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

With the day of the automotive expo fast approaching, Keiichi received a call from Chihiro early in the morning to further discuss their plans on transporting their concept bike to Tokyo where the event is going to be held. Much to Keiichi's chagrin, his lady boss insisted on carrying the bike on the back of their shop's mini van, which in his opinion was barely large enough to carry scooters around Nekomi's streets, not racing bikes across Japan's motorways.

Several minutes of negotiations later, Chihiro's concerns over the cost of most other alternatives won the argument. After all, neither of them was willing to dig deep into their pockets without any guarantee that this investment would pay off in the end. As such, it was better to give the more affordable option a try first, before they had to resort to more expensive solutions to their problem. And because of that, Chihiro proposed that it would be better if Keiichi headed off to the expo earlier, just in case they'd have to make changes to their plans.

Of course, while Keiichi seriously doubted that fixing a problem was better than avoiding it altogether, a certain part of him -namely Terrestrial Spark- liked the idea of having some free time to themselves if they arrived there earlier on. Being able to explore Tokyo with Belldandy was too good of an opportunity to pass on, especially when Chihiro was covering the travelling expenses. The only downside was that they wouldn't be completely on their own, since the others were tagging along for the ride as well.

To be absolutely fair though, everyone wished to give them a hand, and as such Keiichi wasn't going to complain about the extra help. If nothing else, Skuld and Odal's combined technical skills and experience could prove invaluable in a situation like this, especially since the hybrid nature of their concept bike. On top of that, he might get into trouble if anyone asks him far too many details about its power supply, since he barely understood Odal's explanation from the other day.

'And speaking of the devil… or should I say god?' Anyway... I just realized something and I want your input,' came Terrestrial Spark's voice from within Keiichi's mind.

Looking up from the magazine he's been reading while he waited for lunch, the god -and full time mechanic- wondered just what his angel's up to now. It was bad enough that his other self was making a mental list of all the tall buildings he wished to fly by with Holy Bell once they got there, now he planned to involve him as well. 'Okay, I'll bite,' he sent through their mental link. 'What is it?'

'Well… yesterday I overheard our Holy Bell talking to Odal's version, and it seems that they were discussing married life.'

'So?'

'What strikes me odd is that Odal's pretty happy about her arrangement, but… Odal's married to Hagall. So, does it mean that she's cool with her?' asked the angel much to his host's confusion, and for that reason, he further added. 'I mean, Hagall's a girl and all, if you get my drift.'

'Ah!' Keiichi's eyes opened wide from realization, just as his cheeks slowly turned into a vivid shade of red at the mere thought of what his angel so evasively implied. 'You think she doesn't mind girls, either?'

'Well… I'm not sure, but I've been wondering about it.' By this point Terrestrial Spark has emerged from Keiichi's back, finding the confines of his master's mindscape quite unsuitable for a conversation like this. 'I mean, Bell did give Peorth quite the smooch a while ago, so there's that.'

"Hm… I'm not entirely sure that counts. Although, she did get Peorth all worked up after she woke up." His magazine long forgotten, Keiichi thoughtfully scratched his chin, as flashbacks of that particular incident resurfaced. "Still, what's your point?"

'Dunno, I just thought it was interesting. Getting to know our mates better and all, right?' The worst part of having a conversation with his god is that deep down there were no secrets between them, and as such his attempts at hiding the real issue fell flat. 'Okay, you can stop giving me that look. Just be honest, do you think Holy Bell finds me interesting?'

"Why not? Bell loves me, so I guess it's the same for her, too?" replied Keiichi with a shrug. Although he couldn't see why his angel should be worried over something like that right now, he did understand where he was coming from. In the past, Keiichi himself used to be rather self conscious about his appearance, especially when it came to his height. And to a certain degree this kind of insecurities affected his interactions with women, at least until Belldandy came into the picture.

'Uh… I guess you do have a point there. I somehow ended up wondering which Holy Bell got the better deal, since we haven't seen Hagall's devil. Hm… come to think of it, I'm not sure if she's got one to begin with. Although if she does, then she's probably sharing some characteristics with her.'

"Either way, I don't think you should worry about it," replied Keiichi after he took a moment to regain his composure. All this talk about attractive symbiotes was starting to become too distracting for his taste, not to mention that they were going circles around the actual problem here. "Look… I've been through all this, back when I doubted that a goddess like Bell would love an average bloke like me. Now, we both know the answer to that, so stop worrying too much about it. Besides, what gave you the idea she doesn't find you interesting?"

'Well… she's a bit too distant as of late, and spends more time inside Belldandy's mindscape.'

Offering his angel a nod, Keiichi had to admit that as of late Bell seemed somewhat distracted at times. That being said though, he felt that they were overlooking something important here, especially in light of recent events. "Hey, doesn't she spend time interacting with Lofn though? From what I've heard, that's something she can already do to a certain degree."

The dark haired angel fell silent, yet his stunned expression spoke volumes of his surprise as it became apparent that he must've somehow missed the obvious all this time. 'Huh… How didn't I think of this before? Now I sound like an idiot for saying all that…'

"Nah, it's more like you sounded like me from a while ago. At least, I'm happy that much changed over the last couple of years," chuckled Keiichi, much to his angel's chagrin. Although, no sooner he finished his sentence, a troublesome thought entered his mind. "Speaking of change though, do you know if there's anything good we can read about parenting? I spotted a couple of books in the market the other day, although I doubt that anything written here would help us with Lofn."

'You do realize that if I knew, you should as well, right?'

"Well… yeah, I'm aware of that. Still, I'd rather ask you instead of simply looking into your memories. Or is it our memories?" Pausing for a moment, Keiichi scratched the back of his head, while Terrestrial Spark furrowed his brows in confusion. "Anyway, I thought you could at the very least ask the others for hints."

'Why not use the Celestial Net? We should be able to find something there to help up instead,' suggested Terrestrial Spark, and as expected his host didn't exactly catch what he meant immediately. 'It's Heaven's version of the Internet. We can look up for some books there.'

"Oh! That's right, I can access it on my own now!" said the delighted Keiichi, now that he had a way out of the situation that doesn't involve making himself look dumb in front of his family and friends. Unfortunately for him the euphoria was short lived when he glanced at his dinosaur of a computer, and let out a sigh. "Great… that thing won't go online here on Earth. How am I even supposed to-" Coming to a stop when he suddenly remembered something Belldandy told him a while ago, Keiichi approached the computer's monitor and placed his right palm against its surface. Almost immediately the display came on, but instead of the familiar boot sequence, a series of runes appeared. Soon after a totally different graphical interface loaded, one that loosely resembled a windowed environment, but with pretty much everything looking different and labeled in runes.

At first, Keiichi seemed overwhelmed by all this sensory overload, almost as if it was his first time ever using a computer. To his own surprise though, he was able to make sense of what was displayed on screen -runes and all- which allowed him to navigate through the menus until he got a grasp of how to properly use them. "Would you look at that? I can open Yggdrasil's terminal even from this ancient thing. Now that's what I'd call convenient!"

'And not only that, you can order goods and have them delivered here too,' noted the angel as he tapped some icons on screen. 'Oh, check this out.' With a swiping gesture at the edge of the window he brought up a sketching pop-up window, and proceeded to trace a rune with his index finger. 'This is how you're supposed to type if you don't want to use a human made keyboard. Normally it's not necessary, but there are times that it's a pain to figure out how to type special runes over an ASCII based keyboard.'

