Outside, rain continued to pour. Lightning continued to flash. The storm was far from over even if the greatest danger of the tornado was gone.

And yet somehow, the greater danger was inside the kitschy, plastic-forged restaurant. The diminutive goddess standing over the fallen form of the god of strength. A god Atreus had quite literally just watched wrestle a tornado. And there he was, laid low, cradling his crushed privates and wheezing. The girl, woman, goddess who had done it smiling warmly at him. "Nice to meet you?"

"And you too! See, Kratos?" Hestia asked, lifting his upper body with her foot. "That right there is what good manners looks like! How did your boy learn them before you did, coming in here yelling your head off!"

"So... You're really strong?" Atreus asked, trying to make sense of the situation in front of him. "You don't look very... I mean..." He didn't even know how to ask this, and the idea of how offending gods would go for him was still rattling around in his brain. But he just couldn't help himself. "You're obviously really strong, way stronger than you look." Her eyes narrowed. "I mean! Sorry. I'm just having a hard time getting my head around this."

"It's because she's old," Kratos coughed.

The narrowed gaze moved from the boy to his 'father'. Hestia smiled. "Aww, that's so sweet, Kratos! Being the good dad, getting me annoyed at you for his sake! Hmhm!" She tucked a foot under his chin and lifted to flip the absurdly muscular god end over end to lay on his back.

"Kuhugh!" Kratos grunted in pain, his legs spread wide and his hands still cupping his groin. "I do my best."

"And just so you know, nephew! It's not because I'm... 'Old'," she managed to say after a moment of struggle while trying not to glare at the pained god behind her. "But we don't need to get into that right away! You lot came in to get a good meal and a place to warm up! Bobby, get that grill burnin'! We've got customers to serve!"

"Yes, Ma'am," said the man behind the counter that Atreus hadn't even noticed until that moment. The tiny goddess who defeated Kratos with a single kick grabbed a lot more attention. It was surprising to realise Hestia talked so openly about who she was and who they were in front of a mortal man. At first he thought the man must be one of her devotees and with his gifts... Atreus could sense that was true to a certain extent. There was a massive amount of gratitude he held toward her.

Hestia seemed to bustle more than any bustler had ever bustled just for the simple task of seating them at a table. Making sure all of the fixtures were arranged right and the tables and chairs were clean. "Here you go, hon! You and your oaf of a father can make yourselves at home!"

"See, Atreus?" Kratos asked as he relaxed, mostly recovered from the devastating blow, sprawled out with his feet on the table. "Casual insults from family! True Greek hospitality!"

A knife speared through the table next to his foot, Hestia still smiling as she held it. "This table is for food. Do you want those to be food?" Meekly, the god of strength withdrew his feet and sat somewhat closer to properly. "Didn't think so." Her attention turned to the younger of the two and gently turned his head away from where he was looking. "It's rude to stare."

"Sorry, I've just never seen a tattoo like that before." The moment the words left him as he mentioned the distinctive tattoo under the man's eye, he could feel the sharp surge of emotion from that man. Sharp, but smoothed from just how often he had experienced it. But regardless of that, Atreus knew he had made a mistake in mentioning it. "I'm sorry," he said to the cook. "I didn't know it was a painful subject."

"It's fine. I'm used to it."

Both truth and a lie. He was used to it, but that didn't make it okay.

"Do you mind, Bobby?" Hestia asked, to which she got a shrug in response. "That tattoo can mean a lot of things. What exactly it means doesn't matter, beyond Bobby lived a harsher life than most people do nowadays. And having it makes life harder for him too. But I believe no matter what a person has been through, no matter what they've done, no matter how the world treats them, everyone deserves a place to get a warm meal and somewhere to rest their head."

Suddenly Bobby's unrestrained gratitude made a lot more sense if those things weren't something he could guarantee for himself. "I like that."

Hestia smiled at the young god. Even a little knowingly. "Thought you might."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I really shouldn't say. We all figure it out on our own soon enough. Let's just say maybe you and I might be cut from the same cloth."

Well that was cryptic. And as factually untrue as Atreus could imagine, but his questioning looks just left her looking smug. "So you didn't answer before," Atreus swiftly changed the subject for the sake of the man who didn't ask to be the centre of attention. "Why are you so strong?"

"Because you're in my domain."

"... Huh?" It wasn't much of an answer.

