Disclamer: I'm sorry to inform you that I do not own Torchwood or any of its characters. I just own my idea.
AN: Yay! Here we go with another chapter. I hope that you'll like it. I would like to thank everyone that left a review :) I would be so happy if you did it again ;)
And a huge thanks to TheWeddingFairy for her beta. I love her to bits for it.
An air of confusion enclosed the room after the woman's greeting. She smiled at them, and the only one that managed to smile back was Ianto (even if his features were filled with disbelief). Owen and Gwen looked dumbstruck, Tosh seemed to recognise the name but wasn't able to identify it, and Jack tried to smile that charming smile of his, but it looked more like a grimace as he too was confused.
"I'm sorry, ma'am," Ianto said. "But what did you just say?"
She smiled politely.
"My name is Frigg, and this is Valhall."
"Seriously?" Ianto didn't mean to sound so blunt or stupid; it just came out that way.
"Of course; does this not look real?" she asked and looked around the room.
"It's huge," Ianto laughed.
"My husband likes it that way. We have many guests."
"I know," Ianto's eyes fell on the birds and he couldn't help but shudder. "And there're more to come, right?"
"Of course. We receive vast numbers of guests often."
"I'm sorry to interrupt," Owen said and looked at the woman. "But can someone please tell me what the bloody hell is going on here?"
"Owen!" Ianto hissed with some panic in his voice. "Watch your language!"
"What?" Owen looked over at Ianto.
"She's the Queen of the Norse Gods."
"The what now?"
Ianto had to try very hard to suppress a sigh.
"You know about the Vikings?"
"You mean the old barbarians from the cold north?"
"Actually, it's only the people that explored and conquered that were considered barbarians, as you'd like to call them. Most of the people were actually farmers."
"What ever."
"Anyway, the Vikings believed in Gods that lived in Asagård. And this is the queen of those Gods, Frigg."
"Seriously?"
Ianto was just about to say something else when Frigg began to talk.
"Your friend is very wise. And he is correct. Though he is most kind by calling me queen. I am only married to our leader."
She smiled kindly towards them.
"But where are my manners?" she continued. "Here you are all standing up and it's almost noon."
She turned to a smaller door behind her.
"Rist! Mist! Will you please come here for a moment?"
The whole team turned to the door when it opened and they saw two women enter. Two tall, blond women dressed in leather armour. Gwen and Tosh looked at them with envy in their eyes, what wouldn't they give to look that good in those tight clothes? Owen couldn't help but stare; he undressed them with his eyes and really enjoyed what he saw. Jack smile towards them and was just about to say something when Ianto elbowed him in his stomach and glared evilly at him. So Jack tore his eyes from the women, looked at Ianto and smiled apologetically. That just earned him an eye roll from Ianto and a disapproving huff.
"Rist, will you please bring forth some chairs for our guests. Mist, can you please go and see if Särimner can spare some ribs for lunch and then go to Heidrun and get some mead."
"Or course," both women answered before leaving the room again.
Seconds later, one of them, Rist, returned holding five chairs in her arms.
"Let me help you with that," Owen said and hurried towards her.
The others exchanged meaningful looks and tried their best not to laugh or roll their eyes.
"I do not need your help," Rist said and carried the chairs up to Frigg's throne.
Then she took them one by one and placed them in a half-circle in front of the throne. Frigg smiled approvingly as Rist left the room again.
"Please, sit down," Frigg said and pointed at the chairs.
When the whole team sat down on the chairs, Rist came back again holding a table that she placed in the middle of the little circle of chairs.
"We have a lot to talk about," Frigg said and leaned back in her throne.
"You seem to know us pretty well," Jack said; the first thing he'd uttered since they'd came to enter the room.
"I do," Frigg answered. "We've been following you for some time now."
"We? As in the birds?" Owen wanted to know.
"Yes. They are free to go to your world as much as they could possibly want to, and then they've told me about you."
"Why?" Jack wanted to know.
"That is not something we should discus on empty stomachs. I suggest we get to that when Mist returns with the food."
"Is this place really Valhall?" Tosh asked, and she looked really interested.
"Yes."
"But how?"
"You passed on a bridge through the dimensions so that you could come here."
"A bridge? Was that the rainbow?"
"Yes. Bifrost. It's our connection with Mannheim."