"Ah, I see. That's pretty neat actually." With his angel looking over his shoulder, Keiichi tried typing in runes for the first time ever since he got registered as a god, yet it felt surprisingly natural to him. Personally, he suspected that it had something to do with Yggdrasil providing that information to him, rather than having to learn Asgardian the regular manner. Which in his case at least would've been a much tougher challenge as he was never born or raised in any of the Celestial worlds, meaning that this would've been a foreign language to him. That being said though, he knew that he still had to learn the Infernals' tongue at some point in his life, since even though he could also rely on the System to provide him the automatic translation, this could also turn into a major issue if he ever came to get stranded in one of the demons' worlds without access to Yggdrasil.

A minute or two later, his search has borne fruit as it seems that Celestial Net was much better organized than the Internet, and far less dangerous of a place to be, too. As such, it didn't take him nearly as much time to find more than he initially wanted. This also included a few outfits for Belldandy that he felt would look great on her, especially given how exotic Celestial fashion tended to be from his perspective. And for a while, Keiichi simply kept adding items on his shopping list, until… he noticed the obvious. "Hey, what's those coupons supposed to mean?"

'It's the payment?...' replied the incredulous Terrestrial Spark, in a manner that sounded more like a statement rather than a question. 'Unless you directly compensate them for the provided goods or services, be it with the equivalent in materials or power, you can offer coupons based on your… I suppose… work hours. I mean, you earn points by working in all sorts of posts in any of the Celestial realms, and then redeem those to do things you'd normally need money for here on Earth. However…'

"We're not currently assigned to any work for Asgard," concluded Keiichi, and the moment he did his shoulders slump in defeat. "I knew it was too good to be true. A world where everything's for free... It sounded like a dream come true."

'It's not all that bad though. There are many shops that offer free stuff as long as they do this as a service, and get compensated with points as well. Plus, there are no taxes, no rents, no parking tickets… Well, okay that one might not always work, but still! They even hand you down free food during work breaks. And free soda, too!'

"Hm… alright, that does sound somewhat better. But, that still doesn't solve our problem, though. I need some points to purchase all that, and currently I've got none." Seeing the dejected look on his angel's face, Keiichi breathed out a sigh but just as he was about to turn off the terminal, he suddenly remembered something. "Hold on! Unless I got it wrong, they mentioned something for us being here on paid vacations. Just before we headed back on Earth. Yeah! It's back when we got registered, remember?"

The angel tipped his head to the side, and for a while he wondered just how he managed to miss it, until he realized his master's folly. 'You're eligible for paid vacations only once you meet certain criteria, as to how long you've been working non stop and such. Those comments you're referring to were clearly meant for the others, not us. The only reason we were even allowed to return here is because we're a special case. Oh, and having the Daitenkaicho's approval for our relocation helped too.'

"Aww…there goes that idea. Still, I wasn't expecting you to be able to notice so many things while inside my mindscape," admitted Keiichi, only to see Terrestrial Spark roll his eyes in frustration. This somewhat took him by surprise, as it was a bit too strong of a reaction to their predicament, and his connection to his angel heavily implied that he was the reason. "Uh… did I say something wrong?"

'No, it's just that… there are times I wish you didn't hesitate so much to rely on me,' blurted out the angel in thinly veiled disappointment. 'Your whole idea of respecting my privacy means nothing when you think that we are supposed to be the closest beings to each other! We share both thoughts and feelings, so, I don't get it why you try so hard not to peek on my side most of the time!'

"Because I'm… no, I was a human? This whole business of sharing thoughts isn't easy for someone with my background. Privacy is a huge thing for humans, and some might even go crazy if they had to share their head with another entity. Like you said, we're kind of a special case." Offering his angel an apologetic smile, he extended his hand and in a calming gesture brushed the back of his hand against the inner side of his right wing. It was a trick he learned from World of Elegance -of all angels- after he became a god, and could freely listen to her voice. Needless to say, this seemed to have an immediate effect on Terrestrial Spark, who averted his gaze and crossed his arms in defiance, even though he kept his wing where exactly it was. More so, the subtle hint of a twitch that was felt across his entire wing, along with the euphoric feeling Keiichi could also experience via their link made it absolutely clear that he seemingly grumpy angel was enjoying it.

'Alright, you win… I guess I can't blame you for not being used to a god's lifestyle,' eventually admitted Terrestrial Spark, as he moved his wings out of his host's reach. 'Still, try not to take all the advice you get for granted, especially when it comes from female angels.'

"Uhh… wait a sec!... Was that something inappropriate?" asked the suddenly alarmed Keiichi, and even backed off from his angel for a good measure. He did realize that the whole thing was oddly satisfying for him as well, but didn't make the connection that it could've been something… different.

'Not… necessarily. Sure, every angel can have their own perks and whatnot, but I'm not into that stuff.' Reassured the dark haired angel, only to pause for a moment when he suddenly remembered something that brought up a blush onto his cheeks. 'Unless, Holy Bell does it.' For a short while, Terrestrial Spark seemed to have gotten lost in his daydreams of the charming blonde he called his partner, until he realized what was going on and snapped out of it. 'Okay, my bad. As I was saying, this isn't the normal type of interaction with your angel. Of course, there are certain exceptions, especially when it comes to grooming, as I'd definitely appreciate the help while caring for my feathers.'

"Ah, I see! I'll definitely keep that in mind, although… When you say grooming… Does it mean you need to clean up your wings? Are there things like… fleas for angels?" In all honesty, Keiichi wasn't actually expecting his angel to jump straight for the ceiling at the mere mention of the word 'flea' and raise a shield around him. "Whoa! Did I say something wrong?!"

'Don't even speak of them! Foul creatures, the lot of them!' All but shouted the panicking angel across their mental link. 'They… they feed off our power by latching onto our wings, which also damages the feathers until they start to fall off.'

"So, there are things like that even in Asgard. Interesting..." hummed Keiichi with a nod.

It took Terrestrial Spark a little while to recover from his embarrassing overreaction, but once he regained his composure, he peeked into Keiichi's mind for a moment out of sheer curiosity as to what his host was thinking. 'Yes, there are things like parasites and even illnesses, although they work differently than here on Earth. We don't have to worry too much about them as long as we're not coming into contact with ten dimensional fauna and flora -which is rather rare to find here as well. I mean, aside from us, and the occasional Earth Spirit that may have contracted something from a higher up entity, there are few things that could even pose a threat for us.'

"That's good to know. Although…"

'Yes?'

"I'm not sure how to properly explain this, but something doesn't feel right -with us being here, I mean," eventually admitted Keiichi, letting out a heavy sigh as he looked around the room. "I thought that as soon as we'd get back to our daily routine, it'll be the same as before. Yet for some reason, I can't help but feel that's not the case."

'You're no human anymore, that's why. And I'm no longer the miniature angel, either. If things can change, then people can too.' An oddly sad smile formed in Terrestrial Spark's face, as he also inspected their surroundings. 'Same thing goes for this place as well. I doubt it'll stay like this forever, so we might as well make the best of the time we can spend here.' For a while, there was no reply from his host -verbal or otherwise. However, the thoughtful expression on Keiichi's face, coupled by the slight tang of awe and… pride laced onto his emotions, actually took Terrestrial Spark by surprise. 'Hey, did I say anything strange?'

