Chapter 6

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, setting, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. All other concepts and ideas from other books or stories belong to their respective authors. No copyright infringement is intended.

AN: This fic really has me pumped since I'm pumping out chapters so quickly! Lol. This chapter is more serious than my previous ones. It mostly goes into hinting as to the plot for this fic more than the humor. There's still humor but not as much as the previous. Next chapter returns back to the fun and games we love.

Bifrost Bridge

Asgard, Nine Realms

In a realm connected yet separate from Earth stood a magnificent city. Connected to the city was a rainbow bridge that led out toward a station. From the station, the people from this realm, named Asgard, could traverse all Nine Realms of their mythology with impunity, their rule unchallenged.

Within this station stood a black-skinned man with a large helmet. His eyes was as if stars, endless in their depth and knowledge. Truly, the wielder of such eyes must be of unfathomable knowledge and maturity.

"I'm bored," said Heimdall with a sigh.

…... well, maybe not.

Heimdall had stood in the station as the Guardian of the Bifrost for over five thousand years. His power was to be able to see everything that was happening in all Nine Realms at once. He could look across time and space and was able to detect the approach of most beings within hundreds of miles. Heimdall could sense the life force of Asgardian gods throughout the Nine Realms and could willingly focus his senses on certain sensory information and selectively block the rest of it from his consciousness. Otherwise, he would be mentally and physically overwhelmed by the extraordinary amount of input generated by his extremely acute senses. nothing escaping his sight.

This power was the reason he was chosen as the Guardian of the Bifrost and he would stand there for as long as needed. With his sight, he could see any attack coming from a thousand miles away.

"Oh, an orgy!" exclaimed Heimdall happily before whistling. "Damn, five girls on one guy. Poor guy is biting off more than he chew. Still, look at the tits on that one. Bow-chika-bow-wow!"

….. And like any male god given such a power, he uses it to peep on people.

Don't judge him! He'd been stuck on this damn bridge for five thousand years! Peeping was his only stimulation since no chick with any sense of self-respect would have sex with a guy where anyone could interrupt them. Therefore, he had to get relief somehow.

Though God help us if Issei ever got Heimdall's power. No woman would be safe.

Heimdall was brought out of his perving by the sound of something approaching. Heimdall's grip on his large two-handed greatsword tightened as a large flying object approached. Heimdall studied the approaching object using all his senses to get the most amount of information.

The approaching object was a golden and emerald ark, a high-tech Indian-loking Holy Object that would make scientists drool at the mouth to study. It was fueled by a solar crystal and rutilated quartz crystals that used the natural energy in the area as fuel. Although it had slowed down as it approached, Heimdall had seen it move so fast that it surpassed the laws of physics, traveling at the speed of thought. Heimdall could see someone sitting on a sort of pilot throne as well as some sort of control column placed directly in front of it.

The flying object slowed down as it approached where Heimdall was standing before seemingly parking in mid-air beside it. The pilot stood up and walked off the object which disappeared into golden particles as soon as he stepped onto the platform. Heimdall noticed a golden ripple form in mid-air where the golden particles disappeared into. Probably some sort of extra-dimensional storage space of some sort.

The pilot was wearing some sort of golden armor that Heimdall recognized with a hidden smile. Heimdall recognized the approaching figure, even if his current form was new, and greeted him calmly.

"God of the Bible," said Heimdall evenly.

Harry smirked at Heimdall, completely relaxed. "Heimdall."

There was a beat of silence before Heimdall started to laugh and embraced Harry in a hug, which Harry easily returned.

"I should have known," said Heimdall with a smile as they broke apart. "God of the Bible is dead, my ass. I swear you're like a bad rash, we can never be rid of you."

"I take offense to that," said Harry, mock-insulted. "I'm more like a cool breeze on a hot day, impossible to harm but always there and always welcome."

Heimdall just shook his head with a rueful smile. "Whatever you say, man. So what have you been up to all this time?"

Harry just shrugged. "You know, same old, same old. Watching over millions of followers, trying to maintain the peace, reincarnating as a human without my memories this past generation..."

Heimdall look surprised at that before nodding slowly. "That must be why I couldn't track you with my sight since the end of the War. You've been passing off as human?"

"Yes and no," said Harry with a shrug. "I wanted to know how it felt to be human so I reincarnated as a human but without my powers or memories. I was born Harry James Potter. It was pretty eye-opening, in a way. But I'm back now and apparently I got a lot of work backed up and people to catch up with."

It was the excuse Harry was going to use to hide the fact he had actually died and been reborn. He'd probably tell his best friend, Odin, since he knew Odin could be trusted but no one else. If it got out he'd been killed it would galvanize his enemies since that meant he could be killed again, this time permanently.

Harry gave Heimdall a sly look. "Though I don't think I was the only one. I found it very interesting how familiar a certain famous black people's rights activist was. Right, Mr. King Jr.?"

Heimdall blushed and coughed while trying to look innocent. "Yes, it's very coincidental how similar Martin Luther King Jr. and I look. Purely coincidence though."

