"What the hell?"

Dagon raised an eyebrow as he looked at the redhead standing before them. Bergljot was looking over a rock she had dug up a few feet away. Neither Dagon or the other members of the crew had any idea why she was so fascinated with it, but it was the most invested they had seen her in anything since she showed up.

Raza scratched his head, looking down at her confused. "So… is she part of the group now?" he asked. When she had shown up along with Lacerta, he thought maybe it was just another girl he was trying to woo over. But it was very clear by the way they acted around one another that wasn't the case.

Lacerta grunted. "She is NOT part of the group. My old man is just making me babysit her since her pantheon is… I don't know, he didn't give me details. They're scared of her or some shit," Lacerta said annoyed.

Pavo smirked. "You? On babysitting duty? Doesn't he usually leave that type of thing up to Dorado?" he asked. Lacerta's diplomatic skills weren't exactly terrible. He was pretty efficient in solving things really. But he wasn't exactly subtle, and Dorado usually got things like escort duty or dealings with more sensitive matters.

"Because she's super fucking dangerous and I'm the only one strong enough to keep her in check," Lars explained. That was the only reason he could think of anyway. His brother was way too soft for something like this. If this chick ended up blowing up or something he'd try to talk her down and end up getting knocked out.

Something whizzed by his head, and Lacerta's eyes went wide as the rock Bergljot was holding smashed against the tree nearby. He turned around towards her, and saw her glaring at him. "You can't keep me in check. I beat you…" she said simply.

Lacerta grit his teeth and towered over her. "You didn't beat me. You managed to do okay, and my old man showed up and bailed you out. That's it," he said.

Bergljot scoffed and then turned around and picked up another rock. Dagon was about to ask what she was doing, but then suddenly she bit into it. They all looked at her wide eyed as she chewed it up and then swallowed. Then she chomped down on the other half of it. "What the fuck…?" Dagon asked, confused

"Did she just eat a fire crystal?" Raza asked.

Bergljot saw their expressions, and then glared. "What?"

"Fucking weirdo," Lacerta said shaking his head. Before she could snap back at him, the group all seemed to feel something at once. An odd sensation that triggered all of their instincts. Lacerta frowned and turned off towards the distance. "You guys felt that right? Looks like another one of those things slipped through the boundary…"

Lately more and more of the creatures from Tartarus seemed to be escaping into other dimensions. His father had been doing his best to take care of them, but between that, running mewni, and investigating just why this was happening in the first place, he'd had to leave a lot of it to him and the other Zodiacs. They were the only ones with a chance at handling them after all.

Pavo hummed. "It appeared pretty close to a local village, and I don't sense any of the others nearby. We need to get there quickly," he said.

"Dagon, stall for us," Lacerta ordered.

"On it!"

The boy shot off in a blur, leaving the others behind. They quickly made their way to follow him, and Bergljot waited for a moment, looking curious. So those beings appeared in this dimension too huh? It looked like Thor was right. The boundary was getting even weaker. She ran after them, but Lacerta scowled.

"Hey, we don't need you tagging along and getting in the way. Just stay here and wait for us to come back. When we're done-"

"Don't give me orders…"

Bergljot ran ahead of them, leaving a trail of fiery footsteps behind her. Lacerts glared after her, while Pavo smirked. "She's quite the hard headed one, isn't she?" he asked.

"Stubborn punk…" Lacerta growled before he picked up speed and rocketed after her. Pavo and Rava shared a glance, and then looked back forward. Lars' competitive side was starting to come out. Depending on the situation, that could be a good or bad thing.

Dagon reached the scene of the incoming attack first. The warriors stationed around the village of beastkin had heard the beast roar out the moment it had appeared, and had made a defensive line to fight it off. The moment it had showed up, they could tell just how dangerous it was. The plan had been to hold the line and keep it from doing too much damage until either King Astro, the Zodiacs, or some other form of backup arrived.

Luckily for them, it didn't take long.

"Back up ugly!"

Dagon rushed in, spinning around and then throwing his tail out and knocking the beast to the side. It went flying, hitting and sliding against the ground. But it didn't stay down for long. It got back up with a roar, and then glared towards Dagon, who smirked. "You know, when I called you ugly I was just coming in hot with something cool to say, but now that I get a better look at you… you're even uglier."