"No, not at all," replied Keiichi with an emphatic shake of his head. "It's just that, I'm impressed that you're so thoughtful at times, that's all. It's borderline philosophic, and I never thought I was the kind of person to have such a side at all!"

'As usual, you're selling yourself short,' quipped the angel, yet he didn't stop there and continued with his eyes narrowing slightly. 'Now… what was that thing about me being thoughtful at times? Are you implying anything?'

"Uh… do you remember how we started this conversation in the first place?" countered Keiichi, much to his angel's chagrin. In fact, any signs of annoyance disappeared in an instance when he recalled the beginning of the conversation, which left Terrestrial Spark with a sheepish expression, all while Keiichi smirked back at him.

This victory proved short lived however, as the angel gathered his wits and came up with the perfect come back. 'Touche. Although… you do also realize that much of my personality aspects were based on your latent thoughts, right? And you are known for hiding dirty magazines in probably the most well known stash in the entire house: your desk's sec-'

"Okay, okay! I got it already!" hurried Keiichi in an effort to silence him before he said anything they might regret later. With so many immortals in the near vicinity, it was really risky to say anything out loud; especially now that they had those troublesome twins around.

And as it seems to be the case, whenever there's the slightest chance for something to go wrong, it sure goes and in the most splendid manner possible.

"Hey, Keiichi!" shouted Eir as she suddenly slid the door open, with her sister carrying on. "Check it out! We got our uniforms for the show!" Both goddesses were dressed in checkerboard-pattern race queen outfits, complete with mini skirts and crop tops. And if that wasn't enough already, those outfits seemed to have Whirlwind's logo painted on them, along with his name in English nonetheless.

"Eh?!" was the only thing Keiichi could say given the absurdity of the situation, while Terrestrial Spark stared at the twins who even posed for them like in those racing magazines. Actually, the fact that they could mirror each other so perfectly made the whole scene even more uncanny, although some might simply consider this a sign of perfection worthy of a professional level photo shoot. For Keiichi however, this was a disaster in the making, and he had no desire to get involved with this kind of nonsense. "Whoa, just a moment! Hold it right there, this isn't happening! Not on my watch! No, it won't!"

"Huh?... What are you talking about?" asked the twins in perfect sync, looking at each other in confusion. "Isn't this what humans wear in such events?" continued Eir after she inspected her sister's outfit, who in the meantime pulled a magazine out of thin air and presented it to Keiichi. "Here!" Saga pointed at the photo of one of the mechanic's racing heroes during the preparations of a championship, with two girls framing him on either side of his bike. "See? They're dressed just like we do! We even got umbrellas to match our outfits, but it's silly to use them indoors, so we'll do that when we arrive on the site."

"That's… true. I mean, professional teams do this sort of thing for fanservice purposes. Wow… that sounds awful, but it's really what's happening. And I don't want you to do something like that for advertising purposes." Needless to say, there was the added fear of those two making a scene in front of a crowd, which in the worst case scenario could expose their nature to the whole world. To his dismay though, the twins didn't seem to even consider anything he said, and merely shrugged in response.

"So what? It's not like we're advertising anything," said Saga, with Eir carrying on from where her sister stopped. "Besides, it's not like we're the only ones doing it. Both Frigg-sama and Belldandy-san will be joining us. In fact, it was your wife's idea in the first place."

Now, that was more than enough to grab Keiichi's attention, especially thanks to his imagination running wild from forming a mental image of Belldandy in a racing queen outfit. In all honesty though, this wouldn't be the first time wearing such attire, since she had done it a couple of times back when Belldandy supported the Motor Club's racing efforts. 'I can't believe it's been a few years already. Time sure flies…' he mused, with his lips curling up in a nostalgic smile for times that went by, and most certainly wouldn't come back no matter how much he longed for them. Life used to be way simpler back then, despite all the craziness of dealing with so many immortals from both sides of the fence. On the other hand… things have gotten even more complicated now that he became a god, primarily due to the identity crisis he was experiencing at the moment.

"Oh, look Saga! He's blushing!"

"He certainly is! I guess it's true that people who grew up on Earth have a weakness for such outfits!"

If it wasn't for the twins' cooing, then Terrestrial Spark's insistent tapping on his head proved more than enough to snap out of it, and with a blink he turned his attention to the troublesome duo. "Alright, that's enough you two! You're going nowhere dressed like this, until I have a few words with Bell. Okay?"

Eir and Saga shared a look, and then shrugged at him with a meager "Sure, if you say so," before they up and left. They didn't even give Keiichi enough time to react, although in all fairness he was already feeling the beginning of an epic headache, especially as he went back to his old habits of worrying over everything.

"Great… this is what we needed now. Alright, Terrestrial Spark. Let's save up those search results and continue this another time. We need to go see what the others are planning, and hopefully put an end to whatever zany scheme they came up."

'You sure about that? I'm not complaining to see Bell in a race queen outfit.'

"Spark!... This isn't the time for that!" insisted Keiichi, despite the blush reappearing on his cheeks.

'Yeah, yeah I hear you. It's just… that I don't believe you.'

XXX

Unknown location, Earth

With Thrivaldi's disappearance now a known fact, Ymir's decision to call off the operation came to no surprise, although the same couldn't be said about their next step. Of course, as per Rattatoskr's protocol all operatives, as well as any allied units were to retreat to neutral space, in order to calmly and methodically assess the situation. And despite all the peculiarities of this particular mission, that much remained a constant. What left to be decided was the next step, and with such a diverse group tensions soon reached a critical point.

"The Hell with them! All of them, I say! Even if those pawns are of no consequence, their lives still matter as long as they serve those morons! Be it as canon fodder, or just hostages in the worst case scenario, this isn't the time to worry about the lives of mere mortals!"

Few came to witness Ymir's wrath and walk away unscathed, so it was in a sense fitting that his partner and lover was the one holding her ground almost unaffected by the first demon's intense glare. And in a gesture of further defiance, Njorun crossed her arms and returned the glare with one of her own, that matched Ymir's in sheer intensity and coldness. "I don't give a damn about any mortals either, but I sure wouldn't risk alienating our granddaughter by slaughtering those mercenaries. Blowing up a camp that really means nothing to us, doesn't outweigh the risk of not only driving Urd away from her demonic ancestry, but also turning the gods against us at a moment where we don't fucking need another conflict to deal with!"

"Are you ordering me?"

"So what? It's not the first time, and sure won't be the last!"

The unfortunate Ratatoskr operatives present during this battle of wills, could only put as much distance between the quarrelling couple, although the majority of them had already excused themselves to keep their other guests preoccupied. A few of the bravest among them tried to lure the others in a betting contest over the victor of this dispute, yet the more prudent profusely refused. There was even an errant comment about how often Njorun wins those things, which outright questioned the validity of such a bet, given how obvious the result would be.

As such, when Urd entered the scene, more than enough heads turned to this unexpected development. Apparently, she and the others must've overheard this heated debate and decided to intervene. Well, at least the Norn did, given that the majority of her group hid behind Gunnar, whose sheer bulk provided them enough cover in the event of an emergency. Said majority of course, consisted of Mara and Verthandi, as Sangrid maintained her distance from the demons she so much despised, yet agreed to follow given her current circumstances.

