I do not own the Ah! Megami sama / Oh! My Goddess series
Outside Whirlwind, a small crowd had already started to gather, despite the fact that it would take about half an hour before the official re-opening. While it was a decent shop with a couple of regular customers, Chihiro couldn't help but wonder why there were so many people outside.
Of course, the businesswoman wanted the event to be a big success. But, the more rational part of her mind, couldn't shake the nagging feeling that something was a bit off here. Taking a deep breath to calm herself down, she went though the checklist of all the necessary preparations once more, making sure that everything was covered. Now, she just had to wait for her new employees to show up and give them a rundown of the situation.
Meanwhile, in a dark alley two blocks away, a portal opened, allowing two figures to emerge. Each dressed for the occasion, they took a cautious glance around for any eye witnesses. Content that there was nobody there, except for a single startled cat that took a dive for the nearest dumpster, the two goddesses let out a sigh of relief.
"See? I told you that we would make it in time," said the elder of the two sisters. Getting on her bike, she turned to check at her companion, who was deploying her scooter.
"Well, I guess that's acceptable," said the youngest of the Norns, giving the other a critical look. "Unlike your attire..."
"What are you insinuating, Skuld?" asked the goddess of the past, raising an eyebrow. "I'm just wearing the clothes that, Chihiro gave me. You had no problem with them, yesterday."
"Indeed. But tell me why had you left four of your blouse's buttons open like that?" said the young goddess, with a pointed look.
"Because the clothes were originally intended for Belldandy? Remember that she's not as... voluptuous as I am," said Urd with a playful wink.
"You mean she's not as fat..." countered the younger goddess, sticking her tongue at her sister.
"What did you say?!" said the shocked Norn of the past. "It's not like that! You just can't handle the fact that my proportions are simply perfect!"
"Yeah... So perfect that you can't even fit in you own clothes..." said Skuld, sarcastically.
"They aren't mine!" protested the flustered Urd. "Besides... What were you expecting me to do? Magically enlarge them? Sure, I can do that with ease. But how would you explain that to Chihiro?"
Skuld paused momentarily, trying to come up with something. "How about... telling her that it just fit you the way it was?"
"She's not an idiot," said Urd, while shaking her head. "Come to think of it... What's your problem, anyway? My casual goddess gown, shows a lot more skin than this..."
"True, but you're not wearing that in front of mortals, right?" countered Skuld. "And my problem, is that it'll attract way too much attention."
"So? Let's just call it... an accidental advertisement," laughed Urd.
"That implies that you'll get actual customers for the shop, not random losers who only want a phone number..." said Skuld with a disgusted expression.
"Well... well... This is the first time that you'd gotten jealous over me..." said Urd with a playful smirk. "You never cared if boys hit on me, before..."
"What are you talking about?" asked Skuld, as her face started to get red. "I'm only complaining, because it's going to be so annoying to work under those conditions!"
"Uh huh..." said the Norn of the past, raising her eyebrows. "I bet you do..."
"Don't give me that! I'm serious here!" objected the younger goddess, before she was interrupted by an unexpected newcomer.
"Hey! What are you doing in that alley?" Riding her beloved KSR, Megumi Morisato came to a stop, right in front of the two arguing sisters. "I thought that you were supposed to be at Whirlwind..."
"That's where we're heading. We only took a... shortcut," said Urd, without explaining much beyond that.
"Really? I never thought that going through there was faster... Oh well... Let's go together, then," said Megumi. "With such a huge event, Chihiro's going to need as much help as possible."
"Huge?" wondered Skuld. "I thought that it was supposed to be a small one..."
"Yeah... Where did you got that idea from?" asked the half goddess.
"Uh... The posters?" replied Megumi, with a confused look. "There are all over Nekomi, after all."
"That's not possible," said Skuld. "Chihiro only had a couple of them. There's no way to cover most of the city with those... Besides, what did they mention?"
"Um... Loud music... karaoke... free drinks... pretty girls..." said the youngest Morisato, trying to recall most of the details. "That sort of thing."
"Do you realize that there is no way for Chihiro to afford all that?" asked Urd, raising an eyebrow. "Something's very wrong here. That's the complete opposite from what she mentioned yesterday."
"Well... I thought it was a bit weird..." said Megumi.
"In that case, let's go there and see for ourselves," said Urd, as she started to pedal towards the bike shop.
Nodding their heads, Skuld and Megumi followed close behind her.
XXX
Ithavoll, Asgard
Standing before the Daitenkaicho, the commander of the Valkyries was patiently waiting for him to finish his current task.
The blonde goddess, was one of the most controversial candidates for her current position. Especially given the fact that she was the previous head of the Earth Help center, the same agency that, Peorth worked for. Worse, her playful and flirty personality weren't characteristics that were often associated with warriors.
Furthermore, her very combat uniform was modified in a such way that most Valkyries wouldn't approve. While she had the same white fatigues that the other war goddesses wore, she had deliberately left the front part, slightly open from her neck, down to her navel. Such a titillating display was not unusual for a goddess by any means, although it made no sense from a warriors' perspective, as it reduced the effectiveness of her armor.
