This story contains violence and adult language.

Oddly enough, it is in the same continuity as my 'Wish for Batman'
story I posted a few months back. The continuity is hard to spot
at first, but...


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Aa! Megami-sama: The Thirteenth DAY

by Chris Jones
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Prelude:

	All things move in cycles.
	It is, perhaps, an inevitable consequence of the construction
method used when what we call reality was being spun out of
meaninglessness.
	Even the most complex mathematical models prove that planets
spin around their stars in a multidimensional geodesic. Stars spin
around their galaxies and galaxies rotate around vast cosmic
structures. These structures rotate in dimensions inconceivable to
humans.
	Round human cells live in a cycle of division, growth, and
division. Those same cells are composed of molecules that vibrate
in a circular pattern, and those molecules are composed of atoms
that vibrate the same way.
	Electrons, whirring around in unfathomable patterns, run the
smallest circles of all.
	The universe runs a circle. It is a circle of circles of
circles of circles of circles.
	The pattern of all those circles within circles culminates in
an infinitely complex pattern.
	Like all things regardless of their nature, this pattern can
be modeled and controlled.
	A vast plain exists. It is dotted with the devices that
control the life and energy that runs through all worlds.
	Viewed from a distance, if you ever have to opportunity,
these branching, leafy thing looks rather like trees.
	These 'world' trees contain the circuitry that runs all that
exist, and yet they are still subject to a cycle of their own.
	He who writes the instructions that those giant masses of
living circuitry run lives high in the branches of one of His
favorites.
	He calls it Yggdrasil, for that is a name that pleased Him
when He created it.
	Now, He watches what appears to be a sun, a representation of
some of those ulitmate cycles, hovering low on the perfectly flat
horizon.

The Thirteenth Day:

	Thoughtfully, He rubbed His smooth chin, and watched it
descend. Slowly, the light drained out of the sky. Finally, all
became dark and void.
	His desk, or what He called a desk for the convenience of
those He had created, was clear except for a single raised panel.
It was adorned with several glowing spheres of light. He touched
one.
	"Verthande, attend Me."
	Before Him, a young woman appeared. She was about five and a
half feet tall and had light, ash blonde hair. Her violet eyes held
a rather confused expression.
	"Lord?"
	"Greetings, child," He addressed her in the language he had
created.
	"My Lord? Why have I been summoned?" Nervously, she smoothed
her nightshirt and kneeled before her creator.
	He noticed that her speech had become slightly accented with
the language she now spoke on a daily basis.
	"Behold," He gestured to the wide, transparent wall.
	For the first time, the goddess noted the darkness. She
gasped in shock. "The light has gone! But why, Lord?"
	"In the beginning, all had become dark and void. This was the
beginning of the first DAY. Over the next six DAYS I created
everything that is. On the seventh DAY, I rested."
	The goddess nodded. She had heard this story before, but the
math involved in calculating the length of a celestial DAY was
simply beyond her. Skuld had done it once or twice, but it was a
stretch for even her nimble mind.
	"Since," He continued, five more DAYS have passed."
	"Five? I thought it was only four, Lord."
	He smiled knowingly and gestured toward dark horizon again.
	The goddess's eyes widened in horror. "I... never thought I'd
see it..."
	"Behold the beginning of the thirteenth DAY."
	The goddess began to tremble anxiously. "Every new DAY is
heralded by a great cataclysm, Lord. What of my Keiichi?"
	He exhaled noisily. It was an affectation, but one meant to
comfort. "That is why you are here, Child."
	An image of one Keiichi Morisato sprang to life in front of
His 'desk'. It turned slightly, displaying the young man's smiling
profile.
	"'Your' Keiichi shall be the First, Child."
	"First, Lord?"
	"Part of the purpose for which I created this world is at
hand. Each DAY, the Purpose advances one step. This next step shall
be one of the most difficult for those who inhabit this world. The
cataclysm may destroy them, and *all* we have done will be for
naught."
	The Lord's purpose was as inscrutable as the scale by which
he measured time, but the Goddess knew that if He was concerned
then it was a truly dire situation.
	"Humanity will survive if it is led, however, and I have
already selected the first of these great leaders."
	The goddess 'gasped' and her hand went to her mouth.
	"It is the purpose of all his days, and yours as well. You
will be his instrument, even as he will be yours and mine."
	"Can Keiichi take such an awesome undertaking, Lord?"
	"Do you not know the man you claim to cherish, Child?" The
Lord chuckled, a warm, loving sound.
	"If he proves his worthiness to me, he will eventually move
the stars if he so chooses."
	The goddess worried.

