Ah My Goddess Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Deus ex Machina ❯ Separated at Birth ( Chapter 1 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Deus ex Machina by jeff shelton


jws1@webtv.net

disclaimer The characters in this story belong to Fujishima Kosuke and Takahashi Rumiko and I
have no right to use them.

This is a chapter of explanations and setting things up for additional stories, so there will not be a
lot of action.

If someone wishes to use this and do stories based on this, please feel free.

Thanks to Gary Kleppe, Nathan, Henry J. Cobb, Barry Cadwgan, and David Eddy for their
comments on the first part. Any C&C will be read and answered.

____________________________________________________

Part 1: Separated at Birth by jeff shelton

Time present minus 25 years.

Place the Heavens.

Three old women are sitting in front of an ancient loom. On the loom is a fabric that stretches off
in the distance out of sight. Next to the three women is a computer.

The oldest says, "So, Skuld, that is what we will using instead of the loom from now on."

The youngest replies, "I wouldn't say 'from now on', Urthr. I'm sure things will change in the
future," she says with a smile.

The third says, "Now, don't you two start up again. We will be using the new technology. Be
grateful our new reincarnations are coming up soon. When we are young again, we will learn to
use the new system as if we had always had it."

"I hate being reincarnated every hundred years," Skuld says.

"Remember what is was like before Kami-sama began the policy of reincarnation, what 500 years
ago? Things changed only very slowly, remember. Now things change quickly," Verthandi says.

"Too quickly, if you ask me," Urthr interrupts.

"Perhaps, Urthr, but things are changing and for the better. Things will, with our reincarnations,
begin to change rapidly, again. When we are young and still learning our powers, others will be
able to do things and we will not be able to stop them. While some of those things will be bad,
others will help people," Verthandi says.

"Before Kami-sama introduced reincarnation we were old and conservative. Whenever
somebody would come up with something new and different, we were always pulling strings
making the new go away. Now we are young again, and when new things comes we help them
along."

"You're beginning to sound like Kami-sama, Verthandi," Skuld remarks.

"Would you have me lecture to you, or Kami-sama?" Verthandi smiles at her younger sister.
"Every time the reincarnations happen, Kami-sama changes things. Remember the first time?
When we spent 25 years living with mortals, thinking we were mortals, having no memories of
ourselves? Now, we live in the Heavens, only going to Earth occasionally, and as we age and
gain in experience with our powers, more and more of our memories return gradually, not all at
once like it was."

"Yes, things are better, I just wish we did not have to do it," Skuld says.

Verthandi thinks back to her first reincarnation.

****

flashback Iceland: 1500 ad

A beautiful, young woman with goddess tattoos on her face is standing next to a handsome
young man. They both look to be about age 25.

Facing them is a old, 50ish, large warrior. His face has tattoos on it. He has only one eye and is
wielding a spear. "It is time for you to return to your duties." He commands.

She grabs the young man's arm and says, "No! I love him and he CAN NOT go."

"By my command, Gods and Mortals shall not mix. Come, We are leaving."

The young man pulls his sword and steps between the young woman and the old man. "I will
NOT let her go. WE LOVE EACH OTHER! You can not force us apart! *NEVER*!!"

The old man's remaining eye flashes. The young man is enveloped in energy. He is paralyzed.
"Few men would pull their weapons on me. As a reward for your bravery, I shall let you live."

"I SHALL ALWAYS REMEMBER YOU!!" the young woman shouts as she fades away.

****

end flashback

'It has taken centuries of talking and explaining, but Kami-sama *has* relented. His commands
have finally been changed. Now the hard part, to arrange his reincarnation at the same time I
reincarnate. My love *will* live again and WE SHALL BE TOGETHER. Our love *WILL*
succeed!' Verthandi thinks as she looks at her sisters.

Verthandi turns to Urthr. "Urthr, your time is coming up soon. Have you any thoughts about what
will happen?"

"Verthandi, have you forgotten the promise to the Lord of Terror. The one that allowed Kami-
sama to seal him up? Remember my mother this time will be a demon, not a human like you
two."

"No, I did not forget. I was seeing if you had any plans we need to take into consideration, as we
plan your education, this time."

"Yeah, I probably will be a bit more uncontrollable this time." Urthr gets up and leaves the room.
"I'll let you know."

"Verthandi, I hope everything will be alright with her."

"Yes, but she volunteered to save people, and she knew what she was getting into. It was agree
with this or have the Lord of Terror give good advice to the dictators who lived in the middle of
this century. Still I will talk to her and work things out."

A couple of weeks later.

