MATRIX SPOILER WARNING!

I know this disclaimer is probably unnecessary, but just to be on the
safe side.


--- DB Sommer <sommer@3rdm.net> wrote:

Only looked over this twice, so there's plenty to work with, I'm
certain.


Inside the System

An Ah! My Goddess crossover fic.

Keiichi Morisato placed his razor next to the sink and grimaced as
he stared
mournfully at the mirror. Already a small drop of blood swelled on
his
cheek. It continued swelling larger until it trickled down his
cheek, like a
crimson tear leaving note of its passing behind. He grabbed a
tissue and
held it against the cut, hoping it wasn't too deep and he would be

Probably need "wouldn't be" here.

Keiichi felt a faint tingling sensation where her flesh met his. It
passed
as quickly as it came, though Belldandy left her fingers gently
touching his
cheek. Involuntarily, his hand reached up and almost caressed hers
before
the more conservative part of his senses made him stop right before
they
touched. He let his hand return to his side. "What did you do?"

"I healed it." With a certain reluctance she removed her fingers
and picked
up another tissue, then ran some water and dampened it slightly.
She dabbed
at his face, removing the small amount of blood that had remained.

Keiichi stared at his now unblemished cheek. "You didn't even
chant."

Is this manga or OAV/movie continuity? In the manga Urd once blew up
the bathroom once with Keiichi in it and Belldandy had to heal
multiple shrapnel wounds. In those days, Bell-chan healed them by
kissing the wounds. ^_^

In any case, it's unlikely that Keiichi has gone this long without
some kind of injury for Belldandy to heal. Of course, he'd still
blush like it was the first time, because he's Keiichi.
 

Belldandy smiled. "It was only a minor injury, and for you, I can
always do
such things without having to call upon greater power."

She speeds up his metabolism to heal the injury.
 

"Thanks," Keiichi said, caught up in the moment of just how radiant
Belldandy could be when doing any task. 

Awkward sentence, but a nice sentiment.

Skuld holstered her bomb in a pouch at her waist. "I need to go

She doesn't have a pouch. She reaches her hand down the neck of her
blouse and pulls out a bomb, or a dozen of them if need be. She must
be bringing them out of hyperspace, since she certainly doesn't have
anywhere in there to hide them. ^_^;

back home
and check on run some programs on Yggrdrsial," she explained. "I

Either "check on" or "run some", not both.
Also, it's Yggdrasil.

It might be good to give Skuld some motivation for this. Returning to
Heaven isn't something she'd do casually. She likes being with her
sisters too much.

She bowed in return. "Take care."

Keiichi couldn't help smiling. They sounded just like a married
couple.
Maybe someday it would become a reality. He had long ago accepted
he and
Belldandy were meant to spend a lifetime together --after all they
had been
through, only a fool would have thought otherwise-- it was just a
matter of
graduating and acquiring a job he could make a living at before
they could
take that step. Curiously, he felt no rush or panic at proposing. A
touch of
anxiousness, perhaps, but that was it. 

Manga Keiichi is a little angsty about it (as angsty as Keiichi ever
gets, anyway), but this works as well.

"Absolutely," she reaffirmed, and turned to enter the temple.

There was little else he could do about the situation without
pressing on
the matter, and one simply didn't press things with Belldandy. She
did seem
normal now, watching him expectedly. She'd start to worry about him
if he
refused to leave, especially since she was aware of his big test
today.

He waved to her, and started up his bike. He lowered his helmet's
visor over
his face, took one last look to ascertain Belldandy was still not
troubled,
and headed out.

Having to focus his attention on the road took the edge off his
concerns to
the point of which he was left wondering if he had imagined the
whole thing.
Generally, Belldandy was so carefree one could mistake her not
being as
cheery as usual as worry. And if he was correct, if there was some
problem
she felt reluctant to share with him, they would deal with it
together, like
they always did. They had fended off everything, from Mara's
shenanigans, to
The Lord of Nightmares, to Celestine's Apocalyptic designs. When

"Lord of Terror". Urd's mom, Hild, is the Lord of Nightmares. ^_-
I don't think Apocalyptic needs to be capitalized.
You're also mixing manga with movie canon, but that's OK. Especially
since it's a crossover and you'll probably have to bend canon a bit
anyway.

