Chapter 8

She wasn't sure if it was just busy work, or if it was actually important, but Skuld had left Yggdrasil in the hands of other, less experienced goddesses. Basic administration was a simple task, or so she thought. When she'd gotten the call from Lind, she began to question it. "What does special operations want with the system?" Skuld had asked, but Lind hadn't been very eager to say over the phone.

Reluctantly, Skuld patched Lind through to Tyr, who, as a god of creation's law offices, kept himself unseen to most citizens of the heavens and hells alike. His desk was an odd one, hidden in a shroud of his own power. He believed fully, that he was a god not to be seen, but rather, to be heard. He was literally a vocal authority and made it his own, personal endeavor, never to be judged by his appearance. Even his own children didn't often see him, because of his reclusive nature.

"There are codes. I require them." That was all the explanation that either of them had been given.

Lind was a strict goddess at times, so it wasn't a shock. After a lengthy discussion that didn't go anywhere, and a near migraine, Tyr invited Lind to come and meet with him personally, and Lind hadn't wasted any time. "Why have you come, Lind?" Tyr asked at great length, his voice echoing off the walls around him.

"Special operations received a notice to tighten security." Lind had replied with her twin angels fluttering about at her side. Unlike most goddesses, who kissed the very ground he stood upon, Lind truly respected this god. She knelt, as most would, but, beyond that she didn't offer praise. "Anzasu requested it. Practically demanded that we follow her orders."

"Why would my wife dabble in the affairs of security?" Tyr asked, dumbfounded.

"A whim." Lind replied, equally agitated. "With all due respect, I sometimes find that she acts without proper justification. However, this time, when she barged into the barracks, there was no question that her discomfiture could be warranted."

"Why Lind!" Tyr rumbled. "Why are you so adamant?"

"I was commissioned by Anzasu privately." Lind said then with a shake of her head. "My orders were simply to get information from Yggdrasil, and to issue a notice to Peorth." She offered another bow, as if it was his consolation prize at best, and her denial at worst. "Beyond that, any information I've received wasn't to be spoken to you." Lind glanced at Skuld. "I require quarantined files, and thus, I come here in search of someone with a license in first category."

Tyr cursed himself quietly for a moment, considering Lind's words. Something was amiss, but, he wasn't about to toy idly with his wife's orders. There was nothing he could do, he would have to accept the fact that he hadn't been welcomed to nose about in her affairs. "Skuld, go attain the records that Lind requires." Tyr finally relented, only to be given a questioning gaze by his child in return.

"Why?" The young goddess continued to type, even when her eyes left the screen. "Lind can go on her own, it wouldn't be the first time that special ops went barging in on the systems administration." She tossed a halfhearted shrug his way. "We quarantine bugs and other useless paradox files all the time. That's not something she needs authorization for."

"Ordinarily, it wouldn't be an issue." Tyr agreed. "However, we aren't discussing simple, first class information." If that had been the case, Lind would have acquired the needed data herself. "Lind must be accompanied by a representative of the law offices." He told her, sipping on some tea. "Go with Lind, and see that she gets everything she needs. That's your job for today, and I expect it done flawlessly."

Since those were his orders, Skuld didn't fight it any further, not even after she had reached the main facility that housed Yggdrasil with Lind at her side. "You heard her, Peorth, cough up whatever she needs."

"Oui." The first class goddess agreed. "However, I've no idea why you're looking into my organization. We haven't received any wishes that were out of the normality."

Lind remained as cool and calm as ever. "It is standard regulation. I'm only following protocol." Lind replied, taking the microchip she'd been handed. "According to the bylaws, we have to look into every detail of the Yggdrasil system at least once every thousand years." It was however, her next statement, that set off warning bells in Peorth's head. "This does of course, include privatized information."

"Oh, you're looking for that." Peorth chuckled. "I'm surprised that Tyr didn't come to retrieve it himself." Typing a few things into the computer, she began to download the necessary files. "Don't tell me, Tyr got sealed again, didn't he?"

"No, thankfully." Skuld said with a smile. "Last time my mom did that, he was stuck in a flowerpot for a really long time."

"I do recall." Peorth said with an exuberant nod. "It was mine after all. I was so happy when your mother released him, I could have kissed her." With a side thought that she nearly digressed, she pulled out the card full of data, handing it to Skuld. "In thinking about it, it's been rather quiet around here. I haven't heard your parents bellow for quite some time, is everything alright?"

"More or less." Skuld said slowly, knowing that answer could change at any moment. "I would say everything's normal."

Lind nodded her head to Skuld. "She's begun her training in creation's law offices, and I am acting as her escort for today, as she collects the needed information."