By her giggle, that was intentional. "Let me introduce myself again. I'm Hestia, Goddess of the Hearth. The warm fire that seeps the chill from your bones, the hot meal that soothes a hungry belly, and the soft bed that lulls you to your rest." She pursed her lips in thought. "Well, some of those things aren't quite what they used to be but the principle is the same. Home and hospitality. That's me. And that's what this place is. Hermes has his delivery company. Poseidon has his ocean preservation group. I have Waffle Hearth. Places all across the country where anyone can come to find warmth and safety!" the diminutive goddess declared with pride.

Kratos snorted, but flinched when she turned a glare toward him.

"Okay," she allowed with a little frustration, "the kind of safety you get at your typical dinner with extended family. Maybe someone decides to throw hands sometimes. Bottom line, I work to make this a home away from home for people, or even just a regular home. And that makes me the head of the household."

"Oh!" Suddenly it started to click with some of the concepts Melinoé had taught him about. "So because you're the goddess of hospitality, that gives you a kind of authority, which gives you power!"

His 'aunt' pointed a finger his way. "Sharp kid, aren't you? Well that and you've had good tutors." Kratos preened. Hestia rolled her eyes but didn't correct him on his misconception. "You got it in one. My roof, my rules. Don't get me wrong, still a god. Still strong. And being more experienced helps with that. But under my roof while enjoying my hospitality, I'm the only god that matters." Over the course of her speech, the cheer seemed to drain out of her voice to be replaced with an unmistakable undercurrent of threat. But just as soon as Atreus noticed it, it was gone to be replaced with a returning smile. "I'll go get your food, okay hon?" Ruffling his hair, she hopped over the counter in a single bound.

Atreus looked at Kratos. The god nodded in understanding. Yes. She could be scary. That he understood that raised the question of why he picked at her so much. Maybe it was a family dynamic that Atreus simply didn't get. While his ability to empathise with mortals had grown tremendously, the feelings and intents of gods yet remained a mystery to him.

"Here we go!"

"Haha!" Kratos laughed heartily. "You treat us well, Aunt Hestia! Portions fit for the gods!" He reached across the table to pull multiple plates toward himself.

Only for Hestia to slap his hand away. "Hey! Don't steal other people's food!"

"Other people?" Atreus asked.

"Sure!" The tiny goddess looked to the ceiling. "Like the lookie-loo on high! I already told the boy it's rude to stare! You are far too old to need to be told that, young lady!" No response. "Don't make me come up there! I will and we both know you won't like what comes after!"

Seconds passed. Long enough for the goddess to raise her eyebrows in challenge. To raise a hand and count her fingers down. Three. Two. One–

A green streak flashed from the sky outside the window, seconds before the sullen goddess of the hunt slouched her way into the restaurant. "Auntie, I'm thousands of years too old to be scolded like a little girl."

"You're also thousands of years too old to spy on boys, slouch your shoulders, or track muddy footprints on my nice floor."

"... Sorry Auntie."

"Good! Now come and sit down!" Once again, happy hosting commenced as the huntress joined the table. Artemis gave Kratos a sour look as she sat next to Atreus.

She sighed. "I suppose this is a touch more polite, not that you deserve it."

"You'll never appreciate me, I know, I've accepted it," the god of strength replied.

"Oh have you? How magnanimous of you," Artemis hissed.

"So nice to get to spend time with family again!" Hestia cheered as she passed along plates while taking a seat next to Kratos. Then setting out plates stacked with food. One for Kratos, much to his dissatisfaction. One for Artemis to Atreus' right. One for Atreus. One to Atreus' left. And one for herself. "I hope everyone enjoys! It's the Hess Bess Special!"

"Hold on, how come Atreus gets two servings?" Kratos whined, sounding more petulant than Atreus would ever have expected. It took him a moment to realise both he and Artemis were acting differently when around Hestia. Acting more like... Well, children.

Admittedly it was more of a change in Kratos than in Artemis.

"He doesn't," Hestia answered Kratos' plaintive question, staring at the plate sat in front of the empty seat. "Come on. I've already had to tell off one of my nieces today, don't make me make it two."

And so for the second time, another goddess appeared as a result of Hestia's chiding. Not falling from the sky or coming through the front door, though. Instead a blonde with mismatched eyes emerged from one shade of reality to enter theirs. "How did you know I was here?" Melinoé asked.

"You know how. I just told Atreus, didn't I?" Hestia asked. "It doesn't matter what kind of power might conceal you. You came into my home."

"That shouldn't allow you to–!" Whatever she had been about to say, Melinoé seemed to realise it would be too much.

