Oh My Goddess! 1. Chapter 1

_Ah! My Goddess__ is the copyrighted property of Kosuke Fujisnima. This story is a separate work of fiction using characters from the original not written for profit under the Fair Use doctrine regarding copyrighted materials._

_This story is inspired in part by Deathmvp's story __What is Better?__ , Davner's story __Second dawn__ and his on going epic __Haloes.__ As well as the emails I have received from other readers._

**Ah! Does size really matter?**

Chapter 1:

Once, long ago Gods, Demons and Mortals were all the same save for their affinity for certain types of magic. Magic, or more precisely the energy that powers the magic, is a living thing. This living power, like all-living things needs the correct type of environment in which to grow. Like different species of plants and animals, an environment that is suitable for a certain type of magical power might actually be hostile to another. The Gods represent one such environ, the Demons the polar opposite. This power found its way onto these fertile fields and the beings in whose hearts and souls this power grew tended to its needs, nurtured it, and harvested it, bending it to their will. Like the giant trees that live deep in the forest, the longer the person whose heart and soul this power dwelled within lived, the stronger it became. Thus a symbiotic relationship was formed between the power and its wielder and longevity was the ultimate outcome.

Then came the Great Cataclysm caused by the war that shattered Pangaea and split the world in three. An imbalance was created. Where before the power that was the birthright of all living things was dispersed throughout the worlds. Now all was gone, hoarded by one side or the other, save for the one power that the two smaller realms had scorned and had left behind on the mortal plane.

Evil, the only power left in the mortal world, flourished in the hearts and souls of those left behind. Like the symbiosis that existed between the powers of the Gods and Demons, evil too granted those who embraced it with extended life.

And the evil that lived within men grew and became more powerful. And all that lived on the mortal plane suffered because of it. And the world was in peril. But a few men refused to be slaves to their desires; some recognized the danger and tried to do something to correct the imbalance. But naught could be done to halt the spread of evil as it continued to grow like a cancer across the mortal plane, and all who tried to stem this tide were hunted to extinction for their efforts.

A desperate solution was finally hit upon. As one of the last of the uncorrupted tribes of man prepared to meet their end at the hands of those who had already succumbed, the elders came up with a plan. To keep their lineage alive they used the last of their gentle power to bless their women so the evil ones would spare their lives. They blessed them with fair skin and light colored hair and other beauty heretofore unknown in the mortal world. And the evil men were smitten by their beauty and began to forsake their own kind in favor of the blessed ones. They took them to be wives and mothers and from them the next generation of man was beget to carry on into the future. However, the evil ones drunk with power and lust had allowed themselves to be deceived, for hidden within that blessing was a curse, old age!

The now dead elders of that forgotten tribe had known that in order to stop evil from spreading out of control then it must be denied the time it needed to grow. As their final act of defiance this one tribe of man cursed their own daughters and the children they would bare with death. Denying their own progeny the longevity enjoyed by the Gods and Demons. In so doing they insured that the evil that lived within them could no longer fully mature.

And all that lived on the mortal plane suffered because of it. But the world was no longer in peril. And the spread of evil was held in check. And the balance was restored. That is, until a certain young goddess met and fell in love with a certain mortal.

Now, although the spread of evil had been slowed it still grew and like all living things once denied its own place to live it adapted to its new environs and became something more sinister, more destructive, than any who lived in the two other realms could imagine. Mankind's ability to destroy, fed by the evil in their hearts, had discovered a way to do the impossible. They had discovered a way to destroy a living soul! Suddenly the mortal plane, so long ignored by both Heaven and Hell, was thrust center stage into the affairs of both realms. The first move had been made by Heaven. Urd, half demon and half god hybrid had been conceived to bridge the gap between the two smaller realms. Unknowingly, Urd had already begun answering the call of a higher destiny and had brought mortal and goddess together. A first step down the long road to reconciliation.

Belldandy and Keiichi completed each other. Two souls whose paths were never meant to cross had formed an unbreakable bond nonetheless. Love was the glue that held the bond tight and love was the fertile field in which their power grew. And a new power was born. Alloyed with the strength of man and the empathy of a goddess the two had become something greater than the sum of their two selves. Heaven knew it. Hell knew it. All feared it. All except the one goddess whose soul was constantly torn between the light and the darkness who saw through to the truth of it.

As a result of Hild's abortive attempt to crash Yggdrasil, Keiichi now possessed forbidden knowledge that endangered both realms. All attempts to seal his mind had failed, thwarted by circumstance or Belldandy's interference. The only real fix, Hild knew, was to end Keiichi's life but to take Keiichi's life was to take Belldandy's life as well. Both sides knew that Belldandy would sacrifice herself to save him and failing that would let death take her if he fell.

Such was the nature of the Gordian knot that faced the old god as he watched the leader of the other side feign sleep, as she too pondered her next move.

"Can't you at least fake it?" came the bored voice of Hild from the other side of the bed.

"Prickly problem we have here," he sighed, "we both need him silenced, you want him dead and I need him alive."

"It's the mortal curse isn't it? Really, they did it to themselves. You should just let nature take its course."

"That's not really true, we both share part of the blame for the original cause of that curse. Had the two realms not hoarded all the earth's magic then their lives wouldn't be so short. Besides, I couldn't afford to lose Belldandy back then and I still can't afford to lose her now!"

"Belldandy is pretty much a lost cause." Hild remarked, "Even with Heaven's advanced science you can't really extend his life by all that much. Even if you could, what do you think would happen when the Evil power growing in his heart finally came into its own? You should be thankful that she was granted this small amount of respite. Pull them apart now and hope she survives the trauma."

"No, if I were to do that, then Urd's design would be compromised. I can't help but believe that our little girl's destiny has somehow already started to outstrip both of our ideas. A setback this early on could cause the tapestry of her entire future to unravel."

"When did you become such a poet?"

"The lust you inspire in my soul makes me want to reach ever higher in order to compensate."

"I'm not really that evil dearest, I'm just better at it than anybody else. For instance, if you were to give Keiichi to me, then with a little sensory depravation, I could atrophy his soul until the curse falls away. The evil in his heart more closely aligns with Demon power anyway. After a little enforced separation, we could allow the young lovers to reunite."

"In exchange for Keiichi's soul would you be willing to grant Belldandy the title Daemon?"

"Hell no! There is no way I could allow that goody two shoes anywhere near my boardroom. The first thing she would do was make everyone start cleaning the place up."

"But you have tried usurping her power before."

"That was different. That was under my terms. If she negotiates her entry into hell then I will have to grant her concessions. Anyway, didn't you say you were going to elevate him?"

"That would be the ideal solution true, but I still need a method of connecting him to Yggdrasil. Since he is from the mortal plane the only way to do that would be to integrate his soul with someone's from heaven."

"What's wrong with Belldandy's?"

"It's too horribly scarred, to take a piece of her soul right now before she's healed could have severe repercussions."

"Then how about Urd's or Skuld's?"

"That won't work either, Urd's is in constant struggle, torn between the two of us. If I were to take a piece of hers then it would have to be from the divine half and that could very well tip her internal balance of power your way."

"Is that so bad really? I am her mother after all."

"No it isn't really all that bad, but I really want our little girl to have her freedom of choice."

"Then how about Skuld?"

"After countless iterations Skuld's soul has just now grown strong enough to support her own angel. You know the stats. better than I do. What are the odds that she could recover before I had to pass final judgment on her?"

"Pretty poor, I must admit. So then let me repeat my original offer: Give me Keiichi and I will allow Belldandy to remain with him. However, it will be under my conditions. I won't compel her to switch sides but if she decides to do so of her own freewill then you cannot stop her or require that I give her any preferential treatment."

"It might come down to Hobson's choice." he said patting her on the rump.

"You mean, 'An apparent freewill choice that is really the only course of action available?'" Hild said.

"It's possible, fortunately I don't have to make a decision right away, so let's table this discussion for now and take it up again at next months meeting."

"You know, I think you drag these negotiations on just so you can have an excuse to get me in bed every month."

"That could be true, but I don't think you have any reason to complain. We both know that your being here with me is what is keeping your board of directors in check."

"Well we both seem to know why I'm here, but why do you keep coming?"

"Primarily because I want too and of course the bragging rights."

"Bragging rights?"

"Well you know how it is, being a first class deity and all I can't lie. So if anybody were to ask what I was doing last night I can just look them in the eye and say, 'Nailing the ruler of the Infernal Realm to the bed of some sleazy love hotel,' and have them know it was all true."

This seemingly intimate betrayal caused Hild to blush angrily until she saw the grin on the Almighty Ones face as he looked back at her.

"Of course being the AMO nobody ever asks anything about me, only things of me." he said with a mock sadness.

"For me it is much the same," Hild remarked, "nobody ever asks… if they know what's good for them!

"Okay," Hild said becoming all business, "Let's go over our talking points for this month. I have agreed to stay out of the Middle Eastern market for the short term and in exchange you will allow me to increase my marketing force in the remaining markets to compensate. Heaven will not be allowed to increase its force in the remaining regions but must instead compensate for lost market share through increased sales in their protected market. If Heaven fails to obtain overall market parity then they cannot compensate by increasing their influence in the other markets. Does that about cover it?"

"The way you make it sound it seems as if I'm giving away the farm!" the Almighty One said.

"Well that's the way I'm going to explain it to my board any way." Hild smiled smugly. "If I were you I'd say something along the lines of how you have obtained unlimited access to a virgin market for Heaven to exploit."

"Virgin market?" the old god asked quizzically, "You mean to say you don't have a presence in that region?"

"Hell no! Those people scare the hell out of me. Can you imagine the havoc they would create if I allowed them to contract with the Infernal Realm?"

"Then what you are telling me is…"

"That's right dear," Hild smiled evilly, "you just bargained away access to your already established markets in exchange for access to one that was already wide open to begin with."

For a brief second the old god's visage clouded with anger before he forced a neutral expression on his face. "You… you naughty girl!" he finally sputtered out, "I just might have to spank you next month."

"Oh, about that," Hild started to say casually, "I really don't see any need to continue with these monthly negotiations for now. So I'll just say goodbye and say that it has been a business doing pleasure with you."

With that she stood up, allowing the old god one last look at her naked body before vanishing into thin air.

As soon as her presence faded the AMO arose and joined Lind who was standing guard outside and the two ascended to heaven. Once safely back in the heavenly realm Lind asked.

"Did you get what you wanted?"

"That and more," he smiled at her, "and the best part is, Hild actually thinks she got the better of me."

"I was monitoring your 'ahem' negotiations, it did seem to me that you gave away the farm."

"True I did, but what I bought with it was so much more important."

"And that was?"

"A safe haven. Not only for Keiichi and Belldandy but for the host as well. You see Hild's reason for staying out of that market was because she is afraid that if they do start doing business with the mortals there then their clients will turn on each other and eventually her market will shrink into nothingness. By pulling out for the short term she believes that Heaven will go in and stabilize the area and then she will try to negotiate for a better share at some future date."

"And isn't that what you are planning on doing?"

"Not at all, if the need arises I intend to move the entire host into the region immediately and I won't be polite about it either. If anyone dares to oppose them they will be dealt with summarily!"

"It sounds like you are preparing for a war!"

"It's possible," the old god conceded, "Hild's focus is now on Urd, which is why she has become so cooperative, but I doubt that she will allow Urd to ascend her throne until she knows that her legacy is assured."

"So what you're saying is… You're thinking first strike!" Lind gasped in astonishment. "You are going to forcefully remove Hild and place Urd on her throne!"

Suddenly the cheerful expression on the old god's face was replaced by the cold look of stone.

"The reunification will happen!" the Almighty One declared, "The Infernal Realm can join willingly or by force but unite we will!"

This uncharacteristic admission by the old god caught Lind totally off guard. Now, if the Valkyrie could be said to be in love with anyone, then it would have been with this person. For many lifetimes they had stood side by side and the bond between them had become so strong that it transcended time. However, the person who stood beside her now was not the same as the one whose side she had fought next too so many lifetimes in the past. He had become harder and more determined, almost to the point of being ruthless. For a brief second Lind was moved to stroke his face before catching herself.

"When did this happen?" she asked him.

"I have been here so many times before and you have always stood by my side," he sighed, "did you know that you were once even my wife? The many lifetimes we lead are just nature's way of allowing the soul to continue to evolve. But the cycle isn't endless. Eventually you, I, all of us, will have evolved as far as we can. When that happens then there won't be a need for us any longer and we will rise no more. I've been here since the world was young and lately I've begun to feel fate pulling on the strings of my soul. The time is fast approaching when many of us will have lived our last lifetime. The future belongs to first-timers like Urd and Belldandy. But before we hand the world over to them we need to clean up the mess we made of it. That's why it's so important that Urd's design not be thwarted. The world must become whole again and the magic we hoard allowed to return from whence it came. To accomplish that she will need powerful allies like you and Belldandy to help work her will. Should that happen after I'm gone then it will be up to you old-timers to keep the kids from making our mistakes."

"I can tell you've been giving this idea a lot of thought." Lind remarked.

"Doublet was just a first step; the host still needs time to recoup its strength. When the time finally comes to once again join battle I will need every resource at Heaven's disposal.

"My immediate problem, however, is that Belldandy has promised Keiichi to remain by his side until life ends. I originally thought this was only going to be a minor inconvenience that would fix itself after Keiichi's short march of years had expired. After I took a closer look at Belldandy's true intent, I discovered that she fully intends to give up her life with his. I cannot allow this situation to stand. Belldandy must not be allowed to squander her life no matter what!" He declared.

"If that means we have to give Keiichi and her over to the other side temporarily then so be it! However, I would prefer a less draconian solution, one where Belldandy retains her purity and gets to keep her knight in shining armor for as long as she wants."

"I don't understand the strategic significance," Lind argued, "Belldandy is not a Valkyrie, she has no combat experience. From a military standpoint to lose her would be of little consequence."

"Think not? Remember she killed six, I repeat six, guardians sent to apprehend a rogue God and she was just a little girl at that time. Can you imagine the damage she could do with her current power level?"

"Put that way she could be considered a threat to all three realms."

"That's right," the old god smiled, "and her sister Urd is potentially more powerful still."

"Why do you allow it?" asked Lind in astonishment, "If they continue to evolve they could become a threat to creation itself! Hild was worried about Keiichi precipitating Armageddon; left unchecked they could bring about Ragnarok!"

"Precisely," the Almighty One said, "only by destroying all three realms and re-forging them can the three be made whole again. Subconsciously Belldandy is already aware of the potential threat she poses. I think that might be one of the reasons why she is so dead set on her current path. A path from which she must be turned."

"But why? You're risking all of creation to spare the life of one goddess!"

"Do you want to know the real reason why Celestin failed?" the old god asked, "It wasn't because of any superior logic or power on our part. It was because the world wanted him to fail, it wanted to stay as it was. All Belldandy and her sisters did was to restore to its original purpose, that which had been twisted. The world went back together because it wanted too. I can place Urd on both the Throne's of Heaven and Hell but until the world itself wishes to become whole again then it won't become so. But when that time comes, when all the pieces are in place and the forge ready for the hammer if we don't have the fire hot enough then all will be for naught! I can tolerate a certain amount of selfishness in Belldandy's behavior but not to this level. She was born destined for a higher purpose than to be some puny mortal's domestic goddess! I want her brought back into the fold!"

"The key to Belldandy is Keiichi, obviously. She will not allow herself to pass before him." Lind stated flatly, "If we can co-opt him to your cause then Belldandy will follow."

"The dealings of the Heavenly realm are not the business of some lowly mortal!"

"I don't dispute that, but Hobson says otherwise. Belldandy doesn't want to die anymore, she wants to live and she wants to live her life with Keiichi. If you wait until it is too late, until the only choice you have left is to give the two of them over to Hild in order to save her life then you will be giving the Infernal Realm a tremendous advantage. One that I guarantee Hild will exploit to its fullest potential. Keep in mind Keiichi doesn't need to play that big a role, or for that matter even be aware that he has any part to play at all. Whatever we do though, we must act quickly."

"You know," the old god said as he stared off into space, another perk of being the AMO is the duel perspective it gives you, as her father I think it may be a bit premature to do so, but as the AMO I think it's time we call on the Norn of the future."

"What would you have me do?"

"I'll leave that to you Lind. Just remember to be discreet, Hild thinks I've boxed myself in. If she discovers that we are working a solution she will act to stop us."

"Yes my Lord."

A few minutes later Lind's hand was hovering over the send key as she re-read the simple action message she composed. "I'm sorry to do this to you little one," she sighed to herself, "but the other side watches you like a hawk."

FROM THE DESK OF THE AMO:

SUBJECT: Orders for immediate action:

CLASSIFICATION: High.

Beginning immediately, Dream Casters will begin issuing a level one warning of future catastrophe to the Hokkaido region. Beginning at the lowest power level, the Operations officer will steadily increase power by .01 percent every day until further notice.

Signed: Goddess 1st Spec. Cat. Lind. _Per direction of the AMO._


	2. Chapter 2

Ah! Does Size Really Matter. Ch.2

Dreams:

Of what do you dream? If you're the Goddess of the past you dream of days of old, of battles won and lost, of old loves now gone forever, of triumphs and failures whose memories are now faded by time. If you happen to be the Goddess of the present then you dream about today, of the small dreams of others as you helped them come true. Of the new dawn and the man who lay beside you as you continued on your voyage of discovery.

The most interesting dreams by far, however, are those of the Goddess of the future. Nothing in the future is fixed, and what was implausible yesterday becomes the certainty of tomorrow, as decisions are made that constantly change the course of History.

Into Skuld's dreams had come an uncomfortable repetition. The same scene that played itself out over and over again. One where the outcome was always the same, one where she always woke with a feeling of loss and profound sadness. Fearing these dreams were warnings she decided to investigate, starting with a call to Heaven.

"Hello, operations," she spoke into the phone, "This is Skuld, Goddess second class, limited license. I need a prognostication. Near bracket plus 40 years, far bracket plus 60. Impacted equipment: Yggdrasil, Impact level: Catastrophic, Confidence: High." She spoke in a voice that sounded more confident than she really was.

"It will take some time to filter through that much data, came the voice of the French goddess from the receiver. I'll have Yggdrasil dump the results directly to you after the run is complete."

"Thank you Peorth, catch you later, goodbye for now," she spoke into the receiver before hanging up the phone and returning to her room, losing herself in her latest project.

Her concentration was so complete that the phone was on its fifth ring before the noise finally attracted her attention. By then Keiichi had already lifted the receiver to his ear and Yggdrasil had begun automatically dumping its data into his consciousness. The output, which for all the world sounded like a computer modem, alerted Skuld to the situation and she hurried into the hall, snatching the receiver, too late, from Keiichi's hands. Ignoring his ashen expression she hurriedly entered the code to get the heavenly system to repeat its last message before it disconnected.

Keiichi was so stunned by what had just happened that he staggered in shock to the front porch before his legs gave out and he sat down heavily, his mortal mind trying to come to grips with Yggdrasil's horrifying revelation. A few minutes later a visibly shaken Skuld, holding a full container of ice cream with two spoons, joined Keiichi on the steps of the temple.

"Have some ice cream," she offered, "Please tell me you weren't able to understand any of that data dump just now?"

"You knew all along didn't you?" he replied flatly.

"Not really," she sighed, "I just felt something was wrong and went with my gut. Not very logical behavior on my part I'll admit."

"And the reason you're not tossing bombs at me right now is?"

"It would be a total waste of time, things have gotten beyond that."

"You're the goddess of the future; surely you can tell me how I can fix this?"

"I don't know Keiichi," she looked away sadly, "I just don't know, but step one of my patented Skuld inventors' checklist is: First define the problem. Up until just now I haven't known what the problem was. Now that I do I can start trying to get a handle on it."

"You make it sound like this is just another simple math problem! She is your sister!"

"I know that!" Skuld started to snap before reining her emotions in, "One thing I didn't know though was all that crap that Celestin pulled! No wonder she wanted to stay here. Maybe now that she is starting to heal I can find a way to alter her future. Don't worry, with enough time and ice cream I know I can find a way to fix this."

With that Skuld went back into the temple leaving the half-eaten container of ice cream with Keiichi.

"But we both know it's a circular problem," Keiichi thought to himself, "like the game of tic-tac-toe circle can never win, only force a draw, but in this case a draw is the same as losing."

A few hours later, Urd was alerted to the problem by a CC message from Peorth and the uneasy silence that had fallen on the Temple. After consulting with Skuld she joined Keiichi on the steps, the remaining ice cream in the container was now nothing more than melted slush.

"Skuld told me what happened," she smiled down at him, "I'm surprised your mind was able to input all that data, but to be able to interpret it as well, I am impressed."

"All I ever wanted was to stay with her, nothing more. Now my own selfishness has killed her."

"Believe it or not Keiichi the whole universe does not revolve around you!" she snapped.

"This is my fault Urd and I know it!" Keiichi cried. "If I hadn't made that wish then she wouldn't be in the position she's in right now!"

"You are partially responsible for the problem, that's true. But you must understand that there is more going on here than you realize."

"Such as?"

"You have heard the term Hobson's choice?"

"An apparent freewill choice that is actually the only course of action available." Keiichi quoted from the text.

"That's right; you had no choice but to meet Belldandy. I made sure of that for my own selfish reasons! For your wish that she stay with you to be granted it had to be a wish from the heart. Again you really didn't have a choice in the matter."

"So now you're saying that some guy who leased out horses almost 400 years ago is the reason we are in this situation!"

"No, Keiichi I'm not saying that at all. Tell me, do you ever wonder how Yggdrasil works? The mechanics of it I mean?"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Humor me okay. Answer the question."

"No, I never thought much about it, I understand it's something like a big super computer."

"That's a pretty good analogy I guess, but it could also be described as resembling the World Wide Web. The reason I draw that analogy is because all of its processes are decentralized into innumerable organic interfaces throughout the universe."

"Organic, isn't that kind of slow?"

"If looked at as a single processor, yes. But I'm sure you remember that trick where a bunch of undergrads gathered up all those discarded computers and then by linking them together made a machine that was exponentially faster than anything in existence at the time."

"Now that you mention it, yes."

"Well we, Belldandy, Skuld and I are all part of that interface. Each of us all performs a small roll in Yggdrasil's grand purpose."

"And can you tell me how does this effect Belldandy's situation?"

"Well… when you made your wish to Belldandy you became a part of that process as well."

"What!"

"You are just like us now. Part of the grand heavenly system known as Yggdrasil.

"When did this come about!"

"You remember when we told you that in exchange for granting a wish, Heaven receives a commensurate amount of energy in return? Well, Yggdrasil collects on that debt by using the untapped processing power of your brain to run its programs until the balance is restored. So when Belldandy granted your wish you became linked to Yggdrasil to pay back that debt."

"How is that even possible without me knowing about it?"

"Well most people, and I'm including myself as well, only use about 10 to 20 percent of the capacity of their brains. The rest is potentially untapped. Yggdrasil off loads some of its processes onto the client's brain to free up space on the main system. In effect it is recovering the energy used in the granting of the wish by making use of the untapped processing power of the client. From the outside it might appear as if you are getting something for nothing. But the fact of the matter is that the rules of TANSTaaFL still apply, even in Heaven."

"TANSTaaFL?"

"There Ain't No Such Thing as a Free Lunch." Urd smiled. "There is a problem with the unique nature of your wish though. In most cases the client wishes for something finite, something tangible that can be measured. The truce we have with the other side insures we are only allowed to recover as much energy as we used in the granting of the original wish, so there is a limit to how long Yggdrasil can stay inside a client's head. But your wish is unique. You had to go and wish for Belldandy to stay with you forever. From Yggdrasil's point of view that means that as long as she remains by your side then it will continue to collect on the debt."

"So what you're saying is that when I asked Belldandy to stay by my side Yggdrasil linked itself to me and has been there ever since!"

"Exactly, and because of that extended contact your will, like ours, became the will of Heaven and your wish quickly outgrew all of us. So you see it's not just about your wish anymore. Your wish has become Belldandy's wish and it's my wish. Hell, it's even Skuld's wish! Those forces you set in motion have obtained a life of their own. You, Belldandy, Skuld and I are all caught up in it and we are going to have to learn how to cope."

"If that's the case then why is Belldandy going to die! I never wished for that!"

"Because we are all just small cogs in an unimaginably vast machine, a machine with its own will and its own purpose and that will supersedes the will of us all. It's the way of things Keiichi, it always has been. While we might enjoy a longer life span than you it still is a finite number, death is a part of life, even for goddesses."

"So how does this help me cope with the fact that I've brought down one of Heavens own centuries before her time! I really wish you could tell me Urd because I'm on the verge of losing it right now!" Keiichi cried.

"I don't have an answer for you Keiichi but I will tell you this: Man Up! You're playing in the big leagues now. Whatever has to be done to fix this is going to be difficult if not downright impossible and Belldandy doesn't need you wasting effort dealing with your angst when you should be giving her all your strength!"

"Urd, that's enough!" came the stern voice of Belldandy from behind the two. "This was my decision and mine alone! None of us have a right to expect any more from Keiichi than he has already given!"

"That's not true Belldandy! Even though I brought the two of you together it was his wish that caused this problem! I have every right to expect him to shoulder his share of the responsibility for this situation."

"He has done nothing wrong! It was my choice to stay!"

"Very well, it is your funeral after all." Urd said throwing her hands up in disgust, "Keiichi talk to her will you! This Yamato Nadeshiko approach of hers is starting to wear a little thin!" With that Urd stalked back into the house pausing just inside the door as she listened for the other shoe to drop.

"Bell… Belldandy, Urd is right. It was my wish that caused this. You're a goddess after all. Your life should span centuries not just these few decades. Help me… help me make this right."

"Beloved, there is nothing to fix because there is nothing wrong. Have we not both been granted our hearts desire? I know you worry about the future but if we have been granted our happiness for today why must you worry about not being happy tomorrow? Just enjoy today while you can, tomorrow will be here soon enough."

"I can't be happy Belldandy, not when I know that my happiness came at the expense of the one I love."

"Keiichi," she began as she hugged him from behind, "Since this seems to be a day for revelations here is another one. The body art not withstanding, do you know the true difference between Gods and mortals?"

"Not really."

"Two grams!"

"What?"

"Two grams, the difference in the weight of a typical mortal's soul and that of a God's. It's that small difference that determines who is born a god and who is born mortal. It is that difference that allows us to commune with the world around us. It's what allows us to tap into the magic of creation and it is the manipulation of that magic that gives us our extended life. Had I not been born with that small handicap then I would be just the same as any other mortal, then we could have met and fell in love in the normal fashion and maybe even lived a normal life together. But that's not the case for us; even so I still wouldn't have it any other way. Besides, you worry too much. Even if we pass on our souls will remain behind. We are not this crude matter," she emphasized by poking him in the arm, "but rather spirits that just temporarily occupy the bodies we have been given. Our souls will continue on to rise again and the cycle of our lives will begin anew."

"That gives me some comfort at least," Keiichi sighed, "but what is a soul anyway?

"We don't really know, we can measure it, we can capture it and to a limited extent we can control it. But we don't know anything about what it is."

"You had to have known this was going to happen, why didn't you tell me?"

"Keiichi, long before we met I was already in love with you. Had you not asked me to remain by your side I still would have found a way to stay here with you. If you had known what the consequences were I know you would have sent me away, and I'm too selfish to be parted from you even if it means my life."

"But why make that sacrifice? Can this short span of time we have together make up for all those things that you'll never get to experience?"

"Keiichi, my beloved, time is just the currency of your life. The measure is not how many years you have to spend but how you spend the years. Fate and chance have given us this one lifetime together and I have freely chosen to spend all of it with you, a bargain by any definition of the word."

"Belldandy, I can't… I just can't bring myself to be that selfish. You are a goddess and the world needs you. Who will stand for you after we are both gone? What you're asking is wrong, it's just wrong!"

"That may be, but it is my choice and I will not be swayed. Rest now," she spoke soothingly to him as she reached into his mind, "rest and when you wake you will remember nothing of this day."

"Not fair," Keiichi thought as he fought in vain to hold on to his memories, "Don't I have a say at all."

"No, my beloved, you don't," she smiled as he drifted off into the void.

"What you just did now was wrong!" came the seething voice of Urd from behind her. "Keiichi should have a say even if you don't want him too!"

"It's the best compromise Urd," Belldandy said sadly, "this way we both get a full lifetime together. Otherwise they might take me earlier."

"What are you talking about? Who might take you, take you where?"

"Heaven, Hell, who knows? What I do know is they can't allow me to live for much longer."

"Belldandy you are sounding paranoid," Urd scoffed, "just exactly what do you mean?"

"Urd, besides Keiichi, only you know the truth. When I was just fifteen years old I killed six guardians, when I was twenty one I shattered my seals saving Keiichi's life, and just recently my usurped powers were used to steal the very secret of creation from Yggdrasil. My existence threatens the balance of the world and both sides know it. The remaining years of my life are limited."

"Belldandy, I…"

"I'm trapped Urd," she cried as she cradled Keiichi's head, "The more I love him the greater my power becomes. With the increase in my power the greater the threat I pose. Everyday the need to eliminate the threat I have become is more urgent. I need to pull back from him but I just can't do it! I love him so much that I just can't let him go."

"Belldandy, you're not making any sense. To do the Almighty's will to become more powerful so that Heaven may prosper is our mission. Why would they begrudge you that?"

"You know as well as I that both sides covet power, and both fear power they cannot control. Eventually one side or the other will be forced to take action and kill me. So I'm praying harder than I ever have before; Please grant me this one lifetime, please just grant me this short span of years. But I know in my heart that no one is listening."

"Our father would never let that happen and while my mother might try to steal your power she knows that I will never allow her to hurt you."

"Our father won't always be the Almighty One," Belldandy sighed, "the council is already becoming discontented with him. Doublet will be abolished as soon as another takes his place. When that happens Hild might try to capture me, but failing that she will kill me! I know this because I won't give her any other choice. So you see it really is nothing more than a matter of time. I just hope that it is enough time, enough for this one lifetime with Keiichi."

Urd was shocked! From the beginning she had always looked up to Belldandy. To hear her voice her fears, to have her foretell her tragic fate with such certainty caused Urd to take a hard look inside herself to that place in her heart where her own fears resided. Now Urd had always avoided responsibility. She always told herself that the reason that she wanted to remain a second class deity was so she might retain her ability to deceive. But now she realized that this was a lie, a lie that she was telling to herself! Belldandy's admission had forced her to look more closely at her true motivations. The real reason she now knew was she was afraid, afraid to develop her full potential for fear of how Heaven might see her. On the heels of that revelation another followed. Her father, her father knew as well.

"Well of course he knew you silly bitch". She chided herself, "he is called the Almighty One for a reason!" A battle was in the offing and like any good chess player her father was positioning his pieces on the board. That was the real reason that she had been punished by being forced to accept her First Class license. We must be in for one hell of a fight if he thinks he needs both of us, no wait; she thought remembering Skuld, also conveniently trapped down here on the mortal plain, all three of us at full power!

"God Almighty," she screamed to herself, "our father is fixing to bring about Ragnarok!"

Shaken she kneeled behind Belldandy as she continued cradling Keiichi's head in her lap. Wrapping World of Elegance's wings around the pair she whispered, "Oh Belldandy, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean for it to happen this way…"

In the distance thunder could be heard warning of an approaching storm.


	3. Chapter 3

Ah! Does size really matter?

Chapter 3

Much closer to the source of the noise, (read: As in standing right next to it!), Lind looked around the corner of the pillar where she had taken cover. Fortunately for her, sometime back during the dark ages the Yggdrasil technicians installed a fail-safe system designed to break the connection between the heavenly system and its primary organic interface should one or the other become unstable.

"Yamato Nadeshiko indeed!" the old god managed to shout out before the power surge hit the firewall and was reflected back into the antechamber.

_It was about here that Lind's finely honed reflexes saved her, as soon as the old god appeared without warning like he did; she knew the breaker had tripped and she dove for cover._

The main chamber, which also served as a command post as well as waiting room, had been filled with various deities who had been awaiting an audience, some for years, suddenly was almost empty. Everyone simultaneously discovering that they had some more pressing business to attend too elsewhere, except for the poor staffers and techs who were all wondering if it wasn't too late to call in sick.

Ignoring the rubble that continued to fall about his head and shoulders, "Of course nobody is listening! There is no way in Hell, I mean Heaven that I am going to allow Belldandy to give up her life without a fight!

"With the sole exception of the Kitty Kat, has there ever been a creature in all creation more fickle than that woman! Whose idea was it to have a binary reproductive system anyway!"

"I think that was the Almighty One's idea." Lind spoke from where she was hiding.

"Don't go laying that one at my feet!" the old god responded, "I didn't have anything to do with it!"

"Not you," Lind said in exasperation, "the other Almighty One, him!" Lind finished by sticking her arm around the corner and pointing at the sky.

Two things the old god noticed as his gaze followed where Lind was pointing were: 1) There was a hole in the roof of the antechamber. 2) He was corporeal again. As he looked at the rubble that had been his antechamber he caught Lind's gaze as she crawled from behind the pillar where she had taken cover while trying, unsuccessfully, to retain her stoic expression. "Circuit trip?" he asked.

Lind, afraid to speak for fear of laughing, could only nod her head yes.

"Yggdrasil?"

Lind shook her head no.

"Me?" he asked pointing to his chest.

Lind nodded her head yes while trying to stifle a laugh.

"Crap!" The old god sighed, "Well that ties it! I'm going over to visit with my daughters for a bit. Come get me when the techs have the system restored."

"Who should I place in charge while you're gone?" Lind managed to ask.

"Get Destiny's boyfriend to do it!"

"You keep doing things like this to her paramours and we are going to run out of gods willing to keep that old cougar happy!" she shouted after him as he faded into nothingness.

Once back on Earth at the temple all three goddesses noticed his arrival. Skuld flew out the door without a second thought, Belldandy and Urd had both started to get up when Urd cautioned Belldandy. "Better you should stay and watch Keiichi. Remember what happened last time he visited." Suddenly very afraid Belldandy sat back down where Keiichi still lay and wrapped Holy Bell's wings around them both.

Joining Skuld and her father at the front gate as he tried to solve the riddle that was Banpei she asked him pointedly, "Well father, what brings you back to earth again?"

Lifting his finger to indicate silence he cast a quick spell that isolated Keiichi and Belldandy from the rest of the universe.

"Okay, now we can talk," her father said, "and can the attitude! I'm pissed enough at Belldandy as it is."

"Okay, were listening." Skuld said, as she unconsciously came to the aid of her sister.

"First off, it is imperative that you two understand that I will not allow Belldandy to destroy herself again! So, I need to know what kind of progress you two are making on resolving the situation with your sister and that mortal."

"Give me a break already!" Skuld snapped, "This thing just got dumped in our lap a few hours ago."

"And?" The old god said with obvious disdain.

"And it's not going to be that easy." Skuld said looking at the ground, "If Keiichi dies then Belldandy dies. The only way to save her is to restore his longevity but the chains of the mortal curse are wrapped around his soul very tightly. There isn't any way I can see to break them from the outside."

"Well then, have either of you two ever heard the term, Hobson's choice?"

"An apparent freewill choice that is really the only course of action available," the two Norns said in unison.

"And what is Hobson telling you to do right now?"

"I guess he is saying if you can't break the chains from the outside, then break them from within." Skuld answered.

"Then why aren't you working that angle?

"And what would you suggest we do? The human soul only resonates with evil." asked Urd.

"Well then there is your answer. Feed into that in order to empower his soul."

"We're goddesses!" Skuld protested, "Human evil is a totally alien concept to us! I don't even know where to begin!"

The old god stood and faced his oldest daughter then smiled down at Skuld and said, "You are going to have to follow your big sister's lead on this one."

"Who me?" Urd said pointing to herself.

"Yes you," he smiled at her conspiratorially, "and might I suggest that you start with the basics. The basics that your mother taught you that is."

With that the old god released the seal on the house indicating that the conversation was over and turning on his heel marched off to crash in Belldandy's bedroom.

"What was that all about?" Skuld asked.

"Demon 101," Urd answered her, "The seven deadly sins."

"What are those? I've never heard of them before." Skuld asked her.

"That's because they don't start teaching you about those in Heaven until you're in the upper grades. In the demon realm, however, they are a prerequisite before they let you graduate Elementary school.

**A few minutes later.**

"Okay," Skuld said, "I got my online Illustrated Goddess to Demon Lexicon translator up and running. According to it The Seven Deadly Sins are: Gluttony, Greed, Laziness, Wrath, Envy, Pride, and Lust. So, why don't we just go down the list and see what we got."

"Skuld," Urd sighed, "remember that thing about Hobson's choice?"

"Will you shut up about Hobson's choice already! I'm tired of hearing about it!"

"All right then, I was just trying to save some time, if you insist on doing it the hard way then let's start at the top of the list, Gluttony."

"Let's see here," Skuld said as she typed the word into her Palm Pilot, "Gluttony: Derived from the Latin gluttire meaning to gulp down or swallow. It means the over-indulgence and over-consumption of food, drink, or intoxicants to the point of waste.

"Doesn't apply to Keiichi." Urd stated, "While he will eat anything and everything that Belldandy makes for him he never does to excess."

"Okay let's try the next sin on the list, Greed: an excessive desire to possess wealth or goods."

"Well he certainly isn't greedy," Urd pointed out, "If he wanted, he could have asked Belldandy for a new car or even a limo, he even could have asked that she turn this place into a mansion. Instead he drives around town on an ancient BMW motorcycle and lives in a borrowed Temple. Next!"

"Sin number three, Laziness:"

"No need to even go there. He worked himself half to death trying to earn enough money to buy Belldandy that diamond ring."

"Point taken," Skuld acknowledged, "All right then moving along, sin number four! 'Wrath: Strong vengeful anger or indignation, retributory punishment for an offense or a crime: divine chastisement.' Crap!" Skuld exclaimed, "Belldandy might fit this description but not Keiichi."

"What's next?" Urd asked.

"Okay, Sin number five! Envy; well now we're getting somewhere! 'Envy: Also called invidiousness, is best defined as an emotion that 'occurs when a person lacks another's (perceived) superior quality, achievement, or possession and either desires it or wishes that the other lacked it.'

"This might actually work." Skuld thought out loud, "All we need to do is find out what Keiichi does not have that he wished he did. If we can figure that out then maybe we might have something to work with."

"Skuld," Urd said in exasperation, "Keiichi lives with three goddesses; while he might be _envied_ I don't think he really _envies_ anybody else."

"Scratch sin five then. Next on the list sin number six! 'Pride: A reasonable or justifiable self-respect, delight or elation arising from some act, possession, or relationship.' Yeah, finally we got him!"

"I'm afraid not," Urd said sadly, "a more correct term for this sin would be False Pride: An unreasonable or unjustifiable level of self-respect. That kind of attitude would be more akin to Aoshima, who really is the polar opposite of our Keiichi. There is no sin in feeling pride in your accomplishments as long as it's justifiable. It's when you start feeling too full of yourself or begin taking credit for the accomplishments of others that you start crossing that line over into the realm of sin."

"Darn it, I didn't know that being a demon could be this hard! Well then we're down to the final Sin, 'Lust: A craving for sexual intimacy to the point of being self-indulgent. A desire for the flesh of another. Not to be confused with the act of making love.' _See attached illustration for examples of the differences._" Skuld said as she opened the file, "Ah, ewe, uck! That's just disgusting. Don't tell me Keiichi and Belldandy are doing these sorts of things together at night!"

"I seriously doubt it," Urd sighed, "Keiichi is nothing if not the gentleman; I don't think his demeanor changes that much after the lights go out. But as it so happens the reason I mentioned Hobson was because lucky number seven just might be our only in."

"I don't see how, if Belldandy is keeping him happy then isn't this just another dead end?"

"Not really, there is only a small difference between the gentle act of making love, and a serious knock down, drag out, bang fest. We just need to make a small attitude adjustment to Keiichi's behavior. If we can feed the lust in his heart then we might be able to expand the evil in his soul to the point where the chains of the mortal curse shatter."

"How do you intend to adjust his attitude then?"

"How else? With a potion, of course."

**The cure, worse than the disease?**

The first part in solving a problem is to know where to go to find the answers. In Urd's case she needed to create a potion that would feed directly into the dark side of love. While an accomplished alchemist, Urd never had reason to mix something of that nature before. However, Peorth had accidently mixed something quite similar when she was trying to steal Keiichi from Belldandy in the past. A short while later Urd found herself on the phone talking to a much harried French goddess as she sought to enlist her help in corrupting Keiichi's soul.

"Hello, Peorth," the elder Norn spoke into the phone, "this is Urd, look dear I'm working a serious problem down here and I could really use your help.

"What's that? I can't really hear you over all that noise in the back ground. Oh, he did huh, Well he's right here let me ask."

Cupping her hand over the mouth piece Urd shouted over to her father who was resting in Belldandy's bedroom, "Father, Peorth wants to know if you know what caused the breaker to trip?"

"Yes." Came her father's one word reply. When no more information was forthcoming Urd realized that her father wanted to keep the cause secret so she decided to wing it.

"I would suggest replacing all the main breakers in the central panel." Urd answered, "I bet some of them have gotten so old that their rating isn't anywhere near as high as they need to be.

"Is that so? Well I'll tell him if you want me to.

"Father," Urd shouted down the hall again, "Peorth wants you to know that right after you came down here some kind of emergency meeting with the council was called and apparently Mother is the one they called it for."

"I know." Came the old god's reply.

"I don't really know Peorth, but he seems to be fine with it." Urd spoke into the phone.

"Oh she did, did she? Well I'll pass that along as well."

"Father! Peorth also thinks you should know that…"

"I KNOW!" The old god's voice boomed.

Speaking calmly back into the phone Urd said, "I get the feeling that he is pretty much up to speed on recent events, Peorth.

"No, I don't really know what is going on but you know how he gets sometimes. Anyway, back to the reason I called. I really could use your help. Can you get one of the girls to watch the chair and come on down? Yes, it is related to that dump you just did for Skuld… Yes it is pretty dicey, but I think you will like my solution. See you soon, bye.

Shortly the old Nikon camera in the hallway glowed brightly as the scantly clad French goddess appeared in the temple.

"Thanks for coming Peorth, we're up against a time limit here and we need your help."

"Let me get this straight," Peorth began, the air of superiority evident in her voice, "the great goddess of love Urd, rival to Venus, admits she needs the humble services of oui?"

"Don't get a big head Peorth," Urd admonished her, "Father wants the problem fixed and he doesn't care how we do it."

"The Almighty One? Is he here? Now?"

"Relax already," Skuld said, "he's crashed in Belldandy's room. He's dead to the world."

As if on queue a loud snore was heard emanating from Belldandy's room.

"Okay," Peorth said all business now, "what can I do for you?"

"Remember that seed of love you gave to Keiichi that turned him into the ultimate lust object?"

"Yeeesss."

"I need for you to remember the incantation that you used to screw it up!"

**Later:**

"Well that should do it. Peorth's ultimate seed of lust to fuel his desire. Combine that with some wolfs bane to bring out the animal in him. Add a little puréed Microwave absorber set to receive the 24 hour adult channel to keep his mind focused. Toss in some Iron man potion I found left over from the days of the Roman Empire, all mixed in a can of Monster Energy drink for stamina. Now all we need do is distract Belldandy and get Keiichi to drink it."

"I have a question," Peorth began, "what if Belldandy isn't enough to sate Keiichi's lust?"

"She had better be." Urd remarked grimly, "I intend to give Keiichi the potion, put a seven day time seal on the Temple then lock the two of them in."

"This is an evil thing we do," Peorth lamented, "the Keiichi we know will be gone. Only the shell will remain."

"We understand Peorth," Urd said tiredly, "this is a necessary evil to achieve a greater good."

"Stripped of all humanity, where only the animal remains!"

"We get the picture already!"

"And poor Belldandy! Locked in with a lust crazed beast, nowhere to hide having no choice but submit to his most base desires!"

"She'll be fine Peorth!"

"Unrestrained by any artificial concept of good or evil. The only rule: 'Might makes Right!'"

"Peorth."

"Driven by his primal instincts! Just taking what he wants without asking!"

"Peorth!"

"Trapped with a human dynamo of raw sexual power, your own inhibitions soon forgotten, your desires merging with his fueling the growing flames of your mutual need!"

"PEORTH!"

"To have him use you over and over again without any regard for how you feel! Your every nerve aflame with feelings of pure ecstasy as you succumb to his mastery!

"Peorth!" Urd punctuated with a lightening blast, "This is a very complicated formula and we only have enough ingredients for one dose. You can't have any for yourself!"

"Dammit!" the French goddess exclaimed, "Why does Belldandy get to have all the fun?"


	4. Chapter 4

"Well let's see what you've got," the old god said as he suddenly manifested in the room without warning.

"Don't do that!" Urd chided her Father, "you have no idea how unsettling it is to have you sneak into the room like that."

"Sorry about that," he sighed, "force of habit you know, but that is how I found out about your mother and that high priest."

"Well I don't think you need worry about that while you're here, nobody here looks upon you in that fashion. Isn't that right Peorth? Peorth!"

In nature there is a certain animal magnetism that is emitted by dominant males, (AKA Men of Power,) that certain women find almost overwhelming. As you can well imagine, the ruler of all reality would possess this quality in spades. Urd, Skuld and Belldandy, being from the same gene pool were immune to the effects. However, as her blush clearly indicated, Peorth was not. Her desire being the more obvious for all to see, as the scantly clad goddess turned bright red from her head to her toes. Skuld, looking from the haggard face of her father to the eternally young one of Peorth's, had a sudden flash back to the illustrations she had just seen showing in the differences between love and lust. The latter being Peorth's obvious intention. The unbidden mental image of her father and Peorth doing the same sorts of things was more than she could take. Her head barely made it out the window before she lost her lunch. While she was still gasping for breath she heard the pumping of water into a bucket followed by a loud splash. Turning to investigate she saw her sister Urd still emptying the last of the contents of the bucket onto the French goddess' head as she stood, unfazed, staring into the eyes of the Almighty One

"Mercie," Peorth said her gaze locked with that of the old god's, "thank you."

"My apologies," the old god said to Peorth bowing deeply his eyes never leaving hers, "outside the antechamber this is the only other place in the universe that I feel at ease. So I sometimes fail to mask my presence."

"Oh no no, the fault was all mine," the goddess stammered fluttering her eyes.

"Is our old man a player or not?" Shot Urd to Skuld via their private mental link.

"It's hard to tell who's playing who, with Peorth going all misty eyed and coy like that." Skuld sent back.

"Do you think the two of you could keep it down?" Came the voice of their father as he broke into their connection, "I'm trying to get some work done here. Why don't the two of you go get your sister and Keiichi or something?" He told them, all the while his eyes never leaving those of Peorth as he bowed to kiss her hand, the latter blissfully unawares of the conversations taking place all around her.

Once outside the room the two Norn's continued their private conversation. "Do you think we should have left Peorth all alone with him?" Skuld asked.

"After all the agony that she put Keiichi and Belldandy through? Personally I think it's just karma coming back around to settle up a debt."

"Anyway, let's retrieve our young lovers before Father winds up nailing her on the floor."

"I heard that!" came the voice of their father echoing in their minds.

Upon opening the door to Keiichi's and Belldandy's shared bedroom the playful mood in the house was suddenly shattered.

"Father," came the panicked voices of his two daughters, "we need you quick!"

"Ah, it is a shame my dear," he said to Peorth as he untangled himself from her arms and legs, legs? "but even here it seems that duty calls."

