OOC: It begins!
Yggdrasil central was a pretty nice place to be. Despite the fact that it was basically a control center for the planets Earth, it had none of the business-like dreariness usually associated with other call-center/op centers. In fact, it resembled nothing so much as the aforementioned Operations Center, crossed with a brightly colored church cathedral, and a large dose of extraordinary technology thrown in.
In the middle of this scene, on an upraised dais in the middle of the room, in a chair that resembled nothing so much as stolen chair from a 'Star Trek' set, sat the goddess Peorth. Yggdrasil was a largely smooth running machine, so, unlike the three goddesses in front of and beneath her, serving her shift as a systems administrator was more or less a babysitting job, keeping a close eye on the computer and the goddesses that ran the multiverse.
Chrono, one of the younger goddesses, recently promoted to monitor duty...barely 20 years, if Peorth recalled correctly, turned in her seat to face her.
"Peorth-sama...are there any scheduled interfaces with the quarantined universe?"
Peorth blinked and frowned. "Kami-sama does a systems check once every decade..." she replied. Chrono shook her head.
"This is incoming datafiles..."
"WHAT??? Shut down the transmission! Now!" Peorth snapped. All at once, alarms began to blare, as every computer screen in Yggdrasil Central went haywire.
"Every program in Yggdrasil has been activated, Peorth-sama!" Chrono reported, frantically working at he console. Her statement was confirmed by the other two, a moment later. Peorth growled.
"Blast it!" she snarled. "This is an invasion! Trace that signal back to its origin point! Quickly!"
"Impossible!" one of the other goddesses cried. "There's too much activity on the server to get a fix on anything!"
Peorth bit down on a curse, despite the pressure the constant alarms were putting on her thinking. This WAS heaven, after all.
"All right. Clean up the damage, and then we'll do a repair estimate."
* * *
All over the world-computer Yggdrasil, faster than thought, changes were wrought over the computer that maintained the multiverse, while the goddesses charged with it's protection struggled to removed the distractions that kept them from protecting the system, or even seeing what had been done.
The changes, at first, were minor. Birds disappeared from one plane, only to reappear in another, migration patterns of animals changed, and weather became erratic.
Then.... The changes worsened.
* * *
Ukyo Kuonji stepped out of her restaurant, and boggled at the Genom tower that had sprung up, seemingly overnight.
* * *
Tenchi stared at the red- headed woman and the stone-faced man who had 'interrupted' Ryoko's attempt on his virginity. "Who...?"
The redhead frowned. "You can't tell me you've never hear of the beautiful, charming...."
"...And modest..." The stone-faced man put in dryly.
"...Bandit-killer, Lina Inverse?"
Tenchi and Ryoko just stared, shaking their heads in unison.
"No...."
* * *
Rally Vincent blinked at the green-haired man. "No, this is Chicago, not Callisto."
"What? I've never heard of Chicago..."
Rally rolled her eyes. "Whatever. But you better get that weird looking plane off the highway, or the police will be a little cranky, Mister...?"
"Spiegel. Spike Spiegel."
* * *
Dozens of Alarms went off in Central Dogma as the gleaming white robot appeared, and Misato was not taking chances.
"Eva Unit 02, scramble!"
* * *
All these changes and more were happening all over the globe. But for one small event, in a peaceful temple, near Nekomi Technical University, the multiverse itself might have eventually succumbed to the chaos, and been lost, or worse, conquered by the malevolent force that had set these mind-bending changes in motion...
* * *
Urd, Norn of the Past, stared, as, across the street from the temple where she lived with her sisters, and her sister's significant other. The occurrence that had grabbed her attention was that, from her perch on the roof, becoming intimately acquainted with a sake bottle, she had seen that, where a convenience store had been, only moments before, a high school appeared.
"Furinkan High School?" she wondered, annoyed. That store had carried essentials! "That can't be right...." Picking up her sake bottle, she hopped off of the roof, drifting toward the ground, as though she were virtually weightless. With a single toss of her long, platinum hair, she headed inside to consult with her sisters.
She opened the door and stepped inside the temple house, just in time to see a young man exit a room labeled "Skuld's Lab" and lean against the wall. He looked up as she came in.
"Oh, Urd..." he called, gesturing to the closed doors. "They just went to see what's going on..."
Urd smirked. "You're taking this pretty calmly, Keichii," she teased.
Keichii just smiled, self-depreciatingly. "You get used to it." He grinned, then paused. "Hey, don't they need you in there?"
"Nah, Skuld is a certified system debugger, and Bell's the Yggdrasil backup administrator. They should be able to handle things..." Urd replied, a statement that seemed to be the absolute reverse of prophetic. A split second later, twin screams echoed from Skuld's lab, and the two dashed inside...
Inside the lab, the pair was horrified to see the young, black-haired goddess lying out cold in front of her computer, and her sister, Belldandy, lying in a similar state nearby. Keichii let out a strangled cry and rushed to the side of the brown haired goddess. "Urd, what happened to them?" he demanded. The white haired woman carefully suppressed her reactions. She walked calmly over to the computer, and began examining the screen.
"It's not good, Keichii." She said grimly, her eyes never leaving the screen.
"I don't care! What happened?"
"Yggdrasil has been invaded." She said shortly.
"Is that all?" the diminutive college student replied. "Well, that's happened before, right...?"
Urd shook her head. "Not like before..." she replied. "The source was the 'Quarantine Universe'. It's completely separate from ours, on a very basic level...if the invasion was from there, Someone in the Quarantine Universe essentially has Father's level of influence over the entire multiverse..."
Keichii blinked. "Multiverse?" he asked, bewildered.