"You're... Melinoé?" Artemis asked as she leaned forward to see around Atreus. "Why are you..." Her green eyes hardened, then narrowed as she leapt to her feet. "Are you spying on him?! How dare you!"

The goddess of spirits folded her arms, taking a defensive posture. "Don't you think that's a little rich coming from you?"

Atreus quickly realised the precarious position he had been put in, sandwiched between two women who it appeared did not get along for some reason. It only got slightly better when Artemis moved out from her seat to stand at the end of the table and glare at her fellow goddess with a mix of venom and fury.

Kratos meanwhile happily dug into his food, watching two beautiful women fight over his son. Feeling both pride as a father and enjoyment of the scene, paying rapt attention. No intention of helping in any way.

"Ladies, don't let your food get cold."

Whether it was wise or not, both goddesses ignored Hestia. "Why are you here?" Artemis demanded.

"Shouldn't it be obvious? I'm teaching him magic."

"I'm teaching him magic!"

Melinoé rolled her eyes. "You're teaching him archery and some parlour tricks. There's a difference."

It was long past the time Atreus needed to intervene. "Artemis, it's okay! She's just–!"

Long past time. As by this point his intervention only pointed attention and ire in his direction. "Why did you never mention this to me?! Do you even know what her side of the family have done?! One of the few friends I have has been locked in the pits of Tartarus for millennia because of her father!"

"I thought you already knew!" Wasn't she watching him? Hestia busted her for doing exactly that. But then again, Melinoé only appeared when no one else was around, and there was apparently some reason why Hestia shouldn't have detected her presence... So did that still work on Artemis?

Wait. Locked in Tartarus? She was talking about Zagreus! Then he could fix this! "She knows! That's why she-!"

"I don't need you to defend me, Atreus." But Melinoé interrupted him before he could explain. "My father's choices are his own. I can no more sway him than you can sway Zeus. Would you have me blame you for his deeds?"

In hindsight, Atreus had almost blurted out some things that Melinoé had wanted to keep secret for the sake of her plans. He could understand why she thought trying to talk it out through other means was a better option. However, if she thought that argument would calm things down, she was very wrong. It was the angriest he had ever seen Artemis get. She might have taken it better if Melinoé had slapped her instead.

The plate nearest her, hers, swiftly found its way into her hand to be flung at her underworld counterpart. Melinoé raised a hand, the plate and accompanying food swerved away from her toward the window. As the edge struck, neither glass nor plate broke, the food didn't splatter against the clear material. It didn't even shift. Instead, all objects involved seemed to inexplicably still like a divine force was holding them all in place.

And it was.

Hestia's raised finger gently twitched, sending the plate right back where it had started, completely unperturbed. Like it hadn't even happened. "Artemis," Hestia said with a gentle warning in her voice, "Please respect my hospitality as I would respect yours."

The goddess of the hunt came back to her senses. Her fury chilled as she realised how badly she had lost her temper. And the insults she had done as a result. "I... I'm sorry, Auntie Hestia." Even so, she couldn't suppress the suspicious glare she continued to send Melinoé. "I'll be leaving." Embarrassed, she stormed out of the restaurant and flashed away the moment she was outside.

"Sure enough," Hestia sighed, a smile in her voice, "It's not a family get together if someone doesn't throw something." A hand crept toward the now spare plate and she sighed, sliding it over to Kratos who was overjoyed to get a second portion after all.

"I should go," Melinoé said, gently pushing her plate away.

"Don't feel obligated," the hostess said without judgement. "Artemis made her choice. You wanna stay and eat, you stay right there and eat. If not, this big idiot would happily take your– Did you finish both of those plates already you hulking ox?!"

"Ish good!" Kratos defended. "Compliments to the cook!" he declared with a vigorous thumbs up directed at the mortal man behind the counter.

"Well... If you don't mind," Melinoé said, taking a fork in hand. "I don't get to eat mortal food very often." A chunk of waffle soaked in syrup passed between her lips. "Mm! Oh, this is good!"

"Ha, well sure it is, hon! My own recipe! More where that came from if you want seconds!"

Kratos' eyes lit up. "Ooh, well in that case–!"

"You already had seconds, you lummox!"

Intentional or not, Kratos had adequately broken the tension at the table, enough that Atreus felt comfortable eating with no fresh arguments brewing. Both Kratos and Melinoé were right. It was excellent food. Very heavy, but he wasn't unfamiliar with heavy foods travelling with Kratos who seemed to only subsist on meat if he had a choice.

He smiled as he noticed the underworld goddess offer him a smile. Even a grateful one if he wasn't mistaken. He had almost made a mistake, but it appeared she at least appreciated the intent of it.

