Chapter 7

System Error

"Oh shit!" was the last thing that went through Lamb's mind before she was devoured. The creature erupted from Chrono's prone body and grabbed Lamb in its long eye tentacles, before swallowing her whole. The shock of the attack and the grief of having his angel forcefully removed almost paralysed Jago. He roared in pain and was then knocked flat on his back as Belldandy and Lind were forced to watch helplessly as the monster swallowed her.

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Mission complete, time to escape. Then it felt it, a massive build-up of energy from outside the room. The second to last thing that went through its head, before flying through the wall was "Uh-oh". The last thing that went through its head was its arse.

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"DEMON SOUL BOMB!" Damascus shouted and she sent the attack though several walls before it hit the Angel-Eater squarely in the face. She grinned as she helped Keiichi to his feet as he had been blown over by the force of the attack. "Come on you!" she said, "We're needed!" and they ran off together to the room where the attack had hit. Belldandy was trying to help Jago to his feet but the big mad remained on his knees in a foetal position, refusing to co-operate while Lind had gone to find the creature before it could escape.

"Come on Jago, you have to get up!" Belldandy said and then she saw why he couldn't stand. He was cradling something. Tears came to her eyes and she smiled. In the melee, he may have lost Lamb but he had saved Gorgeous Rose and he was protecting her from all comers, even Belldandy. When he lifted his face, he looked like he had barely hanging on to his sanity and it was Damascus who knew why.

"His wish" she whispered. "He can't let Rose go because of his wish. He promised to protect Lamb and he failed so it nearly drove him insane. So now he's not willing to let her go. Plus, I think the system force may have shut down his central nerve system". Belldandy looked at her.

"I understand" she said. "His kindness was almost his undoing". Then she realised something. "Keiichi, why is Damascus attached to you? Why isn't she with Jago?" Keiichi grimaced.

"He lent her to me so Lamb could teach me to fight. I just don't think he remembered to take her back". Damascus shook her head.

"No, not just that. They were protecting me. They knew Lamb was the real target and they needed some way to draw the monster out". She looked sad, a rare thing for a devil. "And now, I think we've lost him. Without Lamb, he may not be able to recover". She heard a deep chuckle.

"Oh come ye of little faith" Jago said and he pulled himself upright. "I may have lost her but I will get her back! Plus now my limbs appear to be working again".

"How?" Keiichi said. "You were nearly catatonic a second ago. There's no way you can fight like you are!" Jago cracked his neck.

"You've clearly never been to Devon!" he said. "We may be simple but once we start something, we see it through to the end". He stood and gently passed Gorgeous Rose over to Belldandy. "Take her back to her Mistress" he said and then he turned to Keiichi. "Still go that knife?" he asked. Keiichi nodded.

"Good! You're coming with me!"

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"I must escape!" thought the beast. It may have only one Arch but it was the main one that they wanted. If only it could escape from the Twin-food. They were fast. Strong. Their Mistress had a long Iron-tooth and it couldn't fight back. Something had happened. Its powers were weakening. How could it escape? HOW?

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Jago thundered down the corridor, revolver in one hand and khukuri in the other. He was out for blood and nothing would stop him. But he wasn't Jupiter mad. At least not yet. Keiichi and Damascus followed close behind; Keiichi with his borrowed knife and Damascus charging another spell. She may not like Lamb but for what she and her Master had felt, she would gladly fight that creature to the bitter end. It's bitter end of course. They reached the courtyard and were greeted to a spectacular sight. The Angel-Eater was hopping frantically around the temple grounds, being chased by most of the resident goddesses. Urd and Skuld both carried huge war-hammers, Eir and Saga had their cutlasses for the Low Tide competition and Lind was swinging her mighty Halberd. Jago grinned.

"Come on you! Let's get stuck in!" he roared and charged the monster, swinging his khukuri in great, haymaking chops. Keiichi wasn't sure how Jago could help but he saw that the big man was predicting the creatures landings and more often than not, he was able to stab upwards, causing gaping wounds in the beasts belly. Damascus also began her attack, firing off balls of dark energy that burned and twisted the monsters flesh.

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This was not good. There was no way that it could keep this up. Too much damage was being done too quickly. What could it do? Then it realised: an energy release attack would allow it to escape. Risky but the only option.

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The creature landed with a sickening thud, its legs almost collapsing under it. It looked spent so now was the time to defeat it. It was only Keiichi who saw what was coming next as the creature's body began to convulse.

"Look out!" he shouted and he moved to cover Damascus. He was too late for the others. A massive wall of sick-yellow energy burst from the mouth of the beast, defeating them in a single burst. Another pair of beams shot from its eye stalks and began scything through the air, taking out anybody who avoided the primary beam. The temple inhabitants were scattered, many left groaning on the floor as the creature then concentrated its beams and broke through Lind's barrier shield. Before it could leave, it had to stop. It started to gag and hiss before vomiting up a shape. Then another. Mara and Chrono's angels had been almost completely stripped of their power in order for the beams to penetrate the shield and so they had to be discarded. But now the creature could escape.

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Freedom!

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Before any of the temple inhabitants could recover it bounded away, heading for down-town Nekomi. Keiichi was the first to recover, having only taken a glancing blow from the monster. He groaned and muttered to himself.

"Damn my dependable personality" he said as he moved away from Damascus. She also quickly recovered and sat-up, grumbling.

"Uh. Squashed by a human shield!" she said and then looked across at Keiichi and noticed that a strand of his hair was smoking. She licked two fingers and pinched out the flame. "Thanks" she said. "Not many people would try to save a devil from an attack". Keiichi grinned, causing Damascus to scowl. "This doesn't mean I like you. I just want you to know that your efforts were appreciated". Keiichi nodded.

"Fair enough" he said and smiled up at the Arch-devil. Some of the others were beginning to come around; Lind hand started moving and Jago was already on his feet, looking like he had just been through the wringer. He cracked his neck out as Belldandy and Peorth appeared from the temple.

"Are you guys ok?" asked Peorth, looking concerned. Jago nodded.

"I think we'll survive" he said, nodding at the others.

"Where's the Angel-Eater?" asked Belldandy. Jago looked around and realised that the best was gone.

"FUCK!" he shouted and ran over to Keiichi. "K, I need Damascus back!" he said but she blocked him before he could retrieve her.

"That's not a good idea Master" she said. "He protected me from that blast and saved me but his body will have taken major energy damage. If you try to remove me now, you'll probably kill him".

"Ah" Jago said, pausing to think and then turned to Belldandy. "Can you sort things out here while I go after the beast?" She nodded. "Ok. I must warn you, I've got to take Keiichi with me. But don't worry, Damascus and I will look after him". Belldandy looked concerned but nodded.

"You take care of my Keiichi" she said softly. Jago grinned and pulled Keiichi to his feet.

"Come on mate, we're going hunting!"

"How are we going to catch it?" Jago cocked his head.

"Damascus, can you track that thing?" she nodded. "Good, then we take my truck". He paused to scoop up his khukuri and shotgun. "Ok, let's roll" he said.

"Wait a minute!" Peorth said, summoning her twin mallets. "I'm coming too! I have a grudge against that beasty!" Jago nodded.

"Ok. We're gonna need all the help we can get".

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The roar of a 300 bhp turbo-diesel filled the courtyard of the temple as the Unimog sped forward, towards the main gate.

"We can't get through that, we're too tall!" Keiichi said his voice on the edge of panic.

"Don't worry; we're not going through the gate!" Jago said and aimed his truck at the wall. "Head's down!" The wall was tough; hard stone and tile with a thick coating of protective plaster. However, it was not built to withstand a twelve ton armour plated Unimog traveling at fifty miles-per-hour. The truck punched through and was then thrown into a hard right turn, down the road towards Nekomi.

