Hazards of Divinity
	
		        An Oh My God? Story

				by
	
			   Brett Handy


			Part 3 - Section A



     "Come back here you foul, evil, freakish, creature!",
was the call that echoed down the deserted alley.

     A frantic figure rushed down the alley, it's skin was
falling in clumps from it's withered body.  It was one of the
Undead, a fearsome creature of the night.  Unfortunately in
it's nightly wonderings it had happened across a young woman. 
Now normally this might not have caused many problems, and
usually it wouldn't have.  But there was something different
about this woman.

     "Red Dragon Capture Spirit Starsword!", came the cry from
further down the alley.

     The unfortunate zombie turned around to see the woman
standing in the mouth of the alley, a sword that pulsed with
red light was in her hand and she had an almost feral glint in
her eye.

     "You demon that haunts the night, you parasitic infection
in the very heart of the city... the president of Phantom
Quest Corp has arrived", Ayaka Kisaragi intoned grandly.

     The zombie moaned horribly (as zombies tend to do) and
advanced a step towards her, raising one arm.  Ayaka gave it a
speculative look and lowered her sword.  She whistled loudly,
"Hey Rokkon!", she called, "Your turn!".

     The sound of chanting filled the alley and a ward snapped
into existence right at the poor zombie's feet.  The zombie
found that it couldn't move and it looked around for the
source of the ward.  A huge man was standing on the fire
escape of one of the buildings, he was chanting and rubbing
together some prayer-beads.  The man's voice rose in it's
intensity and the zombie found itself wanting to return to the
sleep of death.  It moaned again and clutched at the item it
had been sent to retrieve.

     A few moments later the zombie's body disintegrated,
leaving a shower of fine dust on the alley floor.  "Good job",
Ayaka congratulated Rokkon, "That was pretty easy".

     Rokkon jumped down from the building, landing with a
thump beside Ayaka, "It is as the god's wished", he replied
simply.

     "Whatever", Ayaka replied, looking over the remains of
the zombie carefully.  She frowned as she notice the small
earing in the dust.  Carefully reaching down, she picked up
the delicate object.  The earing appeared to be made from
gold, it had a small array of dangling gold slivers that hung
from the bottom.  It tinkled lightly as she examined it.

     Rokkon looked at the earing closely, "Most unusual", he
murmured.

     Ayaka shrugged, "What's so unusual, it's just an
earing... it's nice but...", she began.

     Rokkon held out his hand, "May I examine it?", he asked.

     Ayaka tossed it to him and he almost dropped it, "It has
a powerful aura!", he said in an amazed tone, "This is no
ordinary earing".

     "Damn!", Ayaka swore, after carefully sifting through the
ex-zombie dust, "That's the only one!".

     Rokkon looked at her curiously and she shrugged, "I
wanted a matched set!", she said defensively.

                                  ******

     "It's a dampener!", Madam Suimei announced.

     "A what?", Ayaka replied blankly.

     Madam Suimei sighed, "Now my dear.. before I explain...",
she began, tapping on the desk expectantly.

     Ayaka held up her hands, "Ok, Ok!", she said,
pulling out an envelope.

     "Excellent!", Madam Suimei replied, stuffing the envelope
into her handbag, "Now, as I was saying, it's a dampener.. or
more precisely... a limiter".

     Ayaka looked at her blankly, so Madam Suimei continued,
"Let's say you have a being of incredible power, if you want
to capture it, you need a way to limit it's power.. that
earing does just that".

     "How powerful is 'incredible'?", Ayaka asked curiously.

     "Well", Madam Suimei mused, "the readings I get from that
earing would indicate that the power that it limited would be
enough to shift the earth's orbit... or maybe destroy the
moon... dry up the oceans...".

     "I get the idea", Ayaka replied, "But what was that
zombie doing with it?".

     "Ahhh...", Madam Suimei said, "That I don't know.. there
is, if you'll pardon the expression, a shroud of mystery over
that zombie's motives".

     "Thanks!", Ayaka said, snatching up the earing, "I'll let
you know what I find out".  With that she scampered out of the
room.

