Isle of Berk, Ahch-To - Unknown Regions
Feasting, singing, dancing, and love of drink rages rampantly in the Great Hall as the Vikings of Berk continue to celebrate the momentous occasion.
After so many drinks Gobber the Belch was living up to his title with massive burps that had nearby partygoers both in awe and disgusted. Even Stoick the Vast seemed more joyful than most Hooligans had seen him be for a very long time, dancing amongst the crowd and laughing alongside them.
Not much of a drinker himself, Hiccup kept more to the fringes of the celebration. There wasn't enough space in the Great Hall for the dragons in addition to partying Vikings, so Toothless wasn't currently there to keep him occupied. Still he enjoyed watching the celebrations and laughed whenever something ridiculous happened; it was much more enjoyable to see his tribe like this rather than solely focused on a war against dragons.
As always, however, he's eventually sought out by Astrid. Though not one to shy away from a good drink, she was more conservative than her friends—it wouldn't do for a warrior to be caught off guard all because of a hangover.
"Care to dance, Hic?" she smiles at him.
Still, it didn't always keep her from acting a little strange. Hiccup regards her with a wary gaze.
"Please don't call me 'Hic,'" he replies.
"Alright, fine," she shrugs and punches his arm instead. "I'll stick with good communication."
Hiccup sighs but moves the conversation along.
"As for your question, M'Lady, I think I'll sit this one out," he tells her.
"Really? But this is, like, the night for it!" she exclaims, shaking her head. "It's a shame Mara and her family decided to retire early."
Nearby, Snotlout wobbles on over in pursuit of Heather, trying and failing to ask her for a dance. Spotting Astrid, he moves to ask her instead but catches wind of their conversation and decides to intrude with his own opinion.
"A shame?!" he exclaims. "Can you imagine leaving a party like this?!"
"Well can you blame them?" Heather replies. "I'd leave too."
"Seriously?" he scoffs, looking at her like she was insane. "What kind of crazy person meets the literal gods, has a feast dedicated in your honor, and then decides not to be a part of that?"
"Someone who doesn't like being worshiped," Hiccup points out.
"Hmph."
Snotlout rolls his eyes and takes a swig of the drink in his hands as the Twins pass by the group.
"That's too bad. They don't know what they're missing out on!" Tuffnut laughs.
Ruffnut snickers and lifts her mug to her lips but frowns when nothing drops out.
"I'm getting another mug."
"Hey, wait up!" Tuffnut rushes after her.
Just then a loud bell rings around the Great Hall and everyone turns to see Gobber smashing it with a hammer. He steps aside and Stoick climbs up onto a table so that everyone could see him. Stoick begins by raising his mug up in front of him.
"Praise be to Thor, lord of the skies, mightiest of warriors! Praise be to Odin Allfather, wisest and greatest of kings!"
The Hooligans echo their approval with a chorus of cheers, lifting their mugs as well.
"This is a day to be remembered, my friends! Songs will be sung! Tales will be told!" Stoick continues to say, looking around the room. "It is a blessed day to know that our faith is not misplaced."
The mighty chieftain places a strong fist over his chest to emphasize his words.
"The gods see us! They see what we have done! They see who we can be!" he shouts, receiving cries of affirmation. "And it is on this night that we celebrate their—"
His speech is then interrupted by a monstrous, earth-shattering shriek that seems to echo through the very mountain, rendering everyone silent.
The doors of the Great Hall are then blasted open by a gust of cold wind that blows inside and extinguishes the majority of torchlight, casting the room into chilling darkness.
"What the devil?" Gobber exclaims.
The Vikings turn around to look out at the open doors, hearing a continuous unsettling moan. Darkness seems to seep in from outside and chokes out the dim light remaining from a few still lit torches.
~Gods are a lie.~
Hiccup shivers, a sense of dread filling him at hearing a chilling voice whispering in his ears. By the way his friends reacted, they heard it too.
Then the silence is broken by a multitude of distant roars and screeching, soft at first but getting louder. Flashes of orange light are also visible in the distance, and with a start the Vikings recognize it to be the familiar glow of dragon fire.
"What in Thor's name is going on?" Spitelout cries out.
"A dragon raid?!" Astrid asks incredulously.
Hiccup shakes his head in disbelief.
"No, that can't be," he murmurs.
Unsettled by what could only be described as the supernatural, the distant glow of fire spikes a familiar drive in Stoick's mind gained from decades of battle. The deep scowl he's famous for appears on his face as he glares out the open doors, dropping his mug of beer.
Whether this is a dragon raid or something else, Berk is under siege.
"WE'RE UNDER ATTACK! TO ARMS!" he roars at his tribe.
Vikings start rushing around and grabbing the weapons they brought with them—what good Viking doesn't take their trusty axe wherever they go—and Stoick turns to his right hand man.
"Gobber, get the forge running! We need fresh weapons by yesterday!" he orders.
Though still drunk, the adrenaline of battle is enough to override his dizziness.
"I'm on it, Stoick!" he acknowledges.
Screaming at the doors pulls their attention away and the Vikings look to see the first group trying to leave get thrown back inside with fatal injuries. Appearing at the doors are several oily black monstrous beasts, more like demons from Hel than anything, which opens their jaws and unleash a terrible screech.
Seeing their attackers for the first time has the Vikings frozen in shock and fear.
"What in…?!" Stoick whispers, appalled.
The Black Berserkers lunge at the large crowd of Vikings and tear into their first victims before they could react, ripping them to shreds with their claws or biting entire heads off with their grotesque jaws in a violent display of blood and gore.
It's only after six Hooligans are killed before the rest of the tribe leaps into action. More than used to violence after years of killing and being killed by dragons, they're more enraged now than horrified and charge the demons with great fury.
Close to the back of the giant crowd of Hooligans, the younger dragon riders are still caught up in their shock.
"What are those?!" Ruffnut yells.
"NOT DRAGONS! NOT DRAGONS!" Fishlegs shrieks.
Hiccup rushes over to Stoick before the mighty chieftain could charge into battle himself.
"Dad!" he calls out.
"Hiccup! Go get your dragons, now!" Stoick grabs his axe.
"But—"
"I said GO!"
Stoick shoves Hiccup back to the rest of his group and then rushes forward to join the fray. Adapting to the strangeness of their attackers, a group of Vikings work quickly to tackle one Berserker and kill it as they would have fighting a Monstrous Nightmare.
However, the Berserkers are much stronger, lethal, and more savage than even a Nightmare, and retaliate with just as much fury. Hiccup sees the carnage ensuing and, realizing the entire village is likely facing this horror, finds his own determination rising.