The three sisters and Kami-sama are in his office.

Kami-sama says, "It is time, Urthr."

"Yes. Verthandi, my new name for this incarnation will be 'Urd'."

The three sisters hug each other. Skuld says, "Good bye, Urthr."

Verthandi says, "Till we meet again, Urd."

Urthr vanishes into a cloud of energy that is absorbed into Kami-sama. Kami-sama in a
somewhat disgruntled voice says, "Now the bad part, going to Urd's mother."

"Stop acting like you hate it, Kami-sama. Sometimes, I think you came up with this idea, just so
you could get away with bedding other women," Verthandi says with a knowing gleam in her
eyes.

Kami-sama smiles, "Getting things past you is difficult. You always choose somebody nice for
your mother, I am looking forward to see who it will be this time."

"I choose nice women because its harder for your wife to get mad at them," Verthandi says with a
smile.

"Argh! Why did you bring her in. Oh well, off I go, before Urd's energy starts to fail." He
vanishes.

***

A few years later.

In an unknown and undescribable dimension.

Verthandi and an old man with demon tattoos on his face are standing looking at each other. The
demon has in his left hand a glowing ball of energy.

"I WANT that spirit!" Verthandi says, pointing at the ball of energy.

"As a mortal might say, no way baby. I stole this from the heavens and this spirit WILL NEVER
be reborn!"

"HE WILL LIVE AGAIN!!" Verthandi begins to glow, as her earring power seals are destroyed.

"UNHOLY SHIT! YOU MEAN IT!" The demon begins to glow as well.

Both vanish into balls of energy.

After an unknown amount of time, Verthandi reforms herself from the pure energy form she was
using to fight with. She holds up next to her breasts is a ball of energy. She smiles, and whispers
to the ball, "You will live. We will be together."

She vanishes as she teleports to a house in Japan, where she will make sure the spirit goes where
it is supposed to.

The mailbox outside the house has the name Morisato on it.

A couple of weeks later.

Skuld and Verthandi are in Kami-sama's office.

Skuld is holding the young Urd in her arms.

Urd is NOT liking being held. She is crying and yelling, "Don't go!"

Verthandi says, "Here, let me have her, Skuld, one last time."

Urd is placed on the ground and Verthandi kneels down in front of her. "Urd, quiet please, I am
about to leave, you be good now. Please take care of your little sister that will be coming soon,
ok."

"I DO NOT WANT YOU TO LEAVE!" Urd wails.

Verthandi hugs her and says, "I'll be back, you'll remember me, always. Don't worry, ok."

She wipes the tears from Urd's face. "Be a good girl and help your little sister."

"I'll have a little sister?"

"Yes, in about nine months. Now, go with Auntie Skuld, and everything will be fine."

Urd goes over to Skuld. Skuld kneels down and places her arm around Urd. "Everything will be
fine, Urd. After this I'll start you teaching you all about those new bright machines that are in our
rooms now, ok."

Skuld looks up at Verthandi and telepathically tells her. "You know, I've always hated this time.
I'll the only adult and I have to keep up with her and you."

Verthandi telepathically replies, "Yes, I know, and this time Urd's mother side is making it
worse."

She sighs. "It was necessary, but I have a feeling that promise to the Lord of Terror will come
back and haunt us."

Kami-sama interrupts, "It is time, Verthandi."

"I know. Skuld in my new incarnation, please, name me Belldandy." Skuld and Verthandi hug.

"See you again, Belldandy."

Verthandi vanishes into a cloud of energy that is absorbed by Kami-sama.

Nine months later in a hospital in Tokyo.

Outside the delivery room two young men are waiting on some good news. The doctor comes out
and instantly both men are next to him.

"Good news all around, your wife had one of the easiest deliveries I've ever had, and ..."

"And doctor, how is my son?" asks the father. The doctor smiles, "The twins"

Both men jump for joy for several minutes before they calm down enough for the doctor to
finish. "As I was saying, your twin GIRLS are doing fine as well."

Both men look at each other, look at the doctor, and at the same time say, "She had girls?!?!"

The men look at each other and start to talk to each other. Seeing that are leaving him alone the
doctor retreats into the delivery room. After a couple of minutes of low voiced talking the
celebration in the waiting room begins again.

In the delivery room:

Skuld materializes and quickly casts a spell.

Everybody in the room freezes as time stands still. Even the celebrating father and his best friend
are frozen. The only people unaffected are the two new-born girls. Skuld gently picks up one of
the girls.

The two girls are not identical twins.

One looks like a normal Japanese baby, the other looks more western and has some small
birthmarks on her face. The girl in Skuld's arms is the one with the birthmarks.