When he arrived at Keiichi and Belldandy's shared room it was easy to see why his daughters had panicked. When the old god had first arrived Urd had cautioned Belldandy against leaving Keiichi unattended. So she had stayed behind, putting up a shield around the two of them as a precaution. As time had passed and no one had come to tell her that there was no danger Belldandy began to fear the worst. As that fear had grown, so too had the energy she put into the shield. Even as exhaustion over took her she still refused to drop her shield. Finally, the inevitable happened and she had collapsed unconscious, her shield still at full power.

By the time the other two Norns had arrived she was in serious distress. Like a crowbar laid across two power lines the shield continued to drain Belldandy's powers as she slept forcing her into perpetual recovery mode. This had created the quandary; as long as she was asleep she couldn't take the shield down, as long as the shield was up she would remain asleep. At least until it had sucked every last bit of her life energy from her!

"My God she must have been terrified!" Peorth exclaimed as she joined the group gazing into the bedroom, "She's put herself into an infinite feed back loop!"

"I wonder why that might be?" Skuld remarked as she looked up at her older sister accusingly.

Sizing the situation up the old god said, "I need for the three of you to avert your eyes for a moment."

"Why, what's the matter?" Skuld asked out of curiosity.

"Because he is fixing to call forth his angel!" Urd answered her.

"So?"

"Remember the position he holds!"

"Oh crap!" Skuld responded quickly covering her eyes with her hands.

As he came forth the Almighty One's angel began unfolding his massive wings, a color of white so bright that they out shown the sun! Once sufficiently empowered he quickly created a separate universe around his middle daughter. Stepping from his reality into hers he was able to remove her hands from around Keiichi. Sending thoughts of happiness and joy he was able to calm Belldandy's fears and she released her hold on the shield that had been threatening to suck the life out of her. Lifting her gently in his arms he allowed the small universe he had created to collapse back in on itself, the light in the room fading as his angel returned to its rightful place in his soul. He carried Belldandy to her own bedroom and laying her gently on the futon he whispered softly to her. "Of all my daughters you have been the most maligned, I wish I could take the pain away but were I to do that then you wouldn't be who you are. I will make you this promise though, my daughter; happiness will be yours if you can but persevere.

Once satisfied that his middle daughter was resting comfortably he turned to the obviously concerned goddesses; "She's just exhausted, she'll be all right in a couple of hours. So why don't we take this opportunity to finalize the details of our little experiment before she wakes. Peorth, if you would be so kind and wake our hapless mortal?"

"But of course," the French goddess purred the flush returning to her body. Entering the bedroom she kneeled over the sleeping Keiichi and kissed him full on the lips. In his dream like state Keiichi, obviously mistaking her for Belldandy, returned her kiss reaching up to embrace her. When his eyes finally open there was a three-second delay between recognition and reaction. From his expression it was easy to tell when his brain finally started firing on all cylinders as the look of peaceful contentment was replaced by the look of shear horror.

"God Almighty in Heaven!" Keiichi screamed at her while throwing her off of him.

"_Right now he's in the kitchen."_ Peorth said under her breath.

"Are you trying to get both of us killed!" he continued to rant, "Have you forgotten about her jealousy storms! If she had seen us just now they would have needed spatulas to clean up the mess! Jesus! What if she comes back and smells you on me? I need to take a bath before she returns!"

"Relax Keiichi," Peorth replied, "Belldandy is asleep in her own bedroom. She nearly killed herself protecting you from some phantom fear."

"What phantom fear?"

"You're worse nightmare!" came the voice of the Almighty One from the kitchen, "Get you're ass in here son! I've got a Universe to run and having to take time off to manage the affairs of some lowly mortal tries my patience!"

Quickly following Peorth to the kitchen he found the Almighty One and the two other goddesses kneeling around the table his place obviously on the other side facing the Norn's father.

"What can I do for you sir?" Keiichi asked, hoping he sounded respectful but not afraid.

"Drink this!" the old god demanded.

"What is it?"

"I'm not going to tell you."

"Father," Urd began, "there isn't any…"

"Silence!" the old god boomed, "For too long this puny mortal has had it easy. Time for him to start making the hard decisions."

"Easy?" Keiichi began, anger welling up from within him, "Easy! There are lots of verbs I can use to describe my life up till now but the word easy isn't one of them!"

"Keiichi be careful," Urd cautioned.

"Would you describe Belldandy's life up to now easy as well! Was the phantom fear that knocked Belldandy out just now really you! Haven't the Gods in Heaven put her through enough! Is granting her a little peace beyond the power of heaven, or would that also be too easy!"

By the time Keiichi finished his tirade the three other goddesses had dove for cover. Not that he noticed as he held the old god's gaze with his own.

Instead of getting angry, however, the old god's face broke out in a smile. "Good, good, mindless followers can be found aplenty in all three realms, but acolytes who question, much harder. Which makes the choice before you more difficult, because I'm still not going to tell you. But, if you are going to make a choice you should at least have all your wits about you."

That said, the old god touched his thumb to Keiichi's forehead unlocking the seal Belldandy placed on his recent memories.

"You said you wanted a say on what to do about the problem didn't you?" the old god reminded him, "Well now you do!"

Looking down at the mystery drink Keiichi sighed and looked back at the old god.

"When I said you have had it too easy I was referring to your faith," the Almighty One continued. "You have lived these last few years knowing that there was a power beyond the mortal world. Unlike other mortals you haven't had to make any faith-based choices, to place your happiness, good fortune, your very life into the hands of the unknown. Belldandy will die if you don't have the faith to do what I tell you now!"

Keiichi's mind was a whirl with thoughts. The potion placed before him could be anything, poison meant to kill him while Belldandy slept; a memory eraser like Urd had forced Belldandy to drink after she was betrayed. A love potion meant to make him fall in love with somebody else. Anything and everything was possible. When all the internal deliberations were through though he knew that if it would save Belldandy then Hobson had the final say, again.

Reaching for the drink he started to say, "To her health…" when the commanding voice of Belldandy filled the room.

"No father! I forbid it!"

Turning towards the door Keiichi spied Belldandy, barely able to stand, as she steadied herself on the doorframe.

"You forbid!" came the angry voice of the Almighty One as he slowly rose to his feet. "You dare use the word forbid to me! Your very own father! How dare you!"

"Keiichi is mine!" Belldandy shouted, refusing to be cowed. "If you try to take him from me then you must take my life first!"

From past experience Keiichi knew what the anger of a jealousy storm looked like on Belldandy's face. Keiichi saw that look now only multiplied, and he knew even though she could barely stand, she still would fight even in the face of her inevitable defeat.

Slowly standing Keiichi caught the old god's gaze and gave him a wink. Turning to Belldandy he placed himself between the two, breaking their mutual stare down. "Belldandy," he said calmly, "This is a fight you can't win. For both our sakes back off."

"Keiichi I…"

"I know, I know. There will be another time, another place. If you fight now you will lose and then who will be there to help me? Your father was telling me just now that I didn't have enough faith, but he's wrong. I do have faith. Faith in you!"

"I see what you mean by the missing compass." the old god told his elder daughter mentally.

"Yes, the one thing he can do for her that no one else can." Urd answered him.

"And a most crucial roll in the affairs of Heaven," the Almighty One concluded.

"Oh my beloved," Belldandy cried, "why do these things keep happening to us?"

"I don't know," Keiichi said as he lifted the potion to his lips, "but I have _faith_ that there must be a good reason."

That said he drank the potion down, his eyes rolled back into his head and he collapsed on the floor.

"All right," Peorth screamed, "it's par tee time, yea!"

"What the hell did he just drink?" Belldandy demanded fixing Peorth with a stare that would turn a man into stone.

"Never mind about that now," Urd answered her, "we have fifteen minutes before the spell kicks in and by then I need the two of you sealed inside the Temple!"

"Sealed, for how long." Belldandy asked.

"About seven days." the elder Norn answered.

"What about food for Keiichi?"

"Relax," Skuld answered, "I already stocked the temple with everything you need for your extended stay."*

_*Two cases Monster energy drink, a six pack of beer, a loaf of bread and an almost full package of bologna. _

"Quickly, fifteen minutes was just a guess, it could be less." Peorth interjected.

"Oh, and don't forget these," she said handing Belldandy two flimsy see through nightgowns.

"What are these for?" asked Belldandy as she eyed the garments suspiciously.

"You're going to be in there for a whole week." Peorth replied as if speaking to a child, "You are going to need a change of clothes."

"Wait up a second." Skuld said, "I need to take some measurements of his soul before you go."

"Why is that?" Belldandy asked.

"Father told me too." she answered.

After Skuld finished taking her readings Urd and Peorth lifted Keiichi by his arms and dragged him from the house over to the Temple. Upon opening the doors after they reached the top of the stairs they were surprised to discover that the Almighty One had created a small separate universe inside the building. Laying Keiichi's limp body inside the threshold, his head lying on Belldandy's lap, they sealed to two inside. It was only after everything was said and done that a sniffle could be heard coming from Skuld.

"Oh I feel so bad for them right now," sniffed Skuld.

"It'll be all right," Urd told her, "Belldandy might have to zap him a few times to keep him in line but she'll be Okay."

"It's not Belldandy I'm worried about. It's Keiichi! To have his humanity stripped away from him like that."

"You're too young to understand yet but he is an adult, he made the choice freely, he'll take his lumps and he'll get over it."

"Don't treat me like a kid Urd! Don't forget that I was an adult once, even if it was for only a day. A day that I still remember, Belldandy let me spend that day with Keiichi. He was so kind and gentle, from that time forward I've always known what held Belldandy here. We just took that from them! What we did was wrong! It was wrong!"

"No Skuld," Peorth interjected, "it was necessary."


	5. Chapter 5

**Meanwhile up in Heaven:**

"This meeting of the Heavenly council is called to order. The chair recognizes the Ruler of the Infernal Realm the Daimakaicho Hild."

"Thank you, mister chairman." Hild said as she took center stage, dressed in a most revealing gown the Daimakaicho stood away from the podium so all could see and admire her physical beauty.

"As you gentlemen know the systems of the two realms are in constant contact with each other. Earlier today we monitored an event that seems to indicate the possibility of an upcoming regime change in the Heavenly realm. While such upheavals are unfortunate, we all know that sometimes they are necessarily unavoidable.

"As the ruler of the Demon realm I have been in close and sometimes very intense," she said blushingly so that all who saw her knew exactly what she meant, "negotiations with the Almighty One for the last several months. I would like to think that the agreements we have reached so far have been mutually satisfactory. However, if there is a regime change here in Heaven then those agreements could become null and void. If such were to happen then the peace we have tried so hard to maintain could be shattered. My reason for being here today is to assure this council and whomever the new potential Almighty One might be that the Infernal Realm will not unilaterally withdraw from any treaty or agreement currently in place. I feel that in so doing we of the Infernal Realm will be doing our small part in helping maintain the political stability here in Heaven during this difficult time of transition. Further, I would like to take this opportunity to extend to the new Almighty One this offer: to meet with them at anytime on neutral ground to negotiate in any manner he might deem appropriate." She finished, blushing again to let everyone know that she was on the menu as well.

"I think the Daimakaicho assumes too much, interrupted a god from the audience. We have no intention at this time to replace the current Almighty One. So, while we find your statements most reassuring I believe that they are also a bit premature."

"Took all three of them out did he?" Hild asked flatly.

"With surgical precision," he sighed, "we don't even know how he got his hands on the list! The last eligible candidate text messaged his intention to withdraw just prior to this meeting being called to order."

"_Ruthless bastard!"_ she thought to herself, "So basically," she continued out loud, "even if you wanted to replace the current Almighty One you don't have a single eligible god in the waiting Que."

"That's right," the speaker acknowledged sadly, "so to put it bluntly all of us are stuck with the current Almighty One for the foreseeable future."

"While we don't call it such in the demon realm, have you ever heard the term Hobson's choice?" Hild asked innocently.

"An apparent freewill choice that is in fact the only course of action available!" came the chorus of replies.

"Exactly," Hild smiled in satisfaction, "and while it might seem presumptuous of me to say so, it seems to me that what Hobson is telling you is: If you can't get a man to do the job then find a woman!"

The looks on the faces of most of her audience told Hild that in fact up until she had just mentioned it nobody had given the idea any thought. More importantly, she could tell by the thoughtful expressions on the faces of her audience that her idea wasn't being rejected out of hand either. Realizing this was the perfect opportunity she went straight into her pre-canned speech.

"On that note," she began sounding for all the world like a used car salesman, "let me offer for your consideration the Goddess Urd!"

Holding a 10x12 glossy of her daughter up for all to see, obviously photo-shopped it showed a beautiful Goddess Urd wearing a long flowing white gown with World of Elegance's wings deployed. Looking demurely over her shoulder her body had been turned in such a way as the white wing almost totally obscured the black. On her face her current power markings had been edited out, replaced with the six-sided emblems of a God's.

"The Goddess Urd," she pitched, "sired by the Almighty One, destine for greatness. Second only to Belldandy in overall power her status was just recently upgraded to first class. She is potentially the most powerful deity in all of heaven and because of her heritage she has no political ties, making her a most neutral candidate. Just now coming into her own she would be a prime candidate for the post of the Almighty One should the council see fit to select her. A known quantity to the demon realm she would be the best hope ever of establishing and maintaining a lasting peace between our two worlds!

"The Goddess Urd, beautiful, alluring, powerful. A perfect choice for an imperfect world!"

There was complete silence in the room for almost five seconds before anyone spoke.

"You make a most intriguing argument, Lady Hild," the speaker finally intoned, "while the affairs of the heavenly realm must by their very nature be held in closest confidence and remain a secret from outsiders such as yourself; you may rest assured that your words have not fallen on deaf ears."

"I thank you gentlemen for your time," she said with an elegant bow.

**While all that was happening up there, down on Earth this was going on:**

On the Yucatán Peninsula, in what we now know as present day Mexico, lays the Mayan temple of Chechen Itza. Among the other artifacts found there is something known as the 'Mayan Long Count Calendar'. Starting in August 11, 3114 B.C. the calendar runs for approx 5125 years ending on Dec 20, 2012. Also located about the grounds are stone carvings of various important chiefs and luminaries of that early society.

When not required by her duties elsewhere you can sometimes find a very attractive older woman lounging next to one stone carving in particular. While not blatantly obvious a trained observer might, if he looked really close, notice a strange similarity between the carving and the woman. While others might find the resemblance odd, the woman herself did not; after all she did pose for it. It was here that the Valkyrie Lind went shortly after the Almighty One headed down to visit his daughters.

Lind did not search for the one she sought because she knew such effort would be futile. Beings such as these could only be found if they wanted to be found. Instead the Valkyrie sat cross-legged on the ground and began to study the old stone calendar intently.

As Lind stared at the calendar she noticed the person she was looking for sitting in front of a portable computer playing the game Tetris.

"So what is my idiot son up to this time?" Rhea asked.

"Ragnarok." Lind replied.

"Again!" the titan sighed, "There are times when I think I might have squeezed too hard when I gave him birth!"

"I'm conflicted Rhea, I am the only one who knows what he is really up too. I know he is the ruler of all creation but does that mean he gets to destroy it as well!"

"You know, you are very much like my oldest granddaughter," Rhea remarked, "like her you are constantly being torn between which paths to follow. The only real difference I can see is that where Urd is torn between the light and the darkness you are torn between the light and the other light. This, now that I stop to think about it, might be the reason for the duality of your soul. I can't tell you which path to follow but no matter what choice you make it will be the right one."

"How can such two radically differing choices of action both be the right choice!"

"I don't know what to say about that dear, but sometimes life just sucks!"

"Now that's a truth without contradiction!" Lind said returning her gaze to the calendar.

"Did you spot the error yet?" Rhea asked returning her attention to the game as it advanced a level.

"You went wide of the mark by about 14 years." Lind replied.

"That would be true IF I was measuring the precession of the solstice," she said, the game advancing another level.

"You weren't?"

"No, I chose that particular date as the starting point for my calculations because I wanted to measure the deviation from the linear part of the curve."

"I don't follow."

"That is because you all have made a false assumption," the Titan spoke as she cleared another level, "When the war broke out and Pangea destroyed it shattered into thousands of fragments, not just three, with each piece accelerating out from the center. While the three realms of the mortals, demon's and gods are indeed the largest, in overall mass they really only represent little more than ten percent of the overall size of the ancient world. There are thousands more smaller worlds out there all trying to go their own way."

"I think I see." Lind said.

"Do you really?" Rhea asked, as the pace of the game quickened again.

"What do you mean?"

"What is true for the three realms is the also the truth of the smaller ones as well: The red strings of fate tie all our destinies together. From the time of the great cataclysm until now all those smaller pieces of the ancient world have been moving away from the center. As they did so those strings were being pulled ever tighter gradually slowing the rate of the divergence of those smaller worlds. I don't know what the exact second is anymore due to my granddaughter's orgasm knocking the world of its axis, but sometime on Dec. 20, 2012 those strings will be pulled as tight as they can go and the divergence will finally end and the convergence begin. The Ragnarok my son seeks to bring about will happen in its own good time. Ragnarok is inevitable! The problem we all face is what to do when all those smaller parts of the ancient world collide in the center?"

"I'm still not sure what you are asking."

"What I'm asking is: Will the world come together each piece fitting into is proper place." she said showing her the intricate mosaic she had created on the computer screen, "Or will chaos be the final result?" Suddenly lifting her hands from the keyboard causing the remainder of the pattern to become jumbled and chaotic.

"How much time do we have?" Lind asked in astonishment.

"Could be less than you think, the world naturally seeks to become whole again. Once the process begins there will be no stopping it. The best we can do is help put the pieces back together in the proper order."

**While down in the Bowels of the Earth this was happening:**

"Here yea, here yea, this emergency meeting of the Board of the Infernal realm is called to order. His most duplicitous and favored of Hild, the Daemon William presiding."

"Thank you Daemon Thomas, once most favored of Hild." Daemon William responded with a dig. "The chair recognizes the Almighty One, _current_ ruler of the enemy's camp."

"Thank you, Daemon William," began the Almighty One, "As I'm sure very few of you are aware the last several months have been disastorous ones for your overall market share."

"I thought we were doing quite well." one of the Demons jeered from the audience.

"You may believe what you will, of course," the old god sighed, "but keep in mind that I cannot lie, even if it was to save my Realm. In the last few months things have gone very poorly for your side. Due to the reckless actions of the current Daimakaicho, I, acting on behalf of my realm, have been forced to impose very severe sanctions on the Demon host. The action that precipitated this mess was the deliberate and unprovoked attack on Yggdrasil by none other than the Daimakaicho herself! A clear violation of the Doublet treaty.

"The end result of these actions was, as I'm sure those of you with linear memories remember, the release of an unrestricted, unlimited Goddess with homicidal tendencies onto the mortal plain." He said while scanning the audience for signs of recognition. When he did see someone who looked as if they remembered he held the others gaze just long enough for the Demons sitting nearby to notice who that was.

"Trust me, Hild paid dearly for this mistake!" he continued, insuring that his smile did not go unnoticed by his listeners as he remembered just how he made her pay.

"In recent months your leader has been using every weapon in her arsenal to recover this lost ground to no avail. After losing all access to the Middle Eastern market last week she broke off negotiations entirely and is now embarking on an even more reckless scheme to cause political unrest in my home domain!"

This little tit bit of news took the main leadership by surprise, Daemon William's quip about the Almighty One being the _current_ leader of Heaven had been intended as an inside joke. Having the Almighty One know what he truly meant was very unsettling.

"I thought," Daemon Thomas started to interject, "that we were going to be allowed to increase our marketing force in the remaining regions?"

"That's right," the Almighty One confirmed, "a twenty percent increase as a matter of fact. Which gives the Infernal Realm a 12 to one advantage. The fallacy in your thinking is that there is any significance to that number. Back when the ratio was only 10 to one my people rarely put in a forty-hour week, even during the Christmas rush. To compensate for your increased presence in our mutual markets they need only wake up 15 minutes earlier. Meanwhile, I get to do whatever I please in the Middle East and you can't say boo!"

"By the way," Daemon Thomas continued, "exactly what is our beloved leader doing to cause unrest in _your_ domain?"

"By trying to enter into direct negotiations with my potential successor. A good strategy too were it not for the fact that everybody on that list has just withdrawn their names from contention." The cat-who-ate-the-canary grin he gave his audience removing all doubts of his veracity from their minds.

"Bottom line is this; your current leadership has become reckless and dangerous. All of you would be well advised to consider a change in leadership. Hopefully, before the truce that has served both realms so well, for so long, breaks down."

The Almighty One assumes too much," Daemon William began, "unlike the heavenly realm strength is required to rule here! The Daimakaicho wisely keeps the strengths of her subordinates equally divided to prevent such political upheaval from occurring. It's better, I think, that we run the risk of a fight with heaven than the certainty of fighting among ourselves!

"Well then," the Almighty One said, "have any of you ever heard the term Hobson's choice?"

The lack of a response and the blank looks on the faces of his listeners clearly indicated that they had not.

Trying to get some kind of response he was pondering what to say next when Daemon Thomas came to his rescue. "Perhaps I might be of some help here," he began, "I was forced to sell Hild all my rights to the term in exchange for my place on this most esteemed board."

"Then what is the correct term for that theorem down here?"

"Down here we say 'Hild's Choice.'"

Upon hearing the correct term every Demon in the room recited in unison; "An apparent freewill choice that is in fact the only course of action available… if you want to remain alive!"

"Exactly," the old god said regaining his composure. "Well then," he began sounding for all the world like a used car salesman, "let me offer for your consideration the daughter of the Daimakaicho Urd!"

Holding a 10x12 glossy of his daughter up for all to see, obviously photo-shopped it showed a beautiful Demoness Urd wearing a long flowing black gown, trimmed in gold, split up one side to her thigh and down the middle to her navel, World of Elegance's wings deployed. Looking demurely over her other shoulder her body had been turned in such a way as to insure that the black wing totally obscured the other. On her face her current power markings had been edited out, replaced with the six-pointed emblems of the Daimakaicho.

"The Demoness Urd," he pitched, "whelped by the Daimakaicho herself, intended by her own mother to succeed her on the throne. Second only to her mother in overall power her status was just recently upgraded to first class. Already feared in heaven she is potentially the most powerful being in all three realms. Because of her heritage she has no political ties, making her a most ruthless candidate beholden to no one. Just now coming into her own she would be a prime candidate for the post of the Daimakaicho should the Board see fit to select her. A known quantity in heaven she would be the best hope ever of establishing and maintaining a lasting market advantage for the Infernal Realm!

"The Demoness Urd, beautiful, alluring, powerful and ruthless, what more can you ask for in a leader!"

"You dare speak such treason here, in our esteemed Daimakaicho's very own board room!" Shouted the Daemon William, "I am sorely tempted to revoke your seal of protection and kill you myself! Daemon Thomas, escort the Almighty One from our presence before I yield to temptation!"

Once outside the board room, "My apologies for not recognizing you sooner, Daemon Thomas."

"That's all right, being known as 'once most favored' I'm use to being ignored. I'm grateful that it wasn't a deliberate slight."

"I take it that you and other demon's really liked my idea?"

"I think you're right, for Daemon William to feign such outrage means he is really giving it serious consideration."

"If it's not too serious a topic, why 'once most favored.'"

"I got lazy," the old Daemon sighed, "besides that most infamous theorem, I was also known for my strides in poor customer service."

"Such as?"

"The one I'm most proud off, and the one that led to my eventual downfall was 'Bankers Hours.'"

This time it was the old god's turn to be confused, "Bankers Hours?" he asked quizzically.

"You know, open one hour after you have to be at work, closed for lunch, and then only open for one hour after you get off. The level of anger and frustration that I was able to generate with that single idea fueled the entire Infernal Realm for over 10 generations." He said proudly.

"I see, then what happened?"

"Then Saint Wetzel, forever cursed be his name, came up with the idea for the Automatic Teller Machine. Overnight, I lost everything. Now gone were the lines that used to drive people mad with anxiety. No more having to wait hours on end just to withdraw some cash from your account while the teller tiredly explains to the fat lady in front of you that she can't have any money until her check clears. Now people can go to the bank whenever they want. They can deposit checks, withdraw cash and pay their bills never once having to interact with another person. The number of unemployed demons that went on the dole the first year that dam machine was introduced almost bankrupted the Infernal welfare system."

**Back at the Temple:**

Belldandy had moved Keiichi to the inside of the little universe that her father had created for the two of them. Once inside she discovered that her father had set a little trap for her and her goddess powers no longer worked! She was completely helpless, trapped with a lust-crazed madman. Keiichi fought valiantly to keep from succumbing to the effects of the spell and to his credit he was winning. The only problem was the cost of that victory would be his life and in the small part of his brain that still functioned he knew that if he died then she died as well. With a cry of anguish he gave up his struggle and let the blackness wash over him. Although they didn't know it another aspect of the little universe the two inhabited was that it was sound proof. Even though they were standing just outside, Urd, Skuld and Peorth could not hear his screams as the potion they created did its worst. Then again, they didn't hear Belldandy's screams either.


	6. Chapter 6

Ah! Does Size Really Matter? Ch 6

**One Week Later:**

As the final seconds of the final minute of the last day began to expire the bell in the courtyard began to toll. On the last stroke of the bell the seal on the doors of the temple released. The three Goddesses waited anxiously outside for Belldandy and Keiichi to emerge. When no one came out after waiting several minutes Skuld became impatient and went inside of her own accord. A few minutes after that when still nobody came out Peorth and Urd decided to follow her in. Once inside they found Skuld sitting just outside the barrier staring dreamily into the scene she saw on the other side.

Their father had borrowed on one of Skuld's inventions and had used a space multiplier to create a living area infinitely larger than what was available in the three dimensions that the walls of the temple really displaced. The Universe he had created for the middle Norn was elegant in its simplicity. There was a small cottage in the front; off to one side was an outdoor well and pump, a small garden behind and to the right. To the left was a small fish pond stocked with trout, over to one side was a small walkway where one could sit and fish, over on the other side was a small clothes line where Belldandy was busy hanging out the wash. The blush about her cheeks, and air of contentment told all who looked upon her that she was a woman fully in love.

"Does anybody besides me find this scene just a little odd?" Urd asked.

"What do you mean?" Skuld replied.

"For all intents and purposes we locked Belldandy in with a Keiichi sized version of Jack the Ripper and she seems happy about it."

"Is it possible," Peorth began, "that Belldandy is, how would you say, le pervers?"

"I don't really know." Skuld answered speculatively, "but now that you mention it she looked pretty dam hot in that demon outfit Urd's mother forced her to wear back when we had all that trouble with the Angel Eater. Come to think of it Keiichi looked pretty turned on as well."

"Well I guess there is no helping it," Urd said, "We are going to have to go in and get them to come home."

"Awe, can't we leave them alone for a little while longer?" Skuld protested, "She looks so sweet and happy right now. I'd really feel bad if we interrupted something, can't we wait till she decides to come out on her own?"

"If that silly grin on her face is any indication, she doesn't have a clue to what day of the week it is, so we are going to have to go in after her."

"Are you sure you want to do that?" Peorth asked, "I've detected a magic decompositioning field on the barrier. If we cross over we won't be able to use our powers."

"What!" Skuld cried out shocked, "Our sister has been locked inside this cage for the last seven days with a monster and she didn't have any way to defend herself!"

"Will you relax," Urd shot back, "just look at her. She doesn't seem to be any worse for the wear. If anything she looks pleased with herself."

"Now that you mention it she does look pleased with herself, maybe even a little too pleased." Skuld remarked.

The decision made, the three goddesses entered the small Universe, and like Belldandy once inside their powers were suspended as well. As soon as Belldandy saw the three she dropped what she was doing and ran crying to her elder sister.

"There, there now, I know it must have been awful for you but it's all over now, it's over. You can come home now." Urd said comfortingly.

Belldandy continued to cry into her shoulder until Urd's words finally registered on her consciousness. Looking at her sister curiously, "Awful?" Belldandy asked her.

"Yes, yes and I'm so sorry but we had to do it." Urd spoke soothingly, "It was for your own good after all."

"Urd, I really don't understand what you are trying to say, admittedly it was kind of rough at first but it wasn't really that awful," Belldandy explained, "after Keiichi and I worked a few kinks out everything went as you planned it. You and Skuld and Peorth have blessed us with a most wonderful gift! These last few days are the happiest I've ever had. It will be a shame when it has to end someday."

"I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but sadly this little experiment has run its course, time to go home."

"No!" Belldandy shouted horrified, "I can't just up and quit before I'm through! There is still much work to be done."

"Sorry Sis, but orders from the AMO himself, time to come home."

"I'm sure he'll understand my reasons when I explain it to him."

"Sis, there is a lot of crap going down behind the scenes; our father will be extremely upset if you go against his orders!"

"It can't be helped. This is a wholly new endeavor for the Heavenly realm. There is still much to learn, and much more to do! I'll bring Keiichi back when we get done here."

"Sis, we're on a tight clock, we can't put the progression of fate on hold just because you have ants in your pants."

"Why can't you understand, certain things happen in their own good time and I am just not ready yet!"

"Belldandy, it's over! Come home now!"

"I don't care what you say! I'm not leaving and you can't make me!"

"Skuld, Peorth," Urd called out to the other two goddesses who had been listening silently in the background, "why don't you two check on Keiichi while I try to talk some sense into Belldandy."

"What in the Almighty's name was that all about?" Skuld asked of Peorth.

"Pardon my French but I think we just, foutu le rêve humide de Belldandy!"

"Why do I get the feeling I'd be mad at you right now if I knew what you just said?" Skuld pouted.

Entering the small cottage the two goddesses went straight to the only bedroom and knocked on the locked door.

"You can't come in right now Belldandy," they heard the voice of Keiichi from the other side, "remember we agreed that I get the mornings off."

"You can relax Keiichi," Peorth said, "It's only Skuld and I."

That said the door flew open showing a very changed Keiichi, in the last seven days he had lost a good ten pounds, his face was haggard, his hands shaking from all the energy drinks that had become his main staple.

"My god Keiichi, what happened?" Peorth asked in disbelief.

"She's a monster I tell you! A monster!" Keiichi cried in fear.

"There, there now," Peorth whispered to him soothingly, "I know it must have been awful for you but it's over now, it's over. As soon as we get home you can sit down and relax. When you're ready you can tell me all about it."

"_I just can't wait to hear this!"_ she thought to herself.

As the two goddesses left the cottage with Keiichi in tow they discovered that the argument between Urd and Belldandy had gotten physical. Urd was trying to forcefully carry Belldandy across the threshold on her shoulder and Belldandy was insisting on bringing the front porch along with her.

"You know, I can't tell if your father is precognitive or just incredibly devious." Peorth remarked as she watched the fight.

"What do you mean?" Skuld asked.

"If he hadn't put that spell nullifier on this universe those two would be going at it with lightening bolts and wind spells right now!"

Keiichi watched the goddess cat fight with some amusement, while he knew it was his duty to support Belldandy in all her endeavors, the prospect that she might win with the two of them remaining locked in this universe alone together frightened the hell out of him.

"Belldandy" he called to her.

"Yesss Keiichi," came the small voice of Belldandy.

Now, while nobody would argue that Belldandy has the YN act down pat. This was a whole new level of subservience; Belldandy's words sounding more like they belonged to a shy twelve-year-old than to the most powerful goddess in all creation.

"Time to go home now." Keiichi told her.

"I don't wanna," she pouted shuffling her feet, "I wanna stay here with you."

"If we don't do as we're told your father might get mad at us and if he does he might even…" suddenly Keiichi became aware that they weren't alone so he stopped talking and whispered what he needed to say into her ear. Whatever he said had the desired affect because suddenly Belldandy's eyes went wide in fear her hands going to her mouth as she stifled a scream.

As the five of them left the temple the mini universe inside collapsed on itself and the interior of the building returned to normal. Once back in the residence Skuld, per the directions of her father began taking measurements of Keiichi's soul. When she was done she retired to her room to compare the readings with the ones she had taken the week prior.

Upon returning to the real world Belldandy's powers were restored and she became like her old self again, busying herself in the kitchen. One thing was different though, for whatever reason she seemed to have become even more protective of Keiichi than before. Skuld had the uneasy trepidation that she had probably pushed herself between the two for the last time. As she busied herself with her calculations she noticed something very odd, almost as if her before and after figures had been reversed. She checked and rechecked finally giving up and calling in Urd to verify the results. Urd too was convinced that the measurements were reversed but after cross-checking the results she was forced to accept Skuld's conclusion that the numbers were valid. As the shock wore off it was replaced by anger, after all the careful planning, all the hard work, they had wound up accomplishing exactly the opposite of what they hoped for.

"BELLDANDY! KEIICHI! Everybody, get your butts into this room right now!" the tone in her voice brooking no argument.

Once everybody was assembled she dived right in. "How is it even possible," she seethed, "stripped of your powers and locked alone and defenseless in a separate universe, where no one can interfere, are you able to take one of my most diabolically evil creations, the highlight of my alchemy and turn him into… into… a candidate for the papacy!

"Urd I…" Belldandy started to say.

"Don't say another word! Not another word…" Urd hissed. "Okay, Peorth you take Keiichi and debrief him in the bedroom, I'll take Belldandy. I swear, between the two of you it's enough to make me feel sorry for my own mother!"

**He Said-She Said**.

He said: "It was awful," Keiichi told Peorth, "I fought the effects of the spell as long as I could, but I couldn't hold out. I finally gave up and let the darkness take me. I remember," his voice breaking, "I remember everything, what I did to her, the look on her face, as I, as I… did what I did."

She said: "I was so proud of him," she told Urd, "he fought it so hard, he suffered so much. When he finally succumbed I knew it would be… inappropriate, for me to… find joy in his sacrifice so I forced myself to endure it.

"Forced yourself," Urd asked her, "As in, you didn't enjoy it?"

"Well, not much." Belldandy replied.

He said: "When it was over, when the darkness faded and I was myself again I tried to protect her by running away as far as I could. I thought if I could lose myself then when the darkness was upon me again maybe I wouldn't be able to find her and she would be safe.

"And what happened after that?" Peorth asked.

"It didn't work, once the darkness was on me again I stopped trying to hide and went looking for her. No matter how far I ran or how lost I was I would always find her and the cycle repeated."

She said: "Evil is a cowardly power, it runs from the reflection of its own face. I didn't want Keiichi to endanger himself."

He said: "As time passed I began to notice that the interval between attacks was increasing and I had more time to think about what to do next. I tried using this to my advantage by trying to get more distance between us, to really lose myself in the wilderness. But it seemed that no matter how far I ran when the darkness took me again I was still able to find her."

She said: "I was worried, so I went looking for him."

He said: "Then came the day when I found her and I wasn't even looking."

She said: "I didn't have any powers so I had to rely on just my five senses to track him."

He said: "That's when I realized that she was stalking me, waiting for the spell to kick in again. So she could… she could… use me!"

She said: "I couldn't risk leaving him alone out in the wilderness like that."

He said: "As the time between attacks continued to increase she got tired of waiting."

She said: "I decided that I would be the one to choose when and where."

He said: "I couldn't understand it, suddenly our roles were reversed."

She said: "Powerless, I faced the evil within him, naked and unafraid.

He said: "After the third day she finally exhausted the spell you three put on me."

She said: "and I drove the evil from his heart!"

He said: "I was beaten, alone, cold and hungry I had no choice but to skulk back to the cottage."

She said: "So, I took him in, fed him and kept him warm at night."

He said: "There were… conditions, however, conditions that no mortal man could hope to keep."

She said: "We reached an amicable agreement."

He said: "She finally relented and agreed to let me have the mornings off, afternoons were… optional. Evenings were required."

She said: "That's why you have to let us go back, if I can do so much without my power, just imagine what I can do now with my powers restored."

He said: I've got blisters where no man should have blisters! I won't be able to show myself in a public bathhouse for a least a month!

**In Skuld's room:**

"Well let me see what you got," Skuld's father said as he materialized in her room without warning.

"Jeez, don't do that father," Skuld scolded, handing her father the spread sheet, "Urd is right! That is super duper annoying. Force of habit or not, you could at least knock!"

"Sorry dear," the AMO said, "but that's how I found out about all those awful things your mother was telling the marriage councilor."

"You're not going to like the results," she said as her father studied the chart.

"Quite the opposite, I am very pleased with the outcome to this point."

"How is that possible, we were supposed to corrupt Keiichi's soul, instead he came out purer than when he went in! If it weren't for the mass measurement he would probably qualify as a heavenly native.

"Did you cross check the mass measurements," he asked.

"No I didn't, I thought we were trying to corrupt his soul, I only checked the purity level."

"I never told you to corrupt his soul; I said feed into the evil in his heart to empower it."

"But you can't do the one thing without the other happening."

"Your job was to empower his soul, which you accomplished admirably. Belldandy's purpose was to keep the evil from spreading out of control. All of you have fulfilled your assigned duties with distinction."

"But why, the curse is still attached."

"There is still so much left for you to learn, but as my daughter I guess I can let you in on a little part of the secret. Do you know how those one-size-fits-all curses work?"

"No, I never thought about it," she answered.

"They are designed to attach themselves only to a specific subset of the population based on a shared common trait. The common trait that all mortals share is their size."

"Huh! That can't be true, Keiichi is a midget compared to some of his friends at the auto club and they all carry the curse as well."

"I don't mean the size of the body little one. I mean the size of the soul. It's like trying to fit a wrong sized peg into a hole. If the peg or soul in this case, is too big like it would be in your case, it won't fit inside. Too small, like the soul of a demon, and it falls through. The mortal curse can only attach itself to the soul of the humans because only their souls are the proper size."

Suddenly the light of understanding blossomed in her mind as Skuld had the epiphany that her father had been eluding too. "You're not only trying to lift the curse, you want to make him a…"

That was all she managed to say as her father held up his hand and stopped her in mid sentence. "Alas my dear this is a secret that you must keep to yourself for now. Belldandy would try to divert him from this path, from the trials yet to be endured, were she to find out. But Belldandy needs Keiichi if she is to survive and Heaven needs Belldandy if we are to survive. Do you understand?"

Skuld nodded her head and then willingly lifted her forehead so her father, touching his head to hers, could place a geis on her mind. "You've grown so much since you've come here," he told her mentally, "I hope the price hasn't been that dear."

"Not at all," she sent back, "as a matter of fact it has been a blast so far."


	7. Chapter 7

Ah! Does Size Really Matter? Ch7

**The concept of an idea.**

Did you ever wonder where ideas come from? How they are expressed, how are they shared? The mortal mind is limited in its ability to express itself by the words it knows and the language's limited meanings. Trying to describe a picture or concept in your imagination to another is very much liken to trying to reproduce the imagery of a Picasso painting using stick figures. Using more complex words and expressions will give you a more detailed drawing but the imagery will still fall far short of experiencing the real thing. No matter how detailed a mastery of the language you have, your description would still be flat and colorless, devoid of depth and nuance.

An example of just how difficult it really is to express concepts using the limited meanings of words is the language of 'Gobbledygook'. (Yes, there really is such a term!) An entirely new lexicon developed by the legal profession for the sole purpose of expressing the single (false) concept that there really is no difference between right and wrong. Now try to imagine, if you can, the unbelievably complex concepts of creation and how one would go about expressing them. No language, not even Yggdrasil code speech, has enough nuances to express these concepts. No, for one of the denizens of Heaven to express a concept with sufficient detail to get the correct meaning across to their listener it must be sung. That is why song, the ability to sing, is such an important attribute in the Heavenly Realm. Without it you might as well be mute, for you would be devoid of the most basic tool you needed to communicate!

Of course, it goes without saying that the more complex a concept is the more convoluted the melody needed to express it. This is the reason why accomplished singers like Belldandy are always held in such high esteem. Without voices such as hers to parse out and disseminate critical data then the flow of information in the Heavenly Realm would grind to a halt.

Song has another important function as well, not only does it give form to ideas and allows them to be shared but it also allows ideas to be harmonized with those of another. As you might imagine the requisites of creation and its inherent vulnerability to chaos requires a constant flow of new ideas to hold entropy at bay and not everyone working a particular problem is always on the same sheet of music. Differences of opinion, conflicting ideas, are as common up there as they are on the mortal plane. However, resolving these conflicts is accomplished in a very different fashion, singing! When two conflicting concepts are expressed as song the melodies can be merged and harmonized. The different songs combine and create a new melody that merges the elements of both concepts into another deeper and richer harmony. It's kind of the heavenly equivalent of give and take. Of course, the more radically different competing concepts are the more one side has to give and the other takes in order to advance a solution. Getting two such songs to finally harmonize can be a very taxing endeavor on the ears of all those involved!

That brings us to the whole point of this discussion: How do you deal with diametrically opposed ideas? Two songs that can never be harmonized with one another.

Try to imagine the inherent complexity of the two songs dealing with the fate of all creation, try imagining the competing concepts as being diametrically opposed. Now try imagining what they might sound like as the two melodies vainly sought to merge together. If that is too difficult, try imagining the sound of two trains of infinite length and infinite mass going opposite directions as they crashed into each other with infinite slowness. If you can do that, then you have a glimmer of the nature of the cacophony that woke Keiichi from his slumber this morning.

* * *

One of the advantages of having a goddess for a girlfriend is that you tend to get used to seeing things that would freak a normal person out, explaining why Keiichi wasn't all that surprised when he emerged from his house to find a company of fifty guardian angels floating in the air above the temple courtyard. They had formed into two counter rotating circles of twenty-five each. As they circled about, it was obvious that each side was trying to out sing the other. Every so often the angels would charge straight at each other only to dodge at the last second before switching positions with their opposite number moving from the inner to outer circle and then back again. Somehow Keiichi found the choreography to be both beautiful and menacing at the same time.

Looking about the grounds he observed that at one end of the courtyard closest to the fence that separated the house from the main building, sat the Almighty One flanked by Skuld to his left and Urd to his right, behind him sat Belldandy. Across the way, directly opposite the foursome sat Lind grasping her Ax. In the open space between them two competing Mandalas were trying to form. On the porch sat Peorth hugging her knees, while Bampei paced nervously back and forth on this side of the fence. Both were staring with horrified fascination at the surreal drama that was unfolding in the courtyard. Trying to get a reading on the situation by studying Peorth's body language he began to notice that every so often she would steal glances at Skuld before quickly turning her eyes away, as if she were afraid the younger Norn might catch her spying on her. That combined with Bampei's agitation was enough to tell him that it didn't take a genius to figure out that the divine shit had just hit the fan and the three Norn's were standing in the middle of it, again!

Becoming increasingly irritated at the incessant noise as it increased in volume he approached Peorth and shouted over the din to her, "Just what the hell is going on!"

"They are arguing," the sex goddess replied in a hollow voice.

"About what!"

"The fate of all creation!"

"You are going to have to explain that one to me."

"One side, the side represented by Lind wants for creation to continue. The other, the one Belldandy's father supports thinks that creation needs to be allowed to end."

"Why would he support such a thing!"

"The world as we know it was created in violence and in violence so shall it end," she said, "but the where, when and how are not totally beyond our control. We are approaching a nexus, a turning point. When the current Mayan calendar runs out we will have arrived at this nexus and by then a decision must have been reached if we are to prevent the fate of the world from being stripped from our hands."

"That's still years away, why must they decide now?"

"The Almighty One has made a political mistake. He has never allowed the council to take it up for review. He was also pretty clever in that he convinced challengers for his position to seek employment elsewhere, so he never had to worry about a direct challenge to his authority. But he left his post unguarded, he temporarily installed the last qualified candidate to watch over things until Yggdrasil was restored. The technicians put a rush on the repairs and the system was restored earlier than he expected. Then the council ran an end-around play on him and voted to permanently install the last remaining challenger for his job should he not return from the mortal plane in a timely fashion. To add insult to injury they also have co-opted Lind to champion their cause. They want to force a showdown on the issue and that is what all the noise is about."

"So this other guy, the temporary Almighty One, is he trying to leverage this situation in order to usurp the real Almighty One's authority?"

"Hell no, he tried text messaging me with a warning for the Almighty One to get his butt back up to heaven before this all started to go down, but he forgot about the time dilation. I got the message about the same time this circus showed up."

"So the fake Almighty One in heaven is pulling for the real Almighty One down here to be successful in his quest to destroy the world?" Keiichi asked scratching his head.

"If it gets him out of that onerous job, yes!"

"I don't understand why this is even an issue. Wouldn't Lind's side be the more correct one? Wouldn't you want to put off the final accounting for as long as possible?"

"It's a matter of energies, the nature of the world is to be complete. It wants to come back together, but if we allow that to happen then the end of all things will be upon us. The Almighty One believes that we can control the catastrophe, in effect guide the world back to its proper shape and become part of the new world that will rise from the ashes of the old. But nobody knows how much power we will need to accomplish the task or even if the task is doable.

"The other side thinks we should use our power to sustain the divergence. But that would be just a stop gap measure. The Almighty One is convinced that we would only be wasting our power by postponing the inevitable.

"Then there is the power itself, our power is derived from the mortal world and it must be replenish somehow. There really aren't that many people like yourself out there waiting for their wish to be granted. We could be forced to… compromise our standards and were we to do that then what would be the difference between us and the demons we all love to hate?"

"What happens if they can't reach an agreement?" Keiichi asked.

"Then they will have to settle the dispute another way." Peorth replied, sneaking another glance at Skuld.

"What do you mean, 'another way', what other way?" Keiichi asked, suddenly becoming very afraid.

"The same way you settle disputes here on Earth," she replied in a small voice, barely audible over the din in the background, "by the sword!"

"You mean like a sparring match?"

"No Keiichi, it is not a sparring match!" she said as tears started to flow down her face, "This is a fight for the fate of all creation! This will be a fight to the death!"

"It seems that this fight is between the Almighty One and Lind. What are Belldandy and her sisters doing out there?"

"Because protocol dictates that this be a fair fight, or at least as fair as it can be."

"Four against one hardly seems fair to me."

"Four ordinary deities against one such as Lind is hardly a challenge for her, the battle will be over before it starts."

"I don't know, if I were a betting man my money would be on Belldandy."

"Keiichi you're a fool!" she said crying, "Belldandy isn't even a player here. Lind's first attack will be against Skuld, she'll maim or kill her with her first stroke forcing Belldandy to drop out to help her sister, effectively halving the Almighty One's power. With no possible hope of victory he will be forced to sacrifice himself to save his other two daughters! This fight is already lost to them, yet still they remain."

"Why don't Skuld and Belldandy switch positions then and let her be the rear guard?"

"It isn't about them! It's about him!" she said pointing to the Almighty One. "Outside of heaven he is no more powerful than any other first class deity. Belldandy is the most powerful of all his issue, if it comes to a fight then her purpose will be to support the Almighty One directly by feeding her power into him. That leaves the job of protecting his flanks to the other two."

"How can you know that Lind will strike at Skuld first and not Belldandy?"

"Belldandy is no slouch when it comes to close quarter combat. By herself she could give Lind a run for her money. Easier and much more effective if she were to take out the two of them with one well-placed blow. Besides, it has always been Skuld's destiny to die by Lind's hands!" Peorth sniffled.

"How can you know that!"

"Lind is a brilliant combat strategist, Keiichi, even if it wasn't her fate, we both know that Lind will strike the weak side first!" she continued through her tears.

"I still can't believe that Lind would do such a thing!" Keiichi said as he tried to deny the obvious truth of her words.

"Although she might hate it with every fiber of her being, she still will ruthlessly accomplish whatever task she is assigned." Peorth said with an air of finality, "If you don't believe this to be true, just remember that Lind wasn't dispatched to kill the Lord of Terror until after he had severed himself from Urd. If you hadn't got in between the two of them then Skuld would have been the next one taken. Even with her powers still dormant had the dark one succeeded that day then Lind would have been forced to slaughter her immediately to keep the gate of the netherworld closed! Doting father that he pretends to be, do you think the Almighty One would have sent her if there were even the slightest doubt that she wasn't up to the task? This is Skuld's fate Keiichi, it always has been."

