The screech of metal scratching a specialized stone filled the hidden chamber within the abandoned church as the SPARTAN sharpened the edge of his weapon. Beside him, Hestia stood, watching as the man meticulously brought both his straight-edged blade and the curved one to proper fighting sharpness, small flakes of metal flying off like burning sparks due to the friction between the weapons and the whetstone.

He hummed, setting aside what he called the 'Bowie Knife'(whomsoever that Bowie may have been to have had Odell's knife named after him, Hestia thought to herself) and then switched to the Kukri again. Drawing it out of its sheath for proper sharpening once more, the boy pressed it against the whetstone and scratched multiple times, to the point the blade looked like it had been polished on both sides. He spun the Kukri between his fingers, then looked at the blade.

Hestia remembered when he'd appeared a mere month or so ago. The small, uneasy truce she found with the man before her about him joining her Familia, her discovering his skills(and subsequently being absolutely gobsmacked by the sight, seeing as that high a set of numbers was nigh impossible without prior attachment to a God or Familia) and the almost two million Valis the man had raked in since.

Now, a million Valis was nothing to scoff at. Hell, two was very good, especially for a Rookie. It was a lot of money, but it also was pretty much the 'basic' money of any local adventurer above his level, he figured. That, or it was the case, anyway, with the Loki Familia's most elite. The rumors the man and Hestia had been able to overhear about the Sword Princess and the team behind her were nothing short of intriguing to the Supersoldier, it seemed.

Meanwhile, Six could only think of continuing his little bouts. He needed to keep his skills sharp, just in case something or other caught him off-guard. It was never a good idea to just simply venture headfirst into anything and everything he faced in the Dungeon under Babel. Sure, he mostly fought fodder, weak enemies that one could literally take out with a pocket knife if their skills were even somewhat above mediocre. He looked at the Kukri in his hand, noting the slight indent on the tip from when Emile must've carved the demonic face into his EVA helmet's visor. He wondered if he should sharpen it out for a moment, but decided against it. It was a sort of last memory of Emile, plus, the damn thing stabbed well enough.

He sighed and sheathed the blade. He'd draw enough blood on his next outing to the corrosively claustrophobic battlefield that was the Dungeon's halls to sate the thirst of his friend's blade. Attaching both blades to his armor and ensuring all systems were operational via running a diagnostic, he noted to himself that he only had enough Hydrogen for the microfusion reactor in the MJOLNIR for about another two, maybe three years. After that point, he'd either need to find an immediate source of hydrogen and some way to make it into usable power cells, or ditch the armor entirely.

Latter wasn't likely, though. He wasn't losing one of the advantages he had over anything in this place. He looked around, his mind still locked on any way to gather proper resources and make himself new power cells. Sure, three years was a long time in the grand scheme of things, at least it sounded like a long time on paper, but with as busy and mundane a life as the SPARTAN had found for himself here, it would be like a drop of water.

Dangling her feet off the bed, Hestia looked at him and asked, "Is everything alright, Odell?"

"Just checking something in regards to my armor..." He spoke, then scratched the back of his neck just below the connection point that allowed him to run the armor. He turned off the diagnostics after getting a full green across the board and added, "I should go..." before standing up. Hestia was about to ask him to wait for a moment so they could talk, but she sighed and sat herself back down.

She said to him, "Take care, Odell. I may be gone for a couple of days..."

"I'll be sticking to the floors I know are for rookies..." He replied, some hint of dismay behind the stoic demeanor, "Take care, Goddess..." And he walked off. She smiled at him, then took a bite out of a cooled potato ball. She did enjoy his presence, even if he was never very talkative. It was nice to know he did care enough to tell her to 'take care', though. Almost as if he was actually there for more than just 'Oh, I guess I'm part of your Familia now, because I have to be'.

