Authors Note: I created this chapter so that readers can get into the story more easily, if the haven't already read the prequel "Ah! Archfall!" For those of you who haven't, I recommend that you do, although it's not essential. For those who have, feel free to skip to the next chapter.

I do not own the AMG/OMG franchise or any of its characters. All rights to the original owner.

The Story So Far

Jago Finch was a relatively normal human. An Englishman, studying Biology in Manchester, he thought he had left his chequered past behind him. However, fate it seemed, had other ideas, for on a rainy night in February, a goddess fell to Earth before him. A soldier of Heaven, she had discovered treachery within the ranks of Heaven's army and so, her foes had tried to silence her. Gravely wounded, he had tried to help her but failed; she was already too far gone. But in return for his help, she granted him a single wish; to save her soul. As such, Jago became the custodian of her angel, a powerful Arch, who had no name.

An Arch was a rare angel sub-species, rarer even than twins and far more powerful, in the case of this one, being able to out-fight anybody in existence. Archs were also semi-autonomous, able to survive without a link to Yggdrasil, instead being able to use their host as an energy source. However, this power came at a cost; her magic and other skills were severely limited by her nature. Her only strength was fighting…

In response to the loss of this powerful goddess and her angel, Heaven dispatched the Valkyrie Captain Lind and her Apprentice, Chrono to track her down and discover their fate. Enlisting the help of Belldandy and Urd, Lind had tracked the angel to Manchester, hoping to seal her before she was fully bound to her new host, as not even the three of them would be able to bind a full-powered Arch. All they had to do was find her before she was named.

They failed. Jago named her Astrakhan Lamb and as such, she was permanently imprinted upon him. The process caught the attention of the three goddesses and they arrived just a split second too late to seal Lamb. Following a brief questioning, they discovered that Lamb had most of her memories sealed following the attack, preventing her from identifying the attacker. As such, it was deemed unsafe for her and Jago to remain in Manchester; they should travel to the Temple, where they could be safe until Lamb's memory returned. Lind took first watch.

After a drunken night on the town, Lind and Jago slept together, much to their mutual embarrassment but they had no time to become sentimental, as Hild soon arrived, bearing an ultimatum; either Jago surrender his angel or he must also adopt her foul tempered Archdevil who was later named Damascus. Shortly thereafter, Lind returned to Heaven in order to make her report to the Almighty One, while Jago and his Archs set out for the Temple, using Damascus's skills as a magic-based Arch to get them there.

Not long afterward, Lind returned from Heaven with grave news; Lord Deaderuss, the overall commander of Heaven's military and chief of the Praetorian Guard, the Valkyrie special forces, had declared Lind a traitor, both for failing to recover Lamb and for breaking her vow of celibacy, physically branding her, destroying her prized halberd and then banishing her to Earth until further notice, her powers greatly reduced. However, blaming herself more than Jago, she accepted her situation and eventually moved in with him, although they kept their relationship a secret from the others.

Soon after, in a bid to help provide for the Temple, Jago took on a high stakes mission, in order to set up a business that could support the extra visitors. It was during this period that he revealed his skills as a former street fighter, his strength now bolstered by Lamb's and also by the full awakening of his shadowy alter ego; Papa Jupiter. With it and with a little of Damascus's magic, he was able to recreate his families forge and foundry, using it as the basis for his new business. At approximately the same time, Mara retires from her work as a mischief maker, moving into the Temple and becoming somewhat of a recluse.

Evil had not been idle however. Upon discovering that Lamb was still alive and fearing what might happen if her memory was restored. As such, they dispatched Peorth to the temple… with the Angel-Eater hidden within her. The monster was eventually discovered, after Lamb was swallowed in an effort to save Gorgeous Rose and following a battle and high-speed chase, they were able to successfully able to capture the beast, saving the imprisoned Arch. Unfortunately, this is just the start of their problems.

The traitors successfully locked down Yggdrasil, releasing a stream of bugs on Earth, while simultaneously kidnapping the Bifrost Gate, blaming the situation on an attack by Jötunns; the frost giants who preyed on other worlds. As such, all angels on Earth had to remain present, if disguised, in order to prevent them from withering and dying, while their hosts were unable to return to Heaven.

