Tannim Murphy
17th February 2006, 04:48 PM
I even remembered to attatch the file this time.
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com
-- Attached file included as plaintext by Ecartis --
-- File: ota5.txt
-- Desc: 45885404-ota5.txt
Otaku Muyo
(Honestly folks, there isn't a need.)
by Tannim Murphy
Disclaimer: Characters here are used without their creators'
permission.
---
Chapter 5
---
In Heaven, an event was occurring the likes of which had never been
seen before. Mortal wishes, due to their very nature, have often
impacted the world in important ways. This was the first time,
however, that a single wish had moved ALL of the Heavens.
Due to the time difference, for every one half hour that passed on
Midgard, a week on would fly by in Asgard. One day, four hours for
every five minutes. Five hours and thirty-six minutes to the minute.
Three hundred and thirty six seconds would pass in heaven for every
one that passed in the human world.
What this all meant that you had to wait a little over five and a half
minutes if you wanted to see one second of the action on Midgard.
People viewed moved so slowly, it gave the illusion that time was
standing still.
A little over three hours had passed since the Ultimate Force
initiated the time-accelerating protocol, relative to Asgard time.
Belldandy was sitting poised, staring at the monitor view of Tannim
and her sisters.
A voice called from behind her and asked, "Are you sure this is what
you desire? You know I will not go easy on you because you are my
daughter."
Belldandy paused to reflect her decision. "Yes," she finally stated
with total conviction.
"Come child." The speaker beckoned with a feral grin. "You must
begin your training."
Belldandy nodded solemnly as she stood and followed her mother out.
She did not look back.
---
"You! Little! Brat!"
"Let! Me! Go!"
Tannim Murphy stared at the scene playing out before him without
really seeing it. The shock prevented him. Urd was wearing a fairly
conservative (for her) blue and black dress, and was busy doing her
level best to strangle her little sister. Skuld, on the other hand,
was wearing a modified version of her later outfit that was mostly
white.
The younger goddess was trying to extradite herself from the situation
using all the leverage available to her nine year old body. Her feet
kicked in the air without effect. She lifted them and wrapped them
around Urd's left arm in a desperation move.
This unbalanced Urd enough to send them both sprawling to the floor;
the crash awoke Tannim from his stupor.
"All right, that's enough you two," he tried in a lame attempt to stop
the two from fighting, but neither were listening. Without saying
another word he calmly stood up and walked to the kitchen. The young
man moved trance-like as he pulled out a large glass and filled it
full of water from the tap.
The abrupt dousing had the desired effect. Urd and Skuld sputtered to
a stop, surprised at the sudden attack.
Tannim eyed the goddesses for a few moments before speaking. "Urd,
stop trying to kill your sister. Skuld, you're in big trouble, so sit
down and shut up." His voice was not unkind, but brooked no argument.
He silently pointed to the couch.
Enthralled by the 'Tone of Authority,' their bodies were already
moving in action before their minds realized what was going on. The
two sat quietly and demurely, waiting for Tannim to speak.
His voice was cold and hard as spoke to them. "Listen up; I have to
go to work and don't have much time, so I'd appreciate it if you two
can hold still long enough for me to explain a few things." He paused
to verify that they were, in fact, hanging on every word he spoke.
"Skuld?"
The goddess in question jerked nervously in response to her name.
"Y-yes?"
"You are not allowed to touch anything of an electrical nature in the
house. At all," he said. "If you need to interact with a device,
such as getting food from the fridge or using the microwave, get Urd
to do it."
Skuld nodded her agreement reluctantly.
"Urd, all I ask of you is that you do not leave the apartment today.
There's food in the kitchen, if you want to make something follow the
directions and do not attempt magic." Tannim looked pale as he spoke,
and he paused to wipe away the sheen of sweat that had gathered on his
brow. "If you need me, my cell phone number is written down next to
the phone." He blinked hard a couple of times, and swallowed. "I
think that's everything. Any questions?"
The goddesses shook their heads in unison.
"Good. We'll talk later." With those words he marched himself
outside.
The moment the apartment door swung shut behind him, Tannim felt his
knees buckle, and only a hasty grab for the stair railing prevented
him from completely collapsing. He forced himself to continue onwards
despite the jelly that had substituted itself for his legs.
He got as far as the bushes behind his apartment before he very calmly
started to throw up. And when he thought about Belldandy, and what
HER reaction was going to be when she got back in three days (or three
years depending on one's perspective), he kept at it until he was
dry-heaving.
Tannim spat one last time in a vain attempt to get the taste out as he
stood up and wiped his mouth clean with the back of his hand. He
still felt like he needed a drink. Or smoke. Or drug. But at least
he felt better than a minute ago.
It was then that he noticed that his clothing hadn't been changed from
the Breaking Point training he had done last night. He was still very
dirty, and his clothes were in tatters. It was either go back in
change or go to work looking like this, and quite frankly he didn't
think he could keep his composure around the goddesses at the moment.
"Well," Tannim cleared his throat and tried to think optimistically.
"At least things can only go up from here."
---
In the shadows, three figures held a meeting.
The first question was asked in a raspy whisper that was normal for
the speaker, "Are you sure this is the target?"
"Yes, this is the boy," came the reply in a warm contralto voice at
normal speaking level. The voice was abundantly female, the kind that
hits a man's ears and goes straight to the nether regions.
A third person added, "Looks kind of dim-witted doesn't he?"
"That does not matter to us." The speaker paused to flip her hair in
irritation. "What does matter is that he is the only adoptive son of
Ken Masters. We have to be ready for trouble."
There was a pregnant pause.
The woman gave a delicate snort of derision. "Don't worry you big
babies, he hasn't been taught to fight by his dad. He's not even a
martial artist."
The other two let out twin sighs of relief. No martial artist worth
their salt would want to test a pupil of Ken Masters, no matter the
age. There were more pleasant ways to die, after all.
A raspy whisper, "When will we strike?"
"When he's at his weakest, of course," replied the woman as she gave a
throaty chuckle.
"Just like a woman," muttered the third voice, though not loud enough
to be heard by the others. Or so he thought, until he felt a fist
impact against the top of his head. "Ouch!"
"Idiot."
---
The Mallrats were conspicuous in their absence. Despite Tannim's
thorough searching of the immediate area not one hide, nor hair, of
the Amazons could be spotted. Even their cars, often littered with
cutesy bumper stickers, were no where to be found.
It was obviously a trap.
It had to be investigated.
Rather than use the secret tunnel that had made his last escape such a
pleasant one (and thus risk its discovery), Tannim parked his car in
the furthest part of the southern parking lot. From there he
stealthily made his way down the row of cars, earning several odd
looks as he crouched behind the vehicles.
The southern entrance was clear, as usual. This time, however, Tannim
elected to sneak in via the second floor. As he was passing 'Goth's
Graveyard,' a specialty store for gothic clothing and accessories, he
decided to enter the shop and ask the clerk some questions.
The face that greeted him was one that had borne many repeated
drillings over the years. Eyebrows practically made of metal gently
swayed over a multitude of nose, lip, cheek, and chin piercings.
"Welcome to Goth's Graveyard, home of the Graveyard Pierce, not to
seem snobbish, but what are you doing here?" The clerk's voice was a
steady monotone throughout. "You don't look like one of our usual
customers."
Looking back to check one last time, Murphy asked, "Where are all the
Amazons?" By the time he turned his head forward again, he found
himself talking to an empty space.
A voice from underneath the counter asked in a whispered monotone,
"Are the Amazons here? Are they gone yet?"
"Dude, I was just asking were they were."
The clerk crawled out from his hidey-hole. "Us Goths stay far away
from those ladies. They never leave us alone." He did a poor
imitation of an Amazon, "'Ooo, someone alert the fashion police!'"
then dropped it for his usual monotone. "You don't know how many
years I've had to suffer hearing that in this job. Lately it's just
been getting worse, with that Queen of theirs."
"Well, thanks anyways," said Tannim as he left the store. "Keep up
the... piercing."
The young man continued his stealthy activities. He got about half
way to the food court before he noticed that the rest of the mall was
virtually empty. There were a few scattered customers here and there,
but he mostly was greeted to the sight of bored store attendants, many
of whom had books out and were currently reading.
A noise began to grow, and the closer Tannim got to it, the surer he
was it came from the food court. When he finally rounded the corner
his eyes widened and his mouth dropped open in shock.
There were HUNDREDS of them.
