The heroes all walked through the snowy forest of Midgard. It was cold no doubt about it, and unfortunately the only ones not cold were the gods themselves.
Neither Kratos nor Freya had any coats or blankets on them to give, but the demigods endured as it wasn't too cold for them, and they had dealt with worse.
Percy and Annabeth after all had to survive the worst in Tartarus.
Percy shivered with his arms across his chest. Annabeth was huddled up next to him for warmth. He smiled as she embraced him.
Jason and Piper were embracing as well.
Percy and Annabeth were walking right behind Kratos, and they couldn't help but get freaked out a little over Mimir staring directly at them.
"I don't blame you two for being freaked out," he said. "Not every day you see a talking head."
"We've seen freakier," said Annabeth. "And scarier."
Percy looked behind him. Freya was walking with Jason and Piper, and she was using her wings to shield them from cold winds.
Percy could also see multiple times Kratos looking back at Freya, and with a look of interest, or perhaps lust.
"Uh, Kratos?" Percy asked. "Are you and Freya..."
"No," Kratos interrupted sternly. "My heart remains true to my wife."
"You're married?" Annabeth asked.
"Was," said Kratos. "She is gone now."
"Oh," said Percy. "Sorry."
Kratos did not reply.
After walking for a little while longer, they finally reached their destination, which was a cabin in the woods. It looked a little beaten up, but still stood tall.
Kratos led everyone inside and they were immediately struck with a blast of warmth coming from the heat and fire inside.
Even so, Kratos handed everyone fur coats to keep warm.
Annabeth was looking around the place, and she noticed the two beds. One looked big enough for two people, and one was a single.
"Is this Freya's bed?" she asked. "Looks small."
Freya chuckled.
"No, it's Atreus' bed," said Freya.
"Atreus?" asked Percy. "Who's that?"
"My son," Kratos said.
"Son!?" exclaimed Percy. "You have a son now!? Oh my god congrats!"
Kratos managed to chuckle.
"He's a good boy," he said. "Impulsive and reckless, but strong-hearted and fearless."
"His real name, or that most of the gods knew him here as, is actually Loki," said Mimir.
"Loki!?" gasped Jason. "As in the god of mischief who in legends started and caused Ragnarök!?"
"But also the Loki who is the son of a god and a giant?" asked Piper.
"Ragnarök has already happened," said Kratos, sitting down at the table after hanging up his blades. "We saved the world and destroyed Asgard."
"What the hell happened here?" asked Percy. "Did you seriously piss off more gods?"
Kratos planted Mimir on the table and then put down his axe.
"Not intentionally," he said.
"Perhaps we better all sit brothers and sisters and talk," said Mimir.
Percy and Annabeth sat down at the table. Freya sat next to Kratos. Jason and Piper found stools and pulled them up.
Kratos then began to tell his story.
"I came here years and years ago to as I said escape my past and start anew," said Kratos. "I wanted to forget ever being the god of war and forget all the people and gods I slaughtered. I came here, and eventually, I met Atreus' mother, Faye."
"She was a giantess, as well," said Mimir. "The last of her kind."
"Odin long ago killed all the giants," said Freya.
"Odin did much more than that here," said Kratos. "He was also responsible not only for imprisoning Freya here, but years and years later, no sooner after sending off Faye, Odin sent his son, and Freya's son, Baldur, god of light, here to annihilate us."
"Odin didn't want Ragnarök, and he feared that Kratos and Atreus were the bringers of it," said Mimir. "And in the end he would be right."
"Me and Atreus were on a quest to reach the highest mountain in Asgard, where Faye wanted her ashes to be spread," said Kratos. "Along the way we met Freya. And we also met two dwarves who made my axe here, Sindri and his brother Brok."
"This is one cool axe," Percy said. "You got yourself a new weapon."
"Not just this," said Kratos.
He held out his hand and suddenly a ring on his finger transformed into a golden spear with a red ribbon tied on it. Everyone jumped because of it appearing basically out of nowhere.
"This is the Draupnir Spear," said Kratos. "It helped us with killing Heimdall."
"Heimdall," said Annabeth. "Is every single Norse god here?"
"And how many did you kill?" Percy asked.
"Almost all of them are here, and almost all of them are dead," said Kratos.
"I'm not," Freya joked.
"Anyway, on our journey we also met Mimir, whom we saved from Odin's imprisonment," said Kratos.
"And who has been the best brother and friend to him and young Atreus," said Mimir. "Despite being just a head."
"How are you honestly still alive?" Jason asked. "And how does it feel being attached to the hip of a god?"
"Magic brother, from Freya," said Mimir. "And it's better than being imprisoned in a tree."