"That was a bit unnecessary, wasn't it?" Peorth said as the truck hurtled down the hill. Jago shrugged.

"I needed a short cut" he said lamely. He then turned to Keiichi and handed him his shotgun. "Put some rounds in" he said. Keiichi was taken aback.

"What?"

"Check the glove box, there should be some shells in there. Push them hard into the base of the gun, just below the breech". He caught Keiichi's look. "We're going to need some firepower" he said.

"But the gun didn't work last time!" Keiichi said.

"Those rounds weren't meant to kill it".

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Lind's body ached all-over. She winced as she struggled to pull herself into a seated position and then rubbed her head, trying to clear her mind of cobwebs. She looked around and quickly took in everything. She could sense that her barrier shield had been destroyed and that the monster was gone. She could sense the others around her; Skuld, Eir, Saga and Urd, all recovering from the attack. She could sense the two angels that would need to be returned to their Mistresses in order to survive. What she couldn't sense was Jago. She looked around, trying to find him and Keiichi but they were gone. She spotted Belldandy, kneeling beside one of the fallen angels.

"Belldandy, where are Jago and Keiichi?" she said.

"They went after the Angel-Eater" Belldandy replied. Before she had chance to say any more, Lind was on her feet and materialised a Valkyrie uniform, even though she wasn't technically allowed them anymore.

"I'm going after them!" she said and summoned her poleaxe before dragging her thumb down one of her shoulder strips. The strip glowed, activating a booster spell and she shot away, following the truck.

"No, Lind stop!" Belldandy shouted after her but it was too late, she was already out of ear-shot. She looked out after her, holding a hand close to her heart. "I hope she'll be ok".

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The monster was exhausted. Its strength was waning. It would feel it's magic flowing away. It didn't even have enough power left to summon a Hell-gate and make good it's escape. All it could do now was keep running and hope it could find somewhere to hide. It growled as pain rippled through its body. That Bang-stick that the human had used had done something. Something that was draining its power. And now it growled again. It could sense the human. No wait, two humans! Two humans and the Flower-food in a big white Soulless! And they were catching up!

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"What do you mean it was never meant to kill the creature?" Keiichi said, slotting a third shell into the gun. Jago grinned.

"I knew that without Lind's full power, it would be hard to beat a creature like that so I decided to level the playing field a bit".

"How?" Jago's grin widened.

"Solid iron shot!"

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It had reached the town. The humans were approaching but with luck it would be able to hide soon. It must hide. It must get this iron out from under its skin!

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"You mean you used iron filled shells to drain the beast's magic?"

"Yep, that's about the gist of it".

"Very clever" Peorth said. "But how did you know it was inside me?" Jago looked across at her.

"I first thought something was up when you hugged me just after you arrived. You looked like a goddess but you smelt like a devil. It wasn't until later that I thought something was up". Peorth cocked her head.

"What do you mean?" she said.

"Well like I said, you didn't smell of tin at the time. So I knew you didn't have the demon inside of you. It was when Mara was attacked that I realised what was happening; it was-" but he was cut off as he swerved the truck violently to avoid an oncoming car. Everyone in the truck yelled as he swung it around the smaller vehicle, which shot past, its horn blaring. Jago snapped the truck back into the other lane and tugged his air horn violently and then lead out the window and shouted "Road hog!" at the disappearing car.

"I think we were the road hog there" Keiichi said, trying to unclench himself. Jago snorted.

"Unimogs always have the right of way, especially on a rescue mission!" he said. "Anyway, where was I? Oh yes, the beast. After Mara was attacked, I realised it was body snatching; hiding in the bodies of those who had had their angels removed. Why it went back into you Peorth, I don't know. Possibly, you were just a useful primary host but when you came out to see Lamb and I, you were reeking of demon so we launched a pre-emptive attack. I didn't mean to knock your angel out but at least she's back now. No hard feelings?" Peorth shook her head.

"Gorgeous Rose and I are both grateful that you got that beast out of us. But what happened after did?"

"Well Lamb and I attacked it, Belldandy and Lind pilled in and I guess it went to plan B. It went and hid back in Chrono, possibly knowing that I couldn't draw it out the same way I did with you because Chrono's angel was already eaten. We knew it was there and we were planning to trap it until Damascus could seal it properly but it attacked before we could do anything. Lamb was eaten but in the confusion, I managed to save your Gorgeous Rose". He thought for a moment. "Gorgeous Rose is a bit of a mouthful so can I call her Rosy?" Gorgeous Rose appeared of her own free will and smiled.

"Master Jago, after what you did for me, you've earned the right to call me Squiggy the Space Dog! I am forever in your debt!" Jago nodded.

"Thanks Rosy" he said and turned his attention back to the road. They were entering the city suburbs now and he could sense the beast getting closer.

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They were here! Almost on it! It could sense them; the Flower-food with its reek of roses, one human smelling of motor oil and soap, the Arch-bat-wing-no-touch with no smell at all and HIM! The Twoarch. He smelt of many things; tobacco, sweat andiron fillings. But most of all, he smelt of anger. If that one caught it, the beast knew it would die. It must escape! Must escape now! But where? It could hear it, the rumble of the great, white soulless, its diesel maw drawing it steadily closer. Where could the beast hide? WHERE?

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Tomoki Suggata owned a vegetable shop. Nothing special. Just fruits and vegetables, whatever was in season. Fourty, pot-bellied and balding, he was a simple man who lived a simple life. He was certainly not prepared for what was about to happen. He heard a roar and looked down the street to see a huge monster come bounding along the road. It was fifteen feet tall and resembled a beast from his very worst nightmares. With each leap it travelled twenty feet, sailing along the street before turning a corner and then it was lost from view. He turned around and sat down next to one of his stalls, mopping his brow with his hand.

"I must be dreaming" he thought. "Too much sun". He sat quietly for a while, not even bothering to turn around when he heard an engine pull up.

"I thought you said it went this way?" said a female voice.

"That's what she said" said a male voice. "Look, I'll just ask this guy". Suggata turned around and looked up at a huge, white truck with five people in the cab; two guys and three girls, all in funny clothing. The guys were both in military style uniforms of some foreign nation and while one was probably Japanese, the other was defiantly a foreigner. The three girls were also foreign looking. They were all wearing skimpy outfits; one an angel, one a devil and one seemingly normal except for the fact she was wearing what appeared to be latex underwear and a few leather straps.

"Cosplay freaks" he decided.

"'Scuse me" said the foreign man, "You didn't happen to see something that looked like the bastard lovechild of lizard and a giant centipede did you?" Suggata nodded and pointed around the corner. "Ta mate!" the man said and the truck hurtled away. Suggata sat down again.

"This day is just getting too weird" he said to himself and just sat quietly for a while until he heard another voice.

"Excuse me, could you give me some directions?" He looked around but there was no-one around. "Up here" the voice said and he looked up to see a woman in white standing atop a telephone pole with a large axe in her hands. "I'm looking for a group of people in a big, white truck who probably came through here a minute ago. You didn't see them did you?" Suggata pointed. "Thank you" she said and rubbed a thumb down her sleeve before disappearing in a blur of motion. Suggata sat and for a while there was peace until a deep wup-wup noise broke through the air. Before long, a large red and white helicopter with a smiling robot face on its nose rumbled into view and stopped to hover above the street. A door swung open and a young woman stuck her head out.

"Excuse me, but could you-"

"If you're looking for a hideous monster, five cosplay freaks in a truck or a blue haired woman with an axe, they all went that way!" and he jerked his thumb over his shoulder.

