Pug Productions ********************************* Author: Pug cruzd@rpi.edu http://www.rpi.edu/~cruzd/pug/pug.html ********************************* Insert standard disclaimer here: A fan fiction based on Takahashi Rumiko's Manga series, Ranma 1/2. The characters of Ranma 1/2 are the property of Takahashi Rumiko and her licensees. All characters portrayed in this story are owned by Their respective creators and companies. I don't own any of them. Please don't sue me. Ver: 2.00 Draft 10/16/00 When Gods Fall Chapter 2 In the evening air, Belldandy and Keiichi sat on the patio enjoying each other's company. "I'm so proud of you for winning the race," Belldandy said latching on to him. "Well, with you, Urd, Skuld and everyone else there cheering for me, how couldn't I have won?" Keiichi said modestly. "And there was no way I would ever let that Aoshima take you away from me. Belldandy I..." he held her hand blushing. "Keiichi?" He swallowed. "Belldandy I... I... I'm just sorry I couldn't get you that ring you wanted. Next time I'll have the money to get you what ever you want," he said blurting it out all at once. His face took on a defeated look, knowing that he wanted to say something else, something more important. To his relief she didn't seem to notice. "Oh, Keiichi that doesn't matter. What's important is that we're together. That's the only thing I care about." "I'll make it up to you though. I promise." Belldandy smiled, touching his face fondly. From their spots on the stoop of the garage the two figures looked on with mixed reactions. A white haired woman, nicely tanned, stood up against the side of the building while a younger dark haired girl sat on the stoop, her chin resting on her knees. "That boy's just hopeless!" Urd said shaking her head. "Even after all my help, he's still too much of a wimp to make a move! Maybe a love potion or something, hm..." she mused scratching her head in though. The younger girl rolled her eyes, "You’ll probably end up turning him into a toad or something,” Skuld muttered. Urd looked up from her thoughts. "Hm? Did you say something kiddo?" "I’m not a kid," came the automatic reply though lacking the usual spunk. Urd raised an eyebrow noticing the somber look on her sister’s face. "Hey what’s up with you? Your not moping again cause you were left all alone at system maintenance. Honestly, your such a baby sometimes," Urd said making a face hoping to get a more lively reaction. "I am not a baby! You… you old hag!" the feisty girl shot back. "O-old hag?!?" Urd sputtered getting a bit more than she expected. “Take that back you little twerp!” The argued back and forth finally building up to a full-scale verbal assault from both parties. Completely engrossed in their squabble, they didn’t notice that they had caught the attention of the couple they had been previously observing. With amused expressions, Keiichi and Belldandy watched by the sidelines the two sisters… bonded. “Belldandy raised you to respect your elders you runt!” Urd said through her teeth. “So you admit that you’re an old bag!” The two were nose to nose now reaching the eventual climax of the confrontation. “That’s it! You’re grounded for the next century!” "I don't have to take that from a second rate goddess like you! Naaaaaahhhhhh!!!" Skuld said sticking out her tongue. "Why you little..." The two broke apart with Urd quickly scrying magic runes in the air as Skuld reached into her jacket to pull out one of her "Skuld Bombs" (patent pending). Before things could escalate any further Belldandy stepped to diffuse the situation. "Skuld, do you have a moment?” “Huh?” The two goddesses turned in surprise at being noticed. Urd looked in confusion as her runes fizzled out and Skuld stood frozen in mid throw. “Skuld-chan, Keiichi and I just wanted to thank you for what you did today,” Belldandy continued. Beside her, Keiichi nodded. “She’s right. I know that Megumi and I could never have gone through all the design plans for the dual engine our selves. I know that I would have lost to Aoshima if it weren’t for you." Keiichi said smiling to the dark haired girl in front of him. Skuld blinked seeing the warmth on his face. Blushing slightly she opened her mouth to say something but her eyes fell upon Keiichi and Belldandy's hands held together. She backed up awkwardly. “I-It was nothing,” she said, her voice cracking slightly. “I-I just remembered that needed to finish something. I better get going,” she said quickly. A pained expression was on her face. “Was it something I said?” Keiichi asked concerned. “No, it’s not that,” Urd said watching the little girl go off. “Urd?” Belldandy questioned. Then her eyes widened in realization. “I can’t believe I almost forgot. Oh dear,” she said covering her mouth in embarrassment. “It’s tomorrow? Isn’t it?” Urd nodded. Then seeing the confused expression on Keiichi’s face, explained. “You see... Skuld lost someone very close to her a long time ago. He was close to us all, but I don’t think she realized how much she cared till it was too late." “It’s getting dark,” Urd said sounding more tired than she really felt. “I’m turning in for the night.” She walked off leaving the couple by themselves again. Keiichi’s face saddened. “Can gods die?” he asked looking at a flaxen haired woman holding his hand. “Nothing is forever Keiichi. But with the ending of one thing lies the beginning of another. There is always hope in that,” Belldandy said squeezing his hand reassuringly. As she finished, a glint of light caught her eye and the two turned their heads upward to see a shooting star pass ***-----**-----*** From the roof of the Tendo home, a certain pigtail boy looked up at the night sky. Lying back with his hands behind his head, Ranma breathed in the cool night air savoring the all too rare calmness in his usual chaotic life. Ever since