Scion: Ragnarok Chapter 20: That's What Friends Are For, a scion fanfic

(Evie)

Evie nods curtly. As she throws on the vest, she says, "Chief, my friends here know some first aid. They're not paramedics or anything, but I figure that we can use all the help we can get. They're good people. I trust them to do right by everyone here."

The Chief frowns for a moment. The situation is clearly dangerous, but it is also an enormous task to make a door-to-door evacuation effort.

"All right. Give them vests and flashlights," the Chief allows. "But your friends are volunteers and acting of their own accord. They're responsible for their own safety, so don't take any unnecessary risks."

"Thanks, sir. Don't worry. I don't want them to wind up as crispy critters any more than you do," she nods her thanks before she moves over to the supply stash.

As she hands over the vests and flashlights, she says, "Be careful, guys. Don't try to be heroes..." and here she gives them a slight, rueful smile that clearly says unless you have to.

"Just try to get as many people out as you can. We really appreciate all the help," she reaches out and squeezes Lya's shoulder. "Be safe."

Most of the neighborhood residents have evacuated, though there are still some stragglers trying to pack their cars and save things, instead of focusing on necessities like family and pets.

"Let's go!" snapped Toxic. "Get your families and pets and evacuate! If your car doesn't start, get an officer to help!"

Protests and excuses were short-lived; the Furies would have none of it.

"The neighborhood is cordoned off," Phoebe assured them. "If they get the fire under control, then you'll be able to come back for things later."

(Hitoshi)

You can tell your guest is torn between admitting he's in over his head, and the bravado dictated by allegiance, even if it's not likely to be reciprocated.

"What do you want, information? I ain't got any. I just know the word is out, it's open season on you and your friends, and this is just the beginning. Your homes, your businesses, your friends, your family ... it's all fair game."

"Info would be nice, You and your gang realizing you are pawns in a war you can't win, and deciding to leave town would be even better, but even I know that's not going to happen, so I'll settle for getting you out of the way one by one."

He reaches over for the house phone and dials 911. "I'd like to report a home invasion and attempted arson."

"Thank you for your report, Mr. Ryder," said the dispatcher. "First, Sir, are you safe?"

"Yes," Hitoshi said. "One suspect is dead, and the other one is under control."

"Sir, it could be as much as an hour before a unit is able to respond," the dispatcher said. "There's been an incident, and we have most of our resources tasked to that."

"I can wait," Hitoshi said. "We're having a little chat, my guest and I."

"Fucker's crazy! He's trying to kill me!" yelled the gang member. "Help!"

"Shut up," Hitoshi said. "If I were trying to kill you, you wouldn't be making this much noise."

"Officers are en route," the dispatcher said. "Please stay on the line."

"Sure thing."

Lya nods at Evie and gestures for a hand as she climbs up onto the roof of one of the emergency vehicles and pounds her staff on the roof loudly to get people's attention

"People of Las Vegas, hear me!" she yells out as some of the stragglers packing their cars stop to listen. "We don't know how strong we are until we are forced to realize what's truly important and bring that hidden strength forward. In times of tragedy, people do amazing things. If falling into desperation worked to make things better, then I would say, 'Let's all jump into despair.' But it doesn't help. The only way to truly find meaning is to look at the disaster, the pain, the difficulty, and know with complete certainty that good can come from this!" she turns and gestures to each of the survivors she sees milling about and the rescue workers setting up triage and tents.

"Let this remind us that our things are just things... and that what's truly important are the people. As long as we help each other survive, we can rebuild our homes and start again. As long as we don't give up on each other, those homes can become a community. The police and medical services are here to help... so please, focus on your loved ones, your families and your pets and help them receive the care they need." Lya points to the triage tents with her cane. "If you don't have anyone, there are plenty of others who could use your help too. This disaster happened to all of us... and it's only with all of us working together that we're going to get through this and come out even stronger."

There's a pause as Lya's words sink in. People who have their hands full of stuff - seem to recognize that they're worried about their material goods and less about their neighbors, some of whom are complete strangers, 'the family with the noisy kids,' or 'the guy who's always mowing his lawn.'
It's a subtle change in focus, but an important one. Suddenly, it was a neighborhood coming together to support each other.

"Hitoshi has a couple of intruders at his house," Phoebe says. "I'll call him back in ten."

"Ten? That's slow for Hitoshi," Klepto snickered. "Pffft. He's probably keeping one alive for questioning."

"If anybody can take care of himself it's Hitoshi," Lya says as she climbs back off the roof of the vehicle to join the others. "I need to see if I can find Valeria in this mess... because if she can't give us a lead about Alex I'm not sure what to do."

She turns to Orithia. "Care to be my escort, hon? Chaos may be my thing... but I'm not about to take any chances after Lyman decided to ramp things up."

"You know I've got your back, Lya. Let's find our Valkyrie."

Even from where she is a bit away, Evei can hear Lya's voice carry over the crowd. She pauses for a moment in her work of helping an elderly lady out of her home, one arm steadying a faltering step while the other holds a squirming and panicked terrier. The detective smiles, proud of her friend. It's amazing the way Lya can rally a group and change the course of what could be ugly, frightening or chaotic, bringing folk together.

As much as Evie wants to be able to rush over to Alex's house, to look at what is or isn't there, to try and find Valeria...she knows that she can't walk away from this work. She trusts Lya and the band to find out as much as they can.

"Officer, could you please check on Mr. Wozniack?" the elderly lady asks urgently as she clings to Evie's arm. "He's at 7065. He came down with the flu last week and he's been so tired and he doesn't hear well and I'm afraid that he's still in his house..."

"Don't worry, ma'am. We're evacuating everyone. If someone hasn't already visited his house, I'll send one of my team over right away, okay?" Evie answers reassuringly.

Klepto gives Evie an 'I heard' nod and makes her way across the street with Toxic, pounding on the door of the Wozniack house.

No answer.

"Lights upstairs," Toxic said. "Kick the door in and hope he's not a home defense nut."

Klepto did so. "Mr. Wozniack? Police! Mr. Wozniack? We are evacuating the neighborhood ..."
"I heard you! Damn, did you just kick in my front door?" a voice yelled.

"Yes, we did," Toxic said. "A gas main exploded several blocks over."

Wozniack appeared at the top of the stairs. Although he was an older man with an aging rasp to his voice, he was otherwise fit.

And in full Army uniform from what must have been VietNam. His kit was in good order.

"Thought it was the dreams again," he said. "You know. Part of you stays behind. Then I looked out the window. Ain't dying in my jammies, no, Sir. Let's go, soldier."

Valeria and her partner were much closer to the fire, affording Lya and Orithia a look at Alex's immediate neighborhood. Or, rather, the fully-involved skeleton of the single-family dwelling he owned, now nothing but blackened timbers and a wall of flames. Firefighters were working on the perimeter, trying to keep the flames from spreading to more homes.

There was the sound of one or more helicopters overhead, and Lya felt the mist of a nearby fire retardant drop.

There. Valeria was standing by a stretcher, her head bowed as she pulled a sheet over a victim's face ...
Lya stands back and waits respectively until it looks like the Valkyrie is done with her rites for the poor soul on the stretcher. When the blonde looks up Lya steps forward with a look of sympathy... and worry.

"Valeria... I am truly sorry that we keep meeting like this, but we need your help... Alex needs your help. Please... we think this horror happened to cover whatever Lyman has done to Alex. Have you or one of your sisters..." she bites her lip nervously and sighs, "...collected him?"

"I know where Alex's house is. Was," Valeria says. "But, no, he hasn't been taken to Valhalla. There may be clues or some other indication, but none of us are getting in there for at least a day, maybe two."

(Hitoshi)

If time flies when you're having fun, it must be positively crawling for the guy on the floor, who seems to regard 'officers en route' as a validation of his Miranda rights, even when you are not an officer of the law and, consequently, not obligated to observe them.

After fifteen minutes, there's a loud pounding at the door. "Mr. Ryder? Police. Please open the door."

"Okay, Pancho. I'm going to answer the door. Clasp your hands behind your head and don't. Move," you tell him.

The gang member does as he's told, probably figuring he's a hell of a lot safer with the LVPD than the son of a Japanese god. Hitoshi pauses only to take up the katana from the daisho at the base of the stairs, dipping the blade in the soup of the dead man's blood. Honsho is once again a walking stick.

There are no surprises at the door, just a pair of officers, one several steps back and covering his associate at the door.

"Hitoshi Ryder?"

"Yes. Come in, officers. My surviving houseguest is in the dining room."

"Boy, I think this is going on the wall of fame," one officer remarks as he sees the headless body lying on the floor. "Seen people stabbed with swords before, but never the special haircut. Just a little off the top."

The other officer sniffed at the air. "Gasoline. Rug's pretty wet, floorboards soaked. We'll recommend a clean-up service for you, Mr. Ryder."

"Oh, hey, it's Jackie-O," quips the first cop.

"Fuck you, pig. My name is Joaquin."

"Well, okay, Mister Joaquin Orozco, you have the right to remain silent ..."

Orozco was Mirandized and cuffed, then taken out to the patrol car. "Coroner is on the way for the other one. CSI, too, just a formality. Sit out back while we take your statement, so we can stop breathing gasoline fumes?"

Your statement is concise and straightforward. Heard a noise, went to investigate, grabbed the katana from the stand, confronted the first man, then the second. CSI arrives to take photos, the katana (but not Honsho) is confiscated for forensic examination.

"Crazy night," says one officer. "Look, until this is cleaned up, you probably won't want to stay here. Red Cross has a shelter for the gas main evacuees, you can take advantage of that."

Hitoshi shrugs.

"I can open enough windows to air this place out when the crime guys are done, and they didn't touch the upstairs. However, I think I need new carpet and a paint job, I was thinking something in red. Yea, that's gonna take a while. Guess I could check that place out and help out where needed." He makes the grim joke without so much as missing a beat.

"Oh, I will be getting my Katana back right? It is a two thousand dollar blade. Do I need to sign paperwork or something?"

"I'm afraid we don't hand out receipts, but, yes, you will get your property back. It's a formality. You confronted an intruder in your home, there won't be any questions," said the officer. "And we have Jackie-O, with gasoline all over his hands, shoes, and clothes."

He glances over at the television, where wall-to-wall coverage of the 'breaking news' continues.
"What a mess. Yeah, I'm sure the Red Cross will take donations, even volunteers," he adds.

Hitoshi nods. "Alright then. I'll get dressed and head over." He looks at the house.

"If that's okay with you officer, so long as I stay out of the dining room I mean.'

The officer takes one more look around the crime scene. He gets a nod from the CSI team, who have documented everything from the point-of-entry (the patio window) to the mostly-empty gasoline canisters.

