Disclaimer: I don't own AMG.

Foreword: Thank you to everyone who sent their best wishes for my son. He's doing a little better today, and we hope it won't take much more than a week for him to come home. As usual, special thanks to WillZ and Exp.626.Fan for prereading this.

Choix

Chapter 9

She Don't Know Me


"If 'hate' is such a strong word, then why do we toss around 'love' like it's nothing?"

Anonymous


"Woah! Hold on!" Urd cried, grabbing the valkyrie by the shoulder and whirling her around to face her. "Treason?!"

"Come on, Urd!" Gaeriel shot back. "Let's take a look at the evidence here! Who knew the attack was taking place? Who just happened to have access to the exact information Wynn and his band of demons would need to jump us? Who's had an ongoing romantic relationship with the High Inquisitor of the demonic world?!"

"It's all circumstantial," Urd told her quietly, deciding reason was the best course of action here.

"That's an awful lot of circumstances," Gaeriel told her, folding her arms over her chest.

"Here's a few others you should think about," Urd told her. "Who led a healer into a guarded hospital to try to help Jethsemanie even before Heaven knew about these attacks? Who nearly got herself killed trying to keep Wynn from defecting after he sealed you? Who saved your ass in Hawaii when, given your short history, the smart thing to do would be to let one of those things eat your angel?"

Gaeriel let out a breath. "She's involved," she finally hissed. "I know it!"

Urd looked down at the ground for a moment and finally found a strategy worth trying. "Maybe she is," she relented. "But to what extent?" Gaeriel looked at her suspiciously as Urd suddenly started taking her side. "I'd bet my love goddess cert that there is some connection between her and Wynn still in effect. I don't think she's helping them, but she is connected somehow. Now that might not be what you want to believe, but it still might help us fight it!"

She gave the valkyrie a few moments to digest this. Finally, Gaeriel looked up. "What do you think we should do?"

Urd took a few steps as she thought on the question. "Your job is to gather information, right?" At Gaeriel's nod she continued. "Peorth and Wynn are connected... on an almost..." She shook her head as she tried to come up with a good way to word it. "On an almost cosmic level. Eventually, the two of them are going to cross stars again. We just have to be there when it happens."

"So... stick close to Peorth and wait for Wynn to contact her?"

"Well... We know for sure he isn't shy," Urd told her.

888

Peorth had to admit she felt better. Miranda wasn't a perfect listener, but she favored action... any action... over allowing the status quo to continue. The two had spoken, each making their confessions as it pertained to Wynn and The Seven, and had agreed to coordinate their efforts.

Miranda held her cards close to her vest. She wanted to go in, get the three remaining rampants, and somehow convince them to come back, though she didn't tell Peorth how she planned to do this. Still, it was a hell of a lot better than the alternative; sit around and do nothing while they kill more angels.

They had parted ways with a promise to stay in contact and to not divulge their alliance to anyone else. With a valkyrie sleeping across the hall, Peorth decided that would be best. Either way, it had helped to lift her spirits enough to smile as she prepared for Skuld's next lesson in the womanly arts.

"Now," Peorth began, "Slow dancing and fast dancing are two entirely different animals..."

Skuld held up a hand and smiled. "No problem. I got this."

"Ah bon?" Peorth asked.

"Yup!" Skuld replied. "Oneesama taught me everything she knows."

Peorth blinked. "I see. Show me then."

Skuld stepped from side to side to a silent beat. "You start slow," Skuld said. "Then..." She held out both hands in front of her and shook her hips from side to side. "You Banish the Demon!" She repeated the move. "Banish the Demon!"

The love goddess had to mentally wrestle the muscles in her face to keep from laughing as Skuld continued.

She continued moving to the silent rhythm and brought her hands over her head before bringing them down to her right side, then her left. "Then you Smash the System Bug..."

Peorth held up a finger. "Stop. Who taught you these abominations?"

Skuld blinked. "Oneesama."