he was a child, he loved looking up seeing the shining stars overhead. Ten years of his life had been spent on his father’s self-appointed crusade to train him in the ways of Anything Goes. It was rare for them to spend more than a few months at a certain location as they were always moving from place to place in search for the perfect training ground. He could never really call anyplace home because of their semi-nomadic lifestyle. Home could be a small cramped apartment in a bustling city one night or a tent out in the woods the next. As he grew older he finally came to realize that home was where he would look up at the stars each night. Whenever he was troubled or worried, they were always there. In his life the only constants were his love for the Art and the stars over his head each night. Though he knew it was silly, sometimes he felt that the stars were looking down at him. As if they were twinkling with amusement seeing the chaos in his life unfold. From the curses to the fiancée mess, they were his true companions through and through and on a clear night like the one now, Ranma felt secure, knowing that he could never truly be alone. “Ranma, are you up on the roof again?” someone called out bringing him out of his reverie. Rolling over and hanging his head down from the roof, Ranma looked below. “Akane?” “I knew you were there. What is it you do up there anyway?” Her face caught the moonlight, painting her features in light and shade while her eyes shone playfully in the night. “I-I was just thinking…” he said swallowing taken aback by how beautiful she looked. “Thinking about what?” ”You know just stuff…” He could feel the warmth growing on his face as he nervously scratched his head. “Oh…” she said. An awkward moment of silence followed with each of them trying to think of what to say next. It was Akane who spoke first. “Kasumi just wanted me to tell you that dinner will be ready soon,” Akane said. There was a touch of disappointment in her voice. She hesitated for a second, as if wanting to say more then quickly went back into the house. “Akane, wait-“ but it was too late and the door slid shut. Ranma’s shoulders sagged in defeat. There were times that he truly felt that he and Akane were right for each other. He had fought for her, defended her, and rescued her from monsters and princes alike but even through all that there was still something holding him back, something that kept nagging him at the back of his mind. Vague memories of things he had forgotten long ago. Silently he wished he could remember. Shaking his head he got up and vaulted down to the ground from his perch on the roof. He walked in and as he closed the door behind him, he missed the sight of a shooting star flash across the sky. ***-----**-----*** The once bustling and crowded halls of Furinken high now lay quite as the peak of night set in. A soft breeze blew by rustling the leaves of the trees. The wind strengthened gradually growing in force. Overhead a golden glow appeared as the star fell and in a brilliant flash lighting up the whole of the campus for but a brief moment then darkness once again returned. There was no trace of what had fallen, but deep within the bowls of the school, in the basement where the hum of the generators growl of the furnace where heard, hidden away from the rest of world, something amazing happened. A doorway to another world opened. With the sound of a crystal shattering a point of light appeared hanging out in mid air. Starting out no larger than a pinhead, it grew larger reaching the size of a coin then to that of a small ball. Within it was a pool of swirling white and gray. What looked like a paw broke the surface of the pool. Furry legs protruded out followed by a white body and ending with a cottontail. With an audible ‘pop’ a little creature resembling a cross between a spider and a bunny tumbled out of the tear in reality. The spider-bunny or bug shook its head looking around its surroundings. Sniffing the air with a twitching nose and listening cautiously with perked up ears, it hopped off to explore its newfound world. Behind it the small portal that it had come through continued its growth expanding ever larger with the passage of time. For a brief moment the red glow of an eye from the other side could be seen looking in. Then just as fast it was gone. For whoever was the owner, the portal would have to grow much larger for it to pass through. ***-----**-----*** The lunch bell rang and Ranma’s stomach growled as he headed to his locker to get his lunch. His mouth watered as he imagined what surprises Kasumi had packed for him that morning. As far as he was concerned, no one cooked better than Kasumi and his stomach growled again agreeing with him. He reached into his locker pulling out the bento, sighing contently as his favorite part of the school day started. Just as he was about to head off to the cafeteria a voice called out to him over the noise in the hall. “Ranma, wait up,” Akane said coming up to him. “Hey, Akane. Ready for lunch?” he asked, falling in step with her. “Yup, and I have a surprise for you too,” she said cheerfully. He faltered in mid stride as his danger senses went off. “Oh, what kind of surprise?” he asked feeling his mouth suddenly go dry and a sense of foreboding filled him. She nodded not noticing his reaction. “I got up really early this morning and helped Kasumi make our lunches. ” “Really Akane, you shouldn’t have,” he said weakly, looking down at the bento in his hands as if it were a live snake. “Come one Ranma,” Akane said grabbing on to his arm. “I can’t wait for you to try it.” “B-But!” he stuttered helplessly as he was dragged off to his doom. A few minutes later the battle cry of “Ranma no Baka!!!” echoed through the halls of Furinken high followed by a sickening thud of a mallet hitting the ground. Recovering