Disclaimer: Turning Red and it's characters are the property of (c) Walt Disney Pictures/Pixar Animation Studios.
Elements are borrowed from God of War (2018) and Ragnarök, owned by (c) Santa Monica Studio/Sony Interactive Entertainment.
By some form of luck, the girls all received lavender bracelets, much to their excitement to think that they'll still be together as if woven by the threads of fate. They will be staying in Cabin B5 with Counselor Nettles as their guide. When they got there, the cabin really blew them all away with how neat and cozy the place was. It was like their own personal home with a lovely little bed for each of them, a kitchen and a bathroom. They all put their things by their chosen beds and took a moment to drink it all in. And here they were afraid of having to share a cabin with a bunch of other kids they didn't know, but they were glad to be wrong. It's like they had the place all to themselves.
It's been a couple days since they've arrived - perhaps two or three, give or take - and they've been having the time of their lives out there in the woods. Activities they've done so far with the other campers have been rock painting, candle making, rock climbing and tennis and the 4*Townies.
"My god, I love this place!" Mei gushed, looking like she could explode in a rainbow cloud. "Wish I had done this a long time ago."
"I wanna live in this place!" Abby jumped on her bed.
"You girls take a moment to relax. We'll all have lunch in the next two hours. Oh, and we'll be having some new campers dropping in to join us as well, so make sure to put on a happy face for them." Counselor Nettles told them all before taking his leave.
"Too bad the boys couldn't be here." Miriam nodded a little forlornly. "They probably would've loved this place."
"Yeah, too bad, indeed." Priya spoke, lazily sprawled against her bed, twirling her own hair. "Me and Stig would've loved to scare the pants off everyone together around the campfire. He usually tells the best scary stories."
"Well, thank god for that." responded Abby. "I'll be glad to have a good night's sleep afterwards."
"Don't be a crybaby, Abbs." Priya rolled her eyes, unamused by the Korean girl's melodrama. "Like you aren't ready to hear all about the legend of…the Bride in Blood!"
"Ahhhhhhhhh!" screamed Abby in overdramatic terror, who jumped on her bed and crawled back incredibly fast for a plump girl like her when Priya suddenly sprang up on her bed with her hands out to resemble claws as she shouted out the last words of her sentence in a terrorizing manner to purposely frighten her friend….and it worked. Priya snorted and laughed at her reaction, holding her sides.
"I so got you! You're too easy!"
"You…!" Abby snarled irately at the goth girl for scaring her like that, throwing her pillow at her in petty revenge, but Priya only laughed harder.
"Girls, don't start!" Mei ordered them like she was their mother. "It's our first day in camp. Let's try and act like women."
"Hmph!" Abby pouted like a spoiled toddler.
With that tiny dispute settled, Mei walked out of the cabin and eyed all of the other happy campers around the B section of Camp Watkikeeka who were all getting some fresh air, stretching their legs and getting friendly with each other. Mei was positive this was gonna be a fun stay at camp with nothing to ruin it.
"What. The. Fuck!?"
Mei paused.
That was a voice she was hoping to never hear again for the rest of her summer. A voice that brought her nothing but misery and strife each time it reached and assaulted her eardrums.
And her friends heard it too because they all poked their heads out and all four turned their heads and looked as if their worlds were breaking down and gobbling them up. They didn't want to believe it. It was like their worst nightmares, worse than any nightmare they ever had, was coming to life right before their summer fun was just starting.
Heather fucking Druud here in summer camp with them and worse,…..
….she and her lackeys were bunking in Cabin B4.
The cabin right next door to theirs!
"Oh my god, what the fuck?! The actual fuck?!" complained the self-absorbed cheer captain while the trio were desperately trying to find service on their cellphones. "First, my idiot dad signs me up for some crappy-ass summer camp in the middle of the fucking woods when I should be sunbathing on a beach in Hawaii right now like I was supposed to be doing and now the place I'm staying at is even worse than the camp itself! There's no food, no Wi-Fi, no artsy decor, no nothing! This cabin is a shitshack!"
