Too alarmin' now to talk about

Take your pictures down and shake it out

Truth or consequence, say it aloud

Use that evidence, race it around

There goes my hero

Watch him as he goes

There goes my hero

He's ordinary

Don't the best of them bleed it out

While the rest of them peter out?

Truth or consequence, say it aloud

Use that evidence, race it around

There goes my hero

Watch him as he goes

There goes my hero

He's ordinary

There Goes My Hero- Foo Fighters

I'm going to die here. For real this time.

The thought came unbidden to Mallory's mind as the witch's lips moved, her staff pointed in the red head's direction as two draugr slashed at her chest and back, pulling her down, trying to reach her throat. Her sword had disappeared after the first spell the gnarled old woman cast, and after throwing most of her knives already Mallory was out of defenses she could actually get to. She cursed, loudly and vehemently in Gaelic, because her mother's native language had always flowed more easily off her tongue than her father's, and because it felt more powerful somehow. As though the words themselves could spare her the inevitable.

When she died the first time, things had happened so quickly. One moment she had desperately brought her baseball bat down upon the device and the next she was waking up in Valhalla, every one of her hard-earned scars gone and abs of steel and so much anger…

Now, however, it crept ever so slowly towards her, and she was painfully aware of what was coming. There would be no return to Valhalla, no chance to battle at Ragnarok. Her body would be split open by draugr, mauled and bloody and red with splashes of spring green from the sweater her mother had loved. Her mother would have been so disappointed in her. She wasn't strong enough.

She heard Halfborn Gunderson roar, three draugr hanging off of him as he fought to reach her side. She saw T.J struggling against his two enemies, his back to Hoshi's as she faced her own pair. She met her Viking friend's eyes as he inched closer, knowing there was no chance he'd make it in time, knowing that she didn't want him to, because the only way to save her was to take her place.

She tried to convey her goodbye in a glance towards him, tried to give him her usual confident grin as she punched and kicked and bit the zombies trying to tear her apart. Suddenly, a flash of blue streaked past her and her heart leapt to her throat, "Lucrezia, no!"

Two days earlier

Mallory didn't remember much from the moments after she'd died. Having a bomb explode in your face would do that to you. Lucrezia had explained that sometimes when your brains got that scrambled, even your soul got a concussion. She supposed that must have been the case, because her only foggy memories were the searing pain of the flames licking at her cheeks, a hand gripping her waist tightly, and a flash of Lu's electric blue hair.

It didn't matter much to her, though, not remembering. The important stuff had happened after she woke up- Lucrezia's sarcastic grin as she welcomed Mallory back to the world of the "living", explained what had happened, introduced her to the half-wits that would become the two most important people in her life other than Lu herself.

It had been days since she'd last spoken to Lucrezia- but that wasn't out of the ordinary. Valkyries led busy lives, and Lu was one of the busiest. When she wasn't off saving the world from giants or searching for new heroes to bring to Valhalla, she was training for Ragnarok herself- often with her mysterious friend Vik. She spoke of the man often- Mallory got the feeling that perhaps there was something more than friendship going on between the two of them. He was tall, dark haired, and completely mute. They'd become fast friends due primarily to the fact that Lu was fluent in sign language since both of her parents had been hearing impaired. Mallory didn't know much else about him, though.

Lucrezia always visited for Mallory's death day, or at least sent word if she was too busy to come that particular day, stating when she could next visit. The two of them were best friends of a variety Mallory had never experienced before dying, and so nerves had settled in an angry knot in her stomach that had her lashing out angrily at Halfborn and T.J when a week had passed since then with no word.

She had just sat down to dinner in the Feast Hall, blatantly ignoring her idiot shield brothers boasting about how many hits they'd gotten on the dragon before it had burnt them all to cinders when she finally realized she'd had enough. Pushing her plate to the side, she approached Gunilla, trying to look properly respectful,

"Mallory Keen." the Valkyrie leader addressed her with a guarded curiosity in her eyes, and Mallory bit the inside of her cheek to keep herself from saying anything angry or sarcastic or stupid. Gunilla would give her nothing if she came across too forcefully. She had to be very, very careful…

"Gunilla, I know it isn't my place, but I was wondering if…"

"If I could tell you where Lucrezia is?" the woman eyed her knowingly, and Mallory tinged red, though even she couldn't tell whether it was from frustration or embarrassment. The Valkyrie sighed, "I'm afraid I do not have an answer for you. She is aiding Thor in Jotunheim, and that is all I know at the moment."

