alright, Z." Urd said. She then faced Skuld "Ready, Skuld?"
-
(anyone there?)
-
(I'm here.)
-
"so Ian," said Z, "nervous about tomorrow?"
-
"I'm really not sure how I am supposed to feel..."
-
"I'm actually nervous about if we would be able to rebuild our friendship if we completely forget."
-
"That is...if we even forget each other at all. I was told it was possible that we would only forget the meeting, but it's the whole memory erasure thing that gets to me."
-
"Yeah," said Z, "I hope it won't make me a jerk or something. though mom might like that."
-
"Well, I don't think that we are going to lose our personalities."
-
"I just mean that the experiences that shaped my personality might be erased."
-
"Dude! They're not going to erase us back to diapers!"
-
"But I did only meet everyone just recently, and lived a hard life alone before that."
-
"The only thing we will forget at the worst is that you and I know each other, and even then, I don't think that would matter, considering we work with each other, and we won't even have a memory of one another to regret that we forgot we knew one another. I don't think we'd stay apart for long. It's like we'll just meet anew, and go on as normal."
-
"Thanks," said Z, "I was just a bit paranoid. So what's Nee-sama and Skuld up to with Mr Malek?"
-
He just shrugged and said, "Beats me. The less I know in some regards, the better off I am."
-
"I just hope they don't damage the house."
-
"What ARE they doing?"
-
Z shrugged.
-
"Well, it's time for work," he answered, "Besides, if disaster does strike in what they are doing, at least we won't be here, but at work!"
-
"I'll catch up," said Z, "I need to speak with Mr Malek anyway, so I'll teleport there when I'm done."
-
He nodded and headed to the arcade.
-
"How is everything?" Deberk asked, when Ian came in.
(anyone know where Auir is?)
-
(sorry but no)
-
"As normal as can be expected," said Ian, "The doublet thingy is tomorrow, and it seems so odd, but not so bad. It does keep me in check, knowing someone might suffer if I sought to harm someone on my divine side, possibly myself if it was my partner. Z seems shook by it, but I just figured that, since we haven't known each other long, there is not much to forget, and we'll be friends again anyway, and not even remember or even care about what's going to happen tomorrow."
-
"Even if your memories of your friendship with Z are taken away by doublet, the feeling of friendship remain. So there'll be feeling of trust that'll help you become friends again." Deberk said.
-
"That's why I'm not making much of a fuss," said Ian, "But Z seems shook. Anyway, the only beef with me is that I get to go to heaven without dying, and I won't remember it!"
-
"My old man's been to Heaven on a few diplomatic missions. He said it's nice, a bit too gaudy for his tastes, but nice." Deberk said with a shrug. "Then again, he's preferred the wilderness over anything else."
-
"From what I understand there, the wilderness is perfect. Even the dirt is clean."
-
"I'm not a fan of the great outdoors. You'd have to ask Malek for why he doesn't seem to think much of Heaven's wilderness." Deberk replied.
-
"Well, I'm off to do my duty."
-
"Have fun." Deberk said.
-
(I told Auir. He's here.)
-
"Ready, Skuld?" Urd asked.
-
"Ready!" whispered Skuld into the earpiece. She was in her room, the only light coming from the dozens of computer screens.
-
Urd walked in the room where Mini-Malek was in.
"Hey, Malek. I want to speak with you in private somewhere else in the temple." Urd said.
"Isn't here a good place?" Mini-Malek asked.
"No, not really, especially when you consider your tiny selves undoing the trap on Keiichi's beemer." Urd said.
Mini-Malek shrugged. he followed Urd into a storage room, where she immediately threw a sleeping potion at Mini-Malek. When he passed out, Urd said, "Time for your part, Skuld."
-
"Alright, just put the thing on his head and let it work my magic!" said Skuld over the headpiece.
-
Urd did as Skuld said.
"Let me know when you've found his musical weakness." Urd asked.
(I'm going with the theory about AMG that a long time ago, Demons made a deal that granted them more power then a god, but it came with the price of a musical weakness. When Malek was young, he had an operation done that took away his musical weakness, but also took away the additional power that came with it.)
-
"Okay! Leave it to me!" said Skuld as she began typing into the computer. There was a scanning bar on the bottom of her screen. 10%... 11%... 12%....
-
Urd smirked.
'It's not like you've found a way to get rid of your musical weakness, Malek. You've probably hidden your musical weakness well, but Skuld's machine will find it.' Urd thought.
-
50%.... 51%... 52%....
"Hm..." Skuld sat there, swinging her legs as she watched the bar inch toward the finish. She brought her glass of ice tea to her lips and slurped, only to find that it was empty. She hopped off her chair and headed toward the kitchen.
-
"I take it that he hid his musical weakness well?" Urd asked.
-
"Hm? Oh, no. It's just that it plays all the frequencies and sees which ones gets a reaction. There's a lot so it may take some time." said Skuld while pouring out a new glass of iced tea.
-
(I thought Skuld's invention would be playing various musical Frequencies and songs to see what effects Malek.)
-
(Oh, I'll change it.)
When Skuld got back, she frowned and stared at the screen.
100%
"Huh? No way, there must be an error somewhere..." muttered Skuld.
-
(actually, Malek doesn't have one. I put a bit of info a few posts back about why he doesn't have one.)
-
(Changed)
-
(Thanks. I'm sorry that I was a bit annoying.)
"What? is it some genre not invented on earth yet?" Urd asked.
-
"No, we just played everything. And nothing affects him. Hod on, I'll run another test." said Skuld as she typed into the comuter.
(It's fine.)
-
Urd's face paled for a second.
"Y-Yeah. that might be a good idea." Urd said.
-
A few minutes later, Skuld's voice came through.
"I don't know... I don't know what's wrong... There can't be anything wrong with my device... It keeps saying he has none."
-
Z knocked on the door, "can I interrupt for a second? I need to ask Mr. Malek something and head to work."
-
"Uh, yeah, just a second!" Urd said, before taking Skuld's device off Mini-Malek and hiding it.
She then shook Mini-Malek awake.
"Huh, wha..." Mini-Malek muttered, as he rubbed his eyes.
"Z wants to talk with you." Urd said. "You can come in, Z!"
-
"I was wondering if you could teach me a spell to create randomly moving drone targets for a spell I'm working on?" Z asked walking in, "Um what's that Nee-sama?"
-
"I'll tell you later. I gotta go see Skuld." Urd said, before leaving.
"Yes, I do know such a spell. So does Deberk. Unlike most of the beginner spells, it requires a few specific hand gestures to program them. How about after the doublet ceremony, either I or Deberk teach you it?" Mini-Malek said, as he took something out of his pocket. It was a Tiny-Malek. After Mini-Malek absorbed it, Mini-Malek smiled and muttered, "So that's what Urd was trying to do..."
-
(I also have to remember what happens in the ceremony and what needs to be said...)
-
"What was she doing?" asked Z
-
(I'll check tomorrow around the Welsper chapters for that info, Paladin313.)
"The device was something to discover musical weaknesses." Mini-Malek said. "She had knocked me out with a sleeping potion, but didn't factor in that I'm one paranoid git."
-
(Thanks.)
-
"Ok," said Z, "I need to get to work," he said walking out.
(I was thinking he bumps into urd or skuld and the helmet lands on his head.)
-
(or he confronts Urd and Skuld for doing something sneaky and underhanded towards Malek, especially while he's helping them. Urd says it was to have an ace in the hole in case of a major problem later. Z asks to see the device and wants to know if it even works.)
-
(good Idea)
Z walked over to the room Urd and Skuld were in.
"Nee-sama, Skuld, may I ask why you tried to trick Malek and find out his weakness when he has done nothing wrong?"
-
"E-eh? What do you mean?" asked Skuld, feigning innocence.
-
"I was wondering why Mr Malek said you put him to sleep and tried to scan his weakness." Z said angrily.
-
"A few times, Hild and Mara attacked the temple. Once, she even even removed Bell's, Peorth's, and My angels for a little bit. If Malek decided to join a future attack, We would at least have an advantage against him." Urd said.
Behind Z, Mini-Malek was slowly clapping.
"Had she been in your position, your mother would have done the same thing you just done." Mini-Malek said.
"I am not Hild." Urd said, while trying to stay calm. Only her hands betrayed her. They trembled a little bit, either in fear, or showing that she was getting ready to throw an Urdbolt at Mini-Malek.
-
Z sighed, "can we not fight? besides, I'm curious to if the device actually works. May I try it?"
-
Skuld looked up at Urd as if asking what to do.
-
"Go ahead." Urd said.
-
Z placed the device on his head, "so how does it work?"
-
(are we going to continue?)
-
"It works by playing ll the different frequencies and forming them together into patterns. When you start reacting to one of them is when I'll know what kind of music you're weak to."
-
"Let's start then," said Z
-
Skuld nodded and went into her room to prep the machine.
-
Z sat down and waited.
-
Skuld turned on the machine and yelled through the house.
"Okay! Put it on!"
-
"It's on," said Z, "what next?"
-
"Nothing! It'll start playing and you'll start reacting when it hits your musical weakness!" she yelled.
-
Z listened to a few songs waiting for a reaction. When Death Metal music came on he fell to the floor, limp.
"Damnit turn it off!" Z yelled, "I cant feel my body from the neck down!"
-
There was no reply for a few seconds.
"It's picking up something! Are you reacting?" Skuld called out.
-
"I'M PARALYZED FROM THE NECK DOWN! WHAT DO YOU THINK?!"
-
"Skuld tends to get distracted when she has a new invention that succeeds." Urd said, as she began to use a scan spell to make sure that Z didn't injure himself when he fell.
-
A few moments later, it shut off. She ran into the room enthusiastically.
"Did it work? It worked didn't it?!"
-
"Yeah it worked," said Z geting up, "what did the readout say?"
-
She plugged her mp3 into a miniature speaker and pressed play. Death metal began to play throughout the room.
-
Urd pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Z gets paralyzed to that genre of music, Skuld." Urd said.
"Z, should you ever decide to move, there's always a place at the arcade's apartment half for you." Mini-Malek said.
-
"Turn that music off and I won't melt your Ice cream!" Z said from the floor.
-
"Oh, I wanted to see him dance..." she shut it off.
"Well, you react to death metal apparently."
-
Urd held out a hand to Z to help him up.
-
Z took Urd's hand and got up, "not everyone reacts the same. Mara dances, Nee-sama falls asleep, I get paralyzed." said Z, "now I have to get to work. ciao."
Z then teleported to the arcade.
-
(so should we skip to the doublet?)
-
(Malek and Hild have a task to do in America first.)
-
(ok then)
Z got to the arcade and got to work
-
"Hello, Z." Deberk said, as he was carrying some paint cans and heading towards the basement.
-
"You're Debrek, right?" said Z, "Mr. Malek told me about you."
-
"Yes, I'm Deberk. Do you have any questions or do you wish to say something?" Deberk asked. Deberk's tone was polite and curious.
-
"not really," said Z, "just a request that Death Metal be banned from being played while I'm here."
-
"Alright, I'll let Mara and Hild know." Deberk said, before walking off.
(I'm heading off to bed. good night.)
-
"thanks," said Z.
(night)
-
Deberk decided to find Mara and Hild first before going back on his task.
-
Z went to his station
-
(so what now?)
-
(Need to work out the scenario Katz had in mind.)
-
(which one?)
-
(Where Hild and Malek bribe a couple of racers to try to beat Kei in the big race coming.)
-
(I see. So what's the problem?)
-
(We need HotelKatz to RP the scene.)
-
(isn't he on now?)
-
(I don't know!)
-
(I just meant the site says he's online.)
-
(Not what I just saw.)
-
(oh. I guess he just got off)
-
(I'm back. Shall we work out the details here or in the coffee house?)
-
(Details on what?)
-
(Never mind. I was distracted.)
Malek was on a building, waiting for Hild.
-
Hild arrived and said, "Okay, where are they?"
-
Malek pointed at a nearby parking lot.
"I've been waiting until they've gotten a moment alone." Malek said.
-
"Well then, let's make our proposal."
-
Malek smiled and nodded.
He then teleported to an alley nearby Proter. Malek then walked out and called out, "Hello there!"
-
He just looked at him for a moment and went back to his car.
-
"Do you recall a couple of people by the name of Keiichi Morisato and Belldandy?" Malek asked, as he walked towards Proter.
-
"'scuse me...who the H$@* are you?"
-
"Why I'm here to reveal a few facts about that go-kart race from so long ago and to make a deal with you." Malek replied.
-
"Wait, just how the f$%# do you know about that?"
-
"I tend to keep an eye out for beings like Belldandy." Malek said.
-
He picked up a 3/4 inch ratchet and said, "You have about two seconds to extract yourself before you get hurt."
-
"Do you think that it's fair that Morisato has some magical beings to bail him out of a loss in a race?" Malek asked, unafraid of being threatened.
-
He stopped and said, "You wanna run that by me again, boy?"
(My fighting team in Blacklight Retribution is practicing now. Be on later.)
-
"Belldandy and her sisters have used their powers to insure that Keiichi has a better chance at winning his races. While technically not against the rules because no one ever considered it, he's the only one that usually has a bit of magical support." Malek said.
-
"Now, why should a listen to an oddly dressed nut case like you? Magic...ain't no such thing boy!"
-
With a gesture of his hand, Malek created a glowing ball about the size of a basketball that was showing the go-kart race that was mentioned earlier.
"Need more proof?" Malek asked.
(I'm going to bed. See you all later.)
-
"Holy fart knockers!"
-
'I believe there is a 75 percent chance he is impressed by the orb viewer spell. 25 percent chance is that Hild used a wind spell to blow a winning lottery ticket in front of him for reasons known only to her.' Malek thought.
-
He was still amazed, and then some sensibility hit him and he said, "So...wait...are y'all sayin' they cheated?"
-
"It depends on your point of view. If something is not specifically against the rules, but no one else is using it, is it cheating?" Malek asked.
-
"Still seems dishonest...what does this have to do with me now?"
-
"Are you competing in the upcoming Daytona?" Malek asked.
-
"Yeah...so?"
-
"Keiichi will be competing as well." Malek said. "Though in all honesty, I probably should tell you of the magic spell that was using during the go-kart race and what Belldandy did during her race with your girlfriend, before we go any further."
-
"you mean...he's...aw...S%$#! Let one foreigner win that race, (referring to Mario Andretti,) and now everyone thinks they can come over here and race our race! Yeah...tell me all about it!"
-
"During Belldandy's race with your girlfriends, Belldandy used her magical mathematical abilities to calculate the best way to make a new course record. As for Keiichi.... Well, it's more like countercheating for that moment in time, due to that Aoshima fellow's actions..." Malek said.
(Proter referred to Aoshima as 'Tosh' and buddy in the manga chapter. I guess they might have been in contact and somewhat-acquaintances before the go-kart race. I get the feeling I might be putting too much thought into this.)
-
"Bottom line...you say they don't play fair."
-
"It all depends on the point of view. No where in the rules is it said that magic is illegal, but no one else besides Keiichi's team is using it. For the most part, Most of the magic Belldandy uses is a little bit of her compelling voice to make Keiichi calm down when he panics before a race." Malek said. "But for the upcoming race, Keiichi's team has someone who is magically gifted when it comes to anything to do with technology."
(I'm trying to make Malek be as honest as possible, but also having him not mentioning any extra info more then necessary. If I make a mistake, Let me know.)
-
"So, watcha proposin', boy?"
-
"I'm not going to be so stupid as to offer you a definite victory. That's something that neither one of us wants to have in a deal." Malek said. "Instead, I offer you the ability to hear the voice of vehicles like they were another human."
-
"...."
"Still not sure I like it. If I want to beat someone, I want it fair and square."
-
Malek nodded.
"I understand. That's why I offer an ability that has no effect on your driving performance." Malek said.
-
"Still kinda cheatin' Besides, been driving so long that the car can tell me without no magic what's wrong with her!"
-
"On top of that, what do you get out of this?"
-
"As for what I get out of this.... Well, I'm doing this to give a lovely lady a reservation at a restaurant of her choosing." Malek said.
-
"Who would that be?"
"I would assume myself," said Chibi-Hild, now standing with them.
-
"She usually looks like this." Malek said, as he produced a poster of Hild Prime.
-
"Are you her daughter?"
Not quite, but we ARE closely related.
-
"We have the ability to change how we look." Malek replied.
-
"She's a knockout!"
-
Malek then made the poster disappear.
"As for the ability I offer, It works on all vehicles. Imagine impressing your friends when they have car trouble by simply putting your hand on their car. The car will then tell you what's wrong with it and you can relay it to your friends, by claiming that you have a gut feeling about what the problem might be." Malek said.
(I was tempted to have Malek throwing in the poster as part of the deal, but I felt that was making him look a bit pathetic.)
-
"...."
"As long as I can use it on everyone...including that Morisato kid. If I'm going to do this, I'm going to be right about it!"
-
Malek nodded.
"I have no problems with that." Malek replied. "Do we have a deal?"
-
"Deal, partner."
-
"Alright, the payment for the ability is a reservation at a the finest five-star Japanese restaurant, complete with the cooks and grill at the table." Malek said. He then pointed at Chibi-Hild. "She was the one that decided that should be the price."
-
"Not much to ask...uh...who is paying?"
-
"You are, Proter, if you want the ability." Malek said.
-
He frowned, but knew he could pay, and said, "Let me get my better threads on."
-
"Very well." Malek said.
(I'm heading to bed.)
-
With that, he headed to his place and changed.
-
Chibi-Hild's cellphone rang.
-
She thought that odd and answered it.
-
"Hello, It's Deberk. Z requested that Death Metal be banned from being played at the arcade." Deberk said.
-
"Why? Well, I know Mara's weakness to Rock and Roll in general...is that the issue with Z?"
-
"Probably." Deberk replied.
-
"Well, it's sad we have to cut that out as well...what do we fill it with...disco...ABBA?"
-
"I'm not in charge of the music. I just make sure everything is working right... Come to think of it, who is in charge of the music?" Deberk asked.
-
"I don't think we ever figured that out...I thought we would just by the MUZAK system and pick the station we need."
-
"I'll purchase and install it later after we close." Deberk said.
-
"Okay...it shouldn't cost that much for a subscription."
-
"There's plenty of room in the budget for it, considering how much gold we sold that belonged to some of the thieves and robbers that are being punished." Deberk replied. "Anything else before I hang up?"
-
"No, just keep things together while away. Ta-ta!"
-
"I will do my best." Deberk said, before hanging up.
-
"Well, Malek, what should I wear? Maybe a nice kimono for the Japanese restaurant?"
-
Malek thought for a few seconds.
"I don't see why not. Any particular kimono you plan on wearing? It's been awhile since you've worn the one with the black and gold colors." Malek asked.
-
"Oh, that would be perfect!"
-
"Shall we continue to wait for Proter or go find him?" Malek asked.
-
"We'll meet him there."
-
"Well, I'll teleport after you." Malek replied.
-
She nodded, instantly changing her clothes in the blink of an eye and went there.
-
Malek then teleported.
-
Proter was there, wearing a sports jacket, slacks, cowboy boots and hat, and a sting tie.
-
"Shall we make the transaction?" Malek asked.
-
The matre d' stopped them and said, "I am sorry, but your friend cannot enter without a tie."
-
(Wait, I thought they were in America?)
-
(They are, and some five-star places still demand formal wear.)
-
(Ah, my bad. I'm a bit absentminded today)
Malek put his hand at his throat and then made his had go down, making a tie appear.
"I'm a magician in my spare time." Malek said.
-
"What about him?" he said, not recognizing a string tie as a tie.
-
"Surely, you'll let it slide this one time?" Malek asked, secretly using a spell to add a slight compelling effect to his voice.
-
Before it took effect, Proter said, "Ain't you never seen no string tie, boy! I is wearin' a tie, and perfectly formal for the good ol' south. Now you gonna let me in, or do I have to break a few teeth!"
-
Malek de-activated the spell on his voice.
"Mr. Proter, there's no need to get physical. " Malek said. Malek turned back on the spell before saying. "Maitre d', will you overlook it just this once?"
-
Whether it was his approach or Proter, they were let in.
-
"It's been awhile since I've been in this kind of restaurant" Malek muttered.
-
They were guided to a table, and, yes, on the floor, but elevated enough to be at the right place in front of the grill while the chef spun his blades.
-
(I've never been in this kind of restaurant, so I have no idea what to do.)
-
(They cook it right there at your table, and the chef has all kinds of Japanese cooking blades and spins them as he chops and cooks. It's like cooking and a show at the same time. Picture the movie "Cocktails" but with a chef in white and not so much dancing.)
-
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktb77Sv1JGM (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktb77Sv1JGM))
-
(that looks like Tanaka of Tokyo)
-
As Malek watched the chef show off their skill, Malek thought, 'I don't care what the gods or demons like to claim, any work done without an ounce of magic is just good, if not better, than anything done with magic.'
-
"I always thought them fancy tricks they had was neat!" said Proter.
-
"Such skill is always to be admired, in my opinion." Malek replied.
-
Chibi Hild had some fun and made it so he could go super fast without hurting himself.
-
"Please behave, Hild." Malek quietly muttered
-
"Oh really? You tell ME what to do?"
Now all the chefs were doing this.
-
Malek pinched the bridge of his nose.
'We're in middle of a deal. Didn't you give a speech last year to keep your eye on the ball when making deals or helping others make their deals? The speech you forced me to go to?' Malek thought.
-
Soon, everyone calmed, and things were back to normal as she said, "You are such a party pooper."
-
"Perhaps." Malek replied.
-
Soon, the chef had a few bite-sized pieces, and he said, "Ready!" flipping one off the gril, and Chibi Hild caught it right away.
-
Malek caught one as well.
-
One landed on Proter's nose.
-
"Napkin?" Malek asked as he produced one.
-
"Boy needs to work on his aim," he said, taking it.
-
"Accidents happen." Malek replied.
-
"So...you say that boy's comin here to race, huh?"
-
"Yes, and Aoshima is helping him." Malek replied.
(I'm going to bed.)
-
"Hmm...."
He was now lost in thought.
-
"Something the matter?" Malek asked.
---
Deberk was in the basement of the arcade, painting some special symbols on the walls.
Deciding that a little background noise couldn't hurt, he turned on the tv down there.
~click~ "If your drill says 'Binford'...GET OUT OF THE HOUSE, TOOLS AREN'T SUPPOSED TO TALK TO YOU!"
"Nah, some other time." Deberk muttered to himself.
~click~ "Gangs of old ladies attacking fit, defenseless young men."
"That'll do." Deberk said with a smile, before getting back to work.
-
"You say that girl gonna be there?"
-
"You mean Belldandy? Yes." Malek replied.
-
"Yeah...I know one way that ain't cheatin that might help..."
-
"What is it?" Malek asked.
-
"I don't mean that someone take his girl, but just show kindness and interest in her. Knowing the way she is, from what I remember, she will not suspect anything, treat him well, and put the green-eyed monster in her boyfriend. Do that, he gets distracted, and cannot focus on the race enough to win it."
-
"I suspect Aoshima might be planning on doing that, despite the fact that he's working with Morisato at the moment. Perhaps he's hoping that Belldandy somehow decide to leave Keiichi, if Keiichi doesn't do well. Belldandy was one of the few to reject Aoshima's advances." Malek said.
-
"Well, perhaps we can kill two birds with one stone here."
-
"Perhaps. I'll have to send someone to spy on Aoshima to see if he's trying anything like what I mentioned." Malek replied.
-
"It would be interesting to see if there was something we can work out in that," said Chibi Hild.
-
"Yes, it could." Malek replied.
-
"Let's see what we can do with that."
-
"I'll start on it tomorrow." Malek said. "Mr. Proter, would you like your new ability now or when get get out to the parking lot?"
-
"Um...outside."
-
"Alright, After when we're done here, then." Malek replied.
-
After they dined well, they went out.
-
"Any questions before I give you the ability?" Malek asked.
-
"What do I need to know?"
-
"The ability only will work when you're in contact with a vehicle." Malek said, as he made waved his hands around. There was a quick flash of light. Malek then said, "Alright, that's it. You can now hear the voices of any vehicle when you touch them."
-
He touched his own car.
-
He heard a voice humming a song that had played earlier on the car's radio.
(I'm heading to bed early tonight.)
-
He was amazed.
-
"Go ahead, let your car know that you can hear it now." Malek said.
-
"Um...Hi car? I can hear you now?"
-
"...Wait. you can hear me now? ....I'm.... not sure what to say... I've never thought this would ever happen..." The car replied.
-
"This is...different..."
-
"Yeah..." The car replied.
"Should you wish to call for any future deals, here is my business card." Malek said as he handed a business card to Proter.
-
He took the card and went back to his house, having one awkward conversation with the car, but also realizing that, when his time was done in racing, he could have the best repair shop in town.
-
"Well, I thought the deal went well. Your thoughts, Hild?" Malek asked.
-
"This is going to be one crazy race in a few months. I just wonder how the kid inventor is doing with her drones getting Kei ready."
-
"One of my spies told me that she was a bit disappointed that she couldn't go all out with her planned upgrades." Malek said.
-
"I do not think she has the concept of a stock car race."
-
"I think it's more like she doesn't like the idea of limits." Malek replied.
-
"She's going to be trouble if she does not learn."
-
"Luckily, she has Urd and Belldandy to reign her in." Malek replied. "Shall we head back to the arcade? I believe Deberk has finished the project I told him to complete."
-
"Lets."
-
Malek teleported back to the arcade's roof.
-
(anyone on?)
-
(Yeah.)
Malek began walking down to the basement, hoping that Hild would soon follow.
"Hello, Z." Malek said as he passed by Z.
-
Z had split himself into five mini selves to do more work, "ah, hello Mr. Malek. is everything alright?"
-
"Yes, everything is alright." Malek replied. "How is everything with you?"
-
"Things are going normally," said one of the chibi Zs, "though, the prize booth is running short on hellhound plushies."
-
"Well, if there aren't extras in the storage room, just order some." MAlek said. "I suspect the crafting division will be pleased to hear that their favorite product is starting to be popular.They might personally deliver some by tomorrow, should they hear about it."
-
"that's good to know," said Z, "so where did you and mom go?"
-
"To America and it was to make a deal." Malek replied.
-
"I assume it has to do with the upcoming race?" said Z, "and don't worry, I may live with three goddesses and a demigod, but I can still keep secrets from them."
-
"Somewhat. At most, it has a very loose connection with the race." Malek replied.
-
"I see," said Z, "I was wondering, does the doublet always happen in heaven or does it rotate between heaven and hell?"
-
"It actually takes place in a special area that is the only direct connection between Heaven and Hell." Malek said.
-
"Well that would explain a lot," said Z, "so when tomorrow does it happen?"
-
"I believe so. Hild would know the specifics better than I do." Malek replied.
(I'm going to bed.)
-
(ciao)
-
(anyone on?)
-
(Shall we go on to that?)
-
(that?)
-
(the doublet ceremony.)
-
(Don't mind)
-
(You don't mind having a doublet ceremony?) ;D
-
(Errh, don't mind skipping to that part. >>)
-
(If Trace comes on, we're going to do that one.)
-
(the doublet?)
-
(yeeeeeeeeeees! *sigh* Let's get to the next day.)
-
Z was waiting outside the Temple wearing black robes with red trim and gold designs.
-
Ian came out wearing what Lind gave him, feeling dorky in it. The others came out wearing their goddess outfits, saying, "I know this is going to be special!"
"Too bad we won't remember it," said Ian.
Bell then said, "Oh, but you shall get to see others in the future."
-
"Let's get this over with," said Z, "then I will be less nervous."
-
With that, Chibi Hild arrived and said, "Don't start this party without me."
-
"Of course not mom," said Z, "and thanks for the new outfit."
-
"Of course!" she said, "Oh...I love how you call me that...doesn't it sound nice, Urd?"
-
Skuld walked in, checking if she had everything on right.
"Good luck!" she said to Ian.
-
He tousled her hair and said, "I am just glad you'll be there with me."
The ritual then started to transport everyone to the neutral grounds.
-
'I wonder what the neutral grounds will look like?' wondered Z
-
(Man, we need Katz!)
-
(yeah)
-
(I've sent a PM...hopefully, he gets it.)
-
(I'm here. For some reason, I'm not getting notices)
-
(Also, wouldn't the only ones that would be allowed in the neutral grounds would be Z and Ian at the moment?)
-
(Because of the precedence being set, would not witness be called for...or maybe they can all come, but only they enter the chamber.)
-
(I think it'd be better for the gods to go to Heaven's entrance to the Neutral grounds and the Demons to go to hell's Entrance to the Neutral grounds. The scene in the manga showed no witnesses, probably because it's a very private ceremony.)
-
(Right, then they would take them to the entrance to the neutral, stay out, and then retrieve their unconscious forms.)
Belldandy then said, "Ian...feel privileged. You get to see the gates of your future home. Keiichi...I am sorry that you cannot come."
"It's okay...I understand the importance of the situation."
Hild looked at Z and asked, "Are you ready to see home? Oh, I so like hearing 'mother'...isn't that a good thing for a mother to hear, URdie?"
-
Urd mumbled, "Let's just get on with it."
-
"last time I was in hell I was being exiled to earth because of my dislike for causing misfortune to people," said Z, "nobody's going to be mad this time, right?"
-
"Oh of course not!" she said, "You'll get to see the good part this time."
-
"Z, you are now willing to cause a little bit of misfortune, but it will be to help people prepare for far worse emergencies. I think you'll be alright." Malek said.
-
With that, they were both whisked off to their respective entrance points.
-
"Do you know what words to say?" Urd asked Ian.
---
"Do you know what words to say?" Malek asked Z.
-
"Please refresh my memory."
-
Urd handed Ian a card with the words on it.
"We're too close to the place and I don't want to risk setting the system off early." Urd said.
-
He took the card and kept it handy.
-
"not really," said Z, "I don't have the best memory."
(what's with the notifications?! I missed a lot of posts!)
-
"Due to the proximity, I cannot verbally tell you, But this note has the words." Malek said ,as he handed a note to Z.
(Here is a re-posting of the words, along with some instructions.
If the words are not in color, it is said by both. Otherwise, Red for demon, blue for god/goddess
---
You who are together with me.
The closest strangers.
The furthest twins.
You who are together with me, you who protect the darkness.
You who protect the light. You who are together with me.
Until the light disappears, Until the darkness disappears, Darkness will protect the light, Light will protect the darkness.
Making our life one, sharing our life.
For the gods, I ------ , do swear
For the demons, I ------ , do swear.
)
-
(I made some changes in your settings Trace. You should be getting notifications now. Hotel, are you still having problems with notifications?)
-
(no problems at the moment.)
-
(Thanks Auir)
Z pocketed the card, "Thanks, I'm ready now."
-
"Wow...heaven IS beautiful..."
"But...entering comes later," said Belldandy, "I think Father wants to watch you on earth for a while."
-
Hell's entrance to the neutral area had a bit of a Greco-Roman flair to it.
"From what I remember of the neutral area, it's kinda bland and empty." Malek said.
-
"I like the look of the entrance," said Z
-
He swallowed, nodded, and went through.
-
"I never did get to show you what I made Deberk add to the arcade, Hild." Malek said.
-
"Well, why don't we look while we wait for the two."
-
Malek created a Mini-Malek, who then teleported to the Arcade.
-
Hild followed
-
Z walken into the room
-
In the basement of the arcade. Mini-Malek put his hand against a large eye symbol on the wall.
A good deal of the basement was taken up by a holographic scale simulation of the surrounding area around the arcade. If one were to look closely at the holographic scale model, they could spot holographic representations of people running about.
"I had Deberk put this in. Unlike a scan spell, this won't set off any warning bells to anyone looking for any spells being cast. That's because this is purely passive." Mini-Malek said. "But it will only work with demonic energy charging the symbol."
-
"So...what are you looking to do with this?"
__________________________
Ian suddenly was feeling the weight of the situation, in his special robes, all alone in this seeming limbo, seeing Z as he entered. He then said, "Are you ready?"
(Here are our words again...)
You who are together with me.
The closest strangers.
The furthest twins.
You who are together with me, you who protect the darkness.
You who protect the light. You who are together with me.
Until the light disappears, Until the darkness disappears, Darkness will protect the light, Light will protect the darkness.
Making our life one, sharing our life.
For the gods, I ------ , do swear
For the demons, I ------ , do swear.
-
"Area scan spells often let other magical beings know that someone is looking for them. This doesn't have that effect," Mini-Malek said. "There's also a setting for this to detect enchanted items. They blink red on the model."
