Chapter 24

No More

"Where the Hell are they?" Kitara asked, as the little convoy rolled up to the airport. It was true; there was no sign of the twins or their rescue plane. In fact, the only aircraft that could be seen at all were a mixed squadron of militia jets, in the liveries of various African and Middle East nations. It was while they were watching that a pair of MiG-23 Floggers role onto the runway, each carrying a full bomb load. They set off at a roar, screaming down the tarmac surface… only for the lead plane to suddenly explode, as it approached the end of the runway, pitching it into the second one. The pair collided and skidded off of the end of the runway, to land in a burning heap together.

"BLOODY HELL!" Beregond yelped. "WHAT WAS THAT?" It was a stupid question really, as the dark shape of an Urabi appeared from between the buildings, its Nemea gun glowing neon red. There was shouting now… and shooting.

"Shit…" they heard Lind say over the radio. "Everyone; abandon the trucks here. We'll take my technical".

"I thought we were supposed to be delivering TO the airport?" Yukio asked.

"With Jago out of action, I'm not risking getting any closer with those Urabi around. We're close enough and so long as the paperwork is there, we should be fine. Besides, I just got word from your brothers; they'll be here in less than a minute".

"Oh no…" Yukio muttered, as the two big trucks rolled to a halt and they all clambered out, leaping into the back of the technical, as quickly as they could. It was then that the shooting started…

8888

"It's not going well…" Bast admitted, after Osiris had summoned her to his office, to give a situation report on the Urabi attack on Mogadishu.

"And why not?" Osiris asked coldly. He was fidgeting and nervous; sweating, his eyes darting around the room. "I thought I ordered you to take it!"

"We're trying sir" Bast said miserably, giving a sad shake of the head. "But the city VERY heavily defended. We're having to take each street in turn and there are many thousands of-"

"I don't care!" Osiris hissed and then scowled at her. "I want that city taken and I want it done now! Those militia have been a thorn in our side for far too long and so, they must be dealt with!" Bast nodded, not wanting to remind him that until just a few hours ago, the militia had actually been their allies… "And what of our other… friends? Have they been apprehended yet?"

"I'm afraid not sir" Bast said. "The group dispatched to deal with Temeraire and Kitara were defeated, while we miscalculated when it came to Island".

"Miscalculated?"

"Yes" Bast said, wincing. "It turns out that it was Lind herself in that armour. She managed to defeat her attacker and re-joined with the others". Osiris was red in the face, but didn't say anything, holding back his near incandescent rage, while Bast cowered before him.

"And… what of the Paladin himself ?" he asked through grated teeth. "Has he completed his fool's errand and found his supposed Seraph host?" Bast paused and nodded.

"He has found Nanna" she said. "But our forces have been unable to reach him; she was in the stadium, as we predicted she would be but we didn't foresee them attempting to execute her so soon… as such, there was an unusually large concentration of militia in the area and our forces were unable to evacuate until after they had been retrieved and had escaped". At this point, she instinctively ducked, dropping to the floor as a fireball shot past her head.

"THEY ESCAPED?" Osiris shrieked in fury. "THERE WERE JUST TWO PURPOSSES TO THIS MISSION; SUBJUGATE THE CITY AND KILL THE PALADIN! AND YOU HAVE FAILED ON BOTH ACCOUNTS!" He stood, crossing the room, delivering a savage kick to her ribs as he went past. "It's time to take matters into my own hands" he declared. "If activating Gungnir! I'm going to wipe that city off the map and the infernal Paladin and his friends at the same time!" Bast gasped, crawling up on one elbow, as she grasped her injured side.

"WHAT? BUT YOU CAN'T! ARE URABI ARE STILL DOWN THERE! OUR TROOPS! NOT TO MENTION ALL THE CIVILLIANS!" But Osiris ignored her, slamming his office door shut behind him, before turning and heading down the corridor, shaking his head. You just couldn't get the staff these days.

8888

The huge transport was coming in low, very low; less than a hundred feet from the ground in fact.

"Lind, are you there?" Baka called through the radio. "We have the airport in sight but it looks like there's heavy fighting going on around it, so we're not going to be on the ground long. I hope you guys are there".

"We're just outside" Lind called back. "You'd better hurry; we're under heavy fire here".

