E-mail: kipp_loong@yahoo.com Homepage: www.geocities.com/kipp_loong/ <>= thought ()=author's opinion {number}= explanation at the bottom Disclaimers: Oh! My Goddess (Oh! My Goddess, Ah! Megami-sama, and whatever else they call it) is owned by Kosuke Fujishima and Kodansha. English translations are owned by Dark Horse Comics. The work that I am doing is in no way used for profit, nor am I taking credit for the characters. This is purely for entertainment. Kipp Long and Hikari Amatsu are my own creations and are not to be reproduced with out my permission. The Japanese Specialized Self Defence Force: Supernatural Division does not actually exist and is a figment of this author's imagination, therefore making it my own creation. So without further ado, I present to you... [[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[ |nfinity Corps is Proud to Present An Ah! My Goddess! Fanficiton Deus Patronus: Prologue By: Jeffrey Chow [[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[ July 11, 12:30 a.m. Under the glowing brilliance of the silver moon, the shimmering beauty of the sparkling stars, a figure, covered by the shadows, ran through the darkened bamboo grove around it. Darting swiftly and quietly, the shadow moved with purpose... until a voice sounded in its ear. "Captain, 200 meters ahead of you should be a clearing with a pond in it, that is Alpha point," the female voice instructed. "Destination confirmed," the shadow replied with a deep masculine voice. "Captain?" the voice inquired. "Yeah?" the figure asked, curiously, just as he entered the clearing. The moon's silver brilliance briefly illuminated the captain, displaying pure black hair, parted on ether side, and hardened brown eyes. His shadow reflected his slender, yet well muscled body. He was tall, standing around 180 cm, head shoulders above many of his fellow people. His loose black clothing moved slightly in the soft breeze, causing him to shift slightly. As he walked towards the pond in the middle of the clearing, his hand reached down to shift a sword hilt attached to his black leather belt. His hand rested briefly on the green jewelled pommel, almost as he seemed to take comfort in knowing that his weapon was still there, but one had to wonder what he was going to do with a sword hilt when he already had two holstered pistols at his sides. As he stood over the pond, he marvelled at his own reflection, and how different it seemed whenever he was on a mission. Many had told him that his eyes seemed harder, almost like glittering brown rocks, but he had never noticed that himself. His lips were different from the easy going smile he usually wore, now, they were just lines on his face, unmoving and emotionless. Shrugging to himself, the young man shifted the black satchel that was slung over his shoulder, and bent down to take a drink. He was Captain Kipp Long of the Japanese Specialized Self Defence Force: Supernatural Division, and he'd be damned if anybody was going to stop him from taking a brief drink, while his intelligence officer worked out where he was supposed to go. It should be noted that Fate rarely ever allows anybody to have a nice quiet break in peace. "Kipp, as your friend..." the voice began. "And as my annoying 'imouto,' right Hikari Amatsu?" Kipp teased. "Um, well, ah..." Hikari stuttered in anger. "Don't deny it Hikari! I know you think of me as such!" Kipp chuckled. "And don't be fooled, you're not going to get to beat me when I get back!" "Now you listen here Buster! You are a sixteen year old, very intelligent, and a decent looking guy. Shouldn't you be going to school like the rest of us, rather then doing this stuff all day long?" Hikari asked, turning her anger into determination. "I finished High School when I was fourteen{2}," was Kipp's simple answer, his amusement dimming slightly. "What about University?" Amatsu persisted. "Maybe, when I can actually fit in," Kipp whispered longingly. "What do you mean?" Hikari asked, concern showing in her voice. "Have you ever seen a sixteen-year old in a University?" Kipp asked, a tired sort of humour in his voice. "Ohhh, is the great, brave Kipp Long afraid of people?" Hikari teased, grinning slightly. "No, not really," Kipp answered, flushing. "Besides, if I leave, I'll deprive you of your beloved aniki!!" "You are not older then me!" Hikari growled. "Yes I am!! I'm exactly one month, two days, and five seconds older then you!! Anyway, back to business, where are the targets?" Kipp asked, taking a quick drink from the pond as Hikari checked the maps. "Bleah, warm!" "To your left... almost a kilometre away," Hikari answered. "And that number isn't right, you're only a month an a day older then me," the girl sniffed haughtily. "Confirmed, I'm heading out... I'm still older then you." Kipp grinned. "It's only a month!! Who cares?" Hikari yelled, infuriated with her best friend. "Yes, who does care?" Kipp asked, mentally projecting a wink to Hikari. "Commencing radio silence, talk to you in a bit!" "Don't you dare!!!" Hikari managed to scream, before Kipp turned off the earpiece and dashed back into the grove, missing the figure that jumped out of the pond moments later. * * * Leaping out of the pond, Skuld pulled out an odd looking scanner from subspace, and began fiddling with it. Standing about 160 cm, the '14' year old goddess had an average body. Her long raven hair almost reached her ankles and had a wild, exotic look. She wore her regular 'goddess' garb, which was pink and red, and extremely cute, or would have been if she looked 12, but she looked fourteen, and that made it almost seductive and suggestive. Along her back, her croquet like hammer was strapped. After some fiddling, Skuld finally managed to locate whatever she was looking for. "I'll show them I'm not a kid!" she cried, before rushing off into the grove, hammer overhead. Coincidentally enough (coincidence my ass ^_~), it was the same direction Kipp had run off in. * * * July 11, 12:40 a.m. "Great, just great," Kipp muttered to himself. Hiding behind a tree, Kipp could only glare at the source of his trouble. Standing in a very large clearing, five demonic creatures stood around a large fire. Four of the five were nearly identical, with five large claws where fingers would have been on a man. Each was humanoid, but stood over two meters tall, with bodies made of muscle. Covered in red leathery