-
Z nodded and took a breath
"You who are together with me.
The closest strangers.
The furthest twins."
-
He said the same, adding, "You who are together with me, you who protect the darkness."
-
"You who protect the light. You who are together with me." Z said next
-
Ian continued with the shared words, "Until the light disappears, Until the darkness disappears, Darkness will protect the light, Light will protect the darkness.
Making our life one, sharing our life."
-
Z repeated what he said while adding, "For the demons, I Kazi Carter, do swear."
-
"For the Gods, I, Ian MacGovern, do swear."
(I can't remember what happens now. Do they both pass out?)
-
(let's say they do)
-
As they both went out, they were transported back to their respective places, Hild catching Z in time and had a bed brought over for him. Ian arrived at heaven's gates, and a cloud caught him.
-
"Mom, what happened?" said Z groggily.
-
"You...took a short nap, but its okay. What would you like to do with the rest of the day?"
(We are looking to advance the story up to a month before the race, but Katz wants to work out the training thing you two have going.)
-
(I wouldn't mind a timeskip. We can just say Z finished his training.)
"Well Mr. Malek said he would hemp me with a new spell," said Z
-
(Did you catch that, Katz?)
-
"The deflect shield spell is willing the magical energy that makes up your shield to spin around. That will give it a bit of a defective property." Malek said. "Having a firm grasp of geometry helps with deciding where the deflected shot goes."
-
Ian slept deeply, and Belldandy smiled, saying, "Sleep on, dear brother. You shall awake as if nothing happened, and I hope you and Z can be friends again."
-
Z nodded, "It should come in handy with my next project. I need to create drone targets that fly in random patterns so I can test a new laser spell I've been working on that changes direction according to my thoughts and has a lightning element. the shield should protect me from misfires."
-
"You're thinking of Barrier spells. Shield spells are stronger, but protect from one direction. When a Shield spell overlaps with another shield spell, both get stronger. Barrier spell protect from all directions, but aren't as strong." Malek. "And using more than one shield spell is foolish. The energy drain outweighs any benefits."
-
"I see," said Z, "can you teach me before I head back?"
-
"to use a Barrier Spell, Will your magical energy to form a bubble around you." Malek said. " Your first attempts will create a weak bubble, but the more you use the spell, the thicker the bubble becomes. Same goes for the shield spell."
-
"and what about the remote drone spell you said you would teach me?"
-
"To use that spell, it requires a few hand gestures. Here is how to do them," Malek said, as he started a few hand gestures. When he was done, a small flying ball with a smiley face appeared.
-
Z made the hand signs and created a smily face sphere. "so it will move at random patterns right?" asked Z
-
"You'll have to tell it 'Training mode, random patterns' or do a few more hand signs for it to do it right off the bat." Malek answered.
-
"okay, training mode, random patterns" said Z causing the drone to fly around.
Z pointed his hand with his palm forward, "ryūsei he said firing a beam of energy that repeatedly changed directions to follow and strike the drone.
-
"You should probably train somewhere else besides the entrance to the neutral area." Malek said. "I'll put in a request for a space increaser for use in the arcade."
-
"Thank you," said Z, "I'd better get back to the temple before the others worry and start dinner."
-
Ian was just coming to, and he was greeted warmly by the others. He then said, "Strange...I remember going to the gates of heaven with you, but why and what happened after is a blank to me. I wake up in my bed as if everything is okay."
-
Z teleported to the temple gate. "I wonder what Belldandy is cooking tonight?"
-
"Hello, Z." Urd said, as she was sitting on the roof of the temple.
-
Ian walked out, spotted Z, and then said, "Um, Hi...I know you?"
-
"No, I don't recall seeing you before," said Z to Ian, "where do you live?"
-
"I live here in a guesthouse," he said, "I just recently found out I had sisters living here."
He went up and said, "Name's Ian MacGovern."
-
"My name is Kazi Carter, but please call me Z." said Z, "And actually I live here too and have a sister here too."
-
"Really? Surprised we have not met."
-
"Yeah, it's kind of strange," said Z.
-
"Hey, Urd...Why have you never introduced us?"
-
"I figured it'd be better if you did it on your own." Urd said.
-
"Well, I guess, but, did you sneak him through the back?" he joked.
-
"Nah, he teleported here." Urd said.
-
He hesitated for a moment, and then remembered 'sister,' which would make him a brother of sorts, and he said, "Oh, so you're a god like them?"
-
"I'm actually more of a semi demon," said Z.
-
"Whaa!" he said, saying, "What is the other half? (Keeping Urd's condition in mind.)"
-
"human," said Z, "I'm Urd-nee-sama's half brother."
-
However, his recollection of what he now knew about demons came to mind, and he then said, "Do you fall to the mischief side, or Urd's side?"
-
"I guess I am a middle point," said Z, "I cause misfortune, but only to help others in the long run."
-
"Oh...well...I guess that's cool," he said, "Well, how long have you been with us?"
-
Urd wondered what would happen, either the two would get a strong feeling not to investigate the matter further, or they would simply forget the last few minutes.
(Hey Trace, a few weeks ago, I discovered the term for semi-demon is Cambion.)
-
(cool)
"I have a gut feeling that we should drop this," said Z, "but it's nice to meet you Ian."
-
For some reason he did not know, he agreed, and went in to see what dinner involved.
-
Z followed Ian inside.
-
(Do you think now would be a good point for the time skip?)
-
(yup)
-
It was now early February at Daytona Beach Florida. Chihiro decided to let the team have a day at the beach itself before actually starting practice on the tri-oval.
-
Z was sitting on a towel in the shade of an umbrella, reading a thick science fiction book.
-
Ian was looking at the beach and said, "And to think the Daytona 500 used to be held right here on this beach."
-
"Learn something new every day," commented Z.
-
Belldandy then said, "Well, how did they do that?"
K1, being up on racing as he was, said, "Well, the sand on this beach is packed pretty hard, so you can drive cars on it with little problem. The cars would go down this stretch of beach here, then turn over there, go down route A1A, turn over there, and then come back down the beach. They could go medium fast on the sand, really fast on the hard top, but it was the turns that things got real treacherous."
-
"sounds fun," said Z, "I wonder how it would compare to broom races?"
-
"Oh, there would be no comparison," answered Bell, "They are in the air, and the cars are on the ground."
-
"mom once let me ride Dragon Death Heart," said Z, "Of course I had trouble controlling the speeds so I ended up crashing after 300 miles."
-
"How high off the ground were you?"
-
"40 feet," said Z
-
Kei shuddered and said, "That landing must have hurt!"
-
"being a Cambion helped me survive with only a few broken bones that were healed by magic." said Z
-
"Sounds as dangerous as what we car drivers do."
-
"yeah, but the injuries will be worse if you crash,"
-
"Well...anyway, it would have been interesting to have actually seen one of those early races in person."
-
A mini-Malek was secretly watching the group several miles away.
He vaguely wondered if Belldandy met up with Proter, if she would be able to sense that Proter made a deal with his main self.
'And of course with Demon-client confidentiality, she can only figure it out from whatever clues she can find. I wonder if it'll make her decide to cheat in Keiichi's favor even further?' Mini-Malek thought.'Doubt it, but it'll be fun to watch her squirm for a bit.'
-
Not too far down from them came Proter with his entire pit crew--some with dates, some not--setting up for a day at the beach not 75 yards from them.
-
Somewhere else in Datona Beach, Deberk was busy using a device that he and his friends had built at Malek's request. The device looked like the PKE meter from ghostbusters, but it was made to detect any magical items that Kakarine made.
(I'm heading to bed early today. I'm sorry about that, guys.)
-
Proter looked over and happened to notice Belldandy.
-
the device Deberk had went off.
"Funny, there's multiple signs... Guess she's been busy..." Deberk muttered, as he examined the screen.
-
He nudged three of his single teammates and pointed out Belldandy to them. They then went over and introduced themselves, asking her name, where she was from, noting she was new around there... She smiled as she always did and introduced herself, "I am the goddess Belldandy, First Class, Second Category, Unlimited."
That threw them off, but one said, "But you sure are as pretty as a goddess!"
She smiled, giggled, and turned a touch red. Kei was starting to take notice and get a bit miffed.
-
'So much for trying to keep a low profile about our divinity...' Urd thought with a frown.
-
Kei came up and put an arm around her, saying...in Japanese..."Is there a problem, babe?"
"Oh no," she said, "These friendly men were making us feel welcome!"
"Hey, that's funny talk!" said one who was indeed a redneck.
-
Deberk's investigations led him to a few people who were going to race in the upcoming race.
"Guess this means trouble..." Deberk muttered. He then chuckled a bit as he said, "Kinda amusing that Kakarine is seemingly ripping off one of our ideas..."
-
(Where is Urd?)
-
(Nearby Bell and the others.)
-
Z looked over at the group.
-
(Urd has nothing to say?)
"Hey, kid...where are you from," said the redneck in a way that made one think Keiichi was deaf and retarded.
-
Z overheard and closed his book and began to walk over.
-
Keiichi's English wasn't too bad at this point, and he said back in the same way, "I am from Japan!"
The man turned cross and said, "You mocking me, boy?"
-
"Hey Kei, is something up?" asked Z in japanese, walking up to the group
-
Belldandy, ever the peacemaker, said, "Oh, please, boys...let us not fight. There is no reason for this."
"Is that your girl?" he asked, ignoring Bell.
"She is my fiance!" he said with a glare.
He looked at Bell and said, "You can do better. Why don't you come sit with us...come and meet the crew."
"Well, that would be nice," she said, "But you see, there are..."
However, they started to sweep her up in the group and take her to their spot, not knowing what awaited them.
-
Z quickly removed the man's hands from belldandy and put him in a painful finger lock, "I believe the lady was declining you," he said in a sweet yet dangerous voice.
-
"You wanna fight, boy?" he said, and gave him a right cross with his free hand.
-
Z blocked the punch and used a subtle illusion to make the man pass out.
-
The others were now getting hostile, and both Tamiya and Otaki were up and ready now, and even Ian as well.
-
Z cast another illusion that diminished hostile feelings within a 5 meeter radius.
-
Everyone became docile and went back to their own camps.
-
Z sighed, "What happened K1?" Z asked Keiichi after the illusion wore off and hostilities diminished.
-
"They came up, belittled me, and tried to take Bell."
-
"I see," said Z, "then I guess you'll beat them in the race, because you were the better person and didn't willingly start things, and they always say: 'may the better man win'" ;)
-
Proter observed the whole thing, knowing what just happened, came up, and said, "Long time no see, Morisato."
-
"Old friend?" Z asked Keiichi.
-
"More like rival," he grumbled.
Proter then said, "You can stop with the hiding thing, because I know all about your girl. I won't say you used her magic to beat me, but I do say this: don't be doin' any of that junk in the race! I want it clean, and I am sure you want a chance to win clean."
-
"magic?" said Z acting naive.
-
"Don't play dumb, boy," he said with a side-wards glance, "Some woman that can do magic named Hild told me the whole truth. Even gave me a neat trick that I can do, so don't play dumb. I know the score."
-
"I should've known mom would enter the race too," sighed Z, "so what was the compensation for the contract?"
-
"Waddaya mean by that?"
-
"What did mom ask from you when she gave you the 'power'"
-
"Yeah, I'm curious as well." Urd said.
(Sorry about not adding. I went off to bed around that time.)
-
(Ugh...brain fart...what DID Malek ask from him?)
-
(A meal from a restaraunt.)
-
"All she wanted was for me to treat her to a five-star Japanese restaurant, and I did."
-
Z laughed, "figures," he said.
-
"All I'm telling you is keep away from the funny business, because I want to whoop your a@# fair and square," he said, walking back to the others, and said over his shoulder, "And if you value her, you'd better not take your eye off her for one second...plenty of handsome men around here."
-
"this could be trouble," sighed Z
-
"On one hand, It seems odd for Hild to be playing this kind of hand. On the other hand, it's just like her to do something unexpected." Urd muttered to herself.
"Well, Bell. With Hild supporting Proter, we have to be a bit more careful." Urd said to Belldandy.
-
"About what?" said Bell, to which Ian, the psyche student, spoke up and said, "It's pretty obvious. He's going to try to race clean, but that doesn't mean that he can't create distractions. He's trying to get Belldandy to fall for one of his single boys to distract Kei and throw him off his game."
-
"I guess we should be extra careful." said Z
-
"Steal...me...?" and then Belldandy started to laugh and said, "Oh, they are so silly! There is nothing that can separate me from him!"
-
"won't stop them from trying," said Z
-
"I was only talking about the race." Urd said to Belldandy and Keiichi. "I don't think we need to worry about anyone trying to separate you from from each other."
-
"Besides all that, the way the new contract is, the System Force would never allow that."
-
"I still have a weird feeling in my gut about this," said Z
-
"Well, if we worry too much about it, we'll fall into whatever scheme Hild is trying to pull." Urd said.
-
"true"
-
"What would she gain by that?" asked Ian.
-
"Hild's kinda like an internet troll at times. If you let her actions bother you, she wins. If you don't let them bother you, she just continues until either she gets bored or her actions start to bother you." Urd said.
-
"I can relate," said Z.
-
"Then, I just have to stay focused," said Kei
Belldandy then said, "Well, then let me try..." as she was starting to cast, but he said, "No...he wants it clean, I want it clean. It's the best way."
-
"try his then," said Z holding out a charm.
(the kind you get in shrines)
"don't worry I didn't enchant it."
-
"Does that mean we shouldn't have contacted the engine Trolls for their help a month ago, Kei?" Urd asked.
-
"Well, I am not sure, but, with you guys around, that was hard not to do, for seeing such things are just natural for you," said Kei, to which Belldandy said, "And I think what Proter got from your mother had to involve magic, so, doing what we did kind of balances things out."
-
"I wonder what mom gave that guy?" asked z
-
"You could ask her, Z. Me and Bell can't." Urd said. "It's one of those dealie things. Gods and goddesses have to respect Demon-client confidentiality, while any demons have to respect Goddess-client confidentiality. While it prevents us from asking directly or using spells to figure it out, we can look for clues and work from there."
-
"something tells me she won't tell my till after the race is over, due to me being drafted onto your team"
-
"And if you try to put any pressure about it, even unintentionally, she might decide to punish you severely." Urd said
-
Z winced remembering what happened when he got chibi hild mad.
-
"whoops. Sorry about dredging up bad memories, Z." Urd said, when she noticed Z's expression.
-
"no problem," said Z, "but remind me to NEVER make mom mad."
-
"There is also the System Force that would protect such knowledge." added Bell.
-
"Heh... well, Let's just have fun for now." Urd said.
(I'm going to bed.)
-
"agreed," said Z
-
"Are you saying you WANT to see what happens?" asked Kei.
-
"Here's a thought- What if Hild wants us to overreact to whatever she has in store? What if she wants us to get paranoid to the point where we can't enjoy our lives?" Urd asked.
-
"Isn't that par for the course?" asked Kei with a side-wards glance.
-
"Especially if she wants to come in and make a deal." Urd replied.
-
"A deal with who?"
-
Z wondered when he should tell the goddesses about the storage orbs that Malek gave him and that he might need payment for helping in the race due to demon rules.
-
"I was speaking metaphorically and not actually picking out a person for Hild to make a deal with. " Urd said. "Look, I was more or less pointing out that if we were in serious trouble, she might offer some help at a steep price. But since you're in a competition and you're getting our help, Hild's decided to offer someone else her assistance, to make things a bit more even, so to speak."
Urd pondered something for a few seconds.
"I wonder what Hild gave Proter for the price of a meal?" Urd quietly said to herself.
(I'm going to bed.)
-
Proter went back to his spot, thinking, "No one is going to have a finer tuned car than me!"
-
Deberk took our his cellphone and called Chibi-Hild.
-
"Hell-o," she said, answering the phone.
-
"Hello, it's Deberk. I found some magical energy reading that seem to suggest that Kakarine is helping a few racers by giving them a few magical parts for their racecar." Deberk said.
-
(hey paladin, what happened to your chibi vampire forum?)
-
(It died...and...I really have had no enthusiasm for it. You see, after writing five novel-length fan fics with that character, and then trying to reboot it in RP...I guess I just got burned out on it.)
"Oh really? And who has done this?" she asked, "All I did was give Proter the ability to talk to the spirit of any car he contacts."
-
"Um Belldandy, nee-sama, can I talk to you in private?" asked Z
-
"Some of the less savory racers. I'll need to watch over them for the next few days to see if they actually had made a deal with Kakarine or if she secretly replaced a part on their cars without their knowledge." Deberk said.
-
"I just wonder what stake she thinks she has in this."
-
"You and Malek are the thinkers and theorizers. All I do is either spy, build, or repair." Deberk said.
(didn't Z ask to speak with Belldandy?)
-
(and urd)
-
"Sure, Where to?" Urd asked.
-
Z led them away from the group and put up a silencing spell.
"the thing is, as a demon I might have to take payment for helping with the race. So I would need a bit of energy which I would store in this orb and transform into neutral energy." Z explained holding out the orb Malek gave him.
-
"Well, Bell... Should you or I donate this time?" Urd asked.
-
"Well, Kei needs me, so, could you help?"
-
Urd put her hand on one of the energy storage orbs and put some energy in.
"That oughta do it," Urd said.
-
"thanks" said Z
-
Belldandy said, "Come on, Kei! Let us enjoy the water. We only have to go in so far!"
He sighed, smiled, and went with her.
-
"I'm going to read a book in the shade," said Z, "I never liked swimming in the ocean."
-
...and the day went on. The next day would bring their first test by a time trial on the tri-oval.
-
(timeskip?)
-
(Yes.)
The next day was the time trials for placement in the race.
-
Z was making sure the car was in good condition with the help of some of the crew.
-
The engine trolls said, "We got it today! Just make sure that this thing is rigged for speed!"
-
"It's all set," said Z finishing up.
-
Tamiya and Oktai made sure the spoiler was low enough to allow for more speed, but not so much that the car would lose the track. Keiichi looked at the high banks on turns one and three and said, "My goodness...how is the car going to keep the road!"
-
"Just be careful and remember that Belldandy is able to heal you but would prefer not to have to." said Z
-
"Interesting track--semi banked at the tri-oval and the straights leading to it, high in the turns, flat in the backstretch..."
-
Z just looked confused at what was said.
-
As he waited his turn, other teams were passing by and laughing, razzing him for being the rookie, some saying to be careful, because this was not Tokyo Drift.
-
'if those fools only knew what K1 has done' smirked Z
-
Soon, they were called, and all the ESPN cameras were on them now. He got in and they fired it up. He caught the pace car and off they went.
-
"How do you think he'll do?" Z asked Belldandy.
-
"He shall do well...I know my Keiichi."
-
"Let's hope he can beat the pros," said Z
-
They announced his name, that he was a rookie driver, and where he was from. The crowd let up a good cheer, showing some good southern hospitality.
-
Z watched and got ready to do his part.
-
After one lap, the pace car pulled away and he took off. He had the throttle up high, hoping to get a good time. He knew that he'd only get a couple of chances at this so he wanted to make sure he had it right. If he found the track hard, he had the other trial, and then the sprint 175 to earn his starting place.
-
Skuld took a position beside Belldandy to watch the race.
-
(Sorry about not posting earlier, I didn't receive any alerts.)
Urd was thinking about how some of the other racers' cars seemed to perform a bit better than she expected them to, but was otherwise concentrating on Keiichi's current efforts.
-
Belldandy said, "What did you do exactly, Skuld, to ready the car for the time trials?"
-
Z walked over to Urd, "if K1 wins the race, then I know a place that has cheap yakiniku and good Sake."
-
"Well, we'll see," said Chihiro, "Right now, this is just time trials: running the track solo as fast as you can to get a good starting spot in the actual race itself. The race itself is not for another three weeks. They still have two short races they are going to run that will also help determine one's starting spot. They are called the Daytona Sprint 175s: two races that are 175 miles long. Your finishing spot is given points that are added to points he is trying to get now. The top point gainer shall be in the pole position: the front row spot closest to the inside of the track. Number two point gainer shall go beside him, then number three. The next row shall be made of 4,5, and 6, and so forth."
-
"Sounds good, Z." Urd said.
-
"Do you think he has a good chance?" asked Z, "I mean he is going to be racing the pros on their own turf."
-
"I pulled off an all-nighter." yawned Skuld, stretching out her arms.
-
"He has our support, Of course he'll do well." Urd replied.
-
"the support of three goddesses, one demigod, and one cambion is a powerful thing."
-
He was already ripping into turn one, averaging about 187 mph, and people were cheering wildly: he was matching the drivers in the top seven of the time trials. However, he seemed to come out of the turn into the backstretch a bit high. He had to compensate and slowed a bit, but got it right back halfway down the backstretch. An older fellow came up with a bushy mustache, sunglasses, and a cowboy hat and said to them, "Yeehaw...that boy has a lot of heart. Not bad for a first run on the tri-oval."
-
"who are you?" asked Z.
-
"Sorry, should have introduced myself: some call me 'The King.'"
-
"what does everyone else call you" joked Z
-
However, Tamiya, Otaki, and Chihiro knew who this was and said, "Richard Petty as I live and breathe!"
-
"I really got to get out more," sighed Z as he still had no idea who he was.
-
Chihiro said, "You're telling me you don't recognize the single most successful driver in NASCAR history?"
-
"I didn't even know the rules until Ian explained them to me so I could understand," deadpanned Z
-
"So, what brings you here?"
He said, "I'm here with my own team, but I heard we had a Japanese rookie, and I wanted to see how he handled the track?"
-
"Doing pretty well, isn't he?" Urd asked.
-
As Kei hit the far turn--lower this time--he said, "Well, went into the bank turn too high the first time, that's what threw him off in the backstretch. I think he got it now. Let's see how he does on the second lap."
He was rocketing by the start/finish line as he was saying that, heading into the second of two laps.
-
"So how would you rate Kei's performance all things considered, mr King?" asked Z
-
He chuckled at the "king" thing, and he said, "Not shabby for a rookie, but he still needs some seasoning. We'll see how he does in the sprints."
-
"agreed," said Z, "though I don't know much about professional racing."
-
"Then...how'd you get on the team?"
-
"We pretty much give moral support." Urd said.
-
"technically I was drafted while eating dinner." sighed Z
-
He was doing better, averaging 189 on this second lap.
-
"looks like K1's doing well" said Z
-
"Well, he looks a little loose. You need to tighten up the back axle a bit. If he's payin' attention, he should catch that."
"Advice from the opposition?" asked Ian.
He chuckled and said, "Nah...things are really only competitive when yer on the track. We're all good ol' boys off it. We don't wanna see anyone hurt, and him losin control of the car don't help him or anyone else, especially with all the cars havin governors for the race."
-
"ya'know, you're all right, mr king." said Z offering his hand to shake.
-
He stuck his hand out to shake it and said, "Good luck, hope y'all do well..."
He then winked and said, "...but not quite as well as my boy!"
He then took his leave as K1 was pulling into the pit at the end of his run. Ian said, "Advice from Richard Petty: you can't get any better than that!"
-
Z immediately got to work, following the directions of the rest of the pit crew as they got Keiichi's car ready for another round.
-
"Keep it up guys! We're aiming for the fastest!" cheered Skuld off to the side.
-
They all came up and patted him on the back, and Belldandy said, "Oh, a nice Mr. Petty came up and wished us luck!"
"Petty...as in Richard Petty?" said Keiichi all bright-eyed.
-
"I think that was his name," said Z
-
"Wow!" he said, "What did he have to say?"
-
"I think it was something about tightening up the back axle." said Z trying to remember
-
"Yeah," said Otaki, "He said you were looking loose out there."
"Hmm..." he thought, "It did seem to want to fishtail a bit. We only have one more chance at this today before the sprints in a few days. Can we get it done before the next go round?"
"HAI!" the team thundered, and started to push the car behind the pits.
-
'we might just win this,' thought Z, 'hope mom won't be too mad'
-
In the meantime, cameras were coming up to the group and a female reporter with a mic was approaching.
-
Z was busy working on the car so he didn't see them.
-
The reporter began, "Well, Jim, I'm here at pit row, hoping to get a word with the rookie driver that just came off the track, Keiichi Morisato, fresh from Japan! He is one of a handful of rookies, but the first Japanese driver ever to try for the Daytona. Mr. Morisato, could we have a word with you?"
-
Z tapped Keiichi on he shoulder to let him know about the reporters.
-
He bowed and said "Hello." His English was passable enough, but you could tell it was not his first language. "Well, I hear you used to do motorcycles and rally racing up to this point. What made you decide on NASCAR?"
"Well, it was more of my friends' idea," he answered, "They saw it as a new challenge, and they are always looking for new areas in which to succeed."
"How different is this from rally?" she asked.
"Well, much different," he said, "Rally is all-terrain, and you race the clock, not each other. Plus, there are no banks out there like that you see here!"
"How have you practiced for this?"
"We have special tech that made programmed drones, and we went on a mile track to test my skills."
"Who is this tech?"
"A child prodigy," he said, pointing to Skuld, and he signaled her over.
-
Skuld looked around and pointed at herself with a ??? face. She then took off her headset and jogged over.
-
"So, I hear you have been very helpful in helping Mr. Morisato in preparing for this. I hear you actually created drones to do it! Can you tell us some about it?"
She then aimed the mic at her.
-
"Why it was simple! I used spare parts around the house to create a vehicle capable of matching the speed of a car. During the training I just installed an AI into their on board CPU to take care of all the microadjustments required while racing. Meanwhile I was remote controlling the car from far away to provide that unpredictableness of a human and the skills of a professional driver." boasted Skuld proudly.
-
"Um...artificial intelligence?" she said with a quizzical look on her face, "Uh...not even the best scientists in the world have succeeded at this."
-
"Fu fu, which is why I'm a prodigy." she grinned with her arms crossed.
-
"Well, careful how loud you brag that," she joked, "Certain folks in the Pentagon might find that very useful."
-
"Heh, I'm not afraid of them. My inventions are all backed up with a fail safe that will explode if it detects intrusion!"
-
The reporter was shocked. She was now not sure what to do with her, and Keiichi cut in, saying, "In other words, its not for sale, and she has some diplomatic immunity: we don't want to start a war, do we?"
"Uh...well, anyway, do you work on the car as well?"
-
"Yes, but only maintenance. He wouldn't let me make any modifications." she replied.
-
"Well, NASCAR is very strict with the rules. Did you get the chance to read them before working on the car?"
-
"Yeeees, I did." said Skuld.
-
"Well, boys, we have a feisty one here," she said, "What mods did you want to make that were within the rules?"
-
"Well, I couldn't make any of the modifications I wanted due to the rules. No overdrives, no forced induction, no use special alloys for the chassis... That took out half the fun."
-
"and made things a whole lot safer," mumbled Z as he worked under the car.
-
"Well, perhaps you could work with some of the American La Mans teams that will be on the track tomorrow," she said, "They are going to be doing the 24 hours at Daytona, and such things are part of the race."
"That's tomorrow?" said Kei excitedly, "Wow! I'd love to watch that!"
The reporter then said, "Well, after this is seen, they may just ask you to help."
-
"I'd love to." she grinned.
-
"Well just have to see," she said with a smile, and going back to Keiichi, she asked, "So, how did it feel to you?"
"Well, the high banks were a new thing for me, but after understanding the physics of it, I was able to compensate and get it on my second lap. I hope to get another chance later on."
"What do you think the odds of you winning are?"
"Well, rookies winning here are rare, but I'll give it my best shot, see how it goes, and if we score well, we'll have to see if we'll race the rest of the season."
-
'Hopefully Hild isn't trying to get Belldandy to reveal to the humans that Bell is a goddess. Recent rules were made to ensure that our presence among the humans is to remain a quiet one.' Urd thought.
(Heading to bed. I'm sorry I didn't post more today.)
-
"Wow!" said Ian, "Looks like you're going to be one of the watched tomorrow."
At this point, behind pit row, about six sets of six kinds of cars each were now unloading their cars and crews.
-
"no pressure K1," joked Z
-
"Oh no," he said, "That's a whole different class. That is the American La Mans series."
-
"I meant about what Ian said," said Z.
-
"Hey, it's cool. I mean, I'm the novelty here after all."
-
"you're unique alright," laughed Z, "especially considering present company."
-
He wondered what Skuld was thinking of all the different makes in the series: three prototype models, GT Porsche, GTX...
-
Z was no expert on cars but even he was impressed.
-
"Well, Skuld, an engineer's delight over there."
-
Skuld was running from car to car, looking under the hood and sneaking a peek here and there.
-
There were a few parts in a few cars that seemed to have a magical aura around them, but the aura was only noticeable to magical beings.
-
"do you think those parts would pose a problem?" Z asked Urd
-
"That would explain the odd performance of those cars. As for any problems, I dunno... Maybe..." Urd said.
-
"we'd better keep an eye out."
-
Urd nodded.
-
One of the drivers of the GTX class noticed Skuld, and he had just watched the interviewer, and he said, "Hey, aren't you that genius kid?"
-
"Hm? Yep!" she smiled proudly.
-
"Cool!" he said, "Say, are you familiar with this kind of racing?"
-
"Not really. But I'm interested." she replied.
-
"Well, there are five classes: three different prototype cars, one class of strictly Porsche, and GTX, where it's 'pick your weapon,' so to speak. We race for 6, 12, or 24 hours, and all five classes race at the same time. Now, I grant you, we all mainly race against our class of car, but there is also an overall winner. The prototypes win overall the most, but we all also have a win from time to time."
-
"Prototype?" asked Skuld, the word perking her interest.
"What are the rules for prototype cars?"
-
He gave her this in a book:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Mans_Prototype
-
"Hmm... Hmm.. Hm.... Uuuoooohh, does this mean I can modify the engine however I like? And maybe the axle system too?" she asked, excited.
-
"As long as its in the rules," he said, "Although, with our class of car, its pretty much 'choose your weapon.' Each of these cars are basically sports cars that you could buy and drive on the street, but designed for the Autobahn in Germany. We have a lot more leeway in the rules. The only rules are, are that the car has to have a roll cage, and only have in it what would be street legal. Other than that, anything goes."
-
"Hm.." Skuld grinned from all the ideas that were popping into her head.
"So as long as it's street legal? As in the laws of Germany? Or...?"
-
"As in 'would I get pulled over by a cop for putting this in my car.' I mean, you can't use nitro, anything that the car would not normally come with, or could be put in at the dealership...that kind of thing. It can't be anything that gives you a gross advantage over the others."
(You'll have to confirm this...can't find the rules for the GTC or GT Porsche.)
-
"Hmm, got it." nodded Skuld.
-
"So...are you joining us, or someone else?"
-
"...Joining? Oh, I'm sorry. Am I suppose to find a team to join?" she asked.
-
"Well, you wanted to lend your aid, but you really can't lend it to everyone, unless you give the same thing to everyone."
-
"Then... Do you mind if I joined yours?" she asked.
-
"Sure!" he said, "At least for this race."
He led her to their car, and it was a Ford Cobra...the 2011 model Martin Shelby designed before he died, with a hard top.
-
Skuld reached out to see if the spirit in it was still awake.
-
It was alive and kicking!
-
"I'll be working with you today. Let's do our best to win this!" she said mentally.
-
"Hey, we ain't won yet, and this would be great to do so!" he said back.
-
"Hmm, first. I'm going to bring my tools over and see what adjustments I can make."
-
"Okay!" he said, "I just want to show those cocky prototypes that even we stock cars can whoop them!"
-
A few moments later, she came back with a large toolbox on wheels that was following her around.
"Let's get to work!" she said,putting on her goggles.
-
The head mechanic gave a thumb's up and opened the hood.
-
"Hmm...." she began tweaking around the engine and the components. Cleaning up grease built up and checking all the bolts were secure.
-
Despite all that, the engine looked as if it was brand new, and rigged to even change it during the race if need be.
-
"Hmm... Street-legal huh?" she began to make some modifications, rigging it with a supercharger compressor and a intercooler.
-
"Yep," he said, "There's no law about a quick engine switch."
-
"Hmm... Can we change the wheels too?" she asked.
-
"Well, we can't use mag wheels...too dangerous if we wreck. They could catch fire, shatter, scatter on the crowd..."
-
"Hmm... What about carbon fiber?"
-
(Not sure about that one...)
-
(Rare, but they exist. And I'm not sure either...)
-
(Let's say yes.)
-
"Let's use carbon fiber instead. It's just as strong and a lot lighter."