"I see," Peorth replied. "Skuld, I want you to listen to me, okay?" At the girl's nod, she continued. "Now, there are a great many things your sister knows, and I know you like to emulate her. So, the next time you're at a social gathering where there's going to be dancing, and you get that urge to emulate your big sister, I want you to do one thing... for me, okay?" She cleared her throat and put her hands on the girl's shoulders. "Never... ever... do that again. Okay?"

"Okay..." Skuld said dejectedly.

"Non, non, non," Peorth said quickly. "I need to know you understand, so I need to actually hear you say it..."

Skuld looked down at her feet. "Never dance like Oneesama."

"Bon. Now, let's start from the beginning..."

888

Keiichi took a deep breath as he came to his senses, blinking up at the ceiling above him as Belldandy snuggled into the crook of his arm.

"I think I passed out a couple of times," he admitted.

She replied by nuzzling his neck. "Only twice," she whispered. "I took care of you."

"It's never been like that before," he said. It was an understatement. Normally, their lovemaking was slow, soft and tender. This time they had clung to one another desperately as if one of them was going to disappear any moment and they only had one day left together.

She wrapped an arm around him.

He took another breath. "I can hear music playing," he said with a soft chuckle, think it was in his head.

"It's Peorth," Belldandy told him. "She's teaching Skuld to dance."

"Oh yeah?" he asked. "They've been hanging out a lot together lately."

Belldandy paused just long enough for Keiichi to figure out there was something wrong there. "What is it?" he asked.

For a moment, she wouldn't speak. Then, seeming to come to a decision on exactly how much of Peorth's privacy to violate, she explained. "I think Peorth is using Skuld to fill the void in her life left by Wynn's death."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"Perhaps not," she allowed. "But eventually they'll part and the void will return. I wish there was something I could do for Peorth." She hugged Keiichi tighter. "I can only imagine what it would be like if something hap..." She broke off.

"Hey," he whispered, taking her hand. "We've been through this. Nothing's going to happen to me. I'm not going anywhere." He smiled. "My wish was for you to remain by my side, and you're just going to have to get used to it."

She smiled. "You say it as if it were a bad thing," she accused him.

"You're the one preoccupied with me going away," he said. She looked away, embarrassed by the truth in the statement.

"I just need it to sink in," she said. "In the meantime, I'm going to follow Moder's advice."

"Which was?"

She kissed him deeply. "Love when you can, and never pass up an opportunity to be with you," she whispered.

888

Urd closed the door to her room and could hear the music playing in Skuld's. She blinked as she heard Peorth's voice call out over the sound of the dance music.

"Bon! Remember, you're a woman! You have hips! Use them!"

Rolling her eyes, she started for the living room. She was glad she managed to keep Gaeriel from doing something stupid, but wondered if she wasn't doing her little sister a disservice by not getting Peorth's idea of teaching as far away from her as she could.

Sighing in resignation, she decided to give up on other people's problems for one day and concentrate on her own. She wore her hair up, and unlike the positively horrid dress she wore on their last "date," this time she was in a long black number. She was shooting for elegant rather than sexy.

She entered the living room and found him clumsily fiddling with his tie, unaware of her presence for the moment.

There's still time to back out, her mind told her. Just go back to your room, make some retching sounds and pretend to be sick!

She only gave the idea a passing thought. This was her suggestion, after all. And Peorth was right about one thing. He was a nice guy, which also made Keiichi right when he said they were out there if you looked hard enough.

"Nyd," she said in greeting.

He turned, his tie flying over his shoulder. "Urd!" he cried in surprise. "You look... I mean... you're..."

"Hideous?" Urd asked, having some fun with the god.

"No! That's not what I meant at all! You're... I mean..."

He stopped and took a breath, seeming to give up for a moment before quietly saying. "You're beautiful."

Before she could tease him further, Frigga had walked into the room. She saw the both of them and blinked. "What's going on?"

Urd froze. "Uh oh," she breathed.

