AN:
@ForgottonFuture learns a valuable lesson.
Emergency Meetings
In a place far from Kuoh sat an office. It was easily identifiable as such because of the wide desk and filing cabinets. The only thing that set it apart from others was the white expanse of glass flooring and white furniture. A wide glass window showed a vast expanse of blue sky and clouds. All was peaceful and tranquil. Neptune would have hated how boring it was but the owner of the office liked it well enough. He was unearthly handsome with long blond hair and blue eyes signing some forms on the desk.
"What is this?" He picked his head up as a shimmer passed through the air. His finely tuned senses allowed him to understand the warning. The door at the far end of the office crashed open as a beautiful woman, clearly related to him, rushed in with a look of surprise on her face.
"Michael! The Divine System…!" She burst out.
"I know, Gabriel. I know. Please contact the Devils immediately. I imagine they will be in a similar state," Michael's calm voice calmed his sister's mounting panic. The second highest ranking Angel in Heaven took a breath and let it out slowly.
"Was I reading the signs correctly?" Gabriel asked in a hushed whisper.
"If it was the same thing I read then yes. We must pay a visit to Kuoh immediately," Michael steepled his fingers.
"I will contact the Underworld," she inclined her head before turning to leave. The door shut quietly leaving her brother to his thoughts.
"Why now?" He turned a lost gaze to the window. After all this time…
Michael closed his eyes and sighed.
The office was almost almost a complete polar opposite of the heavenly side. Dark wood and thick carpet made up the decor. The desk was a stately old thing that saw many years of paperwork. However both shared a single commonality. Their occupants enjoyed seeing the sun shine in through the window. The incredibly handsome man seated at the desk rubbed his forehead tiredly. He had deep crimson hair and blue eyes much like a certain Rias Gremory.
"What should we do, Sirzechs? The Angel Faction is requesting permission to enter Kuoh and I don't think they will accept vague promises," the woman in his office held her dark hair in twintails. Purple eyes shone with concern.
"Ask them if they would please wait until we can arrive in Kuoh. We can handle the investigation together, Serafall," Sirzechs said.
"I hope we can put them off for a time. Our sisters should be warned of their interest," Serafall said seriously. Her concern was mainly on how Sona would react to two of the four Satans coming to Kuoh let alone the Angels.
"We need to give them a breather given their recent difficulty with the Fallen. Please inform Azazel that we will not tolerate his desire to satisfy his curiousity. Just phrase it more diplomatically than that please," Sirzechs started searching his desk for migraine medicine. Thinking about what the Governor General of the Grigori would do gave him a headache.
"Azazel isn't that bad," Serafall pouted. Sirzechs favored her with a baleful look.
"Is that so?" He asked mildly.
"I'll ask him to stay out of Kuoh," she relented.
"If he isn't already there…" Sirzechs sighed as he knew the Fallen Leader's personality quite well.
There wasn't much Serafall could say to that.
The streets of Kuoh were quiet this late in the day. School let out hours ago and even the adults were home from work. The setting sun cast a lovely orange glow over the city. However the shadows were growing deeper the closer night approached. Skulking in the darkness was a shadowed figure dressed in concealing colors.
"Not skulking...Sneaking. Skulking sounds like I'm doing something wrong. Then again 'sneaking' is bad too…" The figure muttered as her internal monologue was interrupted.
Trying to get closer to the church would take every last ounce of her cunning. The impressive figure of Iris Heart could be made out in the distance.
"Just two blocks...I just have to make it two blocks...Man and I don't even have a cardboard box…" She muttered before detaching briefly from the dark wall and sprinting quietly down the alley. The figure eyed the fire escape a moment before deciding that would do nicely. As long as she avoided profiling against the rooftop no one should notice her.
"I'm not a n00b afterall," she nodded in approval of her own wisdom and scaled the fire escape with surprising swiftness. The stealthy figure hopped the short distance between rooftops while staying far enough away from the street to avoid detection. Her clothing was a black thigh length hoodie with lavender shoulders, elbows, and highlights. She kept her hair under the hood and a scarf over her lower mouth.
"Now let's see~..." the spy crawled up to the edge of the roof and peered over. She hunkered down and got comfortable.
Iris Heart was floating above the entrance, her gaze flicking from one street to another. She was clearly on guard. "Tch… I'm on edge… what happened was nowhere near subtle… so where's the response?" The goddess mused.
The observer kept her outbursts to herself. Her target for observation was already on a hair trigger. She tried to stay perfectly still. Missions were compromised by such stupid things as shifting uneasily, sneezes, and pure chance. A sweatdrop wormed its way down the back of her neck. Even with the antihistamin she took to avoid sneezing, and emptying her bladder beforehand, there was nothing to save her from random chance. A random crow cawed in the distance.
Iris Heart's glare locked onto where the noise came from, before noticing the spy. Before the spy knew it Iris Heart was rocketing through the air, aimed right at her.
The spy gawked. How did bodacious hotty go from reacting to a crow cawing from behind to heading in her direction? She ducked behind the raised wall and hunkered down in a tiny ball. With any luck the red eyed woman would fly right by her.