Although the Lord of Terror incident was years past and almost forgotten Keiichi still bore the barely distinguishable remnants of the scar on his back where the Midgard serpent had struck him. Now that scar started to throb painfully and his vision blurred red. All Belldandy's sacrifice, all of his suffering, Urd's silent struggle to reassert her sense of self in the aftermath and Skuld's unknowingly near brush with death. All of that was about to become for naught.

"Oh! Hell no!" was the last rational thought he remembered having.

* * *

…Imagine the concept of overwhelming anger, the type that wells up from the soul and burns the body with a cold fire, with all your senses heightened, where everything you touch, taste, see, hear and smell is brought into sharp relief. The type of anger that in its fury and righteous indignation forces your mind to travel beyond the limits of sanity, to act no matter how dire the consequences. The type that spurs you to stand against the very gods themselves! Imagine a nondescript 5 foot 3 inch mortal with bushy eyebrows marching head long onto a battlefield where even angels feared to tread.


	8. Chapter 8

Ah! Does Size Really Matter? Ch8

**Politics.**

Insanity has its own logic. That's why it's so difficult to reason with crazy people. From their point of view you're the one who's crazy and they're the only ones who got it together. As Keiichi's mind took its trip into la la land it did indeed have a method to its madness.

The still functioning self-preservation mode in his brain had prevented him from directly challenging either side. So, instead he elected to confront the problem from another angle, he decided to attack the songs themselves. You might wonder how is it even possible to attack a song? The obvious answer to Keiichi was, with a Karaoke machine of course! Keiichi wasn't one to waste money on such frivolous devices, even if he were, there wasn't any way that Urd would allow such a device inside the temple grounds. Her opinion of the machine that it was the work of the devil. (A very widely held view within the music world as well, I'm told.) Undaunted, Keiichi had instructed Banpei to switch into anti Mara music mode with the Karaoke option and polymorphic DJ functions, (Skuld class robots can do that sort of thing you know.), before marching head long into the impending maelstrom.

Keiichi marched over to the bell in the courtyard and struck it as hard as he could. As the bell tolled the competing mandala's started to lose form as the Guardians concentration on their individual songs started to waver. Again and again he struck the bell, each time the competing melodies became more and more disjointed until at last the two companies of angels fell silent. With the loss of their songs the opposing spells dissipated and the concentration of the two principles returned to the courtyard and too Keiichi. When Keiichi was sure he had everyone's attention he then nodded towards the little robot giving it the cue to begin the second part of his ingenious plan. As he had previously instructed, the machine began playing the only song that Keiichi knew the words to, having listened to it over and over again from back in the days of his youth. Track number 4 of Skuld's all time cult classics, AKA The Rocky Horror Picture Show's Time Warp!

As the familiar rift of the songs opening music began to play, a litany of emotions was seen playing across the faces of all the goddesses. Belldandy's expression was one of joy, proud that her (still insane) boyfriend was so clever, Urd's expression could be seen to change from one of curiosity to dread as she realized what was coming next. Skuld's was one of unashamed pride as she congratulated herself for making such a clever robot. Peorth was in flight to secure her position next to the Almighty One. Poor Lind was probably the only person on Earth who couldn't see what was coming.

Holding Banpei's left hand, which he had reconfigured to function as a microphone, to his mouth Keiichi began to sing, totally off key of course, the part of the evil handyman Riff Raff. "It's astound-ing…Time is fleet-ing… Mad-ness takes its toll... But listen close-ly...

"Oh, please not that!" Urd pleaded in her mind.

"Not for very much longer..."came the sultry voice of Peorth as she whispered into the Almighty One's ear as she laid her claim to the roll of Magenta.

"I've got to keep control… I REMEMMMBERRR DO-ING THE TIME WARRRPP…"

It was at this point that Lind decided to revise her battle strategy and kill Keiichi first.

"Drink-ing those mo-ments when…The black-ness would hit me."

"And the void would be call-all-ing." Came the two voices of Peorth and Keiichi as their songs clashed even more horribly than the ones that had shook them out of bed.

"Let's do the Time Warp againnn." the combined voices of the three Norn's sang in unison throwing their hands in the air as they all began performing their own perfectly choreographed version of the Time Warp dance. "Let's do the Time Warp againnn."

"It's just a jump to the left." Came the booming baritone voice of the Almighty One playing the roll of the criminologist.

"And then a jump to the riiight." His three daughters sang back.

"With your hands on your hips."

"You bring your knees in tiiight…" the Norn's sang, "But it's the pelvic thrust… that really drives you insaanne. Let's do the Time Warp agaiiin…Let's do the Time Warp agaiiin."

"It's so dreamy…" sang Peorth as she danced seductively across the battlefield, her eyes never leaving the Almighty One's. "Oh, fantasy free me…no you can't see me. No, not at all. In another dimen-sion…With voyeuris-tic inten-tion…Well secluded, I see all...

"With a bit of a mind flip..." Keiichi sang causing everyone else to cringe.

"You're into the time slip..."

"And noth-ing can ever be the same."

"It's a startled sensation."

"LIKE YOU'RE UNDERRR SEDAAATIONNN." Keiichi sang at the top of his voice, causing Lind to add the entire cast and crew of the movie to her hit list.

"Let's do the Time Warp againnnn." Sang the voices of the fifty angels from up above.

The new harmony drew the attention of everyone on the ground as their eyes were drawn skyward. Keiichi saw that the two competing ranks of angels had decided to join the party. The previously opposed forces had formed into two perfectly synchronized floating chorus lines as they too began their own flying version of the time warp dance. In the back of his mind Keiichi began to fear that he might have unwittingly committed an unforgivable sin.

"Let's do the Time Warp againnnn."

"It's just a jump to the left!" The Almighty One sang.

"And then a jump to the riiight." The angelic chorus replied.

"With your hands on your hips."

"You bring your knees in tiiight…But it's the pelvic thrust… that really drives you insaanne. Let's do the Time Warp agaiiin…Let's do the Time Warp agaiiin."

Skuld decided that she didn't want to be just a part of the chorus line. Inserting herself into the roll of Colombia, she began singing in the twenty's flapper style; "Well, I was walking down the street…Just having a think…When a snake of a guy…Gave me an evil wink."

KAAA BOOOMMM… the sound of the sonic blast created by Banpei was heard miles away as his body exploded. The head of the little robot traveling an incredible distance straight up into the air.

The shock of the blast knocked Keiichi back to reality, looking to Skuld as she continued to track the flight of Banpei's head in the sky, he asked her. "I didn't overload it just now did I?"

"I don't think so," she replied not taking her eyes off the missile. "All my inventions are built with a self-destruct mechanism to prevent them from ever being used for an evil purpose. I think my being Colombia pushed him over the edge.

"You know you're not quite so dumb after all." She continued, "That was a pretty good idea of yours usurping the music like you did. Might even have worked if I hadn't screwed you up just now."

"Thank you, I think." He answered her.

"By the way, if I don't get an opportunity to do so later on let me say Thank You." she smiled up at him and standing on her tiptoes gave him a kiss on the cheek. "It was really nice of you, letting me stay with you here on Earth all this time."

"Belldandy would be devastated if anything bad were to happen to you," Keiichi smiled down at her, "I was just trying to help."

Looking over at Lind, then towards her father and sisters as they reassumed their places at opposing ends of the courtyard Skuld confided to him, "One of the things that really sucked about this job was knowing that this day would come."

"I don't think I understand." Keiichi said, as he suddenly realized that the fight was back on.

"I'm the goddess of the future, how much of this do you think I didn't see coming?"

"I know a little about the future also," Keiichi replied sternly, "having been dragged there against my will a few times myself! I know enough to know that nothing in the future is fixed until it becomes the past!"

"Yes, but sometimes the path you choose must be followed until you reach its end or you come to a nexus, I have arrived at that nexus, the nexus that you made for me just now. I'm not afraid anymore, Keiichi, and now I know what I need to do." She finished as tears started to flow from her eyes.

With that she marched over towards Lind's end of the field. Keiichi, dumbstruck, watched her unmoving until fear finally spurred him to action. But by then it was too late, the delayed reaction on the sealing spell the little goddess knew she needed to cast activated and held Keiichi fast to the spot where he stood. He could only watch helplessly as she approached Lind and offered up her life.

"I have decided to will my power to my family," she spoke in a quivering voice. "As a Valkyrie and combat specialist can you help me realize that wish?"

Lind was surprised but not all that concerned, she had already sealed herself to the fact that she had to kill the little goddess, so Skuld's willingness to give her life for her father didn't seem that far fetched. As a matter of fact it made good combat sense, this way she ceased to be a liability and her willed powers became an asset to her opposition. _"But what will he think,"_ she asked herself, _"he who accepts everybody and judges no one, will he still accept me for who I am? Or will he not bother to even look my way anymore?_

Raising her ax high over her head she swung it towards the youngsters skull with enough force to cleave her in two when at the last possible moment she had an epiphany. Twisting the handle in her hands Lind turned the blade of the weapon sideways braining the little Norn with the flat side, knocking her unconscious.

"_That's even better,"_ Lind thought, _"No extra power to the opposition, no innocent blood on my hands, no having to deal with that look from _him_. Neat and clean, I like it."_

With the loss of her consciousness the spell holding Keiichi rooted in place faded and he was able to run to where Skuld's body lay and scooping her up carried her inside the temple. Peorth, who had once again managed to intertwine the majority of her limbs with the Almighty One's unwrapped herself from around him and came over to examine the little Norn.

Checking the little goddess for signs of injury and finding none she re-emerged from the building and gave the two elder sisters a thumb's up. Keiichi didn't know if he saw anger or relief on the faces of Skuld's older siblings but one thing for certain he knew: Lind had just fucked up big time! He almost felt sorry for the poor Valkyrie, almost.

As the pair watched from the relative safety of the doorway the battle between the two sides began in earnest.

The two remaining Norns had called forth their angels and had placed themselves in a containment formation, as if they were trying to block the Valkyrie's retreat. The moved puzzled Lind for a moment but from her perspective that meant that her main target was unprotected so she charged in. A moment later the strategy became apparent. The Almighty One called forth his angel, when he did the light seen emanating from his wings blinded her. When she tried to move away from the source of the light the two Norns or their angels were there to block her escape. She couldn't directly engage the two goddesses because they would simply run away and the Almighty One refused to follow forcing her to rejoin combat with him lest she be held in default for leaving the battlefield. Again and again Lind would attack only to lose sight of her quarry when she closed on him. The Almighty One's strategy was perplexing; he remained always on the defensive. Even when Lind deliberately exposed herself to attack he would simply back away always keeping his wings focused towards her.

This forced Lind to revise her battle strategy, closing her eyes to keep out the light; Lind began directing a series of feints at the Almighty One's position. Using her memory of the temple grounds as a map she began trying to determine the Almighty One's true location by triangulation. Each time she dived into the fight she would note where her position was and the relative angle of the light as he moved about the courtyard. Her plan was to simply get a rough idea of where the Almighty One stood and then dive straight in and throw her battle-ax at close range forcing him to step aside. If she was close enough to him when she let loose then he would have to twist away from the path of the ax as he dodged. This she knew would cause the light assaulting her eyes to dim to the side opposite his path of retreat giving her the correct vector to his location. Once she had that information she intended to close in on him and decide the issue with hand to hand combat.

The Almighty One was no fool, as Lind began her series of feints he began to change his location randomly not allowing her the repeatable measurements she needed to ascertain his location. The arena the two fought in was somewhat limited however, and the Almighty One began to run out of different locations to move to. Finally Lind had what she needed and with his position determined she charged straight in and let fly her battle-ax when she was almost upon him. Just has she anticipated he had to dodge the hurtling weapon causing the light from his wings to dim to the weak side, with that last piece of critical information Lind was able to vector in on his position. She almost made it too, the leading edge of the blast that leveled the entire compound reaching her just before she was able to get a grip on her target.

Lind's body hurtling through the air like a rag doll thrown from a speeding car was the last thing Keiichi saw before the shock wave knocked him unconscious. The expression on her face was one of total contentment.

000

"Darkness, comforting darkness, fear of the darkness was so wrong headed." he thought, "in the darkness is warmth, in the darkness is solitude, in the darkness is peace." Keiichi wanted to stay wrapped in darkness forever safe and warm, safe from the machinations of heaven, safe from Skuld's maniacal inventions, safe from Urd's medicinal madness. He was even safe from the woman he loved who had managed to totally destroy his male ego. Even as he tried to snuggle down in the darkness it began to fade, something was impinging on his thoughts. Voices, he heard voices, gradually he began to realize that much as he wanted it to be so, he wasn't dead, just unconscious. The darkness was fading even as he desperately clung to it. Finally he gave up and allowed his body to gradually awaken.

When Keiichi opened his eyes he saw a partially obscured field of stars above him. Trying to focus his eyes closer to the planet he determined that the object obscuring his view was Belldandy and she was once again cradling his head in her lap. Sitting up on the wooden floor of the temple it took a few minutes for him to grasp the contradiction. Unobstructed views of the night sky not being a normal feature of most enclosed structures. Sitting up he could see the devastation that had replaced his home. The entire area was flattened with only the floors of the various structures remaining.

"Ow ow ow, It hurts Urd!" he heard Skuld complaining.

"I don't care how much it hurts," came the response of her eldest sister, "You need to keep ice on that lump if you want it to heal."

"You didn't have to hit me that hard you big meanie." Skuld complained to someone else.

"You're welcome." Keiichi heard Lind's voice reply.

"I take it we didn't win?" Keiichi asked Belldandy.

"Sadly, no we didn't," she answered him.

"Your father, is he… he dea…"

"Oh no, no… he is okay, he and Peorth went… elsewhere for a few minutes. They'll be back shortly. Lind managed to knock herself out. So, father decided to table the matter for the time being as unresolved."

"What happened?"

"When Lind threw her ax at the Almighty One it traveled all the way across the yard and it imbedded itself in the cherry tree and that's why it exploded."

"I'm missing something here, how does striking a tree with an ax cause it to explode?"

"Not a tree, THE cherry tree, the one I keep having to constantly seal your memories of."

"Oh," Keiichi remarked deadpan, "that cherry tree."

"So what now?"

"The system's restored, so father will be required to return to his duties as the Almighty One. Peorth finally got what she wanted so she will probably go back home. Lind…Lind I'm afraid might be in a lot of trouble."

"How much trouble?" Keiichi asked.

"Oh, they'll probably start by stripping me of my angel's, revoking all my licenses and banishment from the heavenly realm." Lind said from behind the pair.

Sitting up straight so he could face her Keiichi replied, "I'm sorry to hear that."

Looking him closely in the eye Lind could tell that his feelings were true_, "How… how is it possible for _him_ to look at me after what I did? Is he really that accepting or is he just too stupid to see?"_

A little while later the Almighty One and Peorth rejoined the group, from the look on her face it was obvious that she did indeed finally get what she wanted.

"Well everyone," he began, "everything seems to have worked out like it was supposed to. I have really enjoyed my visit but I must be off. Thank you for all your hospitality."

"You're welcome father." Skuld answered for the group; "We are all looking forward to your next visit."

"_Yeah"_ thought Keiichi to himself, _"comeback when you can't stay as long!"_

"_Shush,"_ Belldandy chided him mentally, _"he can read your thoughts."_

"_That's right I can!"_

"Lind," the Almighty One continued outloud, "for the time being you are to return to your duties as my bodyguard."

"Yes, Almighty One." The disgraced Valkyrie replied.

"Once we return to the heavenly realm you are to hand over your responsibilities to your understudy and then place yourself under arrest!"

"I understand my Lord."

"Good, after you are done with that release yourself on your own recognizance and go arrest the head of the Heavenly Bank and Trust on charges of collusion with the enemy."

"May I ask, on what evidence?"

"Bankers hours!" was his two word reply.

"Oh, he's screwed," Keiichi said outloud.

"Another thing my Lord," Lind asked, "How did you know who the candidates for your post were?"

"Destiny's boyfriends!" he smiled.

"What!"

"Despite her own sense of self importance, Destiny is just another functionary who's job it is to do what I tell her! She was trying to curry favor by offering to mentor perspective candidates for my job. Every time I had to leave my post for an extended length of time I installed one of her 'students' in my stead. Once they got a taste of what the job was really all about they couldn't get out of town fast enough!"

"Ruthless bastard!" she thought to herself.

"Well then," he said as he reached up and snapped his fingers casting a spell to cause all who were there to hear the musical refrains of the Karaoke version of Sweet Transvestite. Marching in time with the music the trio joined arms and marched underneath where the gate was opening. On the final note the group re-ascended to heaven."

"As soon as their presence faded a wind started to blow as the spell of restoration he cast began the arduous task of reconstructing all the buildings. When it was done the only difference Keiichi noticed was that the old cherry tree that Lind had caused to explode had been replaced by a sapling.

"Why do I get the feeling that everything that just happened wasn't by chance." Keiichi asked.

"Well duh," Skuld answered him, "what part of 'omniscient' don't you understand?"


	9. Chapter 9

**Ah! Does size really matter?**

**The why of it all.**

"If you're not part of the solution then you're part of the problem," the Almighty One thought to himself, "and nature has a habit of extinctifying those species that get between it and its intended goal."

The conflict that shattered Pangaea and the world was the result of the actions of sentient beings. In the cold hard math of natural law this translated into extinction for those species possessing sentience, purifying the world so it could begin anew. But nature acted blindly, it wasn't the now extinct life forms that were the true cause of the trouble but the souls that had inhabited them, souls that managed to live on after the flesh and bone bodies that they had inhabited had returned to the dust. Not that there was anyone left around to care but the souls of the Gods, Demons and Mortals just waited around, remaining hidden in the void that existed between space and time and waited. Waiting until life began anew to start over finding refuge in the hairless ape that re-emerged from the muck of creation, all the while patting themselves on their metaphorical backs for having outwitted nature. But nature is nothing if not patient and nature has as much time as exists in all of creation to get it right. The next time nature decided to eliminate sentient life it would do so at the source of the problem, with the cause of sentience itself.

On August 6, 1945 at 8:15 in the morning skies above the city of Hiroshima, nature floated its first trial balloon on its latest solution to eliminate the curse of sentience from creation.* _From __10948_

It took a few years for the members of Heaven to realize that the wolf was already sitting on their doorstep but they did manage to finally work it out. When they did they reacted as all politicians do when faced with incontrovertible evidence that their world view was flawed. They denied it, and called any who would force them to face the truth heretic and hid their collective heads in the sand. The few remaining that did recognize the truth wanted to postpone the final accounting, to expend all of Heavens energy in a single burst to maintain the divergence. But the Almighty One knew that nature had other plans, regardless of the path chosen and regardless of the outcome nature had already marked all sentient life for death. A mark he knew would remain focused on the backs of all sentient beings until they ceased being part of the problem and became part of the solution.

This placed him at odds with virtually every other member of Heaven and effectively limited his options. For all his mighty power he has no control over the thoughts and actions of others. Of course, Hobson's choice still counts as a free choice and he wasn't above 'arranging' things to force others to follow a particular path if it suited his needs, but for the most part it was only when chance intervened and a path was chosen by another whose eventual destination coincided with one of his own that he could act to effect the outcome.

Now, from before she was born the Almighty One had laid Belldandy's path out for her, but it was a path she stubbornly refused to follow. Powerless, he had watched as his daughter's innocence was stolen from her, her soul so horribly scarred that all in heaven turned their faces from her in disgust. On earth she had finally found peace and acceptance, a place where she could belong and where none would sit in judgment of her. As Heaven had turned its back on her, so she turned her back on Heaven and made a new place for herself, one where she would be welcomed, where she could follow her hearts desire. But with great power so comes an even greater responsibility, freewill or no, the fate of all sentient life might hinge on her re-assuming her place in the Heavenly host alongside those who once spurned her.

There was one thing the Almighty One found puzzling though. Mortals, believe it or not, can sense the nature of another's soul the same as they do in Heaven. They don't hone the ability, as the whole process takes place so far below the level of the subconscious that they aren't even aware of it, but have this ability they do. Keiichi, in his own simple fashion, knew the truth of her soul and within that truth he saw beauty. This became the root cause of Belldandy's jealousy storms. To be seen forever by Keiichi in this fashion was all she desired. To keep his gaze focused on her and her alone she would fight any fight, brave any challenge, and follow him down any path.

As Skuld had so aptly pointed out in her quip about omniscient, nothing that had transpired was the result of chance. When the Almighty One departed for the mortal plain he brought with him a "to do" list, Windows of opportunity were opening, fates were converging and decisions were about to be made that could alter the fate of all creation.

Speaking of fate, as fate would have it, once long ago when they were both eight years old and before life had maligned her so Belldandy had innocently named Keiichi a friend of nature at their first meeting. Unknowingly, she had made Keiichi the single interface between the three realms and the forces of creation that sought their destruction.

That was the "in" that the Almighty One had been working towards, Belldandy would follow Keiichi but Keiichi would never willingly choose a path that Belldandy, Yamato Nadeshiko extraordinaire, didn't point him too. But the Almighty One suspected, that given the choice between staying behind or following Keiichi down an undesirable path Keiichi would win. So, the only question remaining was weather or not the kid had the balls to say no to her in order to help her and in so doing save Heaven as well.

"It's the perfect synergy," the Almighty One thought to himself. "The boy just needs a little guidance."

**Excerpts from the Almighty to do list:**

Problem: Mortgage interest on mansion above current market rates.

Solution: Before leaving get in contact with President of Heavenly Bank and Trust regarding refinancing.

Result: Still awaiting return call.

Problem: Establish leadership role through end of the current Mayan great cycle.

Solution: Scare the crap out of potential opponents.

Results: Accomplished.

Problem: Meet with representative of loyal opposition, (Lind) to resolve harmony issues with opposing songs.

Solution: Will be a fight to the death.

Results: Matter tabled for time being due to representative of other side knocking herself out.

Problem: Space time becoming stressed due to alternate realities involving Keiichi's and Belldandy's fate crossing.

Solution: Have Lind destroy Nexus point by accident.

Results: Nice explosion.

Problem: Begin grooming Lind for role as CnC of the host.

Solution: Humble Lind by defeating her in open combat.

Results: See above.

Problem: Resolve binary Lind error…

000

"Sire," Lind's understudy began, "I have brought the disgraced Valkyrie Lind to face your most holy judgment."

"Very well," came the voice of the Almighty One from the obelisk, "Lind you have indicated that you wish to forgo a formal hearing and are willing to accept summary judgment. While I am pleased that you wish to save your comrades further embarrassment you need to be aware that the sentencing guidelines leave little room for leniency. I strongly urge you to re-consider."

"No sire," the once proud Valkyrie said as she hung her head in shame, "I do not wish to re-consider and I hereby plead guilty to all charges and ask now that you pass sentence in accordance with Heavens sacred law."

"Very well, in accordance with our sacred law you have admitted guilt to the crime of bearing arms against the lawful leadership of the realm. In accordance with said law you are to be stripped of your angel, your first class license and all special categories are suspended and you are to be banished to the mortal realm.

"Lind, my once loyal bodyguard, do you understand these punishments."

"I do sire," Lind replied in a voice just above a whisper.

"Before I bring these proceedings to a close do you have anything you want to add to the record?"

"No sire, I have nothing further to say."

"Very well," turning his attention to the understudy, whose name he still couldn't pronounce he said, "You may leave us now."

"No sire," the startled young understudy began, "I cannot leave one such as her unguarded in your presence."

"I said leave us!" the Almighty One's voice boomed.

"I'm sor sor sorry," the young Valkyrie stuttered, afraid but still unwilling to yield, "but I will not leave you alone with her!"

It was the low frequency rumbling that Lind felt through the floor that clued her in to the fact the circuit breakers in the antechamber were once again being stressed to their limit. Not wanting a repeat performance of the explosion that had occurred the week before, she chimed in on her inter Valkyrie Battle Communications link.

"Oh, for crying out loud, I promise on what's left of my honor not to try anything. Now will you shut up before you wind up as my new roommate on Earth?"

Lind's word of honor, tarnished though it might be, still carried enough weight with her understudy to count for something. Finally the frighten warrior was satisfied that no harm would befall her charge and she left the antechamber. Once she had departed Lind felt the presence of the Almighty One as he detached himself from the obelisk and manifested his corporeal body in the small room. He then created a small sub universe in the antechamber which blocked out all possibility of monitoring from the outside, even the bone induction trick.

"Okay, now that we are off the record, what is it that you wish to say."

"You undercut the council's authority by eliminating your only challengers from contention!" Lind cried.

"I did not eliminate them; I simply gave them a choice by letting them see for themselves what this post really entailed. They freely chose to pursue another path. Isn't freedom of choice a basic cornerstone of our existence?"

"But by giving them that knowledge and leaving them with the freedom to change their minds you stripped the council of its ability to govern."

"I can almost tell you the name of the mealy mouthed councilman whose gibberish you're spouting." He sighed, "Lind, when a god is connected to the heart of creation and is one with the universe he can see all things but influence very little. There is but one possible outcome if we keep traveling the path we are now on. That's why my potential successors bailed as soon as they knew the score. If you had prevailed the only thing you would have accomplished would have been to cost the realm precious energy and time."

"Are you saying that I was deceived! That somehow I was lied to by another first class deity?"

"The song you represented did indeed deserve a fair hearing, but it was not your place to represent it. There are sound reasons for why we do not allow members of the host to engage in political discourse. A serious flaw in your thinking is because first class deities cannot lie then only the truth must remain, but there is an important caveat, a first class deity can lie when they themselves believe what they say is the truth. You would have seen through the deception were it not for the truth that you're hiding from. I would reveal this truth to you if you would hear it."

"What would you tell me? What is this truth?"

"The simple truth of the matter is that you, a Valkyrie of all things, were afraid, afraid of the unknown!"

"The anger that crossed Lind's mind when she heard herself being accused of such weakness was enough to cause her to consider breaking the promise she had just made to her understudy. The only reason she didn't was because she knew that the Almighty One, like her, was a first class deity and incapable of deceit. When the fog of anger lifted she finally realized that she had indeed let fear guide her actions, still there had been a truth to her cause.

"Is it wrong!" Lind cried, tears of frustration flowing freely down the once proud Valkyrie's cheeks, "Is it wrong to want to see life continue, if even for just another day!"

"Tell me, would you have me expend the entire resources of Heaven to postpone the inevitable? What then do we do when all our power is gone and the pillars of the earth are crumbling? What will you tell your children on that day?"

"Children," Lind laughed, "All in heaven see me as some kind of monster, a freak! I have no issue and I never will!"

It was the silence that followed that brought her up short.

"You ruthless bastard!" she cried in realization, "You knew, you knew and you still let me do what I did. I have served you loyally all these years and you let me think that I would never… I would never… have…have any… child…child…children!"

"Even I am bound by the laws of Freedom of Choice Lind." The Almighty One said soothingly, "Every choice you make is yours and yours alone. When you turned from your old path and began traveling this new one new possibilities became available. That is but one of them."

"Please," she asked softly, "be merciful. Don't cause me to suffer anymore. Invoke your judgment and be done with it."

"Very well, but there are things I must show you first."

Placing his hand on her back he called forth Lind's twin angels so that she could see the two of them together one more time.

The twins knew of each other, of course, having met once before when Keiichi had hosted Coolmint. Surprised at being in the others presence again they began to frolic about the room. Lind was about to call them down when the Almighty One cautioned her. Let them play a while, I'm not required to execute the judgment right away. Come join your consciousness with mine and let me show you my plan, a plan that I want you to be a part of_._"

"Yes, but at what cost?" she said looking over her shoulder at her twins as they played together.

"Might not be as high as you think." He said cryptically. "I need your help to resolve a situation." With that he linked his mind to hers and began to seek out his daughters' dreams as they slept.

000

Of what do you dream? If you're the goddess of the future in the throes of an Affirmation of life Dream after just having your life spared your unconscious thoughts can tend to be a little risqué. So, you can imagine Skuld's chagrin when her father decided to pay a visit to her dreamscape. The Almighty One knew that since he no longer had Hobson calling the shots for him it might be to his advantage to offer his youngest daughter a little inducement to secure her best effort.

"What the hell are these," Skuld screamed pointing to her chest.

"Just a little bribe to get your help with a problem."

"Little, you call this little! I look like a dam Jersey cow!"

"I know that you are in constant competition with Urd, I thought it would be nice if I were to level the playing field a little. They are one size larger and they're yours to keep, no strings attached, if you can help me with this one small problem."

"Bigger than Urd's! Now that's different, in that case, what's the problem you need my help with?"

"It's the same problem we've been working all week, as things stand now your sister is still going to die."

"Die! Why is she going to die? Why have we put Keiichi and her through all this if not to save her?"

"Because she wants it that way, your sister is actively working at cross purpose to my design. She wants to live as a mortal and die as one."

"It doesn't make any sense, why does she want to die like that?"

"Your sister's heart is very fragile; Celestin hurt her very deeply, more deeply than you know. Being a surrogate mother to you, to keep you from having to suffer as she did gave her a sense of purpose. But you're all grown up now; the time will soon be here when you will no longer need her."

"I'm sorry," she sniffed, "I didn't mean to grow up so fast!"

"There is nothing you can do about that; try as we might all of us must eventually mature into adults. That is why it is so important to enjoy your youth to its fullest. I think the fact that you were growing up so well might be Urd's underlying reason for bringing those two together. Being with Keiichi gives her a sense of peace and a cause to keep on living. Keiichi is still a mortal and as long as the curse is attached his life will be short and when he passes Belldandy's grief will sap her will to live. Much as he did for you with Lind yesterday I have been working towards creating a nexus in his life, but Belldandy will try to keep him on his present path and much as I wish to do so I cannot force him to change his mind.

"You mean there is nothing you can do, even after all of our hard work."

"I'm afraid it's out of my hands. She is to far gone for me or any in Heaven to save her. If we were to seal her for 100 years she would still die of heartbreak as soon as she was released. But Keiichi is not the only one who must make a choice. As you are aware, I have had you all working on a backdoor solution and only you know my ultimate goal. While the results so far have been good there are still other issues that we must work before I can offer him a choice and implement a solution. How attractive our offer is and how well we deal with these issues will ultimately affect your sister's destiny."

"I see, and the reason you offered me these," Skuld said pointing to her chest, "was to get me to help you with these other issues?"

"You are correct, little one. Help me help him to save Belldandy."

"I think you underestimate him. Given the choice between the easy and difficult paths I think he will always do what is right for Belldandy, even if she tries to stop him."

"I hope for all our sakes that you are right little one."

"Okay, let's get down to business," Skuld began, "I have my handy dandy Save my Sister inventors checklist ready to go. Name that problem!"

"Keiichi's long term contact with Belldandy has allowed him to remain linked to Yggdrasil far longer than any other mortal and he is starting to cause aberrations in the interface."

"I'm not surprised; he's stumbling around blind inside the system and not getting any feedback. It's like trying to make data entries on a keyboard without having a readout in front of you. You need to establish a two way interface so he can see the effect he is having."

"I agree, but how?"

"I could build an interface bracelet that would connect him to the Heavenly system. As long as he never takes it off it would be okay."

"That's part of the problem; the mortal curse is still attached. Even though we have purified his soul evil still remains in his heart and it will always be so for one such as him. You alone know my true purpose and you must realize the dangers we face by continuing forward along this path. We must put him under the control of Heaven using Yggdrasil before the curse is lifted. We need some permanent method of establishing a link between him and Yggdrasil. One he can't defeat simply by removing it."

"You mean an organic interface, like exists between my angel and Yggdrasil."

"Exactly," he smiled at her in her dream.

"We could try linking him to the power grid somehow. If his soul grows in mass a little more we could maybe try giving him an angel's egg," she suggested.

"That won't work. A newly hatched angel will assume the shape of its host soul."

"That's right. I forgot all about that."

"But, you have just given me an idea and I think I might have a solution, keep working the power issue. I'm sure you're on the right track."

With that he began to fade from her dreamscape, before he disappeared completely from her consciousness, however, Skuld looked to her father and then pointed to her chest and said, "Father, it's too soon for this, I have a dress that Keiichi bought for me a long time ago. I'm really looking forward to the day when I can wear it again but I want to get there on my own, please."

"As you wish," he said snapping his fingers causing Skuld's body to morph back into its correct form, "I'm continually amazed at how mature and responsible the three of you have grown. We all owe Belldandy a debt of gratitude."

"_Damm those things were heavy!"_ she thought to herself.

000

Of what do you dream? If you're the goddess of the past you dream of different things, of loves old and new, Battles won and lost, especially that one yesterday where your old man kicked the shit out of the fiercest Valkyrie in Heaven!

"Pride," he began disapprovingly as he merged with her dreamscape, "even if it's justifiable, is still a sin when indulged in to excess."

"Oh, go stick it where the sun don't shine!" the half Demon said mischievously.

"I was afraid you might take that attitude," he sighed, "well then how about this?" he finished pulling a small black box from his robe.

"Jewelry!" she screamed, her eyes agleam, "oh, you're such a nice man!"

"Open it up," he said handing the box to her.

"A platinum power limiter," she squealed in delight, "I appreciate it but I don't rate a limiter of this capacity."

"Look more closely."

Reaching into her cleavage Urd retrieved a small jeweler's loop that she kept on her person for just such occasions. (You would be surprised just how often Urd found herself in need of such a tool after being offered gifts of this sort from strange men she had never met before.) Placing the loop in her eye she examined the ornate ear decoration closely."

"A quick-release clasp!" she said in amazement, "Of all people, you should know how dangerous it is to trust me with this!"

"My daughter, somebody on the council usurped my own bodyguard to effect a regime change. You are one of a small handful of people that I can trust. Therefore, in order to insure my own safety and the safety of the realm I'm throttling you up to full power. With any luck the need should never arise for you to use it, however, if that time ever comes I want you to have every possible advantage, which also means I'm going to allow you to retain your ability to deceive."

"I understand father, I really do. But if you bring me up to full power the techs on the ops floor are going to notice for certain. We both would lose any advantage we had by advertising my increased power level."

"I'm working a solution to that right now. A sort of power drain that will allow you to receive full power from Yggdrasil but still only manifest at your current level."

"Wait, did I just hear you correctly? You're planning to use me to steal power from Yggdrasil! Last time I checked that was a pretty serious crime."

"It still is, are you in?"

"And Skuld was worried about all the trouble I was supposedly getting her into!" she smiled at him, "Oh yes, I am so in."

"On their private link that Lind and the Almighty One shared Lind asked, "Why are you showing me this? You are giving me, a traitor, the ammunition I need to prove my side was right! I could get your judgment reversed."

"As you once said, 'Freedom of choice is a bitch.' I want you to follow me, and I want you to do so of your own freewill. Like I did with my potential successors I am showing you the true nature of the universe. At least in as much as your part in it is concerned. How you treat that knowledge is up to you."

"What," she asked, "no faith based choices? No leaping blindly into the unknown?"

"The whole of creation is hurtling blindly into the unknown, a fact I find most disconcerting considering the position I hold, I need my best minds armed with the most accurate data available if sentient life is to continue. There are but a small circle of people I can trust, I want you to join that circle."

"Since it is you who have established these conditions then I will not give you an answer until I know more." Lind said defiantly. 

"So be it, let's see how much you can figure out for yourself. Well Lind," the old god spoke to her, "how would you go about helping Skuld with Keiichi's problem?"

"Well let's see then," Lind began, "Logistically you have two problems here, Power and Purpose. Setting the power issue aside for the moment and just concentrating on your purpose. Which is the need to link Keiichi to Yggdrasil. The best way to do that would be with an organic interface. Since you have ruled out grafting his soul with one of a goddess then the next best answer would be to give him an angel's egg. But since as you pointed out an angel reflects the true nature of the soul and since his soul is as corrupted as all mans then you are essentially attaching a power amp to the one part of his psyche that even he would reject. I suspect that he would just wind up in a coma again. But if we can overcome that little issue then you have half the problem solved.

"Returning to the power issue though, there is just no getting around the fact that angels are power hogs. We know from the time that Keiichi tried to support Welsper's familiar that he unconsciously drew power from Belldandy. I'm assuming that you wish to try establishing a power cooperative using the three Norns as the distribution matrix and the stolen power from Yggdrasil to cover the shortfall. But even with the cooperative support of the other three goddesses the angel would still grow to the point that it would outstrip the available supply."

"Everything you say is true," the old god said looking at Lind in a way that made her shiver. "IF we gave him an angel's EGG. Were we to establish a link between his soul and that of a fully mature angel however…?"

Suddenly Lind realized the implication in the Almighty One's words. "You bastard!" she screamed in horror, "You set me up to take the fall so you could give Keiichi one of my angels!"

"I still respect the rules of choice and freewill Lind, so I won't make you do anything that you don't want too but think about it, the judgment still stands and you will be stripped of your angel. What becomes of her after that is up to you."

"Angels," Lind began, "I have two angels, what is to become of the other one?"

"As I said before you accepted my judgment my hands in this matter are tied. I cannot alter the judgment as set forth in sacred law; the law is quite literally set in stone." He said, snapping his fingers causing an ancient stone carving to appear before them.

"I don't know how up to date you are on ancient Aramaic but right here is the listing of offences and the required punishments. Were it not for the fact that you are a Valkyrie I would have been allowed some leeway but it clearly states that you are to be stripped of your angel, singular usage of the word here."

"Then what is to happen to my other angel?"

"Well, since the law is silent on the issue I guess she gets to stay with you."

"I see," she said, "and the other, the one you wish to assigned to the living hell of a human's soul how will she be looked after?"

I thought you understood, that is the issue that Skuld is working right now, depending on the mechanics of her solution it should be a sort of four way rolling power sharing agreement.

"I think I see, and the power drain you intend to use to mask Urd's true power potential is my angel as a load on Keiichi's soul."

"That's right," the old god began, sounding much like a used car salesman, "In a way it's really for the best. Even with your advanced power level you can still barely support the both of them. Your twins are fully mature so they won't grow to demand more power and are already accustom to doing without. Attached to Keiichi with the support of the other three goddesses she would really be better off than she is now.

"Have I ever refused you, why didn't you just ask? Why did you force me into this untenable position?"

"Everything that has transpired was according to a plan. The opposing song deserved a fair hearing and you represented that other side to the best of your considerable abilities. Officially that matter is considered tabled but we both know that the issue has been decided. Then there is the matter of your doubts, you must know in your heart that all I might ask of you is correct."

"What duty can you possibly ask of me that I can perform, I have no standing anymore, even if I retain one of my angels my license is still suspended, my banishment still in force."

"Ah! There I have some leeway, looking deeper into the law there is a quite often used provision allowing first time offenders the opportunity to have their suspensions revoked and records cleared after attending a school. Since your record has been exemplary up until now I see no reason why you could not avail yourself of such an opportunity, should you wish to do so."

"There is no such school for Warriors."

"Not yet there isn't," he winked.

"And my banishment?"

"As I've already established with the precedent concerning my daughter, you can commute. If you so choose."

Suddenly there was a crash from one corner of the room as the two angels, who had been playing together suddenly were engaged in a full blown hair tugging cat fight.

"What's going on?" the Almighty One asked bemusedly.

"They are arguing over who gets to go." Lind replied tiredly, "You planned this out quite thoroughly didn't you? You only left me with the onerous task of choosing which one I must say goodbye too."

"Think about it," the old god began, "the challenges she will face. Since the dawn of creation the soul has shaped the fate of the Angels. Now for the first time an angel can shape the fate of a soul. If Keiichi's soul can grow just a tiny bit then the chains that bind the curse to his soul will shatter and the curse will fall away, his longevity will be restored and Belldandy's life will be saved. Your twins are the only ones who can save the two of them. Once freed of his curse, however, the evil within him will try to grow out of control. When that happens he will need the discipline of a warrior to survive the trials to come."

"And who will teach him this discipline, not Belldandy."

"No, while Belldandy has an important role to play, that duty must fall to another. Keiichi I'm afraid will also have to go to your new school as well."

"I'm sensing a hole in your logic; you have created a new school just for warriors with two students and no teachers."

"Oh, did I fail to mention, I'm not sending you to school to learn. I'm sending you there to teach!"

About then one of Lind's angels came up and whispered into her ears.

"Since I have yet to agree to any of this I have a question."

"Yes."

"Can they rotate the responsibility?"

"I don't see why not."

Suddenly the fight which had stopped so abruptly started up again.

"What now?" the old god smirked.

"Spearmint says it's her turn because Keiichi hosted Coolmint last time." Lind answered in exasperation. "One final question if I may. Would you have assumed these duties if you had known?"

The old god said nothing; instead he just looked at her and smiled.

000

Solution: Temporally strip Lind of one angel and place elsewhere (with Keiichi) until division in her soul is healed.

Results: Awaiting decision by Lind. (In the Bag.)


	10. Chapter 10

Ah! Does Size Really Matter. ch10

The light, the light is warm, the light is inviting, the light is wrong! Darkness he understood, darkness held no fear but for some reason the light he found frightening. "Why am I here, what happened and why." Keiichi asked himself.

"Good questions," the voice of Lind echoed in his brain as her astral projection materialized in his mind's eye.

"Lind, why are you here?"

"Like you I am here because I am caught in the nexus, between the now and the then. The decision you are about to make will effect both our destinies."

"Can you tell me what is going on?" Keiichi asked in confusion.

"Belldandy has played her trump card."

"What do you mean?"

"She has reset time to the first nexus, the first turning point where your fates could have diverged. Nine months after you met, before your destinies became so intertwined. She wishes to save you from the fate that her father has planned for you. If she can erase herself from your life then you can go back to being just Keiichi Morisato and she can go back to heaven."

"Is that what she really wants?"

"God, what kind of stupid question is that?" Lind sighed, "No, she doesn't want to leave you!"

"Then why?"

"Don't be so naive!" Lind snapped, "She is just as capable of self-sacrifice as you are! She's not stupid! She knows what her father is planning and why. You don't think she doesn't want to stay with you with all her heart! But she doesn't want you to suffer the fate that her father has in store for you either."

"What fate is that, all I know is that ever since we've taken our relationship to the next level all hell has broken out."

"Keiichi, do you know the difference between gods and mortals?"

"There is about a two gram difference in the mass of our souls," Keiichi answered, "Belldandy told me."

"On average that's about the correct amount, in your case, however, the difference is exactly 1.7883 grams. Last week it was 1.8557 grams."

"So, you are saying my soul is growing?"

"Though nobody knows the exact reason why, your close proximity to Belldandy and extended connection to Yggdrasil has caused your soul to change."

"Was that why Urd was so upset? Because my soul is growing?"

"No, she misunderstood her father's intention; she thought that the empowering of your soul with evil was supposed to corrupt you, which it probably would have had Belldandy not been there to counteract it. The end result was your soul came out of that temple purer and larger than when it went in. We don't know how or why but like a muscle, it gets bigger and stronger with exercise."

"I would think that would be a good thing."

"Not in your case, as long as you are mortal then the Almighty One is limited in what he can require of you. Once your soul grows to the point where you can be considered a member of heaven then the law becomes more clear and his power over you more absolute. The Almighty One intends to conscript you, a mortal, into the host thereby forcing Belldandy to follow you back to the heavens. Before he can do that, however, your soul must be reshaped into one suiting of a god. That has been the underlying purpose of all the trials he has put the two of you through."

"I'm honored, I think."

"Don't be!" the fury in her voice unmistakable, "To become like us you must master a level of discipline far greater than is even possible to imagine on earth. We were born to this life, you were not. The difficulty will be beyond measure. Belldandy seeks to spare you that pain."

"I assume that there is a reason why you are telling me this?"

"Believe it or not I'm here to argue for Heaven's side."

"Sounds to me like you're making Belldandy's case for her."

"I'm sure by now you've realized that Belldandy is a master manipulator, but sometimes she forgets that what she thinks is best for someone might not be what that someone wants for themselves. Belldandy intends to erase this timescape, everything you've done, everything that has happened will be as if it never was. The Lord of Terror, gone. You running around with boobs diving off the top of that restaurant never happened. The angel eater problem, gone. Celestin trying to destroy the world, gone. My betrayal of the Almighty One, still pending. All the many lives the two of you have touched will be as if they had never met you."

"I see," Keiichi said sadly, "Although it seems kind of sad it might be better this way, I think. I'm a mortal born to live a short life and then die. Belldandy is a goddess meant to live her life for centuries. What can I offer her compared to that? At least this way she will get the rest of her life back."

"If that is your choice then so be it, but please listen for I still have more to say."

"Go on."

"The Urn of Hakushon, that held the spell for the Lord of Terror, will remained undiscovered, Urd or someone like her remains destine to fall under that spell. Without your contract to hold Belldandy to the earth Celestin will remain confined to the moon and the knowledge of his betrayal will remain locked inside Belldandy's mind, continuing to grow there like a cancer. Most importantly to me, however, is that without someone there to save her Skuld will die by my hands before she ever meets her first love."

"I don't think you are being completely honest Lind, I know from my own experience that it is possible to retain your memories from one time line to another. Are you telling me even knowing all this is going to happen you still can't find a means to prevent yourself from having to kill Skuld?"

"I'm not saying that at all. It is possible; it's just not probable. You see, while time itself is not immutable, like a river it still follows a fixed course. You can only change direction when you reach a branching from the main stream. In Skuld's case you forced that nexus, that branching of the streams, into existence just moments before I would have killed her. That is why I'm here, I want to ask you, no better yet beg of you, please, please make the hard choice. Don't let Belldandy do this thing.

"Do I even have a choice? Belldandy is a goddess, I'm just a mortal what can I do to change her mind."

"You can't change her mind! We are already standing at the point of divergence. If you wish to change your destiny back to the way it was, then you must fight her."

"Fight her!"

"Yes, fight her and fight her with all your heart! The only way to stop her is to oppose her and prevail! I know I'm asking a lot and it doesn't seem reasonable. But remember, like you she knows everything that is going to happen. Everything you've done and all you two have meant to each other and knowing all that, she has still decided on this path. She's hardened her heart, Keiichi. She's hardened it to the love you once shared, to the love she has for her sisters, even to the love she has for her father."

"How can I possibly prevail, a mortal against a goddess?"

"You can't, but you will have two things going in your favor. First thing is this."

Keiichi jumped back suddenly as one of Lind's one-winged-angels appeared looking at him longingly.

"Coolmint," he asked in surprised.

"Please Keiichi, Coolmint's wing is on the right side. This is Spearmint, she will help you any way she can to counter Belldandy's magic."

"And the second thing in my favor?"

"The second is Belldandy herself; she won't fight back with all her heart. If you can keep her occupied until the nexus closes then the reset will be aborted."

"Then what?"

"If by some chance you prevail then kiss your life as you once knew it goodbye. Your soul will continue to change. The gift/curse of longevity will be yours if you want it but your ass will belong 100 percent to the Almighty One."

"Gift and a curse?"

"Yes, your span of years will be similar to ours, you can remain with Belldandy for as long as she will have you. A gift if you will. But your friends and family will still have only their short span of time. Undeniably a curse as you will remain un-aging, watching them, their children and their children's children grow old and die.

"You make it all sound so appealing." Keiichi cracked sarcastically.

"Keiichi?" Lind asked him seriously; "In Heaven I am known by several names, Lind of the one Wing, Binary Lind, Twin angel Lind and just lately, Lind the Betrayer. I'm begging you, please, please keep me from becoming Lind the child killer!"

"I'll do my best." Keiichi answered her gravely.

