After Fafnir had opened Kaz a rift that would take him to Freyr, Kaz found himself high in the sky above a land that looked beautiful. Warm spring weather abounded, and as far as he could see were giant trees that looked ancient. He released his mana working that had protected him from Muspelheim's heat and started circling lower.

Only when he dipped under the first of the huge canopy trees did Kaz see the first structure. They were stone sided with timber roofs and they clung to the ground like barnacles. Kaz felt disappointed. "I thought they would have tree houses," he said softly as he started to spiral deeper and deeper into the forest.

Landing in an obvious clearing where no buildings were, Kaz shook his wings and waited for someone to come and see why a dragon had landed in their midst. He waited a while and then simply lowered himself to his belly and closed his eyes.

It wasn't so much that he went to sleep, he wanted to project a sense of I got bored waiting. He felt someone approaching, and with them was an impressive amount of magic. Lifting his head up, he turned to see a young man walking toward him.

"Why are you here, dragon?"

The young man sounded a little indignant. Kaz studied his features: cropped blonde hair with a few small braids, pale features, sharp jaw, and piercing blue eyes. "I'm hoping someone will come and talk to me."

"Whom?"

"Freyr." Kaz stretched, arching his neck and splaying his wings as he yawned. "I was hoping to save him from dying." Laying his head back down, Kaz closed his eyes.

"Are you here to attack me, wyrm? This is a peaceful place, yet you bring threats of violence?"

The voice was cold enough now that Kaz almost felt like he was home again. "No, the opposite. Ragnarok has begun, and Freyr is yet to stand against Surtr." Opening his eyes again, Kaz looked at the elf. "I am trying to negotiate a way out of that."

When there was no response from the elf, Kaz sighed. "Well, I tried. So much for restoring some sanity to the nine worlds." Standing up, Kaz stretched his wings out and was about to take off when he heard:

"I am Freyr. Speak and I will judge your words." Not bothering to hide himself anymore, Freyr cast off the guise of youth—but that was all he'd used to disguise himself. "But don't think I'll allow any trickery."

"No trickery?" Picturing his normal, simple self, Kaz shifted his form back to it, used some magic to make a portal big enough to pull his backpack from the storage place he'd stowed it, and got dressed. Clothed and looking close enough to how he had when he'd first started college, he sat back down. "Surtr wants blood money for Beli."

Sitting down opposite Kaz, Freyr found himself a nice stone to park on. "And did Surtr have any suggestions for an acceptable price?"

"Your finest sword."

"And if I say no?" Freyr knew what to expect. Kaz's look was enough.

"If you don't pay it, Surtr instructed me to bring back your head." The words were sad ones. "I don't want to."

Tilting his head back to look up at the sun filtering through the canopy above, Freyr asked, "Really?"

"Your sister would be cross with me, and that's one woman I don't wish to have cross with me. One of many, truth be told." He had a list in the back of his head that included Freyja, Hel, Belona, Artemis, and Puff. "But she has helped me and I'd like to pay that back. I've already convinced him not to fight you."

"But you?"

Kaz shrugged. "I try to keep my word."

"And if I kill you?" Freyr didn't regret the threat, not with how Kaz had acted so far, but he also didn't like it. This was how the Æsir worked, not him. When Kaz shrugged, Freyr groaned. "And then I have a second lot of blood money to pay. Who would I be paying?"

"Hel, most likely, or maybe Loki. I'm Kazuma, just so you can't claim I didn't give you my name and all that." Kaz offered his hand to Freyr to shake.

"A human name, a human custom—and a human." Taking the offered hand, Freyr shook it. "And you already have the smell of death around you. Surtr knows I gave up my sword."

Kaz could remember the legend of Freyr so far as the god had given up his magical sword to secure his wife. "He didn't ask for that one. He asked for your finest sword." Examining a few blades of grass he'd plucked, Kaz noticed a few insects crawling over one and watched them for a moment before setting the grass back down.

"My finest sword." The relieved laughter that spilled from Freyr surprised even him. "Gerdr!"

His eyes jerking to one of the buildings where there was movement, Kaz watched a huge woman look out.

Freyr, his thoughts lighter, called, "Bring my two finest swords, beloved, and some mead."

Kaz started to relax. Looking up at Freyr, he caught a hint of relief. "Mead?"

"I will generously give him my finest sword to pay the blood debt and my second finest in thanks for sending such an effective envoy. Tell him—" Freyr sighed and smiled now, genuinely relieved that things would be put right. "Tell him to make good use of both swords."

Laughing, Kaz watched the huge woman bring out two swords under one arm as well as three mugs and a barrel under the other.

"Kazuma, my wife Gerdr. My love, this young mor—" Freyr stopped dead in his tracks and looked at Kaz. "This young godling is Kazuma."

Sizing Kaz up, Gerdr would have easily dismissed him if not for her husband's show of respect. "What tidings have you brought to us?"

"Only good, I hope. Your husband was about to pay Surtr his blood money for Beli." Kaz still didn't know the actual story apart from the fact Freyr had killed them. He also knew that the clock was ticking for finding Sleipnir.

Drinking one mug of mead, they talked of Ragnarok and Freyr's sister. Seeing no reason to avoid telling Freyr and Gerdr, Kaz talked about the prophecy that Freyja had given him. At last finishing the story, he looked into the bottom of his mug. "She gave me the chance to change the events of Ragnarok."

"Trust my sister to go ahead and ruin all the prophecies," Freyr said.

"I won't complain." Gerdr pulled Freyr tight to her side and squeezed him. "I will get to keep my husband." The news had truly come quite favorably to Gerdr. She had been concerned at first that a dragon would come to Alfheimr; even at a small size, the beasts were always a danger.

Kaz couldn't help himself. There was a question on his lips and it needed to be out. "Why do you have two swords, if you don't mind me asking?"

"That's my doing," Gerdr said. "I couldn't believe he'd actually given up his great sword to marry me. Every year since then, I've forged a new sword for him. Some were better than others. What you have there are the best two I've managed so far." What was most satisfying for Gerdr was that her own efforts were paying off, and not in a life or death struggle. "You'll have to excuse us, it is a wife's prerogative to celebrate such an event."

