Guest: I dunno if I'm ready to give you that. No offense.

Just letting you guys know that it's gonna be my birthday soon because it's on the 7th of August. Also, My job has been getting tiring and exhausting the shit outta me. Nothing but shift that end at 11:00PM at night. I'm sure some of you out there can relate to that.

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.

C/W: Animal death, implied nudity

Time for the training session and if Ragnarök was to be upon them soon, that meant rigorous and tireless training.

There was no time like the present because the teens needed to practice honing their newfound abilities. It had to take them morning and all through the night if possible. They needed to be ready for when the battle comes. All of life in the world depends on it and transparently, so do their own lives. While most of them still didn't believe in the apocalypse, they had no other option but to agree to the gods' terms and conditions because, granted, it didn't look like they were going back home soon anyway unless the gods decreed it so. Right now, there was much for them to learn. What their powers were, how to use said powers, how to use a weapon, how to fight in combat and so on and so forth. And each teen was assigned to each of their ancestors and they needed to heed their teachings well. It's these principles that will guide them to victory. For attires, the teens were placed in more age-appropriate Viking Era-style clothes with some armor affixed to them.

Stacy wanted some with fur to it, so she was given a shoulder-less wool outfit with a thick white-fur trim and thick boots. For training, she was given a bow and arrows and was being taught how to do archery by Skaði, just one of the many skills of the Goddess of Bowhunting. Now Stacy has never used a bow before, so naturally she didn't have a good start each time. She would keep missing her target, her aim was a bit off and her focus needed some work. Accidents were made like hitting a tree, losing an arrow in the flowing river and hitting a bird, much to her horror. As for her powers, it's all about concentration. Had to focus all her senses on the elements around her, conjuring up ice and snow, controlling the temperature and knocking down to 10 degrees below.

So far, all Stacy has been able to do was summon snowflakes.

Mei's group was doing archery right now, still stuck with the QRQs, because it was beyond their control. Heather and her cronies were still at it, fundamentally making this harder and harder for their fellow campers, their prime target of humiliation. That prank war was just the beginning. When it was Priya's turn at the range, she aimed the arrow straight at the target and remained perfectly still and waited for the right to release…

…but then Dana showed up and screamed right next to her ear, disrupting her silence and scaring the poor Indian girl out of her wits, making her jump and release the arrow too soon. The arrow was sent flying away from the target and into the leg of one of the counselors, who yelled in pain. Priya winced, but Dana laughed.

"You made me miss!" Priya growled.

Despite their antics and their reputation amongst others in particular, Svir and Thrum were allowed to help train the young demigods. For Moose, he was currently being taught melee attack fighting moves and was told to always be aware and ready for anything, because you never know when an tumult could happen. Long ago, Moose has been beating up kids in his old days as a bully, but it was mostly a lot of random punching and kicking. Týr was his coach in combat and they started off with dodging punches, landing hits and not letting his opponent get the advantage over him. The obese boy was having some trouble keeping up, even getting some disciplinary punches and slaps in the process, even when his ancestor continually urges him to stay focused.

The two dark elf brothers were helping by throwing stuff at the boy as a training regime of expectancy and reaction time. They started off a big rock, with secret amused grins underneath their 'serious' faces, and Týr watched too late when the large rock was sent hurtling toward Moose. Moose managed to catch it just as it was whizzing straight towards him and screamed as he jumped out of the way just in time before he could sustain a huge wound.

"Idiots!" Týr shouted at them angrily.

"Oh, man! I think he's getting better!" Svir laughed.

"Do it again!" Thrum cheered excitedly. "Get a bigger one this time!"

Now they were out hiking in the woods one morning after a night of backpacking with Mei's group in front of Heather's groups with their respective counselors as they took a scenic route through the landscape back to the camp. Apart from the scenic spectacle of the bright forest around them, the trip was becoming more like a chore than an activity since Heather and the three were whining the whole time, complaining about bugs, mud and other things nature-related that would ruin their clothes and their pretty looks and it was really taking a massive toll on their own counselor. Even the 4*Townies were struggling to keep their own sanity intact from listening to the QRQs' endless badgering. The only thing they could hear out there in the forest was not birds, nor even the faint wind, but the persistent jibber-jabber.

