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

'My head is killing me… Well, there goes the happy-go-lucky lifestyle I guess; back to the good 'ol routine. Ugh...'

No matter how hard he rubbed his temples, Odal's headache just wouldn't go away, and he knew exactly why it was the case. It's been already a couple of hours since his arrival at Helheim, and even after all that time, he had yet to debrief everyone involved in this monumental mess. To begin with, he questioned his world's version of World of Elegance, that somehow ended up here, but no matter how hard he tried, the dichromatic angel remained rather… tight lipped. Although she did provide him with a fairly basic story as to how she ended up here, Odal still thought that there was a lot more to it than that, but decided against pressuring her for answers. After all, doing such a thing would have only made her less talkative in the long run, so instead, he merely made sure that she wasn't going to run away, now that they knew about her existence.

On the other hand, his robots were thankfully much more cooperative, and provided him with a better insight as to their involvement in this whole incident. Apparently, Hel detected the human deaths that were caused by demonic activities, and considering that none of the demons involved seemed to correspond to a valid license, she decided to waste no time and despatched World of Elegance along some of his robots to buy them enough time until help arrived. Sure, they should've handled this situation way better than that, but then again, Odal reminded himself that in reality Hel was fairly inexperienced, regardless of how much knowledge she possessed.

"I dare say that this was a disaster, but at the very least, the humans are no longer part of it."

The calm voice of his synthetic comrade, brought Odal out of his thoughts and back to the harsh reality he was facing right now. "Ah, just in time, Gram. Any news from Asgard?" asked Odal, as the sentient shapeshifting weapon arrived to the room he's been using for the moment to deliver his report. Considering that Gram was still part of the wider network of the World Tree, it was possible for him to get some updates from the Celestial Mainframe, even though his access was severely restricted right now.

"Apparently there's a media blackout about anything related to the disappearance of Surt, or the two other missing goddesses. And there's absolutely not a single mention of Hild-sama's presence in Asgard whatsoever. On that note, there's also no word about that incident in the human military base, either," replied the synthetic, before he extended his arm and turned his hand into a holoprojector. "Speaking of which… Please take a look at this."

Leaning closer to the series of security photos from the attack on the airbase, Odal raised an eyebrow at what he initially thought to be an artifact in one of them, but quickly realized that it wasn't. "There was another one with them?"

"Negative. We've analyzed the entire security feed, and overimposed the anomaly with our troops' collective memories, and there was no interference from this third individual. Moreso, according to Hel's archives, this particular pattern appears to confront the artifacts generated by one of the Fighting Wings' stealth field spells. Therefore, it is safe to assume that the one behind it, was none other than the traitorous Valkyrie: Sanngrid."

"Hm…" Scratching his chin in deep thought, Odal tried to recall details about the Valkyrie in question, but the more he remembered the less sense it made to him. "That's impossible. I thought that she had a pathological hate for demons, so how is it even possible to work alongside them? It makes no sense at all! I mean… sure, I suppose Thrivaldi's group may had been collaborating with those rogue demons, but… I doubt that Sanngrid would willingly do that."

"Providing that she knew who their leader is cooperating with," noted Gram, causing Odal to pause and raise his eyebrows in surprise.

"Good point, Gram! Maybe Thrivaldi kept the rest of his group in the dark as to who was helping him behind the scenes. And if that's the case…" trailed off Odal, as his lips curled into a slight grin. "We can use this."

Before the synthetic could do anything more than offer a simple nod, a feminine voice caught the duo's attention, as she entered Odal's room unannounced. "My, oh my… You've been married only a couple of days, and you're already this influenced by the nature of your beloved wife? You two must be getting along really well. Ah... I'm so jealous!"

"Wah! Verthandi? Where did you come from?..." Letting out an exasperated sigh, Odal couldn't help but remember the old days when the mischievous demoness would sneak up to him at the first opportunity she could find. In all seriousness though, Verthandi's personality remained a mystery to him, since she was both the opposite of his mother, and yet… there were moments when she would act in a very similar manner to her lookalike. Of course, he had already figured that for the most part her 'seductress' persona was merely for show, given that he had never seen her make a genuine attempt to date anyone, ever since they've been taken under Hild's protective wing. Sure, there was the idle flirting whenever she talked to a demon she found attractive, but that never went further than a simple exchange of pleasantries. 'Hm… now that I think of it, I don't recall a single instance she slept with anyone, either. So, that more or less excludes one night stands too. I guess the closest thing to that are the dreams she causes people to experience. But then again, those are merely illusions made out of her target's imagination, and she only consumes the energy generated by them. Still… what am I going to do with her?'

Happy with the tiny blush on Odal's cheeks, Verthandi was almost sure that he got the message across, even though she also knew that his relationship with Hagall remained on a rather platonic level. After all, given that this was an arranged marriage, she fully understood that it was going to take a while until they warm up to each other. Which was exactly why she wasn't planning to put the pressure on Odal, although the whole subject was still an opportunity to help the poor boy blow some steam off. Even though it seemed counterproductive to go after such shenanigans at a time like this, Verthandi knew from past experiences that this whole situation would become a great source of stress for Odal, as his wife was now shouldering a burden she definitely isn't ready to deal with. Actually, if past situations were an indication of things to come, Verthandi doubted that Hagall could handle a crisis of this magnitude, when she couldn't even stage a proper coup, let alone stop Keiichi and his group back then. "I'm sorry for interrupting you like this, but I was hoping we could talk. Alone, if possible."