"We'll be there soon" Baka called back. "Just make sure you're there. I don't want to be hanging around on the runway, like a big, fat, juicy target".

"Just be there!" The radio went silent and the big plane rolled onward, shaking buildings and breaking windows as it went… and now, they were on the final descent, dropping the last few feet towards the runway. Seiran whistled through his teeth however, as the sight that greeted them; the entire airport was swarming with fighting militia and Urabi, each struggling for control of the runway

"Bloody Hell…" he said softly, as the big plane touched down, rolling down the tarmac ribbon, before turning and lining up for take-off. It was then that the shooting started; the relentless clanging and pounding of small arms, as bullets started to hammer against the aircraft's hull. "Aunt Lind, we're here but we're taking heavy fire" he called out. "How close are you?"

"We're within the airport perimeter and will be with you ASAP".

"Well get moving!" Baka said, calling up the plane's weapon systems and starting to lay down a withering barrage of fire. "We're taking off again in sixty seconds!"

8888

The technical roared across the open ground of the airport, swerving between the militia and Urabi, who were duking it out in a battle royal, for control of the terminal. Lind and Temeraire rode up front, in the cab but as there were only two seats, the others were forced to cling on grimly, in the bed of the truck, alongside the body of Nanna and the still unconscious form of Jago. Only Lamb refused to take cover, standing in the rear of the truck, balancing as best she could and using her great buster-sword to cleave at anyone who came too close. Machinegun rounds were peppering the pickup, clanging off the bodywork as they huddled low, but somehow, miraculously, none hit. It was then that the other technicals arrived; four of them. They roared along the road, pouring shot into the Urabi, the militia… and into their escaping truck.

"LAMB!" Lind called out. "WINGS!" Lamb didn't need to be told twice, spreading her wings wide and converting them to solid steel, surrounding the sides of the truck, so that the enemy shells couldn't hit them. Lamb grunted, as the huge .50 calibre rounds smacked against her wings, bouncing off with a sound like a thousand hammers striking an anvil. The other trucks closed in, hammering them with shot and Lind sideswiped one of them, ramming it into one of the other trucks. The trucks spun away, slamming into the side of a parked jet, totalling them both. The second truck however, was less foolhardy than the first and rammed them from behind, attempting to pitch them into one of the parked jets. Beregond and Kitara had other ideas.

"LIND!" Kitara cried, pointing towards a Hind attack helicopter. "UNDER THE TAIL! RIGHT NEAR THE BASE!" Lind, not sure what she was planning but trusting her judgement, swerved the truck to one side, as the others continued to pour shot into them. The truck roared towards the tail of the helicopter and Lind could see that there was no way they were going to make it; that tail was just too low. But Kitara seemed to know what she was doing and she nodded at Beregond, who drew his ever-sharp blade, gripping it tightly. At the last second, Kitara shouted "DOWN!" and they all dropped to the deck, as the cab was crumpled and torn back by the impact. But as the others dropped, Beregond stood and swung his sword, hacking through the tail of the gunship, which dropped behind them, right on top of the second truck, killing the driver and tearing the machinegun from its mounting. Then they were clear, heading straight for the transport… which had started moving.

8888

"We can't leave!" Seiran said, as the Valkyrie started rumbling forward, slowly picking up speed, as his brother thumbed the throttle to maximum.

"They're taking too long" his brother retorted, listening as the engines roared into life and as rounds continued to pepper the plane's outer hull. "We can't stay here; we'll be blown to pieces!"

"But we can't just-"

"BAKA! SEIRAN! WE'RE HERE! NOW DROP THE BLOODY RAMP!"

8888

Lind spun the big truck to the side, power sliding it under the V-120's tail. She managed to overcook it and the truck spun off of the runway but she was instantly back on the power and spun the truck after the departing transport, as the remaining two technicals sun in behind them

"BAKA! SEIRAN! WE'RE HERE! NOW DROP THE BLOODY RAMP!" Lind bellowed into the radio, as the truck hurtled after the plane. There was a mechanical whir, as the hydraulic ramp at the back of the plane hit the deck, throwing up a cloud of sparks behind it, while the two smaller track ramps also deployed, to allow them to board the plane. All they had to do was catch it… not so easy when you were under attack from both sides by technicals, which kept ramming you.