"This can't be happening." Mei tried to reason with herself that this was all just a dream. "This can't be happening."
"Hey, don't look now, but check it out." Dana finally noticed the Chinese-Canadian girl standing there, looking at them and pointed over at the befuddled Mei, who was still questioning reality.
"O.M.F.G.!" Heather was 10 times more shocked to see her nemesis at camp with her. "I should've known that I'd find you here in the trashiest of all places."
"Funny seeing you here, too, Druud." Mei hissed, crossing her arms.
"And her herd of cows, I presume?" Heather turned to Mei's friends with a snide remark.
"Fuck you, Heather!" cursed Abby.
Heather let out a fake, loud laugh before she deadpanned, "I've heard better."
"Who's stupid enough to let you come here, anyway?" Miriam said with biting sass.
"For the record, I never wanted to come here." Heather turned away from her. "My stupid dad keeps saying I need fresh air and some shit, like I don't have enough of it already. But since I'm here now and with you four twerps here, too, I guess it's not, like, such a total loss."
"Yeah!" Her trio all cried.
"Well, you aren't ruining our fun." Mei snapped at her. "Just stay out of our way and we'll stay out of yours. You got that?"
Heather pretended to think his over, humming in a sort-of pensive manner, before holding out her hand for a handshake out for a truce.
"Deal."
While mistrustful, Mei reluctantly reached for her hand. However, this was actually a trap. Heather then booped her on the nose a bit too rough, catching her completely off guard, then grabbing her shirt by the bottom and yanking it up over her head, revealing her black-red lacy bra to the other campers, who all laughed. But thankfully, Mei's friends rushed to their poor friend's aid, saving her from the whore making her look bad. They shoved Heather off her and helped Mei out while Heather just laughed her stupid face off as did the trio. That's when Nettles stepped in to break up the confusion.
"Girls, girls, that's enough! Remember, happy faces everyone!" He barked at them, trying to get them to behave.
"Have a nice summer, piggies!" Heather laughed at them all then left with her chortling friends.
Mei's gal pals helped her out of her shirt while she glared furiously at the QRQ's, growling like a cougar.
"That skank! Who does she think she is?!" She snarled with grit teeth.
"Let's not let it ruin our fun, Mei." Priya patted her on the shoulder.
"Yeah, I guess." Mei mumbled.
"Come on." Miriam took her hand and brought her back inside her cabin while Mei still burned a hateful stare into Heather on the way in.
(FLASHBACK) September 9, 1992
Michael Anderson-Bengtsson was dead.
Shot three times, twice in the chest and once in the head until he was finally down. His lifeless body dropped right to the hard-tiled floor with a hollow thump as soon the air cooled down after the gunshots rang out. His life flashed before his eyes and he saw everything. Everything. All his memories flooding his brain as a last reminder of the life he's spent before this moment. His first word, riding a bike, playing basketball with his brothers and his friend Deshawn, his first day of school, his prom date with Ming Lee and Elsa Bengtsson, the girl of his dreams, earning his scholarship at the University of Toronto, marrying Elsa and moving to Norway with her, the day Kris was born, everything.
The last thing he saw before his soul left his eyes was the confused and horrified look on his young son's face before it all faded to black. Blood formed small pools on the floor underneath his body and every part of him grew cold, then still and finally….unfeeling.
No pulse.
No heartbeat.
No breathing.
That was his final one.
But now the setting around him melted away into nothingness, eternal darkness closing in around the recumbent body before a bright light casted down upon it like a stagelight from the heavens and there it is from a feminine figure hovers downward towards the earth below, landing with grace before the one who had gave up his life for his child. The winged figure was the valkyrie Sigrún, who came to claim the soul of this brave man.
