-1Disclaimer - I obviously don't own these characters or the background stories.
'Single Quotes' character thought
This takes place after Jusendo in the Ranmaverse and after S2 of the AMG anime. I have yet to read the manga completely, I get side tracked easily.
High speeds, precise turns, the wind in your face and the surge of adrenaline. Belldandy loved the feel of the racetrack, not only because Keiichi did, but because she found the unique experience of being on the edge of losing control to be exhilarating. It was one of the greatest pleasures of her mortal form. Keiichi was on the sidelines with a stopwatch timing her laps around the track on their newest creation; a motorbike. They were experimenting with ultra light weight materials and ceramic parts. She finished the final lap in record time and skidded to a halt. She removed her helmet allowing her beautiful long blonde hair fall free, a smile on her face.
"It feels a little sluggish on acceleration but it handles like a dream." she commented. The new bike was far lighter than any they previously built but it still had a long way to go before being a completed project. "I think it's a compression issue."
Keiichi started to do some testing on the engine when out of nowhere a ball of energy crashed into the bike, reducing it into a pile of molten slag. Keiichi was hurled back by the blast and pelted by shrapnel, the force of the impact knocking him unconscious. Belldandy immediately rushed to his aid, already knowing who would be attacking them. She quickly scooped Keiichi up into her arms and dodged as another blast hit the spot they previously occupied.
Looking in the direction she glared at her adversary. "What do you want Mara? Why can't you just leave us alone?"
"I thought you would have realized by now, as long as you remain on Midgard, I will do my best to make your life miserable!" Mara sneered as she proceeded to toss about energy blasts wildly.
Casually strolling along with his hands in his pockets, Ranma Saotome was glad to get a moment's peace to himself. Unfortunately for Ranma, it was only just a moment. He was heading home from returning a stolen scroll, which he found in Happosai's goods, to it's owner when he heard an explosion. He immediately looked in the direction of the explosion sensing immense power. He could easily recognize a high powered battle from his past fights, especially with Herb and Saffron. He made a mad dash to the site of what he assumed to be a major battle, hoping to get in on the action and maybe prevent innocents from getting hurt. Throwing caution to the wind, he made way over roofs and fences, incidentally passing through a sprinkler changing genders, which had the side effect of speeding his, now her, run pace.
Soon Ranma reached what was obviously ground zero, charred potholes and debris all over what appeared to have once been a race track. In the middle of the race track floating a dozen or so feet off the ground was a golden blonde haired woman dressed in black with red facial markings of some sort. She was smirking evilly at a Kasumi-ish woman whom was supporting an injured, probably unconscious, black haired boy with one arm while attempting to get away.
"What will you do now, Belldandy? It's just you and your little human. Your sisters aren't here to protect you today! Just because I can't kill you doesn't mean I can't hurt you. Maybe killing your boy-toy there would be fun?" Of course, Mara was merely toying with Belldandy and had little to no intention of killing Keiichi... perhaps just break him.
Quickly deciding which side to take, Ranma decided to place herself between the injured and the attacker. The sudden appearance of another human shielding Belldandy and Keiichi caused Mara to blink for a few moments in confusion. Here she was throwing around her power and some stupid human stepped in the middle of it.
"I don't know who ya think ya are but if ya think ya can get away with attacking defenseless people while I'm around, ya' got another thing comin'!" Ranma flashed her usual confidant smirk and turned her head to wink at Belldandy. Bell just looked at her for a moment in confusion. She could sense this human had some power but even Skuld had more power than her.
'She wouldn't last a minute against Mara,' she thought to herself. 'But Keiichi is injured and unconscious. I can't fight Mara and protect him at the same time!'
"No, please. You mustn't endanger yourself. Let me take care of this!" Belldandy said while kneeling and laying Keiichi on the ground with his head still cradled in her lap as she cast minor heal spells on him. Ranma could sense that the girl was indeed very powerful but the guy she had in her lap possessed little and would easily become a target.