It was nice to think about. The guy had done a lot to improve their well-being, too, considering everything that was going on around them. She sighed, then stood to her feet, wondering just how she could help him, however, to repay him and lessen his own workload. Aside from working as well, that was. She was already helping run one of Hephaestus's shops alongside a few other part-timers to earn some Valis of her own.

Hephaestus... Hm.

She knew Six wielded those big ol' knives of his, but she wondered just what she could do to help improve them. One of them was already chipping itself, it seemed. The Bowie Knife. Meanwhile, the other seemed to be holding on nice and tight for its life, meaning it was still gonna be useful to her SPARTAN child for the foreseeable future. He did mention it had belonged to one of his friends once upon a time.

She wondered if friends of his would also come by. Sighing, she put on her work shoes(Which he had gotten for her!) and stepped out as well, smiling ear to ear as she slowly began to formulate a plan for what she could get him as a thank-you gift with her own money. She wouldn't spend anything from their coffers just yet, of course. No point in doing it.

Maybe Heph could help with the gift, she thought. Departing for her workplace, Hestia marched down the road toward Babel itself, listening in to the whispers of the city as she passed by. The people around her spoke of the 'soldier in the heavy armor' that had just recently gone through this place. Whispers of what he had done to one of the Loki Familia's members at Mamma Mia's place filtered to her as well, with a somewhat prideful grin taking place of her usual warm smile.

That people were talking about that Bete fellow getting his arm twisted into stopping himself from being a pain in the behind was nice. Add to that the fact Loki couldn't really do a thing about it because Bete really started the altercation, with the witnesses to prove it, and it was just all-in-all a pretty funny, good day for one to be part of the Hestia Familia. Sure, they may get challenged by people and Bete might've been planning something or other for revenge, but that wasn't gonna be a problem.

Walking into Babel and taking the elevator to the shopping district of the tower, the girl marched through the crowds and into the Hephaestus Familia's shop. She greeted, "Hey, Tania," as she walked past the counter. The girl there greeted her with a smile and a nod, before Hestia stopped, looked around at the shelves of weaponry and asked, "Uh... Where's Heph?"

"Oh, she's out for the day. Prepping for Ganesha's party and Monster Feria, y'know?" Tania replied as she walked up to her. For a moment, the small Goddess seemed stunned, turning to the blonde-haired girl with wide eyes. Tania paused, scratched her chin and said with a tone as awkward as possible, "I take it you didn't get invited, Goddess Hestia...?"

"No, I did," Hestia stated rather loudly, "I FORGOT ABOUT IT!" before she grabbed her head and screamed loudly toward the sky, garnering the attention of patrons and fellow employees alike. Tania patted her on the shoulder, speaking some recomforting words that presumably fell on deaf ears. The girl then turned toward Tania, grabbed her by the shoulders and begged her, "Can you please cover my shift while I go find a dress?!"

"Y-You didn't..." Tania hummed, then sighed deeply, "Sure..."

Hestia then hugged the girl tightly, bringing her face into her chest and nearly smothering her as she cried out, "You're the best!" and then skipped off to go find a proper dress. Tania breathed, finally, after having been kept in-between those 'things' of Hestia's for the better part of five seconds. She sighed, then turned back to work. All this happened under the watchful gazes of someone who wasn't as much a customer as she was... Eerily familiar with the situation.

Within the confines of Babel's upper levels, where she and her Familia, one of, if not the most powerful in the city of Orario, resided, the Goddess stared at an orb through which the audio and visuals of a small scouting creature had been playing. She hummed, smiling, then said, "Perhaps I should attend Ganesha's party, after all. If only to understand how Hestia got our little champion into her ranks so easily... In the meanwhile..."

Her hand hovered over a strange device. Familiar, yet so offputtingly strange to her, she had used it once before... And she smiled, "Let's see..." before she thumbed it to activate it, "What you bring this time..." and let the blue light of the device dance in front of her face as a whirlpool of black energy formed inside the central sphere, lightning sparkling into the walls made of an alien glass...