She grabs his wrist and removes his soul from his body, then uses her wings to take flight heavenwards into the air like a soaring eagle, taking Michael with her and letting the light lead her up into the grand hall of the slain, where all the brave ones go after death.
Then the bright consumed them both.
Michael came around and found himself standing within the hall of Valhalla, looking all around disoriented, wondering what had happened. In this great and magnificent hall were the gods, Odin and Frigg before him with an air of utmost momentousness. Sigrún stood by his side as well.
"Michael Anderson-Bengtsson." The queen of Asgard began with a honey-sweet voice that welcomed him. "For among the many to take bullets in the past, none I have ever seen are quite as honorably courageous as you. You have surrendered your life for your baby child, for you now stand before the gods of Asgard in the majestic hall of Valhalla."
"I…" It hurts for Michael to speak. He took a look around and was met with a great revelation of a legendary measure to see other Einherjar and valkyries.
"Such inexorable gallantry like yours must not be without a recompense." Odin, the All-Father and king of the Æsir, stepped forth with Gungnir. "A man like you must be worthy of godhood. However, no human mortal has ever become a god, so only a half-god may be the only perquisite you need. And so it is my great pleasure that we, the Æsir, unleash your spirit animal from within for the preservation and protection of all things nature and life, between the planes of living and death, that you hereby be reborn as…Björn, the demigod of the wilderness, the wild hunt, bloodlust, wildlife, salvation and danger. May you provide an example to the mortals of Midgard and all within these Nine Realms."
Having lost all control of his mind and his willpower, Michael found a great power course through his veins as the gods and all inside Valhalla chanted and recited words he didn't understand in Old Norse, every square inch of his physical form and his spirit deep inside underwent a colossal change. Where he felt himself become something less human and more divine in atman. Second by second and little by little, he felt stronger, more powerful and started to change shape and grow in size. He grew midnight black fur on his body, his hands became massive paws with sharp claws, his teeth sharpened, his face elongated into a snout and above all else, this new form…was animalistic in nature.
With this new appearance and his new status bequeathed by the gods, he was but a force of nature down on Midgard. He was a figurehead to all wildlife, whether its predator or prey, he was without worries or concerns from the human world, because had power now beyond his own level of assimilation. Wild men known as the berserkers would soon look up to him as a guardian angel of sorts, their own deity to worship and seek counsel with because it is his ability to transform from beast to man at will that impressed and inspired them all.
It was his deed of protecting his son from danger and from being the victim of a gun-wielding maniac that brought him to this point of his new life, that has earned him his spot as one amongst the spiritual and the empyrean, if not close it.
The man once known in one formal life as Michael was long gone and in his place in this next one was…Björn.
"H-...How?" When Kris finally found his voice, he came out in pieces thanks to his utter disbelief at standing in front of his father, Michael, after clearly watching him die several years ago with his very own eyes.
Michael Anderson-Bengtsson, better known now as Björn, was standing there, very much alive, about 6 ft.-9 in. tall with chocolate brown skin, muscular physique, short black clean-cut hair, a big thick, bushy beard which was noticeably larger and poofier than the last time he saw it. Kris remembers all of it, all of his features, mostly from photos he's seen of him. And his new look signifies how many changes he's gone through over the years. He now possessed Nordic rune tattoos of his own on his face, wearing a bear-skin pelt over a huge, thick fur coat with sleeves. Underneath all those thick layers was a chainmail shirt called a hauberk, animal skins wrapped around his waist and suspended by leather belts, there were three skulls attached to one of his belts as trophies - a bear skull (because why not?), a wolf skull and a raven skull - black leather pants and he was barefoot. On his left hand were a couple of sharp talon-like blades on his fingers, resembling claws and around his neck were a bunch of necklaces and one that had three bullets - the same ones that killed him.
"Kris." Michael began, eyeing his son for the first time in forever.