* * *

	Keiichi Morisato awoke with a start. He had been dreaming
something... Something he could not quite recall. It involved a
sunset, and ...something.... and...
	Keiichi grimaced as the memory surfaced. Belldandy had been
very afraid in his dream, and Keiichi had learned to trust his
dreams when they concerned her.
	He sat up, realizing that the temple was utterly silent.
Usually, the sounds of Belldandy fixing breakfast, Skuld's early
morning experiments, or one of Urd's raunchy game shows could be
heard. This morning, the wind was not blowing, and the birds
weren't even singing.
	Suspiciously, he got up from his futon, dressed, and made his
into the kitchen.
	Belldandy wasn't there.
	"Not good." Something was definitely amiss. A quick survey of
the temple revealed that the other two goddesses were missing as
well.
	A thousand different thoughts played through his head, each
one more horrible than the last. Perhaps demons had spirited them
away during the night. Perhaps Kami-sama had recalled Belldandy
again, not allowing her to even say goodbye.
	Perhaps...
	"Enough of that." He went to the doorway, slipped on his
shoes and expanded his search to the temple yard.
	With a sigh of relief, he found the three girls in the back
of the temple, near the odd cherry tree. The three were all wearing
their most formal 'Goddess' outfits and hovering about six feet off
the ground. They had their backs turned and their heads uplifted as
if in careful examination of the	tree.
	"Belldandy! There you are."
	She turned, rotating neatly without moving a muscle. He was
about to call out again when he realized that her expression was
drawn, worried even. Her hands were clasped tightly together,
wringing slightly.
	Skuld and Urd both had blank expression. Skuld held her long
debugging mallet at the ready, while Urd simply 'stood' with her
hands on her hips.
	"What's going on?" Keiichi finally asked.
	A little boy appeared in front of Keiichi. It was as if he
simply hadn't noticed him before. He was olive skinned, like Urd,
but had dark hair and brown eyes. He wore school clothes and a
baseball cap. While his forehead was covered by the cap, his
cheekbones bore a distinct lack of the now-familiar marks.
	"This is getting odd," Keiichi stated. "What is this,
Belldandy?"
	"She cannot answer you," the little boy stated. His tone was
open and honest. In fact, Keiichi saw Belldandy's expression become
even more worried.
	"Why not?" Keiichi demanded. He carefully clenched his fists.
threats had come at him and Belldandy from more innocuous sources.
While the boy's benevolent expression was totally disarming,
Keiichi couldn't just allow himself to relax. "Are they under some
sort of control?"
	The little boy held up his hands, halting Keiichi's
questions. "They have been forbidden by Kami-sama to communicate
with you or interfere at all during your trial."
	Keiichi's eyes opened wide in shock. "Trial?!?! What have I
done?"
	"I am to test you for worthiness. Should you prevail, you
will become much more than you are. Should you fail, you shall
become much less."
	"Wait, why am I being tried, tested, whatever? What have I
done to deserve this."
	The youth only pointed to a spot behind the goddesses, back
into the wooded area of the temple yard. "Shall we begin?"
	Without waiting for response, he strode of in the direction
of the cherry tree."
	"Wait a second!" Keiichi demanded. "I don't even know the
rules! How can you test me, if I don't know what's going on or who
you are?"
	The youth halted and smiled. While it was in no way wicked,
it was not a kind smile. It spoke of much more knowledge and vision
than could possible fit into such a child.
	"Who are you?" Keiichi demanded again in a low tone.
	"Oh, I have many names," the youth replied. "None that I
shall share with you until you are worthy, however. Behold:"
	Keiichi looked in the direction the youth pointed, and
realized he was no longer in the temple yard. The broad leafed
trees had been replaced by their thinner, whiter barked cousins and
needled evergreens. The air had changed from the early morning
scent of Nekomi, to a wet, piny, smoky smell. The land had changed
as well, becoming steep and rocky instead of the mostly flat
terrain around the temple. Keiichi realized he was standing on the
side of a mountain.
	"Yes. We are in a place called 'Colorado'."
	"America?"
	The boy nodded. "Observe." He pointed down the slope. A few
