Chapter 1

Urd groaned, and cracked one violet eye open. It was definitely morning, whether she was ready for it or not. She lay half-on, half-off her futon, more-or-less covered by a sheet and blanket, with an empty sake bottle resting against her left ear. Not very good sake, at that, as she recalled dimly. Bottom-shelf booze always left her feeling like hammered dogshit.

She grunted, and dragged herself to a sitting position. Her head seemed to make about two spins and then drift to a stop. Her stomach stayed where it belonged, and felt content to remain there. Good enough.

She yawned and stretched. A mortal would have experienced a few cracks and pops from her abused joints, but Urd's dual unearthly heritage at least spared her that much. Her inner ear caught a small, grouchy protest from World Of Elegance; cheap hooch was tough on both of them, for all that her angel didn't actually drink the stuff. Sorry, that was what I had, she sent contritely.

Fifteen minutes later she stood in front of her mirror, making final adjustments. Few people realized how much work it took to get her attire just so, displaying the perfect degree of salacious allure, without quite crossing a line she placed farther out than most. Belldandy accepted, but didn't understand. Maybe, Peorth did.

She didn't smell anything cooking when she slid her door open, so it must be long after breakfast, but well before lunch. She'd have to scrounge something up. She walked towards the kitchen, but what she saw through the tea-room door stopped her cold.

Belldandy and Keiichi huddled together, clinging to each other. Skuld glared at them across the table, but was plainly distressed herself. The tea service, cups, and saucers sat forgotten between them.

Belldandy saw her in the doorway. "Urd?" she said in a small, quavering voice, "What's going on?"

Urd considered the unusual question, but the only answer she could think of was, "You're having tea, and I'm hung over. Is there anything to eat?"

The next question was even more bizarre. "Why did I believe I was a Goddess?"

"Uhhh, Bell…" She was sure she wasn't hearing things; that her sister had just asked that question. "I'm really not in any condition for riddles right now. Can't we play this later?"

Whatever was going on, she was persistent. "And I thought you were a, a…"

"Half-Goddess, half-demon?" Urd finished for her. "Just like I've been for the last few thousand years?"

"No, no, nooo…" The brown-haired woman seemed to shrink into herself, clutching Keiichi tighter and shaking her head in denial. "Not you too…"

Failing to get anything resembling sense from Belldandy, she turned to the most likely suspect. "Awright, pipsqueak, have you been playing Mad Scientist on our sister? What's it take to get through to you? Morisato made a wish, Bell granted it, they're both happy, and you can't interfere. Nor should you."

"There's no such thing as a wish," the youngest Norn said sullenly. "Not like that." She resumed glaring across the table. "And you get away from my Big Sis, you pervert!"

Keiichi looked nervous, but just shook his head, holding on to Belldandy.

Skuld reached into her blouse. "Skuld Bo—" She froze, staring at the black ball she'd pulled out, with loops of wire all over it. "What the—" She looked down her blouse. "How did that—"

"You mean, since you'd have a hard time hiding anything bigger than a peanut in there?" Urd inquired sweetly.

The little Goddess screeched with rage and flung the Skuld Bomb at her big sister's head.

Urd's right hand snapped up. "Urd Bolt!" Bolt hit Bomb in midair with a thunderous KABOOM that threatened to split her skull open.

Skuld cowered away from the blast and smoke. Keiichi and Belldandy wailed and clung tighter to each other. Urd held her pounding head together with both hands.

"Do that again, brat, and I'll Urd-Bolt you!" she growled. "We've got enough problems without you blowing up the house. Again." And my poor aching head, she added to herself.

She needn't have bothered with the warning; all three of them were staring at her in horror.

"It's still happening to us," Keiichi said in despair.

"We'll have to do it," Belldandy said hollowly. "Call a mental hospital, and have ourselves committed. We're still seeing the hallucinations, and hearing them, too."

"What are you talking about? It was just a Skuld Bomb. I shot it down. Happens — well, not every day, but pretty often. Never seemed to bother you before."

"It's okay, Urd," she said reassuringly. "We know. You don't have to humor us any more. We know we've been…unwell, but we're ready to get better now."