Frigga's face lit up and she clasped her hands in front of her. "You're going out together!" She suddenly turned and dashed down the hall. "My camera! I need my camera!"

Urd grabbed Nyd's hand and dragged him to the front door. "Let's get the hell the out of here!" she cried.

The queenly god managed to shoot around the corner and take a picture as they ran, the flash just managing to catch one of Nyd's shoes as Urd dragged him outside.

"DAMN!" she cried.

888

The restaurant was a step down from the one they had gone to earlier, but still nice with a cozier atmosphere. The lights were dimmed to give the impression of candlelight, and soft music played from speakers overhead. Not quite four stars, but a very respectable three.

Nyd's foot tapped against the carpet as he nervously sipped at his water. He was so far out of his element, he couldn't even see his element from where he sat.

Good God, how did he get to this? He almost preferred it when Urd hated his guts. At least it didn't require him to know what to do. Being hated was easy. What was he supposed to do?

Urd, meanwhile, looked totally nonchalant, reading over the menu and seemingly paying no attention to the jittery god across from her.

"I stole that credit card from Belldandy," Urd told him. "So order whatever you like," she told him.

Is there anything on that menu that kills butterflies? Because my stomach is full of them, he thought.

He managed to get through ordering his dinner without fumbling or saying anything stupid and decided to call it a victory. While they waited for their food, Urd refilled her wine glass.

"So," she said. "Tell me about yourself."

"Oh," he said. "Well... There's not a whole lot to tell," he said, hiding behind his water glass.

She sipped at her wine. "Why healing?" she asked.

He blinked. "Because it helps people," he said. It was the most confident thing he'd said yet.

"And that's all?" she asked. She finished the wine off and started to refill the glass.

His face fell just a bit. "You shouldn't drink so much," he told her.

She grinned. "Why? Because it's bad for my health?"

The healer looked away. "No," he said. "It dulls your eyes."

Urd blinked. "Huh?"

"Your eyes," he said quietly, still not looking at her, embarrassed as hell by what he was saying. "Your eyes shine. When you drink... the shine dulls."

She stared at him, not sure if she was being lectured to or complimented. Finally, she put the bottle aside. "All right," she said. "I'll be beautiful for you. But one dirty habit in exchange for another."

"Huh?" he asked, confused.

She leaned over the table. "I want you to look at me," she said.

"I... I do," he said even as he looked away again.

The goddess took his chin in her hand and pulled his gaze back to her. "Look in my eyes when you speak to me," she said.

"Okay," he said, entranced.

She stared into his eyes. "What did you mean when you said you'd make it up to me?"

He glanced away.

"Look at me," she commanded. "Tell me."

His eyes found her again, and he swallowed nervously. "Just... that... I don't want you to be miserable," he said. "I don't want to be the one causing you pain... so... if in order for you to be happy you needed me to walk into the bush and let you... well... follow your own path... even though we'd be married... I would... I could still do that for you..."

The statement put it all in perspective for her. Saddled with the Pairing just as she was, he was trapped with the possibility of a loveless marriage. But while she had concentrated her efforts on getting out of the engagement, he had concentrated on trying to find a way to make it work, to make her satisfied by it somehow. And if that meant going off into the jungles and leaving her to her own devices, the two of them married in name only, he was willing to do that. It made her feel just a little ashamed.

She glanced over at the dance floor and turned back to him. "You wanna dance?" she asked.

"D...Dance?" he stammered.

"Don't play dumb," she warned him. "I know Peorth taught you."

"You... saw that?"

She nodded. "Come on."

888

"Define... 'broken,'" Carestia asked with an evil gleam in her eye.

Leaning over a table-top map in his office, Metheus didn't bother to look up when he said, "That's not your job in this, it's mine."

The demoness pouted. "You never let me have any fun," she complained.