On the outside of the two, the band members around them were watching them both with anticipation and growing twinge of curiosity of how this interaction would play out. It's already been known to them at some point or rather that Kris is the son of the man whom they know in the Time of Legends as the ravenous bear demigod of danger and bloodlust as he's mentioned him by name and appearance to them before whenever he's met with them in his human form. And now that they've brought his child to him for him to meet in person, Kris looked like he was on the verge of breaking down.
"You're…..alive." Kris said in a choked up voice.
"I'm alive." He chuckled nervously.
With a lone tear running down his cheek, Kris couldn't help himself anymore. The pressure was too great. He ran forward and brought his once-dead father into a tight, long-overdue embrace. He let his tears fall, sniffling a bit while Michael didn't hesitate to accept his son's hug, bringing in the warmth he had lacked for centuries after his gruesome murder. And it felt nice to have him in his arms once again after years and years apart. They broke apart to look each other in the eye.
"You've really grown." Michael exhaled and let a smile form on his face. "How much have I missed?"
"But you're dead. I…..I-I saw you….die. When that man shot you….." Poor Kris's mind was nigh in shambles, trying to understand how he was seeing his father again after the tragic events that unfolded in that convenience store when he was little.
"I was reborn, Kris." Michael explained. "The god remade me and made me into this. In this world, I'm called Björn, a demigod associated with wildlife, wilderness, survival, hunting, danger and the like."
"So you're the bear that attacked me." His son cried, his mind going back to when that same black bear tried to maul him to death before Kris successfully warded it off.
"Yeah, I'm sorry about that." winced Michael, blushing in embarrassment. "Sometimes when I'm in bear form here on Midgard, I kinda start going a little wild."
"Yeah, his bear instincts take over and it can be a bitch to deal with." Georg neutrally stated, who lifted up his shirt to reveal a huge claw mark, irrefutably sustained from one of Michael's wild bear flare-ups. "Still my proudest scar."
"So is it my fault you became th-?"
"Hey, no, don't do that." Michael interrupted his son, who was starting to express some guilt over being the supposed catalyst for his demise. "I chose to let myself get killed. That's kinda more on me."
"But I could've killed you!" Kris shrieked.
"And I almost did the same to you!" Michael counter-argued. "But luckily we didn't murder each other. I'm glad that I didn't, though."
"You have no idea what my life's been like after that night." Kris mused morosely with a shake of his head.
"Well, come along with me. We'll talk about it on the way to Asgard." Without another word to say, his demigod bear of a reborn father took off down a path through the wintry woodlands with his son obediently following him and the band taking a moment before they accompanied the reunited father and son pair through the snow-covered landscape. Kris stayed close behind Michael while they marched ahead.
"So you've been friends with Nörthfölk?" chirped Kris, once again starstruck.
"Acquaintances, more like." His father professed. "But yeah, I was surprised myself when I met those guys for the first time. Some of our interactions were not too great, thanks to my bear side."
"I can't really blame you for that, Björn." Diana inspirited, offering a friendly smile.
"You guys know you don't have to call me that all the time." entreated Michael.
"Well, I think 'Björn' is way more badass, in my opinion." Marvin joshed like a class clown with meager sobriety, something Michael didn't find unusual in the lyricist.
"I've been pondering this for a while now since our previous encounter." Michael peered over at his boy with inquisitiveness. "How did you do that? Shoot lightning out of your hands? Not only that, but you were insanely strong."
"What? Did the gods not tell you?" Kris looked at him incredulously. "I'm a descendant of Thor, the god of thunder."
"What? For real?!" Kris was taken aback by the surprise his father had in his voice.
"Yeah, from my mother's side of the family." The boy answered apathetically.
"Well, that explains a lot." Michael humphed with interest. "I knew there was something special about my Elsa, now that I know that she's related to a god."
"It's not really as exciting as you think." His son disagreed with him.
"Well, Björn here is pretty much kind of a god in his own right here in the Realms, particularly among the wild men of the woods." Lars responded.
