I do not own the Ah! Megami sama / Oh! My Goddess series
Urd's apartment, Muspelheim
Tossing and turning around the bed she shared with Mara, the troubled Norn of the past found it particularly hard to get some rest, although insomnia wasn't to be blamed for her lack of sleep. It was actually the result of her talk she had on the previous day, or rather… earlier this night with her girlfriend and despite Urd's best intentions to reassure Mara, her mind still had issues to accept the situation.
Although not as irresponsible as some accused her to be, Urd preferred to deal with one thing at a time and not make long term plans, enjoying her life on a daily basis. After all, it was a luxury that immortals could afford, unlike humans who had to ensure their survival by thinking ahead of time and make sure that they wouldn't find themselves in a situation that they hadn't prepared for.
But once she and Mara called it a day and retired to their bedchambers, Urd felt troubled by her own reassuring words she had offered earlier, feeling that she may had spoken too early about the possibility of staying as a demoness. After all, the initial plan was for her to learn how to use her demonic powers and then return back to being a goddess which would allow her to return to her sisters' side, something that could be really problematic if she chose to stay like this.
'I just had to open my big mouth, didn't I? Not that I don't care for Mara, but… now I'm more or less committed. I may be a liar, but I don't want to gain a reputation for telling such terrible lies and raise her hopes only to take everything back later and dump her just like that.'
Letting a tired sigh, the Norn tried to force her eyes shut and return to sleep as it was just barely past midnight and far too early to get up.
And soon, Urd found herself asleep once more, although her dreams brought her little comfort.
xxx
Before her eyes were the vast plains of Asgard, just several minutes of flight distance out of the celestial capital and a popular place for magic training, given that it was much safer to use spells here without innocent bystanders getting harmed by accident.
Such was the place where Peorth had taken the youngest of the Norns for the much needed lessons she and Belldandy had failed to provide for their youngest sibling who preferred to rely on her magically enhanced machines, even though the little goddess was unaware of the fact that her powers influenced her creations.
Peorth grabbed Skuld and ruffled the younger's hair playfully, while the not-so-tiny bomb was left forgotten on the ground, apparently defused and harmless.
And yet Urd did not see any of it.
The world became a mess of smells, noises and colors. The scenario around her turned white, a much too bright white that hurt her eyes. But the goddess that was grabbing her sister in what in her mind seemed like a strangulating move, was depicted in a strong, deep-wine red in her eyes.
'What are you doing?'
The scantily clad offender paid her no mind thou. Her laughter mocked her, her smile made her sick.
'How dare that …that…lowly-class woman touch her? Does she not know? Can she not tell?
How dare she?'
Her eyes turned a mix of bloodshot red and her pupils dilated. Her breath was caught in her throat.
'Step away little girl. Step away.' A voice in her head grumbled, animalistic and demanding.
But the administrator and wish granter paid no mind.
Urd could faintly hear voices on the background, but she wasn't listening. A tiny part of her mind was trying to tell her that those voices carried a message, something that should listen to, but she could not understand the words even if her life depended on it. It all just seemed static noise to her ears, which only made her feel angrier.
"Gellin, Ishna!" Urd muttered, enraged; her voice low and hoarse, as the language wasn't understood by most. Yet the spark of dark, angry black electricity that moved along her arm translated her intentions pretty well.
Mara jumped from her seat under a mighty tree in the fringes of the forest that framed the plains and rushed to the scene. 'How in the world did that escalated so quickly?' she thought as she noticed Belldandy get up from her place on the grass where she was setting up the picnic for all of them to enjoy and also moved at Urd's direction.
The voices and the static noise around her increased. From her peripheral camp of vision, Urd could see a fair girl moving towards her. She thought she should recognize her, but everything was far too bright to tell. There were no exact shapes, just forms of light moving around her, like screaming banshees. It didn't make any sense in her head.
Her head was full of whispers, some that she could faintly understand, other that she couldn't. Her ears were full of that static noise that she was sure were coming from those bright forms that were roaming around. Her canines hurt.
And yet all Urd could focus was on the red dyed form in her eyes. The little one locked in her arms had such a scared and confused look on her face that made Urd want to strike.
Peorth did not move from her position. The first class goddess stood her ground, eying the now demoness with a mix of wonder and curiosity, almond eyes analyzing her every move. Skuld made an attempt to get out of the way, but her mentor's hold around the smaller goddess was too strong.
'You dare confront me? This…this…shameless skank. Who is she? Why isn't she moving?'
Urd mentioned to take a step forward, to confront the red banshee that was gripping the little one by the neck under one arm, yet she hadn't even placed her feet on the ground when she felt her head turn unexpectedly.
Her cheek stung.
Urd looked around, and could faintly distinguish a white form in front of her. The buzzing in her ears increased tenfold.
'Who is this?'
Urd squinted and tried to concentrate. The bright banshee started to take a more humanoid form and gained some color. The girl had blue eyes and light brown hair. She seemed somehow familiar, and there was a serious expression on her face that Urd could not understand.
Her mouth was moving, but no understandable sound was coming out of it.
'What is she trying to say?'
She tried focusing some more, but that only made the buzzing in her head increase, if that was even possible. Urd gripped her head with one hand, wincing. The world around her exploded into a million colors all of a sudden, and nearly caused a sense overload.
"…ome on, let's get out of here"
There was a blonde demon trying to push her back, with both hands on her shoulders. She finally recognized the red marks on the white skin.
Mara.
"Urd, are you listening to me? That's enough, let's go."
Mara turned her head to look at the quiet goddess behind her, and the serious face of Belldandy on her left. She couldn't quite decide which one was scarier.
Even Skuld was frozen, only her eyes moving slowly to the goddess grabbing her to the still form of her sisters, waiting for a move.
Something clicked inside Urd. She blinked once, slowly, then twice and then forcefully pushed the demon pushing her away.
Mara landed kinda dumbly on her butt, but wasn't harmed in any way. They exchanged a brief look before Urd cursed and fled the scene in a blur. Mara breathed out on relief.
"Well, that could have gone soooo much worse," she commented, trying to alleviate the aura around them. Belldandy seemed to relax a little bit and Peorth finally moved.
"Mara, could you pl-" Belldandy softly started, but was promptly interrupted.
"Yeah, yeah... I'm on it." Mara said as she dusted her pants. She was off in a moment, flying in the direction of the very confused demon.
xxx
"I don't want to talk about it!" Urd declared as she felt the demon landing soundlessly on the tree branch beside her.
"Well, you better start wanting, cause you're not getting back there before we do" Mara huffed, unceremoniously plopping down on the branch next to the half demoness.
Urd sighed loudly and hugged her knees against her chest; a few minutes of silence followed without either breaking the silence.
Just as she thought the other demon would drop it and leave her alone, she heard a few twigs snap under the weight of Mara moving closer to her.