steps down, Keiichi could see a thin, asphalt road twisting through
the fog and mist.
	He clearly heard the rumble of a vehicle coming up the road.
Cautiously, he positioned himself behind a tree.
	The vehicle came into view. It was a large red pickup truck.
Keiichi could clearly hear the raccous country-western music
filtering through the truck's windows.
	He followed it with his eyes as it zipped along the road.
	*crack*
	Keiichi winced at the sound. Just before the truck left his
field of vision, a deer of some sort jumped out on the road. It was
terrified, and blind with panic. The driver swerved, avoiding
hitting the animal head on. Instead, the deer was clipped on the
shoulder. It spun in the air several times before it landed on the
pavement with a sick thud.
	Keiichi swore and ran down to the road. Just as he got there,
he could see the truck swerving out of view over a hill.
	Not really wanting to look, he glanced down at the deer. It
was still alive, but barely. It had a large open gash in its leg,
and was thrashing it violently. Pained, gurgling sounds were coming
from the poor beast's open, frothing mouth, but worst of all, it
lay at a horrible angle, its spine clearly broken just below its
shoulder.
	"Damnitt... I think that asshole was drunk."
	"Yes, but there is little you can do about that. He is
already almost a kilometer away. What will you do about *this*
situation?"
	"If Belldandy was here, she could probably heal it."
	The little boy shook his head. "Belldandy is not here, and
even if she was, she would not be allowed to help you."
	Keiichi stared at the terrified beast in remorse. "Can you
heal it? Is there any sort of medical facility nearby?"
	"I will not heal this animal," he said, partially confirming
Keiichi's suspicion of the boy's nature. "If this one does not die
today, another will. As for earthly medical care, the nearest
facility that will care for this animal is located one-hundred and
ten kilometers to the north."
	"And I have no way to get it there, other than carrying it."
	The youth's expression was impassive.
	"Shit! This thing weighs three times what I do. I'm barely
going to be able to get it off the road. There's no *way* I could
carry it *one* kilometer, let alone a hundred."
	"What will you do?"
	Keiichi sighed in frustration. "I can't carry it. I know my
limits. Even if I could, I'd kill it with internal injuries. If I
left it here, and walked for help, it'd be torn apart by
scavengers, or just run over again if I left it in the road."
	"So you will wait until it dies?"
	Keiichi gritted his teeth and shook his head. With tears
standing in his eyes, he stomped back off the road. A few seconds
later, he returned with a large flat rock.
	"I'm sorry," he whispered, and brought the rock down on the
animal's head.
	He had to strike it three times before it stopped thrashing.
He struck it a fourth time to make sure that the animal's suffering
had ended.
	With a grim, resolute expression, he set his legs, grunted,
and dragged the carcass off the road.
	"Will you bury it now?" The boy asked.
	Trying to control his viciously turning stomach, Keiichi
wiped his hands on his pants and shook his head. "Why? It's an easy
meal for bugs or something like that."
	"That is your final decision?"
	"What's it to you?"
	"This is all part of your test."
	Keiichi glared at the boy. "Well, I don't like it one bit."
	"Behold:" The boy pointed back towards the trees. Keiichi
knew what was coming, but didn't much care to follow the boy.
	After waiting a few seconds, Keiichi realized he was dead in
the middle of nowhere with no way back to Japan and followed the
boy.
	He quickly caught up to the youth. Within a few short
minutes, they emerged on the edges of a city.
	"This city is called 'Sarievjo'"
	Keiichi grimaced, trying to recall what he knew of the recent
conflict. Guiltily, he realized he hadn't paid much attention to
the news about the grim situation. It was a religious conflict, he
thought, between... Muslims? Muslims and Catholics, he guessed. He
couldn't tell from the people's faces, their speech or clothing.
	While there was a lot of obvious construction going on, scars
from the war were visible everywhere. Buildings were riddled with
bulletholes and missing entire walls. The remnants of bridges and
high-rises swayed in the wind. Every once in a while, Keiichi
caught sight of a person who seemed to be maimed or horribly
scarred. A few were missing limbs.
	"It was so far away when it was happening," he stated.