... Meanwhile, elsewhere, the SPARTAN himself was dealing with the usual grinding as he put blade and fist through the creatures of the cave. He spun the Kukri in one hand, mostly utilizing it to do right by his silent promise. He had been hunting on Level 5 again, keeping to himself for the most part as evening approached. He had updated the armor's internal clock to the place's time.

He wiped the blood of one of the taller, lankier beasts of the place off the knife, then slotted it back into its sheath. It was going to be an interesting few hours of grinding, taking into account that(if she even remembered) Hestia was supposed to be going to the party of another of the Gods pretty soon. Ganesha was the man's name, if Six remembered correctly. One of the Hindu gods, perhaps the god of parties himself? Six wasn't sure, he had not met him.

He was pretty sure that the only other god he had 'met' was Loki. And she seemed like the brash, annoying type of goddess, high and mighty and up her own behind because of her Familia's advancements. They, however, hadn't had problems after the thing at Mama Mia's place. That was a good sign, maybe they scared off that annoying Goddess's little posse and the 'Sword Princess'.

SPARTANs didn't need distractions, especially not something or someone like that Wallenstein girl, Six thought as he pushed on through the place, seeking out other targets and yet more gems to exchange for Valis and provide them some extra food for the rest of next month. He hadn't had much time to think, however. Reflect on what had truly happened to him all those days ago. That he had truly died and was now in another realm, a world as strange as could be.

He remembered now that Hestia had mentioned something about him. That something had sent him here. He had gotten too distracted with his work as an 'adventurer' and earning himself enough money for him and her to stay alive that he'd forgotten to ask what she had meant by that. Alas, he would ask once she was home from the party and he had finished his grinding for the day and evening.

Climbing out of the place, level by level, the man sheathed his blades and marched forth out into the town. By all intents and purposes, Hestia would presumably be gone for the next couple of days, visiting the Ganesha family for that party. He could spend time all evening, gathering more gems. Or, he could do the smart thing, go deliver the kills he had so far, then go around town and listen in.

He wondered if-CLANG

He stopped as his foot caught something. Said something rolled forward a couple of feet, undented and undamaged as it seemed, but with a familiar hue shining through the dim lights of the place. He was stunned for a moment, watching as the item's holographic display flared upward, revealing an image of a humanoid figure in the middle of a circle, half-vanished and leaving only its outline.

He took a knee in front of the device, which resembled a bulbous, specialized attachment that strapped itself to the rear of his armor. Lifting the device, he murmured to himself, "A camouflage field...?" as he thumbed it. The holographic display disappeared, then the device itself seemed to vanish slowly behind a thin veneer of transparency, followed by the SPARTAN's very hand slowly vanishing behind it, until nothing was left of the SPARTAN.

He hummed, standing to his feet and clipping the device to the rear of his MJOLNIR, then thumbed its activation button again as the firmware update re-started. He'd used this kind of thing once, during the Night Op with Jun, as they were working on dealing with the concealment canopy system that the Covvies had brought in to mask the Long Night of Solace's troop complement deployment zone.

He looked around, hand hovering over his pistol as he scanned the claustrophobic corridor and the three branch-off points with killer intent. With a malcontent-filled hum, the SPARTAN deactivated the camouflage field to let it recharge and walked out as the firmware finished updating. According to the key notes, the device was usable for hours if power was allowed to be shunted from shields and into it, but it'd eat away at the power cells relatively faster than normal, with the remade calculations showing that the armor could last for up to one-point-five years of continuous operation with the device at full power and constantly on. One-point-seven with it being used sparingly, by activating and deactivating it as needed. Idling it also seemed to consume very little in the way of power.

Odd, but Six felt good knowing that the item wouldn't draw that much power when not in use. He eyed the cloak notification that appeared to the top-left of his motion tracker and the timer with it. Marching forth and out of the dungeon, the man set his sights on doing something he should have done earlier:Gathering intel. He activated the camouflage device just as he emerged, seeing it engage the strange effect of painting multiple dots on the motion tracker.