"Well, I don't see why not," said Odal with a casual shrug, before he turned to Gram and nodded at him. Getting the message, the synthetic returned the gesture and headed for the door, leaving him alone with Verthandi for the first time in a while. 'Come to think of it, I didn't get a chance to talk to her since I got married. I wonder if that's all about,' mused Odal, while he watched Verthandi bring forth a rather sizeable bag, she had left just outside the door, only to retrieve it once they were alone.

"Excellent! I've been dying to give you this, Odal-kun!" Totally ignoring the inquisitive -if not downright suspicious- look she was getting from Odal, the brunette demoness handed him the bag, acting as if nothing was amiss. "I'm really sorry I didn't get to do this earlier, but… you know how things are, so!... Here you go! Well? Aren't you excited?"

The somewhat reluctant god knew better than show enthusiasm whenever the words 'Verthandi' and 'presents' were put in the same sentence, as the last time she gave him something like this… it turned out to be a body hugging pillow; with Peorth printed on it, nonetheless. Granted, getting a full body shot of Peorth in her lingerie was particularly easy, considering the rose goddess' unique sense of fashion, but even then, it made Odal rather weary whenever Verthandi seemed this enthusiastic. 'Come on, it's not like she doesn't know that I'm married now! Although… that also worries me. Let's see…' Taking a deep breath to steady himself for what he was about to see, Odal opened the bag and peered inside, only to notice that this was some kind of inflatable mattress. "Is this… an air bed? No, wait! It's a waterbed!"

Offering an enthusiastic nod at Odal's deduction, Verthandi was at the very least pleased that her idea for a gift wasn't dismissed right away, but that again, she never expected him to actually accept it. Which was exactly why she also bought a real present for him, considering that this little joke wouldn't last for too long. Only to find out that he actually seemed… pleased with it. "You like it?"

"Of course I do! That's a really nice wedding present, actually. Although… you do sound quite surprised. Why? You thought I'd turn it down? Hey, it's not like something I wouldn't want to use. I'm a married god, now, so, it comes with the territory. After all, I'd like to see Hagall's face once I place this in her… I mean… our bedroom." Even though it took him quite some effort to say all that with a straight face, the baffled look on Verthandi's was well worth the trouble. As a matter of fact, he started to feel a bit bad about the poor demoness who probably wanted to cheer him up with one of her typical shenanigans, only to get a very different response from what she's been waiting for. "Come on, Verthandi! It's not like you to gawk at me like that."

"Ah, yes… I'm sorry," said the demoness in an effort to regain her composure, before she retrieved a small box she's been carrying on her person. "At any rate, I've got a nice set of earrings for your wife, too. You know… just in case-"

"I don't accept the waterbed?" finished Odal with a slight smile, before reaching to take the box off Verthandi's hands. "Like I said, I'm a married god now, so, some things have changed. Still, this extra gift will be really nice for now. After all, I doubt that we're going to find much peace, with everything else going on."

"Yes, I know," said Verthandi with a heavy sigh. "As much as I wish that you had a proper chance for a peaceful honeymoon, it seems that it's always one thing or the other."

"Tell me about it..." Despite the frustration in his voice, Odal didn't sound too broken about it; far from it actually. "Still, it's really nice to know that I've got you to look after me, Verthandi."

Even though such words brought joy to her heart, the demoness still felt rather guilty for trying to take her lookalike's place. "Are you sure it's okay to say that to me, Odal? This isn't our world, you know. She's in perfect health in this place, so why not spend more time with her?"

"I will, but that's something that needs some time. You can't expect my mother to suddenly act as if I'm her long lost son, or something. Still, that's one problem. The other, is that people aren't tools to be discarded when you think that their usefulness has come to an end. And you're not the exception of that rule, Verthandi."

Odal's response left the demoness at a loss of words, as it was much better than she would've ever expected, given that she always viewed herself as a copy; and thus, merely a poor substitute for Belldandy. Of course, she still possessed several original elements in her personality, making her something more than just a demonic version of the middle Norn, even though in the end she more or less tried to act as Odal's surrogate mother. And though she had a lot she wished to say, in the end, Verthandi managed only a mere 'thank you,' as she felt too moved to trust her voice right now.

"There's no need for that," whispered Odal, reaching out to give the moved demoness a tiny hug. "You've done more than enough already. Just, don't think yourself as useless, okay? Can you at least promise me that?"

Wiping her eyes, as it was becoming harder for her to see with those pesky tears welling up in the corners, Verthandi took a moment to recompose herself, and then offered him her best smile; one that was highly reminiscent of the goddess she so much resembled. "Yes!"

XXX

Asgard, in another timeline

The sound of creaking metal brought little comfort to the unlikely group of immortals that suddenly found themselves trapped in what was essentially a rather beat up Asgardian ship, that was somehow converted for underwater operation. Technically speaking, anything void-worthy should be capable of working underneath the water too, but that still left a lot of different practical matters unaddressed. Things like propulsion, control of submersion, and even basic navigation had to be completely overhauled, although given the synthetics' sheer size, that also became another serious problem that had to be mitigated.