"The who now?" asked Kris.
"The berserkers." Georg articulated for him more elaborately. "The men who wear the bearskins. That's them. They really look up to your dad as some kind of savior. Or an avenging angel."
"Yep. Not to brag or nothing, but they're quite fond of me out here. I've provided for them in any way possible and in return, I deal with anyone or anything they think is a threat to them." explained Michael. "But I only go for the bad ones, that's my number one rule. If they aren't worthy of death, then they're free to go. But if they are,...you get the idea."
"You've killed some?" Kris looked at his father with horror.
"Regrettably, yes. And I think for both our sakes, we don't get too deep into that hole unless you're prepared for what you'll hear." With a stern glance he's never used before, Michael looked his son in the eye to make sure that message rings in his head so he doesn't forget and with gusto, Kris took it and left it alone.
"All in all, though, the berserkers are pretty much my people here." His father concluded.
"Yeah, they do seem real nice." Kris monotoned sarcastically.
"They didn't give you any trouble, did you?" Michael eyed him like a worried parent would.
"They attacked me once one rainy night the last time I was here." His son explained.
"Well, I'll make sure I have some talks with them next time I see them. So how's it been with you since I, well,...died?" Now Michael was almost hesitant to ask that question since it sounded too sensitive, but seeing his son all grown up, he already figured straight away that he's mature enough for it.
"Not good at first." Kris sighed, knowing this wasn't going to be a pretty one for his father to hear while his half-distracted mind heeded the lack of wind blowing in his hair. "Mom was very upset about it. She started drinking a lot after that. One time she got really drunk and really mad that she pushed me down the stairs and broke my arm."
"What?!" The anticipated effect those words would have were almost greatly exaggerated because that didn't sound like something his wife would do and it brought his heart on the cusp of shattering to think that his death had brought with it so much pain and misery on his family, driving his beloved Elsa to become a hard-drinking alcoholic and purposely hurt their son in a drunken rage.
"Seriously?" squawked Lars.
"Are you dead serious?" Stefan was appalled by how the story was starting off.
"But it was an accident! She felt really bad about it." Kris quickly diffused the tension he brought on since he didn't want his father to think his mother became an unforgiving monster in her grief. "Anyway, after your death, we migrated over to Toronto, Canada, where you were born and moved into a house with Grandpa Morten and Grandpa Carl and Gnasher and Grinder."
"Hmm, wow." Michael hummed humorously. "What a setting that is."
"Mom's been having some trouble finding work to support us so I stepped up and-AHHHH!" With a sudden scream of horror, Kris was finally aware of his surroundings and it really came at him hard as a rock. He had been so caught up in his conversation with his thought-to-be-deceased father that he was too distracted to realize that their feet were no longer touching the ground. In fact, at this point, there were now billions of meters above the ground and the dark gray altostratus clouds causing the ongoing Fimbulwinter and standing directly on the burning rainbow bridge of the Bifröst, connecting the mortal realm of humanity with the home of the gods. From where they were standing, it seemed as though they were ascending into the heavens above and that's appropriate, considering the fact that the Bifröst leads up into Asgard, meant to be the final resting place for those who have proven themselves as brave and mighty warriors. Anxiously taking in the nausea-inducing margin of height they were at currently, Kris tried to remain calm and not to think of himself falling off to his death and seeing this, Michael rushed to him.
"It's okay. Relax, boy." He informed him, pulling him back so he doesn't accidentally walk off the side. "Just try not to look down."
"How is he with heights?" Stefan asked with concern.
"I'm not sure. It's been a while since I've seen him." Michael told them, then returned to his son. "Kris, it's okay. The bridge won't collapse beneath you. Just pretend you're on an escalator."
Kris shut his eyes tight, attempting to shake away the sight of the ground too far below and took a moment to clear his thoughts and in a few seconds, he was chill.