	"But the war seems very close now, doesn't it?"
	Keiichi nodded, forgetting his animosity toward the boy. "I
wonder if this was what Grandfather felt like after the war?"
	The boy didn't answer. Instead, he led Keiichi deeper into
the city.
	"Is there danger of fighting here?" Keiichi asked.
	The little boy shook his head in response. "The last serious
fighting here was several months ago. Tensions are very high, and
some violence is inevitable, but there will be no deaths here
today."
	As if to counter the young boy's words, two gunshots rang out
behind Keiichi. He jumped at the sound, and watched the people
scatter out of sight.
	He ducked behind garbage can.
	The person who had fired the shots held a small handgun in
the air. He was wearing an apron, and gave all appearances of a
cook or a shop keeper.
	"God-damnned retard!" he shouted. Keiichi was surprised that
he could understand the man's speech. "You will not steal from me
anymore! Do you understand?!?! I will kill you if you steal from me
again!"
	"What's he talking about?" Keiichi whispered under his breath
as the man strode angrily into one of the shops.
	A motion down the street caught his eye. Not expecting any
more danger, Keiichi left his hiding spot, and jogged over to where
he had seen the motion.
	Just inside an alley, a man in a dirty, torn coat huddled,
nibbling on candy bar. He rocked back and forth as he ate, and
scratched viciously at the broken asphalt with his free hand.
	"What happened?" Keiichi asked. "Was that man shooting at
you?"
	The man simply got up and wandered several meters down the
alley. He sat back down and started his odd behavior again.
	"What's wrong with him?" Keiichi whispered under his breath.
	Beside him, the boy answered his rhetorical question. "He was
born that way. He has a rare seizure disorder, a misshapen brain
and severe autism. He has never spoken in his life."
	"Does he have any family?"
	The boy shook his head. "His father died before he was born,
and his mother was killed by a rocket during the war."
	"I'm not going to 'put him out of his misery', if that's what
you want." Keiichi resolved. "How does he live? Is there anyone
who's supposed to take care of him?"
	"No. You just saw how he eats. He walks into a store, picks
up a piece of food and walks back out. He has no ability to
understand 'money' or 'work'."
	"What happens if I leave him here?"
	"He will be shot to death a week from now by a soldier who
thinks he is stealing."
	Keiichi shook his head in anger. "Is there any kind of
shelter, or medical facility that will take care of him?"
	"There is a red-cross office two blocks away. I will tell
you, though, that they are seriously overworked, and burdened with
an airborne epidemic besides."
	"Well, we gotta try, don't we? I'm not just gonna leave him
here to die if I don't have to."
	Keiichi followed the boy across a few intersection until they
reached a burned out building that had been partially rebuilt, and
was being used as a combination hospital and shelter.
	Keiichi walked into the front door, hoping that the people
there could understand him as well as he was hearing.
	A young man about his own age sat at the front desk. He was
busy, talking between three phones, and taking notes on several
different pieces of paper. Seeing Keiichi, he slowly managed to get
all his calls on hold.
	"What can I do for you?" he asked in a language Keiichi was
sure that wasn't Japanese.
	"Umm," he hesitated, praying that the language barrier was
down for the purposes of this test. "There's a guy a few streets
down, sleeping in the alley. He's retarded, and someone threatened
to kill him for stealing food. I was wondering..."
	"We can feed him," The volunteer finished for him. "But the
shelter's full as it can be. We've also got flu, measles, small
pox, and diarreaha floating around like pea soup."
	"If I show him where the kitchen is, will he come back?"
Keiichi asked the boy.
	"Twice. He will forget where it is. He has no real memory."
	"Damnitt..."
	"Listen," the red cross volunteer broke in, "If you're
looking for some place to put him up, there's a monastery down the
street. They might be able to take him in."
	Keiichi nodded and thanked the man. And headed back towards
the alley.
	The man had finished his candy bar, and was picking pebbles
out of the asphalt.
	"Come with me," Keiichi said.
	The man didn't seem to notice.
	Keiichi knelt down and grabbed the man's hand. He jerked at