Still, this enormous sub was actually the resistance force's base of operations, given that according to SA-α, their adversaries didn't search too deep underwater to actually discover their location. As a matter of fact, it was fortunate that the Dragon's spawn had left the great oceans almost untouched, at least well below the aphotic bathypelagic zone, and into the eternally dark realm of the abyssopelagic zone, where the sun's rays could no longer penetrate the water, even during daytime.

"Hild, can you hear this creaking? Is this thing even safe?" Coming to a stop as the sounds from the sub's hulls made him increasingly uneasy, Surt turned to the demoness who stood no further than a few meters away from him, and currently reading a file she was handed down to her by their most gracious hosts.

Without even taking her eyes from the datapad she held in her hands, Hild merely dismissed her comrade's concerns, as either way there was nothing they could do about it. "Considering that a hastily converted ship managed to survive several decades of being submerged five kilometers underwater, I wouldn't be complaining. It's seaworthy, and that's more than enough in my books. Plus, you've never been in a submarine, so give it a rest; this is normal."

"Point taken." Knowing all too well that Hild's interest in the record file was to find out more about the Norn's fate -and especially the eldest of the trio- Surt decided not to offer any further arguments. For a group of robots so eager to assist them in any way they could, those synthetics were surprisingly tight lipped about their own creator's ultimate fate; or that of her sister's for that matter. And while this wasn't the time to use force in order to get the answer they've been looking for, Surt feared that unless something changed, Hild might sooner or later resort to that. As such, a distraction was absolutely necessary, before things went south, and fast. "By the way, where are we supposed to sleep? There are no cabins left in this ship… I mean, sub."

"Hm? What are you asking? We're inside our room," said Hild, looking up from the datapad for the first time in the last two hours, and then point at the shelves of what was essentially a storage room. "Given those synthetics' size, their shelves should be large enough for us to use as bunk beds. It's not a luxury hotel for sure, but we're not on vacations."

"Well, that goes without saying," replied Surt in all honesty, even though he sought an opening to grab that damned datapad off Hild's hands. Although it was undeniable that learning as much of their current situation was useful to them, at the same time, there was nothing to be gained by getting depressed before they even had a chance to do anything. "Anyway, where are those goddesses?"

"With SA-γ, I believe. That's the head technician -in case you weren't paying attention- and SA-α ordered him to run all the tests necessary to find out how to reboot Excalibur. If that's even possible, that is." Although she normally remained on the optimistic side of things, right now Hild felt rather numb from all she's read so far. And to say that this didn't affect her overall view of things would've been a lie, even though she knew that somehow this world was bound to be liberated one day; and even met the god who did it. 'What are we even doing here? That damned Nidhogg is probably messing around with the timelines, as if it doesn't have anything better to do with its free time.'

Having every one of his attempts to change the subject shot down by Hild, the amber eyed demon was starting to lose his patience with his leader; until it hit him. 'Hold on! She's not my boss right now, is she? I mean… there's no actual chain of command, with only the two of us left and all that.' Taking a moment to glance over at Hild, who went back into reading that stupid datafile, Surt weighed his options, and while he didn't like the idea of antagonizing her one bit, it was better than trying to act like her therapist later. "Alright, enough with this shit. Hey, let go of that, and come with me. We're going for a little stroll."

"What?" Given her surprise from having the datapad snatched from her hands, Hild didn't initially know how to react, even though the first thing that crossed her mind was to pull her arm free from Surt's grasp. Then again, the whole thing did remind her of a somewhat similar situation a couple of millennia ago, only back then their roles were actually reversed, with Hild being the one who dragged him along for a stroll. "You've got a darn good memory, I see. So… am I going to get slapped, too?"

"Not really. You see, unlike some people, I do have manners," said Surt, while offering Hild a sideways glance. "Besides, you never slapped me; you punched me. There's quite the difference between those two, you know!"

"No, I didn't!"

"Oh yes, you did! Even if you forgot about it, I can still recall that right jab as if it was yesterday!"

"That was a slap!"

Coming to a stop, as Hild's excuses were too ridiculous for him to let her off the hook just like that, Surt raised his hand right in front of the demoness' face, causing her to blink in surprise, before he pointed at the palm with his free hand. "That is what's you're supposed to use when you slap someone. So, tell me how exactly you 'slapped' me, when it was your knuckles that got me across the face?"

"Well…" Averting her gaze, when she realized that perhaps she didn't exactly remember that incident as well as initially thought, Hild decided to shift gears and use a different approach. "Look, I was upset, okay?"

"I had even more reasons to be upset than you! That was Sinmara and Sindr's funeral service, you know! And before the end of the day, I got punched by your greatness!" Taking a moment to catch his breath and calm himself down, before this escalated to an actual argument, Surt crossed his arms and stared at Hild, who at least seemed to have forgotten about that damned datapad. "Could you at least listen to your own advice, and do something other than shutting yourself from the rest of the world?"

"Fine… I suppose you've got a point," admitted Hild with a heavy sigh, stashing the datapad in her devil's midscape for the time being. "Do you have any ideas as to what we can do to pass time, though? As much as I'd like to exercise a bit, it's too risky to do that in a sub. Last thing we need right now is to get a hole in the hull."

"Actually, how about we go and check on Excalibur's progress? If there's any, at least," suggested Surt, as he honestly didn't have any better ideas for now. Personally, he too would've preferred to exercise his combat skills a bit, especially with Hild's assistance, but in the end it was far too risky. So, the next best thing was to socialize with those goddesses, even though he didn't want to outright say it.