"You think I don't know what was going on inside that mind of yours?" Mara all but whispered as she carefully approached her. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but these were the words that were going inside that head of yours. She's encroaching my territory. Let her go. Step back goddess. Look away. Kill"
Urd stared at her with wide cat eyes, surprise stamped all over her features. The words dropped out of Mara's mouth like liquid venom, and they certainly hit home. She got up abruptly and her fists clenched instinctively. 'Is she daring to read my mind? No…can't be. I haven't sensed any intrusion…'
"Wow, calm down kitten! I'm not reading your mind or anything. Wouldn't be able to, even if I wanted." Mara chirped, raising her hands at the side of her head.
"You're so not helping your case saying that!" Urd fumed, but eventually dropped down on the tree branch again.
Mara sighed and looked up at the now starry sky, as she was so out of her element right now. They had never pushed each other around when the other wanted to be alone. There was a mutual respect they shared that prevented either of them from pushing buttons they know they shouldn't. They never talked about serious stuff. And yet a side glance at Urd convinced Mara that this line had to be crossed today. She couldn't remember seeing Urd as miserable as she was right now. So, with a deep calming breath, she decided to break the silence once more.
"Do you really think I don't understand what is going on in your mind right now?" More silence greeted her. "Do you really think you're so far isolated that no one gets what you're feeling?"
Urd did not look at her. She didn't move from her spot on the tree, hugging her knees tightly and staring down at nothing. But Mara knew she was listening and the words were hitting home. As much as a powerful demon her girlfriend was, she was as easy to read as an open book; to another demon like her, at least.
"Oh trust me Urd, I do. Your sisters might not get it, but I do," Mara finished and looked for a reaction. Urd growled and buried her head between her arms.
There was another long silence in the air. Mara was apprehensively waiting for Urd to say something; anything. This wouldn't work out if she couldn't confide into her.
"Belldandy looked at me like I had the plague." Urd finally blurted out from between the ball she had become. It came out so low and muffled that Mara almost couldn't catch it.
The blond demoness sniggered slightly, not quite believing her ears. There might still be more goddess left in her than one would expect.
"You should've known better. What were you expecting?" Mara whispered through clenched teeth. It didn't made any sense to her at beginning, but then it finally clicked.
"Urd, listen to me. You cannot run to the same sources to solve your problems every single time. That's not going to work on this occasion. Belldandy cannot help you with this."
"Why the hell not? She was the one I turned for help whenever there was something I couldn't deal with. Not you. Not mother. Her!" Urd countered hotly.
"Because she's a goddess," Mara shot back, not missing a beat. "Stop putting her on a pedestal and ask for things that are out of her reach. She cannot for the life out of her comprehend what's going on inside your head. I can. So please, stop trying to push me away."
"Why do you want to help me so badly? You never pushed me so hard, before." The silver haired demon inquired, still not daring to face Mara in the eye.
"Well, for starters, because Hild-sama entrusted that task to me. And from another perspective... this might actually be cheesy, but I thought we were a couple. And that's not easy to come by in the demon world, so I'm not giving up on you that easily." She admitted, and was finally rewarded with Urd peeking through the mass of her hair at her and smiling softly.
"So… what you experienced back there..." Mara began, pointing back at the place where she could sense the three goddess with her thumb. It was pointless to wait for the question to pop anyway. She could feel the confusion all over her girlfriend's form. "You see, demons are territorial beings. Kinda like dogs if you want an easy comparison. The second a demon steps on one place, it makes a stand. He or she will scan that place for existing energies, and if none or a weaker signature is to be found, he will mark the place. Claim it as its own."
Urd was looking at her with all the curiosity of a newborn now. Mara felt strangely proud that she could explain those things to her. So she continued her little essay. "If, on the other hand, a stronger signature is to be found, he will back off and behave, until the source of that energy disappears, or if an opportunity presents itself. That was kinda what happened there. Knowing it or not, you marked that place as yours the second we arrived here. Belldandy wouldn't know. That exhibitionist wouldn't know either and the same is true for Skuld too. Only demons can. I can't measure up to your power, so I yielded without a word. It's just how we work."
Urd raised an eyebrow at her, as if questioning, so Mara decided for another approach."Okay, so answer me this: How did you felt when you stepped into your mother's throne room during Hagall's rebellion?"
Urd seemed to think for a bit, and after a while came up with the most sincere answer she could get. "Well, not much to be honest. A little bit nostalgic, but nothing out of the ordinary."
"Okay, fair enough. And what did you feel when you stepped into that same throne room, after you turned into a demon?" Urd eyes widened in surprise, and she nodded quietly, finally understanding it. She hadn't bothered to mention it earlier, but she felt it back there, for sure. Her mother's energy signature, so unmistakably different from every other being, claiming vassalage, claiming respect, claiming obedience, claiming order.
"That's right. You could feel that in a place Hild claimed as her own. As I can feel it here. As any other demon can. So no demon is going to mess around here. But, the same will not apply to goddess. So, when that friend of yours decided to get a little physical with your sister, you couldn't cope with it. How could she lay a hand on your sister, on your territory, and with you present?"
Urd thought about it, and it didn't take long to realize Mara was right. That was exactly what she felt when she misinterpreted Peorth joking around with her sister. She suddenly felt ashamed, very ashamed, and shot up with every intention to find a good place to sulk.
A hand forcibly pulled her sleeve though, and she met the branch in a rather painful fashion. She lashed out without thinking, but hit nothing but air as Mara ducked her punch. "For Niflheim's sake, stop trying to bully your way out of this. I swear, for all the power you hold, you have the emotional maturity of a teenager demon."
Urd sniggered, visibly annoyed, and started to pace around. Her mood swings were getting harder to predict at an alarming pace. Mara took a quick mental note of that and decided to keep talking. "If you really want to follow that road, I can assure you, it's not going to end well for you." Mara advised and licked the small cut on the back of her hand. Even if the fist directed at her had missed her by a mile, the sheer dislocation of air was enough to cut skin. Mara thought it was pretty impressive, but decided not to comment on it.
"If you stir too much trouble with the goddesses, someone will have to come and deal with you. There are still rules in place, rules that you and I have to abide to. And when that happens, you won't be able to stand back from a challenge."
That got Urd's attention by its horns. The silver haired demon stopped pacing around and looked at the blond demon through analyzing cat like eyes. Mara was happy that she finally got all of her attention again. "Surt might be able to subdue you. Might. You probably have more raw power, but he's got the experience. He will anger you, tire you, explore your weakness, and in the end, he will win."
A flash crossed Urd's eyes, and Mara could almost see the gear inside her friends head turning. She was considering, balancing every word she was saying. "But I'm betting he's not looking forward to that. He's still the commander of Muspelheim, and even if I believe he can win in a fight against you, it wouldn't be without prejudice to his own image. Winner or not, a bleeding, broken commander will not fare well amongst the ranks…"
Urd seemed to be somewhat digesting that as she resumed a sitting position on the roof, right next to Mara. "No, Surt will not want to lose face." She finally added her thoughts to the matter, agreeing with the red eyed demon. Mara smiled and nodded wordlessly.
"Now If it comes to Hild, then I can assure you Urd, things will go downhill for you. You might be her daughter, but she is the Daimakaicho. She will pound you, humiliate you, make sure you understand who's in charge. She will not go light on you. She will not spare you. That's the one thing she cannot afford." Mara whispered the words in her ear, making sure every word hit home.