He ignored her and began the mission briefing. "Her Majesty has run out of patience, and with the... escalation... we began today, the time to move has come." He waved his hand and holograms of two people appeared on the table. "Standard snatch-and-grab, one tier-one and one tier-three personality." He looked up. "Primary target is a goddess first class, commercial license. Valkyrie presence in the area is low, but there are several other commercial goddesses in the area. Drawing this goddess away from them will be integral to the operation."

Sitting on the other side of the table, Krieg took notes while Carestia looked bored.

"Step One is bait," Metheus continued. "Krieg, that's you. Grab Keiichi Morisato quietly and hold him at this point." He pointed at the map.

"I could do that," Carestia told him. "It'll be fun."

"No," Metheus said. "Too many possible... complications... from a woman getting near him."

Not sure what this meant, Carestia merely shrugged.

"Step Two will have us draw the target to this area." He pointed at the map again. "I'll handle that. At the same time, Nidhogg will initiate a brute force attack against Yggdrasil's firewall and upload a Compass Call program that will jam communications to the Earth realm, making sure we're not disturbed."

"Step Three will involve the actual capture operation," he continued. "Carestia, that's you. Engage the target and subdue her... But she is not to be permanently damaged."

She bowed. "It will be as you wish, My Lord," she purred.

"Krieg and I will provide sniper overwatch and see that the target doesn't escape. Time from operation start to RTB no more than eight hours. We step tomorrow at 1500 Earth time. Questions?"

"Who gets to break her?" Carestia asked like a dog unwilling to give up a bone.

Metheus gave her a frosty glare. "The Inquisition will see to it."

"I understand that," she replied with a hint of acid. "I mean who in the Inquisition?"

He tapped a button on his desk. "Tabitha, would you come in here, please?"

The door opened, and Carestia turned to get a glimpse of Metheus' best interrogator. What she saw caused her face to fall. "Oh, you have to be kidding me..."

A dark-haired girl no older than six entered, clutching a teddy-bear in her hands. Her raven-black hair hung behind her back in a pony-tail and she wore a simple blue dress.

"I'm intimidated already," Carestia told him with a yawn.

The girl, Tabitha, turned back to the door. "Hurry up, Mr. Bubbles! Our Lord Inquisitor waits for us!"

Something out of sight beyond the doorway made a sound like a foghorn and the floor rumbled beneath them. Carestia nearly jumped as a huge, armor-suited figure pushed against the doorframe, unable to enter due to its massive bulk. It looked like a deep-sea diver, wearing a bronze helmet with several port holes that glowed in an eerie blue light. A giant drill was mounted on its right hand.

Tabitha stomped her foot. "Mr. Bubbles! You are keeping the Inquisitor waiting!"

The creature hooted mournfully and pushed against the doorframe, gouging marks into the stone. Finally inside, Tabitha turned her attention away from it and bowed to Metheus.

"My Lord High Inquisitor, I exist to carry out your will in pursuit of Her Majesty's desires. How may I be of service?" Behind her Mr. Bubbles hooted his agreement.

Metheus smiled. "Captain Carestia here wanted to meet you. She has some concerns about your interrogation abilities."

"Would the captain care for a demonstration?" Tabitha squeaked, holding her teddy bear tightly as the drill on Mr. Bubbles' hand whirred to life.

Carestia arched an eyebrow. "Pass," she said.

"Rest assured," Metheus told her. "Between Tabitha and myself... Belldandy doesn't stand a chance."

888

One... two... three... One... two... three... his mind chanted over and over as he tried valiantly not to step on Urd's feet.

Urd smiled. "Don't look now, Nyd, but you're leading."

"I'm sorry," he said quickly.

Her smile fell. She wasn't sure if this self-esteem issue was a problem with everyone or just her. It wouldn't surprise her if it was unique to dealing with girls. Nyd struck her as the kind of guy who couldn't bring himself to speak to a woman unless he had to.

Nyd knew he was screwing this up. He just couldn't find a way out of the minefield, and being this close to her wasn't helping. Her body was warm, she smelled like violets and if he had known her eyes were going to affect him this way, he would have poured her more wine himself.

