The Saga of Kris: Into the Nine Realms

by The_Fourth_Catalyst

Summary:

Following the brutal SkyDome incident and the hurricane that almost tore apart Toronto, Kris has fallen into a deep coma.

Seven months later, his family (with the help of his friends) travels back to their old hometown in Norway to try and seek answers. Ming brings Mei and her family as well, hoping to make amends for her actions.

What follows next is a perilous journey through the mythical nine realms of Norse cosmology in effort to free Kris’s lost soul from Helheim before Hel, the Norse queen of death, can have her way with him while uncovering secrets to his familial roots.

Chapter 1: Seven Months Later

Summary:

Seven months have passed since the “Pandocalypse”, the $100,000,000 debt’s been paid off and Ming’s healed from her injuries. However, her and Mei’s relationship has fractured since then and Kris still hasn’t awakened from his coma. Around Christmastime, Grandpa Morten informs Elsa of some research he’s made since the incident, which leads him to believe there could be answers to Kris’s persistent coma back in Norway.

Notes:

And now we're onto the second chapter of the Saga.

And may I say that I am most excited to be writing this one since it will dabbling on Norse mythology and folklore as well as the Old Norse pantheon gods and goddesses, which I must admit, I have become obsessed with. Just a little reminder, I'll be taking inspiration from the God of War franchise in regards to the Norse gods, most notably the 2018 game and the Ragnarök sequel. I've recently started playing the second game and I must say it's truly a fun game to play. Such awesome graphics, excellent world-building, vivid storytelling and compelling character arcs.

However, I'm not much of a fan of the headache-inducing puzzles because they are such a pain to solve. In every other way, I think buying that game was totally worth it and it's helped get my creative juices flowing for this story. However, the characters and worlds will only be inspired by the canon from the games, not actually be them, per say as this is NOT a crossover. I'll simply be merging both the Norse pantheon presented in the two games with the original Norse/Germanic mythology.

Oh, and don't be surprised if you catch any MCU references, too.

And I really hope you all enjoy this story. So without further ado, let's dive in and see what's next in Kris's story.

Seven months.

 

Still can’t believe it’s been seven months already.

 

Seven months since the SkyDome incident, the “Pandopocalypse of 2002” or the ‘Hurricane Blanco’ or whatever the media calls it.

 

Seven months and Kris has still not woken up from his coma, leaving his family and his friends INCREDIBLY worried.

 

It was the month of December and during the holidays. Snow fell all over Toronto like a cold, white blanket and snowfall came every now and then. Christmas lights, trees and decorations had lined the streets and the stores and businesses in each district. Snow plows had plowed paths in the buried roads for cars to traverse easily. People went from store to store for their holiday shopping, men in Santa Claus outfits representing the Salvation Army rang bells and yelled ‘Ho ho ho’ to draw passing bystanders in to deposit some change.

 

However, it was most certainly not a very merry Christmas for everyone in the city of Toronto.

 

For starters, Ming Lee’s $100,000,000 debt has finally been paid off - it was paid off twelve weeks ago; the Lees and Mei’s friends were lucky enough to have made so much cash in such little time - and she’s been healed from her serious injuries. And she’s gotten some dental work on her broken and missing teeth, receiving artificial replacements.

 

Her house arrest period has ended and now she’s been attending daily therapy sessions on Thursdays at noon. But unfortunately, things between her and Mei have……not improved.

 

In fact, they’ve gotten a tad worse.

 

Mei has been acting cold and distant toward her mother and maintaining very little communication with her, only giving short and monosyllabic responses like ‘good morning, mom’, ‘bye, mom’ or ‘I’m okay, mom’. She often avoids eye and some physical contact with her, refusing to even hug her. Ming had to respect her daughter’s space and keep her distance since the girl was still grieving over her best friend and, even though she won’t say it directly, is pretty much angry at her because of it. But not only that but also because Ming had received a letter from her school telling her that she was now banned from showing up on or even near the premises and if they ever caught her trespassing again, the police would be informed and they’d come to arrest her.

 

Jin is surprisingly the only person Mei willingly holds conversations with. After all, he was the one who gave Mei the confidence to not go through with the ritual in the first place, reminding her that sometimes we need to accept the messy parts of ourselves.

 

Additionally, Mei has brought a huge new change to her look which exuded her newfound maturity and self-made, rebellious persona. She has long since ditched her glasses and taken to wearing contacts instead. Her hair was given a tiny ponytail on the side of her head. She wore a red T-shirt with ‘4*Town’ on it over a dark gray long-sleeved shirt, no longer wearing a skirt, black jeans and hiking boots. As for makeup, she wore discolored eyeshadow with one eyelid painted cerulean and the other faded purple and reddish-pink lipstick. She also got piercings on her ears and one on her left eyebrow. Even her fingernails were painted blood red. And on some occasions, she would wear Kris’s dark brown jacket as a way to remember him, not even caring if it was a size too big for her.

 

The entirety and general aspect of her brand new appearance was a HUGE far cry from her old self. Basically a means to shed her old nerdy, perfect, goody two shoes outer layer and bring out the new her, to taint her perfect image instilled in her and even as a proverbial middle finger to her mother, purposely insulting her impossible expectations of perfection. 

 

All of which Mei knew Ming would’ve hated seeing in her precious little Mei-Mei. But she didn’t care anymore. She just wasn’t her little baby girl any longer. She was a woman now. Her own woman, to be exact.

 

Mei has since lost all hope in Kris’s recovery.

 

She never had the chance to apologize to him and probably never will.

 

Her social life at school hadn’t been going so well, either. Her friends had been giving her the cold shoulder recently since they’re still mad at her for selling them out and for what happened with Kris. Even his friends wouldn’t give her the time of day, mostly Stig, since he pretty much blames her for everything. 

 

Mei was definitely a loner now.

 

Ming Lee, while trying her damndest to get her life back on track, things for her were no different from Mei’s. She has become estranged from her daughter, she tries to take her therapy under advisement, even if none of it helps mitigate her insecurities and her stress. Her and Jin are having a hard time communicating without making things feel awkward between them and Ming was beginning to think she’s been making her husband feel underappreciated and taken for granted. And she was quite positive that everything between her and her mother has not gotten any better as well either after the SkyDome incident.

 

Some people outside their home had not forgiven her for the fiasco, either. Last week while she was walking through town, some guy caught her unawares and splashed her with a bucket of sewer water as payback for scaring his little sister for life who was at the concert at the time, even calling her a ‘freak’.

 

Her extreme guilt for her horrid mistreatment of Kris, firing him for the most asinine reasons, raising a hand to him and everything that went down at the SkyDome. There was no denying that she had driven him to his violent murder-rage, provoked him. If she hadn’t smashed his guitar, none of this would’ve happened. But she had let her foolish pride and her uncontrolled anger and her selfishness get the better of her and she had endangered the lives of everyone, Mei included, because of that.

 

The harsh, scathing, demoralizing words she screamed into Kris’s face before breaking his guitar still echoed in her mind and the sound of his loud wail of anguish fury before unleashing his wrath upon her still rang in her ears. Since then, she’s been having nightmares from time to time. 

 

Seeing Kris there before her, crying tears before seething and glaring daggers at her, demanding to know why she hated him so much and what he ever did to her to deserve such hate. And every single time, Ming tried to yell out something. Anything. To tell him that she was sorry. That she never hated him and that her actions were dumb and unjustified.

 

But there was only silence on her end, which made the boy sob like a baby before disappearing, his weeps still echoing.

 

It really broke her heart.

 

Lastly, things at the Bengtsson household have gotten very bleak and colorless. 

 

Waiting day after day for Kris to awaken and never doing so has brought a wave of hopelessness among the family. Elsa has resorted to drinking again. Every night, she’d down bottle after bottle until she saw weird colors before her face then pass out and wake up with a hangover every night. The poor woman’s unhealthy coping mechanism was concerning Carl and Morten. Stig has especially been devastated seeing his mother become a grieving alcoholic to deal with her problems.

 

There have been nights when he had to help hold her hair back while she emptied her guts in the toilet. One night, she came tumbling down the basement stairs and plopped herself down onto Stig in his bed to sleep with him. He didn’t even argue against it and just rolled with it, since the woman was not in the right headspace at the moment.

 

Meanwhile, Morten has been nose-deep into some old research of his after witnessing the disappearing ravens and attempting to find how it connects to Kris in a way. So far, he’s found nothing yet.

 

---

 

It was another quiet night at the Lee family home. Everyone was gathered around the dinner table - Ming, Jin, Wu and Mei - eating some morsels Jin had prepared as per usual. The unnatural and uncomfortable silence that enveloped the table was super uncomfortable. Sure, it’s been like this for quite some amount of time since the incident. Mei, however, avoided everyones’ eyes, including her mother’s. It was starting to put both Jin and Wu on edge. Jin has always known how close Ming was to Mei, even more close to her than she was with him, but he didn’t have the stomach to bring that up to her.

 

Ming ate like she was in a trance or like a robot just following its usual programming. Just sit there noiselessly, eat, try and fail to maintain eye contact, repeat. Few more disturbing moments went by until there was almost nothing left at the table, Ming stared directly at her daughter with a steely glance while taking a sip of her tea.

 

Once Mei finally met her gaze,.....she just frowned and rolled her eyes before looking away.

 

And that was enough to send Ming over the edge.

 

SLAM!

 

Ming’s teacup was smacked onto the table with enough force to nearly leave a crack on it, splashing some of its contents in the process. Panda ears materialized on her head in response. And then…

 

POOF!

 

Her rage made her panda out, which thankfully wasn’t kaiju-size like back at the SkyDome. The God of Thunder must’ve managed to have beaten her down to size. Mei just sat there across from her, unfazed by Ming’s angered transformation. Her mother’s infamous furious outbursts were nothing new to her at this point.

 

“Ming…”

 

“Stop it.” The furious mother scolded her child, nostrils flaring.

 

“Stop what?” Mei groaned.

 

“Making that face at me.” caterwauled her mother.

 

Mei sighed in annoyance, rolling her eyes once more, to which her mom caught on.

 

“There! See?! You just did it again!” Ming jabbed a finger at her. “Don’t you roll your eyes at me! If you have something to say, then say it!”

 

“I have nothing to say to you.” Her daughter spat.

 

“Mei!” Wu gasped at her granddaughter's rude attitude.

 

“You do not talk to me that way! I’m your mother!”

 

“Whatever.” But Mei shook her head, shoving her empty plate away and getting up her seat to walk away in a huff.

 

“Whate-!?” sputtered Ming in disbelief, caught off guard by that curt response from Mei.

 

But she wasn’t going to take that disrespect from her daughter. Not in her house.

 

“Mei-Mei!” Ming thundered as she charged after her while Jin and Wu just sat there at the table and watched with strained faces. Fortunately, she’s had enough practice over the past months to be able to carefully move about the house in panda form. Jin, though, was brushed by his wife’s tail as she raced past him during her warpath.

 

“Hey! Get back here! Don’t you walk away from me, young lady! Look at me when I’m talking to you!”

 

The furious Ming grabbed at her daughter’s arm with her giant paw, who angrily and effortlessly yanked it away before facing her, glaring back before panda’ing out herself.

 

“Leave me alone!” Mei roared.

 

“This attitude of yours isn’t gonna bring Kris back!”

 

“Well, Kris wouldn’t even be in this mess if it wasn’t for you!” The formerly-nerdy teen girl bellowed. “All I wanted was to go to a concert and have fun with my friends, but you just couldn’t know when to just back off! Because everything, EVERYTHING, always has to be about you!”

 

“Mei, you know how important the ritual was!” Her mother argued back. “It was for your own good! I told you you would’ve panda'd all over the place if you had gone!”

 

“None of that ever happened until you showed up with your Panda-zilla tearing the arena up, scaring the living crap out of everyone and traumatizing the life out of poor Kris!”

 

“You think I don’t regret everything I’ve done that night?!” Ming pleaded. “You think I enjoyed ripping that place apart, almost hurting all those people and having to pay a massive debt just to avoid prison!? Yes, it was reckless! Yes, I’ve made one too many snap decisions! But it was only because I was afraid for you, Mei! You know I can never live with myself without you there with me!”

 

“I’m not your perfect little girl anymore, mom! I’m a growing woman and I don’t need protection! Contrary to your beliefs, I can make my own choices!”

 

“Oh, like what? Sneaking out to go to parties? Lying to me about mathletes? Exploiting and merchandising your red panda behind my back? Shaking your butt in my face like some…… pole dancer?!” Ming challenged.

 

“That was me trying to live my own life, okay?! And I definitely don’t regret that last part!” Mei defended, her face turning a darker shade of red in contrast to its already bright red fur. “I didn’t enjoy having to keep secrets from you, but maybe I wouldn't have a reason to if you weren’t such a…….such a……”

 

Mei was about to say, but fought to try and force them out.

 

“What? Such a what?” Her mother dared, fists on her hips in a challenging and intimidating stature.

 

“A crazy psycho bitch!”

 

Ming gasped with bugged-out eyes and a paw to her mouth in horror.

 

“Meilin Lee! You watch your language!” Wu shouted from the kitchen, appalled by the girl’s intolerant mouth. “You should know better than that!”

 

The girl was too angry to really care, however. Afterwards, she stormed off into her room, slamming the door shut, but Ming wasn’t finished with her.

 

Not by a long shot.

 

“What did you say to me?!” Ming snarled, bouncing into her room to face her once more, her fur standing on end in fury. “I know you’re angry, but this is NOT how to speak to your own mother! Do you not understand the sacrifices that I’ve made for you? Was that all for nothing?”

 

Then Mei’s face softened to a sarcastic expression.

 

“Well, I’m very, very sorry you feel that way, mother.” She jabbed, sassily. “In fact, I’m sorry that you can’t learn to face facts. And I'm sorry that I'm not perfect! And I’m sorry that I’m not good enough for you! And I’m sorry that I’LL NEVER BE LIKE YOU!”

 

That did it.

 

SLAP!

 

Mei’s body fell against her desk from the blunt force against her face, feeling the burning sting on her face as she raised a hand to it and looked back at her mother in shock and disbelief. Her mind tried to make sense of what had just happened.

 

Her own mother stuck her.

 

At this, Ming gasped with horror at what she had done, starting to get flashbacks of slapping Kris in the face back at Tyler’s party. How gobsmacked and vulnerable he looked.

 

“Mei-Mei, I….”

 

SLAP!

 

But her feeble attempt fell on deaf ears and she barely had time to even think before Mei glared furiously back at her before swiping a hand right back at her mother in retaliation, forcing her to the ground. Ming’s heart dropped when she did and she looked back at her gobsmacked, just in time to see her panda daughter stand over her mother with a fierce, threatening stance and fire in her red eyes like a wild animal.

 

“GET OUT OF MY ROOM!” She roared, articulating each word out loud. “AND LEAVE! ME! ALONE!!!”

 

Getting the message and not wanting to upset her daughter any further, Ming rushed to her feet and was out of the room in seconds, shutting it behind her, then taking a moment to catch her breath, still holding her stinging cheek. After a couple of seconds of replaying their words at each other and poofing back to normal, she approached the kitchen with a heavy heart.

 

“I’ll be in my room.” She sighed and somberly walked to her and Jin’s master bedroom in sorrowful defeat, letting a few tears leak from her eyes.

 

And then the silence returned even more uncomfortably so.

 

Mei sat at her desk in her room after returning to human form, fuming and clenching her fists, but feeling a little bit of regret for her words and actions, but what’s done is done.

 

Even her room had received a massive makeover. No longer was it filled with school books, schedules on her calendar or even all the awards and metals she’s won. Those were placed in boxes and stored in the basement. And now there were posters of 4*Town, one for each of the band members, especially Robaire. Wu kept complaining of seeing the number 4 everywhere in the room, since it was the unlucky number in Chinese culture, but Mei kept, rather rudely, telling her to stop whining and to just deal with it since it was Mei’s room and Wu was just sleeping in it, fed up with everyone hating on her favorite music and her idols, not to mention her grandmother’s sense of superstition. Eventually, Wu decided it was best not to push her luck and got used to it.

 

For Mei’s sake, of course.

 

Mei’s relationship with her mother has been fractured like this for a long time. Sure, they’ve butted heads a couple of times, but Ming had never once struck her before nor has Mei ever struck her. Now she was beginning to see how Kris felt that night. The girl sighed and her eyes fell upon a box sitting on her desk and looking inside made her feel sick.

 

It was all the broken pieces of ‘Robaire Jr’.

 

Mei just couldn’t bring herself to throw them away.

 

A long time ago, Kris had given her the tamagotchi as a gift and it’s been a symbol of their friendship ever since. But now that it’s been destroyed, all it was now was a harsh reminder of her mistake and a sign that their friendship was over.

 

Unable to bear it any longer, Mei sniffled and shook as she dropped her head on the desk and began to cry. She just really wished Kris was still here and could hold her in his arms and say that he forgives her.

 

If only. If only.

 

That pained, mentally-anguished look he had in his eyes would surely haunt her for the rest of her life.

 

---

 

Elsa was looking around for her father to tell him that dinner was ready, but she wasn’t sure where he was. Probably in his study, no doubt. He’s been spending a lot more time in there for the past seven months. And in that room, she found him with a bunch of books on Norse mythology and stacks of papers he’s been using to write down some notes. Morten always took his research very seriously, especially during his old lecturing profession.

 

“Dad, hello?” Elsa knocked on the open door to get his attention. The old man was still flipping through pages. “DAD!”

 

He jumped and finally looked at her, sighing.

 

“Elsa, don’t do that! You’re gonna give me a heart attack.” He reminded her, his nose still deep in the book and ignoring the smell of whiskey on her.

 

“What are you even up to, anyway?” The distraught woman demanded. “What is all this?”

 

“I’m just doing some research.”

 

“Yeah, I see that. But on what exactly?”

 

“Well…..” He started lamely before sighing and gestured for her to come closer. “Okay, listen. This is gonna be hard to believe but, months ago, I saw ravens in Kris’s room.”

 

“Ravens?”

 

“Yes. And they were standing on his chest, watching him. Almost like they were keeping an eye on him.” explained the old professor. “I don’t even know how the hell they got in. The window was shut.”

 

“Um, okay….?” Elsa drew a massive blank on how to react.

 

“After I let them out, they just disappeared into thin air.” concluded Morten. “I couldn’t believe my own eyes.”

 

“Uh, wow.” Was all Elsa could say.

 

“But I’ve been reading into it and after some consideration, look here.” 

 

Morten grabbed the book he was reading on the details of the Æsir gods and goddesses of Norse religion and folklore, then pointed at the illustration of an old man with an eye patch, sitting on a king’s throne and holding some sort of spear. And perched with him were the same two ravens he had seen.

 

“Call me crazy, but I believe they were Huginn and Muninn, the pet ravens belonging to the All-Father, Odin. They’re his eyes and his ears all across the Nine Realms, especially Midgard.”

 

“This isn’t one of your lectures, is it?” Elsa still wasn’t buying it.

 

“I know what this sounds like, Elsa. I do.” Morten insisted. “I’ve been seen as crazy before, but I assure you that I’m truly onto something here. Though, I’m still trying to connect the dots.”

 

“Alright, look. If I believed you, which I don’t, what does all this have to do with Kris?” Elsa asked with a hard look.

 

“I don’t know. That’s what I’m trying to solve, but so far, I haven’t found shit.” Morten explained, breathing a stressed sigh, rubbing his eyes. “I’ve been searching around for weeks now and nothing is getting me anywhere.”

 

“Wow.”

 

“But I do have a theory.”

 

“Oh, no.”

 

“Just hear me out.” Morten looked her in the eye to show her how desperate and serious he was. “Maybe there was a reason those ravens were there. Perhaps it meant the All-Father was looking out for him. With this in mind, I think it all means that there’s something about Kris that we don’t quite understand. Remember when I told you he was changing?”

 

“Y-Yes?” The woman nervously furrowed her eyebrows.

 

“Well, before his coma, I started noticing some signs. He’s made a few sparks with his hands without getting affected by it and his strength appears to have increased. Coupling all this with the runes he’s drawn all over the walls, it seems that somehow, our family is a lot more complicated than we realize.”

 

“What are you saying? That Kris is turning into some kind of god or something?”

 

“I’m saying that we need answers.” Morten answered stiffly. “But I can’t find them here. Loopy, we’re gonna need to fly back to our old home country to find them.”

 

“Back to Norway?” Elsa blinked with surprise. “Are you kidding me? I’m not gonna fly us all the way back to Norway in the middle of Christmas. Besides, we can’t just leave Kris here unattended and I don’t want to have to find someone to look after him for us.”

 

“Loopy, we have to. And we’ll find a way to transfer him onto the plane.” Her father persevered. “We need to find out what’s happening to him and how to fix this. He’s been in a coma for seven months now. No one’s been in a goddamn coma for seven months. I’m getting really desperate here.”

 

And he truly meant it. Elsa sighed deeply. This was all still crazy to her, but she would only go along with it if he was positive that whatever he was on about would help Kris.

 

“Fine. I still don’t believe any of this, but I’ll entertain you. For now, at least.” She told him, still skeptical. “When do we leave?”

 

“The 18th, when winter break starts. First thing in the morning. All of us will have to go together.” Morten explained readily. “I’ll need to call Aksel when we get there to help us out.”

 

“Who’s Aksel?”

 

“My brother.” Morten sighed, eyes falling to the floor. “We haven’t spoken to each other in ages.”

 

“So I have an uncle.” hummed Elsa with thought. “Interesting. And you’re sure that he can help us.”

 

“I think so. But I’ve been hesitant to contact him for a long time. Not even after his wife died of a brain tumor six years back.”

 

Elsa’s mouth widened and then closed.

 

“Well, you better hope this so-called plan of yours works, because if it doesn’t, we’re heading straight back.”

 

“I cannot promise anything.” Morten admitted. “All I ask is for your support.”

 

---

 

The following morning at the Lee home, things seemed even tenser than they were before. Ming had prepared breakfast for only her, Jin and Wu, since she knew in her gut that Mei won’t want anything. She didn’t even have the heart to go knock on her door to ask if she needed anything. Not after their spat from last night.

 

Ming miserably sat there at the table with a bowl of congee while her husband looked at her sympathetically. Mei was busy getting dressed and ready for school. Only one more day left before winter break.

 

“I suppose things could’ve gone better.” Wu decided to speak up.

 

“Yeah, how?” Jin demanded, unconvinced.

 

“Could’ve approached it gently instead of snapping at her firsthand.” The strict old woman, leering at her daughter, who looked away.

 

“And would you have handled it?” asked Jin bitingly. “Blame her for the ritual failing or even the Bengtsson boy?”

 

“Don’t contradict me, Jin.” She warned.

 

“Believe me, I know how you are and I know how you get.” The bespectacled man remarked.

 

Wu scoffed at him and was nearing the point of barking back a retort his way when the apathetic Mei entered the kitchen in full winter garb and her bookbag.

 

“Morning, Mei-Mei.” Ming weakly greeted her.

 

No response left the girl’s mouth. She just snatched up a bran muffin to eat on the way and headed out the door without once looking into anyone’s eye, not even Ming’s, and not saying a single word.

 

“And have a nice-”

 

SLAM!

 

“....day.”

 

Ming sank in her chair, utterly despondent, then rested her head on her arms on the table. Undoubtedly, she had only made things worse. Maybe she really should’ve approached it gently. It’s always act first, think later. Just like what happened with Devon. Not only was he fired after her outburst that night when she accused him of taking advantage of her daughter and humiliated him in front of everyone, but his parents had filed a 10-mile restraining order against her. Yet another life she’s ruined because of her impulsiveness.

 

Jin held her hand for comfort, but it wasn’t enough. She’s already made a mess of things. Her own daughter kinda hated her now, Kris was comatose for an indefinite amount of time and here they all were stuck with their red pandas until the next red moon.

 

Which they had learned was THREE YEARS from now!

 

There’s no way they can remain in Toronto and hold onto their pandas for three years.

 

But Ming hasn’t lost hope. Not just yet. Somewhere inside of her, she believed that maybe she still had a chance. A chance to make things right with Kris. Devon was a consequence already damaged beyond repair, but maybe she can find a way to help Kris somehow.

 

The boy’s already suffered enough because of her actions and she wasn’t going to let anything happen to that boy on her watch.

 

She just hoped it wasn’t too late.

Notes:

Yeah, things between Ming and Mei have deescalated dramatically and Mei seems to not hold a grudge against her controlling mother for everything, especially for Kris's situation. Meanwhile, Kris's grandfather, Morten, has been busy with research after witnessing the two vanishing ravens and believes that the answers to waking Kris up are back at their home country in Norway. Elsa is reluctant to transport her comatose son all the way across the Atlantic back to Norway, but she's desperate to help her baby boy.

Stay tuned!

Next Chapter: Hoping to atone for her mistakes, Ming goes to visit an unforgiving Elsa at her house. With some convincing, Elsa begrudgingly lets her in and after taking a gander at the boy’s room and then Ming makes up her mind to go with the Bengtssons to Norway to help them in any way she can.

Next Update: March 24, 2023

Chapter 2: Ming’s Second Chance

Summary:

A despondent Ming goes to visit an unforgiving Elsa at her house. With some convincing, Elsa begrudgingly lets her in and after taking a gander at the boy’s room, Ming makes up her mind to go with the Bengtssons to Norway to help them in any way she can.

Notes:

Here's what Kris and his friends look like: https://www.deviantart.com/kade32/art/Turning-Red-OCs-Kris-and-friends-924648831

C/W: Punching, themes of self-hatred

Elsa had one large suitcase for a couple clothes, socks and such, anything she needed for the trip. As much as she couldn’t believe she was even going along with her father’s deluded plan, her son’s life was on the line. And she was kind of out of alternative options at this point. Looking down at her secret stash of booze in her nightstand, she was so tempted to snatch one up for a quick swig.

 

But no. 

 

She wasn’t going to be pulled into that again. Not this time. No amount of alcohol will make anything feel better anymore. In fact, it never did.

 

Shutting the stash closed, the doorbell rang.

 

Elsa went downstairs to answer it and wouldn’t you know it? 

 

Ming Lee stood there, nervously biting her bottom lip as she stared back at her old former friend from high school.

 

“Hey, Elsa.”

 

POW!

 

Elsa’s response came in the form of a hard punch square in Ming’s face, knocking her flat onto the hard, icy, salt-covered walkway and she winced in pain from the impact. Then Elsa slammed the door shut.

 

“Yeah, I deserved that.” Ming winced, nursing her bruised face. 

 

But she wasn’t giving up yet.

 

Ming returned to the door and incessantly knocked at the door and rang the doorbell, trying to get her attention. Inside, Elsa growled with irritation at her persistence, marching back over to get her to amscray. But just as she opened it, Ming started reaching inside to let herself in, causing Elsa to try to force the door closed.

 

“Go away!” She screamed.

 

“Elsa, please! Listen to me!”

 

“No, I don’t wanna hear it! Now beat it!” 

 

The two kept wrestling with the door; Ming trying to get inside and Elsa trying to keep her from entering. It’s a good thing Elsa used to work out in her youth.

 

“Elsie, come on!” Ming begged. “I know I’m the last you wanna see and I don’t blame you for that! But if you could listen to what I need to say, I’ll be out of your hair!”

 

“Not interested!”

 

“Remember our favorite celebrity crushes? I loved Tom Jones and you loved Barry White?” The Asian-Canadian woman attempted.

 

“The hell does that have to do with anything?!”

 

“I never forgot our times together, Elsie.” Ming persisted. “Look, I just wanna talk! I miss talking with you! It’s about your son!”

 

“Why should I let you in after everything you’ve put him through?!” thundered Elsa getting more agitated.

 

“Because I finally understand that I messed up, Else. I messed everything up. I’ve been really selfish and very careless in trying to protect my Mei-Mei and your poor boy paid the price. Just give me a chance to make this right. Kris didn’t deserve any of this. Please, Else.” Ming’s voice had tuned down to a softer pleading voice.

 

For a moment, Elsa’s glare softened up for a brief second with a flame of understanding. Then she sighed and finally relented, reluctantly opening up the door, but not looking at Ming.

 

“And how, if I may ask, do you expect to even do that?”

 

“I honestly don’t know, but I’ll try anything. No matter the cost.” Ming answered with determination.

 

Elsa sighed and left the head back upstairs while Ming followed her. The red-haired woman took notice of the great lack of Christmas commodities. Not a Christmas tree anywhere and no presents to be sitting underneath said tree.

 

“Um, no tree?”

 

“We didn’t feel like celebrating this year.” answered Elsa straightforwardly.

 

Ming’s eyebrows furrowed somberly. Must be due to her comatose son and the crippling fear that he may be at the end of his line. All of which made her feel even more guilty. Then she looked and saw Gnasher and Grinder sitting on the floor behind the couch.

 

“You guys have goats?” asked Ming, raising an eyebrow.

 

“Yeah. Gnasher and Grinder.” Elsa nodded. “They’ve been in our family for many, many generations.”

 

“Uhhh………” That left Ming a bit speechless.

 

“Okay, look, Kris is in his bedroom over there.” Elsa continued on and pointed at her son’s bedroom door. “Say what you need to say and get out. And don’t try anything funny in there or else.”

 

Then she disappeared into her own bedroom, leaving Ming alone in the hallway. However, Ming wanted to share a few things with her old friend first before she saw Kris. She went inside Elsa’s bedroom and ended up stepping on an empty beer can on the floor, allowing her to see a couple other alcoholic beverages cans and bottles on the floor, cleared away to help Elsa get around without stepping on them and hurting her feet in the process. This very sight alone made Ming’s jaw drop.

 

“Have you been drinking?” She blurted.

 

“I’m trying to quit, okay?” Elsa defended, rolling her eyes.

 

“Is this what Kris deals with at home? A drunk parent?” Ming pried even further while picking up an empty bottle, baffled at the very thought. 

 

“Shut up!” screamed Elsa with fury, snatching the bottle away and throwing it to the ground. Ming jumped back in fright when she did, but relaxed when her ex-friend’s terrifying glare vanished and turned into one of remorse.

 

“It’s just…..my way of dealing with things, alright?” Elsa sighed. “I’m really trying so hard to get over that stuff.”

 

Ming began to feel sympathy for her and curiously wondered what she could be dealing with that was causing her to consume a copious amount of alcohol and getting intoxicated from time to time. But then her eyes fell upon the suitcase on the bed.

 

“Are you going somewhere?” She asked. “You’re not abandoning Kris are you?”

 

“No.” Elsa grunted, sitting down on the bed. “My dad has a theory.”

 

“Mmm-hmm?”

 

“Let’s just say that he thinks that there might be some answers to how to help Kris back in our home country of Norway.”

 

“So you guys are gonna fly Kris all the way back to Norway in the middle of Christmas because your father has a theory?” Ming had some trouble herself trying to wrap her head around this.

 

“For the moment, I’m gonna humor him. But I still can’t believe I’m letting him talk me into this.” Elsa held her head in her hands to take some deep breaths.

 

The poor woman was very desperate, Ming could tell. Her own boy has been unconscious for seven months straight and she was nearing the end of her tether. Ming slunk out of the room to give her a moment alone, then made it over to Kris’s bedroom door. After much hesitation and forcing some confidence into her system, Ming went inside and she, too, was surprised to see all the Nordic runes all over the walls and ceiling.

 

“Goodness.” She whispered.

 

Then her heart dropped when she saw him. The boy who used to work for her. The boy who she used to boss around, insult, threaten and take for granted. The boy she had fired for the most absurd reason because of her paranoia and unjust prejudice. And the boy who's now in a deep coma all because of her and her skyscraper-sized red panda.

 

And her heart writhed in pain when she noticed the boy’s broken guitar on the side of the room and she winced at the sight of it. Memories of that very night that has haunted her day and night flooded her mind. When she had cruelly ripped him a new one in front of everyone and broke that instrument all out of spite. The more Ming looked at, the worse her guilt had gotten. The Asian woman carefully approached it, taking slow baby steps towards it every few seconds as if trying not to awaken a sleeping animal.

 

She crouched to her knees in front of it and felt her eyes sting as she cautiously fondled some of the broken pieces with deep sorrow and regret and then finally saw the jotting on one of them and it made her feel like wanting to crawl inside of a hole and never come out.

 

“You and that stupid guitar! You and that loud, angry, shrieking noise you have the nerve and the gall to call music!”

 

How could she have been so reckless and so selfish?

 

What right did she have to destroy such a fine looking guitar just to hurt some innocent child who has done her no wrong?

 

Then Ming went to Kris’s desk and picked up the two torn pieces of the polaroid, putting them together. Ming smiled sadly. Mei-Mei and her friends looked so happy together and she had an inkling that Kris had torn this up out of anger. Then there was a notebook sitting there that said ‘Diary’ next to a broken pencil and a strange new curiosity seized her. 

 

No, she shouldn’t invade the boy’s privacy like this. But maybe one little peak wouldn’t hurt. So she picked it up and opened it to look through some entries until she found one that was on May 17, 2002.

 

She remembered that date vividly. That was the day she found out about Tyler’s party and when she had fired Kris.

 

The page had a couple water spots stained on it which almost looked like teardrops. Ming read it and it felt like her heart was ripped out of her chest as she did.

 

“Dear diary,

Well, today is officially the worst day of my life.

Tyler had invited us to his birthday party in exchange for $200. It’s not like I wanted to even go, but Mei really needed that money to see 4*Town. The girl needed this. Badly. So to make a long story short, the party was fun, we danced, we had cake, everyone got to enjoy Mei’s red panda awesomeness and I was finally ready to tell her how I really felt about her. But then all hell had broken loose.

Mei’s mom found out about the whole thing and busted Mei attacking Tyler. Sure, he may have had it coming, but that was a bit much. Anyway, my jerk ex-boss Mrs. Lee got really mad at us. She had blamed us for manipulating Mei, exploiting her and using her to make the money for ourselves. I know she’s worried for her daughter and I respect that, but that was just so unfair, even for her. And then it got even worse. She had the nerve to accuse me of trying to rape Mei?! How could she think that about me? After everything I’ve taken from her, the insults, the accusations, the threats, this was just really pushing it for me.

And to top it all off, Mei didn’t even do or say anything! I can’t believe it! Was she really going to let me take the fall for everything, especially when hustling the red panda was her idea? Not to mention she was the one who talked me and my friends into the whole thing. I just knew this whole thing was a bad idea from the start, but I just had to go along with it because of my love for her. I wanted to do anything for her. And after everything, she chooses her mother over me? Then Mrs. Lee calls me a retard, slaps me across the face and fires me.

So yeah, today sucked. I finally mustered up the courage to tell Mei how much I love her, but she betrays me and now I’ve lost my job. Silver lining: my mom finally got a job as a nurse, but it didn’t even matter to me at all.

I’ve been cast aside by the one girl I loved more than anything.

 

I don’t know why I even try.

I’m just a poor boy
Nobody loves me

They don’t care Nobody cares.

I really am alone.

 

Sincerely, Kris”

 

The notebook fell to the floor.

 

Every other page after that one was completely blank. No doubt, he stopped writing in it after he became dead silent and distant the day after. Ming could no longer keep it in. Her tears leaked from her eyes, making her mascara run and liquid mucus dripped from her nose. This was really the worst. She even felt mad at herself. Kris loved her daughter so much and cared for her enough to help her out, even if it cost him everything, especially his job. But to think that Ming was this biased enough against him to not even consider the practicalities or the ramifications of her actions.

 

Is that what he thought? That she hated him? Sure, she didn’t trust him very well and everything about him from his appearance to his style to his love for black metal rubbed her the wrong way, but did that really meant he deserved scorn? Has she really let her fierce protectiveness of her daughter corrupt her own judgment? 

 

And all that unearned malice had come back to bite her in the ass at the SkyDome and yet, Kris was the one to truly face the brunt of it all. Here Ming was healed of her injuries and safe from life sentences in prison, but Kris was in a seemingly endless sleep. How come she gets to roam free after her dangerous and foolish actions while Kris was here missing months of his life? And now he was missing out on Christmas. 

 

It just wasn’t fair.

 

Staring down at the comatose boy, Ming felt she should be in prison right now, feeling like she deserved it. 

 

Then she finally made up her mind. This boy wasn’t going to suffer anymore. 

 

She did this. All of this. And it’s high time she did something about it. The red moon ritual was no longer an alarming concern. Right now, this poor boy was her responsibility.

 

Marching straight back into Elsa’s room, she spoke up.

 

“I’m going with you.”

 

“Excuse me?”

 

“I’m going with you to Norway.” Ming spoke strongly with finality.

 

“No!” complained Elsa, narrowing her eyes.

 

“Elsa, this is my mess.” Ming looked her dead in the eye, not leaving her cerulean eyes for a second. “My reckless actions caused all of this. I’m willing to admit that, okay? I see that now. I realize that now. So therefore, it’s now my responsibility to make sure Kris wakes up, because I don’t think I’ll live with myself if he doesn’t wake up ever again.”

 

Then the waterworks came back again.

 

“Look, yes, I’ve been selfish. I abused him daily, I took him for granted, I won’t even begin to bring up what happened at Tyler’s party. That was inexcusable. I shouldn’t have been so quick to blame him or accuse him of wanting to hurt or take advantage of my Mei-Mei when all he ever did was assist at the temple. And that whole incident at the SkyDome has haunted me ever since. Mei just wanted to be herself for once and I wouldn’t allow it. All because I was afraid of losing her. But that’s no excuse. That does not justify going red panda on everyone, destroying an arena full of people and smashing something that was most important to Kris. I know I don’t deserve this, but please. Let me do this. Let me come. Me, Mei-Mei and Jin. Please.”

 

As Elsa listened in on her heartfelt speech, she appeared to almost be moved. But god, she was starting to feel a headache coming on. First her father talks her into flying back to Norway during Christmas and now Ming shows up at her doorstep demanding to come along. Why must everything be so damn complicated? But after a moment of painful mental deliberation, Elsa finally reluctantly capitulates.

 

“God, I’m really gonna regret this.” She moaned, rubbing the stress from her face. “Alright, fine.”

 

“Oh, thank you.” Ming gave a watery smile and hugged her former friend tightly, who grunted from the physical contact.

 

“But just you three, okay?” The Norwegian woman came forward, pushing her off and laying down the law. “Just you, your husband and your daughter. That’s it. Nobody else, got it? This is NOT a vacation. And you’re paying for your own plane tickets, understand?”

 

“Y-Yes, of course.” Ming nodded.

 

“Good.” Elsa intoned. “We’re leaving on the 18th first thing in the morning. Don’t ask how we’ll transfer Kris there.”

 

“Okay. So see you there, I suppose.” Ming then got up and took off for the door.

 

“Remember. Nobody else.”

 

---

 

“Wait, what?!” Jin stared at his wife with shock. “Are you serious?”

 

“We’re just helping Elsa out with figuring out what’s wrong with Kris.” explained Ming after explaining her whole plan to him.

 

“We already know what’s wrong with him. He’s in a coma.” Jin blatantly expressed.

 

“I know that!” Ming hissed, before calming herself down so she doesn’t panda out. “All I’m saying is that I’m trying to undo the damage that’s been done.”

 

“Ming, you attacked that boy, provoked him into attacking you and put him in a coma that he is still not waking up from. How do you possibly expect to be able to help wake him up right now at this rate?”

 

“That’s what we're going to find out.”

 

Jin sighed with his teeth and massaged his eyes.

 

“And how can you be sure of that, huh?” He challenged. “You’ve already ruined that boy’s life back at the SkyDome and now you’re dragging us right into their personal affairs and for what? Are you really doing this for Elsa or even Kris? Or do you just want to feel less guilty about the SkyDome fiasco?”

 

“Jin! I can’t believe you!” Ming gaped at him, offended. “I’m not making this about me!”

 

“It’s always about you.” Jin argued. “It’s always your way or the high way. Besides, why are you even asking for my input on this? Since when did you want my opinion on anything?”

 

“What does that even mean?” Ming’s eyes narrowed grimly.

 

“Does ‘your father agrees’ ring a bell to you?”

 

“That……ugh!” Ming facepalmed with a long groan of frustration, then poofed into panda mode. Jin said nothing else as he sat down on the bed. Ming calmed herself down, allowing herself to become normal once more, then joined her husband by his side.

 

“I’m sorry, okay?” She said regretfully. “I understand I’m tough to deal with most of the time and I’m sorry if I made it seem like I don’t appreciate you enough.”

 

“Like the time you chose not to hang with me?” Jin brought up stonily.

 

Ming’s eyes lowered, thinking back to the time when Mei suggested that she spend time with him, which she straight away turned down to spend more time with her daughter instead.

 

“In my defense, I just really missed spending time with Mei-Mei since she’s been………well, absent lately back then. But you’re right. I guess that did seem a little……cold.” Ming really couldn’t think of anything else to call that. “How do you even put up with me?”

 

“I think you already know how.”

 

“But why, though?” The insecurity level in Ming’s tone was a bit heartbreaking. “Why live your life with someone who's pushy, overly pretentious, obsessed with perfection and someone who turns into a giant red panda monster that attacks the city not caring who gets hurt or killed like……I dunno, like a furry Godzilla? How do you put up with that? Why me and not someone else?!”

 

“MING!” Jin shouted to shut her up and get her to listen. He inhaled and looked directly at her. “I will admit that it was nerve wracking for me to watch you grow mountain-size and terrorize the concert in a blind rage and watch you scream in Kris’s face and break his guitar. Heck, for a moment, I barely recognized you.”

 

Ming looked away in shame, her mouth starting to quiver. But Jin grabbed her chin to make her look at him again.

 

“However, despite all your flaws, I always admired you and loved you for the way you are unconditionally. You’re still the Ming I fell in love with. Always were.”

 

Unconditionally.

 

Now that Ming thought about it, that was a word that hardly described her relationship with her daughter. Ming held her husband’s hand.

 

“But seriously, though, I really need to do this. That boy had a life - not much of a life, but a life nonetheless - and took that away from him. He’s missed out on the rest of school, he’s missed out on summer break and now he’s missing out on Christmas. And I can’t do it without you there with me. You and Mei. This is my one chance to make things right and I’m not going to waste it. Will you help me?”

 

Jin thought about it. He knew how awful Ming felt about her part in Kris’s condition and he’s always known how willing she was to take responsibility. In hindsight, however, he also knew that this plan would not be without a few pitfalls, especially since Elsa is still pretty upset with her about everything and most definitely not let her live that down. Ming would certainly be lying if she said that she didn’t miss their time together as friends when they were in their teens. All the things they’d talk about, all the boys they’d fawn over and flirt with (before they met their respective husbands, of course), all the activities they did together and not excluding all the secrets they’d share before they were torn apart.

 

Jin was hesitant to go along with this. Flying down to Norway with Elsa and her family just to make amends was nice of her to consider, but remember the face that Elsa was only traveling back to her home country was because her father has an idea, so it was kinda like they were setting themselves up for a wild goose chase as there was no guaranteed plan to follow once they’d arrive. 

 

But he’d be a fool to deny his own wife a chance of redemption, even if it seemed on the surface that she was just jumping at a window of opportunity headfirst all willy-nilly.

 

“Okay, Ming.” He declared. His wife turned to him with a smile. “I may regret this eventually, but I’ll do it for you.”

 

“Thank you, hon.” Ming hugged him tightly with gratitude.

 

“We should probably go and inform Mei about this.” Her husband reminded her.

 

“Maybe you should go tell her…..just because.” The redheaded woman said with honest modesty. “You always know what to say, anyway.”

 

“Then we’ll get packing.” 

 

And with that, Jin stood up and walked out of their bedroom to head over to their daughter’s room, passing by Wu standing near the door, unaware of her presence and unaware that she had been listening in on the whole conversation from the start.

 

With precise caution, Jin stood before his daughter’s bedroom door and prepared himself before gently rapping at the door.

 

“Mei? It’s me.” He called.

 

The only answer he got was an annoyed grunt. But venturing inside anyway, Mei sat at her bed, reading through a teen’s magazine and blowing bubblegum while listening to 4*Town on her headphones hooked up to her CD player like any-a rebellious teenager is wont to do. When her eyes spotted her father stepping into the room, she frowned and turned on her side, facing away from him. But Jin didn’t let that stop him.

 

He sat down on her bed and paused the CD player, making her look at him. Mei just casually blew a bubble and made it pop.

 

“Mei, listen.” He sighed, knowing this would not be easy. “Your mom and I have just been talking. On the 18th when Christmas break starts and you get off school, we’re all going to fly to Norway to join Elsa and her family.”

 

“Uh, what?” Mei turned all the way around, perplexed. “Why?”

 

“First of all, Elsa’s father says that there….might a way to figure out how to help Kris wake up again.”

 

“Really?” Mei’s eyes widened with hope, but then looked at her father with confusion. “But why are we going with them? Elsa already hates us.”

 

“Well, your mom kinda convinced her to let us come with them.” He explained thoroughly. “See, she feels really bad about the SkyDome disaster that put Kris in this situation to begin with and she’s really anxious to lend a helping hand.”

 

“But how are we even gonna help Kris at this point?” Mei didn’t seem so confident about this endeavor. “What can we possibly do to get him to wake up after seven months?”

 

“I really don’t know, Mei.” Her father shook his head. “But we’re just gonna have to trust her on this. She needs our help with this. She needs you. All she wants is a second chance.”

 

Mei looked on with a sense of remorse. Sure, she was still angry and resentful of her mother at the moment, but she really wanted to help Kris. It’s been so, so long since he’s fallen out cold and it’s been taking forever for him to wake back up that it was practically killing her. Losing him hurt the most.

 

“Alright. If mom’s really certain about this, I will go.” Mei finally said, then deadpanned. “.....for Kris. Not for her.”

 

To put an end to their conversation, she turned the player back on, unpausing the music and turned back around on her side, returning to her magazine.

 

“That’s…….all we ask, Mei.” Jin stammered at his daughter’s flippant answer.

Notes:

So now Ming’s made up her mind to try and undo the mess she started.

Of course, Elsa is understandably pissed at her. Not just for her son’s condition, but for how their friendship ended years back. So Ming wants to make things right with her and Kris. The boy is missing out seven months of his life and she gets to walk away scot-free now that her debts been paid off. It just feels so wrong. And yes, Kris writes in a diary, which he has stopped writing in after that fateful night at Tyler’s party where Ming fired Kris and threatened him to stay away from her daughter.

Ming having a crush on Tom Jones in her teens was played for laughs and also an exaggeration for how many women were pulled in by his animal magnetism.

I also feel like Ming and Jin’s relationship serves more consideration and recognition, because (in my personal opinion, that is) it seemed like Ming took the guy for granted, considering that she’d rather spend more time with her daughter than with him, not to mention not interested in his opinion.

Honestly, I feel bad for him marrying into such an exemplary and obscenely-perfectionist family.

Next Chapter: The Bengtssons, joined by Roar, Rudolf and the Lees, sally forth to their hometown of Björnbæk, Norway in search of answers. Upon arriving at Morten’s old family farmhouse by the fjord, they meet his brother, Aksel who is currently looking after their dying, aging father.

Next Update: March 28, 2023

Chapter 3: Home Sweet Norway

Summary:

The Bengtssons, joined by Roar, Rudolf and the Lees, sally forth to their hometown of Björnbæk, Norway in search of answers. Upon arriving at Morten’s old family farmhouse by the fjord, they meet his brother, Aksel who is currently looking after their dying, aging father.

For the flight to Norway, Adam and Charlie offered a little extra money for them to help get enough plane tickets to everyone going, to get their baggage on the plane and enough to get plane tickets back home and so on and so forth. Elsa’s nurse job was paying quite well, but not fairly enough to pay for everything herself with her own money. Gnasher and Grinder were brought along as well, but had to be put in cages and placed in the plane’s cargo hold and fed daily. Stig decided to place Fang and Cooper in the care of Priya, who was honored to accept the responsibility. For those going, there were Elsa, Morten, Carl, Stig. Elsa even invited Roar and Rudolf along with them after they caught wind of their trip and wanted to come along. Granted, Elsa was hesitant at first, but decided it wouldn’t hurt, since they were Kris’s closest friends. And as for Kris, well, he had to be placed on a stretcher, still hooked up to the machines and placed in the care of the flight crew on the plane with a doctor flying along to keep tabs on him medically.

 

The Lees had gotten their own plane tickets to Norway and rode on a separate plane. The plane ride across the Atlantic Ocean went as smoothly as could be, though Morten had to get up a few times to get to the bathroom while they were in the air, since he gets airsick easily. 

 

Five hours later, they had finally arrived at the airport in Hermansverk. Just like back in Toronto, it was snowing there as well. In fact, there was a report of a blizzard rolling soon. So the Bengtssons, Rudolf and Roar all got off the plane together, grabbed their luggage at baggage claim and sat down with Gnasher and Grinder on leashes for a while to wait for the Lees to arrive on their plane, which should be arriving in the next hour, while the other two boys got a good long look around the place, drinking in all the Norwegian languages all around, which they couldn’t understand, but it felt quite nice to be in a lovely new country, even during the holidays.

 

“Wow, look at this airport. Neat!” Rudolf gasped. “This is a lovely country. Can’t believe you used to live here.”

 

“Yeah, I almost regret having to move out of this place.” Elsa remarked, then her eyes began to wander. “But times were tough back then.”

 

“Never celebrated Christmas in another country before.” Roar replied. “Well, except for maybe Germany when we went to spend the holidays with my oma.”

 

“Your ‘oma’?” asked Carl.

 

“My grandmother.”

 

“Never thought I'd ever be back here again.” Morten said, peering longingly at their surroundings, at the signs and sea of people. Not very many since it was the Christmas season and not a lot of people would be flying during this time, not to mention during the winter.

 

“Well, you’re here now.” Carl stated bluntly. “Damn, that was a long flight. Never been on a 9-hour flight in all my life. And I still can’t believe you allowed that……woman to come with us.”

 

Elsa sighed with an eye-roll, knowing full well who he was referring to.

 

“Neither can I, but she was desperate, okay? And she told me how bad she felt about the whole…….concert thing months ago. She just wanted to help out.”

 

“How the hell is she gonna help us?” Carl scoffed.

 

“God, I don’t know.” Elsa facepalmed with a loud groan.

 

“Alright, grandpa, you got us over here. So now what’s the plan?” Stig patted his grandfather on the shoulder to get his attention.

 

“Well, first of all, I need to call my brother.” The old man said, looking around. “If I can find a phone anywhere.”

 

“There.”

 

Elsa pointed at one nearby, next to the drinking fountains. Now Morten was quite hesitant to call his brother after six years of no contact and was afraid that he’ll either not want to speak to him or not even remember his voice. But this was all for Kris’s sake. So he mustered up enough courage to grab the phone and dialed a number while hoping it was the one he was still using and waited.

 

“What?” came a deep baritone, raspy voice answered with a monotonous grunt.

 

Morten felt relieved at hearing the voice of his brother after so long.

 

“Hey, this is Aksel Bengtsson, correct?” He asked just to make sure.

 

“Who’s this?”

 

“Oh, good. It’s me, Morten. Your brother? Hello, ulvemann.” Morten answered, hoping his brother would still remember. Elsa eyed him weirdly.

 

“Well, goddamn. If it isn’t the old ravn-konge.” remarked Aksel. “Why call me now, huh?”

 

“First, I want to say it’s great to be listening to your voice right now.” began the former college professor. “And I know it’s been a while since we last spoken, but you see there’s something I need you for and it’s really important.”

 

“Yeah, what?”

 

“It’s about……my grandson, Kris.” Morten breathed tensely.

 

“Hmm.”

 

“See, he’s been in a deep coma for seven months now and it’s beginning to scare the shit out of me.” explained Morten. “I’m hoping to find some answers to it.”

 

“I see.”

 

“W-Where are you now?” asked Morten.

 

“Our old farm home by the fjord. Dad’s fallen gravely ill, so I’m keeping him company before his thread is cut.”

 

“Oh my god.” Morten gasped.

 

He remembered his father. A very strict, but well-meaning man he was. He used to tell them stories of the days of old and the tales of the Norse gods, such as the one about the stonemason that built a wall around Asgard and the one about the binding of Fenrir and much more, which is what had inspired Morten to study these legends and myths and pursue his career in the first place. The mere mention of his father close to death made him wonder if he had spent way too much time away from his family members back in Norway.

 

“How long does he have?”

 

“About one more day. I think, anyway.”

 

“Well, anyway. I’m here with my daughter, my grandson, his two friends and the father of my late son-in-law.” Morten continued. “And just a fair warning, there’s gonna be others joining us. It was beyond my control, to be honest.”

 

“Uh-huh.”

 

“So we’re gonna be over there soon, I’ll say ‘hi’ to Pappa and I’d really like your help with why I’m here. Can you do that for me?”

 

“Well, alright.”

 

“Great. See you soon.”

 

Then Morten hung up and turned to face her daughter, who was smirking. 

 

“‘Wolfman’?” She said with amusement.

 

“It’s just an old nickname.” He responded with a slight chuckle. “He loves wolves and he calls me ‘Raven-King’.”

 

“Lucky you.” commented a less-enthused Carl.

 

“Elsa!”

 

The woman jerked her head in the direction of the voice that called out to her and looked to see Mei running up to her. Elsa even took a visual of her new look as she appeared less nerdy and, for a lack of a better term, geeky than before. And she didn’t have her glasses anymore and she was wearing her son’s trademark jacket. So that’s where it went. Ming and Jin caught up with her soon after.

 

“Mei!” Elsa cried, giving her a hug. “You look different. Looks neat on you.”

 

“Yeah, got tired of the old me and thought I’d reinvent myself, you know?” Mei shrugged and flipped her hair back.

 

“Why are you wearing my son’s jacket?”

 

“Oh.” Mei chuckled nervously. “Just to help remember Kris by. A memento, if you will.”

 

“You really miss him, don’t you?”

 

“Yes, I do.” Mei’s face turned glum and remorseful.

 

“So here you all are.” Elsa turned to face her parents. “Never thought I’d be glad to see you’ve actually made it.”

 

“Oh, yes.” Ming nodded, looking at her former friend. “The flight wasn’t too bad. Jin fell asleep most of the time.” 

 

“It was a 9-hour flight.” Her husband retorted.

 

“So…” Elsa certainly was surprised to see Wu walk up to them with her suitcase and turn to face her directly. “Oh, Elsa, you would not believe the flight we’ve had on the way over here. Oh, it was dreadful.”

 

Ming winced and actually jumped with a surprised yelp once Elsa turned to face her with a menacing glare.

 

“I…um, uh….uh….” The ruby-haired woman stammered pathetically with a nervous smile.

 

“There they are!”

 

And then came in the auntie squad like a thundering herd of rhinoceroses.

 

Ping, Helen, Chen and Lily all stampeded over to the group as well, barreling their way over to Elsa and swooped her into a huge group hug. With them were Charlie, Adam, Tom and Ping’s husband, Shan. Elsa felt she wanted the earth to eat her up. No, she wanted to just explode in a fiery inferno and kill everything in it. If she recalled correctly, she made it specifically clear that only Ming, her husband and Mei could come along. 

 

No one else.

 

“How are you, Elsa?”

 

“You haven’t changed a bit.”

 

“Wow, you’ve gotten thin.”

 

“Well, she’s fine that way.”

 

“How is everything back at home?”

 

“Are those goats with you?”

 

“Ladies!” Wu shouted and clapped to silence their overlapping chatter and, like an entire squad of soldiers, they obediently removed themselves from Elsa’s personal space and they all quieted down, getting a hold of themselves so as to not panda out while they’re in public in a foreign country. Gnasher and Grinder both bleated at Stig in confusion and he just shrugged at them.

 

“Don’t look at me.” He murmured.

 

“Hey, pops!” Adam hugged Carl, who hugged him back in confusion.

 

“What are you two doing here?” balked the retired policeman to both his son and his brother-in-law.

 

“They’re with us. And we invited them along.” Helen said, holding onto Adam’s arm lovingly while Chen held Charlie’s hand.

 

“Wow, it’s a full house.” Rudolf whispered to Roar.

 

“And what are you two guys doing here?” Adam asked the two of them confused.

 

“Oh, we just really wanted to come. For Kris, of course.” Roar answered with sheer honesty.

 

“And are your parents okay with you boys flying out here during Christmas?” asked Lily with a lifted eyebrow.

 

“We just told them we wanted to enjoy the holidays in Norway before we get home in time for Santa to come on Christmas Day. Have a taste at their yuletide traditions and customs and all that. For cultural learning value and all that.” Rudolf explained, though most of what he said was what he told his own parents.

 

“Hmm, I see.” The plump young woman nodded in understanding. Meanwhile, Elsa’s indignant stare towards Ming intensified and the other woman shrunk under her hellish scowl, which forced her to come clean about the current situation.

 

“She overheard me talking about the trip and she insisted on coming with us.” Ming explained to Elsa, gesturing to her mother. “And of course, she had to invite the others.”

 

“Why?” Elsa demanded in annoyance. “We’re not even on vacation. This is a personal family matter. This has nothing to do with any of you. None of you are even supposed to be here!”

 

“But Elsa, we’re really concerned for Kris.” Ping replied with sympathy.

 

“I’m only here because my fuzzybear said it would be a pleasant country with lovely sights.” Shan spoke up. “And also, I’m just as concerned about the Bengtsson boy as she is.”

 

“Yeah, believe it or not, I’m pretty concerned for the boy’s life. I mean, who’s ever been in a coma for seven months, anyway?” Lily added while Tom hugged her tightly with comfort.

 

“And besides, Ming was adamant that this was her responsibility.” Wu stepped forward with her usual no-nonsense aura. “If it matters to her, then it matters to all of us.”

 

“Oh, really?” snarked Elsa.

 

“Plus, I refuse to be left home alone anyway.” Wu added. “And there’s no way I can run the temple by myself.”

 

“And what about your red pandas, huh?” Elsa crossed her arms skeptically.

 

“Say what now?” scoffed Carl with disbelief, sharing a sideways glance at Morten, who only shrugged.

 

“Not here.” Wu gestured to them both that it wasn’t important right now, then turned to look Morten straight into the eye. “So since we’re all here now, what exactly is this theory of yours, if I may ask?”

 

“I’ll get to all of that in due time.” Morten could only say, since he doesn’t feel like an airport is the best place to disclose the information. “In the meantime, I’ve informed my brother about our arrival and he’ll expect us at Bjørnbæk by the afternoon.”

 

“And what’s there?” asked Tom.

 

“My old farmhouse by the fjord.” The old man answered.

 

“Er, what?” asked Ping.

 

“And it’s also where Kris was born and raised until we moved to Toronto when he was 6.”

 

“Why did you move in the first pla-”

 

“That’s not important right now!” Carl irritably cut Wu off before she could finish the question, much to her surprise. “What’s important is that we’re taking Kris to this place and find out what the hell’s going on with him tout de suite!”

 

“Well, I never.” Wu harrumphed.

 

“That reminds me. Where’s Kris again?” Roar spoke up, bringing up the most obvious question of all.

 

“Yeah, how are we getting him there?” asked Mei, desperate to know.

 

“They’re escorting him off the plane as we speak.” Elsa sighed, looking at them all. “They’re going to keep a hold on him until we get a rental car. One that’s big enough to carry most of us with him. And we’re all gonna ride separately.”

 

“Oh, good.” Chen sighed with relief. “I was worried they had forgotten about him.”

 

“Transferring coma patients by air is a serious matter.” Morten stated matter-of-factly.

 

“It should be.” Ming sternly replied.

 

“I’ll go get us some rentals and you may as well let me do the talking, since none of you speak the language here.” piped Elsa.

 

Meandering off, she and her father went to rent a few cars for everyone, speaking with the rental people in their native tongue. Sure, most of everyone needed to come over and affirm their own rental cars with Elsa, Morten and additionally Stig as the interpreters. Ming and Mei decided to ride with Elsa and the comatose Kris while the goats sat in the far back. As for the rest of the motley group, Stig rode with his grandfathers, along with Rudolf and Roar in one car; Jin had to ride with Wu in another, then Tom and Lily had their own car as did Shan and Ping, Adam and Helen and finally Charlie and Chen.

 

Putting in the address, everyone was en route to Bjørnbæk, which was located in the Møre og Romsdal county of Norway. Morten, driving his car, was the one leading the lineup of cars, knowing his way around the country more than any of them. Elsa followed close behind his car. Mei sat in the back with Kris as she, every so often, cradled his hand and gazed upon him mournfully. Ming looked at the two in the back through the rearview mirror with a remorseful look of her own. The tense silence in the car went on for a couple of hours, driving Ming crazy.

 

“So, uh…” She began delicately, looking out her window to take a look at the beautiful Norwegian snow-covered landscapes and mountain ranges. “This is Norway. This is where you are from.”

 

“Yes, that’s right. It feels so weird coming back here again after so many years.” Elsa replied with a sense of nostalgia in her voice. “I missed the mountains and the misty woods.”

 

“Well, I have to admit, it’s really beautiful out here.” Ming smiled at the mesmerizing sights passing their car as they drove down the road.

 

“You know, Kris loved playing out in the woods when he was a little boy, even during the winter.”

 

“Oh?”

 

“Yeah.” Elsa smiled sadly. “I remember when he would build snowmen, build snow forts and try to make snow angels. Admittedly, he wasn’t that good at it.”

 

Ming giggled tersely, thinking back to her winter days with Mei when she was younger. Mei loved to play in the snow, too, but Ming tried to keep her from getting frostbite or slipping on ice and on some occasions, prevented her from getting into snowball fights with the other kids, thinking it was too dangerous for a little girl like her. 

 

Mei smiled as well, getting that nostalgic feeling as well.

 

“You bring those goats everywhere you go?” Ming asked, pointing at the two animals in the back.

 

“Well, I kinda have to.” Elsa shrugged, keeping her eye on her father’s car ahead of them. “Can’t just leave them back home.”

 

“And what did you mean when you said they’ve been in the family for years?”

 

“Oh, you know. They’ve been owned by many generations before me. Gnasher and Grinder have been owned by my parents and their parents before them and their parents before them and their parents before them and so on. However, they’re not just pets, mind you. My dad says they’re like the Bengtsson guardian angels and stuff.”

 

Mei and Ming both eyed the two goats in awe and befuddlement when she said all that, unable to process the context of her words.

 

“Exactly how old are these guys, anyway?” Mei asked, her eyes going back and forth between the goats and Elsa.

 

“One of the biggest family mysteries. Nobody knows how old they really are and nobody knows how long they've been around.” The auburn-haired mother answered with a sigh. “My guess is that they’ve been around since the prehistoric era.”

 

Elsa couldn’t hold back a chuckle or keep a straight face.

 

“But that’s just me. We may never know, anyway. Isn’t that right?” Elsa shouted back to Gnasher and Grinder, who both bleated back in response as if to agree with her statement.

 

The two Lee women were both speechless. They’ve had goats with them in their family for that long? Now that is definitely weird. And Elsa appeared to insinuate that the goats were…………immortal in a sense, which was even more nonsensical. How on earth can two ordinary goats outlive every single generation of their family? There’s no possible explanation for a couple of animals like them to be alive for so many centuries. Ming shook her head to rid her mind of the mind-boggling info and decided to change the subject.

 

“And who were those two other boys with you?” asked Ming.

 

“Roar Wagner and Rudolf Stein.” Elsa explained. “They’re very close friends of Kris and Stig. Roar is the tall skinny kid with the glasses and Rudolf is the short dark-skinned kid with the messy hair.”

 

“And he always wears winter clothes all year ‘round. Not sure why.” added Mei.

 

“I can’t believe you were able to bring them along with you.”

 

“Well, it took some convincing, but I was able to get their parents’ permission.” Elsa answered as she followed her father’s car just as took a right turn.

 

“You’re lucky.” Ming huffed, crossing her arms and shaking her head. “I’ve tried to invite Mei’s three friends along with us, but they refused. They wouldn’t even let me get a word in.”

 

“Well, that’s kinda on you, mom.” Mei gave a soft retort.

 

“Mei-Mei!”

 

“She’s not wrong.” Elsa shrugged nonchalantly.

 

“Wow.” Ming gasped with mock shock and mild betrayal, but she couldn’t deny that it wasn’t too far from the truth. “Well, okay, fine. I guess I do have no one else to blame for that. I’d probably be angry at myself, too, in that scenario.”

 

“And you’re not the only one.” Elsa wryly stated.

 

Ming winced at her words.

 

She decided to stay quiet for the rest of the drive, since Elsa, despite allowing her to join them, was still pretty upset with her. Her son was in a coma because of her. It was certainly gonna take more than joining her to undo her mistake. And she already felt bad enough that things between her and Elsa had to end on such a sour note years ago because of her strict mother’s serious expectations. If only she was strong enough to fight against those expectations and have been accepting of her red panda.

 

Two more hours of driving later, they finally arrived at the cute and quiet town of Bjørnbæk that sat right in the base of a large mountainous range. From a distance, it looked like the perfect shot for a picture on a postcard. Upon closer inspection, the town looked quite pretty when covered in loads of snow, bringing in an old-fashioned, old-timey aura based on the structure of the many buildings. Even the Lutheran stave church was a rather beautiful medieval architecture, almost like a Viking-like feel to it. And the nativity scene set up near the entrance was simply captivating.

 

And the Christmas decorations - tinsel, wreaths and colorful lights - lining all the streets and stores meant that they were not skipping out on the holiday spirit either. Not a single mile will you take in this town without catching a glimpse of a Christmas tree or two around the corner. It was like stepping into Whoville from How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

 

There was even a banner overhead the street that said ‘God Jul!’, which was the Norwegian word for ‘Merry Christmas!’.

 

“Boy, they sure do take the holidays seriously around here, don’t they?” Mei asked, taking in the sights.

 

“Yeah, Christmas is a very magical time of year in this town.” Elsa nodded with another nostalgic smile, which immediately vanished. “Too bad Kris won’t be awake to enjoy it.”

 

Mei frowned and turned to Kris. True to his mother’s words, he really is missing out on the best time of the year. But the girl shook her head, trying to forget about the negative and worry about the positive. 

 

The aunties had broken away from the three cars to go look for hotels to stay at, where hopefully they’ll find someone who speaks English to rent rooms for them all. Tom was fluent in a few other languages, including Norwegian, so hopefully he’ll be of some use. Few more blocks later on the icy road, they were passing an old schoolhouse on one side of the road that Elsa recognized.

 

“There’s the elementary school Kris went to.” Elsa pointed out with melancholia.

 

They all passed by the town and drove even further into the mountains and about a mile or so, driving through thick woodland areas, they finally made it to their destination. It was an old farm that rested upon about 30 acres in a large open clearing and surrounded by the forest and was half a mile from the fjord nearby; the water having been frozen over and also covered in snow, making it blend in with the rest of the landscape so much that you wouldn’t be able to tell if there was water there at all. 

 

A gigantic fenced-up pasture for livestock about 20 yards wide in length, empty save for a lone Norwegian Red dairy cow, lazily standing in the snowy field, completely unbothered by the frigid, sub-zero weather conditions. The cow herself lived her head up to see everyone drive on in and got a good idea on who might be in one of those vehicles. Someone she hadn’t seen in years.

 

The barn has certainly seen better days; in a near state of ruin and disrepair like an ancient tomb. No other livestock to be seen or heard. And the house itself was no different, but still in good enough living condition. Elsa parked the car and stepped out to have a good look at the place that she hadn’t seen in years. She remembered visiting this farm many times while she and her family were still living in Norway. 

 

Ming and Mei stepped out as well to get a look of their own. A very authentic and rustic location, as a matter of fact.

 

“Wow, this place is……cute.” Mei responded. 

 

“I grew up on this farm when I was a little girl.” Elsa said walking all around. “I recognize every square inch of this land. Hell, I could walk blindfolded if I could. And then there’s…”

 

She stopped mid-sentence when she heard a familiar moo sound and saw the cow in the pasture and gasped with remembrance in her gleaming eyes.

 

“Umbla!” She cried out and rushed over as the cow dashed over to greet her. Elsa laughed and hugged her like an old friend, to which the animal rubbed her head all over her body and gave her a lick.

 

“I know. I missed you too.” She told her. It was truly a sight to behold. Standing here face to face with her old nanny when she was baby and when Kris was a baby. Umbla mooed at her acknowledgment.

 

“Yeah, sorry I left years ago, but I just wanted to build my life somewhere else. Make new memories, you know?”

 

Umbla mooed in disappointment, but understanding. Then the cow went to greet the others. Ming’s never seen a cow up close before, so she was overly cautious in approaching and gently petting her on the head. Though Mei was more welcoming to the animal since she’s thought about protesting against the slaughter and inhuman treatment of cows on farms in the past. Umbla didn’t protest when the girl hugged her around the neck.

 

“Hello!” She greeted cheerily. “Nice to meet you, Umbla!”

 

Umbla mooed a warm greeting to her, then noticed the comatose Kris still in the car. She mooed sadly in his direction, which Mei took notice of.

 

“Oh, that. It’s……a long story. But he’ll be okay.” Mei informed the cow gently and comfortingly. “......I hope.”

 

Afterwards, Elsa went to let both Gnasher and Grinder out of the car from the back and the two billy goats practically flew right out of the vehicle like a pair of dogs who just arrived at a dog park and like domesticated mutts, they ran all around the snowy field and played around a bit, butting each others heads and all that. Wu and Jin got out of the car and into their winter coats as soon as the passengers of the last car got out. Morten almost wept as soon as he got a gander of the giant mountains lining up the surrounding area.

 

But time was of the essence, so on he marched the house’s front porch and rapped at the door, waiting with anticipation. After a couple of minutes, the door flung open and Morten stood face-to-face with another man about two years older than him with a beard and thinning gray hair, bags under his eyes, which beheld a tired look and a centuries work of age all over his skin with liver spots and such painting his flesh. He wore a black long-sleeved shirt, jeans and boots.

 

“Hey, brother. I really missed you.” Morten went to hug his older brother after years apart.

 

Aksel sighed and begrudgingly accepted the hug, having missed him as well.

 

“Hey. Glad you made it.” He grunted in his deep tenor.

 

Breaking apart, Morten pointed to Elsa standing behind them with Stig.

 

“I’d like you to meet my daughter, Elsa and her son, Stig.” Morten introduced his other family members.

 

“Hey, uncle.” Elsa waved at him with a half-smile.

 

“Hi.” moaned Stig with a lack of a smile.

 

“Hmm.” Aksel grunted, having them both in with his inspecting eyes. “Welcome back home, niece. Grand nephew. So where’s the other one?”

 

“He’s still in the car. We might need some help wheeling him in.” His brother answered and hurriedly brought Aksel over to their rental where the boy remained. Aksel observed and examined him, scrutinizingly and less-visibly shocked to see Kris in such a poor state.

 

“How did this happen?” He asked.

 

“Uh, I think it’s best if we explained it after we get him inside first.” Ming brought up, answering for everyone while Aksel eyed her curiously.

 

“And who are you?”

 

“I’m Ming Lee and this is my daughter, Meilin, my mother Wu and my husband, Jin.” Ming quickly got to work introducing her own family members, at least the only ones who were here on the farm.

 

Aksel turned to Elsa, then instinctively held up a hand to cut off before he said anything, not wanting to divulge it right now.

 

“Don’t, please. I’ll tell you later, okay?” She said strictly. “Right now, just help me get my son inside. Roar, Rudolf, can you boys get over here and lend a hand, please?”

 

The aforementioned duo quickly came over once she called their attention. Rudolf was about to pelt Roar with a snowball, but reluctantly dropped it and joined everyone else over by the car. 

 

The stretcher they brought was in Jin and Wu’s car, which they fetched and carefully strolled over, trying not to slip on the snowy earth. Then they worked together to lift the boy’s body onto the stretcher and strolled him over to the deck. The safest option in this case was to lift the stretcher up and carry him up the steps and be super careful not to trip or slip, lest they run the risk of dropping Kris onto the ground. Thankfully, they had no issues getting him inside the house through the door.

 

Meanwhile, Umbla, Gnasher and Grinder eyed the ordeal going on from afar in the pasture. Each of them worried for the boy’s life as the humans were. But then the sound of cawing brought their attention over to a leafless tree in their pasture. There were the two ravens again. Sitting on a lone branch looking down at them. 

 

𝕳𝖚𝖌𝖎𝖓𝖓 and 𝕸𝖚𝖓𝖎𝖓𝖓, the eyes and ears of Odin, the All-Father, cawed down at them one at a time.

 

Umbla mooed her answer at them. The ravens cawed back.

 

Gnasher bleated assuringly, though Muninn’s concerns were not uplifted as he cawed at them with a warning, which Gnasher nodded to. However, Grinder bleated questioningly.

 

Huginn reminded him that it was not their place to say. Grinder was about to ask again, when Umbla nudged him with her hoof, albeit roughly, to shush him up, giving him a stern glare, then she blurted out a reassuring proclamation to them. Huginn and Muninn both looked at each other, then nodded to the three, cawing at them to take care and to be careful before they flew out of the branch and took flight into the air before disappearing before their eyes.

 

Suddenly, they all collectively started to sense something in the woods around them. Looking all around together, there was nothing around. Nothing out of the ordinary.

 

But they knew for a fact that there was positively someone……or something was out there somewhere with intentions that were far from auspicious. Someone who may be out to get Kris, dead or alive.

 

And they needed to make sure that the boy was in good hands.

Notes:

And now everyone's arrived in Norway to see what Morten is trying to figure out and brings them all to his and Elsa's old childhood home on an old farm near a fjord. And we've met Morten's estranged older brother, Aksel, who very much lacks a cheery disposition. And they've been able to transport the comatose Kris on the plane. Honestly, not sure if its even possible to fly to other countries with coma patients in real life.

There's also Umbla, the "nanny cow" of the Bengtsson family, who, just like Gnasher and Grinder, have been with the family for ages and ages, looking after one generation after another, seemingly making them eternal. During their conversation with Huginn and Muninn, it should be obvious that they know something the humans do not.

How will they figure out how to help Kris? Stay tuned and find out.

Next Chapter: After settling in, the group spends some time together at the farm. Morten and Aksel show Wu pictures of past memories, even a locked up basement door that they’ve been forbidden from entering and Ming and Elsa even take some time to reminisce about their past friendship.

Next Update: March 31, 2023

Chapter 4: A Day Together

Summary:

After settling in, the group spends some time together at the farm. Morten and Aksel show Wu pictures of past memories, even a locked up basement door that they’ve been forbidden from entering and Ming and Elsa even take some time to reminisce about their past friendship.

Kris was carried upstairs to the second floor of the house. He was escorted into the old bedroom Morten and Aksel used to share back when they were children. To be frank, the entirety of the farmhouse’s interior has remained completely unchanged for the past centuries, like it was permanently trapped in the 1920’s. Literally everything inside was archaic from the furniture to the stove to the kitchen table to the stove and especially to the picture frames on the walls. An elk trophy on the wall next to the cupboard, which Mei cringe in disgust at the sight of it. No television set, just an antique tombstone radio. Cobwebs and years worth of dust littered the place.

 

You might as well be stepping into a historical monument rather than someone’s humble abode. 

 

Kris was placed on Morten’s old bed while the machines were set up on the nightstand and such, then a raggedy-old quilt placed over his body like a blanket. Sure, they had to brush off some of the dust first, causing Mei to sneeze. Their bedroom was just down the hall from their parents’ master bedroom, which is where Morten’s aging father was. 

 

Once inside the room, there on a large queen-sized bed, sat an ancient 102-year old man right on death’s door whose wrinkly, loose skin had worn off his bones, gray, watery eyes, a toothless mouth with only gums, ear hair, a thinning scalp with scarcely few pieces of white hair, making him look like a barely-living corpse. 

 

An empty cup for his dentures sitting on his nightstand.

 

“Hey, Pappa.” Morten whispered as he gently walked inside to greet his father who he’s never seen in forever. He knew the old geezer’s time was up, but it didn’t bother him in the least. He was ready for this. He’s only glad that would be right here next to him once his time ran out. 

 

“Hope you’ve had a Merry Christmas.” He said, gingerly grasping his dying father’s boney hand. “And lived a good life.”

 

Elsa, Wu and Ming all come inside as well while the two brothers sit next to the bed by their father’s side. Elsa stood before her own grandfather on the other side of the bed while Wu wretched in disgust from the odd smell the old man gave off, though Ming nudged her sternly, reminding her not to be rude.

 

“I’m sorry about all this.” Ming spoke up with sympathy.

 

“It’s bound to happen eventually. It’s gonna hurt, but I’ve been prepared for this.” Morten muttered. “At least he won’t be alone.”

 

“Yeah…” Ming sighed.

 

Losing someone is the worst. And letting someone go is never easy.

 

Having spent enough with the venerable man in the room, the adults marched downstairs where the teens were all checking the place out with Jin who was inside the kitchen, getting a full scope of everything from a bygone era; the icebox, which at least had some food in it, the stove was very retro. The man even wondered if he would be able to cook anything on that thing. Probably not. It’s not safe to try to use a stove that you don’t know how to work.

 

“Some place this is.” Stig commented blankly, wiping some dust off a surface, getting on his palm.

 

“It’s got some character, you know what I’m saying?” Mei replied positively.

 

The goth boy groaned at her and went to drop himself onto one of the chairs in the living room, causing more dust particles to fly into the air, which made him sneeze.

 

“Better hope this place has enough electricity to power those damn machines.” He retorted with boredom. “Those things are the only things keeping him alive.”

 

“Can you not talk like that please?” begged Mei. “It’ll just worry me even more.”

 

“Well, you should be worried. In fact, we all should be.” countered Stig.

 

Then Aksel sat down at the dinner table after grabbing a bottle of aquavit from the fridge. Wu and Ming sat down on the right side of the table while Elsa took a solitary seat on the left side.

 

“So who are you again?” Aksel asked Ming with his bottle in hand.

 

“I’ve told you already.” Ming didn’t understand the context of the question.

 

“I didn’t mean your name.”

 

“Oh, well, um. Where do I even start?” She began with a faltering preamble, eyes darting around in all directions. “Well, our family owns the oldest temple back in Toronto, the Lee Family Temple that immortalizes our past ancestors, the most famous among them is Sun Yee.”

 

“Uh-huh.” grumbled Aksel with disinterest.

 

“You see, I’m Kris's manager at the temple.” Ming’s eyes nervously moved downward with regret. “......well, I used to be, anyway.”

 

Elsa shot a sarcastic look her way.

 

“Did he pick a new job?” Morten’s tired-eyed brother asked.

 

“No! I don’t know!” Ming stressed, shaking her head. “Look, the reason why I’m here is because I’m mostly the reason why Kris is in a coma to begin with. And I’m really, really, really hoping to see what I can do to fix my mistake.”

 

“I didn't originally invite them along, but Ming was persistent.” jabbed Elsa.

 

“And it looks like we’re stuck with them.” Carl remarked with a brash tone.

 

Wu glared at the retired police lieutenant with a ‘hmph’ sound, generally directed at him.

 

“Anyway, mind telling us this theory of yours, professor.” The elderly woman turned to face Morten who took his spot by the table upon being asked.

 

“Theory, huh?” Aksel turned to face his brother.

 

“Okay…” Morten took a deep breath in through his mouth and nostrils. “Seven months prior, I found two ravens sitting on Kris’s chest in his room, staring down at him.”

 

“What? Ravens?” Mei chirped with surprise, marching over to the table with Stig, Roar and Rudolf.

 

“Yes. I don’t know how they even got in if the window was shut.” Everyone eyed each other strangely. Elsa just shook her head and shrugged as if to tell them she didn’t quite believe it either. “After I let them both out, however, they both disappeared into thin air before my very eyes.”

 

This was met with a still silence.

 

“I couldn’t believe myself. It just wasn’t possible. How can two birds disappear like that? Anyway, following this and the past few months after that, I’ve been hip-deep in a lot of research and from what I gathered, there are a pair of two ravens known in Norse mythology, owned by Odin, the All-Father and ruler of Asgard, home of the gods. His pet ravens, Huginn and Muninn, are his eyes and ears across the Nine Realms. I believe, alright, I believe that if those two ravens were there watching Kris, then it must mean that in some way, our family is, in a way, tied to the Norse gods and goddess of old.”

 

All unblinking eyes are frozen in his direction for a solid good few minutes with the only sounds in the room being the ticking of the grandfather clock.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

“Okay, what?” asked Mei.

 

“Wow. Just…wow.” Rudolf was speechless.

 

“Yep, this is what he dragged me and Kris back over here for.” Elsa sighed with annoyance.

 

“What are you saying? That Kris is half-god or something?” The mind-boggled Ming exclaimed. “......now that might explain a lot.”

 

“Beg your pardon?” Elsa sputtered.

 

“I think I’m starting to believe something like that.” said Wu, deep in thought, remembering the SkyDome fiasco.

 

“Morty, not sure what it was you thought you saw, by those old stories Pappa used to tell us? They’re just stories, okay?” Aksel replied, unconvinced of his brother’s claims.

 

“But hold on, though.” Stig spoke up. “I remember Kris having written a bunch of runes and symbols all over his bedroom walls, which looked Nordic by design.”

 

“Seriously?” Aksel’s eyebrow had been raised.

 

“I think that might have something to do with what we saw back at the SkyDome.”

 

“What are you talking about?” asked Elsa.

 

“Right as the thunderstorm appeared, Kris shot a massive lightning bolt out of his hands, then his whole body began to sparkle with electricity. And there was a symbol glowing on his forehead.”

 

“That’s enough, Stig.” Elsa didn’t want to hear any more of this.

 

“It’s true! We were all there!” Mei pounded the table, jumping into the conversation. “Then all of the sudden, boom! Kris turned into a huge, rotund, bearded man wearing medieval clothing, gauntlets and boots with tattoos on him.”

 

“Uhhhhhh……..” Elsa’s head collapsed on her crossed arms on the table. “Not this crap again.”

 

“And he was holding a hammer object in his hand.” Rudolf chimed in. “A huge hummer that sparkled with electricity and produced lightning bolts of its own. And when the man threw the hammer, it flew right back into his hand.”

 

“Hmm.” Aksel hummed with sudden curiosity.

 

“God, this is hell. I’m in hell.” moaned the stressed-out Elsa.

 

“And the man was……uh, very violent. Very strong and unyielding.” said Roar with enthusiasm. “The storm only seemed to get worse the angrier he got.”

 

Every ounce of this story persevered made Elsa start to bang her head on the table to drown out the words.

 

Simultaneously, Ming’s heart started to race when memories of that fateful night flooded back in her mind. Her blood ran cold and her stomach did somersaults, she sweated bullets, the hairs on the back of her neck stood up and the room looked like it was getting smaller and smaller like the walls were closing in around her. 

 

Why were the walls closing in? 

 

And why was her skin starting to tingle and tremble?

 

“Thunderstorm at the SkyDome?” Aksel perked up. “Yeah, I heard about that on the news. This giant freak storm that appeared in Toronto, Canada completely out of nowhere during the red moon eclipse. Freaking crazy. A hell-ton of collateral damage, but miraculously, no casualties. But there was also a report about a giant-”

 

POOF!

 

Pink smoke flooded the room, making everyone cough. Once cleared, Aksel got a good look of the giant red panda standing right where Ming was sitting, which winced nervously. Carl and Morten had both backed away in pure bewilderment, Wu, Jin and Mei were shocked to see Ming had accidentally panda'd out in front of a stranger, though Elsa, Stig, Roar and Rudolf were completely unfazed.

 

“.....what in God’s name?” gasped Aksel.

 

“Red panda…” Carl remembered when Elsa spoke up about the Lee family’s red pandas, then turned to the aforementioned woman in disbelief. “Is this what you meant?”

 

“Yes.” Elsa groaned, head falling back down.

 

“It’s okay!” Ming shouted, trying to soothe their worries. “This is normal for my family. Just give me a second.”

 

Then she took a second to calm herself down, taking deep breaths in and out, going to her happy place like Mei had taught all of them and finally it worked.

 

Ming poofed back to normal.

 

“Red panda.” Aksel finished. “Giant red panda. So you were the one who attacked the arena?”

 

“Yes. Yes, I am.” Ming cringed with embarrassment. “To be honest with you, that wasn’t really the best thing I ever did. I had lost control of myself and I was going through some growing pains.”

 

Elsa rolled her eyes with a groan.

 

“Growing pains?” Aksel remarked with a doubtful deadpan. “A middle-aged woman going through growing pains?”

 

“Yeah, because ‘ego trip’ was WAY too obvious.” retorted Stig with crossed arms.

 

“Hey!” Ming barked.

 

“Funny story about this, actually.” Mei started with upfront confidence. “Our ancestress, Sun Yee, asked the gods for protection and gave her the power to become a red panda.”

 

“......okay?” Carl stammered.

 

“And ever since then, all the women in our family have been blessed with the power of the red panda.”

 

“Is that why your hair is red?” asked Aksel, pointing a finger at the girl’s crimson locks.

 

“It’s kind of a side effect, I think.” Mei explained, brushing at her hair. “But I think it’s a cute look on me, don’tcha think?”

 

“Oh, I agree.” Rudolf nodded with a dumb smile.

 

“But on every red moon, we must perform a ritual to help seal our red pandas away. Which is what was supposed to happen if someone hadn’t chosen to keep their beast.” Wu brought up wryly and turned a steely gaze toward Mei as she said that, who only rolled her eyes. “And on top of that, we’ve all had to release our own pandas to help undo the mess, but it was too late. Now we’re all stuck like this until the next red moon! In the next THREE YEARS!”

 

“We?” Aksel quipped.

 

“Me, Mei-Mei, my mother, my two sisters, my niece and my cousin.” Ming sighed. “They’re all here as well.”

 

“When you said there were ‘others’ with you, I didn’t think you’d be bringing in a caravan.” Aksel jabbed towards his brother.

 

“And you’re sure this red panda thing won’t be a problem?” asked Carl seriously.

 

“Don’t worry.” Mei waved it off. “Any strong emotion we feel will release the panda. So as long as we don’t freak out or anything and keep it together, we won’t transform. But you’d be surprised by the pros that can come with turning into a giant red panda."

 

---

 

Afterwards, Elsa and Morten temporarily left the farm with the remaining Lees to help them locate a hotel to stay at and book a room for them since they can’t speak or understand Norwegian. Putting it simply, the Bengtssons had to be their interloper, translating everything for the Lees. Not strangely enough, the place had wound up being the same hotel that the aunties and uncles were staying at.

 

The next morning, everyone got to work in shoveling up the snow on the road in order to make a smoother passage to get inside and outside of the farmland. Now there was only one guest room in the house. For sleeping arrangements, Elsa had chosen to sleep in the shared bedroom with Kris, taking Aksel’s old bed, Carl and Morten took the one spare bedroom with the former using a cot that was kept in the attic, Stig, Roar and Rudolf bunked in the nursery with sleeping bags and Aksel took to the couch downstairs. And make no mistake, it was difficult to get any rest in a dingy and rickety old place.

 

Rudolf had slept uneasily and restlessly himself that night since he took a while to actually fall asleep, afraid that the house might be haunted.

 

“Ooh, what a night.” groaned Stig, still wrestling the aching tiredness from his body while shoveling up piles of snow off the ground. “Instead of spending Christmas at home in a nice, warm bed, I’m stuck sleeping on the floor in a fucking sleeping bag.”

 

“Dude, you sleep on two mattresses on the floor in your room.” Roar reminded him.

 

“That’s not the same! I’m laying on a hard-wood floor with a blanket wrapped around me.”

 

“If you want, I could cuddle with you in your sleeping bag. I could keep you all nice and warm and cozy.” Rudolf offered, hugging himself for emphasis.

 

“I’d rather freeze to death.” Stig stonily remarked.

 

“Maybe if I had my shirt off, then our combined body heat-”

 

Stig pelted him with a huge chunk of snow with his shovel to shut him up, in no mood for his yammering right now. 

 

Within the hour, the frozen road was level and sturdy enough for cars to get in safely. And then without warning, the Lees all returned to the farmhouse later that morning to spend most of their time with the Bengtssons that day with Adam, Charlie and Tom joining them as the parkway near the farmhouse became crowded with rental vehicles. And you could almost imagine Aksel’s surprise when a bunch of Asian ladies wearing all green with the same exact bright red hair showed up on their land.

 

“Hello!” They all chorused.

 

“I see you folks are a fan of green.” Aksel remarked, looking at everyone’s clothes and their matching hair color. “....and red.”

 

“Green is a very attractive and charming color.” Chen spoke with an honest opinion.

 

“So those two are Ping and Chen, my sisters.” Ming began the introductions. “That’s my cousin, Helen, and that’s Ping’s daughter, Lily.”

 

“Nice to meetcha!” Lily waved at the surly old man, who didn’t wave back. Then she looked all around the surrounding area from the barn to Umbla sitting in the pasture with Gnasher and Grinder. “This is a lovely place you got here. It’s very authentic and quant. Very old-fashioned, if I do say so myself.”

 

“Quiet, Lily!” Wu barked.

 

“Let it go, mom.” Ming hissed at her.

 

“It’s been in the family for thousands of years.” Aksel replied dryly. “I used to live here, but not anymore. I live in an apartment complex in Molde. I’m just staying here for the moment to use the place as a hospice.” 

 

“Hospice?” gasped Ping as the other aunties and uncles.

 

“Our father is dying soon.” Morten mournfully stated.

 

“Could be today or could be tomorrow, I don’t know. But the old geezer’s time on this Earth is just about up.” finished Aksel with an unchanged face.

 

“Oh, gosh.” Ping held a hand to her face with sympathetic surprise.

 

“Well, we give our condolences.” Tom replied. “When the time comes, of course. Sorry to hear that.”

 

“You don’t look very upset about it.” Adam remarked suspiciously and unnervingly at Aksel, which earned him a sharp elbow in the ribs by Helen and a warning glare.

 

“I’m handling it my way. Death comes for us all.”

 

Morten grumbled to himself and hardened his gaze. Straightforward as always, typical Aksel. That’s his brother for you.

 

“Um, well, anyway. Why don’t we show you all around the place?” Elsa chimed in to help mitigate the tense subject.

 

Then came the full tour.

 

The interior and exterior of the farmhouse. An establishment looking like it was stuck in the past, though time still did its work on it. The barn was devoid of livestock. According to little personal history, this farm used to be crawling with livestock - chickens, pigs, geese, cows, horses, you name it. However, back during the Great Depression, the owners of the farm at the time had to sell all their livestock due to the serious financial debt. Well, except Umbla and the two goats, that is.

 

Some time after that, inside of buying new livestock, the owners decided to harvest crops instead. Then they grew coffee beans, wheat, soybeans and herbs. But eventually business on the farm had to come to an end. People said the place was getting too old to still be in full swing, which Elsa thought was ridiculous. In fact, there had been other farms that became far more successful and popular than them. So the land had to be left to rot and anyone in the Bengtsson family who claimed ownership of the farm had to work separate jobs to support themselves. As for Umbla, her job was the nanny. She was the caretaker and nurturer of any newborn children, such as Aksel, Elsa and especially Kris when he was a baby.

 

---

 

Inside the halls of the house, Morten and Aksel were showing Wu pictures on the walls from ages long begone. There was one grainy photo from either 1920 or 1938, which had both brothers in it, both in their late teens, and their father, who was in his 40’s then, still in his prime. It appeared to have been taken during a hunting trip as they were standing before the prostate body of the stag, father holding his twin-barrel Krag-Jørgensen rifle with pride. 

 

However, Aksel was the only one not smiling in the photo.

 

“That’s us when Pappa took us both hunting together.” Morten said, pointing at his younger self. “When he wanted to teach us how to handle firearms and survive in the wilderness.”

 

“I shouldn't be too surprised that your father would take you two out hunting.” Wu remarked.

 

“Well, when you live out in the woods, you gotta make do.” The retired college lecturer pointed at the familiar fallen deer in the photo. “See that? I shot that buck myself with Pappa’s gun. That’s the same stag propped up on the wall back there.”

 

“Oh, by the ancestors.” Wu gasped elegantly with shock at the idea. Two teen boys learning to kill wild game with loaded weapons. Does nobody realize how dangerous that is?

 

“He didn’t go down that easily, let me tell you.” Then Morten lifted his shirt up to reveal a huge scar on the right side. “Tried to get me with his antlers. The fucker had a fighting spirit in him. A worthy competitor, he was.”

 

Stroking her own scar on her face, seeing this almost made Wu remember the time she had gotten hers, though she didn’t have the heart to bring it up now.

 

“And that’s why you were Pappa’s favorite.” Aksel retorted monotonously.

 

“Did you teach your daughter to handle a gun as well?” asked Wu with crossed arms and a stern look, against the idea of parents teaching their children how to use loaded weapons like guns.

 

“No, she was afraid to use them.” Morten admitted.

 

“Well, I’d hope so.”

 

“Not until she got older.” interjected Morten, earning a look of shock from the woman.

 

“Young ladies should not be handling firearms.” The elder Lee scoffed.

 

“Why? Too unattractive?” Aksel remarked sarcastically.

 

“Too dangerous! Do you realize how many fatal accidents involving guns have occurred over the years?!” 

 

“Elsa's been very careful with hers.” Morten countered with. “But she’s been hesitant to even use it.”

 

However, the traditionalist woman still snorted with disdain and returned her eyes to the portrait on the wall.

 

“I don’t you smiling here.” Wu mentioned, eyeing the apathetic face on Aksel’s younger self in the photo.

 

“Yeah, Aksel’s never been a smiler.” said Morten knowingly.

 

Wu looked directly toward his brother and Aksel made light of this claim by giving her a sarcastic, exaggerated toothy grin……which made her cringe.

 

“Ehhhh….” The noise that escaped her lips said it all.

 

Then she turned her light of sight elsewhere until it fell upon a mysterious-looking locked door a little further from where they stood, which was curiously enough, held shut with chains and a large rusty old prison lock. The elderly woman was stunned.

 

“What’s in there?” asked Wu, pointing at it.

 

Morten and Aksel’s faces both turned sour when they both saw the familiar doorway.

 

“We don’t know. We were never allowed down there.” Morten explained seriously. “I’ve asked Pappa about it many times, but he would never tell me. Must be very important to keep it locked up like that.”

 

“A well-guarded Bengtsson family secret for decades and decades to come.” said Aksel as he and his brother walked away, leaving Wu to gaze longingly at the door with odd curiosity.

 

What could possibly be inside that room that was so important to be kept a secret?

 

---

 

Outside on the frozen lake, Aksel and Morten had invited Carl, Stig and the two boys out on the frozen surface to do a little ice fishing. Askel equipped himself with an ice auger, some live bait (mainly worms) and a bucket to put some fresh catch in. All the adults were seated in chairs with bottles of aquavit watching the experienced fisher use the auger to drill a hole straight through the ice. Then they got their poles ready with the worms. The aunties all came over with chairs of their own to watch the whole thing, even cheering the guys on.

 

The three boys decided to go for the old-fashioned way by cutting a large hole in the ice with a saw. Rudolf was extraordinarily careful in cutting through the thick frozen barrier, but ended up failing straight into the water in his foolish attempt to get the ice circle loose while Stig and Rudolf both helped him out of the water before he could catch cold.

 

Meanwhile, Elsa was sitting alone on a bench far from the farmland that overlooked the whole entire fjord and the line of tall mountains surrounding it. It truly warmed her heart to see the familiar beautiful sight of her homeland after many years away. 

 

Then she noticed Ming sauntering over to place herself next to her on the bench. Elsa frowned, but didn’t protest.

 

Ming sat there quietly, unsure of what to say before she saw something familiar around Elsa’s wrist.

 

“You actually kept it?”

 

Lifting it up, Elsa looked at the silver bracelet with the heart on that had ‘M & E’ engraved on it. The woman surprisingly smiled upon seeing it.

 

“Yeah, I guess so.” She answered with a brief chuckle. “I thought about throwing it away long ago, but I just couldn’t. It was too precious to get rid of.”

 

“I’ll say.” Ming agreed, reaching in her pocket and pulled out a similar bracelet, indicating that she couldn’t bear getting rid of her own either, then placed it back on her wrist. “There. That’s better.”

 

“Don’t get cocky, though.” Elsa reminded her strongly. “I’m still kinda mad at you. But I could never forget the times we’ve spent together back in the day. You know, like when I stood up for you against Rude Druud.”

 

“Ugh, Pamela Druud.” Ming rolled her eyes with disgust at the reminder of a certain queen bee they’ve put up with in school. “She was just soooo annoying. Always thought she was smarter than me and better than me. And always got everything she wanted. That prissy Little Miss Perfect.”

 

“And she screamed like a little kid when we dumped a bucket of ice-water on her head.”

 

That made both mothers laugh out loud, remembering back to that prank. Sure, they both got Sunday detention, but it was worth it.

 

“And the time when we both went as Michael Anderson’s date for the prom?” Ming brought up with a gleam in her eyes.

 

Elsa blushed, then sighed with contentment, now remembering the music, the dress Ming wore and the suit Michael had on and oh, how cute he looked in it. The boy was handsome, charming and so funny. Sadly, Wu forbade Ming from attending the dance, saying that Lee women like them had no time for such boring trivialities like proms, but, of course that didn’t stop Ming from going anyway, by sneaking out of the house after her mother went to bed. Suddenly, Elsa’s smile vanished when a memory made her face contort with sadness.

 

“A-And the time when I signed up for women’s basketball?” She said to get the memory out of her head.

 

“And when I aced that math test in Mr. Krohl’s class?”

 

“And when we did karaoke together?”

 

“And when we snuck out to see that movie? What was it again? Hollywood High?”

 

“Oh, yeah.” Elsa snickered. “It was good, but it wasn’t great. Mainly ‘cause there was that one guy sitting behind us who just wouldn’t shut the hell up.”

 

“Hmm, yeah, I was so close to marching over there and decking that moron.” seethed Ming before smiling.

 

“And…….times when you said I smelled like a horse, or that I pined for the sloppy doofus Chester, or that I was planning to go get back at Jordan Idman for ‘stealing my thunder on the court’, need I continue?”

 

Ming’s heart dropped at Elsa’s sudden change in tone to a darker one once she began to list off the many hurtful and rude things Ming has done to her friend after she had her red panda sealed away, when their friendship took a turn for the very worst and when Ming began dedicating herself to Wu’s standards and commands.

 

“And when your mother made it clear to me that her precious daughter had no time for disgusting delinquents like me and to go away.” Elsa’s tone got darker and more sensitive the more she went on, her face taking on a dangerous scowl.

 

“She……she said that?” stuttered Ming incredulously.

 

“And by the way, my ‘wild, crazy and abysmal life’ is going just great, by the way. Thanks for asking.” Elsa quipped straight at her with harsh sarcasm, then got up to walk away from her, but the gobsmacked and desperate Ming shot right up to catch up to her, running to stand right in front of her, blocking her path.

 

“Elsa, wait! Stop! Look, you really don’t think that I’ve spent the rest of my life regretting those words?” Ming pleaded with her tenaciously. “I never wanted that. I hated myself for brushing you off, my only friend. I hated that things ended poorly between us, Elsa. I loved you as a friend. Hell, you were the only friend I ever had and I blew that all away. I’ve let my mother’s influence get a hold of me, because…..well, we kinda had an argument years back when I fell in love with Jin, which she didn’t approve of, and then I struck her as the red panda. And ever since then, I’ve been trying to make it up to her by living up to her expectations and I even tried doing so with Mei-Mei, trying to maintain the perfect image my mother would’ve wanted, but none of that matters anymore, okay? None that should’ve ever mattered. I’ve pushed you away and it was the worst mistake I ever made. But I’ve made even worser mistakes than that over the years, including my most recent one back at the SkyDome. I don’t think I'll ever get over that any time soon.”

 

And as Ming droned on and on, she inhaled and shook her head, but could not help looking back at her with a saddened expression on her countenance. After thinking it over and realizing how genuine her words were, Elsa brought Ming into a hug, which surprised her, but she accepted it nonetheless.

 

“I guess that was a good enough start.” Elsa sighed, holding her tightly. “I know trying to please a mother like yours can be stressful and I know because of that, you were afraid of upsetting her or disappointing her because of the pressure.”

 

“I really was.” Ming nodded with a tear in her eyes. “But losing you hurt worse. You understood me. You were there for me. You knew what I wanted. I never should’ve casted you aside like that. It wasn’t right. And it wasn’t fair.”

 

Ming sniffled, letting more of her hot tears fall.

 

“I know I can't take back everything I’ve said, but I really want to be your friend again and I’m sorry. Sorry for shutting you out of my life. Being your friend was the best thing ever. But I fucked up and your son paid the price in the worst way possible.”

 

They ended the embrace to look into each other’s eyes.

 

“And right now, Kris’s life is at stake. He needs us right now. He needs you right now. And I refuse to let anything else happen to him.” Ming declared boldly.

 

“Me too.” Elsa nodded with a watery smile. “I just hope it’s not too late. I don’t forgive you just yet, but I will accept your apology.”

 

“Thank you. I just hope we can be friends again.” Ming smiled gratefully, wiping her tears away. 

 

She knew an apology wasn’t going to be enough, but it was still a good start regardless. So Elsa allowed Ming to walk back with her together and all was silent between them before Elsa chose the moment to mention something to her former friend.

 

“He cried, you know.”

 

“What?”

 

“After I picked him from Tyler’s party after you fired him,....” Ming winced at her tone. “....he sobbed like a baby. He cried his eyes out all the way home.”

 

Ming’s eyes widened at that and she started to feel more tears sting her eyes. The memory of that night still haunted her just as the concert disaster did. The memory of biting the poor boy’s head off just for attending a party with her daughter, even though she snuck out behind her back, slapping him in the face and dismissing him for that one ridiculous reason would never leave her brain. But she never would’ve thought that her actions would cause such great emotional anguish in the boy.

 

She had made him cry when all he ever did was help out at the temple. This notion only made her feel even worse. Made her feel like a remorseless monster.

 

“I….I never meant to-”

 

“And soon after that, Kris hasn’t said a single to me or anyone else.” Elsa continued uninterrupted. “No matter how many times I’ve tried to talk to him, he would never respond at all. He wouldn't even look me in the eye. And worse, he got suspended from school for injuring a classmate and destroying school property.”

 

“He did what?!”

 

“I suspect it was one of the Monroes.” Elsa glowered. “Those three punks have been pounding on my baby for a long time now. Almost every afternoon, he’d come home with bruises and wounds on him.”

 

Ming gasped, remembering those times when Kris would show up for work looking battered and bruised. And yet, she had the gall to think he’d been doing that to himself for whatever nonsense reason she thought of?

 

“I think it had to be Melvin Monroe, who calls himself “the Moose” for some reason.” said the Scandinavian woman. “Anyway, the faculty said, from the students’ perspective no less, that Kris grabbed him by the throat and threw him through at least four walls and onto the bleachers outside, which became bent and buckled upon impact.”

 

At this point, Ming had absolutely no words.

 

“It was crazy. Hard to believe Kris would do anything like that.” Elsa shook her head with a stressed sigh, fingertips to her temples.

 

Crying after Tyler’s party, withdrawing from social interactions, refusing to communicate, putting a bully in the hospital. It felt as if Ming had been stabbed in the heart to think she had been the cause of Kris’s possible descent into madness. It may not be exactly that, but that is what one would assume it to be. All this time, Ming had undeniably become the real problem. The boy may have come off as strange to her and it did worry her to some extent when he and her Mei-Mei interacted the majority of the time during his job at the temple. Sure, the boy was everything Mei wasn’t, he was everything but perfect like she was, or at least what Ming wanted her to be, but that didn’t make him a bad person.

 

He had never wronged her or her daughter. He’s never proved to be a threat since his entire time working for her. He’s never insulted her, taken advantage of her, stolen from her or tried to make her look bad. Kris was desperate. Desperate to assist his jobless mother in supporting the family until she had gotten a job herself. The boy got along with the customers, he excelled at the register like a pro and he did his best to show up on time, but never got the gratitude or the payment he deserved. But also, Kris was suffering.

 

Putting up with her crap everyday, taking every hurtful discredit, every threat and every unfair accusation without question like a mindless robot. Like a minion. The kid practically became her own personal punching bag. Tolerating abuse day and night at school and at work until it became too much for him to handle. Ming made it seem so easy to push someone to the brink of insanity. After all, there was a limit to how much a person could possibly take before finally snapping.

 

Kris didn’t just snap. He went berserk.

 

And it was bone-chillingly terrifying.

 

To think that her poor judgment and selfish treatment of someone could push them that far over the edge.

 

“But let’s not think too much of it. Nothing worth worrying about now.” Elsa brushed everything off like it was nothing.

 

“Y-Yeah.” Ming hesitated.

 

“You know, regarding my father’s talk about Norse mythology.” Her former friend stated. “Well, my son is just as obsessed with mythology and ancient lore as he is.”

 

“No kidding?” Ming smirked.

 

“Last year, Kris did a book report on the epic poem, Beowulf.” Elsa reminisced. “And he had passed…….with a B-.”

 

“A B-?!”

 

“I mean, that’s definitely something, right? A B- isn’t too bad.” said the Bengtsson mother. “Grades aren’t that important. They’re very necessary, yes. But all that mattered was that he did good enough and he tried his best. Better than nothing. Not everyone has the luxury of being a grade-A honor student.”

 

“You should see my Mei-Mei’s test scores. They’re off the charts.” Ming remarked almost braggingly.

 

“It’s not a contest, Ming. They’re just grades.” Elsa rolled her eyes.

 

“I beg to differ.”

 

“Yeah, sure, whatever.”

Notes:

So Morten theorizes that the Bengtsson family is somehow tied to the old Norse pantheon of folklore, which of course, sounds silly to everyone. However, he is truly adamant about it and he's been working hard to figure out why he saw those two ravens in Kris's room months prior. That ones that disappeared before his very eyes.

And now the aunties have finally arrived and everyone's ready for the Christmas vacation of their lives in old Norway, even though it technically isn't really a vacation. Digging into some personal family history, Kris has been born on an old farmhouse that his family has owned for billions of years, longer than anyone could remember, if I'm being honest. A farmhouse that used to be in business long ago before other means had to be resorted to to support the farmland. And there's a mysterious door in the house that's been locked up good and tight with chains, the secret behind it of which has been kept strictly under lock and key for years. Not even Morten and Aksel know what's behind the door since their father refused to divulge that information since it's been a well-guarded secret.

Now as for Ming and Elsa, they've truly been the closest friends back in high school during Elsa's semester in Canada. As you may have guessed, Wu didn't really take their friendship seriously as she was adamant about Ming focusing more on her studies, her reputation and her duties, similar to how Ming was to Mei in the movie. And after the incident where Ming attacked Wu in red panda form and had it sealed away, things between her and Elsa had to come to an end. A very drastic and harsh end at that. Of course, Elsa isn't really as forgiving of her about that, but Ming has regretted how she had casted her only friend aside just to appease her own strict and overbearing mother.

Stay tuned for more.

Next Chapter: That cold night, after the Lees return to their hotels, their farmhouse is suddenly attacked by a giant monstrous wolf named Fenrir who appears to be after Kris. Thankfully, they manage to ward it off.

Next Update: April 4, 2023

Chapter 5: The Boy Who Cried Wolf

Summary:

That cold night, after the Lees return to their hotels, their farmhouse is suddenly attacked by a giant monstrous wolf named Fenrir who appears to be after Kris. Thankfully, they manage to ward it off.

Notes:

C/W: Violent animal attack, gun usage

Back with the teens, they were all spending some time with each other in the snow. Getting into some snowball fights and making snow angels on the ground. The boys gave up on their ice fishing venture to enjoy themselves in the winter goodness. Mei and Rudolf went up against Stig and Roar. The match ended in a fair ‘3 out of a 4’ - Rudolf’s words. Don’t ask.

 

Mei stood at the base of the tree in the pasture and got a good look at the circumambient mountains and sighed with relaxation. Everything here was so picturesque. Like she had stepped inside of a Bob Ross painting. Kris really did live in a beautiful country. Still unable to believe they moved away, Mei wondered what made them move in the first place. Maybe they just wanted to start their life somewhere else. But it also made Mei feel very sad that they were enjoying themselves outside in the snow while Kris was stuck confined to a bed, evidently forever unless they do something about it. It was so unfair.

 

“Hey, Ruby. What’s the deal?” Mei jumped upon hearing Stig next to her.

 

“Uh, j-just thinking.” Mei stammered calmly. “About Kris mostly.”

 

“You don’t say.”

 

“It just feels wrong to be having so much fun on Christmas while he’s stuck in a bed hooked up to a bunch of medical equipment.” Mei went on raving.

 

“And who’s fault is that?” Stig retorted.

 

Mei sighed.

 

“Look, Stig, I get it. You’re right to be angry at me.” She confessed, not unfamiliar with Stig’s grudge. “I shouldn't have chickened out at Tyler’s party. This is all on me. But I’m trying to make this right.”

 

“Well, I am mad at you. For turning your back on Kris and letting him get abused at work and losing his job.” Stig looked toward her with flaming eyes. “However, you’re not truly to blame for the whole SkyDome thing. I’m actually referring to your mom.”

 

“Well, I guess I can’t argue with that.” Mei sighed dejectedly. “She’s actually the one that brought us all down here with you guys. She really feels kinda bad for possibly incapacitating Kris. And I only agreed to come along to help him. I don’t want to lose him, Stig. He needs us right now. And I need him.”

 

Stig exhaled with a frivolous shake of his head. As angry he was at her for her betrayal, he understood how awful she felt and how determined she was in righting the wrongs she committed.

 

“He’s gonna pull through. He has to.” Stig tells her with unwavering confidence.

 

Umbla approached the two standing there with a moo to get their attention, but mostly Stig. It’s a little known fact that the scary boy has this connection with animals. Almost like he could understand them. Their emotions, their thoughts and even their language. Ever since they arrived, Stig’s been getting the feeling that the animals know something that the humans don’t.

 

“Hey, Umbla.” Mei greeted her warmly.

 

The cow answered back with a moo in Stig’s general direction.

 

“What?” Stig’s eyebrow shifted upward. “Warn me about what?”

 

“Huh? What are you talking about?” asked Mei with confusion, looking at the boy as if lobsters were coming out of his ears. “Can you understand her or something?”

 

“I have this weird thing with animals. Somehow, I’m able to tell what they say. It’s really hard to explain.” Stig distractedly stated, looking toward Umbla.

 

“Well, what is she saying?” Mei gently asked.

 

“Say again?” Stig asked the cow.

 

Coming a bit closer and putting his head near Umbla’s head as he intently and readily listened to her urgent words that would otherwise be incomprehensible to other human ears.

 

“Uh, she’s saying that there will be sinister forces out there.” Stig translated. “.....that might be after Kris.”

 

“Wait, really?!” Mei gasped, dread gripping her heart. “Like what exactly?”

 

Stig listened to more of Umbla’s mooing and then looked at her strangely.

 

“Wolf? What wolf?” He asked her.

 

“A what?” Mei sputtered incredulously, only for Stig to shush her as Umbla explained it thoroughly.

 

“Oh, come on. There aren’t any wolves that big. Don’t be ridiculous.” Stig scoffed, shaking his head at the mere idea, then walked away. “We’ll still keep an eye on him, though. I guarantee you that.”

 

Looking back at Umbla, Mei just smiled uncomfortably and waved at her.

 

“Bye.”

 

Then she was gone as well. But still can’t shake the feeling that Kris may be in mortal danger. If what the cow said - or at least what Stig suggested she said - was true, then they would have to be super protective of Kris at all costs.

 

---

 

Everyone sat at the table in the house for a little Norwegian-style Christmas dinner. After all, just because Kris can’t be there to celebrate the holidays, doesn’t mean they shouldn’t at all. The Bengtssons decided to make a smorgasbord of traditional native yuletide dishes for everyone to try out. Elsa helped out her father and uncle buy the food at the market and prepare the spread for everyone and needless to say, what a lovely spread it was. A real cultural culinary adventure.

 

What was there to eat, you ask? Well, lend an ear and I’ll tell you.

 

There’s ribbe (or juleribbe), crisp crackling pork belly served with potatoes and gravy, medister sausages and pickled cabbage. Lutefisk, which was lye-treated stockfish served with mashed peas and lefse. Then there’s pinnekjøtt, that’s dry cured rib of mutton with mashed rutabaga. Juletorsk, poached cod with a butter sauce called sandefjordsmør. If you’re ever around in Norway during the holiday season, these dishes are worth a try.

 

For the drinks, which were mostly alcoholic, there was the Christmas beer called juleøl, gløgg (mulled wine), and of course, aquavit. For the non-alcoholic kind for the teens, obviously not old enough for alcohol consumption, there was the Christmas soda known as julebrus. Mei found it okay. Not like the sodas she preferred back at home, but still okay.

 

And for the dessert; kransekake (“wreath cake”), which was a stack of almond ring cakes, forming a conical pyramid, funnily enough looking like a Christmas tree sort of. Riskrem, which was rich porridge with whipped cream and red sauce made from berries. Karamell pudding, a custard dessert topped with a layer of soft caramel. Butter cookies called berlinerkranser, gingersnap-like cookies called sirupssnipper, donuts called smultringer and crullers called hojortetakk.

 

Now Ming was already ready to prevent her husband from having any of the sweets since he’s not allowed to have sugar. But Mei reminded her to just lay off and let him try some. Having just a tiny bit of candy never hurt anybody, anyway.

 

“I gotta say this is really interesting.” Chen chorused excitedly as she took a bite of the lutefisk. It had an odd, fetid smell to it, due to the fish aroma, but the taste was phenomenal. “Never had anything like it.”

 

“Well, we do take the holidays very seriously around here.” Morten replied, cutting off a choice piece of ribbe and putting it in his mouth.

 

Wu took a silent sip of her cup of gløgg while just eyeing everyone else at the table.

 

“Ooh, like from that Dr. Seuss book!” chirped Rudolf. 

 

“That’s the first place his mind goes when it comes to Christmas.” Stig muttered, causally eating his ribbe.

 

“I don’t blame him, really.” Lily spoke up. “The Grinch has been an all-time favorite of mine. In fact, Vivian and I went to see the live-action film back in 2000. The one with Jim Carrey in? It was weird given Carrey’s over-the-top performance, but overall, a classic that will live for the ages.”

 

“Are you kidding? I loved that movie!” Rudolf cried with stars in his eyes.

 

“Quiet, Lily!” Wu hissed, which Ming rolled her eyes at.

 

“Hey, you be quiet! We’re having an adult conversation over here!” Rudolf surprisingly quipped at the old woman with a hardened glance. For her part, Wu was taken aback by the boy taking back to her like that. Roar then sighed, patting him on the head like he was a pet dog.

 

“Chill, Dolf. Chill.”

 

“Well, for me, it would probably be A Christmas Carol.” Stig commented. “My favorite part is the three ghosts. But the Jacob Marley part always gets me.”

 

“Figures.” Mei shrugged. “You always were a fan of the scary stuff.”

 

“We were watching the Home Alone series weeks ago.” Lily chirped. “Toshio suggested it. He’s obsessed with those films.”

 

“Yeah, we’ve watched all three movies together after we saw the new one that came out last month.” Tom spoke and frowned. “That one wasn’t that great, to be honest.”

 

“I agree.” Jin added. “That movie was like an insult to the franchise.”

 

“Bringing back the old characters and replacing the stars that play them. Ugh! That just leaves a bad taste in your mouth.” groaned Lily, rolling her eyes.

 

“The first two movies are my only favorites.” replied Tom. “The third one was okay, I guess. Soundtrack was decent.”

 

“Toshio didn’t enjoy the new one either.” said Lily. “Whatever they come up with for the next movie will, for sure, be nothing more than a huge cash grab.”

 

“How is Toshio, by the way?” asked Shan and his daughter just gave a so-so expression.

 

“He’s still getting used to me. I wouldn’t say that he hates me and he doesn’t. I guess he just finds it weird how a total stranger woman is now suddenly living with him in his house.”

 

“A disarmingly attractive woman.” Tom smirked, bringing an arm around her thick waist.

 

Lily giggled like a schoolgirl and kissed his cheek.

 

“Well, as long as you’re doing good by her.” Lily’s father answered with, gazing strictly into Tom’s eyes and sending him a tiny warning.

 

“Of course he is, hon. Relax.” Ping told her husband assuringly, holding his hand.

 

“You know, Toshio joined the swim team a couple months back.” said Tom.

 

“Is that so?” Chen asked.

 

“Why the swim team?” asked Jin.

 

“Eh, he’s always been a bit of a water guy his whole life. Always loved being underwater or going for a dip or even getting wet. And his love for aquatic life is so astounding that it hurts my head.” explained Tom fondly. “I don’t know where he gets it. Probably his late mother. She was a marine biologist who worked at an aquarium back in Boston. Her parents were both lighthouse keepers.”

 

“Interesting.” Jin spoke with amazement. “What was she like?”

 

“Strong, fierce, smart, knew her fish, hated marine pollution.” Tom listed off everything about his late wife.

 

“Sounds like my kind of woman.” Mei commented on that last part, remembering when she fought to save the whales from extinction.

 

“But then she got sick from tuberculosis.” Tom’s voice turned glum. “The doctors did their best, but it was no good.”

 

Lily looked at him sympathetically and hugged him comfortingly from one side. Even Aksel eyed him with a version of his own pity since he knew that feeling all too well himself.

 

“I’m sorry about that. I hope Toshio’s handling it okay.” said Ping, concernedly.

 

“That was three years ago. I’m sure he’s accepted it by now.”

 

“Well, I probably won’t rush marriage any time soon. If Toshio is still overcoming his grief, then maybe he’s not quite ready to accept you as his new mother.” Ping reminded her daughter.

 

“Mom!” Lily blushed madly. “We’re not quite there yet! Are we?”

 

“No, it would be too soon.” laughed Tom. “But someday, we will be.”

 

“Are you sure it was a good idea to leave your son by his lonesome back at home?” asked Jin, who wasn’t too fond of the idea of leaving your children home alone while you’re away in a different country.

 

“Toshio’s a big boy. He can handle himself.” Tom waved off. “As long as he isn’t throwing any parties while I’m here like that one I was working overtime at the museum and I came home finding half a dozen people still over with loud music playing over the speakers. I grounded that boy for two weeks after that.”

 

“Two weeks?” Ping asked, surprised. “Wasn’t that a bit excessive?”

 

“I had strictly told him not to have anyone over, especially girls.” explained Tom with a firm tone. “He’s just lucky nothing got destroyed or ruined. But kids can be a handful sometimes, even in their teens.”

 

“Trust me, I know.” Ming smirked.

 

Mei rolled her eyes at her, which made her mother frown since she was making that face again.

 

“What about Vivian?” asked Chen. “Has she gotten her panda yet?”

 

“Not yet.” Lily shook her head. “She just turned 8 years old two months ago. The red panda doesn’t usually come out until you’re older than that.”

 

“Sorry that you had to miss her birthday.” Roar hesitantly asked with remorse.

 

“Oh, it’s fine.” Lily waved it off. “I called her and wished her a Happy Birthday. She’s fine back in China. Her great-aunt is taking good care of her.”

 

“What about you two?” Jin asked both Adam and Helen. “How are things with you at your place?”

 

“To be honest? It’s really great having this fine woman around.” Adam admitted, holding her hand, which made her smile with gratitude. “She gets along with the girls. They’re not even bothered by her red panda.”

 

“Yeah. In fact, Jaz came up with this fancy new fashion trend inspired by red pandas.” Helen confirmed. “She calls it ‘Panda Chic’. It’s really cute and super fabulous.”