"Mannheim?" Owen asked and looked confused.
"It's the home of men."
"You mean like where we live?" Gwen said.
Frigg nodded. She didn't have the time to say anything else before a lovely smell filled the room. They all turned towards the door again and saw both Rist and Mist enter: Rist carrying a tray with six big glasses of mead and Mist with a tray filled with barbequed ribs. The smell of it all made everyone's mouth water.
When everyone had got a plate with meat and a glass of mead, Rist and Mist left the room and everyone started to eat.
Everyone was quiet for a while and just ate - none of them had realised just how hungry they were. Frigg watched them all and sipped her own glass of mead. The sweet taste of the honey wine washed through her.
When the team had cleared the table, mostly thanks to Jack and Owen who had eaten most of the meat, Frigg cleared her throat and got everyone's attention.
"Is everyone satisfied?" she asked, and everyone nodded. "Then I think that it is time to talk about why I brought you here."
"That would be great," Jack said. "Why did you get us followed by those birds?"
"To answer that I first have to ask you one thing. Have you noticed something strange?"
They all looked confused.
"How would we know if something's strange if we haven't been here before?" Gwen asked.
"Your husband's not here," Ianto said before Frigg had the time to answer Gwen.
Frigg turned to look at Ianto.
"You are very observant."
Ianto couldn't help but blush at the compliment and he looked away.
"He's right," Jack said. "You've mentioned your husband, but we haven't seen him. Where is he?"
Frigg looked sad when he asked and Jack momentarily regretted his question.
"That is why you are here," she said. "My husband, Oden, has been missing for a little more than two weeks. I haven't heard a word from him, and Hugin and Munin can't find him." As she said their names the ravens croaked sadly.
"Where is he?" Gwen asked.
"If I knew that I would not have brought you here."
"Sorry," Gwen muttered and took another sip of her mead.
"Don't be. Oden disappeared when he was down in Mannheim. We can't go there ourselves because it's only ever been Oden that keeps an eye on you men. So Hugin and Munin have been looking for him but they can't find him anywhere. I asked Mimer if he knew where Oden was, because Mimer knows everything. But not even he could tell me."
She looked so sad and troubled while she talked, and the team all felt sorry for her.
"Of course we could send someone down to Mannheim to search for him. But then it would get around that Oden is missing. And if the wrong ears hear that, then it could have dire consequences."
"In what way?" Jack asked.
"If it got out that Oden was missing, then the giants would leave their land and try to take over ours. They would try to kill everyone. Then the dark elves would join them alongside some of the dwarfs. We would, of course fight alongside out allies. But there would be a war. Have you heard about Ragnarök?"
"Hasn't that happened already?" Ianto said and looked like he was trying to fit everything together.
"You people should know that everything happens at once; the past, present and future are all happening at the same time, so just as Ragnarök has happened before during the time of the Vikings, it will happen again in our future."
"What does that mean?" Owen asked.
"It means the end of time as we know it. Not only will our world fall, but yours will too."
The sincerity in those words was clear for all of them. They looked at each other and swallowed hard.
"And that is why I need your help," Frigg said and leaned forward in her throne. "You live in Mannheim; you can look for my husband. And when you find him you can bring him back here and we can avoid an early Ragnarök."
"How would we be able to find him? If his own magical birds can't, then how should we?" Owen sounded a bit irritated when he said it. But as soon as he'd finished he looked up at Frigg apologetically.
"Because you have tools that we don't. Hugin and Munin have been watching you for two weeks now, and they've told me about technology that exceeds everything I have ever heard about. You have knowledge that would be useful when finding him."
"So you want us to find Oden by using our alien tech?" Jack asked, having a hard time believing what he was hearing.
"Yes. But you will also be given some help from us."
"What kind of help?"
"Only beings from Asagård can travel across Bifrost. You could get here today because you were accompanied by Hugin and Munin, and because I told the guardian Heimdall not to harm you. But the birds can't always be by your side when you need to come here, and we cannot force them to be. So if you accept this mission, you will be given a gift that will help you to come back here."
"So let me see if I've got this right," Owen said. "Your husband is Oden and he's lost down on earth. And if he's not found soon it will bring on an early end of time for all worlds. So you want us to use some alien tech to find him and bring him here. And if we do you will give us something so that we can walk across the rainbow again."