Unlike when he first practiced with Peorth, this time it took no effort to glance downward at Urd's chest. It just sort of... happened.

"Enjoying the view?" she asked.

His head snapped up so fast, he was sure he would break his neck. "No! Just..."

Her lips quirked up. "Look, Nyd, if we're going to..." She paused, searching for a good, ambiguous way to word it. "If we're going to continue to spend time together, we're going to have to lay down some ground rules."

The healer winced. Here it comes...

"First, stop apologizing to me," she said. "Not everything is your fault... Even though lately I've been... well... implying that it was..."

"I'm sor..." She glared at him, and he stopped himself. "Okay," he finished.

"Good," she went on. "Second, I don't want to hear anymore about you just up and disappearing. If we're going to do this, we're going to work it out together, all right?"

He swallowed and nodded.

"I mean... What do you want?" she asked. "What's the best-case scenario for this in your mind?"

The question threw him. "Well," he said slowly.

"Be honest," she warned him.

Remembering what she said earlier, he looked into her eyes. "I think the best I could hope for is a rocky start... then perhaps, over time... we grow to love one another."

She considered this. "So you want this to work," she concluded.

The healer nodded quickly. "Very much so." He looked away again. "I'm not very good at this... I'm s..." He broke off.

She knew what his next question would be and decided to head him off before he could ask it. "And another thing," she said. "I'm proud of my body, so don't treat looking at me like a dirty act, all right?"

He blushed bright crimson, the question he was going to ask, what her best-case scenario was, fled from his mind. Before he could recover, something on his belt started to beep.

Urd looked down and saw him remove a small black box. Looking at it, his eyes went wide.

"We have to go," he said, all the nervousness gone. "Now. Come on."

"What's going on?" Urd asked thrown off balance by the swift change in the otherwise mellow god. She stumbled forward as he took her hand and pulled her from the dance floor.

"I have to talk to Lind," he growled.

888

Peorth put her hands together and closed her eyes, adopting a solemn look like that on a shinto priest about to say a prayer.

"My dear, with the exception of your hair, which we can't do until tomorrow... you are ready."

Skuld let out a long breath. "You really think so?"

The love goddess smiled. "One hundred percent. You can speak, you can eat, you can dance, all as a young, sophisticated, and most importantly, attractive young woman should. Tomorrow we'll do your hair, and the rest, as they say, shall be history." She sighed, proud of her work. "Now then, what time is he picking you up tomorrow?"

Skuld's eyes went wide. "Picking me up?"

"Oui. What time?"

The young girl's eyes went wide. "Oh no," she breathed. "I was so excited about him asking me, that I just blurted 'yes,' and ran off!"

Peorth blinked. "And you haven't spoken to him since?"

"I've been busy with you!" Skuld cried.

The love goddess rubbed her temples and pointed at the phone. "Go and call him right now..."

Skuld dashed for the phone.

As Skuld spoke to Sentaro, apologizing profusely for not calling him earlier, Gaeriel slinked into the room.

"Peorth," she said in greeting.

"Lieutenant," the other goddess replied stiffly.

The valkyrie took a deep breath. "Look, I didn't thank you before... for saving me. So... thank you."

Peorth's eyes narrowed. Gaeriel thanking her? Something was up.

"Don't mention it," she said with a wave of her hand.

"These dreams," Gaeriel continued. "Do you know what they're about?"

"I told you, it was just a dream," Peorth replied.

"I see. Is it..."

Before she could finish, Nyd stormed into the room with a confused Urd trailing behind him. The healer was holding a PDA in his hand and an intense scowl on his face.

"I want to talk to your boss," he growled at Gaeriel. "Now!"

The valkyrie blinked. "What's going on?"

"Do you have a way to contact Lind or not?" he replied angrily.

"Yeah, hold on," she said. She went to the TV and started to fiddle with it.

"If you'll excuse us," Nyd said to the others. "I need some privacy with the commander."