They were crawling over every inch of the food court, devouring food,
talking loudly, and generally making a nuisance of themselves. It was
the single largest concentration of children fourteen and under that
the young man had ever seen.
Gunter materialized next to Tannim with a friendly demeanor and large
grin on his face. "There you are! Just in time! First, I need you
to--"
Tannim shook his head quickly. "Nuh-uh! I quit!" He turned to
leave, but found his path blocked by a shotgun barrel.
"I believe you might want to rethink your options," spoke Gunter with
deceptive calmness. "You could stay here, help me deal with these
terrors, and make double your normal pay. Or, you could leave me here
all alone, heartbroken, and no emotional connection to you to keep me
from breaking both your legs."
The young man eyed the weapon blocking his path, turned around
smartly, and saluted. "Right boss. Your orders?"
Gunter pumped his shotgun for effect. "Load for bear."
---
Skuld's fingers twitched towards the Xbox.
"No, Skuld," Urd said lazily from her position reclining on the couch.
In her hand she had a copy of 'The Fall of Reach,' and was currently
reading at a speed of just under thirty pages a minute. A small pile
of discarded books were starting to form on the ground next to her.
"But--!" protested Skuld.
"No."
The young goddess sulked. That had pretty much been their entire
interaction all morning. Skuld would see something that she'd love to
take apart and play with, and Urd would deny her. It just wasn't
fair.
The phone rang, but neither goddess moved to answer it, and the
answering machine eventually picked it up. The voice on the message
began with, "Hey, it's Tannim, just making sure ev--" but was
interrupted as Skuld picked up the phone.
"I'm so sorry!" she cried. She had been thinking about it a lot, and
finally understood the situation once Urd had explained that while she
wouldn't be seeing Belldandy for three days, Belldandy wouldn't would
be seeing HER for three years. And it was her fault.
The tone of reply was bewildered. "What? Oh, hey Skuld. No, it's
all right, really. Water under the bridge. Uh, how are you two
holding up?"
"We're fine. But I really--"
"That's great, Skuld, really is," he continued to speak as though he
didn't hear her. He sounded distracted and Skuld noticed for the
first time the multitude of voices in the background. "I've really
got to get back to work, just thought about this morning and didn't
want you to think I thought you... um..." he trailed off. "What was I
saying again?"
"Thinking?" Skuld hazarded.
"Right. I think you're both swell, I was just mad at the situation."
The voices in the background started to reach a crescendo. She also
heard a very strange sound of metal pieces interlocking together
quickly; to most people it was the very recognizable sound of a
shotgun being pumped. "Okay, gotta-go-bye-now!"
Skuld sighed as the line went dead. At least now she didn't feel so
bad. However, that didn't help her current predicament.
"I'm bored!" she whined.
"Go read a book," suggested Urd.
---
Nightmare could not begin to describe Tannim's day. Suffice to say
that by the end of it, he was looking forward to the kind of
devastation Urd and Skuld could produce. At least after things
explode, the noise dies down.
Gunter, on the other hand, was cheerful. This probably had to do with
the obscene amounts of money he had made.
Tannim was picking up the trash left in the wake of the horde, while
Gunter swept. It was proving a difficult task for both men, as there
were numerous sticky spills of candy, food, and soda pop.
Without warning, a voice rang out clear and strong. "Gunter Krueger,
we're here to bring you to justice!"
Both Tannim and Gunter looked up. At the entrance of MegaGamers stood
two men dressed in identical black suits, complete with sunglasses.
It was impossible to tell which one had spoken.
"Over my dead body!" the man in question snarled and threw his
broomstick at the two before leaping away. He tossed a set of keys
over his retreating back. "Close up for me will ya?"
The agents rushed by Tannim as he caught the keys out of mid-air with
a tired sigh. "Sure thing, boss." He grumbled under his breath, "I
sear, if I didn't know better I'd think he called them up just so he
could get out of more work."
This was MegaGamers, though. A certain pride had to be upheld. So
Tannim dutifully armed the laser grid, motion sensors, and mine field
just as he had been instructed by Gunter to do several days earlier.
The store was locked down, and the keys deposited behind a loose tile
that had been modified for this very purpose. Gunter would find the
keys stashed there tomorrow morning.
Tannim was in a state of shell-shock. A part of him had died that day
in the mists of the constant hands grabbing, voices yelling,
screaming, and demands of more, more, more!
The events of that morning did not help matters, either.
The whole ordeal left him feeling drained, but at the same time
twitchy and on edge. Any sound now was subjected to intense scrutiny
as his eyes darted from side to side. Movement was made in quick,
darting motions, head twitching back and forth. Every sound a
potential child, every noise another one of THEM come to beg for more.
Deep down Tannim realized he was acting far from his usual character,
but couldn't help himself. He cursed it for the unfounded paranoia
that he recognized it for, but didn't have the willpower to stop.
"What's this?" he paused as something on the ground caught his eye.
The really strange thing was he didn't understand why he hadn't seen
the glittering ball near his feet earlier.
"Did someone drop this?" wondered Tannim as he bent over to pick up
the object.
A dart, the kind typically blown through a tube, passed through where
his torso had been moments before and embedded itself in the bench
next to him. It reverberated with a fairly quiet 'thunk' that was
just loud enough to trigger Tannim's twitchy reflexes.
As Tannim jerked upwards to try and figure out where the noise had
come from, a kunai intersected the area previously occupied by his
head. He watched in shock as several hairs drifted down, severed by
the projectile.
"Oh shit!" With that inspired battle cry he began a random pattern of
running, tumbling, and side stepping that would leave him a hard
target to any ranged attacks (unconsciously tapping into an evasive
maneuver he had used against Rukia previously). Two more darts and a
kunai missed the franticly dodging man before the assailants either
ran out of ammo or just gave up.
Tannim made a break for the escalators, intent on reaching the second
floor. In his haste he had forgotten his newly-enhanced strength, and
he surprised himself by clearing the entire set of mechanical stairs
in one frenzied leap. The man grunted when abrupt flight terminated
by slamming forcefully against the wall, but he did not allow that to
slow him down. As he leapt away, three buzz-saw-like shiruken
embedded together in the wall where he had been moments before.
"Ninjas... why does it always have to be ninjas?" muttered Tannim
fearfully. He continued his erratic path until he reached Goth's
Graveyard; there he stopped after slipping into the store and leaping
behind the counter.
The sales attendant didn't so much as blink as Tannim flew by him.
Moments later, three figures swathed entirely in black rushed by the
store entrance.
"Hey, it's pretty comfortable down here," commented Tannim from his
position.
"Where those ninja?"
"Probably."
"Whoa." He pulled out a small plastic bag from his pocket. "This is
some good shit."
Tannim stood up, and proffered his hand. "Thanks for letting me hide
here. Would it be okay if I used it sometime in the future?"
The clerk replaced the bag and shook the hand. "No problem, anytime.
Name's Bill, but everyone calls me William."
"Tannim. Sorry to hide-n-dash, but as you can see I'm pretty busy."
William nodded knowingly. "Later, dude."
"Later."
The young man cautiously eased his way out of the store. The coast
was clear and the ninjas were no where in sight. The mall itself was
mostly empty, with only the occasional straggler or store closer. It
was, all things considered, the perfect time for an ambush.
In each person there lies a certain 'breaking point'; the point where
a human being feels he or she has taken more than their fair share of
problems straight the chin. It is at this point that people choose to
stop following societies rules, its niceties, and become raving
lunatics or killers. Often times when a person 'breaks' they act very
differently from what they would consider proper behavior, because
their 'proper' behavior hasn't gotten them anywhere at all.
Tannim could FEEL himself breaking. The day hadn't started out well,
and had progressed steadily downhill from there. While normally a
highly rational individual, the sheer amount of rage he felt at being
ambushed was staggering. He had to do something.
And he WOULD get his revenge.
---
The smaller of the two men whispered, "He's gone."
"He can not have simply vanished," the female said in an acrid tone.
"That's damn well what it looks like," said the other man
belligerently. "No martial arts, huh?"
She grimaced. "I don't know how he was able to hide that physique
from the S-2. He assured me the target was at the very least slightly
out of shape."
"Did that look out of shape to you?" the man honestly looked
surprised.
A raspy whisper calmly interjected from behind the two, "Duck."
The girl had been training in her current profession far longer than
the man she had been talking to, and reacted accordingly. Her
compatriot was less fortunate as one of the benches that littered the
mall for seating smashed into him from behind.
"I think we may have found him," whispered the smaller individual.