"You're free to go, Mr. Ryder. Find some place that doesn't smell like the Esso station, I guess. Call that cleaning company in the morning, they'll take care of things," he says. "Good night."

Matt waits until the police have left. "Hitoshi, what's going on? What did you do to piss these punks off so badly?"

"Matty, I kicked them out of the diner because they were being asshats. Now they apparently have it in for me." Hitoshi shrugs.

"Anyways, Lya needs me so I'm going to grab a shower and go meet her." He heads up stairs and picks up his phone.

"Hmm I should call Phoebe back. Matty, I suggest a hotel room for you for a couple days."

He hits redial and waits for Phoebe to pick up.

"Mr. Wozniack!" the elderly lady waves to the man from where she stands with Evie, just by one of the checkpoints that is funneling evacuees out.

Klepto and Toxic see that he is fine and on his way, allowing him to go on unescorted as he moves to meet his friend. Approaching, he says, "Miss Hathaway. Glad to see that you got out okay. How's your knee?"

"Oh, I'm fine, dear. This nice officer helped me out. Oh, but I can't wait for this stupid thing to heal! I swear, it feels like it's been forever since the operation and it's still stiff," she sighs and looks back at the billowing smoke that roils over the neighborhood, worry and sadness creasing her face. "And, now this..."

Evie nods to Mr. Wozniack, handing over both Miss Hathaway and her dog to his care. From the looks of him, she's betting that he is more than capable of making sure they are both out safely, Besides, there are more officers here directing people out, "You two take care of each other. I have more houses to check. Be safe." She smiles and gives Miss Hathaway a small hug. As she turns to go back out, nods respectfully to the old soldier and says, "Sir."

"Well at least we know he's not dead... and if he's not dead that means there's still hope, right?" Lya replies reassuringly. "Chances are they created this mess to cover that up and stop people from looking for him. Too bad for them they didn't know who they were dealing with," she winks before turning around to look at the worst of the blaze down the street.

"I take it his place was over there?" she scratches her head as she looks around at the buildings that were on the street. "I wonder if there were any bank or traffic cameras that could've caught anything..."

"Officer Cartwright might be able to help with that," Orithia replies.

(Lya)

You can feel the heat spilling from the hellish, chaotic scene.

"Pull back, pull back!" the urgent call goes out over the radio. "All units, fall back NOW!"

There's a creaking, groaning sound, then a rumble as several of the fire-engulfed homes collapse inward, displaced air sending a burst of flame-veined smoke and searing embers outward.

"Be easier if the water mains on the east side weren't down!" someone complains.

"Bring in the earth movers," you hear the order, and you realize the fire department is getting ready to demolish several homes to have a fighting chance at saving others.

(Evie)

There are other small crises as residents proceed with the evacuation. A child, feared lost, who had calmly gone to their tree house to gather a very large stuffed bear named (ironically) Thor. Several fender benders as people hurried to get clear. And a round-robin of burglar and smoke alarms.

Just another day's work, right?

Surprisingly, it's the better part of two hours (and well after midnight) before evacuation efforts - along with a secondary sweep by patrol cars with lights and sirens - are completed, and you are able to regroup with Lya and the Furies.

"Oh that does it... that fucking does it..." Lya mutters as she paces back and forth outside one of the tents and wipes the soot off her cheek with the back of her hand. "If I see that bastard again I'm going to show him just what a child of Chaos can do!"

Evie waves to some of the other officers as they finish up and moves to greet Lya when she's halted by Toxic. "You might want to let her get this out first... she's not too happy."

"Damn right I'm not happy! I was not angry since I came to France until this instant!" Lya growls as Klepto looks at her with a raised eyebrow. "What... so I read Shakespeare, ok? Anyway..." she's about to turn and pace again when she sees Evie standing by Toxic and walks up to her.

"Evie! You wouldn't believe what I heard... the water mains on the East Side just happened to be damaged during the fire... and if you think that's a coincidence then I've got a bridge to sell you." She grabs her flask out of her coat pocket and takes a long drink. "So of course they had to bulldoze the buildings to contain the fire... which would be awfully convenient for somebody who just happened to be into real estate development, ya know? Grrr! All those people... I can't believe he did that to all those people..."

"Breathe, hon..." Klepto advises as she squeezes Lya's shoulder.

Lya takes another drink and then a deep breath that she lets out slowly. "Anyway... I found Valeria, and the one bit of good news I got out of all this is that when I talked to her Alex was still alive. Tell me you've got some good news to share? I could really use something positive right now."

Evie pulls over a cooler that had held drinks and snacks for those helping in the evacuation and sits on it. She rubs a hand over her face, further smearing the soot and dirt there. She shakes her head, "I don't have any news. I'm afraid I was too busy trying to get people out of harm's way to do much investigating...though..."

The detective looks up, a grin on her face, "Technically, I'm back on duty until the Chief remembers that I'm supposed to be on leave. This seems like the prefect opportunity for me to use HQ resources before he kicks my butt back out, again."

"I have a make, model and license plate of the accomplice who hit my apartment. Oh, yeah...I guess I didn't mention there were two of them. I offed the one and the other was waiting as getaway. I also have the dead one's Bluetooth, but I'm not sure what I can do with it. The two of them were talking and I did hear the other's voice," she pauses and thinks. "Did Alex mention anything happening in his neighborhood a few weeks ago?"

"Speaking of Alex, when was the last time any of us talked to him? I know that he's been super busy with Charles' case."

Lya looks almost sheepish as she gestures with her flask towards Evie who smiles and shakes her head. "Afraid I've been busy with charity shows lately what with the holidays and all. Think the last time I saw him is when we all got together before Christmas."

She runs her hand through her hair. "I don't suppose there were any traffic cameras, banks, shops or overly paranoid home owners who might've had security cameras going on this street? If Alex were here I'd ask him about companies expressing interest in permits and buying the property..." she chews on her nail for a moment. "Speaking of properties... hey Phoebe, you get a hold of Hitoshi yet?"

"Apparently he had a bit of excitement at his place that he had to take care of and now he's on his way over," Phoebe replies with a relieved sigh.

"Thank the Gods," Lya sighs. "Sometimes I hate the fact that I don't have the connections and combat skills that you and Hitoshi have, Evie."

"You've got a different kind of connection, Lya," Evie replies. "You connect with the everyday people out there and bring them together while Lyman's trying to tear them apart... that's your gift."

"Maybe it's the people we should be asking, then?" Lya wonders out loud. "A lot of them are here at the emergency shelters... maybe now would be a good time to gently question people and see if anyone saw Alex, or anything weird before the explosion."

Evie thinks about it for a second, "I'll have to see if there are...were...any businesses in this area that may have cameras."

"Actually," she says, her eyes lighting up, "there was one Mr. Wozniak who was evacuated. He's an older gentleman who was dressed in his military uniform when he left. I'm betting that he would be the sort to notice anything amiss in his neighborhood. Toxic and Klepto went to his house, so they'll be able to point him out."

She sighs and shakes her head, "I'm glad that Hitoshi is okay. And, honestly, I'm kind of surprised that things have gotten so bad so fast. I mean...it seems like Lyman had everything set up to take car of Hitoshi in a more subtle way. I didn't know what he had planned for us but...this?" Evie gestures to the destruction. "This, I didn't expect for awhile yet. I figured it would happen eventually, just...not now? Ya know?"

"Why is Lyman pushing so hard, all of a sudden?" she muses.

"Mr. North?" says one woman. "I saw him when I was walking my dog, just before ... before ... oh, god, he was home, and right in the middle of it!"

It takes more than a few minutes to calm the woman down, and even then, she's still shaking from believing she was the last person to see Alex, and from the knowledge that her own life was saved by walking her dog.

It's another neighbor who says there was an unusual rumbling sound just before the explosion.
"... it wasn't unusual, with all the work that's been going on, but the utility guys work eight-to-four, so they're not waking people up or banging around during the dinner hour. Sounded just like when they're breaking up the pavement, bang, crunch, grind. Rinse, lather, repeat."

"If it was one of those hopped up Lobos banging in the street you'd think somebody would've seen it," Lya muses. "Maybe they were underground or something? That certainly would allow them to cover up kidnapping Alex and making look like he died in the explosion..."

She makes a sound of frustration and slaps her thigh. "It seems like we're always reacting to Lyman instead of being proactive. I'm no Norse Scion, though... so you've got me when it comes to this whole Ragnarok business. Maybe if we had a better idea of how it's supposed to happen we could fit it together with what Lyman is doing and try to think ahead?"

Klepto pats Lya's shoulder and smiles reassuringly. "We'll figure it out and one way or another there will be a reckoning. Toxic and I will go find Mr. Wozniak and question him."

"Ok... when I see Hitoshi I need to ask him if his business contacts might get us any information about the construction that was going on and if it's connected to Lyman. If he's connected and it's been going on for months, then maybe he was down there for more than just gas mains, you know?"

(Alex)

"That really smells good. Making me hungry," Alex admitted. SERE training had taught him if it was a choice between eating and starving, you could eat anything. Even rat.

"Share some?"

"Share?" Surt says. "Mine. Go away."

"Not even a little?"

The troll tore off a thin strip of stringy meat and threw it on a grimy paper plate.

"Eat," he said.

"My hands are tied," Alex said.

Surt laughed. "Like wolf. Eat."

Alex grudgingly knelt down and managed to sink his teeth into the scrap of meat. He tried to tell himself it would be like venison, or rabbit. Unusual, but not unpalatable. No such luck. It was gamey and tough, and it was several minutes of chewing before he could choke it down.

The troll poured a little beer onto the plate. "Aesir drink."

At least it was good beer. A nice nutty flavor. More importantly, it took some of the taste of rat out of his mouth.

Surt was otherwise uninterested in him. He could apparently lie on the floor or thrash about. The only way out was through a hatch at the top of a ladder, another incentive to want one's hands free. Which landed him back at the do-I-break-my-chains dilemma. Not to mention having to go three rounds in a cage fight with Surt afterwards ...

Evie shares Lya's frustration. She's not entirely sure what to do or how to be proactive, either. She frowns and heaves a sigh, "Well, from what I have gathered, things will start to be at their worst when people stop caring, when they are afraid, when they give in to despair and selfishness. This is when Ragnarock and start to take hold."

She smiles at Lya, "And that is where your gift comes in. You ease people's hearts and minds. You bring them together. You can heal spirits. You help us fight back the tide of apathy."

"But, more immediately..." Evie continues, "Alex and I found out that Lyman has been gathering an army of Einjehar. Who knows how long he's been building it up? Who knows how big it is? But, he's been performing the rituals to bind them to his cause and I have no idea how to counter that."