"You catch on very quickly, Owen," Frigg smiled at him.
"But how can Oden be hidden from someone that knows everything?" Tosh asked the question that was on everyone's mind.
"We believe that he is being held by strong magic, possibly created by the dwarfs."
"Magic? There's no such thing," Owen said with disbelief.
At that Frigg couldn't help but smile.
"Yet you seem to have accepted that you are in the company of a Goddess in a different world."
Owen tried to reply, but came up speechless; which made the others snigger.
"Will you help us?" Frigg asked looking straight at Jack.
Jack squirmed a little under the gaze and turned to his team.
"What do you say guys? Should we help?"
They all looked at each other for a moment before they all nodded. Jack smiled at them and turned back to Frigg.
"We'd be happy to help you find your husband."
"Thank you so much," Frigg smiled at them, and she actually looked happy for the first time since the team got there. "And I said that I would give each of you a gift so that you can come back here when you need to. Mist! Will you please bring in the wooden box on your right?" she called towards the door behind her.
Seconds later Mist entered the room with a long wooden box in her hands. She came up to Frigg and placed the box in front of her.
"Anything else you need?" she asked.
"Not at the moment. Thank you."
Mist bowed her head and left the room.
The team looked at the box with much curiosity. When Frigg opened it they could all se five necklaces lying on a green pillow. The necklaces were all made of silver; a sliver chain with some kind of symbol hanging on it. Every chain had a different symbol.
"To help you on your mission you will get these necklaces. And as long as you wear them you will become Gods."
Everyone's moth fell open at those words.
"What?" Jack was the only one that managed to bring forth some kind of response.
"Since only beings from Asagård may travel across Bifrost, it has been decided that as long as you help us you will be allowed to be Gods. That means that you all belong to our world and can freely travel across the bridge."
"And after the mission?" Owen asked.
"Then you will come back here and I will remove the necklace and you will become ordinary humans once more."
"Are you kidding?" Gwen said in disbelief.
"No. We do this for you so that you can help us. Each necklace will grant you the status as a God, and you will each have an area of expertise that has been carefully considered for you."
"So we will be Gods?" Tosh asked.
"Yes. These necklaces have been forged by the same dwarfs that made Oden's ring Draupner. They were left to cool in the light of the Urdar well and blessed by me."
"You're serious?" Owen didn't know what to believe, because it all sounded too good to be true.
"Of course I am. So will you please come here Owen and receive my gift?"
Owen swallowed hard, not prepared to be the first one called. But he got up and walked up to Frigg. She stood up and they all saw that she was not as tall as they all had thought: she reached to Owen's. But her authority made Owen seem much smaller. He knelt in front of her and she seemed to appreciate the gesture. She reached for one of the necklaces and held it over Owen's head while she talked.
"Owen Harper. You are a doctor by heart. Even though your true emotions are well hidden behind your attitude, your heart is big. I therefore give you the rune Kenaz, the light and fire. It will give you the power to heal any wound just by touch. And your mere presence will ease any pain - both physical and mental."
If it hadn't been for the highly emotional atmosphere in the room, the others in the team would have questioned what Frigg was saying about Owen's big heart. But now they all kept quiet and saw Frigg put the necklace around Owen's neck.
"You may stand, Owen. We are now alike."
Owen stood up and thanked Frigg with a light nod. When he turned around Ianto could swear that he saw a tear in Owen's eyes. He walked back to his seat and sat down before he looked down at the necklace.
"Toshiko Sato. Will you please come here and receive my blessing?"
Tosh blushed and hurried up to Frigg. Just like Owen, she kneeled before Frigg and lowered her head. Frigg took another necklace from the box and held it over Tosh's head.
"Toshiko Sato. Your heart and mind knows things about technology that no man will ever discover. And you search for more knowledge about it all. But for you to always remember what lies around you, I give you the rune Othala, the remembrance of the place where you come from. It will give you the power to understand all the technology that surrounds you. It will also grant you the power to control every piece of technology either by touch or mind."
Frigg put the necklace around Tosh's neck and Tosh looked up with a smile.
"Raise Toshiko. We are alike"
And Tosh stood up. She put her hands together and bowed her head.
"Arigato," she said and returned to her seat.
"Ianto Jones, will you come here and receive my blessing?"