They need their dragons, more than ever.
"Come on, gang!" he waves his group forward.
"This is crazy!" Snotlout shouts incredulously.
The the Hooligan tribe forcing their way out of the Great Hall to defend their village from the devilish onslaught, Hiccup and the gang and are to slip by the attacking beasts whilst Stoick finally reaches the front of the crowd and jumps forward with a mighty roar to swing his axe at a Berserker's skull.
Rushing out into the cold night Hiccup directs his friends to go find their dragons and get in the air, all while trying to ignore his horror at seeing Berk under siege by these monsters.
"Holy s—!"
A lunging Berserker gives a savage roar and Mara rolls to evade a swipe from its claws, whipping out her lightsaber. It snarls and snaps one of its limbs at her, the arm turning into a blade, and Mara manages to cut it just in time but stumbles backward. Undeterred, the Berserker lunges again but is peppered by a volley of spikes and keels onto its side with a howl before falling still.
Before Mara can express her gratitude to Zenna she's charged by another Berserker but is again saved, this time by a blast of golden lightning from Jarik that throws it aside.
"Mara!" Jarik calls out.
"Dad! What the kriff is happening?!"
"No time to explain! Get—"
He glances up and quickly yanks Mara and himself to the side to avoid a third Berserker that comes barreling at them. It skids across the ground as it tries to turn around and breaks through the house, causing the whole structure to collapse.
"NO!" Jarik shouts in dismay.
His panic is eased when the Berserker is blasted out of the house by a Force push and Ahsoka emerges from the wreckage with Talia safe in her arms, though the little girl is understandably frantic and upset.
"We're okay!" Ahsoka calls out.
"What's going on?!" Mara exclaims.
"Something that Asgard should be dealing with!" Jarik scowls in frustration, whipping out his comlink. "R5, R5 do you read? Get the ship in the air, now!"
He doesn't wait for a response before ending the call.
"Wha- we can't just leave!" Mara protests.
"We're not," he replies, pointing at her. "You're taking Talia and getting far away from here!"
"No way!"
"We don't have time to argue!" Ahsoka says.
"MOOOM!" Talia screams.
She whirls around to see a trio of Berserkers charging right for her. Still carrying Talia she frantically backpedals to gain some distance.
Jarik launches himself at one of the Berserkers with a defiant roar and tackles it to the ground by the neck, pulling his lightsabers to try and kill it. Zenna gets up to breathe fire at the second and it backs off growling in frustration.
Mara throws her lightsaber at the third one and cuts off its forelimb. It topples forward but quickly regains its balance despite the lost limb and lunges at her in retaliation, but Ahsoka points her staff at it and fires a beam of purple energy that kills it.
"Mara, Gorr is after me and Jarik, and I'm not letting you be next!" Ahsoka explains.
"Mama!" Talia whimpers nervously.
"What about the village?" Mara demands.
"We'll handle that, now go!" she snaps.
Ahsoka quickly forces Mara to take hold of Talia and the young girl cries out in protest.
"MAMA!"
Another Berserker charges at the family but Zenna roars defiantly and intervenes by tackling it to the ground. The two roll over each other, scratching and biting, and although still recovering from her leg injury the young Nadder manages to still compete with the much larger and deadlier beast.
Meanwhile, Jarik finally kills the Berserker he's clinging onto by slashing his saber through its skull. Hearing Mara's worried gasp he looks up to see Zenna struggling against a Berserker and quickly throws his saber like a javelin, wounding the beast. However, a second Berserker joins the first and helps it in dragging Zenna away while Jarik retrieves his saber.
"Zenna!" Mara cries out in horror.
She moves to help her dragon but Ahsoka pushes her back and steps forward herself to attack. However, before anyone can rush to help the dragon a deep crackling hum heralds the deadly path of a vicious arc of dark energy slicing through the air, hitting the ground in front of the Shan family and sending them tumbling backward.
Talia screams in fright and Mara lands on her back with a grunt of pain to protect the girl from the brunt of the impact. Jarik and Ahsoka roll backwards and quickly get to their feet with their sabers out and at the ready, looking around for their opponent.
~Winged Goddess...~
~Children of the Force...~
Whispers permeate the air around them, cold and eerie, while darkness suddenly starts seeping everywhere to block out all light, surrounding the family with an oily wall of blackness that's darker than the void of space.
"Mama...?" Talia whimpers.
Ahsoka doesn't respond, she and Jarik too focused on anticipating where the God Butcher will strike first. They share a brief glance and open up to each other across their bond, sharing their energy.
The trace of something other than blackness within the wall catches Ahsoka's eye and she narrows in on it, seeing that flicker transform into movement as something emerges. Sensing her discovery Jarik also turns to face the same direction, prompting Mara to do so as well. That hint of color, or perhaps a lack thereof entirely, grows into the humanoid shape of the God Butcher. He moves through the blackness as though he were brushing aside vines in a jungle.
Jarik pulls his second lightsaber into his hand and ignites it, gritting his teeth. Ahsoka's spirit trembles as she feels that evil presence tunnel visioned on her, probing at the light within Morai herself. Mara shivers in terror at this supernatural entity, trying and failing to calm Talia's frightened sobbing.
Finally stepping out from the wall of darkness with his hood up Gorr's lifts his head to stare at them, revealing a skull without flesh instead of a living face—terrible orange light shines within the eye sockets. He stalks closer a few more steps then pauses and slowly lowers his hood to expose not a skull but a no-less unsettling face with pale skin entirely bleached of color. He fixates his evil orange-eyed gaze on the family before him, and a cruel smile exposes his black rotting teeth.
"Jedi..." he hisses with glee.
Talia screams in fear, shocking everyone else out of their petrified state.
"Run! GO!" Jarik shouts desperately.
He and Ahsoka dash forward with all the speed they could muster in a frantic effort to attack first, desperate to protect their children from this demon, but the God Butcher barely flinched. Instead, he stretches a hand out and dozens of slimy black vines erupt from the ground and the black wall around them and quickly restrain the two Jedi, ensaring their limbs and disarming them of both sabers and staff.
Mara can barely process what's happening before she and Talia are also grabbed by the vines.
Talia's screaming gets even more high-pitched as she's overwhelmed with terror, and Mara probably isn't too far off herself in her panicked, but futile, attempts to free herself. The family struggles with panicked desperation to escape capture but the vines were just too numerous and too strong, and it isn't long before they're all completely immobilized in the air, unable to move so much as a finger.
Gorr approaches them with a smile on his face, his gaze fixated on the staff that fell from Ahsoka's hand.