     Madam Suimei picked the envelope out of her bad,
opening it, "AYAKA KISARAGI!!!! YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS!!!!",
she cursed loudly.  In the envelope was a note saying "Sorry
Madam Suimei - we're operating in the red this month... signed
Mamoru".

                                  ******

     On the other side of the city there was a very unhappy
individual.  "WHO DARES DESTROY ONE OF MY MINIONS!?!?!?!", he
demanded angrily.

     The dozen zombies surrounding him groaned and shrugged
their shoulders (those of them that HAD shoulders).  "Never
mind", he said, "I have enough material here anyway, I
will deal with this person at another time".

                                  ******

     Urd blinked the spots from her vision.  She was standing
in the middle of an alley, the portal behind her closed with a
crack of thunder and she looked around.  Apparently she was in
a modern city, she noted a large tower in the distance and
recognised it as Tokyo Tower.  Shaking her head slightly she
walked forward out into the teeming masses of people.  Looking
around for a familiar face.

     "Excuse me miss?", a voice asked from behind her.  Urd
spun around looked into the face of a man wearing dark
sunglasses, "Are you Urd?", he asked.

     Urd took a step back, "What if I am?", she asked.

     The man smiled apologetically, "Sorry Milady", he said,
bowing respectfully, "Lord Handy has ordered me to escort you
to him".

     Urd frowned, "Lord Handy?", she asked.

     "Oh", the man said apologetically, "He keeps telling us
not to call him that...  I'm very sorry".

     Urd shook her head, "Why isn't he here to meet me
himself?', she asked.

     "He is dealing with a matter of some urgency", the man
replied, "Something about a tracking device
malfunctioning...".

     "Well", Urd said, gesturing for him to proceed, "Lead
on".

     The man nodded and raised his had, a black limo pulled
over beside them and he opened the door, "Please Milady", he
said.

     Urd frowned, but got into the car anyway.  The car drove
for nearly an hour, before coming to a large mansion.  Urd
stepped out of the car and looked at the building in
amazement, "Here?", she asked in disbelief.  The man in dark
glasses nodded and walked up the stairs to open the door for
her.

     She walked inside and a butler greeted her formally at
the door, "The Master is indisposed at the moment", he said
apologetically, "he ordered me to take you to your room and
see that you are comfortable".

     Urd found herself placed in an ornate room and she sat
down on the bed in confusion.  "How long has he been here?",
she wondered, looking about the room.  On the bed there was a
simple wooden box, Urd opened it and found a letter inside.


Dear Urd,

     I'm sorry that I'm not here to greet you and I can hardly
wait until we are together again.  Please accept the earings
as a token of my love for you....

     I'll return shortly

-----Brett

     Urd smiled at the lovely pair of earings in the box, she
went into the bathroom to change, she'd give Brett a
'greeting' he'd never forget.

                                  ******

     That evening the butler arrived again and escorted Urd
down to a large dining room, with two places set.  Urd smiled
at the single rose sitting on her chair, she picked it up and
sniffed it, enjoying the scent.

     "I'm glad you liked it!", A voice called from the
doorway.  Urd turned to see Brett standing, looking
at her with laugher in his brown eyes.

     "BRETT!", she shouted, racing over and hugging him
tightly.  Brett returned her hug and Urd suddenly found

erself crying in relief, she'd been so worried about him.

     "Hey now", he said gently, "Let's eat shall we?".'

     Abruptly she found herself seated and Brett sitting
opposite to her.  She dried off her tears and smiled happily. 
Brett snapped his fingers and a group of servants rushed in,
filling up glasses and placing food on the table.

     "How did you manage to afford all this?", Urd asked,
looking around in amazement.

     Brett grinned, "Well it wasn't too hard to find someone
to support me", he said, "I just showed them my
'qualifications'".  He made a gesture with one and smiled.

     Urd frowned, "You told someone that you're a god?", she
asked, "We were suppose to keep that a secret!".

     Brett took a sip of wine, "Of course I didn't tell them
I'm a god", he replied easily, "I just showed them a few
simple spells and *poof* here I am, living like a king".

     Urd looked at the glass in Brett's hand in confusion,
"You don't drink", she said sharply.