He needed to get an update set up so that it didn't do that to him. It was also of no use. There were no real enemies out here using motion trackers, or at least not electronic ones. Magic was a thing, though, so, maybe they could. So was Perception, apparently something that could be upgraded and/or trained to be much better, akin to how a SPARTAN's perception was well above a normal human one.

He wanted to also understand the whole 'Falna' blessing system, the magic, skills and other such things, but he figured he'd find a book or two about it in a library, or he could just ask Hestia when she came back. For now, though, the man pushed on into town slowly, as for the active camouflage not to fade out. He made sure to stay out of sight of crowds and stick to the shadows.

He was a SPARTAN. He was good at being stealthy despite the half-a-ton's weight worth of titanium battle plate on his body. Continuing his trek through the town, the man stopped to eavesdrop on several conversations. Some of them spoke of the Dungeon's penchant for spawning more monsters as of late, though with no real explanation as to the 'why' of the matter.

Going further down and to the next conversation, the man listened in as men spoke of an upcoming festival hosted by the Ganesha Familia known as 'Monster Feria'. Something about fighting monsters in the big Colosseum in the city's entertainment district? He assumed that Ganesha would be running the place, to nobody's surprise. Other than that, not much talk between the Adventurers. He stepped away, as if he had never been there, silently thanking whatever silent benefactor handed him the cloak.

The SPARTAN would do this well into the evening, seeking out new information on the proclivities and matters of the city, as well as seeking out information on the various Familias that inhabited Orario. Sadly for him, there were no rumors of new artifacts like the cloak he'd found, or anything like that to bolster his chances of going home to help in the War Effort yet again. He had realized long ago that the UNSC would need every SPARTAN they could get, so, finding a way home was still paramount. And it was good he got to start his search now, but...

This was gonna be a long couple of days...


The Gods' Party.

As night fell and the crowds of Gods gathered, Unsurprising Extravagance was the play for the Ganesha Familia's usual party tricks. Held in the Ganesha Familia's large estate, simply known to all as I am Ganesha, the massive elephant humanoid statue with an entrance in the crotch, the home of the god Ganesha was as incredibly luxurious as it was strange. Kind of like the man himself, who now greeted the coming gods, both great and minor, to their party, clad in nothing but his elephant mask, a strange cloth that covered his lower body and an exposed top, revealing the musclebound god, his luscious black hair flowing in the wind.

Fancily dressed in suits, dresses, or attire matching their specific culture, each god and goddess mingled, chatting, laughing and enjoying each-other's presence(or planning to stab one-another in the back, depending on relationships) as they moved about the grounds of the multi-story statue-house which had a fountain in the middle with two sets of stairs that converged at the base of said fountain, which was an elephant.

A great deal of beautiful goddesses presented themselves to their fellow gods, to the indignation of the other minor and major goddesses and perhaps even some of the gods, as they flirted with, or acted cordially with the gods that were an object of affection to those scorned. In the background, music played, a combination of percussion, strings and even woodwind filling the air with harmonious melodies at just the perfect speed for a semi-alert dance routine. There was a certain eastern flair to the whole thing, as was fitting for a god related to the Hindu pantheon.

Some men whispered to one-another, "Hey, how long's it been? How many centuries?"

"About four days," Another replied from his seat, watching as the gathered crowds continued to mill around each-other, laughing and just enjoying the various foodstuffs and drinks being served. The man added, "Ganesha really went all-out for this one..." as he looked 'round at everything, including the entertainment on offering. The other chuckled.

"When doesn't he?" He then quipped.

"Fair... Is that Takemikazuchi over there?" His friend asked, pointing a finger toward two men, one of them clad in what looked to be a Yukata or some kind of Eastern attire as well. Beside him, a boyish-looking fellow with a peacock-feathered hat and fancy, if eccentric clothes poked fun at him, laughing at the God that was eating a lot more than one thought possible, "And that's Hermes..."

