Escape Velocity
"The simplest way to describe escape velocity is to say that it is the speed at which you can break gravity's grip. But gravity has a really strong grip." - H.S. Physics
The sunlight in her eyes awoke the youngest Tendo. She stretched herself slightly, then remembered just why she had spent the night at this particular temple. It seemed that both the Heavens and the Hells wanted to test her resolve to join Ranma wherever he was. In what may seem like decades or centuries to her, - or might very well be that long, she wasn't clear on the point, - but would only be a day here, she would be subjected to three Labors, each one a sort of quest to examine her resolve to clear up sticking points in her spiritual accounts. Until the start of each portion, she would have no idea what she was doing there.
A timid male voice, one she had never heard before, spoke through the rice paper of the door. "Miss Tendo?" he asked in a murmur. "Belldandy left some breakfast for you. You need to come out and eat before you go to the ceremony."
"Hai," she replied. "I'll be out in a moment." She listened to the sound of his footsteps walking away and sighed. 'Why must it always be so difficult for either Ranma or myself ?' she muttered in her mind. 'Whenever we get close, it seems we end up farther away than when we started.'
She slipped into her clothes and returned to the tea room that she had met the goddesses and demons the previous night. The septet of supernatural beings were dressed in the clothing of their offices; the goddesses wearing bright, loose fabrics and ribbons, the demons in dark leathers and coarse fabrics that hugged their bodies. With nary a word, they nodded to her, then the table. She moved over quickly and consumed the slight repast quickly.
As she laid her chopsticks down, Amaterasu finally spoke. "Akane Tendo,, are you prepared for your first Labor?"
She swallowed slightly, then steeled herself. "I am, Amaterasu-sama," she stated in a fiem voice.
The golden-red haired goddess bobbed her head in a quick nod. "We shall go now to the place of testing," she replied. She stepped to the side of the dark haired mortal girl and walked her out the door, the six others falling in behind them in two lines that matched one deity with their closest demonic counterpart. Within a few minutes walk, they had reached the platform that had been prepared the previous night. Amaterasu walked her to the middle of the disk, then returned to stand at the head-point of a seven-pointed star that traced itself into being under the marbled surface in lines of light the color of lead. The six others quickly went to the remaining points, alternating as they did so that Urd stood across from Scarlet, Belldandy opposite of Mara and Skuld counter of Senbei.
The Japanese sun goddess now faced Akane. "Akane Tendo," the goddess intoned in a voice that seemed to reverberate in the area enclosed within the stone surface. "This is the place of thy Laboring. From here, this day, thou will be tested thrice. At the end of this day, all will know if thou are worthy of thy wish."
The other six beings on the edges of the circle began to chant, the lilting notes of the goddess' chorus blending in an odd harmony with the demons' grating mantra. As they did, a globe of swirling golden luminance and glaring scarlet radiance formed around her. Within moments, the light was all she saw; soon after, she saw no more.
***************
AT THE NOWHERE BAR, OUTSIDE SPACE AND TIME:
The beings that sat at the largest table shared only one thing in common - they were of a different existance than mortal man. Some were natural spirits sided with either of the two sides; others, lesser demonic beings akin to imps and blessed beings alike to cherubs, beings that assisted the real movers and shakers of the supernatural realms. A few at the tables, only three of the score watching from that position, were the upper echelon of the Heavens or the Hells.
The three we are focusing on were waiting for the big show to begin on the display. The first, a demon of middle ranking, looked across at the higher ranked deity opposite him. "Sif," he growled, in what passed for his kind as good manners, "ya' really think this mortal's got tha guts to get through this?"
The norse goddess took a long drink of her cinnamon mead. "Belthor," she replied in a sigh, "guts she's got. But you know, as well as anyone here, that guts are not all that is tested in a Labor."
Belthor nodded. "Yah, yah," he agreed, waving his free hand lasily as he lifted his glass of a thick, red substance. "A Laboring will test a person's true hear; their willingness to place everything toward reaching a goal, their focus on the problem and the power of their spirit in situations beyond their control," he chanted, as if reading something written on a chunk of granite.
The wife of Thor smirked. "That girl," she stated in a chortle, "will probably surprise us all." She grinned as the demon's drink shot out of his nose.
The third higher being, sitting there in a cloak that hid all features from all levels of detection, shook as if in laughter; the demon and goddess looked at the odd-being-out as if they were crazy. The mysterious being waved a sleeve, as if to appologize for it's faux pas.
As Belthor wiped the thick liquid from his face, the goddess grinned. "Are you still drinking cherry drink mix made with six times the sugar and almost no water?" she inquired.
The demon nodded as he blew his nose into a napkin. "H-sama made it my secondary," he retorted. "She told me that if I were going to be looking around for it everywhere, I might as well have a reason."