"Question is. Are you ready to be humiliated by your mother? Can you endure it?" She gave Urd a few seconds for the words sunk in, and smiled a little when Urd did not answer her. It was quite clear she wouldn't be able to stand that. "She will not do it unless she is forced to either. She does not want that, I can tell you. But if you push things too far, you're not giving her much choice. She cannot benefit you; the political risks are far too great. Both to you and to her."
There was another moment of silence. Mara gladly granted it to her. She would come around when she was ready to.
"So, how do I deal with this?" Urd finally blurted, turning her head to stare at her.
"Well, what are thinking about right now?"
"I dunno. I want to be alone mostly. Maybe if I wait long enough, this will subside. Or maybe I should go and try a bath…I have no idea…" She said miserably, shrugging her shoulders.
Mara got up and tutted her finger in her face. "First of all, stop trying to solve the problem the same way you would as if you were still a goddess. Flash news honey… you're not, and that approach is not going to work."
Urd seemed to pout somehow. Mara ignored it. "A demon needs what you're feeling right now. It gives them power, it gives them a place in the world. You need to explore that anger, that possessiveness. What can you take out of it? Rationalize it Urd, you're not an animal, even if you're feeling like one. Break the feeling down, piece by piece. But do not throw it away. Bath in it, relinquish in it. Become familiar with it."
Urd stared at her intently, absorbing every single of her words and analyze it.
"And then, little by little, it won't be a distraction anymore. It will be fuel. It will be fire. And then, when you finally master it, it will be a weapon. When your enemies start to get angry, they lose focus, they will lose target. Rage blinds a god and corrupts their power. But for us, demons? We see everything clear…we can manipulate them… use it against them. It all becomes so easy then…" Mara giggled. "Your mother is a master at doing that. Your fire burns hot and red and angry. Her's? Hild fire is blue and green and cold. And yet it burns. It hurts."
Urd stare turned into an uncertain one, and Mara laughed out loud.
"Have you not noticed it? Well, take a good look at your mother Urd. Look with your new demon eyes, and then you will see it. But one thing at a time. One thing at a time…" Mara concluded, and got up, now ready to leave the former goddess to her own thoughts. She had a lot to chew on anyway, and she felt she wouldn't be of much more help now anyway. Any other questions Urd had for her, she knew where to find her anyway.
Urd just stood there on the tree, eying her girlfriend though the corner of her eyes. "Hey, Mara?"
"Yea?"
"Thanks."
The demon sported a fanged smile as she jumped down the tree.
"You're welcome."
xxx
As Urd started to visibly calm down and let out a sigh of relief, Mara looked over her shoulder to the other side of the bed to make sure that the crisis was over. In all honesty, this was by far the most effective use of her ability to invade others' dreams so far. Although that was one of the few abilities she was really good at, past experiences left her with mixed feelings as Keiichi who was the last person she tried this technique on didn't seem to get too scared by the nightmare she gave him.
Then again, Mara had never actually thought or even expected to ever try to use this as a way of offering counsel to anyone; such wasn't the way of demonesses after all. Yet in the process of courting a goddess… or rather a hybrid who spent most of her life as one, Mara knew that dealing with Urd required a bit of a different approach than most other demonesses. In a way, much of what she told her in that dream also applied to her as well. Urd was indeed a half demoness right now, but one with a vastly different background than anyone who hailed from the various infernal realms and still a goddess deep down at the depths of her psyche. After all, she still was half a goddess and despite that she had allowed her demonic side to take over, her other half was still present; a truly invaluable part of her, as Urd took great pride of both her natures.
Yet this pride made the Norn of the past in a very steadfast individual who often refused to accept others' opinions, save for her sisters' of course. As such, Mara knew that trying to confront her directly could only trigger a rather nasty response, leaving her with no other option that find a method to send a message with the minimum amount of risk involved. Besides, it wasn't about taking credit for offering her help, since not everything was about profit in the demonic world. When close family members or lovers were concerned certain sacrifices were necessary and that included acts of what could be described as altruism; although some of their scholars argued that it was merely a long term investment.
Regardless of how one interpreted such behavior, Mara was happy that her girlfriend actually took her seriously for once. It's been years of one failure after the other that earned her the reputation of a comic relief, instead of the fearsome demoness she wanted to build around her, like any other holder of a first class license and contract broker. With the exception of her apparent ineptitude to send the three Norns back to Asgard and on occasion even get bested by Skuld's robots or worse… from Keiichi of all people, Mara did actually have a good reputation up to that point. A reputation that was somewhat damaged by just a few years of bad luck, which the demoness wished to change and soon.
Being one of Hild's favorites due to her role of helping her deposed leader during Hagall's coup and even Urd's potential wife, Mara had the perfect opportunity for a comeback. She would once again be a demoness worthy of her first class license and no longer a joke, which was more or less a fate she started to accept after those disastrous years of constant failure.
For once, the blonde demoness had something that made her think about her future with optimism, instead of the pessimism she experienced during the past few years.
'Never really thought I'd say this, but tomorrow's going to be a great day!'
XXX
Valhalla, Asgard
"That… was humiliating."
Seated around the situation room deep inside the Fighting Wings' Headquarters, a deeply embarrassed Tyr rubbed his temples as he stared the photos of what was left of his office; which wasn't really all that much. This whole debriefing was absolutely painful to attend, given how easily the two highest ranking celestials were taken out action by a single intruder.
Granted, the demoness who was responsible for that astonishing feat proved to be not only as powerful as Hild, whom she resembled so much, but her total disregard for the Doublet System allowed her to use spells that were banned due to how deadly they were.
"Everyone can be caught off guard once in awhile, but the real question remains… Who was this intruder?" asked Heimdall from his seat next to the ruler of Asgard. It was evident in his eyes that he head of the Fighting Wings wasn't amused by this incident one bit, although what troubled him the most was how many rogues were out there.
"I cannot say for sure. Judging by her appearance and even skills, she seems to be very similar to Hild, but… that's just impossible." Ansuz stopped before mentioning anything about the curse Hild had put on herself and Tyr in order to meet for one last time after their failed attempt to pass the Test. After all, most of the celestials attending the meeting knew about that, along with the implications of such a curse. If the intruder was Hild herself, she would've dropped dead the moment she got too close to Tyr, yet this… Angrboda managed to even physically touch him without any adverse effect; for herself that is.
Staring down at the meeting table, Tyr tried to avoid looking at the photos of himself being embedded on his office's wall after the intruder sent him flying across the room with a sharp kick. Sure, he may had underestimated her and thought that her initial spell was all she had to show for herself, only to realize how wrong he was. "We still haven't detected any attempt for a direct point transfer, so there's a fair chance she's still hiding in the city. I want patrols everywhere, and no heroics either. If anyone sees her, they must report immediately in order to coordinate our efforts and overwhelm her by sheer numbers."
"But… she did infiltrate Asgard without us finding out," said Belldandy who was one of the two civilians to take part in this meeting. As an important eyewitness of this incident, her testimony was extremely vital to the whole investigation.