The creature's skin looked almost like it was made of coal. It was pitch black, and stone line. It's eyes were an angry bright orange, as were the few cracks running along its body. It looked almost ape like, and was even walking on it's knuckles. But it had a large rhinoceros like horn. It blew smoke from it's nose before it began charging.

Dagon crouched down, and then took off again. This thing was obviously pretty powerful, but it was slow as hell. It wouldn't be able to even touch him on his worst day. He kicked it in it's ankle, putting all of his body weight behind it, and caused it to stumble and fall. It landed on the ground once more and slid. Dagon took the chance to speed blitz him, circling around him and barraging him with a flurry of punches and kicks.

The creature growled angrily, getting up and swinging one of its arms. Dagon once again easily dodged the blow, but scowled. For as slow as it was, it was durable. He was just gonna have to play hit and run until the others got here. He pulled the water from the grass and plants around him, forming them into dense blades.

He sped around the creature again, slashing at it with a blinding speed, but none of them were able to pierce it's skin. "Shit, what are you made off…?" Dagon muttered. His tail moved around, quickly jabbing at where he guessed it's vital spots would be, but still nothing.

The creature suddenly let out a loud roar, and Dagon winced and covered his ears. The moment of hesitation allowed the creature to get a hit in, sending Dagon flying back. He stopped himself before he went too far, but right as he was about to charge in, he suddenly stumbled. The blow had rocked him a bit more than he realized.

The creature began charging at him again, and Dagon turned the blast of water into much smaller drops. He closed his fist and they shrunk even further and began spinning, then he threw his hands forward and sent them shooting towards the creature. They landed against his skin, and thought some of them managed to pierce him, he didn't slow down.

"C'mon tough guy!" Dagon yelled, forming his six arms into two and preparing for a fight. He planted his feet, preparing for the impact. He was going to take a nasty hit, but if he timed it right he could give it one right back. "COME ON!"

Right as they were about to clash however, Dagon suddenly vanished, and Raza appeared in his place. He raised his hands, stopping the beast dead in its tracks. "You're not going anywhere…" Raza said, glaring. He brought his arm back and punched the creature, sending it stumbling back.

Dagon reappeared beside Pavo, a sick feeling in his stomach. He hated when Pavo swapped them like that without warning. It made him feel off. "I had that," he said, looking at the Incubus annoyed.

"I'm sure you did. But Raza is more suited for holding the line, don't you think?" Pavo asked, snapping his fingers. Blade of blue energy suddenly appeared above the creature, moving down and managed to sink into the creature's body. The cuts were shallow however, and it didn't seem to do any real damage. "What a sturdy body."

Raza charged at the creature back again, ramming his shoulder into him. "If chopping it up won't work…" He continued punishing it back, and then swung and hit it with an uppercut. "I'll just have to bash it until it falls!" Raza continued hitting it with blow after blow, his fists landing like thunder.

Pavo and Dagon watched as the goliath continued to assault the creature. A smile was making its way across his face. "He's getting into battle mode…" Dagon muttered. He always got like this when he got too into a fight.

Raza swung again, and they heard a crack as the creature was sent sliding against the ground, it's head now facing the wrong way. "Well, that settles that then," Pavo said shrugging his shoulders. They heard another crack however, and looked back down to see the creature's head twisting back around. Not only that, but the numerous other injuries they had managed to inflict on it were healing themselves.

Dagon narrowed his eyes. "Crap, this thing's got healing too? What the hell?" he asked as he got ready to jump back into the fight. Pavo sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He really didn't want to have to transform to deal with this thing, but it looked like he didn't have a choice. Raza was smiling, looking excited.

Just as the creature was about to move in, Lacerta came rushing in and kicked it across the face knocking it back. He raised his hands and then fired a blast of flames at it, sending it back even further. The prince looked over his shoulder towards the others. "If this thing can heal itself, then we're just gonna have to destroy it completely so it's got nothing to heal from. I'll handle him. You guys help me keep it in check and make sure it doesn't get into town."

