LOCATION UNKNOWN

Frozen forests

Luz, Anne, Amity, Marcy, and Sasha were stuck in the middle of an icy snow covered forest. Luz had taken on a striking form, coffered in fur and bone with darkened eyes. Anne's hair was spiked upwards in a blue shine, with her skin glowing. Each stepped melted the snow beneath her feet.

They walked around, hoping to find some form of help.

Amity said, "I don't think we were ever introduced. I'm Amity Blight. Luz's girlfriend."

Sasha said, "Sasha Waybright."

Marcy said, "Marcy Wu. Nice to meetcha."

Sasha said, "Where exactly are we going?"

Luz said, "Anywhere we can find help."

Amity was thrown by Luz's new look. She didn't hate it, but the circumstances around it were less than ideal. She noticed Luz's hand shaking, and Anne's as well.

Amity said, "Are you ok, Luz?"

Luz said, "I'm fine, hermosa. We just gotta get home and maybe see if the Collector can help us reverse this...or something. It'll be fine. It's fine."

Luz's words were rushed and sputtered out. She could tell Amity noticed and brushed it off. "It's just really cold out here. That's all."

Amity could feel the heat from Luz's power radiating off her. There's no way she was actually cold. But she didn't press the issue.

Anne was conversely leaving very deep prints in the snow. Some of it was melted from her power, the rest of it was rage.

Sasha and Marcy understood the feeling well.

They traipsed through the snowy forests, the warmth from both Anne and Luz keeping the group from freezing. Then they heard voices. And growling. Almost like wolves. A skidding of a sled.

Sled dogs. And voices. One was a strangely Scottish sounding accent. "You certain it was this way, brother?"

Another voice. Deep, low. Stoic. "I am sure I will not confuse it with the other rifts that open in the sky..."

A third voice. Husky, but feminine with a soft undertone. "Before we go in swinging swords and axes it'd be best if we make sure this is even an invader."

The stoic voice said, "Yes."

The skidding stopped short in front of them.

Amity whispered, "They must've seen the portal that brought us here..."

They were preparing to make a retreat, but Sasha said, "Wait. They said they wanted to make sure we were friendly. Let's just approach cautiously before we do anything stupid."

From the woods emerged two figures. One was a woman, brown braided hair and pale olive skin, draped in leather and gilded armor. The other was a man with strikingly white skin, and a red tattoo shaped like a slash or scar along his eye and chest. He wore a simple leather pauldron along his chest and right shoulder and a waist cloth of leather tassels with fur boots. He had a massive, one-handed axe brandished, with various snowflake designs etched into the metal of the blade.

The kids held their hands up as they came into view. Marcy shouted, "We're friendly! Hold on to that axe, we are friendly!"

The woman's gaze dropped when she saw..."They're children."

The man grunted, withdrawing the axe and placing it into a hook on his back. He said, "That remains to be fully proven."

The woman rolled her eyes before kneeling down, saying, "I am Freya. I'm sorry if we startled you..."

She looked up in the sky and back down to them. "Did you, come here through a rift in the sky?"

Anne said, "I think...we're not exactly sure where we are."

Amity said, "The last thing I remember is that portal opening beneath us, and then we woke up here."

The Scottish voice spoke, "Must've taken quite the nasty fall. We could see that rift from miles away."

The five kids were confused by the voice. Sasha said, "Who said that?"

The man reached behind him on his belt, and pulled out a talking head, with orange skin, a long grey beard and horns with a rope tied around his head that the man grasped.

Then it started talking. "Well would you look at that?"

Luz jumped back, "Ay dios mio!"

Amity giggled, "A whole year in the Boiling Isles and that startles you?"

The head continued talking, "The name is Mimir. Smartest man alive. Body not optional as you can see."

Marcy raised an eyebrow. "Wait a minute...Freya... Mimir..."

She placed a finger to her chin and began pacing.

Freya said, "I take it you are not of this realm?"

Anne said, "Definitely not. We're from Earth...or at least our Earth. I'm not even sure right now to be honest."

Mimir said, "Certainly is an odd occurrence. Can't say I've seen your type around any of the nine realms before."

Marcy's eyes widened as she stopped pacing. She shouted, "The Nine realms?! I knew it! You're Freya the Norse Goddess of Love and Beauty. And you're Mimir the Norse God of Wisdom!"

Freya laughed and said, "I suppose our tales spread farther than we thought..."

The man grunted.

Marcy's movements became hyperactive, "Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh! I didn't catch it until you mentioned the nine realms, but we must be in some world of Norse mythology. I used to dive into this stuff like crazy in elementary school. That and Greek mythology. I'm Marcy."