 

“You two outta start your own fashion company.” Tom told her.

 

“Yes, indeed.” Wu sighed with disinterest, sipping some more gløgg. 

 

She was still against everyone treating their red pandas like toys or accessories. Their ancestress was given this blessing to protect her daughters from invaders centuries ago, but this, nowadays, was still an inconvenience. It was still dangerous if used wrong. How can any of them just suddenly be okay with it? The red moon ritual was for a good reason. 

 

To keep the messy and imperfect part of themselves locked away. To rid them of a heavy burden. To keep others safe from harm that the red panda causes. 

 

To ensure their perfect, normal lives go undisturbed and untarnished.

 

And they all were now stuck with their red pandas for the next three years to perform the ritual again.

 

“Ok, time to address the elephant in the room.” Ping spoke, wanting to land the plane as soon as possible. “So, Elsa, Ming tells us that your father thinks Kris is, uh…….some kind of….”

 

“God?” finished Shan.

 

“It’s hard for even me to understand. And we never said he was a god. And honestly, I’d love to not discuss this at the table.” Elsa sighed, fiddling with her fork.

 

They wanted to know about it, but they wisely kept their traps shut for her sake, since Elsa is still a little touchy about the incident with her son and it would be rude to pry into their personal affairs.

 

“Well, let’s change the subject, then.” Jin brought up.

 

“I agree.” Lily said, directing her attention to Stig. “Hey, you. What was that song you guys were singing?”

 

“Pardon?”

 

“T-The song you and your two friends were singing at the SkyDome to……uh, Kris?” Chen asked, deciding not to bring up any mention of Thor.

 

For some assurance, Stig looked at both Roar and Rudolf in the eyes seriously before pointing his eyesight at each of the Lees.

 

“It was called “Reap What You Sow”, a song by our favorite black metal rock band, Nörthfölk.” The mature-minded black-loving boy.

 

“Nörthfölk?” asked Lily, nonplussed. “What is that? Some kind of cult?”

 

“It-” Stig sighed with aggravation, tired of hearing people call it that. It’s a black metal band, for Christ’s sake. Their kind of names are gonna sound scary and biblical in a sense, but there are no such cults that have names like that. “Yeah, sure, whatever. Anyway, it’s a band that we and Kris had a real love for. I own every one of their current albums. I’ve listened to every one of their songs. They’re real headbangers. In fact, our dad was a fan of them. Our dad introduced them to me, our mom and Kris and we’ve been hooked on them ever since.”

 

With this in mind, Ming started to think back to the concert altercation when she was battered and beaten down. She remembered hearing them sing that song to the God of Thunder to calm him down and those lyrics made her remember that music Kris was listening to days prior. 

 

The loud, shrieking, wild as hell music and the people singing in deep, growling tones.

 

“Also, and I’m sorry for asking this, what about, uh, the guitar?” asked Shan.

 

The table fell silent at the mere mention of the word ‘guitar’ as it made them all remember when Ming destroyed the valuable instrument, which led to her getting her ass kicked. Ming, on the other hand, her breath and spit got caught in her throat.

 

“That guitar was a birthday present to him from our dad.” answered the goth. “When he was 5. He said he could only look after it for a while and learn how to play it until he got older………..But he never did.”

 

‘What?’ Ming thought to herself with surprise.

 

“Goodness.” Ping’s eyes widened.

 

“I see.” Wu nodded, listening in closely. Then she had a rather not-unusual judgmental look. “And where is your father right now?”

 

He tried to answer, but couldn’t bring himself to say it. Elsa’s attention at the moment was everywhere except the table and at anyone’s faces.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

“He died.”

 

……….came the straightforward answer from Carl.

 

No one, and I mean no one, said another single word after that. It was like their breath had been taken away. A cacophony of sympathy among some of them was evident. However, heartbreak was the word for Ming right now.

 

In fact, she was devastated. Tears began to sting her eyes as her calculative mind had pieced all the facts together faster than a speeding bullet.

 

Not only did she ruin Kris’s birthday, but apart from loving rock music, that electric guitar was a gift from his late father and it’s been keeping that as a memento of him since then.

 

And she had cold-heartedly destroyed it.

 

“Excuse me.” Ming wept, tears now falling down her cheeks as she got up from her seat. “I think I need to be alone for a minute.”

 

Although successfully managing to keep her guilt-ridden depression at a minimum to avoid panda’ing out in front of everyone, Ming departed from the table to have a solitary moment to herself. Everyone watched her as she took her exit, marching up the stairs. Quiet minutes floated by without anyone uttering a single syllable until Elsa sighed before getting up herself to go offer a little bit of comfort as best she could.

 

The soul-crushing silence drifted on and on until Roar broke the ice by saying….

 

“Um, so, who wants to play Mazemaster?”

 

---

 

Elsa searched from room to room, from the shared bedroom Kris was in to the guest bedroom Morten and Carl were sleeping in until she discovered her red panda form slumped onto the floor in a blubbering mess in the nursery. Makes total sense, since there’s no beds in there for her to accidentally crush in the process of sitting on them.

 

Ming cried, sobbed and sniffled messily until Elsa knocked on the wall to get her attention. Ming just looked at her and hid her face in her furry arms, now wet from her tears.

 

“Go away.”

 

But Elsa just shook her head and went to sit on the floor with her.

 

“Ok, what’s wrong?” She asked her presumptuously.

 

“What’s wrong?” Ming whimpered. “That guitar Kris owned and brought to the concert with him? The one that got destroyed? Well, I…….I’m the one who destroyed it.”

 

“Yeah, I know.” answered Elsa with a deadpan.

 

“Right.” Ming sighed and cried some more with a broken voice. “I don’t even know why I did it anymore. I guess I just never understood why he loved that kind of music. I just wish I had known how important it was to him. If only I hadn’t been so careless and so selfish.”

 

Mei had already informed Elsa what had happened to the guitar, though she wasn't exactly sure she believed that Ming would actually do something like that. Only now does she realize that since Ming's confirmed it straight from her own mouth, it made Elsa realize that this would not be something Ming wouldn't do then before the concert incident. Ming has always been impulsive and reckless in her endeavors and Elsa may not have been there when everything went down, but she had an inkling. And inkling that Ming was digging herself a hole that's difficult to crawl out of. Looking at her weeping old friend, Elsa just eyed with a growing sense of sympathy and a tiny bit of remorse. Ming had really come a long way to undo her mess from the start. To make up for her unjust, heartless actions against her son. Elsa finally held a gentle hand up and patted her on the arm, suddenly missing the soft feeling of her panda fur.

 

“Look, you can’t change the past, but you can only make a better future. Besides, if he ever wakes up - and I mean if he wakes up - we’ll just buy him a new guitar.”

 

“No.” Ming shook her head and scooted around to turn her back to her. “That won’t change anything.”

 

“No, it will not.” Elsa firmly and harshly stated, but scooted closer nonetheless. “But regardless of what you did, you gotta try to move past it. That was unforgivable, yes, but if you could try to forgive yourself-”

 

“I don’t know if I can. I’ve already made way too many mistakes. Jin, Mei-Mei and Kris.” Ming wasn’t budging. “I’ve failed as a friend, I’ve failed as a manager, I’ve failed as a wife and I’ve failed as a mother.”

 

Ming was caught off guard when Elsa brought her arms around her giant panda body and snuggled her. Back when they were teens and when Elsa found out about her friend’s panda, whenever she was stressed out or upset about something, snuggling against her soft body like a teddy bear usually calmed her down.

 

And it worked. Still did.

 

Ming managed a smile and hugged her friend back, accepting her warm embrace. POOF! Ming was human once more, arms still wrapped around Elsa’s body.

 

“You really need to stop beating yourself up so much. It’s not good progress.” Her friend reminded her wisely. “So let’s just forget about all that, okay? Come on.” 

 

Then helping her friend back up, the two mothers left the room to rejoin the others downstairs.

 

---

 

Nightfall had come.

 

At one point, Elsa went upstairs to go check up on Kris in the bedroom and received quite a surprise to see a woebegone Ming inside the room, on her knees before the comatose boy on the bed, hands together in a prayer.

 

“Sun Yee, ancestors, I beseech you. Please watch over this poor boy and protect from harm. Don’t let him suffer for my sins, my arrogance and my irrationalness. Keep Kris Bengtsson safe at all costs. Whatever it takes. Whatever it takes.” She prayed softly.

 

Elsa had nothing to say. All she did was observe.

 

After dinner, the Lees all grabbed their coats and took their leave back to their hotels and to be back tomorrow to check up on Kris. At this point, most of the dinner had vanished from the table as did the desserts and confections. Inside the house, Elsa had already gone to bed, Morten and his brother were sitting on the couch singing Christmas songs together while “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” by Judy Garland was playing on the radio. Carl had passed out on the armchair next to them, snoozing away while Gnasher and Grinder laid on the ground, fast asleep themselves.

 

As for the boys, they decided to have a little bit of winter outside before they turn in for the night. Right now, they were building a snowman together. Rudolf was working on the first larger ball for the bottom and Roar was getting to work on the middle part. Stig just stood against the wooden fence surrounding the pasture, looking up at the farmhouse above and gazed longingly at the window to the room Kris was nestled in. Stig had no confidence. He wasn’t so sure if the answer to waking Kris up was even here in Norway or if there was no hope of him ever waking up at all. Kris had too much to live for and Ming took that all away from him. Kris never asked for this and he sure as hell doesn’t deserve it. All this because he was at the wrong place at the wrong time. And in a way, Stig can’t help but feel partly responsible for this. The girls wanted to invite Kris over to the concert for his birthday just to help cheer him up and Stig had a sinking feeling it wasn’t going to end well, but he allowed it nonetheless. However, no one could’ve predicted Ming would show up as a red panda kaiju knockoff and start tearing up the place like a rampaging beast.

 

Concurrently, Umbla was doing her part at the moment, doing her rounds around the farmland to make sure there is nothing out of the ordinary, nothing that looks like it has ulterior motives in mind. Nothing of the sort so far. But this did not assuage her worries. Sniffing the air all around, her gut told her that something was afoot. One can never be too careful these days. She had been trudging around in the thick snow for hours today, keeping a lookout. The cold didn’t bother her. She’s lived and survived harsh weather for billions of decades. A cold, winter night was no different.

 

Suddenly, she felt it and it felt…….unnaturally disquieting. And it sent an icy chill up her spine, colder than the air around her skin.

 

Whipping her head all around in various directions, the steadfast cow looked and looked around, but everywhere her eyes went, nothing but the trees and snow filled her vision. Nothing there but the empty forest, but what could it even be? 

 

What was even out there?

 

And where could it be hiding?

 

Umbla’s blood froze faster before the cold could reach it as soon as it fell upon her ears.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

…….a growl. A snarl.

 

Somewhere off in the woods nearby.

 

Oh, lord. It sounded close. Awfully close. Umbla needed to warn the others. Turning herself right around with insane speed, she ran, she fled, she hurried over to the three boys. She needed to get to them and get them inside before the threat lurking in the forest could reach them. They can’t stay outside any longer or else they’re goners. Stig was snapped out of his thoughts when he saw Umbla running up to him in a panic.

 

“Umbla.” He greeted her, but she mooed at him to be quiet.

 

“What? What is it?” The scary, dark-haired kid whispered to her impatiently.

 

“You talking to a cow?” asked Roar, adjusting their snowman’s head.

 

“Uhh……” Rudolf completely lost his voice at the very millisecond he saw it and it froze his blood and his heartbeat in a split second.

 

There came the growling again and this time, it was so close that it was right in front of them.

 

Dread and unspeakable terror gripped all their hearts once they looked ahead of them and they couldn’t even believe their eyes. The sight that felt like something straight out of a nightmare or a horror movie.

 

Standing 10 yards away, there was a wolf. But not just any regular wolf they had seen.

 

It stood about 14 ft. taller than normal size with blackened fur, a visible path of lighter black over it’s left eye, a very deep and gruesome-looking scar on the right side of its mouth looking as if it had been sliced open, an malnourished midsection, steel-ish ropes tied around its ankles, a gaping, drooling mouth full of heart-stoppingly sharp canines eager for a satisfying swallow of flesh and eyes - eyes that were blood red like that of a demon. And there it was standing inches from the forest treeline outside the pasture……staring back at them.

 

A fight or flight response was in order. The fear the boys felt was unimaginable with no words to fully describe them. Where did that giant wolf come from? And what was it doing here?

 

Rudolf did only one thing, however. 

 

He screamed bloody-murder loudly upon seeing the wolf, causing the other two to panic at his reaction. Unfortunately, this had apparently triggered the beast’s natural predator instincts. With a loud snarl, the wolf monster ran directly at the boys with its hungry mouth open. Umbla pushed Stig towards the house and getting the message, he unquestioningly grabbed both his friends and bolted towards the house for safety. However, with its humongous size, the wolf proved to be faster than the tiny humans it sped towards and it lunged directly at them with a loud roar.

 

Rudolf was unlucky enough to be broken apart from the two as he jumped out of the way, causing the animal to crash against the house walls. Although stunned for the moment, the predator was back on its feet and started to sniff the air for its prey, snarling hungrily as it inched around the house to search for him.

 

All the adults were jolted awake by Rudolf’s resounding scream of mortal terror as well as the house briefly shaking from the monster’s impact and in an instant, they were at their feet before Roar and Stig rushed into the house and slammed the door shut.

 

“What’s going on?” demanded Morten.

 

“There’s something out there!” Roar shrieked with a fast-pumping heart. “It’s big and hairy and…… hungry!”

 

“You two better have a damn good reason for disturbing an old man’s rest.” Carl remarked sternly with disbelief.

 

Elsa came rushing down the stairs in her pajamas and her robe, utterly worried.

 

“Hey, what happened here?! What the hell was that noise?!” She yelled.

 

“Have you boys been messing around out there?” said Carl, staring directly at the two boys.

 

Both Stig and his friend were taking a moment to calm their breath. But before they could say anything, however, or even try to state their case perspicuously, everyone froze when they saw the dark shape of the wolf’s giant furry body slink past the window from outside and just like that, they were absolutely petrified. The wolf appeared to be running around the back on a search. But then Elsa realized someone who wasn’t with them.

 

“Uh, where’s Rudolf?” She asked with terror.

 

That made them both stiffen.

 

“Oh, shit! He must still be out there!” hollored Roar, worried for his friend’s safety.

 

“Fuck! That thing’s gonna eat him alive out there!” Carl roared.

 

“I’m getting Jørgen!” Aksel sprung into action right quick as he hurried to fetch out something to use against the wolf attacking their farm.

 

“Jørgen?” Stig asked with befuddlement.

 

Outside, things were not looking too well. As Umbla pushed Rudolf away from the wolf’s direction, she fled into the barn to hide while Rudolf had taken refuge underneath Aksel’s truck, fighting against the bitter, stinging, freezing sensation all over his body from the wintery weather, even in his thick clothing. 

 

THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!

 

Rudolf stood still underneath the undercarriage of the vehicle and tried to slow and steady his heavy, frenzied breathing, even though he was undoubtedly pissing himself from the terror of the situation. The loud sound of the giant wolf’s footsteps ominously maneuvered around the corner, still sniffing the air to look for his scent, continuing his hunt where the barn was and where the truck was currently sitting and with this, Rudolf tried his best to stay calm and quiet so as to not attract the creature’s attention. This was not how he wanted his Christmas vacation to go. 

 

Hiding underneath a truck away from a gigantic wolf monster instead of waiting for Santa Claus to deliver presents underneath the tree.

 

As the wolf neared the truck, it stuck his nose to the ground still trying to pick up the scent and Rudolf kept inaudibly still, waiting desperately for the animal to lose interest and leave. For what felt like hours, the giant nose disappeared from his viewpoint and the giant paws started moving away and Rudolf sighed quietly with relief. Perhaps the wolf wasn’t that hungry. Maybe it was just messing with them. 

 

But then he yelped when the truck got knocked right off of him as the wolf slammed its body on it, roughly moving it out of the way and flipping it over with superior strength of a billion armies, leaving poor Rudolf exposed.

 

The wolf wasn’t fooled. It knew he was under there. 

 

Now it had him in its direct line of sight and the terrified boy tried to back away from the monster as it stared into his helpless eyes. The giant wolf sneered at him and growled threateningly and was just about to lunge his teeth on the boy when….

 

BLAST!

 

The wolf yelped in pain as the sound of a loud gunshot was accompanied by a round of bullets that pelted against its face. Two more rounds on it made the animal turn to glare towards Aksel aiming Jørgen, an elephant gun, at him dangerously as smoke flew upward from the heated ends of the barrels.

 

“Get the fuck outta here!” He screamed furiously at it, cocking the weapon. This angered the wolf as it advanced on him now with its imitating snarl.

 

“GO!” Aksel commanded Rudolf, who then did as he was told, running out of there like there was no tomorrow, not wanting to be told twice. Elsa and the other boys rushed at him, hugging him tightly.

 

“Dolf! Oh my god, are you okay!?” Roar cried anxiously.

 

“Okay?! That thing was trying to eat me!” screamed Rudolf.

 

Then they watched in terror as the wolf ran towards Aksel, jaws first, but Morten ran over to push his brother out of the way to the ground in time, leaving the animal tumbling to the ground. Both brothers struggled to get back up and the wolf was getting angrier now. Then Carl came out throwing the largest rocks he could find and began throwing them at the wolf’s head to scare it off, but it wasn’t working. It only increased its fury.

 

Then with one good swipe of its paw, the wolf smacked Carl away, flinging inches away. 

 

“HEY!”

 

Elsa had had enough. She wasn’t going to let this wild animal attack her family like that as she pushed the boys behind her and pulled out the handgun she had grabbed on the way outside, aiming it point-blank between the wolf’s eyes, ready to shoot at a moment’s notice. The feral beast stared back at her.

 

“That’s enough! Leave us alone! You hear me!?” She screamed with righteous anger.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

“.......Elsa.”

 

The woman in question and everyone else stiffened, ceasing their movements when the wolf…….spoke.

 

“Wha-......?” Elsa gasped, shaking from both the cold and with horror.

 

Whoever or whatever this wolf was,....

 

…….it knew her name.

 

“The boy’s…….end…….is coming.” It spoke again with a slow, deep, rigid speech.

 

What?

 

What the hell does that even mean?

 

Elsa couldn’t believe that a wolf larger than average was capable of speech and had addressed her by name.

 

Umbla came running in and headbutted the animal with her horns, knocking it to the ground, hoping to buy the humans enough time to hurry back into the house. With the agile speed of a jaguar, Elsa yelled at the boys to follow her and took off sprinting back to the front door, the elders returning to their feet as well and joining the others in their return to the sweet sanctuary. Umbla mooed at the giant wolf furiously and scoldingly and it snarled back at her,.....but strangely, did not make a move to attack her.

 

Once safe inside, everyone took a moment to catch their breaths and gather their thoughts to process the scary events that unfolded. Morten got to work and put some firewood into the wood stove and lit it on fire, placing Rudolf near it to help him get warm by the flames, putting a blanket around him as well. Stig and Roar both sat with him, keeping him company.

 

“Never scare us like that again.” Stig chided and Rudolf shook, still petrified and nodded.

 

“Did you see the size of that thing?” spat Roar. “Have you ever seen a wolf that big?”

 

“We’re just lucky it didn’t get inside.” The goth boy reminded him. “We’re all lucky to be alive, but I have a feeling it was after Kris.”

 

“What do you mean by that, huh?” Carl demanded.

 

“I don’t know! Okay, I don’t know.”

 

“No one told me there was gonna be a giant wolf!” Rudolf finally cried in despair.

 

Elsa was like a statue when she got inside, the wolf’s words still ringing in her head. What did it mean? 

 

'The boy’s end is coming’?

 

It sounded like it was threatening her or perhaps even warning her.

 

“Maybe we shouldn’t have brought Kris here.” Morten sighed with regret.

 

“You think?!” Elsa yelled.

 

After waiting a couple of minutes and hearing no more sounds outside, Morten foolishly decided to take Jørgen and go see if the coast was clear. Elsa went out there with him with her handgun and back out into the chilly darkness, they went, armed with their loaded weapons. 

 

Only Umbla was out there, mooing comfortingly.

 

But they weren’t so sure as of yet. Veering around the house with their loaded weapons and their guards up, seeing the uplifted truck and the empty pasture, there was no sign of the wolf anywhere. 

 

All they found were the animals' massive footprints in the snow leading out into the forest meters away from them. The beast must’ve finally given up and fled into the woods away from their farm. Thank god. Who knows what that monster would’ve done if it reached Kris. But Kris was safe inside the house. There’s no way it would even be able to even get inside, anyway.

 

A howl in the distance echoed into the night, nearly scaring them both to death.

 

“What…….what was that?” asked Elsa with terror.

 

The old man was still and silent for a good few seconds before he finally answered.

 

“Fenrir.”

Notes:

So it appears as though Stig can communicate with animals. Where does that come from will remain a mystery. For now.

For most of the traditional Norwegian Christmas dishes, I kinda had to google them online for this dinner scene. In my honest opinion, a lot of the dishes I've found are strange, but curious enough to try. To be fair, I, for one, would like to try the kransekake. I hear it's like a ring of cakes stacked on top of each other. As for alcoholic beverages, I personally would like to try to gløgg.

The part where they discuss the Home Alone movies was meant to be a meta gag. A personal nod to the franchise for how each movie that came along, right up to Home Sweet Home Alone, were basically just a soulless recreation of the first movie, recycling the same exact formula in every single adaptation.

Uh oh. Now the wolf, Fenrir, has shown up and it's not looking so well. It looks as if he's after Kris, but is he now?

Next Chapter: Morten and Aksel find that their father has finally passed on, but also possesses the key to the locked forbidden basement door that’s never been opened, leading to a centuries-old secret chamber deep below the earth.

Next Update: April 7, 2023

Chapter 6: Yggdrasil

Summary:

Morten and Aksel find that their father has finally passed on, but also possesses the key to the locked forbidden basement door that’s never been opened, leading to a centuries-old secret chamber deep below the earth.

Notes:

I just saw the Super Mario Brothers movie the afternoon before and I must say, it was massively astounding. The animation was just perfect, the character designs were spot-on and accurate, the voice-acting (while not particularly great for some of them ....*cough* Chris Pratt *cough*....) was surprisingly decent. Mario may not have had had the Italian accent, but he seem to have Brooklyn accent going on, very stereotypical of an Italian-American living in New York. Bob Hoskins did the same thing in the live-action movie, mind you. Anyway, I really enjoyed it and I hope you all will (or did) too.

Now with that out of the way, on with the story. Here's the next chapter for you.

Sleeping that night was no better. The wolf attack had rattled everyone to the bone.

 

Elsa could still hear its words ringing in her ears and it shook her core, made her uneasy. Sleep for her was really tough. The words repeated in her head over and over like a broken record player. Hopefully, it wasn’t Kris the wolf was referring to. As for Pappa, Morten and Aksel found that he had passed on peacefully. They both took a moment to mourn him before heading to bed with the intent of planning his funeral in the morning.

 

However, without anyone knowing yet, Morten discovered the old man was holding two rusty old keys in his hand with a label that said ‘Basement’ on it. He immediately figured it must mean the door that was locked up. But he decided to put this off until tomorrow.

 

Rudolf took forever to fall asleep, but when he did, no dreams came. Only nightmares of the wolf coming at him with his ferocious teeth, ready to eat him alive. Gnasher and Grinder, along with Umbla, decided to stay inside with the humans that night to keep them company. The billy goats even huddled around Rudolf to keep him safe. Come the following morning, the Lees came rolling in on the farmland in their rentals and you could say they were all stunned to see the aftermath of the scuffle from the night before, not to mention the truck flipped upside down. Everyone bursted out of the cars and examined the scene with bewilderment.

 

“What the fuck?” Adam shouted.

 

“By the ancestors!” Wu gasped.

 

Ping and Chen quickly turned into their red pandas to use their increased strength to help turn the truck back over. Elsa and Stig came outside to meet up with their visitors and Ming and Mei practically launched themselves at them with loads of questions.

 

“W-What’s happened here?!” Ming cried with shock. “Why is that truck flipped over?!”

 

“You wouldn't believe me if I told you.” droned Elsa.

 

“Tell us anyway!” Mei ordered.

 

“There was a wolf.” Stig answered stonily, but uneasily.

 

The two Lee women stared at him.

 

“......a wolf?” Ming repeated, confused.

 

“Are you saying a wolf did that?” Mei gestured to the uplifted truck that the aunties were turning back over in their red panda forms.

 

“It…..was no wolf I’d ever seen.” Stig shook his head, eyes pointed at anywhere but their faces, rubbing his tired eyes. “That thing was huge. It was big! It almost ate Rudolf!”

 

The two Lee girls gasped with horror.

 

“Don’t worry, he’s fine. He did have the shit scared out of him, though.”

 

“Stig!” Elsa hissed.

 

“But he’ll pull through. You’d be surprised.”

 

That's when the cow protector came trampling over to Stig, marching through the snow. The goth boy moved over to her as she mooed a response in his ears.

 

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” 

 

More mooing.

 

“Yes, I get it. But the wolf’s gone now.”

 

Both Mei and Ming were eyeballing the two incredulously, seeing Stig conversing with the cow like it speaks to him. Mei wasn’t too taken aback since she’s seen this oddity already with her own two eyes yesterday, but Ming’s reaction was different from her daughter’s.

 

“Uh, why is he talking to the….” Ming turned to face Elsa but her question had halted upon seeing her marching over to the house in a huff. “.....cow?”

 

“Elsa, hold on!” Mei cried after her, running over to follow the woman.

 

Elsa bursted into the house with a hard, but stressed out glower and stomped her way over to the stairs. Ming and Mei had finally caught up by the time she reached the steps. Carl was inside the kitchen and Roar and Rudolf were on the couch with the two goats, both of them concernedly turning to face Elsa as she stormed inside.

 

“Let’s go. We’re leaving now.” She ordered.

 

“Leaving?!” Morten cried in despair. “What? Elsa, we can’t leave now.”

 

“No! I’m done with this!” argured Elsa, turning to face them all. “I’ve humored you on this long enough! We’re packing our things and heading back to Toronto.”

 

“But, wait!” Mei yelled, trying to reason with her. “We still haven’t figured out what’s going with Kris!”

 

“Doesn’t matter, okay?” Elsa countered, getting more stressed. “We came, we listened to fairy tales and so far, we’ve found nothing. Nothing that will help Kris at all. And Rudolf was almost wolf fodder! When we get back home, we’ll find some experts, anyone to get Kris to wake up. But this has all been a huge waste of time! I’m finished! I’ve had enough!”

 

“Elsa, wait!” Ming screamed as she chased after her up the stairs until they were both up on the second floor of the house and poofed into her red panda, blocking the bedroom door to prevent Elsa from entering. “Elsa, stop!”

 

“Get out of my way!”

 

“Elsa, just listen to me, okay?” She demanded. “I may not have been there for the wolf attack last night, but you can’t just give up now. Kris needs you right now.”

 

“I already told you! I’ll take care of it myself!” thundered Elsa.

 

“And how will you do that, exactly? What are you gonna do? Force him to wake up?” Ming challenged her stubbornly. “You can’t just force someone to wake from a coma! And he’s been unconscious for seven months now!”

 

“Are you really that desperate to make yourself feel less guilty about the SkyDome thing or breaking his guitar?”

 

“That’s not fair!”

 

“Not fair!? Not fair is MY BOY missing out on months of his life! Missing out on everything!”

 

Ming sighed as this argument was beginning to sound a bit familiar to her.

 

“Look, I just need you to hold on a little longer, okay?” Ming’s voice lowered to a gentler decibel. “For me, please?”

 

“Don’t tell me you actually believe in this…..this Norse god thing, too.”

 

“No, of course not!” Ming scoffed. “But I do believe that Kris can still be saved one way or another. I will take whatever chance there is.”

 

Elsa rolled her eyes and facepalmed, groaning a long-suffering growl to herself. Why must everything be so damn complicated. The wolf attack from last night was already troubling for her to handle. But what are they possibly gonna find here that will help Kris? What can they do know that will finally wake him up? 

 

“Shit!” Elsa relented begrudgingly. “What do you suggest, anyway?”

 

---

 

Downstairs, everyone was inside the dining room together, talking amongst themselves, trying to think about what to do and the boys couldn’t stop thinking about the wolf encounter the night before.

 

“I swear that wolf spoke.” Roar insisted to Mei. “And it said…….I think it said something like ‘the boy’s time is coming’ or something like that.”

 

“Well, what does it even mean?” Mei asked.

 

“I don’t know, but I’m afraid to find out.” squeaked Rudolf.

 

“And what did this wolf look like anyway?” Ping sauntered over, curious about the kids’ conversation.

 

“Big!” Rudolf shouted, making Roar wince. “It was huge! And it tried to eat me alive!”

 

“It had black fur, a scar on its mouth right here.” The skinny bespectacled boy pointed at the right end section of his lips. “And had that crazy look in its eyes.”

 

“Well, thank Sun Yee you boys are okay. I can’t imagine how terrified you must’ve been.” Ping chorused sympathetically, bringing Rudolf onto a big, bear hug.

 

“Rudolf had trouble sleeping after that.” Stig spoke. “Gnasher and Grinder had to keep him company all night.”

 

“Why on earth would Elsa invite you two?” demanded Wu in her patent-pending strict headmistress tone.

 

“We’re good friends of Kris.” Rudolf insisted. “Besides, Norway’s a beautiful place to spend the holidays.”

 

“It’s not her fault the wolf came over.” Stig defended his mother.

 

“But regardless-”

 

“But regardless, this concerns all of us.” Stig interrupted her boldly. “And by ‘us’, I mean Kris’s family and his friends. You’re just tagging along, that’s it.”

 

Before Wu could bite back with a sharp, strict response, Elsa came toddling downstairs with Ming and marched over to her father sitting at the kitchen table. Ming had managed to talk her into asking him for more options since it was his idea to come here in the first place.

 

“Alright, dad. What do you suggest?” Elsa sighed in defeat with crossed arms.

 

“Well, you see….I found this.” Morten held up the key that he found in his dead father’s hand.

 

“What is that?”

 

“Apparently, this is the key to the basement.” said Morten simply, standing back up. “Probably the door that was locked up.”

 

“What?” Wu gasped with confusion, stomping over to look at it herself. “That’s it? And your father gave you that?”

 

“Well, when I came into his room last night after the wolf attack, his hand was stretched out, holding it out, like he was expecting me to take it.”

 

“But why would he give that to either of you?” Wu gestured to both the key, Morten and Aksel in general in mighty confusion. “You said that the door was off-limits. Why is he giving it to you now?”

 

“I’m not sure, but I’d like to find out.” The old professor vacillated, then turned to his brother. “Are you in, brother?”

 

“Eh, what the hell?” Aksel shrugged.

 

“What door?” asked Chen.

 

“Why don’t you all come with us and see.” Morten spoke matter-of-factly.

 

Within a minute and not a second to spare, everyone present followed Morten and Elsa to the forbidden doorway that was locked up good and tight. Initially, Morten was reluctant to go along with it, wondering why it was even locked up to begin with. Perhaps there was a logical reason why it was. Was it to keep something from getting out? He didn’t know. But if this were to help Kris, he needed to soldier on and face the music like a man.

 

“Why is it locked up like that?” asked Tom.

 

“Who knows?” asked Aksel. “The doors have been locked up for thousands of years. Those chains are ancient as hell.”

 

“Well, open it already.” Elsa urged him impatiently.

 

“Alright.” Morten sighed and reluctantly slipped the first key into the rusted lock since it looked like the perfect fit for it and it became unlocked easily. Once the lock was removed, the chains separated. Then he used the second key to unlock the door and with desperate caution, he opened up the door as it creaked, apparently haven’t been opened in many, many years.

 

Everyone looked to see nothing but jet black darkness and stairs leading downward.

 

Against his better judgment, he started down the stairs, everyone behind him following closely. Roar had to hold Rudolf close to him since he was afraid of the dark. The stairs felt like they went on for an hour, but Morten finally reached the bottom and felt around for a lightswitch somewhere. And when he did, he flipped it on.

 

Due to generations of a lack of use, the lights took a few seconds before they came on. They flickered resistantly at first, but they were able to illuminate the room for them all, allowing them all to bear witness to a MASSIVE millennium's worth of dust and cobwebs covering everything everywhere. In comparison to the rest of the house, the room they were standing now looked a thousand-times older. Had more dust and spiderwebs due to the evident devoid of human presence. It was also very large and very spacey, almost like they were standing inside an underground doomsday bunker.

 

And there was almost nothing in here, safe for a few wooden shelves, a picnic table of sorts and boxes with some items, raggedy clothes on the floor and a desk and a bucket by the wall.

 

Talk about expectation subversion.

 

“That’s it?” Stig asked, dumbfounded. “This is just the basement.”

 

“Yeah, why would this room be locked up and kept a secret?” Elsa questioned, walking around to look at all the stuff along with everyone else.

 

“So this is what Pappa’s been refusing to show us?” Aksel asked, unimpressed.

 

Mei explored the new area of the house she was in and got a look at all the old antiques kept in boxes. The place was like a museum. An old, busty museum.

 

“I was kinda expecting human remains.” Rudolf looked all around himself. “Or an Egyptian sarcophagus or top-secret blueprints to nuclear missiles or even a bunny locked in a cage. AH!”

 

He jumped with a yell when he saw a big spider on the wall. 

 

“Nice.” Stig grinned when he saw it.

 

“Ahhhh!”

 

THWACK!

 

Then they both jumped when Helen poofed into a red panda and punched the frightening bug to death, crushing it against the wall and then waved her paw around to get its remains off, wailing in disgust.

 

“What did it ever do to you?” scolded Stig.

 

“I hate spiders, okay?!”

 

“Me too.” Rudolf nodded with a terrified expression.

 

Tom and Adam were over by the shelf, checking out all the interesting stuff kept hidden away. Nothing too interesting comes to mind. Everything here was incredibly old and ancient.

 

“What if there’s Nazi gold down here?” Tom asked with childlike wonder.

 

“Ain’t betting any of my money on that.” doubted Adam, shaking his head.

 

“Well, if anyone finds any submachines anywhere, make sure you leave it alone. You never know if they’re still loaded.” Jin remarked warningly.

 

“Why would you think they’d have guns down here?” His wife asked him, appalled.

 

“I’m only saying.” defended Jin.

 

Rudolf made it over to the wooden table where there was a very thick book sitting on it. Curious, he grabbed the billion-year old tome and held it out and then, taking a deep breath, blew all of the dust off of it…….. accidentally right into Stig’s face.

 

Stig looked back at him annoyed and Rudolf gasped.

 

“Oh, sorry, Stig. Didn’t see you there.”

 

“That’s okay, kid.” Stig shrugged with a fake smile, feigning understanding. Then he pointed at the book. “What’s that?”

 

“Well-”

 

BONK!

 

“Ow!”

 

The enraged goth boy punched him on the head.

 

“Didn’t see you there either!” He growled.

 

“Hey, what is that?” Roar asked, coming over to see what Rudolf had.

 

“Let me see.” Morten came over and saw that the book was older than the room and the house itself. Its cover was adorned with a gold plating and written with an ancient language that he and Stig instantly recognized. 

 

The runic symbols.

 

“Say, those look similar to the runes Kris wrote on his walls in his bedroom.” Stig stated, inspecting the characters more closely.

 

“Indeed they are.” The old man nodded.

 

“He what? He wrote on his walls?” Ping asked.

 

“We’ll tell you later.” sighed Elsa tiredly.

 

“What is it, though?” asked Roar.

 

“Elder and Younger Futhark.”

 

"Gesundheit." Rudolf peeped.

 

“Say what now?” asked Stig.

 

“Runes. This is all Old Norse. An ancient Scandinavian language from the medieval times.” Morten explained, taking the book from Rudolf to examine it himself.

 

“I don’t remember Kris learning about Nordic runes or even learning to speak the language.” responded Stig, baffled.

 

“Not so sure about that.” shrugged Morten.

 

“Look.” Stig pointed at a rune he remembered seeing back at the SkyDome. “See that? That was the rune we saw on Kris’ forehead.”

 

It was the (ᚦ).

 

“That rune is called Thurs in Old Norse.” said the retired college lecturer. “In Old English, it’s called Thorn and in Old Germanic, Thurisaz.”

 

“What are you talking about?” Mei asked. “What’s this have to do with Kris?”

 

“Maybe if…” Morten opened up the book to look for more information. All the pages were aged with a yellow and brownish tint to them and written in the same runic alphabet.

 

“Now that’s unfortunate.”

 

“Well, Elsa said you were a professor who studies this kind of thing.” Wu mentioned. “Can’t you read this?”

 

“A little bit.” He winced. “I’m a little rusty. I can only remember what the runes are, not how they form words. It’s been a long time.”

 

“Hey, what’s that?”

 

Roar moved over to the shelf on the wall that seemed to be covering something up. It was just narrowly peaking through the top and the sides, which really peaked everyone’s curiosity suddenly. Jin and Tom both went to grab the shelf on either end and moved the shelf out of the way with all their might and placed it gently on the adjacent wall before they all looked at what was really behind it in wordless awe.

 

It was a dark tunnel leading downward.

 

Somewhere deep underground.

 

Everyone looked at one another with confusion and worry, each curious in their own way about what could even be down there. Aksel noticed there were lamps lining up on the walls with his flashlight. Then he looked all around frantically until he found what he was looking for. 

 

A torch and a lighter.

 

Utilizing them quickly, he used the old lighter after several tries and lit the torch. Everyone stepped back when it set ablaze. Then Aksel used the torch to light the lamp on the wall and everyone became stunned once it, too, set ablaze and when it did, every other lamp lining up the wall lit up one after another in domino-like fashion, almost as if they were lighting the way for them.

 

“We kinda have to, don’t we?” asked Roar hesitantly.

 

“Of course.” Mei nodded. “I’m actually curious to see where this goes.”

 

After taking a moment to muster up their courage, everyone carefully descended the steps downward. The lights on the wall did little but create a path for them in the darkness while Aksel’s torch lit the way.

 

“We have a small bar in our basement.” Roar said.

 

And on they went, down the rocky steps, following the direction of the lamps on the rocky, earthy walls. The tunnel seemed to date back even further than the rest of the house they’ve been in, because it now felt like they were entering the catacombs or the dungeon of a medieval castle. The stairs seemed to go on for hours, which started to put Mei on edge. 

 

Where is this tunnel possibly leading them to?

 

Everyone took the time to tell stories with each other in order to save their sanity. Tom brought up the time when he used to work with Morten in studying the occult and ancient history. 

 

Another couple of minutes went by and thankfully enough, they finally found the end of the stairs, which brought them down to another tunnel leading forward this time. Pressing onward, the light from Aksel’s torch revealed more runic symbols on the walls all around them along with some ancient Norse viking artwork. Wherever they were headed, it must be somewhere very important to have to keep the door locked up with chains and a lock. However, so far, there wasn't a single thing they had seen that would’ve given Morten and Aksel’s father reason to even want to keep it locked up and remained a secret.

 

Though, if anything, one theory suggests that it was probably to keep the two boys from wandering into the tunnel and getting lost or destroying anything of personal value.

 

The tunnel ended and they found themselves in a dark room.

 

“Over there.” Morten pointed to something ahead of them. It looked like a fire pit or something that seemed remotely similar to it and Aksel went over to toss his torch inside it and just like that, flames engulfed the wood inside it and it helped light up a huge portion of the room. But in response, several other fire lamps on the walls that burned brighter than the other torches they’ve seen and then another fire pit from below bursted alive with fire. 

 

A tremendous sight had beheld everyone’s eyes, took their breath away and their eyes all shot open.

 

They were now standing in a much larger room. One that was far more ancient in nature. For on the walls all around were murals. Dozens of old Norse murals depicting and detailing everything of tales, legends and parables of the ages long past. Each mural tells a different story through illustration and is written with more and more Nordic runes. Various battles taking place, thousands of warriors battling armies, creatures and giant monsters, there was so much as far as the eye could see. And there were stairs on either side from where the group stood, leading to the lower level of the room.

 

It was definitely like standing in an old temple beneath the earth’s surface. And the surprise it gave them was like no other. But there were also stone statues of different people in old viking-style clothing, no different from the ones they saw the man wear back at the arena.

 

“Wow!” Mei gasped, widened eyes darting all around. “What is all this?”

 

“It must be a temple of some kind.” Morten mused. “A shrine perhaps.”

 

“For who or what, though?” asked Charlie.

 

Each of them descended down the steps and started to explore the room, observing and beholding each such mural on the walls, but made sure to keep their distance from the fire lighting up the room. Safety first, you know. Each mural was a different story told dating back to ancient times, the time of the Vikings and the bygone times when the gods of old were cherished and enshrined told for new generations to come. Everyone got a good look at each one.

 

There was one of a large battle taking place amongst the gods, involving giants, humanoids with pointed ears, a giant snake-like beast with his jaws about to bite at the same large man with the hammer and a towering gigantic figure with a flaming sword at the very center of it all.

 

One was of a giant in the process of building a giant stone wall around a city of some sort.

 

One was of a woman whose entire left half of her body was like a rotting corpse standing above dead bodies genuflecting before her like she was their cherished ruler; like their queen.

 

And……one was of three gods before a giant wolf monster with the bitten-off, dismembered arm of one of them ensnared in its jaws.

 

“Oh my god.” Roar gasped when he saw it. “That’s the same wolf that attacked us!”

 

“What? It is?” Ming cried with surprise as she and the rest came over to have a look themselves and most of them quivered upon eyeing the gruesome engraving on the wall.

 

“That’s the one?” chimed Mei, both repulsed and horrified upon seeing the bloody arm in its mouth.

 

“Yeah, that thing tried to get me.” Rudolf complained.

 

“The Binding of Fenrir.” Aksel noted curiously in his deep tone.

 

“Pardon?” Wu asked.

 

“The wolf is named Fenrir.” Morten elaborated. “A giant monstrous beast that was chained up somewhere where he wouldn’t be a threat to any of the gods. In the process of binding him, Fenrir chewed off the arm of Týr, the Norse god of war.”

 

“Eeeeuuugghhh!” Helen and Lily cringed.

 

“Yeah, I know.” Elsa shook her head in amusement. “I had the same reaction when he told me about it. And I was 8 at the time.”

 

“Why would you tell your 8-year old daughter such horrendous stories?!” Wu balked at him with a scolding tone.

 

“Stories like these have been told in our country for many years.” He simply shrugged it off. “It’s like part of our family culture.”

 

“Is giving your children nightmares culture?!” snapped Wu.

 

“Elsa’s a strong girl, you can imagine.” Morten sighed, which made the elder woman scoff.

 

“Well, I’m glad to still have both my arms.” Rudolf replied, holding them both out proudly.

 

“Good on you, Dolf.” muttered Stig, rolling his eyes.

 

“Hey, maybe it’s a sign.” Rudolf pressed even further. “Maybe I’m the chosen one.”

 

“Yeah, chosen to shit your pants while staring into the literal jaws of death.”

 

“Oh, come on!” The naive boy balked.

 

“You guys, look.” Mei halted their petty argument to direct their attention over to where the large stone statues were. And there on either side of the room, the statues were lined up neatly in two rows facing each other. More murals were depicted on the walls behind them as if to vis-à-vis the many feats, accomplishments and others that perfectly describes that particular god in question. The names of these people were below at their feet and etched in the same runes. 

 

And there was a singular, lone statue at the end of the assembly as it’s one that was leading the group.

 

And in a way, it was in relation to who it represented for the statue was of an old balding man with scraggly beard, a dead-giveaway eyepatch over his right eye and holding a sharp looking spear in his hand along with two ravens perched on his shoulders. For those who were familiar with the legends of Norse myth would instantly know who this was.

 

Because Morten did.

 

“I knew it.” He breathed with wonder, the excitement had stolen his very breath at the spectacle around them all. “It’s all dedicated to all of the Norse gods and goddesses.”

 

“For real?” asked Tom in astonishment.

 

“This is insane.” Jin exhaled.

 

“I know, right?” Roar expressed with a grin. “This is unbelievable.”

 

“I can’t believe that all of this was deep beneath our farmhouse all this time.” Elsa herself was caught between strict denial and exuberant disbelief. “I never would’ve thought our family would have this hidden behind our basement door.”

 

Stig and the boys were all looking at the runes etched on the tiles beneath the statues, trying to understand what they all mean.

 

“If Kris were here, he’d probably know what they mean.” Stig stated knowingly. “Believe it or not, he’s more adept at this than grandpa.”

 

“But I don’t get why’d just write them all over his walls.” Mei said, coming over to them.

 

“Who are all these people?” Ming asked, eyes darting from statue to statue.

 

“Well, look there.” Morten pointed everyone’s viewpoint towards one of the statues that had a beard and scraggly hair and missing an arm. “That’s Týr himself.”

 

“Figures.” Stig monotoned.

 

“Hmm.” Aksel smirked at the boy’s dry sense of humor.

 

“Over there,....” Then he jabbed a finger at another statue of a beardless man that almost looked relatively younger. “That’s Heimdall, the watchman of the gods. He guards the Bifröst bridge connecting Midgard and Asgard.”

 

“Huh.” Wu, Ming, Ping and Chen all chroused with wonder and sudden interest.

 

“I think I’m getting a sense of where this is going.” Rudolf whispered to his friends.

 

“That….” Now they were all looking directly at a female statue of a woman with a huge mane of hair and two giant braids on both sides of her head and carrying a bow and arrows. “.....that’s Skaði, the goddess of bowhunting and mountains.”

 

Then at a statue of a shirtless man with a trimmed beard and short hair.

 

“There’s Baldur, the god of light and peace.”

 

Now at another female statue who almost quite looked like a witch.

 

“Freya, the goddess of love, magic, beauty and fertility.”

 

Then he grimaced at the statue that was of another beardless man that had a smirk on its face.

 

“Then there’s-”

 

“Loki.” Stig interrupted, already with an inkling on who it was. “The god of mischief and the trickster of the gods.”

 

“Yes, indeed. Good work, Stig.” His grandfather complimented before pointing at the one lonely statue that stood before the rest. “And there’s the All-Father, Odin, king of the gods with his ravens.”

 

“Huginn and Muninn.” Elsa deadpanned.

 

“That’s right.”

 

“Why is he called ‘All-Father’, anyway?” asked Carl.

 

“I think it means that he is the father to all, with many children.” Morten suggested. “That’s my way of putting it. My students didn’t understand it either.”

 

Rudolf, meanwhile, was gazing upon one statue of someone he recognized right away. The one that made his eyes widened rounder than golf balls.

 

“Uh….who’s the fat guy with the hammer?”

 

Upon his question, a heavy silence fell upon the group, especially those who were present at the SkyDome when the red fiasco took place and the storm hit them out of the blue. And once they saw what he was looking at….

 

………all eyes had nearly popped out of eye sockets.

 

Ming was more shocked than all of them. Her breath hitched, her saliva formed a spitball in her throat and her heart stopped.

 

The statue before them was of the same obese, bare-bellied man with the triangular warhammer.

 

The same man that Kris turned into when he finally snapped.

 

The same man that caused the violent thunderstorm.

 

And the same man who had beaten the shit out of Ming to the point of nearly killing her. The same exact man that has haunted her dreams day and night.

 

Just looking at it made her eyes twitch and her stomach turn.

 

“Who……is that?” Mei asked tensely.

 

“That’s Thor, the god of thunder.” explained Morten. “He’s the roughest and fiercest of them all.”

 

“Well, that explains a lot.” Wu said hesitantly, wincing at the memories of being slammed on the ground repeatedly and punched in the face.

 

“That hammer is called Mjölnir.” Aksel said, pointing at it on the statue. “His deadliest weapon.”

 

“AH!” Rudolf cheered as it finally came to him. “I knew it! I knew this seemed familiar to me! I just knew it! The outfit, the tattoos, the storm powers and the hammer! It all makes perfect sense now!”

 

Everyone eyed the boy strangely and exchanged weirded-out expressions. But then Rudolf settled down and looked at the statue with confusion.

 

“But wait a minute. That’s Thor?” He asked, flabbergasted. “No, no, no, no. That looks nothing like him. He looks a little fat to be Thor. He’s not supposed to have a beard. I remember him having a clean-shaven face with long golden locks, a burly, muscular body, a blue suit with disks and a red cape and he goes on heroic adventures with Captain America and Iron Man and the Incredible Hulk…”

 

“What the fuck is he yammering about?” Aksel whispered to his brother.

 

“I dunno. Kid stuff, I imagine.”

 

“But what was the God of Thunder doing in Toronto?” said Stig, getting his jabber-jawed friend to cease his comic book-frenzied babbling. “That’s what I wanna know.”

 

“You all did say you saw Kris transform, correct?” Morten mentioned with a serious look in his eyes.

 

“Yeah. We told you.” Ming implored. “There was lightning raining down on him and he turned into…… him! ”

 

She pointed directly at the Thor statue.

 

“Ok, but still, how does all of this relate to Kris and more importantly, how does this help him out of his coma?” Ping asked.

 

“Maybe it’s beyond that door.”

 

Pointing right in the direction where the Odin statue was facing, there was indeed a door. Or at least, it may be one. It was large and circular and made of hard stone like everything else was. But most interestingly enough was the large tree engraved on it. Nine symbols on random areas, implicating something specific. 

 

And there was a gem at the center of it.

 

“Yggdrasil.” Morten gasped.

 

“What?” Jin and Ming asked.

 

“Yggdrasil, the World Tree.” Aksel enunciated for them. “According to Norse cosmology, it’s the tree that connects all of the Nine Realms and holds them together.”

 

“Hmm, that’s interesting.” Helen said, deep in thought. “Nine worlds held together by a large tree. Anecdotal, but I’m not judging.”

 

“Are those what those symbols mean?” Carl said.

 

“For each of the realms.” explained Aksel, pointing to each one. “There’s Midgard, home of the mortals. Our world as it were. Up here is Asgard, the home of the gods; the Æsir. Over there is Alfheim, the home of the Ljósálfar - the light elves. Right here is Svartalfheim, home of the Dökkálfar - the dark elves. And it's also been noted to be populated by the dwarves, who call it Niðavellir. And there’s Vanaheim, home of the Vanir, gods associated with fertility and wisdom. And then there’s Jötunheim, home of the Jötnar, a.k.a. the giants. Over there, Muspelheim, where the fire giants are. Down over there is Niflheim, a realm of primordial ice and mist where those who have perished dishonorably go down here in Helheim, the land of the dead.”

 

With all this information dumped on them, everyone was at a loss for words.

 

So many interesting things they’ve learned today, not to mention mythical realms filled with magical beings and creatures of legend. And all of this was hidden away in fathoms below the earth underneath a small, dismal farmhouse in the mountainous wilderness of Norway.

 

The boys, on the other hand, took a perplexing note of each of the realms' names as they were also the names of the albums belonging to Nörthfölk.

 

“This is some Christmas vacation we’ve been on.” Shan told his wife.

 

Elsa stepped forward as if she was in a trance. She couldn’t say so herself, but it felt like she was being pulled towards the door, almost like there was a voice she heard on the other side of the door calling her and urging her forward. As soon she was just close enough to touch and inspect the gem, something amazing happened.

 

She edged backward when the gem glowed brightly and the door, slowly, ever so slowly started to open as it slid to the side into the stone wall, offering them passage into more darkness, only there was a small light at the end.

 

“Great. Another tunnel.” Stig groaned.

 

“Woah, how did you do that?!” chirped Rudolf.

 

“I’m not sure.” Elsa stammered, shaking her head as if snapping back to reality. Staring right at the light at the end, she began to venture through the passageway and further into the foreboding pitch blackness when Wu grabbed her arm, pulling her back.

 

“Now, wait just a minute.” She ordered strictly and worriedly.

 

“I need to see what’s in there. There may be answers.” Elsa replied urgently.

 

“Think about this. What if there was a good logical explanation for why that basement door was locked up in the first place?”

 

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but she does have a point.” Carl joined in with acquiescence. “We don’t know what’s down there.”

 

“Look, we all came down here for a reason.” Morten informed sternly. “It was my idea to come here because I wanted to find answers to help save Kris. And this could lead to those answers.”

 

“And what if it doesn’t?” Helen countered. “What if this is all some wild goose chase?”

 

“How do you even know there’s nothing dangerous in there?” Charlie suggested.

 

“I’m just gonna pop in there and check it out, okay?” Elsa huffed, irked.

 

“What do you even expect to find in there?” Adam responded.

 

“Doesn’t matter.” She said back with a groan. “I’ve already gotten this far and at this point, I’m willing to weigh down all my other options here. Stop me if you want, but I’m going in there.”

 

“Me too.” Ming said, coming close to her. “I started this mess and I’m gonna help fix it. Plus, I’m not letting you go in alone.”

 

“Which is why I’m going in too.” Stig stepped up.

 

“Me too.” And Roar.

 

“Me too, I guess.” Rudolf.

 

“Well, then so are we.” Lily said, stepping forward holding onto Tom’s arm. “After all, families stick together, right?”

 

“Oh, very well.” Wu rolled her eyes. “I suppose we’re all going as well.”

 

“Not us. Me, my brother and that guy there will remain in the house.” Aksel said, pointing at himself, Morten and Carl. “Someone needs to stay behind and keep an eye on the boy.”

 

“Good idea.” noted Carl.

 

“Yeah, what if the wolf comes back?” asked Morten.

 

“You aren’t coming with?” Elsa gaped at the old man.

 

“I find looking after Kris to be more important right now.” He admitted.

 

“I agree, but I’m going in too.” Mei said, crossing her arms.

 

“Mei-Mei…-”

 

“No, mom! As much as I'd want to stay by Kris’s side, I need to find out how to help him and get him out of this as soon as possible. I’m as responsible for this as you are. I’ve already let Kris down once, I’m not doing it again.” Mei argued with her mother with strong defiance and a refusal to back down from her decision. 

 

“And besides, you can’t stop me.”

 

Then without saying another word to her mother, Mei was already marching fast into the dark tunnel without looking back, making a beeline for the light.

 

“MEI-MEI!” Ming shouted, running after her.

 

“Guess that’s our cue.” Elsa shrugged before heading in as well.

 

“Come on, fellas.” Stig said, joining them with Roar and Rudolf tailing behind him.

 

“Well, good luck to you all and be safe.” Aksel said nonchalantly before walking away back to the way they came in with Morten and Carl reluctantly going with him.

 

Then one-by-one, everyone - Ping, Wu, Chen, Lily, Helen, Tom, Adam, Jin, Charlie and Shen - headed inside the dark path lying before them all. Despite the darkness, the light everyone was venturing forward to was enough of a lightsource for them and they just needed to keep heading towards it. They bumped into each other a couple of times due to having difficulty seeing, but as long as they stayed close, they wouldn’t get separated. 

 

That and they all held onto each other just in case.

 

After putting a yard between themselves and the entranceway, the door slowly slid back shut, sealing them all inside, much to their distress. But that didn’t matter right now. After they see what the light was, they would have Elsa try to find some way to open it back up since she somehow did it the first time. As for Elsa, she couldn’t stop herself. The whispering voice was back again, urging her to press forward, continue onward, don’t stop until she was near it.

 

Don’t stop until it was just within her reach.

 

It said it could help her.

 

Help save her boy.

 

Finally after what seemed like 4 minutes, they finally closed the distance between themselves and the light, which actually wasn’t the way out of the tunnel like they had originally thought. This may not have been even a tunnel at all. The overall appearance of the source of the bright light was……unexpected.

 

For one thing, it was floating in mid-air. And for another….

 

………it looked something like a crack.

 

A small tear, if you will, in the fabric of their reality and it glowed a bright, bioluminescent blue glow.

 

“What the?” breathed Stig, gobsmacked at what he was seeing.

 

“What is that?” Jin’s left eyebrow ascended high above his other.

 

“I have no idea.” Ming scratched her head.

 

“Now that looks pretty cool.” Rudolf stepped forward and reached a hand outward, when he felt a slight sting when the rift sent forth an idle bolt of electricity.

 

“Ow!”

 

“Hey, stay back!” Elsa jerked him away.

 

But then, everyone’s confusion had transitioned into bewilderment and terror when the physical contact triggered a humongous reaction. They started inching slowly away from the rift as it started growing increasingly erratic and before anyone could do or say anything, a shockwave burst through from the rift. Everyone yelled as they all got struck by blue lightning bolts before, in a snap, all humans present before the rift had vanished from sight, the echoes of their screams fading away in the darkness.

 

The next thing everyone knew, each of them were sent flying through a vortex of some sort, all still screaming and trying to hold onto each other. Rudolf, Roar and Stig held onto each other as they were whipped all around and before long….

 

Everything.

 

 

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

Went.

 

 

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

Black.

Notes:

We're really moving things along now, aren't we?

So for starters, Elsa was about ready to cut her losses and leave with Kris and justifiably so, since he's bored her to death with nonsense (to her, at least) about their family being linked to gods of myth and now they've been attacked by a giant wolf. Thankfully, Ming was able to talk her out of pulling the plug. Looks like Morten and Aksel's father has finally bit the dust. However, they also find that he's left them a key seemingly as his parting gift to them. A key to the forbidden door. Now that it's been unlocked, we've now only scratched the surface of the mystery behind the door, but not yet as to why it's been kept locked up in the first place. So buried deep hundreds of feet below the farmhouse, maybe more, is a sacred underground shrine temple dedicated to the Norse pantheon and their tales of old.

Beyond that is what appears to be a small rift in reality. Where exactly does that rift lead to is to be revealed in the next chapter.

And we can't really blame Rudolf for confusing myth Thor with the Thor we all know and love. The one made by Marvel Comics and the one played by Chris Hemsworth in the MCU.

Next Chapter: Everyone finds themselves taken through a hidden portal that lands them in strange new land, but they end up getting separated trying to relocate each other.

Next Update: April 11, 2023

Chapter 7: Into the Nine Realms

Summary:

Everyone finds themselves taken through a hidden portal that lands them in a strange new land, but they end up getting separated trying to relocate each other.

The second Stig’s eyes bugged open, his vision was blurry for the moment. But once it cleared up, he was able to get a load of his surroundings. 

 

Trees.

 

Rocks.

 

Hills.

 

And a bunch of snow.

 

It looked like he’s been spat back out into the forest outside above the surface. But how? How and why was he back in the woods?

 

“Guys?” He looked around and saw his two friends nearby.

 

“I’m good.” Roar raised a thumbs up.

 

“Ahhhhhhh!” Rudolf screamed as he sat up in terror. “The hell? The actual hell!?”

 

“Dolf!”

 

Screamed both Stig and Roar as they shot up to their feet and hurried over to the terrified boy. Roar placed comforting hands on his shoulders to calm him down.

 

“Just chill out, Dolf, okay?” He consoled.

 

“What happened?” The Inuit boy’s head jerked all around, confused. “Where are we? How did we get here? And more importantly, why does my mouth taste weird?”

 

“Let’s just try to…” Then that’s when Stig noticed it was just the three of them out there where they were standing. “Oh no. Mom? Mei? Mr. Lee? Mrs. Lee? Hello? Anybody?”

 

“Elsa?” Roar joined in, trying to call out to them, but no answer came. Nothing but the sound of their echoes in the wind. “Adam? Charlie? Ping?”

 

“Mrs. Older Lee, can you hear me? If you can, scream ‘applesauce’!”

 

“Applesauce?” Roar looked at him oddly.

 

“I like that word.” Was Rudolf’s only answer.

 

“Damn it.” Stig gave up with an irritated grunt. How can this be happening right now? First the flash of blue lightning, zipping through what he could only best describe as a vortex and here they were separated from the rest of the group, out here in god-knows-where in the middle of the woods.

 

However, he couldn’t help but notice that there wasn’t that much snow out here. Last he checked, the level of snow went up to past their ankles back where they were.

 

And it was still chilly, but not too chilly to be approximately exact.

 

“Are we lost?” Rudolf asked perturbedly.

 

“God, I really hope not.” Stig shook his head. “Let’s just start walking. Try to find some shelter. Then we’ll try to look for the others.”

 

“Ok.”

 

Remembering some skills he learned from his father and grandfather during their camping trips, how to navigate, how to hunt and how to survive, Stig treaded onward confidently. The trio hiked through the woods, following Stig’s lead.

 

“Sure you know which direction you’re going?” asked Roar.

 

“I’m heading north.” He said as he kept going, walking along the snow-covered earth and through the trees. But then he realized his sense of direction was off a bit. “No, wait. It’s this way.”

 

He turned in the opposite direction. Though the two were unsure of this, Roar and Rudolf nonetheless tagged along, deciding to trust him on this. Nothing but the trees, still. Nothing but the rocks and the snowy grass beneath their feet and the hills that make up the landscape and the sounds of a bird or two. The low hoot of an owl occasionally. Stig had trouble familiarizing himself with his brand new environment. He had been to the woods in Norway before, but he was very young then. He could hardly remember any tree or anything of the sort that he had ever come across. And most of the camping trips he went on were in the Canadian wilderness.

 

Minutes later, still no sign of the others anywhere. Nothing moving that either of them saw were human, only critters like squirrels and chipmunks and a couple of birds. Now you’d think some of them would be hibernating right now. More minutes flew by like a strong breeze in the air. 

 

Still no sign of life. No sign of the road or the farmhouse or anyone in particular.

 

“I really hope Priya’s having a nice Christmas right now.” Stig wondered out loud. “I hope she’s looking after Fang.”

 

“Your snake is fine, Stig.” Roar reminded him strongly. “But I bet Miriam’s having some holiday fun at home while we’re stuck out here in the middle of fucking nowhere!”

 

“Abby’s probably thinking of me even as we speak.” said Rudolf. “She’s probably wondering why I’m not there hugging her cute, pudgy body, petting her on the head or singing 4*Town songs with her.”

 

“Chillax, will you?” Roar rolled his eyes. “Though it’s not everyday one gets sucked into a strange tear-like thing and wakes up in the forest somewhere, freezing their ass off.”

 

“That reminds me, when are we finding shelter? I’m getting cold.”

 

“We’re all getting cold!” Stig yelled. “And it would be nice if I even knew where the hell I am so I can find my way in this motherfucker!”

 

“We’ll all be ice sculptures by the time anyone finds us.” sighed Roar pessimistically. 

 

For what seemed like hours, the boys were growing tired from hiking and started to shiver from the frigid air. It didn’t seem like they were getting anywhere just yet. Like they were all walking in circles. 

 

Where the hell were they?

 

Climbing up a rocky incline together to hopefully get a better lay of the land, they stopped at the top for a moment before something caught their eye.

 

“Well, lookie there.” Roar pointed out.

 

It was a cave.

 

A deep, dark cave resting on a hard stony hillside with the one way to get inside being a pile of smooth rocks.

 

“Isn’t that something?”

 

“I’ll say.” Rudolf nodded in agreement. “Think anybody’s living in there?”

 

“What difference does it make?” Stig grunted. “Now let’s just get inside. We can at least keep from freezing.”

 

And so they did, scaling the rock formation and plunging themselves into the brisk, but somewhat welcoming pitch black darkness inside. It wasn’t too bad inside to say the least, if not still a little chilly as it was outside, but it was all too dark to even see. Despite their compromised eyesight, the cave seemed to stretch further aways from the entrance, but eventually the trio stopped to take a seat on the ground and rested on something soft.

 

“Wow, it’s really dark in here.” commented Stig.

 

“But at least we’re outta the cold.” said Roar.

 

“There’s something big and soft in this cave.” Rudolf stated with astute observation. “And it feels like it's moving.”

 

Then Stig felt a gust of hot air hit him on the side of his face, making him cringe.

 

“Stop breathing on me!”

 

“Who?” asked Rudolf.

 

“You!”

 

“But I’m over here.” True. Rudolf’s voice was inches in front of Stig, but now he smelled something odd.

 

“I smell fish.”

 

“What? Fish? Have you been eating some lutefisk, Dolf?”

 

“No, of course not. I’m out of ketchup, remember?”

 

“Well, that’s not what I ate.”

 

Then came the sound, the unmistakable sounds of a deep, throaty growl, catching them all by surprise. The hairs on their bodies bristled and their hearts skipped a few beats. 

 

“AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH-HHHHHHH-HHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!”

 

A chorus of terrified screams erupted from the cave as the trio full-on ran directly out of the cave like a couple of madmen as the gigantic shape of a great black bear with devilish yellow eyes emerged from its natural habitat, roaring dangerously into the winter-filled air, barring it’s slobbery, sharp, hungry teeth as it charged after the boys for trespassing on its territory and disturbing its sleep.

 

The apex predator was no cuddly bear based on its appearance. Evidence of previous deadly encounters with hunters and warriors present on his nightly-black furry body in the form of scars.

 

“We’re sorry!” Rudolf screamed. “We’re sorry!”

 

---

 

Nothing in the area looked familiar to Elsa at all.

 

Here she was with the rest of the group, dazed and disoriented from their interaction with the rift and waking up in freaking nowhere in the forest and there was no sign of her adopted son or his friends anywhere.

 

Now she was starting to regret even bringing the latter two along with her. Who knows what kind of danger they could be in right now?

 

“Stig!” She screamed as loud as she could.

 

No response.

 

“Well, isn’t this just great.” Wu complained with contempt. “I can’t believe this. Why did I let you talk us into this?”

 

“Excuse me?” Elsa looked back at her with anger.

 

“You just had to drag us all into this mess.” snapped Wu. “Now we’re all out here in the middle of the forest in the cold with no way of knowing where we are-”

 

“Mom, not the time, please!” Ping chided her.

 

“Oh, I think it’s the perfect time!”

 

“Where are we even?” asked Helen, looking all around.

 

“Are we dead?” Adam shrieked. “Did we just die?! Did that what-the-hell-ever electrocuted us and now we're stuck in purgatory.”

 

“Okay, just try to relax, hon.” Helen soothed him, rubbing his arms. “Think about the girls. Try to be strong for them.”

 

“I can’t believe you allowed me to come with you.” Wu continued scolding Elsa.

 

“Mom, you insisted on coming with us!” Ming argued. “No one forced you to come along!”

 

“This wasn’t even our business. We should’ve stayed home!” Jin butted in.

 

“Stay out of this, Jin!” snarled Wu.

 

“No, I won’t!”

 

“How are we even gonna find our way home?!”

 

On this worthless prattle went, each one shooting one accusatory insult after another in each other’s face, the stress it gave poor Elsa was taking a serious toll on her brain right now. Another moment of this annoying screaming contest that went by was more than enough for her to take.

 

“EVERYBODY, SHUT! THE FUCK! UP!”

 

They all instantly silenced once her enraged bellow ruptured the air, making them all look at her.

 

“Enough of this nonsense already!” Her screams increased in volume. “Let me remind you all that was your decision to come with us on this trip, even though I had already told you-” She pointed sharply at Ming, who winced embarrassedly. “-that only you, your husband and daughter could come! Nobody else! Hey, remember when I begged all of you to come with me to Norway?! Yeah, me neither! So keep in mind that this is still my trip so whatever I say goes! You got that?!”

 

No words came through anyone’s mouths.

 

“I’m cold, I’m hungry and my son and his friends are somewhere out there lost and probably in a lot of danger! And I’m not wasting another fucking second listening to anymore of this pathetic bullshit! So stop whining and let’s just keep moving!”

 

Having said her piece and with her anger spent, Elsa marched away from them all and started hiking in one direction to find Stig and the other two before they ran into any serious peril, not waiting for anyone to comment on her denunciation or give any suggestion on where they should head.

 

“I’m sorry, everyone, but she’s right.” Ming told them all in agreement to her friend’s words. “We need to keep our heads up if we want to get out of this.”

 

POOF!

 

“Mei-Mei, what are you doing?!” Ming shouted in horror to see her daughter in her red panda form. However, Mei didn’t seem to be freezing anymore as she hugged herself snuggly.

 

“It’s fine, mom.” Mei sighed, rolling her eyes at her. “Red pandas have a thick double-layer of fur to help them survive the cold weather. This should help me stay warm for now.”

 

Then Mei took off to catch up to Elsa. Taking in Mei’s words, all of the Lee women shared a look and shrugged, deciding to give it a try themselves. And as they all poofed into their pandas, the bitter, icy sensation in their bodies disappeared thanks to their thick panda fur. Hiking through the wintry woodlands wasn’t much of a problem for them, but the same cannot be said for those who weren’t blessed with the red panda.

 

“I just hope they're okay.” Mei thought aloud.

 

“Me too. Stig’s a tough guy, though. And we’ve gone on camping and hunting trips with him in the past. His father and my father taught him a few survival skills.” Elsa explained.

 

“How fortunate.” Wu remarked. “How will it even help them?”

 

“Ever gone hunting before?” asked Elsa.

 

“No.”

 

“Then how would you know if it will help or not?”

 

Wu glared at the back of her head for that snarky comment. Make no mistake, Ming even fought back a snicker at seeing her mother’s reaction.

 

“What if they had died?” Tom voiced his fears with a look of panic.

 

“Tom!” Lily elbowed him in the ribs for saying that. “Don’t think like that!”

 

“I’m sorry, okay? I can’t think right when I’m nervous.”

 

“Well, this is really embarrassing, but sometimes when I get nervous, I fart.” Ming brought up, much to her mother’s shock. “Especially after it’s something I’ve eaten.”

 

“Ming!” Wu shouted, appalled.

 

“Eww, mom!” Mei cried, blushing beat-red from dropping that fact on them so shamelessly and covered her ears.

 

Jin and Elsa, however, had average reactions since this little-known trait of hers was not lost on them at all.

 

“But it’s mostly when I’m in overwhelming situations where I get the feeling that something dangerous is out there trying to get me or if I’m about to die that really upsets my stomach. In fact, there was this one time when I was riding on the metro bus with Elsa and I kept getting the feeling that there was a serial killer or rapist on board with us and I just couldn’t stop farting.”

 

“MING! Shame on you!” Wu yelled at her to knock it off. “Why would you bring something like that up?!”

 

“What? I’m just making conversation.” defended Ming weakly. “It’s not that big of a deal.”

 

“Bodily functions are not appropriate conversation subjects for a proper lady. Understand that.”

 

“Hmph!” Ming crossed her arms like a stubborn teenager and secretly rolled her eyes at her mom’s usual pompous, haughty attitude when it comes to behaving in front of others. It’s starting to feel like she was still treating her like a child that needs to be taught manners. It’s just one of the things that usually raises tension between them. Was this how her Mei-Mei felt dealing with her and being made to follow her ways?

 

‘What’s she so worked up about?’ Ming’s inner voice sulked. ‘I’m a grown woman. If I wanna talk about farts, then I’ll talk about farts. Oh, great. Now I sound like I’m 14 again.’

 

Every human and red panda stopped in their tracks once they heard it.

 

Footsteps nearby where they all stood. Rampant footsteps running along the snow-covered ground all around them. Fearing for the worst, the Lee women poofed back to normal just so as to not make anyone think they’re a threat.

 

“Stay close.” Elsa whispered to everyone, holding Mei’s hand protectively.

 

They did as they were told, huddling together as the noises all around kept up. Then they saw figures flash by through the trees, putting them even more on edge. Were there people out here? If so, maybe they could help them out. But what were they doing running all around them? Are they trying to scare them? More glimpses of fleeting figures through the forest appeared out of the corner of their eyes.

 

Having enough, they all tried to press on and ignore them, seeing as they’re coming off as the welcoming type. Only for Elsa to come face-to-face with a spear pointing her right in the face just barely touching her nose.

 

Surrounding them from all sides and angles were a group of wild men in strange attires like they’ve been out here in the woods for decades, but what’s interesting to know as their clothes looked Nordic by design, like they were a clan or a tribe and were all wearing wolfskin pelts over them, undoubtedly to give them an intimidating stature. 

 

And their skins were painted with tribal markings all over. Definitely a tribe. And perhaps not a good one either. Each of them were armed with spears, tomahawks and shields, making them seem like a gang of feral bandits.

 

“Uh, hi?” greeted Elsa uneasily.

 

“Hverr munu þú? þú hafneir business munu út hí.” The one standing before her demanded of her in a native language she didn’t understand.

 

“What?”

 

“Hví eru þú hí? Mæli!” He ordered, fiercely tightening his grip on the spear.

 

“Look, we don’t want any trouble, sir.” Mei tried to diffuse the situation as best she could. “But any chance you guys could help us find some friends of ours, please?”

 

Their expressions remained unchanged and they looked at one another as if to silently address that the new intruders on their land weren’t much of a danger to them. However, they didn’t very much like they were interested in helping them out.

 

“Líða. Leave.” Another one ordered harshly, directing them away with his own spear. The other man mimicked the same motion.

 

“But-”

 

“GOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!” He screamed furiously, making them all jump in terror. And they took his message immediately, taking off in the direction they were given, not wanting to agitate these wild men to the point of compelling them to try to do anything harmful to them.

 

“Ok stay út ór okkarr jörð!” The first man shouted out to them with a dark warning.

 

“I guess that’s a no.” Elsa quipped.

 

“What was all that about?!” Ping yelped.

 

“I don’t know, but they didn’t seem cooperative.” Her husband answered, equally scared.

 

“Who were they?” asked Mei as everyone journeyed through the woods in the course opposite from the scary bandits.

 

“Well, they don’t look friendly, obviously.” said Adam.

 

So they ventured on through more trees in the snowy woodland area, the Lees turning back into red pandas once they were far enough away from the group of feral tribesmen. Minutes bled into two hours as they kept up on the path ahead. Hopefully, they run into any more of the guys anytime soon. A mile later, Elsa noticed a couple lights ahead.

 

Dim lights in the distance as if in response to their desperate situation. Civilization.

 

It must be.

 

“You see that?” Elsa shouted hopefully as she ran in the direction of the lights, the others picking up their speed to catch up with her.

 

“Elsa, wait!” Ming shouted, running on all fours.

 

The Norwegian mother didn’t stop, not caring how cold it was. In theory, it has to lead to people with homes and shelter, food and warmth, enough for the group to get out of the cold and rest for the moment. She didn’t stop sprinting until she had stopped in her tracks finally, allowing the others to catch up and see what it was. Well, it certainly was a town of sorts full of people. However, it wasn’t any kind of town they were familiar with.

 

There were no roads, no street lamps, no cars, no sidewalks.

 

All the walls of the houses and buildings seemed to be made of wood and most of the roofs, straw. It very much seemed like an authentic middle ages Viking-style settlement. And all the people there were in medieval-like Scandinavian peasant attires and for transportation, there were carriages and some rode on horseback. There were at least a couple of villagers that had livestock with them - goats, cows, chickens, pigs and whatever else.

 

This really did NOT seem like the Norway they were just in.

 

Everything here was…….old.

 

“What the hell?” Elsa said in a hushed voice.

 

“Oh my god.” Charlie gasped.

 

“What in Sun Yee is that?” piped Helen.

 

“Where are we?” Mei asked, astonished and a bit afraid.

 

---

 

The boys ran and hid. 

 

Terror gripped all three of them like a vice as they fled to escape the ferocious bear trying to get them.

 

But eventually, they managed to shake the bear. Stig and Roar hid in the bushes and waited for it to leave. Waiting a few minutes later, they decided it was safe to come out. 

 

However, in the confusion, they’ve lost sight of Rudolf.

 

First place they went was the direction he ran into which is where the bear didn’t follow him. The two looked and looked, but they couldn’t see him anywhere.

 

“Where is that chunk-head?” Stig retorted in annoyance.

 

“Sure hope the bear didn’t get him.” Roar quavered.

 

“Not likely.”

 

“Rudolf!” They both cried out into the air. Finally, came the answer.

 

“Guys?”

 

Both of them perked up at the familiar voice and it sounded nearby, much to their relief. Stampeding over to where they heard it, they looked all around, but still didn’t see him anywhere.

 

“Up here!”

 

Confused, they looked to see Rudolf 30 ft. above the ground high in a tree, clinging tightly against the trunk to avoid the bear.

 

“How the hell did you get up there?” asked Roar.

 

“I dunno!”

 

“Get down from there.” Stig ordered him.

 

“No way! What if the bear comes back?”

 

“The bear’s gone, Rudolf.” assured Roar calmly. “You can come down now.”

 

“I don’t think so!” Rudolf refused, clinging much tighter. “But it’s fine. I’m fine. Bears can’t climb trees, anyway.”

 

“Of course, they can!” Roar corrected incredulously.

 

“Will you just get down?!” screamed Stig impatiently. “My mom and the others are probably worried sick about us, wherever they are!”

 

“O-Okay, catch me.”

 

“No, wait-!”

 

With some hesitance, he let go and jumped down from the tree right towards them. But neither of them were even prepared for him and Rudolf ended up landing right on top of them both, knocking them onto the ground with Roar and Stig having the misfortune of having to cushion his fall. Groaning from the pain of the impact, they scrambled to their feet.

 

“Thanks.”

 

BONK!

 

Stig angrily bonked him on the head for that.

 

“You dummy! Why you-!” He growled and started to throttle him when Roar broke them up.

 

“Ok, wait a minute! Let’s focus on finding the others first.” He said sternly.

 

“Yeah.” Stig moaned.

 

He lets Rudolf go for the moment and they proceed further into the forest.

 

“Okay, bear attack? Not good for a Christmas vacation.” said Roar plainly.

 

“Well, she was mostly hibernating and we disturbed her.” Rudolf theorized.

 

“What makes you think it was a she?” asked Stig.

 

“It almost always is.”

 

“Looked a little big to be a she in my opinion.” spoke Stig thinkingly. “And I didn’t see any cubs, neither.”

 

Moments later, they stopped when they realized they weren’t passing any more trees. As a matter of fact, a good and delicate assessment of their bearings revealed to them that they had passed the tree-line and were now standing in a large clearing with an open view of the large mountains up ahead on the horizon.

 

A clearing that seemed oddly familiar.

 

“Isn’t this where the farm should be?” asked Roar curiously.

 

“Yeah, that is weird.” Rudolf eyed the new area wide-eyed. “They must’ve stolen it.”

 

Stig rolled his eyes and surveyed the landscape like the other two disoriented teens as they moved forward, trying to get a sense of their current situation. If this is the spot where the farm is, or rather was, and it’s not here now, then where on earth could it even be? This can’t be the same place they used to be in before venturing down into that underground shrine or temple or whatever. And as Stig dug deeper in his mind, sorting through his theories one-by-one, he landed on the one that, as silly as it may sound, seemed the most logical out of them all. 

 

Whatever that rift was, it seems as though it….transported them all to another dimension. Another world.

 

Roar and Rudolf froze in their tracks on the ground and screamed in sudden abject terror as they both looked up. Stig looked as well and all the three of them were now bearing witness to the massive and stupendously giant, rounded and compressed head of a colossal, reptilian, snake-like gargantuan beast, even surpassing the size of Mingzilla, resting peacefully on the top of the mountains. 

 

Its body was covered in pronounced, thick-keeled, pale-blue scales, a short and spatulate snout with two nostrils located in-between, small eyes that were spaced apart and lips that were forming a human-like mouth. At the bottom of its chin was covered in a large collection of seaweed and other aquatic plants grown to a shape that looked similarly like a beard.

 

First a large wolf, then a hungry bear and now….

 

…. this thing?!

 

The life-sized creature’s eyes were closed. It wasn’t moving and it showed no reaction to the sound of the boy’s screaming from down below, thankfully. 

 

However, it didn’t seem to be dead as far as Stig was concerned.

 

Upon closer inspection, the small and barely noticeable in-and-out breathing sounds it was making, which were low enough to be mistaken for the whispering breezes along the wintry winds, appeared to indicate snoring.

 

“It’s alright. It looks like it’s sleeping.” He reminded them, giving them both the stink-eye. “So what do you say we keep it that way?”

 

“Works for me.” Rudolf whimpered.

 

“It probably can’t even hear us, anyway.” said Roar a little confidently. At least he hoped it couldn’t.

 

“Hey!”

 

The shadow-haired teen was pointing in the direction at the base of the mountains, directly below where the great big monster’s head was resting. 

 

A series of lights at that. Almost like a town or a village of people.

 

“Alright, let’s go.”

 

Onward they went, trudging towards where civilization lies in wait. Where there could be warmth, shelter, food and water, enough resources to help them make it through the cold weather until they find the others. The boys didn’t stop for a second less, not until they got close enough to see what they were seeing, hoping that it wasn’t their eyes playing tricks on them. 

 

An optical illusion.

 

The bitterness of the frigid air was beginning to take its slow-acting toll on their physical energy. No telling how long before the effects take a negative turn for the worst. Not even their thick winter clothing, especially the garb Rudolf had on all-year long, would protect them from the cold forever. The desperate need for warmth had seized control over them now and only that had kept them going endlessly until they’ve reached salvation.

 

Pneumonia was imminent and they knew it.

 

Just when the source of the lights had by now reduced down to a mile or two the closer the trio had gotten, they were able to see the village up ahead of them and see it for what it really was.

 

Not the kind of town they were expecting to happen across.

 

“You can’t be serious.” Stig’s voice had gone down to a hush of doubt.

 

“That is so weird.” Roar was in denial, trying to adjust his glasses. “We’re all seeing this, too, right?”

 

Rudolf?

 

“Did we go back in time?” 

Notes:

Looks like everyone has discovered a new land that appears to be lost in time. However, the travel through the wormhole appears to have separated the boys from the others and the boys have the misfortune of awakening a ravenous bear from its slumber while trying to stay cold.

I had to look up the fact about red pandas being able to withstand cold temperatures thanks to their thick fur coats.

And points to anyone who gets the reference there.

Next Chapter: Everyone finally regroups in a small settlement preparing for the holidays until, much to their bewilderment, they taken into the land of Asgard where they all meet the legendary Norse pantheon of gods and goddesses.

Next Update: April 14, 2023

Chapter 8: Welcome to Asgard

Summary:

Everyone finally regroups in a small settlement preparing for the holidays until, much to their bewilderment, they taken into the land of Asgard where they all meet the legendary Norse pantheon of gods and goddesses.

Notes:

And now we're going to be heading into the Nine Realms! It's gonna be a hell of a Christmas trip for everyone here!

I'm still playing GoW: Ragnarök btw. And I'm currently stuck on the Muspelheim level where Kratos and Atreus have succeeded in initiating Ragnarök via Surtr. The only thing standing in my way from progressing further is these stupid and annoying Einherjar fights that are damn near impossible to get through. And it's just one difficult fight after another, which really hurts my head. No matter how hard I fight them or what tactic I use, I just keeping getting killed and repeating the last checkpoint I was in. Every. Single. Time! It's like I'm trapped in this endless time loop.

But I won't give up on it. I will continue to persevere. I won't let this annoyance get in my way.

Anyway, so here's the next chapter. Enjoy.

“No, no, no. This cannot be right.” Wu complained as everyone walked through the village.

 

Just like back in Björnbæk, houses all around and buildings lining up the square were adorned with several Christmas decorations that were more appropriate to the era of which the village appears to be set in, which would happen to be the Viking age during the middle ages, whether it's evergreen trees decorated with popcorn, wooden figurines of the gods and small candles, holly and pine branches used for garland and wreaths.

 

The group suddenly separated to give way to two men passing their way carrying an evergreen tree of their own, no doubt to be placed inside their own home.

 

“What even is this place?” asked Lily, looking all around at all the people. “Why is everything so….old?”

 

To the surprise of no one, miscellaneous villagers around them and crossing their path were shooting looks that varied between confusion, curiosity or befuddlement at the strange new people in their town. Possibly due to the more modern outfits they had on in stark contrast to the medieval regalia of the townsfolk.

 

“I don’t see Stig or the other two anywhere.” Elsa’s eyes were pointing every which way, no sight of her son or his friends.

 

“Don’t worry, I’m really sure they’re fine.” Mei assured her as best she could.

 

‘Søte St. Mary, mor til Josef, dad. What the hell have you dragged me into?’, Elsa groaned in her head, facepalming at their predicament.

 

Simultaneously, the boys slipped into the village on another end from where they were previously and they were just as taken aback by the authenticity of the old-century architectural design of the settlement they were in, unaware of the odd stares they were receiving from the onlookers.

 

“Wow, this is pretty interesting.”

 

“How did they redesign the town so fast?” asked Rudolf naively.

 

“We’re obviously not in Norway anymore.” Stig pointed out tentatively. “At least in the same time era as before.”

 

“What does that even mean?” Roar blurted out perplexed by his hunch.

 

“I knew it! That was a time machine we used.” Rudolf obnoxiously stated with a dumb smile. “And you can bet my bottom dollar I can stop Booth from assassinating President Lincoln.”

 

SLAP!

 

“Oh!” He cried after earning a slap to the face.

 

“Don’t speak like that around here.” Stig scolded with a stern glare. “People’ll think you’re batshit crazy.”

 

Then they noticed a man and his wife standing near them holding two hens, eyeing them as if they were breaking out. Trying to seem inconspicuous, the trio just beamed at them innocently with big, toothy grins and waited standing still until they walked away from them.

 

“Come on, you two.” Stig dragged them both away.

 

Meanwhile, Elsa was trying to get somebody’s attention to try and ask for help from the locals. Eventually, one woman with light blonde hair and a moss green dress and apron approached her.

 

“Yes, thank you!” Elsa sighed with relief. “Do you speak my language, by any chance?”

 

The woman raised an eyebrow and tilted her head.

 

“Snakker du norsk, frue?” Elsa tried using Norwegian this time and to her relief once more, the woman nodded.

 

“What’s that? You found someone?” asked Ming desperately.

 

“Yes.” said Elsa, nodding before turning to the woman again. “Jeg heter Elsa Bengtsson. Hva er ditt?”

 

“Astrid.” She answered with a thick native accent.

 

“Hyggelig å møte deg. Snakker du engelsk?”

 

“Nei.”

 

“Hmm.” Elsa grunted. “Se, jeg beklager at jeg plager deg, men vi er litt fortapt, og sønnen min og et par venner av ham er der ute et sted, og vi kunne virkelig trenge litt ly.”

 

Astrid nodded, understanding.

 

“Veldig bra. Hvis dere alle vil bli med meg.” She gestures for them to follow her. 

 

“Let’s go. She’ll have a place for us to get warmth.” Elsa announced to the group as they followed Astrid’s lead.

 

“Oh, thank Sun Yee.” Wu breathed a sigh of solace.

 

“So you’re getting into the holiday spirit, too, Miss. Astrid?” Helen asked her, which she didn’t understand.

 

“Feirer du høytiden?” Elsa translated for her to the young villager, who nodded.

 

“Vi forbereder oss til julefestivalen. Jólnir kommer for å ta med gaver til barna.”

 

“She says they’re prepping up for the festival of Yule.” Elsa explained to the group.

 

“Yule?” asked Adam.

 

“It’s basically an old-timey Germanic word for ‘Christmas’.” Tom replied.

 

“Fascinating.” Jin marveled.

 

“She says Jólnir comes to deliver presents for the kids.” continued Elsa.

 

“Um, who’s Jólnir?” asked Mei, raising a lone eyebrow.

 

Just as Elsa was about to ask Astrid, there came a familiar voice that halted her words before they could exit her mouth.

 

“Mom!”

 

“Stig?” True. She looked and her spirits lifted when she saw Stig far away from them with Roar and Rudolf before running over to them. In seconds, Elsa and Stig crashed into a tight embrace with the former holding onto the latter tightly.

 

“Thank god, you’re okay!”

 

“I know, mom!” Stig exhaled. “I was worried about you.”

 

“Don’t ever scare me like that again!” Elsa shook her adopted son angrily and concernedly. Then Ming and Mei came rushing over.

 

“Glad to see you’re okay.” replied Stig.

 

“Well, I wouldn’t say-”

 

“Not you, beefbrain.” Stig growled at Ming, cutting her off before hugging Mei, much to her mother’s chagrin and shock. Mei hugged him back.

 

“We were afraid you guys got hurt.” Mei told him, disquieted.

 

“Well, we were almost mauled by a bear, but-” Rudolf began.

 

“A bear?!” All three women gasped, horrorstruck.

 

“But it’s gone now.” Roar told them to alleviate their worries.

 

Elsa sighed, shaking her head, but she was glad they were still okay, despite what they’ve endured.

 

“Come on, you guys. Let’s try to get warm.”

 

The need for warmth returned upon hearing those words and the trio rejoined the others as they followed Astrid to her two-story family home. Their Christmas tree sat dead near the fireplace where a cauldron was boiling some soup inside it. Everyone crammed themselves inside the hut, all overjoyed to finally be out of the cold and many of them sat by the fire together to get warm. Astrid was even nice enough to offer soup for all of them and they were grateful to have some.

 

They noticed shoes filled with hay placed at the hearth of the fireplace. Must be some kind of Scandinavian Christmas tradition, they’d imagine.

 

“You said the bear chased you?” asked Ping with fright.

 

“Yeah.” Rudolf nodded.

 

“We must’ve woken it up.” said Stig.

 

“Well, bears don’t like being disturbed during hibernation.” Tom reminded them matter-of-factly.

 

“We were lucky enough to hide from it.” Roar mentioned, still remembering when they were chased by the animal.

 

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

 

Suddenly, there came a slow rapping on the front door.

 

Astrid went to go and answer it, quite confused since she wasn’t expecting any visitors. Her husband had left on a journey at sea.

 

After a minute of listening in on a conversation in the local’s native tongue followed the door closing, everything was silent as she reentered looking aghast.

 

Then she tiptoed over to Elsa and whispered in her ear.

 

“Det er for deg.”

 

“For me?” 

 

That caught her way off guard. Who was that at the door asking for her? Other than the wild men they ran into in the forest, there couldn’t be anyone in this land they’ve known. They were new to this place.

 

Nonetheless, Elsa slowly got up from her chair to go see who it was requesting for her. Ming even went with her just to have her back if anything should happen. Swallowing her spit and wiping away perspiration, she gripped the door handle and flung it wide to come face-to-face with the strange visitor at their kind host’s doorstep.

 

There before the two mothers stood a man.

 

A strikingly handsome young man blessed with pale, blemish-free skin and dirty blonde hair in thin braids.

 

And he didn’t look like any villager they’ve come across earlier. Nor was wearing any protective clothing for the cold weather. In fact, that attire of his almost looked royal and luxurious in taste, like he was the loyal servant of a king. He wore a sumptuous white tunic covering up his knees, adorned with high-quality leather covering the upper chest and the back, including the shoulders; gilding and beautiful gold patterns decorating those leather platings, especially the short sleeves, which they, themselves, were enhanced with a series of cubical patterns. 

 

Underneath the tunic was a golden skirt with sleeves presumably upon inspection were made of a comfortable brown gambeson. Covering all that from the waist down, a very thick leather skirt adorned with a multitude of silver plates, firmly held by a pair of belts, themselves decorated with golden plates and Norse symbols. 

 

Fastened onto his belt were a sumptuous scabbard holding a sword and another S-shaped horn-like object held on there.

 

His forearms were well-protected with beautifully-crafted black bracers and he wore pants - also high-quality leather - and a pair of boots.

 

And staring back at Elsa were NOT a pair of normal human eye pupils, but rather two glowing purple lights that seemed to have an effective soul-tingling effect on her and Ming.

 

“Good evening, madam.” He politely greeted Elsa with a friendly smile. “Hope I hadn’t come at a bad time.”

 

“Hi?” Ming hesitantly greeted him back.

 

“C-Can I help you?” asked Elsa.

 

“Are you Elsa Bengtsson, by any chance?” asked the peculiar gentleman.

 

“Uh-”

 

“Of course you are.” He shook his head with a soft chuckle. “I recognize that gentle, soft tone of yours with the stern, but protective intent behind it. Never had I forgotten a voice or a face.”

 

“Excuse me?”

 

“And you are Ming Lee, correct?” He gestured to Ming next, now completely befuddled. “Elsa’s former friend, if I’m not mistaken.”

 

Ming instantly broke out of her dazed trance to slam the door shut in the stranger’s face in a state of sudden panic.

 

“Hey! What are you-”

 

“Shhhh!” Ming harshly silenced her, covering her mouth. “I don’t like this. This guy shows up, knowing our names? He must’ve been spying on us or something. That’s never a good sign.”

 

Elsa frowned in annoyance, yanking her hand off.

 

“Says the woman who constantly spies on her daughter.” She hissed, reopening the door. 

 

The man was still there.

 

“‘And I don’t need a bodyguard, thank you very much.’” He noted, not at all offended by the door slam. This statement made Elsa freeze.

 

“How did you know I was gonna say that?”

 

Ming gave her a look.

 

“Just one of my many talents.” He shrugged nonchalantly. “Also, it’s a very ‘you’ thing to say, if I’m being honest.”

 

“Huuuuhhhhhhh………….” Elsa’s face was just unreadable at this point.

 

“And I’m not too overly fond of having a door slammed in my face.”

 

“Um, sorry about that. She gets a little paranoid most of the time.” Elsa apologized before getting serious. “Now who the hell are you? And what do you want with me?”

 

“It’s not really what I want with you, per say. It’s more about what you are here for, Elsa.” He answered with total honesty.

 

“What………do you mean?” Elsa stuttered, heart beating, mouth drying.

 

“I’ll explain everything on the way. If it’s all the same to you, I’d like for you and everyone else with you to please follow me. The All-Father requests your presence immediately. Come now. Let’s not keep him waiting.”

 

Elsa and Ming enhanced looks.

 

“At least he’s speaking English.” Ming replied.

 

Whoever this guy was, he didn’t sound like he was pulling their leg. And based on his clothes, he seemed like a very important person with a valuable background. But they nevertheless agree to go with him and back out into the snow they went with the man. Everyone followed close behind as they ventured out of the village and towards the wilderness when Elsa finally decided to break the ice.

 

“So how do you know my name?”

 

“I know more than just your name, Elsa Bengtsson. Daughter of Morten and Audhilda Bengtsson and the mother of Kris Bengtsson.” The man so thoroughly intoned. “In fact, I remember when you were just a little girl. You were a joyful and tough little bugger. I remember your first step, your first word, your first day of school and when you skedaddled the country after the accident.”

 

“Accident? What accident?” asked Mei, looking at her friend’s mother.

 

“Not important right now.” Elsa brushed off a bit too quickly. “I’m afraid to ask, but what else do you know?”

 

“I know you drink.” He said flatly. “And frankly, still do.”

 

Now that earned a collection of surprised eyes staring straight at Elsa, who instinctively took defensive against this claim.

 

“I’m trying to cut back!” She cried with a frown.

 

“And how was the gløgg?” He smiled in amusement, which made her blush. “All joking aside, you really consider actually cutting back. Overindulgence isn’t a healthy coping mechanism and it can and will have lasting drastic consequences.”

 

“God, you sound like my dad.” sighed Elsa with frustration.

 

“He does have a point, though.” Ming shrugged, remembering the empty beer cans she found in Elsa’s bedroom back at home.

 

”So what’s your name, sir?” asked Lily.

 

“I’ve been known by many in the tales of old. ‘Gyllentanne’ for example.” He cryptically spoke. “I hear all and I see all. And I guard the Bifröst as my sworn duty as watchman of the Æsir gods.”

 

“Wait a minute…” Shan mulled it over, taking his words into serious consideration.

 

“Are you saying that you’re Heimdall?”

 

“So you know much about me after all.” He replied in response to Elsa’s question. “Suppose that makes two of us.”

 

Indeed it was for a fact that the strange man leading the way for them all was the one and only 𝕳𝖊𝖎𝖒𝖉𝖆𝖑𝖑 (𝒪𝓁𝒹 𝒩𝑜𝓇𝓈𝑒: 𝕳𝖊𝖎𝖒𝖉𝖆𝖑𝖑𝖗, 𝒩𝑜𝓇𝒹𝒾𝒸: ᚺᛖᛁᛗᛞᚨᛚᛚ), the 𝙽𝚘𝚛𝚜𝚎 𝙶𝚘𝚍 𝚘𝚏 𝙵𝚘𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝, 𝚂𝚞𝚛𝚟𝚎𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎, 𝙾𝚛𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙵𝚘𝚛𝚎𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠𝚕𝚎𝚍𝚐𝚎, 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚆𝚊𝚝𝚌𝚑𝚖𝚊𝚗 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 Æ𝚜𝚒𝚛, 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙶𝚞𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚒𝚊𝚗 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙱𝚒𝚏𝚛ö𝚜𝚝, 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙱𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚛 𝚘𝚏 𝙶𝚓𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚊𝚛𝚑𝚘𝚛𝚗 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙷𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚕𝚍 𝚘𝚏 𝚁𝚊𝚐𝚗𝚊𝚛ö𝚔. The one in charge of guarding Asgard and keeping a lookout of any invaders.

 

And here he was bringing them back into the forest. Waiting for him perched on the branch of a tree was Muninn, one of the ravens.

 

“You’re not gonna lead us straight toward those dangerous tribesmen are you?” Ming asked fearfully.

 

Heimdall only chuckled and said, “No way in either up or above would I lead our guests into the hands of the berserkers.”

 

“Berserkers?” Helen and Lily chorused, wide-eyed.

 

“Muninn!” He cried.

 

Cawing of acknowledgement came forth.

 

Nobody expected what happened next and it showed. They all gasped and looked on with helpless terror as the aforementioned raven flew down and started speedily flying around them all in a huge circle until everyone saw nothing but a huge flurry of black feathers shielding their view of the environment like a curtain of death.

 

The echoing caws continued as darkness ensued, very much appearing as if the grim reaper himself was casting his shadowy cloak, enveloping them all and about ready to claim their souls and cast them into the afterlife for their final judgment.

 

Half a minute later and thankfully, the cawing ceased and the feathers disappeared in a flash and the group couldn’t believe their own eyes.

 

(ᚷ)
𝐀𝐒𝐆𝐀𝐑𝐃 (𝐎𝐥𝐝 𝐍𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞: Á𝐬𝐠𝐚𝐫ð𝐫 / 𝐍𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐜: ᚬᛋᚴᛅᚱᚦᛦ)
(ℍ𝕆𝕄𝔼 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 Æ𝕊𝕀ℝ)

 

They were no longer in the snowy, woodsy landscape where the village was anymore.

 

Now they were standing on top of a high mountain of some kind with a massive view of the land below, no longer covered in snow, but was still overcast in the sky with no sun shining.

 

Muninn flew away out of sight.

 

“Woah. That just happened.” Tom remarked with a huge shocked expression.

 

“That was insane!” Ping shouted.

 

“I don’t feel so chilly anymore.” Adam said as the air around them now wasn’t freezing so much. “Tell me I’m not dreaming.”

 

“Don’t worry, you’ll get used to that overtime.” Heimdall informed them reassuringly.

 

“Woah, get a load of that view.” Rudolf marveled at the picturesque sight of the mountains before his eyes, stepping forward when Elsa realized something that sent her into protective mother mode.

 

“Rudolf!” She screamed, lunging forward along with Ping and Helen as they all grabbed onto the boy like a lifeline and yanked him back just as he was nearly about to unknowingly walk directly off a deep, high cliff.

 

Looking downward, it was certainly a long way down. And a closer inspection revealed something else as well.

 

This wasn’t a mountain they were on, but rather a gigantic stone structure of some kind.

 

“Yeah, please mind your step when we’re up here.” warned Heimdall. “It’s easy to lose one’s footing and the cliffs are unforgiving.”

 

“You okay?” asked Elsa worriedly.

 

“Am I asleep?” Rudolf spoke, a little shook from nearly falling to his death.

 

“You’ll be fine, boy. Just watch your step next time, understand.” Heimdall informed him sternly.

 

He nodded.

 

“Where are we?” asked Stig. “Where did that bird take us?”

 

“Yeah.” Mei agreed.

 

“We’re in Asgard.” The Watchman of the Gods answered. “The home of the gods. My home.”

 

“Um, this is Asgard?” asked Rudolf, getting over his shock to look all around, but saw nothing like a kingdom or castle around like he had seen in the comics. “Are you sure? We’re in the kingdom?”

 

“Over here.”

 

Heimdall led them in another direction and they followed. Rudolf looked above him to see a rainbow up ahead that stretched across the sky and glistened and glimmered unnaturally; this was what was known as the 𝓑𝓲𝓯𝓻ö𝓼𝓽 (sometimes known as 𝓑𝓲𝓵𝓻ö𝓼𝓽 or 𝓑𝓲𝓿𝓻𝓸𝓼𝓽), the burning rainbow bridge that reaches Midgard from Asgard, connecting the two realms together.

 

“Ooh, rainbow!” He pointed at it curiously.

 

“Yep, that’s the Bifröst you’re looking at.” said Heimdall. “Connects Asgard with Midgard. Though completely invisible to the mortals. Also, you folks did not ‘go back in time’ as it were.”

 

He said this last part looking at Rudolf.

 

“You were just in a dimension parallel to the real world. But more on that later. Look down there and try not to step over the edge this time.”

 

Elsa ignored the slight joke at the end of that sentence.

 

Everyone was brought to the other edge of the giant wall they were currently standing on and on that other side, a cloud of fog enveloped the ground below. Hardly anything was visible to the naked eye. But everyone waited a few minutes more before the fog slowly began to dissipate a bit to reveal a town far down.

 

Not just a town, an authentic city that was much more vastly built than the settlement they were just in earlier.

 

“Wow.” Mei gasped, impressed.

 

“You were expecting a giant castle?” Heimdall asked Roar rhetorically. Before the boy could respond, the Watchman chuckled, “There is much that you read those things you call - what are they? Comic books? - that strongly deviates from the actual truth.”

 

The teens all shared bedumbed looks. How does a fabled god of ancient folklore such as himself know anything about comic books? But then again, they remember him saying that he sees and hears all. 

 

That’s all they really need to know about him. For now, anyway.

 

“Quite a quaint little place to be hiding behind a giant stone wall, to be honest.” replied Ping. “You folks must be fiercely protective of your own people.”

 

“‘Fiercely’ is not a word I’d use anymore.” Heimdall mentioned. “The walls of Asgard are merely historic monuments in this day and age at this point. That down there is Asgard’s capital realm, Gladsheim.”

 

“Cool.” Roar smiled.

 

“Indeed.” Heimdall nodded, putting an arm on the boy’s shoulder, then pointed at a large building right at the square of the city. One that was next-door to a much larger, much more luxurious edifice that really stood out from the rest of the establishments in the entire burg.

 

“The All-Father awaits us over in one of his halls over there. Come, come. Let’s not waste another measly second.”

 

With this said, Heimdall led them over to a wooden structure to the left of where the group stood. It possessed a giant platform connected to cables that were strung up to be carried straight down, particularly functioning in a similar manner to a gondola lift used to carry a load of people up and down a mountain.

 

“Listen, man, I’m still having trouble understanding all this.” Adam spoke to the Scion of the Æsir. “Think you could walk us through it?”

 

“For the moment, I’ll only spare bits and pieces.” Heimdall exclaimed, promenading up onto the platform. “This will take us downward. But it’s not strong enough to support all of you at once. We need to make a couple trips. Only four at a time.”

 

“I’ll go first.” Stig stood forward and onto the platform.

 

“Me too.” Roar and Rudolf followed suit. Mei came forth as well, only to be briefly stopped when Ming grabbed her arm, but Mei snatched it back and glared at her for a second before joining the trio and Heimdall.

 

Ming felt crushed by that, but knew that her daughter was still pretty much mad at her, so she had to suck it up.

 

The platform took its slow descent, taking everyone aboard downward with it. The ride down was only 3 minutes long and another 3 minutes later, the platform took the next group down consisting of Elsa, Ming, Jin and Wu.

 

“What um,.....do you know about me?” Ming hesitantly asked.

 

“Not too much to my immediate satisfaction.” Heimdall shrugged. “Only a few things I heard tell of. For example, you claim that Kris used to work for you, correct?”

 

“Correct.” She nodded.

 

“And I’m aware that you were never kinder to the young lad.” At this, Ming gulped and averted her gaze when his tone started to harden and turn cold. “That you beat him for 'raping' your daughter and then you turned into a giant furry beast, attacked innocent people and tried to murder him on cold blood. Yes?”

 

“.....” Ming was speechless at the parody of the traumatic incident. A great exaggeration of the events leading up to the SkyDome fiasco. Elsa even turned to fire a hellish glare at her. “That’s completely out of context!”

 

“That is not what happened!” Wu shouted with a glare….but then turned a suspicious face towards her daughter. “Is it?”

 

“NO!” She screamed. “You were there!”

 

“You tried to kill my son?” Elsa snarled.

 

“I-I only……….uh, squeezed him……in my giant paw……… but that’s not the point! I was acting on impulse! I’d never kill anyone even if I wanted to!”

 

“Relax. I’m paraphrasing, of course, but my point, really, is that Kris suffered greatly at the misery of your unjust prejudice and bias.”

 

“Yes, I wish I could say he wasn’t.” Ming bemoaned.

 

“And you’ve come all this way with your family to help make things right.” Heimdall concluded. “Admirable, honorable and a redeeming quality to an overall….complex character. I’m actually excited to see how that turns out.”

 

Ming sighed through her nose, not sure if he’s being sarcastic or not.

 

“And by the way, do you mind if I ask what you’ve been up to after you left Norway?” He asked Elsa next curiously.

 

 

“Yes, I do mind. Thanks.” She flippantly stated.

 

“That’s alright. Not my place to pry.”

𝗚𝗟𝗔𝗗𝗦𝗛𝗘𝗜𝗠 (𝗢𝗹𝗱 𝗡𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗲: 𝗚𝗹𝗮ð𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗺𝗿)
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗮𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝘀𝗴𝗮𝗿𝗱

 

Minutes later, everyone was on the ground level inside the city of Gladsheim with many of the visitors looking all around the area. It was quite beautiful and a sight to behold. Many largely-built houses and buildings here and there and all the Asgardians inhabiting the place were no different than the villagers from the town back on Midgard. Their outfits are very old-century and appropriate to that particular time era of which the world must be frozen in.

 

Heimdall called forth his noble steed, Gulltoppr, down from the heavens. The horse rode the mighty winds inward, much to everyone’s abject astonishment. Mounting onto her back, he rode onward with the guests following.

 

“If I remember from my father’s stories, that hall over there……” Elsa aimed a finger at the luxuriant building. “......is Valhalla?”

 

“A keen eye, my dear.” Heimdall chuckled. “You’re right. It is, in fact. Where many of those who have died in battle dine lavishly. Home of the Valkyries. I think you’ll love it there most of all.”

 

They had finally arrived at their destination. One of Odin’s many great halls, the one in particular being 𝓥𝓪𝓵𝓪𝓼𝓴𝓳á𝓵𝓯, a large building that looked like it had a gigantic upside down Viking ship as the roof.

 

Heimdall halted his steed at the base of the steps.

 

“The All-Father is waiting inside there. I’ll be off, then. Good luck.” And with that, having fulfilled his task, his horse charged into the air and rode off with his master on his back as he vanished from sight.

 

“I’ll never get used to that.” Tom rubbed his eyes.

 

They all climbed the stairs while still taking in the sights within their vicinity.

 

“So this is Asgard, huh?” Stig responded. “Is it weird that I wish I was dreaming?”

 

“Get in line, brother.” Charlie remarked.

 

“So if he knows all about you, does that mean everyone else does?” asked Jin.

 

“If they did, I’d be like a celebrity here.” Elsa rolled her eyes in amusement. “Didn’t expect Heimdall to have such a sense of humor.”

 

“And quite judgemental.” Wu retorted with a disapproving glare. “What kind of god is he, anyway?”

 

“Legend says he’s associated with foresight.” Tom answered keenly.

 

“Well, that explains it.” The elderly woman rolled her eyes.

 

“All in all, this place looks fantastic.” Helen complimented with a big smile. “And that giant wall is quite a spectacle, even though it blocks everything from sight. I’d want to live in this place.”

 

“I’d forbid that” grunted Wu.

 

Reaching the top of the steps, they were finally at the hall’s entrance. It was massive from where they were standing. Mei herself was a little nervous about meeting the All-Father. She had hoped he at least was a reasonable guy. But she also hoped he would be able to help them find out how to help Kris.

 

Elsa took a deep breath in and prepared herself to open up the doors.

 

“Okay…” She whispered.

 

But before she could even get close enough to open them, they already did so. And Elsa took a step backward when a fairly-skinned woman stepped out from the entrance as she held the giant doors for them. She looked to be middle-aged or even in her early 60’s with long chestnut hair with a few tiny graying stripes tied in a multitude of elegant braids along with two large curled strands that draped over her shoulders, eyelashes, pink lips, hazel eyes, a beauty mark on the right side of her face and she had on a greenish-teal regal gown, which no doubt betrayed her possible position as a queen of this realm.

 

The older woman radiated so much maternal energy as it seemed to Mei. Upon stepping out through the two doors, she eyed the younger woman before her and her eyes bugged open as she gasped softly, then smiled warmly the instant she recognized her.

 

“Bless the forefathers, I knew it to be true!” She cried happily as she ran toward Elsa, bringing her into a tight, motherly embrace, much to her surprise. Everyone eyed the scene with thought and wonder. “Elsa! You finally came! Odin said you would be coming!”

 

“Thanks!” Elsa squeaked and the woman freed her, looking deep into her eyes. “And you are?”

 

“Call me Frigg. I’m the queen of this realm.” She answered, then looked at the others with her. “And I see you’ve brought guests with you.”

 

“Not of my own free will.” retorted Elsa with a big eye-roll.

 

“Um, nice to meet you?” Mei stepped forward.

 

“I presume you’re Meilin Lee.” Frigg bent down to hold her cheeks. “Oh, aren’t you a pretty one. I can see why he thought so highly of you.”

 

“Thanks.” The girl blushed madly. It was quite a surprise that Kris would speak so fondly of her, even though he should hate her for throwing him under the bus back at Tyler’s party.

 

“He did say you had glorious red hair.” The woman stroked a few of the girl’s red locks gingerly.

 

“He……he did?” Mei brightened up when she said that. “Is he here?!”

 

“All in due time, child.” Frigg patted her head. “My husband will explain everything as best he can. Now everyone follow me if you please. Odin awaits.”

 

Without question, they all obediently followed 𝕱𝖗𝖎𝖌𝖌 (𝒪𝓁𝒹 𝒩𝑜𝓇𝓈𝑒: 𝕱𝖗𝖎𝖌𝖌𝖆, 𝒩𝑜𝓇𝒹𝒾𝒸: ᚠᚱᛁᚷᚷ), the wife of Odin, the 𝚁𝚞𝚕𝚎𝚛 𝚘𝚏 𝙰𝚜𝚐𝚊𝚛𝚍, 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚀𝚞𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 Æ𝚜𝚒𝚛 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙽𝚘𝚛𝚜𝚎 𝙶𝚘𝚍𝚍𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝙼𝚊𝚛𝚛𝚒𝚊𝚐𝚎, 𝙼𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚑𝚘𝚘𝚍, 𝙲𝚕𝚊𝚒𝚛𝚟𝚘𝚢𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎, 𝙶𝚞𝚒𝚍𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙿𝚛𝚘𝚙𝚑𝚎𝚌𝚢, into the hall of Valaskjálf where there were many pale, barely-clothed and armored men and some women with blackness around their eyes all seated at wooden tables or standing, eating, drinking and chatting away while only a couple of them eyed the strangers passing by with curious scrutiny, which made some of them feel uncomfortable.

 

Apart from them, however, were a bunch of women in bright battle armor and masks with large feathered wings on their backs. They were the only ones in the halls not partaking in the merriment.

 

“Who are all these people with the black eyes?” asked Stig, having a sudden interest in their looks which reminded him highly of the style of those death metal bands he loves, especially Nörthfölk.

 

“The Einherjar are what’s left of those brave and gallant soldiers and warriors who’ve died heroically in battle.” Frigg explained. “And the winged women you see? The Valkyries.”

 

“Huh.” Mei chirped. “Not what I expected. Though they'd be riding horses with wings.”

 

“They do. However, some prefer to take flight on their own.”

 

Wu was unlucky enough to cross the path of one such Einherjar perched at a table who suddenly belched loudly and rudely in her direction after gulping down a mug of mead, much to her disgust at the uncouth behavior.

 

“Ugh! How rude!” She griped at him. “Have you no manners?!”

 

“Ek fömk eittsvat else fyrir þú!” He then gave her the finger and laughed obnoxiously. “Einn hraðr, heitr birð réttr fran ovenrinn!”

 

Wu glowered at him with a scoff, almost looking ready to explode.

 

Thankfully, Chen and Ping came over, took their offended mother’s hands and brought her back to the group before she could panda out in front of the crowd. Meanwhile, a couple of Einherjar took notice of Lily and, although the mortals didn't understand their native language, they appeared to be making crude and grossly lascivious remarks about her thick figure, most notably either her chest or her big butt, which Lily - poor woman - caught wind of, making her feel edgy and violated.

 

“Just ignore them, babe.” Tom came to her rescue, holding onto her arm comfortingly and taking her away from them, even glaring at the pair ogling at his beautiful girlfriend.

 

“And watch those eyes, assholes!”

 

“Stand clear of them.” Frigg warned everyone in the group. “Most of everyone here is at their worst when they’re sozzled.”

 

Elsa frowned, mostly at herself. It's no secret or a surprise that she’s been drunk before, but there have been a couple times when she’s done some regrettable things, which fortunately were very rare. Nowadays, her drunken stupors involved passing out at random moments and emptying her guts in the toilet.

 

But there was just one moment when she swore off booze for a time until her son’s coma. 

 

The time that has haunted her ever since.

 

Just as they were far enough away from the crowd of drunken dearly-departed soldiers and combatants, they had all been taken to a much far more reserved table at the far end of the hall. A group of wonderfully-crafted mahogany tables placed in a circle around a fire pit from which a bonfire burned beautifully and hypnotically.

 

From around that bonfire were three men and one woman of some great importance, a far cry from the other residents within the hall. 

 

The Norse gods themselves, no doubt.

 

One man was of average height with an extremely lean, but hard physique with a unique build to it. He was topless, revealing a bare chest that was heavily decorated from the large portions of his torso and limbs to his eyes with woad-blue Norse runic tattoos. He had handsome features with a beaded, but unkempt brownish-blonde beard and a shaggy, beaded horse-mane hairstyle. For his clothes, he wore a red belt, hip pouch and a thin string of charms over a torn brown waist-cloth sash - worn over loose - black cloth pants and bound at the calves with brown leather straps. 

 

This was the one by the moniker known as 𝕭𝖆𝖑𝖉𝖚𝖗 (𝒪𝓁𝒹 𝒩𝑜𝓇𝓈𝑒: 𝕭𝖆𝖑𝖉𝖗, 𝒩𝑜𝓇𝒹𝒾𝒸: ᛒᛅᛚᛏᚱ), the 𝙽𝚘𝚛𝚜𝚎 𝙶𝚘𝚍 𝚘𝚏 𝙻𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝, 𝙿𝚎𝚊𝚌𝚎, 𝙹𝚘𝚢, 𝙵𝚘𝚛𝚐𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚜, 𝙴𝚕𝚘𝚚𝚞𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙱𝚎𝚊𝚞𝚝𝚢. Another one of Odin’s many sons and brother of both Thor and Heimdall. Asgard’s brightest light. The one blessed with being virtually untouchable by almost everything that could pose a life-threatening danger to him.

 

Another man was two inches taller in height compared to Baldur with noticeably older features, which sported a goatee-like mustache, thin eyebrows. His dark hair was shorter, though it was fastened into a small ponytail at the back of his head. He wore a dark magenta vest over a baggy, long-sleeved shirt. A series of hacksilver-laced belts and straps around his waist that held up his black-gray pants, leather skirt around his waist with pouches, golden rings and a drink horn attached to one of his straps. He wore braced, fingerless gauntlets on his hands and had golden rings on all fingers on each hand (sans the thumbs) and armored boots.

 

Another one of Odin’s (lesser known) children named 𝖁𝖎𝖉𝖆𝖗 (𝒪𝓁𝒹 𝒩𝑜𝓇𝓈𝑒: 𝖁íð𝖆𝖗𝖗), the 𝙽𝚘𝚛𝚜𝚎 𝙶𝚘𝚍 𝚘𝚏 𝚅𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎, 𝚂𝚙𝚊𝚌𝚎, 𝚂𝚒𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙵𝚘𝚘𝚝𝚠𝚎𝚊𝚛 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚂𝚒𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝙾𝚗𝚎. A surly gentleman of a few words, but many thoughts - true to his title.

 

The sole woman present in the group appeared to reach two inches taller than the other two men; had pale bluish skin with darker blue Nordic tribal tattoos on her face, black-colored eyes with black irises, black lips, a mane of snow-white hair that flowed at the back like a snowfall with thick, twin braids draped over her chest going past her waistline. For her attire, it consisted of winter garments so to speak. A blue coat with a white fur trim with a scaled gray protective vest over it, three thick belts fastened tightly around her waist, holding a beige pouch on the front, a black fur skirt reaching her ankles and a pair of thick, furry Viking boots. She had on dark brown arm-bracers, a quiver held behind her back which was strapped around her torso and a bow in her hand.

 

For those of you not aware, the mysterious woman is none other than 𝕾𝖐𝖆ð𝖎 (𝒩𝑜𝓇𝒹𝒾𝒸: ᛋᚴᛅᛏᛁ), also known as 𝕾𝖐𝖆𝖉𝖎, 𝕾𝖐𝖆𝖉𝖊 or 𝕾𝖐𝖆𝖙𝖍𝖎; the 𝙽𝚘𝚛𝚜𝚎 𝙹ö𝚝𝚞𝚗𝚗 𝙶𝚘𝚍𝚍𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙷𝚞𝚗𝚝, 𝚆𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚛, 𝚂𝚔𝚒𝚒𝚗𝚐, 𝙱𝚘𝚠𝚑𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙼𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚜. The daughter of the giant, Þjazi, who had temporarily married the Vanir god, Njörðr, as compensation by the gods for the murder of her father.

 

And last but certainly not least, the final man was sitting alone at one of the tables. He was of an imposingly tall height, almost dwarfing everyone else in this regard. He had a muscular, but slim physique with a tall head. His long and dark hair and beard were braided into follicles in certain areas. He wore a weathered blue shirt and a dark leather vest over it with several tattoos of his own, specifically one of a faded, triangular shape on his forehead from the root of his head and pointing to the top of his nose. And just like Heimdall, had glowing irises, but were yellow, instead of purple. But the most notable characteristic about him was that he was missing his right arm, now a stubby appendage.

 

This man was addressed by the name of 𝕿ý𝖗 (𝒪𝓁𝒹 𝒩𝑜𝓇𝓈𝑒: 𝕿𝖞𝖗𝖗, 𝒩𝑜𝓇𝒹𝒾𝒸: ᛏᛁᚱ), the 𝙽𝚘𝚛𝚜𝚎 𝙶𝚘𝚍 𝚘𝚏 𝚆𝚊𝚛, 𝙻𝚊𝚠, 𝙹𝚞𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚌𝚎, 𝚃𝚛𝚒𝚊𝚕, 𝙲𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚊𝚐𝚎, 𝙰𝚞𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚢 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙷𝚘𝚗𝚘𝚛.

 

“The mother of Kris Bengtsson has finally arrived!” Baldur proclaimed excitedly, then took a bow. “Baldur, my lady, the god of light and beauty. At your service.”

 

Elsa couldn't help but chuckle at his suavity.

 

“Alright, chill out, you. Don’t embarrass thyself.” Skaði rolled her darkened eyes at him, stepping forward herself. “We’ve been waiting for your arrival. I, myself, have been worried you wouldn’t come at all. Anyway, Skaði is the name. Skaði Thiazzidottir.”