The other civilian present was Thor who actually happened to be the one that forced the rouge to retreat, after he delivered her a devastating blow with Mjolnir. Yet much to his surprise, Angrboda managed to remain mostly unharmed and even escaped with only a nasty bruise. Which in reality was nothing compared to the injuries others would sustain in her place. "She's got a point there. It looks like we've got a blind spot in our security network and that allows those blasted rouges to come and go as they please…"
"That may be true, but right now our highest priority it to locate and seal this demoness before she causes any more damage. Improving our security network will have to wait until we deal with her," said Tyr in an effort to prioritize their efforts, although he failed to convince his brother.
"Yeah… and once we're done with her… or more likely let her go, we're probably going to turn it into a huge, convoluted project… which is why we have those security problems in the first place," muttered Thor, much to his brother's chagrin.
"And what do you propose then? Let her roam around while we upgrade our security systems? How's that going to help us?"
"No, I just have little faith in our determination to fix problems these days. We no longer focus on what the goal really is, and worry about the bureaucratic aspect of everything. Just because you solve the problem on paper, that doesn't necessary mean that it's gone in real life too! If we dig our archives, I guarantee that we're going to find the same exact problems showing up time after time and we never really get rid of them. The best we can hope for is a quick and dirty solution, just so that whoever is appointed to fix won't be accused of taking too long for to troubleshoot it. Whether the job was done properly… well… who cares? Apparently not you and Councils," said Thor, rising the tension in the room to dangerous levels, at which point Ansuz had to step in and stop them from turning this meeting into a heated argument about how to run Asgard.
"Enough! This isn't the time to start blaming each other for anything! There's a powerful demoness on the loose and if someone ends up hurt or worse while we squabble, then we're all incompetent fools and undeserving to accuse anyone for anything!" spat the teal haired goddess, effectively silencing both her husband and his hot tempered brother.
The two gods leaned back on their chairs, realizing that Ansuz did have a point and a clash between them wasn't going to do anyone a favor at this point, regardless who was right or not.
"I agree. Our highest priority is to catch this Angrboda, but I do guarantee that we're going to conduct a proper study on how to improve our security measures once the imminent crisis is over," said Tyr, receiving several nods all across the room, with Thor being the last one to agree.
"Good, in that case I want patrols everywhere inside the city's perimeter and all our portal countermeasures on standby to prevent her from running away. If she manages to escape, it's going to be much harder to find her, let alone capture her, so I want everyone to treat this with the necessary seriousness. And with that, I call this meeting adjourned. We will resume once we either catch her or at the very least… confirm that Asgard is safe from her."
XXX
Urd's apartment, Muspelheim
Standing before the front door of the half demoness' residence, the ruler of the fiery realm was eager to start his first real lesson with his protegee; a task he had postponed for several days already. Of course, it wasn't just because of all the stuff that happened in the meantime, although that did contribute as well, but Surt's main reasoning for the delay was to allow Urd to get used to the lifestyle of a demoness. If he started his lesson too early, it was almost certain that the hybrid would lose control of her powers with potentially catastrophic results for everyone involved. Although training accidents happen, it's generally considered as a sign of poor planning and lack of experience from the trainer's perspective and not just the trainee's fault. Unless of course the latter shows complete and utter disregard of the former's guidance and even contradicts common sense, which in reality didn't happen all too often.
Demons in general were far more disciplined than their counterparts wanted to make them appear. Not everything was about wild parties and majestic displays of decadence, which primarily existed in celestial propaganda. Or perhaps, it was a manifestation of their competitors' repressed desires which they superimposed to them, because of their own rigid way of life. Either way, demonic society was as civilized as any other and that was the first and most important lesson Urd had to learn in Surt's opinion.
By getting adjusted to a daily routine not too different than the one she lived on Asgard, Urd could finally realize how similar their species were and that most of her reservations about demons were the result of her accepting millennia old lies as facts. Or maybe she was just trying to convince herself that her oppressed life on Asgard was better than going back to her mother's homeland.
'Speaking of the demoness… Hild's a bit too quiet all of a sudden. I guess going back to Niflheim and her paperwork must've consumed most of her time, but… I doubt that she would leave Urd alone like that. Hm… maybe she's busy with her parents? Who knows… Perhaps I should call her later and see what she's up to.'
Ringing the doorbell while lost in his own thoughts, Surt initially didn't pay too much attention to the demoness who answered the door, but that changed almost the instant she opened her mouth and offered him an uncharacteristically cheerful welcome.
"Hello! It's nice to see you today, Surt-sama! Come on in, don't just stand there!"
'She's gone rabid!' Taking a step back from the Norn of the past, who for some mysterious reason was dressed in a crimson version of Belldandy's official robes and even had her hair pulled in a ponytail, Surt was worried that maybe he was totally wrong about this and she had become so homesick that her mind couldn't cope with it anymore. "Get a hold of yourself! I'll
get a healer and tell your mother to come!"
"Huh? What for?" asked Urd with a curious tone as she tilted her head. "I don't feel sick, and don't listen to others; my cooking is perfectly edible! Actually, speaking of that... I got some cookies in the oven, so you'll have to excuse me while I go and check them. In the meantime, why don't you come in and wait in the living room with Ma-chan?"
Offering her a slow nod as to not further agitate the traumatized and potentially unstable half demoness who was now emulating her middle sister, Surt walked inside but kept an eye out for any sudden moves. This situation was so surreal, that the ruler of Muspelheim didn't even find it funny and went as far as to refuse turning his back to the deranged demoness, walking sideways instead. Which earned him a… giggle from Urd that certainly didn't help Surt feel any better about the whole situation.
Stepping inside the living room where a seemingly unconcerned Mara was enjoying a rather hearty breakfast with the most ridiculous smile on her face, the dark haired demon wondered if this was the result of a curse that affected them both. Whatever the case was, Surt really hoped that it wasn't contagious and a cure was available, because living the rest of his life as Mr. Goody-Goody was a fate worse than death.
"Oh! Good morning, Surt-sama!"
"Good morning?... Which part of it is good?" asked the incredulous demon, as his intense stare met Mara's almost empty look.
"Huh?"
"Not… huh? Your squeeze is acting like that, and… you just sit there eating… pancakes with syrup on top?" asked the dark haired demon, raising an eyebrow at the seemingly carefree blonde.
That's when Mara finally realized what the ruler of Muspelheim was referring to, as to someone who had no idea of what was going on, Urd's behavior would've indeed seem utterly bizarre. "Actually, Urd claimed that she could act like Belldandy for a whole day and I challenged her to prove it. Whoever loses the challenge will become the other's maid for a whole day!"
Palming himself, Surt was extremely relieved that his worst fears were largely unfounded, and it was merely a case of a stupid bet between those two. On the other hand though, his plans for today's lesson could be compromised by this seemingly innocent game as he had no idea how Urd's little act will impact her ability to utilize her demonic powers; and that's without taking into consideration her already existing problem controlling them in the first place. "Unbelievable… Here I am wasting my precious time to teach her something useful and she's playing stupid games with…"
"Are we going to play a game? How exciting!"
