I do not own Ah! Megami sama/Oh! My Goddess series or its characters.


"Well, what do you think, Keiichi? Not bad for something I just whipped up in a couple of hours, right?"

The Norn's face was filled with pride as she presented the heavily modified 6x6 Unimog to the stunned mortal who could barely believe his eyes. In just a fraction of the time it would've taken even the most experienced specialists, Skuld had converted the truck into an expedition RV, fully equipped with some of the most essential amenities for Keiichi to survive more than a week, at almost any kind of environments. Furthermore, she had attached an enclosed trailer behind it, so that they could tow his trusty Beemer in order to avoid anyone from recognizing it and report them to the police.

"How? Just… how?" was all Keiichi could come up with, staring at the black Unimog in wonder. "Where did you even get that truck from? And how did you manage to make all the modifications in such a short period of time?"

"Well, I am a goddess, you know!" replied Skuld as she tossed her hair over her shoulder. "I did happen to have something like that back home, when I wanted to make a mobile home for me and my sisters, so that we could spend a few days in the grand forests of Alfheim. You know… even goddesses need a vacation once in awhile, so, I made this bad boy as a fun project a couple of years ago. You see, we couldn't quite agree whether to go to Midgard or Alfheim, so, I decided to bring a part of Midgard with us -namely the truck and all the amenities on it- and use that as our base of operations."

"Oh! Well, that explains a few things. I mean, there was no way you-" started Keiichi, only for Skuld to immediately interrupt him when she felt that he was no longer as impressed as he should be.

"Not so fast, buddy! Although I've made this thing a while ago, I still had to make tons of modifications for your sake. For beginners, we goddesses don't need a lube, and that by itself was a pain to install. Plus, you need food to survive, so I had to make sure that I've freed up enough space for extra supplies. And I did all that in just under four hours!" said Skuld, holding up the equivalent number of fingers, just for added effect. "What do you think about that, mister?"

"Actually… it's pretty impressive!" said Keiichi, who realized his folly and decided to try a dramatically different approach, before he ended up annoying the brunette goddess.

"You bet it is!" Crossing her arms in a prideful display, Skuld threw a thumb over her shoulder and gestured for him to climb aboard the RV. "But why don't you take a closer look? After all, you're gonna live in there for a while, so, feel free to check it out and tell me what you think!"

"Very well. Let's give it a look then."

XXX

"Okay girls! Let's try once more, and this time, put more feeling to it!"

Staring at their dancing instructor who clapped in rhythm as he demonstrated the new routine they were going to use in their latest video clip, the two demonesses briefly wondered how a guy -and not to mention a mortal- could move even better than they did.

Pausing for a moment to take a look at the two of them, the instructor furrowed his brows, and then shook his head. "No, no no! That's not it! Miss Peorth! I said put more feeling to it!"

"That's what I'm doing!" objected Peorth, throwing her hands in the air in frustration. "Are you blind or something?"

"No, that's definitely not it, Miss Peorth!" insisted the instructor, with an equally dramatic display, that left Belldandy staring blankly between them. "This is sexuality incarnate! We can't show that on national TV!"

"What are you even droning about? First I'm too stiff, and now I'm too sexy? Make up your freaking mind, will you?" snapped Peorth, who was getting dangerously close at throwing a spell at the infuriating mortal.

"You don't understand! What you need to display is the pure love of a young maiden who calls for her beloved," said the instructor in an almost dreamlike tone, and in the process missing Peorth's positively dirty look.

"Me? A young, lovestruck maiden? Give me a break!" sneered Peorth, causing Belldandy to back off as her roommate's sheer anger caught her off guard.

Ever since she returned back from visiting Keiichi and Skuld, the Norn of the present couldn't help but notice a rather dramatic change in Peorth's mood. At first she wondered if it had something to do with the argument they had earlier when Peorth told her about Skuld's presence on Earth. According to her, the young Norn was a bit too friendly towards Keiichi; a claim that Belldandy refused to accept as factual truth and more or less debunked it after her conversation with them.

Still, Belldandy couldn't understand why Peorth took it so hard, especially since she didn't seem to be angry at her at the time, only to give her the silent treatment after her meeting with Skuld and Keiichi. The only other explanation was that something took place during that time, but Peorth adamantly refused that this was the case and that she was just fine. Which she clearly wasn't, but Belldandy feared that pressing her any harder would only make matters worse.

"That's it! Let's have a fifteen minute break and then we can resume," announced the dance instructor, catching Belldandy's attention.

"Yeah, whatever…" muttered Peorth, before she turned around and headed to take a seat on one of the few chairs in the hotel's gym.

For a few moments silence filled the room, with the only sound coming from Belldandy's occasional attempt to start up a conversation, only to end up stopping before actually saying anything.

"Okay, out with it, Bell! What is it?" snapped Peorth, causing her roommate to jump at her uncharacteristically harsh tone.

"T-That should be my line, Peorth! What's wrong?" asked the Norn of the present, trying not to sound too confrontational. "I've never seen you act like that before. Please tell me what's eating you."

Looking at the Norn, Peorth cracked open an energy drink can and took a sip from it, mostly to buy herself some time in order to come up with a reply. In all seriousness, she had no desire to burden her with this sort of problem, but considering that it also concerned her, Peorth reluctantly decided to tell her. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you, Belldandy. It's just that… I'm rather angry with someone else and it's really starting to affect my mood. You see… yesterday one of the new guards discovered that you've slipped out of the hotel and came to me and offered an ultimatum. To spare you the details, he's willing to keep quiet about it, under the condition that I sleep with him."

"What?!"

"Well, you heard me alright," spat Peorth as she took another swing from her energy drink. "And before you even ask… no, I'm not planning to let this guy have his way with me. After all, even if I did, there's no telling whether he'd stop there or keep asking for more… favors."

"I can't blame you. Doing what he wants will only make him grow bolder with his demands," said Belldandy with a heavy sigh. Under normal circumstances, demons always keep their word, but at the same time, not everyone cares too much about things like honor or even their own reputation. Such is an important thing for those with a lot of potential, as it allows them to secure important jobs, but for those at the bottom of the demonic hierarchy, the gains from breaking a deal are typically greater than the shortcomings. Of course, even those kind of characters wouldn't dare breach the terms of an official contract, but in this case, it's impossible to make something like that; not without admitting that they've been sneaking past the guards. "Still, what are we going to do, now?"

"We?" asked Peorth with a raised eyebrow. "Belldandy, there's not need to get involved in-"

"Oh, give me a break! You think I'm just going to act as if this isn't my problem?" said Belldandy in a deadly serious, if not somewhat insulted tone. "Wouldn't you try to help me if I had to deal with such a guy?"

"Of course I would," said Peorth with some hesitation. "But… don't you have Keiichi to worry about already? You can't just handle everything on your own, Belldandy."

"Neither can you," insisted the Norn, her determination evident in her eyes. "Besides, Skuld can take care of Keiichi for the time being, so, let's deal with that… bloke. And I've got an idea on how to do it. First things first though! Do you happen to have any handcuffs? Preferably the same type one would use for bondage; like leather, or… Uh… why are you staring me like that?"