 

“Goddess of bowhunting and mountains, right?” Elsa accepted the Jötunn goddess’s hand for a handshake.

 

“Exactly.” She smirked, then she looked at Stig and the boys. “And your other sons?”

 

“No.” Stig shook his head. “I’m her other son. These guys are my friends.”

 

“Hi!” cried the cheerful Rudolf.

 

“So anyway, we were……alluded to the fact that Kris is here. So is he or isn’t he?” The goth boy said, wanting to know already as soon as possible.

 

“Yes, I want to know. Is he?” Mei was getting increasingly desperate.

 

“Well, technically, yes, but….” Skaði began to gently say, before Helen intertupped.

 

“I love your hair.” She grinned.

 

“Thanks.” smiled Skaði at the compliment, fingering one of her large braids. “It’s my natural color.”

 

“Did Kris mention anything else about me?” begged Mei.

 

“Who are you again?” asked the Goddess of Winter.

 

“I’m Meilin Lee. Call me ‘Mei’ for short.” Mei introduced herself to her.

 

“Oh, yes. Many times. He spoke about you a lot. Are you a friend of his?”

 

“Of course!” The Asian-Canadian girl nodded, then frowned sadly. “Though, I’m not sure if we are anymore.”

 

This made Ming frown sympathetically and with remorse, knowing full well that she was basically the catalyst for the end of their friendship.

 

“No thanks to her.” Stig jeered, pointing his thumb at her mother, who scoffed at his tone.

 

“Chin up, youngling.” Baldur came over and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. “There is still hope for you and the boy. If I may ask, are you two…… in love?”

 

“.....” Mei’s eyes shot wide open, her heart rate picked up and a beat-red hint painted her face.

 

“Are you his girlfriend?” Skaði asked with a big smile.

 

POOF!

 

All of the gods around the group had backed away from the cloud of pink that erupted from the girl as she transformed into her red panda right in front of them all.

 

“Mei-Mei!” screamed Ming with worry at the occurrence, running up in front of her daughter with her husband to calm anyone’s shock and try and keep them from trying to kill them if they even tried to.

 

“Wait, everyone! Please! Don’t be afraid! This is just a family thing of ours!” Ming nervously giggled, subtly begging them not to be afraid.

 

“You’re all descendants of Sun Yee, are you not?”

 

What?

 

All eyes had reached the circular shape of flying saucers.

 

Every member of the Lee family turned to follow the voice of that question to Týr, the God of War, trying to drink in his words.

 

“What did you say?” Wu asked him with squinted eyes.

 

“Excuse me?” asked Lily.

 

“A group of Asian women with green-colored attires and the same bright red hair. I recognize that anywhere.”

 

Mei snapped herself free from her shock to poof back into a human, eyeing the God of War with extreme bewilderment.

 

“You know Sun Yee!?”

 

“Yes.” He murmured, standing up. His height surpassed everyone else’s in the room, which took the Lees by surprise.

 

“Jeez, he’s tall.” Tom whispered to Adam.

 

“I have traveled to many other lands outside the Realms and I have visited other pantheons along the way. Egyptian, Celtic, Japanese, African, Mayan, even the Chinese.”

 

“What about Greek?” asked Roar with a childish chirp.

 

“Yeah, yeah.” Rudolf nodded.

 

“I try not to.” Týr frowned indignantly, crossing his arms. “Those Olympian gods are anything but endearing or welcoming. Not even I would dream of seeking an audience with the likes of them, not even Zeus.”

 

“They’re real, too?!” cried Ping.

 

“In the kindest words available, Zeus is…….a total prick.” The God of War commented with the most brutal honesty as humanly or inhumanly possible.

 

“Those are the kindest?” retorted Wu with a huff.

 

“Anyway,...” Mei realized they were getting off-topic. “Have you met Sun Yee? What is she like?”

 

“A rather enchanting woman. Endearing, charismatic, adorable and took spat from no one.” explained Týr.

 

“Hmm, that sounds about right.” Wu smirked proudly.

 

“I always knew she was a bright young woman.” Helen said, with Lily nodding in agreement.

 

“I’m learning so much today.” Shan spoke triumphantly.

 

Ping kissed her husband on the cheek.

 

“Yes, you are.”

 

“She loved being a red panda, even after the dangers that threatened her family were long gone. Her daughters, however, less so. I had introduced her to the magical arts and I gave her the idea to perform the ritual to seal her children’s red pandas away with magic she had learned from shamans.”

 

“Hold the phone.” Chen choked. “You’re saying the whole red moon ritual was your idea?!”

 

“No, not really.” He shook his head.

 

“But you did say you know magic!” Wu erupted from the group in a mad rush, grabbing at the God of War with crazed strength, even poofing into a red panda in the process, demanding answers. “Tell me you know a way to fix this! You must have a solution! I’ve been stuck like this for seven months now!”

 

“Mother, please!” Ming and Jin grabbed her mother’s fur to anxiously yank her off him.

 

“This is going so well.” Stig muttered to his two friends.

 

“I can almost sense the sensual energy.” Rudolf exclaimed, earning him a slap.

 

“Look, I do know some magic, but my understanding of Chinese shamanism is meager………and very lacking.” Týr professed genuinely. “And even if I did know a way, why would I want to help you rid yourselves of your red pandas? That would be disrespectful to your ancestress. Sun Yee gave you all this as a blessing.”

 

“Yes, I know that, but-” Wu scoffed.

 

“But if it’s such a blessing, then why do you need a ritual to help you get rid of it?” Stig snarked with crossed arms. “You say this red panda is a blessing to your family, yet you treat it like it's a disease. Pretty hypocritical if you ask me.”

 

“Wow! I knew that was in there somewhere!” Rudolf declared smugly, but then Stig boiled, punching his stomach, then his head.

 

“Now listen here-!” Wu started to go off on the rude goth kid for his insolence, but Elsa whacked her away from him in annoyance.

 

“Don’t start!” She growled. “This is neither the time nor the place!”

 

“I have to agree, myself.”

 

All of the gods and goddesses there inside the hall all frowned darkly at the sound of the familiar sly and sardonic voice that befell their poor ears, because it just had to be him of all people intruding on their conversation.

 

Everyone turned to face him casually standing a few feet from them.

 

The smugly-smiling man with the cocky air about him had dark red hair in small braids, fair skin with faded moss green Nordic runic tattoos on his face, wickedly pencil-thin eyebrows and burning eyes of earthly green. He wore a green shirt, had bejeweled necklaces, leather straps on his arms, belts and straps around his waist holding up a cloth skirt with a fur trim, dark cloth pants fastened around the kneecaps and boots.

 

Elsa didn’t need to guess who this was, because in her mind’s eye, it was fairly obvious and Stig seemed to realize that as well.

 

Mei knit her eyebrows. She already had red flags about this person.

 

𝕷𝖔𝖐𝖎 (𝒩𝑜𝓇𝒹𝒾𝒸: ᛚᛟᚲᛁ), the 𝙽𝚘𝚛𝚜𝚎 𝙹ö𝚝𝚞𝚗𝚗 𝙶𝚘𝚍 𝚘𝚏 𝙼𝚒𝚜𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚎𝚏, 𝙻𝚒𝚎𝚜, 𝚃𝚛𝚒𝚌𝚔𝚎𝚛𝚢, 𝙰𝚛𝚝𝚒𝚏𝚒𝚌𝚎, 𝚂𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚢𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐, 𝙼𝚊𝚐𝚒𝚌, 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚘𝚜, 𝚁𝚎𝚋𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚘𝚗, 𝙳𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚞𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗, 𝙳𝚒𝚜𝚊𝚛𝚛𝚊𝚢, 𝚃𝚎𝚖𝚙𝚝𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗, 𝙴𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚑𝚚𝚞𝚊𝚔𝚎𝚜, 𝚅𝚒𝚘𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎, 𝙷𝚞𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚒𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎, 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙵𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚘𝚏 𝙼𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚖𝚙𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙹ö𝚝𝚗𝚊𝚛, stood before them all after overhearing the subject matter at hand, unable to handle the temptation of barging in to throw in a few jabs. The trickster, the rebel, the outcast and the charlatan of the gods already had so many snarky comments at the ready.

 

“If your dear, loving ancestress gave you your brains, would you get rid of that too?” He retorted sassily.

 

“You suck, Loki!” Baldur roared with fury, throwing his cup at the God of Mischief, who immediately ducked out of the way. Loki’s shit-eating grin only grew in size as he moved closer.

 

“Oh, yeah? Well, so does your mother. You can ask her.”

 

“No, you can ask me yourself, Laufeyson.” Frigg came by his side with a stern glare that every mother would give their misbehaving children. Loki, despite his arrogance, decided to tread carefully this time.

 

“Forgive my intolerance, noble queen.” He bowed. “But I couldn’t help but overhear of Sun Yee’s infamous endeavors.”

 

“That’s none of your business, pal!” Lily hissed at him.

 

“Odds my bodkins.” said Loki sarcastically. “Such a fiery spirit. Not unexpected for such an attractive, voluptuous woman.”

 

Lily scoffed at him at how lecherous that sounded coming out of his mouth, then slapped him across the face then returned to Tom’s side. Frigg’s face remained unchanged, though the other gods and goddesses all smirked in amusement at seeing a mortal bold enough to raise a hand to the God of Mischief.

 

However, Loki just laughed it off.

 

“I like her a lot.” He joked.

 

“You make such a boring Avengers-level threat.” Rudolf piped up, though the context of his words was lost on Loki.

 

“Were you dropped on your head?” He ribbed.

 

“I ask myself that everyday.” Stig said with a smirk, though Mei swatted his chest at that unapologetic remark.

 

The cawing returns once again and all the mortals’ heads jerked upwards to see Huginn and Muninn fly in through the open window on the side of the hall, then flew in a beeline towards a tall stone throne ahead of where they stood, which was the center of a few other thrones and towered over them completely, then the birds began to spin in a circle, creating a tornado of black feathers as their cawing continued. All gods and goddesses silenced immediately and turned to face the black furry, sharing the notion of who was about to appear before their very presence.

 

Frigg, on the other hand, nothing was stopping a smile from appearing on her face. He always enjoyed his grand entrances. Mei started to feel goosebumps and an icy chill, but fought to not transform by keeping herself calm and collected. Sure, her red panda family curse was already well-known via the Norse gods, but she had been trying to keep her transformations at a minimum and only transform in necessary situations, providing of course that the red panda would be useful when said situations call for it.

 

All cawing stopped and the cloud of feathers dissipated and now sitting right on the high throne known as 𝕳𝖑𝖎ð𝖘𝖐𝖏á𝖑𝖋, there he was.

 

There he was in all his mysterious glory.

 

Huginn and Muninn disappeared into his forearms as he held them out, the bird transforming into tattoos on his skin.

 

Stig, Roar and Rudolf carefully inspected and examined him more closely and saw the complete opposite of what they were used to seeing in the comics, the cartoons and the cinema, almost going against everything they’ve ever known about him thus far. Sitting right on that throne with strict, calculating eyes was not a tall, stocky, varyingly muscular kingly figurehead with a great big, bushy beard wearing a golden helmet with valkyrie wings.

 

But rather, a small, skinny old man.

 

His most notable feature was the eyepatch over his right eye, made of brown leather and fastened around his head with a silver button behind his right ear. Due to his old age, he had advanced baldness with his gray hairs still carefully groomed to perfection, shaggy beard and mustache. The right side of his emaciated face was covered with Nordic tattoos and scars that were hardly visible, most likely the price for sacrificing his own eye. His fingers were overloaded with gold rings.

 

He wore an elegant and comfortable light black tunic made from the most high-quality of wool, a good part of which was adorned with golden embroidery to emphasize his kingly status. Resting on his shoulders was a large and thick brown coat hanging off of them like a cape.

 

Everyone had no words and movement remained lacking to be in the presence of none other than…………

 

………𝕺𝖉𝖎𝖓 (𝒪𝓁𝒹 𝒩𝑜𝓇𝓈𝑒: Óð𝖎𝖓𝖓, 𝒩𝑜𝓇𝒹𝒾𝒸: ᛟᛞᛁᚾ), also known as the 𝕬𝖑𝖑-𝕱𝖆𝖙𝖍𝖊𝖗 and 𝖂𝖔𝖉𝖊𝖓, the 𝙺𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 Æ𝚜𝚒𝚛, 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚁𝚞𝚕𝚎𝚛 𝚘𝚏 𝙰𝚜𝚐𝚊𝚛𝚍 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙽𝚘𝚛𝚜𝚎 𝙶𝚘𝚍 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚂𝚔𝚢, 𝙳𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚑, 𝚆𝚒𝚜𝚍𝚘𝚖, 𝙷𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐, 𝙿𝚘𝚎𝚝𝚛𝚢, 𝙵𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚣𝚢, 𝚆𝚊𝚛, 𝚅𝚒𝚌𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚢, 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚁𝚞𝚗𝚒𝚌 𝙰𝚕𝚙𝚑𝚊𝚋𝚎𝚝, 𝙲𝚛𝚊𝚏𝚝𝚜, 𝚁𝚘𝚢𝚊𝚕𝚝𝚢, 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙶𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚘𝚠𝚜, 𝙳𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗, 𝙺𝚗𝚘𝚠𝚕𝚎𝚍𝚐𝚎, 𝙼𝚊𝚐𝚒𝚌/𝚂𝚘𝚛𝚌𝚎𝚛𝚢, 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙻𝚘𝚛𝚍 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙷𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚍, 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙻𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙿𝚘𝚜𝚜𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚁𝚊𝚟𝚎𝚗 𝙺𝚒𝚗𝚐; the father of Thor, Heimdall, Baldur, Týr and many others.

 

He rose from his throne with his sharp staff, 𝓖𝓾𝓷𝓰𝓷𝓲𝓻 in hand and his two pet wolves, 𝕲𝖊𝖐𝖎 and 𝕱𝖗𝖊𝖐𝖎 by his side, the All-Father lumbered over to Asgard’s mortal guests.

 

None had expected him to look like this.

 

As the geezer got nearer and nearer, Elsa felt her whole world come crashing down on her as she remembered Morten’s claims about two ravens and Odin himself. As they connected the dots in her brain, she was 50% sure that she was forgetting how to breath or even think.

 

‘The ravens. My father was right. He’s……..real.’ Her discombobulated mind gasped.

 

The old man closed in on Elsa, his wolves sniffing her like domesticated house dogs. Elsa remained still as he circled her as if checking for anything unusual that may expose her as an imposter, then stopped in front of her to stare deeply into her eyes with that stony gaze of his. Then his wolves laid down on the ground, panting.

 

And suddenly,.....the man’s resolute face dissolved into a cheeky smile.

 

“Well, don’t just stand there. Give the old man a hug.” Odin cried with a gruff voice, instantly dropping the cold and standoffish facade altogether to bring Elsa, taken off-guard, into an embrace just as Frigga did earlier.

 

All mortals were just as equally taken aback by the sudden switch in demeanor as Elsa was, who smiled nervously and hugged him back. Though, it felt like she was hugging her father.

 

“Kris has been lost without you.” He spoke, then he saw Mei standing there. “And you must be?”

 

“Mei Lee, sir.” She spoke without hesitance.

 

“You must be his love interest.”

 

Mei blushed madly again, but fought the feeling back this time.

 

“No. Just his friend. Well, I used to be anyway.” She sighed.

 

“Kris’s words were exceedingly vague at best. What exactly happened?” The All-Father asked for details, but only a few just so as to not pry.

 

“Well, it’s really hard to say.” Mei tried not to break down into tears upon remembering the look Kris had on his face that night after Tyler’s part disaster when her mother castigated him and slapped him across the face.

 

“That’s quite alright. I’ll only assume it wasn’t pretty.” Odin spoke gently. “But you’re all here now, descendants of Sun Yee. May I say that I am prestigiously graced to see those related to the Chinese lover of red pandas in my hall of the Nine Realms. Though, I’m ashamed to see you of all people here.”

 

And by the word ‘you’, he means Ming Lee, who froze like a sculpture once the All-Father eyed her coldly with a sour expression. She did not move a muscle when he closed in on her with Gungnir pointed at her.

 

All her family members were so close to coming to her defense, but were held back by the gods, non-verbally reminding them not to interfere. 

 

Mei had a feeling Odin won’t do much to her mother.

 

“You’ve got some nerve showing your face here.” He growled at her. “After everything Kris had to take from you.”

 

“Look, I’m really sorry about that. I really am. That’s why I came.” Ming pleaded with him. “I know what I did was wrong. There’s no excuse for that. But I really need this. I wanna undo this as much as I can.”

 

“It’s true, Mr. All-Father, sir.” Jin stepped in on his wife’s behalf. “We’re here to make amends.”

 

Odin pondered his information for a brief few solitary moments before lowering Gungnir, much to the Lees’ relief.

 

“If your statement is true and your motives are as pure as you claim, then I suppose I bear you no ill will.” The old king sighed. “But any false moves and I will send my ravens back from whence you came.”

 

“Yes, sir.” Ming nodded frantically.

 

Thunder rumbled from the skies above, which turned everyone’s attention to the ceiling. Lightning crackled as well while the sky outside darkened.

 

Normally, you’d think it was just a thunderstorm rolling in, but all of the Asgardians and those populating all the Nine Realms knew exactly what this meant right from the get-go. The teens knew this as well with Mei having a grim feeling in her stomach about this. Stig wasn’t too afraid, but Roar and Rudolf were both trembling themselves. Storms weren’t exactly just a natural phenomenon or a force of nature in the Realms, but it was a sign.

 

A sign of his arrival.

 

The doors to the hall were shoved wide open, giving entry to the one at the doorstep. Everyone looked toward the entrance and at that instance, all colors had drained from their faces, perseverance painted their skins and cold chills ran up their spines.

 

The giant familiar shape of him took giant, heavy stomps into the hall in their general direction.

 

Large, ominous thudding strides came increasingly closer to them like an enormous, hungry feral beast was edging near, looking for meek prey. Ming, on the other hand, felt her heart stop.

 

It was the same exact god from the SkyDome that Kris had transformed into. 

 

The same god that went crazy and had beaten the ever-loving sweet crap out of her.

 

The same god that had pummeled her with his hard, skull-banging hammer to near death.

 

Who had her at his mercy, had severely broken her nose, her arm, her leg, her neck.

 

Who wouldn’t stop until she was dead.

 

It was him.

 

 

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

Thor, the God of Thunder, entering the building and he was coming towards them……….

 

Right

 

Now.

Notes:

And now we've finally entered the Nine Realms, starting with Asgard and we've met the Norse pantheon, or at least a portion of it.

So let me set a few things straight, the gods presented in this story will contain elements from the God of War games, with the added elements of my own while still remaining somewhat true to the original source material. For instance, Odin will be the man who used to be the evil tyrant from GoW: Ragnarök, but has been changed into a benevolent ruler with a grandfatherly-like feel to his character. Tyr is the same as his game counterpart in regards to appearance and personality. However, he still loses his arm to the wolf, Fenrir and it doesn't grow back. And as for Frigg; in the game Freya IS Frigg, or rather she's been called that during her marriage to Odin since some recorded sources detail how Freya and Frigg are one and the same. But in this story, they'll be two separate characters.

And as you can see here, Loki, the trickster, has a rather.........tumultuous relationship with his fellow gods on Asgard, most particularly Baldur, since Loki was responsible for his death. And although he remains the same as he is in the original myths, he is by no means an evil antagonist in this, but instead an anti-hero of sorts.

Also, taking into account that Tyr has visited other lands and met other gods in the game, I'm going to use this same logic in which he's met Sun Yee before when she was alive and was fully aware of her red panda blessing from the gods.

Oooooh! Thor himself has finally arrived in person. Ooh, the chills! Can you feel the chills! Just wait until the next chapter.

Next Chapter: Odin sends Elsa, Ming, Mei and Stig on a journey to visit the Norns, the weavers of fate for a more accurate explanation of Kris’s whereabouts. It’s there that they learn some very jaw-dropping facts about Kris’s family heritage.

Next Update: April 18, 2023

Chapter 9: The Dreaded Trials of the Norns

Summary:

Odin sends Elsa, Ming, Mei and Stig on a journey to visit the Norns, the weavers of fate for a more accurate explanation of Kris’s whereabouts. It’s there that they learn some very jaw-dropping facts about Kris’s family heritage.

Notes:

C/W: Graphic violence and profane ranting.

Everyone’s mouths ran dry and their hearts began doing laps as Thor approached the group of mortals, Mjölnir in hand, as he got a good look at all of them. No one had the courage to speak a word, fearing that doing so would undoubtedly escalate the situation to something drastic and frightening. They’d be digging their own graves.

 

He was insanely tall. Thor’s height was only an inch shorter than Týr’s.

 

Mei wanted to pretend she wasn’t standing before the man who attacked the hell out of her mother in a blind rage, socked her in the face and killed Robaire Jr.

 

“Oh and Asgard’s golden child finally arrives.” Loki rolled his eyes, unafraid of the mountain-of-a-man God of Thunder as were the other deities.

 

Thor simply glared at him and grunted warningly.

 

Then he rotated his fat head around until his hard viewpoint landed on none other than, in a poor amount of luck, Ming Lee.

 

She felt her body stop cold, looking like a deer in the headlights. It took every fiber and willpower of her very being to not piss herself when her assaulter stared at her dead in the eyes. Then she yelped with fright and took quick action by hiding behind Jin in terror. This, however, did not faze nor dissuade the God of Thunder.

 

He moved toward her despite her husband shielding her with his body. Thor just grunted and gently, forcefully pushed Jin to the side with his superior strength until he was face-to-face with his victim from the arena seven months ago. Ming’s heart was a ticking time bomb, pounding until it felt like it was going to explode out of her chest, her blood chilling up as did her spine, her bladder slipping from control, forcing her to press her thighs together so she doesn’t accidentally leak, her skin quivering with massive goosebumps, the hairs on the back of her head standing on end and she pressed her hands against the end of the table she was cornered against.

 

Thor stared at her silently. Those dreaded dark blue eyes were searing holes into her soul like a ray of sunshine burning against cloth. All mortals eyed the two and kept still and quiet so as to not invoke the mammoth-sized god, but the fear was evident within them as well. They all inwardly prayed to Sun Yee and their ancestors before them that nothing bad will happen.

 

Only panda ears materialized in her hair and a tail now protruding her buttocks in response to her dread, but thankfully that was as far as it went.

 

Each minute that passed by left like an eternity. But finally, Thor lets go of his hammer and tossed it aside, but this still didn’t lift her worries a second bit.

 

Had he come here to finish the job?

 

Then to her surprise, Thor’s face softened. The dark and aloof look in his eyes disappeared and was replaced with what seemed to be……remorse?

 

He let out a sigh, then raised a hand to her face, to which she instinctively flinched. But then gently caressed her face and brushed her hair. By now, Ming was confused. What was this?

 

“Was I……….too harsh?”

 

 

His voice was low, deep-toned, but unveiled a hint of worry that sounded unlike him. A big, giant, broad-shouldered, beer-bellied Viking warrior god showing regret and concern for someone he assaulted and tried to murder.

 

“What?” She whimpered.

 

Thor backed away a step, his expression looking more worried.

 

“I am sorry.”

 

That very sentence was expected by nobody. Not even Stig, who was positive Ming was in for another beating of a lifetime.

 

“I try not to be the god I once was.” Thor’s soft voice continued. “I guess let my temper get the best of me sometimes. But that boy……I felt it. His emotions. His anger, his hatred, his sadness. He felt………lost and afraid.”

 

“Kris?” Ming peeped.

 

“You cannot possibly imagine how much raw and fiery, hellish fury he has kept buried underneath for so long. Feeling it myself, it really…….scared me. But it wasn’t unnatural. All the abuse he had to take from you and trying to force a straight face just to keep from upsetting you and keep you satisfied, Kris could not bear it any longer. Do you even realize what that’s like?”

 

Nobody noticed it, but Odin’s face turned sour and he avoided everyone’s gaze. Though he, too, held a twinge of sadness in that glassy eye.

 

Even Wu’s face furrowed in a slightly similar fashion. She even raised a hand to her scar.

 

“I………I think I do.” When Ming finally found her voice, it came out with low, shy whispers, shooting a glance at her mother, who averted her gaze.

 

Thor backed away to allow Ming to stand up straight.

 

“Kris was not in a forgiving mood. In fact, far from it.” He explained. “His pain has only gotten worse.”

 

Ming shrunk back when all the aunties glared at her, the memories of her attacking poor Kris at the SkyDome before his giant meltdown now fresh on their minds.

 

“And heartbreak can be tougher to overcome.” Thor said next, which Mei felt a sting from.

 

Elsa then looked at Mei, the look in her eyes speaking louder than her words. She seemed as if she were saying that she was sorry she didn’t believe her when she told her what happened.

 

“Uh, excuse me, Thor, am I correct?” Mei spoke up, raising her hand and the burly man turned around to face her. “If I may, and please don’t hit me this time, but I was wondering if Kris is still here. See, we've really traveled all this way just to find out why Kris hasn’t awoken from his coma yet and it would mean a lot if some of you could enlighten us.”

 

Thor eyeballed her, but said nothing. However, he did redirect his gaze toward his father. Odin straightened up when everyone’s eyes were now on him, desperate for answers.

 

“Uh, yes, well, you see……” Odin began right off the bat, but he was unable to find probable terms to explain the matter at hand. The time he took trying to come up with an explanation and the pained expression appeared to suggest a disturbing outcome, which brought a sense of fear in Mei’s heart.

 

Then he breathed heavily. 

 

“Unfortunately, it’s far too difficult for me to, uh, find a way to explain it without sounding crazy and I’ve been infamous for exaggerating the truth. So I think it would be best if you heard it from the Norns’ mouths instead.”

 

“The Norns?” asked Elsa, puzzled.

 

“Who and what the hell are they?” asked Adam.

 

“They represent fate.” Frigg chimed in. “They weave and construct the past, present and future. But as wise and truthful as they are, the Nornir are not too keen on visitors and they challenge anyone who comes near their residence to prove their worthiness.”

 

“I’ll just have to take it. If none of you will talk, then maybe they will.” Elsa grunted with determination. “Where are they?”

 

“Back on Midgard, in the Well of Urðr.” Frigg replied boldly, but grimly. “However, they don’t like being found.”

 

“I don’t care.” Mei scoffed. “Nothing’s standing in my way. Though, I’d hate to run around in the cold again.”

 

“Not to worry.” Odin cried, then gestured to Mei, Elsa, Stig and Ming to step forward. “You, you, you and you step forward.”

 

They did as they were told.

 

“Efri-lá……”

 

All three women and the scary, mature-minded boy felt a sudden wave of warmth rush over their bodies. It was like the temperature around them had suddenly heightened like on the thermostat. 

 

They didn’t feel cold anymore.

 

“There. That’ll keep you four nice and warm.” said the All-Father. “First things first, let's get the rest of you some lodging for the time being. Thor, if you’ll please.”

 

“Hmm.” He grunted with acknowledgement, then summoned his hammer and attached it to his belt. “Come with me.”

 

Everyone followed the God of Thunder as Muninn and Huginn appeared from Odin’s forearms and flew over to perch himself onto Thor’s shoulders.

 

“What was that?” asked Mei, wide-eyed.

 

“Father is a master of dark magic stuff.” Thor answered. “Huginn! Muninn!”

 

In a flurry of feathers, everyone disappeared……

 

---

 

𝙏𝙃𝙍Ú𝘿𝙎𝙃𝙀𝙄𝙈 (𝙊𝙡𝙙 𝙉𝙤𝙧𝙨𝙚: Þ𝙧úð𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙢𝙧)
𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙃𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙧

 

…………and then reappeared in a brand new locale far away from the stonemason’s giant wall surrounding Gladsheim and they all found themselves standing right before Thor’s humble abode of 𝓑𝓲𝓵𝓼𝓴𝓲𝓻𝓷𝓲𝓻, a gigantic wooden-walled lodge - as the majority of homing structures in Ancient Scandinavia were - that was big as a hotel or even a mansion in his realm on Asgard.

 

“Here’s where I live.” He said, leading up to the front door.

 

“Wow.” Ming gasped as she eyed the marvel of an establishment. “So interesting.”

 

“While you four will be running around Midgard, the rest of you will bunk here with my wife and children.” Thor explained as soon as he was right at the entrance.

 

‘Wife and children?’ Ming thought to herself questioningly. This man that tried to kill her was married with kids?

 

The door was swung wide open with a loud creak as the God of Thunder made his way inside, leading the rest of the group in and inviting them to make themselves at home and comfortable during their temporary stay. The foyer of the house was large and, without a shadow of doubt, had a nice homey feel to it that was unlike anything they’ve seen so far. There was even a chandelier above their heads that seemed to be made of deer antlers.

 

“My love, who are these people?” said a soft, feminine voice.

 

There stood a beautiful young pale-skinned woman with long, ankle-length golden-blonde hair in a large, thick braid that made her gleam and shine so radiantly that actually made Helen and Lily frown with jealousy. She had blue tattoos on her arms and neck, blue eyes and she wore a light jade green dress with glittery edges that left her arms and cleavage exposed.

 

𝕾𝖎𝖋 (𝒩𝑜𝓇𝒹𝒾𝒸: ᛋᛁᚠ), the wife of Thor; the 𝙽𝚘𝚛𝚜𝚎 𝙶𝚘𝚍𝚍𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚆𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚝, 𝙷𝚊𝚛𝚟𝚎𝚜𝚝, 𝙴𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚑 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙵𝚊𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚢, meandered towards her husband and eyed all of the mortals within their home with confusion.

 

“They’re guests, Sif.” Thor told her. “All-Father invited them and tasked me with providing them shelter in the meantime.”

 

“I see.” Sif nodded.

 

Ming examined her with curiosity. So this was Thor’s wife? To be honest, she was quite beautiful, poised and gave off a cordial overtone that seemed to exude a stark contrast to her tall, obese and quite brutish husband.

 

So she decided to introduce herself to her.

 

“How are you?” She said, offering a handshake. “I’m Ming Lee. I’m here with my family.”

 

Sif inspected her with a judgemental look, but she held no such malice or bigotry towards her and the rest of them in any way, so she accepted the handshake out of respect.

 

“Sif Mandifaridottir.” She greeted with authority and even gave a small smile. “Forgive me, but it’s just not common seeing Midgardians enter our home so unexpectedly. Are you a friend of Elsa’s?”

 

“I am. Sort of.” Ming shrugged with honesty.

 

“And me, her, her daughter and my son are heading back to Midgard to see the Norns.” Elsa spoke.

 

“The Norns?” The wife of Thor gasped with worry. “Whatever for?”

 

“We’re told that they may know where my other son is and how to help him.” Elsa straight-up explained.

 

“That would be a costly journey.” said Sif strictly.

 

“I don’t care. This is my boy’s life on the line. I need answers and I need them now!”

 

Sif was quite bemused and galvanized by Elsa’s strong and insurmountable energy as a protective mother, beginning to even see a sliver of herself in the Norwegian woman because of this. Something that she knew very well and personally in her role as a parent and a mother herself. 

 

And if Elsa was going head-first into danger just to help her son, then Sif couldn’t find it to argue with her.

 

The woman was desperate, after all.

 

“I must honestly say that I admire your spirit. Reckless, but noble.” Sif commented. “All in all, the Norns will have the answers you need as they are infamously truthful at best. Thjalfi! Röskva! Can you two come in here?! So where is your boy now?”

 

“Back in the old family farmhouse.” explained Elsa. “My father, great-uncle and father-in-law are keeping an eye on him as we speak.”

 

“Well, he’s certainly in good hands. I hope.” The Goddess of Earth shrugged.

 

“Lady Sif!” A young male’s voice came through followed by hurried footsteps that rushed over to them.

 

Two young Midgardians - a boy and a girl - appearing to be in their late teens so to speak stood before Sif. The boy, 𝕿𝖍𝖏𝖆𝖑𝖋𝖎 (𝒪𝓁𝒹 𝒩𝑜𝓇𝓈𝑒:Þ𝖏á𝖑𝖋𝖎) had long shaggy dirty-blonde hair and fair skin with blue eyes, freckles and a pale baby blue wool shirt and greenish-brown cloth pants while the girl, 𝕽ö𝖘𝖐𝖛𝖆 (𝒪𝓁𝒹 𝒩𝑜𝓇𝓈𝑒: 𝕽ǫ𝖘𝖐𝖛𝖆), had long strawberry blonde hair, fair skin as well, freckles on her face and green eyes, wearing a reddish-green peasant dress.

 

“You called for us?” Röskva peeped obediently.

 

“Why, yes.” Sif declared.

 

“Are these your children?” asked Ming.

 

“Oh, no.” Sif shook her head. “This is Thjalfi and Röskva, loyal servants of my husband from Midgard.”

 

“Servants?” Mei chirped with surprise, lifting an eyebrow.

 

“Can you two show our guests where they’ll be staying?” requested Sif to the two mortal siblings. 

 

“Yes, ma’am.” The pair both said in a synchronized fashion, then trudged down the hallway, leading everyone else to their rooms for their short visit at Bilskirnir, leaving behind Stig, Elsa, Ming and Mei.

 

“Well, you lot best be off now.” Sig replied, gesturing them out the door and as soon as they all left through the doorway, Thor stood there with his chariot drawn by his two goats, 𝕿𝖆𝖓𝖓𝖌𝖗𝖎𝖘𝖓𝖎𝖗 and 𝕿𝖆𝖓𝖓𝖌𝖓𝖏ó𝖘𝖙𝖗, who both bleated curiously upon seeing the mortals walk up to it. Elsa studied the goats carefully and began to think back to the two goats they own back at home.

 

Thor was whispering words of encouragement into their ears when Stig approached.

 

“These guys will take you where you need to go.” Thor explained as he moved away toward the steps. “They’re my mode of transportation across the realms. And they fly fast.”

 

“You were flying just fine on your own last I saw you.” Stig remarked with a deadpan.

 

“My hammer gives them the power to fly. However, they are far more ambulant on their own.” 

 

Then the God of Thunder reentered his abode while his wife stood there by the open door and gave them a grim glance as she delivered a very concerning message.

 

“Before you all go, I should forewarn you. Once you venture close to the Norns’ territory, you will see anything and anyone that may appear and sound familiar to you, but don’t be fooled. It’s all simply an illusion. It’s their primary tactic of testing the worthiness of their visitors…….or to keep trespassers at bay, either one. Anyway, good luck to you all and may the forefathers guide you.”

 

Then Sif closed the door after having said her piece, leaving the four-member party to mull her foreboding words over.

 

“I don’t think I understood any of that.” Mei commented.

 

Huginn and Muninn took their cue and teleported them away to a lonesome little spot back on the snowy terrain of the mortal realm. However, surprisingly enough, no one was freezing even just a tiny bit, despite the frigid temperature of the winter air. It felt more like they were inside a cozy cabin rather than standing outside in the cold.

 

(ᛃ)
𝐌𝐢𝐝𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐝 (𝐎𝐥𝐝 𝐍𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞: 𝐌𝐢ð𝐠𝐚𝐫ð𝐫) / 𝐍𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐜: ᛘᛁᚦᚴᛅᚱᚦᛦ)
(ℍ𝕆𝕄𝔼 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕄𝕆ℝ𝕋𝔸𝕃𝕊)

 

Both the aerial pets of the All-Father cawed as they perched themselves onto Stig’s arms and then, much to their shock, they instantly dissipated into raven-themed tattoos on the boy’s forearms. The young goth had planned to get tattoos of his own one day when he got older, but it was a little earlier for him now, even though they looked pretty badass on him.

 

“The heck was that?” Ming gaped, gripping his arms for a closer look at the strange markings that appeared where the birds disappeared. Though, this happened once before with Odin first they saw him.

 

“They said they don’t like the cold.” Stig replied, taking his arms back.

 

“How do you know that?” She demanded.

 

“I wish I had a definitive answer for that.” He simply told her.

 

One by one, the four members of the traveling quartet were all, within seconds, aboard the chariot of the Thunder God and Elsa snapped the reins to get the goats attention that were ready and everyone held on extremely tight so as to not fall off when the animals took off running with incredible speed like no other goat had run before.

 

Any other ordinary pair of goats probably would have struggled and had to fight against the extra weight of four humans inside the chariot, but these were the pets of a god, possibly earning increased strength, speed, endurance and stamina for their service and their companionship. 

 

For the group, it was like they were being pulled by a parade of stampeding elephants rather than goats.

 

Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr sped across the snowed-up lands, traversing the wild, rugged and untamed cold, winter, Scandinavian countryside without slowing down for a second. The intensity of their leg speed was akin to cheetahs.

 

“Man, these goats are fast.” Mei replied with awe, feeling the wind blow through her hair, which still didn’t chill her to the bone.

 

“What has Thor been feeding them? Steroids?” said Elsa, secretly impressed by the animals’ amazing prowess and showmanship.

 

“Are your goats this fast?” Ming asked her.

 

“Not sure. They’ve never pulled a chariot before.”

 

“I’ll be lucky I don’t run into that bear again.” Stig spoke up. “I think she almost had my head in its jaws.”

 

“Well, you boys are lucky to have gotten away.” His mother reminded him. “Just make sure next time not to wake her up if you find her sleeping again.”

 

“Yeah, thanks.”

 

“So about that Sif woman.” Ming began, thinking back to the radiance of the lovely lady-in-question. “I mean, she was really beautiful. How does a woman like her end up with a guy like Thor anyway?”

 

“Do I detect a twinge of jealousy, Karen?” Stig jeered with a smirk.

 

“No! Of course not! I am just perfectly natural the way I am, thank you very much!” Ming screamed with a red face - panda ears popping into existence. “And don’t call me Karen!”

 

“Pfft, okay. Whatever.” Stig rolled her eyes.

 

And that made Ming stifle a frustrated growl between her clenched teeth and tightened lips. God, she was so close to smacking that smug right off his face.

 

“Do these goats even know where they’re going?” asked Mei to change the subject.

 

“They should.” Elsa cried in vain. “They’ve obviously been here before. They must know their way around the place by now.”

 

Suddenly, they stopped.

 

And when they did, they did so very abruptly. The humans riding the chariot were nearly knocked straight forward from the sheer force of the halt.

 

“Jeez!” Elsa winced.

 

“What? Why’d they stop?” asked Ming.

 

Mei, remembering that Stig has been able to hear the voices of animals, nudged the boy to go ask them. With some hesitation, Stig obeyed. Hopping off, he marched over to the two goats drawing the chariot, patted Tanngnjóstr on the head to get his attention and listened very closely.

 

All the women heard was a bunch of bleating in their ears.

 

But they seem to form intelligible words in Stig’s ears, which he clearly understood better than the others.

 

“They’re saying that we’re close and the Norns’ territory is just through there.” Stig aimed his finger at a small incline through the woods. “But this is far as they’ll go. They’d rather wait here until we get back.”

 

“That’s helpful.” Elsa wryly said, but shrugged.

 

“You better be right.” Ming eyed the goth skeptically at having no choice but to trust his word on this. The women all headed on towards the path while Stig lingered behind with the goats for a nanosecond.

 

“What if the bear comes back?” He asked them quietly.

 

Bleating ensued.

 

“Uh, what?” Now that answer was not what he expected.

 

“Stig, come on!”

 

“I’m coming!” He shouted, catching up to them.

 

Up the hill they went, all together as a group. For her part, Elsa really hoped they were on the right path and hoped Stig was right about what they said. Though, it was still strange to her how he’s able to understand animals suddenly. She’s never once seen him do anything like that before in her life. Sure, he’s interacted with many animals before, even dangerous ones like spiders and snakes, but she can’t recall a time out of any of those moments where he would speak to them and point out what they were saying.

 

At the top of the incline, there was a giant, perfectly-smoothened boulder resting there looking like it serves the same purpose as a sign of sorts. Etched on were words in the same Futhark runes, positively spelling out a message, either a warning or an indication to come forward, and it read thusly:

 

‘ ᛟᚾᛚᛁ ᚦᛖ ᚠᚢᛏᚢᚱᛖ ᚨᚹᚨᛁᛏᛊ’
(“Our future lies ahead”)

 

“What does that say?” Ming demanded, looking at the black-haired teen.

 

“How the fuck should I show?” Stig snapped.

 

“Maybe understanding this language is a family thing.” Ming insisted, then cutting him off as he was about to argue. “You said Kris spoke this despite never learning it. Why don’t you try it?”

 

Stig groaned in aggravation, but decided to humor her nonetheless. He didn’t understand the language, so it definitely wasn’t genetic in any form.

 

“I think it says ‘Dear Ming Lee, we are coming to hurt you. You are the stench of this earth, because you stink like the piece of shit you are’.” Stig fibbed mockingly with a big smirk on his lips.

 

“Ugh!” Ming started whacking at him, which he deflected. Mei then had to hold her back so as not to allow anything drastic to start.

 

“There’s your reality check.” said Stig, biting even harder. “I don’t know what it says.”

 

“Then why didn’t you just say that?!” Ming snapped angrily.

 

“You weren’t listening!”

 

“Can we just keep moving?!” Elsa vociferated at them, marching furiously forward down their destined path, her angered shout forcing the two to cease their petty squabble and press onward with her.

 

So far, nothing by the towering trees on both their sides, both thick and thin, nothing that showed that they were reaching a brand new location. However, a couple of rocks, pebbles and boulders of nearly all shapes, sizes, textures - some covered with moss and others not - that began appearing in their sight the further they went showed that they were nearing an area chock full of stony hills and cliffs.

 

Something in Elsa’s heart was beginning to remind her that they were heading in the right direction, but what was there to easily indicate to them that they were? Suddenly, a cloud of mist started to appear at their feet, covering up the ground like a blanket.

 

“Mommy?”

 

She gasped and froze in shock when she heard it. Her heart pounded like crazy and her breath hitched.

 

That was Kris’s voice. Except he sounded…………younger.

 

But could it really be him? Only one way to find out.

 

“Kris? Is that you?” Elsa called out, involuntarily shedding a tear and starting running to where she heard the voice.

 

“Wait! Elsa, come back!” Ming yelled.

 

“Kris! I’m coming!” Elsa declared getting closer and deeper into the fog.

 

“Mommy? Where’s daddy?”

 

That made her stop in place. She pondered over the words. Why would he be asking her that right now? Then she found indistinguishable two figures in the mist. One was taller, about Elsa’s exact shape and height and the other smaller.

 

Another voice was heard.

 

“I don’t know.”

 

Elsa gasped with horror.

 

That was her voice………speaking with a low tone that sounded annoyed.

 

“Where is daddy, mommy? Why hasn’t he woken up yet? Is he okay? Why-?”

 

“I. Don’t. Know.”

 

And acidic fear ensnared her heart the more she listened. Finally, it all struck her like a pile of bricks. Elsa remembers those words. She remembered that exact moment and desperately tried not to.

 

“Hey, stop it!” She cried, trying to cease what’s about to happen.

 

“Mommy, I’m scared. When will daddy be okay….?”

 

“Shut up already, you little shit!” The real Elsa backed away at the sound of her own yell, more tears leaking from her eyes. “Stop asking me! I don’t know! I don’t know! I DON’T KNOW!!! He’s not coming back because of you! So just shut the hell up and leave me alone! Go away!”

 

“No!” Elsa was finally in action mode, running toward the figure of her past self right as it began to shove the younger figure of Kris.

 

But she was too late.

 

Elsa had tackled her past self to the ground right before the younger form of her son was pushed. He and her variant both disappeared, but the haunting sounds of his tiny body thudding down the stairs and blood-curdling screams of pain and the sound of a bone breaking echoed into the air.

 

“Kris, no!” Elsa screamed helplessly, tearing up completely. 

 

“Elsa!” Ming and Mei caught up with her, but now something else happened.

 

Both Lee women were shoved forcefully back away from her completely out of the blue by some kind of invisible force. The two were far enough apart from each other as Ming shrugged while returning to her feet. As she attempted to make sense of what had occurred, there stood another familiar figure in the fog meters away with his back turned.

 

“You.”

 

Although darkened at first from her angle of sight, it looked familiar, because she could recognize his body shape, the clothes and the long hair. 

 

And his voice…….was low, dark and menacing.

 

“You’ve got some nerve showing your face here.”

 

“Kris? Is that you?” Ming gently asked.

 

“Oh…….so it’s no longer Mr. Bengtsson now, is it?”

 

And then the figure slowly and ominously turned his head to slightly face her and Ming gasped when she saw his eyes.

 

They were glowing a dangerous light of yellow like two small fragments of hellfire.

 

“Kris, listen to me. I know you’re mad at me and I don't blame you for that. But I came here to help you.” Ming pleaded with him, trying to talk some sense into him.

 

But ‘Kris’ snarled animalistically.

 

He fully turned to her and then charged a straight beeline for her, swiping at her with chains that looked to be old and covered with shards to effective body damage against his opponent.

 

“I’m not falling for THAT!”

 

Ming screamed with fright, ducking out of the way and quickly dodging the chains at every swipe to avoid the shards. Even becoming the red panda to move further away from the rampaging figure that only resembles the distraught boy.

 

‘Kris’ kept up his offense on the Asian-Canadian woman, still attacking her with the chains as he ranted and boiled.

 

“For two and a half years, I’ve put up with you. Every single fucking day, I had to watch you spit in my face! All those afternoons I have spent slaving away behind that counter in that stupid temple of yours, swallowing every annoying slur, every accusation and every insult from your filthy, fucking mouth! Crumbling underneath your stuck-up, whiny, toxic, elitist BULLSHIT!”

 

She listened to his hateful words. She listened and it began to hurt.

 

Hurt her more than it did him to realize how far she had pushed the poor boy over the edge to want to try and kill her for his endless suffering at the mercy of her biased mistreatment.

 

KA-BLAM!

 

Then Ming jumped out of the way as ‘Kris’ slammed both his chains down on the ground, creating a small quake that knocked her to the ground. 

 

POOF!

 

Then she poofed back to normal.

 

“After everything I had done for you, everything I’ve sacrificed for you to help my own mother - my time, my feelings, my dignity, my sanity - everything I had to push aside for your ungrateful ass, all of it for fucking nothing! Just being around you makes me want to die!”

 

“You don’t mean that, Kris!” Ming begged. “You know you don’t mean that!”

 

“You don’t know me! YOU NEVER HAD THE CHANCE TO KNOW ME!!” ‘Kris’ roared back. “To you, I’m just a retard! A complete deviant! A smelly, bumbling, freeloading idiot! I’m that ugly, fat, lying, stuttering, brain-dead, no-good, imbecilic, bubble-brained and unwanted little SHIT!!!!!”

 

Every single insult she ever called him was being thrown back at her.

 

“That’s not true!” shouted Ming, her guilt returning. “None of that is true! I never meant any of that! It was wrong and it was sick! I realize that now! Please, Kris! Just stop this so we co-!”

 

“SHUT!!! UP!!!”

 

Ming gasped and choked when ‘Kris’ had his tight grip around her throat, foregoing his chains for his clutches. The glowing eyes burned furiously, like a monstrous demon from Hell ready to drag her body and soul back down into the fiery pit.

 

“You’re done telling me what to do, you impertinent, prejudiced bitch! I do the talking, you do the listening!”

 

“Kris, stop!”

 

The figure snapped his head toward the terrified Mei. ‘Kris’ threw Ming to the ground and advanced on Mei next, intimidating her. Mei’s skin sweated and her heart thumped at seeing the shadow form of her closest friend lock eyes with her like a serial killer.

 

“Oh, NOW you speak up, Mei-Mei?” ‘Kris’ hissed, nearing her like an apex predator about to snap its jaws on its defenseless prey the second it moved. “Was it worth it, Mei? Leaving me to take fall for everything WE had worked for? Everything we’ve done together just for you to go to a fucking concert? Was it worth it letting your dumb mom tear into me, fire me and make a fucking idiot out of me?! TELL ME, MEI! WAS IT WORTH IT!!!!???!?!!???”

 

Mei was knocked to the ground once ‘Kris’ swiped at her with his chain, thankfully missing her.

 

“It was a moment of weakness!” Mei anxiously cried out helplessly. “Every day, I regretted not speaking up! I cried myself to sleep every night because of that! But Kris, I swear I was gonna speak up! I really wanted to, but I just……couldn’t!”

 

“DON’T LIE TO ME!!!!” 

 

Such a loud, ear-splitting scream of unadulterated and unsurpassable fury that would surely haunt her bellowed into the air as ‘Kris’ lunged forward at her, grabbing her body and throwing her further back in anger.

 

Mei cried in pain as she tumbled hard against the ground, staring back at the figure with horror.

 

“It’s always perfect little Mei-Mei! The straight-A honor student, the role model, the goody-goody little two shoes, the obsessive little right-wing nerd more concerned about acing boring tests, succeeding in every school subject and pleasing some crabby, deadbeat mom! You’re just a pretentious little brat. It’s who you really are and who you…..always……..WILL BE!!!!!!!!!!!!”

 

BLAM!

 

Stig finally appeared, throwing a giant rock at ‘Kris’, the illusion bursted into a cloud of ashes once it was struck and vanished from existence. The cloud of mist slowly lowered until they could see the ground and the landscape more clearly once again. Even still, those words were still fresh on Mei’s brain and still ringing in her ears like an earworm and it made her shutter and pant with eyes stinging with incoming tears.

 

“It’s not him.” He declared seriously, helping Mei up. “It’s not real.”

 

“It really felt real.” Mei whimpered, then brought her arms around Stig, burying her face into her chest, weeping softly.

 

POOF!

 

Mei became the red panda, now holding Stig’s entire body to her fluffy own.

 

“Mei, Stig!” Elsa rushed over to them both, Ming as well to see if they were okay.

 

“Mei……” Stig was befuddled, but wasn’t very heartless as he hesitantly hugged the poor girl back as she cried. “Look, none of that was real, remember? It’s all just a test just like Sif said. Obviously, we’re getting close.”

 

“And where have you been?” Elsa demanded.

 

“It’s not easy for me to explain it simply.” Was all the goth kid could say to them. “Can we just find them and get out of here, please?”

 

“Yes, please.” Ming found herself agreeing with the snarky boy for once.

 

Hesitantly, Mei lets go of Stig, wiping the tears from her eyes.

 

After recovering from the horrifying, heartbreaking shock of witnessing a past event that she’s been fighting to forget, Elsa led the group down the path ahead. The sounds of the bones breaking are now stuck in her head and wouldn’t leave. Ming and Mei themselves were still reeling from the heinous and acrimonious outburst from what appeared, in form at least, to be Kris himself. It may not have actually been him, but it truly felt like it was and the anger he felt from Ming’s abuse and Mei’s betrayal, respectively, seemed disturbingly real to them.

 

Whatever Stig went through himself, however,.......that was a story for another time.

 

“Elsa? What did you see?” asked Mei.

 

“Nothing I wanted to see.” Elsa sighed sadly.

 

No more words were exchanged. They just continued on the path to the Norns, wanting to hear what they had to say. The sooner they reach them, the better. 

 

However, it wasn’t too long before the path had led them right to a small murky lake of unfrozen water that had a tiny island in it. There doesn’t seem to be a well anywhere. Hopefully, it wasn’t a dead-end. Stig rolled up his sleeves to reveal the raven tattoos, intending to ask them what they know to try and get a sense of where they were. Huginn and Muninn materialized on both his arms.

 

“Where are we?” He ordered strongly.

 

Both the birds looked all around and cawed at him affirmingly.

 

“What? This is it?!” Stig balked, seeing only the lake before them. “This is the Well?”

 

“Wait, what?” Mei, too, was confused.

 

“I don’t see a well. I just see a lake.” Ming complained.

 

Huginn and Muninn cawed towards their left, gesturing over to a creature present by the lake and then turned back into tattoos on Stig’s forearms. 

 

The creature was very horse-like in appearance. 

 

But more like an emaciated-ish horse just by looking at it from an angle on the side. It was of a deep moss green color with a few furs bristling on certain parts of its body, a long tail with urticating hairs on it like from the body of a tarantula, a few strand of moss-like hairs on its backend and its moist, soaking mane looking like seaweed.

 

A kelpie.

 

“Woah, what it that?” gasped Ming with eyes filled with wonder and marvel as it sauntered over to them and emitted a squeal-like sound to them, then turned around to present her back to them, looking like it was offering them a ride.

 

“She says she’ll get us there.” Stig said. “But we’ll go two at a time. We can’t all fit on her back.”

 

“Well, okay.” Mei shrugged. “But only if you’re sure about that.”

 

Stig and Elsa went first.

 

The woman remembered riding a horse once when she and her parents visited her mother’s family horse ranch in Sweden. It was nothing new and it brought back a few memories.

 

The kelpie rode across the surface of the water as if it were made of glass. Stig curiously looked at his reflection below on the water, watching himself stare back at him. Then suddenly, after taking about twenty inches outward, the kelpie rustled as if about to gallop, then it changed in appearance. It glowed brightly, its dark green body becoming lighter and more beautiful before…….

 

SPLASH!

 

It plummeted downward into the lake, breaking through the water’s surface with the aerial speed of a nuclear missile, taking the two humans down with them. The two, albeit taken by surprise, both held their breath as the creature swam rapidly deep into the murky depths, passing by several kelp plants before they all broke through another barrier.

 

Oxygen was, thankfully, returned to their lungs as they exited the water and landed on the soaking rocky ground underneath the lake where there was no more water.

 

However, the air down there felt a bit cooler and smelled of freshwater.

 

𝙐𝙍Ð𝘼𝙍𝘽𝙍𝙐𝙉𝙉𝙍
𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙒𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙤𝙛 𝙐𝙧ð𝙧

 

Elsa and her son both gasped for air and wiped the water from their eyes. But then they became instantly dry. As soon as they hopped off the kelpie’s back to get their bearings, they found themselves in a very baffling new place that truly defied all forces and nature of physics and scientific logic. There was the water above and all around them, acting like a shield of some sort, almost like this spot underneath the lake was protected by a magical barrier to keep all of the water at bay.

 

The kelpie snorted and jumped back into the water to pick up the other two as the mother and son got a spectacle of what appeared to look like from afar, a clump of giant golden follicle-like strings, ropes or whatever else draping down like a curtain or something with a rocky ramp-like formation leading up to it.

 

“This is it?” Stig marveled. “Never doubted it for a second.”

 

“I only hope they know what we need to know.” His mother exclaimed with determination mixed with hesitance.

 

“If they do. And I’m calling that a tiny little ‘if’.” said Stig, doubt littering his tone.

 

SPLASH!

 

……came the sound of the kelpie bursting back from the water barrier, bringing in Mei and Ming next, who were much more shocked by the turn-of-events as the other two were. Gasping for air, spitting up water from their throats and both unable to believe what just happened. Apparently, they were too shaken by the sudden act of the kelpie diving into the water to think of holding their breaths.

 

“Sun Yee and the ancestors! What was that?!” Ming screamed, trying to wring her hair dry.

 

“It’s okay, you guys. At least we’re here.” Elsa reminded them comfortingly.

 

“Maybe give us a warning next time.” Mei glared annoyedly at the kelpie, who just shrugged at her. Then Mei got her own scope of the new locale they were in. “Wow! This is just…….insane!”

 

“This is starting to feel a lot like Arcana Encanta.” said Stig walking up the pathway toward the Norns’ hideaway.

 

“Like what?” Ming knit her eyebrows in confusion.

 

“Nevermind.”

 

They scaled the ramp, edged close to the collection of sun-kissed rope-esque pòrtiere and took a moment to give each other assuring glances before, like the lifting of a bride’s veil, Elsa pulled back the thick strings, everyone carefully and cautiously stepping inside where the walls themselves were made of those same yellow follicle-like things.

 

And then a woman’s voice drifted through.

 

“Elsa Bengtsson and her adopted son, Alexander Falkenberg step inside the home of the Norns through the veil of threads with extreme caution alongside Meilin Lee and Ming Lee, unsure of what lies inside.” It said as if narrating their every move like they were in a storybook.

 

“Alexander?”

 

“Ming asked, bewildered.” The voice chuckled.

 

Mei looked all around for the source of the voice, disoriented, as did the rest of them.

 

“Sorry to bother you all, but I was told you know what’s-” Elsa began to explain. 

 

“Sorry to bother you all, but I was told you know what’s-”

 

However, a woman skedaddled past them with a playful skip in her step as she repeated the exact same sentence Elsa was saying verbatim right just as she was saying it, catching her off guard. The woman giggled at her reaction.

 

Then an old woman - the source of the disembodied voice - stepped forward through the curtain of threads, making her presence known to the group. She was a rather tall and robust old woman with slightly pale yellow skin, golden horns striking out of her long, gray hair that draped over her with a few braids and bright, golden eyes. To be frank, she looked quite haggard, kind of like a witch (best not say that to her face, though).

 

She wore an elegant long brown and green dress with long sleeves and carried a long wooden cane with her.

 

This was the eldest of the three sisters, 𝖀𝖗ð (𝒩𝑜𝓇𝒹𝒾𝒸: 𝖀𝖗ð𝖗), who represented the past.

 

“Meilin Lee eyes the peculiar old woman before her.” Urð continued narrating, staring back at the girl with an amused smile. “She is at a loss for words. She tries her best to speak.”

 

“Uhhh………” True to her word, Mei is unable to come up with something to say.

 

“She fails.” Giggled another woman’s voice.

 

This time, a middle aged woman appeared next to Urð; tall with brown hair going down her back, possessing small golden horns of her own, slightly pale yellow skin and glowing golden eyes and also wore a brown dress with green parts. Other than that, a shiny golden necklace was around her neck.

 

𝖁𝖊𝖗ð𝖆𝖓𝖉𝖎, the middle sister, represented the present.

 

“Is this your way of greeting everyone that comes in here?” asked Stig, unamused.

 

“Is this your way of greeting everyone that comes in here?”

 

The younger woman did it again as she skipped past the group, giggling as she mimicked the boy’s sentence along with him, in a subtly mocking way.

 

“Don’t bother explaining.” Urð said with an apathetic look, holding up a hand to stop Elsa from talking. “We know why you’ve come. It’s about the boy, isn’t it? Well, we figured as much.”

 

“Well, if it’s alright with you-SHUT UP!” 

 

“Well, if it’s alright with you-SHUT UP!”

 

Elsa growled at the annoying woman copying her, who giggled like a schoolgirl again. She was now able to have a better look at her this time. She was a young girl with long darker brown hair down her back, had horns of her own, slightly pale yellow skin and golden like her sisters. However, her outfit was the only difference. She didn’t wear a dress, but rather ankle-length pants. Though the color scheme was still similar to the others.

 

And this was 𝕾𝖐𝖚𝖑𝖉, who represented the future.

 

And soon, all three of them were standing together before them all, the Norns (Nornir), the Norse Goddesses of Fate.

 

“You know about Kris, don’t you?” asked Ming.

 

“We do and, frankly, you as well.” Urð remarked jeeringly. “Ming Lee, granddaughter of Sun Yee, bearer of the red panda spirit, attacker of the SkyDome, abuser of Kris Bengtsson. A list too long for me to read through at the moment.”

 

“I……….that’s pretty accurate.” Ming moaned with defeat.

 

“Elsa Bengtsson, daughter of Morten Bengtsson. A nurse and a drinker.”

 

“You got the nurse job?” asked Mei with hope.

 

“I did and it’s been paying well.” The woman nodded her head.

 

“Meilin Lee, the most precious, cutest, prettiest, smartest and most caring girl in school, in the immortal words of Kris Bengtsson.”

 

“H-He said that?” Mei’s face turned a bright vibrant color of red and pink, hearting fluttering at the words used to describe her by none other than Kris. She stammered in her utterances, nervously twirling a lock of her hair. “Well, I……I mean, we-”

 

“And Alexander Falkenberg.” The eldest sister of Fate spoke on. “Calling himself ‘Stig’. Lover of black metal music. A very adult mind for a 15-year old boy.”

 

“Ain’t that the truth.” Ming muttered.

 

“Up yours, hussy!”

 

Ming gasped at that insult. The three sisters all shared a chorus of chuckles when he said that.

 

“Such a vile tongue. You must be a hit with the ladies.” Skuld taunted.

 

“Look, can we move this along?!” Elsa shouted impatiently. “I wanna know what’s going on with my son!”

 

And then all three sisters fell silent.

 

Their faces fell and they gave each other crestfallen stares, any semblance of the playful and contemptuous finesse they had was all but gone, bringing a more melancholy mood to the air. Urð sighed through her nose and slowly stepped forward toward Elsa.

 

“I will explain the boy’s situation to you willingly.” She told them with a serious tone. “But first I must delve deep into a little personal family history of yours.”

 

“Um, say what?” Ming asked, only for her daughter to shush her.

 

“Allow me to set the scene.” Urð then handed her cane over to Verðandi and held out her hands to the mortals before her invitingly. “Join hands with me.”

 

Albeit confused, they all reluctantly obeyed, coming together hand-in-hand, Mei and Elsa’s hands meeting Urð’s, who sighed deeply and closed her eyes and concentrated.

 

Suddenly, from the perspective of all four humans, everything went dark. Their eyes clouded with blackness and their minds seemed to combine into one mentally as the distant and muffled echoes of each other's thoughts hummed and buzzed incoherently from one angle to another as if their ear had been clogged, but soon their hearing cleared up and the silence that followed was deafening.

 

…….and then, all they could see was glowing streams of golden pixie dust materialized into existence, fluttering, swirling and twirling all around as they soon began to form images.

 

Images of people, incontrovertibly visions of the actions and events of the Norse gods in the past being shown one-by-one like a magically-made motion picture. Images of what they had seen depicted in the murals they saw before they entered the Nine Realms such as the one of the binding of Fenrir, the construction of the walls of Asgard, etc.

 

And the disembodied voice of Urð came through.

 

“A very long time ago, back during the era of which you are present in, each of all the Nine Realms thrived. The mortals worshiping the gods from Midgard, the warlike Æsir of Asgard, the peaceful Vanir of Vanaheim, the mysterious and fierce giants of Jötunheim, the harmonious and pious light elves of Alfheim, the primitive and sacrilegious dark elves of Svartalfheim, alongside the dwarves of Niðavellir, the blacksmiths of the gods, the dangerous fire giants of Muspelheim, the howls of the dishonorable souls of Niflheim and the walking dead of Helheim.”

 

Everyone watched, drinking in the elderly woman’s story and clung to every word.

 

“However, not everything was as peaceful as could be. There have been many deadly feuds across the realms, some far worse than others. The Æsir rivaled the Vanir and feared the Jötnar with a passion. The civil war between the light and dark elves and so far on. Many of both parties were attacked and killed either by proxy or by free will. Before………it happened.”

 

“W-What happened?” Mei peeped nervously.

 

“Ragnarök” Urð said with a grave tone. 

 

 

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

A dark and foreboding series of images ominously delineated a massive, apocalyptic battle of the gods, from one of the gods getting killed,

 

……a cold, endless winter coming forth,

 

……two giant wolf-like monsters eating the Sun and the Moon, creating eternal darkness,

 

……a terrifying Viking longship carrying undead soldiers,

 

……a massive snake beast and the tiny figure of Thor, lunging at each other,

 

And finally, the silhouette of a towering giant with a flaming sword surrounded by flames.

 

All of it, similar to the one mural from the underground cave they were in.

 

“The Twilight of the Gods. Prophesied to be the end of all the gods and the unparalleled destruction of the Nine Realms. All of them were destroyed in the ensuing battle, save for only a few. One prime example being the children of Thrúd, the daughter of Thor.”

 

“Daughter?” Ming raised an eyebrow.

 

“Before Ragnarök, Thrúd visited Midgard and fell in love with a mortal. A dangerous, but noble Viking warrior by the name of Eldgrim Hrosskellson the Bloodless. During their time together, she brought out a shine of humanity within the brutish man, igniting a flame of light inside that cold, empty heart of his. And together, they sired two children together. Lif and Lifthrasir, who grew up to build a cabin within the area of Midgard where the fall of gods had occurred to rebuild life. They each had children of their own, who had children of their own and so forth, generation after generation after generation in the farmhouse that still stands to this day. The same farmhouse you were born in.”

 

Urð was pointing directly at Elsa, who was breathless when she said that. Darkness evaporated and the mind link had ceased, bringing them all back to reality. Little by little, the fabrics of her world were unraveling at an alarming rate. 

 

Mei, Ming and Stig all looked directly at her with awe.

 

“Are you saying………”

 

“That you are a direct descendant of Thor, the God of Thunder? Yes, I am, child.” Urð nodded with a smile.

 

Now this was news that nobody had expected.

 

And it was as baffling and befuddling at most to say the least. As they took a moment to drink all this in, it was impossible to think it was even true. To think that Kris was a living descendant of a god. Not just any god, the fabled god of thunder from all accounts of Norse/Germanic mythology. However, this all explained so much. Kris had transformed into Thor back at the SkyDome and beaten the crap out of Ming, but they could never have imagined that he was even related to the guy.

 

Ming herself was looking as if she was beginning to question her own reality. Kris Bengtsson, the boy who fell in love with her daughter, the boy who used to work for her, the same boy she bossed around every day and the boy who unleashed a hellish vengeance upon her……….was descended from a storm god?!

 

“Apparently, the boy’s deep trauma was able to awaken his genetic link to Thor, reawakening his innate godly powers within him.” explained Urð. “Because it’s trauma that’s the key.”

 

“You mean, I-”

 

“Yes, you are, in most parts, responsible for helping that link strengthen and increase, but you are not the cause of it all.” The eldest sister of fate told Ming.

 

“So if Kris is related to Thor, does that mean you have those powers, too?” Ming asked Elsa.

 

“No?” answered Elsa succinctly.

 

“What about you?” Then Ming pointed to Stig.

 

“If I did, you’d be dead meat by now.” He snapped at her rudely.

 

“It skips every ninth generation.” Urð explained blankly, then faced Elsa. “We decided it was too risky to have every single member of the family to be born with storm powers, so we made certain that only one random person in every ninth generation be born with the power of Thor in them. However, they have to endure a great amount of emotional or psychological suffering for that power to be brought to the surface. So far, we’ve recounted only three instances where members of your family where this has occurred.”

 

'Lucky them', Ming groaned to herself in her mind. 

 

If only the gods did this with Sun Yee when they answered her prayers and blessed her and her family with the red panda centuries ago by only having one person in every ninth generation of their family be born with red panda blessing instead of just having every single female descendant born with it. Then this undoubtedly would’ve been less of an inconvenience for them to deal with.

 

“But your son……” Urð aimed a finger at Elsa, who flinched when the elder sister struck her with a perplexed look in those glassy eyes. “Oh, he…..he’s a special case for sure. He’s the first Bengtsson of his kind to actually become Thor himself. That’s never happened before.”

 

“Oh, my….” Mei gasped, flabbergasted.

 

“This power? Can it be removed?” asked Ming.

 

“No.” Urð said succinctly and straightforwardly.

 

“But can it even be sealed away? In a talisman? An amulet maybe?” Ming said nearly in a desperate pleading voice, hoping that Kris’s case was similar to the Lees.

 

“No. Not even that.” Verðandi explained. “This power is a part of him whether he accepts it or not.”

 

“Hmm…….” Ming hummed with disappointment.

 

“But wait a minute.” Stig stepped up, still gobsmacked. “There’s only one thing I don’t get. If all the realms and the gods perished, then why-”

 

“-are they still there?” Skuld finished for him, suddenly appearing from behind.

 

“In the simplest and vague terms we can muster, we were all given a second chance.” Urð said grimly. “A second chance to live, to thrive peacefully and be better than we were before. Odin was given that chance when he saw the light and it had changed his life forever. The Midgard you all are now standing in is a void, a separate dimension parallel to the real world, one remaining indefinitely in a time era where gods of old were still well-known and worshiped. A sort of ‘Time of Legends’ as it were. That tiny crack you entered through? That rift was just one of the entryways into this dimension. However, the only problem was that it easily snatches up anyone who gets near it and pulls them inside with no way out, hence why it had been buried deep below the earth where no one could get near it.”

 

“Oh, yes. That makes perfect sense.” Elsa groaned, facepalming.

 

“Well, no wonder that basement door was locked up.” Ming commented, hands on her hips.

 

“Your ancestors before you had to ensure that no one were to go down and get near the rift. To keep anyone from getting sucked in and trapped in a world frozen in time.” Verðandi said to the Norwegian-Canadian woman.

 

“Now as for your son, Kris, there was one person in particular. A sorcerer, if you will. During Thor’s rampage at the SkyDome, that sorcerer had to…….extract the boy’s astral form from his physical body to cease the God of Thunder’s thunderous wrath and send him here to the Nine Realms.” monologued Urð.

 

“Is he here?!” Mei screamed desperately.

 

“Patience, child.” Urð chided in a stern mother’s voice. “Yes, he is indeed here. Unfortunately, after we had told Kris of the god’s history in the past, we did not take it very well.”

 

“What?” Everyone gasped.

 

“The boy was devastated in more ways than one.” Urð explained with a sad shake of her head. “When the gods found him again, it is safe to say that he exploded at them, said truly unflattering things about them, even calling them all ‘monsters’.”

 

Mei and Ming gasped with horror. Elsa was equally disturbed at the thought of Kris throwing a temper tantrum at literal gods just after learning about their deeds.

 

“But he was right, of course.” Verðandi chimed in, joining her sister. “The Æsir had not been the best of people before Ragnarök happened, not excluding their near-extermination of the Jötnar, whom they always feared. And considering what had transpired before leading up to the SkyDome, from being fired for the most asinine reason to a best friend and secret crush’s betrayal, learning that you’re related to violent, relentless, bloodthirsty war maniacs would really set you over the edge.”

 

Poor Mei held a hand to her mouth with shock, thinking back to Kris’s look at the moment before he was fired.

 

“Thrùd tried to reason with him, but the boy wasn’t having it. He was finally broken. And a broken heart like his is difficult to repair.”

 

Mei’s lips quivered and she began to cry, which Urð caught on. She stepped forward to wipe the tears from her eyes.

 

“You really care for the boy, don’t you?” She asked.

 

Mei nodded.

 

“Are you really his girlfriend?”

 

“Not really.” Mei honestly stated. “But I probably could’ve been.”

 

“Oh, yes. He never had the chance to confess, did he?” asked Urð matter-of-factly.

 

“No.” whimpered Mei.

 

“Don’t worry, flower, you and him will have a chance soon.” The eldest Goddess of Fate proclaimed comfortingly.

 

“So where is he, then?” asked Stig.

 

“He………” Urð stammered, almost looking like she was fighting back some tears of her own. “He’s in Helheim.”

 

“The land of the dead?!” Elsa yelled, horrorstruck.

 

“He’s what?!” Ming screamed.

 

“Are you serious?!”

 

“Please, just let me explain.” Urð settled them all down before continuing, “After his episode, he stormed off into the branches of Yggdrasil and sulked until he heard a voice calling out to him. A command he was unable to ignore. Against his will, he followed it into Helheim where he was captured by the ruler, Hel, the Goddess of Death. A heinous and sadistic sort, she is. The gods are unable to free him from her grasp. Entrances to and from Helheim are strictly forbidden, even to the gods themselves. But fret not, there is only one way in and out that we know of. The sorcerer himself. He lives in Niflheim, guarding the Gates of Hel. If you wish to save Kris, go speak with him.”

 

“Well then, let’s do it!” Mei cried, boasting with sudden eagerness.

 

“My boy needs me right now!” Elsa exclaimed.

 

“Now, wait a minute.” Urð stopped them. “Helheim is unwelcoming to the living. Any mortal who steps in there is an instant goner. If the unbearing cold doesn’t kill you, the Hel-walkers will. Remnants of the dead who have entered Helheim through Niflheim, devoid of their humanity and feeling, hungry for flesh. If you wish to enter Helheim, there are a few things you need to get first.”

 

“Like what?” asked Stig.

 

Skuld handed him a sheet of parchment paper and he read it off.

 

“An ax, a compass, an archer’s bow and some rope?” He said with disbelief.

 

“The gods will assist you in locating these across the Realms.” Verðandi explained to them. “Find these items and take them with you to the sorcerer. He will ensure that you make a safe journey into the realm of the dead.”

 

“And finally, once you locate Kris’s soul, you will need to give him this.” Urð then reached into a pouch on her side and handed Mei something.

 

It looked like a blue and black bulb-like flower with spotted petals, though it felt very thick and pulpy.

 

“What is it?” She asked.

 

“A manifestation of grief.” said the eldest sister of fate. “Constructed from the concentrated tears that Kris has yet to shed for his late father.”

 

These words caused many eyes to widen, Mei’s moreso.

 

What was that even supposed to mean? Tears he hadn’t shed for his father? Was there something that he hasn’t told her yet? Something deep and personal? Something too hard for him to disclose? 

 

Hopefully, Mei will learn these questions very soon so she can better understand what Kris is really going through.

 

“Run along now.” Urð said, gesturing them away. “Don’t keep the boy waiting for any longer. Good luck to you all. And when you finally free Kris, please inform him that it’s time to let go and stop hiding his feelings.”

 

“O-Okay.” Mei stuttered. Storing the plant thing in her coat pocket, Mei took her words into consideration, wondering about the true extent of Kris’s pain.

 

Everyone turned their backs to the Norns, taking their leave, but still taking time to think everything over. Everything they had just learned. Needless to say, it wasn’t quite what they expected to hear, but at the same time, it didn’t sound that very far-fetched.

 

For Elsa, she was still having trouble believing that after all this time, she had been a part of the familial lineage of a Norse god. And that her entire family was in charge of keeping anyone from entering and getting trapped inside an ancient dimension where the mythical gods of legend all exist. Without a shadow of a doubt, this was all certainly a serious mindfuck to end all mindfucks. It looks like her father was right after all.

 

But for Mei…….

 

…….Mei was more worried about what might happen to Kris.

 

Her closest friend and secret crush was in mortal danger right now and now it's up to her to save him before it's too late. Kris was the light of her life. A light she had recklessly let get put out by a darkness caused by her own controlling mother, whose approval and love that she was so desperately afraid of losing. Her mindless obsession for pushing herself to succeed at every subject, every skill and everything else just to satisfy Ming and keep her satisfied and proud of her doting little girl had ruthlessly blown up in her face in the worst way possible with Kris being the only casualty.

 

But no. 

 

No more.

 

No more running from herself.

 

Her TRUE self.

 

No more hiding behind a shell of needless perfection. She was going to take it upon herself to save Kris from the clutches of the evil Queen of Death from the bowels of the Nordic afterlife if it was the last thing she did.

 

This was their mission.

 

Her mission.

Notes:

Wow, how about that, huh?

So apparently Kris is a direct descendant of Thor, the God of Thunder, which really makes so much sense now. So regarding how it relates to the events leading up to the SkyDome fiasco, let me break it down for you: unlike the Lees where every woman is born with their red panda spirit, it's more complex for Kris's family tree. See, only one random person in every ninth generation is born with Thor's power. However, trauma is the only key to unlocking that power. One needs to go through an abundance of physical, mental and/or psychological suffering until they reach their breaking point enough for their godly powers to unleash. In other words, the more pain they endure, the stronger their link to Thor grows. Obviously, Kris has had a traumatic experience years ago that's haunted his dreams ever since which is how his power unlocked in the first place, but it was the abuse and cruel mistreatment he had received from both the Monroes at school and mostly Ming, putting up with all her slander for SO long is what helped strengthen his power, slowly bringing his supernatural abilities to the surface. And the part where Ming destroys his precious guitar at the concert was just enough for Kris to reach the full extent of his power and his genetic link to his ancestor, Thor.

To be fair, Kris's family situation should be a way more serious than Mei's, right? A boy born with powerful god-like abilities over storms sounds like it has WAY more higher stakes than a girl just transforming into a giant red panda whenever you feel a strong emotion.

And to answer any questions some may have had, yes; Kris is technically in the Nine Realms. His soul was separated from his physical body to put a stop to Thor's rampage at the arena. Only now he's become trapped in Helheim with seemingly no way to escape. And now it's up to Mei and everyone to rush to save him before it's too late.

Regarding Thor, he's a tragic character for sure. He's one to see the error of his violent ways, but it stems from a rocky relationship with his father that seems to be no different from Ming and Mei's relationship in the film. Only, say, a rougher and more straight-up colder version of it. And that scene where everyone experiences traumatic visions during the Norns' trials was meant to be pretty dark and tragically gut-wrenching for a reason, seeing Ming get attacked by an angry vision of Kris roasting and ripping into her for everything he had to put up with from her and Mei's decision to throw him and her friends under the bus out of fear for losing her mother's approval was both satisfying and depressing for certain.

Next Chapter: For their first mission on their quest to save Kris, the group heads into Jotunheim for the head of Mímir while also assisting an old lover of Loki's.

Next Update: April 21, 2023

Chapter 10: A Wise Man Once Said...

Summary:

For their first mission on their quest to save Kris, the group heads into Jotunheim for the head of Mímir while also assisting an old lover of Loki's.

Notes:

Disclaimer: I don't own Turning Red or the God of War games.

C/W: Minor violence.

“What do I do? What do I do?” asked Tom with his unicorn figurine.

 

“Our soldiers are heavily wounded by the ogre assassin. The unicorn can heal them.” Rudolf explained.

 

To pass the time during their stay in Bilskirnir, Roar and Rudolf pulled out one their favorite tabletop games, Dragon’s Keep, to play with the adults. Right now they were traveling through the barrens of East Open Bristle to go challenge the Mighty Dragon Lord to a battle to the death. The two boys were leading the way while an ambush by the ogre assassin, Snotrag, halted their progress and many of their men had been seriously injured during the confusion while playing with Adam, Tom and Jin.

 

Heimdall was there, too. He had just dropped in to check up on the Midgardian guests to see how they were doing and decided to have a seat next to the group to watch them play the curious card game. The aunties were sitting by them as well, giving them an audience as they bore witness to their gameplay with amusement.

 

“Boys and their toys.” Helen chuckled and Lily chuckled along with her.

 

In a true baby boomer move, Tom made sound effects with his mouth to make it seem like his unicorn was healing them all.

 

“Yay, you did it. Congratulate yourself.” Roar gave a still applause.

 

“At least my elf soldier had a poisonous sword.” Jin boasted. “You got stuck with the medic.”

 

“Medics save a lot of lives!” Tom protested.

 

“Oh, but wait…” Rudolf gave a mock gasp for dramatic effect. “Our heroes had just risen to their feet, recovering from their wounds when they then received word of the nasty, vile, but seductive Viva the Druid Spider Queen sending her army of Death Spiders from deep within her underground cave lair of Devilmouth Canyon.”

 

With great vigor, Rudolf slammed the card of the villain character, who looked like an attractive half-human, half-spider monster. All three adults eyed it with bewilderment to see that they were now about against a female villain who was really easy on the eyes, but terrifying at the same time.

 

“Difficulty: 42. Power: Power of Persuasion, the Kiss of the Death, Venomous Bite, Acidic Webs, Wall Crawling, Sharp Claws, Increased Sense of Sight and Smell. Threat Level: 60. Weaknesses: Bad Singing, Act of True Love-”

 

“KILL IT! WITH FIRE!” Heimdall screamed, slammed a hand on the card as if to actually swat the character dead, squishing it like the spider she was.

 

“First of all, you’re not even in this game and second of all, there’s still lots of development that needs to happen here before the big boss fight.” Roar tried to explain, removing the Watchman’s hand from the card.

 

“How will I get to use the love potion?” said Rudolf worriedly. “Those water spring fairies worked hard to make that! Love potions don’t grow on trees! Fairy scientists are still months of process before they even scratch the surface!”

 

“Wha…?” Chen’s face comforted funnily at the Inuit boy’s outlandish wording.

 

“You are a strange child.” Heimdall commented.

 

“I was just about to say that.” said Chen.

 

“Yeah, that’s our Rudolf.” Roar patted his friend’s head as if he were a little kid.

 

“I can’t help it!” The silly boy baffled. “All the other kids in school think I’m weird! I’m not weird!”

 

“Oh, really?” The tall, bespectacled boy challenged. “One time during summer break, you were mowing the front lawn of your house in your underwear.”

 

“What?!” Everyone shouted almost at the same exact time and each stared at Rudolf with a collection of disgusted, weirded-out, shocked and confused expressions, while Wu just cringed. 

 

Rudolf blushed madly with a deep, bright shade of red.

 

“I don’t like the feeling of clothes clinging to my sweaty body, okay?!” Rudolf defended with annoyance. “Besides, my moms keep saying I should try to wear less clothing during those hot, warm days, anyway.”

 

“Wait, your moms?” Shan parroted oddly.

 

“Pardon?” Ping chirped, also perplexed.

 

“Yeah, I have two moms.” explained Rudolf, not seeing the big deal if it was one at all. “My father divorced my mother and she married another woman. I think that’s part of the reason why I get picked on at school.”

 

“Oh, you poor boy!” Lily cooed with sympathy.

 

“Nothing wrong with having more than one mother.” Heimdall spoke up for the young lad. “After all, I’ve got nine of them myself.”

 

Now everyone gave him odd looks next.

 

“Everyone!”

 

All the mortals turned their attention from the game to see Mei stomp into the room they were in along with Elsa, Ming and Stig. Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr were both placed back into their kennel right before they returned to the hall after their rather insightful visit with the Norns back on Midgard.

 

“Well, what did you guys learn?” asked Jin, anxious.

 

“Yes, tell us! Please!” Lily cried, along with her uncle-by-marriage.

 

And then the explanation came forth without preamble, but with 10% hesitation initially.

 

Once the expounding began from when the quartet entered the Nornir territory, there was no doubt about that. From how all the gods and the Nine Realms perished in Ragnarök and being reborn anew, to the history of the Æsir and their campaign against the giants of Jötunheim, to the groundbreaking fact that the Bengtssons are living descendants of Thor via his daughter Thrúd and a Viking that she had married on Midgard and it goes on and on from there forward.

 

And you could say the reaction of every other mortal in the group was just as you’d expect.

 

“Woah! That’s just…….insane!” Helen cried with awe.

 

“Are you serious?!” said Ping.

 

“That is deep! Really deep!” Adam exclaimed.

 

“So all this time, Kris is related to Thor?!” Roar yelled. “Now that really explains a lot!”

 

“I knew he was Avenger-worthy material!” bragged Rudolf.

 

“And you said the Norns told Kris all of this?” asked Ping.

 

“Yes, that’s what they said.” Elsa nodded.

 

“And……….how did he take it?”

 

“Um, not very well, I’m afraid.” Mei sighed deeply with a low voice. “They said he…….flipped out about it and threw a huge tantrum at the Norse gods he learned he was related to, called them hurtful things and stormed off.”

 

“Ooooohh….” The aunties all chorused with a huge wince on their faces, but with a hint of sympathy as well.

 

“Was it really necessary?” Wu remarked.

 

“Honestly, I would say no, but considering everything he’s been through already leading up to the SkyDome disaster, not to mention the disturbing reputation of the Æsir gods, it’s not particularly unfair to say that maybe his reaction was warranted.” explained Elsa with a blank face.

 

“But where is Kris?” Jin ordered.

 

“He’s trapped in Helheim, the realm of the dead.” Stig explained rather painfully.

 

“WHAT?!” screamed everyone with despair.

 

“YOU CAN’T BE SERIOUS!!!!!!!!!!” Roar hollered.

 

“Of course, he is.”

 

Everyone jumped when they all noticed Odin standing there, just right there out of the blue. How did they not notice him before this second? He seems pretty spry for an old man.

 

“We’ve tried our best in freeing him from Hel’s deathly grasp, but I had sealed off all entrances to and from Helheim for good reason. To keep any wandering spirits from meandering out of the afterlife. It’s happened before and it’s not pretty. Which is why the sorcerer has been made the only key into and out of Helheim thus far. Which is also why I’ve sent Huginn and Muninn over to your house to get your father’s attention.”

 

“Beg your pardon?” Elsa scoffed.

 

“I knew a man of culture such as him would be able to pick up a few hints. Though it took him a very long time to do so, I'm satisfied to see he finally came to the decision to come here.”

 

“What are you talking about?” asked Stig.

 

“I’ve been signaling for you and your family to come here in the first place and this is why.” Odin told Elsa with a strongly-fierce and strict voice. “Kris needs the help of his loved ones. Perhaps you are the only ones that can save him. Granted, I hadn’t really expected………….others to be coming along.”

 

Odin said this while shooting a glance at the Lees, who most of whom looked nervous.

 

“But more people means extra hands.” Odin shrugged passively. “As they always say, ‘it takes a village to raise a child’.”

 

“The context of those words don’t quite fit, sir.” Jin reminded him.

 

“Well, you get the idea.” Odin shook his head. “Anyway, what did the Norns tell you?”

 

“Well, they said that we need to grab a few things before we enter Helheim.” Stig explained, pulling out the list of items the Norns had provided them with. “Many of which I don’t yet understand why we need them, but it says that we need an ax, a compass, an archer’s bow and rope.”

 

“Excuse me, an ax?” Adam repeated, stupefied.

 

“Why would we need that?” asked Helen.

 

“And rope?” Tom chimed in, dumbfounded by what sounded very arbitrary. “How the hell is rope gonna help?

 

“You’ll find out soon enough.” The All-Father announced, pulling out a glowing rock, handing it to Elsa. “Now we have mystic gateways that make travel from realm to realm much simpler and this stone is your key to open those gateways into which realm you choose to go. Now I will need to suggest that you visit Jötunheim first.”

 

“The land of the giants, right?” asked Ping.

 

“Right.”

 

“Why there?”

 

“There’s someone there you’ll need to locate. He’ll be able to help you. His name is Mimir. The wisest out of all of us.” explained the All-Father.

 

“Mimir….” Elsa echoed quizzingly.

 

“And I suggest you all start right now.” Odin then said seriously to Elsa. “And as soon you all find the items, my ravens will bring you back here and together, we shall have a grand feast in the hall of Valhalla.”

 

“Sounds wonderful.” Helen replied with half a smile.

 

“Good, I’ll definitely need a good meal after all that.” Adam agreed along with her.

 

“But what about the giants?!” squeaked Rudolf with terror.

 

“You have nothing to worry about, boy.” Odin consoled. “The giants are nothing to fear. If only I realized that a long time ago……” He muttered that last part to himself. “......no, the giants will mean no harm as long as you don’t prove you’re a danger to them.”

 

“How much of a danger are we to a bunch of giants, anyway?” asked Tom.

 

“Yeah, giants are huge!” Jin nodded.

 

“You’ll be pleasantly surprised when you get there. Now off with you all and good luck to you. And be very careful.” Odin said as he hurriedly gestured them all to the hall’s foyer to get them all going.

 

Roar stashed the game away into his backpack in a mad rush just as everyone was getting themselves ready, heading into their temporary residential chambers to grab a few minor things they probably won’t necessarily need, but wish to bring with them nonetheless. The group of mortals assembled and headed over to the doorway about ready to head on their little scavenger hunt in order to find their way into the Norse realm of the deceased. Kris was counting on them all.

 

He was counting on his mother, his friends and Mei most of all.

 

Flinging open the door, Elsa stepped out only to halt in her tracks and wind up face-to-face with a young woman who was walking up the steps to the entrance. A woman of average height, the same height as Elsa, with a body frame of a stocky, curvaceous physique, blue eyes, pale skin, shoulder-length tousled strawberry-blonde hair with a streak of red. She wore shoulderless armor forged from Asgardian steel baring her tattooed shoulders and arms, an animal skin skirt around her waist and thick, high-quality wool Viking-style pants and boots.

 

As the woman locked eyes with Elsa, she, as well, froze instantly upon seeing the Midgardian in her home. Her curious eyes wandered all about Elsa, then she approached her with a gleeful grin.

 

“I knew you’d come sooner or later!” She cheered. “I almost didn’t believe it when grandfather told me of your arrival and boy, was I wrong.”

 

“Can I help you?” asked Elsa impatiently.

 

“Oh, I’m sorry.” The woman cleared her throat and with manners, presented her hand for a friendly handshake. “Thrúd Thorsdottir.”

 

“You’re Thrúd?” asked Mei, surprised.

 

“Yes.”

 

“Elsa Bengtsson.” Elsa accepted her handshake. “But I feel you already knew that.”

 

“Not really.” 𝕿𝖍𝖗ú𝖉 (𝒪𝓁𝒹 𝒩𝑜𝓇𝓈𝑒: Þ𝖗úð𝖗, 𝒩𝑜𝓇𝒹𝒾𝒸: ᚦᚺᚱᚢᛞ), the 𝙽𝚘𝚛𝚜𝚎 𝚅𝚊𝚕𝚔𝚢𝚛𝚒𝚎-Æ𝚜𝚒𝚛 𝙶𝚘𝚍𝚍𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚂𝚝𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚝𝚑, 𝚃𝚑𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛, 𝙻𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐, 𝚆𝚒𝚗𝚍, 𝙱𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚕𝚎, 𝙿𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚛, 𝚆𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚘𝚠𝚜, 𝚃𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚜, 𝙵𝚕𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚜, 𝙶𝚛𝚊𝚜𝚜, 𝙱𝚎𝚊𝚞𝚝𝚢 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚂𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚖𝚜, the daughter of Thor and Sif, the half-sister of Magni, the biological sister of Modi and half-sister of Ullr shook her head honestly. “You’re Kris’s mother, I presume. And you must be his closest friend.”

 

“Yes, you got it.” Mei nodded. “So you’re Kris’s grandmother?”

 

“Don’t call me that, please. It makes me sound old.” Thrúd shuttered at the thought. “So it’s into Helheim for you all to save my distant descendant, if I’m not mistaken.”

 

“Correct.” Elsa nodded, wanting to get on with the quest. “And excuse my tone, but you’re kinda slowing us down. So if you’ll just kindly move out of my w-”

 

“No, wait, wait, wait! Hold on. I’d like to go with you.” said Thrúd a bit too desperately with her hands up to stop them. “You don’t want to go rooting around the Nine Realms without someone born and raised in Asgard there to guide you. I mean, I can be of a big help to you, protecting you from any dangers with my immense strength. I am the daughter of Thor, after all. Besides, I kinda need this as much as you do.”

 

“Why?” asked Ming, eyebrow raised suspiciously.

 

“I can’t help but feel partly responsible for Kris being in Helheim to begin with.” There was a noticeable hint of sorrowful remorse evident on her youthful, but war-weary features.

 

“What do you mean?” asked Elsa.

 

“I’ll explain it to you the best I can on the way.” Thrúd said. “Follow me, please.”

 

Reluctantly, Elsa followed close behind, still unable to trust this new woman’s word on this. Everyone else soon follows. Stig, Roar and Rudolf stayed close to Elsa, Ming and Mei as the daughter of Thor effortlessly led the way of the path ahead for them, being more keenly and relatively experienced in exploration of the Nine Realms than they all were. One thing you need know about Thrúd firsthand is that as a natural born and raised Asgardian, she should know every valley, every crevice, every hill, every mountain and every such and such square inch of the entire realm of Asgard and she’s visited other realms on her past journeys, especially Midgard.

 

It’s just the one thing a blood relative of Odin, the All-Father and king of Asgard, must learn and know and as a child of the God of Thunder, she was to be prepped and ready for any lurking danger around every corner. Hand-to-hand combat, sword fighting, staying high alert even in the safest and quiet of places for anything that can and will try to kill you, Thrúd had the makings of a powerful, formidable warrior in her, no doubt.

 

“I still can’t believe we’re going into the land of the giants.” Ming chirped aloud with worry and a little bit of fear.

 

“Don’t worry, Momzilla, you’ll fit right in.” The ever-eloquent Stig jabbed in her general direction, which made her growl at her.

 

“There’s a mystic gateway up over here.” Thrúd announced.

 

“So off to save the Son of Bengt, I see.” came the voice of none other than Loki resting on the high branch of a nearby tree with another taunting smirk on his face. Thrúd frowned unamused, as did everyone else in the group when they saw him. “Isn’t this a treat?”

 

“Oh, great.” The daughter of Thor groaned.

 

“What do you want?” Ming demanded in annoyance.

 

“Can I guy come by to say hello once in a while?” jeered the God of Mischief. “It’s just that I overhear that you’re all heading to Jötunheim.”

 

“Yeah, what’s it to you, jerkface?” Lily snarked.

 

“That’s none of your business.” Wu spat.

 

“No business of mine, but still my decision to lend an ear and my ear yearns.” Loki babbled. “But in all seriousness, I just want to say before you head into the realm of the giants all willy-nilly, if you’re heading into Jötunheim, there’s a good chance you’ll run into………shall we say, an acquaintance of mine.”

 

“Uh, who?” asked Mei, not sure to trust him.

 

“An old lover of mine. And for the record, she’s the mother of three of my children. You’ve met one of them already. Fenrir, the giant wolf?”

 

“What?” Elsa exclaimed.

 

“And there’s Jörmungandr, the giant serpent that encircles Midgard and last, but certainly not least, Hel herself.”

 

“I’m sorry, what?” Ping did a double take. “You’re Hel’s father?”

 

“Yes, poor girl.” Loki’s face shifted to match one of sorrow. “Trapped down there in Helheim, keeping that boy’s soul hostage. I’d go down there myself, but I doubt she’d even listen to reason. Jörmungandr is no threat to anybody down on Midgard, but try not to run into Fenrir, if I were you.”

 

Then having spoken his peace, Loki transformed into a hawk and flew away from them.

 

“Well, I guess that explains why he tried to kill us!” Elsa furiously screamed at the morphed god as he flew off.

 

“Off topic, that’s a neat trick.” Stig stated honestly.

 

“Alright, let’s keep moving.” Thrúd sighed and guided the party of mortals down a dirt path and right over to some trees in a spot that was about a mile away from Bilskirnir.

 

And what they all saw in that random and secluded spot away from human civilization………was a useless-looking pile of broken wood planks used to make a door and some stones with some runes carved in them looking to have been destroyed.

 

“You gotta be kidding me.” Charlie remarked with disappointment.

 

“Oh, my. What a waste of time this was.” Wu shook her head, thinking to have been led to a dead-end.

 

“How are we supposed to use this?!” Mei cried desperately and with irritation.

 

“Sorry, we’re still trying to figure out how to keep these things in permanent repair.” Thrúd winced with embarrassment for only a tad. “Grandfather gave you that stone thing, right?”

 

“Yes…….?” Elsa droned.

 

“Let me see it.” Thrúd held her hand out expectantly.

 

With no other alternative, Elsa relented and handed her the stone object and the warrior girl gladly took it, eyeing it with a curious smile.

 

“It’s made from Bifröst.” She clarified and then held it high above the shattered pile. Then everyone’s disappointment morphed into awe and wonderment in seconds flat when the stone glowed and suddenly, it looked as if time was being rewound, the damage being magically reversed and just like that zero time at all, like a phoenix from the ashes, a brand new doorway was reformed from the pile. 

 

A wooden door with a round top and the stones on the outer sides, the runes on them glowing as well. Then the symbol of Yggdrasil was formed on the door along with a circle with symbols to each of the Nine Realms.

 

Every gaze upon the magical display consisted of a sea of widened eyes and gaping mouths to actually witness the use of magic, but not the kind of magic the Lee’s were used to seeing when performing the red moon ritual.

 

This was beyond explanation and beyond any logical reason whatsoever.

 

“Woah!”

 

“Holy moly!”

 

“Did you see that, Tom?”

 

“Yeah, I saw it.”

 

“My word!”

 

“Okay, I’ll admit. That’s pretty cool.” Stig shrugged, not stopping an impressed smile from reaching those lips.

 

“That’s freaking awesome!” Rudolf cheered like a kid in a candy store.

 

Thrúd smirked at their reactions. It’s not everyday mortals get to full perspective of actual magic at work beyond what they see in magic shows where stage magicians outstandingly perform sleight-of-hand, equivocation and misdirection in front of a massive audience that were undeniably fake, but still fun to watch regardless.

 

Holding the stone carefully over the symbol for Jötunheim - the rune Eihwaz (ᛇ) - the tree illustration disappeared a bright, unnatural and hypnotically luminescent glow emerged from behind the cracks of the doorway.

 

And once Thrúd pushed the door open inward, a bright glow hit everyone in the face that thankfully died down once Thorsdottir made her way on the other side, giving herself a distance to let every member of the group pass through one at a time and just everyone and when everyone made it on the other side of the doorway, they were no longer inside Asgard. No, they seemed to be inside of another realm. Maybe an in-between realm if you play your cards correctly.

 

Now everyone seemed to be standing on a ginormous branch connected to like a humongous, galaxy-sized tree. The branch had smaller branches and like so, smaller branches of them. And all around them, much to their increased-tenfold awestruck astonishment, was a magical sight of behold.

 

A surrounding sea of blueish-purple/pink in a sky of glittering stars above their heads almost like they were deep within the recesses of outer space.

 

“Yggdrasil?” Stig gasped, as awestruck as the others.

 

“Mm-hmm.” Thrúd answered.

 

“It’s so…..beautiful.” Lily exhaled, looking about to shed a tear.

 

“I’ve…..never seen anything like this.” Wu, herself, was without comprehensible words to describe her feeling at witnessing such beauty of an area outside their known reality.

 

“So we’re actually standing on a giant tree right now?” Rudolf asked, his naive mind exploding like firecrackers.

 

“What you stand on is a branch of the World Tree that binds and connects all of the Nine Realms together, holding them in place. Midgard rests at the center of the World Tree and the base of its roots connected to Helheim. This makes travel between realms possible.” explained Thrúd.

 

“Well, now if you don’t mind at all……” Elsa then glowered upon seeing a large sword strapped on the Asgardian woman’s back, then lunged for it, unsheathing it with insane ease.

 

“Wha-?! Hey!” Thrúd had no time to react the moment Elsa kicked her in the stomach and knocked her to the ground, then aimed her own sword at her threateningly.

 

“Wait, Elsa!”

 

“Stop! Listen!”

 

“Don’t do that! Elsa!”

 

“Elsa, wait, stop!” Mei screamed. “Think about this!”

 

But the chorus of horrified cries of reason were useless. Elsa needed answers to questions that Thrúd alluded to earlier about her son. To her credit, Thrúd was caught off guard by this sudden show of aggression, unable to even comprehend that a Midgardian woman just overpowered her, an Asgardian and daughter of Thor, and now holding her at blade-point with her own sword.

 

“What are you doing?” She demanded.

 

“Alright, talk. What did you do to my son? Answer me!” Elsa ordered with a spine-chilling snarl in her words to emphasize the fear she felt for the notion of her own son being put in danger.

 

“You………you’re actually the first mortal to threaten me with my own sword.” Thrúd said in a surprisingly chill tone.

 

“I said answer!”

 

The tip of the sword got dangerously close enough to start poking against Thrúd’s chest, forcing her to crawl backward. Everyone else around them tried to talk the aggravated Elsa down and stop her from committing something she’ll never walk away from.

 

“Ow, ow, ow, ow! Hey, careful with that please!” She pleaded. “That’s Asgardian steel! That will actually kill me! Look, I didn’t do anything to Kris, okay?! I’d never do that! Honest! I swear by Auðumbla’s udders and the beard of Ymir that that would be the last thing I’d ever do! You gotta trust me! Look, the last time I saw him, he was so upset about everything he had learned about our history that he just lashed out at me! A very colorful string, so unlike a 15-year old boy like him. I told him, okay, I said that we were different now, but he was just…….done, you know? Then he socked me square in the face and broke my nose and threw me off a cliff, but thankfully I had my sword with me-……..”

 

She realized she was rambling on, so she had to cut it short.

 

“........anyway, that’s all. Okay, that’s all. And this was all before he was taken to Helheim. So you see, this is why I’m here. I’ve done terrible things myself in the past and him exploding at me like that brought back so many painful memories. I don’t feel like I’ve made my peace yet. I want to help Kris as much as you do. But only if you let me.”

 

“Elsa, please.” Mei begged.

 

The Norwegian woman took a second to take Thrúd’s words in consideration. Perhaps, she may have been a little rash. But she just needed to make sure her intentions were clear and without malice. Taking a couple seconds to calm down, Elsa shook her head and threw the sword down with a feasible enough strength to embed it into the branch ground…….right next to Thrúd’s body, which made her flinch.

 

“Holy-!” Tom yelped, never seen Elsa so ravenous like that. Though, she was well-known for her temper and sometimes irrational behavior, even when the lives and wellbeing of her son was involved.

 

“Just don’t try anything, okay?” Elsa warned her before picking up the Bifröst stone.

 

“Y-Yes. You got it.” Thrúd stuttered.

 

Couple of the Lees went to catch up with Elsa as she began down the path as Thorsdottir steadily returned to her feet and reclaimed her sword.

 

"Hey, what the hell?!" exclaimed Lily at her with disbelief and disapproval.

 

“Are you out of your mind?!” Wu demanded with a scolding glare. “That is so unbecoming of a lady!”

 

“I’m no lady.” muttered Elsa taking deep breaths.

 

“You could’ve hurt that woman!” Ming argued. “I know you’re desperate, but attacking someone and threatening them with bodily harm is not the answer! Trust me, I should know!”

 

“That’s rich, coming from you.” Elsa harrumphed. “Besides, she’s a goddess, anyway.”

 

“She’s right.” Thrúd commented, catching up and returning to the front. “Don’t worry, I’ve been through worse. We will get your son back. I promise.”

 

“One should hope.” Stig retorted.

 

Anyway, they pursued the path that laid before them, proceeding on further across the Yggdrasil branch while also trying to forget about the part where Elsa went full-on mother bear mode on an actual goddess. But nevertheless and never-you-mind, time was of the essence. Finally, a bright, glowing doorway appeared in front of them, which they all obediently followed Thrúd through.

 

(ᛇ)
𝐉ö𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐦 (𝐎𝐥𝐝 𝐍𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞: 𝐉ö𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐦𝐫 / 𝐍𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐜: ᛃᛟᛏᚢᚾᚺᛖᛁᛗ)
(ℍ𝕆𝕄𝔼 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝔾𝕀𝔸ℕ𝕋𝕊)

 

The brand new location they were in was chock full of mountainous regions as far as the eye could see. At every angle, nothing but full of inaccessibly countless acres of wooded areas that they marched their way through. With this, it became a total surprise to everyone that they were inside the realm populated by abnormally-sized beings that may as well be as tall as mountains, because how would they be able to live in a location that was this normal?

 

And so far, no giants to be seen or heard. However, although extremely faint, sounds of enormous footsteps were heard off in the distance.

 

“So where are all the giants?” asked Roar, heading looking this way and that above-level where they stood, hoping not to catch a glimpse of anything huge.

 

“They usually avoid this region of the realm. This is for the not-so-lifelike giants, if you know what I mean.” Thrúd answered.

 

“No, I don’t know.” Came the statement obviously said by Rudolf.

 

“Say, Elsa. What’s this I hear about a drinking problem you have?” asked Ping, walking up to the said woman.

 

“It’s complicated.”

 

“You’re not unleashing alcohol-influenced rages on your son are you?” Wu demanded, eying her closely with a strong tone.

 

“No! Look, it’s just………some things are hard for me to deal with, okay? And yes, I will admit that I’ve been zonked once or twice, but I do try to keep myself together.”

 

“Oh, Elsa.” sighed Tom with a grim shake of his head. “When we get home, you should try seeing a guidance counselor. Or at least, going alcoholics anonymous.”

 

“He’s right.” Lily agreed with him. “Children shouldn’t have to deal with drunk parents.”

 

“I know.” Elsa somberly sighed.

 

“What else did Kris talk about, if you don’t mind me asking?” asked Mei, anxious.

 

“I think I remember him saying something about how he was in love with this girl who had the power to turn into a red panda.” Thrúd explained.

 

“You don’t say.” Wu hmmphed.

 

“Who then decided to cast him aside for her mother’s sake. Then he got attacked by an even bigger red panda that tried to kill him before it destroyed something that held a great value to him. Then everything just went black and he woke up in Midgard.”

 

“Huh………” Elsa hummed emotionlessly.

 

“What is a red panda, anyway?” asked Thorsdottir.

 

This question completely caught all the Lees off guard.

 

“How do you not know what a red panda is?” Wu asked her, addled.

 

“I’ve never seen one.” Thrúd shrugged honestly. “I don’t even know what it looks like. The only animals I know of around here are bears, wolves, deers, etcetera, etcetera.”

 

Although nonplussed, they all slowly remembered that they were in a northern country and red pandas are native to China, an eastern country.

 

“So we’re finding Mimir, right?” asked Roar.

 

“Yes.” Thrúd nodded. “Just try not to freak out when you see him.”

 

“Why?” 

 

“Just……it’s best if you saw it yourself.”

 

Passing by more trees as the forest around all angles began to slowly vanish from sight the further down the path they went, they found themselves at a giant stony formation forming a massive circle with only an entrance into it. If seen from up above, the formation formed a sort-of upside-down U shape, but from the party’s point-of-view, the ends that created the entryway started off small, reaching the height of a cabin, perhaps 19-inches taller than that, with the remainder reaching up higher at the back end with a tiny waterfall in the back.

 

And in the center of the bowl-like locale was a huge tree that stretched up really high.

 

𝙈Í𝙈𝙄𝙎𝘽𝙍𝙐𝙉𝙉𝙍
𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙒𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙤𝙛 𝙈𝙞𝙢𝙞𝙧

 

“Neato!” Rudolf complimented.

 

“It’s amazing!” Shan gasped with admiration, holding his wife’s hand. “Just imagine living in a cabin in this place.”

 

“This would be the perfect place to get in touch with nature.” Ping gushed, holding him tightly.

 

“So where is he?” asked Stig.

 

“Mmmm…….” Thrúd said nothing as she held an unreadable expression, then pointed upwards.

 

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

 

Everyone screamed with horror when they saw it. And at the same exact time, all Lee women were red pandas, much to Thrúd’s shock.

 

 

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

A decapitated human head of a fair-skinned bald man with two small golden horns, covered with runic tattoos and his lower lip tattooed with a pattern trailing down from the sides of his mouth and a long gray beard. 

 

The head of 𝕸í𝖒𝖎𝖗 (𝒩𝑜𝓇𝒹𝒾𝒸: ᛗᛁᛗᛁᚱ), also known as 𝕸𝖎𝖒, the Norse God of Wisdom, Solidarity, Unity and Knowledge and the Guardian of Mímisbrunnr was strung up by some rope and dangling from a branch on the tree 20 feet off the ground from where the group stood.

 

Stig’s reaction, however……….

 

“Oh.”

 

He’s seen people get their head chopped off before in horror movies and always wondered what a decapitated head looked like in real life. Despite his indifferent reaction, this experience didn’t disappoint.

 

“Everyone, please calm down!” Thrúd shouted and they all stopped screaming, ignoring the fact that they’ve turned into red pandas for the moment. “I know this is scary to you, but just let me explain. Years ago, Mimir was Odin’s royal advisor before he was beheaded during the war between the Æsir and the Vanir.”

 

“How does that make us feel better?!” Jin shrieked.

 

“Mímir is still alive even after losing his head. He used to recite secret knowledge and counsel to my grandfather.” explained Thrúd.

 

“Roar, what are you doing?!” Mei complained once she saw the body now climbing the tree, putting his athletic skills to some good use, scaling up the trunk to reach the branch the head was tied to.

 

“Is he serious!?” cried Lily.

 

“Please be careful!” Elsa shouted.

 

“Now everyone, stay calm. This will take some getting used to, I assure you.” Thrúd said calmly, focusing their attention onto her for a moment. “Gather yourselves. Take a deep breath in.”

 

PLOP!

 

And that moment was ruined when Mímir’s head dropped right to the ground dead in the center before them all and they all screamed once more at the horrifying sight of it.

 

Thrúd glared upward at Roar hanging from the branch where he had untied the rope and he grinned nervously.

 

“Stay calm! Please!” She begged them while Roar climbed back down.

 

“Yikes.” Rudolf approached it, when Ming grabbed his shoulder.

 

“Wait a minute!”

 

“What? It’s…….just a head, right?” He winced when he finally forced up some courage to pick the head up and looked at it in the face,.....then yelped and dropped it back on the ground. “Oh god, no! It blinked at me! I swear it blinked at me!”

 

“That’s sick!” Chen cringed.

 

However, Stig, being as unfazed about this as he was, picked the head up himself by the ropes holding onto it.

 

“That’s pretty cool.” He smirked.

 

“You are a disturbed boy, you know that?” Wu griped with revolt.

 

Thrúd took the severed head from the goth kid and held it up for everyone else to see. It took as much as possible in every fiber of their beings to not upchuck. The head’s eyes were closed and its mouth shut.

 

“He’s dormant.” Thorsdottir explained plainly. “Freya will help wake him up.”

 

“We are not taking that thing with us!” Wu bellowed with disgust, horror and anger.

 

“You have to. Mímir has been known to be wise, if not a bit comical at times.” Thrúd reminded her thinly, fastening the head to her hip using the ropes. “Come on, let’s keep moving. Try to distract your minds if the head is that disturbing of a sight.”

 

“I’ll try my best.” Lily gagged.

 

“I just don’t understand this world at all.” Tom remarked.

 

---

 

𝙅Á𝙍𝙉𝙑𝙄Ð𝙍 (𝙊𝙡𝙙 𝙉𝙤𝙧𝙨𝙚: 𝙄𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙬𝙤𝙤𝙙)

 

The Lee family calmed themselves down enough to poof back to normal in clouds of pink.

 

Thrùd had summoned Muninn and requested for him to send word out for Freya, who was somewhere in Jötunheim, then he flew away, disappearing from sight. The once crisp air around them slowly turned sweeter, mostly in par with the colorful, otherworldly-looking vegetation that appeared around them in this new fantastical environment, the bright and saturated trees, plants, the rocks and the like carried that mystical aspect, almost like stepping into Wonderland. 

 

“Such unnatural beauty.” Mei marveled as she looked all around, unable to resist twirling around like she was in the Garden of Eden.

 

“I wonder if the Mad Hatter lives here.” Rudolf spoke.

 

“Then he, the March Hare and the Dormouse would welcome you with open arms.” Stig bragged.

 

“What are you two talking about?” asked Thrúd.

 

“People stuff you wouldn’t understand.”

 

“Hmm. So were those…….um, red pandas?”

 

“Yes.” Ming answered right away. “See it’s an……inconvenience that runs in our family. Ever since our ancestress, Sun Yee, prayed to the gods and gave her the blessing of becoming a red panda-”

 

“So it’s a curse?” Thrúd asked flatly.

 

“I didn’t say that!” Ming argued. “I’m saying that whenever we feel strong emotions, we become red pandas.”

 

“Does that explain all the red hair?”

 

“Yes.” Wu nodded. “On every red moon eclipse, a ritual must be performed to seal our red pandas away so that they don’t cause any more harm or trouble for us or anyone.”

 

“But why get rid of it, though?” asked Thrúd, curious. “It doesn’t seem like that big of a deal. So you guys transform into these things. I don’t see the problem.”

 

“You don’t understand.” Wu insisted. “Turning into a red panda whenever you get upset or excited may have worked for Sun Yee back in her day, but nowadays, it doesn’t for us.”

 

“Yeah, turning into giant red pandas can be an issue.” agreed Chen.

 

“Accidentally knocking things over with your huge body in tiny spaces.” Helen added.

 

“And when you get angry, you could hurt someone with your claws.” Ping said.

 

“Not to mention the itchy fur!” Lily complained.

 

“Plus, turning into giant red pandas is just not a common thing to do where we come from.” Ming explained next. “It can be very dangerous.”

 

“Dangerous?!” Thrúd eschewed at the very word itself. “So what? You spend too much time focusing on the bad things that come with turning into a large animal that you fail to pick up on the advantages?”

 

“What……advantages?” Wu didn’t quite understand what she meant.

 

“Oh, I don't know. A giant red panda must come with increased strength. Could help lift the heavier stuff. And what if you run into some dangerous folk that want to do you harm? You got claws, teeth and a huge size that is certainly intimidating. Do red pandas have defense mechanisms?”

 

“We’re not combatants! We have no interest in attacking anyone in such a manner!” snapped Wu with a sharp, authoritative attitude. “It’s so unruly and so improper for ladies like us! This red panda is a detriment to perfection! We seal it away for a good reason!”

 

“Take from me, madam.” Thrúd remarked. “I, for one, am more concerned about staying alive and showing others who's boss than standing tall and looking pretty for others.”

 

“Hmph, easy for you to say.” Wu bit back, shaking her head in exasperation.

 

Then Muninn reappeared and flapped all the way over to the mortals, cawing something to Stig that only he could understand and reformed into a tattoo on his arm, like before.

 

“He says Freya will come meet us here soon.” He translated for him.

 

“Excellent.” Thrúd nodded.

 

Some of the other members of the party were examining many of the unfamiliar plants around them like tourists. Some tiny flying creatures fly circles around Helen and Adam and as they hovered near their faces, from their perspective, they looked like humanoid flower-like butterflies.

 

“Fairies?” Helen beamed.

 

“Naw, that can’t be real.” denied Adam, reaching a finger out to touch the one staring at him observingly. However, it didn’t seem to take the gesture kindly as it smacked his face and flew away.

 

Helen giggled and said, “Guess they’re not the welcoming type.”

 

Further into the extravagant and eye-appealing forest and pursuing their path, it was then that they happened upon a wide space where there sat with a lovely view of the woodland around it was a large hut with flat limestone slabs littered around the area seemingly acting as canvas in a certain way as there were a plethora of beautifully, well-constructed paintings consisting of a number of bright, vibrant colors like makeshift murals. 

 

Near the hut were wooden fenced enclosures where animals such as goats and deer were, which gave this place the idea of a farm. Lily, Roar, Chen and Helen were taking a look at all the beautiful works of art, some giving a few of their own critiques.

 

“Whoever lives here is committed to their art.” Roar commented and Helen nodded in agreement.

 

“So hypnotically astonishing.” Chen chimed delightfully.

 

Thrúd froze in her tracks as she approached one of the enclosures to gaze upon a stag when an older woman’s voice spoke up out of the silence.

 

“More humans for you to scare away, Æsir?” 

 

It asked with a bit of sarcasm and the daughter of Thor nearly winced when she knew it sounded familiar.

 

She turned and everyone else followed her example to see a woman sitting on the top of the stairs leading to the top deck of her home, eyeing her Midgardian visitors with an inviting, maternal sense of curiosity, but burned contempt at the Asgardian girl, who shuddered at the stare instilling her with a frosty chill up her spine that immediately informed her that she was not welcome here.

 

The woman appeared to be in her mid-to-late 40’s with a dark-skinned complexion, brown motherly eyes, long black hair in a curtain of dreadlocks fashioned into a complicated pattern with some tied up behind her head while the rest hung downward behind her that almost touched her ankles if she were to stand.

 

She wore a tattered teal, gray and brown hangerok Viking dress, adorned with red beads, golden rings, charms and talismans dangling from bronze-adorned belts from her waist and was barefoot.

 

And in her hand, a large paintbrush, revealing her as the artist herself. 

 

“Angrboda, n-nice seeing you.” She replied, trying to hold her sentence in place, but the woman adeptly took light of the tiny crack in her words.

 

“Too bad I can’t say the same for you, Thorsdottir.”

 

𝕬𝖓𝖌𝖗𝖇𝖔𝖉𝖆 (𝒪𝓁𝒹 𝒩𝑜𝓇𝓈𝑒: 𝕬𝖓𝖌𝖗𝖇𝖔ð𝖆, 𝒩𝑜𝓇𝒹𝒾𝒸: ᚨᛝᚱᛒᛟᛞᚨ), the Jötunn lover of Loki and the mother of Fenrir, Hel and Jörmungandr and the Mother of Monsters, stood up and took low strides forward, still giving Thrùd that same warming glare as she glanced all around the mortals in her farmland.

 

“Angrboda….” Elsa murmured with deep thought, remembering the stories of Norse lore that her father studied and taught in his classes. “That means you’re Loki’s lover, right?”

 

“Lover? Pfft.” Angrboda spat out a raspberry with a teasing smirk. “Loki’s an acquired taste. One that grows sour. However, I cannot deny his irresistible charms.”

 

“Irresistible? That guy?” scoffed Ming. “Not likely.”

 

“Your criticism there speaks volumes.” jeered Angrboda. “I have to admire that, nevermind the circumstances. Why are you all here?”

 

“It’s about my son.” Elsa answered immediately. “We’re here to get him out of Helheim. But first, we need to find a few items.”

 

“A scavenger hunt, huh? Gods, do I hate those.” Angrboda groaned, shaking her head.

 

“I love your paintings!” Rudolf said.

 

“Yeah, they’re very well done.” Lily added.

 

“Why, thank you.” She smiled gratefully. “I do take my artwork very seriously, you see. Next subject: why, may I ask, is there a head tied to your hip, Asgardian?”

 

Angrboda pointed her paintbrush at Mímir’s head.

 

“We’ve asked for Freya’s help in reviving him.” Thrúd responded. “He’ll make good company for the mortals here.”

 

“And let me guess, you’re their strong and bold protector.” The lover of Loki said sardonically.

 

“I’m just leading them, but if necessary and the situation calls for it, I will give the enemies no mercy should they come up against me and my blade.” Thrúd bragged with brave confidence and positivity.

 

“Classic Æsir.” Angrboda retorted with a big eye-roll. “It’s no wonder me and my kind had been forced to hide in the shadows, living in fear of a one-eyed force.”

 

“Okay, I guess I had that one coming.” sighed Thrúd. “But I swear, my grandfather’s a new man now.”

 

“I’ll believe that when I’m ready to believe it.”

 

“So what are you doing here in the land of the giants, anyway?” asked Shan, his wife nodding.

 

“I was born and raised here among several of my kind.” Angrboda answered, heading over to some of the picture slabs with her paintbrush and paints, going to add a few more touches while the mortals looked at her strangely.

 

“Uh, wait. You’re a giant?” asked Ming, bemused, taking in her appearance with scrutiny. She didn’t seem like a giant at all to her.

 

“The proper term is ‘Jötunn’, but yes.”

 

“I’m sorry, but you’re a little…….uh, small to be a giant.” said Rudolf. “Have you shrunk?”

 

BANG!

 

Stig punched him on the head.

 

“Technically speaking, us giants vary in size, but we’re capable of altering our form and size in many ways. Hel, some are born big and some are born small, like me.” Angrboda elaborated thusly, collecting some green paint and creating an evergreen tree. “If you all have been in Asgard already, chances are that you’ve met a couple of giants there yourself. Loki, Skaði, and Thor is only half-giant.”

 

“Well, that explains a lot.” Ming winced, her mind returning to the SkyDome incident. Being half-giant would for sure make someone an unstoppable, powerful force. How else would he be strong enough to hold his own against her in her kaiju-size red panda form?

 

“That would definitely give him an edge.” Adam commented carefully.

 

“So Freya’s on her way over here now to bring your little…….head back to the waking world. In the meantime, perhaps you folks would be kind enough to lend me a helping hand? I could use some help with a few things.”

 

“Like what, specifically?” asked Mei.

 

Angrboda turned to give her a smile and said, “Just to collect a few plants that grow nearby is all.”

 

“I’ll go with you.” The rebel girl offered.

 

“Me too.” Her mother almost instantly spoke up accordingly.

 

“Most appreciated. The rest of you can just chill here if you’d like. Just please stay away from my paintings. I worked very hard on them.” Angrboda said, setting her brush and palate down on the ground and going over to collect a wicker basket from a wooden table.

 

“We promise.” Ping assured her.

 

“And as for you, Asgardian……” Angrboda collected a sword and pointed it at Thrúd, who backed away. “Don’t try anything funny.”

 

“Yes, ma’am.” She nodded.