     Brett looked at the glass and smiled, sloshing the wine
around in the glass and sniffing it, "I guess you could say
I've developed a liking for it", he said easily.

     With a quick flick of her wrist, Urd threw her glass in
Brett's face and raced for the door.  Whoever this was it
wasn't the Brett the she knew.  The door was locked and Urd
quickly recited a spell to open it.  Nothing happened.

     "You can't escape that way", the man the looked like
Brett said, smiling broadly, "You'll find that you have no
powers at all".

     Urd picked up a knife from the table and held it in front
of her, "I don't know who you are, but where is Brett?", she
demanded, advancing with the knife.

     The man blinked, "Why I'm right here", he said, opening
his arms, "Don't you recognise me?".

     She placed the knife against his throat, "WHERE IS HE?",
she hissed.

     "Hurting me will only hurt your beloved Brett's body", he
said, "Oh.. and you couldn't hurt me anyway".  The man uttered
a short word and Urd found herself flung backward and held
against the wall.  "I'm afraid that *your* Brett is no more",
he said gravely, "I enjoyed my contest with him, but I'm
afraid that he lost and I threw him out of this shell during
our trip here".

     "No", Urd moaned, "You're lying!".

     "Oh no my dear", Phalarus said, "In this matter I am not,
he's no longer in the world of the living".

                                  ******

     I felt the cord that joined me to the tower that was my
mind cut and felt myself adrift.  In a flash my body/tower had
disappeared and I found that I was alone. "Don't panic", I
reminded myself, looking around for some kind of landmark that
I might recognise or something that could help me. 

     Then I noticed a very faint trail of light, twisting
along from the direction the my tower/body had gone. 
Concentrating, I forced myself to move in that direction,
every so often the light trail disappeared and I had to try
hard to find it again.  I followed for a time that might have
been days or minutes, everything seemed to sit still in this
place.

     Finally I came to a glowing portal and stepped through. 
I then proceeded to fall several feet and landed on my
backside.  I blinked at the bright light and when my eyes
adjusted I found myself standing in the middle of an alley.  I
checked myself over and found that I was still wearing the
same white version of my uniform and I was as insubstantial as
a ghost.

     I stumbled out of the alley into the middle of a busy
street.  There were cars and people everywhere, after Lodoss
this was a very crowded place indeed.  People didn't seem to
be able to see me and I had to stumble around, trying to avoid
getting run over (or through) by passers by, being passed
through by people is not a pleasant experience.  Not knowing
what else to do I started looking around for something
familiar, but I'd only visited Tokyo on two occasions
previously and the place was huge.  Sitting down on a bench
that was not being used I listened to a little music someone
was playing on a radio.  A commercial caught my attention.

     "Are you having problems with spirits, ghosts or
demons?", a woman's voice asked, "Our Psychics are
the best, we'll get rid of those nasty monsters fast, call The
Phantom Quest Corp - we've got cheap rates and offer a six
month guarantee on all our work".  She then launched into a
song and I cringed, she sounded half-drunk.  I thought for a
few moments and shrugged, it couldn't hurt to for me to find
out if someone there could see me, could it?.

                                  ******

     Ayaka moaned audibly as her eyes opened and she cursed
quietly under her breath, "Damn cheap sake, I should have gone
for the more expensive stuff".  She noticed the sophisticated
alarm system that Mamoru had set up and looked over at the
clock, she was awake at least half an hour before she was
suppose to be.

     She frowned to herself, "What woke me up?", she wondered
idly to herself, as she shrugged off her robe.

     "Ummm", a male voice answered from the corner of the
room, "That was probably me".

     "EEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKK!!!!!!", Ayaka screamed, "PERVERT!!"

     Brett raised his hands defensively, "No, let me
explain..", he began.

     "YOU BASTARD!", Ayaka screamed, throwing the first thing
she could lay her hands on at him.  Unfortunately that
happened to be the robe she'd just taken off, the silken thing
floated across the room and landed with a plop on the floor in
front of Brett.

     Brett grinned sheepishly, "Ummm", he said blushing, "that
probably wasn't a good idea".  A still fuming Ayaka raced into
the bathroom, grabbed a towel and a toilet brush, she deftly
threw the toilet brush right at Brett's head and slipped the
towel around herself.