"Woah, I didn't know he came back from his trip," Stated another, "And... Oh, heavens, there she is!"

The men all gazed upon a woman that was descending one of the stairwells, flanked by two bodyguards clad in suits. She wore a fancy gown, a dress made to order for her specifically with floral motifs. In her short hair, she wore a laurel wreath made of a beautiful gold and even her haircut seemed made to accentuate her face, like her dress was made to accentuate her form.

"The Goddess of Beauty... Freya..." The men all spoke in reverent whispers.

The woman paused for a moment on the stairs, meanwhile. From the sea of otherwise familiar faces, the very woman who seemed to be the undisputed 'ruler' of Orario's Familias, with her own being the most powerful to date, caught sight of one familiar face among the crowd that intrigued her for a multitude of reasons. Smiling, she graciously descended down the stairs toward said figure, who was currently hunched over, hidden and stuffing a bowl of some kind full of various types of food, while also sneaking one or two bites in for herself.

The twin-tailed girl was clad in a bright blue dress that accentuated her own chest area, as well as a dark-blue, short jacket to keep herself warm. Freya greeted her with a smile, "Oh, Hestia!" which seemed to stun the girl enough to cause her to double over. She turned to face the beauty, eyes wide and with a dumpling caught in her mouth. Her two big blue eyes welcomed Freya's own cold lilac eyes with a hint of fright and a hint of indifferent surprise. Freya chuckled, "Am I interrupting?"

"Freya..." The girl spoke with her mouthful, then bit down on the food as she had to stare up at the woman. She stood about a head over her in height and she was certainly in a league of her own when it came to beauty, but alas, "I just don't know how to handle you, exactly..." was the only answer Hestia could give to her friendly neighborhood 'leader in all but name'.

"And I like that about you," Quipped the woman, "We haven't talked in so long."

"True," Hestia hummed, "Though you never really did pay attention to me... Admittedly, I didn't have anything to show for my name of 'Goddess' before."

Freya snorted, "Oh? And what may you have now?"

"A Familia," She replied, then sighed, "At least the start of one."

"I see," Freya nodded, "I am happy to hear your Familia was finally joined by someone, Hestia. Genuinely... We were all getting a little worried."

Hestia considered backsassing Freya, but she rather enjoyed her eternal life in the Realm of Humans so far. She simply answered, "Well... it could always be worse. Could be..." and she looked past Freya, scowling for a moment, as a familiar, flat-chested face with short red hair and a fancy black dress strutted down the stairs, eyes narrowed and smile wide.

"Freeeyaaaa~!" Loki greeted her, jumping onto the Goddess's back with a smile, then turning to Hestia and adding, "And Buttflea, of course! I was actually lookin' for ya!"

"Loki," Freya commented, "You certainly look interesting."

"Hehe~!" The redhead smiled awkwardly, "Thanks, Freya. You look great, too."

"You were looking for me, then, Loki?" Hestia crossed her arms to her surprisingly more voluptuous chest, bringing them to the forefront, which seemed to irritate the goddess of one of the strongest Familias enough for a vein to pop out. Freya chuckled at the little tit-measuring contest between the two, then took a step back and grabbed some food off the table to watch the exchange. Perhaps she wouldn't even need to ask Hestia about the newcomer herself.

And her suspicions were correct as Loki leaned forward, stating, "Bete's still pretty pissed at your child for the twisted arm. Who was that guy, anyway? Ais stunned us with her stories about him duking it out and somehow almost killing a freakin' Minotaur at his level, so I figured I should ask what kind of crazy bastard you managed to conjure up with your powers."

Freya chuckled, but covered her mouth. Oh, poor, poor Loki...