"Someone take out those vehicles!" Kitara shouted and Lamb raised both wings, hacking them down, splitting the other trucks in half and stopping their assault cold. But then a single loud shot rang out and Lind let out a scream, as the high calibre sniper round punched through her armour and sending chunks of heavy Kevlar into her chest.

"MUM!" Temeraire shouted, as Lind went down but she was waved away.

"Take the wheel" Lind hissed, blood on her lips and Temeraire nodded; the truck had lurched to one side as Lind had been shot and now was veering off course. Lind stamped her foot down on the accelerator, as Temeraire reached across her and grasped the wheel in one hand, fighting to realign the truck with the plane and for a second, it looked as if they were doomed to miss… but the there was a sigh of relief, as they rolled up the ramp and into the comforting darkness of the plane's interior. Sparks flew as bullets continued to pepper the outside of the plane a jet of hydraulic fluid squirted across them but they were in the plan now and with a drone that quickly rose into a roar, the big jet lifted off, sending them up and into the sky.

8888

"Fuck me!" Lind swore, as she climbed down from the cab and sat down against the plane's inner wall, panting with exertion.

"Are you ok Mum?" Temeraire asked, crossing to kneel beside her.

"I'm fine" she said and then chuckled. "Bloody great mission, with an expected one-hundred per cent casualty rate and it turns out we're the only ones to get shot!" She laughed at the irony. "Who needs tattoos, when you can have scars?" Temeraire wasn't sure what to say, just watched the others climb down out of the truck, as carefully as possible.

"Why are the doors open?" Kitara asked, glancing to the rear of the plane, where the ramps were still down.

"We can't close them" one of the boys said from the cockpit, as the big plane started to turn south. "We've lost hydraulics to the ramp… we have to fly with the door open". It was then that the truck began to slide… Kitara saw it going and grabbed it, as it started to slide towards the still open rear door and managed to halt it, if only temporarily.

"Get them out!" she cried and the others scrambled to pull Jago and the remains of Nanna from the truck, as it started sliding again… and as Kitara let go, the truck slowly began to slide out of the back of the plane; out and down towards the city. A city in ruins that should be. Fires were burning in a dozen locations, with thick, black smoke filling the air above the city, while swarms of what looked like ants but were probably the Urabi, encircled it, moving through the streets as a single, black mass. But then, something else caught their attention.

"Hey guys?" Yukio asked. "What are those black shapes, approaching us at such high speed?" There was a long silence…

"BOYS!" Lamb suddenly shouted, turning towards the cockpit. "WE HAVE INTERCEPTERS ON OUR TAIL!"

"OH SHIT!" Baka snarled.

"Do you want me to deal with them?" Lamb asked, summoning her sword.

"DO IT!" Seiran said, and Lamb strode to the edge of the ramp, preparing to leap off… until Lind clamped a hand on her shoulder.

"Wait…" she said, gritting her teeth through the pain. "Something's wrong…" Lamb could feel it now; the tingling of a high static charge, which caused the hair to stand on end was rippling through the plane.

"What's going on?" Beregond asked, watching as a sparks started to dance across the aircraft's hull… and then, the sky darkened, filling with black clouds, upon which a shining speck appeared. The speck began to glow and suddenly revealed itself to be an open Gate. The Bifrost Gate.

8888

"YOU CAN'T DO THIS!" Jeiko shouted, as the Urabi blocked his way through the control room. He had made his way to the control room as soon as he had heard of the hawk-god's plans and so, he and those goddesses who remained had flocked to the control room, to try and stop him. Osiris however, ignored them, working to activate Heaven's most powerful weapon.

"Yggdrasil, authorise god First Class Osiris" he said.

"Authorised" and automated voice said, as a shining pillar of rings appeared near the console. A single large pillar then appeared, rising in the centre of them.

"Ordering activation of Gungnir" Osiris said calmly.

"Order confirmed" the computer said, as a button appeared atop the pillar.

"Take aim".

"Taking aim".

"BUT YOU CAN'T!" Jeiko bellowed. "THERE ARE PEOPLE DOWN THERE! WOMEN! CHILDREN! YOU CAN'T FIRE ON CIVILIANS!"

"Releasing lock" the computer said, as the final launch code was entered.

"They should have thought of that before siding with the enemy!" Osiris snarled.

"Removal of the final lock confirmed" the computer said, as cold and emotionless as ever.