"Thank you!" said the woman who smiled down and then leaned back inside. "You heard him Skuld!" he heard the woman say.

"Ok! Banpei AH-1 Copter-booster go!" came another voice and the aircraft shot away over the roofs of the houses. Suggata sighed.

"Maybe today was a bad day to quit drinking after all" he said.

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It was two more corners before they saw the creature. It was busy bounding down a street, still looking for an escape. Jago grinned and turned to Keiichi.

"Can you drive a Unimog?" he asked. Keiichi looked confused but nodded. "Good, take the wheel!" Jago said and he pulled himself out of the driver's seat, barely giving Keiichi chance to take his place.

"What are you planning?" Peorth asked as Jago drew his revolver.

"Not much" he said and he snapped the gun open. He tipped it back, emptying all but one shell from the weapon and then snapped it closed again. "One shot" he said he said when he saw her questioning look. "Motivation to make sure I don't miss". He then stood and pushed open a hatch on the roof so that he could stand half out of the vehicle. "Keep me steady!" he shouted down and then cocked his gun, pulling the hammer all the way back. He could see the beast up ahead. It was bounding along at a fair old pace, the truck barley keeping up with it. Luckily there were few people about or this could have been very messy. Jago sighted along the barrel of his gun. It was going to be a long shot at best. He had to adjust his aim for target movement, wind speed, his speed and direction, a million other things. But he was sure. He had to be sure. For Lamb. He fired.

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The .45 Calibre shell spat from the muzzle of the gun and shot towards the fleeing demon. It may have been a shot in a million but for in general fact that million to one chances will crop up nine times out of ten. As it was, the round found its mark, spiralling into the weak spot between two of the creatures back plates and burying itself deep within the monsters flesh. Now normally a bullet would not be enough to bring down a beast but this was no ordinary round; it was a hollow point shot that had been filled with silver nitrate. And as the old magic taught, you use salt to burn a demon, iron to bind them and silver to do both at once. Now the Angel-Eater was strong, much stronger than most monsters but this round was crippling. The liquid silver coursed around its body in seconds and while it would normally have been only an inconvenience, it's body had been weaken by the previous hits from the shotgun shells. It was now all the creature could do stay corporeal. It was now or never, it would have to fight!

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Keiichi pulled hard right, following creature out of the residential area and into an old industrial centre as Jago ducked back into the cab, holstering his gun as he went. They could see that the creature was slowing, obviously weakened by that last shot. Peorth was impressed.

"Nice shot" she said. "I'm guessing that wasn't a normal round". Jago nodded.

"Hollow point silver-nitrate round. Monsters don't like silver and now its veins are full of it". Keiichi meanwhile was still focused on the Angel-Eater and had just noticed something odd.

"Is it just me or is it getting smaller?" he said. Jago looked leaned forward and watched carefully.

"Bugger, your right" and he scratched his chin. "This could be a problem".

"How's that?" asked Peorth. The monster made a sudden left turn and disappeared into an old warehouse. Jago sighed.

"Well, that could happen" Jago said, pulling out his crumpled packet of cigarettes and lighting one with his thumb magic. "Now we gotta go in after the bastard and you just know it's gonna ambush us". He took a puff and sighed. "This is gonna suck more than bare-arm piranha fishing".

The five of them stood in front of the warehouse, weapons in hand. Jago had swapped Keiichi's knife for a five-foot long piece of scaffolding while Damascus was also carrying one. They may not be much in the way of melee fighters but a long piece of scaffolding makes an excellent club in anybody's hands. Peorth and Gorgeous Rose were each carrying a pair of long handled mallets, ready to bust up some faces. And in the middle was Jago, shirt off, hatless, cigarette between his lips and a huge, fifteen pound monster maul slung over his right shoulder. He grunted, spat out the fag as glanced to his left.

"Ready?" he asked Peorth and Gorgeous Rose. They nodded. He turned to his right. "Ready?" he asked Keiichi and Damascus. They nodded. Jago grinned. "Right then. Let's get Lamb" he said and they charged forwards, through the open door and into the darkness within. That monster was going to have a bad day.

At last, Lind caught up with Jago's party. She had been tracking the sound of the Unimog's engine but had lost the trail when the truck had stopped. However, she eventually picked up on the sound of fighting coming from the warehouse district and was able to find them. By the time she got there though, the fighting had long since ceased. She paused above the group and smiled at what she saw. Jago was sitting atop an upturned bucket, gently holding Astrakhan lamb to him, rocking gently and singing a gentle song as she cried into his shoulder, while Damascus hovered nearby, obviously annoyed but willing to let Lamb receive some affection after all she had been through. Keiichi and Peorth were perched on the tailgate of the truck, looking battered, bruised and tired but happy nonetheless. Lind quietly descended and stopped just in front of Jago, reaching out to gently touch him on the shoulder. He opened his eyes and looked up at her, smiling gently.

"Hey you" he said quietly. "You survive?" Lind nodded and smiled.

"Is she ok?" Lind asked. Jago nodded.

"Got Damascus to thank for that. We distracted the beast and she went in after her. If it weren't for her, Lamb would be dead and we would have had the shit beaten out of us. Luckily, Lamb was returned just in time to lend us some fighting power". Lind smiled but then her smile faded.

"Where's the creature now?" she asked. As if in answer, a long, sharp hiss echoed from inside the bucket, making Lamb cringe and continued until Jago brought a knuckle down hard on it, earning a loud clang and then silence. Lind cocked her head.

"How did it get so small?"

"It was badly hurt after the first fight and the only reason it was still moving was it was relying on Lamb's power. It was already shrinking but after saved Lamb, it sped up and then we beat it into a pulp. Now it's about the size of a mouse but had grown wicked sharp talons so we're put it in an iron box, lined with silver and salt and then bury it". Lind nodded.

"That would certainly keep it from escaping" she said affirmatively and then looked up as the sound of an approaching aircraft caught her attention. Jago also looked up and recognised the design as one of Skuld's, so he leaned forward and whispered to his Lamb. "Safe now aye? Let's get you home". The angel nodded and gently kissed her Master on the cheek.

"Yes" she said.

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Far away. The dark room. The two beings watched the touching scene with obvious disgust through a screen projecting from the surface of the table. The man snorted.

"It would seem that your beast has failed, my Lady" he said with barely concealed contempt.

"There was little chance that it would to begin with, my Lord" she said, without showing any reaction to the comment. Inside though she was steaming with rage, as she had been hoping to prove more effective than the man. He sneered.

"Perhaps we should try a different tact?" he said and collapsed the screen, replacing it with the complicated chess board. The piece that had once represented the Angel-Eater had crumbled to dust and so the man ran a hand along his own set of pieces, eventually stopping at one. "I think we should send this one" he said. The woman barely glanced at the piece.

"The Unkillable?" she asked.

"Yes". She then nodded.

"Perhaps you are right; they have proven to be better fighters than we originally thought so perhaps an unkillable soldier would be best". She paused and thought for a second. "Are we still planning to initiate stage one?" she said. The man nodded.

"Yes. We shall start with a massive bug attack; make them think that the system has crashed and then shut down as much as possible. This should render those surface dwellers vulnerable, especially without their magic". The woman nodded but then thought of something.

"What about the Gates?" she asked. The man paused.

"What about them?"

"Perhaps it would be prudent to render them inoperable, at least for now. I know it's risky but it would prevent any reinforcements from reaching Earth, at least for the time being. In particular, I am worried about some of the Praetorians. They may be more loyal to their leaders than to us and if they can reinforce those surface dwellers then they would be in a better position to resist us when the purge comes". The man nodded.

