Mother's Gift

                                  Part 2

                                    By

                              The DragonBard


  I couldn't put this out in one file for some reason, so I'm sending it 
out in two parts.  This is part 2.  Part one has already been sent to 
the FFML and the RAAC.

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                           My e-mail address is

                          dragonbard@hotmail.com

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     The great rainbow surrounded the Tendo sisters and their aunts the 
three Norns.  The Tendos were in awe of the rainbow light that 
surrounded them, it's beauty was dazzling to behold.  Then suddenly, it 
was over.  The six found themselves in front of a giant gateway, besides 
which stood a giant of a man, with a sharp eye he looked at all of them, 
and nodded.  Though he did stare at Urd and the Tendo sisters for a 
moment before nodding.  His stare was quite intimidating for the Tendos, 
though Urd just stared right back at him.
     "This is Heimdall.  It's his job to guard the Gates of Heaven, and 
make sure that only those who are allowed to enter this realm."  
Belldandy said.  Urd who was still in a staring contest with Heimdall 
didn't pay any attention to the conversation, she just started to lick 
her lips.  This seemed to snap Heimdall out of his concentration and 
made him quite nervous.  Skuld just gave the two a look of disdain and 
went in.
     "I thought that Saint Peter was supposed to be in front of the 
Gates."  Kasumi said.  She had been very interested in her Mothers 
family, so after their Mother had left, she had read a great deal on the 
myths and legends of various cultures, and was very curious about which 
ones were correct.
     "Pete deals with the other Gate, the one mortals usually enter 
through."  Urd said absent mindedly.
     "You see, Kasumi," Belldandy said, as she led them through, "Heaven 
is not just one place, it is an almost infinite realm.  There are the 
worlds where the gods live, like our home Asgard, and Olympus, and 
several others.  Then there are the worlds were humans pass on to.  
You'll be told more about them when you get your certification."
     "Certification?"  Nabiki asked.  Anything that had t do with 
licensing or certification meant that she might have a chance to make 
some money.  <Of course,> she thought to herself, <I'm related to the 
gods, so money might not be as important from now on.>
     "Of course, certification!"  Skuld said.  "Do you think they let 
just anyone have the powers of a diety and grant wishes?  You have take 
tests, and do various jobs, and . . ."
     "That's enough, pipsqueek, they get they idea!"  Urd said.  Skuld 
stuck her tounge out at her big sister.  Kasumi, Nabiki, and Akane were 
slightly surprised to see two goddesses arguing like that.  Belldandy 
quited them down with a few words, and the group continued on through 
the realm of Heaven known as Asgard.
     The group walked for several minutes, the three Tendo sisters 
playing tourist to the marvels of Heaven, and the Norns enjoyed their 
amazement at their home.  They continued on like this until they 
encountered a giant obilisc with great golden doors.  Belldandy opened 
them with a wave of her hand, and they entered into . . . the Tendo 
home!
     The Tendo sisters stared in awe at the exact recreation of their 
home.  Suddenly, a voice, dimly remembered by the three sisters spoke in 
quivering tones.
     "Kasumi, Nabiki, Akane?"  The girls turned slowly, and found their 
mother, Kimiko Tendo, had come in to the room while they had been 
occupied looking around.  Kimiko rushed to them with tears in her eyes, 
and gathered them all in a hug.  Akane and Nabiki just started to cry, 
hugging their mother as if afraid that she would vanish like a dream.  
The three Norns, quickly and quietly left the Tendos to their reunion.  
After a few moments, the four seperated.  Kimiko looked at her three 
daughters, smiling with tears in her eyes.
     "My three little girls . . .you've all grown up now."  She said, 
and led them over to the table.  With a wave of her hand, a small meal 
appeared in front of them.
     "Eat.  Tell me all about what's happened to you."  Kimiko said.  
"Kasumi-chan has been telling me about some of it, but I want to hear it 
from you."  Akane and Kasumi then started to tell of the craziness that 
the Tendo family had been experiencing for the past couple of years.  
Nabiki, recovered a bit from the crying, said very little.  This seemed 
to sadden Kimiko a bit, but she understood.  She was very glad that 
Akane was so popular with the boys, though she was irritated  that their 
father hadn't stopped the fights before school, long before Ranma had 
shown up.  She muttered about doing some checking about the Kuno family.  
She also was very interested in Ranma and what the girls thought about 
him.  Akane stated that he was an insensitive jerk, and Kasumi said that 
he was very compassionate, though his father's influence made it 
difficult for him to deal with people.  Kimiko nodded as if expecting 
that.  She then turned to Nabiki.
     "Nabiki-chan, what's been going on in your life?"  She asked.
     "Why do you care?  You've been gone for over ten years, why should 
you get back into our lives now?"  Nabiki asked.  Now that she had 
gotten over the shock of seeing her mother again, she was enraged that 
her Mother, the most important person in her life had left them when 
they need her so much.  Kimiko set down the tea that she had been 
drinking, while Akane and Kasumi looked between the two of them 
apprehensivly.  Kimiko had been expecting this question, and was ready 
for it.
     "Nabiki, we gods and goddesses have much more power than most 
mortals, but we must pay for that power by having a great deal less 
freedom.  I left you because there is another dimension that exists 
between Heaven and Earth that is in great trouble.  If I didn't help, 
it, and everyone in it would have been destroyed.  If that had happend, 
then the effects would have been felt throughout the Mortal Plane.  If I 
had allowed that to happen, I could never have forgiven myself.
     "It was the hardest thing I've ever had to do to leave you three, 
but I knew that your Father loved you, and would take good care of you."
    Just then there was a ringing sound from a nearby phone.  Kimiko 
quickly went over to it, and after a quick conversation, hung up, and 
came back to them.
     "That was my Father, He wants me to bring you to his office right 
away."  With that said, she quickly walked to the doorway, where she was 
met by the three Norns, who had been waiting in the living room
     As the seven walked through the streets of Asgard, Skuld walked 
over to her niece, and attempted to start a conversation.  Akane only 
listend half-heartedly, until the subject of Akane's hammer came up.
     ". . . So I decided that since you'ld be having a lot of problems 
with pests like that, I decided to add in an enchantment to it so that 
you could get it anytime you needed to deal with one."  The one-sided 
conversation continued on in the same vein, as Skuld continued on about 
her creations.  What Skuld had said bothered Akane.  Did she think of 
Ranma as a pest?  Sure, she had punch, kicked, and thrown things at him.  
Sure she had broken their engagement to him, and got mad that he 
constantly tried to protect her, but she didn't think of him as a pest . 
. . did she?  Kimiko felt the emotional pain coming from her youngest 
daughter, and inwardly weeped.  Even though she was their Mother, to the 
three of them, she was little more than a stranger, one who they felt 
had betrayed them.  She had made her peace with Kasumi, but until her 
younger daughters forgave her, and were willing to open up to her, there 
was nothing she could do to help them.  Then, help came to Akane, from 
an unexpected source.
     "Those whom we love the most, are often the ones who irritate us 
the most."
     Akane turned to the source of this advice, Urd.
     "What do you know about what I'm going through?"  She asked 
angrily.  Urd simply smiled at her
     "My primary duty is being Goddess of the Past, but one of my lesser 
jobs, is as the Cupid of Love.  When I found out about who was coming, I 
checked the history files on you.  When I read about your fights with 
your fiance, I knew that you were either in love, or hated each others 
guts, and from what I could tell, you definitly don't hate each other.
     "When I heard what Skuld was talking about, I just put two and two 
together."
     This made Akane feel much better.  For some reason, she found 
herself liking this aunt of hers.  At first, Urd's blatant sexuality had 
reminded her too much of Shampoo with Ranma, but she was begining to get 
the feeling, that Urd was more like her sister Belldandy than she would 
be willing or able to admit.  With that thought, the seven proceded to 
Kami-sama's office.