"Wah!" Nearly jumping from the sudden interruption, Surt turned to find a smiling and positively carefree Urd by the doorway, carrying a tray with her. Not only she had a cup of tea on it, but cookies and even a slice of what appeared to be a freshly baked cake, much to the demon's surprise and to certain degree… suspicion. Any of them could be spiked with one of the numerous potions the half demoness like to create as a hobby and the last thing he needed was to end up becoming the latest victim to one of her pranks. Still, agitating her wasn't going to help himself with his task as getting her into a foul mood would most certainly prove to be detrimental and that meant that he had to take the risk and try what she offered them. "Um… thank you."
"You're most welcome! Now, is there anything else I can do for you?" asked Urd in a tone that matched Belldandy's gentle personality and even made Mara raise an eyebrow at how accurate she was.
Taking a sip from the tea, the dark haired demon was happy to find out that there was nothing suspicious added into it and apparently the same was true about the cookies too. "Actually… I came here to start with your training. It's been a few days already and I think that it's about time we deal with the true reason why you're here in the first place."
"Very well, I'll do my best to follow your instructions. So, please take good care of me," said Urd with a small bow, that baffled both demons in the living room.
"Wait a second… are you planning to do this while acting like that?" asked Surt, while Mara scratched her head in wonder, not expecting her girlfriend to show that much determination for something that was ultimately a mere bet.
"Of course! I don't see how this could affect my performance in a negative way. As a matter of fact, it's more likely to improve things instead of making them worse."
Despite her confidence, Surt had his own doubts about this, but decided to keep them to himself. Either way if things were to take a turn for the worse that would happen regardless of her mannerisms, so it was probably better to just let her act however she liked as long as it didn't affect her ability to learn or turn the whole effort into a practical joke. "As you wish… However, keep in mind that I'm not in the mood for silly games, so keep that mind; just in case you get any funny ideas."
"Rest assured that I won't do anything of that sort," said Urd, before an idea struck her. "Oh, should I pack us some food so that we can have a lunch later on?"
"Sure thing… I don't have any problems with that." Despite his reassuring tone, Surt had to admit that this was far weirder that he was prepared to deal with, and just hoped that everything was going to be fine. After all, a fiasco was far from what he needed at this point of time, given all the strange things that were taking place as of late.
People want their leaders to provide them with a sense of safety and stability, and the latest incidents threatened to betray that trust. With rogues, ancient bioships from a long forgotten era and even an attack targeting the Daitenkaicho himself, it wouldn't take long for celestials to start questioning their leadership. And as annoying as Tyr was at times, having him deposed was a potentially unwanted development, since there were no guarantee that his successor would be as willing to make compromises for the greater good. If nothing else, having an incident similar to Hagall's coup could prove to be catastrophic, but as much as he hated it, Surt had to leave this matter to Hild.
He was a warrior, and none of his methods would prove to be helpful in the field of politics and diplomacy. After all, that's why he decided to retire from being Hild's second in command a long time ago, paving the path to Hagall's ascend to that position, given that he found that role as unfulfilling for him. However, he had no desire to tell Urd about those late developments and given her silly act, it was doubtful that her sisters contacted her and informed her of what took place over at Asgard, just a couple of hours ago.
And even if they did, keeping her mind busy would prove to be the best course of action for the time being.
XXX
Daimakaicho's office, Niflheim
Pacing around her vast office's interior was not something the otherwise laid back demoness would do under normal circumstances, yet the troubling news she received hours ago proved to be more than enough to shake her to the core. It was one thing to accept that there must've been more rogues out there; actually she did already suspect that, thinking that the god who was behind the attack at the Lunar Prison must've other accomplices.
But the footage sent to her by Ansuz was far too disturbing for Hild to stomach. A perfect replica of her was interested to form an allegiance with Tyr and while she clearly lacked Hild's negotiating skills, the same couldn't be said about her powers. This Angrboda or whatever she called herself managed to overwhelm both Tyr and Ansuz, although in all honesty, Hild attributed that to the surprise those two must've experienced when they saw what their intruder looked like, enabling her double to catch them off guard.
The real problem was even Thor's mighty hammer, Mjolnir failed to deliver a serious blow to her, and from past experiences the same could be said about Hild too. She had found herself in that situation as well and aside from a pretty nasty bruise that hurt for several days, Hild sustained no further damage which was a feat few immortals could accomplish, the vast majority of them suffering terrible injuries from the mighty god's hammer.
A mere copy of her physical form was a trivial thing to do, and something that even Mara did with Urd a few years ago when she attempted to split her daughter's two sides. But Urd's clone was merely an empty container that even failed to hold half of her full power for too long and Hild doubted that the same was feasible with this Angrboda, assuming that some powerful demoness possessed an empty copy of her physical form.
Actually the most troubling fact was that there's a rogue demoness out there with enough power to even challenge hers and worried that this might lead to another coup, but this time from someone who wanted her title for real. And gaining Tyr's allegiance could prove invaluable to stabilize the situation after such an attempt, using even her physical form as bait for the celestial ruler to accept this doppelganger as a poor substitute for the demoness he truly loved. Of course that kind of approach was truly misguided and naive, but at the same time it really didn't make her feel any better either; especially knowing that a double of hers could meet Tyr while she was unable to do so.
'Who is this Angrboda chick anyway? Mother was quite adamant that I don't have any siblings and none of my closest relatives look exactly like me either. And the nerve of that… that wench! Asking Tyr to take her for a lover just so that she controls him! If I ever get my hands on that bitch I…'
"Hild-sama!"
Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, the Daimakaicho turned to see her second in command rush into the office, with a worried expression evident on her face. "What's wrong, Hagall-chan?"
"Forgive me for barging in like that my lady, but we've received important news from Asgard! Apparently Loki went missing and there are signs of struggle in his shop, hinting that he was forcefully abducted!"
"Are you implying that this… Angrboda kidnapped the most notorious god in existence? Is she really that desperate to get laid or… just a masochist?"
"Uh… yes?" In all honesty, Hagall had no idea how to respond to her boss' question, especially since she barely had the time to think about the whole situation in the first place.
Yet despite her joke, Hild was deeply troubled by this development. Not because she was extremely concerned about her former brother in law, but the potential risk of anyone employing him as a means to further their agendas. As annoying as his pranks were, Loki wasn't particularly keen on taking over Asgard, but this demoness apparently wanted just that and the potential of the trickster making weapons of mass destruction for her was too hard to ignore.
"What a mess… Thanks for the heads up, Hagall-chan! I'll call them later and see what's going on over there. After all, there's little we can do, as they're not likely to accept our help anyways. You may go now."
"Yes, my lady."
XXX
The Great Desert, Muspelheim
Surt was afraid.
The dark haired warrior had been in a lot of life threatening situations before, but this was a totally new and unfamiliar experience. Looking at the crater where a sand dune used to be mere moments ago, Surt wondered just how a relatively harmless, low level spell could be powered to the point of causing this much damage; and from someone with such an innocent smile on her face.
