Divine Decisions By AceTalon Ranma was dying. He didn't know how, but he knew that he was. And there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it. "Dammit, I wish there was some way to help myself," he whispered. His voice was going, fast. Ranma laid back and watched the ceiling, imagining watching his life slip away like sand falling from an hourglass. He was in a hospital. No one had visited him, the sickness, or whatever it was, had struck him too quickly and no one even knew there was something wrong. There was nothing out of the ordinary about that day. No fights any different than before, food Kasumi made for lunch, nothing differen't. "What could it be? There isn't anyone I know of who is mad enough to kill me." Ranma sighed. "Well Ryouga, looks like you got your wish," he said softly. "I'll never see any of you again, and your secret will die with me." He rolled onto his side, clutching his stomache. The doctors and nurses had thought he had a bad case of food poisoning, and had left him in that room for a doctor. At the time, that's what he thought too, but he had worsened too much and too quickly for it to be food poisoning. Ranma laid still for several moment, then angrily clenched his hand. He didn't give a damn about anything anymore. The fiancee's, the fights, nothing mattered as he lie dying except the knowledge of who killed him. "So, you wish for revenge?" a voice spoke from out of the ground. Ranma sat up quickly, his eyes darting around the room. There was no one. The voice laughed. "Don't bother trying to look for me, cuz you'll never see me. I'm here to offer you a solution, a way to find out who poisoned you and for your revenge. If you accept, I'll give you the power, the time needed for your revenge." "Sorry, but I don't make deals with people I can't see," said Ranma, wary. His voice was strong, which was strange, and there was no one passing by his door. The voice grunted in exhasperation. "Alright, alright." A woman materialized in front of him. She had blond hair and was wearing leather clothes. She had strange markings on her head. The strangest part was he could sense something about her, a sense of evil, mischief. "Happy now?" she asked sarcastically. "So do we have a deal or not?" "Who are you?" Ranma asked. "My name is Mara, ok? Now do we have a deal?" Mara was impatient to get this job done and over with. "First off, how did you get in here?" "I'm special, alright? I'm not a normal person." That didn't cut it. Just because she was special didn't mean Ranma would trust her right off the bat. "You're here to offer me a job?" "Yes, and if you accept you live and get your revenge." "...Okay. First off I want to know who is the one who poisoned me and why." Mara was getting irritated. This stupid boy was asking too many questions. If this kept up he'd die before he would accept her proposal. "Alright, its not just one person. Its a whole group. And these people are very close to you," Mara told him, figuring that telling him that much would be enough to reel him in. I'll give you some time to think about it. But don't take too long, cuz you'll be dead in 10 minutes or so. Just call my name and I'll be back." Mara disapeared. "More than one? People I know?" wondered Ranma. "My friends?" Anger boiled in Ranma. People he knew poisoned him. "Maybe it would be better if I died," Ranma said dully changing from anger to depression in a blink of an eye. "No more fights. No more fiancee's. I'm just tired. Tired of everything. Maybe I'll take that woman's offer, just to do something that I want to do." "Don't kill yourself. What will that accomplish?" Said another voice, this time out of the mirror at the side of the bed. The mirror shimmered and a figure popped out. Another woman, this time dressed up in clothes nearly undescribable. There were marks on this womans head too, but there wan't a sense of evil, more like a calming effect. Like if you were sitting at a beach, watching the waves. "Great, if anyone gets word of this, two strange women visiting me, I'm screwed for sure," Ranma thought with a silent, bitter laugh. He was dying, it didn't matter if anyone found out or not. "You will not die," soothed the woman. "I have stopped time for now, keeping us in the present. But tell me, why do worry about anyone knowing that I have seen you?" Ranma shrugged. "Not that I still care, I have not one, but three fiancee's. None by choice, but if they found out about this, they would be bound to ask me who you are and what you were doing here." "So what did this other 'strange woman' look like? "She wore leather, had blond hair, and had strange markings." The lady had a grim look on her after hearing these words, which made Ranma feel a little colder. "So Mara has already spoken to you. I may not be able to offer the same as her, but I can offer you a second chance and the truth. I cannot tell you who or what she is, nor what I am until after you have made a decision. But please choose what you feel is right. My name is Belldandy. Call out my name if you've chosen to accept my offer." She looked sincere. Ranma had a strong urge to trust her. "There is something about you, Ranma Saotome. You are here for great things. I hope you make the right decision." She disapeared into the mirror. The pain returned to Ranma as she left the room. Ranma was left with three choices: Accept the first persons offer, accept the second persons offer, or die. The last didn't sound too appealing. He was left, alone with his life waning. Not much longer. "Stuck between a rock and a hard place. Damn, women sure know how to put a guy in a tough situation," He commented. Now or never, he decided. Ranma closed his eyes and prayed he made the right decision. He took a deep breath and called out a name. Authors notes: Whew, wrote this in a day. Hope you guys like it. Whose offer do you think he should take? If you read this and like it, tell me which path it should take.