Kaz wasn't sure if it was him or Freyr who was more surprised when Gerdr picked her husband up and started marching off with him. Regardless, though, he had the two swords beside him and took that moment to disrobe again, push all his things into his own little rift in space, change back into a dragon and take to the sky with the swords clutched in his claws.

Remembering the pattern of the rift that Fafnir had made, Kaz did the same and flew through to Muspelheim again. The heat hit him like a forge hammer, and once more Kaz found himself weaving mana patterns against the oppressive nature that was now the opposite of his own.

The path to Surtr's hall was lined with jotun now, all carrying shields, swords, and piecemeal armor. It was quite the sight for Kaz to see as he performed spirals and dives above their heads.

᱿Hmmm, show off,᱿ Miaow said. ᱿You got the sword for Surtr. Why have you got two?᱿ She'd been napping, as was usual during the day, and now Miaow was curious what Kaz had been up to.

᱿Freyr, it turns out, has a huge collection of swords. He gave me the best two to give to Surtr to pay the blood money. I guess he wanted to make sure.᱿ Diving for the entrance of the huge hall, Kaz had to twist sideways to get through, and even then he had to pull his wings in a little and give himself an extra push with mana.

᱿Wait. Puff showed me a game with something like this. You're doing a fetch quest!᱿ Laughing, Miaow purred away happily. ᱿So what's next? Are we going to find Sleipnir?᱿

᱿That is the plan. Without Sleipnir to ride, Odin will be at a significant disadvantage. Plus, I'd like to ask him if he wants to help his mom.᱿ His comment got more laughs from Miaow as she settled down again. ᱿Back to sleep already?᱿

᱿I am a cat.᱿

᱿Yeah. Okay, time to get this done and then go see if I can find Sleipnir.᱿ Landing before the long table that Surtr's throne sat behind, Kaz bowed his head a little, not that it affected his vision. "I have returned from Freyr."

"His answer?" Surtr asked, looking over Kaz with some curiosity. He could plainly see the two blades in their sheaths, and wondered if the dragon had killed the god and come back with spoils.

"He offers you his best and second best swords. Both were crafted by his wife Gerdr. He wanted to ensure you knew how seriously he took this matter." Walking up to Surtr, Kaz offered one blade then the other—hilt first.

Unsheathing the weapons, Surtr examined them. "They are both fine weapons. Do you require one, Spakr?"

Looking at the weapons, Kaz shook his head. "I've trained with a sword, but I prefer words and magic."

"Spoken like a true dragon." Fafnir, who was feeling more than a little bored, walked over to Kaz. "Do you have anywhere else you want to be before we move on Bifrost?"

"Asgard," Kaz said. "It's time someone sought Sleipnir and freed him from Odin's yoke."

Wincing, Fafnir shook his head. "I cannot get you there, Spakr. There will be only one time I can open such a portal, and that will be for invasion. If I did so now—"

"I can get you there." Nidhoggr's voice was raspy and dry. It was used to feeding constantly at Yggdrasil, but without the sap and the mana of the tree to consume, it was left thoroughly unlubricated. It waited for Kaz to turn and nod toward it before gnashing its fangs. "Then send us back to Nifleheim. Our journey starts there."

----------------------------------------

Looking at the half-healed hole that Nidhoggr had come from initially, Kaz felt a little concerned. "But you never got further than here. How will we—?"

"I wasn't trying to bore my way through, simply devouring and disrupting the tree's magic. The key will be to warp its own magic to work with us." Focusing itself, Nidhoggr began by wiggling into the bottom of its hole and started working its teeth into the hard wooden roots.

Kaz watched Nidhoggr's mana start to twist and modify the tree's own. It was like watching herding dogs turning animals ten times their size in the direction they wanted. To his draconic senses it was poetry. He realized, though, that Nidhoggr had left room for him.

Reaching out with his magic, Kaz picked up on Nidhoggr's pattern—the very blueprint of its body—and started rebuilding it around himself. He would never be as big, nor as powerful, but he could still take on a younger version of the dragon.

The first thing that Kaz was aware of was his hunger. It was impossible not to work his mouth and want to chew and eat, but almost as problematic was that he couldn't see. He hadn't noticed before, but Nidhoggr had no eyes.

It took a little while for Kaz to fumble around, his hunger driving him a little crazy before he discovered the trick to being able to recognize things—mana. With the tree's mana all around him, but Nidhoggr's mana ahead, he squirmed forward like the oversize worm he was and bumped his mouth against the hardwood of Yggdrasil.

Instinct was everything the first few times when becoming something new, and before Kaz knew it his mouth was working. Dozens of teeth biting, injecting, ripping, and tearing at the wood beside Nidhoggr. Mana flooded him and, as he gulped it down, he felt Nidhoggr's mana weaving beside him and started to emulate them.

The wood that'd seemed so solid moments ago became like butter. Kaz chewed, and as he did it seemed like a dozen other mouths worked at it too. He'd done a lot of work with mana optimization under Fafnir's tutelage, but it was like Nidhoggr had spent centuries working on this one pattern—Kaz was fairly sure that was probably an understatement.

It still seemed so slow, but Kaz found he had to wiggle and squirm faster and faster to keep up with the speed his mouth was working. While it should have been obvious, it took him some time to realize that eating faster meant he got more mana, which sped up his devouring of the tree and its mana. The cycle, one of constant growth, had him soon needing to divert a little of its intense mana production into a speed boost that could keep him up with his own mouth.

The changes Kaz had wrought impressed Nidhoggr and it incorporated them into its own weaves and found that while they lacked the honing of centuries of use, it was a good solution to the problem of moving too slow.

Burrowing along, the balance of mana intake and maintaining the two spells reached equilibrium eventually and the hole they were devouring along the length of Yggdrasil lengthened. After half a day of such burrowing, each felt a transition.

