~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ah! The Plan Worked?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

-9-

Standing in the turbolift with his wife, Keiichi fidgets nervously as it moves towards their destination. Finally, it opens on the intended deck, and he pauses to allow Belldandy to exit before him. "Sorry for the delay, Belldandy. I has to make some last minute checks on one of the shuttles and it ended up taking more time than I originally thought," he says as they start to head towards the Holodecks and more specifically, the one where the party is going to take place.

"Please, don't worry about it, Keiichi," replies the brunette goddess as she walks next to him. "Unless I'm mistaken, the party is just about to start, so technically, we aren't that late." A small smile on the Goddess's face helps allay the engineer's concern.

The couple continues to their destination, but pause just a few feet away when Belldandy's badge beeps to get her attention. She taps it, wondering who wants to talk to her. "Yes? What can I do for you?"

"Oh, hi Bell!" says the disembodied voice of her half siter Urd. "I is… um… trying to find one of my ingredients in the house we've got in the closet and it seems that it's nowhere to be seen?"

"Sister," replies the brunette patiently. "You know that I don't touch your alchemical materials and equipment. Are you sure that you haven't just misplaced it anywhere?" asks Belldandy as she scratches her chin, trying to remember if in fact she has accidentally done anything wrong.

"Well, I have searched the shelves and…"

Letting a sigh as her sister goes on and on about her ingredients, Belldandy offers her husband an apologetic smile as she know that this could take a while. "Why don't you go ahead, dear? I'll join you soon enough, once I settle this with Urd."

"No worries, Belldandy," replies the dark haired engineer as he nods at her. "I'll wait for you inside the Holodeck."

Unknown to them, the half goddess on the other end of the line is grinning from ear to ear as she watches the scene unfold before her eyes while spying them with one of her spying spells. Gan-Chan is just too obvious in this case.

Excellent! They really have no idea what's going on!

XXX

Entering the Holodeck, Keiichi is immediately surprised that there is nobody around him. As a matter of fact, he seems to be in the middle of what appears to be a luxurious hotel room from the 21st century. Not only are there were no signs of any party going on, but it is rather obvious that the dinner table that is set in front of him is meant for a romantic dinner for two.

Uh… did I get in the wrong Holodeck? This seems like the setting for a date.

As the door behind him opens, Keiichi's confusion only intensified as he sees his wife dressed in a white strapless dress that hugs her form, with matching elbow long gloves to complete her dazzling appearance.

"B-Belldandy?"

Blinking hard, as he has no idea what else to say, Keiichi is wondering just what is going on here. While seeing his wife in such a beautiful dress is more than enough to make him grin like an idiot, the more analytical part of the engineer's brain is complaining that there is something wrong here. It is unlike the brunette goddess to pull such a bold move and it also seems that this required some extra help, since someone must've given her a hand in reprogramming the holodeck.

"Do I look pretty?" asks the brunette goddess with a warm smile. "I'm sorry, but I had no idea about this either. It was Urd's idea and she wanted to make it a surprise for us. Is it too much?"

"N-No!... Of course, not!" says Keiichi as he returned the smile with one of his own. "I was merely surprised, that's all!"

He didn't make any compliments to how I look… That's one minus point for him, thought Urd as she tried to maintain her happy expression on her… or rather, her sister's face. So far, he hasn't realized that he is actually staring at Urd in disguise. The normally silver haired goddess isn't particularly worried about him. It is her sister that would be the most difficult one to fool, since her sharp mind and her goddess powers could easily expose their deception. Still, she hopes that neither of them figure things out too soon, at least not before they learn a thing or two about how a proper date works.

"Oh, I know. I was also a bit unprepared for this, but… it's such a lovely setting isn't it? I believe this must be from the 21st century, right?"

"Yes, at least I think so," says Keiichi as he inspected their surroundings. "The interior decor actually goes back to the 20th century, but there are several little details that would've been anachronistic for that period of time. For example, the phone doesn't have a rotary dial and the most obvious hint is the large, flat TV. Other than that, I think that it's a very nice rendition of what would've been an art deco hotel suite."

No comments about the dinner table and the nice candles I chose? One more point subtracted… Seriously! What a techno-nerd… Come on, Keiichi focus! Pretending to look at the pretty patterns in the wallpaper, Urd attempts to hide her frown as she takes her time calmng herself down; after all, Belldandy would've never gotten angry for such a reason.

"That would seem to be the case, Keiichi. Now, would you like to wear something more appropriate for the occasion? I feel that your Starfleet uniform isn't exactly the best option."

Summoning a formal, black business suit from that era, Urd hands the clothes to the young mortal who is still under the impression that he is together with his wife. "Here you go, dear. I hope you like this."

"Thank you, Belldandy!" says Keiichi as he takes the offered articles of clothing, only to pause when he realizes one minor problem as he looks around the room. "Um… there's not a changing room, though. Strange… there's not even a bathroom, either. I'm fairly certain that such amenities were pretty common at that period of time."

You're supposed to be in front of your freaking wife! For Asgard's sake, Keiichi!... It's fine to do something as simple as changing clothes while she's next to you' Feeling her temper flare, Urd had hoped that he would've been a bit less shy, which reinforces one of the primary reason she has purposely removed any attached rooms to this suite. "Actually, you can just-"

"Computer, please add a bathroom to this suite," says Keiichi before his 'wife' has the chance to finish her sentence. Blissfully unaware of the glare he is receiving from the disguised Urd as she stands behind him, the smiling Keiichi heads towards the newly materialized door. "I'll be back in a moment, Belldandy!"

What a wuss! This is why I'm doing this! If I wait for him to get anywhere close to Bell, it's going to literally take decades! Smirking darkly, Urd opens the slit at the side of her dress even further to expose more of her long legs. To push things even further, she remodels her pantyhose in stockings with a matching garter belt. The change is rather subtle and will only allow him to get the briefest of glimpses if she positions herself at the right angle. All in all, Urd has no intention to let him continue to be ignorant of how physically attractive her sister is. Since Belldandy herself is not willing to remind him of such an obvious fact, the Norn of the past decides to do her younger sibling a favor and try it herself.

"Sorry for the delay! I hope I don't look too silly in those clothes," says Keiichi with a nervous chuckle as he returns from the bathroom and adjusts his suit.

"No, it really looks great on you," replied Urd, although this time she isn't pretending to sound nice. Even if he is a bit uncomfortable, this particular style actually fits the engineer more than the contemporary Starfleet uniforms, which look kind of plain in the goddess' opinion. Of course, those were primarily designed to be practical and not a fashion statement of any kind, but, still, Urd actually considers the idea that the mortal would've fit the 21st century better than his current era.

"Thank you, Belldandy! It's not often that I wear such clothing, at least, not in private settings like this. While I'm familiar with casual clothes from the same era, formal attires are mostly used on special events and such," explained Keiichi as he approached his 'wife' who is already preparing some ice for the champagne bottle that is on the table. "I guess, I'm not used to wearing something like this while having dinner."

"That's incorrect, Keiichi, this is more than just a simple dinner; it's a date," corrected Urd who tried to suppress a groan at his rather oblivious mindset. Sure, he is a brilliant engineer who could upgrade even the most complicated warp drive to get some more juice out of it, but when it came to women, he is rather daft to say the least. It's almost as if his mind stops working properly and make all sorts of silly comments or ignores the most obvious of things.

