Arc II: Chapter 05

Down Time

Marler huffed in irritation as she sat on the edge of the wooden porch. Looking out at the temple yard, full of dead grass and spotted with bare branched trees, there was only a single shrub that was still holding onto its leaves. At least she could be thankful that it had finally stopped raining. If it gets any colder we're gonna be buried in snow.

The Demon popped her neck as she sat, watching the sky as it lightened for the first time in days. The clouds were starting to thin a little. She absentmindedly wondered if they might see the sun tomorrow, something that had been blocked from view for all but three days since the Cruel Angel had attacked.

Unconsciously she ran her fingers through her hair, only to find them immediately stuck. She growled as she pulled her hand free, tugging her matted hair almost straight out before the sticky blood of those creatures finally let go. She had tried to wash it off with water, but it was like syrup and clung stubbornly to her. The only thing left was to take a long bath, but the two Marines were using it right now. "Guests first, Marler," Keiichi had said.

"Don't worry about it," Urd had said when she protested, "I'll come get you when they leave. Just try to relax until then."

"Relax she says." She looked at her thumb and index finger as she pressed the two together, then felt the resistance as the goo coating her stuck them together. "How can I relax when I'm covered in this crap?"

"Hey."

"Hmm?" The Demon looked up to her left to see a human girl standing there. Ah, yes, that's Keiichi's sister, isn't it? This is the first time I've seen her in a long time. She seemed to be unhappy about something as she studied the Infernal woman sitting there. "What?"

"You're the one," she stated simply. "You're the Demon who turned me into a car, aren't you?"

"Geh!" Her red eyes grew quite large as she unconsciously leaned away. Who told her about that? "Er, well, you see…"

"And that time I was possessed, that was you, too."

"Ah…" Marler began to laugh nervously as she slowly slid down the porch. "That's an interesting story, actually…"

Megumi took a step forward. "You did all that, and you're still staying in this house? You're the worst."

Why that little…here I am trying to be nice to these people and now I've got to put up with this? "What the hell?" Marler stood up, irritation flaring in her eyes. "I haven't done anything since I got here!"

Megumi took a step back, uncertainty showing on her face. Heh, this'll be easy. All I have to do is scare her a little and I won't have to deal with her anymore. She narrowed her crimson eyes on the human as she leaned in, her voice like poison honey. "Now you listen to me, little girl, I've been holding back for a long time now. If you don't stop bothering me, I might just do something to you that you won't enjoy." That ought to do it!

She took another step back, eyes glinting with tears. Marler's satisfied smile filled her face as she turned toward the yard dramatically. As such, she didn't notice when Megumi took in a deep breath.

"Hentai!"

The word itself startled the Demon more than the piercing volume of the scream. "What are you talking about, stupid?"

"You're a pervert! You just said you'd do something to me," she wailed rather loudly, "you're thinking of doing something naughty, aren't you?"

"What the hell is wrong with you? I told you last time that I'm a girl!" Megumi looked at her suspiciously.

"Megumi! What's wrong?" Keiichi came running out of the house, obviously summoned by the deafening cries of his sister.

The two women spoke in unison, "Keiichi, thank goodness!"

"Your sister has lost her marbles!"

Megumi clutched her brother's arm. "That Demon said he'd have his way with me!"

"I'm a woman, dammit!"

"That's just as disgusting!"

Keiichi's features hardened as he listened. "Marler, why did you threaten my sister?"

Consternation set in as she saw the man immediately believed that Marler was at fault. Granted, she was a Demon, but still she'd been…amiable for a while now. Didn't that count for something? "I was just trying to get her to stop pestering me about turning her into a car!"

"So you did threaten her." Damn it! Checkmate already?

She struggled to think of an excuse, but knew none of them would wash. She was wrong and that was that. That was the only response they would accept. With a misunderstanding this bad, they might even try to kick me out of the city! I can't survive out there by myself!

Her shoulders slumped as she realized that she had been backed into a corner somehow. There was only one way out, though she loathed the very concept. She could feel her cheeks get hot as she lowered her head. "I…I'm sorry." She could barely be heard, even in the silence of the temple yard.

Megumi's response was quick and harsh. "I don't believe you."