"One last thing Keiichi, don't forget she will remember all that happened the first time. She will remember that Urd and Skuld built that circle of warding and she will do what it takes to stop the three of you. The only way to win is to fight a retiring action. You have to keep her busy until the nexus closes. Remember you can't hurt her but she can and probably will hurt you!"

"I have to ask, was it a similar situation to this one that trapped you into representing that song?" Keiichi inquired.

"No, I was just stupid," Lind smiled back at him, "you, on the other hand, are an idiot."

"Is there some kind of distinction there?"

"As it relates to the outcome, none at all."

"All right," Keiichi said, "I'm ready now."

"Okay then, brace yourself," Lind warned him as she grasped him by the shoulder. Closing his eyes and tightening his stomach muscles in anticipation. Lind drew back and hit him full in the stomach, as he felt the wind being knocked out of him he also felt the presence of Lind's angel Spearmint as she flowed into his spirit. When Keiichi opened his eyes again he could see he was standing atop the temple just out of view of Urd and Skuld as the pair worked feverishly to complete their Ultimate Magic Circle of Warding.

"Okay now what?" Keiichi thought to himself.

"You reconnoiter and get a handle on your situation and the enemies movements." Came the voice of Spearmint in his mind.

"I'm having some difficulty thinking of Belldandy as the enemy." Keiichi replied.

"Adversary, opponent, opposition, call it whatever you want! Just keep focused on the fact that there can only be one winner and that needs to be us!"

"All right then since you are the expert what do you think Belldandy's first move will be?" Keiichi asked as he took her advice and began scanning the area with his eyes.

"She will probably wait until just before your past self arrives and then put a barrier up to prevent you from accessing the temple grounds. That way she can neutralize any influence your past self might have on the outcome."

"Or she might just flatten the tires on my BMW by loosening the valve stems, thereby keeping me from making it back home on time." Keiichi said flatly.

"Don't over _strategize_," the angel warned.

"No, I'm pretty sure that's what she did."

It was Keiichi's use of the past tense that caused the angel to focus her attention on where Keiichi was looking. Standing at the other end of the roof, her face an emotionless mask of cold stone, stood Belldandy holding the clearly recognizable valve stem removal tool in her left hand.

"Keiichi," Belldandy began, the warning tone clearly evident in her voice, "don't involve yourself in this. Matters of heaven are the providence of heaven and are not the concern of the mortal realm. Withdraw now!"

"I'm sorry Bell but I can…"

Keiichi wasn't even able to complete his answer before Belldandy's wind-blast catapulted him across the yard in full view of the two other Norn's as they worked to complete their spell. Spearmint was able to control his trajectory and was wise enough not to expend too much energy as she slowed his speed of flight.

"So much for the element of surprise," the angel spoke to him in an amused tone even as the pair was still flying through the air.

Belldandy started to follow them then suddenly stopped hovering over the mandala that the two other Norns had been building, her hands a blur of complicated movements as she began to cast another wind-blast spell directed this time towards the offending talisman.

"We have to stop her," Keiichi warned Spearmint.

"I can only counter the magic she directs towards you! I can't cast any offensive spells. You have to do that!"

"I don't know how to cast magic spells!"

"You have the magic of your heart!"

Keiichi didn't know what she meant and sure as hell didn't have the time to figure it out. Instead he opted on a simpler strategy; he shouted down to Urd the simple one word instruction he had heard her shout more than once to her other two sisters. "Shield!" he screamed at the top of his voice.

As he had hoped, with an almost Pavlovian response Urd crossed her arms in front of her and blocked Belldandy's spell before it reached the circle.

"Keiichi, what is going on!" Urd shouted up at him as he hovered above the compound.

"It's our first lovers quarrel, isn't it cute?"

"Keiichi, I'm serious what is happening!"

"Belldandy is trying to alter your present which has become my past. You have to finish the circle."

Skuld, who had never been in favor of creating the circle of warding to begin with, had been observing the conflict with some amusement. Now it was she who was conflicted, Belldandy kicking Keiichi's butt she found extremely satisfying, Keiichi being able to fly like her sisters she found very disconcerting, having to choose between the two she found oddly terrifying. In desperation she asked her sister, "Urd what should we do?"

"How should I know!" Urd snapped, "You're the Goddess of the future. You tell me."

"But I've never done anything like that before!"

"There is never a better time to learn than the present." Urd said to her.

"Oh, why must mortal life always be so complicated!"

000

Predicting the future is always an iffy science; the reason being a theorem known as the Butterfly Effect, an underlying concept of Chaos Theory where minor changes in behaviors cause major changes in overall outcome. For instance if you were to know that you would be involved in a car accident on your way to work one morning wouldn't you just stay home until the danger passed? But then what about the accident you were supposed to be involved in? Without any method to measure the accuracy of the prediction how do you gauge its veracity? Similar to Heisenberg's uncertainty principal in its effect, knowing the outcome changes the outcome. Then what about the accident itself, does fate just wait in the wings looking for another chance to do you dirty or does your bad luck get transferred over somehow to the next person in the queue? If so then to whom? Take that knowledge a step further, wouldn't it be tragic if after having dodged putting a dent in your new Mercedes you discovered that the accident you should have been involved in happened instead to the mother of five in the mini van as she was taking her kids to school? Knowing that, would you still stay home or would you go forward even knowing the outcome?

This was Skuld's conundrum as she pondered what to do. Much as she wanted to side with Belldandy she knew that something serious had to have happened in the future for her sister to have stepped back into the past to change it. So she tried as hard as she could to look forward, forward to the point of divergence she knew had to be there, somewhere in the future march of time. The problem was she couldn't find it, there were just too many alternatives, too many different ways for future events to transpire for her to get an accurate handle on the correct path to the future. She was about to call it quits and just side with their sister when she decided on another course. Instead of trying to link the fates of Belldandy and Keiichi's future together she decided to look at only Keiichi's by itself. When she did she could see more clearly and she saw that no matter the outcome Keiichi's future was bright and he would most probably lead a long and productive life. Then she decided to look just at Belldandy's futures, the futures without Keiichi. In too many of those futures she saw only darkness. Delving deeper into the problem Skuld was able to discern a commonality in all Belldandy's fates; they were all ones where Keiichi was not a part of her life. Although she couldn't understand why, Skuld realized that Belldandy had chosen a dark future. The simple fact of the matter was that any future without Keiichi was the wrong future for Belldandy! Skuld knew that to be the truth now and that meant she had to do something she had never ever considered before, she had to openly defy Belldandy!

Keiichi and Belldandy weren't privy to Skuld's internal deliberations. The two of them had remained floating above the compound circling each other warily as they waited for the next shoe to drop. From Belldandy's perspective as long as the circle remained unfinished then she didn't have a need to attack. Meanwhile the clock was ticking away, the time when the gate was to open drawing ever nearer.

Keiichi was keenly aware that the delay was working in Belldandy's favor. If the other two Norns delayed any longer then the circle wouldn't be done in time. If they did try to finish it then Belldandy would simply do what ever it took to disrupt their work, failing that she need only fly into the gate as soon as it opened. Keiichi knew he somehow needed to keep Belldandy engaged and hope somehow to keep her past and present selves on this side of the gate.

"What about Skuld?" he shouted to her, "What about Urd? Don't you care about what will happen to them if you succeed?"

The look on her face that she gave him clearly showed him he had scored a point. "You leave them out of this!" she hissed, "the affairs of heaven are not your concern!"

"I will decide what concerns me, not you and not heaven! They are my friends and that is all the justification I will ever need!"

It was just about then that the Belldandy of the past stepped out on to the courtyard and spied the still unfinished Ultimate Magic Circle of Warding. Shouting at her two sisters in horror, "What are you two doing!"

Ignoring her Urd looked at the Goddess of the Future and asked, "Skuld, what is your decision?"

Looking at her elder sister with a confidence she had never known before, Skuld replied. "Keiichi, we side with Keiichi!"

Urd, realizing that time was of the essence quickly cast a spell of reversal setting time back the necessary seconds she needed to finish the circle.

The Belldandy of the past disappeared back into the house, meanwhile the Belldandy of the present dived headlong towards the mandala and Keiichi dived headlong towards her, crashing into her a mere ten feet above the ground. Twisting away from him Belldandy got up and started to run towards the circle, her hands in motion as she formulated her wind-blast spell but Keiichi did a leg sweep and scissors trapping her legs causing her to crash to the ground. Even as she lay prone in the dirt her hands never stopped moving. In desperation and not having any other available target he slapped Belldandy on her backside three times, the pain coming from this unexpected quarter was enough to cause Belldandy to lose her concentration as she reached behind her as she sought to protect her derrière from further assault.

"It's not… your decision… to make… Belldandy!" Keiichi shouted at her.

Unfortunately for Keiichi he might as well have been talking to a fence post. As realization of what had just happened to her was sinking into Belldandy's consciousness her sanity was on its way out. The next thing Keiichi knew he was trapped on the ground and Belldandy had her hands around his throat, her face a mask of fury.

As he fought to remain conscious he heard Urd as she began reciting the words to the spell that would awaken the Ultimate Magic Circle of Warding.

"_Blaze like the flames of fire,"_

"I've got to hang in there just a little longer." Keiichi thought to himself as he felt his face turn blue.

" _Race like the cold wind,"_

"You know I can show you several ways how to break a strangle hold." Spearmint chimed in helpfully.

"_Shake like the water and receive like the earth!"_

"Not yet!" Keiichi answered her even as he was starting to lose consciousness.

"_I order you in the names of the three goddesses of present past and future…_

"Oh crap!" Belldandy said outloud as she realized her mistake.

"_**Ascend Ultimate Magic Circle of Warding!"**_

As the last phrase was being uttered Belldandy suddenly remembered her purpose and was instantly aloft as she sought to cross the threshold between this world and the next ahead of the blast she knew was coming. Moments later Spearmint had the semi conscious Keiichi in flight as well as the pair sought to overhaul Belldandy before she crossed over. All the while burning prodigious amounts of the little angel's magical energy.

"Keiichi," came the tired voice of Spearmint in his mind, "we are at the point of no return. If we continue we will not have enough energy to go back."

"I don't care," Keiichi replied through the haze in his mind, "just get me to her before she crosses over."

"Aye Aye sir," came the proud response of his borrowed familiar.

With that Keiichi suddenly felt his body thrust forward as the little angel expended her remaining energy in one last remaining burst. Just as suddenly he felt himself become weightless as the acceleration ceased, his forward momentum was still fast enough so he could overtake Belldandy but he now had no way to control his trajectory. It was the exhausted Spearmint coming to the rescue again as she extended her single wing to make the necessary course corrections needed to cause the two to collide. As the pair collided in mid air Keiichi had recovered enough of his wits to wrap his arms tightly around Belldandy's waist and hold on to her for dear life.

"That won't work Keiichi," Belldandy said apologetically as she continued upwards with him in tow, "once I cross the threshold the recall notice will be fulfilled and this timescape erased. I wish you would understand, I'm doing this because I love you."

With those last three words Keiichi finally understood what Spearmint had meant about the magic in his heart.

"Me too," Keiichi replied with a smile as he looked towards the terminus of the gate now only seconds away.

"What do you mean?" Belldandy asked.

"I…"

"Don't you dare!" Belldandy screamed in horror, as his intentions became clear.

"Love…"

"Keiichi, no we're too high!"

"You!"

With the last word said Belldandy suddenly went limp in his arms and Goddess and Mortal ceased rising towards heaven and began their inexorable plunge towards the earth.

"Well that was clever," came the amused voice of Spearmint in his mind, "I'm out of gas, she's unconscious and we're all falling like rocks. What now?"

"I'm fresh out of ideas," Keiichi replied calmly, "how about you."

"Same here," the little angel replied.

"Might as well enjoy the ride then."

"It's not the ride that worries me," Spearmint replied with a bit of sadistic humor, "It's the sudden stop at the end that gets you."


	11. Chapter 11

Ah! Does Size Really Matter? ch11

"Oh Crap!" exclaimed Keiichi as he startled himself to full wakefulness, "What the hell was that?

Sitting up he frantically looked around for Belldandy in their shared room. He quickly spied her in the far corner examining her backside in the mirror that hung there. The icy look she gave him was enough to crush any hope he had that it had all just been a bad dream.

Looking at her apologetically and hoping against hope, he asked, "I take it that that wasn't just a dream that woke me just now?"

Not bothering to answer Belldandy gave him a withering look before she turned and lifted the hem of her camisole to show him the three angry red handprints he had left on her buttocks.

"I'm sorry?" he asked hopefully.

"Don't worry, I'll get over it." she said, her tone of voice clearly indicating that she hadn't.

Not knowing what to say Keiichi got up and went over to her hugging her from behind. He felt her body stiffen at his embrace but at least she wasn't rejecting him out of hand.

"Belldandy," Keiichi began, "I don't know what to say, I just knew I had to stop you, I lov…"

"STOP!" Belldandy warned him, "I swear Keiichi if you try to say those three words to me right now I will knee you in the groin!"

"I would have to be a fool to let you go without a fight, I've told you before I'm no fool," he proclaimed, "Not withstanding any evidence you might have to the contrary." He added quickly.

"I guess we have no choice now but to let time be the judge of that." She remarked, the frost on her words so great that he felt the room temperature drop 10 degrees.

"I can't say how sorry I am Belldandy, but still I'd do it again if I had to."

"Keiichi, you have no idea what you have done." She said with tears in her eyes, "This path you have chosen will mean so much pain and suffering for you that I can't even bear to think about it. I wanted to spare you this suffering because I love you!"

"I lov… too," Keiichi started to say, "So do I," Keiichi began again, "but Belldandy, after we have come this far how can you just ask me to let you go? I know there will be consequences but if there is a price I must pay to stay by your side then so be it!"

"Keiichi," Belldandy began, "There is something you need to know."

"Belldandy no," he tried to stop her, "let it drop, what is done is done. Whatever it is it can wait for now."

"I'm sorry, but it can't. I have to say this." Turning in his arms she looked deeply into his eyes, almost as if she was looking into his soul. "My beloved, it's easy to stand up for your principals when those around you feel the same. It's much harder when you find yourself standing alone. But hardest of all is when you have to stand up for what you know in your heart is right even against those whom you love. I know this to be true now thanks to you. Keiichi my love, I have never been more proud of you than I am right here and now!" Belldandy proclaimed, burying her head in his shoulder as she did so. "But my butt still stings," she said in a small voice.

"Now that you mention it, I distinctly remember Lind telling me that I couldn't hurt you. If so, then how was I able to do that anyway?" Keiichi asked out of curiosity.

"An angel makes a great equalizer." She told him, _"And in more ways than one, now that I think about it,"_ she thought to herself mischievously.

"I see," Keiichi said as he and Belldandy stood in the middle of their room embracing one another, saying with touch that which could not be expressed with words.

Their romantic moment was short lived as the silence in the room was shattered by the sound of Lind pounding on their door, "More-as-sot-toe!" the Valkyrie shouted at the top of her voice, "Get your arms from around that trollop and your butt out on that training field NOW!"

"Lind!" Keiichi shouted through the door, "what the hell is going on! What training field?"

The next thing Keiichi knew Lind had extended her arm through the paper door and pulled him bodily through the flimsy wooden frame. Grasping him by the back of the neck she marched him to the end of the hall and sticking his head out of the still closed front door, "That training field," she said, "Skuld built it for me last night."

Keiichi could only gasp in astonishment as he gazed at the temple courtyard transformed into some kind of Roman Empire type gladiatorial training ground that looked as if it was from the set of a Ben Hur movie.

"Now grab that ax." Lind continued twisting his head to the left so he could see the weapons rack, "and start warming up with it."

"Is there anyway I can talk you out of this?" Keiichi stammered, wanting only to return to Belldandy's loving embrace.

Pulling his head back through the door and holding his eyes fixed with hers she answered him as if talking to a child. "Look moron, I know your heart belongs to Belldandy, but you better get use to the fact that as of today your ass belongs to me!"

"Wait a minute," Keiichi asked, "I thought you said if I won my ass would belong to the Almighty One!"

"A difference without distinction!" Lind told him, as she shoved his head back out the hole in the door before propelling the rest of his body through it with her foot.

"Woo, I just love it when she plays rough!" came the voice of his borrowed angel.

"Spearmint?" asked Keiichi, who until now had been unawares of the little angel's presence.

"No, I'm Coolmint," the angel replied, extending her right wing for emphasis, "Spearmint is still recovering from the fright you gave her fighting Belldandy."

"That angel is just a loaner Keiichi!" Lind shouted to him from the ruined doorway, "I expect to get her back in the same condition I gave her to you! Not splattered all over the ground!" Walking back down the hallway to the bedroom Lind looked through the shattered door and catching Belldandy's gaze gave her a smile and brief thumbs up before returning to her haranguing of Keiichi, "and try not to cut off anything important with that ax!" She continued as she disappeared from view marching out the shattered front door.

With that simple gesture from Lind Belldandy felt as if a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Keiichi had chosen the most arduous path, the one she had tried so desperately to turn him from, because she knew it entailed the greatest suffering and failure. But her father had given him to Lind to mentor and everyone in heaven knew that Lind, the fiercest Valkyrie in all of heaven, did not tolerate failure.

For a moment Belldandy tried to feel sorry for Keiichi and the suffering she knew he was about to endure but the joy in her heart wouldn't allow it. Realizing this was all part of her father's plan Belldandy slowly sank to her knees and said a silent prayer of thanks. When she finished she heard the voice of her father in her mind as he said, "This gift isn't without strings, my daughter. You must return home and resume your place in the host."

"I will obey your will father, but if home is where the heart is then my home is with Keiichi." Belldandy replied.

"Oh, very well," came the exasperated voice of her father, "The two of you can commute if you want."

"Oh, thank you father!" Came her sincere reply.

000

"I think you give too much," came the unsolicited opinion of Lind's understudy as she observed the conversation between the Almighty One and his middle daughter.

"Do you know how to lead a pig?" the Almighty One asked rhetorically.

"Not a very flattering comparison considering she is your daughter," she smiled.

"I just call 'em as I see 'em. Anyhow, I will be making another trip to the surface realm to meet with the other side and I will be expecting you to keep an eye on things up here until I get back. Make sure that the council doesn't try to slip another ringer in while I'm away."

"And who should I get to handle your security while you're on earth?"

"I'll have Lind do it."

The Almighty One allowed for a pregnant pause but when no objections were forth coming he finally said, "This is usually where Lind tosses in some obscure regulation about me not being allowed to do something or other."

"I'm still learning," she smiled.

About midday Lind was forced to stop her training of Keiichi to answer the summons of the Almighty One. Once freed of her tyrannical influence Keiichi went straight to the bathroom to wash the dirt and the blood and the almost overpowering smell of fear from his body, (The latter being the result of a nearly incessant string of near death experiences caused by Lind's unsheathed ax as it passed mere inches from his unprotected anatomy.), while Lind was occupied changing into her formal battle dress. Before she departed however, Lind felt compelled to pause for a moment and express her displeasure with Keiichi's performance before re-assuming her duties as the Almighty One's earth bound bodyguard.

When Belldandy had finally expelled enough water from his lungs so he could talk again she asked him excitedly. "How did you enjoy your first day of school?"

"Horrible, besides her trying to drown me just now, exactly what all did she throw me through today anyway?"

"Well let's see," Belldandy said thoughtfully, "two doors, one outside wall, two inside walls, the other outside wall, and the fence.

"Seems like it was more." He grimaced.

"We can't really count the courtyard wall since you didn't actually pass through it. You only cracked the plaster."

"Is she always like this?"

"Of course she's not," Belldandy replied seriously, "You are the first mortal ever to be considered for induction into the host and she doesn't want to uh, damage you too much, that's probably why she is going so easy on your training."

"Oh god," Keiichi shuddered, "how long does this go on for?"

"Well, that depends," Belldandy said thoughtfully, "It took 10 years for me to get my certification, but Celestin started my training regimen when I was five. In your case, seeing as how Lind is going to have to take you through it very slowly, optimistically I think you might be looking at maybe two or three times that amount."

"THIRTY YEARS!" he cried as the numbers finally worked through his brain.

"Maybe more," she said as she continued to pump water out of his lungs while she nibbled on his ears, "but it doesn't really matter now does it? What is a mere thirty or more years compared to the centuries we will have together?"

Rolling over he took her in his arms and crushed her to his chest, "I knew it would be worth the price."

Their romantic moment was shattered for the second time that day as they both heard Urd as she arrived home, slamming the doors behind her angrily before summoning her two sisters to her room.

000

Skuld, Belldandy, can you come into my room for a second, and Keiichi if you've recovered consciousness you probably should stay away until Belldandy gives you the all clear."

"What's the commotion about Urd?" Skuld asked.

"I need the two of you to run a remote diagnostic of me, look for signs of my internal program running differently."

"Why," Belldandy asked, "what do you think is wrong?"

"It's the strangest thing," Urd began, "all of a sudden everybody seems to be acting, well differently towards me."

"What do you mean different?" Skuld asked pointedly.

"It's sort of like everybody I've talked to today attitudes are different."

"What do you mean their attitudes are different? Are they being more impolite than usual? Overly rude, condescending or what?"

"Exactly the opposite, everybody is being… well, nice to me all of a sudden."

"I have a hard time believing that Urd, even if somebody was deliberately trying to be nice to you, you'd still figure out a way to piss them off!"

"Exactly," Urd agreed, "but I haven't and that's what's got me worried."

"Give me an example of exactly what you're talking about." Belldandy asked.

"Here," said Urd, as she pulled a bottle of Kame no O (a dai ginjo sake) from her shopping bag. You won't believe who gave me this for FREE."

"Urd," Belldandy said starting to blush, "a man buying a woman a drink is usually a prelude to something else that's not so nice."

"It was Mara," Urd stated flatly, "and I'm pretty sure she doesn't bat for the other team. I got done early with what I needed to do up in heaven and decided to stop by and pick up some items I thought we might be getting low on. It seems that Mara is now the daytime manager of that old convenience store you two used to work at. When I paid for this," Urd said pointing at her shopping bag, "she took my money and tossed this in extra, she didn't even try to shortchange me. When I tried to pay her for the booze, she wouldn't hear of it. There were other people in the store and I didn't want to make a scene so I left. I half expected the Police to pick me up for shoplifting."

"May be Mara is just trying to mend fences." Skuld said.

"It could be. But this," Urd said, shaking the Sake bottle for emphasis, "This is just the icing on the cake."

"What else happened?" Belldandy asked.

"You remember that as part of my punishment father required me to assume the responsibilities of a first class goddess?"

"Go on," said Belldandy

"Well I decided that since I had nothing better to do today I would go up to heaven and get the paper work squared away."

"You mean…" Skuld started to say.

"That's right, I was at the GMD getting my new license."

"Ewwwe." The other two goddesses flinched as they remembered their own experiences with that loathsome department.

"What happened," Belldandy asked after she recovered her composure.

"I was in and out of that office in under 15 minutes." Urd said incredulously.

"No way!" Skuld blurted out, "That's a mathematical impossibility!"

"I clocked it, 14 minutes and 32 seconds! I didn't even get a chance to take a number. As soon as I walked through the door I was escorted to a special window and the paperwork was expedited through the system using Mercury messengers."

"MnM's" Skuld gasped in awe, "I thought they were extinct!"

"Apparently they were brought out of retirement just for me!"

"Are you sure this isn't some kind of policy change, you know like what the Banks advertise, a kinder more friendly attitude sort of thing?"

The looks the two elder goddesses gave the little Norn caused her to shirk away. "Okay, forget I said that," she quickly relented.

"Has anything else happen?" Belldandy asked Urd, the concern clearly evident in her voice.

"Not yet, I was still in a state of shock after my visit to the GMD. When I stopped by that convenience store and Mara just gave me this bottle I knew something was up so I beat it back here as fast as my wings could carry me!"

"That was very wise of you Urd," Belldandy began, "if we have to restore your Karmic yin and yang we will need to try and minimize the backlash as much as possible."

"I still don't see the problem." Skuld argued, "What's wrong with a little special treatment every now and then?"

"My life is one of balance," Urd said, "if my balance is shifted then I risk losing my way."

"She's right," Belldandy said, "there seems to be something very wrong here. This could wind up being really bad."

"Excuse me," Skuld asked, "but isn't a positive shift in the balance a good thing?"

"No, Skuld it isn't," Belldandy answered her, "all social interactions can be quantified within a loosely defined set of parameters. When one of those parameters changes you can see it in the subtle changes in the behaviors of others. The attitude shift that Urd is sensing means that something has changed and we need to find out what."

"Still, if everybody is being nice to you all of a sudden why complain about it?" Skuld asked.

"Ever hear of the law of The Conservation of Happiness?" Urd remarked, "If there is positive imbalance in my Karma now who's to say it won't all of a sudden swing negative? And who knows what the fallout will be?"

"You're right," Belldandy agreed, "If there is an imbalance we need to find the cause and correct it before the offset becomes too great."

"Hey Urd," came the voice of Keiichi from the other room, "when did you get a Facebook account?"

"I don't have a Facebook account!" came Urd's denial.

You sure about that? I've downloaded some pretty racy pictures of you and they were definitely posed for."

"What would I want with a Facebook account, that's nothing but a cyber haven for stalkers, molesters and all other kinds of perverts!"

"Well here are the pictures so you can see for yourself, I just have an old black and white printer but I'm sure you'll see that they are of you."

"Keiichi," Skuld interrupted, "Why don't you send them over to my computer so I can print them out on my color printer."

"You don't have a color printer!"

"Not to worry, I'll be done with building it by the time your attachments arrive."

"Very well," Keiichi sighed as he hit the send button.

A few minutes later a seething Urd was holding two very provocative pictures of herself that had been photo shopped. The first showing her wearing a slinky white flowing gown, the second was of her wearing a racy black number. The source material she recognized was from when she competed with Belldandy and Sayoko for the Miss Nekomi Tech title years ago. It wasn't the addition of the gowns that angered her; it was the addition of the power tattoos that ticked her off. Somebody and she had a good idea who was hawking her as the next potential leader of both realms. The reason that she was getting all the special treatment was not because of an internal programming error. It was simply the fact that everybody on both sides was afraid of pissing off their potential new boss!

Noticing that they were short a Valkyrie Urd asked with strained sweetness, "Keiichi, where is Lind right now?"

"She was called away for a security detail," Keiichi answered without thinking.

The next thing anybody knew Urd was through the TV, the speed of her passage so quick that she almost knocked it off the table. A few moments later she emerged from the screen of the TV in the room of the Love Hotel her parents were using. What she saw upon her arrival was almost enough to make her rip her eyeballs from her head; (Semi First class goddesses can do that sort of thing, you know.)

As soon as her parents re-covered their composure, as well as their anatomy, she showed them both the damming photos. Hild and the Almighty One both jumped to their feet at the same time pointing their fingers accusingly at the other.

"Don't even go there," Urd said menacingly, "I know the two of you are in this together!"

"Daughter," her father began, "for all you think you suspect you really shouldn't make accusations without proof!"

"Don't try me! It only takes one correctly worded question to ascertain the truth. Father you can't lie, and Mother you can't help but lie! Whoever said that opposites attract hit the nail on the head when it came to the pair of you!"

"Very well then," Hild began, "The harsh truth is, you are not the mongrel that you believe yourself to be. You are a thoroughbred; you have the blood of many generations of kings and queens coursing through your veins. Dearest, the fact of the matter is you were born from greatness and you are destine for even greater-ness, not that that is a word.

"Weather you accept it or not my daughter," the Almighty One said, "someday your star will outshine all the others in the heavens. Your mother and I just want what we know in our hearts to be the best for you. You were born to rule, and someday you will and rule wisely at that. Unlike us you won't have to strive to insure that the balance is maintained. You are balance; it is the very core of your being. Maintaining your internal balance comes as naturally to you as breathing does to us. The New World to come will require that balance if it is to be prevented from shattering again."

Tears were running down the platinum-haired goddess' face as she hugged both her parents as they sat on the bed. "Mother, Father I love you both so much, but…"

It was the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end that alerted Lind to the impending lightening blast. Diving for cover just ahead of the blast that took out the entire upper floor Lind looked up to see the two naked leaders of Heaven and Hell being told by their daughter, "The Infernal Realm will freeze over solid before I ever even think of becoming a leader of either realm."

Lind watched in astonishment as Urd turned on her heal and stalked out of the wreckage leaving the two leaders sitting covered in nothing but soot still partially intertwined on the wreckage of what was once their shared bed. Unconsciously she reached up with her free hand towards her eyes when the movement was arrested by the firm grip of Urd.

"I know it's traumatic," Urd smiled at her, "but I can assure you that the image will fade with time."

000

"Well that actually went better than I thought it would," Hild said as she tickled the Almighty One under his beard.

"How so?" he asked.

"At least she didn't reject the possibility entirely."

"No," he sighed, "just until hell freezes over."

"That is not as far fetched as it might sound, don't tell me you've already forgot how cold it got down there right after that cowboy actor got elected President of the United States."


	12. Chapter 12

**Ah! Does size really matter? ch12**

Monday, December 17th 2012:

"You're a worm Morisato, a worm!" Lind shouted at him, showing her disgust at his inability to score on her again. Keiichi didn't mind it though as he fingered the edge guard on his ax proudly. The edge guard was a recent addition that Lind had insisted on after she lost a couple of inches of her ponytail during their last sparring match. Up until now the two had trained with exposed blades but Keiichi, slow learner that he was, was improving nonetheless and his proficiency had finally advanced to the point where he was starting to be able to get inside some of the more obvious holes in her defenses. The cover had added a few ounces of weight to the weapon and had changed its aerodynamic properties somewhat and Keiichi was still trying to get a feel for the difference.

He knew that the opening he had exploited the other day was fabricated; his mentor could never really be that sloppy. Lind was trying to teach him the importance of exploiting errors in an opponent's defense and the possible traps that come from being suckered in. Nevertheless, it felt good after all this time to know that he was getting better.

"Oh, I give up," she said with mock sadness, the same way she always did at the end of their training sessions. Let's swap'em out and tune'em up. Belldandy has got breakfast waiting and I am not about to face that rabble without a good meal in my stomach." Lind finished by jerking her thumb at the slowly assembling crowd of deities and mortals as they began their daily warm-up exercises in the courtyard. Although it was the beginning of the winter break for the Nekomi Institute of Technology, the Heavenly and Earthly calendars aren't always in sync. From Lind's perspective today was just the start of another new quarter for the banished Valkyrie's Advanced Combat Tactics School and the first day of elimination's was always the most difficult. It was one thing for her to heap vitriol on his head all day but to be able to do it with the same level of conviction to the hundred or so new students every quarter put an enormous strain on his mentor.

"_It's amazing how quickly the extraordinary became the ordinary around here."_ Keiichi thought to himself.

Sitting cross-legged about six inches above the ground he called forth Spearmint, as Lind did the same for Coolmint so they could change places. The twins had developed an interesting information exchange system for themselves, rather than moving around each other the two chose to merge, pausing to pass what each had learned that week to the other before reluctantly pulling themselves apart to re-join with their new host.

The tune-up phase was the part of the morning exercise that Keiichi loved the most. Lind was teaching him the ability to look into another's soul using the angel's sight. Relaxing he allowed Coolmint to settle in before calling her out to survey the crowd. He liked to make it into a game, by reading the souls of the other deities he tried to determine which ones he thought had the strength to endure Lind's punishing entrance exam. So far he hadn't found any correlation whatsoever.

Although Keiichi didn't know it, the crowd in question was the result of a rather odd combination of circumstances. It seems that shortly after Lind was banished to the mortal plane word was leaked that the fiercest Valkyrie in heaven was teaching classes in extreme combat, to a mortal of all things! As word spread a few Combat specialists, the type that seek challenge and not prestige, decided to descend to Earth with the goal of learning the art of extreme fighting. The knowledge they returned with to heaven they passed on to their compatriots which in turn enabled their respective divisions to kick the butts of those others less prepared at the next annual war games.

This had done wonders for Lind's self esteem. At that time Lind was alone with only the three other goddesses for company and Keiichi to torture. Having her contemporaries seek her out on Earth so she might teach them a better way to fight had allowed her to reassert her sense of self. She was Lind, fiercest Valkyrie in all of heaven! She might be down, but she was not out, not by a long shot and any in Heaven or Hell who thought otherwise did so at their peril!

Soon the other commanders of the host were clamoring for their soldiers to be trained in the same fashion. Some were even insisting that Lind be forcefully returned to heaven and her school be attended by only the upper echelon. Others went so far as to try to offer surety to the Almighty One in exchange for being allowed to place Lind under their respective jurisdictions. But the Almighty One had refused, ruthlessly insisting that Lind serve out every second of her sentence on the mortal plane.

The result of this steadfast refusal to compromise was that the other commanders of the host decided to send their best troops to Earth so Lind might teach them down there. Soon there were more volunteers than openings. So, in order to insure that only the best and brightest were allowed to attend, competitions were organized within the host. The finest of each combat division literally fought (non-lethally of course) for the privilege of being temporarily banished to the mortal realm so that Lind could heap her abuse upon them. With Lind to teach them the host was fast becoming a very potent fighting force. A fact that had not been lost on the other side. The Almighty One and Hild were once again meeting on a monthly basis to negotiate, even when there was nothing new to fight over.

The reasons the Almighty One refused leniency he kept a closely guarded secret but it was primarily due to two things. The first was that the longer Lind spent on the mortal plane with Keiichi and his daughters the more the schism in her soul healed. The old god had known that as a side effect of the angels trying to re-shape the fate of Keiichi's soul, so too had Keiichi and the three goddesses begun re-shaping their fate as well. This re-shaping was passed along to Lind each time her angels switched places. Sometime soon the Almighty One knew Lind's twin angels were destine to become as one. Keiichi had already begun to notice it, the seeming reluctance the pair had to pull apart every time they changed places. When the time came, when the two angels finally became whole then they would return to Lind's soul never again to leave. When that happened the old god knew, Keiichi would suffer the same sense of paralyzing loss that Belldandy had suffered when her angel was stolen from her. He hoped that when that time came the boy would have enough strength of character to hold it together long enough for him to receive his own angel's egg.

The second reason he refused leniency was simply a logistical issue. When the time came, when Lind had finally paid her debt in full, she would become Lind the redeemed, proudest and fiercest of all the Valkyrie's, beholden to no one, Supreme Commander of the host with a ready made cadre of highly trained and disciplined officers. Allowing her to quickly and quietly move the host to a war footing if needed.

Looking into the spectator stands, which Skuld had been forced to add to accommodate all the looky Lou's who had come to cheer their latest hero on, Keiichi found Belldandy as she sat among her friends. There was Hasegawa as she discussed her latest boyfriend with Belldandy. Peorth it seemed had stopped by today as well, keeping her eyes focused on Tamiya and Otaki and some guy with wings sprouting from his shoulders as they tossed a medicine ball at each other with enough force to cause the ground to shake. On the other end of the field sat the recently returned Koshian as he taught his daily class in meditation. Some of his students sat on the ground while others floated in the air. Keiichi had to do a quick double take, noticing for the first time that Koshian was not one of those who would need to brush his clothes off when he was through.

After he had cataloged all the new students he looked back into the stands where he knew Belldandy was sitting. He liked to look at her in this fashion, seen with limited mortal eyes Belldandy possessed an ethereal beauty that cowed most humans. But with angel sight he could see her soul with all its flaws and in those flaws he saw the beauty of a difficult life well lived. Belldandy sensed his stare and allowed herself a slight blush as she basked in his gaze before returning to her conversation with the mortal girl.

Peorth was another interesting story, after her liaison with the Almighty One she had returned to Heaven confident that she too had knocked the planet off its axis. Upon her return to Heaven, however, she was crushed to learn that she didn't even register on the local seismograph. Her ego had been so bruised that she had given up her operational domain and now just concentrated on her duties with Yggdrasil. For some reason or another she had convinced herself that she would never achieve the heights that Belldandy had reached unless she too found a mortal man who could look upon her the same as Keiichi saw Belldandy.

This is where the unfortunate Tamiya had entered the picture, although he didn't know it yet he was a marked man. The former sex goddess had become infatuated with the hulking mortal. Not having any clients in need of her particular services the frustrated Peorth had been searching for someone she could be worthy of. In Tamiya she saw a purity in his single-minded devotion to his craft. This had piqued her interest and she wondered if he could come to see her in the same fashion. Keiichi had thought about trying to warn Tamiya off but he considered Peorth a friend and Tamiya had more than just a little pay back coming for all the times he had abused his position as Keiichi's senpai.

"Who knows," he thought to himself, "maybe he can make an honest woman out of her." Finally satisfied that Coolmint was all snuggled in he arose and went inside to get breakfast.

The discipline that Lind had been instilling in him was beginning to payoff in various ways. The seemingly ceaseless endeavor that was Professor Kakuta's ceramic engine experiment had finally born fruit. Out of hundreds of attempts one perfectly spherical ceramic ball bearing had finally been formed. Most everyone had thought that the unexpected result was a fluke and not reproducible but Keiichi had stubbornly refused to quit trying to prove otherwise. Staying at the school until late at night and with Belldandy and Skuld's considerable help he had finally managed to duplicate the result. Further refining the process he and Professor Kakuta had managed to create a patentable technology that quickly had several big name aerospace companies bidding for the rights to the process. The Nekomi Institute of Technology had wanted to sell the patent outright but Professor Kakuta, saying that breakthroughs of this magnitude were the property of the world, had prevailed in convincing the institute to license the technology for a very modest fee instead. The majority of the revenue generated by the licensing fees themselves was used to help promote what later became known as Kakuta's OBT (Out of the Box Thinking) classes.

A very modest portion of the remainder was allocated to the Tariki Hongan temple as an offering of thanks for its generosity in providing a home to three of their most distinguished alumni. The first month's dividend was barely enough to keep the lights lit, but as the demand for the technology grew so did the Temple's revenue. It was still only a modest sum but Keiichi and the Goddesses now had a reliable source of income, one large enough to keep the lights on and the fridge full. Freed of his need to earn a living Keiichi was able to continue his studies at the Institute and Lind could continue to heap her abuse upon him when he wasn't on campus.

All the activity at the Temple did not go unnoticed, those in search of enlightenment, regardless of their realm of origin often found their way to the Temple grounds as they continued about their sojourn. As for the mortals who frequented the place, they weren't stupid, all of them were keenly aware that they were taking part in something magical, a jealously guarded secret that they all shared.

000

"Lind, Keiichi you both better get in here!" came Urd's voice from the TV room.

"What's up?" came the bored sounding voice of Lind as she sipped on her morning tea.

"Listen to this." Urd said as she turned up the volume of the TV.

"… the blast was centered just outside the front of the Japanese embassy at the height of the business day. We still don't have any count on the number of dead but initial reports indicate that it could be in the hundreds. This is the first suicide bombing to take place inside the Green Zone in over a year and analyst fear that this might mean a…" the voice of the obviously shaken newswoman continued to drone from the speakers.

Turning to Lind, Urd spoke a single word, "Ravers."

"Urd," Lind began, the warning clearly evident in her voice, "this is not a subject to be discussed in front of… others."

"I disagree," Urd replied, "as long as he carries your angel inside him he is just as vulnerable as the rest of us."

"Okay," asked Keiichi, "what's a Raver?"

"Lind?" Urd looked questioningly at her.

"You started it, I'll let you explain."

"They are abominations," Urd explained, "Soul dwellers, the same as angels but instead of existing in a symbiotic relationship as we do, they exist as a malignancy, eventually and usually deliberately killing the host."

"Isn't that rather counterproductive? I mean, wouldn't they die as well?"

"They have worked out a methodology to get around that problem."

"That sounds kind of cold." Keiichi grimaced, "Where do these Ravers come from?"

"They have been with you always." Urd answered him, "When mankind cursed themselves they prevented the evil that grew within them from fully maturing. But in those that were already mature the evil continued. Normally they too would have passed when enough time had gone by but they realized if they allowed themselves to die then they would never be reborn. So, rather than allow their host to die they forced it to live on, century after century until who knows how many millennia had past, until the human body that once hosted them had wasted away into nothingness, little more than a vague memory."

"If they have been around for so long how come I have never heard of them before now?"

"You see or hear about them everyday, until now you just didn't understand what it was you were witnessing."

"I still don't get it." Keiichi said scratching his head.

"Keiichi," Lind said sadly, "you saw that news report. You don't honestly think that an otherwise rational human being really woke up this morning and thought, 'Hey, since I got nothing better to do today how about I strap a bomb to my ass and go blow up a bunch of innocent women and children.' now do you? That was the work of a Raver."

"I think I see your point, the Raver is causing normal people to go out and commit these atrocities, but this homicide bomber thing is a relatively recent phenomenon. If these Ravers have been with us for millennia what were they doing before then?"

"They are very good about hiding their tracks," Lind continued, "but they do leave signs if you know what to look for."

"Such as?"

"Keep in mind that Ravers are very potent, powerful to the point that they can force their host to do the most horrible things against their will."

"Kind of like how Urd does that remote manipulation thing?"

"Not even close, they are much more powerful." Lind told him.

"More powerful than Urd, that's hard to believe."

"Keiichi," Urd interrupted, "Let me show you something."

With that Urd summoned her remote manipulation spell and took control of Keiichi's hand causing him to reach towards Lind as if he intended to fondle her breast while Lind just stood there and glared at the two of them. Horrified at what he was about to do Keiichi summoned up the will power to wrest control of the offending appendage before he irretrievably broke faith with his mentor.

"The point I'm trying to make," Urd said, as Keiichi examined his arm in awe, "is that while it is possible to manipulate somebody, it is next to impossible to make you do something that would cause you danger. Ravers, on the other hand, are powerful enough to cause you to put on a bomb belt, walk into a crowd of perfect strangers and blow everybody up, including yourself."

"Just now Urd used a considerable amount of power to manipulate your arm," Lind said, "so you can imagine how much strength it takes to make some possessed bastard commit murder. While it doesn't get that much press there are many cases of serial killers leaving messages begging the authorities to stop them before they killed again. The reason for that is because the Raver is in its most weakened state right after the act is culminated giving the host a brief respite. Sometimes long enough for the host to leave a message begging for help."

"Why, why do they commit wanton acts of murder? What reason do they have for all the suffering they cause?"

"They harvest souls," Urd said flatly.

"What do you mean?" Keiichi asked.

"They harvest the energy of your soul," Lind said, "the same as a farmer might harvest a field of wheat."

"Here, let me illustrate," Urd said as she reached into the Sake cabinet and retrieved her bottle of Kame no O Sake. "Think of this bottle as your soul, and the contents as your spirit energy. The outward shape of the bottle, the part others can see, that is your unique personality, but the bottles true purpose is to protect the contents within. Against most threats it is impervious but hit it hard enough with the right size hammer and the bottle shatters and the contents released. When that happens the Ravers harvest it and use the spilled spirit energy to replenish their own."

"God, then if your soul is…"

"That's right Keiichi, they not only murder people, they also murder their souls as well." Lind said grimly. "To die at the hands of a Raver is the worst kind of death imaginable, because your very soul itself will be lost never to rise again."

"So how can these Soul dwellers kill their host. Doesn't that put them in danger?"

"Yes it does, but like angels they can leave the safety of their host for brief periods of time. We don't know for sure because we have never captured one but we think that what they are doing is moving from one host to another. More specifically, we think that they jump into a temporary host, the one that commits the actual crime and then back to a permanent host where it remains hidden until it comes forth to kill again."

Keiichi sat silently in the room, digesting this new information while the two goddesses watched him in anticipation. Finally a question occurred to him.

"Okay, something's not making sense here," Keiichi said, "if this Raver is jumping from one host to some other host and causing him to do bad things then what about the first host. Wouldn't he be free from this thing, wouldn't he try to run away or something?"

"Assuming he wanted to get away yes." Came the grim reply from Lind.

"You mean that…"

"You got it, this malignancy; this scourge of humanity is actually being consciously aided and abetted by the very humans it wishes to destroy!"

"Who would do such a thing!"

"Evil people, people who seek the power to rule over others; not only the power of life and death but the ultimate power as well, the power to compel others to do their bidding even against the others own free will."

"Over anyone and everyone," Urd added, "a power like that, even greater than that of my father, in the hands of a mortal!"

The color on Keiichi's face suddenly drained away, "I think I'm going to be sick," Keiichi said trying not to gag, "I mean, from what I've seen so far it's all you gods and demons can do to keep the power you wield from running amok. Hell, even Belldandy is dangerous when she gets tipsy! And now you tell me we got these things living among us that could make a mortal more powerful than the Almighty One himself!"

"Man up Keiichi! This is what you signed up for when you decided to become like us! Let's not forget the whole reason Urd broached the subject to begin with." Lind spoke, "they hate other soul dwellers, they will mindlessly seek out and kill other hosts like us and their angels wherever they can find them."

"You're saying I am putting Belldandy and her sisters at risk by keeping her tied down here and exposing them to this evil thing?" Keiichi asked flatly.

"Not at all, I'm saying that since you have an angel inside you need to be cautious in the presence of strangers, especially those from the Middle East. For some reason these creatures like to congregate in that area, so it's usually somebody who lives in the Middle East or has just come from the area that serves as their vector.

"The Norn's are as safe here as anywhere else." Lind concluded, "Now why don't you take advantage of the fact that I'm too busy to make your life miserable today and get out of here! Go nail your girlfriend out in the woods or something."

"Like I could possibly be in the mood after all you've just told me." Keiichi grumbled as he exited the room.

Once he was out of earshot, "You know, he's been your student for over two years now, he has earned at least a little respect for having come this far. You didn't have to be that crass with him just now and the comments about him and Belldandy were totally uncalled-for. What gives?"

"He is my student! I will decide the best way to handle him!"

The warning in Lind's tone was evident and normally Urd would have let the matter drop but there was something, an undercurrent to Lind's words that required explanation. "There is more to it than that." Urd said, "Come on, out with it."

"Very well," Lind sighed, "Maybe I'm just a little resentful of him and Belldandy."

"To me, it sounds as if it you want some of what they have."

"I would be lying if I were to deny it. Oh, what I would be willing to give just to have a man look at me the way he looks at her."

"Go on," Urd prodded.

"I'll also admit that I have the two of them at a slight disadvantage. Since we swap out our familiars every week, I get a complete run down on what he has been doing when I'm not here. I always know what's in his mind, what he's done and where he's been. Belldandy's influence is… important, but sometimes she works at cross-purpose. It gets… frustrating sometimes to know that she has greater sway over him than I do."

"Jealousy from you! I didn't know you were even capable of feeling such an emotion."

"We share an angel Urd, don't you understand? In many ways I have been more intimate with him than Belldandy can ever hope to be. You think I don't know exactly how he feels about her, or about you or Skuld, or even me!" Suddenly Lind broke down and screamed, "Dammit, why did you have to set her up with him! Why couldn't it have been with some over muscled, six foot two, strong jawed, perfect teeth beach bum with a 5 point IQ that I could loath!"

"Oh God," Urd clapped her hands in realization, "You're in love with him!"

Instead of denying Urd's accusation Lind looked away and said, "His survival is critical to Belldandy's, and Belldandy herself is critical to heaven's. So you see, I can never let him inside, I can never take that final step. Even when we we're done, even after I have taught him all that I can, even if a hundred years were to pass, I can never let him know how I feel! Were I do so it would be a betrayal even greater than when I stood against the Almighty."

Opening her bottle of Sake, Urd poured a small amount into Lind's tea before pouring herself a glass as well. "If it's any consolation, the capacity to love isn't limited to just one. One thing that I have learned since Father banished me here is; the more you love, the more you can love. Not that that makes what you feel any less painful."