Hiccup didn't have to go very far before Toothless found him first. Having sensed the imminent attack before it started the Night Fury was on edge and rushed out to find his companion.
While climbing into the saddle a spider-like Berserker scurried over to Hiccup and Toothless with an ear-grating screech. Hiccup yelps in surprise while Toothless snarls and shoots a plasma blast that blows the Berserker to bits. A second beast rushes to take its place but Toothless launches into the air with a flap of his wings, leaving it to roar in frustration.
From the air Hiccup looks over the village in dismay to see Hooligans fighting for their lives as the horde rampages through the streets, attacking anything and everything they come across. While standing more of a chance than the Vikings, the dragons are similarly finding themselves unable to match the Berserkers' relentless nature and are at risk of being overrun.
"Come on bud!" Hiccup spurs Toothless into a bombing run.
Whistling through the air, the sound that the Hooligans once feared now raises their spirits instead. A flash of bright purple light illuminates the sky for a second as Toothless fires a shot that hits a group of three Berserkers. One tries to leap at them but the pair swoop out of harm's way and climb back into the sky, and are joined by the rest of the gang. Hiccup wastes no time in trying to figure out a plan.
"Fishlegs, got any idea what we're up against?"
The already timid Viking is at a complete loss for words as he analyzes the Berserkers.
"I-I don't know! Some look like dragons but others are g-giant... spiders!" he cries out in dismay. "I don't know what they are!"
"It's black magic, that's what it is!" Snotlout exclaims. "Why do I just know this is Ahsoka's fault somehow?!"
"Shut up, Snotlout!" Astrid yells at him.
After observing the Berserkers for some time Heather widens her eyes as she comes to a realization.
"Guys, look!" she points down at the horde. "None of them have wings!"
Hiccup recognizes it as well with a grin.
"That's it! That's our advantage!" he tells them. "We need to get as many people and dragons in the air as we can!"
"Then we get to rain hellfire on them, I love it!" Tuffnut yells.
"I always wanted an excuse to blow up the village!" Ruffnut cackles.
With the urgency of the situation nobody bothers to call out Ruffnut for her comment.
"Ok gang, let's get to work!" Hiccup shouts.
The group falls into line behind him and swoops down for an attack run on the Berserkers. Orange and purple light up the sky as they leave a trail of burning dragon fire on a line of Berserkers. A few nearby dragons who took notice join the fray with their own blasts of fire.
In the village plaza Stoick and a large number of Hooligans were struggling to keep a strong formation and hold back the tide of Berserkers.
A low-crawling lizard scurries at the chieftain but he sees it in time and swings his axe to remove its head. A giant snake then lunges at Stoick when a plasma blast from Toothless kills it with a pained screech.
"Dad! These things can't fly! We can use that!" Hiccup calls out.
Stoick stands up and looks around at a few of the Berserkers to confirm it for himself.
"Good call son!" he nods in approval, turning to his men. "YOU HEARD HIM HOOLIGANS! GET TO YOUR DRAGONS AND TAKE THE SKIES!"
Nearby Vikings who heard him and weren't currently occupied with a Berserker rush to do so while Hiccup and Toothless swoop back into the air.
"The rest of you, on me! We'll hold the devils here!" he shouts.
The Vikings on the ground move to rally around their chieftain, who's flanked by his brother Spitelout and also Phlegma, whilst at least a dozen find their dragons and quickly take to the skies to join Hiccup's group.
With a defensive line in the plaza the Vikings move to meet the attacking Berserkers head on, and more chaos ensues. Stoick is knocked on his back by a hulking brute with beefy arms and he rolls to avoid a following strike, cutting into its leg with his axe in retaliation. It snarls in pain and Stoick gets up to then bring his weapon down on its skull.
Meanwhile, Hiccup rallies all the airborne fliers behind him and swoops down for another attack run against a large grouping of Berserkers. A hail of dragon fire blows into their midst and the creatures let out pained screeches and are forced to back up, giving the warriors on the ground some relief.
"It's working!" Hiccup says.
"That's why they call me queen of the skies!" Ruffnut hollers.
"No one calls you that!" Tuffnut scoffs at her.
The group flies around for another attack. One Berserker jumps onto the roof of a house and thrusts one of its arms up, and it suddenly extends forward like a living javelin at the group.
There's a mix of surprised shouting and screeches as the dragons try to avoid the vicious spike and one gronckle isn't so lucky and gets impaled through the chest. It roars in agony and is pulled out of the sky into the awaiting horde of Berserkers, which gladly jump at the dragon and its rider and savagely rip them apart.
"What was THAT?!" Heather yells in shock.
"LOOK OUT!" Hiccup cries out.
They frantically scatter as more Berserkers start doing the same, turning their limbs into oily black spears and shooting them into the air. On the ground the Berserkers start doing the same and copy the Vikings weapons, forming maces and axes that start cutting through unsuspecting Vikings and dragons.
"Now do you believe me?! BLACK MAGIC!" Snotlout screams.
Just then the Knight Hawk appears in the sky, flying with the dragons and opens fire on a group of Berserkers with its laser cannons to wreak havoc. Several are blasted to bits while others scramble through the streets to avoid the barrage.
"Since when did they have big guns?!" Tuffnut gasps in awe.
"They've been holding out on us!" Ruffnut groans.
"Muttonheads!" Snotlout yells at them.
"Guys, look!" Heather calls out.
She points over to the upper side of the village and the gang look over to see a pair of Berserkers mauling a lone purple Nadder who's struggling to flee, squawking and screeching in pain and desperation.
"Zenna!" Astrid gasps in horror
Stormfly squawks in dismay and takes off with frantic flapping of her wings, and Astrid just barely manages to hang onto the saddle.
"Let's help her out, gang!" Hiccup calls out.
They follow his lead and swoop down after Astrid and Stormfly. Zenna is sprawled on her back, clawing and biting and slashing her tail around frantically at the two Berserkers pinning her down; one tears into her side with its claws while the other gets its jaws around her neck.
A volley of sharp Nadder spikes bury themselves into the Berserker with its jaws around Zenna's neck, and it pulls back with a howl of pain. Stormfly crashes into it with a savage roar and breathes fire point blank into its face, melting the Berserker's flesh into black liquid from the intense heat.
The second beast notices the surprise attack and moves to pounce but is blasted aside by a bolt of plasma from Toothless. Heather directs Windshear to shoot a volley of spines as well whilst Snotlout and Hookfang soar over and spray a wave of fire over the Berserker which screeches in agony. Finally it's knocked onto its side when Meatlug rams into it, after which it falls still.
