*Knock.  Knock.*

Who's there?

*Good morning, Christopher James Angel, this is your subconscious speaking.*

Great, my subconscious sounds like my mother.

*Very funny.  To be specific, we're the portion of your subconscious that's 
tied to your Godhood.*

Ooo, my subconsious has an MPD.  This bodes well.

*Will you stop being an ass already?  We'd like you to know that there's a 
demon in Urd's vicinity.  No real urgency, right now, but we thought you 
should know.*

Okay...I'll get right on that.

*Good.  Now get up and prepare yourself...after all you might just have to 
do some BUTT-KICKING FOR GOODNESS!*

And with that, I jerked awake.

***

Christopher Angel Presents:

Oh! My Brother!
Chapter 11 - The End (of the Beginning)

A Self-Insertion Story

A Ygddrasil Production
inspired by:

-OMG by Kosuke Fujishima


***


I was a man on a mission.  Fact: Demon in vicinity.  Fact: It was near Urd. 
Fact: I knew Urd was near (aren't godly senses fun?).  Fact: Urd could 
probably kick my ass unless I pulled that super-Chris thing again.

Which explains why at that particular moment, my mission was to sleep for 
ten more minutes.

Oh, and everyone gives me a dirty look.  Sheesh.  I get no respect around 
here.

In all honesty, I didn't particularly WANT to go looking for said demon.  I 
will cheerfully admit to being scared out of my wits by what happened with 
the last one.

It wasn't that I suddenly had a hell of a lot more power to pack, scary 
though that was.  It wasn't the possibility of fighting, even though I was 
terrified.  What disturbed me so greatly about the whole "threat to sisters 
= full manifestation" deal was the total change that came over me.

Ladies and gents, I do not NORMALLY consider the killing of another sentient 
being - even if it  was a demon - a good thing.  As a matter of fact, I 
consider it a very bad thing.  It's pretty high on my list of "Things I 
Would Rather Die Than Do."

But when I was...like THAT...I was a different person.  I was determined, 
relentless, ruthless.   To summarize, I was NOT a happy fun person.  All 
those who blame me, you can leave now.

All those who don't believe that little bit of rationalization, you know me 
all too well.

So there I was, doing my best to sneak - which is a trick on those bedarned 
nightingale floors of the temple, let me tell you - up to where where Urd 
was located.

Which, of course, explains why the Sneaking Music from Looney Tunes was 
going through my head.

I heard voices on the steps of the temple, and crept up as close as I could. 
I couldn't see anything, but audio's better than nothing.

"...the hell is with that guy?!"  Hmm..new voice.  The demon?

"I take it you didn't like your first meeting with my brother?"  Urd, in her 
'sincerity has left the building' voice.

Uh oh, long silence.  I bet I can guess what's coming next.  'But you don't 
have a brother.'

"But you don't HAVE a brother."  And the kick is good!

"But of course I do," Urd said smoothly.  "You met him earlier."  Gee, 
someone's having fun with this.

"Urd..." What a remarkably pleasant concept - even demons feel annoyed with 
Urd sometimes.

"Let me explain," Urd began, and then stopped.  "No, there is too much," she 
corrected.  "Let me sum up."  It took a great deal of my willpower to stop 
myself from smacking my forehead.

A snort of disgust, "Do you HAVE to be a smartass all the time?"

"As a matter of fact Mara, I do, especially where you're concerned, but 
that's another issue," came the prim response.  "But here's the story: 
Stupid mortal gets wish.  Stupid mortal makes stupid slip of tongue. 
Yggdrasil lets wish go through.  Stupid mortal is now a god."

See what I mean?  No respect.  At least she said it fondly.  Oh well, time 
for yours truly to make an appearance.

"Mornin' Urd," I said cheerily and then frowned slightly at the demon.  To 
it I said, "You would probably like to know that there's a little part of me 
up here," I tapped my forehead, "that really wants to try to maim you 
severely.  Could you just make with the leaving so I can go back to bed?"