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     It was the next morning, and the Tendo sisters were still in 
Heaven.  Belldandy and her sisters had returned to Earth, but came back 
just after breakfast.  Akane broached a subject that she had been 
thinking about since the last day.
     "Mother," she said to Kimiko, "Urd told me that there are files on 
us, here in Heaven."
     "Yes," Kimiko said, "There are files on everyone in the Heavens and 
the Earth here.  We even have some files on demons, but those aren't 
that uptodate.  Why?"
     "Could I take a look at them?"  Akane asked.  Nabiki quickly chimed 
in that she would be interested too, since any files in Heaven would 
almost definitly have some good secrets she could use to help her 
business.  Since none of the goddesses could see the harm in it, they 
were taken to the main work station for the Yggsdrail computer.
     Skuld and Urd quickly logged on with the ease of old pros, and went 
into the personal files area.  Information flashed on the screen.
     "Who's do you want to see?"  Skuld asked.
     "How about, Ranma, Ranma Saotome?"  Nabiki said.  Skuld quickly 
typed some keys.
     "Here it is!"  Skuld said.  Everyone crowded around the computer 
screen.
     "What language is that?"  asked Nabiki, looking at the strange 
markings that her cousin Skuld claimed was the entry for Ranma in the 
computer system that ran Creation itself.
     "Sorry.  Forgot that you can't read the language of the gods yet."  
Skuld quickly typed in a quick command and it quickly changed to 
Japanese.  Now, at the top of the screen was a name.

          NAME:            RANMA SAOTOME

     

     "Let's see," Skuld muttered, "Birthdate, blood type, ah-here's what 
you're looking for!"

     CURRENT METAPHYSICAL INFORMATION--

ACTIVE CURSES:  JUSENKYO-SPRING OF DROWNED GIRL;  NEKO-KEN;  CHAOS                    
ELEMENT.