Soon afterward, Toshiyuki Aoshima challenged the Temple residents to an amphibious car race across the city, while Jago's brother Bob arrived in hope of receiving some anger management training, which timed itself nicely with the beginning of Skuld's training as a Valkyrie. However, following an unfortunate incident between her and Bob, he is nearly kicked out of the Temple, although he is saved via a budding relationship with Chrono.

Upon returning to the temple, they discover that Jago is at Death's door; suffering from sporadic attacks of malaria since a trip to Africa a few years before, a bug has successfully merged with the parasite, turning it deadly. While Lind and Hild worked to save him, the others borrowed an aircraft and journeyed to Brazil to collect a drug that could save him. They manage it… by the skin of their teeth.

A month later, they are set forth on their race against Toshiyuki. Keiichi and Belldandy emerge the winners, following an attack by a golem, known as Juggernaut, on Jago's vehicle. It is determined that the creature is bent on killing Jago and as such, they plan to use a Gate to evacuate him and the Archs to Heaven, using one of Lamb's rare none-combat abilities to get them there; her ability to hack Gates. The plan goes smoothly, but at the last moment, the Gate is disrupted and with Jago sealed into a bubble for his own protection, Lamb takes matters into her own hands, using her Prime powers to attack the monster.

Prime is an Arch's last resort; supercharging them for up to a minute, at the risk of killing them outright. Lamb survives but fails to defeat Juggernaut, leaving Jago to use Jupiter to defeat the golem. Enraged by Lamb having sealed him in a bubble, Jago leaves on a two month sabbatical into the mountains. He is accompanied by Cool Mint and via long-range communication, he and Lind affirm that they love one another, as corny as that may sound. However, just as they are preparing to return home, they make a discovery; Lamb has gone missing. They finally track her to Toshiyuki, who appears to be a spy for the traitor and having drugged her, is preparing to rape and then murder Lamb. Luckily, Jago had a bigger knife.

A quick interrogation confirms that he is indeed working for the traitor but they are unable to discover the traitor's name, only their purpose; they mean to bring back Kronos, a powerful Titan who ruled the world until the gods and demons rebelled against him and sealed him in the prison of Ginnungagap. Unable to contact Heaven, they instead warn Hild, who promises to inform the Almighty One, this situation being bigger than a petty war between their races. But this is not the only reason that she came to Earth…

Apparently, Jupiter's presence had been causing all kind of problems, going so far as to destabilise the Nidhogg system through his pure levels of evil energy. In order to combat this, she suggests that Jago take on a particularly dangerous job; he should become the Paladin, which would equalise the levels of energy within him, balancing Jupiter's evil with good. While there however, she also takes the opportunity to reveal something; Lind is pregnant with Jago's son, a half-breed demi-god. As such and at Lind's insistence, Jago signs up for the Deity Games, Heaven's equivalent of the Olympics.

Soon afterward, they receive a visit from both Lady Anzus and from Valmeyar; a powerful Praetorian commander and Lind's mother. It is at this point that she reveals one of Lind's darkest secrets; she is the Almighty One's daughter and being the eldest pure goddess, she was meant to be the first in line for the throne. However, to avoid political embarrassment and scandal, she was disowned, without any knowledge of her father, in the hope that she would be killed in service of the Valkyries. Yeah… that worked out well…

After visiting Jago's mother, a former computer programmer to upgrade their plane, they successfully make it to Heaven without the need for a Gate, at which point they are arrested, released, introduced to Lord Deaderuss and the Almighty One and get into a fight with Lind's half-sister Irpa. It was then time for the Games themselves, with Jago acing his first two events; Metal Working and the Test of Courage. The third event however…

His last task was one-on-one duels, defeating one opponent and then another, until finally, he would have to face the Champion. Whish he did. It was Lind.

After a brutal and long-running battle which exhausted Lind, the Mint Sister's the Archs and Jago himself, he was finally able to defeat her by drawing first blood, via a ring of sharpened pennies concealed within the brim of his hat. Following this, Jago was proclaimed Paladin, official Guardian of Earth and balancing entity for Heaven and Hell. Unfortunately, victory was short lived, as the Traitor succeeded in releasing the dragon Gandamak from Ginnungagap, at which point, he wreaked havoc, injuring the Almighty and destroying the Valkyrie barracks, before facing Damascus in her Prime form and being forced to flee.