Urd shook her head. "No time to explain it all, K-1." She cut him off. "In fact, whoever this is has already begun smashing universes together...Oh, this is interesting. They were trying to recruit help from the quarantined universe...only the retrieval program got corrupted."
"Why would they bring in someone from THERE?" Keichii asked.
"Well, they wouldn't appear on Yggdrasil's tracking monitors, or be detailed in the personnel files...they'd be the only people here who could be completely free of the influence of the 'hacker'." Urd replied. "Only, the retrieval program seems to have been corrupted before they could be brought here...and only their...spirits, and no bodies came to the multiverse." The platinum haired goddess blinked.
"Oh, wait. A backup in case of defect. Not bad, Skuld...okay, the spirits were deposited in the nearest compatible host bodies from this universe..." she paused, and her expression went slack. "Two of which happen to be Bell and Skuld..."
"What? You mean...this isn't Belldandy?" Keichii stammered. "Where is she, then?"
"I don't know." Urd replied grimly, "But I mean to find out."
Keichii turned an apprehensive look at the eldest Norn. "You sure you can?"
Urd turned to him for the first time, looking away from the screen, and gave her sister's boyfriend a saucy wink. "Of course!" she said confidently. At Keichii's dubious look, her voice softened. "They're my family, Keichii. I'll do my best."
Keichii's expression relaxed slightly, though it was still nervous. "All right. What can I do?" he asked.
Urd smiled slightly. "Be patient." She answered. "And watch out for those two." She pointed at the prone bodies that had been her sisters. "Whoever they are, they'll probably wake up confused..."
Keichii nodded, and settled in for a long wait...
With a groan, Skuld's eyes slowly opened and she said, "Oh God, that is the last time I ever eat cafeteria food... Wait a tic... This isn't my voice!"
Skuld quickly sat up and took at herself...
"Ack! JESUS CHRIST, WHAT HAPPENED TO ME!!" she screamed...
Keichii was stirred from his silent vigil over the two bodies,over to Skuld...or whoever that was. It sure didn't sound like the young goddess he'd come to know. He smothered a slight grin as she let out an unexpected exclamation.
"Hey, are you okay?" He asked tentatively. "You aren't hurt or anything, are you?"
Wait a Tic... that voice sounds familiar...
Turning to Kei, she let out a shock. There, kneeling down in front of her, was a complete impossibilty.
Skuld grabbed onto Kei's shoulders and screamed, "Morisato! How? When? WHAT IS GOING ON HERE!!!"
Keichii twitched as he was violently shaken by the slight girl. This part is a bit TOO familiar...how does she know my name?
"Urk! Excuse me, do I know you?"
Skuld stopped shaking Keichii and breathed deeply, to calm herself down. After a few seconds of this, she finally said, "No, you don't know me... However, I know you quite well."
Keichii let out a deep sigh. "So she was right..." he mumbled, casting a distubed glance at the prone body lying beside where Skuld hat sat up.
"Well, Uh...I guess you know my name...what's yours?" he asked politely.
Skuld sighed and said, "Keichii Morisato, meet Ryder Angel. I'm 17 years old, a senior at Old Mill High School, and a resident of Glen Burnie, Maryland, USA."
Ryder caught Keichii's eyes move down towards Bell, and looked herself. And with that sight, she FROZE...
Buh..Bell!!! If she's lying there, and I'm sitting here, and I don't see white hair... that means...
"WHAT THE ****!!! Morisato, why the hell am I Skuld?"
Keichii blinked, then scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Nice to meet you. I think. As for what happened...Well, that's kind of a long story, and Urd's better at telling it than me." he admitted.
"She told me to wait until the two of you woke up, then she'd explain what she could find out as best she could. But...Uh...you sure seem to know a lot about us..." he said slowly, a question in his tone.
Calming down considerably, a-gain, Ryder replied to the unasked question, "Alright, I'll bite... Your life is a TV show where I'm from. That's how I know all about you and the Goddesses..."
Taking a look down at Bell, she added, "So, the same thing happened to her too?"
Keichii blinked in suprise. "A TV show?" he asked, incredulously. He shook his head in puzzlement. "Weird..."
He followed Skuld's gaze to Belldandy, and his expression went grim. "Yeah, she and Skuld hatched this plan together..."
At that moment, the brown haired woman lying on the floor began to stir...
Skuld shifted and waited for Bell to awaken...
But, she couldn't help saying, "Isn't she beautiful Kei?"
Keichii nodded mutely. He looked over at Belldandy's body, and back at Skuld.
"But It's just like with you, Sk--er, Ryder-san. Someone else is in there...Can you help me with her?"
Bean slitted his eyes open, wincing at the light rays that stabbed at his eyes, aggravating a deep, painful headache.
"Ow..." he groaned, frowning as he realized he sounded sort of pitiful. I havent had a voice that high since second grade...
"Hi..." Ryder said simply, hoping whoever was in Bell would have a better reaction than she did.
Keichii stayed silent, tense about seeing someone else move the body and mouth of his girlfriend, even though he'd seen it before...this was Bell, after all.
Bean's eyes opened at the sound of a voice of a young girl. Wait, is my little sister in my apartment again, Grr, I'm gonna...
Whatever he was gonna do was lost as he opened his eyes, and his gaze fell on the young girl in front of him.
"...Skuld." Okay, there is DEFINITELY something wrong with my voice. Now, I'm staring at an anime character. Why is that? "This is because I had natchos before bed, isn't it?"
"Heh... if only it were that simple. Then, I'd be able to blame it on the cafeteria food..." Skuld replied with a small hint of a smile.