Not only that, but she had a short cape made out of eagle feathers that allowed its wearer to assume an avian form for a certain period of time. Additionally, she wore an elaborate necklace around her neck, called Brisingamen, which held great protective powers. Despite the usefulness of those items, many considered that, Freya was simply carrying them around due to their ornate appearance. Even her calf long, curly hair had been a subject of criticism, as many called it impractical for a warrior.
While Freya was indeed a first class goddess that met all all the necessary power requirements, the other competitors for that position were not less powerful than her. So, when her name came up as the successor of Ansuz, a lot of celestials were baffled, if not downright shocked. Naturally, this led to speculations and theories as to how such a thing was even possible, given the blonde's playful and occasionally provoking personality.
As a result, whenever Freya was summoned to the Daitenkaicho's office, rumors started to pop up. Most of the times it was merely driven by boredom, not malice. Immortals had very monotonous schedules in their everyday lives and anything that spiced things up was a welcome change.
What most of them couldn't understand was that loyalty was a far more valuable asset, compared to anything else. Freya, just like the rest of her family, had been some of his longest time supporters. As a matter of fact, they'd also worked closely with his father, back when he was the Daitenkaicho, too. This allowed him to assign such a task to her, given its confidential nature.
"Freya," said Tyr in his typical business like tone.
"Yes, my lord?" asked the blonde, tilting her head.
"I'm certain that you may had already heard that I've ordered a thorough investigation, due to some... activities that I wasn't aware of," explained the ruler of Asgard. "However, given the fact that the offenders are members of the Council, I'm worried that the results will be disappointing. In most cases, they'll try to cover their tracks, hindering the official investigators as much as possible. Which is exactly the reason, why I need your services. I want you to secretly gather as much information about them as possible."
"By all means, Tyr-sama," said Freya, with a nod. "But, I have to admit that I cannot understand why you didn't want to inform your wife about this."
"Ansuz will be involved in the official investigation, and keeping her in the dark can be beneficial. They'll be observing her every move, and I don't want them to realize that something's off," explained Tyr. "The goal is to get as much evidence as possible, before we throw any accusations. Doing that too soon, could cause us problems and deny us the opportunity to convict any of them. Her cooperation is necessary, but for right now, I want her to stay out of this."
"Even if that's true, I cannot help but think that there are better candidates for such an important task, my lord," said the head of the Valkyries. "I must admit that I don't have any experience in espionage. By companion, our Intelligence Office is a much better option."
"True. But it's the most obvious choice, too. Our targets are fully aware of that fact and will do their best to avoid its operatives as much as possible," said the Daitenkaicho. "You, on the other hand aren't perceived as a threat, and that gives us a chance to get catch them off guard."
"That could work, my lord," said the blonde with a smile. "Although, there is another matter that... I... must inform you about..."
"Speak up, Freya," said the leader of the celestials. "I don't have all day."
"Please don't get angry, Tyr-sama, but... It appears that someone had stolen my brother's battleship," said the Valkyrie with a sheepish expression on her face.
"How is that even..." started the lord of Asgard, before he realized the problem. "Of course... The pocket battleship... Oh great... That's what we needed..."
Watching her superior rub his temples in annoyance, made the goddess really nervous. Freyr had a bit of a reputation of being unlucky, but he wasn't actually clumsy. She was worried that this new incident, would make him look as an imbecile. After all, this was the first time that a celestial battleship had been stolen, even though that was due to its portable nature.
"Do you have any suspects?" asked Tyr, staring at the blonde goddess.
"Yes. My brother mentioned that he bumped into a goddess. Right after he delivered a package to Ansuz-sama, but we were unable to identify her," said Freya. "The closest match was... Belldandy, which makes no sense, given that she's currently on Midgard."
The Daitenkaicho seemed skeptical at first, before he started to realize who the likely culprit might've been. "That Loki... I'm sure he was the one behind it..."
"Should we bring him in for questioning?" asked the head of the Valkyries.
"No. I want you to focus on your assignment," said Tyr, while shaking his head. "Let me deal with him, instead. Anything else?"
Freya considered whether or not to bring this subject up, and after a few seconds, decided to go for it. "Well... There was the Daimakaicho's latest attempt to contact your daughter."
"I thought that I've told you to leave that to me," said Tyr with a hint of annoyance.
"Forgive me for bringing this up, my lord," said the Valkyrie with an apologetic tone. "However, some of my colleagues are getting worried about her possible motives behind that move. Nobody finds it plausible that she's seriously offering protection to your mortal son-in-law. A few, even wish to relocate your daughters, in a safer place."
"Their concern is noted," said Tyr. "And you? What's your opinion?"
"I think that you may need to talk to her," said Freya.
"Yes, that was one of my priorities, as a matter of fact," said the Daitenkaicho. "I want to discuss a few things with Belldandy, too"
"Actually... I meant, Hild, my lord," said the blonde goddess. "She clearly has something in mind, and I feel that our first option is to approach her, before we try anything else."
Tyr remained silent for a couple of seconds, considering the goddess' words. "I'll think about it. In the meanwhile, start working on your assignment."