***************
ASGARD, THE OFFICE OF KAMI-SAMA:
Kami-Sama sat on one side of His desk from His adversary and love, Hild of Neilfhelm. "And with this," He stated, with no attempt to enhance His voice, "the chance of getting things moving again grows."
The white maned leader of the nether realms gave the supreme god a soft smile. "She definitely caused a stir while she was with that Ranma boy," she admitted. "They were one set of favored targets for most of the demons and malicious spirits. Pity, that at the point of their winning through, that all the tricks played on them bore such bitter fruit."
He leaned back in His chair. "Sometimes," he mused, "the bitterest fruit makes the best desserts." He just grinned as Hild speared him with a glare.
***************
She found herself in a reality composed of pure gray. No features, no landmarks. Just an unending expanse of the neutral color, without form and void.
She looked around. "Where am I?' she yelled out into the void.
LIMBO
The response was from nowhere, yet surrounded her on all sides. It was as if bellowed, yet came as silent as a spring breeze. "Why am I here?" she whimpered, as she twisted her body to seek the speaker.
TO PREPARE YOU FOR YOUR FIRST LABOR
A memory tugged at her. The goddess. The wish. The requirements. "I'm ready."
THE SCULPTURE TELLS THE SCULPTOR NOT WHEN IT IS READY
Anger, an old ally to her, did not fail her here. "Who are YOU to tell me that?" she growled.
THE ARTIST THAT MUST MOLD YOU FOR YOUR ROLL
With that, sensations bombarded the girl from all sides. Her senses were flodded, her memories manipulated. She felt no pain; in fact, she felt no different than when she arrived. Just before the scene faded from her awareness, the sourceless, bodyless, voiceless prescence stated one more thing.
NOW YOU ARE READY
TBC..........
AUTHOR'S NOTE: To quote Kosh from B5: 'An so, it begins...' I'm still a little muddy on how the first Labor will go, but I needed to post SOMEthing. I promised that I would post once I got my new computer; I have now ditched my 350 Mhz Celeron for a 2.6 Ghz (2600 Mhz) model that has scads more memory and a hard drive that would adsorb my whole library and ask for more! That's not even including my DVD-ROM & DVD±R/±RW drive sets! Wa-HOOO!!! I'm now in the current decade's computer level!
So now, I'll start the First Labor itself. Any C&C or suggestions - flames will be redirected to Hild for reply - are to be sent to centauress2 (at) sprintpcs (period) com
"The simplest way to describe escape velocity is to say that it is the speed at which you can break gravity's grip. But gravity has a really strong grip." - H.S. Physics
The sunlight in her eyes awoke the youngest Tendo. She stretched herself slightly, then remembered just why she had spent the night at this particular temple. It seemed that both the Heavens and the Hells wanted to test her resolve to join Ranma wherever he was. In what may seem like decades or centuries to her, - or might very well be that long, she wasn't clear on the point, - but would only be a day here, she would be subjected to three Labors, each one a sort of quest to examine her resolve to clear up sticking points in her spiritual accounts. Until the start of each portion, she would have no idea what she was doing there.
A timid male voice, one she had never heard before, spoke through the rice paper of the door. "Miss Tendo?" he asked in a murmur. "Belldandy left some breakfast for you. You need to come out and eat before you go to the ceremony."
"Hai," she replied. "I'll be out in a moment." She listened to the sound of his footsteps walking away and sighed. 'Why must it always be so difficult for either Ranma or myself ?' she muttered in her mind. 'Whenever we get close, it seems we end up farther away than when we started.'
She slipped into her clothes and returned to the tea room that she had met the goddesses and demons the previous night. The septet of supernatural beings were dressed in the clothing of their offices; the goddesses wearing bright, loose fabrics and ribbons, the demons in dark leathers and coarse fabrics that hugged their bodies. With nary a word, they nodded to her, then the table. She moved over quickly and consumed the slight repast quickly.
As she laid her chopsticks down, Amaterasu finally spoke. "Akane Tendo,, are you prepared for your first Labor?"
She swallowed slightly, then steeled herself. "I am, Amaterasu-sama," she stated in a fiem voice.
The golden-red haired goddess bobbed her head in a quick nod. "We shall go now to the place of testing," she replied. She stepped to the side of the dark haired mortal girl and walked her out the door, the six others falling in behind them in two lines that matched one deity with their closest demonic counterpart. Within a few minutes walk, they had reached the platform that had been prepared the previous night. Amaterasu walked her to the middle of the disk, then returned to stand at the head-point of a seven-pointed star that traced itself into being under the marbled surface in lines of light the color of lead. The six others quickly went to the remaining points, alternating as they did so that Urd stood across from Scarlet, Belldandy opposite of Mara and Skuld counter of Senbei.
