A/N: I'm a big fan of the anime, but something has been bouncing around in my head for quite some time. I have an OC, Daniel "Danny" James Aldeen, who I apply to some Animes and Games and evaluate how much more DIFFERENT events could've played out. This, however, is the first instance that I've felt compelled to write about. It may not be outstanding, great or even good, but I want to write it and so I shall. This is the tale of two lovers, but not quite the tale you know. After all, the life of a Marine isn't an easy one *hint hint*. Regardless of your inclinations towards my idea, I hope you enjoy this story, of a Marine and his Goddess.

Chapter One: Horror

"Captain, we need to get moving." The voice of his second in command drifted into Captain Daniel Aldeen's ears, rousing him from his musings. The Captain stood up and released a long groan as his joints popped in the aftermath of an hour spent sitting in thought. The Marine brushed the dust off his shoulder patch, which identified him as the commander of the 1st Marine Force Recon Company. With a yawn, Danny turned to face his XO, First Lieutenant Kelly Blanton, and spoke.

"We've got the orders, eh Lieutenant?"

"Yes sir, we're being sent to perform a civilian extraction."

"Civvie extract? Really? The brass must really think highly of them."

"Actually, sir, this mission isn't from the big brass, it's from the Colonel."

"Really? He's never issued a mission without being told to."

"I know sir, but now he has."

"Well, let's get to it then."

With that, the Captain and the platoon chosen to perform this mission loaded into a convoy of 5 Humvees. The vehicles began to drive and, much to the Captain's chagrin, turned off the road's very quickly. When the driver was asked why he was doing so, the only reply given was that the coordinates provided were 15 miles away, and staying on the roads would only prolong the journey. The sun, which had been setting even as the Captain had been roused, had descended below the horizon leaving the Marines in darkness.

When the vehicles stoppped, the men were surprised by what they were faced with. They found 12 men standing in a semi-circle around 2 women and a smaller child, also female, who were lying on the ground with their hands and feet bound and their mouths gagged. The men had AK-47 assault rifles, so the Marines treated them with immense caution. The 36 marines of the Platoon spread out around the men, and Captain Aldeen called "Drop your weapons!" The men turned to the Marines, with strangely hollow looks in their eyes, and seemed to almost emenate evil. Seemingly from nowhere, a 4th woman emerged from behind the men.

Heavy clothing covered all her features, with the compensations made in the chest area of her shirt being the only indication it was even a female. At that point, a distinctly female voice called out "Heaven's puppet sent MORTALS to stop me? I suppose they truly are desperate. Anyhow, I suppose those un-fortunate enough to attempt a contract with me can handle you." She then turned to the 12 and said simply "Kill them."

Instantly, the men were firing, and so were the Marines. These men didn't seem fazed when bullets tore through legs or stomachs, and kept firing. The Captain, however, didn't bother to test their immunity to pain as he ordered head-shots be delivered. By the time this order had been given, 6 Marines lay dead. The woman now seemed annoyed as she sighed, saying "I suppose I'll have to kill you all myself then!"

She turned and faced the Marines, whose rifles were all aimed at her. In a flash, however, dark balls of some unknown energy were racing from her hands and connecting with Marines, exploding in a ball of fire. The Marines opened fire, but the woman seemed completely un-affected, with the only visual change being her clothing being shredded, revealing her to be of dark complexion, and white hair flowed through holes in the hood that had covered her head.

Soon, all the Marines were dead, except for two. One of whom was Captain Daniel Aldeen, the other was a young 21 year old Staff Sergeant, the Captain's younger brother Kevin Aldeen. The woman smiled and said tauntingly "Oh look, a Captain who couldn't save his Marines, let's see if you can save your pathetic brother." With that, she raised her hand, and a bolt of dark lightning raced out, electrifying young Kevin. His screams filled the air, and filled Daniel with rage. Daniel drew the M9 strapped to his hip and fired, and she responded by simply hurling him aside with a flick of her wrist.

Landing next to the tied up women, Daniel felt pain roll through him, both physical and emotional as his brother was shocked until he collapsed, almost dead and clutching his S.A.W as a lifeline. The woman then turned to Daniel and the women, then began to walk slowly forward. Daniel felt a faint tickle on his shoulder and glanced over, to find one of the women had set her bound hands on his shoulder. Seeing it as nothing more than a helpless gesture of comfort, Daniel didn't react even when he felt the other two also lay their hands on him.