Peorth however said nothing, as she was far too stunned for words, and instead, leaned slightly away from the Norn of the present. 'It's the quiet ones! Always… those darned quiet ones!' Realizing that she's gone quiet for too long, Peorth cleared her throat and tried to regain her composure. "I might be able to get you what you need. Although… why is that necessary to begin with?"

"Well, here's the plan!..."

XXX

Low Levels, Niflheim

"For the last time, you're not allowed to leave this sector without the Daimakaicho's explicit authorization!"

"Oh, really?" Crossing her arms, Urd gave the obstinate guard a cold stare that would've caused most to run away from her in terror. "I thought it was your job to monitor me, regardless of where I was. So, why not tag along and make sure I won't bring the end of the world or something."

Doing his best to ignore the sarcasm in the Norn's voice, the towering demon glimpsed at his subordinates who were scattered across the street, and as much as he hated to admit it, they were at a disadvantage. According to the rumors, Hild's daughter had spent most of her free time practicing on how to use her demonic powers, and on top of that, the former Valkyrie she had with her was a force to be reckoned with just on her own. Together, those two were a substantially greater threat, one that he honestly didn't think that he could handle on his own. And while it was unlikely that the headquarters wouldn't send reinforcements the moment anything happened, he wasn't willing to take a beating just to buy time for the others to arrive. "Where do you want to go, anyway?"

"The Skyline. I want to try some of the shops there," said Urd as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"You wanna go shopping?" barked the infuriated demon, leaning down to stare at the Norn with his eyes momentarily lighting up in a crimson glow. "You think you can mess around with me?"

"Yes… on both accords," said Urd with such force as she momentarily slipped to the demons' old tongue, causing the guard to back off, despite the latter's attempts to act tough. Her power made not only her eyes, but her entire being to burn in a malevolent crimson flame, leaving wisps of dark smoke rise from both her and the entire area around her. Then suddenly the air became heavy with the acrid scent of ashes, choking everyone within range; all except Lind and even a few of her own staff who came out of the casino to see what was happening. It was obvious that only her guards were affected by the Norn's aura, leaving them clawing at their throats in agony. Even those far from her were in extreme pain, but more than anyone else, the big shot who previously attempted to intimidate her was now on his knees, tears freely escaping from his eyes. "I take it that you had enough? Or should I actually get unpleasant?"

Shaking his head, the demon silently begged for her to stop, pointing at his burning throat. Only for his pleas to fall on deaf ears as Urd stared at him with an almost apathetic look, until Lind placed a hand on her shoulder. "I think that should be enough, Urd."

The Norn however didn't immediately respond, and when she eventually did, it was apparent that something was wrong. She seemed way more bloodthirsty than initially anticipated, and for a moment, Lind worried that their plan was about to backfire on them. The whole idea was to cause a scene to attract Hagall's attention, but not in a manner that seems as if she's being broken; rather the exact opposite. If the Daimakaicho's goal was indeed to turn Urd into Hild's worthy successor, then such an aggressive display would make her realize that she was closer to her goal, and hopefully take Urd closer to her. Once in the Skyline, they'd have a much greater chance to do something about their situation than from all the way down here, but… Urd's behavior was making Lind quite nervous. "Urd? Are you even listening to me?"

"Yes." Snapping her fingers, she released the guard from her influence and took a few steps back to regain her composure. The sheer ecstasy of her demonic power caused her to momentarily lose herself into the sensation, and even felt tempted to keep going, but thankfully Lind stepped in and stopped her before she went too far. Still, that was disconcerting, as her initial confidence about her control over her demonic powers seemed to be misplaced. 'I should've known that it wasn't going to be so easy to master what I never practiced for my entire life. This was a close call but…'

Watching the guard hurry off to put some distance between himself and the half demoness, Lind turned her attention back at Urd and relaxed her grip on her shoulder. "Let's go inside. You've done your job, so all we have to do now is to wait and see how Hagall is going to respond."

Wordlessly, Urd accepted the former Valkyrie's offer, letting her guide her inside the casino, yet she was far from happy with the outcome of this plan. So far the whole point of her training was to familiarize herself with her demonic powers, and while successful to a great degree, her control of them remained relatively shaky. 'I'm missing something. Mother could use way more power and never lost her control. So… what's wrong with me? Why can't I do it, too?'

XXX

Earth

It was quite funny in a way, but despite the relatively crammed space, the RV proved to be more comfortable than Megumi's apartment, and not to mention the tiny dorm room he used to live in back in his college days. Actually, once he loaded the Beemer onto the trailer, he and Skuld set off to the outskirts of Nekomi, trying to put some distance between themselves and the police who were likely looking for them. Ideally, they would've left the city altogether, but the main issue with that course of action was Belldandy's inability to teleport; or rather, doing so would immediately alert the demons of her whereabouts.

"You know, that's not good enough," said Skuld after several minutes of silence, drawing Keiichi's attention, who at the time being was driving the truck for them. "As much as I hate to admit it, such an RV is a bit too uncommon in these parts. If we stick around for too long, they might start to suspect us."

"Yes, but… if we leave Nekomi, then how is Belldandy going to come into contact with us?" asked Keiichi, keeping his eyes on the road, instead of looking at the goddess on the passenger seat next to him. "After all, you told me that she can't teleport without letting them find out that she's gone."

"That I did. However, I do happen to be a goddess and all I need is water to teleport to and from a location. With Nekomi being surrounded by the sea on one side and a river running through the city, I think it's more than easy for me to get us in and out of there before anyone sees us. So, how about we move further away from the city?"

Keiichi remained silent for a moment, considering their options and no matter how much he wanted to stay closer to Nekomi, it soon became apparent to him that it was far too risky. "Very well… I think it's better if we move elsewhere. And I do actually know a place remote enough to let us hide in there for a while without anyone looking for us there."

"Does it have an easily accessible source of water?" asked Skuld as soon as she heard Keiichi's reply.

"How does a lake sound to you?" offered Keiichi with a slight grin.

"It sounds like a plan." Happy that they sorted this problem out, Skuld knew that there was one more topic to deal with, although that wasn't going to be as easy as this one. "Um… speaking of going to Nekomi…"

"Yes?"

"Look, I was wondering if we should… visit your sister," said Skuld with some hesitation. She was treading dangerous waters after all, as reminding Keiichi of the sister he had to leave behind could potentially make him wish to go back. And as much as she didn't want to exploit him just for her sister's sake, at the time being, he was a wanted man; so, going back was a one way ticket to prison.

"You think that we can slip into her apartment without getting noticed?" asked the dark haired mortal after a long pause. It was too tempting to simply say yes, as he really wanted to explain things to Megumi, rather than leaving her to worry about him, let alone believe the story the police must've told her by now. Yet going there was a risky proposition, given that the authorities must be monitoring her apartment, just in case he shows over there.