Lind pondered the meaning of those words for a few moments before realizing their true significance. "You love him too!" she said in astonishment.

Instead of lying, which to Urd comes as naturally as breathing, she touched her cup to Lind's and said, "Little sister not withstanding, were it not for that fact that the fate of the world stood in the balance there would be one hell of a cat fight going on right now!" Smiling she looked to Lind before continuing, "One thing's for certain, next iteration the kid gloves are coming off. I'm not going to let Belldandy have him without a fight!"

Returning Urd's toast Lind smiled back at her, "Well then how about reserving me a place in this little donnybrook of yours as well?"

"No problem." Urd answered her before switching subjects, "So tell me, if you care for him so much, why didn't you tell him the rest of it?"

"Because I don't want him wearing himself out jumping at shadows. When it happens his instincts should be enough to keep him safe."

"You hope!"

"I pray." Lind corrected.


	13. Chapter 13

"Sit rep?" the class leader asked.

"The balloon just went up," Lind told him, "Attack is eminent, confidence high."

"I see," came the grim reply of the class leader, "what are your orders?"

"Inform the class of the situation, for now we will pretend that we are unawares of the danger and the melee fight is to proceed as normal. I expect the non participant rule to be enforced rigidly. As each candidate is eliminated they are to leave the grounds immediately!"

"We are not a bunch of first years down here," the class leader bristled, "all of us are seasoned veterans. If we are allowed to fight I guarantee we will acquit ourselves with distinction!"

"Our enemy is well aware of that," Lind said, hoping the class leader would understand, "and he has prepared accordingly. When it happens we will be forced to fight a retiring action. My main goal is to get as many of Heaven's elite fighters and the non-combatants they brought with them out of harms way before the battle is even joined."

"I understand," the class leader said, "but don't expect that any of us will allow ourselves to be eliminated easily. I guarantee this melee will be the most memorable fight you will have ever seen."

"I expect nothing less from Heaven's elite." Lind said with satisfaction.

"What is it like?" the class leader asked suddenly, "I know you are cast from the same mold as I, so what is it like to have to retreat when every fiber of your being wants you to turn and fight?"

"It's hard I'll admit," Lind answered him, "The best way I have found to deal with it is to find a special place in your heart to store all that anger and frustration. Think of it as a special kind of savings account at a bank, when the time comes, when it is your turn to fight, open that bank vault and let all that pain and suffering find its voice in battle. Sometimes, it can even spell the difference between victory and defeat.

000

Arriving at the NIT MCC clubhouse Keiichi climbed into the attic and started to retrieve the decorations for the winter festival. The larger boxes he decided to leave for Tamiya and Otaki as they were the ones who had thrown them so haphazardly up in the rafters at the end of last year's festival. Around midday, Sora arrived with Otaki in tow having seen about all the heavenly carnage they could stomach. Curious he asked, "Where is Tamiya?"

"He actually made it past the first round of elimination!" Sora answered excitedly.

"It was awesome bro," Otaki chimed in, "I know for a fact that he sent at least three of those winged dudes to the sidelines before I got sidelined myself."

"Now that is impressive," said Keiichi.

"I'll say," Sora remarked, "He fought like a man possessed, I've never seen him like that, ever!"

Tamiya and Otaki, natural competitors that they were, had become iconic fixtures in the first day elimination event every quarter. They were also invariably the first two eliminated from said competition. The only variation that Keiichi ever observed was whether it was Tamiya or Otaki who got eliminated first. For Tamiya to have survived past the first event was truly noteworthy. Not that he expected the big goon to survive the afternoon event. When he didn't see him at the end of the first day Keiichi began to worry that not only did he not survive the second round, he might not have survived period.

Of course, Keiichi knew he was worrying needlessly, as fierce as the heavenly competitors were they were also the most professional. In any fight both Victor and Vanquished freely admitted to their standing and injuries accidental or otherwise were unheard of. He just hoped the big fool didn't accidentally annoy the real fighters.

**Tuesday, December 18****th**** 2012.**

Arriving home late that night, (actually early the next morning) after a hard day of setting up the Motor Club's booth, sans Tamiya, he spied Lind sitting atop the vacant spectator stands. Retrieving his training weapon from the rack he joined her in the hopes that she might be up for another quick match before retiring."

"Match?" He asked her.

"Not tonight Keiichi," Lind said as if distracted, "Something's wrong, but I can't figure it out, what I need is some alone time to ponder the problem. Why don't you…"

"Let me guess," Keiichi interrupted, "Take Belldandy out in the woods and do something pleasurably obscene."

"I was going to suggest the bedroom," Lind said, "Tamiya and Peorth are out in the woods doing the wild thing right now."

"You mean that big oaf is still here?"

"Mortal or god as long as they survive the elimination's they get to stay on the grounds."

"I'm impressed that he survived the whole day."

"Me too." Lind pondered.

As Keiichi started to leave the wind shifted slightly, now coming from the direction of the front gate. On the breeze came the scent of Roses and a muffled moan that could only be from Peorth.

"I'm going to have to ask what his secret is," Keiichi smiled at her, "first Sora tells me he fights as a man possessed and now he manages to elicit a moan from Peorth in her own element."

Glancing back up at Lind he saw the look of realization cross her face, "Did you just say possessed!" Lind demanded suddenly as she flew from the stands to retrieve her weapon.

"Crap!" Keiichi yelled not answering her, instead ripping the edge guard from his ax as he headed towards the front gate.

Arriving at the gate ahead of Lind, Keiichi observed that it wasn't a moan of pleasure that had escaped Peorth's lips but one of agony. Tamiya and Peorth were locked in a silent struggle to the death. The look on Tamiya's face told the whole story; he had been possessed by a Raver. The horror of his expression as he tried to wrest control of his possessed limbs was one of utter agony. It was as if he was pleading for forgiveness even as he was trying to crush Peorth's throat with his right hand. Peorth for her part rather than trying to use her hands to defend herself had grasped Tamiya's left hand with both her own. She had called forth Gorgeous Rose who was trying vainly to pry Tamiya's fingers away from her mistress's neck.

Trying to see what it was that the two were fighting over Keiichi observed that the big man held a small cylindrical device with a single button atop it that could only be a bomb detonator. Following the wires with his gaze he observed that there was a large brief case placed at an angle at the top of the stairs. Tamiya had already depressed the plunger with his thumb and was trying to release it but Peorth had clamped both her hands over his right, holding it down preventing the button from completing its fatal return stroke.

There was no time, Keiichi realized, the light in Peorth's eyes was starting to dim, no time to talk, no time to reason, there was only time to act. Letting Coolmint elevate his body he paused only until he had the correct angle on the pair then he let fly with his ax. The weapon passed cleanly between the two severing Tamiya's left hand that Peorth still held clasped in hers before burying itself in the middle of the roadway at the base of the stairs. Tamiya screamed in agony and released his grip on Peorth's throat. Lind arrived an instant later and took Tamiya's severed hand, still holding the bomb trigger, from Peorth as she collapsed to the ground gasping for air. A few seconds after that the three other goddesses joined them having been alerted to Peorth's predicament by means of Gorgeous Rose's angel distress signal.

"We have to safe this bomb," Lind said through clenched teeth.

"You just leave that part to me," came the confident reply from Skuld as she began her examination of the device.

The Raver possessing Tamiya was fully aware that its host had just suffered a mortal wound and quickly fled the confines of Tamiya's soul in search of another host. Keiichi being the closest was, of course, his first target. Unfortunately for the Raver he also happened to be the only human on the planet to host an angel. As Keiichi alighted he suddenly felt the Raver's presence in his soul, crashing headlong into Coolmint as it tried to flee Tamiya's dying body. This proved to be a serious miscalculation on the Raver's part, the little angel having been forced to share Lind's soul with her twin wasn't about to give up her newly acquired living space to this interloper. The next thing anybody knew the horrible drooling visage that was once the soul of a man was in full retreat as the little one wing angel chased him from her host. Keiichi wasn't sure but he guessed that all that combat training Lind forced herself to endure somehow translated to her angels as he watched as Coolmint kicked, poked, stabbed and gouged the Raver in any and apparently every vulnerable spot the metaphysical being had. It was almost like watching the Wolfman fleeing from the dogcatcher. The whole episode would have been comical were it not for Tamiya bleeding to death as he lie on the ground.

Belldandy, fully aware that it was her Keiichi who had just spilled his friend's blood looked at him with a mixture of pain and sorrow before turning her attention to Tamiya's wounds. Removing her blouse she tore it into several strips and quickly made a tourniquet to stop the flow of blood.

Once Lind got the thumbs up from Skuld assuring her that the bomb was safe she turned her enraged gaze Keiichi's direction. "Get your ax," she seethed as she replaced the edge guard on her own, "and get your butt out on the training field NOW!"

Joining her on the field Keiichi started to apologize, "Lind I…" he began.

"You hesitated!" Lind screamed, as the shaft of her ax swept the ground where his feet had been an instant earlier. Not even fazed by her apparent miss Lind continued her sweeping motion allowing the flat of the blade to make unrestricted contact with Keiichi's skull, sending him reeling.

"That angel can pull you down as well as push you up." Lind shouted to him, as he lay sprawled on the ground. "Your opponent is just as aware of the influence of gravity as you are. Don't be predictable!"

"I didn't have the correct angle!" Keiichi shouted to her as he stood back up, "Just what would you have done? Cut off both their arms!"

Swinging her ax in an arc that would have decapitated him had he been foolish enough not to dodge she used the momentum of the weapon to cause the blade to arc up and over before the haft of the ax crashed into his shoulders.

"If sacrificing a comrade leads to victory then yes, that is what you do!"

"Don't give me that! Peorth, Tamiya they are both my friends. If becoming like you means I have to toss them aside then I don't want it! Do you have any idea how hard it was for me to chop his hand off just now! He'll never be the same again, NEVER!"

"You won't either," Lind said dangerously, "not after I get finished with you!"

Their impromptu sparring match continued well into the morning while the remaining twenty or so candidates bivouacked on the temple grounds sat and watched in horrified fascination as Lind vented her frustration into the hapless mortal.

000

Meanwhile: Belldandy had brought the wounded Tamiya into the house to tend to the big man's wounds. She had just started her incantation for the spell of healing when she felt Peorth's presence as she entered the room.

"It's all right Peorth," she said, "I can handle this."

"No, you can't Belldandy," Peorth croaked through her injured throat. "That was a divine weapon that caused his injuries, there is no reversing this. He has lost that hand forever, the best we can do is stem the flow of blood so he doesn't die."

"I see," Belldandy acknowledged, "well then have Urd mix you up something for that injured throat and then we can try to heal him together."

Once her throat was better, Peorth and Belldandy took positions on opposite sides of the prone Tamiya as they began the long and arduous process of trying to save the gentle giant's life. The task the two goddesses were about to undertake was daunting and Peorth's concern was well deserved. Divine weapons are made to kill divine beings. They would be of little use if after inflicting an injury the damage could be magically reversed. Tamiya being a mortal didn't even have any magic of his own to call upon to aid in his behalf. Peorth had known that it would take both their efforts just to save the injured humans life.

Later, after several hours of intense incantations of healing magic the wound finally closed and the flow of blood was finally stemmed. While the worst was over it was still too soon to leave him unattended. Peorth took the first watch while Belldandy rested next to her ready to come to her aid if needed.

To tired to even utter the words, Belldandy asked with her mind, "What happened?"

"I promised him a special treat if he could stay in the competition past the first elimination." Peorth answered her sadly. "I didn't really expect him to last and when he did I was pleasantly surprised. Then when he made it all the way through the second elimination rounds I was understandably impressed. I said to myself that there was a man I really should get to know, if you get my meaning," giving Belldandy a wry grin, "So I tried to get him to notice me, but he was too busy putting together that abomination that Skuld is trying to decipher."

"What!" Belldandy gasped in disbelief over hearing this, "He assembled that thing in front of you and you didn't suspect anything!"

"Belldandy, Tamiya is a tête du moteur, a motor head. I thought in his own caveman way he was trying to impress me so I waited until he was finished and he showed me what he had built. I was feeling a little inferior so I called forth Gorgeous Rose to compensate. It was then that he went insane and tried to kill me. Once I realized that he was possessed I knew that whatever that button in his hand did it probably wasn't good."

"That was probably what saved us," Belldandy responded back to her, "Ravers are very cold and calculating, their only weakness seems to be the berserker rage that comes over them when they become aware of another symbiotic life form. When you called out Gorgeous Rose the Raver lost his focus and went after you."

"I see," Peorth answered back, "and all that time I was thinking that maybe he didn't go for older women."

"Once we get his physical wounds healed you might want to consider going back home before he wakes."

"I think I'll stay with him for a while." Peorth answered, to look on her face conveying a deeper meaning. "He will need somebody to help nurse him back to health."

"Are you sure you know what you are getting yourself into?" Belldandy asked.

"I think maybe for the first time that I do."

"What makes him different?"

"The way he looked at me even as the Raver was causing him to choke me."

"Peorth, he was possessed."

"I know that, but in his eyes I saw something, he was horrified, of course, for what the Raver was making him do, but also I saw sorrow. The kind of sorrow we all have over the loss of something beautiful." Her eyes began to tear up. "It was me Belldandy, he saw me as beautiful. Me beautiful!"

"Oh Peorth, you have always been beautiful!" Belldandy started to cry.

"I'm a goddess of course I'm beautiful!" the sex goddess laughed through her tears. "That's not the point! You, Urd, Lind and me we're all beautiful in the physical sense. Perhaps you just don't notice it because he always looks upon you the same way, but when Keiichi sees you he sees you differently, more beautifully, than the rest of us.

"Maybe it was just the lack of oxygen but for a brief moment I thought I saw Tamiya looking at me the same way Keiichi looks upon you." Peorth smiled at the memory, "I want… I really want him to look at me that way again." she finished with a sob.

"Yes, but will you let him?" Belldandy asked her, "Even though it really wasn't his fault, will you be able to forgive him? Will you be able to open yourself up to him fully so he can see you as you truly are?"

"Rumor has it that you couldn't sit down without using a pillow for almost three days after your little row with Keiichi," Peorth reminded her, "and yet you still managed to forgive him."

"That was…" Belldandy began.

"…different." Peorth finished the thought for her, "No it wasn't, not really, they were both forced to do something that they didn't want to do."

"That Raver broke his spirit," Belldandy said flatly, "it will be a while before he comes around."

"I know."

"When he wakes he will remember what the Raver made him do to you. Even if you forgive him, he might not be able to forgive himself."

"I know."

"Even after we heal his wounds he will still need years of therapy."

"I know."

"The Ravers know we're here. We may have to leave this place. If you stay you will be alone."

"I know."

"He will be totally helpless and utterly dependent upon you."

"I know."

"Be careful."

"I will."

The two goddesses carried on silently into the late morning swapping out healing duties to give the other a break. By the time the sun cleared the horizon the damage caused by Keiichi's mystical blade had been neutralized and Tamiya's physical body was on the mend. His broken spirit, however, was another matter entirely.

Finally convinced that Peorth could handle the healing duties by herself Belldandy arose and went out on the porch to view the beauty of the new sunrise. The view that awaited her was anything but.

Lying in the middle of the training field was Keiichi, his body curled into a tight ball as Lind circled prodding him anywhere he was unprotected. The class she was supposed to be teaching had long since turned their faces away in disgust.

"My God Lind what happened!" Belldandy cried.

"The little bastard got in a couple of good shots," Lind remarked as she examined some of her wounds.

"Not to you! What happened to my Keiichi!"

"You happened to him!" Lind said accusingly, "You made him soft, you made him compassionate, if I were to train him for a hundred years it still wouldn't be enough to give him the edge he needs!"

"It's his humanity that makes him what he is! You can't take that from him, I won't let you!"

"Whatever you say Belldandy. As for me, I give up."

"Don't you dare give up," Belldandy cried as she fell to her knees to cradle Keiichi's head in her lap, "not after you promised me, not after I promised him that we would be together forever!"

"Belldandy," Lind spoke softly, "I can't make him into something he's not, he's just a human, he'll never be free of the curse, never."

As she turned to walk away she came face to face with Urd and Skuld as they sought her out to report on the status of the bomb. It was obvious from their expressions that they had overheard the entire conversation.

"You know," Urd began, "rumor has it that you are one of the cleverest strategists in the entire host. Not that I have seen anything to convince me of that so far."

"Just what are you getting at?" Lind growled.

"Go on," Urd prodded her younger sister, "tell her about the bomb Skuld."

"Well you see," the youngest Norn began haltingly, "the thing is, that wasn't just a bomb. It was also a master detonator, by my count there are at least fourteen other devices out there. If Tamiya had managed to release the detonator the device wouldn't have gone off immediately, it would have started a fifteen-minute counter that would have synchronized with the other bombs causing all fifteen of them to explode at exactly the same instant.

"It would seem," Urd concluded, "that by his not charging into the fray and hacking away indiscriminately Keiichi allowed Peorth to achieve her purpose which was to keep that timer from being activated."

"I see." Lind said.

"I don't think so!" Urd snapped back, "Go on Skuld."

"It gets worse," Skuld said, "in case of a failure the primary timer is also cross-linked to another secondary timer."

"And the Raver you failed to capture last night because you were too busy beating Keiichi to a pulp has probably reported what happened to his host by now." Urd interjected.

"I understand," Lind said, as her failure became apparent. "No use crying about it, let's take to the skies and find the rest of those bombs before they go off."

"Wait," Urd commanded, "we're not done talking yet. Skuld, tell her the rest of it."

"Those aren't ordinary bombs. They have a shaped charge composed of an enriched uranium core!"

"Uranium, as in atomic?"

That's right, a fissile explosive wrapped inside an expended uranium slug, an ultimate penetrator with the ultimate bang.

"What exactly was it supposed to penetrate?"

"By calculating the angle of incidence based on how the bomb was placed it was supposed to direct the main blast directly at the gate Urd's mother placed there so she can visit."

"Now far be it from me to ask you to divulge any military secrets," Urd began snidely, "but if I were to guess at the total number of gates that both the Heavenly and Infernal realms have on this island I bet that number would total fifteen, now wouldn't you?"

"It might be." Lind conceded.

"That attack on the Japanese Embassy was just a red herring!" Urd said, "The Raver wanted to make us think that there were a number of them fixing to move against the host here in Japan so you would hasten your withdrawal. The reality is that there is just one and he is planning a coordinated attack against both realms. You take to the air and he will know that his true strategy as been discerned and will advance his timetable."

"What possible military advantage could there be to declaring war against both realms!" Lind challenged.

"Lind, the convergence is just days away from starting! By severing the links that connect this island to the rest of the world he intends to shear it away from the combined realities of the other three realms. That's why the Raver waited until now instead of blowing the whole lot of us up on the first day, he was waiting for you to reduce your numbers to the point where you wouldn't be strong enough to oppose him."

"Okay, then why is he still waiting? He must know that we will eventually discover his true design."

"If I had to guess I bet right now he is scrambling to disable the bombs placed around the gates to the Infernal Realm. I'm sure that whoever he is probably made some kind of non-aggression pact with mother. If everything had gone according to his original plan mother wouldn't have been in any position to protest, as she would have wound up just as screwed as the rest of us. Peorth put a kink in his plans by stopping Tamiya last night so now the gate to the temple is uncovered. You can bet he is aware that the Leadership of the two realms is back in bed together," Urd said, shivering at the memory that arose in her mind. "By leaving even one gate functional he knows that the hosts of both realms would be on is ass like white on rice."

"I see," said Lind, "but if he leaves the gates belonging to the Infernal Realm intact then Hild will be bound by her pact with him and the Almighty One would be barred from using any of Hild's resources."

"Precisely," Urd said.

"Okay, just for the sake of argument, let's assume you're right and his true plan was to create his own separate reality. What good does it do? He would still be drawn back in."

"Eventually he would, that's true. While I'm not an expert in plainer physics I bet that the closer to the convergence we are before the bombs go off the more profound the deviation and the more leverage he would gain. In effect his would become the last reality, making it the Keystone to which the others must conform. As such he would be able to dictate to all the other realms the conditions they must abide before he re-joined. In effect this one creature could re-shape the entire world in his image by imposing his reality upon the rest of us."

"So you believe that we have a single Raver involved in some type of last minute power grab using atomic weapons he got from who knows where…"

"Iran," Skuld interrupted, "I did a spectrum analysis of the core. The uranium is from Iran."

"Whatever," Lind said in exasperation, "This is all just idle speculation without any evidence to back it up. I need some Intel. We need to know how Tamiya came to be possessed by that Raver and who his permanent host might be."

"His and that Raver's path probably crossed at the Nekomi Institute so that's where I'd start looking," Urd suggested, "however, that Raver knows we are looking for it now and would be keenly suspicious of any strangers on campus."

"Well then, I'll just send Keiichi to go look for me."

"Oh, you mean that Keiichi?" Urd said pointing to the bloody mass of human wreckage that Belldandy held in her arms only barely recognizable as the man who had been her lover the night before. "I know first hand that the boy has a lot of stamina but I don't think he is going to be much use to you in that condition."

"Then how about Belldandy or Skuld?"

"Belldandy never goes anywhere without Keiichi. If she were to show up alone that would cause an even bigger stir than you and your goon squad flying overhead would."

"And Skuld?"

"So now you are sending children to do your work for you?" Urd scoffed, "It won't work, you need Skuld to finish deciphering that bomb. Like I said, you haven't been impressing me any with your brilliant strategy."

"Belldandy," Lind asked of her, "can you get him back on his feet."

"Give her a break." Skuld answered for her, "she has been up all night helping Peorth heal Tamiya! She can barely keep her eyes open!"

"Urd, how about you?"

"No," Urd said bluntly, "this is your mess and you need to clean it up!"

"We could be minutes away from a nuclear showdown and you are getting petty!" Lind said in disbelief.

"We still have a day before the convergence begins, but if time really is an issue might I suggest that you get busy!"

"I can't," Lind cried in frustration, "I don't know any healing magic!"

"I can show you how," came the voice of Belldandy who had been ignored by everybody until now.

"Well there's your answer," Urd said with satisfaction as she started walking back towards the house, "if you need me I'll be in my room packing."

As Urd and Skuld returned to the house Skuld asked, "Urd why did you force Lind to help Keiichi just now? We both know that, while you won't admit it, you are as good at healing magic as Belldandy."

"It's a matter of priorities," Urd told her bluntly, "if Lind gives up on Keiichi then Belldandy is freed from her promise to return to the host. This could be the first shot in a war that could span centuries, it would be better to lose all of Honshu than those two."

"Nevertheless, she is right, Keiichi is just a mortal."

"Mortal or not, Bell's fate is tied to Keiichi, and Heaven's is tied to Belldandy. Keep in mind that Lind is a member of the Host and as such she enjoys certain advantages that Keiichi never had. Do you have any idea of the magnitude; the shear audacity of what he aspires too? Maybe my being half demon makes it easier for me to understand his struggle but my other half, my goddess side, gives me an advantage that Keiichi never had. It gives me goose bumps just thinking about it!"

000

Healing magic is more than just obscure incantations; it requires an empathic link between the healer and injured party. The healer literally feels the pain of the patient, more than that though, the healer feels the pain as it reflects backwards in time echoing through all the painful life experiences of the victim back to the day of their birth. Goddesses like Belldandy and Peorth freely exposed themselves to this hurt every time they choose to use their power to give aid to others. To say that the process was draining is an understatement. Lind was a warrior not a healer, but now she was the only one who could undo the mistake she made. Taking Keiichi's head from Belldandy's lap and placing it in her own she joined her mind with Belldandy's and the two began the process of healing the injured mortal.

**Wednesday, December 19****th**** 2012.**

It had been a long, difficult night for the Valkyrie and her teacher. Had Belldandy been able she could have healed Keiichi's injuries in a matter of hours. But Lind had no experience with healing magic. It was in fact, a diametrically opposed magic to that of her own. As such she had no commonality, no basis of comparison, on which she could build. Were it not for her discipline as a warrior she would have stormed off in disgust. Fortunately for all concerned Keiichi's injuries were mainly cuts and bruises, painful but not threatening and relatively easy to heal. After an ordeal that ran for the most part of a day and was as draining as any combat she had experienced. Lind left this new field of battle with a profound respect for Peorth, Belldandy and her sisters, and for the upstart mortal who aspired to be as they.

By mid morning of the 19th Keiichi was back to normal, having lost an entire day to Lind's inept ability at trying to heal him. He woke next to Tamiya as he was being spoon fed by Peorth. This simple act was proving to be difficult as it is hard not to look at someone while trying to eat from the spoon they were holding. The big man was still having difficulty coming to grips with his handicapped status. Noticing that Keiichi was coming around Tamiya asked for a moment of privacy to talk with Keiichi.

Coughing and clearing his throat several times before he could begin he finally worked up enough courage to look Keiichi in the eye, "Day told me I was possessed by somethin, day said it was really really powerful." Tamiya mutter softly, "Day told me you had ta cut off my hand or I'da killed everbody."

"Tamiya I… I'm sorry I…"

"Put'a sock in it Morisato and let me finish.

"What I'm try'n to tell ya is, dis thing it was inside my head, all da time it was there it was laugh'n at me tell'n me how weak I was. Make'n me do all dat bad stuff. Now I always known I kind'a had it easy, me being a big guy and all dat, people just naturally skittish being around me, never giving me no lip and let'n me have my way. But this thing it wasn't afraid of anything, it just waltzed inside my brain and took over like he owned the place and there was nuth'n I could do about it.

"Now da reason I'm say'n all this to ya is because I finally found out what it means to not have any choice. To be forced to do somet'n you don't wanna do. I always pushed you around, Morisato, got you to do my dirty work, come'n and pulling you and Belldandy out'a class, and what not. I guess me'n Otaki owes ya a big apology throw'n ya out like we did, come'n over witout ask'n, git'n you an Belldandy all caught up in that crazy stuff we be do'n all da time. Not that it wasn't fun mind you, but we should'a done it different. You're a softy inside Morisato, you always have been and there is nuth'n that that Lind chick can do about it. I guess that's kind'a why Belldandy loves ya so much. I know you feeling bad cause of all this," the big man said as he waved the stump of his left hand towards him, "and you might be think'n that maybe you could'a done it different too, but that Raver thing, he didn't give you no choice neither. You need ta know that I don't hold it against you none, you did what you had'a do. You kept me from blow'n everbody to kingdom come and you stopped me from hurt'n Miss Peorth. Ya did good kid, ya did good."

"Tamiya," Keiichi asked, "how did this Raver get inside you? Who did you talk to out of the ordinary before you came over for the try outs?"

"Nobody I can think of in particular except maybe that Imam fellow who keeps want'n to trade club houses wit us. He keeps say'n somethin about it being the future shrine of the next ground zero."

"Good that's all I needed to hear," came the voice of Lind as she marched into the makeshift sick ward, followed by Peorth, Belldandy and her sisters.

"Lind, were you listening at the door the entire time!"

"Yeah, you got a problem with it!"

"As a matter of fact I…"

The sickening sound of Lind's ax burying itself in the flooring millimeters from Keiichi's crotch brought him up short, although he was primarily concerned with his manhood, he still didn't fail to notice that Belldandy's pallor suddenly turned a deathly shade of white.

"The correct answer to that question is NO, Morisato! Now shut up and listen, we are just hours away from the convergence, Urd has a working hypothesis I've decided to go with. We need to find and isolate that Raver and Keiichi, since you are the only one who can go on campus and not be noticed you just got drafted for that job. Tamiya is going to give you a description of this guy and you are going to find him. When that happens, Coolmint will give me a signal and we are going to swoop in and take him down. If we are fast enough he won't have time to arm his bombs."

"A snatch and grab," Peorth asked in astonishment, "in broad daylight."

"No time for subtlety," Lind replied, "in and out as fast as we can. Keiichi, Urd has got some medicine for you that will get you back on your feet. Drink it and get your ass out of here pronto."

As soon as Keiichi was gone Lind looked at her fellow goddesses; "This plan has about a 100% chance of blowing up in our faces so we are going to need a plan B. I was thinking along the lines of maybe accessing the gates by way of the Heavenly realm, then coming out on this end. If we could quickly identify the bombs then you three could displace them in space-time."

"That won't work," Belldandy said as she heard Lind outline her plan.

"And why not!" Lind challenged her.

"Because uranium is the heaviest naturally occurring element, it is too firmly anchored in this dimension."

"Okay, if we can't move the bombs in time and space what do we do? How can we stop them from exploding?"

"You can't," Skuld spoke up, "I've never lived this long before so I didn't understand what my visions of the future were trying to show me until just now. The bombs will detonate! There is no way to avoid that!"

"What, do you mean that these people, this island, they are all lost!" Lind gasped.

"No," Belldandy said, "this future event might be fixed, but I control the present. I can effect the outcome if I have but a little time to prepare. The force of the blasts is going to be directed against the gates of the two realms. That has to be an advantage if we can find it."

"We have to wait for them to detonate then redirect the energy," Urd said.

"Yes, redirect the gates," Peorth said enthusiastically, "leave them attached in this world but sever their connections at the other end, reposition their terminus to the vacuum of space. Suck the energy away from this world."

"There would still be casualties in the vicinity of the blast zone." Lind pointed out.

"True, Peorth said, "but still fewer than if we do nothing."

"Unacceptable, God Dammit!" Urd shouted, "We are five of the most potent deities in all of heaven and we can't figure out how to stop a single Raver from massacring thousands!"

"We might just have to accept the losses," Lind pointed out.

"No we can't," Skuld interjected, "there are two distinct divergences' that follow. If we allow the Ravers any measure of success then they will see it as weakness and try to build on it. But if we stop them cold…"

"I see," said Lind, "all or nothing. Well, I too can play that game and play it well I do."

"A Klein bottle," Belldandy said.

"What?" came the combined question from the other goddesses in the room.

"If instead of terminating the gates in space we warp them back around in a mobius fashion to connect at their origin then we form a Klein bottle."

"Oh, I see," said Skuld excitedly, "if we trap the energy of the blast inside then it can't get out."

"Quick news flash for you two geniuses," Urd interjected, "A Klein bottle is a four-dimensional object and this dimension has only three."

"Actually a Klein bottle is only two dimensional. It just takes four dimensions to hold it." Skuld pointed out.

"Well what do you intend to do?" Urd asked, "Take this entire island into the fourth dimension?"

"Exactly," Lind answered.

"What about the people," Skuld asked, "they can't survive in the fourth dimension even for an instant!"

"Yes, but that limitation only applies to humans, the plants don't care and I'm sure you've noticed that cats and dogs walk through the walls on a routine basis."

"So, you intend to save the geography at the expense of the humans who live here." Urd asked her pointedly.

"Of course not!" Lind smiled back at her, "I'm just pointing out that the task isn't as daunting as you might think." Looking at Peorth as she cradled Tamiya's sleeping head in her lap. "Peorth, would you be interested in getting into more trouble than you can possibly imagine?"


	14. Chapter 14

Ah! Does Size Really Matter? Ch.14

_It was pointed out that Lind's demeanor was becoming rather crude, so I re-edited the last part of chapter 12 as means of explanation. Bottom line for Lind is; she has been tasked with the impossible task of training a mortal to become a god. Her failure to accomplish this task could threaten the foundations of Heaven._

Human beings are unique in that they are the only three-dimensional life form to possess sentience in the form of a soul. Since a human host is 3D then so must be the anchor points that keep their soul attached. (Remember that the soul itself exists outside of the superstring.) If you were to move a Human to a higher dimension without some type of protection the anchor points would immediately become detached and the soul would be severed from its host. If that were allowed to happen then all the higher brain activity ceases and the human host simply keels over and dies.

Honshu Island, also known as the Japanese mainland, population had grown to about 105 million by 2012. Lind's plan to save them all was brilliant in its simplicity and audacious in its scope. Stage one was to be accomplished by the students of her class. They were to be the point men whose task it was to divide the whole of Honshu Island into individual Kill-boxes with approximately the same number of human targets in each grid. Stage two was to be handled by the quick reaction force, as they arrived on the scene they were to be tasked with marking the targets in equal numbered groups. Stage three, the actual rescue, was to be accomplished by the rank and file. They were to be assigned a specific group of individuals whom they would be responsible for scooping up and moving to safety. Once the human population was safe Belldandy and her sisters would move the whole of Honshu Island into the fourth dimension and Peorth would do a mobius reconnect of the gates forming Belldandy's Klein bottles. When the bombs detonated the expended energy would be trapped inside with no way to escape. Once that was done it was simply a matter of collecting the bottles and disposing of them before Belldandy returned the island to its proper dimensional configuration.

Now while 105 million seems like an impossibly large number of human beings to save it really isn't. Broken down mathematically you can quickly discern how it might be done. The exact number of the host is, of course, a secret. But by substituting for the known number of the members in the combined branches of say, the United States military, you could get a good guesstimate. The total number of all U.S. forces active duty is about 1,500,000, with an additional 850,000 in the reserves for a total of about 2.35 million members. Take that number and divide it into the total population of 105 million and that leaves each member of the heavenly host with a little less than 45 people they were responsible for saving. Middle school teachers routinely hustle that many students and more into and out of their classrooms several times each day. The problem, Lind knew, was in the logistics, getting that many members of the host stood up and ready for deployment in the scant few minutes she had remaining. That heavy responsibility fell to Peorth.

"I see," Peorth said as Lind finished outlining the details of her plan, "he's kind of cute isn't he," she mentioned off hand, referring to the sleeping Tamiya as she continued to stroke his head. "I think it might be worth getting into a little hot water if it can save his life."

"It won't be just a little, if we don't pull this off it will mean that I would have failed twice." Lind rebuked her. "There is very little more that they can do to me, so I can flatly guarantee that the council will come after you!"

"Still it might be worth it," Peorth smiled dreamily, "if I can bask in his gaze once again."

"Dammit Peorth," Lind shouted, "get your head out from between your legs and listen to me! This is serious!"

"Of course it is," Peorth snapped back at her, "105 million people! How could you possibly expect me or any other goddess to turn their backs on so many! I was committed to this plan before it even was a plan! I'll do my part. Just make sure you do yours."

"Very well then," Lind sighed, relieved that Peorth was fully onboard, "give gigantor a kiss and get your butt top side."

"I'm on it," Peorth said as she kissed Tamiya on the forehead before jumping through the old camera that the sleeping giant unknowingly held in his good hand.

Arising from her lotus position Lind looked to the three Norns. "Okay it's crunch time, Belldandy since you take the longest to get ready you need to get started now. Urd, I already know about your special jewelry and that little scam you got going on with your father. I need everything the three of you have. No holding back got it!"

"We weren't planning on it." Skuld answered for the trio.

Satisfied that all that could be done had been done she marched out of the house and began mustering her troops.

The limiters that all divine beings must have are not always in the form of jewelry, in the case of the combat division the limiters were part and parcel of the weapons they used. Looking out on her assembled class she took her ax and held it in front of her before casting it aside thus releasing the limiters on her true power. In a tightly disciplined ripple formation the class leader followed by the rest of the class members did the same, revealing for all to see the true nature of their hidden strengths. It was a truly impressive show of force. Turning, Lind waited for the three Norns to join them. Urd and Skuld walked onto the field, followed by Belldandy as she recited the spell of unsealing. Urd was first, reaching up she released the clasp on the platinum limiter her father had given her and was instantly fully powered up. Fully empowered World of Elegance's wings emerged, her right wing brighter than the sun even as her left one literally glowed ebony, appearing as if to suck the light from one side into the other creating a bi-colored halo that surrounded her body.

An interesting aside occurred at this juncture. One of the hardest lessons Lind always had in teaching her students was the strategy of surrender. Sometimes, as can happen in all battles, there comes a time when there is nothing to be gained by continuing to fight. When that happens, when there is nothing to gain and everything to lose it is better to surrender than press a bad position. At least that way there is the possibility of hope, the hope that one might live to fight another day. The ten or so thuds she heard caused by her students hitting the ground prone informed her that this class, at least, understood the concept. A point she found puzzling since she hadn't touched on that part of the curriculum yet.

She was about to chastise them when Belldandy finally released her own power limiter. What Lind and those still standing saw was like nothing they had ever seen before. Before her now was not the young goddess who had stood toe to toe with the Lord of Terror or even the goddess who had helped sing the world back to health. She was something more, stronger than all the Gods who sat upon the council combined, stronger than all who had ever come before, even more powerful than her father! The power of a goddess complete, fully imbued with the power of a love fulfilled.

The sound of the rest of her class hitting the ground served as a reminder for Lind to mark this training module complete. Turning she saw that only the class leader had remained upright, this being due primarily to his being unable to find an unoccupied piece of real-estate upon which to cast himself.

Sauntering up to him Urd reached into her gown and produced her business card and handing it to him purred, "When this is over would you care to show a girl a good time?"

Lind, understanding Urd's purpose, could not help but want to get in on the act herself, "Urd, you shameless hussy," she said loud enough for the rest of the class to hear, "will you unwrap yourself from the only student of mine that has a pair and let him do his job."

"Oh, you're no fun." She answered Lind, giving her a wink.

Lind gave the class leader a nudge and pointing to the still prone student body waited to see what he would do, she wasn't disappointed.

"They're on our side you idiots," the class leader screamed. "Get on your feet now!"

000

Back in Heaven, Peorth arrived in the Yggdrasil control room just as Ex was starting to seriously freak-out. Ere and Chrono having gone straight into screaming hysterics when Lind's class shifted into battle mode.

"Peorth," she shouted, "what's happening? Everybody at the temple is spooling up to full power!"

"No time to talk," Peorth answered her brusquely. "I need for you to resume your station immediately."

"Yes Ma'am," the harried goddess replied, relieved that it wasn't her that had to deal with this crisis, as Peorth began shouting orders.

"Ere, engage Battle Shorts for satellites four, five, six and seven. Bring primary, secondary and tertiary power systems to 100 percent and place in standby!

"Chrono, bring all gates on Honshu Island hot and standby to illuminate.

"Ex, inform the combat division to prepare for immediate deployment and stand up the host!"

"You want me to stand up the entire host!" Ex asked in disbelief.

"That's correct, do it now!"

"Is it war?" Chrono cried in horror, "Is it war!"

"Exactly the opposite," Peorth answered, "we are going to stop one from starting."

000

By the time Keiichi arrived at the NIT MCC clubhouse Lind's original plan A to isolate and capture the Raver had already been trashed and Plan B was in motion. The NIT MCC winter festival booth, he noticed, was conspicuously unmanned. Going inside the clubhouse he found Sora and Otaki sitting silently at the table. Sora apparently had just finished crying. Curious, Keiichi asked, "What's up?"

Looking away from him Otaki said. "We've been hearing some seriously unsettling news, bro. We heard that Tamiya got himself killed."

"Is that so?" Keiichi asked.

"It gets worse brother man, they're saying that it was you who done the killing. They say you chopped off his hand and left him there to die in the street."

This last bit of horrifying, albeit untrue, news was apparently more than poor Sora could take as she stood from the table and ran crying to the farthest corner of the room where she collapsed on her knees and began sobbing uncontrollably.

"You seem to be remarkably well informed." Keiichi said as he moved to place himself between Sora and Otaki, "seeing has how nobody has been in or out of the place since it happened would you mind sharing your information source with me?"

"You little bastard!" Otaki shouted as he lunged for Keiichi, "after all he has done for you. You left him to bleed to death!"

"Let's not kid each other," Keiichi shouted back, "Coolmint, come forth!"

Bracing himself for Otaki's lunge Keiichi was surprised when Otaki skidded to a halt, visibly taken aback by the little angel's presence. His gaze clearly on the angel Keiichi noticed as his eyes shifted their focus suddenly and his face start to lose its color. Realizing his mistake Keiichi dove for the floor just as the 12-inch butcher knife wielded by Sora passed inches above his head. Turning to face his assailant he saw Sora, the expression on her face one of horrified bewilderment, her actions that of a marionette as the Raver used her body to attack her senpai.

With her focus on Keiichi, Otaki backpedaled and waited until Sora had her back turned to him then he tried to wrap his arms around the diminutive woman to restrain her, receiving a serious slash to his left arm as a reward for his efforts. Sora closed in on Keiichi again whipping her knife around in the fashion of a ninja.

For his part Keiichi was un-intimidated, having dodged Lind's exposed blades for the last two years fighting an opponent with an edged weapon was nothing new. Circling backwards about the room Keiichi stayed just beyond her reach as she stabbed and slashed at him with her knife. Keiichi was playing a waiting game, drawing on one of the strategies that Lind taught him early on. Lind called it her four 'P' principal. "When Proficiency is at Parity then Patience Prevails," she had drilled into him countless number of times.

Most people will run in fear of an attacker with a knife. But an edged weapon's effective radius is limited by your opponent's reach. Stand one millimeter further away and you are in the safe zone. (For the record Keiichi liked to keep his safe distance at plus one inch to leave him room for error.) By keeping himself just out of reach Keiichi was hoping that the Raver would become frustrated and do something stupid. As Sora's physical body became tired the Raver's attacks started to become more and more disjointed. Finally Sora, breathing heavily after he had avoided attack after attack, tried to end the stalemate with an off balanced slashing charge.

Keiichi stepped inside her reach, grasping her arm he wrested the knife from her hand. Knowing that if the host dies so does the symbiant, he grabbed a handful of Sora's hair, twisting her head back and exposing her neck while forcing her to look him in straight in the eyes. Twisting the knife in his hand and placing the cold steel blade against her neck, he returned her gaze and whispered, "Please forgive me Sora." her eyes growing wide as he slowly drew the knife across her throat.

The Raver was instantly in flight towards Otaki as it sought the safety of another soul. It made it about half the distance before it was tackled in mid flight by Coolmint who once again proceeded to kick its metaphysical ass before chasing him from the clubhouse.

Freed of the Raver's influence Sora grasped at her neck, surprised at not finding any blood she looked at Keiichi questioningly. Smiling Keiichi showed Sora the knife he held, its position reversed so that the cutting edge faced away.

"Sorry if I scared you," Keiichi apologized, "but I had to make the Raver think that I was really going to kill you so he would flee."

"I see," Sora said shakily, "That thing, that Raver, what does it want? Why did it make me try to kill you?"

"I'm trying to find that out myself. All I know is there is something heavy going down. Lind sent me to find its permanent host."

"Permanent host?" Sora asked.

"The human it lives inside when it isn't making innocent people commit wanton acts of murder." Keiichi answered her.

"So, was any of it true? Tamiya's not dead is he?" Sora begged, "Please tell me that all those horrible images it showed me were lies, please!"

Keiichi couldn't really lie to his friends so he just stood there mute.

"We're waiting brother man," Otaki asked, the tone of his voice more pleading than demanding.

"That thing…" Keiichi began, "That thing tried to make Tamiya kill Peorth. I had no choice; I cut off his hand… Belldandy and Peorth, they spent the entire night healing him. He's okay for now, Peorth is looking after him. I'm sorry, I really am, but I still can't think of how I might have done it different."

"Tamiya couldn't have really hurt Peorth could he? I mean isn't Peorth like Belldandy, isn't she… different?" Sora asked.

"You, me, Belldandy and others like her, we have much more in common than you know."

"I see, so even Belldandy's magic has its limits," Sora said disappointedly.

"A mechanic without his hand," Otaki said sadly, "that's going to take some serious adjustment."

"It was the only way I could find to save the both of them." Keiichi said.

"I know Tamiya kind of has a soft spot for Peorth," Sora spoke up. "He would've been really broke up if something bad were to happen to her. Especially if it was by his own hand."

"Don't tell him I told you this, but Peorth as a soft spot for him as well.

"Sora," Keiichi asked, "can you tell me who you came into contact with that might have transferred that thing to you?"

"I know exactly who it was!" Sora spat, "It was that Imam guy from the Islamic Cultural center, one minute he's chatting me up like he wants to get in my skirts, the next thing I know I'm doing the drama queen act to Otaki telling him about how you killed Tamiya."

"I wonder," Keiichi started to say as an idea crossed his mind, "was Tamiya working on anything here, something he might have been keeping secret?"

"I don't recall seeing him much this last week," Sora said, "but if he was it would probably be in his project box."

Tamiya's project box as it was called was really a greasy oversized trunk that had been with him since before Keiichi and his paths had ever crossed. Tamiya was never one for neatness but he did always remember to push the box all the way under the workbench when he wasn't using it as a courtesy to the other members of the club. When they found the box, however, it was only partially pushed in and was sitting slightly askew. From the angle it was sitting it was impossible to open the lid. Reaching for it he was stopped by Coolmint's warning, _"Keiichi don't touch it, something isn't right!"_

"_What do you mean?"_ Keiichi asked her back.

"_It doesn't look right. There is something wrong with its aura!"_

"_Show me,"_ he commanded.

With that the little angel linked her mind to his and he could see the box through her eyes. What he saw didn't make any sense. There wasn't anything wrong with the aura per se, more of a lack of one, an odd dimming of the light around the outside periphery of the trunk.

Auras, Keiichi new from his training, were a part of everything. To encounter something that lacked an aura was beyond any of his teachers' experience. Realizing that he had just encountered something outside even heaven's knowledge gave him the cold chills.

"What's up brother man?" Otaki asked.

"Huh?" Keiichi asked.

"You just went white as a sheet just now," Otaki told him, "that by itself is enough to scare the hell out of me!"

Looking at his two friends he cautioned them, "I think we might not want to touch this thing until we get some expert help."

"Keiichi what's going on?" Sora asked him, "Please be honest with us. After all we are your friends!"

"I don't really know it's just that…" Keiichi's sentence was suddenly cut short by the sound of the campus police pounding on the door. "Open up in there!" a voice demanded, "Open this door now or we'll break it down!"

"What the hell!" Otaki started to say.

"It's that Raver thing again," Sora surmised, "It thinks Keiichi killed me and probably got someone to call the Cops."

"Or it could have possessed one and caused him to come here." Keiichi added.

"No!" Sora screamed, "Don't let that thing get inside me again!"

"_Coolmint?"_ Keiichi asked mentally.

"_I can place a combat talisman on their souls."_ She answered, _"Lind uses it to keep the evil of battle from corrupting the souls of the fallen. It will give them some level of protection."_

"Do it then," Keiichi said out loud.

"What?" Sora asked startled by Keiichi sudden outburst.

"My angel," he said, pointing to Coolmint as she emerged from his back, "is going to put a protection spell on your souls so that Raver can't get back inside, if you are willing to let her."

"Yes, yes do it quickly before he comes back," Sora almost begged.

"Otaki?" Keiichi asked.

"What red blooded college student is going to turn down an offer from such a pretty little angel? Go right ahead," he answered.

Coolmint left the safety of Keiichi's soul and quickly dashed into Sora causing her expression to suddenly change to one of joy as she felt the heavenly presence in her soul. Not even the increasingly insistent pounding from the front door could dim her smile. Moving quickly to Otaki his face also blossomed with the same expression.

Sora and Otaki looking towards each other suddenly had the same epiphany; each smiling to the other Otaki ripped off his shirt as Sora began undoing the buttons on her blouse. Otaki went to open the door as Sora pretended to hide in the kitchen.

"Hit the road brother man," Otaki said motioning with his thumb, "we'll stall them for you."

Levitating up through the rafters before jumping out the roof skylight he shouted down to Sora in the kitchen, "Do me a favor and fill the sink with water for me please."

"Why?" she shouted back at him.

"You'll find out in a minute and don't let anybody touch that box!"