a little while later, Ranma headed outside picking a quiet spot under one of the schoolyard trees. He was thankful at least for the mild weather and warm sun on his face. He winced slightly touching the tender spot on his head. “She didn’t have to hit me that hard,” he muttered thinking back to Akane’s reaction after his body had decides that what she made wasn’t edible. “Like it’s my fault that she can’t cook.” His stomach growled reminding him that he hadn’t eaten yet. Digging into his pocket he pulled out a humble looking pork bun. Purchasing it with his meager budget, he unwrapped the baked good remembering one of his father’s favorite saying during their training trip. “Hunger is the best sauce.” He could only agree as his mouth watered in anticipation. Just as he was about to bite in, a white blur flashed across his face causing him to leap back from his place on the ground. In an instant he was on his feet in a fighting stance ready for the next attack. “What the…” words failed him and Ranma gawked at the small creature bouncing in front. His wide eyes blinked a few times as he tried to figure out what exactly he was looking at. The best that he could come up with was genetics experiment gone horribly wrong as the spider/bunny wiggled its nose at him. He was scratching his head thinking about what to make of the strange creature, when he noticed his pork bun in the spider-bunny’s mouth. “Hey! Stop that!” He yelled diving at the bug but just as quick as it was before the spider-bunny bounced out of his reach continuing to gobble up the morsel of food. “Give me back my lunch!!!” Scrambling up from the ground, Ranma dove at it again only to end up with a mouth full of dirt. Not even his martial arts prowess could help him against this opponent as the bug easily evaded him. Compared to the bug, Ranma felt his movements as heavy as lead while the little bug danced around as light as air. It finally ended with the bug finishing its meal and Ranma gasping for breath covered with sweat. The martial artist could only shake his tired head in wonder. The licking its lips bug curiously looked up at him for a moment, then it hopped off to a new direction. “Hey! Get back here you… you what ever you are!!!” Ranma yelled chasing after the fleeing spider-bunny. Ranma quickly felt a second wind coming, as he wouldn’t let himself be beaten so easily. Hot on the tail of the cute culprit, he followed it into the main building. He spotted it running down the halls as he rounded the corner. The bug had managed to squeeze through a closing door that someone had just passed through. Ranma grinned wolfishly knowing he had it cornered now. Reaching the door, he pulled it open and charged in. “Now you’re mine!!! ” He froze in mid step as a dozen pair of surprised eyes turned towards him. A nervous twitch touched his face as he quickly recognized one of girls in the room Akane stood there half-dressed with her blouse off wearing a bra. Her battle aura flared up as she approached him menacingly. The dark haired girl wasn’t listening and drew back her fist. “RANMA…” “A-A-Akane it’s not what it looks like,” he said waving his hands frantically only now noticing the sign on the door, “Girls locker room.” “YOU PERVERT!!!” He never had a chance. The pigtailed boy went flying back into the door ripping it off its hinges and slamming into the hallway. Sliding off the wall, he came to a rest on the ground with the door clattering on top of him. “Jerk!” Akane sniffed quickly dressing then stalking out of the room ignoring the weak groan from under fallen door. Poking its head out of a semi-opened locker, the little bug waited for the coast to clear and bounced off down the hall. ***-----**-----*** In the secluded residence of the Morrisato temple, Skuld wiped her brow as she as she worked in the yard. But instead of a rake in her hand, there was wrench. She sat outside in the morning air and next to her was a bumpy looking robot resting on the ground. The chest door was opened on its ballish body as the young goddess continued adjustments on her latest design. The surrounding property was just too large for Keiichi and Belldandy to maintain without help. And since Urd usually took the lion's share in slacking off, Skuld had decided put her technical expertise to work by building the proper grounds keeper. “That should do it.” Skuld nodded in satisfaction as she finished. Putting her tool away, she closed up the chest door. The shiny metallic blue exterior reflected her grease-smudged face. Carefully she traced her fingers over the designation etched on the surface. Banpei-kun MarkII. Banpei-kun Mark II had already been a fully functioning robot before, but now with the addition of various gardening tools and utensils, the mechanical marvel was now fully equipped to tackle the most difficult agricultural tasks. With a flip of a switch, the robot was busy puttering around the yard. The tasks of trimming the hedges, pruning the flowers and sweeping the pathway were all completed efficiently and on record times. Everything was going well up to the point where Banpei-kun Mark II began mowing the lawn. It had produced the mowing apparatus from within its body and started to cut the grass. Then on its second pass down the turf Banpei-kun stopped, with the mower blades puttering to a stop as the system power died down. "Hey, it's not time for a coffee break yet," Skuld said frowning. Quickly pulling out her palm computer she typed in the restart command. A few moments passed and nothing happened. "Grrrrrr... Maybe it's the power coupler or the drive motor. It could be the static charge dissipater," she thought scratching her head. With a few more clicks to her keypad she started a system diagnostic and began looking through the memory logs. Scanning down to the very end she saw the cause of the