Hey, guys. So I've inching to write a short story detailing the events between Thor Reborn and Into the Nine Realm, showing you all what exactly Kris has been doing in the realms since the dreaded SkyDome incident. I've decided to write and post this story alongside Ragnarök Forthcoming and I plan to have this one have four or so chapters and we will see what the boy's been up straight up to his imprisonment in Helheim.

But first, let's have a brief glimpse at how the red moon ritual went down at the temple that night during the concert. And with that, let's dive on in.

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.


"Mei-Mei, it's time." Mei's mother said as she entered.

Mei did see that Ming was giving her a calm and soothing reassurance everything will be okay, but on the inside, her words felt more like a silent demand. Like this ritual was the one thing she needed to do and that it had to be done one way or another. And this was Ming's only chance to ensure her daughter never becomes the red panda ever again. And deep down, Mei was more than upset.

This was it.

She was about to sacrifice the red panda, the one thing that she has come to accept and enjoy with her friends, all so her mother and her family can be proud of her. And Kris….she fought back incoming tears. The boy she had loved being around was gone from her life now as were the rest of the girls who were like sisters to her. Mei can't even go over to his house and wish him a happy birthday today. After this, it was back to pushing herself to being the perfect, flawless, dutiful daughter her mother always wanted her to be.

Nothing to distract her or stand in her way. Not even friends.

Exhaling a heavy and submissive sigh, Mei followed her parents out the door in her ceremonial red robes and out into the temple where the red moon ritual was to be held and was surprised to see everyone out there all in a circle. Her aunties, her grandmother, her parents and Mr. Gao in his garbs and sword ready for action.

With a hint of hesitance, but reluctant acceptance, Mei came forward as the old man rushed to her side when seeing how nervous the girl was to give her some comforting words of encouragement.

"Just follow my directions and breathe." He instructed, guiding her to the center of the circle while he drew one around her on the ground with chalk. "Now don't move from the circle, you understand? For as long as the red moon shines, the astral realm will be open. And this circle is the door."

And how for the ritual to commence.

Each of the aunties started by providing the acoustics.

For Chen, it was a red bowl that made a hypnotic hum, Helen went with a red panda-style object and Ping pounded on a drum while Lily had a bell. Then they started singing in Cantonese together with their eyes closed as they concentrated and focused collectively.

"What are they saying?" Mei asked curiously.

"The door will open only if we sing from our hearts. It doesn't matter what." Mr. Gao explained, getting himself ready. "I like Tony Bennett, but your grandma, uh, she's from old school. Now, focus on their voices. Let them guide you."

Jin and Ming stood by and held hands while watching with hope as the ritual continued, hoping that it would work, because Ming wasn't sure what she would do if it didn't. She's not willing to have a red panda as a daughter. The red pandas have been nothing but trouble in their family. The chanting proceeded without stopping for a second as Mei listened closely while Mr. Gao held the sword high over his head.

"Oh, Sun Yee, revered ancestor, hear us now!" He called out to their beloved ancestress for the strength and power and guidance that they require for the success of this ritual. "Guide this girl through her inner storm! Louder! Louder!"

Their singing picked up a few decibels. The circle began to glow a luminous green light around Mei, forcing her to bite back the sinking feeling in her gut.

The full red moon eclipse glowed its bright red color.

The green glow around the circle reached a level of brightness that nearly blinded Mei as a huge red panda symbol formed beneath her. A wind picked up around the group and Mei felt herself becoming lighter than air. Sure enough, she started to slowly levitate into the air while the ritualistic chanting picked up as did the breeze while Jin and Ming looked even more desperate, clinging to any shred of hope they still have. The ritual needed to work.

"And return the red panda spirit from where it came!"

And so raising the sword high until it was aimed for the heavens above, Mr. Gao alighted it along with the red moon, igniting the red gem on it and allowing the eclipse to give it the power to shine a red beam at Mei's forehead as she floated like an astronaut in space within the circle. She seemed to have passed out because of that as she floated freely in the air.

And when she opened her eyes again, she was inside the astral realm.

In a bright and beautiful bamboo forest all by herself, still in her robes. Not a single soul to be seen. She wandered the landscape, wondering what would or should happen next. Her aunties and her parents were not there to guide her. However, even now, she could still hear their chanting in her ears even if no one else could.

Suddenly, a wind blew over her and with it, leaves.

Leaves that danced along the currents, swirling and twirling into circles in front of her and bright glow engulfed her vision and when it dissipated, there she was.

The family's most revered ancestor of all hovering in front of her like a guardian angel.

"Sun Yee?" Mei gasped, finally seeing her in person. She bowed to her and her ancestor mimicked, then with a wave of her hand, created a circular portal before the girl.

The portal was like a mirror of sorts with only a night on the other end and upon approaching it, Mei could see herself, but with black hair like it originally was before she got her panda. She gasped at this, quickly catching on that this meant she was an inch away from returning to normal. Back to her old, red panda-less life. Just one more step and it will all be gone.

She reached a hand in and her red panda claw came out from the other hand and grabbed it, making her snatch it back in shock.

Looking up at her ancestor, Sun Yee looked…..hurt and sad. Like she was upset that her descendants were choosing to get rid of something that she had fought through thick and thin to bless them with in order to save them.

Either way, Mei had to soldier on. Put on her game face and continue forward. This is what she needs to do, right? For her family's sake?

So she reached both hands in, causing both panda paws to emerge, and dove inside. And as she did, though, it felt as if something was literally being ripped out of her the further she went and it somehow felt a little painful. Like the hairs on your body were being ripped off via waxing. She fought her way, trying to pass through the barrier and in the process, her red panda spirit was being removed on the other end of her. Mei kept going and going no matter how awful it felt and trying not to look back.