"Yes, my lord," said Freya, offering a bow, before she headed for the door.
XXX
As the trio approached Whirlwind, they noticed the ever increasing crowd that was already waiting outside. Parking their rides nearby, they were about to walk towards the shop, when they spotted two rather tall and muscular individuals.
"Hey! Tamiya! Otaki!" shouted Urd, trying to get their attention. "What's going on?"
"Oh... Urd!" said Tamiya, walking towards her, with Otaki following closely. "Dai-chan and I, came here to support Whirlwind's re-opening!"
"That's right, Den-chan!" said Otaki, nodding his head. "And we'll sing, as well."
Scratching her head in frustration, Urd pointed at the crowd. "No, I meant if you had anything to do with them! Tell me that you didn't put up any posters!"
The two giants exchanged a confused look, before turning to the half goddess. "Uh... we didn't do anything..." said Tamiya.
"Yeah... Those posters were already there," added Otaki.
"Urd!"
Recognizing the owner of the voice, both goddesses addressed the newcomer. "Mara!"
"Hey, what's up? I'm not late this time, right?" asked the blonde demoness. Dressed in the uniform that Chihiro had given her, she approached the group, completely oblivious of her surroundings.
"This isn't your job, I hope..." said the Norn of the past, staring at her co-worker, with narrowed eyes.
"What are you talking about?" asked Mara.
"We seem to have attracted a much larger crowd than we wanted," said Skuld.
"But... isn't that the whole point of this?" asked the confused blonde. "That's how advertisement works."
"Not when they're expecting a lot more than we can provide them," said the goddess of the past. "Chihiro had a much smaller event in mind, and guess what's gonna happen when they realize that those posters lied to them..."
"They won't be happy, for sure..." said Mara, before realizing what was going to happen. "Oh boy... That's going to suck... But I didn't do it! No contract, no favors!"
"Okay, enough of this!" said the frustrated half goddess. "Let's go and ask Chihiro herself! Maybe she knows something..."
Nodding, the group headed for the shop's entrance. Inside, its owner was nervously pacing around the room.
"Finally!" said Chihiro, with a sigh of relief. "I was starting to wonder if you'd show up..."
"We're not late..." said Urd. "More importantly... What's going on here?"
"I know that you're not... It's just that I was getting impatient," admitted the businesswoman. "Although, I have no idea as to why we have such a large crowd waiting outside, Urd."
"There were posters all over Nekomi, that promised a big event..." said Megumi. "You know... music, karaoke, drinks, pretty girls..."
"Hold on!" said Chihiro, going to the counter and getting a rolled piece of paper that was left there. "Did they look like this?"
The young Morisato simply shook her head from side to side. "No, not at all..."
"If this is some sort of prank, then it's not funny at all!" said Chihiro behind clenched teeth. "Once everyone realizes that those posters were fake, our reputation will be ruined. Nobody's going to believe that this wasn't our fault. They'll just assume that we tried too hard to get some attention..."
"We're gonna find who did this, Chihiro-san!" said Otaki.
"Right!" said Tamiya, shaking his fist. "They're gonna pay for this!"
"And how will that make things better?" asked the owner of Whirlwind. "We still have a crowd outside."
As the two giants scratched their heads in confusion, Urd pulled Skuld aside.
"Hey, Skuld? Do you still gave that tank?" asked Urd in a hushed voice.
"Tank? What are you talking about?" whispered the goddess of the future.
"The one you wanted to use during the wedding party. Mr Deci-something..." replied Urd.
"Oh! Mr Decibel Mk III? Of course I have it!" said Skuld with a smile. "If I crank the volume all the way to the pain threshold, we'll send them running for sure!"
"You know... For such a cute kid, you scare me sometimes..." said Urd with a frown.
"Who are you calling a kid?!" replied the angry goddess, stomping her foot. "Besides, what else did you want my riot control sound system for, anyway?"
"To play music? That could definitely do the job quite nicely. And those guys," said Urd, pointing at Tamiya and Otaki, "must have a karaoke machine for sure. So that solves two of our problems."
"What about the rest of them?" asked Skuld.
"Let me make a phone call," said Urd with a wink. "I can have a few extra girls and a lot of beer, in just a moment!"
XXX
Muspelheim, Central Command Complex
Waiting patiently and in perfect formation, the most fearsome demon warriors watched as their commander paced in front of them. Assembled in the complex's courtyard, they were supposed to be inspected by Hagall-sama, as part of her visit to their realm. Normally, it was the new Daimakaicho's job to take a tour to all the worlds under demonic control, in order to see her loyal subjects with her own eyes.
This wasn't the case, though. Given that, Hild was restored back into power, the new Daimakaicho was the same with the old one. Of course there was a minor technicality, since Hagall was actually the leader of Niflheim for a few hours, but most could ignore that.
As a result, Hild had left that particular task to her second in command, claiming that she had other things to do. It was just a formality after all, and Hild had already done this, in the past, when she first got her position.
