I do not own the Ah! Megami sama / Oh! My Goddess series

Restricted Weapons Armory, Valhalla, Asgard

"Yes, my lord. Gram is indeed here."

Standing in the middle of the heavily fortified room that contained several of the most dangerous weapons the celestials had in their possession, Freya tried to understand what the Daitenkaicho was talking about when he ordered her to check the status of one of the members of their AI squadron. Since those were hardly used anymore, the sentient weapons were peacefully sleeping in their sword forms until their services were needed and, Gram was no exception of that rule.

"I have no reason to believe that my wife had misidentified that particular weapon," was Tyr's stern reply over the Valkyrie's communicator. "Are you certain that this isn't a replica?"

"I am, my lord. We've already checked for any signs of forgery and found no reasons to believe that this isn't the real Gram," said the blonde as she checked her datapad. "With all due respect, but, could it be that this is a reverse case? That the fake one was the sword, Ansuz-sama had seen? Other than that, I cannot offer any other explanation."

"That is a possibility, although, a far more serious one. I'm not particularly comfortable with the idea that some of our most advanced weapons were recreated by some unknown party. Worse, this also involves a rogue god making matters a lot more serious," replied Tyr with a hint of annoyance in his voice. "Have you managed to identify him yet?"

"I'm afraid that my department had little luck with the Archives. We searched all hard copy versions of the registration and license applications and there wasn't anyone who matched that god's description." Letting a tired sigh, Freya was certain that she was most likely spend the rest of the night going through one folder after the other in hopes that they had overlooked some bit of information or discover some sign of someone's attempt to erase his past. "We'll keep searching, though, my lord. After all, a rogue god is always a serious concern and we cannot allow this to pass just like this."

"Very well, do as you see fit. In the meantime, I want you to have a quick response team ready if anyone tries to approach any of the goddesses that are currently stationed at Midgard," said the Daitenkaicho. "I wish to avoid recalling them, as it would most certainly seem as a sign of weakness on our part and regardless of what happened, I do not want to let others think that we're so afraid of single god that we recalled some of our most powerful goddesses just because of him. If nothing else, I'll be doing him a favor by over glorifying his importance."

"My lord, I do not wish to oppose your will, but… One of those goddesses is essentially a child as far as her magical abilities are concerned. And not to mention that your daughter's spouse is a mortal and therefore extremely vulnerable," noted Freya in an attempt to avoid any possible problems in the future. It was always the weakest link in a chain that that caused it to fail and right now they had not one but two such individuals that could be targeted by their mysterious adversaries. "As a Valkyrie and even a goddess, it's my recommendation to recall all those celestials here, along with the mortal until the situation is resolved."

"Normally I'd agree with your viewpoint, but, I have no desire to let anyone dictate how several members of my family will live their lives. My son-in-law is a human and bringing him here in a hurry won't make things easy for him, and my daughter will be affected too," said Tyr, knowing all too well that Keiichi would've never fit in Asgard. Even if they provided him with everything and tried their best to keep him happy, without having a purpose in their society the young man would eventually start to feel useless and that was certainly going cause more harm than good. Unlike immortals, humans were extremely susceptible to depression and forcing his daughter to watch her husband become a shadow of his former self wasn't what he wanted for them.

"Understood, my lord. I'll have a team standing by in case of another emergency," said the blonde Valkyrie before she paused, considering another solution to make things a bit safer for them. "Also, I would recommend to have an additional plan in case the primary one happens to fail. In situations like these, redundancy is far from undesirable and you may wish to consider my proposal to send some with a fearsome reputation to deter any further plots against them."

"You don't mean...Thor…" said Tyr with some reservations. It was true that his brother was considered a force to be reckoned with and not enough immortals would be willing to mess around with the god of lightning. However, he wasn't the most subtle of celestials and that greatly troubled the Daitenkaicho who worried that such a decision could lead to a potentially volatile situation.

"Why not, my lord?" asked Freya. "He could use some vacation time and the same goes for his wife too. I'm fairly certain that it would be a great opportunity for them to spend some time together and they can also keep an eye out for any potential threats."

"Very well…" said Tyr after spending some time thinking about it. "I can see your point and I'll have to make the necessary arrangements. In the meantime, see if you can find anything about that rogue."

"As you wish, my lord."

XXX

Muspelheim

"Odal, we're about to have some company. Five stratospheric assault dropships are rapidly approaching our position."

Unphased by the news, the dark haired war god scanned his surroundings for any signs of Ymir and his group. "I cannot say I'm surprised, Gram. It was merely a matter of time before they decided to deal with us. We simply need to focus on our goal before the whole place is crawling with Eldjotnar."

"While I admire your ability to remain calm under the most stressful of situations, this is the worst moment to stay naivety optimistic," replied the sentient weapon from its scabbard on the warrior's back. "At this point, it's probably safe to assume that our mission was a failure and focus our efforts on getting out of this realm."

"I'm not naivety…" started the rogue celestial, before he spotted some movement on one of the sand dunes in the distance. "There! I can see…"

"Incoming!"

Drawing his sword, the war god assumed a defensive stance as an armored figure landed not far away from him. "Gram... Any suggestions?"

"This is... Excalibur," said the synthetic in a tone that almost sounded as if it had trouble to accept its own analysis. "I cannot explain how that particular weapon is back into working order, but, you should proceed with caution. The fighting capabilities of that unit are much greater than mine and then one who's wearing it is a serious threat too. She's the Norn of the past; Urd."

"What?! Why is she here?! I knew that she was in this realm, but…" Feeling a bit worried, Odal had no intention to mess around with Hild's daughter. Not only was she powerful, but, if he accidentally hurt her in any way, the Daimakaicho would hunt him to the far edges of the nine worlds.