The Demon's body clenched. She had a powerful urge to break something, but forced herself to remain still. "What?" Her voice was trembling with indignation as she looked up at the angry girl, who was half hiding behind her brother.

"I don't accept your apology," she reiterated.

"Fine," Marler growled. She took a deep breath, suddenly feeling self conscious. Swallowing her pride, she bowed at the waist. Her voice was almost humble as she spoke slightly louder than before. "I'm sorry I said what I did."

Click.

The Demon blinked. Click? As her mind tried to match the sound, she heard a different one. A stifled giggle.

"We did it! Look, she's even blushing! How cute!" The embarrassed woman looked up to see Megumi trying to hide a huge smile behind her hand. Keiichi, too, was grinning, though he seemed a little more wary than his sister.

"Eh?" was all that Marler could manage as she slowly straightened. I don't get it. What's going on?

Keiichi put his hands up in front of him as he spoke. "Sorry, Marler. He told us that you two couldn't fight openly anymore, but that Urd never said anything about practical jokes."

"That's right!" Megumi seemed to be having much more fun as she watched the dumbfounded Demon. "I bet it was a really good picture, too! So how'd we do?" She suddenly pointed out into the yard with dramatic flair. Marler followed her finger to the shrub that still had its leaves.

Suddenly a pair of arms and legs sprouted from the plant, as well as the grinning visage of Keos. A camera was in one of his hands as he gave Megumi a thumbs up with the other. "Nice!"

If one looked up the word flabbergasted in the dictionary, there might have been a picture of Marler in the margins, looking exactly as she did at that moment. She blankly stared as Keos uprooted himself. His maniacal laugh suffered from the Doppler effect as he ran, still sporting the ridiculous shrub disguise.

A clock seemed to be ticking down as she watched him round the corner of the house. Suddenly the light came on, and her eyes seemed to catch fire. "You bastard!" Her curses echoed throughout the temple and beyond as she began to give chase. "Give me that camera you son of a bitch!"

Skuld trotted down the stone paved road, a sense of urgency in her step. Looking back over her shoulder, she frowned at the calm stroll that Gil was taking as he fell behind. "Will you hurry up? We're not going to make it in time!"

He rolled his eyes as he picked up the pace. "With all the stuff you bought today, I don't see how you could have forgotten anything. What's this iso-whatever chip supposed to do, anyway?"

"Isolinear optical chip," she corrected him. "It's an advanced storage medium that can read eighty teraflops of data per second. The basic materials aren't available on Earth, so I couldn't make my own, and I need thirty two so I can do multi-layer five dimensional simulations of sub-spatial tachyon behavior."

He nodded his head as if he understood, but she knew he didn't. "So when does this place close?"

"In fifteen minutes," she replied, "so let's go! I'm not gonna have another chance to get these chips for a long time."

He looked at her for a second before flashing a grin. "Alright then, let's hurry. We still need to meet Belldandy for dinner after this." He abruptly took off at a run, passing Skuld before she realized what he was doing.

"Hey, wait for me!" She started off after him, pushing herself to keep up with him.

He laughed as he looked over his shoulder, still charging forward. "I thought you were in a hurry? What's the deal?"

"You shut up!" In a way, she really enjoyed it when this sort of playful streak hit him, especially since it happened so rarely. Still, it was a little irritating that he was usually the one who claimed victory in his little games. "Gil, look out!"

She had barely called out to him when he slammed into the oblivious child that had wandered into his path. The Templar tumbled a few times before winding up sprawled on his back, the young Celestial in his arms. Skuld caught up quickly, kneeling beside the God. "Are you alright?"

Gilgamesh winced a bit, but nodded. "I'll be alright."

The Goddess flicked him between the eyes. "I meant him." She gently helped the youngster, who appeared to be around six years old by human standards, to sit up. He had short blond hair and a small bump on the left side of his forehead. She smiled at the cute little boy as he slowly came to his feet. "Is anything broken?"

He shook his head as he climbed off Gil's chest. "No. My head kind of hurts, though."

"Aw, poor little guy." Even while she was kneeling, the boy was barely taller than her. She quickly began to straighten out his white robes and fussed with his hair. "Gil, look what you did to him."