shutdown. >15:14:02 Unscheduled system halt. >Cause: Current processes in conflict with Prime Directive >Prime Directive: Preservation of life Skuld blinked. "Why would that cause-" Her question was answered when she turned back looking at the frozen Banpei-kun. A slight movement in the grass caught her eye. Just in front of the mower blades a small turtle slowly made its way past. Skuld's expression softened seeing the little turtle plod off. As soon as slow reptil had passes harms way, Banpei-kun’s systems automatically began their restart. Looking up at the quiet machine, she fondly patted the nameplate on its chest. Then, with a quiet sadness in her eyes she walked off leaving the robot to finish its work. ***-----**-----*** “This is the last time I let my tab run up with Nabiki!” Ranma angrily muttered to herself. She brushed a loose hair from her brow while in her other hand she was balancing a spinning bowl of ramen on her finger. Though she hated doing it, the only way she could make quick money was working at the Nekotenhan right after school let out. “At least I won’t have to face Akane’s wrath for a while,” she told herself gloomily as she server out another order. As usual the place was packed with people. Dressed in her petit Chinese uniform she served the food while a familiar purple headed girl was busy on the other side of the room taking down the orders. While the two of them tended to the patrons out front, back in the kitchen, Moose and Cologne fixed and prepared the meals. “Ranma, Table four need more water,” Shampoo said sparing a moment as she went to another table to clean up. “Right,” Ranma said drooping off the bowl in her hand and hurrying off for the water pitcher. “Three orders of shark’s fin ramen ready to go son- in-law,” the old crone said from the service window. With a flip of her cane she send the three bowls flying into the air. “I got it!” Ranma called out intercepting the bowls and catching them all, one onto of her head and one twirling on each finger. Applause filled the room. In Nekotenhan, the service was the entertainment. Back in the kitchen the phone rang. Hopping up to the counter on her wooden cane, Cologne answered it. "Hello, Nekotenhan Chinese cuisine." "Hi, I was wondering if you deliver," a girl's voice replied. "Yes we do, what can I get for your order?" "Well, I'd like two beef ramens, and one order of the steamed dumplings. The old woman wrote down the order as well as the address. "Thank you for your patronage." She hung up the phone and looked out into the main dining room. "Oh, son-in-law," Cologne called out. "What do you want now, old ghoul? Can't you see I'm busy over here!" Ranma answered with irritation. She almost lost the ramen bowl she was twirling on her hand. Cologne bounced over to her and bopped her on the head with her cane. "Ack!!!" The dishes that Ranma was holding on to flew up into the air. In a feat of dexterity and flexibility, Ranma twisted her body in an array of mind-boggling contortions to catch the dishes as they landed. She ended up standing precariously on one leg as bowls of food balanced on her hands, head, and foot. There was a mixture of applause and cheering from everyone watching the demonstration. "What was that for?!?" Ranma burst out. "Mind your elders!" Cologne said. "When you're done with that batch I need you to run this delivery." Before Ranma could argue, Cologne shoved the order sheet into her mouth and hopped off. Spitting out the paper, Ranma looked down on the crumpled order. "Hey old ghoul! What's the big idea, this place isn't even in Nermia!" "That's right son-in-law, and remember our delivery policy, any longer than thirty minutes and it's free. The bill gets taken out of your paycheck. Just think of it as more speed training," Cologne said giving her a toothy grin. Ranma face-faulted and the crash of dishes was heard. "That's coming out of your pay too." From under one of the tables, the small spider-bunny happily lapped up the spilled soup. ***-----**-----*** Skuld walked into the living room finding Urd lying down on the couch lazily flipping through the channels on the TV. On her stomach was a bowl full of potato chips. “Where’s Belldandy?” she asked frowning. “Keiichi actually managed to ask Belldandy to go out tonight. I didn’t think he had it in him,” Urd said smiling. She flipped to another channel, as the finished off the last of the potato chips in the bowl. “Belldandy’s out? But then whose going to cook dinner?” Her eyes widened as a look of horror appeared on her face. “Urd, y-you didn’t cook yourself did you?” Without waiting for an answer the girl had already dug into her jacket and pulled out her hammer, warily looking into the kitchen. “Cut that out!” Urd snapped back as she watched Skuld poke one of the pots on the table with the but of the weapon. “The last time you tried cooking you made a blob that attacked Keiichi!” “So I read the directions wrong. Everybody makes mistakes.” “It ate our table!” Skuld said stamping her foot on the ground. “Just relax, Skuld-chan. I didn’t cook anything so there,” Urd muttered crossing her arms. “Then what are we going to eat?” Urd smiled. "Don't worry about that, it's already taken care of.” She pulled out a little pamphlet. "See here, Nekotenhan (Cat Café) rated five stars in the diners guide. And to top it off if the delivery is thirty minutes or longer the food's free! Nothing better than free food," she said smacking her lips. Skuld just sighed as Urd turned back to flipping the channels. ***-----**-----*** Deep in the bowls of Furinken high the portal which had started out as a point of light had grown ever larger. Wide enough for a car drive through, the swirling gate of gray and white was disturbed as a ripple radiated out from the center. The glowing red eyes where there again looking in. As if testing the