"Oh, GOD! I think that bastard broke something!"
"Oh, shut up and take it like a shinobi," the woman snapped. Her day
was just not going according to plan. "After him!"
---
"Okay, maybe that wasn't the brightest idea," muttered Tannim.
Instead of being completely undetected, he now had three ninja
hightailing it after him. What he had intended was to take out all
three in one fell swoop, but the smaller one had been a little too
alert and he had only managed to tag the one too stupid to move. And
even that one had stood back up, visibly reset his arm, and started
chasing him again.
Things did not look good. "What I wouldn't give for Kim Possible to
show up about now."
While he was confident in his strength, he was also fairly sure he
would be toast against a competent martial artist if it came down to
hand to hand. He'd seen far too many martial arts movies where the
big dumb fighter got taking down by the skillful tiny kung fu master.
Picking things up and throwing them seemed to be his best bet.
Tannim paused to pick up a trash can encased by concrete. He wasn't
sure exactly how much it was supposed to weigh, but it felt light in
his hands. "Have at thee!" he cried as he threw the projectile
forward.
This time the largest of the three did not get back up, as he tried to
take the brunt of the attack with his arms and failed miserably. He
hit the ground with a terrible smack that was amplified by the mall's
structure.
Neither of the man's companions hesitated for a moment, using each
second Tannim was not in motion to catch up from their position of
forty-seven feet away. The two of them in perfect concert managed to
judge the exact moment Tannim would resume his running; it was in this
precious instant that they would be the closest they could possibly be
and still have the chance for a solid shot. In unison the two halted
their forward movement and let loose with their respective
projectiles.
The small man reveled to have been the blow-dart user, as he slid to a
stop on one knee while pulling out his weapon of choice. It was just
as the other figure was pulling out a shuriken from her chest area
that Tannim noticed that the third assailant was in fact female.
Rather than run directly away from the attacks and in a straight line
like a fool, Tannim threw himself sideways and into 'The Chasm,' a
trendy clothing store. Both projectiles flew wide.
---
"Something's not right," hissed the small man in irritation as he put
his blowgun away. He switched his kneeling position to a runner's
start, and took off like a shot after their quarry.
"Why is he not moving like the spoiled rich man's son his profile said
he was?" the woman complained as she scurried after him. "What was
the S-2 thinking when he evaluated him?"
The smaller man paused just outside the entrance of the store. "Jake
wouldn't make that kind of mistake," he rasped.
The girl carefully considered their next move. "Think it might be a
set up?"
Shaking his head, the smaller man replied in his whisper, "Not a good
enough counter-ambush. But he's too strong for Jake not to notice."
"Okay, we'll pick up Recca and fall back for now. We need better
intel on his abilities." She turned on her heel and moved back
towards her fallen companion.
The man nodded silently as he followed.
---
Tannim lowered the mannequin he had picked up and had been preparing
to use as an oversized club. He had positioned himself just inside
the store entrance and had been waiting for them to round the corner
when he overheard the conversation.
"I can't believe I'm so damn lucky," he muttered in shock. He used
the store's employee exit, though, just to be on the safe side.
The rest of the trip home was uneventful. Fears that his car had been
tampered with proved unfounded as he braved the ignition in the face
of having to walk home if he didn't. Contrary to what he had half
been expecting, his car did not explode in a fiery maelstrom of flame
and metal. The drive back was a peaceful one.
Tannim eyed the door to his apartment dubiously. It was still in one
piece, and did not look disturbed in any way. Judging by his day,
though, he couldn't be too careful. He opened it cautiously.
"You're back!" cried a white and black blur as it latched itself onto
Tannim. Skuld had a decidedly firm grip around his mid-section. "You
were gone for so long!" she complained.
The young man awkwardly patted the young goddess on the back. "I had
a hard time escaping from work. I'm sorry if I worried you."
"I was so BORED!" said Skuld as she gazed adoringly up at Tannim.
"All Urd wanted to do was go through the files on that pitiful machine
you call a computer."
"Erk!"
"She was giggling to herself something fierce around lunchtime."
With a groan, Tannim entered his abode; Skuld stayed firmly attached.
Urd glanced up from her position in front of Tannim's laptop with a
guilty expression. "This isn't what it looks like!"
"I'm sure it's exactly what it looks like," deadpanned Tannim. "But
I'm too tired for embarrassment." He flopped down on the recliner and
set it on full recline. "Aaaaaah." He paused and looked down at the
goddess still firmly wrapped around his torso. "What?"
"I wanna play-y-y," pleaded Skuld.
He weakly waved a hand. "Go play the Xbox or something. I give
permission."
"Those games are boring!" she protested.
Urd stage-whispered, "She's really bad at video games."
Tannim turned a surprised look at Skuld. "Really? What kind of games
are you good at then?"
"Blitz Ball!" enthused Skuld.
The young man thought for a moment. "Well... you two did behave
yourselves remarkably well while I was gone. I guess I should reward
that," he reasoned. "But the current technology on earth can't create
a Blitz Ball arena. We'll just have to settle for the next best
thing."
It took a bit of convincing for them to go along without knowing their
final destination, but Tannim managed to talk the sisters in to
letting him take them somewhere. It wasn't a far walk; in fact it was
on the apartment complex property.
Skuld sniffed with distain when they finally arrived. "You think that
I'd enjoy this? A swimming pool?"
"Well, I, er, that is," Tannim stammered and turned away, trying to
formulate some sort of response. It HAD seemed like a good idea at
the time. By the time he turned back, Skuld was already in the water,
splashing merrily and giggling with excitement. Somewhere along the
line she had changed from her normal attire into a white one-piece
swimsuit.
"I totally think you'd enjoy it," deadpanned Tannim. He glanced over
at Urd to see her sporting a sexy bikini and sunglasses, as per usual
Urd standards. "You both have enough power to change clothing? I
thought you guys were cut off from Yggdrasil?"
"Traveling. With the time difference we can't communicate with the
Gate, but energy is still being sent. Besides, Skuld can't use magic
yet," Urd pointed off to the side, where the rest of Skuld's garments
had been discarded, "she always wears that swimsuit."
"Oh." He shrugged his shoulders and turned around.
"What are you doing?" A curious Urd asked Tannim as she followed the
young man.
"Getting something to bat around," he replied. Eventually the two
reached his car. Urd looked over Tannim's shoulder as he opened his
trunk and gasped in admiration at what she saw.
Inside were literally dozens of emergency supplies. From an emergency
roadside kit, to a fresh six-pack of bottled water, it seemed that
Tannim had planned for every contingency. Urd pointed to the box he
had pulled the volleyball from. "What's that box for?"
"That? That's the sanity box. Inside it I keep a couple of books I
can read over and over and never tire, as well as a few other odds and
ends. This," he hefted the battered volleyball, "I call my Wilson
Ball. If I ever get stranded somewhere, I'll at least have someone to
talk to."
"Why do you have all this stuff?"
"Because," he gave an ironic laugh, "I thought I should be prepared if
I was suddenly thrust into a magical realm while driving my car.
That's why I've also got a box full of books on chemistry and the
like."
At Urd's incredulous look, Tannim grinned sheepishly. She shook her
head and declared, "You watch far too many cartoons."
The young man nodded in agreement. "Specifically, I watch too many of
the ones that come from Japan."
"What, you think something will happen to you? That you'll be able to
travel the dimensions like Skysaber?" said Urd as she poked Tannim in
the ribs. "I saw that large collection of DVDs. And the Skysaber
self insertion fanfiction."
"What?" cried Tannim in disbelief.
"Don't try to give me that innocent look," pushed Urd. "You've tried
to make up worlds just like the author of Skysaber does, but none of
them are near as good." She sniffed with distain. "And your typical
beginning of joining the Agency was so clich‚."
Tannim opened his mouth to reply, but found himself speechless. He
opened and shut it a few more times as he tried to force something
out, to no avail. How could you defend something you knew nothing
about?
Giving up, the young man settled for a rebuttal. "I have a Goddess
for a girlfriend and her two sisters are living with me," he pointed
out. "How much more cartoon can you get?"
Urd giggled girlishly, much to Tannim's surprise. "I guess you've got
me there," she admitted sheepishly.
"Hey," he paused as he realized something, "how do you know what's a
clich‚ in fanfiction? Or what a self insertion is for that matter?"
Suddenly bashful, Urd had the 'grinning nervously while looking away
and trying to come up with a good excuse' pose down to a tee. "Well,
you see, there's a very good reason for that...."