-
"Well, I suppose...nothing saying we can't..."
-
"Alright, help me prop up the car. We'll change it and see how it goes."
-
They came up and asked her how she was doing.
-
"Great, things are going smoothly!" she said.
"If I had more time, I'd change the material of the chassis too. But this'll do for now."
-
"You know, the engine is brand new, but if I wasn't mistaken, I would almost say it is sparkling now!"
-
"Heh heh, thanks." she grinned.
-
"Well, once you're done, come here tomorrow at about 9 o'clock. That's when the race starts."
-
"Roger!" she replied.
-
"We'll need you, because we'll need to know how to fix it if there are repairs needed. We're going to be on the track for 24 hours, you know."
-
"You can count on me." she nodded.
-
They then announced Kei's next time trial.
-
"Hey, Skuld. When you looked around the other cars, did you notice the magic parts, the ones that only magical beings could tell from ordinary parts?" Urd asked.
-
"Are you so certain that any of them had such parts?" asked Bell.
-
"I noticed the parts also," said Z, "they had an aura unlike demon or goddess magic."
-
"So, if they had them, who was supplying them?"
-
"I don't know," said Z, "what other magical beings are there that could do this?"
-
"What I mean is, are you so certain that everyone is cheating like that?"
-
"I don't know about cheating but most cars have an enchanted part installed"
-
"All cars?"
-
"A good deal of them..." Urd muttered. "Most seem to either slightly increase the performance of the car."
-
"But, I mean, how do they get in there from the factory? Who does this?"
-
"It's possible a third party gave them add ons that the mechanics in the pits installed themselves," suggested Z
-
"Sounds to me like someone slips them in."
-
"It's not like we know someone paranoid enough to spy on the various teams, but also is someone that we could get information out of easily..." Urd said.
---
Across the city, Deberk sneezed.
-
"Hmmm, I could go talk to him," suggested Z, "but I'll probably need to compensate him for the deal. any Ideas."
-
"In other words...there is a demon afoot that wants to cause mischief here during Speed Week!"
(For those who live in Rio Linda, Speed week is a week of racing at Daytona: the 24 Hours at Daytona, the SCCA race, motorcycle races, the Daytona Sprint 175s, and finishing with the 500.)
-
"I doubt it's something Hild is doing.... She's more the type to compete herself..." Urd said.
-
"which she is" Z pointed out
-
"Then...maybe some young demon who works for her that thinks he or she is making her happy? Mara maybe?"
-
"Who?" asked Z
-
"My gut feeling tells me that Hild isn't responsible for the magical parts in the cars...." Urd said.
-
"Then who?"
(I'll try to get Auir in here.)
-
"um who's mara?" asked Z confused.
(since she was released after Z left hell and was living on earth, he never met her)
-
"She is a demon that had caused us nothing but grief in the past, but for some reason had warmed to us, and yet still plays pranks."
-
"She's not a bad person, just has a lousy job or two." Urd replied. "Z, go find the guy you were talking about and see if he knows anything."
-
Z nodded and teleported to where he thought he might find Debrek.
(he would be at the arcade right?)
-
(More than likely. Told Auir. We could have him as Skuld start to investigate.)
-
(Actually, Deberk is at Daytona beach, assisting Hild and Malek in whatever tasks he is given.)
There was a low-magic powered full sized Deberk avatar at the arcade.
"Yes? Is something the matter?" it asked.
-
"I was wondering if you could help me with something?" said Z, "some of the drivers at daytona have enchanted parts in their cars that might prove problematic. I was wondering if you could help both us and Mom's team by finding out how and why the parts are there."
-
"My main self would be of better help. he's somewhere in Daytona." Deberk's avatar replied.
(I'm heading to bed. Sorry about it, but it's been a long day.)
-
Skuld was taking a break by the stands, sipping on a bottle of cold water.
(Someone bring her in?)
-
Bell came over and said, "Skuld, when you worked on that man's car, did you detect anything magic in it?"
-
"Mm, magic? I don't think so... But the spirit in it was pretty lively onee-sama."
-
"Well, a competitive car would be, but there is a problem. We think that someone has been planting magic helping devices in some of the cars and bikes. That is cheating, you know, and we must put an end to it."
-
"What?!" she exclaimed.
"We have to go check!"
-
"yes, we must...let us do this together!"
-
Skuld rushed to the place where the cars are and reached out to them.
-
It was clear that about 3/4 of everything that was brought to the track for that week was so treated, but not Kei's car.
-
"This is bad, what should we do onee-sama?" asked Skuld.
-
"Hmm...let us talk it over with Urd later."
(This will allow HotelKatz to get in when he comes back. we can hold it for now.)
-
Z teleported to where hild and the others were. "Hi mom" he said appearing
-
Deberk was silent for a moment, as he gathered information from his avatar at the arcade.
-
"I assume mr debrek knows why I'm here," said Z
-
"You and the others discovered that some cars have special parts. You can rest assured that we had nothing to do with it." Deberk said. "We discovered the parts a while back."
-
"I was wondering if you could help us look into the problem," said Z, "I will compensate you to the best of my abilities and it might help even things out for the race."
-
"Alright, I'll help you look into it, but don't expect me to assist you in dealing with the threat. That a separate matter entirely." Deberk said.
-
"thank you," said Z, "so what do I owe you in compensation?"
-
"What do you have to offer?" Deberk asked
-
"I have some neutral energy I received not to long ago, tickets to a new amusement park that I won in a lottery a week ago, a copy of Hamet, first edition in good condition, and 100 yen." said Z
-
"The neutral energy sounds like a good deal." Deberk replied.
-
Z handed him the storage orb.
(is urd going to talk with Bell and Skuld?)
-
Deberk then brought out his storage orb and transferred the energy. Once he was done, he gave Z back Z's storage orb.
---
"Let's wait until Z gets back before we do anything." Urd said.
-
Z thanked Debrek and teleported back to K1's group
-
Deberk then followed him.
"So it's what's his name..." Urd said.
"My name is Deberk." Deberk replied, getting a bit annoyed.
"So, Debrek.." Urd said, enjoying the reaction.
"It is Deberk, not Debrek." Deberk said, getting even more annoyed.
"Whatever. So what's your info?" Urd asked.
"Kakarine is the cause of the magical parts. I still do not know if the drivers know about the parts." Deberk said.
-
"But, why would she be doing this?"
-
"Beats me. Dunno anything about her." Deberk replied.
"I bet her scheme is just to mess around with us and make us paranoid." Urd said.
-
"how dangerous are the parts," asked z
-
"My scans showed they only seemed to magically enhance the car a little bit." Urd said.
"There's a time-delay reaction spell command in the parts that will turn them into ordinary parts that's set to occur during the upcoming race." Deberk said.
-
"what would that accomplish," said Z, "would anything bad happen if the car suddenly stopped being magically enhanced?"
-
"Not too smart," said Ian, "For, if it caused the car to not perform, it could be a disaster. You see, on these super-speedways, NASCAR has all the cars put governors on the engines. That caps the maximum speed, but makes for tight pack racing. 36 cars three abreast, bumper to bumper, and one mistake..."
-
"oh," said Z realizing the situation.
-
"Racers call that 'The Big One,' and it is not pretty."
-
"Got a list of the parts and the racers that have them, Deberk?" Urd asked.
Deberk produced a paper and handed it to Urd. Urd looked it over.
"You might be able to replace the magic parts with regular ones within about three days, if you don't mind sneaking about during the night." Deberk said.
-
"That's the only way..."
-
"Well, I'm off." Deberk said, getting ready to teleport.
"Wait, aren't you going to help us?" Urd asked.
"The deal was for me to help you look into the problem, nothing more." Deberk answered.
-
"Sounds like you want disaster to happen."
-
"I don't want disaster to happen. I'm only keeping my end of the deal." Deberk said.
-
"Something's rotten in Denmark," said Ian.
-
"Would you work for more than what you agreed for, without an increase in payment?" Deberk asked.
-
"I'm not talking about you," said Ian, "Something stinks about the whole car thing."
-
"Oh..." Deberk said. "Well... I'll ask Malek if he has any ideas about what might Kakarine be scheming for. I'll let you guys know if he has anything speculated."
-
"Say "Hi' to the gang at the arcade for me," he said in return.
-
"I'll tell my avatar there to tell them." Deberk said, before teleporting away.
(Heading to bed. See you tomorrow.)
-
"any ideas?" said Z.
-
"Well, it's going to have to be a time when the drivers are not there...no one really...but there will be guards to prevent saboteurs from coming in and messing with the cars."
-
"I can deal with the guards," said Z
-
"A few sleep spells, a handful of area-of-effect illusion spells ... We'll get the job done." Urd said.
-
"Illusions are my forte," nodded Z
-
"this ought to be interesting..."
-
"with the company K1 keeps, interesting is normal." said Z
-
Kei was just now pulling in after finishing his run, averaging 192 mph...not bad for a rookie.
-
"Looks like K1 did well," said Z looking at the results.
-
"He might make middle of the pack," said Chihiro, "We now have to ready him for one of the two short races that will determine his position on the start."
-
"what do I need to do?" asked Z
-
"Just be ready to do your pit stuff, although there's only really going to be two stops at most...one if we trick it out right. Yet, in race conditions, it's good practice."
-
"Got it, boss," said Z.
-
(We're going to shift now to the point where the parts get confiscated and replaced or deactivated.)
-
(got it)
Z closed his eyes and reached out to the minds of some of the guards that were watching the cars with enchanted parts. He cast an illusion on their minds that made them oblivious to what would happen.
-
And thus, they paid no mind to the newcomer.
-
(we should wait for katz)
-
(Check...I have to go soon anyway.)
-
(Sorry about not replying earlier, I'm current playing an MMORPG.)
Urd brought along the list. She checked the part listed on it for the car.
"Info's good. Who can replace the part?" Urd asked.
-
One of Z's avatars ran up carrying a wagon of parts from an auto store.
-
Urd then used a switch-around spell to replace the magic part with an ordinary one.
"Let's keep this and study it." Urd said, holding the magic part.
-
"agreed," said Z, "plus it would make good payment if we need something from mom or one of her subordinates."
-
"According to Deberk's info, it might not last long enough for that. It'll transform into an ordinary part in one of the races." Urd said.
-
"good point," said Z, "though I would like to learn more about the spell that was put on the parts."
-
"We'll find out when we have some time to study it. Let's head back." Urd said.
-
Z nodded and followed Urd back.
-
When Urd scanned the part, she learned it would have made the car accelerate a bit faster than normal.
"Huh, this woulda made the car accelerate faster." Urd said.
-
"then when it stoppes working the car would slam into the one behind it and so on until there is a giant pile up of cars." Z said.
-
"Actually, only the effect would only go away. The part would still work, but without the magic effect." Urd said.
-
"what I meant is that if the car suddenly loses speed while another car is close behind, a crash will happen."
-
"Yeah, That would have had a good chance of happening." Urd said.
-
(did they get all the parts?)
-
(it would take a few days. We can have it be done in the background with their mini-selves.)
-
(got it)
Z sent his avatar with instructions to secretly switch out the enchanted parts and headed back to the group.
-
Urd created some mini-Urds to go help Z's avatar before following Z.
-
(Meanwhile, in Japan....)
Mara had been out of touch with the others for a bit, and decided to sneak to the temple to see what was going on. When she found everyone gone--even Banpei and Sigel--she was worried. After some fleeting about, she discovered the Daytona race brochures and some flight information. She was livid that they had gone and not asked her if she could go with them. In a flash, she used her own travel method and appeared in the pits at that very moment! The guards then shouted, "HEY! WHO ARE YOU!"
-
Back at the arcade, Deberk's avatar shook his head.
"I tried telling her at dinner over the last few nights, but she refused to listen..." He muttered.
-
Z saw mara when he was walking back. casting and illusion over the guards to make them forget about this, he grabbed Ma.ra's arm and draged her away, "Who exactly are you?" he demanded.
-
"Hey, don't you touch me, pervert," and slapped him.
-
"Who are you calling a pervert?!" growled Z, "I just helped you. Even a semi-demon should know not to teleport into the midst of a group of gaurds."
-
"I didn't even know what was going on! It's only a bunch of cars! What's the big deal?"
-
Z explained to her about the Daytona race that was going on and K1's part in it.
-
"So? What's with all the guards and cloak and dagger stuff!"
-
"A troublesome being rigged the cars with magic parts that might cause problems during the race," said Z, "Nee-sama and I are removing them."
-
"Hey! Don't look at me!"
-
"We're not. From what Deberk told us, the one behind it is some girl by the name of Kakarine." Urd said, as she showed up.
-
"Wait...let me think and see if that sounds familiar..."
-
"What's your name, miss?" Z asked politely.
-
"Me? Name's Mara."
-
"so you're the Mara urd-nee-sama and the others told me about." said Z
-
"Uh... :o What did they tell you?"
-
"they said you were a nice person who means well despite your actions."
(did she notice that Z called urd big sister?)
-
"Well, wait me nice? Wait...did you say older sister?"
(Gotta go, and have to hit the sack as soon as I get home. I have to be up at 5 AM pacific...early work day.)
-
"yeah," said Z, "Hild is my mom so Urd is my big sister."
-
"I think I told you about him once or twice, Mara." Urd said.
-
"Well...it's hard to keep track of all the new people that keep showing up!" said Mara, "Give me a break!"
-
"also, I'M NOT A PERVERT!" >:(
-
"You've been reading too many mangas with Tsunderes, Mara." Urd said.
-
"Well, why do you even care about all this?"
-
"what do you mean?" asked Z
-
"I mean, if they wreck, they wreck. More goodies for our side...wait, don't tell my you're trying to HELP Keiichi."
-
"this is why I left hell," sighed Z, "most demons only want to cause misfortune without helping someone by doing so."
-
"You...you're crazy! How does helping someone bring misfortune!"
-
"Simple. A little bit of misfortune can be a warning sign to help avoid future disasters." Urd said.
-
"like forcing someone to be late so they avoid an accident" said Z
-
"But...don't you see, they may have been late, but the fortune of missing the accident far outweighs the being late thing! Are you sure you're half demon?"
-
"yes," said Z irritated, "I don't think I could have gotten a demon license if I wasn't. I just happen to be an oddball."
-
"When you stop to consider a few things, the valkyries are not likely to seal away someone who does things like Z is doing. Think of it as a form of self-preservation." Urd said.
-
"Humph...it wasn't the Valkyrie that sealed me away the last time anyway! Remember!" she said, glaring at Urd.
-
"You went a little too far." Urd said with a shrug.
(Still haven't seen the anime. Was there any specifics about how Mara was sealed?)
-
(She was sealed in a CD, like in the Manga.)
-
Z shrugged, "I see what I do as using misfortune to help."
-
"Geez...wait...did you say Kei was in this race?"
-
"Yes, and Z's helping us. A deal was made." Urd said.
-
"I took compensation," Z reassured Mara.
-
"Reeeeeeeealy," she said, getting that look on her face, "Um...thanksforthechatgottabegoing," and she took off.
-
"Mom's group is that way," Z called out while pointing towards Hild's group.
-
Deberk was looking at a menu for some restaurant, planning on visiting it later for take-out.
-
Indeed, she heard that and headed that way.
-
"She seems...interesting," said Z
-
"She has her good days and bad days." Urd said. "I'm kinda surprised you haven't met her before this day. You and Ian work at the arcade where she lives at."
---
"Hey, Mara." Deberk said.
-
"I see. so do you know what's next on our team's agenda?"
-
She wheeled around and said, "Where did YOU come from!"
(GOD NO! OBAMA WON...GOD HELP US ALL!)
-
(You need a bit more context, Paladin. Is it Chihiro speaking or Mara? and to whom?)
-
(Whoever spoke to her...I thought it was Debrek...)
-
(my bad. A bit absentminded at the moment.)
"Where did we come from? Well, when a male demon and a female demon love each other very much..." Deberk said.
-
"NO, YOU IDIOT! Why are you here in Daytona!"
(Catch you tomorrow.)
-
(See you tomorrow.)
"Spying on the goddesses. looking to cause a bit of trouble here and there. Malek is making sure that one of his clients is doing well." Deberk said.
-
"Really? Whose that?"
-
"Dunno." Deberk said, with a shrug. "I'm just waiting for Malek to show up. Due to how long he was a spy for Hild, he'll only be found when he wants to be found."
-
"Well, I wanna meet this person with whom you are working."
-
"I'm not working with the person. Malek is." Deberk said, returning to look at the menu.
-
"This is all confusing! I need to go stir things up!" and she left, looking for the opportunity to cause some trouble.
-
"Just what trouble are you considering to stir up, Mara?" Malek as as he faded into view in the shadows.
-
"Um...I'll figure that out as soon as I know what Belldandy is up to."
-
"She's supporting Keiichi and watching him race at the moment." Malek said.
-
"Him...In the race? Hmm..."
-
"Don't be too hasty to run off to commit mischief. Kakarine is seemingly doing a plan, similar to one of mine that I considered a failure." Malek said. "Quite a few racers have some magical parts that increase the performance of their cars. I think that perhaps she's trying to make Belldandy a little bit paranoid by seemingly putting the lives of those around Keiichi into danger."
-
"Kakarine...do I know her?"
-
"No, probably not. She appeared roughly a month ago, made Belldandy cry, and also placed a trap to kill Keiichi. I diffused the trap and took the parts as payment." Malek said.
-
"Kill Kei! HEY, I'd never go that far...although there was the Lord or Terror thing...but...well, that kind of got out of control..."
-
"Yes, things did get out of hand for Heaven as well in that incident." Malek said. "Mara, the magic items inspection division is has studied the bad luck clips that Kakarine made. They may have made a trinket for you that makes you immune to anything that brings good luck."
-
"Really!" she said all wide-eyed, "Gimmie!"
-
Malek took out a simple bracelet out out his pocket and handed it to Mara.
-
She was all giddy! She couldn't wait to have some fun now! She then said, "Still, I would rather not see the kind of misfortune that she wants, but at the same time, I can't stop the shares from coming in...what do I do?"
-
"Focus less on the goddesses for now, concentrate on some other targets. If the goddesses wind up in trouble they might not be able to handle well on their own, offer some help at a price." Malek said.
-
"Is the race tomorrow?"
(It's the American Le Mans series, and not Kei.)
-
(how should I make Malek answer?)
-
(Just tell her what's racing...she'l take it from there.)
-
"I believe it's American Le Mans series..." Malek said with a shrug.
-
"Um...what's that?"
Around them were specialized cars, Porsche, BMW, Fords, Lotus, Rolls Royce...and all itching for a long haul. The track itself was altered. Barriers were put up at certain points, which guided the cars onto side tracks that went into the infield, full of switchbacks and chicanes, making the track longer than the standard tri-oval, and more of a challenge.
-
"A series of endurance and sprint races, created in the spirit of the 24 Hours of Le Mans." Male replied.
-
"So, they'll be doing this for 24 hours? Insane!"
-
"More like 10 hours." Malek said.
(I'm getting my info from wikipedia. I'm sorry about it, but I don't know much about racing.)
-
(This is the 24 hours at Daytona.)
-
(I'm thinking about stopping playing in the rp for awhile. From my POV, it's starting to stray from OMG and heading into Car racing fanficion. I know that a good part of OMG is about racing, but I thought it served to show how much Belldandy and Keiich cared for each other and supported each other.)
-
(It will, it will...just...do you want me to skip to the race, where things like that happen?)
-
(No, it's alright. I'm just going to take a few days off. Maybe I'm just burned out about the Rp.)
-
(A few days is fine...)
-
(I'll still be here when I have a part to play)
-
(You don't have to stop playing. You can still continue without me.)
-
(It's just my OC isn't the focus right now.)
-
(I keep getting lost.)
-
(are we going to continue?)
-
(I do want to continue, but HotelKatz thinks we are straying from the whole theme of OMG. I don't see it, but I had something planned with Auir, but now he thinks it might be advisable to just go to at least the sprint 175s so we can get the focus back on Kei and Bell.)
-
(whatever you want. I enjoy this forum and don't want it to die.) :)
-
(Well, with Katz taking a break, we can continue with Auir. I mean, she was going to help a team with their car at the 24 hrs at Daytona, and maybe you can get in?)
-
(ok. but how would I get in on that?)
-
(Well, its a 24 hour race, and I was going to have Mara cause some problems.)
-
(I'm sorta back. I only took a break because at the time, the rp didn't seem very fun, and it didn't seem to have the whimsy-ness of OMG. I'll still be here, but I'll kinda stay in the background until the whole race thing is done.)
-
(*evil grin* can Z zap mara?)
-
(What's the plan?)
-
(To get back to the humor of the series and stay with the story line. We start with Skuld at her little story.)
-
(Well, we left off with Skuld and Belldandy talking about what to do. Where do we pick up?)
-
(What to do has been done by Z and Katz's character, so now we go to about 6 AM for race prep and a drop of the flag at 9 AM.)
-
Skuld was in the 'garage' and doing last-minute adjustments.
-
"Kid, I don't know what you did to this car, but if it was any faster and better tuned, and wings, it would fly!"
-
Z was in a empty shed going over the enchanted part list with his familiar Dusk's Light.
-
"Bell then said, "What have you found?"
-
"Heh, I am a prodigy after all." she grinned while working under the car.
-
Soon it was time for the race to start, and all the cars were lined up on the pit row, and all the drivers were standing across from it, looking like they were getting ready to run rather than drive.
-
Skuld was in the pit, drinking from her bottle of gatorade.
-
A gun sounded and they all dashed to their cars, hoping to get them started right away and then take off. After about five others, their car was on its way. The pit crews were already preparing for the first stop. The crew chief put a hand on her shoulder and said, "Be ready, anything can happen in the next 24 hours."
-
"Mm!" she nodded with determination.
-
Keiichi eventually caught up and said, "So, how's it going, kiddo?"
(Gotta go... If I don't see you tonight, I'll catch you tomorrow.)
-
"Great, hope it wins with the modifications I made."
-
"Um...just out of sheer curiosity...what DID you do for mods," knowing this crew knew nothing about her...mods.
-
(who was bell talking too?)
-
"Oh simple things here and there. I switched the rims to carbon fiber, switched the engine to a forced-induction type, added a supercharger compressor, and a intercooler. I actually wanted to put in a reaction engine instead but I wasn't sure how well NASCAR would accept a jet engine in a car..."
-
"Well, this isn't NASCAR, and I don't think either league would accept that! Are you sure what you added matches what Amercian La Mans would allow?" he asked as it was heard over the radio, "MY GOD...THIS THING IS HANDLING LIKE ONE OF THE PROTOTYPES!"
(Bell was talking to Z...separate conversation.)
-
"Let's see," said Z, "we've removed and replaced enchanted parts ranging from mufflers to compressors that do various things ranging from speed enhancement to storing heat from engines so they won't overheat till the part stopps working."
-
"Yes yes, I'm sure. Street-legal correct?"
-
"Street legal...yes."
-
Placing a spell over the parts so that they would be hidden, Z went out to see how Skuld was doing.
-
Bell followed, looking for Kei.
-
"Then we have nothing to worry about."
-
"Hey Skuld," said Z walking up, "how're the cars doing under your care?"
-
This was just as the announcer said, "Amazing...the Ford GP is leading the entire field, as well as its own class! If this keeps up, we may have a first in a long time, but we have a long way to go."
-
"Great, I'm just hoping the driver can handle it." she replied.
-
"Please tell me you didn't add the tubo engines," Z sighed
-
The crew chief said, "Amazingly enough, it passed the officials, and it's all street legal, though the driver is still having issues in the turns. If it had wings, it would fly."
-
"Ehehe.... Don't worry. Those things are outdated, I added a supercharger."
-
As time passed, he was staying just ahead of the three prototype classes, and staying way ahead of all the GTX and GT Porsche classes. Soon, it was time for the first pit. People were cheering and amazed at the lead he had. The car then pulled up. They said to her, "You can give him a drink and a snack if he requests."
-
She nodded and went up.
"Do you need anything?"
-
The driver was wide-eyed and white-knuckled as he had a death grip on the steering wheel, and he yelped, "Nope," as the other two drivers that would take over for him later wondered just what they were in for.
-
(I haven't been getting alerts :'( )
-
(Sometimes you have to unnotify on the whole set of threads and then click on "notify" again.)
-
"So skuld," said Z, "want me to take a commemorative photo for you to show to that Sentaro boy nee-sama told me about?"
-
"Oh that would be cool! Quick, while they're doing the pit stop!"
-
(who just responded?)
-
(Oh...sorry...I don't know why I answered for Auir...he runs Skuld.)
-
She held up a peace sign and smiled widely.
-
Z snapped the photograph.
"You really like that boy don't you," said Z
-
"I-idiot!" she snapped.
"W-we're just. Really good friends, that's all." said Skuld, turning a bit red.
-
"That's not what I heard," said Z teasingly.
-
"Geez, just send me that photo when you can!" she turned around and headed back to her seat.
-
"Nee-sama was right," laughed Z, "teasing skuld was fun."
-
The picture had her doing that with the zombified driver, who then tore off back into the race.
-
Z went to sit with the others.
-
...and on the race went. Hours passed, and soon the second driver came and took over. The other driver had calmed some, but he looked at the girl and said, "What did you do to the car? It practically drives itself."
-
"Installed and replaced some components here and there. Nothing major." she replied innocently.
-
He gave the eyebrow and said, "Like...what?"
-
"Well, I switched the engine to a forced-induction type to give it more kick, and I used carbon fiber for the rims to make it less heavier for a few."
-
"Force...induction? That's street legal?"
-
"It should be."
-
As he was talking, the crew was looking over the rules...frantically. It would be rare in a race this length that a GTX model would be leading as such, and they now had a 1/2 hour lead on the pack
_______________________
"Oh, Keiichi, has not Skuld done a wonderful job?"
"Oh my goodness..." mumbled Keiichi, hoping there was not some kind of self-destruct on the car.
-
"Isn't enhancing their car hurting your chances of winning?" asked Z, "Or am I misreading the rules again?"
-
"No...but if it is perceived that we gained some kind of unfair advantage..."
As he said, that, a car at the rear their car was about to lap caught the wall, swerved, and started a horrifying flip through the air, heading right for their car.
-
Z cast a spell and caused their car to swerve off the track and out of the path of the flying car.
-
The driver screamed at suddenly having his car wrenched from his control and he started to spin.
-
"Um, a little help would be nice," Z whispered to belldandy.
-
When everything was still, Skuld ran over to the driver.
"Are you alright?!"
-
"It felt like someone shoved the car out of the way!" he said as the caution flag came out and the pace car followed.
-
Z was breathing hard on the side, "that was too close," he mumbled, "what was I thinking trying to force a large, heavy, fast moving object to move?!"
-
"At least you're alright.
-
"Uh, yeah," he said, and started, but then he said, "Uh-oh..."
-
"What's wrong?" she asked.
-
"Sounds like the axel cracked. We're gong to have to pit and replace it. Good thing we have a half hour on the rest."
-
"Alright, we'll wheel it in." said Skuld as she went to get the others.
-
The crew was ready when the wire came in, and as she returned, they said, "Kid, how fast can you get that new axel on?"
-
"In an instant if you guys help out." she said.
"This'll be great, I wanted to try installing one made of carbon-fiber. It'll take off another few pounds."
-
"We don't want it too light...it might leave the track and flip if we go as fast as we have been."
-
"It's just a few pounds, it's still well within the risks of optimizing your speed."
-
They sighed, knowing they could not resist such a cute face, and said, "Whatever she tells you, do it."
-
"Yes, let's do it!" she said, holding up the new axles.
-
"We have a half hour lead. Let's stay within that time frame!"
-
And they got to work.
-
Over the speakers could be heard, "And the Ford team have pulled it behind the pits. Reports are of a broken axel."
"I shall return, Kei...I want to check on Skuld."
With that, she went through a mirror compact and out the car mirror.
-
"Hm? Onee-sama!" said Skuld, seeing Belldandy.
"What are you doing here?"
-
"I wanted to check upon your progress. How is it going being a pt chief?"
-
"Great! At this rate, it's guaranteed that we'll win!"
-
"As long as you play by the rules, now...we have discussed this kind of thing before. You know what mother would say."
-
"Yeeees, I know..." she replied.
"But don't worry, it's all within the rules."
-
"From what Keiichi tells me, it should not be possible for this kind of car to keep up with the prototypes, though it happens every once and a while."
-
"But regular people drive these kind of cars on the streets! They're just really expensive."
-
"That is true, but there must be something about what you are doing. I..."
As she was saying that, officials were coming up to the pit and asking questions.
-
"Yes?" asked Skuld when she saw them.
-
"Okay, we'd like to know what you are doing to this car, because, frankly, it seems almost otherworldly that this car could be performing like a prototype!"
-
"I only added top grade modifications of what any street racer would use."
-
"All street Legal?
-
"Isn't almost anything legal on the street," asked Z
-
"Yes, it's all legal. Albeit expensive, but legal."
-
"but are those parts legal here?"
-
"The parts, when the car crashes, cannot present a hazard to other drivers or the spectators. Also, we were going to say that if the other drivers are not aware of what you are doing, it could be seen as a form of cheating, especially if we do not know that's what you are doing. If we know, at least, it's not your fault if they were too dumb not to use what you use."
-
"It passed the officials okay and were deemed street-legal. The other cars were designed by multi-billionare companies with a team of engineers. I used the ideas and concepts of street-racers who grew up racing on the streets."
-
"So they don't present a hazard if there is a crash? You know, shards and sharp flying parts...that kind of thing?"
-
"Nope, they don't." she replied.
-
"Well then...this is going to be hard to hear, but, because you failed to inform the officials of the change, you are still going to have to pay a fine of one hour off the track."
-
"What?! The officials themselves said it was street legal when they checked it!" she exclaimed.
-
"It was the fact that you did not inform us that you were actually going to use them, just if they were legal. We have to know so that, when the other teams protest, we can say something. All we could tell them was that you had inquired."
(Go with this...catching up adds drama.)
-
"Grr!" She stormed off angrily.
-
The coach swept her aside reassuringly, and Bell was kneeling before her. The man said, "You did nothing wrong. We should have said something. We're already 1/2 hour ahead. That will get us only 45 minutes behind because of the axle, but with the way you did that car, we can make that up. We have the chance to still win at least the class, but if all goes well, the whole race."
Bell chimed in and said, "It shall be okay. I know you can shape the future the right way in this. I am so proud of you and what you have done. I know you can help them win."
-
"Thank you onee-sama." said Skuld as she hugged her tightly. Her voice still had a bit of anger in it but she was calming down.
-
"Shh...shh...it's okay. They want to be nasty...I know it shall all go well with you being there."
______________________
Near the entrance to the officials box, the man said, "Thank you for telling us...miss Mara is it?...They'll learn to play by the rules."
"he...he...heeee..."
-
Z looked up from the runic divination he was doing to pass time, "I think I should go to have a talk with Mara," he said before walking away.
-
"Now...I wonder what I can do to hinder the new leader! Oh, the shares are going to skyrocket today!"
-
"Hello Mara," said Z walking up, "I would like to know why you are planning to mess with the drivers?"
-
(Um...wrong race...this is NOT the Daytona 500. That's not until the Sunday of that week. This is called the 24 hours at Daytona: a whole different class--Amercian LaMans series--that happens during something called Sped Week. First are the 500 time trials, then this race, then a motorcycle race, then two 175 mile races that help determine starting position for the 500, and then the 500 itself.)
-
(edited)
-
"Oh...hey...gotta get shares up somehow..."
-
"Yes, now I have a question. I'm new at this so does misfortune that demons suffer from improve shares too? or is it just human misfortune?" said Z innocently.
-
"Um...well...I'm not...I've never really asked or pondered...that...hmmm"
She was truly perplexed. This was something she had never pondered before.
-
"I guess I'll have to find out," said Z, "LIGHTNING" he yelled calling down a bolt on mara
-
"YEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"
(In honesty, I don't know if that would help Hild.)
-
(probably not, but It would make Z feel better.)
-
"YOU LITTLE RUNT...I'M GOING TO SLAP YOU SILLY FOR THAT."
-
"You'll try," said Z in a dangerous voice.
-
She started to cause thunder and electricity danced on her fingers.
-
Z simply snapped his fingers, causing the world around her to shatter like glass, leaving Mara floating in a black void.
"you are in my illusion now" boomed Z's voice from all around before thousands of blades began to circle her and aim at vital points "die here and you die for real"
-
"Hey, that's not playing fair...and...besides...you kill me, and I could just wind up killing you!"