000

Satellite six, we know is Belldandy's IP port, through simple deduction we can deduce that satellite five belongs to older sister Urd and Skuld's IP port would of course, be number seven. Satellite Zero belongs to their father the Almighty One; it also serves as the main control point for the parsing of all raw data coming into the Yggdrasil system as well as primary distribution node for the output. Satellites one, two, and three belong to the elements Earth, Wind and Fire. That leaves satellite number four, AKA the Military Channel. All members of the combat division have their own dedicated transponder on this system allowing for near instantaneous communications within the host. The odd dimming of the light around the trunk in the clubhouse Coolmint detected had been communicated by her to Lind and was instantly known to the rest of the members of the Host. The raw data itself was forwarded to Satellite Zero and the AMO to be parsed out for further processing. The delay, short as it would have been could have been fatal were it not for the Almighty One who already knew the answer to this riddle, having seen this strange aura once before, 67 years ago surrounding a certain B29 bomber as it flew over the city of Hiroshima.

Orders from on high were issued and Skuld was quickly dispatched to the clubhouse, her transit being facilitated by Keiichi's forward thinking. Arriving via the filled sink in the clubhouse kitchen, she drenched the partially clad Sora and the campus policeman who was insisting that he be allowed to examine her neck. In the other room Otaki was trying to explain away the slash on his arm by doing that twirling trick he liked to do with his tools then complaining about the knife not being properly balanced. Meanwhile, Keiichi having made good his escape resumed his search for the Raver's permanent host.

000

"Well that answers that question," Skuld said with disgust.

"What question was that?" asked Sora, looking up from her ministrations to the fallen campus policeman, who apparently fainted when Skuld made her appearance.

"Where the other master detonator was hidden at."

"Master detonator?" Otaki asked.

"Yes," Skuld sighed, knowing she had already said too much, "There are fifteen atomic bombs hidden all over Honshu, there is no way they could have been smuggled in whole, I bet they were brought in piecemeal then Tamiya put them together one by one. Probably never even knew what he was building. This device controls them all."

"Why didn't Keiichi mention anything to us just now?" Sora asked stunned.

"Because he didn't know," Skuld said offhand, "Lind was afraid that if he knew too much he might not react properly."

000

Back at the Temple the fully powered up goddesses had retired to the high places, Urd and Belldandy stood on opposite ends of the temple roof listening to the world with their heightened senses. Lind was perched atop the old TV antenna overseeing the courtyard as the remaining members of her class stood at the ready. Skuld, using her mental link with her sisters communicated with Lind her discovery of the other detonator. In a flash she was gone at near supersonic speed arriving at the clubhouse seconds later.

"Can you disarm it?" Lind asked.

"If I had enough time, yes. The problem is that the anti-tamper mechanism was built with somebody like me in mind. There are at least three levels of protection that I've found so far and I've seen signs of at least two more!"

"I'm going to defer to your judgment on this," Lind told her, "Based on what you saw in your vision should we try to disarm it or not?"

"My vision doesn't enter in to it," Skuld declared, "Keiichi once said to me that the future isn't fixed until it becomes the past. The fact that the two of us are standing here is proof he was right. I know I have to try and that's that."

"I see, then I'll let you get to work. Skuld," Lind paused, "if it looks bad don't push it. It's very… important… to me that you continue as the goddess of the future."

"Thank you for saying that Lind, I'll be careful."

Reaching into her blouse Skuld retrieved her portable nuclear device disarming kit, (field version) and began to remove the top cover to the detonator.

000

Using the description of the Imam that Sora and Tamiya had given him Keiichi began his search of the campus in earnest, on several occasions he thought he had sighted him only to lose him in the teaming crowds of people as they enjoyed the festival. How Lind intended to take him down without alarming the entire student body was beyond him, but Keiichi didn't really care, his job was to get eyes on him and Coolmint would call in the strike.

"Crap," said Skuld, as she examined the bomb.

"Care to explain?" asked Lind.

"There are two timers on this thing," Skuld explained, "a fifteen minute one that can be triggered by a remote. The other is set to cause it to go off at exactly midnight tonight! I wonder why that is?"

"Midnight local time is just before the convergence begins, probably the optimum time to set these things off, the remote is there in case things don't go as planned and he is forced to advance things." Lind answered as she worked her way through the strategy; "The delay timer is there so the Raver can get to safety. I'm sure the Raver's host probably has the remote control for this thing. I bet he keeps it on his person at all times just in case. If Keiichi gets to close to him he might just panic and use it."

"It might not be a bad idea to call him back," Otaki opined from the back room, "when Keiichi gets his teeth into something he doesn't really like to let go."

000

"_Keiichi,"_ Coolmint said in his mind, _"Lind says we need to return to the clubhouse immediately."_

"_Did she say why?" _Keiichi asked.

"_No, just to return now!"_

"_Very well then."_

As Keiichi turned to head back he was startled to discover that standing motionless in the crowd behind him was the person he had just stopped looking for.

"Ah, the famous Keiichi Morisato, the mortal who would become a god," the Imam said without humor, "rumor has it that you are looking for me. Perhaps maybe you wish to talk about converting?"

"I always thought you radical types preferred using force, asking just seems so pass se." Keiichi shot back.

"Force has always worked well enough for me. I just thought that a man with the power to tame a goddess would want to come over to the winning team on his own."

"After what you did to my friends I don't really think we could ever become…close."

"What I did?" the Imam laughed, "I have done nothing to your friends. According to my source it was you who cut off poor Tamiya's hand and left him to die in the street and wasn't it you who cut poor Sora's throat just now? These others," he said while motioning towards the crowd, "may judge you as being too cruel but we know better. Especially that last part, slitting that little whore's throat was a work of genius even if it didn't get the job done. You did what had to be done, pity that you don't really understand the nature of your adversary. If you did then your friends might still be alive."

"_Coolmint, tell Lind that I've found the host and the Raver is with him,"_ Keiichi thought.

"You seem remarkably well informed," Keiichi said out loud.

"Trust is a requisite for any relationship don't you agree? My friend tells me everything. We have no secrets from each other."

"Is that so? Did your friend also tell you that he's had his ass handed to him twice now by this little angel?" Keiichi asked, pointing to Coolmint who popped her head over his shoulder, sticking out her tongue before disappearing once again. "So far each time I've seen your… friend… he was running away with his tail between his legs."

"What you describe as running away was nothing more than a strategic retreat my friend."

"If you say so," Keiichi said sarcastically, "but had your friend not been… advancing in reverse… so quickly he might have noticed that Tamiya and Sora are doing just fine."

"You lie!" the Imam accused.

"Coolmint?" Keiichi asked as the angel appeared looking at him curiously, "have I told a non-truth to this poor miss-guided towel wearing moron?"

The angel looked at the Imam then Keiichi before looking back at the Imam and shaking her head no.

"You on the other hand are in a heap of trouble." Keiichi smiled at him.

"For what?" the Imam smiled curiously.

"I don't know how it is in that flea infested sand-pit you come from, but in Japan we take matters of law enforcement seriously. Right about now I bet the campus police would like to talk to you about that false report you made."

Coolmint popped out again and made a big show out of whispering something into Keiichi's ear then smiled at the Imam before disappearing once more. "My angel says to remind you that the local lockup is very close to the heavenly gate."

"I see, well that might be… inconvenient…maybe I ought to take my leave before they find me," the Imam said turning to go.

"Hey rag head!" Keiichi shouted at the back of the Imam, "Where do you think you're going? I'm not through with you yet!"

Keiichi saw the back of the man stiffen then slowly turn to once again face him.

"I'm afraid we're done here." the Imam spoke grimly as he showed Keiichi a small plastic box with a red button in the middle. "There are several atomic bombs placed around the whole of this island, the closest is sitting under the bench in your clubhouse. I press this button and…"

"Give it a rest," Keiichi said with mock tiredness, "You're not fooling anybody; you have no more intention of detonating that bomb and killing yourself than all those poor possessed bastards you helped send to their death ever did."

"You might be right," the Imam said, "But can you afford to take that risk?"

Walking up to the Imam Keiichi slapped him twice, once on each cheek. "You and that thing that lives inside you are both cowards!" Keiichi spat, "You don't have any qualms about sending others to die for you, but you don't have the courage to do it yourselves! The pair of you… you're just disgusting!"

Rubbing his cheeks with his free hand as he started to put the detonator back in his pocket the Imam answered, "Alas, it is as you say, I am a coward. But my being so is a moot point. Those bombs will still explode at midnight tonight if not disarmed before… Suddenly the expression on the Imam's faced changed, as he seemed to notice for the first time that he still held the detonator, his hand having only made it about half the distance to his pocket before coming to a halt of its own volition. Watching as his expression changed from one of curiosity to one of horror it became abundantly clear that it was the Raver who was now calling the shots.

Emerging from the Imam's back and glaring directly at Keiichi the Raver spoke using the Imam's voice. "You pitiful mortals, the world was ours before the Gods and demons walked among us, humanity as you know it is nothing more than the result of thousands of years of inbreeding! You humans are nothing more than a poor reflection of the greatness your forebearers once were! Who are you? You puny excuse for a mortal, to look upon me with disgust! The world that was taken from us will be ours once again and you and your kind will help make it so!"

"Coolmint come forth!" Keiichi ordered. The little angel making her appearance an instant later, "Care to go another round?" he smiled evilly.

"Bah!" The Raver roared as the Imam found himself pressing down on the detonator.

000

Back at the NIT MCC clubhouse Skuld and Lind watched in horror as the 15-minute timer began counting down.

"Oh crap, if I don't disarm this thing in the next few minutes we are all totally screwed!"

Skuld, reaching into the bomb once again was stopped by Lind.

"You did your best little one. Time to give it up."

"But I still can…"

"Skuld, you need to learn to have faith in others as well as yourself," Lind said kindly before touching her hand to Skuld's forehead and releasing her seals. "It's time for you to join your sisters. I'll take it from here."

000

"Peorth," Ex cried, "the combat division is launching without authorization!"

"It has started then," Peorth said sadly, "Ex, green light the host. All forces Heavenly are now committed.

"Ere, bring all power systems online now!

"Chrono set all gates on Honshu Island to terminus and illuminate. As soon as the last of the host has launched prepare to sever the gates on this end and do a four-axis rotation then reconnect both ends to themselves."

000

"Lind?" Sora asked as she stared in horrified fascination at the timer on the bomb as it counted down, "Are we going to die?"

"Yes," said Lind before she turned to them and smiled, "but not today."

Leading the two outside the three looked on as a seemingly endless stream of winged beings swarmed out of the heavenly gate hanging in the air just above the clubhouse. The class leader, in the fashion of all good supervisors stood and watched with critical eye as Lind's plan began to unfold. "These two are special," Lind told him. Nodding his head in understanding he unfurled his great wings and enveloped the pair, pulling them close to his side.

000

"Cowards like him are the perfect tool," the Raver laughed referring to the Imam he still spoke through, "the perfect blend of avarice, sloth, greed and envy! They want so much but are willing to give so little in return. To buy their loyalty I only need give them that which was already theirs for the taking! But tools such as him are limited in their uses. In the world I intend to create the strong will rule and the weak shall be cast aside! There is room in my world for those such as you Keiichi, but you will have to earn your place, as shall all the others. For now I'll leave you to your fate, if you manage to survive I will be waiting to welcome you on the other side." the Raver concluded before departing the Imam's soul to look for another host in a safer location.

"He lied to me," said the Imam in disbelief, "he said we would be safely away from here before the bombs went off."

"What's the world coming to," Keiichi asked cynically, "I mean if you can't trust the word of a mass murdering Raver then whom can you trust?"

The Raver's escape strategy was very simple. It merely intended to jump from host to host until it found one in a suitably safe location. Unfortunately it hadn't counted on Lind's audacious strategy of moving the entire population of the island to safety. It had already made half a dozen jumps when suddenly its next target just disappeared, the combat division having already begun to scoop up their assigned targets and spirit them away. Each time it got a bead on another possible host that person would simply vanish. Finally at the limits of its endurance it jumped back into the soul of its original host.

Feeling the presence of the Raver as it returned Keiichi started to say something when all of a sudden he heard his voice speak with words not his own. "Hear me you agent of darkness, as this battle is joined know thee now that not one more innocent shall I suffer thee to take. From this time forward there will be no respite, no truce, no accommodation whatsoever! There shall be no peace for you and your kind not until the very memory of your existence has been razed to the dust!"

The look on the Imam's face told the story as it faded from one of betrayal to turn into one of pure hatred. Abandoning all pretense of humanity the creature let loose an enraged roar and charged headlong towards Keiichi. Using the angel's power Keiichi hopped backwards to land on top of a power poll.

"_I assume you have a plan?"_ His borrowed angel asked.

"_I was hoping you had one,"_ Keiichi thought.

"_I thought you were supposed to be the brains of this partnership?"_

"_Just who have you been talking to?"_

"_Oh very well,"_ the angel sent to him with mock exasperation, _"Lind wants to capture one alive, so how about we head towards the waterfront, that way we can lure him away from the area of the dimensional shift."_

"_Dimensional shift?"_

"_Something I've been meaning not to tell you."_ Coolmint told him sheepishly, _"As he just told you, that Raver has placed atomic weapons all over Honshu. If they go off the entire mainland will be laid waste. Belldandy intends to take the entire island into the forth dimension so that the explosions can be contained. The problem is that humans can't exist in the upper dimensions, they tend to…expire. So Lind is in the process of saving them all. But we are going to need to save ourselves."_

"_All right then, off to the waterfront we go!"_

"_Aye, aye matey."_ Coolmint answered.

"_What is it with you two and those nautical terms?"_

The Raver, knowing that its existence was about to cease, began to mimic the actions of Keiichi's angel as they fled. Drawing on its enormous power the Raver caused its host's body to fly through the air as it tried to overhaul Keiichi and Coolmint. Keiichi for his part was jumping in a zigzag pattern in order to prevent the Raver from closing the distance in one jump. But jumping from one direction to the other only works as long as there is something to jump off of. Once at the waterfront Keiichi was forced to jump up and away from the coastline in order to get clear of the dimensional rift. The Raver saw this and waited on the ground summoning its strength before jumping off on his own intersecting arc. Keiichi tried to call upon Coolmint to use additional energy to maintain separation from his adversary but it was to no avail. With Lind and her class, along with the Norn's being fully powered up, not to mention the demands of the host proper there simply wasn't any extra energy to spare. Slowly, inexorably the Raver closed the distance finally wrapping his fingers around Keiichi's throat.

It was then that Keiichi asked the little angel to do something it had never considered doing before_. "Time for you to go home,"_ Keiichi spoke to Coolmint in his mind, even as the possessed Imam began to throttle him in mid-air. Spots began swirling before his eyes.

"_NO!"_ came the truly horrified response from Coolmint, _"angels always stay with their host, even unto death!" _

"_Coolmint, you and your sister have been truly good friends."_ Keiichi said to her as he began to lose consciousness, _"No man could ever ask for better but you belong to another. Return unto her now and tell her we fought bravely to the end."_

"_Sorry Keiichi,"_ she replied, _"but that is the one order that I will always refuse to obey!"_

Keiichi knew that his little angel had once again given her all, knowing there was nothing more to be done he sealed himself and with an enormous push Keiichi forced Coolmint from his soul. The displaced angel suddenly found herself clinging to the chains of the mortal curse as she fought to claw her way back inside her host. But the chains, weakened by the constant expansion of Keiichi's soul, chose that moment to snap and Coolmint found herself outside the body of her host as they plummeted towards earth.

With Coolmint safely away Keiichi turned his attention to the Raver possessed Imam who, oblivious to the on rushing earth, was still trying to strangle him. Suddenly out of nowhere an ax passed through the space between the two of them severing his assailant's arms at the elbows. Freed of his grip Keiichi was able to draw in several lung fulls of life giving air. Looking to his side he could see Coolmint's body as she fell twisting towards the earth. Suddenly faster than he could blink Spearmint came from above and merging with her sister quickly arresting her uncontrolled descent. The spots he had seen in his eyes cleared up and he could tell that what he really had been looking at were the magical contrails of the three Norns as they flew in a complex interleaving pattern around him while they all plummeted towards the earth. Suddenly, they accelerated until they were several hundred feet below him, then they leveled off moving away from each other at 120 degrees opposed to the other two. The complex interleaving of their flight paths now made sense, for as they pulled away a mandala formed in the space directly underneath him, being pulled in to the same shape as Honshu Island much like a string art sculpture.

The mandala came alive with light even as the earth underneath it seemed to wink out of existence. Where the portal that had formed led to he didn't know and didn't much care. All objects fall at the same speed, he knew, so whatever was on the other side they both would find out soon enough. Finding his inner peace he spoke to himself, "I kept my word Belldandy. I protected you just like I promised I would. It was then that he felt the presence of Lind as she descended from above, wrapping her arms and legs around him from behind. As soon as she had a secure grip Keiichi suddenly felt the buffeting of the air around his body increase as she unfolded her wings to their fullest extension and began aerobraking to slow their rate of descent. The distance between them and the Imam quickly widened as he stared in fascination as his body fell towards the portal, the blood spewing from his severed arms leaving red contrails in the sky.

Arising from the blackness Keiichi counted fifteen impossibly bright lights that were the now filled Klein bottles being carried by Lind's class. Careful not to cross the boundary that separated the 4th from the 3rd dimension they released their burden so that they and the Imam's armless body crossed the threshold at exactly the same instant.

As Lind continued to pull Keiichi back from the jaws of death suddenly he began to notice a hot wetness on the back of his neck, disbelieving he asked, "Lind, are you crying?"

"I swear Keiichi," Lind sobbed. "If you ever mention this to those bitches I will cut your nuts off!"


	15. Chapter 15

Of the many earth observation satellites that were in view of Honshu Island when the event happened, not one data bit made it into the processing equipment. After it was over the memories of everyone who came in direct contact with the members of the heavenly host quickly began to fade. As for the half dozen or so satellite operators around the world who were actually looking at their screens during that one critical moment, all of them were quickly penciled in to receive a visit from a member of either the Earth Help Center or the Goddess Relief Office. In the end there wasn't a single piece of data, testimony or any other evidence that the event had ever happened. - Except for the people who actually lived it. -For them, December 20th, 2012 became known as the 'Day of the Angel Wings'. As their memories faded some were smart enough to realize what was happening and tried to memorialize the event by writing down or drawing what they had experienced. The stories told by the words and pictures were all different but they all expressed the same theme: A feeling of absolute peace and contentment and the unmistakable image of an angel's protective wing. Sociologists who studied the phenomena later concluded that it was probably hyper exacerbated feelings of peace and good will among the population. A sort of cultural wide reverse Seasonal Affective Disorder.

000

There wasn't anything content or peaceful about the atmosphere of the temple however. After having helped pull 105 million people from the jaws of death Belldandy was in the throes of a serious Affirmation of Life crisis and desperately craved the comfort only her Keiichi could give her. Lind, however, refused to release him, keeping her wings tightly wrapped around his motionless body. Moreover, neither goddess had reestablished their limiters and the power surges were starting to affect the local weather.

In Urd's room Belldandy and her half sister were having a tête à tête, in the background the phone in the entranceway was heard ringing.

"I don't see why I can't be the one to comfort him!" Belldandy seethed as she vented her frustration to Urd.

"I'm telling you this for the 10th time Belldandy," Urd said, as she tried to get her overly possessive sister to understand, "Coolmint and Spearmint were his angels! They can't come out anymore, Lind is doing her best to keep him from slipping further away by keeping their presence as close to him as she can."

"Holybell can comfort him just as well as they can!"

"No she can't!" Urd almost shouted in frustration.

"But why!"

"Because, as I keep trying to tell you, Holybell never lived in his soul."

"Hey you two," Skuld shouted through the walls, "Peorth just called, she said if you don't put your limiters back on right now father is going to be seriously peeved at both of you!"

"And Lind?" Belldandy said icily.

"Lind is still in combat mode, she doesn't count."

"Dammit!" Belldandy swore before she began putting her ear clasp back on, "you just make sure she keeps her hands to herself while I'm asleep."

"Lind is not going to touch him," Urd told her, "Now shut yourself down so I can do the same."

As Belldandy finished putting her earclasp back on her eyes rolled back in her head and her legs folded up underneath her. Urd nimbly caught her unconscious sister and guided her fall towards her bed. After making sure that she was resting comfortably Urd retrieved one of Keiichi's unwashed tee shirts from the hamper and laid it on the pillow next to Belldandy. In her sleep Belldandy buried her face in the old shirt finding comfort in Keiichi's scent.

Returning to Lind's room Lind asked her, "Is she finally out?" as she pulled Keiichi's limp body to her.

"Finally, thank goodness," Urd answered her.

"Good, because I think we might have an even bigger problem."

"A problem even bigger than an overly possessive first class goddess with homicidal tendencies? This I've got to hear."

"You remember that problem with the angel eater…" Lind began.

000

"I see why you needed Belldandy out of the way," Urd replied grimly, addressing Lind as she still held Keiichi tightly with her wings, "I can't say I'm too thrilled about how you intend to deal with the problem myself."

"And just what would you have me do, let this chance slip by!" Lind almost shouted, "You know how important this is to me!"

"Relax will you, I didn't say I wasn't going to help. I just don't like the thought of you using him that way. I'll do what you ask and have Skuld make the necessary changes to Banpei's programming and I'll set the wards myself. I'll even run interference with Belldandy for you if it comes to that."

"If it makes you feel any better, I know from the angels we shared that he would understand," Lind spoke almost as if she was trying to convince herself.

"It's not Keiichi I'm worried about. You had better hope that Belldandy understands and God help you if you screw it up!"

000

Moving the seventh largest island in the world into the forth dimension and back again had taken its toll on Belldandy, it was over 10 hours before she was finally able to rouse herself from her slumber. Upon her awakening Belldandy immediately sought out Keiichi who was still lying comatose surrounded by Lind's wings. It was obvious from the look on her face that the Valkyrie hadn't had any rest since before the attack and the strain was really starting to show. Feeling more generous than she had prior to getting her rest Belldandy said, "Lind I appreciate what you are trying to do but you can't carry the burden by yourself. Let me care for him for awhile then after you've had a chance to recharge we can try to come up with a plan to help him."

"I guess you're right," Lind answered, "I hope you've recovered your strength, because saving him is going to be a lot more difficult than you think." With that cryptic message Lind's angel pulled in her wings and she staggered to her feet.

As Lind stood up Keiichi unexpectedly opened his eyes and spying Belldandy, stood up smiling and went over to embrace her. As soon as his back was to Lind she grabbed her ax from the wall and swung it towards his head too fast, you would think, for him to dodge. But dodge it he did, falling back under the blade he landed on his back, pivoting on his shoulder and kicking the Valkyrie in her exposed midsection with both feet knocking the wind out of her. Rolling to his feet faster than is humanly possible he launched a dragon fisted punch towards the temple of her head as she staggered about trying to maintain her balance. Lind was barely able to get her arm up in time to block the blow.

"Keiichi!" Belldandy shouted in alarm, "what are you doing!"

Turning to face her Keiichi smiled showing her a face, not that of her beloved but instead a horrible visage of a man possessed by a berserking Raver. Realizing that Lind was neutralized for the moment the Raver turned its attention to his primary target, Belldandy, strongest of all goddesses and daughter of the Almighty One himself. To take her down would be a serious blow to heaven, enough to offset the failure of the prior evening and insure that the Raver's would have the final say in the world to come.

The Raver, however, had made a serious miscalculation. The Yamato Nadeshiko approach was only Belldandy's preferred personality, it wasn't who she really was. In the years that followed Celestin's betrayal she had continually challenged herself in order to cleanse her soul. In pursuit of that goal she had devoted all of her free time to obtaining as many different certificates and licenses as she could. Over time she had acquired a cooking certificate, cleaning certificate, an unlimited racing license, (both in heaven and on earth,), architectural and engineering certifications, licensed practical nurse with battlefield triage endorsement, as well as her Valkyrie combat certification. The result being that Belldandy was probably the only goddess in heaven who could design, build, staff and if necessary fill, her own hospital! The point being, as Peorth had pointed out two years prior, Belldandy was no slouch when it came to close quarter combat. Lind's abortive attack and the hits to her body that ensued had given Belldandy the precious few seconds she needed to react to the threat that her beloved had become.

Unwilling to cause her lover pain she attempted to use only Judo type defensive blocks to keep her possessed boyfriend at bay. Finally backing him into a corner she used a windblast spell to force his body backward towards the wall. Seeing that his attack was foiled the Raver decided to flee, levitating Keiichi's body upwards through the roof not caring for the damage its human host suffered in the process. The Raver's vertical ascent towards freedom was short lived, as soon as Keiichi's body cleared the roof he was met by ack ack fire from Banpei's reconfigured weapons and was quickly forced back towards the ground. Once earth bound he tried to run through the gate but at the last second spotted the wards that Urd had set at the entrance. Turning to flee the other direction me ran headlong into Lind's students who had formed ranks in a semicircle blocking his escape. Jumping upwards again he waited until Banpei's weapons had a lock on him then pulled himself down causing Banpei's weapons to lock on the temple gate instead. The Raver's plan worked, the fire from Banpei hit the gate disrupting the wards that Urd had placed to contain him. Once his path to freedom was opened the Raver made good his escape quickly fading from their senses.

"Well that didn't go as planned," came the pained voice of Lind from behind Belldandy as they stood in the courtyard.

"You knew, you knew he was possessed and you let this happen!" Belldandy accused her as she turned and let loose with a blue fireball at the injured Valkyrie. The fireball only made it about halfway when it was intercepted by Urd's counter-blast.

"Take it easy sis," Urd chided her, "She was just trying to do her job. You can't blame her for that."

"You're my sister!" Belldandy screamed at her, throwing a blue fireball her direction, "and you still let her do this to him while I was asleep! You should have protected him!"

Blocking her attack easily, "Now that's more like it," Urd replied, "You know, one of the things I never liked about you two's relationship was the little miss goody two shoes you turned into!"

"Sister or not, what you did was unforgivable!" Belldandy screamed before letting loose another blast.

"Nice shot," Urd mocked, "but you know, the longer we trade blasts the further that Raver is getting away with Keiichi's body in tow."

000

Now Ravers are the natural enemies of both the other realms. Since souls by their very nature want to remain whole, it takes a special kind of horror to cause one to disassociate itself and release its life energy. So, while both heaven and hell compete for souls it is the whole soul over which they fight. Ravers, on the other hand harvest them, spilling their energy to feed their own essence. As a result every victim that falls prey to a Raver is one less soul that can be claimed by either side. Nonetheless, there was a certain comfort to be had in the company of demons when hiding from certain members of the other side. At least they had the good sense to keep their familiars secreted away and besides technically he was still on good terms with the Infernal Realm.

The Raver had done its best to hide its presence in Keiichi's soul from the people around it but it hadn't been able to hide that fact from Keiichi himself. After Keiichi had expelled Coolmint the Raver had fled its dying host to hide in Keiichi's recently vacated soul subsequently preventing him from feeling the overwhelming loss that should have traumatized him. Instead Keiichi, unaware of the Raver's presence, had managed to ask Lind about her tears before being forced into silence.

Not much of a slip to be sure, but a slip nonetheless and the shrewd Valkyrie had picked up on it. That was the reasoning behind Lind keeping Keiichi so close at hand. Coolmint had beaten this Raver twice before and Lind knew that as long as Keiichi felt Lind's angel's wings around him the Raver would be wary of showing itself. So the Raver waited, waiting for the chance that he knew would come. Waiting until the presence of the angel faded or until she was too weak to fight.

Lind had waited too and while she waited she planned as well. Ravers have little concept of teamwork, Lind knew this fact and while something of an outlaw herself, Lind knew that if she played it one on one like she normally would she would be playing to the Raver's strengths and had adjusted her strategy accordingly. Through Urd she executed a plan designed to keep the Raver in check once he had shown his true colors. Urd had instructed Skuld to reprogram Banpei to recognize a flying Keiichi as a potential threat and to force him to the ground if detected. Urd then placed Wards at all the entrances to the grounds to keep the creature contained and had passed Lind's instructions to her students on what to do when the time came. Had the Raver not so quickly determined the nature of the trap then Lind would have been able to seal the creature and garner a prime intelligence asset. Instead the Raver was now in control of the perfect host. With the chains of the mortal curse gone Keiichi could potentially live hundreds of years, a factor that could become very significant in the future.

000

Lately the most effective method the Ravers had discovered for harvesting souls was the so-called suicide bomber. As Lind had pointed out, rational human beings don't just suddenly decide to blow themselves up along with a bunch of strangers. What Lind had failed to realize however, was it wasn't the souls of the victims that were being harvested but rather the soul of the bomber. Like had happened with Tamiya the Raver would take control of the unwilling host hours or days before the event and force the host to watch as they prepared to commit mass murder. Once the internal stress caused by the realization of what it was doing had built to the breaking point then the Raver would consummate the act, destroying the mortal host and causing the soul to shatter. So, instead of the forty virgins the Imam's who served as their permanent hosts kept promising their mindless followers, it was oblivion that awaited the poor unwilling bastards.

It is also a known fact that Ravers can't stand being in the presence of other symbiotic beings, this is especially true when they are in the presence of each other, so until recently coordination of their separate actions was nearly impossible. Not that they hadn't tried several times throughout history, most recently being during World War Two: Hitler (Raver possessed) had made a deal with the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Muhammad Amin al-Husseini, (not Raver possessed but keenly aware of their presence,) to act as his go between for the other Raver's who were to become Hitler's secret Lieutenants in the hidden command structure of his army. This in turn is what drove the Nazi's to engage in such atrocities as they ruthlessly helped the Raver's harvest the souls of the innocent. The problem for Hitler was that this type of third party command structure didn't allow for rapid adjustments in fluid situations. Once his armies committed to a certain course of action they continued like a juggernaut oblivious to the need to change or alter their strategies as the situation warranted. It wasn't until after Al Gore invented the Internet that the Ravers had a way to effectively communicate and coordinate their actions with others of their kind. What the superpowers of the world mistakenly took for simultaneous 'suicide' bombings during the wars in Afghanistan and Iran were in fact practice runs leading towards the day when the Ravers would once again try to unite and make their mark on the world. It was this need to contact the others of its kind that caused the Raver to seek sanctuary at a cyber café, serving only the best in Microsoft products, frequented by demons on the seedier side of town.

As chance would have it Mara, having discovered the wonders of cotton balls when stuffed in her ears, was hoisting a few at that very same club. Spying Keiichi's body as he walked through the door she knew Belldandy couldn't be far behind. Knowing that trouble was in the offing she immediately got up and started to leave before noticing that there was something odd about the way Keiichi carried himself. Reversing her course Mara pulled up a seat next to Keiichi.

"I don't know who you are," Mara began, "but that body you are occupying is the exclusive property of a very powerful, not to mention vindictive, goddess. For your own safety you might want to consider abandoning it and perhaps maybe running for your life."

"If you value this one's life then stay out of my affairs," the Raver spoke through Keiichi's voice.

"I don't give a crap about Keiichi's life!" Mara scoffed, "I just don't want to see the only place in Nekomi where I can get a drink get destroyed in a fight with you and Belldandy over Keiichi. Trust me, that girl has no sense of self-restraint when it comes to him. If she lets loose with her full power there will be a lot of collateral damage and I don't want to be included in it.

"Bah," the Raver spat, "its whores like you that are responsible for the human race being what it is today! If our children hadn't succumbed to your false beauty then Humankind would be at the pinnacle of sentient existence; not you so called gods and demons! If you wish to save this one then summon the Daimakaicho for she is the only one to whom I will speak!"

"Your arrogance is simply stunning," Mara gasped, "you don't summon the Daimakaicho, she summons you!"

Even before she finished speaking Mara felt a chill run up her spine as she realized that Hild had taken notice and was coming to investigate. "Did I hear someone just mention me?" came the sweet sounding voice of Hild's childlike avatar as she appeared to step out of thin air.

"My lady," Mara stammered, "I was just trying to explain to this one the futility of battling Belldandy."

"Don't trouble yourself Mara. There are some in this world who can only learn through doing, this one seems to be one such entity."

"But my lady what about Doublet, or the damage that might happen to your club?"

"It doesn't matter Mara," Hild answered her, "he represents the lost realm. Doublet doesn't apply in this case. As for the club, Disco is so passé. I was thinking of remodeling it anyway. This way I can get the insurance company to pick up part of the tab. Besides it might be an interesting learning experience for the youth who patronize this place to see the leadership qualities of a first class demon as she deals with a rampaging first class goddess."

"What are you getting at!"

"As you very well know, in times of crisis it falls to senior demons such as yourself to take charge and bring order to chaos."

"You're the leader here my lady, not me."

"Who me," Hild said in a small voice, "I'm so young and vulnerable and I just know that my big sister Mara will save me from that awful, awful Goddess."

"Fat chance of that," Mara said, "I'm out of here before she arrives."

"To late," Hild smiled, "she's already here."

"Oh crap! Where is the back door?"

"You can't run," Hild said, "all the doors sealed themselves as soon as they sensed Belldandy's presence."

"What! You mean we're trapped in here!"

"I'm counting on you Mara to show everybody what a true first class demon can do." Hild mocked.

000

Once Belldandy had calmed down the three Norns took to the air looking for any sign of Keiichi. Belldandy didn't expect to find any but she knew she had to run down all the possible avenues of escape. Once she was sure that he was being hidden she started the process of eliminating all the places she knew he was not. Difficult, but not impossible. Finally she isolated the only possible hiding places and began systematically scanning each area. As soon as she tried to scan the area around a particular nightclub the doors, which had been passively blocking her scans, suddenly shielded themselves. This was all the evidence Belldandy needed to tell her where her Keiichi was being hidden. In a flash she headed straight as an arrow towards the establishment her two sisters following close behind, not even bothering to attempt to hide their presence from the club's netherworldly patrons.

Not very many people realize this, but in order to prevent the patrons from panicking in times of emergency the stage show is required to continue playing. This is true even if the roof is afire. Trapped into action Mara decided to use this fact to her advantage. Demons, like goddesses, are very quick with words, being able to recognize a need and then quickly compose a spell is part and parcel of their everyday existence. Mara quickly composed a song of warning hoping to keep the fighting contained to just the two principals and alerted the band to the presence of their distinguished guest. Not wanting to be in the middle of a war zone the band switched into Karaoke mode and began playing the intro. to the song she specified.

Queue Music: Aerosmith, Lord of Your Thighs.

The door to the club exploded outward and Belldandy marched purposely into the room one foot in front of the other like a model on a runway her hair and hips swinging in opposition, an aura of danger emanating from her being. Her destination the table where her possessed Keiichi sat, the Raver inside not believing her brazenness.

Once the door flew off of its hinges Mara, her ears still stuffed with cotton, jumped on stage to begin singing her warning, however, beyond spell casting demons aren't much for creativity so Mara had to wait until the band had played through the opening rifts before she could begin. While she was waiting a young demon, obviously underage, charged straight at Belldandy. Without breaking her stride Belldandy reached out and grabbed his head like a bowling ball and sent an unrestricted repulsive blast into his body causing him to fly all the way to the other side of the room leaving a six inch deep impression of his body in the far wall. The demons friends, obviously slow on the uptake stood up and prepared to challenge Belldandy in mass. Finally it was time for Mara to begin.

"_**I don't think you-know-who come to socialize… She's looking for her man, death in her eyes… She's come to claim what someone took, you only have to take one look… get in her way and you're gonna die…"**_

The mob of demon ruffians, noticing that it was a senior demon telling them to stand down did a quick double take of their friend still imbedded in the far wall and suddenly decided to call it a night and headed towards the shattered front door.

Hild jumped up on the stage at this point and took the microphone from Mara and sang her own impromptu verse.

"_**Ah-ha my lovely god-dess why do you show no fear? Do you hold him that close, is he really that dear?" **_

Belldandy being a goddess was of course just as fast with her verse as Mara and Hild.

"_**I've come to take back what was took, if some fool wants to deny me that then I guess they will not survive."**_

Those few demons still trying to make their exodus joined in the chorus in order to by themselves some more time, totally unaware that the Daimakaicho was cataloging their every cowardly move.

"_**We know you came here to find him… and we really should mind… just take what you came for… and leave the rest alive." **_

Mara noted that suddenly the technical expertise of the guitar player drastically improved, looking over she was surprised to find Urd had taken the possession of the lead guitarists Demoncaster without so much as missing a stroke and was really getting into the music. The guitar slung low on her waist, her platinum hair swaying in time to the music every bit the professional entertainer. Urd decided to encourage the club's demon patronage hasty exodus so she finished the songs final verse.

"_**You don't wanna be in no war zone… so we'll give you some time to hide… you can be the fool if you want too… that is, if you really want to die!"**_

Realizing he was trapped the Raver forced Keiichi to sit motionless and waited for Belldandy. Grasping his head with both hands in a clear indication that he intended to cause Keiichi to break his own neck.

"One more step and the mortal gets it!" the Raver said using Keiichi's voice.

Although Keiichi couldn't control his actions he still retained the use of his faculties and even though he was only moments from death he couldn't help but notice the similarities between his situation and that infamous scene from Mel Brooks classic movie Blazing Saddles where Cleavon Little was holding a gun to his own head. The humor was lost on the Raver but had a calming effect on its human host and the surrounding atmosphere.

Sensing that the immediate threat to Keiichi had passed, Belldandy stepped to the edge of the table. Trying to reason with it she began, "I don't know why it is you fight, or what it is about us that you feel you must oppose but I'm sure if we can just talk to each other we can find an answer, a way for all of us to coexist."

"Silence, wench!" the Raver roared, "Speak one more word and he dies!" Twisting Keiichi's head cruelly for emphasis.

Hild seeing a possible opening inserted herself into the conversation, "Although it's still early in the negotiations it seems that we have already come to an impasse."

"There is no impasse," the Raver snarled "This club is part of the demon domain and as such is extra territorial which makes it neutral territory. I claim this human as my new host and seek safe passage for the two of us back to my domain."

"Such safe passage comes at my sufferance," Hild answered, "if granted… Belldandy what do you say?"

"I have no qualms with this creature taking his leave of this domain, but the body who now hosts him stays with me!"

"Your kind killed my last host, I will take this one in his place!"

"Your last host died trying to kill the host you now occupy! The responsibility for the loss of your last host lies squarely on your shoulders!"

"There are several who have claim against Keiichi," Hild retorted, "myself included. So I find that I must agree with Belldandy," Hild pronounced, "I will grant you safe passage back to your realm but the body you occupy stays here."

"Very well then," the Raver replied ,a dangerous tone in his voice, "I will leave this body here with you… to bury!" he finished even as Keiichi's hands once again began twisting his neck.

Another advantage that demons and gods have over the rest of us is the ability to hyper-accelerate their thoughts; this has the effect of causing the actions taking place around them to appear to slow down. Hild watched the Norn's in amusement as they tried to stop the Raver from killing Keiichi. Fast as they are they were still well behind the curve with their countermeasures. The Anti spirit bomb that Skuld tossed in order to blow Keiichi's hands away from his head wasn't going to get there fast enough. The full powered depth charge that Urd conjured in order to stun the Raver wasn't coalescing fast enough. From Hild's perspective Keiichi was in effect already dead meat, she was still pondering if she should interfere or not when a Wind Arrow suddenly flashed past her peripheral vision, almost to quickly for her to recognize, piercing the creatures midsection and terminating its loathsome existence. Tracing the arrow's flight backwards she saw Holybell floating above Belldandy still holding her bow, her once bright white wings now turning a dark shade of crimson.

With the Raver purged from his soul Keiichi folded up and collapsed on the floor. Belldandy kneeled down in front of him, wrapping her blood red wings around him for protection.

"You bloodthirsty little bitch!" Hild gasped in astonishment, as she watched the form of the Raver evaporate.

"Sister, what happened to you!" Skuld cried, looking in horror at Belldandy's discolored wings.

"Skuld!" shouted Urd as she hopped off the stage, taking the younger Norn's face in her hands forcing her younger sister to look at her instead. "Don't look at her! Do you understand, do not look upon her now!"

"But why?"

"I'll explain it later. Go get Lind and bring her here! Have her wait at the door when she arrives."

"But Belldandy…"

"You can't help her right now but maybe Lind can."

000

"Mother," Urd began, bowing deeply to the young avatar, "The disgraced Valkyrie Lind requests audience with you."

"Very well," Hild replied regally, "show her to my presence."

"Thank you Mother."

"Lady Hild," Lind began bowing formally, "I'm here to request that you allow me to take custody of the fallen goddess Belldandy and her consort."

"Her consort you can have," Hind replied with distain, "if you can pry her arms from around him, but Belldandy has committed murder in my domain. She must answer for her crime."

"My lady please, I beg you reconsider." Lind asked kneeling, "Time is of the essence. This unfortunate situation has the possibility of becoming volatile. I plead with you in the name of the détente that has been forged between our two realms these last two years let me take them now. You can always seek recompense through diplomatic means."

"Here I stand, with you kneeling in front of me while 20 members of the Host are perched upon my doorstep and you speak to me hypocritically of diplomacy!"

Standing back up Lind look the ruler of the Infernal Realm in the eyes, "Shotgun diplomacy is still diplomacy my lady. My concern in this matter begins and ends with the safety of these two. Towards that end I will do what it takes to secure it."

"Let me think on it, meanwhile Mara, what is your opinion."

"I find I must agree with Lind." Mara said after a little hesitation.

"Explain."

"This whole situation was precipitated by an entity not of either realm, we should not allow the Infernal Realm to be drawn into this matter any deeper than it already is. Aside from some plasterwork neither side has suffer damage of any consequence. We should disentangle ourselves now! We can always pursue diplomatic action later if we wish."

"Very good Mara," Hild smiled with approval. "Lind you will remove these two forthwith and be on your way immediately.

"Thank you, my lady." Lind answered gratefully, bowing deeply.

000

Once they all were gone Hild turned to Mara, "Mara, I have a question for you," Hild said casually.

"Yes, My Lady."

"How did you know about Belldandy?"

"In matters involving Keiichi she is not rational." Mara explained, "That and her burgeoning power level combined with the arrogance of a creature that thinks it can just summon the Daimakaicho at will, what happened next was inescapable."

"I see, very well then Mara."

"Yes my lady?"

"Your status as Favored of the Daimakaicho is restored. You are hereby recalled to the Infernal Realm, You have two days to get your affairs in order, then you are to proceed immediately to the Heavenly Realm where you will assume the post of 'Ambassador at Large'. Your bona fides will be waiting for you at the embassy when you arrive."

"Y, y, yes my Lady," Mara stammered.

"My Lady, if I may ask, how did Belldandy manage that Wind Arrow?"

"Belldandy is fast Mara, but not that fast." Hild answered her, "She had already decided to terminate that evil creature before she ever set foot inside. That's how she was able to kill him so easily and why her wings turned crimson afterwards."

"You're telling me that…"

"That's right Mara, you just saw Belldandy commit cold-blooded murder!"


	16. Chapter 16

Ah! Does Size Really Matter? ch.16

The Victor is not always the stronger and the race need not always be won by the swiftest. Right and wrong are for the most part arbitrary concepts anyway. However, there seems to be a certain correlation between a society's embracing of certain concepts and how strong they tend to become. Freedom, love, honesty, self-reliance, teamwork, the belief in a higher power, respect for oneself and others all seem to foster strong robust societies. Whereas society's that deal in oppression, hate, corruption, entitlements, selfishness, atheism and contempt all tend to implode under their own weight given enough time. So, if you subscribe to the concept of Right makes Might then the former can be considered 'Right' and the latter would be 'Wrong'. Of course, the strength a particular society gains from its adherence to certain ideals is worthless if, when push comes to shove, you don't use it!

An immutable law of the universe, coexistence is not possible without compromise, when one party refuses to get along with the other then capitulation or confrontation are the only choices that remain for the other side. (Regardless of whom is the weaker or the stronger.) In effect war becomes the only answer. In the politically correct world of the 21st century the stronger societies of Humans had forgotten that concept and their people were suffering accordingly. As far as the AMO was concerned the mortals could suffer for their stupidity. Had it not been for the Raver attack against his own blood he would never have allowed Heaven to intercede. However, as things now stood it would seem that the very blood he endeavored to save was about to become Heavens first casualty.

000

"What do you mean she's fallen!" Skuld screamed at Urd.

"Exactly what I said," Urd replied calmly, "She's fallen and is barred from returning to Heaven until she has atoned for her sin."

"But that thing was fixing to kill Keiichi. What was she supposed to do, just stand there!"

"You're right Belldandy did have to do something, but what she did wasn't the right thing."

"It's just not fair! That thing… that thing tried to kill and enslave everybody on this island and Belldandy went and saved all of them and this is her reward!"

"Careful Skuld, you're crossing into a dangerous area here."

"I don't care!"

"Well you should care!" Urd shouted, "I already have one fallen sister on my hands, I don't need another!"

Skuld was taken aback by the virulence of Urd's outburst, realizing that she had just crossed some invisible line that the adult world seems fraught with she apologized. "I'm sorry Urd, I really am, but I just don't understand."

"That's all right dear," Urd said softly, "sometimes I don't understand it myself, but you see when we goddesses do something it isn't about reward it's about service. When you do a deed or grant a wish it must be because that it was the right thing to do. If you go around granting wishes expecting to be rewarded then the expectation of a reward starts to color your thinking. Pretty soon the wish starts to become more about you and less about the client."

"Is that what happened to Belldandy?"

"I don't know. I don't think so. That would be too easy a trap for her to sidestep. I think whatever it was that tripped her up was pretty subtle. That gives me a glimmer of hope. Maybe whatever her atonement is it won't be that severe." Urd lied, for she already knew the wrong Belldandy had committed. But how do you explain to your youngest sister that the Belldandy she so loved and adored was a murderer, seven times over!

"Skuld?"

"Yes, Urd?"

"Can I ask you to go into Belldandy's room and take over watching Keiichi? She must be starting to get tired by now. She is really going to need her rest in order to face the new day. I would do it myself but I need to talk to Lind and besides, I don't know how he might react to this." She said extending her black wing.

"Favorably, I suspect." Skuld smirked.

"Will you do that for me then?"

"I guess so, after all it is the right thing to do."

"You're learning." Urd smiled.

She had only made it about halfway to the door when Skuld screamed for her sister, "Urd! Come in here quickly.

"What is it?"

"It's Keiichi!" Skuld answered in a panic, "That Raver really tore him up trying to get away! He needs help!"

"Why can't Belldandy help him?"

"She won't say! Hurry Urd this looks bad!"

Entering Belldandy's room Urd instantly understood why Skuld had panicked. Keiichi was lying motionless his pallor deathly pale, his skin was cold and sweaty, his breathing shallow.

"Belldandy what is wrong with you!" Urd asked her sister, "Can't you see he is injured!"

"It's all right Urd," Belldandy answered in a faraway voice, "Everything will be all right in a moment."

Passing her hands over him as she scanned his body Urd couldn't help but flinch at what she discovered, "You stupid bitch!" she screamed at her sister in disbelief, "He is bleeding internally! If we don't do something he is going to die!"

"Yes I know. It will all be over in a few moments and I will die with him. Don't you see it Urd?" Belldandy pleaded, "Its better this way. This has always been our fate. Let us go please."

"Skuld," Urd said sadly, "Your sister has just gone off the deep end. Keep her out of my way while I try to save Keiichi."

"Urd?" Skuld asked her, not understanding what she had just heard, "Why is Belldandy doing this? Why did she save him only to let him die now?"

"Their souls are intertwined, if the Raver had succeeded Keiichi's soul would have shattered and released Belldandy from her vow. In her demented way Belldandy thinks that if Keiichi and her die together with their souls still intertwined then maybe they can try again in the next life."