Despite everything, Surt had been expecting that all would've gone according to schedule, but every passing second he was closer to lose his patience. For the last forty seven minutes and twenty four seconds, he had been waiting for her arrival at the complex, soon after his subordinate, Hrym, was supposed to pick her from the Gate room. To say the least, she was late and his military mind was filled with rage at this shameless display of tardiness.
Everything and everyone could trigger the furious demon while he was in such a state of mind. As a result, the assorted troops remained perfectly still and quiet, watching their commander dig a trench, as he continued to pace around.
"She's late!"
It's common knowledge that when someone starts talking to himself, that's not a good sign. So, that single line caused one of his warriors to falter and move slightly from his position. But no matter how insignificant, the motion was immediately picked by the ruler of Muspelheim, who turned towards the unlucky soldier, staring him with bright red eyes.
"You! At the Fifth row, of the third column! I saw you move! Get back in you position, at once! One step to the right! Now!" barked Surt, baring his fangs in the process. "Your right, not mine! Imbecile! And stay there!"
Expecting that the worst had passed, some let out a sigh of relief. Something that they quickly regretted when, Naudiz rushed into the courtyard and towards their commander.
"Surt-sama!"
"What?" shouted the seething demon.
"Uh... I-I've just m-managed to s-successfully locate Hrym and Hagall-sama's g-group," stammered Naudiz, as he stared at her with glowing eyes.
"And? Where. Are. They?..." asked the ruler of Muspelheim in a rather vicious tone, making the red haired demoness to lean slightly backwards, way from him.
"They..." started Naudiz.
"Just say it!" shouted Surt. "I'm sick of waiting!"
"Well... Hagall-sama wanted to have lunch before she started the tour, and... Hrym suggested that nice place downtown, the one that serves those traditional smoked ribs... with the extra spicy sauce and the grilled..." babbled Naudiz, before she realized just who she was talking to, and more importantly, his current state of mind. "Uh... Surt-sama..."
There was no response from her superior, as he quietly stood there, staring at her with an empty, unreadable look. As a matter of fact he was so quiet that the demoness took a cautious step back, while the rest of the assorted troops got into prone position, bracing for the worst.
They didn't have to wait for too long.
Meanwhile, at the other side of the city, a group was enjoying their dessert, after a rather enjoyable meal.
"I must admit that this was much better than I had originally expected," said Hagall, using a napkin in a ladylike manner. "At least, we had the chance to have some fun before this day is over."
"That may be true, Hagall-sama. Although, I'm not certain if the timing was right for such a thing," said Hrym, while nervously checking his clock. "Surt-sama must be getting pretty restless by now. Perhaps we should've informed him for this slight change in the schedule..."
The blonde demoness simply made a dismissive gesture with her hand, interrupting the half god. "It's fine... After all, why would your boss get so upset about this? It's just a formality to begin with, not anything particularly important to worry about. Such a thing would be really silly..."
"I'm not certain if that is the case, Hagall-sama," said the dark haired Halval, who, along with Thrym, had followed her in this tour. "Surt-sama seems to be the demon that might not appreciate this delay..."
"Yeah, if it was me, I would've been pissed," added Thrym.
Before Hagall had the chance to give them a proper reply, the ground trembled as the shock waves of a large explosion traveled though the entire city. "W-What was that?!"
'Nothing good for sure,' thought Hrym, fully aware that this was only the beginning of a potentially bad day. "Given that the alarms hadn't gone off, I would assume that it was caused by our own forces. Maybe they had something planned and we're missing it?"
It was such a terrible excuse, but Hrym had no other way of telling the demons' second in command what to do. Even if he wasn't exactly at the bottom of the chain of command, it was still not possible for him to order the blonde around.
"Very well... Lead the way," said Hagall, catching the hidden meaning behind his words.
"Of course, my lady."
XXX
As the bright pillar of fire disappeared, a thick smoke cloud replaced it. The heavy particles of volcanic ashes began to rapidly fall towards the ground, almost resembling a grey colored snowfall.
For everyone that was currently in the epicenter of the event, it was a textbook example of the word 'disaster.' The entire courtyard was literally covered by a thick layer of ash, rendering the preparations for the inspection, pretty much pointless.
Everything was perfect just a moment ago. From the troops' uniforms, to the spotless floor tiles.
Surt simply stood there, with his head lowered in shame. He had no one to blame but himself, after all. Once Hagall would show up, this would be known as the biggest and most embarrassing moment of his entire career. And none of his predecessors had ever experienced something this humiliating.
Worse, there were no excuses for him. Losing control of his anger was a pretty pathetic explanation of what happened, even if that was true. And the one that was likely going to give him the necessary scolding would be, Hagall of all demonesses.
'I will become the laughing stock of Niflheim for who knows how many years...' through the miserable ruler of Muspelheim.
His moment of self loathing was interrupted by his communicator, that demanded his attention. Mustering whatever was left from his dignity, he activated the device with a small spell on his hand, and brought the palm closer to his ear. "This is Surt."
"Forgive me for the interruption, sir. But, our long range sensors had picked motion at the far edge of our outer perimeter. We believe that it's a lone sand dragon that's crossing the desert. There are no signs that it's intending to approach us, yet. However, we wanted to inform you about this development, sir!"