"Well, did I do it right?" Urd was absolutely ecstatic about her little display, jumping up and down like a little child in a candy store, while her mentor and even her girlfriend inspected the damage.
'What kind of question is this?' Giving her a blank stare, Surt decided against asking her anything and instead turned to the blonde next to him for his much needed answers. "She's acting… right?..."
"Honestly? Part of me wants to say yes, but… then again, Urd certainly loves to blow stuff up," said Mara, scratching her chin in thought. "So, it's kind of hard to tell whether it's one way or the other. Perhaps a bit of both?"
'I'm not sure whether to find that amazing or scary… It's almost as if Belldandy suddenly decided to act like me when I was younger. Okay, I didn't change that much, but still…' Shaking his head, the ruler of Muspelheim looked over his shoulder and the delighted half demoness who was setting up a picnic for the three of them, all while humming a cutesy tone.
Noticing Surt staring at her with a blank expression on his face and then Mara join him too, Urd offered them a big smile as she pat the tablecloth she laid on the hot sand. "It's already midday, so why don't we have a nice lunch together? I've brought tea, cookies and even the leftovers from the cake. Oh, and I've made some blueberry muffins too!"
Giving the blonde demoness next to him a side glance, Surt couldn't help but growl at the goofy looking Mara who was already drooling at the idea of trying more of her girlfriend's cooking, now that she knew it was perfectly edible and in her honest opinion, pretty good too. "Next time you want to make a challenge, pick something… other than… than this!"
"But… sir... it's a harmless," started Mara only to have Surt snap at her.
"Not when my freaking sanity is at risk! Just look at how she's…" shouted the ruler of Muspelheim, before he found a blueberry muffin get his field of view. "Huh?"
"Here, one for you and one for Ma-chan!" said the cheerful Urd, making both demons turn to her. "Now let's all have a nice picnic, so stop fighting, okay?"
Offering her a nod as it was the only reply either of them could think at the time, the two demons followed after the Norn of the past.
Until Surt's communicator went off.
XXX
Asgard
Deep underground in the service tunnels that spanned across the celestial capital, a limping Angrboda and her captive god were on the move to avoid detection. Unable to fly as any use of magic could trigger more alarms she had countermeasures for, the demoness was forced to walk while carrying the surprisingly compliant Loki over her right shoulder.
"Okay, what gives?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
Plopping him down to give herself some time to rest, as the injury she sustained from Mjolnir still hurt like crazy, Angrboda narrowed her green eyes at the smiling troublemaker. "You know all too well what I mean! It's been hours and you haven't complained once!"
"Hey, don't listen to those hateful rumors! Mother taught me good manners too!" said Loki in mock hurt, looking almost like a kicked puppy. "I can be a gentleman, when I want to!"
"You've been kidnapped! Everyone in your position would… kick, scream, curse… You know… do something about it!" said Angrboda in frustration as this guy kept smiling like an idiot.
"Like what? Ask a mushroom eating plumber to save me? I'm a god, not a princess!" said Loki, much to Angrboda's utter confusion. "Never mind that, it's just a video game reference. I know... I have no life and all that jazz, but!... I'm about to get some… I mean, get one!"
"What?" Blinking hard, Angrboda had to admit that his behavior was unlike anything she had expected from a normal person; instead, Loki almost looked like he was excited about something and following his gaze, she quickly found out what that happened to be: her bust. "Hey, eyes up you!... You!..."
"Aw come on! What happened to all that attitude from before? You know, that stuff about Kama Sutra and housekeeping?" asked Loki with a pleading look on his face, making the demoness blink in confusion.
"I never said anything like that to you… Wait, you mean from even before that? But… you weren't present in your brother's office," said Angrboda, before she suddenly paused when realization hit her. "You had a bug in there!"
"I'm not going to admit anything, but… that's indeed what I'm talking about," said Loki with such a big grin that made the otherwise fearsome demoness step back. "So, the same deal for me too?"
"No way! That's not happening! So, keep your perverted thoughts to yourself, pal!" Crossing her arms in front of her chest to hide it from the apparently voracious troublemaker, Angrboda's anger flared to dangerous levels, but had to restrain herself. A lightning bolt could definitely cause a series of alarms to go off and that was the last thing she needed right now. 'Hold on a sec!... Is he doing this on purpose?'
"But!... If you're not willing to do it, then why offer something like that to Tyr? Don't tell me he's just so lucky that every busty demoness falls for him on the spot! I mean, come on! After telling me that you weren't related to Hild or Urd, I thought it was my lucky day!" said the god mischief with a childish pout, much to his abductor's annoyance.
"If you think that I'm going to lose control and give away my position because of your silly mannerisms, then you're sadly mistaken!" said Angrboda with a proud grin, thinking that she had figured his little plot, and in a moment of poor judgment placed her hands on her hips in triumph.
That totally exposed her top to the mischievous god, who felt that he was challenged and decided to reply in the most annoying and downright infuriating way he could muster. Reaching forward he positioned his palms right under her impressive mounds and before she could react, Loki gave them an upward pat. "Mm… bouncy!"
"WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE TOUCHING ME, YOU BASTARD?!"
The world around her became consumed by fire as the furious demoness couldn't contain her fury, sending a shockwave across the subterranean tunnels; triggering more than a dozen alarms as they picked her demonic energy. Even without them, the cracked pavement above them and the manhole covers sent flying more than thirty meters into the air, was more than enough to alert the patrols about the demoness' location.
And thus, the chase began.
XXX
Keiichi had to admit that as gorgeous their house was, he couldn't help but feel bored. Since his date with Belldandy was interrupted a day ago, his wife was busy testifying about the whole incident, leaving him alone in the house. Well… technically speaking, Excalibur and Lind were still around but with the Valkyrie's overzealous attempts to keep him safe, the frustrated mortal politely asked her to give him some private space and ever so reluctantly, the blue haired goddess agreed to be more discreet.
As such, she and her unofficial assistant put some distance between them; patrolling the perimeter around the house, until the Valkyrie received orders to join the rest of her comrades in a search for an intruder. No matter how much Lind wished to argue, there was little she could do about a direct order from her unit's headquarters in Valhalla, leaving Excalibur alone to guard Keiichi.
Even Peorth and Skuld had to go back to the Yggdrasil complex as part of the emergency protocol mandating all available personnel to report to their stations, should their services were needed. More or less, the entire celestial capital was in a lockdown until this situation was resolved, leaving the mortal with little to do in the meantime, other than watch TV. Yet for Keiichi, it soon proved to be a rather unfulfilling activity, despite the fact that he found some motorsport channels featuring both historic and even modern racing events.
In all honesty, it was extremely interesting to see such old races in full color and even high resolution, instead of the ancient means of filming humans had at that point of time. However, the main problem for Keiichi was that he was alone and more specifically he missed his wife; despite been only a couple hours since he last saw her. Ironically, he somehow found himself in Skuld's position back when Belldandy first granted his wish and much to his shame, it appeared that he handed it worse than her.
Perhaps the main problem was that for a human like him there was little he could do other than wait for her and the others to return home. At least Skuld probably had her projects to keep her mind busy back then, while he… only had the TV for company.