She pauses and thinks for a minute, "Why don't I take a walk around the neighborhood and see what I see? I figure any clues about what happened to Alex have been obliterated between the fire, hundreds of footsteps and heavy equipment. However...if they are underground, there must be an entrance somewhere, right?"

"Yeah... an entrance..." Lya agrees as she gazes at the fiery remnants of Alex's apartment down the street and then turns back to Evie. "How much do you want to bet that the entrance and escape route for these guys is in that mess?"

Orithia looks at the fire and then back at Lya who is gripping her staff tight as her gaze keeps flickering back to the apartment. "Oh no...no-no-no-no... you are not about to do what I think you're about to do."

"You know it would work, Ortithia..." Lya replies. "As long as I just look, I should be fine."

The blonde shakes her head. "That works for rowdy concerts... but collapsing buildings that are on fire? Lya...you still need to breathe."

"Then see if one of these big strong firemen would be willing to share their equipment, Orithia," Lya responds as she stares her down.

"Damn it... they're going to kill me for letting you do this..." the blonde mutters before walking away. "I'll get your damn mask...can't stop you anyway..."

"Lya..." Evie asks with growing concern. "What are you going to do?"

Lya turns to Evie with a half-smile. "I'm going to go in there and find our entrance."

Evie gives a curt nod and says, "What do you need for me to do?" She is ready to back up Lya in any way that she may need.

"Well... I might need your help to be able to get past everyone to get in there, and maybe if we had some walkie-talkies or something we could keep in contact in case something happens?"

"I appreciate the extra effort, Cartwright, but I want to emphasize again - no heroics," the Chief said. Then, more quietly, he adds, "I want to say, 'good luck,' but you and I both know Alex North is probably on the crispy side of well-done. Still, I'd do the same for any of my people. You're a good cop, Evie."

Word filters through the grapevine, and a firefighter offers his gear to Evie - not realizing that it will be Lya risking the flames.
"Building is pretty much collapsed, so you don't have to worry about a backdraft," he says. "Don't wear anything synthetic - polyester, nylon, all that stuff will go up in a flash. Intercom is voice-operated, just talk and we'll hear you. Use your last name as an ID, and our people are fine with ten-codes*"

It doesn't take long for Lya to suit up.

"Thing weighs a ton," she says, hefting the oxygen tank.

"I am your father, breathe" Klepto says from behind her hand as Lya dons the breath mask.

"Trust your divine blood, Lya," Toxic says.

"Ok... I can do this," Lya tells herself before grasping her staff and whispering, "Έχω την αφή ... έχω τη δύναμη ... με όλα κόλαση να ξεσπάσει Θα είμαι στο μάτι του κυκλώνα." Small carvings of runes glow briefly on the staff before fading back into the stained wood. Lya then hands the staff to Phoebe who helps her strap it to her underneath the fireman's suit.

"This is Cartwright testing the coms and preparing to enter the building, 10-4," Lya says activating the intercom.

"Roger, we receive you Cartwright. Good luck and God speed."

"You get through this and we're going to have a hell of a story to share at the bar," Klepto says as she does a final look over the suit to make sure everything is ready to go. "Be careful."

"Hey... it's me!" Lya winks.

At first, you're unsure if it's adrenaline or your ability to dance through the eye of the storm that makes time dilate. Flames continue to lick, and the heat is undeniable ... but everything is moving in slow motion ...

"Okay, I've seen Lya dance through crowds before, but that was totally freaky weird," Orithia said. "She's dodging sheets of flame."

... and you feel alive, the high that comes with a perfect set on stage. There's a disquieting moment where you glimpse Dionysius' face in the smoke, and then it turns into someone else ... something else. Still a face, but not one you are familiar with, although there's no open menace - simply curiosity.

Even collapsed, there is enough of the house's framework to recognize the entryway, the living room, the gaping hole where the dining room and kitchen should have been ...

"Dance into the fire, when all we see... is a view to a kill..." Lya sings to herself to try and keep calm. "If you are a spirit or god of fire I mean no disrespect to your creation... I'm just looking for my friend," Lya calls out to the flames before twisting around and ducking through an opening in the fire to move closer to the edge of the hole and get a better look.

"This is Cartwright... I'm in the house and there's definitely a large gaping hole in the ground in the dining room/kitchen area. I'm going to move closer and try to get a better look. 10-4."

This isn't just a spot where the floor collapsed. A portion of the foundation has been knocked loose, the floor now sloping down into a roughly-hewn trench that isn't on any of the utility or city planning maps.

You venture just a few steps in, but aren't reckless enough to explore further without the others being present. The tunnel broadens into a much larger space, pushing at the boundaries of the property.

The damage here is not as great, though the walls of the space are blackened, and everything within is burned. You can tell several refectory-size tables were laid out here. Globs of melted metal suggest the presence of plates and goblets, as if there'd been a banquet or feast.

Wait.

An invitation. An offering made to summon Einjehar from Valhalla. Lyman's army. Hidden under the home of another Aesir, where no one would think to look ...

(Hitoshi)

Phoebe picks up on the third ring.

"Phoebe, it's Hitoshi," you tell her. "The house is a mess. One man is dead, a second is in police custody. Surprise, he was a member of the Wolf Pack, and admits to knowing about Lyman."

"We are at war, then," she says.

"I'd expect to hear that from Toxic."

"All of us knew this day would come," she said. "Sooner than we'd thought, or wanted. But not saying it won't make it less so."

"Where are you now?"

"Rally point near Alex's house. Lya's exploring the wreckage now, oh, you should have seen it, Hitoshi. It was beautiful!"

Hitoshi scratches his head. "Umm what exactly was beautiful, and please tell me someone went with Lya. She's not the fighter you gals are and if she's doing something alone that I would normally do alone I am going to worry. "

"You know how she can move through a crowd untouched?" Phoebe asks. "She did it with the fire. We're in radio contact with her, everything is fine."

"Radio contact, okay, I'm less worried, but only a little. Alright then, I'm going to take a shower to get the blood off and then head out to meet you all. Sadly, I doubt the crime scene cleaners can save the carpet." He heads into the bathroom and turbo on the shower so it can warm up.

"Anything else I need to know?" He pauses in the middle of stripping off his clothes as Phoebe's words hit him.

"Wait, what do you mean she did it with fire?"

"She walked through the fire like it was a screaming crowd," Phoebe said. "Nothing touched her. Not the flames, not debris. She embraced her divine power and became it."

"I knew it!" Lya says to herself as she climbs back up and slowly makes her way back out of the hole.

"This is Cartwright, and I've definitely found something. There's a giant hole in the dining room leading to what looks like was a chamber underneath the home. I didn't want to go any farther by myself, but my gut tells me there's a good chance they took Alex out underground and unobserved. Going to take one last quick look around and head back out. 10-4."

A quick estimate tells you a hundred guests could be seated at a time. And, like Spaarti, warriors born of dragon's teeth, it wouldn't take much to amass a sizeable army. Certainly, hollowing out this space wasn't for half-measures.

An explosion and fire would reduce this to nothing more than a blast crater. But how do you move hundreds of soldiers to wherever?

"Shit...I wonder if this all connects to the storm-drain tunnels?" Lya wonders. "That would certainly let them move around unnoticed... and with all the homeless that live down there I bet they've got no shortage of volunteers. I've got to ask Evie if we can get a map..."

A part of you clucks disapprovingly at having lost touch with your 'roots,' though the days of living on the street and sleeping huddled around makeshift fires or riding the bus weren't exactly an idyllic childhood. You knew enough to avoid the pimps looking for new girls to exploit.

But this is a new threat, one that plays to a much broader audience, the poor and disenfranchised. You probably couldn't use them as a serious paramilitary force, but as cannon fodder? Oh, yes.

"By the time I'm done with him he's not only going to suffer the fate of his father... it's going to be broadcast as part of my pay-per-view special where all the proceeds go to helping the homeless!" Lya growls as the abuse Lyman has caused to the homeless and destitute makes her blood start to boil more than the flames surrounding her. "It's time to put an end to this and make things right..."

She turns from the hole in the ground with clenched fists and walks through the fire, her rage practically daring the flames to get in her way.

(Hitoshi)

Hitoshi shakes his head. "Okay then. Wow. Alright, I'll be there soon."

With that he hops in the shower and removes the blood. Fine minutes later he's in his car (With Honjo Masamune) and on his way.

You aren't normally inclined to flaunt your powers, but in this case ...

"I'm here to see Detective Cartwright. You will let me pass."

"Yeah, sure," says the officer, waving you past the cordon. "She's over at ground zero, you're going to have to park by the Mobile Command Post and hoof it several blocks, unless one of the fire crews lets you hitch a ride."

(Lya)

"Perhaps a bit rash, but I'm still proud of you. I think your father would be as well," Toxic says after you emerge from the flames, unscathed. That isn't to say you relish the oxygen-tinged-with-sweat smell of the facemask, or the smell of smoke that's going to cling to you and your clothes.

"What did you see, Lya?" Evie asks.

"I had to do something, Toxic... I can't just stand by and let him keep doing this," she whispers as the redhead Amazon squeezes her shoulder in comfort.

Lya runs a hand through her sweaty hair and takes a long drink from her flask. "Glad you finally made it, Hitoshi... you should hear this too," she says with a nod as the others murmur greetings.

"There wasn't just a hole in there... there was a huge hole, and it led to a cavern with what was looks like was once a large dining area with metal dishes. These tables were long and set for lots of people. Lots of people, Evie... and they weren't drinking the latest wines from the Valley if you get me. He's building a fucking army down there!" she hisses angrily before starting to pace.

"Not only that... but I'll bet my staff that cavern is going to connect with the storm-drain tunnels where all the homeless have been taking shelter lately. He takes everything from them...destroys their lives...then gives them no alternative but to drink his Kool-Aid and hand over their souls for his army of cannon fodder."

(pace-pace-turn)

"Valeria said there was nothing we could do for people who have gone through the rites for the Jotunblut. The Lobos are one thing, but I don't want to fight a bunch of innocent people who had no choice left in the world, Hitoshi. I...I don't know if I can do it."

"War is never easy, Lya..." Toxic replies. "It forces us to make the difficult decisions for the greater good."

"Let us focus on the life that can still be saved," offers Phoebe. "Do you think we should go down there and look for Alex?"

Evie's stomach does a flip-flop. It's one thing to hear from some long dead lackey that Lyman is building an army. It's another to have the proof right there under your nose.

Her lips pressed tight in a mixture of anger and fear, Evie moves to help Lya out of the protective clothing. She is just as angry as Lya about this, if not quite for the same reasons. She has no personal connection to the homeless, but they are still her charges. These are still the people that she swore to protect and serve when she took up the mantle of police officer.