-
"I'm a demon," said Z, "I don't play fair."
The blades turned into metal snakes that wrapped themselves around mara.
-
"HEY...KNOCK IT OFF...WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS!"
-
"because I want to and because you messed with my friends" said Z casually before dispelling the illusion.
-
"They're your friends? Aw C'mon! Release your inner demon!"
-
"I just did," said Z, "besides, I recall that the goddesses have helped you in the past and you accepted their hospitality."
-
"But that's...there's a difference between business and personal. Can't you tell the difference?'
-
"I can," said Z, "but I am part human and because of that it is not in my nature to hurt without reason. I'm alos willing to be friends with you if you try to only cause the minimum of misfortune to my friends."
-
"Are you saying you're going to babysit them?"
-
"No." said Z, "They give me a home and a family. I enjoy their company."
-
"Hey...they're some of the best people to work with! Besides...all I have done hasn't split them but made them closer. If anything, you should thank me!"
-
"true," said Z, "how about this: if you keep your messing with my friends to a minimum, I'll talk with Belldandy and the others about you coming over for dinner once and a while. Belldandy makes great food and always makes a lot."
-
"Yeah...she sure does...and she'll stuff you silly!" she said, telling on herself.
-
"so do we have a deal?" asked Z extending his hand.
-
"Well I...wait...that is dirty pool!"
-
"How so?" asked Z innocently, "you can cause all the misfortune you want as long as my friends get the minimum and you get to eat Belldandy's cooking. I think the deal is actually in your favor."
-
"But...but...what I do gives me the most shares!" she said fidgeting. In a sense, they had somehow become friends, though she knew Chibi Hild would never approve such a deal. But then...
"...on one condition: she and Urd promise to apologize for sealing me up and saying that they were wrong for doing so!"
-
Z frowned, "I'll talk to them about it. Though Belldandy will probably agree in a heartbeat, Nee-sama might need some convincing. I'll try though."
-
"Right...now to cause some real problems!"
-
"Ciao," said Z walking off to go and find Urd.
-
After they took the hour penalty, the car took off to try to get the lead back.
-
"Hey, Z." Urd said.
-
"Hey nee-sama, I recently talked with mara and worked out a deal i need to talk with you about."
-
"Well, what is it?" Urd asked.
-
"well I got mara to agree to cause us less misfortune on the condition that she can come over for dinner once in a while and that you and belldandy apologize for sealing her and admit that you were wrong," said Z wincing
-
Urd was silent for a few moments.
"...Nah, I'm not gonna apologize or admit I was wrong." Urd said.
-
"you do know that means she will be free to cause us as much misfortune as she wants and will probably step up her game in anger of the deal being rejected."
-
"What about the possibility that Hild would have probably reject the deal, simply out of spite towards Belldandy? She does have a final say in a lot of deals about whether they are approved or not." Urd asked. "She might even decide that because of this deal, you'll be forced to move into the arcade."
-
"there is that," sighed Z, "sometimes I wish things were easier for me, but I made my choice about my path in life."
-
"Hopefully, things will either get better of easier for all of us. But whatever doesn't kill us, makes us stronger." Urd said. "But I'd be careful around Hild for a bit, if I were you. Mara's liable to blame you for the deal failing and she might do whatever she can to slander you in Hild's eyes."
(I'm going to bed.)
-
"Great," groaned Z, "first her avatar, now the real mom will be mad at me. T_T)
-
"If I remember right, Malek did calm down Hild by getting you to re-join her forces. Maybe you should see if you can get him to support you, just in case Mara tries anything?" Urd asked.
-
"I will, thanks Nee-sama," said Z before teleporting to Malek's location.
-
Mara saw Bell and Kei in the crowd, and she disguised herself and went into the stands. She came up like some tourist and said, "Say, ain't you that Japanese driver? Can I have your autograph?"
Suddenly, people started swelling around them, he tried to humbly deal with it, but Belldandy was getting lost in the crowd.
-
Z arrived at Hild's group and began to look for Malek
-
Malek was sitting in a corner, reading something on a Kindle.
(Sorry for not posting yesterday. Yesterday and today were hectic, but I'll be able to post more tomorrow.)
-
"excuse me Mr. Malek, but I need a favor," said Z
-
"what is it and how may I be of help?" Malek asked, facing Z.
-
"I tried to make a deal with Mara, but I couldn't fulfill one of her conditions despite my best efforts and I'm worried mara will blame me and use this to make me look bad in mom's eyes. I need your help in preventing that." said Z looking down.
-
"Alright, I'll defend you, should Mara decide to start something to get Hild to punish you." Malek said.
-
"so what do you want in return?" asked Z, "I mean you would need to be compensated, right?"
-
"There is no need. If anything happens, it will be something along an argument or a debate. I enjoy those." Malek said.
-
"thank you," said Z bowing, "I hope our teams can have a fair and somewhat clean race."
-
"I believe they will." Malek said.
Deberk then walked up to Z.
"When you go back to your team, I'd like to tell what I've gotten from Malek." Deberk said to Z.
-
"Sure," said Z, "do you want to tell them in person or should I relay the message?"
-
"I'll come along." Deberk said.
-
"then follow me," said Z before teleporting them both to the camp
-
It was getting harder and harder to stay together as Keiichi was now being mobbed, and Belldandy feared the worst. Ever since the new contract, and passing the judgment gate, she knew the System Force had never been tested on a contract such as this. She had no idea now just how it would react.
-
"Hey, Z." Urd said, upon seeing Z. When Urd saw Deberk, Urd said, "So you work fast. What information do you have about what Kakarine is doing?"
"Hello, Urd." Deberk said. "I've talked with Malek. At the current moment, all he has is a theory."
"So.. you have nothing." Urd said, in an annoyed tone.
#Hey, Malek came up with the theory after looking over the evidence of from when Kakarine showed up at your temple and from looking over the cars that had magical parts in them.# Deberk said, in a language that sounded like hisses and whispers, in order to hide the conversation from human ears.
#So what's the theory?# Urd replied in the same language.
#That Kakarine is targeting Belldandy in a way that doesn't cause the System Force to cause her schemes to fail. The reason why is unknown at the time.# Deberk said.
#There's no need to worry. Kakarine won't be able to separate Bell and Kei.#" Urd said, in a dismissive tone.
#When did I say that Kakarine was trying to separate them? All I said was that Malek thinks that Kakarine is trying to target Belldandy for an unknown reason.# Deberk said.
Urd thought about that for a few seconds.
"Shit...." Urd hissed.
-
"what's wrong," said Z tensing up.
-
"According to Malek, Kakarine is targeting Bell in a way that doesn't set off the system force." Urd said.
-
"That's bad," said Z, "even with the system force there are a lot of things she can do to hurt Belldandy."
-
At that instant, a swarm of bees decided it would be good to go into the stands, and they started to sting all the people around Kei, but not Kei.
-
Z noticed the bees and immediately shrieked and put more distance between him and them, fear written across his face.
-
The people were now panicking, swatting and running, and it looked like a riot was about to start. "Man, this worked out better than I thought!" thought Mara.
-
"KEEP THEM AWAY!" yelled Z shooting a blast of magic that caused the bees to drop dead.
-
At this, Kei and Bell had come together, but the crowd was now moving like a bunch of spooked cattle.
-
Z began to recover, but was still breathing hard.
-
Bell had to act fast before a riot started. She started to mutter something, and then the announcer said, "So, folks, let's have some music to keep us going through this long, grueling race!"
At that, Simon and Garfunkel's "Baby Driver" could be heard with a good rhythm and rock beat. People started to get into the grove, and started to settle down, treating their bee stings. However, there was the unintended effect, considering that they had no idea Mara was around. She started to grove to the beat and get out of control, screaming in pain.
-
"I hate bees," said Z
-
"CURSE YOU BELLDANDY!" She screamed, "HOW DID YOU KNOW I WAS HERE!"
"Did you hear something, Keiichi?" she asked.
"Nothing but your lovely voice," he answered, and they kissed passionately, and flowers started growing all around the infield.
-
Z stormed over to mara, "so you caused the bees to appear" he said with an evil voice, "you're gonna pay for that!"
-
"No! I didn't cause the bees!" she screamed, helpless, "They came on their own! All I did was cause attention to Morisato!"
-
"then where did they come from? Bees dont attack unless provoked."
-
She was fishing for an answer, and then she remembered something... "It must have been the System Force!" she said, "It must have seen them being to forcibly separated against their will. It reacts like that...Oh, stop this music!"
-
Z stuck a pair of ear plugs in her ears
-
"That's kinda strange... The deal that would have resulted in this is dissolved. The New deal is doesn't have that little detail" Urd said.
-
(It doesn't? You know something past chapter 290 that we don't?)
-
(No, I'm just going by some details I noticed. in chapter 278, the contract where separating Bell and Keiichi would bring about the wraith of the system force was cancelled. The only thing about the new contact that we know of is that Keiichi has to face any challenges brought in front of him. If he doesn't succeed in facing the challenges (Doesn't matter if he wins or loses, only thing that matters is that he faces them) , he and Bell get separated. With that in mind, I realized I might have made an error by thinking that the new contract has the same little detail of separating Kei and bell being a bad thing to consider.)
-
(I figured that, now that the contract was stronger, and no longer had the libido thing going...well...it would still be in place.)
-
(Going by the wording of the new contract, it seems that anything that threatens their relationship would bring about the system force. So I guess it only means any one that tries to dis-join Belldandy and Keiichi's relationship would be stymied by the system force. So a crowd being between Keiichi and Belldandy wouldn't threaten anything, unless they were trying to seduce Bell or Kei. So let's go with a different reason for the Bees. Hild being a internet troll by using an action that only seems like the system force's actions.)
-
(Okay, but why would she mimic that?)
-
(To make it seem like the system force went wonky and over-reactive. Besides, does she really need a valid reason to mess with people?)
-
(True...)
Hild watched the chaos with her son and Mara, as well as in the crowd, watching her shares marker tick up. She knew this would be good. She also knew that, once the rivalry built between Kei and Proter, (as well as some of his boys trying to woo away Bell,) the shares would go through the roof, and maybe even actually motivate Kei to win. The loss in shares for that win would be greater than what she was soon to gain, so she knew this could be huge.
-
"wait," said Z, "can somebody fill me in on the contract between them?"
-
"Keiichi and Bell cancelled their first contract a little while ago to defeat a demon named Hagal. Keiichi and Bell then made a new contract that joined them together, kinda like a marriage, provided that he face any challenge. If he fails to face the challenge, then neither Bell nor Keiichi can contact each other." Urd said.
--
"I do have to ask. Have you sent Keiichi a nightmare or two about his friends, Tamiya and Otaki, offering a stupidly insane challenge to him, Keiichi refuses it, and then Belldandy having to leave Keiichi forever because Keiichi did not face a challenge that was put in front of him?" Malek asked Hild.
-
"Hmm...Hard to keep track of it all. I'm trying to remember."
-
"If you haven't, it'd be something fun to do. Heck, one can even reason it as a lesson to teach Keiichi the downsides of a deal that sounds romantic and brave on paper." Malek said.
-
"Now that WOULD be fun...watching him squirm..."
-
"Yes, but I'd advise giving Keiichi the dreams over a slow period of time, so as to hide our efforts from the goddesses and watching him squirm longer around his two friends." Malek said. He pondered a bit before saying, "If we do it for the reason of warning Keiichi and no other reason, the System Force would actually help us. That'd really stick in some of Heaven's technicians' craws. "
-
"Causing chaos in heaven? hehehehe....Chrono would pull pwetty, white hair wright out of her pwecious wittle head...."
-
"I think the dream scheme is worth the effort, especially for the entertainment value. Shall I prepare a dream for Morisato?" Malek asked.
-
"Oh absolutely...and right before the big race? How delicious!"
-
"I'll go get one dream prepared for the night." Malek said, before teleporting away.
-
She sat there pondering this, and thought, "Pressure from Proter, and now the dreams...Keiichi, you were once a precious commodity to me before Bell showed up and snuffed out the star of misfortune. You were a glutton for punishment that kept coming back for more and built my shares. I WILL get you back! All I have to do is turn you coward once, and then you are all mine!"
When that new contract was made, maintaining it became greater, though the dividends were higher for Kei. Yet, now, he had more to lose. She was going to test that mettle now.
-
"I see," said Z to urd, "sounds like something mom would want to mess with."
-
"Yeah, the question is how she'll do it." Urd said. "I suggest being careful on how you help us. If you help us to the point where you're actually going against Hild's will, She'll probably demote you down to a fourth-class demon and force you to return to Hell."
(I'm assuming there's more than first and second class licenses for both Heaven and Hell. Also, I'm going to bed.)
-
Z shrugged, "If it's mom's plan, you're on your own. I don't want her mad at me."
-
Urd nodded.
"I'm glad you're honest about it." Urd said
-
"yeah," said Z, "I'll still help as long as I don't have to oppose mom."
-
(Were you all waiting for me?)
-
(i guess)
-
(Sorry.)
Soon, it was nightfall, and the endurance race that this was was making itself shown.
-
"so, what's the rules for this race?" asked Z
-
A teammember said, "They race for 24 hours. The one with the biggest lead in his class wins his class, and the one with the biggest lead over all wins the overall race."
-
"I see," said Z.
(so who's racing?)
-
(This is the race known as the 24 hours at Daytona. It is the first race in something called Speed Week. It starts with the Daytona 500 time trials, then it is the La Mans series of cars who will race races anywhere from 6 to 24 hours. It is not laps as it is time: who can create the biggest lead within that time. There are several classes of cars, each with about six cars: Prototype classes 1,2, and 3, GT Porsche, (where all the cars are Porsche,) and GTX, which is any make or model that the team thinks can win. This is followed the day after by motorcycle races over the same course, then three days before the Daytona 500, there is the Daytona 175 mile races that help determine one's starting spot in the 500, combined with points scored in the time trials. Both races are in the same day. Finally, that Sunday, comes the one they've been waiting for: the Daytona 500. It is in one of the two 175 mile races, and in the 500 in which Keiichi shall be racing.)
-
(thanks)
"good luck" said Z
-
(Going forward.)
By this point, the sun was set, and the lights were on the track, but as the night wore on, there were not many left in the crowd considering the late hour.
-
Z watched the drivers race.
-
As it was normal, fatigue was setting in on other teams, and a horrendous crash occurred with one of the prototype cars, with the upper hull shattering to pieces, leaving only the roll cage and lower chassis intact, flipping several times.
-
"looks bad" said Z
-
(AAAAAAAARRRRGGGGGGGGG! HE ISN'T RACING YET. THAT WON'T BE FOR ANOTHER THREE DAYS!)
-
Several of the pit crew ran over to check if things were alright. Meanwhile Skuld began to mutter a prayer in hopes of the driver's safety.
-
(sorry. edited. It's kind of confusing.)
-
The red flag came out not too long after the ambulance arrived in the infield where the car fell. Things became deathly quiet, as, sadly, her prayers were not answered, and a sheet was pulled over the stretcher.
-
Skuld stifled a gasp and fell against Belldandy, holding onto her.
-
Belldandy did what she could, trying to console her, assuring her that it was his time, and that heaven was taking good care of him now, but now she had a tear herself. She knew that, in a few days, Keiichi would be doing a short race with the big boys for the first time preparing for that race on Sunday. Now, she was not so certain she wanted Kei out there at all.
-
"Keiichi-onii is going to be racing like this too isn't he?" said Skuld.
-
A mini-Malek that was hidden and observing, thought to himself, 'Even now, something like that is still hard to watch.'
---
Urd crossed her arms in a bit of a hug.
'I really hope Keiichi won't end up like that... No one deserves to end up like that' Urd thought.
-
She could feel Belldandy shiver, and she said, "He'll be in tight packs, moving at about 250 kph...all because of his friends...why did I ever let him commit to this!"
She was crying more now, afraid of what could happen.
-
"It'll be alright onee-sama. He's good at this. It won't happen." said Skuld, trying to reassure Belldandy.
-
The announcement was then made about what happened, and a moment of silence was demanded for the fallen driver.
-
The crowds fell silent as they each offered their respects to the driver.
-
It took a good 30 minutes to resolve the action, and once done, the race was back on. Fatalities did occur in this kind of racing, and more often than people would care to know. Yet, in this kind of racing, it was also true that, for the memory of that driver, or any driver, they would race on, knowing that it would be what he wanted. The roar of the cars could be heard again, and though it was announced that the team Skuld was helping was leading in class and overall, Belldandy was more concerned about Kei to even care.
-
Skuld looked up at Belldandy's worried face.
"I'll go get us something." she said, leaving her seat to find a vendor.
-
However, Bell did not want to seem to let her go. She wanted to hold someone, but it was late, and she wanted her Kei to sleep well. He wanted to come to watch the cyclists the next day, and hoped he would be fully alert to watch the racing he truly loved.
(We'll skip that race and go right to the 175 races after this La Mans Series is over.)
-
A few minutes later, Skuld returned with two drinks in her hands.
"Here." she said, handing Bellndandy one.
-
(Should I post what the Dream Malek had in store for Keiichi now or later?)
-
(Oh...this might fit in with what's going on! Go for it!)
She took the drink, but with an ashen face.
-
In Keiichi's dream, Belldandy and Keiichi were back at the temple, having Breakfast. When all of a sudden, Tamiya and Otaki bursted in the room.
"Keiichi, we need you to compete in a challenge we just made with Aoshima!" Otaki said.
With a great amount of nervousness, Keiichi asked, "What did you guys agree on?"
"A Blindfolded motorcycle obstacle course!" Tamiya crowed, puffing out his chest.
Moments passed before Keiichi said, "I-I'm going to have to pass on it."
Belldandy then got up and said with tears in her eyes. "Keiichi, because you did not meet a challenge that was put before you, I am required to leave."
She then ran out the room. When Keiichi tried following her, he was unable to find her. When he checked Belldandy's room, Skuld's room, and Urd's room, all evidence of the goddesses living there was gone.
-
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" he screamed, but then woke up in a cold sweat.
(By the way, this is challenges SHE gives him that cannot be refused, but if he doesn't recognize that...so much the better for the plot!)
-
(I went back and checked, it says he has to face any challenge. There's no specification that it's just challenges from Belldandy.)
-
(oh...that's what I gathered, but okay.)
-
Urd ran to Keiichi's room and slammed open the door, looking for whever might be attacking Keiichi. When she saw no one, Urd asked, "What happened? What's going on?"
-
He then explained what he had dreamed, and then said, "I wonder what would have happened if I refused this race?"
-
"what's going on?" yawned Z, walking in, "I heard a yell."
-
Urd had a slightly scared look on her face when she contemplated it..
"Probably something similar to your dream. I shudder to think that you might just be forced to do whatever challenges that pop up in Tamiya and Otaki's heads in order to stay with Bell." Urd said.
She faced Z.
"Keiichi had a bad dream. Almost a nightmare." Urd told Z.
----
Wherever Hild and Malek were...
"Well, Keiichi gotten the dream." Malek said.
-
Z closed his eyes, "I can sense faint traces of demonic magic in his mind," he said opening his eyes, "seems like Mom or one of her subordinates has decided to make trouble."
-
"Hmm...let's stir up the pot. Let's compel Tamyia and Okati to start pouring the challenges on! Eventually, there's going to be something he just can't fulfill!"
-
"Spells and hexs that do that will set off the system force. If you do want to do something that increases the likelihood of Tamiya and Otaki giving out inane challenges, suggest it to them while they're drunk off their ass. It will only increase the chances a little, but it won't set off the system force." Malek said. "Slow and steady won the race, after all."
He then created a viewing orb showing what was happening at wherever Keiichi and the others were.
"I do believe we're about to see what Heaven's reaction to finding out that a demon just used the system force to avoid detection from the goddesses." Malek said.
---
"I'm going to call Heaven and see why the System force didn't give us a small little blip to warn us that some trouble was caused here." Urd said, pulling out her cellphone and calling a number in Heaven.
-
"Heaven here, Chrono speaking...how may I direct your call?"
-
"Hey, Chrono. Why didn't the System force send out a small warning that a demon was doing something to Keiichi last night?" Urd asked.
---
'Because the dream was a warning of the downside of the new deal between Belldandy and Keiichi. Thus, it was protected by the system force, regardless of how nightmare-ish the dream was.' Malek thought with a smirk.
-
"Well, it actually benefited him," she said, going over Yggrasil's records of the event, "It warned him of what could happen, and put him on defense for it. However, the source was blocked. I wonder who managed to hack the system to do that?"
-
"Wait... Are you saying that Hild or someone working under her.... was protected by the System Force? And the System was hacked?" Urd said. "Shit... That ain't good..."
---
"I don't recall hacking..." Malek said. "Did you hack their system, Hild? Or could it have been the System Force, somehow trying to pay me a favor?"
-
"Well, I don't know if it was hacked...hard to tell when one's tracks have been covered. Anyway, that's why the system was never tripped. By the way...how's that hunky brother of yours?"
-
"He's doing alright. He's having a bit of trouble getting into the hang of things, but that;s to be expected." Urd said.
(I'm heading to bed. Good night.)
-
"I imagine...*sigh*...I wish I could help him more, though..."
-
"I kinda wish we had gotten to him sooner. It'd have been easier for him to accept some of the weirder things we can do." Urd said.
-
"Yeah..." she said, dreamily, imagining growing up side-by-side with him, picnics, the beach, other things...
-
"Well, I'll call if anything odd happens." Urd said.
-
She snapped herself out of it, and said, "Oh...um...yeah...we'll put a monitor on Morisato to see what is going on."
-
"Thanks, Chrono." Urd said.
-
"Oh and give a big hug, kiss, and blo...*cough, cough*...hug and a kiss to Ian from me!" and she hung up.
-
Urd put away her phone with a sigh.
"I really don't think she has a chance with him..." Urd muttered to herself.
She then faced Keiichi.
"A demon was responsible for your dream last night, and they somehow used the system force to evade detection from us." Urd said.
-
"They put that in my head?" he asked, "But why? That thing scared me to death! I couldn't get back to sleep at all!"
-
"I guess to warn you? As for why, I have no clue." Urd said.
---
"Oh, please. I made certain to leave out the scary part." Malek muttered to himself.
-
Indeed the sun was coming up now, and only a few hours remained in the Le Mans race. Several times, the car had to come in for a part or two, but Skuld's team was up to the task, getting their man back out on the track looking to pull a rare victory for the GTX class. The other GTX teams knew there was no way of catching him for the class win, but they all started to throw their support behind Skuld's team as it appeared that the GTX class may have the chance to take the overall race and show the prototypes that they can't bully the others around.
-
"Skuld is doing well," said Z
-
"I just wonder how awake she is."
-
"did she get any sleep" asked Z
-
"That is what I wonder," asked Bell, "I mean, she's been with those men for the whole race, and she has been fixing problems for them one after the other."
-
Z sighed, "Is there an Ice Cream stand nearby?"
-
"Oh, there are all kinds of vendors peddling wares, and, I do believe there are some around."
-
"how much american money do you have currently?" asked Z, "I think your sister needs a pick-me-up treat"
-
"Oh, plenty...it always seems we have enough whenever there is a need."
-
"How much do you think will two tubs cost?" asked Z
-
"Oh...that would be..."
(I'm not sure...what DO two tubs cost?)
-
(Since I never buy that much, let's say $1000)
-
(Not even that much! I'd go about $40 tops.)
-
(I'm not talking about supermarket tubs. I'm talking about the ones the size of large buckets that ice cream parlors serve out of)
-
(Like I said, $40 a piece, tops. If that were the case, Baskin-Robbins would go out of business.)
-
(It's roughly 30$ per tub. And 47-55 cents per scoop.)
-
(Sounds like you worked for them or something.)
-
(Nah, btw generic brands are a lot cheaper. 5$ for 1.5-2.25 gallon tubs. But they come in limited flavors. What I said down there was for premium 3-gallon tubs. Convert that to yen and it's 410 and 2464 yen.)
-
(thanks man :D )
-
(Waiting on you and Skuld, then.)
-
Z took some money and bought two large tubs of Neapolitan Ice Cream and carried them over to skuld.
-
(Okay, cue Skuld!)
-
Skuld's tired eyes immediately lit up when she saw the ice cream tubs. She pointed at it with one hand, and then pointed at herself with the other.
-
"Wow, you suddenly woke up, kid!"
-
"Yes it's all for you," said Z, "figured you needed an energy boost."
-
"Thank you!" exclaimed Skuld as she ran forward and grabbed the tubs out of his hands.
-
"no problem," said Z
-
"Hey, kid! Slow down with that stuff! You'll give yourself a bellyache!"
-
She was eating it in large spoonfuls.
"This much is no problem for me." she said in-between bites.
-
They all just stared at her stunned and not sure what to say.
-
Z smiled and headed back to belldandy, "she'll be fine."
-
A tiny-Malek that was well-hidden shook his head.
'I wonder if Keiichi is now worrying that Skuld's help, as useful as it may be, is coming close to blowing her and her sisters' idenities as goddesses. The dream my main self had sent may have increased the chances of it.' tiny-Malek thought.
-
Keiichi was eating his breakfast, pondering the dream, and hoping that watching the motorcycle races later might calm him. He knew Belldandy would have her hands full with getting Skuld to bed and making her get her rest, so he was going to let her get done what she needed and ponder some things.
-
Z decided to go and explore, this is his first trip to Daytona.
-
The race was now coming into its last half hour, but deep behind the pits the motorcycles were gearing up. There would be a series of qualifying races, with the final dash at the end of the day.
-
Z headed to the food stands to see if one sold japanese snacks.
-
Sadly, not one did. They were all good ol' American fare for sporting events.
-
Z sighed and decided to look for a nacho stand.
-
Finally, the announcement came of who was going to take the checkered flag, and it was Skuld's team she was assisting to win that came in first.
-
"looks like that girl is doing well," Z said to himself before heading to Hild's location to see how she's doing.
-
Someone even scooped up Skuld in joy, bouncing around with her all happy.
-
"Yo" said Z walking up to Hild's group.
-
"Hello, Z." Malek said. "How is Keiichi?"
-
"nervous," smirked Z, "do you know anything about that?"
-
"A little bit, but you aren't allowed to tell that to him, Ian, or the goddesses..." Malek answered. "I do wonder when Keiichi will realize that should he become more famous, the more likely that the world will find out that Bellldandy and her sisters are goddesses."
He leaned back in his chair a little bit
He then continued, "Should the secret get out, Keiichi will be swamped by a variety of challenges, from the fun challenges to the dumb challenges, all from people who believe either they deserve Belldandy more than he or that she is too good for him. If he even refuses a single one, he loses Belldandy. But since both Heaven and Hell both want to keep a low profile on Earth and Keiichi has done quite a bit for both sides, I suspect that should the secret somehow gets out, time might be rewound to the point before Keiichi can get into this race, but he will be forbidden from entering."
-
"who said anything about me telling them?" smirked Z, "I personally think that keeping K1 on his guard is a good thing. Though I do worry about their secret, and possibly ours, getting out to the general public. I mean K1's family, like that Megumi girl, should know as Belldandy will probably be marrying K1 sometime in the foreseeable future."
-
"Perhaps Keiichi was worried that Megumi would do one of two things; fear Bellldandy for the rest of her life or try to profit off of Belldandy being a goddess. It's what I think he thought." Malek said. "He really should have told her, at least then he might have a sympathetic ear for his troubles with the supernatural. If he tells her now, she'll see it as two things; That he doesn't trust as much as she thought or that he still thinks of her as a little kid."
-
"Well I tried to reveal things to her when I first arrived, but she passed out and the others decided to pretend that she just dreamed it," said Z
-
Malek shook his head a little when he heard that.
"And an incident like that will only make it worse when she does find out. From what I've seen of her, she seems to have an excellent control of her temper, but the length of time that Keiichi kept the goddesses' secret from her will definitely look like a betrayal." Malek said. "If I were Keiichi, I'd steer clear of her for a few days, should she ever find out."
-
"So how are things with you guys?"
-
"Fairly well, from my point of view." Malek replied.
-
"Is Proter doing well in the races?"
-
"I want to say yes, but Hild would know the answer." Malek said. "Hild, how well is Proter doing?"
-
"If I fail to accept a challenge...its all over," he pondered, getting his seat reserved for the cycle races that day, hoping it would calm him, "I accepted this, but, if I win, would I be challenged to join the tour? Otaki and Tamiya would jump at the chance I fear..."
-
"yo," said Z seeing hild and waving.
-
Hild nodded to Z and she said, "His team can't believe it. In fact, they have even said they have never seen a driver be so in tune with his car before."
-
(has the race between Proter and Keiichi happened yet?)
-
(No.)
-
(thanks)
"I'm sure he's looking forward to racing K1," said Z
-
"Are you kidding?" she said, "He looks forward to getting Kei back for Belldandy's help. He doesn't consider what we gave him to be cheating, because Belldandy is here this time, and he just knows something is going to happen to involve her. Even if he loses, if he beats him, he has won as far as he's concerned. He figures that, with that help, it's even Steven."
-
"This should be an interesting race," laughed Z
-
"The thing is, I received my compensation, but, what he does not realize is the fact that he's now at my beckoned command. In other words, if we need him for whatever cause we have, all I have to do is dangle this over his head and say that we'll expose him if he does not do as we tell him."
-
Z laughed, "wow, you really got him good mom," said Z
-
"Oh, I fully hope to capitalize on the shares that this shall get us!" she said, "You know there are ALWAYS strings attached to our deals."
-
"Of course," said Z, "it's part of being a demon."
-
Malek sighed.
'I really should learn not to bring Hild along when I go to make a deal. Then again, I'm usually too honest with my deals.' Malek thought.
-
"Oh if you ever want to send a dream to K1, try making one about the something currently happening so he thinks he is awake." said Z
-
Hild noted the sigh, and she said, "Oh come now: you didn't think I'd actually let him benefit completely. After all, that would give shares to the other side and not to us."
She noted what Z just said and then said, "Well, now THAT could make for some fun! And here I thought you had gone all soft on me, Z."
-
"As long as it doesn't cause something REALLY bad to happen like K1 leaving Belldandy, I'm fine with helping," shrugged Z.
-
"Hild, any deals we make only benefit our side and not Heaven, regardless of whether or not the deals help or hinder the client. If they didn't, we would be profiting from all the troubles that naturally come to Keiichi by him simply being near Belldandy, Urd, or Skuld and we wouldn't have to do a thing." Malek said.
-
"Oh, this won't hinder him per se, but, my dear Malek, you have no foresight to just how far we can ride this horse. I mean, this was THIS deal. We let him off easy THIS TIME. We did him the favor, and though the meal was the payment for this deal, that does not mean he is out of reach for us in other things. Now that we have this involvement with him, he is our tool. Joining us is like joining the mob: once you are a part, you can never leave!"
She got that look in her eye and smile that she was known for.
-
Having as known Hild as long as he has, the look had little effect on Malek at the moment.
"And pushing him too hard for extra deals will result in him becoming a mole for Heaven." Malek said. "If I were a god who was aiming to save both Proter and anyone else who had gotten a bad deal from Hell, I'd be on the lookout, searching for Proter to walk away from you while having a despondent expression on his face, just so I could offer him a chance to save himself and others."
"You sound a bit too paranoid, Old man..." Deberk muttered.
-
"Who said I'd ride him constantly?" she said, not understanding the resistance, "He could go for 30 years, or however long I want, thinking he'd never see us again, but when the need calls, we have him. He would owe us, and he would know it!"
She got into Malek's face with that evil look and said, "Have we forgotten who I am?"
-
"You're someone who's angry at a lot of things, but hides it well." Malek calmly said.
-
She chuckled softly as she smirked and said in a low voice, "You have no idea!"
(Remember, I have to keep her the antagonist.)
-
(I know. I'm just playing Malek as something like a spy who seems forever stuck in the Cold War, or as close as I can play him to. So he's just a bit more paranoid than he should be)
"Hild... I do have some idea..." Malek said, briefly remembering of the incident with Dionysus that happened long, long ago. The only sign that showed that Malek was thinking of it was a brief moment of cold fury in his eyes.
-
"Ah...so you have woken up a bit, have you? Or, do you remember who and what you were born to be?"
-
"Just merely remembering a reason of why I despise gods..." Malek said.
-
"Okay...so...your issues with my plans are...well...?"
-
"Merely that we should be planning on making him be alright with how we do things, rather than planning on blackmail." Malek said. "In my opinion, blackmail should always be a last resort when it comes to increasing the shares of Hell, not the second move."