The brown haired God had stood up and was dusting off his tunic when he looked down at her. "Wait, so this is all my fault now?"

"Of course it's your fault."

"Remind me, Skuld, why were we running?"

"Remind me, Gilgamesh, who wasn't watching where he was going?"

He grumbled in displeasure. "I guess I gotta give that one to you." Studying the boy, he knelt down beside Skuld. "So what are you doing out here by yourself, small fry? I heard that a lot of the youths are living at the school since their parents are full time over at Yggdrasil. Is that where you came from?"

The boy nodded slowly, looking a little downcast. "I don't like it there. We don't get to leave the school grounds, so it's really boring." The Goddess knew that there were hardly enough Celestials to keep an eye on all the young ones. That was probably why the children were being shepherded in one area.

"Even if it is boring, you shouldn't go running away like this." Skuld spoke to him with a warm and soft voice. Though she didn't realize it, she sounded not unlike Belldandy. "There's probably someone back at the school who's very worried about you. You don't want to make anyone worry, do you?" The boy shook his head in silence. "My name's Skuld, and that's Gilgamesh. What's your name?"

"Dyson," he answered.

"Well, Dyson, let's go back to the school." She stood and held out her hand, which the boy readily accepted. "We'll get someone to look at that bump that someone caused, too."

Gil rubbed his eyes in consternation as they passed by him. "What? You're going to walk him back to the school grounds cause of that little knot on his head?"

Skuld felt a grin come on and she leaned down toward the child, making sure she spoke loud enough for the Templar to overhear. "Don't worry about him, Dyson. He's just jealous cause I'm holding hands with such a cute young man." She watched out of the corner of her eye as Dyson looked over his shoulder at Gilgamesh, giving the warrior a big smile.

"I'm back, Kidara." Israfel set the backpack on the floor of the cave before wiping the sweat from his brow. He'd run into another mutated animal during his supply run, but thankfully it was much smaller, and he had his powers this time. He made short work of it, but it was still a little tiring.

The cave was quiet, with only the sound of crackling embers near the entrance. "I couldn't find any peanut butter cups, but I did find a couple bags of roasted peanuts. Is that good enough?" Still there was no answer as he moved a little further inside. "Kidara?"

"You found a bottle of sake," came a voice from behind him. "Demon Horn brand. We approve."

Israfel spun around with wide eyes to behold a young girl rustling through his backpack. "M-Mistress Hild!" He immediately knelt before the ruler of Hell. "I didn't know you were awake. Kidara was supposed to be watching over you while I was gone."

The diminutive Demon casually tossed a package of instant ramen over her shoulder. "Your sister looked after us quite well."

"Is-Is!" A pair of arms wrapped around his neck from behind, drawing a gasp of surprise. "We missed you so much! You said you got us peanuts? That's not a very good source of power for us, but it'll work!" She leapfrogged over him and floated over to his pack.

What's this 'we' and 'us' crap? "You shouldn't talk like that, Kidara. Mistress Hild may not like it when someone tries to imitate her."

"It's quite alright, Is-Is." Hild didn't bother to look up from a package of instant rice as she spoke. "We told her she could." Israfel didn't know what was going on anymore. Is-Is? Did Kidara use her stupid nickname for me as a bargaining chip so she could talk like Hild? "She was just so cute when she asked, we couldn't say no!" Are they trying to make me freak out?

Kidara responded by showing off her little fangs, her voice almost too sugary-sweet to bear. "Aww, you're embarrassing us, Hild-nee-chan!" Hild-nee-chan? Israfel thought he was about to see the abrupt end of his sister, but instead the most feared of all Demons gave a rather cute smile of her own.

No! Even if she's in this little girl form, she's the CEO of Hell! I can't think of her as cute! I hate cute things anyway! What the hell is wrong with you, Israfel?

"Oh, oh!" His sister suddenly waved her arms about excitedly. "You got us peanut butter pocky!" She abruptly launched herself through the air and wrapped him in a surprisingly tight hug. "Thanks, Is-Is!"

Instinct took over as he began trying to pry the girl off of him. "Quit it, Kidara! You know I hate it when you get all touchy-feely on me!" As soon as he finished his sentence his body went rigid. Sweat began to form on his brow and his breathing became shallow.

