(This is an "Oh, My Goddess!" fan-fiction. The "OMG" characters are the property
of Kosuke Fujishima and other respective owners. Used without permission, but
with great respect.)
Jotunheim
Part One: The Call
By Michelle Johnson
The floor trembled for a few seconds as the small explosion shook the temple.
Keiichi raised his head from the motorcycle text long enough to hear the insults
being exchanged between Urd and Skuld, punctuated by sharp zaps and booms. With
a sigh, he returned his attention back to his book. It was beginning to be a
standard afternoon at the Morisato residence.
"I know sisters fight," he thought, "but most sisters keep their weapons down to
a level where a military clean-up squad isn't needed."
His attention was again distracted by the sound of the phone ringing in the
hall.
"Urd, Skuld," he yelled. "Could one of you get the phone?" He was answered
immediately by a low rumble and a cloud of smoke seeping into the living room.
"Apparently, not," he thought as he got to feet and left the living room.
"Hello, Morisato residence," answered Keiichi into the handset.
"Mr. Keiichi Morisato?" came a pleasant female voice. "I'm glad you're at home
right now. I'm calling from the Yggsdrasil Dimensional Control . I'll need to talk
to you in a moment, but could you put Urd on the line?"
Slightly stunned, Keiichi yelled to the back for Urd. A few seconds later, a
very tired and crispy Urd took the phone from him. Keiichi walked down the hall
a few paces, partly to get out of earshot and partly to think. After all this
time, he still wasn't completely used to the idea of getting calls from Heaven,
but he wasn't exactly surprised by it either.
There was probably some sort of problem with Yggrsdail again, something that the
goddesses were needed to know about. What could it be this time? Did it require
Urd, Skuld, or, maybe even Belldandy, to be recalled back to Heaven? The thought
of Belldandy having to leave chilled him.
"Dammit," he thought as his fists tightened. "If only I could - Just once, be
sure I was of some help."
Urd's raised voice broke into his thoughts.
"You're doing what?... I know what the rules are, but I don't think . . . Yes,
I can do it. But this kind of program is tricky, but on . . . Yes, I understand. I'll
get started right away. But, why involve mortals . . . I still don't like it. Hey,
Morisato."
Keiichi came back up the hall. He held the receiver as Urd stormed down to her
room, a conflicted look on her and flipping through a notepad in her hand.
"Hello?" he said into the mouthpiece.
"Mr. Morisato," said the voice from before. "We at Yggrsdail must request a
service of you. You see, we have recently discovered there has been a system
crack and a virus had slipped in, causing some minor problems."
He knew it. He said aloud, "So what can I do for you?"
"We've managed to halt and eliminate the virus program, but the connection still
remains. While we can seal the security breach, it will only be a matter of time
until the culprit can find another weakness through the firewall. Because of
certain treaties, we need to send outside help to the source in order to correct
the problem."
"This outside help would be me, right?" He didn't like where this was going.
"Yes. And don't worry; we'll give you everything you'll need. It's a pretty
straight forward mission, nothing that would be dangerous or anything."
"And where exactly would this hack be coming from?"
"The Jotunheim dimension." He was really not liking the sound of this. "Urd will
fill you and the rest of the team in once she has finished the preparations
you'll need."
"Huh? Team? What team?"
"We would never think of sending you alone, even for a simple mission. Expect
your teammates to arrive in a couple hours. Have a nice day."
"Hey! Wait! I've got some ques-" There was a click on the other end, cutting him
off. Stunned, Keiichi put down the receiver.
"This can't be good," he thought.
********
" . . . And that's all she told me," finished Keiichi as Belldandy listened over
her tea. "Any ideas?"
She frowned in concentration before answering. "No. Is that really all she
said?" A nod. "Then I can't really say much. She did state the truth about
Jotunheim; we gods are forbidden from entering that dimension."
"How come?"
"It's one of the pacts between the gods and demons to prevent either one from
getting an unfair foothold of influence, among other reasons. It can get
complicated. Certain dimensions are declared neutral from influence, and
Jotunheim is one of them."
"Not to mention," cut in Skuld, causing Keiichi to jump, "it's home to the frost
giants."
"Frost giants?!" thought Keiichi. The image of a large, malevolent being made of
ice loomed into his mind. He was going into that?
"Yep, frost giants," continued Skuld, coyly sipping on a drink. "They are
infamous for being fierce fighters, even demons are afraid of them. They're
supposed to be four, five, even six-times the size of a human, able to breathe
ice like dragons do fire. I'm glad I'm not the one going."
"Skuld!" whispered Belldandy before giving Keiichi a concerned look. "Keiichi,
are you all right?"
Snapped out his state of dread by her worried voice, he gave her a weak smile.
"Y-yeah, I'm ok, Bell."
Belldandy gave him a warm reassuring smile. "Don't worry, Keiichi. I know that
you'll be fine and that you'll do well. I just know it."
The way she smiled at him, the certainty it held was so strong, buoyed Keiichi's
flagging confidence. Returning her smile, Keiichi thought, "What the heck. If
Bell thinks I can do it, who's to say I can't?" He said aloud, "Thanks, Bell,"
and unconsciously covered on her hands with his.
Skuld meanwhile watched the silent exchange of smiles with irritated disgust.
She was reaching for something to put Keiichi in his place - and his hands off
her sister - when a loud humming, followed by a pair of thuds outside, ended the
quiet mood. All three rushed out of the dining room and headed to the back
porch. Keiichi pulled the door back to the sight of a pair of people seated on
the ground, both with stunned expressions on their faces. One of them, a dark
girl with a head full of braids, turned with startled eyes towards the temple,
eventually focusing on Keiichi and the two goddesses.