"Well, isn't that strange?" Peorth asked, putting a hand on her hip, mildly amused. "I would have thought you'd look into getting a commercial license, Skuld."

"I like machines too much." Skuld said with a smile. "By the way, please tell me the new recruits have been taking care of Yggdrasil. I've been worried about it."

"If you want to see for yourself, you're free to log in with my terminal." Peorth offered. "I think you'll be satisfied with the results."

"Can I?" Skuld asked, looking up at Lind.

"We have some time." Lind nodded gently. "I've been meaning to speak with Peorth about the security measures, anyway. If you'll permit me, I could take the time to discuss them with her right now."

Skuld looked around the admin terminals, most of the other goddesses were busy with programs. "I don't see why not. All of them are first class, first category." She went to the login screen, using her old but familiar password. "Just make sure you don't discuss anything beyond a first class restriction."

"I didn't intend too." Lind agreed, turning to Peorth in a hushed voice. "We've received an invoice from Hild. Bugs have entered Nidhogg's system. They were easily cleared away, of course, but there was some residual damage to a few files."

"Does she think we committed a hacking?" Peorth asked, just a little worried.

"No." Lind reported with a shake of her head. "She believes it's an outside source, at least that's the report. However, unholy shares seemed to skyrocket due to vaccine they used to purge Nidhogg."

"How high?" Peorth grew quiet, a heated whisper was all she would allow of herself, but she knew the gravity of the situation.

"High enough that Hild believes Yggdrasil will try to correct the imbalance." Lind handed over a confidential chip from behind her ear. "This is the vaccination her people used. Anzasu wants us to analyze it, but in the meantime, she wants you to shut down any program that could react violently."

"That includes the system force." Peorth didn't like the sound of it, but took the chip that Lind had given her. "I understand."

"I doubt that you do." Lind was troubled by the state of events, and with a sense of duty in mind, she found that she wasn't entirely able to accept things so blindly. "I admit, I'm skeptical. I don't think Hild would be on good terms with us. She certainly doesn't have any obligations to the heavens."

"I think she has a lot of responsibility." Skuld said, signing out from the system. "She isn't just trying to help us because she feels like it. It's because she's got an investment to protect."

"That's very astute." Lind replied, interested in what the young goddess might have to say. "However, that only leaves more questions. What would that investment be, and why?"

"I don't really know, it could be anything." Skuld said with a shrug as she drifted down from the terminal. "Hild seems to like to honor deals, and, she wouldn't take them lightly." Having gathered the information she needed, and given a proper farewell to one of her most loved machines, it was time to leave. "I think that Hild wouldn't want to get on Keiichi's bad side, since he's a demon now."

"That's true, but if that's the case, she owns him." Peorth sighed, running her fingers through her hair. "I suppose it can't be helped."

"It's true that Keiichi is a demon, but he's friendly with goddesses." Lind shook her head. "You'd think that would really bother Hild."

"It's not something we need to worry about." Skuld finally said. "Everything's okay for now, right?" At their nods, she felt better prepared to return to the law offices. "Then all of this is just theory, and we don't need that." She looked up to Lind then. "If you have everything you need, then we should head back."

…

It sinister, Hild knew, but yet, she'd done it anyway. She'd hacked her own system, Nidhogg.

Hild had her reasons, but they were far more abstract and whimsical than many would understand. She would be the first to admit that her methods were uncouth, and often primal, but, they were effective. She was very much like Tyr, she didn't like to be questioned. Her motivations were her own, always, and she didn't feel the need to give out an explanation when it wasn't due. There were very few who dared to pluck that very thin line, a chord that perhaps, ought never to be strung.

Hild was a demon, true to her word, prideful of that very clout that she so often exuded. She had no qualms about standing up to high expectation, positive, or negative.

Cheshire, her grin remained like that of a cat, sly and predatory. She knew it drew attention, but, no one pondered the reason why. They'd had no need, no true purpose to raise a looking glass to Hild's actions. Most knew if they did, they wouldn't see the light of a new day for eons to come.

Still, there was one such person willing to spit a fire that knew no boundary. "That was cunning." Anzasu murmured in a wing of that law offices that didn't belong to her people. "Too cunning." It was Hild's personal space, but Anzasu didn't care that she was intruding. "Now, look at you."

With a smirk, Hild raised her glass. "If you're going to congratulate me, at least sit down and have a drink."

"You truly are insufferable." The goddess sighed, strutting out of the shadows with all of the confidence one would expect from a goddess of her stature. "What do you think you're going to gain, Hild?"