"Yeah?" pushed Tannim.
"It's just that...."
"Well?" wheedled the young man.
"I...."
"And?" he prodded.
"I read a lot! Okay!" she suddenly blurted out, her face beat red.
Tannim looked at Urd with a puzzled expression. "That's nothing to be
ashamed of."
Urd stomped her foot and sneered, "I wouldn't expect a mortal to
understand!" With an angry toss of her hair she stormed off back
towards the pool.
"Obviously not, since you won't bother explaining it," muttered the
young man.
That halted the irate goddess in her tracks, and she stood stock still
facing away for a few moments. She about-faced and started marching
purposefully towards Tannim, and then past him.
"Hey!" he cried in protest as she snagged his arm on her way past.
"Where are you taking me?"
"Skuld is not to know, understand? If you breathe one word of this to
her, I shall make your life on this mortal coil so miserable you will
beg for its release."
The young man nodded hastily.
Urd lifted Tannim by his shirt lapels so that they were face to face.
"I'm sorry, I didn't catch that?"
"Yes ma'am! Whatever you say!" he cowered.
"Good," she dropped the man and continued onward.
Tannim hastily scrambled up to follow. Soon the two were sitting in
his apartment, in front of his laptop computer.
Urd looked over nervously at Tannim. It looked like she wanted to say
something but the words wouldn't come. Rather than speak she simply
began typing.
Faster than the human eye could follow, keys were tapped in rapid
succession. So quick were her movements that she had to pause several
times to allow for the buffer on the poor human-made laptop to catch
up. Once she had completed her task, she silently turned the laptop
around to face Tannim. At her encouraging nod, he began to read.
It was fanfiction. The prologue to a story. A self insertion, no
less.
"Undocumented Features?" he blurted involuntarily. Figures she'd be a
sucker for the classics.
"Well? What do you think?" asked Urd nervously.
"It's... fantastic." It was. The writing was elegant, the language
was bordering on the poetic, and the humor was spot on. And he hadn't
even gotten past the first two pages! "Gryphon and Zoner would be
proud," he finally said in shocked awe.
Urd beamed brightly at the praise. "You think so? You really think
so?"
"Yeah." He paused. "But why the secrecy?"
Urd simply gave him a Look.
The young man chuckled. "Okay, I guess it is a kind of strange hobby
for a goddess," he admitted.
Urd clenched her fist as she cried over-dramatically. "And if
Belldandy or Skuld ever found out, they'd never let me live it down!"
Tannim's eyes widened in shock. "Skuld! We left her at the pool!
Alone!"
The laptop was slammed shut. "C'mon, we'd better go see if she hasn't
wandered off again," muttered Urd.
"Right," said Tannim as he followed the goddess out the door.
The two arrived on the scene and a quick once-over revealed no Skuld
in sight. Three small kids were standing huddled around the outside
of the pool's deep end and peering down. Their attention was given
fully to whatever they were looking at as all three held perfectly
still.
Tannim peered down into the water where everyone else was looking...
and saw Skuld, eyes closed, lying motionlessly at the bottom of the
pool.
Rather than waste precious time shouting in surprise, Tannim's body
elected to move on its own violation. Before he knew it he had dove
head first into the water, clothes and all. He quickly scooped up
Skuld in his arms and made a break for the surface.
"You morons!" he shouted as he frantically swam to the edge with
Skuld's body in tow. "Why the hell didn't anyone try to save her?!"
The children scattered before the angry man as he surged out of the
water.
He set the goddess down and began to check for breath... only to
discover Skuld's eyes wide open and watching him. He paused for a
moment before hesitantly asking, "A-are you okay?"
Skuld threw her arms around Tannim and shouted, "My hero!" She did
not seem distressed or even out of breath in the slightest. The sound
of Urd slapping her forehead signaled to Tannim that he might have
possibly misjudged the situation.
"This has been a hell of a day," muttered Tannim as he pried the young
goddess off of him. He peered into her eyes as he spoke to her.
"Would you mind telling me what you were doing down there, pretending
to be drowned?"
She frowned in childish defiance. "I can hold my breath for hours! I
told you I play Blitz Ball. They," she motioned her head towards the
departed children, "didn't believe me."
"Right... well...." This time the young man was at a loss for words;
he really had goofed. "I'm sorry," he finished lamely.
Skuld beamed brightly as only the innocent can. "That's all right!
You were just worried about me!"
He patted the top of Skuld's head affectionately. She was just too
darn cute. "Try not ta scare the livin' daylights outta me in the
future, okay?"
While Skuld nodded, Urd shouted from behind Tannim. "Think fast!"
Wilson slammed into the back of Tannim's head before any reasonable
reaction could be formulated, and bounced nearly straight up. After
gravity finally reclaimed the object, its arc and a freak wind gust
placed it to land directly in Skuld's very surprised hands.
Tannim rubbed the back of his head. "Did you have to throw it so
hard?"
"Don't be such a baby," Urd dismissed. "This was your idea."
"Hey," he turned to face the goddess, "I never said it was my idea to
pound the back of someone's head in with it."
"That's nothing!" gloated Urd. "I've seen you pound yourself with
rocks."
"You saw that?" he asked surprised.
"Of course! We both watched it in my special, super-secret hacked
terminal. How else do you think Skuld got the idea to--" Urd cut
herself off in mid-sentence with a quick hand to the mouth and a
surprised look on her face, but the damage had been done.
"Funny... you never mentioned that before," said Tannim as his right
eye twitched.
"It seemed like... such an unimportant... detail..." hedged Urd.
"This is all YOUR fault!" shouted Tannim as he pointed an accusing
finger at Urd.
During the brief span of time she was totally shocked by that
statement, Tannim took the opportunity to swipe Wilson back from Skuld
and nail the goddess in face, right between the eyes.
"Heh, looks like my reflexes are shaping up pretty well," he casually
commented, right before he broke out in a run.
"Oooooo, come BACK HERE!" cried a furious Urd.
"Nyah nyah! Catch me if you can!" taunted Tannim. He waved his
behind in her general direction, and gave it a couple of smacks for
good measure.
Skuld broke down in a serious fit of the giggles at the sight of Urd
mindlessly chasing Tannim around the pool. The look on her face was
too much.
Despite his best efforts Tannim could only remain in the lead while
traveling in a circle for a short time. Rather than face capture by
the enemy, he resorted to the only recourse he available.
"I regret nothing!" he shouted as he cannonballed into the pool. The
resulting splash drenched both Urd and Skuld.
"Now it's on!" declared Urd as she followed suit. Tannim's head just
broke the surface as Urd's body impacted it, sending the full force of
the water directly up Tannim's nose.
"Gah!" he sputtered as he tried to clear his nasal passages. "Foul!"
Skuld jumped in as well with her own aimed cannonball. Both Tannim
and Urd had to shield themselves from the splash. "All's fair in
love, war, and the water!" she gleefully cried.
The trio settled into having a relaxing water fight.
---
"Are you sure this is wise, my Queen?"
Rather than snap at the person as she would have done to most people
who have asked that question, Bonnie simply raised an eyebrow at the
speaker. "Now you voice doubts to Our plan?"
Makoto Kino, third in command of Her Majesty's armies because she
actually had some sort of martial training, found herself in a bit of
a quandary. She fidgeted slightly with the hem of her green skirt as
she tried to think of an appropriate response.
One the one hand, she felt the strong pull of Duty for her Queen.
Even if she was a bit of a ditz at times, and could be fairly
mean-spirited, Bonnie did genuinely care for her 'subjects' and wanted
only the best for them. In return, the girls under Bonnie fought with
a ferocity that made up for the general lack of training.
On the other hand, her perceptions of the boy in question had altered
somewhat. During his actions at the restaurant, he had been so
gallant, so brave, so noble to stand in front of a gun for the sake of
that girl... why, it caused her to blush just thinking about it.
Despite that heroic act, however, her Queen had given orders. And
even if he saved her family restaurant, that didn't excuse him for his
actions up until now. She looked down in her hand at the object the
Queen had given her days earlier and came to a decision.
"No, my Queen," Makoto shook her head. "I shall do as ordered."
---
TBC....