Harry just gave him a deadpan look until eventually Heimdall caved. "Alright, alright!" said Heimdall in surrender. "It was me! But come on, I had to help my peeps escape the oppression of white power! It's always the same, the black man does all the work and the white cracker gets all the credit. I've been standing on this damn bridge for five thousand years, and yet everyone seems to think Odin is the all-knowing and wise one! Heck, Odin gets lost in his closet! I'm the one who tells him when something is happening, then he goes all wise and shit and says he saw it himself! Bitch please! Guy's half-blind and confuses his wife with one of his Valkyries half the time. Or at least that's his excuse for banging them anyway."

Harry could only laugh at Heimdall's speech, especially the parts about Odin. He distinctly remember him using that same excuse after his wife died whenever someone found him in bed with one of his Valkyries, telling whoever caught them that he thought it was his late wife come back to life. Funny thing was that the Valkyrie looked nothing like his wife except for her breast size.

"Poor Heimdall," said Harry sarcastically. "You're stuck on this poor bridge with what amounts to free porn as you peep on the world. How can the universe be so cruel?"

Heimdall shrugged and blinked 'innocently'. "I regret nothing. It's not like there's anything else to do up here. Being able to see all of time and space is not what it's cracked up to be. Heck, a lot of the time it's boring. Their wars are boring. Their sex is boring. You know, the repetition."

"Sex is boring?" teased Harry with a laugh. "You've been up here for too long if you think that."

"Now don't get me wrong," defended Heimdall. "I'm still straight and I want to bang a hot chick as much as the next dude. But after five millennia watching people have sex day in and day out, it takes a lot to get my motor running if you catch my drift."

"I know what you mean," said Harry ruefully. "I may be technically married to all my nuns but there was a reason only Mary caught my attention. Girl was a freak in the bedroom. Nowadays, there are only a handful who might grab my attention."

"Like that devil girl you've been hanging around," said Heimdall with a knowing smile. "I can see all of time and space, remember, and now that I know who you are, I can see you've been spending a lot of time with a certain devil heiress. Don't blame you though. The girls got tits almost the size of her head! Can you say 'Bow-chika-bow-wow"?!"

Harry smacked Heimdall upside the head. "Don't peep on my girl, perv!"

Heimdall smiled victoriously back at him. "So she's 'your girl', huh?"

Harry tried to defend himself but eventually gave it up as a bad job. Heimdall just chuckled but before he could tease Harry further, he was cut off by someone else's arrival.

"DAAAAAADDDYYYYY!"

Harry sighed and turned just in time to catch an armful of gorgeous, voluptous blond-haired female Seraph. "Oof!" said Harry as the air in his lungs left him. "Dammit, Gabriel, you're not as light as you used to be. You can't keep doing that."

Gabriel looked up from her father's arms with narrowed eyes. "Is Daddy saying I'm fat?"

Harry paled as a dark aura started to surround his daughter, powered by rightful feminine fury. Wanting to calm her before she unleashed it on him, Harry quickly spoke. "Of course not! You're the perfect weight! Anyway, didn't I leave you to watch over Raynare and Asia-chan?"

Gabriel pouted as her aura dissipated. "I left Raphael to do that when I heard you were leaving Heaven again. You can't go on your own, Daddy! What if something happened to you?!"

Harry sighed at his pseudo-daughter's protectiveness even if a part of him was touched. "I was just visiting Odin like I always did before. I'll be fine."

Gabriel just pouted further and hugged him tighter, telling him that she didn't believe him and was not letting him out of her sight. Out of all the Angels, Gabriel had been hit by his death the most, having been inconsolable for a century afterwards. Therefore, it was understandable that after his return, she was extra clingy, wanting to make sure he was okay and that the reincarnation didn't have any problems.

It became worse after the Vegas incident. When he let slip that it had been Rias who drugged him, he'd had to tie her down to prevent her from going to kill her from drugging her 'Daddy'. He'd managed to stop her but she'd become even more protective since, hovering over him and glaring at anyone who looked like they might be a threat. Poor Raynare almost crapped herself when Gabriel glared at her, silently warning her that trying to harm him would end in her swift death.

Sighing and giving it up as a bad job, Harry turned to a smirking Heimdall who was eying Gabriel up and down like a well-done steak. "Hey, babe," said Heimdall in what he probably thought was a suave tone. "Want me to show some stars?"

Gabriel blinked in confusion at the male god before pointing over his shoulder. "But I see some stars right over there, why would I want to go somewhere else to see them?"

Heimdall stuttered as Harry broke down laughing at his daughter's innocent response. Despite being millennia old and knowing what a pervert was, Gabriel still didn't understand when people were hitting on her. It was endearing in a way and Harry felt no rush to fix it. That way, he never had to worry about bringing home a boy even now that Angels were allowed to marry.

"Whatever," said Harry with a sigh. "I'm gonna go see Odin. I'll talk to you later, Heimdall."

"Before you go," said Heimdall, getting his attention. "There's something you should know."

Harry frowned at Heimdall's tone. "What is it?"

"I've been keeping a close eye on certain things like Ophis and Great Red," said Heimdall solemnly. "I'm sure you know about Ophis' little group, right?"

Harry frowned heavily. "Yeah, but they're clouded so I can't see them. Why, can you?"