"I was wondering what you had planned, Verthandi," Skuld says as she looks at the other girl.
"The way you acted the last couple of weeks before the reincarnation convinced me you had
something planned, I just never expected this. I wonder why you gave this woman the gift of a
child."

Skuld casts another spell and looks at the other girl again. "And her aura shows you gave her
some of your soul as well. Why? What is so special about this mortal that she deserves a gift of
this magnitude."

Skuld replaces the girl on the bed and casts a greater spell.

A spell that will enable Skuld to look into the future.

She removes a flask of special water from her robes and uses it in the spell. A minute (for Skuld)
passes with Skuld staring into space as her spell parts the veil of time and allows the Goddess of
the Future to view it. "I see, It's not because of her, but because of her children that you gave her
the gift of your half-sister."

Skuld reaches down and gently lifts up the other girl. "Verthandi gave you part of her, young
one."

She kisses the baby. "From what I saw you will need her kindness, gentleness, and patience."

She puts the child down and looks at the mother. "Your life will be over far too soon, Kimiko,
but I saw that Kami-sama has already chosen you in the future, he will take care of you
personally. Few this day and time are so honored. And I see he gave you the gifts of wisdom and
love, rare and powerful gifts."

Skuld bends downs and kisses the woman. The kiss of a daughter to a mother. "Even though
Verthandi gave you the ultimate gift, from what I saw, I need to give some gifts as well."

Skuld places her hand above the woman's stomach. A ball of energy forms between her palm and
the stomach. "To your next child, the gift of intelligence and cunning."

She places her hand on the stomach and when she removes it the ball of energy is gone.

Another ball of energy forms between Skuld's hand and Kimiko's stomach.

"To your third child, the gift of physical strength and strength of will." The ball of energy is gone
as the hand is lifted.

A couple of seconds of thought and Skuld places her hand above Kimiko 's stomach for the final
time. "And since she will need it, a final gift for your last child."

A small hammer forms between the hand of Skuld and Kimiko, a hammer that vanishes as Skuld
removes her hand from Kimiko's stomach.

Skuld picks up Belldandy. "I was going to use those new fashioned computers to alter reality and
make your birth vanish, but I wasn't planning on a sister. This requires more subtlety than they
can do."

Skuld reaches out with her left hand and part of the fabric of the universe appears. Skuld
rearranges the fabric. She then vanishes and the spell that stopped time ends.

The small demon that was lurking in the corner of the room vanishes as well.

****

A different dimension.

The small demon appears in front of a very old demon. The same one that Verthandi fought
before.

"I have the information you wanted, oh lord! Verthandi has been reincarnated. And she has a
sister this time."

"A sister? You mean Urthr or Skuld, of course."

"No, master. She has a mortal twin sister."

"Tell me everything you saw, Tei. NOW!"

The demon talks.

"Hmmmmm. I knew delaying my reincarnation would have a benefit. Hurting Verthandi would
been very difficult, but a mortal sister... No. Far to kind, I know want I shall do."

The old demon summons another demon. "I have a job for you, Jou."

"You wish is my command, Mahler."

"There is a mortal family I wish to suffer. You will go to that family and torment it."

"You are aware that my powers are limited to emotions."

"OF COURSE! Play with their emotions, strengthen them or weaken them at the right times. I
want you to ruin their lives!"

"I really hated to mention this, but. I have commitments that will prevent me from going to earth
for several years."

The old demon glares at the young female oni. "Very well, Jou, you can start whenever you can."

****

Out in the waiting room.

The two men look at each other, each thinking, "For a second there I thought the doctor said
twins, but I know he said Kimiko had a, singular, girl."

"Since you did not have a boy, what are you going to name your baby girl?"

"Kimiko has a list. Kasumi is on the top of it."

"Good choice, good choice," Saotome Genma congratulates his best friend Tendo Soun.

the end of part 1

About the names. In the Dark Horse translation. In the 2nd issue Toren Smith gives an
explanation on how hard it is to translate Japanese. The names given in this story are the names
he gives as the original names of the three goddesses from norse legend. Before they were altered
by Fujishima Kosuke.

Kimiko: I've seen this name for Mrs Tendo in various other stories, so I am using it. I don't
remember which stories, so I hope I'm not offending anybody.

Hopefully this explains all the times that Kasumi suddenly comes up with food, and other items
out of thin air. And a explanation for the hammer as well. (truthfully, I prefer the hammer as a
martial arts ability explanation. It allows other people to learn and use the hammer, which does
happen.)

thank you for reading
jeff shelton