-
"Oh, of course," she said in a sing-song way, "You well know we are crafty enough to make what we do look like a gain for the client without them knowing just how they are being used."
-
"And the big trick is to get them to the point where if they find out they're being used, they won't mind it at all." Malek said.
-
"Again, I wouldn't have it any other way!" she said in mock surprise to his suggesting that, "I mean, you give these greedy beings enough goodies and they won't care what you do, or what you do to them--as long as their happy little world is not shattered."
(Sounds like the current atmosphere in America today...can you say "Fahrenheit 451"?)
-
Malek was about to say something when he remembered something.
"Do you remember back when Ian first moved into the temple, I replaced one of the nails in the ceiling with a similar nail, but it was made of a material that would allow Mara to enter Ian's dreams, even if she was in the arcade?" Malek asked.
-
"Sure...are you planning to mess with him as well? I mean, he has embraced his heavenly side, so, turning him to us is going to be much harder than before, especially with that mutt looking over him!"
She screwed up her face and then said, "He fully understands the reasons why things happened the way they did, he has come to terms with it, and is comfortable with that fact; not to mention the fact that that harpy named Lind is watching over him. The fact that Chrono has the hots for him make things harder, because she would also come to his aid in a New York minute!"
-
"No plans at the moment, just making sure that you remembered." Malek said. "And besides, they can't look into his dreams all the time."
-
"What would block that?"
-
"Well, him sleeping anywhere but his room." Malek said.
(I'm heading to bed. Good night.)
-
"Ah...well, he's been quiet lately. I wonder what he's been up to? I haven't checked him lately."
-
"From my records, he still trains with the basic spells. The comment that he made about mastering the shield spell 'inspired' Urd to put his shield through one of her tests. After she broke through his shield a few times, she said something along the lines of 'You can make the shield, but you gotta learn to increase its strength' or something along those lines." Malek said.
-
"So, was he discouraged by this, or did it make him practice harder?"
-
Malek thought about it.
"Neither, really. He was a bit sheepish at getting a big head after performing a spell for the first time," Malek said
-
"Hmm...that is in his personality. It will inspire him to be cautious from now on, which means, cautious towards offers from us."
-
".... How is being cautious over being too cocky over doing something new is being cautious towards us? Unless you're planning on offering him power, I don't see the connection." Malek said.
-
"Even though he's gone through the doublet ritual, I still plan on winning him over to us."
-
"how so?" asked Z
-
"Haven't thought of that one yet, but give me time. He's a psyche student, so getting BS past him is going to be hard."
-
"Maybe offer him portions of the truth, instead of BS?" suggested Z
-
She was about to chastise him, but then said, "Well, the truth can be more fun, depending on how you use it...hmm...give me an example, dear boy."
-
"bring up how the almighty one manipulates people to help his goals, like how he forced Ian to take the divine path by giving him his angel egg."
-
"Careful," she said, "Because, (and this is why I think we truly lost our argument at the hearing, though it was never mentioned,) that can be turned on us: we manipulate FAR more than he."
-
"true," said Z, "I guess what I meant was revealing truths that put us in a good light, while witholding those that don't."
-
"Well...of course...that's par for the course. I mean, we get people to destroy themselves by not showing the end result of their bad behavior, which is deserved anyway. They are bad, we just hasten along their demise. Yet, it's always fun when you can get one from the other side every once and a while."
-
"Glad to help," said Z.
-
She kissed his cheek and said, "Oh, I am so glad you haven't let your sweet mommy down and joined the other side like your wayward sister."
-
"I do have a semi-demon license," said Z, "so I will help out once in a while."
-
"Good boy," she said, "At least one of my children want to stay close. Perhaps we could make a brother out of that Ian."
-
"that would be interesting," said Z.
-
"Well, let's keep our focus, though," she said, "We still have to do the race. In fact, tomorrow, Keiichi does his first sprint, and that will set his qualifying spot, and give him the taste of full out NASCAR racing. However, Proter is in the second sprint. Yet, if we can put the fear of God into him during Kei's turn, perhaps we could scare him out of the race or become too risky to succeed. I mean, with those nightmares, he knows he must answer the call no matter what danger he faces. Having no experience in head to head auto racing, especially this kind, ups the danger and plays into our hands."
-
"just don't kill him," said Z, "that wouldn't sit well with the others. Plus you'll lose your chances to cause him misfortune."
-
"Why bite the hand that feeds me?"
-
"good point," said Z
-
(Gotta get Auir in on this.)
-
(yeah)
-
(I want his reaction to the Le Mans race and how they were dealing with Skuld before we go on, so, keep an eye open on this.)
-
(ok)
-
(Wait, how far back is Skuld?)
-
(Page 114, responses 1704 or thereabouts.)
-
(Geezus)
Skuld was also laughing joyfully, holding her arms out and feeling the air flow through her fingers.
-
The car came in and the driver hopped out, kissing her on the cheek.
-
She laughed gleefully and rubbed her cheek while saying,
"We did it! We did it!"
-
The owner of the team came up and said, "Kid, you're great! Hey, we could use you in Nevada! Sign this contract and we make you a member of the pit crew!"
-
"Really?!" she asked, her face shining.
"But, I have to ask my sister first... Is that alright?"
-
"You're...sister? Oh...I guess she could come along as well," not stopping to think about her age, or her guardian.
-
"Luckily, she's over eighteen, right? Otherwise, we might get in some serious trouble with the labor laws." a random member of the pit crew said.
-
"Yeah...hey, kid...how old are you?"
-
"Uhhh, 14." she said, quickly making up an age.
-
As if a scene of a comedy, she was promptly set outside that team's pit rather rudely and they acted like she wasn't even there.
-
"H-hey, what was that for?!" exclaimed Skuld as she waved her arms around.
-
But, they were gone, lest someone came along and asked questions about why a minor was doing such a job without a permit, though someone did come along and stuff about two stacks into her hand and said, "You were never here."
-
Urd walked over to Skuld.
"What happened, Skuld? you didn't try to SkuldBomb someone, did you?" Urd asked.
-
(Story note: two stacks means $2,000.)
-
"H-huh?" she looked at the money and was confused.
"No. We were all happy, and they offered me a contract. He asked me my age and all of a sudden I was kicked out...." answered Skuld.
-
Ian was about, trying to find where everyone went, and he said, "Hi, sis squared...what's wrong...and where'd you get that stack of cash!"
-
A Mini-Z walked up, "where'd you get the cash, Skuld? sell one of your inventions?"
-
"I guess they wanted to cover their ass in case a surprise inspection showed up. I went to the library and discovered that the child labor laws around here kinda forbid minors from working around operating motor vehicles, unless you have a waiver from a public school or the Child Labor Compliance, graduated from an accredited high school, hold a high school equivalency diploma, served in the U.S. armed forces, are in a high school work program, or are married. So I came to pick you up." Urd said. "Wanna go get some ice cream?"
(I'm heading to bed. I'm sorry about going to bed so early lately.)
-
"Well, all that's true," he said, "They would face major fines if word came out a minor helped in the race. Despite that, you got paid, girl. That's 2 large! That's a nice chunk of change!"
-
"You ok, skuld?" asked chibi-Z
-
"Sure...." she replied, a bit miffed.
-
"Well, I guess this means you can work with me and Z at removing Kakarine's magic parts from the cars at night." Urd said.
-
"Wait, that means that she'll either have not to be detected during the big race or lie about her age," said Ian.
-
"Z and I do it under the cover of night, secretly. A simple exchange spell with an ordinary part does the job." Urd said.
-
chibi-Z nodded, "having someone who knows a lot about cars would help us identify the parts."
-
"We currently doing it through scan spells, but having someone with actual knowledge would be helpful." Urd said
-
Chibi-Z nodded in agreement
-
"Yeah, but, on race day, she can't be seen working on the car. She can be around as a guest, but they can't catch her on the car, or they may disqualify Kei."
-
Chibi-Z snapped his fingers and Skild looked like her adult self, "how's this for skuld's big sister?"
-
"I think you're misunderstanding something. We're going to be doing our job at night, and when there's as few people around as possible, using as many illusion spells to hide ourselves. Our job is removing magical parts from the cars and placing regular parts in their place. We're not going to be working on Kei's car unless Kakarine messed with it." Urd said.
-
"Skuld could keep the parts when the spell wear off," said Chibi-Z after dispelling the illusion on skuld
-
"So, you're saying Skuld is NOT going to be there on race day?"
-
"She'll be there as a guest. Our work will be under the cover of night." Urd said.
-
"Well, I'm sure that's going to disappoint Kei. I mean, I am sure her help on the car would have been welcome."
-
"welcome, but illegal," said Chibi-Z
-
"Well, Z and Skuld could work up a disguise if she really wants to work on the car. All she needs to do is work up a cover story, let her claim to be a cousin of Kei or something." Urd said with a shrug.
-
(Trying to get Auir in on this.)
-
"I could do that," said Z
-
"It sounds fine to me." said Skuld, sitting down cross-legged.
-
"So...you'd want to be made to look like an adult?" he asked.
(Oh, and how was the latest chapter?)
-
"W-well, looking like an adult is fine too...." she replied, scratching her cheek. She was too embarrassed to admit that she'd actually like it.
(It was good. I'm not use to the writing style but the storyline is good.)
-
"Well, don't take too much advantage of it, kiddo," he answered, "You might find yourself in something you can't get away from all that easily."
(How would you describe my writing style? I'm curious about that. Is it too descriptive, less, could be more flowery, less...not sure. Been told my stories read like a movie script.)
-
"Don't worry about that, I'm fully aware of how things turned out last time." she laughed.
(It depends. Some parts are too descriptive. In others, you repeated yourself. Accidental run-ons. Missing a word, added an extra word. I usually read those novels you find for 50 cents at bookstores so don't take my advice for the standard.)
-
(What you read are rough drafts in actuality. Haven't had a chance to clean them up. Besides...nothing wrong with description. Just read Poe, and you feel like you are there!)
"Hey, you're still a great kid sister to have...though, technically, you're older than me...I mean, you were born before me...man, this is awkward."
-
(Ah, well that's classic.)
"It's fine." she said, patting him on the head.
-
(I try.)
"Hey, you must be tired," he said, "You've been up all night. Let me at least get you to the trailer so you can get some sleep."
-
"Yeah, Skuld. Either get some sleep or I can use one of my potions that has the same restoring effect as sleeping for 12 hours. Your choice," Urd said.
(I'm going to bed. See you all later.)
-
"Alright, I am pretty tired anyway." she yawned.
"I'll get some sleep." she gave Urd the 'I-don't-trust-you' face.
-
Ian picked her up and said, "I'll get you to the trailer."
As he walked, he looked at her wad and said, "Man...two stacks...not bad pay for the work you did."
-
"Heh, thanks. Let's all go out somewhere to eat after this okay?" she said.
-
"It's a date!" he said, and gave her a brotherly peck on the cheek.
-
"Heh heh." she grinned. Meanwhile a group of passerbyers were staring at him as if he was some kind of creep.
-
He looked at them and said, "Hey...it's my kid sister! Get your minds out of the gutter...Geez!"
-
They shook their heads and quickly left. Meanwhile Skuld let out a burst of laughter.
-
He put her on his shoulders and said, "What's so funny?"
-
"N-nothing. Hahaha. It's just that face you made!" she giggled.
-
"You just gotta know how to handle busybodies."
-
"Hee hee..." she sat back on his shoulder.
-
He returned to the trailer, and Bell was right there, helping him with her, and saying, "You've had a busy day, little lady, and I am so proud of you."
-
"Thanks onee-sama." smiled Skuld, hugging her tight.
-
she kissed her cheek and got her ready for sleep. However, she still was a bit upset about what she heard about the dream Kei had.
-
"Night onee-sama." yawned Skuld, getting into bed.
-
She chuckled lightly at that, knowing it was just 10 in the morning.
-
With that, she fell asleep.
-
Chibi-Z smiled before transfering his memories to the original.
"Looks like Skuld will be helping me and Urd-nee-sama." said Z to hild.
-
"Well, I'm going to find Kei and see how he's doing," said Ian.
(Bedtime for Bonzo. Catch you all tomorrow.)
-
Z dispelled Chibi-Z
"I'm going to head back to the others mom," Z told Hild
-
Kei was taking his seat just in time for the preliminary races, and he said, "I don't know why they didn't put me in for this. Motorcycles are more my thing."
"I hear you can race anything that has an engine," said Ian in return.
"I think some people have been speaking legends about me," he joked.
-
"Not so much legends," said Z, "you have flown a plane, drove a go cart, and you own motercycle that your boss custom built."
-
"Well, okay, I do know my way around a bike...I am an engineer after all, but, to think me a racing legend...you equate me to Mario Andretti."
-
"Well, how many drivers have done what you've done," said Z
-
"Aside from the guy I mentioned, I don't really know," he said, as the flag dropped and the cycles roared out of the blocks.
-
"So how are things between you and Belldandy?" asked Z with a smile.
-
"Well, to be honest, Bell's worried about the nightmare I had."
-
"I don't know much about dreams," said Z, "but I do know that they become mere memories when you wake up. I would concentrate on the races before you end up crashing and burning."
-
"Uh...yeah...right," he said as the bikes zipped past, knowing his first sprint race lay but 24 hours away.
-
Z laughed, "and after the race you can propose to Belldandy."
-
"Hey...ease up! I'm still working on that one!"
-
"sure you are," laughed Z, "maybe I could get Nee-sama's help in brewing something to help you along..."
-
His eyes almost fell out of his head as he said, "Absolutely not!"
-
"just kidding," said Z, "...sort of"
-
Now he was paranoid! He wasn't sure if he was going to sit up all night saying, "Can't fall asleep, clowns will eat me!"
-
"So how are things with you Ian?" asked Z.
-
"Well, now that things have become more regular, it feels like it was before I knew...things."
-
"I envy you," said Z
-
"I don't understand why or how..."
-
"What you consider abnormal is to me an essential part of my life. I never experienced what most people see as a normal childhood." said Z
-
"Really? You've never told me your story."
-
"When I was born, I was taken to Hell to be trained to use my powers. I didn't like causing misfortune at the time so I was sent to earth when I was 14, and when I was 17 I received a demigod license and decided to travel to japan to meet my big sister, Urd. What happened after that is everything from me arriving to now." said Z
-
"But now what? I mean I really don't recall meeting you until we just left for Daytona."
(Remember the doublet thing.)
-
(I remember.)
Z shrugged, "I smoothed things over with mom and now I am officially a cambion. I alo have been living at the temple for a while. I was there when everybody was 'drafted' for this race."
-
(Sorry about not posting. I didn't get any alerts. And I'm also sorry this is my only post before I go to bed today.)
Urd muttered to herself, "The potion would have worked," As she went to go read some cheesy tabloid.
-
"Something's been bugging me," said Z to ian, "if we've been living in the temple from before the race, why didn't we meet till the race?"
-
"Yeah, that is strange...maybe because the grounds are so big. I mean, I have that guesthouse to myself, the grounds are big, all the woods behind it..."
-
"I've been living in the spare room in the main house."
-
"The two of you are going about a topic that will leave you knocked out for a few minutes and wind up missing an hour in your memories. I'd advise leaving the subject alone." Urd said.
-
Ian looked at her funny, not sure what she meant by that, having no memory of the ceremony.
-
"Huh, you two should be getting a feeling that you're talking about something a bit forbidden..." Urd said.
-
"Well, I wasn't sure what I was feeling, but it is a bit creepy."
-
"Yeah, just trust in that feeling. It's usually a good warning to avoid something." Urd said.
-
He shrugged his shoulders and looked over to Keiichi, who seemed to be watching the race, but was more pondering both the dream, and the race the next day.
-
Z sighed, "It's just frustrating. Like a gap in your memory."
-
"Yeah, but, hey, doesn't that happen to everyone?"
(Shall we jump to the midnight raid?)
-
(sure)
-
(Katz...what about you?)
-
(I'm here.)
"And we're down to the last third," Urd said, as she put up an flight/invisibilty spell.
-
Z was keeping an illusion around them to keep people away, "which cars are left?"
-
Urd handed the list over to Z.
(I'll be honest, I wasn't expected the midnight raid to be anything more than a background event, So I'm a bit unprepared. Also, is Skuld a part of the raid or no?)
-
Z looked over the list, "this might take a while,"
-
(Well, Auir is not here, so I suppose we can gloss over this.)
-
(Some stuff happened. nothing bad, but I won't be able to log on until tomorrow.)
-
"Piece of cake if we all pitch in." said Skuld.
-
"Good to hear. Remember that the magic car parts will become ordinary parts in a few days." Urd said. "As for the danger of that, imagine racing along, you're about to finish, when all of a sudden, some parts of your car instantly change into some inferior parts."
-
Z nodded, "if these parts give, say a boost in speed, then, when they change, the car might crash from the sudden deceleration and cause a large accident."
-
"Then we just have to remove them don't we?"
-
"That's why we're here." said Z
-
"There's a car that gonna be unguarded for about 15 minutes. Let's get to it!" Urd said.
-
Z nodded and cast an illusion to hide them
-
(I'll admit, I know nothing about cars. So if I make a mistake, I'm sorry for using wikipedia. I tried to take an automotive class, but some stuff back then made me drop out of the class.)
"Alright, Skuld, the magic part is increasing the car's ability to accelerate, so it should be somewhere near the throttle valve or might be the valve itself." Urd said.
-
"Alright, I'm looking for it now...." said Skuld as she closed her eyes and expanded her mind outwards to probe the interior of the car.
-
(Paladin, I think you know more about Cars in the current race more than I do, So what part might be a good part neat the throttle to be an enchanted part? I'm sorry to put more responsibility on you.)
-
(The throttle body helps control fuel intake, and thus, the efficiency of the engine to burn fuel in an economic manner and still get the same results. For those in Rio Linda, that means the car can go farther burning less fuel at any given moment. This involves throttle lever, fuel pump, injectors, and how much of a pure oxygen mix there is in the combustion chamber. The more pure, the more fire, the less fuel needed to create the burst that moves the piston. All of those would give the car better acceleration, and allow for the car to stay on the track longer.)
-
(wow 0_0)
-
So Auir, you get to choose. Either throttle lever, fuel pump, injectors, or piston. Which will be the magic part?)
-
"Hmm, something's wrong in the injectors...." said Skuld.
-
"Magic or normal?" Urd asked.
-
"I'm not sure. If it's magic, it's really well hidden. But the output is definitely too extreme."
-
"If it's giving off a signal, even if it's faint or false, better to be safe than sorry and replace it" Urd said.
(I'm heading to bed.)
-
"Let's replace it then. I need my multi-purpose wrench."
-
Z handed her the wrench
-
"Can't use a drill here, too loud." she began to manually take out the spark plug.
-
"what do you need a drill for?" asked Z
-
"You can fit change the heads to fit the screw and take it out in just a few seconds." she said.
-
"why don't you just use telekinesis?" asked Z
-
She stopped for a few seconds, visibly annoyed.
"Because I'm not that good at it yet!" she almost shouted but covered her mouth just in time.
-
Z sighed, "why don't you tell me which screws need to be removed and I'll do it. I should be decent enough with telekinesis to move them."
-
"Here, here, here. After that, I need you to lift this plate off and the spark plug should be right there." said Skuld, pointing it out.
-
Z summoned Dusk's Light and they removed the screws and lifted the plate off.
-
"Alright, and remove the 6 cylinders over here. And over there are the 6 spark plugs. Remove those, and insert these in." said Skuld.
-
With Dusk's Light's help Z was able to do as skuld said.
-
"And, we're done!"
-
"Well, if the rest get done this fast, we might be able to finish the list during this night," Urd said.
-
"good," said Z, "these late nights are really taking their toll on me,"
-
"Onto the next one then..." said Skuld.
-
Z recalled his familiar, "which car is next?"
-
Skuld looked toward Urd as if asking which one was next.
-
"About a few meters that way," Urd pointed. "But due to the guards, we might need to wait a bit or use a energy intensive illusion to hide ourselves."
(Sorry about being a bit late at posting.)
-
(no problem)
Z smiled and cast a powerful illusion that made it seem to the guards that they weren't there even if they bump into them. "Nee-sama, you might need to do the screws this time," said Z, "this illusion will need my concentration to maintain."
-
"Alright, I will," Urd said, as she looked over the list. "According to the list, this part will be the kingpin on the right side. How fast do you think you can switch it out with a regular kingpin, Skuld?"
-
"Hmm...." she looked at the socket wrench and thought to herself, making little gestures with her hands here and there.
"5 minutes, tops."
-
"Think you can hold out that long, Z?" Urd asked.
-
"yeah," said Z, "I'll need a big breakfast though,"
-
"Alright, let's switch the kingpins, Skuld. Just tell me what to do." Urd said.
-
"Take the baseplate off and remove all the washers or bushings. And then we're going need to hammer out the kingpin from the baseplate. After that, just hammer in the new kingpin."
-
With a few carefully used spells, Urd took the baseplate off and removed the bushings. A quick telekinesis push got the magic kingpin out and a few controlled telekinesis pushes got the ordinary one in. She then put the bushing and baseplate back on.
(another part-switching thing or skip it? I'm kind having fun with this. Are you guys having fun?)
-
(i'm having fun)
-
(Good with me. ^^)
"It's done, which car is next?" whispered Skuld.
-
Urd looked at the list.
"Front right steel wheel, a few meters away at that unguarded place." Urd said. "I'll use a visual illusion spell and an limited-area sound suppression spell to hide us when we get there."
-
Z nodded and dispelled his illusion when they were far enough away.
-
Urd put up the spells when they got near the car.
-
Skuld got out the socket wrench and went to work.
-
'I bet Bell's both proud of us working together and jealous at the same time,' Urd thought.
-
Belldandy was laying beside Kei, saying, "zzzzzzzzzzzzz" softly.
-
After popping it out and fitting another one in, Skuld whispered to them that it was done.
-
"Alright, next one is over there, There's no guards nearby it, and it's the gauges." Urd said, as she disabled the spells.
---
"Shall I send another warning dream to Keiichi or do you want to give it a shot, Hild?" Malek asked.
(I'm heading to bed. I'm sorry to cut it short again.)
-
"Oh, go ahead," she said to Malek, "Tomorrow is his sprint race, and I would be interested to see how he handled it."
-
"Since the previous one went well, I'll re-use it and merely change the challenge specified in the dream," Malek said. "Any idea for a challenge so dangerous that only a fool would accept it, Deberk?"
"How about a race with welded-on solid fuel booster rockets on the roofs of the cars?" Deberk asked.
"That's a bit lazy, taking ideas from a song," Malek replied, shaking his head a little.
"Eh, you did say use whatever can work." Deberk replied with a shrug.
"Are you still miffed about yesterday when I tried to convince you that Vaughn Monroe and the Sons of the Pioneers did a better version of Ghost riders in the sky better than Burl Ives?" Malek asked.
"Your reasoning was that Monroe sounded like an old cowpoke telling a tale." Deberk replied, focusing on preparing a cup of coffee for himself.
"So what? That's what I think. Why do you think Burl Ives did a better job?" Malek asked.
"Bit of the same reason as you. Burl Ives sounds like an old cowpoke telling a tale," Deberk replied.
-
"How about putting Keiichi in an old west setting and have him challenged to a gunfight?"
-
"I guess I can focus on the car then," said Z
-
"Sure, why not?" Malek said before disappearing.
(Shall I write the dream? or shall we just see the aftereffects?)
----
"I'll put up the spells up again." Urd said as she put up the spells when they go to the car.
-
"Ok Skuld," said Z, "what do you need me to do?"
-
(Write it up! I'd love to see with what you come up.)
-
(I included some pictures for Keiichi's hat and Belldandy's dress. Just click the words down below and you see what I kinda envision for the clothes.)
In his dream, Keiichi and Belldandy were riding on a stagecoach into a old western-styled town. Above the doors of the stagecoach was the word, "Whirlwind".
Keiichi was wearing canvas trousers, a cotton shirt, a cowboy hat (http://www.wwmerc.com/cgi-bin/category.cgi?item=140-08&type=store&category=6100) and a serape. Currently, he was the stage driver and was guiding the stagecoach. Riding shotgun was Chihiro, who was wearing something similar to Keiichi.
"Well, we can stop here for a day or two and we'll still be on time," Chihiro said.
"Good, I have someone to see and try to get to join us." Keiichi said.
"Are they a good cook?" Chihiro asked.
"One of the best, if not the best..." Keiichi replied, as he brought the stagecoach to a stop.
"I have no complaints then," Chihiro replied.
Before Keiichi could say anything more, someone yelled, "Hey you! On the Whirlwind stagecoach!"
Keiichi looked in the direction of the voice.
The owner of the voice was some kinda handsome guy who had the marks of a second-class god on his face. He was wearing some black clothes that looked like something out of a western parody.
"What do you want?" Keiichi asked, as he got off the stagecoach.
"I wanna challenge you to a gunfight! Right here and Right now!" The challenger yelled.
"I'm going to have to refuse," Keiichi said.
"Oh no...." A quiet, yet shocked voice said from above.
Keiichi looked up and saw Belldandy standing by a window on the second floor of a building. She was dressed in an Edwardian Ensemble (http://www.wwmerc.com/cgi-bin/category.cgi?item=CL2935&type=store&category=4130). She had her mouth covered by her hands in shock.
"I.... I... I'm sorry, but I must go...." Belldandy said, before rushing out of view. Keiichi heard the telltale sound of the Belldandy going through a mirror.
"Damn! Guess the great Dionysus is gonna just settle for killing you!" The challenger said, making Keiichi look back at him. Dionysus quickly took out his pistol. Before Keiichi could do anything, Dionysus pulled the trigger. The dream ended with the sound of a bang.
-
The gunshot snapped him up straight in a cold sweat, his heart pounding. Bell was sleeping peacefully beside him, and he was now at a loss. Had he bitten off more than he could chew with the new contract? Did their desperation put them in a perilous situation where he was slave to her and his situation. He lay back down, but had a hard time staying asleep, his mind now swirling in 16 different directions in thought about this.
-
Malek then re-appeared.
"So how'd it go?" Deberk asked.
"Fairly well. I even included a bit of an extra warning." Malek said, smiling a little. However, it wasn't the smile normally seen on Malek nowadays. It was the smile normally know to be on him back when he worked in Hild's personal security forces. It was a cruel smile that said, 'I've started a plan and there's no way to stop it'.
-
"So, apparently," said Hild, "You think you just might be scaring Keiichi out of his relationship? Odd? Never would have figured him a coward.
-
"Let's see, it's just gauges right? Can you phase things through metal?" she asked.
-
"Oh no, you misunderstand. I have no intention of scaring Keiichi out of his relationship with Belldandy. The plan I am using actually hinges on them staying together for a bit longer, at least until after we all get back to Japan. And even then, it would take a few days for my plan succeed at its goal." Malek said.
"So what's your plan then?" Deberk asked.
"Ah-ah! You all have to wait, otherwise it would spoil the surprise!" Malek said, waving his pointer finger.
-
Hild just smirked, knowing that, at the very least, some good chaos can come out of this.
-
"Can you phase the gauges or shall I, Z?" Urd asked.
-
"I never learned how to phase things yet," said Z, "you go ahead"
-
After using some spells, Urd got out the gauges.
-
"And now we put these ones in." said Skuld, taking out the new ones.
-
"you really got to teach me how to phase things," said Z
-
Urd the put the new gauges on.
"Either me or Malek. He seems to be your tutor in a way." Urd said.
-
"true," said Z, "it's kind of funny how I am friendly with both sides."
-
"I worry that it might change in the future." Urd said. "Well, We have another steel wheel. This time it's the left and it's right nest to us. The current spells I have up will be able to keep us quiet."
-
"Let's go then," said Z
-
"You wanna handle this like last time, Skuld?" Urd asked.
-
"Sure." she nodded, getting the required tools ready.
-
"what do you need me to do?" asked Z
-
"Well, nothing at the moment, So rest a little bit before we go onto the next car." Urd said. She then made a large lunchbox appear. "I brought along some regular soda, if you need something to help you keep awake."
-
"Thanks," said Z, taking the drink.
-
Meanwhile Skuld got to work with changing the steel wheel.
-
(Just a reminder: there are 35 cars in this.)
-
(I'm kinda glad I never mentioned a number then. Also, I apologize for saying the RP was straying from OMG. I guess I was in a bad mood back then.)
"I think we have about five cars left." Urd said. "Shall we handle then tonight or tomorrow night?"
-
"tomorrow night please," yawned Z.
-
"Skuld?" Urd asked.
-
(The next day is the first sprint races.)
-
(good point)
"Now that i think about it, we should try to finish up tonight so tomorrow's race will be safe," said Z
-
"Fine with me." nodded Skuld.
"I was just getting a bit tired too."
-
(Should we go through with the car thing until its done or skip it?)
-
(skip)
-
The next day followed, and Belldandy was all worried. Keiichi had dark circles under his eyes, not having gotten much sleep after the nightmare. She said, "Perhaps you should skip this one?"
"No," he answered, "Its all part of qualifying. If I don't race, we lose everything!"
-
Z looked over keiichi, "looks like he had another bad dream," said Z, "Belldandy, will a spell ease his fatigue and anxiety?"
-
"Here, this'll boost you right up!" said Skuld, handing him a bottle of Aquarios.
-
"If it was a nightmare, you wanna talk about it, Kei-man?" Urd asked, a bit worried.
-
He took the can, not thinking, and cracked it open as he told the dream. He then drank the beverage.
-
The bottle cap flew off when he cracked it open. Skuld caught it so he could screw it back on later.
-
"your dream sounds...interesting," said Z, "but I would focus on the race today and not on the possible future."
-
"Yeah, that's for sure...175 miles and probably one pit stop, if we can stretch the fuel. If we can do that, I can stay out there and not pit at all, but I risk stalling."
With that, he went bottom's up.
-
"what exactly did you give him?" Z asked Skuld
(night)
-
"Huh... Now the dream's definitely a clue that Hild or someone working under her is trying something." Urd said, as she went to the phone and called Heaven.
"Hello, it's Urd. I need someone to check the status of the Ultimate force."
"...."
"Well, last night, Keiichi received another nightmare. This time we're certain that it came from a demon. Is the Ultimate Force still working?"
Urd gained a shocked expression on her face as she heard the response.
"What do you mean.... Look, I'll call you later."
Urd hung up the phone.
-
"It's a protein and carbohydrate rich energy drink." she replied.
"I brought it here from Japan, sold nowhere else in the world."
-
(What kind of effect would it have?)
-
(Idk, energy drinks never really did work for me. It's like gatorade except it tastes like a fruit drink. It's supposed to 'Boost your energy' and 'Recover your muscles')
-
(Probably restore electrolytes and thus give a refreshing boost.)
He did feel better, and Belldandy had a big breakfast ready, having calculated just how many calories are spent on the track for that long, making sure he had the right nutrients. She then went to Urd and secretly asked, "What about these dreams?"
-
"Whoever's doing it is doing it for the purpose of keeping you and Kei together. Loophole abuse and such." Urd said.
-
"I...don't understand. I mean, I fear for him that he might try to hurt himself in keeping this...or that they may constantly put challenges to him...oh goodness...Urd, what have I done to him!"
-
Z yawned, "do you know any place that sells coffee?" Z asked Skuld.
-
"There's free coffee in the lounge." she said.
-
"Thanks," said Z, heading off
-
Keiichi then said, "Hey, it did help some. Thanks, Skuld...now it's time to suit up!"
-
"Good luck Keiichi-nii!" she grinned, giving him the thumbs up.
-
With that, he was in the sleeping compartment of the trailer, first putting on his fire resistant one-piece undergarment, fire retardant coveralls, heavy duty boots, fingerless gloves, and he grabbed his helmet and put on a ball cap. He came out, decked in the colors of Whirlwind, with their logo, and Ayoshima Motors--both being sponsors--and said, "Let's win this and get the best qualifying spot!"
-
"Look, Bell... You and Keiichi did what you thought was best at the time, but it's not your fault. It's Hild's fault for finding a loophole to cause Kei and you some misfortune." Urd said. "I guess we better be on our guard, now that it seems like Hild found a way to get back her 'lost' misfortune shares."
-
"They...they just need to leave him alone!" she started to cry, "He has suffered enough in life! He deserves so much better!"
-
"He does, Bell, he does." Urd said, as she placed a hand on Belldandy's shoulder. "We'll find a way through this, like we always have."
---
Malek was idly watching the scene through a viewing orb. He had a large bowl of spicy popcorn chicken.