"Heh, I've dealt with worse than her. Don't worry, just get him somewhere safe while I deal with our witch friend here." Ranma replied while turning to glare at Mara.
"Stupid human!!! I am Mara! Demon, first class unlimited! You stupid humans, can't even tell a demon from a simple witch! Hmph, well then, I'll show you the difference!" Mara yelled as she powered up for a barrage of attacks. Belldandy quickly picked up Keiichi and ran for cover hoping to find a safe place for him and return before Mara killed the brave girl.
Mara, incensed by the ignorant red haired girl, grinned evilly as she gathered energy to unleash a rather powerful attack. She merely wanted to scare the girl, not really kill her. After all, if she went around killing humans left and right, there would be no one left to corrupt! Contracts were necessary to expand demonic influence and she could sense the discontent rolling off this girl in waves. Perhaps after she was subdued, and she had her fun with Belldandy, she could "convince" the girl to form a contract.
As a show of power, she slowly gathered the energy into her hand and let it grow into a large ball then let it fly towards Ranma. Ranma took a few moments to analyze the energy that was flying towards her and decided she could nullify it with a Mouko Takabisha.
"Mouko Takabisha!" she shouted and instantly let fly her own ball of energy. The two balls collided with a giant explosion that knocked both Ranma and Mara back. Mara was surprised that a mere human was able to release such an energy attack.
'Interesting, humans that can access their life force like this are rare! Oh, now I REALLY want to get her to form a contract.' Mara grinned evilly. Ranma, however, had other ideas. As the smoke was settling Ranma sensed that her target was on the ground and decided to go all out in hand to hand. Mara was startled to see the girl jump through the smoke and begin pummeling her. Granted, being a demoness, the attacks barely registered but due to the surprise she continued to take the beating.
'What in the heck is she made of, steel??' Ranma thought to herself as she unleashed a flurry of attacks on the woman. Mara took the hits and responded to the physical force with the usual grunts yet appeared to take little to no damage. Finally, Mara backhanded the little red head sending her to the ground, an evil gleam appearing in her eyes.
"Well well, it seems you have some spunk!" she said. "Thanks for the massage. How about I return the favor?" Mara proceeded to unleash her own attacks at a comparable speed to Ranma's previous onslaught. Ranma was hard pressed to dodge and block all the hits and a few managed to get through but, being who she is, refused to let the damage show. After a few moments Ranma managed to break free of the attack and regain her bearings.
'She's no slouch.' Ranma thought to herself. 'Guess, I'll have ta kick it up a notch or two.' Grinning Ranma assumed a more aggressive stance.
"So, you finally realize I'm far more than some lowly witch. Looks like I get to have a little more fun before Belldandy gets back for her own beating." Mara laughed. Ranma took this monologue as an opportunity and launched into her next attack.
With a shout of "Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken", Ranma was on her and unleashing a furious barrage of rapid fire punches all to the same spot. This earned more than just the appearance of someone beating on a sand bag and Ranma managed to inflict some real damage. The force of the impact knocked Mara back several meters to skid across the dirt. Immediately, Ranma was on her again.
Mara was angry and surprised. This impudent human actually hurt her! How can such a small girl be so fast? It was more than her healing ability could keep up with and actually did some lasting damage. Granted she would be healed in a few minutes of rest but it was still annoying. A bright flash and Ranma was blown away from Mara with a bolt of energy.
"You actually think you stand a chance against me? Hmph! How pathetic, seems now I'll have to teach you a lesson. Everything up to now has been just for show. From now on, you won't get away with just bruises!" Mara fumed.
"Hah, as if an old hag like you could actually hurt me! Dream on ugly!" Ranma taunted with another confident smirk. 'Ok, so the Amaguriken didn't have much affect either. There's other attacks left.' Fortunately for Ranma, Mara was angry now. Being a demon Mara already had something like a battle aura and with Mara angered that battle aura was getting rather hot. Now to lure her into the pattern.