Bean blinked, groaning softly as the change in lighting made the headache throb.
"I...see." he managed. "Um...I feel funny...like everything's been switched around...and my voice sounds wrong." he said quietly. "Can you tell me, or am I going to have to find out on my own?"
Keichii coughed slightly, suddenly realizing he didn't want to be here for this.
"Um, can you handle this?" he asked Skuld.
Turning to Kei, Ryder replied, "Sure, I can handle it... You've gone through enough trauma today."
Keichii nodded gratefully, smiling slightly at the odd turn of a phrase from Skuld, and stood up, and stumbled from the room.
As soon as the door closed, Skuld turned to Bell...
"Well, do you want the easy version, or the hard one?"
Bean stared up at Skuld, not moving a muscle.
"I'm not going to like either version, am I?" he asked the young girl. "So...go with the hard one." he said resignedly.
Ryde nodded, and she said, "Alright... here's the hard truth. First, do you watch anime? It'll help me explain all this crap if you do..."
Bean's mouth twisted in wry smile. "Saying I 'watch' anime seems a little mild to describe my level of interest, Skuld. 'Obsess over' conveys it a little more accurately."
He frowned as his attempts to bring his voice into it's ordinary range were foiled, and his voice continued to sound high, and soft.
"I don't like what I'm beginning to gather, so I'd really appreciate it if you'd tell me what's going on...and please, let if have to do with a jalapeno induced hallucination..." he pleaded.
"Well, that makes it easier... And we're in the same boat, trust me. You should have seen my reaction when I woke up and saw Morisato..." Ryder said, with a hint of a smile.
"But, you wanted the hard truth... Take a look at yourself."
Bean craned his head slightly, and looked down...and saw that he was dressed in a simple, but feminine dress, and the expected accessories.
"..." He said slowly. "I haven't been drinking, have I? Except on very special occaisions involving schnapps, I don't usually dress like this..."
Shaking her head, Ryder said, "No, you haven't... Though, if I wasn't a minor, I'd be wasting away in Margaritaville because this is just f***ed up."
Bean turn his head to stare at the young goddess. "Oro! Hey, I thought you guys weren't allowed to say stuff like that?" he wondered. "And, while I agree with the sentiment, would you mind telling me what exactly IS f**ked up?"
"Heh, I'm probably not supposed to say things like that... But, I'm new to this whole 'being a goddess' thing. Especially one as almost sickeningly cute as Skuld..." Ryder remarked as she looked over Bell.
"Unlike you, who just radiates beauty. Ask Morisato if you don't believe me..."
Bean twitched, glancing at the direction Keichii had left. "Not exactly the kinda thing a guy likes to be told..." he sighed. "I'm starting to get the picture...and I don't think I like it...I'm not gonna see my own reflection in the mirror, am I?" he wondered.
"Hmm...And the way you're talking, you must not be the 'original' Skuld..."
Ryder blinked a little and said, "Wait a tic... you're a guy too?"
Two Lost Souls... Arg! Even in another universe I have Damn Yankees in my head!
Bean nodded. "Yep." he agreed, then blinked. "Wait...'too'? You're a guy?" A smirk tugged at the edges of his lips.
Ryder twitched at Bell's smirk that seemed out of place on her face... "Yeah, I'm a guy... what about it? At least I'm not the ultra-fem one of the trio."
Bean smirked, and winced, putting a hand to his head. "That just looks wrong..." he commented on her smirk. "Anyway, Give it time, and you could be...Gah, my head hurts." Seeing his hand, and surprised briefly, he examined it.
"This is so not good...So, if you're not Skuld, who are you?"
"Well... I don't think I should be giving that out to strangers. After all, you could have been a serial killer in your past life." Ryder replied looking down at Bell.
"Tell me yours... I need to know who exactly is in that body before I decide anything."
Bean frowned. "'That' body?" he asked softly. "Well, I guess it doesn't matter...everyone who knows me calls me Bean..."
Ryder blinked as something registered... a-gain...
"Hold up... Bean... as Bean Bandit?" she said with that hint of surprise in her voice. Not that it wasn't obvious in her eyes...
Bean blinked. "Uh...Yeah." he replied. "That's me...Do I know you?"
Continuing her line of questioning, Ryder asked, "So, you're Bean Bandit. Friendly Cop of Soulriders, right?"
Bean nodded. "Okay, now I'm positive you mean me...Yeah, that's me..." he agreed slowly.
Ryder's eyes flashed, and with a bit of a sadistic grin on her face, she lunged at Bell, shouting, "Imouto-chan!!!"
"Eep!" Bean's eyes doubled in size as 'Skuld' came at him, and he fell backwards slightly, to the floor, raising his arms to ward off the incoming twelve year-old. "What the...! Oro...Wait...RYDER? Ack!"
His expression was caught halfway between shock and amusement...
Of course... Bean's flailing arms managed to grab something. It wasn't much of something, but it was... and Ryder's face turned a little red.
"You sick perv... How could you grab your big sister like that?" Ryder said with a grin that destroyed any hope of that line being taken seriously.
Bean turned beet red, and retracted his hand lightning quick.
"Urk." he managed, groping (no pun intended) for a reply. "You don't exactly feel like my 'big' sister, Ryder..."
He twitched as he heard what he had said. "You know, you'd think I'd learn to think before I let these things slip out..."
"Anyway, uh...what happened to you? I was pretty sure you were a guy, chat curses not counted..." he continued hurriedly, hoping to change the subject.
"I am a guy Beanie... it's just that I think a little of Skuld's youth seeped in. Or, it's just because I felt like joking around with you. Either way, take your pick..." Ryder said, leaning against the wall...