Following this (and a shotgun marriage between Belldandy and Keiihci), Jago proposed a daring mission to find and defeat the dragon; he would personally lead a small team into Jötunheim, the land of the frost giants, to track down the dragon and therefore remove the need for a full scale invasion, which would undoubtedly lead to war. Accompanied by Deaderuss's seemingly disgraced Apprentice, Weth and with Troubadour as a guide, they headed out and following an ambush, capture and a series of running battles, which resulted in the recovery of a Valkyrie known as Kayrune, who revealed that the traitor was one of the Praetorians, they track the dragon to his cave.

After defeating Gandamak however, Jupiter makes a move, stealing Jago's ID and disappearing into the deep recesses of his mind, into which, Lind, her angels and Jago's Arch's pursue, aided by his other alter-ego, Brother Pluto. Following an incident with Cool Mint and a slice of cake, which thereby created a temporal causality loop, they accidentally set Jago onto his current path, while also learning a little about his past, including his time as a drug-dealer, the accidental death of a friend and the subsequent murder that led to the birth of Jupiter, as well as some of his greatest fears. Eventually, they track down Jupiter, restore Jago's ID and with a final effort, convince Gandamak to join their side, as a spy and deputy.

Following this, the main party returns to Earth, where Belldandy and Keiihci are finally officially married, while Jago acquires a jar of Borrowed Time from Hild, in return for his services. However, during a group holiday to a hot-spring, the traitors finally become fed up with their lack of success and launch a full scale attack on them. Deaderuss is revealed to be the traitor, as was his equivalent in Hell and backed by a host of Praetorians, they set out to kill Lamb once and for all, plus Damascus and Jago for good measure. Our hero's fend off the attack, with the help of Gandamak but not without loss; Cool Mint is killed, Belldandy is separated from Holybell and kidnapped by a Death Gleaner, a giant bat that guards the entrance to Ginnungagap, Lind is stabbed in the womb, causing her to lose the baby and Lamb loses her wings, leaving her to slowly die.

Lind and Jago go on the run, hiding out in one of the safe-houses from Jago's dealing days, from which he launches a one-man assault on Heaven, with the recently converted Weth at his side. He confronts Deaderuss and Lamb defeats him, almost at the cost of her life. He escapes but his treachery is revealed and Lamb's wings are restored by Tyr (the Almighty One), allowing her to survive. From there, Jago, Keiichi, the Archs and Holybell travel to the Land of the Dead and from there, to Ginnungagap , where they recover Belldandy and restore her angel but not before they encounter Prometheus; another of the Titans and the creator of humanity. He reveals the purpose of Jago's alter-egos; they are the human versions of angels, the Opal-essences, created so that humanity could compete on the same level as the gods but sealed as they were seen as being too powerful. Jago's were activated by his combined exposure to a horrifying experience (the death of his friend), coupled with the arrival of his Archs, effectively turning him into the most powerful being in all of history, bar the Titans themselves. Then, following a bargain with Death himself (a tiny old Jamaican man who calls himself D) and with the ghost of Lamb's former Mistress, they manage to buy back Cool Mint's soul, in return for the jar of Borrowed Time.

They return to Earth via the portal on the lost island of Avalon, where they are met with more news; Lind was carrying twins, of which the girl-child still lives, while Lind herself has her second angel restored, although now earning herself the nickname "four-wing Lind". However, the jubilations are quickly interrupted with the news that Deaderuss has returned, backed by all by Valmeyar's Praetorians and an army of Jötunns, under the command of King Surtr. They hasten back to Heaven and while Jago and most of the group set up a defence line and start to evacuate the wounded and the civilians, Lind goes in search of Tyr, as nothing can be done without an Almighty One to lead them.

She quickly discovers that both Tyr and Hild have been captured and have been taken to Jötunheim, effectively leaving both Heaven and Hell leaderless. In a rapid vote between the few remaining senior goddesses, in which Jago is forced to reveal that Lind is in fact Tyr's daughter, it is decided that Lind should take over as the Almighty One until further notice. From there, Jago and Urd travel to Hell and manage to set up a power-sharing deal between Hagall and Urd, as neither of the influence to rule Hell on their own. From there, they head back to Heaven and seeing as "the enemy of my enemy is my friend", they combine the forces of Heaven and Hell in a last ditch attempt to hold back the attack.