"Yes and no," said Heimdall cryptically. "I can't see the group as a whole but if I know a certain member of the group then I can find that person. But since I don't know many members, it doesn't help much and the ones I do know don't really interact with the rest. However, one person I do know is a member is someone you should know: Arthur Pendragon, King Arthur's descendant and the current wielder of Excalibur Ruler."

Harry frowned at the information. He'd been annoyed when he found out one of the Excalibur fragments was missing, meaning he couldn't unite the fragments and regain Excalibur again. He knew that the one who wielded it had left the Church about two years ago but never got a name and he could never sense him for some reason. If he was in league with Ophis, it would explain why he was clouded. But if what Heimdall said was true, then maybe he could regain the final fragment after all.

"Thanks for the info, man," said Harry gratefully. "Is there anything else?"

Heimdall seemed to hesitate before sighing. "There's one other thing. It might be me being paranoid but... lately there's been people and books going missing. I wouldn't cared except... all these people and books reference Trihexa in some way. I think... someone might be trying to find Trihexa's Cage."

At that, Harry froze completely, his mind going a million miles an hour. There was very little reason for someone to want to find Trihexa's Cage. He had sealed Trihexa using thousands of seals and even then, he barely managed it. Any destabilization in the seals could cause it to fail completely. So innocent study was out of the question. That left only one reason...

"Someone wants to release Trihexa," said Harry in fear. "Are they insane?!"

Heimdall grimaced. "I'm thinking yes. However, when I tried to search out for who it was trying to release Trihexa, they were... clouded."

Harry's widened further and he felt like he was about to have a panic attack. Beside him, Gabriel look alarmed at the look on her father's face. "Clouded?" asked Harry in fear. "As in... Ophis' group clouded?"

Heimdall grimaced and nodded.

"Son of a bitch!" yelled Harry in frustration. "Are you freaking telling me that Ophis is the one trying to release Trihexa?!"

"Possibly," said Heimdall grimly. "She does have motivation. She wants to get Great Red out of the Dimensional Gap and Trihexa is the only one who matches Great Red's power. She might want to release Trihexa in order to kill Great Red and achieve silence."

"Silence," spat Harry angrily. "Ophis hasn't changed at all. A stupid, ignorant child with more power than sense."

Ophis. Harry/God had never liked her. She was ignorant, petulant and selfish in a way only a child could be.

To tell the truth, his enmity with Ophis went deeper than just that. Ophis had been Samael's mother. There had been a time where Harry had fallen for the naïve Infinite Dragon God and from that union, Samal had been born. However, Ophis had found Samael uninteresting and been a bad mother to say the least. It became worse when his poison's ability was discovered, where she became outright hostile against him. Samael, desperate for his mother's love attention, had influenced to eat the Fruit of Knowledge from his Garden.

As punishment, Harry, in a rage, had sealed him in the deepest part of the Underworld, Cocytus. What destroyed any friendliness between Ophis and him, was that the former's actual approval of the act, not because of Samael's actions, but because his curse poison was a threat to her existence.

This infuriated Harry, who, despieste having been the one to seal him away, had truly loved Samael. Ophis seeming disregard sparked an argument between them which led to a fight.

A fight he won decisively.

Ophis never forgave him for defeating her so soundly. Her pride such that she hated everything more powerful than her. Since then, any meeting between them had never been positive or ended on a good note. Since then, Harry had hated dragons and snakes with a passion, Great Red being the only exception and he was mostly neutral to the anti-social dragon.

But the question was: would Ophis truly release the one being that would bring about the end of the world just to obtain her "silence"?

Harry sighed to himself. Who was he kidding? Of course she would. The little snake didn't care two whits about the world as long as she got what she wanted. The reason she never destroyed the world for her precious "silence" was because she knew Harry would interfere. One of the conditions that would give Harry access to 100% of his power was if the world was in danger from something beyond the power of the Patheons. If Ophis attacked the world, then he would be capable of stopping her. If it wasn't for that, she would have destroyed the world already so she could have her precious "silence".

So yes, Harry could see Ophis being behind the plot to release Trihexa. He could very easily see it.

"Light damn it," groaned Harry in frustration. "I should never have left. Things went to hell in my absence." Harry looked up and focused on Heimdall. "Heimdall, I need you to do me a favor. Can you tell me where my Holy Relics are located?"

Heimdall seemed to pause before speaking. "The one holding the True Longinus is clouded, meaning he's probably allied with Ophis. The Holy Cross isn't clouded but without a name, it will take me time to find it. As for the Holy Grail..." He paused and his eyes narrowed, as if trying to concentrate on something only he could see. "I can't tell who wields it but I can tell that whoever it is a vampire of some kind, probably a dhampir. They're located in the Land of Vampires."

Harry nodded seriously. "Thank you, Heimdall. Can you alert me if any of them appear in your sight?"

"Of course, my friend," said Heimdall seriously.

Harry sighed. "Thank you. Looks like this visit to Odin is going to be more serious than I'd hoped."

Harry's attention was brought to Gabriel when she tugged on his cloak, looking at him in worry. "Daddy? Everything's going to be okay, right?"

Harry's eyes softened and he patted his daughter on the head. "Everything will be fine, sweetheart. Trust me."