"Is it inside the perimeter, or outside?" asked the dark haired demon.
"It's currently inside, although, by less than half a mile... Also, it's moving in parallel to the defensive wall, not towards it, sir."
This was his way out. As unexpected as it was, this was the only opportunity to save himself from the inevitable humiliation. And by all means, the ruler of Muspelheim wasn't going to make another mistake.
"Signal the alarm! Code red!" said the demon. "I want everyone to their battle stations, at once!"
"General quarters?! B-But, sir?! It's only one of them!"
"Just do it!" barked Surt at his communicator. "Don't make me come over there, myself!"
"Yes, sir!"
Grinning like a madman, the dark haired demon, turned to his buried troops. "Eldjotnar!"
Jumping out of the thick layer of ash that covered the courtyard, the soldiers offered their commander a sharp salute. "Sir! Yes, Sir!"
"We've got a scaly friend waiting for us at the desert. I want all of you to go and give him my regards!" shouted Surt with a wide grin.
"By your orders, sir!"
Sirens wailed at the distance, their volume increasing by the second. Giant hangar doors started to move, revealing the fleet of Muspelheim, hidden under the ground and waiting eagerly for the next opportunity to see some action.
'Condition Red! Condition Red! All Eldjotnar at their designated battle stations! This is not a drill! I repeat, this is not a drill!'
While the automated message repeated itself over and over, rallying all demons to their positions, Naudiz approached the surprisingly smiling commander. "Sir? Isn't that a bit of an... overkill?"
"I know... but that's better than the alternative..." said Surt with a shrug, pointing at the troops who rushed to get ready for the assault, raising a cloud in the process. "Besides, the last time we had such a general mobilization was ages ago..."
"It was three months ago, sir..." said with a frown, not particularly happy about the drills that they had to go through every now and then.
"I meant for real! Not as part of training!" said Surt. "We hadn't conducted any large scale operation since the last war! Now go and find our guests. Bring them to the desert observatory station. After all, what's the best way to inspect us, than see our abilities in a real scenario."
Naudiz was about to reply, when she noticed the dramatic change in her superior's mood. All of his previous anger, frustration and despair had been replaced with something that could be best described as... happiness. Actually, she wasn't even aware that her boss was capable of making such a smiling face. Nodding once, the red haired demoness dashed towards the exit, although running for the hills sounded a pretty good option as well.
XXX
"So, Urd... What's the big idea?" asked Peorth, not particularly happy with the fact that she was dragged here, that early in the morning.
Next to her, Lind and even Laguz were waiting patiently, while looking around at the various items inside of the shop. Only Frigg had politely reclined the offer to help, saying that she had some business that required her immediate attention.
"We needed your help, Peorth. Someone made a bunch of fake posters, promising a much bigger event compared to what we had in mind. Now we've got a large group to entertain. Something that could be either a great thing or a very bad one, if we fail to meet their expectations. Skuld had already gotten her sound system ready, and those two motor-heads, brought their karaoke machine," explained Urd with a sigh.
"Then what about us?" asked Peorth. "I mean... what do you need us for?"
"The posters also promised free booze and pretty girls. That's why I called you, we're a bit short on helping hands," said the goddess of the past.
"Hold on a second..." said the rose goddess. "What about the alcohol? You mentioned that, but even if you donate the few bottles you have at the temple, that won't be even close to what we need..."
"Very true... Although the liquor is over there," said the half goddess, while pointing at Lind.
The Valkyrie seemed confused for a moment, before she realized what the other goddess was talking about, and shook her head. "Absolutely not! I refuse to cooperate!"
"Oh come on! Don't be so stingy! Just one!" pleaded the Norn of the past.
"Um... What are you two talking about?" asked Laguz, with an uncertain look.
"She wants one of my MREs" answered Lind, pointing at the offending goddess. "Those are not for general consumption, and especially not by humans."
"I only need the beer powder... not the rest of the stuff," said Urd with a desperate look. "Pretty please?"
"Stop that! It's mildly... disconcerting..." said Lind, before she was interrupted by Laguz.
"Uh... excuse me but... What's an MRE?" asked the blonde goddess.
"It's basically a ready to eat meal. They are often distributed to our warriors, even though we don't actually need food. In most cases they're used as a way for troops to have something to eat, while taking a break from an assignment. You know... a way to take their minds off the battlefield and reduce stress levels," explained Urd. "I simply want the beer powder. When you drop it in water, it becomes something that resembles the actual beverage."
"Resembles?" asked Skuld with an uncertain look. "Sounds to me like one of your weird potions..."
"It's nothing dangerous," said Lind in a reassuring tone. "It just isn't real beer. The goal is to provide the same taste and appearance, since it's just a substitute. And even though it may lack alcohol, it could potentially give the mortals a slight buzz..."
"Which is exactly why I need it, right now," said Urd. "Come on! We can make a whole barrel of that stuff, and everyone will enjoy it. It's the best option we currently have."
"Actually, I might have ho agree with Urd on this," said Peorth. "She does have a point, Lind. Even though we shouldn't use our supplies on mortals, it's not like we expose them to anything that's potentially harmful. So, I feel that we may have to go with that idea."