Bean shook his head, "Right, right." he agreed. "It's just...meeting you like this is a bit...strange." he said slowly, and scooted himself back up into a sitting position, frowning at the dress he was wearing.
"I'm betting there's a reason I'm wearing this, and I'm probably not going to be happy about it, am I, 'Neechan'?" he asked Ryder, raising an eyebrow.
Ryder blinked and asked, "Bean... haven't you gotten it yet? I'm Skuld, you just saw Morisato, you've got a sing-song voice, and you're wearing a very feminine dress. Put all the pieces togther Imouto, I know you can..."
Bean winced and sighed. "You had to remind me. Yes, I got it...I was just hoping I was wrong, that's all. I mean, I'm not exactly suited to this. Maybe..."
Bean looked down at the dress closely for the first time. It was NOT hanging correctly for the expected male body beneath it. The dress DID seem to flatter without being excessively revealing, but the figure it was flattering was slender, willowy, and decidedly female. Unable to resist checking, in hopes that this was simply a clever crossdressing job, Bean tentatively put his hand the front of the chest, where the dress was pushing out in a decidely unmasculine way...
*Squeeze* >Squish!<
Bean's face flushed a dark red, as his...or was it 'her'?... body reported no artifical padding, but some definite natural padding in the area of contact....
"...I really AM a girl..."
*Squeeze* *Squeeze* *Squeeze*
"You really look like you're having way too much fun over there Imouto." Ryder said offhandedly as glanced down at Bean.
Bean shivered and her blush darked as she pulled her hand away.
"Ah...right." she shook her head and looked up at 'Ryder'. "Anyway...now that I'm pretty sure I'm not dreaming or something, what happened to us, and why? Do you know?"
Ryder sighed and said, "No, I don't know what happened to us... I was in school, eating lunch, and then I blacked out. Next thing I know, I'm in Skuld's body with Kei over me."
"And I went to bed after work, and woke up like this..." Bean sat up completely and frowned as a lock of light brown hair fell across her face. She pushed it out of her face, tucking it absently behing her ear.
"Something big must be up, then...Keichii didn't look too happy..."
Blowing a bit of her black hair, Ryder said, "Well, I doubt he would be happy... The girl he loves is for all we know gone."
"So, think you can face him?"
Bean's face dimmed slightly, and she winced. "I...ah...man, this is gonna be awkward..." she mumbled, biting her lower lip nervously.
"Well Beanie, think about it like this... It's probably less worse than having to face Kenshin." Ryder mentioned as he knocked on the wall.
"KEI! We're ready for you!"
Bean twitched slightly, and her expression went slightly panicked. "Oh G-er...dear..."
Keichii called back from down the hall. "We'll be right there!"
Ryder nodded and moved over to Bean. "Listen Bean... It'll be fine, trust me. If anything, think of the inner Bell. It'll help to calm your nerves..."
Bean twitched again, but nodded. "Right...Inner Bell." she replied, smoothing her dress nervously, but she did relax slightly.
"Okay, I can do this without freaking out...I hope..."
As she spoke softly to herself, footsteps could be heard in the hall...
"Yes Bean... you can." Ryder said as she returned to her wall, waiting for Kei...
Within moments, Keichii returned to the room, a tall, exotically beautiful woman in tow.
Her platinum blond hair gave away her identity immediately, but Bean couldn't help the widening of her eyes...or the quickening of her pulse. She was positively stunning. Impish almond shaped grey eyes in an oval face, with full lips and a figure that made her loose, casual clothes hang off her in a provactive way, despite the slightly tired cast to her features made Bean's head spin...
Well...I seem to have kept SOMETHING...dunno if that's good or bad, though... she thought dazedly. She glanced at the black haired young man leading the woman she knew to be Urd, and felt a pang of sympathy. He had a look that was a mixture of grim and afraid all at once.
Urd turned to look at the two strangers in her sister's bodies.
"Hi!" she smiled slightly.
Ryder frowned at Kei's eyes, knowing there was nothing she could do to fix that particular problem. That is, without serious ramifications on Bean...
Still, she did manage to say, "Yo." to Urd's greeting.
Bean sighed, glancing at the hardwood floor, nodding slightly.
"Hello." she murmured, looking apologetically up at Keichii. He flinched slightly then seemed to remember himself, and gave her a wan smile.
Urd sighed and sat down. "Not a great way to meet, I admit, but we're not going to bite you." She told Bean, exasperation and amusement in her voice.
Bean frowned slightly, but nodded and relaxed.
Urd smiled faintly and nodded. "Right then...I guess It's time to get down to business. Welcome...to the 'real world'" she said calmly.
"The real world? Not exactly... for us, we just left the real world. But, then again, you probably already know that." Ryder replied.
Urd smiled tolerantly. "Yes, I do...but did you know that yours is actually part of ours?" she asked. "It's actually a remote little corner that's been quarantined until it develops some more...Yggdrasil, our world computer has been monitoring it..."
With a small chuckle, Ryder added, "Bill Gates' ultimate dream realized after all."
Her eyes suddenly went all business-like, and she asked, "Well, what are we doing here? It's a dream of mine to be SIed, but there's a catch."
Urd sighed. "Well, from what I can gather from the sytem logs...Yggdrasil has been hacked." she said flatly.
Bean blinked, her own thoughts forgotten as she boggled at that, and even Keichii looked startled.
Even the somewhat unflappable Ryder was caught off-gaurd by that, and replied, "Hacked... Hacked... WHO WOULD HAVE THAT KIND OF POWER!!!!"