first, but stood up when Keiichi pulled.
	With carefully controlled disgust, Keiichi ignored the stream
of saliva dripping down the man's chin and started out of the
alley.
	"The monks will take him in," the boy volunteered. "But they
are already on short rations. They don't have the ability to feed
him. One monk will go hungry, get sick and eventually die in order
to feed this man."
	Keiichi sighed. "Geez, you don't let up, do you?"
	"It is not me. This would have happened regardless of your
test."
	"I *think* I got this covered."
	Keiichi found the monastery and knocked on the door. A bald,
robed monk answered by opening a window in the front of the door.
"Can I help you, my son?"
	"I'm okay, but this guy--" Keiichi pointed at the fidgeting,
drooling man. "Needs a place to stay and something to eat. He can't
take care of himself very well."
	He noted the dreading, but accepting expression on the monk's
face.
	"Listen, I heard you guys are pretty short, and this would be
dropping another mouth to feed on you."
	Keiichi reached up his sleeve and pulled off his watch. The
Monk's eyes widened.
	"It's not a lot, worth about forty five thousand yen. Will it
buy food for him?"
	The monk nodded happily. "Yes. We are good at stretching our
funds. It will help us feed him for quite some time."
	"Ummm... What's the address of this place? I'm... traveling,
but when I get home, I might be able to send another donation."
	The monk wrote down the address on a scrap of paper and
thanked him profusely. "What is his name?" he asked before taking
the retarded man's hand.
	Keiichi could only shrug.
	"Piotr," the boy volunteered. "His mother called him Piotr".
	Smiling, the monk led the shaking retarded man inside the
monastery.
	"God bless you!" He shouted before closing the door.
	Keiichi felt like hell. Guilt and shame assailed him for his
reaction to the man's grubbiness.
	The boy led him away from the monastery, back they way they
had come.
	"A most interesting solution," the youth eventually prompted.
	"It was my graduation present," Keiichi replied. "My dad got
it for me when I passed my entrance tests to Nekomi."
	"It meant a lot to you?"
	"Yeah. Not as much as a man's life, though."
	They walked for a few more minutes before the boy spoke
again.
	"That person had the same mental capacity as the deer. They
both felt the same kind of emotions, and had the same needs. Why
did you save the man and not the deer?"
	"What, you're saying that the deer was just as important as
the man?!?!"
	"If you were a deer, which would feel was more important."
	Keiichi grimaced. "It doesn't matter. The deer was dying, and
there was nothing I could do for it, other than end its suffering.
There was no way a gold watch could have saved it. That guy... at
least he had a chance. Maybe he can't think or speak, but he can be
warm and safe."
	"What if I told you that if you had waited fifteen minutes,
another truck would come by the deer. You could have stopped it and
traded your watch for care for the deer."
	"With a broken back?" Keiichi shook his head defensively.
"Even if it didn't die, it'd be pretty miserable if it couldn't run
around the woods, right?"
	"So, you care more about a life that looks human, rather than
a life that looks like an animal?"
	Keiichi gritted his teeth and thrust his hands into his
pockets.
	"Well?"
	"I don't know. Okay?" He turned and shouted at the boy. "If I
had seen any way to save the deer, I would have. Okay?
	The boy nodded. "One last test. Behold:"
	Keiichi turned around. He realized that something was wrong
with the forest around him. The trees all seemed... plastic. Upon
close inspection, they appeared to be thin imitations of real
trees. Just beyond was bare, desolate rock.
	"Where are we?" Keiichi asked.
	"This place is called 'Niffleheim'."
	Keiichi's eyes widened in shock. Hell! He was in Hell, of all
places.
	The youth took off out of the forest of fake trees and over
the rocky plain. Following him, Keiichi realized that the sky was a
dark, polluted brown, and the horizon was red, as if fires were
burning just beyond.
	After only a few seconds of walking, Keiichi and the boy were
somehow in the center of a city of sorts.
	All the buildings were just facades. He could clearly see
people... demons just behind them and around the edges. The
'street' seemed to be an open wrestling match. People, more demons,
Keiichi realized, were rioting. Inflicting damage without remorse