"It's time to wipe this Humanist stain off the map!"

"NOOOOOO!" Jeiko shouted, blasting a foe out of the way and heading straight for Osiris… but he was too late. The mad god pressed the trigger…

8888

There was a shining pillar of light coming from the Bifrost Gate now, which slowly spread until it covered the majority of the city. It was then that they realised what was about to happen.

"Oh dear god…" Damascus whispered softly. "They're surely not going to…"

"I think they are" Lind said, looking out at the bright pillar.

"What?" Beregond asked, looking past the women. "What's happening?"

"Gungnir" Lamb said softly. "Osiris is going to wipe the city off the map.

"WHAT?!" The young god looked appalled.

"There must be something we can do!" Yukio asked, desperately. "I mean, my mum-"

"Was right in the middle of a concentrated blast" Lind said. "We could stop it but that would mean being right in the centre of the blast and setting up a shield there… and none of us is fast enough to do that". Yukio gave her a desperate look and then they all watched, as the sky pulled and a mighty beam of energy roared down from the sky, striking the city with a flash of blinding light. The huge plane started to buck and rock, as a huge wave of turbulent air washed over them and they were forced to look away from the light or have their eyes scorched out. It was many long minutes before they see again and what was there was utter destruction; the city of Mogadishu and in fact, a huge, horseshoe shaped chunk of land, more than twenty miles across had been vaporised and was now being filled by water, as the ocean flooded in.

"How could he?" Yukio asked, feeling sick to the stomach. "He just killed thousands of people!"

"Millions" Lind said coldly. "About two million to be exact. And when we get back to Heaven, I can tell you this: HEADS WILL ROLL!" She was snarling now, her eyes glowing golden with rage "THERE IS NO WAY OSIRIS GOT THE OK FROM THE REST OF HEAVEN FOR THIS! WHEN WORD GETS OUT, I WILL PERSONALLY LEAD THE MAN HUNT FOR HIM AND I WILL HANG HIS SCRAWNY CARCASE FROM THE HIGHEST TOWER!"

"Get in line" Lamb said softly. "He's gone too far now… far too far…" The was a quiet and nervous cough from behind them and they all turned to see Jago standing behind them, swaying slightly but otherwise ok.

"I'm sorry" he said. "But have I missed something here?"

8888

"Scenes of devastation are coming out of East Africa today" the reporter said, as the screen was filled with the wreckage of the once powerful city of Mogadishu. Ninety per cent of the city had been completely obliterated, leaving nothing but an ocean filled crater where it had once stood. "More than two million people are feared dead" the reported continued. "And many more have been injured". The image switched to that of a frantic rescue team, who were digging through a pile of burning rubble, in an attempt to reach a trapped survivor. "These scenes of destruction are unprecedented in modern times. Nothing like this has been seen since the self-detonation of a nuclear device by the government of North Korea, within their capital of Pyongyang, which left nearly one and a half million dead, has such devastation been wrought. The United Nations have called an emergency meeting in Zurich, following reports that the weapon used was of Heavenly origin. While so far, Heaven has yet to release a statement as to whether these allegations as false or not, it would see clear that-". There was silence as Jago clicked the remote, turning off the screen with a sigh. There was an awkward silence.

"Well…" he said. "That was a complete and utter fuck-up of an utter disaster". Despite the silence, it was clear that the others agreed with him. It was less than twenty-four hours since the attack on Mogadishu, which had left so many dead and destitute. Now, the entire High Council had been called together for an emergency meeting, on-board the Isolus, which had been rotated south, to Sicily while her sister, the Valiant had taken up position over Archangel. It was now early morning and they were all tired but for now, everyone had their eyes of Osiris, who sat alone, with not supporting councillor beside him. Rumour had it that he had killed his supporters…"So Osiris" Jago said, with barely concealed disdain, "care to explain to us why you decided to wipe an entire city off the map, via orbital strike?" The others were silent, as Osiris gave a manic leer, before launching into his explanation.

"That city was filled with Humanists" the hawk god said. "As you know, they have been a thorn in our side for years. As such, I thought that it was about time for us to deal with them, in what I considered the most appropriate way possible".

"By sinking an entire city into the sea?" Hagall asked sceptically. The demon looked more angry than most at this, for despite being inherently evil, she hated unnecessary killing; it brought no honour and lessened the number of contracts that could be granted…

"Why yes" Osiris said, coolly. "Although I should point out that that was a last resort".