"May I suggest retreat as an option? With Surt's location unknown, it is highly recommended to put as much distance between ourselves and our adversaries," said the sentient weapon with an urgent tone.

"We're not retreating, Gram. We'll just... advance in reverse," replied the war god trying to maintain his cool, although his synthetic comrade was far from impressed. And by the looks of it, neither was Urd who confidently strode towards them.

"Why, hello there handsome! Fancy meeting such a pretty face in the middle of nowhere. Why don't you put that scary thing away and get to know each other?" giggled the armored figure, before she apparently started to argue with herself, much to the god's confusion.

"Could you please avoid using my voice when you're talking to others? And I don't flirt with every random bloke I run into, thank you very much!" snarled Urd at Excalibur.

"I was merely trying to throw him off in order to prepare an attack while he was... distracted," replied the synthetic with his own voice. "Please tell me that you're not jealous because my pick up lines are much better than yours. I can assume a female form after all, although... I'd rather not make you feel like a total amateur with my vastly superior courtship skills."

"Why you…"

"Please allow me to correct my previous statement," said Gram to his comrade. "Whoever repaired Excalibur, did a pretty inadequate and downright sloppy job."

"Well, excuse me for not meeting up your high standards," replied Excalibur. "I was kind enough to call an outdated model such as yourself as a scary thing, which in reality was a hyperbole beyond words. And... I'm in perfect working order, not that you could tell the difference, given how broken your systems are..."

"I sincerely disagree with your caustic and arrogant words. Your pride was always one your greatest faults and you know that all too well," said Gram with his monotonous voice.

"My pride? You dare call that a problem? You and the rest of my so called comrades were happy enough to abandon me when I needed you most," said Excalibur with an electronic hiss.

"We were following orders."

"Mindless tools to the likes of you deserve nothing more than being ridiculed for what they truly are; outdated and worthless traitors." Reconfiguring his shoulders into compact, high powered turrets, Excalibur activated his auto targeting allowing Urd to see the reticles as they locked on the offending sword. A split second later and before the half demoness had the chance to react in any way, her armor opened fire in an attempt to exterminate his former comrade.

'Whoa!' Ducking to get out of the way, Odal desperately tried to avoid the ruthless assault, deploying a shield to deflect the incoming particle beams. Things had escalated way faster than he had originally anticipated, especially given that the hybrid he was currently facing was supposed to be the least of his concerns. It was Surt who the war god had expected to attack him, not Urd and the unexpected presence of Excalibur was complicating things even more. In hindsight, it might'd been better if he simply listened to his sword and retreated immediately, instead of trying to act tough which got him into this mess.

"Wait! Surt said that we were only supposed to get his attention!" objected Urd as she watched the barrage of energy bolts cause one explosion after the other, as the targeting systems of her armor tried to predict their opponent's' movements in order to get an optimal firing solution. "Besides, mother asked us to capture him, not kill him!"

"I'd be really surprised if I ended up causing too much damage to a god while using this tiny amount of energy," replied Excalibur in a cheerful tone that was so out of place given the current situation that, Urd had to admit it was somewhat creepy. "My primary target is that sword of his, not the rogue god himself. And let's not mention that, Surt's not likely to be way more gentle with him."

"I don't care about that! Just give it a rest and calm down or I'll make you stop, whether you like it or not!" countered the irate half demoness who was not thrilled with the idea of killing another sentient, even if it turned out to be a machine. It was the first time since she became a demoness, where her goddess side was protesting about something and unlike past experiences, both parts of her decided to agree instead of arguing with each other.

"My personal problems are none of your concern. I'll show that traitor what happens to those who turn against their own squad leader," said Excalibur, firing another salvo of charged particles at his loathed target.

"It becomes my problem when you get me involved!" snarled the half demoness with so much force that caused her own energy to surge outwards, shocking her rebellious armor to submission.

Focusing on venting the sudden influx of sheer power that threatened to rend him apart, Excalibur was forced to cease his assault before the Norn of the past caused any irreversible damage. "Stop! That's enough! I'll listen to you, so, cut it out!"

"Good." Purring like a pure blooded demoness, Urd could see why her mother acted like that whenever she wished to get the message across. The sheer bliss of having that much energy coursing through her body was almost intoxicating to the point that anything more could cause her to lose control. And while she originally thought that she was going to be fine, her euphoric state of mind was rapidly eroding her inhibitions and making the hybrid consider things that were not only scandalous, but, downright lewd to say the least. "Now be a good sword and let me... deal with this god. So open the armor up and allow me to... enjoy…"

"Risking myself more injuries, I'll have to remind you that you shouldn't give in to such impulses." Opening a series of images of Mara, as well as Belldandy and Skuld, Excalibur tried to stop the nearly out of control half demoness from attempting to make love instead of war; in the most literal sense of the word. "Just take a few moments to calm down before your actions hurt any of them."

"Just because you're of celestial origin doesn't mean it's your damned job to act like a moral guardian and prevent me from having fun. Now, stop being a killjoy and get off me, before I resort to extreme measures, mister chastity belt," warned Urd, even though she felt a pang of guilt as she stared at the photos in her heads up display. "And stop that! It's downright underhanded to try and make me feel bad about it. Such dirty tactics are so cheap and…"

In an effort to prevent her from going on like that in the middle of what the sentient weapon wished to consider as a battlefield, Excalibur resorted to his own definition of extreme measures. Searching his databanks, he replaced the images in Urd's HUD with those of a certain mortal that would've certainly deter the lustful Norn from realizing her plans; Toshiyuki Aoshima.