"Aw man, I wanted a shot at it!" Tuffnut groans.
He's ignored as everyone turns their focus to Zenna, widening their eyes in horror at the state of her. Deep gashes were left in Zenna's belly, inflicted by the Berserker's claws, and she was bleeding all over. Most of her tail spikes were gone and two spines on her crown were broken.
"Oh no!" Astrid exclaims.
She jumps out of Stormfly's saddle and they both rush over to Zenna's side, joined by Fishlegs and Hiccup as well. Zenna lets out a weak moan and is nuzzled by a panicking Stormfly.
"This is really bad," Fishlegs says, pulling bandages out of his saddle bag.
"Where's Mara?" Heather asks worriedly.
Hiccup frowns in concern, realizing they haven't seen any of the Jedi at all since before the attack started. He notices Zenna's feeble, yet frantic whines and attempts to crawl somewhere and follows the dragon's gaze, only to gasp in shock.
Filling the air where the Jedi's house should be is nothing but a massive wall of darkness. Although the edges appear to be misting with smoke and shadow, the actual wall itself is so black it feels as though there's nothing there; the night sky is a bright blue in comparison.
"I think I know the answer…" Hiccup whispers, overcome by a sense of dread.
Toothless cringes back with a snarl at the black wall, sensing the unpleasant and disturbing nature of it through the Force. The rest of the group finally notice it as well and are shocked.
"What is that?" Astrid whispers.
"Thor help us Thor help us Thor help us!" Fishlegs whines.
"We got more incoming!" Snotlout screams.
Hiccup whirls around to see a number of Berserkers rushing for them, more terrifying than any nightmare a Viking could dream of.
He pays no heed to the panicked struggling of his prey and moves to collect his true prize. With slow, trembling movements, Gorr leans down and delicately wraps his fingers around Ahsoka's staff and picks it up. He runs his fingers down the smooth metal and admires the brilliant artifact, sensing the raw energy coursing through the Uru material used in its forging.
The gleam of purple light at the end of the staff gets Gorr's attention and he inspects the gleaming Infinity Stone sitting at the top, which hums with power. A spectacular relic to be sure... but unnecessary.
Gorr reaches his hand up to grab the Stone but it hums louder and, following a bright flash of light from the Stone, Gorr yanks his hand away with a pained snarl. He looks at his palm to see a smoking mark of burned flesh. He looks back at the Stone with a discontented growl but then chuckles.
Amused by the godly artifact's resistance Gorr slithers over to its owner. Perhaps he'll get to have some fun with a purpose after all.
"Remove the Stone," he says, his voice a whisper.
"Do it yourself!" Ahsoka snaps at him.
Gorr's smile doesn't reach his eyes.
"Remove the Stone."
"You'll never get it!" Jarik growls.
Gorr looks over at him and curls his lip in contempt.
"You think the Infinity Stone is what I want?" he asks mockingly, shaking his head. "No… it is worthless to me."
He lifts his hand up and more vines stretch across Ahsoka's clenched hand and twist around each finger individually, forcing her hand open. Ahsoka groans in pain and tries to resist the forceful pull, but without any luck. Gorr smirks at her and relents on the brief torture.
"Remove the Stone."
Despite the pain and fear in her mind Ahsoka musters the courage to glare into Gorr's monstrous eyes.
"No!"
Gorr narrows his eyes at her but decides to pull back, opting for a different strategy. He starts to pace slowly, like a predator, and looks between the two Jedi with a scornful gaze.
"I've never fought Jedi before… I'm somewhat disappointed," he sighs.
Growing increasingly frustrated and desperate at her inability to escape, Mara can't help the words that burst from her mouth.
"You haven't got a clue who they are!" she exclaims.
Jarik and Ahsoka shoot her panicked looks, glaring with the silent message to shut up. Gorr turns around with an amused grin at her scathing remark.
"What was that?" he asks.
He makes a gesture as if beckoning her over and Mara is brought closer to Gorr until he's right in her face. Talia whimpers as Mara is pulled away from her, but then gives a frightened yelp herself when she's brought over as well.
"And who might you children be?" Gorr whispers, still smiling.
"Back off—!"
Mara is interrupted by a vine snapping over her mouth to gag her.
"You really are interesting creatures, aren't you?" he continues to say.
He looks over at Talia as well, who cries harder at meeting his dreadful gaze.
"Get away from them!" Jarik roars furiously, pulling even harder at his restraints.
"M-Mama…!" Talia sobs.
Ahsoka tries to shush her and calm her down but with little success. Tears threaten to spill from her eyes at seeing her daughter in such a perilous scenario. Gorr catches on to their relationship right away and his eyes light up with intrigue.
"A mother?! Oooh! How exciting!"
Ahsoka bares her teeth at him in rage.
"If you lay a finger on her I swear to—"
Gorr gags her as well and moves over while shaking his head.
"Oh no no… no… I understand your fear. Your pain. Love is pain…" he tells her gently, placing his arm around her shoulder as if to comfort her. "I had a daughter once. I put my faith in a higher power, hoping it would save my family… and they… died."
Gorr's voice nearly breaks and his normally savage gaze is taken by grief for an instant. Then he lets out a long sigh and that sliver of humanity vanishes beneath his monstrous visage.
"Now I understand. They were the lucky ones. My children did not have to grow up in a world of pain… and suffering… run by wicked gods!"
His voice drops into a terrible growl and he clenches his hands into fists.
"Says the butcher," Jarik scoffs, showing no sympathy.
Gorr slips away from Ahsoka and approaches him instead, while the gags slowly slips away from Ahsoka and Mara.
"And what about you, eh? You were meant to be a peacekeeper, yet here you are… a hypocrite in a galaxy at war," he sneers in disgust.
"You don't know the half of it!" Jarik snaps.
Gorr snickers to himself in amusement.
"You're right! I'm not a hypocrite! I'm truly creating peace!"
Mara scoffs in disbelief.
"Bantha sh—"
Gorr gags her again without a second thought and his glare grows more intense toward the Jedi.
"You… you became an abomination to peace when you turned into a vessel for Mortis."
"It wasn't my choice to make," Ahsoka argues.
"Then where is your anger?" he retorts. "The gods stole your freedom. They claim to help you but they only use you in their bid for control... or survival."
"I use their power to protect. That's MY choice," she declares. "You use yours for murder."
Gorr rolls his eyes in exasperation and paces a few steps.
"Murder, protection, is it not the same?" he remarks dismissively.
He then pauses and looks back at the Jedi with a crooked sneer, as if finding her accusation amusingly ironic.