"A-a date?" stammers the mortal with a slight blush on his face. Urd turns around to light the candles in an effort to hide her annoyance; which proves to be more than enough to ignite the wicks without any incantation at all.

Counting to ten silently, the normally silver haired goddess turns around with a sweet smile on her face to avoid making him suspicious. "Of course it is, Keiichi! We're going to have a nice dinner, watch a romantic movie, and even dance."

"Um, I don't really know how to dance, Bell," says the young engineer with a sheepish expression on his face.

If you knew, I'd be really shocked; for real. Shaking her head with a warm expression, Urd has to reassure him that everything is going to fine; once again. "Please don't worry, Keiichi! I can show you how to dance. It's not that difficult after all, all you need to do is follow my lead and copy my movements."

"Ok, that sounds nice, actually!" says Keiichi with a smile. "Although, watching a movie could take a while, Bell. I mean, shouldn't we show up for that party at some point?"

By my mother's most indecent panties! You're supposed to enjoy the date with your freaking wife you numbskull! Who brings up some lame party in such a setting?! It is at that point that the goddess' anger and pent up frustration begins to manifest itself, eroding not only her mental discipline, but, threatens to unleash the fury of her other side; the one that is associated with her demonic legacy.

Huh? Blinking a bit, Keiichi takes a seat on the opposite end of the table, in front of the goddess who seems to be staring at him with an unreadable, yet somehow terrifying expression. One that would stop even the fiercest Klingon dead in his tracks to ponder whether it is worth the risk to suffer a most terrible fate, should they happen to mess around with this goddess. Wait… did I… anger her? Uh… come to think of it, girls are really sensitive when their boyfriends don't want to spend time with them…I guess, goddesses are like that, too. Oh boy... I'll have to apologize and try to avoid any comments like that.

"In that case, why don't we forget about the movie and focus on the dinner?" Worried that she has momentarily blown her cover, Urd attempts to recover as fast as she cam to prevent any more suspicion and lull the mortal with her sister's mannerisms. "I'm pretty sure that we can enjoy a nice movie later, when we get back in our room."

"Oh, that would be nice, indeed," says Keiichi, mentally kicking himself for not trying to apologize. It is easier to just go with it and once she has started to set the plates in front of them, it is a bit late to bring up the subject again; especially if he only managed to ruin the mood once more. Although, is it just me or did her chest get bigger? Wait, what am I thinking?

Following his gaze, the Norn of the past is pleased that she seems to have finally gotten his full attention. However, when she glances down at herself, Urd's grin turns into a worried frown. Her chest has enlarged because of her reduced control over her disguise due to her annoyance at the mortal. While she hasn't completely reverted back to her original size, the change is a rather obvious one. Oh crap! Now, I've done it! And he sees it, too! How am I supposed to fix it without making him suspect me?

Serving her some of the chicken they are having for dinner, Keiichi watches the troubled expression on his wife's face and for a moment he feels tempted to ask about his observation. However, it is a topic that the young engineer isn't keen on bringing up because for all he knows, maybe it is just his mind playing tricks on him or simply the strapless dress she is wearing that gave her some extra… volume. "Uh, is there something wrong, Bell? You look troubled."

"Oh, it's nothing, Keiichi! I just thought that we should've opened the champagne bottle first," lied Urd as a cover, pointing at the bottle in the ice box. This is an action that she immediately regrets when that simple movement nearly causes a wardrobe malfunction as her dress is originally designed to hug her sister's curves, not her own.

Deciding to do what she told him to, Keiichi takes the bottle. Unfortunately, since he isn't too familiar with alcoholic beverages that weren't already served in glass from a replicator, plus the confusion from his wife's bizarre reactions, he forgets one rather obvious detail about champagne; it is dangerous to point the bottle towards anyone while opening it. Still, distracted as he iswith Urd trying to tug her dress back in place, Keiichi manages to get her right in the middle of her forehead.

"I'm so sorry, Bellda-"

He is never meant to finish that sentence as the cork causes the goddess to lose what little is left of her concentration. As a result, not only does she allow more of her body to revert into its original form, but she lets go of her dress. As she regains her original proportions… her top gives way, allowing the unsuspected mortal to see way more skin than he is mentally prepared for; and promptly fall back from his chair.

If it isn't for the fact that her plan has failed in the most spectacular of ways, Urd would've found the whole situation rather hilarious. Even as Keiichi tries to get up from the floor, he can't help but stare at the goddess in all her glory, since she is far too annoyed to cover her exposed flesh. To make matters worse, the rest of her attire is now way too tight for her liking.

"Wha... What's going on here?!"

Figuring that keeping the charade is pointless anymore, with a snap of her fingers Urd fully reverts to her real appearance, letting a tired sigh. However, out of sheer curiosity the bronze skinned goddess didn't immediately fix her outfit and much to her amusement, Keiichi is still staring. "Mmmm, you approve? Don't be a stranger. Come closer to get a better view."

"Urd?! How?" Shaking his head to recover from his stupor, the young engineer has no idea how to react in a situation like this. Not only has his sister in law has managed to trick him into thinking that she is Belldandy, but he has ended up seeing more than he already has when she first appeared.

"Yes, and magic," answered the amused Norn of the past, as his silly expression made her feel much better. While officially a failure, her plan is still salvageable if she plays her cards right and that's exactly what she intends to do. "You know... If you like them so much, then why don't you try to cop a feel?"

"No! And why don't you fix your clothes?" asks the embarrassed Keiichi, who finally realizes that he is staring and averts his gaze.

"Says the guy who kept looking at me for such a long time," giggles Urd before she reconfigures her clothes to fit her current form and made sure she is presentable, since teasing him further would've been ill advised. "There! You can look at me again. I got it back the way it was, so that we can continue."

"Continue?" asks the baffled Keiichi. "You can't possibly think that I'll go on a date with you!"

"You already are," says Urd with a shake of her head. "And your performance so far is abysmal," "If you honestly think that I'm going to let you try this with Belldandy, you're sadly mistaken. Now, how about I show you how to act like a gentleman and even teach you how to dance?"

"No way! This feels wrong!" protested the dark haired engineer as he crossed his arms.

"Oh? You have a problem sharing your chicken dinner with me? What a glutton!" gasped Urd mockingly. "How… wrong!"

"That's not what I meant, Urd and you know it," muttered Keiichi. "I just don't like the idea of doing this with you, or anyone other than Belldandy."

"And when exactly were you planning to do this with her? Hm?" Leaning forward and resting her chin on her arms, Urd enjoyed the troubled expression on the mortal's face as he struggled to come up with an answer. "Do I even have to guess? Look, Keiichi, it's not like I've asked you to share your bed with me. "But unless you learn something about dating, Belldandy's married life will be a really dull one."

"F-Fine," grumbled Keiichi with a blush as he followed her gaze towards the bed. "But I hope you'll keep your word. I don't think it's going to be bad to learn how to dance and, I'd appreciate if you keep the data for this suite for me. I think it's going to be nice to try this with Bell later."

"Sure thing, Keiichi!" says Urd between bites, as she smiled at him. "That is the idea after all!"