᱿We have reached Midgard.᱿

Kaz was surprised to hear the words in his head. They were powerful and filled with purpose. ᱿Nidhoggr? You can talk like this?᱿

᱿It seems so. I have never had a companion to talk to before.᱿ Speeding along, Nidhoggr realized it had never had this purpose before. In the past, it had surely had a goal of poisoning and killing Yggdrasil, but it wasn't attainable. Even with a companion it couldn't inflict more than a mosquito bite on the world tree. But, with Kaz, it had a reason to bite and rip its way through the wood. ᱿We are moving fast. We'll be in Asgard in a few more hours.᱿

᱿Who's that?᱿ Miaow asked.

᱿Oh, you can hear Nidhoggr too? Well, this is Miaow. Miaow, Nidhoggr. We're burrowing up through the world tree into Asgard.᱿

Curious, Miaow purred at the dragon by way of greeting. ᱿We're going for Sleipnir? Do you know where he is?᱿

᱿A most curious relationship. That explains why you are so easy to converse with like this,᱿ Nidhoggr said. ᱿I don't know where Odin will have taken him.᱿

᱿Maybe having a warg will help? One that's smelled Sleipnir before?᱿ Kaz recalled the time he'd spent as Blasa, playing with Sleipnir. ᱿Thank you, Nidhoggr.᱿

᱿You are a strange dragon, and I don't think any of your names fit you.᱿ Nidhoggr had been pondering all the names it had heard for Kaz, and none seemed to suit him so much as, ᱿Brigdr.᱿

The word twisted around in Kaz's head. At the same time it sounded like a phonetic name, but also magic translated it for him as change.

Thinking over it with a purr of curiosity, Miaow eventually said, ᱿It suits you better than the other names.᱿

᱿Thanks, Nidhoggr.᱿

The rest of the journey through Yggdrasil took only two hours, and when they broke out through the top of the trunk and into Asgard, Kaz spilled his whole body out and took on his redcap-like battle form. With a few moments spent dressing and fastening his weapons on, he felt more connection with the world around him. "Thank you, Nidhoggr. Hopefully we will meet again."

"Kazuma." it wasn't easy for Nidhoggr to speak with its actual mouth, but with Kaz no longer the same as it, mental communication was impossible. "If you insist on using the name your parents gave you, then please, call me Little Fangs."

᱿That's what his mother called him?᱿ Miaow asked.

᱿Seems that way.᱿ Kaz walked forward and reached a hand out to touch Nidhoggr's cheek. "Little Fangs, we will meet again. Thank you for teaching me."

When Nidhoggr had turned and burrowed back into Yggdrasil, Kaz turned himself around and lifted the shield from his back, then drew his sword. "This will take a little work."

Focusing only on his head, Kaz shifted and shaped his features into those of Blasa. Pushing his nose out, his jaw too, he gave himself the fangs, fuzzy ears, and expansive olfactory sense that he was used to as a warg.

᱿That feels weird, but not bad. You should have gone with cat or griffon.᱿ Miaow gave a sense of wrinkling her nose and fighting at the feel of being part wolf.

"Yeah, but cat senses are different from wolf senses. They're—"

᱿Terrible.᱿

"No, they're just different. After all the things I've been shapeshifting into lately, this is where you draw the line?" he asked, smirking and lolling his tongue out one side.

᱿Yes. Yes it is. After all this is dealt with, I want to visit Egypt. Now there was a pantheon that knew how to treat its cats.᱿

Closing his eyes, Kaz reached out with the bond of hunter and hunted that he'd learned from Artemis. It wasn't quite as intense as when she'd wrapped him with her own magic, but he had a thread to follow. "This way."

Sheathing his sword again, but keeping his shield out, Kaz started to run through the late evening air as a chill started to rise. He welcomed the cold, taking it in as a good omen for his first direct action of Ragnarok in enemy territory. Grateful that the path didn't lead to the huge hall atop the only mountain in Asgard.

Circling around the mountain, Kaz saw a low set of buildings in the distance. ᱿Any idea what they are?᱿ he asked Miaow.

᱿No, but there is someone awake in there. The light is on.᱿

Slowing as he neared the building, Kaz drew his sword again and stretched his senses as far as he could to pick up any hint as to who or what was within.

Sleipnir was obvious both in his smell and the ripple in mana around the building. There was so much energy in the stallion that Kaz was almost overwhelmed by that alone. But there was more. Two more scents came from within.

The first of those other scents was even stronger and horsier than Sleipnir's. Masculine beyond measure, but barely a ripple in the mana of the area. That mana ripple, though, had odd similarities to Sleipnir's.

The second and final of the three smelled similar to a man. Strong, musky scent of someone who worked or trained hard. As with the other unknown, it had very little mana ripple.

When he reached the door of the building, he realized it was a stable. Swinging it open with his shield arm, he figured it was time to make himself known. "I'm here for my friend!"

"And who might that be?"

The deep voice came from one of the stalls a moment before a man stepped out of it. He was eight feet tall, leading Kaz to wonder if he was a jotun, but he had no weapon on him. "Sleipnir. I'm here to take him to see his mother. My name's Kaz."

Grunting and shaking his head, the big man nodded to the stall he'd just come from. "Put your sword away. I won't fight you. He's in here."

Sheathing his sword, Kaz followed him. "Who are you?" The inside of the stall was huge. There was a chair in one corner near the gate that the huge man sat in now. The opposite corner was taken up with a monstrous horse that Kaz could now tell was the second creature he'd sensed. There, beside the stallion, was Sleipnir. "Hi, Sleipnir. Do you remember me?" When Sleipnir shook his head, Kaz thumped himself on the forehead. "Right. You remember Blasa, though?"

"You know Blasa? Where is she?" Rushing forward, Sleipnir reared up and planted two forehooves on Kaz's chest, pushing him back against the wall and pinning him there.

"I—" The pressure from Sleipnir's hooves would have caved in Kaz's chest if he didn't have the musculature of a redcap. Instead, he merely couldn't breathe. Struggling for air, and not wanting to hurt Sleipnir, he turned his eyes toward the man.

"Sleip, he can't answer you if he can't breathe."