He?...she? - look, I couldn't tell - stood up and pointed an imperious 
finger at me. "We aren't finished here, Mortal! There will be a reckoning!" 
the androgynous wonder cried, and disappeared in a puff of 
brimstone-flavored smoke.

My, how melodramatic.  I said as much.

Urd shrugged.  "You get used to it, Mara tends to take the whole Heaven vs. 
Hell thing a little seriously at times."

"Which you clearly don't," I countered, and then was overcome by a yawn. 
"What sort of unholy hour is this to be up, anyway?"

"'Niichan, it's 9am, it's not THAT bad."

"Sez you.  Single digit morning hours are for sleeping."

***

I suppose we will all be taking a turn at this, since Oniichan was not the 
center of our universe all the time, despite what he has taken great pains 
to insist.  In my case, any of the time.

But, as Oniichan would say, I am rather focussed.  Well, he would probably 
say something like "Keiichi-centric," but he tends to aim for accuracy over 
propriety.

I confess to being quite concerned with Mara's arrival into my circle of 
influence on Midgard.  It didn't bode well for my hopes that we would have 
some peace and quiet with Keiichi-san.  She just didn't ever seem to let go 
of her animosity towards me.  I suppose that could be expected, with my 
being a Goddess and Mara being a Demon, but things often weren't quite as 
black and white as they seemed.  She used to be quite a nice person when we 
were children.

Nonetheless, all this musing wasn't doing me any good at the time, 
particularly while I was trying to make breakfast.  I had noticed Mara's 
presence, but hadn't seen any cause for concern there.  The behavior of the 
miso soup, however, was causing me great concern.  The confounded Aka miso 
was not wanting to cooperate, and it just happens to be Keiichi-san's 
favorite type.  I had hoped to make breakfast perfect.

It is all in the details, you see.  If I can attain perfection, why settle 
for anything less?

Oh dear, I suppose that could have been taken as a somewhat naughty comment 
about Keiichi.

I hope he doesn't read this.

***

I did, but Belldandy doesn't need to know that.

***

Keiichi-san seemed out of sorts that morning as he worked on his homework. 
I confess to not really noticing at the time, since my mind was focussed on 
the problem of Mara and what problems she was going to cause.  I resolved to 
keep a look out in the meantime, and continued my work on breakfast.

It was shortly after Keiichi and I finished our breakfast that Urd came out 
of her bedroom.  I knew she had been up for a while, likely reminiscing of 
happier times when all of us were younger, and Mara was a friend, not an 
enemy.  Yawning, she strolled over towards the kitchen and stopped to look 
in disgust at Keiichi.  With a grumble, she stormed over and snatched his 
homework up from the table.

"Hey!  Give that back!  That's due tomorrow!"  Keiichi-san jumped to his 
feet and tried to grab the pages from Urd, but she pulled it back.

"Nope.  It's too nice a day to stay inside.  You two go out and have some 
fun!"  She danced away, holding the papers tauntingly.  "If you spend all 
your time indoors, you'll turn into a mushroom!"  Keiichi growled and dove 
after her, but Urd split into a bunch of miniatures and scattered away.

Now that was taking things too far.  "STOP IT RIGHT NOW!!" I demanded.   I 
suppose it was a little too loud.  Oh dear.  The Urd-lings collapsed back 
into one body as she and Keiichi held their ears in pain.  They glared 
accusingly at me while I lectured Urd.  "Now, Keiichi couldn't get his 
homework done with all that trouble with Mara."

She began to look somewhat ashamed of herself, but was still ready to argue. 
I decided to give her (and myself) a small victory and allowed "But, you do 
have a point, I suppose."  I took Keiichi and helped him to his feet, and 
then started to pull him out the door.  "Let's go out for just a little 
while, okay?"

