Chapter 12 – Fire and Storm

Sailing through the air, Fenrir recalled how he had ended up in this situation. Back in the cathedral, Thoros had moved so fast that Fenrir had no time to react. He was barely able to get Satine out of the way, before being punched so hard that he went through the roof and possibly broke the sound barrier on the way. The blow was blocked by his shield, otherwise Fenrir would definitely have ended up with his skull broken again.

As he fell to the ground, he realized that he was in the mountainous regions that bordered the city of New Vizsla, where the Cathedral had been constructed. 'Not good.', Fenrir thought.

"Fenrir, where are you?", his commlink beeped.

"Outside the city, somewhere in the mountains.", Fenrir spoke as he coughed.

There was another boom, and Thoros landed in front of him, with his manic look now replaced by a look of complete hate. "I'll call you back.", Fenrir said as he unfurled his wings and flew towards his foe, grabbing him and breaking towards the atmosphere.


Inside their ship, Ahsoka flew them towards the planet as they exited hyperspace, while Tarre was feeding baby Gabriel, after he had changed the baby. As they entered Shili's atmosphere, Ahsoka concentrated and looked out for Rayleigh's presence. She was unable to sense his presence, but sensed another overwhelming presence.

"I'll be damned.", Tarre said.

"What?", Ahsoka asked.

"It's Gabriel.", he answered.

"I know, you're cradling him.", Ahsoka said with a smile.

"No, no, no. Gabriel – the first Champion.", Tarre said lightly shaking his head.

"Oh… we haven't seen him in almost 4 years.", Ahsoka said. She then flew the ship to a clearing close to Gabriel – the archangel's presence. As she set the ship down, she got out of the pilot's chair and took baby Gabriel from Tarre's arms. Exiting the ship, the two quickly walked and as they reached Gabriel (the original), Ahsoka saw charred remains of what appeared to be a cottage.

"Welcome to Shell Cottage,", came a voice just ahead of them. The air shimmered and Gabriel the archangel appeared out of thin air, "or what remains of it."

"I don't follow.", Tarre said.

"It burned down a few days ago.", Gabriel said, "It's good to see you both, Tarre and… Ahsoka?"

"Yes, we only met once on Asgard and that too for a brief moment.", Ahsoka said, "I'm surprised you remember me."

"Thor spoke highly of you, and so did Tarre.", Gabriel said as he sat down on a nearby rock. "Forgive me, I would have served refreshments, but I don't have any at the moment."

"That's alright.", Ahsoka said.

"He looks like a bright young fellow.", Gabriel said gesturing towards the baby, "What's his name?"

"This bright young fellow's name is Gabriel.", Tarre said as the two of them found suitable rocks to sit upon.

"Ah! I've always said that Gabriel's a fine name for fine folk.", Gabriel said with a smug smile. "So, to what do I owe this visit, and how did you know that I would be here?"

"Actually, we were looking for Rayleigh. Heimdall told us that he could be found on Shili.", Tarre said.

"I see. Heimdall wouldn't have known that I was here. Anyway, I last saw Rayleigh a few days ago, when the cottage had burned down.", Gabriel spoke.

"How did the cottage burn?", Ahsoka asked.

"Oh,", Gabriel sighed tiredly, "It's all Rayleigh. The man is as fearsome and kind as they get, but with his luck… I'm surprised he's still walking in one piece. If he wasn't the Archangel of Destruction, he would've been the Archangel of Bad Luck."

"I'd heard stories about that. Never thought that it'd be true.", Tarre said.

"Oh, it is. Anyway, he would probably be in one of the recently established gambling houses.", Gabriel said as he leaned back.

"Gabriel, what are you doing here?", Tarre asked curiously.

"I've been out of touch with Midgard's customs and traditions. Ever since Odin had outlawed any Aesir coming to Midgard, it became very difficult, nearly impossible. But Thor reversed that rule. Now Aesir can come and observe, without interfering with the worlds, even help if it's appropriate. So, I am studying the cultures of Midgard.", Gabriel said with enthusiasm.

"How many worlds have you studied yet?", Ahsoka asked.

"Oh, the Togruta people are the first actually.", Gabriel said, "Rayleigh and I had visited some worlds in the other realms before coming to Midgard."

"Alright then, I'll go look for Rayleigh.", Tarre said.

"I'm going to return to the ship, let little Gabriel sleep on an actual bed.", Ahsoka said as both she and Tarre rose.

"Tarre, leave Mjolnir behind. I'd like to speak with it.", Gabriel spoke. Tarre followed his request and lightly swung Mjolnir towards its first wielder.


Back on Tarrgoviszla, Fenrir had nearly gotten out of the planet's atmosphere, with Thoros in tow. One of Thoros's hands was engulfed in fire with which he slugged Fenrir and grabbed his left wing, transferring the fire from his hand to Fenrir's wing. Fenrir yelled in pain, and punched Thoros, as he fell back to the planet's surface. The fire immediately spread to Fenrir's body and it wasn't going out anytime soon. Losing his feathers Fenrir uncontrollably plummeted to the planet's surface, turning into a fireball.

On the surface, Ezra and Sabine looked up in the sky. They had met up with Rex's group, after completing their mission. The two of them saw a fireball plummeting towards the ground, while Rex had just finished talking with Ava, who informed him of the situation. As the group saw the fireball, Ezra softly spoke, "Fenrir?"

"Crosshair, what is that?", Hunter asked.