Technically speaking, Sangrid only accepted Urd's proposal to accompany her, which at least offered some peace of mind, considering that the latter was also a half-goddess. It sure felt all too ironic given that this was also the same hybrid she so happily insulted a while ago, only to end up relying on her assistance to find a way out of this whole mess. Then again, she should've known better than believe the words of an incompetent to the likes of Thrivaldi, whose personality issues left no doubt as to his sheer lack of charisma.

Even so, she was certainly unprepared to meet Ymir in the flesh so to speak. And to top it off, another who even used to be one of her own; Njorun. Branded as a traitor by all means, Njorun still inspired some Valkyries to this day, despite her eventual defection to demonkind. Then again, there was nothing good to be said about the Asgard-Vanaheim civil war, with such incidents being considered as the natural byproduct of such dark times. And on a more personal note, her own great great aunt had in fact joined Njorun's side, back when she used to be a member of Vanaheim's garrison, causing a millennia old rift in their family.

There was no telling if she had any living relatives over that side, as every converted Valkyrie changed enough to make any attempts at tracking down ancestral information really hard. Furthermore, this whole situation also involved the very sensitive topic of the Celestial - Infernal cross species relation, which severely limited access to relevant information. To a certain point, this has always put her under a lot of stress to prove herself, and in the process develop a certain dislike for demons. Although it only turned into an outright hate after losing her angel back when she managed to capture the Angel Eater.

That aside, meeting this Verthandi in person was another interesting experience that left her with no idea what to feel about that demoness. A functional replica of the middle Norn - a model figure for most - in a demonic form was something she would've normally dismissed as foolish talk, yet here she is standing in front of her. Sure, she already knew that this wasn't any regular demoness, but a form of Ironwood Dryad even if there was no precedence of this behavior from a member of that species.

Often heralded as their direct predecessors, the Ironwood Dryads along with their lower level cousins the Common Dryads, were once Yggdrasil's helpers until one day the Tree decided to replace them with upgraded versions. Those versions turned out to be the prototype demons and gods, in the form of Ymir and Burri respectively. And while they did evolve quite a bit as species, being able to adjust to the various challenges presented to them, a few Ironwood Dryads remained active in certain locations, serving the World Tree throughout the millennia. Even so, the rest of these obsolete Dryads were allowed to rest after their prolonged service, with the majority of them located in a secluded forested area in Midgard, called the forest of Jarnvid.

Strangely, every attempt on their part to wake up the sleeping Dryads has proven fruitless, at which point even the most tenacious researchers realized their folly and gave up. As a result, seeing how this Verthandi not only woke up but also 'upgraded' herself into a demonic version of Belldandy, left her wondering about the nature of their species. It was something that many researchers and historians suspected for the longest time, yet no one dared speak of it out loud in public: both Celestials and Infernals were two sides of the same coin. Both were designed to replace the Ironwood Dryads, albeit with more flexibility than them, and a higher level of specialization.

'Hm… I wonder how she's going to fit in the big picture. She's technically a demoness, yet far from a normal one. In some ways she's even weirder than that halfling over there, but for some reason Yggdrasil deemed her worthy to exist in this form. I don't like this at all.' The mere notion that the Tree was probably considering replacing them, deeply troubled Sangrid; farfetched of a concept as it was. According to Celestine some even assumed that this was the true reason behind the decision to avoid letting hybrids keep their dual nature, and force them to choose, as the ones in charge feared them for the potential they presented. If those early hybrids proved themselves more useful to the Tree, chances were that it would promote them in all the key positions. Something that would inevitably lead to them establishing dominance over both gods and demons alike, until those would eventually become fully assimilated into a new, third faction.

At the very least, that's what the disembodied god had been telling her over the last couple of days, which in all honesty contradicted a lot of well established stories from their early history. Then again, there were always those cases where misinformation was spread to cover up one thing or another, and in this particular example the only person who could answer her questions was the very individual who lived through that era: Ymir.

For a while, she's been waiting for Urd's reaction, yet she merely stood by her quarrelling grandparents with a fairly tired expression on her face. As a result, Sangrid thought that enough was enough, and thus she made an attempt to approach them on her own, hoping to get a couple of answers before this opportunity was lost forever. However, unexpected as it seemed, Urd beat her to the punch.

Fed up from this pointless argument that devolved into a petty squabble, the eldest Norn stepped even closer to them, and once within an arm's reach she delivered a sharp karate chop on their heads. "Enough already, this isn't getting anywhere! Besides, aren't you a couple or what? That's not the way to resolve disputes!" All around her, demons backed off from the trio, while even someone as expressionless as Gunnar tipped her head to the side in response to this development.

Silence filled the air, as no one dared say anything or even move an inch from where they stood in anticipation of Ymir and Njorun's reaction, until the former caught them by surprise when he burst into laughter. Even Njorun gave him an odd look, while Urd stared blankly after being mentally prepared for a confrontation.

"Ha! Now that's some attitude! Good for you, Urd-chan," laughed Ymir, much to the worried Norn's chagrin. And as if that wasn't enough, he turned and poked Njorun's cheek, causing her to swat his hand out of reach. "See? That's a proper demoness' attitude when challenged!"

"Who are you calling a proper demoness?!" demanded Njorun, but immediately realized the implications and turned to Urd, offering her an apologetic smile. "Wait… I didn't mean it like that, Urd-chan."

"Hey, don't sweat about it. I'm not exactly a demoness anyway," replied Urd with a shrug, at which point she saw her grandmother breathe out a sigh of relief and turn back to Ymir.

"Now, unless you want me to show you some real attitude, I'd say you calm down and act your age."

"Hmph! Fine… I suppose I'll let you get away with it this time," begrudgingly announced Ymir, completely ignoring the pointed glare he was getting from Njorun. He even turned a blind eye to his granddaughter shaking her head in disdain, while muttering something about not wanting to end up like this when she'll get older. What he didn't ignore though was that goddess, Urd brought with her after that failed infiltration attempt. "You want something?"

"As a matter of fact, I do," came Sangrid's prompt reply. "I'm sure this isn't the right time, but I doubt I'll get another chance, so I'll be brief. Are we the Dryads' replacements?"

For once, Ymir was actually at a loss of words, given how abrupt the question seemed to him. And judging by the surprised looks around him, he wasn't alone in this. "What's all this nonsense? Can't you see that we've got more important things to deal with, than existential questions?"

"Don't dismiss my question as irrelevant!" snapped Sangrid, much to the bystanders' surprise, given the sudden and dramatic change in her attitude. "For my entire life I served Asgard without any hesitation, so I deserve an answer! Are we just playthings to be discarded?"

Ignoring the former Valkyrie's angry tone, Ymir found himself remembering the past, all the way back when his counterpart Buri asked him something very similar. And unlike his bastard of a son, Borr, the first god was actually a decent enough person to get an honest reply; one that he thought of using now as well. "The Dryads were rewarded for their long, distinguished service, with the option to live their lives the way they wanted. If their decision to fall asleep in a distant forest doesn't suit your tastes, then deal with it. They're allowed to get whatever they want, and you're neither smarter nor more deserving to say otherwise."