Aaaand then she felt someone lightly kick her. "Hello. Now. You're going to answer some questions for me. Like who are you, why are you watching me, and why shouldn't I run you through~" Iris Heart looked down on the spy, a not very nice smile on her face.
The spy dived to the side and rolled to her feet. She tried not to panic as getting up and close and personal with her target was not in the cards. Her hood fell back revealing waves of red-violet hair were revealed. She had a black circular ornament pinning back her bangs with a blue crystal. Her eyes were indigo. To Iris Heart she looked vaguely like Neptune and Nepgear but not. Her figure was more mature. Closer to the Adult Neptune.
"You wanna know who I am? I'm flattered that a goddess wants to know about lil' ol' me. My name's Uranus and I was asked to do a favor for a friend," she smiled but the way her knees shook said she wasn't calm. Iris Heart's passive aura was enough to scare the shit out of her.
Iris Heart frowned as her thoughts started racing. 'Uranus? That was the CPU before Neptune in the games.. And she does look like Neptune and Nepgear… Hmmm.' Iris Heart's free hand grabbed the air, and Uranus felt a slight pressure on her neck. "Now… who is that friend of yours? And what exactly was the favor?" Uranus clutched her neck.
"The...friend...is...Azazel...of the...Grigori…" She managed to squeeze out through her clenched throat. Suddenly Kalawarner's voice intruded.
"Iris Heart! Put her down! That's Azazel's daughter!" The Fallen turned maid would never raise her voice to Iris Heart unless she was desperate.
Iris Heart bristled at being told what to do, but she let Uranus go. "Doing a mission for your father? Such a good daughter you are.. May I ask just what the leader of the Grigori wants with me?" The goddess turned to Kalawarner and whispered in her ears. "You left Lucifel alone? I thought I ordered you to stay with her!?!"
Uranus dropped to her knees desperately sucking in air. Lucifel fluttered down beside her to rub the girl's back. The daughter of Iris and Kalawarner murmured soothingly to her.
"I was only doing what you told me. She suddenly took off for this rooftop and told me to stop you," Kalawarner didn't budge.
"C-crap...it was like the time I told Kokabiel to smile…" Uranus muttered.
"Take your time and just breathe," Lucifel said calmly. Iris Heart did not look comfortable with her daughter so close to someone she didn't know.
"Dad couldn't come here himself because of 'reasons' so I offered to look into the situation myself. I was just trying to help," she shook briefly.
Iris Heart nodded. "Understandable. And again, what does your father want with me and my daughter?" Iris Heart stiffened as she realized what she said. Lucifel looked up to her mother and smiled, calming the worrying goddess slightly. Uranus stared at her in pure shock.
"Didn't Kalawarner tell you? You didn't tell her! Of course you didn't tell her," Uranus jumped from one thought to another. She facepalmed in deep despair.
"This is not the time or place to talk about it. I was going to wait until we were somewhere safe. How did you find out so quickly?" Kalawarner demanded. The younger Fallen subsided.
"Maybe we should leave. This really isn't the place to explain," Kalawarner sighed.
Uranus stood and stretched.
"We can use my apartment. Unless you have a place," she offered.
Iris Heart turned to Kalawarner once more. "Kalawarner? Can we trust her."
Meanwhile Lucifel got up and hugged Iris Heart. "Iris-mama calm down, it's not good for you to be stressed out." Kalawarner muttered under breath about 'she's stressed out?' before subsiding.
"Azazel wouldn't want to inadvertently start a war. Uranus is trustworthy in that she wouldn't want to cause an issue. Why were you hiding anyway?" Kalawarner turned to the teen.
"Dad was very specific. Find out about her and try not to get killed. Since, y'know, the last team sent to Kuoh died messily. You didn't report back so we were blind," Uranus complained.
"The last team picked a fight with Iris Heart," the older Fallen said.
"No one told us anything!" She waved her arms animatedly.
"If someone told you about Iris-mama you would have approached her?" Lucifel tilted her head.
"Yes!" Uranus exclaimed with an aggrieved expression. Kalawarner coughed lightly into her hand to hide the faintest tinge of red.
Iris Heart nodded. "Bring us to your apartment then." Lucifel beamed at successfully calming down her mother.
The apartment was near the center of Kuoh. Uranus brought them in through the balcony window since all of them could fly. She had four wings as expected given who her father was. The inside of the apartment was stacked with gaming gear and manga.
"Got enough junk?" Kalawarner snarked.
"Junk? I got this from my dad! Seriously. Besides this isn't 'junk,'" Uranus flicked a switch on the wall. Runes flashed into existence along the walls and windows. She folded her arms with a smirk.
"What is this…?" Lucifel eyed the markings with interest.
"Anti-scrying wards, techbane, and anti-surveillance. The only devices that can get a signal in here are my own. It's foolproof!" Uranus laughed like a mad scientist. Kala rubbed her face in disbelief.
Iris Heart nodded as her eyes moved over the game consoles, reminding her of the gaming setup she had.. Back home. In a flash of light Plutia de-transformed, and sat down in one of the chairs. Lucifiel cuddled up to her mother, the two small girls fitting on the chair. "So. What do you need to explain."