Urd sighed and sat down at the table, leaning on one elbow. "It takes less power than you'd think, Kiddo. Yggdrasil was peeking in, doing a systems check, and somehow, someone managed to piggyback a trassmission out along our own scanning band...and once they got in, they dumped a utility program into the mainframe and proceeded from there..."
Ryder nodded, only understanding half of the information, and said, "Alright, so someone hacked Yggy... what did they do exactly?"
Urd blinked at the diminutive nickname for the world tree computer, and cracked a small smile. "Oh, they did plenty." She said wryly.
Keichii looked as lost as Skuld, and was scratching his head, shooting uncomfortable glances at Belldandy, who was nervously pretending she didn't see his glances.
Urd saw this, and sighed, turning her attention to Skuld. "Well, according to the system logs that I was able to access, they activated just about every sub-program in every directory, to hide three levels of attack." she explained, ticking them off on slim, elegantly tapered fingers.
"One, they've deactivated the boundary program between seperate universes, which is causing partial merging at the moment, but it will get worse... We don't know what the specific intent was behind that, but anyone in heaven not busy with repairing the damage to Yggdrasil itself will probably be trying to help restore order here...and unable to look for them." Urd said thoughtfully, tossing her head as a lock of white-blond hair fell into her field of vision.
Keichii stared at Urd in mild surprise, having never heard a serious statement of that length from Urd before. Urd smirked slightly, as if to say 'I know what you're thinking', and went on.
"Two, There seems to have been a virus attack on Yggradsil's root OS." she said, groaning. "This is where it gets sticky, because I'm not sure I understand it myself. We'd need a programmer to simplify it, but from what I understand of the logs, the ultility program dumped into the mainframe was too primitive for the anti-viruses to detect, and was able to make it's way to the main OS, and dumped it's imformation in there. But the information dump was to quick for the simpler OS program to handle, and and father's own access points were overwritten, in favor of this virus' creator."
"I may be getting this wrong." Urd admitted, running a hand through her hair. "I'm only a systems administrator. But what that means, is that someone we don't know has simultaneously usurped father's position, while cutting him off from the system entirely."
Bean had only understood part of the lecture, but what she did grasp made chills run up and down her spine.
"Oh, F...ah, boy." she corrected herself. Don't look at Keichii, Don't look at Keichii... "Someone just appointed themselves Kami-sama by virtue of a computer flaw..." she reasoned, looking to Urd for confirmation.
Urd glanced at Belldandy with a slight nod, and a searching look, which the brown haired girl flinched back under.
"Essentially, yep." The white haired goddess agreed. "Which is...where we hope you two will come in." she said, looking to both Skuld and Belldandy.
"Explain Urd..." Ryder said, her eyes showing the gravity of the situation.
Kami-sama by a computer flaw? That's f***ing insane!
Urd smirked slightly at Skuld, and both she and Belldandy heard the reply.
Maybe, but that's what happens when things get too automated. Even heaven learns lessons sometimes.
Out loud, for Keichii's benifit, Urd nodded. "All right. Bell and Skuld...the original ones...were initiating a backtracking program to recruit agents from the point of origin of the attack...but the retrival got interrupted...and botched all at once..."
She trailed off, looking at the strangers in her sister's bodies. "Can you see where I'm going with this?"
Ryder nodded and replied, "I think I do... we were the agents, right?"
Bean frowned, and rubbed her chin thoughtfully, nodding. "...But we weren't supposed to be dropped in these...bodies." She glanced down at her dress again, blushing.
"So, the transport was screwed up and for whatever reason, didn't finish." She guessed, looking up at Urd. "But then unfinished downloads on our computers are just aborted...But then Yggdrasil is a bit more than a PC..." she trailed off, mumbling slightly as she tried to work it out.
Urd raised an eyebrow, nodding. "You're on the right track. Skuld's operation logs show that the unfinished job was adjusted when they couldn't get the bodies through...and hosts were found for each person they recruited...and used. Bell and Skuld were two of the hosts."
Keichii, who still seemed uncomfortable, raised his hand. "Doesn't that make the reason they were brought here invalid?"
Urd shook her head. "No, Yggdrasil's personnel files are sorted by a type of...'mental thumbprint'. Since it's not Bell and Skuld in there..." she replied, gesturing to the two girls sitting at the table with them, "And they aren't a part of our 'multiverse', Yggdrasil is blind to them, and they can't be influenced directly."
The platinum haired goddess turned her attention to Belldandy and Skuld again. "We really could use your help here...but I won't push. Will you help us? You and the others are about the only ones who can..."
When life gives you lemons...
After a few moments with her eyes closed in deep thought, Ryder slammed her palm into the table and said, "Yeah, I'll do it... There's not much else we could do after all..."
"Mm."
Bean nodded in agreement, blinking as the long brown hair moved with her head. She frowned and ran a hand through it, internally wincing at how strange it felt, after years of very short.
"Yeah, I'll help. What do you want us to do? And frankly, how many of us are there? And...should we be trusting you? You are can be influenced, can't you?"
Keichii twitched involuntarily. Watching Belldandy sit differently, act differently and talk differently made him anxious and a little sad, all at once.
Geez...not like this hasn't happened before. It'll get fixed, somehow. He thought to himself. And it's not all bad. Whoever's in there isn't as bad as the Lord of Terror or something...
Still...can't she try and talk with a little more dignity?
Oblivious to the thoughts running through Keichii's head, Urd nodded to Belldandy.
"The truth is...you really shouldn't be able to trust us...or anyone, really. In fact, since we know that they know what Bell and Skuld were up to, I'm a little surprised that nothing has happened yet." Urd admitted.