"I know you fear the coming of the Harrowed God and his spawn," he pauses to let his statement sink in before slowly approaching Talia. "Do you want your daughter to suffer under his wrath?"
He reaches a hand out to the girl and lightly touches her cheek, causing her to whimper and struggle to escape.
"Mama!" she wails.
"Leave her ALONE!" Ahsoka yells.
Gorr sighs and walks back over to Ahsoka with what looks like sympathy in his eyes.
"Oh… dear lady… I offer a choice," he says, slipping around to whisper towards the side of her face. "Choose love and remove the Stone. Or I free your children from this wretched existence."
Gorr stretches his hand out towards Mara and Talia and the vines start moving again. One wraps around Mara's throat and starts viciously constricting her, making her eyes go wide, and she thrashes desperately for freedom. A vine gags Talia too and starts closing around the little girl despite her terrified sobbing.
"NO!" Ahsoka cries.
"Let them go you—!" Jarik yells, but is cut off by a vine that starts choking him too.
Gorr's face twitches as he glares at the Jedi, particularly focused on Mara; savage fury burns in his eyes and his pupils dilate with sheer madness and insanity. Ahsoka screams and desperately tries to free herself as her family is slowly tortured in front of her eyes, but Gorr barely even reacts.
"Remove... the Stone."
Mara and Jarik's faces turn blue from the pressure and lack of air, and a vine now circles around Talia's throat as well.
"AAHHHHH!" Ahsoka screams.
Just then a pillar of light falls from the sky and crashes directly on top of them. The pillar of rainbow light tears through the black walls of darkness trapping the Jedi and Gorr is blasted away with a demonic shriek. Though suddenly freed from the slimy tendrils as they're incinerated by the light, the three Jedi and Talia are also tossed aside by the force of the impact.
Ahsoka rolls across the dirt and immediately seeks out Talia, hearing her cries and spotting her a short distance away on the ground covered in dirt and scratches. With a dash of Force speed she's pulling her daughter into a swift embrace that is instantly returned by the still terrified 2 year old.
"Mama!" she sobs.
"I've got, I've got you!" Ahsoka says, attempting to reassure both Talia and herself.
Jarik takes in several ragged breaths and coughs in an attempt to recover from having his throat painfully throttled. Though his first instinct is to find and protect Talia he senses Ahsoka having already done so and turns his attention to Mara next, finding her a few feet away in the same predicament as him. He rushes over to her and attempts to help her stand.
"You alright?" he asks.
Mara faintly nods her head, still afraid and appearing to be in a state of shock.
The gleaming light of the Bifrost continues to shine brilliantly, illuminating the night sky around Berk with its majesty. Many of the Vikings and dragon riders are struck with awe and disbelief at the sight and momentarily forget they're in the midst of a fight.
Emerging from the Bifrost is a great war hammer that hurtles through the air with unstoppable force. Hiccup and Toothless back up to evade a rampaging Berserker when it's suddenly decimated by the hammer that goes on to kill several more monstrosities. Hiccup follows the hammer's path with wide eyes as it flies back to where it came from and into the waiting hand of the God of Thunder, who is revealed when the Bifrost vanishes alongside Loki, Sif, and the Warriors Three.
"Oh... my..." Hiccup whispers in amazement.
"YES!" Snotlout shouts with glee.
The rest of the dragon riders are shocked into silence.
Thor glances around and takes note of the scattered family of Jedi nearby.
"Get them up!" he instructs his group.
Without waiting for a response Thor spins his hammer and takes to the air in a blur of motion; from his vantage point he quickly determines where the majority of Black Berserkers are concentrated and dashes over.
Stoick is knocked onto his back by a large spined Berserker which lifts a clawed hand to strike when Thor drops from the sky in a lightning bolt that incinerates the beast and throws several others away. One Berserker tries to charge but Thor swings Mjolnir with enough force to break its head off completely. Stoick is gaping in disbelief and almost misses when Thor holds a hand out to him.
"On your feet mortal! We only rest when the enemy is vanquished!" the god declares.
The chief of Berk can only nod his head as he accepts Thor's hand and is lifted to his feet with ease—an unfamiliar feeling for the burly chieftain. Thor doesn't think anything more of it and twirls Mjolnir in his hand again and charges a group of Berserkers, beating them down faster than the Vikings could comprehend. Stoick's stunned awe bursts forth into exhilarated laughter.
"THE GODS ARE WITH US, BERK!" he yells with all the air his lungs could muster. "SHOW THEM A VIKING'S VALOR!"
A chorus of cheering echoes from all the Vikings present and they surge forward into battle with such eagerness and vigor that's never before been seen in the history of the Hairy Hooligan tribe.
Berserkers attack with the same savageness they've always had, yet suddenly they're getting swarmed by crowds of Vikings which slice them apart with axes and swords or break their bones with maces and hammers. Even the dragons fight with renewed energy—sensing the change within their Viking companions—and attack with greater fury and power, tearing through flesh with claws and teeth or scorching bodies with burning dragon fire.
Meanwhile, the rest of Thor's group quickly gather around the recovering family of Jedi. Two Berserkers lunge at the group but Loki throws two daggers to blind one, which Sif quickly takes advantage of by stabbing her sword through its skull, while Fandral and Hogun kill the other with clean efficiency.
"Looks like we're just in time!" Volstagg chuckles.
Jarik rubs his neck and coughs.
"A little earlier would've been better," he groans.
Volstagg looks him over for a few seconds longer, taking note of the family's attitude, and his grin falters in apology.
"Oh."
Ahsoka wants to keep a tight hold on Talia for a long time, afraid to let her go, but remembers the danger is not over just yet. She reaches out and grabs a still shocked Mara.
"Get to the ship and get airborne, alright? Keep her safe!" she instructs her.
"Y-yeah…"
"Hey, you understand me?" Ahsoka snaps with greater intensity.
A hint of bravado returns in Mara and she quickly nods her head.
"Yeah, I'm on it," she exhales.
Satisfied, Ahsoka hands Talia over to Mara and the young girl starts crying again and desperately reaches out for her mother.
"Mama!"
"You'll be safe, sweetie! Stay with your sister!" Ahsoka says.
A short distance away Gorr reappears and brandishes his black sword, and Ahsoka shoves Mara away.
"Go!" she exclaims.
Terrified by the God Butcher, Mara doesn't need any further convincing and rushes away in the direction of Zenna and the other dragon riders despite Talia's frantic pleas. Ahsoka and Jarik quickly retrieve their weapons, she gripping her staff while he ignites his lightsabers. Finally, Thor rejoins the group by landing in front of them with a resounding thud and brandishes his hammer with an intense scowl on his face.