"Huh? Oh!" Pulling back a little, Sleipnir let both his raised legs drop to the floor. "Where is she?" His tone, though, was no less firm.

᱿He's fierce and powerful. No wonder Odin wanted to keep him,᱿ Miaow said.

᱿Yeah. Well, I think it's best to show him.᱿ Kaz unbuckled his sword belt and set it down with his shield. "Sleipnir, you know how your mother can change forms?" His eyes flicked over to the huge stallion still watching them. Something told Kaz that if he tried to harm Sleipnir, he wouldn't make it out of that stall without having to kill the stallion too.

"M-My mom? Loki? What do you know about Loki?"

"Well, I was talking to Loki not long ago. He's free now and no longer suffering." Next to go was his clothes. "I started shapeshifting before I first came here, but since meeting Hel—"

"You know Hel?" Sleipnir rushed up to Kaz again, though he didn't try to pin him down again. "Where is she? She was with Blasa! Does she know where Blasa is?"

"She is still in her hall, I think, with your mom. It was after she helped me that I learned the greater shapeshifting I now do." With that, Kaz fixed Blasa's image in his head, in her entirety, and pushed his body into the form of the wolfess. Ignoring any danger Sleipnir might hold, Kaz walked forward and butted his head against one of his forelegs.

A shiver of magic ran over Kaz. Sleipnir was doing something with his mana that was in a way intrusive—but Kaz didn't resist it. Smiling up at Sleipnir, he watched as a little smile spread over the broad, equine lips.

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"You are Blasa?"

"They wouldn't have let me accompany Hel to visit you if they knew who I was at that time. They definitely wouldn't let me into Asgard now, knowing what they know about me." Feeling Sleipnir nibble on his ear, Kaz let out a laugh.

"Wait, why not?" Sleipnir asked, having to spit out Kaz's ear.

Before Kaz could answer, the tall man cleared his throat. "The wolves, your nephews, have taken the moon and sun; your brother Fenrisulfr is free; Loki is loose; and I am fairly sure your other brother, Jormungandr, is in Muspelheim right now waiting to sweep across Bifrost and attack Thor. Ragnarok is here, Sleip."

Sleipnir's head jerked around, then looked back at Kaz. "Ragnarok? But that's when Odin said I'd have to help him. I need to help Odin!"

"Wait." Kaz hoped his voice would stop Sleipnir, and it did. "Sleipnir, I don't know how better to say this, but your mom needs your help too."

"When? Can it wait until after…" Trailing off, Sleipnir shook his head. "Mommy and Odin aren't friends, are they?" Kaz shaking his head was enough to fell Sleipnir where he stood. All eight legs folded under him and he dropped to the floor of the stall. Now at the same height as Kaz, he looked into his friend's eyes. "Why not?"

"Odin and his friends were playing a bad trick on a friend of theirs. Your mom tried to show them it was stupid and things went too far. Their friend died." Kaz lowered his head. "Odin made one of your mom's other sons kill his brother, then chained your mom up in a cave."

"She's out now?"

It took Kaz a moment to realize who Sleipnir meant. "Your mom is with Hel and other friends. They were planning to come and find you, but then Odin locked up Asgard so no one could get in."

"How did you get in?" The big man in the corner asked.

Kaz realized the man hadn't shared his name, but there was a more important matter to deal with. "I burrowed through Yggdrasil. Taking the form of Nidhoggr." The look on the man's face confused Kaz—he was grinning like a maniac.

"I knew it! Nothing could get past the walls I built! Nothing! You burrowed into Asgard and completely got around them. I almost wish I could see Thor's face when he finds out the walls he made me build didn't help."

The man's laughter distracted Kaz and Sleipnir from the topic at hand. When the laughter ended, though, Sleipnir looked over at his father. "Odin is lying to me." There was a chill certainty in his voice that surprised even Sleipnir. "How do I find my mother?" He looked at Kaz.

"I'll need to change again to do that. Do you want to see another of my forms?" Kaz's eyes twinkled and he was already reaching for his dragon form.

"I'd like a way out too." Standing up, the tall man looked over at his horse. "Svadilfari too, if you wouldn't mind. They've been keeping me here since I built their wall. They couldn't figure out who I was."

"And who are you?" Kaz asked.

Smiling, the big man nodded toward Sleipnir. "A concerned grandfather." With Kaz and Sleipnir both staring at the man, he threw off the disguise he'd worn for centuries. "You can call me Farbauti, and I would appreciate it if you could take me to my son."

᱿That's Loki's father, Kaz. He's a jotun!᱿

᱿Yeah, figuring that out now. That explains why he was down here. He was protecting Sleipnir.᱿ Shivering his coat, Kaz pulled his dragon shape over himself and became his larger form. His mana sprang free in a defensive swirl around himself, flowing easily once more. It took barely any focus at all to stuff his sword, shield, and clothes back into their pocket dimension before he focused on Helheim and the gate of Hel's hall. Ripping a hole between realms was easy when his target had no direct defense up. "Move fast, the Æsir might sense this and come."

Sleipnir stared at Kaz as Farbauti led Svadilfari to the portal. He was still watching Kaz as Kaz pointed at the opening. "Please hurry, I'll be right behind—"

Something smashed through the roof of the building and destroyed the floor where he hit, Thor raised his head to one of the stranger sights he'd seen. A dragon was trying to push Sleipnir through a rip in the world. "Stop tha—!"

Reaching into the flames from a lantern broken by Thor's entrance, Farbauti closed his hand on the heat itself and drew back—pulling a huge sword of fire free. "Please take my grandson from this place, young warrior." He moved slowly, keeping his guard up against Thor. "Your father has wronged my kin. Let the children leave."

Looking back at the pair about to fight, Sleipnir now realized that the nice old man who'd been with him was his mom's dad.

"Sleipnir, please go through!" Kaz was doing his best to push Sleipnir through, but he wasn't known as the best of horses for nothing, and he wanted to know what was happening.

"Grandpa?" Sleipnir asked.