"Like I said… I can teleport us," suggested Skuld, even though she avoided to mention the downsides of such a plan.

Keiichi however, didn't miss a beat as he immediately caught on and frowned at the idea. "Sure, but… there's no way of doing that without explaining your nature to her."

"Quite frankly, Keiichi… keeping my nature a secret won't help you explain things to her at all. I mean… what are you even going to say? And besides, I need to apologize, too."

"Okay, you've got a point there," admitted Keiichi with a sigh. As much as he didn't wish to drag Megumi to this madness, it was better to actually tell her the basics; just so that she knew what was going on here. "In the meanwhile, I'll take us to an old lakeside inn. A friend of my late grandfather owns it, so we should be able to camp near it."

Scratching her chin, Skuld thought about Keiichi's proposition for a while and pursed her lips nervously. "That depends. Can we trust him?"

"Yes, I think so. Besides, it's not like we can literally live in middle of nowhere, so it we have to pick our neighbors, then it's probably better to be someone we know."

"Well… if you put it this way, then I suppose I don't have any objections. So, take us there, Keiichi."

XXX

Niflheim

"You have no idea how lucky you are, dear Urd. If word of this… incident reaches Hagall-sama's ears, then she might reconsider being so kind to you." Circling her like a hungry vulture, Sokkmimir couldn't believe his luck. Considering all the stress he's been going through as of late, the news of Urd's incident almost sounded like music to his ears. For once, he felt confident that he had her cornered and all he needed was to keep up the pressure until she caves in and submits to his demands. And from that point on, his rise to power would be all but reassured.

On the other hand though, Urd was far less enthusiastic for being 'rescued' by this particular guy, especially when her initial idea was to attract Hagall's attention. 'Sheesh… that guy sure loves the sound of his voice. Just let me go already!'

Coming to a stop behind her, Sokkmimir studied the half demoness' body language and as much as he hated to admit it, Urd seemed utterly bored. Most other demonesses in her place would've been horrified to find themselves in this predicament, yet Hild's daughter was either fearless, or didn't expect much from him. And while he had no issues if it turned out to be the former case, Sokkmimir wanted to make sure that she took him seriously enough. "Still, as much as I like you, I'm afraid that I cannot simply save your skin without gaining something back from this… deal."

"I don't have anything to offer," muttered Urd offhandedly, until she felt a pair of hands on her sides, creeping their way towards her ample bosom. "Hey, what do you think you're doing?!"

"Getting my reward, dear Urd," whispered the demon in her ear as he leaned against her back, pulling her closer and then all of a sudden he unceremoniously pulled her purple dress open, his greedy hands reaching for those bountiful mounds of flesh he so much desired. "We've been going around the subject for more than two years… and as patient as I normally am, I'm starting to get irritated by your defiance."

Grinding her teeth in rage, Urd took a breath to regain her composure and instead of slamming her elbow on his gut, the Norn reached back and cupped the most sensitive part of the demon's anatomy. "Good… then I'm not the only one who's getting restless."

"Mmm… so, you do want it then?" purred Sokkmimir, pleased to see that in the end it proved to be way easier than he expected. "Come on, then. Let's not waste more time with pointless words… I've been waiting for this for so long already!"

"Yes… I can feel it," purred Urd in such a suggestive manner that it was almost indecent. "Show me what you've got."

Removing one hand from her chest, Sokkmimir eagerly complied to her request and fiddled with his pants, until he could feel her hand brushing against his exposed skin. "Well? Don't keep me waiting!... Tell me what you think."

'You're one sad disappointment… that's what I think.' Happy that he couldn't see her disgusted grimace, Urd did her best to put a smile on her face and looked over her shoulder at the overexcited demon. "Say… would you like the most electrifying experience of your life?"

Letting out a happy moan, Sokkmimir leaned closer to her face, his lips almost approaching hers, and grinned. "Mmm… when you say it like this… there's no way to refuse, my dearest Urd. Still, why don't you tell me what you've got in mind? I'd love to hear you say it."

"Something really good… But it's going to be a surprise." Taking her hand off him, the Norn suggestively licked a finger, and then reached back, running it along his most sensitive part. "Are you still interested? Should I do it?"

"By all means!" almost shouted the Daimakaicho's deputy, his mind too overwhelmed with lust to realize that there was something off with Urd's expression that slowly changed from a smile to a grin.

A truly chilling grin with her canines becoming more and more pronounced by the second, and even her eyes turned into tiny cat like slits. Only then did the demon realize that he was playing with fire, but by then it was far too late to react.

"Hellfire Thunder Blast!"

Despite the ear shattering explosion, Urd could clearly hear Sokkmimir's pained scream, as his broken body slammed against the window, sending cobweb like cracks along the glass surface. She didn't even care about the sirens that blared as soon as she unleashed her power, or the fact that Niflheim's forces were on route to apprehend her.

All she cared for was to see this place burnt down to the ground, which she did starting by letting her flames consume this idiot's flesh, all while she gleefully watched this grim sight, cackling like a madwoman.

XXX

Earth

"Special room service!"

Knocking the door of their target's room, Peorth briefly glanced over at Belldandy who stood beside her, before taking a deep breath and forced herself to smile.

"Not now!" came the muffled voice from inside the room. "I'm waiting for guests!"

"We're the guests!" barked Peorth, as she was about to kick the door, only for Belldandy to stop her.

"Think of the poor door before you do anything drastic. Actually, let me handle this," said the Norn of the present, and then knocked the door once again. "Kind sir… your booty call is here!"

There was pause as not only Peorth gave the otherwise reserved brunette a stare, but it was pretty obvious that whoever was inside didn't seem to believe his ears. Actually, it took him a good couple of seconds to reach the door, and opening it slowly, the guard poked his head outside in an almost fearful manner. "Uh… I thought that I've only asked for Peorth to come."

"That's quite correct," replied Belldandy, tapping her roommate's hand to let her know that she wished to do the talking. She was quite surprised to find out that this particular guard wasn't one of the demons originally assigned to keep an eye at them, but an earth spirit subcontractor, who willingly worked for the demons, and probably came here as part of the request for reinforcements after Skuld's arrival. Which also explained quite a bit about the nature of his demands, as such opportunists didn't even have a demon's common decency, and all they cared about was their personal gain. Still, despite Peorth's negligence to mention that fact, Belldandy wished to stick to their original plan, as improvising could be quite risky at this point. "However, I'd love to give her a hand, and considering the nature of the request… the more, the merrier. So, can we come inside?"

"Nope, not happening!" said the earth spirit, flat out refusing what most others would've accepted without much of a second thought. "She's more than welcome, but you're not!"