As Skuld had pointed out the day before, Urd was just as good at healing magic as Belldandy. But it bears repeating that healing magic is more than just obscure incantations. There is an empathic link that must be established between the healer and the patient and this link causes the healer to feel the pain of the patient past and present! Urd would much rather have used her alchemy than to expose herself to this kind of pain. Were it not for the urgency of the situation she would have just whipped up some healing magic in a potion and poured it down his throat. Exacerbating the situation was the fact that the pummeling Keiichi had taken at Lind's hands the previous evening was still fresh in his memory. Urd knew that she was going to be forced to suffer that memory as well and her tolerance for some of the disgraced Valkyrie's actions was starting to wear thin.

"Oh hell no," Urd told Belldandy as she mentally prepared herself, "you are not leaving me here to face Ragnarok alone. The two of you are staying here with me!"

"Please don't Urd," Belldandy begged, "if he lives then he will be forced to bear witness to my shame!"

"And he will forgive you for it!" Urd told her sharply.

"You're right, he will and he will carry the shame of a fallen goddess around his neck like an albatross for the rest of his days."

000

It was a close call but Urd had once again helped to avert disaster, draining most of her power in the process. Now one advantage Urd has over her half sister is that if necessary she could do an emergency recharge with sake. So instead of crashing out and sleeping for several hours like Belldandy would have done, Urd needed only to tie one on to get her mojo back. Retrieving the bottle of Kame no O sake that Mara had given her she consumed the entire contents with gusto, explaining her inebriated state when she confronted Lind a few moments later.

"You have got about 3 seconds to convince me why I shouldn't erase your existence!" Urd slurred as she challenged the Valkyrie."

Unfurling her new wings Lind turned and faced the drunken Norn, "They are beautiful aren't they?" She said pointing to her wings, "So big and strong and the color! Have you ever seen a prettier shade of silver and white? Keiichi did this for me you know, he knew he was helping to bring them together." tears were running down her face, "He helped to heal my soul. But I couldn't be happy with just that! No, I had to be so arrogant as to try to catch one alive! To use the one person responsible for granting me the greatest gift ever as bait. So to answer your question Urd, no, I can't think of one reason why you should stay your hand."

"Lind, you need to get it together," Urd said, "it is no fun kicking the shit out of somebody if they don't resist."

"I'm sorry but right now I just don't have any fight left in me," Lind sobbed.

"Well that sucks," Urd sighed as she assumed the lotus position next to Lind, "so are you at least working on a plan to fix this?"

"The key to saving Belldandy is Keiichi," Lind answered, "that hasn't changed."

"Yes, but Keiichi is comatose and now Belldandy has become suicidal. So how do we over come that?"

"Keiichi's problem is that he no longer has a familiar. We fix that and he should be up and around good as new."

"Well besides yourself, do you know of anyone else with an angel to spare?"

"Not that I'm aware of, I wasn't thinking along those lines anyway."

"Okay, I'm drunk but not that drunk, there is no way you can be thinking what I think you're thinking!"

"If you mean, was I thinking that it was time that Keiichi were to receive his own angel's egg? Then you were right!"

"What!" Urd exclaimed. "You can't just pick an egg at random and give it to him. You have to bring him before the tree and let the tree decide what is best, if it even finds him worthy!"

"I assume you have a point?"

"Angel's eggs only grow in heaven and Keiichi being a mortal is barred from entering, at least while he is still alive. So how are you going to get him in front of that tree? Not to mention even if we could get him past the gate, we would still have to get him past all the security surrounding the rookery."

"Well," Lind began pursing her lips, "I was thinking of storming the gates of Heaven with Keiichi in tow, fighting our way to the tree, procuring an egg and then if necessary fighting our way back out."

"The fact that you were able to say all that with a straight face is very impressive."

"That's because I'm serious!"

"Been tried, can't be done."

"You mean it can't be done without help from the inside." Lind finished as she looked at Urd with a conspiratorial smile.

"Oh hell, I just drank a whole bottle of the finest rice wine available and you're going to deny me the pleasure of the hangover I was so looking forward to, aren't you?"

000

Ever since the Goddesses had healed his injured arm Tamiya had been slipping in and out of consciousness as his body tried to purge all the alien magic power that coursed through it. Peorth having gone back to heaven and the Norns having to chase after Keiichi the big man had missed his feeding time and his empty stomach had roused him to wakefulness. After hearing all that he had heard though his appetite had disappeared completely.

"Excuse me Miss Belldandy but I'm come'n in." Tamiya said as he slid the door aside without waiting for an answer.

Inside the room knelt Skuld in the far corner keeping a wary eye on Belldandy as she cradled Keiichi's head in her lap. As he entered Belldandy turned her head towards him and just stared at him blankly as she sang softly to herself, stroking Keiichi's forehead as she did so.

Mustering the courage he needed so he could speak from his heart. "Ya know, the walls of dis place are made out'h paper. So I couldn't help overhearin what's been happen'en. You killed dat thing that got inside my head, I knows that cause I felt it when it died. I also knows you, Skuld, Miss Urd, and all dem winged dudes done saved ever body in Japan and I knows you're in'a lot a trouble 'cause of what you did to that Raver thing too.

"I ain't no genius, never said I was, but I have learnt a few things from racing. Sometimes you gets caught in accidents an stuff that ain't your fault. An sometimes you haft to deal with the scars of stuff you had noth'en to do with. Dat Raver thing, it was evil! It made me hurt Miss Peorth, an it tried to hurt Keiichi! "You done did this world a huge favor, if'n you hadn't a killed it it would still be out there crawlin around git'n into other peoples heads an make 'em do all kind'a bad stuff. Now I don't know noth'en 'bout the rules where you comes from but I knows you got noth'en to be ashamed of, noth'en at all! An don't let nobody tell ya different!"

Belldandy hadn't moved the entire time Tamiya was in the room, after waiting for a few minutes to see if he had been able to get through to her Tamiya turned and headed towards the door.

"Well dat's all I wanted to say, anyway."

"Tamiya," Skuld spoke to the back of the lumbering giant, "thank you for saying that. I know it doesn't seem like it but she did hear you and she does appreciate what you just said."

"I ain't said noth'en but the truth, ya know."

"I know."

000

In the temple's courtyard what had to be one of the universe's smallest assault teams was about to launch against one of the universe's most heavily defended realms.

"Why do you do this?" Urd asked the class leader whose name she now knew to be Samson, "You know there will be a price to pay."

"Because, should providence ever decide to grant me with a mate and issue to call my own I would love to regale my children with stories of how I helped the Goddess Belldandy and her sisters save the entire nation of Japan. One of the questions that are sure to come up is going to be: 'Whatever happened to Belldandy?' And when they ask it I'm going to need a better answer than, 'She fell from grace the next day!'"

"I see," said Urd.

"Can you tell me why you do it? I know your father has little tolerance for this sort of thing."

"I can't explain why," Urd replied, "To me, it's just that you don't abandon family no matter what the provocation, you just don't."

"Exactly," Samson agreed, "You don't abandon a fallen comrade, you just…don't."

"Urd," Lind shouted, "You are going to be waist deep in fallen gods and goddesses when this is over. There will be plenty of time for chitchat then! You need to get going."

"On my way now!' she shouted back to Lind.

"Where are you off too?" Samson asked her.

"Secret mission." Urd smiled as she winked back at him.

Going back into the house Urd called to Skuld, "I think Keiichi is getting kind of rank, Skuld do you think you can carry him to the bathroom and help me wash him off?"

"I'll do it." Belldandy answered for her.

"Like hell you will!" Urd snapped at her startled sister, "You almost let him bleed to death, I'm sure as hell not going to let you drown him!"

Belldandy opened her mouth to say something then closed it again, she knew Urd was right and until she rebuilt the trust she had betrayed she was in no position to protest. Reluctantly she let Skuld take Keiichi's limp body from her as she took him into the bathroom. When Skuld arrived with Keiichi's body in tow she was surprised to find that her sister instead of wearing a towel was dressed in her Goddess robes.

"What the…" Skuld began.

"Shush," Urd cautioned her placing her hand over Skuld's mouth, "now listen closely and don't say a word. You know that lake close to the rookery where Belldandy used to go to practice her bag pipes?"

Skuld nodded.

"You are going to transport Keiichi there and pass him off to Lind as soon as she gets there. Any questions?" Urd finished, removing her hand from over the younger Norn's mouth.

"Why me?" Skuld whispered.

"Because your travel medium is water and water is the only medium that mortals are compatible with!"

"But why?"

"To help Belldandy we have to help Keiichi, to do that we have to replace the angel he lost. That means he has to go before the tree and be judged worthy. We let the bureaucrats upstairs find out what we want to do and there will be years of red tape to unravel. Not to mention if my mother finds out she will file so many protests with her embassy that he'll die of old age before they ever get it sorted out."

"Oh, we're going to get in so much trouble!"

000

"All right people," Lind shouted to her class, "The goal is simple, one of our own has fallen and the key to her salvation rests with us and the mortal Keiichi. We will ascend through the gate and directly to the angel rookery. Once we are there we will escort Keiichi to the tree for judgment. If he is not found worthy then the mission is over! Just lay down your arms and surrender. If he is found worthy then that is when things will get interesting. We will have the advantage of surprise going in but by the time we leave the quick reaction force will be deployed and they will be doing their utmost to block our escape. Remember that they are our comrades in arms. You will avoid contact if at all possible! If you must engage use non-lethal hit and run tactics only! If you are surrounded then make as big a nuisance of yourself as possible then surrender! We only need to get Keiichi back to the mortal plain for this mission to be a success. Does everybody understand!"

"Ma'am! Yes ma'am!" came the chorus of replies.

"All right then! First Heavenly infiltration squadron to the ready." Lind commanded, as the sound of mighty angel wings being deployed reverberated around the compound. "Squadron… ascend!"

000

While Lind was giving her final briefing Urd had used her commuter status to ascend to Heaven ahead of Lind to act as her fifth column. Lind's plan had been for Urd to use her status as Yggdrasil operations manager to usurp control of the tower, with any luck she hoped that whoever was in charge would be in such a panic that she would relinquish authority to Urd without any questions. Lacking that, she would just KO the attending supervisor and tower crew and open the gate herself. Waiting until she was sure that Lind's squadron was airborne she strutted on to the operations supervisor control deck doing her best to emanate an air of unconcerned superiority. Noticing that she wasn't being noticed she surveyed the room and was unpleasantly surprised to find Peorth still sitting in the supervisors chair and instead of panicking Ere, Ex and Chrono all had a determined sense of focus as they monitored Lind's encroaching squadron.

Looking up from her position overseeing the operations floor Peorth said, "I figured you two would try something stupid like this."

"She's my sister," Urd sighed, "I have to do something."

"Urd you ignorant slut," Peorth smiled sadly, "I love them too, you know."

"I know," Urd replied, "but by doing things this way I take the heat instead of you." she finished fingering her quick release clasp on her limiter."

"Urd, you are new to the first class gig so I'm not that surprised by your actions, but sometimes I think you forget who your father really is. It's intention, not just actions that will determine his judgment. By my just sitting here doing nothing I ally myself to your cause. The only way for me to avoid his wrath now would be for me to set my personal feelings aside and engage you in unlimited combat."

"Well don't you think we ought to get to it then?"

"Sorry but no," Peorth sighed.

"Why not?"

"To much possibility of the fight dragging out and causing a delay, one that I'm afraid might spell disaster for whatever hair brained scheme Lind as cooked up."

"Peorth!" cried Ex in alarm, "We have an unauthorized access at the angel rookery! The Quick Reaction Force has deployed and is awaiting your orders!"

"Understood," Peorth acknowledged, "designate the unauthorized ascension as a mercy flight under the direction of Commander Lind. Have the Quick Reaction Force secure the area around the lake and await her arrival. Once they join up the QRF commander is to take his orders directly from the flight leader. Inform rookery security that they will be receiving an unscheduled candidate for judgment and that they are to allow him access."

"Yes ma'am." Ex replied.

"Are you sure?" asked Urd.

"You think that maybe if I take it slow enough that Tamiya might be able to except me despite our age difference?"

"Men are pretty liberal when it comes to things like that," Urd replied, "Come to think of it, I've never bothered to ask, how old are you anyway?"

"I'll be hitting the big C next month."

"I see," Urd said dumfounded, "well just between you and me… you might want to keep that nugget just between you and me."

000

Travel through Skuld's water medium is almost exactly like the sensation one gets when they dive into a swimming pool, the only real difference is that when your head breaks the surface of the water for the second time you are in a whole new place. Skuld had waited until the appropriate moment then opened the connection between the temple and the rookery then simply dived through taking Keiichi with her. By the time Belldandy was able to react the passageway had already closed.

000

Angels, like all living things, want to be born. But being parasites they must depend wholly on another living creature for support and, as Lind had once remarked, angels are power hogs. They demand so much power in fact that not all who are born in heaven can ever hope to host one. Keiichi was unique in that he was only the second mortal in history to have even a glimmer of the necessary power needed.

Once the pair was safely on the other side of the gate the angel's still living inside their eggs sensed the presence of his empty soul and began calling out to it, hoping to be the one chosen. The songs they all sang as they tried to find his resonant harmony filled his heart with joy, driving the paralyzing loneliness from it.

Keiichi's eye's fluttered opened and he began surveying the beautiful but totally alien landscape, spying Skuld he asked what seemed to him to be an obvious question, "Where the hell am I?"

To Skuld, who had been born and raised in heaven, Keiichi's question was about the dumbest utterance to have ever escaped his lips. Answering without thinking she replied. "We're in heaven of course!"

Hearing her answer Keiichi felt his knees go out from under him and he fell to the ground in shock. "I'm dead?" he managed to ask.

"If only you were," Skuld replied, "then I wouldn't have needed to sneak you up here."

"I'm not dead?"

"No you're not, but you will be if we are discovered before Lind gets here. So shut up!"

Scouting the area to make sure it was all clear Skuld led Keiichi to a large pine tree with what appeared to be a tree house hidden in its branches.

"A tree house? In heaven?" Keiichi puzzled.

"Belldandy used to come here all the time, I put this here so I could hide and listen to her music. Now you get to hide in there," she said, "I'll try to see what is keeping Lind."

Climbing to the top Keiichi was surprised to discover Urd waiting for him inside the old structure.

"Urd, what are you doing here?" he asked.

"There has been a slight change in plan, instead of sneaking you in through the side door we are going to go through the front."

"Don't you think that maybe you should tell Skuld? She's out there right now looking for Lind."

"I'll get to her in a moment; right now we need to talk."

"About what?"

"We are coming up on the point of no return; before we get there you need to know some things.

"First off you must remember that I am the Goddess of the past, I control it and I can change it if I want too and if you were to ask me now I would be willing to change your past if you so desire."

"Urd, what are you trying to say?"

"Do you remember the first time you met Belldandy?"

"You mean when she stuck her head out of the mirror in my dorm room?"

"That is probably how you remember it, but no I'm referring to the very first time you met, back when you were both eight years old."

"If we did meet way back then I don't remember it."

"Of course you don't, Belldandy was forced to seal away your memories of that moment."

"I see."

"No you don't," Urd sighed, "Belldandy had been under the tutelage of Celestin since she was five years old. One day after enduring three years of his teachings she got fed up and ran away. That's when you met her for the first time. She remained on earth hiding at the temple until you made her make a promise."

"I made her promise?"

"Yes you did, and when you did the contract was recorded in Yggdrasil and Yggdrasil used that information to triangulate her location. That's how father was able to find her and how your name came to be known in heaven. Ever since that time you have been a marked man."

"Marked? By whom?"

"By me Keiichi… by me. You see, childhood should be a happy time, a magic time. One filled with countless happy memories, but Celestin was relentless, as a result Belldandy has scant few happy memories of her time growing up. The memory of her week at the temple is one of them. I wanted to preserve the memory of her happiness; not of you, but in you. To do that I needed to keep the corrupting influences of the mortal world at bay. So I interceded in your life, kept you from finding your high school sweetheart, made sure that you never got an even break and basically kept the happiness that should have been yours for the taking just beyond your reach.

"Like you, I told myself I was doing it for Belldandy, but I was lying to myself. The reason I did it was because I didn't have the strength to suffer watching her cry. I was a coward Keiichi and you were the one who suffered because of it. The path you have walked from then until now was never freely chosen. You were pushed and it was me who did the pushing. But I can put it all back if you want me too, I can give you back the life that I stole from you… all you need do is ask."

"I already had this discussion with Belldandy two years ago, the answer is still no!"

"Belldandy was trying to force a reset to the first nexus. I'm offering you almost your whole life back from eight years old to the present, the ultimate do-over. I'll even let you keep some fragments of your more significant memories to help you avoid making the same mistakes, as an added bonus I'll toss in a couple of Stock Market tips. I can't make you filthy rich or anything like that, but I can make it so that by the time you're twenty you will never have to work again. Just think about it; your whole life to do over and the freedom to follow your dreams is all yours. You just need to ask."

"What about Belldandy, or Skuld, or Peorth, or Lind, or you and the Lord of Terror? What about all the good things that we have done?"

"Relax Keiichi; it is only your life that I'm offering to reset not everyone's. All the good things that we have accomplished through the years won't be undone. Belldandy will remained reconciled with her other self, Lind's soul will stay healed; Skuld's future and mine, all of it will remain as it now is. The only thing that might change is that without you becoming possessed by that Raver, Belldandy won't fall from grace."

"So, if I agree to this then you're saying Belldandy won't die?"

"That's correct."

"And she won't fall from grace?"

"I can't guarantee that, she is rather willful you know, but if she does then it won't be because of you."

"I see, and all the good things we did, they won't be undone?"

"That's right."

"And I get to lead the kind of life that everybody dreams of?"

"The freedom and the means to follow your dreams, yes."

"I… I won't remember her will I?"

"Sorry Keiichi but no. That is the one memory I can't allow you to keep. But Belldandy will remember, as shall all of us whose lives you have touched."

"I think I understand," Keiichi sighed sadly, "Can I listen to their song for just a little longer?"

"Take as much time as you need." Urd finished softly.


	17. Chapter 17

Ah! Does Size Really Matter ch. 18

Author's note: I was very tempted to end this story at that last chapter and let the readers imagination take it from there but I already had too much of the next chapter written to let all that hard work go to waste.

000

Keiichi fell asleep listening to the music and while he slept he dreamed a most wondrous dream. In his dream he dreamed of things that no mortal had ever dreamed of before. He dreamed the dream of creation, he dreamed of a vast host of angels. Their voices somehow no longer muted but joined together instead in harmony of song too beautiful for mortal to comprehend. He knew somehow that the song itself was of the grand cycle of life and death and re-birth and for a brief moment he heard his own voice in that chorus. For that one shining instant he was able to comprehend his place in the vast circle of time and in his dreams he knew he had found his answer.

When he woke again he was surprised to discover that he had been conducted to the base of the tree of judgment. Looking down he could see that he was standing in the middle of a time shift mandala, looking even more closely he could see that he was just one step away from the portal that would take him back into his past. Behind him he could sense the presence of a hand just an inch from his back ready to push him in should he hesitate.

"No," said Keiichi, "No."

"And why not?" came the voice of Urd in his ear.

"Because of all the things to be considered you left out the most important one."

"What was that?"

"Listen," Keiichi said, "Listen to the angels' song. It's the song of life, the song of creation. I didn't realize it until now but that song has been resonating inside my soul ever since Belldandy first came to live with me. I never heard it clearly until I had an angel living in my own soul and I would never have understood its importance had they not been taken from me. You, Belldandy, Peorth, Lind and now me. We are probably about the only people in the entire universe who know this truth. A truth hidden even from your father."

"You still have to convince me that this isn't for the best." Urd emphasized by placing her hand against his back.

"If I go back, if I accept your offer then there will be one less angel's voice to sing that song, one less soul to listen to it, one less person who knows the truth. As I think about it, how I came to this point in my life is of little consequence. What I choose to do now that I'm here, that is the important part. So I'm going to decline your offer. I will face the judgment and if I'm worthy there will be a new angel's voice added to the song. And together we will sing the song of life."

"You already passed the tree's judgment," Urd spoke menacingly. "However, Keiichi, I've already heard you sing and poor Banpei self-destructed as a result. You see," she sighed even as she continued pushing against his back for emphasis, "it's now me you now have to get by and frankly I'm not so sure I should let you pass! So, if you don't want me to shove your ass in anyway, right here and now and for the greater good of the universe you will solemnly vow that you will keep your mouth shut and just listen!" she nudged pushing him closer to the edge.

"Deal?" she threatened.

"You, You've got a deal." Keiichi stammered.

The mandala disappeared in a flash of bright light causing Keiichi to close his eyes tightly. When he was able to open them again he was staring at the most beautiful angel he had ever seen, obviously a warrior she had the physic of a tiger, lean and muscular with heterochromia eyes, the left a blue-green the right a piercing red. Around the tree stood Lind's class in a defensive circle, overhead the Quick Reaction Force was patrolling, alert for any signs of trouble, at the head of the class stood Lind as she smiled proudly at him. In the hand of the mysterious angel was an angel's egg hanging from a chain. Solemnly the angel placed the chain around his neck. All the while those oddly colored eyes were staring deeply into his own almost expectantly as if she was waiting for him to recognize who she was. Finally realizing that she was dealing with an idiot the mysterious angel turned to face him in profile, hiding one wing behind the other. The light of understanding suddenly went on over Keiichi's head.

"Spearmint?" he asked.

Shaking her head no she smiled at him switching sides.

"Coolmint?"

Laughing silently at his confusion she gestured to Lind to explain.

"You are both right and wrong," Lind explained, "Coolmint and Spearmint were two parts of the same whole. This lovely creature is the result of the two made one."

"Damn," Keiichi said admiringly, "She certainly ah, grew didn't she?"

"That's my immortal soul you're drooling over Morisato, so you might want to keep your eyes front and center!" Lind warned him.

"I see, what is her name."

"She hasn't been given her new name yet. Since you are the one who is responsible for making the two whole I thought that it would be best that you should have the honor."

Trying to keep his eyes focused on the angel's, (a difficult task considering the very well developed nature of the creature in front of him.)

"I see, well then it has to be something ending in mint then. How about Peppermint?"

The buxom angel holding her nose in contempt told Keiichi what she thought of that idea.

Keiichi's suggestion of Icemint got a finger down the throat response. Breathmint had her threatening to strangle him. Finally after Keiichi pondered the problem for a moment he had an epiphany.

"Well then since she is essentially two mints made one how about, Doublemint!"

It was at this juncture that the entire squadron, including Urd, decided that Keiichi had de-facto forfeited his life and were about to hold him down so Lind's angel could dispatch him when their attention was drawn to the antics of the beautiful creature as she clapped her hands in joy and frolicked around the tree as she rejoiced in hearing her name for the first time.

"Well you certainly caught a break on that one," Urd said to him under her breath.

"Very well then," said Lind as she resumed her position as MC, "Normally we would conclude the ceremony at this time but this is not the correct time or place. Keiichi, around your neck you wear an angel's egg chosen especially for you by…Doublemint. Keep it close to you at all times and keep it safe. The song of the angel that lives within will keep your soul content until it is time for the two of you to join together. There is still much preparation to do so for now we will quit this place and return to the mortal plane."

A few moments later a soaking wet, fully clothed Keiichi wearing and angel's egg broke the surface of the water in the bath of his borrowed home.

000

Still drying himself off he went to his and Belldandy's shared room to change into some dry clothes. He was about halfway disrobed when he noticed that Belldandy, who had been awaiting his arrival, had turned her back towards him and was silently standing in the corner. While this was odd behavior on her part he didn't think much of it, believing the lovely Norn he had been so intimate with these last few years had suddenly become shy.

It wasn't until he started donning his fresh attire that she broke the silence.

"Please wait," she asked shyly as she turned to face him, her hands undoing the buttons of her blouse.

**Later:**

Belldandy had taken the lead from start to finish and while it had been some of the most intensive sex they had ever shared Belldandy cried the entire time. Even now that it was over, after she had pushed herself to the point of collapse, she still cried on is shoulder as she lay atop him.

"Belldandy…why?" he asked in dismay.

"We will be at the nexus shortly and when we are through it Keiichi, my Keiichi, will be gone and another will be in his place."

"A better one I would hope."

"Yes, most definitely a better Keiichi, with better eyes, eyes not dimmed by mortal limits, eyes that will see me as I truly am. Eyes that whenever they are cast my way will always see my shame. The shame of one whom is fallen."

Taking her face in his hands he held her eyes with his and told her, "Belldandy, you fell from heaven so that I might rise to it. So I will make you this vow: We will fix this! If there is a path we will find it! If there isn't we will make it! No matter what it takes, no matter how long it takes."

"Careful," she laughed through her tears, "you are not like us just yet, so your vow is not binding. But soon words such as those will acquire great power, the power to bind you even against your will."

"I mean it Belldandy." He told her sincerely.

"I know you do, but right now silence is your greatest ally. Speak no more of this for now, if there is a path it will make itself known to us in good time."

Arising suddenly she pulled him to his feet hugging her naked body to his before pushing him away. The expression on her face suddenly changing to one of expectant joy, like a young girl as she unwrapped her presents on Christmas day.

"It is time." she beamed at him.

000

"Please, wear this for me," Belldandy asked, as she handed him a white cotton Mawashi.

"Don't you think this leaves me a little…exposed?"

"Relax," Belldandy told him, sensing his discomfort, "all that training with Lind has hardened your body in places you can't even see. You have nothing to be embarrassed about."

Entering the hallway he noted that Urd and Skuld were standing in the doorways of their respective rooms. Passing by Urd first she stopped him and attached a small vial of potion to the chain around his neck. "For luck," she told him.

Next was Skuld who presented him with her favorite de-bugging hammer. "Bugs are always a problem when it comes to the two of you, just remember to kill everything with more than two legs and you'll be fine."

Walking over to the compound Keiichi was surprised to discover that Lind's entire class had lined up to present him with some gift or talisman that they held dear.

"Keiichi," Lind began solemnly, "the scrolls of heaven stretch back for thousands and thousands of years. Never before has someone such as you attempted something so bold. Those like us cannot help but admire your courage no matter how badly misplaced. Therefore, my class and myself would all like to present you with tokens of our admiration.

First was Lind who presented him with a flail. "This weapon once saved my life," Lind had said. Next was Samson who presented him an amulet with a big chunk missing that once stopped a demon wielding an ax from taking his arm. Another presented him with a leather breastplate that had holes in it from where it had been splattered with a hydra's blood. A torn loincloth, the result of an over eager Hellhound who had clamped his jaws shut an instant too soon. A legging that had blocked the bite of a serpent, sandals that once helped their owner jump a crevice of molten lava, the list went on and on, when they were finally done Keiichi was the most heavily armed and thoroughly protected mortal on the planet.

By the time the presentations were finished darkness had fallen once again and a new mandala was nearing completion. While Belldandy had been keeping Keiichi occupied earlier the two other Norns had been busy laying the corner stones for the modified Ultimate Magic Circle of Warding required to contain the power of the spells needed to unite Keiichi with his new angel.

Watching in awe Lind couldn't help but remark on how quickly and precisely the two accomplished their task. Catching Skuld as she was busy etching the programs into the circle's flow chart Lind remarked, "You seem to be rather…proficient…in what is considered by most to be forbidden magic."

"It takes practice," Skuld shot back at the startled Valkyrie, "but after you've been through it half a dozen times or so you start to pick up the nuances."

000

This particular Ultimate Magic Circle of Warding was really three concentric circles or rings nestled inside each other. Oriented according to the compass the outer ring had twenty smaller circles located equidistant around the circumference. In each of these smaller circles stood either a Guardian or a Valkyrie facing towards the center their wings fully extended the tips of which just barely overlapping those of their neighbor.

The middle ring had been divided into quadrants, the dividing lines of which terminated at the inner circle's radius. Facing due north Keiichi would be staring into the eyes of his beloved when she took her place in the forward quadrant. To his left or west, (Setting Sun) would stand Urd, to his right or east (Rising Sun) Skuld and behind him to the south a special place had been made for Lind. Thus was the delineation for past, present and future.

In the center ring stood Keiichi.

As the time drew closer the egg hanging around his neck started to vibrate as it sensed its coming hatching. It had been the continued presence of the life within the sphere singing to his soul combined with Belldandy's aura that had kept Keiichi's spirit from sliding back down into the abyss of despair. Taking the egg from the chain where Urd's potion still hung he placed it in his mouth.

As Keiichi swallowed the egg the goddesses began to softly sing. A song with no words a pure melody but still an imperfect snippet from the song of creation. A plea from the insignificant creature known as man directed at the heart of the universe… and the universe answered.

It started slowly, a feeling of pins and needles over his entire body. Around the circle a gentle breeze began to blow, like the gentle kiss of fairies on their cheeks as the three Norn's hair began swaying in the air. As the feeling in his body grew stronger so did the wind, becoming stronger in sync to the new life growing in his soul. Soon the wind was a howling tornado whipping the hair of the three Norn's savagely about their faces. From the outer circle the Valkyrie's added their voices to the Norn's as they sought to contain the spell within the circle; soon the baritone voices of the guardians join the chorus. The sensation in Keiichi's body continued to grow becoming a painful burning. The air was charged with electricity caused by the swirling whirlwind. Sparks began to jump between Keiichi and the four goddesses. Lightning began traveling up and down the walls of the vortex striking in the open area between the inner and outer circles. The vortex itself finally reaching up to touch the heavenly gate. As the Lightening struck the mosaic of the heavenly gate above was illuminated coming closer with each blast as the juxtaposition neared.

Without warning a continuous bolt arced from the gate straight to Keiichi's forehead establishing a direct PCM link between him and Yggdrasil. The excess energy poured from his body to spill out on the ground and crawled like a living thing towards Urd. Finally establishing a connection from her through him to Yggdrasil as the heavenly computer sought to find clues to the mystery hidden in the tapestry of their interwoven fates.

In Keiichi's mind with the help of the divine machine he began to comprehend the why of it all. Urd, half demon / half goddess, Norn of the past. Driven by a design greater than her understanding allowed, she who had first dared cross the fates of mortal and god. From her heart had come the beginning actions that had led to this moment.

Next the lightning moved to Lind as she stood behind him. Lind of the One Wing, fiercest warrior in heaven who had found acceptance in Keiichi's eyes and in that acceptance was finally able to find in her own heart acceptance of herself and her own imperfect soul. It was she who had honed his body and spirit to that fitting one of a god.

Moving counterclockwise the lightning traveled over to Skuld. Skuld, Norn of the future, fated to die at a young age, her fate re-written by the upstart mortal who had dared to rush in where even the angels had feared to tread. A thousand-year-old paradigm shattered by an off key song. From her had come the map that he had used to chart his future to this moment.

Finally the lightening moved to Belldandy has she stood in front of him. Belldandy, goddess of the present, a goddess in search of her own salvation. She who fell so another could rise. Belldandy, whom Yggdrasil no longer accepted.

Without warning the lightning bolt suddenly struck Belldandy driving the Norn to her knees. Again and again it struck its fury unrelenting.

"What's happening!" Skuld shouted in alarm as she tried to go to the aid of her sister only to find herself stuck fast.

"I don't know!" Urd shouted back at her over the noise of the howling wind, "It's not supposed to be this way!

"It's Yggdrasil," Lind answered them from behind, "it doesn't want to allow their two fates to remain intertwined!"

"But without Belldandy I would never have got to be here!" Keiichi cried.

In a continuous barrage of bolts the lightning struck mercilessly at Belldandy as it tried to drive her from the inner circle. Keiichi tried to reach for her but like the goddesses he too was stuck fast in the center. Belldandy tried to stand but every time she did so the lightning drove her back to the ground. Giving up she lay prone on the ground even as the lightning continued to punish her.

"Why does it keep attacking her? She's down already!" Keiichi cried.

"Yggdrasil is just a machine Keiichi!" Urd shouted, "It doesn't have any compassion! It doesn't find Belldandy acceptable and will continue to try to drive her from the nexus."

"For how long?"

"It won't stop until she leaves the circle, or she dies!"

"Belldandy." Skuld shouted to her sister, "Try to move away from the center!"

"No!" she shouted, "he is mine! I will not let him go!"

"Belldandy move away from the circle you'll die if you don't." Urd pleaded.

"No!" she screamed, "I will not yield!"

"Keiichi," Lind shouted to his back, "you are the only one who is close enough to help her!"

Nodding his head in understanding Keiichi lay prone on the ground and using Skuld's de-bugging hammer he extended the head until Belldandy was able to grasp hold of it. Pressing the retraction button Keiichi felt the handle of the device ripped from his hand as it telescoped inward.

"Jeez, can't you get anything right!" Lind shouted at him.

"Only a minor setback." he shouted over his shoulder as he reached for Lind's flail. Wrapping the leather thong of the weapon about his wrist and using the missing notch in Samson's amulet as a stay he shouted instructions to Belldandy. "Wrap the chain around the head of Skuld's hammer and hang on to it! I'll pull you into the center with me!" Nodding her head in understanding she did as she was told.

The lightning somehow seemed to read their actions and began striking at the two of them indiscriminately. Keiichi sensing that Belldandy couldn't take much more pulled her into the center then covered her body with his own as he sought to protect her from harm. The lightening, however, was relentless trying to strike at her through him. Looking skyward he could see that the Heavenly Gate was coming closer even as the lightening coming from it struck at the couple trying to drive the two apart. Finally he new he had had enough as he felt his consciousness slipping from him but still he refused to let go of his beloved. The last image he had before the darkness took him was of the sky and the ground seeming to reach towards the other.

000

When he was able to open his eyes again Keiichi discovered that once again he was standing in a nexus but this time it had the form and the substance of a Mediterranean Island. Looking around he could see that he was lying on a large beach towel next to Belldandy in her bathing suit, as she appeared to sun herself. In the distance he could see several angels out over the water diving in and out of the ocean as they frolicked about.

Looking towards Belldandy he tried to rouse her but she remained fast asleep.

"She's down for the count Morisato." He heard the familiar voice of Tamiya rumble, "Miss Urd had'ta put her under so's she won't wake up while she's here."

"What for?"

"Some thin about it be'n against da rules for her to be here in her condition. I'm guess'n that means you is gonna be a father soon but I ain't so sure."

"I'm afraid it's not that simple." Keiichi smiled at him, "So, what are you doing here and now that I think about it where the hell are we?"

"Sirenum scopuli," he heard Tamiya answer.

"Where?"

"Sirenum scopuli," Tamiya repeated, "According to dis pamphlet Miss Urd gave me here Sirenum scopuli used to be on earth somewhere 'round Crete but her fodder had'a move it here 'cause it kept disrupt'n the ship'n traffic. Dats when da whole place got renovated and turned into some kind'a resort.

"I see, I think," Keiichi said, "but why are you here?

"Dat little initiation ceremony of yours done blowed down the whole temple. Miss Urd said it would be alright if I came along till's it gets fixed again."

"Speaking of that, do you know where Urd and everybody else went?"

"She said they was all going to the circus."

"Circus?"

"Yea, somethin about everone need'n some carnival recreation. Miss Urd said I couldn't come on account it was a couples only event."

"Can I take a look at that flyer?" Keiichi asked noticing that Tamiya was holding the paper with a mechanical attachment on his left arm.

"Sure thing." Tamiya said handing him the pamphlet written in Latin.

"And since when do you speak Latin?" Keiichi asked in surprise.

"I started taking it for my second language credit right's after you showed up with Belldandy on your arm da first time. I don'ts speaks it none too well, but I can reads it okay."

"Can I ask where you got the metal hand?"

"Likes it," he asked pointing to the mechanical hand, "Miss Peorth asked Skuld to build it for me, she calls it the Touchy Feelly MK1."

"I see, don't forget to give it back to her before we leave."

"I ain't no moron Morisato, dis is just da prototype, da production version is gonna have attachments for all my tools and stuff." Tamiya smiled proudly, "Thinks about that for a second, if you's breaks down out in da middle a nowhere all's I gotta do is go to where's you are at and I can fix ya up and gets you on your way pronto. No more have'n to get towed in and waiting for a spot in the garage to open up. An if I ever get a spot in da big one, move over Magic Hands! In da pits da new legend is gonna be Metal Hand Toraichi!"

"I hope it all works out for you." Keiichi said, remembering that it was him who had cut off his friend's hand to start with.

"Maybe it will, and maybe it wont's. All I knows for certain is I gots my hope's back," he said pointing to his heart with a metal thumb, "Tomorrow don't looks all that black no more. For dat alone I'm grateful and I really wish dem two were here right now so's I can thank em."

It was the double whoosh of two bodies materializing on the beach behind them informing the pair Tamiya's wish had been granted.

"Okay," came the shrill voice of Skuld, "which one of you two morons used the word 'Wish' in a complete sentence?"

000

"Let me guess," Keiichi said, "this being heaven whenever you make a wish it gets granted, right?"

"It's more like a four letter word that you should avoid using at all times." Peorth answered him, "But yes when a mortal makes a wish in heaven it is automatically granted."

"I'm sorry, Miss Peorth." Tamiya answered, "I didn't mean to intrude none, I just wanted to say thank you to the both of you for fix'in my hand. Just tell me what I need to say an I'll send ya'all back. I'm sorry."

"I don't know," Peorth said a mischievous glint in her eye, "You have know idea how disrupting it can be on day to day operations to just get pulled off the job like you did to me. I don't think a mere counter wish is going to suffice."

"Yeah," Skuld jumped in, "I was just about to sit down to a well deserved bucket of Rocky Road when you dragged me here. Now I bet its all melted, so how about wishing for me a five gallon bucket of ice cream and then you can wish to send me back."

"Don't push it!" Peorth warned Skuld, "Unbalanced wishes can have severe repercussions."

"Awe, it's just some extra ice cream." Skuld pouted. "Besides you were going to…"

"Send you back to where you belong." Peorth finished for her before touching her thumb to Skuld's forehead causing her to disappear.

Pointing to the sleeping Belldandy, Keiichi asked Peorth, "Does that mean all I have to do is wish for Belldandy to…"

"Don't finish that sentence Keiichi!" Peorth shouted in alarm, "there are limits on what the system is capable of!"

"It figures," Keiichi said disappointedly.

"I'm sorry Keiichi," Peorth said softly, "but a wish like that would overload Yggdrasil in a heartbeat!"

Looking at Tamiya, "How about you waiting on that counter wish for just a second," Peorth asked as she retrieved her cell phone.

Flipping it open without dialing she spoke into the handset, "Ere you'll never guess where I'm at… Sirenum scopuli… That's right, Sirenum scopuli! And I was requested too! Oh, he's very nice… and he is very handsome… Anyway would you be a dear and watch the floor for the rest of the shift for me please? Thank you."

Smiling up at Peorth, Keiichi asked Tamiya, "What did Urd tell you again?"

"I didn't quite's understands it but Miss Urd told me to reminds you dat the song of creation can be heard in all things. But on dis here little piece o rock it can be heard da most clearly and dats why they had'a go to dat couples only thing for a little while."

"I see," Keiichi remarked, "Well since I have to stay here with Belldandy why don't you escort Peorth over to that circus you were talking about. See if she might be interested in some of that carnival recreation."

"What are you two talking about?" Peorth asked confusedly.

"Just roll with it." Keiichi told her with a wink.


	18. Chapter 18

Ah! Does Size Really Matter? ch 18.

Alone at last Keiichi looked over at the sleeping Belldandy. While the song of the sirens was having the same effect on him as it had on everyone else Belldandy had already made sure that he would remain… unresponsive. So, he just sat and enjoyed the sunlight and the antics of the angels as they played in the water.

As he was enjoying the warmth of the sun on his back he suddenly became very chilled as he felt the shadow of the ruler of the Universe cross that of his own.

"Oh, what is it now?" came the peeved voice of the Almighty One as he appeared out of nowhere wearing a Muscle Beach tee shirt and bathing suit while carrying a beach umbrella and two lounge chairs. Sticking the umbrella in the ground over his daughter he unfolded the chairs and lifting up the unconscious Belldandy he placed her face down in one of them and motioned for Keiichi to do the same in the other.

"Why is it that Urd's mother always makes such a big deal about her comings and goings and you just pop in and out without so much as a whisper?" Keiichi asked him out of curiosity.

"Hild makes all that unnecessary noise so people will leave her alone, I like to stay quiet for the same reason."

Passing his hands over his daughter he called forth the still sleeping Holy Bell, taking a quick look at her scarlet wings he sighed before allowing the fallen angel to resume her place. Then he turned his back abruptly as if he could no longer stand to gaze upon her.

"She is much like her mother you know," he spoke with a heavy sadness.

"Beautiful and kind?" Keiichi offered.

"Stubborn and vindictive." The Almighty One smiled to him.

"You're joking I hope."

"Son, the fact that I would much rather shag the ruler of Hell than sleep with her mother ought to be telling you something!"

"I see your point I guess, but now that you mention it I don't recall a single time that Belldandy ever mentioned her mother. If you don't mind my asking who was she? What was she like?"

"Belldandy's mother was an ice princess named Frigga, which I'm sure I should have realized, was short for Frigidaire."

"Cold fish?"

"Enough to make Hokkaido seem balmy in the winter time," the Almighty One said. "Of course hindsight being 20/20, if her mother hadn't behaved the way she did this nexus might have formed around someplace less hospitable."

"I'm not following you here."

"Well, despite the propaganda in the flyer the real reason that I pulled this island from next to Crete and placed it here was so I could get some action! Belldandy and Skuld were conceived here. So, in a sense this is where the journey of their lives began. In that same sense this is where the path to your new life begins as well."

"Let me get this straight," Keiichi said as he tried to digest what he had just heard, "You mean to say you re-arranged the geography of two worlds just so you could get laid?"

"That's about the size of it." the Almighty One acknowledged with a big grin.

"Sounds reasonable to me." Keiichi said as he remembered the frustration he experienced the first three years of his and Belldandy's relationship. "So why isn't Belldandy more like her mother then? Why did she change?"

"Believe it or not, to be worthy of you."

"But who am I, even with all the wondrous stuff I've got to be a part of since she came to live with me, even with this new angel inside me, I'm still really nothing."

"There you are wrong," the Almighty One said, "Your soul has the rare ability to see the beauty in truth, no matter how ugly the truth itself might be. That is why my daughter loves you so," he sighed.

Standing up the Almighty One passed his hands over Keiichi's back and Keiichi felt the Almighty One's presence in his soul as he studied Heaven's newest addition. "Such a little thing isn't it," the Almighty One said to himself, "Humbling in its own way isn't it? To know that the fate of the entire universe will someday rest on such small shoulders. You need to take good care of him Keiichi. Right now is a very delicate time for the both of you. This little fellow," the Almighty One said while showing Keiichi his angel, barely larger than the hand that held him, "This little fellow is busy right now re-writing your DNA. When that is done you will finally be like us and that will be very important, for you will need every advantage possible in order to survive the trials that Belldandy and you have ahead."

000

It was the subtle whoosh of air and the faint smell of brimstone that announced the arrival of the leader of the Infernal Realm as she came crashing into their party.

"Oh give me a break!" came the disgusted voice of Hild from behind the trio. "You make it sound like they might have a chance." Turning to face the voice Keiichi saw Hild wearing a very risqué bathing suit staring at him with disdain. "You just had to drag that ball and chain up here with you too, didn't you?" she finished motioning to Belldandy.

"Aren't you in the wrong Realm?" Keiichi asked.

"I'm currently in her father's good graces so I get a pass," Hild answered nodding to the Almighty One, "as long as I tell the authorities here where I'm going I can come and go as I please."

"And the reason you are here is?" the Almighty One asked amused.

"I just heard my name mentioned and in a favorable fashion no less," Hild said as she tickled the Almighty One under his beard, "so you know I just had to come and investigate.

"You know there was a time when I had hoped that once Keiichi was free of Belldandy's influence that I could seduce him into coming over to my side." Hild smiled at him unashamed.

"I don't think my ability to, 'See the beauty in truth,' is going to get me all that many job offers in hell." Keiichi answered her.

"Of course it won't you idiot! It was Belldandy I was after, not you!"

"Was?" Keiichi asked.

"So why aren't you now?" the Almighty One asked already knowing the answer but wanting to see how Keiichi would respond.

"Because I didn't take in to account just how stubborn Belldandy can be when it comes to him. It shouldn't have been possible for her to even come up here but there she lies."

"So what changed?" Keiichi asked.

"I'm sure by now you've noticed that all it takes is meanness and not genius to be a demon. Were she to come over to my side then doublet wouldn't bind her anymore, and I doubt that my people are smart enough to stay out of that blood thirsty bitch's cross hairs."

"Aren't you being a little harsh on her?" Keiichi challenged rising to Belldandy's defense.

"Look Keiichi, I've seen that dam goddess do things that shouldn't even be possible. But until the other day I have never, never seen anybody outdraw a Raver. She is dangerous and probably unstable, for your own sake you had better pray that you never ever piss her off!"

"Why is everybody so down on her all of a sudden! I was there too you know! If she hadn't killed that thing inside me then I would be dead now!"

"You say that as if it were a bad thing." Hild mocked.

"From my point of view that would be the worst thing possible to have happen!"

"Oh, the arrogance of it all!" Hild shouted in frustration, "You mortals go through your life decrying at the waste of it, all the while ignoring the fact that life itself isn't possible without death to sustain it. The meat in your sukiyaki, the flowers in the vase on the table, the wood in your fire place, the gasoline in your motorcycle all were once living things that died in order to sustain your life. You have no idea how many living things have to die just so you can survive one more day! The carnage your mere existence perpetuates on the rest of the world would make you sick if you only knew! The only reason that I can see that you mortals don't up and commit mass suicide is that you have come to grips with this paradox by assigning some arbitrary lesser value to the life you must destroy in order to maintain your own!"

"Are you so different!" Keiichi snapped, "I've seen you go to town with that prime cut of meat that Urd prepares specially for you whenever we have a picnic or barbecue."

"You're right," the Almighty One acknowledged, "So it is in the other realms as well. But we use a more enlighten grading system. It is the soul, not the host body that ranks highest in overall value. It's that artificially inflated value we place on our higher self that allows us the convenient deception of believing that that form of life is most supreme. What Belldandy did was to murder a soul to save a host! From The Lady Hild's perspective, as well as mine, what she did was no different than if she had killed a butcher in order to save a cow! That is why Belldandy's wings are scarlet, to warn others that she is dangerous, that she has destroyed another soul. Where it possible her soul would be forfeit as well but were we to sanction her thus then we would be no better than her!"

"Did I just hear you right," Keiichi growled at the two of them, "that the life of a human being is the same as that of a cow!"

"That's right Keiichi," Hild sneered as she answered for the two of them, "as far as we in the other realms are concerned you are nothing more than a pet. A dog that thinks he's human because his masters save him a place at the table!"

000

Urd, much like her mother it would seem takes notice every time her name is spoken. When Keiichi had mentioned the little matter of Hild and the picnics her ears had perked up and she had come to investigate. Remaining concealed, (From Keiichi at least, the two rulers of the higher realms being aware of her presence from the outset.), she had used her abilities as the goddess of the past to re-live the conversations as if she had been listening silently all along. Now she felt compelled to speak.

"Stop it the both of you!" Urd interrupted, "You two stand here and preach The Truth to him as if it were something self evident! How many centuries did it take for you and Father to come to grips with The Truth? How many souls did the two of you send to the slaughter before the Doublet! Oh, and let's not forget that it wasn't until recently that the two of you finally admitted to the possibility of the existence of a power even greater than your own! That it was heresy to even speak such a thing until just before I was born!"

The quick glance the two rulers gave each other was more revealing than they could have known.

"What!" Urd said catching their gaze. "Did you think I can't do simple math. That I didn't know that the Noble Mistake, my conception, was the result of the two of you trying to get ahead of the 1st revelation! God knows I love the two of you, ignorant little puppy dog me, but for Christ's sake how fucking stupid do you think I am!"