"Good, then we can- Hey! That chicken wing is from my plate!" says the startled mortal as he sees the goddess steal from his share of the food.

"Sorry boy! You snooze, you loose!"

XXX

Stepping inside the Holodeck, Belldandy is rather surprised by the fact that she ended up in a very different setting than she is initially expecting. Not only are there no others here for the party, but the entire setting has nothing to do with a party at all. As far as she can tell, this is very similar to a lavish hotel room back from humanity's 20th century, with several modifications and influences from the next century thrown into the mix.

"Excuse me for the delay, Belldandy. Those clothes aren't exactly what I'd normally wear." Entering the main room of the suite from another door, the replica of Keiichi is trying to make sure that his formal clothes were looking nice on him. Dressed in something that would've been expected from a gentleman of that particular era in human history he approached his 'wife' with a smile on his face, looking around the room. "Nice isn't it?"

"Um… dear? Aren't we supposed to be at the party?" asks the baffled brunette who still has absolutely no idea what is going on here.

"Oh yes, that's right! I was also confused at first, but there is a note on the table that Urd left behind, explaining that she wished for us to have a proper date instead," says the replica, hoping that his tone is natural enough to convince her. It is an obvious lie and given how bad Keiichi is at the fine art of deceit, his copy is worried that he would be exposed too easily. Worse, unlike Urd who only has to fool a human, he is facing a goddess capable of reading his emotions. No matter how confident he might try to appear, she could probably sense his nervousness and start to get skeptical about everything that is happening around her.

"Really? That sounds really nice of her, but wouldn't the others miss us? They must be waiting for us to show up for the party and-"

"It's alright. We can miss one party, they won't mind as long as we're together," says Keiichi smoothly, before he immediately paused and forced himself to scratch the back of his head like an idiot. 'Careful, don't get too suave with her or she's going to suspect that there's something funny going on here.'

"Well, I think that might be true," started the goddess as she inspected her surroundings once again. It is indeed a lovely setting for a romantic dinner and Belldandy has to admit that it would be a shame if they missed this opportunity to be together. Given how busy her husband has been lately, it is very hard to interact without others being around them and as a result, there is little progress in terms of their relationship.

"That's right. Which is exactly why Urd suggested this and I must admit that it's not such a bad idea," says the hopeful replica, smiling at the brunette goddess. In a way, he enjoys talking to her even if she is under the impression that he is Keiichi, his less than romantic prototype. Honestly, if she wasn't such an understanding goddess, she would've dumped him for being too slow. I mean, they're not even dating each other. Seriously!

"In that case, I'll have to accept!" Smiling back at him, Belldandy turned her casual Starfleet outfit into a long, blue dress that is more appropriate for such an occasion. While it slightly resembled her goddess robes, the design is much closer to what is typical for that particular time in human history and it is extremely hard for the clone to ignore her allure.

Still, Urd has made it perfectly clear that the goal is to help the couple and not screw up everything, either metaphorically or literally. She is perfectly aware that in the process of making this particular version of Keiichi it is important to loosen him up a bit and allow the replica to be more suave than the engineer. Unfortunately that also allowed for the possibility for the clone to get some rather funny ideas and as a result. The replica recalls the warning given him from the Norn of the past;

Try to get into her panties and your ass is grass; literally. Got me?

He wonders, though; it is always a possibility that she is simply exaggerating. And while the replica has no delusions that the silver haired goddess has the ability, he wonders if she has the resolve to go through with her warning. The idea is to have a nice dinner with Belldandy and then she could get to that party. And for the most part he really has no problems with that at all. However, it is rather unfair that this is not only the first, but, also the only time he gets to interact with her. He has no idea what is going to happen after this date ends and it is entirely possible that Urd hasn't planned that far ahead yet.

Shrugging such thoughts off, the replica tries to focus on the present instead of matters that would ruin this moment by making him all depressed. After pulling out the chair for the goddess to sit, he then offering her a glass of champagne as a nice way to start their dinner. However, he still has to hold back and make himself look as if he is struggling, or his 'wife' would start to suspect that something is a bit off with him. "There you go, Bell. I know that this is just made from a replicator, but it's not that easy to find real champagne in such a short amount of time."

"Oh, thank you, Keiichi! It's not a problem at all!" says the goddess with a bright smile on her face as she accepts the offered glass. "I don't mind it as long as I get to spend some time with you alone."

In spite of his more suave nature, the Keiichi's replica cannot help but blush. "I know, Bell. With everything that is going on those last couple of days, my duties kept me so busy and I hardly had any time for you," he says as he sits opposite of her, helping himself to a glass of champagne as well. "Um… speaking of that, how's things in Ten Forward?"

"Actually, I believe I am doing a fairly good job so far. It's still kind of hard for everyone to get used to the fact that I'm working there, but, so far I think that the vast majority of the crew has accepted me. It's nothing personal of course, just a matter of people being creatures of habit. Still, I enjoy helping the crew relax and release some of their everyday stress."

As the goddess went on with her daily routine, the replica couldn't help but smile at her. It is really soothing to listen to her angelic voice, even while she is talking about mundane things such as her job at the ship's bar.

As a matter of fact, he wonders why his counterpart spent so little time with his wife. While being the lead engineer of Nekomi is enough keep the dark haired man busy, it is still hard to accept that he wouldn't at least try to use every given opportunity to do something together with her, instead of acting as if they were mere roommates. I don't get it. What exactly is he waiting for? Okay, they may not have gotten to marry under what I'd call ideal conditions, but, after that, there's virtually no progress whatsoever. Surely there's something wrong with that.

"Are you okay, Keiichi? You seem awfully distracted."

Alarms go off inside the replica's mind when he realizes that he has been too lost in his own thoughts and one step closer to getting caught by the Norn of the Present. While Belldandy leaned closer with a concerned look on her face, he is literally sweating as to come up with something to say before his cover is blown. "Um… no… I just… Well, I thought that we weren't spending as much time together, lately. That's all!"

"Well, you have an awful lot of work to do after we encountered the… Crystalline Entity." Avoiding the use the entity's more personal name to keep those memories from flooding in, Belldandy tries to remain calm and prevent that from ruining this rare moment. It is already difficult for them to find enough time to spend with each other, and getting depressed will put an end to this date. Still, something on the back of her mind tells her that there is something wrong here, although it is very difficult to pinpoint what it is.

"Y-Yeah, that is true! Which is why Urd decided to do this for us!" says the replica with a nervous chuckle, a genuine one this time given how worried he is getting. One of the biggest concerns is how Belldandy will react if she finds out that he isn't her husband, but a copy of him. While it is technically feasible for gods to make replicas like himself, most of them are really short lived and it is generally frowned upon to do that in a whim, without any particular reason. This setup is far from a situation that demanded such a measure, although, Urd has different ideas.

"Still, this seems to be a bit, how should I say, unlike her?" says Belldandy with a frown as she took a few bites from her chicken dinner while glancing around. "While she likes to promote relationships, Urd always attempts to remind others of the more intimate, physical part. Right now I can't see anything here to promote that. Aside from the bed of course, although we already have one in our room."

Nodding to avoid drawing looking suspicious, the replica decides that agreeing with her would be a much better alternative as long as he tries to keep her attention away from him. "Maybe she put something in the food?" he jokes.