     "Wait a second!", Brett begged, dodging the thrown
objects that started to come in his direction.  The barrage
continued for a time, until Ayaka finally got lucky and hit
him in the head with a bar of soap.  Predicably, the soap went
through his head and hit the wall behind him, Brett looked at
her and then at the soap, "Ummm... ouch?", he said dubiously.

     Ayaka's jaw draw dropped and she rushed over to her
dresser, picking up her lipstick, "You fowl, perverted
ghost!", she intoned, "Sneaking into the bedrooms of young
women.. stealing their clothing and.. and..  making stupid
comments!".  The lipstick suddenly extended itself into a
glowing sword.

     Brett looked at her dubiously, "Errr.. can't we talk
about this?", he asked, backing away nervously.

     "NO!", Ayaka roared, charging.

     At this point Brett remembered that he wasn't a solid
object and simply passed through the wall.  He winced a moment
later when the red sword suddenly passed through the wall,
cutting a neat line down to the floor.  There was a muffled
groan from the other side of the wall and Brett stuck his head
through, Ayaka had slumped back into unconsciousness when her
head hit the wall.

     A deep chanting filled the air and Brett pulled his head
back, turning to see a rather large man, with a staff,
chanting and rubbing some prayer beads.  Suddenly he felt his
feet firmly locked to the ground and a warding circle appeared
around him.  "Ghost", the man said, "I shall return you to
your rest".

     "Wait a minute!", Brett said desperately, "I'm not a
ghost!".

     A young boy stepped out from behind the bigger man,
"Funny", he said, "I could have sworn you went through that
wall just now".

     Brett nodded, "Yes, but that doesn't mean I'm a ghost!",
he protested.

     The man began chanting again, "No matter, you are just
confused, I will return you to your rest!", the chanting rose
and Brett suddenly found himself getting sleepy.  Shaking his
head he looked closely at the warding circle and desperately
tried to cast a spell of his own.  A wind suddenly filled the
chamber, blasting the ward and scattering the dust it was
drawn in to the four winds. 

     "NO!", the man said, holding up his pray beads, "You
shall not escape!".  Brett felt himself drawn to the beads and
raised his hands, casting another spell.  The young boy's eyes
opened wide as his companion fell into a deep sleep, dropping
to the floor.

     "Now", Brett said slowly, "I want you to listen to me". 
The boy nodded, clearly a little scared, "I'm not going to
hurt you", Brett said carefully, "In fact I need your help".

                                  ******

     I was in the unfortunate position of being present as
Mamoru woke Ayaka.  "EEEEEEEKKK!", she began.

     Mamoru placed a hand over her mouth, "Take it easy", he
said gently, "Brett isn't a ghost!".

     She cut off in mid-scream, "He's not?", she asked,
looking at how I appeared to be floating slightly off the
ground.  I smiled slightly and adjusted my height so that I
floated closer to the ground (I'd gotten used to controlling
my floating).

     Then Ayaka picked up her lipstick again, "He may not be a
ghost", she said angrily, "But he's still a PERVERT!".  And
she launched herself from the floor at me.  I levitated up
until I was lying on the ceiling.  Ayaka tried in vain to hit
me from the floor, luckily Mamoru convinced her to stop,
before it occurred to her to go and get a chair to stand on.

     "So you're a lost astral traveller?", Ayaka asked
curiously, over breakfast, after I'd explained a few things.

     I nodded, "I'm trying to find my flesh body", I
explained, "I get the feeling its around here somewhere... but
I'm not sure where". 

     "Why come to us?", Ayaka asked, munching on a piece of
toast.

     I shrugged, "I heard you on the radio and didn't know
what else to do", I explained.

     Mamoru looked very smug, "I told you that advertising
would get us some business", he said.  Then he turned to me,
"Mr Handy", he said formally, "We'd be happy to help you find
your body".

     "Thanks mate!", I said, "I appreciate all the help you
can give me".

     "And since you mentioned our commercial", he continued,
"We'll give you a 10% discount on our fee".

     "Your what?", I asked, my stomach sinking.