Gabriel seemed to take heart at his words and smiled brightly. Turning back to Heimdall, Harry nodded at him in thanks. "Thank you for the warning and information. I'll have to talk to Odin about this. Hopefully, between the two of us we'll be able to avert a disaster. The only problem is Ophis."

The problem was that as childish as Ophis acted, she- no, it was still smart. It knew that attacking him was not a threat to the world per se and in his current state she could easily kill him and get rid of a threat to her plans. He needed an ace, something to make Ophis wary of facing him...

Harry grimaced as he realized there was only one thing in the world that would make Ophis back off short of him regaining his lost power.

"Well, there's no hope for it," said Harry with a sigh. He nodded at Heimdall who seemed to know what he was thinking if the grim look in his eyes was any indication. "Thanks again, Heimdall. See you later."

After exchanging goodbyes with the Guardian of the Bifrost, Harry and Gabriel walked across the rainbow and into Asgard proper, to meet with an old friend.

Raynare sighed in boredom as she left yet another class with her charge, Asia. Beside her, Asia was happily chatting away about some inane thing she found fascinating. Raynare was only half paying attention, her mind on recent events.

Meeting her Holy Father after so many centuries had been shocking to say the least. Not only had she never expected it to happen, but it ended far differently than she thought it would. Sure, he had punished, those days as a normal human had been extremely uncomfortable and eye-opening, but not as badly as she'd thought. He'd even given her a second chance to prove herself, returning her her powers and even offering her to return to Heaven and His service if she so desired.

To tell the truth, the offer was tempting. The only reason she'd Fallen was out of love for Azazel and it had become abundantly clear that he cared nothing for her beyond what he cared for any other of his kin. She'd tried so hard to gain his affection to no avail. After so long, she had become bitter and angry, hating anyone who was happy when she wasn't and taking it out on them. An example had been her ex-boyfriend Issei. She hadn't needed to be so cruel to him but in a way, she had wanted him to suffer like she'd suffered with Azazel, being basically strung along only to have heart broken in the end.

She remembered, around 30 years ago, when she had given up on Azazel and met that man. He had been so smart and funny, she couldn't help but fall in love with him despite him being human. They had married and even had a daughter together, who she named Luna because like the moon, she had been the light in the darkness that was her life.

Of course, like all things it had all come crashing down. When her Luna was just five, they had been attacked by exorcists who figured out what she was and wanted to kill her and her family; her for being Fallen, her husband for being a "heretic" and her daughter for being an abomination in their eyes. They would have been killed if Azazel hadn't saved them. She had been thankful but that had quickly changed when he told her she would have to abandon her family for their protection or else the exorcists would return.

Faced with staying and putting her family in danger or leaving and never seeing them again but knowing they would be safe, she had left. It had broken her heart and destroyed what little kindness she had left but she had done it, if only to protect her little moonchild.

Losing God's Love and Light for a man who didn't even care for her followed by losing what family and happiness she'd managed to get had turned her into a bitter, angry harpy. She'd lashed out on everyone, coming to believe that if she'd been stronger, then she could have protected her family alone. That was the reason why she'd been so cruel to Issei on their date and why she'd wanted to take Asia's Sacred Gear. A mix of bitterness and disdain at their naivety and jealousy at their happiness. They hadn't deserved it and that was something she had learned in her time around her father.

She should probably apologize to the idiot boy at some point. He hadn't deserved that and the date hadn't been... terrible, per se. He wasn't her type at all (or the type of any self-respecting woman to tell the truth) but he was at least a decent person. He had tried his best to make their date nice and memorable despite how obviously inept and inexperienced he was. It almost endearing in a way and she could almost understand why Asia had a crush on him.

Of course, that was all wiped away by his blatant perversity, his lack of other women's privacy and and lack of any other redeeming qualities beyond being an honest person.

Raynare followed Asia as they went outside for lunch. She almost smiled at the way Asia's face fell when she didn't see Issei anywhere. It was unbearably cute, like a kitten who'd been denied her favorite ball of yarn.

The time she'd spent around Asia had had an effect on her as well. Rayanre found herself being less sarcastic and mean as time passed, at first because she didn't want Asia (and through her God) to be mad at her and then because she genuinely didn't want to. All this time in this peaceful environment had helped a lot in making her forget her painful past. It was hard to stay bitter and angry whenever she saw the results of her Father's and Rias' prank war, after all.

She could never treat her Father with respect after seeing him dressed in the female version of the Kuoh Academy uniform.

She still wondered how the Gremory had managed to hit him with a Switching Spell without anyone noticing in the middle of the school yard.

Though his answering prank of making her say embarrassing thing every time she opened her mouth had been just as hilarious. Seeing her forced to tell everyone how she had kept wetting her bed till she was around five had been worth more than all the gold in the world. Rayanre was surprised the entire student body wasn't brain-dead from all the memory alterations they had undergone by now.

The end result was that Raynare was much calmer and genuinely nicer than she had been before.

Asia led the two into the shade of a tree to have their lunch. Their Father always hand-made their lunches, no matter how busy he was. It always made Raynare happy inside every time he gave her her bento every morning, telling her that he made her sandwich without edges just the way she liked it. It was little things like that that really made Raynare love her Father.