skin, the four sat hunched around the first, their sharp teeth and glowing red eyes both seemed to want to tear into the fifth. The fifth demon was different then the rest in more ways then the obvious physical differences. While it was of the same height as the others, it was also massively more muscled, seeming to be made completely of solid muscle. It had five fingers, each ending in long nail like claws. Its legs had three separate joints, and only two toes on its foot, but it seemed to have been made for speed. At first, one would have thought the creature had white/platinum hair, but a closer examination would show that they were actually very thin, very fine bones, each ending in a razor point. But the most frightening feature about the creature were it's red serpent like eyes that seemed speak of death to any who looked directly into them. "Just once, that's all I ask, just once, why can't those morons at Intel do something right?" Kipp muttered to himself. Unslinging his satchel, Kipp quickly armed himself. Five grenades were clipped to his belt, along with four clips of glowing blue 'energy' packs. Unholstering the pistols revealed them to be mystical equivalents of guns. Shaped similarly to the modern 9mm pistols, the weapons were covered in eldritch symbols and arcane runes. These 'guns' were quickly loaded with the two remaining clips, then reholstered. Taking a deep breath, Kipp closed his eyes and began to chant. "Fire, Wind, Water, Earth. Light, Wood, Dark, Metal, Elements of Magic, Infuse within me The Power to See That Hidden for Mortal Eyes, MYSTIC VISION" Although the last words were whispered, they rang with power. When Kipp opened his eyes, they glowed for the briefest of moments, the purest of white, before returning to normal, but then the magic had already taken affect. Shaking his head, Kipp took another look at the demons, and groaned. Using the power of the Mystic Vision, Kipp could see the power of each of the hell spawns, and it wasn't good. "Great, just great. Four Twelfth Class demons, and a fucking Ninth Class! Just what I need," he groaned again before turning his earpiece back on. "You have reached the home of Kipp Long, but he's not in right now, this is his incredibly sexy and adorable imouto Hikari speaking. How may I help you?" Hikari's voice came, incredibly sweet and incredibly sarcastic. "I'm very tempted to hate you," Kipp growled before returning to the business at hand. "I need reinforcements, now. I've got four Twelves and one BLOODY NINTH!" "Wait, wait, wait! Intel said there were only two Twelves and one Tenth, and where are the hostages?" "First of all, the guys at Intelligence are idiots and are rarely reliable. Second, I don't see the hostages, but they could have been hidden away," Kipp replied, doubt evident in his voice. "You're not sure," it was a statement, not an answer. "I pray for their safety, and I will KILL those bastards if they hurt those hostages in even the slightest way," Kipp answered vehemently. "Be careful, backup'll be there soon. Until then, hang tight," Hikari said, concern overpowering professionalism. "Hurry up," was Kipp's simple reply, before the earpiece was once again deactivated. Heaving a sigh, Kipp leaned against his tree, and turned to face the direction he had come from. He would have relaxed, if his Mystical Vision didn't reveal a most disconcerting sight. "KUSO! A Second Class God!" He almost screamed, then turned back to the demons. Making brief calculations and measurements, Kipp compared the demon's combined aura to that of the divinity's. After several minutes of thinking, Kipp came to a startling conclusion. "The divinity's power is being blocked! Chikuso, Merlin-sensei said something about this, the Seals{3} I think he called them. Kuso! Kuso! KUSO! It'll be killed!" Kipp gasped. Making up his mind, Kipp pulled out two of the grenades, pulled the pins, and threw. * * * Since she had only had her older body for a few months, Skuld was unaccustomed to the balance and abilities that came with it, hence her slow running speed. Still, she was quite content with herself as she took a trip down memory lane. * * Flashback * * It's a beautiful white Christmas morning as the Norns, Keiichi and Megumi sat around the table eating breakfast. As typical, Keiichi and Belldandy were sitting besides each other, busy feeding each other. Urd was also typically trying to get Keiichi and Belldandy into bed with each other. Skuld, still in her younger form was busy arguing with Urd, glaring at Keiichi, and being extremely giddy about Christmas (as only a kid could be... AHHHHH!! Get that mallet away from me!). All of this came to a halt when the phone rang, picked itself up and projected the caller's dignified and powerful voice into the room. "NORNS, IT IS I," Kami-sama announced himself. Instantly all eyes turned to Urd who had become ramrod straight at Kami-sama's entrance. "I didn't do anything!" she protested, of course everyone was still sceptical, but their attention returned to the phone. "URD IS CORRECT, I DID NOT CALL BECAUSE OF HER," Kami-sama's voice rang out. "Then why did you call, Lord?" Belldandy worriedly asked, while Urd heaved a great sigh of relief. Keiichi noticed Belldandy's worry and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. "NOR HAVE I CALLED BECAUSE OF YOU, CHILD," Kami-sama reassured, seeming as if he had seen Keiichi squeeze Belldandy's hand, which he probably had. "Then why are you calling Father?" Belldandy asked with a small smile, caused from the knowledge that she could remain with her beloved. "I AM CALLING BECAUSE OF YOUNG SKULD." Everyone gasped and turned to Skuld, who wasted no time in rushing into Belldandy's arms. Belldandy tried to sooth her little sister, even Urd and Keiichi tried, but the young goddess was not to be snapped out of her fright. "DO NOT FEAR LITTLE ONE, I HAVE COME WITH JOYOUS NEWS," Kami-sama's voice took on a reassuring, soothing, and happy tone (more so then usual), as if sensing the young girl's fright, which he probably did. "SKULD OF THE NORNS, IT HAS COME TO MY ATTENTION THAT AS A MORTAL PLANE TRAINEE, YOU ARE TO LEARN OF MORTALS AND THEIR WAYS. YET THE ONLY WAY FOR YOU TO DO SO IS FOR YOU TO GROW BOTH MENTALLY, PHYSICALLY AND SOCIALLY AS THEY DO. SINCE I CAN NEITHER ALTER THE WAY YOU THINK, NOR THE WAY YOU INTERACT WITH OTHERS, I HAVE DECIDED TO DO THAT WHICH