"Excuse me?" Blinking hard, Belldandy was having a hard time to accept that out of all possible responses, she got rejected like that. Not that she actually had any intentions to partake in a debauchery, but for their plan to work, both former goddesses needed to be present. After all, once they manage to trick this guy into letting them tie him, they had to work fast and seal him, before he realized that they weren't actually into bondage… but the whole thing was merely a ploy. And while it was now proven to be easier than anticipated, given that he wasn't actually a demon, it was still no less of a challenge to pull such a stunt right under the rest of the guards' noses, and then destroy any evidence this guy must've in order to blackmail them. Only for this bloke to mess things up by being unnecessarily picky about which of them he wanted to take advantage of, which in turn compromised their plan and did little to improve Belldandy's mood as well. "Would you mind explaining why I'm not welcome?"

"Have you already forgotten that you're the Daitenkaicho's daughter?" shot the guy back to her, albeit with some hesitation, as if he was trying to come up with an excuse. "Say what you will about me, but I'm not an idiot! Whoever touches you will end up killed or worse! Either way, I don't wanna find out, so get out of here!"

Putting her leg forward to stop him from slamming the door shut, Belldandy's expression darkened, causing the earth spirit to take a few steps back in fear. "I'm getting nowhere! I came here to help Peorth, because of your ridiculous demands… and by all means, I'm gonna help her! Whether you like it or not, that's none of my problem!"

"Hey, don't use that tone on me! You're the prisoner here, so you don't get to make demands! It's the other way around!" said the guard in a desperate attempt to regain control of the situation, but it seemed much easier in theory than it was in practice. Worse yet, it was pretty evident just by hearing his voice that he was starting to become fearful of the Norn, and that was more than enough reason for Belldandy to try what she considered as plan C.

Which actually consisted of straight punch to the face, followed by a jab to the jaw, and then a kick to the gut. The three hit combo was delivered in such speed and precision that there was hardly enough time for either the guard or even Peorth to register was taking place, let alone react to it.

"W-What did just happen?!" stammered Peorth, watching aghast as the guard hit the floor like a sack. This was far from the original plan, and no matter how much she didn't mind finding a way to make their lives easier, Peorth had to admit that she was genuinely worried. There were too many things that could possibly go wrong from this point on, as such a brute force method was particularly risky, but considering that Belldandy managed to neutralize him so easily, the chances for the others to find out were somewhat minimal.

"I think I resolved our problem in a more… timely fashion," said Belldandy, clearing her throat and then grabbed the unconscious body of the guard and dragged him inside the room, before anyone saw what happened. "Besides, I didn't get a Valkyrie's license for nothing!"

Following her inside, Peorth shut the door behind her, and for the next couple of minutes watched Belldandy prepare the sealing circle that would act as a catalyst to get this guy locked inside a CD. She had to admit that despite her occasionally aggressive personality, Peorth had to give Belldandy some credit for pulling such a stunt without much of a second thought. Even more, this probably had little to do with their current nature, but something the Norn would've done either way, regardless of whether she was a demoness or not. Of course, this was highly unlikely for Belldandy to immediately resort to such measures as her first option, but the mere fact that she possessed such a strong character earned her some respect in Peorth's eyes.

Realizing that she's been standing there doing absolutely nothing, the dark haired demoness shook her head and moved closer to Belldandy, trying to make herself useful. "Okay, what's the plan now? Should we go with our original idea, or try something different."

"Hm… considering that he's out cold, I can handle him on my own. Unfortunately, I need to readjust my original formula to contain an Earth Spirit rather than a demon, but it should only take me a minute or two," said Belldandy as she feverishly worked drawing the runes on the floor, before she looked over at Peorth. "So, why don't you start searching the room for the alleged evidence of our activities?"

"Okay, I got it!" Yet as soon as she was about to do as being told, Peorth registered a blur in her peripheral vision, causing her to spin around and find that the guard was miraculously back on his feet. Worse of all, he was about to smack Belldandy's head, given that she was far too absorbed with her runes to immediately take notice of the incoming threat. "Watch out, Belldandy!"

"Huh?" By the time the Norn looked up to see what was going on, the guard's palm made contact with the top of her head. "OW!"

XXX

Niflheim

Locked in a military facility at the outer fringes of the infernal capital, Urd laid in bondage inside the most secure cell they had available for her. She had so many heavy duty chains attached to her person that even something as simple as walking felt an awkward experience. And not to mention the sheer number of limiters placed upon her, just to prevent the Norn from running amok once again. Which kind of pleased her, knowing that they were so afraid of her power to justify such extreme measures.

Still, Urd had no delusions as to her chances to get out of here anytime soon. And with nothing better to do, the half demoness tried to count the tiles on the ceiling for the tenth time already. She had no idea when she would be granted permission to talk to the Daimakaicho, who most certainly had a few things to discuss with her, after she effectively neutered her direct subordinate.

Unfortunately though, Hagall was taking her sweet time summoning her for the mandatory questioning, which left Urd in a state of restlessness. Patience after all, had never been one of Urd's strongest points, and the more she waited, the less convinced she became that this entire thing was a great idea.

Then all of a sudden, the silence inside the room was interrupted by the heavy duty door's locking mechanisms as they activated one after the other, followed by the low, metallic groan of the door itself as it swung open.

'Finally! It's about time someone decided to pay me a visit! Now, let's see what's gonna happen.'

As expected, the Daimakaicho along with her personal guard and a couple of high ranking officials arrived at the cell's doorstep, but with a slight gesture of her hand, Hagall commanded her retinue to hold their position and ventured inside on her own. To say that she didn't seem pleased would've been the understatement of the century, but to her credit, the blonde demoness remained poised and collected as she approached the bound Norn. Stopping right in front of her, Hagall's piercing eyes studied the almost uncharacteristically stoic half demoness, who simply stared back at her, waiting for her visitor's reaction. "That was utterly foolish. I don't know what possessed you into thinking that you can get away with such an attitude, but you're dead wrong if you believe that all you're going to get is a slap on the wrist."

"My attitude? Well, excuse me for not wanting to let your brilliantly gifted deputy to take me for a spin" sneered Urd with such force that caused Hagall's eyes to widen. "Why don't we get honest with each other for once and talk about my role in this place? Because during those two and a half years I was under the impression that you wanted me to become your rightful heir to your position, or something. Yet, you've done nothing other than let a damned idiot of a bureaucrat harass me, and let's not even mention my sister who also has to deal with an even worse pervert!"

"You want me to be honest with you?" snapped Hagall back at the Norn, clenching her fists as she struggled to keep herself from losing her control. "For the last couple of years I've repeatedly attempted to make you see that your rightful place is here, as your mother's successor to the position of the Daimakaicho, yet all you cared about was to run back to a life of insignificance! I tried to give you a purpose, and you denied it on every given opportunity!"

"Screw your purpose, and screw you too!" snarled Urd at the Daimakaicho, not even caring to remain relatively polite as she used to in the past. "Do you think that I'd simply switch sides that easily? That I'd ignore the fact that you've turned Belldandy and the others into demonesses against their will? Did you honestly believe that I've forgotten that you sealed my own mother? The very person who took you in, while everyone else thought that you were a failure; as they should. Failure."