"That's right" Jago said. "Your first was a full-blown invasion of the city with those damned Urabi of yours… forces, which I hasten to add, which have yet to be formally accepted by this council".

"I have recently exiled those traitorous Valkyries" Osiris said. "And as such, I needed a cheap and efficient replacement".

"And a fat lot of good it did you!" Jeiko snapped. "If you had kept the Valkyries and used THEM to clear the city, rather than those… automatons of yours, then this never would have happened!" The entirety of the Council had turned to the Earth spirit, who was glaring at the hawk-masked god with fury, while Osiris remained largely impassive. "If you had kept the Valkyries, as any sane person would have, then an invasion of Mogadishu would have been relatively bloodless, if unethical… and we all know why you dismissed them; so that you could rule unopposed, without fear of Lind returning!" Osiris snorted in derision.

"Lind would never have returned! She was a fool, unfit for service as the Almighty One!"

"She made a better Almighty One than you!" one of the other Councillors cried and there was a chorus of affirmation.

"From what I can see" Jeiko said, with a note of finality, "is you got rid of someone who was possibly our best ever Almighty One, on a silly WHIM and for that, millions have just paid the price!"

"Be careful Lord Sukaru" Osiris said icily. "That sounded like an accusation to me!"

"It IS an accusation!" Jeiko snapped. "You are by far the worst Almighty One we have ever seen!"

"I concur" Hagall put in, taking a stand beside him. "In the last few weeks, Hell has been inundated with goddesses fleeing from you, with tales of your barbaric cruelty. Cruelty, I might add, which not even the most sadistic of demons would inflict on a person!" She glared straight into his eyes. "That's right; I've seen the burns, the broken fingers… and we can't support any more of them! Hell is so inundated that we simply don't t have the room for them!" There was another round of affirmative murmurs, as she faced him down; Daimankaichō and Almighty One glaring, eye to eye. "As Daimankaichō and as a sentient being with at least some conscience, what little of it I have as a demon, I cannot allow this to continue! I therefore call upon the other members of the High Council, with all of the authority afforded me by my position, for a vote of no confidence in the High Lord Osiris and to call for his immediate resignation as Almighty One, relinquishing control to someone we can all agree would serve the task in a more able fashion". He gave her such a glare that you could have sworn he was going to attack her but she met his with a look so acid that it could have etched steel. "Ladies" she said, "gentlemen, please let us have a show of hands. All those in favour of the immediate resignation of High Lord Osiris from his post of Almighty One…" There was a moment of silence and then the majority of hands were raised. "And against?" Just Osiris raised his hand. "There we have it then" Hagall said "The Council has made its decision Osiris; you're out!" Osiris took a long, slow breath and then grinned, standing slowly.

"The Council may have made its decision… but as it's a stupid-ass decision, I have elected to ignore it". There was a stunned silence at this sudden proclamation, while Osiris beamed around, in a manic fashion… "Clearly, the Council does not appreciate my genius and skills as a leader and so, I am forced to take a most dramatic step". He took a deep breath; the calm before the storm… "I hereby declare that Heaven shall cede from the governance of the High Council and that we formally sever all ties and connections to the other realms! All those who have abandoned Heaven, shall be permanently exiled, like the traitors they are! For now and forever!" He paused and glanced at Jeiko, with a deep frown upon his face. "Regrettably, we cannot sever EVERY tie with this world, due to our reliance on human wish energy as a source of power and as such, SOME links shall have to be maintained. As such, we shall maintain access via the Bifrost Gate, as well as the two Embassies on Avalon and in Japan. Aside from that however, all access shall be cut and only those with our express permission to either enter or depart, shall be executed with extreme prejudice". He glared around triumphantly at the stunned Councillors. "I hereby wash my hands of you all… you and your nonsense. And I shall warn you now; this is just the beginning! Soon, I shall restore Heaven to its rightful place as the most powerful of all realms… and bye then, the destruction of one pathetic human city will look like a child kicking a sandcastle!" With that, he turned and strode away, leaving the chamber in silence.