Thor's eyes narrowed. "You played me for a fool, jotun." He raised his hammer and clenched his fist tight around the short handle.

"You played yourself, Thor. You made promises and boasts with no thought to losing our wager. It was only that my son stepped in and helped you cheat that Svadilfari was delayed. Then you stood by and watched as your father stole my grandson away from his mother." Shifting his stance a little, Farbauti kept all his attention on Thor.

For a few moments Thor seemed calm and holding back, then Kaz barely saw his muscles twitch before he charged at Farbauti. The impact of flaming sword and hammer made Kaz work all the harder to push Sleipnir through the rift.

Thor recovered from the impact first. His initial consternation at the situation had now fled and he smiled widely at having found a foe that could parry his hammer. Bringing his weapon in a tight arc, he sought to draw Farbauti's blade up again—while he brought his other leg around toward the jotun's knee.

Shifting as he moved, Kaz grabbed on his toughest two mixes together to create a form that had all the solidness of a redcap combined with flesh made of dragon hide. As Thor's leg came close to Farbauti, Kaz kicked down on it hard.

Startled by a second opponent, Thor glared between them both. "What manner of creature are you?"

"I'm what the world made me." Kaz was buying for time. He didn't want to fight Thor at all, but while they were talking they weren't killing each other. "I'm a dragon. I'm a redcap. I'm a griffon. I'm a human." He shrugged his shoulders. "What's at stake here?"

"You can't take Sleipnir," Thor said.

"Why don't we let Sleipnir decide where he wants to go?" Kaz asked. Beside him, Farbauti was silent. "Hey, Sleipnir, do you want to go back to Odin or do you want to see your mommy?"

"He is a child. He doesn't know what he wants yet." With that, Thor lashed out at Kaz, judging his unarmed opponent to be the easier target. Instead of blocking his hammer, Kaz moved closer and punched Thor's wrist.

In Thor's life, he'd had a few mishaps with his hammer. He'd dropped it on his feet countless times, he'd hit himself with the head while drunk more times than he could remember, but whenever it had met the flesh of another—it had left his foe bloody and broken. Kaz had taken a lot of the energy out of his swing, but his hammer should have pulped bone and split flesh asunder all the same.

The pain in Kaz's arm was electric and intense. Bones broke, muscles screamed, and for several moments his arm was useless. Then, redcap regeneration took over and rebuilt his limb before Thor had even drawn his arm back.

Seeing his own opening, Farbauti had tried to impale Thor's ribs with his fire sword, but the god quickly jumped away from him.

"Whatever manner of creature you are, begone to your own plane!" Focusing on his hammer, Thor built a charge of his magic in the weapon and held it out in Kaz's direction.

When the thunderbolt hit Kaz, he was thrown backward with the violent energy of it. He blanked out for what felt like a moment, expecting Thor to be standing over him about to finish the job. Instead, two legs flanked his head. "Sleipnir?"

"Grandpa said we have to go. Come on." With no fanfare, Sleipnir grabbed Kaz by biting his wrist and dragging him backwards to the rift. Glancing up at Farbauti again, Sleipnir stepped backward and into the rift itself.

As soon as Kaz was pulled through, though, the rift closed. Breathing a sigh of relief, Farbauti stepped back a pace from Thor. "There is nothing worth fighting for now. If you kill me, here, everyone will find out about the Æsir being tricked by a jotun."

His anger reaching a boiling point, Thor lashed out with his hammer again and again, forcing Farbauti back and out the door of the stable.

Farbauti parried and evaded the blows for as long as he could. He waited for Thor to make a mistake, and it was only when he backed off an extra step that again Thor channeled his power through his hammer and aimed it, this time, at Farbauti.

Sending the arc of energy at the jotun, Thor's face was pulled into a snarl. What he didn't expect was for Farbauti to catch the lightning from the air and wield it as a second sword.

"You've seen how fast fire burns. Would you care to see how fast lightning strikes, Son of Odin?" Farbauti asked. The moment of inaction on Thor's part, though, was all he needed. Casting the lightning into the air, he jumped on Svadilfari and trailed after it as the lightning, set free, shot into the moonless sky.

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Tumbling onto the ground, Kaz was breathing hard. He looked back at the rift to find it gone. He looked around to find Sleipnir standing over him and reached out to one leg and used it to pull himself upright. "I hope I don't have to face Thor again."

Sleipnir stared around at the dark and drab place. Beyond he could see huge doors to a massive building. "He didn't look happy—but he never looks happy. Where's my mommy?"

One thing Kaz had learned to dislike about being in a humanoid shape was how poorly the construction of it dealt with balance loss. Shedding the redcap form, he dropped to all fours as a dragon. "That's Hel's hall ahead of us. Last I saw Loki, he was in ther—" Kaz didn't get any further. Sleipnir had taken off at a gallop that was unbelievably fast. "… there. Okay, now I get to walk in; fashionably late."

Sleipnir turned around and galloped back out and stopped before Kaz. "There's no one in there!"

"Then either they're in Muspelheim or they are already on Bifrost, but I think it's the first one. Fafnir would wait for me, and he'd make the others wait." Kaz drew his focus into being and built another rift. This one led to the same place in Muspelheim he'd been before.

"Mom had better be there this time!" Giving Kaz a hard look, Sleipnir bounded through the rift and landed on top of the table in the great hall of Muspelheim. The room went silent around him as his hooves destroyed Surtr's feast, but a moment after his arrival he spotted someone important. "Mommy!"

Kaz fell onto the table in Sleipnir's wake. Looking around, he saw the exact moment as an overly excitable, eight-legged horse jumped on Loki. When he looked up at Surtr, Kaz feared at first the jotun would be angry with him for interrupting a meal (that he was still standing on). Instead, the huge man looked excited. "Sorry about the return."

"You know how to make an entrance, Spakr," Surtr said with a laugh. "Bring more food! We need plenty of fuel for our fires tomorrow!"

Hel grabbed Kaz by the neck and pulled him into a hug. "I can't believe you got him out. How did you manage to get in?"