I CAN. I AM THEREFORE ALLOWING YOUR MORTAL MANIFESTATION TO GROW TO FOURTEEN MORTAL YEARS OF AGE!" Everyone once again turned to Skuld, who could only stare at the phone in shock. "OVER THE NEXT FEW MONTHS, YOUR BODY SHALL GROW UNTIL IT HAS REACHED THE APPROPRIATE AGE. AFTERWARDS, IT SHALL CONTINUE TO AGE BY MORTAL STANDARDS FOR THE REST OF THE DURATION OF YOU TRAINING," Kami- sama elaborated. "But what of the mortals who know not of our powers?" Urd asked, smoothing Skuld's hair with her hand. "WORRY NOT FOR OVER THE TIME OF HER GROWTH, THE MEMORY OF ALL MORTALS WHO KNOW NOT OF YOUR GODDESSHOOD SHALL BE ALTERED SLIGHTLY TO COVER HER SUDDEN GROWTH, SO I SAY," and with that said, the phone returned to its cradle. "MARRY CHRISTMAS, MY CHILD," * * End Flashback * * Skuld was suddenly brought out of her reverie by a blast of ice magic in the distance. Almost instantly after, a blast of wind magic followed. "That wasn't Demonic energy... oh no!" she exclaimed. Pushing all other thoughts out of her head, Skuld picked up her pace and quickly ran through the spring air, dread filling her soul. * * * July 10, 1:00 am The first grenade exploded in a shower of frozen spikes, freezing everything they touched. All five of the demons were struck, but for the leader and three of its minions managed to free themselves. The fourth wasn't so luck as the second grenade exploded in a fury of razor sharp winds. In a matter of seconds, it was reduced to a fine powder of icy gore. "Who are you? Show yourself!" the leader commanded in a deep guttural voice, even as his three remaining minions moved into better attack positions. "Where are the hostages?" Kipp asked, still hidden from view behind the trees. The demon suddenly grinned a feral sort of grin as it pointed into the middle of the clearing, over the large fire. "You didn't," Kipp whispered as he saw the large cauldron previously hidden from view. "We did, and let me tell you, they were delicious," the demon replied, malice filling its voice. "Those stories were correct, human children do taste better then their parents" "Hope you enjoyed it, because it was your last meal! Prepare to DIE!" Kipp screamed as his fury took over. Grabbing a third grenade, Kipp pulled the pin and threw the magical explosive. Upon impact the grenade blew apart, sending chunks of dirt all over the clearing. "That was pathetic," the leader spat, disgusted. "The show's just starting," Kipp snarled back, just as the ground started to quake. The full might of the earth elemental grenade came into effect as the raw magic within the dirt began to work. Massive spikes of jagged stone burst from the ground, impaling one of the unlucky demons, and hurting the others. "Better, but still useless," the leader grumbled, watching as the impaled demon tried to free itself. "It's not over," Kipp replied, gleefully rubbing his hands together. Suddenly, the dozens of jagged spires began to shake and tremble, huge cracks began forming in the stone as well. Then as if a final act of retribution, every single one of the spikes exploded in a massive spray of dust and deadly stone shrapnel. The demon that had previously been impaled was torn to shreds, while the others were pelted with thousands of stone shards. "That deadly enough!" Kipp asked, grinning evilly. "You're dead!" the leader roared at his hidden opponent. "I shall enjoy feasting on your heart!" "Go ahead and try!" Kipp cried as he rushed into the open, guns blazing. Blue/white bolts of magic exploded from each nozzle, three in total, and slamming into one of the two remaining demon's head. As the demon stumbled back, clutching its face, Kipp fired six more bolts into the creature's chest, causing it to fall onto its back, its soul vanquished back to the pits of Hell. "Kill him, but bring me his heart!" the leader gestured to its last remaining minion, hatred burning in its eyes. The last remaining Twelfths Class demon ran straight at Kipp, claws ready to tear into his flesh. "Up close and personal, just the way I like it," Kipp growled, pulling a string attached to the strip of metal. Instantly, the strip extended on both ends by 24 cm. Once locked into place, two more pieces of metal flew out from the bottom and the top, on opposite sides, of the strip's length. Both were half the length of the fully extended original and were attached to a pivot in the centre of the original's insides. The two swung in a circular motion, going from one side to the other, forming a large circular shield. "If you think a flimsy piece of metal will stop me, think again!" the attacking demon growled in a deep, wet voice. "Just you try!" Kipp retorted, raising his shield in defence. The demon roared once before unleashing a fury of attacks with its claws. Surprisingly enough, the metal shield didn't even receive a scratch from the abuse it was receiving, although Kipp was having a hard time fighting the demon's strength. "Impossible! My claws can cut through reinforced steel!" the demon cried in disbelief. "Yeah, but can they cut through Mythril?" Kipp retorted, unloading twelve shots into the demon's face, stilling it. "Mythril! That's not possible! The skills and the process were lost thousands of years ago!" the leader cried in disbelief. "Fourteen thousand to be correct, and it was at the same time of the fall of Atlantis!" Kipp retorted. "We sunk Atlantis! One of our great demons did so!" the leader returned, before understanding sunk in. "That's right, we found Atlantis and all of its secrets," Kipp gloated, reloading his pistols. "Then we'll just have to sink the secrets again! Rise my demons! Rise and kill him!" the demon roared, raising his fist into the air. At its command, two pits opened in the ground and a dozen more Twelfth Class demons crawled out of the holes before they closed, each identical to the first four. "Say hello to my army!" the leader bellowed, pointing a clawed finger at Kipp. "Kill him my warriors!!!" "Hi! Bye!" Kipp retorted, throwing a fourth grenade. Landing amidst the demons, the grenade exploded in a fiery display of pyrotechnics. From the shell, dozens of flaming tendrils whipped out, striking wildly around, burning off limbs that touched it. And if that wasn't enough, a ring of flaming pillars appeared and began spiralling outward. By the time the magic died down, half of the demons had been incinerated. The other half were quickly