Mara was angry! This human pest was still trying to stand up to her. Screw making a contract! This little girl will pay dearly! Mara proceeded to unleash a flurry of energy attacks at Ranma who deftly dodged each one, but not without taking some scalding damage due to the heat of the attacks.
'Damn, she's only attacking from range! I need to find a way to get her in close.' Ranma thought to herself. Of course the only way Ranma knew of to get an opponent to chase was using the Saotome style. Taunt mercilessly!
Meanwhile, Belldandy finally managed to hide Keiichi in a storage closet on the side of a nearby garage. She immediately set to healing the more minor of Keiichi's wounds. She could feel Mara's power rising. The girl would surely die if she didn't hurry back. After having healed as many of the little cuts and scrapes as she could, she used her powers to bring herself off the ground and started flying back just in time to be blown back by one of the most awe inspiring and deadliest attacks she had ever seen.
"Is that all ya got, ya old hag? Where're ya aiming anyways? Are ya losin' your sight in your old age? You should talk to Mousse, maybe he has a spare pair of glasses ya could borrow!" Ranma laughed and launched her own series of energy blasts which Mara dodged in the air with ease.
'Cocky little brat! Let's see if she can dodge at point blank!' Mara seemed to disappear and reappeared in Ranma's face with an energy bolt ready. Ranma was quite surprised and barely managed to bring her arms up to shield herself as the blast hit.
'Whoa, she's fast!' Ranma thought. 'Can't take many of those or I'll be toast!' Luckily for Ranma, Mara now started chasing her. Now in tune to pattern, Ranma started the spiral, albeit a rather large one, as Mara was quite fast and Ranma needed room to dodge the blasts. In the end, the results were the same.
"HIRYU SHOUTEN HA!" Ranma yelled as her cold ki came into contact with Mara's hot... whatever it was. The ensuing tornado was very gratifying to Ranma. Mara was swept up and beaten about by the tornado but this did little to stop her next actions. In utter rage, she unleashed a full power blast at Ranma straight down the center of the tornado causing it's energies to invert and turn back in upon itself. Instantly, Ranma was smashed into the ground by both the energy attack and her own. The attacks dissipated rather quickly but Ranma had absorbed the entire blow and was embedded into a large crater.
Mara didn't manage to get away without damage though. Now she was bleeding from her mouth and her clothes were in shambles. She was, however, still only lightly damaged by demon standards and had plenty of fight left in her.
"NO!" Belldandy screamed and ran towards the crater containing Ranma's shattered body only to be stopped by another blast from Mara.
"Well, Bell-chan, looks like it's just you and me now." Mara proceeded to occupy Belldandy with a series of blasts and Belldandy responded in kind. She just couldn't do anything for the girl until Mara was no longer a threat. After a few moments of throwing energy blasts back and forth with no progress except to further mar the appearance of both combatants, a bolt of lighting struck Mara in the chest throwing her back into the nearby spectator stands.
"Come to bother us yet again, have you Mara? Shouldn't you have learned by now to leave us alone by now?" A beautiful tanned woman with long white hair asked. She was dressed rather provocatively and it seemed her entire outfit emphasized her legs and chest.
"Urd!" Mara screeched as she climbed out of the ruined benches. "As long as you remain on Midgard, I will make you suffer as the humans you seek to help." Mara was now running low on energy and she knew she would not last against the combined efforts of the two goddesses.
"Next time, I'll make sure you and your precious Keiichi end up in the ground just like her!" she yelled pointing towards the crater containing Ranma and quickly disappeared.
Belldandy immediately ran to examine Ranma. Urd came down alongside her and peered into the hole.
"What the HELL happened here Bell!?" Urd asked, also examining the redhead. She took note at how slight the girl was. Poor thing didn't stand a chance.