This time it was Sangrid's turn to get surprised as she wasn't quite expecting this at all. Even though it didn't exactly answer her original question, it proved enough to think about it for a moment. Perhaps what sounded like a terrible fate was in fact the Dryads' own version of bliss, as some things in life tend to be relative. "I see… I suppose I've been looking at this from the wrong perspective."

"That's the understatement of the week," muttered Ymir offhandedly, before a faint glint of light coming from the goddess' chest caught his attention, causing him to lower his gaze. "Well, well… What do we have here? Aren't you that former Councilor who got charged for rebellion?" he asked, even though he seriously doubted that the disembodied remains of Celestin would be allowed to disclose too much information to a demon like him. Be it due to a limiter placed upon him, or simply out of fear of getting outright killed for bringing his little rebelion up, he must've asked this goddess to get the information he needed. And for once, Ymir wasn't going to put this traitor out of his misery, even if he was no longer part of the Doublet System thanks to being released from his doublet upon disembodiment. "You've got some nerve to show your… face in front of me - or what's left of it, anyway. I suppose that's why she suddenly started asking all these questions?"

"Actually, that's only partially correct," replied Celestin while doing his best to maintain his composure. Then again, he expected him to behave while they were in Urd's presence, so he carried on -albeit cautiously. "I'm afraid I've been reflecting the past over the last couple of days, and that brought up some regrettable incidents. Although, I do appreciate answering that question for me… no… us."

"Pretty it up as much as you want, traitor. I don't care what you say, as long as the facts remain. You turned your back to our maker, and for what? Artificially evolve the mortals?" sneered Ymir, turning his back to Celestin as he was about to walk away from him and Sangrid. He has had enough already, so he glanced at Njorun to deal with those two, and then tapped Urd on the shoulder as he walked past her to follow him. And sure enough, despite their heated argument, Njorun showed no hesitation to comply with his request, which was perhaps one of her most admirable personality aspects: her ability to look at the big picture. A trait that thankfully has passed down their bloodline, given how Urd also took the hint and went after him, despite her otherwise rebellious nature.

"Um… grandfather?" said Urd once they put enough distance between themselves and the rest of the group that merely stood there looking at them. "Why did you call a god a traitor? Aren't our species supposed to be… well, you know."

"Different?" suggested Ymir with a sneer. "It matters not. In the end, we were both made for the same purpose: serve Yggdrasil. That's how I came to be in this world, and ultimately, that's my reason for existence. Despite all that changed since those early days, my mission still remains the same." Coming to a stop once they were safely out of earshot, Ymir turned to face his granddaughter, who curiously stared back at him. "The big question here is what you're trying to accomplish by dragging those traitors along. I get it that there's some information to get from them, but they're more trouble than they're worth."

"I know that. They didn't seem to know nearly as much as I'd like," openly admitted with a sigh as she briefly shot a glance in Sangrid's direction, before turning her attention back to Ymir. "Still, I thought that offering them one last chance is better than leaving no other option but to continue to help those creeps."

"Are you sure about that? From what I gather, at least one of them doesn't like you."

Following her grandfather's gaze, Urd was far from surprised to find that he was talking about Sangrid, who after all made it absolutely clear that she didn't like her during their last encounter in Asgard. "I never said that I'm trying to befriend them. If they're smart, they'll spare themselves a fate worse than death. Although… one of them is practically there already. Come to think of it though… what exactly was he sentenced for? I recall something about him infiltrating a forbidden facility, but the rest was way above my clearance to access."

"You're not missing much," chuckled Ymir, only to immediately regain his composure and continue in a grave voice. "What that idiot attempted was to get his hands onto a forbidden program meant to forcibly cut off access to Midgard from Asgard. If done right, the System's backlash will be strong enough to practically eliminate all life in the mortal realm."

"Wait… now I'm really confused." Frowning at her grandfather's description of Celestin's plan, Urd actually made a mental note to keep him under watch at all times, just in case he was playing them for fools. "I was under the impression that he rebelled because he thought we didn't truly care about the mortals. So, isn't killing all of them the… exact opposite of that?"

"You're right about that, but he probably thought that the event would oversaturate Midgard with so much energy to trigger a forced evolution of life. Even if all existing life forms would expire in the process, he could still get something out of it in the long run. Just like how the extinction of those big lizards on this planet allowed the mammals to take over."

"Even so, that's reckless. The death of countless innocents, all for the sake of a pipe dream… That's beyond barbaric," remarked the Norn after a momentary pause, to which her grandfather simply shrugged.

"Keep that in mind while you try to become their chum. I won't tell you what to do, but letting your sympathy get in the way of your better judgment is a bad idea. And speaking of which… What exactly do you plan to do with them? It's not that they know much to begin with, so they're practically useless. I get that at the very least they're out of the picture now, but you still have to deal with them one way or the other."

In all honesty, despite her own objections on the subject, Urd had to admit that her grandfather had a point there. Considering that it was her idea to drag Sangrid and Celestin along, she was ultimately responsible on how to handle their situation; something that she frankly didn't wish to deal with. "Ugh… you're right about that. I suppose the best I can do right now is hand them over to dad, and see if there's any way we can help you find the missing Thrivaldi. After that, I honestly have no idea what to do."

"Just go back to your sisters and try to relax for the time being. Until we find out more about Hild's whereabouts, or even where those fugitives are holed up, it's better to stay with friends and family. And while you're at it, you might as well ask your nephew for some tips on how to deal with those two over there. He worked with that traitor in the past, so he probably knows how to press his buttons." Looking briefly in Sangrid's direction, Ymir watched Urd follow his glance, although before he got a chance to carry on, she rudely interrupted him.

"Alright, I'll do that. But you try to make up with Njorun… I mean, with grandma. That just wasn't the way a couple should be acting, especially one that's been married for nearly as long as you two." Truth to be told, Urd knew that she was treading some hot waters here, since it wasn't exactly her place to tell the oldest members of her mother's species what to do with his married life. However, when she noticed that Ymir was deliberately avoiding her eyes, it started to become apparent that something was off here. "Wait a second… don't tell me…" The more she thought about it, the more it actually made sense, and the uncharacteristic nervousness in her grandfather's body language only verified her suspicions. "After all this time, you guys aren't even married?!"

"So what?" countered Ymir, albeit far less aggressively than normal. "Such ceremonies mean nothing to me. When I was created, there was no such thing as marriages; at all."

"Yes, but things changed at some point of time. Right?..."

"Well…" Silence followed Ymir's half hearted attempt at coming up with an excuse, only to stop when he saw how dangerously Urd narrowed her eyes at him. It was actually reminiscent of Njorun's death glares, mixed with the stubbornness he was best known for… which sounded quite fitting for a descendant of them. However, he never thought that his other trait -that being taking decisive action- would one day come to bite him in such a fashion, when Urd simply whistled at Njorun, followed by a gesture for the demoness to approach. "What do you think you're doing?"

Ignoring her grandfather, the Urd patiently waited for Njorun to approach them, before she dropped the bombshell. "Say, grandma… I just realized it, but you guys aren't married, right?"

Had this been another day, Njorun would've humored her, but right now all she could really do was to simply stare at her granddaughter as if she had gone mad. "Excuse me?" she eventually asked in utter confusion, and even glanced over at Ymir who rolled his eyes in designation. "You mean, me and the guy over there?"

"The guy has a name," muttered the first demon, only for Urd to interrupt him before he could carry on with his tirade about not getting respect these days.