As Keiichi put on his shoes, I heard Chris thumping through the halls.  His 
low voice reverberated through the walls as he grumbled himself awake.  "Guy 
can't get a decent sleep with all this racket..."  Luckily, Keiichi and I 
managed to escape.

It was a very pleasant day, considering we were in the middle of an urban 
center like Tokyo.  I guess you could even say it was perfect, all things 
considered.

At least until I sensed Mara's presence, that is.  I searched for her while 
Keiichi went to get us some sodas.  I didn't detect her for a few moments, 
but then I felt her very strongly - in Keiichi's direction!

I flew to him as fast as I could, knowing that I was expending my energy at 
a horrendous rate.  As I approached him, I could see the results of Mara's 
meddling - a loaded truck, speeding towards him.  I had no time to spare, so 
I formed an energy ball and used it to fling Keiichi out of the way.  The 
truck slammed into the soda-machine Keiichi had been standing at, but he was 
safe.  Or not.  The straps on the truck had broken, due to the impact.  Mara 
does her work well.  The pipes loaded on the truck began to fall, rolling 
towards where Keiichi sat stunned.

I had almost no energy left, but I had little choice.  I focussed on some 
steel parking barrier spikes and chanted a quick spell:

"O, Staves of Steel,
Strength of the Earth Below!
Gather, Strike, and Halt
The Demon's Rampage!"

The barrier spikes flew into the air and slammed into the ground in front of 
the pipes, stopping them with a thunderous crash.

I looked into the sky and began berating Mara.  I don't recall what I said - 
I suppose I was too low on energy, because all I remember is falling 
unconscious.

***

"...People roughhousing and yelling like children," I complained.  "Is it 
too much to ask to sleep in on my day off?"

Urd scowled at me from her place on the couch, and went back to watching TV. 
"You know," she mused conversationally, "I wonder what Tyr would have to say 
about all this complaining."

I froze and glared at her.  "Now that is NOT fair," I snarled, and stormed 
into the kitchen.  I rummaged arround for a Diet Coke - why does Bell always 
shove them into the back of the fridge, anyway? - and popped the can. 
Taking a deep slug, I wandered back into living room, where Urd had a Look 
on her face.

You know, the one that means there's going to be a lecture.

Don't know it?  I'm very familiar with it.  All three do it exactly the 
same.  Familial resemblence is never so strong as with that Look.

Where was I?  Oh yeah.  Urd being sanctimonious.  "What is your problem, 
anyway?" she demanded.  "You've been acting like a jerk for the past week."

Well.  I guess they noticed.

I shrugged uncomfortably and took another slug from the can.  "I can't 
really describe it.  I know I've been having weird dreams lately, but I 
can't remember them.  It's driving me nuts.  I ALWAYS remember my dreams." 
I finished off the can, and crumpled it slighly.  "Be right back."  I headed 
back to the kitchen and picked out another drink, and then returned to the 
living room where I found Urd with a vaguely alarmed look on her face.

"Explain that further," Urd inisted. "I mean about remembering your dreams."

I cracked the can, took a sip, and then sighed.  "Remember when I played 
Final Fantasy VII for a whole weekend?  I SHOULD have been having 
game-related dreams.  I always do when I abuse myself that way.  I've not 
had a `finals are coming up, and I've done no course work and am going to 
fail' dream for ages.  I usually have those once a week.  Hell, I haven't 
had a sex dream in I don't know how long."  I took another sip, and then 
choked on it as I realized what I just said to her.  As I sputtered, I 
caught the bemused look she was giving me.  "Well, it's true," I spat.

Urd laughed brightly at me for a moment, and then sobered quickly.  "How 
long has this been happening?"

I thought hard about that question before answering.  Have you ever tried to 
remember your dreams?  I mean REALLY remember all of them?  I couldn't for 
the life of me - but then, I have a hard time remember what I did last 
Tuesday, so it's not that surprising.  "I can't really say," I admitted 
sheepishly, "but it's been a while."