Kratos went back to the story.
"Me, Atreus, and Mimir traveled throughout Midgard and the other realms, not only seeking the journey to the highest mountain, but eventually learning the truth about who Atreus was and his past, and our destinies," said Kratos.
"You mean as Loki?" asked Percy.
Kratos nodded.
"For years I swore never to reveal to Atreus my past as the god of war or that I was in fact a god," said Kratos.
"You mean you never told him all that time?" asked Annabeth. "He never questioned why you even had grey skin?"
"He never asked," said Kratos. "And it's not skin. It's the ashes of people I had killed."
"Wait that's what that is!?" Percy asked. "Why did I never ask that when I met you?"
"Anyway," Kratos said. "I eventually told him after having to save his life, and eventually we would make it in the end to the highest peak. But only after we killed Thor's sons Magni and Modi, and also in the end, I would be forced to make the decision to kill Baldur."
"But, Baldur doesn't feel pain and can't die," said Percy.
"Not unless the curse I put on him was broken by this," said Freya, pulling out a necklace with an emerald point.
"Mistletoe," said Annabeth. "But in Norse mythology, Loki tricked the blind gold Hodr into shooting Baldur with mistletoe."
"Here, Baldur did it himself," said Kratos. "He punched Atreus, not knowing the mistletoe was around his neck which stabbed him in the hand breaking his curse."
"He tried to kill me," said Freya. "My own son. And Kratos saved my life by snapping his neck."
She looked very sad.
"Unfortunately, not only did Baldur's death start Ragnarök, but it left Freya on a quest for vengeance," said Kratos.
"But why?" asked Piper. "You saved her life."
"But he killed my son nevertheless," said Freya. "You would never be able to understand right now the pain of losing your child, no matter what he tried to do."
Piper sighed in truth.
"For three years after that, all of Midgard had been plagued with an endless winter," said Kratos. "But ever since Ragnarök ended, it slowly has been returning back to the way it was. But very slowly. Over those years before that, Freya hunted us, and eventually, me and my son met Odin and Thor for the first time."
Percy couldn't help but get excited over hearing Thor's name. Thor was his favorite Norse god, and he still loved the Marvel version. But he knew he would be nothing like that.
"Atreus convinced me soon after that we had to find this world's god of war, Tyr, and we did, or so we thought," said Kratos.
"What does that mean?" asked Jason.
"I'll get into that," said Kratos. "After we did, we set out on more quests to discover who Loki was and what his role in everything was and hopefully how to save the other 8 realms from Ragnarök. We met and made more allies, like Freya's late brother Freyr. And eventually I helped Freya break her curse, and she forgave me."
"I did not forgive you," said Freya. "A part of me will always hate you for killing Baldur, but I no longer harbored vengeance towards you. And we have been allies ever since."
Kratos nodded.
"Along the way, Atreus would start off on his own quest working with Odin," said Kratos.
"Why would he do that?" asked Percy.
"Odin had been obsessed with rebuilding a mask," said Kratos. "A mask supposedly that only Loki could put on and gaze into the very truth of everything, which was what Odin sought."
"Wait hold I'm sorry," said Percy. "Did you just say...a mask of Loki?"
The demigods stared at each other, and all of them started laughing.
Kratos allowed it for only half a minute before summoning his spear again and slamming it on the ground to silence everyone.
"Why do you all laugh brothers and sisters?" asked Mimir.
"Oh you wouldn't know it!" Percy chuckled. "But back home there's this movie, comic book, and cartoon, about some mask and a guy who puts it on and it..."
Kratos slammed his spear again.
"Boy!" he snapped. "Do you wish me to continue the story!?"
"Uh, I, I'm sorry, uh, sir," said Percy.
Now that made Mimir chuckle, because he knew Atreus almost always used to call Kratos sir.
"Anyway," said Kratos. "Against my better judgement, I allowed Atreus, well eventually, after he disobeyed me first, to quest in Asgard."
"Eventually, Kratos would build this spear he now holds and would use it to kill Heimdall, Odin's teller of the future," said Mimir. "And by doing so, we also obtained his horn that would be used to start Ragnarök truly."
"Eventually my son would finish the mask, and we would begin our preparations after Atreus betrayed Odin to start Ragnarök and assault Asgard," said Kratos.
"But unfortunately, that got sidetracked," said Freya. "It turned out the Tyr we rescued was actually Odin in disguise, and he killed Brok."
"Oh no," gasped Jason.
"Sindri unlike Freya has not once forgiven me, as he blames me for allowing Odin into his home and killing his brother," said Kratos. "No matter how many times I've tried, he will always hate me."