"The one and only!" cheerfully replied Urd, although judging the pointed stares she was getting in response, it was obvious that her little attempt at lightening up the mood didn't pay off. "Look, I understand that this isn't the time for me to play the matchmaker, but come on! You're my grandparents for goodness' sake! And seeing you argue like that… just doesn't seem right. I mean sure, all couples have their bad moments, yet it's not fair if you don't give yourselves the chance to have good ones, too!"

Given the fact that this was probably the first time their granddaughter showed any genuine interest in their personal lives, they both hesitated to immediately turn down Urd's matchmaking efforts. Obvious as those might be, on top of the fact they already had descendants, the old couple shared a skeptical look, and then sighed in resignation.

"Now, now…" started Njorun. "It's touching that you're trying to help us, but our situation is… complex to say the least. In fact, that's how it's always been, and I guess it might stay like this. Right, Ymir?" For once the otherwise vocal demon remained eerily silent, a sight that caused Njorun some concern. "Ymir?"

"Hm? Oh, don't mind me. I was just wondering how you'd look in a wedding dress," replied the elder demon, leaving Njorun stare agape at him -and so did Urd for that matter. "You don't strike me the style for anything too fancy, although… maybe it would be fun to see you in a cute dress for a change."

"You lost your fucking mind?" demanded the purple haired demoness, far louder, only to turn to her granddaughter while pointing at Ymir who continued to absently muse about marital customs. "Did you two conspire anything behind my back? Is this what it's all about?"

"I swear, I just came up with this idea!" said Urd in her own defence, even raising her hands in a sign of innocence. "I never really thought you guys weren't married, so it's not like I planned this ahead of time!"

In all fairness, Njorun already knew that this couldn't have been her granddaughter's work to begin with, but at the same time had no idea how to properly handle the situation. Despite all the time she spent with Ymir, the two of them loved nothing more than butt heads, although… in all fairness, they didn't exactly hate each other, per se. Over the last couple of days, she's even been considering the possibility of becoming more of a family for Hild, and to an extent Urd too, despite what happened in the past. Granted, it was easier said than done, given how old her daughter was by now, which left little room for renegotiating their relationship -providing there was one to begin with. Even after the latter became aware of her parentage, there was little progress in terms of becoming closer together as a family, although at the same time, Njorun couldn't blame Hild for that. Awkwardness aside, the Daimakaicho's schedule remained full of responsibilities that simply couldn't be postponed, and the currently chaotic situation further complicated matters. Still… crazy as it sounded, the idea of getting married to Ymir could potentially act as a first step in the right direction by legitimizing their relationship, particularly in Hild and Urd's eyes.

The silent treatment Urd was getting from her grandmother did little to reassure her that she was out of trouble, especially when she never thought she'd get into a pinch without even trying. Unlike past examples where she caused trouble while fully aware of her transgressions, this time around it was all by accident. Or rather, she never really expected it to take such a bizarre turn so quickly, and Ymir's ramblings in the background didn't help a bit. In fact, she was about to tell him to stop that and instead give her a hand here, only to see him turn to them with a wide grin on his face, which did little to reassure her that the worst has come to pass. "What now?..."

"You know what? I think we can make this work… somehow," cryptically announced Ymir, much to the others' confusion. "As much as I don't care about such silly customs, it's no secret that we're involved," he carried on, while shooting a meaningful glance at Njorun. "So, getting married wouldn't change too much from our perspective, as much as the way others look at us."

"Is that so? Well, as infuriating as you can be at times… no… most of the time, I suppose I wouldn't go looking for someone else any time soon." There was a clear hint of hesitation in Njorun's voice, yet at the same time it didn't come out as too forced. "However, this is foolish talk while more important things are taking place."

"I won't deny that," said Ymir with a nod, turning to Urd who clearly didn't look enthusiastic at being the center of attention once again. "On the other hand, if you're interested in surprising your mother with something special, how about you organize it? Once she shows up, that is."

"Hey, hold on! Do you know where she is?" demanded Urd, given that this was in fact the original reason she wished to talk to Ymir… before they got distracted with other matters.

"I haven't gotten a straight reply, but at the very least I can reassure you that she's alive and kicking. And before you ask, the information comes from the higher ups, so it's a reliable source indeed."

"The higher… ups?" echoed Urd with a frown, until she suddenly realized just what her grandfather could possibly refer to. "Wait! Yggdrasil?!" Her suspicions were confirmed when Ymir solemnly nodded back at her, leaving Urd somewhat relieved, yet quite worried at the same time. "You can freely talk to the Tree just like that? Isn't it dangerous?"

"It is, and I wouldn't have done it myself, unless my other self -Brymir- decided to do that on my stead. I'm honestly surprised that he even got into the trouble of sending a question, although I suppose no matter how much he dismisses our lifestyle… well, he's still me. And for that matter, Yggdrasil is essentially my maker, so I guess I do get some privileges." The blonde demon let out a sigh, and expertly ignored Njorun's smile. He realized that she'd love to tease him later on for saying something remotely sensitive, but that was a problem his future self would have to deal with. Right now, he needed to sort other things out, and one of them was what was going on over the other side of the fence. "Anyhow, I was told that she's fine, but not much beyond that. Still, if the Tree deems she's fine, who am I to say otherwise?"

For a while, Urd seemed to calm down… only to look up in realization a moment later. "You could've actually told me that from the very beginning! Don't you think that takes priority over finding some stupid god and his goon?" she all but shouted, causing a few of the demons to glance over at her, with one even uttering 'round two' to one of his comrades.

'I see… The family resemblance goes beyond mere looks.' Calmly mused Ymir, in spite of the heated glare he was receiving from Urd. At least, for once Njorun didn't jump the gun to join their granddaughter, which would've actually given them an opportunity to bond over giving him a piece of their mind. Then again, going at it for much longer wouldn't do them any favors, which was likely why Njorun simply stood by and observed the situation, rather than taking a side. "Remember that this stupid god and his goon are part of a bigger problem that needs to be dealt with, before we can finally go back to business as usual. And helping us here was far more productive than simply spending your time worrying over Hild. Remember that she's a tough one, and if Yggdrassil says she's fine, I've got no reason to question that. Instead, I'd rather do something to stabilize the situation, and as much as I hate to admit it, your method proved less problematic than mine."

"Ugh… I'm still not convinced, although I see your point." She honestly had a lot more to say than that on the matter, yet by this point the last thing they needed was getting into more arguments. And from a certain point of view, she finally got what she came from, even if that took way longer than it was absolutely necessary. "Alright then. I guess I still have a job to do by taking those two, back home," she said, throwing a thumb in Sanngrid and Celestin's direction. "And by doing so, their pals might also get upset. So, it's a win-win situation for everyone. Either way, I'm so done here!"

"Yes, for once I'll have to agree with Ymir," said Njorun, in a far gentler tone than before. "You did a great job, and even went beyond what we asked of you by convincing your targets to effectively defect on your side. Well… their honesty yet needs to be proven, but at the very least you've done your part." The demoness let out a sign and stepped closer to give her granddaughter a hug - one which the Norn reluctantly returned, given how self conscious she felt with so many people currently watching them. "And I'm really sorry we kept some information from you for a little while. I know this doesn't help you trust us, but we honestly thought it would've been better to give you something productive to do, rather than simply send you back with more questions than answers. Like Ymir said, even he didn't get a detailed explanation, but it's still better than nothing. The rest… I suppose we'll leave it at Hild."