'L-l-l-love?' thought Raynare with a blush. 'Like I would care what that stupid man thinks. S-stupid dog! That's what he is! A stupid dog humping everything he sees! Stupid dogfather! Tsun!'

Her internal tsundere moment having passed, Raynare turned to Asia who looked down. Sighing to herself, Raynare turned to the girl. "Now what's got you down in the dumps, Asia?"

Asia tried to smile and wave it off with little success. "N-nothing, Yuuma-chan! I'm just worried about the exam next week!"

Raynare gave her a deadpanned look. "The test is on Italian and unless you've suddenly developed amnesia, I'm pretty sure you'll pass." Here, Raynare blushed. "Plus, F-father said he was going to give us tutoring sessions if we have any problems."

It had been equal parts mortifying as it was heart-warming when the first time she'd come home with a C on a test, he'd taken them both aside and started helping them in the subjects they had trouble with. She had expected him to punish her for failing or something but instead he had taken her aside and helped her understand the complicated subject known as Calculus. He had been patient and hadn't mocked her for not understanding it right away, simply telling her that everyone had their strengths and weaknesses and they shouldn't be ashamed of it.

Raynare felt her heart warm and a happy 'daddy's girl' smile cross her face as she thought about her recent 'Daddy time'. He had been telling the truth when he said he wanted to pamper her and while he had limits, he was usually willing to do anything she asked, within reason. She still remembered when he'd acquiesced to her shy demand that he take her to the roof of the church and watch the stars with her, holding her like a father would his daughter while they did.

Father always had a warm and loving aura. Before now, she had only felt it once and that was when she was created. Since then she had only felt it twice more before her Fall and then once after. The time after her Fall had been the most memorable: his aura radiated anger, pain and hurt at her Fall, despite her having been nothing but a grunt angel at most, he had felt as if her Fall had been just as painful as a Seraph's would be.

Since His return into her life, she had felt it every time he was in the area and found herself basking in it. Her wings symbolized her slow return to the Light as they looked lighter with every passing day. She found herself less inclined to cause pain and suffering and more wanting to just enjoy these peaceful days.

"I-I know," said Asia bashfully, no doubt also embarrassed at being tutored by the Lord Himself. "It's... it's Issei. I haven't seen him or the others in almost a week and I'm worried. Do you think something happened?"

Rayanre bit back her automatic retort of they could only hope and decided to be kinder in her response. "I doubt it. The world isn't so lucky."

Hey, she said she would be nicer, not that she would nice.

Asia gave her a reproachful look. "Yuuma-chan!"

Raynare sighed. "Fine, fine. I'm sorry. I'm sure they're fine. Father said that they're training for some big event or something so they're probably somewhere remote doing that. Devils training tends to destroy the landscape a bit so they probably went somewhere it wouldn't draw as much attention."

Asia seemed to relax at that and smiled at her. "I see. Thanks, Yuuma-chan!"

Rayanre blushed at the sincerity in her tone, her aura only making it clear that she truly meant what she said.

Asia's aura felt similar to her father's, though to a lesser extent. As His Holy Maiden, she held a part of His power and radiated it at all times. She had noticed that with the exception of Issei, the other devils looked uncomfortable around her, as if her very presence caused them some minor pain. It was worse when she prayed, causing them all to fall to their knees in pain if they were close enough to hear it. However, to her, Asia felt warm and full of light. The Angel in her was drawn to it and she felt the corruption that caused her Fall lessen every day she was with the girl.

She didn't know if it was because she was the Holy Maiden or her own innocence and naivety being transferred into her aura but it even affected the people around them. It made them kinder and more willing to help her if she needed it. Raynare herself had taken advantage of it sometimes to get boys to do stuff for them, though less so as time passed. To tell the truth, Asia's aura reminded Raynare of home.

Home.

Most Fallen Angels didn't like to think about their former home. Most said they didn't have a home, making a place for themselves either here on Earth or in the Underworld or else moving from place to place. It was painful to think about their former home, remembering what they'd lost.

Raynare still remembered. She remembered the warmth of Heaven's Light. She remembered flying amongst the clouds with a smile on her face, sometimes racing with her brothers and sisters in good fun.

She remembered the feeling of belonging and of being loved by her Father.

Then she remembered having all that stripped from her with her Fall. She remembered having her home's Gates barred to her, no longer being welcome. She remembered brothers and sisters she used to playfully race hunt her.

But overall, she remembered the loss of purpose and love she'd had as her Father's angel.

She had transferred all that to Azazel, hoping he could fill the void with his love for her.

But he didn't. No matter what she did, she still felt the emptiness and loss she felt the day she first Fell. An aching hole in the heart that couldn't be filled by anything else.

"How does it feel?" Asia turned to Raynare who was looking at Asia with a look of longing on her face. "How does it feel to feel Father's love all the time? It's been so long since I last felt it, I..."

Asia's face turned sympathetic before a bright smile filled her face. "It feels... as if I'm never alone. As if no matter where I go, He'll be with me and love me. As if... before, my life was seen through a gray film and now everything has color and texture." Asia turned to Raynare and gave her the most perfect, beautiful smile she'd every given anyone. "It feels... like home."

Raynare looked down as she tried to hide her tears.

Home.

She wanted that. Oh, did she ever.