Uranus proves to be a good hostess by bringing them tea while Kalawarner makes herself comfortable on her sofa. The younger Fallen took a seat after making sure everyone had drinks.
"Uranus is already aware of this but for the most part we've kept it a secret from the younger generation," Kalawarner said.
"A stupid decision really," Uranus commented. Lucifel and Kala stared at her until she fidgeted and subsided.
"It was a stupid decision but I wasn't going to tell the Faction Heads that. I like living thank you," she remarked before turning back to Plutia. "The God that you so despise is dead."
Plutia's face could best be summed up as a mix of rage, sorrow, and happiness. "Well, that's going to break Asia's heart…" She murmured, before frowning. "Dam-" Plutia caught herself. "Darn it. I wanted to interrogate Him and ask why He was so horrible at his job." Lucifel hugged her comfortingly.
"Hey he wasn't terrible at his job," Uranus argued. Kala held up a hand to forestall the younger girl.
"He sacrificed nearly all of his power to seal away a great evil. Unfortunately it left with him with almost no strength left and the war between the Factions killed him. If the truth got out it wouldn't just cause trouble in the supernatural world. The mundane world would tear itself apart. The faithful finding out there was no God, those who despise the church, it would be chaos. Michael is acting as God in His stead so the system hasn't broken down completely," Kala said.
"Yet," Uranus muttered.
Plutia's fingers dug into the arm of the chair. "And by keeping the fact that He is dead a secret you allow the wicked to justify themselves with His name." She sighed, and took a deep breath. "And what does this have to do with my daughter?"
"The Angels don't like it anymore than you do but causing mass hysteria is infinitely worse. Anyway…" Kalawarner turned away a moment as if wrestling with something. Thankfully Uranus remained silent. Both looked dazed by what they were contemplating.
"A-anyway...ahem. I 'felt' the moment Lucifel connected to the Divine System. The system that He created," she turned back to Plutia with a dead serious expression.
Plutia sighed. "And what does it do?" Uranus had a 'did she really just ask that?' look on her face.
"The Divine System is God's controls. Michael is able to use them, as first Angel, but not to the same extent God can. There has been no God connected to the system since He died," Kala glanced over at Lucifel who had the temerity to flash a cheeky grin and wave. Uranus smothered a laugh.
"And until Lucifel was born basically ten minutes ago…" Plutia guessed and sighed, rubbing her forehead.
"Her birth would not have gone unnoticed. The fact that Azazel had someone investigate is proof enough. Everyone is going to want to know where she stands. As her mothers our actions will be scrutinized even more closely. If we cause too much trouble it would only make things difficult for Lucifel in the long run. As much as I hate to say this I'm going to have to start behaving myself," Kalawarner sighed.
"I don't want to make trouble for you, Kala-mama," Lucifel looked distressed.
"You're no trouble, Lucifel," her quick assurance seemed to help.
Plutia merely hugged Lucifel. "Anyone tries to harm you? They can join the dead god in his never ending slumber." Lucifel merely cuddled up to her mother in response. "Also. Lucifel. No messing with the divine system. We don't want to blow up the planet or something dumb like that."
"I'm not the one strangling random people," Lucifel snarked.
There wasn't much to be said about that.
"Yeah...No harm no foul...I won't tell my dad. Let's not start everyone off on the wrong foot, right?" Uranus rubbed her neck in remembrance.
Plutia merely chuckled. "Sorry about that anyways… I was still on edge."
"We need a plan. Lucifel is still too young and inexperienced. She needs us to protect her now more than ever," Kalawarner said. The youngest in the room looked at her mothers trustingly.
Plutia rubbed her forehead. "I'll still be going to school if only to nail down how to speak Japanese. When I'm at school Kala you'll look after Lucifel. If anyone tries to do anything to her? Make them regret it."
"Gladly. However where will we be staying? I'm not sure how we would explain Lucifel to the Hyoudou family," Kala said.
"Can't she put her wings away?" Uranus asked. Lucifel scrunched up her face and stuck her tongue out in concentration. She rotated her shoulders a couple times and made a face like she was heavily constipated. Finally the moment passed as her wings disappeared.
"There! All done," Lucifel beamed. "I did good?" She preened. Uranus buried her face in a throw pillow to smother her sudden fit of laughter. Plutia merely nodded and gave her daughter a pat on the head.
"As for how we explain Lucifel to our hosts… perhaps a part of the truth?" Plutia's eyes flickered from Lucifel to Kala.
Kalawarner nodded in agreement. It would be easier to say that Lucifel was her daughter. Trying to explain her unusual relationship with Plutia would require either hypnotism or lots of vodka. Uranus managed to get her laughter under control.
"I guess it's time to come in our of the cold. If I don't reveal myself now dad would have trouble down the line. Ah well. It was nice being a free agent while it lasted," Uranus shook her head.
If the Fallen Angel woman and teen were right Plutia's task grew even more difficult. She would need to grow stronger and quickly. Clearly the prologue was over and now it was time for the real game to begin.