dispatched with three of the four remaining pistol clips. "One clip left, and only one demon left... plenty of bullets," Kipp remarked. "Only one?" the demon remarked, amusement dancing within its fiery eyes.. "Count again." Suddenly, two more humanoid demons appeared behind the leader. Both were at least 2 meter in height, with frames more muscular then the Twelfth Class demons. Both had black leathery hides, and bat like wings. There hands were covered in masses of spiked bones and their ribs protruded from their chest. For feet, the two had three taloned toes. Their heads were grotesque mockeries of humans, bloated and twisted. Two long yellow tusks grew from their cheeks, and a pair of crimson red eyes gleamed with blood lust. Using the aid of his Mystic Vision, which was still active, Kipp groaned at the two newcomers. "Just what I bloody need! Two Tenth Class demons!" Kipp muttered, before taking aim with his pistol. But before Kipp could fire, the two demons spread their wings and took to the air. Swooping around, the two circled Kipp a few times before lunging in for the kill. Having only one loaded pistol, Kipp could only shoot at one while blocking the other. Pretty soon the ammo from the gun was depleted. Dropping the gun, Kipp reached for the sword hilt before he was knocked off his feet from a blast of dark magic. "Forget about little old me?" the leader taunted, glaring at the human. "Thanks for the reminder," Kipp hissed between clenched teeth. "Finish him, but remember, his heart is mine to feast upon," the leader called to the two flying demons. Kipp could only raise his shield in a futile attempt of defence before he was attacked by the flying duo. He would have been killed too, if a certain goddess hadn't interfered. "Skuld Bomb!" Skuld cried as she threw one of her explosives at the flying fiends. Although being a goddess in training, Skuld made up with her lack of magical talent with her incredible aptitude with technology, of course that does make a lot of sense for a goddess of the Future. This ability was demonstrated greatly as her Skuld Bomb managed to vaporize both of the Tenth Class demons. "Are you okay?" she asked as she knelt by Kipp's battered body. "Yeah sure... Goddess," Kipp replied, grinning despite the pain. "How?" Skuld asked, bewildered. "Are we forgetting someone, oh Divine One?" the leader asked, filling the last words with enough venom to poison all the oceans on Earth. "Prepare to be banished demon!" Skuld yelled as she charged the monster with her hammer. "Cute words coming from such a cute goddess, but you're only a trainee," the demon declared, proving his statement by blasting Skuld with another one of its Dark Blasts. "Perhaps I shall "train" you myself!" the demon said, leering openly at Skuld. "Arigato gozaimasu," Kipp whispered before getting back on his feet. Kipp silently promised. Closing his eyes, Kipp concentrated for a moment before opening them again. Small sparkles of light left them as the Mystic Vision was finally disabled. "Pay back time," he muttered to himself as he began concentrating. Placing his palms opposite each other and he began to gather his magical energies again. "Spirits of the elements, I summon thee! To fulfill the ancient agreement, Help me fight the evil that holds our world! The evil that corrupts, the evil that defiles, The evil that destroys!" At Kipp's command, sparks of blue, green, yellow and red began flowing into the area between his palms forming a multicoloured ball of energy. "Undine! Spirit of Water, I call upon thee! Sylph! Spirit of Wind, I call upon thee! Salamander! Spirit of Fire, I call upon thee! Gnome! Spirit of Earth, I call upon thee!" Slowly, the sparks began to grow bigger and take on shapes. The reds appeared to be flaming slender males shroud in flames wielding swords of fire. The blues took on the appearance of elven women wearing blue robes, an orb of blue between their hands. The yellows looked like large muscular men wearing massive plates of armour. The greens began to appear as agile women wearing ceremonial armour and wielding spears. "Spirits of the Four Elements, Lend me your strength, your courage, your wisdom, your power! The Power to Heal! The Power to Strengthen! The Power to Fight! The Power to Protect!" Slowly the spirits began to combine into the energy between Kipp's hands, the light almost blinding. "Spirits of the Elements, Release thy power, surrender thy will unto me! Combine thy might and Cleanse the World!" The ball of energy began to grow until it was over 90 cm in diameter. "ELEMENTAL STRIKE!" Spell completed, the multicoloured ball of energy blasted from Kipp's hands, the force of acceleration crushing the ground under its flight path, and sending Kipp skidding back a couple of meters. "Hey! Shit! Forget about little old me!" Kipp yelled as the blast slammed into the leader, sending it flying back. "How?" Skuld asked again, before another Dark Bolt slammed into her. "Don't interrupt! This... this... baka wants to challenge me! A full fledge demon! Well I say, come and DIE!" the leader roared as it rushed at Kipp. "You first!" Kipp roared back and grabbed the sword hilt, which instantly flared to life, forming into a glowing a one meter long white blade of mana. "Not even an Atlantian Mana Blade shall save you boy!" the demon growled, wrist claws slamming into the shield and blade. "Like I said before, come get some!" Kipp yelled, slashing with his blade. The two battled back and forth, neither claiming the advantage until Skuld, tired of being ignored, slammed her hammer into the back of the demons head. "Don't ignore me!" Skuld cried, repeatedly hitting the demon upside the head. "Foolish child! Be gone!" the creature cried, slashing at Skuld with his claws. Kipp was there in a flash, blocking the claws and taking a swipe at the demon. "Fool! Trying to protect a goddess that doesn't even care about your people anymore, what do you hope to gain?" the monster sneered, pushing against the metal. "It doesn't matter, I will protect her, as I swore I would," Kipp grunted, straining against the creature's unnatural strength. "Swore? Swore what?" the hell spawn asked, applying more weight to the shield. "Get out of the way!" Skuld yelled into Kipp's ear. "Never! I swore upon my blade, my honour, my life that I would serve the light! I swore upon the sacred blade Excalibur, upon the