"She tried to distract Mara while I got Keiichi to safety but she went a too far. Mara didn't hold back at all." Belldandy had tears flowing down her cheeks. She knew without a doubt that the girl wouldn't live. Her body was shattered and her heart was slowing. She put her hands on the girl's chest and tried to restore her body to health. Unfortunately, she was too late. The girl was too far gone. Urd sighed as the life faded from the girl's body and she felt the soul leave. She closed her eyes and muttered a silent prayer. Belldandy wouldn't have any of this and reached up, removing the earring from her left ear. Urd's eyes snapped open upon feeling the surge of power.
"No Bell! She's gone! You aren't authorized to remove the limiter!" Urd yelled and grabbed Bell's shoulder. Bell was beyond hearing and continued as she clasped her hands and muttered a prayer in the holy language of the gods and began to glow a bright white. Urd continued in her efforts to stop Belldandy but was blown away by the power of the spell. Belldandy's arms drifted outward and her body lifted from the ground. The glow spread out and seemed to reach for Ranma's body, which began glowing itself as the light touched it. The glow from the body intensified and suddenly flashed as bright as the sun. The moment was over and Belldandy's feet touched back on the ground. She reattached her earring and pulled the girl's body into her lap.
"Bell, you're far too kind. I don't like seeing anyone die either but you've really gone and done it this time. You know resurrection is forbidden!" Urd exclaimed with an astonished look on her face.
"She died protecting us. She deserves to live. We should have known Mara would go after Keiichi to get rid of us. Because of that she died." Belldandy explained with tears in her eyes.
"What was a human doing fighting Mara anyway!? Couldn't she tell she was outmatched?" Urd sighed in exasperation. "I can't believe this... You'll be lucky if you're only busted down to second class. You'll probably be suspended too!"
Just then Ranma came to.
"Ugh, what happened?" Ranma groaned as she sat up. She looked around and took stock of the area. "Did I win?"
"After you fell, I managed to hold Mara off untill Urd here came and chased her off. I'm afraid you lost. In fact, you died." she still held the dazed girl.
"What do you mean? I'm alive aren't I? How could I have died?" Ranma asked, confused and not quite realizing the position she was in.
"You were dead, but she resurrected you. Basically, you had already passed and she recalled your soul to your body and bound it with her essence." Urd explained. Ranma just stared unable to comprehend anything that was just said. "Just look at it this way, you have been given a second chance. Once your soul leaves your body it normally can't return but Belldandy gave you a piece of her own to keep yours bound to your body. There is a part of her in you. I suppose she's kinda like a mother to you now."
"Look, I don't know what's goin' on but I guess you saved me, so uh, thanks I guess." Noticing her embarassing position she quickly hopped out of Belldandy's lap and got to her feet. "I'm Ranma, Ranma Saotome. Sorry about this." she said with her hand behind her head and blushing a little.
"I'm Belldandy and this is my sister, Urd." Belldandy said motioning towards herself and Urd. Urd winked at Ranma.
"Thanks for bringin' me back to life or whatever but I really gotta get goin' now. Akane gets mad when I'm late." Ranma turned and prepared to walk away.
"Wait, just a sec. There are some problems we have to deal with. You can't just turn around and leave after she broke one of our highest laws just to bring you back to life!" Urd said with a little anger. Belldandy looked down at the ground with a worried and slightly sad expression.
"Bell-chan!" A voice yelled from behind them. They turned around to see Keiichi limping towards them while cradling his arm. He still had a few scratches and bruises as well as a dislocated shoulder. "Are you ok, Bell-chan? Mara's gone isn't she?" he asked.
"Yes, Ranma here held her off while I got you to a safe place. When I got back I had to hold her off until Urd arrived." she looked at Keiichi and the look intensified.
"What kind of problems are you talking about?" Ranma asked Urd. "This don't mean she's a fiancee now or somethin' does it?"
"What? Fiancee!? No!!" Urd stated incredulously.
"Oh thank god!" Ranma let out a sigh of relief.
Just then a bolt of lightning struck the ground in between them leaving a message in the dirt.
"That kind of problem." Urd said pointing to the message while massaging her temples.
The message read: "Goddess first class, second category unlimited, Belldandy and Ranma Saotome are to report to Kami-sama immediately."