Urd rose and patted me on the shoulder.  "Don't worry about it," she 
advised, a little too breezily for my comfort.  "But let me or Belldandy 
know if you feel weird at all."

"Right," I said evenly.  "I'm a god, I have superpowers, my last attempt at 
a spell turned Keiichi's hair green, and this morning I was awakened by a 
particularly vocal part of my subconsious, and I'm supposed to look out for 
something weird."

"Be nice," she said mildly, and then looked faintly disgusted with me as I 
took another sip of my drink.

Yes, my backup power source is artificial sweetener.  No, it doesn't matter 
what kind.

Hey, at least MY backup power source doesn't get me plastered.  Or give me 
brainfreeze.  Or make me useless.

I was about to tell her just that when Keiichi staggered in with a comatose 
Bell on his back.  "Woah," I yelped, ran over to them, pulled Bell off his 
back, and set her down on the couch.  "What happened?"

After looking at her sister for a moment, Urd bestowed a somewhat evil grin 
on Keiichi.  "Overdid it with her powers again, didn't she?"

Keiichi sighed and nodded, and then explained what happened to Urd, who 
nodded and sighed, "Mara."

I took a deep breath, brushed some hair from Bell's face, and then stood. 
"Right," I snarled, summoning my armour.  "Time to go demon hunting."

"Christopher James Angel," Urd snapped.  "Don't you DARE."  At my attempt to 
make a smart remark back at her, she overrode me.  "No, shut up.  Before you 
go off like an idiot, why don't you think of your little sister?"  I looked 
in confusion over at Bell, and she snarled in exasperation, "No, not her, 
SKULD."

I stared at her in horror.  I could feel my face paling as I considered what 
kind of trouble Mara could get Skuld into at an engineering college.  I 
swore, and (from her viewpoint, anyway) disappeared.

My self-recriminations rolled around my skull like a perverse mantra as I 
flew towards the school.  I was pissed of with myself, and rightfully so.  I 
was also ticked off with Thor and the other Aesir.  I had been thinking like 
them, proactive, instead of the way I was supposed to be acting - reactive. 
Going after Mara was not in the job description.

I was so busy cursing myself I almost flew right into something. 
Thankfully, the key word is almost.

Running into things when I'm in no-time is not fun.  The reason for that is 
that time hasn't really stopped, I've just sped up immensely, so that a 
minute for me takes Planck time (one really-big-number-th of a second) for 
everyone else.  It also means that when I run into things, it takes the 
impact in Planck time.  I'm fine, though.  Gets messy when I'm not paying 
attention when I'm flying and hit planes at Mach 2.  Not for me, for the 
plane.  Oh well, I haven't caused any major damage - well, not to anyone 
that counts, that is.

Sheesh.  I'm starting to sound like Urd.

Don't ask me why air isn't affected.  I don't know.  It's magic.  If it 
followed real physics I wouldn't be able to see, either.

THIS, friends, is the reason I'm forced to drop back into real-time when I 
get too close to people.  Stops me from smearing them into a grease spot.

I learned over time (heh) how to use the ability to do some tricks.  I can 
hover in real-time if I leave my feet in no-time, but it hurts like a 
sonofabitch.  I can throw or drop things, letting them to build up momentum 
in no-time and then slipping them back into real-time, but I can only really 
do it easily with small things.

Yes, I know I'm rambling, but one of the things my little ability taught me 
is that there's really no need to rush.

So, back to what I nearly flew into.   I almost dropped back into real-time 
with shock.  There was Mara, floating in mid-air, looking down towards the 
temple.

*Well, isn't this conveeeeeeenient?* I thought to myself snidely.  I wasn't 
about to try to get into a fight with someone in mid-air, especially since I 
can't fly normally (I also hadn't learned that trick with the hovering yet). 
I mentally ran over what I had been taught about demons, and an evil little 
grin stole onto my face.