 

Satisfied, Angrboda placed the sword in her scabbard, grabbed the basket and hiked over to a pond where the water was only knee-high with Ming and Mei in tow. Then she cupped her hands to her mouth and……

 

“~ Hoooooooo-aaaaahahhhahhhhhhhhhhnnnnn ~”

 

....let out a loud, harmonious call that echoed into the woods like a siren song or a nature goddess singing to wayward travelers wandering aimlessly through the forest seeking shelter, beckoning them towards her. The tenor of her beautiful cry sent ticklish tingles up everyone’s bodies.

 

“Woah.” Lily said, almost shedding a tear. “So sweet…~”

 

A grunt answered the call.

 

A giant yak stomped through the pond with shaggy, yellowish fur and large, pointed horns aiming forwards, a saddle on its back and carrying some sacks on its sides. Mei and Ming had to back away once the stampeding beast charged toward them and ducked out of the way so as to not get stabbed or whacked by its enormous protrusions.

 

Then it stopped right in front of Angrboda, giving her a lick, making her chuckle.

 

“Friends, meet Jalla.”

 

“Hi, Jalla.” Mei cautiously stepped forward and petted the animal. Jalla just grunted.

 

“She says ‘hi’.” The giantess chuckled before mounting herself onto her steed’s back. With Angrboda’s assistance, the two Lee women were mounted on the yak as well. “We’ll be back soon. Ganga.”

 

Jalla marched away, carrying her master and the two humans on her back with her. Ming held onto her daughter tightly and stayed calm, trying not to transform. She had never ridden on the back of an animal, much less a yak. Her mother would’ve thought it uncouth and unruly for a lady to ride on animals like wild, feral children.

 

Angrboda rode with her two passengers not too far from the farm when Mei decided to break the ice.

 

“So, uh, Loki tells us you’re the mother of three of his children.” Mei said.

 

“Yes.” said the giantess with a heavy heart. “And needless to say, siring children with him is no walk in the park. However, I didn’t care how ugly or monstrous they were, they were still my kids and I cared deeply for them, unlike the gods, especially Odin. The damned All-Father feared for the worst. Not a day goes by that I forget what the Æsir put them through. Jörmugandr, thrown into the sea on Midgard and put in danger of drowning. Hel, tossed into the underworld and forced to rule over the dead, alone and lost. And Fenrir, that baby pup had to be chained up far away in a cave. I still remember the look on his cute face last I saw him millennia ago. I’ll never forget.”

 

Ming and Mei looked at her with sympathy to think she had to be ripped away from her children because of how they seemed and it scared others. No parent should have to go through that. Was it because of Ragnarök? Was it because they were afraid of the dangers they would pose or the part they would play in the apocalyptic event? If so, then that irrational fear surely became the gods’ own undoing.

 

“You know, Elsa tells me that Fenrir attacked her and her family back on, well, in the real world.” said Mei.

 

“Well,….he is a wolf, child.” Angrboda shrugged. “He means well, but his natural instincts overcome him at the worst moments. He can’t help it.”

 

They were passing by a pile of broken rock pieces that Angrboda scoffed at knowingly.

 

“Those larger giants can be so clumsy sometimes.” She tsked at the wreckage before holding out her hand and chanted, “....Þola.”

 

Glittering, multicolored clouds of mystical energy erupted from Angrboda’s open palm aimed over at the pile of broken earth fragments and in seconds, the wreckage reversed. All the pieces formed back into one, repairing the destroyed boulder.

 

Mother and daughter watched on with amazement.

 

Sure, they had seen that before with the mystic gateway, but the giantess was able to do it perfectly and adeptly on her own without the aid of the Bifröst stone. This really got Ming thinking. 

 

Magic like that could be……….useful.

 

“I can’t stand anything being destroyed around here, even if it's an accident.” Angrboda commented.

 

Not at least an hour later, Angrboda was hanging upside down from one of the branches of a giant yew tree with the most impressive leg strength you’ll ever see and got to work using her sword to chop off some interesting-looking fruits from branch, peculiar fruits that none had ever seen before, and dropped them down to the Lees for them to catch, ordering them to pluck the stems from them and place them in the basket.

 

“So, um, I’ve been thinking.” Ming began, coming off as calm as possible. “You’re Hel’s mother, right? Is there any chance you could, you know, go down into Helheim and speak with her? Maybe ask her if she could let Kris go?”

 

“Hel was ripped from me the moment she was born.” Angrboda explained grimly and monotonously. “The gods forbade me from seeing her, from visiting her in her realm. There isn’t a slight chance she’ll really listen to me. I doubt she’ll even recognize me.”

 

“Aw.” Mei whined.

 

“So that’s a no, then?” asked Ming nervously, but feeling bad for the giantess woman for having her child taken from her against her will.

 

“To her, she’ll possibly think I’m just another god demanding back the soul of a deadly departed loved one.”

 

“Has that happened before?” Mei asked curiously.

 

“Once.” Angrboda remarked, pulling another fruit from the tree. “Baldur. Asgard’s greatest punching bag. As the god of light, he was blessed with the immunity to all known harm, virtually invincible to everything. Well, almost everything. When sly old Loki tricked Hodur, the blind god of darkness, into killing Baldur with an arrow with mistletoe on it…”

 

“Mistletoe?” Mei snorted.

 

“…Hermod entered Helheim and begged Hel for Baldur’s soul back and she only agreed to do so, under the condition everyone wept for his death. Literally everyone and everything. Long story short, didn’t go so well. That’s how Ragnarök started in the first place.”

 

“All because one god was killed?” Ming scoffed.

 

“There are consequences to killing a god. Baldur was Asgard’s brightest and purest light and when that gets snuffed out, darkness soon follows.” said Angrboda cryptically.

 

Now to Ming, this sentiment, in context, spoke to her in a certain way that reminded her of Kris and Mei. Mei cared deeply for Kris so much and Kris was like the light of her light. 

 

A light that had burned brightly whenever they were together…….

 

……that had been blown out by an overprotective mother’s arrogance, impulsiveness and lack of self control.

 

Leaving only a burned-out candle; a poor boy in a deep coma.

 

Out like a light.

 

“On an off-topic note, Loki may be mischievous as he is cocky, you’ll be surprised that isn’t too bad the sooner you get to know him.” Angrboda responded. “Not everything he says is a falsehood. And we do share one thing in common.”

 

“Yeah?” asked Ming.

 

“A fiery hate for those annoying Æsir.” seethed the mother of all monsters.

 

Ming and Mei shared a look, their minds getting filled with more unusual questions.

 

“~ Yaaaaaaaaaa-ddddddddaahhhhhhhhhh! ~”

 

All three women looked up once their ears picked up another melodic call breaching the calm air, heard 10k from the direction of Angrboda’s farm.

 

“Huh.” The giantess hummed with interest. “Let’s go.”

 

Then the big Jalla hauled ass back toward the farmland, carrying her Jötunn and two human passengers as fast as her hooved feet could allow and they found Lily waved over to them, Angrboda steering her steed near her as she dismounted.

 

“Was that you?” She asked, intrigued.

 

“Yep. I'm a bit of a natural vocalist myself. Anyway, I think she finally came.” Lily explained, pointing over to a wolf sled parked right near her hut that was drawn by two large cats.

 

There’s only one person known to ride such a sled.

 

“Freya.” Angrboda whispered.

 

“Cats?” asked Ming with confusion.

 

Just then, a woman burst through the door of the hut.

 

A young, beautiful woman looking to be in her late 30’s; very tall and curvilinear, fair skin, messy eyeshadow and mascara, long back-length reddish chestnut hair tied in near the bottom with some beaded and two long braided locks draped over her shoulders and faded tattoos on her bare arms. 

 

She wore a black feather cloak on her shoulders, a light brown dress with animal skins, intricate runic patterns on the top part and gold inlaid the lower part, three different necklaces, a scabbard for a sword and she was barefoot also like Angrboda.

 

“Angrboda, there you are!” exclaimed 𝕱𝖗𝖊𝖞𝖆 (𝒪𝓁𝒹 𝒩𝑜𝓇𝓈𝑒: 𝕱𝖗𝖊𝖞𝖏𝖆, 𝒩𝑜𝓇𝒹𝒾𝒸: ᚠᚱᛖᛁᚨ), the 𝙽𝚘𝚛𝚜𝚎 𝚅𝚊𝚗𝚒𝚛 𝙶𝚘𝚍𝚍𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝙻𝚘𝚟𝚎, 𝙱𝚎𝚊𝚞𝚝𝚢, 𝚆𝚊𝚛, 𝙳𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚑, 𝙼𝚊𝚐𝚒𝚌, 𝙲𝚑𝚒𝚕𝚍𝚑𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙵𝚎𝚛𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚢 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚀𝚞𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚅𝚊𝚕𝚔𝚢𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚜, rushed toward the giantess and they both hugged.

 

“I wasn’t about to start without you. Come on in.” Freya said, grabbing her hand and leading her inside, the other remaining Lee women following after them the second they took off.

 

Inside, everyone was seated around the table where Mímir’s head was placed, surrounded by candles in a circle. Needless to say, the group of Midgardians were unable to believe they were about to see a disembodied head come to life. Some of them were even putting a great, cautious distance between themselves and the table, sending the head’s way looks of disgust and fear.

 

“A-A-Are we really doing this?” asked Helen with a stuttering voice, sweating beads. “Are you sure this is even necessary?”

 

“Of course. Mímir will make great company.” Thrúd responded.

 

“This is not normal.” Wu grumbled under her breath.

 

“It’ll grow on you soon. Don’t worry.” Freya reminded her with gravitas.

 

“That’s what I’m afraid of.”

 

“Okay. Me and you.” Angrboda then stepped in and took her spot on the other end of the table, facing Freya on the opposite side and then together at the same time, both women held out their hands toward the head, closing their eyes and humming out words in their Old Norse tongue, reciting hypnotic incantations as the head began to sprout glowing sparkles, making the mortals all give each other looks and back away one more inch for good measure.

 

After a minute or two, an uncomfortable silence followed through as all eyes were focused on only the head.

 

Then Rudolf ‘eep’ed when it happened.

 

The eyes fluttered open and then the head yawned. Angrboda grabbed the head and propped it up neatly on the table facing everyone, who all gasped and cringed when the head directed its eyesight on each and every one of them.

 

And it spoke.

 

“W-What….whit is this?” Mímir blubbered on with a thick Scottish accent. “Wha the devil are aw o’ ye? And why are ye aw dressed thot way?”

 

That was it for Helen, who fainted from the shock of a decapitated human head - well, Jötunn head, but still - that is now alive and speaking like it hadn’t lost its body in the first place.

 

Adam had to grab onto her to prevent her from falling to the floor.

 

“That’s so messed up.” Roar looked ready to lose his lunch.

 

“I think I peed a little bit.” Rudolf wheezed.

 

“Whit the bloody blazes are Midgardians doin’ in Jötunheim?” said the head of Mímir with disbelief, then Freya stepped into his field of vision to make her presence known to him. “Well, bless the udders o’ Audhumbla, Freya, lass!

 

Wu struggled to maintain her posture, even silently uttering every prayer to the ancestors and Sun Yee in her mind, Jin tried not to toss his cookies himself and Ming was scared stiff.

 

“Hello, Mímir.” Freya greeted him, then picked him up. “Sorry for disturbing you, but these Midgardians are here to save the one known as Kris Bengtsson.”

 

“Oh, ah see, ah see. So, whit’s the trouble fer awaken’ me from mah snooze, eh?”

 

“We were hoping you could accompany them on their journey.” Angrboda explained.

 

“Angrboda, hello! Ah don’t know aboot that.” Mímir said, unsure. “They don’t seem like wantin’ to carry a talkin’ head aroond wit them.”

 

“I’ll carry him, then.” Thrúd grabbed the head by the ropes.

 

“Daughter o’ Thor, eh? What a lovely group, this is.” Mímir said as she faced him toward the Midgardians. “Oh, eh, hello all o’ ye.”

 

“......hello.” 

 

Their greeting was rigid, a bit forced and filled with unease, still unable to believe they were talking to a talking severed head that was acknowledging them all.

 

“Hiiiiiiii…………” Mei said through her teeth.

 

“So whit is this all aboot then?” asked Mímir.

Notes:

So now we've brought Mimir into our story, who, dare I say, stole the show in the God of War games.

And the scavenger hunt is now on! First into the land of the giants, Jötunheim with Thrúd being their guide the whole way through. I've wanted to give her a tragic, but semi-villainous backstory that she would feel great guilt from enough to give her reason to want to make things better for everyone which is why is volunteers to go with the group and assist them in any way she can, not just for herself and the motivation to want to help Kris which is pretty much no different from Ming in this regard. And the part where Elsa attacks and threatens Thrúd over what she may have done to her sound should probably sounds familiar to Ming in par with the Devon incident.

Angrboda, the lover of Loki, has made an appearance now. Now to be straightforward, she's not too big of a fan of the God of Mischief, but they share one thing in common: a burning hate for the Æsir. And that bit where she talks about Baldur's murder, allow me to walk any of you non-Norse fans through it:

The Death of Baldur:
Baldur was plagued with dreams of an untimely death. So his mother, Frigg, in a desperate attempt to save him from such a demise, ventured to every nook and cranny of the Nine Realms, begging to all forms of life and matter, from the critters to the trees to the rocks to the weapons to even the air, to not harm her son and, having such respect for Baldur, they all agreed. With Baldur's newfound immunity all forms of harm and damage, the gods entertained themselves by throwing deadly weapons at him, knowing they won't hurt him.

However, Loki disguised himself as an old lady and learned that Frigg asked all but one thing to not harm her son; mistletoe, since it posed no threat to the gods. So with information in mind, Loki tricks Hodr, the blind God of Darkness, into shooting Baldur with a mistletoe arrow, killing him instantly. All had mourned the God of Light's death and Hermod rode into Helheim to ask Hel to give back Baldur's soul. Hel agreed to do so, as long as Hermod proves that all had grieved Baldur's death and all did just that. Unfortunately, Loki turned into a giant who refused to shed a tear for Baldur, tricking Hermod into thinking he had failed. And the death of Baldur lead to the three-year long Fimbulwinter, the prelude to Ragnarök.

As for Loki, he was condemned to be chained to a rock - the chains in question being the transformed entrails of his humans sons, Narfi and Vali - with a snake over his head, dripping venom on his face while his human wife, Sigyn, helped hold a bowl over him to catch the droplets.

Next Chapter: Back on Midgard to look for an ax, they run into some trouble with the clan of berserkers who kidnap Ming and Mei, forcing everyone to try and save them.

Next Update: April 25, 2023

Chapter 11: Wolves, Berserkers and Bears, Oh My!

Summary:

Back on Midgard to look for an ax, they run into some trouble with the clan of berserkers who kidnap Ming and Mei, forcing everyone to try and save them.

Notes:

C/W: Bear attack, injuries, physical violence

And it was back down to Midgard they all went with a protective spell by Freya to keep all of them warm while they were running through the snow. So while trying to get over the fact they were bringing a living severed head with them, the unfazed Elsa took her time to apprise Mímir of their situation and the crisis at hand.

 

"Helheim?!" Mímir cried in despair, horror-struck by the news. "Cripes almighty, whit's the lad doin' down there?!"

 

"Hel herself has got a hold of him." Elsa explained with worry.

 

"Pfft, Hel." The head spat with disdain. "I should'a known."

 

"Kris took off after he exploded at me and the gods when he found out about our past and Hel lured him down into her realm. We've had absolutely no way of getting him out of there ourselves. And that's why these mortals are going to Helheim or at least some of them." explained Thrúd straightforwardly.

 

"Aye, the realm of Helheim is unforgiving of livin' visitors." stated Mímir seriously. "While I me-self ahm not quite as sold on this plan as ye are, as we're allowin' Midgardians to trespass into the afterlife, suffice to say, it may sound crazy enough to work."

 

"I have no intention of entering the afterlife either." Wu spoke up, still getting used to the talking head.

 

"Neither am I." followed Mímir. "Ah will accompany you, but not to Helheim. Ah've had more than one to many of my fair share of misadventures and misfortunes in the land of the dead, thank ye."

 

"Fair." Roar shrugged. "Won't argue against that."

 

"So what are we looking for first?" asked Adam.

 

"An ax." Stig said, reading the list.

 

"Uh-huh." Chen nodded, looking all around. "And where are we supposed to find that around here?"

 

"Let me go ask an auld friend o' mine, if ye don't mind." Mímir suggested.

 

"Who?" asked Elsa.

 

"Jörmungandr."

 

"The Midgard Serpent?" asked Stig with an almost worried look.

 

"Don't worry, lad."

 

On the head's instructions, Thrúd took everyone on an east trail through the forest, which was heading straight to some kind of lookout at the top of a high cliff. About 60 flights of steps heading upward to a flat rocky surface that had a huge, lovely view of the giant mountains on the horizon and the forest and the snowy ground below.

 

Beside them was some kind of…giant horn. Used for one purpose and one purpose only.

 

To summon the Midgard Serpent.

 

Only Elsa, Thrúd (with Mímir attached to her hip), Roar, Rudolf and Stig stood on the vantage point together while the rest, having a bad feeling, decided to keep their distance by standing on the steps behind them.

 

"A'right, just put me lips to the horn." Mímir instructed.

 

"I'll do it." Stig said quickly, grabbing the talking head off of Thrúd before she could protest and lifted him up, holding Mímir's lips just close enough to where the mouthpiece of the larger-than-average instrument and licking his lips in preparation, the head blew into the horn.

 

A loud, deep and low baritone bellow erupted from the horn that roared into the valley before them all like a call to arms during battle.

 

A sound that surely rattled everyone to the bone.

 

What had followed next after that in seconds flat, was the distance sounds of rumbling up ahead. The giant formation up ahead of them slowly moved to reveal itself to be the giant body of a mountainous-sized serpentine monster. Stig recognized the looks of those scales anywhere. As the body moved in response to the horn's call, the head made itself known.

 

The head of the same giant beast he, Roar and Rudolf discovered when they first arrived in this world. And it took minutes for it to carefully and awkwardly approach the spot where he heard the call.

 

𝕵ö𝖗𝖒𝖚𝖓𝖌𝖆𝖓𝖉𝖗 (𝒪𝓁𝒹 𝒩𝑜𝓇𝓈𝑒: 𝕵ǫ𝖗𝖒𝖚𝖓𝖌𝖆𝖓𝖉𝖗, 𝒩𝑜𝓇𝒹𝒾𝒸: ᛃᛟᚱᛗᚢᚾᚷᚨᚾᛞᚱ), also known as the 𝕸𝖎𝖉𝖌𝖆𝖗𝖉/𝖂𝖔𝖗𝖑𝖉 𝕾𝖊𝖗𝖕𝖊𝖓𝖙, the bastard son of Loki and Angrboda; the giant Jötunn serpent beast who encircles Midgard and the brother of Fenrir and Hel, eyed the group from afar with curiosity, but thankfully, not hostility, malice or the intention to devour them whole. From his mouth, drifted through a series of low grumbling as his way of communicating. His eyes were of a light-orange eyes with vertical slit pupils and as it opened its giant mouth for a huge yawn after waking up, it revealed a row of conical sharp teeth inside both his upper and lower jaw, not to mention a disturbing and unnerving pair of hinged fangs on the roof of his upper jaw like a moray eel and his tongue was human-like instead of a forked one like a regular snake.

 

The boys were afraid - Rudolf was on the verge of messing himself again - but they kept it together since they had seen this gargantuan creature before. However, it took every miniscule fiber of everyone else's very willpower and being to not scream and run away in terror at the sight of the snake monster before them. This was far different than when Ming became kaiju-sized. Ming's red panda was as big as a skyscraper, but Jörmungandr?

 

He was as big as a goddamn mountain!

 

Perhaps even bigger.

 

How the hell does Angrboda give birth to something that huge?!

 

Ming, on the other hand, was practically shaking in her boots when it felt like Jörmungandr was staring directly into her soul with those slitted eyes of his. At that moment, a dread seized her and gripped her heart like how it did to all those people attending the 4*Town concert months ago when she attacked the arena. Made her wonder what would happen if her giant red panda went up against him. Probably wouldn't end well for her.

 

This must be what karma feels like if getting her ass kicked by Thor wasn't enough of a punishment.

 

"I…..I thought…that was a large, oddly-shaped boulder." Adam said shakily.

 

"Please try not to upset it!" Lily cried with fright. "I'd rather not be eaten by a giant snake monster!"

 

"Lily!" Everyone barked at her.

 

"'Him', not 'it'." Mímir corrected her, then Stig calmly stood near the edge, bravely facing the humongous reptilian monster without a shred of fear in him and raised the head of Mímir up to the beast.

 

"Okay, wish me luck." He said before letting out a howling call to get Jörmungandr's attention, then cleared his throat. "Yooooooooooor-mooooooooooo hin meeeeeeeeeee-meeeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrr."

 

Everyone looked at each other, bewildered by the odd language he was speaking.

 

A burst of hot, steamy wind blasted all right in the face, blowing hair back as the World Serpent growled and roared a seemingly incoherent and convoluted answer with more loud rumbles in apparently the similar language Mímir was using to communicate with him to state his case.

 

"Uuuuhhhhllll-guuuuuullll noooooo fwwwuuuuuurrrrrrrrr….!" said Jörmungandr.

 

"Ah've still got it, lads. He remembers me." Mímir grinned with relief.

 

"What is he even saying!?" Wu shouted toward him.

 

"Mother, shush!" Ming griped fiercely.

 

Mímir continued, uninterrupted.

 

"Lyoooooooooo-...no, that's not it." He corrected himself for a minute. "Ooooooohhhhhh-moooooottttt neeeeeee teeeeeeen grrrrrroooooo-faaaaaaaahhhhhh reee rin ruuuuuuuuuu-lyuuuuuuuuuuhhhhh aaaaaaaahhhhhhhh-zzzaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyy."

 

Jörmungandr stared unblinkingly, snorting through his nostrils, emitting clouds of steam. The serpent beast then slowly brought his head a little closer to them, which scared the sweet bejesus out of Rudolf who hollered with terror and ran away from Jörmungandr until Ping and Lily grabbed onto the scared boy and held onto him tightly and protectively like a pair of worried mothers.

 

Finally, the Midgard Serpent came out with…

 

"Krrrraaaaaaaa booooooon thrrrruuuuuummm-diiiiin ssssyyyyooooon moooooo-aaaaaddddddd…!"

 

And then he turned and slithered away from them, his head disappearing over the mountain range, but his long, scaled body still within sight.

 

"Phew, I thought he was gonna eat us." Rudolf breathed a sigh of relief.

 

"Maybe try not to freak out next time?" Lily asked of him.

 

"I wish I could promise that." He said with woe.

 

"Myrkviðr." Stig translated with an upwards-pointing eyebrow.

 

"Ye can understand 'im, laddie?" asked Mímir with surprise.

 

"I only got a third of what he said." Stig admitted.

 

"Myrkviðr?" Thrúd exclaimed, wide-eyed, unsheathing her sword. "Gadzooks, that's berserker territory! Lucky for you all, you've got a purebred Asgardian warrior with you. No one will dare cross paths with you while I'm around."

 

"Yeah, yeah. Just keep tooting your own horn. That'll definitely drive them away." Stig moaned with disinterest, walking away with Mímir.

 

Thrúd snorted at him with offense, but nudged it aside. The quest continued onward through more forest. Pass the trees and over hills, leaving tracks in the snow behind wherever they went.

 

"So what did the, uh…Norns say?" asked Tom to Elsa. "Are we really back in time?"

 

"Not really." Elsa explained, shrugging. "They said that this is all some kind of separate dimension that is parallel to our own, but it apparently stuck in ancient times and we had slipped in through one of the cracks back at the chamber we were in."

 

"Is there a way out, though?" asked Shan.

 

"Yeah, is there?" Ping asked along with him.

 

"Odin will have a way to get you back where you came from." Thrúd stepped in before Elsa could answer. "But let's worry about Kris first."

 

"She's right." Mei nodded in agreement. "I'm not going home without Kris."

 

"Neither am I." Elsa added.

 

"Ye all have such bold confidence, if ah do say so mahself." Mímir complimented. "That is t' say that if Hel is willin' to negotiate. She's been known as an unmovable force at best."

 

"Is there any particular reason why Kris would enter Helheim at all?" Roar wanted to know for sure.

 

"Can't say so for certain, laddie. However, Hel, as nihilistic as she is, is able t' see when a person loses their will t' live. A desire to end it all. And when they do, it gives her the advantage she needs to draw them into her realm like flies t' dead, rotting flesh."

 

Mei's mouth went dry and lost track of the rate her heartbeat picked up. When the thought entered her brain, it refused to leave no matter how much she attempted.

 

The chilling and heartbreaking thought that Kris has become suicidal and jaded.

 

No, she can't think that way. This wouldn't slow her progress. She wasn't going to let such crippling thoughts like this keep her from freeing her friend and her crush from the afterlife, even if she dies trying.

 

Minutes turned into hours as they urged onward, following Thrúd's lead through the woods. Nothing but the forest all around. No sign of an ax anywhere or even any human civilization. But the boys, no matter how far they kept going or wherever they were headed, kept getting plagued by a weird sense that they were may or may be something out there to get them, waiting for the right moment to strike. What else could be living down here in Midgard that could have a dangerous disposition and a hunger for human blood other than the bear they ran into?

 

Trolls? Ogres? Goblins? Maybe there were dragons after all?

 

The only positive notion they had that could alleviate their worries was Thrúd herself. The daughter of the mighty Thor and a formidable Asgardian warrior with much prowess and melee combative flair at her disposal who would be a challenge to any danger they come across. And bonus, she had godly powers (which they have yet to see) and deadly swords, so that's a given.

 

"Shhh! Quiet!" Thrúd whispered and stopped everyone dead in their tracks when she looked ahead.

 

The three boys felt the cold chill their bodies and freeze their blood when they saw it as well a meter away from where they were standing. Everyone had to keep quiet and still as it entered their viewpoint.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

The bear.

 

It was the same black bear that attacked the boys when it intruded in its cave uninvited.

 

Luckily, it was sleeping on a giant log over a frozen creek in the wintry forest, snoozing softly away, the tall and dark form of its body lifting and lowering with each snore. So everyone needed to try and sneak around it so that they don't accidentally wake it up.

 

Bear attacks were no picnic.

 

Thrúd motioned a few of the group to carefully and quietly move off the trail they were on so they could avoid stirring the wild animal awake since she, too, is aware of the threat it posed to the humans when provoked. Each of the Lees, the Bengtssons and the Andersons took one side at a time through the snow, doing their very best to keep their footsteps as silent as possible. They needed to thank their lucky stars that the bear isn't hungry for food right now.

 

Or worse, high under the influence.

 

Stig, Roar and Rudolf went a little further ahead from them since their last encounter with the bear was an experience neither wanted to relive. The party, thankfully, kept a safe distance from the sleeping predator and it stayed asleep the whole time. So far, so good.

 

CRACK!

 

…until…all had stopped in place like statues.

 

Rudolf didn't see where he was stepping and wound up walking into a loose branch on the ground with a stick-like branch sticking up from it and when he tripped on it, the branch snapped off….creating a loud crack that echoed in the air.

 

Upon hearing it, the bear snorted with confusion and opened one eye.

 

Their hearts stopped for a moment and stayed still, trying to remain still. But then the bear started to stir itself awake, starting to let out snarling sounds from being awoken.

 

Again!

 

Everyone took this as a sign to get the hell out of there before the bear noticed them. No longer walking, but now they picked up the face to get further and further away as soon as it started picking up their scent and slowly and threateningly turned its head in the direction they went with a furious expression and a snarl, baring his drooling canines.

 

The group stopped at a spot to catch their breath and take a solid moment to get over the trepidation they felt. However, Stig then glared deeply at Rudolf for the foolishness of nearly getting them caught.

 

"Thanks, pal." Stig told Rudolf sarcastically.

 

"You're welcome, buddy. I was super scared, myself." He said obliviously.

 

Stig smiled with a fake grin and then poked both his eyes with fury, making him wail.

 

"Ow!"

 

"You idiot!" snarled Stig about to punch him in the face, but then Helen and Adam came forth and separated the two to keep them from fighting.

 

"Hey, hey, hey! Woah, you two! There's no need for that!" Adam chastised them.

 

"Yeah, it's okay. We're okay." Helen told them all gently. "We're safe now. The bear is nowhere to be seen."

 

Unfortunately for her, she is quickly proven wrong when all of the sudden without warning, the enraged bear had caught up with them and then caught them by the element of surprise by tacking Jin to the ground, holding him with his claws and roared loudly in his face as he looked terrified for his life. That large mouth stretched open wide enough to swallow his whole head and those teeth looked sharp enough to rip his flesh apart easily.

 

"DAD!"

 

"JIN!" Ming screamed with horror, then went into immediate red panda mode to knock that bear off of him. Although stunned, the bear returned to his feet and snarled back at her.

 

Then he growled, swiping his claws at her with blinding speed, agility and dexterity for such a massive, stocky animal of his body structure. Even though Ming, in her panda form, dodged each deadly swipe, the bear managed to get a few strikes in, scratching at her furry body and making her tumble to the ground before he bit at her arm with his sharp teeth, making her wail with agony.

 

"Mom!" Mei became a panda as well and pulled at the bear's feet to get him off her mother and predator relinquished its hold on Ming's arm.

 

Then that's when Adam stepped in, putting his own survival skills as a soldier to good use for just this jumped right onto the bear's back, creaming with determination and grabbed at his throat. This sudden action angered and confused the bear, though he started flailing all around to try and knock Adam off, but he kept a tight grip on him like a rodeo clown. Everyone watched with fear for Adam's life and fearfully tried to decide whether to help him out or not.

 

Thrúd, however, pulled out her sword and got in position, ready for a fight.

 

After putting up much of a struggle, the bear finally managed to loosen Adam's hold on him and reared his head around and snatch at his leg with his teeth and throw him off him like a cheap old ragdoll right at Ping and Wu and striking them both down with him like a couple of bowling pins.

 

"Hey!" Thrúd yelled for the bear's attention and held up her sword high up above her head threateningly.

 

But this only angered the bear even more as he charged straight at her with another frightening roar, but the Asgardian girl jumped right into the air just as it zeroed in on her, doing an athletic flip and landing with a perfect pose on the ground. The bear ended up running straight into a tree, his fury blinding it and distracting it, causing it to face-first into the trunk and impressively enough making it lean to the side from the impact with huge strength especially for what seems like an ordinary bear.

 

Everyone instinctively backed away from the scene, scared out of their shorts while Rudolf dropped to the ground and did exactly what do when faced with a black bear. Lay flat on your stomach on the ground, hands and arms covering your head and knees straightened and apart.

 

The bear recovered, shaking his head and turned around dangerously, snarling at them all, red panda Ming stepping in front of Jin and Mei to keep them safe. Elsa remained still and did nothing to aggravate it any further and remembered that fighting the black bear is no way to fend off its attack.

 

Stig, however, bravely stepped forward and held its arm up in surrender, trying to come off as non-threatening to the apex predator.

 

"What are you doing?! She'll kill you!" Wu screamed at him with horror.

 

"Just stay calm. Just stay calm. Just stay calm." Stig panted and whispered to himself in a mantra, then got to his knees on the ground.

 

Even though the bear was still in defense mode, it nonetheless approached the goth boy, who lowered his arms. Then the bear came close until his snout was right in Stig's face, much to the group's worry. His nose sniffed him, inspecting him more closely and then the bear's expression started to soften up, now calming down.

 

Stig stared deeply and longingly into his eyes, locking eye contact and keeping a cool head.

 

Finally, what felt like forever, the bear snorted and turned away from the boy, lumbering away from the group and marching off, disappearing into the forest.

 

A huge wave of relief flooded them all.

 

Elsa rushed to her son as did Roar, Mei and Rudolf, helping him back to his feet. Ming turned to normal and then she whipped right around to face her husband with worry, checking for any injuries while also cradling her injured arm and seeing only tiny scratch marks on her side; her panda hide didn't really protect her that much.

 

"That bear almost killed me." He whimpered, then his wife embraced him, having been scared for his life. Mei embraced him as well.

 

"It's okay, it's gone now, hon." She assured him and kissed his cheek.

 

"Your arm." Jin pounded at the bleeding bite wound on his wife's arm from the attack. Then Thrúd stepped in, pulling out some wraps.

 

"I got you." She said comfortingly, wrapping the cloth around Ming's arm. "Never leave Asgard without being prepared."

 

"Thank you." smiled Mei.

 

"Are you okay?" Elsa cried worriedly, checking Stig as well.

 

"I'm fine, mom."

 

"That's the first time I've ever seen a black bear in Norway." Elsa exclaimed, knowing that most bears in her home country are brown-furred and she had never seen one that was black before.

 

"What was that, boy?" Wu demanded.

 

"Never engage a black bear in a straight-up fight." He could only say for future preference, of course. "Stay perfectly calm."

 

"Well, now we know!" complained Wu. "And this is why I always hated going camping out in the woods!"

 

"Oh stifle it, Wu." Elsa rolled her eyes. "At least we're still alive."

 

Helen rushed over to Adam's side and got a look at the bite marks on his foot. Thankfully, they weren't severe enough, but still needed to be tended to. She helped him reach into his emergency health kit to help fix him up.

 

"That was very brave, but also incredibly stupid." Helen told him, both impressed and sternly. "You could've been seriously hurt. What if that bear had mauled you to death?"

 

"Babe, I'm a soldier. I've been trained for these kinds of situations." insisted Adam and winced when she applied the rubbing alcohol to his wounds.

 

"Ex-soldier, remember?" corrected Helen.

 

"Ain't the first I've wrangled a bear."

 

"Ever fought a bear that big before?" Helen furrowed her eyebrow at him.

 

"Uh, big mother and father bears, but not that big." Adam admitted with defeat, to which Helen made a knowing face before getting the roll of gauze bandage out. Helen then planted a soothing smooch on his lips.

 

"Just don't scare me like that again." She whispered.

 

"So was that the bear you guys ran into earlier?" Mei asked the boys.

 

"Yeah. That's the same one. I recognize the exact body shape." nodded Roar frantically. "It almost got Rudolf."

 

"And it was just about to get me again! What else could go wrong?" asked Rudolf.

 

Then all of the sudden, cloaked figures sprung out of nowhere, from out of the bushes and down from high branches in the trees, the same bearskin-covered wildmen that they ran into before caught them all by surprise just as the bear did, each of the feral tribesmen grabbing onto each and everyone with inhuman strength, holding them to the ground and aiming their sharp weapons at them, forcing them not to move for any reason whatsoever.

 

Each of them were held in a position to keep them from moving a single muscle or else the wild men would surely paint the white snow red with their blood. Even poor Thrúd was forced to the ground. Not even her own strength was enough to get the maniacs off of them for they were each individually as strong as she was, if not stronger.

 

"Sorry. I jinxed it." winced Rudolf.

 

"Berserkers." She growled.

 

"Silence, bitch!" One of them ordered, aiming a spear at her face in plain English.

 

"I thought we told you folks to stay away from our territory." said Bödvar Bjarki, the leader of the berserker hunting party, the same one from before who had ordered the Lees to leave their land.

 

"Hey, we understood you." Jin pointed out.

 

Thrúd realized that this must've been Freya's doing. Perhaps she added another spell to break down the language barrier, allowing everyone to understand the native language of the locals, just to avoid any awkward miscommunications or misunderstandings.

 

"Yes, now shut up!" Bödvar ordered angrily. "I warned you to stay away, to never come back. But now you've crossed the line. Do you know what happens to wayward simpletons like you who come meandering into our lands? Nothing good, that's what. Expect no more civility from us from now on."

 

"Now wait a second." Mei begged as her hands were being gripped tightly behind her back. "We didn't mean to trespass! We were just looking for an ax, that's all!"

 

"An ax, huh?" mused Bödvar with a firm face. "To what? To kill us with? Huh? Is that it?"

 

"No! You got it all wrong!" Mei said before getting punched in the face.

 

"I said shut up!"

 

That did it for Ming for she then poofed into a giant red panda, knocking the berserkers holding her down and rising to her face before coming face-to-face with the berserker leader, baring her teeth and her claws to intimate him and the rest. Bödvar only backed away as she charged right up to him.

 

"Oh no." Stig groaned.

 

"You mess with my daughter, you mess with me, you fucker!" Ming roared into his face. "And nobody messes with my family! Ever!"

 

No reply or reaction.

 

POW!

 

Only a solid good punch to the face by Bödvar right into Ming's face, which was powerful enough to knock the woman right out cold as she flopped straight onto the ground, unconscious and returned to human form as a result. Everyone cried out in vain for her.

 

"We'll see how well you fare against the great one." The lead berserker said blankly.

 

"Oh, no you don't!" Mei screamed with fury before becoming a panda herself, shoving the men off of her and attacking Bödvar to fend him off on her own.

 

"Mei, wait!"

 

"Mei, stop!"

 

But Mei ignored everyone's pleas as she clawed at the wild man, but he grabbed at her paws, kicked her in the stomach and headbutted her really hard, knocking her out as well. And just like Ming, she was back to normal in less than a second.

 

"No!" Jin screamed helplessly.

 

"On second thought, take them both." Bödvar ordered, returning to his feet. "As for the rest of you, stay away or else you will join them and we won't hesitate to kill each and every one of you."

 

Everyone could do nothing but watch as the unconscious Ming and Mei were both tied up and carried away by the band of berserkers, who then let them all go. And as they carried the hostage women away on their shoulders, the helplessness turned into horror and merged with worry for their lives, wondering what they could do to them.

 

However, Wu tried to run after the maniac wild men in bear pelts to save her daughter and granddaughter by herself, only to be grabbed by Thrúd and held back by both her and Jin.

 

"Let go of me! They have my daughter and granddaughter!" She wailed, trying to fight her way out of their grip.

 

"Wu, stop! They'll kill you if you try to stop them!" Jin reasoned with her.

 

"They just took your wife and daughter and you're just gonna do nothing?!"

 

"We aren't!" Thrúd told her seriously. "There's no point going up against a berserker in a straight-up fight. I've tried that before and not even I was a match for them. If we're going to save them, we need to be smart about this."

 

"How?!" Lily shouted. "What are we gonna do?!"

 

"They almost killed me!" Rudolf complained with a nearly scarred expression.

 

"We're just gonna have to try and sneak them out without any of the berserkers noticing." Thrúd suggested. "Their camp is just a mile from here northwest. But first, let's find some sticks and rocks to make something useful out of them."

 

"Are you serious?" asked Stig, baffled and not getting it.

 

"I'm an excellent builder. I'll see if I can make something to help you break them out. Now get to work. We don't have much time."

 

"I can't believe this!" Wu balked and ranted, going red panda mode. "My daughter and granddaughter have been nagged by those unruly fiends and you're wasting our time with this absurd nonsense! Why, oh, why did I ever insist on coming along on this trip in the first place!? In fact, why didn't I convince Ming to not go on this trip at all?! Now two of my family members are in danger and probably gonna get mercilessly slaughtered like pigs and you didn't do your part in protecting us! I'm dirty, I'm covered in snow-!"

 

"Are you done yet?" Stig deadpanned. "No, seriously, are you done?"

 

"Excuse me?!"

 

"Then shut the fuck up and let's get to work already."

 

"Hey! That is NO way to speak to a grownup, mister!"

 

"Wu, just leave it!" Jin pushed her back away from him, desperate to get Ming and Mei back alive. "Let's just hurry up and worry about trying to save them while we still can!"

 

"Hmm, fine!"

 

They still didn't understand how this would work, but they reluctantly agreed to go along with it for Ming and Mei's sake at least. They split up into a couple of groups, spreading around the area to sniff around for some rocks and sticks, anything huge and can be used for a blunt armament. Scrambling around, a few long branches here and some heavy rocks there, they did specifically as they were instructed. Stig was partnered up with Roar and Rudolf as usual, but while on his little search, he ended up veering blindly off away from the group until he was just far enough away for them to not see him.

 

As he lifted his head up from the ground, he had no idea where the hell he even was and he couldn't see the others anywhere.

 

But then he heard a low, familiar growl inches away from where he stood off to his right side. Stig gasped and nearly jumped when he heard it and whipped his head into the direction where it was coming from and he blanched white when he did, feeling his heart run a marathon in his chest.

 

The giant wolf was sitting there on the ground a meter away from him. The same monster wolf that attacked them at the farmhouse.

 

𝕱𝖊𝖓𝖗𝖎𝖗 (𝒩𝑜𝓇𝒹𝒾𝒸: ᚠᛖᚾᚱᛁᚱ), also known as 𝕱𝖊𝖓𝖗𝖎𝖘ú𝖑𝖋𝖗, 𝕳𝖗óð𝖛𝖎𝖙𝖓𝖎𝖗 and 𝖁á𝖓𝖆𝖌𝖆𝖓𝖉𝖗, the bastard son of Loki and Angrboda, brother of Hel and Jörmungandr and the father of the wolves, Sköll and Hati Hróðvitnisson was staring directly at him with those demonic, haunting and bone-chilling eyes of his, practicality searing a burning hole into Stig's soul with that judgmental stare that could be beheld by the Devil himself. The giant wild and feral mongrel panted, snorted and snarled.

 

It felt like an eternity before the voice came through, his sentence coming out piecemeal, brokenly.

 

"Take another step forward…and I'll tear you…apart." He warned dangerously. "But don't….fear me….too much."

 

Stig finally calmed him down, but kept his guard up in case the wolf tried to lunge at him and bite his head off.

 

"Who are you?" He asked.

 

"I am….Fenrir." The wolf vocalized with that hoarse, grunty voice of his. "And you….whoever you are….are here for the boy….Kris Bengtsson."

 

"Yeah." Stig nodded. "What did you mean? When you said his time was coming?"

 

"I was…warning you." grunted the massive wolf.

 

"You could've just said that and not try to kill us!" Stig complained.

 

"I am….a wolf, boy…it's just what I do…I can't….control it sometimes." Fenrir explained between his growls.

 

"That's a dangerous statement." remarked Stig.

 

Fenrir let out what absolutely sounded like a maniacal cackle from that jagged-toothed mouth and it made Stig glare at him, thinking the wolf was now mocking him with that laugh.

 

"How simple….who humans are."

 

"Yeah, thanks." The goth snorted.

 

"And I see…that you've met….my brother." said Fenrir. "He won't be…..very much help…..Too busy…chasing his own tail…..around Midgard."

 

"Look, I don't have time for this, okay?" Stig told him impatiently. "There's two people we need to help right now."

 

"Oh, yes." Fenrir hissed in acknowledgement, then stood up and took wide strides toward the boy, still staring into his soul with that chilling gaze. Stig boldly stood his ground. "...and you're…looking to save…your brother…from my sister."

 

"Or die trying."

 

"Heh." Fenrir laughed jeeringly. "And I wish you…the best of luck….with that, Falkenberg."

 

With nothing else to say to Stig, the wolf turned away to the left and then galloped away into the forest away from the boy, vanishing deep into the trees while Stig just watched the hairy beast scamper off, nearly amazed that Fenrir hadn't tried to kill him right now and he was lucky that he didn't. He may have been a child of Loki, but that didn't truly make him a threat - outside of his wild and carnivorous tendencies as an apex predator, that is.

 

And his words that had spoken from back at the farmhouse that night when he had attacked them. Was he truly trying to warn them of an imminent fate that was sure to befell Kris soon? And now that he thought of it, Stig probably can't blame Fenrir for letting his feral proclivities take over.

 

Animals are what they are and how they are is in their nature after all.

 

And now Stig also wondered how the wolf was able to reach them in the real world in the first place.

 

"Stig!" Elsa's voice called from him in the distance, snapping him out of his thoughts and he took off in that direction, salvaging and taking all what he had found.

 

---

 

𝙈𝙔𝙍𝙆𝙑𝙄Ð𝙍
𝘽𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙠𝙚𝙧 𝙏𝙚𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮

 

How were Ming and Mei doing, you may ask?

 

Answer: Not so good.

 

Deep within the berserker compound, the captive two women were held up tight in a large wooden longhouse, both chained up by their ankles to the walls and the hut was locked up good and tight to keep the two hostages from escaping. They've already tried using their red pandas to try and escape, but the increased size of their panda bodies only seemed to make the restraints around their ankles enlarge according to their size and they didn't even break.

 

Those berserkers must be practitioners of magic themselves, because no matter how hard they fought and struggled against their restraints, they just won't budge. So all they could do now was sit across from each other from one wall to the other, both equally upset of their predicament.

 

"Well, isn't this a fine mess." Mei replied sarcastically, resting on the hay-covered ground in angry defeat.

 

"Could be worse." Her mother noted.

 

"How?" said the daughter back to her. "How can it be worse?"

 

"I…I don't know. Just trying to boost morale." Ming sighed, having nothing.

 

"Well, thanks for getting us both into this, by the way." said Mei snarkily, crossing her arms.

 

"I beg your pardon? This isn't my fault!" scoffed Ming.

 

"Oh, yes it is." Mei snapped. "You just had to piss those guys off with your red panda."

 

"They hurt you, Mei!" Ming argued back, now getting upset by her daughter's accusations. "I wasn't going to take that lying down!"

 

"I'm a big girl! I think I can handle getting punched in the face!"

 

"It's my job as your mother to look after you!"

 

"You can't look after me forever! I have to look after myself eventually!"

 

"You're not ready for that! I know you aren't!"

 

"I'll decide if I'm ready or not!"

 

"OH, NO, YOU WON'T!"

 

They both rose to their feet, standing face-to-face, firing insults back and forth in each other's faces. The two scowling, howling and raging women were so caught up in their heated argument that they didn't even care they both panda'd out in front of each other in the process, due to their ignited fury towards one another.

 

BANG! BANG! BANG!

 

A resounding, three-note pounding at the doors shut them both up, at last putting an end to their ongoing screaming match. And then a roar of annoyance erupted from the other end.

 

"Shut the fuck up in there, ladies!"

 

Mei and Ming both stood in stunned silence and took a moment to calm themselves down, their red pandas poofing out of existence and they sat back down. Though, Mei turned away from her mother, pouting.

 

"Thanks for having my back, but maybe you should at least think first before you act. That way, you can avoid incidents like Devon." Mei told her seriously and sternly.

 

The reminder of that time at the Daisy Mart where she yelled at Devon and accused him of having his way with her daughter in front of everyone flashed through Ming's mind when her daughter mentioned that without hesitation.

 

"Yeah, looking back now, that probably wasn't the smartest course of action." winced Ming.

 

"Exactly. Now he's been fired from his job and everyone thinks he's a child molester. So way to go on that one." Mei retorted, still averting eye contact.

 

Her mother sighed sadly.

 

Her daughter had a good point. Trying to protect her was understandable and admirable at best, but she needed to be less impulsive in doing so. Devon and Kris were two prime examples of her rash thinking and behavior, with Kris being the worst one of the two. A part of her wanted to try and patch things up with Devon and help him get his job back, but the rational part of her brain knew for a fact that it was already too late for that.

 

And thinking back to Tyler's party made her tingle; sure, Mei snuck out to go to a party. Sure, she had been lying to her and exploiting her red panda without her consent or knowledge behind her back just to go to the 4*Town concert, even after she told her no. But it wasn't uncommon for kids her age to start rebelling against their parents to pave their own path for a change. And Mei was only having fun with her besties and having a good time with Kris.

 

If only she was able to realize that sooner and allowed Kris to keep his job.

 

If only she hadn't jumped to conclusions without thinking of the repercussions.

 

If only…if only she hadn't insulted him like some highschool bully and slapped him in the face.

 

"You could've said something, you know." Ming spoke, breaking the sudden silence between them.

 

"Huh? What do you mean?" Her daughter asked, but only turning her head just a bit to her left and only slightly facing her.

 

"Back at Tyler's party." Ming elaborated. "When I was giving your friends an earful and tearing Kris a new one. You could've said something then, but you didn't. I mean, you would've saved Kris the trouble if you had spoken up about your red panda hustle a lot sooner. Then maybe I wouldn't have fired Kris."

 

"I know." Mei huffed with stinging eyes. "And I've regretted that decision day and night. Sometimes I've cried myself to sleep, wondering why I didn't defend them, why I let them take the fall. But do you know why I didn't, though?"

 

"...no?" Ming was afraid for the answer, because she had a good feeling of what its context would be.

 

Mei turned right around to look her mother dead in the eye, making her wince when she did.

 

"Because you expect me to be someone else. And it's not just about the red panda." She raved bombastically with a heavy heart. "You expect me to be this flawless, little miss goody-two-shoes, know-it-all mannequin, this overachieving, over-accomplishing and overcommitted robot ready to obey your every command, ready to content with your every need. It's always what you want me to do, who you want me to be. Someone who has to remain with you and be your eternal cuddle buddy forever, forced to live up to these impossible, headache-inducing expectations of yours and forced to be obsessed with acing every pop quiz, winning every competition and succeeding at everything. Because it really bothers you to think that your perfect little girl is growing up with wants and needs of her own. The pressure I've dealt with trying to appease you and the fear of disappointing you, of losing your love, your respect and your approval held me back."

 

Ming wanted to argue against all that, but she knew deep down that not every square inch of that whole monologue was 100% false. It wasn't just because she was afraid for her daughter when she got her red panda and the dangers and disadvantaged that often came with it, but because Ming has been trying to instill a perfect image in her little girl, to shape and mold her into something she wanted, but she never once asked Mei what she wanted.

 

Her daughter loved 4*Town (even though Ming still didn't understand why they were called that since there were five of them), she loved gyrating, liked boys (she was going through puberty after all), loved spending time with her best friends and Kris most of all.

 

"Not only that, but you never liked my friends to begin with. You couldn't handle me being in the same room as them, not even Miriam. Need I remind you that you called her 'weird' once? And you definitely hated Kris. You've hated him from the day you first saw me with him. And you never enjoyed him working for you."

 

"I never said I hated him!" barked Ming in defense.

 

"You didn't need to." Mei shook her head. "The expressions, the body language, the snide comments and insults already made it pretty obvious. Besides, you probably would've fired Kris either way."

 

Yet another good point.

 

Even if Mei did step up and confess to being the mastermind of the red panda hustle months ago, admitting that it was all her idea, chances are that Ming probably still would've fired Kris regardless, seeing as how overprotective she was of Mei.

 

"Mei, I know I've been difficult for you to deal with, but you shouldn't have to be so hard on yourself and if I taught you that,….I'm sorry."

 

It didn't work, though.

 

Her daughter just frowned at her, unimpressed and turned back around, facing away from her once again like before.

 

"That's not good enough, is it?" Mei hissed, crossing her arms again.

 

Ming sighed, having expected that cold response.

 

The nature of her past actions had caused far more emotional and psychological damage for the both of them and others in the process. The scars left in their wake were far too severe, so she knew a simple 'I'm sorry' wasn't going to cut it. Simultaneously, they both wondered if the others were gonna try and rescue them soon.

 

Though, they better do it fast. Who knows what these barbarians will do to them if they're not fast enough.

 

---

 

Each of them were finally at the berserker compound just outside the wooden outer barrier. They're just lucky that nobody saw them. With Thrùd's developed craftsmanship, the sticks and stones were made into some strong tools that can be used to break chains since she had a feasible inkling that the berserkers had Ming and Mei chained up.

 

"Oh, this is a fantastic plan." Wu nagged quietly. "Just jump in there and with a bunch of sticks and rocks."

 

"Then what do you suggest we do? Run around screaming their names?" Elsa said back to her.

 

"I suggest we use our pandas." said Wu.

 

"Oh, now you want us to use them?" Ping retorted.

 

"It's only to help get my Ming and my granddaughter out of there alive!" hissed Wu, persistent.

 

"Shhh!" Thrúd shushed them all, reminding them that the berserkers will overhear them. Then she gave the tools to only Elsa, Stig, Roar and Rudolf. "I've been here before, rescuing poor captives from these animals and if I'm correct, the longhouse where they're being held is just behind here. So try to get in and get them out as quickly as you can. And don't let them catch you."

 

"You're letting them go in?!" Wu balked. "What happens if they catch them?!"

 

"We're just gonna have to be smart about it." said Elsa matter-of-factly.

 

"Ok, but be careful, please." Chen begged of them.

 

"We'll do our best." said Roar a bit too confidently.

 

"Please bring my girls back." Jin said to Elsa with hands on her shoulder.

 

"We will, okay? But if something goes wrong, then try to panda us out of there." Elsa instructed gently.

 

"Remember, now. Those berserkers won't be too strong t' deal with if they don't see it comin'. So try to catch 'em by the element o' surprise." instructed Mímir.

 

"Ready?" Thrúd asked them, locking her hands together by the fingers and lowering them to the ground, ready to hoist the four over the fence.

 

Roar went first.

 

The daughter of Thor used her impressive strength to yeet the boy over the fence and he landed with a thud on the roof of the longhouse, which was the bilge of a giant boat.

 

Stig went next and then Rudolf and finally, they were joined by Elsa and all four of them were laying on their bellies on the rooftop, then carefully peered over the edge to get a good look at their surroundings, the entire clan base with a few other berserkers who seemed to be preparing something meters away, but now wasn't the time to be thinking about it.

 

"Obviously, you can't tell your parents about all this." Elsa reminded Roar and Rudolf, who both nodded.

 

All four of them dropped down from the longhouse from the back, then snuck around the side, quietly and sneakily, while staying flat against the wall. Then the nimble Elsa with the most caution, peered around the side to see two berserkers guarding the entrance. This didn't look like it was going to be easy. They needed a plan.

 

So Elsa grabbed a barrel and threw it to get the two guards attention. It worked, but only one of them decided to go investigate while the other watched the door. The four ran to the back of the longhouse and lured the berserker guard right around the back away from any prying eyes and with some teamwork and the help of their tools, they knocked him out cold. Then Elsa took his bearskin and his armor to disguise herself before heading over to the guard's post and knocked the other guy out with the armament she had.

 

"Come on!" She whisper-yelled to the boys while grabbing the keys off the unconscious guard.

 

Unlocking the door, Elsa went in first and almost scared the life out of the two Lee women inside with her disguise before revealing herself. The boys marched inside soon after.

 

"Elsa? Thank god!" Mei exhaled with relief that they finally came to save them.

 

"Took you long enough!" snarled Ming.

 

"Shut up." Elsa hissed back, getting to work on those tools to try to get the annoying restraints off them. Elsa was working on Ming's chain while Stig and Roar held Mei with hers.

 

"Did they do….anything to you guys?" Roar asked frightfully.

 

"No, they just threw us in here and chained us up like zoo animals." Mei answered simply.

 

"Maybe try not to antagonize a group of wild men with deadly weapons that can kill you next time." Stig spat with disdain.

 

"Oh, it's like you know more about these situations than we do." said Ming back to him with a glare.

 

"Do you see chains on me?" The dark-haired teen spat at her. "Yeah, I didn't think so."

 

"You guys are just lucky you were able to even get here at all." Mei spoke up, breaking up the incoming argument. "They'll probably be back in any minute to get us."

 

"Funny you should mention that." said Roar. "We saw them preparing for something. Not sure what, but I'm not waiting to find out."

 

Finally with an insane amount of luck, the tools helped wonders. They managed to get the restraints off their ankles and the women felt great relief at having them off at last. Ming was much more ready to get out of the compound and far away from those berserkers who captured her and her daughter as she haphazardly made a break for the door.

 

"Come on, let's go!" She cried as the others tried to stop her.

 

But she was too desperate for sweet freedom to listen and Ming had already flung open the door, but stopped dead in her tracks whens he did. Everyone rushed to her side and all had done exactly as she just did - halt in place right before the open entrance because the sight had iced their blood and eliminated every shred of hope they previously had before this very moment.

 

A plethora of sharp and pointy spear tips staring at them from all angles and stopping them from going any further.

 

Right before them all, about a dozen berserkers stood menacingly and threateningly aiming their weapons at them, keeping them from escaping and forcing them not to dare move a single muscle or they'll be digging a bigger hole for themselves.

 

Looks like they weren't as dumb as they thought they were.

 

"Oh, that's just great." Ming bewailed, groaning in irritation.

 

And before they all knew it…..all of them were forced onto a wooden platform, tied up to three large effigies constructed from big or small branches, held together with ropes and some form of natural adhesive like tree sap and bear skulls on the top for the heads. Ming and Stig were tied together (much to their chagrin), Elsa and Roar and Mei and Rudolf. The spine-tingling silent audience of berserkers surrounded them all with an unnerving sea of expectant gazes like they were ready for something to happen.

 

"This is very great." Ming complained some more.

 

"Oh, shut up." grunted Stig.

 

"I mean, if you all had gotten here a lot sooner…."

 

"Shut up."

 

"...maybe then we all would've been free as birds."

 

"Shut. Up."

 

"But now here we are tied to these…giant art projects about to be-"

 

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" Stig roared at her, now furiously kicking her in the legs, sick and tired of listening to her complain.

 

"Ow! Stop kicking me!"

 

THUD!

 

The abrupt strike of the butt end of a staff directly in front of them all, silenced them both and forced their attention on an older gentleman standing before them all with a long, gray-white bushy beard, a blackened wool cloak with long, wide sleeves and burning glassy eyes. By the general looks of this geezer, the role he must play in this clan must be the chieftain.

 

Getting a good look at the specimens held captive against the effigies with either malice or curiosity. Aiming his cold viewpoint at one duo to the other one-by-one, each of them shrinking under his gaze. And the same expression painted the features of every other berserker surrounding them all. Whatever they were planning to do with them, there was a 50/50 chance that it wasn't just to put them on display in front of a huge audience for sure.

 

With a low grunt, the elder closed the distance between himself and the hostages only by a couple inches, making them all more uncomfortable and disconcerted.

 

"A-Are you gonna hurt us?" asked Rudolf.

 

After a few dead seconds, he finally croaked out an answer with a deep, scratchy voice.

 

"No."

 

They almost tried to hold back a collective sigh of relief.

 

"That is not for us to decide…yet."

 

…and the icy terror returned when he said that.

 

"We'll let him be the judge of that."

 

"Uh, him?" asked Elsa, scared shitless.

 

"Open the gates!" The elder berserker chief, Hrólf Kraki, screamed to his subordinates from behind him, for right in front of everyone, the two giant entrance doors leading into the camp were being pulled wide open, revealing the wild woodland outside as the entire crowd slowly, but surely started to chant and stomp the ground in a synchronized fashion.

 

"What…what's going on?" asked Elsa.

"Trespassers like you are never welcome." said Chief Hrólf. "However, our lord shall decide your fate. If he senses no evil within you, then you'll be free to walk your merry way."

 

As he turned to walk away, Mei was afraid to ask, but was compelled to do so either way.

 

"And…if he does?"

 

"You die."

 

Widened eyes conveyed the extreme horror everyone felt.

 

But they were sure that there was no evil in them for them to deserve a grisly fate. As everyone continued their simultaneous stomping, they all chanted one thing into their air toward the open entrance.

 

"Björn! Björn! Björn!"

 

"Björn?" asked Ming, confused.

 

However, Elsa and Stig's eyes grew even wider when they both remembered the English translation of that word.

 

"Oh no…" moaned Elsa.

 

The stomping ceased.

 

The bone-chilling sounds that came next were from outside.

 

Giant paws slumping against the snow-covered ground, approaching the exit until he made himself known to the crowd. From out of the wilderness beyond and from behind the wall on the right…

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

"No way." Stig groaned.

 

"You gotta be kidding me." Mei whinged.

 

"Not this guy again." sighed Roar.

 

Yes.

 

It was the exact same great black bear from before, facing them once more for the third time with the same hungry, inspecting look in his eyes.

 

𝕭𝖏ö𝖗𝖓 (𝒪𝓁𝒹 𝒩𝑜𝓇𝓈𝑒: 𝕭𝖏ǫ𝖗𝖓, 𝒩𝑜𝓇𝒹𝒾𝒸: ᛒᛃᛟᚱᚾ), also known as 𝕭𝖏ø𝖗𝖓, 𝕭𝖊𝖔𝖗𝖓 or 𝖁áð𝖎, the 𝙽𝚘𝚛𝚜𝚎 𝙳𝚎𝚖𝚒𝚐𝚘𝚍 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙷𝚞𝚗𝚝, 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚆𝚒𝚕𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚜, 𝙷𝚞𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛, 𝚂𝚊𝚕𝚟𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗, 𝚁𝚎𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚋𝚞𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗, 𝚂𝚞𝚛𝚟𝚒𝚟𝚊𝚕, 𝚆𝚒𝚕𝚍𝚕𝚒𝚏𝚎, 𝚁𝚊𝚐𝚎, 𝙱𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚍𝚕𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙳𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛, 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙿𝚊𝚝𝚛𝚘𝚗 𝚂𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙱𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚎𝚛𝚔𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙱𝚎𝚊𝚛-𝙺𝚒𝚗𝚐 slowly lumbered forward, taking large, careful strides in an ominous beeline toward the humans as the berserkers cleared a path for him and all watched as expectantly as before while the towering beast neared the platform the captive Midgardians were held on, getting closer and closer and closer….

 

…until he climbed up on top and stood right in front of them all. Nobody dared to move, nobody dared to speak, nobody dared to do anything except remain perfectly still and quiet and wait…..wait for the bear to hopefully take pity on them all.

 

Björn examined them all darkly, until he looked right at Stig.

 

At an instant, he recognized him.

 

The bear zeroed in on Stig, which almost made Ming panic, but she fought to keep her red panda under control from the dread. Stig stayed calm himself as Björn sniffed his face, seeking for possibly anything to expose him as an imposter of the same boy he saw earlier.

 

But it was still him.

 

And Björn's face softened and turned into one of calmness and paternal worry. Then, unexpectedly, Björn raised his claws, making both Ming and Stig wince, thinking he was about to finish them both off.

 

"NO!" Mei wailed.

 

SNAP!

 

Thankfully, he didn't. All he did was use his claws to cut the ropes holding the two against the effigy, freeing them from their binds, much to their surprise and everyone else's.

 

The bear demigod, for the first time ever, lets the hostages go.

 

"Why?" asked Stig.

 

Right away, Björn snorted, grunted, growled and moaned, creating fewer bear sounds that you've ever heard as his response to the boy.

 

Stig was speechless.

 

Then all of the sudden, there came the loud shouting from a dozen other giant red pandas that lunged out onto the rooftops and charged outward with their claws ready. All transformed Lees barrelled into the sea of berserkers, knocking them all away and working together to fight all of them off. Then Thrúd herself joined the fight with her own sword, fighting and slashing a few berserkers in her path. And that's when Björn took this as his cue to leave.

 

As Ming rushed over to try and free the others from their restraints, something abated the ensuing battle. It came in rumbling and nearly vibrating the earth below their feet. And when all berserkers look forth the heavens on one side of their camp, any evidence of the fierce and bloodthirsty ferocity they once had within them vanished in a flash and before they all knew it, the warriors fled the scene; all wild men scattered in all directions, rushing for cover and disappeared into all building in their camp, safe for Bödvar.

 

CLINK! CLANG!

 

Suddenly, a large ax fell from the sky and landed directly on the ground inches from where the captives were held. Then everyone looked up to see the face of Jörmungandr looking down upon them, apparently having spat out the weapon to them and gave them all a helpful smile.

 

"Joooooo-fffooooooorr foooooooon yun luuuuurrrrrrrrrr….!" thundered the Midgard Serpent before he slowly slithered away from the group, his head vanishing beyond the mountains.

 

"Thanks?" asked Stig.

 

After all this trouble, they still managed to obtain the ax they were finding. The mystery of how HE found it or how he even got it shall forever remain just that.

 

A mystery.

 

Stig walked up to go retrieve it, but Bödvar grabbed it before he could. Thrúd aimed her sword at him, but the lone berserker held no such malice on his face, but rather a hint of remorse or even a sliver of enthrallment. He then held the weapon out to the boy.

 

"If Björn has spared you and set you free, then you must be worthy." He told him comfortingly.

 

Although taken aback by this sudden change of heart, Stig nonetheless took the ax from him and Bödvar took his leave, leaving everyone extremely confused, unable to process what the hell just happened. A berserker, a bloodthirsty and unrelenting warrior prone to violent acts of rage….just handed them the ax and let them go.

 

"Well, at least we've found the ax." Ping said, trying to lift the mood.

Notes:

And we're back on Midgard looking for an ax. Did that sound easy to you?

Anyway, now've finally been properly introduced to the Midgard Serpent who is really no threat to anyone at all. In fact, Jormungandr can't help it if he's bigger than normal. I've ripped his and Mímir's conversation (at least the first part of it) from the first 2018 game to anyone who's played the game before. And it's rather satisfying to see Ming face-to-face with an enormous, larger-than-life creature. This must've been how everyone felt dealing her and her Pandazilla back at the concert. Ironic, isn't it?

As for Stig and Fenrir's interaction, I took some slight inspiration from the scene from The Neverending Story where Atreyu meets the wolf G'mork, because it just works, you know? Since Fenrir is a giant wolf himself. And Mei finally unloads such emotional baggage on her mother during their imprisonment about how hard is was for her to adhere to her mother's strict and impossible expectations while also wanting to do things Mei wanted to do for a change and how even more stressful it was trying to choose between being herself or this perfect, doting and successful little girl for her mother. And Ming know's for a fact that she still has a LONG way to go in her quest for atonement because she owes Kris and Mei a LOT more than just an apology.

And for the record, the bear demigod, Björn does not exist anywhere in Norse myth. He's just someone that I made up for this story. Bödvar Bjarki (Old Norse: Bǫðvarr Bjarki), meaning "Warlike Little-Bear", comes from the hero of the same name from the tales of Hrólfr Kraki (the chief's namesake) from Hrólfs saga kraka ("The Saga of King Rolf Kraki") - about the titular semi-legendary Danish king - in the Latin epitome of the lost Skjöldunga saga.

Translation for Jormungandr's speech:
"Uuuuhhhhllll-guuuuuullll noooooo fwwwuuuuuurrrrrrrrr" - ("Glad to see you again!")

"Krrrraaaaaaaa booooooon thrrrruuuuuummm-diiiiin ssssyyyyooooon moooooo-aaaaaddddddd" - ("I'll take care of that. Just stay away from Myrkviðr.")

"Joooooo-fffooooooorr foooooooon yun luuuuurrrrrrrrrr" - ("I found it! You're welcome!")

Next Chapter: After their escape, Ming and Stig start to bicker and bicker, culmination into a physical fight between them, which forces everyone to split into two groups temporarily.

Next Update: April 28, 2023

Chapter 12: The Argument

Summary:

After their escape, Ming and Stig start to bicker and bicker, culminating into a physical fight between them, which forces everyone to split into two groups temporarily.

Notes:

Disclaimer: Turning Red and it’s characters are the property of (c) Walt Disney Pictures/Pixar Animation Studios

C/W: Violence

Leaving the camp with the ax was actually the easy part since all the wild men had fled upon the sight of the Midgard Serpent so they were able to just meander out of there, no problem whatsoever. However, suffice to say, things were not looking too bright between Ming and Stig as they were now going at each other’s throats like never before.

 

“You know, if we had gotten out of there a lot sooner, we wouldn’t have been used as human sacrifices.” Ming snarled.

 

“Oh, shut up. We made it out in one piece, didn’t we?” Stig roared back. “Besides, if you hadn’t pissed those guys off and gotten yourself captured and made us waste time saving your asses, maybe we could’ve had that ax sooner.”

 

“That isn’t the point! We were almost fed to that giant bear because you took too long to come and save us!”

 

“But we still got the ax, okay?” Mei cut them both off, holding the weapon up. “Sure, we were almost bear food. At least, he didn’t kill us.”

 

“And that giant serpent guy was nice enough to help us.” Ping mentioned.

 

“Still don’t understand where he got it from, though.” Tom scratched his head in thought.

 

“Doesn’t matter!” Ming shouted, turning back to Stig. “You need to learn to be more responsible!”

 

“Me?!”

 

“If you’d spend less of your time mouthing off at people and trying to be the big man, we’d have more luck avoiding any other dangers!” The Asian-Canadian screamed into his face.

 

“Oh, cry me a river.” Stig rolled his eyes at her and turned, but Ming grabbed him and jerked him back to face her with more fury.

 

“See?! Right there! Right there is exactly what I’m talking about!”

 

“Aw, what’s the matter? Am I hurting your ego too much, Miss. #1 Mom of the Year?”

 

“What is your problem?!”

 

“You’re my problem!! We put all this effort to come and help you two out and all you do is complain, complain, complain!”

 

“I’m the one stating the obvious! Your effort wasn’t good enough to get us out in time!”

 

“And what the fuck about you, huh?!” But Stig wasn’t going to take that sitting down. “All you've done so far is waste everyone's time and whine and bitch over the dumbest reasons just like you've always done! And this is the thanks we get for working our asses off to save you! Go right ahead and blame everyone but yourself! It's always someone else's fault!”

 

“Guys….” Elsa tried to say, but they weren’t listening.

 

“Grrrr! This little tough guy routine of yours is getting us nowhere! And it’s really becoming a huge pain in my ASS!” thundered Ming, panda ears popping out of her hair and tail out of her butt.

 

“Speak for yourself!” Stig snarled, advancing closer. “This little Karen act of yours has caused you and everyone else nothing but trouble. In fact, I’m surprised you’re not even in prison right now!”

 

“Guys……?”

 

“Don’t call me Karen!” Ming screamed, but kept it together as best she could, but didn’t stop her face from heating up and turning scarlet. “And you better watch your mouth when you’re speaking to me, mister! That kind of talk is gonna get you in a lot of trouble yourself one day!”

 

“You’re not the fucking boss of me!” Stig yelled, shoving her back. “Besides, don’t you have any tiny people to step on, Momzilla?!”

 

“You’re the one who called me a ‘bitch’! You had that one coming!”

 

“Well, you were the one who had my brother in your giant-ass paw, trying to crush him to death! You’re just lucky I was able to stop you from becoming a fucking murderer!”

 

“You little sh-!”

 

“GUYS!” Elsa roared over both their voices to silence their petty arguing just as Ming brought her hands up about ready to choke the life out of the goth boy once she was nearing the end of her tether, even getting in between the two, pushing them both back and trying to play peacemaker. “Stop! Enough of this! None of this is getting either of us anywhere. Besides, regardless of what everyone thought, we still got the ax.”

 

“With no help from her, unsurprisingly.” Stig jabbed a finger at Ming.

 

“Stig!” Mei hissed.

 

“We didn’t find it! That giant thing found it for us!” Ming argued roughly.

 

“And if we weren’t too busy pulling your asses out of the fire, maybe we would’ve saved ourselves the trouble. But no, Miss. ‘I-know-everything’ just needed to be the big shot.” The goth boy fired back at her.

 

“Watch what you say to me, little man! I can go right now!” Ming was screaming like a madwoman now, having to be held back by her husband and her two sisters.

 

“Ming, it is uncouth for a lady to start roughhou-!” Wu thundered next.

 

“STAY OUT OF THIS!” Both Stig and Ming barked at her, making her gasp in shock.

 

“You know, it’s your fault Kris is even in that coma to begin with!” Stig yelled at Ming. “If you hadn’t shown up with your giant red panda monster, ripping the SkyDome apart, ruining the concert and destroying that guitar, Kris would still be here right now!”

 

“That’s why I'm here, don’t you see that?!” Ming screamed. “I’m trying to undo the mess that I started!”

 

“Why?! So you can hug him and tell him you’re sorry so you can go back to your normal, boring-ass, picture perfect FAKE LIFE like it never happened?!”

 

“Don’t you dare undermine my reasons! And my life is NOT fake!!!”

 

“Enough!” Elsa shouted angrily. “We don’t have time for this! Let's just keep moving already!”

 

But the woman’s angered gripe wasn’t enough to level down the rising tension between the two at all. Ming glared daggers at Stig, who returned the gaze back at her. As they started pursuing their path to try to get back on track, the arguing duo still couldn’t help firing more shots at one another.

 

“Just who do you think you are running your mouth at me like that, huh? I’m old enough to be your mother.” Ming scolded him.

 

“Well, in your case, you’d probably be my grandma.” Stig fired back at her in his usual deadpan, ‘give-no-fucks’ savoir-faire.

 

Oh, shit.

 

You can almost hear the sound of a tea kettle whistling when he said that. 

 

Of all the insults he’s thrown her way, that one right there was enough to light her fuse and the gunpowder kettle had gone enough in seconds flat in a fiery inferno. 

 

This time, he’s gone too far. Doesn’t he know better than to address a woman by her age?!

 

POOF!

 

 

“THAT’S IT, YOU LITTLE SNAKE!”

 

Like an explosion, the furious cry of an enraged red panda Ming filled the air as she lunged directly at Stig with her paws out, ready to claw his eyes out. Stig found himself shoved to the ground when Ming jumped right on top of him like a wild, feral animal while everyone else yelled out in shock and horror.

 

The frenzied Ming was just like a predatory cat at the moment, clawing at Stig’s face with unrelenting fury to smack that big mouth of his off his smug little face. However, Stig was unfazed by her animalistic aggression. He just effortlessly dodged her giant swiping claws, despite his smaller size compared to her big panda proportions.

 

“You take that back! Take it back now! Nobody talks to me like-OOF!”

 

But Stig cut her off with a hard kick to the stomach, making her end her assault on his face. Then with a good mustering of physical strength, he shoved her right off of him, pushing her on her back on the ground. The group’s pleas to stop were deaf ears when Stig leaped into the air to perform the diving corkscrew elbow drop right onto her stomach, which made her transform back to normal for a moment, but this didn’t stop her one bit from flinging herself onto him to teach that big-mouthed teen a lesson or two about respect.

 

The hard way. 

 

Then the two started really going at it.

 

Ming jumps on him and started slapping at his face like a blind 3-year old, Stig slaps her back and started to throttle her neck, Ming yanks his arm around and painfully twists it, Stig headbutts her from behind, brings her to her stomach on the ground and starts yanking painfully on her leg and trying to twist it, Ming kicks him off with her free leg. Unfortunately for her, Stig then starts yanking on her hair really hard, all the while everyone yells at them to stop acting like children on the playground.

 

“You guys! Stop it! Please stop!” Mei screamed and wailed.

 

“Ming, knock it off!” Jin screamed as well.

 

However, unlike the rest, Rudolf was the only one cheering them on as if he were at a wrestling match.

 

“Give it to her! Give it to her good! Take her down, Stig! Give her the Flying Fox-!”

 

BAM!

 

Annoyed, Roar punched him on the head to get him to stop encouraging them. By now, Stig had Ming in a tight chokehold from behind, almost choking the life out of her, kicking her on the back with his knee.

 

“You really think that everything you’ve done, you can just follow us here just to wipe the slate clean? Well, that ain’t how this works, you stupid whiny cunt!”

 

“Then why don’t you kiss my ass?!”

 

Now Ming was even more incensed than ever as she elbowed him in the gut and threw him to the ground on his back. Then with a wicked smile, she jumped high above the ground, went panda mode in mid-air and flopped butt-first right onto Stig’s face as she crossed her arms with an evil smirk.

 

“Ew!” Her sisters chorused in disgust.

 

“Ming Lee, what’s the matter with you?!” Her mother roared with outrage.

 

“Oh, real mature.” Elsa rolled her eyes, facepalming.

 

“This is gettin’ way oot o’ hand.” Mímir remarked.

 

“How’s the view down there?” said Ming tauntingly as she smugly smooshed her big red panda booty on the goth boy’s face, moving her hips around to publicly humiliate him by smearing her enormous rear end on him. “Are you ready to apologize yet?”

 

But then she felt a great pain on her derriere when Stig suddenly bit down on her giant furry butt hard.

 

Really hard.

 

“OW! FUCK!” She howled, jumping right off of his body and landed on the ground beside him, clutching the spot on her buttocks where he bit it while Stig coughed and spat the fur and acidic taste out of his mouth.

 

“Did you just bite my butt?!” Ming seethed and winced in pain at the same time.

 

“Fuck you!”

 

“No, fuck you!!”

 

Alright, this had certainly gone far enough.

 

Ping and Chen both poofed into their red pandas and swooped in right as Ming was about to continue her offense, holding their fiery-headed sister from keeping this up any longer. Mei, especially, panda’d out herself to pick Stig up and hold him in her arms as he struggled to wrestle out of her hold, but eventually settled down, but still glared back at Ming.

 

It was like breaking up a fight between two children on the school playground.

 

“Man, chill out!” Adam ordered both of them.

 

“Alright, stop! I mean it! Stop! This is not gonna solve anything! Both of you need to grow up and act your age this instant!” Thrúd yelled at them both like a domineering mother breaking a petty contretemps between two of her children over the silliest matter. Calming herself down and taking a deep breath, she looked back and forth between them with a serious countenance.

 

“How does Forseti do this? Okay, how about this for a compromise?” She negotiated. “If you two are gonna be at each other’s throats, then maybe we oughta split up.”

 

“What? Split up?” asked Elsa.

 

“Are you serious?” confronted Helen.

 

“Yes. We’ll split into two groups. Group 1 will go to Alfheim to find the compass and group 2 will head into Svartalfheim to find the dwarves of Niðavellir for the bow. I will head with group 1 and Mímir will go with group 2.” suggested Thrúd. “Sound fair?”

 

“Fine with me.” The head of Mímir replied.

 

“And then afterwards, we’ll regroup back in Vanaheim to find the last item.”

 

The silence amongst the group spoke volumes. They were initially hesitant about this idea of splitting up, but since Ming and Stig were going to argue and try to kill each other, then maybe it was for the best to keep them apart for a while until things cool down between them, if ever at all. So they all finally came to an agreement, seeing as how they had no other alternative.

 

“Alright.” Thrúd crouched down the ground and whipped all the snow away to reveal the muddy earth underneath it. Then she used her sword as a writing utensil to draw a line on the dirt. On the left side, she etched in the rune for the Alfheim, the Sowilō (ᛊ) and on the right side, the rune for Svartalfheim, the Laguz (ᛚ).

 

“Here’s Alfheim and there’s Svartalfheim.” She said pointing to both sides, respectively. “So go ahead and take your pick.”

 

Ming went first before anyone else could and scratched a tally mark on the Alfheim side with her claw. Then Stig went next and eagerly put down a tally mark on the Svartalfheim side.

 

“I’d rather go where you’re not headed.” He hissed.

 

“Works for me.” Ming snapped back and the two stood far apart from each other. Everyone just shook their heads at them before each going next.

 

For the Alfheim side of the debate, the chosen few were Mei, Ping, Chen, Elsa, Wu, Shan, Helen and Lily.

 

And for the Svartalfheim section, it consisted of Roar, Rudolf (who wrote his name instead), Adam, Tom, Charlie and Jin.

 

“Wait, you’re going with them?!” Ming balked at her husband.

 

“I just really want to see what this Svartalfheim place looks like. It’s not you, I promise.” Her husband declared. “And if Elsa isn’t going with them, I’ll have to supervise them while I can.”

 

“I’ll live with that.” Elsa shrugged. “Just keep a close eye on them, please? I don’t want anything to happen to them on my watch.”

 

“Don’t worry, I got this.” Jin assured her.

 

“Yes, I, too, wanna check out this ‘smart-elf-heim’.” Rudolf grinned a dopey grin.

 

“Svartalfheim.” Stig corrected him.

 

“That’s what I said.”

 

“Alright, then it’s settled.” Thrúd announced as she pulled the Bifröst travel stone out before using her strength to break it into two pieces, making everyone exclaim with worry. “Don’t worry, it’s just pure energy. It’s supposed to do that.”

 

Each party was given their own fragment of the travel stone. After the couples kiss their loved ones good luck, Elsa hugging her son and his two friends and wishing them the same. Mei even hugged her father and told him to be careful. With that, the two groups went their temporary separate ways. Now Ming was still steaming a bit from Stig’s words, though Stig was keeping a cool head about it.

 

So Thrúd led the first group through a mystic gateway on the far end of the forest, while Mímir helped the second group locate another near where they just were, having to walk them all through opening up a mystic gateway and selecting the correct symbol for their destination.

 

With luck, they each should hopefully be able to have found what they're looking for in time to regroup in Vanaheim while Ming and Stig took a moment to get their shit together.

 

---

 

It’s been 9 hours since everyone had disappeared into the tear below the farmhouse and the sun was just beginning to set back in the real world behind the thick winter clouds in the sky. The three geezers were all back out onto the frozen lake again, going for another round of ice fishing together. The ice was still thick enough for all of them to bring folding chairs out, set right next to the same hole in the ice that Aksel drilled open a while back. All three were chilling outside in their chairs, in their winter coats and sharing a thermos of hot coffee to keep themselves warm.

 

Pappa has been buried outside in a shallow grave beneath the lone tree in the pasture, since it’s where he had requested his burial site to be a long time ago and not in some cemetery ‘next-door to strangers’ as he often put it, but rather in a place where the heart is. They had been doing their part in keeping a close eye on Kris in the bedroom, but now they were taking a small break, while still keeping their guard up.

 

Aksel and Morten had brought Jørgen out with them just for good measure. There hasn’t been any sign of Fenrir yet.

 

“You’d think they’d be back already.” said Carl, wondering where they had all gone.

 

“Maybe they discovered something at the end of that tunnel. A treasure trove, maybe.” Morten chuckled to himself. “And I noticed the door shut behind them when we left. The door opened for Elsa when she got close, perhaps it will again when they come back.”

 

“How the fuck did that happen anyway?” demanded the father of his son-in-law. “And why?”

 

“Don’t know. Maybe that’s another family thing I never knew about.” Morten spoke, looking at the palm of his hand curiously.

 

The experienced Aksel threw his line into the water of the hole with pinpoint accuracy.

 

“Know what I think?” He asked and the two turned to face him. “Could be an entire new world we’ve never seen before. A world littered with weird creatures and crazy-ass plants. A world where everything is beyond our own understanding. Where every legend that we’ve ever known hides away from our plane of existence.”

 

“How many drinks have you had, pal?” asked Carl with a tired sigh.

 

“I don’t believe in any of that crack-shit myself, if you ask me.” Aksel responded, keeping his hands. “All those stories Pappa used to tell. I’ve never been a fan. All that bullshit of a giant wolf, a giant snake coiled around the freaking globe, it’s all fucking nonsense to me.”

 

“Always the skeptic, eh, brother?” Morten remarked teasingly.

 

“I’m a realist.”

 

“My son had to marry into the craziest family.” Carl shook his head at their antics.

 

“I bet there are families that are far more stranger than we are and we have a basement that’s been locked up with rusty old chains for thousands of years.” quipped Aksel, suddenly feeling the line get pulled from underneath, which meant that he had a bite.

 

With crazed strength, the impromptu fisherman fought for control over his fishing pole, gripping the handle and reeling in his catch like his life depended on it. Morten suddenly got to work with the bucket of ice as his brother yanked out a 4ft.-10 lb flopping coalfish out from the lakewater and both of them got to work fighting with the thing and putting it out of its misery.

 

“Ain’t that something?” Aksel grunted with a ghost of a smile. “Ever had coalfish before?”

 

“Not really.” Carl answered.

 

“Well, neither have I.” Then Aksel tossed his catch into the ice bucket for safe storage. “First time I ever caught something like that. Always wondered what coalfish steak tastes like.”

 

“Not a seafood fan, but I’m infamously adventurous.” spoke the retired policeman, then noticed his wedding ring. “You married?”

 

Aksel’s face fell.

 

His brother was about ready to bring up the grim aspect to that subject, but Aksel beat him to the punch.

 

“I was.” He began gently in that deep voice of his.

 

“You have any kids?”

 

“No. And I suppose that makes me ignorant to your son’s death, right?” Aksel’s sarcastic tone was sharp and sardonic.

 

“Don’t listen to him. This has always been a thing with him.” The more reasonable Morten reminded Carl, who glared at his brother. “Even before his wife passed away.”

 

“Well, my condolences, at least.” Carl breathed a sigh.

 

“Ingrid was a strong one.” Aksel mumbled. “Had a cute laugh, enjoyed the outdoors and never took no for an answer. She really wanted kids of her own one day, but I couldn’t give her one. I was unable. Then she got sick. Really sick. I wanted to do everything I could, but she said she was ready for it. She knew there was no hope for her. There just wasn’t.”

 

The air between them dialed to an eleven. Aksel did come off as this all-around unfeeling automaton through and through upon first meeting, but he still showed to have a sensitive side to him, especially when it's concerning his late wife. Morten sat there silently wishing he did more for him back then.

 

“Well, my Audhilda was strong, too. Fierce and quick-to-anger, but that just made her all the more lovable.” Morten said, deciding to divulge his own marriage. “She was a hard worker, too. Had to take double shifts, me and her. After she passed, we hiked to the highest peak of that mountain over there…”

 

He pointed straight toward a high point of a mountain in the distance right in their line of sight.

 

“....build a cairn for her and spread her ashes all over it.”

 

“How moving.” Carl grumbled, but sympathized with him nonetheless. “Me and Carolina have decided to take a break. We both had our disputes from time to time, but her steadfastness is something I can’t help but admire about her.”

 

“Your son. What was he like?” asked Aksel.

 

Carl opened his mouth, but clamped it shut. His throat went dry, but he fought the tight feeling in his chest.

 

“In my best honest description, very dedicated, very passive, but not afraid to speak his mind.” Carl went on. “He always kept on top of his fitness, did whatever it took to protect his loved ones, but he wasn’t one to resort to violence straight-on. Either way, that boy was a one-man army on his own. So you can………imagine my surprise when I received a phone call one night telling me that……….my son was gunned down…….in a convenience store…….with three bullet holes in his chest.”

 

Silence fell upon the two brothers as soon as his voice lowered to an unmistakable tenor of grim and horrid sorrow. Morten’s own face had taken one of pity. He never said so for sure specifically and for the right reasons, but he and Elsa had arrived at the scene of the crime after the gruesome events had occurred. He remembered Elsa’s wails of helpless horror and sadness and the worst part about it all…….

 

……Kris was there, too.

 

He was there with his father when it happened.

 

The boy was sitting there blankly by his father’s body with confusion, having not yet digested the cruel enumerations of what had unfolded before his poor eyes.

 

A slight spatter of blood…….decorating his coat and his face.

 

To help lift the mood, Aksel began to sing the first Nordic Christmas song his mind went to. One he remembers instantly.

 

“♫ ~ Glade jul, hellige jul
Engler daler ned i skjul
Hit de flyver med paradis grønt
Hvor de ser hva for Gud er skjønt
Lønnlig i blant oss de går
Lønnlig i blant oss de går….~ ♫”

 

Morten joined in at the fourth lyric the way in while Carl stared at them both. Although he didn’t understand the words in their native tongue, the context had brought a warm and fuzzy feeling inside him. 

 

“♫ ~ Julefryd, evig fryd
Hellig sang med himmelsk lyd
Det er engler som hyrdene så
Dengang Herren i krybben lå
Evig er englenes sang
Evig er englenes sang….~ ♫”

 

The gentle melody melted away any painful thoughts Carl suddenly had and brought him to a relaxed state of bliss. All three watched the sky together, watching the color of the overcast curtain of clouds desaturate and watching it all grow dark. 

 

Meanwhile, far from where the old men sat on the frozen lake, the lantern sconce on one side of the farmhouse started to flicker a bit, letting its beam of light go in and out. The three’s backs were turned to the house back on land so none of them were aware of this. As the darkness slowly enveloped the area as the sun lowered further and further away from sight, the light flickered some more. It went out for three seconds one time…..

 

….and a second time……

 

….and then a third…….

 

……but when it came back on after it went out a fourth time……………..a dark shadow of a feminine figure appeared on the wall of the house with a slender, but scraggly and haggard outline, spikes protruding from its head like some of nightmarish crown and eyes.

 

Eyes that furrowed with sinister hatred.

 

It looked to its left to see the old men chilling out on the lake, glowering and peering with malice and then looked up toward the window to the bedroom Kris was resting in with a look of intention in its obscured features.

 

When the sconce light flickered out once more……

 

 

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

……….the shadow disappeared.

Notes:

Ouch! Guess we've reached the conflict before the prelude to the final act, huh?

Anyways, so things between Ming and Stig have reached a boiling point where they've gotten fed up with each other. Of course, Stig holds a grudge against her for everything that's happened and Ming is done taking shit from him. I mean, Stig has been a bit harsh on her, but he did kinda had some valid points. Calling her out and accusing her of caring more about unburdening herself than actually wanting to make amends, which may actually be the case after all. Although Ming insists that's she's helping out to set things right for Kris's sake, but I think it's obviously more about self-preservation than atonement, which is kind of arrogant in a way. But that doesn't mean she isn't guilty about her actions at all. It may take a while, but Stig will come around and give her a chance. And Ming should really learn a couple things called, 'satisfaction' and 'gratitude'.

Cutting back to the old men in the real world, we finally get a little background information from them, but mostly about what happened to Kris's father years ago from Carl. The shadow is definitely a sign. A sign that sinister forces are closing in soon. Let's hope they make in time to save Kris before it's too late.

Next Chapter: Traveling to Svartalfheim to find the dwarves, the male group receives questionable help from a talking squirrel and two bumbling dark elves.

Next Update: May 2, 2023

Chapter 13: Squirrel Dilemma

Summary:

Traveling to Svartalfheim to find the dwarves, the male group receives questionable help from a talking squirrel and two bumbling dark elves.

Notes:

Disclaimer: Turning Red and it’s characters are the property of (c) Walt Disney Pictures/Pixar Animation Studios.

Emerging from the mystic gateway after four minutes of trying to get it to work, all men stood on the walkway branch of Yggdrasil. Heretofore, they’ve been experiencing a minuscule margin of doubts at how they’ll even accomplish anything now that there were only so few of them while also wondering how odds of the others accomplishing anything on their end as well. The fight earlier was still going on in everyone’s heads, especially Roar and Rudolf. They’ve both known Stig long enough to know how confrontational and defensive he tends to be time after time and he’s never been one to let anyone boss him around and make him think differently.

 

Stig, meanwhile, was still spitting up red fur out of his mouth, trying to get the nasty and foul taste of Ming’s butt out of his mouth because it was making him feel like he wanted to upchuck.

 

“Great, now my mouth tastes like ass.” He hissed, furiously wiping his lips.

 

“You need to chill.” Roar reminded him. “Things are already frustrating enough.”

 

“I need to agree.” That’s when Jin stepped in to face the goth, eye-to-eye. “I will say that on behalf of my wife, I’m sorry for how judgmental and opinionated she gets sometimes, but all things considered, maybe you should try to be less rude and stubborn about it.”

 

“Yeah.” Tom agreed. “You shouldn’t stoop to their level. It only makes you no different than them.”

 

“What do you mean by that?” asked Jin, giving him the stink-eye. “You raise a good point, but don’t imply that my wife is a bully.”

 

“Look, we worked our asses off to go save her and your daughters from those maniacs.” Tom defended a bit too quickly. “I mean, sure, things only went from bad to worse, but regardless of the circumstances, we all made an effort to help them out and we still made it out alive. I just think that maybe she should’ve been a little more grateful about it.”

 

“Not t’ mention she was the reason she and her daughter were captured in the first place.” Mímir responded, who was tied around Stig’s waist.

 

“Well, I suppose you’re right.” Jin sighed and nodded.

 

“Still getting used to that.” Adam mumbled as he shook his head at the talking severed head with them.

 

“But ah have to say so mahself that we should work on approachin’ it more gently.” Mímir explained.

 

“I won’t lie, my wife can be impulsive, snide, haughty, tough to please and essentially her own worst enemy, but she came all this way over here for a reason. She’s really trying to make things right. Times have been tough for her since the SkyDome thing, trying to raise a staggering amount of cash to pay for the damages and facing backlash from everyone.”

 

“Karmic justice.” Stig remarked flatly.

 

“Look at me, please.” Jin made the boy look at him. “You have a right to be angry with her and I’m sorry for what happened with your brother. Believe it or not, she feels really bad about it. She’s been having nightmares of that day, nightmares of Kris being hurt because of her and it only pains her even more. I don’t blame you. Her being here to help out at all isn’t enough. But what I’m trying to say is, try to at least give her a chance.”

 

“But you gotta admit, that corkscrew move was nuts if I do say so myself.” Rudolf commented dumbly.

 

“RUDOLF!” Everyone shouted at him.

 

“We’re having a moment!” Charlie chided harshly.

 

“I’m just saying…….” He shrugged.

 

“Nuts, you say? I can think of something more nuts than that.” chirped a strange voice from somewhere near them.

 

It sent them all in alert mode, jerking their heads in all directions to see where it came from. Nothing yet. The voice was small, but loud. It had to have been from a person, but there was nobody else there on the branch but them.

 

“Who said that?” asked Roar, bemused.

 

“If you want my advice, perhaps you wouldn’t stand around on any of my precious branches for so damn long.”

 

“Oh, bollocks.” grumbled Mímir, who already knows the source of that particular voice.

 

The rest of them, however, were still left in the dark about the disembodied voice’s true identity. Being a protective survivalist at heart, Adam reaches for the sheath strapped to his left leg and whips out his hunting knife, ready for anything.

 

“Adam gets shit done.”

 

“How the hell did he get that through customs?” cried Tom, shocked to see he had brought deadly weapons along with him on this trip.

 

“You’d be surprised, brother.” Charlie shrugged knowingly at him. “He also brought a 44. Magnum with him, but he left it in the rental.”

 

“Are you kidding me?” gasped Jin with disbelief.

 

“You be careful with that, my dear friend. One could hurt themselves with that thing if they’re not careful.” The voice warned the armed and dangerous ex-soldier.

 

“I’m always careful, motherfucker.” Adam growled, not lowering his weapon. “Now show your face and maybe I won’t pin-cushion your ass. I mean it.”

 

“Oh, fine. If you insist.”

 

With that said, what came next was the sound of branches rustling, the pitter-patter of tiny feet on wood.

 

Keeping a sharp look around their surroundings, they all waited patiently, but cautiously for the mysterious specter of a stranger to make himself known to them. They waited and there was nobody around on this giant branch for them to see. No other humans, gods or giants to be seen anywhere.

 

But instead, a squirrel appeared on a smaller branch high above where the group stood as it scurried, hopped and climbed from branch to branch down to where they were.

 

Only it was no other squirrel that you would find in the real world, but rather in a cartoon. And it was abnormally just a smidge larger than any normal squirrel, reaching to about the size of a pug. It had brownish-orange-colored fur with anthropomorphic characteristics and qualities with a humanoid face and it was wearing clothes of its own and pauldrons.

 

Nobody had a clue as to how to react seeing a large squirrel dressed like a person.

 

“Well, if it isn’t the ones looking for young Bengtsson, I presume.” It said with a masculine voice while climbing down to meet the humans. “After your little petty squabble, I was about ready to think you were about to call it quits. And boy, as plain as the nose on my face, I was so wrong- HEY!”

 

The talking squirrel jumped out of the way when Adam threw his knife at him, which embedded itself into the branch the animal was on.

 

“Adam, wait!” Charlie yanked him back to chill him out.

 

“Don’t hurt the poor guy!” Jin urged.

 

“Wow, now that’s new!” Rudolf marveled with wonder at actually seeing a talking animal. “Abby will freak when she hears about this.”

 

“How dare you, sir!” The squirrel snapped at the man trying to kill him out of panic. “What manners you got, pal! Trying to assassinate the caretaker of the World Tree! Who will be able to look after the Tree of Life after I’m gone?”

 

“We’re sorry about…….Mr…..talking squirrel, sir.” apologized Jin.

 

“Talking red pandas, now talking squirrels?!” Adam shrieked. “Could this day get any better?!”

 

“What is reality……?” Stig muttered to himself.

 

“Oh, Ratatoskr, ye little chitterin’ git!” Mímir spat, rolling his eyes.

 

“Oh, come on. Don’t be like that, Mímir.” spoke 𝕽𝖆𝖙𝖆𝖙𝖔𝖘𝖐𝖗, the 𝚂𝚚𝚞𝚒𝚛𝚛𝚎𝚕 𝙶𝚞𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚒𝚊𝚗 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙲𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚐𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚆𝚘𝚛𝚕𝚍 𝚃𝚛𝚎𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚈𝚐𝚐𝚍𝚛𝚊𝚜𝚒𝚕 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙼𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛 𝚘𝚏 𝚋𝚘𝚝𝚑 𝙽𝚒𝚍𝚑𝚘𝚐𝚐 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙴𝚊𝚐𝚕𝚎𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝙰𝚜𝚐𝚊𝚛𝚍. “I’m not one to pass down a little company, though mind you, I’d rather they weren’t getting their infantile footwear printing up my branches. Yggdrasil hates it when its high-quality wood gets defaced in such an unpleasant manner.”

 

“Your branches?” asked Roar right before Ratatoskr jumped in his arms.

 

“Yes, Yggdrasil is, in fact, my tree as you can see and as such, it’s my sworn duty to protect it at all costs.” He explained with a little bit of brag. “To be distinctly upfront, I share a very close and personal connection with the World Tree itself to an extent where I can practically hear its thoughts and feelings.”

 

“Jus’ because ye live in the tree, don't make it yers, ye wee lout!”

 

“Now let’s not-” Ratatoskr was interrupted when Rudolf grabbed him and held him up to look at him with fascination, much to the critter’s dismay. “Hey, put me down!”

 

“Awesome! An actual cartoon character! And I thought they only existed in movies.”

 

“Unhand me, you grub!” The squirrel roared, flailing his arms around until Rudolf finally let him go.

 

“Look, buddy, we don’t really have time for this.” Adam groaned. “We’re kinda on a little mission here.”

 

“Yeah, we’re on our way to-” Jin was about to say.

 

“I know, I know.” Ratatoskr cut him off. “Off to the land of the dwarves, I presume. I’d wager you bunch are looking to free young Kris from his undead prison.”

 

“And how would you know that?” asked Jin, suspiciously. “Have you been spying on us?”

 

“I have a certain way of knowing things right as they happen.” explained Ratatoskr, shrugged. “Yggdrasil whispers, I listen intently and tentatively with all ears.”

 

He hopped onto another high branch to press an ear against the bark as if to listen for a sound or even a voice.

 

“Isn’t that right, my friend, hmm?” He asked curiously…………..but received no such answer, at least not one that befell human ears. “He’s reserved. You can tell.”

 

Then he jumped down and landed on Jin’s head.

 

“Any-a’-doozle, what say you I join you on this gallant quest of yours?”

 

“Excuse me?” Stig scoffed when the gibbering squirrel landed on the one side of the Yggdrasil branch to reach their level.

 

“I make good company and I’m a decent conversationalist.” Ratatoskr said, trying to plead his case.

 

“All ye’d do is bore us t’ death.” retorted Mímir with a steely gaze.

 

“Come on, please?” The squirrel begged. “I don’t get out much and you folks seem like nice people and besides, I’m bored at hell, jumping from branch to branch on this giant tree.”

 

“Yeah, guys. Look, he’s cute.” Rudolf said, now suddenly eager to have him along.

 

“And annoying.” jeered Stig.

 

“And I took that personally, sir.” Ratatoskr snorted thinly.

 

“Oh, alright, fine. You can come with us.” Jin sighed, to which the animal jumped onto his shoulder with glee. “But only if you’re going to help us out.”

 

“So be it, my good man. You won’t regret it.” swore Ratatoskr.

 

“Too late for that.” Stig deadpanned.

 

“Off to Svartalfheim and off to adventure!” Ratatoskr cried cheerfully and excitedly. 

 

Yeah, this was definitely going to be a bumpy ride for them. Reluctantly with the annoying talking squirrel by their side, the group continued forth on their journey. No doubt they will certainly regret letting him come along with them, but it didn’t hurt to have a new member of the so-called team. Passing through the portal, they had finally arrived.

 

(ᛚ)
𝐒𝐯𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐟𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐦 (𝐎𝐥𝐝 𝐍𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞: 𝐒𝐯𝐚𝐫𝐭á𝐥𝐟𝐚𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐦𝐫 / 𝐍𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐜: ᛊᚢᚨᚱᛏᚨᛚᚠᚺᛖᛁᛗ)
(ℍ𝕆𝕄𝔼 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝔻𝔸ℝ𝕂 𝔼𝕃𝕍𝔼𝕊.............𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝔻𝕎𝔸ℝ𝕍𝔼𝕊)

 

The general section of the land they had stepped in was warm, moist and lush with a splash of vibrant and attractive color. Very bright and gave a near tropical vibe to it all around like a Venezuelan jungle. And it was bright and sunny with a few clouds forming in the deep blue sky, all of it through and through juxtaposing the cold, icy and bitter respect of Midgard since it was the middle of winter, but here, it was like the middle of summer, like they had stepped into a new season or had gone back to a prehistoric age.

 

The tall and healthy trees around every corner and the mountains way off in the distance, this really didn’t feel like the home for a species called the ‘dark elves’, unless there was a completely different reason they were called that. Henceforward, the group and their…….little friend were inside of a magnificent rainforest-like woodland with ropes and a few wooden-constructed treehouses up high in the towering and thick tree branches up above their heads that closely resembled yurts. If one puts two and two together, this would most positively be dark elf territory they were venturing in. But so far, no such dark elves to be seen.

 

Though, none of the humans in the group had any clue as to what a dark elf even looks like to begin with.

 

“So ye say that Björn spared yoo?” asked Mímir with surprise.

 

“Yes, he did.” Stig admitted.

 

“Bless the beard o’ Odin, lad, no one’s ever been spare’d by the great Bear-King before. Rememberin’ ye can understand animals, did he say anythin’ t’ ye?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“You can understand animals?” asked Tom, now curious. “How is that even possible?”

 

“Dunno. I just do.” shrugged the dark-haired boy. “Somehow, I’m able to hear coherent words whenever animals make sounds. It's really hard to explain.”

 

“So…….what did the bear say?” asked Jin.

 

“I think he said ‘I know you. I remember you’.” explained Stig, trying to understand what it means since he is still flummoxed by the words’ meaning.

 

“What does that even mean?” asked Adam.

 

“I wish I knew. Although, his voice. It sounded……….familiar.” Stig beheld a thousand-yard stare painted across his features. 

 

“Hmm, all this bear gab is quite captivating, but I feel the impulse to remind you all that we’re in dark elf territory, yes.” Ratatoskr spoke up in that voice everyone was already getting used to by now.

 

“Indeed you are.”

 

Everyone froze when they all looked to the left in the direction of the new voice to see none other than Týr stepping out from behind the trees a centimeter from where they were, taking them all by surprise seeing the God of War there in the realm with them.

 

“Týr?” Roar asked.

 

“Forgive me, but Heimdall informed me you’d be heading into Svartalfheim.” The God of War explained plainly as he walked the trail with them following behind. “So I figured I came to offer some assistance since you will run into some complications.”

 

“Say what?” Charlie peeped with worry.

 

“Nobody told you that there’s a civil rivalry going on between the dark elves and the dwarves?” asked Týr, which brought a wave of shock amongst them all, but then he noticed that there were few of them now. “Where’s the rest of you, if I may?”

 

“We sort of ran into a bit o’ a disagreement earlier back on Midgard.” Mímir spoke on. “We’re here lookin’ fer the dwarves.”

 

“And my wife, daughter and the rest are in…….uh……..” Jin couldn’t remember the word.

 

“Alfheim.” Stig spoke up for him.

 

“Elf-heim looking for the light elves.”

 

“Then they’ll probably have much better luck.” Týr replied. “The light elves are quite lenient in some regard and they don’t usually resort to violence right off the bat. As for their relatives, the dark elves……..well, they can be a bit rambunctious and confrontational.”

 

“Aye, an’ they’re not too overly fond of ootsiders.” added Mímir. “An’ them and the dwarves of Niðavellir have been at it fer a long time. There have been many disputes and scuffles between the two co-existin’ races.”

 

“Well, I have to say I’m quite popular in Svartalfheim myself. So you need not any worries.” Ratatoskr spoke confidently.

 

“And I see you’ve brought the rat with you.” groaned Týr with a big eye-roll.

 

“Rat-atoskr! Mind your tongue!” barked the squirrel with a glare.

 

“Mind yours.” The inches-taller God of War shot back. “It’s prattle like yours that causes trouble for everyone. Spitting nonsense and creating reverberations between the eagles of Asgard and the root-gnawing wyrm below.”

 

“Still stuffy about that, God of War? Come on, that was millennia ago. These are brand new, uplifting times.” Ratatoskr continued putting up his little innocent act. “I mean, there was hardly any lasting conflict on either side anyway. The wyrm nonetheless enjoyed my company. Poor bastard looks lonely predominantly.”

 

“What worm?” asked Rudolf. “They have those here too?”

 

“I’d rather you didn’t know.” Týr responded gravely.

 

“Like a Deathwyrm?” The Inuit boy continued with that same enthusiasm. “Burrowers from underground with thousand rows of sharp, rotating teeth and have a taste for human flesh and bones?”

 

 

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

“.......more or less.” That was the God of War’s only answer to that puzzling question before they all fell silent when they heard something far off from where their position was.

 

There was the faint sound of voices.

 

Two voices.

 

Curious, but still with their guard up since they don’t know if it was a threat or not, the group carefully eased themselves toward the source of the sound through the thick trees and peering over a hill and the further they got, the more coherent and concrete it became. A conversation between two people, who were most likely not people at all. Týr ordered them all to the ground and to carefully crawl across the ground until they rested on top of a large incline overlooking a clearing where one lonesome treehouse was resting all by itself.

 

The residents of this particular treehouse were outside harvesting some crops. Two dark elves. Both with sickly pale alabaster skin, grotesque-looking facial structures, ebony black sclera and white pupils and long, pointy ears.

 

One of them was shirtless with tribal runic tattoos on his bare upper torso, was of an average height with dark gray hair that was long and fashioned into a multitude of thick, round buns that hung down from the back of his head. He wore baggy pants made from bear pelt, held up with belts, covered with other animal skins strapped together and furry wool boots.

 

The other was taller with long black hair done up with a series of thick dreadlocks stretching down until they were level with his ankles and tied together with ropes, making them look like wire cables sticking out of his head. For his attire; a pale wool tunic of a pale and faded gold-brown color, leather skirts around his waist, golden rings around it as well in lieu of a belt or two, black wool pants and was barefoot.

 

The taller one was on his knees tending to the crops and picking the vegetables from them while the other was holding out a wicker basket for his brother to put them in.

 

However, he snuck one of them out of the basket and took a big bite out of it, then spat it back out.

 

“Dammit! I knew these weren’t ripe!” He complained.

 

Then the tall guy groaned in annoyance before returning to his feet to confront his brother.

 

“For fuck’s sake, Thrum.” He snarled, snatching the basket away. “If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a thousand times to keep out of the pickings! We’re supposed to be saving these!”

 

“I dunno what you mean.” The small elf shrugged innocently, tossing the vegetable he bit into on the ground. “It was grown like that. Maybe you didn’t water them enough.”

 

“Grrr!” The tall one threw the basket down in anger. “You always do this! I can’t trust you to keep your mouth off of the pickings! First you scare off that Midgardian kid and now this!”

 

‘Wait, what?’ Stig asked in his mind. Could they be referring to Kris?

 

“Unfortunately, I recognize those two.” Týr said in a hushed voice. “They’re harvesting crops for the dwarves as punishment.”

 

“For what?” asked Jin.

 

“I honestly don’t remember.” The God of War shrugged.

 

The two elves were still going at it like a couple of high school teens after a prank gone wrong that has landed them in detention. And as they watched their little childish quarrel go on like this, they didn’t quite seem all that dangerous as the rest of their wild and disorderly kind had implied to have been. 

 

From their perspective, it was like watching a comedy duo performing a stage act.

 

“Oh, sure. Blame it all on me. It’s all the little guy’s fault. How original.” The shorter elf snapped back, rolling his eyes. “Go ahead and blame the mead thing on me, too, why don’t ya?”

 

“Oh, you are impossible!”

 

“I’m the most possible there has ever been!”

 

Having decided that this spectacle had gone on long enough, Ratatsokr decided it was time to take matters into his own hands.

 

“Alright, gents. Allow me.” He was about to head over to the two squabbling dark elves when he was suddenly grabbed by a worried and frightened Jin.

 

“Just a minute there.” Jin said firmly. “What do you think you’re doing? You might aggravate them into attacking us!”

 

“Ye of little faith. Relax, okay? I’ll just go over there and ask them for help.” The squirrel explained. “Like I said, I’m quite popular around here.”

 

Wiggling his way out of Jin’s fingers with no problem at all, he scampered off while the others watched with annoyed befuddlement. Stig, on the other hand, chortled with a smug smile.

 

“This I gotta see.”

 

With a bit too much bold confidence, Ratatoskr scurried along the ground until he reached the field and didn’t stop until he made it right below the feet of the two dark elves, who were still arguing away without noticing anything else around them, totally blind to their surroundings. Until Ratatoskr cleared his throat to get their attention.

 

“Greetings, gentlemen. I understand that the two of you are busy at the moment, but my-”

 

“RAT!”

 

The dark elves screamed like little girls when they saw him as if actually seeing a rat in their personal garden, causing the squirrel to jump with fright as the duo started attacking him with their gardening tools to try and exterminate the pest, Ratatoskr having to hop out of the way of each strike everything they try to hit him.

 

The utter lack of shock at the scene unfolding was expectantly placed on the onlookers’ faces.

 

“Wow.” Was all Stig could say.

 

“I am not a rat, you idiots! It’s just part of my name!” Ratatoskr screamed as they kept trying to terminate him by whacking at him with the tools.

 

One instance, Ratatoskr stood on top of the taller elf’s head in his desperate panic attempt to avoid any more swings of their makeshift weapons. The smaller elf had a plan that may or may not work out.

 

“Bro, shh! Don’t move!” He shushed the taller one, trying to be sneaky as he crept over to him, who had his back turned, unaware of the smaller guy’s intentions.

 

“Why?”

 

WHACK!

 

Ratatoskr saw it coming a mile away.

 

He quickly zipped off the taller elf’s head just as the smaller elf raised the shoveling tool in his hands high above his head and swung it right down with blinding speed to swat the squirrel. 

 

But since Ratatoskr had already zipped out of the way at the last minute, the taller one was unlucky enough to endure the blow instead, falling straight to the ground as a result from being haphazardly struck.

 

“Svir!” The smaller one gasped, rushing for his aid.

 

Having had enough, Ratatoskr ran for cover, back over to the hiding group who were unsurprised by his lax progress.

 

“Wow, you must be very popular indeed.” said Adam sarcastically. 

 

“Alright, enough of this.”

 

Before anyone could stop him, Stig left the group, really wanting to get his train moving as soon as possible and all these shenanigans were getting them all nowhere fast. The dark elves before them already proved to be even less of a threat as they obviously appeared to be as humanly simple-minded at best. The smaller elf was still trying to bring the taller elf around after accidentally knocking him out.

 

“Come one, Svir, wake up. Speak to me. Say something. Anything!”

 

“A blockbuster.” moaned the taller one, regaining his consciousness. “Is the sky falling?”

 

“Uh, yeah. It was a big rock.” lied the little guy. "They fall hard this time of year."

 

“If I die,........beat yourself up for me.”

 

“Hello.” Stig appeared before them.

 

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!” 

 

The two screamed in terror when they saw him. Both back to their feet in no time and faces both horror-stuck when Stig stood there expressionless by their overreaction. Apparently, because of Stig’s gothic makeup, they must mistake him for one of the Einherjar sent by Odin to check up on them.

 

“No, no, we can explain ourselves, sir.” The tall elf nervously smiled. “These crops are fine the way they are, but it’s not unlikely that we run into a few mishaps along the way.”

 

“I only ate one of them. That’s all. I promise.” admitted the smaller elf.

 

“Oh, now you admit you’ve been eating the pickings?!”

 

“Excuse me!” Stig interrupted impatiently. “You guys were just talking about a Midgardian kid, yes?”

 

“Wait, you don’t work for Odin?” asked the smaller guy.

 

“No, but he’s sent us here-”

 

“Please don’t tell him about this! He’ll extend our sentence to another year!”

 

“I don’t care about your stupid crops, okay?!” Stig yelled.

 

“Boys!” 

 

The new voice silenced them all and they all turned to see Týr approaching them, along with the others after deciding it was okay to come closer to them, since they were far from a dangerous threat. The two elves easily recognized the God of War.

 

“Great mighty Týr, to whom do we owe the pleasure?” The taller elf asked.

 

“If it’s any consolation to the both of you, we could use an extra hand.” explained Týr sternly.

 

“I know you do, of course.” The smaller elf jeered and snorted with a throaty laugh, pointing at Týr’s stump. The taller elf whacked at his head for saying that.

 

“Shut up, Thrum!”

 

However, Adam was getting tired of this nonsense before marching over between the two dark elves, gripping both their long ears tightly in his fists and yanking on them hard.

 

“Can we start with your names, fellas?” asked Charlie. “Just so we don’t call you ‘elf 1’ and ‘elf 2’ the entire time?”

 

“Oh, yes. Yes, yes. I’m Svártlábjægguir and that’s my brother, Þrumðivǫllr or rather, Svir and Thrum. Thrum, Svir. Honored to make y'all's acquaintance as it were.” The taller elf, Svir, introduced themselves to them, wincing from the pain of his ear getting pulled.

 

“Nice to meet you.” The little guy known as Thrum said. “Honored, indeed, I am. Enriched, enraptured, enthralled, enlightened, en-ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow…..!”

 

“Shut up! That’s enough!” Adam shuts them both up by pulling their ears harder.

 

“Now, again, you both saw a Midgardian boy.” Týr said with a sigh, looking them both in the eye. “Do you remember what he looked like?”

 

“Uh………….dunno.” Thrum winced.

 

“He had fair skin!” Svir blurted out. “He had these long chestnut brown locks and this weird choice of clothes.”

 

“Okay, yes! His shirt was black with a symbol of Mjölnir on it! We figured he must’ve been a disciple of Thor or something! We didn’t do anything to him! Cross my heart!”

 

“Well, that’s good. Because we’re here to bust him out of Helheim.” Roar said.

 

“Quite rig-What?! Helheim?!” Svir screamed with shock. “Have you all got a death wish?! If he’s in there, then he’s already-!”

 

“His soul was separated from his body. And his soul wandered into Helheim. Not sure when, though. But we’re getting him out of there.” Stig replied, not shaking from his determination.

 

“And since you guys brought him up, we could use your help.” Jin said.

 

“Um, cool! Cool, cool, cool, cool! Very cool! Very cool! Where do we start?” asked Thrum.

 

“We’re going to Niðavellir to see the dwarves.” replied Stig.

 

“W-Wait, what?” Svir’s face fell when he heard that. “Well, look, we’d gladly do that, except………we’re dark elves.”

 

“Yeah, and the dwarves hate us!” Thrum agreed. “The dwarves and the dark elves have been longtime rivals since for as long as we can’t remember.”

 

“But you’ve been harvesting crops and running errands for them, have you not?” Týr asked them.

 

“Oh, yes, we have.”

 

“Well, how convenient.” Ratatoskr commented blankly. “Two dark elves leading us into the city of dwarves. Sounds like a piece of cake.”

 

“But, wait. You guys already said the dark elves and the dwarves hate each other.” Tom said directly to Týr. “If that’s the case, why can’t you just take us there?”

 

“It’s been years and years since I’ve set foot into Niðavellir. I don’t even remember any of its passages inside or outside. And the dwarves are not the most welcoming of races, let alone to the Æsir of all people.”

 

“Maybe just ask them nicely?” suggested Rudolf.

 

“Or we can.” Svir chirped. “..........but we have until the next waxing moon to have these crops to the dwarves. Can we wait until then?”

 

Angrily, Adam yanked on their ears again and this time, twisted them in order to get them to comply and cooperate.

 

“To the boats!” Svir and Thrum declared, both flamboyantly shooting a finger skyward in a cliché superhero pose, making Adam sigh in exasperation.

Notes:

Jin is trying to defend his wife's case for being here in the first place. Granted, it will take a while for Stig for understand her reasons.

And now we've been introduced to the eccentric messenger squirrel, Ratatoskr! And he's every bit of a Disney wisecracking animal sidekick (like Mushu, Timon and Pumbaa, etc.) can be and he'll sure make good enough company, but I wouldn't trust everything he says. Anything (but not everything) he'll say will be an exaggeration, a half-truth or just a lie. If we all know our Norse myth, he's infamous for sneaking sly messages back and forth to the lyndwyrm (or dragon), Nidhogg and the two Eagles resting on top of Yggdrasil.

Once in Svartalfheim, which isn't dark like it is in the MCU, the group received unexpected help from Tyr and a pair of dark elf brothers who are.......total idiots. But how are the girls faring well on their side of the adventure?

Stay tuned and find out!

Next Chapter: While the women win over the light elves's trust with a 4*Town dance number by Mei, the men run into some issues regarding a petty rivalry between the dark elves and the dwarves.

Next Update: May 5, 2023

Chapter 14: For Her Royal Majesty

Summary:

While the women win over the light elves's trust with a 4*Town dance number by Mei, the men run into some issues regarding a petty rivalry between the dark elves and the dwarves.

Notes:

Disclaimer: Turning Red and it’s characters are the property of (c) Walt Disney Pictures/Pixar Animation Studios.

Elements are borrowed from God of War (2018) and Ragnarök, owned by (c) Santa Monica Studio/Sony Interactive Entertainment

C/W: Suggestive body movements.

(ᛊ)
𝐀𝐥𝐟𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐦 (𝐎𝐥𝐝 𝐍𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞: Á𝐥𝐟𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐦𝐫 / ᚨᛚᚠᚺᛖᛁᛗ)
(ℍ𝕆𝕄𝔼 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕃𝕀𝔾ℍ𝕋 𝔼𝕃𝕍𝔼𝕊)

 

Alfheim was certainly just as naturally beautiful.

 

As beguiling and true in flora as would a Japanese forest of cherry blossoms. Combine that with a tropical Polynesian island environment that was both wet and moist as well as clean and fresh. Trees that were rich in color and the grass and flowers that glistened brightly with a keen sense of benevolent stance. The further they went, passing by a few stone archways, statues of prominent light elf figures of leadership stature and natural earthly inaugurations etched with murals depicting many of Alfheim’s greatest histories within the area around them.

 

But so far, there were no light elves to be found.

 

However, the argument earlier was still running through everyone’s minds at the moment.

 

“The nerve of that boy!” Ming fumed. “Who does he think he is, anyway? Running his mouth at me, cursing at me and calling me names?!”

 

“You were the one that started it.” Ping told her with a fierce tone. “Need I remind you that we were the ones busting you out of that berserker compound?”

 

“And not to mention, wrestling with a younger boy like some street fighter!” Wu snapped. “Have I not raised you better than that, young lady?! Roughhousing without restraint or coherence. That is really unbecoming of a Lee.”

 

“Well, he-!”

 

“Doesn’t matter! That’s no excuse! We’re not a bunch of barflies picking physical fights like wild animals!” Her mother persevered.

 

“Let it go, mother. Let it go.” Chen rolled her eyes. “It’s not important right now.”

 

“Ow.” Ming winced, sucking in air through her teeth, rubbing the still-stinging spot on her buttcheek where Stig bit her and he truly bit really hard enough for it to hurt incredibly bad.

 

“Damn, that kid bites really hard.” She said.

 

“Well, serves you right.” Elsa deadpanned.

 

“What kind of parent are you to let your child behave like that, anyway?!” screamed Wu.

 

At this, however, Elsa merely shook her head with an unreadable face. Her adopted son has always been a rough one for sure, even when it comes to the care of his family and friends. The more mature and more unflinchingly straightforward of her two boys.