Hild was right next to his little sister, her arms wrapped around him in much the same way. Though his mind was swirling from the madness of the last few minutes, he could easily enough see the dangerous smile on her young face. Oh no, she's toying with me. "Kidara took such good care of us while you were gone, Is-Is. We think it's only fair that you let her hug you as much as she wants in return."

Israfel's answer was immediate, and saturated with defeat. "Yes, ma'am."

"And then I kind of nudged him and said, 'Earth girls are easy!' Then he got all angry and started lecturing me." Ergaddas tried to make a scowl, but traces of his smile could still be seen. "You know the rules about that sort of thing! Taking advantage of the women here is strictly prohibited!" The other Templars joined him in laughter as they looked at their boss, who was trying to smile along.

"You forgot the part where I threatened you with guarding the construction crews," Keos added.

Another God caught his breath. "Yeah, I seriously thought you were going to slap me when I didn't wake up for my watch that one time."

"And you've been on time ever since." Ergaddas patted his friend on the back, drawing another laugh from everyone. "Yeah, ever since you got promoted, you've been a real hard-ass, Keos. You know that, right?"

The Templar leader chuckled at this. "Yeah, well, all your kisses are starting to soften it up." This drew another round of guffaws from the warriors.

"What I don't understand," one of the younger Gods spoke up, "is how we keep screwing up these little things that tick of the boss man here, when he somehow manages to do all the stuff he does, and never make a mistake." Ergaddas exploded into laughter at this.

Keos remained more straight faced. "Well, I wouldn't say I never make mistakes. I mean, statistically you have to make one sometime. I just don't do anything blatant."

"Hey, Keos!" The Templars all stopped and looked to see where this female voice was coming from. Megumi Morisato quickly bounded into their midst. "Sorry to interrupt you guys." The Gods all muttered back things like 'Don't worry about it.' or 'No problem, miss.' Their eyes all went to Keos with a 'What's this?' sort of look.

Keos smiled at her. "That was great work, Megumi! Priceless!"

"Really? I thought it was great, too! I mean, when you described it I didn't think it would work, but it was amazing!"

He nudged her a little with his elbow. "I bet it felt pretty good, too. I know I enjoyed myself!"

"Oh, yeah, it was an awesome feeling, being in charge of a situation that way! Seeing someone so powerful bow down like that!" She glanced quickly at her watch, then repeatedly patted his arm. "I've got to get going soon, but do you have the pictures?"

He reached into his robes and pulled out a digital camera. "Right here!" They huddled close together as he displayed the shot of Marler bowing before her and Keiichi.

"Is that me? Look at the expression on my face!" She briefly covered her eyes with her hands before grabbing the God's arm and shaking him. "That's so embarrassing! You can't show this to anyone!"

He chuckled. "Well what was the point of setting up the shot in the first place then?"

Megumi gave him a sly grin as she started to walk away. "The pure enjoyment of it. Now don't forget, you promised me!"

"Don't worry, I'll be by the temple later tonight. We'll do it then." He waved at her and received one in return.

"Alright, I'll be waiting!" She flashed a winning smile. "Bye, you guys! Thanks for guarding our city!"

Keos shook his head as he watched her hop on her bike and pedal away. "I swear, that girl is a little…what?"

He had looked over to see his Templar friends looking at him with wry grins. "I would ask what that was all about, but I think I can figure it out on my own."

"What are you talking about?" Keos found himself off guard as one of the other men clapped his hands together before tucking them against his own cheek.

"You didn't even give the poor girl a goodbye kiss!"

"Yeah, you shouldn't be embarrassed about it!"

Ergaddas was obviously enjoying himself as he patted Keos on the shoulder. "Yeah, Mr. taking advantage of the women here is strictly prohibited!"

Keos waved his arms in front of him. "Whoa there, guys, you got it all wrong! I'm just paying her back for a favor she did for me. I'm just going to take her flying over the city."

"I'm sure she'll feel like she's flying." They all laughed again as he rubbed his face in irritation. "What sort of favor did she do for you, anyway?"