I flew over to the nearest Christian Church (near being relative, it was way 
the heck away) and 'borrowed' some holy water.  Then I zipped back, and 
considered how I wanted to do this.  Carefully, I began to leave drops of 
water in mid-air, creating an upside-down "cup" of drops that would entrap 
Mara.  When time ran again, Mara'd have a nice little rainstorm to deal 
with.

Hey, don't give me that look, it wouldn't do anything bad, only hurt like 
hell.

Yes, it's mean.  NORSE Pantheon, remember?  Mean is part of the job 
description.  I practically had to take night classes on the subject.

***

Apparently, Skuld takes her courses a lot more seriously than I expected her 
to.  She wouldn't let me pull her out of class, and pointed out several 
worthies she felt could protect her just as well.  (She had a point, one of 
her classmates is a warrior-angel under Michael, a rather martial Archangel 
in the Judeo-Christian pantheon.)

Don't ask me why there's so many of the good guys hanging around Nekomi. 
The girls know, and won't tell me much other than it has something to do 
with the temple.  Or me.  Or the alignment of Neptune with Pluto causing 
harmonic peturberations in the etheric flow of mana in the region.  At 
times, getting a straight answer out of my sisters is impossible.

I entered the house in a decidedly bad humor, one that wasn't helped by the 
fact that I discovered Urd and Belldandy BOTH comatose on the floor.  "What 
the hoeck happened here?!"

Urd shifted, and from under her crawled out this...THING.  A miniature Urd. 
"Hi 'Niichan.  Mara came by to visit."  I could only stare in horror as a 
grotesque little caricature of Urd climbed up on her body and sat there 
talking to me.  She snapped her fingers a couple times.  "Pay attention!"

Give me a break, I'd never seen one one of those things before.

It took me a few tries to speak.  "How..."

The mini-Urd pointed to an audio player laying beside full-Urd's body. 
"Polka music," she replied.  At my incredulous look she barked, "Hey, don't 
give me that look, you hate rap!"

"Yeah, but it doesn't put me into a coma!"

"You Aesir," she intoned. "Me Vanir.  Different rules."  The mini-Urd jumped 
to the floor and pointed an imperious finger at me.  "We don't have time for 
this!  Go find Keiichi - Mara's got something planned for him.  I'll wake up 
Belldandy."

"But..." I protested, gesturing vaguely at Bell.

"GO!  It'll kill Belldandy to lose Keiichi!"

With those words ringing in my ears, I flew out of the house.

It didn't take me long, subjectively, to find Mara.  There said demon was, 
standing in a tree, holding a weird crystal ball with a balance in it and 
watching the road below us intently.   As I landed out of sight to listen, I 
noticed with no small amusement that Mara's face and arms were covered with 
pale pink spots - almost like faint burns.

Below me, I heard Keiichi and some girl talking.  I edged over to where I 
could get a look without getting caught by Mara.  Somewhat good looking, 
"hot" by general standards, too skinny for me.  I studies her face for a 
second before I decided it was likely Sayoko - Miss Queen Nekomi.  I had 
seen her around, and heard the rumors about how she had it in for Belldandy.

(Sayoko: "It sounds like Belldandy helps you out by her own choice.  Soo why 
feel guilty over that, Keiichi?")

Oh, I don't know, maybe because he's a decent guy and doesn't like taking 
advantage of people?  What the hoeck is this?

(Sayoko: "So why don't you go out with me? I'm not the possessive type. 
You'll always be free.")

Either I've entered Bizarro-World, or Mara and Sayoko are working together. 
This was sickening - I mean, the blatant horseturds she was spouting aside, 
why the heck is Sayoko teaming up with a DEMON to get at Belldandy?  And why 
is Keiichi listening to this?

(Sayoko: "But now you find out she's engaged to someone else - sounds like 
some kind of cheesy soap opera.")

Pot, kettle, black?  And SINCE FREAKING WHEN is Belldandy engaged?