"I checked that as soon as I've heard that Urd is behind this. So far, I cannot find any traces of magic or anything out of the ordinary, well, aside from the fact that this is made by a replicator," says the Norn of the present with a slight, mirthful smile. "Furthermore, there's no evidence of her presence anywhere in the room, as well."

"Well, I guess she just wanted for us to have a real date, then. You know; without interruptions, magic and all that craziness," says the replica with a smile, feeling a bit calmer as the goddess began to relax. "Actually, Urd did suggest for us to try and dance after our dinner."

"Hm, I must admit that I don't have too much experience with some of the latest trends here in the mortal realm," says Belldandy as she took a bite from her chicken dinner.

"Honestly? Neither do I, but we can try something that's slow," suggested the replica, taking a sip from his glass. "As far as I've seen, those tend to be relatively simple so it's unlikely we'll make any serious mistakes, other than stepping on each other's feet."

Giggling, the brunette couldn't help but find the mental image rather hilarious, especially considering how clumsy Keiichi tended to be whenever he tried to do something like that with her. "I'd love to have a dance with you."

"Then how about now?" asks the somewhat over enthusiastic replica. "It's much better if we try that before we finish with our dinner. Dancing with a full stomach can be not so fun, after all. At least for me."

Blinking, Belldandy could only nod at her husband as she has to remind herself that he is a mortal and therefore susceptible to conditions and problems than none of her fellow celestials has to deal with. "Of course! Wait a moment to put a spell on the food to keep it warm and then we can start!"

Looking excited, the replica is finally going to do something a bit more engaging with the goddess than simple chitchat. And considering that she and Keiichi have never had any similar experiences, he is finally able to be himself and not have to constantly emulate his far too reserved counterpart. Okay, focus now, don't screw this up!

"I'm ready, Keiichi."

Smiling as she stood next to him in the middle of the room, the brunette is absolutely stunning, even though her choice of clothing is nowhere near as revealing as her sister's. Perhaps that is one of the things that contributes to her allure in the long run. While Urd is completely stunning to the point of making it hard for others to ignore her, she went all out at times leaving little to the imagination. For those who became accustomed to her, it eventually becomes hard to impress them.

The brunette is a different case. As a result, the replica can't help but admire her perfect form as she walks towards him. While conservative, her dress is far from unattractive, hugging her curves in a most appealing manner, without going to great lengths in order to grab his attention.

"You look… stunning," says the replica offering her his hand as she stood right in front of him.

"Why, thank you Keiichi!" Taking his hand and wrapping the other around his waist, she could hear the slow music start in the background and as she moved along, so did her husband.

"I'm only stating the obvious, though." Slowly, the replica's attitude started to shift from that of the generally reserved Keiichi to a more assertive individual who isn't scared to dance with a goddess. In a way he displays the same level of confidence his counterpart has whenever he faced a situation that required his mechanical skills, moving with a determined grace, instead of insecurity.

"You're doing pretty well, Keiichi!" If she has to admit to herself, Belldandy is rather impressed with her husband's display, expecting him to drag his feet along the floor in an attempt to keep up. Yet, she is actually the one who has to follow him, much to her own surprise and delight.

"I suppose it's one of those things that needs less effort and more, well, reading the mood," says the replica, lower his voice to what he hopes is a seductive tone for the last few words. He then twirls her around, then pulls her in close, their noses just inches apart. "That's probably why we ended up here instead of the place where the others are preparing the party. We'd never has the chance to dance together like this."

XXX

Elsewhere, on the same holodeck, while two couples go through the motions of their dates, a completely different scene is playing out. "This would be more fun with the safety off!" a tall andorian grumbled as hey and the other racers head towards their bikes. He has a green and white racing suite on with the word Nekomi down one of the legs.

"Eh, I dunno. After being attacked by a giant snowflake, I'd rather play safe for a while," a caitian replied. He is wearing a similar racing suit, but this one is orange and black with the word Ticonderoga across the chest. He holds up and inspects his helmet. "Though I dislike having to wear this, even if no one will get hurt."

The andorian chuckles. "Simon, pleasure tastes better when there is an element of risk involved."

"Sounds awful klingon of you, Eldor," a tellarite comments as the group reaches their dirtbikes. They are a sleak design, with knobby tires to better grip the tightly packed soil of the track. The short alien, who is also wearing one of the Ticonderoga suits, puts his hand on one and mutters, "Reminds me of the karts that myself and a few friends used, just higher."

"Will that be a problem, Gimbor?" Megumi asks as she puts on her helmet while suppressing a giggle, as did the others. She, of course, is decked out in the Nekomi suit.

"Nope. We have a race to run and an audience to entertain," Gimbor answers as the group mounts their bikes.

"Other than ignoring how the helmet rubs against my whiskers, I'm fine." Simon complained.

"I understand your concerns," Eldor replies, as he gestures to his antenna.

"Ah," Simon mutters with a nod. "I guess we should be thankful that the helmets at least were re-fitted to give us a little bit of space for our whiskers and antennas, right?"

"Quite so," agrees Eldor as he and the tellarite put on their helmets.

"Everybody ready?" Megumi asks, once everyone is on their ATVs.

"Yes/ready/let's go!" Simon, Eldor,and Gimbor answer in tandem.

Megumi and the others then press a button on the handlebars of their bikes that let the computer know they are ready to start the race.

A bikini clad orion woman shimmers in existence in front of the riders. Her near transparency gives her away as a hologram. She is holding up a green flag and twirling it above her head. As the computer begins to count down, there is an accompanying beep for each number. "Three, two, one. Go!" The holographic orion jerks her flag down, waving it this way and that. On that signal, the racers hit the throttle and accelerate onto the track.

XXX

"So who you think will win?" Otaki asks.

Sitting above the track in a large press box, the two organizers of the get together watch as the race commences. There is a cheer as they reach the first turn. "Well, Megumi er Simon. Da other two are prone to argumants, 'specially wit' each other," Tamiya replies as he look through a pair of old style binoculars, which are just barely large enough to fit his wide face.

"Well, I think the other two hav' a good chance at winning. Sometimes, the best teammates are the ones who argue the most!" Otaki replies as Megumi begin to get ahead of the others as the go through the second turn.

"But da reverse is also true. Sometimes da worse person you can even try to work wit' is the one who argues over every little thing you talk 'bout. So I think Megumi has a damn good chance at winning from being more familiar with the ATV, but Simon has better reflexes," Tamiya says. He nods when the Caitian manages to get ahead of Megumi at the third turn.

"Hey, if you're going by experience, then Gildor will win. He rode a similar bike for a lot longer than Megumi has ridden!" Otaki retorted as Gildor now is fighting Megumi for second place.

"Similar don't always mean good things. Sometimes, It's da little things dat can throw you off. Besides, da vehicle that Gildor rode is more for transporting goods than racing," Tamiya answered.

"Yeah, can't argue wit' dat. So I suspect that Eldor and Gildor might form a bit of an unspoken alliance. Better the rival you know than the ones you don't!" Otaki retorted as Eldor managed to shoot pass Megumi and Gildor at a sharp turn.