He groaned as the situation deteriorated. "Will you idiots listen to me, there's nothing…"

"Keosh!" A long, very nearly slurred, call of his name interrupted him. Before he could turn around, a pair of slender, darkly tanned arms reached around his neck. "Found you!"

His eyes were wide open, though he could barely tell they were starting to dry out. All he could think was that his idol Goddess, the one woman in all the Universe who made him nervous, was hugging him from behind. "L-L-Lady Urd! What are you doing?"

"What a mean thing to ashk," she pouted, though she didn't let go of him. "I came all the way out here," she spoke clearly and softly, her lips brushing his ear, "just to see you."

Oh my God! What the hell? Why is she…oh my God! He was beginning to feel light headed as his breathing matched pace with his pounding heart. "Why sho tense, Keosh?" She was slurring a little again. "We need to looshen you up with shome shake!"

She began to wave a half empty bottle in front of him, though he couldn't think straight enough to wonder where she had pulled it from. Every time she sloshed it from side to side, he felt her breasts press against his back.

I have no regrets. That was his last thought before the world went white. He didn't feel himself hit the ground, or the Goddess who landed atop his prone form with a delicate 'oof!'. Nor did he hear the click that his fellow Templars heard as Marler leapt from a nearby pile of firewood.

"Yes! In your face!" She yelled and pumped her fist in victory, waving a camera around in the other hand. "Now I got dirt on both of you! My plan worked flawlessly for once! Whaddya think about that you two?"

Silence.

The Demon blinked and moved in for a closer look as Ergaddas tentatively did the same. Urd, still clutching her bottle, was snoozing quietly. A small bit of drool crept from her mouth and onto the back of Keos, who had apparently swooned beneath her.

Marler snapped another picture.

"Er, your name's Marler, right?" Ergaddas was looking up at her. She simply nodded in response, not used to having a Templar call her something other than 'Hey, Demon.' "Could I get a copy of that picture? I think it'd be pretty fun to wave it at him now and again." He had a smile on his face. She answered with a flash of her own sharp canines.

"For a price. I thing we can work something out."

"So you're a real Templar?"

"Can we see your sword?"

"Show us some really cool moves!"

The excited voices of the young boys jumbled together as they surrounded the God. The twenty-seven youths were bombarding him with questions as they made their way across the lawn of the school. Gilgamesh was having a great deal of difficulty trying to keep track of their queries, though they didn't give him a moment of silence to answer.

Grewana, the Goddess in charge of this particular group of children, had certainly been grateful not only for having Dyson brought back so promptly, but also having the youths distracted from their boredom. Before he had realized it, she had thanked him for giving her a break and Gilgamesh found himself herded out to the lawn by the hoard of boys.

Looking over his shoulder, he hoped to find some help from Skuld, only to find her being hurried away in the midst of a swarm of girls. She seemed as uncertain about all this as he felt, but there wasn't much to be done. So much for buying your iso-whatever chips.

"Is being a Templar hard? I wanna be one too!"

"Is that girl over there your girlfriend?"

It was with wide eyes that Gil spun around on the child God, sounding a little more surprised with the question than he meant to. "W-What?"

The boy's nose was red, as if he wiped it too often. "Is that girl you came with your girlfriend?"

"Uh…" Gil scratched his jaw as he struggled for a response. "Well, that's sort of, well, it's kind of hard to explain."

"She's not his girlfriend," one of them stated, drawing nods and assenting murmurs. The Templar tried his best not to let his shoulders slump.

"I thought all the Templars were on Earth."

"Yeah, why are you here?"

"Are you really a Templar?"

"Hold it, hold it!" Gilgamesh put his hands up, motioning them to quiet down. "First of all, of course I'm a Templar. Second of all, not all of us are on Earth. Some of us stayed here in Heaven to train the cadets and to be a reserve force in case of attack. Third…"

"You mean an attack on Heaven?" They all began arguing whether that was possible or not.

A sigh escaped him as he looked up at the afternoon sky. Almighty, what the heck am I doing? "Hey, listen up for a second." The children, for the most part, quieted down. "I don't think you guys have much to worry about. We're just being cautious. Heaven's the safest place in existence, after all."

"But if all the Templars are supposed to be training or guarding Heaven, then what are you doing here?"

