Disclaimer: Oh, My Goddess © Fujishima Kosuke, Kodansha, TBS and KSS films; AnimEigo, Studio Proteus, and Dark Horse Comics.  Spawn- © Todd McFarlane Productions.

All comments and criticisms appreciated. You can contact me at sommer@3rdm.net

Author's notes: Well, here’s another twisted little idea I finally put together in about an hour. Please forgive me.

Prologue

Belldandy reclined in a chair as she looked over the temple grounds. Keiichi wasn’t due back from his classes for another three hours, and she had gotten all of the cleaning done. At last she had some time to sit back and enjoy the autumn weather.

Then Urd came through the door.

“Hello, sister. What brings you here? I thought you went back home for a while.” Belldandy started to rise from her chair.

Urd just smiled, waiting for her sister to get to her feet. Once Belldandy had crossed half the distance, she opened up her hand and held out the little glowing gold orb for her to see.

“Your Hunting Permit was approved. Congratulations, you lucky dog!”

Belldandy felt her heart race with excitement. This was no trick of Urd’s; she could tell the license was valid from across the room. “I… I can’t believe they approved it. I was certain it would go to some other angel. And with my duties as the Goddess of the Present…”

“Rub it in, why don’t you?” Urd muttered halfheartedly as she handed the gem to her sister. “I really wanted it too, you know. It’s been close to four hundred years since the last time I was authorized for a hunt.” She released a sigh. “But I suppose if it wasn’t me, I’d want it to be you. And after the way Angela mucked things up lately, I was sure it would go to Celeste or someone else that was higher in the ranks.”

“I know how lucky I am.” Belldandy continued clutching the gem, finally coming down from her emotional high to begin the process of getting ready for her hunt.

She went upstairs to where she kept the sealed chest that she had brought with her since the first week she had arrived at the temple with Keiichi. He had seen it and inquired as to what was within. She simply told him it was filled with personal effects, and silently prayed he wouldn’t inquire further about it. If he had asked she would have shown him, there was nothing she would deny him, but when it became obvious she wasn’t going to volunteer what the contents were, sweet Keiichi dropped the matter and had not brought it up since. She was lucky to be in love with someone that was so understanding.

Urd followed her in as Belldandy dropped to her knees and used her powers to unlock the magical catch. Silently, the heavenly trunk opened and allowed the owner to see the long-sealed contents within. They were all there, just as she had left them since the last hunt from more than two hundred years ago. At last the items were going to be put to their proper use once again. Carefully savoring every moment, she removed each item. Her blood was racing, just as it had the last time she had gotten a permit. The blood never forgot.

“Want to know where this new one is located?” Urd offered as she watched her sister slowly shift the contents of the chest. Urd’s own equipment was still in Heaven, and would likely remain there for quite some time, knowing her luck. At least she could tell Belldandy was enjoying every moment of the experience, as well as undoubtedly mentally preparing herself for what was to come.

“Certainly.” Belldandy listened to the information Urd had been kind enough to obtain. Currently the prey was located in the United States, specifically New York. She had looked in on that city of the mortal world on more than one occasion, giving her at least a basic familiarity of the hunting ground.

She decided she was as mentally ready as she was going to be, and began donning the outfit. Delicately she removed her clothing and folded it neatly next to the trunk. She grabbed the hunter’s outfit from the chest and unfolded it, allowing her to see it was indeed just as she had left it centuries ago. Quickly she put on the skintight brown and blue one-piece jumpsuit on. It was best to hunt in clothing that was close to the skin. The damned prey, or its chains, could snag any loose piece of an outfit and throw a hunter off balance. Mistakes like that could not be afforded around something so deadly.

She took the time to examine herself in the mirror and blushed as she imagined what Keiichi’s reaction would be to seeing her in the outfit. She really should have gotten something less revealing, but compared to what Angela usually wore (or lack thereof) having the right leg cut out all the way up to her hip, and revealing at least as much of her posterior region as a swimsuit would, was hardly too scandalous. And if the bust line was a bit low, well, that really was Urd’s idea. Still, perhaps when everything was finished, she could let Keiichi look upon her in the outfit and see if he approved of it.

Next came the ribbon. Upon touching it, the blue and brown cloth acted as though it were truly alive and wrapped itself loosely around her body. With it she could now fend off any attacks the target’s chains might try to unleash at her, like the last time she had been on hunt.

She withdrew a small variety of knives and attached them to various belts around her person. A short sword went to her hip, making the weapons array complete save for one last item, the most important one.

The lance. No ordinary weapon was it; one could tell that simply by looking at the ornate, perfectly balanced weapon. It was a tool of the Heavens. Without it, a hunt was all but frivolous, for the other weapons could do little else but wear down the creature. Only the lance could set up the dimensional resonance that would banish the prey from this level of existence, like pus from a boil.

“You look great,” Urd assured her as she gave a thumbs-up sign.

“Just one more thing.” Belldandy reached in and brought out the last item she wanted to take on the hunt. It wasn’t a necessary thing, but seeing the six identical medallions, trophies of her previous hunts, might give her a psychological edge over the prey. She took a moment to look over the medallions. In each of them were two white ovals with a black strip that ran down the middle, flaring only at the edge of the disc. IN the middle of the white ovals were two green eyes; eyes that matched the face the symbiote gave the prey.

“Perfect.” Belldandy couldn’t help but smile. She could wait no longer. Urd would have to explain her absence to Keiichi, but it couldn’t be helped. It was true that she was a gentle soul by nature, but after what happened to her old friend, Gabrielle, at the hands of one of those damned creatures, there was no longer an ounce of tolerance in her for those hellish aberrations of nature. In truth, there wasn’t an angel alive that wouldn’t relish the opportunity to hunt down and eliminate Hellspawn.

And somewhere in New York, Al Simmons, the ‘prey’ that was more commonly known as Spawn, felt a foreboding, and found his gaze pulled to the west.

To be continued?

Author's notes: Well, I don’t think the idea occurred to anyone before.  ^_^

D.B. Sommer

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Last revision: May 21, 2007