"Fine. I suppose that I can allow it," said Lind with a defeated sigh. "I just hope that I won't come to regret this decision..."
"This only leaves us with one remaining detail. Should we get a uniform, too?" asked Peorth with a smile. "That way, we'll look much better..."
"I suppose so... But how are we going to explain that? Chihiro only got two of them, one for me and the second for Mara. It's going to look suspicious if we suddenly happened to have three extra ones," said Urd, while crossing her arms.
"Oh? What about Skuld's tank? Or the booze? Those appeared out of nowhere, too," countered Peorth.
"We already told Chihiro that we had the tank for a while, and a friend helped us bring it all the way from the temple with his truck," said Urd while playing with her hair. "Oh, and he also happened to have an extra barrel of beer from his previous trip. Some kind of mess up in his cargo and his client didn't want to pay for it, so he dropped it here as well."
"That's got to be the worst lie that I've ever heard of," said the rose goddess with a dumbfounded expression on her face. "Who would ever believe such a ridiculous story?"
"Chihiro apparently. I've figured that I'd manage to get the MRE from Lind, so I went ahead and told her the story, before you even arrived. She seemed a bit skeptical at first, but accepted my explanation. After all, it's not that she had any other option," said Urd with a shrug. "But, I don't want to push it too far. So, you'll have to wear something else."
"What about our current clothes?" asked Laguz with a hopeful look.
"They're good, but not distinctive enough... They won't be able to tell if you're hired help for the event, or just random onlookers," said the goddess of the past. "I know! Just wear the same clothes we do, only without the Whirlwind's logos. Come to think of it, there's nothing unusual for you to have a white blouse and a black skirt. So, nobody will suspect anything at all."
"That could work," said Lind, turning to Peorth and Laguz, who nodded as well.
"Then, let's do this!" said Urd.
XXX
Waiting inside his red Ferrari, Toshiyuki Aoshima observed the crowd from a safe distance. He had just managed to get out of the hospital, after his fateful encounter with the demonic feline, Welsper, and his bandages were a clear reminder of that. Despite his injuries, the rich playboy wanted to use this opportunity to humiliate his nemesis, Morisato Keiichi.
With his failed plan to uncover some dirty secret behind Belldandy's rushed wedding, he now wanted to get even with her husband. Most of his previous plans' objective was to make the boy look like a loser, hopefully persuading Belldandy that he wasn't worth of her time. But this time, he just wished to make fun of him in front of the crowd.
When he heard about Whirlwind's re-opening event, he quickly ordered a few dozen fake posters and had them all over the city. That way, the crowd's expectations would be much higher, and inevitably it would become a disaster for that shop and its employees. Especially for a certain short mechanic, who had managed to beat everything he threw at him, in the past.
However, the only problem was that, neither the man in question nor his wife had shown up. Taking a glimpse at his expensive watch, the bespectacled man verified that it was about time for the event to start. He could even hear the loud music from whatever sound system that Chihiro had apparently managed to get her hands on.
'Come on! Where is he? He should've arrived here several minutes ago...' Aoshima had never expected that he would ever become eager to see Keiichi, but this was an exception of the rule. As he finally ran out of patience, the rich man pulled his cellphone from his green suit and dialed a rather familiar number.
"What is it, Toshiyuki? I've just gotten out of the shower..." said an annoyed woman, at the other end of the line.
"I'm sorry for calling you, so early in the morning, Sayoko," said the rich playboy. "I was merely wondering about the conversation you had with our newlyweds, during your visit. Had they mention any plans for today?"
"No, why?"
"Oh, no particular reason... I was just waiting for them to show up at the event that their boss is organizing, and they're late," said Toshiyuki, trying to sound as indifferent as possible.
"Maybe they're on their honeymoon? After all, I gave them a pair of air tickets..." said Sayoko.
"What?! Why had you done that?!" asked the shocked man.
"Because someone wanted me to go and visit them. Arriving there empty handed would've only made it look more suspicious. I was planning to tell you, but after that incident with the cat, I forgot about it," explained the rich woman. "So, if you can't find them, it only means that they've already on their trip."
Aoshima grit his teeth, but tried to avoid any argument with his cousin. Instead, he forced himself to calm down and give her a polite reply. "Well, that would explain a lot of things, Sayoko. Thank you for your time."
"Whatever... I hope that you're happy now, Toshiyuki," said Sayoko, ending the call.
To say that he was angry was an understatement. His entire plan was totally pointless if Morisato wasn't even there. In his mind, he could picture that annoying motor head being all lovey dovey with Belldandy, while he was stuck in his sports car, waiting for a victory that was never going to happen. Without the presence of his primary target, he was totally uninterested to see the outcome of his sabotage.
Thinking that he had already wasted enough of his time, he started the car's engine and was just about ready to get out of there, when he realized that he had a stowaway. Sitting on the hood of his Ferrari, a black cat was attempting to stealthily approach a pair of ravens that were standing on top of the car's roof. The feline was so absorbed in her task, that she failed to notice that they were suddenly moving.