In her heart of hearts... Raynare, the Fallen Angel, just wanted to go home again.

She wanted to feel what Asia feels. She wanted to be surrounded by brothers and sisters and feel her Father's love again. She wanted to feel that sense of purpose and righteousness she had felt before her Fall. She wanted it all back. Everything she'd lost.

Raynare wondered if it was this way for all Fallen Angels and the reason so many went crazy was because they realized there was no going back. That they realized they would never feel that same clarity of purpose and peace they had before. That they would always feel confusion and loss, trying to lose themselves in their Sin to sooth the ache of loss.

And here Raynare was, with a chance to get it all back.

And by the Heavens, she wanted it. If she had to crawl through a field of razors and apologize to every single person she'd ever wronged, she'd do it. She'd do it for only the slightest promise of being able to go back home. Of being able to no longer have to look over her shoulder for an exorcist or devil wanting to kill her. Of being able to see her darling Luna again and tell her how very sorry she was, and how she'd never leave her again.

She would promise to never harm another soul if she could have that again.

Raynare froze and her eyebrow twitched as she heard whispers coming from a nearby bush. The owners of said whispers were obviously ogling them as she could feel their nasty, perverted gaze on her body, specifically her chest and bum.

Her usual gentle smile turned forced as she felt the two other resident perverts openly ogle both her and her friend, uncaring about their privacy even when they were trying to eat.

Raynare saw the kendo club passing by and an idea entered her mind.

"Murayama! Katase!" called Raynare. Said girls turned at her call and walked over with a smile on their faces. Both girls had become friends with her and Asia due to the simple fact that Raynare loved to torment Issei, who both girls loathed for his perversity. Asia, they constantly tried to convince as to Issei's bad qualities with much less success.

"Hey, Yuuma, Asia," said Murayama happily. "How are you guys doing?"

"Hello, Murayama, Katase," said Asia and Raynare happily, Raynare not actually faking the happiness. She genuinely got along with both girls, being similar to her. Neither being shy about using physical violence to get their point across, especially when it came to the resident perverts. "We're just having lunch. Do you want to join us?"

Both girls agreed and were about to sit before Raynare stopped them.

"I would love for you guys to join us but first," Raynare got a wicked look on her face. "We have a pair of peeping toms here." The ones in the bush froze, as if trying to hide their presence now would make any difference. "They've been watching Asia and me for a while and to tell the truth I'm feeling kind uncomfortable. I don't want to leave this spot since it's so nice so how about you help me teach the perverts a lesson?"

Murayama and Katase smiled along with her while Asia looked worried. "Um ….I don't mind moving if you guys feel uncomfortable..." said Asia innocently.

That seemed to only galvanize the two girls. The idea of naïve, innocent Asia being forced to leave just because of these two peepers enraging them. "Don't worry yourself, Asia," said Katase as she drew her shinai which was mirrored by Murayama. "This won't take more than a second."

Raynare smiled as the perverts tried to run only to be caught by the two girls who were empowered by righteous feminine fury. The sounds of the perverts screams made her more relaxed than she'd felt since her Father had stopped coming to class due to work.

Hey, she may want to redeem herself and return home but until then, there was nothing wrong with having a little fun on some perverts' expense. She was even doing them some good by helping them learn that peeping was wrong. It could be considered a civil service.

As Asia looked worried at the two boys' screams of pain, Raynare just continued to eat her lunch with a wide smile on her face, the food tasting much better now for some reason.

Harry watched as Odin paced after Harry gave him the news.

Odin had certainly changed over the years. Once an old, but still fit and muscular old man, Odin was now looked like a simple elderly man with long, gray hair and a matching beard. He wore an eyepatch over his missing left eye and where he once wore armor, he now wore simple clothing. Oh, Harry still felt the power he held and his mind was still as sharp as ever but his power was less than it was at his prime. Still powerful but no longer with the same edge it used to have.

Odin had been understandably overjoyed at seeing Harry again, the two having been close friends before his 'death'. Odin had been surprised when Harry revealed the truth of him having died and been reborn but had simply said he was glad he was back and left it as is.

Then, the happy reunion had turned sour when Harry passed what Heimdall had told him and their conclusion on it.

Since then, Odin had been pacing, a frown on his face. Harry was sitting in an armchair with Gabriel hovering behind his right shoulder while Odin's own bodyguard, a pretty silver-haired Valkyrie named Rossweisse, was standing behind the chair Odin had been sitting in before he started pacing. Both bodyguards looked worried at the tense atmosphere but not because they were afraid it would dissolve into violence like most meetings between gods but because anything that worried the two arguably strongest chieftain gods was obviously something to be terrified about.

"Are you sure, my friend?" asked Odin, sounding resigned. "Are you absolutely sure?"

"Not 100% but the signs are there," said Harry seriously, in 'God' mode at the moment. There was time for fun and games later. Right now, they needed to focus on the matter on hand. "Ophis is obsessed with getting rid of Great Red and isn't picky on how to do it. You know how she is better almost better than anyone. She doesn't care about anything but her precious "silence". As long as she got it, then the world could burn for all she cares."