or care.
	Keiichi winced as one poor... soul? Demon? *Somthing* was
torn apart in a spray of blood and gore. Luckily the crowd around
the incident was so tightly packed, Keiichi couldn't see the
details.
	"This is horrible..."
	"This is where evil souls go to die," the boy confirmed.
	Keiichi shook his head in disbelief. "Can they see us?"
	"No, that would cause too much of a disturbance."
	The boy led Keiichi inside one of the facades. Once they
stepped inside, it appeared to be a real building, with halls and
stairways.
	"This is an illusion, isn't it?" Keiichi asked. "You can see
in from the outside, but the people inside can't see out."
	Again, the boy nodded. "The master of this place is the lord
of lies. *Everything* here is false."
	Keiichi shuddered at the implication.
	They stopped at a doorway. The boy waited for Keiichi to act.
	"If this is just an illusion, this isn't real." He stepped
through the door like it was mist.
	The boy nodded and stepped through after him.
	Keiichi hissed in surprise. Mara was standing right in front
of him.
	He relaxed, however, realizing she wasn't looking at him.
Instead, a grotesque, goat-hoofed *thing* held her gaze.
	Mara's expression was fawning as if she were trying to please
the beast before her.
	"I did just as you asked, Master."
	The goat-thing growled. "Fuck-up again? Shit! You're a
worthless whore who can't get *anything* right!"
	"But Master--" Mara cringed under the verbal assault.
	"All I ask is that you take out a few sniveling goddesses,
and murder a mortal or two, and all you can do is get tricked into
shitting all over the job over and over again! How much have we
wasted trying to get your bullshit plots to work? The boss is
getting pretty damn sick and tired of you."
	Mara's expression became utterly terrified. "Please, no!"
	"What do you expect, you little bint?!?!" Keiichi jumped as
the demon's red arm grew to an even more grotesque proportion. It
reached out and slapped the demoness across the face. She impacted
against the wall and slid down to the floor, spitting blood and
teeth.
	"Stupid cunt! Do you have any idea how much that CD cost us
*alone*?!?! That was only *one* of your shit-stupid plots!" The
demon's other arm grew out and grabbed the demoness by her leather
halter. He picked her up and began slamming his free fist into her
again and again.
	Keiichi's expression grew alarmed. "Stop this!" he shouted.
	Apparently not hearing, the demon landed a particularly
viscous blow to her neck and shoulders that tore the front of her
halter off. She fell to the floor with a crash, crying out as her
face hit the tile.
	Bloody and exposed, Mara cringed, trying to keep her arms
over her face as the demon kicked his sharp cloven hooves into her
abdomen.
	"STOP THIS!!!" Keiichi yelled. He leapt at the attacking
demon... only to fly straight through it. He hit the ground and
rolled, coming to a stop on the other side of the wall.
	"But..." he walked back through the wall just in time to see
the demon deliver one final blow to the demoness's head.
	As Mara's bloody eyes rolled up in her head, the demon faded
from view.
	Finally, Keiichi understood. "This is somehow an illusion,
too, isn't it?"
	The boy nodded. "At first, I thought you would not see it."
	"It was pretty realistic," Keiichi said, kneeling down next
to the injured demoness. "This is real, though," he confirmed,
feeling Mara's dark red blood on his fingertips. I don't understand
what happened here."
	The boy rubbed his chin for a second. "This was her
punishment for failing to destroy you and the three goddesses."
	"If it was an illusion..."
	"It was one she was forced to believe. The master of lies
finds it most useful to use terror to control his minions."
	Keiichi made the connection. "She was forced to hurt
herself."
	"Yes."
	He growled in anger and frustration. "Is there anything we
can do for her?" he volunteered after he managed to calm down.
	"Compassion? For something that has attacked you and those
you love over and over again?"
	"What, I'm just supposed to let her lay here and bleed? I'm
better than that. Regardless of what she's done, *no-one* deserves
this."
	"She is a demon. The lowest of the low, the darkest of the
dark."	
	"That doesn't matter!" Keiichi shouted. "She's in pain, and
I'm gonna do something about it!"
	"She is the enemy of all that is right and good."
	"Can't you see the truth here?!?!" Keiichi demanded. "She's