With their forces stretched to the limit by the combined forces of the Praetorians and the Jötunns, Heaven is almost overwhelmed, as most of the Valkyries and Niflguard were either killed or captured at the start of the battle, leaving the Auxiliaries and the Specials (militia) to hold the line, while their enemies start to use human weapons, which they bought through Toshiyuki, against them. At the last minute, Lind authorises Valmeyar to use the Titanium Rain Protocol, whereby they use their own network of spies, hidden within the United Nations, to bring in reinforcements from the human militaries. The catch is, in return for their support, Heaven and Hell must make a public declaration of their existence to the Earth (there is no way they could hide an operation of this size) but this is seen as a small price to pay.

With their forces bolstered by humanities fire-power, they turn the tide and dive back their foes, only for at that moment, for a chance encounter between Kayrune and Lamb, to unlock Lamb's memories. Most of them are now redundant but there is one that isn't; Lamb's Mistress was assassinated, partly because she knew who that Deaderuss was the traitor… and partly, because she was the only goddess who could reliably hack Gates. And with the Praetorians and Jötunns using a Gate to bring in reinforcements…

Together, they tracked down the captured Bifrost Gate and recovered her, resorting her to her previous form, before preparing to evacuate themselves. However, they quickly realise they have little time left; Valmeyar had authorised the use of a neutron bomb to clear Heaven of enemies and they evacuated, with just seconds to spare. This was however, part of Deaderuss's plan. He was aware of the planned use of the bomb and it is revealed that only through the death of almost every Jötunn and Praetorian would allow the gates to Ginnungagap to open and for Kronos to escape. The bomb was his means for this to occur.

Aware of the escape of Kronos, Valmeyar is punished, while Lind, Urd and Hagall are forced to make their revelation of existence to the world. However, during the revelation ceremony, Deaderuss appears, challenging Jago to a duel, as he is meant to be the protector of the Earth. He then reveals just how hopelessly outgunned the man is; as Deaderuss was unable to support an angel, due to some genetic freak, in return for his loyalty, Kronos gifted him with an Empty, an emotionless, near unstoppable angel/parasite that sucks the power from other angels. Jago is forced to accept, knowing full well that he and the Archs don't stand a chance, even with the support of the Opal-essences. What they needed was help…

Needing some way to defeat Deaderuss and his Empty, known as Gracious Penitence, Jago and Lind are forced to search out the only ones who might know how to fight them; Hild and Tyr. As such, they lead a last, desperate raid on the Jötunn fortress of Jötunberg, hoping to rescue them. Once there, Jago is faced by Surtr and defeats him in a duel (but not without first losing and then regrowing his arm) and both the Jötunns and remaining Praetorians are defeated, although a handful who remain loyal to Deaderuss, despite his treachery towards them.

Finally, armed with the information on how to defeat his foe, Jago and the Archs face off against Deaderuss and Gracious Penitence. Lamb, who was once the twin of Gracious Penitence before she was corrupted and became an Empty, and with the help of Damascus, manages to defeat a pair of Gracious Penitence's Flesh Avatars, at the cost of their ability to use their Prime forms and trick her into feeling emotions once more. Meanwhile, Jago, with the help of both Opal-essences, holds off Deaderuss, trying to stall him until his Archs can complete their work; it works and Gracious Penitence reverts back from an Empty into an Arch, meaning that Deaderuss is unable to support her. In his fury and disgust, he banishes her and sets about trying to destroy Jago and the Archs. He ALMOST succeeds but together, they activate Jago's Ragnarok Protocol; his ability to combine all sources of energy within himself into a single, unstoppable entity, more powerful even than a Titan. Together, the creature known of Hades, composed of Jago's ID, Jupiter, Pluto, Lamb and Damascus, defeat the Deaderuss in his true form, forcing him to revert back to his human shape, before banishing Kronos back to Ginnungagap. However, Jago's body is heavily damaged in the battle and he dies soon afterward…

He is successfully restored via another deal with Death, who was willing to trade Jago's soul for the last of his Borrowed Time. Now, it was time for celebration. Kronos was banished once more, Deaderuss imprisoned somewhere that only Jago knew and all seemed to be well… However, it was not so. Lind's promotion to Almighty One was meant to be temporary; only for the duration of the current crisis. However, the High Council, the governing body for all realms, took the view that Lind should become the new, permanent Almighty One, while Jago was to have limited access to Heaven and therefore to both her and to his daughter, in order to preserve neutrality (he was the balancing entity after all). It was a sad ending, lots of tears. And then, a few months later, their daughter was born. They named her Temeraire. The story goes from there.