She pauses for as second as she puts aside the fireproof clothing before answering, "Yeah. Yeah, I think we need to go after Alex. Even though I am inclined to not leave any friend behind, it goes beyond that. I think it's going to take all of us to stop this."

"Thomas couldn't do it by himself when he was faced with Lyman's plans. I don't think we'll have any more luck without all of us, either."

Hitoshi puts his arm around Lya. "I don't expect you to do the dark stuff Lya. When the time comes, I'll do what must be done. I already have blood on my hands, a little more isn't going to make any difference. Better that those souls see a quick death than to be controlled and used for horrible things by Lyman."

He gives Lya a squeeze.

"Oh Evie, that reminds me, do you know a good cleaners? My living and dining rooms are covered in blood and gasoline thanks to two members of the Lobos gang."

After the piece of rat or whatever it was, Alex got to his feet and paced across the room, getting a rough idea of the dimensions. Surt didn't seem to care, tending to his own needs, which were mostly quaffing beer and belching loudly. Oh, and an epic piss that encouraged Alex to lean against the wall instead of sit on the ground.

"Surt, do you know who I am?" Alex asked.

"Son of Tyr. Now shut up or I hurt you," the troll answered. "Laufeyson says you heal fast, so I can punish you if you act bad."

"Not really a fair fight," Alex sneered. "Me with my hands tied behind my back."

"Surt not stupid."

"Okay, just for fun. My hands still tied," Alex chuckled. "Never wrestled a troll. Two out of three falls, say?"

"Surt just hit you hard so you stop talking."

"Gotta catch me first," Alex grinned. In for a penny ...

For a creature often depicted as slow and plodding, Surt moved pretty fast. It was like staring down the defensive line in a football game. They might not be fast, but they could make you pay for every yard.

Alex dodged. A stand-up fight wasn't an option; he had to fight dirty ...

(Flashback)

"Come on, Ell-tee. You have to do better'n that!" Major Corwin scoffed as one of his MP's let the young lieutenant out of an armlock. "Again. Corporal Hathaway is going to go for a chokehold, North."

Alex squared off with Hathaway, who was the same height, but had the wiry definition of a long-distance runner.

"Say goodnight, Gracie," Hathaway quipped. He moved, an apparent spear-hand to a nerve cluster in the upper arm. Alex dodged ...

... and found himself over-extending at a feint. Hathaway slipped behind him and brought an arm around his throat. Alex knew what he should do, tuck his chin down to take the pressure, but that thought was several lifetimes ago and he couldn't breathe ...

(End flashback)

Okay. First things first. Alex dodged to one side of the low table where Surt's mug was sitting, hit it with a kick to send it flying towards the troll. Surt roared, but Alex doubted he'd been hurt - he was probably angry the Son of Tyr had deprived him of his beer.

Alex hoped he could do what Hathaway and Corwin had showed him years ago, jumping to bring his knees up close to his chest as his arms came forward ...

... his heel caught on the chain, and he fell to the ground. But with a slight effort, he had his hands before him, and a few more options. Alex rolled to one side as Surt smashed the table on the ground beside him, then scrambled to his feet.

The troll gave a gap-toothed smile, took a step back. He held his arms out as if anticipating Alex's next move.

Alex glanced down at his bonds. Chain. No wire, just a bit of nylon twine, a reminder of Sleipnir. Speaking of which, it was odd. He was still wearing his ring and bracelet, and he doubted Lyman would steal his challenge coin while leaving the other gifts behind.

He strained. Nothing cut into his flesh. A sharp and sudden pull. The chains didn't break outright, but the links had begun to distend. Just a little more effort ...

Evie nods, "Yeah. We always recommend the folks over at Harrison Cleaning to people in your situation. They do a good job of getting up the nastier stuff."

"I guess the first thing to do would be to get a map of the sewers, right? It seems like the best way to get to the tunnels that Lyman has dug. We should be able to get those through the Office of Sewage and Wastewater," she says.

"Thanks, Hitoshi," Lya says with a wry grin, "but just because you've dipped yourself in blood doesn't mean you should go swimming in it on a daily basis. I do worry about you sometimes."

"Speaking of Thomas," Lya says to Evie as she gets the last of the fire suit off, "He could be a big help with searching those tunnels, you know? Is there any way you could contact him, Evie?"

"Gah... feels so good to get all of that off," she mutters as she shakes out her hair. "So if we can get those maps and some flashlights, maybe we can find an entrance near here that will connect us with where I found without us having to go through that fire again. We need to find Alex and hopefully we can stop him from destroying any more lives for his benefit.

They say Ragnarok is fated to happen... but that doesn't mean we abandon our friends or let scumbags benefit from it."

"Damn straight," Klepto agrees as the other Furies nod their heads. "If Lyman is in such a hurry for the end times, I say we deliver it to him personally."

(Alex)

Surt charged, and Alex was out of time. He made as if he were bracing, then sidestepped around and behind the troll, leaping onto his back, racing to work his arms around Surt's neck before he could be tossed chains made it harder, because he couldn't execute the textbook move and had to hope he could exert enough leverage to choke anything, least of all a troll.

"Hurrrr," grunted his opponent. The troll whipped from side to side, but failed to shake him loose.
Then he simply slammed his back into the wall, knocking the wind out of Alex. As Alex wheezed, the troll gave a coarse laugh, taking a few steps forward to do it again.

Alex strained. Oddly, he thought back to the moment in the diner where he'd laid a hand on that one gang member, and the kid looked like he'd been caught in a hydraulic press. And all he'd done was put his hand on the kid's shoulder with the intent to restrain him.

"Trust your divine blood," Orithia had told him.

He made a renewed effort. He braced as Surt slammed him into the wall again, and then a third time. But he wouldn't relent.

The troll was no longer laughing, but making agitated gargling noises. He scrabbled at Alex's arm, but because of the chains binding them, couldn't pull Alex off.

"Guff ... stupid Aesir," Surt gasped as he sank to his knees, then toppled forward.

Alex maintained the chokehold until the troll's form went slack. He pulled away and saw the extensive bruising on the creature's throat; he'd really dug in. Surt was still breathing, however, so he hadn't killed him outright.

Back to the chains. He strained, and the welds of several links snapped. He was free.

And trapped at the bottom of a cistern.

(Lya, Hitoshi, Evie)

Because of the danger of flash floods, the storm drains run throughout the underside of Las Vegas. An entrance to the system cannot be far off, but it seems like the space beneath Alex's house was excavated - perhaps, in part, when there was a 'gas leak' that forced the evacuation of the neighborhood some months back. Finding where that space and the storm drain connect will be more problematic, but not impossible - fresh concrete and/or a locked gate or door will be fairly evident, even with the abundance of graffiti and tagging down below.

"All right... so we're going to need the map, some flashlights, a sledgehammer or two and some bolt cutters just in case we run into any obstacles, Jotunblut or otherwise," Lya says to the others.

"I figure while Evie digs up the map maybe Hitoshi can get us the gear and I can go to the closest shelter here and see if anybody who was recently evacuated might be able to help us locate where we need to start looking."

(Evie)

Evie checks with the firefighters, and the maps are available via a ruggedized tablet, of which the department has several.

"Just don't get lost down there," the chief advises. "Unless you have a map, or know how to read the markings - and some of those are covered by tagging - you can get turned around really easy."

(Hitoshi)

All of the tools Lya suggested are available at the garage. You are able to gather everything up and return within an hour.

(Lya)

The Red Cross shelter is a set of tents filling the parking lot of a nearby strip mall. The smell of smoke is still heavy on the air, while elsewhere, the lights of the Strip tell you the rest of Vegas is ticking along as it always has.

Because the Red Cross doesn't ask questions before handing out blankets or ponchos, there are a handful of transients in the queue. You recognize them more by manner and dress than by name.

"Hey... did that damn explosion effect everyone in the tunnels too?" Lya asks casually as she stands aside the line, making sure people don't think she's cutting in front of them. "I remember having to keep moving because of the rain being bad enough... now people have to worry about fire, too."

(Lya)

"Yeah, lotta smoke and runoff from the fire hoses. Nothing like a flash flood, but it got kind of swampy in parts," says one young man. "For a bit, sounded like the place was gonna cave in, so I scooped up my shit, grabbed Tawny, and we got the fuck outta there."

The young girl standing next to him doesn't say much. "Wait. You're her, you're her! Oh, cool!"
"Say what?" her boyfriend asks.

"Dude, you don't recognize her? It's Lya, Lya and the Fur- holy shit!" she says, catching sight of Toxic standing nearby.

"Heh...yeah, that's us," Lya chuckles. "I heard what had happened to the people with the fire, and since I've spent my share of time in the tunnels I thought I'd try and find out what happened... see what I can do to help, you know? Not to mention that the fire took out my friend's house."

She pulls out a band photo and Sharpie from her jacket and motions for Toxic to come over so she can use her back to start signing the photo. "So... if I wanted to go check out what happened in that part of the tunnels... do you think you could tell me how to find it without getting lost?" Lya hands the picture to Toxic to sign and motions for the other Furies to follow suit.

"You wanna go down there? Really? I mean, the acoustics are nice, kinda churchy," the girl said. "But there's a lot of pain down there, too. The rejects and the drop-outs and the forgotten ones. Kids who run away from too-strict parents - we get a lot of those - and the homeless. Not enough shelters or services for anyone."

"There's always someone playing tourist," the boyfriend sneers. "Photographers, pushers, pimps, priests. Just the other day, there was this guy looking for people who wanted to fight back, who had the 'fire.' Most of the kids we know said no, and passed the word up the line. Turns out he's some kind of money dude, fancy car, bodyguards ... but he's into something shady, too, maybe drugs."

Hitoshi walks up. "The fire eh? What did this man look like? Did you or your friends get a good look at him?" He's got his cane in one hand, and a pair of bolt cutters in the other.

"I used to be one of those kids running away from their parents," Lya replies. "My friends and I want to help if we can... and the only way to know is if we check it out first hand."

She looks worriedly at the boyfriend. "I've heard of this rich guy too... he tried to hit up people at one of my concerts with this drug he called 'Jolting Blue' that fucked people up more than a bad batch of PCP that doesn't go away."

She bites her lip and shakes her head sadly. "I saw this poor guy living in a box on the street because the shelters had to kick him out before he hurt people. Do me a favor and start spreading the word to avoid this rich guy ok? I heard his name is Lyman... and he's dangerous."

She hands the signed photo to the couple with a gentle smile. "We face enough troubles as it is."

"There was just something off about him, man," said the boyfriend. "More'n a few of us are down here because we're rebels, yeah, but we're rebelling against a system that has too many people like him. Suits like our parents, teachers who can't teach, politicians who want to make it our fault."