"Very well. I suppose, I'll see you… later. Take care, and at least, try to argue a bit less from now on, will you?" In all honesty, Urd still had a bone to pick with her grandparents, but given how long this day has been, it was better to just head back home and forget about it. As such, she merely nodded and returned the hug, that somehow managed to make her sides sore even if Njorun didn't even seem to try squeezing her. 'Ouch… I'd hate to see her try a legit bear hug. I'm well built, but even I can't stand it. Ugh… please tell me I won't turn up like that when I get old.' Pushing away such grim thoughts, Urd let go of Njorun and offered her a nod, before starting for where the others still remained hidden behind Gunnar. Even if the worst came to pass, they kept their distance just in the event something went horribly wrong, and they needed to make a run for it. At least, most of them, given that Gunnar didn't seem to have moved an inch during that whole exchange.

"Sorry for the holdup, everyone!" Urd cheerfully exclaimed, which actually made a few of them visibly relax -especially Mara. "We're more than done here, so, next stop: Asgard!"

"Not so fast!" Sanngrid interrupted her, and even narrowed her eyes in suspicion while the Norn turned at her. "Do you really think it's a great idea to take me there? I know we had an agreement, but that doesn't make me an idiot. The moment I set foot there, I -no, we- will be taken into custody. Shouldn't you first negotiate our agreement's terms with Asgard, before asking us to blindly go over there? Just because you made that offer, doesn't mean that the Daitenkaicho will automatically honor those terms, too."

"You're not giving my father enough credit," replied Urd, much to the bystanders' surprise. This was especially true given how many times in the past, the Norn ended up getting scolded, or downright punished for her own transgressions. So, to hear her defend Tyr with such certainty in her voice, seemed a bit uncharacteristic for her; although in all honesty she never did anything remotely serious enough to brand herself as a traitor. And though it was probably irresponsible to make promises without checking with her father first, she felt that at the very least someone in her family would recognize the advantages of following along with her plan. "I know that he's capable of seeing the big picture, unlike more than half of the Council members. So, at least he'll give you a fair chance, providing that you won't pull anything cute from this point on. Besides, showing a bit of trust on your part can be a sign of goodwill. Don't you think?"

"Hm… I suppose, I've got no other choice. Very well, let's head over there," Sanngrid said in resignation, adding only to herself 'I just hope I didn't make a big mistake.'

XXX

Asgard in a different timeline

Cloaked in shadows deep within the chamber of the Tree, a towering form writhed in mid air where it remained suspended by fleshy cables that stretched across the withered husk of Yggdrasil. Wrapped around layers of that same metallic flesh, this cocoon bore a superficial semblance of a heart, albeit one of a massive scale and too unnatural in appearance. Within that wriggling mass, the creature appeared to slowly rouse from decades long long slumber, sending energy pulses across the cables, illuminating the moss covered walls that seemed to absorb the unholy orange light they gave off.

More pulses followed, each intensifying in brightness and frequency, until a fissure formed on the cocoon's surface, followed by a tar like fluid that poured out like blood from a wound. A puddle of this malignant fluid formed on the cracked floor, that gave off a dark aura, before it suddenly disappeared with the strongest beat yet that generated a shockwave that blasted through the room, leaving nothing but stillness behind.

The sound of footsteps soon followed, interrupting the silence with their erratic intensity as the servants sensed the beckoning of their master. From small insect-like beings to large dragons, the creatures rushed to form a semi-circle in front of their creator, who remained cocooned in front of the withered World Tree whose dying, moss covered branches served as its support and nourishment throughout all the decades of his slumber.

This frantic activity came to end when heavy, metallic footsteps announced the arrival of the most important member of this welcoming committee, forcing the rest to step aside in its wake. This imposing figure was a thing of nightmares, a barely living example of what could've been the result of a mad scientist's most heinous experiments, as its cybernetic form lacked not only in finesse, but also compassion. Flesh hung from the metal frame that supported the organs underneath, along with the haphazardly designed life support system that was attached to its back. From there a multitude of cables and tubes wrapped around its entire form, as well as entered and then exited the body in a manner that would have only been described as painful; perhaps the only emotion this creature was allowed to experience in such a state.

"Master," the creature called in an electrically synthesized voice, as it no longer possessed a functioning mouth, with the sound being generated from a speaker located behind its left shoulder. "You're finally among us."

A gush of tar like blood followed a sickening slush, as the cocoon's skin was torn from within, revealing the nightmarish sight of what became of Fafnir, the conqueror of Asgard. What was once scale covered skin, now remained burned and riddled in pustules, almost as if someone or something nearly flayed him alive, leaving nothing more than a broken, tormented being behind. Aside from the state of his skin, bony spikes protruded from within the flesh which themselves were twisted in every sort of unnatural manner with the only constant being a series of glyphs inscribed all over their surface, reading the following message in what appeared to be a version of binary:

[01010011 01100101 01101110 01110100 01100101 01101110 01100011 01100101 01100100 00100000 01100110 01101111 01110010 00100000 01110100 01110010 01100101 01100001 01110011 01101111 01101110 00001010 01000010 01101111 01110101 01101110 01100100 00100000 01101001 01101110 00100000 01101101 01101111 01110010 01110100 01100001 01101100 00100000 01100110 01101100 01100101 01110011 01101000 00001010 01010011 01101000 01100001 01100011 01101011 01101100 01100101 01100100 00100000 01101001 01101110 00100000 01110000 01100001 01101001 01101110 00001010 01000110 01101111 01110010 01100101 01110110 01100101 01110010 00100000 01100010 01100101 00100000 01100100 01100001 01101101 01101110 01100101 01100100]

The disfigured dragon moved his head from side to side, in an instinctive attempt to look around, despite his empty eye sockets. A sight that caused every soul in the chamber to look in terror and despair alike, with a few of the dragons present backing off, except for the cybernetic majordomo that merely stood its ground. After all, without the ability to display such things as facial expressions, the only thing left was to stare through the glass dome that covered its head, bearing only resentment for their fate. "Master… Your wounds… Nothing changed."

A bloodcurdling scream escaped Fafnir's maw, scaring the few of his followers who immediately rushed for the exit, only to stop when an echo reverberated across the Tree's chamber. An otherworldly whisper of too many words, yet none eligible. An elegy of emptiness that petrified even those who no longer possessed emotions, rendering nothing more than shivering husks.

"YOU!... YOU… STILL… LIVE?" managed Fafnir between bloody coughs, as he raised his head to address the one he truly feared. "I KILLED YOU. I TURNED YOUR BARK INTO ASH. I GNAWED AT YOUR ROOTS WITH MY OWN TEETH. SO... WHY?! WHY DO YOU PERSIST?!"

There was no response of course, except for a deep howl that lit up the air in an unholy blue light, almost like a deep fog swallowed the entire Chamber all of a sudden. "Everyone! Get out of here!" The majordomo's voice became noticeably distorted as its speaker hit its maximum output in a desperate attempt to make everyone snap out of it, and rush out of the Chamber. Even Fafnir didn't care following his underling's orders in a situation as precarious as this, although his sheer bulk blocked the exit, trapping inside those who failed to react fast enough.