"That's what I was trying to say earlier," he replied, "I'm Lady Skuld's bodyguard."

"Why does she need a bodyguard in Heaven?"

"She doesn't," Gil told them. "She'll need one when she goes down to Earth. That's why I'm going with her."

"Are there really monsters down on Earth?"

"I heard there were dragons!"

"There's supposed to be vampires, too!"

"Are you going to fight any werewolves? That'd be pretty cool!"

Gil couldn't help but give a chuckle at their innocent concepts. "Is that what you think is down there?" They all seemed to nod in unison. He shook his head a bit, then motioned over to a stone bench beneath an old pecan tree on the edge of the lawn. "Let's sit down for a while."

He settled onto the hard seat as the boys sat on the shaded grass before him. "Now, just so you know, there aren't any of those monsters that you asked me about earlier, but there are evil creatures down there. They serve a dark enemy who is trying its best to destroy everything, Hell, Earth, and Heaven."

"And you're going to fight him?"

"Yes, I am." The boys seemed a little star struck by his professed bravery. He motioned at them and waited for them to settle down. "You guys are still kids, so I'm sure that the grown ups are trying to prevent you from knowing just what's going on. They want you to be able to live out your childhood without having to be afraid of what's happening outside of Heaven. But you are also young men, and some of you might be accepted as Templar cadets in the next few years. I think you deserve to know.

"Heaven is at war. Your mothers and fathers, maybe even your older brothers and sisters if you have them, are helping us to defeat our enemy." He looked at the boys, who were watching him with wide eyes. "Some of you might know about this already, but we've already lost some of our Templar forces to the enemy. They fought and died under the banner of our Lord because they wanted to protect Heaven and Earth and all the people in them. We're holding our own against the enemy now, and there is no way that we can loose. Everyone is doing what they can, giving everything they've got, and you guys do, too."

The children were looking quite shaken. They must have been more sheltered than I thought. But it's fine, they're tough. He showed a confident smile, meeting the eyes of each one of the boys. "In the end, the young always take the place of their seniors. Just as I'm taking over the reigns for my friend, my big brother, someday you boys will take my place. All of you will answer the call in one way or another. You'll fight to protect your friends, your family, and maybe even those girls over there." He drew a few smiles with that one. "You'll fight for your brothers, too. Everyone in the Templar order thinks of his companions as brother warriors. In a way, all of us here are brothers." He gave a short laugh, "Even me."

Most of them were grinning back at him now, still riveted to his every word. Dyson, who had remained conspicuously silent till then, raised his hand as he spoke. "We wanna help, too. What do we do?" The others murmured in agreement and nodded their heads.

Gilgamesh was pleased at the response. "Before anything else, I want you boys to realize that the more you disturb your teachers and your families, the less energy they will have to face our enemy. You must all keep this in mind the next time you, oh let's say, decide to run away." The Templar gave a wink at Dyson, who was trying not to look embarrassed.

"That being said," he continued, "you all should devote yourselves to study and training." It didn't take long for the look of betrayal to appear on their faces. "I know what you're thinking, but whether you realize it or not, you are becoming stronger at this school. Look at the students that are only a year or two behind you."

"Even if we are stronger than them," Dyson said, "even if we study and get a little bit better, what good would that do? We still wouldn't stand a chance against someone like you."

"That's true, Dyson, if you and I fought there's no doubt that you couldn't even touch me. But if all of you attacked, coordinating and timing your strikes, you just might have a chance of wounding me." That was probably an exaggeration, but he needed to give them something to shoot for.

Some of the boys looked doubtful, though. "Wait, aren't Templars supposed to be all honorable and stuff? All of us attacking at once doesn't sound like fighting with honor at all."

"Someone trying to hurt women or children is without honor, anyway," he answered them deftly. "You needn't show honor to them. Besides, if it comes down to you guys, then you have to do whatever it takes to win. It'll be up to you guys to protect the girls over there."

A boy with a look of disgust on his face called out. "Why?" Several others agreed with him.

"Well, it's just like how some of you little guys will soon be old enough to get your licenses and take your places among Celestial society." His eyes wandered over to Skuld, who was laughing and smiling brilliantly. "Those girls will be growing up right along with you. Someday they're going to be beautiful Goddesses, like Lady Skuld. It's the duty of brave young Gods like us to defend them with our lives."

