Good Luck Kiss

"Father, are you sure this is necessary?" Thor asked, caught somewhere in between trepidation that the wise All-Father was right and incredulity. He had no reason to believe Odin was wrong; and history had certainly proven that the King of Asgard was not prone to overreactions. Yet, for all the battles Thor had fought defending his home and his people, he had never truly believed that anything or anyone could in fact harm his world.

Asgard always overcame, either by his father's great wisdom, his mother's cleverness, his own strength of arms... even occasionally by his little brother's craftiness. Together as a family, what could truly challenge them?

"As loath as I am to agree with my dear big brother," Loki drawled, "this does seem a tad bit excessive, doesn't it?"

Despite the dread hanging over her head, Freya managed to laugh. "If we weren't sure things were dire before, we are now. The world must be ending, for this has never happened before: on this day Thor and Loki of Asgard have agreed on something."

Thor snorted and Loki huffed in annoyance.

Odin All-Father ignored the by-play of his family, focused as he was on the task at hand. Carefully, the old Asgard worked. Every bit of power that Asgard could muster was being channeled here, into the old Planet-Shield designed by Odin's grandfather. It had not been used since the day it was completed, but it alone had any hope of protecting their planet from the energy wave created when two archangels went to war with each other.

"The Volva is never wrong, my sons," Freya reminded gently. "If the old Seeress says the archangels have begun their apocalypse, then it has. You both saw and felt the pulse of energy when the Morning Star broke free of his prison. That was a fraction of his capabilities. A mere fraction." she reiterated. "He has since regained his full strength."

Odin spoke up then. "I have seen this being up close, when your Lady Mother aided me in projecting my awareness into the avatar I left behind on Midgard. I and the other kings of the old guard came together in hopes we could avoid this. We failed. It was a slaughter."

"But Father," Thor objected, "Your avatar is not nearly as powerful as you truly are. Surely-?" Thor cut himself off. He honestly could not force the words past his lips that his father was less than capable. Of anything.

"I would be able to accomplish more in person?" Odin finished. "No, my son. I saw what I needed to know."

"Don't forget it is no longer only the one," Freya added. "If we try to stand between Micheal or Lucifer now, we would be fighting all the angels of their realm."

"So we don't fight, we mediate," Loki reasoned. "Our great father has negotiated peace between the most ancient of enemies before."

Freya smiled sadly at her two sons. They were still so young, really.

A sad twist on the lips also graced Odin's face. "I have learned, in my great many years, that very little in the universe can stop two brothers from fighting when both feel wronged."

Both princes of Asgard squirmed under their father's one-eyed gaze. Neither would meet that stern eye, or each others'.

Odin continued. "The shock waves produced between the archangels will destroy nearly all life on Midgard in the first minutes. From there, it will expand, stretching into the rest of the galaxy. Within hours it will reach us here in Asgard. But first, the Bifrost will collapse under the onslaught and strand us here. Without the Planet-Shield, our world will tilt on its axis and wobble out of its orbit. After that happens, it is only a matter of time before our home becomes uninhabitable."

"We can only hope that the Planet-Shield will hold its strength longer than the archangel brothers take to kill each other," Freya added. "The Volva was unsure how long the battle would last. Or who will win."

"So we wait to throw the switch at the last possible second," Thor realized. "And... wait as our fate is decided?" His rage at the situation and his own helplessness grew. Given the option, Thor would rather die on Midgard, fighting these 'angels' himself rather than waiting here to see if they would all die. But that would not be his fate today. Today would test his patience. And his cardiovascular health, it would seem. He knew his rage showed in the red of his face.

"Morality comes hardest to those of us who live the longest," Odin mused softly. He turned his eye to Freya. "A kiss for luck, my dear wife?"

Gently, but no less passionately for its tenderness, Freya pressed her lips to her husband's. Both knew if this venture went wrong, this might be their goodbye kiss.

"My Queen," Heimdall rumbled, speaking for the first time.

Freya crossed to the Gatekeeper. She closed her eyes and lay a hand on the side of his face. A 3-D psychic display flickered to life in the room with them, showing the scene lightyears away. Grimly, the Asgardians watched as Micheal and Lucifer met on the battlefield. To Heimdall's amplified sight, the archangels glowed almost blindingly white with only the foggiest outline of the human bodies that tried to contain them. Odin's hand tightened on the controls.

They watched in surprise as a fragile human dared to place himself in between the archangels.

"Dean Winchester." Heimdall's voice betrayed his lack of surprise. The Gatekeeper had been keeping a close eye on the situation for the last year, after all.

They watched the scene unfold, watched the other human and the weaker angel die. They watched the fragile Dean Winchester take the beating all the while speaking the words to reach his brother, and watched as the light of the Morning Star dimmed when those words reached their mark.

They watched as Dean's brother took control, as the two archangels fell, as the danger ended.

Tears broke from more than one eye as the pitiable scene of Dean Winchester, victorious yet broken, faded from the room.

"We will honor these Winchesters," Odin declared. "A great celebration to honor their bravery and their sacrifice. They will be remembered for as long as Asgard remains."

Arm in arm, king and queen swept from the room to tell their people all was well.

Loki shook his head, staring at the empty space. "A human. A mere human."

Thor looked at his parents retreating forms, considering. "That was one effective good luck kiss."