Still, he worried for how he would smooth this over with Artemis. Or how she was feeling in this moment.

"Artemis is a big girl," Hestia told him, evidently reading the concern in his expression without trouble. "Not down to you to worry after her, especially when she acts up like this. Give her a little time. You must know by now that she's a prickly one. But she'll cool off."

-(-)-

"Ugh, I'm such an idiot!"

"My lady, I'm sure it isn't all that bad!" Callisto tried to soothe her goddess. The two of them sat side by side on a tree stump in their camp. Artemis' legs drawn up to her chest as she hid her face in her knees.

"Not that bad. I lost my temper again! And if that wasn't bad enough I almost ruined Auntie Hestia's food, tried to hit someone with it, and... Ugh, she'll never forgive me!"

Callisto frowned. "I didn't think there were gods you respected that much anymore, my lady."

"She supported me most when I decided I didn't want to deal with the other Olympians and their squabbles. Also her waffles are amazing."

The redheaded spearwoman wasn't quite sure what to do with that diversion. "Er, I wouldn't know."

"They are. Bloody amazing. And I used them as a discus to smash that ghost tart's face in. She'll never let me have them again."

"Is this a bad time?"

Artemis looked up, a hopeful smile on her face as she heard the familiar voice. "Apollo!"

"Sister, is something the matter?"

Her defensive posture opened up immediately. "I insulted Auntie Hestia's hospitality."

"Oh, come now," the golden-eyed sun god said as he knelt in front of her. "You know her. She's more than used to that kind of thing. She'll find a way to get her own back, but she never denies anyone a seat at her table. She'll forgive you."

"Nh, you're right, though getting her own back is a worrying thought on its own."

"Was this about Atreus again?" her brother asked.

"It turns out Melinoé has been stalking him," the huntress confided with bitterness. "She says she's been teaching him magic. But she must be up to something. Especially if she was able to hide her presence completely."

"She was?" His lips pursed in thought. "Nyx again, perhaps? Using her authority to conceal her. You may be right, sister. Atreus might be in danger if he doesn't understand the threat they pose."

"I want to protect him," Artemis said immediately, without hesitation.

Apollo's smile remained, if diminished. "I know you do... Would you like to borrow some of my authority?"

"You'd do that, brother?"

"The light of the sun can cast away concealing darkness. She won't be able to hide from your sight anymore. You can watch over Atreus, maybe even find out what that underworld goddess is playing at."

Artemis smiled brightly, wrapping her brother in a tight hug. "Thank you, Apollo. I don't know how I'd manage if you weren't in my corner."

"I'll always be here for you, Artemis."

-(-)-

The day had finally come.

Kratos once again performed his daily ritual of securing his equipment. His armour. His tools. His weapons. For the days between his assault on Asgard and today, this ritual hadn't meant much. A habit he refused to break. He had not ventured into any of the realms since he returned. Instead he had focused himself entirely on preparing himself physically and mentally for the journey to come. Once again he planned to step into the unknown, and there would be no turning back.

Today would be different. Today the dwarves had claimed they would be ready, and sure enough as he emerged from his room, the two of them had a macabre invention sitting atop their workbench.

"You'll want to be ready on the Jotunheim Realm Tower. Can't really bring three dragons into the realm between realms easily. So we need a good launching point," Sindri advised. "We've whipped up something to create a realm tear that uh, will hopefully seal itself back up once you're through."

"We figure, what better place than where this whole mess started?" Brok added. Slapping the side of the artefact that would allow for the journey. "Grim little totem, ain't it?" Heimdall's head had been carved to be a finished stone facsimile built around his eyes and brain. "Seeing the future doesn't do much good if you can't process it. Only good old shitass Heimdall could do that. Plug in the old goat on top and you got the hook-up to explorin' the realm between thanks to the giants' gift, and get an idea where to go from Heimdall's gift. Best chance you got of makin' it through this to get your boy back."

Taking hold of the small totem, Kratos examined the device. "There are no words to express my gratitude. You have my thanks. For now and forever more."

"Such a beautiful sentiment!" Sindri exclaimed, sounding a little weepy. "But we can't thank you enough either. Both you and Atreus. So... We want to do everything we can to help."

Brok nodded in wordless agreement. "Now go on! Get! Fetch your fatass thunder lizards! You got a boy to save!"

"Mm."