While this cat wasn't the same one that inflicted his wounds, the memory of that horrific experience was still too fresh for Aoshima. Panicking, he unconsciously attempted to back away, which only caused him to accidentally hit the gas pedal, sending the car in a mad dash across the city streets.
"Get off! Get off, you filthy creature!"
Despite his attempts, the feline was now plastered on his windshield, hanging on for dear life, while the ravens on top of the roof were clearly having a blast.
"Caw! Caw!"
"Caw! Caw! Caw!"
Seconds later, the sound of several police cars' sirens could be heard in the distance, as they started to chase the alleged madman, who according to reports, was racing in the streets of Nekomi.
XXX
'Condition Red! Condition Red! All Eldjotnar at their designated battle stations! This is not a drill! I repeat, this is not a drill!'
Hagall blinked, trying to understand just what was happening here. One moment she was having a peaceful lunch, and then all of a sudden all Hell broke loose. Being born after the end of the last war, she had never experienced the general mobilization of a realm's entire garrison.
"What's going on?!"
"It seems that, Surt-sama is in high spirits today," said Hrym, despite the fact that he was just as nervous as Hagall was.
"Don't give me that! I want a proper explanation!" demanded Niflheim's second in command.
"Please don't worry, my lady. We have more than enough sand dragons lurking in the desert, and I think that, Surt-sama is likely using that as an excuse to offer you a demonstration of our abilities," explained Hrym, hoping that his wild guess was close to reality.
Before the blonde demoness had the chance to reply, Naudiz approached the group. "Hagall-sama!"
"Yes? What is it?" said the demoness, trying to regain her composure.
"Due to circumstances beyond our control, there was a drastic change in today's agenda. As such, instead of the scheduled inspection in the central command complex, we're having a large scale operation that's currently in progress. Surt-sama wishes to join him in the desert observatory station, in order to witness our units' performance," said Naudiz, while bowing before Hagall.
The blonde was about to answer, when the ground started to shake violently once more, as huge armored pillars began to rise from the ground where they've been carefully buried. One after the other, the giant structures unfolded the weapon platforms that were housed in their superstructure, transforming themselves into defensive towers. Even more, several dozen fully geared Eldjotnar appeared from them, each accompanied by a pack of vicious hellhounds and quickly rushes to their designated positions.
"Uh... He... is really serious about this..." said Hagall, finding it hard to believe just how far the ruler of Muspelheim would go, for an event that was actually a mere formality.
"Of course! He really wanted to impress you, after all!" said the smiling Naudiz, before Hrym pulled her aside.
"Hey! You're pushing it, too far... If Surt-sama hears any of this nonsense, he's going to be so furious..." whispered the half god to his subordinate. "Then, we're going to be the ones chased around by the entire garrison."
The red haired demoness slightly paled, realizing that her boss was technically capable of doing that. "Y-You wouldn't t-tell him that I-I've said that, would you?"
"She might mention it, you know..." whispered Hrym, while pointedly looking at Hagall's direction. "Just try to avoid any stupid comments..."
"What's with the delay?" asked the blonde demoness. "Weren't you supposed to take me somewhere?"
"Of course, Hagall-sama!" said the half demon in a hurry, as he started to walk towards their destination. "Please follow me!"
"Very well. Let's go."
XXX
Sand dragons were mostly renown for their physical strength, not their intelligence. Despite that, they were not completely mindless beings. Most apex predators required the necessary mental skills to go after their pray, instead of becoming one, themselves. Food was not necessary for immortal creatures, but most species in Muspelheim were far too aggressive and territorial, and as such, they needed to be smart enough to react to any situation.
So, when the lone sand dragon heard some commotion, it turned its head to see what was going on. Normally, this was a relatively quiet part of this realm, and the land leviathan hadn't encountered other creatures very often during its otherwise solitary life. Some times it even had to wait for several months before it managed to locate any other living being.
This was clearly not one of those days, however. An entire armada of heavily armored battleships was charging towards it, and the dragon only took a moment to realize what would happen if they got too close. Panicking, the enormous creature, made a desperate dash in the opposite direction, and deeper into the desert.
Watching the unfolding events from within his observatory, Surt was really amused at the sight of the frightened intruder. The otherwise ferocious predator was reduced to mere pray, and the dark haired demon couldn't help but laugh at the irony.
Hearing the door open, the ruler of Muspelheim decided to welcome his guest. After all, the demoness was technically his superior and he needed to act in a manner that reflected that fact.
"Greetings Hagall-sama! I'm really pleased to meet you under these circumstances!" said Surt, with an uncharacteristic smile. For everyone that was familiar with him, such displays were extremely rare. Only during actual combat, or some other event of mayhem and senseless destruction, one could find him wearing such an expression on his face.
"Really? Most demons would've found the whole situation mildly annoying..." said the blonde demoness, while walking towards him. Turning to the giant displays that surrounded them, she took a moment to look at the numerous video feeds and other streams of tactical information that was relayed to the room in real time.