Gorr snarls and thrusts his sword deep into the ground and waves of shadow crawl out all over, summoning more Berserkers from every nearby corner and crevice not touched by light. The Jedi take a nervous step backward as more beasts appear to replace the ones that have been killed.
"So, anyone got a plan?" Jarik asks.
"We beat this Helspawn into the dirt," Thor states.
"Lovely," Loki grumbles.
"We have to help the village," Ahsoka says, noticing several Berserkers moving to continue their assault on the Vikings.
"We can do that," Sif nods in reply.
Brandishing his sword Gorr stands to his full height and glowers at the assembled group of warriors before him, his gaze narrowing on Ahsoka. He points a crooked finger at her, eyeing the staff held in her hands, and she grips her staff tighter with a defiant glare.
"Come and get it," she mutters under her breath.
As if hearing her challenge the God Butcher wordlessly begins stalking forward while the Berserkers around him snarl and move to attack. Thor smirks in anticipation, twirling his hammer, and is flanked by Loki and the two Jedi. The group moves forward to meet their adversary head on.
"For Asgard!" Volstagg yells.
While Sif and the Warriors Three split up to tackle the horde of Berserkers, Thor takes the lead with a charge at the God Butcher with Loki, Jarik, and Ahsoka following close behind. The Jedi combine their powers over their dyad and their eyes glow gold and silver as a result.
Thor spins around for momentum and tosses Mjolnir but Gorr deflects it off his sword and then kicks Thor back when he tries to follow up with a strike. Jarik dashes forward in a blur of light to strike at Gorr with his two lightsabers and they duel each other for a brief instant before locking blades—like their previous encounter, a quiet yet unpleasant shriek can be heard at the contact. Jarik moves to jab Gorr with his second blade while Ahsoka uses the Force to throw cobblestone from their wrecked house, but Gorr avoids both attacks by vanishing into the ground.
Gorr pops up nearby and is forced to duck down with an irritated hiss when Mjolnir almost hits him on its way back to Thor's awaiting hand. Loki seizes the brief opportunity to slide past Gorr and strike with his knives but the God Butcher avoids him and retaliates with a kick to knock him down. Thor flies in and lands a successful blow on Gorr that sends him flying, though he recovers by rolling back to his feet and cutting his sword through the ground to halt his momentum.
Growling under his throat Gorr rips All-Black from the ground and brandishes it in front of him.
Mara tries to frantically navigate around the battlefield with Talia in her arms, the young girl still crying for her parents. Most of the Berserkers are distracted from her by Sif and the Warriors Three tearing their way through the horde.
The best of the best on Asgard, each warrior had their own talent which the Berserkers struggled to overcome; Volstagg's strength was greater than even the largest brute, Fandral's skill with the blade left his opponents in ribbons, Hogun's intense focus made him impossible to surprise, and Sif's speed and grace in combat proved difficult for any Berserker to anticipate.
Mara hears a familiar squawk and sees Zenna on the ground with Fishlegs and Astrid attempting to bandage her injuries whilst their dragons warded off any attackers.
"Zenna!" Mara shouts in horror at the sight.
One Berserker hears her shout and targets her with a vicious snarl and Mara backs away.
"Look out!"
A plasma blast from Toothless takes out the Berserker and he swoops down beside her with Hiccup.
"Thanks!" Mara says.
"Are you alright?" he asks.
"Could be better!" she replies. "Where's—"
A frantic scream has them turning around to see Snotlout and Hookfang dropping out of the sky. The young Viking is thrown out of the saddle as Hookfang rolls across the ground with a wound on his leg. A Berserker leaps at them but Mara holds a hand out and blows it away with a Force push.
"NOT COOL!" Snotlout yells in dismay.
Mara rushes over to Zenna's side and looks over her injuries in concern.
"Zenna!" Talia cries worriedly.
Mara pulls a comlink out of her pocket and surveys the sky.
"R5, where are you?!" she exclaims.
The rest of the gang group around them as more Berserkers surge toward the group. Meatlug opens her mouth to spew lava balls but only a puff of smoke blows out.
"Meatlug's out!" Fishlegs cries out.
"Same with Windshear!" Heather adds
The group is given a reprieve when the Knight Hawk flies over to their position and opens fire on the black horde, keeping the beasts at bay with a constant barrage of lasers.
"I LOVE IT!" Tuffnut yells.
The elation is short lived when a few Berserkers shoot out their own limbs which latch onto the hull of the Knight Hawk like grappling hooks and start pulling it down.
"HOLY—" Ruffnut hollers.
The engines groan in protest as the ship is halted, and several Berserkers start clambering over to jump at it.
"No no no!" Mara cries out in disbelief.
Sif then leaps through the air and swings her sword to cut through the black limbs of several Berserkers, freeing the Knight Hawk enough that R5 can pull the ship out of harm's way. The Asgardian goddess of war lands in a roll and guts the next Berserker to lunge at her.
A giant snake slithers out into the open but is intercepted by Fandral, who quickly decapitates it with a stroke of his blade. Volstagg then grabs the twenty foot body of the dead snake with both hands and swings it around him with a shout to knock down three more Berserkers.
"I suggest you keep moving mortals! These demons are not to be sneezed at!" Fandral advises the group of teens.
"That was AWESOME!" Tuffnut yells.
"Why, thank you!" Fandral grins pleasantly.
"There's more coming!" Hogun warns his allies.
"We need to build a defensive line for the village!" Sif instructs the group.
"My dad's got everyone in the plaza!" Hiccup tells her.
"Then that's where we'll stand!" she nods in acknowledgement.
Feeling surreal in the presence of who could only be Lady Sif herself, Astrid offers a feeble nod in response.
"Zenna's not gonna be mobile for a while guys," Fishlegs points out in concern.
The wounded Nadder lets out another pained whine.
"I need to get her on the ship then! Talia too," Mara says. "I just don't know how R5 can land without getting swarmed!"
"Whatever you do, we must be quick! These demons won't stop coming!" Sif scowls.
She dashes forward to challenge an attacking Berserker and bashes its face with her shield to daze it, then stabs her sword through its head. Astrid looks on in awe while Hiccup looks at Mara with determination.
"We've got your back, Mara," he assures her.
Jarik slashes his two sabers with all the speed he could muster but Gorr matches him at every blow, two golden blades sparking against one shadowy black one. He clashes his saber with the black sword and then thrusts his second blade forward for a stab only for Gorr to twist around and swing a fist to send him sprawling.