"Speakin' of rivals, if Keiichi were here, he and Megumi probably would form an alliance, right off da bat," Tamiya mutters before drinking some prune juice. As they enter the fifth and final turn of this lap, Megum glides past Gildor, who now seems to be more interested at ranting at the andorian than racing.

"Yeah, dat's for sure. Were it not for the fact he married not so long ago, I'd argue dat his only love is racing! Outside of the engine room, of course," Otaki replied before drinking some prune juice as well. On the straight away heading towards back towards the first turn of the second lap, Megumi begins to close the distance between herself and Simon.

XXX

"And this is why I wanted to teach you first before subjecting my sister to you."

"I'm sorry."

"Well, my toes are sure as hell happy to hear that, at least." Glaring at her clumsy partner, Urd's annoyance is more than evident on her face and in her sarcasm. The man is absolutely hopeless, and that is the gentlest way she can put it. Not more than three minutes in their slow dance and he has already stepped on her left foot four times.

"It's not like I was trained to do this, Urd," tried the young engineer, even though he has a feeling that he is merely agitating her even further. "I'm an engineer, not a ballerina."

Urd pinches the bridge of her nose in frustration. "There are things you need to learn on your own, you dummy! Starfleet won't hand you down a manual on how to dance with your wife, and let's not even get in to some of the other subjects married couples do," snaps the silver haired goddess at the most lousy dancer she has the misfortune of knowing.

"Other?" Keiichi's at first is confused, but then his eyes go wide when he realizes what the goddess probably meant. He stops talking before he tempts her to go any further. It is already bad enough that for the sake of dancing he is this close to her, effectively pressed hard against her not so negligible bust. Under any other circumstances he would've tried to run away, claiming that her motives were questionable and encroaching to shameless flirting or worse; attempted seduction. Still, the goddess is right about one thing; trying this with his wife would've ended up in a big fiasco.

"I could, but, I think that we need to stick to the basics first," says Urd with a sigh, making Keiichi even more nervous as he realizes that she probably isn't teasing him with that offer; it is a legitimate one.

"And that includes dancing?" asks Keiichi, mostly in an effort to change the subject from other less favorable topics.

"That's obvious. While I do want you and Bell to get closer, it shouldn't be restricted to acts of intimacy. If that came to be, then your relationship could end up being a fairly empty one, devoid of any substance." The goddess twirls around him with the grace of swan. "Dancing by itself is good, but I mostly want to show you how to become a bit more confident while you're next to a woman," explains Urd, attempting to rationalize her motives in order to make him accept them more easily. "So far, you cannot do anything more than talking to her and that won't do at all. But, before we even try anything more, the first step is to relax a bit and act more natural."

"Okay… I think I get what you're saying Urd. Still, I think it's going to be better if I did this with Belldandy," says Keiichi, as he finally tried to ease up a bit and follow her movements, instead of simply being a dead weight.

"Then pay attention and prove me that you can handle this." As she says this, a magical curtain seems to form around her. Though it is emanating a bright light, Keiichi can see the form of the goddess changing in front of him. After a moment, it receeds, along with the light. Standing in front of him is once again is his wife. "Once I'm certain that you're not going to stomp my sister's toes, I'll let you try dancing with her for real," says Urd in her sister's voice, challenging her brother in law.

"Very well! I'll do it!"

XXX

As seconds turned into minutes, the replica's moves became increasingly more fluid as he and Belldandy followed with the music's rhythm. He couldn't help but smile at what is definitely the best experience of his life so far. Given that most of the other information stored in his mind was copied by Urd during his creation process, making them feel as if they weren't really his; his thinking is technically correct, of course.

With all that knowledge, one might've expected that he should've been able to understand Keiichi better than anyone. And yet, the replica has a hard time figuring out why his counterpart hasn't done such simple things with his wife. They have reached a point in their relationship where no progress is being made. Based on his personal experience so far, that isn't due to the goddess's reluctance. She is acting like any other wife who is happy to spend some time with her husband and as such, he can't help but envy Keiichi.

What a pity, instead of running away from her, she should've been more understanding of her needs. Goddess or not, she enjoys such things, no matter how mundane they might appear to be.

On the other hand, Belldandy is admittedly impressed by how fast Keiichi has caught up and helped her dance close to him. It feels right like this, moving in perfect harmony with her partner, allowing her to ignore the distance between them, both physically and emotionally for a short time. The young engineer has been rather hesitant to get too close to her and even wished for them to sleep separately, despite being a married couple. While it is undisputed that the circumstances behind their marriage is rather unusual, Belldandy wishes that they would share a bed or at the very least a bedroom, allowing them to slowly become more familiar with each other.

As a matter of fact, she has been skeptical when she heard that this is one of her big sister's plans, given how blunt the elder goddess tended to be at times. Urd has a tendency to overdo things and the whole setting kind of makes her wonder if the bed is simply there to copy the layout of a period accurate hotel suite, or far more practical reason. It wouldn't be unlike her to push her and Keiichi to take their relationship to the next level; something that Belldandy wishes to avoid at the moment. Her husband is clearly not ready for that and even Belldandy herself doubted that she is mentally prepared for such a thing, at least not without taking some smaller steps before.

Interestingly though, Keiichi is much more comfortable with being this close to her right now than she expected. When she presses her upper half against his chest, Belldandy is surprised that he doesn't shy away. Instead his warm smile only becomes bigger.

"Why, you're really enjoying yourself, Keiichi!" says Belldandy when she hears him chuckle after as he twirls her around.

"Who wouldn't enjoy dancing with such a lovely lady? That radiant smile is absolutely heartwarming!" Offering her a warm smile of his own, the replica keeps moving in a fluid manner, even if he knows that he is a bit too good for Keiichi's actual skills. Still, he thinks that it would be a shame to act like a scared kitten or a total clutz and end up ruining this wonderful experience just to act like his counterpart. After all, Keiichi has all the time to mess things up, something that can't be said for him. With this being his only shot with Belldandy, he wishes to spend it in a more enjoyable manner and not only for her sake, but his too.

"Thank you, Keiichi." The brunette goddess is actually blushing at his words, although a part of her mind senses that something is amiss here. To go from the shy and reserved man she knows to this much more confident and outgoing version of himself makes Belldandy somewhat wary. She has already established that he isn't under the influence of one of Urd's spells or potions, which practically eliminates the most obvious explanation.

"What's wrong, Bell? You seem troubled," says the replica as he pulls her close.

"Well, I'm kind of surprised a little, that's all," admits the goddess, much to her own shame. She didn't want to make him sound like a coward or a romantically inept person, but in all honesty, she is starting to get the feeling that something is way off here.

"Life is full of surprises, Bell; happy ones as well as unpleasant ones alike. If you're enjoying yourself, why bother with it and ruin this moment's magic?"

"Yes, but…"

Dancing closer to the table, the replica swiftly grabbed one of the roses from the vase and offered it to the surprised goddess. "Here, that should bring a smile to those lips. That frown looks really out of place on such a beautiful face."

Blinking, the goddess starts to suspect that her doubts aren't totally unfounded. It is a sweet gesture, but the more he interacts with her, the more he seems to act in a way that didn't quite fit with her depiction of her husband. Having ruling out magic as the source of the problem, yet knowing that this has been Urd's idea to begin with, Belldandy reached to a very simple conclusion. "This is really sweet, but I'll have to ask one thing. Who are you?"