Now it
was all different. The town was a vibrant place full of life and
worthwhile
things. Now when he drove through, he watched the people walking
by,
families spending time together, couples eating, shopping, and a
million
other actions going on at once. Before he passed by in ignorance,
now he was
aware of the eddies and flows of the world that had swirled around
him, but
he had been blind to. Now this place he adored every bit as
Belldandy did.

"much as Belldandy did."

The eternal font of her faith had infected him, a virus of the 

fount

Such thinking put him in a pleasant mood, and resolved his concerns
about
the upcoming exam. He had studied as well as could. There was
nothing
further to worry about. Either he would succeed or fail, but he
would know
the satisfaction of having tried to the best of his abilities. That
was
always something to be proud of; Belldandy had shown him that,
among the
other thousands of lesson she incidentally taught him with her
approach to
life.

Keiichi is a good student, but what engineering major doesn't worry
about exams? Especially at a leading university like Nekomi Tech.
 

Keiichi pulled up to a red light, noting that he was next to a
large city
bus that he was just ahead of. 

Is he next to it or ahead of it?

Keiichi had just started to fantasize about what dress Belldandy
would wear
when there was a prickling sensation on the back of his neck,
different from
the one he usual received courtesy of Skuld. It was more
disturbing, as
though he was being watched.

For just a moment, Keiichi thought he caught out of the corner of
his eye a
tall man with dark hair wearing a black trenchcoat that flared
toward the
bottom, and black sunglasses staring at him from the curb. Just as
Keiichi
moved his head in that direction, the bus pulled out, blocking
everything
from view. By the time it passed, no one was present on that side
of the
street. It was odd, since there was no way the man could have moved
fast
enough to get out of sight, if he had been there at all.

A loud horn blew behind him. Realizing that the reason the bus had
pulled
out because the light had turned green, and that he remained in the
middle
of the street, blocking traffic behind him, Keiichi  quickly pulled
forward.

Maybe it could be another car behind him? The bus has already passed
him.

"I know what you mean," Keiichi said to Tomo, one of his
classmates, and one
of the more attractive ones at that. Her physical appearance was
similar to
Sayako's, though her personality was drastically different. She 

Sayoko's

Like Megumi, Tomo lived in an apartment off campus and complained
about
being alone so often. Keiichi had heard the sincerity of her
complaints of
loneliness, and befriended the girl. They instantly hit it off.
They got
along so well that Keiichi was considering inviting her over for
dinner
sometime. He had no fears that Belldandy would be jealous at his
inviting a
good-looking girl over, and would probably be delighted in helping
to
alleviate her solitude. That bond of trust between them made him
realize
just how lucky he was.

Hehe. So he thinks. I suppose in this continuity the Shiho Sakakibara
incident and Belldandy's resulting jealousy storm are still in the
future? Of course, in that instance Belldandy insisted that Shiho
come over and Keiichi never dreamed his girl would have a problem
with it. Belldandy's reaction caught them both by surprise. A similar
thing happened in the movie with Morgan.

exits on four sides he had to choose from. Again he chose the exit
that was
close to a narrow pathway again. He followed its twisty curves

One too many 'again's.

The man bowed slightly. "I'm sorry. Where are my manners? My name
is Neo,
and I've come to help you."

OK, I wasn't expecting that. Was there a Matrix disclaimer at the
beginning, or was it intentionally left out for the shock factor?

Neo seemed slightly taken aback by both the gesture and comment. He
was
bordering muttered something under his breath about 'Morpheus
making it look
easy'.

Ah, so this is pre-"Matrix Reloaded" Neo.