"If she were to renounce being a goddess, we couldn't touch her or Keiichi, but neither could Heaven. I doubt she'd throw away being with her sisters, just so that Keiichi would be safe from us." Malek muttered, as he ate some popcorn chicken.
-
Then, a reassuring hand came on her shoulder, accompanied by a voice that said, "It's okay, Bell...you know I'd go to Hell and back for you. In fact, I think I did! ;D I'd do it all, if it meant being with you."
She wheeled around to stare at him briefly, tears streaming, and then almost knocked him over as they embraced.
-
Z walked back with a cup of coffee, "looks like everything's ok."
-
Urd smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes.
'Leave it to Hild to find a way to wreck things, even if it's just a little. If it was a bowl of punch, she'd definitely spike it with something...' Urd thought.
(Personally, I think the bowl of punch thing is off. Urd would have spiked a bowl of punch long before Hild would have. The difference would be what they would spike it with.)
-
(LOL!)
With that, the crew left the trailer and headed for the car. The team was already over the thing, and Chihiro said, "Well, because there will only be 18 of the 36 cars for this race, there will be no restricter plate, so, pedal to the metal!"
-
Z drained his cup and threw it away, "anything you need me to do?" he asked.
-
"Be ready in the pit like you've been," said Chihiro, "If we pit, we may only need it once, but it is important to see how we do under actual race conditions. This preliminary race is only 175 miles, and used to determine where Keiichi will start in the big race on Sunday. This is a good test for all of us."
-
"got it," said z
-
Everyone was heading out, but Ian was worried about Skuld. Yes, she had a pass. Yes, she could be there, but she could not bee seen helping with the car. He wondered if they were going to adult her.
-
Z was wondering the same thing, he knew he could cast an illusion over skuld to make her look older or Urd could give her a 24hour aging potion, but he hoped it wouldn't come to that.
-
(are 18 year olds allowed with the crew?)
-
(That's the minimum age.)
-
(good)
Z walked over to Ian, "so what should we do if Skuld is discovered?"
-
"Well, we have to see if she wants the disguise."
-
Z nodded.
(you sill on the Karin forum?)
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(Just answered.)
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(thanks)
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"I prefer the aging potion." said Skuld when asked.
-
Z pulled a pill from his pocket and tossed it to her. "I prefer to be prepared and have confidence in my Nee-sama's potions," he said when they stared at him.
-
Keiichi rolled his eyes and said, "you might want to think about it, Skuld."
-
"I l-like being big, there's nothing wrong with that. Right?" she replied, defending herself.
-
"I seem to recall hearing about the last time you were an adult from Nee-sama," smirked Z, "you're not gonna make a move on K1 are you?"
-
"N-no! He's like my big brother, how could I ever do that?" she responded with a flat-out denial, crossing her arms.
"I already have someone I like."
-
"Oh? is ti that sentaro kid?" teased Z
-
Keiichi let out a wink when Skuld's back was turned.
-
Z handed Skuld a glass of water, "dissolve it in this and take the potion."
-
"Thanks." she accepted the glass and mixed in the potion. She swirled it around like a martini and downed the thing in a few gulps.
-
Z cast an illusion over her and handed her a bag, "forgot to tell you, your clothes don't change with you," he said averting his eyes.
-
Kei turned red as Ian snickered.
-
"That's why you should either invest in some magic clothing that can alter itself, should you ever change; or invent a bracelet that can fix clothing." Urd said.
-
Z nodded.
-
"Or master the clothing spell." Urd said.
-
"how do you use that spell anyway?" Z wondered.
-
"It's a bit of an intermediate spell for the divine side, but a high-level beginner for your side. You alter clothing with a spell, but it can be a bit energy-intensive, depending on how much you alter." Urd said.
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"sounds like something I should ask Mr. Malek about." said Z
-
"That'd be a good idea." Urd said.
-
"How about you stop chatting and help me out with that clothing spell?!" said Skuld while covering herself with the bag.
-
(the bag had clothes in it -_-)
-
Urd snapped her fingers. Some underwear, a shirt, and a pair of jeans appeared near Skuld.
"And here I thought the bag had clothes." Urd said.
-
(Oops... >///<)
"Thanks." she said as she quickly got dressed.
-
"No problem," said Z, dropping the illusion when she was done.
-
Meanwhile, Keiichi made sure to use the toilet, and then got into the car. They strapped him into the driver's seat with the five point belt system and began to go over the car, point by point.
-
'I hope mom doesn't cause something dangerous,' thought Z
-
"I'm ready to go." grinned Skuld, going into an almost narcissistic state glancing down at herself every few minutes.
-
Z sighed, "Please concentrate on your work and not your body Skuld."
-
Chihiro then said, "Okay, get on the checklist and see how the car is doing. Belldandy, get on the headsets...I need you in constant communication with Keiichi."
The pace was picking up with the adrenaline, and the seriousness of this was now coming to the fore. However, there seemed to be a uniform complaint from all the other pits that none of their cars were seeming to work to the efficiency that they had been during the time trials, and they all seemed to be in the same area of the car.
-
"Right!" she went to get the checklist and began an inspection on the car.
-
Z stood back. his limited knowledge would be a hinderance.
-
After this was done, a call for the cars to go onto the track was given, everyone in their pit order. Keiichi then pulled out and took his place as the pace car kept everyone in line while circling the track.
-
She checked off the last box on the list and said, 'Done!".
-
Bell said to Skuld, "Get on some headsets, because, if there are mechanical issues, you'd be able to decipher what he was saying."
-
"Yes onee-sama!" she nodded, getting a pair of headphones. She lowered the mic to her mouth and said, "Testing. Testing."
-
"Hey!" said Kei, "Good to have you on board! Are you ready to win this thing?"
-
"Yep! Just rely on me, we'll definitely win this!"
-
"Well, this is just for better starting position on Sunday, so, winning would be good, but, placing well is just as good. Oh, and because this is a shorter race with only 18 cars, we have no restrictor plates, so, when you go to tweak the car, keep that in mind when you install it."
-
"Restrictor plates, got it. And be safe out there okay? Onee-sama's worried."
-
Indeed she was. Keiichi took this challenge only because she knew he had to. This was going through her head as the pace car ducked off and the green dropped, starting the 175 mile race.
-
"It's going to be fine," Z told Belldandy.
-
Keiichi suddenly found himself in the front five as they pulled away. Keiichi said, "She's practically driving herself! The trolls really must be on their game!"
Meanwhile, there were general complaints around that were such that, though the cars were all at top efficiency, for some reason, they were not performing like they had been before this time.
-
"looks like they noticed the absence of the magic," sighed Z
-
"Well, they don't know that it was magic," said Ian, "All they knew was their cars were over-performing, and now they are more like what they should be."
-
"Won't that raise suspicions with the judges?" asked Skuld.
-
"things are fair now. they can protest but we can point out how they have nothing different in the car's inner workings" said Z
-
"That's what I worry about," said Ian, "Especially if Kei comes in first, and he's the only one that has not complained."
-
"His car wasn't magically enhanced, it's all normal. Sort of...." said Skuld.
-
"Sort of?" he said, "What do you mean by that?"
-
"Well, it's just tip top maintenance and a rally for the engine trolls right?"
-
"I thought all cars had engine trolls."
-
"They do, but ours was the only ones that came into contact with goddesses right?"
-
"True, but I don't see how that affects things too much."
Keiichi was flying, staying with the lead pack, just waiting his turn, seemingly enjoying the whole thing.
-
"Well, as long as they don't start to suspect us." she said while watching the race.
-
However, Proter, who was in the second race, drifted up and was standing next to them, watching.
-
"What is this guy doing?" thought Skuld.
-
hey guys, want to join me and Paladin on a Chibi vampire/Karin forum?
-
"Well, your boy seems to be doing pretty well!" he said, "I would certainly hate to think magic was involved."
-
"It wasn't." she said flatly.
(I haven't watched it yet.)
-
"Well, from what the other cars are showing me, there WAS some there, but not now. I just didn't check Morisato's car."
-
"Check it if you want, there's nothing abnormal about it."
-
"Hmm...just as long as its so. I want to beat him fair and square..." and he drifted off. Meanwhile, three had pulled into the lead, and Keiichi was with them.
-
It was starting to get tense, who would win?
-
'I don't know who to root for,' Z groaned Mentally
-
"How's the fuel holding?" she asked.
"It's holding okay, still have 3/4 of a tank," he answered, "When are they looking to pit?"
"It all depends. Some may not come in and try to ride out the tank."
Hearing that, Chihiro said, "Tell him to stay out if they come in. I think his tank can hold."
-
"let's hope it does," said Z
-
"Note to self: fuel tank expansion." said Skuld.
-
Chihiro then said, "Can't do that...all tanks have to be the same size."
-
"Note to self: Install new fuel-efficient spark plugs."
-
"Now that we can do."
-
Z was getting a bit stressed wondering weather he should support hild and upset Urd, or support Urd and upset hild
-
(support Hild and upset Urd, or SUPPORT HILD AND UPSET URD...I think he's made up his mind.) :sus:
-
(edited)
-
"Something on your mind, Z?" Urd asked.
-
"it's a bit of a touchy topic," said Z
-
(I'm going to bed. I ate too much at dinner.)
"Well, whatever it is, I wish you well." Urd said.
-
"I wish it was that simple" sighed Z
-
Keiichi was biding his time, drafting behind the lead two and trying to conserve his fuel. If it went right, he could push it and stay out the whole race while everyone else had to pit.
-
"So will he pit at all this race?" asked Z
-
"He may not have to," said Chihiro, "Right now, he's trying to save fuel by drafting behind another car. The other car cuts wind resistance, meaning the less fuel the engine has to burn to work. If he does it right, he can stay out there, but he risks running out of gas if he does so and miscalculates."
-
"What if the car he's drafting pulls into the pits?"
-
Then we'll have to gauge it. If it happens, we'll try to build as much of a lead as we can and then pit so not much ground is lost. Remember: when you're in the pit, people can take your place if they stay out there.
-
"I just wanted to understand more," said Z, "thank you."
-
And on they thundered round the track. When it was 3/4 over, some cars started ducking into the pit, and eventually, the two with Kei ducked in as well. Bell shouted, "This is your chance. They wasted fuel, now go for it!"
-
Z watched with anticipation
-
Kei tore off while the others ducked in for fuel and a couple of tires. Kei floored it and began to get that "go" fever when one senses a win.
-
"Looks like he's in the zone," said Z
-
He had built about 2/3 of a lap on them as the others closed to take over the spots they left.
-
(proter isn't racing now, right?)
-
(Next race. They go back to back.)
-
(then Z can root for K1 now)
"Go for it Kei!" yelled Z
-
However, with five laps to go, Kei then said, "I have to fuel...have the right tires ready."
Belldandy said, "Okay, team, he has to come in! Fast fuel and two right tires!"
Not but 15 seconds later, Kei came in.
(No Karin?)
-
(I posted)
Z helped out with what he could
-
In came the car, and Tamiya yelled, "Z, swab the windshield and squegee!"
The rest leaped out and went to work. They only had two tires to change, and gave him just enough fuel to finish the race to speed up the pit.
-
Z smiled and discreetly used his demon powers to move faster as he did his job.
-
Once his screen was clear, he was off like a shot, but now trailing the other two he had put behind him when they pitted. However, Chihiro said, "The gamble worked. He can stay close and win on the last lap, or at least finish in the top three for a good starting spot on Sunday."
-
"great" said Z
-
Coming through the last lap, Kei got half a car length in the lead, went high in the bank, and was pulling away into the trioval when the 2nd place car accidentally hit his rear bumper and sent him spinning. He skidded across the finish line for a 2nd place, but then was bumped by another car trying to get out of the way, sent spinning into the infield, and started to barrel roll, side over side, and did so about 14 times before coming to rest on the tires of his car. Belldandy screamed and was about to leap into the air to rush to him.
-
Z jumped up and rushed over to K1's car. He pulled the door open and dragged Keiichi out and onto the grass.
-
The ambulance was already there, and as is manditory, no matter how good the driver seemed, he would get checked in the ambulance and then they would make the determination whether or not to go to the hospital.
(G2G BBL)
-
'My, my.... I wonder if his stress from the dreams had anything to do with this?' Malek thought, as he watched the events from the orb.
(I'm a bit curious, Paladin313. Have you read chapter 3 of my OMG:What if?)
-
(I don't think I've even seen it.)
He was badly shaken, and a touch sore, but the doctors were all over it, checking for broken limbs and a concussion.
-
(Keiichi gets into a car accident in that chapter. the situation the rp is in reminded me of it.)
Urd hoped that Keiichi would be alright.
-
They were asking him all kinds of questions, but he seemed to be okay. They opened up the ambulance, and Keiichi was thankful for the safety gear. No sooner had he stepped out when he was glomped by a worried Bell.
-
"Are you alright?!" asked Skuld, right behind her.
-
"Hey, the safety gear did what it was supposed to. It kept me still and part of the car as it spun, and the roll cage kept me safe. I just got a good spin."
He then looked at the car and said, "The car doesn't look too good though..."
-
"Don't worry about the car. It can always be fixed. But, you Keiichi. You can't, you had us worried so much!"
-
"Please," begged Belldandy, "I don't want you to do this anymore! You're more important to me than this silly race!"
"It's because I love you that I am going to do this," said Keiichi, "I was issued a challenge...I have to follow through."
"Oh...why...why did I do this to you!"
"Bell, if I was asked to climb Everest, for you, I would do it naked!"
"Oh Keiichi!" she bawled, and then kissed him. Instantly, the infield was covered with flowers, and everyone was applauding.
-
"What the hell? Where'd all the flowers come from?" Some guy yelled as he was looking at the flowers.
---
"Well, it seems Belldandy may have broke the 'keep Heaven's presence as hidden as possible' policy..."Malek said with a smirk.
-
Chihiro then said, "Can we have the car race ready by Sunday, though...there's a lot of body damage, and damage to the frame and alignment. The engine is going to need a looking at as well."
-
"What do you think Skuld?" asked Z, "Is she salvageable?"
-
"Seriously, did anyone notice the flowers appearing?" The guy asked.
"I have it recorded on my camera. I think the hottie and the guy who was in the accident had something to do with it!" Another guy said.
-
"Yeah, the car's salvageable. Don't underestimate me." said Skuld.
-
(I don't think Bell has ever held to that policy, because she has to tell the truth always.)
"Well, it may have had something to do with me," she said, "I am the goddess Belldandy, second category, first class."
____________________
She then whispered, "Then, we'll sneak you in tonight. The faster we have this car ready, the better."
-
"Hmm, it'll be a great chance to make some adjustments too...." said Skuld.
-
"Well, remember to read the NASCAR rulebook and go by that. Also, you're going to have to put in the restrictor plate or sunday's race."
-
"Um about these flowers," said Z
(karin?)
-
(I'm going with there has to be a reason why both Heaven and Hell have to keep themselves a bit of a secret from the human world. Probably to allow humans to believe whatever they want to believe for religion.)
The two guys stared at her.
"Youtube?" the first guy asked the other guy.
"Whatever place we can upload the video." The other guy said, pressing some buttons on his smartphone.
-
Kei whispered to Urd, "Can you do something about this?"
-
Z smirked and a small electric charge shorted out the phone, 'just modify the memories and I'll deal with the flowers' Z told urd mentaly
-
(WOW! I'm trying to play DC ONline at the same time, but everyone has shown up in every RP I have! Yikes!)
-
"I'll follow the rules....." she replied in a tone a kid would use with their parents.
-
Chihiro gave her the eye and said, "That better be an honest, 'Yes, ma'am,' because, if I find out you rigged this thing against the rules, I am going to insure you never work at the shop on any more cars and bikes ever again!"
-
(I'm playing Star trek online)
"The hell!" One of the guys said.
Urd took out a potion and threw it at the guys feet. The potion exploded, letting out a sleeping gas. the two guys fell asleep almost instantly.
She then walked over ans took the smartphone. After using a restoration spell. she then began pressing a few button,
"They didn't upload it yet." Urd said. "There... Got rid of it."
She put the smartphone back down and did a quick memory alteration spell.
"You do realize that if Hild or one of her lackeys was watching , they will use this event in the hearing, right? Even if we did stop it in time." Urd asked, as she walked back to Keiichi and Belldandy.
----
"Lacky? I'm no lacky..." Malek muttered with a frown.
-
(What hearing? I thought we went through all that?)
(I gave up. I have this, two in Auir's room, and three on FF that all want my attention.)
-
(I'm referring to the hearing about if Belldandy and Keiichi should be allowed to have children.)
(Gave up on what?)
-
(I don't remember that one. Are you referring to one here that I don't remember setting up, or in the manga itself.)
(Gave up on playing DC Online tonight. Too many people want my attention.)
-
(Something in the rp that was talked about a few times. One judge in the hearing will be represent heaven, one will represent Hell, and one will represent a neutral side.)
-
(That was so long ago, and it is hard for me to keep track of the six rp's that I currently play.)
-
(Bedtime calls. Catch you tomorrow.)
-
(it kinda sounds like you're a bit over-rp'd or something.)
-
(I could be, but I don't want to bail on my friends.)
-
(I could take over Hild if you want to lighten your workload a bit. I'd be playing her as "could go and easily win if she actually wants, but chooses not to", I'd still play her as antagonistic towards the goddesses)
-
(Nah...I'll be okay.)
-
"let's try and be more careful," said Z
-
The tow truck came up and hooked to the car, towing it behind the pits, and the audience applauded that Kei was alright. Once done, the second race prepared and started to circle the track behind the pace car.
-
Z sat back and tried to calm his nerves after the accident.
-
Kei himself was still a little rattled, never having experienced an accident that severe before.
(Do you think his parents would fly in to watch the race?)
-
(might make things interesting,)
-
(Refresh me...dad is uncomfortable around women except for his daughter and wife, and his wife is all gung-ho type-A personality?)
-
(I think so, though K1's father is fine around belldandy.)
-
As they came to the trailers, (where Bell fully expected to bathe him and give him a good rub down,) a white-haired man looking stern and concerned stood at the door.
-
"who are you?" asked Z upon seeing the man.
-
Kei sighed and said, "Hi, dad..."
-
"he's your father?" asked Z
-
"Yeah," he said, "Dad, what are you doing here? I..."
"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?" he snapped.
-
"I'm guessing you saw the race," deadpanned Z
-
"But dad...I,"
"Where was your head? I mean, you cut in too soon and he felt like you were crowding him. He bumped you out of the way! You have to use the momentum of the turn to slingshot you through and THEN you pass!"
-
"..." Z was rendered speechless.
-
Kei looked at Z and said, rubbing the back of his head, "Well...he was kind of my inspiration..."
Another voice, female, came out all happy, "Wow, son...that was one spectacular crash! It would have been even neater if you had pinwheeled!"
-
"I'm guessing you're his mom?" said Z weakly.
-
She gave him a firm handshake and said, "Boy, you sure can make friends, Kei. I don't believe we've met?"
-
"Z Carter," said Z, "nice to meet you."
-
"Well, anyway, I knew he would be alright...with Bell here by his side."
-
"what do you mean by that?" asked Z curiously
-
"Oh, she just seems to be his good luck charm. He never seems to be in bad shape when she's around!"
-
'you have no idea of the trouble he get's into,' thought Z, "It's good to know K1's parents approve of his potential fiance."
-
They both stopped, looked over, and they were both shocked in different ways: dad, because he was not told, and mom, though not told, was happy her son had finally gotten some intestinal fortitude to propose to the girl. He, on the other hand, turned pale as a sheet.
-
"oh? so Kei hasn't told you about it," smirked z
(I'm assuming that they are pretty much engaged by now,)
-
"Ah, are these Keichi-nii's parents?"said Skuld as she joined the group.
-
His father turned pale as well and then went inside the trailer quickly.
(BBL...just a few hours.)
-
Z laughed
-
"Eh? Did something happen?" she blinked.
-
"seems like mr. Morisato has Gynophobia," said Z
-
"Actually, it's heterophobia," said Kei.
-
"You mean he hates.... Straight people?" asked Skuld.
-
"I thought he had Gynophobia?" Urd asked.
-
"Well, whatever is the fear of the opposite sex."
-
"That'd be either Gynophobia or Sexophobia. They're the same thing in Keima's case." Urd said.
-
"Well, nevermind him for now," said his mother, " Let's get Keiichi fed, cleaned, and bedded. I'm sure you'll be getting to work on that car as soon as possible. If my son is going to be the first Japanese racer to win the Daytona 500, we have to have that thing at the best it can be!"
-
(I thought he had Gynophobia: fear of females?)
-
(Keima does. But his wife, Takano, can knock him out of it for a little while by hitting him with a judo chop to the head.)
-
"Yeah, sure. Leave it to me, we'll have that car just like new before the race." said Skuld.
-
"Now, ladies, we need to, how shall we say, 'effect repairs' on the race boy."
When Belldandy looked oddly at this, she said, "You and I will get his food going. Urd, can you draw his bath? Skuld, do...whatever it is...you do."
-
"Whatever it is... I do?
....
I'll, go check on the car."
-
With that, she looked at Urd and said, "I trust you with Kei. Bell, we have an army to feed! Let's fire up the barbecue!"
"Hold it!" said Ian, "Barbecue is man's dominion. I'll deal with it!"
"Then, today, you have help," she whacked him on the back and said, "Then you can start by getting the barbecue going!"
-
Urd went to do what Belldandy asked.
(Sorry, but I won't be on much tonight.)
-
"Wait, YOU'RE going to...oh no..." said Kei, looking at Urd.
-
"Oh, come on. are you really going to pass up a chance to have someone like me wash you up?" Urd asked with a naught grin. "But I'm a bit curious why Bell gave me this job. You'd think that with the recent event with your nightmares and how she feels about you, she'd keep this job to herself."
-
Z went to go and talk to Malek.
(Happy New Year ;D)
-
(Happy new year!)
"Yes'm?" Malek asked, as he put down the viewing orb.
-
"I have two reasons for being here," said Z, "one is to wish your team luck. the other is to ask if you could teach me the clothing spell and maybe some others after this is all over."
-
"Thanks for the wish of luck." Malek said. "As for the clothing spell, there are two variations. One creates or alters clothes out of what you're currently wearing, and the other switches your current clothes with some other clothing that you preselected as replacements."
-
"can i learn both?"
-
"Yes. The replacement version is simpler, so we'll start off with that." Malek said. "First, you'll need to go back home and place an easy-to-remember invisible symbol on some clothing there. Once you do that, come back here and I'll explain the next step. "
-
Z nodded and placed a symbol on one of his shirts.
-
(Did he travel?)
-
(yes)
-
(just making sure.)
"Now place a different symbol on your current clothes." Malek said.
-
Z placed a symbol on the red and blue shirt he was wearing.
-
"Now perform a swap spell and use the symbols as an anchor to switch the clothing." Malek said.
-
Z did as he was told and his red and blue shirt changed into a red shirt with a depiction of the Yggdrasil tree.
-
"You did well, but next time, choose a shirt that won't get Hild a bit annoyed." Malek said.
-
"good point," said Z, changing the shirt back, "I bought it before I met her again on earth. I found it Ironic"
-
"The other version requires re-making the clothes." Malek said. he snapped his fingers and a pile of clothes appeared on the table. "You'll use these as practice. After all, there's no sense in ruining a good shirt during practice. But since it will take quite some time learning to re-weaving the clothes from the ground up, do you want to wait and practice when you have a day free?"
-
"sounds like a plan," said Z, "so what do I owe you for this?"
-
"Nothing, I enjoy teaching the utility spells. Most demons and a growing number of gods nowadays only use the flashier spells of their sides and ignore the utility spells." Malek said
-
Z shrugged, "there's powerful and then there's Practical."
-
"And each skill and spell has its place." Malek said. "Well, anything else?"
-
"now that you mention it, I was wondering if you guys were involved with the crash K1 got into?" said Z
-
"Neither I or Deberk were involved. You'll have to ask Hild or Mara if they were." Malek said.
-
"I doubt mom did it, because Keiichi's death would make it impossible to gain more misfortune from his natural unluckiness, though Mara might be involved, I'd need to find her."
-
The pace car pulled away, and Proter tore off, he wanted that pole position, and because he could now read the car so well, they were almost one unit. However, he was also aware that the other cars were complaining that there were some strange people messing with all the cars the night before, yet, his own car told him it was a device added by a demon to enhance all the cars--except for Keiichi's--which would be cheating, and he wanted this to be an honest race. He wanted to win straight up.
-
Z headed back to his trailer
-
The pace car peeled away and the second race began, Proter taking the early lead.
-
Z got back to where his team was.
-
Many of the team was watching the second race, trying to get a feel for the other drivers.
-
Z began to mark the rest of the clothes he brought for the race so he could use the spell on them.
-
The race went on, and Proter was dominating with some of the other young talent dominating NASCAR as of recent years. Yet, Proter was making them earn their supper. Then, somewhere in the middle, Proter ducked into the pits and took a splash of fuel. The pit took all of eight seconds, and he tore off again, causing many to scratch their heads. He was a half lap behind now. Everyone was wondering what he was doing. Yet, some of the lead drivers opened throttle and tried to gain more on him and the others.
-
Z walked out and noticed Proter's race, "looks like that 'gift' is doing him good,"
-
About 3/4 of the way through the race, cars started to duck into the pits, and by this point, Proter had almost gained back all the distance he lost, and now opened throttle as the others went into the pit. By the time they all came out, (those who pitted,) he was 3/4 of a lap ahead, and was comfortably in the lead when the checkered came down. Soon, calculations were being made, and race positions for Sunday were being announced. It turned out that Proter got the pole position, but Keiichi was given the third spot, front row, on the outside of the track.
-
Z sighed, "looks like I'll have a hard time deciding who to cheer for tomorrow,"
-
The barbecue was cooking its share, and everyone on the team was cheering when the announcement was made. Kei may have not got the pole, but he was in the front row to start the race. If he played his cards right, he could take the early lead.
-
Z went to join them with a troubled look on his face.
-
Ian and Kei's mom were working the barbecue as Ian saw Z. He flipped a couple of steaks and said, "Why so glum, chum?"
-
(I believe Keiichi's mother's name is Takano)
-
(Thank you.)
-
"I don't know whether to support my mom's team or Keiichi's," Z sighed
-
"Well, I thought you were working for our pit crew?"
-
"yes, but I'm truly afraid to think how mom would react if I supported her opponents." said Z, "she's scary when she's angry."
-
"Who's to say she'd be angry. From what I can tell, she's kind of playing both sides and attempting to have it all to her advantage."
-
"I don't know," said Z, "part of me doesn't want to disappoint her, but the rest of me is loyal to my friends. It's like having two conflicting personalities."
-
"How about just being yourself and letting the chips fall where they may?"
-
"I am being myself," said Z, "in all honesty I would prefer to remain neutral."
-
"Then do it. Recuse yourself from the team and go watch in the stands. Root for who you want. I don't see any chains around you."
-
"you know, I might just do that. thanks Ian," said Z before teleporting away
-
He shrugged and went back to the food.
-
Z chose a seat and watched the race.
-
Ian looked up at the now empty stands and wondered why he was sitting up there, wondering if he was going to sit there for a day and a half before the 500.
-
From the stands Z teleported to hild's camp to spend some time with her.
-
Hild was talking with Proter, and Hild said, "Well, I see that you and your friends made sure that this was going to be a fair race."
-
Z nodded, "some being jinxed some of the car's parts so we replaced them."
-
"Yes, well, what I want to know is, who jinxed them? I mean, I have said that this would be a clean race, and someone goes and does that."
-
"that I'm not to sure about," said Z, "but the energy readings weren't divine or demonic."
-
"Really? Interesting. It had to be something supernatural."
-
"Aren't we considered supernatural?" said Z
-
"Well, of course, what I mean is...no alignment behind the act is odd. If anything, someone has a selfish motive.":
-
Z nodded, "congratulations on winning Proter," said Z
-
"yeah," he said, "but that was only to get the pole. Anyway, the car suggested a splash of fuel, and said the tires would hold the race. By getting that splash, we were able to take advantage of the other pit stops they were making."
-
"Ah, so that's the gift mom gave you," said Z.
-
"Yeah, the car literally speaks to me. I mean, the gauges and the feel of the car as I drive it tell me about the same thing, but this is more direct."
-
Z shrugged, "i wonder who will win" he mused, "it's going to be close."
-
"Not Kei...he's a rookie, and we saw rookie mistakes today."
-
(who said that)
-
(I'm guessing Proter)
-
(Proter said it.)
-
Z smirked, "Kei may have made some mistakes, but with his team, he could match you in racing."
-
"We'll see...but with the restrictor plates, its going to be bumper to bumper for 500 miles."
-
"I'll be sure to watch," said Z
-
(Shall we move to sunday?"
-
(sure)
-
Butterflies were bouncing all around Kei's stomack, nervous about the race.
-
Z bought some food and headed to watch the race
-
"Well, Hild. I do believe I figured out a possible reason why Kakarine placed the parts in the cars." Malek said.
-
"Oh...so THAT'S who it was. What did you find out?"
-
"...I believe I told you a few days ago..." Malek said. he then sighed as he muttered quietly, "I really should stop trying to tell you anything when your soaps are on...."
"Judging by how fast the magical energy of the parts were decaying, Kakarine put the parts in to cause a good deal of the racers to crash during an important part of the race. Due to how her first scheme went, I believe it was to cause Belldandy some more emotional distress. I'm willing to bet that if Belldandy confronted Kakarine about it, Kakarine would probably say something like if Belldandy had never stayed with Keiichi, the racers would never have been a target for Kakarine." Malek explained.
-
"The problem with that is, if it happened during the 500, it could be fatal, and not just for him, but for the 20 or so other cars that would get involved with him! She apparently does not realize what the restrictor plates do to the cars."
-
"I don't think Kakarine really cares as long as the end result causes Belldandy distress." Malek said.
-
"Even if it means killing Keiichi? This girl needs to be straightened out! You saw what happened to him today."
-
"Kakarine's a Pah 'reeni. When they were still around, they looked down on everyone. I imagine the incident that wound up leaving her the last Pah 'reeni left her a bit unhinged." Malek said.
-
"It would me."
(Please explain that one...the history of that, I mean.)
-
(A batch of trinkets using materials from a faulty gem vein in the Pah 'reeni dimension wound up draining the lifeforce of the majority of Kakarine's race. Due to how the looked down on other races, they refused to seek help and their population shrank until Kakarine was the last one left.)
"I'm still a bit surprised that Belldandy told Urd to wash Keiichi, especially when you considering that the last time Keiichi was in an accident, Mara had managed to severely dampen Belldandy's power to the point where she couldn't command a drop of water and all Belldandy could do was watch the truck that Keiichi was in continue to burn. At least until that spirit fellow showed up and hleped reveal Mara's presence." Malek said. "You'd think that Belldandy would stick onto Keiichi like glue. But she instead just handed him off to Urd."
(Keiichi got into an accident in chapter 45 in the manga.)
-
"Maybe she was so shook by what happened she didn't know what to think."
-
Malek shrugged.
"Or she instinctively blocked the memory of the last time to avoid creating a hurricane, caused by her emotions." Malek said.
"Not everyone is a self-control freak like you, old man..." Deberk muttered under his breath, as he was frying some spam.
"Did you complete my request for the arcade?" Malek asked Deberk.
"Yes, the arcade now has of insulation and central heating, so we don't have to buy a heater for each room like everyone else in Japan." Deberk answered with some annoyance in his voice.
"Good." Malek said.
(I recently read a few articles that most buildings in Japan don't have of insulation and central heating. Sorta explains why a good deal of manga and anime have stories that center around a kotatsu. here's one of the articles http://www.wideislandview.com/2009/11/the-japanese-way-no-insulation-no-central-heating/ )
-
(They are so behind in the times.)
"Well then, the race starts soon. I just wonder how Belldandy is? After seeing Kei wreck like that, and then when she sees how tight all 36 cars are going to be, she just might be tempted to use her powers to protect him."
-
"And yet if she does, she'll be attacking Keiichi's pride as a racer." Malek said. "Her love of competition will prevent any action like you suggested."
"Was there any hidden reason for the request, Malek?" Deberk asked.
"Yes. When winter comes, the insulation and central heating would be a nice temptation for Z to want to move into the arcade and out of the temple." Malek said. "Due to how the temple is constructed, there's no way to insulate the place while preventing water damage in the summer and there's no way to provide central heating without costing more money than what Keiichi and Belldandy can make."