Odin frowned but conceded the point. "True. Ophis has always been a problem for all the Pantheons. It's bad enough she could destroy us all alone with only you as a viable counter, but her complete disregard for anything makes it worse. It would be better if she was just evil, at least that way we could expect something like this. This... naivety of hers could actually be worse." Odin turned to Harry with a serious look on his face. "What can we do?"

Feeling hopeful that he said 'we' instead of 'you', Harry leaned forward. "I sealed Trihexa away in a place that can only be reached in certain ways. There are 66 paths to Trihexa but only 6 of those are true. The rest are dead ends. Of those 6 paths, five are constantly changing, so that if you take one path then no one can take the same path again. The path used will shift to another that used to be a dead end and the path you used will turn into a dead end. There's only one true path to Trihexa that can be used again and again. I'm guessing that Ophis, if she's trying to release Trihexa, is trying to find this path."

"Can't she just use one of the other five paths?" asked Odin curiously.

Harry shook his head. "No. Those paths lead you to Trihexa but won't allow the person to affect anything in the place where Trihexa is sealed. You can only observe the place, not interact with it. If they plan to release Trihexa, then they need to find that true path."

"And how can they do that?" asked Odin as he sat back down, a focused look in his sole eye.

"You can't just search for the path," said Harry firmly. "It's not a real physical path but more like your Bifrost. A sort of interconnecting gateway between here and there. The other paths let you send your spirit there but not your physical body. And that path is invisible to even Heimdall's eyes. No, the only ones who can find the path... are those that no longer live in the physical plane."

To his credit, Odin quickly understood. "The dead? How will she get the dead to find it for her?"

"She can't," said Harry simply. "But one of my Holy Relics can, specifically the Holy Grail. If she finds the possessor and retrieves the Holy Grail, she can use it to connect with the dead of the other worlds and use them to find Trihexa's Cage."

"So we need to find the Holy Grail before she can," said Odin thoughtfully. He grimaced before frowning at him. "You know, I never liked your idea of Sacred Gears. That power, especially the Longinus, where we can't control them is dangerous. Humans have never been fond of us gods after all, and they could easily decide to side with Ophis of their own free will."

Harry grimaced at the blunt statement. "True but I really never planned for this. I made them to protect humanity from gods like Hades and Loki, who you know would love to subjugate them. I never really thought about them turning on us."

Odin harrumphed. "You always were an optimist." Odin sighed. "But I guess there's nothing for it now but to stop Ophis' plans." Odin grimaced as he looked at his old and weakened hands. "I'll help you but I'm not what I used to be. I'm barely 60% of my prime right now. Even that upstart Sirzechs could give me trouble right now which is all kinds of embarrassing."

Harry looked thoughtful for a moment. "What if I let you access my follower's prayers and belief? Would that bring you back to 100%?"

Odin looked surprised at his words before speaking cautiously. "It should... but are you sure it's okay? I would be taking some of your own power to do it."

"You would only be taking from the power that's bound from me," said Harry dryly. "I can't access it thanks to that treaty remember? So it's not like it'll affect my current power level as I am now."

Odin grimaced at the reminder. "We need to arrange a Council of Gods and get them to agree to unbind your power. If Ophis turns out to be hostile to us, then you're the only one that can stop her. She could decide to kill you while you're weak before we can unseal your power and if that happens, we're screwed. Great Red is too anti-social to care about anything but his own desires and our safety isn't among them."

"I wish you luck," said Harry dryly. "You know how those old bastards are. Only Amy would side with us and maybe Zeus. The others are too afraid I'll turn on them to unseal my power. They probably wouldn't even if they were on death's doorstep out of sheer spite."

"Can you blame them?" asked Odin dryly. "You basically run roughshod over them whenever you wanted, especially the Egyptians. They never did forgive you for basically destroying their pharaoh dynasty with your plagues."

Harry sniffed with great dignity. "I left my people with them for protection while I dealt with the intruders on their promised lands and when I get back, they've been enslaved. I asked them nicely and they ignored me and told me to get new followers. So I decided to take matters into my own hands." Harry put on a false look of innocence. "Is it my fault all it took to defeat their best was one man?"

Odin just chuckled. "Whatever you say, old friend. Well, at least we have some semblance of a plan and we've been forewarned with time. It gives us some wiggle room to get things ready. Though I have to ask... what are you planning to do with those Devils and Fallen Angels?"

Harry grimaced before speaking. "I was... actually planning on making peace with them."

Odin just gave him a blank look before turning to Rossweisse. "Can you give us some privacy, please? It will only be for a few minutes."

Despite it being said like a question, it was obviously an order and Rossweisse quickly complied. Gabriel did the same, though much more reluctantly, once Harry asked.

Once they were alone, Odin gave Harry a piercing look. "Out with it."

Harry refused to meet his best friend's eye. "Out with what?"

"I've known you for over five millennia, Harry," said Odin, smirking as he said God's new name. "You would never even contemplate peace or any kind of surrender to those devils unless there was a reason. So... out with it."

Harry sighed before speaking. "There's this... girl."

"Oh sweet Bifrost," groaned Odin. "Don't tell me one of those female devils has seduced you."

"Like your're one to talk," retorted Harry with a smile. "It never took a woman more than a wink to seduce you in the old days."