As if on cue, Skuld looked up, and their eyes lingered on one another for a few wonderful seconds. Too soon, though, the girls regained her attention, and the boys had a question of their own.

"Hey, big brother?" The kid with the irritated nose had his hand raised. Gil had to work to keep his smile from getting too big.

That's the first time anyone's ever called me big brother. "What is it, little bro?"

"Are you sure she's not your girlfriend?" His audience was staring at him as intently as before, but for some reason it was now making him feel a little hot under the collar.

He shifted uncomfortably before trying to answer. "Well, like I said before, it's kind of hard to explain." There was an odd silence as they stared at him. If he had been aware of human cinema, he might have thought it a very 'Children of the Corn' sort of moment. "What?"

Dyson stood suddenly, and took off across the lawn. "Wait, where are you going?" But Gil could already see the answer. The boy was making a beeline for the place where the young Goddesses were sitting. The dark haired Templar watched in curiosity as Dyson strolled right up to Skuld and spoke behind a cupped hand into her ear. He wasn't sure, it was hard to see at that distance, but her body seemed to become very rigid and she began to fidget with the fringe of her pink outfit. What in the world are you doing, kid?

Leaning over to him, Skuld whispered something back to the blond boy, who turned and loped back across the grounds. He came right up to the front of the group and stood before the perplexed Templar. "She said no."

"Well what did you ask her?"

Gil noticed that the boy was trying his best to keep a straight face. "I asked her if she'd go out with you." The God could only stare slack jawed at the kid as the other boys began to laugh.

"You what?" His voice boomed across the schoolyard, drawing looks from the girls group. His face burned as he tempered his volume. "Dyson, are you serious? Cause if you are, I may have to kill you."

"No, big brother, I was just kidding." Gil only had a second to wonder why Dyson was still struggling with his smile. "She actually said yes."

The God felt the heat on his cheeks spread to his ears. He slowly, cautiously, moved his eyes over to look at Skuld, only to find that she had disappeared. Scratch that, there she is. The Goddess had left her perch on the bench and was trying to hide amongst the younger girls, ducking low to avoid being seen. He could still see the shiny black hair as her head sat marginally higher than the rest.

He was brought back from his tunnel vision by Dyson's singing, which was quickly joined by a chorus of the other boys. "Gilgamesh and Skuld are sittin' in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"

"Dyson!" Again the God's voice echoed across the lawn as he dove forward with a playfully evil grin. "Say your prayers!"

The blond boy tried to dodge, but found himself taken to the ground in the light tackle. He started to laugh as he tried to wrestle with his assailant. "Everyone attack at once! Everyone attack at once!"

Child Celestials all over the school campus heard the battle cry of the six year olds as they dog piled the First Order Templar.

A/N:

LOL

That was a really fun chapter to write, though it took a little while longer than I thought it would to produce. The premise of the whole thing started with the Keos vs Marler thing and went from there. The kids were fun to write. Lots of energy from them, I hope that showed. Like I said, I wanted to get some humor and maybe a warm fuzzy in while I could.

The two parts that I thought could be misinterpreted were the thing with Hild and the part at the end with Urd. Hild, I have seen, can be rather playful when she wants to be, and I thought maybe with someone else to go along with (Kidara), this part of her personality might come out a little more.

The part with Urd was maybe not hinted at enough. The idea was that after Keos got Marler, the two women hit the bath. Marler gets Urd drunk over the next couple hours, then convinces her to go find Keos. Being drunk, she readily agrees.

Oddly enough, this chapter has turned into the longest one posted so far (though not by much). I know of at least one that will be much longer than this one coming up, though.

NavyPolice83: Thank you for the kind words! I'm glad you like it so much.

(): How was this for humor? Did I pull it off?

Lunatic Pandora1: I think I replied to your review, but just in case. You'll see why I'm sending Skuld soon. Also, I think pretty much the whole world (those who are left, anyway) know about the Celestials, though they may not know the exact nature of them.

Well, I think that's it for now. Thanks for reading, and I'll see you next chapter.

K.D.