Author's Notes: Hope it was worth the wait. ^_^
.---Anime/Manga Fanfiction Mailing List----.
| Administrators - ffml-admins (AT) anifics (DOT) com |
| Unsubscribing - ffml-request (AT) anifics (DOT) com |
| Put 'unsubscribe' in the subject |
`---- http://ffml.anifics.com/faq.txt -----'
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com
-- Attached file included as plaintext by Ecartis --
-- File: ota5.txt
-- Desc: 45885404-ota5.txt
Otaku Muyo
(Honestly folks, there isn't a need.)
by Tannim Murphy
Disclaimer: Characters here are used without their creators'
permission.
---
Chapter 5
---
In Heaven, an event was occurring the likes of which had never been
seen before. Mortal wishes, due to their very nature, have often
impacted the world in important ways. This was the first time,
however, that a single wish had moved ALL of the Heavens.
Due to the time difference, for every one half hour that passed on
Midgard, a week on would fly by in Asgard. One day, four hours for
every five minutes. Five hours and thirty-six minutes to the minute.
Three hundred and thirty six seconds would pass in heaven for every
one that passed in the human world.
What this all meant that you had to wait a little over five and a half
minutes if you wanted to see one second of the action on Midgard.
People viewed moved so slowly, it gave the illusion that time was
standing still.
A little over three hours had passed since the Ultimate Force
initiated the time-accelerating protocol, relative to Asgard time.
Belldandy was sitting poised, staring at the monitor view of Tannim
and her sisters.
A voice called from behind her and asked, "Are you sure this is what
you desire? You know I will not go easy on you because you are my
daughter."
Belldandy paused to reflect her decision. "Yes," she finally stated
with total conviction.
"Come child." The speaker beckoned with a feral grin. "You must
begin your training."
Belldandy nodded solemnly as she stood and followed her mother out.
She did not look back.
---
"You! Little! Brat!"
"Let! Me! Go!"
Tannim Murphy stared at the scene playing out before him without
really seeing it. The shock prevented him. Urd was wearing a fairly
conservative (for her) blue and black dress, and was busy doing her
level best to strangle her little sister. Skuld, on the other hand,
was wearing a modified version of her later outfit that was mostly
white.
The younger goddess was trying to extradite herself from the situation
using all the leverage available to her nine year old body. Her feet
kicked in the air without effect. She lifted them and wrapped them
around Urd's left arm in a desperation move.
This unbalanced Urd enough to send them both sprawling to the floor;
the crash awoke Tannim from his stupor.
"All right, that's enough you two," he tried in a lame attempt to stop
the two from fighting, but neither were listening. Without saying
another word he calmly stood up and walked to the kitchen. The young
man moved trance-like as he pulled out a large glass and filled it
full of water from the tap.
The abrupt dousing had the desired effect. Urd and Skuld sputtered to
a stop, surprised at the sudden attack.
Tannim eyed the goddesses for a few moments before speaking. "Urd,
stop trying to kill your sister. Skuld, you're in big trouble, so sit
down and shut up." His voice was not unkind, but brooked no argument.
He silently pointed to the couch.
Enthralled by the 'Tone of Authority,' their bodies were already
moving in action before their minds realized what was going on. The
two sat quietly and demurely, waiting for Tannim to speak.
His voice was cold and hard as spoke to them. "Listen up; I have to
go to work and don't have much time, so I'd appreciate it if you two
can hold still long enough for me to explain a few things." He paused
to verify that they were, in fact, hanging on every word he spoke.
"Skuld?"
The goddess in question jerked nervously in response to her name.
"Y-yes?"
"You are not allowed to touch anything of an electrical nature in the
house. At all," he said. "If you need to interact with a device,
such as getting food from the fridge or using the microwave, get Urd
to do it."
Skuld nodded her agreement reluctantly.
"Urd, all I ask of you is that you do not leave the apartment today.
There's food in the kitchen, if you want to make something follow the
directions and do not attempt magic." Tannim looked pale as he spoke,
and he paused to wipe away the sheen of sweat that had gathered on his
brow. "If you need me, my cell phone number is written down next to
the phone." He blinked hard a couple of times, and swallowed. "I
think that's everything. Any questions?"
The goddesses shook their heads in unison.
"Good. We'll talk later." With those words he marched himself
outside.
The moment the apartment door swung shut behind him, Tannim felt his
knees buckle, and only a hasty grab for the stair railing prevented
him from completely collapsing. He forced himself to continue onwards
despite the jelly that had substituted itself for his legs.
He got as far as the bushes behind his apartment before he very calmly
started to throw up. And when he thought about Belldandy, and what
HER reaction was going to be when she got back in three days (or three
years depending on one's perspective), he kept at it until he was
dry-heaving.
Tannim spat one last time in a vain attempt to get the taste out as he
stood up and wiped his mouth clean with the back of his hand. He
still felt like he needed a drink. Or smoke. Or drug. But at least
he felt better than a minute ago.
It was then that he noticed that his clothing hadn't been changed from
the Breaking Point training he had done last night. He was still very
dirty, and his clothes were in tatters. It was either go back in
change or go to work looking like this, and quite frankly he didn't
think he could keep his composure around the goddesses at the moment.
"Well," Tannim cleared his throat and tried to think optimistically.
"At least things can only go up from here."
---
In the shadows, three figures held a meeting.
The first question was asked in a raspy whisper that was normal for
the speaker, "Are you sure this is the target?"
"Yes, this is the boy," came the reply in a warm contralto voice at
normal speaking level. The voice was abundantly female, the kind that
hits a man's ears and goes straight to the nether regions.
A third person added, "Looks kind of dim-witted doesn't he?"
"That does not matter to us." The speaker paused to flip her hair in
irritation. "What does matter is that he is the only adoptive son of
Ken Masters. We have to be ready for trouble."
There was a pregnant pause.
The woman gave a delicate snort of derision. "Don't worry you big
babies, he hasn't been taught to fight by his dad. He's not even a
martial artist."
The other two let out twin sighs of relief. No martial artist worth
their salt would want to test a pupil of Ken Masters, no matter the
age. There were more pleasant ways to die, after all.
A raspy whisper, "When will we strike?"
"When he's at his weakest, of course," replied the woman as she gave a
throaty chuckle.
"Just like a woman," muttered the third voice, though not loud enough
to be heard by the others. Or so he thought, until he felt a fist
impact against the top of his head. "Ouch!"
"Idiot."
---
The Mallrats were conspicuous in their absence. Despite Tannim's
thorough searching of the immediate area not one hide, nor hair, of
the Amazons could be spotted. Even their cars, often littered with
cutesy bumper stickers, were no where to be found.
It was obviously a trap.
It had to be investigated.
Rather than use the secret tunnel that had made his last escape such a
pleasant one (and thus risk its discovery), Tannim parked his car in
the furthest part of the southern parking lot. From there he
stealthily made his way down the row of cars, earning several odd
looks as he crouched behind the vehicles.
The southern entrance was clear, as usual. This time, however, Tannim
elected to sneak in via the second floor. As he was passing 'Goth's
Graveyard,' a specialty store for gothic clothing and accessories, he
decided to enter the shop and ask the clerk some questions.
The face that greeted him was one that had borne many repeated
drillings over the years. Eyebrows practically made of metal gently
swayed over a multitude of nose, lip, cheek, and chin piercings.
"Welcome to Goth's Graveyard, home of the Graveyard Pierce, not to
seem snobbish, but what are you doing here?" The clerk's voice was a
steady monotone throughout. "You don't look like one of our usual
customers."
Looking back to check one last time, Murphy asked, "Where are all the
Amazons?" By the time he turned his head forward again, he found
himself talking to an empty space.
A voice from underneath the counter asked in a whispered monotone,
"Are the Amazons here? Are they gone yet?"
"Dude, I was just asking were they were."
The clerk crawled out from his hidey-hole. "Us Goths stay far away
from those ladies. They never leave us alone." He did a poor
imitation of an Amazon, "'Ooo, someone alert the fashion police!'"
then dropped it for his usual monotone. "You don't know how many
years I've had to suffer hearing that in this job. Lately it's just
been getting worse, with that Queen of theirs."
"Well, thanks anyways," said Tannim as he left the store. "Keep up
the... piercing."
The young man continued his stealthy activities. He got about half
way to the food court before he noticed that the rest of the mall was
virtually empty. There were a few scattered customers here and there,
but he mostly was greeted to the sight of bored store attendants, many
of whom had books out and were currently reading.
A noise began to grow, and the closer Tannim got to it, the surer he
was it came from the food court. When he finally rounded the corner
his eyes widened and his mouth dropped open in shock.
There were HUNDREDS of them.
They were crawling over every inch of the food court, devouring food,
talking loudly, and generally making a nuisance of themselves. It was
the single largest concentration of children fourteen and under that
the young man had ever seen.