But she couldn't help it. Her heart was yearning to.

When she did, she looked into her panda's eyes and saw pain.

The pain of being rejected, being cast aside, being treated like a problem that needed to be solved, like a monster that nobody wants.

And at that instant, she could almost see Kris there instead, dejectedly with hot tears in his eyes and then turning his back to her, walking away in miserable defeat.

No.

This is all wrong.

She can't do this.

"NO!" She screamed with sadness and horror, striking the portal as if to escape and rush over to Kris, even though it wasn't really him and at that second the connection was broken.

BOOM!

Emerging from a cloud of pink smoke, Mei was her red panda self again and she was overjoyed to have it back still, even hugging her own tail, glad that her fluffiness was still there.

Everyone else, however, didn't share the enthusiasm.

They all had been blown to the ground by the pink-splosion and Ming gasped to see her daughter still a red panda, rushing to her aid as if she was in danger.

"Mei-Mei!" She cried. "We can do it again!"

But Mei yanked her arm back, eyeing her mother down with a sharp look.

"Mei-Mei?" Ming didn't understand.

"I'm keeping it." She stated firmly.

Everyone voiced their confusion and concerns at her words. Keeping it? The red panda? Why would she keep it?

"What did she say?" Wu asked with surprise, looking at the girl as if she had gone insane.

"I'm keeping it!" Mei repeated more strongly this time and was about to take off to the concert with her friends, but her family started after her.

"Mei-Mei!"

"Stop her!"

Mei had reached the temple doors and flung them open, but didn't get the chance to reach her glorious salvation and her freedom because by now, all Lees grabbed onto her furry body together and tried to pull her back in by force, struggling to bring Mei back into the circle so they can try the ritual over again and get this red panda out of her, but Mei would not back down. She was not going to let them decide what she should do. Not this time.

Mei fought against everyone's hold as they tried their very hardest to keep the girl from leaving, trying to make sure this ritual went completely as planned and succeeded as intended. It was no use. Mei was too strong for all of them combined and Mei was finally reaching her breaking point with them.

"NO! She screamed, shoving all of them off of her with her great strength. Unfortunately, in the process of being tossed to the ground like a garbage bag, Ming's amulet shattered and started to glow furiously as it cracked away.

"I'M GOING TO THE CONCERT!" Mei shouted at them all with anger and with her piece spoken, Mei ran off out of the temple and down the streets toward the SkyDome, determined to see her favorite band on stage if it was the last thing she did.

"Mei-Mei! Stop!" Ming shouted after her desperately, but her daughter was already gone from their sight. She had fallen to her knees in her haste to try and run after her, but that shove had temporarily sapped most of the energy from her legs.

"A concert?" Helen asked, looking at the others with confusion.

"This is a disaster! Unbelievable!" Wu complained. "Ming! How could you let this happen?!"

However, while everyone chatted away, wondering how it could've gotten to this point or how the ritual will be completed at this rate. But Ming drowned out their voices to focus on her own thoughts. With tears in her eyes, her face heated up as her disappointment at this turn of events in a split-second turned to unrelenting fury.

"How could she….?" She growled dangerously, standing up to her feet like a complete madwoman while everyone eyed her with fear as her anger boiled to the surface far more precariously than it ever did before at her daughter's supposed betrayal.

"How could she do this to me? To….her own mother?!"

Her voice erupted like the snarl of a waking apex predator ready to hunt down for prey to sink its sharp teeth into and it carried like an echo as her amulet cracked even more before it finally shattered to pieces, freeing her own red panda spirit from its mystical prison and as everyone backed away in horror, the enraged mother's mind kept going and going.

How could Mei do this to her after everything she's ever done for her, everything she's sacrificed for her, everything she had put so much hard, tiresome work into to help rid her daughter of this heavy burden, this inconvenience, this curse? And all of this for a stupid concert?! How would she just….throw her one and only chance away like this?

Bengtsson.

Of course!

That little creep has probably been sneaking around here visiting Mei behind Ming's back after she made it perfectly clear to his stupid and ugly face to stay the fuck away from her daughter, putting sordid ideas into her head and manipulating her into turning on her mother. On her own family!

Oh, well, just wait until Ming gets her hands on him!

He will regret the day he was even born!

Ming felt her entire body float above the ground, which she had heeded not. It didn't matter what was going with her right now. She was too angry to care. And then, her rage finally manifested drastically and frighteningly.

"MEI-MEI!"

Her voice carried like an echo like the bone-chilling roar of a giant monster. And Ming could now feel herself much larger than before. Suddenly, she felt bigger and as big as a skyscraper even.

This, however, did not lessen her rage for a second.

Mei's rebellion was the final straw for Ming. And she wasn't going to let her get away with it. After she was done with Mei and dragged her back over to the temple, she was going to look for that dirty little rat and give him a piece of her mind. She'll rip him apart limb from limb, she'll beat the living shit out of him until he begs for mercy, she'll mash him into a paste on the ground. Ming will scour the city, tear it apart building by building if she has to until she finds him. She didn't care what it takes or how long it takes.

Kris Bengtsson was going to pay for turning Mei-Mei against her.


And there you have it, folks. What a disaster that turned out, right? And shockingly enough, Ming had intentions to locate Kris and do unspeakable things to him in her fit of animalistic rage since she pretty much blamed Mei's independence and refusal to cooperate all on him. And yet, she didn't know Kris was at the concert at the time before she got there, so him being there probably would've made skinning him alive much quicker and easier.

But of course, we all know how well THAT turned out for her.

Anyway, there's the prologue of this story. Updates for this story will be sporadic. Stay tuned for the rest and more chapters of Ragnarök.