-
"Ah...so you think we can win him over, do you?"
-
"....Win who over?" Malek asked.
-
"Z," she said, "Isn't it obvious that, if he is around us long enough, he could embrace what he truly is? It's the old saying: you hang around horse thieves long enough, you eventually become one."
___________________________
-
"I talked him into joining us about a month ago." Malek said. "I pointed out that with Runic Divination, he can know where to cause misfortune to help people. for example, most people would choose to be a bit late to their job, instead of getting into an accident. Runic Divination can help Z know when to cause a car to stall when it starts up."
-
"Well, still, I would rather him around us. Knowing Belldandy, she could talk him into not being like that and find some other way he can use his powers, and not for our gain."
-
"And if she did that, it'd be inviting you to cause Keiichi some seriously bad misfortune, wouldn't it?" Malek asked.
-
"Well...it DOES kind of open the door to that..."
-
"And Belldandy does what she can to avoid unnecessary trouble for Keiichi. So she'll avoid trying to talk Z into doing anything that incurs your wraith towards Keiichi." Malek said.
-
"That could make things even MORE interesting!"
-
"What? The idea that having Z around the temple eats at Belldandy a little because she knows that she could talk Z into doing a bit more good, but it'd come at the cost of you going after Keiichi with more vindictiveness than she's ever seen before?" Malek asked.
-
"So, is that your intent for getting Z to move in?"
-
"No, my intention for Z to move into the arcade is more-or-less a gift to you." Malek said.
-
"Oh...well...please forgive me for thinking business so much. You have to understand."
-
Malek smiled.
"Why did you think I retired from the spy game? I was starting to let work get into every single thought I had." Malek said, leaning back in his chair a little. "A bit of a vacation does wonders for the soul. Perhaps you should consider one for yourself?"
-
"And let Niflheim slip in to chaos? Who would I leave in charge...Hagal?"
-
"As good as she is at the day-to-day stuff with following your orders, she's proven that she can't handle being in your position." Malek said. "I suggest leaving a fraction of yourself in command. When you finish your vacation, let the fraction have her vacation."
-
"Hmm...that would mean Chibi-Hild, and who would run the arcade?"
__________________
-
"Deberk's doing a fairly good job at it." Malek said.
"All I do is repair stuff..." Deberk said.
"But the fraction of yourself at the arcade at the moment is doing a fine job at running the arcade." Malek said. "It may be a full-sized, low magic fraction; but it's doing well."
-
"Hmm...perhaps we could go to Disneyworld after all this is done?"
______________
-
"You can if you want. I'm going to go camping." Malek said.
"You don't like crowds, do you?" Deberk asked. Malek shrugged.
"I think Disneyworld is overrated." Malek answered.
-
"Camping...where?"
-
Malek pondered it for a few seconds.
"I haven't decided. Perhaps one of the medieval-ish realms where the humans are able to use low levels of magic." Malek replied. "Plenty of fun creatures to fight in one of those places."
-
"Ah...an extra-dimensional vacation, eh?"
-
"It's been awhile." Malek replied.
-
"Which dimension?"
-
"Like I said, one of the Medieval-ish dimensions where humans have access to low-level magic. I've been thinking about getting a yeti skin throw rug." Malek said.
(heading to bed. Good night.)
-
"Well...I may have to come with you."
-
"Keep in mind that on these kinds of vacations, I restrict my usage of magic even more than we usually do, to the point where I'm about on the level with the magic-using humans, just for that extra bit of challenge. Think you can do the same?" Malek asked.
-
"Well, it might be hard, but, I can sure try..."
-
"I'll be sure to loan you some equipment for it." Malek said.
-
"Now, there's a race about to start, and we don't want to leave our little Proter behind, do we?"
-
"I think he'll do fine, but checking on him won't hurt." Malek said.
-
In the meantime the cars were all lined up in the pit in their starting order, and the command to start engines was given. Tamiya stuck his face in and said, "Alright Morisato! We have the car fixed and ready! The honor of Japan and the Auto Club rides on your shoulders! Bring us back glory!"
With a hard swat to the helmet that almost knocked him silly, the cars all rolled onto the track, and the pace car was escorting the pack around, preparing for the start of the race. Belldandy had on the headset, but she was not satisfied with that. She reached up to her earring and pulled off one metal chunk. She threw it and suddenly, on his shoulder, appeared a tiny Belldandy in a matching racing suit."
"Gah! What are you doing here?"
"I cannot stand that you are out here like this. I wish to be with you," she said, but Kei said, "You can't use your gifts to help me."
"Then...just think of this as good communication between the pit and us," she said, "Now, let us go forth and achieve victory.
Meanwhile, Kei's father was at Belldandy's side, all concerned and looking to coach his son in this treacherous race.
-
Z created two tiny selves to go and observe kei and proter's teams.
-
After three laps, the pace car pulled off, open throttle, and the flag came down...500 miles...200 laps. However, because of the restrictor plates on every car, there was only so fast they could go. As a result, you had 36 cars, bumper to bumper, all jockeying for that top spot at high speeds. In fact, in the first five laps Kei and Proter moved from the front, to the middle, and back the front about three times. It was gut-wrenching, white knuckle stuff.
-
Tiny Z1 went over to where hild was and greeted her, "hi mom. ;D"
-
"Ahh! Oh, hello darling," she said, "Hmm...really tense stuff this. You almost wonder, not if, but when it's all going to hit the fan."
-
Z nodded, "but win or lose, proter has made a contract and therefore you have some hold over him."
-
"He seems to be fulfilling it."
Indeed, he was racing hard, Kei and him going door to door a couple of times. "Ooh, he is so rude, bumping you like that!" muttered Bell.
"No, that's called rubbing. Rubbing's racing," he responded.
"Boy's holding his own," said his father.
"Still, it is so frightening to see them like that," she said, "One wrong move by someone..."
-
"so what's new on your side?" asked Z
-
"I'm actually thinking about taking a vacation."
-
"really? to where?" asked Z
___________________________________________________________________
tiny Z2 was observing Keiichi's pit crew while hiding from sight
-
"Oh...some other dimension, sort of medieval magic realm..."
_____________________-
The race had been clean thus far, and the calls for pit stops came. Tamiya tried to take the lead, but Kei's dad pretty much took over, barking orders, and actually getting the crew to move more efficiently. Within 22 seconds, Kei was out and on the track, trying to gain some ground over the pack.
-
"Sounds like fun," said Z, "can you get me a souvenir?"
-
"I think we'll go to Eberron." Malek said. "I've bought some nice magical artifacts from there in the past. Do you want a magical or non-magical souvenir, Z?"
-
"depends what the magical things do," said Z
-
"Well, if you're a good little boy and look after things at the arcade while we're away, we'll see what we can do!" she said, pinching his cheeks.
-
"I'll make sure the place doesn't burn down," said tiny Z1, "so, you going to see proter?"
-
"Only after the race. This is something he has to settle on his own."
Proter's team was up to the task and chasing Kei down.
-
"what will the price be if he wins?" asked Z
-
"Well, it's like the mob: he's always on the payroll whether he likes it or not. Being the case, we can call in favors from him whenever we like."
-
Z laughed, "you really got him good."
-
"Just don't go too far too fast, Hild. I'd like to keep him from wanting to seek help from you-know-who." Malek said.
-
"Oh, of course," she said, "He's in my back pocket."
-
"Good." Malek replied. "I'll let you know when I'll start preparing for the vacation."
(Heading to bed. good night.)
-
Because of the way the pits went, and because it had been so clean, there was the main pack, and about seven cars alone in a pack, Kei and Proter among them.
-
"Another way to answer your question, Z, I suspect that in time, Proter might open up an automotive shop. We might be able to use that to look for people desperate enough to make a deal with us. We migh be able to do that by getting Proter to let Mokkurkalfi work there. Skill-level-wise, she's Skuld's rival when it comes to machines." Malek said. "So there's no cost at the moment."
-
"you mean the girl with the weird mask?" asked Z
-
Malek nodded.
-
"so she's Skuld's rival..."
-
"Unofficial rival. Nothing has been declared." Malek said.
-
"Oh, I just remembered," said Z, "I'm going to need another seal. I noticed my magic has been growing recently."
-
Malek produced a catalog and handed to Z.
"This has a variety of seals. Look through it and choose one. I'll bring it to you by the end of the day." Malek said. "If you want something resembling military dog tags, they're around the middle of the catalog."
-
Z picked out one that looked like a gold chain mail bracelet
-
"Ah, I'll have that one ready within an hour." Malek said, before teleporting away.
-
Z resumed observing things from Hild's shoulder.
-
1/3 of the race was done, still no wrecks, and the lead pack was exchanging leads constantly.
-
"I wonder who will win?" mused Z
-
"I'm just waiting for the first big wreck...and it WILL happen."
-
Z nodded.
-
Not four laps later, in the main pack, a rookie in the front made a rookie mistake and started a chain reaction wreck. Bell was about to respond, but his father took off her headset and said, "Go High and go past it! It should all have rolled to the bottom of the track by then."
"Roger," he said, and took the lead. The others lined up behind them and shot past the wreck. Just as they did, the red flag came out, and all the cars were to stop where they were.
-
Chibi Z2 was impressed by Keiichi's father's judgement.
-
Belldandy looked sad, saying, "I...would not have known to say that."
(Not sure of his father's reaction to that.)
-
(he could reassure her. also isn't Chihiro there? She's a woman so how would he react?)
-
(Chihiro would be down on the ground with a headset. Those two are in an observation tower that allows view of the whole track.)
"Hey, it's okay," he assured her, "This is new to all of you. We'll get him there, I promise."
-
(ah, ok)
-
There was about a 20 minute delay as they took cars off the track, and by the time it was done, the yellow came out, as did the pace car, and the pace laps started again. However, everyone pitted because of the fuel they spent idling.
-
"looks like it's getting good," said Z
-
They were back out on the track in a flash, and now there was about 17 good cars left.
-
"so," said Z, "who do you think will win?"
-
"Hard to say," said Hild, "With the pack as tight as it is, anyone can still win this."
-
"so, I was considering moving into the arcade..." said Z
-
"Touchdown!" she thought, "And what brought this on?"
-
"It's getting hard to juggle being a demon and living with goddesses at the same time," sighed Z, "It's like trying to please two people who have opposite views."
-
"Well, there's always room for you at the arcade, you know that."
-
"Thanks," said Z, "when this is all over I'll move in, if that's alright with you guys."
-
"Absolutely!" she said, kissing him on the cheek.
-
Z laughed, "I look forward to it," said Z.
-
Meanwhile, the team was ecstatic that Kei was doing so well, staying right with Proter, while Proter was getting angry how he couldn't shake the kid.
-
tiny Z2 watched K1's team as they worked to keep in the race
-
2/3 of the way came another pit time, and Chihiro said, "Come on...if we work fast enough, we can get him away from the pack...LET'S GO!"
-
Z watched from the stands and ate some food. He wondered how his Tiny-selves were doing.
-
The team again worked swiftly, and again, he was out in about 21 seconds, and in a lead pack of five.
-
"K1 is doing well," said the Tiny Z with hild
-
"We'll see," she said.
by the time it came down to the last two laps, there was only three cars in the lead pack: Kei, Proter, and another racer. They came across the line and the white flag dropped...LAST LAP!"
-
"think there will be another accident or some dirty play?" asked Z
-
"Possibly," Malek said, as he held a small box. "Here's your new seal, Z. Since the seal place had a few extra spare gold chain mail bracelets, it only took a few seconds to adjust one to you."
-
"thanks," said Z taking it and putting it on
-
However, the third man wiped out, which brought out the caution, but because they had already started the lap, then, by rule, they could continue to race until they got back to the start/finish line. However, since this was the last lap, it was for all the marbles, and they were the only two now in contention. The team was ecstatic and on the edge, while Bell was all nervous.
-
"showdown time," said Z, "who will win?"
-
The two were door to door, fighting each other all the way, by the time they got to the backstretch, Kei took the lead, Proter right on his bumper, scowling all the way.
-
in the stands Z watched with anticipation
-
Proter rode him all the way, knowing Kei was not a rookie, but he was a rookie to this kind of racing. Yet, Proter had a chance at legend, and he was not to be denied. The car was telling him to keep drafting, and wait for the turn."
They headed into the last big turn before the tri-oval, and Kei went high: exactly what Proter was waiting for. He used the bank and the draft to slingshot past Kei, but Kei understood what was happening and managed to stay at Proter's side. They were so close, in fact, they could not tell who was in front, and they rocketed past the finish line as the checkered flag came down. The crowd roared, but then began to mutter as to who crossed first. The announcer then said, "Ladies and gentlemen, we are reviewing the finish, and we shall have the decision for you soon."
-
Z summoned his tiny selves back to him
-
They then put on the big board what the reviewer was seeing. It was moving very slowly, and it seems Proter was slowly edging his way up, and only had his bumper in front of Kei when they came across the line, but that was enough. Proter was declared the winner.
-
Z smiled at the result and headed off to prepare for his move.
-
They came around and Kei went into the pit, all dejected while Proter was given the checkered flag for the victory lap.
-
Z appeared at a special hole in the wall store and used an illusion to purchase an expensive, high quality, bottle of sake.
-
"Look at it this way, Kei. If you had won, more stupid people would be challenging you." Urd said.
(sorry about not posting earlier, but I wasn't getting alerts. I'm heading to bed now.)
-
Z went to the temple and left the bottle with a note on Urd's desk. it said
"I'm sorry that I couldn't face you in person, but I had to realize that living in the temple was causing a turmoil in my heart. I hope you will understand and if you need to talk i'll be at the arcade.
Z
ps. the sake is a going away present.
-
Proter pulled into the winner's circle to get the trophy and the press attention, but many of the other racers were coming up and congratulating Keiichi for the best finish of any Japanese racer in the Daytona 500, and that they should be proud of what they had done.
-
Z arrived at the arcade and began to move into one of the spare rooms.
-
Before long, a camera had come up with a small crew and some reporters wanting some words with Keiichi.
-
Z sent a chibi self to hild
-
Hild was loving this. She now knew the man would have to help her if she asked, and she had a useful tool if she needed one. She filed that away and let Proter think it was all done. It may be years before she calls in a favor, but at least she had him.
-
"Y'know, I half-suspected you to somehow slip Belldandy some cola, just so she could drunkenly ruin Keiichi's meeting with the reporters, Hild." Malek said.
-
"Nah," she said, "Too easy. Let him have the spotlight for now."
______________________-
"We're here with Keiichi Morisato and team Whirlwind, who have just gotten the second place position for today's Daytona 500, and the best finish by a Japanese driver in the history of the race. Keiichi, well, I see a lot of long faces...how do you feel?"
Belldandy translated, and it came back, "Well we are a bit disappointed, knowing that we came that close to winning one of races biggest prizes."
-
"How are things?" asked chibi-Z as he walked up to hild
-
"Oh, just fine," she said, "I was about to go visit Proter."
-
"My main self finished moving in," said Z
-
"Excellent," she said, "I look forward to helping your gifts grow!"
-
"thank you," said Z.
-
"Well you have to be happy to know that you go back the best Japanese racer ever to take on Daytona."
"Well, yes, that is good, and I am sure I shall enjoy it once the sting of the close loss wears off. I..."
However, Tamiya and Otaki were looking like they were ready to cut into the conversation and say something outrageous.
-
"looks like the muscleheads are going to do something stupid," said Z looking over at Keiichi's team
-
(this is where I look for Urd to jump in.)
-
(so what's the next arc going to look like?)
-
(Hashing it out. We need a good conflict and to develop Ian some more.)
-
(hmmm, what if Z loses control of his demon side and causes trouble and attacks? kind of like the time urd lost control in the Hagal arc.)
-
(It can't be sudden. That would have to be gradual.)
-
(true)
-
(We'll wait for Katz)
-
(For a clear villain to use, there's Kakarine and the enchanted trinkets she makes. Each one of use has an excuse to create a somewhat-threat that some almost out of nowhere. A person puts one on, gets crazed with power, and they get stopped soon after. Sorry about quitting early, but I came down with a nasty cold that came out of nowhere.)
-
(so is urd going to stop the two muscleheads?)
-
Urd was looking at a watch.
"Five... four... three... Hope they can find a bathroom in time...." Urd muttered, as she secretly teleported a empty potion bottle away.
-
"Bah! Keiichi's the best racer in the world!" thundered Tamiya.
"If it has an engine, he can race it!" thundered Otaki.
The interviewer then said, "So, are you saying there may be more from him?"
Tamiya then said, "We'll answer...answer...uh...answer..." suddenly started to dance around a bit, and then both he and Otaki sprinted for the nearest toilet, nearly killing each other to squeeze in. The reporter looked at Kei and said, "We'll answer that question another time, once we've had time to talk about it."
"Well, congratulations on a good run. Back to the booth."
-
"you sure nee-sama is against misfortune," Z asked hild
-
Belldandy gave a sigh of relief. She said, "I am certain they were getting ready to say that Keiichi was going to enter this."
She held up a flier for the Indianapolis 500.
-
"I'm pretty sure that all Keiichi wants at the moment is to go home and relax in peace and quiet." Urd said.
-
"Not to mention the paycheck he's taking home!" said Chihiro, walking up for a future payment voucher of 1.1 million dollars.
-
"Hild, About that book that future-Urd gave Deberk, about the section concerning Ian... I believe it was a prank played on you by Future-Urd." Malek said.
-
"Really?" she asked, "What gives you that idea?"
(What was written about Ian?)
-
(That he held off a bit before making a choice to be a demi-god.)
"First, the Ian part was in english, while the rest of the book was in Japanese. Second, IMLYING is spelled out by the first letter of seven consecutive lines along the left margin." Malek said.
-
"But, my question is, why would she do that?"
-
"If you knew a way to both prank someone and protect another, would you do it? This prank did make you wait a bit when it came to Ian before the hearing. Deberk told me you said to not try to make Ian hold off on making his decision, when it was a prime time to make him join our side." Malek said.
-
"So you think she did it to trick me into backing off enough so Ian could be what he now is?"
-
chibi-Z stood by hild and listened to the conversation
-
"Perhaps, Perhaps not..." Malek said with a shrug. "For all we know, it may have been something she decided to do because writing the plans, locations, and reasons of those wanting to try to overthrow you was getting a bit samey. Speaking of that, most of them simply needed a vacation or someone to talk to. I enlisted a number telepaths of several species to help with that."
-
"I wonder if they will vacation now?"
(BTW: did you see the check Kei was going to get? BBL...got to go to eye doc and get my glasses ordered.)
-
"Going by what I know of Keiichi.... Probably somewhere where he would have taken a vacation if no money had been won. The amount of stuff in his home that's old, but taken care of is proof that he'll most likely save the money for emergencies." Malek said. "I don't envy him, for I suspect the vacation will be cut short, and we won't have to do a thing."
-
"he really draws bad luck to himself, doesn't he." Z sighed
-
"Yes, the amount of people looking for a handout from him or wanting to challenge him will definitely put a damper on his vacation." Malek said. "His hope for a peaceful life has been put on hold because of this race."
-
"and it will help our shares right?"
-
"It is quite possible, though, after everyone gets paid a share, and the expenses of doing this race, he'll still be able to keep about $100 large."
(For those in Rio Linda, $100 large is $100,000 dollars.)
-
"At least he could get a better computer," joked Z
-
"Not him," said Hild, "He is so frugal, when he gets something, it's a lifetime contract."
-
"true," said Z, "though he could use one."
-
"You are right," she said, "He'll probably just fix a few things, put the rest in the bank, and let the interest build for the future family they're going to make."
-
"though, with his rate of progress, that'll take a while," Z smirked
-
"Well, with the blocks off... Let us just say that they have already done the nasty, and Skuld has discovered a new set of 'toys'."
-
"ok. I look forward to getting home," said chibi-Z
-
"Deberk's put a few things in the arcade's basement that you might not know about, Z. Ask him later about them." Malek said.
-
(Major time skip?)
-
(sure, I wonder how Keiichi and the gang will react to Z's move?)
-
(I'm going to have Urd respect Z's move. And go ahead with the time skip, but put to to when they just get back to the temple.)
-
(What I had planned.)
The whole brood was now there for the return, exhausted.
-
Z was hooking up a computer his room of the arcade
-
A note at the door said, "Thank you so much! You have helped the company. Sales and shop work are out of this world! Take two weeks to recover...you've earned it! Chihiro."
-
"Hi there!" A voice called out from the roof.
When Urd looked up, she groaned.
"What do you want, Dionysus?" Urd said, in a manner that showed she did not like the Greek god of wine.
"I'd like to ask Miss Belldandy and Keiichi for permission to stay here!" Dionysus said as he leapt down.
(Remember, Malek sent Keiichi a dream that ended with Dionysus killing Keiichi)
-
Z finished with the computer and went to find debrek
-
Keiichi saw him and screamed!
-
Deberk was making sure there were enough cleaning supplies.
----
"What the hell did you ever do to Keiichi?" Urd yelled, preparing two UrdBolts.
"Nothing!" Dionysus said, making placating gestures while backing away.
(I'm heading to bed.)
-
"Mr. Debrek," said Z, "Mr. Malek told me to ask you about new things in the basement."
-
"I...I had a dream!" he said, telling what happened.
-
"I say we refuse to let Dionysus even stay in the city!" Urd asked, getting ready to blast Dionysus.
"Please help me! I need protection until I'm unbanished from Heaven!" Dionysus pleaded, getting on his hands and knees.
---
"Follow me," Deberk said, as he walked to the basement.
-
Z nodded and followed Debrek
-
Kei was sneaking away, lest he got challenged by this person.
-
Once in the basement, Deberk placed his hand on a symbol on the wall and charged it a bit with magical energy.
A scale model of the surrounding city blocks appeared in the center of the room. It even included the temple.
"This model can also function as a bit of a radar." Deberk said. He then pointed to a large number 8 on the floor "This is a special communicator. Charge it up with magical energy, stand in one of the circles, and you can contact someone who is standing near a similar symbol. It'll blink on their end to let them know you want to talk. Once it's active on their end, it'll create an illusion of the other person on your end and an illusion of you on their end. A nice way of talking to someone, if you are unable to use a phone for some reason."
---
"Miss Belldandy, please let me stay!" Dionysus pleaded.
-
"You poor thing! What has happened to you."
-
"A demon was responsible for my banishment from Heaven." Dionysus said.
"Ah, so Malek recording what you said while drunk at a neutral side's bar did punish you!" Urd said, grinning a bit at Dionysus's misfortune.
(To those that can't remember, Dionysus got drunk and told some of Heaven's secrets at a Neutral side's bar. Malek brought this up at the hearing about Ian. Odin said he'll look into it.)
-
(Check! This should be fun.)
Feeling a touch responsible, remembering the hearing, Belldandy said, "Sure you can stay! My old bedroom is open, now that I am in with Kei-kun."
-
Z turned to debrek, "what if you made it so it had real-time tracking of people and their misfortune levels?"
-
"It's passive. Any more than that and we might upset the other side, due to Hild declaring part of the arcade as neutral territory." Deberk said.
---
"Thank you, Miss Belldandy!" Dionysus said.
"You sure, Bell?" Urd said.
-
"Oh, but the poor thing is homeless because of that hearing. You remember what was said, do you not? We are a bit responsible for this."
-
"True," said Z nodding, "can it zoom in on locations?"
-
"Why not use a mini-self?" Deberk asked.
----
"Malek's responsible, not us." Urd said.
-
"Then, we can still take care of him. Perhaps we can talk Father out of this."
-
"Going by how many secrets he revealed, I doubt it. It was enough to get him sealed." Urd said. "I think getting demoted to a second class and banished was Father going easy on him."
-
"I guess that would work," said Z
-
"Still, he should not be homeless, and should be with people he knows."
-
"...He does one wrong move and I throw him out myself." Urd said, before walking to her room.
-
Belldandy said, "Please come with me, and I shall show you to your room."
-
"Yeah. As for why I made it, it was because Malek wanted something that could detect Kakarine's trinkets in the city, should the need arise," Deberk said.
---
Dionysus followed her.
---
Malek was watching the temple from a nearby rooftop. he had on an illusion spell that made him invisible to humans, but not to anything supernatural.
Malek didn't have his normal, bored expression on his face. Instead, he had an angry, but patient, expression.
-
"That imp has issues," sighed Z
-
"Tell me about it. Malek theorized last night that her attacks directed at Belldandy are somehow indirect attacks aimed at Hild. I told him that I thought that his theory made no sense." Deberk said.
-
She showed him the room and got a futon and sheets for him, saying, "Ever since we have been allowed, we have shared the same room. Now, I must find Keiichi."
"Oh, he is hiding in the building with the big Buddah!" said their rat friend, (forgot his name,) "I can show you."
A mini-Bell appeared beside him and said, "Please, lead the way."
-
(the rat's name is Gan-chan)
"So the relationship with Mr. Keiichi is going well?" Dionysus asked.
-
"Oh yes," she said, "After passing the Judgment Gate, we were allowed license to do as we wish."
Her eyes twinkled thinking about their coming wedding day, whenever that may be.
__________________________
Gan pointed and said, "There he is, Miss Belldandy."
He was squished behind the Buddah, and she hopped up on his shoulder and said, "Oh, my dear Keiichi, what is wrong?"
He explained the dreams he had been having, and in all of them came with a fear of failing to accept any challenge given to him for fear of losing her, and then what their newcomer meant in his dream. She was horrified, and her main self excused herself and went to find Urd.
-
"Yeah, Bell?" Urd asked.
-
(When will Urd find Z's note and the sake?)
-
She then relayed all Kei told her mini-self, and why he was so scared.
-
"Damn.... On one hand, I want to use it as an excuse to throw Dionysus out. On the other hand, the dreams were from a Demon who somehow manipulated the ultimate force into helping them." Urd growled as she walked in a circle as she pondered what to do.
"Whatever your choice is, Bell, I'll support it." Urd said, when she made her decision.
-
"Well, Dionysus was not to blame for the dreams, so I cannot push him out for that. However, do you fear him doing the things Kei dreamed?"
-
"The worse Dionysus usually does nowadays is throw parties and create wine, since he's a pro at that spell. At one point, he did have a fondness for using an insanity spell on humans for trying to ruin his fun," Urd said. "So I don't think Dionysus will kill Kei. He might try to get him drunk, though."
-
"Oh that could be bad!" she said, "They might get wasted, and then odd challenges may come up... Oh dear!"
She then shouted so the whole house could hear, "No more alcohol for anyone in this house for the time being! I, Belldandy, First-Class, second category unlimited, forbid it!"
A burst of energy went over the whole of the temple grounds, as if a spell had just been cast.
-
"NNOOOOO!!!!" Urd cried out, as all the booze she had bought or gotten as a gift either vanished or turned into water.
-
(Oops! Forgot about Z's gift! I am sure old Dino there ain't going to like this!)
She sighed and said, "That takes care of that danger."
-
Urd was hugging her empty sake bottles and was crying in a bit of a comical manner.
-
She slid open the door and said, "Sister, are you alright... Oh..."
-
Urd was too busy mourning the loss of her booze to notice.
-
She then checked in on Dino.
-
Dionysus was looking out the window, staring at some birds.
-
"So, are you settled in?"
-
"Pretty much." Dionysus said. "I detected a prohibition spell. did you cast it?"
-
"Yes," she said, and relayed what she had told Urd, and her fears.
-
"Why would I want to harm your human?" Dionysus asked.
-
"My...human... Oh, silly...he's not my pet," she answered with a grin.
-
"Call him what you want. He's yours." Dionysus replied.
-
"I don't think you would harm him, but what if you challenged him when he and you have 'had a few'? He would have to keep that challenge or lose me."
-
"The only way I'd make that challenge if if I get drunk off of beer. And after getting banished, it's safe to say I'm staying far away from beer as long as possible." Dionysus said.
-
without the bottle to hold it down, Z's note flew off urd's desk and smacked her in the face
-
"Yet, sometimes I feel I may have put too much on him, because now he is locked to this."
-
"Well, All I can say is hope for the best, and pray the worst never happens." Dionysus said.
---
Urd read the note.
"And his gift is gone because Bell decided this would be a clean house...." Urd muttered. "Even though Keiichi had more to fear from the two dunderheads than from a booze bet..."
She sighed for a bit.
"Well, I wish you well, Z." Urd said.
-
Z was working on the arcade machines.
-
(Sorry...I forgot about the Sake, but then again, it would be the kind of thing that happens in this! LOL!)
"I wonder if that is what it is like to be human with uncertainties."
-
"You could always ask for a power limiter that puts you down to the level of a human. While they're mostly made for heaven's prisoners that aren't meant to be sealed, the experience could be a bit of an eye-opener in your relationship." Dionysus said with a slight grin.
-
"But, if Mara attacks again, or another being, how could I protect him?"
-
"Doesn't Lind live here to insure Ian's training?" Dionysus asked.
-
"No, she only comes during those times. She does not live here."
-
"Pity. Ask her to stay for an extended time, then." Dionysus said.
-
"Yet...I don't know if I should do that. I need to ask Kei."
-
"It'd make him feel safer around me," Dionysus said.
-
"It would make him feel safer if I was sealed?"
-
"No, having Lind around." Dionysus said.
-
She pondered it and said, "I'll be right back," and went to the phone.
-
Z turned to Debrek, "You think mom would mind if I occasionally visited the temple for a dinner cooked by belldandy? I mean, I can cook but her food is heavenly...no pun intended."
-
"It depends on when you ask her." Deberk said. "As for around here, I do the cooking, except when Malek feels like cooking. He likes to make really spicy food that burns going in and burns going out. Or anything with sauerkraut. I have no idea why he likes the stuff."
-
"I like spicy foods," said Z, "but not sauerkraut. Curry is my favorite."
-
"I tend to stick with weak-to-mild spicy level foods, myself." Deberk said. "As for favorites... Buffalo style chicken pizza."
-
"I heard of a stand in vegas that sells three flavors of wings: mild, spicy, and suicide." laughed Z
-
"Huh... When I get the chance and the urge to, I'll have to go check it out." Deberk said.
-
Z nodded, "so does the arcade use electricity or is it powered by energy spells to make it energy efficient and environmentally friendly?"
-
"A little of both, actually." Deberk said.
-
"cool," said Z, "so where do you get the arcade games?"
-
"They're old arcade games from Hell. Some had to be modified, so they wouldn't harm humans, like the Polybius game. That one kinda plays kinda like Tempest." Deberk said.
-
"Yes, hello...Belldandy, First Class, second category, unlimited...yes...oh nothing much...oh it was an exciting race--we have a lot of that money stuff now...use it?...Oh, Kei just wanted to use it to fix a few things, save for something special, and put the rest into a bank...something about investing it...him?...the crash didn't seem to affect him at all...yes...anyway, I...oh...yes...Dino is here...what?...oh, but he has been quite humbled...oh no, I cast a prohibition spell while he's here...Urd?...she has not said anything about it, though she was crying over some bottle earlier...what?...did you tell a funny joke? Everyone is laughing on that side...Why I called?...oh yes, well, it does have something to do with Dino and a dream...(after dream explanation,) and that was the reason for the spell...yes, it is the challenge thing...it was suggested that Lind come and police the place...she's unavailable? She can only come to train Ian?...oh...what?...Chrono is available to move in?...She has proven herself I take it...oh...she passed her second class unlimited Valkyrie...oh, that is so good to hear...then we shall be expecting her...yes...yes...and give love to daddy...bye-bye."
She then hung up the phone and told everyone that Chrono would be moving in.
-
Malek continued to watch from his spot on top of a nearby building.
-
"It is so wonderful that Chrono is coming," said Belldandy, "She is going to be such fun, and she seems to get along with Ian so well."
-
"...Yeah, and she can call for help in case of an emergency..." Urd said, in a depressed voice.
-
"Urd, why do you sound saddened?"
-
"...All that booze.... gone..." Urd muttered.
-
"I could rig up a Virtual Reality game using my illusions." said Z
-
"Just make sure it can't harm humans if an accident occurs, alright?" Deberk said.
-
"Well...it is for our good! If neither of them become inebriated, then they can remain in their right minds and he shall not challenge Keiichi."
-
"It'll be just like a dream," said Z, "I just need some chairs and a set of headsets connected to a single server."
-
"Then shouldn't you ban him from seeing Tamiya and Otaki? They make stupid challenges all the time. And why don't you ban him from riding his beemer or leaving the temple? He might just get into an accident!" Urd said, in a slightly angry voice.
---
"Call this requisitions office." Deberk said, handing over a business card. "Malek set this one up, so you can expect them to be honest with you."