Gunter materialized next to Tannim with a friendly demeanor and large
grin on his face. "There you are! Just in time! First, I need you
to--"
Tannim shook his head quickly. "Nuh-uh! I quit!" He turned to
leave, but found his path blocked by a shotgun barrel.
"I believe you might want to rethink your options," spoke Gunter with
deceptive calmness. "You could stay here, help me deal with these
terrors, and make double your normal pay. Or, you could leave me here
all alone, heartbroken, and no emotional connection to you to keep me
from breaking both your legs."
The young man eyed the weapon blocking his path, turned around
smartly, and saluted. "Right boss. Your orders?"
Gunter pumped his shotgun for effect. "Load for bear."
---
Skuld's fingers twitched towards the Xbox.
"No, Skuld," Urd said lazily from her position reclining on the couch.
In her hand she had a copy of 'The Fall of Reach,' and was currently
reading at a speed of just under thirty pages a minute. A small pile
of discarded books were starting to form on the ground next to her.
"But--!" protested Skuld.
"No."
The young goddess sulked. That had pretty much been their entire
interaction all morning. Skuld would see something that she'd love to
take apart and play with, and Urd would deny her. It just wasn't
fair.
The phone rang, but neither goddess moved to answer it, and the
answering machine eventually picked it up. The voice on the message
began with, "Hey, it's Tannim, just making sure ev--" but was
interrupted as Skuld picked up the phone.
"I'm so sorry!" she cried. She had been thinking about it a lot, and
finally understood the situation once Urd had explained that while she
wouldn't be seeing Belldandy for three days, Belldandy wouldn't would
be seeing HER for three years. And it was her fault.
The tone of reply was bewildered. "What? Oh, hey Skuld. No, it's
all right, really. Water under the bridge. Uh, how are you two
holding up?"
"We're fine. But I really--"
"That's great, Skuld, really is," he continued to speak as though he
didn't hear her. He sounded distracted and Skuld noticed for the
first time the multitude of voices in the background. "I've really
got to get back to work, just thought about this morning and didn't
want you to think I thought you... um..." he trailed off. "What was I
saying again?"
"Thinking?" Skuld hazarded.
"Right. I think you're both swell, I was just mad at the situation."
The voices in the background started to reach a crescendo. She also
heard a very strange sound of metal pieces interlocking together
quickly; to most people it was the very recognizable sound of a
shotgun being pumped. "Okay, gotta-go-bye-now!"
Skuld sighed as the line went dead. At least now she didn't feel so
bad. However, that didn't help her current predicament.
"I'm bored!" she whined.
"Go read a book," suggested Urd.
---
Nightmare could not begin to describe Tannim's day. Suffice to say
that by the end of it, he was looking forward to the kind of
devastation Urd and Skuld could produce. At least after things
explode, the noise dies down.
Gunter, on the other hand, was cheerful. This probably had to do with
the obscene amounts of money he had made.
Tannim was picking up the trash left in the wake of the horde, while
Gunter swept. It was proving a difficult task for both men, as there
were numerous sticky spills of candy, food, and soda pop.
Without warning, a voice rang out clear and strong. "Gunter Krueger,
we're here to bring you to justice!"
Both Tannim and Gunter looked up. At the entrance of MegaGamers stood
two men dressed in identical black suits, complete with sunglasses.
It was impossible to tell which one had spoken.
"Over my dead body!" the man in question snarled and threw his
broomstick at the two before leaping away. He tossed a set of keys
over his retreating back. "Close up for me will ya?"
The agents rushed by Tannim as he caught the keys out of mid-air with
a tired sigh. "Sure thing, boss." He grumbled under his breath, "I
sear, if I didn't know better I'd think he called them up just so he
could get out of more work."
This was MegaGamers, though. A certain pride had to be upheld. So
Tannim dutifully armed the laser grid, motion sensors, and mine field
just as he had been instructed by Gunter to do several days earlier.
The store was locked down, and the keys deposited behind a loose tile
that had been modified for this very purpose. Gunter would find the
keys stashed there tomorrow morning.
Tannim was in a state of shell-shock. A part of him had died that day
in the mists of the constant hands grabbing, voices yelling,
screaming, and demands of more, more, more!
The events of that morning did not help matters, either.
The whole ordeal left him feeling drained, but at the same time
twitchy and on edge. Any sound now was subjected to intense scrutiny
as his eyes darted from side to side. Movement was made in quick,
darting motions, head twitching back and forth. Every sound a
potential child, every noise another one of THEM come to beg for more.
Deep down Tannim realized he was acting far from his usual character,
but couldn't help himself. He cursed it for the unfounded paranoia
that he recognized it for, but didn't have the willpower to stop.
"What's this?" he paused as something on the ground caught his eye.
The really strange thing was he didn't understand why he hadn't seen
the glittering ball near his feet earlier.
"Did someone drop this?" wondered Tannim as he bent over to pick up
the object.
A dart, the kind typically blown through a tube, passed through where
his torso had been moments before and embedded itself in the bench
next to him. It reverberated with a fairly quiet 'thunk' that was
just loud enough to trigger Tannim's twitchy reflexes.
As Tannim jerked upwards to try and figure out where the noise had
come from, a kunai intersected the area previously occupied by his
head. He watched in shock as several hairs drifted down, severed by
the projectile.
"Oh shit!" With that inspired battle cry he began a random pattern of
running, tumbling, and side stepping that would leave him a hard
target to any ranged attacks (unconsciously tapping into an evasive
maneuver he had used against Rukia previously). Two more darts and a
kunai missed the franticly dodging man before the assailants either
ran out of ammo or just gave up.
Tannim made a break for the escalators, intent on reaching the second
floor. In his haste he had forgotten his newly-enhanced strength, and
he surprised himself by clearing the entire set of mechanical stairs
in one frenzied leap. The man grunted when abrupt flight terminated
by slamming forcefully against the wall, but he did not allow that to
slow him down. As he leapt away, three buzz-saw-like shiruken
embedded together in the wall where he had been moments before.
"Ninjas... why does it always have to be ninjas?" muttered Tannim
fearfully. He continued his erratic path until he reached Goth's
Graveyard; there he stopped after slipping into the store and leaping
behind the counter.
The sales attendant didn't so much as blink as Tannim flew by him.
Moments later, three figures swathed entirely in black rushed by the
store entrance.
"Hey, it's pretty comfortable down here," commented Tannim from his
position.
"Where those ninja?"
"Probably."
"Whoa." He pulled out a small plastic bag from his pocket. "This is
some good shit."
Tannim stood up, and proffered his hand. "Thanks for letting me hide
here. Would it be okay if I used it sometime in the future?"
The clerk replaced the bag and shook the hand. "No problem, anytime.
Name's Bill, but everyone calls me William."
"Tannim. Sorry to hide-n-dash, but as you can see I'm pretty busy."
William nodded knowingly. "Later, dude."
"Later."
The young man cautiously eased his way out of the store. The coast
was clear and the ninjas were no where in sight. The mall itself was
mostly empty, with only the occasional straggler or store closer. It
was, all things considered, the perfect time for an ambush.
In each person there lies a certain 'breaking point'; the point where
a human being feels he or she has taken more than their fair share of
problems straight the chin. It is at this point that people choose to
stop following societies rules, its niceties, and become raving
lunatics or killers. Often times when a person 'breaks' they act very
differently from what they would consider proper behavior, because
their 'proper' behavior hasn't gotten them anywhere at all.
Tannim could FEEL himself breaking. The day hadn't started out well,
and had progressed steadily downhill from there. While normally a
highly rational individual, the sheer amount of rage he felt at being
ambushed was staggering. He had to do something.
And he WOULD get his revenge.
---
The smaller of the two men whispered, "He's gone."
"He can not have simply vanished," the female said in an acrid tone.
"That's damn well what it looks like," said the other man
belligerently. "No martial arts, huh?"
She grimaced. "I don't know how he was able to hide that physique
from the S-2. He assured me the target was at the very least slightly
out of shape."
"Did that look out of shape to you?" the man honestly looked
surprised.
A raspy whisper calmly interjected from behind the two, "Duck."
The girl had been training in her current profession far longer than
the man she had been talking to, and reacted accordingly. Her
compatriot was less fortunate as one of the benches that littered the
mall for seating smashed into him from behind.
"I think we may have found him," whispered the smaller individual.
"Oh, GOD! I think that bastard broke something!"