Odin coughed in an attempt to hide his embarrassed blush at the reminder of his youthful escapades. "That may be... but that was when I was young. You're my age despite how you look and I doubt you're being controlled by your hormones."

Harry sighed and rubbed his head. "This one's... different, Odin. I've never felt this way about any woman, not even Amy. She's a devil but internally she's so... innocent. Oh, she can be manipulative and selfish but no more than any normal human can be. It's such an interesting contrast that I can't help but feel attracted to it. She's beautiful on the outside but more so on the inside. I try to stay away but every time she just draws me further in. Even now, I can't help but wonder how she's doing. She's fighting against an arranged marriage, you know?" Harry laughed, causing Odin to raise an eyebrow at the rueful smile on his friend's face. "When I heard some... bastard was trying to get his hands on her... I'll be truthful, I almost went down to the Underworld and killed him and every one of his family. I was insanely jealous. But... she's a devil and I'm God. How can it ever work?"

Odin looked at his old friend for a second before sighing and leaning back in his chair. "Do you remember my wife Frigga?"

Harry cocked an eyebrow. "Is this a trick question? How can I possibly forget the only woman in the world who managed to tame the playboy Odin? You were so infatuated with the chick that you swore off all other women. It was end of our bachelor days since doing it on my own was just no fun."

Odin smiled in remembrance of his youthful adventures with the man before him. "Yes. Well, did you know that Frigga used to be one of the Vanir, who we went to war with and almost wiped out except for a few?"

At this Harry looked surprised. "Really? I didn't know that. But if you wiped out her people, how did you end up together."

"Because Frigga was far more forgiving than she had any right to be," said Odin with a fond smile. "But the thing is that when we announced our relationship, it had only been a few years since the war against the Vanir. Naturally, the people were against it. They thought it wrong that one of their enemies became their Queen. An insult to everything they fought against."

"So what happened?" asked Harry quietly. "How did you end up together?"

"Well at first," continued Odin in remembrance. "I was much like you. I didn't want to 'rock the boat' as they say and believed that our having been enemies would ruin any relationship we might have. But..." Here Odin smiled a smile that Harry remembered he reserved only for his wife. By the Light, Odin truly loved that woman. "... as time passed, we could no longer deny our feelings. I loved her, my friend. I loved her enough that I would have pulled the stars from the sky to make her a necklace if only for one of her smiles. It was rough... at first. But we persevered. Our love persevered. And she gave me... four boys who I loved dearly and helped me raise another, who despite our current enmity, I loved just as much."

Odin's voice became low and heartbreaking. "She's gone now. Dead these past three centuries. I have tried to fill the void she left behind with other women or wine or food but to no avail. The void she left behind will be my burden to bear for the rest of my days."

"Yet despite that," said Odin with a fierce tone. "I do not regret a single moment. Not a single day. I would not trade a single moment spent with her for all the power, gold and knowledge in the universe."

Harry looked down in thought as Odin walked toward him, laying a hand on his friend's shoulder. "The decision is yours, my friend. But ask yourself this: Is she worth it? But more importantly, could you live with yourself if you didn't try and find out?"

With that said, Odin stood up straight. "Now if you'll excuse me, the Valkyries are having a wet t-shirt contest and I've, with great reluctance on my part, have been chosen as judge. I have to go. It would look bad if I was late, wouldn't it?"

Harry watched him go with a deadpan look. 'Way to kill the mood, dude.'

Harry sighed, thinking about what to do. He stayed still, conflicting thoughts coursing through his head before seemingly coming to a decision.

'Oh well,' thought Harry with a smile as he stood up. 'Gryffindors charge forward, right?' Then his smile turned slightly lecherous. 'But in the meantime, didn't he say something about a wet t-shirt contest? I better go. They might need an outside observer to work as arbiter. It'll be a tough job but someone has to do it.'

With a solemn look that was betrayed by the eager glint in his eye, Harry left toward his destiny.

... and barely legal teenaged breasts.

AN: And there's chapter 6!

You can mostly guess what the plot to the fic is. Obviously, with Harry being God and God having been the one that sealed away Trihexa, he'd have a larger stake into his release than everyone else. He DID use most of his power sealing it away so someone releasing it, especially when he's so weak, is definitely not something he wants.

I hope you liked how I portrayed Heimdall. I mean, really, you have a guy that has what amounts to every peeping tom's wet dream and expect him to not use it to peep? Please. If he did exist he'd be every woman's nightmare. Lol. I also played on the fact that every incarnation of Heimdall in recent movies/comics has him being black. Which I find funny since the Norse were mostly all white. So I decided to have some fun with that.

We see some insight into Raynare's mind and thoughts here. She'll become more important later on. Sorry, but I don't know how to write a tsundere's thoughts that well but I tried the best I could. Hope you liked it.

The final scene with Odin was what took the most time. I don't think many know about Frigga having been from a race that was an enemy of Asgard before their marriage. It makes Odin the perfect person to go to for advice and their having been best friends before only helps. I originally planned for it to be James and Lily but decided to save that scene for later. Though the ending of that final scene was totally added for humor's sake. Lol.

Next chapter is the marriage and Harry's wedding crashing. It promises to be funny at times but the fight itself will be a bit more badass while still being funny.

As always, Read and Review!