"What are you talking about, Bell? It's me!" says the replica in an attempt to reassure her, although he knows that he has probably gone too far with this to even sound believable, yet a part of his mind urges him to keep going. It is far too great of an opportunity to let slide and every single second counts.

"Physically speaking, you're correct, but…" pausing for a moment as she narrows her eyes, Belldandy tries ti think of what she wants to say in a manner that didn't sound far too offensive for her poor husband. "My Keiichi's not so… so..."

"So much of a man?" finishes the replica with a roll of his eyes. "I mean, come on!" he says as he gestures to the goddess. "He's got such an amazing wife and treats her like a friend? Sure, that's not bad or anything like that, but you deserve way more than that from your husband!"

"I knows it is too good to be true… And he is a man! Just not so… Oh, never mind!" Letting out a disappointed sigh, Belldandy is fairly certain that there is only one possible culprit behind such a scheme and that is none other than her half-sister Urd. It must've been an attempt to force her and Keiichi to push their relationship further, despite the numerous problems behind such a solution. Aside from making what appears to be a replica of Keiichi, this whole setup would've done nothing to teach her husband how to overcome his natural shyness. Unless… "Hold on a moment. You must be a replica of Keiichi, right?"

"Uh… yes?"

"So, if you're here with me, then… where is my husband?" asks Belldandy, looking around the room. "I'm fairly certain that we entered the same Holodeck."

"Technically speaking, you did. However, Urd's idea was to separate you and provide each a dating experience in order to make some progress…" started the replica, before he stopped in the middle of his explanation as he sees the goddess' eyes widen, while a gentle wind started to pick around her. It is safe to assume that she has reached the inevitable conclusion that the original Keiichi is probably together with none other than her notoriously flirty sister and based on her personality, Belldandy already fears the worst.

"Sister! Get your hands off my Keiichi!" The goddess voice almost sounded several times louder than one would've expected from someone like her and on top of that, it carried her powers along with what felt like a shock wave, causing the Holodeck's simulation to flicker.

All a sudden, the wall on the far end of the room disappears, exposing an almost mirrored version of the one she and the replica were currently in. Through it, Belldandy sees none other than the original Keiichi, with Urd in disgued as herself. However, the biggest of all the issues is the very position they were in, with Keiichi's face buried in the disguised goddess's bosom while they were laying on the edge on the bed.

"Uh, this isn't what it looks like, Bell," screams Urd, swallowing nervously as she notices her sister's almost unreadable expression. "We were dancing and he stumbled on my foot! It's sheer luck we didn't fell flat on the floor!"

Why is that guy getting all the chicks? Shaking his head, the replica uses this opportunity to dive for cover, while Belldandy still stands absolutely still and unresponsive.

Seeing the brunette's reaction, or rather, lack of, Urd decided that given her notorious reputation as a liar, she needs her dancing partner's testimony that her claims were indeed true and no cuckoldry is underway. "Keiichi! Say something!"

"Mmph!..."

That is all the poor engineer cam add to the argument before Belldandy's second and significantly more powerful surge causes havoc to the Holodeck's systems.

Or as they say… before all Hell broke loose

XXX

As the various programs flickered from the aftereffects of Belldandy's jealousy storm, the goddess takes advantage of the confusion and snatched the real Keiichi away and vanishes, leaving the clone and Urd out on the race track.

"Pedestrians on the road!" one of the racers shouted, forcing the others to veer from the makeshift road and stop.

"Might as well start the booze-part of the party…" Megumi mimbles angrily as she takes off her helmet. She then yells at her brother. "Keiichi, you ass! You know better than to go on the track during the race! I was winning!"

"Sorry, but I think there is a slight Holodeck malfunction!" the replica yells back.

"Keiichi's right! We sees the sky and ground flicker, showing stuff like a Japanese temple and love hotel! Better call off the race, at least for now!" announces Otaki over the loud speakers.

Megumi sighed in frustration before she asks, "Wanna ride back, Lovebirds?"

"Sure. Might be too risky to call up some rides for ourselves," the replica replies.

As Megumi and another racer helps who they think is Keiiichi back to the party, Urd's smile grows nervous. She didn't expect Belldandy to leave her hanging like this… Ever!

Once with the others, the replica leads Urd to the table full of drinks.

So I disguised myself as her and put the moves on her hubby, but it is for their own good. I didn't expect to be found out by a mortal and then left at this party while disguised as Bell! Urd thought as she tried to maneuver herself towards the door.

"C'mon and stay awhile, Bell! Youse and yer hubby jest showed up!" Tamiya says as he put his hand on her back and tries to lead her over to the replica.

"Yeah! We practically set this party up for you!" Otaki says as he roughly leads who he things is Keiiichi to whom he things is Belldandy.

In her best imitation of her sister, Urd says with a smile, "I'm honored, but you didn't have to go this far…"

"Hey, don't be so down on yourself, Bell. You're now a member of the Morisato family, so I won't allow it," Megumi says with a drink in her hand. Spotting whome she thinks is her brohter give her a look, she quickly says, "Correction, I won't allow Belldandy to be down on herself. Sorry, Bro, but stopping you from doing it is almost a lost cause."

"Gee… Thanks," the replica grumbles.

"Cheer up, Keiichi! You're married a real babe!" Otaki says as he and Tamiya grabbed some real alcohol from the table. They both raised the bottles and says, "To Keiichi Morisato and his wife!"

There is a few muttering of disbelief from those who couldn't believe Keiichi would still ever get married. After a glare from Tamiya and Otaki, the crowd cheered up considerably and grabbed a drink from whatever is nearby and holds it up.

Inwardly, Urd is a mess of emotions. Embarrassment from being left behind by Belldandy, some anger from getting a round of applause that is directed towards Belldandy, and fear that she might ruin her sister's name if she indulged in her favorite vice.

"Thank you everyone. You have no idea what this means to me," Urd says before raising a glass. Then she and the crowd downs their drinks.

The replica stares at Belldandy for a few moments before he walks over to her and puts his arm around her. Urd wants to Urdbolt him right then and there, but that would ruin the Belldandy disguise. Inwardly, a small part of the Norn of the Past has a dark thought. How sad is it that in the last few centuries, this is the closest thing I have had to a date that won't end with me blasting someone and storming off? Some goddess of love you are!

"Keiichi, should we retire to our quarters?" Urd asks, deciding not to be overly seductive because it would be out of character for her sister. This will be easier because Bell's not much of a flirt, so I hope cloneboy gets the hint.

"Nah, let's enjoy the party. We might not get another one like it in a long time," the replica replies with a smirk.

Dammit. Should've risked flirting and getting him wrapped around my finger, thinks Urd before she briefly curses how much she respects her sister. Taking another sip of her drink, Urd notices the telltale sings of what kind of drink she has. Eugh… this is not booze and I'm in hell.

Looking at the replica with the best enamored look she could muster, Urd says, "Then let's step away from the crowd for a few-"

A dark shadow appears over her. "Nope! Youse get the seats of honor!" Tamiya says as he lifted the couple up and began to carry them to a table in the center of the room.

Well, I wanted to be a part of a party and drink booze. But not like this! I swear Hild granted my wish, since everything is backfiring on me! Urd thought as Tamiya put her and Keiiichi down on the seats.