     "Our fee", Mamoru repeated.

     I felt around my astral body, "I'm afraid I'm a little
short of funds at the moment..", I confessed.

     "That's ok", Mamoru said, smiling, "I'm sure we can work
out details when we find your body".

     Ayaka was draining her fifth cup of coffee, "So where do
we start?", she asked me.

     I gave her a curious look, "Why are you asking me?", I
asked defensively, "If I knew where my body was I wouldn't
need you".

     "You couldn't give me a little clue could you?", she
almost begged, "I can do a lot with clues".

     I shook my head and she sighed, "Very well", she said.
 
     Then a thunderous noise shook the house and we all looked
over at Rokkon's snoring form, "Either wake him up or turn him
on his side", Ayaka ordered.

     "Ok", I said, walking over and snapping my fingers in
front of his face.  The big man came awake slowly, he rubbed
his eyes and glared at me, "You cast a spell", he accused.

     I grinned sheepishly, "Yeah", I admitted.  Mamoru filled
him in on the details as I watched Ayaka finish off her
breakfast.  After breakfast, Ayaka got dressed and led me out
to a small car, "Well", she said, "get in".

     Looking at the car I shook my head, "I'll follow you", I
said.  Ayaka shrugged and took off like a rocket.  I had to
rush to keep up with her, taking shortcuts through buildings,
people and vehicles.  You know something, I never thought a
ghost-body could be out of breath, I was wrong.  By the
time we arrived at our destination I was really tired and
'breathing' heavy.

     Ayaka gave me a speculative look and I gave her an
accusing look, "You couldn't keep it under the speed of sound,
could you?", I said sarcastically.

     We walked inside and a small woman came out to greet us,
"Welcome, Welcome", she said grandly, "I am Madam Suimei..",
then she saw Ayaka and her eyes became pools of liquid fire. 
"HOW DARE YOU RETURN YOU CRIMINAL!", she said in a voice of
doom.

     Ayaka smiled weakly at me, "This is why I wanted some
kind of clue.. coming back here so soon was probably some kind
of mistake...", she explained.

     Madam Suimei began advancing on a cowering Ayaka and
since I was feeling guilty I stepped in front of her, "Excuse
me Madam", I said, bowing slightly, "Perhaps you should allow
her to explain before you do anything that you might regret?".

     The old woman continued to advance, "I won't regret it",
she said.  Then she looked at me and blinked.  She stopped
suddenly and looked at Ayaka, "What are *you* doing with an
angel?", she asked.

     Ayaka looked confused and I frowned, "Angel?", I asked,
"Who me?".

     Suimei looked closer at me, making strange 'Hmmmm'
noises.  "Very well", she said finally, "Follow me, both of
you".

     Ayaka gave me a quizzical look and I shrugged.  The two
of us followed her into the room, I had to stop in amazement
at the number of spirits in the room, it was incredible.  The
room was virtually packed to the brim with all sorts of
different spirits.

     "Who's the new one?", one asked Suimei.

     "YEAH!", another agreed, "You hardly have time enough for
us as it is!".

     Suimei shook her head, "He's not one of you", she
explained gently, "He's only passing through".

     My amazement must have showed on my face, cause Suimei
smiled at me, "I can't just turn all these little fellows out
into the streets can I?", she asked rhetorically.  Ayaka
seemed not to notice all the spirits and looked at us both
like we were crazy.

     "Now", Madam Suimei said, sitting down, "What can I do
for you?".

     "Well...", Ayaka began.

     "NOT YOU!", Suimei thundered, "I was talking to your
friend".

     I gulped nervously at the look that Ayaka shot me,
"Well", I said awkwardly, "I'm looking for my body".

     "Oh?", Madame Suimei asked, "When did you lose it?".

     "Err", I said, glancing at Ayaka out of the corner of my
eye, "I guess you could say I lost it when I arrived here".

     "But an astral traveller should know the location of his
body", she said, "So someone must have moved your body without
your knowledge".

     "You could say that", I hedged.

     Madame Suimei gave me a sceptical look, "I can't really
help you until you're completely honest with me", she chided.