"Oh, shut up and take it like a shinobi," the woman snapped. Her day
was just not going according to plan. "After him!"
---
"Okay, maybe that wasn't the brightest idea," muttered Tannim.
Instead of being completely undetected, he now had three ninja
hightailing it after him. What he had intended was to take out all
three in one fell swoop, but the smaller one had been a little too
alert and he had only managed to tag the one too stupid to move. And
even that one had stood back up, visibly reset his arm, and started
chasing him again.
Things did not look good. "What I wouldn't give for Kim Possible to
show up about now."
While he was confident in his strength, he was also fairly sure he
would be toast against a competent martial artist if it came down to
hand to hand. He'd seen far too many martial arts movies where the
big dumb fighter got taking down by the skillful tiny kung fu master.
Picking things up and throwing them seemed to be his best bet.
Tannim paused to pick up a trash can encased by concrete. He wasn't
sure exactly how much it was supposed to weigh, but it felt light in
his hands. "Have at thee!" he cried as he threw the projectile
forward.
This time the largest of the three did not get back up, as he tried to
take the brunt of the attack with his arms and failed miserably. He
hit the ground with a terrible smack that was amplified by the mall's
structure.
Neither of the man's companions hesitated for a moment, using each
second Tannim was not in motion to catch up from their position of
forty-seven feet away. The two of them in perfect concert managed to
judge the exact moment Tannim would resume his running; it was in this
precious instant that they would be the closest they could possibly be
and still have the chance for a solid shot. In unison the two halted
their forward movement and let loose with their respective
projectiles.
The small man reveled to have been the blow-dart user, as he slid to a
stop on one knee while pulling out his weapon of choice. It was just
as the other figure was pulling out a shuriken from her chest area
that Tannim noticed that the third assailant was in fact female.
Rather than run directly away from the attacks and in a straight line
like a fool, Tannim threw himself sideways and into 'The Chasm,' a
trendy clothing store. Both projectiles flew wide.
---
"Something's not right," hissed the small man in irritation as he put
his blowgun away. He switched his kneeling position to a runner's
start, and took off like a shot after their quarry.
"Why is he not moving like the spoiled rich man's son his profile said
he was?" the woman complained as she scurried after him. "What was
the S-2 thinking when he evaluated him?"
The smaller man paused just outside the entrance of the store. "Jake
wouldn't make that kind of mistake," he rasped.
The girl carefully considered their next move. "Think it might be a
set up?"
Shaking his head, the smaller man replied in his whisper, "Not a good
enough counter-ambush. But he's too strong for Jake not to notice."
"Okay, we'll pick up Recca and fall back for now. We need better
intel on his abilities." She turned on her heel and moved back
towards her fallen companion.
The man nodded silently as he followed.
---
Tannim lowered the mannequin he had picked up and had been preparing
to use as an oversized club. He had positioned himself just inside
the store entrance and had been waiting for them to round the corner
when he overheard the conversation.
"I can't believe I'm so damn lucky," he muttered in shock. He used
the store's employee exit, though, just to be on the safe side.
The rest of the trip home was uneventful. Fears that his car had been
tampered with proved unfounded as he braved the ignition in the face
of having to walk home if he didn't. Contrary to what he had half
been expecting, his car did not explode in a fiery maelstrom of flame
and metal. The drive back was a peaceful one.
Tannim eyed the door to his apartment dubiously. It was still in one
piece, and did not look disturbed in any way. Judging by his day,
though, he couldn't be too careful. He opened it cautiously.
"You're back!" cried a white and black blur as it latched itself onto
Tannim. Skuld had a decidedly firm grip around his mid-section. "You
were gone for so long!" she complained.
The young man awkwardly patted the young goddess on the back. "I had
a hard time escaping from work. I'm sorry if I worried you."
"I was so BORED!" said Skuld as she gazed adoringly up at Tannim.
"All Urd wanted to do was go through the files on that pitiful machine
you call a computer."
"Erk!"
"She was giggling to herself something fierce around lunchtime."
With a groan, Tannim entered his abode; Skuld stayed firmly attached.
Urd glanced up from her position in front of Tannim's laptop with a
guilty expression. "This isn't what it looks like!"
"I'm sure it's exactly what it looks like," deadpanned Tannim. "But
I'm too tired for embarrassment." He flopped down on the recliner and
set it on full recline. "Aaaaaah." He paused and looked down at the
goddess still firmly wrapped around his torso. "What?"
"I wanna play-y-y," pleaded Skuld.
He weakly waved a hand. "Go play the Xbox or something. I give
permission."
"Those games are boring!" she protested.
Urd stage-whispered, "She's really bad at video games."
Tannim turned a surprised look at Skuld. "Really? What kind of games
are you good at then?"
"Blitz Ball!" enthused Skuld.
The young man thought for a moment. "Well... you two did behave
yourselves remarkably well while I was gone. I guess I should reward
that," he reasoned. "But the current technology on earth can't create
a Blitz Ball arena. We'll just have to settle for the next best
thing."
It took a bit of convincing for them to go along without knowing their
final destination, but Tannim managed to talk the sisters in to
letting him take them somewhere. It wasn't a far walk; in fact it was
on the apartment complex property.
Skuld sniffed with distain when they finally arrived. "You think that
I'd enjoy this? A swimming pool?"
"Well, I, er, that is," Tannim stammered and turned away, trying to
formulate some sort of response. It HAD seemed like a good idea at
the time. By the time he turned back, Skuld was already in the water,
splashing merrily and giggling with excitement. Somewhere along the
line she had changed from her normal attire into a white one-piece
swimsuit.
"I totally think you'd enjoy it," deadpanned Tannim. He glanced over
at Urd to see her sporting a sexy bikini and sunglasses, as per usual
Urd standards. "You both have enough power to change clothing? I
thought you guys were cut off from Yggdrasil?"
"Traveling. With the time difference we can't communicate with the
Gate, but energy is still being sent. Besides, Skuld can't use magic
yet," Urd pointed off to the side, where the rest of Skuld's garments
had been discarded, "she always wears that swimsuit."
"Oh." He shrugged his shoulders and turned around.
"What are you doing?" A curious Urd asked Tannim as she followed the
young man.
"Getting something to bat around," he replied. Eventually the two
reached his car. Urd looked over Tannim's shoulder as he opened his
trunk and gasped in admiration at what she saw.
Inside were literally dozens of emergency supplies. From an emergency
roadside kit, to a fresh six-pack of bottled water, it seemed that
Tannim had planned for every contingency. Urd pointed to the box he
had pulled the volleyball from. "What's that box for?"
"That? That's the sanity box. Inside it I keep a couple of books I
can read over and over and never tire, as well as a few other odds and
ends. This," he hefted the battered volleyball, "I call my Wilson
Ball. If I ever get stranded somewhere, I'll at least have someone to
talk to."
"Why do you have all this stuff?"
"Because," he gave an ironic laugh, "I thought I should be prepared if
I was suddenly thrust into a magical realm while driving my car.
That's why I've also got a box full of books on chemistry and the
like."
At Urd's incredulous look, Tannim grinned sheepishly. She shook her
head and declared, "You watch far too many cartoons."
The young man nodded in agreement. "Specifically, I watch too many of
the ones that come from Japan."
"What, you think something will happen to you? That you'll be able to
travel the dimensions like Skysaber?" said Urd as she poked Tannim in
the ribs. "I saw that large collection of DVDs. And the Skysaber
self insertion fanfiction."
"What?" cried Tannim in disbelief.
"Don't try to give me that innocent look," pushed Urd. "You've tried
to make up worlds just like the author of Skysaber does, but none of
them are near as good." She sniffed with distain. "And your typical
beginning of joining the Agency was so clich‚."
Tannim opened his mouth to reply, but found himself speechless. He
opened and shut it a few more times as he tried to force something
out, to no avail. How could you defend something you knew nothing
about?
Giving up, the young man settled for a rebuttal. "I have a Goddess
for a girlfriend and her two sisters are living with me," he pointed
out. "How much more cartoon can you get?"
Urd giggled girlishly, much to Tannim's surprise. "I guess you've got
me there," she admitted sheepishly.
"Hey," he paused as he realized something, "how do you know what's a
clich‚ in fanfiction? Or what a self insertion is for that matter?"
Suddenly bashful, Urd had the 'grinning nervously while looking away
and trying to come up with a good excuse' pose down to a tee. "Well,
you see, there's a very good reason for that...."
"Yeah?" pushed Tannim.