"Still...the truth is, there's eight people, including you two, who've been brought here. And on that note...the first order of business should be to gather them. Then, at least, we can plan..."
"If he, she, they, it, whatever knows what Bell and Skuld were up to and did nothing... Maybe this force wanted this to happen. Sure, we're outside of his influence, but we're so inexperienced in our powers that he can manipulate strong people to take us out, right?" Ryder said as she opened her eyes in a stare almost too cold for Skuld's face.
Urd nodded. "That's also a possibility, but it would be simpler to simply take you out using Keiichi and I...So...be careful, okay? not only for your own sake, but my sisters, too...But...as for your powers, I can help a little, there..."
Ryder's eyebrow attempted to go up... but, since Skuld's eyebrow muscles were not up to the task of doing a People's Eyebrow, it didn't work.
Anyway, Ryder replied, "Oh really now..."
Urd smiled dryly. "Really. Skuld isn't the only one who can do a few tricks. Unfortunately, I can't help you too much with mana use, because only experience and spell knowledge can help you there...but I can give you a few tricks to protect yourselves while you get that experience..."
With an smile that fit somewhere between Tsukasa and Xellos, Ryder replied, "Oh now... What exactly do you have for us?"
Urd laughed. "Well, it's not so much what I have, but what SHE has. " she then pointed to Belldandy.
"Oro?" Belldandy blurted, her eyes widening. "I don't know any more than..."
Urd shook her head and stood, walking around the table to Belldandy as Keichii and Skuld looked on. She offered Belldandy a hand, and the brown haired girl warily took it, and was pulled to her feet. Urd smiled reassuringly.
"Trust me. This will work."
Belldandy twitched. "Who are you trying to convince?" she protested.
Urd seemed taken aback. "Hmm...you really aren't Bell." she mused. "Well, just relax..." she said soothingly, placing a soft, tanned hand on either of Belldandy's pale cheeks...
Bean blushed darkly as Urd put her hands on her cheeks, and Urd's voice sounded in her head.
Y...You're a guy?
Bean's blush, impossibly, darkened.
Uh...yeah. What gave me away?
You're attracted to me. This last thought was accompanied by gentle laughter, not mocking, but Bean still tried to pull away in embarrassment. No, wait...sorry. I didn't mean it like that. Urd added. Just one of the perks of being a Goddess...
...Right Bean thought, embarrassedly changing the subject. So what do you need me to do?
Well, my sister is Yggdrasil backup administrator...for emergencies, when Father isn't available...Which gives her emergency access powers to Yggdrasil. In theory, you should be able to use them, too...they can help you help the others brought here...and well as using them to protect yourself, and Skuld, if need be...
Bean blinked, her cheeks still red from the contact with Urd's hands. Okay. She decided. What do you want me to do to get them? she asked curiously.
Urd smiled. I'll show you what you need to do.
With that, the tanned goddess touched the mark on her forehead to the diamond mark on Bean's forehead, and her fingertips slipped onto the blue triangles on Bean's cheeks.
The two women began to glow softly, with steadily rising brightness as divine code was transferred....
Urd's voice entered Bean/Belldandy's mind, differently, this time. It was oddly soothing, yet compelling at the same time...Bean couldn't work out why she wasn't afraid to have someone in her mind like this... First...I'll show you this. Urd told her softly.
Words and numbers flashed through Bean/Belldandy's consciousness, and were instinctively stored to memory.
Those are the access keys to Yggdrasil's personnel records. You can 'borrow' abilites from anyone listed in there, by cutting and pasting to your file...or Bell's file, really. For example...
Bean/Belldandy saw a flash of a red-headed woman...the picture from the file...and then suddenly her own image...and then her mind was flooded with an intimate understanding of 'Anything-Goes Martial Arts'
Oh...wow... She thought in amazement.
The process suddenly reversed itself, and the understanding was gone.
The grin in Urd's voice was almost visible. Cool, huh?
No kidding... Bean/Belldandy breathed.
Now comes a slightly harder one. Urd instructed.you have to put the subject in physical contact with your emblem of office, which is the diamond on your forehead...and use this code.
More numbers and letters flashed through Bean/Belldandy's mind, and were again completely retained.
This will help whoever's been drawn here access the natural abilities and talents of their host bodies...And help them fight alongside you.
Bean/Belldandy nodded, her own glow gathering strength. Anything else?
Just one thing...but this is for just you and Skuld...I can't help you with spell casting, but if you look at this you should get a head start on learning...
Bean/Belldandy was given another address, filling her mind...and the glow slowly faded, leaving Bean standing in the tea room of the Morisato home, wearing a blue dress, and with her forehead pressed against Urd's as two tanned hands rested on her cheeks...
After watching the lightshow above him, Ryder's eyes glazed over...
"Wow..." was about all she could manage. Then again, that might have been all she needed to manage.
Bean shook her head, trying to process everything that had gone through it. "That...was a lot of information..." she gasped.
Urd nodded sympathetically. "You'll get used to it." she soothed.
Bean looked up at Urd. How strange...I'm usually the tall one...and now a woman no taller than five ten is at least three inches taller than me... "Urd-s...Urd, what about 'my' abilities? Like the mirror transport?" she asked.
Urd shook her head. "As soon as you opened Bell's file, you had the ability unlocked. You're ready." Urd smiled. "Now, why don't you practice by unlocking her?" she suggested, pointing at the shell-shocked twelve year old girl at the table.
Urd's response hit Ryder like a ton of bricks, sending her back to reality as she exclaimed, "Nani!?!"
Urd blinked at Skuld and shrugged.