"That's sad," said Annabeth. "Also, Freya mentioned Sindri closing a portal in another realm. He's working with you even though he hates you?"
"He does hate me, but this portals are unleashing monsters on all realms," said Kratos. "It's a good enough cause for him to put aside his hatred and to join forces with us temporarily."
"That's still sad," said Percy. "It wasn't you fault."
"Nevertheless," said Kratos. "Now then, after all of that, we began our preparations truly to assault Asgard. We built an army, and me and Atreus sought out Surtr."
"The fire giant?" asked Annabeth. "And the one who merges with the frost giant Sinmara and destroys Asgard?"
"Yes," said Kratos. "But Surtr refused to involve Sinmara, so we found an alternate way to bring forth Ragnarök and the giant he was meant to be. But we never told Sinmara about his death."
"And then you guys attacked Asgard?" asked Jason, hoping for a description of a big battle.
"We did," said Kratos. "We lost many soldiers and so did Odin, and so many unexpected allies came to our aid. And in the end, Odin killed Thor after he refused to kill me, and we finally ended Odin once and for all."
"You killed him?" asked Percy.
"Not me," said Kratos. "Atreus removed his soul and stowed it in a marble. A gift from Loki. But Sindri was the one who smashed it."
"Surtr then destroyed Asgard, and unfortunately my brother stayed behind to help our escape," said Freya.
"Ragnarök was thwarted from destroy the world, and only Asgard fell," said Kratos. "And after that, Atreus left me."
"He left with whom I think is his girlfriend now, Angrboda," said Mimir. "Who we learned is also a giant, and that they might not all be gone."
"He left to find others hopefully out there," said Kratos. "I have not heard from him since. And I miss him. But I know it was right."
"So, what have you been doing ever since he left?" asked Piper.
"Fighting, hunting, exploring, helping repair the damage from Ragnarök as best as we all could," said Kratos.
"But now we have to deal with this," said Freya. "These monsters, and ones we've never even heard of, appearing from out of nowhere through rifts and portals from alternate worlds."
"Ours being one of them," said Jason.
"I do not know how to get you home right now," said Kratos. "I fear this threat may come for your world as well if it is not stopped. I don't know who is bringing these monsters here and why, but we can use all the help we can get."
"Whelp," said Percy standing up. "If we're going to be stuck here for the time being, we might as well..."
Before he could finish, a flash of light blinked in the corner and out came a short man in armor with a beard, and with him to everyone's shock, was Frank and Hazel!
"Sindri!" gasped Mimir.
"Yeah, yeah, it's me," Sindri snorted.
"That's Sindri?" asked Piper.
"And those are your friends I assume?" Sindri asked Frank and Hazel.
"Yes they are!" Frank exclaimed. "Oh my god you guys are safe!"
The four ran over and hugged their friends.
"What the heck are all of you doing here?" asked Percy.
"We went home after you guys disappeared to try and find a solution, but then another portal appeared in another part of the world," said Hazel. "We got sent there with Clarisse and others, but unfortunately, we couldn't help but worry what happened to you guys."
"So, uh, we kind of jumped in," said Frank.
"Oh you idiots," sighed Piper.
"I found them no sooner after closing their portal," said Sindri. "Kratos, as much as I hate to say to tell you, but you need to come to my home so we can figure out a true plan. I want this to be done with as soon as possible so I can go back to never seeing you again."
Kratos nodded. He stood up and put his axe on his back and got his blades.
"Demigods," he said. "Will you accompany us?"
Everyone nodded and headed for the door. Freya looked back at Sindri.
"Sindri you coming?" she asked.
"Not with him," he snorted. "I've got my own way."
He then vanished once again.
Kratos led everyone out of the house and towards a formation of rocks. He then held up a glowing ball and the rocks magically levitated and formed a door.
"This will take us to the Yggdrasil tree and the realm between realms," said Kratos. "Sindri's house is there."
"You weren't kidding when you said he hated you," Percy said.
Kratos sighed and pressed the ball against the door and the middle symbol on the door glowed and the door opened up into white energy.
Everyone began to step inside one by one.
"Boy do we have a story to tell both of you," Piper said to Frank and Hazel.
And one by one, they all vanished inside, and the door collapsed again.
It was time to truly start figuring out how to stop these portals.
Okay yeah, I just gave the backstory as best I could of God of war and Ragnarok too. Maybe I should've put a spoiler alert first.
Anyway, now Frank and Hazel are here, and soon we hopefully will find out what is causing these portals.
Stay tuned to find out!
See you next update! Review please!
From your favorite Fanguy,
Jacob/Sonicphantom47