"You are wise Lady" he said. "I too have my doubts about some of our soldiers, one of my own in particular. The fourth cohort leader, Valmeyar. Not only are she and most of her forces fiercely loyal to the Almighty but she is also Lind's mother. She would be quite difficult to fight if she were able to reach her daughter". He paused for a second. "Can I trust you to deal with the Gates?" he asked. The woman nodded.

"Leave them to me" she said.

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Back on Earth. Jago's house. The bedroom. It was about three in the morning and several days since the Angel-Eater had been buried, with life pretty much returning to normal. Peorth had decided to stay for the time being and so Lind had stayed with Jago. She slept peacefully, a slight smile upon her lips as she quietly dreamed. Jago lay beside her but his sleep was anything but peaceful. A nightmare wracked his mind as he rolled over and over, covered in a cold sweat and shaking. It was not his nightmare that he was experiencing though. It was Lamb who was dreaming.

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She had been running forever. She had no choice. She had to warn them. HE was coming; the First Lord, the Oldest Storm. He was close. He was powerful. He would destroy all. And so she ran. Her back bled from two ragged holes where her wings had once been, ripped from her body to eliminate her power. Her feet were blackened and the skin raged, having been torn apart as she ran through this world of ash and sharp stones. Her skin was dull, having lost its majestic angel shine and her beautiful, curly hair had all but vanished, leaving a few lank strands. And her eyes. They had lost their lustre, faded from turquoise and amber to near colourless. And still she ran. She was close. She could tell. If she could warn just one of them, then there was a chance. The Almighty or Hild. Warn them. The coming. And then she fell. The longest of all falls, though a world of fire and ash, a world she had watched perish. She saw those she loved, their bodies torn apart by grotesque apparitions now hung from crosses, crucified as they were slowly torn apart. Belldandy, Urd, Keiichi, Chrono, Eir, Saga, Skuld, Peorth, Lind, even Damascus. And above them all, his body broken, his eyes burnt out and his skin torn from the flesh was the once she cared for the most. Master. He opened his mouth and screamed in silence as she passed, his tongue, teeth and cheeks having long since been removed. She wept as she passed him and kept falling. And then she saw him. The titan. Kronos. And he saw her. He looked directly at her. And he winked.

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Jago awoke with a shout and with enough emotional force to send Lamb and Damascus flying out of his body and crashing into the far wall. Lind was also instantly awake, summoning her halberd and bringing out her twin angels. She looked across at Jago as he sat there gasping but he quickly recovered and headed across the room to where his girls lay. Damascus was fine, a little bruised but fine. Lamb though was distraught. Tears streamed down her face and soaked the cloth wrapping that she wore. Jago could feel her pain and knew full well the distress she felt. It had been awful. And the worst of it was neither of them could remember what had happened. Since being rescued, Lamb had had a number of nightmares but as they seemed to pertain to something linked to her protected memories, they were forgotten as soon as they awoke. All they knew was that there was something that was supposed to have been done and now the world would end. Jago bent and silently scooped the weeping angel into his arms and carried her back to his bed, with Damascus following close behind. He sat down, holding her in the same way he had when she had been rescued. He rocked her, her head against his chest, listening to his heart. And he sang:

"One man shall mow my meadow,"

" Two men shall gather it together,"

"Two men, one man and one dog,"

"Shall shear my rams and ewes and lambs,"

"And gather my gold together."

"Three men shall mow my meadow…"

It was an old lullaby that he had been taught when he was young and it always helped to soothe distressed souls. Lind would hold the pair of them and so would her angels and between them, they would rock Lamb into sleep. She would then disappear, back to the safety of her Master and one-by-one, they would all drift back off into sleep. All but Damascus. After witnessing her Jago's resolve to protect Lamb, she had decided that he had earned the right to be called her Master. And so, after the first nightmare struck that evening, she would remain awake and alert to protect him from those that came later. You see, nightmares are the embodiment of dream creating devils who preyed on those who slept. Fear made them stronger. But few would tangle with her once she was roused. Few would tangle with the former devil of Nightmare Prime.

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Unlike Lamb whose memories were mostly sealed following Jago's wish, the nature of the death of Damascus's Mistress had meant that she had kept her's. She could remember everything. She was one of the oldest devils, having been born well before the current system of rule in Heaven and Hell. Back then, they had been little more than servants to higher powers: the Titans, the Old Rulers. She could remember how after many years the lower beings, gods and demons, rose up against the old ones. Those Titans who survived were imprisoned, doomed to live out eternity in chains. She had personally been there for the sealing of one. He was Prometheus, the creator of fire and of man but he had become displeased with his creations and had attempted to destroy man for its weakness and then replace them with new life. It was this that had caused the uprising. The lower beings had cried out against the wanton destruction of this species and so they rose, imprisoning the Old Rulers. Following this, Heaven and Hell had been created to house the two sides; one of light and one of dark.

Then came their first problem. They had saved humanity but in the process, they had lost most of their own strength as they relied on energy to sustain themselves and without the Old Rulers, they had begun to fade away. It was Damascus's Mistress who had come up with the original solution; humans. She had been one of the most capable spell casters, who had ever existed thanks to her Archdevil but with no energy to spare, all spells had begun to degenerate. In order to find a solution, she focused her attention on humans and made a startling discovery; humans were brimming with energy. They were primitive, violent and disrespectful creatures but they were able somehow able to convert chemical food into all forms of energy: heat, sound and emotional. And so she had created the Nightmare. She would visit the minds of sleeping humans and would find those who were dreaming. She would the use dark energies to corrupt those dreams, forcing an emotional reaction from them. She could then use Damascus to siphon some of this energy from the human and using this, she was able to survive. The discovery had been hailed as the saviour of both Heaven and Hell and her Mistress had been granted the title of Nightmare Prime; the First of the Nightmares. Second only to the Daimankaichō in authority. Soon though, the Nightmare was no longer the only source of energy. Inspirations, day dream, all kinds of medium were created sustain them.

And then the new system was created. It was discovered that the granting of wishes was are far more effective method of gaining control of human energy. They had created Yggdrasil and Nidhogg to control the assignment of wishes. The doublet system was created to ensure that no one side ever had too much of a share of the energy. And so, they had faded from grace. They had still been powerful and respected but in recent years, they had become increasingly outdated. Damascus's Mistress had tried to cover her shame by mastering all magic. They had learnt every spell. But this was little satisfaction for ones so mighty. Then one day, it had changed. The angel had fallen and Damascus's Mistress had died, only for both to be taken in by the human. At first, this had appalled her; the most powerful of all Nightmares reduced to a human pet! But she had come to see that she wasn't a pet, Jago truly cared for her and Lamb and it was clear that he would do anything to protect them. The Angel-Eater had convinced her of this. While he had seemed in control, she could tell that Jago would have killed the beast to save Lamb, even if it had meant losing his own life. And he would have done the same for her. Damascus may have been a sadistic old Archdevil but she appreciated and respected him for this. There were few who would willingly accept a devil but he had barely given it a second thought and he had never judged her just because she was evil. He had earned the right to be called Master. And so Damascus sat up all night, driving away those who still tried to cause him Nightmares. Him or Lamb.