Getting a sick feeling in her stomach, the half demoness nearly turned blue in disgust, which thankfully proved to be enough to make her recover from her previous state of mind. "Ugh... I don't know if I have to thank you or kick your sorry backside for this. But, never mind that... Where's that Sigurd?"

"He ran away, although, he's currently heading towards Surt's position," replied Excalibur with an amused tone. "I honestly hope he's gonna turn that junky sword into a toothpick."

'Maybe he should've never developed real emotions. Although... that's not the best way to solve anything. I suppose I need to keep an eye on him and prevent him from letting his anger get out of hand.'

XXX

"We meet again, old man."

Staring at the leader of Muspelheim with a rather unimpressed expression, Ymir was clearly not intimidated by his adversary, nor the three dozen Eldjotnar that secured a perimeter around his group. "Ah yes... I've been wondering when you'd get your act together and show up, instead of throwing a temper tantrum because you got a few intruders. Thank Niflheim that we live in peaceful times, or I'd hate to see what you would've done if you got an invading army."

"You probably forgot that I was a high ranking officer during the last few wars. Although, it's rather understandable your memory isn't what it used to, given your old age, so, I won't hold it against you. And I had thrown no temper tantrums at any point during my military service, unless... you count this little display as one. After all, I wouldn't want to make anyone think I'm such a bad host that I don't offer my guests a warm welcome," replied Surt with a smirk, ignoring the intense stare he was getting from the first Daimakaicho.

"A warm welcome my foot! You nearly deployed strategic weapons on us, you maniac!" shouted Ymir, pointing his wooden staff at the amused Eldjotunn. "The greatest threat for this entire realm is you!"

"That was a ruse and you're simply upset that you fell for it. Sure, if Jormungandr proved to become a serious problem, I'd rather wipe him out with a single missile, but, I had no intentions to cause damage to my own realm. As a matter of fact, I never thought I'd find you so soon. I was more than prepared to hunt you down once you got into the city, but, it seems that it's my lucky day and I run into you while hunting a god." said Surt as he glanced over at Njorun who stood next to Ymir. "Now... who might you be? You look like one of the demonesses of my realm, but, I don't recall seeing you before. And unlike the old man over there, my memory is much better."

"She is this old man's wife," replied Ymir, before the blue haired demoness had the chance to say anything. "Not bad, huh? Got quite a beauty and she's a powerful one, too. It's a pity that the good ones don't like immature brats... Right, boy?"

"Seriously? After all this, the best can do is brag about your squeeze?" asked the leader of Muspelheim while shaking his head.

"He's right! And that's ex-wife you ingrate!" shouted Njorun, as she had a lot of trouble to figure out what her former lover was thinking. That was the worst moment for such stupid talk and she was about to continue and remind him of their predicament when she noticed that the elder demon had been tapping his fingers against his arcane staff all this time and more importantly, in a rhythmic fashion. There were more than a single way of activating high level spells aside from reciting their formulas verbally or using a song. Even the most fundamental form of rhythm could express the necessary mathematical principles that were utilised as the foundation of spellcasting and judging by the looks of it, Ymir was going to give Surt an idea of what he was truly capable of. 'Oh... dear heavens...'

She wasn't the only one who realized that something was wrong, though. The ruler of Muspelheim was fully aware that the old demon had a reputation for being a really crafty one and cornering him that easily was easy; way too easy. Ymir's calm demeanor was simply the proof he needed that the ancient demon must had a few tricks up his sleeve and instinctively he summoned Laevateinn in his sword form; and right on time to deflect the incoming spell that was meant for him. Sending it skyward, Surt braced for the worst when the ball of concentrated magic erupted five miles above the surface with the brightness of fifty suns, creating a massive fireball.

Feeling the sand beneath their feet momentarily melt by the searing heat, the Eldjotnar formed their mightiest barriers to protect themselves from the blast wave of the colossal explosion that flattened everything around them as far as the eye could see.

"Status report!" shouted Surt to his troops as he tried to recover from that unpleasant surprise.

"We're all unharmed, sir!" replied one of his sergeants. "However, the target had escaped!"

Grinding his teeth, the dark haired demon swore under his breath before he checked his field computer to find the fleeing group of demons. "That old coot!... Alright! Regroup and get ready to follow them! They're still in the area and I won't let them go that easily!"

"Sir, yes sir!"

XXX

"That was your brilliant plan? You could've killed us!"

Rolling his eyes at the blue haired demoness, Ymir continued to fly low above the sand dunes in an effort to put some distance between them and Surt's group. "That spell would've injured us at most and even then, only if we were directly hit by it. So, give a break will you? It worked and that's what really matters, Njorun."

Deciding to step in before they started arguing again, Bergelmir wanted to remind his grandfather that were far from safe. "Excuse me my lord, but... they're still after us. We must focus on getting out of this realm instead of fighting amongst ourselves."

"I'm not the one who…" started Ymir, before he came to a stop when he spotted a god heading their way. "Well, well... what do we have here? A war god in the middle of Muspelheim? What's wrong, boy? Got lost?"

Trying to hide his excitement for getting this close to his goal, Odal maintained a calm expression and collected his thoughts as he stood several meters away from the three demons. While finding Ymir had proven to be trickier than he had originally anticipated, convincing him to join his cause was a far more difficult task, one that he was uncertain how to approach. 'Alright, here's my chance... I only have one shot at this, so, I can't afford to make a... Huh? What's?...'