waters it circled around the gate. Soon after two other pairs or eyes joined the first in its examination. After a brief conferral the three judged the portal big enough and with further hesitation they walked through. ***-----**-----*** On the streets below, people turned their heads in amazement as they saw a redheaded pigtailed girl running across the rooftops. To Ranma it was just an easy way of avoiding pedestrians on the sidewalk. In her hand was the Nekohentan carrying box containing the delivery. Reaching the edge of one house, she leapt off it landing on the next continuing on her way without breaking stride. Time was running out and her paycheck was on the line. She made her way through the city quickly finally reaching the outskirts of the district. The close knit houses gave way to a more wooded area forcing her back down to the ground. “Who the heck still lives in temples now a days? Never heard of a monk ordering takeout before,” she muttered o herself, pausing to catch a breath. Pulling out a map she glanced down at it finding that if she followed the main road she would eventually hit the mark. “I’ll make it with some time to spare,” Ranma nodded to herself shoving the paper back into her shirt. Running off she failed to notice the furry white bug looking down at her from a tree branch. With a little squeak it hurried off after her bouncing from branch to branch doing so. ***-----**-----*** From an open window, the afternoon sun came in lighting up the room with an orange-yellow tint. Sketches and papers lay in organized folders on top a neatly made bed. On the floor sat stacks of books of all sorts, from technical manuals to volumes upon volumes dealing engineering, physics and science. Instead of posters, blueprints and plans hung on the walls decorating the small room. Only the clicking noise of a keyboard was heard as Skuld sat at her desk busily typing away on her computer. Making a new tool, a new invention, this was what she loved doing most. To take a single thought and then by shaping it with her own hands, turn it into a reality. Some things were useful, some were silly, and some were just too odd to describe, but they all were a part of her. There was a serious intensity to her face as she concentrated on the screen of the computer. A part of her felt that she had spent a lifetime in front on that screen scanning down it one click at a time. She knew every line by heart, every letter’s place on the page, even the exact number of how many characters in the program. It was perfect. No errors, no bugs, straight forward and concise, the program had one purpose, one goal giving no room for any deviation. But, no matter how many times she had looked at it and no matter how many times she had told herself that ‘it should have worked’ she couldn’t change the fact that she had been wrong, and the cost of her mistake was much too high. Finally coming to the end of the code, she slowly read the last comment at the bottom. “Banpei-kun, execution program Ver: 1.00” Then with one last ‘click’ she turned off the computer and buried her face in her hands. “It was my fault…” she said quietly. Skuld took a breath, calming herself. Looking out the window she saw the sunset on the horizon. A red hue painted the sky fading from orange to yellow then to the blues and purples as the touches of night crept in. She turned away shaking her head, “It was my fault,” she said again. Turning back to the window she found herself nose to nose with a furry face and a pair of eyes looking at her curiously. “Ack!!!” she exclaimed falling back in her chair in surprise as spider-bunny bounced into her room over her head. “A bug? How did you get here?!?” she said spinning around in confusion. She face faulted as the spider bunny bounced through her room messing up her bed, scattering her tools and papers, throwing everything into disarray. Skuld gasped as the bug scurried around the room and bounced off the wall landing on a bookshelf tipping it over. “My-my room!” she cried out as a large hard cover clunked on top of her head. She clutched at her head with both hands. “Why, you little!!!” Her temper flared up and automatically she grabbed for her mallet. ***-----**-----*** From her place on the couch Urd sighed, “Over forty- thousand channels from twenty dimensions and there still isn’t anything good on television.” After some more flipping the doorbell rang. “Nekotenhan delivery! It’s fast or it’s free!” a voice called out from outside. “Finally!” Urd said getting up from the couch. Getting to the door she found a redheaded girl standing there with the delivery. “Here’s your order,” she said a bit winded as she handed over the delivery box. “You almost didn’t make it. Oh well, so much for a free meal,” Urd said not hiding her disappointment. She paused for a moment studying the redhead in front of her. She leaned in squinting and at the same time. “Don’t I know you from somewhere?” “I-I don’t think so,” Ranma swallowed nervously from the scrutiny also a bit affected by Urd’s revealing attire. The goddess clothes left nothing to the imagination. Urd frowned for a moment taping her lip. “Well, why don’t you come in for a moment while I get your money,” she said ushering Ranma into the house. “It will only be a minute,” “What’s with her?” Ranma said scratching her head watching Urd disappear into the back. Looking around, she felt a warm touch to the house, as if she had come home after a long day as school. Though she couldn’t explain why, everything there just felt somehow right to her. Ranma just took a breath enjoying the quiet pleasantness around her. Moments later a door down the hall burst open and a loud crash was heard from within the room. “Come back here you!!!” a girl’s voice screamed out followed by various smashing thuds which reverberated through the home. Ranma