He didn't wait for an answer before he rushed at him again. The creature roared at him and then raised his arm to swing. Lacerta easily avoided the blow, spinning around and kicking him in the face and knocking it to the ground. Lacerta landed on top of it, scowling. "First and last chance. If there's any kind of brain in that big ugly mug of yours, say something now. Otherwise I'm just gonna assume your mindless and burn you to ashes."

The creature's response was another growl. Folds on it's back suddenly opened, and a blast of energy suddenly fired out of it. Lacerta was knocked up into the air, but spread his wings out and stopped himself. "Alright then…" He flew back down, bringing his fist back and swinging at him. The creature jumped out of the way, and Lacerta smashed the ground beneath him into a crater.

It opened its mouth and fired a blast at him, but Lacerta moved out of the way and then swung down and smashed it on the top of it's head. The creature grunted before turning around and swinging it down, striking Lacerta. He stumbled to the side, but then grabbed onto it's tail and began spinning it around.

"Get the hell out of my dimension!"

He threw him, and then sent another wave of fire at him. It quickly engulfed the creature. When the flames cleared up however, the creature was still there. Parts of its body were charred, and some were even missing, but it was still more or less in one piece. "Looks like I'm gonna have to turn up the heat…"

But he couldn't do that here. He was too close to the town. "Raza, Dagon, let's lead this thing away from-" Before he could finish, Bergljot rushed past him, punching the creature in the chest and sending it tumbling back. She quickly followed up, rushing forward again and kicking it in its side. It went flying off into the distance, and she chased after it. Lacerta narrowed his eyes. "Damn, I didn't tell you to cut in!" he shouted, taking off after them.

Raza and Dagon both quickly ran to catch up to them, while Pavo stayed behind. Someone had to make sure nothing happened to the town.

The creature was still flying through the air when Lars caught up to him. He brought both of his arms up and then smashed it down towards the ground. The ground shook when it crashed down, but it didn't even have a moment to collect itself before Bergljot charged in and kneed it across the face.

It shook it's head and then glared towards her as she pulled out her shield and axe. "So these are the types of creatures that roam about Tartarus? I'm unimpressed." She ran towards it again and brought her axe back, but then Lacerta flew down between them. She slid to a stop at the young titan grabbed the beasts by its horn, lifting it up and slamming it behind him. "I had him!" she snapped.

"So did I before you jumped in earlier! I told you not to get in the way in the first place!" he said before smashing his fist into the beasts neck. His hand was heated up, and she managed to pierce it's skin. If he couldn't blow it up from the outside, he'd blow it up from the inside. He yelled and then fired, and the creature howled in pain.

Before he could finish it off, the creature managed to kick one of its legs up and knocked him back. It rolled over before Lacerta could get back to it, and then swung it's arm at him. Lacerta was knocked to the side, and rolled back up to his feet. The creature made to move once more, but then Bergljot tackled it from the side.

She bashed it in the face with her shield a few times, and when it swung at her to knock her off, she met its arm with her axe. The blade of the axe seemed to be superheated, and it sliced cleaned through its arm and lopped it off. It wailed out in pain, and then Bergljot kicked off of it and sent it tumbling back. It's arm rolled against the ground, only to be blasted by Lacerta and incinerated.

If there was one thing he knew about creatures with regeneration, it was better safe than sorry. He turned back to the creature, who Bergljot was still attacking. She threw her shield, knocking it's feet from under it, and then leapt up with her axe raised one again, this time going for it's head.

It used it's remaining arm to reach up and grab her by the wrist, but she swung her foot out and struck it in the elbow. Lacerta heard a crack, and it dropped her and stumbled back in pain. He took the chance to rush in and punch it in the gut. It winced, and then threw its head forward to try and hit him, only for its face to meet Bergljot's knee.

The two began striking the creature, knocking it back and forth between them. It tried to regenerate its lost arm, but Lacerta flew forward and headbutted it. He flipped over it and then kicked it in the back, sending it forward. Bergljot moved in, swinging her axe and cutting it across the chest, leaving a gaping wound.