"It isn't about gain." Hild said easily, watching Anzasu take a seat before her.

"Why don't I believe that?" Anzasu sighed, crossing her long and slender legs in a seductive fashion quite like Hild's own.

"Oh, I've no need to lie. " Hild said offhandedly. "Rather, I find that this is about loss. I'm simply taking preventative measures, I'm sure you can understand." She poured the woman a drink, and offered her best smile, delighting in her abilities as a hostess.

"No doubt." Anzasu said cutting to the heart of the matter, her pleasantries aside. "It is our job, after all, to oversee such a thing."

"Must we go over such trivial matters, Anzasu?" Hild asked, amused. "I so rarely receive visitors that I care to call friends during my stays here at the offices. It would be nice to put these rather depressing topics behind us, wouldn't you agree?"

"Tell me, Hild, why would you put Nidhogg at risk?" It was no wonder why Tyr chose this goddess to be his wife, because while she was indeed heavenly, she was also as poisonous as a viper when provoked. "What has my husband done to coax your ire this time?"

"Still quick to lay that claim, I see." Hild scowled briefly.

"Why shouldn't I?" Anzasu said with a raised eyebrow. "It's the truth."

"Insufferable! How fortuitous for you, that you are a goddess, or else he would be mine." Hild shook her head with a sigh. "You have no idea, do you? You poor, poor, wench."

"You're the one who doesn't understand." Anzasu replied heatedly. "You are the one who doubted, Hild. It is you, who failed him…you who who've failed your own daughter…and now, you so easily trifle in the lives of my daughters. Belldandy and Skuld are not of your brood. I will not allow this to continue."

"Don't misunderstand my intentions, Anzasu." Hild stood from her place, taking the time to consider all that she'd done. Her plans were her own. She didn't expect goddess to understand. "I am protecting your daughters. What I do, I do only in the best interest of them." With a sigh, she closed her eyes. "It's in Urd's best interest that I protect Belldandy and Skuld as well." She glanced to the goddess who glared daggers into her.

"Why are you so interested in committing atrocities?" Anzasu hissed. "Why pervert the very foundation of creation itself?!"

"I'm a demon." Hild laughed darkly. "I don't need a reason."

"Yet you do have a reason." Anzasu replied, she'd heard enough to discern that much. "Likely, it's little more than lunacy, but you do have one!"

"I may not be the kindest woman in all of creation, but, I do love my family." Hild said then, not bothering to regard the goddess behind her with the sincerity in her eyes. She knew Anzasu could feel it lingering in the air around them. "I will stop at nothing to protect that family, even if that family is not of my blood nor my womb." Hild replied darkly, a vengeance swirling in her words. "I owe Urd that much. I owe that to you as well. Even I recognize when I must atone, even if I am acidic at my core."

"What's going on, Hild?" Anzasu murmured, she'd never heard something so candid and respectful from Hild in the entire time she'd known the vicious demon.

"I'm putting an end to that damnable system, once and for all." Hild said then. "I'm going to make this creation one that all of its peoples can take pride in, and I will also give Belldandy all of the happiness greed can afford her. I will do what Tyr will not! I will grant Belldandy all of the treasures she so deserves…and in return, she and Keiichi will help to change creation in a way that will unify its peoples."

"It is lunacy." Anzasu sighed. "Completely and utterly so."

"It may be." Hild could agree with that...she often wondered if her plans would truly see fruition...creation had nearly died out before for lesser causes. "Tell me that you don't desire Belldandy's happiness above all else. Tell me you desire a creation, where your children must fall under your hammer of judgement!" She turned to Anzasu then, her raw power sparking from her very soul. "Tell me that you haven't resented the laws that keep the heavens at hells at a low boil..."

Anzasu shook her head. "I can't lie, Hild." The woman said softly. "I do want my children to be happy. I do want them to build their own futures, whatever that may be. No matter who it may, or may not be with." She sighed, her desires were not unlike Hild's own. "I would like all of creation's peoples to be as unified as you say, but, I do not see how it can happen."

"We can do better, Anzasu." Hild's proclamation was like that of an echo, speaking volumes. "If our children could live on that earth among mortals...if Urd can accept Keiichi as a demon...if Belldandy can love him despite that, why the hell do we think we know better? They've managed it just bloody fine, nobody's blown each other to bits, why can't we seem to manage that?"

Anzasu rubbed her forehead in exasperation, because Hild made very strong points. There was no good rebuttal she could make to any of it. "I don't know."

"I'll tell you why." Hild said. "We're old, we're stagnating..."

"We're dying out." Anzasu whispered, finally catching on.