being *forced* to do this! I can't just let this go on."
	"Ah... so you have seen through the last illusion."
	"Huh?" Keiichi asked as he gathered the demoness into his
arms.
	"A long time ago... A *very* long time ago, I created a host
of angels." The boy made a gesture, and Mara rose out of his arms.
The leather clothes she was wearing burned away, and her limp body
became surrounded with a pale white glow.
	"You... created?" Keiichi realized who he was talking to.
"Kami-sama!"
	The little boy no longer seemed so little. Nor did he seem
mature. In fact, he defied every categorization Keiichi's mind
tried to cast upon him.
	"In one I trusted almost ultimate power and free will. He
betrayed Me, and stole a third of what I had created."
	Gingerly, the Lord stroked Mara's bruised cheek. "He twisted
my beautiful angels. He abused them and tormented them. He filled
them with anger and hate that was not theirs."
	"My angels made war with his demons. Most of them were
completely destroyed. The few that survived were equal in number,
so I sat limits upon them. Every new spirit, whether it be defiled
or divine, would have its balance.
	"The time has come to upset that balance. Today, I start to
take back what is Mine."
	"There will be another war," Keiichi noted. Looking over at
Mara, he realized her face had been completely healed by the Lord's
touch.
	The Creator moved his hands over some of her other wounds,
closing them with a thought.
	"Yes, but not for thousands of your years. When that time
comes, you, and the rest of humanity will be called upon to fight."
	"Me? I'll be dead by then. What can I do, Kami-sama?"
	"Your tests have been tests of compassion and sacrifice,
Keiichi. First, you took the deer's suffering upon yourself when
you ended its pain. Then, you gave up one of the few links you have
left to your father in order to save a doomed life.
	"Finally, you have chosen to try to protect a damned soul. I
will allow you to do so, if you think you can handle it."
	Keiichi swallowed hard. "You want me to protect Mara?"
	"Do you want to protect Mara?"
	"I do... but I can't."
	"Because of Belldandy?"
	"No." Keiichi shook his head. "Belldandy would help me, if I
could do this. I know she would."
	The Lord nodded His agreement.
	"I just simply don't have the strength to protect her, or
defend myself from her if she goes back."
	The Lord finished His healing. His hand hovered over Mara's
head. Keiichi was rather surprised to see her twin 'demon' marks
disappear.
	"The hate and anger that fills her is gone. She is still
wild, though, and will be difficult to live with."
	Keiichi winced at the 'live with' part, but stood firm. "You
still haven't told me what can I do? How is saving one demoness
going to stop this war?"
	"Nothing shall forestall the battle. If you prove worthy, you
and others like you shall lead it, and prevail over the forces of
evil and deception."
	"I'd have to be a god to do that. Hell," Keiichi winced,
realizing he had just sworn in front of the Almighty. "I'd have to
be a god just to take care of Mara."
	"But you would take care of her?"
	"I would if I could."
	To his surprise, the Lord rose, becoming the imposing figure
Keiichi had always imagined.
	"Kneel, Mortal!" He commanded.
	Keiichi had no choice. He kneeled before his creator.
	With a caring expression, the Lord reached out and touched
Keiichi's face. Three times, right above his eyes, Keiichi felt his
skin burn at the touch.
	"Arise, God-Man!" He commanded.
	Keiichi sprang to his feet, the tingling still not going out
of his face.
	"You are worthy." the Lord proclaimed. "Your life shall not
be ended by disease or old age."
	Keiichi reeled. Immortality?!?!
	"Yes, Child."
	The implications were not lost on him. "I'll lose everybody.
I'll have to watch them die..."
	"Not everyone. There is a certain Goddess who intends to be
your wife. By your worthiness, you have also spoken for your
sister. She too, shall share in your gifts."
	Keiichi's mouth worked up and down in shock.
	"Now, do you accept this task I have laid upon you?"
	How could he not? Keiichi nodded dumbly.
	"Then so be it. It will be the first of many." He laid his
hand back upon Mara's face. Three circles appeared there, one in
the middle of her forehead and one on either cheek. "This new
goddess is yours to train and protect."
	Keiichi sighed at the immensity of what he had just agreed
to. There was only one answer he could give, though. "It shall be
as you say, Kami-sama."