-
"o dear, you are right," she said, and looked about to do all those things.
-
"Bell..." Urd said, as she grabbed Belldandy's shoulder. "Wouldn't Keiichi see it as you trying to baby him?"
-
Z pulled out a cell phone and called the number
-
"Hello, this is Netherworld plot no. 23 requisitions office. How may we be of help?" a genderless creepy voice asked.
-
"I need a set of office chairs and a set of headsets complete with earphones and HUD screens that can be hooked up to a single server. the server in question needs to be able to be charged with a number of pre set illusion spells. can you get that for me?" asked Z
-
".... We'll have your order teleported to the basement of the arcade in a few minutes." The voice said.
-
"great," said Z, "what will this cost me?"
-
"But...I put him in this...I cannot let them hurt him...or split us!"
-
"Either help catalog the inventory here for a few hours when you have the chance or if you have a computer, you could hook it to our systems to use some of your computer processes to help scan magical artifacts whose origin and purposes have long been forgotten by history." The voice said.
---
"Bell, you and Kei made a choice. Have some faith in yourself and him to be able to stay together." Urd said.
-
"I'll take the second one," said Z
-
"Alright, A flashdrive with the necessary programs will be teleported along with your order. Just install it and that will be all." the voice said.
-
"thank you," said Z, hanging up and heading to the basement.
-
The stuff that Z ordered was there, in boxes. The flashdrive was on top of boxes.
-
Z pocketed the flash drive and created some chibi selves to help speed up the installation.
-
The program was one that worked in the background and could show what was being scanned at the moment. Currently, it was some cup made of stone.
-
Z turned away from his computer and gazed at the finished VR machine. It was seven chairs in a circle with their backs facing the center. in the center was the server which had spell runes set into it and wireless headsets sitting on the chairs.
-
"Still...I think we should refrain from alcohol...for now."
-
Urd then grumbled as she walked away to her room.
-
(What is Chrono's medium for travel?)
-
(I don't think she has one.)
-
(Then I'll make one befitting her name.)
Once in her room, her clock face started to glow, followed by what looked like two energy blocks emerging, which then popped out, landed, and turned out to be two big pieces of luggage.
-
(didn't she come out of a clock during the angel egg argument?)
Z installed an illusion into the server so it would allow those who use it to enter one of three illusions: a Sci fi adventure, a fantasy adventure, or a high seas adventure.
-
"Just make sure it isn't too realistic or addictive. Last thing we want is an army of lawyers breathing down our necks or people trying to steal the device." Deberk said.
-
(Um... Luggage just popped out of Urd's clock.)
-
"when it is used, a person actually will think they are in the game." explained Z, "It's just an Artificial Reality. It's not addictive, and all injuries hurt less than they normally would and there is no gore."
-
"I hope so...." Deberk said.
-
After the luggage appeared before Urd, grunting sounds could be heard as something else was coming through the face of the clock.
-
'Doubt it's booze...' Urd thought as she looked on.
-
Before long, it could be seen as Chrono, who now had both hands on the clock face, fighting her way out, saying, "Did you have to have such a small clock?"
-
"The one in the kitchen is larger, so why did you choose this one?" Urd asked.
-
"For some reason...*ugh...POP*...the system said this was quicker access! Well, here I am!"
-
"There's a spare room. Need help with your luggage?" Urd asked.
-
"Oh, come now!" she said, "First class unlimited...I can handle it," and the luggage floated off the floor and followed her out the door."
-
Urd shrugged before deciding to try mixing up a new potion.
(I'm going to bed. Good night, folks!)
-
"Don't worry," said Z, "I made sure to make this safe for all ages to bring in more customers."
-
"The pain aspect will have a chance of driving off the kids who aren't used to feeling pain during a game." Deberk said
-
Belldandy was happy to see Chrono and greeted her warmly, going into some girl talk as Bell helped her settle in.
-
"It's just a small sting, less than the pain from shot." said Z
-
"Alright, just making sure..." Deberk said. "I should let you know that two things the arcade has over the temple during the winter, insulation and centralized heating. While centralized heating might be able to be put into the temple, it'd come at the cost of devices that stick out like a sore thumb. Insulation can't be done there because of how the walls are. That and also Belldandy doesn't seem like the type to avoid snuggling up close with Keiichi at a kotatsu."
-
"That's good," said Z, "I like to stay warm in cold weather. Do you think we could install a Laser Tag arena into the arcade?"
-
"...We don't have the room for it at the moment. You'd have to ask Hild if I can have permission to expand the arcade for a LazerTag arena." Deberk said.
-
"I'll do that next time I see her." said Z.
-
"Alright. If you do get permission, let me know and I'll build the arena." Deberk said with a touch of pride in his voice and a smile. "After all, I was able to get the arcade up to code in a few days."
-
Z nodded, "how do people pay for these things."
-
"What do you mean? If it's about what people use to play the arcade machines, they take yen." Deberk said.
-
"Do people win prizes?"
-
"The standard stuff you can find in either grabberclaw machines or at any arcade for turning in arcade tickets. " Deberk said.
-
"I've been meaning to ask, is there a shower here or do we go to the public bath?"
-
"There's a shower and a hot tub in the apartment section of the Arcade." Deberk said. "They're on the second floor."
-
"thanks," said Z, "I'm going to head out and do some things."
-
"Have fun." Deberk said.
(I'm going to bed.)
-
Z headed to whirlwind to pick up some things
-
'So, Chrono was sent here. She might now have that signal seal on her to call other Valkyries, should she get into situations over her head. I guess that means when it's time for my operation, I should be as fast as possible.' Malek thought.
-
Z walked into whirlwind, "hello, I need a few spark plugs."
-
With the use of magic, she quickly had her room done up, and she changed, and came out, dressed to kill, saying, "Okay, where's that hunky brother of yours! It's time to show him some culinary skills!"
-
Urd hid a smirk when she saw Chrono's dress.
'Ian's too down to earth to be easily won over with something like that. He'll give out a complement or two though.' Urd thought.
-
An apron appeared on the outfit and she strode off to the guesthouse.
-
(Don't you have control of Chihiro, Paladin? Z went to whirlwind to buy something.)
-
Chirhiro was opening the shop, putting up new pictures of the race, the car, the team, and whatnot, to help promote the place.
-
"Yo," said Z, "looks like you guys did well out there."
-
"Keiichi got second!" she said, "They said it was the best finish for a Japanese driver or team ever in that race! I guess, in a sense, that's a win."
-
Z nodded, "hey, do you guys sell spark plugs? I need them for a project."
-
"Oh, whatever you need: standard, platinum, split fire. Name your poison."
-
"Standard will work," said Z, "also a cooling system would be nice."
-
"Well, that one, I'll have to go into the back and see if we have one in stock. How big do you need it?"
-
"smaller would be better"
-
"So is it for a small car, a motorcycle?"
-
"neither," said Z, "it's for a special project of mine. The parts i need will help me finish it."
-
"Hmmm... Well, in order to know what you should get, I need a feel for what you are trying to do."
-
"I am endeavoring to create a sustainable energy source that will power certain machines, using magic and spare parts." Z said with a straight face
-
"Ah, more for like a generator. Come to the computer, would you?"
-
Z nodded and followed her
-
She brought up generator cooling systems of various sizes and she said, "Tell me which one fits your need."
-
Z pointed to one, "that will work."
-
"Okay, oh, we don't carry that one in stock, but I can have it ordered for you."
-
"call me at this address," said Z handing her the arcade business card
-
"Well, how soon do you want it?"
-
"as soon as possible," said Z, "if that's not too much trouble. I can pick it up."
-
"Well, we can have it sent next-day, but it would cost a bit extra."
-
"how much?" asked Z
-
She put it about an extra $10 to the overall cost.
-
"how much altogether?"
-
(Not sure how much to charge...probably at most $200.)
-
Z pulled out a the money he needed, "Looks like I'm broke again," he sighed mentally.
-
She thanked him, took the card, and said, "What time would you like me to call?"
-
"whenever is fine with you."
-
She rang it through all smiles and said, "Thank you. let others know about us!"
-
"sure thing," said Z, "tell Keiichi and the others I said hi."
-
"NO problem."
-
Z smiled and headed back to the arcade.
-
In the meantime, Ian's jaw hit the floor when she marched in and took over his kitchen without so much as a "hello".
-
Z arrived at the arcade.
-
"Ah," said Chibi Hild, "Are you ready for your shift?"
-
Z nodded, "I even installed a new attraction and was wondering if we could install a laser tag arena."
-
"Laser tag?" she said, "Did not that go out with big hair and shoulder pads?"
-
"actually it's quite popular," said Z, "there are a few places in america where you can compete for top scores."
-
"Really? Tch...humans are so violent."
-
"why do you think they enjoy football and boxing?" Z shrugged.
-
"Well, how much of the misery index would we get if we built this?"
-
"all those who don't make the top scores will be disappointed and people would be very competitive," said Z
-
"Oh? Is it that addictive?"
-
"it's fun to run around in a dim arena wielding a gun like a video game fighter. plus the people are competing for the most kills an bases captured. It's kind of like being in a first person shooter." said Z
-
"Don't let Skuld catch wind of that," she said, "You know what she'd do to it if she got hold of it."
-
"what do you mean?" asked Z
-
"Well, you know her and technology," she said, "She might make it more real than that for which people would care.
-
Z nodded, "I won't tell her. I'm also trying to create a small generator that runs on my electricity spells. if i get it to work, i can create a bigger one to power the arcade and eliminate our electricity bills."
-
"Oh, now that would be absolutely divine!"
-
"interesting choice of words," Z smirked
-
"Then go ahead and roll with that," she said, "I can't wait to see the looks on their faces when our shares skyrocket!"
-
"thanks," said z heading to his shift and sending a tiny-self to tell debrek to start building.
-
"Alright, but I overheard you wanting to eliminate the electricity costs of the arcade. The reason I don't do something like that is to leave a bill trail for the inspectors. If there were no bill trail, they would suspect that we are stealing electricity from our neighbors and thus would investigate more around here than necessary." Deberk said, before going off to order supplies and hire some manpower from the requisitions office that he had given Z the number to.
-
"The generator wouldn't be powerful enough to totally eliminate costs. It would be used to power some of our games like the VR game." said Z
-
"Alright, but you did say something to the effect of 'eliminating our electricity bills' to Lady Hild, so I worried a little." Deberk said, as he typed away on a computer. He then read the page when it refreshed. "Looks like the job will be done over the weekend. We'll close the arcade during that time."
-
"It could eliminate all of them, but I'd need the help of someone as smart as Skuld and at least 10 1st class beings with lightning powers." said Z
-
"Or just use properly placed Parabolic troughs to get power from the sun. We'd even get money for excess power, but that plan is something better placed in the countryside." Deberk said.
-
"I think I'll stick to powering the more energy consuming items only" said tiny-Z
-
Deberk then made a book appear. It looked like an art book, but the title was "Beginner's guide to disguised magic symbols.
"I used this to create magic symbols that act like better versions of Parabolic troughs. That's why I added a few seemingly innocent idyllic paintings of gardens, mountains, and generic space fight scenes on the outside of the arcade." Deberk said. "Take a look and then tell me later what you want to add to the outside of the Lazer tag arena when its completed.
-
tiny-Z nodded and took the book to his main self.
-
Ian was twitching his lip, and he said, "That's um...an interesting...uh...choice of clothes?"
"Oh, you like it?" she said all hopeful.
-
Z began to look through the book while he watched the moniters
-
"Um...I'll be right back?" he said, and went to the house, saying, "Um, did Chrono flip her wig?"
-
Z selected a few discrete seals and sent a mini-self to tell debrek.
-
"I'll be sure to add them when the addition is done." Deberk said.
-
He started looking around for someone who could help him with his...problem.
-
Urd was in her room, trying to brew a potion that cleaned better than the storebought cleaners without having the price of its components being too expensive.
-
Ian declared again, "Can anyone tell my why Chrono is in my place, dressed loke a whore, and trying to cook me dinner?"
-
(Urd's too busy focusing to hear Ian. If he wants her help, he has to knock at her door.)
-
Hers was the first room he found, so he knocked on Urd's door.
-
"Come in." Urd said.
-
Z sent a Chibi self to visit ian
-
"Hey, Urd, Can anyone tell my why Chrono is in my place, dressed loke a whore, and trying to cook me dinner?"
-
"First off, do you think that calling a Valkyrie-in-training a whore is a smart idea? Second, don't you realize that she's trying to make you fall in love or lust with her?" Urd asked.
-
"One, I only said she was dressed that way, not that she is one. Second, I am kind of getting that hint, which is why I asked if she's a few clowns short of a circus."
-
"She has a crush on you." Urd said.
-
"Yes, and it seems she's got it bad!"
-
"So explain to her that you don't feel that way. 'Cause if you don't, it'll make things worse down the line," Urd said
-
"The problem is, I don't know how I feel for her," he said, "She's nice girl and all, and there might be a chance, but I don't think she should be trying so hard."
-
"You better find out soon, because Lind kinda sees Chrono as a little sister at times." Urd said.
-
"Ugh...in other words, if I don't show some kind of affection to her, even as just a friend, there could be trouble?"
-
"More like... if it seems like you're just leading her on with no intention of actually starting a relationship, you'll be in some serious trouble." Urd said.
-
Chibi-Z snickered as he watched from the rafters.
-
"Oh...ohh... Hmm... Looks like I'll let her make supper, and when she sits to eat, I'll talk to her, but some reinforcements would help...like maybe Belldandy as well."
-
"I'll help if I can..." Urd said.
(I'm going off to eat dinner in a little bit. See you guys later tonight.)
-
(See you then.)
-
Chibi-Z jumped down, "hi guys," he said
-
(Watched some videos from this site over dinner http://sfdebris.com/ )
"Hey, Z. I got your gift, but Bell turned it into water." Urd said.
-
Z sighed, "I knew I should have gone for the potion ingredients. Anyway, I hear Ian has girl troubles."
-
"Girl troubles?" he said, "How do you see it that way?"
-
"Let's see, you're having a problem involving Chrono. Chrono is a female. Thus you are having a problem with a girl. Girl troubles." said Z
-
"you make it sound like we are an item."
-
"I figure you will be, eventually." said Z.
-
"Nah.. I figure Megumi is a better match for him." Urd said.
-
"Yeah, that's another thing," he said, "Should I even be pursuing a relationship right now? Don't I have enough on my plate as it is?"
-
"It'd be someone who you can go to, for matters you can't talk to us about." Urd said.
-
"you're lucky that you have two girls who love you for you," said Z
-
"Then, I could do that with either one," he said, not realizing the love triangle he was establishing.
-
"Don't worry, Z. you'll find someone. Just don't tell Hild you're lonely or she might decide to set you up with someone." Urd said. "And Ian, be careful, or you might wind up in a situation where nothing good will happen to you."
-
"Isn't that the way it is with something like this. I just want to avoid a cat fight."
-
"It really depends on how mature Chrono is. You might have to call Lind and explain the situation to her, or risk a despondent Chrono blowing things out of proportions." Urd said.
-
"Then I think I need to go back to the house and eat what she makes me. Otherwise she's going to get ideas."
-
"Shall I come along, or do you need more time to think about how you feel about her?" Urd asked.
-
"Please, come along," she said, "I am sure she is making more than enough the way she was going."
"Then I shall come as well," said Bell.
-
"When you get in here, Bell?" Urd asked.
-
"Oh, I've been around doing chores. When did Chrono arrive?"
-
"In the kitchen, making a meal for Ian, and dressed to seduce him." Urd said.
-
"Oh dear," she said, "Is she not here for a purpose?"
-
"You were the one that called for help, in case something happens. You'd know better than me if she's doing it right." Urd said.
-
"Then, let us go to the guesthouse," she said, "We must be sure she will not be foolish, or they could suspend her."
-
"Yeah, best to tell her to cool her heels for a little bit." Urd said.
(I'm heading to bed.)
-
"Let us be nice, though," she said, "She seems to be trying so hard."
-
Z sighed, "I don't want to be set up, I want to find someone I can be happy with."
(I haven't been getting notices.)
-
(Try pressing the unnotify button and then press the notify button. It'll fix it for a little bit.)
"Fine, then tell her to ease up a bit because we got back from Daytona." Urd said. "Z, the reason I said not to tell Hild that you're lonely, is because she likes to meddle when she gets bored. And she get bored very easily."
-
"which is why she doesn't know, yet."
(any ideas for a paring for Z)
-
(Either wait for something to pop up or create a love interest for your character.)
"And I'll keep quiet about it around Hild." Urd said.
-
"thanks," said Z, " stop by the arcade when you can, I installed a VR system and we're building a Laser Tag arena."
-
Back at the house, a big spread was ready. It wasn't Bell, but it was done by a goddess, so it was still smelling good. She said, "I have all Maine delicacies ready for you: lobster, baked beans, biscuits, New England Broiled Dinner, and... Wait, who invited them?"
"I did," said Ian, "They are sisters, after all."
She sat down disappointed.
-
Z smirked and teleported to the arcade
-
"I'll tell Skuld about it. She'll enjoy the place more than I will." Urd said, Before Z left. She then headed off to the dinner.
-
When Urd came in, she saw Ian and Bell seated with a dejected Chrono.
-
Urd sat down, deciding to listen first before entering the discussion.
-
Z arrived back at the arcade and looked for debrek
-
Ian was complimenting her on the food and thanking her while Belldandy said, "This is all so good!"
Chrono just sighed and said, "I guess I should have expected this."
-
Deberk was frying up some chicken in the kitchen of the arcade.
"Hey, Z. I'm starting dinner. Want anything in particular?" Deberk asked.
-
"Can you make takoyaki?" asked Z
-
"I can," Deberk said, creating three mini-Deberks to go make the takoyaki. "As for Malek, I'm making some spaghetti and sausage for him. I'm gonna have to teleport it to him because he's too busy with something. Can you go find out what Lady Hild wants for dinner?"
-
Z nodded and walked off to find Hild
-
"Say, Chrono, why were you dressed like that, anyway?"
"I was kind of hoping we could go out and do what you college age people do: find a good club."
-
"mom you there?" asked Z
-
Of course, it was Chibi Hild, playing and old version of Tekken, and seeming to have a ball.
-
"um, I was sent to find out what you want for dinner?" said Z
-
"TAKE THIS, TAKE THAT, TAKE THIS...just pizza tonight...I AM THE CHAMPION."
-
Having heard Chbi-hild's answer through a mini-Deberk, Deberk then started to prepare a cheese pizza.
-
"Meaty and spicy...KILL."
-
With a slight shaking of his head, he began to prepare the pizza to a meaty and spicy one.
-
"You want to go out tonight?" asked Bell, "Why we can be a group! I can get Keiichi to go with it. It shall be a wonderful time."
-
Z chuckled and headed to his room to work on some things with Dusk's Light's help. He sent a chibi self to go help debrek
-
(anyone on?)
-
I am, but I am working another scene, and not much to do until the pizza is done.
-
(true)
-
Once the food was done, Deberk placed it on the table, and rang a bell.
-
Chibi Hild managed to break away from her game and come to eat. Of course, in this form, she was a bit more childish, but she was Hild nonetheless. She vaulted the chair and sat down.
___________________________________
Chrono was a bit purturbed and said, "I was kind of hoping for just Ian I."
"Oh, don't be silly!" said Belldandy gleefully, "The more the merrier, I always say. Urd, are you coming?"
-
Z headed to get food too
-
"Nah, I have some things to do." Urd said.
---
Deberk teleported Malek's food to him. Deberk then sat down and began eating.
-
Chibi Hild tore in with relish. She was so happy to be getting pizza.
____________________________
(Kinda hard to do that trip out by myself.)
-
(See if Auir wants to bring Skuld into it)
----
Deberk was proud of his pizza-making skills. It had been a long, trying, process to learn how to make a spicy pizza, where the spicyiness did not overpower the rest of the pizza, but still remain spicy.
-
(Skuld go clubbing?)
______________________________
She bit in and got giddy, saying, "Just the right amount of kick!"
-
(Chrono looks to be about the age of Skuld.)
-
(But she is older than that!)
-
(I didn't get that impression in the manga.)
-
(Is she even old enough to be pursuing Ian, then?)
-
(I would say no.)
-
(Just did some research: she is just barely college age, but looks young.)
-
Z began to eat his takoyaki, "do we have any dead or alive games?"
-
(Could you put up the link?)
"We mostly have games from Hell, but also a few earth arcade games that a few demons got in a deal. You might have to check to see if we have it." Deberk said. "All I did was make sure they work properly."
-
(I don't have one specific link, and none give an age, but they all speak of her childhood in the past tense, referring, for example, her trauma over cats, because of bad experiences as a child with one as a pet. It seems by that they are all saying she is no longer a child, but in her late teens. Hey, some Japanese women who are 19 look 13.)
-
"I rather like realistic fighting games," said Z, "maybe I should put some in the VR."
-
(I still consider her to be about 15-17 years old)
"Just be careful not to infringe on any copyrights. Some of the laws and how they are written are reaching the skill level of our legal branch's works." Deberk said.
-
(Ian is late 18, so not too far off.)
Ian then said, "Um...you DO realize, Chono, that because of your age, or at least how old you look, they'd never let you into the club."
-
An evil smirk quickly crossed Urd's face before disappearing.
"But Bell, they have alcohol at nightclubs. Since there's a bit of a ban on booze here, aren't you being a bit hypocritical by going to such a place?" Urd asked, hoping to get the ban lifted.
-
"it would be an original game using interactive illusions," said Z
-
"Oh, well, considering what Ian said, maybe a simple trip to a fun place might be in order," said Belldandy. Then Ian said, "Hey, I can show you the old time arcade where I work. I've got an off night, so we can go there!"
She sighed, looked glum and said, "Oh good-ee..."
-
"What about people who are missing an arm or a leg? Or those with injuries that prevent movement in their arms or legs?" Deberk asked.
---
"Should I get Skuld?" Urd asked.
-
"Sure," said Belldandy, "I am certain she wants to get to know her brother better."
(When Auir comes on, I'll mention this. Oh, and keep the bottle. She will eventually lift the embargo.)
-
Urd then walked to Skuld's room and knocked at the door.
-
"it would all be in their mind so as long as they're sane it will be fine"
-
"If you say so. Will there be an emergency disconnect that won't hurt anyone?" Deberk asked.
-
"I set it up so cutting the power will safely return people to reality. Just don't mess with the spell seals on the server." said Z
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"Gotcha. did you make sure to add a few privacy seals so that the seals on the server can't be seen or messed with by humans?" Deberk asked.
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Z nodded
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"Ah, good." Deberk said.
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"do you have any tonkatsu sauce and mayonnaise?" asked Z,looking at his takoyaki
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Deberk snapped his fingers and some tonkatsu sauce and mayonnaise appeared on the table.
"Heh, I'm glad I chose to learn those culinary spells." Deberk said.
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"thanks," said Z poring it onto his takoyaki.
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"So where's Mara?" Deberk asked, as he started to eat his chicken.
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(Not sure what to do with Mara right now.)
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(she could pop in for dinner.)
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(At work at the convenience store? You could have her call to ask for some food to be sent to her.)
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(Really haven't had any plot lines for her. Have any ideas?)
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(you could have her either fight against or get duped by Kakarine)
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(The second one sounds about Mara.)
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(cool)
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At the convenience store, Kakarine appeared by Mara.
"Hello!" Kakarine said in an all-too-cutesy voice.
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Mara rolled her eyes and said, "Well, look what the cat dragged in."
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"Better to be me and free than to be you, you halfwitted servant." Kakarine said.
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"Hey! You're just lucky lady Hild hasn't decided to come after you yet! Just give it time!"
-
"And she'll probably send Malek after me. After all, he hurt Belldandy far more than you did, and in one scheme." Kakarine said. "And to make matters worse, he wanted to fail, only he wound up succeeding! How many schemes have you gone though, hoping to win, only to wind up failing?"
(Kakarine is referring to the personality reversal potion incident that happen earlier in the RP. Though, that was more of a scheme that Hild-prime came up and Malek merely finished the final steps. After Belldandy and Skuld was cured of the potion, She and Skuld hid in their respective rooms and cried.)
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"Hey! At least I tried!"
-
"And I made her cry as well, using only words. And while my two schemes towards Keiichi technically were foiled, they served their purpose in worrying Belldandy. When you failed, you made their relationship even stronger." Kakarine said. "Are you sure you're a demon? I think you're more of a misguided goddess, who wants to be a demon."
-
"HEY! DON'T YOU DARE INSULT ME LIKE THAT!"
-
Kakarine smiled.
"Are you sure you should be angry at me? Malek's the one that showed up and outclassed you on a mission that you were sent on." Kakarine said.
-
"Grr...he IS a butt-in-ski! I'd love to get back my spot!"
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"He's spying on the goddesses, on the roof of a building across the street." Kakarine said. "He'd never see an attack coming."
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"Are you proposing we take him down?"
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"I'm too busy." Kakarine said, before vanishing.
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"HEY, WAIT, COME BACK HERE! DON'T LEAVE ME HANGING LIKE THAT!"
-
A small 'tink' noise was a ring falling on the ground where Kakarine stood.
---
Malek was where Kakarine said he was. Unlike how Mara and Hild usually spied, he was standing on the building, not even bothering to hide.
He had on a spell that made him invisible to any humans, but not to anything of magical blood.
-
Mara went to go investigate the tink.
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It was a ring. The inscription on the inside was "Power booster - 3 seconds".
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She knew nothing about how something like that worked, so she put it in her pocket, hoping to ask Hild later on.
-
The phone near Mara rang.
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"Um...Moshi-moshi! Sunny yen convenience store!"
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"It's Deberk. What do you want for dinner?"
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"Oh...um...what are you all having?"
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"I'm having fried chicken, Hild is having A spicy meaty pizza, and Z is having takoyaki." Deberk said.
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"Uh...I might be here late."
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"I'll have a small chocolate cake made for you. I'll put it in a container with preservation seals, so that it will still be warm when you eat it." Deberk said
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"Oh thank you...um...for a demon, you sure care a lot."
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"We're allies. We kinda have to look out for each other. If our side was full of backstabbers, our organization would have fallen apart long ago." Deberk said.
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"Thanks," she answered, "I guess Ill just have to settle for what's here."
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"....So you don't want me to make you a small chocolate cake?" Deberk asked.
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"Oh, I didn't say that," she said, "I was just saying that I was going to eat dinner here, and have that for dessert."
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"Alright, See you later." Deberk said, before hanging up
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"I hope she doesn't get on my case about my method of causing misfortune again," sighed Z
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"Just point out that while you move slow, you produce good results for our side." Deberk said.
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Z nodded, "she kind of gets on my nerves though."
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"She's not that bad, she just had a long sting of failures." Deberk said, "But I still think she need a bit of an attitude adjustment."
(Going to bed.)
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"agreed," said Z
(night)
-
"You can probably expect dessert will be a small chocolate cake for everyone. If you can't finish it, I'll give you a container that will keep it preserved until you are ready to finish it." Deberk said.
-
"thanks," said Z, "where is Mr. Malek?"
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"He said something about spying on the new guest at the temple." Deberk said.
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"new guest?"
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"I didn't ask, but Malek had this odd look in his eyes. Whoever the guest is, they did something to tick Malek off a long time ago." Deberk said.
-
"i didn't think he god angry,"
-
"I didn't think Malek could get angry either. In a few events that happened recently, Malek spoke to Odin and Hild, got them angry, and acted like they were just talking about the weather." Deberk said. "So, I'm going to avoid going near the temple, if only to avoid being in the line of fire."
-
"good idea" said Z
-
(wouldn't this be a good time for Hild to excuse herself from the dinner table to make sure that Malek won't hurt Urd in any way in his current scheme?)
-
(Sorry...here I am!)
As they were preparing to go out, Chibi Hild appeared behind Malek and said, "So, what catches your attention?"
-
Z finished up and volunteered to do the dishes.
-
"Dionysus has sought help from the goddesses. When one of three situations occurs, I will capture him." Malek said.
--
"Alright, thanks, Z." Deberk said. "I need to go switch with my full-sized mini-self that's still manning the arcade."
-
Z took the dishes and summoned two mini selves to handle drying and putting things away while he washed.
-
Deberk switched with his full-sized miniself and manned the arcade counter. The Miniself then secretly re-joined its mainself.
-
"Oh really? And why would you want to do that?"
-
Z finished the dishes and teleported to the VR machine to finish it up before it was opened to the public.
-
"Simple. In a matter of days, he'll grow jealous of Belldandy and Keiichi's relationship. He'll then try to attack Keiichi with his special ability to drive humans insane. The moment it seems like he'll try something like it, I will barge in the temple and seal him up. The effect of this will have is simple. Dionysus is a bit of a popular god in heaven, a bit of a celebrity known for throwing parties that usually end with everyone drunk off their ass. Imagine the chaos in heaven when they discover one of its celebrities is sealed up, and done with the help of Heaven's ultimate force," Malek said. "The other two possibilities are if he leaves the temple by his own will, or if he is throw out. Both still end with him being sealed."
-
"Okay, so, why seal him?"
-
"So he can't escape before I bring him in for... interrogation." Malek said, with a slightly dark chuckle.
-
She gave him the look of "We are not amused."
-
"...Fine, the real reason is I want revenge. I want him to huuuurrrttttt...." Malek said, with the last part being more or less growled out.
-
"Again, I don't get it. What did he ever do to you?"
-
"Back a few hundred years ago, when you and Odin were sorta-dating, I decided to wander one of the medieval human realms. I became friends with a group of humans that were wandering about in one dimension. It's where I learned to appreciate the potential good and evil in humans." Malek said with a lighthearted chuckle.
He then sighed.
"Then one day, I volunteered to go hunting for food. When I came back, Dionysus had used his ability to drive the group insane. He laughed at me before running back to Heaven. I tried to undo the effects myself, but the ^#@%$ had passworded it. I then tried to ask Heaven to get him to undo it, but he claimed I did it to the humans and the messengers chose to believe the words of a god over a demon. I spent the rest of the group's life, making sure they at least had a comfortable existence. Since they were part of a religion that believed in reincarnation, I can only hope they have a good time in their next life." Malek explained.
(I'm going with ^#@%$ is a swearword that can't be pronounced or written in the human languages.)
-
"Oh, well, that's different. Carry on," she said, disappearing."
-
(I think we're kinda stuck until Auir comes back.)
-
(Weekends are not so good for him.)
-
(So, everyone take a break until Monday?)
-
(We'll see how tomorrow goes.)
-
As Malek was watching the temple, he thought, 'I'm not even trying to hide, and they still haven't noticed me. Belldandy is even in an overprotective mode over Keiichi, for crying out loud. Then again, Deberk thinks I'm overly paranoid, so maybe he has a point.'
-
Skuld was in her room, working on a few projects.
-
"Hey, Skuld. Ian wants us to go visit the arcade. The one that was declared a neutral ground!" Urd said.
-
"An arcade? Sure, when?" she asked.
-
"Right now." Urd said.
-
"Give me a sec." she said, getting ready.
-
"I'll see you out front." Urd said.
She then walked to the door of the room that Dionysus was in.
"Hey, scumbag. We're going to the arcade. Wanna come with?" Urd asked.
"Sure! just just give me a few seconds." Dionysus replied.
Urd then went to the front of the temple and waited.
-
Soon, Ian was out front with a bit of a dejected Chrono, things not turning out the way she wanted.
-
"Skuld will be out when she has a few things done," Urd said.
-
Z finished with the VR machine and went back to his post, leaving a chibi Avatar to run it.
-
Dionysus was about to step out the front door.
"How long be... fore..." Dionysus said, as he was looking up across the road. A look of pure terror appeared on his face. He then ran as fast as he could back to his room.
-
Z continued to read a book on spell equations
-
She came out dressed in casual wear with a laptop bag and a small tool bag.
-
Belldandy then said, "Everyone ready for some fun?"
"Oh yeah!" said Ian.
"Good stuff," said Keiichi.
"Whoop-ee," mumbled Chrono.
-
Z alternated between watching te security feed and reading
-
"Are we taking a car?" asked Skuld, looking at all the people.
-
Urd was a bit worried at Dionysus just running back into his room.
"It's within a few blocks, we can walk it... Anyone know why Dionysus ran into his room like a hellhound was after him?" Urd said.
(I got back from eating dinner and watching Superman: Doomsday with some family.)
-
Everyone shrugged as they began walking.
-
Z sent another chibi self to wait for them at the arc