 

“Stig’s always been a ‘take-shit-from-no-one’ kind of guy.” Elsa replied. “He’s never allowed anything bad to happen to the people he cares about, no matter the cost.”

 

“Very noble of him, but is the swearing really necessary?” asked Helen.

 

“No, but that’s just how he is. He’s a smart boy, regardless. But sometimes, he gets a little heated at times.” Elsa shrugged. “And by the way, he’s adopted.”

 

“What?” The rest of the group chorused with surprise, sans Ming and Mei, since they remember the Norns addressing Stig with a different surname that wasn’t ‘Bengtsson’.

 

“Care to elaborate?” Wu crossed her arms, cocking an eyebrow.

 

“It was a long time ago.” Elsa began, not without a grim atmosphere. “Me, my husband and Kris were visiting Denmark for the holidays. We were driving down a lone road through the mountains to see a relative of ours when they stumbled across a car wreck off the side of the road in a ditch.”

 

The color from everyone’s face vanished and their faces turned to horror at the direction this story was heading. Elsa sighed, but remembered it fondly.

 

“There were two casualties. Two adults dead in the overturned vehicle, but there was a 4-year old boy sitting near the wreck. That’s how we found Stig.”

 

This gave a lot for Ming to think about. So Stig was an orphan and the sole survivor of a car crash that claimed the life of his parents. His real parents. That kind of trauma can truly shape someone permanently. But now she had a new theory in her head. What if this was what Stig had seen during the Norns’ test? What if he was shown the car wreckage where his parents had died?

 

“How………did the crash happen?” Lily was afraid to ask.

 

“I don’t know.” Elsa sighed. “Nobody knows when it happened or what could’ve caused it. Stig won’t tell me. He won’t even tell me what his late parents were like.”

 

“No child should ever go through that.” Shan replied sympathetically.

 

“But Stig is a tough one, for sure. He’s mature enough to make his own choices and smart enough to look after himself.” concluded Elsa.

 

“And don’t worry. Mímir knows how to navigate, so they’re in good hands over in Svartalfheim.” Thrúd mentioned comfortingly.

 

“You know, I’ve been giving this whole journey some deep thought.” Wu stated with her authoritative ambience returning.

 

“I take it you have notes?” Elsa rolled her eyes in boredom.

 

“I’m just saying you’re going through a whole lot here just to help your son.”

 

“I know and I don’t care.” said the Norwegian mother snarkily. “You’re not obligated to help me, you know. The only reason you’re even here is because you didn’t want to be left home alone on Christmas.”

 

“Elsa….!” Wu ran up to her and turned her to face the older woman. “Look, you’re already taking a huge risk to try and enter the realm of the dead just to save your son. What I suggest is that maybe you should just leave this all be and maybe the boy will find his own way out……..eventually.”

 

Everyone eyed the old woman with disbelief to think that she would rather leave the boy’s soul in Helheim and just hope for a miracle. Like nobody can see the irony in that.

 

“Uh huh. So that’s your strategy.” Elsa, herself, was quite offended. “Just completely ignore the problem and hope it sorts itself out?”

 

“We’re not ignoring it! We’re just…….well, playing it safe.” The older matriarch exclaimed.

 

“You’re full of shit.” Elsa glared at her while walking away.

 

“E-Excuse me?!” Wu did a spit take. 

 

“Wow, gotta really hand it to her.” Lily smirked. “I really like her spirit.”

 

“Elsa!”

 

“No!”

 

“Look, I’m sorry, okay?” Wu tried to sound sincere for once. “I realize I come across as controlling and domineering most of the time, but you need to understand my reasons here. Everything I do is for my family’s sake and yours.”

 

“You mean like who you turned me away and told me that Ming didn’t want me as a friend anymore?” asked Elsa snidely.

 

“That was for both your own goods! It was for your protection!” The elderly woman argued in defense.

 

“I don’t need protection! I’m not some helpless and defenseless porcelain doll!” Elsa snarled back. “And I’d appreciate it very much if you didn’t demean me and make me think I was the fucking problem!”

 

‘Now why does that sound so familiar?’ spoke the unasked question in the heads of both Ming and Mei respectively. Come to think of it, this sounded no different than the conflict between Ming and Kris; the former treating the latter like he was everything going wrong between the mother and daughter when the boy was doing nothing wrong at all. Hell, with this in mind, Ming would think that she’s become just like her mother in several respects. Has she really become that overprotective of her daughter to have made the same mistakes her own mother has made?

 

“That………that’s an oversimplification.” Wu delicately stammered.

 

“Yeah, keep on telling yourself that.” Elsa groaned, turning away from her once again.

 

Silence followed after that.

 

A tense silence that proceeded voluntarily as the rest of the walk through the forest of Alfheim. Even Thrúd didn’t have the heart to break the ice. However, a new dread seized her poor heart when she thought back to when they spoke about her drinking problem. And the illusion she was shown back on Midgard when they were passing into the Norns’ territory, brought back a memory that continuously echoed in her brain against her will.

 

“I hurt him once, okay?” Came her feeble voice.

 

Then the shell-shocked reception came forth.

 

“I-I’m sorry, what?”

 

“Come again?”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“Elsa, what are you saying?”

 

“Is…….this about Kris?” Mei cocked an eyebrow suspiciously.

 

She took a deep breath through her nostrils to mentally prepare herself for what she was about to drop on them in a heartbeat.

 

“Long ago, I was drunk.” This wasn’t going to be easy to tell, but she pressed on regardless. “Dead drunk. Kris kept asking me where his father was after he died and he was, I think, 5 or 6 at the time. Eventually, I got fed up with his questions that I just, well, snapped at him.”

 

“What?” asked Helen, Chen, Shan, Ping and Lily, all blinking owlishly.

 

“Well, actually, I screamed at him more like and then I….I………..shoved him down the stairs……….and broke his arm.” Elsa winced with a pained tone, eyes stinging with fresh upcoming tears.

 

“You did WHAT?!” They all screamed with horror.

 

“Why the hell would you do that?!” Ming was more appalled and horrified than the rest of them as a whole.

 

“I don’t know anymore, okay?! I was downing the bottle hard and I took it out on him when he had no idea what was going on!” Elsa yelled, guilt now evident in her voice. “I rushed him to the hospital after that and the CPS threatened to have Kris and Stig taken away and placed into foster care if I didn’t straighten myself out.”

 

Elsa collapsed on the ground, clutching her tear-stained face.

 

“I’ve tried so hard to make up for that incident. Trying to be the mother he and Stig needed. Trying to give my boys a better life. But I guess I didn’t try hard enough and now he’s in a fucking coma!”

 

She whimpered as she cried, “I need to do this. I need my child back. He and Stig are all I have left of him.”

 

No more words were exchanged.

 

It was too painful to speak after the enormous emotional bomb she just dropped on their heads.

 

Ming and Mei were looking ready to cry themselves. Remembering back to when Elsa had a drinking problem, they were afraid it was affecting her home life negatively and it turned out to slightly be correct on a small scale. While unhealthily mourning her husband’s death, Elsa had injured her son in a fit of drunken rage and it’s haunted her since. And she’s been trying to care for both of her sons like their father would’ve wanted.

 

And now Kris was in a coma because of Ming and Elsa is afraid of losing him just like she lost her husband. Ming allowed a tear to run down her cheek.

 

“Did you apologize to him at least? After the incident?” asked Helen with hope that the issue was resolved.

 

Elsa said nothing, but her expression spoke volumes.

 

“Of course you didn’t.” Helen facepalmed. “So you just played it off as you ‘just being a little upset’ and then acted like it never happened?”

 

“Helen, lay off!” Ping barked at her.

 

“It was 10 years ago!” Elsa shouted, red in the face and cheeks stained with her tears.

 

“Well………” When Thrúd stepped into the conversation, she started to look remorseful herself. “Since we’re getting our personal demons off our chests, maybe it would be fair if I contributed some of my own.”

 

“What do you mean?” asked Mei. “What have you ever done?”

 

“Well, let me start with this.” Thrúd exhaled. “Valkyries. They’re amazing, right? I’ve always wanted to be one of them. However, my mother didn’t think I had what it took and neither did my grandfather. And I really want to prove that I was valkyrie material. I stood by my father and grandfather’s side during Odin’s conquest across the Nine Realms. I helped out with everything, all the pain and suffering of all the other Realms and the near-extinction of the Jötnar, I wanted grandfather’s approval. I needed it, even if it meant taking part in conquering the Nine Realms with him. I wanted to be a valkyrie so bad. But needless to say,......it wasn’t worth it.”

 

“So you thought your dream was more important than the suffering you helped cause?” baffled Elsa. “All that time you sought Odin’s favor just to be a valkyrie?”

 

“I was a different person then. Even if I did become a valkyrie, it wouldn’t undo the death and havoc I had wrought alongside grandfather.” Thrúd said morosely. “But……………that’s not all.”

 

“.......okay?” said Elsa.

 

“When I fell in love with the mortal viking, I wanted children with him because I was fated to sire half-breed children with a mortal to ensure the continuation of the Æsir’s future after Ragnarök. But he wasn’t ready to become a father, you see. No matter what, he refused to give me a child. But I was desperate. One night, I snuck into his home after he had gone to bed, tied him to the bedpost and……I……..uh, forced myself onto him.”

 

At this, everyone looked at her with disgust.

 

“Excuse me?” scoffed Wu.

 

“I…….impregnated myself against his will and forced our two children on him.” Thrúd let out a strangled noise. “.......he did warm up to the children over time, but it didn't change anything. I did want to have children of my own, but I just wish I didn’t have to……you know…….”

 

“Great.” Elsa said with an emotionless stare. “So I’m related to a god, a viking, and a rapist.”

 

“Ouch, but yeah. I earned that one.” Thrúd took it with shame.

 

“Well, now I feel less bad for you when you said you got thrown off a cliff.” Shan frowned at the Asgardian warrior girl.

 

“I mean, breaking your child’s arm is one thing….” Wu gave a look towards Elsa, then a harder one to Thrùd. “.....but rape? Not to mention allowing so much horror and destruction to be wrought on a bunch of innocent people. That’s another.”

 

“Look, I’m not perfect. Okay? I can admit that. Nobody can ever be perfect.” Thrúd explained anxiously. “And there’s no making up for the things I’ve done. The only thing I can do now is…………is to be true to myself.”

 

Suddenly, a being jumped down from above, landing right behind Thrúd. It had pale skin, wore bright robe-like garments adored with golden armor plating, a golden face mask and had tiny horns on its head.

 

A light elf foot soldier.

 

“Stop right there.” He ordered them, aiming a spear at them.

 

“Oh, not again.” Elsa groaned in irritation. Here they all were being held at a submissive position with a bunch of natives pointing deadly weapons at them in a threatening manner.

 

More foot soldiers appeared from out of their hiding spots and surrounded the group in a circle with more spears, ready to strike when provoked. Everyone stood together and obeyed their unspoken commands to remain still and not make any sudden, funny movements. The Lees found it easier to control their pandas at this rate once they appeared with their weapons since this wasn’t the first time it's happened to them, so you could say they were mentally prepared for this turn-of-events.

 

“Leave them!” commanded an older, graceful feminine voice loudly and all the foot soldiers obeyed with fast compliance, withdrawing their weapons and clearing a way for the source of the voice to march through.

 

Approaching the group in a gentle, but stern fashion was a female light elf undoubtedly a royal leader of the race, judging by her attire; white-pale bluish elegant regal robes decorated with gold trimmings, arms and legs adorned with golden armor plating like the other foot soldiers, a golden face mask of her own, but one that designed with a crown-like headdress. And she stared at the mortals and Asgardian in their home realm with a staggeringly intense look of judgmental diligence.

 

“What brings you here, Midgardians?” asked Alva, the Light Elf queen.

 

“Uh, we’re sorry to intrude, your royal highness.” Thrúd spoke up right away on behalf of the whole group. “We’re just here because we need something.”

 

“Is that all?” Alva remarked, curiously patient. “Is this about the Bengtsson boy in Helheim? Yes, I’ve heard tell about that.”

 

“Yes, I’m his mother.” Elsa chimed in. “And I’m here to get him back out.”

 

“Hmm, you’ve got guts, Midgardian, for entering the realm of the dead.” Alva pointed out in her unwavering poised manner. “But I need more concrete proof that you’re truly willing to proceed with this journey. Any mortal man is doomed to eternal rest upon entry into the afterlife. And I need to know you’re not here to steal from us!”

 

Instinctively, Ming was about to step forward to plead their case, but Mei stopped her.

 

“Mei-Mei, what-”

 

“Let me handle this, mom.” She told her strongly.

 

Her mother was hesitant and she was still worried for her. But this time, she needed to trust her own daughter and let her do things for a chance instead of doing everything for her just because she doesn’t believe Mei is capable of handling it herself. So she just stepped back and gave her daughter a reluctant nod.

 

“Your majesty?” Mei stepped forth.

 

Alva turned her attention onto her and Mei fought down the tingles she received from that judgmental stare alone.

 

“If I may, I’d rather prove we’re serious……….in a different way.”

 

“Very well.” The Light Elf queen permitted, taking a step back.

 

In her mind, Mei knew this was gonna make her look silly, but she didn’t have the time to care. Kris needed her right now. Desperate times call for desperate measures. And the measures she was about to take were questionable on paper, but it was all about relying on her own skills and everything she knows in order to keep moving forward. So playing one of her favorite 4*Town songs, ‘Nobody Like U’ in her head, she took a deep breath to focus and concentrate.

 

And then, she allowed her body to move in that dance move that she enjoyed watching her beloved band do when they performed on stage on television. All the members of the group eyed her curiously, both confused and dumbfounded as did the foot soldiers. 

 

Alva, however, was quite passive.

 

And then Mei began to sing the lyrics with a harmonious singing voice.

 

“♫ ~ Yeah, ooh!
Yeah!

I’ve never met nobody like you
Had friends, and I’ve had buddies, it’s true
But they don’t turn my tummy the way you do
I’ve never met nobody like you
Oh, yeah
Yeah!

You’re never not on my mind, oh my, oh my
I’m never not by your side, your side, your side
I’m never gon’ let you cry, oh, cry, don’t cry
I’ll never not be your ride or die, alright…~ ♫”

 

Needless to say, this was the most unexpected. 

 

Seeing Mei move her body in such an odd, somewhat titillating manner while singing a song from her favorite boy band. All the adults failed to grasp the gravity of Mei’s display here as did the light elves. However, the foot soldiers, despite failing to understand the song from the modern world, they actually started bobbing their heads to the lyrics, much to everyone’s surprise.

 

All the aunties in the group looked at each other, giving each other flummoxed and pondering the situation, then shrugged, deciding there was no harm in playing along. It did seem to be working at least and Mei’s song did actually sound pretty catchy to them even though it didn’t add up to their own respective taste in music. Then each of them started to follow Mei’s lead. All four of them moved their hips in a synchronized, rhythmic style, now beginning, but slowly, getting into the beat.

 

Ming remembered that dance move. The same one that Mei did to taunt her back at the SkyDome, followed by her twerking her butt in her face. But this was Mei’s thing, not hers and she just needed to respect that. So giving a shrug of acceptance, Ming, too, started swirling her own hips, joining in on the dance number her daughter was doing whilst the others, mainly Wu, looked on in disbelief at what was happening before their eyes.

 

All of her family members dancing in such an outlandish way it was almost criminal. All of them dancing around like they were at a bachelorette party.

 

Wu growled to herself in annoyance and facepalmed. This was just too embarrassing for her to take.

 

“♫ ~ Let’s call it what is is, it’s a masterpiece
Got a whole lotta love for them city streets
Tonight, is the place to be
Got a big boom box and a new CD
Come on, everybody, let’s tear it up
If you want mad skills, you can share with us
(Come on) I want everybody to stop and stare
And you know why, it’s me

Woo!
Uh, it’s too good
Yeah
Let’s go!

You're never not on my mind, oh my, oh my
I'm never not by your side, your side, your side
I'm never gon' let you cry, oh cry, don't cry
I'll never not be your ride, or die, alright

Li-li-li-li-li-li-like you
Li-li-li-li-li-li-like you
Li-li-li-li-li-li-like you
Like you, like you

Li-li-li-li-li-li-like you
Li-li-li-li-li-li-like you
Li-li-li-li-li-li-like you
Like you, like you

I've never met nobody like you
Had friends and I've had buddies, it's true
But they don't turn my tummy the way you do
I've never met nobody like you

You're never not on my mind, oh my, oh my
I'm never not by your side, your side, your side
I’m never gon’ let you cry, oh cry, don’t cry
I’ll never not be your ride or die, alright! ~ ♫”

 

And Mei finishes the dance number off with a twirl, a cartwheel that she does so successfully after months of practice and a slide on the knees right in front of the Light Elf queen, panting and holding her pose while waiting for a reaction. Anything.

 

Everyone looked straight towards Alva, who had remained still and silent the whole time, observing the dance number with some level of intrigue. Ming, for her part, felt weird about doing that same crass dance she’s witnessed Mei and that boy band of hers do before and while she won’t say it out loud, she felt……a bit liberated. Although there was a thin line between her fascinations and Mei’s, Ming increasingly started to feel a sense of empowerment from that dance.

 

As for the Light Elf queen, she finally gave them her critique.

 

“Quite an entertaining performance. Peculiar and quite frivolous, but entertaining nonetheless.” Alva spoke to them all with admiration. “And you’ve all caught me in a good mood today, so I will help you. Come with me if you will.”

 

Alva and her subjects took their leave and gestured for the group to follow behind them while the others were unbelievably taken aback, especially Mei, who was quite afraid that it wasn’t going to work. You can even tell Ming had no words for how well her daughter handled that.

 

“Huh, that was easy.” Mei shrugged.

 

---

 

Down the pristine clear and magnificently azure river they all went, rowing on boats together. They were divided into three separate boats rowing along the river together as Stig, Roar and Rudolf rowed with Svir and Thrum while Jin rode with Týr, Mímir and Tom and Adam rode with Charlie and (reluctantly) Ratatoskr. The river water looked so clean and so grime-free that it was practically good enough to bath in or drink from. From their boat, Mímir shared stories from his original home.

 

“Oh, ah remember an abundance of known creatures from mah auld lands.” He explained vividly.

 

“So you’re from another country, you say?” Jin gently asked.

 

“Ah’m of Celtic origin, lad.” stated the head of Mímir. “And the creatures ah’ve known there are like none ye’ve ever seen. But ah’m you recognize them from certain tales still told as of today.”

 

“Wait, you mean like goblins, fairies, ogres, trolls, that sort of thing? They exist, too?” Tom asked with a growing burst of curiosity since he’s studied fantastical creatures during his profession as a folklorist.

 

“Aye, an’ fairies who are quite mischievous in nature, griffins, gnomes, dragons an’ even unicorns.”

 

“Unicorns, too?!” Tom shrieked. “Um, sorry. Say, in that case, I’ve been told that my girlfriend’s daughter has, like, this obsession with unicorns. Is there any chance-”

 

“Ah wouldn’t recommend it, brother.” Mímir interrupted, knowing what he was going to ask. “Unicorns will not make great pets. As beautiful n’ majestic as unicorns come and go, they are also highly territorial an’ they’re known t’ panic very quickly. See, those horns o’ theirs are not just for healin’ purposes, mind ye. The tips o’ them are so incredibly sharp, they can pierce through yer body like swords.”

 

Both Tom and Jin gave shared looks of both horror and shock at the alarming true facts behind the pretty and adorable mythical creature that has been beloved by little children, mostly girls. To think that something so mildly radiant and graceful in appearance would actually be a dangerous wild and feral animal would bring anyone’s world crashing down on their heads.

 

“In fact, I encountered a unicorn mahself once when ah was younger.” Mímir continued. “Ah was so entranced by its natural beauty that when I got too close, it charged straight at me and plunged its horn right through mah left leg and gave me a huge scar that ah would show you now if ah still my body.”

 

“Bummer…” Tom bemoaned.

 

“You lied to me!” Rudolf pulled out the unicorn figurine and yelled at it, throwing it back into his backpack in anger.

 

“You know, I’ve always wanted a unicorn myself.” Svir responded. “Them horses with the tusks on their head.”

 

“Oh, yeah. I bet they’d made a pleasant bed-mate.” Thrum remarked derisively.

 

“Better than you.” Svir shot back at him. “You snore like a dying cow.”

 

“I do not!” His brother argued back, poking him with the handle of his oar.

 

“Yes, you do! Every night I hear…” Svir made a loud snoring noise that sounded more similar between croaking or a death rattle. “It’s like….it’s like, I dunno, there’s a hive of wild wasps living inside our bedroom.”

 

“Well, maybe you should try wearing cotton in your ears.” Thrum snarked.

 

“Maybe I should launch you outta this fucking boat right now!”

 

“Boy, what a real class act you guys are.” Stig rolled his eyes at the pair’s half-witted antics.

 

“So, regardin’ our trip into Niðavellir,...” Mímir began, not wanting anymore guff out of the two dark elves. “May ah suggest we see the brothers, Eitri and Brokk.”

 

“Will they help us?” asked Adam.

 

“Oh, ah believe they will, brother.” The God of Wisdom spoke with conviction. “Oot of all their dwarven kin, they are the most masterful craftsmen in all the Nine Realms in par with their less neighborly rivals, the Sons of Ivaldi. In fact, they’re the ones who built Thor’s hammer, Mjölnir.”

 

“What? Seriously?” asked Jin, taken aback. “So the thunder god’s hammer was built by dwarves?”

 

“Yeah, there’s no way a weapon that powerful can be built by tiny little people.” said Charlie.

 

“Actually, it was. I've read stories about that during my time as a folklorist.” Tom clarified.

 

“Aye, brother.” Mímir mentioned with a fun gleam in his eyes. “See, Loki, the sly ol’ gumby, pulled a prank on Sif by shearin’ off all the lass’s hair and Thor, t’ no surprise, did not handle it very well.”

 

“Bit over the top reaction there.” murmured Stig.

 

“So Loki sought out the dwarves to replace Sif’s hair by pittin’ Eitri and Brokk against the Sons of Ivaldi in a competition t’ see who will make th’ finest treasures for the gods. The end result? Sif got her new golden hair, Thor got his hammer and Freyr, Freya’s brother, received a golden boar and a ship that could fold int’ a small cloth and Odin obtained his spear Gungnir and a ring that duplicates itself every ninth night.”

 

“Oh. Wow.” Rudolf said all still and dazed. “What does that mean?”

 

“Yeah, what purpose does that last one serve, anyway?” asked Roar, scratching his head. “A golden ring that multiplies itself.”

 

“More rings, more gold, ah suppose.” suggested Mímir. “By the way, what about ye, brother?”

 

“Who? Me?” Jin realized the head was gesturing to him with his eyes. 

 

“Aye. Know of a storm god from yer culture, laddie?”

 

“I’m not really into mythology, so I….don’t know.” Jin shrugged.

 

“I do.” Tom, the folklorist, spoke right away. “You’re Chinese, right? So in Chinese myth, there’s the one called Leigong who commands the thunder with a drum and mallet. According to Taoism, he is ordered by heaven to punish mortals guilty of secret crimes and have used their knowledge of Taoism for evil. While he commands thunder, his wife, Dianmu, commands the lightning who is said to use flashing mirrors to send lightning bolts from the sky.”

 

“Fascinating.” Jin gasped.

 

“Hmm, oh, yes. Ah believe ah’ve heard slivers of those tales before.” Mímir said honestly, though he isn’t too familiar with the Chinese pantheon.

 

“In Japan, where my family’s from, we have Raijin of the Shinto religion. He has drums, too. Den-den daiko drums with tomoe symbols on them, to be exact. They say he stands on a cloud in the sky while beating on the drums with hammers to create the sound of thunder.”

 

“Now that one ah know of. Ah heard he’s a fierce sort, but not at all whence ye git to know ‘im.”

 

“What is it with storm gods and hammers?” Stig sighed with a soft murmur.

 

Jin then decided to change the subject since there was something that’s been boggling his noggin for a long while, something that he needed to make sure of that regarded Mei and Kris. He remembered her speaking about the boy in such a flattering manner and he knew for a fact that the girl had butterflies in her stomach thinking about him, but did Kris feel the same way about her?

 

It was his job and responsibility as a parent to know whether or not his own daughter was jumping into a one-sided relationship and setting herself up for disappointment. But from what she said about him, the boy didn’t sound very much like a bad influence. There was something about him that really made Mei feel more like herself and this image her mother projects onto her. The love she had for Kris, it had to be powerful enough for all of them to be journeying through fantastical realms of mythical gods and creatures of legend in an ancient world where the boy’s family heritage originated from in order to rescue him from the afterlife.

 

“Hey, Stig, right?” Jin asked the boy in question.

 

“Yeah?” asked the goth sharply.

 

“I’ve been wondering….”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Is Kris, well,.......in love with my daughter?” Jin asked with a slight stammer.

 

Stig briefly looked at the man in the eye for a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it second, but then he sighed, looking downcasted. Somehow, somewhere in his mind, he had an inkling this glaring question would come up eventually.

 

“Yes.” He answered. “Yes, he is. He’s been in love with her for a long time. Sometimes, he’ll ride the bus to school each morning with her.”

 

“I knew it.” The father of Mei chirped.

 

“But every afternoon, he thinks I never noticed, but he comes home in a sad sack. He tries to find subtle ways to vent out his frustrations and keep them at a minimum. The frustrations he gets from putting up with Mei’s mom at the temple every day.”

 

“Uh……oh.” Jin was speechless, admittedly not a tad bit surprised. “Well, I can’t really blame him. My wife hasn’t been easy to deal with or get along with for that matter, especially if Mei is involved. She’s been so hellbent on protecting her daughter no matter the cost, even if it meant forcing her into this mold of perfection. And she’s been known to jump to conclusions on several occasions.”

 

“Like Devon?” asked Roar with a deadpan.

 

“Well, yes.” Jin sucked in air. “In fairness, Mei drew flirty pictures of a kid she barely knew and Ming took it as a sign and not a very good one. But Ming still feels bad about her actions that night.”

 

“Say, what did happen then?” asked Mímir, suddenly curious.

 

“Well, Ming drove Mei down to the Daisy Mart and basically tore into the cashier boy, accusing him of rape or molestation. But Mei tells me that she only saw the boy once and she only thought she looked cute.”

 

“Not sure o’ what most o’ that means, but ah feel bad for the lad in that respect.” The severed head of the God of Wisdom noted.

 

No one realized this at all, but as they were rowing down the river, a group of figures were secretly eyeing them from afar.

 

Another couple of minutes of rowing down the pleasant blueness of the river, the undergrowth and the trees around them became increasingly scarce within their peripheral vision. Clouds were starting to form in the sky and block out the sun. They were now passing through a field of geysers and there came forth a smell. A very odd and raunchy smell. One that smelled of eggy, methane that would come from rotting corpses.

 

Sulfur.

 

However, Tom figured the smell to be from a different source as he whacked Jin with his oar with annoyance.

 

“Hey! It’s not me!” He defended.

 

“Yeah, you smell that? It means we’re getting close.” Svir told them as he rowed a little faster to make time, unbothered by the smell.

 

“Man, that stinks.” Roar complained.

 

They kept rowing and rowing until they were coming close to a large wooden, thick-layered gate in the river straight up ahead that was for sure the entrance to the city of the dwarves with small lookout towers on either end. After getting close enough, the two dark elves halted their boat to create a wide berth between themselves and the large gateway and those in the other boats did the same and all three boats floated on the water surface.

 

𝙉𝙄Ð𝘼𝙑𝙀𝙇𝙇𝙄𝙍
𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙃𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘿𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙫𝙚𝙨

 

“Alright, let us do the talking.” Svir told the humans.

 

“Yeah, we do stuff. We know things.” added Thrum, though his brother elbowed him in the face.

 

“Hello!” Svir hollered at the top of his lungs, trying to call out for whomever was guarding the gateway into Niðavellir. Minutes and minutes later, a dwarf came into view donned in armor.

 

“Hello? Yes?......Well, shit.” The dwarf guard groaned at seeing them at the dwarven home’s doorstep. The two idiots that have been forced to harvest crops for them.

 

“How you doing?” Thrum called out. “What’s happening, my man?”

 

“A little early to be delivering the goods, don’t you think, dark elves?” sassed the dwarf guard.

 

“Oh, about that, you see, we wanted to give these mortals a grand tour.” Svir explained.

 

Stig facepalmed.

 

“Is that so?” The miniature guard didn’t look convinced.

 

“You bet! These guys want to have a gander at the city of the dwarves. Mind asking the man in charge if we could come in just for a spell?” asked Svir with a big smile.

 

 

“Well, I’ll ask him, but we both know what he’ll say to that.” said the dwarf without humor.

 

“Come on. We’re pals with the guy. He’ll understand.” 

 

“That you’re trying to sneak inside? The nerve! ”

 

“Well, can we at least come inside anyway? Just to allow the Midgardians to see the city for themselves?” asked Svir, growing increasingly desperate.

 

“Of course not!” The small guard rebutted in refusal. “If it’s dark elves they’re with, no entry for them!”

 

All the mortals present in their little group groaned in irritation and despair. They’ve come this far and the dwarves won’t let them in.

 

“Huh. So much for that.” Stig jabbed at the two rambunctious dark elves.

 

“If you don’t let us in, we’ll have no choice but to storm your city and take you all under siege!” threatened Svir, which started to worry everyone.

 

“Yeah, we’ll have you hanged, drawn and quartered, every single one of you!” Thrum joined in too eagerly. “No? How about a beheading, then? A blood eagle, anyone?”

 

“What are you…?!” Týr exclaimed with annoyance.

 

“You don’t scare us, you arka, eldhúsfífl dungas! You shit-faced sod-mouthed vesingrs think you can waltz over here like you own us?! Hell no! We may be small to you, but you weasels are just as intimidating to us as a cricket passing gas in Niflheim!”

 

‘Man, I love this place’ Stig chuckled mentally.

 

“Quite the performance.” Ratatoskr commented with a dull shrug.

 

“Now listen here, little man-!” Svir was about to fly off the handle at the shorty guard giving him smack, but was interrupted by another taunting declaim from the other end.

 

“I don’t want to hear from you no more, you backless, brainless, imbecilic, raggabrash hog-snoggler! I spit on your grave, you egregious, elephantine-faced scobberlotcher! Your mother was a fine pair of spread legs for your father’s delight!”

 

Not a word.

 

Not a peep.

 

Not a sound.

 

Nothing.

 

Silence.

 

………a very awkward kind.

 

“Is there someone there we can speak with?” Jin tried to reason.

 

“No! Now you lot skedaddle on out of here before we inform the All-Father of this immediately!” ordered the dwarf guard, not wanting to listen to them anymore.

 

“You wouldn’t dare!” Thrum gasped with horror.

 

“Oh, see if I don’t!” The guard dared with braggadocio. “And don’t you two come back until the next waxing moon when you’ve got the stuff, you hear? Or else I’m damn-as-hell certain that it’ll be an extra three years added to your sentence!”

 

“Let’s just go.” Týr tried to get the two harebrained elves to just leave it, but they wouldn’t listen. In fact, Svir suddenly jumped to his feet on the boat, causing it to wobble around as he moved so suddenly, forcing the teens on the boat to keep it from capsizing.

 

“Alright, shorty, that’s it! I’ve tried to be nice, but yo-!”

 

WHACK!

 

“Ow! Really, rocks!? You’re gonna throw rocks now?!” Svir screamed as a hard stone struck him right in the face, knocking him back from the sheer impact for such a small person.

 

More rocks were thrown and damn, did they hurt. 

 

Another dwarf guard came in to join in on the action, tossing more rocks or anything else hard they could find at the annoying dark elves to show them away and so everyone else got the message before the two lunkheads did. Each boat grabbed their oars with bullet speed and rapidly made their boats to a 360 turn and they steered away from the gateway while the dwarves laughed their asses off as they retreated.

 

And they rowed and they rowed and they rowed until they were just far enough away from the gate and those pesky dwarves. They all stopped to catch their breaths and take a moment to consider any other options. That was basically their one chance to get in and they wouldn’t even let them in. After all, they finally arrived at the city of the dwarves where they were supposed to go, but circumstances have yet to slow their progress.

 

Complications, complications.

 

“Well, that’s just fucking perfect.” Adam growled. “Now what?”

 

“I told you they’d be difficult to reason with.” Týr said matter-of-factly. “And they don’t trust strangers right away.”

 

“Boy, this is really a pickle.” Tom scratched his head with disappointment.

 

“Wait.” Rudolf gasped when the lightbulb lit up. “I have an idea!”

 

“Not now, Dolf.” Stig rolled his eyes.

 

“No, really.” The Inuit boy insisted. “Who here likes movies?”

 

“Are you fucking serious?” asked the goth boy with disbelief. How could he be talking about movies right now?

 

“I do.” Charlie raised his hand.

 

“What’s a movie?” asked Svir.

 

---

 

THE TEMPLE OF LIGHT

 

It was into the foundation known as the Temple of Light where everyone was taken to. The exterior design of the structure was, by all means, phenomenally built at best and had such an otherworldly look about it that made the Midgardian visitors wonder just how truly big and epic their world really was on a massive scale. So many fantastic worlds such as this one. Once inside, everyone noticed many other light elves from within the temple and they bowed in respect to Alva as they walked by as they would when in the presence of royalty.

 

Inside of the temple was a magical megastructure that fired a large beam of bright and hypnotically-luminescent light straight up into the sky known as the Light of Alfheim. A powerful light that not only gleamed, but also - if you're quiet enough - you can almost hear faint voices. The voices of those that came before and those that have lived their lives until their time came. Like an echo of the past reverberating off the walls of the present that remains with you for all time until your time on this Earth has been spent. However, Alva has already strictly instructed them to keep their distance from the light as anyone who gets too close to the light gets drawn in and trapped within an endless, inescapable purgatory that can claim your soul if you remain there for too long. Of course, the humans were stunned to hear that the light elves had their own variation of an afterlife of deceased spirits from within their own realm of Alfheim. Perhaps it suffices to say that Valhalla and Helheim aren’t the only places where you’d go after you die. However, the Light of Alfheim is most likely for those within the Nine Realms and specifically Midgardians.

 

Once inside and everyone was settled, the humans were left to their devices with Thrúd by their side while the light elves did their work elsewhere in constructing what they needed for their journey into Helheim. Suddenly, Alva decided that the humans must need some substance after enduring such a long quest.

 

“Here, try this. You must be famished.” Alva handed Ming a brightly-colored fruit that was round, but in a shape that was indeterminate, so the Asian-Canadian woman eyeballed the thing with hesitance.

 

“What is it?” She asked.

 

“It’s grown in Vanaheim. Good for protein and fiber.” The Light Elf queen explained.

 

Ming still found it risky to try a new type of fruit she isn’t familiar with, but admittedly, she was getting a little peckish for a while since she hadn’t eaten in a while since she and the others had arrived in the Nine Realms. So she accepted it and took a bite out of it. It tasted pretty decent. Obviously, it was a kind of citrus fruit like grapefruit.

 

“That’s really good, actually.” Ming hummed with satisfaction, taking more bites.

 

“Eat it carefully, Midgardian. That stuff will upset your stomach if you eat it too fast.” warned Alva as she departed.

 

Ming just chuckled nervously, but nonetheless did what she was told. 

 

“What was the song you were singing back there anyway?” asked Thrúd inquisitively.

 

“It’s called ‘Nobody Like U’ from my favorite band of all time, 4*Town.” Mei proudly said with a smile. “One of their biggest hits.”

 

“4*Town?” Thorsdottir then asked with deep thought, scratching her head. “Um, okay then.”

 

“And that’s the concert my son went to with his friends?” asked Elsa knowingly.

 

“Yeah.” Mei nodded eagerly, fighting back a frown at the remembrance of the dreaded events that unfolded. “Robaire, Jesse, Tae Young, Aaron Z. and Aaron T.”

 

“Why are they even called 4*Town if there’s five of them?” asked Elsa, cocking an eyebrow.

 

“I said the same exact thing!” Ming cried with an amused, smug grin.

 

“Let it go already, mom!” Mei yelled at her in annoyance. “I think it has something to do with the fact there are two members with the same name as Aaron. Robaire, Tae Young, Jesse and Aaron. The both of them. Get it?”

 

“I guess that makes……a little bit of sense.” Elsa shrugged, scratching her chin admitting some truth to that. “I mean, I do suppose ‘4*Town’ does have better ring to it than ‘5*Town’.”

 

“Says you.” Wu snarked. “4 is the most unlucky number.”

 

“But unlucky for you, I don’t believe in that stuff, because I simply don’t care.” Mei snarked back at her.

 

“Mei!” Her grandmother balked for that biting sass, but the girl ignored her.

 

“And if you ask me, Robaire is definitely the hottest and the cutest among them.” Mei sighed dreamily.

 

“Cuter than Kris?” Lily taunted with a smirk.

 

“Well, no!” Mei blushed madly. “I mean, I’m still Robaire’s biggest fan, but……uh…….”

 

“We get it, Mei-Mei. You’re in love with that boy.” Chen joined in with a teasing smirk of her own. “It’s already completely obvious.”

 

“I know.” The formerly-nerdy girl admitted, since there was clearly no point in denying it. “I really am.”

 

“Kris had the hots for you, too, you know?” Elsa even smirked herself. “Which is why he’d often ride the bus to school only because you’d be there.”

 

“Really?” Mei warmly asked, blushing again.

 

“Has he even confessed yet?!” Helen demanded, wanting the details so bad like a high school teen desperate for how her friend’s hot date went the night before.

 

“No. Neither have I.” Mei’s warm feeling disappeared as did her blush. “But on the night of Tyler’s party before disaster struck and my mom fired him, I think he was going to tell me something. He…….he never got the chance.”

 

Ming looked away. And to think she was cruel enough to get between such a cute, budding romance and be the reason it never came to pass. But hopefully after all this, they may finally be able to admit their feelings for each other at last. That is……….if Kris is even willing to forgive and forget. Once again, Mei never stood up for Kris whenever Ming bossed him around and treated him like shit up, even when he was let go for the dumbest reason. Kris may not be able to get over that so easily.

 

“Well, if you could try to charm him.” Ping said with mischief in her eyes.

 

“Um, w-what?” With the sound of those words, Mei’s blush returned three shades redder than before.

 

“Yeah.” Lily agreed with a nod. “Move those hips around like you did before, only more enticingly. Perhaps give him a little sneak peak at what you're packing from behind.”

 

As a demonstration whilst she spoke, the plump young woman smiled impishly as she gave her wide hips a good, hypnotic swing in a circle and the other aunties watched in amusement - Wu with disgust and disbelief - as she gently and slowly moved her body like butter into a little slightly-provocative dance as she turned and gave her big, round derrière a good, hypnotic shake in a manner that (to her, that is) would make most men drool over her. The reactions were varied. Ming looked everywhere else while swallowing her spit, Wu averted her eyes while facepalming and Mei had no such words to properly describe her state right now.

 

Sure, she enjoyed gyrating her body and shaking her admittedly sizable butt every now and then, but seeing an older woman do it, much less her own relative, that would be an image that you would not want stuck on your brain forever.

 

“Tom loves it when I do this.” Lily said as she continued her shamelessly seductive hip-swing and butt shake. “Makes him go crazy. Maybe Kris is into this kind of thing.”

 

“Oh, Lily.” Ping pinched the bridge of her nose, but didn’t stop an unrepentant chuckle from escaping her lips.

 

“You know, you do something similar when we-” Shan started to say to his wife, who then instinctively covered his mouth before he could give away anything personal.

 

“Shan! You know that’s between us!” Ping warned him.

 

“Oh, by the ancestors.” Wu let out a long-suffering groan.

 

“Pfft, booty-shaking is so last year.” Helen rolled her own eyes. “What I would do is this.”

 

And by ‘this’, she means doing a sensual walk, making sure to swing her hips side-to-side, which would bring some attention to her own swaying buttocks. Then stopping to strike a flirtatious pose and flipped her head around to give a half-lidded stare and a sly smirk.

 

Then came the pickup line.

 

“Hey, handsome. Like what you see?”

 

Like Lily’s twerking, the mixed reactions to Helen’s suggestion came in varied forms. Ming and Mei were both increasingly uncomfortable, Elsa looked like she was giving up on life, Lily rolled her eyes at her and Chen expressed her discomfort with the gagging gesture. It was just something Helen picked up from Jaz on how she would put the move on boys she thought were cute.

 

“Boo! You stink, Helen!” Lily jabbed at her.

 

“Oh, like you didn’t think of it either, bubble butt!” Helen shot back, a bit immaturely.

 

“At least I have a butt!”

 

“Step aside, girls. Allow us.” Ping stood up next, gently pushing the two petty arguing women apart before a catfight can ensue as she, alongside Chen, both made their way over to Mei and stood in front of their niece. “I think a better way of attracting a particular boy’s attention and affection would be to play it more smoothly.”

 

“Yeah, that’s right. Maybe take the time to understand his feelings, think about how he makes you feel and how you make him feel in return. Because some boys love a girl who is willing to be more open.”

 

“Like Charlie?” Ping jeered playfully.

 

“Oh, yes. Me and Charlie share lots of things in common. We both love Bowie, that’s one thing.” nodded Chen.

 

Honestly, Mei couldn’t tell which was weirder. Seeing Lily shaking her buttocks or her aunties teaching her…….seduction. Either way, this embarrassing feeling they were giving her caused her panda to come forth. At this, the strict and dignified Wu decided that this had gone far enough, marching over to Mei.

 

“Alright, that’s enough, ladies.” She snapped at them getting between her panda-ified granddaughter and the other auntie squad with her rough, peremptory tone. “There will be no silly pickup lines or……. butt-shaking. Our Mei is still 14-years old, she’s not old enough to be wooing some………boy.”

 

“Hey, she can decide for herself.” Ping argued lightly.

 

“You Midgardians are so peculiar.” Thrúd commented.

 

Then Elsa started wondering, wondering about the events that unfolded at the dreaded SkyDome concert months prior. Mei and the others had already given their own word on what had gone down, which she believed was complete and utter nonsense, but now that she’s seen and heard everything, it’s better now that she received the full scope and she was ready to believe it now.

 

“So now that y’all are done haunting my nightmares, if you guys don’t mind me asking, what exactly happened at the concert months ago?” Elsa asked everyone. “You know, just want to know the full story behind it. Did my son really…………….transform into Thor?”

 

“Yes, he did.” Mei nodded. “I’m not so sure why Kris was even there at the concert to begin with. Although, I did invite him to come with us to the concert days before.”

 

“Well, as you already knew, it was his birthday that day and your friends showed up at our house to invite Kris and his friends to the concert. They said they wanted Kris to…..I dunno, take your place since you weren’t going to go.”

 

That made Mei really forlorn when she remembered the night of Tyler’s party after her mother found out about their 4*Town operation and since then, she had no choice but to go along with the ritual for her family’s sake. It was no surprise, but definitely sad to think that her friends decided to go to the concert without her and apparently, they must’ve invited Kris’s friends along with them.

 

“Yeah, that.” Mei winced. “That was the same night as the ritual.”

 

“To seal your panda away.” Elsa knowingly stated.

 

“Yes.” The girl nodded, turning human again once more.

 

“But she couldn’t do it.” said Ping on behalf of her niece. “She chose not to go along with it.”

 

“Even after all the work we had put into to make everything go according to plan and Mei-”

 

“Mei can choose for herself.” Ping snapped at her mother.

 

“Sealing the panda away is not a choice!” Wu shouted. “I know that, you know that, we all know that!”

 

“But maybe the red pandas aren’t all that bad?” said Lily with a shrug.

 

“Quiet, Lily!” The old woman barked at her, then looked at Ming with a stern gaze. “And that husband of yours just had to fill your daughter’s head with such nonsense!”

 

“Hey! Leave him out of this!” Ming shouted back at her.

 

“Anyway…….!” Mei shut both of them up. “I still went to the concert, but my friends were upset with me, but they agreed to let it go for the time being for the concert’s sake. And then that’s when my mom showed up with her giant Pandazilla.”

 

“Mei!” Ming stressfully gripped her head in her hands. “I thought we agreed not to discuss that part!”

 

“She has a right to know!” Mei continued. “And after she screamed at Kris and broke his guitar, the storm came in out of nowhere.”

 

“It’s true!” Helen agreed, violently nodding. “It was crazy! The weather report didn’t even predict any thunderstorms!”

 

“He shot a lightning bolt in Ming’s face!” Chen then said, which made Ming cower helplessly; her eye twitching and her lips tightening.

 

“Then there was this symbol.” said Ping, pointing at the spot on her forehead. “Right here. It just suddenly appeared on there.”

 

“But the scariest part?” Lily went next. “It looked like it was being carved into his skin, making streams of……… blood leak down his face and he didn’t even wince in pain. You really should’ve seen it. It was, like, next-level horror movie stuff!”

 

“Is…….that why I found that bleeding scar on his forehead in the hospital that night?” asked Elsa suspiciously, mixed with horror.

 

Simultaneously and in synchronized fashion, Ming, Ping, Chen, Lily, Helen and Mei all nodded with sympathetic and worried expressions, all equally unable to use their words. Looks like Stig wasn’t fibbing after all.

 

Elsa choked on her spit and said, “I was afraid he did that to himself……or maybe one of you did.”

 

“Wha-!? Elsa, we would NEVER do that to anyone!” That made Lily shriek with horror at the notion of doing something so horrendous to a child, which made her panda out. She then approached Elsa to look her in the eye. “Maybe I did accidentally punch my ex-husband in the face once when I thought he was a burglar, but I’d never hurt anyone on purpose! I’m telling you, that scar appeared on Kris’s head by itself!”

 

“Okay, okay, I get the picture!” Elsa gently pushed her furry face back when she got too close.

 

“Lily, chill! Do it with me. Chill.” Ping came to her panda daughter’s side and helped her settle down until she poofed back to normal. 

 

“I’m accusing anyone here of anything.” replied Elsa. 

 

“Did, uh………” Mei started to ask nervously. “Did Kris ever show anything strange going on with him before the concert?”

 

“Well, after the party incident, Kris just…..shut down. He had been completely unresponsive ever since then.” Elsa explained, blank-faced and morose. “No matter what I did or what I said to him, Kris just wouldn’t speak or react in literally any way possible. Not a single sound of him and wouldn’t even look me in the eye most of the time and he would just……sit there quietly, not moving a muscle like a living statue. His psychiatrist says he’s been blocking himself off. You know, creating a personal bubble. But after a while, I chalked it up to him being fed up with the world, fed up with just…….everything.”

 

Everyone gasped in shock, minus Ming and Mei. At the concert, Kris’s friend told her of Kris’s persistent vow of silence and Elsa had alluded to it to Ming a while back. Without exception, Ming knew she was part of the reason for him becoming introverted and standoffish, pushing everyone he loves aside and refusing to communicate. She’s already hurt that boy so much and so much Kris has been suffering from it and firing him that night, must have been that last straw for him up until his guitar was destroyed. 

 

Because Kris was the real victim.

 

“Are you sure he never spoke again after that night?” winced Ming, hoping that the issue wasn’t too severe. “Have you not overheard him say anything by himself at all?”

 

“No. I’ve stopped by his door many times and listened for a sound or a voice, but nothing. Still not a single word.” Elsa shook her head, letting a tear fall down her cheek.

 

SLAP!

 

Helen angrily whacked Ming at the back of the head. Ming yelped in pain, but accepted it nonetheless.

 

“As for the whole SkyDome thing, well, I always knew you were the ‘act first, think later’ type and you’ve become quick to judge over time.” Elsa said towards Ming. “But I never once thought you’d actually destroy something someone cared about.”

 

“Yes, I’ve made poor, rash decisions before, but the guitar was the worst one I’ve ever made.” Her former friend replied. “And sorry for trying to crush your son. That’s just as stupid. I have no excuse for that at all.”

 

“I’ll come to get over that sometime in the near future.” Elsa only said with a shrug. “But not right now, of course.”

 

“Maybe he’s right.” Ming shook her head, remembering Stig’s harsh words. “I’m only here to free myself of my guilt and just move on from it like it never happened. Maybe I’m only worrying for Kris’s life now all because I was nearly beaten to death in retaliation for my cruelty. Maybe I’m only saving his life so I don’t have to feel responsible for anything else. That’s not honest at all. That’s just arrogant.”

 

“Look, Ming-”

 

“No.” Ming cuts Elsa off as the others look at her as she begins shedding tears. “He’s right to hate me. I’ve bullied his brother his whole time working for me and I nearly killed Kris right in front of him without remorse. And just imagine if I actually did. That’s something that will never be undone. I deserve to be in prison.”

 

“Oh, Ming, don’t be absurd!” Wu was about to deflect when….

 

“Sorry for the wait.”

 

Alva returned with a couple of her light elf subjects by her side as she turned the mortal visitors’ attention toward her as she held in her hand, an orb-shaped magical thingummy constructed out of a golden metal engraved with more Futhark runes decorated especially with tribal patterns, all of which glowed with a purplish-white mystical energy. Up close, the object was of a curious-looking dyson sphere-inspired configuration with a crystal orb encased inside.

 

Elsa stepped forth, examining the item up close with curiosity. Then she took it from the Light Elf queen and held up more closely.

 

“With the help of the Light of Alfheim, this will help you navigate properly in the realm of the dead.” explained Alva with diplomatic grace. “You just let it know where you need to go and if I’m correct, your son should be inside of the hall of Hel herself.”

 

“What could she be doing to that poor boy?” asked Ping with a mother’s worry.

 

“Hel’s isn’t truly one who uses violence.” Thrúd responded. “Though, I’ve heard that she can be quite masochistic in a few facets.”

 

“Could she be……… torturing him right now?” Lily was pale at the very notion and made her worry about the boy just as much as the others did and it made her sick the more she thought about it.

 

Elsa and Mei were even more horror-struck to think that poor Kris was at the mercy of a twisted and merciless death goddess who could be using the boy as a personal plaything or inflicting great pain and agony on him as much as she saw fit for her sick kicks. Lord knows how they’ll be able to save Kris from a scenario like that.

 

“I don’t know.” Alva shrugged sadly. “But you’ll have to be smart. Hel is no fool and she’ll know what you’re up to.”

 

The sound of a whoosh was heard in the middle of their conversation. It broke through the silence of the air outside the temple walls and everyone looked all around, wondering what it was all about. The light elves themselves had no reaction as they just pointed their gaze where they heard the sound as it sounded familiar to them, while the humans were jolting their heads this way and that. From outside through the open windows, a figure was seen zipping across the sky like a speeding bullet.

 

From underneath her mask, Alva smiled, knowing full well who and what it was.

 

“He’s here. Our ruler. Have no fear.” She reminded them. “Though, I will need to ask you to break aside.”

 

As she gestured to them all to step back to create a wide space, they all looked at each other in confusion as to why, but then suddenly they got their answer.

 

For at that moment, the figure flying through the sky burst into the temple after the foot soldiers flung open the doors for it to enter through and rode itself inside. Everyone yelped, startled to see that a gigantic-than-average boar charged inside and even though they were far enough apart for it to stampede past them, they inched even further away so as to not get accidentally hit by the charging animal, running right towards Alva, who didn’t move a single muscle until finally it halted in its tracks just a hair in front of her, snorting air from its nostrils. But what struck everyone as most peculiar wasn’t just its size alone, but rather its overall appearance in general.

 

The creature appeared as if it were made of gold, like a giant ancient automatonic design in the shape and form of a boar with bristles sprouting from the top of its head. Righting on its back was a handsome young man looking like he’s in his early 20’s, brown skin, brown eyes and long dark hair tied back at one end with some beads, wearing green and brown clothes and armor, adorned with a deer antler attached to his waist.

 

Although Alva and the light elves were pleased to be within his presence, the morals were ignorant to realize that they were all standing before 𝕱𝖗𝖊𝖞𝖗 (𝒪𝓁𝒹 𝒩𝑜𝓇𝓈𝑒: 𝕷𝖔𝖗𝖉, 𝒩𝑜𝓇𝒹𝒾𝒸: ᚠᚱᛅᚢᛦ), also known as 𝕱𝖗𝖊𝖞 and 𝖄𝖓𝖌𝖛𝖎, the brother of Freya; the 𝙽𝚘𝚛𝚜𝚎 𝚅𝚊𝚗𝚒𝚛 𝙶𝚘𝚍 𝚘𝚏 𝙵𝚎𝚛𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚢, 𝚁𝚊𝚒𝚗, 𝚂𝚞𝚗𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚎, 𝙿𝚎𝚊𝚌𝚎, 𝚂𝚊𝚌𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝙺𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚙, 𝙿𝚛𝚘𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚢, 𝚅𝚒𝚛𝚒𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚢 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙷𝚊𝚛𝚟𝚎𝚜𝚝, 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙵𝚘𝚛𝚖𝚎𝚛 𝙺𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚈𝚗𝚐𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜, 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙵𝚒𝚛𝚜𝚝 𝙺𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚏 𝚂𝚠𝚎𝚍𝚎𝚗 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚁𝚞𝚕𝚎𝚛 𝚘𝚏 𝙰𝚕𝚏𝚑𝚎𝚒𝚖 mounted on his trusty steed, the golden boar 𝕲𝖚𝖑𝖑𝖎𝖓𝖇𝖚𝖗𝖘𝖙𝖎 (also known as 𝕾𝖑íð𝖗𝖚𝖌𝖙𝖆𝖓𝖓𝖎), forged by the dwarves of Svartalfheim.

 

“Sorry for showing up on such short notice.” The Goddess of Fertility announced as he jumped off of his boar in front of their human guests. “Greetings, ladies and……..gentleman. Glad you could finally make it. Pardon my entrance. Gullinbursti here is a bit of an adrenaline junkie. Ain’t that right?”

 

Freyr patted his precious golden boar on the side and the giant animal snorted and grunted. Wu and Helen edged nearer to the creature to examine its inorganic-looking body structure. It was very much like a living boat-shaped piece of golden treasure, looks like.

 

“Fascinating.” Helen exhaled with child-like wonder.

 

“Oh, you like him? He’s actually made entirely out of gold.” Freyr told her. “He was a gift. Crafted from the dwarf blacksmiths of Niðavellir. A real beaut, he is.”

 

“And you are?” asked Ping.

 

“Freyr, the God of the Harvest.” He said a little proudly.

 

“Hmm.” Using her decoding brain, Elsa comes to the conclusion that he must be related to someone they’ve met already.

 

“You’re Freya’s brother, right?” She surmised.

 

“That’s right.” He nodded. “Have you met my baby sister yet?”

 

“We did.” Elsa answered. “She helped wake Mímir up.”

 

“Good for her. If you folks don’t mind me dropping in like this.” Freyr told them all, mindlessly meandering around the room. “I was told there were Midgardians in Alfheim and I just had to check them out. We don’t often get Midgardian visitors here in the Nine Realms, especially Alfheim. Here to save the boy, correct?”

 

“Yes, sir.” Mei nodded.

 

“That poor boy.” said Freyr, shaking his head with sympathy. “He must’ve been truly crushed. I’ve been told he wasn’t in a good state before he entered Helheim and I do hope you get him out soon.”

 

“I hope so, too. I’ll never forgive myself if we can’t.” Ming stated with a saddened look of her own. “See, I’m the cause of his distress. I’m the reason why he was so down in the dumps.”

 

“Why? What did you do?”

 

“I don’t really want to talk about it.” Ming sighed, rubbing her arm.

 

“Okay…….” Freyr cleared his throat to continue. “Well, since you folks are actually gonna risk it all to enter the afterlife, perhaps I can convenience you with a little something extra just in case.”

 

“In case what?” asked Shan.

 

Without answering, the Vanir ruler of Alfheim reached a hand into his pocket and dug around until he pulled out………a piece of cloth.

 

Everyone’s reaction was just as you’d expect.

 

“Wow……” Mei wasn’t too impressed.

 

Freyr smirked, however, before unceremoniously flinging it outward onto a wide open space in the room as several light elves nearby kept their distance and for good reason, because as soon as the measly and ordinary piece of fabric glowed and in just a few second, it rapidly unfurled, enlarge, morph and change shape until it reached the immense height of a large Viking longship that hovered above the ground and everyone’s confusion switched to befuddlement and surprise when they all approached 𝓢𝓴íð𝓫𝓵𝓪ð𝓷𝓲𝓻 (sometimes anglicized as 𝓢𝓴𝓲𝓭𝓫𝓵𝓪𝓭𝓷𝓲𝓻 or 𝓢𝓴𝓲𝓽𝓱𝓫𝓵𝓪𝓽𝓱𝓷𝓲𝓻) with sudden eager curiosity. Some of them even climbed aboard it, amazed at how it floated in mid-air, despite the extra weight.

 

“Cool!” Chen cheered like a schoolgirl.

 

“I know. Amazing, right?” Freyr grinned at the admiration his ship received, patting it on the side. “Skíðblaðnir here was another gift from the dwarves and she comes in good handy, too.”

 

“Skid-what?” asked Wu incredulously.

 

“This baby should help get you out of Helheim if you need her.” Freyr then grabbed at the mast of the magical boat and gave it a good tug as though he were actually pulling on a curtain rather than a ship and suddenly, Skíðblaðnir was pulled back as if it were made of a sheet as the God of Fertility folded the ship up, making it shrunk down back to the shape it previously was as a piece of cloth. Those who were still on the ship - namely, Lily, Ping and Shan - were flopped onto the ground as the magic longship was folded back up.

 

“Hey!” Lily complained.

 

“That’s a neat trick.” Mei took it from him and put it in her own pocket, then she faced Elsa. “I honestly hope the guys are having as much luck as we are right now."

Notes:

So we've been given some in-depth information about how Stig came into the family and an incident in the past that Elsa's been trying to make up for.

Mei's suggestion to dance to a 4*Town song in order to win the light elves' trust is meant to clarify that Ming needs to start trusting Mei to handle things herself for once. And the part about unicorns actually being dangerous in real life is an example of expectation vs. reality. Just because seems cute and pretty on the outside, doesn't mean it’s harmless. That whole bit with the argument between the dark elf brothers and the dwarf guard was inspired by the taunting Frenchman from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, so I really had fun writing that part. And so the boys will need a different plan to get into Nidavellir.

And I thought it was hilarious making the aunties try to teach Mei how to flirt with her crush.

Next Chapter: The boys build something to sneak into Nidavellir and nearly incite a war between both the dark elves and the dwarves before they finally reach Eitri and Brokk.

Next Update: May 9, 2023

Chapter 15: The Trojan Rabbit?

Summary:

The boys build something to sneak into Nidavellir and nearly incite a war between both the dark elves and the dwarves before they finally reach Eitri and Brokk.

Notes:

Disclaimer: Turning Red and it’s characters are the property of (c) Walt Disney Pictures/Pixar Animation Studios.

Elements are borrowed from God of War (2018) and Ragnarök, owned by (c) Santa Monica Studio/Sony Interactive Entertainment

C/W: Violence.

All was quiet on the eastern wall. As quiet as could be.

 

For the moment, at least.

 

The peaceful silence enveloping the area was brazenly disrupted by some……sounds in the far distance. Although confused, the dwarf was quite curious as to what this could be right now. It was too far away for anyone to find or pinpoint the source and yet the sounds were loud enough for anyone to overhear from afar. As the guard on the wall listened closely and curiously, his mind started to pick up what exactly those sounds were. A whole wide array of different construction-type noises ranging from either such tool; such as the hammering of nails, the sawing of wood, the pounding of a solid hammer against a metal surface, the echo of metal objects dropping on the ground and the whir of a……buzzsaw? (Don’t question it.)

 

What the hell were those nincompoops up to?

 

Putting a hand to his ear, it was met with a new noise. The sound of big, heavy wheels rolling along the ground. Giant, wooden wheels that were 12 in. thick and 20 in. in width. Placed on these wheels was a large wooden structure as big as a tool shed. It was made of tree wood, spanned about 10 feet in length and wide enough for maximum capacity of 9 or less passengers. And strangely and quite hilariously enough, it was in the shape of a giant rabbit pouncing with front paws outward, the feet pointing back as if it were hopping and the head on the top of the derelict.

 

How they had enough time to build this thing was anybody’s guess. However, they had a surprisingly decent amount of help from Svir and Thrum as they both turned out to possess such phenomenally-adept construction skills and expertise for a couple of dark elves. 

 

As Týr helped the three boys push the giant wheeled creation toward the entrance to the heavily-guarded eastern wall, he couldn’t help but ask the obvious question.

 

“Why a rabbit again?”

 

“Rabbits are cute.” Rudolf said with an enthusiastic smile. “And they’re very lucky.”

 

“Only in their feet, dingus.” Stig snarked at him.

 

“I have to say with honesty, this is a rather odd plan.” The God of War stated with worry that it’ll fail for sure. “The dwarves will catch on soon enough.”

 

“Hey, if it worked for the Greeks, it can work for us.” Rudolf was adamant about this.

 

“I think I need the address to the factory that made you. Because I think they screwed your head on too tight.” Stig remarked icily.

 

“You know, if this works, we can call it a ‘Battering Dam’.” joked Roar.

 

“And if it doesn’t work, you get a ‘Battering Wham’!” Stig threatened him.

 

“Focus, boys.” Týr told them sternly.

 

“We’re coming, Kris. We’re coming.” Stig whispered to himself, trying to boost his confidence.

 

Time for a leap of faith.

 

First thing they did was rap at the hollow gateway to get their attention, then retreating inside their “gift to the dwarves” before they could see them. Now all they had to do was wait. Wait and be absolutely silent or else they’ll give away their position too soon. It took only a minute for the dwarf guards to leave their posts and approach the giant wooden Lepus with extra caution, because it may be a trick. They banged on the walls, hoping to incite a startled reaction out of any potential marauder that could be hiding in there.

 

But everyone inside stayed quiet, careful to not let out a peep. Wouldn’t want to risk giving themselves away too soon before they get pulled into the city. Finally, the dwarves, none the wiser, decided that there was nothing to worry about. It was just a giant wooden rabbit. So as the gateway doors were pulled open to allow entry, the dwarves wheeled the thing inside with them.

 

Inside it, they all felt a wave of relief and surprise wash over them all. Somehow, Rudolf’s weird and crazy plan seemed to be working after all.

 

A few minutes of rolling later, Rudolf couldn’t contain himself any longer.

 

“See!? I told you it would wo-!” Stig and Roar slapped their hands on his mouth to keep him quiet and everyone looked visibly panicked when that happened.

 

The rolling halted, making them all sweat tensely.

 

……then the door was fiercely swung right open, catching them all off guard to see eight angered dwarves staring at them all with a sea of judgmental eyes. 

 

Each individual dwarf present before the group by the names of Durinn (Old Norse: Durin), Dvalinn, Dáinn (or Dain), Andvari, Alvíss, Eikinskjaldi and the identical brothers Fjalar (Old Norse: Fjalarr) and Galar (Old Norse: Galarr).

 

And, oh boy, what an unfortunate turn-of-events this was.

 

“Hello…..?” Jin winced.

 

“Alright, out. Go on, git outta there.” Dáinn demanded, irate. “Every single one of ya.”

 

Reluctantly, but obediently, everyone piled out of the so-called Trojan rabbit as ordered.

 

“C’mon, c’mon, outta the rabbit, ya bunch.” Andvari ordered, pointing at Rudolf. “That means you too, ya bush-baby! Outta there! You and that rodent o’ yers!”

 

“Yessir!” He obeyed without argument.

 

“The audacity!” gasped Ratatoskr.

 

“I told you they’d catch on.” Týr lamented.

 

“The God of War, eh?” Dvalinn remarked upon seeing him and Mímir. “And the head of Smartest Man Alive. Sneakin’ into our neck o’ the woods with humans. Ain’t that a surprise.”

 

“We’re sorry we snuck in like this, but-” Tom tried to defend.

 

“Quiet, you!” Eikinskjaldi hissed at him.

 

“Building a giant rabbit thing just to sneak in. How original.” Fjalar said.

 

“Where’ve we heard that one before?” Galar said.

 

“You like it?” Rudolf beamed, taking it as a compliment. “We made it ourselves. You know, it was my-OOF!”

 

Stig annoyedly elbowed him in the gut since he’s only making it worse for them. But of course it didn’t matter anyway, because they’ve been caught already. Then they got a look at the dwarven city they were standing in around them. Everything from the buildings to the bridges to even the boats by the docks was built on a smaller scale for the miniscule inhabitants. And already, a few dwarf residents nearby started coming closer to the commotion occurring near the eastern gateway.

 

“A’ight, explain yerselves.” Dvalinn demanded with fists on his hips. “Why are you here? What does ye want with us? Eh?”

 

“Spit ‘er out!” Durinn yelled.

 

“Dwarves of Niðavellir….” Týr announced to the teeny natives of the small, teeming city. “Pardon our intrusion, but we are not here for ill means. We’re only here to seek Brokk and Eitri.”

 

“Oh, really?” Andvari raised a disbelieving eyebrow at them. “And fer what exactly?”

 

“Well…” 

 

“They’re on a mission by the gods!”

 

“Hel yeah!”

 

The God of War wasn’t able to get a word in for frustratingly enough, Svir and Thrum, who were hiding from plain sight from the dwarves inside of the mobile rabbit, foolishly decided to make their presence known, jumping out into the open like the idiots they were, proudly proclaiming out loud to all the dwarven populace. 

 

Stig facepalmed at their stupidity. There goes that whole plan.

 

“Dark elves! I should’a known!” hollered Dáinn with fury. “They’re in league wit’ them!”

 

“I wouldn’t be too certain of that.”

 

Then all eyes of the male group turned to the new, deep, booming baritone voice that bellowed outward from the top of the wall to their far right, allowing them to beheld a towering, muscular figure of charcoal-black skin, pointed ears like Svir and Thrum, wite, red and yellow Nordic tribal face paint, bare-chested decorated with markings, sharp nails, black sclera with white pupils, silver armplates on his shoulders and forearms, leather, cloth or wool skirts around his waist, bone and fang necklace around his neck, a helmet resting on the top of his head that sport tall, jagged black horns symbolizing a kingly status of some kind.

 

Svir and Thrum, for their part, were both embarrassed and simultaneously scared out of their pants upon noticing Svartáljǫfurr the Dark Elf King who was also accompanied by other dark elf tribesmen by his side, all of whom were also black-skinned in stark contrast to the two brothers as they were pale. And the dwarves themselves were befuddled and inflamed to see more dark elves invading their territory, let alone their king.

 

“Ha! An ambush! I knew it!” One of them called out from the crowd.

 

“Hey, we’re not with him!” Roar thundered, gesturing to the Dark Elf king. “We’ve never even seen him before!”

 

“And you humans have no business here.” Svartáljǫfurr proclaimed in a strict parent sort of way, jumping down from the wall and then jabbing his staff towards to the duo. “As for you two, slipping Midgardians into the dwarven city outside your deadline. I should’ve expected more from the both of you.”

 

“But we were only-”

 

“You wish to incur the All-Father’s wrath and wrought a far more severe punishment upon yourselves?” The Dark Elf king snapped, hitting them both on the head with his staff in a disciplinary fashion.

 

“Ow! Dad!” They both howled, rubbing their heads.

 

“Dad?!” Most of the mortal group chorused with shock.

 

“You scuzzlin’ dark elves ‘er not welcome here either!” Dáinn shouted towards the opposite party. “Besides, you’ll just make a mess of yerselves here like ya always do!”

 

“Hold your tongue, dwarf!” A dark elf warrior snarled. “Best watch your words in the general direction of our king!”

 

“I’d rather hold this in your direction!” Dvalinn immaturely grabbed at his crotch tauntingly.

 

“This is getting ridiculous.” Tom sighed to the others, rubbing his temples. They just had to get themselves caught in the crossfires of an interspecies rivalry.

 

“Hey, we keep our part!” Svir was now fuming. “We’ve grown your stupid crops for you!”

 

“Yeah, get the fuck out of here with your this-and-that! We’ve done this and we’ve done that!” Thrum added, but only now they were making things worse.

 

“Silence, you two!” Svartáljǫfurr hissed at them, slamming the butt of his staff on the ground.

 

“And now you break int’ our city long before the waxin’ moon with humans with ye in a piece-o’-crap rabbit, no less!” Durinn snapped back at him. “That craftsmanship is downright childish! We’s built chains far sturdier than that ass-ugly thing of yers!”

 

“Lemme at that little……!” 

 

Now that Thrum’s fuse has been lit, an explosion was imminent and when it did, all bets were off. The impulsive dark elf lunged at the dwarf running his mouth at him, sending them both tumbling to the ground as they proceeded to be the living hell out of each other. The humans started shouting complaints at them to stop. However, dwarves and the dark elves were cheering them both on with the one side siding with Durinn and the other siding with Thrum.

 

“Yeah, bro! Beat that shorty’s ass!” Svir cheered encouragingly before he was suddenly kicked in the nuts by Alvíss, invoking a pained reaction out of him, making the men wince at the sight. 

 

“Oh, yeah!?”

 

Nobody had a chance to stop him for Svir, despite the agony in his nether regions, started grabbing at the dwarf that assaulted his poor grapes like a little child at the playground. 

 

“That’s enough!” But Svartáljǫfurr’s angered shout wasn’t enough. The damage was already done.

 

In absolutely NO time at all, it becomes a free-for-all. Both dwarves and dark elves alike start going at it, punching and kicking and insulting one another while the humans and the God of War watched with a steady mixed reaction of either confusion, disbelief and annoyance seeing both races fighting each other like patrons at a pub. It was like the fight between Stig and Ming all over again. Despite their short stature, the dwarves themselves prove to be just as staggeringly formidable and adept in melee combat than normal sized beings whether it’s stomping on one’s foot, a nut bust or a gut punch.

 

“Can we please…..?” Jin and Tom tried their best to get them to stop and get their attention.

 

“Could everyone just….?”

 

“This is not gonna….”

 

But neither party was paying any attention. Even Svartáljǫfurr fought to get the situation under control by attempting to get Svir and Thrum to stop wrestling their dwarven opponents as they kept throwing annoying quips like a couple of high school jocks putting a couple of nerds in their place.

 

“How do you like this?! How about that!? Get a taste!”

 

“Did you even see the fucking blueprints!? It was awesome!”

 

“Didn’t ah tell ya? They never quite get along wit’ each other.” Mímir was rolling his eyes at the scene.

 

“Oh, my. Oh, my. Now this is a spectacle.” Ratatoskr grinned.

 

“Could everyone just please hear us out?!” Týr raised his voice about the onslaught of overlapping screaming voices, but it was much like trying to call out for a lost loved one at a rock concert. Nobody was listening. Their glowering hate for one another was blinding their sense of judgment.

 

Stig, at the moment, well…….chances are that he was getting increasingly irritated by their lack of progress. They had come all this way to ask the dwarves for help in saving Kris and now they’re in the middle of a ridiculous brawl with their co-existing neighbors. All this time, all this work and all this tiresome effort and nobody wanted to even listen to reason. His fury was reaching an inhuman level of insurmountable proportions beyond anything ever. His eyes twitched as did his hands and his arms, his fingers balled into tight, white-knuckled fists and his teeth grounded against each other.

 

And then suddenly, unbeknownst to them, his wrath seemed to activate a chain reaction throughout his system. His hands turned into giant paws with sharp claws, dark brown fur grew all over his skin, his body structure warped, morphed, remodified and changed drastically as he then grew in height and before anyone knew it…….

 

“RRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

 

….a mighty roar exploded into the air as a large brown bear appeared before the feuding crowd, drowning out their angered shouts and biting jabs from both sides. Even the mortals in the group back away just as the animal let out its thundering battle cry. Afterwards, it was finally quiet. The fighting had at last ceased, everyone started wide-eyed at the creature who stopped roaring once they were silent. And what really took them by surprise is what happened next.

 

The bear shrunk down and metamorphosed into no one else, but Stig, who appeared as if he had awoken from a trance, but he snapped out of it to give the dwarves and dark elves a glare that burned with anger, but gleamed with a timid flame of helpless desperation.

 

“Enough of all this!” He ordered them all. “No more! Okay?! No more! I can’t stand here and put up with this shit any longer! We’ve come all this way for your help! My brother is trapped in Helheim, being held hostage by the Goddess of Death and you guys are too busy going at each other to even let us get a word in! Who gives a shit if you guys are different!? It doesn’t matter anyway! This entire realm is YOUR home no matter how you share it! And so what if either of you are not perfect?! You dwarves are excellent builders and so are these two idiots!”

 

He points at both Svir and Thrum, frozen in their fighting state. The brothers gave each other a look.

 

“And besides, you all need to learn to start living with each other, despite what you say or think about one another! Fighting isn’t going to settle things quickly and it's not going to make things better! So I suggest all of you grow up and start acting your age! We are here to see the brothers Brokk and Eitri! That is all we came here for! So …………..please.”

 

Having his anger spent, Stig lowered his thundering tone to a low, begging voice at the last word. Each of the dwarves and the dark elves shot looks at each other, but not ones of malice or animosity thankfully. After giving the goth boy’s words some consideration, they all realized that all this fighting was becoming quite meaningless since they needed to learn to get along one way or another. So they all let their opponents go and everyone who was on the ground stood back up, much to the group’s surprise. After all that, Stig was able to talk everyone down just like that?

 

Andvari approached the goth boy and told him in a soft-spoken voice, “If you seek Eitri and Brokk, you best follow me. Come.”

 

And Stig did so without so much as a question. And not a single word would best describe everyone’s disbelief. Roar and Rudolf look into each other’s wide eyes of bewilderment.

 

“I gotta say, that was surprisingly well handled.” Týr exclaimed with a still, controlled breath.

 

“Aye.” Mímir agreed.

 

So the humans and the two gods quickly followed after Stig, but Rudolf stayed behind for the moment.

 

“Go ahead and keep the rabbit.” He told the remaining dwarves. “Our little gift from us to you.”

 

Then he rejoined the others. As you probably know by now, some of them were still in awe at what had occurred and how Stig was able to suddenly transform into an animal. He’s never, ever done that before. The absolute and definitive shock they received was without expressible words. Perhaps he, too, has a hereditary curse just like the Lees where they turn into an animal when feeling tense emotions. But why have no way of knowing that for sure.

 

“Hey, how did you do that?” Jin came and asked the goth.

 

“Do what?” Stig replied.

 

“Uh, nevermind.” The boy must’ve been oblivious to it, so Jin chose to leave it be for now.

 

Meanwhile, Svartáljǫfurr meandered lowly over to Svir and Thrum as they returned to their feet as well, standing before the Dark Elf king, sweating beats of nervous perspiration.

 

“Well, I suppose that scary boy is right.” He told the brothers, ruefully. “It is high time we put our differences aside for both our sakes. You both aren’t perfect either, but you are still my sons no matter what. And I assure you, I will try my damndest to see you both more clearly in spite of your many, many, many,.......many flaws.”

 

“Oh, well. If you insist…….” Svir and his brother both chuckled and snorted.

 

“However, because of your recklessness today, another two years have been added to your sentence. So for now, you will be working extra hard on those crops with only one break per week.” The Dark Elf king scowled at them suddenly, which earned a shocked expression from them both, then marched off with the other dark elves. “And no funny business from either of you this time, you hear me?”

 

“Damnit!” Svir complained.

 

“Shitsicles!” Thrum was just as appalled.

---

 

The entire time after the whole ordeal of convincing two sides to stop arguing and behaving like bickering children, it’s really got Stig thinking. Has he really been too harsh on Ming? Sure, she’s guilty of many things like abusing his brother and almost killing him, but she came with them to Norway for a reason. She really is trying to make up for what her actions had done. 

 

Perhaps he should cut the woman a break. Perhaps he just needs to let her have this for Kris’s sake. But who knows?

 

Only one question remained, however. Will Kris even be willing to forgive her after he’s freed?

 

The humble workshop of the blacksmith brothers was sanctioned just quite a ways away in the northwest point section of the city in their own solitary and secluded patch of land near the entrance to the Myrkheim mine tunnels where they have access to its vast resources of pure Svartalfheim steel, which they often use to forge certain things into.

 

It was a charming little abode as adequately smaller in size as all dwarf homes here in Niðavellir compared to the average human height and a heaping cloud of thick, black smoke rising lazily upward from the chimney. This had to be the right place. 

 

Hopefully, they aren’t as brash and braggart as the previous dwarves they’ve met. Taking a deep breath, Stig knocked at the door.

 

“Bugger off!” shouted a grunty and gruff voice with a slight redneck-style drawl to it from inside. “We’s don’t want none!”

 

“Is the home of Brokk and Eitri?” called back Tom in desperation.

 

Rough stomping zeroed in towards the doorway as it cracked open slightly ajar just enough for the humans to be staring face-to-face with a bald-headed dwarf with a steely look in his eyes and a thick, bushy, brown chinstrap beard.

 

“Who’s a-askin’?” Brokk (also known as Brokkr) demanded distrustfully.

 

“We, sir!” Rudolf raised his hand as if he’s in class, which Charlie put down to save himself the embarrassment.

 

“We’re here for your help.” Jin replied.

 

Brokk groaned, flinging the door all the way open.

 

“Think yer the first?” He griped. “Lots a’ you damn no-nuttin’s be comin’ in ‘ere beggin’ fer sumthin’ er rather. What do ya want from us, anyhow?”

 

“A bow? An archer’s bow?” Jin asked.

 

“That’s it? What fer?”

 

“Well, it’s kinda important, man.” Adam shrugged.

 

“‘Important’ ain’t enough, big fellar.” Brokk wasn’t satisfied with that answer. “I need t‘ know what’s ya’ll gitten’ outta it. I’s need t’ know ya ain’t bustin’ mah balls fer just a measly bow.”

 

Týr pushed his way forward with Mímir’s head clutched in his hand by the rope.

 

“They here about the Midgardian boy by the name of Kris.” He declared prominently.

 

“T-….The Bengtsson kid?” Brook’s eyes widened, his crotchety demeanor all but gone. Then he walks inside, allowing them all to enter the house. “Well, why didn’t ya’ll jist start wit’ that, then? Here I is yappin’ mah fat lip like a shiverin’ fox in the winter…”

 

“Man, word sure travels fast around here.” Adam remarked.

 

Everyone had to crouch down in order to get in through the low doorway as they made their way inside the workshop and bade themselves welcome. Not too bad for a dwarf’s living quarters. Typical enough, though, was the blacksmith workstation by the bellows with every known tool a blacksmith needs; hammers, chisels, an anvil and whatnots.

 

“Who is it, Brokk?” Called another male voice.

 

“Eitri, git on out here, dagnabbit all! They’s here ‘bout the tousle-haired youngin’ stuck in Hel!”

 

“Present!”

 

“Ahhh!” They all yelped loudly when another dwarf materialized right beside him. One that had brown hair of a darker shade, bushy eyebrows, a stout nose and a beard stylized into a twirl and hair tied back into a braided ponytail. 

 

Eitri (also known as Sindri) held a mug of mead in his left hand and looked all around at their guests until he saw the God of War.

 

“Týr. May I say what a pleasure it is to see you here.” Unlike his brother and other dwarves they’ve met, Eitri possessed a soft Welsh accent. “And the Son of Bengt’s family has finally arrived.”

 

“Oh, well, actually, I’m not his family.” Jin corrected with a stutter.

 

“Neither are we.” Roar and Rudolf said afterwards.

 

“I am, though.” Stig replied.

 

“We’re his uncles.” Adam gestured to both himself and Charlie.

 

“I’m just a friend of the family.” Then Tom spoke last.

 

“And I’m along for the ride.” Ratatoskr chirped with a buck-toothed smile.

 

“So they’ve come to help young Kris out of the pits of Helheim, safely that is.” Týr explained now that they’ve been introduced. “We’re here for an archer’s bow. Not just any bow. One that can actually protect them from all danger.”

 

“Well, ya’ll’s come t’ the right place, then.” Brokk exclaimed proudly.

 

“Indubitably. We’ve built a wide range of useful artifacts before in the past, each one vastly more extravagant than the last.” His more articulate brother said.

 

“Far better than them peckerin’ Sons o’ Ivaldi. They’s think they got it better than we got, them lockjaw asskissers.” Brokk snarked, crossing his arms, then went to poke his head out an open window to shout out towards a house that was half a mile away from theirs, undoubtedly home to their aforementioned rivals. “Ya hears that, ya sum’bitches?! Ya’ll ain’t got what it takes, the lot o’ ya!”

 

“You’ve made your point, brother.” Eitri grabbed his shrieking brother away from the window and slammed it shut before facing the humans. “Give us a moment, we’ll have that bow ready for you in no time.”

 

Now was the time for the bow to be constructed. Gathering up all of the materials necessary - steel, metal and silver - the brothers practically plunged themselves into their work at their workshop. Eitri ordered Brokk to man the bellows and told him not to stop for any reason whatsoever, or else the bow would be ruined before it can be completed while Eitri got to work with the materials. Brokk pumped and pumped the bellows like there was no tomorrow, keeping the fires in the forge hot long enough for the materials to be placed in.

 

“So is it true you guys crafted Thor’s hammer?” asked Rudolf to make light conversation.

 

“Ye bet, young fellar.” Brokk replied, not stopping for a second as ordered. “Loki may had us ash-snortlers played fer a couple o’ yello’bellars, but we sure as Hel proven’ that bastard wrong, didn’t we?”

 

“You bet.” Eitri said as he placed everything in the pot of the burning hearth. “Nothing that we dwarves cannot build with our own hands.”

 

“That must’ve been hard to make.” Jin mused.

 

“P’shaw! Nothing is too difficult to build for us skilled craftsmen!” Eitri balked in denial. “We live for a good challenge!”

 

“You know, you guys have been building a lot of stuff for the people, even the gods. But what do you ever get in return?” said Roar, who couldn’t help but wonder about the extent of the dwarves’ dedication to their work, like if it ever benefits them at all.

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“I just mean that has anyone ever, you know, made stuff for you?” Roar clarified gently.

 

“Well…………is there anything you’ve made for us? Is that what you mean?” Eitri asked him, looking directly at him.

 

“We made a Trojan rabbit!” Rudolf replied suavely.

 

“A what’s a what now?” said Brokk, a little taken aback.

 

“It’ll probably be good for storage and all that.” That was the best suggestion Roar could come up with. “It’s really spacey in there.”

 

“I’ll be sure to take that under advisement.” commented Eitri curiously, before he pointed at the ax, fastened against Tom’s back. “Oh, and I’ve noticed you folks have the ax as well.”

 

“Oh, yeah.” Stig nodded. “Found it back on Midgard. In a nutshell.”

 

“Just a quick reminder, it wields the power of the cold weather of Fimbulwinter.”

 

“Come again?” asked Adam, left eyebrow raised.

 

“The endless winters that led to Ragnarök, the end of the world.” said Eitri, still hard at work. “I’d very much rather not divulge into that right now. But you’ll know it when you see it. Or not.”

 

“Did you guys give the ax to Jörmungandr?” asked Roar, feeling suspicious by this.

 

“Oh, no. Hells no.” Brokk snapped in denial. “We’s ain’t couragin’ enough to even goes near that serpent fellar on Midgard. Got a real nasty bite, that one.”

 

“Well, he didn’t seem too dangerous when he met him.” Jin noted fondly.

 

“Well, that’s a relief.” Eitri sighed. “Alright. Should be about done by now.”

 

The pot was removed, Brokk settled the bellows and the liquified materials into an iron mold. Now to wait for the melted metals to cool and hold the shape. Two minutes passed. 

 

Three. Five.

 

Twenty minutes later, the mold was cracked open and rested perfectly inside was a traditionally-shaped archer’s longbow made from the extensive materials. Only difference being the Futhark runes engraved on its sleek, hard body. 

 

Next was the string for which to propel the arrows into the air.

 

“Oh! There’s just one more thing missing!” Eitri snapped his fingers and swiveled his head around to face the God of War. “Maybe we borrow Mímir for a moment?”

 

“For what exactly?” He asked as Týr handed his head over to them.

 

“We just need a little help from those Bifröst eyes of yours.” explained Eitri.

 

At the exact moment, Brokk wheeled in a strange contraption with a golden-colored metal probe attached to one end and Mímir was securely fastened to the other, facing the probe.

 

“Woah, woah, woah. What’s all this for?” Adam asked, looking on edge.

 

“His eyes are gifted with the Bifröst, as are mine. See?” Týr pointed out for them as he pointed at his own glowing eyes.

 

“Makes sense, I guess.” Tom stammered, but still didn’t get the idea.

 

“This device has been crafted to your measurements.” As Eitri spoke, his brother carefully wheeled the contraption in front of the bow, now hanging on the wall. “It’ll help us extract the final ingredient we need.”

 

“So ah can control this thin’ somehow, then?” asked Mímir worriedly.

 

“Poppycock, no! This is simply to hold you in place while we….shine this light into your eyes.” Eitri appeared to fight back a grin as he rotated the probe, which provided a bright beam of light, and aimed it directly into the head’s face.

 

“Oh! Damn it, Eitri, ye soddin’ bastard!” Mímir shouted in pain and anger from the light hitting his eyes.

 

Brokk, however, bellowed out a hearty laugh at the God of Wisdom’s displeasure. Hell, even Rudolf was fighting not to chuckle himself, though he fought back the temptation when Roar and Stig glared at him.

 

“Just open up your eyes. Do it now!” Eitri ordered the severed head, then murmuring. “……I was really hoping not to use those eyelid clamps.”

 

“Yeah, do it! Ahahahahahaha!!!” Brokk was still bursting with derisive laughter.

 

It really took effort, but Mímir fought to open his eyes at the light, despite the stinging agony he received in the process, and allowed the energy within his eyes to absorb the light, creating a bright glow from within them.

 

“That’s it! Hold.” Eitri instructed. “Now release!”

 

Everyone jumped back once Mímir blasted another light beam that was combined with a mixed assortment of phosphorescent rainbow colors right at the bow, coating it in pure, effulgent Bifröst energy that glistened and sparkled as if the bow had been dipped in liquid gold.

 

“Woah!” Rudolf couldn’t believe it himself.

 

“Right! That’s our cue! Come on!” Eitri and Brokk both rushed over to the brightly-colored armament of glorious rainbow brilliance, armed with their hammers and started pounding on it to etch the energy into the long-range hunting bow.

 

The glow dimmed and the beautifully-handcrafted accoutrement had that sleek rainbow-ish pigment to its dark teal metal body.

 

“Ah, what splendid handiwork!” marveled Eitri with admiration of their latest creation.

 

“Blisters n’ blots, whot was tha’ for!?” The head of Mímir screamed, blinking repeatedly as Adam and Tom both removed him from the device.

 

“Just a little seasoning, I like to say.” Eitri snickered. “Hopefully, no permanent damage.”

 

“Oh, ah’ll show ye permanent damage, ya wee fuck!” Mímir growled. “One o’ ye, throw me at ‘im! Horns first!”

 

“Will you relax?” Tom was the one holding him this time. “Look, it’s over now.”

 

“YOU HAVE LASER VISION!? AWESOME!” cried out the enthusiastic Rudolf with wide eyes filled with stars.

 

“It’s not a comic book, Dolf.” Stig pushed the delusional lad back.

 

Eitri removed his gloves and grabbed the longbow off the wall and held it up at the humans, presenting its fine glory before their very eyes. At the very least, it still had the same shape and form of your average longbow, apart from its otherworldly design. However, all that remains is who is gonna be able to use that thing. Though, a more valid question would be how just a simple archer’s bow was gonna help them with anything, even once they get inside Helheim.

 

“Now that’s neat.” Tom complimented them.

 

“Love the bodywork.” Adam said, examining it closer.

 

“I love it!” Rudolf chirped.

 

“Jeepers my whiskers, you dwarves have done it again.” Ratatoskr.

 

“Does anyone here know archery, perchance?” asked Eitri.

 

A terse silence befell the group and they all looked at each other as if looking for an answer from each other as to who among them is adept at archery. Finally, Stig spoke up.

 

“I do.” He said thinly, grabbing the bow from the dwarf craftsman. “My dad taught me and Kris gave us a few lessons when we were younger. Back when we went camping together.”

 

“But let us show you how it works before you leave.” Eitri suggested.

 

Of course, you can go diving into the afterlife with a magical weapon all willy-nilly without understanding its certain proficiencies first. It’s far better to be prepared for when you run into any dangers. So the dwarves brought everyone outside to some empty space to try to test out the bow’s powers. Stig fondled the longbow steadily, making sure his hand was right in the middle section.

 

“So where are the arrows?” He asked, wondering how he was going to use it if there was no ammo.

 

“Jist pull on the string there.” Brokk ordered.

 

And Stig did as he was told, pulling the string of the longbow like he was pulling an arrow back and then, from completely out of nowhere, a mystical Bifröst arrow materialized out of thin air in place where an arrow should be, much to everyone’s amazement.

 

“Fascinating.” The goth gasped, then aimed the arrow up towards anywhere that wasn’t anything he could accidentally strike, lord knows what a magical arrow could do. 

 

Then when he released, the arrow shot straight into the sky at lightning-fast speed out of sight.

 

Stig pulled the string back once more,......and then another mystic arrow appeared in the place of the previous one.

 

“Unlimited arrows. Nice.” Stig grinned with amazement and appreciation. “You guys really are masters.”

 

“Ye can say that one again.” Brokk smirked. “They ain’t nuthin’ we cain’t build ‘er fix.”

 

Stig fired the second arrow into the air, while suddenly wondering where it had landed since he didn’t see it land anywhere. He just hoped he didn’t hit anyone by accident.

 

“But here’s the best part. Say the word 'blæst’.” explained the ever-confident Eitri.

 

“Blæst?” asked Stig.

 

KA-BOOOOOOOM!

 

The air was filled with the sudden, abrupt explosion from the distance. They all gasped with shock and horror when it happened. Stig was shocked, but not startled. A mile away was the sight of a small dead-giveaway mushroom cloud. It would be such a miracle if nobody was hurt or killed by that.

 

Though, they overheard the sounds of angered screams coming from where the explosion came from. So they must be alright at least.

 

“I think that was the Sons of Ivaldi’s place.” said Týr, gawking at the destruction.

 

“Oh, god………” Stig was thunderstruck.

 

“Hahahahahahahahahaha!” Both of the dwarf brothers guffawed at this, amused to see the misfortune that was unfortunately brought upon their rivals.

 

“Yep, ye said it, youngster! We’s certainly th’ finest craftsmen they is!” Brokk patted Stig on the back as he howled with laughter.

Notes:

So much for 'lucky', am I right?

Apart from almost getting got in the crossfires of a civil rivalry between two co-existing races, they've managed to convince them into helping them. And it looks like Stig has a little bit of god-like abilities of his own in the form of shapeshifting. How is that even possible? Well, that's a story for another time. And Svir and Thrum appear to be the sons of the dark elf king, technically making them both princes. Allow me to explain the certain characteristics of the light and dark elves for this story. First of all, the lights elves have pale skin with beautiful features whereas the dark elves have dark black skin with more grotesque facial features. Svir and Thrum are dark elves with pale skin because they're both half-light elf.

As for the names of the following dwarves appearing in this chapter, let me explain:
Dvalinn and Dáinn: Two dwarves who both share the names of two of the four stags of Yggdrasil; Dvalinn, Dáinn, Duneyrr and Duraþrór.

Durinn: A dwarf who had forged the magical sword Tyrfing with the assistance of Dvalinn.

Andvari: He was a dwarf who lived underneath a waterfall and had the ability to transform into a pike. He also possessed a magical ring called Andvaranaut, which made him insanely rich with gold. One day, Loki captured him while as a pike with a net by the goddess Rán and forced him to give away all his riches and the ring. Then Andvari cursed the ring so that it was destroy anyone unlucky enough to wear it. Following the deaths of Brynhild and Sigurd, King Gunnar left all of the dwarf's gold in a cave. Andvari discovered the cave with all his gold years later, but not his ring.

Alvíss: A dwarf known for his great wisdom who was in love with Thrùd and they were promised to be married. However, her father, Thor, wasn't too accepting of this. So he challenged the dwarf into proving his wisdom and made him pass test that lasted until dawn. Alvíss wasn't too lucky, however, as he became petrified into a stone statue by the sunlight.

Eikinskjaldi: A dwarf whose name I'm assuming was the inspiration for the character Thorin Oakenshield from J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, or There and Back Again. The name itself, Eikinskjaldi translating to "One with Oaken Shield".

Fjalar and Galar: Two wicked dwarf brothers who had murdered the knowledgable Kvasir (born from the saliva of the Æsir and the Vanir), then drained him off his blood, mixed that blood with honey and created the Mead of Poetry, a magic mead that imbues the drinker with infinite skaldship and wisdom, a revolutionary drink that inspired poets.

And now they've meet the brothers Eitri and Brokk from the tale of how Thor got his famous hammer. After cutting Sif's hair as a prank, Loki sought the help of the dwarves by pitting the brothers against the Sons of Ivaldi in a challenge to forge treasures for the gods. While the to-be-unnamed Sons of Ivaldi forged Freyr's ship Skíðblaðnir, Odin's spear Gungnir and Sif's replacement hair, Eitri and Brokk had manufactured Freyr's golden boar Gullinbursti, Odin's self-duplicating ring Draupnir and of course, Thor's hammer Mjölnir.

Btw, me and my family are leaving on Thursday for our trip to New York City, so I'll do my best to make time to write my story and post the next chapters. We'll be gone for six days.

Next Chapter: Everyone regroups in Vanaheim for the final item they need to find, but run into some deep trouble in the swamps.

Next Update: May 12, 2023

Chapter 16: There's Something In The Water

Summary:

Everyone regroups in Vanaheim for the final item they need to find, but they run into some deep trouble in the swamps.

Notes:

Disclaimer: Turning Red and it’s characters are the property of (c) Walt Disney Pictures/Pixar Animation Studios.

Elements are borrowed from God of War (2018) and Ragnarök, owned by (c) Santa Monica Studio/Sony Interactive Entertainment

C/W: Fart humor, graphic violence, murder and blood.

(ᛜ)
Vanaheim (Old Norse: Vanaheimr / Nordic: ᚢᚨᚾᚨᚺᛖᛁᛗ):
(HOME of the VANIR)

 

Now that each group had obtained what they’ve sought on both sides, it was time to reach the home realm belonging to the peaceful Vanir.

 

This new realm was enriched with a beautiful green rainforest-like swamp that was as barren and saturated as a Florida freshwater wetland and as luxurious and wild and tropical as an Australian jungle with a stunning variety of trees, including some of the same species as baobabs. Birds flittered and sang, bog water bubbled and squirted and the surrounding atmosphere was humid and moist. On either side of the land in the Eastern Barri Wood where a massive bog laid in the middle where a ginormous murky brook rested, two separate mystic gateways opened up and the women’s group led by Thrúd emerged and just about a little ways, say 20 kilometers, from where they stood, the male group emerged from their end. Mei had the compass in her bag with the plant bulb.

 

From their side, the men, accompanied by Ratatoskr and the dark elf brothers who decided to join them for a while, dressed in dökkálfar armor and weapons, had parted ways with Týr and now held both the ax and the bow on their person. Svir had sleek, black-tinted metal armor plating crafted from Svartalfheim steel and Thrum had on the typical wear that the other dark elf natives had and they both wore these scary-looking monster face masks with Svir’s looking like an angry demon with black fur attached to it and Thrum’s looking blank and emotionless with some black fur attached around the bottom, fashioned as a beard of some sort.

 

As for weapons of choices, it was a double-bladed staff named Röskjǫptr for Svir and Thrum stuck with a simple sword called Duginheill.

 

“Are those masks really necessary?” asked Roar, perturbed by them.

 

“Yes, wise human.” Thrum nodded. “It’s to scare away any dangerous animals away. These haunting faces will scare the shit and piss out of anything that sees them.”

 

“Are you scared yet?” Svir got up all in his face.

 

“Boo!” The both of them shouted.

 

“Ahh!” This succeeded in scaring the wits out of poor Rudolf, making run away in terror.

 

“Rudolf!” Jin called, then he and the other boys went after him.

 

“It works! Yeah!” The two half-witted dark elves cheered for themselves, sharing a congratulatory handshake, much to the group’s annoyance.

 

“We’re screwed.” Ratatoskr moaned.

 

“Are you sure you guys should be tagging along?” Tom exhaled, remembering they’re punishment was still at hand.

 

“Pfft, they’ll never even know we're gone.” replied Svir, waving off their concerns.

 

“Yeah, we’d still be in Svartalfheim, picking yummy crops for those midgets.” Thrum bragged.

 

“Thrum, please.”

 

Rudolf kept running and running through the bushy green leaves and thick, vine-covered trees, his mind momentarily blinded by the sudden fear of the hideous masks the brothers wore, with the others behind the scared Inuit boy trying to catch up to him before they lost him so they could try to settle him down.

 

But then suddenly, as luck would have it, Rudolf tried over a root on the ground and ended up tripping until he found himself unable to stop himself from tumbling to the ground and straight off of a cliff, yelling helplessly.

 

“Rudolf!” Roar shouted fearfully for the sake of his friend’s life.

 

By the time they made it to the edge of the cliff the boy fell off from, they heard a splash.

 

A splash?

 

Sure enough, ten feet below them was the murky lake and ripples in the water where Rudolf had landed. Seconds of worrying later and hoping that the boy hadn’t drowned, Rudolf bursted through the surface water, spitting it out of his mouth and coughing and gasping for air.

 

"Rudolf?” Jin called from up above.

 

“This water reeks!” Rudolf called back, cringing. “And it tastes like armpits and gym clothes!”

 

“He’s fine.” Roar let out a sigh of relief, knowing his friend was okay.

 

“Don’t ever do that, you dummy!” Stig shouted down at him.

 

“You almost scared us to death! I’m supposed to be keeping you boys safe!”” Jin sternly hollowed downward.

 

“Are you okay, at least?” Roar shouted.

 

“I’m wet!” said Rudolf.

 

“Okay, just stay right there! We’ll come to you, alright? Don’t move!” Stig ordered the soaking-wet naive boy.

 

“Ok.”

 

Then they left to rejoin the others, leaving Rudolf behind temporarily. However, he was concerned that they may not reach him in time. And he sure wasn’t joking. But it wasn’t just the water that had a fetid stench, but the entire bog itself. It was almost like stepping blindly into a landfill full of trash. Lots and lots of either tall or small, smooth and moss-covered rocks sticking out and standing up tall and prominently, lily pads, leaves and such other floating along the water’s surface.

 

However, the young Rudolf was too engrossed in the environment around him to realize that……there was something in the water.

 

It swam slowly, but ominously below and it was too murky to see what it was. However, there appeared to be skyward-facing vertebrae-like spinal blades poking dangerously out of the surface like the back fin of a shark ready to attack its prey. Bubbles were forming from where it could be breathing and they were leading straight toward the boy in the water.

 

All of the sudden, Rudolf yelped as he grabbed from underneath and yanked under the water in a split second. However, all though he couldn’t see what it was that snatched him up, he started kicking at it really hard, then when it released him, they broke through the water’s surface and started to wrestle each other with Rudolf trying to forcefully free himself from the grimey grasp of his unknown attacker, only until now does he have a full scope of the creature trying to eat him alive.

 

It was somewhat humanoid in shape, but much rather less human and more beastly.

 

Pale green, teal and bluish slimy, wet, scaly skin, a pair of faded pink thick, bulbous ink sac-like gills on its neck, two bulging blank, pupiless eyes that burn a hole into your soul not unlike that of a piranha, a grotesque, skull-like face with the flesh that seemed to sag due to the water, webbed claws with the thumb and pointer finger an inch bigger than the rest, its body was covered in a thick, curtain-like bush of seaweed and marine plants with lose sticks and twigs sticking out most likely for camouflage, long and straight black hair, the vertebrae spinal plates beginning at the top of its forehead where an anglerfish-style membrane was placed and its mouth - split from ear-to-ear - opened up to reveal a huge, gaping maw filled to the brim with rows of sharp, jagged teeth as it roared a spine-tingling, trilling, screech-like roar.

 

A nøkken.

 

Rudolf was terrified beyond belief and now even more desperate to avoid being this water fiend’s dinner, so he fiercely started punching at it, kicking at it, all the while trying to keep the nøkken from chewing his arms off with those scary jaws. Every time it dragged him back under the water with it, Rudolf fought his way back up.

 

By now, Rudolf was on its back, starting to beat the living crap out of its head as it attempted to fling him off, then he sneakily covered the nøkken’s eyes as it lumbered forward and then……

 

BAM!

 

The freshwater creature smacked painfully face-first into the boulder ahead the split-second Rudolf jumped right off its back into the water once more. And as the Inuit boy resurfaced for air, he was just in time to see the spinal bones of the creature protruding from the water, swimming away.

 

Apparently having given up.

 

“I guess I showed him.” Rudolf smugly declared to himself.

 

“HEY!” He jumped when an angered man’s voice screamed into the air about a few feet from where he sat in the bog water. There sat on a boulder away from him was a furious middle-aged Vanir with a net and a harpoon. His cosmic reason for being here? Most assuredly to capture the nøkken inhabiting the swamp, which Rudolf had just ruined. “YOU SCARED AWAY INN FRÓÐI!”

 

“Uh, who?”

 

“Damn Midgardians!” He growled, boiling red at losing his chance. And in his rage, he started throwing large rocks at him. “Get the fuck outta here, you little turd! Go on! Get!”

 

“Ow!” Rudolf cried out as one of them actually hit him, starting to frantically swim away further into the bog away from the jerk pelting him with stuff. “Dude! Okay, okay! I’m going! I’m going!”

 

---

 

“Maybe next time, don’t have the masks on?” Jin reminded the two brothers sternly as they all started hiking through the dense forest for a way to reach Rudolf in the swamp before any sort of danger reaches him first.

 

“Why not? They’re sure to get the monsters away.” Thrum remarked.

 

“And I am adamantly depending on that said logic.” said his older, taller brother.

 

“Well, the masks work too damn well.” Charlie snarked at him. “You wanna risk scaring the little dude again this time?”

 

“That boy may not have what it takes to enter the realm of the dead, specifically.” Ratatoskr mused.

 

“Shut up with you!” Tom snapped at the squirrel.

 

“I really hope nothing bad happens to Rudolf.” Roar remarked.

 

“I wouldn’t worry. If he can avoid a bear, he’s bound to avoid something else out there. He’ll do whatever it takes to stay alive no matter what.” Stig said with confidence.

 

“Guys?”

 

A familiar voice broke through the forest somewhere next to them. Looking in the direction it came from, they all saw Lily standing there, a big smile plastered on her face.

 

“Tom!” She rushed to her boyfriend and brought him into a massive embrace and a passionate kiss. “Thank god I found you guys. I was really starting to miss you!”

 

“Me too, babe!” Tom gave her another well-deserved smooch.

 

“Where are the others?” asked Jin.

 

“They're coming ov-AHHHHHH!” His niece started to say, but then screamed when she saw the dark elf brothers with their masks on and thinking them to be a threat, she went into panda mode and tackled them to the ground, holding them down with her giant red paws. The other men rose to try and defend the two lamebrains, but couldn’t help but scowl in annoyance since the masks did it again. 

 

Prove their purpose in the worst way possible.

 

“Who the hell are you?! Answer me!” She ordered angrily.

 

“Owie! My face!” Thrum cried.

 

“Hey, wait a minute!” Svir held up a hand in surrender. “These aren’t our real faces! See? Look!”

 

To prove it, Svir ripped his mask off his face as well as Thrum’s to prove they are not there for sinister reasons or are a threat in any way. However, Lily was still disturbed by their grotesque faces that she started pounding away at them, making them both shout helplessly in pain before the others decided that this charade had gone too far.

 

“Lily, stop! Leave them alone! They’re with us!” Tom shouted at his girlfriend.

 

“Who are they?” Lily demanded, now confused and exasperated.

 

“Nice to meet you, red furry ma’am. Name’s Svir, at your service.” Svir greeted her with a dumb smile.

 

“Thrum, be mine.”

 

“Just a couple of dark elf idiots from Svartalfheim who decided to tag along with us……..for reasons.” Stig, with his deadpan, decided to explain to her.

 

“Idiots are we? Damn thee!” complained the shorter elf brother.

 

“Get off them, please.” barked Tom as he removed his red panda girlfriend off the duo of bumbling elves. With her off them, they stumbled to their feet, both still taken aback.

 

“What a woman!” Thrum chirped mirthfully.

 

“You said it!” His brother agreed, putting his arm around his shoulder. “Where do you get magic babes like that?”

 

Lily was gawking at them both as if they were growing giant boils on their faces, then turned to aim a dumbfounded expression at her Japanese-born folklorist boyfriend.

 

“I know, they’re clowns.” He shrugged.

 

“Guys!”

 

Everyone both looked to see Elsa, Ming, Mei and all the rest march over to them through the jungle-like forest they all reunited with each other. Chen hugged Charlie tightly, Helen gave Adam the biggest kiss on the lips ever, having missed him the most and even Jin and Ming were not without their happy reunion of smooches and hugs.

 

And Elsa herself brought her adopted son into a bear hug of her own.

 

“Thank god, you guys are okay.” She beamed happily as Stig hugged her back. “Did you guys have any luck?”

 

“We did.” Stig said, showing her the dwarf-made longbow. “It packs quite a punch.”

 

“Well done, Stig.” Mei smiled.

 

“Yes, indeed.” Ming said next, but devoid of any grateful feeling. However, she appeared to have a regretful glance on her face when she looked Stig in the eye and to her secret surprise, he had one on his face as well, truly a rare sight from such an angry, mouthy and apathetic young goth like him.

 

As for Stig, he was unsure of how to even begin speaking with the Asian-Canadian woman after remembering their fight earlier. But he has now started to feel remorse for that whole ordeal on Midgard.

 

“I’m………glad that you’re okay, too.” Which was all he could muster at the moment and Ming took it as a start.

 

“Y-Yes, quite.” She stammered, with no other words she had the strength to say.

 

“Well, we retrieved the compass.” Thrùd started off with, showing it off to them to see. “It’ll help you all locate Hel’s lair in Helheim, which should be where Kris is.”

 

“Thank god for that.” Adam smiled.

 

“And who are you guys?” asked Ping to the two brothers with them.

 

“These two lads followed us from Svartalfheim.” Mímir replied. “Don’ ask fer their reason fer comin’ along with us.”

 

“Adventure!” Svir shouted, pointing Röskjǫptr upward.

 

“Danger!” Thrum cried along with him in the same manner with Duginheill.

 

“Thrills!”

 

“Penance!”

 

“Love!”

 

“Vegetables! And not the one I just ate!”

 

“Shut up!” Svir snarled, punching his brother on the head. “You’re embarrassing yourself!”

 

Everyone eyed the two dimwits strangely, but that’s to be expected. Here they were, a couple of dark elves from Svartalfheim and they’re like a couple of Silent Era vaudevillian comedians.

 

“Do I need to explain it?” Adam shook his head.

 

“Man, you guys are dumb.” Helen quipped.

 

“Vileness! Such a woman should have such venom on her tongue!” Svir gasped at her.

 

“And how are you two gonna help us?” asked Ming skeptically, not sure about them joining their group.

 

“I’m glad you asked!” Svir shouted, holding up his spear. “We’re weapons of mass destruction! Nothing stands in our way!”

 

“And lives to tell our tales!” Thrum holding up his sword.

 

“We have many exclusive tales. Many of which you’ll be hearing every so often as long as we live and breathe.” And as Svir stood proudly in his dramatic pose, he accidentally swiped at Thrum with the blade end of Röskjǫptr, almost cutting him.

 

“I hate you so much right now.”

 

“Quiet, Thrum. I’m building up a dramatic effect.”

 

Their annoying, half-witted antics only served to ignite another expected collection of aggravated reactions and exclamations from the group, many of them either facepalming or pinching the bridge of their noses.

 

“How are you guys gonna stay alive?” Mei bleated with total disbelief by their stupidity.

 

“At least the elves in Alfheim were more competent.” Ping shook her head.

 

“I remember you guys. You work for my human husband, right? The old viking?” asked Thrùd, now recognizing their faces.

 

“Yeah!”

 

“That’s us!”

 

“Wait, what?” asked Ming. Now that statement has really piqued her interest and confusion.

 

“What does that mean?” Elsa was just as stupefied. 

 

The old viking that Thrúd had raped and had children with and a couple of dark elves working for him. What could that possibly detail?

 

“Could I say something?” Ratatoskr finally made his presence known to the group and everyone gasped when they saw him and heard him speak. Seeing a couple of dumb dark elves was baffling enough, now there’s a talking squirrel with them now. “Is it possible we could continue searching for the other boy?”

 

“What other boy?” asked Elsa, not bothering to question a talking animal. Then she realized Rudolf wasn’t with them. “What happened to Rudolf?”

 

“Yeah, where is he?” asked Chen, now scared.

 

“He fell into a swamp somewhere over there and we’re trying to get back to him.” Charlie hurriedly explained, pointing in the direction where they’re sure the bog was.

 

“Well, what are we standing around for? Let’s go get him!” Elsa urged everyone as she full-on ran into that direction with Stig following her, followed by Ming, Mei and the rest.

 

“Yes, now it’s an adventure!” cheered Svir excitedly.

 

“Bestianados!” Thrum spat out as they followed the group, making Ratatoskr roll his eyes at them.

 

They kept calling out for Rudolf as they fled deeper through the Vanaheim forest, trying to see where the swamp was. But luckily, the further and farther they went, the more they started to see the light reflecting off of the dirty water of the murky lake within the wetlands. And finally, they had all reached the swamp where Rudolf was and then they all retched in disgust by the foul odor clinging to the area.

 

“Oh, Sun Yee!” Wu yakked.

 

“This has to be where he was.” Jin stated, looking all around for the boy, but he wasn’t there anymore.

 

“Where’d he go?” Stig was confused. “Rudolf! Rudolf!”

 

“Hey, guys! Over here! Yoo-hoo!”

 

Rudolf’s faint voice was calling back to them from far away. Yes, he was now standing at the very far end of the bog lake, having swam a great distance, now drenched in filthy swamp water as he waved his arms around to get their attention.

 

“I TOLD YOU NOT TO MOVE!” Stig thundered.

 

“What’s he doing over there?” Mei asked, narrowing her eyebrows.

 

"Can you come back over here?” Elsa called out to the boy on the other side of the lake.

 

”No way! I’m not going back in there again! I’m too delicious!”

 

“Nevermind.” sighed Roar. “Guess we’re going to have to cross this lake to reach him.”

 

“What?!” Wu complained about the idea. “Cross this?! Out of the question!”

 

“Well, I don’t see anyone other way around and there’s no way I’m gonna keep hiking around just to catch up to the doofus.” Stig disagreed with her. "And if he's not coming our way, then we're coming his."

 

“But won’t our clothes get dirty?” Helen asked.

 

“Nonsense. Clothes are super absorbent!” proclaimed Svir proudly.

 

“You shut it!” She hissed at him, not in the mood.

 

“We’ll provide some fresh clothes for when we get back to Asgard until we have your clothes cleaned up. It’s no big deal.” Thrùd stated comfortingly as she began to wade into the bog water herself, completely unbothered by it, much to their shock. Sure, her clothes were getting dirty in the process, but she didn’t care too much.

 

Elsa shrugged as she started into the water after her, but kept her hands above the water to keep the rest of her clothes from getting any wetter and dirtier.

 

“I can’t believe we’re doing this.” Wu groaned in despair.

 

“We’ll go with you.” Ping comforted her, joined by Chen and together, they all waded into the disgusting water and tried to ignore the musky natural smell of foliage all around.

 

“That boy’s gonna answer for this.” growled Wu under her breath, angry over her now ruined attire.

 

Their decision was to go into small groups and cross the water one after the next. After Ping and Chen escorted their stingy mother across while making sure not to accidentally step into anything underneath that may hurt their feet, Jin, Adam and Charlie were next. Adam wasn’t too bothered at all, being an ex-soldier and all that. Being a soldier means you gotta brave anything that crosses your path, such as a giant stinky swamp lake with lord knows what swimming in it. After them, Roar went next with Helen and Lily who both held on tightly to his arms. 

 

All of them unaware of the strikingly familiar pair of spinal blades poking out of the water, swimming by them unnoticed. Then Shan went in next with Tom, his future son-in-law, leaving only Stig, Mei and Ming left with the duo of knuckleheads and the squirrel on Svir’s head to be safe from the water.

 

“Alright, let’s do it.” Stig sighed in resignation.

 

As the dark elves went first, he and Mei went second as they followed their lead as Ming followed close behind following theirs. For her part, Ming was just as disgusted about having to wade through the filthy, murky waters, but she fought back her revulsion and carried on as they all kept their hands above the water.

 

However, Ming was starting to get the feeling that something was moving around in the water nearby. 

 

Something huge and deadly, but she desperately tried to keep it together and stay focused on crossing the bog. Unfortunately, this did not help the gurgling feeling in her stomach right now, which earned a wince from her as it bubbled downward through her digestive system the more edgy and unnerved she got.

 

“You know, I feel we’re supposed to be remembering something here.” Thrum brought up suddenly.

 

“Oh, yeah. These Vanaheim swamps do have these strange creatures floating all around.” Svir noted.

 

“Uh, what?!” Mei cried in shock.

 

“And you’re remembering this now?!” complained an angered Stig.

 

“Oh, not to fret.” Svir assured them all. “I hear they’re only attracted to something that stinks.”

 

“This whole bog stinks!” yelped Mei in annoyance.

 

“Yeah, but this is a natural smell around here. I mean, like a gross kind of ‘stinks’. You know, like something died, like something that makes you wanna gag.”

 

“Yeah, we should be good.” Thrum nodded. “We don’t smell a thing.”

 

“Oh, thanks.” Stig deadpanned.

 

This, however, did not lessen Ming’s worries, though. She could still feel like something dangerous was lurking somewhere in the water close by, just waiting to strike and attack her.

 

And then it happened. Something embarrassing.

 

Her eyes widened when it did and her body froze up, stiff as a sculpture. 

 

It came from underwater behind her, a loud rumbling sound that was muffled and sounded like an off-key trumpet note. And all of the sudden, huge bubbles rose abruptly to the water’s surface from right behind her and her mind scattered in every which way once it did until she inwardly groaned to herself. It must’ve been that weird fruit she ate back in Alfheim. 

 

It had to be.

 

Mei and Stig both stopped when their noses picked up a new scent that overpowered the otherwise pungent natural pong all around and they both cringe with disgust as it burned and singed their poor nostrils. A very dirty, rotten, foul odor that reeked of moldy foods, miasmic cheeses and aged vegetables and fruits. They both looked each other in the eye, wondering if one of them was the cause of it. Stig shook his head no and Mei knew it couldn’t have been her.

 

So they both turned their heads toward Ming who looked at them both with a beat-red face, biting her bottom sheepishly.

 

POOF!

 

Her mortification turning her into a red panda.

 

Mei couldn’t even begin to conjure up any words, other than to look at her mother with revolt. At that moment, however, the vicious and hungry nøkken’s powerful nose picked up the gross stench from underwater and started to swim towards the source of his new snack, making sure to remain unseen until its moment to strike.

 

Svir and Thrum also picked up the stench themselves, but they weren’t too disgusted by it. However, Ratatoskr suddenly passed out from the smell and fell into the water.

 

“Yeah, something definitely has died.” Svir nodded in affirmation, unfazed.

 

“How did you know?!” Thrum balked at him.

 

Suddenly, Ming yelped in surprise as she felt claws grab onto her tail from underneath and then yank her down under the water with great, immense strength, catching everyone off guard.

 

“MOM!” Mei shrieked helplessly.

 

“Ming!” The rest of their family shouted in horror.

 

Mei was about to risk it all and jump down in the water to the panda to save her mother. But then Stig pushed her aside and dived downward himself, feeling a certain need to take care of this on his own and just as he plunged into the murky, brown/green-tinted watery abyss, he felt himself changing again like before. Only this time, his skin turned scaly and slick, his limbs disappeared and his front canines lengthened and sharpened.

 

As for Ming, the poor woman was struggling for her life, fighting against the animalistic nøkken and trying desperately hard to wrestle herself out of its tight grip, but it was tough to see in the thick, messy water and reach anywhere with her big, fluffy panda body. Not helping is her increasingly depleting supply of oxygen, putting her in danger of drowning. The lake beast only became more incense and enticed the more the giant panda fought against it and then it opened wide its terrifying, gnarly-tooth maw about ready to take a huge bite out of its new, captured prey……

 

………….but then the head of a large green snake lunged at the nøkken and bite down on the beast’s face as agonizingly hard as it physically could, make the freshwater monster from the deep wail in tremendous, excruciating pain, forcing it to relinquish its grip on Ming, freeing her from its dastardly clutches and then the snake coiled himself around her body and swam back to the surface with her.

 

Ming was resurfaced with the snake wrapped around her midsection and as Mei and the others watched, the snake shrunk down and morphed back into Stig with his arms protectively embracing her as she calmed herself down while gasping for air, then returned to normal. Looking down at him, Ming’s shock transformed into mild surprise as she realized that he must’ve saved her from that monster. But Stig hated her. Why would he risk his own life to save hers? The others back on the land were so transfixed on the scene that unfolded, they had no way of understanding what had occurred, not even those who had already bore witness to the goth boy shapeshifting into a brown bear back in Niðavellir.

 

“Did you guys know he could do that?” Helen asked her boyfriend.

 

“You should’ve seen him back at dwarf city.” Adam answered.

 

“Mom!” Mei cried in relief as she hugged her mother tightly, glad that she’s safe and okay and Ming hugged her back.

 

Unfortunately, their joy was short-lived as the lake beast burst through the bog water surface with fierce ferocity and pure primal rage and everyone finally got a good look at the nøkken, Inn Fróði. The snake bite on its face was bleeding so now it was absolutely furious. It roared at them and they all screamed in terror. The beast lunged at them, claws at the ready and scary-looking mouth open wide. Elsa was already heading back into the water to try and do something to save them.

 

“Swim back over here!” She screamed.

 

The fight or flight response was triggered immediately. Everyone vainly raced away through the water, past the giant boulders, but the Inn Fróði was faster than them. It leaped out of the water, jumping from one boulder to another like a giant leapfrog, until it blocked their path to safety. Then Stig realized he still had the ax with him. So in a desperate attempt to rid themselves of the monster, he whipped the weapon out and aimed it right at the nøkken’s face.

 

“Stig, what are you doing?!” Mei was baffled by his attempt at heroics.

 

He didn’t answer, except he swiped at the nøkken with the ax several times, even making it back away. But Inn Fróði was not about to back down because of a scary-looking boy and his ax as it swept back at him with his claws. Everyone stood still and watched with voiceless awe and astonishment as Stig didn’t give up yet. He kept fighting back at the creature, his adrenaline pumping like crazy before he was finally able to slash at the monster’s arm, making it wail with agony.

 

Stig swiped at the beast again with his ax, this time aiming for its neck, rupturing its sac-like gills and spilling out its black, inky contents. And now time for the finishing blow. Stig let out a battle cry while the ax began to glow a bright blue and engulfed with frost and ice as he raised the blade high above his head and swung it right down on the nøkken’s head, plunging it deep into his head, spurting a fountain of blood.

 

However, the magical ice on the ax caused it to spread around the creature’s body, causing it to freeze everywhere until it was cold and frozen like an ice sculpture as Stig, Mei and Ming were gobsmacked by this phenomenon.

 

“Holy crap.” gasped Mei.

 

Reaching for the ax and ripping it from the frozen nøkken’s head, it led to the top half of the dead creature’s body shattering into several blocks of ice and the other half to fall into the water.