"What's the matter with you?" Urd asked impatiently. It didn't hurt her, did it?" she said, pointing to Belldandy, and letting her other hand move off Belldandy's cheek...
Ryder visibly calmed down and replied, "Sorry... got a little jumpy there. Now... what exactly is she unlocking?"
Urd raised and eyebrow and backed off a step, looking to Belldandy to answer.
Bean smiled slightly. "It's just giving you access to Skuld's innate abilities, Ryder...like the water teleporting trick..." she replied, running a hand through her hair.
Ryder sighed and muttered, "It's always gotta be water, doesn't it? I mean, first it was the Jusenkyo curse, and then it was Ami... why can't it be something else for a change?"
Returning to her Xellos/Tsukasa smile, she finished, "Well, shall we begin?"
Bean nodded and approached Ryder, smiling slightly. "It could be that water is just your element...'Neechan." she teased, kneeling down on the floor in front of the black haired girl.
Gently, she put her hands on Ryder's cheeks, just like Urd had done a few moments ago...
"Okay....Ready?" she asked softly.
Ryder took a deep breath and nodded "I guess I'm as ready as I'll ever be... 'Imouto," she shot back, the slightly nervous smile on her face showing the intent of the tease.
Bean smiled reassuringly, though she wasn't at all confident. She gently touched her forehead to Ryder/Skuld's...
Acc: SKULD-01:dat. pass:8764502384529111!!!
Ryder felt a slight tugging on her mind, and suddenly, an area of his brain she didn't even know existed began to fill.
Machine parts and equations raced through her brain, hideously complex, and yet she understood them all...and instinctively, she began understanding how to make machines that could dance to her will...literally, if need be...
A glaze swept over Ryder's eyes as she absorbed all of this information...
However, her mouth was a bit of a different situation, as it turned into a grin much like that of her 'mother'... Something that didn't in any way fit the girl.
Bean/Belldandy began to glow as she pressed just a bit further...
And Ryder/Skuld's consciousness shifted slightly, and she had an insinctive understanding of the more...divine nature of the universe as well...and she found there a small ability to exploit her own nature...which due to her youth, had room to grow...
There was a brief moment...the universe melted away, and they were swimming in stars...
And then the transfer completed.
Suddenly, they both aware, once again, of who and where they were. Bean pulled her head away, but didn't move her hands.
"How do you feel?" she asked quietly, smiling.
Ryder opened her eyes, and with a bit of a smile, she replied, "I feel like I've gone through a cram session and just had a 2 Liter of Mega Jolt..."
However, despite her smile, she wasn't that happy... Everything I've ever believed is all a lie... And right now, I'm the living proof.
Bean blinked, as suddenly, a little voice inside told her something was amiss...
She watched the small girl smile and nodded back with a slight smile of her own.
"If you're sure." she agreed. "But you should tell if not...that was my first time, after all..."
"It's nothing about the transfer, just what I learned during it." Ryder replied.
Bean eyed Ryder curiously. "Ah...are you sure you'll be ok, then?" she wondered.
No, I won't be alright... but, it's no time for philosophy...
With that thought, Ryder replied, "Yeah, I'll be fine..."
Bean gave the young girl a disbelieving look, but nodded.
"Mmm. Hai." She looked up at the platinum haired woman watching them and blushed a little at the smirk on Urd's face. "So...what next?"
Urd's smirk vanished, and she bit her lip. "I don't know." She confessed. "If I knew why we seem to be outside of Yggdrasil's reach, for the moment, I'd suggest you bring all the people Bell sent for here...but they may not be safe..."
Keichii frowned at the thought of being forced to attack Belldandy, or even her body.
On that note, a voice sounded from the hallway. "Oh, I assure you, cherie, this temple is perfectly safe!"
The closed tea-room door was pushed open to reveal a tall, dark haired woman, with a shoulder length haircut, concealing a dressed in something akin to a black bodysuit adorned with leather straps, and topped off with the kind of dangling jewelry favored by the goddesses.
Peorth looked a bit battered, but infinitely smug. "Did you miss me?"
Ryder turned to face the new arrival, and her face turned a few shades of red...
Peroth... Dear F***ing Kami-sama, she's beautiful!
Of course, the outer Skuld tried to hide this exclaimation, not that it helped, and said, "Oh, it's Peroth. What brings you down here?"
Bean's eyes widened, and she resisted the urge to shrink away, as she remembered the relationship Belldandy and Peorth had in the manga...
Urd blinked at the newly arrived goddess. "What-? How did you get..."
Keichii chuckled sheepishly. "Ah, I kinda got the camera fixed, Urd..."
Urd gave Peorth a guardedly friendly nod. Peorth smiled wearily at Belldandy and Skuld. To Skuld, she gave a slight, knowing smile, but simply said:
"Well, what with heaven being under attack, I thought it best to vacate the premises for a few days." she smiled, then looked to Belldandy. "You can relax, cherie. I know all about the two of you..."
Urd blinked. "Peorth, did you...?"
Peorth smiled smugly. "Quite. I had a few moments before I left heaven, so I created a buffer around the temple...anyone inside the grounds should be able to escape notice of the system."
Keichii blinked. "So THATS why we haven't been taken over..."
Ryder nodded, feeling more relaxed knowing that Peroth knew they were guys. Not that there wasn't still a shade of red on her face...
"So, back to business... What's the plan?"
Bean nodded. "...we need to get started..."
Urd nodded. "Yeah...How about it, Peorth? I could use some help backing these two up..."
Peorth cast an amused glance at Bean, and then a thoughtful one at Keichii, who winced slightly. She then cast a longer, more thoughtful look at Skuld. Urd frowned, but Peorth merely smiled.