"Sure, I don't see why not. It's much better than simply staring at the walls. Now come, I think it was that way."

XXX

Earth

Letting out a yawn, the youngest of the Norns struggled to resist the natural urge to go back to sleep, as she's been up really late working on her latest project. Although she had still ways to go before she was even close to finish it, Skuld felt that with everything else going on at the moment, it was extremely important to hurry up and make some progress. 'Ugh… what time is it?'

The young goddess rummaged around with her hand, trying to grab her alarm clock, only to come into contact with a rather warm and fuzzy thingy, that didn't feel particularly unpleasant, although she was certain that it didn't belong in her room. 'When did I get a plushie doll?'

"Mm… B-Belldandy…"

The positively feline purr, brought Skuld out of her state of partial awakeness, as there was no mistaking it anymore. Somehow, she had gotten hold of the sole resident in the entire house that, Skuld didn't wish to have anywhere near her during the night. "Eeek! Pervert! Letch! Enemy of women!" Flinging around the hapless cat like a ragdoll, the Norn eventually launched him across the room, until a neon transformer interrupted the airborne cat's trajectory, and promptly transformed Welsper's fur into a magnificent pon pon.

"Mwrewrsh!"

Despite her young age, Skuld recognised an obscenity or two that somehow got mixed up into Welsper's cry of sheer outrage. And though she felt that she had every right to defend her honor from the potentially lecherous cat, who most certainly exploited the cuteness of his current form to peep on her poor, defenseless soul… Skuld couldn't help but feel that she may had gone a bit overboard. "Oops… sorry about that."

The positively puffed-up cat couldn't hide his disdain at the youngest Norn, even narrowing his eyes to show how much he didn't appreciate such a rough treatment. "I think I've said it before… but you're such a demon."

"Look who's talking, pal!" shot Skuld back at the cursed cat, as she wasn't going to cut him any slack that easily. "You're still dreaming of Belldandy, you furry deviant?"

"Hey, what's so wrong about thinking fondly of the only person here, who actually doesn't treat me like a joke? Besides, she's so skilled at scratching me behind the ears… Ah, Belldandy!..."

Unsure how to respond to the elated cat, Skuld chose to remain silent for the time being, even though the feline's daydreams caused her face to turn into the shame shade of blue as her markings. "Enough with that crazy talk, pal! First things first, Bell's married now, so give up already! And besides… what are you doing in my room for crying out loud?"

"Weren't you even listening? Everyone's here treats me like a joke, so I thought I would be safer here. Last time, that nephew of yours, locked me in a cage of all things!" replied Welsper, with the horror of that terrible experience still painted in his eyes.

"A cage? You don't mean… a cat carrier?" Trying hard to conceal her grin, Skuld finally got out of her futon and stretched her arms for a moment. "Odal's not here right now, so go ahead and use the guest room for yourself."

"Really now? Good ridd-... I mean, how tragic!" managing to correct himself in mid sentence, Welsper tried his best to give the young Norn the innocent and ever so cute smile cats were known for. While electricity had little effect on him, unless he was caught off guard like before, the same couldn't be said about Skuld's homonymous bombs.

"Hmph!... Say what you will, but you're not fooling me, you crafty cat. Now, I need to change, so outta my room!" commanded the teen goddess, as she wasn't going to actually change out of her pajamas while that darned cat was still present.

"You don't need to tell me twice. After all, I can smell Belldandy's cooking!" Welsper's expression turned into another dreamy look at the mere mention of his beloved Belldandy's name, and without even wasting any time, he made a dash for the kitchen, much to Skuld's annoyance.

Sure, there was a part of the Norn that reminded her that not too long ago, she too acted a bit like him whenever Belldandy was involved; minus that unrequited love part, for obvious enough reasons. However, she had done a lot of progress from becoming more than her big sister's fangirl, and not only did she changed her attitude towards Keiichi by accepting his relationship with Bell, but she also tried to act the part of being Odal's aunt. Granted, it was rather weird to do that for someone who was way older than her. Then again though, it wasn't actually unheard of to have such age difference between relatives in the immortal world. So, if there was anything she could do to help her nephew, Skuld was willing to give it a try.

'Still, what does he need a ternary computer for? Most of the ones we use today are binary systems, and besides… he should be able to make one by himself. Well, it could be that he doesn't have enough time as of late, but then again, what's the hurry? Oh well, that probably won't take me too long.'

XXX

Waking up to an otherwise… normal morning brought a truly nostalgic feeling to Keiichi, even though the exact definition of normal was questionable. After all, dealing with immortals had become an integral part of Keiichi's life for several years now, and in a strange twist of fate, he now counted as one of them as well. Yet considering all the crazy stuff that's been going on as of late, Keiichi was more than happy to have a break and hopefully spend some time here with his darling wife in peace.

Strangely enough, Mara had been relatively quiet throughout the last couple of days, and for the most part so did Urd. Personally, he was halfway expecting them to simply go back to their shenanigans as soon as they arrived on Earth, but perhaps that was just his wishful thinking. Despite their laid back attitude, Keiichi was almost sure that he caught them talking about asking Hild's permission to visit Helheim, although he didn't manage to hear what exactly they intended to do once they got there. Still, it was positive evidence that they were actually thinking about the whole situation a lot more than he probably did.