"Hard to say, but I think that's our friend.", Crosshair spoke.

"What? How is that possible?", Hunter asked.

"I guess we'll find out.", Sabine said as she and the others ran towards the spot where the fireball had just crashed. Reaching the crash site, they heard weak moans and saw that in the middle of the crater was a figure completely covered in flames, some of which had also gotten on the ground nearby. Those flames that had gotten on the ground seemed like they were alive and started floating back towards the figure covered in flames.

As Sabine and Ezra attempted to use the force to stop the flames, Tech and Echo sprayed flame retardant (which they carried if Wrecker's explosions had gotten out of hand) on the figure. As they did this, the flames became stronger and the figure screamed in pain, prompting them to stop. Sabine then had an idea, as she took out one of the ten rings she and Ezra had taken from the vault. Putting it on she used it's power on the figure, siphoning some of the flames from the figure and inside the ring. It appeared to work, as Rex along with Ezra approached the figure with med packs.

Reaching close, they saw the figure was indeed Fenrir (whose features were completely burned), and his wings were completely charred, leaving behind a severely burned bony structure in their place. Suddenly the flames roared back to life causing Fenrir to scream in pain again, but this time his screams were louder and lasted longer, before going completely silent. Ezra was able to get himself and Rex away from it in time. As Sabine exchanged fearful looks with Ezra and Rex, more people came to see the crash site.

From up above, the group then heard an unearthly sound and saw three figures land on the planet's surface, followed by a troop transport. As the figures landed, they saw that Hulk was leading them and was flanked by Voris and Talia. He quickly ordered the group to move away from Fenrir, who was barely moving. The three then raised their hands towards Fenrir and chanted in a mixture of Enochian and Old Norse. Sabine and Ezra caught only one word from it – Muspelheim. As the chant finished, the fire on Fenrir had completely extinguished. Hulk then told Talia and Voris to take the ground troops and search for the assailant. By that time, the other group led by Satine had arrived on speeders as well, with Tristan tightly holding Mira in his arms (who was crying). Tristan shielded the toddler from the horrible sight, while Hulk helped the medical staff get Fenrir in a healing tube. Satine rushed to his side, while Sabine and Ezra went over to Mira. Ava stood there horrified and was approached by Rex.


Inside their ship on Shili, Ahsoka heard a knock coming from the cargo bay. She immediately went and saw Gabriel – the archangel standing in front of her, holding the hammer in his hand.

"I take it Tarre hasn't found Rayleigh yet?", Gabriel asked.

"He said he's closing in and would return by nightfall.", Ahsoka answered.

"As you might know Mjolnir is sentient. It records every moment of it's wielder after choosing one.", Gabriel started as he leaned against the door.

"I did not know that.", Ahsoka said.

"Rayleigh was once the Champion.", Gabriel said.

"I remember Tarre telling me.", Ahsoka nodded.

"Yes, I…", Gabriel sighed, "Mjolnir showed me what Tarre's most recent memories, concerning your vision and the prophecy, including your interaction with Heimdall."

"Oh!", Ahsoka said. "Do you know what that was about?", she asked.

"I do. Rayleigh will never reveal his secret, the one he, Odin and Freyja shared. Ironically Freyja too was once Asgard's champion as was Odin.", Gabriel said.

"I see.", Ahsoka said, "Then we came here for nothing."

"No. Through Mjolnir, I can share the secret with you, but you must swear not to share it with Tarre.", Gabriel said.

"Why not?", Ahsoka asked.

"You'll understand once I show it to you.", Gabriel said.

"If you were able to find the secret through Mjolnir, wouldn't Tarre as well?", Ahsoka asked, slightly frustrated this time.

"No, Mjolnir decides what secret to reveal. You can't force it to reveal something it doesn't want too and Tarre knows this.", Gabriel said.

"You'll tell me the secret but I can't tell it to my husband?", Ahsoka asked.

"Unfortunately, yes. This is something that Tarre must discover on his own.", Gabriel said.

"Alright… I promise.", Ahsoka said reluctantly after a while. Gabriel then held the hammer up and invited Ahsoka to grasp its handle, which she had never done before. As she touched it, she felt that Mjolnir would've dropped if not for Gabriel. Together with Gabriel's help she saw the secret and was left literally shocked by it. She could feel Rayleigh's anger, grief and regret flowing through the handle, as could Gabriel.


On Jotunheim, Hera and Kanan were riding Marvin and Alvis, along with Jacen and Chopper. They were also accompanied by Otis who was still braying sadly, while Marvin did his best to beat the sadness out of his brother (without dislodging his riders).

"He needs a good kick up his backside. Master pampers him too much.", Marvin said.

Alvis huffed at this, "He pampers you both.", he said in an undertone.

"Marvin, let your brother be.", Kanan said, while Jacen gave a small laugh at the two goats. Marvin huffed and turned away from Otis. The group was accompanied by the Asgardian entourage, and two frost giants who were friendly enough. They had finished dinner an hour ago, and had met the truly enormous Aegir. They had found Aegir to be a very pleasant God, who gave them a warm welcome to Jotunheim. Right now, they were outside the palace, enjoying the sights of the icy world, when the two felt a disturbance coming from the palace. Hera immediately tightly hugged Jacen, who had sensed the disturbance as well. Looking up the saw that the sky had split in two halves, and could hear the distinct clash of weapons in the palace.

"Go to your ship quickly. We have been infiltrated.", one of the frost giants said.