Omake Prologue: Enter the...Yggdrasil?

[RyderHakubi]

"It's nothing about the transfer, just what I learned during it." Ryder replied.

[Bean Bandit]

Bean eyed Ryder curiously. "Ah...are you sure you'll be ok, then?" she wondered.

[RyderHakubi]

No, I won't be alright... but, it's no time for philosophy...

With that thought, Ryder replied, "Yeah, I'll be fine..."

[Bean Bandit]

Bean gave the young girl a disbelieving look, but nodded.

"Mmm. Hai." She looked up at the platinum haired woman watching them and blushed a little at the smirk on Urd's face. "So...what next?"

Urd's smirk vanished, and she bit her lip. "I don't know." She confessed. "If I knew why we seem to be outside of Yggdrasil's reach, for the moment, I'd suggest you bring all the people Bell sent for here...but they may not be safe..."

Keichii frowned at the thought of being forced to attack Belldandy, or even her body.

On that note, a voice sounded from the hallway. "Oh, I assure you, cherie, this temple is perfectly safe!"

The closed tea-room door was pushed open to reveal a tall, dark haired woman, with a shoulder length haircut, concealing a dressed in something akin to a black bodysuit adorned with leather straps, and topped off with the kind of dangling jewelry favored by the goddesses.

Peorth looked a bit battered, but infinitely smug. "Did you miss me?"

[RyderHakubi]

Ryder turned to face the new arrival, and her face turned a few shades of red...

Peroth... Dear F***ing Kami-sama, she's beautiful!

Of course, the outer Skuld tried to hide this exclaimation, not that it helped, and said, "Oh, it's Peroth.  What brings you down here?"

[Bean Bandit]

Bean's eyes widened, and she resisted the urge to shrink away, as she remembered the relationship Belldandy and Peorth had in the manga...

Urd blinked at the newly arrived goddess. "What-? How did you get..."

Keichii chuckled sheepishly. "Ah, I kinda got the camera fixed, Urd..."

Urd gave Peorth a guardedly friendly nod. Peorth smiled wearily at Belldandy and Skuld. To Skuld, she gave a slight, knowing smile, but simply said:
"Well, what with heaven being under attack, I thought it best to vacate the premises for a few days." she smiled, then looked to Belldandy. "You can relax, cherie. I know all about the two of you..."

Urd blinked. "Peorth, did you...?"

Peorth smiled smugly. "Quite. I had a few moments before I left heaven, so I created a buffer around the temple...anyone inside the grounds should be able to escape notice of the system."

Keichii blinked. "So THATS why we haven't been taken over..."

[RyderHakubi]

Ryder nodded, feeling more relaxed knowing that Peroth knew they were guys.  Not that there wasn't still a shade of red on her face...

"So, back to business... What's the plan?"

[Bean Bandit]

Bean nodded. "...we need to get started..."

Urd nodded. "Yeah...How about it, Peorth? I could use some help backing these two up..."

Peorth cast an amused glance at Bean, and then a thoughtful one at Keichii, who winced slightly. She then cast a longer, more thoughtful look at Skuld. Urd frowned, but Peorth merely smiled.

"I'll be happy to assist." she agreed. "What have you come up with so far?"

Urd briefly outlined what she'd learned from Skuld's computer for Peorth's benefit.

Peorth nodded. "So we must locate the others, then send them to retrieve them, right?"

Urd nodded. "Essentially."

Peorth grinned. "Then lets get started." She smiled, and Urd stood, nodding.

[RyderHakubi]

"Well, that's all well and good, but really... How do you expect us to find them?  There's a big multiverse, and we're looking for a small amount of people." Ryder said, playing the devil's advocate...

[Bean Bandit]

Urd grinned. "Way ahead of you, kiddo. I've got a search program running in Skuld's computer. The linkup with Yggdrasil was never severed, so we shouldn't be detected. just give it some time, and we'll have a fix on everyone who came here with you..."

[RyderHakubi]

Smiling back, Ryder replied, "Oh... how long ago did you start it?  It might help me know how much time I have to kill..."

[Bean Bandit]

Urd shook her head. "It should be almost done. No more than an hour..." she replied.

[RyderHakubi]

With a grin, Ryder said, "Alright then... I need to find some ice-cream!"

And with a typical Skuld look on her face, she bounded out of the room, and to the left, which hopefully was the kitchen.

[Bean Bandit]

Bean blink-blinked as Ryder left the room. "Oro...?"

Urd grinned and shook her head. "don't worry about it...but you should nap, if you can."

"Why...oh, right...My mana source?" Bean asked curiously. Urd and Peorth both nodded. "Allright...is there someplace I can sleep?"

Urd nodded. "I'll take you to Bell's room." she offered. Bean nodded her thanks, and slowly stood. She sighed inwardly at how weird this new body made her surroundings, and blushed at little in embarrassment.

As Urd led her from the room, she just yawned...

[RyderHakubi]

It took her a little while, but Ryder finally found the kitchen, and thus, the freezer.

And as she opened it, her jaw dropped...  "So... much... ice-cream!  Now, where's that Mint Chocolate Chip?"

So, she started to search through the freezer for some of her favorite flavor.