"It's just that...."
"Well?" wheedled the young man.
"I...."
"And?" he prodded.
"I read a lot! Okay!" she suddenly blurted out, her face beat red.
Tannim looked at Urd with a puzzled expression. "That's nothing to be
ashamed of."
Urd stomped her foot and sneered, "I wouldn't expect a mortal to
understand!" With an angry toss of her hair she stormed off back
towards the pool.
"Obviously not, since you won't bother explaining it," muttered the
young man.
That halted the irate goddess in her tracks, and she stood stock still
facing away for a few moments. She about-faced and started marching
purposefully towards Tannim, and then past him.
"Hey!" he cried in protest as she snagged his arm on her way past.
"Where are you taking me?"
"Skuld is not to know, understand? If you breathe one word of this to
her, I shall make your life on this mortal coil so miserable you will
beg for its release."
The young man nodded hastily.
Urd lifted Tannim by his shirt lapels so that they were face to face.
"I'm sorry, I didn't catch that?"
"Yes ma'am! Whatever you say!" he cowered.
"Good," she dropped the man and continued onward.
Tannim hastily scrambled up to follow. Soon the two were sitting in
his apartment, in front of his laptop computer.
Urd looked over nervously at Tannim. It looked like she wanted to say
something but the words wouldn't come. Rather than speak she simply
began typing.
Faster than the human eye could follow, keys were tapped in rapid
succession. So quick were her movements that she had to pause several
times to allow for the buffer on the poor human-made laptop to catch
up. Once she had completed her task, she silently turned the laptop
around to face Tannim. At her encouraging nod, he began to read.
It was fanfiction. The prologue to a story. A self insertion, no
less.
"Undocumented Features?" he blurted involuntarily. Figures she'd be a
sucker for the classics.
"Well? What do you think?" asked Urd nervously.
"It's... fantastic." It was. The writing was elegant, the language
was bordering on the poetic, and the humor was spot on. And he hadn't
even gotten past the first two pages! "Gryphon and Zoner would be
proud," he finally said in shocked awe.
Urd beamed brightly at the praise. "You think so? You really think
so?"
"Yeah." He paused. "But why the secrecy?"
Urd simply gave him a Look.
The young man chuckled. "Okay, I guess it is a kind of strange hobby
for a goddess," he admitted.
Urd clenched her fist as she cried over-dramatically. "And if
Belldandy or Skuld ever found out, they'd never let me live it down!"
Tannim's eyes widened in shock. "Skuld! We left her at the pool!
Alone!"
The laptop was slammed shut. "C'mon, we'd better go see if she hasn't
wandered off again," muttered Urd.
"Right," said Tannim as he followed the goddess out the door.
The two arrived on the scene and a quick once-over revealed no Skuld
in sight. Three small kids were standing huddled around the outside
of the pool's deep end and peering down. Their attention was given
fully to whatever they were looking at as all three held perfectly
still.
Tannim peered down into the water where everyone else was looking...
and saw Skuld, eyes closed, lying motionlessly at the bottom of the
pool.
Rather than waste precious time shouting in surprise, Tannim's body
elected to move on its own violation. Before he knew it he had dove
head first into the water, clothes and all. He quickly scooped up
Skuld in his arms and made a break for the surface.
"You morons!" he shouted as he frantically swam to the edge with
Skuld's body in tow. "Why the hell didn't anyone try to save her?!"
The children scattered before the angry man as he surged out of the
water.
He set the goddess down and began to check for breath... only to
discover Skuld's eyes wide open and watching him. He paused for a
moment before hesitantly asking, "A-are you okay?"
Skuld threw her arms around Tannim and shouted, "My hero!" She did
not seem distressed or even out of breath in the slightest. The sound
of Urd slapping her forehead signaled to Tannim that he might have
possibly misjudged the situation.
"This has been a hell of a day," muttered Tannim as he pried the young
goddess off of him. He peered into her eyes as he spoke to her.
"Would you mind telling me what you were doing down there, pretending
to be drowned?"
She frowned in childish defiance. "I can hold my breath for hours! I
told you I play Blitz Ball. They," she motioned her head towards the
departed children, "didn't believe me."
"Right... well...." This time the young man was at a loss for words;
he really had goofed. "I'm sorry," he finished lamely.
Skuld beamed brightly as only the innocent can. "That's all right!
You were just worried about me!"
He patted the top of Skuld's head affectionately. She was just too
darn cute. "Try not ta scare the livin' daylights outta me in the
future, okay?"
While Skuld nodded, Urd shouted from behind Tannim. "Think fast!"
Wilson slammed into the back of Tannim's head before any reasonable
reaction could be formulated, and bounced nearly straight up. After
gravity finally reclaimed the object, its arc and a freak wind gust
placed it to land directly in Skuld's very surprised hands.
Tannim rubbed the back of his head. "Did you have to throw it so
hard?"
"Don't be such a baby," Urd dismissed. "This was your idea."
"Hey," he turned to face the goddess, "I never said it was my idea to
pound the back of someone's head in with it."
"That's nothing!" gloated Urd. "I've seen you pound yourself with
rocks."
"You saw that?" he asked surprised.
"Of course! We both watched it in my special, super-secret hacked
terminal. How else do you think Skuld got the idea to--" Urd cut
herself off in mid-sentence with a quick hand to the mouth and a
surprised look on her face, but the damage had been done.
"Funny... you never mentioned that before," said Tannim as his right
eye twitched.
"It seemed like... such an unimportant... detail..." hedged Urd.
"This is all YOUR fault!" shouted Tannim as he pointed an accusing
finger at Urd.
During the brief span of time she was totally shocked by that
statement, Tannim took the opportunity to swipe Wilson back from Skuld
and nail the goddess in face, right between the eyes.
"Heh, looks like my reflexes are shaping up pretty well," he casually
commented, right before he broke out in a run.
"Oooooo, come BACK HERE!" cried a furious Urd.
"Nyah nyah! Catch me if you can!" taunted Tannim. He waved his
behind in her general direction, and gave it a couple of smacks for
good measure.
Skuld broke down in a serious fit of the giggles at the sight of Urd
mindlessly chasing Tannim around the pool. The look on her face was
too much.
Despite his best efforts Tannim could only remain in the lead while
traveling in a circle for a short time. Rather than face capture by
the enemy, he resorted to the only recourse he available.
"I regret nothing!" he shouted as he cannonballed into the pool. The
resulting splash drenched both Urd and Skuld.
"Now it's on!" declared Urd as she followed suit. Tannim's head just
broke the surface as Urd's body impacted it, sending the full force of
the water directly up Tannim's nose.
"Gah!" he sputtered as he tried to clear his nasal passages. "Foul!"
Skuld jumped in as well with her own aimed cannonball. Both Tannim
and Urd had to shield themselves from the splash. "All's fair in
love, war, and the water!" she gleefully cried.
The trio settled into having a relaxing water fight.
---
"Are you sure this is wise, my Queen?"
Rather than snap at the person as she would have done to most people
who have asked that question, Bonnie simply raised an eyebrow at the
speaker. "Now you voice doubts to Our plan?"
Makoto Kino, third in command of Her Majesty's armies because she
actually had some sort of martial training, found herself in a bit of
a quandary. She fidgeted slightly with the hem of her green skirt as
she tried to think of an appropriate response.
One the one hand, she felt the strong pull of Duty for her Queen.
Even if she was a bit of a ditz at times, and could be fairly
mean-spirited, Bonnie did genuinely care for her 'subjects' and wanted
only the best for them. In return, the girls under Bonnie fought with
a ferocity that made up for the general lack of training.
On the other hand, her perceptions of the boy in question had altered
somewhat. During his actions at the restaurant, he had been so
gallant, so brave, so noble to stand in front of a gun for the sake of
that girl... why, it caused her to blush just thinking about it.
Despite that heroic act, however, her Queen had given orders. And
even if he saved her family restaurant, that didn't excuse him for his
actions up until now. She looked down in her hand at the object the
Queen had given her days earlier and came to a decision.
"No, my Queen," Makoto shook her head. "I shall do as ordered."
---
TBC....
Author's Notes: Hope it was worth the wait. ^_^
.---Anime/Manga Fanfiction Mailing List----.
| Administrators - ffml-admins (AT) anifics (DOT) com |
| Unsubscribing - ffml-request (AT) anifics (DOT) com |
| Put 'unsubscribe' in the subject |
`---- http://ffml.anifics.com/faq.txt -----'