Ahsoka jumps in with a swipe of her staff and unleashes an energy blast that Gorr side steps. He lunges forward to retaliate but Ahsoka halts his strike with a Force shield and Jarik quickly thrusts his hands out to blow him back. They dash forward to seize the opportunity but Gorr recovers in time and retaliates with his own blast of dark energy that hits their frantic Force shield and tosses them away.
A war cry alerts Gorr to another attacker and he ducks beneath a swing of Mjolnir before backpedaling as Thor goes on the offense. After several missed strikes with Mjolnir that keep Gorr on his toes Thor kicks a foot out to strike his knee and he staggers back with a pained grunt. Yelling, Thor brings Mjolnir down in an overhead, the hammer wreathed in lightning, but Gorr lifts his sword to meet the blow in a clash of energy. The two beings push against each other, testing their strength, and Gorr slowly stands back to his full height.
"You've grown used to fighting things that shiver and tremble before you, little prince..." he snarls with contempt.
Thor scowls and shoves their weapons to the side before butting his head against Gorr's skull. The God Butcher growls and staggers back but recovers in time to dodge the next swing of Mjolnir by twisting around and swiping his leg out to kick Thor's feet out from under him. Thor lands on his back with a pained grunt and Gorr raises All-Black for the killing blow.
"...but you're nothing without your father!"
A magic bolt then knocks Gorr away, snarling in frustration, and he looks up to see Loki fling a volley of glowing knives at him. He deflects the daggers with his sword and Thor quickly leaps up and lands a heavy strike with Mjolnir that sends him flying.
"The name is Thor, cloud stalker!" he declares haughtily. "And you will know the fury of Mjolnir!"
He lifts Mjolnir to the sky and summons a powerful lightning bolt that explodes violently on top of the God Butcher. However, Gorr suddenly reappears behind Thor and thrusts All-Black forward with a savage roar, only for Loki to halt its advance with a glowing strand of energy mere inches away from his brother. Gorr doesn't hesitate to kick Thor to the ground and then yanks with All-Black as hard as he could, lifting Loki off his feet and throwing him away.
A bolt of purple energy crackles the air on its way to Gorr and he barely lifts his sword in time to black it, gritting his teeth when the beam remains constant. He pushes forward against it with slow steps and Ahsoka grips her staff in both hands for stability, her eyes glowing with bright intensity. Jarik dashes forward to take advantage of Gorr's vulnerable position, joined swiftly by Thor, but with a brief glance from Gorr a multitude of vines burst from the ground to ensnare the two warriors.
Jarik only manages to cut two before he's quickly restrained and struggling to free himself, whereas Thor simply rips through the vines with his divine strength before the sheer number of them starts to overwhelm him and he's similarly caught.
Seeing her companions' plight Ahsoka grits her teeth and risks expelling more power into her energy beam to which the Power Stone responds with a louder hum and flares up more violently. The increased power brings Gorr's advance to a complete stop and he snarls in frustration, glaring at the Togrutan Jedi. The destructive beam starts to lick at him over his sword whilst also superheating it to an orange glow, causing Gorr to yell in pain at the burns forming on his skin, and he finally vanishes into the ground for an escape.
With Gorr's retreat, Ahsoka relents on her energy beam and quickly turns her focus on freeing her companions by burning the vines with a few bolts from the Power Stone.
While they take a second to recuperate an oily black spike suddenly breaks through the ground on a path for Ahsoka's back but Loki lunges forward to intercept it with a swipe of his dagger that cuts it apart. Ahsoka whirls around in surprise then nods her head in gratitude to Loki and the others retrieve their weapons. Gorr then reappears on a ledge a short distance away and glares down at them with pure malice, now sporting a couple of burns on his left side.
"We need a strategy," Jarik states, glancing at Thor in annoyance. "Monologuing isn't going to cut it!"
"I'm not monologuing, who do you think I am?" Thor scoffs indignantly, prompting Loki to roll his eyes in annoyance. "Besides, Loki and I can take him, no problem."
"Not while he has that sword!" Loki scowls at him.
"Then why doesn't our dear Jedi just use her Infinity Stone for more than a pea shooter?!" Thor demands, giving Ahsoka an accusatory look.
Ahsoka grits her teeth in frustration which is shared by Jarik across their bond. Such an immense display of power would absolutely attract the attention of the Sith—if this battle hasn't already—but Thor likely wouldn't understand that.
"We can't risk it!" she dismisses the idea.
Thor throws his hands up angrily.
"For the love of— What's there to risk?!"
Gorr suddenly vanishes and the two Jedi widen their eyes in alarm, sensing the oncoming danger.
"Behind us!" Jarik exclaims.
He and Ahsoka both whip around first which prompts the two gods to do the same. However, they're unable to react before Gorr stabs his sword into the ground.
A devastating wave of shadow blasts all four of them away and the God Butcher pursues them with a savage roar.
By some miracle the allied warriors were able to push back the Berserkers just long enough for R5 to bring the Knight Hawk down and allow Mara and Fishlegs to get Zenna aboard the ship. After limping into the cargo hold Zenna flops onto her side with a pitiful whine and Fishlegs rushes back out to rejoin Meatlug while the ramp closes behind him.
"Mama? Where's mama!?" Talia cries.
"We're gonna help her, don't worry!" Mara tries to reassure her.
Giving Zenna's bandages another look over to make sure they're good Mara reluctantly heads to the door with Talia on her way to the cockpit. Zenna notices and gives a pleading whine.
"Stay here Zenna, you're hurt badly," Mara says.
Still carrying a sense of urgency Mara rushes inside and reaches the cockpit where R5 swivels his dome to look at her with frantic beeping. Mara places Talia into a chair and straps her in while R5 beeps a series of bewildered questions.
"I don't know what they are, but they'll regret coming here!" she replies, jumping into her chair. "Where's Mom and Dad?!"
R5 beeps a response and Mara takes the controls and steers the ship around in the direction he gave her. After swinging around she quickly spots the battle raging between her parents, Thor, Loki, and the devilish God Butcher. R5 beeps out a long nervous tune at seeing the supernatural powers on display.
"Doesn't matter. We're gonna rain hellfire on him," Mara scowls.
"Mara?" Talia whines anxiously.
"It's alright Tal, we got this!" she assures her.
When Gorr sends everybody sprawling with a wave of shadows from his sword, Mara moves forward.
"Now R5!" she exclaims.