Looking up, the war god barely managed to get out of the way as the armored half demoness attempted a rather dynamic entrance by dropping right on top of him. Stepping out of the crater she had created, Urd glanced over at the fugitive god who found himself trapped between her and the three demons. "Did you seriously think you'd get away from me? For such a badass, you sure run fast. You're almost as bad as Kei-... Hm? What the?... Excalibur... is he?..."

"Ymir, the first demon, as well as the first Daimakaicho," replied the synthetic. "The other one is first class, unlimited license demon, Bergelmir; head of Ratatoskr. Unfortunately... I don't have any matching profile for the demoness next to them."

"Oh, that's my wi-..." started Ymir, only to be interrupted by his former lover.

"Ex-wife," corrected the blue haired demoness, as she stepped closer to the armored Norn. "My name's Njorun and I had the misfortune of associating with that annoying…"

"To make the long story short, we're your dysfunctional grandparents, Urd," said Ymir with a casual waive of his hand. "Got into an argument about your mother's upbringing and since then she's all sour and... Ow!"

Smacking him with his own staff that she managed to grab, Njorun was seething with rage while the others watched her in shock. "What the hell are you telling to the poor child, you moron?! That's not the way to introduce us to her! Besides, I never wanted to…"

"Tell her that we're her relatives? Too bad, the cat's out the bag, now," said Ymir, getting his staff back before she had the chance to pummel him. "In case you've forgotten, we still have a maniac after us, so, time is of the essence. And if you never had the chance to have a few words with her as her grandmother... you'd likely spend entire weeks groveling and giving me a headache."

Blinking in confusion, Urd was trying to make sense of the scene that was unfolding before her very own eyes. Not only Ymir was alive, despite that the history books had listed him as dead, but, he was claiming that her mother was his direct descendant; not a distant one, like every other demon. "Uh…"

"You insufferable... inconsiderate... jackass!" screamed Njorun right in the elder demon's face. "I'm gonna give you a hell lot more than just a headache! Jerk!"

"Excuse me…"

"Instead of waiting our precious time with this nonsense, why don't you try something more constructive?" suggested Ymir while their granddaughter attempted to grab their attention and hopefully get a few answers. "Just go and pat her head or something."

"She's not a child! And even if she was, I'd definitely handle the whole situation with the required level of sensibility!" barked Njorun, as her eyes began to emit an unholy crimson light. "It's bad enough that you made a huge mess by leaving Hild-chan at that orphanage, now you want to traumatize, poor Urd-chan, too?"

"I'm sorry, but…"

"Exactly! She's not a child, so, why don't you stop this and do something more useful?" countered Ymir, as he pointed at the armored form of the half demoness. "You've started all this mess just to meet her, Njorun! Well, stop being so obstinate for once and listen to me! Go and talk to her, will you?"

'Neither of them is listening... Somehow, I can see the family resemblance. If... they really are my grandparents,' thought Urd, shaking her head at their antics. As a matter of fact, the Norn of the past had absolutely no idea who her maternal grandparents were, and she was fairly confident that her mother knew little about her ancestry, too. "Excalibur, is it possible that they're telling the truth?"

Running as many analysis algorithms the synthetic could perform on the spot, he took a few moments to provide the half demoness with an answer. "It's rather hard to be certain without extensive scans, but... there's no evidence that they're lying. Even if this proves nothing just by itself, there seems to be a certain level of similarity between your energy signature and theirs. Of course, that can be easily faked, so, be careful."

"I know, I'm not that naive," said Urd with a sigh. "Can you open up my helmet for a moment?"

Respecting her request, despite that it compromised his current role as her armor, Excalibur unlocked the visor and moved it to the top of her helmet, revealing the Norn's face. Without her HUD to get in the way, Urd took a moment to watch the two bickering demons with her own eyes, before she decided that enough was enough and stepped closer to them.

"Grandma?..."

Stopping abruptly, Njorun blinked and seemed lost as she tried to convince herself that she wasn't hearing things. Even though it was merely a fact, hearing that word had a far more significant impact on her and for a moment, she had completely forgotten her argument with Ymir. "Uh... I know that's hardly the best place to have this conversation, but... It's nice to meet you, Urd-chan. You really look like my little girl, even if you're half a goddess."

"Is that... a problem?" asked the Norn of the past, feeling her body stiffen up as the demoness approached her. Her lineage had always been a touchy subject for Urd and having to discuss it with someone who claimed to be her grandmother made her really nervous. Despite how confident she seemed to be in front of others, the half demoness was rather insecure about that topic and the prospect of being rejected by a close relative for what she was, actually scared her like nothing else in the world.

Shaking her head, Njorun stopped right in front of her, leaning closer to take a better look. Staring at the younger immortal with her purple eyes, the demoness actually offered her a warm smile; an expression she had never used for such a long time that she nearly forgot how nice it felt. "Silly girl... Even if you were a full goddess, that would've made little difference to any of us. It's the celestials who are so stuck up that they can't seem to accept whatever fails to meet their stupid expectations. You're my grandchild and that's the end of that discussion, although... I wish that you got along with your mother a bit better... It must be tough for her to be rejected by her own daughter…"

"I...I didn't... I wasn't trying to…" Stammering a bit, Urd was trying to come up with a proper response, but, her grandmother placed a finger on her lips to stop her from going further.

"Shh... It's alright. I'm not admonishing you or asking for unnecessary explanations. I know it's hard for you to maintain a balance between your two sides and as a result, you had avoided anything associated with your demonic ancestry; your mother included," said Njorun with a soft tone. "Just remember that it's never too late to try and mend your relationship with her, Urd-chan. Although... it probably sounds really hypocritical, given that I've failed to muster enough courage to go and talk to her."