'Maybe I should go and find Excalibur? He's probably out in the garden… pretending to be a decorative gnome or something.'
Having nothing better to do, Keiichi headed out, but before he could search for their synthetic friend, a peculiar sound coming from the stone patchwork in front of the property caught his attention and the curious mortal decided to investigate. It was a low, rumbling sound similar to gravel going through a pipe. Indeed, as soon as Keiichi approached the perimeter wall and peeked over it, he found the noise coming from a manhole in the middle of the path that passed right in front of the property. Even the cover was slightly shaking and if it was anything like the ones they had on Earth, that required a lot of force to move something as heavy as that.
'Hm? What's going on here?'
Then all of sudden everything went quiet for a moment, before an explosion ripped the cover off its place, making Keiichi stumble back in shock. He wasn't expecting something like that to happen and the added shock of having something or rather someone land in front of him certainly didn't help either.
"What?!"
Landing hard on his bottom, Keiichi realized that he was staring at two individuals, instead of one, and both were familiar faces. It was Loki and… Hild, or perhaps even Urd, given how similar those two were. Yet, giving her a better look, Keiichi started to believe that this was a totally different individual, as neither of them had green eyes and the markings on her face were different from the ones he was familiar with. Also by the looks of it, she was far from happy.
"I should've known that you'd be up to no good, you… you perv!" snapped Angrboda as she shook the troublemaker around like a rag doll.
"What can I say? I had a blast!" Despite his current predicament, Loki didn't seem to lose his sense of humor, which only infuriated his captor even further. Or perhaps that was the main point, although the enigmatic deity decided to keep his motives to himself and simply grinned at Angrboda.
"I'm gonna blast you alright!" shouted the demoness, only to notice the slowly retreating mortal not far from them. "Hm… what do we have here?"
"Uh… h-hello?" It sounded pretty weak, but that was all Keiichi could come up at the moment. Having no idea what was going on and without any real means of defending himself should this demoness get violent, he made an attempt to get away and hopefully call for help. After all, it was evident that this was the intruder everyone was looking for and for once, he really wished Lind was here.
"Hello there little man. Come closer… I don't bite," tried Angrboda, as she cautiously approached him, trying to avoid scaring the mortal and alert anyone about them.
"No, thanks but… I'd pass," said Keiichi and much to his relief, Excalibur showed up from around the corner, looking for the source of the commotion.
That made Angrboda to tense up though, and before the synthetic could grab Keiichi, she formed a shield; trapping him inside. "Not so fast! You may be my key out of this."
'A hostage situation. Great… just what we needed…' Using his integrated communication subsystem to call for backup, Excalibur hesitated to try an aggressive attempt to get Keiichi out of there. Any sudden moves could potentially cause a nasty response from this Hild lookalike, and if the information he retrieved from Yggdrasil mainframe was correct, she was more than the Daimakaicho's double. This demoness was pretty dangerous and clearly out of his league by far, making any attempt to fight her too risky for Keiichi's wellbeing.
While the synthetic tried to come up with something to buy himself time in order for reinforcements to arrive and take care of this situation, he suddenly picked up an energy signal from the far end of the front yard. A portal began to form and despite the countermeasures set in place to prevent exactly that, a god and another demoness appeared out of it; yet the biggest surprise was the latter's appearance.
"Belldandy?" Staring at the newcomer with wide eyes, Keiichi had to admit that this did bring back memories, as his wife was dressed in the same outfit Hild gave her during the Angel Eater incident, although unlike then, both her facial markings and her eye color were different.
"Looks like you were spot on, Vidar! Great job!" said the demoness with a big grin as Odin's youngest son had managed to open a direct transfer portal right next to their target.
"Thank you, but… can we get moving? We're running out of time!" said the god as he glanced over his shoulder to make sure that the portal hasn't closed on them. "It's only a matter of seconds before they'll storm this place and capture us. I could barely open the portal as it is, and any additional measures would shut it down for good, trapping us here with no way out."
"Okay, okay… I got it!" Approaching the frowning Angrboda who reluctantly dropped her shield, Verthandi gave her fellow demoness a wink, much to the former's annoyance. "Okay sis, time to get the Hell out of here!"
"Don't call me sis, and who said I need your help, you skank!" said Angrboda with a haughty tone, refusing to budge.
"This is no time for silly arguments! I know you don't like to own anyone a favor, but I'm not letting you get captured like that; especially if there is a way out!" growled Verthandi, pointing at the portal behind her. "Come on, I'll never ask you to repay me or something! Just do as I say this time!"
Letting out a frustrated sigh, Angrboda's shoulders slumped, as she knew that this was most likely her one and only chance to get out of there. Gritting her teeth the platinum haired demoness refused to offer any reply and just bolted for the portal, carrying Loki with her.
"Well… I guess we need to get going too," said Verthandi to Vidar, before she paused and remembered the dumbstruck Keiichi who still had no idea why there was a demoness looking exactly like his wife. In a whim, she abruptly came to a stop and turned back to grab the mortal while sending a wind blast towards Excalibur who was moving to intercept her.
Getting hold of Keiichi, as the sentient weapon made a backflip to stop himself from flying across the front yard, Verthandi moved to the portal, despite Vidar's objections.
"Hold on a second! We're not supposed to take him with…"
"No time for chitchat!" Slamming onto the god, Verthandi pushed her accomplice through the portal and as it was about to close, she too entered it along with Keiichi who struggled to free himself from this fake's grasp.
A split second later, Excalibur reached the very spot where the portal used to be and lowered his head in frustration and quite probably anger. That was the best way to describe his feelings after his failure to protect Keiichi from harm, and while he wasn't physically hurt, the mortal was now taken to who knows where.
Ironically, the synthetic could already see the approaching Valkyries, that apparently arrived just a few seconds too late. Worse, he had no idea how to tell them the news, knowing all too well that Lind was amongst them and… not to mention informing the others too; especially Belldandy.
'Great… this just had to happen. Now what?'
XXX
The Great Desert, Muspelheim
For several minutes Urd and Mara stared at Surt's expression for any hints as to the subject of that phone call, especially as the dark haired demon remained quiet for all that time. No snide remarks, talking back or the rest of his typical was expressing himself at whoever interrupted their picnic. Instead, the somewhat troubled expression on his face was a sign that something important had taken place.
Urd in particular didn't like how he occasionally glanced in her direction, wondering if it had something to do with her, or even her sisters. A lot of crazy stuff took place during the last couple of days, affecting their lives in the process, and as a result Urd had kind of gotten used to it by now. "Umm… may I ask what was that all about?"
"Hm?" Blinking as he had apparently forgotten about the bet between Urd and Mara, the ruler of Muspelheim cleared his throat, trying to give himself a moment to think how to approach this. "I guess you'll have to resume this challenge at some other time. Right now, there seems to be an… issue over at Asgard and your mother called me to inform me about it."
"An issue?" repeated Urd, not liking where this was heading. Glancing over at Mara who nodded back at her, Urd finally dropped the act as it was apparent that this was indeed no time for silly games. "What kind of issue are we talking about?"