"Nidhoggr helped me burrow up through Yggdrasil. It took a while, but we got there in the end. I met a jotun who—" Kaz wasn't sure how to tell the story. He'd left Farbauti to cover for him leaving, but he had no clue if the jotun had gotten out. "He was the one who built the warded wall around Asgard. "He was hiding his true nature from them. They saw the man and Svadilfari, but it was actually Farbauti."

Kaz knew he had Loki and Hel's full attention. "Before I could get everyone out, Thor attacked us. That's when Farbauti pulled a sword out of a fire and started fighting Thor. I thought I could at least slow him down, but even with my full redcap form—" He sighed. He'd hoped to be good enough that he could at least stand toe to toe with one of the gods, but Thor had overwhelmed him.

"I'd say you did good to not have that fool kill you right away. You got away with Sleipnir," Hel said.

"Only because Farbauti covered for us."

Nodding, Hel shrugged. "It's Ragnarok, Kaz, but I'd wager he still lives. He's been alive a long time, and that counts for something."

The evening became even more of a celebration than it had been already, and Kaz was a part of the reason for it. Eating, telling the story of his fight with Thor, and even testing their strength against his were all good distractions while lethargy set in. He slunk off to a corner and curled around himself to get comfortable when he heard footsteps approaching.

When Kaz lifted his head, it was to see Loki walking nearer.

"You continue to surprise me, Kazuma." Giving Kaz's dragon form a little room, Loki crouched down. "Don't be concerned, it's a good kind of surprise. If I were to believe all the stories, I'll not live past tomorrow. Of my children, Hel would survive me and maybe Sleipnir too. Now? You have brought me my missing sons. You have reforged my family into something that may yet survive beyond Ragnarok. I don't know of a way to properly thank you."

Kaz yawned and tilted his head so he could lock onto Loki with one eye. "And you don't need to properly thank me. Your children and grandchildren saved me—twice—from death. I owe Hel my life, a debt I doubt I can ever pay back. I owe Hati and Skoll my sanity. Sleipnir's innocence needs protecting, but I can't save him from the war that's coming—so I can at least give him the family he deserves rather than the monster that brainwashed him. Same for Vali." Shrugging his shoulders, Kaz continued, "I began as an outsider to all this, barely knowing what any other mortal on my world would know of your family and their plight. The more I learned, the more I was sure I had to keep working to free you and yours."

"Ours," Loki said with a smirk. "Hel looks at you like the child no god has given her. Hati, Skoll, Sleipnir, Vali, and Jormungandr all speak of you as if you were their brother. To hear Hel speak of you, you also brought Freyja to our side and now maybe her brother too?"

"I've been busy."

"Then there's Fafnir. My daughter had made a deal with him to carry us to Bifrost. She didn't make a deal to have him fight. That he stirred Nidhoggr up too was a surprise. You're full of such surprises, Kazuma. Freyja's prophecy is still yet to be completed."

"I'm going to use that as my last resort." Kaz lifted his head up and turned to look at Loki with both his eyes, only to have his head grabbed and pulled closer. When Loki's hands started to rub at the ridges along the sides of his head, Kaz relaxed and let him do it. He was well aware that Loki was facing his own death tomorrow and needed something to do. "But I won't hesitate to resort to it."

Loki didn't say a word, so Kaz continued. "You could ride Sleipnir. He'd probably happily do it. I think, though, you'd be better off giving him some armor and adding some steel shoes to his forehooves."

"He demanded I ride him. Once this is over, I'd suggest you have a child—and you know what I mean. It was a unique experience and one I will treasure for however much of my life remains."

Kaz wasn't sure how, but Loki found all the places on his head that, when rubbed, helped him relax. He felt like a big dog or cat. "Given how early your fight is in the day, I'll be beside you if things go badly."

"I'd like to say I'd prefer you to help others, but it would be a lie. I'm terrified."

Rather than reply, Kaz closed his eyes. He didn't have the answer Loki needed.

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Waking briefly when something pressed against him, Kaz opened an eye enough to spot Sleipnir cozying up to Loki before closing it again. That's when he felt Miaow yawn inside his head, and he slipped her control and relaxed to watch.

᱿I was going to leave this all to you, but apparently a queen has to step in and make sure everything is okay.᱿ Miaow, stretching out one wing, wrapped it around Loki's shoulder while extending the other forward and over Sleipnir. ᱿He'd make a very good cat.᱿

᱿Who?᱿ Kaz asked. ᱿Sleipnir or Loki?᱿

᱿Both.᱿

"Who are you?" Sleipnir asked. Looking at the dragon, he saw there was a different light behind their eyes now. "You're not Kaz."

"I'm Miaow. I look after Kaz when he's asleep or can't be around. Don't worry, little kitten, I won't hurt you." Unsatisfied with draconic vocal systems, Miaow adjusted Kaz's enough so she could purr properly.

"Mommy is worried about tomorrow. I need to make sure she doesn't get hurt, but she is scared for me. What should I do?" Wiggling forward to lay his head across Loki's lap too, Sleipnir let out a little wicker. "I am the best horse ever, even Odin said so. If Mommy is going to win tomorrow, he needs to ride me."

Miaow tilted her head a little and licked along Sleipnir's cheek. "You know he'd never forgive himself if his life cost yours." She could feel Kaz wanting to listen to their conversation, but sleep dragged him away.

"Mom doesn't get to make that decision. If I—" Sleipnir gulped and tried again. "If I die tomorrow, then I will make sure it means something."

"I think Kaz is going to make sure at least that fight goes off well. The prophecy Freyja made is that he can only have a direct hand in one fight. I don't know how things will go, but I'm assuming it will be a mess once they know we're there." Lifting her head a bit, Miaow now set about licking Sleipnir's face clean like he was her kitten.

Sure he was old enough to not be cleaned, Sleipnir nonetheless put up with Miaow's attention and, after a while, relaxed more because of it. "Who would I have fought if I'd stayed with Odin?"