That was until Mei had an idea.

She started by telling her friends to go ahead of her and they did as they were told. Now Mei was walking behind them while the three were smirking to themselves. While sitting around the campfire last night, everyone had some beans as the only thing for dinner. The beans didn't quite agree with Jill because she woke up with nausea. However, as the four divas were now right behind Mei, the girl focused hard as she grunted and comforted her face with fierce concentration while trying to squeeze something out and as a result of her efforts, Mei let herself relax with a contented smile.

And what happened next was that Heather, the one who was now right behind Mei with only inches between the two, started to smell something awful in the air. She pulled a face, plugged up her nose and started screaming and wailing in disgust from the rotten stench and it didn't take long for the other three to start fanning the air and looking ready to upchuck.

Seeing their reactions brought a pleased smile to the 4*Townies' faces, glad to get some form of entertainment out of this tedious hike.

Heimdall took Roar with him to Alfheim, hoping to find a more peaceful atmosphere for his descendent to better enhance his powers.

For his lesson, the boy was told to hold a pose on the ground and hone in on his foresight abilities. One individual trick would be to shut down his other senses and keep all his attention centered around one thing; everything. But the key thing is to not listen in on everything everywhere all at once or else you'll get overwhelmed. For a moment, it was listening to a CMX radio. Thousands of nameless channels and stations overlapping one another like a sea of voices, like being stuck in the middle of a shrieking crowd during Lollapalooza.

But Roar slows everything down before the voices can give him a headache until he hears one voice he remembers. Miriam, laughing with her friends, but also groaning with disdain at Heather and her annoying friends getting on their nerves. It sure warmed his heart to see his girlfriend having a perfectly normal summer occasion together with her friends while he was busy in the Nine Realms training to use how powers to stop the end of the world.

But then he started seeing something troubling. Something brought some childs up and down his spine like a thermometer. Visions that flash by like blinking speed, but he was able to make something out of it.

Visions of a giant stomping through the snow-covered forest.

Visions of Garm snapping his jaws out at an unlucky victim about to devour him in a hearty, bloody meal.

And visions of a larger figure towering over all beneath it with a huge sword before plunging it downward in a sharp beeline toward the ground and right before the tip could impact its target….Roar snapped out of it.

They were at the swimming pool now.

And it would be a lie to say it wasn't slightly crowded. All the campers were in their bathing suits soaking in that summer sun, diving into the pool and taking plummets off the diving board to impress their friends and wouldn't you know it, the girls were there as well in their swimming garb and all. Abby was in that bikini she was talking about, which was a dark purple one-piece bikini and it proved her correct. It did look nice on her by accentuating her lusciously thick curves. However, she wasn't there to attract any boys' attention since she already had a boyfriend. She was only there to show it off.

"It really does look good on you." Mei complimented her.

"You know it, girl." Abby smirked.

But then Heather and the QRQs were at it again. Purposely showing off their goods with their swimsuits right next to them as if to rub their faces in it that they were more attractive than them. However, Mei wasn't going to sit there and put up with their nonsense lying down. She shot up and headed over to the high dive. And the very second that she jumped right off it and struck a pose, she poofed into the red panda mid-air and landed a powerful belly flop onto the surface of the water, creating a huge splash of chlorine pool water like a rogue wave, leaving the QRQs unprotected against it.

They all screamed in horror and then anger. None of them were planning on getting into the pool or even wet since showing off their bikinis was their only intention and Mei ruined for her.

"DAMN YOU, LEE!" Heather exploded at her nemesis, who only waved her mockingly.

For Toshio, he is seen swimming through the cold ocean like a fish while Ægir and Rán are both taking the form of the body of the water together and tossing some obstacles in the boy's way like a sunken ship, a net, a piece of coral, they even communicate with the marine live and sent them to chase him like a giant whale. In fairness, Toshio has had issues with being underwater in a giant ocean and thought of anything larger than normal with the possibility of being eaten always scared him, so this gave him the advantage he needed in swimming faster and faster away. Even the kraken, Leíf, joined in on the fake chase, just as long as Toshio doesn't look him in the eyes like before.