Hestia took a moment, wondering if he should speak the man's real name at all, considering the annoying catboy and, presumably, the rest of Loki's Familia knew him as his number. She smirked, then said, "Six is a really strange case, I'm gonna be honest. He's a level one, but he's got some skills here and there that are a bit above your average Rookie, so..."

"Any hints you can give us?" Loki grinned.

"Sorry. Told Six I'd keep it a secret," She jabbed back, also grinning. She paused for a moment, then hummed and sighed, "But he's very alone..."

"Oh?" Freya and Loki raised brows, curious. What could the Goddess even mean by that? Of course, it was of interest to the two of them. For Loki, it was because Ais seemed to be stunned by the fact a Rookie had been able to stand toe-to-toe with a monster twice his size and almost win. For Freya, it was because she wondered just what kind of man had come to their world from beyond the Veil, to break the usual peace of the place.

"It's a long story," Hestia sighed deeply, deciding not to add too much, "Let's just say he isn't from around the place. And he looks like he's lost a lot... Got that stare all soldiers had after many battles. I tried to get him to open up, but he's mostly keeping to himself, processing it on his own, it looks like. That, or acting like it doesn't exist and that he's fine."

"Sounds like ya got your hands full," Loki commented, leaning back with a bit of a strange expression on her face, one of compassion. She recalled just how Ais had been when they'd gotten her inducted into the Familia. She was a bit of a mess, though nobody in the Familia would ever say it to anyone without miss Wallenstein's express permission in the matter.

Freya, meanwhile, seemed to take a moment to process just how broken the Lieutenant could be...

Loki sighed deeply, then said, "I'll get Bete off his ass once the Party's over. Guy still wants a bit of payback for what happened at the Hostess, but he should cool off. Consider it a gift from the Loki Familia to your started party," And she smirked. Hestia nodded, smiling back, which seemed to actually surprise Loki. She asked, "Uhm, everything alright, Hestia? You'd've taken a jab at my chest or something by now."

"Just worried, I guess," Hestia shrugged, "The first person to want to join my Familia's a soldier I don't know if I can help and it just kind of hit me..."

"Give it time, Buttflea," Smirked Loki, "He'll open up."

Hestia rolled her eyes, "Sure, sure, Flattop..." And that actually got a slight snort, then a growl out of Loki. Hestia hummed, looked around, then asked "Hey, has anyone seen Hephaestus? I wanna talk to her about something..." and noting the incredibly tall, messy-haired shadow standing behind her. The girl swiveled about and let out a sharp screech, before she gave the woman a once-over. Clad in a long, red dress and wearing gloves that went up to over her shoulder, as well as a black eyepatch, the redheaded woman she sought stood in front of her now.

"I'm not lending you any money, Hestia," She said, blunt and direct, her face impassive, words which seemed to 'deeply wound' the shortstack goddess before her as she doubled over. Freya and Loki chose to watch the upcoming discussion out of the pure amusement of seeing it unfold. Hestia was about to reply to Hephaestus, Goddess of the Forge, but was stopped by Heph herself adding, "I was actually looking for you, too."

"Oh?" Hestia paused, "Were you, now?"

"Yes," Hephaestus nodded, "Your Rookie's the talk of the town. Big, armored fellow, bigger than a lot of the local adventurers... Wanted to ask about him, but I wanna find out what you want from me first."

"Right," Hestia nodded, "Well, favor for a favor for an old friend, then? I tell you a bit about Six and you listen to my request...?"

Hephaestus sighed audibly, annoyed and well aware that this could lead into another of the Goddess's requests for money. However, she chose to humor her, just this once, because the Rookie was, in fact, talk of the town for multiple reason. "Fine," She replied, then took a sip of the red wine in her glass, "But if it's anything relating to money, you're on your own. You freeloaded off of our Familia long enough before. Not again."

Hestia chuckled awkwardly, then nodded. She understood Hephaestus's little cause for... Distrust.

She had had a long, bad day when she came into Heph's care.