Round Table, upon the Grail{4} that I would always protect the ones that protected us! I will never, ever let you harm her!" Kipp snarled, spirits inflamed. "That oath, who did you hear it from?!" the demon roared. "From my master, my teacher, my friend. The great Arch mage Merlin{5} taught me everything I know, my skills and my spells," Kipp smirked. "Merlin," the demon gasped, fear beginning to show on its grotesque features. "That's right, Merlin, the greatest _mortal_ demon slayer, and I'm his best disciple," Kipp grinned evilly. "Merlin?" Skuld muttered to herself, the name sounding familiar to her. "It matters not foolish mortal! I am a Ninth Class demon, and no puny Mortal shall ever be able to defeat me!" the demon bellowed, its fear gone. "I may not be able to ever defeat you, but I can hurt you enough for her to kick your ass!" Kipp bellowed, taking a suicidal lunge at the creature's body. Having committed himself, Kipp put as much momentum and strength into that one attack, hoping and praying for the best. The white shaft of light slammed into the demons side, causing it to scream in pain, and yet, it wasn't enough to disable it as it slammed its claws into Kipp's right shoulder, tearing flesh and fracturing bone. Howling in agony, Kipp fell back, dropping his sword, and clutching his bleeding shoulder, as Skuld watched in horror. "BAKAMONO! For that foolish move, you will suffer a fate even more painful that Hell!" the demon cried, rushing towards the fallen captain. "Leave him alone!" Skuld screamed, ramming into the fiend from the side. "What do you care what happens to him? Bless it{6}! You should be happy when he dies, then he'll join your army of dead!" the creature sneered at his new opponent. "I am a Goddess, and those who believe in me, those who have faith in me, I shall protect!" Skuld yelled back, slamming her hammer into the creatures face. "Goddess! Ha! You're only a Mortal Realm trainee, you don't have the power to defeat me now!" the creature crowed. "Then we'll just have to even the odds!" Kipp cried from the ground, "Super Nova!" A small ball of blinding white light flew from Kipp's outstretched hands, slamming into the creature of darkness, exploding upon contact into a brilliant flare of white purity. "How you like that, imbecile?" Kipp yelled, even as blood flowed from his wound. Skuld thought to herself in disbelief. "I will not perish so easily!" the demon roared, rising yet again. By now, the demon was very battered and in a lot of pain, but being a demon, it was determined to be a stubborn bastard before it died. Covered in bruises, burnt flesh, dozens of cuts, and several gaping wounds, the demon stubbornly stalked towards Kipp. "If I die Mortal, I'll take you with me!" the demon grunted between clenched teeth. "Not if I can help it! Skuld Bomb!" Skuld yelled, shoving the explosive into the wound in its side, pressing it in as deeply as it could go. The effect was quite obvious as the demon was incinerated instantly, turning the once fearsome creature into a pile of ash. "Are you all right?" Skuld asked as she rushed to the fallen soldier's side. "I should be, arigato," Kipp murmured, gazing at the liquid brown eyes staring down at him. "I should have something for that wound," Skuld muttered to herself, searching through her items in subspace, before finding a bottle of bluish liquid, "Aha! Found it!" "Found what?" Kipp moaned, the pain becoming unbearable as the adrenaline flow stopped pumping into his body. "A healing potion, here drink up," Skuld ordered, unscrewing the bottles cap. "You sure about that?" Kipp grunted, eying the bottle's contents dubiously. "Just drink it," Skuld ordered again, pouring the content's down Kipp's throat. "*Hack**cough**cough**hack* What is that stuff agai... hey! It works!" Kipp exclaimed, watching as his shoulder mended itself almost instantly. "See, I told you so," Skuld grumbled, smiling. "Who are you?" Kipp asked as he got to his feet. "Skuld of the Norns," Skuld introduced herself, bowing appropriately. "Captain Kipp Long of the Japanese Specialized Self Defence Force: Supernatural Division," Kipp bowed back, lower and with much more respect. "Captain?" Skuld inquired, curious. "Long story, but it does have something to do with my ability to use magic," Kipp answered, blushing slightly. "Oh right! I have never seen a mortal use magic, how can you? And what were those weapons you were using? You said they were from Atlantis, but Atlantis sunk years ago, how did you find it? Can I see your guns? The shield? How about the bomb?" Skuld asked in a rush, her curiosity and need to understand and examine the Atlantian technology overwhelming both her and Kipp as she pressed up close to him. "Umm, ah, well, eh, gee," was Kipp's answer as he was overwhelmed with questions, he was also blushing bright crimson at Skuld's proximity. "Huh?" Skuld wondered as Kipp suddenly zoned out, before she noticed that her breasts were pressed against his chest, "HENTAI!" *WHAM* Kipp became one of the unlucky mortals to come face-to- hammer with Skuld's favourite smiting tool. "Hmph, all you mortals are the same! Sick and perverted!" Skuld glared. "Gomen, gomen, gomen," Kipp apologized, rubbing his face. Skuld just continued to glare at Kipp. "Tell you what, you can have this," Kipp said hopefully, handing over his last grenade. "Really?" Skuld asked, all other thoughts gone from her mind. "Sure, I'll just tell the guys at R&D that I had to use it," Kipp replied, handing the explosive over. "Arigato!" Skuld cried, grabbing the grenade. "Be careful with that! It's one of the few Omnimentals that we have!" Kipp cautioned. "Omnimental?" Skuld asked, curiously examining the bomb. "An Omnimental is a bomb, or spell, that uses all of the elements, they're the most dangerous," Kipp explained the term. "Oh that," Skuld nodded, still examining the grenade, "Urd never let's me have some of the Atlantian technology that she has." "Urd?" "My oldest sister. She's annoying a lot of the time, and immature, but I still love her." "I see." Suddenly, one of Skuld's devices began to beep, bring her out of her examination of the lost technology. Whipping out some sort of laptop, Skuld began examining the screen. "What's going on?" Kipp asked, politely waiting for her to finish. "According to my satellite, an unidentified helicopter is closing in on this location," Skuld