"Kind of creepy looking. Not creepy ugly freak show, but you could see it in his eyes, the corner of the mouth smile," the girl adds. "Thinks he knows it all."

"Look, it's simple. I'm here 'cause Tawny's folks didn't care about her. They wanted a perfect church choir daughter, couldn't see her for what she is," the boyfriend says. "Ain't gonna let some pimp exploit her, or any of the other kids down here."

Evie waits back by the tents for Lya and Hitoshi to return, now that she has the maps. She knows full well that she won't be doing anyone any favors by butting in speaking with the homeless who have wandered in to take advantage of the free food and blankets. As much as it pains her, the police aren't always looked upon kindly...and it infuriates her that there are cops that deserve that reaction.

"More power to you, man," Lya says with a smile as she pulls two $20s out of her jacket and hands it to him. "Just because the higher ups don't care doesn't mean we stop looking after each other. I think there might be some people down there in that area of the tunnels suffering because of the crap Lyman is spreading... and I want to make sure they get don't get forgotten. Any marks or signs I should look for so I don't get lost down there?"

He fishes in his pocket and hands you a scrap of parchment that's made out like a business card, with a name, cell phone number, and an icon that looks like a shooting star.

"You see my tag, my art, that's my turf. And my people will help you if they can," he says. "You can call me Arky, RK. Russ Keller."

"Much appreciated, Arky," Lya replies as she fishes out her own card. "The same goes for me and the Furies. You guys ever need help, come to one of our shows or give me a call."

(Alex)

He patted down Surt's pockets for keys, tokens, anything of use. A cardboard box held more of the rat jerky, and there were a couple of bottles of beer. But he had no place to carry much of anything. He was wearing his slacks, and a now-torn and grimy dress shirt. No shoes, just thin dress socks that wouldn't be of much use.

That left the climb to the top of the cistern, up a ladder made of welded rebar. The climb was more like a workout at the gym than hanging Christmas lights on the roof trim, and he was feeling a mild burn as he reached the narrow catwalk at the top ...

Not that a wrestling match with a troll was 'easy,' but for an evening that had begun with Lyman's goons bursting out of the floor and dragging him off to wherever this was ... a simple watertight hatchway said 'too easy,' and made Alex pause.

He listened. There were sounds - distant conversation, tools on metal or rock, but nothing to suggest any of it was just outside the door.

He spun the wheel, wincing at the creak the door made as he inched it open, but there were no warning bells or cries of alarm.

Just a rough-hewn corridor, a long, uneven tunnel hewn through the earth, and sloping downward ...

Lya and Hitoshi return to Evie with tools in hand. "All right, I think I've got us some leads on where to go down in the tunnels and Hitoshi got us the tools... so if you've got the maps Evie, we can get started."

"Right. Let's get going," Evie angles the borrowed tablet so that the others can see as she pulls up the maps. "It looks like the nearest entrance is here...and, these tunnels are the ones that pass closest to Alex's house. Our starting point is somewhere around there, i would imagine."

"Once we get in, hopefully, I can find and follow a trail. My gift lets me analyze crime scenes, so...maybe it will let me be able to see small signs of passage, things that others might not notice in a mostly stone environment. If Alex is hurt, maybe there's some blood...bits of fiber from clothing...hair...that sort of thing."

"I got some advice from an artist who used to live down there who gave me his card. He told me to look for his art and symbols on the walls and those will lead us to where they were hearing all the noises and banging around down there." Lya scratches her head. "Figure it's somewhere to start, right?"

Alex came upon the trio as they were arguing over blueprints.

"No, no, and no, rock-for-brains. Shit," said one. "Need to shore things up here and here before you dig out that spur, or the whole thing collapses."

"I thought he was supposed to do that," said a second.

"Me? I've been laying stone for the armory. Fuck off," came the retort. "Besides ... oh. Company."

"Company?" asked the first. He looked up, saw Alex. "Oh. It's the Aesir. You didn't leave us a dead troll to clean up, did you?"

"Excuse me? Who are you?"

"I'm Hrogar, and those two are Hjalf and his twin brother, Hjolf."

Alex fought back a laugh. "Pleased to meet you. What are you doing down here?"

"What's it look like, Einstein?"

"Excavating something big," Alex said. "You doing this for Lyman?"

"I'm doing this because I'm getting paid," Hrogar snorted. "That's how shit gets built, y'know."

"Like what?" Alex asked, hoping to draw the cynical dwarf out.

"Like I don't know, so I can't tell you. I'm getting paid. If a client wants a fucking trapeze in the bedroom, we put one in."

"A trapeze in the bedroom? Really?"

"No, not really. Not for Laufeyson. Guy's got other kinks, not my place to talk about 'em," Hrogar said.
"So how do I get topside?"

"Nuh-uh. Ain't paid to babysit, but you gotta talk to her before you leave," said Hrogar.

"Her. Soleil?"

"So-who? No, no, no. Her," said Hrogar. "Fuck. Don't make me hold your hand, Aesir."

Alex still had no clue as to whom the dwarf was referring. "Okay. So where do I find ... Her?"

The dwarf just pointed further down the tunnel. "You're a bright boy. I'm sure you'll figure it out."

Hitoshi slings the boltcutters onto one shoulder and grins. "So, lets get this show on the road. We have a Lawyer to rescue... Never thought I'd want to rescue a Lawyer before now."

"There's a culvert at the edge of the development, about a mile over," Evie says. "We can enter there and work our way towards the spot Lya saw."

"We'll have to be careful, there will be innocents down there," Lya added. "Either because they had the good sense to tell Lyman to get bent, or because they're useless as far as his plans go."

The culvert is already awash in a spill of foam and char-blackened water, the smell of smoke thick upon the air.

Evie flicks the beam of her flashlight along the ground. "This way."

The group starts making their way back along the tunnels, their footsteps echoing off the walls. There are other sounds: the running of water, the squealing of rats, an occasional cough or buzz of conversation. For the most part, you ignore these, as running down every last sound would be near impossible.

You come to the junction that would lead into the heart of the fire zone. There's a young man leaning against the wall to the right.

"Hey, hold up, there's a big fire topside, all the crud is flowing down here," he says. "Ain't saying you can't go down there, but if you're thinking salvage or something, forget it."

"Not looking for salvage, man..." Lya assures him. "Friend of ours went missing during the evacuation and we wanted to see if he was still down here and needed help. If we don't help our own, who's gonna...am I right?"

"There wouldn't be a 'down here' if people actually gave a shit," the young man says. "Just watch out for falling stuff. And I hope you ain't wearing anything you wanna keep, 'cause it's gonna smell worse'n Smoky the Bear's ass."

He lets you pass without protest, and you continue further into the tunnel. The sound of running water grows louder as waterfalls of runoff gush down the walls to form a small stream in the center of the tunnel. Glowing embers cast an eerie light upon the walls, emphasizing shadows and darker colors.
None of it looks familiar, and yet you know you're in the right place.

"We're where we should be," says Evie. "Any of this look familiar?"

"Like being a confrontational asshole is going to make people want to help you either," Lya sighs to herself. "The room I found was large and carved out with these huge dining tables lined up. I didn't go farther than that into the tunnels though since I was by myself." She digs out the card Arky gave her. "Look around on the walls and see if you can find any art or symbols. They should point us in the right direction."

"All else fails there should still be runoff from the fire, right?" Toxic adds. "If we keep following that it should lead us to the right place."

"All you can do is offer aid... you can't make them take it," Phoebe says quietly as she walks up next to Lya and starts searching the walls. "They have been cast aside for too long not to be angry."

"I know," Lya sighs quietly. "I just wish they could see there's an alternative... especially with creeps like Lyman taking advantage of that anger."

"He was caring for his own," Orithia notes, "keeping his people, the outcasts and homeless, safe by keeping them away from a problem area. He probably thought we were just opportunistic hipsters going for urban salvage."

"Oh, my god," Klepto says. "This is beautiful work."

She shines her flashlight on a painting that is nearly two meters across. Reminiscent of a Maxfield Parrish work, it's a sunrise over rolling hills lost in an early-morning haze. The sunlight limns several Doric columns with yellow-gold.

Arky's sigil, the starburst/comet, is in one corner.

"Wow... we should hire him to make us a backdrop for one of our performances!" Lya says as she shines her light upon the painting. "At the very least he might be interested in contributing to one of our charity shows. No wonder they're all so agitated... between Lyman pushing his drugs and dogma and the art critics hipsters looking for the next Banksy they're probably sick and tired of dealing with people."

"I've got to write his number down and make sure I don't lose it in this mess," Lya mutters to herself as she pulls out her Sharpie and writes his number on her arm. "Well we're definitely going the right way, then."

Evie nods and follows Lya's lead down here. Though, she still consults the maps to make sure that they aren't headed anywhere that might make them super-dead, she leaves this venture to the singer. Here. Lya is the most capable and knowledgeable.

However, this doesn't mean that Evie isn't keeping an eye out for...anything...really. She fully expects that any clues that might have existed have been washed away. However, it's not a foregone conclusion that nothing will have survived the deluge. And, you miss 100% of the things that you don't look for!

It's when Evie picks out a specific scent in the thick of the hazy fume filling the tunnels that she can put the group back on the right track. It's the smell of cordite and plastic explosives, which you remember from a Homeland Security briefing the last time there was a round of idiots packing explosives into their underpants or whatever.

"Whatever hole you saw wasn't caused by the fire," she tells the others.

Evie paces back and forth, trying to get a sense for the strength of the odor before her mind blocks it out, her eyes scanning for other traces and signs. There. A ... borehole, drilled into the concrete.

How would ...? Of course. The Roget Building had been demolished in a planned implosion, giving Roget/Lyman access to high-grade demolitions materials ...

"Which really drives home the belief that they've got Alex holed up somewhere for who knows what," Lya says. "If they just wanted him dead, they'd have just tried to kill him in the fire and make it look like an accident."

"Lyman is probably setting it up so that Alex's death takes awhile, giving him time to gloat," Evie frowns. "He can't just do something simply. No sirree. Lock someone in a sarcophagus and let them asphyxiate. That's his style."

"But, that works in our favor, too. It As you said, it's means he's probably still alive."

"So, there should be more new tunnels close by, I would think. We just have to find the tunnel that's not on these maps and look new."

She closes her eyes for a second and inhales deeply, "I need to find the scent of new earth and explosives..."

"The Aesir revere valor and courage, among other virtues," Klepto says. "Nothing valorous about murdering a rival while he's asleep in bed. Lyman will want to show that he's deserving of the crown, I guess."