Mei and her friends were now canoeing in the river with the other grounds, fighting against the tumultuous and quarrelsome currents, avoiding the rapids as best they could. Particularly, this was not exactly something that Mei would call 'fun'. Riding a boat like that across violent currents in the river was the biggest challenge she's ever faced.

Once they were out of danger from the rapids and back on a calmer, smoother current, however, the QRQs reared their canoe over and bumped right into the 4*Townies, knocking them over and causing their canoe to capsize in the water.

And then came the laugh of mockery at their enemies' misery while Mei and the girls were left surfacing and growling in anger now that they were all soaking wet.

"Woah! A dragon?" Rudolf's eyes bulged when Baldur introduced him to the creature, which own personal mount being, in fact, a dragon named Dagsetr who sported custom-designed Asgardian armor, covering the majority of his saurian body with two circularly-curved horns on his helmet, which seemed to make the beast look all the more intimidating than he did already.

"I'd like you to meet Dagsetr. He and I have gotten real fancy with each other." Baldur explained, putting his dragon on the side of his face. "Although, he was the roughest and fiercest of all his kind and getting burned was a factor for me to train a dragon."

"Neat-o!" cried Rudolf, smiling. "Hey, Dagsetr!"

"Woah, don't startle him. If there's one thing you don't wanna do, is scare a dragon to death. They are very defensive creatures and they will attack you if they feel provoked." Baldur warned him since he took light of his mount's uneasiness from the boy. "What you need to do is-"

Dagsetr cut off his owner's lecturing when he breathed a huge blast of fire from his mouth and onto Rudolf when it considered him a bother. For Rudolf, however, he didn't feel a thing. He may have felt a little warm, but nothing affected him in the way that one would be when getting doused in flames. After Dagsetr was done, Rudolf was still standing there, totally unaffected by the jet of fire…

….only now he was naked after getting his clothes burnt into ashes.

"Holy shit, that was insane!" Rudolf cheered, unaware of his indecency. "A dragon just breathed fire on me! Nobody's gonna believe me!"

"Boy." His ancestor interrupted him and pointed downward awkwardly while averting his eyes.

And when Rudolf did, his face turned bright red in embarrassment as he tried to cover his shame.

Much to Miriam's chagrin, ziplining was next.

Both Mei's group and Heather's group were up on top of a vantage point from one area in the mountains which had a zipline from one side to another about meters away from where they stood. They had to get up really early to hike over to that spot because it was really far away. About a five hour hike. Everyone was put in helmets and gear and each took turns going one at a time strapped to the zipline with chords. They were very high above the ground so when it was Miriam's turn, she was very hesitant. But her friends gave her some words of comfort to ease her trepidation.

Miriam reluctantly goes forward, taking deep breaths and is about to jump off, but before she could, Kayley approaches her from behind and shoves her off the ledge, sending Miriam screaming in helpless terror as she glides across the zipline against her will because she wasn't really ready yet.

She didn't fall and she made it to the other side. However, the poor girl was not really shaken.

And the other side, Heather and her cronies laughed at this while the 4*Townies growled with fury.

The other gods didn't exactly trust Loki with training Stig, so the goth was placed in the apprenticeship of Freya alongside Willow. However, it didn't stop the mischievous shapeshifter from visiting the boy to see how his process was going and the demigod-in-training didn't really mind his company that much.

For him and Willow, even casting magic had its complications. It wasn't as simple as reciting a poem and expecting something out of the ordinary to happen. It was all about looking deep within yourself, channeling the innate magical energy inside of you and harnessing that energy to your heart's content. For Stig, he was currently working on turning into other animals. Animals, just to name a few, such as a fox, a bee, a gnat, a fly, a tarantula, a mole rat, an eagle and a salmon. However, he finds that needs to abide by the certain number of natural laws and physics of each form he takes that correlate to their genetic traits. For instance, if he wants to turn into a fish, then he needs to be near a body of water to swim in or else he'll suffocate in the air on dry land. Willow was being taught more than one spell and pronouncing the correct words to conjure them, like summoning vines or creating spectral birds. She seemed to be making the most sufficient progress out of all the other teens.