"I'm fairly certain that most warriors, would've preferred an actual battle, over a mere inspection," said Surt, getting up from his chair and stepping aside. "Please, have a seat! I'm confident that our unlikely friend is going to make this a lot more entertaining than I had originally expected. Even though it's an overkill, this is a real operation, not an exercise."
"If you say so..." muttered Hagall, taking a seat, with the dark haired demon standing to her right, his clasped behind his back.
"Oh, I'm certain! The only real downside is that we'll have to alter the area's map after we're done with the dragon. I think that it's gonna be worth of that trouble, though..." said Surt, still smiling from ear to ear, making his subordinates more nervous. "Now... Would you like to have a drink? We've actually have a nice variety of beverages to choose from."
"Huh? Oh... in that case, a cup of tea would've been nice..." said Hagall, blinking at the sudden question.
"He's scaring me..." whispered Naudiz to Hrym.
"Shh! He'll hear you!" was the quiet reply. Checking to make sure that his boss hadn't noticed them, the half god gave the red haired demoness a sharp look.
"Hey! You two!" shouted Surt, at his two highest ranking subordinates. "Stop socializing and go grab a cup tea for her! And while you're at it, bring me a mug of coffee!"
"Sir! Yes, sir!" said both of them, rushing towards the door, and almost getting stuck when they tried to pass through at the same time.
Shaking his head, the leader of Muspelheim turned back to the monitors, missing the curious look he was getting from his superior. Given her previous short interactions with him, Hagall had to admit that she was slightly afraid of him. After all, he was one of the few that could probably hold their ground in a fight against Hild-sama. The only other infernal that could probably do the same, was the Daimakaicho's daughter, but only at her full power.
Given his rather unusually friendly attitude, she decided to risk asking one question that's been plaguing her since their visit to castle Utgard. "Say...Had you something similar planned for me?"
"Are you talking about your... coup... Hagall-sama?" countered the dark haired demon in a low voice, making her shiver a bit.
"Yes... I was under the impression that you were to do something if the goddesses and their mortal pet, failed to do their job," said Hagall, cautiously. "Is that why you're showing off, now?"
"As a commander, I'm pleased to have an opportunity to display my warrior's abilities. Showing off, is something that's reserved for the pathetic morons who can only afford that, given that they have no other skills. I've dealt with their kind, on more occasions than I would've preferred, and grew a rather intense dislike of such practices," said Surt with a disgusted look. "Now, to better answer your question, why would I turn against my own Daimakaicho?"
"Eh?! I, thought that you were under orders to..." started Hagall, before she was interrupted by Surt.
"To release Hild-sama? True, I would've done that... eventually. Nobody said that it was my biggest priority at the moment, though. I had a score to settle with Asgard, and an aggressive leader would've been beneficial for my own agenda. If only you'd requested my services during that incident, then you wouldn't have been beaten by a bunch of goddesses," said the ruler of Muspelheim with a sneer. "Or worse, by a mortal..."
"Are you making fun of me?!" asked the demons' second in command. "Besides, what did you want with Asgard? I only intended to increase our market share..."
"To teach those snobs a lesson of humility, what else? They've gotten pretty arrogant in the last few centuries, thinking that we're the only ones who have to hold back, while they can do whatever they want. They even let a goddess make such a profitable contract with a mortal. It's only fortunate that she happened to be their leader's daughter. If she was anyone else, I would've put a rather... macabre end to her relationship," explained Surt, before he noticed the surprised look on Hagall's face. "What is it? You don't think that I would've tolerated that type of insult towards us. After all, mortals are fair game, and I don't particularly care about them. They're living on borrowed time, anyway..."
"So, you weren't going to turn on me?" asked Hagall.
"You term would've ended at some point, right? I had no issues to let you keep that position for a while. However, your type of aggression would've ended us in yet another stupid conflict. I, on the other hand wanted to make them fear us, once again. That way, they would spend more time thinking the consequences of their actions, instead of acting as if they own the place," said Surt. "The only think that I actually did was wait and see the outcome of the goddesses' attempt. If they had failed, then... that's a different discussion..."
"I see... But... why are you telling me all this?" asked the blonde demoness, cautiously eying the ruler of Muspelheim.
"Considering that, Hild wants to keep you around, I thought that it would've been a good idea to explain a few things. For future reference... of course. We all serve demonkind in our own way, and fighting against each other would only help the gods. Hild had once told me that a proper ruler has to see the greater picture, not focus on the minor details," said Surt, before he started smiling once more. "In the meantime, why don't we enjoy the show?"
"That... sounds like a good idea," said Hagall, trying to focus on the screens in font of her.
"Good! Now... What's taking them so darn long? I need my coffee..."
AN: I would like to thank everyone that has offered their feedback and support both here and on the Goddess Relief site.
There are a few things that I'd like to note for this chapter.
Freya was already mentioned in the previous chapters, but this is the first time that she shows up in the story (at least in person). As explained in the chapter, she's the current commander of the Valkyries, although, that was a controversial decision.
Most of the next chapter will be about the Whirlwind event and a few other things. After that, we'll get to see what Belldandy and Keiichi are doing. I was considering to have them in the next chapter, but I'll leave that for the following one, in order to have a larger scene with them.