The door linking the kitchen with the living room shut, leaving several confused goddesses marooned with no idea what was happening.

"What the heck was that about?" Skuld asked.

"I don't know," Urd replied, her confusion evident in her tone. "He got some kind of page while we were dancing and insisted we come home."

From the other side of the door, raised voices could be heard.

"I want to know how you intend to handle this!" Nyd was demanding. "Do you have any idea what kind of loss this represents!? Three healers! Three! With a combined medical experience of more than five thousand years! Priceless experience!"

As the argument went on, Frigga walked in. "Urd! Honey! You're home early. Did things not go well?" Her expression drooped.

"No," she replied quietly, still watching the door and trying to listen. "Nyd got some kind of call."

"We are guaranteed protection as noncombatants by the Armistice!" Nyd was saying. "And as a result the Combat Division has countless times refused us protection! 'The demons won't violate the truce,' you said. 'They don't want a war anymore than we do,' you said! Well what do you say now?!"

"Oh dear," Frigga said, her hand going to her mouth. "I had heard more gods had been hit, but I wasn't aware they were healers."

"I have never heard anyone address the Commander like that," Gaeriel whispered. "I mean... who does he think he is?"

Urd's eyes narrowed as she turned to Frigga. "Good question. Just who does Nyd think he is, Frigga?"

The queenly goddess blinked. "What? You don't know?"

"Know what?" Peorth asked.

Frigga sighed. "Girls, your generation really needs to pay more attention to Heavenly affairs..." She turned her attention to Urd. "Did you think I just grabbed the first bush doctor who showed himself?"

"Actually," Urd said, "I thought that was exactly what you did."

Frigga rubbed her temples. "Urd... Love... Darling... Honey... Sweetie..." she growled. "Nyd is the Vice Chairman, Deputy Surgeon General for Expeditionary and Inspiratory Medicine."

Blank looks.

"I didn't understand half that," Skuld admitted.

"I need some aspirin," Frigga groaned. She turned a stern eye on them. "It means, girls, that Nyd is not a med muse, he is the med muse! The one all other medical muses draw their inspiration from. He is quite literally one of the greatest medical minds of our time!"

"And you didn't think this was something I might like to know?" Urd asked.

Frigga spread her arms wide in surrender. "You already thought I had pushed this Pairing for political reasons! The fact that he just so happened to be the number three healer in Heaven would only have cemented that idea, which is as untrue now as it was when I first told you!"

The queen took a breath. "It's no mystery that he's upset. Eir tells me he's always looked at the healers as his little brothers and sisters, and because of one line in that Armistice, they've spent the last thousand years fighting Vector Daemons without valkyrie support. It's a travesty."

Urd wasn't paying attention anymore. She was thinking about what she saw and heard for herself. She had seen this in him before, that boost of confidence when it came to his job, his role. It seemed that he had spent a great deal of his life learning how to be the best healer he could be, to serve Creation the best he could, at the expense of other parts of his life. Working on a wounded god, he was as sure about himself as he was that the Earth was round. Put him in front of a pretty girl and he was a hair's breadth from falling apart.

It was a shame. The confident Nyd was kind of attractive...

The door opened, and Nyd stepped through. Everyone just looked at him.

"What?" he asked.

"Is everything all right, son?" Frigga asked.

He grit his teeth in anger. "These whatever-they-are's attacked three med muses, two in Brazil, one in Somalia. It's a tragedy. A pure tragedy."

"Are you okay?" Urd asked.

He looked at her and shook his head. "They were supposed to be protected by the Armistice," he growled. "Only Vector Daemons can engage healers and vice versa. The only thing those three ever did was try to help people. Now..." He shook his head. "Everything they were... everything they knew... is lost."

"What will you do?" Urd asked.

Nyd looked at her with fire in his eyes. Yes, he was indeed a different man than before, she thought.