"Perhaps that's what derailed their plans in the 1950's," Evie muses. "Lyman thought he was getting rid of a rival, and having a troll do the dirty work, burying Thomas alive, that burned whatever capital he had on the divine politics front. So he has to take Alex on. Us, as well."

"Let him try," Toxic smiled grimly.

Lya frowns, staring at the ground. Then she looks up and says, "This way."

"What'd I miss?" asks Evie.

"Nothing. Runoff isn't as deep here, so it must be going somewhere else, like a tunnel further down."

"Nothing valorous or courageous about turning a bunch of innocents into cannon fodder to fight your war," Lya adds as they go searching for the tunnel. "I'd say Lyman is acting just like his father: cowardly, conniving, and unable to learn from the past."

"Amen to that," Evie mutters. She pauses for a moment, thinking. Her brow furrows and she sighs, "Once we find the new tunnels, we'd best keep a close eye out for traps. Lyman is a greasy bastard and...well...I'm not 100% certain that he's so arrogant and confident that he won't put obstacles in the way, down here."

"Sure, he may have been counting on us to be busy with our own problems, or dead. But, I'd rather not assume such and step right on homemade mine."

It isn't far before you come to the collapsed floor (?) of Alex's house. The scope of the damage becomes more evident. Lyman (or his people, most likely) blew out the top half of the storm drain, plus the sewage and utility lines sandwiched between it and the house above.

"We're here," Lya says. "The dining room, or whatever you want to call it, is at the bottom of the slope. Careful, it's steep."

"Bastard," Evie snarls, seeing the chamber as she would a crime scene. "He did this under Alex's house to hide the fact that it was him. Invoke power to summon Einjehar or bind thralls with Jotunblut, but no one notices, because they see Alex's footprint first."

"If they've taken Alex, they may not be done. Imagine renting the convention center and holding a ritual there. Suddenly, you've a force in the hundreds of thousands, more than a match for law enforcement."

"Gods... now I'm expecting Bane to come charging out of the dark looking for Batman," Lya mutters as she uses her cane to make her way down the slope.

"You think darkness is your ally...but you merely adopted the dark," Toxic replies with a chuckle.

"Yeah... not helping."

Alex continued down the tunnel's length, not seeing anything to merit the dwarf's trepidation or quiet respect.

Until he found the work lights aimed at a narrow vent to one side. Despite the spill of light flooding the rest of the tunnel, it didn't seem to reach into the vent more than a foot.

This had to be where he would find Her. Whoever she was. Hopefully not some giant spider like in Lord of the Rings.

The corridor was wide enough for him to walk normally, but just barely. A warrior carrying a sword and shield would find himself forced to turn the shield aside and hold the sword at a disadvantageous angle.

He raised one hand to feel - lightly - against the wall, which fell away after several yards, a chill whisper of wind describing a larger space.

Light, from somewhere, someplace high above shone down in a perfect circle.

He stepped forward into it.

Darkness. The smell of old paper and musty attic spaces.

"Ah. There you are. Come to me at last," a pleasant contralto spoke.

"I am at a disadvantage," Alex said. "I don't know who you are."

"Arrogant pup," the voice snapped, a harsher tone becoming evident. "You know. You dance in my domain. You mock that which binds Mortal and Aesir alike!"

"Death to the Son of Tyr," hissed a familiar voice. An echo from the past, powerless.

"If I have offended, I would -"

"What would you?" the harsh tone asked. "Pledge fealty? Offer service? We are not haggling, boy."

"What do you ask of me, then? Do I speak to the Norns, having bought my life at the cost of others?" Alex asked.

"Mmmmmm, so close," cooed the pleasant voice. "But, no. I am not a Norn."

"You have named me, but I still do not know wh-"

"You would know me?" asked the pleasant voice. A delicate hand, almost porcelain white, reached out of the darkness, the sleeve of a rough-spun robe sliding back along a woman's arm.

She reached up to caress his face. Her touch was cold, not in the sense of ice or frost, but of polished marble and stone-faced angels standing guard over ... tombstones.

"Ah, there we are. Do you know who I am, now?" she said.

"Hel."

"Yes," the harsh voice replied. "Few accept my touch willingly."

"What do you ask of me?"

"Be my agent in that which is to come," she said.

"What do you mean?"

"You walk between worlds, Son of Tyr. If it is by accident, you are no use to me. If you do so to defy me, then it is my right to claim the weregild for such. But if you are willing, I can offer you more," she said.

Alex couldn't help but think of Keats' La Belle Dame Sans Merci, with himself in the place of the lone knight.

"Whose side are you on in the coming conflict?"

"None but my own," Hel told him. "I am Death. I take no sides, though I am oft accused of ill will. It helps protect fragile minds from the truth, that I come for all, gods and mortals, kings and paupers, warriors and tradesmen."

"I was recently made an offer in the mortal world. I knew there might be ... a conflict of values," Alex said. "I am my father's son. Justice calls to me."

"No conditions. Accept, or refuse. Do not think you can lie to me," Hel said.

Hitoshi chuckles an almost evil laugh as he takes lead. "Bane might be down here, but there's a big difference between me and Batman."

He looks back at the girls, and his eyes glow in the darkness.

"He couldn't see in the dark. I can. I'll take point and do some scouting. Make sure nothing tries to ambush us."

"He does realize that's how horror movies start, right?" Lya chuckles as she gives a hand to Evie and the others who make it down the slope.

"For once it's not the women getting captured and separated from the group," Evie replies as Toxic stifles a laugh.

"Yeah... no helpless damsels in distress here," Lya agrees as she attaches her staff to her belt and carefully pulls out her gun.

The heat and smoke lessen as you move further from the collapsed area. You find yourselves in a brick-lined tunnel, perhaps an older part of the storm drain system where they simply built on top of things. There is no graffiti here, indicating that you're outside of Arky's turf, and not likely to find many allies.

Evie bends down to pick up an elongated piece of metal. It's a corroded plate, stamped with the legend, "... tern 4 East 5"

"Northern? Southern?" asks Lya.

"Maybe. This isn't on any of the maps," Evie says. "Wait. Cistern. Some kind of water storage facility, maybe built during the war?"

"Yeah. Creepy evil sociopath, secret underground base, all we need is a brutish henchman," laughs Hitoshi.

There's a very loud clang from further down the hall. A bellow of pain and frustration.

"Death to the Son of Tyr!"

"Welp. I'd say we found Alex," Evie gives a lop-sided grin.

She carefully begins to make her way down the hall, not rushing headlong. Alex is strong and can heal. He stands a good chance in most fights, unlike civilians that she is used to dealing with. Thus, she is more cautious than she would be were she aiding a regular person.

Evie pays attention as she moves, looking for other hallways that branch off of this one. Sounds could echo down here and lead the team astray...

"Sounds like we've found our friend," Klepto says grimly as she and the other Furies move to stand protectively in front of Lya with sledgehammers and bolt cutters in hand as they move down the tunnel after Evie.

"Sounds..." Lya mutters as she gets an idea. "Sounds travel like crazy down here, don't they? OK, Alex... I hope you can hear this because I looked up this speech just for you, Son of Tyr..."

Lya takes a deep breath and projects as loud as she can...

It is to a higher purpose that I now call to my people and anyone who can hear me who will make our cause their own. I ask them to stand calm, firm, and united in this time of trial. The task will be hard. There may be dark days ahead, and war can no longer be confined to the battlefield. But we can only do the right as we see the right, and reverently commit our cause to the Gods. If one and all we keep resolutely faithful to it, ready for whatever service or sacrifice it may demand, then, with the help of the Gods, we shall prevail!

There's a curious silence in the wake of Lya's speech. For an instant, everything has stopped. The murmur of activity, even the raging ... whatever running amok further down the tunnel is quiet.
"Hunh," it grunts. "Not Aesir."

A grinding sound follows, and it takes a moment before anyone realizes it's the creature's (?) footsteps, heavy and ponderous. Massive.

And then it lurches into view. A troll, dressed in leather breeches and linen-strip vambraces. His brow is furrowed, and he is carrying a club - what looks to be the remnants of a stout table leg.

"Aesir ..." he sniffs at the air. He turns to face you more fully, and his bulk nearly fills the width of the tunnel. "No pass."

"May I ask why not?" Evie asks conversationally. Honestly, she's not expecting to get anything useful out of the creature. More than anything, she's stalling to give herself and the others time to think of what they want to do. Because...day-um. She has never seen anything like it and really has no idea what to expect.

And, if it does get the group something to go on, then great!

"You, Aesir," the creature repeats. "What else? Girl warriors. Man with funny eyes. Not on list. No pass. Nobody pass."

"So who's on the list anyway?" Asks Lya as she slowly and hopefully quietly slides back the clip of her gun while standing behind the Furies.

"Jotun," the troll answers. He thumps his chest. "Allies like Surt. Not Aesir like her, or Son of Tyr. We have army. You go, or we fight."

Hitoshi steps forward. "So big guy, do you have orders to deal with any non Aesir? Or do you just ignore them?" He leans on his cane looking at the big creature.

Evie starts backing slowly away, trying to not be obvious about it. She tries to make it seem like she's wandering a bit aimlessly as she listens.

If it turns out that Lya and Hitoshi can pass without a fight, then they should go on ahead. Evie can stealth back and see if there are other passageways around the brute.

"Troll or not he's still got kneecaps," Lya whispers to Evie. "He said he wouldn't let any of us pass if we're not on the list."

"Laufeyson says no one pass except Jotun, allies like Surt," the troll repeats.

"True," she whispers back while the troll's attention is still on Hitoshi. "But, you never know. He may be persuaded to let non-Aesir pass. He doesn't seem like the sharpest tool."

"How does he know that you aren't newly hired allies?" Evie scratches an imaginary itch on her nose. "Lyman is always hiring, it seems..."

Hitoshi scratches his chin. "I see." He looks back towards the girls. "How many suits am I going to have to ruin before we finally get to Lyman?"

Cracking his neck he unsheathes Honjo Masamune. "Look big guy, I got nothing personal against you, but you are frankly standing in my way, so it's either go around you, or through you, and I hate detours. Your used to dealing with Aesir, well I'm worse. My house has nearly been burnt down with me in it, and my friends have been attacked. I'm rather pissed. So you have two choices, move aside, or be prepared to dance. "

He starts walking towards the creature with great purpose, and intent to kill.

Evie shrugs and looks at Lya, "So much for pulling the ol' 'we've got a Wookie to transfer to cell block 1138' routine."

"We fight. Girls can watch," the troll grunts. He wrinkles his nose. "Mmph. Need fight them, too? Surt's pay not enough."

Hitoshi quickly learns that this is neither a swaggering gang member or a beast slow of body and mind. Surt's opening move is a swipe with the table leg that is surprisingly swift ...