Calling the dragons to the location was the easy part. Time consuming, getting to their locations and reminding them of their obligations and reward, but easy. And so the Lake of Nine, or what used to be a lake and had become a frozen, snow-covered plain, was witness to three dragons circling around the now defunct Jotunheim Realm Tower.

"Ready for this, Kratos?" Sindri asked as he appeared out from behind some rubble. "You can keep the bag, by the way. Consider it a memento of our time together!"

Not that it was a possibility that Kratos would do otherwise. He needed a means to carry the treasure he was using to bribe the dragons. "Ready enough." The trip might kill him, but it was a risk he was more than willing to take.

"Alright. Well, let me just set this up–" The bearded dwarf stopped, the device for creating a realm tear in hand, his eyes focused on Fafnir. "Don't you dare."

"What is it?"

"He's plotting something."

"How can you tell?" Mimir asked, unable to see the building uncertainty of the situation, but more than able to feel it.

"Fafnir is still Fafnir even as a dragon. I swear to Njord you greedy bastard, if you ruin this at the last second–!" The dwarf's reprimand was forcibly silenced as Kratos leapt forward to grab him and leap out of the way of the lunging maw of Otr. "What?!"

"Treachery," Kratos answered, carrying Sindri under one arm and deflecting a dragon's claw with the axe in his other hand. "Get out of here!"

"R-Right!" the dwarf agreed, stumbling away. "Don't worry, we'll work something out!"

Kratos grunted, ensured Sindri was gone before facing the dragons properly. "You should have honoured your agreements."

"S'pose they like their chances three on one, at least better than they like the idea of crossing the realm beyond realms," Mimir commented. "Can't really fault their survival instincts."

The god of war gripped his axe tighter. "I disagree."

Whether out of a grudge for being the supposed ringleader of this coup, or just by happenstance, Fafnir was the first of the three to fall. Without a desire to only subdue him, there was no need for mercy or holding back. The beast learned exactly how much Kratos had done so in their first encounter, but far too late as he felt the Blades of Chaos carve off a limb, then tear through the scales protecting his jaws. His mouth carved open and left to bleed freely into the snow below, before his wing was crippled to doom the rest of him. A carcass left to bleed and freeze to death.

All while Kratos continued to evade the other two. But then it was their turn.

Otr, the dragon that had attempted to ambush the dwarf, he suffered next. The Leviathan Axe chopped off his tongue. The Draupnir Spear launched down his gullet. The Blades of Chaos carved open his belly. The spear detonated. The dying dragon could do nothing but drown in his own blood, feebly clinging to the tower, trying to take flight but too weak to manage such a feat. He, too, plummeted.

By this point, Reginn was already gone. And if Kratos were to make a wager, he would say the dragon would make sure Kratos never found him again.

"Well. That's unfortunate," Mimir sighed.

"Indeed." The god of war looked down at the creatures. "Atreus will be disappointed."

"Lad wasn't wrong to want 'em freed. But freedom leads to making choices. Good ones and... Well... Ones that end up like this."

"Don't feel too bad," Sindri said, once again appearing from nowhere. "Fafnir was Fafnir his whole life. They're all like that. You ever hear the full story? Dwarves who wanted wealth and discovered a cursed Vanir artefact, and that's how we got dragons. Greed made them what they are, and this is where it led them." The dwarf sighed. "Well, Brok's down there picking up some dragon bits. Not sure we'll have a way to use 'em any time soon but no sense leaving 'em to go to waste, right? But it looks like our little surprise is more needed than we thought. Come back to the house when you can. All isn't lost."

Kratos didn't say anything in response, he could only look at the dwarf in confusion until Sindri vanished before his eyes.

"What d'you think he meant by that?" Mimir asked.

"Speculation is meaningless. Let us return."

"You."

A voice Kratos did not want to hear.

"I thought it must be you causing all of this," Freya accused. Her wings holding her aloft high above him as she waited for a response. "Have you nothing to say?"

"I said all that needed be said when last we spoke. I owe you nothing."

"I suppose you would think that."

Further silence. Punctuated by the god of war's steps as he turned his back on her.

"Don't you walk away from me, Kratos."

He heard the drawing of a blade. "It has been some time. You won your vengeance in the most appropriate form. Did it help? Did you find peace?" After a moment of consideration, he turned slightly so that he might look her in the eye. "I told your son that, you remember. That he could kill you, but he would find no peace through vengeance. I did not let him take it. But for you, I could not prevent it. So? Did your vengeance prove me wrong? Did you find peace? Did you find satisfaction? Would letting Baldur choke the life from you have made him whole?"

"Don't you dare speak of him!"