* * *

	Belldandy jumped and cried for joy as she heard the rustling
in the trees. She ran in, only to see Keiichi carrying something
out of the woods. She stopped short in confusion. It was a woman,
covered only in Keiichi's coat. By all appearances, it was Mara,
but Belldandy wasn't getting any trace of her demonic presence.
	Skuld had long since gone inside in her impatience, but Urd,
who was still watching with her gasped in shock.
	"Look at his face!" She commanded.
	Sure enough, Belldandy noted a change in Keiichi's face. Over
his eyes were three blue diamonds.
	"Hey!" he waved them over. The figure he was holding *was* an
unconscious Mara. Instead of her demon marks, however, she now bore
goddess marks.
	"This is new..." Urd commented.
	"I think we better get used to it," Keiichi replied. "Ummm...
Kami-sama said it's only the first of my tasks."
	Belldandy started to weep. She leaned over the former
demoness and embraced the young man. "I knew you would be worthy!"
	"It's not going to be a cakewalk, that's for sure. Let's get
her inside before she gets sick."
	Belldandy was weeping with joy, but Urd was staring intently
at his face as he struggled to carry Mara to the house. "Have you
seen your face?" the platinum haired goddess inquired.
	"My face? What about my face?"
	Just then, Skuld's running out of the temple house. "Phone
for Keiichi. It's Megumi, and she's up--" the younger goddess
paused in midstride as she caught sight of Keiichi.
	Calling on his last reserves of strength, he hefted the new
goddess over one shoulder and staggered into the house. He laid her
down near the table, and covered her with a spare afghan. He walked
over to the phone, and picked it up.
	"Moshi-moshi," he intoned breathlessly.
	"Keiichi," an angry voice came across the line. Skuld was
right. Something *was* wrong with Megumi.
	"What's up, sis?" he answered, trying to keep his exhaustion
out of his voice.
	"Brother, *dearest*," she started in a menacing tone. "I woke
up this morning with three marks on my forehead. They're not
washing off. Now I only know three other people with marks like
these, and *you're* living with them. What's the deal, Keiichi?"
	Belldandy and Urd found him. Belldandy's hands were clapping
in excitement, and Urd held up a mirror for Keiichi.
	He got the first glimpse of his new... adornments. "Uh, sis.
I've got 'em too. You're gonna have to come over here for me to
explain it, because, believe me, it's a *long* story."

* * *

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                        \ \  ||  / /
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                          \| \/ |/

THE THIRTEENTH *DAY* HAS JUST BEGUN...
	
* * *

Where did this come from?

I've been chewing the idea over in my head about a year now, 
in which Keiichi becomes a "God-Man", an immortal human 
responsible for leading humanity through a great war or
cataclysm.

I've written this over again about five different times,
but I was thouroughly disgusted with all the previous 
incarnations. The first one had Keiichi riding his
motorcycle home from the jewelry store to propose to
Belldandy when he is saved from a fatal crash by 
Kami-sama.

In all the incarnations, Megumi is also gifted with
the as of yet undefined 'God-Man' powers, and Keiichi
ends up being responsible for 'coverting' Mara.

Sometime later, I wrote 'A wish for Batman' on a lark.
It was supposed to take place sometime after a Ranma/AMS
crossover sequel to this story.

To be honest, I'm still not all that satisfied with
the story. It goes where I want it to, but it just doesn't
have the 'oomph' I'm looking for, I guess.

In fact, it's still completely open for rewrite, which
is why I posted it. I want your ideas, and that is
what the FFML is for...

If you liked it, tell me why, so I can expand on those
parts. If you didn't like it, tell me, so I can make
it more interesting where it needs it.

If it's not obvious, the entirety of my experience from
AMS comes from the OAV's, web translations, and DH's manga
translations. If I've bungled an obvious cannon element,
don't be afraid to correct me.

I'm still not that clear on Mara's name. Mara or Marller?
Which is it, and why is there a difference.

If, for some reason, you want to read 'A Wish for Batman' which
is supposed to occur well after this story, it's available on
my Ranma 1/2 Fanfiction page:

http://cyberwheel.simplenet.com/ranma/fanfiction.html

If you've made this far, I thank you for slogging through.
I'm waiting to hear what you have to say!

Chris
* * *
Chris Jones - hamster@arn.net
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Ranma 1/2 Gallery - http://cyberwheel.simplenet.com/ranma/

'The cat trembled in confusion. "I... this... You have to believe me, 
this wasn't supposed to happen!"'