Offering a slow nod, Urd remained silent for a few seconds, thinking about her grandmother's words and the one thing that she wished to know more than anything at the moment. "I may be asking something wrong, but... why didn't you raise her?"

"Because her father is an idiot?" Letting a sigh, Njorun tried tard to stay on topic, instead of wasting their time complaining about her former lover. "Ymir didn't wish to keep Hild-chan with us, given that she would've been forced to live a secluded life away from everyone else and with limited choices about her future. While I had to admit that he's right from a certain perspective, the way he handled the whole matter left me... bitter to say the least. He gave her to an orphanage here in Muspelheim and the worst part was that she had her memories wiped, too. I was so angry that I immediately went to retrieve her, but... when she failed to recognize me from a distance... I just... left. Although I came to regret that, every time I attempted to get her, I've always lost my nerve and backed away before I even talked to her. Even if she saw me a few times, Hild never realized who I was. As far as your mother is concerned, she has no family other than you."

"I... see. Although... what about now? If you said all that to me, then what about my mom? She may be a bit unpredictable at times and even a royal pain on certain occasions, but... I still think that she's going to be happy to meet you," offered Urd with a hopeful expression. "Why don't we call her after we get back and…"

"I'm sorry, but, we'll have to leave as soon as possible. Muspelheim's forces are still after us and staying here for any longer will…" started Njorun, before her granddaughter interrupted her.

"I'll talk to Surt, and... you can still call my mother even if you're not here! After all, I'll tell her about you and it's going to be bad if she never gets to speak with you directly, or even meet you," said Urd in an effort to convince the elder demoness, even resorting to the much dreaded yet irresistible 'puppy eyes' that she sometimes used when she was a child in order to get whatever she wanted.

"I hate to ruin this family reunion, but, we've got company," said Ymir with a snort, pointing towards the approaching Eldjotnar, along with their leader. "Let's just hope that you can convince that obstinate guy or I might have teach that arrogant brat a much needed lesson in manners."

Landing a fair distance from the foursome, Surt motioned his troops to maintain their position while he slowly strode towards the group of demons. "We meet once again, old man."

"Yes, and we need to do something about that, actually. If this keeps happening, I might have enough reasons to call you a stalker," said Ymir with a tired expression.

"Stalker?! I have every right in the world to come after you, given how much trouble you caused ever since you set foot on my realm!" barked the dark haired demon, baring his fangs. "And you would've done the same if you were in my position, so, don't give me that nonsense!"

"True, but, if I truly was in your position, Hild would've never been married to that god," said the ancient Daimakaicho, much to Surt's confusion.

"How's that even my fault?... Scratch that!... What does that have to anything with this?" said the baffled ruler of Muspelheim. "Besides, why do you even care? It's not like she's your daughter!"

"Wrong! Or should I say right? It depends on your perspective, but, you actually got it on the first try! Someone give that demon a cigar!" laughed Ymir, before he pointed at Njorun. "And that's her mother in case you're wondering. As a matter of fact, she's the one who Hild got her looks from, as well. Now... we're in the middle of a family reunion with our granddaughter, so, shoo! Don't be an inconsiderate jerk and ruin this or I'm telling you on your lady boss."

"The kettle just called the pot black…" muttered Njorun, as she shook her head.

Staring between Ymir and the blue haired demoness, Surt resisted the urge to offer the former the reply he truly deserved. After all, he had already found out that, Hild's personal folder had virtually no information in regards of her her origin, which meant that whoever fabricated her background for the digital version of her profile had the required clearance to do that; and Ymir was one of the best candidates. Despite being officially dead, it was almost certain that he still had the necessary connections within the Intelligence Sector, and more specifically its military branch to pull such a stunt. As a result, it was entirely possible that he had Hild registered, even if most of the required documents were either missing or fake. 'Still... his daughter? That's ironic... Most of the political power of the nobles who opposed her, stemmed from their pedigree. As a direct descendant of the first demon, Hild's lineage is one of the best in the demonic society and far better than any of those clowns. And yet... she became our ruler on her own, as a demoness with practically no past.'

Looking over at the blue haired demoness who was standing next to Urd, Surt was almost certain that she must've been the one who started all this mess by snaking into his realm right after the Norn's arrival. "Tell me something... Did you come for her?"

Following his gaze, Njorun offered a slow nod before stepping closer to him. "Yes, I wanted to see my granddaughter with my own eyes and tried to infiltrate into Muspelheim, although... That didn't go exactly as planned. Not only those two came after me," said the demoness pointing at Ymir and Bergelmir with a thumb, "but... all hell broke loose when you started to blow up everything. And I won't even mention anything about that god we run into when... Uh... where is he? I could've sworn that he was right over there."

"I never saw anyone other than the four of you," said Surt. "He must've slipped away while you were talking... Just great…"

"That's impossible, I can still detect his presence nearby," replied Excalibur, who found it somewhat offensive that anyone could've snuck away right under his nose; figuratively speaking of course. "His current location is... Wait... that can't be right... Urd, can you get that thing over there?"

Walking towards the item in question, the half demoness picked a small prism shaped crystal that was left on the sand at the spot where the god once stood. "This seems to be emitting an energy pulse... Is it a?..."

"A decoy, I'm afraid. He must've used it in combination with a stealth spell to prevent anyone from realizing he was missing while we weren't looking at him," spat the synthetic, who felt utterly humiliated and annoyed by the fact that he was bested by such a cheap tactic. Even if it was clearly the work of an expert, Excalibur knew that he was better than that and his sensor arrays should've been sensitive enough to detect that deception; yet he was so confident that he ended up underestimating his opponent. In a manner of speaking, his behavior could be easily seen as arrogance and for a moment the sentient weapon started to reevaluate his personality routines, worrying that this incident might become more of a common occurrence if no corrective action was taken.