     I sighed, "All right", I launched into an explanation of
my possession by Phalarus, leaving out the parts leading up to
it and the bits about crossing universes, I also left out my
previous 'job', "So I guess Phalarus must have finally managed
to kick me out of my body".

     Ayaka gave me a angry look, "Why didn't you tell me about
this before?", she demanded.

     "Well", I said slowly, "I didn't think you'd believe me -
you found it hard enough to believe I wasn't just a regular
ghost".

     Madam Suimei gave Ayaka a sorrowful look, "My dear", she
said gravely, "I'm saddened to think you have such little
perception when it comes to your houseguests".

     "So can you help me find my body?", I asked Suimei, "I'd
really appreciate it".

     She concentrated over her crystal ball for a moment and
then shook her head, "I'm afraid that the demon must be
shielding itself", she said gravely, "There is nothing I can
do for you".

     "Ok, let's go", Ayaka said, almost rushing out of the
room quickly.

     Madam Suimei looked at me gravely, "Be careful Lord of
Destiny", she said, "I'm afraid that you're in more trouble
that you realise".

     "What?", I asked, "How do you know who I am?".

     Madam Suimei smiled, "Who do you think gives me all these
hints in *this* universe?", she asked, "I've gotten really
good at recognising destiny when he, she or it calls".  With
that she ushered me outside and closed the door behind me.

                                  ******

     "Great!", I said, sitting down in Ayaka's car with a
sigh, "Now what do we do?".

     "You should have told me that someone else was using your
body", Ayaka said, sitting down beside me.

     "What difference does that make?", I asked.

     "Well, I have some contacts in the police department,
they might be able to locate you", she explained.  She pulled
out into traffic and I tried to hold on tight, until I
realised that it didn't matter for me.

     I closed my eyes trying to not to think about what would
happen if we didn't find my body, Ayaka must have sensed that
something was troubling me because she slowed down slightly,
"What's wrong, you look grim, even for a ghost?", she asked.

     "I'm just worried", I replied, "What happens if I don't
find my body, what if the demon decides to do something
drastic, will I ever see Urd again, what happens when we do
find my body..".

     "Stop worrying about things you can't change", Ayaka cut
in, "If something happens it's gonna happen, and worrying
won't change that".

     I grinned, "Ahh, but worrying now helps me plan", I said,
smiling.

     Ayaka raised an eyebrow, "You try to plan for things like
this?", she asked, looking pointedly at my hand which was
half-phased through the car seat.

     "Obviously I should have worried more", I observed
sarcastically.  Ayaka chuckled a little and then piped up
with, "So who's Urd?", she asked.

     "What?", I asked.

     "One of the things you are worrying about?", she asked,
"You said 'will I ever see Urd again?'".

     "She's a friend of mine who I'm travelling with", I
replied, trying to sound off-handed about it.

     "*She*??", Ayaka asked, smiling, "Well now, perhaps
you're not as much of an angel as Madam Suimei thought you
were?".

     I must have blushed because Ayaka's smile widened, "So
you've got some extra incentive to get back into your body
huh?", she asked.

     Giving her a glare I tapped the dashboard, "Just drive!",
I ordered.  Then I noticed that I had actually tapped the
dashboard, becoming solid for a moment or two, "Huh?", I said,
looking at my hand.

     Ayaka grinned, "You're getting the hang of that ghost
body", she said, "You can actually manifest as solid, that's a
big step forward".

     "It is?", I asked, giving her a confused look.

     "Well", Ayaka said, "Ghosts that can actually effect the
physical world are pretty rare, I've only encountered a few,
two of those fights were the two toughest I've had."

     "Oh", I said, "And the third?".

     "Actually he was pretty sweet", Ayaka said, "One of the
nicest ghosts I've met".

     I shook my head, "This place is different to where I'm
from", I observed, "Ghosts don't actually exist there".

     "Oh no?", Ayaka asked, "How do you know that?".

     "Well", I admitted, "I've never seen one before".

     "Look in a mirror sometime", Ayaka laughed.