This did nothing to loosen the knot her stomach had turned into, and she ignored the concerned glances of Halfborn and T.J as she stalked then out of the Feast Hall having barely touched her food, and headed to her quarters.

She only had time to close the door when the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end, and her knife was already in her hand when she spotted the man sitting on her couch, her fingers releasing it without a second thought and pleased with the satisfying thunk she heard as it made its mark. The man made no noise at all, merely tilted his head to look at the knife curiously and pulled it out before holding up a sign with words scrawling across it as she prepared to launch herself at whatever crazy person had somehow managed to get into her rooms.

Mallory Keen, I require your help.

Her help! Whomever he was, she was going to tear him limb from limb. She launched herself at him, but before she could get a good hit in, he had knocked her flat on her back. As she gasped for air and wondered how he had moved so quickly, she realized he was holding the sign in front of her so that she could not help but read the new words spreading across its surface.

There is no time for this. Lucrezia needs you.

She froze, her eyes widening, "Who are you?" she asked. And why did he have that ridiculous sign? Why wasn't he -speaking-? Or in fact making any noise at all? She could see several expressions race across his dark features, frustration, embarrassment, caution, til it finally settled on resignation and the words on the sign changed once more.

I am Vidar.

-Vidar-? The -God-? What in the name of Odin was Vidar- and this explained the silence, since that was rather his thing, wasn't it? Silent until Odin's death at Ragnarok was avenged.- doing in her -room- asking for her help rescuing Lucrezia?

Lucrezia has told me much about you. I am...not supposed to be here at all, and I cannot stay long or my father will notice. But I need you to find her. I fear she is in grave danger…

The look in his eyes was so soft, that it caught her by surprise for a moment. How did he even know Lucrezia, let alone well enough to think of her with -that- expression on his face? Why hadn't she -mentioned- having a -relationship- with a...oh….

"You're Vik."

Vidar's lips pursed thoughtfully, and he sighed before shrugging and nodding.

She must have given you a false name to protect me. She knows who I am, Mallory Keen, but I am not supposed to do anything other than train for Ragnarok. Certainly not...Listen, there really is no time. You must go to Jotunheim. You must find her. I cannot stay any longer.

He handed her a small stone, looking apprehensive.

If you find her. If you truly have need of my help...you can use this to summon me. Only speak her name to it, and I will find you.

Mallory nodded, still stunned by these new revelations but slowly schooling her mind close so that she could focus on a rescue attempt.

I have cleared the way to the elevator, and it will take you to Jotunheim. Quickly!

He disappeared a moment later, and the red head closed her eyes, hoping for just a second that this was all some kind of crazy dream. The stone was still in her hand, however, when she opened them, and her gut told her that he was right. Lucrezia needed her.

And she would need her shield brothers. Luckily, they had been concerned enough to follow her out of the Feast Hall because Halfborn was banging on her door even now shouting her name, and she gave a long-suffering sigh before she opened it. Closing it quickly behind her, she met his worried eyes with her own,

"Lucrezia is in trouble. Get your axes. T.J.- your bayonet. And dress for the cold, we're going to Jotunheim."

She didn't need to say anything more- at least not yet. They clearly sensed the urgency in her tone, and both turned to their rooms even as she went back into hers, digging through her drawers and pulling out the sweater her mother had knit, had worn before she had wasted away to nothing. She never wore it, afraid something might happen to it. But she'd also never been somewhere as cold as the land of Frost Giants, and she knew she'd need every layer she could get. So on it went, along with her coat, gloves, scarf.

She usually wore sneakers to fight because of their maneuverability, but felt that this sort of a journey required boots and so she allowed herself to enjoy the thick clunking of the combat boots on her feet against the carpeted floors as she swept her weapons into their designated locations. Knives in her pockets, boots, even one in her bra- one could never have too many weapons- and her sword sheathed properly on her hip.

Nodding once, satisfied that she had remembered everything as she picked up her backpack full of other supplies- blankets, food, a change of clothes- she exited her room. The boys had been even quicker than she in preparing, and she led them wordlessly to the elevator,

"It's safe to leave this way," she assured them, and both nodded eagerly as the door slid open before them.

In the past twenty four hours, Mallory had managed to establish at least one solid fact; she hated the cold. Hated it. Even buried within her layers, the freezing tundra before them left a chill in her bones that she was becoming afraid would never leave. She stuck close to Halfborn- all that extra hair must have provided some kind of insulation because the heat came off him in waves and she wasn't too proud to take advantage of that fact at this point.