Astrakhan Lamb. Her doublet. She hated the angel. She was much younger than Damascus and she could barely perform magic, her speciality being combat. She lacked experience. She was totally submissive to Jago. Yet still… Damascus envied her. She had been Master's first soul-mate. His first Arch. She was the one who received the attention. The love. The smiles. Jago tried to share them but it was clear that Lamb was the favourite. She gritted her teeth and clenched her fists. How could he: how could he love a powerless flutterbird more than her? HOW? But then she stopped. She knew why, it was what she had said earlier; Lamb had been first. He couldn't help but love her more. She looked across at the sleeping Lind. Cool Mint was probably in the same boat, the second of the pair. Maybe they should talk about it one day? She paused in her thought though. She could sense another Nightmare devil arriving, again coming for Lamb. She grinned. Damascus may be the second of the pair but she still cared for Jago and while she despised Lamb, she cared for her too, if only because anything that threatened her was also threatening Jago. She entered Jago's mind, tracking the sneaking devil as it searched for Lamb. The devil suddenly sensed her and attempted to escape from Jago's mind. Damascus blocked the retreat with a simple spell and prepared to punish the devil. She didn't know who it belonged too but one thing was certain; it would learn the hard way to not deliver Nightmare's to the Master of a true Nightmare.

8888

High above, the control room of Yggdrasil buzzed with activity. Ere and Ex, the two system administrators were hard at work, attempting to keep the Heavenly computer running. Since Keiichi's wish, the system had been constantly filling with bugs and normally took the efforts of both them and their sister Chrono to stop the computer from crashing. With her currently on Earth helping the now fallen Lind to guard Twoarchs, they were becoming seriously overworked. Luckily, they were coming to the end of their shift. Ex sighed and paused to rub her shoulder.

"I can't believe how much trouble one wish can cause" she said.

"I agree" said Ere. "It doesn't help that that Arch-thief has moved in with them. I mean, look at are staff roster now!" She pulled up the list and on her floating screen and then flicked it over to Ex. "Four system administrators; one banished, one on long term leave, one on forced holiday and one on guard duty. Two soldiers; one discharged without honour and one technically dead, with only her angel surviving and unable to return to Heaven". She sighed. "At least we can clock-off soon. This debugging should be finished soon". Fatal words. Within seconds, a red alert flashed up on both their screens.

"What?" said Ex, "System error?" She began to tap frantically at the keys but even as she worked, another warning appeared. Then another. And another. An alarm began to sound; a blaring siren that signalled a major fault in the system.

"What's going on?" said Ere, a note of panic in her voice.

"I can't tell!" said Ex. "We appear to have so sort of system failure but the controls aren't responding fast enough for us to find it!" The pair continued to work, fingers flying across the piano-like keyboards. Even as they went, they could see that the situation was hopeless, Yggdrasil was barely running. The two were so busy working that neither noticed the arrival of the third goddess. It was Anzus, the mother of Belldandy and Skuld, personal consort to the Almighty himself and the highest ranked goddess in all of Heaven. Normally, she wouldn't bother with a minor system crash but this was different, something out of the ordinary. She quietly made her way to the central computer system and peered over Ex's shoulder.

"What appears to be the problem?" she asked in a quiet voice. Both of the younger goddesses nearly jumped out of their skins, both from the suddenness of her approach and from the fact that she was there at all.

"Lady Anzus!" said Ex in surprise and briefly turned to look at the powerful goddess. The older woman frowned and a note of irritation in her voice.

"I asked you a question Ex. Now, what appears to be the problem?" Ex looked down.

"We can't tell" she said. "The system just appears to have locked up. We can barely get any response and it appears that most sub-systems have ceased to function all-together". Anzus nodded.

"I see. Have we got any idea what caused this?" Ex shook her head.

"Not yet my lady" she said but then Ere gave a shout.

"I've found it!" she said and pointed to her screen. "There appears to have been a massive outbreak of bugs in one of the hard drives and one has morphed into a virus! It's locked up most of the system and we can't deploy a debugger to destroy it!" Anzus nodded.

"Is there any way to find out where these bugs came from?" Ere shook her head.

"Not yet. It appears that the bugs have been deliberately inserted but as the moment, we are unable to say exactly where form". Anzus frowned.

"What about a damage assessment? What still works?" The two administers worked silently for a few seconds before they gave their sit-rep.

"It appears that whatever caused this attack was very deliberate in what it targeted. The energy conversion system is barely running and those systems that allow for magic to be used on Earth are practically gone. It also appears that bugs are beginning to leek to Earth, with an aberration likely to occur within the next few hours". Anzus nodded.

"What about the other systems?" she asked.

"They appear to still be functioning but we can't access them. For all intents and purposes, the system is unusable". She looked up at the chief goddess. "What do you recommend that we do?" she asked. Anzus thought for a second before answering.

"I will report the problem to the Almighty personally while you try and find a way back into the system. If this is a demon attack, we may have no choice but to dispatch not only the Valkyries but maybe even the Praetorians".

"That won't be possible" said a strong male voice from across the room. The three of them turned to see Heimdall. The Gate Guard, standing just inside the room. He held one hand across his chest, blood seeping from a deep gash and dripping onto the polished marble floor. He gasped as he tried to take a step but almost collapsed. Anzus was beside him in a second and caught him before he could fall.

"Heimdall! What happened?" she said as she supported him, not caring as his blood stained her white and blue stripped dress. Heimdall coughed hard, spitting blood and then looked up at her.

"It's Gate. Bifrost".

"What's happened? Heimdall, you must tell me". He coughed again and gasped.

"She's been taken. Jötunns. They took Bifrost!" Ere gasped at this.

"You mean…?"

"Yes. Heaven is sealed. We can't get out".

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Earth. The bottom of the Atlantic. The ruins of an ancient city lay beneath the waves, lost to an ancient cataclysm millennia ago. It had once been the home of the Gods on Earth but it had been abandoned and eventually sank. Its name was Valhalla, although human's knew it as Atlantis. The lost city. And now, something stirred. A man but yet not a man. A man of clay, baked hard in the fires of a kiln and then given life though mystic writing's. Inside, it burned with a dull orange glow that shone outwards through its eye sockets, illuminating the deep ocean blackness. It began to move, the weight of the water above having little effect on its movement. It had a long way to go but this didn't matter. It had its orders. And if a golem is given orders then it will never stop.

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It was the following morning. A Sunday. The day that they could all spend at peace. No work, no need to make things, just relax. Keiichi was working on his bike, just keeping the engine in good order. Peorth, Mara, Urd and Skuld were in the middle of a game to decide who got to choose what to watch on TV. Lind was teaching Chrono, Eir and Saga a few complex combat moves. Belldandy was cooking. Jago was weeding out his vegetable patch. Everything was quiet. The sun shone. Birds sang. And then it all went pear-shaped. Keiichi reached across for a spanner. He couldn't find it so he stopped and looked around, just in time to see it disappear around the corner at break neck speed. He blinked, not quite sure what was happening.

"Wuh?" he managed before he heard Belldandy scream. He rushed to the kitchen and found Belldandy locked in a bitter struggle with a creature that appeared to be made of the contents of the fridge. "Belldandy!" he shouted and raced forward, trying to pull her out of the monsters reach by her armpits but as he tried, it latched onto her ankles with tentacles of pasta and began to pull her back towards its mouth. At that moment, Lind appeared and without a second thought, she summoned her halberd and brought it down hard on the creature's tentacles, severing them and freeing Belldandy.

"Quick!" she said and grasped both Belldandy and Keiichi by their collars, dragging them from the room. They quickly bolted the door and Keiichi fell to the floor panting.

"Are you ok Bell?" he asked. She nodded.

"I am, thanks to you" she said with a shy smile. She then turned to Lind, a look of concern on her face. "Have you been trying to cook again?" she asked. Lind blushed but shook her head.

"That was nothing to do with me" she said as they heard the food-monster throw itself against the door. Keiichi scratched his head.