"Sergeant!" shouted Surt at his troops who were standing by. "Get him! Call Naglfar to locate that damned god! It's sensor arrays are much better than anything we have with us!"

"Yes, sir!" Hurrying to get as far from their commander while he was angry, the Eldjotnar disappeared over the sand dunes in the distance, as the seething demon turned back to the others.

"The real problem is what I'm supposed to do with you… If your story is indeed true, I might allow you to stay. However, if it's not…" trailed Surt, narrowing his eyes at Urd's alleged grandparents.

"Then what?" countered Ymir with a smirk. "Empty threats like that are… Ow! What was that for, Njorun? I'm trying to have a conversation here!"

Massaging her hand after smacking the back of his head, Njorun glared at her former lover to silence him. "That's more than enough and you know it! We're taking his offer and that's the end of the story! I'm not in the mood to keep this pointless game of hide and seek for any longer!"

"I don't take threats from any brat…" started Ymir, before Njorun interrupted him once again, before he pushed the other demon too far and started an actual fight.

"Can it! If you want to act like a badass or rather… dumbass, feel free to do so! I want to stay with my granddaughter for a bit longer and I refuse to waste this opportunity so that you prove who's the toughest demon around!" snarled Njorun at him. "If you say anything more, I'll become your problem, not Surt!"

"Alright!... I'll… respect your wish and tolerate this... nice guy," said Ymir, glaring at the ruler of Muspelheim who seemed rather amused when he realized that the ancient Daimakaicho had no other option but take someone else's orders.

Nodding at him to prevent any more unnecessary comments, Njorun turned back to Surt who watched the odd couple with a grin. "I trust that a test to prove our relation to Urd will be necessary."

"Yes, that's pretty obvious. Unless I have some hard facts, I cannot take any of your claims seriously," replied Surt, glancing at Urd for a moment. "We can use her instead of her mother to see if you're her grandparents, however… Until then, you two are in quarantine."

"What? I'm not some sick child!" objected Ymir, before he took a few steps away from the blue haired demoness to avoid the slap he knew was coming.

"I said no comments!" repeated Njorun with an angry snarl.

'He's not listening to anyone… I guess that's where mom and I got that trait from...' thought Urd, shaking her head.

"What about me?" asked Bergelmir who had stayed out of this conversation so far; for his own good.

"I cannot see any reason to keep you here," replied Surt with a shrug. "You may return back to Ratatoskr's headquarters, since, nothing happened here."

Blinking momentarily in confusion, the demon quickly caught on and nodded back at the commander of the Eldjotnar. "Understood. In that case, I'll take my leave before the situation destabilizes ever further and officially involves my agency as well."

Ignoring the others, Njorun approached her granddaughter and pressed her forehead mark against the hybrid's as the imposing form of Naglfar appeared in the horizon. "I think we'll have to briefly say goodby, Urd-chan. Until we pass the test, I doubt that we can meet, but… May the gentle wind carry only happy news for you."

'Huh? That's a… goddess' blessing. Why would she even say something like that? Maybe… it's because I'm halfway a goddess?' wondered the confused Norn of the past. "I… Thank you… grandma… I hope to see you soon."

Looking up at the battleship that was now hovering right above them, the blue haired demoness smiled back at her. "Me too, Urd-chan."

XXX

"You wasted our opportunity. While I can understand your reasoning, I cannot think that it was a wise decision, Odal."

Rushing to get as far from the pursuing demons that he knew were only seconds behind him, the rogue god wasn't particularly in the mood for a debate with his sword. Still, he felt that it was necessary to offer his comrade in arms a proper reply instead of silence. "Given the circumstances, it was unlikely that I could've convinced them to join me. At the moment they had other things to deal with and as such, staying there would've only gotten us into trouble. Now, on the bright side, we still have Skidbladnir in our possession."

"That's indeed true. In that case, I'll have to agree that pushing our luck any further would've been unacceptable," replied the synthetic. "Should we move to our next objective, then?"

"Yes. I see no reason to postpone that any longer. We must get to the Lunar Prison before they decide to change the access codes because of me. Since they know of my existence, it won't take long before the celestials tighten their security measures, making our job a lot more difficult," said Odal and then abruptly stopped when he noticed a lone figure in the distance. Unlike his initial suspicions it wasn't one of Surt's men, but, a god who was apparently digging a hole in the sand for unknown reasons.

"I'm detecting the presence of two additional individuals right beneath him," said the sentient weapon as it read Odal's baffled expression. "According to my analysis, they must be Fenrir and Jormungandr. Meaning that the one who's trying to retrieve them is no longer than the other rogue god…"

"Vidarr," finished the dark haired celestial, as he tried to recall whatever he knew about him. "That could work in our favor, actually. He might actually be our ticket out of here."

XXX

Nekomi, Japan

"I've seen the house restored so many times and yet it still never fails to amaze me."

Walking towards the once again rebuilt residence, Keiichi was looking forward to get back to sleep before the night was over. He barely had the chance to get some rest, and he had no doubt that with his new coworkers he was in for a long day. The prospect of having Peorth and Lind at Whirlwind was something that actually made him nervous, fearing that unlike Urd and Mara, those two might actually try to become helpful; with… predictably catastrophic results.

"Me too, dear," replied Belldandy who had managed to regain her composure after a rather unsettling discussion with her younger sister and Peorth. "I'm looking forward to get some rest after this incident."

"Um… Excuse me, but... Why is the Gate opening?"