Ignoring his eldest daughter's outburst the Almighty One looked towards the sun and froze its movement in the sky. All around him Keiichi could see that everything had stopped moving with the exception of himself and the Almighty One. Even Hild appeared to be trapped by the spell though she did retain enough movement to mouth the words, "You sneaky bastard," to the Almighty One.

"Walk with me," the Almighty One told Keiichi as he started down the beach with Keiichi running to catch up.

"What was that?" Keiichi asked looking about the motionless landscape.

"Don't worry," the Almighty One remarked sensing his concern, "all I've done is accelerate time for the both of us so we can have our little talk in private."

"What is it we need to discuss? What can an ignorant mortal like me have to offer the likes of you!"

"The Almighty," the Almighty One started to say before clearing his throat and starting over, "The other Almighty," he began again pointing to the sky, "is rumored to have put the dog down on earth to serve as a reflection of his love and devotion for mankind. It's also said that the reason he gave cats such sharp claws is so they can prick mans ego from time to time to keep him from becoming too full of himself. The 1st revelation my daughter speaks of is the outcome of one such mauling, but that is a story for another time. The reason I mentioned it at all is because that dogs, unlike cats, can also be trained to perform certain tasks. Listen to me very carefully while I explain what yours is…Rover."

"I'm listening." Keiichi answered him grudgingly.

"Let us start off with a hypothetical situation. Suppose for a moment that you were wandering in the dark, lost in the wilderness, no sign of light no sound. Just you trapped alone in the darkness. Suddenly you hear the sound of a train whistle. Turning you can see coming straight for you the lights of an oncoming train, then all of a sudden from behind you hear another whistle and turning around you see another train heading straight for you from the other direction. Being possessed of a reasonable level of intellect you quickly realize that you are about to be witness to a train wreck and there is nothing you can do to stop it. What is the first thing you do?"

"In order for me to be seeing things in the way you describe I would have to be standing in the path of two oncoming trains. So, the first thing I would do is get off the tracks." Keiichi answered him.

"You would be surprised at the number of politicians who get that answer wrong," the Almighty One remarked under his breath.

"So, what if it were Belldandy and not you? What would she do in your place?"

It took Keiichi a few moments of pondering before he understood what the Almighty One was getting at.

"She would try to stop the trains from crashing." Keiichi answered.

"I thought I said the crash was inevitable." The Almighty One reminded him.

"It wouldn't matter to her," Keiichi replied, "She would stand her ground until she either stopped them or the trains killed her."

"And if you were with her what would you do? Would you still take the coward's way out? Would you just run away and leave her there to die?"

"Of course not!" Keiichi snarled, "I would drag her to safety, kicking and screaming if necessary!"

"Now tell me, which is the better choice? You playing the coward or Belldandy's noble sacrifice."

Keiichi stared at his feet for a few moments as he walked along before finding his answer, "In all honesty, mine is." He finally said.

"Explain to me why that is?"

"The way you have set things up the crash was inevitable; there was no way to prevent it. But by my taking the coward's way out we are now in a position to render aid to the survivors. We couldn't have stopped the crash but we can at least lessen the aftermath."

"And that is why we are having this conversation," the Almighty One said, "You see Keiichi, one of the cornerstones of Heaven is freedom of choice, as the ruler of Heaven I am the most tightly bound by its laws and I cannot interfere with another's free will decision. Were it me instead of you standing beside Belldandy as that train rushed down the tracks I would have had no choice but to let her die! You on the other hand are a mortal possessed of free will and a master of it. While Belldandy enjoys just as much freedom of choice as the rest of us it is a skill she has not yet mastered. To make life even more difficult for her Belldandy is the goddess of the present and her mind is forever stuck there. So you see, what was the obvious answer to you would not have been so apparent to her. Urd calls it 'Her missing compass.' Now, because of her red wing status I will be forced to put her in harms way in order to accomplish certain onerous tasks. Take the fact that she tends to be stubborn and vindictive at the wrong time and combine it with the fact that she might not know which way to jump and you see that what I have here is a recipe for disaster! Now that you are a member of heaven your job Keiichi, your sole responsibility to me is to keep her away from the harm that I am putting her in the way of!"

"Let me get this straight," Keiichi replied in amazement, "you, the most powerful being in Heaven, are going to depend on me, the lowest, to derail your intentions."

"There are intentions within intentions Keiichi," the Almighty One looked at him darkly, "I can't do what I must do and keep her safe any longer. You have risen to this high place on the back of my daughter's sacrifice and I will not suffer the loss of one such as her in trade for you! To put it to you bluntly," he punctuated with a lightning blast, "**Fuck this up and death itself will not hide you from my wrath!"**

Pausing to find the correct words Keiichi replied formally as he looked him straight in the eyes, "I'll do this thing you ask, but you need to understand that I do it not to avoid your vengeance and not because of any misplaced sense of guilt or honor I might have. I do it because she is Belldandy and I love her."

"Do it for whatever reason you like," the Almighty One replied, "just keep her safe and I promise you will have my…gratitude."

"What would you have done if Belldandy hadn't fallen?" Keiichi challenged him, "Who else would you have sent to accomplish these 'Onerous Tasks?'"

"I would have had to send another, someone…less qualified. Somebody less likely to come back alive. Somebody without somebody like you to watch their back."

"May I ask is there anything that can be done? Is there a way to restore her wings to their former glory?"

"As long as she remains alive then the answer is yes. Atonement is possible, but that is not the path that you should concern yourself with for the moment."

"Why not?" Keiichi asked.

"Pure white wings are beautiful to behold that's true. But they are also a heavy burden. Very few goddesses and even fewer gods are able to retain their purity past a certain point. Over time they wind up ashamed to show their angels letting them out less and less often until eventually the host stops allowing them out at all, preferring to keep them bottled up inside."

"Yours are plenty white I've noticed." Keiichi remarked.

"That wasn't always so, as I said before, as long as there is life then atonement is possible. But, it is also… unpleasant. Although it pains me to look upon her as she is now, I would much rather have a live daughter with red wings than a dead one with white."

"You knew this was going to happen didn't you? You knew that she was going to fall!"

"Omniscience isn't all it's cracked up to be," The Almighty One sighed. "I knew one of Heaven's own was due to fall but I didn't know it was going to be her. Even if I did I would have been unable to stop it from happening. But now that she has I must either cast her out or find a way to justify her continuance."

"Continuance?"

"While her soul isn't yet forfeit her physical body most certainly is. I can and most probably should freeze her ability to manifest her corporeal form and place her soul in a level 17-non life form. Same as what happened with Celestin."

"I don't envy you your job." Keiichi said sadly.

"It has its perks."

"Such as?"

"Well, being able to nail Urd's mother whenever I like is a pretty good one don't you think?"

"That was a mental image I could have lived without." Keiichi answered as he suddenly got queasy.

"Ah, it looks as though we're back." The Almighty One indicated as he pointed to the group of people that they had been part of still frozen in place.

Looking back the way he had came Keiichi was surprised to see that they had walked all the way around the island. Looking back at the Almighty One curiously he answered Keiichi's unspoken question, "The term Seven League Boots is just a metaphor, the range setting is really adjustable," the Almighty One smiled.

"One last thing Keiichi, this entire conversation falls under the heading of Topics of Special Significance and you are forbidden to discuss what was said with anyone whatsoever. Especially that last part."

"I understand," Keiichi answered him still struggling with his growing nausea.

"Good, now get back in your place." The Almighty One instructed as he pointed to the empty lounge chair.

Looking back towards the sun the Almighty One snapped his fingers and once again it began to move slowly in the sky as time was restored to its proper flow.

"I think that this Nexus has now passed." The Almighty One pronounced, "All concerned have now freely chosen a path and it is time for you to begin your journeys, for all your sakes I hope you have chosen wisely."

"Wait a minute," Urd called out to him, "what about Belldandy!"

"Remove her from my sight," her father instructed, as if the conversation he had just had with Keiichi never happened, "Normally I would do to her what I have already done with you and have her cast out, but were I to do that then she would just become somebody else's problem. So, for now she will remain under the governance of heaven until I pass judgment!"

With a wave of his hand the island of Sirenum scopuli suddenly vanished and Keiichi was once again lying atop Belldandy in the center of the circle as he tried to protect her from the lightening that was no longer there. Rolling over he looked to the sky as he watched the gate that connected the two realms rise back to its proper place in the heavens.

000

Tamiya and Peorth managed to slip back into the temple surreptitiously two days later and had remained undiscovered for another two days before finally sticking their heads out the door to get some air. Since then six more days had passed and the New Year was upon them. Keiichi had no misconceptions as to the nature of the burden that had been placed upon his shoulders but was happy for it nonetheless for it finally gave him the opportunity to protect Belldandy in the same fashion that she had protected him so many times in the past. Knowing he couldn't share the information with her directly he tried to get her into the holiday spirit instead but Belldandy had politely but firmly rebuffed him. Finally in desperation he approached Urd and Peorth about the problem he was having with her.

"I don't understand her behavior," Keiichi asked frustrated, "She didn't have any choice did she? Is she sorry that she saved my life?"

"No," Urd sighed, "She is really happy about your achievement and is looking forward to tomorrow. Her problem right now is the result of an unbalance in her karma.

"Huh?"

"Killing is an evil act Keiichi, there is no exception. When one of our kind commits evil we must atone and quickly before the unbalance causes things to spiral out of control."

"Does that mean you can restore her wings?"

"No, Keiichi it doesn't." Peorth answered him, "The color of her wings is just a status indication, Karma is a balance measurement and that is the main problem that needs to be addressed."

"All right then, how can Belldandy atone, what does she need to do and how can I help her."

"I'm glad you asked that." Urd smiled at him, "Peorth and I have been working the problem and we think we might have hit upon a solution."

"I'm listening," Keiichi answered her suspiciously.

"I'm sure you remember from your basic math that when you multiply a negative times a negative the result is always a positive."

"Yes."

"Well In Belldandy's case her problem goes something like this; sin which is a negative, times punishment or atonement which is also a negative, equals redemption which is a positive.

{-sin x -atonement = +redemption}

This is a two party algorithm in that the principal, Belldandy in this case, does the sin assessment and Yggdrasil accomplishes atonement or punishment. If done correctly then redemption is the result.

"Then why hasn't that happened yet?" Keiichi asked, "Or is she afraid of the consequences?"

"That's where you come in again."

"I'm confused."

"Don't feel bad. So was I until Peorth wrote down the formula for me. So let me see if I can explain it so that you can understand. Remember back to why you started all this? Why you wanted to become like us?"

"Of course, it was to save Belldandy."

"Did you ever think to ask yourself why Belldandy was going to die?"

"Not really, I never considered the cause. I was just interested in the cure."

"Well the reason was because Belldandy cut her connection with Yggdrasil and had elected to intertwine her fate with yours."

"I'm still confused."

"Well the algorithm looks something like this," Urd said as she waved her hands in the air causing the formula to appear.

(Pos)-Yggdrasil- (Neg)

X Broken connection.

(Pos)-Belldandy- (Neg)-(Pos)-Keiichi- (Neg)

(Pos)-Love (source)-(Neg)

"You see here," Peorth began pointing to the glowing symbols, "When heaven rejected Belldandy because of her actions as a result of Celestin's betrayal the connection between her and Yggdrasil was partially severed. When you accepted her for who she was despite the reasons that heaven shunned her that connection was reestablished with you. But until recently you had no direct connection to Yggdrasil so the circuit remained broken."

"Okay, I think I see where you are going with this." Keiichi said as he studied the floating symbols.

"Now that you are part of the host," Urd chimed in, "you are connected with Yggdrasil and Belldandy's connection to the system has also been reestablished. Through you! So now that algorithm can be re-written to look like this." She finished with a wave of her hands causing the symbols to rearrange themselves in the air.

(Pos)-Yggdrasil- (Neg)-(Pos)-Yggdrasil- (Neg)

X Broken connection return link for both.

(Pos)-Belldandy-(Neg)-(Pos)-Keiichi-(Neg)

(Pos)-Love (source)-(Neg)

_(Note: The host word processor apparently does not support the special symbols I used for this diagram. Suffice it to say that it is supposed to show how Belldandy's link with Yggdrasil was restored using the same return line that Keiichi now has with the system.)_

"Okay, if I'm reading this right then your saying I'm serving as Belldandy's data return path."

"That's right!" Urd smiled with a mischievous grin to Peorth.

"And Belldandy and Yggdrasil are waiting on me to do something?"

"Bingo!" she said clapping her hands.

"What is it I need to do?" Keiichi asked knowing that he wasn't going to like the answer.

"Well," Urd began drawing out the word, "since her connection with Yggdrasil is now via a third party then she must make her atonement to Yggdrasil in the same fashion."

"I still don't get it." Keiichi said scratching his head.

"Here," Urd said handing him a yard stick, "It took the two of us all last night to sweat out the math but by our calculations ten licks should be sufficient!"

"You're kidding me, I hope."

"Time to man up Keiichi," Urd told him seriously, "It's a harsh but true reality that sometimes you have to hurt the one you love the most in order to help them. I know what we are asking is hard, but right now Belldandy not only needs you to be strong for her but also strong with her as well. The path to her salvation lies in you and you are the only one who can do this. So, if you really love her then you will make the hard choice."

"Let me… let me think on it," Keiichi asked, taking the ruler from her tentatively.

"Don't wait too long, it will only get harder to do with the passage of time," Urd warned him.

Keiichi could only nod his head in understanding before walking away.

000

Peorth had remained silent until after Keiichi left then she put up a sound-blocking barrier before turning towards Urd. "I know I agreed to play along but where the hell did you come up with that lie?" she laughed.

"Just something off the wall that I thought might help the two of them." Urd replied.

"Lord knows she could use a good spanking but how does that help her?"

"It's like this," Urd explained, "the two of them are caught in a circular dilemma. Belldandy knows she has done wrong, she knows that she didn't have a choice and she knows she needs to be punished. Keiichi knows that he is partly responsible, would do anything to help her but doesn't know how. I've given the two of them a way out, an answer to a question that didn't have any."

"So what happens later, what about then?"

"Ah! Now that's the difference between love and lust," Urd smiled at her. "Keiichi is probably going to spend the next few hours ripping his heart out agonizing over what he needs to do. When he finally gets the courage to take Belldandy over his knee she will freely submit knowing that she deserves to be punished. After that they will spend the next several hours fucking like rabbits. Eventually they will get around to checking her karma balance and discover that there was nothing wrong to begin with. When they do they will both realize that they have been had and won't even care."

"Oh, she is going to be so pissed off when she finds out it was us!" Peorth said still laughing.


	19. Chapter 19

**Ah! Does Size Really Matter? Ch19**

**Urd's to do list (unabridged):**

** Save my sisters!**

Problem 1: Belldandy's soul in need of salvation.

Solution 1: Get Belldandy laid before she gives up on life entirely.

Result 1: Frightening, the silly cow went and fell in love with a mortal!

Problem 2: Keep Skuld from fate.

Solution 2: Re-arrange Skuld's timeline so she lives long enough to get laid.

Result 2: Hoping Sentaro is faster on the uptake than Keiichi.

Problem 3: Get laid!

Solution 3: Oh Samson…

Result 3: Proof positive that there are very few problems in the universe that cannot be resolved using a suitable application of the Big Bang theory.

000

As soon as the nexus faded Hild turned to the Almighty One and spoke flatly, "You should really consider putting her down, you know. Right now she's all befuddled with her new boy toy but eventually she will grow tired of him and turn on our daughter. Our thrones are meant to belong to Urd, not to some mongrel bitch that screws the first thing she finds laying in the gutter!"

"What does Peorth have to do with anything?" the Almighty One asked.

"I'm talking about Belldandy you dense fool!"

"Belldandy is no threat, dearest."

"How can you possibly say that!" Hild spat, "She routinely defies your edicts and whatever rules that get in her way!"

"And Urd doesn't?" he asked bemused.

"Urd is different, she was meant to rule! That's why we both taught her to question. It's Belldandy who doesn't seem to know her place!"

"And it's Keiichi who will keep her there." The Almighty One answered, "Belldandy's problem is that she never aspired to greatness, my love. Rather Celestin drove her to it, left to her own devices she would much rather go about saving the world one soul at a time."

"It doesn't matter how she got to be as powerful as she is! Right now she is the only person in all three realms that can challenge Urd. For safeties sake she needs to be neutralized."

"Can't be done, right now Belldandy is untouchable."

"Why not? And don't give me that, 'We wouldn't be any better than her crap!' You are the Almighty One and that rule does not apply to you!"

"I didn't say wouldn't, I said I couldn't," the Almighty One corrected. "Keiichi is a friend of nature and thanks to our daughter Urd; Belldandy is our only way of maintaining a connection to him. You need to consider that as well."

"There is nothing to consider! Keiichi is a mortal and possessed by that realm's evil! What happens when he decides that maybe he and Belldandy deserve a better lot than cleaning the divine trash out of the world's sewers? What happens when the two of them decide that maybe they want your job! Urd was meant to succeed the two of us and no one else!"

"There you are wrong," the Almighty One corrected, "Urd was meant to restore balance to our worlds. Whether she does it from the throne or from the shadows is of no importance as long as the job gets done."

"I can't believe you!" Hild hissed, "How could you possibly be satisfied with our daughter spending her life hiding in the shadows!"

"I'm not happy with it!" the Almighty One conceded, "But I had hoped that Urd would have the luxury of having lived a few iterations before fate forced her down destiny's chosen path. However, events are advancing much faster than anticipated and with all three of the divine guardians of time wanting to stay on the surface world we no longer have the luxury of being able to manipulate their flow as we would prefer. Urd's actions just now confirmed that."

"How so?"

"Just now when she felt the need to defend Keiichi why do you think she did that?"

"Probably some misguided sense of fairness on her part."

"And fairness is a form of?" he asked.

"… Balance." Hild answered him.

"And for her to feel compelled to correct such a minor offset in the Keiichi-Belldandy reticulum is evidence of just how precarious things have become."

"I don't believe that."

"You should, Urd binds the fate of our two realms together." The Almighty One explained, "Belldandy is bound to Urd by blood and consequently to your realm as well as to mine. Thanks to Urd's meddling Belldandy has chosen to bind her fate to Keiichi's and Keiichi being a friend of nature, whatever the hell that is supposed to mean, binds all of us to the mortal plane."

"I see." Hild said nodding her head.

"It gets even better," the Almighty One continued, "Now combine all of that with the fact that all of our futures are in the hands of my youngest daughter and you get a flow chart that looks something like this." The Almighty One finished as he waved his hand in the air.

Skuld (Future)

Heavenly Realm-Urd-Infernal realm

Belldandy

Keiichi

Mortal Realm

"As you can easily see this is a self balancing configuration almost like a scale, but with Keiichi and Belldandy paired together this chart could also be re-drawn to look like this:"

Skuld (Future)

Heavenly Realm-Urd-Infernal realm

Keiichi & Belldandy

Mortal Realm

_(Once again it appears that the host word processor isn't up to the task. This time I was using pipes & dashes to connect things together to make a scale but the system keeps editing the additional symbols.)_

"Looked at that way you can see what we have are two scales tied together with the balance of the larger one, (AKA our two realms.), being totally dependent on the balance of the smaller one."

"That's a single point failure configuration!" Hild responded as she stared at the new chart in dismay, "How could our daughter have been that stupid! Tying all our fates together like this."

"More like devious." The Almighty One smiled, "If anything bad happens to either one of them then the balance becomes skewed."

"Do you mean to tell me that she is deliberately holding the fate of all creation hostage in exchange for Belldandy's safety?"

"More like instinctively. You see, when the council forced her to give Belldandy that potion Urd vowed that above all else she would always protect her sisters. She has made the safety of her two sisters the central focus of her life. That is why she always held herself back, remaining just a second class goddess and never allowing herself to achieve her full potential. But somewhere in the back of her mind she also knew that we had other plans for her and she wouldn't be able to protect Belldandy forever. So she found for her another protector in Keiichi then tied both their fates to the balance of the world so we couldn't touch them.

"I see," Hild smiled to herself as her daughter's intentions became apparent, "I don't know if I should be proud of her or slap her upside the head!"

"Neither, I think it is time we let her have her head. We have always known that the fates of our two realms have been tied to that of the mortal's. After the events in Hiroshima and Nagasaki establishing a permanent connection to the mortal plane was a top priority. Urd gave us that by bringing Keiichi and Belldandy together. Now that I have one established losing it, even temporarily, would be too big a risk to take. But Urd must also know that her current configuration is tenuous at best."

"If that's the case then why put Belldandy in harms way like I know you are going to do?"

"It's the only way I can keep the two of them viable. Otherwise I would have to punish Belldandy by incarcerating her on the moon. If I were to do that then Keiichi would turn his back on both of us and we would be back to square one."

"It would seem that Urd has everything tied up in a nice neat package, but what if the council tries to do another end run around you and force you out?" Hild asked. "We both know that Heaven only accepts her because she is your daughter. Once you are out of power there will be no place for her here, and before you say it's all right for her to come and stay with me remember that it was you who instituted a rebellion in my realm against me."

"As I recall that was at your request."

"Doesn't matter! Urd could very well find herself caught in the middle of the very power struggle we were hoping to avoid if she is not careful which way she jumps."

"Not to worry, I'm already working a solution on that problem."

"Well since I'm her mother don't you think you should share with me?"

"I'm sure you noticed that slab of beef-cake she was hanging off of just now."

"That Guardian Samson?"

"You know of him then."

"Of course! That's the same bastard that choked my pet hydra to death with his bare hands!"

"I see, well he seems to be quite taken with our little girl and since he just happens to meet all the other requirements I was thinking about grooming him as a possible candidate for my post."

"Shrewd," Hild acknowledged, "they won't be expecting for someone like him to come out of left field like that and while he may not be politically connected the ease at which you took out all the other contenders will make the council wary. Enough so that they might be willing to surrender some of their political leverage in exchange for a stronger leader."

"Not only that, but since Urd already has her hooks into him, were he to take my place she would already have his ear and a ready made place in his inner circle. But it will all be for naught if in our desire to help we end up spoiling her plans, that is the warning in Urd's design."

"All right then I'll back off on Belldandy, but you had better keep her on a short leash! I know you care deeply about all three of your daughters, but Urd is my only issue and I fully intend for her to rule in my place."

"I understand my dear."

"Good, now where can we go to be alone? Those dam Sirens are about to drive me crazy."

"As it so happens I've just closed on this little cottage just up the beach from where we are. Beautiful view of the ocean by the way."

"That reminds me," Hild said sheepishly, "can I have my banker back before he gets drawn and quartered?"

"I might be willing to exchange him for say…a buy out option for Daemon Thomas's contract?"

"Hobson? Why him?"

"I'm thinking I can make good use of him in my logistics department."

"Well then," Hild said seductively, "sounds like we might have something to…negotiate."

"Tell me," the Almighty One asked curiously, "Just how do you choke a three headed dragon to death?"

"Haven't a clue." Hild shrugged, "One moment Puff was fixing to dine on his ass, the next he is laying dead on the ground with his necks braided together."

000

Some more from the Almighty One's to do list:

Problem: Daughter's consort in possession of forbidden knowledge threatening realm.

Solution A: Sanction consort with extreme prejudice.

Result A: Negative, poses unacceptable threat to daughter.

Solution B: Place Talisman on consort's soul.

Result B: Negative due to daughter's interference.

Solution C: Elevate consort's status to level high enough to place him under Yggdrasil's direct control.

Result C: Open new project code The Keiichi Morisato ascension project.

Problem: Eldest daughter unwilling to start down her path to greatness.

Solution: Hawk daughter as possible candidate for leadership post.

Result: Waiting for Hell to freeze over.

Problem: Resolve Binary Lind issue.

Solution: Ad lib.

Result: Done. Close out job number to Keiichi Morisato ascension project.

Problem: Save middle daughter from mortal curse.

Solution: Delegate problem for resolution to other two daughters.

Result: Done. Close out job number to Keiichi Morisato ascension project.

Problem: Begin to place host on full-time war footing due to the unexpected threat being posed by remnants of pre-fallen human kind. (Ravers.)

Solution: Top down shake up of command structure required…

000

January 01, 2013.

"Thank you very much," said Urd as she signed for the scroll the Mercury Messenger had handed to her. Passing it off to Samson she waited until the squadron was assembled for him to read her father's latest judgment.

"Attention to orders," came the authoritative voice of Samson as he addressed the class. Reading directly from the scroll he continued. "I hold here the judgment of the Almighty One. These are his words and I quote:

'There has been some discussion as to the conduct of several members of the host regarding the events of 20121221 HMT (Heavenly Mean Time). Upon careful review of all the facts surrounding this matter I have made the following determinations:

'With regard to all the members of the Extreme Combat Training class:

'For the charge of unauthorized entry into Heaven I find that the class' actions were the result of orders that they were given by Commander Lind, there were no valid reasons for any of her subordinates to question their veracity. While the actions taken were unorthodox their intent was pure and intended to be in the best interests of the realm. We also find ourselves forced to acknowledge that emergencies are just that and sometimes require extreme and heroic measures for which you rose to the occasion. Therefore we find that your actions were altogether lawful and proper considering the circumstances.

'With regard to the Goddess First class (provisional) Urd:

'For the charge of jumping the chain of command, not following proper procedure and attempting to influence Yggdrasil operations. I find that you too were acting under the orders of Commander Lind and were using your best judgment in the execution thereof.

'With regard to the Goddess Peorth:

'For the charge of negligence for failing to seal the heavenly gates. Here we find that we have several misgivings. However, we also must acknowledge that it is incumbent upon supervisors such as you to make difficult and sometimes painful judgment calls on the spur of the moment based on incomplete and inaccurate information only to have them second-guessed later on. Our misgivings not withstanding, in this instance we find your judgment to be sound based on the information you had at the time.

'With regard to the Valkyrie Lind:

'For the charge of misconduct and abuse of authority: It is upon you and you alone that responsibility for these actions must lie. Here we find that we must acknowledge the circumstances surrounding the ascendancy of Keiichi Morisato are unique and the realm has considerable time and resources involved in this project. It was also in your hands that the heavy responsibility for the completion of this project was placed. We further acknowledge that the matter involving the loss of his borrowed angels was both unfortunate and unforeseeable and was precipitated by events over which you had no control. Therefore, we deem that your actions and the actions of your subordinates were indeed in the best interests of the realm. All charges of misconduct and abuse of authority are hereby dismissed.

'Here now is my dispensation: To the Class of Extreme fighters whose wings protect us all. You are all therefore exonerated and permanent entries in your records will be made proclaiming you to be the heroes for whom you really are.

'To the Goddess Peorth: Since you seem to be bound and determined to get yourself banished to the mortal realm you are hereby relieved of your position as Yggdrasil operations lead and are to be placed on a temporary leave of absence before you succeed in getting yourself into real trouble.

'To the Goddess First class (provisional) Urd: It seems as though your banishment to the mortal plane expired several years ago but the paperwork for your reinstatement somehow got lost in the system.'"

"Now, I wonder how that happened?" Skuld said under her breath as she listened to the pronouncement.

'Since that problem has now been rectified you are to return to the heavens forthwith and upon completion of your first class license exam you are to resume your duties in the Yggdrasil control center as Peorth's replacement.

'To the consort of my daughter, Keiichi Morisato: We find that the angel now resident in your soul to be the property of the heavenly realm and henceforth you are to consider yourself under the direct control of Yggdrasil and subject to the laws of our realm.

'To the Valkyrie Lind: That which were two has now become one. Through your selfless actions atonement has been granted. Therefore, your banishment is hereby lifted and you are relieved of all duties save the matter of Keiichi Morisato. You are to get your affairs in order and proceed with all dispatch to the heavenly realm where you are to assume your new duties as Supreme Commander of all heavenly forces.'"

000

"Nothing about Belldandy?" Skuld asked Urd.

"By making his ruling all about Keiichi then Belldandy doesn't enter into it," Urd answered her, "Her actions will be considered as independent of everyone else's. That way she can be judged separately."

"Is that a good or a bad thing?"

"I'm not so sure, it doesn't bode well though. Our old man just twisted the law like a pretzel in order to get the rest of us off."

"I see," Skuld looked at her sister sadly.

"Don't worry," Urd said patting her on the head, "I have a feeling that everything is going to turn out just fine."

000

Two days, three hours and 7 orgasms later (Including 3 earth shakers 2 of which required orbit adjustments.)

"Urd you deceitful wench," Belldandy shouted from the bedroom, "you lied to my Keiichi!"

"Relax dear," Urd mocked, "You've been in need of a good spank since you got here."

"It's not that! You made my Keiichi suffer!"

"I hear that suffering is good for the soul." Urd answered her.

"Service!" Belldandy shouted as a blue spell ball flew out of the bedroom bouncing off the walls ceiling and floor in a spiral fashion as it traveled on its way towards Urd.

"Oh crap!" Urd squeaked, fleeing for the safety of the outside just making it to the threshold of the doorway before being blasted halfway across the courtyard to land at the feet of a bemused Samson.

"May I ask what is going on?" he inquired.

"It's a sister thing," Urd remarked as she formed a depth-charge spell in her palm.

Taking critical aim at the ruined doorway she tossed the ball in the air before swatting it with her other hand like a volleyball, "Service!" she shouted back.

The spell ball traveled back towards the house. Entering the house it traveled down the hallway bouncing off of the far wall then traveling back towards the entrance before being intercepted by Skuld's head when she stuck it out of her room to see what the commotion was all about. The depth charge striking her so caused its direction of travel to change deflecting the spell ball across the hall and bouncing it off the opposite wall directly into Belldandy's room. Belldandy saw it coming and dodged but Keiichi who had been trying to calm her down caught the full force of the blast propelling his body through the outside wall.

"Service!" Belldandy shouted again as another spell ball traveled its convoluted path towards Urd weaving itself in and out of the trees. Urd tried faking right then left only to have the ball second guess her every move finally she gave up and tried to levitate herself away only to have it follow her. At the last moment Urd realized she needed to move towards the ball in order to foil its attack. The spell ball missed its intended target and struck the ground at Samson's feet, the blast propelling him up and over the house so high he had to use his wings to break his fall before landing next to Keiichi.

"Are they always like this?" Samson asked with a grin.

"No," Keiichi answered, "they are just getting warmed up."

"You're kidding I hope."

"Skuld bomb!" they both heard just before an incredibly powerful blast took out the entire side of the house revealing a naked Tamiya and Peorth standing in the far corner their arms and legs intertwined about the other totally oblivious to the fact that they were no longer sequestered.

"Now it's a party!" Keiichi smiled.

000

Later, as the exhausted parties warmed themselves next to the fire that was the remains of their home Urd, who had somehow managed to nestle herself in Samson's arms, looked upon the peacefully sleeping forms of her two younger sisters as Skuld spooned with the unconscious Belldandy who in turn was spooned with Keiichi.

Sensing her gaze upon him Keiichi looked toward Urd and noticing the almost blissful expression on her faced asked, "What is it?"

"It's nothing really," Urd answered contentedly, "I just wanted to say thank you Keiichi. Thank you for just accepting us for who we are."

"You're welcome, I guess," he answered her back, "but I haven't really done anything after all."

"But you have. You have given me a gift beyond measure; you have given me back my Belldandy."

"Hey! What am I, chopped liver?" Skuld asked as she listened to the two of them.

"You know what I mean," Urd laughed silently.

"You're right I do," she answered her back, "I guess I should thank you too."

"I still don't know what the deal is?" Keiichi asked.

"You've saved her Keiichi." Urd answered him; "You saved all of us."

"But I didn't do anything!" Keiichi replied puzzled.

"Jeez, Keiichi are you really that dense?" Skuld asked him in disgust.

"I guess I must be." Keiichi answered.

"Well since you are one of us now I guess we should fill you in. You see, in Heaven its all about the what and not the who." Urd explained, "For instance Peorth is a slut, Lind's soul was twisted, Belldandy has blood on her hands, and I'm the spawn of the devil!" She finished as she waited for Samson's arms to loosen their grip, instead they squeezed her tighter has he silently reassured her. "Of all of us only Skuld is considered to be a prim and proper member of heaven."

"And that's only because Belldandy rode me so hard and made sure I towed the line." Skuld remarked.

"But you have never looked at us that way Keiichi and neither did your friends." Urd spoke softly, "even now with the enhanced sight of your angel you still see us as you always have. Despite all of the beauty and wonder that is Heaven's it is because of the attitudes of those who live there that make it a less than ideal place for us to stay. That is why until those attitudes change we would rather be here on Earth, our new home."

"And I don't think I want anything to do with people who think that it's okay to look down on my beautiful sisters." Skuld said.

"How is it that attitudes like that still exist in a place like Heaven?" Keiichi asked, "I mean shouldn't you gods and goddesses be more… enlightened than the rest of us?"

"Not really Keiichi," Urd answered him sadly, "Heaven is ruled by paradigms, know the paradigm know the outcome or so they think. But sometimes the paradigm doesn't spit out the expected result. When that happens rather than embrace the anomaly as something new and wonderful people become afraid and recoil in fright because of their fear of the unknown."

"I don't mean to disillusion you, but I fear the unknown too."

"Not like we do in Heaven," Samson said as he entered their conversation, "Mortals like you don't share the same phobia. Instead you embrace the unknown, for you everyday is a new beginning, a chance to learn something new. You couldn't care less about the paradigms that rule your life and haven't the slightest hesitation when it comes to abandoning one for another. The way you live down here would terrify your average god! I know it scared the shit out of me!"

"Paradigms?" Keiichi asked.

"Yeah," Skuld began, "like the one that ruled my life until you came along. Ever since I can remember I knew what my fate was supposed to be. If I hadn't been so afraid I could have rewritten my own future but I never had the courage. Now, thanks to you I'm not afraid of the unknown anymore. Now I know that even if I do make a wrong choice all that happens is I get to pick up the pieces and try something different."

"That is another reason we don't want to go back," Urd continued, "the freedom we've come to embrace down here is just too precious to give up."

"Oh yeah," Skuld piped up, "now that Urd mentioned paradigms, if today's events are any indication, it's a good bet that you can kiss the little Miss Yamato Nadeshiko paradigm goodbye."

"What!" Keiichi exclaimed, genuinely distressed.

"You remember how when we first came here to live with you how sometimes our disputes would…escalate?"

"You mean like the time when you two started going at it right after you arrived?"

"Precisely, that was my Belldandy, the Belldandy who didn't take crap from nobody, the Belldandy who didn't have any compunction about openly expressing her… displeasure if she felt the need."

"That's why I hated you so much." Skuld grumbled. "My beautiful, powerful, assertive big sister turned herself into a…a… pansy. Because she was afraid of what you, a puny mortal, might think of her."

"And now your telling me that has changed?" Keiichi asked bewildered.

"It's your own fault," Urd replied, "Now that Belldandy knows that she has all your love completely and unconditionally she doesn't have to put up a front anymore. She is no longer afraid of just being herself around you."

"So what does that mean?"

"You will need to be a lot faster on your feet if you want to avoid getting blown through the walls from now on." Skuld told him flatly.

"Note to self," Keiichi said as he retrieved a small note pad from his jacket and began to scribble in it, "Ask Lind about additional training in defensive tactics involving wind spells and depth charges…"

"Don't forget Skuld bombs!" Skuld interjected.

"Oh and that reminds me," Urd said, taking her queue from Keiichi, "Skuld dear, do you have your To Do list handy?"

"Yes I do, why?" Skuld answered her back.

"Well then go ahead and mark off the _Save Belldandy's Life_ task as being completed and make sure to log all your hours so you get proper credit."

"Completed!" Skuld protested, "How can we call that completed!"

"The task that our father laid before us was to save her from a mortal's death. We have without argument accomplished that goal."

"But what about Belldandy's scarlet wings, what about the evil that still lives in Keiichi's soul and what about father recalling us to Heaven?"

"Totally different charge codes that will be some considerable time in the future before we can close them, but for now we are done with this one."

"Yeah, but it just doesn't seem right somehow."

"That's because like the rest of us, you don't want to see the story end."

"On the other hand look around you." Samson said, as he made a sweeping gesture of all the recently paired Valkyries and Guardians, (An aftereffect of their recent visit to Sirenum scopuli.). "Until the other day each stood apart from the other, but now a new paradigm has been created. Where before we could only fight side by side now it seems that it is possible for us to sleep side by side as well."

"I'm getting confused again." Keiichi said.

"The fate of the Guardians and Valkyries has always been one of isolation and loneliness," Skuld said sadly, "A Guardian, if he is lucky, might find himself adopted into a grand house as their personal protector. But even if he were he would always be looked upon as an outsider, little more than the hired help."

"And Valkyrie's like Lind don't even have that hope." Urd said, "For the most part they are doomed to live out their entire life in isolation. If they ever do get to feel the joy of a man's touch it will be but a painfully brief interlude in an otherwise dismal existence."

"That kind of makes me ashamed," Keiichi said as he thought about it, "all the time I was suffering under her training I never gave thought to the possibility that she might be suffering too."

"You have nothing to be ashamed of Keiichi," Urd smiled, "You will never know just how much joy Lind felt every time you smiled her way."

"Huh?"

"Years ago Peorth told me that she had detected a subtle change in the winds of heaven. That change began after Lind returned, after she had met you for the first time."

"And this is what that change has become." Samson said excitedly, "just look at all the new stories that will now need to be written." Focusing his gaze on Skuld, "And they will all need the Norn of the future to get them off to a good start."

"Yeah Keiichi, thanks for all that extra work," Skuld interjected as she halfheartedly tried to appear angry.

"Who me?" Keiichi asked.

"Just another thousand year old paradigm that you shattered so you could keep getting into Belldandy's pants." Urd said playfully.

Three days later another Mercury Messenger arrived with a letter from the Almighty One. It was short and to the point. Belldandy was recalled to heaven and now that Keiichi was an official member of the host he was ordered to ascend as well in order to bear witness to her fate. As soon as they arrived Belldandy was called before the Almighty One and promptly stripped of her position at the Goddess help line for conduct unbecoming before finding herself unceremoniously outcast to the frontier. Keiichi was sent with her as well seeing as his duty was to keep Belldandy's divine ass out of anymore trouble.

000

While it is impossible to show it on a 3 dimensional map there is a small peninsula of the heavenly realm that is bordered by the Pishon River on one side, just above the Tigris and Euphrates, and by Hild's summer palace, where the Gihon used to be, on the other. On the other side of the Pishon lies the mortal realm but the river itself is impossible to see from that side due to the fact that the riverbed proper lies entirely within the heavenly realm. Impossible for heaven to defend, and equally impossible for hell to hold it is a rather pristine example of undeveloped divine real-estate. Recently two new interlopers, the War goddess Belldandy and the Mortal God-to-be-in-training Keiichi had set up housekeeping in a small cottage that had more doors than rooms. Co-located not all that far from Basra its location enabled the pair the luxury of being able to walk to work, sort of.

Moving Day:

The Norn's time on the mortal realm was finally at an end. For most of his adult life Keiichi had shared his home with the three goddesses and the thought of having to face an uncertain future on earth without them he found disconcerting. As they finalized preparations for their departure the emotional strain was beginning to show on everyone. The three Norns had spent most of the prior day packing away all the bits and pieces of the life they had once lived as they prepared for their re-ascension. The hallway of their small house was filled to overflowing with containers of every conceivable shape and size that held the ingredients for Urd's alchemy while Belldandy and Skuld each had a small suitcase that held those few items that they couldn't bear to leave behind. Finally all their good-byes were said and the three Norns gathered their belongings and headed down the hallway. Reaching the door at the far end Urd sighed before flinging it open and unceremoniously throwing all her belongings into her new digs. Skuld took the next nearest and tossed her suitcase into the room while Belldandy took the room diagonally across from Keiichi's.

Refused access to anywhere in Heaven save the frontier lands the powers that be had been reasonably secure in their thinking that they had the loose cannons known as the three Norns of fate bottled up. The reality was that this restriction didn't even faze them. Although the cottage was listed as the official address of record for the Norns as well as Peorth and Keiichi, (Causing no end of wild speculation as to what one mortal could possibly be doing with all those goddesses.), nobody really actually lived there.

With the return of Koshian along with Peorth and Tamiya now living at the temple, Keiichi's extended family had already outgrown their little house. So, at Belldandy's request, and with their father's tacit approval, Skuld had cross-dimensionally linked the ends of the hallways of their old home on Earth with that of his vacation home in Heaven using a spin off of Skuld's space expanding device called, appropriately enough, the Space Sharing Machine. Little more than a way station with bedrooms, until recently the AMO had been using it as a clandestine meeting place for "Off the Record" negotiations with the leader of the Infernal Realm. The two residences being conjoined as they were had not only doubled their available living space but also allowed them all to continue living on the surface world while still technically being in compliance with Heaven's edict.

Inspired by his first visit to Nekomi the AMO had copied the basic layout of Belldandy's home creating an exact mirror image of the other. So close was the re-creation in fact that it was possible to accidentally walk in the front door of the house in Nekomi, down the hall and out the front door of the house in Heaven if you weren't careful which way you turned. The only real way to tell which side you were on was that the main room of the new house was almost completely empty save for a mirror, a large flat screen TV and an old Polaroid camera for use by the three senior goddesses.

This configuration proved to be quite fortuitous for Skuld later on because since Belldandy and Urd had both been recalled there was no longer any reason for her to stay on the mortal plane. As a result her surface world training status was revoked and she was once again placed under the direct instruction of Yggdrasil. Unfortunately this didn't sit to well with the young goddess, as she was just becoming aware of some of the more enjoyable aspects of the two-gender system with Sentaro being the primary target of her affection. This had almost resulted in her full-scale rebellion against Yggdrasil, since from her adolescent perspective placing an entirely different level of reality between her and her one true love was a bit extreme.

This could actually have led to the younger Norn's getting top billing along with her two elder sisters on the councils Supplemental High Intensity Training list had they not come up with a clever plan. By mutual consent the bathtubs of both houses were to remain filled at all times. That way once Skuld was done with her duties in Heaven for the day she could pop home via the tub in the new house, run down the hallway still dripping wet and dive into the tub on the Nekomi side arriving next to Sentaro in a matter of minutes, all without needing to access the gate. The fact that she did so without regard for whoever else might be using the bath at the time was disconcerting for some at first but they soon got used to it.

After Urd was finished organizing her inventory in her new room her first order of business was to mix up a small bottle of Iron Man potion for Keiichi. Knocking softly on the doorframe of Keiichi's room he looked at her suspiciously through the half-opened door as she offered him the vile.

"What's this for?" he asked.

"Oh, just something I think you're going to need in a couple of minutes when Belldandy finally loses her composure."

"Why would Belldandy lose her composure and why do you think I'm going to need that," he asked pointing to the vile, "if she does?"

"Don't be an idiot, Keiichi." Urd spoke as if to a child, "I'm sure you've heard the saying 'Distance makes the heart grow fonder?'"

"Yes."

"So, how do you think Belldandy is taking this enforced separation?"

"Urd, Belldandy's room is just across the hall. That is hardly what I would consider being separated."

"For you she is just across the hall, but from her perspective there is a whole different reality between the two of you right now." She explained as she pointed to the imaginary line in the hallway that separated the mortal and heavenly realms. "As sensitive as she is to such things I can guarantee you she is acutely aware of it and the pain she is feeling right now is likened to that of a sailor's wife whose husband has been at sea for far too long."

"If that is really the case then why doesn't she just step across the hall and knock on my door?"

"Oh I'm sure she will get around to that eventually after her self control fails but by then it will be too late."

"What do you mean by too late?"

Keiichi got his answer by example as the door to Belldandy's room was ripped from its tracks as the love deprived goddess came flying across the hall and into his room. Knocking him to the floor she began frantically kissing him all over his body totally oblivious to her older sister standing in the doorway.

"I'll just leave this here," Urd said smiling as she placed the vile on the floor, "It takes about 15 minutes to reach full potency so don't wait too long."

000

There were, as Skuld had pointed out, two distinct divergences. Divergence A, what the Ravers intended, besides its obvious effect on the multiverse, would have resulted in a limited war between the nations of Japan and Iran. The rest of the world would, of course, express shock and outrage over the unprovoked attack but seeing its efficacy and fearing the same happening to them the other nations would have done little more than cheer from the sidelines. In the end Japan would have lost its position in the world as one of the financial superpowers and Iran would take center stage in world politics.

Divergence B, the nexus forced into being by an upstart mortal and the goddesses who loved him was totally different. The time and treasure put by Iran and her allies into the failed attack had been enormous and there was nothing to show for it, not even fear! The entire world, as far as they could tell, was totally oblivious to the existence of the threat they had sought to project. The only explanation the leaders could ascribe to this failure was that they had been sold out by the scientists. The scientists in turn knew their work was valid and concluded that they had been sold out by the military and the military in turn was convinced that they had been sold out by their leaders.

The people living in these oppressed nations could care less knowing only that they had been deceived and wanted to be bereft of the whole lot of them. As far as they could see the so called nuclear parity that the leadership claimed they had been trying to achieve was nothing more than a smoke screen, just another lie so their leaders could fleece their pockets while international pressure continued to build and the common folk suffered. The people began to doubt the credibility of their leaders. The Ayatollah's, the Mufti's, the Imam's, both those possessed by evil and those who were truly evil began to lose power as the people began to question. Soon, the Purges began and while the Ravers were able to flee, those mortals who had knowingly collaborated with them could not so easily hide. Some got away but most were not so fortunate. Oppressive governments were toppled; Shari law was being slowly replaced with parliamentary rule and a new power was beginning to flex its muscle behind the scenes. Ragnarok was coming and the world was being made ready.

Closer to home, Belldandy's sin had presented the Almighty One with both a conundrum and an opportunity. Technically she had struck down the Raver after her father's pronouncement regarding innocents, so it could be argued that she was just enforcing his will. But Final Judgment, the determination if a soul is allowed another iteration or is recycled is a power reserved exclusively for the Almighty One, not even Hild is allowed such power, so his daughter had also unquestionably overstepped her authority. Ever the opportunist, the Almighty One had decided to use his daughter as his unseen enforcer. The result was an ironic twist of fate where the supposedly homicidal Belldandy was sentenced to continue killing. Heaven's assassin, her punishment was to hunt down and destroy the very creatures she was accused of murdering.

In order to avoid an all out war between the mortal and heavenly realms the Almighty One had struck an unspoken agreement with the opposing side; The surviving Ravers would be allowed to live out the rest of their lives un-accosted as long as they remained in their permanent hosts. Any Raver found outside its host for any reason was to be ruthlessly slaughtered. Many of the Ravers, however, having held the upper hand in this region for so many centuries chose not to go quietly into the dark. They pushed the limits of the truce as far as they could and more often than not they got away with it, but not always. Soon stories began to surface throughout the Muslim world of people once possessed now freed and of the beautiful apparition of the auburn hared woman with the scarlet wings to whom they all gave thanks for their salvation. In the background always standing next to her, but seldom noticed, a short nondescript mortal with the soul of a god, Keiichi.

_Afterword: I wanted to continue this story for a few more chapters but it seems that the story itself finally wants to end. I find this rather interesting as I had originally started out only wanting to put forth 10948 as a short story that would have ended with Belldandy and Keiichi consummating their relationship. The problem was that as each chapter was published new questions kept popping up that needed to be answered. Finally it would seem the story itself ran out of questions to ask and I had nowhere to go. For whatever reason this last chapter turned out to be a real pain to pull out of my head. Now that I'm done, however, I'm thinking that I might want to pull this story back along with 10948 and do some serious editing, adding some background, tying up loose ends and what not and then republishing the two under one title._


End file.