"I - um - I guess we made it," she said weakly. Just as weakly, she raised a
hand in salutation. Then she and the young man promptly passed out.
of Kosuke Fujishima and other respective owners. Used without permission, but
with great respect.)
Jotunheim
Part One: The Call
By Michelle Johnson
The floor trembled for a few seconds as the small explosion shook the temple.
Keiichi raised his head from the motorcycle text long enough to hear the insults
being exchanged between Urd and Skuld, punctuated by sharp zaps and booms. With
a sigh, he returned his attention back to his book. It was beginning to be a
standard afternoon at the Morisato residence.
"I know sisters fight," he thought, "but most sisters keep their weapons down to
a level where a military clean-up squad isn't needed."
His attention was again distracted by the sound of the phone ringing in the
hall.
"Urd, Skuld," he yelled. "Could one of you get the phone?" He was answered
immediately by a low rumble and a cloud of smoke seeping into the living room.
"Apparently, not," he thought as he got to feet and left the living room.
"Hello, Morisato residence," answered Keiichi into the handset.
"Mr. Keiichi Morisato?" came a pleasant female voice. "I'm glad you're at home
right now. I'm calling from the Yggsdrasil Dimensional Control . I'll need to talk
to you in a moment, but could you put Urd on the line?"
Slightly stunned, Keiichi yelled to the back for Urd. A few seconds later, a
very tired and crispy Urd took the phone from him. Keiichi walked down the hall
a few paces, partly to get out of earshot and partly to think. After all this
time, he still wasn't completely used to the idea of getting calls from Heaven,
but he wasn't exactly surprised by it either.
There was probably some sort of problem with Yggrsdail again, something that the
goddesses were needed to know about. What could it be this time? Did it require
Urd, Skuld, or, maybe even Belldandy, to be recalled back to Heaven? The thought
of Belldandy having to leave chilled him.
"Dammit," he thought as his fists tightened. "If only I could - Just once, be
sure I was of some help."
Urd's raised voice broke into his thoughts.
"You're doing what?... I know what the rules are, but I don't think . . . Yes,
I can do it. But this kind of program is tricky, but on . . . Yes, I understand. I'll
get started right away. But, why involve mortals . . . I still don't like it. Hey,
Morisato."
Keiichi came back up the hall. He held the receiver as Urd stormed down to her
room, a conflicted look on her and flipping through a notepad in her hand.
"Hello?" he said into the mouthpiece.
"Mr. Morisato," said the voice from before. "We at Yggrsdail must request a
service of you. You see, we have recently discovered there has been a system
crack and a virus had slipped in, causing some minor problems."
He knew it. He said aloud, "So what can I do for you?"
"We've managed to halt and eliminate the virus program, but the connection still
remains. While we can seal the security breach, it will only be a matter of time
until the culprit can find another weakness through the firewall. Because of
certain treaties, we need to send outside help to the source in order to correct
the problem."
"This outside help would be me, right?" He didn't like where this was going.
"Yes. And don't worry; we'll give you everything you'll need. It's a pretty
straight forward mission, nothing that would be dangerous or anything."
"And where exactly would this hack be coming from?"
"The Jotunheim dimension." He was really not liking the sound of this. "Urd will
fill you and the rest of the team in once she has finished the preparations
you'll need."
"Huh? Team? What team?"
"We would never think of sending you alone, even for a simple mission. Expect
your teammates to arrive in a couple hours. Have a nice day."
"Hey! Wait! I've got some ques-" There was a click on the other end, cutting him
off. Stunned, Keiichi put down the receiver.
"This can't be good," he thought.
********
" . . . And that's all she told me," finished Keiichi as Belldandy listened over
her tea. "Any ideas?"
She frowned in concentration before answering. "No. Is that really all she
said?" A nod. "Then I can't really say much. She did state the truth about
Jotunheim; we gods are forbidden from entering that dimension."
"How come?"
"It's one of the pacts between the gods and demons to prevent either one from
getting an unfair foothold of influence, among other reasons. It can get
complicated. Certain dimensions are declared neutral from influence, and
Jotunheim is one of them."
"Not to mention," cut in Skuld, causing Keiichi to jump, "it's home to the frost
giants."
"Frost giants?!" thought Keiichi. The image of a large, malevolent being made of
ice loomed into his mind. He was going into that?
"Yep, frost giants," continued Skuld, coyly sipping on a drink. "They are
infamous for being fierce fighters, even demons are afraid of them. They're
supposed to be four, five, even six-times the size of a human, able to breathe
ice like dragons do fire. I'm glad I'm not the one going."
"Skuld!" whispered Belldandy before giving Keiichi a concerned look. "Keiichi,
are you all right?"
Snapped out his state of dread by her worried voice, he gave her a weak smile.
"Y-yeah, I'm ok, Bell."
Belldandy gave him a warm reassuring smile. "Don't worry, Keiichi. I know that
you'll be fine and that you'll do well. I just know it."
The way she smiled at him, the certainty it held was so strong, buoyed Keiichi's
flagging confidence. Returning her smile, Keiichi thought, "What the heck. If
Bell thinks I can do it, who's to say I can't?" He said aloud, "Thanks, Bell,"
and unconsciously covered on her hands with his.
Skuld meanwhile watched the silent exchange of smiles with irritated disgust.
She was reaching for something to put Keiichi in his place - and his hands off
her sister - when a loud humming, followed by a pair of thuds outside, ended the
quiet mood. All three rushed out of the dining room and headed to the back
porch. Keiichi pulled the door back to the sight of a pair of people seated on
the ground, both with stunned expressions on their faces. One of them, a dark
girl with a head full of braids, turned with startled eyes towards the temple,
eventually focusing on Keiichi and the two goddesses.
"I - um - I guess we made it," she said weakly. Just as weakly, she raised a
hand in salutation. Then she and the young man promptly passed out.