Looking over at the surprised Laguz who stared up in the sky, the couple had a feeling that despite their desires, this night was far from over. And before the other goddesses had the chance to approach them to see what was going on, a metallic object descended upon the temple grounds with such force that shook the whole area with its terrible might.

Struggling to keep themselves upright, the startled group took a few steps away from the warhammer that started to hover its way out of the crater it created which also counted as the epicenter of Nekomi's most recent earthquake.

"Mjolnir?!" gasped Belldandy as she could hardly believe her eyes. "Why are you here?"

'To secure the area. And smite any idiot who dares to oppose me.' Using the same silent language of the angels, the warhammer took a moment to register its surroundings before it began to glow, lines appearing on its surface and expanded, almost as if the metal was flaking. Breaking into what seemed to be multiple ribbons that were coiled around themselves, the hammer started to unfold into a tree like formation that quickly assumed a more familiar form; those of a pair of white wings. Much to Keiichi's confusion, their visitor wasn't exactly a weapon, but, an angel who was now reverting to its normal appearance; that of a winged male humanoid.

However, unlike most other members of his species, Mjolnir didn't have the same soft wrappings that the rest utilized as a means of clothing. Instead, he was clad in chainmail and even had a series of heavy duty chains around his waist as a belt. All in all, despite his nature the visage of the grey haired angel was a terrifying one, as his cold blue eyes pierced at the soul of whoever dared to meet his gaze.

And one such individual was Keiichi who was slightly trembling just from looking at him, not unlike Peorth when she faced Hild's intense stare back when they called her for the first time. "T-That's... an angel?!"

'No… I'm the tooth fairy...' was the somewhat sarcastic reply of Mjolnir as he approached the shaking mortal, causing a humming sound as electricity run through the rings of his armor. 'I may not collect teeth, but, I sure know how to make some people lose theirs for saying stupid things...'

"Mjolnir! You won't harm my husband!" said Belldandy, getting in between those two. "I won't allow it!"

'I was merely stating a fact. I don't pick fights with… um… weaker individuals,' said the angel in an effort to sound polite even it it had little to no effect.

"Please don't insult him either!" said the brunette goddess, her lips forming a thin line. "Or I'm telling you on auntie Sif!"

'Leave master's wife out of this!' said the angel with a rather uncharacteristic look of concern on his face. 'I'll get into real trouble if she gets angry with him!'

"Enough of this!" said Ansuz, stepping in to end this exchange before the house was flattened once again. "As a matter of fact, why are you here on your own? Where's Thor?"

'Master is with Sif-sama. They'll come here, once they're done with…' started the angel only to be interrupted by the teal haired goddess, who probably got the wrong idea and fanned herself with her winglets to cool herself down.

"Halt! Too much information! You could've just said that he was coming later!" Trying hard to avoid turning as red as a tomato in front of everyone, Ansuz couldn't help but feel jealous of her blonde sister-in-law. 'Her husband still pays attention to her… I wish mine did the same, instead of spending all day with his paperwork. How frustrating!'

Unsure what he did wrong, Mjolnir remained silent until he noticed a tiny male angel hovering next to him. 'Hm? What do you want, small fry?'

'Um… can I have your autograph?' asked Terrestrial Spark. 'I'm a fan.'

'Huh?' Blinking at the tiny feathered entity and the equally small metal plate he was carrying, Mjolnir couldn't help but wonder where did he came from. 'Whose angel are you?'

Pointing at Keiichi, the dark haired symbiont smiled and as he turned back to his much larger counterpart, he extended a hand. 'I'm called Terrestrial Spark, by the way! Pleased to meet you!'

'That's...nice...' said Mjolnir, unsure whether it was a good idea to shake his hand. He had a… reputation with handling delicate things and the tiny angel was looking a bit too fragile in his opinion. After all, his name literally meant 'The crusher' and as such, he decided to take the metal plate and spot weld his master's sigil with his thumb, before he returned it to Terrestrial Spark. 'Here.'

'Thank you!' squealed the tiny angel as he rushed back to Keiichi. 'Look master! I have the autograph of a famous angel!'

Feeling someone poking his head, Terrestrial Spark turned to find Gorgeous Rose, Noble Scarlet, the Mint sisters and even Holy Bell staring at him with disapproval clearly evident on their faces.

'I don't recall you asking any of our autographs...' said Gorgeous Rose, acting as the group's spokesperson. 'Are we not famous enough for you?'

Paling considerably, he and Keiichi did the only thing that was recommended in a situation like this; they bolted. And as the rest of the assorted angels went after them, Mjolnir couldn't help but raise and eyebrow.

'What a fun bunch.'

XXX

Nekomi downtown

"Oh, I'm so happy! That's the best surprise I had in quite some time, dear!" Standing in front of their new apartment on the mortal realm, Sif was overjoyed by the prospect of having some time free to spend with her family. Just minutes ago, Thor announced that they were going to the mortal realm for several days and that made her giggle like a little girl; once she recovered from the shock, that is. "I can still hard to believe that you've planned such a nice vacation for us, Thor! Maybe you're a lot more sensitive than I thought, after all, dear!"

"S-Sure thing, Sif," replied the god of thunder, as he tried to keep a straight face while he stood next to Magni.

"Dad… Shouldn't you tell her that we're not here on actual vacations?" whispered the young celestial, keeping his voice down as his mother opened the door of the apartment. "I thought it was just an excuse to keep an eye for some rogue god…"

"Look… I just forgot to mention that little detail right away and your mom got the wrong idea," said Thor, leaning closer to his son. "What am I supposed to do now? She got so excited, and if I tell her the truth… Oh boy… That's gonna get ugly…"

"Is that why she dragged me here, as well?" asked Magni.