R5 immediately opens fire on the God Butcher's position using the ship's laser cannons, peppering the ground with small explosions from every bolt. Gorr yells in surprise and crouches down with his sword held over his head for defense. After a few seconds of constant fire the God Butcher dashes out from the volley and swings All-Black to unleash a tremendous arc of dark energy at the Knight Hawk.
"Woah!" Mara shouts in alarm.
R5 lets out a panicked squeal and Mara pulls the ship out of the way in the nick of time, forcing them to stop firing.
Thor jumps in for a strike with Mjolnir but Gorr grabs his arm before he could land the blow and flips him over his shoulder, then twists around to hurl the prince at a rather gigantic Berserker that manifested from the ground, which is covered all over in sharp spines. It immediately tramples the God of Thunder under its feet, making a small crater in the ground that increases in size every time it stomps down.
Mara brings the ship forward for another assault on Gorr but is jolted in her seat by a violent impact on the hull. R5 beeps frantically as the ship's sensors detect another Berserker similar in size to the giant having grabbed onto the Knight Hawk from the ground and started yanking it down.
"Kriff!" Mara yelps.
A few frightfully strong tugs from the Berserker force the ship backward before tilting it over to the ground. R5 squeals in a panic and Talia cries in fear from the horrible shaking while Mara tries to wrestle with the controls in a futile effort to stay airborne.
Jarik sees the Knight Hawk get dragged down and crash into the ground and he panics, fearing for their lives.
"No!" he cries out.
He rushes to aid his children but Gorr happens to be in his path and whirls around to confront him with a savage growl. He attacks with All-Black and Jarik narrowly ducks out of the way and retaliates with a few swift jabs that are deflected by the God Butcher. The two parry each other's blows for a couple seconds before Gorr manages a feint and strikes out to disarm him of his left saber. He snarls gleefully and thrusts forward to stab the Jedi but Jarik sidesteps and deflects his sword to the side, then throws his left arm out to land a solid punch on Gorr's face.
The vibranium arm rattles and Gorr's head snaps backward a couple inches but he's otherwise unfazed; however, the hit only served to make him angrier and he reaches out to grab Jarik in a choke hold and jumps into the air before slamming him into the ground. Jarik gasps breathlessly, winded from the ruthless impact and frantically tries to pull at Gorr's hand off his neck. The God Butcher lifts his sword for the kill but is blasted away by a Force push from Ahsoka, and Jarik rolls away gasping for air.
Gorr's feet tear through the ground while he slides back a few meters before he comes to a halt, resisting Ahsoka's continuous Force push. Loki rushes to intervene by creating a dozen copies of himself that quickly surround Gorr and lunge forward to attack. Gorr roars brutishly, gripping his sword in both hands and spins around to send a wave of dark energy in all directions. Loki is thrown away and his copies vanish whilst Ahsoka protects herself with a Force shield but is likewise thrown on her back.
The God Butcher immediately lunges over to her before she can recover and, standing over her, attempts to repeatedly stab her with his sword. Ahsoka frantically rolls around side to side to avoid his strikes, also using her staff to deflect his sword, but Gorr continues stabbing with relentless fury.
"Give. Me. The. STAFF!"
Spittle sprays from his mouth and his eyes glow with ravenous hunger.
"Ahsoka!" Jarik exclaims in a hoarse voice.
He pushes himself to his feet and tries to help her but is tackled by a Berserker before he can do so. Ahsoka finally manages to slip away from her vulnerable position, manipulating the Force to yank herself up a few feet, but Gorr is immediately after her and she stumbles on her feet as she tries to evade his attacks.
"You're meat, slave of Morai!" he spits at her. "No Celestial power can change that! Now DIE!"
Another powerful strike has Ahsoka sprawled on her back. Gorr jabs his sword downward but she rolls backward and jumps to her feet, and Gorr stabs the ground instead.
Meanwhile, Thor finally managed to defeat the gigantic Berserker by calling down a lightning strike that blasts a hole straight through its skull, practically incinerating its whole head. He jumps to his feet and angrily scans the area for Gorr, growling with indignant rage as he spots the God Butcher with his back turned away from him.
"You dare insult me by sending your dogs, WORM?" he roars, twirling Mjolnir in his hand. "I am a god! Your fight is with ME!"
Letting Mjolnir charge up with lightning as well, Thor turns and throws the hammer with a mighty yell. At the same time, Ahsoka began channeling more power through her staff to try and blast Gorr away with the Power Stone. Pointing it forward she's about to unleash a blast of energy when Gorr suddenly vanishes into the ground, revealing Mjolnir heading straight at her. She widens her eyes in panic and holds the staff up to defend herself.
Mjolnir, wreathed in blue lightning, hits the top of Ahsoka's staff with devastating effect.
A massive explosion of fiery purple energy and blue lightning is blown outward from the collision, causing a shockwave of deafening noise and throwing everybody within its radius off their feet. Thor crashes through a house with enough force to collapse its walls while Loki is tossed away to the forest. Though the Berserker attacking Jarik took the worst of the explosion by standing over the Jedi, getting blasted into a wrecked house and impaled by snapped wooden beams, he wasn't exempt either and was tossed against the side of a house and knocked unconscious.
Ahsoka suffered the worst of it. Although managing to throw up a Force shield in the process, it wasn't strong enough to protect her from such powerful forces and she's thrown onto her back with terrible burns ravaging her body and she screams in agony.
There's silence in the area for a few moments and then Gorr reappears, paying no heed to the injured Ahsoka and finds the objects responsible for the destruction: Mjolnir and the Staff of Morai are both unscathed, the Uru metal more than capable of withstanding the blast, but the Power Stone is now free of its socket and lying innocently on the ground. The God Butcher smiles triumphantly and reaches down to collect his prize, dismissing the Infinity Stone in favor of the gleaming white staff.
The sound of broken wood collapsing gains Gorr's attention and he looks over to see Thor, bleeding and sporting a few minor burns, pulling himself out of the destroyed house.
"You!" the prince scowls.
He limps forward into a charge but Gorr easily side steps him and kicks him to the ground. With his foot on his chest he pins Thor on his back and stands over the prince with a savage grin, lifting his sword up in one hand.
"The arrogance of Thor, son of Odin..." he sneers in amusement. "Let it be a mask of your crippling shame."
Just then a flash of blinding light nearby signals another Bifrost bridge hurtling down from the sky. Gorr looks up with an irritated frown and sees a line of Einherjar emerge from the Bifrost and immediately move to confront the ravaging Berserkers. Though frustrated, Gorr's anger is minimal: he has what he needs.
Kicking Thor in the face for good measure he walks away, dragging the Staff of Morai along the ground, and vanishes into the shadows.