Evie takes a step back and pulls out her gun, watching for an opening. She's not nearly as fast or strong as Hitoshi and will merely get in his way. However, she is a pretty good shot...if she can get an opening that won't result in her shooting Hitoshi by accident.

Even with Surt and Hitoshi engaged in combat, there's still a lot of troll visible, and Evie's pick of targets, including the troll's upper chest, arms, and head.

Still, there's no way to know if conventional rounds will do anything but piss the creature off.

"Even Achilles had a vulnerable spot," Lya mutters to Klepto wielding a sledgehammer. "See if you can bring him down to our level so we can get a good head shot."

"Just call me Kathy Bates," Klepto answers with a grim nod. Her hands tighten around the handle of the sledgehammer as she edges to the side of Surt to take a swing at his kneecap while he's fighting with Hitoshi.

Lya takes a deep breath and aims as she waits for Klepto's attack before taking a shot at Surt's eyes.

If necessary, Evie moves to a point where she can get a better shot and also aims for the head. Hopefully, if she or Lya misses, the other can hit.

Hitoshi studies the swipe for just a second and calmly moves to the side easily avoiding it.

"Nice swing there Surt, but your form is all wrong. I can see you are used to dealing with strong but possibly slow opponents."

He drops into a low crouch, and dashes past the big creature, opening a gash in the things side, and spinning to face the creature.

"I admit that I'm not very strong. I probably can't wrestle you, or knock you out in one punch. However, I am very fast, and I can open up thousands of painful cut in your skin, ecah one painfully deep until I finally start taking off your limbs one by one, before finally finishing with your head..."

He sees the others lining up shots. "That is unless you are vulnerable to bullets, in which case my friends might take you down. I really don't care who does it..." He whirls Honjo masamune. "The fact is that you ARE outnumbered, and you will fall eventually."

"Well so much for hiding my shot..." Lya groans.

Evie, too, resists the urge to smack her forehead.

Hitoshi rolls his eyes but keeps his attention on Seurt. "You know, I can always let you all dance with him and go manage my casino if you wish. Let me know now though, I don't think he will wait long for a partner change."

Evie's eyeroll matches Hitoshi as she opens fire on Surt. Hopefully, the brute will turn his back on the swordsman, leaving himself even more vulnerable to the blade.

The troll grunts. The wound on its side doesn't seem to be as devastating as Hitoshi had hoped. In fact, the troll is healing, and you hope it's not because he killed Alex and ate his liver or something bizarre.
Surt sneers and mimics Hitoshi's sword twirl, but it's rather like a medieval quintain whipping about.

But there's more to the field than sword vs. club. There's a whistling sound as Toxic brings her sledgehammer in towards Surt's knee. The troll is unable to dodge, and there's a wet, meaty smack as the hammer connects.

The troll roars in pain, the club slamming into the ground as his other hand flails through the air towards Toxic ...

Lya takes her opening and whispers a prayer as she takes her shot at Surt's eye in the hopes that it will at least distract him from hitting her friend...

Evie's pistol barks as she fires a pair of textbook center-mass double taps, scoring handily. But, as with Hitoshi's first cut, there is little lasting effect.

"Aesir bitch pay," he snarls.

"Shrug this off, Meat," Lya says, firing a single shot. Her movement is deceptively casual in the same way that Hitoshi's sword-work defines the upper limits of 'fast'
Rapid healing or not, it's a telling shot, and the troll's free hand claps to his eye, even as he flails his makeshift club back and forth ...

Regardless, Evie keeps plugging bullets into the beast. It's either that or use her fists, and she's pretty damn certain that in a bar brawl with Chunk, here, she's going to wind up as a messy smear on a nearby wall.

So, she concentrates on being as much of a pest as she can, offering distractions for the others to take advantage of.

Toxic ducks the flailing hands and drops the hammer as she leaps backwards into Phoebe just as a club comes slamming down into the concrete and rattling the tunnel walls.

"Fuck me," she mutters as Phoebe helps her up. "That thing is quicker than he looks!"

"Aim for the weak points!" Lya calls out as she takes aim for the creature's other eye...

The fight takes on a surreal aspect as several more exchanges of melee and ranged weapons take place. Surt is increasingly covered in blood. Though he continues to shrug off lesser wounds, his left eye does not seem fully recovered, and his swings become more pronounced as he tries to compensate for the blind spot.

"I need a weapon!" shouts Toxic, having lost her sledgehammer and fervently wishing she had a brace of javelins to throw.

Hitoshi presses his advantage, Honsho Masamune a flicker of silver as the blade flashes in a flawless display of kenjutsu. With the blade's edge sharp enough to deliver stinging cuts, a modicum of added pressure turns razor-fine into deep gashes.

"Fuck. It's like he's on PCP," Evie mutters. "Crazy beyond pain."

Orithia tosses a shovel to Toxic. It's not ideally balanced, but the point of the shovel blade might suffice.

"Hey, Troll-boy!" Lya yells. Surt glances in her direction, and Lya's gun barks once more, taking the troll's second eye. Surt drops his club and howls with pain, rearing back ...

... as Evie lets loose another pair of shots, this time at Surt's head ...

... the troll pitches forward, and Hitoshi dances inside the arc of the troll's flailing arms to deliver a cut described as Ojodan* - a transverse cut that moves from the right side of the neck to the left armpit.

... and Surt's head cleaves off, his body toppling backwards.

There's a long pause as everyone waits to see if there's some other surprise in store. Klepto charges forward with a still-glowing ember and drives it into the stump of Surt's neck, cauterizing the wound.

"Heal that, Titanspawn," she says.

There are the sounds of many heavy breaths as the adrenaline of the fight begins to subside when Toxic calls out "Oh Gods..."

"Are you ok, Toxic? Did he- oh my gods what is that smell?" Lya asks worriedly as she holsters her gun in the back of her waistband and rushes to her friend.

"I thought I landed in something, but no..." Toxic chokes out as she waves a hand in front of her face, "it's that damn troll!"

A chuckle escapes Evie as she shakes her head and holsters her gun. "And I thought they smelled bad on the outside!"

Lya snorts at Evie's joke as she pulls out her flask. "Here you go, put a little of that under your nose and you'll be fine." She turns to Klepto. "If this troll was a guard, does he have any keys or anything on him?"

"Why do I get all the fun jobs..." mutters Klepto.

Hitoshi wipes Honsho against the troll's vambraces. "When you have trolls standing post, who needs locked gates?"

"No pockets," Klepto says. Still, she produces a knife and flicks it open, using the blade to open and initially probe a pair of belt pouches.

"Some kind of jerky," she says. "Doesn't look like beef or turkey. And I'm not tasting it. And, winner! A card key."

"Hey, Tall, Dork, and Handsome! Breakfast!" someone calls out from a short distance away. "Oh, holy fucking shit. Oh, shit."

There's a dwarf standing nearby, holding a cardboard box that holds food that is decidedly more appetizing than rat jerky. He sets the box down and raises his hands ...

Evie had been about to ask about a plan of attack for future encounters when this fellow arrives. Her mouth is open on the first, half-formed word. She blinks and closes her mouth, trying not to look completely caught off guard.

She lifts her gun and points it at the dwarf, even though, at first blush, he doesn't seem like a threat, "There's an Aesir being held here by the name of Alex North. Where is he?"

As though conspiring to make her seem less threatening, Evie's stomach growls at the mention of food. It has been awhile since she last ate...

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" the dwarf says. "If that's his name, yeah, he was here. Surt, there, was babysitting him. Shit. Now we've got dead troll to clean up, before he makes the whole place smell."

"But before you go chasing after him, he's talking to Her," he adds. "Probably not a good idea to interrupt."

"Her? Who is she?" Evie asks, wondering who this person is. The way the dwarf says it makes it sound like she is quite important, indeed.

"No. I ain't gonna say her name, nuh-uh," the dwarf tells you. "She shows up, tells me some Aesir is going to come through here, not my place to scoff or tell her 'no.'"

"You want to go poking about, She's down that way," the dwarf says. "Now, if you need shit built, stuff forged, I'm your man. Hrofgar Iron-Arm. Swords, arrow-heads, spear-points, silver bullets. Stone, wood, and metal. Longhouses, mead halls, temples, prisons, we can build 'em. Reasonable prices."

"You guys got a goddess you don't like to talk about?" Orithia whispers to Evie as she stands at her side ready to back her up if necessary.

"How are you guys at building stages for concerts?" Lya asks with an easy smile. "Though I may get back to you about those mead halls. You got a card?"

(Alex)

"So is this some kind of bargain where you claim my spirit when I die, instead of going to Valhalla?" Alex asked.

"You speak of things you know nothing about," Hel warned. "Death is my realm. You cannot trespass without answering to me, Son of Tyr. Are you willing to pay the price?"

"If I have offended, my Lady, honor demands I make amends," Alex answered.

"Then know my power," Hel said.

There was that whisper touch of perfect stillness. A moment of terror as the hood fell back from Hel's robe, her face fully revealed, one side now aging, decaying, turning to rotting flesh and sinew. A face that drew closer, her lips pressing to his.

Darkness.

He knew where he was. The wreckage holding the bodies of the helicopter crew, the crew chief lying nearby, his M1911A locked open and empty.

And his own body alongside, his life's blood spilling out and staining his uniform. There were Mudjehadeen ripping components from the chopper, valuables from the bodies of the dead.

"NO!" someone shouted. A grizzled man stood over his body. His father, Tyr. Norse God of War and Justice.

"It is not your decision to make," a familiar rasp said. Hel.

"Neither was it yours," Tyr sneers. "Laufeyson's hand is in this."

"That changes nothing."

"It changes everything," Tyr says.

"You do not understand," Hel hisses.

"Don't I? War is my purview as Death is yours. But I also know Justice, and that is being denied."

"So you plead, you mew, you beg like every other mortal that comes to my door," Hel laughed. "There will be a price."

"Then I will pay it. You and I are partners, of a sort. There is no War without Death," Tyr smiled grimly.

"It is not your price to pay, but his," Hel says. "You make this bargain now, but it will befall him to choose, in time. Until then, he lives on borrowed time ..."

Even though Evie feels like Hrofgar is probably on the up-and-up, just the hired help who doesn't want anything to do with fights and bloodshed. she still keeps her weapon ready. Just in case. Still, she feels a bit bad about it. His gruff, straightforward manner sort of reminds her of her mortal father.

At Orithia's question, Evie thinks back to what she has read about the Nordic pantheon over the past couple of months. 'The only one that I can think of that fits the bill is Hel," she whispers back. "She's death. But, not the happy mead and feasting death. She takes the souls of those who die of disease or old age. But, I don't know how accurate what I read was. After all, legends and stories get muddled over time in the retelling. The only thing I know for certain is that Death is her realm."