 

Inn Fróði was no more.

 

“What the fuck?” Adam said aloud, voicing everyone’s thoughts.

 

---

 

Afterwards as they hiked through the Vanaheim forest away from the swamps, all had a mixed series of reactions to the baffling occurrence that happened a while ago. Some of them were a bit shook at seeing the nøkken as well as witnessing it get killed, some of them were unable to believe that Stig had transformed into a snake and some of them were amazed at seeing Stig singlehandedly defeat a ferocious monster on his own.

 

While Wu was still complaining about her outfit being soiled and ruined from walking through mucky bog waters, Stig, on the other hand, had no words to express himself after just murdering a beast by himself with a magic ice ax.

 

“Oh my god, that was insane!” Roar exclaimed. 

 

“And that was the thing that tried to eat me!” Rudolf shouted.

 

“Mind blown.” Svir beamed while Thrum imitated an explosion to express his amazement.

 

“I’ve never seen a human actually go up against a nøkken and win.” Thrùd paid a compliment of her own. “Nobody’s ever emerged victorious against those things.”

 

"A what now? That's what it's called?" Ming asked curiously.

 

“Wha-? What happened?” Ratatoskr, who was being held by Svir, finally regained consciousness after being knocked out.

 

“Only the most badass thing ever!” answered Svir.

 

“Yes, he was very brave back there, but he could’ve gotten killed if it wasn’t for that ax.” Elsa looked at her son sternly.

 

“I don’t think I’ll ever get over that.” Stig moaned monotonously.

 

“But you did save my aunt!” Lily reminded him with sincere gratitude, hugging him tightly and warmly.

 

“That you did.” Ping agreed, joining in on the embrace and soon all of the aunties, Chen and Helen especially, came forth and brought the ill-tempered goth boy into a huge group hug.

 

“Such a brave little boy.” Helen mused softly, rubbing his head.

 

Stig didn’t share the enthusiasm, however. He only grumbled incoherent profanity to himself under his breath to ignore the fuzzy feeling this auntie hug was giving him.

 

“Okay, ladies. I think he gets the point.” Ming chuckled.

 

Reluctantly, they all freed the scowling boy from their giant, soft group hug and they kept forward on their journey.

 

“And you just turned into a snake back there. How did you do it?” asked Thorsdottir.

 

“How the fuck should I know?” Stig sighed, rolling his eyes.

 

“How can you not know?”

 

“I’m new to all this, alright? Can we drop this….whatever this is?” Stig snapped, growing more and more impatient with her.

 

“Fine.”

 

“Maybe he’s a wizard.” Thrum whispered into his brother’s ear.

 

“Maybe he’s a giant.” Svir whispered back, remembering that giants are capable of altering their appearances.

 

“So the ax has ice powers. Hmm, that’s really something.” Chen noted with curious fascination. “That’ll sure come in handy once you’re inside the land of the dead.”

 

“Well, I’m not sure how it’ll work against those who are, you know, already dead.” Charlie vacillated.

 

“Hel-walkers may be dead already, but they can still be killed again.” Mímir explained.

 

“So what does the bow do?” asked Mei.

 

“I’d rather not show you here.” Stig informed her warningly.

 

“Aye, that bow will be jist as useful in the land o’ the dead.” said the God of Wisdom.

 

This new area they were traversing through was becoming less like a moist and untamed jungle-like landscape, but more of a healthier woodland with beautiful green grass and oak trees filled with delicious looking apples sprouting from every branch above their heads. Pleasantly abundant of pure life and absurdly lustrous glory.

 

“So what are we looking for again?” asked Roar.

 

“A rope.” Stig exhaled.

 

“Maybe I can be of help.” A harmonious, gentle, sweet-as-honey feminine voice filtered through the air and turned their attention to a young maiden, sitting by an apple tree.

 

Getting a good look at her, the woman was admirably beautiful and glamorous that it puts even Sif to shame. She had pale chestnut hair that stretched long past her waist and fashioned into braids above her brow, pure white and pale yellowish flowing gown and robes.

 

“If it’s a rope you need, I shall provide.” The mysterious woman got to work climbing the tree with astoundingly adept dexterity.

 

“Oh, that’s quite alright, miss.” Elsa gently tried to politely decline.

 

“You may address me as Idunn. I’m the owner and guardian of the grand garden.” replied Idunn (Old Norse: Iðunn, Nordic: ᛁᛏᚢᚾᚾ), the wife of Bragi; the Norse Vanir Goddess of Spring and Eternal Youth, the Keeper of the Apples and the Granter of Eternal Youthfulness as she worked her magic in sprouting a sturdy vine from the tree. “Each apple grown here provides eternal youth to whoever eats them. So I wouldn’t recommend feasting on them, unless you wish to remain young forever.”

 

“Really?!” Lily’s wide eyes jolted all around at the apples on the trees.

 

“Hmm.” Rudolf picked one up off the ground and was about to eat it, when Mei snatched it from him.

 

“Alright,.....” Idunn mumbled to herself as she concentrated on her work, fiddling with roots and stems, until she finally came through with it. An elongated piece of rope constructed from tree vines and roots, then she hopped down from the highest point branch she was on and landed perfectly safe on her feet in front of them all.

 

“Wow.” Shan marveled.

 

“Not what I had in mind, but okay.” Elsa shrugged it off and accepted the rope from her. “Thanks, by the way.”

 

“Happy to be of service. Please help that poor boy out. I cannot imagine what that evil devil woman could be doing to him as we speak.” Idunn begged them with pleading, moist eyes.

 

“You bet we will.” Mei assured her tenderly. “We won’t rest until we help him.”

 

Idunn smiled gratefully and hugged the young girl like a mother would her own child, which she accepted.

 

“We better go. We have everything we need.” Ming reminded her daughter.

 

“Yes. Finally.” Elsa exhaled a sigh of relief and exhaustion.

 

And with that, Idunn the keeper of the apples, bid them all a fond farewell and wished them the best of luck on their mission once they all took off away from the Goddess of Eternal Youth’s personal apple grove and started their hike in an opposite direction. But before Stig could summon Huginn and Muninn, Ming suddenly felt that gurgling feeling again in her stomach, making her wince and clutch her stomach.

 

“Mom, are you okay?” Mei asked, catching onto her mother’s borborygmus distress.

 

“I’m fine, Mei-Mei. I just need to….” Ming whimpered as she rested her hands against a thick tree and aimed her shapely backside outward and for a brief moment, attempted to relax herself and tried to let it out carefully and noiselessly. After a few quiet seconds, Ming’s pained expression softened and diminished, replacing it with a look of relief.

 

“.......ooooh. Finally.” She exhaled longingly.

 

Everyone was confused……..until a huge wave of stink soured their nostrils. Although they didn’t hear it, they could smell it and by god, did it stink like hell. They all coughed, groaned with disgust, gagged, fought back to urge to vomit, some of them fanned the air, held their noses shut and tried to avoid breathing the horrendous stench.

 

“Ewww, Mom!” Mei hissed, pinching her nose shut, eyes watering. “Gross!”

 

“That stinks even worse than gym clothes!” Rudolf roared with his shirt over his nose. “I think I’m gonna be sick.”

 

“My poor little nose can’t take this!” squeaked Ratatoskr who was resting in the boy’s coat pocket and holding his nose shut.

 

“What crawled up in your butt and died, cousin?” Helen fanned the air to keep the miasmic fog away from her face.

 

“I’m sorry about that, but I think that fruit thing I had isn’t agreeing with me.” Ming sheepishly stated and blushed with embarrassment for her shameless release.

 

“Feel better now?” Her husband asked, hand on her back, while still gagging on the odor.

 

“Yes, hon. I’m okay. I think it’s over now.” Ming nodded.

 

"Not bad." Thrúd smirked at her, surprisingly impressed by the woman's emission. "But I've seen and heard better than that. Like this one."

 

BBBBRRrrrppppfff-pppppp-ppppp-pppptttttppp!

 

Simply out of either amusement or to make Ming feel better, she let a more audible, sloppier air biscuit out of her own rear with a severe lack of shame or regard for social norm. Now everyone - well, mostly everyone - were grossed out by her, thanks to the air stinking much worse. Despite this, however, few of the aunties were giggling, mostly Lily.

 

"It's like we're back at the swamp." Thrum whispered to his brother.

 

"God, why!?!?!" Stig angrily complained at her, holding his shirt over his nose.

 

"Just helping her feel better, is all." Thrúd shrugged like it was no big deal, unrepentant what she had done.

 

"How does that make me feel better?!" shrieked Ming, panda ears poofing out.

 

"How the fuck am I related to you?!" Elsa snarked.

 

"Call the ravens." Mei ordered Stig, really wanting to get back already and not deal with any more of this ridiculous nonsense.

 

"Huginn! Muninn!" Stig shouted, summoning the mystic birds forth and before they all knew it, everyone was gone, leaving only Svir and Thrum all alone.

 

"Wow, they just up and abandoned us, didn't they?" Thrum peeped after a ten-second silence.

 

"Yes, you scared them away. Great job." Svir scolded him.

Notes:

They've gotten the last item they need! At last!

As for the creature they ran into: it's known as the nøkken (also known as the nixie, nixy, nix, näcken, nicor and nøkk), a shapeshifting water spirit.

Everyone's gotten back together in Vanaheim just like they planned it and the boys have the dark elf brothers and Ratatoskr still with them, much to their chagrin. Stig and Ming seemed to be close to regretting their actions against each other either that caused them to split up in the first place.

And of course, to be honest, I couldn't help but throw in a little subtle fart gag. I mean, Alva did warn her not to eat the fruit too fast. Lol

Just arrive in New York. Everything's going smoothly so far and they apartment we're staying in is rather homey and comfortable. Like I said I'll try my best to keep writing my story and post it. However, the next chapter may come in late.

Next Chapter: With all the items collected, a huge party is thrown in the hall of Valhalla for their success. Ming and Stig reconcile and things start to go bad in the real world.

Next Chapter: March 16, 2023

Chapter 17: The Grand Feast

Summary:

With all the items collected, a huge party is thrown in the hall of Valhalla for their success. Ming and Stig reconcile and things start to go bad in the real world.

Notes:

Disclaimer: Turning Red and it’s characters are the property of (c) Walt Disney Pictures/Pixar Animation Studios.

Elements are borrowed from God of War (2018) and Ragnarök, owned by (c) Santa Monica Studio/Sony Interactive Entertainment

C/W: Fart humor (last time), mentions of child abuse and neglect.

VALHALLA (Old Norse: Valhǫll)
The Hall of the Slain

 

Everyone had returned back to Asgard after recovering all the items they needed. Everything on the list from the Norns that they had to retrieve in order to enter Helheim with maximum safety; the Fimbulwinter ax from Midgard, the magical compass from the light elves of Alfheim (along with Freyr’s ship Skíðblaðnir), the Bifröst longbow from the dwarf brothers of Niðavellir in Svartalfheim and finally the rope of tree vines from Idunn in Vanaheim. All was here and accounted for.

 

And now for the grand feast in the halls of the grand and glorious Valhalla.

 

Now Valhalla wasn't just a hall. Once you step inside through its giant entrance doors, you enter a vast heavenly dimension in and of itself, one that appears as though it rests high above the clouds in the sky, truly as is a Germanic afterlife for the honorable and heroic. Every square inch of the hall's interior and exterior was made extraordinarily out of gold.  The skies outside were pure blue and there were valkyries riding their pegasuses around, doing laps. The entire group were seated in separate tables in the hall surrounded by other drunken Einherjar being served comestibles and refreshments by the valkyries as if they were serving wenches.

 

And what a feast it was. They served slabs of pork roast called flæskesteg, sausages called medisterpøste, flatbread called lompe, shredded red cabbage called rødkål and there were cups of mead and ale whereas some of the gods had drinking horns from which to drink their libations. All of the gods and goddess were there in commemoration to the mortals’ success on their scavenger hunt; including but not limited to, Odin, Frigg, Heimdall, Freyr, Freya, Baldur, Skaði, Týr, Sif, Thjalfi and Röskva, Loki, Thrúd, Vidar, and of course, Thor. Each one happily indulging themselves in meat and mead. The Lees, consisting of Wu, Ping, Shan, Chen, Helen and Lily, all sat together at one table while the Bengtssons, consisting of Elsa, Roar, Rudolf, Adam, Charlie and Tom - joined by Ming, Mei and Jin - were all at another a couple inches from them. However, the introverted Stig decided to go and be alone somewhere in a solitary spot by himself away from the loud and boisterous merriment since he doesn’t do well with parties. They all found the food quite delectable and certainly a decent meal after such a long journey across the Nine Realms on their desperate search. Been a while today since they’ve had anything good to eat together. Thrúd, along with the other valkyries, were serving the Einherjar, most of whom were shooting drunken remarks at them, which they were very accustomed to at this point, though not all of them were as rude, callous or as perverted as some make themselves out to be. 

 

The dead souls of those brave and gallant warriors who died a heroic warrior’s death were not always hedonistic. Now as for the ruined clothes situation, everyone in the group was comfortably fitted into cleaner and fresher era-appropriate, medieval Nordic tunics and hangeroks for the time being while their clothes were to be cleaned and washed. The festivities carried on with singing, music and dancing with Bragi (Old Norse: Brɑɣe, Nordic: ᛒᚱᛅᚴᛁ), the husband of Idunn and the Norse God of Poetry, Dance, Skaldship and Music doing a wild folk dance before the roaring crowd who were cheering him on as he sang to them with a heavenly singing voice.

 

“♫ ~ Men trærne de danser
Og fossene stanser
Når hun synger, hun synger "kom hjem"
Men trærne de danser
Og fossene stanser

When she sings, she sings “come home”
When she sings, she sings “come home”

Men trærne de danser
Og fossene stanser
Når hun synger, hun synger "kom hjem"
Men trærne de danser
Og fossene stanser

When she sings, she sings “come home”
When she sings, she sings “come home”
When she sings, she sings “come home”
When she sings, she sings “come home”…~ ♫”

 

The Lees themselves were quite taken in by the god’s hypnotic singing voice and were just as entranced by the traditional Nordic folk song he sang. In fact, a slight portion of the Lee women were almost spellbound by how handsome he seemed with a glow of animal magnetism and how well and majestic he sang.

 

“♫ ~ I stormsvarte fjell jef vandrer alene
Over isbreen tar jeg meg frem
I eplehagen står møyen den vene
Og synger: når kommer du hjem?

Men trærne de danser
Og fossene stanser
Når hun synger, hun synger "kom hjem"
Men trærne de danser
Og fossene stanser

When she sings, she sings “come home”
When she sings, she sings “come home” ~ ♫”

 

And then a great rapturous applause and cheer erupted from the crowd of Æsir, Einherjar, valkyries and Asgardians alike. Even the mortals present gave the God of Poetry a standing ovation, though Wu’s was less enthused.

 

“He’s good.” The galvanized Ming remarked.

 

“I still can’t believe we’re inside heaven right now!” Rudolf came out with fanboy-ish excitement.

 

“Well, a version of it, more like.” Elsa corrected with a low shrug of her shoulders. “Every culture has their own variation of heaven, hell and the afterlife.”

 

“And may I say, for a Viking version of the heavens, it sure is a sight to see.” Tom added, smiling a big smile.

 

“How are we doing?” They turned to see Thjalfi sitting with them with his sister by his side. “Quite the party, right?”

 

“You bet.” Roar nodded. “They sure have a lot of fun up here in this hall.”

 

“My life is a party!” Ratatoskr drunkenly cried.

 

“Talking animals? Still weird.” peeped Mei.

 

“Valhalla’s quite famous for its noisy and extravagant corroborees.” Röskva reminded them, smirking. “Lots of mead, meat and music to go around.”

 

“So, uh, how did you guys become Thor’s servants?” Mei asked with sudden curiosity.

 

“Well, we were living with our parents back on Midgard until one night, the God of Thunder and the God of Mischief came knocking at our door seeking shelter for the night.” Thjalfi began.

 

“Thor demanded something to eat, but there was nothing in our house.” said his sister.

 

“So as an alternative, Thor took his mighty hammer and slaughtered his two goats for their meat for all of us to eat.” Then Thjalfi went next without a hint of unease in his voice from what he spoke next.

 

The look on everyone’s faces spoke louder than conceivable words and sentences. Mei’s face was just undoubtedly meme-worthy.

 

“Then Loki tricked us into eating the bone marrow and when Thor resurrected his goats with his hammer-”

 

“Wait, his hammer can do that?” Ming sputtered incredulously.

 

“Yes, his hammer doesn’t just level mountains or slay giants. It can also bring back the dead and offer blessings. Anyway, then he noticed one of the goats was limping, most likely due to one of its bones being broken and of course, Thor was not happy with us about this at all. But we both offered to join him in loyal and humble servitude and well, here we both are. Living the dream in the realm of the gods.”

 

“What happened to your parents?” asked Adam.

 

“Dunno.” Röskva shrugged. “But they were proud that we were serving the gods, so that's all you really need to know.”

 

“We will admit, though. Living with the Æsir is not without its ups-and-downs. Röskva and Thrúd aren’t exactly on the best of terms since they butt heads from time to time.” Thjalfi explained away.

 

“Thanks for bringing light to that, brother.” Röskva sarcastically thanked him with a roll of her eyes.

 

SLAM!

 

“Ah! My senses are burning!” The World Tree squirrel yapped.

 

All human guests of Asgard had collectively jumped and yelped, startled by the sudden loud thud of a certain hammer slamming against the wood of their table. Sure enough, Thor came to sit with them at the end of the table, having roughly paced down Mjölnir and sat with his mug of mead. 

 

He was also joined by Loki who had lost that sly smirk on his face and he took his seat to the right side of him, scooching Rudolf and Thjalfi to the side as the God of Mischief plopped right down.

 

“How are we all doing?” The God of Thunder asked, sipping his mead.

 

“Hey.”

 

“We’re all good.”

 

“F-F-Fine. J-Just fine. Nothing to worry about.” Ming shuttered uncontrollably within the Asgardian prince’s intimidating presence, sweating fountains, biting her bottom and shifting her eyes away from him, which Thor was quick to pick up on.

 

“Are you still afraid of me?”

 

“Can you really blame me? You beat the living crap out of me and almost killed me!” Ming, despite her tense dread, complained openly.

 

“If I wanted to kill you, I would’ve done it already. But you’re not dead, are you?” Thor reminded her.

 

“I’m still having nightmares about that.” fretted Ming with her husband holding her hand.

 

“I know sorry won’t be enough, but try to give it time.” Thor maintained in a low tone. “Maybe now, but eventually.”

 

“How nice of you all to not die a gruesome death on your travels.” Loki sardonically remarked at their expense.

 

“Oh, it’s you.” Ming grumbled at seeing his face again.

 

“A delight seeing your face as well.” taunted vexatious Loki with his signature impish smile.

 

Ming growled at him.

 

“Ancestors, you’re twice as annoying than the last we saw you.”

 

But near the end of her sentence, that sly old Loki shapeshifted into a facsimile of Ming and started to mock her.

 

“‘You’re twice as annoying than the last time we saw you.’” He crudely mimicked her and her voice before changing back. “I’m touched. Really.”

 

The irate woman sprouted panda ears from her hair as she burned an incensed glare in his general direction.

 

Rudolf, who was sitting next to him, was closely inspecting Mjölnir with the cartoonish fascination and alluring inquisitiveness of a comic book fanboy as if seeing the Holy Grail in person for the first time in your life.

 

“So that’s really Mjölnir, huh?” The boy asked, eyes never leaving the hammer. Then against his better judgment, he leaned toward to get closer to it, even holding out a single finger. “Can I touch it?”

 

“No.” Thor hissed, pulling the hammer away from him just as it was starting to spark while Loki pulled the Inuit teen back.

 

“My hammer is extremely dangerous if used improperly.” explained the God of Thunder. “This thing can break mountains down to size and fry your body from the inside with just a single bolt. It takes a lot of practice, strength and willpower to wield and master it.”

 

“And that’s the same hammer you used to slay giants and your goats?” The sharp-witted Elsa asked.

 

“Not anymore.”  He answered, putting it down.

 

“Spectacular.” Elsa sighed through her nose.

 

“I will say that this is turning out to be a weird Christmas for all of us.” Adam admitted plainly.

 

“Hmm, right. Christmas. The time of Jolnir.” Thor said under his breath.

 

“Yeah, who is Jolnir, anyway?” asked Mei.

 

“About that….” He began with a heavy voice. “My daughter’s Midgardian husband.”

 

“Yeah, yeah, the viking she raped?” Elsa quipped.

 

“That was a long time ago.” He shook his head. “And I’ll have you know that he was the first human on Midgard who battled me and won.”

 

Loki exploded with obnoxious laughter at the memory while Thor growled at him.

 

“And how embarrassing that was for you!” He taunted. “Thor, prince of Asgard, the mighty God of Thunder and slayer of giants lost a fight to a normal mortal human without powers!”

 

Thor, in a brief fit of irritation, shook his head and struck him with a strong lightning bolt from his hand, blasting the motor-mouthed shape-shifting God of Mischief away while everyone stared owlishly. Now Mei remembers when Kris did the same thing to her mother at the concert.

 

“That never gets old.” Röskva smirked.

 

“Zap him again.” requested Rudolf eagerly.

 

“Yes, I did lose to a human.” Thor’s voice dialed down to show a twinge of admiration. “Just a normal human being winning a brawl against a thunder god without sustaining even a scratch. I remember how he turned away from old roots and towards the name of God where he started building toys for children. The magic of giving gave him eternal life and vast magic of his own to wield every single year on Yule.”

 

As he gave away the gory details about the mortal man that his daughter married on Midgard and his life after siring children with her, each of them at the table went silent, their eyes the shape of clean dinner plates and Elsa’s jaw dropped as she made out heads and tails of the clarification of the God of Thunder’s meaning.

 

“Wait, just a minute. He-…..Oh!” Elsa started connecting the dots in her head as it came to her hard like a pile of bricks. “Jolnir, of course. He’s our version of Father Christmas. Which means….”

 

“Santa Claus is real!?” Rudolf exploded with pure excitable energy, then looked at Elsa. “AND YOU'RE RELATED TO HIM!?”

 

“That cannot be possible!” shrieked Mei.

 

“Are you serious!?” Ming, too, was unable to comprehend the idea of her daughter’s crush being also descended from the one and only Kris Kringle.

 

“Man, this is too much for my brain to handle.” Charlie replied.

 

“Santa Claus? That’s what they’re calling him nowadays.” Thor was dumbfounded by such a strikingly peculiar nickname for his apparent son-in-law.

 

The stubborn Loki returned to the table in a huff.

 

“What does he do? What’s he like? Does he know what I want for Christmas!? Am I on the nice list? Is he in the North Pole!?” Rudolf probed like crazy.

 

“Actually, he lives in Svalbard.” Loki verified for the boy. “In a hidden pocket dimension of his own away from the naked eye of the outside world.”

 

“What’s Rudolph like?” asked Mei, now desperate for more juicy details.

 

“I’m right here.” The dull-minded Inuit teen said.

 

“I don’t mean you.”

 

“Who?”

 

“Rudolph? As in the Red-Nosed Reindeer?” Mei said, spelling it out.

 

“Reindeer?” Loki choked on his chuckles. “Oh, that’s rich!”

 

“What about Dasher, Prancer, Vixen?” asked Roar. “And Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen?”

 

Loki snickered with a shake of his head and chortled out, “It’s such a treat to see how dull you Midgardians are.”

 

“There are no reindeer. He has Yule goats pulling his sleigh. And those aren’t the names. I don’t think.” Thor explained.

 

“Yule goats!?” Jin and Ming both spat, shell-shocked.

 

“No reindeer!?” Mei couldn’t believe it.

 

“My whole life is a lie.” Rudolf murmured with disappointment.

 

“What are their names then?” asked Tom.

 

“Maybe when you meet him in person one day, you can ask him.” Loki groaned and turned away from the group.

 

All this information really topped off everything they’ve learned about so far. Kris being related to the Norse God of Thunder and a bloodthirsty Viking warrior who would later become the one known as the legendary Santa Claus, who not only lives in Svalbard instead of the North Pole, but has Yule goats pulling his sleigh instead of reindeer.

 

And this was enough to tear apart every mainstream fact about the mythical Christmas gift-giver. Everything they’ve ever known about the entire mythos of Santa Claus alone.

 

“Jolnir is actually what they used to call Odin.” Thjalfi said, breaking the travelers out of their daze. “Every year on Yule, the children would leave straw for his horse, Sleipnir.”

 

‘Well, that explains the hay we found in the shoes.’ Elsa concluded in her head.

 

“Yeah, tell them about how the wall was built.” Röskva demanded sneakily.

 

“No…” Loki weakly begged with a pathetic whine.

 

“Oh, yeah. I think that was the one where you fucked a horse as a lady horse and gave birth to an eight-legged horse.” Ratatoskr laughed at the God of Mischief, the one now blushing in embarrassment.

 

“Stupid rodent.” He hissed silently.

 

Nobody was prepared for even that.

 

“I’d…..rather not hear that one, actually.” said a disturbed Ming.

 

“Then let’s change the subject. Where’s that scary little goth kid?” Loki said instantly in effort to steer away from divulging that personal platitude, at the same time noticing that Stig was nowhere to be seen.

 

“He just wanted to be alone somewhere.” Elsa clarified knowing full week of her adopted son’s aversion to parties.

 

“Yeah, guess killing a giant beast with a frostbite ax really shook him.” Roar mentioned.

 

“Him? Shook? I don’t buy that.” Mei snorted.

 

“Well, I think I’ll go and check on him at least, if you don’t mind.” Ming suggested as she stood up with a plate of food.

 

“I don’t mind, as long as you two don’t start going at it again.” Elsa said with a subtle warning.

 

“We’ll see.” Then Ming took off to find him, while hoping that he’s at least in a listening mood at the moment.

 

Meanwhile at the Lees’ table, things were pretty average, much to Wu’s chagrin. The food wasn’t too bad, if not a little sloppy for her taste, the music was decent supposedly, but all of this was really putting a toll on her patience, being far out of her comfort zone, that is.

 

“What a bunch of animals.” Wu groaned with distaste at the other people drinking away like a bunch of pigs and behaving like chaotic college students at a wild, uncontrolled frat party. Then Vidar passed her field of vision.

 

“You there? Could you please tell those….barbarians to act more civilized?” Wu demanded of him.

 

However, the God of Vengeance only shot her an apathetic glance and said not a word to her.

 

“Excuse me? Hello? Did you not hear what I just said? Answer me!” The elder matriarch barked for not being answered.

 

Nothing she did or said would invoke a reaction out of the Æsir god known as the Silent One. Then Vidar walked away from her, still without making a peep in response and Wu scoffed at such disrespect.

 

“Hmph!” Wu harrumphed, turning back around in a huff with her arms crossed. “Unbelievable!”

 

“Don’t worry about him.” Ping waved it off, then took a huge swig of her mead and then let out a huge belch.

 

“Ping! How rude!” Her mother gasped in horror.

 

“Good one, hon!” Shan grinned at her.

 

Helen belched back in response, then laughed snortingly, much to their elder’s disgust and anger.

 

“Not bad.” Chen smirked as she bellowed a longer, louder belch. The other guffawed, but not Wu.

 

Lily’s belch was louder and juicier and Wu had to sit there and watch with indignation at all her family members behaving improperly and grossly, like a bunch of immature juvenile delinquents. Each one of them released another rude belch after another to try to top each other’s eructation prowess, until Wu finally had enough.

 

“Ladies! Ladies! Where are your manners!?” She roared at them, slamming the table.

 

There came a brief silence among them, until Lily had a sneaky idea forming in her head right now. So she leaned a bit to the right, lifting up a buttcheek off the seat and then carefully pushed.

 

PPPPPPPPPppppppfffffffpppPppppppppptttttttttttttt-pppppp-pp-pp-ppp-ppp!!!!!!!!

 

Wu sat mouth agape at what she had done.

 

Her own mature granddaughter had just audaciously ripped a loud, bubbly and long fart without holding back and it spluttered wetly out of her round buttocks for about 9 seconds before the nuclear blast subsided and left in its radioactive wake, a thick, noxious cloud of foul, rancid and malodorous stench that reeked of rotten food and soiled months-old meat and it was so incredibly rank that the Einherjar at the table near them all passed out unconscious.

 

While all the Lees laughed and fanned the air at the same time as soon as the gas hit them all in the face, Wu couldn’t take it anymore.

 

“That’s it. I’ve lost my appetite.” Wu stood up after pushing her plate away as she tried to keep herself calm. “I will return when you are all ready to act your age. Ooh…!”

 

Wu groaned as soon the smell reached her, so she pinched her nose.

 

“……and when the air is fresher.”

 

And with that said, she was gone. But the others shared another round of hearty laughter.

 

“I might need to check my pants.” Lily joked. “Or my dress or my whatever….”

 

---

 

The place was huge and full of so many people that it was damn near impossible to navigate without bumping into anyone while holding a plate of food. The boy had to be around here somewhere. He doesn’t seem like the type to just run off on his own and ditch his family members. Just when the merrymaking decreased in volume the further she went, Ming looked and looked around, searching high and low - even asking for Heimdall’s help - for a familiar shade of long, black hair until eventually she found it.

 

Stig was sitting right there all by his lonesome in a bare room full of empty tables at a bench near a burning fireplace. So Ming thought hard about what she was going to say to him. Since the moment they first arrived in Norway, he’s been really stingy with her and why wouldn’t he be? After everything leading up to the SkyDome, he pretty much has a right to hate her.

 

But even despite his grudge, he bravely jumped to rescue her from drowning and getting eaten by that monster, so perhaps he’s beginning to show some regret for how hard he’s been on her. So Ming would have to start small.

 

“Hey, um…..Stig, was it?” She started by getting his attention.

 

He turned to give her a short sideways glance, but didn’t answer. Not that that wasn’t unexpected. 

 

Ming sighed and gently approached the goth until she closed in on him, standing just next to him. She sets the plate down on the table and takes a seat inches from him and he stays quiet the whole time.

 

“You know, you’re missing out on all the fun.” She reminded him.

 

“I’m not a party person.” Stig finally said.

 

“Why not?” 

 

“…….I’m just not, okay?”

 

“Alright.”

 

Ming wasn’t about to force the boy to be open about his feelings. Then she grabbed the plate and offered some of the food there was on it to him in an attempt to coax him in.

 

“Will you eat something, at least?” She asked him. “Can’t go into the land of the dead if you’re starving.”

 

Stig eyed the food and looked her in the eye. Finally, he sighed in resignation. To be honest, he was starting to feel a little hungry after such a long and perilous journey across realm after realm, searching for magic items and fighting off monsters. So he grabbed a slab of flæskesteg and chewed a bite off of it, making Ming smile.

 

“So anyways, I just wanted to thank you for saving me back in, uh…….” Ming fought to remember the name.

 

“Vanaheim?”

 

“Right, Vanaheim.” The ruby-haired woman nodded gratefully. “But why bother helping me at all? You hate me.”

 

“I’m done playing the blame game. It feels pointless.” Stig exhaled, shaking his head dejectedly. “Life’s too short to be holding grudges.”

 

“Yeah….” Ming nodded in agreement with downcast eyes. “But regardless, I can’t really blame you, though. You do have every right to be upset with me. I mistreated your brother, slapped him, called him names and was so close to killing the poor boy in front of everyone. I would probably hate myself, too, in that scenario.”

 

“I know.” Stig shifted his eyes toward her, eating more of the meat.

 

“And I’m really sorry about all that. I know that’s not enough.” She apologized. “And I shouldn’t have chided you like that after you all tried your hardest to come and save me and Mei when it was technically my own fault we were put in that situation in the first place.”

 

“Well,….I’m sorry, too.” Stig said with remorse. “I’m sorry for calling you ‘grandma’. I’ll admit, that was a low blow, even for me. And for not giving you a chance.”

 

“You really shouldn-“

 

“No, really.” He insisted. “After all, you came all this way with us to Norway to prioritize helping Kris over, you know, that.”

 

With his eye movement, he gestures to her red panda hair.

 

“Even though that would be your biggest concern.” 

 

“It still is, but not as much as trying to make things right. And I have soooooo much more to make up for.” Ming replied. “Like accepting my daughter’s personal interests.”

 

“Like 4*Town?” suggested the tough boy.

 

“But I still don’t get why they’re called that when there’s clearly five of them.”

 

“Spoken like a true baby boomer.” Stig jabbed at her.

 

“Hey!” She swatted him lightly, but he only smirked at her. “But I guess you're right. I shouldn’t be thinking too much about it.”

 

“And Mei will like what she wanna like. Even if you hate it.” The mature-minded Stig spoke with a fierce and disgruntled tone.

 

“Hmm, spoken like a true rebel.” Now Ming was the one smirking at him.

 

“Well, I guess we're all entitled to our own opinions now, aren't we?” And Stig meant it and by now, he was eating some medisterpølse.

 

“So you can turn into animals, too, huh?” She started to move on to the part where Stig is now suddenly able to shape-shift into various animals, which, at least in her eyes, doesn’t sound too dissimilar to her red panda curse since she turns into a giant red panda.

 

“I guess so.” Stig admitted, shrugging. “I don’t even know how it happened.”

 

“Maybe your emotions are doing it, like my red panda.” Ming suggested. “The guys say you turned into a bear back in the dwarf city.”

 

“A bear?”

 

“Are you sure you didn’t know how you did it?” asked Ming, cocking an eyebrow.

 

“This is really new to me.” spoke the goth boy.

 

“It would make perfect sense, though.” Ming noted. “You can speak to animals and you turn into animals. It’s like you’re one with Mother Nature.”

 

“I am fond of animals. Mostly the deadly ones. Spiders, snakes, wolves, scorpions. I actually have a pet snake named Fang at home.”

 

“Interesting.” Ming exclaimed.

 

That didn’t seem too far-fetched for a boy like him. 

 

“I kinda wish I didn’t have to kill that thing in the swamp, though.” He then lamented.

 

“It did try to kill me and us.” Ming reasoned. “And it was in our way. But then again, we were in its territory and it probably would’ve left us alone if I hadn’t……..well, fouled the air.”

 

That last part actually made him giggle a bit.

 

“Oh, ha ha.” Ming rolled her eyes in amusement. “Like that’s never happened to anyone before.”

 

But then Ming’s mind was veered toward an unmistakable tense subject. One that he’s probably not a fan of getting into. Can’t really get to try, though.

 

“So you're adopted, huh?” She began gently. “Your mom told me about that. She also tells me about the……..the accident.”

 

“Uh huh.”

 

“You don’t have to tell me now, but I’m wondering what your….old parents were like.” She stated honestly. “But again, you don’t need to answer that.”

 

Few seconds go by before Stig sighed softly and sadly, finally mustering up a margin of courage to speak up with a succinct phrase.

 

“They sucked.” 

 

“Huh? What?” Ming didn’t quite understand.

 

“They were the worst.” He articulated more clearly for her. “They hated me. They never made any time for me at all. Sometimes they’d ignore me, sometimes they’d bark at me to shut up, sometimes they’d call me cruel names like ‘that parasitic scrote-fruit’. I remember that one too vividly.”

 

It was no surprise that Ming was taken aback, or rather, horrified to hear such brutal details about his late parents. To think this hot-tempered young goth boy had such vile and horrid parents as a little child. Because this would explain a whole lot about him. Like her, Stig was a product of his own past trauma.

 

Everything about him was because of his parents. Granted, Wu herself wasn’t as distasteful as Stig’s parents, but Ming could still relate to Stig on a psychological level. And there was no denying it.

 

Stig’s parents were monsters.

 

“A very inappropriate thing to say to a child, along with a bunch of other explicit things. I mean, this coming from a kid who had to learn what the word ‘nutsack’ meant at such an early age.” He continued. “Or even, and excuse my wording, what a condom was. They’d also throw these massive parties sometimes for their friends, but lock me up in my room and force me to be quiet to keep me out of the way.”

 

Ming was quite disgusted now. Matter of fact, she was livid. 

 

To think that parents would treat their own children so horribly. Like they were a disease they needed to cure themselves of. A heavy burden they couldn’t deal with anymore. Or like it was the children’s fault they even became parents in the first place.

 

Does that sound like a normal, loving family? Of course not. Was parenthood a challenge? Maybe, but that does give them the right to act like total ass-

 

‘No, no, no, Ming. Calm down, Ming. Just take it easy. Calm yourself down. It’s not worth it.’  

 

They’ve already dug their own graves and now they’ve buried themselves in it. No child should ever have to live with terrible parents who want nothing to do with them. And no child should go through losing their parents.

 

“One night, they took me out for a drive.” That’s when Stig started to get to the hardest part of his backstory. “I was sitting in the backseat listening to them argue. They were cursing loudly, screaming in each other’s faces, probably blaming each other for something. But they were distracted by their fight to listen to the road until they ran into another car passing by in the other lane. I couldn’t understand what had happened, but I stayed by the wreckage until morning. And that’s when my parents - my adoptive parents - showed up and took me in as their own.”

 

“I’m…….I’m really sorry.” Ming wept sympathetically and slowly reached a soothing hand over to his and he just accepted it. “Sorry I made you bring that up.”

 

“Doesn’t matter now.” Stig took a deep breath in. “I finally got a real family after that. One that accepts me and a brother who accepts me. After losing dad, times have been tough for us. And that Kris is in that coma, they’ve only gotten harder. Day after day of hoping for him to finally wake up. But if anything were to happen to him, if he….dies……”

 

Ming watched with bewilderment and sorrow as Stig’s tough and feisty facade started to break down and he actually began to shed a few tears and his lip quivered, unveiling the weak and sensitive side of him to her.

 

“.......I just don’t know what I’d do.”

 

Suddenly, her maternal instincts took over. She scooted closer to him and brought an arm around his body, bringing into a hug. Although surprised, he slowly and hesitantly accepted that as well, sinking into her embrace as he would with his own mother. After breaking apart, Stig saw the lone tear running down Ming’s own cheek, her guilt seizing her like a splintered coil around her heart.

 

“I promise you, nothing is going to happen to Kris on my watch. I’ve caused him a lot of pain, but no more. Understand? We won’t rest until we get him back. I swear.” She promised him strongly and determinedly.

 

“I believe you.” Stig gave him his best confident answer. “I can’t lose him, like we lost our dad.”

 

“You won’t. I won’t let him die knowing everyone hates him, that I hate him. And I don’t. Nobody does and nobody should. He deserves so much more.” Ming then stood up and offered him her hand. “Now come on. Let’s get back to the others. Maybe you’d like a dance partner?”

 

“Excuse me?” He scoffed.

 

“Oh, come on. It’s the least I can do.” Ming snuck a ghost of a smile on her lips. “You did something for me, now let me do something for you.”

 

Stig didn’t know what to think.

 

He was having reservations, but it seemed that Ming was inviting him over to the party quite possibly as a way to make it up to him. Though for the first time in his life, he could finally feel that one thing he’s been missing. Being included in a party. Something his old parents never gave him. 

 

So he softened his gaze, reluctantly let a smile onto his lips and accepted her hand. And once back, the harmonic, lively music continued via dulcimers and fiddles and Ming was now taking the center with Stig as her dance partner. Stig had to ease him into it, but in no time at all, he was starting to enjoy himself. Thanks to Ming, he was getting into it. All the while, everyone was watching them from at their table with Elsa, Roar, Rudolf and Mei surprised to see that Stig, the infamously grumpy and introverted one, was actually having fun dancing at a shindig with Ming.

 

“Well, at least they’re not arguing anymore.” Roar said his thoughts out loud.

 

---

 

Back in the real world, on the farmland, the blizzard was just beginning to enshroud the land back on the farm. Heavy snowfall and strong, violent, sub-zero gusts of wind blasting in from the west. Umbla decided to spend the night in the house with Gnasher and Grinder so she could be closer to Kris. 

 

All three old men had already nodded off in bed for the night. All three old men snoozed and snored away in their comfortable berths. Aksel still had Jörgen with him as he slept on the couch downstairs.

 

Not a sound nor a peep, but the snoring. 

 

Aside from the occasional sharp whistling of the strong, snowstorm winds outside and the old house’s foundations creaking and groaning from the weather bombarding against it, everything was calm and ever so still inside.

 

And Kris was still resting stonily on his bed upstairs without Elsa sleeping in the other bed aside from him to keep the comatose boy company.

 

Aksel was out like a light, oblivious to the waking world. However, there was an unnatural presence within the room that made him stir from his dreams. Initially believing it to be just the house making noise, he ignored it and went back to sleep.

 

Suddenly, a shadow walks across him.

 

He stirred awake with a start, now feeling it somewhere close by. There was nobody around. Nobody down there but him. However, from out of the corner of his eyes, he looked and saw the shape of the shadow glide across the wall outside through the windows and out of sight. Initially believing it to be a burglar or something that may have come for Kris, Aksel erupted into protection mode and snatched up Jörgen and started for the door, but not without slipping into his thick parka first before heading full-on into the blizzard outside.

 

He wasn’t afraid of the cold.

 

Marching onward into the bitter, freezing snowstorm and ignoring the frigid breeze and hard snowfall hitting against his coat-protected body, Aksel aimed Jörgen all around in several directions for the mysterious stranger, but there was nobody in sight. He looked all around for anything or anything suspicious, anything that shouldn’t be there.

 

Nothing. Nobody.

 

It was freezing out there and he was about to give up and head back inside, assuming it was just his half-asleep mind playing tricks on him, when suddenly, he felt it again. That unnatural presence. Aksel turned and looked with deep focus out into the deep snow-covered rural emptiness out there where nothing but the trees were there. But after a couple of seconds, the sconce lit up and as he peered to his right, he tried to deny it. There was the shadow again, cast upon the barn wall looking back at him.

 

An exclaim of shock and fear escaped his lips along with a cloud of steam.

 

Who was that? That dark silhouette of a woman? Because there wasn’t anybody there to be casting that shadow.

 

The disembodied shadow looked away and then, slowly lifted up an arm to point a finger out towards the bare clearing up ahead. He was afraid to do so, but Aksel nonetheless looked to what it was pointing at and could’ve sworn he felt his heart drop and his blood drop zero degrees, his eyes pulsating in their sockets.

 

Even through the thick and heavy snowfall clouding his vision, there appeared to be the shape of a dark-shaded horse far off in the distance, taking leisurely, ominous strides forward, the sound of its hooves crunching through the thick snow sheets until halting in its tracks. Where did that horse come from and what was it doing here in the middle of the night? But as the cautious Aksel examined it more closely as his sleep-deprived brain sobered up second by second, his mind couldn’t be toying with his senses right now.

 

The horse was so incredibly pitch black, there were absolutely no discernible features. It’s as if it was shrouded in eternal darkness.

 

The only thing he did see were its eyes. Just a pair of………….red glowing eyes that were glaring back toward him sinisterly and it snorted out steam from its nose like a bull ready to charge. From behind it, peering through the blurry snowfall….

 

……more malevolent red eyes.

 

Aksel gaped, horrified.

 

Mares.

 

Looking back at the shadow with panicked terror, like the crack of a bullwhip, it then snapped its arm around and aimed its finger directly at the window to Kris’s room.

 

Aksel gasped when he turned with a colorless face to hear a chorus of hauntingly eerie echoes of ghostly whinnying as all of the mares charged towards the farmhouse like a swarm of hornets, emitting a trail of blackness in their wake. Terrified, Aksel darted back towards the house and slammed the door behind him, panting heavily as his heart pounded against the inside of his chest while trying to steady his breathing. However, he knew that wasn’t the end of that just yet.

 

They were still out there. Somewhere.

 

“Aksel?” called his brother’s voice from upstairs. Aksel quickly rushed for the stairs and up the steps to see Morten and Carl having been awakened by all the noise from outside.

 

“What the hell’s going on out there?” demanded Carl.

 

“They’ve come for him!” Aksel answered, desperately running toward the door to the bedroom, fighting to get it open. And when he did, all three men beheld a ghastly sight that chilled them all to the bone, that would terrify the pants off of anyone that saw it and stay with them forever until the end of their days.

 

A high-pitched, neigh-like, bloodcurdling, eldritch screech had pierced through the sound barrier and strobing lights assaulted their eyes.

 

Disturbing, petrifying, nerve-wracking, there sat upon Kris’s chest was the horse-skull of a mare elongating it’s mouth as it roared at them in a cloud of nightmarish blackness, it’s demonic red eyes staring threateningly toward the frightened old men as they couldn’t even believe their own eyes at such a barbarity.

 

Then it hissed as it lunged straight at them with brisk speed, scaring them out of their wits as they found themselves jolting backward away from the devilish spectacle once the door slammed right in their faces and they all wound up tumbling down the stairs in their blind haste of abject terror, all of them falling on top of each other at the bottom of the steps.

 

“Ow, damnit!” Carl yelled in pain from his fall.

 

“Get off!”

 

“What the devil?!”

 

Despite the pain from falling down 18 steps on top of one another, they all hastily scrambled to their feet, knowing that Kris’s life was at stake here. All three hurried back up the stairs to try and face the mare trying to abduct their grandson/grand-nephew. Whatever it was sending these dark forces wasn’t going to prevail.

 

“Get it open!” thundered Carl impatiently, scared for Kris’s life.

 

“I’m trying!” Morten hissed back.

 

The door was stubborn. It didn't budge, no matter how hard Morten tried. But finally, he managed to wedge it open and they busted into the room, but what they saw in there next made their realization sink in fast.

 

“No.” Morten’s eyes shrunk and his heart stopped.

 

The boy. 

 

He wasn’t in his bed anymore. The mare had disappeared from sight and unfortunately,......so had Kris.

Notes:

Now our heroes are dining at the hall of slain warriors, Valhalla where there's an abundance of food, drinks and music. And Ming and Stig have finally made up. After all, Stig saved her from getting drowned and eaten by that lake monster, even if he hated her.

Now we've gotten deeper into Stig's backstory. Apparently, he's been a victim of child abuse and neglect, growing up with terrible parents and being involved in a tragic accident that killed them both. And it's even been involved in any parties they've had, which I guess you can say is why he hates parties so much. And the part where the Viking - Kris's ancestor and Thrud's husband - became Santa Claus was just me having fun. The idea of the mythos of St. Nick originating from Norse mythology and everything not being what people today think and imagine it to be.

Oh, shit! Kris has been captured! What'll happen to him?! Find out soon in future chapters.

The Story of Thjalfi and Roskva:
In the Prose Edda, they were the children of peasant farmers on Midgard. One day, Thor and Loki arrived at their homestead to spend the night there. However, finding nothing in their home to sastiate the God of Thunder's hunger, Thor uses his hammer Mjolnir to kill his goats Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr for their meat to share with the family, but reminds them to keep the bones intact. However, Loki tricks Thjalfi into sucking the marrow from one of the goats' bone legs. After resurrecting them, Thor saw that one of his goats was limping. Enraged by this, Thor took the two siblings in as his servants.

The Walls of Asgard:
An unnamed stonemason arrived at the hall of the gods as offered to build a giant stone fortification around Asgard to keep the giant invaders out in exchange for Freya, the sun and the moon and with Loki's permission, the stonemason was placed under a number of restrictions and given one season to complete his work. The stonemason worked with great strength, hauling in enormous rocks twice his size with the help of his steed, Svaðilfari. The gods were worried by his prowess, afraid that he'll be finished before his deadline. In desperation and anger, the gods forced Loki to come up with a plan to stop the stonemason from succeeding. While fetching stones with his horse, Svaðilfari fell in love with a beautiful mare (Loki in disguise) and abandoned his master to go gallop away with her and in anger, the stonemason revealed himself as a giant. The gods reneged their agreement and had Thor slay the giant with his hammer. Loki's night with Svaðilfari led to the birth of the eight-legged horse Sleipnir, who became Odin's steed.

The song that Bragi was singing was the same song Tom Hiddleston’s Loki was singing, “When She Sings, She Sings ‘Come Home’” in the MCU television show on Disney+, Loki from the episode “Lamentis”.

And the mares, they're mostly based on the mythical creatures of the same name; a malicious entity of Germanic and Slavic folklore that ride on people's chest, resulting in nightmares. They mostly take the form of hideous women. However, I wanted to give them a shadow horse appearance instead, taking some inspiration from the Nightmares from Rise of the Guardians.

Next Chapter: Now was time to establish going into Helheim. Of course, Wu is strongly against Ming and Mei going along, but this escalates into a harsh argument between her and Ming.

Next Update: May 19, 2023

Chapter 18: At the Spark of the World

Summary:

Now was time to establish going into Helheim. Of course, Wu is strongly against Ming and Mei going along, but this escalates into a harsh argument between her and Ming.

Notes:

Disclaimer: Turning Red and it’s characters are the property of (c) Walt Disney Pictures/Pixar Animation Studios.

Elements are borrowed from God of War (2018) and Ragnarök, owned by (c) Santa Monica Studio/Sony Interactive Entertainment

“So what do you lovely ladies do for a living?” Bragi asked the aunties at their table and they each giggled a bit by his flattering tone.

 

“What do I do?” Lily went first. “I’m a fashion model. I help design cute and fabulous clothes that look damn good on you and then I show them off to a captive audience.”

 

“You should see her. She really rocks those outfits.” Ping complimented with a cute smile.

 

“How nice.” joshed Bragi.

 

“Me? I teach fifth grade science.” Helen replied, raising her head as if she were in a classroom. “And I’m bit of a fashion enthusiast myself.”

 

“My husband and I own a laundromat back in Toronto. Our assistant manager is taking care of things back there during our absence.” said Ping enthusiastically.

 

“Just as long as she’s staying on top of the tax returns and the mortgage.” Shan spoke with a stern kind of worrisome voice. “She’s been infamously known for forgetting one or two things.”

 

“Evan’s got her covered, hon. You know this.” Ping patted her husband’s shoulder while sending him a look.

 

“What on earth is a laundromat?” Bragi asked them.

 

“Well, uh…….where people go to wash their clothes.” Ping explained in the simplest form she could muster at the moment.

 

“As for me, I’m between jobs at the moment. But Charlie’s been looking to land me a job at Best Buy recently.” Chen chimed in. “Not much, but it’s a start.”

 

“Best Buy, hmm.” The God of Poetry remarked, unfamiliar to the vernacular.

 

Suddenly, the doors to Valhalla thundered open and the All-Father himself charged right in with his wife on his horse after taking Frigg out for a ride along the winds.

 

“And there they all are! Our brave and fearless heroes!” Odin called out welcomingly as he rode forth toward the Midgardian visitors on his noble steed, the fast and dexterous eight-legged stallion, Sleipnir. An odd-looking animal that struck everyone, understandably, as super odd. When seeing it alone, Loki hid his reddening face from view.

 

“Does that horse have eight legs?” asked Ping.

 

“Better you don’t know.” He rapidly stated.

 

“So….” The All-Father started, dismounting and allowing Sleipnir to gallop away. “I trust you’ve all had a successful time retrieving the items.”

 

“Oh, we did.” Mei answered truthfully. “Although, we did run into some troubles, like a bear, berserkers, a lake monster and so on. But we followed through.”

 

“Nothing is ever easy, child. But your determination was unlike no other.” Frigg told her wisely. “You should all be proud of yourselves.”

 

“If it means helping that boy out, then I agree.” Shan told her kindly.

 

“Which brings us all to the tricky part.” Heimdall chimed in. 

 

“Getting Kris out of Helheim, right?’ Mei correctly guessed eagerly.

 

“Here’s the thing.” The Scion of the Æsir commented with a tight-lipped gaze. “We cannot allow all of you to enter Helheim. At least, not all at once. The afterlife can be too much for all of you to comprehend. So we suggest that only a small number of you go.”

 

“In that case, I don’t think I’m up for it.” Tom raised his hand right away.

 

“Me neither.” Lily peeped, a little tipsy from the mead, retreating to her boyfriend’s side. “I’d rather stay here with Tom. And maybe have some real fun.”

 

“Oh, boy. Little too much for her.” Shan whispered to his wife.

 

“Nae.” Mímir groused. “None fer me, thank ye.”

 

“You know, I’ve been thinking lately.” Stig started, looking towards the gods. “If Kris has been here, or at least a part of him, for the past seven months, why haven’t any of you sent him back already?”

 

All gods had fallen silent and sent hardened gazes to one face after another as if they were hoping that this wouldn’t be brought up, albeit knowing it would sooner or later. As a matter of fact, all the mortals looked at each other, now all thinking the exact same thing. That actually was a good question. 

 

Why haven’t the gods just sent Kris’s soul or whatever back to his unconscious body yet? Surely they would’ve had that sort of power.

 

It’s actually much more complicated than that.

 

“Well, we actually tried that once.” Odin tensely started off, eyes downcast. “Unfortunately, his physical body needs to be nearby in order for that to work and apparently, it was too far away.”

 

“See, you can’t exactly…….well, force a spirit back into its original form. It needs to be aware of its surroundings and its current situation before it can return safely.” Frigg continued off after her husband with a saddened look in her eyes. “Fortunately, though, his body is nearby now there’s still hope.”

 

“And after you return with Kris, we’ll take care of the rest.” Baldur concluded.

 

“So who’s going and who’s not, is the real question?” asked Heimdall, circling back to the ‘who’s going into the afterlife’ debate.

 

“None of us are. Me and my family.” Wu replied, making her case loud and clear. “I didn’t come along to let ourselves risk our lives over some boy.”

 

“Fine with us. We’ll be going then.” Elsa stepped up. “This is what I came here to do and I will do it.”

 

“Are you sure about that?” asked Wu, almost sounding worried.

 

“Yes.” The Norwegian woman sharply answered.

 

“Kris is down there in the land of the dead and we’re gonna find him.” Stig declared, not ready to give up. “And I’m not leaving until we do.”

 

“Neither are we.” Roar folded his arms with tough and fierce resolution.

 

“So where are those items?” asked Baldur.

 

In direct response, everyone immediately got to work and whipped out everything they had collected from their fetch quest across the realms; the longbow, the compass, the ax and the rope, as well as Skíðblaðnir and the fruit. Freya came forth to explain their abilities to everyone and how useful they will be once they reach the realm of the deceased.

 

“Now then.” Freya began with the compass. “This will help you navigate your way through the landscapes of Helheim with help from the Light of Alfheim. All you have to do is let it know who you’re looking for.”

 

“Yep, the light elves themselves made that clear.” Elsa nodded, understanding.

 

“I only hope it’ll actually work.” said Roar doubtfully.

 

“Trust the Light. The Light is your guide.” The Queen of the Valkyries placed it down and lifted up the longbow. “This longbow specifically, delicately and most beautifully handcrafted by the dwarves withholds the power of an inexhaustible supply of arrows which will explode powerfully against any enemies you may come across with just one simple word. You remember what it is, do you not?”

 

“Yes, ma’am.” Stig nodded. “Not that I’m gonna, you know, say it right now.”

 

“The arrows explode?” Ming gasped either with surprise or with worry.

 

“They do.” Freya nodded, unfazed by her concerns. “This will be a truly effective weapon against danger. As will this.”

 

Next up, the Goddess of Love and Magic eagerly lifted up the ax and held it carefully up in both hands.

 

“This ax is blessed with wielding ice and frost from the cold and bitter weather of Fimbulwinter.” She explained. “And it shall return to your hand after being thrown, as does Thor’s hammer.”

 

“Cool!” Rudolf gleamed.

 

“As for this….” Freya then grabbed the vine rope. “Seek out the He-Witch first and he’ll take care of this for you.”

 

“But what good is a rope gonna do us anyway?” asked Elsa skeptically, still uncertain of the implication of using a simple rope for their journey into the Nordic afterlife.

 

“You’ll see. He will show you.” The All-Father answered for her. 

 

Then Freya noticed the familiar, less-than-ordinary piece of cloth on the table and said with a knowing smile, “And I see you have my brother's ship with you as well. That should make escaping Helheim much simpler.”

 

“Now you all should get some sleep first.” Frigg recommended to them strongly. “I’d imagine you’ve all had a very long day of traveling between realms. A night’s rest is in order. You’ll all start first thing tomorrow.”

 

“Bilskirnir will be open for all of you.” Thor said to all of them, after being quiet for most of the conversation.

 

“Elsa, are you sure you’re willing to do this? Entering the land of the dead and all that?” asked Adam with deep concern.

 

“Of course, I am. My son is trapped down there. I said it before. I’m not leaving without him.” She said, not letting up for a second.

 

“And I’m going with you.” Mei approached her.

 

“No, you’re not, Mei.” Her grandmother denied.

 

“And so am I.” Ming agreed firmly, going to stand next to her daughter with a hand on her shoulder.

 

“Ming, I said no! Absolutely not!” Wu barked, raising her tone to a reproving decibel. “I forbid it!”

 

“Mom, you know this is why I’m here!” Ming bit back at her mother. “This is what I’ve come here to do in the first place!”

 

“To do what? Risk you and your daughter’s lives heading into the afterlife?” balked her traditionalist mother. “I’ve waded through filthy swamp water and got my clothes dirty, watched you dance like a stripper, been attacked by a bear, but letting you enter the afterlife full of dead people - that’s where I draw the line!”

 

“I have to go, mom! I need to do this! Kris’s life depends on it!” argued Ming, now starting to get impatient with her.

 

“Oh, here we go now.” muttered Helen, having a funny feeling where this is headed and she and the other Lees backed away a step from the arguing duo, with the narrow-minded Wu refusing to let her daughter and granddaughter put their own lives at risk.

 

“Should we-?” Odin was about to ask, but Frigg cut him off before he could ask.

 

“I wouldn’t, my love.”

 

“This isn’t even our business, Ming!” Wu roared. “That boy isn’t our business! You said you wanted to come and help in any way you wanted and you did! This is the best you can do for them! Let them deal with it!”

 

“No! I won’t, mother!” Ming scowled. “I’m not gonna let Kris suffer anymore! This whole mess is my fault to begin with! So it IS my business!”

 

“Don’t you dare talk back to your mother that way, young lady!” Her mother roared and snorted, suddenly poofing into a panda.

 

“I’ll talk to you however I want!” Ming’s panda materialized as well, still glaring daggers at her close-minded mother. “I’m a grown woman! I can make my own decisions!”

 

“You may be an adult, but I’m STILL the boss of you!” Her mother’s voice was like that of a growling tiger at this point. “You do what I say when I say! I will not let you or Mei put yourselves in any more danger! Are you really that desperate to risk your own life for some random child that YOU fired months ago?”

 

“Don’t bring that up to me!” Ming’s voice was like a cheetah ready to pounce on its prey. “Yo-”

 

“Not to mention that you’re dragging your own daughter down with you!”

 

Mei’s face blanched white when she said that. To think that her grandmother was accusing her mother of getting themselves all recklessly killed. Elsa pulled the boys back as the fight was now reaching nigh-volcanic levels, while the other Lees were growing increasingly scared and worried as this all started to seem familiar to them. Hell, Jin was sure this looked somewhat closer to a need-not-to-be-mentioned fight they’ve had long ago.

 

“How dare you!”

 

“How dare I!? No, HOW DARE YOU!” Wu roared at her, all self-restraint gone from sight. “You don’t get to blame me for everything! Need I remind you that it was your fault for tearing apart that arena?! Nobody forced you to turn into a giant panda monster and attack innocent people! If it wasn’t for any of that, we wouldn’t end up being stuck with our pandas for the next three years! Do you not remember when all of us were forced to remain in Toronto to raise a ridiculous amount of money for all the damages YOU caused by your OWN hand?! All those days and all those months which I could’ve spent back in Florida that I’ve sacrificed just to save you from prison?! Do you not remember any of that?! And thanks to you, we had blown our only chance to help rid Mei of her panda for good because we wasted our time trying to get YOU under control, not to mention stopping that brute from mashing you into paste! Because you've failed to keep your daughter's panda under control, you've failed to have everything in order, you've failed to keep her where we needed her and worst of all, you've failed as a mother!”

 

Now all bets were off.

 

This was the point of no return of Ming.

 

And her fury had gone to unprecedented levels and her feelings toward her mother’s controlling and domineering nonsense had now boiled to the surface at such an alarming rate. Just………..how dare she use that against her! Sure, not a single Wu had said was inherently false, but the fact was that Ming's been incapacitated while trying to raise funds for destroying the SkyDome and yet, her stubborn-as-hell mother just has the stupid audacity to make it all about her!

 

As if she’s the real victim here! And worse yet, throwing Ming's own faults right in her face? Blaming her issues on her? Calling HER a failure?! They may have missed their chance to seal their pandas away in time, but last time Ming checked, Wu wasn’t the one stuck on house arrest, walking around with a crutch with a broken leg and arm......with a metal bracelet on her ankle!

 

This ends here and now.

 

“Why don’t you just shut the fuck up?!”

 

All anger Wu had just had dissipated right away with that single biting sentence and was replaced with a look of horrified shock, hearing her own daughter curse at her.

 

“Just shut the fuck up already!” Ming wasn’t finished yet. “Seriously, every single day I’ve put up with this bullshit of yours! It’s always about you! It’s always do this, do that! Say this, say that! Be this, BE THAT! You never think to ask what I want for change! What I wanna do or who I wanna be! Because I’ve always been this perfect little porcelain doll and never this person with thoughts and feelings of her own! ‘I just got an A+ in math’, ‘My teacher says I’m extraordinary’, ‘All of the other kids are jealous of ME’! I wanna be me, you hear me!? I wanna be ME! If I wanna shake my hips, then I’ll do it! If I wanna get drunk, then I will do it! If I wanna paint weird, sloppy paintings, then I’ll do it! I don’t care if it's perfect and I don’t care what you think! All you’ve ever done is hold me back, chain me down, make me live this fake life just to keep YOU happy! And you’ve turned me away from the only friend I ever had! And you know what, maybe I have turned out like you! Just a stupid, selfish, whiny, stuck-up, friendless, arrogant, self-absorbed, bigoted and small-minded BITCH!!!!”

 

Now……..all was quiet in the hall.

 

Nobody, not a single soul, had the guts to utter a single sound after that. 

 

After Ming unloaded so much emotional baggage onto her mother, it now felt as if all time in the world had frozen mid-rotation. Every single person within the hall had stopped to listen in on the erupting argument and all had fallen silent once it reached the gobsmacking crescendo.

 

And no one had anything to say, not even Wu, who has never, not once, felt so attacked in her life like this, from her own daughter no less. And her expression was damn near unreadable. To think that this is how Ming truly felt all this time trying to meet her struggling and impossible expectations and responsibilities growing up. And as for Mei, she can’t help to think of how similar her mother’s situation in regards to Wu was in comparison to her own. Dealing with strict, demanding mothers pushing their daughters to be exemplary, people-pleasing overachievers. The implications were truly mind-boggling.

 

Ming panted heavily from her enraged rant, taking a moment to slow her breathing down and calm herself. 

 

But then her furious glare softened up quickly and she started to look rather guiltily at her mother, who still did not say a word. A small part of Ming wanted to try and take everything she just said back, but what’s done is done. 

 

The can of worms has been opened.

 

She said what she’s wanted to say to her for so long. And in essence, it was like history repeated itself. This argument, all this backlash of being treated like a trophy - a show dog - and not a person. 

 

Only this time, Ming didn’t strike her.

 

She did, however, turned away from her mother and walked away with tears now flooding her eyes, poofing back to human from along the way. Nobody made a move to stop her, especially Wu who was too petrified by Ming’s fury to even so much as blink. Before they knew it, she was gone. Having left the hall of the slain. Worried, Jin got up to go follow her.

 

“Jin-” Wu tried to stop him, but he glared at her and yanked his arm back from her panda paw.

 

Elsa, too, felt the need to go and offer comfort to her former friend. Wu didn’t even try to stop her this time. What nobody else realized is that Thor, as well, felt like all this generational trauma was somewhat somewhere similar to his own case. Everything he’s dealt with, everything he’s had to live up to, everything he’s been made to do and made to be. Whether it's a destroyer, a slayer of giants, an assassin of anyone who rubs Odin the wrong way or even a personal lapdog. He was the God of Thunder, bringer of storms and rain, protector of all mankind and a figurehead to all that worships him, not some……..weapon.

 

“Well, that took a load of mah mind.” Mímir mentioned, breaking the ice.

 

“So……….now what?” asked Rudolf.

 

“I’m………I’m still going. No matter what.” Stig stated, snapping out of his shock. “But not without you guys.”

 

“Don’t worry. We wouldn’t have it any other way.” Roar held a gentle hand to the goth’s shoulder.

 

“Well, you boys better sleep on it and we’ll get back to it in the morning.” Frigg told all three of them.

 

---

 

To say that things after that explosive argument weren’t too good would be an understatement. Wu and Ming had nothing else to say to each other afterwards. They all slept quite well that night in Bilskirnir, but the memories of their fight were still fresh on both their minds. Ming couldn’t sleep too well. She rested uneasily and dreamed of that exact fateful day, the day when she and Wu argued about Jin and when Ming got so mad at her mother that she panda’ed out on her and struck her with her claws. That same day that had stuck with her ever since, the blood running down her mother’s face from the claw mark over her eye, the haunting scar that still paints Wu’s face to this day.

 

The next morning wasn’t as bad, but things were still overwrought. No words were exchanged between the two, still. They just didn’t even have the strength to look each other in the eye. Not after everything Ming had unloaded on her last night. Wu even looked like she wanted to say something, but only shut her mouth back up, too overwhelmed.

 

Anyway, as for who was heading for Helheim; those going were as follows; Elsa, Mei, Ming, Stig, Roar and Rudolf. Mímir and Ratatoskr came along as well. However, Mímir would keep his word and not head into Helheim, but Ratatoskr would tag along with them. Of course, the first thing according to their plan was to venture into Niflheim and find the gatekeeper of the Gates of Hel, the so-called “He-Witch”. But nobody really felt like hiking all the way over there. So Thor obliged with providing them all transport with his goat-drawn chariot.

 

“These guys are capable of traversing between realms, thanks to my hammer.” Thor explained as he fastened Mjölnir onto a hook to his chariot, which allowed its power to flow through the vessel and into Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr’s bodies. “Maximum capacity is only four. So there’s six of you. I’m only taking three at a time.”

 

“That’s cool.” Rudolf nodded.

 

“We’ll go first.” Stig up-frontly said, bringing Rudolf and Roar onto the chariot first. Thor hopped aboard with them. Inside Rudolf’s backpack, Ratatoskr sat comfortably.

 

“You’re definitely gonna wanna hold on.” He warned them.

 

“Uh, ok-”

 

ZAP!

 

Once Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr sped off full speed, electricity engulfed their bodies and it was like riding a missile as soon as they both dashed into the air, taking off like a rocket ship into space with such unbelievable breakneck speed, the worlds around them seemed to just zoom past them the faster they shot through the sky with the blessed power of lightning. After only what felt like a couple of seconds, the speed-demon goats landed back onto the ground and the boys took a second to regain their bearings after it was like riding the world’s fastest roller coaster before getting a look at their new locale.

 

(ᛗ)
Muspelheim (Old Norse: Múspellsheimr / Nordic: ᛗᚢᛊᛈᛖᛚᚺᛖᛁᛗ):
(HOME of the FIRE GIANTS)

 

Hot, that’s what it was.

 

Perhaps as warm as a Hawaiian volcano. Because there was nothing much there but dark, charcoaled rock land all around and everywhere you looked, lava was everywhere. Magma had flowed like rivers from different corners and mountains burst and bled with it. Ash rained down from the smoke-filled skies like a wildfire snow flurry and any flora that was adjacent around this hellish terrain was blackened and burnt to a cinder and no wonder. This realm was like stepping directly into Hell or even a prehistoric Earth where life had not yet developed or evolved for it was still incandescent with fire and molten rock.

 

“Don’t move a muscle either of you, hear me? Don’t want you boys getting burned on anything while I’m gone.” Thor informed them before blasting away into the skies with his goats and out of sight.

 

After he left, the boys took his advice and stayed right in this spot where they were and took this moment to observe their surroundings, the fiery, toasty biome of this new realm they were in. The realm where the first fire was formed and one of the two primordial realms where all the Nine Realms and all of life within it had originated from.

 

“Sure is warmer here. Kinda wish I had brought my sunglasses with me.” Roar brought up, then faced his goth friend. “I know you said not to bring this up again, but you can shapeshift now?”

 

“Yeah.” Stig answered him cooly. “I guess so. Not sure how or why.”

 

“I mean, you’ve turned into a bear and a snake so far. What else can you turn into? A whale?” Roar pried further.

 

“No?”

 

“How about a walrus?”

 

“No.”

 

“A muskox?”

 

“No.”

 

“Oh, what about a porcupine? Or a mosquito or a mountain goat or a jellyfish?”

 

“I don’t know. This is all just suddenly happening to me.” cried Stig with a steely countenance.

 

“Well, if you understand animals, then you may as well turn into them.” Roar said matter-of-factly with a shrug.

 

“I’ll give you my lunch money if you turn into a termite.” Rudolf grinned mischievously and Stig shook his head in annoyance with a grunt.

 

ZAP!

 

They probably would’ve kept on guessing, but at that minute, the God of Thunder returned with the girls and Mímir attached to Elsa’s hip. Just like boys, they, as well, felt as if they had gotten off the world’s fastest bullet train. Their hair had become unkempt and messed up from the speed of the chariot, all clinging tightly to it like their very lives depended on it. But Elsa settled her heart rate down and hopped off, taking both Lee women by the hands and helping them off as well, their feet landing onto the solid ground.

 

“Where are we?” asked Mei, looking around to the pre-adapted realm.

 

“Muspelheim.” Thor answered. “Home to the fire giants, where the first flame had burned and where you’ll find the space between it and Niflheim down that pathway there.”

 

The aforementioned path he was speaking about was down the way through the molten, jagged rock formations deep into the lowlands that were devoid of any lava, therefore safer for traversing past.

 

“Just make sure to avoid any lava on the way there. Once you reach the cavern in the mountain, it should take you directly to Niflheim. I’ll be off.” 

 

ZAP!

 

Like a bolt from the sky, he was gone from their sight.

 

“Insane!” Ming yelled.

 

“Aye, it takes a lot o’ gettin’ used to.” Mímir told them all, glad he doesn’t have a stomach or else he’d be throwing up by now.

 

Through the rocks jutting out of the ash-covered ground as if they were impaling the body of the primogenial earth. Lots of rumbling could be heard in the distance to the layers of volcanoes littered across the land. And the temperature was just as you’d think it would be. Warm, humid and all-around steaming like the inside of a sauna, like the Mojave desert in the middle of summer and all of this was quite ironic, considering it was the middle of winter back in the real world. 

 

Meanwhile, Ming was dealing with a noticeable margin of strife and inner conflict with herself at the moment. No matter what, she still cannot let herself forget about the argument she had with her mother. Everything she said to her and everything she called her, it stung her to think about it. It’s no secret that their relationship has been quite questionably rocky since the incident that took place long ago that led to the scar on Wu’s face.

 

While trying to ignore the immense warmth making her sweat a bit, Elsa took notice of the crushed look on her face and decided to speak up about it.

 

“Still upset?” asked Elsa.

 

For as long as Ming had known her, Elsa didn’t need to be specific about what she was referring to. Ming sniffled, feeling her eyes moisten and sting.

 

“I just…….I just can’t stand it anymore.” 

 

“Being your mom’s show dog?” Elsa premeditatively stated, having heard this before.

 

“Yes and trying so hard to be perfect for her and for everyone, knowing I’ll never be good enough.” Ming went on and on like a cogwheel. “Everything about me has always been about her. She never lets me like what I wanna like for a change.”

 

Mei had nothing to add to that, but she had similar feelings herself. But she didn’t have the heart to say a word about it.

 

“Well, parents are tough to please sometimes.” Elsa sighed, shaking her head. “Sometimes they annoy you, but they’re only there to keep you safe, because they love you.”

 

“I know, but my mom has to constantly be on my case about everything. Pushing me and pushing me to achieve success in everything so much it hurts my head. I have gotten good at it, but that doesn’t mean I enjoy doing it. It’s all muscle memory. Though, I kinda wish I hadn’t said all that to her. I wish I hadn't insulted her right to her face. But maybe if she wasn’t so stubborn, so stuck-up and so narrow-minded all the time and actually trusted me to do my thing for once in her life….”

 

Her raving came to an abrupt end when Elsa brought her arm around her in a one-armed embrace. Ming looked at her in surprise, but didn’t object. It always felt good feeling her old friend hugging her. But in a way regarding her mother, Ming couldn’t exactly remember a time when she was open to Wu about her feelings and her wants and needs. Of course, Wu would always shut Ming’s own ideas down, deem them as minor or unimportant and just plain silly. Perhaps it's because of this notion alone that Ming doesn’t trust her own mother in understanding her that way she truly was.

 

Trust her to make her own choices. Trust her to handle things herself. Trust her to just……….be herself.

 

But then Ming gasped in her head and wondered. All of this was exactly what Mei felt herself about their relationship. In the process of everything, Ming may have unintentionally taught her to please everyone without pleasing herself, to struggle to be someone she wasn’t, to push aside all of her friends for her overprotective mother’s sake, to being forced to choose between her family and her friends.

 

“I really have become like her. My mother.” Ming whimpered.

 

“Well, yeah. Kinda.” Elsa shrugged and agreed with her, no doubt seeing some truth in that. “But maybe you shouldn’t have to be. You aren’t your mother. You’re never not allowed to just be you, no matter what your parents say.”

 

Now Mei can definitely remember Kris telling her something similar back at the party. When he was helping her accept her panda and being true to herself. Inwardly, she just wished she had taken his advice back then instead of not speaking up to her mother about what she wants. Kris knew what Mei wanted and was loyal to her to a fault kinda similar to how loyal she was to Ming, even if it meant risking his job. It doesn't make the pain of casting him aside any less worse. 

 

“This is where all o’ life in these realms began. In both here an’ Niflheim.” explained the head of Mímir, deciding to change the subject.

 

“You don’t say.” Ming asked, wondering about that after what Thor told them earlier. 

 

“Aye, lass. It’s what sparked th’ creation of the realms after it’s fire combined wit’ the ice o’ Niflheim at th’ Ginnungagap.”

 

“The what…..?” Mei had trouble pronouncing that word in her head.

 

“We also call it th’ ‘Spark o’ the World’.” The God of Wisdom said, using a much simpler name for her.

 

“And what’s at this, uh……….’Spark of the World’?” Stig asked, looking all around for this cave they were informed about.

 

“Nothin’ but a bottomless, endless, empty void o’ nothin’.”

 

“How are we supposed to cross it then?” fretted Elsa.

 

“Trust me. We will.” The ever level-headed Mímir consoled her worries, but she was still concerned if crossing this gap between Muspelheim and Niflheim is even doable by the terminology he used to describe it.

 

Rudolf, who was walking further ahead of the group in his own desperate haste to want out of the heat, stumbled across something up ahead near the pathway that frightened him.

 

“WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

 

“Rudolf!” They all cried and hurried their way over to where the boy in question was standing there and all had stopped in their tracks close to him to see what it was he was screaming about. It was huge and it was sprawled against the ground; a gigantic, hulking, humanoid giant figure laying flat on its side with burnt, smoldering wood-like skin and its cranium appeared as if to burst open from the inside. Everyone was beyond astounded by this enormous dead being right before them with its lifeless eyes looking far ahead in an eternal thousand-yard stare.

 

“Who is that?” asked Ming, horrified at actually seeing a giant before her own eyes. She’s already met Jörmungandr before, but a dead one was just as trembling to see.

 

“The guardian o’ this realm. Whit’s left o’ him, anyway.” Mímir explained blankly. “Ah’d rather not discuss this one. There’s th’ cave over there.”

 

“I see it.” Stig nodded.

 

The gargantuan beast’s arm was draped over the path, blocking their way to the cavern just up ahead, so they had to scale over the giant forearm with Ming struggling to fight against the memories of the SkyDome and holding her poor daughter as well as Kris in her giant panda paw and she tried not to imagine being inside this Brobdingnagian humanoid’s fist or else her fears will put her progress of climbing over the arm at a disadvantage.

 

“This should be it.” said Mímir.

 

“Alright.” Mei took a deep breath in to mentally prepare herself.

 

Into the deep and dark cavernous tunnel they all went together. The tunnel took them less than several directions - to the left, to the right and downward - looking like they were entering the core of the Earth itself, 20,000 fathoms below the Earth’s crust in that particular way. And the further they went, the heat lowered and lowered until the air reached a tolerable temperature that didn’t leave them sweating and exhausting all their energy with each step forward.

 

Finally, they found the end of the dark tunnel when they saw light ahead and they knew it had to be what they were looking for.

 

THE GINNUNGAGAP
The Yawning Void

 

It was certainly huge for an apparent fact.

 

Huge, boundless, empty and wide of virtually anything .

 

The expansive void of which they were in was like stepping into the deepest darkest point of the universe. An empty wide void full of stars, clouds of nebulae, cool colors of brownish-red and blue everywhere their eyesight would look. And there was a white glow of an opposite black hole - say, an emission nebula sort of thing - far off into the distance of this cosmic spanse of infinite space. And there were rocks floating all around. Giant boulders hovering in a row like they were creating a path of their own.

 

To their glorious credit, everyone was taken in by its flawless beauty. The boundless glory of a giant bottomless abyss of cosmic astonishment representing the large recesses of outer space where two realms meet and interconnect with this yawning void functioning accordingly as their intersection.

 

“Wow!” Mei gasped, eyes gleaming and glowing.

 

“Yes.” Ming agreed, utterly speechless. “My, it’s so beautiful.”

 

“Welcome to th’ birth of all creation.” Mímir introduced them to the expanseless, gaping section of the Nordic cosmos. “The Ginnungagap. The Spark o’ the World, the Beginning, th’ great n’ vast Yawnin’ Void. Everythin’ across the realms, including th’ realms themselves was born from this very oblivion.”

 

“How are we crossing this?” asked Stig, looking all around for something, anything that can be useful for them.

 

“There.” Elsa pointed at a ginormous boulder floating over to them.

 

“Aye. Tha’ll work.” 

 

“Uh, are you sure?” asked Ming, looking nervous.

 

“Yes, I am.”

 

Elsa didn’t waste any time in leaping onto the boulder. Not wanting to miss their window of opportunity either, each of them jumped onto the giant boulderstone with her and suddenly, the giant hunk of earth floated out into the abyss. Each human aboard their ride darted their eyes everywhere, still hypnotized by the breathtaking appeal of the Ginnungagap itself. From their perspective, it was like they were floating through space like a crew of astronauts at the International Space Station, gazing out into the map of stars. Mei felt free within this gap between realms. Free as an uncaged bird. Free from the strict confines of her overwhelmingly perfect lifestyle back at home. The same feeling she had with Kris. Nothing to hold her back, nothing to stand in her way. Just her alone with the entire known universe itself.

 

Stig, aside from his overpowering perplexity overtaking his focus, even took notice of something upward that looked like something of a constellation of sorts that took the form of a giant cow with glowing eyes and it looked as if it was watching them, observing them and predicting their every move.

 

They didn’t know it, but they were being watched over and lent a helping hand by the one and only Auðumbla (also known as Audhumbla), the Great Primeval Cow and the mother of all existence and life within the Norse cosmology. And to her will, the boulder carrying all human travelers and the head of the God of Wisdom floated in the void, heading closer toward the white light. 

 

The light that was inviting as it was welcoming, more so than a black hole. Closer and closer and closer it got, the nearer and nearer and nearer they were to the other side.

 

The other side of the Ginnungagap.

 

Then when all of white light enveloped their view, everything disappeared from sight.

Notes:

And now it was time to determine who was going into Helheim and of course, not all of them are going. Only the one closest to Kris. Unfortunately, Wu is adamant on her family not going, especially Ming and Mei. However, things have finally reached to a crescendo between Ming and her mother, who refuses to let Ming risk her and Mei's life over something she deems trivial. But by now, Ming is fed up with her mother's bullshit and is put into a similar position Mei was when standing up to their controlling, strict mothers.

Are you starting to notice a pattern here?

Either way, Ming said what she wanted to say and she's kept her issues toward her mother bottled up long enough.

Next Chapter: They make into Niflheim where they meet the gatekeeper, the He-Witch. Meanwhile, Wu seeks solace in Odin.

Next Update: May 23, 2023

Chapter 19: Meeting the He-Witch

Summary:

They make into Niflheim where they meet the gatekeeper, the He-Witch. Meanwhile, Wu seeks solace in Odin.

Notes:

Disclaimer: Turning Red and it’s characters are the property of (c) Walt Disney Pictures/Pixar Animation Studios.

Elements are borrowed from God of War (2018) and Ragnarök, owned by (c) Santa Monica Studio/Sony Interactive Entertainment

I just saw GOTG Vol. 3 and I have to say that it was the darkest MCU movie I had ever seen in my life. Rocket's backstory was just tragic and hard to sit through. All those poor animals being put through such inhuman and unforgivable torture. I was so close to shedding a tear when those tortured animals were killed in on front of Rocket. As for the Gamora subplot of the movie, it was just frustrating and annoying to see Quill try to bring back his old Gamora through the past Gamora. I know this supposed to be an alternate timeline version of her, but I'm in pieces at how she's been reduced to this sour, moody and unempathetic criminal whose just angry and shouting all the time. Kinda runs her whole path of redemption from Thanos. Anyway, the ending was solid, including Quill returning to Earth to reunite with his grandpa.

C/W: Implied child abuse, implied stab injury

The All-Father was inside his personal study within the heart of the realm of Asgard itself known as ‘the Rift’ where he had slain Ymir, the progenitor of all the Jötunn race. What was he doing right now, you ask? Just fiddling with yarn and needles, is all. Creating lovely little patterns with his delicate fingers. Geki and Freki were both lying on the ground asleep about a foot from where the old man sat, snoozing away in their little wolf dreams. In the middle of his work, however, he heard the voice of Heimdall from at the top of the stairway leading down into his literal man cave.

 

“He’s in there.” He said.

 

At the sound of his voice, the two sleeping wolves arose to aim their heads in the direction of the source of the noise that had disturbed their slumber.

 

Odin impeded his needlework to lift his head up to see that he had a visitor. None other than a despondent Wu, whom Geki and Freki both inspected with a series of sniffs as the poor woman melancholily ambled inside with a crestfallen face. Ever since her fight with Ming, she’s been feeling things. Hurtful things that made her brain flood with pondering questions and her heart fill with a black feeling of self-loathing. She’s been wanting someone to turn too lately. She had tried Jin, but it didn’t end so well. He was just not in the mood for any more of her and her unfair judgment. 

 

Back in Bilskirnir, all the others were avoiding her, refusing to give her the time of day or listen to what she needed to tell them, not even either of her daughters who were both adamant that she take a good long look at herself for a change. Tom and Lily were a little too busy…….being preoccupied with themselves in their quarters as are Helen and Adam. Wu even tried consulting Thor of all people, but he only begrudgingly told her to speak with his father, so she did.

 

And now here she was, looking for some solace to clear her mind of her depression and decided to have a little tête-à-tête with the King of Asgard.

 

“Anything I can help you with?” He asked, invitingly.

 

“I just want somebody to talk to right now.” Wu bemoaned, looking genuinely nonplussed at some of the knotted artwork around the study. “What’s all this?”

 

“I’ve taken to macramé as a hobby.” Odin answered. “The boy taught me how to do it while he was here. Still stumped after the whole…..you-know-what the other night?”

 

“Yes.” She nodded sadly, taking a seat aside from him at his table. “See, I’ve always done everything for her. Everything to make sure she was safe and that she had everything she could want or need. But now I’ve been thinking………have I held on too tight?”

 

“What makes you say so?” asked the All-Father inquisitively.

 

“Our family has always been about maintaining perfection no matter the cost. And this red panda curse has been a detriment to that perfection for years since Sun Yee.”

 

“Yes, I heard fragments of that.”

 

“Surely, you hear where I’m coming from.” Wu implored. “I know it’s tough keeping a perfect image, but it’s important.”

 

“Is it, though?” Odin raised an eyebrow over his good eye. “I hate to mention this, but all this serves as a reminder of my old self and the sins I’ve committed.”

 

“What do you mean by that?” asked the elder Lee.

 

“N-Nevermind.”

 

“Since you brought it up, tell me.” Wu encouraged him.

 

“I can’t.” Odin’s face turned dour and sorrowful the more he spoke. “You wouldn’t understand.”

 

“Then help me understand.” Wu grabbed his hand from across the table. “Please. From one parent to another.”

 

To be frank, this comes the part that Odin hated even thinking about, for this is what haunted him ever since he’s been brought back to life; all his actions, all the chaos he’s created and all of the suffering he’s caused all for his own needs. He sighed with a heavy heart.

 

“I was the worst person there was.” He inconsolably and unequivocally stated to her with crushed and pained honesty. “My unjustifiable actions were beyond understandable reason. Without a single shadow of a doubt, I was a borderline maniac, a cruel tyrant, a sadistic megalomaniac, whatever else there is. The list was endless. As king, it’s your responsibility to look after those beneath you, protect them and look out for them and the ones you loved. But instead, I used them, demeaned them, warped them, caused them physical and mental agony, treated them as inferior and objects to use whenever I saw fit. They were like slaves to me. Ever since I slayed the giant Ymir, I’ve been obsessed with obtaining infinite knowledge, answers as to what a god was with meaning, even if it cost the lives and wellbeing of everything, including my family. Thor, I turned him into a weapon of destruction to throw at anyone who crossed me. And in the process, I had taught him to do the same with his children, even his sons, Magni and Modi. Turned them against each other for the approval and favor of their family until it nearly destroyed them. And now they’ve both turned their backs on Asgard and the family, all because of me.”

 

Wu was speechless. She had no words to that whole spiel, because it was safe to say that it disgusted her. To think that his one-eyed old man, who’s been nothing more than a gentle host to her and the others ever since they had arrived, used to be a remorseless and relentless psychopath of a king and a father, even as a grandfather. One who abused his children and forcefully shaped them into beings they’ve hated and objects that only served to be of good use until they’ve worn out that usefulness.

 

And what’s worse is that his ghastly parenting methods had warped the mind of his thunder-wielding son, pushing him to nearly the brink of insanity and taught him to treat his own children the same way.

 

Almost…….kind of like what she did. 

 

When she was so vainly hellbent on shaping her own daughter to be this perfect image of herself all because she was too afraid of anything happening to her that she may have unintentionally taught Ming to do the same with Mei. Making their own choices for them without allowing them to make them on their own. 

 

Only in stark comparison, Odin’s case was much darker and indubitably more barbaric than her’s.

 

“And then…….I received word of a prophecy.” The sullen All-Father proceeded, his gloomy demeanor only fading a few more shades. “The end of our worlds. The end of us. That foretold that giants would attack us and destroy us all. So you can probably guess what happened next. Out of irrational fear, I became much worse. I had sent Thor to decimate the entirety of the giant race to save myself from this fate so I could continue my quest for knowledge undisturbed. Of course, the prophecy became fulfilled nonetheless. I realize now that I had misinterpreted the prophecy. The races from all across the Nine Realms, including the giants, would soon rise up against me and my family unless I changed my ways. Which, of course,......I didn’t.”

 

At this point, Odin’s face softened to a look of remembrance as he intoned softly, “And then…….then I saw………..a light. Piercing through the eternal darkness like a blade cutting through the curtain. It sang to me, alluring me to come closer and I did so without question. And in the light, I finally saw it. All my sins, all my corruptive influence, all the pain and suffering I had wrought on my people, which had become my undoing. The rest was a blank. But afterwards, I was reborn anew, my family, my home, the Nine Realms, the end had become undone. How it happened, I’ll never know. But I do know now that I was given a second chance to redo my life over. However, it’ll never undo the horrors and mayhem I’ve caused.”

 

“But you aren’t that man anymore, right?” Wu desperately said. “You’re a different person now.”

 

“Doesn’t change a thing.” Odin denied, solemnly shaking his head. “Some may forgive me, others won’t. To them, I am what I’ve always been; a monster. Even to Thor.”

 

“But if there’s any chance-”

 

“It doesn’t matter.” Odin interrupted. “That damage I’ve done is irreversible and beyond repair. It’s already too late for me. But maybe it isn’t for you.”

 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Wu looked slightly affronted by that.

 

“Regarding your red panda situation. From what I gather, becoming a giant red panda whenever you feel any strong emotion can be troublesome at best. Transforming uncontrollably whenever you’re angry, or sad or even excited, accidentally hurting someone in the process. And you’re afraid of what’ll happen to your daughter if that kept happening, like maybe people will consider her a freak of nature or she’ll get kidnapped and taken to a circus sideshow or something much worse. Like maybe going through the same problems.” He explained wisely.

 

“Yes, exactly.” The elderly woman nodded in agreement.

 

“Having said that, however….” Odin turned to look her straight in the eye and she almost faltered under his faze. “I will need to say that the red panda isn’t the problem.”

 

“Wha-?”

 

“The way I see it, the real problem is your refusal to accept change, to let your daughter be her own person, your lack of trust in her that you have to control every aspect of her life. Maybe if it wasn’t for that, then perhaps that would’ve been avoided.”

 

Wu gasped when he realized he was pointing at the scar on her face.

 

“And how did it happen?” asked Odin.

 

“That’s not-”

 

“Help me understand.” He pressed, using the same words she used seconds ago.

 

She didn’t like talking about this, but deep down, she knew she had to be more open about it. And Odin’s already shared all his demons with her, so it’s only fair that she shared hers with her.

 

“Me and Ming had a fight years ago.” She hesitantly stated, eyebrows furrowing. “It was a silly fight then, but it’s stuck with me for years now. It was……about Jin, her husband. Only they weren’t married then.”

 

“And what was wrong with him?” Odin asked.

 

“.......nothing.” Wu wept. “Absolutely nothing. It’s just…..he was too soft and that made him vulnerable to the damage Ming’s red panda would cause and in my personal opinion was that only strong men could handle the panda, like Ming’s father - my late husband. But maybe in hindsight, perhaps I had been a little too quick to judge him so unfairly when he’s done nothing wrong. But Ming was stubborn. She cared too much for Jin to just leave him and we argued and argued, until……Ming’s red panda slashed at my face.”

 

Biting back tears, Wu gingerly fingered the scar when her mind thought back to that very day. All the screaming and the shouting and the biting remarks they exchanged until Ming’s violent panda outburst.

 

“And I think……..well, I think it’s that very moment that scarred my poor daughter for life enough to heed my demands for perfection and tradition.”

 

“So your unjust actions let the trauma that helped warp your daughter into the person she became.” Odin theorized. “Sounds so vaguely familiar to me.”

 

“I’m nothing like you.” argued Wu, standing up from her seat.

 

“Is that so?”

 

“I’m serious. I am not.” She was adamant in her case.

 

“Look, you may not have killed anyone, but when was the last time you’ve ever asked your children what they wanted?” Odin then asked her sternly.

 

Instinctively, she opened her mouth to object, but the words hung in her throat and her voice was inaudible. Now that he mentioned it, she cannot recall a time when she bothered to ask Ming what wanted to do or who she wanted to be. Never was there ever a time when Wu didn’t instruct her to always remember her duties and her responsibilities or to stay completely focused on her studies under the assumption that friends and leisurely activities were nothing more but a distraction.

 

Perhaps she had been far too strict and controlling as a parent. She can only imagine how Elsa felt when she turned the poor girl away under the pretense that Ming didn’t want to be friends with her ever again. So she dropped her gaze to the floor and started letting her tears fall from her eyes. And it’s because of this that is why Ming is the woman she was now.

 

Rude, harsh, perfectionist, obnoxious obsessed with success, exemplary, strict, opprobrious, quick to act, quick to judge, quick to make circumstantial remarks about someone they’re not too fond of.

 

Just like her.

 

“I thought so.” Odin murmured. “It is our job as parents to protect our young, but there also comes a time to just……..let go and let them decide for themselves.”

 

There was no answer Wu could provide him with. She only reluctantly nodded in agreement and sat back down in defeat. It was too much accepting the hard truth, because it hurt so much. Maybe she was a terrible parent after all. Looking over at the yarn, Wu takes some of it and Odin’s knitting needles and starts mindlessly making knots to take her mind off of things.

 

“What are you doing?” He asked.

 

“Why not?” She could only say, tears still leaking from her face.

 

Odin accepted it and watched her carefully knot the yarn in numerous patterns. However, this was her first time doing this, so it wasn’t all that great and the design of it had that lopsided look.

 

“Hey…..” Odin stopped her and reached over to have a look at her imperfect work. “That’s not half bad.”

 

“What do you mean? It looks awful.” Wu denied modestly, only seeing a sloppy mess.

 

“Not to me.” argued the All-Father softly, taking a closer look. “I think I see a story. A tale to be told. One of a three-legged rabbit who invites a limping wolf into his home and the wolf heartily accepts and they both share a wonderful feast together.”

 

As absurd and out-of-nowhere that sounded coming from him of all people, Wu gave her creation a good once-over. Sure, it wasn’t perfect. But in honesty, it was as good as it would get, despite its flaws.

 

And to that end, Wu smiled.

 

---

 

(ᚾ)
Niflheim (Old Norse: Niflheimr / Nordic: ᚾᛁᚠᛚᚺᛖᛁᛗ):
(HOME of the ICE, MIST and PRIMORDIAL DARKNESS)

 

And here they all were, out of the heat and into the cold, though they’ve been accustomed to it at this rate thanks to the magic.

 

Inside one of the first two realms before the seven others, where everything in existence had begun. In this realm of endless mist, ice, snow and darkness, it was almost as if they were traversing the frozen expanses of Antarctica. Bluish skies up above, clouds of fog everywhere all around in every field, every terrain and every canyon making travel nigh-impossible for anyone to see or know where they were headed. Everything was made of ice, covered in layers of snow and mists blowing every which way.

 

Nothing grew here in the realm of primordial ice, save for a couple of trees covered in trunk-like fractals of ice. Other than that, it was far too cold and barren for any plant life to grow. And over the howling wintry winds were what sounded like the wails of the deceased awaiting their final judgment, though there was none to be seen anywhere. For now, at least.

 

Everyone stayed close together so they wouldn’t accidentally get separated in these frozen lands with the items they needed. Though, Rudolf was shivering a little bit.

 

“How are we supposed to find this guy?” Elsa asked, marching through the snow. “There’s barely anyone here.”

 

“He lives near th’ Gates o’ Hel, which are not too far from here.” Mímir explained. “Jist so long as we not attract too much attention.”

 

“I’d like to not think about that.” Mei stated. “Is this really where the dead go?”

 

“Souls o’ the dead, aye.” counseled the severed head around Elsa’s waist. “They await a’ the Gate t’ be let into th’ afterlife.”

 

“I hear this sorcerer man is quite the character.” Ratatoskr replied.

 

The otherworldly sounds of those who have tragically died sounded spine-chillingly nearer. Still nothing to be seen wherever they turned their heads, which only put them even more on edge.

 

“Stay close.” Mímir instructed them, unafraid of the disembodied noises. “An’ don’ maintain eye contact wit’ anythin’.”

 

“That’s really helpful.” Stig said sarcastically.

 

“My nose is asleep.” Ratatoskr shivered.

 

As cold as it was, they needed to keep moving. On they proceeded through the icebound biome on the path Mímir instructed them to follow like they were at stake, listening to the bone-chilling, unearthly wails and moans from the souls beyond carrying through the whispering winds. After a while, the sounds had stopped. For the moment, they felt a wave of relief, believing they were free from the souls of the insentient. 

 

Or so they thought.

 

Mei looked to her left and screamed in horror when she saw it. The spirit of an undead person looking them in the eye and it seemed to be inching closer in their direction.

 

When it did, they all ran for their lives down the path away from the spirits that were alerted by the girl’s loud blood-curdling scream. And with the presence of living mortals in the realm now known to them, the entities gave a slow, but close chase, howling and wailing and shrieking like a horde of banshees desperate for a second chance at life. They bolted through the foggy clouds of mist to escape their pursuers, narrowly dodging through several obstacles they may accidentally blindly run into since the fog is so thick it can be cut with a sharp kitchen knife.

 

Looking back to see if they were still following them, Mei saw that the spirits had all halted in their tracks as they continued running. 

 

They stopped. Why did they stop?

 

Rudolf yelped as he ran directly into a giant stone menhir suddenly blocking his path. At last everyone had finally stopped running to rush to the fallen boy’s aid, checking for any injuries. Ming grabbed Rudolf’s face to make sure nothing was broken and, to her surprise, nothing was. No bruises, no cuts, no anything.

 

And he just literally ran face-first into a giant stone.

 

“Are you okay?” asked Ming with motherly concern.

 

“Why didn’t that hurt me?” He asked, confused.

 

“W-What do you mean? How……how did that not hurt?” She was even more confused than him.

 

“Look.” Stig lifted him up to show everyone the menhir he just ran into. 

 

There were more Futhark runes etched in it, only they were glowing. As the mist thinned slightly, they were all now able to see a small inch of the area they were now in. More menhir stones jutting out of the ground like gravestones with many more of those glowing runes seemingly in a circle of sorts, almost as if acting as a sort of protection spell - no doubt to keep those wayward spirits at bay. Maybe that’s the reason they stopped following them.

 

Everyone was softly surprised by these strange stones, but were also glad to finally be safe from those slippery phantoms. As they edged further past the stones, the cloud of icy mist dissipated and as they saw, the fog appeared to also be unable to cross the barrier.

 

“Turn.” Mímir told Elsa, noticing a familiar figure behind her.

 

She obeyed and almost nearly jumped right out of skin when she saw him standing there about three feet from them.

 

There was a man. A scrawny, dark-eyed man.

 

One that looked very much the part of an ancient mystical shaman of some native tribe, black paint caked over his body with white lines in Nordic tribal patterns and makeup on his face slightly resembling a human skull. He was wearing a stag skull on his head, a blackened fur coat over his shoulders, necklaces with sharp canines, charms and talismans attached to his waist and he was holding a wooden staff that was taller than him.

 

It had to be him.

 

The gatekeeper of the Gates of Hel. The 'He-Witch' as they call him. Elsa desperately rushed over to meet him, tripping a bit as she did due to the snowy ground with Ming by her side.

 

“Um, hey. How are you doing?” asked Elsa, trying to make a good first impression.

 

He said nothing, his expression remained the same.

 

“Are you the ‘He-Witch’?” Elsa asked him.

 

“Hello?” Ming greeted him with a lame wave.

 

He still didn’t answer or react to their questions in any sort of way whatsoever.

 

Then the He-Witch turned around and started off in the direction away from the group, which made them worry. After all this trouble of retrieving items across the realms just to get to this point of their journey, they finally sought the one they’ve been searching for and he won’t even acknowledge them. Elsa wasn’t giving up yet. They’ve come too far in their quest to give up now.

 

“Sir? Hello? Sir?” Ming and Elsa both ran after the man to try and reason with him and yet he still trudged away, not even looking at them.

 

“Excuse me, sir? Come on, please?” Ming was getting just as desperate as her friend.

 

“Listen, Mr. ‘He-Witch’ or something, we’ve come all this way and we real-” Elsa was cut off when the mysterious man finally spoke to her in a low, soft-spoken tone.

 

“This is no place for you. Go away.”

 

BLAST!

 

Aiming the top of his staff backwards at them without even facing them, he struck them with a powerful burst of bright magic that blasted them away from him, which sent them to the icy ground on their back.

 

“Woah!” Mei was amazed.

 

“Yeah, we found him.” Stig deadpanned.

 

“Rude!” hissed Ming, sitting back up.

 

“What a personality.” Ratatoskr retorted with a sarcastic grin.

 

“Wait a minute!” Elsa rushed back up to try again. “It’s about my son, Kris!”

 

At that familiar-sounding name, the He-Witch stopped and slowly turned to face her, his face painted with hope.

 

“Kristoff Torsten Deshawn Bengtsson, is that correct?” He asked, perhaps to make absolutely sure it was the right person she was talking about.

 

“Yes, that’s him!” The anxious Elsa nodded frantically, beaming with excitement.

 

“Deshawn?” asked the disconcerted Ming since a name like that did not seem like a name for a boy like Kris.

 

“After an old friend of his father’s.” Elsa clarified for her.

 

“I thought so.” The ancient, ageless thaumaturgist said in affirmation, coming forward to them. “I was told you’d be coming. You sure took your time getting here.”

 

“Yeah, well. We kinda had to…….grab a few things before we could.” Mei stammered.

 

“And also this.” Roar pulled out the rope to show the mage. “They said you could help with this one before we enter Helheim.”

 

The look on the He-Witch’s face turned to a grim and dour manner. The thought of living humans entering the afterlife was of no doubt a rarity for sure and one that seemed to put him on edge. However, he had not the power to complain or object to their undertakings.

 

“Follow me.” He ordered and they did as they were told.

 

They got further away from the menhirs and the He-Witch casually  led them way up into the edge of a canyon where they were all baffled to see a humongous cow skeleton with his personal hideaway hut built right within the remains. All of them were disturbed to see that he lived underneath a giant animal skeleton. However, Stig wasn’t.

 

The giant cow skeleton? He remembered seeing the constellation-like nebulae back in the Ginnungagap watching them. Perhaps this skeleton is its remains.

 

“So I can remain with her for all time.” The He-Witch responded to their unanswered questions about his humble abode.

 

“Her?” asked Rudolf.

 

“Come on in.”

 

Inside, there was a perplexing assortment of potion vials, jars, books, more odd-looking plants - if not less ravishing and delectable than the Vanaheim fruit Ming ate - skulls and bones of dead criminals and other sorts of sorcery and shamanism paraphernalia, everything that a sorcerer like him could necessarily need. At the far end wall was a huge fireplace with a cauldron sitting near it with a pile of firewood. The He-Witch placed his staff down. 

 

“Is there anyone else here in this realm?” asked Mei.

 

Their millennia-old host grabbed a piece of wood and cast a magic spell - “Sveiða” - lighting the wood with Muspelheim fire and tossed it into the ashes of the fireplace, creating an instant fire.

 

“Just me.” He answered simply. “And them. The souls of the damned awaiting to pass on into the cold realm of Hel. My job is thusly to guide them towards the Gates of Hel.”

 

“Yeah, we’ve been told about that.” Elsa nodded. “Must be lonely out here.”

 

“Not as much.” He disagreed. “Me and my mother have each other. That’s why I’ve built my home right underneath her.”

 

Neither of them had a vestige of guts to even ask about that, since he appeared to be referring to the giant cow skeleton his hut was built underneath. Was that giant cow his mother? Maybe in total honesty, they probably shouldn’t question it at this rate. A man born from a giant cow wasn’t the strangest thing they’ve heard about in the past few hours. And now was the time to get to the matter at hand; getting inside the realm of the dishonorable dead and finding Kris.

 

“So you’re the one who took Kris’s soul from his body?” asked Ming.

 

“Yes, I did.” He nodded with a heavy sigh and took a seat. “Even I had no way of returning him back to his physical form. I’ve been unable to get him out of Helheim after he was lured down there by Hel herself. I am strictly forbidden from passing those gates.”

 

“What? Why?” Mei demanded.

 

“It’s my sacred job to guide souls through the gates. I’m not allowed to leave my post. I am eternally bound to this realm.” The He-Witch explained. “Instead I’ve been using my magic every full moon to elongate his deadline.”

 

“D-Deadline? What-What are you saying?” Elsa was horrified that she delicately stuttered her words out.

 

“I’ve been trying to keep his body alive and intact while he’s been trapped in Helheim for a long time while the gods have been attempting to reach out to you.” He looked deep into her cerulean eyes as he steamrolled on. “But now that you’ve arrived, you have just enough time to get him out.”

 

“B-B-Before what?” Ming whimpered with extreme worry.

 

He took a heavy, sad sigh.

 

“Kris doesn’t have much longer. He has only until midnight tonight to return to his body.”

 

“WHAT?!?!?!” They were all befuddled and affrighted beyond belief. 

 

“AND NOBODY THOUGHT TO TELL US ANY OF THIS BEFORE WE GOT HERE?!?!” screamed the angered Ming to think they’ve been denied such crucial, need-to-know information. She involuntarily became the red panda due to her heightened sense of stress and anger.

 

The He-Witch, however, was unfazed. “You must be Sun Yee’s descendants.”

 

“Yes, we are! Now answer my question!” She screamed at him.

 

“I’m sorry you had to hear this now. Perhaps the gods thought it best you’d hear it from my own mouth.” The He-Witch suggested with a slight shrug.

 

“But what happens if he doesn’t return?” Mei begged him.

 

“He…………the boy dies.” He forced his words out painfully, unable to look any of them in the eye. “His body dies and his soul remains trapped in Helheim forever as a Hel-walker.”

 

Ming looked like her heart snapped in half and she fought back tears. In her mind’s eye, it seemed inarguably so. Kris was going to die and it’s all her fault. All the more reason to get down there into Helheim right now before his time runs out.

 

“Then what are we sitting here for?!” Mei shrieked impatiently, now frightened for the boy’s life. “Let’s get down there already!!”

 

“Not so fast there.” The He-Witch pushed down on the frantic girl’s head gently to settle her down. “Before I let anyone down there, we need to go over a few important things. First of all, I can only let three of you down there.”

 

“Beg your pardon?” Ming scoffed at that.

 

“The afterlife can be far too overwhelming.” He explained to them, removing his hand. “Only three can go in. Who’s it gonna be?”

 

Just as Ming was about to answer with her proclamation to help Kris, she was cut off when Stig spoke up first.

 

“I’ll go.”

 

“Are you sure about that?” Elsa shrieked at her son’s boldness.

 

“I have to. He’s my brother.” He said to his adopted mother.

 

“I’ll go too.” Roar raised his hand. “I refuse to stand by while our friend dies.”

 

“Well, that’s good to hear, but-” Ming had no way of getting a word in before Rudolf jumped into the conversation as well.

 

“Me too! Although, I’ll be scared doing it, but it’ll be worth it.”

 

True to say, Rudolf was terrified of going headfirst into the land of the dead and being surrounded by human remains and the undead. The plucky Ratatoskr climbed out of the boy’s backpack and climbed onto his shoulder, rubbing his head.

 

“Fear you not, we can be scared together.”

 

“Uh….” Ming was not about to let these three young boys put their own lives at risk, but Kris’s life was truly the one at stake here.

 

“I’m not particularly okay with sending children into Helheim, but you boys seem ready enough to be up for the challenge.” declared the noble He-Witch.

 

“I can’t believe this is happening, but I’ll allow it.” Elsa rubbed her temples in meditative circles. “But you need to watch yourselves down there, understand? Make sure you stay on the path the compass takes you. Roar, Rudolf, you boys will need to stay close to Stig at all times. Your parents will never forgive me and anything happens to you two.”

 

“Yes, Elsa.”

 

“We got ya!”

 

“So what are we supposed to do in the meantime?!” Mei complained, upset that she won’t be able to help save Kris.

 

“That red panda of yours.” The ancient mage suggested, making Ming and Mei turn to face him. “Perhaps I could lend a hand with that.”

 

Then their eyes bulged.

 

“Wait, what? You can?! How!?” Ming exploded with no way to contain her shock. “The red moon eclipse isn’t until-“

 

“That would be necessary for what I have in mind.” He interrupted her, firmly shaking his head. “But I cannot do it alone. It won’t get rid of your pandas, but it will at least help you control it.”

 

“Control it?” Mei gasped, a twinge of eagerness suddenly expanding within her.

 

“You’ll be able to transform at will.”

 

Neither of them knew how to react to that. Being able to turn into red pandas at their own free will and not having to worry about containing their emotions without accidentally triggering a transformation by feeling anger or fear or excitement. 

 

Ming was conflicted, however. While she’s still adamant about ridding herself of her red panda due to the damage it can cause, not to mention the SkyDome incident, she’s not willing to wait another three years for the next red moon eclipse to try getting rid of it again. However, over the course of these events that transpired, Ming was beginning to think differently about the red panda. 

 

Like maybe, perhaps it wasn’t that bad at all. Maybe if she were to learn how to control it, how to understand and how to accept it, then it would be so much of an inconvenience after all. 

 

And besides, Mei wouldn’t argue about it. She will still have her red panda, only it will be easier for her to maintain.

 

And if Mei was okay with it, then so was she.

 

“I’ll do it.” Ming finally said, her mind having been made up. “But only if my other family members are involved as well.”

 

“If they’re here.”

 

“They’re back in Asgard.” Mei told him.

 

“So excuse me for interrupting, but how are we entering Helheim?” asked Stig, stepping in and eager to enter the afterlife already.

 

“A few noteworthy things…..” The He-Witch grabbed the three volunteers and made them all face him directly as his tone got forbiddingly serious. “Helheim has a way of playing ghastly tricks on you. Make you see and hear things that you’ll find darkly familiar, which will be problematic to your progress forward. What I’d suggest is that you boys confess the very worst thing that has ever happened to you. The worst thing that has stuck with you day and night. What has traumatized you the most?”

 

Low, but surely fretful was how the silence was when the Lee women and Elsa stared noiselessly at the three teens. Fraught with a toxic atmosphere that is for sure to poison you if you so much as take a breath. What sort of trauma could he mean?

 

Something that neither of them were telling one another or anyone else in particular?

 

Ming nudged Stig gently, urging him to go first since she’s already heard his inner demons before.

 

“I was involved in a car accident that killed my parents.” He said with an emotionless face. “I was stuck on the side of that road near their dead, burning bodies until morning when the Bengtssons took me in.”

 

Both Roar and Rudolf were shocked to hear that. So now it was clear that that was information he’s never disclosed to them.

 

“And my old parents were monsters. They hated me, they insulted me and tried to keep me out of the way. We went on a drive together and I think they were trying to get rid of me…….until the crash happened.”

 

Because she already heard this story, Ming’s expression was neutral, but sad and sympathetic, while everyone else, including Elsa, was most distraught and flabbergasted to hear he’s been a victim of child abuse, not just the survivor of a tragic car crash. It might be this kind of trauma that shaped him into the grumpy, hot-headed, sharp-witted boy he is now.

 

Ming rubbed his shoulder comfortingly as if to tell him it’s alright now. Roar could relate to Stig when it came to awful relatives as he went next.

 

“I had an uncle.” He said with a haunted look in his eyes. “He used to live with us. My parents would often leave me alone with him whenever they were out. And that’s when he had the freedom to do whatever he wanted. He beat me, he called me names, he’d force me to do tiresome work for him while he just sat around on his ass all day, making me work and work until I dropped dead. He’d even make me cook meals for him and beat me twice as hard if I had a small faux pas.”

 

And the air was even more tense this time around with Roar’s story. Mei was looking quite misty eyed and looked ready to bring the boy into a tight embrace. Now Elsa could understand why Roar’s parents were strict about her looking after him during the trip. 

 

They’re afraid of something happening to him like his deadbeat uncle.

 

“My parents finally caught wind of this and my uncle was arrested. They hugged me, kissed me, told me they’ll let anything like this happen to me again. And it’s fine now. That bastard is rotting in a jail cell somewhere. Far away, I hope.”

 

Mei couldn’t take it.

 

She launched at the tall boy and brought her arms around him tightly. Roar was surprised, but he was flattered.

 

“We’re making good progress here.” A slight of a smile reached the He-Witch’s face before aiming his attention to last, but not least - Rudolf.

 

“Well?”

 

“This one time, I was walking through the streets at night back home until suddenly, this guy came running up to me out of nowhere and stabbed me in the side with a huge knife.” He said with a scared tone, before lifting up his coat and his shirt to reveal a scar on the right side of his abdomen.

 

Everyone looked at it with horror.

 

“He fought him off, but I was bleeding fast. When I got home, my parents rushed me to the hospital. I was actually afraid I was going to die that night. But miraculously, I didn’t.”

 

“Well, you should be more careful when walking the city streets at night alone.” Mei reminded him stringently.

 

“And what happened to the man?” asked Ming.

 

“I dunno.” He shrugged. “I don’t even remember what he looked like. It was too dark out.”

 

“I will say that you three have endured so much, yet have carried on with your lives so easily. Not even getting stabbed with a knife could crush your spirit. Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, hand me the rope.” The He-Witched ordered, holding out his open hand.

 

Mei had the rope, so she did as she was told. He examined it closely, stroking the vines reverently.

 

“The three of you, hold out your hands.”

 

All three boys held out both of their hands each and the He-Witch snorted thinly.

 

“One hand.” He corrected them discernibly.

 

They corrected their error.

 

Each now held out only one of their hands to him. And so the timelessly-aged sorcerer held the rope underneath the boys’ hands and began to recite an incantation.

 

“Leið allr þrír. Ljós þeirleiðr. Keep þau together….”

 

A bright, yellow glow illuminated the room as the rope shined,  glistening whilst the He-Witch’s words flowed through and it began to metamorphose; it floated upwards and split into three as they coiled themselves around their wrists and changed into golden armband-like straps when finally, the light had dimmed and extinguished.

 

The women approached the boys and they all got a good look at the He-Witch’s glorious work and it showed how much went into it.

 

“They’ll keep you protected from any harm and will help you boys find each other again should you get separated.” The He-Witch explained their capabilities.

 

“That’s amazing!” Ming smiled.

 

“Now what?” asked Rudolf.

 

“Next is this. Hylja…!” At that simple word in Old Norse tongue, the boys felt a light feeling overtake their bodies from the magical wave that washed over the three of them.

 

“The Gates will only let the non-living pass through, so this will make it think your three are dead if you wish to pass through.”

 

“Well, that checks out.” Elsa shrugged.

 

“And Hel lives in the darkest part of Helheim. That’s when you’ll know you’re getting near.” The ancient sorcerer claimed.

 

Now they were prepped and ready for their journey into the realm of the deceased and it was going to be a hectic one, no doubt. If they even survive, that is. Gathering the items - the ax, the bow, the compass - the He-Witch led the way for them past the protective stave and back into the icy mist, using his magic to keep the souls at bay.

 

At last, they made it. There they were carved and engraved into the wall of an icy mountain like the entrance to an ancient tomb. 

 

HEL’S GATE
The Entrance to Helheim

 

And there they were, the doorways into Helheim in saturated, dark colors, Elder Futhark runes dancing along the rim of the doors that had the depiction of the same two-faced woman from before.

 

Now before they could leave, Mei handed Stig the folded up Skíðblaðnir and in return, Stig summoned Huginn and Muninn and handed the ravens over to Elsa for when they go back to Asgard and in case something went wrong. Then Elsa and the redheads all hugged them tightly and wished them luck. Ming held Stig’s shoulders firmly.

 

“Please be careful down there. And you better bring that boy back, do you understand?” She begged him like a strict parent would.

 

“You know we will. I know so.” Stig nodded comfortingly. Then Ming surprised him with a warm hug, which he hesitantly eased himself into.

 

“Ye boys will do whatever it takes to git tha’ young lad back t’ us.” Mímir informed them like a strict mentor.

 

“Or die trying.” Rudolf added to that, which earned him a pointed look from them all. “……….I’m sorry. Poor choice of words.”

 

“Come.” ordered the He-Witch.

 

Elsa, Mei and Ming all stood by to watch as the boys were led down over to the foreboding gate where they were placed in front of them. Ratatoskr remained safely inside of Rudolf’s backpack. The boys eyed the gate with a combination of fascination, curiosity and anxiety. They forced their fears down. 

 

This was it. No turning back now. They’ve worked those moves hard and went through hell and high water to reach this point. Kris was down there and he needs their help right now more than anything.

 

“No, wait. I almost forgot.” The He-Witch returned to their side before he could open the gates for them. Then he handed them what looked to be a round pound cake of a dark brown flavor.

 

“What is it?” Stig asked, taking it. It felt a bit hard and stale like it’s been left out too long.

 

“Hel cake.” He answered, heading for the one side of the gate. “You’re going to need it when you run into him on the other side. And don’t eat it.”

 

“Thanks?” Stig was baffled.

 

Now they were ready.

 

Spitting a bit on the tip of his staff, the He-Witch aimed it right point-blank at the Gates of Hel, activating his magic in order for the entry through them to be possible. I’m just a second, it worked. The two giant doors roared as they sprung to life, their deep and hollow rumbling reverberating off the frozen mountain walls as they slowly and ominously creaked open to unveil a great and pitch blackness on the other side and grant their macabre entry to the poor souls who have failed in life.

 

Stig looked at the golden armband magically attached to his wrist and sighed to ready himself, ready his senses and his sanity for what they’re all about to face next. Rudolf tried not to wet himself out of fear so Roar held his hand out of comfort. So the boys cautiously started off into the black emptiness ahead of them with a few other souls mindlessly walking through alongside them, morosely unaware of the living mortals obtaining passage beyond the gates into the next life with them.

 

But they all kept it together as they continued onward. Despite being unable to see ahead of them, they did not stop for one second. The eerie blackness seemed to lead into an underground tunnel; wet, cold, quiet.

 

The boys kept moving further and further into the blind darkness before suddenly…….

 

………they disappeared into thin air.

Notes:

They've finally reach the Gates of Hel and now we're getting close to rescuing Kris from the bowels of Helheim. But how it will go out will be determined in future chapters. And they've met the He-Witch who is a pseudo-son of Ymir and Audumbla and the only living resident of Niflheim. However, he was only willing to send three down into Helheim since entering the Nordic afterlife can be a hectic experience for sure for more living mortal visitors.

And Odin being Wu's therapist, I thought it was quite wholesome. Odin finally opens up to her about his past as a monstrous tyrant of a king and the atrocities he's committed, even when trying to prevent Ragnarök from happened, though it happened anyway. And now that's he and everyone else had been reborn anew, Odin's finally renounced his old sinister ways to try and bring peace to the Nine Realms, but's he's smart enough to know that not everyone is gonna forgive him just because he's turned over a new leaf, not even Thor since he's endured the worst from his father and in the process, he's been raised to do the same with his two sons, Magni and Modi. A familial situation no different than the Lees', only more brutal, barbaric and with more damaging consequences that are beyond repair. And now the All-Father has taken macramé as a hobby. Lol.

That part about the rabbit and fox is basically Odin's clumsy way of saying that sometimes you gotta see things from a different angle, see the beauty in ugly things and above all, accept things for how they are.

The name for the "He-Witch" was taken from a character of the same name from Robert Eggers's film, The Northman.

Next Chapter: Stig, Roar and Rudolf have at last reached Helheim, though not without running into a few troubles along the way. Meanwhile, the Lees agree to participate in a ritual that will help them control their red pandas better.

Next Update: May 26, 2023

Chapter 20: Death Comes For Us All

Summary:

Stig, Roar and Rudolf have at last reached Helheim, though not without running into a few troubles along the way. Meanwhile, the Lees agree to participate in a ritual that will help them control their red pandas better.

Notes:

Disclaimer: Turning Red and it’s characters are the property of (c) Walt Disney Pictures/Pixar Animation Studios.

Elements are borrowed from God of War (2018) and Ragnarök, owned by (c) Santa Monica Studio/Sony Interactive Entertainment

C/W: Disturbing and gruesome themes, blood

………and then reappeared.

 

Neither Stig nor Roar, not even Rudolf, had any words at all to describe how that felt.

 

If anything, it was like being there and not there at the same time. All in all, though, they took a moment to drink in their new surroundings. If not for the magic protecting them, they’d be really freezing by now. Even more so than they would be back in Niflheim. Because the sub-zero temperature down there was at unfathomable and inhospitable levels that no living human being would ever survive. Not only that, but it was quite dark. As dark and cold and vacant with an unwelcoming ambience everywhere like an open, yawning shallow grave.

 

Why was that? Because they had finally made it to their destination. 

 

Their final destination.