turned to see what all the commotion was about and she was met with a face full of fur as an energetic spider-bunny landed on top of her head. The next thing she saw dark haired girl barreling down at her with an upraised mallet in her hands. “Take that!” the girl screamed in a battle cry. “Huh?” Ranma said weakly caught completely off guard. And then came the impact. The last thing she heard before she lost consciousness was a little voice squeak out “Oops…” as the bug hopped out the front door. ***-----**-----*** Skuld sat in the living room with a guilty look on her face. Laying on a futon on the floor, was the delivery girl whom she had knocked out. She wrestled with herself thinking of how to apologize when the redhead came to. Hitting someone on the head with a hammer isn’t really a common practice. Skuld looked up from her thoughts as she saw the redhead begin to stir. “A-are you alright?” Skuld asked nervously. Through blurred eyes Ranma found herself looking up at a familiar face. “You are so uncute,” she said weakly getting up. Three malletings in a day was more than the pigtailed martial artist could take. Even wither her upgraded endurance even Ranma had her limits and resonating ache in her head just made her all the more irritable. “W-what?” Skuld blinked in shocked hearing the first words the redheaded girl had muttered. Forcing herself to sit up, Ranma fought against a wave of dizziness. “Gees Akane, what the heck did I do now?” he asked the bewildered and very confused girl next to her. As the haze cleared she immediately saw that she had made a mistake. Long dark hair framed her face showing a younger face with a foreign quality about it. “Y-Your not Akane!” Ranma said blurting out the obvious. She faced the angry stare of the young girl in front of her, but then Ranma saw the hurt look in her eyes. Immediately Ranma felt her stomach knot up, wishing she could take back what she said. The two were looking down at the floor nervously fretting as they struggled to come up with something to say. “I…” Skuld began. “I...” Ranma started. I’msorryIhit you!”. “I’msorryIcalledyouuncute!” They finished their unintelligible remarks at the same time, both having spoken so fast that their mirroring reply to each other came in the form of an eloquent , “Huh?” The two found themselves looking at each other’s flustered faces and soon nervousness gave way to contagious smirks growing into full-blown laughter. After a few minutes, Ranma spoke up first, “Sorry about that,” she said a bit sheepishly. “I kinda’ thought you were someone else.” Skuld relaxed a bit nodding. A slight tint of red still touched her face. “I’m sorry I hit you. My name is Skuld,” she said meekly. Ranma inclined her head. “Nice to meet ya, I’m Ra-“ “Ah! Good, your finally awake!” Urd interrupted as she walked into the room. Under her arm was a first aid kit and an ice pack. She looked at Ranma nodding her head approvingly. “I though your were going to be out a little longer. You shouldn’t be getting up so soon though. You took a pretty nasty bump. Kiddo over there is tougher than she looks,” Urd said tilting her head toward Skuld. “It was an accident. I was chasing after a bug!“ Skuld caught herself remembering the reason she had gotten so worked up in the first place. “Oh my gosh! It’s still out there!” she exclaimed bringing her hands to her face. With out any further comment she scrambled up from the floor grabbing her mallet and rushed out the door. Urd steadied herself after being turned around by Skuld’s hasty exit. “What was that about?” “She was chasing after that stupid spider-bunny- thing,” Ranma explained. Urd looked at the redhead with a surprised look. “You can see bugs?” “Bugs? Is that what it is? Well what ever it is I hope she gets it!” Ranma said nodding his head. Urd rubbed her chin speculatively. “It’s kind off odd that you can see bugs. Maybe it has something to do with the impact to your head,” she said thinking aloud. She moved in giving Ranma’s head a closer look. “H-Hey! What are you doing?” “Oh, just hold still. Hm… I could have sword that there was a concussion. Does it hurt when I do this?" she asked tapping a place on the girl's head. “Ack!!!” Ranma fell to the ground twitching. "I knew I was right," Urd said nodding to herself. This calls for some serious investigation. With a whirl of her dress, she was instantly dressed in a doctor’s gown complete with medical bag. Pulling up her rubber gloves she nodded her head satisfied. “Now I’m ready!” she exclaimed. With out further ado she got to work poking Ranma’s head writing down her observations on her clipboard. “Hm… this could take a while,” she said to the twitching redhead beside her. ***-----**-----*** Skuld glanced down at the Bugcorder in her hand. With the Bugcorder switched on, no bug would be able to hide within a five-kilometer radius of the temple. Slowly making her way through the grounds, Skuld kept her eyes on the scanner waiting for the readings to grow stronger. Her ears perked up as a faint blip appeared on the screed. Hefting up her hammer she carefully made her way toward the general direction of the signal. Just one good solid bop would be enough to send the bug packing. She would have to be quick about it though. The longer the bug was allowed to remain loose, the more damage it was capable of doing. There were in essence glitches to the Yiggrasil system. Their very existence has drastic affects on the course of creation. The chaos that one loose bug could inflict would be staggering. With a frown on her face tried to puzzle out how it was possible for a bug to have come to earth in the first place. The signal was growing stronger as she reached the edge of the temple estate. Further on was the forested area left to be overgrown with bushes and shrubbery. It was impossible to clearly see through all