frowned at the unidentified part. "Here, let me see," Kipp offered, glancing over her shoulder, "Ahh, I'd be disappointed if you could identify it." "What do you mean?" Skuld asked curiously, glancing at Kipp. "You can't identify that 'Copter because it's not supposed to exist. It belongs to the JSSDF: SD, an experimental vehicle, designed for speed and stealth, like us," Kipp explained, his voice filled with pride. "Oh, then I better get going," Skuld mumbled. "You don't want to meet them?" Kipp asked. "I'm not supposed to reveal my goddess nature, I'm not sure how you found out, but I don't want any one else to find out," Skuld elaborated. "I see, can I help you then?" "Why are you being so helpful?" Skuld asked suspiciously. "Because your a goddess, and because... well to be honest, I like you," Kipp answered, blushing again. "Na-nani!?" Skuld yelled, blushing as well. "Not like that!" Kipp defended, making warding gestures with his hands. "You saved my life, I have to repay you some how!" "Oh," Skuld whispered, almost disappointed. "Look, you wanted to get out of here, well how can I help you?" Kipp asked, changing the subject. "Right," Skuld replied, quickly accepting the subject change, "Can you conjure water?" "Water? Yeah why?" Kipp asked curiously. "It's my travel medium," Skuld replied, glancing at her laptop, "Hurry up! They'll be here any moment now!" "Medium? Oh I get it!" Kipp remarked, the pieces fitting in his mind. Raising his left arm, since his right was still a bit sore, Kipp pulled the string attached to the shield. Skuld examined the shield intently as it retracted and returned to its original state. Once finished, Kipp turned upwards and muttered a single word. "Water," and a small ball of liquid appeared in his hands. "Okay, hold it still, and don't move, no matter what," Skuld instructed, moving towards the water. Just before teleporting, Skuld turned to Kipp and gave him a quick peck on the check{7}. "Um, that was for protecting me," she murmured, blushing bright crimson. "N-no problem," Kipp replied, raising his free hand to his check. "Sayonara," Skuld called as she disappeared into the water. Letting the ball of water splash to the ground, Kipp rubbed his check before noticing a black-robed figure move from the cauldron to the surrounding grove. "Death," he gasped, then started to head after it. "KIPP!" Hikari's voice called out, amplified by the helicopter's microphone. Glancing up, Kipp realized that the helicopter was only a few dozen meters away, decided to not to follow Death, yet. As the helicopter landed, twenty agents of the SDs rushed out of the vehicle and rushed into the clearing, searching for any remaining enemies. Hikari jumped out after them. She was 150 cm tall 16 year-old high school student who had the ability of ESP, although she never used it on her friends. She had light blue eyes and blonde shoulder length hair. Her body was slender and well endowed, which made her very popular with the guys. She wore what appeared to be a white blouse, a knee length light blue skirt, a blue high heels. "Aniki!!! Are you all right?" Hikari asked, looking over Kipp's condition. Once certain that Kipp was all right, Hikari began chewing him out, "What do you think you were doing? I told you to wait for the others, but noooo, you had to play Mister Hero! If you aren't more cautious, you'll get yourself killed!" "You concerned about me?" Kipp teased, until he noticed the tears in her eyes. "Dammit! Of course I'm concerned, you're my best friend and I promised your Oneechan, Setsuna, that I'd take care of you. I don't want to see you killed because I was too slow, or because I didn't give you the right information," Hikari cried, tears streaming down her face. "Gomen Hikari-chan, but I have to do this. My parents were killed by these things, you know that. I know how it feels to lose those that you love, that's why I do this, so others don't have to understand the hole inside me," Kipp explained, giving his partner a quick hug. "I know, but can't you care about yourself for a change?" Hikari pleaded. "Maybe, I'll think about it," Kipp smirked, before turning to the rest of the troops, "Guys, could you clean up the place for me, and recover the remains of the hostages from the cauldron. Get them a proper burial, I'm going to empty my stomach over there," he said, jerking a thumb in the direction Death had gone. Releasing Hikari, Kipp strode after Death, rubbing his shoulder absently. "Death, where are you? I know you came to take the children, but can I speak with you?" Kipp called into the shadows. "Of course, child, I am always ready to lend an ear to one of my friends{8}," Death answered, stepping out of the shadows. Covered in black robes and clutching a nasty looking scythe, Death stood about 190 cm tall. Her robes hung over a decidedly female, and slender body, and she was in no way bony. She had large hazel eyes and a long auburn hair that reached her waist, making her look around 25. "Well, you see, that goddess, that was here earlier, um well, could you..." Kipp trailed of, playing with his index fingers. "Hahahaha, I understand, child, you like her don't you?" Death inquired, giggling. "It's kinda of funny, I've never really had a crush on anyone before. But now I've suddenly developed one for that young girl... I mean goddess," Kipp laughed, blushing scarlet. "She is of the Norns, hence she is of the Norse pantheon," Death mused. "What, the Norns? Merlin's meet one of them before, I think her name was Verthandi," Kipp mumbled. "Who hasn't Merlin-san met?" Death laughed. "And it's Belldandy, child, Belldandy." "True, but that's expected from a crabby old man that's been alive for centuries," Kipp grinned. "I cannot tell much of her, but do not fret, perhaps you shall meet her again?" Death encouraged. "Maybe, thanks for the pep talk Death," Kipp murmured, giving Death a quick hug. "If you ever need any help, just ask, and I'll see what I can do," Death promised. "Arigato, I'll keep that in mind," Kipp smiled, then turned to go, before remembering something. "They'll go to heaven, don't worry," Death said. "That's good to know, arigato," Kipp sighed, then ran to the copter, "I hope I _do_ meet her again." * * * July 11, 12:00 p.m. Kipp stood in front of a small house, dressed in full JSDF ceremonial uniform, knocking on the front door. Slowly the door opened to reveal