"Odin will fight and die to Fenrisulfr. Odin's son will then attack Fen and kill him. Without a mount as good as you, he probably won't be able to hurt Fen as much and Odin's son might not be able to kill Fen." Working her way up to Sleipnir's mane, Miaow added a little more coarseness to her tongue to make the task easier. "Hopefully Loki will be able to help."

Turning his head a little to look up and back at Miaow, Sleipnir was grinning as he asked, "So, if I help Mommy, and we both survive, we can help Fen fight Odin?"

"I'm sure you can. But that's for tomorrow." Miaow did the next best thing a mother cat can do to encourage her kittens to sleep—she lowered her head down on Sleipnir. "Let's both sleep. I bet Kaz will need my help tomorrow." She listened as Sleipnir's breathing slowed, laying there and contemplating what Loki had said to Kaz. Having children, or kittens, or griffon chicks—Miaow realized it didn't matter, but that she would be perfectly fine with the idea. Kaz, of course, might be against it. If that were the case, she'd pass.

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᱿You're finally waking up?᱿ Miaow asked.

Yawning and lifting his head from where he had been, apparently, laying atop Loki and Sleipnir, Kaz also noticed his wings were still around them. ᱿Yeah. I always sleep the best when you are keeping an eye on me.᱿

The intense purring Miaow did was her own special present to Kaz. ᱿Flatterer. I was trying to calm down Sleipnir. He's a good boy.᱿

᱿He doesn't deserve this—any of this. None of them do. That's why I'll keep fighting for them. They wanted this shit-show, so I worked to bring it about. They were resigned to their fates, so I'll work to undo those so they can keep living. Now they're starting to see some glimmer of hope—and that's all the reward I need. Come on, Miaow, let's go be the good guys.᱿ Carefully pulled his wings back, Kaz ruffled them as he brought them to his sides.

When Loki's hand reached out for him, though, Kaz's head was right under it. "Good morning."

"There really are no pretenses with you, are there? It's refreshing." Giving Kaz's head a little rub, Loki nonetheless used it as a brace to lever himself up. When Sleipnir roused too and shifted, Loki smiled and reached out his other arm to his son's withers. "Sleep well?"

Turning around, Sleipnir bumped Loki with his head. "Yup! Miaow was really nice and talked about what we're going to do tomor—today!"

"Did she? And is she the reason I can barely feel my legs after having a dragon and a horse laying on them all night?" When Sleipnir tried to shy away, Loki gave his son's ears a good rub. "I hope you can both do it again."

"You're going to ride me today, aren't you, Mommy?" Sleipnir asked, his legs a flurry of motion underneath him.

"Only because you want me to. Let's eat something and then get ready." Walking now without any support, Loki still kept his arm over Sleipnir's withers for comfort. "Kazuma, do you have any other plans for today, or are we allowed to start?"

"I think everything's as ready as I can make it. After fighting Thor yesterday, I am glad that I secured Surtr's help to fight him today. Assuming that fight happens today." Approaching the big table, Kaz noticed Hel was slumped in a chair. What was more, he wasn't sure if she'd left it.

Servants—some jotuns, humans, and big stocky beings that Kaz realized were dwarves—all rushed out to serve them. Breakfast seemed to be a thick oat porridge with meat in it.

It surprised Kaz how quiet the room got while everyone ate. As soon as various people started finishing, though, the noise floor started to rise again. Excitement buzzed in the air as weapons were checked and armor put on.

Shapeshifting to his male combat form, Kaz started following suit. He had to put on a shirt and pants first, then the leather stuff over that, and finally the metal parts strapped on. Last to fit was his shield and sword belt. ᱿It feels weird, as a modern human, to be preparing for this kind of war.᱿

Miaow mentally shrugged. ᱿How is it any different from modern Earth wars? People still killing people.᱿

᱿I guess because I am in it.᱿

᱿That makes sense. This is the first you've been in. It's the first war I've been in, too.᱿ Admitting there were gaps in her experience was a very unfeline thing for Miaow, but she couldn't be anything but honest with Kaz. ᱿At least we know what the place looks like and what will probably happen.᱿

Kaz agreed with that wholeheartedly. ᱿I wish I could help everyone.᱿

᱿Don't start that. You have already played several large parts in this and you haven't drawn your sword once yet. If all you did was save Loki, he will be able to fight far more freely and swing the battle. You know this—it's your plan.᱿

᱿I'm just worried that my plan will disrupt other things in unforeseen ways. What if Hel dies?᱿ Drawing his sword, Kaz examined the edge and judged its weight.

"Try this one, Spakr," Surtr said, throwing a sword toward Kaz.

But for a few thousand days of practice with swords, Kaz would have jumped out of the way. Grabbing the weapon by the hilt with one hand and the sheath with the other, he drew it and knew exactly what it was. "One of his best?"

"The better one of the two. He might not be such a good judge of weapons, but I am. Go on, let it drink today that I know its full measure." The truth was Surtr had no need for the blades, either of them. They were a token price for Freyr's life. He watched as Kaz executed a few practiced swings with the weapon, nodding at the way it sang. "Good blade."

"Yeah. Thank you." Hooking the sheath for the blade onto his belt, Kaz shuffled a little to get the weight of it to settle again. Kaz expected him to reply again, but instead Surtr stood from his throne.

"Sons and daughters of Muspel, with the assistance of Fafnir"—Surtr looked at the dragon and got a nod from him—"and with our allies"—now he looked at Loki, who likewise nodded—"we ride to war!"

Loki launched himself onto Sleipnir and felt one last pang of uncertainty. His fears, though, were dashed as Sleipnir launched his forequarters into the air and waved his hooves before crashing back down hard enough to leave four horseshoe impacts in the stone. It was a reminder that for all Odin's wrongdoing, he had trained Sleipnir to be the greatest of all war mounts. "Today we seek Æsir!"

Stretching his mana working to an extent as great as he'd used to bring Jormungandr to Muspelheim, Fafnir poured as much strength into his working as he could and ripped a hole in reality that led to Bifrost. "If you are going to declare war, take Spakr with you. He can open portals out of Asgard."

Kaz walked up to the portal beside Loki and Sleipnir, and together they stepped through.