XXX

As they appear in a flash back in their cabin, Belldandy quickly looks Keiichi over as he struggles against her. "Calm down, Keiichi! I need to make sure that whatever Urd did to you has no lasting effects!" Belldandy says, trying to hold his head and look him the eyes. Keiichi tries to push her away, but causes them both to fall down to the floor.

With her husband now on his back, Belldandy straddled his hips. He quickly grabs her hands and says, "I could ask you to calm down as well! What did that copy do that has you freaking out?"

"Nothing! Nothing happened between me and your clone! But I fear that Urd-" Belldandy uttered before Keiichi interrupted her.

"I stopped her before anything happened as well, Bell. You can trust me on that," Keiichi says, sounding slightly angry. "Once the party is over, we need to talk with Urd about this plan hers and how she executed it."

"I will. I know how to handle her," Belldandy replies. "Now please let me go, Keiichi."

"I will in a little bit. I kinda like this position," Keiichi says with a smirk.

It took Belldandy a moment or two to get the meaning behind Keiichi's words. With a blush, she playfully replies. "Pervert."

"Only yours if you want me to, Bell. I won't be anyone else's," Keiichi replies as he lets go of her hands. She slowly stands up and offers her hand. He accepts it and she helps him up. "So should we get back to the party?"

Belldandy is silent for a moments before she says, "Urd's there disguised as me and she's with your clone. She's trying her best to imitate me and your clone is… helping her, I think."

"Is he or will he do anything that I won't do?" Keiichi asks.

"He's like you, but won't live beyond a day or two," Belldandy answered.

"Huh," says the dark haired man as he contemplates this. Then a smile forms on his face. "Should we leave Urd there as punishment?" Keiichi asks. Belldandy nods, her own smirk forming on her lips.

"Now about that exam…" Belldandy begins as she starts to walk around him.

"So what will it consist of?" Keiichi asks as he remained still.

"A spell or two. I'm almost done now," Belldandy answered as she still walked around him. When she stops in front of him, she smiles. "I detected nothing out of the ordinary. You're fine."

Keiichi lets out a sigh. "Well that's a relief."

The goddess smiles and nods. "So what would you like to do now?" she asks. But before Keiichi can reply, she answers her own question. "I know, I can make you a snack? I did notice that you did not complete your meal." She turns to move towards the bedroom intent on making her husband when Keiichi grabs her hand and stops her.

"Computer, music, something slow, random selection," he says. There is a slight chirp, then a slow, melodious tune begins to waft through the cabin. Keiichi pulls his wife a little closer. "Actually, how about we dance?"

Belldandy raises an eyebrow before turning to him and wrapping her arms around his neck. "Who are you and what have you done with my husband," she asks with a smile.

"All you have is me," replies Keiichi before leaning in and giving her a quick peck on the lips. He then takes both hands and places them on her hips. Belldandy leans in to her husband, laying her head on his shoulders and luxuriates in the feeling of him holding her.

Together the gently sway to the rhythm of the music.

XXX

"Uhg."

Slowly, the silver haired goddess opens her eyes and stairs menacingly as the window. From the outside, bright sunshine is beaming in straight on her face. Siliently she curses her sister for making the temple and the surrounding sub space hideaway so realistic. She could have left the sun out, for the almighty's sake. Not only is the light bothering her, but her head is killing her and her ears are ringing.

But there is one thing she is proud about; somehow, someway, she was able to keep her disguise up for as long as she needed it. Somewhere along the line, she had realized that someone had spiked the synthol. She idly wonders why someone would do that, but when you want to get smashed, some people will go to great lengths.

She smiles as she recalls something else from the evening. The clone of Keiichi she had created had been a perfect gentleman throughout the night. Even though it was obvious he was flat out wasted like her, he kept up the appearances as well.

She crinkles her brow in concentration as she tries to recall the hazier memories. At some point, they left the party. When they reached Belldandy and Keiichi's quarters, they found them locked. So Urd decided to try to cast a spell that would open another door. Her first failed spectacularly.

"Orc orgy." She shudders at the recollection of barging in on the behemoths. "That was scary." She then concentrates more, and recalls that her second attempt was successful. Try as she might, she cannot seem to remember anything after that. "I wonder where the clone is?"

As if to answer her question, Urd feels something shift next to her. Realization comes to her as she slowly turns towards it. There, under the cover without a shirt and who knows what else, is Keiichi's replica. Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, she chants in her mind over and over. We were so smashed last night, there's no way we could have… could we? Through the screaming headache he is experiencing, she looks her over and takes inventory of herself.

Dress: laying in a pile next to his clothes, not good.

Bra: Where it's supposed to be, keeping the girls in place. That's good.

Panties: In place as well. Better.

Virginity: Who am I kidding, that ship set sail centuries ago.

As she is going through additional items in her mind, the clone raises his head and turns towards the goddess. "Good morning, beautiful," he says with a wide smile on his face.

"Don't even try to pretend, I know we just slept in the same bed, not 'slept-together'," says Urd in annoyance as she slips out of bed and conjures up a new outfit, tight demin shorts and a button up t-shirt that barely fits her. She ties it underneath her bust, adjusting it just enough so as to hide her bra.

"Ah, you just totally ruined my fantasy," complains the dark hared clone as he sits up. While shirtless, he is still wearing his pants.

"Get dressed. I need to go find Belldandy." She glances worriedly at the door. "I hope she's in a forgiving mood."

XXX

Fortunately for the mismatched duo, Belldandy is in a forgiving mood. Urd finds goddess in the kitchen cooking up some eggs and French toast for Keiichi. "Um, good morning," says the silver haired goddess tentatively.

"Good morning, sister," replies Belldandy cheerfully. She looks up from the stove and smiles. "Would you and Keiichi's clone like some breakfast as well?"

Confused by this, Urd looks around as if looking for a trap. "Um, sure," she says finally. Look, about yesterday-"

Belldandy looks up and smiles again. "We will talk later, sister. But I think everything will be fine." She then turns back to her cooking, leaving Urd completely confused.

She was expecting her younger sister to be furious, not only for creating the replica and deceiving her, but for the compromising situation Bell found Urd in with her real husband. But instead, the brunette goddess seems like she could not be happier. Curious, the silver haired diety casts a critical eyes on her sister. While not a complete scan, she opens herself up to the empathic vibrations Belldandy is giving off. What she finds nearly shocks her to her core.

No way, they didn't! screams Urd in her head she picks up certain telltale markers. Maybe that was why the door was locked? Quickly, the silver haired goddess dashes back to her room. Grabbing a remote off of one of the dressers, she points it at an open space on the same. A viewer materializes.

"That'a a neat trick," comments the replica, who is sitting at Urd's desk at the other side of the room.

"Shush," she says as she presses another button on her remote. The screen turns bright white. Another button is pushed, and the image begins to play. The bright light coalesces into Belldandy and Keiichi. Smirking, Urd pats herself on the back for leaving Gan-Chan active with a motion sensor in the living room.

Together with the clone, Urd watches as the pair interact. Then, in what she has to admit was a brilliant move on the part of the otherwise inept engineer, the couple begin to slow dance in the middle of the cabin. "Oh boy, this will surely get better!"