"Shut up!" shouted Hagall, slapping her across the face, and was about to backhand her too, only to stop at the last second. "You know nothing! I told you that there was a reason why I had to seal Hild-sama! And it's not my fault that you dragged your sister all the way here to depose me on the very first day I took over the Daimakaicho's position! You should've remained back to your cozy home, rather than trying to making a fool of me! Taking me down on your own? Do you think I'm so weak for a handful of goddesses to depose me that easily?"

"I never dragged anyone in this mess! I wanted to come on my own, but Belldandy wouldn't take no for an answer!"

"Well, that's your problem, not mine! After all, what was I supposed to do? Let them go away with this? Do you think that someone worthy of the Daimakaicho's title should allow such incident to occur without doing anything about it? Besides, I could've sealed all of you forever, and just get it over with!"

"In some ways, that would've been better." Letting out a sigh, Urd decided to back off a bit. No matter how hard it was to contain her anger, the Norn knew that pushing the Daimakaicho over the edge would only get herself sealed, and thus let everyone down by essentially abandoning them; Belldandy included. "But if you fool yourself into thinking that siding with such bloody morons will get you anywhere, then you're not worthy of the Daimakaicho's title to begin with. After all, Sokkmimir not only wants to use my body, but also turn me against you, so that I get rid of you and then control me from behind the scenes. Is this the kind of ally you need?"

"No, that should be more than obvious," admitted Hagall, turning away from the Norn as she too tried to calm herself down. "I was well aware of Sokkmimir's shortcomings, and deliberately picked someone like him to become a placeholder for what I originally wanted to be your position, but… he turned out to be more problematic than anticipated. To that, I'll have to apologize on his behalf."

"Spare me the pleasantries," said Urd with a roll of her eyes. "If you really want to do something other than waste both our time, then there only one thing to do."

Turning around to stare at the bound half demoness, Hagall was intrigued by the sheer determination behind Urd's eyes. "Oh? And what would that be?"

"Give me his position."

XXX

Earth

Approaching the parked RV as quietly as she possibly could, the teal haired goddess was pleased that there was no sign of demonic presence in the vicinity. 'At the very least, they can take a break and relax for once. With everything that happened during the last couple of hours, the poor dears deserve a moment of peace and…'

Coming to a stop as she was just about ready to knock the door, Ansuz's ears picked the almost unmistakable sound of… moaning. And to be more precise, her daughter's content moans, in that deeper voice she possessed in her adult mode. 'Whoa, whoa!... What's going on in there?!'

"Oh…. mmnn…. oh yes! That's the best thing… ever! So… relaxing..."

Pressing her ear against the door's surface, Ansuz just hoped that either it was an unfortunate side effect of her long time role as the Interspecies Romance Inquisitor to think that such things are happening all over the place… or her youngest discovered a most disagreeable and totally unethical use of her age modification device. Suffice to say, she was far from amused.

The elder goddess even considered the most severe of punishments to both of them; especially the mortal, who most certainly knew about Skuld's age and yet went ahead with himself. 'A mantis. I'm gonna turn him into a mantis and get eaten the next time he…'

Her winglets flapped as if she was about to take off, her eyes burned in a golden flame, and her whole body unleashed such a torrent of celestial energy, that even third class spirits in the South Pole thought that the world was about to come to an end.

Needless to say, such a dramatic display of power was more than enough to catch Skuld's attention, who more or less rushed for the door, just as her mother was about to smash it down in her anger. The youngest of the Norns didn't even have the opportunity to summon a much more conservative set of clothes, leaving herself in the tight yoga pants and sports bra she was wearing at the moment; which… only added fuel to the proverbial fire. "Uh… mom? What are you doing here?

"That's my line!" snapped Ansuz, poking her daughter's nose with a finger, as the poor Norn tried to backpedal away from her. Yet she didn't even pause to further reprimand her, sidestepping the stunned brunette, in search of the other participant in this debauchery. "Stop hiding, and come out, NOW!"

Staring at her mother in both shock and confusion, Skuld couldn't help but wonder just what was going on here. She had no idea who her distraught and quite furious mother was referring to, since the only other person here was Keiichi; and he was back in the trailer, tinkering with his bike. Not that it was a big priority at the time being, but Skuld thought that anything that could give the poor guy a semblance of normalcy was going to be a huge morale boost for him. 'Seriously… what's gotten into her? It's almost as if she's looking for a someone hiding in my… closet? Like a… dude maybe? Whoa! Hold it!...'

Squinting her eyes at her mother, who was feverishly searching through every nook and cranny for the mysterious guy, Skuld assumed to be Keiichi, and eventually decided that this farce had gone too far. "If you're looking for Keiichi, then he's back in the trailer, working on his bike," said the brunette Norn, crossing her arms while her expression progressively darkened. "Seriously, mom! I may be a bit immature at times, but I thought that you knew better! Do you honestly believe I'd ever try to hit on Belldandy's crush?... Not to mention that I'm only looking like this old only thanks to my Time Accelerator! Do you seriously think that he's gonna tap me while knowing that?"

It was a bit too late to pretend that she hadn't totally misunderstood what was going on, so, Ansuz decided to cut her losses and go through the humiliating experience of being scolded by the youngest of her daughters, despite being several times Skuld's age. "Alright… Perhaps my experiences of dealing with interspecies couples may had… clouded my judgment and caused me to jump to an early conclusions. Still, in my defense… what was all that moaning for? Do you even have any idea what you sounded like?"

"Hm… like one of those adult actresses?" mused Skuld as her cheeks became red in embarrassment, just from uttering those words. As a matter of fact, she probably should've phrased that reply a lot better, given that it was an indirect admission of knowing things she normally shouldn't; even though she actually read about those videos in one of her manga, where the main character kept a hidden stash of those DVDs under his bed.

"Dare I ask where you learned about those things from?" Tapping her foot on the floor, Ansuz looked around the room for any hints as to the reason of this whole fiasco, and soon her eyes came across a massage chair in the far corner, next to the bed.

Following her mother's gaze, Skuld's lips slightly curled up in a smile, as the proud inventor was given the opportunity to not only explain herself, but also showcase one of her creations. "You like that? I've actually made it a long time ago for Urd, after she asked Belldandy to give her a backrub because that lumphead worked for five hours straight in her lab, and ended up with a stiff back."

"And yet you made something like this for her. I knew that you had a weak spot for Urd-chan, but… you're such a softy sometimes," said Ansuz with a giggle, as she approached to take a better look at the massage chair. "Now, how does it work? I can't see a control panel anywhere."

"It's voice controlled, so all you need to do is take a seat and use some simple instructions to make it do what you want. Which… is where all those comments of mine came from. For example, you can instruct it where you wish it to focus, as well as the intensity of the massage," explained Skuld, until she noticed the odd grin on her mother's face, and paused to clear her throat. "And before you even say it… back when I first designed this, I had no idea how suggestive it sounds, if you take those commands into a totally different context. Now that I think of it though, perhaps that's why Urd kept sniggering whenever she used it."

'Alright that explains a few things…' Taking a seat on the chair, Ansuz watched her daughter set the device up for her, and as claimed it only took her a few simple instructions to get it working. "Oh! That's… actually… quite pleasant!"