Her patience was wearing thin. "Belldandy Tyrsdottir, what in the Nine Realms are you going on about? You've been perfectly well up until a few minutes ago. Now you're not making any sense."

"The doctors can help us, can't they, Onee-chan?" Skuld asked plaintively. "We can get better, right?"

Urd turned to her, bewildered. "I don't know what you think is wrong, but you know as well as I do that mortal doctors can't do a thing for any of us, and Keiichi's been around us long enough they probably wouldn't do him much good, either."

"Stop saying those things, you're just making it worse!" Skuld wailed.

"Oh, Urd, are you having the same delusions we did?" Belldandy asked anxiously. "I'm sorry, I didn't understand. Of course, we want you to get well, too."

Urd started to shake her head, then thought better of it. "Holy Bell, can you try to talk some sense into her? I'm getting nowhere."

Belldandy twisted her lips sourly. "Why are you pretending to talk to Holy Bell? I know she's not real, just a figment of my imagination. A…an imaginary friend."

"Imaginary friend? She's your angel, Belldandy! The other part of your soul! Like Elegance is mine. Look!" World Of Elegance, come forth!

Urd felt the stirring in her soul, felt the great soaring wings extending from her back, and in seconds a winged woman, nearly as tall as Urd herself, stood beside her. One wing white, one black, her body decorated with ornate tattoo-like patterns, a blue eye, the other eye red, with the vertical pupil of a cat — or a venomous snake — and topped with half-black-half-white hair. Beautiful, and a little intimidating if you weren't used to her. They both looked down on the three.

Skuld screamed, Belldandy wailed and cringed back, and Keiichi turned and buried his face in her bosom.

"What's wrong with you all?" Urd demanded. "You know Elegance! Your angels know her, too!"

None of the three could form words. Skuld gibbered, Belldandy made little whimpering sounds, and Keiichi didn't even try.

"Why are you acting like that? You know she won't hurt you. She's helped us all, many times. She's our friend, a good one."

Skuld shook her head in denial. Belldandy shut her eyes and hugged Keiichi's head to her chest.

Urd sighed, and turned to her angel. This is just making them worse. I think you'd better go back.

World Of Elegance nodded solemnly, and sent a sense of agreement. The imposing figure seemed to shrink, and fade, and folded back into her host's body. In a few seconds she was gone.

"Okay, okay, she's gone," Urd told them irritably. "You can stop carrying on now." Ordinarily, she would have found Belldandy and Keiichi's antics supremely entertaining — she had never seen him deliberately plunge his face into her cleavage before — but in the present circumstances it was just a distraction.

Skuld glanced around the room fearfully, as if she might find World Of Elegance still lurking in some corner. Belldandy opened her eyes and checked the room, too. Keiichi sat up beside her — just a bit reluctantly, perhaps? — looked around, and they leaned against each other. None of them mentioned what had just happened, as if they wanted to forget as quickly as possible.

Holy Bell and Noble Scarlet are quite upset, World Of Elegance informed her. Belldandy and Skuld will not listen to them, and become highly agitated about 'hearing voices' whenever they try communing with their hosts. They do not know what to do.

Neither do I, Urd admitted. Do they have any idea what's going on?

No.

Can they at least tell you exactly what happened, before I got here?

Urd sensed her angel 'talking' with the others for some time.

Nothing was wrong through breakfast, and their normal daily routine. This…aberration began during their morning tea.

"Tea, huh?" Thank you, Elegance. Thank Bell and Scarlet, too.

She made her way to the table and picked up Skuld's neglected teacup. "Lemme borrow this for a minute, okay?" She squinted at it, but saw only a teacup, reflecting Belldandy's impeccable taste, with a small puddle of greenish tea in the bottom.

"Urd? What are you doing?" Belldandy asked uneasily.

"Investigating." Urd gathered her magic, concentrated all her senses, and sniffed the dregs of Skuld's tea cautiously. It smelled like tea, with honey, and a hint of magic, but underneath there was just the barest whiff of a half-familiar acrid scent, and a faint trace of demonic energy. Whatever it was, it had been carefully concocted to blend into the tea, and escape the perceptions of a celestial being. Belldandy couldn't have detected it without a great deal of effort. Her own demon half gave her an advantage, but she still would not have noticed it if she hadn't been trying very hard.