"Well there's something funny going on" he said. "My toolbox just got up and ran away a second ago". They then heard a shout from the tea room. Urd and Skuld emerged laughing and they heard Peorth shouting.

"This is not funny!" she said. Out of curiosity Keiichi and Lind poked their heads around the door but quickly withdrew them again as a very naked Peorth began throwing things at them. Just then, the front door was thrown open and Jago, Chrono, Eir and Saga all came in, sheltering under a huge tower-shield that Jago was carrying over his head. He set it down against the wall and looked hard at the assembled goddesses.

"What the hell is going on!" he said. "There are lobsters in the carrot patch and unless it's my imagination, it's raining coconuts!" He paused as he saw the funny looks that the others were giving him. "What?" he said.

"Your hair!" Skuld said, trying hard not to laugh.

"What about it?" he said and pulled a lock down so he could see it. It was lime green. "Oh shit" he said.

"You think you have problems!" came a voice. They all turned to see a potted shrub come hopping out of the tearoom and then the leaves moved to reveal and angry looking face.

"Oh Mara…." Jago said. "You're a ficus?" Mara nodded.

"There's only one explanation for all this!" she said and pointed a twig at a seemingly random point in the room. The goddesses gasped.

"A bug!" shouted Skuld and she summoned her hammer, squashing the eight legged rabbit thing with a well-placed blow. She panted. "Where did that come from?" she said. "And why didn't my bug-chomper get rid of it?" She handed sets of bug-glasses to those around her and they began to check for more bugs.

"My god! I've found them!" Chrono said and they piled into the tea room, ignoring the protesting Peorth. Out of decency, Keiichi removed his shirt and tossed it to her, letting her make a run for the door. Jago snorted in humour at the rapidly retreating backside, earning him a slap on the back of his head and an extremely evil l look from Lind. Then all attention was turned to the bugs. There were millions of them! Every surface was covered with them and they seemed to be multiplying constantly. Urd turned to Skuld and Keiichi.

"You two! Get working on that bug-chomper or we'll be in serious shit! The rest of us will try and reduce their numbers!" Skuld and Keiichi nodded and disappeared, while Urd then turned to Jago. "Got a hammer?" she asked and Jago nodded, grinning. He muttered something and summoned a pair of heavy splitting-mauls, one in each hand.

"Will these do?" he asked and Urd nodded. The other goddesses were also in the process of summoning hammers of various sizes, with the exception of Lind who kept her halberd. A few seconds later, they were joined by Peorth, looking extremely annoyed and wearing some of Keiichi's cloths. She was taller than he was an also thinner so they fit poorly but she wasn't about to miss the opportunity to smash some bugs. She smacked Jago's head.

"Ow!" he said.

"That was for laughing!" she said and Lind grinned at him.

"Right then!" Urd said. "Let's get these bugs!"

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"I just don't get it" Skuld said. "There doesn't appear to be anything wrong with the machine so I don't understand why it stopped working". Keiichi shrugged.

"Maybe it just ran out of power?" he said. Skuld looked at him as if her had just punched her sainted mother.

"It's powered by a super-efficient fusion reactor!" she said. "It can't run out of power!" Keiichi rubbed his head and looked embarrassed. A loud crash from the tearoom announced the start of the bug-hunting operation. The two continued to tinker with the machine for a while and all the while, the sound of crashing and smashing echoed throughout the temple. Eventually, they heard a crunch and a loud scream.

"MY FOOT IS NOT A BUG!" they heard Jago roar and he came hopping down corridor, clutching one of his feet. He stopped just outside Skuld's workshop and poked his head around the door. "How goes it?" he asked from between gritted teeth. Skuld sighed.

"I can't see anything wrong with the machine, so I can't see why there are so many bugs". Keiichi poked his head out of the window for a second.

"Well, at least its stopped raining coconuts" he said, trying the sound cheerful. At this point the phone rang and Keiichi went to answer it. However, when he picked up the handset, all he could hear was babble. "Hello?" he said, "Hello? Is there someone their?" He could just make out a female voice but he couldn't tell who it was. It didn't help that only very third word was audible.

"Must…Bugs…Warn…Belldandy…Gate…Jötunns…Crash…"

"Huh?" Keiichi said and Jago hopped over to him.

"Who is it?" he asked. Keiichi shrugged at him.

"Can't tell. I think it might be someone in Heaven but I can't tell who". Jago cocked his head and reached for the phone.

"Let's have a go" he said and Keiichi passed it to him. "Hey-up, who's this?" he asked and listened to the reply. "Can't tell what you saying. Try phoning my mobile" he said and rattled of his number. "Got that?" he asked.

"-es" was the reply.

"Ok, I'll hang up and you try calling again". He did and a few seconds later, his pocket began to jingle. He pulled out the phone and answered it.

"Hey-up?" he said.

"At last!" came the woman's voice. "We've been trying to call you all morning! This is urgent! I need to speak to Belldandy at once!"

8888

The goddesses were sat around the tearoom, all looking exhausted from the long bug-hunting session.

"Do you think we got them all?" asked Saga.

"Hard to say" said Belldandy. "I'm sure that we got most of them at least". It was then that Jago entered the room, carrying his phone with him and with Keiichi close behind.

"Hey Bell, you gotta call" he said. He was still limping from where Eir had smashed his foot with a hammer but at least now his hair was no longer green.

"Who is it?" she asked. Jago shrugged.

"Not sure, someone called Anzus" he said, tapping a button to put it on speaker-phone. Belldandy's eyes went wide at this.

"Mother!" she said and then took the phone. "Hello?" she said.

"Ah! Belldandy! It's good to speak to you" Anzus said.

"It's good to speak to you too" Belldandy said. "But why did you call? Is it to do with the bugs?"

"Yes. We've had some major problems here. There has been a major cyber-attack on Yggdrasil and the whole system has basically locked. We can't access anything and the debuggers have been deactivated".

"How? What could cause this?"

"Unknown. All we know is that while most of the system is still running, although inaccessible, the goddess support systems and the energy transfers have been severely damaged, meaning all those on the surface are on limited magic supplies. What we do know is that a bug seems to have infiltrated the system and then morphed into a virus, thereby shutting us out and basically preventing us from fixing the problem". Belldandy nodded.

"I see. That must be why the bug-chomper shut down". She paused for a second. "Could it be the demons?" she asked.

"Not likely" said Mara who had just entered the room. She was no longer a plant and had clearly just been on the phone with Hild as her face seemed to be frozen in a looked of pure horror. "I was just contacted by Hell and apparently Nidhogg is suffering from the same problems as Yggdrasil. Whatever is going on, it seems to be affecting both systems". Peorth leapt to her feet.

"In that case, I had better be getting back to Heaven. They're going to need every administrator they can" she said. Chrono nodded.

"I had better be going too" she said.

"Not possible" said Anzus, over the phone. "This isn't the only issue at the moment".

"Why, what else has happened?" Belldandy asked.

"Well, at approximately the same time last night that the system went offline, there was an attack on the outlying sectors of Heaven. We aren't clear on the details but it appears that a group of Jötunns were somehow able to overpower Heimdall and they have taken Bifrost". Belldandy gasped.

"Bifrost is missing?" she asked.

"Who's Bifrost?" asked Keiichi.

"It's Gate. After visiting Earth, she decided to change her name to that she could be told apart from the other Gates".

"You say that Jötunns took her?" Belldandy asked. "Why? I thought we had a treaty?"

"Unknown at this time. The Almighty is currently in discussion with the king of Jötunnheim in order to discover why they attacked".

"Who are the Jötunns?" Keiichi whispered to Belldandy.