EDIT: Well, later on it's apparent that this is post "Martix
Reloaded." However, in the beginning of Reloaded it's mentioned that
Neo has rescued more people from The Matrix than anyone else. It's a
funny line, but Morpheus doesn't really have anything on Neo, here.

Neo nodded, obviously relieved at the reasonable suggestion. "A
fair
request. Prepare yourself, for I'm going to be blunt, though I
think you're
going to be able to deal with it better than I did," Neo said. He
continued
walking around, almost as though he found it impossible to stand
still.
"This world around you, the skies, the ground, the animals, the
plants,
everything you eat, everything you breathe, everything you can see,
and I do
mean everything, isn't what you think it is. It isn't real. All of
this," he
waved his hand through the air. "Is an illusion. It's the most
complex
computer program ever developed."

Keiichi laughed. "Oh, heck. I already know about all that."

Hehe. I *was* expecting that. Nice turn of the tables.

The question caught Keiichi off-guard. "Free me? From Yggdrasil?
Ah, no."

"Yggdrasil?" Neo asked.

Hey, got the name right this time! 

"The name of the computer that runs everything." Keiichi began
wondering how
much Neo really knew. Obviously, he was ignorant in some areas, and
it might
not be a good idea to give him accurate information until he made
certain
his interests were benign.

Hehe, better and better.

Neo nodded. "The Matrix, that's the proper term for all of this,"
he gave a
wave of his hand, indicating everything in sight, "Is not
everything,
despite what I think you've been told. There is a world beyond this
one, one
based on reality, not an intricate computer program that's designed
to
pacify you while you fuel the computer system that runs
everything."

Neo: So which will it be, the red pill, or the blue pill?
Keiichi (looking dubious): Um, did Urd make those?

Keiichi moved forward, his hand hesitantly beginning to rise. He
was within
a half dozen feet of Neo when a heartrending scream of "NOOO!"
filled the
room, causing both men to cover their ears. From a nearby mirror,
howling
winds emerged from it and cut through the room, picking up Neo and

Don't need the "from it".

flinging
him through the air, as though he was a tiny doll caught in a
tornado. His
body was savagely hurled across the room and into a wall,
shattering plaster
and the brick behind it with bone breaking force.

Keiichi's heart nearly ripped out of his chest with fear. He had
recognized
the voice, and never had he heard Belldandy filled with such
terror, not
even when he was possessed by the Lord of Nightmares.

"Lord of Terror"

Belldandy emerged a moment later from the mirror, her attention
riveted upon
Keiichi. She immediately placed herself between him and Neo. "Thank
goodness! I almost didn't sense him in time."

Why the rush? He hasn't even been offered the pill, yet. Belldandy
has plenty of time to intervene.

"What's going on?" Keiichi asked.

Belldandy appeared on the verge of tears. "He's an evil person,
Keiichi! The
worst of the worst! He wants to take you away from me forever!
Whatever you
do, you mustn't listen to him and you mustn't go anywhere with him!
If you
do, we'll never see each other again!"

Belldandy has faced losing Keiichi several times, but she's never
acted like this. She's always said she would stay by his side as long
as he wanted her, but the implication has always been that the choice
is his.

Now, I can see her acting something like this if she thought Neo was
going to force the issue with Keiichi, but how can Neo force Keiichi
to leave the Matrix? He might try very hard to persuade him, but he
doesn't have the power or the morals to summarily eject somebody. 
Keiichi has to still take the pill, even if Neo pushes it down his
throat - which I can't see him doing.

I can see Belldandy blocking Neo and telling him that she won't let
him take Keiichi away from her, but I think Belldandy's actions are a
little overblown. The dialogue, with the exception of "The worst of
the worst!" is OK, though.

Never had Keiichi seen Belldandy in such an out of control state.
She could
be emotional at times, but never like this, with hatred directed at
any
person, and fear for Keiichi's own well being. He barely recognized
her.

That makes two of us. 