"Of course it is! What were you expecting anyway?" said Skuld, trying not to sound too sarcastic due to her mother's apparent lack of faith in her abilities to create something that wasn't intended to blow up at point or another. "As long as I can imagine it, and have the right materials to work with, I can build everything!"

Rather than a direct response to her daughter's prideful display, Ansuz relaxed against the massage chair, and enjoyed the sensation of getting a backrub. Still, she studied her daughter's almost casual body language as the latter sat on the bed opposite of her, and for the most part it was hard to even recognize her. "You've changed. And I don't mean your Time Accelerator temporary turning you into an adult. You're far from the crybaby I used to know, Skuld."

"Gee… thanks a lot, mom!" sneered Skuld, crossing her arms in front of her, and even used them to subtly lift her chest a bit, just to spite Ansuz for calling her a crybaby. "First you think that I'm trying to hit on my sister's crush, and now you even question my maturity. I know that I'm not as old as I look, but still-"

"Age has nothing to do with how you act in a stressful situation," said Ansuz, cutting her daughter short, before this devolved into an argument. "Even I am starting to get affected by this whole mess, and I've been around way longer than all you three together. And not to mention that I've been a Valkyrie for most of that period of time, too!" admitted Ansuz, much to her shame, lowering her head to avoid staring straight at her daughter's face. "I'm tired of this waiting game, Skuld. I've dealt with a lot of nonsense throughout my life, but to leave my daughter like that… it's not easy."

"I know the feeling. When I first came here I was so eager to help, and then… I just messed things up for Belldandy and Keiichi. So, I'm trying my best not to overreact anymore, even though it's so hard that I sometimes wonder for just how long I'm gonna keep my cool. I guess that taking care of Keiichi is a good distraction at the moment, but if this keeps up, he might be the one to take after me, especially if I turn into a crybaby once again."

"Say what you will, but I still think that you've made a tremendous progress over those two and a half years. Perhaps once we all get back home, you'll see that your sisters will treat you as an adult too," said Ansuz with a ghost of a smile, as she noticed the faint blush on her daughter's cheeks. But before the Norn had the opportunity to respond, the door came open, revealing none other than the mortal who had captured her elder daughter's heart. "Oh, my! You must be, Keiichi-kun!"

"Eh?"

XXX

"I'm so sorry! I had no idea it was you, dad!" whined the pained Norn, holding an ice pack on top of her head, while Peorth tended to the earth spirit's swollen cheek.

"Perhaps next time, you'll take the hint and realize that there's something going on here, rather than shoot first and ask questions later," replied Tyr, wincing a bit as Peorth pressed the ice pack harder against the possessed earth spirit's cheek. "After trying so hard to find the best opportunity to infiltrate this place, you nearly ruined everything by overreacting to what in reality was a mere ruse, so that I could talk to Peorth in private. With demons lurking in the shadows, I couldn't risk revealing my true identity before I was absolutely sure that this room was free of listening devices or scrying spells."

Despite her elation to meet her father, even under such circumstances, Belldandy couldn't help but frown at Tyr's methods, especially as far as Peorth was concerned. "I'm quite grateful of your efforts, father, although I'll have to point out that you've caused a lot of unneeded stress to Peorth. At the very least, you could've picked a better excuse, instead of being so insensitive about it!"

"Uh, Belldandy… it's alright-" said Peorth in an effort to appease the Norn and prevent an argument on her behalf, yet her roommate refused to listen.

"No, it's not! We're already under enough stress as it is, and there's not need to make a bad situation worse, by using such crude methods." Fixing a pointed glare at Peorth, just to discourage her from trying to defend the Daitenkaicho, only because of his position, Belldandy turned back to the god in question and frowned. "Seriously, dad! I was so worried about this whole situation, only to find out that it was all for naught! And don't let her attempts to sound polite fool you, either! Just because you're the Daitenkaicho doesn't mean that you can be this insensitive! At the very least, an apology is in due!"

Tyr could only stare in shock as his daughter's outburst -though justified- almost seemed too aggressive for someone who used to be as sweet and polite as the Norn of the present was supposed to be. Yet in some ways, he couldn't quite put all the blame in her current demonic nature, as such would've been Ansuz's response, if she happened to be in Belldandy's shoes. And noticing Peorth's stunned expression, who was likely expecting an angry retort from him, all thanks to his daughter's sheer lack of respect, Tyr realized that being a former celestial, Peorth was too obedient to demand an apology on her own. "Well, I'll have to admit that you've got a point, Belldandy," said Tyr with a sigh, before he turned to the confused Peorth, and actually offered her a slight bow. "Peorth, I'm terribly sorry for the unnecessary distress I've caused to you."

"T-Tyr-sama?" stammered the aforementioned former goddess, clearly unaccustomed to have the Daitenkaicho himself bow his head to her. Especially now that she was a demoness of all things, which left her in a state of complete shock. "P-Please… t-t-there's n-no need to-"

Yet before Peorth could finish her sentence, Belldandy leaned closer to her father and whispered to him in a low, yet clearly audible tone. "I've actually hit your cheek, not your back, dad. So, you can definitely bow a bit lower than that."

Fixing his daughter a rather pointed, yet stoic stare, Tyr remained silent as she returned his gaze with one that eerily reminded him of Hild… when she was messing around with him. 'At no point in my life I thought that the day would come for Belldandy to pull something like that on me. Urd?... Sure. Skuld?... Maybe. But… Belldandy?' Turning his attention back to Peorth, Tyr pointed at the Norn and raised an eyebrow. "Is she always like this?"

"No! Most definitely, not!" said Peorth, emphatically shaking her head. "Normally she's either acting like she used to, or all broody and silent. This… this is totally new!"

"Hm…" Scratching his chin, Tyr stared at his daughter with a thoughtful expression, and then shook his head. "At any rate, I'm happy to know that you're both in good health. And hopefully, I'll manage to stick around for a while, just to make sure that nothing bad happens to you. In the meanwhile, Ansuz is visiting Skuld and Keiichi to ensure that they're fine as well."

"So, mother is here too…" mused Belldandy, with a much more serious expression than before. With both her parents present in the mortal realm, and their guards not being the sharpest tools in the shed, Belldandy wondered if it was about time they do something about their situation. "Although what about Urd and Lind? Are there any news from them? Given what's been going on as of late, I didn't manage to reach them."

"Oh, there are news alright! Apparently your sister got a promotion, just a an hour ago," said Tyr in a rather detached manner, almost as if he still had some serious trouble to believe it.

"A… promotion?" asked Belldandy, and then shared a confused glance with Peorth, who simply shook her shoulders in response. "What kind of promotion? Was she offered to manage another business?"

"If Niflheim itself counts as a corporation… then, yes," said Tyr in a deadly serious tone that caused the former goddesses' eyes to go wide from shock. "You see… an hour ago, the Daimakaicho promoted Urd to the position of her deputy."