 

(ᚺ)
Helheim (Old Norse: Hel / Nordic: ᚺᛖᛚᚺᛖᛁᛗ):
(HOME of the DISHONORABLE DEAD)

 

Great, plentiful and voluminous frozen ice was absolutely everywhere and even the ground was frozen as if they were standing in the middle of an Icelandic glacier. The souls they were with were now wandering around aimlessly with no clear cognizance of where they were heading or where’d they even go, but this was where they were meant to be, where all bad souls go in this Nordic afterlife of evil dead. They’d made their bed, now they must sleep in it. Now as for the realm itself, it was certainly dark, no doubt about it. Thick, black and gray clouds filled the skies up above with zero sunshine, adding into the dismal and gloomy appeal to this land. 

 

And there was not a single tree or patch of green to be seen anywhere. After all, this was a realm devoid of all forms of life and not to mention it was a zillion degrees below zero down here with ice everywhere, so it would make total sense why nothing would ever grow here.

 

“So this is it, huh? The land of the dead.” Stig commented, eyes floating around the lifeless environment (or lack thereof). “Didn’t really expect much.”

 

“Land of the dead is anything if not lively.” Ratatoskr joshed from inside the backpack, briefly unzipping it to get a look around. “Dare I say it’s like a graveyard around here. If the graveyard was frozen over.”

 

But then he quickly shivered from the extreme cold before heading back inside. Rudolf turned a horror clenched his heart to see that the entrance they came in from was gone. 

 

It just wasn't there anymore.

 

“Wha-…….What happened to the entrance!?” He was beginning to panic. “How are we getting back?!”

 

“We have this.” Stig confirmed, holding out the Skíðblaðnir cloth before putting it in his pocket.

 

“So Kris has to be around here somewhere.” said Roar reasonably.

 

“But where, though?” Rudolf asked worriedly, looking around shakingly. “Where can we even start?”

 

“Quiet, knucklehead.” Stig reached into his pocket and fished out the compass. “We got this, remember?”

 

“So how does it work? How will it work?” Rudolf eyed the object with wonder.

 

“Let me see. Help us find Kris.” Stig whispered his order to the compass and held up for the others to see once it began to react to the goth boy’s command. Around and around the golden rings went until they settled and the symbols aimed for the direction it requires them to head if they wish to find who they seek in this realm.

 

“Alrighty then.” Roar nodded to it.

 

So they started their way through the world of unyielding ice and cold, following the compass’s lead down onward the pathway forward. Now for the weapons, Stig possessed the longbow and the cloth ship while Roar was in possession of the ax while Rudolf held onto the strange cake, for what purpose they still didn’t know. How they will assist them in surviving any potential dangers present in Helheim was to be seen to be believed sooner or later. First, they’d have to run into any of the dead, the Hel-walkers as they have been often called many times. The more they traversed the lifeless land, the more it felt like they were inside the Vatnajökull. A fierce wind blew in all directions like Old Man Winter was having a hissy fit.

 

GNIPAHELLIR
The Cave of Garm

 

What went entirely unnoticed by the trio of human travelers was the massive entrance to a deep and dark cave located directly above their heads that rested  50 ft. high overhead the ground where one can take notice of giant chains stretching out from the mouth of the cave.

 

And out from the deep within the darkness of that very disquieting cave, reverberating off the walls…….was a spine-chilling snarl.

 

They stayed close together as Elsa ordered them to do so they didn’t lose track of one another in this unappealing land of icy darkness and unrelenting danger. At the moment, it looked like they were in a small gorge of sorts judging by the way these jagged ices were aligned and formed. From somewhere behind them, it moved quickly like a flash. It jumped from one side to another carrying a resounding jingle of chains with it. However, when Rudolf looked behind him, there was nothing there and yet, his gut was telling him that something was out there, closing in on them, waiting for the right moment to catch them unawares.

 

“You know, I feel we should be remembering something.” He brought up to the two, stammering.

 

“What do you mean by that, exactly?” asked Roar, one single eyebrow lifted.

 

“Maybe because, well…….who am I kidding?! How can I remember anything!?” Rudolf erupted with panic, clutching the hard cake tightly. The tree squirrel popped back out.

 

“Don’t worry your pretty little head.” promised Ratatoskr, patting the poor boy. “Nothing’s gonna harm either of you while I'm around. We’re like a team, you and I. Nothing can stand in our way.”

 

SLAM!

 

“Aaaaahhhhhhhh-hhhhhhhhh-hhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!” 

 

The boys all screamed helplessly in abject terror when suddenly, from out unreservedly out of nowhere, a larger-than-life wolf-like hellhound beast jumped down from the icy hills above and landed smack down on the ground in front of the trio, blocking their path ahead and preventing them from pursuing it any further.

 

“Except that one!” Ratatoskr retreated back into the backpack for safety. “.....ooh, trail mix.”

 

“Oh, great! Another one!” Stig complained.

 

Now this one was far larger than Fenrir, however, for it reached roughly to just nearly about the size and height of a freighter. It had pale, ghostly white, faded fur and it was chained up by the ankles with gigantic rusted chains tailored to the towering beast’s immense size. And what’s more terrifying and intimidatingly gruesome and calamitous about this new giant hound monster was it had a snarling, drooling mouth full of dangerously sharp teeth and canines good enough for tearing into delicious flesh without effort and most devastatingly enough, it’s lips were drenched in……..blood.

 

Blood that spilled all over its fur in front of it as if it had a huge, juicy meal of human prey, but apparently not nearly enough to satiate its dreadful hunger. And its eyes……..its eyes were clouded, glassy and milky, withholding most assuredly nothing behind them. Not a single soul to be seen from within them.

 

Garm (Old Norse: Garmr, Nordic: ᚵᚨᛗᛦ), the Blood-Stained Guardian of Hel's Gate and the prisoner of the cave of Gnipahellir with a carnivorous taste for human flesh and the terrifying ability to consume and devour entire metaphysical concepts with just the snap of his jaws was ready for a brand new meal and with the three boys in front of it, they seemed enough to fill his belly. It’s only rare that a couple of succulent, fresh living mortal humans stumble into Helheim, land for the dishonorable dead, and haphazardly find their way into his neck of the woods. He would certainly kill to have a meal like that.

 

The gargantuan hellhound snarled and growled at the three terrified teens with a predatory gaze in his empty, soulless eyes with a malicious and murderous intent as he slowly edged closer to them with his fierce, fang-bare, bloody mouth gaping open with eagerness for a sample of soft flesh, forcing the boys to back away as the monster of a hound inched nearer and nearer.

 

A humongous 56 ft. tall guard dog covered in blood? Now that really should’ve been critical information to give them right from the get-go.

 

“Does it really need to be THAT big?!?!?!” Roar screamed with horror as the beast zeroed in on them.

 

“Uh, hi!” Stig tried to greet it politely, hoping to be able to communicate with it and maybe bring some manifestation of compassion within the beast. “Hello? Would you mind….letting us through?…….maybe?”

 

The only answer he got from Garm was guttural growling. No words could be heard or translated from any of that.

 

“No? Okay.” So the hard way it was gonna be. 

 

Rising to the instinct of defense, Stig reached for the longbow and aimed its Bifröst arrow right at the guard dog’s face with such impressive point-blank accuracy for a boy who hasn’t done archery in a long while.

 

To their immediate surprise, however, Garm simply caught the arrow with his mouth.

 

“Blæst.” said Stig.

 

KA-BOOM!

 

The magic arrow exploded in Garm’s mouth, taking it by total surprise and the force of the abrupt blast knocked the massive hound back away, tumbling to the ground like an oversized rag doll. It seemed like it did the trick, though the teens kept their guard up and waited tensely and carefully for any detectable movement, waiting to make absolutely sure that it was actually dead.

 

It wasn’t.

 

Garm lifted his head back up to glare furiously at the boys, Stig in particular. The arrow didn’t help at all. All it did was piss him off.

 

“Time to go.” Roar whimpered wimpily.

 

Then they all ran for their lives as Garm roared, picking himself back up and chasing after his prey with unrelenting fury. While still running, Stig shot more arrows at it and shouted “ Blæst! ” every single time they hit the stampeding mongrel, but their explosions were ineffective, only urging the hungry mutt to pick up more speed.

 

“The bomb arrows aren’t working!” hollered Roar.

 

“This is WAY worse than the SkyDome!” Stig screamed as they darted through the canyon of ice and back the way they came to evade their slobbering, snarling pursuer.

 

“At least the giant red panda mamma kaiju didn’t want to EAT US ALIVE!!!” shouted Rudolf.

 

As far as they could tell, Garm was restrained with chains, so obviously he cannot venture any further than he wanted to. Their best bet at the moment was to try and hide and wait for it to lose interest. They had just passed the Gnipahellir cave with Garm still chasing after them, now starting to gain on them. Luckily, they saw a small crevice in the icy ground that looked big enough for all three of them to fit.

 

“GGGGRRRRRGGRRRRAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!”

 

But then Garm went for the pounce. He lunged at them with his fanged jaw wide open, but they scattered out of the way in time for the colossal guard dog to slam against a frozen wall, which cracked and shattered ice rocks from the solid impact.

 

“Hey! Blæst!” 

 

To disorientate him, Stig fired another Bifröst arrow at his face to buy him and his friend some time to make their way over to the crevice, plunging themselves down in their out of sight just as Garm regained his bearings and charged over to the hole where his new game was hiding, sniffing around and trying to claw the hole open wider to get at them.

 

The boy kept themselves hidden inside the hole, holding their knees together as they tried to come up with a plan.

 

“Ahhh!” They all yelped then they saw a rotting corpse of a Viking sitting there on the ground next to them with its eyeless, sunken eye sockets staring right towards the living mortals. The ground shook as Garm banged on the opening to try and get in.

 

“He’s gonna giving up yet.” Stig panted and wheezed.

 

“Maybe he just wants a belly rub or scratch behind the ears.” Rudolf vainly suggested.

 

“Would you like to test that theory?” retorted Roar.

 

“No, thanks.”

 

“What did you boys do to make him so mad?” asked the voice of the squirrel from inside Rudolf’s backpack with a mouth full of trail mix.

 

Suddenly, the rumbling stopped and they all waited for a sound. It was suspiciously quiet for a moment. But they didn’t like it.

 

“Is he gone?” asked Roar with a whisper.

 

Against his better judgment, Rudolf volunteered to peer his head out of the hole and get a good look around. For a second, he couldn’t see the massive mongrel anywhere.

 

“AHH!!!!” He screamed when Garm appeared suddenly and tried to chomp at his head, but he ducked back down, just narrowly avoiding the giant teeth.

 

“Between the trajectory of the sun and the moon, I’d say PROBABLY NOT!!” He yelled, heart pumping in his chest.

 

“What if we tossed that guy out there!” Stig pointed to the dead body. “Will he even take the dead ones?!”

 

“Are you kidding!? That dude barely has any meat left!” Roar complained in disagreement. “I didn’t come all this way just to become dog food!”

 

“Wait. The cake!”

 

That’s when he remembered the Hel cake that the He-Witch had given them before they entered Helheim. Now he was starting to realize who and what he was referring to. However, Roar and Stig’s faces turned sour when they saw Rudolf was eating a chunk out of it.

 

“DOLF!”

 

“I’m stress eating, okay!?” He argued with his mouth full. “This really tastes bad. Could’ve used another beaten egg….”

 

“Give me that.” Stig hissed, snatching the cake from him.

 

He waited for the hellhound to stop pounding against the crevice’s entrance and building up enough arm strength, Stig tossed the Hel cake out of the hole like a basketball far enough away from them.

 

Albeit taken aback, Garm nonetheless stomped over to the strange confection and gave it a curious sniff. And then surprisingly, his murderous demeanor vanished as he gave a somewhat delighted hum and grabbed the cake off the ground. With extreme caution after waiting a couple seconds, all three boys peaked their heads out of the hole to see Garm marching away with the Hel cake in his mouth back to his cave like a domesticated house dog.

 

“Come on, fellas. Now’s our chance.” Stig whispered to them and they quickly, but stealthily, crawled out of the hole.

 

While the guard dog was occupied with his treat, the trio made a clean getaway and they stopped once they were at a clear distance from the cave where the imprisoned hound was and took this moment to catch their breath.

 

That was definitely a close shave.

 

Unzipping the backpack, Ratatoskr poked his head out and looked just as pleased to see that Garm was finally gone.

 

“Ha! See? I told you! Teamwork! That’s all it took.” He celebrated while they frowned at him, since he was hardly any help at all.

 

“………by the way, you’re out of trail mix.”

 

---

 

Back in Asgard, preparation for the ritual was about to commence. It was to be set in the Rift where Mei and Ming had discussed things over to Wu about their little plan to finally take care of their red panda situation. Despite how strained things were between Ming and her mother after their clash of egos, she managed to fight her negative feelings back to explain everything to her.

 

Wu was already eager to follow along with the plan, since she, too, is unwilling for a three-year-long wait. So she assembled the aunties and here they were all there in the Rift together with Odin, Freya, Týr, Frigg and yours truly, the He-Witch, who can only leave his post in Niflheim for a short amount of time for his curse will swallow him back up and spit him back out in his hut at any given time now, so the ritual must be done soon before his time is up.

 

“Was it a good idea to send those boys down there?” Wu asked strictly.

 

“Only three of us could be allowed into the afterlife and Stig and the boys are the only ones closest to Kris.” Elsa explained to her.

 

“And Mei-Mei isn’t?” Ming seemed surprised by how that sounded to her.

 

“Relax, mom. They got this. I’m willing to bet on it.” Mei patted her mother’s arm.

 

“What about that Rudolf kid?” Lily asked with a mother’s worry. “He’s probably scared out of his wits down there.”

 

“If he’s with Stig and Roar, then he’s got nothing to worry about.” Elsa waved her concerns off, though undeniably, she had a few of her own at the moment. What if something were to happen to those three down there?

 

“Are you sure it was really necessary to separate Kris’s soul from his body back at the concert?” asked Ping, wondering out loud with maternal solicitude. “I mean, Kris was pretty much stuck here in these realms for the past seven months.”

 

“It was the only way.” explained the primordial enchanter and gatekeeper with unrelenting surety. “If he had stayed merged with Thor for too long, he would’ve died. Being within the body of a powerful god is far too much for a mortal mind like his to handle.”

 

That dire explanation was followed closely by a uniform gasp amongst the group. As for Ming on the other hand, she gulped and sweated crazily at the thought of nearly being the cause of Kris’s grisly demise back at the SkyDome. And the thought of him being trapped in Helheim with the Goddess of Death only made this notion far more painful to think about.

 

“Let us begin.” The He-Witch instructed with some items and a large stone bowl for ritualistic practices on the ground.

 

“Are you sure about this?” Wu hesitantly asked just to be sure.

 

“This won’t rid you of the red pandas, but you’ll be able to transform freely.” He answered her in a matter-of-factly manner.

 

“Yeah, but……we’ll still have-“

 

“Mom, please. Maybe it’s time we stop trying to lock our pandas away.” Ping took her mother’s hands and caressed them gingerly.

 

“She’s right. After all, they are still a part of us, all of us, whether we like it or not.” Helen backed her cousin up.

 

Wu wanted to object, but she didn’t. She had grown up being told that the red panda was dangerous, a mistake, a curse, a disruption to their perfect, flawless lives. But after everything she had witnessed starting with Mei refusing to cooperate in the ritual months ago, she had not the will to disagree with how much the red panda truly meant to them as a whole.

 

Meanwhile, the He-Witch pulled out an awl and the stone bowl first.

 

“What are you….?” Chen was confused by what he needed those for.

 

“You’ll need to give blood for it to work.” 

 

“What? Are you serious?” That made Wu feel sick.

 

“It’s the only way.” He shrugged. “So that anyone else within your bloodline will be affected and so that this shall carry on in future generations. But not without taking this first.”

 

In his free hand, he clutched a root vegetable that was pale with a radish-like appearance.

 

“Yak-root. Traditionally grown in Jötunheim. I use it as a natural pain-killer. But we must hurry. My curse binding me to Niflheim will catch up any moment now.” As he spoke on, he placed the vegetable into a smaller bowl and started to mash it up until it was homogenous to a paste. "I must've neglect my duties for too long."

 

All Lee women were naturally hesitant to actually cut themselves for this ritual, but they had little choice if they wanted to return back to their lives when they got home after this. So each of them congested a portion of the Yak-root paste. It tasted sour, but they forced it down their throats.

 

Next was the tricky part; giving blood. While they waited for a nanosecond for the Yak-root to do its job, take effect and nullify their nervous system, the He-Witch fetched the awl and one at a time, each reluctantly came forth and pierced themselves on the sharp needle, but not without wincing from the feel of a sharp point impaling their flesh. 

 

Then they allowed their blood to drip into small puddles into the stone bowl until it got bigger. It was finally over. The hard part. Mei was still sucking on her finger.

 

And now it was time to commence the ritual.

 

“It is time.” He announced with a shaky sigh.

 

All Lee women were made to form a circle around the bowl of their blood in the center, crouch down and join hands. Mei was feeling quite nervous. She had already accepted her red panda. 

 

What if it didn’t work? What if she loses the red panda? What if-

 

Ming tightly held her daughter’s hand and gave her a comforting glance and nodded to her with a watery smile as a way of telling her that it’s alright now, that the red panda will still be with her.

 

Wu gave the same gesture, having finally accepted that the red was part of her as well.

 

Odin, Týr, Frigg and Freya all closed their eyes, clasped their hands and cleared their minds as they began to throat sing.

 

“Allr at hafði kombeforer oss. Gefossr allr maktinn til binð ok megin. Allr spirits fran above ok á, vér beseech þú!” The He-Witch chanted as if he were in a trance. “Allr at hafði kombeforer oss. Gefossr allr maktinn til binð ok megin. Allr spirits fran above ok á, vér beseech þú! Allr at hafði kombeforer oss. Gefossr allr maktinn til binð ok megin. Allr spirits fran above ok á, vér beseech þú!”

 

It looked like it was working. Elsa, Jin, Shan, Adam, Charlie and Tom all watched as the Lee women were beginning to twitch and convulse and spasm as their bodies gave off a bright, demonically red glow. Due to this, they all started to wince and let out exclamations the more and more they all convulsed and quivered as if they were becoming possessed.

 

And then it happened. Spirits of their red pandas each were extracted from their bodies one-by-one the louder and erratic the He-Witch’s chanting got.

 

The blood in the bowl then defied gravity. Crimson droplets hovered upward, danced lazily in mid-air as the women hovered as well while their red pandas started to spin around in a circle.

 

And around and around and around yet again. The Lees’ bodies had stiffened and they fell unconscious while their red panda spirits spiraled in accelerated speed as the He-Witch’s incantations sped up and picked up in volume before silencing his chanting.

 

The red pandas sped up as well.

 

They spun and spun in a bright, glowing red circle above and before everyone’s eyes and then when they all came together, merging with the blood……there was a blast of red, flashes all over that would nearly blind those who saw it.

 

And darkness followed.

 

Then silence.

 

---

 

“Hey, Stig! Hey, Roar! Roar, Stig! Fellas, help! Help!” 

 

Rudolf shrieked and wailed as he ran blindly through the icy landscape after getting separated from the other two. His armband was glowing as he ran around on every which way and as it flowed even brighter, it must’ve meant that he was getting closer to his friends.

 

So were Stig and Roar as they ran toward the direction of their friend’s cry. Their armbands glowed brighter than a glow stick until finally they found each other, coming to the panting Inuit teen’s aid.

 

“What happened?” Roar piped worriedly.

 

“What’s the matter?” As did Stig, holding the boy’s shoulder.

 

“I was lost! All by myself!”

 

Then the concerned and frightened faces of his friends turned into annoyance by his abysmal worries at such a worst time. 

 

“Why-!” Stig angrily eye-pokes him and Rudolf snarls at him like a mad dog.

 

“What am I, huh? Chopped liver?” Ratatoskr quipped as if offended.

 

“Oh, yeah. That’s right. I forgot about him.” Rudolf smiled with relief, pointing at him like he’s showing their World Tree squirrel companion off. “It’s alright, you guys.”

 

SLAP!

 

“Oh!”

 

“Come on, you! We don’t have time for this shit! Kris is counting on us!” Stig commanded, bellowing with impatient irritation.

 

So with that out of the way, the quest was on once again. The compass took them onto a northwestern path as it seemed, though it can be excruciatingly tough to navigate thoroughly in the land of the dead, where there’s no existing magnetic field. However, that was no challenge to the Light of Alfheim and with a little bit of light elf magic.

 

From far behind, watching them from afar as they prevailed, there was a sinister pair of glowing, inhuman eyes from a dark opening in the ice wall, glaring menacingly.

 

Hissing, scowling, waiting.

 

Moments of hiking later, they kept following the compass’s lead. Within reason, they needed to stay on the path it was leading them on since it was made prominently clear that it was the only thing that was helping them find their lost friend. It couldn’t be explained, but all of the sudden, Stig felt a presence that was bodiless and incorporeal.

 

And he felt it…..in his head….in his ears………

 

…….whispering…….

 

‘Maybe it’s time we got rid of Alex.’

 

‘Maybe it’s time he took him somewhere far away……where we won’t have to deal with him again.’

 

‘That wiggling little pest will never find his way home again.’

 

‘I said shut the fuck you, you little parasitic scrote-fruit! God, you’re fucking irritating!’

 

‘He should’ve died in your womb, bitch.’

 

‘I should’ve used a fucking condom.’

 

…….voices.

 

Voices that sounded hauntingly familiar.

 

Voices that he tried to drown out for years like a resonating ruckus from the house next door.

 

Voices that he can only remember hearing from-

 

“STIG!"

 

The distressed yell of Roar snapped him out of it and just as he was finally aware of his surroundings, he saw that they were being pursued by the dead.

 

Hel-walkers. The rotting remains of those who once lived arose from their deathly slumbers when they sensed the living within their vicinity. Their eyes glowing an otherworldly green as he moaned and growled atrociously and now it was time to put their weapons into good use. 

 

Roar grabbed the Fimbulwinter ax and used it to slice at the zombies out for blood. 

 

Although, the ice the ax generated had little to no effect on them since they were already dead and their in a realm of cold, the frost blast is packed was powerful enough to harm them, proving helpful as Roar chopped away at their limbs and bodies to keep them at bay, despite the nauseating feeling he received in his stomach while dismembering the undead.

 

Rudolf had to sit this one out, unable to fight back and too petrified by their exanimate assailants. He just sat there on the frozen ground in a fetal position and counted to 20 in his head.

 

Stig whipped out his longbow and fired more of those explosive Bifröst arrows at the undead, the magic word setting off their explosions, blasting them into pieces. Roar swung his ax right at one particular  zombie about to attack Rudolf, the spiraling armament was aimed for its neck and it chopped its head clean off.

 

And as Roar held his hand out to test the weapon’s magical capabilities, the ax flew right back into his palm.

 

“Ok, cool.” He commented in amazement, before vomiting on the ground. They may have been dead already, but just the thought alone of chopping someone up and killing them was still horrifying and made him feel sick.

 

“Is it over, you guys?” squeaked the scared Rudolf.

 

“Come on, get up.” Stig said, him and Roar picking him up. “There may be more. Let’s keep moving.”

 

As long as they kept their guard up and their weapons on them, nothing can go wrong henceforward.

 

But they needed to make sure they were on the correct path as well. Cannot risk straying from the path or else they’ll get lost. Their armbands only allowed them to find each other again, nothing more. The boys kept onward, passing through ice canyons and passageways. Anything that wasn’t made of or covered in ice was artificial. 

 

A wrought-iron gate, for example.

 

And as they walked, spine-chilling sounds were heard in the distance, though it was hard to pinpoint where. Scary sounds like the ghostly moaning, wails of anguish, the squelching of a metal blade slicing and hacking up flesh. It was ghastly as it was devastating. 

 

Just then, Rudolf jumped onto Roar with a loud yelp when he heard a noise close by.

 

“Ow! Rudolf!” He yelled in surprise and tried to pull the boy off of him, but Rudolf held onto him tightly.

 

“Is it dark out already?” asked Ratatoskr, perceptively looking up and around.

 

And he wasn’t wrong, either.

 

The land around them started to grow darker the further they went. All dimmed light from the eternal overcast was slowly diminishing until it was starting to look like eternal night. And with the increasing darkness, they were starting to lose sight of where they were even heading and even Stig was beginning to not see where the compass was pointing.

 

“We must be getting close.” Stig noted, remembering that Hel was stationed in the darkest part of Helheim and it’s been commonly speculated that Kris would be inside her hall.

 

“I can’t even see the path anymore.” Roar complained from the engulfing blackness enshrouding them the lifeless environment like a cloak of death, quite fitting for the land of the dead.

 

“I’m not too fond of the dark.” Rudolf whimpered.

 

Suddenly, to their surprise, the compass gave off a bright glow, helpfully illuminating the way for them.

 

“How convenient.” Roar was impressed. At least, they have a light source now.

 

The Light of Alfheim is on their side now.

 

Now they can see better now as they move forward while the land is now completely enveloped in jet darkness until nearly nothing could be seen in front of their faces if not for the illuminating compass. The Light of Alfheim was able to reveal more human remains, forgotten dead warriors still adorned in armor and weapons. Some were even frozen against the mountainous glacier walls.

 

“You know, I’ve been thinking.” The squirrel said suddenly.

 

“Yeah, what?” asked Roar.

 

“Afterwards, they’ll probably tell tales about this.” Ratatoskr explained grandiosely. “The story about how three human boys entered Helheim alive with the adventurous squirrel to save the descendant of Thor from the Goddess of Death. After bravely fighting off the vicious guard dog Garm and-“

 

“Garm? That’s the dog’s name?” Rudolf chuckled.

 

“Of course it is. May I continue? I’m on a roll here.” said the World Tree squirrel a bit rudely. “So anyway, they heroically battled the Goddess of Death……..uh, to the death and saved the Son of Bengt! Gad, how do I do it?”

 

“You came up with all that just now?” Roar said amusedly.

 

“You bet I did.” The squirrel nodded. “With that in mind, they write names for us in the textbooks for ages and ages to come.”

 

“Our names?” remarked Stig with disinterest.

 

“Well, yeah. Ratatoskr the Guardian of the World of Yggdrasil………….dot, dot, dot, dot, dot, dot, dot………uh, dot - Scary Dark Kid, Beanpole and the Lummox. You see how my brain works? It’s like a lightning bolt shot down from the sky!”

 

“Yeah, that would explain it.” Stig muttered with a dramatic roll of his eyes.

 

“Good, you can be our mascot.” suggested Roar sarcastically.

 

“Mascot? Why you buffoon!” Ratatoskr snorted, looking insulted.

 

“I knew this was like Arcana Encanta!” cheered the ever-avid Inuit boy.

 

“Oh my god….” Stig halted in his tracks when something far off caught his eye instantly.

 

“More walking dead!?” Rudolf shrieked in terror.

 

“No, look.”

 

All of them looked ahead to where he was pointing and at the same time, all of them were astounded. Even though it was too dark out for them to see aside from the light provided by the Light of Alfheim, they could distinctly discern a massive hall in the distance. It may have been larger than any other hall they’ve seen before. It was of a gothic architectural aesthetic, completely shrouded in darkness and mystery like a dark and ancient mausoleum withholding and in remembrance of those long begone, very much so like a haunted house. Blackness and ghostly green decorated it’s very walls with a long, wide bridge leading into it, which had giant stone statues with grotesque features on either side facing each other and their ghoulish faces looking down judgmentally like the gargoyles lining up the flying buttresses of Notre-Dame de Paris.

 

ÉLJÚÐNIR
The Hall of Hel

 

Souls of the damned were crossing the bridge looking despondent and desperate. As for the boys and the compass’s version of a cardinal point aiming in the direction of that shadowy edifice, it would seem that they were heading in the right direction. They found where Hel was residing and if Kris was in there, that’s where they were heading.

 

“How about that, huh?” Stig exhaled, almost feeling relief that they found where his brother was allegedly detected.

 

But just as they were about to press on, the apprehensive Rudolf grabbed both his friends’ arms to stop them for a moment, sweating in rivulets.

 

“Wait a minute, fellas. Wait. I…….I gotta get him outta there?” He stuttered along with his quivering body.

 

“Exactly.” Roar nodded. “This is why we’re here.”

 

“But, uh………what if the compass is wrong? What if he’s not in there?” Rudolf suggested lamely, getting cold feet about entering the home of the Goddess of Death. Lord knows what kind of horrors awaits them inside.

 

“Oh, come on. You’re not chickening out now, are you?” Stig eyed him down with a stern glare, making him tingle.

 

“What, me? Hell no!” Rudolf denied, shielding his terror behind a straight face. “I’m not afraid. I’ll go in there and I’ll find Kris and bring him home. I’ll tear the place down if I have to, but I won’t stop until I find him. There’s just one thing I need you guys to do first.”

 

“Yeah?” They asked.

 

“..........talk me out of it.” His fallacious bravado was gone now.

 

He even started slinking backwards step-by-step, but his friends annoyedly grabbed his arms before he could get any further away. 

 

They needed to soldier on and face the music if they were going to save Kris. They can’t give up and turn back now. Not when they’ve already gotten this far and they were already at the fortress of Hel herself where the compass indicates Kris’s exact location. More listless souls were nearby, dejected trudging onward towards Éljúðnir as if they were upset that they’ve wound up here in Helheim, final resting place for the dishonorable, but are defeatedly accepting their fate whether they like it or not. Anyway, the trio stayed close together as they kept forward and forced any fear they had at the moment down for Kris’s sake.

 

Pretty soon and with no time to spare, there they all were at the edge of the bridge of the damned Gjallarbrú, which they needed to cross first. Now that they were up close, the giant statues were massive and they appear to also function as the bridge’s abutments for maximum suspension and by design, they looked like they were holding the bridge up with their large hands. The trio edged closer and closer to the bridge and stopped for a moment to gaze upon the large doorway into the hall that was just 199 ft. (200 m) away from them according to the bridge’s center span. 

 

They were just about to cross Gjallarbrú when suddenly from out of nowhere………a towering silhouetted figure suddenly materialized in front of them appearing to be gaseous and made of darkened ashes with a slender form, horns on its head pointing in opposite directions and glowing red, demonic eyes. 

 

Modgud (Old Norse: Móðguðr), the sacred bridgekeeper and the Guardian of the Gjallarbrú was standing right before the three, stopping them from crossing the bridge of the damned. 

 

Rudolf was quick to cling to Roar and Stig in terror of the shadowy figure suddenly appearing before their very presence.

 

“Och, bridge guardian. I should’a known.” Ratatoskr rolled his eyes.

 

“Nafn.” Modgud demanded in a hoarse tone.

 

“Hello……?” Stig greeted hesitantly.

 

“Nafn.” She said again, more pointedly this time around.

 

“She’s asking for your name.” Ratatoskr translated for her to the goth boy.

 

“Oh.” He sighed before getting down to business. “Stig Falkenberg. My friends, Roar Wagner and Rudolf Stein.”

 

“Hví eru þú hí?”

 

“Uh……….”

 

“She wants to know why you’ve come.” translated the World Tree squirrel.

 

“We’re here to find my brother, Kris Bengtsson. We were told he would be here.” Stig explained to the mysterious bridge guardian, who was quiet for about a couple seconds later like she was taking some time to consider his words.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

“Berár.”

 

And with that, she disappeared, allowing them to pass.

 

After taking a sigh of relief, the boys stepped forth onto the bridge and started their way across it while ignoring all the other poor souls. Rudolf, in spite of himself, curiously approached the pile of ashes of where Modgud appeared from. But then suddenly, she snapped back to existence right before him with her demonic eyes piercing his soul and he fled back to the others in terror. The massive bridge of the damned ran directly above Gjöll, one of the eleven Élivágar rivers; an endless long and deep, poisonous, acidic, hazardous, bioluminescent and spectral river of ectoplasm consisting of many damned souls unlucky enough to fall right in it, all of them wailing pain and agony from the river’s corrosive waters burning them to the core, which made Rudolf wince and shutter.

 

Not helping much either were the statues. All of them looking down onto Gjallarbrú and all traversing it with those grimly condemnatory eyes as if to challenge anyone to continue across or else they face a fate far worse than death. Without denial, they made the boys increasingly uncomfortable and inwardly wondered how Kris was able to cross this bridge and into the hall of Hel without shrinking under these statues’ gazes. Making a desperate effort to ignore the series of ghoulish faces, they all sang a Nörthfölk song verse together quietly.

 

After what felt like an eternity, they were finally at the doors to Éljúðnir.

 

This was it. Moment of truth.

 

Taking a moment to catch their breaths, they all looked at each other. All of them were nervous, but they finally made it. All of their time and all of their tiresome effort has led them straight here to this very point and now they were assuredly close to freeing Kris from his horrid imprisonment. Mei needed him more than anything and so did they.

 

Without wasting another minute of their time, Stig stepped forward and pushed onto the door. However, it was very heavy so Roar and Rudolf helped him out and all three boys pushed with all their might to get the monumental doorway open. It had taken a lot of strength and it took very little time for the door to slide open, but at last, it was open nonetheless and they had found their way in.

 

“Shall we?” Stig asked his friends.

 

And together, they were inside the hall of Hel. And then suddenly, the door closed back up by itself.

 

It was dark and cold and audibly still in that hall of the dead, much like a grave. Not a shred of light to be seen, save for a couple of small torches on the wall high above them as sconces, but not even they were sufficient enough to provide a convenient light source in the sinister darkness all around. However, just because it was dark, doesn’t mean they couldn’t see anything at all.

 

In fact, the exterior design and decor was, to an obvious degree, very macabre in accordance with the realm of the dead. It was like they were walking through the ruins of an ancient castle. There were cobwebs, dust and unearthly mist below them, dead bodies of warriors strewn about the place and it wasn’t uncommon for them to pass one disturbed soul that was unsurprisingly in an eternal state of inner turmoil. To that end, one spirit was sitting on the ground with her head in her hands anxiously and one was banging his face against the way over and over again. 

 

It frightened them, even Stig who always had a creepy fascination for the ghastly and lurid. As much as the Light of Alfheim helped, navigation through the dark halls of Éljúðnir was controversial and cumbersome.

 

As they entered one area in the vast emptiness of the hall of the forgotten souls, they were startled by what looked like……

 

………a foot. 

 

An ashy human skeleton foot that dropped right to the floor from above. Hesitantly looking upward, they were revolted to see a chandelier-type object hanging from the ceiling composed entirely out of human bones and deer antlers while covered in icicles and some dead bodies hanging from it, few from nooses and a couple impaled on the sharp antlers.

 

The most grotesque, dangerous and disturbing form of ornamentation fitting for the afterlife.

 

“If you boys need me, I’ll be in here.” Upon seeing it, Ratatoskr covertly retreated inside of Rudolf’s backpack, zipping it up. “Not that I’m scared, it’s just I prefer to be safe inside this thing.”

 

But they kept onward despite the horrendousness of the ambience of the abode within them around every nook and cranny. That slippery Goddess of Death was hiding around here somewhere in the shadows and Kris himself had to be around here. But where? Stig had half the mind to shout out for Kris and hope for an answer back, but if there’s anything he’s learned from watching horror movies, it’s that you never shout out for anyone and even ask if anyone’s there, because otherwise you alert the killer of your whereabouts.

 

Make no mistake, Rudolf was shaking in his boots and who could blame him? Here they were in the scariest part of the Nordic variation of the afterlife where any possible, potential danger could be lurking around them, waiting for their change.

 

“You guys afraid?” He asked them, whispering.

 

“No, of course not. What gave you that idea?” asked Roar, undeniably shaken.

 

“Me neither.” You could probably tell that Rudolf was fibbing. “Of course, why would I be? After all, this is the land where people go after they die-!”

 

CLANG!

 

Rudolf didn’t see where he was trudging through, winding up tripping over the dead body of a Viking warrior and he exclaimed with horror, crawling away from it out of fear that it’ll come alive and try to grab at his feet until Stig grabbed him and covered his mouth.

 

“Rudolf.” He hissed at him with a heated glare. “Unless you want the entire undead nibbling on you, keep your trap shut, got that? Now let’s stay focused.”

 

“Uh-huh…” The naive boy numbly agreed.

 

The compass kept taking the trio down a dark hallway where they passed more restless spirits and ghosts unable to find their peace before they happened upon another large room and the most curious thing about this room was that it looked to be a dining hall of sorts. There sitting in the center was a 40 ft. long banquet table with a large assemblage of plates, cups and a disgusting spread of rotten, aged foods covered in generations worth of dust and spiderwebs as if it had been left abandoned and unattended for thousands of years.

 

On the walls on both ends were curtains made out of more shriveled up cadavers of those that once lived and were now nothing more but decorations to be constructed out of a twisted and sick maniac’s unnerving imagination.

 

“Well, she’s…..really got taste.” Rudolf whimpered.

 

Stig and Roar went over to the table and got a good gander at all the inedible comestibles just sitting there untouched and they wretched in disgust. Flies were even floating around the spoiled nourishments. At this point, the compass was going crazy, pointing in all sorts of directions, leaving them nonplussed. What the hell was wrong with it?

 

“So……….you’re here.”

 

Hairs stood on end.

 

Goosebumps formed on their arms.

 

Throats ran dry, eyeballs enlarged in sockets, lips parted.

 

There, right there in the darkness  to their side beside a cracked pillar staring right back at them with a spine-chilling glower was an eye. And looming in from the shadows slowly, intimidatingly and grievously like the grim reaper here to claim their depraved souls and drag them down into the next life………there she was.

 

Her eye undressing them was her good eye. 

 

Devilishly yellow and red.

 

The horrifying woman, if she was a woman at all, had alabaster, ghostly pale skin on the entire right half of her body while the left have was shriveled up, hairless and very so much like that of a corpse with her other eye on that side blank and milky as of part of her own soul was torn away, making her apparat half-dead and half-alive at the same time.

 

Though, her healthy side seemed incontrovertibly more undead as opposed to her fully dead side; kind of like a vampire.

 

On her right half, she had long, unkempt black hair with a dark periorbital shade circling her fresh eye and a pronounced cheekbone. She wore a slinky charcoal black and dark gray corset kirtle with skull designs on both sides of the plunging neckline, rags around her waistline and long, sagging sleeves. 

 

Rested neatly above her brow was a minacious-looking crown looking like it was made of long thorns.

 

The boys mustered every inch of self control in their bodies not to piss on themselves for they were standing in the presumes of….

 

………Hel (Old Norse: Hela, Nordic: ᚺᛖᛚ), the daughter of Loki and Angrboda; the Norse Jötunn Goddess of Death, Mortality, Pain, Loss, Grief, Funerary Rites and Processions, Suffering, Anguish, Runestones, Memorials, Necromancy, Witchcraft, Murder, Fear and Nightmares, the Queen of the Dead and the Ruler of Helheim as she unpropitiously raised a rotting hand up and aimed a slender, boney, claw-like finger at Stig.

 

“Here for your dear brother, aren’t you?”

 

Her voice was disturbingly and unsettlingly chill and gossamer, though it sounded like it was alternating between a raspy and silky feminine tone to one that was deep, rough and baritone like she was possessed by a demonic entity.

 

Stig gulped down his terror to put on a brave face and answered, “Yeah, that’s right. So you’re her, right? The Goddess of Death?”

 

To that, she let out a sinister giggle that echoed throughout the hall as her mouth unnaturally stretched into a painfully wide cartoon of a toothy grin from ear-to-ear, receiving a yelp from Rudolf as she disappeared into the shadows.

 

Flashing the Light of Alfheim forward, she wasn’t there anymore. 

 

They looked all around for her, following the sounds of her maniacal laughter before they heard her voice again.

 

“I’ve been called many things.” Hel then reappeared at the top of a balcony at the far end of the room with twin flights of stairs leading down whilst she held a skull in her hand à la Shakespeare. “A goddess, a queen, a witch, an abomination, a freak, a demoness,……a monster.”

 

She lazily lets the skull drop to the floor as she eyed them all, making them shrink under her haunting gaze.

 

“Three young boys making it past my guard dog just to come all this way in the darkest point of my realm just to save their lost friend. Fancy that.” It sounded like she was mocking them. “And what brave boys you all are, coming all this way.”

 

“Uh, we try?” Rudolf meekly stated, still shaking.

 

“If you don’t mind, ma’am, we’ve really come a long way to bring our friend back.” Roar started to get serious, really hoping to see Kris again. “So is it okay with you that you could possibly let him come back with us?”

 

Hel’s face soured for a moment before her sinister, impish smile stretched onto her lips once more before she stood up onto the railing of the balcony, making her three human visitors look on with confusion and then fear - which she reveled in seeing - then they all screamed when she deliberately let herself fall about two stories face-first straight onto the ground below, the boys wincing from the sickening sound of bones crunching from the solid impact for she looked like she just committed suicide or even attempted to severely injury herself.

 

Though, the real horror is what comes after.

 

Accompanied by more bone-snapping sounds, the Goddess of Death’s limbs sprang upward, lifting her body up in such a flimsy manner like she had just broken all her bones, which are repairing themselves. 

 

But the way Hel swung back up to her feet disturbed the shit out of the three boys. She had her back turned and her head did a 360 degree turn to face them, that same smile still present on her face. Then she twisted her body back around the boys cringed and shuttered as she made her way over to them by gruesomely and cartwheeling herself over, twisting, bending, rearranging, rotating and contorting all of her limbs, appendages and entire slick body as a whole in unnatural ways they physically shouldn’t like a demonically-possessed contortionist.

 

This woman was pure nightmare fuel personified.

 

While Roar and Rudolf heedfully backed away as the undead woman drew nearer, Stig bravely stood his ground once she zeroed in and stood right before the unyielding goth boy with her right eye rolled back into her head, which she fixed in a second while.

 

“And why would I want to do that?” She mockingly asked.

 

“He’s my brother, lady.” Stig insisted, not backing down and not letting her scare him. “We didn’t come here for nothing. His family needs him and his friends need him.”

 

“Is that so?” breathed Hel as she began to walk around him with a noticeable limp in her step from the dead side of her body. “And how well, dare I ask - dare I ask again - do they miss him? Hmm? How much so is poor young Kris Bengtsson missed by everyone that it has taken them this long to come all this way down into my private territory just to come and save him?”

 

“Is that a trick question?” He challenged her, unrelenting.

 

She snapped her head directly toward him, another cracking sound was heard.

 

“And if I let him go, would anyone want him back?” Hel challenged him back. “Would anyone even care enough to want him back? His mother? Those three halfwits at school? His cute and precious Mei or that uptight, snobbish, whiny, dogmatic mother of hers even after she’s made it clear how much of a penniless, wanton loser she thinks he is?”

 

“She knows what she did was wrong.” Stig denied, now actually defending her. “She wants to make things right. This is why she’s come all this way with us.”

 

“Hmm-hmm, right, right.” Hel mumbled noncommittally and apathetically, examining her nails like she has no fucks to give. “The same woman who abused him, threatened him, called him names, used him as a punching bag and it’s taken her attacking him and then him beating the near life out of her for the whore to actually give a shit about him? Don’t make me laugh. ‘Make things right’, my ass.”

 

Suddenly, the Light of Alfheim on the compass began to flicker, much to their worries.

 

“Light does not exist in this part of my realm.” Hel reminded them, then picked a disgusting piece of moldy sausage and took a bite out of it. Roar and Rudolf tried not to lose their lunch. 

 

“Pretty soon, you’ll see things the way I do.”

 

“Like father, like daughter, I guess.” Stig grumbled under his breath.

 

Hearing this made the Queen of the Deceased spit out her food at him in surprise by what he just said. His two friends felt their hearts stop when Hel suddenly became violently angry, transfixing a fiery glare upon the boy, who almost looked like he was regretting his words. Then she hopped off the table to stomp toward him.

 

“DON’T YOU DARE COME IN HERE AND TALK TO ME LIKE YOU KNOW ME! YOU DON’T FUCKING KNOW ME, YOU FLESHY LITTLE MAGGOT! I HAVE SPENT LIFETIMES IN THIS DISMAL-.........!”

 

Hel cut herself off mid-rant and froze in her steps before she recollected herself and took a moment to calm herself down.

 

“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear those words.” Her voice returned to its previous calm and reserved tone as if she wasn’t about to go full beast mode on the goth teen, then started stroking his face like a mother would trying to calm her child. “Little boys like you should really learn some manners.”

 

This prompted Stig to grab his longbow and aim a Bifröst arrow at her threateningly, but she just smiled and laughed uproariously.

 

“Willful creatures.” Hel shook her head. “So defensive. So naïve. So stupid.”

 

“Look, enough of these games, lady.” Stig was growing impatient with her at this rate. “I wanna know where my brother is. Now please tell us where he is.”

 

“I don’t think so.” The three jumped right around to see her now standing a foot behind them by one of the pillars and then amazed them when she started to defy gravity by walking up the wall on her two feet. “See, the boy has nothing now. No friends to turn to and help him in his times of need, no family to offer him comfort, nothing.” 

 

By now, Hel was standing on the ceiling and not even her hair was obeying laws of physics.

 

“Kris is officially a loner.” She tsked with mock sympathy. “Little baby hurt too much and too long. Smacked around by the world like a ball, soul crushed and crumpled up like a sheet of paper, a heart broken and shattered into pieces with no love.”

 

“That’s bullshit!” Rudolf forced down his terror to step up to the Helheim queen. “He has plenty of love! He would never think we’d never want him!”

 

To their imminent shock and horror, the Light of Alfheim was now flickering dangerously leaving brief moments of darkness and light, allowing Hel the opportunity to slink around in the blackness unobserved, appearing from one section of the room to another.

 

“How come? After all, he’d do this world a huge favor if he just died!” Hel remarked, now using Ming’s words back at the concert. “He’s just as dead inside as I am. He has nobody. Not even the girl he has loved the most who’d rather cast him aside for her own family’s sake than consider his feelings.”

 

“That’s not true!” Roar argued. “Mei cares a lot for him! She can’t imagine a life without him!”

 

The light brightened for a moment, then went out……then came back on……..

 

…….and Hel was now standing behind Rudolf before she jump-scared him by grabbing at his shoulders and he jumped back with a frightened yell.

 

“Oh, sorry, did I scare you?” She teased with a chuckle.

 

“Kris is not alone. And we’d really like to have him back if you just tell us where he is.” Roar was begging her now, practically on his knees.

 

For a moment, Hel seemed to consider the idea and then smiled wryly before she pointed over to the other side of the banquet table and simultaneously, all three of her human visitors froze instantly and they stood awestruck when they all looked to see a figure step forth from the shadows. 

 

A familiar shape that they knew all too well. 

 

There stood at the other end of the spoiled spread was none other than the person they’ve been looking for. 

 

The person they’ve fought and worked hard to try and rescue.

 

“KRIS!” They all screamed with delight and relief as they all full-on darted over to him and brought him into a tight embrace, really glad that they'd finally found him.

 

However, he didn’t hug them back.

 

“Kris, thank god you’re okay!” Roar almost wept as he had his protective arms around.

 

“We’ve been so damn worried about you!” Rudolf hugged him tightly.

 

“You have no idea the trouble we went through just to come and get you!” Stig resounded who was the most glad at seeing his brother again as he looked him in the eye. “We were attacked and almost eaten by these monsters, there was so much stuff going on and-and-and, uh…….Kris?”

 

Stig finally took note of his brother’s demeanor.

 

Kris still wasn’t talking or acknowledging any of them. In fact, he looked almost like he was sleep-walking in a sense, tired and drooping eyes, mouth sagging open as he lethargically let out a moaning and croaking death rattle. All of his natural colors from his skin to his hair had been desaturated to a sickly pale pigmentation and he was looking pretty worse for wear.

 

Like he's been stuck in these realms for years rather than months.

 

By most accounts, Kris looked like he was a zombie and he barely looked even aware of his surroundings.

 

Or even the general presence of his brother and friends.

 

“Kris?” Roar started to gently shake him to get his attention, wondering if it was still the silent treatment.

 

“Kris, it’s us!” said Stig, desperately.

 

“Hello, Kris? Wake up! Wake up! Come on!” Rudolf’s solution was slapping him across the face a few times, but still no reaction.

 

Something wasn’t right here.

 

And their fears were realized when Hel started to wickedly cackle at them before suddenly reappearing from behind Kris, putting her hands on his shoulders. Stig and the two backed up in sudden recognition.

 

It wasn’t Kris's soul, but rather his body, which had originally been inactive.

 

“What the fuck did you do to him!?” Stig roared in anger.

 

“Oh, me?” She chirped with a faux innocent voice. “I merely made him realize how unneeded and unwanted he truly is, an empty husk without love and he was ready to accept it.”

 

Horror struck their faces when they began to see that Hel has been manipulating their friend and make him not want to leave under the presence that he deserves nothing but death and loneliness.

 

“It hurts to get good companionship around here in the afterlife. And if I’m not mistaking, Kris here makes excellent company.” Hel pinched the mind-numbed boy’s cheek and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

 

“GIVE HIM BACK RIGHT NOW, YOU FUCKING SICKO!” By now, Stig was furious. This maniacal witch was keeping his poor brother as a trophy and a lapdog for all eternity and there’s no way he’s going to allow it, aiming another arrow at her.

 

“Yeah, that’s OUR friend, not yours!” bellowed Rudolf.

 

“No, I don’t think I will.” Hel rebutted. “I’m the only friend he has right now. And after his body dies, he’ll be stuck down here with me…..forever.”

 

That last word echoed everywhere mockingly as their hearts dropped into their stomachs. Unbeknownst to them, a plethora of three roots began to slowly creep towards them from behind.

 

“As for you three….”

 

They had little time to react for the vine-like roots ensnared them like tentacles and they futilely tried to wrestle themselves free as they then dragged all three boys across the ground and down separate hallways, splitting them up as they helplessly tried to call out for Kris, who still didn’t respond.

 

“…….I’ll make sure you never see the dawn again.” Hel’s deriding smile lowered into a grimace.

Notes:

Oh, shit. The dastardly Hel has possession of Kris's comatose body put into a mindless state and doesn't seem like she's going to give him up any time soon.

After everything, they finally found Helheim and made it past Garm, the guard dog and when they finally find Kris, things don't go as planned. As for Hel, well, she believes her and Kris to be one and the same. Just two desolate, unwanted souls with no friends, no life and no love from anyone who have been rejected by everyone and tossed aside by society because the world just hates them and she finds his troubled self far too enticing. And with this troubled mind, Kris was far too easy for her to manipulate into come meandering into her realm and into her deathly grasp like a lost puppy.

And it won't be long before the boys themselves start coming face-to-face with their own inner demons. And before anyone says so, I'm well aware that Hel herself isn't technically a goddess, I just chose to make her own for this canon.

Meanwhile, the Lees are offered a chance to be able to transform back and forth at will by the He-Witch. How it will turn out is to be revealed soon and as for how things will turn out for the boys, that's yet to be determined.

Stay tuned.

Next Chapter: When word gets out about what happened to Kris's body, Mei, Elsa and Ming haphazardly head into Helheim themselves, only to be ambused by the mares, forcing them to confront manifestations of their insecurities.

Next Update: May 30, 2023

Chapter 21: Nothing, But Fear Itself

Summary:

When word gets out about what happened to Kris's body, Mei, Elsa and Ming haphazardly head into Helheim themselves, only to be ambused by the mares, forcing them to confront manifestations of their insecurities.

Notes:

Disclaimer: Turning Red and it’s characters are the property of (c) Walt Disney Pictures/Pixar Animation Studios.

Elements are borrowed from God of War (2018) and Ragnarök, owned by (c) Santa Monica Studio/Sony Interactive Entertainment

C/W: Scary hallucinations, knife attack

Mei groaned as she regained consciousness.

 

Everything was all a blur at first and her head throbbed diabolically before it cleared up, allowing her thoughts to gather themselves and recollect. They were participating in a ritual. One to help them control their red pandas and their transformations more willingly. There was chanting, throat singing, bright red lights and finally, fuzzy blackness.

 

But the question is, however, did it work?

 

“Mei-Mei.”

 

The girl jerked her head around to look into the face of her mother who was just as desperate to know the results when her face morphed into surprise in a split second. However, Mei realized something right off the bat as well.

 

Her mother’s hair. 

 

It was no longer ruby red like before. It was back to her original jet black color.

 

“Mom!” Mei gasped. “Your hair!”

 

“Your hair!” Ming followed up, pointing at her.

 

Mei looked all around at her fellow family members as they, too, began to take notice of each other’s appearance, drink in the changes and regain their bearings. And their hair color had also returned to their natural black. Shan returned to his wife’s side, to which Ping immediately welcomed. Adam, Tom and Charlie equally rushed to their girlfriends’ aid to check to see if they were okay and they were. 

 

But what about Mei?

 

“Look here.” Frigg instructed the mother and daughter duo, holding up a huge mirror for them.

 

Looking into their reflections, they shared a surprised gasp of recognition as both women gently combed at their hair as the fact was plain and true as it was flummoxing. No more red hair. Mei’s hair was back to being black as well. 

 

It worked. The ritual worked. At first, Mei felt a wave of excitement surge through her body that it was a huge success and that none of them had to wait three more years before it vanished. She began to get worried. Was her red panda gone now? Could she no longer transform into a red panda anymore? She had already accepted her red panda long ago and the worrisome thought that she had just sacrificed it for her own family’s sake must be staggering. Surely it must still be in there somewhere. She’d just have to bring it out somehow.

 

“Are you okay, hon?” asked Jin, holding his wife’s arm.

 

“I’m fine.” She answered, checking herself for any changes. But she was back to normal now………seemingly. “Is it gone? Is my red panda gone?”

 

“No.” The He-Witch shook his head. “It’s still in there. It just doesn’t respond to your emotions anymore.”

 

Mei felt relieved by that. She still had her red panda. But now that strong emotions were no longer a factor to their transformations, they finally had a say in how and when they transform. Mei decides to test this out for a moment. She takes a moment to concentrate, focus her willpower and allow the magic flowing within her to do its work before it happened.

 

POOF!

 

Mei was a red panda again. 

 

Only this time, her emotions didn’t summon it. She had willed it into existence freely. And all her family were blown away by this stupendous breakthrough.

 

“Bless us, Sun Yee.” Wu whispered out her astonishment like a cool summer breeze. With this in mind, this could mean she could finally get out of Toronto and return to Florida.

 

“Well, I’ll be damned.” Elsa was certainly amazed to see that this had actually worked.

 

“So this means we can go back to our old lives again?” Lily said with glee, beaming excitedly before looking at her boyfriend. “At least, not without you in it, of course.”

 

“You bet, babydoll.” Tom gave her a sweet kiss.

 

“Maybe you two will get married soon.” Ping taunted them with a jeering grin.

 

“Mom!” Lily whined, blushing madly. “We’re not there yet! But maybe someday, we will.”

 

“I’m willing to bet on that.” Tom snickered, already imagining them as a married couple with both their children as stepsiblings.

 

The joyful undercurrent within the Rift was suddenly interrupted by Heimdall as the Watchman of the Æsir marched right inside with a terrified expression on his blanched-white face, looking directly at Elsa.

 

“Elsa?” He addressed her precariously and she felt her own heart rate slow down once she saw the look in his eyes. “You're gonna need to come with me.”

 

The woman in question wanted to ask why, but she felt it better to just see for herself as she followed the God of Foresight out of the Rift. Surprised, but needlessly concerned, Ming and Mei, alongside Wu, both followed Elsa close behind, both worried that it may or may not have something to do with Kris. For that purpose, Mei withheld a dark, sinking feeling in her gut that something may have happened and it intensified her worries even more the more she thought about it, resulting in perspiration to leak from her skin. She could only hope and pray to the ancestors that it wasn’t anything that bad.

 

Elsa obediently followed Heimdall out of the rift and into the hall by the bonfire and was met with a great surprise to see that her father, uncle and father-in-law were inside the hall of Valaskjálf; they were all here inside of the realm of Asgard, instead of back at the farmhouse in the real world keeping watch on her bedridden son and keeping him safe. To their credit, Morten was an explosion of surprise, excitement with childlike wonder to see the mythological realm of Asgard, home of the Norse gods was real and that the gods themselves were real, Aksel’s mood looked to be on the same caliber as his brother, but more aligned to wondering if he was still dreaming and Carl was too worried about the whereabouts and wellbeing of his grandson to even bother questioning how he’s in such a strange world.

 

They were still in their pajamas and robes, so chances were that they must’ve gone through the door in the underground temple below the farmland and got ejected into the Void via the tear opening and somehow found their way into the abode of the gods.

 

“Dad?”

 

“Professor?” Wu shared the same confusion as Elsa. “What are…..what are you….?”

 

“Loopy!” The old college professor rushed to his daughter with such amazement. “I can’t believe this! I was right! Everything is real! The gods are real and Asgard is real and we’re actually standing right in-!”

 

“DAD!” Elsa shut the old man up with an angered shout.

 

“What the hell happened to your hair?” Aksel was the first one to take in the Lee women’s change in hair color since it was no longer red the last time he saw them.

 

“Nevermind that. How did you three get here?” asked Wu, just as desperate herself for answers as to how they were here in Asgard and had left their post back at the farm in the process.

 

“We tried going through that door you guys went through and we fell through this time warp portal thing and it spat us back out.” Carl explained with a clear head.

 

Meanwhile, Morten, in stark contrast, was blabbering on like a child who just met his favorite icon. 

 

“Then Heimdall, the Watchman of the Æsir, brought us-”

 

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, okay.” Elsa cut him off, uninterested. “Look, we’ll talk about this later, alright? Now what are you guys doing here, anyway? You’re supposed to be keeping an eye on Kris.”

 

“Um, well, funny about that, you see, uh………” Sweating nervously, Morten stammered and blinked swiftly as he tried to conjure up the best explanation to accurately describe what had occurred back in the real world, but it was almost hard to come out with words since it was their responsibility to watch Kris closely and they’ve failed miserably.

 

“Well?” Ming urged the three of them, crossing her arms.

 

“The boy’s gone.” exhaled Aksel mournfully. “He’s been taken.”

 

“WHAT?!!?!?!?!!!!!!!” 

 

Elsa, Mei and Ming all collectively shrieked awestruck with the most absolute horror imaginable as their worst fears were proven correct in the most nightmarish way possible; their cacophonous and indescribably unforeseen wail of dismay echoing off the walls of the hall, nearly catching everyone’s attention, making all three old men wince and jump.

 

“HOW!? WHY!??!” Each of them demanded answers, now somewhere between terrified and furious and it was no mistake why.

 

“Mares.” Aksel forlornly explained, trying to ignore the sudden ringing in his ears from their shouting.

 

“Excuse me?” Elsa contorted her face.

 

“Mares.” The horrified and stone-faced Odin answered for him as he came forth with Frigg and Heimdall. Following suit was the He-Witch, Freya and the rest of the Lees and the Andersons.

 

“Nightmare spirits.” Frigg explained with the same face as her husband, her voice chilled and fragile. “Hel must’ve sent them after Kris’s body in the real world.”

 

“Tell stjernene mine!” Morten’s eyes were on the verge of popping out of his head when he saw the legendary King of the Æsir of Norse and Germanic mythology, religion and paganism. “Odin, All-Father! You’re real! You’re all real! I knew it!”

 

“How could you let this happen?!” The furious and perturbed Wu interrupted, scolding and reprimanding the three old men. 

 

“I’m sorry, we fell asleep and we tried-” Morten tried to explain themselves, but Wu wasn’t having any of it. They had stayed behind to keep watch on Kris’s comatose body back at the farmhouse and now because of them, the Goddess of Death no doubt has her hands on him.

 

“You had one job! ONE JOB!!!” Wu roared at them with her pale cheeks alternating into a crimson red glow, now shaking Morten by his shirt. “Now because of you, that madwoman has him!”

 

“What madwoman? Who?” Carl asked, completely lost. “What the hell is going on here?”

 

“No time to explain.” With a curt shake of her head, Elsa whipped around and stormed over to the All-Father with the cutthroat energy of a mother bear. “Call your ravens and get me down there! Right now!”

 

“Wait, Elsa….” Odin tried to dissuade her, but it was no use. She was on the warpath now and it was futile stopping her.

 

“I SAID NOW!!!” She ordered with fire in her eyes.

 

“But Elsa, what if you can’t find them in time? What if you don’t make it?” The Queen of Asgard stepped in next to try to talk the desperate woman out of diving straight into the afterlife all willy-nilly.

 

“I don’t care. That’s my boy down there.” The hot-headed Norwegian woman would not be reasoned with now. 

 

“Elsa-” Morten attempted.

 

“But if you’re going down there, I’m going with you.” Mei meandered over to her side, taking her by the arm.

 

“And so am I.” Ming agreed, taking Elsa’s other arm.

 

Odin and the other gods and goddesses in the room, matching the concern of Elsa and Mei’s family members, were all hesitant to allow them to enter Helheim knowing full well of the consequences that await them there with danger around every corner. It was a reckless decision, no doubt about it. But Elsa’s son was in danger now and both his body and his soul were stuck down there in the afterworld held captive by Hel so they were gonna have to take a leap of faith.

 

“Very well. But I’m sending straight back here in the next four hours. No more, no less. I’m not letting anyone else risk their own lives.” Odin strictly reminded her and Elsa gave a grunt in response.

 

Ming then suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder and she saw her mother giving her a fearful look like she was about to talk her out of her decision as well, but she didn’t. She reluctantly backed down and gave her a nod, letting her know she has faith in her.

 

“Be careful.” Was the only thing she could say to her out of maternal concern for daughter.

 

Quite unexpected coming from her, but Ming took it nevertheless. She was partly glad Wu was letting her make her own decisions, even if those decisions may be costly. So with everything settled, Odin called forth his ravens and with their orders given, Huginn and Muninn showered the three women in a flurry of black feathers and a symphony of cawing and crowing, much to the surprise of the three old men who had been unaware of the events that took place up to this moment.

 

“Efri-lá!” Odin shouted his spell.

 

“Hylja!” Then the He-Witch.

 

In a matter of seconds, the feathers vanished along with them, leaving a rather sizable margin of bewilderment for the old geezers. The He-Witch was gone as well, his curse had sent him back to his home in Niflheim. Aksel and Carl were both wide-eyed and robbed of their breath when they saw Elsa, Mei and Ming no longer there. Carl even waved his arm around in the spot they were in, wondering if it all had been some kind of staged magic trick. Though, it clearly wasn’t.

 

“How the fuck…..?” He gasped, unsure how to believe his own eyes. “Tell me that didn’t just happen.”

 

“Aye, it did.” Mímir agreed, much to the old men’s disbelief.

 

“Now there’s a talking head….” Aksel looked like he'd seen it all.

 

---

 

The cawing had ceased and the feather unveiled their field of vision.

 

Elsa gasped as soon as she, Mei and Ming were taken straight to the realm of the deceased. Because of the unbearable cold, Huginn and Muninn both disappeared back to their master.

 

For the moment being, they all got a good look of the frozen environment around where they stood where it was devoid of life, sunlight and everything was covered in thick, brick-layers of glacial ice. And there was a severe lack of flora and fauna as this is, of course, the afterlife. Thanks to the magic, they weren’t freezing since it was deathly cold out here.

 

“So this is where they go after they die?” asked Ming enthusiastically. “Not really what I expected. It’s like an immense polar cap. Only no polar bears.”

 

“And where are all the…..dead people?” Mei asked, looking around but also afraid of actually coming across any at all.

 

“Nevermind, let’s just try to find the boys first.” Elsa started down the path, hoping to find her son and others before something bad happens. “They said Hel lives in the darkest part of Helheim, if we can find it.”

 

The three fearless women stayed close together as they tried their luck with one particular path, but the truth was that they’re unsure of where they were even heading specifically since they didn’t have the compass to help guide them and light their way. And they had nothing to defend themselves with against any threats that befalls their path, so they were basically sitting ducks.

 

“How did Kris end up here in the first place?” Mei wondered aloud, looking scared. “He was probably freezing down here and plus, there were probably a lot of dead people trying to get him.”

 

“Hel wouldn’t have let that happen.” Elsa shook her head.

 

“Loopy?” Ming giggled, in spite of their situation.

 

“What did your parents call you? Ming-Ming?” snarked Elsa.

 

“Hey, that’s personal.” Ming remarked defensively.

 

The eerie silence with the additional howling of the frigid winds was beginning to put them on edge. For Elsa, it was no different than hiking through the Canadian wilderness during the winter in the Yukon. If the forest was covered in thick ice, that is. 

 

However, although there no Hel-walkers, corpses or even wandering spirits to be seen anywhere as they went on, if they were standing still and remaining silent, there could be the sounds of restless wailing, screams of agony and even vile mutilation that would imprint graphic, unspeakable imagery on your brain if you even tried to picture what the sounds were in your head. 

 

Too explicit and illicit for even a 14-year old like Mei to even imagine and it left her feeling that something horrible was waiting for them.

 

Ming held her close when she felt her getting unnerved. 

 

What a terrible, terrible place this was. 

 

If this where those who had committed wrongdoings in life go after they pass on, then the things they see and hear there are just enough to traumatize you into turning your life around for the greater good, lest you face the worst kind of punishment imaginable far worse than death itself.

 

If Kris had the thought of coming here, then he must truly think he’s a nobody. And Ming’s really done a good job of convincing him of that.

 

They stopped.

 

And listened.

 

It sounded like……..neighing.

 

Echoing, ghostly neighing sounds from all around them.

 

Perturbed, they looked and looked and looked in all several directions around their locality and so far, nothing. However, Elsa felt an icy chill go up her spine, but not from the cold of Helheim, but saw it a meter away from them, eyeing them scornfully with those red eyes from afar as it watched their every move.

 

A single mare was on the prowl and Elsa sweated, her heart rate speeding up and her skin tingling like crazy. 

 

On the contrary, it wasn’t alone.

 

Looking all around them, the women all felt their throats run dry and their blood hit ten degrees below zero, but not enough to surpass the boreal temperature of the unliving realm. They were surrounded. Mares were all around them at every corner of their eyes, aiming their venomous eyes directly at them like a pack of wolves ready to advance on a target prey together.

 

“Mares.” gasped Elsa shakily.

 

“Are they the ones who took Kris?” Ming was so close to making a run for it with her daughter.

 

But then before any one of them had that chance, the mares sprung into action, full-on charging at the three human mortals in the center of the kill circle, each and every one of them sprinting towards them with their chilling neighs all at once and instinct gripped the three tightly with an iron grip and gave them the impulse to all run for their lives and they did so without hesitation. They just ran into one arbitrary direction to try and shake them, but in no time at all, the mares were gaining on them. The women started splitting apart from each other in their haste of panic and before they knew it, the mares closed on each.

 

Their neighing echoed as Ming felt her entire vision cloud up with a blanket of darkness and she stopped, trying to slow her breathing. Initially, there was nothing before her eyes anywhere, no matter where she leveled her view. It was like the world around her had vanished without a trace, like the very darkness had swallowed her up whole. But then she started hearing something.

 

Something vaguely familiar to her.

 

Like an old haunt.

 

“You oughta be ashamed of yourself, mister. Thinking she could ever be your friend.”

 

“That’s it! No more talk about Mr. Bengtsson in this house! Ever!”

 

“I should’ve done this a long time ago. You’re fired, Mr. Bengtsson.”

 

Oh no.

 

Memories. And not great ones.

 

Finally the darkness had quelled and she found herself in a new location, not in the cold realm of the dead anymore. But someplace she knew all too well.

 

She was standing right outside a certain area back in Toronto just right outside of the SkyDome arena in the middle of the night. The signs were lit up and 4*Town advertising searchlights lit up in the sky and the building was decorated with giant banners of each member of that boy band her daughter loved. The only thing was struck as odd was the peculiar lack of people. You’d think this place would be crowded with screaming fans. There wasn’t another single soul around to be seen and she was the only person out there. The place was deserted. And looking skyward………the full moon was scarlet red.

 

At that instant, it hit her harder than a mallet to the skull as her eyes widened and her breath came in hyperventilation.

 

This was that exact night.

 

The same night as that ritual seven months ago.

 

The same night where Ming had gone full red panda kaiju on that concert that Mei was desperate to go to.

 

The same night where Ming had attacked and terrified a bunch of those innocent people who were only there to have a fun time seeing their favorite band on stage.

 

The same night where she pushed Kris to the brink of insanity, goaded him into beating her up as the God of Thunder and ruined his birthday altogether.

 

“Wha-…….I........How is……?” Ming struggled to find her words, before it ruptured against her ear drums and almost made her wish it wasn’t what she thought it was. “This can’t be.”

 

“MEI-MEI!!!”

 

“No……” She exhaled, horrorstruck. It was gravely so. That was her own voice.

 

Only it was louder and like a raucous clap of thunder as if the gods above were casting their righteous fury down onto the worthless mortals.

 

And with it, deafening booming thuds quaked the ground like giant footsteps, nearly making her lose her balance.

 

And when she looked behind her…….

 

………as bravely……

 

………and as humanly wary as possible,.......

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

……….her pupils shrank to the size of peas when she gulped, craning her neck upwards and that icy fear gripped her heart even tighter than before. It couldn’t be. It shouldn’t be. The perspiration painted her skin, which had been drained of its color from her face and she had no consonance and no words to perfectly express the terror she felt right now.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

The gigantic, 60 to 70 ft. tall red panda kaiju beast stomped, stalked and marched tumultuously and intimidatingly forward looking tantamount to a rampaging Godzilla storming through the city preparing to leave a wake of destruction, terror and even death if need be.

 

Ming didn’t need to say it out loud with her words, but it was fairly obvious.

 

It……..it was her.

 

And it looked down upon the human below her and glowered dangerously with a fanged, grit-toothed snarl.

 

“You!!!!!!!”

 

So with that, Ming did the only thing she could think to do in a situation like this. She ran like hell, like her very life depended on it and in a way, that's how it seemed at the moment, being chased by the skyscraper-sized red panda version of herself. By now, she was beginning to see why everyone at the concert was so afraid of her because now she was put in the shoes of an average spectator witnessing the kaiju attack.

 

With no other place to go, Ming impulsively ran toward the SkyDome in the hopes of finding someplace to hide inside like a bathroom or a janitor’s closet to escape her other wrathful self. Once she was at the doors, she stopped for a moment and looked to see her other self was still chasing after her……

 

……..even crushing the sign outside the arena under her giant foot on the way over. 

 

The same way she did that night.

 

“What the actual FUCK is wrong with you?!?!?” Ming couldn’t help but scream in anger at her red panda self’s lack of care and/or awareness of her own destructive behavior.

 

Is she actually trying to get herself in trouble with the authorities?!

 

What an ironic development this was. Here she is on the receiving end of her reckless rampage, experiencing that fateful night from a different perspective. By now, she finally understood how everyone else felt dealing with her, especially when she was THAT big.

 

Bolting inside without a second to spare, Ming gasped and choked on her own spit when she now stood right in the very center of the arena, right where the concert took place and she was still the only person there. Not even the band was there up on stage.

 

---

 

“Mom? Elsa?” Mei called out, lost and alone and disoriented in the darkness. “Anybody? Hello?”

 

As she tried her best to make sense of where she was at the moment, the veil of darkness gave way and her surroundings were different than they were before. She gasped at how familiar it looked to her.

 

The night sky, the mansion and the basketball hoop.

 

This was Tyler’s place. On the same night of his party no less.

 

The night Mei dreaded remembering.

 

“This can’t be.” She said in denial.

 

And yet it was. There she thought were her friends - Miriam, Priya and Abby - all standing there looking solemn and hurt.

 

“Girls! Miriam! Priya! Abby!” As much as she tried to get their attention, they didn’t acknowledge her at all. They showed no such reaction at all. “Guys, it’s me! Meilin Lee! Your best friend!”

 

But no matter what, none of them moved a single muscle or made a single peep. To Mei on a surface level, it’s like they were ignoring her. And honestly, why wouldn’t they? Mei threw them under the bus back at the party.

 

“Well, well, well.” 

 

Mei stiffened as soon as she heard the sound of her own voice next to her. She looked and there she was, the opposite version of her who looked exactly like she used to look before the SkyDome incident. The combed black hair with the barretts, the round-rimmed glasses, the red button-up sweater, the blue skirt, leggings and so on. And all while, she was smirking at Mei.

 

“What a mess you’ve really made of yourself.” The other Mei said tauntingly, casually sauntering over.

 

“W-Who are you?” The real Mei demanded backing away, a little creeped out.

 

“Isn’t it obvious? I’m you.” answered her doppelgänger, a smug grin plastered on her face. “At least a better, more perfect and more outstanding version of you.”

 

Words couldn’t describe how horrified Mei was right now. They’ve been attacked by a violent black bear, a clan of berserkers, a swamp monster, a swarm of mares and now here she was face-to-face with a representation of the so-called ‘perfect image’ persona her mother’s been desperately trying to instill in her.

 

---

 

She couldn’t see her own hand in front of her face, but when she finally could, Elsa found herself not in Helheim, but rather back home. But how? How the hell was suddenly back home? And what was she doing there? None of this felt right.

 

“The hell is this?” She asked no one in particular.

 

Suddenly, there came the sound of glass shattering from upstairs. 

 

Fearing the worst, she knew in her heart it was something that wasn’t unfamiliar to her at all. And against her better judgment, she meekly climbed the steps and approached the door to her bedroom. The sounds had stopped when she got close, but she didn’t have the strength to even reach for the knob. However, this didn’t stop what happened next.

 

BAM! BAM!

 

Elsa jumped back with her heartbeat picking up, now thumping against her chest with the rhythm of a kick drum that wasn’t as loud as the loud banging that pounded against the wood of the door. Somebody was obviously in there. And whoever it was, it wasn’t in a pleasant mood. Yet for some obvious reason lingering in her brain, something about this whole situation reminded Elsa of something fretful in the past that she’s been trying to forget and trying to make up for.

 

However, Elsa probably would've had every chance to just walk away had the door not been flung right open, leaving the helpless and mouth-agaped woman to be standing face-to-face with herself.

 

Only a much angrier, slovenly and sozzled version of herself, undeniably drunk and holding a dead-giveaway beer can in her hand.

 

“Who the-Who the fuck are you?” Her alternate self snarled, advancing toward her. “Come to take something else away from me?”

 

“What? No! I-!” Elsa defended, backing away.

 

“Get out!”

 

Elsa didn’t see where she was backing up against and it sure wasn’t the wall, because as her zonked self thundered at her, Elsa was inched precariously toward the top of the stairs until was hanging by her tippy-toes and with her balance unexpectedly gone, the poor woman was sent tumbling painfully down the steps, groaning in agony.

 

Thankfully in stark contrast to that certain event where this occurred, nothing was left broken.

 

However, things for her were only getting worse.

 

“You worthless little cunt!”

 

---

 

Stig fought against the leafless roots, vines and creepers, ripping them off of his body in anger and a desperate attempt to free himself. He jostled about in his earthly restraints with unflagging resolve until at last, he fell straight to the floor. The impact hurt his knees and hands a bit, but at least he was free.

 

But right now, he got up to get a look around. Roar and Rudolf were nowhere to be seen. It was just him in this dark and foreboding hallway with billions upon billions of other hallways that could lead to anywhere. But this development was the least of his issues at the moment. He was still in pieces over the fact that they'd found Kris’s body and not his soul. If that’s the case, then it seems like Morten and the other two had done a poor job of keeping watch on Kris back in the real world. And now here he was as Hel’s zombified companion. But they’ve found his body, so hopefully reuniting him with his soul should be smooth sailing from there. The only trouble was that they still needed to find Kris’s soul. And if Hel’s keeping the body with her, then chances are they won’t find the soul anywhere in her dark castle, because otherwise, that would risk the two forces becoming one again to quickly and she’s not about to let that happen anytime soon.

 

So by now, the plan is as follows; they just try to force Hel to give Kris’s body back to them and take it with them while they search the rest of the realm for his soul. Although, pissing off the Goddess of Death will not be without its consequences, but Stig is willing to take that chance. He’s not leaving Helheim without him. Now first, he needs to locate Roar and Rudolf somewhere and then they will have to find the body.

 

Unfortunately, the Light of Alfheim of the compass started flickering again, much more frantically like a lightbulb.

 

“No, no, no, no.” Stig begged and pleaded, not wanting to lose his only source.

 

But within seconds, the light was out, leaving him the jet black darkness all around him, much to his imminent frustration.

 

“Terrific.”

 

How’s he gonna find his way back to them now or even out of the hall for that matter? He’s gonna have to try and rely on his instincts and his wits in order to navigate through the dark.

 

“Roar? Rudolf?” He called, feeling his way through as he started down the hallway.

 

But without the compass’s light, it was nigh difficult to see where he was even going, even though it didn’t mean he wasn’t completely blind in the dark as he could still make out the interior architectural design of the halls around him. And the still and uneasy silence in the hall was disrupted regularly by a few sounds near and far. More heinous sounds like dismemberment, stabbing and the nerve-racking screams and anguished wails of throes and excruciation.

 

Perhaps a countless overabundance of disturbed and woebegone damned souls forever trapped in their own purgatories, stuck in an endless time loop where they are forced to relive either the same manner in which they died or repeat the worst sin they’ve ever committed in life over and over again for all eternity.

 

Like this place was a giant prison for those without honor and Hel was the warden.

 

Although as he thought it over, it’s really no wonder why Hel was what she was now. Being stuck down here as the queen of the dead in a dark and empty castle with labyrinthine hallways and corridors with almost nothing and nobody there to keep you company, forced to listen to the woes and ceaseless pain of the dead.

 

In that scenario, Stig would probably go a little crazy, too.

 

“♫ ~ Hello, my baby
Hello, my honey
Hello, my ragtime gal ~ ♫”

 

Stig froze as an icy fear clutched his heart when that familiar tune reached his ears and with it, came that nostalgic feeling. As if he were in a trance, he followed the sound down one concourse where there was a light up ahead and the music only got louder and louder as he got ever so closer.

 

“♫ ~ Send me a kiss by wire
Baby, my heart’s on fire! ~ ♫”

 

Stig didn’t know how to react.

 

As he got close enough to the light, he saw that it was the light of a television screen illuminating up a strangely familiar room. One reminiscent of a room from his………old childhood home. And sitting there on the couch in front of the TV………

 

……was the younger version of himself staring blankly and unblinkingly at the screen as if hypnotized.

 

“♫ ~ If you refuse me,
Honey, you lose me
Then, you’ll be left alone

Oh, baby
Telephone and tell me I’m your own! ~ ♫”

 

Without intention or reason, this entire scene before him made Stig think back to the moments of his dark childhood. The times where his parents would stick him in front of the television and put on shows for him to watch. But of course, looking back now, this was just simply a diversion tactic. 

 

A method of keeping him out of the way so they won’t have to deal with him, to keep him in a passive state so that he wouldn’t bother them with his childish needs.

 

And the show playing on the TV screen currently was the Looney Tunes, which were a classic favorite of his as a child. 

 

Listening to Michigan J. Frog sing and dance, watching Wile E. Coyote try and fail to capture and eat the Roadrunner, the battle of wits between Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd, among many others that kept the boy entertained while his parents plunged themselves into their own business without having to worry about the constraints and toils of parenthood.

 

After the song ended, the screen went off in static and he looked to see that his younger self vanished into thin air. 

 

Stig gasped, looking all around for him, but could see him.

 

Then from out of the darkness behind the television set came a pair of gangly hands that suddenly grabbed at the TV and threw it at Stig, who screamed and dodged out of the way. Stig’s heart sped up like a marathon as a face poked out into view from the deadly shade. The face of a woman with long hair and a demonic grin on her lips. It was his mother.

 

“Look at you. All grown up.” She said derisively. “Our little freeloader is living his life while we get to lose ours. Ironic. And all of it could’ve been avoided if you…..if you just stayed the fuck out of the way like a good little rugrat. We could’ve finally been free. Free from all your crying and bitching and whining and wanting and needing. But now, here your father and I are after burning alive in a fiery wreck AND IT’S ALL YOUR FAULT!!!!!!!!”

 

At that last part which she thundered out with the fury of a swarm of hornets, her youthful-looking face turned grisly and more like she were malicious, scaring Stig away down the hall as she suddenly gave chase.

 

“Come back here!”

 

---

 

“You guys? Where are you? Hello!” Roar called out over and over, trying to see a familiar shape in the darkness that looked like one of his friends after being separated from them, but there was no telling what he would even be able to find in these gloomy and crepuscular corridors.

 

He had been marching through the halls for what seemed like 20 or so minutes and he still hadn't found a single person in sight yet. Not even another soul or another dead body, thankfully.

 

“This is so funny.” He sighed.

 

What luck is he even gonna have here? 

 

He didn’t even have the compass. Stig had it last. But even still, Hel already pointed out the lack of light’s existence in this part of Helheim, so Stig was bound to be wandering aimlessly through the darkness at this rate. But suddenly, he thought he could feel a presence near him.

 

“Stig?” He turned, hoping it was him. But it wasn’t. There was nobody there.

 

Then there it was again, zipping behind him unnoticed. Roar looked and looked, but nobody could be seen as far as he could tell. Within reason, he tried to make sense of this whole situation. Perhaps he was just seeing and feeling things that weren’t actually there. The logical part of his brain remembered when the He-Witch warned them that Helheim tends to play tricks on your mind.

 

Yeah, that’s what it was. All he can try to do is ignore it. Nothing can hurt him if he didn’t acknowledge its presence or its existence for that matter.

 

“Amsel.”

 

No.

 

No, it can’t be.

 

It can’t be……….him.

 

“Thought I couldn’t find you again, didn’t you?” 

 

Roar didn’t want to, but every fiber of his being was useless against it as it made him turn to see the pernicious face of that filthy, booze-guzzling, foul-mouthed Neo-Nazi uncle of his who was supposed to be locked up in a federal prison somewhere far, far away where he couldn’t be any trouble to him anymore. And yet, here he was standing vitriolically before him with a broken beer bottle in his white-knuckled fist.

 

“Uncle Franz?”

 

“You know you’d be lost without me.” Franz grinned a sick smile. “But I’m more lost with my little liebchen. Who else is gonna shine my shoes, make my meals and light my cigars for me. Not even a smelly little jail cell is gonna keep me away from- ”

 

Too terrified to listen, Roar took off running from him. Franz even grabbed at him to try and stop him, but was too late.

 

“Hey! Get your ass back over here! Lauf nicht vor mir davon, du kleiner Scheißer!”

 

---

 

“Hey, wake up! Boy, wake up! Get up! Hello! Snap out of it! Wakey-wakey!” 

 

Ratatoskr was trying to slap Rudolf away after getting himself knocked unconscious. Rudolf had been lying on the floor and the squirrel crawled out of the backpack to try and bring him around. After a few annoying seconds of being smacked in the face over and over, the boy had already regained consciousness and was getting sick of the tree squirrel slapping at his face.

 

“I’m awake! I’m awake already!” Rudolf shot himself up, knocking the talking animal off.

 

“Oh thank Yggdrasil’s roots, boy. You gave us quite a scare.” sighed Ratatoskr with relief, climbing back on top of him. “Another minute and you could’ve been dead meat. I mean, we are in the land of death, after all.”

 

“Never you mind. Let’s find the others.” Rudolf picks him up and the World Tree squirrel hides himself underneath the boy’s winter cap. “We couldn't have gotten far.”

 

“Quite right, quite right.” agreed Ratatoskr.

 

So now it was time to try and navigate through this headache-inducing sinuous network of unlit, twisting, winding and zigzagging corridors which would only take a miracle to find your way around that simply. Rudolf was never a fan of mazes as it was easy for him to get lost. It was difficult to know which way you're going and where you’ve been previously. And this all stems from that corn maze he and his moms went one October. 

 

He unknowingly broke apart from his parents going down one random pathway and got lost trying to look for a way out, only to find himself going deeper and deeper into the maze without realizing it. His moms helped him out by having him follow the sounds of their voices, to which he had to walk a straight line to them through the corn.

 

You could say that was one way of beating a corn maze, even if it counts as cheating. But Rudolf’s been wandering those impossible twisting pathways for what felt like an eternity.

 

“Wow, there’s a lot of hallways in the place.” Rudolf mentioned wonderingly. “It’s amazing how anyone can get anywhere around here.”

 

“You’re in the afterlife, sonny. The afterlife is endless.” The talking squirrel explained to him. “You’re a needle and this is the haystack.”

 

Unbeknownst to them, there was a dark figure creeping around where they were, slinking from one dark passageway to another. If there were any light to shine light on the reflective surfaces of mirrors in this place, you could just make out the glint of steel on the weapon clenched in its hand.

 

Like a knife.

 

“Okay, joke’s over, guys. Time to come out.” Rudolf kept trying to call out for them, but as he swiveled around to try and catch a glimpse of someone he knew, there was, however, someone that he saw.

 

Standing there in the dark. 

 

A silhouette of a masculine figure with a hoodie with the hood over his head. Features were naturally indiscernible, but Rudolf could very much see their eyes, which were glowing like two diamonds, bringing out that spectral visage about them. And in their hand, something that looked sharp and ready to pierce something in a horrific fashion.

 

“Hello………?” With reservation, Rudolf attempted to call out to the unknown figure in the distance, but Ratatoskr frenetically shushed him.

 

“Shhh! Don’t do that!” He warned him. “Don’t you know better than that?”

 

“Why? What’s the-” Rudolf down the hallway again and froze in his words to see that the figure wasn’t there anymore. “......problem?”

 

Where did it go?

 

“Ahhhhhhhh-hhhhhhhhhhh!”

 

That scream. 

 

That horrible, violent, blood-curdling scream that erupted abruptly from the still silence just right next to Rudolf and he was caught by the element of surprise when the same figure appeared from out of nowhere, screaming and howling like a psychotic madman lacking all the mental inhibitions and self restraints any descent, normal person would and should have.

 

The dark, hooded man had a face that was unrecognizable and his features were shrouded in dark mystery, yet his mouth and eyes were still visible like a bogeyman popping out of the sanctity of the closet.

 

He came at Rudolf with a sharp knife, trying too hard to stab him to death. However, Rudolf was ready for it this time unlike the last time this happened to him as he dodged and ducked from each swing of the sharp weapon in the dark man’s cold hand until he held the boy down on the ground and raised the knife high above his head ready for the killing blow until Ratatoskr jumped upon the assailant’s face, clawing and biting at it and forcing it to drop the knife, giving Rudolf the opportunity to escape.

 

He kicked at the man right where the sun don’t shine and shoved him right off with as much of his strength he could gather in his fight for his life. Whilst the man was scrambling to the floor groaning, Rudolf took that moment to make a run for it with Ratatoskr scampering off with him.

 

“I told you not to draw attention!” The squirrel chided.

Notes:

The ritual had worked! The Lee woman can now transform at will without worrying about having to keep their emotions bottled up.

However, things have only gotten worse before they could get better as they are now aware of what's happened with Kris's body back in the real world. And Elsa's done playing it save. She wants her boy back as soon as possible, even if it'll land her in more danger. Luckily, she has Mei and Ming by her side. Unfortunately, the mares have been waiting for them and now they (mostly Mei and Ming) need to confront and defeat one last enemy: themselves.

And now the boys are facing a similar situation to theirs, being tormented by shadows of their traumatic pasts.

Next Chapter: Everyone manages to fend off their inner demons. However, a frost phantom attacks the women and its there that they realize who this violent apparition really is.

Next Update: June 2, 2023

Chapter 22: Life Finds A Way

Summary:

Everyone manages to fend off their inner demons. However, a frost phantom attacks the women and its there that they realize who this violent apparition really is.

Notes:

Disclaimer: Turning Red and it’s characters are the property of (c) Walt Disney Pictures/Pixar Animation Studios.

Elements are borrowed from God of War (2018) and Ragnarök, owned by (c) Santa Monica Studio/Sony Interactive Entertainment

C/W: Injuries, stabbing, blood, decapitation, murder and gun violence

“Don’t you dare run from your mother!” 

 

That figure that was once his mother wasn’t giving up that easily. Stig ran and ran from one twisting hall to another to evade his shadow specter posing as his dead mother. He definitely doesn’t remember her being this scary in his life, but then again, he was very young when they died so he doesn’t have that great of a memory of how awful his parents behaved around him. His heart raced and his skin sweated, but he didn’t stop for any reason.

 

He did, however, stop when he stumbled on it and it made him tingle and quiver.

 

It was the car wreckage still burning in a fiery inferno which had claimed his parents’ lives that day. The same 1990 Renault 25 V6 TX Auto that was flipped upside down, the left side of the hood smashed and dented, its left headlamp shattered and all windows broken as it burned wilder than a bonfire before his very eyes.

 

Stig’s breath hitched feverishly and when he turned to shut out the horrible sight, he was faced with a worser one. 

 

This mother was standing right there next to his father. Both of them looked severely and unrecognizably burned like sausage links roasted on a barbecue.

 

“Do you know what it’s like burning alive?” asked the apparition of his father rhetorically with a blank face and an empty voice. “The flames spreading along your body, burning and melting your flesh, oxygen leaving your lungs as you roast like a fucking turkey in a fucking oven with no way out and no hope of survival.”

 

Then the two burn victims grabbed the stunned boy by his arms tightly.

 

“And now it’s YOUR turn.” His mother grinned malevolently.

 

The goth boy gasped when they started to drag him towards the burning car with the intention of sending him to a similar fate as theirs so they can watch him as he burns alive just as they did. They cackled sinisterly as they carried their son over to the wreck, but Stig began fighting against their grip just as his body was nearing the flames. Stig and his parents fought each other with the dead mother and father struggling to force their son into the fire and Stig desperately trying to free himself from their hold on him.

 

After deciding enough was enough, fed up with being their butt monkey, Stig kicked at his mother’s leg with enough force to snap it into two which finally made her release her hold as she howled in pain. Then he sharply elbowed his father in the face, knocking him down as well. With them at last having let go, Stig jumped in front of the wreckage, whipped out the longbow and aimed an arrow at them.

 

In response, his mother tried bringing out a sensitive side to Stig in order to fool him back into her grasp.

 

“We’re sorry, baby. Come give mommy a hug.” She begged.

 

But Stig knew she was faking and he wasn’t going to fall for any more tricks.

 

“No.”

 

Then he launched the arrow right at the car as both parents looked on in horror at what was about to happen.

 

“Blæst.”

 

KA-BOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!

 

The ensuing explosion blasted the entire wreck to smithereens, obliterating the entire car and incinerating both Stig’s parents into oblivion and Stig found him blown back a meter away from the explosion’s powerful force. Once he sat back up to see if it had worked, he saw that there was nothing there anymore. The car had vanished and there were human-sized piles of ashes where his parents used to be, indicating that this whole situation must’ve been in his head. A trick of the mind. 

 

And he could deduce that Hel was behind this.

 

---

 

“I’m gonna get you, fucker! You can’t hide from me!”

 

Roar fought control over his panting from all the running trying to stay hidden behind a column away from his prowling uncle. If that really was him. He needed to steady his breathing if he was going to make it out of this alive. God, he really hoped he wouldn’t ever see his ugly face ever again. He swore that the very last time he would see him was when he was tasered by the police, handcuffed from behind his back and forced into a police cruiser, kicking, fighting and screaming obscenities all the while.

 

Not hiding from him behind a column inside the hall of the Goddess of Death in the Nordic version of the realm of the dead.

 

Taking his chances after no longer hearing him, Roar carefully peered out from one side of the column and was almost relieved to see he wasn’t anywhere to be seen.

 

At least, that’s what he thought.

 

Roar was caught by surprise when he was grabbed from behind and thrown to the ground by his dearest uncle, who snorted like a raging bull, raising the broken glass bottle like it were a kitchen knife.

 

“All you had to do was stay in line and do exactly as you’re told when you’re told.” Franz hissed. “If you had kept your damn mouth shut, I wouldn’t be rotting in a prison cell, eating slop everyday. Now you’re gonna pay for selling me out to the cops.”

 

Franz climbed on top of him as Roar tried to get back and run, but was placed in a painful position where his arm was twisted from behind him to keep him from moving again. 

 

And now the sharp, broken points of the bottle were poking at his cheek, ready to pierce and puncture holes in his face if one false move was made.

 

“Any last words, Amsel?”

 

Roar was sick of that annoying connotation. His uncle talking to him like an obedient little pet, it was really starting to get on his last nerves.

 

“Go eat shit.” He snarled.

 

“Come again?” Franz dared intimidatingly.

 

“I said ‘Geh und iss Scheiße’!” Roar screamed this time in German, opening his hand to summon the ax.

 

“Oh, finally grew a pair, I see? Too bad I gotta cut ‘em off you!” This made the vision of his uncle steaming mad and he was about ready to ruin his face with the broken bottle.

 

But unfortunately for him and fortunately enough for Roar, the ax came flying at the two in a sharp beeline toward Roar’s calling hand and because Franz was in the way, the magic armament embedded itself into his back. He screamed in pain and this allowed Roar to shove him off. 

 

But despite his agony, Franz growled and tried going for a stab at his face, but the boy caught his wrist in time and ripped the bottle from his hand.

 

“Aaaaaahhhhhhhrrrrrrrrrrrrgggggggggg-gggguuuu-uuugghhhh!!!!!!”

 

And then…….he plunged the sharp end of the beer bottle straight down into Franz’s left eye, sinking it deep into his socket, spurting a gruesome crimson fountain of blood from the wound and Franz screamed in the greatest margin of pain anyone’s ever felt.

 

Roar fought back the nauseating feeling in his stomach from the bottle wedged deep into his bleeding eye as he returned to his feet to rip the ax out of his back and then, with his eyes closed, he raised the ax high and shot it back down onto his uncle’s neck, chopping Franz’s head clean off.

 

He didn’t want to look. The head was sitting right there with the beer bottle still wedged in it and the headless body slump to the ground, spilling a large quantity of blood, forming a dark haunting color of red.

 

When he summoned the courage to check the corpse, he saw nothing but a pile of ashes where it used to be.

 

Roar took control over himself, trying not to remember what just happened or what he just did in order to survive.

 

But this was his uncle just now and he was trying to kill him.

 

He had no other choice.

 

“Roar! There you are!” He looked up to see Stig rushing over to him. And the two reunited friends shared a hug.

 

“Thank god I found you!” The goth boy cried. “You’ll never believe what I just went through.”

 

“You? My uncle just tried to kill me.” Roar told him frightfully.

 

“None of it’s real, Roar. It’s just a trick.” Stig reminded him like a sage. “Now let’s find Rudolf, grab Kris and get outta here.”

 

“But Hel’s not just gonna let him go.” reasoned Roar, grabbing the ax. “She probably won’t even let us go.”

 

“Yeah? Well, we’re gonna force her to give him back and let us go. One way or another.” Stig strapped the Bifröst longbow to himself as the boys started down the hallway together.  “And when we find a way outta here, we’ll just try the compass again. Besides, the clock’s ticking fast. There’s not much time left.”

 

“Uh, good point and all, but are sure you wanna risk pissing off the Goddess of Death?” Roar hesitantly asked matter-of-factly since that plan sounds a bit too dicey.

 

“For Kris’s life, I’m willing to take the chance.” Stig was more than determined.

 

“Okay.”

 

“Now where the hell is Rudolf anyway?” Stig asked aloud as they began to search for their other friend.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

“AAAAAAHHHHH! DON’T STAB ME!" Rudolf came sprinting down from hall to another just a hair in front of them with Ratatoskr gripping onto his coat.

 

“Yeah, that sounds about right.” Roar nodded knowingly.

 

“Rudolf!” Stig shouted as they chased after the fleeing boy.

 

---

 

Elsa hid from her violently drunk counterpart in the kitchen underneath the table cloth while the other Elsa skulked unsteadily around with her beer bottle clutched threateningly in her hand, spilling some of its contents on the floor. 

 

“Oh, you’re gonna run and hide from me now?” Her dopplegänger taunted with a hiss. “How profound. That’s like running from yourself. I know you’re in here. Why don’t you come on out and have a drink with me? Huh? It’s what you do best anyway.”

 

Elsa seethed from her hiding spot.

 

She’s been trying to avoid alcohol for a long time since the incident, but now that she thought about it, she did fall back into her past habits during the seven months after the concert fiasco. And now she’s been tempted by her drunken self with more booze like it’s the only thing that matters to her.

 

No.

 

It was not.

 

Her family mattered. Her sons mattered. Kris mattered.

 

And she’s not about to let him down again.

 

“Because it always hurts to know that you could've been there to save his life and yet, you were not. And now your little boy’s gonna die just like he did in the same way that he lived. A total chump.”

 

And that sparked Elsa’s fuse. Time to smack the filth out of the booze jockey’s mouth. Waiting for the moment, Elsa sneakily slithered out from under the table and snatched up a chair just as her counterpart had her back turned and while she was chugging that beer, Elsa inched closer and raised the chair high before smacking it against the other Elsa, breaking it against her and knocking her flat on the floor.

 

Taking a second to catch her breath, Elsa sneered at her fallen dopplegänger with venomous hate and spat at her.

 

However, her victory was short-lived as the imposter grabbed at Elsa’s legs as she tried to walk away, sending her to the ground. 

 

“Ungrateful pig!” She snarled at her, now climbing on top of her, grabbing at her shirt with fury, forcing the helpless woman to stare into the flaming pupils of her duplicate. “You hit me?! YOU HIT ME!? The fucking nerve you’ve got! Here, take your fucking medicine, you slut!”

 

Then the other Elsa grabbed a glass bottle of vodka, opened it up and then stuffed it into Elsa’s mouth, dumping all of it down her throat by force. Elsa’s throat burned from the acidic, sour and strong taste of alcohol as she started to drown on it, trying to reject the hard beverage, most of it spilled out of her mouth in the process all over the floor.

 

“Happy hour, bit-!"

 

POW!

 

Elsa’s fist flew right into her violent counterpart’s face, then she ripped the bottle out of her mouth, spitting and unloading all of the horrid vodka out of her mouth, coughing and hacking before socking her duplicate in the face a second time, much harder than the first one and the imposter was back on the floor, bleeding from her mouth and her nose.

 

“You’re done getting between me and my boy!” And with that, Elsa slammed the glass bottle onto her other self’s head really hard enough to shatter the bottle painfully against her noggin, knocking her out completely. The blunt force of the impact caused her head to tear open, causing blood to spurt from the exposed wound.

 

Elsa just sat there, eyeing the lifeless body of her otherwise unhinged self, bleeding on the floor and covered in vodka unable to comprehend what had unfolded. But it seems as though she's fought a demon.

 

Her demon.

 

And as she watched with surprise, her other self eroded and dissipated into a cloud of ash and dust and then the whole setting around her started to change drastically, fading into blackness before she found herself in the icy and frozen land of Helheim. It must’ve been the work of the mares. Making her re-live a realistic nightmare of her traumatic past in order to torment her unless she learned to face her inner demons head on instead of running from them. 

 

Only when she looked around, there wasn’t anyone there. Ming and Mei weren’t anywhere. But she needed to find them.

 

---

 

“Get back here!!!”

 

Ming jumped with a scared yelp when there peaking through the opening of the rooftop was Red Panda Ming’s red glowing eyes burning into the soul of her human self through hers.

 

“How dare you disobey me! Your own mother!” Mingzilla screamed with self-righteous anger as she climbed her way in, denting the ceiling doors in the process and jumping down inside.

 

The impact quakes the earth again, this time so hard, Ming was knocked to the hard ground on her back, making her wince in pain.

 

“Just look at you! Your hair’s a goddamn mess, you’re dressed up like you're a dingy Renaissance Faire and now here you are at some tacky concert where nobody even bothers to wear any clothing at all!” roared the Mingzilla down at Ming. 

 

“Now, you stop that right now!” Ming fought back her cowardice to try and stand up to the Red Panda Kaiju. “That’s not fair and you damn well know it! You had no right to judge those poor people or their band for that matter! They haven’t done anything to you!”

 

“Of course they have! They hypnotized our precious Mei-Mei with their nasty and crass body gyrations and their filthy, so-called ‘music’! What kind of idiots would even be into that kind of garbage!? I’m shutting this thing down right now!”

 

“Wait, no! Don’t! Stop!” Ming tried her best, but it was no good.

 

Just like she did that night, Mingzilla grabbed the 4*Town sign and ripped it clean off.

 

“Stop it! What are you doing?!” 

 

“WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE I’M DOING?!”

 

“Oh, my-! Is that REALLY your answer to everything?!”

 

“None of this should even be here in the first place! Nobody, and I mean nobody, should even be into this horrid crap! Their parents need to enforce more strict discipline on their children!” 

 

Mingzilla then dropped the sign……right above Ming. She screamed in terror and dashed out of the way just in time for it to drop to the ground in pieces.

 

“You maniac! That could’ve killed me!” Ming seethed at her.

 

“Oh, get over it! You’re still alive, aren’t you?”

 

Man, has Ming truly been this careless in the past?

 

“Oh, that’s mature! That’s real fucking mature! Just go right ahead and start destroying stuff, huh?! You are so predictable! Just show up and start making a mess out of everything just like you did with Kris, you bloated sack of hot air!”

 

“Grrr-rrrr-rr-r-rrr!……”

 

Now Ming was only making it worse between them. The kaiju mom raised her foot about ready to step on her. Human Ming gasped and ran away before Mingzilla could flatten her under her sole.

 

Then a chase ensued.

 

“Don’t you dare bring him up to me, you stupid, pathetic waste! Don’t you dare pretend to give a shit!”

 

“You had no right to judge him or mistreat him at all and now he’s trapped in the realm of the dead because of you!” Ming shouted as the Red Panda Kaiju pursued her.

 

“And what right do you have to judge me?! ME?!??! Blaming me for everything when all I’ve ever done was maximize the damage you’ve caused by your own hand! You can stuff me inside a flashy necklace all you like, but you can never get rid of me! That’s like getting rid of yourself! I never asked to be sealed away like some kind of wild animal! I never went to concerts! I put my family first! I TRIED TO BE A GOOD DAUGHTER!”

 

“STOP MAKING THIS ABOUT YOU!” Ming roared back at her once she climbed on top of the wreckage she just made. “That doesn’t justify everything we’ve done! I mean, so what? Are we seriously denying our daughter the chance to experience something, just because we didn’t get to ourselves? Do you not realize how selfish that is?!”

 

Mingzilla was even angrier than before to be so insulted like this!

 

Selfish? 

 

Her?!

 

Maybe Ming ought to be sealed away in a necklace herself just to see what it's really like. Ming shrieked in vulnerable terror when her kaiju counterpart swung her massive paw down and before she knew it, she was being clenched tightly in her paw like a Barbie doll, wincing in pain by how strong her grip was. Now this was the exact same position her daughter and poor Kris were in that night.

 

‘So this is what it felt like.’ She thought defeatedly to herself, drinking in the karma of the situation. Now SHE’S the one being manhandled by a giant monster with that particular monster being a version of herself.

 

How ironic.

 

“See?! There you go again!” The Red Panda Kaiju mom roared into her face with the heat of her anger boiling to 5,772 K, the same surface temperature as the sun. “Blaming everyone, but yourself! Always playing the victim when everyone else is the real victim! You will never change! Because you’re a MONSTER!.......Just like ME!!!!!!”

 

Okay, that actually hurt. But in essence, it wasn’t that much of an exaggeration. Mingzilla here was no different than Ming was before. And all it took was getting her ass kicked by the one person she’s wronged more than anyone just for her to see that and she hates herself for that. 

 

How could she ever let it all come to this? When did she become such a bully?

 

Her mother, that’s what.

 

Ming softened up when she figured that there was no point keelhauling her kaiju counterpart when Ming herself is the real reason that she’s like this.

 

“You’re right.” She said wistfully and remorsefully, earning a surprise look from Mingzilla. 

 

“What?”

 

“I am a monster.” Ming continued, holding nothing back. “I’ve let myself adhere to our mother’s expectations so much even after she blamed you for what happened between us. I’ve become irrational, hypercritical, obsessed with being perfect for her and everyone else that I’ve put so much weight on our daughter's shoulders, even if it meant getting rid of you.”

 

“Well, you never wanted me!” Her giant red panda duplicate argued, throwing her right to the ground. “You never even gave a rat’s ass about me!”

 

Despite the pain of being thrown to the hard like a wadded up paper ball, Ming groaned as she stood back up to look her giantess self in the eye.

 

“I know.” She said in her attempt to be sensitive. “And you were a part of me, nonetheless. And you still are. Mei taught me that.”

 

“I’m not gonna fall for your BS!” hissed the Red Panda Ming.

 

“Look, it’s not a trick, okay?” Ming insisted. “I never should’ve assumed the worst about you just because our mother and our ancestors before us thought so. And what happened that day wasn’t your fault. It was never your fault. I may have lashed out, but if anything, it was all on her. If she had just been more accepting of you….”

 

“Quiet!”

 

“….then maybe I wouldn’t have sealed you away against your will.”

 

“Shut up!”

 

“But we’re not that different. You’re not some unruly beast who deserves to be locked up or imprisoned in a necklace. It wasn’t fair to me nor was it fair to you-”

 

“STOP TALKING!”

 

Nearing her limit, the fiery-headed Mingzilla roared directly into Ming’s face as would a fierce gargantuan monster ready to devour its meek and tiny prey. But Ming stood her ground despite her giant imposter’s breath blowing in her face like a factory fan and she kept a straight face the whole time.

 

“And I’m sorry.” She finally said with all her heart. “I’m sorry for misjudging you, blaming you and treating you unfairly. It was wrong and I know that now. I’m done pushing you aside. I don’t care what anybody thinks, but I’m ready to accept you. But only if you’ll let me.”

 

Looking into the eyes of her alternate self, the fire in them appeared to dim slowly until they simmered away. The fury in her features were gone now and now she was looking like she was about to cry. Never had she ever thought Ming would ever come to say such words to her.

 

After being locked away just for even being there hurt way more. And hearing Ming admit how awful it was to defect her just because of how messy she got from time to time made her finally feel extricated. 

 

Her violent and primal animalistic demeanor went away with her monstrous rage.

 

And from her perspective, Ming saw that Mingzilla began to slowly shrink in size. Ming started to approach her the smaller and minuscule she got and once she was standing face-to-face with her, Red Panda Ming was now back to her original size.

 

“That’s all I wanted to hear.” She wept.

 

Ming smiled a watery smile. She brought her arms around her fluffy body and became entranced by the soft warm feeling it gave her. Red Panda Ming Even hugged her back before everything changed around her.

 

She was back in Helheim, only now feeling like a great weight has been lifted off her shoulders.

 

---

 

“No. No, this is all wrong. You can’t be me.” Mei shook her head in denial, panting. “You’re not real.”

 

“I’m every bit as real as you are.” Other Mei replied jeeringly. “I’m what you could’ve been had you not grown attached to those losers.” - She points to the illusion of Mei’s three friends, making the real Mei scowl - “Not to mention that smelly and drab vagabond that you’re foolish enough to be fawning over.”

 

“Don’t call him that!” Mei roared at her.

 

“And may I say -ugh!” Other Mei moaned like a high school diva, looking at her attire. “The fuck kinda look is that, anyway? Did you join the circus or something? And what’s with that jacket you’re wearing? Lame city!”

 

Mei glared hotly at her, trying not to lash out too soon.

 

“This is my own look. What do you think?” Mei snarled.

 

“Yeah, if you’re hanging with hobos.” Other Mei rolled her eyes.

 

Mei growled like an apex predator. If her family curse was still the same, that her hands would be turning into paws, panda ears and tails would pop out of her hair and butt, respectively. 

 

This other her was just a complete snob. 

 

Haughty, rude, full-of-herself, dangerously egotistical and super quick to judge and criticize others for the most asinine of reasons just to sound smart.

 

Is this really what her mother was trying to shape her into?

 

“You sound just like my mom.” Mei grumbled at her. At least, how her mother used to be.

 

“Why wouldn’t I?” Other Mei nonchalantly shrugged it off like it was no big deal. “I am what I’ve always been and always will be. Mother’s perfect little Mei-Mei. After all, she’s the only friend I need. I don’t need anyone else. I'm her entire world. What about you, huh?”

 

“Maybe we both are our mother’s daughter, but that doesn’t mean we’re not our own person.” Mei argued furiously.

 

“Yeah, sure.” muttered her bitchy counterpart.

 

“This doesn’t make us who we are. We’re much more than this.” The real Mei tried to explain, but her imposter wasn’t interested.

 

“Hmm-hmm.”

 

“That doesn’t permit us to just-“

 

“Blah, blah, blah, blah, be-blah, blah, blah! So boring! When do we start talking about something I actually give a shit about? Like mathematics, geometry or even French? Parce que je préfère discuter à quel point je suis meilleur et plus intelligent.”

 

At this point, Mei was 100% close to losing her patience with snarky counterpart. Now she’s really glad she chose not to go along with the ritual and be the girl Ming wanted her to be.

 

Because she would’ve ended up as a real bitch like her.

 

“How about you stop being so arrogant for a minute and try listening for a fucking change?! It’s not like it’s gonna kill you!” Mei was definitely screaming at herself now.

 

Now the Other Mei got angry and annoyed by her blatant disrespect for she marched right up to her and furiously grabbed her by her shirt.

 

“Shut your mouth, you reject!” Her oh-so-perfect self roared into her face. “At least I’m the one willing to keep our mother happy and make sure everything goes her way! Because we both know it costs to do things our way!”

 

“It doesn’t matter! Our family is not our life!” Mei shoved her off.

 

“What are you even so worked up about, huh?” Other Mei wasn't finished with her yet. “All of this over some boy, especially THAT one?”

 

She pointed directly at the illusion of Kris, looking crestfallen and alone, which hurt Mei’s heart. But her imposter’s next choice of words really began to strike a major nerve enough to send her over the edge in a heartbeat.

 

“You made the right choice that night. You don’t need them or him for that matter. All they’ve done is weigh us down and hold us back. They’re nothing but distractions. All of them. Including that nobody you’re so obsessed with. They don’t even deserve to be breathing the same air as us. They place they belong-”

 

“Oh my god, will you just shut up already?!” Mei roared, smacking her incompetent self in the face. “All you do is run your fucking mouth and act under the assumption that you’re more important than everyone! Like everyone’s just gonna pay you $100 just to even be near you! Maybe you’re the real loser! You’re living this lie that your life revolves around nothing but succeeding and sucking up to teachers for extra credit. You think everyone idolizes you when actually, everyone hates you! You have no friends, no life outside of your family and you’re not even fucking rich! You live in a bungalow for shit’s sake! Anybody can live in those! Now that I think about it, the only right choice I ever made was not ending up like my mother like you did! I’m glad I didn’t turn into you!”

 

Having said her piece to her mouthy duplicate, Mei panted heavily as if she ran twenty laps around a track field and watched as Other Mei’s face contorted and twitched with unstable fury no human being could ever imagine. She stood back up glaring at Mei growling through grit teeth. Her hands clenched into fists and her face started to splinter and crack like she was made of porcelain.

 

And then as Mei backed away from her, Other Mei, like a spoiled rotten 8-year old who was denied candy at a candy store or a toy they wanted to buy, let out a huge, loud scream of unparalleled anger. Mei had to cover her ears when she did and suddenly, Other Mei exploded in a cloud of blackened ash and the setting was gone, replacing it with the icy environment that is Helheim. 

 

In a huff, Mei brushed all of the ash off her body.

 

“What a brat.” She mumbled.

 

“Mei-Mei!”

 

Surprised, Mei looked to see her mother running up to her and brought her daughter into a tight embrace, worried that something had happened to her. Regardless, Mei hugged her back, allowing herself to enjoy her motherly embrace for the moment.

 

“Thank the ancestors you’re okay!” Her mother said with relief. “Who knows what those things could’ve done.”

 

“I’m okay, mom. Really.” Mei assured her gently. “I just………had a little self-revelation, is all.”

 

“What do you mean?” Ming asked, cocking an eyebrow curiously.

 

“Mom, were you really trying to shape me into a prissy, people-pleasing little child prodigy obsessed with success and honoring you?” Mei self-consciously asked her.

 

“Wh-....No, of course not! I just-.....!” Ming sighed through her nose, thinking back to her time before the SkyDome and looking misty-eyed. “I would never try to force you into someone you’d hate to be. And if I ever did, if you ever thought that impressing me and that my needs were more important than yours, then that’s nobody’s fault, but mine. And I am so, so sorry, Mei-Mei. I’m sorry that I made you afraid of being yourself, that I made you feel forced to choose between your friends and your family. It wasn’t right and wasn’t fair.”

 

“I loved spending time with you, but also loved hanging out with my friends.” Mei admitted to her.

 

“I know, honey, I know. It was wrong of me to assume the worst of them when they’ve done absolutely nothing wrong, including Kris. And now he’s paid the price because of that.” Ming said, sniffling. “I never should’ve put so much weight on your shoulders. I never should’ve held on too tight. And I never should’ve let myself become who I was because of my mother.”

 

Hearing her mother’s heartfelt confession, Mei felt her own self get misty-eyed as well. She tried apologizing before, but was never sufficient or meaningful enough and it usually - more often than not - sounded more like she was only saying it just so Mei won’t be angry with her anymore. But here, Ming was finally pouring her heart and soul into her words.

 

“You were……only trying to protect me, mom.” Mei lamented. “You were just-”

 

“That doesn’t excuse anything.” Ming denied. “I made you afraid of being honest with me about your own personal thoughts and opinions. Children aren’t supposed to be afraid of their parents. And whether I like it or not, you’re growing up and there comes a time in every parent’s life to just let their children go. You’re not perfect, Mei, and I love you for that no matter what. Because you’re wild, adventurous, courageous, a little boy crazy and very unabashedly expressive and you know what, I love that about you. I really do.”

 

She was finally getting the recognition she deserved and she knew it. Mei let a smile paint her lips when she said that, hearing her mother finally accept her for how she was.

 

“I’m not perfect either. Far from it, even. I’m willing to accept that fact now.” Ming expressed honestly. “And we are the people we choose to be, but those who came before us. So don’t be like me. Just be yourself from now on.”

 

Mei’s lip quivered and she threw her arms back around her saying, “That’s all I wanted, mom.”

 

Ming happily hugged her back, glad to finally have her daughter back. But from this point on, she would vow to do better as a mother among other things for Mei and for Kris even.

 

“Mei? Ming?” Elsa’s voice called out from a distance of where they stood. The two Lee women broke apart to see her running towards them.

 

“Elsa!” They reunited with her.

 

“Those damn mares are finally gone.” Elsa was relieved to be rid of her nightmares. “How are you two?”

 

“Fine, just fine. In fact, better than we were before.” Ming explained, tenderly holding her daughter’s arm and smiling at her. “Now let’s get back to finding Kris and the boys.”

 

But before they had that chance, they all felt something else in the area.

 

Something different.

 

And it sure wasn’t the mares this time.

 

It was right there. 

 

It stood a centimeter from where they were and it was large. It wasn’t human anymore. No humanoid or even animal-like appearance about it at all. In fact, it looked to be an amorphous shape of bright, ectoplasmic energy that was violently surging, pulsating and twirling all around in a color of red forming what looked like a crawling entity with arms and no legs or even a lower half to which it resorts to crawling, though it also seemed to hover above the ground.

 

And it’s face - not that it really has one - was a mystical sigil with the Thurisaz (ᚦ) rune on it, glimmering minaciously.

 

A phantom.

 

“W-W-What is that?” Ming stammered with fright.

 

“I don’t know.” Elsa answered, also terrified.

 

The phantom acted right away. It rose high above the ground like a rogue wave above to sink a sink during a hurricane and dive-bombed straight into the ground in front of them, the resulting impact of this sudden attack blasted the three women inches back onto the frozen ground. It then re-materialized out of the ground and swatted them with its arm, catching them off-guard, swiping them like a couple of figurines.

 

“I really wish I had a weapon.” groaned Elsa from the pain of being smacked around.

 

Then the phantom started angrily pounding against the ground with its arms one at a time, quaking the ground a bit as it barrelled toward them, but they were able to make it out of the way in time while it steamrolled past them. However, the phantom wasn’t one to surrender or give up. Instead, it now started to swing its arms (and whole body) around like a lasso and like the painful thwip of a bullcap, swung at them violently and murderously. 

 

Even though they saw it coming and tried ducking out of the way, the phantom’s attack was too powerful for them to avoid and they found themselves at the bodiless entity’s mercy once more. The otherworldly being was undeniably relentless in its assault. 

 

“Stop!” Mei shouted, but it was no use.

 

In the confusion and after being strongly battered around like a literal punching bag, the flower bulb had fallen right out of Mei’s bag and onto the ground. She gasped she saw it now sitting there on the ground and wanted so badly to get back up and get it, but when she saw the phantom nearby still attacking, she knew it was too risky to even try.

 

It looked down at it and hissed venomously at it before raising its arm high above the air.

 

“NOOOOO!” Mei helplessly screamed, almost begging for the entity to not do what it was about to do, but sadly, her pleas fell on deaf ears (or lack thereof).

 

And then……

 

SLAM!

 

It swatted its arm right smack-dab onto the plant, crushing it into the ground. However, this caused a reaction from the bulb. Upon being crushed, it released a huge cloud of spectral dust into the air in front of the phantom’s face.

 

And once it did, something miraculous happened.

 

The phantom’s body’s energy started to slowly calm down, no longer surging or pulsating, just flowing like a cool mountain stream. It settled its body movements passively and its entire color changed from a furious and fiery red to a calm and gentle blue. All three women looked on in surprise to see their attacker’s behavior change within an instant from that very plant alone. Seeing that it was probably okay now, they returned to their feet and were almost about to try and approach it, but now something else happened.

 

A baby’s giggle was heard.

 

Elsa gasped when they saw on the ground next to them - a vision of a little baby boy wearing a diaper and a black bear hat made of wool and Umbla standing next to him. The infant giggled and laughed at the nanny cow and grabbed at her face. Elsa practically shed a tear seeing this.

 

“Wait, is that……?” Ming wondered.

 

“Kris.” Elsa responded with a short nod.

 

They were standing before a memory. Kris’s memory. Mei fought the urge to coo and gush at his adorableness. However, the baby and the cow vanished and a new memory emerged.

 

Charlie dunked the basketball hard through hoop in a move that would make Michael Jordan proud. A move that he’s been practicing since he was younger.

 

 

“Damn, bro!” Adam cheered, applauding. “Work it off!”

 

 

“That’s magic right there, y’all!” Charlie said almost braggingly.

 

This must’ve been when they were visiting Canada that one time to see the other side, Elsa figured. Her husband took Kris to the local basketball court to land some dunks with his uncles.

 

“Little K, you good?” asked Adam to his nephew.

 

 

4-year old Kris sat on the bench playing on his Game Boy when he heard his uncle call him and he smiled a big smile.

 

 

“Lil’ K good.” He answered enthusiastically.

 

Ming let herself smile at how cute and pure he looked as a little boy then. It almost reminded her of how her Mei-Mei was when she was little. Innocent, curious and so full of life.

 

As for Mei, she couldn’t help but smile, seeing how happy he looked a while ago.

 

“Boy, how ‘bout you give it a shot?” A new voice asked him.

 

At that second, Elsa felt her heartbeat pick up a few paces, her throat run dry and her eyes about to sting with upcoming tears when she heard it.

 

His voice.

 

The voice of her late husband.

 

And she fought for control over herself when the vision of him appeared next to young Kris. A tall, muscular and physically-fit African-Canadian man with short, clean-cut black hair and thick beard. He also had a tattoo of a bear on his neck on the right side.