"This is insane." Kris gasped, looking all around. "I'm actually standing on the Bifröst."
"Maybe avoid the red part while you're at it." Hrafn pointed out. "You might get burned."
"So you were saying?" asked Michael as they kept walking forward.
"Uh, anyway, where was I? Oh." Kris began, while keeping his paranoid brain on the path ahead and only that. "So I stepped up and took a job at the Lee Family Temple thanks to Mei."
"Who's Mei?" His father asked.
"My girlfriend. The daughter of my ex-boss, Ming Lee."
"Ming Lee?" Hearing that name made Michael stop in his tracks since he knew that name very well. "Really? She runs the temple now?"
"Yeah, pretty much." The boy answered with a simple shrug.
"You know, I used to date her back in high school."
"I know." Kris sighed, having heard this before. "Mom told me already."
"What do you mean 'ex-boss'?" The bear demigod asked suspiciously.
"Well, I used to work for her." began Kris, but not with hesitance. "Three years ago, I was working for her as the cashier in the gift shop and she wasn't a good manager. In fact, she was really tough for me to deal with. Every single day at the temple, she would insult me, threaten me, scold me for everything and make me feel like a slave. No matter how well I did, I got paid less. And she really hated seeing me and Mei together."
"Say what?" Michael's confused face began taking on a furious chance. Long ago, he remembered Ming to be quite flirtatious around him mostly, but also devoted, dedicated and cheery and it caught him by surprise to hear his son speak about how awful the girl he knew from school became.
"Then one night, me, Mei and her friends were attending a classmate's birthday party. She snuck out by the way. Ming found out and she got so mad at us, blamed us for 'manipulating her', 'taking advantage of her' or whatever, she called me names like 'deviant' and 'retard'. Finally, she slapped me in the face and fired me."
Michael's voice became inert and understandably so, because not only was he heartbroken to hear the girl he used to date become a stone-cold jerk towards her own son, but also livid. So livid that it almost made a transformation happen, but he needed to keep it together so he doesn't go bear mode. But Ming Lee firing his son just for having fun at a party with her daughter? That's just messed up.
"But it's fine now." Kris let out a humorless sigh, deciding to leave the part about the SkyDome. "She's said she was sorry and she's changed, so things are good now. But I don't think I'm going back to working for her again."
"Well, I understand if she's better now after she wasn't good to you before, but are you sure things are okay between you now?" Michael sounded like he wasn't buying it.
"Uh…"
"We need to keep moving." Diana informed them both. "We mustn't keep the All-Father waiting for too long."
"Yeah, we can discuss this later." Kris was quick to agree, using this as an excuse to not divulge any more information that was too excruciatingly difficult for him to speak about.
"Yeah…" To his credit, Michael wasn't exactly too bought by his son's alleged avowal about him and Ming, but for Odin's sake, he was going to drop it for now. However, took this silent moment to wrap his head around everything his son's told him so far and did it make him steam for sure. Ming Lee sure had gone from the cute, flirty, boy-crazy, nerdy teen he remembered her as from high school to some mean, judgmental, obstinate, cruel and rude psycho that beats and torments her son for no reason. But what if she has changed? The only remaining question was, has Kris forgiven her yet?
So they continued down the spectrum-colored light path leading him up higher and higher, not willing to waste any more time, because time was of the essence. Several puffy clouds of mist and fog were all around them on both sides, but they could nonetheless make out mountains peaking out and making themselves known as the group kept forward, which by definition meant to them that they were nearing Asgard. Down below them just right underneath the rainbow was a singular mountain where a large hall was built upon and as Kris looked more closely as they crossed it, there seemed to be an open balcony which no doubt had a wondrous view of the Bifröst straight above it, so in theory, this was probably where the ever-vigilant and ever-alert Heimdall lived where he was on constant watch of the rainbow bridge leading into the realm of the Æsir. This way, he would be more capable of catching any invaders daring to try and enter Asgard via the Bifröst and be ready to alert the gods of this right away before said invaders could even make it across, even in one piece. Anyways, Kris was a bit dismayed to find himself back in Asgard again.