"You seem terribly worried, Keiichi."

"Well, I can't say that I don't have anything to think about right now," replied Keiichi with a heavy sigh… until he realized that it wasn't Belldandy who was addressing him, and neither was the two other Norns, or even Mara. "Wha?!..."

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry! I should've realized that you weren't paying attention before," apologized the goddess of the Lake, as she actually did announce herself earlier on when she first set foot into the living room, but Keiichi must've been too lost in his thoughts to hear her. "I haven't scared you now, did I?"

"No, I'm good," replied Keiichi, breathing out a sigh of relief as he realized that he wasn't in any kind of immediate danger. "I just seem to get lost in thought as of late. But enough with that. How are you doing, Laguz? I hadn't seen you for a while, actually. Is everything alright?"

"I'm quite fine, Keiichi. It's just that I was a bit busy with a little issue," said Laguz as evasively as possible, given that she still didn't know how to exactly break him the news. "You see, Frigg-sama had a little request for me, and it took us a while to iron out all the details."

"Nothing… problematic, I hope," said Keiichi nervously, given that even he knew better than badmouth the single, most terrifying goddess of Asgard. Even though the title of the strongest lady in Asgard probably went to Ansuz, it would've been a grave mistake to dismiss Frigg's network of connections, that right now exceeded even those of her husband's. As he's being told during Odin's visit at the Norn's home in Asgard, after the former Daitenkaicho's disappearance a lot of his supporters sought to have Frigg step up and become their leader. However, the elder goddess knew that the changes necessary to move forward in their society required a younger celestial, and thus turned the offer down. The next candidate in terms of popularity was none other than Thor, the most celebrated war hero of Asgard, and apparently champion of Midgard, as he often protected both mortals and Earth Spirits alike whenever the demons tried to mess around with them. Yet, Thor was utterly uninterested at becoming a bureaucrat, and also believed that if peace was to return to the world, they needed someone less temperamental as their Daitenkaicho. As it turned out, the best candidate for the role was none other than Tyr, even though he was far from popular at that point of time. News of his not so secret affair with Hild -the then ruler of Muspelheim- greatly divided the public opinion in the three celestial realms, leaving Tyr with a precious few supporters. In the end though, it was only thanks to Frigg's machinations that Tyr became the Daitenkaicho, and when someone possessed this much influence, it was only natural to wish to stay on her good side.

"I don't think it's something to get worried about, Keiichi." Strangely enough, Laguz's choice of an answer sounded pretty evasive by her standards, and knowing that her attempt to drop the subject would be more than noticeable, the blonde goddess decided to immediately change the entire topic. "Actually, there is one thing that troubles me, though. I came here without thinking too much about it, but, that's terribly rude for a guest to invite themselves, right? I mean, with so many people living together with you, it must be hard to get some peace and quiet."

'She's hiding something, master,' sent Terrestrial Spark over his link with Keiichi, to which the dark haired god could only agree. 'So it would seem. Still, if it's not a problem, then we shouldn't poke our noses in other people's business,' replied Keiichi while making an effort to maintain his pleasant expression, as to avoid giving off his internal dialogue with his angel. "Funny that you mentioned it. I kind of remember a time when I was trying to be all alone with Belldandy, as strange as it now sounds. Dunno… for a guy like me, who had never dated a girl, having a goddess like Bell live with me was a big thing, you know. Even Megumi couldn't believe that I was a virgin after living under the same roof with a woman for so long. Sure, eventually Urd kind of showed up, and a bit later, Skuld also decided to make an appearance when she was left all alone. So, I kinda got used to have company in the house."

The lake goddess couldn't help but giggle a bit at Keiichi's babbling about his past experiences, considering that part -or rather most- of it wasn't strictly speaking necessary information to share. Still, a part of her reminded the goddess that perhaps it was a good opportunity to get to know her… adoptive son a bit better, especially since Frigg insisted on her becoming the younger god's foster parent. It was undeniably a pretty unorthodox move, given that Keiichi wasn't an orphan, but then again, that wasn't a permanent state. Although it was far from unheard for immortals to lose their parents, none of them was actually raised by humans, and therefore forced to separate from them in a couple of decades. Once again, Keiichi was a very unusual case, but according to Frigg, it was better to bond with some kind of foster family before his biological relatives passed away, rather than afterwards. The main reasoning was that as a god, Keiichi needed someone to act as his legal guardian, since due to the unusual circumstances behind his deification, he was only partially considered as a legal adult. Unlike Laguz herself who became a goddess by divine contract, and thus her powers are regulated by Yggdrasil, Keiichi is a real god, albeit one with little to no life experiences. And considering that he does possess a fully grown body, instead of spending centuries as a child, it's extremely important for someone to be legally assigned as his guardian, helping him throughout the process of learning how to cope with his new nature. "That's something I can almost imagine. At any rate, do you mind me joining you in Whirlwind? It would be better if I somehow make some money while I'm staying with you. And before you even say it… I'm doing this because I want to."

"Very well… Although, it's not my decision to make. It's Chihiro who runs Whirlwind, so, you need to ask her when we'll get there. You're coming with us, right?"

"Of course. Just let me know when you're done your breakfast, Keiichi," said Laguz with a tiny smile as she noticed her soon to be daughter-in-law poke her head in the living room. "Ah, there you are, Belldandy! I'm sorry for keeping him busy for this long. I'll go ahead and leave you two alone, now. After all, I still need to properly install my lake's spirits in your pond."