the foliage. Checking the Bugcorder, she saw that the signal was still growing stronger. Which meant only one thing. “It’s coming toward me,” Skuld realized. It was a perfect stop to just sit and wait. Hefting her hammer over her head she got ready to strike. ‘Just a little closer’ she thought as the blips on the scanner were getting closer. One-hundred meters… seventy-five meters… fifty meters… twenty-five… fifteen… seven… three… two… one… “Now!” Skuld yelled as the bushes in front of her rustled with movement. She swung bringing her hammer down just a furry white blurred out from under the grove. With a thud the heavy tool hit the ground but missed the bug by the closest of margins. The critter itself proceeded on, bouncing through her legs back toward the house. Off balance, Skuld tumbled over herself landing in a heap. She grit her teeth in frustration. “Rats!!!” It was then shat she felt something else coming out from the grove. Instinctively her body sensed the danger. It was the feeling of the supernatural, and the demonic. Her face paled as she suddenly realized that a pair of glowing red eyes were watching her from the brush. And as they came for her, she screamed. ***-----**-----*** Back at the house Ranma was still recovering from the prodding and poking that Urd had inflicted upon her. Glancing at the white haired woman who was methodically reviewing her test results, Ranma made a mental note never to deliver there again. “So?” she asked impatiently. “What’s wrong with me?” Finishing reading the test results, Urd looked up from her notes and with a serous expression she said, “You got a bump on the head.” Ranma face faulted. It was then that an explosion rocked the house, throwing both of women to the ground. The rafters creaked and shifted as plaster on the ceiling cracked and pieces of it fell from the walls. “What the heck was that?!?” Urd said staggering up. Her question was quickly answered as she saw Skuld come running to the door. As she reached the entrance the little goddess reached into her jacked pulling out one of her Skuld bombs and throwing it out behind her. “Fire in the hole!!!” Skuld yelled ducking onto the living room couch. Ranma who had just managed to get up was sent back to the ground as the explosion rocked the house to its very foundation. “This just isn’t my day…” she wheezed on the floor. “What do you think you’re doing?!?” Urd said screaming at her sister. Before the younger goddess could answer a deafening howl filled the air. The three covered their ears from the pain was the windows throughout the home shattered. The wall farthest from them toppled inwards, revealing a massive from out side. Three pairs of glowing eyes could be seen as the dust settled. Urd paled instantly recognizing was it was. “Kami- sama… Cerberus!” “What?” Ranma shouted looking in awe at the beast. It was as large as a car with a coat of black, frosted at the edges with gray. Surrounded by the hot glow of fire, wherever its feet touched the ground the earth smoldered. And from its three heads little whips of flame could be seen. “He’s the hound of hell, guardian of the gates of the dead,” Skuld said from behind Urd. “I know that! But how the heck did he get here?” Urd said taking a step back as the monster hound lumbered forward. As it did so, the three heads sniffed the air. The three girls huddled close to each other with Urd placing herself in front of Skuld and Ranma. “What do you think he’s looking for,” Skuld whispered to the two. “Probably lunch” Ranma said grimly. Just as she finished speaking the three heads froze as their gazes converged upon the three girls. A low rumble grew within it and the eyes flared up like glowing embers. “Run!” Urd screamed as a fiery blast exploded. Even as she spoke, she hastily drew up a protective shield around them. Barely managing to get it up in time, the impact forced her to her knees. The opposite walls of the house instantly caught aflame and were blown away. “Oneesan!” Skuld shouted. “I can’t hold it!” Urd said through her teeth. Around them the spell faltered, cracks appearing on the transparent surface then finally giving way. The force knocked all of them back sending them flying out into the yard. Urd protected the other two as much as she could taking the brunt of the blast onto herself. She fell to the ground unconscious, fully spent. “Ungh!” Ranma tumbled to the ground hard. She felt as if she was on fire. Struggling to get up the pealing skin and the blistering on her arms and legs. Ranma looked up in horror so see the behemoth charging towards her. It was all that she could do to bring her hands up to guard her head as a massive reached out and batted her aside like a rubber ball. Ranma gasped as she felt her ribs go. She skidded across the yard, her body crawling across the hard earth. Her back slammed into a tree near the edge of the temple grounds, the trunk splitting from the impact. She came to rest at the tree’s base. Hunched over and bleeding, there was only a blank stare in her eyes. ***-----**-----*** Skuld’s face drained of color as she saw Cerberus strike down the pig-tailed girl. “Kami-sama…” Her eyes turned toward the three headed beast. “You… you monster!!!” she screamed. Digging into her jacked she pulled out the last of her bombs and threw it. It landed with a metallic ‘tink’ at feet of the hound and exploded. The dust cleared revealing a large crater and a very angry beast. Skuld stepped back in shock seeing that the blast had little affect on him only serving only to make her a new target. With a mad howl the three heads charged forward. Skuld stood there wide eyed as Cerberus came in. Like a deer caught in headlights the terror that was inside of her held her firmly to the ground. She looked up in horror, as the middle head of the came down going in for the kill. With that she