"A god and a mortal were kidnapped by the rogues. Two demonesses and a god were involved in that, but… according to the only eye witness of the incident, those two seemed to be rather familiar looking," said Surt, watching Urd's eyes narrow in suspicion, before she realized just who he was talking about.
"Hold on… there are no mortals living on Asgard except… Keiichi? And who's the other god?" asked the shocked half demoness as she started to grasp just how serious the situation really was.
"Yes, and the other one was Loki. Although I can see why those rogues might want the latter, given his knowledge at creating dangerous things… I've got no idea why the got your brother in law," said Surt with a casual shrug, making an effort not to sound too serious and stress her even more than it was necessary. "He's just an average human…"
"Who cares? We must get him back!" shouted Urd, her irises turning bright crimson and almost cat-like, making Mara take a few steps back as her girlfriend's aura was too overwhelming. As a matter of fact, for a moment it almost appeared as if the half demoness was her mother; albeit without the same level keeping her emotions at check. "What are we waiting for? Let's go!"
"Go where? Your father ordered a complete lockdown until they investigate what's going on, just in case those rogues have any remaining accomplishes on Asgard. Even if you switch back into a goddess, they won't let you in!" said Surt, moving to grab Urd by her shoulders as she was about to leave.
"So, you're telling me to just sit here and wait while Belldandy's worried sick? No way!"
"And you think that starting a scene over there will make her feel better? Why don't you call her and talk, instead of picking up a fight with Asgard's security forces? Are you trying to give those gods an opportunity to blame us for this mess and take their so called investigation to a totally different direction? Do you really need this right now?" Letting her go, Surt was somewhat pleased to see Urd pause and consider his words, a hopeful sign that she was starting to act less impulsively.
"Okay, that's a good point… Can I go back to my place, though? I've left my communicator there, just in case I blew it up during the training," said Urd, not particularly happy to admit that she was expecting to lose control, but her ego wasn't too important at the moment.
"Fair enough. I doubt it's the best idea to keep going with your under such circumstances, so you're both free," said the ruler of Muspelheim, giving Mara a pointed look; just to make sure that she got the hint to keep an eye out for her girlfriend. "Besides I also need to go back the Central Command and check what's going on."
Nodding, the two demonesses started for the city, with Urd changing back to her regular attire, leaving Surt behind to ponder about the situation. This was clearly the beginning of something big, as more and more rogues started to show up out of nowhere. Worse, the similarities those two demonesses had with Hild and Belldandy were truly alarming. And by the sound of it, the Daimakaicho's double didn't just look like her, but also possessed much of the original's power too.
'Hm… This is starting to become really bothersome. As funny as it was at first, when that rogue god blew up their Lunar Prison, I'd rather not have to deal with a whole bunch of traitors and the fact that there are demons amongst them… That's not good; not good at all. Better head back and check things on my own, too. What a mess...'
XXX
Onboard CMV Skidbladnir, unknown location
"Why did you do that for?"
Glaring at the demoness hiding behind Keiichi, Odal was beyond himself. For the small crew of this stolen battleship, this was the first time they've seen the otherwise calm and collected god to lose it.
"Um… what can I say? He looked cute and I thought I could bring him with me?" tried Verthandi, peeking over Keiichi's shoulder with the most innocent expression she could muster; and for a moment the demoness almost appeared to act like the goddess she so much resembled.
"For Heaven's sake… he's a man, not a lost puppy!" shouted Odal, while Keiichi could only nod in agreement, craning his neck to see his abductor cower behind him. It seemed almost funny in a bizarre way, although he wasn't in the mood for jokes. Belldandy was most certainly worried sick and the one responsible for that was a totally crazy version of her. At the very least, the mortal was happy to know that the person who appeared to be in charge here was sane, although the one called Vidar was also kind of okay, even though he kept silent as he watched this unfolding drama, or rather… comedy.
And speaking of comedy, Keiichi glanced over at Loki who was still happy for a reason that was totally beyond him. The god of mischief acted as if he was on a picnic and, even tried to have some chitchat with Angrboda, although by the looks of it, she was far from happy to talk to him. Then again, even a romantically challenged man like Keiichi knew that trying to learn a woman's three numbers wasn't the best way to start up a conversation. Loki was certainly up to something, but the mortal wasn't going to waste his time trying to decipher the thoughts of the most unpredictable god in existence.
"Father!"
Turning towards the hangar's entrance, the assorted immortals, plus Keiichi saw the overjoyed Jormungandr slither his way towards Loki, in a rather bizarre yet heartwarming family reunion. Only for the other member of that strange family to ruin it in his almost typical fashion.
"Out of my way! The big brother is passing through!"
Dashing like crazy, Fenrir easily overpassed his younger sibling and launched himself at his creator in… an attempt to give him a friendly headbutt. However, proving to be surprisingly agile, Loki managed to duck in time before the overzealous canine crashed on him. Instead, Fenrir, smashed against Keiichi's chest, knocking the wind out of him and sending him on top a surprised yet delighted Verthandi.
"Oh, my! You're so soft and cuddly! Mmm… smell nice too! Come on, it's okay to touch me too!"
Blushing like mad, Keiichi had no idea how to respond as part of his mind was overwhelmed by the idea of someone so similar to Belldandy act in a manner that was more fitting for… Urd.
"Oh, no you don't! You already abducted him, there's no need to add adultery to the list of your offenses!" Reaching to extract the mortal from her, Odal gave the amorous demoness a withering look.
"But, she also abducted a guy for her!" objected Verthandi, pointing at Angrboda who snorted back a reply.
"Get real! I just need his technical skills!"
"Enough!" shouted Odal, turning back to Verthandi. "I want you to find a way to send him back without giving away our position! Got me?"
"Aw…"
"No arguments! The sooner we get him off board the better! Now, get to work!"
While everyone's attention was captured by the unfolding drama, a cardboard box in the far corner of the hangar shifted without anyone noticing that it moved on its own. Even more, a faint glow could be seen though one of the hand-holes at its side, while two ravens poked their heads around it.
Unbeknownst to the rest of the crew, there was a stowaway onboard.
XXX
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.
Mara does actually have the ability to influence others' dreams as shown in the early manga and anime when she first appeared in Keiichi's dream to scare him. Of course in this case it was for the sake of reassuring Urd who was struggling to deal with her inner conflicts and needed a better insight of the demonic way of thinking.
Now, I must clarify that Loki's definitely up to something and not just messing around for no reason. Although I cannot say much at the moment, I'll deal with his actual motives in the next chapter.
Finally... the big event of the whole chapter. Yes, Keiichi got kind of… abducted in this chapter, but fear not. It won't take me ages to reunite him with Belldandy, just in case anyone wonders if this is going to turn out into his personal odyssey. Or… a poor attempt of mine to create some cheap drama, just to make the story more interesting. Instead, it's going to act as a perfect opportunity for him to collect some intel while he's there, a task that requires more brains than brawn and that's where Keiichi excels at. Of course, there are far more important reasons, but that'll have to wait for now.