 

Ming, too, gasped when she saw him. He also looked vaguely familiar to her since she knew this man from high school. And old puppy crush of hers.

 

“Michael Anderson……” She gasped breathlessly.

 

That man, the same man whom she was so attracted to before meeting Jin, the same man she went to prom with alongside Elsa,………is Kris’s father?!

 

Mei shot a surprised look at her mother when she said that. She actually knew him?

 

“Nah, I don’t think…..” Charlie tried to interject.

 

 

“Nah, I wanna see this.” Adam interrupted.

 

 

Young Kris put his Game Boy down and left the bench to go and try a slam dunk. Of course, this would be excruciatingly difficult for a young child his age. Regardless, he picked up the basketball, dribbled it a few times before throwing it up high at the hoop……but missed.

 

 

Instead, it bound off the backboard and hit him in the face. He fell to the ground hurt and looked ready to cry.

 

 

Seeing this, his father rushed to his aid and picked him up, holding him in his arms while his boy sniffled and whimpered.

 

 

“I’m sorry I made you do that. That’s my fault.”  His father apologized soothingly.

 

 

“Yeah, Little K. No hard feelings?” His uncle Adam asked. “Y’all good now? You don’t have to do that again if you don’t want to.”

 

 

The boy only reached into his mouth and pulled out a tooth that the ball knocked loose from his gums and suddenly lit up.

 

 

“Tooth!”

 

 

“Yeah, guess who's getting a visit from the Tooth Fairy tonight.” Michael nodded in agreement.

 

Mei was shocked at seeing poor little Kris accidentally injure himself from a basketball.

 

“Now why would they let a little boy do that?” Ming scoffed in disapproval after seeing a young Kris try to score a goal and fail and get himself hurt in the process.

 

“Believe me, I miffed at him when they got back, but I got over it.” Elsa explained, remembering that moment when she got mad at Michael for allowing their 4-year old son to try and shoot a basketball all on his own.

 

And then the scene changed again. The visions disappeared and then Michael reappeared again with a 5-year old Kris this time. They were both inside what looked like a convenience store of sorts in the middle of aisles of foods and snacks. Michael was looking around while Kris was playing with a toy car.

 

Elsa grew pale.

 

Her lips parts, her blood ran cold and his hands trembled.

 

She knew this scene all too well and what it meant. 

 

This was that EXACT moment from that dreadful night that has haunted her day and night and ostensibly Kris as well.

 

“What’s the matter?” Ming asked, taking note of her aghast face.

 

Elsa didn’t answer, which started to worry her. With this, she knew in her heart that this must be something bad.

 

Suddenly, the door slammed right open, ringing the bell on the way and in entered two alarming men, both wearing hoods over their heads, bandanas around their necks and armed frighteningly with guns in their hands. One of the two men - a Caucasian man with messy, dirty blonde hair and scraggly beard - lifted his gun up and fired a warning shot into the air to get the cashier’s attention as they marched their way over to him.

 

All women jumped when they heard the gunshot and were now completely on edge by what was happening before them. On her part, Mei was incredibly afraid. She prayed to the ancestors and Sun Yee that nothing bad would happen, however, her heart warned her that it probably wouldn’t end the way she was hoping.

 

And Ming was seized with a great and powerful deal of horror like never before. The boy and his father were caught in the crossfires of an armed robbery and Kris was just a little boy at the time.

 

Her eyes stung with the saltiness of unshed tears.

 

“Cash, fucker. Now!” He ordered sharply, throwing a duffle bag in the cashier’s face while he and his accomplice aimed their guns at him. “All of it! Now! Do it!”

 

 

“Alright, dial it down, Tones.” His partner - a shrimpy African-American man with a mustache - reminded him as the cashier fearfully started loading up the bag for them.

 

 

“Shut the fuck up!”

 

 

Michael hid behind an aisle with his son as they tried to keep quiet so that they wouldn't alert their attention to them. However, Kris’s toy car slipped from his tiny hand and dropped against the floor, making a sound that made the blonde bandit turn around, making him aware of others in the store.

 

 

“Hey! I know you’re there! Get out so I can see you!” He ordered, aiming his 44. Magnum around.

 

 

Michael knew what he needed to do, but it was going to put him at risk if he did, but he wasn’t about to let his son become a victim of an armed and dangerous maniac.

 

 

“Stay here.” He whispered to his son before the gun was pointed at his head.

 

 

“Get up, dumbass.” The crook demanded.

 

“No…..” Elsa whimpered, knowing full well what was going to happen. But she really wished she couldn’t watch this. She didn’t need to relive that moment again.

 

It was far too unbearable.

 

“Please no.” Ming wept, hoping that Michael wasn’t about to do anything foolish.

 

“Okay, calm down.” Michael got up trying to reason with the man pointing his gun at him, who inched away as he stepped forward, but kept his weapon pointed at him.

 

 

“Get back!” The man roared.

 

 

“Ok, chill, man. Just chill.” Michael did his best to calm the burglar down, but to no avail.

 

 

“I said get the fuck back!” thundered the increasingly anxious psychopath, finger on the trigger.

 

 

“Just calm down okay?”

 

 

Then it happened.

 

 

And when it did……

 

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

 

…….it practically shook the world.

 

 

BANG! BANG! BANG!

 

 

Three shots rang out. 

 

 

Michael was knocked back from each shot, geysers of blood spurting out of the fresh wounds. The first two hit his chest and his heart and the third and final shot went point blank into his forehead, finally knocking him flat onto the ground…..right next to the disturbed Kris.

 

 

Blood spattered against his face from his father’s headshot wound and the man looked his son in the eyes before he finally died.

 

No words came through.

 

It hurts to speak.

 

Even after what they just witnessed.

 

Tears streamed down all three women’s faces, though Elsa looked on the verge of an emotional meltdown. And one could say that the minds of Ming and Mei had broken so hard badly, they lost their ability to speak.

 

The horror of it.

 

To think that Kris, who's been bullied at school and dealt with Ming’s abuse 24/7 every single damn day was dealing with a great loss. 

 

An eye witness to his own father’s murder.

 

Kris just sat there on the floor observing his father’s lifeless body, his underdeveloped youthful mind not sure how to process what had occurred before him.

 

 

“Daddy?” He asked, then tried nudging him. “Daddy?”

 

 

No response. He was dead.

 

 

Stone dead.

 

 

The man responsible for taking his life stood before him unrependentally and watched the man’s blood form a crimson puddle on the floor. Then he finally saw the boy sitting there beside the corpse, looking traumatized and confused. He and Kris locked eyes for a moment and the man seemingly considered taking his life as well before his partner grabbed him by the arm, pulling him away from Michael’s body.

 

 

“Hey! What the hell, man?! We agreed on no killing no one!” He chided him.

 

 

“What the fuck did you expect when we came here with guns?” The blonde man roared at him before asking, “Why do you bother loading your gun anyway?”

 

 

“I………” His partner sighed, shaking his head with no answer of him.

 

 

“You didn’t?!” raged the murderer of Michael. “Who the fuck comes to rob a store without loading a fucking gun?!”

 

 

“I wasn’t planning on becoming an accessory for murder, asshole!”

 

Rage coursed through Elsa’s veins.

 

Ming felt like she wanted to punch something and imagine that man’s face on it. How dare he kill that boy's father just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. And these two were the ones responsible for Michael’s demise?

 

The sound of police sirens interrupted their argument and now they began to panic as it sounded like they were getting closer and closer near the area. The blonde burglar boiled, thinking the cashier must’ve called the police while they were distracted. 

 

 

With no time left to waste, the blonde grabbed his partner and they raced out of the store to try and escape the cops, leaving poor Kris still sitting there with his father’s dead body, still not sure what happened to him.

 

 

Minutes later, the police had arrived and the two burglars were, of course, already gone. Having already fled the scene once they heard the sirens in the distance. Elsa, Stig and her father arrived on the scene and needless to say, both were horrified. Though, neither were more horrified than Elsa who was a total shrieking, emotional mess upon seeing her husband’s body. The poor woman was wailing, screaming and crying like a baby, tears streaming from her eyes.

 

 

While the police and paramedics carried Michael’s body away to be taken to the morgue, Kris sat there with Stig. Blood spatter still stained his emotionless face and he couldn’t conjure up any words to say.

 

Mei glumly approached the vision of young Kris, still thunderstruck by what unfolded and the blood on the kid’s face and she looked at him, even though it was just a memory.

 

“Why didn’t you tell me?” She asked the illusion of him.

 

But why would he share that? Nothing like that would be easy to disclose.

 

The next scene that happened after this one was another instance that Elsa has been guilty about and trying to make up for.

 

“Mommy? Mommy? Where’s daddy?” Kris asked.

 

 

“I don’t know.” Elsa groaned, rubbing her head after having too many beers.

 

 

“Where is daddy, mommy? Why hasn’t he woken up yet? Is he okay? Why-?”

 

 

“I. Don’t. Know.” hissed Elsa in annoyance, dealing with a headache.

 

Elsa gulped, really not wanting to have to see this after it’s already laid a heavyweight of guilt on her shoulders.

 

“Mommy, I’m scared. When will daddy be okay….?” Kris didn’t understand the gravity of the situation, but Elsa has already reached her limit with his questioning.

 

 

“Shut up already, you little shit!” She roared at him, spittle flying out of her mouth. “Stop asking me! I don’t know! I don’t know! I DON’T KNOW!!! He’s not coming back because of you! So just shut the hell up and leave me alone! Go away!” 

 

 

In her drunken state, she had no consciousness of her actions and she proceeded to grab at the boy’s arm, storming over to the steps. Kris fought against her hold and forced her to let go, but in the process, he tripped over the top of the stairs and fell right down the steps until he reached the bottom, breaking his arm.

 

 

He screamed with agony.

 

Elsa sniffled as she looked away, too distraught to even see it. She couldn’t bring herself to really acknowledge the memory. In point of fact, she received slightly scathing looks from both Ming and Mei, which she knew she earned. She surrendered herself to alcoholism after her husband’s death and ended up blaming her son for it while drunk and Kris was left with a fractured arm in return.

 

Finally, the bad memory was erased and replaced with a new one. This time, there was a young Kris and a young Mei. The older Mei watching this gasped softly. This must’ve been the first time they’ve met.

 

“Hello! I’m Meilin Lee.” The 3-year old Mei greeted the boy. “What’s your name?”

 

 

“I’m Kris Bengtsson.” He shyly responded.

 

 

“Hi, Kris.” The little girl waved at him. “I’m waiting for my mommy. Are you waiting for your mommy?”

 

 

“Oh, yes. My mommy will be here soon and we’ll have so much fun tonight.” Kris explained. “I love your hair.”

 

 

He was referring to the cute little buns on her head and she giggled at the compliment.

 

 

“Thank you. My mommy says it makes me look pretty and perfect.” She grinned with a tiny blush.

 

 

“Is your mommy pretty and perfect too like you?” asked Kris, which earned another round of giggles from the girl who suddenly embraced him tightly, making him blush now.

 

“Goodness, they’re two young children who just met and they’re already flirting.” Elsa remarked, after forgetting about the tragic memory she was forced to endure a second time.

 

Ming wasn’t sure if she should feel flattered by that comment or not. It came from a very young adolescent who hasn’t met her and hasn’t endured the nightmare he’s been through just yet. Though, Mei blushed with a goofy smile. She still remembers that comment when they met and how it unintentionally made her heart flutter the minute he said it to her. In all honesty, Kris was basically her first puppy crush and she was too young to even realize it at the time.

 

“Mei-Mei! What are you doing, young lady?”

 

 

Instantaneously, Mei ripped herself from the boy and faced her strict mother fast approaching the two, wearing sunglasses and a bandana on her head. She snorted disdainfully once her scrutinizing eyes landed on Kris.

 

 

“Mommy, this is my new best friend, Kris.” Mei gleefully hugged Kris’s arm as she introduced him to Ming.

 

 

“Hi, Mrs. Lee.” He greeted her with a nervous smile.

 

 

However, Ming just looked at him with distrust and disinterest as she grabbed her daughter’s hand and pulled her away from Kris, taking the girl with her.

 

 

“Mei-Mei, you know you’re not old enough to be cuddling up to boys. Especially that one.” Her mother scolded her.

 

 

“O-Okay, mommy.”

 

Ming winced at the sight of her old, past self. Back when she was so unfairly cruel to the boy who had done no wrong to her nor to her daughter. It just felt so wrong seeing herself like this. What followed next was a series of moments during Kris’s time at the temple when Ming was no better to him as his manager.

 

Every insult. Every threat. Every accusation. Almost everything, anyway.

 

"And what's up with all this, huh? Is this some kind of macho thing with you boys? Huh? How many times must you beat yourself up just to look 'cool'?"

 

 

"Let me set something straight here. Mei-Mei has no time to fool around with those other kids. No time to dilly-dally with juvenile delinquents like yourself. Mei is a very special girl and you are not. You have no business being with her. So as I say to you as I have each day, remember your place here and watch where you step. Because I will ruin your life. Is that clear?"

 

 

“Why do I put up with a brainless idiot like you?!”

 

Now Elsa was the one glaring at Ming, who shrunk under the gaze, but knew that she deserved it. And then came the night of Tyler’s party.

 

“And you!! Oh, where do I even begin with you!?” She barked and swore with hate. “I just knew you’d stoop this low. I just knew it! To think you’d actually commit to brainwashing my Mei-Mei with these wretched and sordid ideas! Turning her into a complete deviant like you!”

 

 

“That’s not fair!” Kris actually yelled back defiantly. Now it’s definitely gone too far.

 

 

“Not fair?! I tell you what’s fair! My precious daughter spending more time with her family and with her own mother who loves her very much and not with smelly, bumbling, freeloading idiots like you with your weird long hair and your goofy clothes and that ugly shirt!”

 

 

She raved as she pointed at his long dark brown locks, his long-sleeved jacket and jean shorts and especially his black T-shirt which had the picture of a similarly-shaped hammer on it with sparks.

 

 

“I am not-! Mei, you know that’s not true! Tell her!” Kris pleaded for Mei to back him up and defend him from the harsh criticisms and accusations being thrown at him by her mother.

 

 

But she didn’t.

 

 

Instead, she just helplessly looked at him and pressed her head against her mother, hiding her face from everyone.

 

 

And at that very moment, Kris felt his heart shatter into pieces.

 

 

“You oughta be ashamed of yourself, mister.” Ming hissed at him, holding her protectively. “Thinking she could ever be your friend. She doesn’t need a retard like you.”

 

 

“I AM NOT A RE-!” That’s when Kris suddenly yelled with rage, but then Ming slapped him hard across the face, cutting him off while the girls gasped with shock and terror.

 

 

The devastated boy panted rigidly as he shakily raised a hand to his hurt cheek, looking absolutely broken.

 

 

“I should’ve done this a long time ago. You’re fired, Mr. Bengtsson.” Ming jabbed before taking her daughter with her to the car. “And if you ever come near me, my Mei-Mei or the temple ever again, I will kill you. Have fun looking for a new job. Come on, Mei-Mei. Let’s go.”

 

“I……I know it messed up but-”

 

“Shut up.” Elsa growled at Ming before she could finish that feeble apology, not interested after seeing the utter severity she wrought on her son.

 

“Okay…..”

 

Kris sat down on his bed, still sobbing his eyes out. His hot tears dripped onto his clothes and his bedroom carpet, completely heartbroken. His cheek still hurt from being slapped since he kept rubbing it; a red hand print painted on it. He snorted and sniffled, rubbing his mucus-running nose.

 

 

Then he dragged himself over to his desk and brought out his notebook to put in his latest journal entry, letting his tears fall onto the paper as he wrote.

 

 

When he was done, his depression turned to rage for a brief moment as he broke his pencil into two and panted. Then he saw the polaroid of him, Mei and their friends that she gave him and scowled. He angrily snatched it up, ripped it in half and crumbled it up before throwing it against the wall.

 

Ming felt her heart break by this. The aftermath of the disaster at the party that night. Mei was most hurt, seeing how crushed he was when she refused to speak up for him when her mother found out about the plan.

 

Then the vision of Kris shifted into when he became cold and standoffish, refusing to speak to anyone, not even his friends and family. The Lee woman could barely comprehend the consequences of their actions, respectively, and how much they affected Kris that night. The betrayal, the slander and everything.

 

What was most gut-wrenching about this was the voices they heard of all the people he knew trying to get him to respond, but no matter how hard they tried, he refused to speak.

 

Ming felt herself wanting to let the earth swallow her up.

 

Finally, the last memory.

 

Kris stood before the Goddess of Death with near horror at her features. How half-dead and half-alive she looked, almost literally on the surface level.

 

 

“How sad to think that a fatherless boy could have so much to live for and yet, receive nothing in return. Ironic. Have you ever had the feeling you were seeing his death over and over again?” Hel asked him, smirking. “Well…….that was probably me.”

 

 

Red eyes appeared out of nowhere from all around them. Demonic neighing could be heard everywhere. Yet, Kris was unfazed.

 

 

“What do you have to lose, anyway?” She mused with a sickening smile. “You have nobody. Nobody wants you. Nobody loves you. And nobody will miss you when you’re gone. I’m the only friend you need. I’ll be with you forever and make sure you’re never alone again. Your mother blames you, that girl Mei considers you a nuisance and a distraction and that annoying mother of hers…….need I say more? A wantless freak like you deserves nothing but heartbreak and death. Just like me.”

 

“NO!” Ming screamed at the vision. “Don’t you listen to her! She’s lying!”

 

At this, Kris felt his heart break even more until there was nothing left of it. Not even an empty husk with nothing left inside. And like a spark of fire, rage surged from within him and it grew and grew until it reached unprecedented and unstable levels and he let out a loud, piercing scream of fury just like he did at the SkyDome……and then his body exploded and took on an amorphous shape, becoming nothing more but an entity of pure hatred and wrath.

 

Neither of them could believe it.

 

Nobody was prepared for even that. To think that Hel herself has been manipulating the heartbroken Kris since he got here in Helheim. Making believe that he doesn't deserve happiness or a life, that he is nothing more but a friendless loser. And not only that……

 

……..but the phantom……

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

…………..was Kris.

 

Elsa eyed it with surprise. The entity that’s been attacking them was actually her own son all along. And he’s been corrupted with rage and hatred thanks to Hel’s poisonous influence, amplifying his pain and suffering to a monstrous extent. And Mei knew now that the flower the Norns gave them helped his negative emotions lessen and simmer down until he could finally see reason.

 

And there’s no telling how distraught Ming was to finally find him, in a monstrous state no less. This was her own doing. Her own dirty work.

 

Approaching the phantom that was her ex-employee and biggest victim, Ming came out with a soft, comforting and remorseful voice to try and reason with him.

 

“Kris……” She started, swallowing her spit as the phantom looked at her with its sigil eye. “I’ve wronged you. And I can never change that or apologize enough for that, but…….the rage, the hatred……..you have to let it go. And you’re father…….what happened that day…..it wasn’t your fault. It never was. Please.”

 

The phantom was wordless. It had no way of communicating.

 

However, it started to spasm suddenly as a way to simulate sadness and then before they could make a move to stop him, the entity charged away from with lightning-fast speed like a bullet, disappearing into the far beyond regions away from the three.

 

“Come back!” Ming called out for him, even running toward where he had run off to, but he was already long gone.

 

“Kris……” Mei was speechless on a massive scale. What has Hel done to him?

 

More importantly, how were they gonna catch up to him now or even find him for that matter at this rate? Then all of the sudden, tiny ghostly flames appeared one-by-one nearby, forming a trail up ahead for them in the direction where Kris’s soul had gone. Albeit confused, they noticed that they were gesturing to them to come closer as if needing to guide them.

 

Will-’o-the-wisps. That’s what they were.

 

They will show them the way to him.

 

Against all odds, they weighed down every other alternative they had to try and follow the path of wisps, hoping that it’ll direct them toward the boy. And they just hoped and prayed every prayer they’ve ever heard before that they’ll be able to reach him in time.

 

---

 

“I’m telling ya. He just kept trying to stab me.” Rudolf went on and on after the boys managed to talk him down and see that it was only them and not another hallucination.

 

“And I keep telling you, it wasn’t real.” Stig groaned.

 

“Now just where are we gonna find Kris?” Ratatoskr asked, wondering where they’ll find their friend’s body in the hall.

 

“Well, I’m think-” But Roar didn’t have the chance to express his thoughts because at that very moment, a massive glowing blue figure zipped past them up ahead, catching them all off guard. The phantom had found its way inside Éljúðnir since it was finding its original body, which it knew was located right here in the hall.

 

Though neither of them realized it yet.

 

“The fuck was that?!” Rudolf screamed.

 

“I think…….was that Kris?” asked Stig with hope.

 

Suddenly, a helpful trail of wisps appeared in front of them, all of them gesturing to them to follow them so they could lead the way for them in this dark place of the dead. They each gave each other confused looks, but agreed to following the path ahead nonetheless. Together, they followed the wisps, hoping that it would take them to Kris, running down the halls since they were running out of time. The closer and closer they got, the more the halls began to seem different and more familiar, like they were reaching the area that they started in.

 

Then a light up ahead glowed brightly and casted the shadow of a boy that they recognized, giving them the motivation they needed to head over to that very spot. There came sounds of a body falling flat on the ground and groaning.

 

Sure enough, once they were there……….their breaths stopped and almost felt close to shedding tears when they saw him at long, long last.

 

Kris was laying there on the floor.

 

Only he wasn’t zombified like he was previously. All of his natural colors returned to normal and he felt as if he had woken up from a weird dream. Yes, it was without a shadow of a doubt that that glowing phantom was their friend’s lost soul and it was finally returned to his physical body after spending too much time apart.

 

Kris moaned and groaned as he moved to sit himself back up as if his bones were too heavy.

 

“Kris!” Stig shouted as he rushed to his brother’s side. He grabbed at him and made him face him in the eye to check if he’s really back to normal. “Kris, look at me. Look at me. Are you okay? Talk to me.”

 

Kris’s eyes fluttered as they struggled to get themselves open and his blurry vision cleared until a familiar face stared back at him.

 

A face that he has not seen again in a very, very, very long time.

 

And as a result, after seven long months of not listening to it, Stig finally heard it……

 

………Kris’s voice.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

“.......S-Stig.” He responded uneasily after not speaking for an extended period. “You……..you came.”

 

Stig never felt more overjoyed and relieved in all his life to see that he finally got his brother back and he couldn’t help but bring Kris into a tight embrace, letting tears fall down his face. After all this effort, all this time finding objects, racing against time and space to get down into the land of the dead, it had all been worth it.

 

“Of course, I came.” Stig told him, not letting him go.

 

Roar and Rudolf joined in on the hug, both boys tightly wrapping their arms around him, relieving in the feeling of Kris that they had missed ever so dearly. Seven months of not feeling him in their arms was akin to an eternity. And Kris………Kris smiled, glad to finally see his friends again after months apart.

 

“I love you guys.” He told them, heartfelt and pleased.

 

“We love you, too, Kris.” They both wept.

 

There was no denying the fact in all of this as it was a fact for all to be known.

 

Kris Bengtsson was alive and well once again.

Notes:

And at long last, Kris is alive again! Kris has finally been saved and they've proven Hel wrong. That people actually DO care about him enough to rescue him from land of the dead.

Stig has finally been able to fight against the illusion of his dead parents who only blame him for their deaths, which was clearly their own fault. And Roar finally stood up to that deadbeat uncle of his in the most gruesome way possible. Sure, he may be traumatized by this, but he'll get over it eventually. He's old enough to process death and murder, I think. And the women's nightmares?

Elsa's fought a representation of her alcoholism, which had been problematic in her duty as a mother. But by fight back, she's also giving her overindulgence the boot. No longer will she drink herself silly just to escape the pain.

Ming had faced off against the giant red panda version of herself in ironic role reversal as a representation of her ego, her vanity and her destructive impulsiveness. However, her red panda self is also upset for being sealed away and being Ming's scapegoat when all the panda did was worsen the damage Ming caused by HER own hand. In essence, she is her own worst enemy. But Ming has managed to finally make peace with herself and her red panda, now willing to accept her and not reject her anymore.

And Mei argues with an exaggeration of the perfect persona that Ming's been trying to instill in her. A selfish, bratty, self-absorbed, know-it-all egomaniac more concerned with success and her pride. But Mei has already vowed to never become anything like that. She is her own person, nobody else's.

And now Ming and Mei have finally settled their issues with each other and reconciled, having ended the cycle of generational trauma among them.

With a peak into Kris's memories, we now see what really happened with his father and how it affected his life soon after. And we've learned what really happened to Kris in Helheim. In case you're wondering why the compass didn't lead toward the phantom when it was actually Kris the whole time, Stig told the compass to find 'Kris', not 'Kris's soul' or 'Kris's body' for that matter and they didn't even know Kris's body was in Helheim before they arrived. His state as the phantom must've made him unrecognizable to the compass's magic. Stig probably should've been more specific.

And I wanna thank Sebastian the Hero for his support in my story. Thanks, man. I appreciate you.

Next Chapter: Kris is returned to his family and friends after Hel begrudgingly lets him leave. After settling back in at Asgard, Ming finally apologizes to him for her mistreatment and he and Mei express their feelings for each other at last.

Next Update: June 6, 2023

Chapter 23: I Love You, Mei

Summary:

Kris is returned to his family and friends after Hel begrudgingly lets him leave. After settling back in at Asgard, Ming finally apologizes to him for her mistreatment and he and Mei express their feelings for each other at last.

Notes:

Disclaimer: Turning Red and it’s characters are the property of (c) Walt Disney Pictures/Pixar Animation Studios.

Elements are borrowed from God of War (2018) and Ragnarök, owned by (c) Santa Monica Studio/Sony Interactive Entertainment

C/W: Vomiting, slapping

After finally getting their friend back, Stig, with the help of Rudolf and Roar, carried Kris with them toward the doors of Éljúðnir and together, all four friends left the hall of Hel, all of them glad that the brotherhood was finally whole once more after seven months apart with Kris trapped in the Nine Realms and the afterlife in the Goddess of Death’s grasp unable to break free. Luckily, they haven’t run into Hel again, which was good so far. She hasn’t tried to take him back from them, so they were good to go.

 

Exiting the doors of the deathly, mysterious hall, the four boys started to walk across the Gjallarbrú. Only their relief of having Kris in their arms again overpowered their fear and uneasiness of all the dastardly statues lining up the bridge of the damned. Kris, meanwhile, looked as if he had a fever or a headache, but it was nothing too serious since he’s just been brought back from the dead.

 

“I mean, I did say it was a bad idea to go to that concert in the first place, so….” Stig matter-of-factly remarked.

 

“I……I’m sorry that I made you guys…..feel like I was rejecting you.” Kris apologized to them, remembering when he was pushing them away with his vow of silence.

 

“It’s okay, Kris.” Rudolf told him, teary-eyed. “You were hurting really bad. I was a little upset myself, but it doesn’t matter now.”

 

“Yeah, we have you back now. That’s all that matters.” Roar added in, beaming brightly.

 

“How did……you guys find me?” asked Kris as if drowsily.

 

“It wasn’t that easy.” Stig explained. “We did have a little help from the gods. We’ll tell you all about it later. Right now, let’s get you back to the others.”

 

“So you’re really descended from Thor, the Norse God of Thunder?” asked Rudolf, talking like a fanboy again.

 

“I guess so.” The Norwegian boy sighed dejectedly. “I really wish I wasn’t, though.”

 

“Yeah, well. That’s too bad.” His adopted brother remarked with a shrug. “We can’t control who we’re related to.”

 

“Kris?”

 

They looked up and saw in the distance, Elsa standing just up ahead at the other end of the bridge along with Mei and Ming. Now Kris was surprised and glad to see the calming face of his mother again, but he was even more surprised to see Mei was there as well, though he felt too tired to even bother questioning why she was there, only chalking it up to the idea that she wanted to help. Not only that, but the closer she got, the more he could discern her black hair that wasn’t bright red anymore the last time he saw her. 

 

Though his memory of that night at the concert was a little foggy at the moment after coming back to life. A theory in his clouded mind suggested that maybe she actually went along with the red moon ritual after all. But if that were the case, what was she doing here, especially with her mother? Why did she even bother coming down to help save him after she preferred her mother over him and their friends.

 

As for Elsa, no words to ever express how delighted she was seeing her baby boy alive and well again and now only meters away from her coming in her direction. And there was no stopping her for when she darted onto Gjallarbrú and sprinted down the bridge toward her son with Mei and Ming running to catch up with her. Elsa’s heart was doing drum solo and nothing was standing in her way from reuniting with her lost child after he’s been bedridden for the majority of the year. The mother didn’t stop even for a split second until she finally closed the space between her and Kris until she finally flung her arms right around him in a motherly embrace, refusing to let him go. Emotions were skyrocketing, sadness, relief, you name it. Elsa cried, she sobbed, she shed tears of joy. Her Kris was back safe and sound in her arms. And Kris finally registered the moment, bringing his own arms around her body, accepting her hug since he’s missed her so much as well. 

 

Mei observed the scene with a watery smile. Mother and son together again. It was almost too good to be true. Ming nervously kept her distance, however, suddenly seized with the fear of how Kris, the very boy who's suffered because of her, will react to seeing her, his abuser, there as well. All she could hope is that Kris is even lenient enough to be willing to at least hear her out and give her a chance to say her piece. There’s a very likely 50/50% chance he will definitely not forgive her and he doesn’t have to. 

 

All Ming wants right now, at this very moment, is to get it all out of her system and for him to understand.

 

Then Mei couldn’t keep it together anymore. She joined in on the hug, too. And began to cry, feeling her heart repair itself after it had been broken from him falling into that coma. After all she’s seen and experienced, one was absolutely certain.

 

Mei was never letting him go ever again.

 

“What are you guys doing here?” asked Roar, confused to see them down in Helheim with them.

 

“Does it even matter?” asked Mei, a little upset for the moment being spoiled.

 

“How did you guys get past the guard dog?” Rudolf asked with fear.

 

“What guard dog?” Elsa asked, taken aback.

 

“Um, nevermind.”

 

“Kris?” Mei asked hopefully and worriedly, looking the boy in the eye and even brushing the hair out of his eyes to be able to look deep into those pupils that she missed seeing.

 

“M-Mei…….?”

 

Mei laughed with tears in her eyes, unfathomably grateful to be hearing his voice again and embraced him again, hugging her arms around his neck.

 

“I was so, so afraid, Kris. I will never cast you aside again. Never.” Mei wept and sniffled as she voiced her proclamation in a broken voice, even kissing on the cheek.

 

Kris blushed when she did that and then brought forth a pleased smile on his face to see that Mei is adamant on wanting him back so much, accepting her hug. Feeling only slightly liberated after she chose not to speak up back at the party months prior, even though it wasn’t really enough to alleviate the feeling of betrayal he felt that drove him to self-isolation, but it was still a good start. 

 

But then within a dirty instant, when his eyes lifted upwards and froze in place, his smile went away faster than a race at zipping along the track as did the warm, fuzzy feeling he had in his chest once he saw………..her.

 

Ming Lee.

 

His ex-boss.

 

His tormentor.

 

The woman who HATED him. 

 

Who insulted him, disrespected him, threatened him, treated him like a slave at work, made him hate himself, fired him from his job, attacked him at the SkyDome concert, tried to crush him to death in her giant paw……

 

………..and destroyed his guitar.

 

Every fiber of his being, every willpower in his system and every strength in his bones fought for self-control when the same feeling he got from seeing his guitar in pieces returned little by little, but he did his damn near best to not let it show this time. To not lash out or perhaps even fly into a furious, expletive-laden, ‘reason you suck’ rant at her.

 

His rage didn’t stop his hands from sparkling, however. And this made everyone back away a step, but not Ming. She was ready for whatever he wanted to tell her or do to her. 

 

Scream at her,……

 

………curse at her,……

 

………insult her,……

 

………zap her,……

 

………punch her in the face,……

 

………demand to know what the fuck she was doing here when she never wanted anything to do with him before.

 

Kris just stared back at her unblinkingly with tired eyes that she, by some inkling, knew for a fact held a burning fury behind them.

 

Ming wetted her lips to try and start things off gently, but wasn’t sure of what to even say. But the moment she opened her mouth to try and attempt something,.....this happens.

 

“Bleeeeeuuuggghhhh!”

 

Kris jerked forward and upchucked all over the ground, even accidentally getting some of the vomit all over the bottom of Ming’s dress, forcing her to back away to get any more of it on her. A fountain of pre-chewed food and stomach acid poured out of his mouth like a colorful, chunky waterfall. Instantly, Mei and the rest rested to the sickly boy’s aid.

 

“Okay, okay……….” Elsa soothed him as he kept throwing up. Mei held onto his arm and shoulder almost like a mother. She even grabbed a spare compression cloth from her bag to wipe his face for him and some that got onto his hoodie. Ming looked worried for the boy.

 

“Hmm, post-resurrection nausea.” Ratatoskr commented on the ordeal. “So it is a thing. No worries, he’s still readjusting to being alive again. It’ll pass over soon-”

 

“HHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWHHHHHHHH-HHHHH-HHHHH-RRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!”

 

Everyone was scared out of their wits when there came a sudden, ear-splitting, banshee-like, blood-curdling demonic scream of pure, relentless and ineffable fury from behind them all. There at the open doorways to Éljúðnir was the infuriated Hel herself as she let out her enraged cry as it shook everyone to the core. Even Mei and Ming were understandably terrified upon actually seeing the Goddess of Death in person, taking in her hideous, half-dead, vampiric appearance like you would in reaction to a monster.

 

Hel arrived on the scene to try and reclaim Kris, only to find him reunited with his mother and his friends and it boiled her undead soul like noodles in scalding water to see that she had been proven wrong, to see that his loved ones - much less Ming of all people - really cared enough to risk it all coming into the afterlife to try and rescue him.

 

And it's because of this revelation that Hel has no choice but to let him go.

 

“Fine! Go ahead and take him! See if I care! Get the fuck outta here! All of you!” She legit roared at them all, angered at losing her company, seething and simmering as she slunk back into the shadows with a fiery glare. 

 

“But next time………expect no forbearance from me.”

 

Then the doors slammed themselves shut, sealing her off from the rest of her realm and the human visitors on the bridge altogether. Stig breathed a sigh of relief that Hel was letting them return with him. Though the women were still petrified of the woman’s ghastly attributes.

 

“Gosh, she is so freaky.” said Ming, visibly spooked. 

 

Kris truly had real bravery of a legendary magnitude to have wandered down here and into the domain of that lady and not be terrified of her. Helheim must really be a horrible, scary place to be in if she is in charge.

 

“Kris, baby! Are you okay? Speak to me.” Elsa checked her son for signs of wellness.

 

“Hi, mom.” Kris’s only answer sounded lethargic.

 

His mother smiled at him with tears, since it was nice to hear him speaking again. She really missed hearing his voice.

 

“So can we get outta here now?” asked Rudolf, getting scared of the statues again.

 

“Yes, let’s.” Stig agreed, fishing out the folded-cloth in his pocket, thankful it was even still there on him, and tossed it onto the ground, summoning the Skíðblaðnir ship right on the spot.

 

“Come on, Kris.” Mei grabbed his hand and together as a group, they all helped Kris onto the magical boat. 

 

Kris went first. He was escorted carefully onto the longship with help from Ming and Elsa and was  placed inside of the tent with them and Mei while the boys got to work in getting the ship to sail away. In response, Skíðblaðnir lifted upwards and started to float far away from Éljúðnir like a runaway balloon. The longbow glided and soared across the skies up above through Helheim, taking its passengers far from such an awful place such as this. The ride was pretty quiet most of the way, mainly because Ming still couldn’t have any heart to make a peep in Kris’s presence and even Kris didn’t feel like speaking right now, either because of the sickly feeling he had or some other obvious reason.

 

She would very much rather wait for the right moment, but now probably wasn’t the best time. But she had to get this off her chest sooner or later or else it’ll eat her alive from the inside. Suddenly, the armbands around Stig, Roar and Rudolf’s wrists glowed before they disappeared into thin air, having finally served their one and only purpose. To help them relocate each other after being separated during their journey into Helheim to rescue Kris and now it was done.

 

Elsa held onto her son in a protective embrace as the flying Viking ship flew through the air before it was engulfed in a white glow, bathing them all for a brief moment, teleporting them all out of Helheim.

 

---

 

“Ha! I knew I wasn’t crazy.” Morten gasped with a smile of both giddy excitement and bewilderment after some heavy-duty explanation. “So we’re all related?”

 

“Well, not directly from me included.” Frigg corrected with an elsewhere gaze. “Thor is my stepson.”

 

“It actually gets a lot crazier than that actually.” Loki remarked, jokingly. “Did you know Thrúd forced herself onto her husband? How do you think their rugrats were born?”

 

Setting across them at the table, Thrúd glared at him for that, angry at being reminded of that unforgivable deed that resulted in the birth of her children. Though, make no mistake, that wasn’t something you’d be prepared for if it concerns your family history.

 

“Not sure why I need to hear that.” Aksel breathed out in monotone.

 

“I, myself, will never get over that part.” Wu exclaimed, still baffled and disgusted to know that Elsa’s godly ancestry stemmed from an act of rape.

 

Breaking the calm air within the halls of Valaskjálf and the chorus of chatter amongst the crowd simmered down once Heimdall slammed his way in through the doors to deliver news to the rulers of Asgard. And judging by the overjoyed expression on his face, it must be good news which made the mortal visitors light up with hope.

 

“All-Father, they’ve returned with the boy!” He announced, completely enraptured. “He’s back!”

 

This brought a series of pleasantly shocked and excited reactions from both the gods and mortals alike. The three old men and Kris’s uncles were relieved to hear about this, the aunties were also overjoyed - enthralled, even - and Wu breathed a sigh of relief that her daughter and granddaughter made it back out safely, with the boy no less. She would never live with herself if anything bad had happened to them. Even the gods and goddesses couldn’t be any more grateful about this news than their guests were. It would’ve been sad to hear one of their modern descendants met a sticky end in the personal domain of Hel, the very worst place to be after death.

 

“Where is he?” Morten shot up from his seat at the table like a bee had stung him, already ready to reunite with his grandson.

 

With everything finally coming together, there was no denying, no mistaking and no disregarding the obvious notion that a glorious reunion was in order and the gods made quick haste to see that it was to be set just right for them. Without a moment to lose and just enough anticipation to reunite the young Bengtsson boy with everyone he held dear, those who had traveled a great distance and those who had come a long way to bring him back to them, Heimdall, Guardian of the Bifröst, Seer and Hearer of All and the Watchman of the Æsir, in no time at all, mounted upon Gulltoppr and rode on his trusty steed to lead the humans out of the hall and onto a path through the crowd of Asgardians and establishments of Gladsheim, taking everyone to where the travelers were with the boy, joined by a group of Einherjar and valkyries. Finally, they were taken to a large meadow millimeters from the giant wall where Skíðblaðnir had landed. Stig grabbed at the longboat and managed to fold it back up into a small cloth, which isn’t too bad for a beginner. And there Elsa, Mei, Ming and the others were all safe and sound after their travel into the realm of the dead. However, the biggest and most wonderous surprise that they’ve ever discovered was Kris with them. 

 

He was no longer unconscious or in a coma. He was finally up out of bed, walking and finally okay for the most part. Overall, it seriously a real treat to finally see his grandson alive and back to normal again, so Morten wasted no time embracing Kris. As did Carl, because he was really becoming incredibly scared for his life. Joining him was Tom, Adam and Charlie, and some tears were shed, because why not?

 

Seven months confined to a bed. Confined to machines keeping him alive. Stuck passed out for days and days.

 

And now Kris was there with them all, hugging them all back like he truly missed them. And he did, indeed.

 

Even all the aunties flung themselves at the unprepared boy after his own family was done embracing him. Although confused by why they also were there, Kris didn’t question it or argue against it. He just hesitantly accepted their collected embrace and unwilling to deny how warm it made him feel.

 

“Are you okay, young man?” asked Ping, checking him over.

 

“You poor boy, what have you been up to here?” Helen was taking in his disheveled appearance.

 

“Did that evil devil woman hurt you?” Chen demanded.

 

“Has she tried torturing you?” Lily asked next, concerned as well.

 

“Look at him, he’s a mess!”

 

“Yeah, he must’ve been here longer than months!”

 

“He’s looking skinny! Has he even been eating?”

 

“No, he isn’t that skinny!”

 

“His hair is longer than you said it was, dear!”

 

“Whatever possessed you to go into the land of the dead?”

 

“Yeah, don’t you know there are dead people down there?”

 

All these questions were worsening Kris’s arching head right now and he was trying to massage his temples to try and drown out their voices, which Mei caught right quickly and jumped to save him from feeling any worse than he did right now.

 

“Okay, okay, please. He’s not feeling too well at the moment. Give him some space.” Mei ordered them all, standing in front of him like a protective shield.

 

“Well, we’re allowed to worry, you know.” Lily defended in snap-fast speed.

 

“Yes, indeed.” Wu replied, actually agreeing with her eldest granddaughter for once instead of silencing her as she approached Kris. “You really gave us all quite a scare, young man. You cannot imagine the trouble we went through to save you from the literal jaws of death. Your mother was worried sick. Mei, here, was just as worried as well. They almost became dead themselves entering the afterlife after you. And I will say that it was rather reckless of you to go wandering into Helheim like that.”

 

“Who are you?” Was all Kris could say to that with a deadpan.

 

“I…………” You can say that Wu was a bit speechless by that flippant answer.

 

“This is my grandmother, Wu.” Right away, Mei introduced her to Kris.

 

“And we’re her aunties. We’re the auntie squad, naturally.” said Ping, going next with a bit of pride as she spoke. “I’m Ping, nice to meet you. And this is my husband, Shan.”

 

“Charmed to make your acquaintance.” Her husband responded.

 

“I don’t…….remember you.” Kris moaned his words out.

 

“Well, I wasn’t really there at the concert when all the craziness……uh, happened.” He nervously chuckled, then pointed at his daughter. “And this is our daughter, Lily.”

 

“The hottest and most attractive of the squad, thank you very much.” Lily flaunted with a flirty grin.

 

Helen groaned and rolled her eyes at her, pushing her back.

 

“Go show off somewhere else.” Helen barked, then went next. “Hi, I’m Helen. I’m Ming’s cousin. And I’m kinda dating your uncle.”

 

“Wow…….” The boy replied, not feeling like diving into that with her.

 

“She’s right. And she’s amazing.” Adam agreed with her, his arm holding her by the waist.

 

“And I’m Chen.” The said woman waved at him.

 

“Bleeeeeeuuaaggghh!”

 

Everyone was taken by surprise when the boy suddenly barfed on the ground again right out of the blue like before. All of the other Lees watched with befuddlement and even maternal worry and sympathy. Kris vomited a couple more times while Mei held his hair back and Ming actually stepped in to wipe his face with more bandage wrap as soon as it looked like he was done and started coughing and wheezing and hacking like he was choking on something.

 

“He’s been doing that back in Helheim after he came back.” Elsa explained to the group with her hands on his shoulders.

 

“Goodness!” Chen gasped.

 

“I’m……” Kris spat out the remaining bile left in his mouth, trying to get rid of the nasty aftertaste before looking very weak and very drowsy, his words slowing down. “…….tired.”

 

As his energy slowly left his body and muscles, Kris yawned and his knees gave out as he started to slump to the ground, despite the women trying to keep him up. Morten and Wu also came forth to try and help out, but the alluring and luscious calls of sweet slumberland were irresistible and Kris was already out like a light, snoring.

 

“Is….is he okay? Please tell me he’s okay!” Rudolf started to worry if he was still dying, even after they just saved him.

 

“His body is still getting used to being alive again.” Heimdall explained to them, before turning to the undead warriors. “Escort him to the healer at once!”

 

They nodded obediently and then all Einherjar came forth towards the sleeping Kris, circling him from all sides and, exercising great caution and care, they all grabbed his arms and his legs and gently lifted the boy up without waking him up.

 

“Please be careful with him.” Mei begged them.

 

“And try not to wake him, either.” Kris’s mother informed them as well.

 

And so, Kris was just snoozing away like a baby as the Einherjar carried him through the streets of Gladsheim to get him medical attention as soon as possible. Everyone followed the parade of dead soldiers and winged warrior women, all sharing their own worries for the boy after everything he’s been through. Some of the valkyries, in sync, began chorusing and harmonizing like a solemn church choir during a procession, mainly as a way of wishing the boy good luck in his recovery.

 

Hearing this, many in the group almost cried listening to their singing and hoped that Kris will be able to make it. And most of the Norse pantheon present in the city eyed the sleeping Norwegian boy with concern, sadness, sympathy and Thor was watching very closely himself while amongst his fellow gods.

 

Hoping and praying to all forefathers and the great Auðumbla that his descendant will be okay after the nightmare he’s painfully endured.

 

The band of Einherjar had Kris taken to Eir, the healer of Asgard who was widely renowned for her proficient medical expertise thanks to her use of powerful Vanir and Jötunn magic. Many painstakingly long minutes flew by while Kris needed to be placed before her in her quarters, given a few medicinal herbs and spices to help with his ongoing queasiness and made to take a little nap to reenergize.

 

Then the grand healer returned to the other after leaving Kris to rest to deliver the status to the uneasy human visitors, especially to both Elsa and Ming who were the most anxious out of everyone to hear if he was okay.

 

“Don’t worry, he’ll be fine.” Eir (Nordic: ᛖᛁᚱ), former Shield Maiden and the Norse Valkyrie Goddess of Healing, Protection, Help, Health, Mercy, Medicine and Medical Care explained to everyone, much to their relief. “He’s getting his strength back, though he’s a little weary at the moment. I gave him some herbs to help ease his throbbing headache. He just needs to rest his head for a little while.”

 

“Oh, thank you.” Elsa said gratefully, smiling.

 

“Bless the ancestors.” Ming smiled at the hope that Kris will be able to live again after all and silently, she thanked Sun Yee for heeding her prayers.

 

“He’ll be hungry too when he wakes up.” said Eir as a reminder. “Does he have any preferences?”

 

“Whatever food we guys have here should be good enough.” Elsa shrugged.

 

So Kris was left alone to sleep in Eir’s quarters and let the herbs do their work - with a bucket beside him in case he has to throw up again. His head was indeed hurting like crazy as if he was hit by a train. Being out of his physical form for so long can really have a whopping effect on you. But it felt nice to finally rest that weary head of his. And for the very first time in his life, he didn’t have that nightmare again.

 

No more nightmares this time.

 

He dreamt pleasant dreams and it was like a breath of fresh air to finally be rid of the terrors affecting his sleep.

 

Meanwhile, Wu and Ming were alone with each other with their fight fresh on their minds once again and it hurt worse every time they thought about it.

 

“Mom, I’m……” Ming began to say, but her trembling lips got in the way.

 

“No, Ming.” Wu shook her head, feeling her eyes stinging with tears and she didn’t fight them back and then brought her daughter into a tight hug. “I’m sorry. I’ve held on far too tight. I’ve been too controlling and too obsessive as a mother. Elsa was your only friend and I ruined that just to protect you, but I was wrong. I realize that now. The red panda wasn’t the problem. I was. For years, I’ve blamed the red panda for what happened between us, but looking back now, I was the real reason you lost your temper at me. I should’ve more flexible, more accepting. But instead, I kept you from being true to yourself and from being your own self and in the process, I had inadvertently taught you to do the same with Mei.”

 

Hearing this, Ming never felt more happy to hear those words from her mother and it brought a smile to her face.

 

“I never approved of Kris before.” Ming admitted to her. “Just like you didn’t approve of Jin.”

 

Wu bit her lip and looked away.

 

“It was just a repeat of the same old history. Except you weren’t the one who wasn’t almost killed.”

 

“Yes. But Jin……Jin is really lucky to have you.” Wu explained, cupping her hands in thought. “Jin’s not perfect, but that’s not his fault. And neither am I, apparently. Us Lee women have always considered the red panda to be a staple in our pursuit of social stability, a detriment to perfection, but that’s only because we’ve always focused to heavily on the bad things that come from it and it’s that very needless obsession for perfection that prevents us from seeing the beauty in messy things. And I think…….I think it’s high time we stop rejecting Sun Yee’s blessing to our family. Sure, it will take some getting used to, but I’m ready to take that chance. For you, for Mei, for all of us.”

 

“But I still hurt you.” Ming peeped while happy that her mother was finally ready to accept the red panda.

 

“What happened then was my own fault. And you need to stop blaming yourself for that.” Wu hugged her again. “I am your mother and you’re my daughter. Nothing will ever change that.”

 

Ming’s lips quivered and a tear ran down her cheek as she hugged her back. Years ago, she lost control of the red panda and her mother paid the price for it. And ever since then, the guilt weighed so heavily on her that she wanted so badly to make up for it, even if it meant adhering to Wu’s strict expectations and she wanted to avoid making that same mistake with her own daughter, but never realized that she was only repeating her mother’s mistakes by clinging too closely, whether she had the red panda or not. But it’s only now that she finally has the recognition she’s been longing for her whole life.

 

She was not her mother and Mei was not Ming, either. Children are not extensions of their parents. They are not possessions, they are not trophies to be won and they are certainly not show dogs, either. 

 

They were blessings.

 

---

 

A little while later, Kris finally awoke from his 30-minute nap and he was brought in Valhalla to join the others all seated at the same table together. Kris sat down where there were tons of food and within seconds, he was at the mercy of the aunties, all four of whom where suddenly tending to his hunger, feeding him one piece of food after another, talking over each other and Kris was enjoying the food, but so much as all the attention he was getting. It was making him uncomfortable.

 

Mei almost giggled since it reminded her of the time when her aunties showed up suddenly that one day before she snuck out to Tyler’s party.

 

“Alright, alright, that’s enough, ladies.” Elsa shooed them off, getting up to rest her hands on his shoulders. “He’s just got back to life. Please don’t overwhelm him.”

 

“Can we really help it?” Ping defended. “Look at him. When’s the last time he’s eaten?”

 

“Probably been starving down there in Hel-place.” Chen stated, pinching the boy’s cheek.

 

“Helheim.” Stig corrected her.

 

“Tomato, tom-ah-to.”

 

“So what’s it like, anyway? Having storm powers and all that?” asked the curious Adam, though still in disbelief that his own nephew has godlike powers.

 

“Wrong.” Kris answered monosyllabically.

 

“Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll get used to it eventually.” Thor chimed in.

 

“Maybe.”

 

“Perhaps we’ll teach you how to control it, but only if you’re up for it.” The God of Thunder offered up. “A boy your age blessed with god powers like mine can be a burden if you don’t know how to use them.”

 

“We all don’t get to be normal.” sighed Kris with an expressionless tone, chewing on some sausage.

 

“I’ll say.” Ratatoskr agreed, now coming to sit in front of the boy. “Sorry, we haven't been properly introduced. Ratatoskr be thy name, Guardian of the World Tree be thy game.”

 

“Hi, talking rat.” replied Kris, unfazed by a talking animal since he is friends with a girl who transforms into a red panda.

 

“Why does everyone gotta disrespect me like that?” The squirrel complained.

 

From that moment on during their meal together as one, not once did Kris ever say a word to or about Ming the entire time, nor even so much as look at her. It was almost like he was trying to pretend she wasn’t even there. And Ming took this as a sign that he was still angry at her, but that’s to be expected. Considering the fact for a second that his last memory of her was at the SkyDome before becoming the wrathful God of Thunder. He’s not aware of the events that had occurred for them during their journey across the realms. 

 

He’s not aware of everything Ming has pushed herself through just to reach this point, to help save his life before it was too late. Or the sacrifices she’s made, the risks she’s taken, the backlash she’s endured, but it won’t be fair to either of them to just try and force him to understand that. She still has a long way to go. 

 

---

 

After their meal in Valhalla, everyone traveled straight back to Bilskirnir in Thrúdheim, deciding to spend one last night there in Asgard before they all head back home to the real world. Returning to the home of Thor and meeting up with Thrúd again, needless to say their reunion wasn’t that great. She expressed her guilt to him, but still upset with them after all the harmful information that’s been dumped on him about everything they’ve done, Kris just didn’t have it in him to apologize for punching Thrúd and throwing her off a cliff, only admitting to only………half regretting it. 

 

That was as close as he was gonna get, so she took it.

 

Given how she forced a man to give her children against his will and without his consent just to keep her race going after doomsday, among the other countless atrocities she’s either committed or helped commit in her own pursuit of a personal gain, this might as well be her own comeuppance. Nightfall was beginning to shroud the land and most of the adults in the foyer were seated at the table, talking amongst themselves about their adventure in the realms, how it’s really brought them all together as a family - a much closer one - and how they truly have an extraordinary and baffling story to tell themselves and future generations once they return home. Entering an ancient parallel dimension where the gods and creatures of myth all exist, journeying from realm to realm, meeting the known gods and goddesses of old, encountering fantastical creatures, almost getting killed by a bear, running into wild berserkers and entering the afterlife and back. 

 

What a strange story to tell.

 

Unfortunately, Ming remained silent the whole time because she really wanted to go speak with Kris, but in her heart, she knew it wasn't going to be easy. She was so conflicted. What if he doesn’t accept her apology? What if he truly hates her? He’s been suffering for so long because of her selfish judgment and her mistreatment and it’s gonna take a lot more than helping out of Helheim to help make up for that. All of the Lees ceased their chatter to take in Ming’s troubled expression and intuitively knew what was the matter.

 

“Well, what are you waiting for?” commanded Helen, gesturing with her head to go see the boy.

 

“I don’t know…….” Ming winced lamely.

 

“Ming, come on. This is what you came here to do, isn’t it?” Ping sighed at her nervousness. “Just go in there and say your piece.”

 

“But what if he-”

 

“Regardless, what matters is that you let him know now instead of keeping it in.” Her sister persisted with the sage-like mannerisms of a therapist.

 

She still wasn’t sure, Ming didn’t argue with her. She knew she was right. It’s time to be brave for him. So taking a deep breath in, she gained the courage she needed to stand up from her seat and start her way down the hallway over to the bedroom where Kris will be sleeping for the night. The bedroom that he’ll be sharing with Mei, no less. And Ming definitely didn’t argue against that either when that decision was made. She’s kept them apart for too long because of her severe overprotectiveness, so it was only fair that the two share a bedroom together after seven months of not having time together. 

 

And along the way, fear seized her again like a parasite. Where could she even begin? What could she even say?

 

I’m sorry for treating you poorly, underpaying you and being a terrible boss. No, that sounds basic. And he’ll probably think she’s just being sarcastic.

 

I’m sorry I didn’t care about you or your problems. Well, that didn’t sound very genuinely sincere at all. It just seems like she’s insulting him while disguising it as an apology. 

 

I’m sorry I broke your guitar. Ouch. Okay, if she’s gonna bring up the SkyDome event to him, maybe not mention parts that hurt him the most straight-on as a starting point. The best bet would be to ease into the subject and honestly acknowledge that was wrong and it was.

 

She was getting closer to the open doorway to the bedroom and knew she was because she heard Elsa’s voice from inside since she had left the table earlier to go check up on him. And then Elsa left the room with dried tears on her face. By Ming’s account, Elsa must’ve taken the time to get something off her own chest. One might suggest it has something to do with the broken-arm incident years ago. However, that was such a long time ago and Kris was very young then, so chances were that he may have forgotten about that already. Elsa was his mother, so Kris has already forgiven her about that, but will he forgive Ming? Well, we’ll just have to see for sure.

 

Elsa stopped in her tracks when she saw Ming standing there, who swallowed her spit.

 

“May I have a moment alone with him, please?” She asked her with pleading eyes. “There’s…….there’s some things I need to say.”

 

Opening her mouth and closing it, Elsa almost wanted to refuse, though she’s well aware of how much this meant to her right now. 

 

Giving a last look at her son in the room, she takes off down the hall, giving Ming the okay to step inside. And comes the tough part, looking the boy in the eye. Ming slowly lingered into the room, ignoring the pounding her heart was making and saw Kris sitting there on the bed. Regaining her courage, Ming cleared her throat to get his attention and when she did, she was met with a neutral reception.

 

He peered his head towards her and looked her in the eye and wordlessly makes it clear that he wasn't too excited to see her and it really showed.

 

He did not smile.

 

He did not say a word. And he did not need to.

 

He just stared back at her with that same look in his eyes and looked away after five seconds of locked eye contact.

 

Okay, this was getting awkward now.

 

Ming was standing right before the boy that had put up with her bullshit for two years before being remorselessly fired after their last encounter was……….anything but ideal, which undoubtedly left a huge mental scar on his psyche. One that may have surpassed the one he obtained from witnessing his father’s death at a young age. She still couldn’t believe that Kris was the son of her first crush, the quote-unquote ‘cutest boy in school’.

 

And he was hardly giving her any recognition, which was not unexpected. Ming was going to need to start off small and work her way up.

 

So Ming grabbed a sort of X-shaped chair made of plank woods and moved it over to place it in front of the boy and sat down, all the while examining its strange design.

 

‘What kind of chair is this?’

 

Anyway, she was now sitting in front of him, facing him directly in the face.

 

“Hiiiiii…….” Ming drawled out nervously, heart pounding. “…….How are you doing? Are you………doing alright? Just wanted to check up on you, believe it or not.”

 

Still no response.

 

Okay, here it goes.

 

“So……” Ming inhaled and exhaled, leisurely twirling her fingers. “……..I know that things between us were……not great. In fact, they’ve been very terrible. I have no excuse for how undeniably awful I’ve been. But I just……really wanted to say that…….I’m not a good person.”

 

Kris still didn’t speak to her. But Ming persevered nonetheless.

 

“It’s true. I’m not gonna sugarcoat it. What I did was unforgivable.” She explained with a sad sigh. “I was selfish, impulsive and unfair. My whole life I’ve been expected to be this person for my mother. Someone who’s flawless, perfect, gets good grades, dresses neatly and puts on a happy face for everyone and this red panda curse - I assume Mei-Mei probably already told you about that - has been seen as a scapegoat by my family for years. And years ago, I had an argument with my mother about my love for my husband, whom she didn’t approve of. I got so mad at her that I struck her as the red panda and it’s because of this that I’ve been hellbent on maintaining a better relationship with my daughter, trying to make up for what went wrong that day.”

 

Ming breathing hitched and grew slow as her eyes became flooded with tears. And Kris still didn’t answer or look at her. And he looked like he was getting bored.

 

Not even this was gonna slow her down.

 

“But……” She stammered, feeling her nose run and her lips quiver. “That doesn’t justify anything. It doesn’t justify my poor actions or my behavior. I’ve been so fiercely protective of my daughter that it stopped me from seeing the good in anyone. I’ve always judged them without knowing them first. Mei’s friends, Devon and you. Devon has already been fired because of me and his family pretty much hates me now, but I don’t want anything to happen to you either. You don't deserve to die and be stuck being that psycho woman’s plaything. No. Regardless of my dumb opinion, you are a special boy, you hear me? You mean a whole lot.”

 

Suddenly, Ming started to feel a twinge of hope when Kris finally turned to direct his eyes onto her, even turning to face her altogether. So he really was listening to her at least. That was good.

 

“I wanna take it all back. All of my words, my insults and my negative criticisms, all of it. They mean nothing. I want you to know that. Not to mention, underpaying you, threatening you, slapping you, firing you and, and……the SkyDome?”

 

Ming breathed heavily, letting her tears roll down her cheeks and onto her dress, watery mucus leaking from her nostrils. Her mind shot back to that horrid night and seeing Kris here in the flesh made that dreadful feeling akin to a dagger cutting into her heart and slicing it open.

 

The memory of his horror-struck and devastated face when his guitar was destroyed became an inescapable nightmare as the months went by.

 

“I really messed up. No doubt about it.” She wept, sniffling and wiping the snot away. “That was the dumbest thing I’ve ever done and super uncalled for. I became a monster, I attacked a concert that my daughter wanted to go to, I almost hurt innocent people and I ruined your birthday all because keeping the red panda from her made me obsessive and clingy. Mei loved being with her friends, including you. I mean, with you, she felt safe and free. But with me, she felt…….”

 

“Trapped.”

 

Ming gasped when she finally heard him speak. He was finally responding to her and this made her feel relieved.

 

“Yes.” She answered. “As hard as it is to say, she was. I should’ve been more tolerant and accepting of her friends and you as well. I've always thought you would hold her back, but I was the one holding her back. I had to learn that the hard way.”

 

Then Ming sat up from the chair and went to sit down on the bed next to him. Surprisingly and thankfully, Kris didn’t object at all, just still sat there like an ice sculpture. Though, Ming respected his space by keeping an inch between them.

 

“I assumed the worst in you and them. That’s my fault.” Ming said as she wiped her tears away. “And I just really want you to know that I’m sorry. I’m sorry that I hurt you. I’m sorry that I’ve been a terrible boss, I’m sorry that I drove you to become quiet and distant from your friends and I’m really sorry that I broke your guitar.”

 

Despite trying to remain reserved, Kris spoke up again and said stonily, “You also tried to kill me, too.”

 

“I-......yes, I did and it was unquestionably idiotic. I wasn’t thinking and I had no self-control.” Ming agreed, more tears flowing. “And trust me, I’m not saying any of this just to appease you or keep you from getting angry. This is nothing but the full-on truth. It was my decision alone to come along with your family in the first place. I really wanted to help you. I wanted to make this right. I didn’t want you to suffer anymore.”

 

When Ming reached a hand over to his, he yanked it away, forcing her to take hers back.

 

“And it doesn’t have to be right now - in fact, it shouldn’t be right now - but someday, I really hope that you’ll come to forgive this stupid old woman.” She said to him modesty and self-deprecatingly.

 

The woman took a break for a moment to wait and hear his words, not caring how they’ll sound. She only wanted to hear his thoughts and his opinions and allow him to get a word in, unlike the many times before. At this, Kris sighed a sorrowful sigh and took a minute to process all of Ming’s words. To be honest, he’s still steaming mad on the inside and though he has no idea of what they’ve been up to trying to save him and the events leading up to his rescue, it would understandably be hard to imagine Kris being ready to forgive the same woman who’s brought him nothing but pain and misery.

 

Seconds go by before Kris finally gains the courage to speak up and finds his voice as it filtered outward softly, but delicately to convey his conflicted emotions.

 

“I really hated you.”

 

Ming wasn’t too surprised by that and she had no arguments there at all. Why wouldn’t he?

 

“Every day that I’ve stood behind that counter, listening to your obnoxious bullshit, I’ve thought about hurting you.” He admitted with a light growl in his voice. “Time to time, I’ve thought about bludgeoning you with that stupid cash register and beating your ass until you beg for mercy just to show you what pain really feels like.”

 

Unexpected coming from a 15-year old boy, not to mention a rather harsh and crude to say to an adult. But his feelings are justified, even if that sounded too extreme. However, his angry scowl calmed back down to a sad frown.

 

“But it would never help anything. It would never be the answer.” He shakily replied, breath staggering. “I don’t wanna think I’m someone who causes other people nothing but pain. That’s not who I am. No matter every time you threw a washcloth in my face or called me ‘stupid’, it hurt, it really hurt......”

 

Ming gulped and stared at him guiltily when remembering his days back at the temple when she was nothing more than a tyrant as opposed to a manager to him.

 

“......but nothing hurt more than losing Mei.” Kris lamented. “To think nobody really wants me.”

 

“Well, she’s wrong, you know. Hel’s wrong about you.” Ming explained to him, scooting an inch closer. “You’re not unwanted. You do matter, you hear me? You have friends, you have your mother and your grandfathers and you have Mei-Mei. And you’re not alone, either. And I’m sorry that I ever made you think that. After everything you’ve endured like when you lost your father, you deserve love more than anyone.”

 

“How do you-”

 

“I saw your memories. I saw what happened that night. No child should ever go through that.” said Ming compassionately. “And no child should ever have to live with the sick notion that they deserve death, neither. Your mother needs you, your friends need you and my daughter needs you more than anything. After all, they’ve risked their own lives to enter the land of the dead to bring you back.”

 

“It really feels so weird hearing this from you.” Kris shrugged.

 

“I don’t blame you.” Ming confessed.

 

“And you’re right, it’ll take me a long time to get over it. A very long time.” The boy told her honestly. “First, I need to do something. Can you get in front of me please?”

 

“Um, okay.” Ming was confused by that request, but somewhere in her heart told her where this would be headed. Nevertheless, she complied and moved in front of him until they were both staring each other in the face.

 

SLAP!

 

It caught her by surprise, but Kris suddenly whipped an open palm right at her face with swiftly agile speed and ferociously slapped her right across the face with all his force brought on by his new inhuman strength and Ming was sent flying back against the wall really hard. Albeit shocked, she winced in pain and nursed her stinging cheek, now glowing red from the slap. With no reason to doubt it, this must’ve been him paying her back for their encounter at Tyler’s party.

 

“Ow.” She whimpered.

 

“Okay, I feel better now.” Kris smiled almost smugly.

 

That really hurt, but it’s safe to say it wasn’t completely unearned. Technically, this makes them even now. She just nodded passively and returned to her spot on the bed next to him, still wincing and rubbing her cheek.

 

So he has storm powers, lightning powers and now super strength. He’s definitely Thor’s descendant.

 

“Yeah, I guess I deserved that.” She admitted defeatedly. “So does this mean we’re okay now?”

 

“No.” He deadpanned.

 

“I didn’t think so.” Ming’s eyes turned down to the floor.

 

“But maybe someday I’ll come to accept why you came all this way. Someday, I’ll let bygones be bygones, but not right now. I’m just not ready for that. Not after………everything.” He moderately stated.

 

“I understand. That’s all I really ask.”

 

Ming accepted his answer, putting an arm around him and Kris let her this time. He may still be angry at her, but he was at least accepting her comfort. She knew deep down that his forgiveness wasn’t an easy thing to obtain, not after all she’s put him through. But now that they were finally having an actual conversation for once - one where she’s not snapping at him or giving him guff - she was content that she was stepping in the right direction.

 

“But I promise you. I will try to start doing better. Not just for you, but for Mei as well. No more being perfect, no more defamation or ridicule, just being…….me.” Ming promised him, then she reached up and undid her hair, bringing out of her usual bun and letting her hair go free, releasing it from its confines and allowing it to flow down her shoulders and back like a black curtain.

 

“I…….think I like your hair better that way.” Kris blushed seeing her with her hair down.

 

“Oh.” Ming blushed herself with a slight flattered giggle, gingerly combing her hair with her fingers. “I think I do, too.”

 

---

 

That night came and everyone was getting ready for bed. In their shared bedroom, Kris decided to sleep in his black boxers and his shirt since they didn’t pack any pajamas for him to wear before they flew to Norway. Thankfully, everyone’s clothes have been cleaned and washed and returned to them. By now, Kris was wondering how his life will return to normal when they get back. Like how much schoolwork has he missed out on? How many activities did he miss? How many movies he didn’t get to see? And what about summer break? Was it still summer? He didn’t know for sure. He wasn’t even sure how long he’s been stuck in the Nine Realms and, by extension, Helheim. He had lost all track of time.

 

Then a knocking by the door interrupted his train of thought and he blushed when he turned to see Mei standing there wearing her own night gear - a white T-shirt that nearly covered her knees with the Canadian maple leaf symbol on it and pink gym shorts. Now that Kris got a much better look at her, not only was her hair black again, but it was done up in a small ponytail on the back of her head and she wasn’t wearing her glasses anymore. A lot must’ve changed since he’s been stuck here. Mei was also wearing his favorite brown jacket. 

 

An awkward and still pause came between the two since things had gotten sour since the party months ago. Both of them struggled to figure out what to say to the other. Mei beat him to it in breaking the ice.

 

“So did you and my mom finally make up?” She asked him carefully. “She didn’t really say much.”

 

“If……..you wanna call it that.” Kris said and left it at that.

 

Now there was no malice and no sarcasm in his voice to suggest otherwise, but something told Mei that maybe Kris still held some resentment over Ming even if he listened to her apology.

 

“Well, you probably wouldn’t be here now if my mom hadn’t brought us along.” Mei stated as she slowly walked up to him. “I don’t blame your anger towards her, but just give it some time. I’m not gonna try and force you to forgive her. She just wants you to understand how horrible she felt, which is why she really wanted to help you.”

 

“Yes, I do understand.” He sighed, shaking his head. “But it’s gonna be hard to forget about the past. To look at her and not remember the pain she caused me.”

 

“I know.” Mei exhaled in acceptance. 

 

“And how long was I out?” He asked with a hint of concern in his tone.

 

“Seven months.”

 

“Seven months!?” He balked, wide-eyed.

 

“Yeah.” Mei miserably nodded, looking away. “It’s Christmastime now.”

 

Kris fell when those words impacted his mind like a missile. So he’s been unconscious in the real world for that long? Looks like he’s really missed a whole lot, like the last day of school, summer break, the first day of school for the next grade, Halloween and now he was so close to missing out on Christmas.

 

“Yeah, we were worried you wouldn’t wake up ever again.” Mei confessed before handing him his jacket. “Here’s your jacket back, by the way.”

 

“Huh. I was wondering where that went.” Kris takes it back since he didn’t have it on him when he first woke up in this realm. “What happened to your hair?”

 

“Oh.” Mei perked up, realizing that it wasn’t the same color it was the last time he saw her and flicked it as if to show it off. “That. Well, the gods gave us a new ritual to help us control our pandas better without having to bottle our emotions up.”

 

“You mean it’s still there?” asked Kris.

 

“Yep.” She nodded and to prove it to him, she poofed in the red panda right now. “See?”

 

And this really was a big surprise to Kris, seeing that Mei can now transform back and forth as the red panda whenever she wanted. But the word ‘ritual’ made Kris turn crestfallen, thinking back to the party once more and how he hadn’t been the same after that.

 

“So……..”

 

POOF! Back into human form she went.

 

“So this means no more having to worry about transforming accidentally. I’m free to feel however I want.” She told him a bit excitedly.

 

“Yeah.” The boy bemoaned, the memory of her betrayal still on his mind while he trudged over to his bed and sat down right on it until his back was against the wall. Then Mei grew sad herself since she knew what he was upset about and it made her guilt over that night regrow in an instant when the thought of his brokenhearted face reappeared in her brain as if it were taunting her about her poor decision. With that, she couldn’t contain herself any longer.

 

She rushed right at him and caught him by surprise when she flung her body onto his, wrapping her arms around him in a tight embrace, hot tears streaming from her eyes as she sobbed in his chest. Although dumbfounded, he hugged her right back since he still missed her after all this time despite the way everything ended between them both as friends.

 

“Oh, Kris. I’m sorry that I didn’t defend you that night when my mom fired you.” She apologized, crying hard with her tears drenching his shirt. “I’m sorry for never being brave enough to speak up whenever my mom mistreated you. I’m sorry for being such a terrible friend.”

 

“Mei-”

 

“No! Don’t tell me it’s okay! It’s not!” Mei cut him off with a wet sniffle. “I’ve been so obsessed with pleasing my mother and keeping her proud of me that I forgot what really mattered to me! It was you, Kris! You, Stig, Roar, Rudolf, Priya, Miriam, Abby, all of you! But I kept letting my mom walk all over me and you fell into a long coma for it! I understand if you’re mad at me, too!”

 

“But….M-Mei, I can’t be.” Kris sadly tried to soothe her, enjoying her embrace. “Yes, it really hurt when you didn’t speak up, but we were all to blame for exploiting your red panda for money.”

 

“So?! It was my stupid idea to begin with!” Mei knew for a fact that their hustle was more on her than them. “All because I wanted to go to a stupid concert! As much as I wanted to see my favorite band on stage, seeing you hurt was way worse than that. I shouldn’t have talked you into helping me.”

 

“But I wanted to.” Kris admitted, making her look at him. “I wanted you to be happy with your own wants and needs. I would do anything for you.”

 

“Really?” Mei sniffled with a sad smile.

 

“You wanted to be yourself and I wanted that for you, even if it made your mom mad. Even if it cost me my job.” Kris confessed, not leaving her eyes.

 

“But Kris, I’m not the girl you think I am. I’m still that overrighteous, overachieving-”

 

“Mei, shut up and listen to me!” Kris yelled at her, silencing her and earning a shocked expression from her. “You’re none of that, you got that? I don’t believe any of that. You’re much more than that. Because you’re……you. You’re this wild, funny, cute, dedicated, determined and overzealous girl that I’ve come to know and enjoy. And you’ve come all this way to come and save me from the Goddess of Death. You’ve already redeemed yourself.”

 

“I….I guess I already have.” Mei found herself smiling when she knew he was right then poofed back into the red panda before him, opening her arms to offer a soft, fuzzy hug. “Panda cuddles?”

 

Seeing those big panda eyes of hers, Kris smiled knowing that he could never say no to that face in his life. So he gladly accepted it, letting Mei wrap her big, furry arms around his comparatively small body and drinking in the red panda goodness he’s been lacking these past months since the concert disaster.

 

“I really missed you.” She told him.

 

“I missed you, too.” He happily hugged her back.

 

Once they broke apart and Mei returned to normal, they sat there next to each other on the bed for a moment when Mei blushed as a thought came to mind. That night when Kris tried to say something before everything went from bad to worse in seconds and before she messed everything up. Now she was wondering what those words were about to be. After all, they’ve been close friends for a long time despite her controlling mother’s overprotectiveness and Kris helped her get what she wanted no matter the consequences, so it must be really important.

 

“So, um…….what were you going to say?” Mei asked curiously, brushing her hair back.

 

“What?” He didn’t understand.

 

“Back at Tyler’s party before I fucked everything up, you were trying to tell me something. So what was it?” Mei rotated to face him directly.

 

His heart thumped and his face heated up when he finally recalled that moment when he was trying to admit his feelings to her, but he sucked it up and decided that an appropriate time is any. 

 

This was it. 

 

Time to tell her how he felt about her. 

 

With a deep and calming breath in, he started.

 

“I just wanted to tell you that……” He began, working his way into it. “......well, you really mean a lot to me, you were always there for me and I loved being there for you. You’re so amazing and cute and lovable and it makes me feel warm inside.”

 

For her part, Mei felt her own face become warm as it turned a bright red. Her own heart fluttered and she felt butterflies in her stomach and her hormones were going off like fireworks on Independence Day, making her wonder if it wasn’t too good to be true.

 

“And I just really want to say that……….” Now for the kicker. “......I love you, Mei.”

 

“You…….you do?” She gasped, eyes growing wider than dinner plates and her lips forming into a pleased smile.

 

“Yes. And I really want to tell for a lo-MMPH!”

 

It was like a dream, expect it wasn't.

 

Because at long, long last………it happened.

 

Kris was cut off the moment he was grabbed by his arms and felt the adorable and attractive Mei’s soft, warm and sweet lips meet his own and his heart and mind both exploded like napalm and a series of electrical currents surged all over his body in every nook and cranny, every nerve and every organ and his heart…….it beat like no other heart has ever beaten in history. Like the world’s biggest drum solo everyone has ever heard in their life!

 

After accepting what this was and how it made him feel, Kris melted into the kiss and slowly wrapped his arms around around her body while hers were softly and tenderly around his neck as they both smooched and smooched with the most alluring and fiery passion any growing teenager would have towards the love of their lives.

 

It was as if the world had vanished around them and it was just the two lovers with doves flying around them, tweeting a touching love melody for them as they kissed. Everything was a lovely shade of pink around them, cherry blossom petals dancing along the wind around them, twirling in a circle and yet, they were aware of nothing but themselves.

 

Despite not wanting to, their lips broke up for a moment of air as they looked deep into each other’s eyes, both lovestruck and feeling like they were inside a fantasy.

 

They finally had their first kiss.

 

“I love you, too, Sparky.” Mei breathed with a flirty smile.

 

“And you, as well, my Panda Girl.” Kris smiled back and just like that, they came in for another make out session.

 

Meanwhile, they were being watched by Stig and Roar who were both standing by the door eavesdropping on their conversation and then watched as the new couple shared their first kiss together after so long of being drifted apart by responsibilities, expectations and traditions and silently, they felt glad for Kris for finally opening up to Mei about his feelings for her.

 

“Took him long enough.” Stig muttered with a hardened gaze.

 

“Well, better late than never.” shrugged Roar.

Notes:

And so it was to be true. Kris and Mei are finally and officially a couple.

So after coming back to life back in Helheim, Kris feels queasy after being resurrected, but that's just him readjusting to the living plane. Kris has been reunited with his family and friends, and especially Mei. However, he isn't too pleased seeing Ming there also. But thankfully, Eir is able to nurse him back to health.

Ming finally does what she came with the Bengtssons to do; make things right with Kris. So she apologizes to him and acknowledged that what she did was wrong and how unfair it was to him. Because regardless of her own trauma dealing with similar stressful expectations of her own as a child, it doesn't permit her for being so nasty and becoming such a bully. Of course, you can tell that Kris is still a little upset at her, but he accepts her apology nonetheless, though not without getting a satisfactory slap at her face as payback for her actions at the party disaster. So now they're both even.

And Mei also apologizes for not being a great friend to him, not having the courage to speak up against her mother while she was abusing him. Despite this, Kris still wants to be with her. And after what felt like an eternity, he has confessed his feelings to her and now they've shared their first kiss.

Next Chapter: Before returning home, everyone visits the grave of Kris's father. Back in Toronto, Mei reconciles with her friends and they all spend the remaining days of Christmas together.

Next Update: June 9, 2023

Chapter 24: Merry Christmas!

Summary:

Before returning home, everyone visits the grave of Kris's father. Back in Toronto, Mei reconciles with her friends and they all spend the remaining days of Christmas together.

Notes:

Disclaimer: Turning Red and it’s characters are the property of (c) Walt Disney Pictures/Pixar Animation Studios.

Elements are borrowed from God of War (2018) and Ragnarök, owned by (c) Santa Monica Studio/Sony Interactive Entertainment

The next morning as the sun arose over Asgard, everyone awoke from their well-deserved night’s sleep, including Kris. So now it was time to head on back home to the real world. So everyone packed up their things that they’ve brought with them into the dimension and got ready for their departure. The weapons were given to the gods to decide what to do with them and everyone said their farewells to the gods and goddess, thanking them for all their help and the deities all wished them good luck. Thor, the toughest and roughest god among the pantheon, even brought Kris into a hug, even looking like he was about to shed a tear. In spite of his feelings towards his godly ancestors, Kris reluctantly hugged him back.

 

And so, Huginn and Muninn encircled everyone all standing together in a group, their flurry of black feathers made the gods and the realm around them vanish in a brief blackness of cawing and crowing until finally, they all dissipated and the raven were gone in a split seconds. No longer were they standing in Asgard or the separate dimension parallel to Earth, but rather the farmhouse in Norway where they previously were, buried hip-deep in thick layers of snow from the blizzard. When Kris started to freeze and shiver from the cold as did everyone else due to the magic protecting them from the frigid air being removed, everyone rushed inside the house to get warm. 

 

Aksel and Morten got to work putting a fire together in the fireplace to get some heat going. Kris sat before the flames, breathing a sigh of relief to finally be out of the Nine Realms and back where he belonged.

 

“So good to finally be home.” Kris relaxed, sitting in the chair.

 

“I’ll say.” Mei agreed with her boyfriend, snuggling against him, which warmed Ming’s heart and Elsa’s to see that their children are now official.

 

Then Kris heard mooing next to him and was surprised to see Umbla walking up to him and licking his face, happy to see him awake and out of bed at last.

 

“Umbla, hi!” Kris exulted, hugging the nanny cow around her neck while she nudged her head against his in a maternal manner.

 

“She was worried about you.” Mei smiled at the scene.

 

“I bet.” He remarked. “So we’re back in Norway.”

 

“Yeah, and we need to get to the airport soon and head back. I promised your friend's parents I’d have them back home in time for Christmas.” Elsa explained to her son, then checked her cellphone for the date. “And it’s the 22nd today.”

 

“For real?” asked Ping, adjusting her glasses. “So there’s still time left before Christmas Day.”

 

“But first………we should make a quick stop.” Elsa explained with a tense voice.

 

“Where?” Roar asked, cocking an eyebrow.

 

“You’ll see.”

 

Out of the farmland they went with Morten hugging his brother goodbye and even Wu gave him one as well. They packed up all the medical equipment and the stretcher, got into their rental cars and drove away down the country road. Everyone else went to pack up their things at the hotel they were staying at with the Bengtssons giving them a hand. Kris, while helping them load their suitcases in the car, still needed a coat since it was still incredibly cold out. So after everyone was packed up and ready to go, they stopped at a store and bought him a parka coat to wear. Mei picked out a ear flap beanie hat for Kris that she thought looked cute on him. 

 

Afterwards, Elsa drove down a road with everyone else tailing behind. The woman struggled to keep herself together during the trip.

 

“Where are we going?” asked Kris, now familiar with the road she was taking.

 

“To visit…..him.”

 

“What do you mean ‘him’?” Ming asked, turning to face her.

 

Elsa doesn’t answer, however, which made Ming feel uneasy. Quiet minutes of driving later, they arrived at the place she wanted to visit. Passing below the large wrought-iron gate with the sign in big Norwegian letters……

 

……Vår Herre og Frelser Kirkegård.

 

Of course, Mei and Ming didn’t speak the language so the translation behind the name eluded them. However, looking all around, there were tombstones everywhere, obviously making it clear they were in a cemetery. At this, they were starting to get a firm grasp on why they were here. Everything was familiar there to the Bengtssons. The memory of watching him be buried and the glum processions, the notion of a boy losing his father so early in his life. They marched through the snow, sauntering past gravestone after the next, each one jutting out of the pure white ground like spikes. The rest of the Lee family followed them.

 

“So remind us why we’re here again?” asked Helen, unsure why they were at a churchyard right now.

 

“Remember my late husband?” asked Elsa, struggling to keep her emotions together.

 

“Yes……” Lily answered with a recoil, sounding discomposed and also sympathetic.

 

“Well,.....he was shot.” Elsa fought back the urge to shed tears, wanting to save them until they got there. Everyone’s eyes were close to popping out of their skulls at the horror that gripped their hearts. However, Mei, Ming, Stig, Morten and Carl were the only ones that already knew of this. “He and Kris were at a convenience store getting a few groceries and Kris was 5 at the time. Then suddenly, a couple of armed robbers busted in to rob the store.”

 

The further this tragic story went, the harder it was for her to keep herself together. The others were afraid of how this was going. This was never a story Elsa enjoyed sharing with anyone, but after all she suffered through in Helheim to save her son from death, she felt that now was a better time than any to finally open up.

 

“Michael tried to defend Kris against them, but they shot him down three times until he was dead.” Elsa gulped, her throat running dry. “Kris had to watch the whole thing. After the police arrived, they had already fled the scene. My guess is that they probably cut and run after they heard the sirens closing in.”

 

“They ever find them?” asked Jin.

 

“No.” She shook her head robotically. “They searched and searched and the cashier gave them his best description of them, but whoever they were, they were never seen or heard from again.”

 

Kris, himself, was fighting back strong emotions himself, now thinking back to that horrible moment that had haunted his nightmares for years. Where he saw him dying over and over again in his sleep like an eternal punishment for letting him die, just sitting there and doing nothing while his father lost his life that night.

 

“How can you go through that?” Lily asked Kris with compassion.

 

“My dad gave his life up for me.” Kris was the best he could come up with for them in a shaky tone.

 

“But you saw him die.” Chen argued. “And you were just a child. How could a bunch of psychos do that to a little kid?”

 

“It wasn’t easy after that.” Kris admitted with a sad sigh. “Wondering what had happened, trying to make sense of it. Every night I go to bed seeing him dying over and over and over again, making me question why I exist while trying to pretend everything is okay when it isn’t.”

 

But this nihilistic statement only made them feel more hurt for him since they all figured instinctually that the boy was dealing with his tragedy in such an unhealthy way. Staying positive everyday while simultaneously being tormented every night by ceaseless nightmares that are always the exact same. Like being trapped in a time loop where his fathers dies in front of him while he’s too helpless to stop it. And he keeps this to himself? That’s no way to deal with loss. Has he even cried about him since then? Has ever had a chance to grieve for him?

 

“I’m sorry, Kris.” Mei snivelled mournfully, hugging his arm.

 

They all remained silent until Elsa finally made it to the spot underneath a large, leafless ash tree all by itself. And there resting peacefully near it was a lone grave with a tombstone that had Urnes style motifs lined up on both sides, a bear head symbol etched on it on the top below the vegvísir compass and the Ancient Scandinavian valknut symbol at the bottom. A Nordic-style grave for a certain someone who gave their life up for a certain little boy. The engraving reading as follows;

 

MICHAEL BENGTSSON
Born: March 3, 1973
Died: September 9, 1992
~
Father, Husband, Lover
Son, Protector

 

This was the grave of Kris’s father, Michael Anderson-Bengtsson.

 

Elsa and Ming both stared at the grave with despair. Both of them were distraught being at the sight where the boy they both knew in high school was dead and buried. The boy Ming had dated for a while before she fell in love with Jin. Everyone had no words to say. All they could do was inspect the grave with curiosity and sadness. After the story they were told about how he died, it was just even more sad, especially seeing Kris standing before the grave right now and he was going through a massive roller coaster of emotions.

 

For years he’s been denying the death of his father and pretending to be okay just to get on with his life like it never happened, but it only made the pain worse and worse. Every nightmare served as a reminder. A reminder of that darkness that flooded his brain the moment he saw the life vanish from his eyes and his blood spill over the floor.

 

He fought.

 

He fought to keep it in.

 

But as they flashed before his eyes - his face, his blood, his body sprawled against the floor - it became too much to bear.

 

He shook and his lips quivered as his eyes stung with hot tears that leaked from his eyes and wet snot dripped from his nostrils. His legs gave out as he dropped to his knees in front of the grave and cried. Sobbing his eyes out while all watched with sadness and sympathy. It wasn’t fair. Losing a father at a young age.

 

Elsa came and hugged him while she, too, began to cry. As everyone looked at each other with sorrowful looks, they each felt like Kris needed this more than ever. Mei hugged Kris as well, shedding a tear or two with him. Then they were joined by Ming, Stig, Roar, Rudolf, Jin, Morten, Carl, Ping, Shan, Helen, Lily, Helen, Adam, Charlie, Tom and Wu. All of them formed a large group hug comfortingly around the boy as he cried and bawled.

 

Finally grieving for his father.

 

---

 

Everyone was back at home in Toronto, Canada and Kris felt a wave of relief being back in his home city once again. After their flight home, the Lees that stayed in Toronto after the concert incident due to their red pandas returned back to their original homes. Ping and Shan returned to their apartment above their laundromat, Chen was back in Montreal after kissing Charlie goodbye (though they planned on seeing each other again with Chen planning on moving to Toronto with him) and Wu packed up her things and after bidding Ming’s family farewell and hugging them all goodbye, especially Jin, Wu hopped on the next flight back to Florida.

 

However, Helen and Lily decided to stay in Toronto with their boyfriends - Adam and Tom, respectively. Izzy and Jaz really loved having Helen around. Izzy, who hadn’t taken her seriously initially, had soon warmed up to the woman, even seeing her as a new mother. Lily contacted her daughter, Vivian, again after so long and after much deliberation and effort, Vivian and Lily moved in with Tom and his son, Toshio.

 

When they were finally back home, Mei realized there was one last thing she needed to do. Joined with Kris and his friends, they remembered the once place where they’d all go together during the winter season. Out on the ice hockey rink in the middle of the park lined with Christmas decorations were Priya, Miriam and Abby, all adorned in their winter garb and skating around together on the ice. Mei decided to stay on the sidelines for now and wait for the right moment, remembering that they’re still angry with her.

 

“Girls.” Stig called out to them as he and his two friends carefully walked out onto the ice without skates.

 

“Boys!” They all cried in unison as the three rushed to their boyfriends after days apart during their trip to Norway. Despite being on ice, the girls ripped off their skates and ran directly at them, reuniting with them in warm hugs. Stig and Priya shared a deep kiss, Roar and Miriam gave each other kisses on the cheek and Abby barrelled into Rudolf, knocking him to the ground, but they sat back up and kissed.

 

“So glad you boys are back home.” Priya said with her usual mellow smile.

 

“Me too. Wouldn’t want to spend the holidays without you girls.” Her goth boyfriend agreed. “How’s Fang been?”

 

“I don’t speak snake, but he’s been surprisingly well-behaved.” She answered. “And Cooper’s been a good boy, too.”

 

“So how was Norway?” asked Miriam.

 

“It was really nice there.” Roar explained, letting his girlfriend go. “Lots of mountains and fjords, but you won’t believe the trip we’ve had.”

 

“Yeah, we finally got him back!” Rudolf nodded vigorously with a giant grin.

 

“What?” Miriam peeped, confused.

 

“Hey, girls.”

 

There came a collective gasp among them when they heard the familiar voice as they all turned and saw Kris standing there out on the ice as well, only he wasn’t unconscious and bedridden anymore. He was out, walking around once more. And to be totally honest, the girls were genuinely surprised. 

 

“Kris!” They shouted as they rushed over to him, though Abby beat the other two to it. She raced over to the boy and launched herself right at him, getting him with one of her attack hugs, wrapping her arms and legs around his body. Surprisingly to them, this time he took the impact like a champ and held the plump Korean girl up with his strong arms. She was so happy to see him well again that she cried tears of joy.

 

“You’re awake!” She gasped, looking at him with surprise to hear his voice that she hasn’t heard in forever. “And you’re talking again!”

 

“Yes, I am. Glad to see you three again.” Kris told her with friendly passion.

 

Abby smiled a watery smile, but then started to shake him by his coat with anger, shouting, “Don’t you ever do this again, Kris!”

 

She sobbed into his chest after that and hugged him tightly in an embrace to ensure she never loses him again, but Kris couldn’t really blame her. After the whole concert craziness and him being out for seven whole months, it was understandable for her to be so incredibly worried for him, his well being and his life. And Kris admittedly did miss the hyperactive and chaotic girl and her famous attack hugs.

 

“Thank god you’re okay, Kris.” Miriam gushed, hugging him along with Priya. “You really had all of us worried.”

 

“So start explaining please.” demanded Priya softly, but sternly.

 

“Explaining what?” asked the confused Kris, wanting to know for sure what they meant.

 

“So you have lightning powers?” Priya clarified, hands on her hips. “And I have a feeling you were causing that storm that night.”

 

“Uh, what else happened that night?” He asked, since Mei and the rest have been vague about that. He didn’t bring himself to ask them about it since it wasn’t that big of a concern to him yet.

 

“Well, this bloody scar of a symbol appeared on your forehead and then suddenly, boom! Zap! You turned into this giant fat man with a flying hammer and you started beating the absolute shit out Mei’s mom!” Abby shouted with a burst of energy.

 

“Yeah, what was all that about anyway?” Miriam asked.

 

“I don’t remember any of that.” Kris admitted. “After my guitar was smashed, everything went black.”

 

“But who was that fat man? That’s what I wanna know.” Priya expressed, looking straight at him.

 

“That was Thor.” Stig explained, walking up to stand next to them. “He’s the God of Thunder in Norse mythology.”

 

“Wait, you mean…….” Abby stopped herself for a moment to think this over. However, she became instantly perplexed. “Hold on, you’re saying that guy was Thor?”

 

“Yes, and I don’t mean the Avenger from the comic books.” Stig rolled his eyes since he already knew what she was talking about.

 

“And he’s Kris’s ancestor.” Rudolf chimed in.

 

“Uh, what now?” Miriam was even more addled than the rest of the girls.

 

“Let us explain.” stated Roar.

 

Then the boys got straight into the explanation as to what happened during their trip while on their way to save Kris. They told them about how they were sucked into an ancient dimension parallel to Earth where the gods of old and mythical creatures and entities exist and the world remains in ancient times, the times when people still believed in and worshiped those gods, how they met the Norse pantheon, traveled across the Nine Realms of Norse cosmology, encountered several creatures, collecting items, until eventually entering Helheim to rescue Kris’s lost soul from the hands of Hel, the Goddess of Death since they found out that Kris’s astral form was separated from his physical form to separate him from the rampaging Thor back at the SkyDome. They even mentioned the fact that they’ve been attacked by manifestations of their traumatic pasts; that Stig saw his dead parents, Roar, his abusive uncle and Rudolf, the man that stabbed him and hospitalized him, much to the girls’ horror.

 

Granted, all of this was definitely a lot to take in for the girls and one would find it all super hard to believe. However, they knew that Mei’s family was blessed with the power to turn into giant red pandas by the gods, according to the tale of Sun Yee, and they’ve already witnessed Kris turn into a large, medievally-dressed man with mighty storm powers and a sparkling hammer powerful enough to pound a giant red panda kaiju mom down to size and into submission. So in a way, their reactions may have been far from any normal reaction an ordinary person would have listening to a yarn this surprising.

 

“Wow.” Mirian gasped, wide-eyed and mouth agape. “Now that is…..really something. Really something.”

 

“I know, right?” Rudolf nodded in agreement. “Thankfully, that bear didn’t eat me.”

 

“Well, you need to be more careful around bears, because they don’t live to be disturbed during hibernation.” Abby scolded her boyfriend.

 

“So you guys went into the realm of the dead by yourselves?” Priya, the same macabre lover Stig knew her as, said with lifted eyebrows. “That has got to be the bravest, craziest and definitely stupidest thing you boys have ever done.”

 

“Kris was trapped down there. And that half-dead maniac bitch refused to let him go.” conceded Stig with a shrug.

 

“Well, at least you guys made it. That’s all that matters.” Priya hugged him, lovingly smooshing his cheek with hers. “And I’m sorry about your parents. What about a bunch of jerks they were. Well, I think they got what they deserved in the end.”

 

“Priya!” Miriam gaped at her, appalled.

 

“I must wholeheartedly agree.” Stig smirked, having accepted how terrible his late parents were. “Because I got better parents out of it.”

 

“And your uncle?” Miriam turned to her boyfriend with horror. “How did you ever put up with an asshole like him?”

 

“I was young and very stupid, but thankfully the police took care of him.” Roar hugged his green-wearing girlfriend.

 

“Well, I just hope that Dolfie here can learn to be more careful when walking the street.” Abby held her said boyfriend close very, very tightly, almost suffocating him.

 

“You got it, baby.” He wheezed from her tight hold.

 

“And my father was murdered.” Kris was pretty straightforward with his explanation and they gaped at him, horrified. “I was 5 and we were at a store getting stuff when two thugs came in with guns to rob the cash register. My father stepped up to protect me, but he was fatally shot right in front of me. The killers were never caught and never seen again some time after that.”

 

And their reactions were just as you’d expect. All three girls brought him into a group hug, crying for him. And he accepted their hug, glad to get that off his chest.

 

“Listen, you guys. Mei’s gone through a lot to help me out and I know you’re upset at her for…….well, everything, but if it wasn’t for her and her mom, I wouldn’t be here right now.” Kris counseled wisely.

 

“.....” The girls tried to respond to that, but if he brought up Mei, they couldn’t find any words.

 

“It’s true, girls.” That’s when Mei finally decided to make her presence known to them, despite her immense guilt corroding her soul at the moment. All three of her former friends looked at her with light scorn.

 

“Oh, hey, Mei.” Miriam mumbled wryly, looking anywhere but at her.

 

“What happened to your hair?” asked Priya, noticing the girl’s black hair.

 

“The gods helped her and her family with a ritual to help them control their red pandas better.” Kris explained for his girlfriend, holding her hand. “Show them.”

 

And she did.

 

POOF!

 

The three girls’ breaths were taken away to see that Mei still had the red panda in her. In fact, Abby was so vehemently tempted to go up and start cuddling up to her furry body, but her anger at the girl overpowered this temptation. And she and the other two turned their backs to her. Stig and the boys didn’t need to speak up for Mei, so they remained silent to allow her to do the talking. Seeing this and keeping in mind that her friends are still upset at her, Mei became human again.

 

“What I did was wrong and I know that.” Mei wept, feeling tears coming on. “It’s my fault for letting you guys take the fall for everything. That wasn’t cool. I should never have let my mom control me and I never should’ve put my need for her approval before all of you. And worse, Kris was put into a seven month coma because of my selfishness. But I promise you, my mother’s a different person now. She knows what did was wrong and she wants to do better. But either way, I’ve let you guys down. I was a terrible friend. But I’m nothing without my gang, my team, my sisterhood of 4*Townies. I don’t want to be perfect or this dutiful daughter for my mom. All I want right now is to have you guys back no matter what. I love you guys and I’m sorry.”

 

Despite their anger, the three listened to Mei’s heartfelt apology. They listened and slowly their anger washed away. Yes, they were hurt that Mei threw them under the bus back at the party disaster and seeing Kris get incapacitated by Ming was worse and yes, they did say Mei still had a long way to go after the concert. However, although they didn’t want to admit it out loud before and even though they’ve been avoiding her, they really missed hanging out with Mei, all the times they’ve spent together, all the karaoke sessions, all the memories, everything. And after Mei’s put so much emotional baggage onto them, they were beginning to see how much Mei has changed and how remorseful she’s been over how their friendship coldly ended.

 

“4*Town forever?” Mei peeped beggingly, shedding a tear.

 

Miriam couldn’t deny it. Her heart thumped hard hearing her apology and it touched her heart. She truly missed Mei the most. So she was unable to stop her own tears and herself from charging over to Mei and hugging her, allowing the dam to break.

 

“Oh, Mei!” She cried into her shoulder. “I can never stay mad at you!”

 

“Oh, Mir!” Mei gushed with joy, hugging her back.

 

The boys were just as relieved to see that things were starting to turn around. Priya turned and smiled as well, smiling and then joined in.

 

“Me neither. Just don’t do that to us again.” Priya warned her, though kept her smile on her lips.

 

“I promise.” beamed Mei, then looked at the third friend. “Abby?”

 

“Uh……..hmph!” Abby remained and then stubbornly turned her back again, crossing her arms, trying to stay mad at her. But Mei knew one way to change her mind. Her one greatest weakness. So she poofed into the red panda and put on her best sad panda eyes, playing into her love for fluffiness. Abby looked and kept trying to fight it, kept trying to ignore it and stay angry, but it was no use. 

 

Abby Park was helpless against the ultimate power of panda cuteness.

 

She knew she couldn’t resist.

 

“Oh, who am I kidding!?”

 

She relented and jumped right into Mei’s panda arms, feeling her arms around in meditative circles obsessively, right away getting a sense of withdrawal from not getting a taste of her red panda for ages, something she really missed the most of all her friends.

 

“So soft!” Abby gushed with a big, dopey smile. “Oh, I missed this so much!”

 

To commemorate the restoration of their friendship, Mei, Priya, Miriam and Abby came together in a circle and did their little finger wiggle handshake and all bumped their butts together but with Mei as the red panda. Sharing a good laugh, all four united friends hugged each other and jumped for joy, glad that they were back together again after expectations, betrayal and a strict, overprotective parent kept them apart. And the boys were happy for their girlfriends, seeing them whole once more. Now their focus was placed on Kris and his newfound godly abilities and heritage.

 

“So Kris, does this really mean you’re related to a god?” asked Abby eagerly, wanting the details.

 

“Pretty much.” He nodded and brought his hands together, creating an electrical current between his palms. Taking a step back for safety, they still marveled at the sight with awe before he ceased it.

 

“Wow!” Miriam was beyond amazed.

 

“Sick.” Priya smiled with her usual monotone. “What else can you do?”

 

“I’ll show you some other time.” The Norwegian boy replied with hesitation and reluctance.

 

“No, please.” Stig urged him with a deadpan.

 

Sighing, Kris raised a foot up and smacked down right on the ground, creating a small quake and causing the ice underneath to shatter, leaving a huge splintered crack under his foot where he pounded the ground to the rink. Everyone nearly lost their balance, though the girls all fell onto their bottoms as a result.

 

“Woah! Holy crap!” Miriam cried in amazement.

 

“That is so awesome!” Abby wailed with wide cat eyes filled with curiosity. “You're SO strong!”

 

“Þola….” Stig intoned and made everyone watch as he held his hand out and surprised them when he used magic to repair the damage to the rink, undoing the crack in the ice like it was nothing.

 

“이런! 이런! 이런!” Abby practically screamed in Korean like a high school valley girl with stars twinkling in her eyes while grabbing Stig’s hands and examining them with uncontrollable curiosity best suited for a girl like her. “You can do magic, too?!?!”

 

“Yes.” He groaned, taking his hands away.

 

“Where did you learn that, babe? Tell me!” Priya demanded of him.

 

“I’ve taken a brief lesson from Angrboda. She’s a giant with magical powers.” explained Stig. “Apparently, she tells me there’s something in me that should know magic already.”

 

“How is that possible?” The Indian goth girl was shocked.

 

“Beats me.” He shrugged, letting out a steam from his sigh.

 

“Magic is really cool. But not as cool as you, Sparky.” Mei told Kris sensually with a flirty smile.

 

“Sparky?” Miriam, Priya and Abby all chorused with great shock at the pet name Mei gave Kris. The Asian-Canadian girl giggled at their reaction and gave Kris another smooch on the lips.

 

“Oh my god.” Priya gasped.

 

“So you two are finally together?!” Abby couldn’t believe it, but she was about to explode with so much enthrallment filling her tank.

 

“That’s right.” Kris nodded, bringing an arm around his girlfriend’s waist, giving her a one-arm hug.

 

“Well, it’s about time you said something.” articulated Miriam with hands on her hips like a stern parent. “Because I have to say how cute you guys look together.”

 

“So it looks like the band’s back together and only three more days ‘til Christmas.” Roar mentioned looking all around the ice rink. “Who’s up for a little ice hockey?”

 

“Okay!” Everyone shouted, bursting with childlike eagerness.

 

With everyone back as one, they all got their skates on and played a round of ice hockey together. Mei and Kris gave it their all, both sides trying to one up the other and win the game. One time, Mei slipped and fell right into Kris as he tried to help her, though they waved this off with a kiss. 

 

From that moment on, everyone enjoyed their winter break and spent the last days of Christmas doing fun yuletide winter activities like having snowball fights, building snowmen, snowboarding in the park on steep hills and watching Christmas movies and specials like How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, A Christmas Carol, A Charlie Brown Christmas, Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and many more. Then they all saw a Christmas movie together at the theaters and afterwards, Abby and Rudolf were caught standing underneath a mistletoe together and being that it was tradition to do so, Abby smashed her lips against his with such violent vigor.

 

All snowballs and fun times. 

 

When her friends came over to her house one time for a dinner after the remorseful Ming invited them all over, she finally took the chance to apologize to them for her poor actions and misjudging them, for accusing them at the party, endangering their lives back at the SkyDome and overall, making her daughter feel forced to choose her mother over them. She mostly apologized to Miriam for misjudging her and thinking she was such a bad influence on her daughter, even calling her ‘weird’ that one time - which Miriam was offended at - but Ming calmed her down and took it all back, assuring her that she only wanted what she thought was best for her daughter, but now it was time she let Mei do what she thinks is best for her, red panda or no red panda. Even though they were a little stumpy at her, she came around and accepted her apology.

 

And come Christmas morning, Ming invited the Bengtssons over to the Lee household to celebrate Christmas Day with them as a means of uniting the two families together in perfect harmony since the Bengtssons didn’t have anything to celebrate the holiday with. They came and they were amazed to see that the Lees all had presents for them, even for Kris. The gifts they got were quite thoughtful. The macabre-loving goth Stig received a few horror novels, since Elsa had mentioned that he liked reading horror as well - books like Frankenstein, Dracula, The Hellbound Heart, Carrie, It, just to name a few - a collectable figurine of the Zenthazoid alien monster from the Extraterrestrial science-fiction/horror franchise and a music CD album for a death metal band that Ming listened to once when she was in high school that Elsa and Michael introduced her to that she enjoyed (which, of course, Wu didn’t approve of) called Eternal Rest. Stig never heard of the band before, but he still loved black metal music to begin with either way, so he accepted it. For Kris, he received a sweater that Ming made for him after he taught her some knitting skills of his own, which was red with Asian-style red panda patterns on it and he loved it. Mei gave him something she was originally planning on giving to him on his birthday seven months prior until all the insanity occurred, which was a bracelet with their initials ‘M + K’, because that was when she was going to admit her own feelings to him.

 

And then came the biggest moment of all for them.

 

Kris surprised Mei with a gift to her from him. It was a small, gaily-wrapped box of a traditional Nordic-style Christmas design that Kris found on his nightstand that morning in his bedroom. He wasn’t so sure who it was from or where it even came from. It didn’t even say who sent it, all it had on it was a tag that said ‘To Mei’ and an old, aged note made of parchment paper next to it written in ink and cursive saying ‘Something to give that girlfriend of yours’, that was it. No signature, no nothing. He even asked around the house if any of them had left the gift there for him, but none of them knew either. Regardless, Kris didn’t question it and went along with the note’s instructions. And when Mei opened it up, her breath stalled and her eyes bugged out until they were the size of baseballs.

 

It was the same tamagotchi that Kris gave her a long time ago and the one that Thor crushed to pieces in his bare hands at the arena.

 

It was almost too good to be true. Mei was overjoyed to have her ‘Robaire Jr.’ back and she hugged Kris tightly in gratitude, kissing him on the cheek, making him blush with a goofy smile.

 

However, with a playful smirk on her lips, Mei decided to instead call the tamagotchi………‘Kris Jr’.

 

A very Merry Christmas this was, indeed.

Notes:

Everyone's back home in the real world and so it Kris. However, before returning home to Toronto, a quick stop is required. And it's the site where Kris's father was buried. And it's there that Elsa finally opens about how her husband died and Kris finally has a chance to grieve for his father.

And Mei's made up with her friends after everything that drove a wedge between them in the first place and they are glad to have Kris back and now they can spend Christmas together. And Ming even apologizes to Mei's friends for how unfair she's been to them, even Miriam. On Christmas morning, since the Bengtssons didn't have enough time to celebrate the holidays, they've been invited to the Lee household to celebrate with them. Thanks to the help of a mysterious person, Kris gifts Mei with the tamagotchi he gave her, now magically fixed. And her changing its name to 'Kris Jr.' should mean a lot.

Next Chapter: A year later, both families come together to celebrate Kris's birthday.

Next Update: June 13, 2023

Chapter 25: One Year Later

Summary:

A year later, both families come together to celebrate Kris's birthday.

Notes:

Disclaimer: Turning Red and it’s characters are the property of (c) Walt Disney Pictures/Pixar Animation Studios.

Elements are borrowed from God of War (2018) and Ragnarök, owned by (c) Santa Monica Studio/Sony Interactive Entertainment

One year later……

 

Things have really changed over time. 

 

With their red pandas under control finally, the Lees have gone through a huge shift in their lives. The aunties began to wear something that was more them and no longer did they wear green, but rather colors that best suited each of them. Lily was wearing light pink, Helen liked black and white, Ping was more of an orange person and Chen went for purple.

 

Lily and Tom had gotten married with Toshio as her new stepson. Strangely enough, Vivian claims that she fell unconscious one time and said her hair wasn’t ruby red anymore like it briefly was. This came as a surprise to the newly-wed couple as it was living proof that the ritual was a success and other relatives in the Lee lineage blessed with the red panda that wasn’t sealed away yet have also been affected. Toshio and Vivian were taking time to accept each other as stepsiblings. As for Lily, she and Helen got a job at Toronto’s biggest fashion giant, Avi and started designing dresses for them.

 

Chen and Charlie have gotten married. Chen landed a job at a car dealership and is now pregnant with their first child. Regularly, she and Charlie go to work out together at the local gym, take hikes in the parks and ride their bikes.

 

Helen and Adam were also married with Izzy and Jaz as her stepdaughters, who have become more accustomed to her red panda. Like Lily and Tom, the two newlyweds were more sexually active together. From time to time, you could hear Helen moaning from the bedroom, really begging for it, which really disturbed and disgusted the girls. As stated before, Helen started working as a fashion designer along with Lily, with Jaz giving her a few ideas, such as utilizing the ‘Panda chic’ and it proved to be a huge hit. Adam has been teaching her self-defense, how to protect herself and others from dangers, even how to use a gun if need be, despite her reluctance. She was only told that gun usage was only for emergencies and times of crisis.

 

Ping and Shan have been doing well at their laundromat. They even did a little refurbishing, mixing Chinese and Norse traditional interior designs to their building, as a sign of two different worlds merging together as one. Even though they had a grumpy old tax auditor to deal with to keep their business afloat and avoid eviction, everything was in tip-top shape as could be.

 

Wu was having a blast down in Florida now that she had stepped down from her strict and traditionalist way to have a whole new outlook on life as it is. She started getting along better with people than she did before. Although she still disliked the number 4 because it was unlucky in Chinese culture, there was nothing stopping her from living her life to the fullest from now on without clinging absurdly to family customs and traditions like it were a lifeline.

 

As for Ming, she had been continuing her therapy sessions and going to anger management therapy as well, since she felt like she needed it. Within reason, she was no longer the same exemplary, strict perfectionist she’s always been. Nowadays, she has gotten more modest about herself, less confrontational and less judgy towards others. In fact, she started wearing more laid back outfits when not running the temple like baggy jean pants, converses and a blue beanie, since she was more a blue person anyhow. She always wore her hair down, preferring it better that way than fashioned into a bun. Her relationship with Jin has improved. They’ve gotten more sexually active since Ming’s wanted to make up for all the times she’s made him feel neglected and unappreciated. And she and Mei had gotten better, too. Mei’s never felt more relaxed since she ditched her pursuit of perfection long ago.

 

Elsa decided to take up Tom’s advice and attend self-help group sessions for alcoholic anonymous to help with her crippling alcoholism and take some additional meds and treatments for any bouts of alcohol withdrawal. And since then, she has never touched another strong beverage again in her life.

 

And finally, Mei and Kris were officially a couple. They were taking things slow, keeping things steady like kissing since they were still young and it was so early in their relationship. Kris has never felt more better in his life. Ever since his time in the Nine Realms a year prior, he’s been sleeping more peacefully with no more nightmares, no more reliving his father’s death anymore because he’s at last come to terms with his loss. And he and Ming were finally on first-name basis, with her acting like a second mother to him without realizing it. And sure, he may have had some schoolwork to make up for during his absence - well, maybe a lot of it - but other than that, he’s had no more worries.

 

It was Kris’s 16th birthday today and everyone had come over to the Bengtsson household to celebrate it with him. But then there came a knock at the door, Elsa went to go and answer it and was surprised to see all the Lees there - Mei, Ming, Jin and Wu, who willingly came along as a gesture of gratitude to the boy for how much he’s affected their family positively. Ming was holding a huge present in her arms that was of a thin, rectangular shape.

 

“Oh! What a surprise.” Elsa said with a warm smile.

 

“Yeah, didn’t want to miss out on our favorite boy’s birthday.” Jin answered as the woman allowed them to come in. She and Ming shared a hug and Wu, too.

 

Mei made her way inside and embraced Kris, giving him a kiss, which the others reacted with a collection of smiles. This truly was a most pleasant surprise indeed if his girlfriend was showing up.

 

“Happy birthday, Kris.” She told him.

 

“Thank you, Mei.” He smiled at her.

 

“There he is! There’s the birthday boy!” Ming cheered, coming over to give him a kiss on the head. “Happy birthday!”

 

“Um, thanks.” He cringed, still getting used to her. “But why?”

 

“I just really wanted to come.” She answered, taking a seat. “Figured I pretty much owe you a birthday, seeing as how I already……ruined your last one.”

 

Ming winced in horror, thinking back to that tragic event that kickstarted their journey into the Nine Realms to save Kris from dying in his sleep. Kris, too, looked devastated at the reminder, but if she was here to make amends for that, then he’ll take it for her sake. 

 

Mei’s sake.

 

“Alright, here we go. Get ready.” Elsa called bringing in the birthday cake and everyone started to sing the birthday song.

 

After Kris blew the candles out, everyone had a slice of cake and they all chatted familiar things, making this feel like a repeat of the birthday from last year, only much more mellow and warm-hearted and less quiet coming from him. Then it was onto the gifts. He received a lot of interesting things from everyone like a new black T-Shirt with the name of his favorite band, Nörthfölk, on it. 

 

And now it was onto Ming’s gift.

 

It was big and flat, so it had to be placed on the table in front of him with the plates and cups moved out of the way. Mei and Ming silently urged him to open it with eagerness and giving it some thought, he ripped away the wrapping to reveal a box underneath that was taped shut. Cutting away the tape, Kris was in utter shock when he lifted up the lid.

 

It was his guitar.

 

The one that got callously destroyed back at the SkyDome.

 

Only now, it wasn’t broken anymore. It was back together again as if it had never been broken in the first place.

 

But how?

 

“Stig’s been giving me a few magic pointers. It took a while, but thankfully not too long.” Ming explained, looking ready to cry. “But seriously, though, I made a big mistake then and I wanted to correct it.”

 

Stig nodded in agreement with a knowing smile.

 

Kris was touched by this. 

 

There was no denying it at all.

 

Seeing Ming destroy the one thing he had left his late father hurt way worse than any other pain he’s felt in the past. The worst heartbreak he ever had in his life. But seeing the same person who destroyed it in the first place, it was nothing short of wholesome. 

 

Ming had gone through the trouble to repair the damage she caused for him. In fact, he was on the verge of tears himself. This made Mei hug him comfortingly.

 

“Why don’t you play it for us?” suggested Elsa.

 

“Yeah!” Everyone else at the table shouted in agreement, wanting to hear him play it.

 

He was hesitant at first, but he figured why the hell not? Now seemed like a good time as any to give his guitar a try. With the encouragement he needed, Kris picked up his guitar, fondling it reverently and getting a brief glimpse of the past when his father gave this to him.

 

Then he put the strap around him and started off with a simple guitar riff, then a mad, thrashing and hyperactive solo piece thundered through the kitchen as he shredded on the guitar like a champ. They all marveled at his stupendous guitar skills, even Ming was impressed.

 

Afterwards, they all cheered for him and Kris was happier than he was before. This was really the best birthday ever, unlike the previous one.

 

He has Mei, he has his friends, he has his guitar, he has everything.

 

And he wouldn’t trade it for the world.

 

And somewhere out there……

 

 

……his father is smiling down at him.

Notes:

And there you have it. A happy ending after all. Until the next story that is.

So yeah, a lot has changed since their journey across the Nine Realms, so much character development and so forth. No more stringent expectations and pursuit of perfection just to impress their parents or peers and it's all thanks to Kris and Mei for coming together. So you can tell this was a lot different from the original movie canon.

See, Mei's story dabbled on puberty, the toils of expectations, the pros and cons of teen-hood, transitioning into womanhood and growing up.

However, Kris's story tackled darker subjects like loss, grief, murder, pain, suffering, bullying, unhealthy coping mechanisms and learning to let go and move on. In addition, he's coming to terms with his odd changes, not too dissimilar to Mei's case, and accepting that he has it all, even without him - his father.

And that concludes the second entry of the Saga. Stay tuned for the next one coming up soon.

Next Story: June 16, 2023

Chapter 26: CAST

Main Cast:

LAKE BELL as Elsa Bengtsson

ROSALIE CHIANG as Meilin Lee

SANDRA OH as Ming Lee

MATTY CARDAROPLE as Stig Falkenberg

SEAN GIAMBRONE as Roar Wagner

GATEN MATARAZZO as Rudolf Stein

ORION LEE as Jin Lee

WAI CHING HO as Wu Lee

LORI TAN CHINN as Chen Lee

LILIAN LIM as Ping Lee

SHERRY COLA as Helen lee

MIA TAGANO as Lily Lee

JET LI as Shan Lee

TYRESE GIBSON as Adam Anderson

RAUSHAN HAMMOND as Charlie Anderson

MICHAEL WINCOTT as Aksel Bengtsson

JENNIFER LAWRENCE as Thrúd

RAY PORTER as Thor

J.K. SIMMONS as Odin

JOHNNY DEPP as Loki

CATHERINE O’HARA as Frigg

HUGH LAURIE as Heimdall

JAMES McAVOY as Baldur

LUKE EVANS as Týr

CRAIG FERGUSON as Mímir

JESSIE BUCKLEY as Sif

HELENA BONHAM CARTER as Hel

NATASIA DEMETRIOU as Freya

ALEX HASSELL as Freyr

JACK BLACK as Ratatoskr

JASON MANTZOUKAS as Svir

SACHA BARON COHEN as Thrum

LUCY PUNCH as Skaði

ALFRE WOODARD as Angrboda

JAMIE BELL as Thjalfi

MIA GOTH as Röskva

IAN McSHANE as Eitri

MICHAEL ROOKER as Brok

TIM CURRY as Bragi

CHARLIE THERON as Idunn

TOKS OLAGUNDOYE as Queen Alva

PETER SERAFINOWICZ as King Svartáljǫfurr

CHRIS PINE as Bödvar Bjarki

STEPHEN LANG as Chief Hrólfr Kraki

DEE BRADLEY BAKER as Dvalinn, Dáinn, Eikinskjaldi and Alvíss

ERIC BAUZA as Durinn, Andvari, Fjalar and Galar

BENJAMIN WALKER as Mr. Falkenberg

SIOBHAN FALLON HOGAN as Mrs. Falkenberg

BRAD DOURIF as Uncle Franz

FAMKE JANSSEN as Urð

BIRGITTE HJORT SØRENSEN as Verðandi

INGRID BOLSØ BERDAL as Skuld

WENDIE MALICK as Eir

SAM WORTHINGTON as the He-Witch

with

LEBRON JAMES as Michael Bengtsson

and

CHARLIE PLUMMER as Kris Bengtsson

Chapter 27: Soundtrack

Soundtrack:

Chapter 1:

• It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year - Andy Williams ~ [Christmas in Toronto] link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcddNN9gwiw

Chapter 3:

• Harpa Toner ft. Oliver S. Tyr - Kari Rán ~ [Driving through the countryside] link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dumZxOPHrTw&list=PLsnPofmCh6nugxbKuADv1vMi1NbX8iMMr&index=2
• Jul I Svingen ~ [Driving through Bjørnbæk] link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_E4IesWL12w&list=PL56CF4500A7C116B8&index=8

Chapter 4:

• Romjulsdrøm - Alexander Ryback ~ [Ice fishing and snowball fights montage] link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ze9rTTSzwtw&list=RDQMfOG6MoOYwEY&start_radio=1

Chapter 10:

• Fólkvangr - Peter Gundry ~ [Arriving in Jötunheim] link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHxjyBtKxpM

Chapter 19:

• Bury A Friend - Billie Eilish ~ [Arriving in Niflheim] link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mveSunIhTZY

Chapter 20:

• The Sound of Silence - Disturbed ~ [Stig, Roar and Rudolf traveling through Helheim] link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYS0EeaAUMw

Chapter 23:

• Everyone Wants to Rule the World - Lorde ~ [Everyone riding on Freyr's ship out of Helheim] link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9T-2Fb_ZlY
• Hark! The Herald Angels Sing ~ [The sleeping Kris being carried by the Einherjar to Eir] link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xa5O6EnJtLk
• Fantasy - Mariah Carey ~ [Mei and Kris's first kiss] link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUEaTzM3Bnk

Chapter 24:

• Glade Jul (Med Norsk Tekst) ~ [Everyone spending Christmas together again] link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rp1uLunP9Oo

End Credits:

• Paint It Black (Epic Trailer Version) link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crLut8Plq9c
• Demons - Imagine Dragons link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MA0aCUxItYA
• .Goëtia. - Peter Gundry link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_iF7lkXKHlA

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 2 of The Saga of Kris