closed her eyes as the jaws struck. The blow never came. She opened her eyes and an expression of wonder came to her face as she saw a little metal snowman protectively standing over her. Its mechanical arms holding the monster back. “Banpei-kun!!!” ***-----**-----*** Scurrying out from the undergrowth, the now familiar bug popped it head out cautiously seeing if all was clear. Carefully is slowly made its way to the Ranma. With a concerned look in its eyes it crept up close to the girl softly nuzzling her hand. It looked up blinking a few times as the girl began to stir slightly. Ranma woke up feeling wave of pain hit her. Seeing the bug there she managed a weak smily. “Sorry little guy,I don’t have food for ya this time.” She said hoarsly The little bug didn’t seem to mind and instead hopped up on her lap. Looking at her inquiringly. Time seemed to slow down for Ranma and she felt a growing cold within he body. “I’m dying” she thought as her life flashed before her eyes. Images streaming so fast that they were a blur. It was like a whold bunch of snapshots of her life. Important pictures in the album of her memory. It kept going until it finally ended with a girl’s smiling face in his mind. “Akane…” but the image changed blurring and morphing to face of the young dark-haired girl she had only just met that day. ‘Her name,” Ranma thought, ‘What was her name…’ as much as she tried she couldn’t seem to remember. And them finally it came to her. The girl’s name was ‘Skuld…’ Ranma didn’t know why, but she knew that in was important. With a content sigh on her face she let out one last breath and let the darkness take her. On her lap the bug nuzzled her again trying to rouse her. A golden nimbus formed around the bug, slowly spreading to cover Ranma also. ***-----**-----*** Banpei-kun MarkII was slowly giving up ground as it struggled against the beast. Skuld had fallen back rushing to Urd who was looking worse for the ware. Turning back to the battle she could see the the little robot was no match for the beast “Banpei-kun retreat!” They would have to find another way beat Cerberus. The sensor eyes lit up to her voice but the small robot didn’t withdraw. Instead it dug its legs down into the dirt even as its metal arms began to melt. “Banpei retreat!” Skuld screamed. “That’s an order!” but sill he wouldn’t comply. Already he was beginning to buckle under the stress. Pulling out her computer and manually typing in the command. “No…” she whispered seeing the response on the screen. >Command Authorization Recognized: Skuld-sama >Retreat Command Acknowledged >EROR: current command in conflict with Prime Directive >Prime Directive: Preservation of Life >Command overruled "Banpei-kun, No!!!" Skuld screamed. She watched in horror as Cerberus's other two heads moved in clamping down on Banpei on both sides tearing the brave little robot apart. Metal shards and wire littered the ground as Cerberus tossed what remained of the robot on the ground. The three heads focused once again at the young goddess. A fiery aura grew around Cerberus his eyes once again burning like they did before. The three heads howled in unison as a firestorm erupted sending out a massive wall of heat and flame. ‘Kami-sama, please help us!’ Skuld prayed out as she clutched onto Urd protectively. As the flames reached raced toward her, a point of light appeared in directly in the flame’s path. More dots of light appeared spreading out and expanding, their golden glow shielding diverting the fire away. Skuld watched in amazement as everything else around her was caught up in the inferno. Then slowly the dots of light came together, forming up and joining bit by bit as a shape formed before her very eyes. Cerberus roared again sending out another sheath of flame. As the new blast approached, a figure coalesced from the bits of light. Skuld only caught a glimpse as the figure charged forward into the oncoming flame. Over the rush of the roaring fire she could hear a voice call out. "Hiryu Shouten Ha!!!" A vertical tornado of wind ripped through air spiraling upward, pulling the flames with it. In the cyclone she saw Cerberus ripped off from the ground and hurled high into the sky. He seemed to hover in the air for a brief moment. Then as with all things that go up, he came crashing down landing a few hundred meters from the house. The impact was awesome leaving a massive crater. Cerberus laid still and unmoving from where he had hit. “Hey are you ok, Skuld?” a voice asked. Skuld spun around startled. In front of her stood a young boy about her age. Dressed in a white clothes a bit big for him. The setting sun caught his face, and she saw the three marks of a god reflecting the light. Her heart stopped recognizing it was. "Ranma?" she said her voice was a whisper. "Skuld what's wrong?" he asked alarmed, seeing tears in her eyes. Before he could react she latched on to him burying her face in his chest. "Nothing, nothing's wrong. Not anymore..." she said. ***-----**-----*** “Thank you for the wonderful evening Keiichi,” Belldandy said as they walked out of the restaurant. She held on to his arm as they made their way through the city. “Then I’m glad that we went out tonight then,” he said feeling her warmth with his. It had been a perfect night and he silently wished time would stop so that it could remain so. “Belldandy, I’m glad that I wished for you to stay with me. I don’t know that I’d do if you ever left” “Keiichi, even if we part I believe that we will find each other again. Kami-sama works in many ways.” Belldandy said resting her head on his shoulder. And as the night passed on, the two enjoyed one another’s company under the smiling light of the stars above. The end(for now) Authors notes: I tried really hard on this one so if you don’t like it I very, very, very sorry and I’ll try to do better next time.