The very last place he'd want to be right now, especially right in the middle of his summer break. With the help of Huginn and Muninn, who found the visitors a mile away, Kris, Michael and the band members of Nörthfölk all had even reactions when they all found themselves inside the city of Gladsheim right behind the giant stone wall built to keep the giants out and protect all inhabitants within from a possible invasion of Jötnar and especially the onset of Ragnarök.
"Can't believe I'm back here again." Kris groaned angrily.
"Why? What's the problem?" asked his father.
"It's complicated."
"KRIS!" He froze still as if petrified into stone by the gaze of a gorgon when he heard it. The cry of his brother and friends directly ahead. And it warmed his heart greatly to actually see Stig, Rudolf and Roar rushing up to him, but was also thinking quizzingly on why they were there. Perhaps this was why they weren't picking up the phone lately and it would make perfect sense since in a realm of an ancient world, technology doesn't exist. Regardless of this, Kris embraced his friends.
"You guys!" Kris screamed happily. "So glad you're okay! I've been worried about you! Is this why you guys haven't been taking my calls?"
"Yeah, Huginn and Muninn kinda shot us back up here." Stig explained with a minimal-sounding annoyed tone, eyeing the two ravens now sitting on Kris's shoulders, who both cawed with a shrug. "I don't care if it was important. A forewarning would've been nice."
"Sorry, Kris. I tried to respond, but they snatched me up before I could reply." Rudolf apologized, looking embarrassed and ashamed.
"Stig, is that you?" Michael came forward to his other adopted son and got a closer look at him.
"Dad?" Like his brother, Stig was just as gobsmacked to see his dead adoptive father alive again in the flesh. However, he was less misty-eyed on his end for some obvious reason. "I knew it! You were that bear that attacked us!"
"What?" This caught his brother off guard. "You knew about this?"
"Yeah, I'm the one that set you guys free back at the compound." Michael nodded in agreement. "And who was that red-haired woman you tied-up with? Because I swear she smelled familiar to me."
"Eh, it's not important right now." Stig waved it off before finally noticing the band and instantly erupted into fanboy mode. "Holy shit, Nörthfölk!? What are you guys doing here?!"
"Oh my god!" Roar, too.
"Nörthfölk?! Oh god, yes! CAN WE GET AN AUTOGRAPH?!" Rudolf's enthusiastic explosion was much more enormous than his friends' as he hugged Stefan and Diana tightly.
"Not now, Rudolf!" Kris yanked the hyperactive boy off the two for them, not wanting him to embarrass himself now.
"But Kris, it's Nörthfölk!"
"I know. Just leave it for now, okay?" Kris informed the fan-crazed Inuit boy like a parent would a child. "Sorry about him."
"Nothing wrong with being a fan." Hrafn affirmed.
"You know, Kris has been working several jobs lately to get us into Deathfest this July." added Stig with a genuinely pleasant smile.
"Yeah, he told us about that." The lead singer of the band nodded. "And to be honest, I admire his enthusiasm and his devotion."
"You want to go to Deathfest?" Michael turned to his son, wide-eyed. "Don't you know that adult-oriented entertainment?"
"I'm 18 now!" Kris complained. "I'm old enough! He said so!"
Following his son's finger pointed at Stefan, the bear demigod redirected his sight onto him and gave him a slight look.
"He's growing up, you know." The metalhead musician simply shrugged like it was no big deal.
"Nice look there, little bro." Georg complimented the goth teen with a toothy grin.
"Really?! Thanks! I did it all myself." Stig, normally the grumpy one of the group with mostly poker-faced, apathetic expression on his countenance, shouted with unmistakable gratitude at being paid a compliment about his looks by his idol.