(Keiichi: "You're a real sweetheart, Sayoko.  Thanks for trying to make me 
feel better.")

Heh.  At least Keiichi is still himself (sorta) even under a goofy spell.  I 
peered over at Mara, who was focussing harder on the crystal ball.

I'd heard enough.  I shifted into my armour and rushed forward, snatching 
the sphere from Mara's grasp.  Yelping with surprise, the demon jumped back 
and glared at me in angry chagrin.  "You!"

"Yeah, me," I snarled.  "Low, don't you think, Mara?  Even for a demon?"

(Belldandy: "Then I guess I won't be needed here anymore, Keiichi.")

I glanced over to see Belldandy standing there, tears forming in her eyes 
and a false smile on her face.

Oh Fnord no.  This could NOT be happening.  Couldn't she see that this was 
wrong?  Belldandy was wiser, stronger, smarter than I was on my best day - 
why couldn't she see this was a trick?

(Belldandy: "If you don't want me...")

Frantically, I examined the sphere, keeping one eye on Mara just in case. 
Inside, I could see a stylized set of scales, and I just knew it was a 
representation of Keiichi's love for Belldandy.  I lifted it to smash it 
into the ground, but Mara laughed, walking over to a tree and leaning 
against it with a smug expression.

(Belldandy: "...I have no choice but to return home.")

"Try it, Mortal," Mara sneered.  "Smash it now and they'll drift 
apart...forever."

(Belldandy: "Th.. Thanks for the lovely time, Keiichi!")

I looked at Mara for a moment, trying to figure out if the demon was lying, 
but I couldn't tell - I mean we're talking demons, they're pros at that.  I 
stared at the crystal ball, turning it this way and that.

"Did you really think I'd have used some basic spell that any foolish mortal 
like you could break?"  Snarling, I stepped towards Mara, who laughed 
scornfully.  "What are you going to do, mortal?  Attack me?  Kill me? 
Torture me?  Don't be an idiot."

(Keiichi: "Yeah, sure... I guess that's probably the best for both of us, 
huh?")

"NO!" I snarled helplessly.  "It can't happen like this!"    I was supposed 
to protect my sisters, not stand here and watch while Belldandy was being 
tortured before me.  I wished I hadn't been such a failure at magic.  I 
wished I knew what to do.  I wished I could do something.  I wished someone, 
anyone, would help me - please!

Just then...I felt something.  A touch, deep in my soul.

*Of course, brother.*  A sudden vision.  A man - myself? - with the weight 
of a world on his shoulders.  Three girls - red, green and blue?  Names - 
Rayearth, Windam, Selece.  A child, a girl, whom I hated, pitied, blamed.  A 
power, an intimate knowledge of the mystical.  A determination to lead, not 
to protect.  To guide, not to shield.  To aid, not to coddle.

And with this realization, I felt a strange merging, an expansion of my very 
being.  I looked around me, and could SEE the threads of magic before me.  I 
could see the lines of enchantment wrapped around Keiichi, running through 
his head and warping his thoughts.  I could see the bond - the love - 
between him and Belldandy, that channel strangled by the choking invasion of 
magic. Following those threads, I could see them wrap around Sayoko, and 
then flow back to the sphere and to Mara.  I focused on the sphere, and I 
saw the myriad tangles and knots that made up the enchantment.

Then I KNEW.  Mara wasn't lying - if I broke the sphere now, the tangles 
would tighten into a knot that could never be broken.  Like a vision before 
me, I could see the way things would fall out. Keiichi would go to Sayoko, 
who would eventually cast him aside.  He would continue his life, always 
missing something, always feeling incomplete, but never knowing why. 
Belldandy would return to Heaven, and her family would follow, and she would 
spend the rest of her days silently suffering.

I saw this vision, and rejected it.  I would not let it happen.  Deep in my 
soul, I felt the other presence agree with me, and we focused on the sphere 
and how to break the spell within it.