It was at that moment, that the Captain felt something within him change ever so slightly. He wasn't in pain any longer, in fact he felt better than he ever had before. Glancing down, he found himself glowing with a faint light, while a light murmuring could be heard through each girl's gag. Standing up, Jack turned to the woman who had killed his Marines, and drew the second M9 attached to his thigh. The weapon also glowed with a faint light, and the woman paused

"Hmm...could it be? A hidden one? Interesting."

Beyond this, she wasn't given the chance to speak as Daniel fired. Unlike before, however, these bullets seemed to hurt her, as they slammed through her lower abdomen, knocking her to the ground and causing her pain. She was soon standing again however, and hurled him next to his dying brother.

"Hidden one or not, I still have the power to kill you before you can banish me!"

Shakily, Daniel got to his feet as lightning just like that which struck his brother struck him. Pain coursed through him, and he felt his body taking immense damage. It seemed that Daniel was doomed, but his brother had different ideas.

"Cap...tain."

Kevin groaned weakly and, with the last of his strength, tossed the S.A.W to Danny. Seizing the gun, Danny aimed at the hip and did what Marines were trained to do. He squeezed the trigger, and watched as bullets flew out rapid fire at the woman. Just as before, they struck home and began to do damage. By the time the clip emptied, the woman had dropped and stopped moving, before her body simply vanished. When Daniel dropped the S.A.W, it became clear his brother was dead.

As tears rolled down Danny's face, he staggered forward as he sensed his own impending death. Drawing his KA-BAR Combat knife, he cut the bonds on the women and release their Gags. Since he was dying anyways, Danny studied the bodies of all three women intently

One was tall, fairly pale, and had dirty blonde hair flowing to her back. She wore aqua blue robes that covered her chest and everything below very well and were kept up by two shoulder straps. She had some strange ear-rings on, which complemented her striking blue eyes very well. She wore a concerned expression as she looked at Danny.

The other grown woman was slightly taller than the first, and much different in appearence. Her robes were dark black, with occasional shades of purple, and left very little about her body to the imagination. Her hair was every bit as long as the first, but her hair was strangely white. Her expression was a grave, examinatory one as her purple eyes rested on Danny.

The last was a smaller kid, standing about to the bottom of Danny's hip. Her robes covered her full body and seemed the most normal of all three's clothing, being a light red. Her hair was a light brown and reached the bottom of her back just like the first two. Her eyes, a light brown, rested on him with deep worry as she looked at him.

Danny managed to speak now, choking through his wounds "I-I'm C-C-Captain D-Daniel James Aldeen. F-First Marine Force...Recon. Please...please take...my men and my own...take our tags...and get them to the base." The first woman shook her head vehemently and, along with the second, gently lowered Danny to the ground.

Danny lost conciousness then, with the last thing he heard being the faint sound of singing. When he awoke, he immediatly noticed a few things. One, he did not feel desert sand beneath his palms as he had when he passed out. Two, he was, well, nowhere near dead as he once again felt better than ever. Three, he could sense someone watching him.

Opening his eyes, he found the first woman sitting there. Realizing what had happened, Daniel let himself do the one thing he hadn't done since joining the Marines. He cried, and cried, mourning the lives of his Marines. The woman gently placed her hand beneath his head and lifted it up slightly as she sat next to him.

"Your men...why did they do that?"

Surprised by this, Danny looked up at her and said softly, his voice hoarse.

"Because...they are-...were Marines, the best."

"Why did you come to save us?"

"We were ordered to."

She seemed to consider this, and then asked

"Do you know what a Hidden One is?"

Danny hadn't thought too much about this, and shook his head. The woman gave a big, beautiful smile, and said calmly.

"Don't worry, my sisters and I will explain it when you are fully recovered. You'll be staying with us for...awhile, I apologize that we're forcing you into this but the Almighty One demanded it. You were..honorably discharged from the Marines, so you are free to stay, although I don't quite understand the concept of you...Marines...I hope you will explain it to me."

She stood and began to leave, but before Daniel could begin to barrage her with questions, she looked to him and, with that perfect smile intact, added

"I am Goddess First Class, Second Category, Unlimited License Belldandy, Mr. Daniel Aldeen, and I hope we can get along over the coming period of time."

With that the woman, Belldandy she had said her name was, left. Leaving Daniel with many more questions than answers.