"So what's going on? Why are we all here?" interrupted Kris, now ready to hear about what was so important that the gods needed to abduct him in the middle of his house sitting job.
"Yeah, please tell me." Rudolf begged.
"Björn will escort you boys over to Iðavöllr to seek counsel from the gods and regroup you with the others." Diana assessed them on the current situation. "We must be off, for there is much for us to attend to in the Realms. Good luck to you boys and you as well, Björn. May the forefathers be with you and we hope to see you again once the battle arrives."
"Catch you guys later." Michael nodded to them and waved to them as they all marched off to take their business elsewhere.
"Wait, others?" Roar cocked an eyebrow.
"Iðavöllr?" snorted Rudolf, mispronouncing the word.
"What luck! Nörthfölk here in the Nine Realms?! That's one hell of a twist right there." commented Stig.
"Let's get going boys." Michael ordered all four of them, leading them down the streets of Gladsheim and making the Nörtherners follow close behind and made sure not to lose him while walking.
"So you're Kris's dad?" asked Roar, eying him closely. "You're a lot bigger in person than I had in mind."
"And fluffier!" chirped Rudolf.
"I'm sorry, who are you guys again?" Michael asked, briefly turning his head to look at them.
"We're friends of your sons." Roar answered, fondly introducing themselves. "I'm Roar Wagner, sir, and this is Rudolf Stein."
"Hi!"
"Really? Well, nice to meet you." Michael salubriously greeted the two. "So you guys are Nörtherners, too, huh?"
"That's right! No doubt about it!" Rudolf effused wholeheartedly, even jumping for joy.
"Then you boys definitely get along great."
"You bet." Kris smiled, because he knew that even though the relationship between Stig and the duo gets a little slapstick-y most of the time, it was just their way of showing their love and respect for each other as close friends.
"Where are those guys heading, by the way?" Stig asked, gesturing backwards to the direction Nörthfölk went into.
"Off to take care of any dangers threatening the Realms, because as of right now, things are getting worse. Way worse. That Fimbulwinter is just the beginning of it. I actually don't have a clear way of saying it myself, which is why you best hear it from Odin's lips instead." explained the demigod father seriously and gravely.
"Is that….where we come in?" asked Rudolf nervously.
"To my knowledge,...yes." Michael sighed sadly.
Such grave words send unnerving chills up all four boys' spines like a frostbite that felt like it was seeking to engulf their bodies in icy cocoons until all feeling left their nerve endings and collectively, they had a bad feeling in their hearts that what they're gonna hear from the All-Father may or may not be the greatest of news they're ready to hear.
Jump-cutting back to the girls at camp, of course they're in the same cabin together. However, to their chagrin, Heather and the QRQ's are also there and will be their neighbors for the remainder of the camping trip. Looks like are gonna get spicy now that two quarreling parties are forced to put up with each other. And Heather is certainly gonna makes things super hard for Mei and the girls. Let the games begin :).
So yeah, Kris's father, Michael, was the bear all along, having been reborn as the bear demigod "Björn" after his gruesome murder and the father and son have been reunited. Also, a noteworthy fact is that Björn may perhaps be the inspiration behind the "Benny the Bear" character that Nörthfölk have been putting on their album covers lately. How lucky of Michael to be new inhabitant of an ancient world that his favorite death metal band is a part of. Anyway, we now see for the first time characters traversing the Bifröst as the bridge that it is, because why have the rainbow bridge if it you're not gonna use it for its intended purpose? Back in Asgard, Kris is reunited with his friends, who have been placed in the Time of Legends same as he had been and I thought it was nice that Michael met his son's friends for the first time.
Don't look so surprised at how Stig figured that the bear was his adoptive father if you've read the previous story.
Next Chapter: Kris and his friends regroup with Stacy and other friends of theirs in Asgard before they are taken to the lair of the Norns, where they reveal surprising information about everyone.
Next Update: July 7, 2023