"Powerful frost giants from the world known as Jötunnheim. We used to fight against them in the past but in recent years, there have been treaties that limit their ability to move to other worlds. If they have truly kidnapped Bifrost then war is a likely outcome".

"However, this is not the most immediate problem" said Anzus. "With Bifrost missing, Heaven is effectively sealed against all entry and exit".

"You mean…..?" asked Peorth.

"Yes Peorth. You can't return home". Peorth sighed .

"Well it could be worse" she said.

"That's not all though" said Anzus.

"What do you mean?" asked Belldandy.

"Well due to the problems with the energy transfer, meaning that the amount of magical energy that you will be receiving will be greatly reduced. As such, the Almighty has had to create a series of new restrictions in order to prevent further damage to the system. For the time being, there will be a limit to the number of spells that you will be able to cast. We don't yet know how many you will be allowed to use but it probably won't be more than two or three each".

"Three spells!" shrieked Urd. "How am I supposed to create my potions with only three spells!?"

"That is something you will have to work out on your own" said Anzus. She paused. "There is also something else you should know" she said. "Because so little energy can be transferred, it is likely going to affect your angels".

"How so?" asked Lind.

"Well basically you won't be able to support them without causing yourselves serious harm, particularly you Lind. While normally we would be forced to return them to their egg state, we have managed to find a loophole in the system".

"And what would that be?" asked Jago.

"You Twoarchs" Anzus said. "As Archs are capable of creating their own energy sources from whatever their Master or Mistress consumes, they can effectively survive without any need for support from Yggdrasil. So the plan is that we can hook the others into you Archs and through them the other angels can survive by effectively download temporary Arch systems into themselves. It will mean that while they can still perform some magic, they won't have to rely on Yggdrasil for energy and can probably use food as an alternative". Jago furrowed his brow and cross his arms although Anzus probably couldn't see him do so.

"I don't know if I like the sound of that" he said. "I mean it's probably reasonable but I just know that there will be a catch somewhere".

"Your right of-course" said Anzus. "While it shouldn't affect the power of your Archs, it will require that they both remain exposed at all times, as will all of those who are linked to them". Jago grunted.

"Hmmm. That could be a problem" he said. He looked across at the various goddesses and frowned. "What do you guys think?" Belldandy was the first to answer.

"Well before we do anything, we should probably discuss things".

"What's to discuss?" asked Urd. "We just hook into Lamb and then we can keep are angels".

"True" said Belldandy, "But it could be dangerous if we have to walk around with our angels constantly exposed". Anzus cleared her throat.

"If you need time to talk, we still need to finalise some things here before we can make any official changes. Would an hour be long enough to discuss things?" Jago thought for a second and then sighed.

"Ok, one hour. Call us back when you're ready".

"Ok. Will do" said Anzus and the phone clicked off. Jago huffed and rubbed his forehead, feeling the start of what was to become a massive headache.

"Right" he said. "First things first. Keiichi, fetch Skuld. I'm going to need her opinions as well. The rest of us had better head over to my place so that we can at least fit around the table". He paused for a second. "Oh and someone stick the kettle on. I'm gonna need some go-go juice".

8888

"Right, I want to hear as many views on this as possible" Jago said, taking a sip of his deadly black coffee, laced with brandy. Belldandy was about to speak, when Jago held up his free hand. "However, I want it known first off that I don't like this plan". He held up two fingers. "One: I think it might be dangerous to have our angels constantly exposed. If what Anzus has said is right then you will all be on limited power, meaning that if attacked, each of us is twice as likely to end up injured. Secondly: how are we going to hide them?" he said. "It's bad enough trying to goddesses a secret, never mind angels. I mean, they tend to stick out a bit in a crowd. It'll be especially difficult for Bell, Mara and Lind because you gotta go to work". He paused and took another sip of coffee. "Right, you have now all heard my objections. Now I want you to convince me". Belldandy nodded.

"Ok Jago. I think I speak for all of us when I say that we understand your objections. However, we would also like you to consider our position. Angles are our souls, representations of our spiritual selves. While it is true that we could survive without them, psychologically it would be quite upsetting. Without an angel, we would become more withdrawn, less sociable, at least until they were returned". Jago nodded.

"I see" he said. "But what about what I said? Wouldn't it be dangerous to have the exposed at all times?"

"While it is true that it would be dangerous to have them exposed, it may be more so to have them sealed" said Lind. "If we were attacked again, I feel that it would be better to have them there and be able to use their power, coupled with a greater risk of injury, rather than to need the extra power and not being able to access it". Jago nodded again.

"That sounds fair. Now what about my other concern?" Belldandy's forehead wrinkled in concern.

"Now that is something to worry about" she said. "As you said, it will be difficult to hide the presence of our angels for any great length of time if they are constantly exposed". At this point Urd chipped in.

"Can't cast some sort of invisibility spell or something to conceal them?" she asked. Belldandy shook her head.

"That would require a very powerful spell, one that would be difficult to maintain even if we had access to our full powers".

"So that's not an option then" said Urd.

"Maybe it is" said Damascus who had just appeared behind Jago.

"What do you mean?" asked Belldandy.

"Well invisibility may be out of the question but what about camouflage? A spell that would trick those who see them into thinking that they are human?"

"You know a spell that could do that?" asked Belldandy and Damascus snorted.

"Who do you think I am?" she sneered, crossing her arms. "You are talking not only to spellmaster but also to a Nightmare. A perception filter spell would do the trick; we used them all the time when I used to deliver dreams. It takes very little energy and can be turned off at will if needed".

"I would hate to agree with her but Damascus is right" said Lamb. "Something like that would defiantly work. The only problem is that it would need to be renewed daily or the effects will wear off".

"Well, I should be able to cover that" said Damascus. "I'm not as strong as I was but I still cast a perception filter".

"Ok then" said Jago. "If you think it will work then I suppose that I can' object".

"There is one thing" said Keiichi. "What are we going to do for food? I mean, Chihiro is generous with her pay and Lind and Mara's pay checks help but it won't be enough to cover all of our expenses". Jago nodded.

"Well, I'm making some money but I have to send most of it home" he said. Keiichi gave him an odd look and Jago sighed. "I borrowed a lot from my family while at uni and I said that I would pay it back when I got a proper job. So I am". He sipped his coffee. "The way I see it is this: I might be able to hire one or two more people for my forge. They won't be paid directly but any money they make while working for me can go into the communal pot. It's not going to be much though, certainly not enough to cover the expenses for…" he paused and counted his fingers, "twenty three people. I think. I'm not great at maths". He paused and thought for a second. "Ok, forget I mentioned it" he said, trying to reassure them. "We'll sort it out later. Right now, we need to get these spells sorted". At that moment the phone rang. Jago pulled it out and tossed it to Belldandy, who caught it expertly. "It'll be your mother so you can answer it!" he said with a grin. Belldandy nodded and clicked the phone open.

"Hello? Yes. Yes, he agreed to use the Arch-potency spell. Yes. Ok. Yes Mother. Goodbye" and she clicked the phone off. "She says that we should make our way outside. They've managed to set up the magical ring and it will be there when we get there. All we have to do is chant the spell and then the angels will be able to stay". Jago nodded and then downed what was left of his coffee.

"Right, let's get this over with".

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The circle was huge, nearly fifty feet across with smaller circles located within it. The pulsing energy from within caused Keiichi's and Jago's eyes to hurt.

"So how's this work?" asked Jago.

"Well, you have to stand in the centre of the ring and we take up positions around you. We all then have to chant the correct tune to make the spell work" Belldandy said.

"Do I have to chant too?" asked Jago.