a worried looking middle aged women. She had dark brown hair, with a few streaks of grey showing. She was dressed in a light green t-shirt and blue jeans. "Ohayo, how may I help you...?" she asked, concern growing. "Ohayo, Tenraikumo-san, I'm Captain Kipp Long of the Japanese Specialized Self Defence Force: Supernatural Division. I have some information concerning your son," Kipp bowed, looking uneasy. "My son? Is he all right? Those oni didn't do anything to him did they? Where is he?" Tenraikumo asked, staring hopefully into Kipp's eyes. "Sigh, Tenraikumo-san, I am sorry to inform you that your son, Mikomi, died last night around 12:00 a.m." Kipp stated, hating himself more with every word. "You're lying! My son can't be dead! Tell me where my son is!" Tenraikumo screeched hysterically, before breaking down into sobs. Kipp could only look at the crying women, before he came to a decision. Perhaps it was from the fact that he had never known his own mother, perhaps it was because his heart wasn't as cold as he thought, either way, Kipp pulled the woman into a hug, patting her on the back and whispering reassuring words. After several minutes, the former mother had calmed down enough to talk. "Arigato gozaimasu Long-san... please come in for a cup of tea," Tenraikumo offered. "Arigato," Kipp said, walking into the house. Taking of his dress shoes, Kipp put on a pair of guest slippers and followed Tenraikumo into the den. Taking a seat around the table, Kipp glanced around the room, as he waited for Tenraikumo to get the tea. "The tea will be ready soon," Tenraikumo said as she entered the room, sitting across from Kipp, "May I ask you a question?" "If I'm permitted to answer it, I will," Kipp replied, the uneasiness returning. "Why? Why did you try to comfort me?" she asked. Kipp thought to himself, before his musing was interrupted by the mother's plead. "Please, it'll give me a last chance to be a mother," she pleaded. "All right," Kipp sighed before launching into his tale. "I was born in a small fishing village of the eastern coast of Hokkaido, my mother was a Japanese/American while my father was Chinese. They had me and decided to make my name a Chinese/Japanese/American cross, and since my surname was already Chinese, they took a American name, translated it and took off the last letter, hence Kipp. Long means dragon in Chinese. Anyway, my father was a good fisherman so we lived quite nicely, until I turned two. On that day, demons came to our village and killed everyone, they killed, ate, burned, ravaged and defiled everything. I lived because my parents covered me with their bloody, and knocked me out, hoping that the creatures wouldn't notice me, they didn't. I was later found and adopted by a father and his daughter, the Meiou family, but they could never replace my real family," Kipp spun his, crying through a lot of it. "I at least can remember my son, I can remember playing with him, his joy whenever I complemented him, you don't even have that," Tenraikumo whispered, having seen the depths of Kipp's sorrow. "All I have are a bunch of blurry memories and old photos," Kipp retorted, fighting to regain control. "It's all right child, hush, hush, let it all out, it's all right," Tenraikumo soothed, her maternal instincts taking over as she held Kipp. It was several minutes before the pain was again covered layers of stone. Having regained his composure, Kipp wiped away his tears and smiled at Tenraikumo, "Arigato, I fell better now," "As do I," Tenraikumo smiled, teary-eyed, "One last time to be a mother," "I don't think so, I'm sure you'll get another chance. How about you go down to the orphanage and adopt a child?" Kipp asked, feeling a twinge of hope. Having lived in an orphanage for several years, Kipp could understand that many of the children there longed to have someone to call mother or father. But that hope was dashed as Tenraikumo smiled sadly. "Someday maybe, but not until the pain fades," she said, a hand over her heart. "The pain never fades, it only lessens," Kipp said, ruefully. "Then, when it lessens enough, I'll go adopt a child," she replied quietly, "Arigato," "What for?" Kipp asked, bewildered. "For the hope. I will raise a child again someday, I will watch as it grows to adulthood, and I will always remember my little Mekomi-chan," she answered, giving Kipp a reassuring smile. "No problem," Kipp smiled back, "I've got to get going, sayonara," * * * July 11, 5:00 p.m. "Finally, it's all over," Kipp muttered to himself as he walked into a large one story warehouse. What was strange through was that the inside of the warehouse looked more like the inside of a medieval castle then anything else. What was stranger yet was that Kipp didn't even seem to notice, or care, as he walked down the halls. "Five kids, nine distressed parents. Kami-sama, if I could trade my life for their children's, I would have. Sigh, time for another bloody lesson from the old man," Kipp muttered to himself as he stopped in front of the only door in the entire building. "You may enter," a deep voice called from behind the door. "Konbawa Merlin-sensei," Kipp called as he entered the room. The room itself was massive, covering at least half of the warehouse's total space. Half of the room was dedicated to massive bookshelves that stretched to the ceiling, each crammed to the brim with books and scrolls. The other half of the room was covered with strange looking chemistry experiments, mystic symbols, old weapons, new weapons, a giant telescope, a Cray supercomputer, and a really large wooden desk. Seated behind the desk, a middle aged man sat, his grey hair cut and combed meticulously. His short beard was also cut and trimmed, as well as oiled. His clear blue eyes were sharp and piercing, as they stared out from behind his reading glasses. He wore a black business suit, the crisp lines and lack of wrinkles gave the suit an intimidating look. "Kipp, why are you still in uniform?" Merlin asked. "Didn't have time to change, you called, remember?" Kipp mocked. "Ah, yes, about your fight," Merlin began, "Death told me what happened," "Geez, what do you two do? Have tea together every freaking day?" Kipp muttered to himself. "I'd like to say that your skills have grown greater then even I anticipated," the famed magician complimented, "In all the years of my immortal life, I have never had a disciple learn