Outside, more cyborgs and dragons aided those who made it, as well as literally dragged Fafnir across the corridor in a desperate attempt to save his life. The cacophony that the screams of the trapped swallowed the frenzy of the containment crew, who kept shouting at each other in an effort to coordinate their response to this mortal threat. It was actually at the nick of time that they managed to pull the hulking form of Fafnir through the door, before his lower half became any more damaged than it already is. And with this being far from the time for niceties, they more or less dropped their master on the floor, immediately rushing to shut the Chamber's grand doors.

Only the majordomo remained still where he stood, gazing at the grisly sight of their abandoned comrades, whose flesh had already melted off their skeletons. "Containment team!" he ordered over his shoulder at the two largest cyborgs present that lunged forward as soon as the others managed to shut the door. "Seal this chamber. We won't be needing it anymore."

The cyborgs navigated around the fallen form of Fafnir, each carrying a massive tank on their backs that bore a slight resemblance to a vertically positioned cement mixer, and once close enough to the door, extended their over shoulder pumps. Aiming at the line where the two door panes met, they began spraying a gooey gray sludge that started to set almost upon contact. Following the door's contour, they kept going until not even the slightest gap remained open, under the watchful eye of the majordomo who even directed them on a few problematic spots.

With all that activity going on, it was rather easy for most to ignore a tremor that shook the entire building, but when a stronger quake hit the complex with vengeance, everyone came to an abrupt halt. The assorted cyborgs looked up in confusion, while the majordomo turned to the fallen Fafnir, who still fumbled around in pain. "Master, is this feeling?... Could it be?..."

"EARTH-RENDER HELLFIRE LIGHTING STRIKE." A hint of dread was present in Fafnir's otherwise grave voice, while his eyes opened wide, despite the bloody tears trickling down his scaly face. "There's no mistaking it… A demon must be still alive, and one of the highest caliber, too."

"I thought that the only immortal unaccounted for was the middle Norn's son, not a demon," calmly replied the majordomo, only to falter when he noticed the terror that suddenly manifested in his master's facial features. He even picked a sound from the dragon, but at the very last second a new tremor made it hard to hear what exactly Fafnir said. "That was another one, and even more powerful than the previous. Several dragons must've perished from it, for sure."

"HILD. THE WRENCH STILL LIVES?... NO, THIS CAN'T BE! SHE'S DEAD, I KILLED HER!"

The very sound of that name elicited such fear from the majordomo, that his few remaining muscles contorted in the phantom pain of having his spine broken across that demoness' knee. And that was moments before becoming half the person he currently is -aside from the natural decay that this cursed body of his is subjected to. As such, to say that he didn't relish the idea of meeting Hild again was an understatement, and the very reason why he hesitated to even acknowledge his master's words. Worse yet, if bringing back the dead was now a possibility, then their true suffering hasn't even started, and true meaning of being condemned brought out a sense of fear he no longer thought possible to experience.

Blocking out the outroar those news brought to the dragons present, the majordomo turned around and began to limp towards the exit as fast as his mostly mechanical legs could muster. He had no idea where he was going, or what he was about to do once he reached that destination. In his panicked state, instinct took over, and it demanded to get as far away from the remains of the Tree as physically possible. If nothing else, that Eldritch abomination, dead as it was, still laughed in its chambers, and even summoned the heralds of their demise.

Only demise is too kind of a fate for the damned, such as them. It was the Tree's will for them to live and suffer, as Hild already killed him with her very hands back in that fateful day of reckoning. Of course, he always thought that it was Fafnir's obtained might that spared him, as he must've felt compelled to reward him for his invaluable services.

Now, he knew: it was Yggdrasil who saved him, but not as a reward. He, and his master, along with everyone else involved in that incident were damned to a pitiful existence where pain and suffering is the only thing they know, and can even experience. And in a way, he finally realized where he was going: to Hild. Perhaps this time around, she would be successful killing him.

"THRIVALDI! WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING? I HAVEN'T DISMISSED YOU, YET."

Whether he liked it or not, the majordomo's feet refused to move all of a sudden, despite not being subjected to a control voice. Fafnir's commanding tone alone was sufficient to dissuade him from disobeying a direct order, although at the same time hearing his old name reminded him of the time he used to be something more than just a lackey. "I… I need to gather the troops and coordinate an effective defense. As it is, we no longer have the same element of surprise we had back then, and the same applies to the quality of our troops, too. They've devolved far too much to do anything useful on their own."

The cursed dragon let out a grunt and gestured for one of the cyborgs from the back of the corridor to approach. Waddling unstably, the rather tall -yet slender- amalgam of several different creatures stitched together into the same mechanical frame, approached its superiors and then extended some appendages it had in place of actual arms. And one of them possessed a holo-projector which upon activation depicted the map of Asgard's capital, along with the intruders' location. Furthermore, it extended another holo-projector equipped appendage, where it displayed a list of the intruders' identities, which left Fafnir somewhat confused.

"HILD AND SURT, I KIND OF UNDERSTAND. LIND TOO, SINCE SHE WAS A VALKYRIE IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY. ALTHOUGH… WHO'S PEORTH? AND AN UNKNOWN GOD, TOO? HOW'S THAT POSSIBLE TO HAVE ONE THAT'S NOT OFFICIALLY RECORDED. HAD THAT TREE GOTTEN CREATIVE ALL OF A SUDDEN AND COOKED ONE UP ON THE SPOT?"

"Um… Peorth was a goddess that worked as a wish granter for the Earth Assistance Hotline, and an administrator as well," Trivaldi replied, albeit with a fair amount of awkwardness due to that goddess' bio. "She was best known for her tendency to wear minimalist outfits, that barely conformed the law, although few -if any- actually complained about her. Apparently, she possessed a sizable fanbase of both gods and goddesses who most certainly appreciated her fashion choices. I can't remember her being exceptionally strong though, at least not to the point of being anywhere close to some of the others mentioned in that list."

There was a rather prolonged pause, while Fafnir processed just what he was being told, and then snapped his neck in the Tree's direction. "ARE YOU MOCKING ME?!" he hallowed so loud that all but his majordomo put some distance between themselves and the furious dragon. Chips even started to fall off the walls, although the dull roar of thunder in the distance brought him back to the emergency at hand. "GO GATHER OUR TROOPS. IT'S ABOUT TIME WE DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS MENACE," Fafnir said to his majordomo, who immediately felt both relief and fear at the same time. "AND NO FUNNY IDEAS, EITHER. YOU'RE TOO FAR INTO THIS TO BACK OFF NOW. UNDERSTOOD?"

"Yes… master…"

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.

I believe it was about time Keiichi and his angel discussed a couple of things regarding their coexistence. Since he's been a human for most of his life, it's unlikely that Keiichi will get used to acting like a god all of a sudden. Sure, he's making some progress, but it'll take some time for both of them to fully get used to this new reality.

Also, it's about time I addressed the elephant in the room: Fafnir's absence from Odal's original world; the very same place Hild and co are currently located. The binary code I've written in his segment isn't just for show. If you turn it into ASCII you can actually read it, but for the sake of convenience I'll post the message. It might not make sense at first, although if you give it some thought it more or less explains a fair deal about Fafnir's current predicament. The message goes like this:

Sentenced for treason

Bound in mortal flesh

Shackled in pain

Forever be damned