The Japanese sun goddess now faced Akane. "Akane Tendo," the goddess intoned in a voice that seemed to reverberate in the area enclosed within the stone surface. "This is the place of thy Laboring. From here, this day, thou will be tested thrice. At the end of this day, all will know if thou are worthy of thy wish."
The other six beings on the edges of the circle began to chant, the lilting notes of the goddess' chorus blending in an odd harmony with the demons' grating mantra. As they did, a globe of swirling golden luminance and glaring scarlet radiance formed around her. Within moments, the light was all she saw; soon after, she saw no more.
***************
AT THE NOWHERE BAR, OUTSIDE SPACE AND TIME:
The beings that sat at the largest table shared only one thing in common - they were of a different existance than mortal man. Some were natural spirits sided with either of the two sides; others, lesser demonic beings akin to imps and blessed beings alike to cherubs, beings that assisted the real movers and shakers of the supernatural realms. A few at the tables, only three of the score watching from that position, were the upper echelon of the Heavens or the Hells.
The three we are focusing on were waiting for the big show to begin on the display. The first, a demon of middle ranking, looked across at the higher ranked deity opposite him. "Sif," he growled, in what passed for his kind as good manners, "ya' really think this mortal's got tha guts to get through this?"
The norse goddess took a long drink of her cinnamon mead. "Belthor," she replied in a sigh, "guts she's got. But you know, as well as anyone here, that guts are not all that is tested in a Labor."
Belthor nodded. "Yah, yah," he agreed, waving his free hand lasily as he lifted his glass of a thick, red substance. "A Laboring will test a person's true hear; their willingness to place everything toward reaching a goal, their focus on the problem and the power of their spirit in situations beyond their control," he chanted, as if reading something written on a chunk of granite.
The wife of Thor smirked. "That girl," she stated in a chortle, "will probably surprise us all." She grinned as the demon's drink shot out of his nose.
The third higher being, sitting there in a cloak that hid all features from all levels of detection, shook as if in laughter; the demon and goddess looked at the odd-being-out as if they were crazy. The mysterious being waved a sleeve, as if to appologize for it's faux pas.
As Belthor wiped the thick liquid from his face, the goddess grinned. "Are you still drinking cherry drink mix made with six times the sugar and almost no water?" she inquired.
The demon nodded as he blew his nose into a napkin. "H-sama made it my secondary," he retorted. "She told me that if I were going to be looking around for it everywhere, I might as well have a reason."
***************
ASGARD, THE OFFICE OF KAMI-SAMA:
Kami-Sama sat on one side of His desk from His adversary and love, Hild of Neilfhelm. "And with this," He stated, with no attempt to enhance His voice, "the chance of getting things moving again grows."
The white maned leader of the nether realms gave the supreme god a soft smile. "She definitely caused a stir while she was with that Ranma boy," she admitted. "They were one set of favored targets for most of the demons and malicious spirits. Pity, that at the point of their winning through, that all the tricks played on them bore such bitter fruit."
He leaned back in His chair. "Sometimes," he mused, "the bitterest fruit makes the best desserts." He just grinned as Hild speared him with a glare.
***************
She found herself in a reality composed of pure gray. No features, no landmarks. Just an unending expanse of the neutral color, without form and void.
She looked around. "Where am I?' she yelled out into the void.
LIMBO
The response was from nowhere, yet surrounded her on all sides. It was as if bellowed, yet came as silent as a spring breeze. "Why am I here?" she whimpered, as she twisted her body to seek the speaker.
TO PREPARE YOU FOR YOUR FIRST LABOR
A memory tugged at her. The goddess. The wish. The requirements. "I'm ready."
THE SCULPTURE TELLS THE SCULPTOR NOT WHEN IT IS READY
Anger, an old ally to her, did not fail her here. "Who are YOU to tell me that?" she growled.
THE ARTIST THAT MUST MOLD YOU FOR YOUR ROLL
With that, sensations bombarded the girl from all sides. Her senses were flodded, her memories manipulated. She felt no pain; in fact, she felt no different than when she arrived. Just before the scene faded from her awareness, the sourceless, bodyless, voiceless prescence stated one more thing.
NOW YOU ARE READY
TBC..........
AUTHOR'S NOTE: To quote Kosh from B5: 'An so, it begins...' I'm still a little muddy on how the first Labor will go, but I needed to post SOMEthing. I promised that I would post once I got my new computer; I have now ditched my 350 Mhz Celeron for a 2.6 Ghz (2600 Mhz) model that has scads more memory and a hard drive that would adsorb my whole library and ask for more! That's not even including my DVD-ROM & DVD±R/±RW drive sets! Wa-HOOO!!! I'm now in the current decade's computer level!
So now, I'll start the First Labor itself. Any C&C or suggestions - flames will be redirected to Hild for reply - are to be sent to centauress2 (at) sprintpcs (period) com