She followed up with another, and a strange blue liquid she assumed was it's blood poured out from it. He let out a pitiful noise, and turned to run. But then it came face to face with Lacerta. "Too late for that…" He jammed both of his hands inside of the wound, then smiled as he began to heat up. "Firebrand!"

An explosion of fire and heat burst from his palms, completely incinerating the monster from the inside out. He watched as the cloud of smoke and ashes was blown away by the wind. Bergljot walked by him, huffing as she looked down at the black mark left behind. "I could have done that myself," she said.

"But you didn't, I did." He smirked as he began heading back towards the town. "Now c'mon. We gotta go make sure that thing didn't cause any damage."

Bergljot raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

He stopped, and looked towards her confused. "Why? Because that's part of the job. We show up, we kill the monster, we check on shit."

"You didn't strike me as the type…"

"I'm not. But that's what a king does," Lacerta said bluntly.

She looked even more confused. "But… you're not a king. Your father is, isn't he? And even if you were, they should learn to fend for themselves. Where I come from, it's expected for everyone to learn to defend themselves. Otherwise, you're just in the way," she said simply. "The weak either become strong, or get weeded out."

Laverta narrowed his eyes. He walked over towards her, towering over the girl. If she was at all intimidated, she didn't show it. "That's not how it works here. Yeah, those guys back there are total weaklings. Most of the people in this dimension are compared to me," he said bluntly.

"Must be a pretty weak dimension then…" Bergljot commented.

Lacerta growled. "You dumb gods have your pantheons, and here we have out people. Our tribes, our kingdoms, all of them. It's my old man's job to protect them, and someday it'll be mine. So strong or weak, anyone who messes with them answers to me," he said pounding his chest.

A true king has to be strong enough to protect what's his. His family, his home, his people. All of it.

He had never forgotten the words his father said to him. No matter the odds, no matter how big or bad the enemy he was facing, his dad always won. And everyone knew it.

Bergljot hummed. That… that sounded like something Thor would say. She honestly didn't understand it herself. Her own father would never have… well, it didn't matter.

The beast was dead.

"Whatever. Let's go."

"If we need to do any repairs, just let us handle it. You can pass out cookies or something," Lacerta said snickering. He then stumbled forward when he felt something sink into his back. "Ah, fuck!"

Bergljot casually walked past him, yanking her axe out of his back as she did. "I know how to build, asshole," she said, heating up her axe to burn his blood off the blade. "You can pass out the cookies."

Lacerta grunted. He didn't know why his dad had him watching after this stubborn jackass of a girl. But at the very least she seemed to be able to hold her own in a fight, so he didn't have to worry about coddling her.

"Wow, I saw you guys take that thing down! That was amazing!" Raza said as Lars and Bergljot met up with them halfway back to the town. "You chopped through it like it was nothing."

"It was nothing," Bergljot said dismissively.

Dagon grumbled as he approached her. "Damn right it was just a lucky slice," Dagon said. He stepped to the side when Bergljot swung at him, and then glared at her. "Hey! Watch who you're swinging at!"

"I thought you were a bug…"

"Very fucking funny!"

Lacerta grunted as he watched them go. "You know, she does sort of fit in with us." He turned his head and saw Pavo floating down towards them. He had sensed the fight was over and since the town seemed more or less fine, he went to go meet them. "I mean, unruly, tough, a less than sunny disposition. She I can't help but think had she been born here she would have joined us ages ago."

"Well she wasn't, so don't get used to it," Lacerta said bluntly. He was willing to admit she was taught, but she was a temp. A tagalong. Nothing more.

Pavo shrugged his shoulders. "If you say so."

"I do!"

Pavo watched as their leader stormed off, a scowl on his face. Lacerta wasn't exactly hard to figure out if you knew him. He clearly didn't like Bergljot, but there was a begrudging respect there. The same type of respect he held for his brother and Turq. He also seemed to be weary of her… and he couldn't quite blame him on that end.

Pavo had a sixth sense about these things. It was the same kind of weariness he felt when he was around Scent, or when Ravana got pissed off. Only this one he felt was much worse. He wondered if the others felt it too…

A/N: Some more future AU content, featuring some Bergljot action!