"Yes" said Urd. "You have the most important job, as it is your angels that are being used for the copy". Jago blinked and looked doubtful.

"Don't worry Master" said Lamb, as they stepped into the ring. "We have to sing too and the tune will be projected directly into your mind so you won't need to worry about not knowing the actual spell".

"Ok" said Jago. "Let's do this". He stepped into the centre of the circle, folding his arms and closing his eyes. He rolled his shoulders to loosen up and cracked his neck. Behind him Damascus appeared, ready to begin her part. Around them, the goddesses each flashed in turn, summoning their official robes. Angels were summoned. Places were taken. And then they began to sing. In perfect a perfect unison of alto and soprano voices and through it all came Jago's steady tenor beat. Magic began to fill the circle and a purple and blue light began to shine, seaming to eclipse all other light. Angel voices trilled, filling the air with the sound of bells and running water and would have lightened the hearts of any who would have heard it. Even the least musical of them all; Lind and Mara came out beautifully as they sang. In perfect harmony they reached the climax of the spell, the light changing to gold and long chains of runes beginning to float through the air, reaching out to touch each of the assembled angels and devils. And then, the spell began to slow and die. One by one, they slowed to a stop. Jago was the last to finish, still going on for a few seconds longer than the rest, until he gradually came to a stop. He stood quietly for a few seconds and then he let out a shriek.

"AH!" he shouted. "MY BRAIN IS ITCHY!" he said, clawing at his scalp. Then he stopped. "Ok, I'm good". He looked around the circle. "You girls good?"

"Why does my stomach hurt?" asked Lind, holding her across belly. Most of the other goddesses were in similar positions, holding their stomachs and most of the younger ones were on the brink of collapse. Only Mara seemed unaffected.

"At a guess, that would be hunger" she said. "None of you have ever really needed to eat before so now that you have to rely on calories as an energy source, your bodies are trying to convert what they can into energy".

"So we need food" said Urd, "and quickly".

"Maybe I should start cooking" said Belldandy but almost collapsed before she could take a step. Luckily, Keiichi was able to catch her before she and Holybell fell.

"I don't think you should be doing anything just yet" he told her and she nodded.

"Perhaps you are right. But who's going to cook?"

"I can cover that" said Jago. "Got some emergency stuff stored away. Won't be great but it should help". He nodded at Keiichi.

"Come on K, let's get going".

8888

"So what do you call these again?" asked Chrono as she tore the flap off of the insulated silver packet. The smell of the pre-cooked contents caused her to wrinkle but she was too hungry to care.

"Not sure what they are officially" said Jago, handing a second pack to Heart of Sterling Silver who took it gratefully. "I know them as ration packs because that's what they are; army rations to be eaten on the move. Whatever they are, they smell kinda like garlic-farts but taste ok so long as you're not too fussy". He shrugged. "Then again, soldiers aren't too fussy".

"Can we have another couple of curries over here?" asked Saga. Jago grinned and reached around behind him to the huge bivvie (1*) he had equipped to his truck and pulled out a couple of steaming curry packs, tossing them to Eir, Saga and their angels; Silver Beech and Copper Beech.

"Well as a first meal as a near-mortal, it isn't too bad" said World of Elegance, tucking into a sticky toffee pudding.

"Glad to hear it" said Jago. "I just wish that I had some more fresh food and then we could make a proper feed of it". He paused and tore the seal off of pack of beef stew and handed it to Lamb, who took it gratefully. I suppose after this, we had better head to town and do some shopping". He then picked up a tin of Spam and cracked the lid and began cutting the processed meat into slices with his pocket knife and then levering them out so he could eat them. For a while, he just ate quietly, letting the others talk amongst themselves and occasionally tossing a ration pack or a tin to whoever asked for one. After a while he paused and he turned to Belldandy who was happily chatting to Peorth. "How many sets of cloths have you got?" he asked.

"Excuse me?" she asked, looking confused.

"I was just wondering". Belldandy blushed.

"I don't actually have any. None of us do, except for that jacket you gave to Lind".

"Then how do come you always seem to be wearing different outfits".

"Well usually" she said, "We summon them. Is that a problem?" Jago thought for a second.

"It could be. If you're on a limited set of spells, wouldn't it be a waste if you had to use your limited magic to summon new cloths each day?" Belldandy nodded.

"I suppose so" she said. "But what else can we do?" Jago thought about this for a while and looked across at Keiichi, who caught his eye and nodded. They both knew what needed to be done. It would be expensive but they had little other choice. They both sighed and Jago turned back to Belldandy.

"Ok. Got a plan. When we go shopping, Keiichi and I will get the food and I will lend you girls some money so you can get yourselves some cloths". Skuld was in front of him in seconds, inches from his face.

"You would really do that for us?" she said, stars in her eyes. He nodded.

"Ain't got much choice have I?" he said.

"Oooooh" said Skuld, almost dribbling as thought of all the things she could have. Unfortunately, Damascus could pretty much read her mind and shot her down in flames.

"Don't go thinking silks and satins. My Master isn't made of money".

"But are you sure?" asked Belldandy. "I mean, it would be your money we will be spending". Jago nodded.

"Don't worry about it. I have some rainy day cash set aside. Besides, I still owe you for letting me stay here". He paused for a second and looked around. "While we're at it, we might as well get some cloths for our angels as well. I mean, even in human disguise, we can't exactly have them walking around half naked, through the streets of Nekomi!" He smiled and they laughed, everyone clearly pleased with the suggestion. It was then Jago's brain stuttered to a halt. Problem.

"Just one thing" he said, "Names".

"Names?" asked Lind.

"Aye, names. Most particularly angel and devil names".

"What do you mean?" Keiichi sighed.

"I think I see what he's getting at" he said. "Most of them have names that aren't exactly common here on Earth".

"How do you mean?" asked Noble Scarlet, licking her spoon clean of ice-cream.

"Well, take you name for example" said Jago. "I have never met a human called "Noble Scarlet" before. As for say, "World of Elegance" well… oof" he said, scratching his head. " No offence meant" he said.

"None taken" World of Elegance replied.

"So you suggest that we find new names for our angels?" said Peorth, looking a little angry at the suggestion. Jago shook his head.

"No. I wouldn't ask that. But possibly shortened names, just so they don't stand out quite as much in public. I mean you would be easy. As I already say, Gorgeous Rose is Rosy. Would it be too much of a stretch if she went by that name in public?" Gorgeous Rose shook her head.

"No, I think I can live with that" she said, smiling. Holybell nodded in agreement to this.

"It would make sense if we took names like that" she said. "What about me? What do you think I should take?" Jago thought for a while, scratching his chin, muttering to himself.

"Holybell. Hhoolleeyybell. Holybbeellll" he said, rolling the name around in his mouth like a sweet. "Hhholybell. Hhholly. Holy. Ho-ha-ho. Holly". His eyes lit up. "Holly. That might work". He turned to her. "Holly?" he asked. She smiled and nodded.

"Holly. I like it". Jago smiled at this and then turned to the others.

"Well, you get the idea" he said. "I can't come up with names for everyone, I'm not that good! But if you need my help, just ask. My only suggestion is that you try and choose a name that is fairly similar to your own so that it's easy to remember". They nodded and began to chatter excitedly. To be able to choose one's own name was something that few angels ever got to do and so they would make the most of this opportunity while they could.

1* The bivvie or boiling vessel is a large kettle that is uniquely fitted to British armoured vehicles so that soldiers can prepare food even in combat conditions. I know the Unimog is German but I couldn't resist.

Authors note: to those have read this far, thanks! I have been told that from here it gets a little confusing but all should hopefully make sense in chapters 14/15. If I ever get them finnished!