"I'm going to have the med muses pair up," he said. "And I'm going to tell them to engage any demon they come across with extreme prejudice. They're not to take any risks."

"That's a treaty violation!" Frigga gasped. "Healers are noncombatants!"

"What else can I do?" he asked, exasperated. "Lind won't detail valkyries to protect them, says she needs them for other operations. She said I should pull them back to Heaven, well if I do that, you'll see twenty new different plagues pop up overnight!"

"Confidence in the healers would plummet," Peorth whispered.

"And the market would crash," Urd concluded.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Frigga," he told her. "It's not Lind's or your responsibility to protect them. It's mine. And I have to do what I must to do so."

He started for the hall, work on his mind, but he did stop next to Urd for a moment. "I did have fun," he told her, glancing at the floor. "While it lasted."

"Another time?" she asked.

The healer looked up and smiled, the fire in his eyes extinguished for now. "I'd like that." He glanced away again and started down the hall.

Urd turned and saw the remaining goddesses looking at her, grinning.

"What?" she asked, frowning at them.

"'Are you okay?'" Peorth asked, clasping her hands as she breathlessly imitated Urd.

"'What will you do, Nyd sama?'" Skuld threw in, her eyes sparkling.

Urd shook in rage and raised her hand...

888

"Look, Urd, I know you get mad, but we're running out of ceilings, okay?" Keiichi said, staring up at the hole that used to be the kitchen roof.

Arms folded over her chest, Urd's eyebrow twitched as she thought on it. "Look, Keiichi, you wouldn't understand, okay?"

"Woah! Woah! Woah!" Keiichi cried. "Hold on a sec! You... YOU... are really going to stand there and tell me that I don't know what it's like to have a goddess come in, meddle in my love life, and constantly push me toward a relationship I might not be ready for? You're really going to be the one to tell me that? With a straight face?"

Urd rubbed her temples. "Oh, jeez, I didn't even see the irony in this until just now," she moaned.

"I mean, jeez, Urd, if you want I can give you lessons!" he went on.

"Okay," she said, taking a deep breath. "What do I do?"

He took pity on her and gave her a helpful answer. "Look, Urd, I can't imagine what it's really like for you, okay? I mean, yeah you pushed us and even threatened me from time to time, but I always knew deep down that it was still my choice on what to do and when. The only thing I could tell you is this: It's your relationship, whatever that relationship turns out to be. So you should only do what you think is right when you think it's right."

She growled. "I know," she finally said. "It's just so hard..."

"Why?"

Sighing, she turned to him. "Because I'm damned if I do and damned if I don't. If I push back against this as hard as I can, I'm still going to lose, and I'll end up hurting a nice guy in the process. If I don't fight... hell, if I actually end up liking this guy... Frigga is vindicated and thinks she made the right decision. I lose again."

"If you do end up liking him," Keiichi said, "Is it really losing?"

She didn't know how to answer.

"Do you like him?" he pressed.

"He's too short to be a suitable lover," she replied, glancing at him with a smug grin.

Keiichi, who stood about three inches shorter than Nyd, grimaced. "Oh, screw you, Urd," he said, rolling his eyes.

She smiled. "I don't hate him," she relented.

"Heck, for a guy like Nyd, that's half the battle won," Keiichi told her. "I'm going to bed. I'll fix this tomorrow morning."

888

Miranda pulled a pack of cigarettes from her pocket and turned down the alleyway, making her way past several dumpsters and bags of trash as she lit the cancer stick. Taking a long drag, she leaned against the wall of an old factory near a cluster of shadows and waited.

It took several minutes, but as she smushed the stub of the cigarette against the wall, the shadow next to her moved, a pair of glowing red eyes appearing and turning toward her.

"Soon," Miranda told the demon, not bothering to look at it. "Be ready to move soon, when I contact you."

The eyes moved as the demon's head nodded, then it silently moved away.

The valkyrie lit another cigarette and took a long drag, letting it out slowly as she looked up at the moon.

"Soon," she whispered.