"Well… that could have gone better" someone said. Nobody said anything…

8888

It was a long while before the Council was able to continue their discussion, so severe had the shock of Osiris's announcement of Heaven's ceding from the Council been. However, now it was time to move on and deal with the other unpleasant business of the day…

"I'm afraid now Lord Paladin" Lord Buddha said with a pained expression, "that it is time for us to begin the discussion of your conduct during and mismanagement of this… incident. Your actions or rather, lack of them, have directly resulted in the death of a First Class goddess… and indirectly lead to the deaths of more than two million people and the destruction of the city, formerly known as Mogadishu". Jago nodded and took his seat beside Weth, who gave him a sympathetic look. This was going to be hard on her mentor; she could sense that and would most likely end with her being promoted, at his expense. Jago however, simply looked grim, determined and very, very tired… apparently the having to force-boost Lamb had completely drained him, almost of the will to live.

"I'm ready" he said. "Let's just get this over with…"

8888

"The plating was about to fail in a dozen different places and there's viscosity throughout the gel layer" Skuld said, shaking her head as she inspected the damage to her precious and now returned prototype armour suit. "The optics? Totally fried! And let's not even talk about the power supply!" She shook her head again, chuckling. "Do you have ANY idea how expensive that suit was?" Lind, now in a civilian gown of white, blue and deep purple, her side wrapped in bandages, shrugged and then winced as a bolt of pain shot through her.

"Tell that to the damned thing that attacked me". Skuld sighed and continued to inspect the damage to the suit.

"Well I guess I can't really complain" she said. "You've given me plenty of combat data to be going on with and now I can begin work on the first proper production models". She paused, inspecting the hole where the sniper's round had punched through the thick composite and Kevlar plate of the right side ribs. "So how was it to use?" she asked.

"It was pretty good" Lind admitted. "The level of protection it provided is certainly superior to that of a standard robe or combat leathers and the strength augmentation that the armour provides was certainly a welcome bonus". She paused, thinking. "However, it does still need work. You might want to look at lowering the overall weight of the thing for a start; five-hundred pounds, even with strength augmentation, is a fair amount of weight to carry around with you, plus it slows you down in a melee. Also, it does limit the use of boosters, meaning that when dealing with overly powerful opponents, particularly those of an equal level of physical strength; it can be difficult to take them out. Finally, while the protection is good, it could be better; at least .50 calibre proof all over, at the very least". She paused, thinking on how best to deliver her full verdict to Skuld. "Overall, I wouldn't recommend it for most combat Valkyries; it messes up our traditional fighting abilities too much. However, I would certainly recommend it for high-risk operations and possibly for Heavies, who would have the physical strength to operate it, without losing too much in terms of performance. It may also be useful in environments where humans will be the most likely opponents, over those with deities, as it appears to be proof against most human weapons but I wouldn't want to risk it against magic". She paused and winced again, causing Skuld to glance at her side.

"Are you ok?"

"I'm fine… although if possible, I would recommend the inclusion of a Hard Light Shield for the next version". Skuld nodded, scribbling furiously in her notebook and then glanced back at her.

"Are you sure you're ok? That must be quite a wound you've got there".

"I've had worse" Lind said with a dismissive shrug. "Just another scar for the collection".

"Why don't you go to the healers?" Skuld suggested. "They could certainly give you something that could relieve the pain, if not heal you outright".

"Jago's theory of "cackling" Lind said by way of explanation and when all this got was a blank look, she gave a proper one. "If I start letting people use magic to make me feel better or worse, do so myself, I might start using it for other things. Long story short, it's an enabler; once you start, it becomes easier to go to the next step… and personally, I'd rather not end up coo-coo". Skuld gave her half-sister a sceptical look and sighed.

"Lind, you're already coo-coo". Lind snorted in mock anger.

"Mad scientist…"

"Wacky hacker…" The pair chuckled at this, knowing that it was all in good fun…

"So what's your plan now?" Skuld asked. "I mean, neither of us can go back to Heaven anymore, what with Osiris and his ceding from the Council and all, so…"

"I've still got a duty that I must perform" Lind said. "I need to go back to Jötunheim soon and finish up the negotiations there. First though, I plan to spend some time with my family. I haven't managed a whole lot of that in the last thirty years and I guess it's about time I made an effort". Skuld nodded, knowing exactly how she felt.

"I haven't seen Big Sis or Urd for nearly three years" she admitted. "Do you reckon I should think about taking some time off?"