"You've been dosed with a potion, of demonic origin," she announced. "I'm sure I can make a potion to counteract the effects, but it will take time."

All three of them raised a clamor, protesting that there were no such things as potions and magic and demons and…

Urd rolled her eyes, exasperated. "Fine. You've been drugged. I'm going to analyze the drug, and make an antidote. It will probably take a day or two, and in the meantime I want you all to stay on the temple grounds. Don't wander off and get into even more trouble. And don't call any shrinks!"

They all regarded her as if she were raving. She sighed. "Belldandy, will you show me the tea you used? I need a raw sample of the po— the drug."

The middle Norn hesitated, then unwound herself from Keiichi, kissed him, and led Urd into the kitchen. She opened a cupboard and took out a small bamboo box. "This one. We haven't had this in a while, and I wanted to…" She seemed to lose track of what she was saying.

"Thank you." She smiled. "Why don't you go back and keep Skuld and Keiichi company? I think they need you right now."

Belldandy nodded, and headed back to the tea-room.

"And don't drink any more of that tea!" Urd called after her. "Don't drink any tea until I've checked it. This might not be the only box that's been…drugged."

She stopped for a moment, nodded, and continued on through the door. She appeared to have a lot on her mind. Like, losing it.

Urd focused on the box. The smell was stronger, and even more familiar. The demonic energy was more pronounced, too, though still too low to register on the senses of an unwary celestial. She peered into the cupboard, and noted the tiny signs of an intrusion, unlikely to be noticed by anyone not already suspicious. The clues were there, but only if she looked for them.

She turned to leave, then stopped at the sink and drank a large glass of water, and most of another one. Time to start flushing that rotgut sake out of her system.

She carried the box of tainted tea towards her room, walked past the phone in the hallway…and stopped. Dammit. I have to call. Demonic activity on Midgard, interference with a wish, Belldandy and Skuld…incapacitated… At least they can't blame this on me! It's not my fault this time! If I had been there, I'd be just another casualty; this is one fiendishly well-concealed potion. It's a good thing I was sleeping off a bender!

Reluctantly she turned back and picked up the old-fashioned handset. Keiichi was a sweetheart, and as Norn of the Past she appreciated his nostalgic tendencies. She set down the tea-box and reached for the keypad — he wasn't nostalgic enough to be keeping some poor rotary-dial phone from its eternal rest — and stopped again. Which department should she call?

Almost all her business was with Yggdrasil Administration, or the Programming department, but neither one was appropriate for this situation. The Goddess Help Line? It was about Belldandy, and a wish, but only in part. The Valkyries, because a demon was involved?

She was procrastinating. There was only one answer, she admitted to herself with a long half-sigh, half-groan. Belldandy. And Skuld. The Almighty's own daughters. He would want her to call, immediately. He would soon find out if she didn't, and then she'd really be in trouble. It's really, really not my fault! she told herself as she grudgingly picked out the long sequence that would only function for a very few entities in the entire cosmos. The phone burred at her ear once, and clicked.

"IT IS I."

"Daddy!" she caroled with false cheer.

"URD. MY DEAR DAUGHTER. WHAT HAVE YOU GOTTEN YOURSELF INTO THIS TIME?"

"It's not my fault! I didn't do anything! It's just—" She clamped down mercilessly on the reflexive excuses and forced herself to get to the point. "A demonic potion was put in the tea. Belldandy, Keiichi and Skuld drank it. Their minds have been affected. They don't believe in magic, gods or angels. They think they've gone bonkers."

The silence from the other end was agonizing.

"THAT IS A SERIOUS SITUATION. I WILL TAKE IMMEDIATE ACTION. THANK YOU FOR INFORMING ME SO QUICKLY. YOU MADE THE RIGHT CALL."

That last comment might have been just the least bit Tongue-in-Cheek.

"I have the tea right here. I plan to analyze the potion and work on an antidote," she said hopefully.

"VERY GOOD. KEEP ME INFORMED."

"I will…Father."

"Urd…" The great Voice was quiet now, almost humble. "I am pleased, my daughter. Very pleased. Take care of your sisters, and let me know if you need anything, or any kind of help. I will literally move Heaven and Earth, for all of you. And…you take care, too. Good-bye."