"Wait… what?" said Peorth, trying to comprehend just what she's been told, with Belldandy far too shocked to even offer a word. "She's Hagall's second in command? Then… she's also..."

"That's correct," said the possessed earth spirit with a solemn nod. "She's effectively your boss, now."

"What about… her predecessor?" managed Belldandy, far too shocked to even recall Sokkmimir's name.

"From what I've heard, she wiped the floor with him, after he tried to get too friendly with her. And if the rumors turn out to be true, then she more or less neutered him, on top of that."

The former goddesses' jaws almost hit the floor and shared an incredulous look, wondering just what possessed the elder Norn to attack such a high ranking demon; at least, in such violent manner. After all, there was a difference between self defense and a vicious, all out counterattack. Worse yet, neither of them thought that Urd was even violent enough to pull such a stunt, unless… she started to depend too much on her demonic side as of late.

"Now, I think that you both need to go back to your room, before anyone starts wondering what you're doing in mine. We can resume this later, since I'm not going anywhere."

"Yes, we'll definitely talk again, once we're done with today's schedule." Nodding, Belldandy did her best to regain her composure, and despite her previous attitude, she offered her father -or rather the body he was currently possessing- a warm smile. "And before I forget it… I'm really happy to see you again, dad; despite the circumstances of our meeting."

"Yes, me too, Belldandy. Oh, and before I forget… nice punch."

XXX

Considering all the crazy things he came to experience during the last couple of hours, Keiichi was almost certain that at this point there was nothing left to surprise him anymore; only to find out just how wrong he was. The commotion coming from the RV was far from unusual to attract his immediate attention, given that Skuld was far from the most quiet of goddesses, so he merely assumed that she was up to no good, but… to find out that she had company was indeed something unexpected. And not only that, but their teal haired visitor dressed in a bizarre mix of a skintight bodysuit and a ballerina's tutu, was actually her and Belldandy's mother.

Needless to say, the fact that this Ansuz girl looked younger than both Belldandy and even Skuld's adult form was one of the first things Keiichi noted about her. The next was that all his preconceptions about what immortal parents must've been like… turned out to be totally wrong. Sure, he too had some pretty eccentric parents, but the discussion -or rather argument- that followed took the bizarreness factor to a new level.

"After all that scene about me doing touchy feely stuff… you go ahead and hump him? The Hell. mom?!" snarled the irate Norn of the future, fixing Ansuz a rather pointed glare.

"No, I did not!" said the teal haired goddess, folding her arms defensively, and then looked away from her furious daughter. "It was a most chaste and friendly hug, that you're deliberately misinterpreting to get me back for before!"

"Oh, gimme a break! I never saw you being this friendly with anyone before. Not even dad!"

"Do you seriously want me to get touchy feely with your dad, right in front of you?" countered Ansuz with a raised eyebrow, causing her daughter to turn slightly green.

"Eww! No!" shouted Skuld, shaking her head vigorously from side to side. "But… that doesn't mean that I want you to do that with Belldandy's crush!"

"For the last time, I'm not hitting on Keiichi-kun!" protested Ansuz, and then leaned closer to her daughter who not only didn't seem intimidated by her, but copied her mother's actions, causing them to end up staring at each other with their foreheads mere inches apart. "You just need to grow up and stop trying to use such immature methods to cause some unnecessary drama!"

"Me? You're the one who caused some drama a couple of minutes ago!" said Skuld with a disgruntled huff, pausing for a moment to toss her long dark hair over her shoulders. "Oh, and I'm way more mature than you are at the moment! And you even admitted that, not long ago!"

"Um… excuse me, but… is this something you should be doing right now?" Making a desperate attempt to put an end to this pointless argument, despite the obvious hazards of such a decision, Keiichi felt that there was something significantly more important to do with their spare time.

"Ah, my apologies… I suppose that we got a bit carried away," said Ansuz, trying to regain her composure and hopefully salvage the situation before the damage was irreversible. "This whole mess had taken its toll on everyone, and as you can see… we're kind of looking for an excuse to blow out at the first given opportunity."

"Well… I can't say that I blame you," said Keiichi as diplomatically as he could muster, avoiding to pick either goddess' side and end up turning this into a much more serious argument. "It's hard to imagine what those two and a half years must've been for you and your family."

"Well… nothing good, that's for sure," replied Ansuz in much lower tone, causing her daughter to avert her gaze and stare at the wall instead. "There are no words to describe how powerless you can feel when despite your physical and even magical night… you're still incapable of doing something about it. Although that's about to change, and soon. That's why I came here to see how Skuld was holding up, and while at it, also meet you, Keiichi-kun. It's so rare for Belldandy to even express interest in anyone, that I just had to take a closer look at you. After all, every mother wants to have some grandchildren to spoil, and with that one," said Ansuz gesturing towards Skuld's direction, "being such a tsundere, and Belldandy a borderline asexual… well… you can imagine how frustrated I've gotten."

"Hey, who's a tsundere?" protested Skuld, only for her plea to be ignored.

"At any rate, that's not what really matters at the time being," continued Ansuz, making no comments about her daughter's protests. "What's important is to make sure that you're taking care of yourselves properly, and I'm quite pleased to see that this is indeed the case. Still, I think that it's for the best if I stay here for the night, just in case anything happens."

"Mother!..." started Skuld, but the teal haired goddess cut her off immediately.

"I didn't mean you, dear. There's currently a major upheaval in Niflheim, and depending on the result we might either gain a powerful ally, or expect a violent reaction. And if it comes to be the latter, it's better if I'm here to make sure that nothing bad happens to either of you."

Exchanging a look, Keiichi and Skuld reluctantly offered a nod, since neither of them wanted to deal with a horde of demons coming after them, should they decided to stop messing around with this whole idol band thingamajig and send their military after them.

"Alright mom, I guess you'll have to stay here. Although you'll have to share a bed with me, since there's not all that much space for another bed. Even back when I used to share one with Urd," said Skuld, making a face at the mention of her eldest sister, albeit in a rather playful manner. "After all, she always got the biggest of the two beds."

"As much as I'd love to do that, I think it's for the best if I stand on guard," said Ansuz with a sake of her head. "After all, even if they don't come here, I might as well need to offer some back up for Tyr who's-"

"Say Wha~at?… DAD got out of his OFFICE?! How did THAT happen?!"

The sheer shock in Skuld's voice, along with the complete and utter lack of any sarcasm made Ansuz wince, since it meant that her daughter was actually serious rather than throwing barbs about her father's workaholic personality. "Actually… he's possessing an Earth Spirit in order to infiltrate the place where Belldandy and Peorth are being held. However, that simply denies him most of his strength, which is why I need to give him a hand if it comes down to that."

Breathing out a sigh of relief he didn't even knew he was holding, Keiichi decided to break the silence now that the situation had somewhat stabilized. "Oh, thank goodness. It's such a relief to know that they've got someone watching their backs. Although… what's that upheaval in Niflheim you've mentioned before?"