                                  ******

     Urd found herself locked in a dungeon.  It was a very
nice pleasant room, with a comfortable bed, but it was still a
dungeon.  She had found that the earings couldn't be removed
by her, a spell that Phalarus had cast made sure that only he
could remove them.  She'd been in the cell for nearly a week
by her reckoning.  Her attempts at escape had met no success
at all, the zombie guards were quite attentive and inflexible.

     "I'm told that you assaulted two of my minions", Phalarus
said casually on one of his daily visits.

     "Of course", Urd snapped, "You don't expect me to just
sit here do you?".

     Phalarus laughed, "Not at all", he said, "You're too much
of a free spirit for that my dear lady".

     "How would you know anything about me?", she spat.

     Phalarus smiled, "You're dear Brett's memories were quite
interesting", he said seriously, "I especially like the way
you tortured him when the two of you first met".

     Urd winced visibly and Phalarus grinned, "But don't
worry, despite all that he still fell deeply in love with you,
long before you realised it", he said, sinking his 'claws' in
deeper.

     Urd bowed her head, "You bastard", she whispered, as he
walked out of the room.

     That's how it had gone for the last week, every day
Phalarus had come to talk with her, each time digging through
Brett's memory to pick out some small painful detail.  It had
gotten to the point where she hated looking at his smirking
face.  Urd froze as she realised how much hatred she was
focusing such on his face, *Brett's* face.  "You won't make me
hate *him*", she said softly, to Phalarus' retreating form.

     "We'll see", Phalarus said, laughing as he locked the
door.

                                  ******

     I was sitting beside Ayaka as she was talking to her
friend in the police department, who was totally oblivious to
my presence.  "I still don't understand why you need *me* to
look something up for you", Detective Karino protested, "Do
you know how much trouble I'd get into if I did that you?".

     "Please?!?!", Ayaka said, winking at him and bending over
towards him across the desk, "I'd be *very* grateful".

     "That's about as subtle as a brick through a window", I
whispered to her.

     "Shut up", she hissed out of the corner of her smile.

     Detective Karino leant back in his chair, "All right", he
said slowly, "I'll help you".

     "Oh thank you!", Ayaka gushed, "I knew you wouldn't let
me down".

     Karino was then all business, "Who is this person you
need to find?", he asked, picking up a pencil, "Do you have a
photo or a name?".

     Ayaka nodded, "Brett Handy or Phalarus", she said, "and
if you've got a instant camera around here somewhere, I can
get you a photo".

     Karino reached up to the shelf behind him and pulled down
a camera, "Here", he said, tossing it across the desk.

     "Ready?", Ayaka asked turning to face me.

     I straighten up and nodded, concentrating on becoming
more visible.  The camera flashed and Karino jumped, "Where
did you come from?", he asked.

     "No where", I replied, phasing back out of sight with a
smile.

     "Here", Ayaka said, passing the photo and camera back to
the detective, "How long do you think this will take?".

     Karino was staring at the photo as it developed, "Umm",
he said, "Not long".  He left the office, looking decidedly
dazed and I gave Ayaka a smile, "You're a cruel woman you
know?", I said.

     Ayaka just winked and the two of us waited for a few
minutes, before the detective returned, frowning at a computer
print out.  "Where did you find this.. err.. person?", he
asked, in confusion.

     "Why?", Ayaka asked.

     "Well", Karino said, "According to the data I've got,
he's got links to both the yakuza and government and that's
saying something since the oldest record of him we have is
only about a month old".

     "He's done all that in a month?", I asked in disbelief.

     Karino looked around nervously, "Ahh yes", he said,
answering my question, "According to this he's living outside
of town..".  He rattled off an address that meant nothing to
me, but Ayaka's eyes opened in surprise.

     "I don't think you'll have to worry too much about our
fee once you get your body back", she murmured.

     "What?", Detective Karino asked, "What do you mean, what
body??".  Ayaka quickly jumped to her feet, "Thanks
detective", she said, blowing him a kiss, "You're one in a
million".  With that she raced out of the room.

     As she shut the door behind her Karino gave a small
chuckle, "That's the most exasperating lady I've ever met", he
observed.

     "That's probably a good thing", I commented to him as I
turned to follow her.  I had the pleasure of seeing his eyes
bug out and he looked around madly trying to determine where I
was.

                                  ******