"Good-bye," she echoed. The phone clicked again. That was…unexpected, she thought as she replaced the handset. She reached for the tea-box, and stopped yet again. She would be completely occupied for some time, and those three just might do something crazy behind her back. Like calling the nuthouse, or going to one.

She started by casting a spell on the phone to make it work only for her, and alert her if any of them tried to use it. She cast another spell on the temple grounds, to prevent them from leaving. Belldandy could break both spells easily, Skuld…not so easily; but they'd have to use magic. In their current condition, that was most unlikely. If they did, she would know about it instantly. She picked up the tea-box and resumed the trip to her room.

Elegance, dear, would you ask Holy Bell and Noble Scarlet to keep an eye on those three? Let you know if they do anything weird…er?

They are still talking to me. They are worried, and distressed, and I am trying to help. They will keep me informed.

Good. Do your best to help them, and keep them calm. I have a potion to figure out.

Urd slid the door shut, sat at her workbench, and set the tea-box aside. There was something she needed to do first. She always kept ample stocks of all the ingredients, and had a great deal of practice, so it took only a few minutes to whip up her standard hangover potion. She downed it, making a face — why did every hangover cure in existence have to taste like a distilled hangover itself? — put everything away and brought the tea-box to center stage.

Like most potions, this one had two components: the ingredients, and the magical energy infusing it, demonic in this case. Both seemed familiar, but she would have to make absolutely certain of her identification, and nail down all the details. It would take time, but she wasn't about to rush, and miss something. She thought she recognized a couple of the ingredients from her childhood in Niflheim…

She made one trip back to the tea-room, to collect samples of the remaining tea. All three of her unwilling patients regarded her suspiciously, as if expecting her to do…something peculiar. Again. She assured them that she was making progress identifying the…drug…that had been used on them, and that they should try to relax and not worry. She even told Skuld that the TV was all hers, so go ahead and watch anything she wanted.

They all kept wary eyes on her until she left the room.

Half an hour later, Urd looked up from her work as she felt a familiar tingle of energy. She set down a beaker, slid her door open, walked down the hall, out the back door, and looked up.

Traceries of light burned across the sky, forming an intricate multicolored construct of circles, lines and runes. White light flared in the temple courtyard, then it and the Gate overhead faded away, having delivered four Goddesses in blue-trimmed white uniforms. They stood in a square formation, alertly facing outward, weapons in hand, spaced just the right distance apart.

The Valkyries had arrived.

The nearest one regarded the house, and the elder Norn, with a stern expression, holding her battle-axe at the ready. On her forehead was a triangle of three dots, a darker blue than her hair, and larger blue circles marked her cheekbones.

Urd smiled, relieved. "Lind. Of course they'd send you."

The Valkyries seemed to relax, just the tiniest bit. "Urd. What is the situation?" Lind asked briskly.

"We're not under attack," the Norn assured them. "I've put up a light barrier, mostly to keep Belldandy, Keiichi and Skuld from leaving the temple grounds. They're in the tea-room, still kind of in shock."

Lind nodded, then forced herself to ask, "What is their…status? We weren't told much."

"They drank a demonic potion. From what I can determine, it prevents them from accepting any knowledge pertaining to the higher realms."

"How was this potion introduced?" the Valkyrie asked suspiciously.

Urd bristled at the implication, but answered levelly, "A rat has been in the cupboard where Belldandy keeps her tea. I'm pretty sure it was one of Mara's rat minions. No matter how much she changes them, they're still rats. They leave ratty traces wherever they go."

"Oh. Mara," Lind said, satisfied with the explanation. She relaxed more, and grounded her battle-axe.

"Mara," Urd agreed. "I'm still analyzing the potion, and then I'll have to formulate a counter-potion. Should take a day or two. After that…" Her expression changed, and there was no missing her half-demonic nature now. "I'll have to think up some suitable way to express my opinion of this little incident."

"Will they be all right until then?" Lind asked, concerned.

Urd nodded. "Physically, magically, they all seem to be fine. They're just completely convinced that everything they know about magic, gods, angels, demons and spirits is a delusion."

"Can't you just show them that magic is real, and they're Goddesses? They'd have to believe it, wouldn't they?"