"I'll be happy to assist." she agreed. "What have you come up with so far?"
Urd briefly outlined what she'd learned from Skuld's computer for Peorth's benefit.
Peorth nodded. "So we must locate the others, then send them to retrieve them, right?"
Urd nodded. "Essentially."
Peorth grinned. "Then lets get started." She smiled, and Urd stood, nodding.
"Well, that's all well and good, but really... How do you expect us to find them? There's a big multiverse, and we're looking for a small amount of people." Ryder said, playing the devil's advocate...
Urd grinned. "Way ahead of you, kiddo. I've got a search program running in Skuld's computer. The linkup with Yggdrasil was never severed, so we shouldn't be detected. just give it some time, and we'll have a fix on everyone who came here with you..."
Smiling back, Ryder replied, "Oh... how long ago did you start it? It might help me know how much time I have to kill..."
Urd shook her head. "It should be almost done. No more than an hour..." she replied.
With a grin, Ryder said, "Alright then... I need to find some ice-cream!"
And with a typical Skuld look on her face, she bounded out of the room, and to the left, which hopefully was the kitchen.
Bean blink-blinked as Ryder left the room. "Oro...?"
Urd grinned and shook her head. "don't worry about it...but you should nap, if you can."
"Why...oh, right...My mana source?" Bean asked curiously. Urd and Peorth both nodded. "Allright...is there someplace I can sleep?"
Urd nodded. "I'll take you to Bell's room." she offered. Bean nodded her thanks, and slowly stood. She sighed inwardly at how weird this new body made her surroundings, and blushed at little in embarrassment.
As Urd led her from the room, she just yawned...
It took her a little while, but Ryder finally found the kitchen, and thus, the freezer.
And as she opened it, her jaw dropped... "So... much... ice-cream! Now, where's that Mint Chocolate Chip?"
So, she started to search through the freezer for some of her favorite flavor.
Peorth entered the room behind Skuld, smirking slightly as she watched the little goddess root through the freezer.
"How much of what you're doing right now is reflex, cherie?"
Upon hearing Peroth's voice, Ryder's stood up... unfortunately for him, there wasn't alot of space in the freezer, and she had her head in, looking for the elusive Mint Chocolate Chip.
"Ite! Don't sneak up on me like that!" she said while rubbing her head and facing the goddess, "There's gonna be a lump there now!"
And, after some thought, she replied, "Some of it is reflex... Why?"
Peorth smiled winningly. "I'm just curious...After all, you and your friend are in a unique situation..." she said, gesturing expansively.
"And you seem to have some of Skuld's character traits...so I wondered..."
"Well, I suppose if you took a delve into my personality, you'd find a little of Skuld in there." Ryder said, watching Peorth's movements...
"Oh, I thought of something... After we're done this mission, what happens next?"
Peorth raised her eyebrows, shrugging. "It all depends, I suppose..." she said vaguely.
"Urd and I need something before we can take back Yggdrasil's systems...I imagine you'll be sent to get it." The dark-haired goddess considered briefly. "or, failing that, locate father."
Ryder attempted to raise her eyebrow, failing again, and said, "I meant, are we gonna be like this forever? While it's fun actually being divine for once, I really don't know if I want to be a 13 year old goddess for the rest of my existance."
Peorth watched Skuld for a moment, as though considering. Finally, her features shifted, as though coming to a decision.
"I'm not sure what will happen." Peorth admitted sympathetically. "This is the first successful attack of Yggdrasil ever. If we can't find the others...or if we fail in putting things back to rights, there may be no way for you to go back."
She laid a hand on the small goddess' shoulder. "We'll try our best before that happens, though."
Ryder sighed as the reality of it just crashed on her... Sure, it really WAS fun to finally be actually SIed into something. And even if it was as a girl, she was actually staring people that she always admired on the TV screen.
But, permanent? Ryder didn't want that... His friends, family, and that one girl with the glasses, he couldn't bear the thought of never seeing them again.
And with all that, Ryder grabbed onto Peorth and pulled her close, a tear falling out of her eyes.
Peorth flinched in surprise, but a moment later, hugged the little goddess gently.
"Don't cry...We'll do out best to get you home, little one..."
From the sobbing goddess, a small, almost unheard, "Thank you..." could be heard.
Peorth let Skuld cry, patting her gently and murmuring softly to her until she'd exhausted the rush of emotion...
Finally, after a few minutes of crying, the tears and sobbing slowly dried out, leaving one burnt out goddess in thier wake.
Letting go of Peorth, Ryder said, "Gomen nasai for tearing up on you like that... the realities of this just crashed down on me."
Peorth nodded and patted Skuld lightly. "Think nothing of it, cherie. I'm sure if I were in your shoes, I would react similarly..."
Peorth never finished her sentence, as Keichii coughed lightly from the doorway.
"Uhm...Urd said to call you guys...Skuld's computer found the others..." he said, embarrassed.
"Thanks Kei, we'll be right in," Ryder replied as she tried to relax after letting loose her depression. It worked to a degree, but still, it was evident that she was shaken up.
Regardless of this, she started to walk to her lab...
Keichii coughed again to get Skuld's attention. "Er...Ryder-san...can you go get your friend? She's asleep in Bell's room..."
"Oh, right..." Ryder replied, a little shame-faced...
Which got worse as she realized she didn't know which room was Bell's... "Ano... Kei-san? Which room is hers?"
Keichii grinned and pointed at the room beside the one with the sign that read 'Urd's Lab'. The door was simple, but unlike the door to Skuld's room, or Urd's, it bore no sign, just a simple wood carving of a swan...