I had to turn it just SO, and then say THESE words, and then twist it like 
SO, and turn it like SO, and say THOSE words... The scales suddenly leveled 
out, and Mara swore.  I smiled grimly at the angry demon, and cast the 
sphere down to the ground, where it shattered into a multitude of shards.

Then, the other left me, as suddenly as he came, and took his vision from 
me.

"DON'T GO!"  Keiichi's cry echoed in an uncanny stillness.  As I gazed, he 
ran up to a shocked Belldandy and hugged her tightly.  "I didn't mean what I 
said just now!  That wasn't ME saying it!"

"No," I growled, surprising both of them as I walked up.  "It was Mara. 
Some weird crystal ball."  I pointed vaguely behind me to the debris.  "It 
was making Keiichi not care about you any more."

"A Balance Sphere."  I turned to see Urd (thankfully the full version) 
kneeling beside the shards, and Mara...dancing?  I vaguely heard some disco 
music playing.  Urd looked at me in confusion.  "'Niichan, how did you know 
how to break its spell?"

"Yeah..." panted Mara.  "Since...when does a...newbie know an advanced 
spell...like...uh...that?"

I scratched my head.  "Someone told me."  I spread my arms at the 
disbelieving glares I was getting.  "Hey, it's the truth!  I was desperate 
for help, and someone told me in my head."  I summarized what happened.  "I 
guess one of the guys upstairs decided to lend me a hand."

Urd and Belldandy exchanged a concerned look, and then Urd finally said 
warily.  "Umm, let's talk about that later, Chris."

I shrugged - frankly, I didn't care at the time.  "'Kay.  What about the 
demon?"

"Isn't Mara engaged to you?" Keiichi asked Belldandy.

"ENGAGED?!" Urd shouted.  "She said she was engaged to Belldandy?"  Urd fell 
over laughing, and began to pound the ground.

"SHE?!" I echoed incredulously.  "Woah.  That is one BUTCH chick."  I 
snorted with laughter at the insulted snarl that came from Mara, and levied 
a flat glare upon her.  "So what do we do with the Disco Queen here?"

Urd wiped her face, and stifled the giggles.  "Just leave her," she advised. 
"She's already going to be in trouble about the failure of this little 
scheme."  She looked over to where Keiichi and Belldandy had started to walk 
back towards the temple.   "You did a good thing here, 'Niichan."

I felt my face flush, and smiled sheepishly.  I made some dismissive noise, 
and tried to walk away, but Urd caught up with me and stopped me.

She turned me to look her in the face, and with a somber expression went on. 
"Seriously, Chris.  You saved Belldandy and Keiichi from a lot of pain 
today.  I'm proud of you.  The guys would be proud of you.  I'm sure 
Father's proud of you."

I was sure my face was redder than a tomato.  "Aww jeez, Urd.  Cut it out. 
That's what brothers are for, aren't they?  It's my job, isn't it?  To 
protect my family?"

Urd smiled in a sort of wondering way.  "You know, that's the first time 
you've ever called us your family?"

I thought about that, and then smiled.  "Well, you are, Urd.  It took me a 
while to realize it, but you are."

***

Well, that's the end of the start of my story, of how I met the Norns, 
became their brother and a god in one fell swoop, and how my life with them 
began, and how I disrupted the first two of Mara's many schemes.

We had a lot more adventures together - some good, some bad, some downright 
bizarre.  I have more stories to tell.

But I never regretted the Wish that made Christopher Angel into the God of 
Moments, also known as Paradox, the God of Never.  The wish that gave me a 
new family.

*******

Author's notes: FINALLY!  This chapter took me years.  I'm happy to say it's 
over, and I think with a bit of style.

Look forward to more of the Oh! My Brother! crew in Oh! My Brother 
II/Drunkard's Walk V: Another Divine Mess You've Gotten Me Into.

Oh, by the way: Planck Time = 1.35125 x 10^-43 seconds