Neo looked at the end of the shaft, as though it was a solid thing.
"Very
powerful, but I'm afraid it works on the same principle as bullets,
and I
know how to handle those. It's not the size of the program, but how
its
executed. Beating this one was something a learned a long time

"I learned"

The solid blow made the Goddess fall from the sky, plummeting like
a rock
headfirst to the ground. Keiichi screamed impotently from his cage
as he saw
Belldandy head toward the earth. It wasn't fair! He shouldn't have
been
trapped within this stupid ball of light. He should have been out
there,
fighting side-by-side with Belldandy, like they had to protect
Celestine
from Heaven's wrath in the form of Gungnir. And now Belldandy might
die,
while he was trapped in the prison that was supposed to protect
him, when it
was he who should have been protecting the woman he loved more than
anything
else. Why couldn't he be there to save her for once?! He would do
anything
for the power!

And then something happened, almost as though a switch was thrown
inside
him. Suddenly, the light around him, the world around him, seemed
to shift.
The changes that had been happening since the beginning of the
battle, the
ones that allowed him to sense Neo's inner self and Belldandy's
machinations
when she created the magic symbol, suddenly made sense, though in a
way his
conscious mind had never realized before.

Everything around him, every person, every item, every molecule,
all of what
was 'reality' made sense in a different way. It was like it was all
nothing
more than ones and zeros, organized in unbelievably numerous ways,
to be
certain, but still nothing more than two digits. Neo, Belldandy,
even
himself. He understood what they were made of, and more
importantly, how
everything worked.

The cage was actually a simple thing. Hardly a prison at all.
Keiichi
couldn't believe he had missed its obvious design, and more
importantly, how
to take control of it..

He released himself by opening a side of the sphere, but that
wasn't enough.
His love was still falling, and the way things were designed, the
ones and
zeros of the 'ground' and 'falling Belldandy' would cause damage,
perhaps
irreparable, to the latter.

There's nothing wrong with this scene, since it's likely Keiichi
doesn't know how durable goddesses are. However, as a point of canon,
Urd has taken a magical punch, including just such a ground impact,
and it hardly fazed her. Belldandy can shrug off an impact like this
with impunity. Canonically, physical attacks like Neo uses can throw
a goddess around, but they won't do any real damage.

It was similar to Belldandy's slashes with the air, somehow even
then
Keiichi had sensed subconsciously how she was doing it. Only
Keiichi dulled
the steam, and made it wider.

Steam? I don't follow.

There was no small amount of awe in Neo's voice as he said, "Now I
understand why you felt so odd, and why the Matrix has shown such
interest
in you. You're like me. You can control everything too. This should
be
impossible. The Oracle said I was 'The One'."

Oracle: Yes, and Keiichi is "The Other One". I thought you would have
learned by now not to take anything I say at face value. Here, have a
cookie. You'll feel better.

Neo shook his head. "You can't. In the beginning, I might not have
been able
to sense what you really were, but I know for a fact she's just a
program. I
can't rescue her from the Matrix. This is her only reality. She
can't exist
outside of here the way you can."

Hehe. So he still thinks she's like an Agent. The Oracle can exist
outside of the Matrix, just like other powerful AI's such as The Key
Maker, The Merovingian and The Architect. How else do they survive
from one Matrix to another?

"Fair enough," Keiichi said, again somehow sensing the truth and
determination in Neo's voice. No, he would not be a good man to
anger. Not
at all.

Not that Keiichi would hesitate to do so if it was necessary to help
those he loves. He's faced down Hild, and she's a lot scarier than
Neo.

Neo said to Keiichi, "I have to get to a phone and make a call.
With luck,
I'll see you again." Behind his sunglasses, the couple could sense
the shift
in his attention. "Perhaps even both of you, under more pleasant
circumstances."

Belldandy smiled in return. It was as beatific as Keiichi had ever
seen.
"I'd like that every much."