"Vengeance isn't a path of reason. It's suffering and pain that only seeks to feed itself with more of the same. Only those who experience it can understand what that truly means." His hand rose, and he watched Freya stiffen, ready to defend or attack. But instead of reaching for the blades, the axe, or his spear, he instead took hold of a small object and laid it on the ground. The compass. The gift she had given him the first time he and Atreus had met her. He no longer needed it. Its guidance would not point him to Atreus. He no longer wanted it. Returning it to her, he severed the last connection between them, before once again he turned and walked away.

-(-)-

"Alright beefer! Bring out the boat! Let's see 'er!"

"Hm." Kratos pulled out the folded cloth. Opening it out, it took shape as the legendary ship of the Vanir. An ethereal longship with spectral oarsmen. "Mimir, you said it sailed."

"Not gonna lie, could've sworn it sailed," Mimir admitted. "Mebbe that was somethin' they were only doin' at the time. Not that it matters much. Oarsmen won't be carryin' us anywhere at the speeds we'll need ta go."

"And that...!" Sindri said exuberantly, but puffing for breath. "That... Is why...!" He teetered back and forth from the weight in his arms. "Is why we made this!" The object slammed to the floor as the dwarf panted for breath with hands on his knees. "Hoo!"

Of course, Kratos recognised it. Or at least, what it used to be. Mjolnir had gone through some changes at the forge. Instead of a hammer, it appeared more like a handle attached to a wheel.

"Hoo! Still heavy. Anyway!" Sindri continued after getting his breath back. "The realms' greatest murder weapon turned into a life-saving tool! We can use it to propel the boat, no dragons needed, and get you to your boy all the faster!"

"Gonna need a deft hand or four to keep 'er runnin' though," Brok added. "So looks like we're stuck with ya!"

"You would come with us?" Kratos asked.

"Got nothin' left fer us here. Maybe new horizons're what we need!"

"This was always the plan, Kratos," Sindri explained. "Well, it was meant to be a backup for if something happened to the dragons on the way, but I guess now it's the only option. As for us... It's like you said. What you've done for us there's no way to express it. So we're with you. We're getting your boy back. Whatever it takes."

Kratos said nothing. There was nothing more to be said. The bond between them didn't need to be spoken aloud. They all understood it. And to experience such a thing again, despite his failures...

The Mjolnir Engine was swiftly fitted to the aft of the ship by Brok, while Sindri fit Farseer Heimdall to the fore.

"Alright, time to see how this feels, I s'pose," Mimir said as Kratos placed him in the cradle atop the Farseer. A violet glow not unlike the shine of Heimdall's eyes bloomed from beneath him. "Oh. Oh my. That's a bit unsettlin'. F-f-fee-eel-ls–"

"Mimir?" Kratos asked.

"You okay?" Sindri added.

"Ay-y-ye. Jus-st a bi-it of adj-just-tment. Out. Out." Kratos picked him up and the glow faded. "Hoo. Thanks, brother. Just a wee bit odd experiencin' somethin' just before it happens. E'en me own words. I'll get used to it."

"Will this work?"

"Aye... Aye, I think so." He shook his head. "Take some adjustment, like I said. But I can guide us. Further out to the future it's just feelin's, impressions, but that should be enough."

"Very well."

"Then I guess it's time we got underway!" Sindri announced with a quaver in his voice. "Gotta be honest. Little nervous. I've not heard of anyone trying something like this. Not any who came back at least."

"Really?" Mimir asked. "You start sayin' shite like this now. Now. Really."

"Uh, sorry, I'll just, HEY BROK! We ready to go?!"

"Well the second I fire this baby up we're off and goin' whether we like it or not so you tell me!"

Sindri looked to Kratos.

The god of war nodded. "It is time."

Sindri let out a terrified breath as Kratos put Mimir back in the Farseer. "Hokay. Guess we're doing this. Ratatoskr!" he called over the side of the boat. "Thank you for putting me up all these years!"

"Putting up with him, he means!" Brok added with a bark of laughter.

"Of course!" the squirrel answered. "Safe and happy travels to all of you!"

"Alright! You shits better grab onto somethin'!" Brok warned. "This baby's got a kick to 'er!" With a mighty yank, the mechanism for the Mjolnir Engine activated. What used to be the mightiest weapon in the realms began to spin, faster and faster until it carried them forward into the great unknown of the realm beyond realms.

-(-)-

A/N: This chapter seen very very early on THE GREAT FORBIDDEN P! FEAR THE P! LOVE THE P!