"Oh, that's rather simple," said with a smile that could only be described as proud. "Urd-chan was promoted to the position of the Daimakaicho's deputy. Which effectively makes her the second highest ranking demoness in all the demonic realms, as well as the regional commander of Niflheim, under the direct supervision of the Daimakaicho. Ah… if only Hild could see her daughter right now. She would've been so proud!"

"Whoa, whoa… wait a freaking moment! You can't be serious! I mean… Hagall promoted Urd? Why?" asked the stunned Norn of the future, causing her mother to nervously scratch her head as she wasn't particularly looking forward for this particular explanation.

"Let's just say that… someone ticked her off to the point where she curb stomped him, and quite effectively took his job." Of course she knew more about the incident, but Ansuz was quite reluctant to share those details with her youngest. "But we can discuss this later. For now, I think that a nice, homemade dinner would be more than a welcome change from the microwave meals you two are having. Oh, and Skuld?"

"Yes, mom?"

"Come and give me a hand. It's about time I give you a crash course on cooking."

XXX

Low Levels, Niflheim

Looking around the almost emptied room she used to occupy for the last two and a half years left Urd with an undecipherable emotion. On one hand she was more than happy to leave this place, but on the other… she had built this whole casino from the ground up, and leaving it behind felt almost hard for her to do. At least with Fehu being appointed as the new owner, Urd was somewhat reassured that her employees would still have a nice place to work, and not end up in one of those dreadful places where some of them would be nothing more than a showpiece. Regardless of those being demonesses or not, the Norn of the past believed that she held some responsibility towards those who willingly put themselves under her service, and for someone who used to live such a carefree and relaxed lifestyle, this sudden change was something totally new that she had to adjust to it.

Truth to be told though, none of this was part of the plan. Even Fehu with all her experience in demonic politics couldn't predict just how far Sokkmimir was willing to push things, and Urd's response was equally drastic, leaving no other option but for things to take their course. As the humans said… the die was cast.

Still, the discussion she had with Hagall was both an enlightening and disturbing one at the same time, that convinced the half demoness that the overall situation was far more complicated than she had originally anticipated. More specifically, her assumption that releasing her mother would resolve all her problems… turned out to be nothing more than a flight of fancy. If nothing else, if she were to do that, she might as well condemn her mother to certain death, as well as whoever turned out to be Hild's doublet. And while she had no way to know who that person was, Urd had a nagging suspicion that it was either her father or her stepmother, which… would definitely impact not only her but her sisters too.

Needless to say, Urd had her hands full with not only finding a workaround that particular problem, but also to do a better job than her predecessor. After all, if she turned out to do an even worse job than someone to the likes of Sokkmimir, then chances were that she'd be removed from office even faster than him. At least right now, the family resemblance brought back memories of Hild's administration to the majority that still thought her mother in a positive light, but that was far from a permanent solution. As soon as she started to actually manage Niflheim, such a superficial thing would be all but forgotten and everyone -whether ally or not- was going to judge her based on her decisions rather than her appearance.

"What's the holdup? Have you forgotten something?"

Looking over her shoulder, Urd found Lind standing by the door frame, clad in her new combat uniform; this time a military one. The former Valkyrie certainly didn't look comfortable wearing the primarily red and black uniform the armed forces of Niflheim used, since a civilian class armor was out of question for the regional commander's personal bodyguard. "No, I was just… looking at this place. Hopefully for the last time. Heh… it's kind of strange, but I think that part of me might even miss it."

"Can't say that I share the sentiment, but at least I understand what you're trying to say." There was tension clearly evident in her voice, and her body language spoke volumes of how uncomfortable Lind was at the moment, given how much this uniform reminded her of their predicament. She was even given a special permit that allowed her to be accounted as part of Niflheim's army; and while necessary for her to be able to follow Urd wherever she went, it made matters ever worse for the former Valkyrie.

"I know… and I'm sorry for dragging you into this," said Urd with a heavy sigh as she turned around and approached Lind. "None of this was part of the original plan, but… that idiot didn't give me much of an option. I wasn't even expecting him to try and talk to me, rather than letting me meet Hagall."

"Speaking from personal experience, there is no such thing as foolproof plan, especially when… fools are involved," said Lind in a poor attempt to lighten up the mood, as she realized that Urd was clearly aware of her discomfort. "And part of my duties is to take care of you, so I'd rather wear this… thing, rather than have you bend over someone's desk every now and then. Although, speaking of that moron… what are you going to do to him? From what I understand, his fate now lies in your hands."

"Truth to be told, I'm not sure. As much as I'd like to simply disembody or reincarnate him in a lower lifeform, I'm not certain what's the best option. Or rather… I don't know what the rest of my… subordinates think I should do in a situation like this, so I'll keep him under house arrest while I'll find out what's the best way to handle this. After all, I don't think he's in any shape or form to even walk out of his home; not with half his skin burned to a crisp."

"If you want a recommendation, you can always ship him to one of the other realms, and let their commanders do the dirty work for you. Jotunheim might be the best option, as it's the base of operation for the Intelligence Sector and they know how to make people disappear without leaving a trace."

"I'll keep that in mind," said Urd with a slight wince, as Lind's honesty in this particular topic made her realize for the first time that this was the former Valkyrie's line of work. "Actually, I'm about to meet them in less than half an hour, since Hagall wishes to introduce me to her Inner Circle."

"Understood. Should we head there, then? It's not that far away from here, but we still need to get in time for your first official appearance as the Daimakaicho's deputy."

"Yes, I think you're right. Just give me five minutes to say a few things to Fehu and then we're leaving." Heading towards the latter's room, Urd paused just as she was about to pass Lind who remained in place and offered her a look. "Still… I can arrange for you to stay here if you want. You don't need to do this if you're comfortable with it."

"No. So far in my life I haven't abandoned any of my comrades, regardless of the situation," said Lind with a shake of her head. "We came here together and we're leaving together, one way or another. Nothing more, nothing less."

The Norn remained silent for quite some time, trying to come up with a fitting response, but failed to do so. Instead, she pulled the blue haired warrior in a hug and simply held her like that, despite how uncomfortable and embarrassed Lind turned out to be from such a gesture.

However, several seconds later, and with Urd still holding her tightly, Lind reached around and ever so awkwardly pat the Norn's back.


AN: I would like to thank everyone that has offered their feedback and support both here and on the Goddess Relief site.

There are a few things that I'd like to note for this chapter.

And so the situation had changed dramatically. That whole scene with Urd and Sokkmimir proved to be much more of a challenge, as I'm not terribly comfortable with such topics (at least as far as my stories are concerned) and it took me some time to come up with a somewhat acceptable solution. At least I hope that this way it still serves its purpose, as it allowed Urd's promotion, while avoiding the story to delve into certain themes, just for the sake of making some drama out of it.

Still, that being said, it's not exactly the end just yet. While Urd's assignment as Hagall's deputy will also allow Belldandy and Keiichi to get closer, as the pressure on her and Peorth will somewhat wane, there are still a few things before the four of them are allowed to go back to their old lives for good.