Ianto straightened his tie and got up. He cast a quick glance at Jack and received a reassuring smile. When he got up to Frigg, Ianto kneeled in front of her and she took another necklace and held it over Ianto.
"Ianto Jones. You have a thirst for knowledge that I have only ever seen in my husband before. You are always on the search to know more and take pride in knowing. I therefore offer you the rune Anzus, wisdom and spoken knowledge. It will give you the gift of knowledge. As long as you wear it you will know what is, what was, and what may or may not be."
She placed the necklace around his neck and he could feel the weight from it for only a second before it disappeared and it felt like he'd always worn it.
"You may raise Ianto, for we are now alike."
He got up from his knees and wiped a tear from his eye, the emotions getting to him.
"Thank you," he said and took Frigg's hand.
Then he returned to his chair next to Jack and looked down. Jack placed a hand on his thigh and Ianto could feel the smile that he was getting.
"Will you, Gwen Cooper, come and receive my blessing?"
Gwen let out a nervous giggle as she got up and approached Frigg. She kneeled in front of the Goddess that took another necklace from the box.
"Gwen Cooper. Your heart is big and has a place for everyone who crosses your path. No one is too insignificant to deserve to be loved. I therefore give you the rune Mannaz, unity and love. It will give you the strength to help those who need it, and it will help your words to reach into every heart. Your voice will be heard by all, every living soul will be touched. When you speak to them they will listen, and if they choose to, they will obey and help. Your loving words will be your strength."
As Frigg placed the necklace on Gwen's neck, Gwen sighed in relief.
"You may raise Gwen. We are alike."
Gwen swallowed hard before she got up. She met Frigg's eyes with her own that were glistering from tears.
"Thank you," she whispered.
She turned around and wiped her eyes while she returned to her seat.
There was a moments silence and everyone's eyes were turned towards Jack. He looked at Frigg, but he could feel the others looking at him. He was nervous, there was no denying that. Ianto's hand lay reassuringly on his arm and he was glad for it. The warmth gave him strength.
"Last, but certainly not least, will you Jack Harkness come and receive my blessing?"
Jack felt a light squeeze from Ianto as he got up. He walked up to Frigg and kneeled before her. She took the last necklace from the box and held it over Jack's head.
"Jack Harkness. What do you give a man with already godlike abilities? You have been dead many times and you are drawn back. You walk amongst men to help. And now I will help you. I give you the rune Eihwaz, death. You of all know that death is not the end, but only a beginning. The rune will grant you the power of death. You will be able to resurrect those recently dead. When you speak, those who are dead will listen to you. If they deem you fit, they will follow you. Perhaps they can help you in more ways than one."
The necklace was placed around Jack's neck and he couldn't help but smile.
"Raise, Jack. We are now alike."
Jack got up and smiled at Frigg.
"Thank you, gorgeous," he smiled and kissed her hand.
She smiled back and Jack returned to his seat. He got a small slap on the knee from Ianto, but the loving smile made its way to his heart. He smiled back at Ianto and took his hand.
Frigg looked at them all for a moment.
"Team Torchwood. We are all the same now. But I give you a word of warning. If you misuse the powers that has been given to you, the valkyries will find you and bring you to justice in our court and Forsete will be your judge."
Everyone in the team swallowed hard, that was a warning that they wouldn't take lightly.
Suddenly the ravens made themselves heard again. They croaked and Frigg looked up at them.
"Hugin and Munin have offered you their service. They will follow you and help you. They will also be the messengers between our worlds when needed. They will follow you all but only answer to one."
The ravens spread their wings and left Frigg's throne. They circled above the table, eying the team. And soon they made their choice. They came lower and landed on top of Ianto's chair, one on each side of his head. Ianto shuddered and wanted to run away, but the respect he had for Frigg made him stay. She smiled at him.
"I see that the ravens have made their choice. As long as you are on this mission they will answer to you, Ianto. They understand you, and now you will understand them. Respect them and they will respect you."
Ianto swallowed hard and nodded. He could hear Jack holding back a laugh and resisted the urge to hit him hard.
"I hope that you will solve this soon. I miss my husband."
"We will do our best," Jack promised. "And now we have to do our job."
He got up from the chair and looked at the other members of his team.
"So what do you say, people? Let's go and look for our missing God."
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