"Yes, I think you should" Lind said and sighed. "We could all get together, have a girl's night out… with Peorth and the Temmy and Kitara of course".

"What about Yukio?" Lind paused.

"There's something… off about Yukio. Ever since she went on that mission, she she's seemed a bit… well, odd. Not quite herself. I'm sure it's nothing but still…"

"She went through a lot or so I'm told" Skuld said. "She is Big Sis's little girl and she's probably never had to deal with anything like some of the stuff she saw before. I'm sure it's just shock; a few days, maybe a couple of weeks at most and she'll be back to her old self". Lind sighed.

"I hope you're right, for her sake more than anything".

8888

The discussion was a long one; they needed to run over not only Jago's performance during his last few missions. In truth, the picture wasn't pretty. It was a catalogue of errors and blunders, as long as a man's arm, each as bad as the last and while he and his friends did their best to defend him, in truth, the conclusion was forgone…

"Paladin Jago" Lord Buda said finally, his face sad and grim. "It would seem that in recent months, your performance as a whole has degraded drastically. Now I have the greatest respect for you, as do we all but in truth, I have my doubts as to whether you are still fit to continue your duties as Paladin". He took a deep breath and looked directly at Jago, his face lined with regret. "As such, I would suggest that it is time for you to step down from you duties and elect a suitable candidate as your replacement".

"My Lord, I must protest!" Jeiko said, taking a stand. "Jago may be-"

"Please remember yourself Jeiko" Buda said softly. "I am still your Lord and I hadn't finished. I was going to say that this would be a voluntary move on Lord Jago's part and unlike with Osiris, he has done nothing wrong, per say and so we cannot force him to retire. However, I would recommend and I am sure that most of my other fellow councillors will agree, that it is time for Lord Jago to retire… on grounds of ill health, if nothing else". There were a few more shouts of protest, mostly from the other councillors but this all eventually faded into silence, as Jago himself spoke.

"Thank you Lord Buda" he said. "You do me a great kindness with your words. And on this, I would agree; I think it is about time for me to retire". He paused and shook his head. "During that last mission, I lost Lamb's strength through that incident with Penitence or Oracle as she is now calling herself and I realised just how vulnerable I've become without her. I can't summon either of the Opal-essence anymore, not with Hade's controlling the pair… and if I summon him, the term "no kill like overkill" sadly can't be applied, for fear of it being an understatement". He paused and glanced at Jeiko, bowing his head to him. "I appreciate your support my friend" he said, "but it is time for someone else to take over". There was a murmur from around the table, as Lord Buda stood once more, bowing his head to Jago.

"In gratitude to yourself, your angels and your work, you will of course be released from service with full honours, as well as retaining the title of Lord". He paused and pursed his lips, not sure how to phrase the next bit. "You will of course, once you are dearly departed… no, not what I meant, when-"

"When I'm dead?" Jago said simply.

"Well yes" Buda said. "When you die, you will also receive a full state funeral and… possibly some sort of memorial, if we can find something appropriate".

"Oh stuff that" Jago said. "They'll get my nose wrong for sure and I'll just end up a magnet for graffiti... no, just bury me like you would anyone else". He paused and coughed. "I do have a request; a pension. I have a little money saved but most of my expenses were taken by Heaven and supported by whatever I could make from my metalworking. With Heaven out of the picture, I could do with a source of income of some sort… and possibly for my wife and children. With the exception of Hervar, none of them are really suited for anything other than combat so…"

"But of course" Buda said. "It is only right that they should receive our full support".

"Thank you" Jago said.

"If I might ask" one of the lorelei councillors said, "have you got anyone in mind for your replacement?"

"Indeed I have" Jago said and he turned to Weth. "Weth, taking over?" The woman looked surprised.

"What? Me master?" There was a snigger.

"Old Tin-legs? Seriously?"

"Why not?" Jago asked. "Weth, you're already the commander of the Guardians and one of the most powerful goddesses in the world; First Class and proud of it. On top of that, I trust you and I trained you myself. So what do you say?" Weth was silent for a long time… and then she spoke.

"I accept".

Authors Note: I am sorry it has taken so long for such a short chapter but I've had two bits of coursework and all kind of uni stuff going on… hopefully I should soon be through that all though. Thanks for your patience.