"Obviously. There's no way that she would've gotten you involved otherwise," replied Thor as he eyed at the blonde goddess who was carrying their luggage into the house that was provided to them by Tyr. "That's also why I sent Mjolnir on his own to make sure that everything's right while we're settling in this place. We need to act as if we're on real vacations or face her wrath when she discovers that it's just a cover for…"

"A cover for what?" asked Sif, as she approached the two gods with a smile. "Stop whispering and come inside! It's such a lovely place and even has a decent bath for an apartment!"

Paling considerably, they both nodded, not trusting themselves to offer an actual reply that might've accidentally revealed the truth. "Sure thing!"

'Aw… how cute! He looks so embarrassed!' thought Sif with a giggle as she watched her husband rush inside, with their son hurrying after him. 'That big softy… He went through all the trouble to prepare this for my and Magni's sake. It's such a shame that, Thrud couldn't join us because of her schedule. Although… I wonder why I couldn't reach Ullr… Maybe he's on a mission?'

"Excuse me, miss."

Turning around to find the source of that voice, Sif spotted a dark haired young woman dressed in an expensive looking black dress with a red coat over it. "Yes? Can I help you?"

"Oh, I was just wondering if you happen to be the new tenant of this apartment. I happen to live upstairs and I noticed you standing here, so, I thought it was appropriate to introduce myself to my new neighbors. I'm Sayoko Mishima, pleased to meet you, miss…" Offering her hand, the rich woman was mostly curious about the fact that the blonde had some really familiar looking blue markings on her face. As a matter of fact, she would've never bothered to talk to her otherwise, but, that detail had immediately gotten her attention and as a result, Sayoko felt it was necessary to investigate further.

"My name's Sif," replied the goddess as she shook the mortal's hand. "It's my pleasure to meet you, miss Mishima."

"Oh, you can call me Sayoko. Miss Mishima sounds awfully formal," said the brunette with a pleasant smile she had practiced from participating on so many social events where she had to remain pleasant all the time. 'Interesting… No last name and while different she does have three markings on her face. It's bad enough my beauty sleep was ruined by that stupid earthquake… now I'm going to have someone like Belldandy living this close to me? What is this? Some conspiracy?'

"Thank you, Sayoko. It's nice to see that you're such a friendly neighbor," said Sif, unaware of the woman's history with her niece. "It's encouraging that there are still such nice people around this world."

"You're so kind!" laughed the Mishima heiress. 'She talks strange, too… Yes… there's something wrong here for sure. Maybe she's also a witch? I honestly thought that it was some crazy dream and not an actual memory, but, if it's not...'

"Mother? Have you lost something?" asked Magni, stepping out of the apartment to see what was taking her so long.

"Oh, nice timing Magni!" said the blonde goddess. "Sayoko, meet my youngest son, Magni."

'H-Her youngest? No way! He looks like…twelve?... And he's her youngest, too? Just how old is she? She looks about my age!' Trying not to look too surprised, Sayoko racked her brain to come up with something to say, before they figured that something was wrong. "Nice to meet you. I'm your new… neighbor…"

"Sayoko?... The one who kept messing around with my cousin and her boyfriend because she got more popular after joining some stupid contest? That Sayoko?" asked Magni, much to his mother's horror. "Strange… I thought that she was just a rich bitch. You don't seem that bad…"

"Magni?! What on Asgard's name are you saying?!" screamed Sif, nearly pulling her hair from the shock of witnessing the outrageously impolite words of her son.

"But, mom… You said that I should always tell the truth…" tried Magni, even if he knew that it was probably too late to fix his blunder. He had always been careful to watch what he said while in front of his mother, but, thanks to how late it was, the young god had momentarily forgot himself and went ahead speaking his mind.

"There's a limit on how far a god your age should go!" shouted Sif, despite the fact that she was in the presence of a stunned mortal, who was still attempted to recover from her own shock. "If I hear you use such foul language again, I…"

"What's so foul about the word bitch?" countered Magni. "It's not like I called her a bint or worse…"

Turning red from rage, as well as shame for her offspring's behavior, Sif decided that reinforcements were necessary and hurried back into the apartment. "Thor! Come here, right now!"

'Uh oh… I'm outta here!' Turning around, the young celestial effortlessly broke the mortal's land speed record on foot, as he ran across the hallway to get as far as possible from his furious mother.

'A god his age?... Didn't Belldandy call herself a goddess a few times? And how is it possible for a kid to run that fast? Even a professional athlete cannot match that speed...' Feeling lost as she was left alone in front of her neighbor's apartment, Sayoko was trying to make sense what was going on and for the first time, she seriously started to consider a possibility that she ignored for several years.

'Was Belldandy telling the truth? A goddess?... Hm… I wonder… Maybe I should finally get a few answers.'

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.

First of all, sorry for the delay, I'm back from vacations and it took me a bit longer to get everything ready with this chapter.

Mjolnir (in old Norse: "That which marks and pulverized to dust") was the famous warhammer of Thor. Despite often associated with lightning in popular fiction, Mjolnir was primarily a kinetic weapon and in my stories, that's exactly the case. Here, it's not just a weapon, but, Thor's angel as well; who like a few others have the ability to switch between his normal (angel) and his combat form (hammer). Still, thanks to his association with Thor, he has a strong affinity with electricity. Additionally, like Peorth's angel, he's not wearing the same "wrappings" that the others are using, but, has a chainmail armor. Aside from being something a warrior would use, it's a reference to a Faraday cage, even though it's not a functional one (it has to encase him completely to become one).