The rest of the five gave their names. Marcy turned to the man and said, "Wait a minute. That means...*gasp* YOU MUST BE ODIN!"

The man simply said, "No."

Marcy's enthusiasm almost immediately deflated at the man's tone.

Mimir said, "This man of few words would be Kratos. I guess some tales are missing a few parts here and there."

Marcy said, "What do you mean? Odin is like the leader of the Aesir. He's this wise and kind king isn't he?"

Mimir said, "Nah, lass. The Odin around here was quite the opposite of that. He was a savage paranoid madman. My little predicament is one you can blame on him."

Sasha caught a word in Mimir's sentence. "'Was'?"

Kratos said, "Odin sought to keep the realms subjugated under his heel. We defeated him, and he was ultimately killed."

Freya said, "We seek now to just rebuild in the wake of his oppressive heel. But besides that, can you tell use more about what brought you here?"

The group began to walk back to the sled. Luz said, "I'm still unsure. We were all just going about our normal lives until these monsters just showed up, looking for us. They weren't from our world, we know that much."

Anne continued, "Yeah and they talked all about awakening this power within me and Luz. That's why we look like this. They permanently locked us into this power. We beat them with it with the help of a bunch of other people, but they sent just us here...right before...right before..."

Freya placed a hand on Anne's shoulder. "Before what?"

Amity concluded, "Before they killed themselves."

Kratos said, "What did they say before doing this?"

Sasha said, "The last thing I heard was that they wanted to see their king's will done."

Anne said, "They talked to that king before we disappeared and he was already on the way before we left."

Freya said, "That's...concerning."

Amity said, "I'm just trying to figure out why they'd send us here."

Mimir said, "Not to be too fear mongering, but maybe it's not the fact that you're here. It's the fact that you're not there."

Realizing that the Hive could come looking for them any moment was not the most fun realization. They boarded the cart as Kratos grabbed the straps attached to the wolves. He cracked them like whips, sending the wolves running.

Marcy sat in awe of Freya. She said, "It's just so weird. You're like the actual norse goddess, sitting right in front of me like this..."

Freya giggled and said, "I try not to think of myself as a goddess. I'm a Vanir. That's all."

Kratos said, "I as well. Though I may be a god, I still live, breathe, and die as a man."

Marcy said, "I've never heard of any norse god named Kratos."

Mimir said, "He's not really from here. He hails from a land called Sparta."

Marcy said, "Sparta...Greek god? Still haven't heard of any Greek god named Kratos."

Kratos said, "It's for the best you have not heard of my stories. It was not the happiest of tales."

Freya, eager to change the subject said, "So tell us more about yourselves."

Amity said, "Well we're all from the same world, but Luz and I were from a different side of the world, and I'm from a different world altogether. If Anne and them are from Midgard, I'm from Sparta, if that makes sense."

She showed off her pointed ear. "I'm a witch. From a land called the Boiling Isles, a part of the Demon Realm. It's connected by portal to our Earth."

Mimir said, "Other magic users amongst us?"

Amity drew a circle in the air with her finger, generating a small portal that create a ball of sludge, which animated into a humanoid creature, one that stood in the palm of her hand. She said, "My magic is abomination magic. I create creatures like this out of this slime, but if I need to..."

She twisted her hand, pulling the creature apart and wrapping around her fist with spikes, almost like brass knuckles.

She continued, "...I can turn the slime into armor and weapons."

The slime dissipated into purple light. Luz smiled at her girlfriend's display. Amity said, "Without wands or staffs, our magic came from the Titans. Mighty beasts of unimaginable magic power. But after it died transforming Luz, we thought that wild natural magic was lost."

Luz looked at her hands and said, "But then those...monsters forced it out of me."

Anne said, "I think it's just crazy that there's two magical worlds connected to our Earth."

Amity raised an eyebrow and said, "Two?"

Anne said, "Last year, around my birthday, Sasha, Marcy and I got lost in Amphibia. A land where everyone is either a frog, toad, newt or any other kind of amphibian. It was under control of this mad king serving some massive computer brain. We destroyed it... and after that I thought this power was lost forever but...you know the drill."

Amity said, "Can you go back?"

Anne said, "Before now...no. Now? I'm not sure. This power can open portals..."

Sasha's eyes widened. "Why don't we just use that?!"

Anne said, "I don't know how to. I was able to use it to make a portal bigger. Not just pop one out of thin air!"