"Okay. Reaching for my business card, no tricks," he says. "'Cept you may have to ask an Aesir to read it for you."

He hands over a silvery card that is surprisingly thin, yet doesn't seem to warp or bend. What must be his name and contact information are etched upon it.
"Here you go. My people'll take care of you, even though you're not from the neighborhood, as it were," Hrofgar tells you. "Won't get that courtesy from other clans. Me, I figure gold is gold, unless you're dealing with the Tuatha. But they got their own ideas."

As Evie mulls over the identity of 'Her,' Hrofgar taps his nose. "Except the world is changing. Old age, disease, misfortune, accidents, pretty much anything that isn't a glorious death in battle. And with Fimbulwinter upon us, she's running the kind of joint where checking in and 'checking out,' they're the same thing."

"If she's having a chat with your friend, maybe Heimdallsdottir should be the one who goes to look," he adds. "I mean, you can all do the face-your-fears thing and march in, but like they say topside, if you can't afford to lose, you shouldn't be playing."

"Nice craftsmanship!" Lya replies as she checks out the card and pulls out her own to hand to the dwarf. "Definitely going to have to give you a call once all this is taken care of."

She then pulls out her flask and takes a drink before offering it to the dwarf for a drink. "So... this massive downer chic... is she the one pulling the strings, or is she just reaping the benefits?

Evie puts away her gun, convinced that the dwarf is just a businessman, neutral in this whole, crazy affair.

"I'm sorry for threatening you, Hrofgar," she apologizes to him. "I just...gotta be careful, now, ya know? Could you tell me more about Fimbulwinter? I'm not sure that I have heard that word."

"It is not your time, Son of Tyr," the Valkyrie told him.

"Valeria?" he said.

"How is it that you know my name, Warrior?"

"This isn't real. It happened almost twenty years ago," he said. "We meet in the future."

Valeria shakes her head. "Speak no further of such things. It is not your time ..."

"Until then, he lives on borrowed time ..."

Justice ... and Death. His entire career had been pitting one against the other. The rape case in Okinawa. The wrongful death lawsuit against the NYPD. Glenn Vernon, here in Vegas. Charles Cooper.

They were all connected, opposite sides of the same coin. The challenge coin that Tyr had gifted him with, the JAG seal on one side, and the crest of the Grim Reapers, the air-combat wing attached to his old Army post, on the other.

"Know my power ..."

Choose to be the champion of one or the other? Become one or the other? Or, as the Tennyson poem would have it:

That which we are, we are: equal parts heroic hearts made weak by time and fate, but strong in will to strive, to seek, to find ... and not to yield.

(Evie, Lya, & Hitoshi)

"My dear, that's a slice of platinum. Rock band, eh? 'Lya and the Furies,'" he adds. He looks at Toxic, Orithia, Klepto, and Phoebe. "Yeah, give me a call."

At the question about Hel, he chuckles. "Massive downer chick. Okay, that's just funny. Nah, she's not running the show. She just showed up, said she required a word with the Aesir, and went to sit in a dark corner. Rest of this is Laufeyson's shit."

"Not offended, Ma'am," he says to Evie. "Yeah, I know. It's always Fimbulwinter. Signs point this way, signs point that way, nobody knows which way is up, and boom Ragnarok. My money is on this being the real thing, not just wishful thinking and prophecy."

Evie heaves a sigh and nods. It does seem like winter, the symbolic kind, is always here. She sees it lurking everywhere in her job.

"So, guys...what do you think? Should I go peek or do you think we should wait until she is done?" Evie looks to the others for an opinion. After all, if she manages to piss off Hel, all of them may well pay. It's not a decision to be made alone.

"Do not go gentle into that good night...rage, rage against the dying of the light..." Lya says as she takes another drink and passes it along to Toxic.

"Well we didn't come this far for our friend just to leave him in the hands of the goddess of Death, did we?"

Lya reaches out to shake the dwarf's hand. "Hrofgar, it was a pleasure, and I sincerely hope the next time we meet it's under better circumstances. In the meantime... it might be better for you and your friends to take an extra-long lunch break, if you catch my drift."

"There's a safe place somewhere here I don't know about?" the dwarf laughed. "Just remember the part about leaving a good-looking corpse, okay?"

"We go," Hitoshi says. "I'm not in the habit of leaving friends behind."

It isn't much further down the passage before you come to where the old brick tunnel ends, and a natural cave structure begins. There is a narrow cleft in the rock which will require you to enter single-file and at a disadvantageous angle.

"I'll go first," Hitoshi says with a no-nonsense tone. "Two of the Furies, Lya and Evie, the other half of the Furies."

"Well if it really is a goddess in there I don't think our weapons are going to do any good," Lya shrugs at Evie. "Might be better off being respectful first." She looks at the Furies worriedly. "Besides... I don't want to lose you guys in there."

"Hel...Hades... we all end up in their domain eventually," says Klepto as she and Orithia prepare to go in front.

"But until that happens they can bloody well mind their own business," Toxic mutters as she picks up the sledgehammer that she dropped earlier.

"But... didn't the dwarf say that maybe Evie should go since she's of the same religion?" Lya asks before turning to see that Hitoshi has already gone through the entrance.

"Well shit."

Evie holsters her gun and makes sure the safety is on. In these tight quarters, she'd be just as likely to shoot a friend as a foe. Better to rely on her hand-to-hand training, for the time being...and hope no more big, hairy surprises jump out. Besides, Lya is right about being respectful. She's certain that Hel would not appreciate them coming in weapons a-waving.

"Oh well..." Evie sighs as Hitoshi once again heads forward. "Maybe it'll open up farther down and I can pop in front."

"Is it cold in here all of a sudden, or is it just me?" Orithia asks as you make your way into the space beyond.

"It's cold," Toxic says. "Cold li-"

"Don't say it," Phoebe interrupts.

The passage widens, and you realize you cannot possibly be in Las Vegas. Rough-hewn walls are just at the edge of your vision, walls with niches carved into them in ranks, a musty museum smell (which, all things considered, is a vast improvement over dead troll) permeating the air.

It's a catacomb.

The ground beneath your feet is somewhat overgrown grass and shrubs. Flagstones lay in a meandering path, but you're not entirely certain you'd want to go where they lead ...

"Gods, no wonder this lady is so morose," Lya comments as she looks around. "She should hang out in New Orleans more... now there's a culture that knows how to celebrate Death in style."

She tosses the flask over to Orithia. "Pass it around...it'll warm you right up and take the edge off."

"We are so not in Kansas anymore," mutters Toxic.

"Make sure to stay together... catacombs tend to have monsters living at their heart," Phoebe warns.

"Any ideas, Evie? You're our resident Aesir now..." asks Lya.

"This place feels...odd," Evie says as she steps away from the group slightly, just enough for her to look around and try to get an idea of what this place is. "I'm not sure where we need to go, from here. But...we're looking for death. Not necessarily nice death, but...quiet. Still."

She thinks for a second, "Now, keep in mind that I have absolutely no idea what I am doing. But...if I had to take a guess, I would say that we need to look for the quietest, darkest part of this mausoleum."

As soon as it is out of her mouth, Evie realizes how stupid that sounds. Looking for quiet and death in this place is sort of like holding up a black piece of paper and saying, "Let's look for the blackest part of the paper!" They are surrounded by stillness. How are you going to find a spot that's more still?

She knows that they need to find Alex, who should be a beacon of light in a place like this. Unfortunately, she doesn't know how to look for that light. She is loosely tied to him by blood. After all, he is technically her cousin. But, she has no idea how to use that connection.

She shakes her head, feeling completely out of her depth, "And I have no idea if there will be monsters, here."

The space seems to be an odd blend of indoor and outdoor, above-ground and below. There are parts where clots of grass give way to flagstones, and then to fully-paved floors. Aisles of niches containing the dead appear shallow, perhaps only three high and three deep, but there is definitely the sense of a 'kingdom of the dead.'

Nonetheless, it seems like you can walk or explore in any direction.

"So do we pick a direction and stick together, or stay put and make ourselves known in the hopes that somebody will come to us?" Lya asks. "Either way, I definitely don't like the idea of splitting the group up. I mean you saw what it did to the Beatles."

"Oh, I already know you are here, children," a silken voice whispers out of the darkness. "And not just friends of dear, sweet Alex, but children of the gods. Would you like to see your friend?"

"We'd like to leave with our friend, actually... if it's not too much trouble, ma'am," Lya calls out. "That is if he's still alive and hasn't passed on to your domain. I have literally walked through fire to find him."

Evie remains quiet, awaiting Hel's answer. She has no idea what to expect from the goddess. Will she be angry at the intrusion? Will she be merely curious and possibly dismissive? Evie certainly hopes for the latter. The idea of dealing with an angry death goddess does not make Evie happy.

Hitoshi looks around the area the group now stands in.

"If you decide to be kind enough to allow us to see our friend, that would be your decision, but as to your question, the answer is yes, we would like to see Alex North. If you would let us leave with him as my friend has requested, we would be grateful."

The cold doesn't seem to bother him much, but even Lya can see for once he's slightly unnerved, and the hairs on the back of his neck can be seen standing on end.

"Come, then," the voice purrs. "Walk towards the light. We are waiting for you."

It's a bit of a stretch to call anything in this vale of shadows and mist 'bright,' and you feel like you're chasing a will-o'-the-wisp. The walls surge and recede as you do, finally fading away into the blackness, and you step onto a terrace. Beyond is a vast ocean, but not one of water.
It is a sea of dead things, their shades wandering to and fro in mockery of actual waves, and underscoring that death is like the tide. It ebbs and flows, lapping at one's feet or crashing over one's head.

And she is there, a goddess in the very place of her power.

"I bid you welcome, children," she says. "And here is your friend."

She gestures to one side and you see a sarcophagus that looks uncomfortably familiar, chiseled out of meteoric iron. But rather than runes etched into its lid, there is an effigy of Alex. Or is it truly he that lay there, cold and unmoving?

Whatever the truth is, there is a quartet of shades standing vigil ...

The first is a much younger Alex, clad in an Army uniform that is stained with the blood from a line of bullet holes.

The second, older and more familiar, Alex in shirt and tie, holding a bottle of wine, and, again, with a crimson splotch over his heart.

The third, a much less pleasant thing to look upon, Alex with his shirt torn open, a ballistic vest cut away at the straps and the bloody wounds beneath it.

The fourth, a charred husk, hunched with pain, hands made claw-like from searing heat.

"All of these are your friend," Hel rasps. "But only one may leave this place. You must choose who ... and what ... you take with you."