They'd been wandering after these footprints for hours now. After Mallory had explained her mission to Halfborn and T.J, they had wandered aimlessly for about an hour until Hoshi, the leader of the Valkyrie contingent aiding Thor against the Giants had stopped them. Assuming they'd been sent by the Thanes and Gunilla- something Mallory didn't care to correct- she had left her group under her second in command in order to help with the search herself.

"We have been finding tracks all over this area," Hoshi explained, motioning to the footprints stretching out into the distance before them, "for the past several weeks. Last week, Lucrezia found a fresh patch of them and insisted in tracking them down. We expected her to be gone a few hours at most."

She sighed, "it isn't unusual for these kinds of things to take a while, but I will admit I was a bit worried about her. We haven't had word from her since the day she left."

Mallory frowned, chewing her lip thoughtfully, "Our...sources..say that she is in trouble," she was careful to leave Vidar out of it. While she had been unable to avoid telling her shield brothers the truth of the encounter, she felt it was best not to share that information with anyone else- particularly not one of Odin's Valkyries.

Hoshi nodded, "I expected as much. We should follow these tracks, see if they might lead us to some answers before they disappear. But first- the sun is setting, and it is much too dangerous to be out at night. Come rest at my camp, and we will set out at first light."

Mallory hadn't been pleased about waiting, but T.J had almost convinced her to do it anyways, and when that hadn't worked, Halfborn had threatened to clock her over the head with the dull side of his axe and force her to unconsciousness that way. With a dirty look, she had acquiesced and they'd slept the night in a tent.

That had been when Mallory first realized how much she hated the cold. Even with all her layers, and her blanket, she'd been freezing when the sun went down. So much so, in fact, that she hadn't even protested when T.J and Halfborn had settled their sleeping bags right up against hers. Worse yet, she had somehow managed to work her way into Halfborn's arms in the middle of the night- something she was sure he would never let her live down as he claimed that he'd had no choice when she'd scooted in as close to him as possible while still asleep.

The grins on both boy's faces that morning as they had begun their trudge through the snow did nothing to improve her mood, and by nightfall her mood was so bad that she had resorted to speaking only in irritated grunts and pointed glares.

Her stomach was still in knots over her friend, she was tired and hungry and freezing, and it seemed they were no closer to finding Lucrezia than they had been the previous night. When the footprints abruptly stopped, Mallory had let out an exasperated sigh and stomped off to the nearest tree to take out her frustration on it while the other three started setting up camp for the evening.

Halfborn was the one to approach her, of course, but he spoke not a word. Instead, he launched his axe towards the tree trunk- hitting dead center between the two knives still plunged into its depths, and silently went to retrieve all three. Their fingers brushed briefly as he handed her the knives, but she purposely ignored the blush rising to her cheeks, instead flipping the silvery metal in her hand and tossing it once more towards her target.

This lasted a few more rounds before Gunderson put a hand on her wrist as she raised it to throw, standing in front of her with that soft look in his eyes that drove her mad,

"We'll find her," he said gently, "But not if you're dead on your feet with exhaustion and hunger."

"Or frostbite," Mallory spat, then sighed. He was only trying to help, "I'm sorry, Halfborn Gunderson. I just...I'm worried about her. What if we find her and she's….?" she couldn't even bring her lips to find the words.

He enveloped her in what she was pretty sure was the definition of a bear hug, and she buried her nose in his chest, enjoying the feeling of -not- freezing to death.

"We will deal with that if it comes."

Of course he wasn't going to placate her with false hopes. They all knew there was a chance Lucrezia was already dead, and Halfborn wasn't going to lie to her about the chances. It was one of the reasons they were so close- she could trust him to tell her the truth no matter how much it might hurt.

But now wasn't the time to get lost in might be's or what if's. And he was right- she'd be no good to her friend if she was so miserable she could barely function. So she stuffed her pride and her frustration and her worry back where they belonged, deep down where they couldn't hurt her, and pulled out of the berserker's embrace, "C'mon."

She was still pretty quiet at dinner, not in the mood for the usual chatting and ribbing at one another that T.J and Halfborn participated in. Hoshi was pleasant enough company for them, her laughter echoing through the cool night air at their antics. But she stopped sulking, at least, looking up at the stars and hoping against all chance that she would see her friend again alive.

And if she draped Halfborn's arm across her back while he sang her a lullaby that night, long after T.J and Hoshi had gone to sleep, she was willing to admit it was as much about setting her mind at ease as it was about keeping warm.