Freya held her hands up to de-escalate and said, "It's alright. Any kind of magic can take time to learn." Kratos grunted.

Mimir said, "Where are we headed, brother?"

Kratos said, "Home. My home."

Freya said, "Are you sure? You don't think the girls would be safer at the other house?"

Kratos said, "Sindri is angry enough as is. I will not make it worse by inviting guests into his home."

Marcy's eyes sparkled again. She said, "Sindri! Brokkr and Sindri! I didn't know you knew them too!"

Kratos disposition turned ever so slightly more dour.

He said, "Only Sindri is with us. Brok has passed on. Murdered by Odin."

Marcy's expression dropped again.

Kratos said, "Sindri has since disappeared in grief. He blames me and my son for his brother's death. I do not know where he's gone. But until he returns, I plan to keep his home just as he left it."

Marcy said, "I can understand that. I'm sorry I didn't mean to drudge that up."

Kratos said, "It is alright. You did not know."

Sasha said, "Back up. 'You and your son.'? You have a son?"

She turned to Freya and asked, "Is he your son?"

Freya shook her head and said, "No."

Kratos said, "The boy's mother passed on years ago. We spread her ashes at the peak of her birthplace in Jötunheim, per her wishes."

Mimir said, "Could hardly think of a more fitting farewell for Laufey the Just."

More connections formed in Marcy's head.

Laufey...Jötunheim...Son...

A mini-explosion went off in her head.

"YOUR SON IS LOKI?!"

Everyone grabbed their ears in pain, minus Kratos and Mimir.

Kratos said, "That was his mother's name for him. And how the Aesir referred to him. But his true name is Atreus."

Marcy said, "Just...who are you? You're best friends with Freya and Mimir, you know Brok and Sindri, you've fought Odin, your son is Loki..."

Mimir stammered as he tried to stop Marcy. "I-I think it's best not to pry, Mar..."

Anne said, "So you're not Atreus' mom. How did you meet?"

Freya bluntly stated, "My son fought him and Kratos killed him in front of me."

The following seconds of silence felt like hours.

Freya said, "Odin had sent Baldur after Kratos. I'm still unsure why, but they fought. I wasn't worried at first. I had charmed Baldur with a spell that left him immune to all damage. But it also meant he couldn't feel anything. I was warned that he would be killed and did whatever I could to prevent that. But my actions only sealed his fate. He turned against me, and tried to kill me. Through a stroke of luck or fate or whatever you wish to call it, he was cut by an arrowhead made of mistletoe, breaking the spell. I thought by then he'd shed his hatred. But no. He tried to kill me anyway. And Kratos did what he felt he had to. Not only to save me, but to save Baldur from himself."

Luz said, "So you were never...angry?"

Mimir said, "Oh she was furious. Spent the next three years trying to kill Kratos."

Freya laughed it off and said, "But...when I allowed Kratos to help me break a spell Odin had placed on me...I learned more about him. I understood why he did what he did, and more importantly, knew he understood my pain."

Kratos bluntly said, "Freya." cutting her off after revealing that small detail.

Freya sighed and said, "After Odin's defeat, that anger inside dissipated."

Amity was curious about that detail of Kratos understanding Freya's pain of losing a son. She found a way to subtly probe without being too obvious.

"So...where is he now? Atreus I mean."

Kratos said, "After the battle against Odin, Atreus endeavored to find other Jötunn of his kind, and set off on his own. I only pray that I've prepared him for this journey."

Mimir said, "He's a strong and smart kid, brother. He'll be fine."

Kratos grunted again, in agreement this time.

Anne said, "How old is he now? 20? 25?"

Kratos said, "14."

Anne was silent for a moment..."WHAT? That's exactly how old I am! How is he already traveling on his own."

Sasha said, "Come on, Anne. He's a god. Maybe he's got like god level strength and smarts and all that."

Marcy said, "Well Loki was more of a trickster god. His magic lie in deceit, like shapeshifting and all that."

Kratos said, "Actually you are both right. He is strong, intelligent, and possesses shapeshifting abilities."

Anne smiled. Luz turned to Freya.

Luz said, "I just think that after what happened between you two, that you have that capacity to forgive...it's just really amazing."

Freya said, "You're very kind, Luz. Your mother must've raised you well."

Amity leaned on Luz and said, "Yeah. She's one of a kind."

Freya smiled at the display of affection.

They arrived at the house. It was a large log cabin, covered in snow and lit with lanterns and candles. Kratos unhooked the wolves and helped them to their pens while Freya lead the girls inside.

From the forest...something was watching and waiting...