OK, now we're back to Belldandy. ^_^

But as time passed, something odd began to occur in the Belldandy
Program.
Even though it had been designed to deal with, and even exhibit
some chaotic
tendencies so as to match itself with the human, there were certain
parameters that it was supposed to perform within. It exceeded
those on a
multitude of occasions. Worse, it demonstrated a tendency to choose
the
wants and desires of Keiichi over those of the Matrix when given
problems
that would force a choice between the two. It had been nothing
terminal to
anything the Matrix had done, but it was the idea that something so
unthinkable could occur. The Belldandy Program was no rogue, but a
specifically designed model. Such a flaw was theoretically so
remote as to
be impossible.

The Oracle all over again. This guy never learns, does he?

Attempted patches were summarily rendered ineffective, so a second
program
was created to bring the Belldandy Program back in line. However,
it quickly
became evident that the Urd Protocol (a variant of the Belldandy
Program)
also failed to fix the bugs. A second program, Skuld-01, also
failed. Worse,
over time, the two demonstrated erratic behaviors similar to the
Belldandy
Program. It was like a virus that was spreading from one corrupted
source
and contaminating all that had prolonged contact with it, though
there
seemed to be no change in the code itself. It defied explanation,
and what
defied explanation should be deleted.

However, by some stroke of coincidence, The One had intruded upon
the Oh! My
Goddess Program. And wonder of wonders, despite being confronted
with the
truth, Keiichi Morisato had chosen to remain in the Matrix, to the
point of
resisting The One's efforts, confounding The One and forcing him to
leave,
his mission unsuccessful. The Oh! My Goddess program was a success,
despite
its erratic behaviors and unforeseen actions. After all, the end
result was
what mattered. Perfection was projected to be only fifteen years
away. A
mere blink of the eye to the centuries the Matrix had existed.

Now all that was remained was to take the next stage of testing, by
allowing
the Oh! My Goddess program to run (within certain parameters) in
the Matrix
proper, rather than the area it had been cloistered in, and see
what the
results would be. Despite the erratic behavior, every test
indicated that
even if the program did act as a virus to other programs and placed
the
wants of a human within the Matrix over the Matrix itself, the
program could
be quickly purged and deleted before it contaminated the rest of
the Matrix.

Sure. Every AI allows itself to be terminated even if it doesn't want
to be. A completely stupid assumption, but given the hubris The
Architect displayed, believable coming from him.

All of the tests agreed on that conclusively. The only way the Oh
My Goddess
program could escape the multitude of anti-virus safeguards that
would be
placed around it was if The One himself was at the center of the
program.
And that was impossible since The One had already been identified
and
disconnected himself from the Matrix.

So, is Keiichi a product of The Oracle like The One is? How does The
Architect not know about him? Curiouser and curioser.

[END NOTES]

Canon with the events of the Matrix Reloaded? Nah. It's just an
alternate
look at what could happen with revolution ending and the Prophecy
being
fulfilled.

Ah, so you did leave the Matrix disclaimer to the end!

Given the fact that The Oracle has been shown to be manipulating both
Neo and Morpheus to her own ends (even if those ends are ones Neo and
Morpheus might agree with) I don't see how there can't be another
"The One" or something similar, even in Martix canon. The Oracle says
what she wants to say, and if the receiver gets the wrong impression,
she seems just fine with it - as long as the receiver does what she
wants done.

One last point. Goddesses in AMG manipulate reality as Neo does. They
don't do it instinctively as he does, but when they do something as
simple as levetating a rock they aren't exerting a force themselves.
Instead, they're writing a program to warp reality around the rock,
removing gravity from that area, applying a force, etc. The
difference between them and Neo is that Neo doesn't have to write a
program to manipulate the data. On the other hand, he can't warp
reality on a grand scale the way Belldandy can. So, their powers are
similar but different in terms of speed (Neo's advantage) and scale
(Belldandy's advantage).

This is an interesting AMG/Matrix story, by far the best I've read.
Looking forward to more!

Brian Welch

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