But during this, there came a noise nearby in the woods and it clicked Willow's attention away from her lessons easily and she and Freya followed the sound to a spot on the ground where an elderly wolf had collapsed to the ground, his breathing labored and his body growing still. Willow rushed over to bring some comfort to the animal when Freya brought up the undeniable fact.

"He's breathing his last breath."

Willow gasped, feeling cold all the sudden.

This poor creature was dying in her arms and there was nothing to be done about it. However, Freya crouched on the ground next to the wolf with Willow and guided the goth girl's hand over to the wolf's head.

"Nature is doing its work. He will feel nothing soon." Freya gravelly stated, revealing the dagger from before and holding it up, blade pointing away from the animal. "But all is not lost. Say it with me. Sofna upp frá þessu, sofna heðan, sofna."

"Sofna upp frá þessu, sofna heðan, sofna." Willow nonetheless obeyed, despite the grim situation at hand, reciting the galdr with her.

"Sofna upp frá þessu, sofna heðan, sofna."

"Sofna upp frá þessu,…"

.

.

.

.

"….sofna heðan,…."

.

.

.

.

"…sofna."

Willow could feel it and when she did, it was like a sign from above. The life essence of the old wolf leaving his body as his breathing ceased and his whole body went limp on the ground.

He was at peace now. No more pain.

She tried to make sense of what just occurred. Willow had witnessed death for the first time, but not in a terrifying or traumatizing way.

"He has not suffered and he wasn't alone." explained Freya, holding up the dagger, then brushing Willow's hair in a calming manner. "You've done well."

"I have no words." She finally spoke.

"No worries. You'll forget over time." Freya handed her the dagger, which she hesitantly took.

Afterwards, she helped Willow bury the wolf in a grave upon her request. There were no shovels to be used, so Freya casted a spell to create a hole big enough for the deceased animal and undid it when the body was carefully placed inside. After they were done, there was a falcon staring down at them. It screeched curiously before it transformed into Stig as soon as it was about to spread its wings and take flight and the boy fell right down to the ground below.

"Wow." Willow exclaimed, impressed.

"Aghh…." Stig winced from the high fall. "I'm still getting the hang of it."

"That was grand, I will admit." The Goddess of Love admitted, but her composure was of mutual interest. "Transforming and speaking with fauna is only the opening gambit for your other abilities. For recommendations, Loki has assumed vastly larger forms, even a towering giant."

"I've actually been trying to turn into something bigger." claimed Stig.

"As long as you don't go too big." Freya warned him. "When some would say 'bigger is better', it's really not. You may lose yourself at such a massive height."

"Go big or go home." Willow shrugged with a slight tease.

"Hush, don't encourage him." Her ancestor snapped.

"...and then it was past midnight and there was still not a sound to be heard. Only the occasional creaking of the floor and the ticking of the grandfather clock."

As she promised she would, Priya was now telling the scary ghost story of the Bride in Blood, with a flashlight shining under her face, to her fellow campers who were gathered around the campfire at nightfall, receiving the desired reception from the other campers, especially Tyler since he's usually a big scaredy-cat despite the tough and manly persona he persistently perpetuates. However, the QRQs were far less nervous, finding all this cliche and boring.

"'Ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong', chimed the clock in low, foreboding tolls. Against her better judgment, Ilyna arose from her bed covers, fear icing over her heart and running up her spine with each trembling step she took towards the chamber door, still locked as it should be. Closer and closer with a thumping heart racing until it threatened to burst, she placed an ear to the door and listened. For a sound. Nothing came. Nothing was heard. And then, there came the-"

"Pppppfffffffffftttttttffftftftftftftftf!"

The unnerving mood was killed right away as soon as the annoying Jill made a flatulent noise with her hands before the scariest part of the story could reach its climax, effectively ruining the jumpscare that was about to come up and as a result of Jill's painstakingly-immature and comedic interruption, instead of shrieks of mortal terror, Priya received laughter from everywhere and she glared hotly, looking ready for spill some blood herself.

"I've heard this a million times!" Heather shouted above the roaring laughter. "What's-her-face opens the door and the bloody bride screams at her and she dies from fright. Booooo-ring!"