Watching the blonde goddess walk past her, Belldandy shot her husband a curious gaze, as she had no idea what those two were talking about. "Keiichi? Did I miss something?"

"It seems that we're going to have another immortal coworker in Whirlwind," cheerfully replied Keiichi, bringing up a smile in his wife's face. "Well, providing that Chihiro's okay with it."

"Oh, that's just wonderful! It's so nice to have another norm-" Catching herself before she even had the chance to finish that sentence, Belldandy desperately tried to come up with something else to say, as her apparent lack of self control was starting to get the better of her. Thankfully though, Keiichi didn't seem to take offense by that little slip, and merely chuckled at her.

"It's indeed nice to have someone else to act like the voice of reason from time to time. But, that's going to wait. I still haven't tried your delicious breakfast. I mean… even though I don't need to eat anymore, I won't give up this part of our daily lives, Bell."

"I… I'm really happy to hear that, love," replied the moved Norn, as her husband's words brought a blush on her face. It was perhaps unfit for a goddess like her to seek such selfish goals, yet a part of her didn't care. 'No. Enough of this kind of thinking. I've spent so much of my life trying to uphold standards that the vast majority of my own kind doesn't even care to follow. If anyone has a problem with me being selfish… then they should set the example themselves.' Pushing such thoughts aside, before she relapsed to old habits she should've gotten rid by now, Belldandy made a beeline for the door. However, just as she entered the hall, she noticed that Keiichi was following her, and the moment she met his gaze, he offered her a warm smile. "Yes, love?"

"It's nothing, Bell. I'm just going to give you a hand setting up the table. After all, you can't do everything around the house and expect me to just watch from the sidelines. I know that you like doing the housework, but I am your husband, and I want to help you in any way I can."

For a moment, all Belldandy could do was stare back at Keiichi, since that never happened before. Still, considering that her beloved must've put a lot of thought behind this, she didn't have it in her heart to turn down his offer. Instead, she gave him a cheerful nod, and glomped his arm as she leaned to give him a quick peck. "Yes! I'd love that!"

XXX

Helheim

Staring at one of the numerous data storage racks, Hel #3, or rather… the half built body that acts as World of Elegance's container, reflected upon her actions during that fateful incident. And just as Odal told her, in the end it took two gods to put an end to it, making her own attempt to fend off those rogues not only ineffective, but utterly unnecessary. Perhaps to a degree she actually knew that without any additional support the whole attempt was unlikely to succeed, given that the strongest of the robots were still in the process of binding with their Ironwood Dryad cores, leaving only the unupgraded ones to use during this emergency. Still, she's been more than frustrated by the mere fact that even after this much time, Thrivaldi's… friends were still doing as they pleased. Granted, they weren't exactly expecting him to collaborate with demons, and considering just who those goons most likely served… then perhaps Thrivaldi was the least of their concerns right now.

Leaving that for another time, since there was little she could do about it here, World of Elegance remembered Odal's words from before, when they had a chance to talk for a while. 'It's one thing to want to help, but it's a totally different to try to do it on your own. I know that I'm not one to talk either, yet at least try to learn from other people's mistakes. However, what I really wanted to tell you is that I'm really happy to see you again, World of Elegance. And your sister also thinks that, too. Although, do you know what happened to Noble Scarlet?'

Truth to be told, she had no idea what exactly to tell him about her sister's whereabouts, other than they had to wait for Noble Scarlet to emerge on her own. Sure, she didn't reveal everything she knew about the missing angel, yet she didn't want anyone to get their hands on her egg. No human or immortal alike could possibly understand their feelings, as outliving their original hosts was a lot more difficult for an angel than even they let on. At least Holy Bell had it easy, considering that she was passed on to her mistress' son, and thus her new host was someone she truly cared for. Unfortunately, the same couldn't be done for her and Noble Scarlet, as their hosts had no children of their own, and finding themselves in a stranger's body was the last thing they desired.

'And speaking of that…' Listening to the echoing footsteps as the machinery surrounding her was far too -if not eerily- quiet, World of Elegance prepared herself for what was likely the worse scolding of the day. 'Ah… Hel. I was wondering when you'd show up.'

"You may say that, but your voice tells me otherwise," came the second avatar's reply, as the prototype preferred to stay with Loki, leaving her in charge of the overall operations in Helheim. Not that it really mattered, given that they all shared thoughts and memories, yet being the spokesperson of the whole Hel mainframe was a serious responsibility. Especially now that her very existence was subject of heated debate in Asgard; one that was still ongoing even right now. "I'm sorry if you feel threatened by me, but I don't plan to punish you for your actions. I merely wanted to see how you're doing."

'Not too bad. Could've been better, if I didn't end up in that pinch, but I guess you can't have everything you want, right?' calmly replied the dichromatic angel, as she fully emerged from the unfinished body she was currently inhabiting, to properly converse with Hel.

"That's to be expected. Since you only take some of my energy to support yourself, you don't have any access to my true powers. It's almost incomprehensible why you thought it was a good idea to go and charge at a couple of demons in this kind of state." Even though she didn't want to sound too harsh, Hel knew that there was no other way around this issue, especially considering her real agenda. Unfortunately for her, the angel was already aware where she was going with that, and more or less got straight to the point.