     "Chaos element!"  Cried the three goddesses.  "Oh My!"  Belldandy 
and Kasumi said.  "The guy's a human Bug!" cried Urd.
     "What is it?  What's a 'Bug?'  You make it sound like the worst 
thing in existence."  Akane asked.  <Just like that Baka!  Messing 
things up even in Heaven!>
     "They aren't the 'worst,'" Urd said, "But they are a royal pain!  I 
ought to know!"
     "You see," Belldandy began, "the Ultimate Force is a power of 
Order.  It makes sure that the rules are followed.  However Kami-sama 
made sure that there would also be Chaos in existence, so that change 
and growth would be possible.  The Ultimate Force looks on Chaos as an 
error, and tries to control, or contain it.  Sometimes, when something 
goes wrong;  a god or goddess breaks a rule, there is a flaw in the 
system, or there is too much Chaos in creation, it will cause Elemental 
Chaos Spirits to appear.  These Spirits cause a great deal of problems, 
since they make the laws of nature go out of control, and cause the 
Ultimate Force to make mistakes.  What you would think unlikely to 
happen, becomes common place.  We call these spirits, Bugs.  That's 
because they are to the Ultimate Force, what normal bugs are to a 
earthly computer.  Part of our job is to find and eliminate Bugs from 
existence.
     "A long time ago, Father decreed that some people would be Chaos 
Elements, acting as natural random elements in creation.  Bringing 
change and growth to your world.  Because of this, they are a part of 
nature, and we leave them alone.  Ranma is one of those people."
     Akane took a minute to digest this information.  All those times 
that she had blamed Ranma for things happening, and they might have not 
been his fault, at least, not in a way he could control.  All those 
times that they had walked in on one another in the bath, all those 
times that he got splashed with water, it was all begining to make 
sense!  It was a dazed Akane that turned back to the computer screen.

SOULMATE:  AKANE TENDO, GODDESS OF THE UNBOUND HEART, FOURTH CLASS            
(DEMIGOD) CATEGORY PROBATIONARY 

     "Looks like you won Sis'."  Nabiki said with a smirk.  Akane 
blushed.  <If I'm his 'soulmate' that must mean he really loves me.>  
She thought.  She had been told by her Grandfather, Kami-sama, about her 
and her sisters jobs; Kasumi as Goddess of Peace, Nabiki as Goddess of 
Secrets, and herself as Goddess of emotions and the unbound heart.  What 
she might be able to do with this, and the fact that Ranma loved her 
sent her into a trance of joy.  She was jolted out of dreamstate by the 
sound of Skuld facefaulting on the table.
     "What is it Skuld?"  Belldandy asked, concerned.  In answer, Skuld 
pointed to a line of text on the screen.  What it said made everyones 
eyes bulge.

SPIRITUAL ENERGY:  HIGH  PRESENT ABILITIES INDICATE                                      
ELIGIBILITY FOR IMMORTALITY.

                              NOTICE:

     RANMA SAOTOME IS UNDER CONSIDERATION FOR ADVANCEMENT TO POSITION(S) 
OF GOD/DESS OF CHANGE AND GROWTH, AND/OR PATRON GOD/DESS OF MARTIAL ARTS 
AND WARRIORS.  ANY AND ALL HEAVENLY BEINGS ARE TO AIDE IN DETERMINATION 
OF SUITABILITY FOR POSITION.

     Akane had to take a moment to sit down at this.  Not only was she 
now a goddess, or rather a 'demi'goddess, but Ranma might very well 
become a god, and even if he didn't, it was possible for him to become 
an immortal, like her.  Akane got a goofy smile on her face.  With the 
trainning she would get from her relatives, she could easily defeat 
Shampoo's martial arts abilities, and get rid of all the Amazon's love 
potions.  That, and the fact that she was Ranma's soulmate, neice of the 
Cupid of Love, and herself possessing some power over the heart, made 
her know, once and for all that she had won the fight.
     "Look out Ranma," she muttered, "Your Soulmate is going to get 
you!"

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     Well, I finally finished this thing.  For a while I didn't think I 
would.  To everyone who's been encouraging me, I thank you.
     I decided to write this after reading a few other stories that set 
Kasumi and Belldandy as relatives.  I thought about it, and decided to 
try my hand in it.  I came across one, A Batman the Animated 
Series/Ranma/AMG crossover at the Ranma 1/2 Gallery that had a similar 
idea about making the three sisters goddesses, but I came up with this 
before reading it.
     I got alot of C&C about the teasers I sent out a while ago.  So I 
decided that sometime after I finish this, and send it to the FFML and 
the RAAC, I'll write an alterverse version of this story which may 
become a series.  In this one, a demon with ties to Kimiko and Urd shows 
up, intent on getting some revenge.  Though don't expect it to show up 
soon.  I've got alot of work on my hands and I don't have web access at 
my house.  I'm writing this at my public library so it may be a while.
     I want to thank Gerald E. Jordan for helping me with the last scene 
in this monster.  It was a great help.

>From the Pen of the DragonBard:
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*"There are more things in Heaven and Earth . . .  *
*then are dreampt of in your philosiphy."          *
*Hamlet                                            *
*                                                  *
*Glendower: I can call spirits from the vasty deep!*
*                                                  *
*Hotspur:  Why, so can I, or so can any man;       *
*But will they come when you do call for them?     *     
*Henery IV                                         *
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Yes I am crazy, I don't just act that way!


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