Priya snarled like a lioness, shutting off the flashlight and threw it on the ground in anger before pouting, grumbling under her breath while her friends comforted her as best they could.

"I've been waiting to tell this story forever." She hissed.

"If it helps, I was really scared." admitted Tyler, pale in the face. "I almost peed on myself."

"Me too." Abby agreed, then blushed. "In fact, I….actually did."

But none of this helped her at all. The Indian goth girl groaned miserably in sour disappointment, letting her head fall right into her lap.

FENSALIR
The Hall of Frigg

Bragi was paying the queen a visit, feeling like she could use some company during these troubling times. Even the queen of Asgard had herself a personal dwelling of her own. Frigg's accommodation, known as Fensalir, was situated not too far away from the likes of Valhalla or Valaskjálf and had its own peaceful and serene view of Gladsheim down below.

A glamorous hall that she shared with her errand-runner, Gna (Old Norse: gnɑ) the Norse Vanir Goddess of Fullness and the Wind who rides on her flying, sea-treading horse, Hófvarpnir, Fulla (or Volla), Lofn and Hlín, the Norse Goddess of Protection and Consolation. Many of her fellow residents were out and about, helping the Nine Realms in any way they can and Gna was busy running errands for her mistress, who had a lot on her mind, per say the training of young teens from the modern world being taught the outdated ways of warriors of old just to preserve the future of humanity and the divine.

And seeing the mopey frown on the Æsir queen's face, Bragi figured the best remedy to her state would be music as he sat there beside her, playing a melody on his lute.

"~ 'O, maiden, fair maiden
Please lend me your ears
Let me speak sweet nothings
And disburden your fears

Let us champions and contenders
Now art be friends
With grand riches and banquets
And great spoils and splendors
We celebrate our might
In the house of-"

"As much as I appreciate the gesture, it's not as helpful." Frigg had a ghost of a smile, even if it was only melancholy in nature as she rubbed her eyes.

"Something vexes you, my queen?" asked Bragi curiously.

With a tired sigh, she moved toward the open window and gazed down upon the Asgardians in the city.

"Odin hopes that training teenagers will help us evade Ragnarök." She confessed uneasily. "They may be related to us, but they are still children. And we're asking inexperienced outsiders to risk their own lives for everyone else's. I do not wish to question my husband's logic, but…"

"I see it, milady. You do not wish to let young children put themselves in danger." Bragi surmised intuitively, eyeing his stepmother. "That's understandable and I don't question your logic, either. But as reckless as it may be, the All-Father is truly desperate. I do remember a time he was desperate enough to conquer fate. The way I see it, on the other hand, is that he does not wish to let his second chance be in vain. I, myself, don't wish to see my world go up in flames a second time."

"I see you point, but I feel like we're only tempting fate, rather than fighting it." Frigg resounded. "It would take ages for children of their age to become mighty warriors in time. They'll be as dead as the rest of us will on the battlefield. And Kris, Hel is adamant that she will not lose him once more. He's already suffered substantially in Helheim years ago."

"The boy's become a strong one over time, I can feel it." insisted the skaldic god. "But as I am but a sonneteer as I cannot speak for everyone specifically. All I can say is have faith. Because right now, they need it more than everyone."

Frigg sighed at the verse-maker and took a moment to process his attempted apophthegms. He may not be well-renowned for his wisdom, but his charm and wit were as marginally admirable and Idunn was truly a lucky woman to have him by her side. Still, Frigg stuck to her strong opinion that they were playing a deadly game allowing newer young faces who have no battle experience nor are as versed in Old Norse mythology or cosmology unlike the first four to join the gods in a battle to literally end all battles. The gods had always been ones to receive faith from the mortals who look up to them, but this was the moment for the gods to return the favor if they ever hope to help humanity ensure their future.

Here you guys have is the training montage for the teens mixed with a montage of the battle between the 4*Townies and the QRQs. Odin wishes for all the help he can get if they're gonna stop the end of the world. It's all hands on deck from here on out.

Next Chapter: Kris and Stacy are tasked with retrieving the rooster Fjalarr from Utgard. Once back in Asgard, Thor and Loki come to blows.

Next Update: August 11, 2023