Mallory slept better that night, and morning brought with it a new determination in her step. Hoshi flew ahead of them, scouting around for any signs of Lucrezia or at least more footprints. It was noon before she returned from one of these patrols with her eyes wide, her whole body shaking,

"I...well…" she swallowed roughly and Mallory got a chill. If something was freaking out a Valkyrie,you -knew- it was bad.

"I've found her. She's injured, in a crevice just a few miles that way," she gestured to the West, "but..there are draugr surrounding her location. She must have gone into the pit to escape them. And I can't just fly in there and get her because they could potentially just pick me right out of the sky."

T.J. nodded thoughtfully as the others looked to him. Out of all of them, he was the best at tactical planning, and while Mallory was sure that Hoshi had experience that outstripped his, she didn't know the Hall 19 squad the way he did, couldn't use their skills to her advantage the way he could.

"We'll need to distract them. Draw them out. If we can find a place to restrict their movements, tackle them one at a time, we can handle them."

Hoshi tilted her head thoughtfully, "I can go look for a place to lure them in, but their numbers are larger than I have ever seen for draugr. I mean, we usually see a pair here and there, but there have to be at least a dozen in this group.."

Mallory narrowed her eyes thoughtfully, "A -dozen-?" she looked to her shield brothers. This was definitely not what they had expected. A dozen draugr would be more of a challenge than any of the fights they'd been in so far. Draugr were stronger than einherjar, and more fierce. Unlike her fellow members of Valhalla, they were actually reanimated corpses, and retained none of their humanity. Because of this, they felt no pain either, and were virtually unstoppable. The thing was- they only left their graves if you had their treasure...so it was very unlikely you'd see more than one or two at a time. A group this large was extremely suspicious. Why would anyone be assembling an army of mindless superstrength zombies?

"Be careful," Halfborn advised, though he looked not at all worried about the horde of zombies they were going up against. Of course not. They were all supposed to die in glorious battle. But Mallory had really hoped to at least make it to Ragnarok.

Hoshi took off again, and shortly after returned to direct them to a cliff. There was an iced over lake on one side of the path leading to the cliff, which would slow the draugr as they tried to come from that direction, and they could see the approaching throng from their vantage point up high as well. Between the lake and the forest, it should funnel them into a more manageable group, though they'd be fighting in pretty close quarters on the cliff.

They watched as Hoshi flew off, unable to see the creatures through the trees- but they weren't far away since she wasn't sure how far they'd be willing to follow her. It was a good thing, too, because when Hoshi abruptly dropped from the sky, they were able to charge to her side before the mass found her.

"What happened?" T.J. managed to gasp out as they reached her, the sounds of the draugr stirring in front of them. Hoshi looked pretty beaten up from her fall, but put on as brave a front as she could- injured and shaken, she shivered slightly in shock,

"There's a witch," she informed them, "Hit me with a bolt...can't fly...must have been why Lucrezia didn't try to just fly away. If she climbed out of there in the middle of the horde…"

She wouldn't have had a chance. Her only choice had been to wait for rescue...Mallory wondered how long her friend had been in that hole. She didn't have long to contemplate it, however, because the first of the creatures emerged from the trees a moment later.

It did not take long for them to become surrounded, and while she welcomed the challenge, Mallory could not shake the very, very bad feeling she had about this whole situation. Something was about to go horribly, terribly wrong and the only thing she could do was keep sinking knives into her enemy and hope that whatever it was causing dread to run through her veins could somehow be prevented by their number.

Author's Note: I am so sorry this is so late! I had to split it into two chapters because the Quest just wasn't working, and needed to be longer…and then I ended up re-writing the whole thing. But! It is soooooo much better now. You don't even know what kinda bullet you dodged by me deciding not to publish that awfulness. And hopefully I'll get the next chapter out even -faster- since it's half done already.

I also want to note that I -am- aware there's a level of intimacy to the Hall 19 kiddos that we don't see in the books. But, to be fair...it just seems unlikely to me that they could fight side by side every day without becoming quite close, and we don't actually see much of their normal interactions since we only get Magnus (the new guy's) perspective on about one whole days worth of time. Also, most of the cuddling is happening out of the public eye, and I think it's not unreasonable to assume Mallory is the sort of person who wants to project a certain image that may not really be the whole story around those she is truly comfortable with.

There will also be an 'incident' in a later chapter that helps explain some of Mallory's more standoffish behaviour towards Halfborn in particular during Sword of Summer. For now, just enjoy the fluff. XD