The duo watch as they continue to sway, back and forth in tune with the music. Frustration begins to mount as that's all they do. After about ten frustrating minutes, Belldandy calls them to breakfast. Not wishing to leave without knowing, Urd begins to fast forward. She watches as the timer, now running about five times as fast as normal, ticks off to almost an hour. Finally, the couple on screen breaks their embrace. There is a short conversation, then Belldandy leads Keiichi to the bedroom.

"Ok, here we go, now we're gonna get some action," says Urd.

Beside her, the replica scoffs. "No way. They are gonna just go to bed, watch."

For a brief moment, Urd considers placing a wager on it, but realized the clone will probably not be around long enough for her to collect. She turns back to the screen and watches as Gan-Chan follows the couple into the bedroom. Belldandy disappears into the bathroom while Keiichi changes into his night clothes. Not what I would choose for a night of passion, thinks Urd as the engineer slips under the covers. Not long after, Belldandy steps out, dressed in a long nightgown. Without hesitating, she heads straight to the bed and is quickly under the blankets with her husband.

"Oh, here we go!" Somehow, someway, in spite of the unmitigated disaster her plan turned in to the night before, the couple was actually going to consummate their relationship. Then, to Urd's horror, Belldandy quickly kisses Keiichi on the lips, and then turns away from him before scooting close so that he can drape his arm over her. She sees him say something, and the lights dim. Gan-Chan's camera switches to night vision. The goddess watches intently as the couple lays there.

And does nothing.

Frustrated beyond belief, she starts to fast forward, but the tape does not go far as Gan-Chan's systems do not detect any movement, and shut down. "Are you kidding me? That's all?" exclaims the silver haired goddess. Based on her sister's aura, Urd had assumed that Keiichi and Belldandy had had marathon sex last night.

"I told you," says the clone with a smirk on his face.

"Shut up," replies the Norn of the Past as she gets up and heads to the kitchen for a little humble pie.

XXX

Several hours later, Urd and the replica are sitting outside in lounge chairs. At first due to a feeling of obligation to her creation, the goddess has been hanging out with him as they wait for the inevitable time where his short life will expire. I could get used to this, thinks the silver haired goddess as she turns to see what he is doing. Sitting in his chair, the replica has a pair of sunglasses on with mirror lenses. He is holding his head up so that the reflector panel he us holding can properly reflect the rays of the false sun onto his neck. Urd giggles at this, knowing that the requisite radiation needed to burn or tan is absent from the daylight they are receiving now.

It is amazing what you can find out about someone when you actually sit around and talk, even if the memories were not exactly his. Urd found out a lot about her brother-in-law, including some bits that she has files away to tease him about later. But in their conversations, there is one thing that the goddess has gained; a better understanding of what her sister sees in the otherwise unremarkable man. If only I had met him first, she muses to herself. She would definitely have to tone some of her antics down a little in the beginning, but she feels that eventually he would get used to her. Whether they could have had a relationship, well, best not to dwell on some things.

But then again, would I have even noticed him in the begging to get such an opportunity?

"What are you thinking about?"

Startled out of her reverie, Urd stashes those thoughts away and turns towards the replica. Delicately, she reaches out and grasps his hand and squeezes it. "Just about what could have been," she says sadly. "You know, I wouldn't really have minded if we… you know…"

"Yeah, it just didn't seem right, damn my Morisato sensibilities," replies the replica as he returns the squeeze. "You know, you could have modified me to be more of a perv."

"Ha!" laughs the immortal woman. "You think my Urd-bolts are bad, you don't want to know what Belldandy would have done to you if you had tried anything like that on her." Urd releases her grip and leans back in her chair. "She can be downright scary sometimes."

"I can imagine," replies the replica. "Hey, can you do something for me?"

"Sure," says Urd as she sits up in her chair and looks back at him.

"Could you get me a drink?"

Urd snorts in amusement. "Sure," she says as she stands.

Stepping away from her chair, the goddess begins to walk down the path towards the temple residence. She smiles, trying to recall the last time she had willingly gotten up to fetch anything for anyone voluntarily. It's been a long time, she muses to herself. There is a sudden breeze, which causes the leaves in the trees to whip around. Urd glances back at the chairs and finds the one where the replica was sitting now empty. As the wind dies, a tear escapes her eye as she knows that he is gone for good. And it was for someone I care about.

Dejected, Urd goes back into the residence, passed through, and emerges in Keiichi and Belldandy's, before immediately heading to the main living room. When the door opens, she finds her sister and her husband sitting at the table having lunch.

When she sees her sister, Belldandy gives her an inquisitive look. "Is he gone?" she asks politely.

"Yes," replies the silver haired goddess.

Belldandy nods in understanding. "Would you like to join us for lunch?"

Urd leans a little closer to the table to see what they are having. As she does, all three of them notice the holographic projector on the coffee table light up in spite of no one being there to activate it. They watch as a three dimensional image of a Nebula class starship forms and begins to do lazy circles inside of the projectors view space.

All three of them are intrigued by this. Urd, being the closest, steps closer. Leaning in, she can make out the name Nekomi on the saucer section. As the small ship circles, it suddenly turns and heads straight for the silver haired goddess. Before she can react, phaser beams lance out and slam into her shoulder, spinning her around. As the others get up to help, the small ship fires again, this time hitting the silver haired goddess directly on her posterior. "Ow! What the hell?"

"Urd! Are you ok?" asks Belldandy as she reaches her fallen sister.

"What do you think?" screams Urd in frustration. "That thing just fired phasers at my ass!"

As the brunette goddess inspects her sister, she notices something strange about the burn marks. "Please do not move," she admonishes Urd as she tries to get a better look. Finally, she recognizes it. "There is something written here, Urd. Please wait while I read it"

Grumbling to herself, the bronze skinned goddess stands and does what her sister asks.

Belldandy clears her throat a little. "To second class, first category, limited license goddess, Urd," she says as she reads her sister's butt. "Due to your unauthorized transfer to Midgard, subsequent interference with another goddess' assignment, and unauthorized use of high level cloning spells, you are hereby exiled from Asgard until further notice. You are to remain with your sister until you have learned the error of your ways."

"Oh no," says Keiichi dejectedly, as he now has another goddess he will need to find space for. "The captain is going to love this."

"Great... Just great," complains Urd as she hangs her head in defeat.

"Um, there appears to be a postscript," says Belldandy with an uncertain voice as she leans in closer to Urd's right cheek. "Would you want me to read it?"

"What the hell, it can't get any worse, can it?" Replies Urd with a tired sigh.

"I apologize for my method of delivering this message, as well as the indignity it may had caused you. For future reference, I High Lord of the gods, strongly advise you to wear your knickers next time, my daughter."

The sound of Urd's facepalm echoes through the cabin.

A/N (IdiAmeanDada): Hope you enjoyed this chapter. As you can tell, Urd is now going to be a permanent fixture on the ship going forward. Her eventual first position will be a bit of a surprise, I think. Eventually she will get a job that is a little more fitting for her 'talents'. :) I am sure you are wondering when Skuld will make her appearance. All I can say is soon. Also, just as a warning, she will be OC from canon. No details yet, so you will have to wait.

Also, this was not fully beta read, so I apologize for any errors.