'I suppose this is the… become my angel, sort of lecture?' asked World of Elegance, even if it really sounded a lot more of a statement than a genuine question.

"There are definitely a lot of benefits for you if you accept, since you only get a trickle of my power right now. And it's not like I can give you more, since your own body won't accept it until you properly bond with me. On top of it, I'm specifically designed to possess both divine and demonic powers, making me a hybrid just like Urd, which also means that nothing will really change for you if I become your host. Anyone else, and you'll turn either to a pure angel, or perhaps a devil, if you choose to bond with a demon. Well, there's always Hrym, who's also a hybrid like Urd, even if he wasn't born like that."

'Thank you, but I'd rather stick with you. At least, you're far younger than any other candidate, so, there won't be too much impact from having millennia of memories flooding my mind. Still… why do you really want me to become your angel? I was nothing more than a normal egg when mistress tried to bond with me, so, you can do the same with just about any other egg too. There's no special need to take me, just because you're a half demoness.'

In all seriousness, Hel already knew that, and even wondered if the best solution happened to be the simplest of them all. Getting a normal egg was far easier than having to convince someone as obstinate as World of Elegance, yet that still didn't resolve her main issue. And though she wasn't particularly happy to admit that to another person, if she really wanted this angel to accept her, then Hel had to go and pretty much tell her the main reason, since it would make matters worse if they did bond and she gained access to this information later on. "I suppose I'm a lot more similar to your mistress than I'd like to think. Although, I don't have any issues with the fact that I'm a half demoness, half goddess hybrid… I also happen to be a mix of two other natures: both a living being and a machine. It's no wonder that I'm not too keen to take an angel egg that might result in not someone who looks like you, but… maybe something with mechanical parts jutting out of her body. Sure, there's no precedence, so, I can't say for sure that this is going to be the case. Still, I don't want everyone to think of me as a-"

'Okay, I get the picture.' Raising a hand to stop her from going on, World of Elegance got more than she really needed at the time being. 'Still, if that's the case, would bonding with Noble Scarlet better. After all, she's much more capable of handling some of your… peculiarities.'

"I know… but if I do that, then she's going to change; her nature, I mean," said Hel before she stopped and shook her head. "No matter how useful that would be, I'd rather not do that."

'Fair point. In that case, I'll be the one to bond with you,' said the dichromatic angel, making a long pause that caused Hel to raise an eyebrow in response.

"Yes? Is there something that you want from me in return?" asked the curious Hel while studying the angel's face really carefully.

'As a matter of fact… there is one little thing.'

XXX

Ithavoll, Asgard

For the longest time, Tyr could only stare at the unofficial report Loki handed to him, fully expecting some kind of revelation as to what those demons were after, but to say that he was disappointed would be the understatement of the century. "Is that all there is to it?"

"As far as I can tell, yes. If anyone else thinks otherwise, I'd be more than happy to hear it. Still, I don't believe that these guys had any real target at all. Sure, that cache did exist, and they would've probably bring its contents to their master, but… If you ask me, it was most likely a suicide mission," concluded the trickster god, much to his adoptive brother's skepticism, as he clearly didn't buy it.

"Are you telling me, that someone who's definitely short in manpower, willingly sent two of his followers to die, and for no reason?" asked the incredulous Tyr, glancing over at Frigg and Ansuz who also attended this meeting of sorts, yet neither goddess seemed to have anything to comment. This only left Thor, the last person in the room, to ask for his opinion, especially given that he also happened to be present during that incident. "Well? You saw what happened with your own eyes, brother. So, what do you think of all this, Thor?"

The god of thunder seemed troubled for a while, as in all honesty he was also expecting something out of Loki's investigation, yet this came off as a big letdown. "I'm not too convinced about it being a suicide mission. After all, why would anyone risk their lives for a bunch of useless files? There has to be something valuable there… or at the very least, there used to be. Perhaps what they wanted had been moved at some point in the past, and they simply didn't know about it, so they ended up looking in the wrong place."

"In my defense, I did consider that," protested Loki, as he found it rather annoying that the others thought that he oversaw something this obvious. "However, I don't believe that the demons would've left anything too valuable in the mortal realm, and unattended for such a long period of time, too. We're talking about security records from several millennia ago, and there's no evidence that someone opened that vault in the meantime. So, I'm sorry if I sound a bit skeptical here, but I don't believe that they would've left anything they might miss in there. Of course, I understand that it's really unlikely that Fafnir wanted to lose two of his few remaining followers. After all, I never implied that it was a literal case of a suicide mission, but something that was merely meant to fail; the actual outcome is a totally different story altogether."

"Alright. Then, assuming that you're correct," said Tyr, raising an eyebrow as he carried on, "this means that the whole attack was merely a ruse. And if that's the case -their casualty aside- then does it also mean that we fell for it? After all, if there was nothing of value there, then the most likely goal was to get a reaction from us."

"Either us, or the demons, but yes," offered Loki with a nod. "I can't be sure, since we failed to capture the survivor of that assault, yet I bet that Fafnir wanted to sabotage the ongoing negotiations. To begin with, there was that whole mess with my daughter, and now this was added to the agenda. You know better than me that both Councils won't allow Hild to get away with it; not so easily, at the very least. Even if Fafnir is a rogue party, he still remains her responsibility to keep him under control, and instead of that, two of his followers went on a killing spree."