things so quickly, nor surpass my expectations so many times." "Arigato Sensei, but Skuld-sama did most of the work," Kipp replied, not a single shred of false-modesty in the comment, just pure truth. "Ah, Skuld of the Norns, you know that her sister Belldandy was the one that granted my wish to 'To Watch over Humanity Forever'?" Merlin asked his disciple. "So that's why her title rang a bell," Kipp murmured. "Anyway, Death, General Meiou, and myself have been talking about your performance lately, and well, we've decided that you need a break," Merlin said, his eyes betraying his uneasiness. "Break? Why?" Kipp inquired politely. "Well, you see, you're a great soldier, a great fighter, and all that stuff, but we think that for you to be a great person, you have to live a life outside of this job," the older man looked really nervous now. "A break? Sure, I've been meaning to go to University lately, you know, finish my education and finding something that I like," Kipp thought to himself. ` "Really? I mean well, good, it's nice to know that you've been thinking lately," Merlin recovered. "Har, har, anyway, I'll tell you, when I've decided, which university I want to go to," Kipp saluted, then left the room. "And Destiny claims yet another one," Merlin muttered, turning to face a figure hidden in the shadows, "I hope this works." "It should," the figure replied, in a female voice, "It should." * * * July 20, 3:00 p.m. "You wanted to see me Captain?" General Meiou asked. Dressed in his military uniform, Kipp's adopted father sat behind his desk at his office. His black hair was greying at the sideburns, but gave him a dignified air. The general appeared to be in his early fifties, his piercing brown eyes drilling into his son. "Yes Sir," Kipp answered, saluting. "Well, out with it boy!" the man commanded. "About my leave..." Kipp began. "Ah yes, you are to be relieved until you decide otherwise, correct?" the old man grinned. "Yes that one, Otou-san, the one you've been pestering me with ever since you gave it," Kipp replied, annoyed, "I miss Setsuna- Oneechan{9}, with her around, I didn't get this much crap!" "So where have you decided on?" Meiou asked, ignoring the last comment. "Nekomi Institute of Technology, they have a great program for computers and such," Kipp answered. "Hmm, well it will be tight, but I think I can pull a few strings," Meiou mused. "I'll get packing... oh and can I take the Prototype?" Kipp asked innocently. "You want to take the Prototype!? That thing isn't even fully tested yet!" Meiou spluttered. "But it goes so fast! Come on, please?" Kipp begged. "Fine, but I want it back in one piece!" Meiou caved in. "YES!" * * * September 1, 3:00 p.m. "So this is NIT," Kipp mused to himself, as he stared down at the university. Wearing a pair of black jeans and a black leather jacket over a dark blue, loose fitting, cotton button up semi-dress shirt. A black motorcycle helmet was hanging from his hands, both sporting knuckle- gloves. His boots were similarly to his military ones, except looser, and shorter. Around his waist was yet another black leather belt, with a plain silver belt buckle. Beside him was a sleek jet black motorcycle, but when anyone tried to identify it, they couldn't, mainly because it was a prototype vehicle designed by the military for stealth and speed, the creed the JSSDF: SDs lived by, but only when it suited them. Shaped like a regular racer, the bike was covered with what appeared to be regular fibreglass, which seemed to reflect the light. The machine was missing a keyhole, but had a high tech print scanner where one should have been. The speedometer was digital, and it rested under a crystal clear windshield. "Here I come!" * * End Prologue * * 1- For those who have no clue what SD stands for... GO WATCH MORE ANIME! If not, then I will explain. SD stands for Super Deformed, when the characters look like miniature versions of themselves, but with huge heads. 2- No he isn't a prodigy, you'll learn how he did such a feat in the next episode... or two. 3- Skuld doesn't actually have a Seal, I think, anyway, the Mystic Vision allows the user to see the exact magical potential of a being at that very instant. Skuld, although still a trainee, does have the full power of a Second Class God, the only problem is that she doesn't know how to tap it yet. Hence Kipp's misunderstanding, since he's never actually seen a Sealed god, only descriptions from his teacher. 4- Yes, we are talking about Arthurian legends now, which you'll learn about later, and no, Kipp isn't Arthur Pendragon reborn. 5- Still in Arthurian legends, Merlin was Arthur's adviser, who supposedly lived for a hell of a long time, so I decided to use him. Anyway, his role in my fanfic is teacher and maybe advisor to the JSSDF: SDs, and maybe part time fighter. 6- Think of it this way, we damn someone when we're pissed. Well a damned sure wouldn't damn someone they hate, because that would bring them into their home, so they would bless them, to get them away from it. It works, goodbye. 7- I know, I know, Skuld would never do that. But my excuse is that Skuld now has all of the advantages and disadvantages of a 14 year- old body, which comes with gallons of hormones and such. Besides, here's a fairly handsome guy, who has just protected her, fought for her, given her a present, and been all around nice, I think all those romantic comics might have had a little affect on her, ne? 8- This will also be explained later, but right now I can give you a little bit of background. Kipp has been in the JSSDF: SDs since he was twelve, and through out that time, he's seen tons of death, both mortal and immortal. Coupled with the ability to actually see magical forces, I'm sure Kipp has had a chance to talk to Death dozens of times. 9- That's right, Kipp's adopted Oneechan is none other then the Senshi of Time, the lovely, cold, and logical, Sailor Pluto! Anyone smell a crossover brewing? Actually Kipp has some connections to the Silver Millennium, major connections, but for the first part of this series, Kipp won't actually meet any of the Senshi. Some would say that this series should be a crossover, but I'm just taking a few things from the SM universe, so I don't think it is... yet. Author's Blurb: Nothing big right now, just the first rewrite finished. Now all I need to do is get off my lazy ass and do the other two.