"It is confirmed?" Loki looked across the table at Omega. The meeting of the six had been called as soon as Omega had returned to the Realm. Even though Omega had already reported directly to Loki, the latter wanted the rest of the group to be aware of what it was that had been discovered on Earth.

Nodding slowly, Omega proceeded to recount his tale of all that had happened to everyone sitting at the table. He showed no emotion or luster in his recounting, elaborating on details only when necessary. It reminded Loki of a particular Roman general whose written works had been much the same. He chuckled to himself – that same general had been one of the Realm's greatest blessings. He tuned back in to the meeting as Omega wound down. "Thus, I fear our worst-case scenarios may come to pass,"

Loki nodded, mind turning over details, looking for some way he could exploit the situation and stop Yggradsil's mission before it became too late for them. Sighing, the fair-haired god of discord raised his hands in front of him, pressing his fingers together as he stared off into nothingness.

"The trouble is," he pronounced after a moment's thought, "That none of us can remain on blessed ground for long periods of time without revealing our true forms. We must, therefore, get the goddesses out into neutral ground where we can subvert the situation to our will."

The others nodded. Nemesis looked up from his thoughts. "Perhaps we can create a distraction to lure the goddesses into a trap. We all know how simple it is to prepare and execute such things."

"You just want to wreak havoc and discord as usual to impress Loki," Aura responded from where she sat beside him. "It would be much better to just drop a giant asteroid on the region. Besides, the extra souls from the collateral damage would only help benefit our cause."

Omega could tell that shouting and pandemonium was about to start if he didn't voice the idea that he – and Luna – had been thinking about while back on Earth. "Wait," he said commandingly to silence everyone before sharp objects could be thrown. "Perhaps the best way is to improvise on Nemesis' plan. Yggradsil is, no doubt, aware of how important this wedding will be. I have no doubt that they have taken steps to secure the safety of the three and the groom-to-be. We use Nemesis' plan and spring a trap somewhere else in the city. In the meantime, I use my disguise as a newspaper reporter and interview them at a restaurant or some other location and eliminate them there."

Loki smiled at this. Omega clearly was learning fast how to influence and win over others to his side. "That would work, but there is the problem of fighting a first-class Goddess and two second-class Goddesses. I have no doubt you can prevail over one, but dealing with three could be suicide for you."

"If I were to ask Belldandy and her husband-to-be, this Keiichi Morisato, to come alone, it would isolate them from her sisters. That would even the odds and simplify things. All we need to do is destroy one of them to eliminate Yggradsil's plans."

The plan didn't sound bad, but Loki did not want to take a chance against the other two sisters. Omega was certainly up to the task of taking on a first-class Goddess, but two second-class Goddesses could prove to be a bit more daunting. "The assistance of Aura and Luna would guarantee success in the event that you encountered their sisters," Loki turned to the two he'd just mentioned. "And it would give Aura a chance to take a shot at Urd."

Aura kept silent at this, though she wanted to jump for joy. Her body quivered with excitement as she imagined what she would do to the exotic-looking Goddess as soon as she got her hands on her. "Rest assured, Urd will feel pain before this is all over."

"As for the distraction," Loki turned his attention back to Omega, "I believe a legion or two of hellhounds running through the city should be enough to keep Yggradsil off-balance."

"Mmmm… hellhounds." Omega seemed to savor the word. "It has been awhile since I have had a chance to play with them. I trust we are continuing to feed them well?"

"Only the best human souls," Loki chuckled. "But they have also been yearning for a chance to run and play as of late. You know how hellhounds can be when penned up down here."

Omega nodded, understanding. "I am sure they will wreak utter chaos on Earth! It will take a host of Gods and Goddesses to deal with them. When do you wish the operation to be commenced?"

"Time is of the essence, Omega, I do not need to remind you of this. I suggest you and your partners sit down and begin planning immediately. We must succeed or else all is lost!"

Skuld sat in her room, staring intently at the computer screen on the desk. The screen showed the picture she had taken with her little can-camera. Marcus Cole stood in the picture with an anonymous woman and both seemed to be engaged in conversation. Both Cole and the woman seemed familiar to her, but the young Goddess of the Future had so far been unable to come up with names to put with the strangely familiar faces. Absentmindedly, she reached for the bowl of ice cream that was sitting beside her, taking a bite as she stared at the two faces on the screen until they blurred.

"There you are!" The voice of Urd broke Skuld out of her reverie and she turned to see her half-sister standing in the doorway. "We've been looking all over for you! Did you ever figure out what was wrong with the phone line?"

Spoon still in her mouth, Skuld nodded and turned away from the computer. "Just some water in the line from the last shower we had. It wasn't anything serious."

Urd was no slouch at figuring out what her sister was feeling a great deal of the time. It wasn't hard to tell, based on Skuld's lack of elaboration and the ice cream spoon in her mouth, that something was distracting her. Sitting down beside her, Urd looked at the image on the computer screen. "Isn't that the reporter who came by earlier? Marcus Cole?"

Skuld nodded slowly, reaching for the bowl with her spoon in an attempt to get another bite of ice cream. "Yeah. I swear I've seen him before, but I can't place it."

"Who's he with?"

She shrugged. "Not sure, though her face also looks familiar. Could she also be someone from the college?"

Now it was Urd's turn to frown as she concentrated on the faces. She hated to think that Marcus Cole, who was pretty handsome, might not be who he claimed. She sighed, hating the words she was about to say. "Maybe… but you should check the Yggradsil database just in case. I'm sure that it'll turn up nothing, but it's better to be safe than sorry." She frowned as she stared harder at the woman's face. Again, it seemed familiar, but no name jumped out at her. "I know I've seen her before somewhere, but I can't place the face." Were the words spoken out of honesty or jealousy? Even Urd herself was unsure.

"That reporter was cute, wasn't he?" Skuld teased, breaking out of her induced distraction for a moment to aim a verbal jab at her sister. "Don't you wish that he'd come back over again? I'm sure you could give him your number."

"You're far too young to be concerned with such things." Urd was in no position to disagree, but she knew that Skuld was far too inexperienced and… well… young to think and worry about guys just yet.

"Aww, you always get to have fun!" Skuld pouted, facing her sister. "That's all I hear—'You're too young'. 'Wait until you're older'. Why can't I have any fun? Huh?"

Urd could guess that her sister was feeling the wedding blues as much as she was—heaven knew that she wouldn't have minded having that reporter back for a fun evening or two, someone to have fun with and maybe get to know better. Still, she was in no mood to deal with her sister's whining.

"Skuld, stop already. I don't have the time or patience right now." Urd took a deep breath, looking her sister in the eye with a stern glare. "We need your help to make sure that things are ready. With Keiichi in school and working, we are responsible for planning and preparing this wedding. Don't you want Bell to be happy?"

"Of course I do!" She was still pouting, but Urd's words made sense to her. "Who wouldn't?" Letting a small sigh escape from her lips, Skuld turned back to her computer and the mystery of the newspaper man.

Urd stood and sighed, leaving her sister to the computer and the ongoing mystery. Stretching her arms over her head, she walked out of the room back towards her room. Thoughts of Marcus Cole were on her mind, and she wondered what she had done to deserve having him on her mind. Belldandy's wedding was weighing on her mind as well – except it made her wish that she could have a companion for a bit of fun. Being a goddess could be such boring and tiring work sometimes – it helped pass the time to have someone to think about and care about, even if only for a while.

Entering her room, Urd opened a bottle of sake and poured herself a cup. The only cure for loneliness in her book was in the clear liquid in her cup. She took a swallow and sighed again, trying to make herself forget her troubles.