"I've tried. Of course I tried." Urd ran one hand through her long silver hair in consternation. "Any evidence you show them just makes them more certain they're loony. Try not to use any magic in front of them, and for Heaven's sake don't call forth your angels in their presence. That really freaks them out."

Lind gave her a kind of a funny look.

"No, it's not because Elegance is…Elegance," Urd insisted. "They'd react the same way to any angel. Even their own."

Lind nodded grudging acceptance, then hefted her battle-axe and turned to her squad. "Gunnr. Jadwel. Kara. Set a perimeter, secure the temple grounds, and lay tripwire spells out half a league. I'll take second watch, standard four-hour schedule. Inform your backup of anything suspicious before you investigate. Mara's not much of a threat, but Hild sometimes works with her. Take no chances."

They all acknowledged her orders crisply, and set off in three directions. Lind turned back to Urd. "Will you take down your barrier? We're putting up a much stronger one."

"Of course. I have other uses for the energy." She unbound her containment spell. Now it wouldn't complicate the Valkyries casting their own barrier spells. With four of them present, and a few hours to strengthen it, they could put up something that would hold off even Hild for a while. "Do you want me to do anything else? If not, I need to get back to analyzing that potion."

"No, go ahead. That's your first priority. We'll stand guard over all of you." She smiled ironically. "It's what we do."

"Thanks, Lind. Belldandy and Skuld are completely defenseless right now, and I'll be too busy." She started to turn, then stopped. "Could you try keeping them company, a little? Try to calm them down? They're going through a lot."

"I'll…try," she said uncertainly. Lind wasn't the most socially adept person, even among the Valkyries, but she was Belldandy's friend. That might be enough.

"Thanks again." This time she did enter the house. She stopped at the bathroom; all that water and the hangover potion were literally flushing the sake out of her. She returned to her room, slid the door shut, cast a minor sound-damping spell and got back to work.

Two hours later she had all the ingredients identified, and the demonic essence confirmed as Mara's. That was the easy part. Any competent herbalist could do as much, and anyone who'd ever sensed Mara's energy. Next came the part that separated the true potion masters from the rest — working out how the ingredients were combined, and what spells went into them.

Lunch should come first, though. She didn't have to eat, but her three-dimensional shell had a stomach, and leaving it empty was a distraction she didn't need. Besides, it would do her good to relax for a short time before diving into the most complex part of her task.

Her timing couldn't be better. Lunch was almost ready. Demonic potions, Skuld Bombs, delusions that she was having delusions, nothing could keep Belldandy from the joy she got out of making a tasty meal. Urd even got a brave smile from her sister as she tried to pretend that everything was normal.

Lunch was an awkward affair. Belldandy and Keiichi sat much closer together than usual, and after the incident with the Skuld Bomb their youngest sister was afraid to do more than glare and mutter. Belldandy was also a little miffed because Urd had insisted on checking each dish for potions — well, drugs, of course — before approving them to be served. Fortunately, she hadn't found any. Mara appeared to have only corrupted the one box of tea. It would seem the potion was specifically formulated for that one type of tea.

All three of them continued to be uncomfortable in her presence, fearing, perhaps, that they would experience more 'hallucinations'. None of the Valkyries joined them; they were on duty, and their standing orders prohibited taking food from unsecured sources. They had MRE's — not called that, of course, but she had seen enough military-surplus stuff to be certain that they were, indeed, MRE's.

At least the meal was as good as ever. She had long suspected that Belldandy and Holy Bell put a little magic into everything, but not believing in it didn't seem to stop them. It must be something they did without thinking, or even realizing they were doing it.

Urd tried to reassure everyone that she was making good progress, and still expected to provide them an antidote in a day or two. They seemed…nervously hopeful about it. She offered to help clean up, and got rather hasty, strained assurances that it wasn't necessary. She returned to her private laboratory, more determined than ever to put an end to this nonsense before they drove her batshit crazy.

She made steady progress until early afternoon, when there was an unwelcome knock on her door.

"What is it?" She couldn't keep the vexation out of her voice. Well, okay, she hadn't tried very hard.

The door opened, and Lind stepped half-way into the room, with news even more unwelcome.

"Belldandy's gone."