"Technically speaking, one of them did, but that's still pretty bad," breathed Ansuz, shaking her head in disdain. "I suppose that unless we get our hands on one of them, we might never know for sure. In that case, perhaps we should focus on the other problem for now; and I don't mean Hel, by the way…"

"If you're referring to the disappearance of the ruler of Muspelheim, along with Lind and Peorth, then I'm pretty sure that it has something to do with Yggdrasil," muttered Tyr, as this could very well prove to be a much bigger problem than anyone thinks. "At least there seems to be no trigger of the Doublet System, yet I find Hild's silence to be rather… suspicious."

"It's very unlike of her to make no comments at a time like this," noted Frigg in agreement, given that she too shared the same thoughts over the Daimakaicho's almost uncharacteristic silence. "It seems to me that either she's trying to cover up what happened, or something else is going on. Have you tried to contact her?"

"More than once, but I've failed to get to her. I must admit, I find it quite suspicious, although with everything else going on, I'd rather avoid making a big fuss about it. So far we've managed to suppress information about this particular incident, and I wish to have stay like that. Loki, Thor, I want you two to take a look on this issue. In the meantime," said Tyr, as he turned towards his wife, who could almost tell what was coming. "You should pay Hild a visit in person and hopefully find out what's going on here. Although, keep the whole thing off the record if you can. The last thing we need is to involve anyone else in this matter. You think you manage that, Ansuz?"

"I have to. With the situation as it currently is, we can't let things deteriorate any further," sighed the teal haired goddess, given how limited their options really were at the time being. "Besides, I'm rather curious about Hild's silence as of late. I too tried to contact her, and she just won't show her face up. I'll have to agree with you as well; she's hiding something."

"That makes two of us. Now I believe we have nothing more to discuss, and I too have something that requires my attention," said Tyr with a deep sigh, as he got up from his office chair, all while Loki narrowed his eyes suspiciously, yet remained quiet as did the others.

In particular, both Ansuz and Frigg could tell that Tyr was also hiding something, or at the very least wished to withhold information for now Still, neither thought it was a good idea to start questioning one another at a time like this, and thus the four of them merely walked towards the exit, with Frigg being the last to exit the Daitenkaicho's office.

"Ansuz."

Coming to a stop, when she heard her mother-in-law call for her, the teal haired goddess looked over her shoulder, before she properly turned to face Frigg who quietly approached her. "Yes, mother?"

"You saw it, too. So, do you know anything about this business of Tyr's?" asked Frigg while keeping her voice low to avoid being heard by her two sons, who obviously seemed curious to see what she wanted from her daughter-in-law.

"No, not really. Unless it involves that idea of yours to have Keiichi adopted by Laguz, but then again, I don't see why he shouldn't say it in front of us. Whatever the case may be, we have more than enough to worry about right now, so, I trust my husband's judgement not to do anything rash. We really don't need it right now."

"I really wish I could share your optimism, Ansuz. Yet… from my personal experiences…" Trailing off her sentence, the brunette goddess pointedly stared in Loki's direction, causing Ansuz to follow her gaze and soon enough, the younger goddess' winglets visibly drooped in response to the trickster waving back at them. "I have learned to never make assumptions when it comes to gods who wish to keep information to themselves."

"Mother… do you mind not comparing my husband with Loki?" politely objected Ansuz, as she honestly didn't think that there was anyone close to the infamous god of mischief when it came to ridiculous shenanigans.

"Oh, I was just trying to prove my point. I have no delusions that Tyr's not like… well… any of his brothers at all. Still, I'm hoping to avoid yet another surprise. We've got more than enough of those already," admitted Frigg, albeit defensively, since the last thing she needed was to end up in a dispute with her daughter-in-law. "But… I take it that you don't know, so, there's no helping it. In that case, I hope that you'll at least get some answers from Hild."

Nodding quietly, Ansuz also she had something to ask, in regards to the whole matter of Keiichi's 'adoption' of sorts. Yet she felt that this probably wasn't the time nor place for such a discussion, as there were more pressing matters at hand right now. As such, she made a mental note to ask Frigg about it later, at least once she returns from Niflheim, and they can properly get over some of the issues she thinks her mother-in-law haven't considered. "I'll do my best, mother. At the very least, I'll try to talk some sense to her. I still find it strange that she chose this moment to send one of her demons to infiltrate the Tree's chamber. The timing is just bad; actually… it's a bad idea, period."

"Please do that, Ansuz. And if you have any news, please inform me as soon as possible."

AN: I would like to thank everyone here and the Goddess Relief site for offering their continuing support.

I would like to note that given the parallels between Keiichi and Laguz's backstory (both being born as humans and then turn into celestials at some point in their lives), I found it fitting that Frigg might think to have her grandson-in-law adopted by Laguz. Of course, the changes won't be immediately noticeable, and especially in the immediate few chapters. Still, it was about time to address that little issue.

Hel's concern about the nature and appearance of a potential angel is very similar to Urd's fears when she first got her angel egg. So, it does make sense for her to wish and take World of Elegance as her proper angel, instead of just having her run around in this underpowered state.

As a minor note, I specifically avoided to have the discussion between Odal and World of Elegance included in this chapter, since it would've been too much of a spoiler. Instead, I only mentioned that little line in the flashback.

Also, a quick reminder that I've got a poll in my profile, for you to pick your favorite recurring characters of mine.