"So, you come back? A disgrace, a horse thief, and an innocent." Heimdallr wanted to sneer, but this day was too important to mar his features for. Pulling out the horn at his side, he blew into it. "Our lord comes. You will negotiate with him."

"Negotiations? No. Tell him to bring his armies to Vigrid. We meet there for the war of Ragnarok." Loki tapped Sleipnir's right side with his boot, and Sleipnir got halfway through the turn before a crash sounded beyond Heimdallr. He stopped and sighed. "Odin."

"Loki, Sleipnir," Odin said, and turned his head enough to look at Kaz, "and you will forgive me, I don't believe we've been introduced."

There was a lot of things Kaz was prepared for, but the bear of a man that was Odin was the literal definition of larger than life. He stood eight feet tall, had a pair of huge ravens perching one on each shoulder, one eye was an empty socket of scar tissue, and around his neck sat a noose. His dark hair hung past his shoulders in myriad braids, some of which had bones woven into them. He was armored, a sword on one hip and a hand axe on the other. His one eye contained a thunderstorm within it as it studied Kaz. "Kazuma Shimizu," he said, "is one of my names. My friends call me Spakr."

"Go on," Loki said. "Try to perform augury and divination. If you don't meet us at Vigrid within the hour, we will rage across Asgard. Come, Spakr." Signaling for Sleipnir to turn, Loki couldn't help one parting shot. "Heimdallr, I hope you bring a fine steed or our fight will be a touch one sided."

Kaz turned as well, using the angle to hide his smirk. When they walked back through the portal, Fafnir closed it behind them. Everyone's eyes were on Loki. Kaz felt a chill as the room went silent.

"We ride for Vigrid!" Loki's shout drew a roar that shook the entire mountain.

"Travel and fight well, Loki Farbautison." Fafnir fixed Kaz with his gaze and added, "Come, Spakr. You seem to be without a mount." Smirking at the surprised look, he also said, "It will cost you a silver."

Digging into his pocket dimension, Kaz pulled out a gold coin. "You'll have to accept a tip."

Reaching out a claw, Fafnir closed Kaz's fist around the coin. "Keep it with you and give it to me when this is over."

It was an obvious ploy, or so Kaz could recognize. "Alright. But if I can't find you to pay, I'll rip you back from the afterlife myself to put it in your talons."

Laughing, Fafnir flashed his fangs and lowered his shoulder. "Then get on so I can make sure you make it to the right fight. If I screw this up, your mate would hunt me—and she actually scares me."

Climbing up, Kaz was thankful that a redcap's body was so resilient to piercing, because Fafnir didn't make himself comfortable in any way. "They don't get angry with me unless I'm late or dead. Let's not be either."

Fafnir laughed, opened the rift, and flew through it. Unlike Kaz's rifts, he had anchored his so that it would stay open behind him, which was why he dodged to the side to leave room for Loki and the host of Muspelheim's jotnar.

Galloping forward, the fire jotun rocked Bifrost. The bridge shook and trembled beneath them and with it the wards around Asgard. As the last mounted warrior left the rainbow bridge, it cracked, screamed a crystalline dirge, and shattered—taking the wards with it.

Portals opened onto the mighty field beyond, Hel herself leading the army she'd raised through one. Beside it, far fewer in number, was an army led by another woman.

Freyja, mounted on a warhorse, rode over to where Kaz landed astride Fafnir and Loki waited on Sleipnir. Her eyes were bright and her heart already thudding hard in excitement at the battle to come. "Ho Loki! Ho Kazuma! Fafnir! Sleipnir!"

Laughing, Loki steered his son a little closer to meet Freyja's approach. "Ho there, the ugliest wench I know! Out for a ride on this brisk morning?"

"Loki, you rotten get of a serpent. It's good to see you and your son here today. Perhaps you should go back, though, and fetch your glasses?" Freyja got close enough to sidle her horse up beside his and reach out to clasp forearms. "It's been too long."

"That it has, but I find things looking brighter than ever. A young man brought light and laughter to my family, new and old allies, and a sense of hope I dare to believe in." On any other day Loki would have spent hours sparring with Freyja, preferably after they were both good and drunk, with sharp tongues. Today, though, Loki had too much to do. "I hear tell he did much the same for you?"

"Yes. Though he'd already done enough to gain my interest and allegiance, I found out today that my brother has already avoided his fate by Kazuma's hand. For a young man eager to see this fight won, he sure has avoided a lot of bloodshed."

From another portal another group of jotnar arrived. With rime in their beards and ice hanging from axes and hammers, the frost jotun strode out into their own group—cautiously on the opposite side of the battle line from their fiery kin.

It wasn't the chill wind from the latest portal that made the hair on Kaz's arms stand on end. Miles across the huge plane he could see the host of the einherjar, clad in ornate armor and bedecked with weapons, looked formidable as they packed shoulder to shoulder. Here and there were the gods of the Æsir. Thor, Tyr, Bragi, Heimdallr, Vidarr, Vali (Odin's son), Ullr, and Forseti. Standing at the head of the host was Odin.

This was the big event, Kaz knew, and it terrified him. Odin, though, sitting on a horse other than Sleipnir was a small relief. His left hand reached to the sword on his hip, fingers playing over the hilt and crossguard. "Whatever happens, Fafnir, promise me you'll leave this battlefield. The world needs a grumpy old dragon."

"Your old school had plenty." Lashing his tail, Fafnir's attention was on the various mounts on the other side—the most significant was Thor's. Two huge goats pulling a chariot. "Careful of Thor's chariot. Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjostr will be reborn tomorrow anyway. Though it gives him mobility, it isn't like he can't get around without it. The rest are of little consequence.

"Thor himself is a monster of a god. He will not hold back from killing. If you see him weakened, take your chance and finish him—but don't face him alone. I've seen your training pay dividends, Spakr, but you haven't had thousands of years of honing your skills."

Kaz nodded. "I don't plan to face any of them alone. Loki's my primary target. With Sleipnir, he can do a lot more than I could for anyone else. I fully expect them to delay Loki's fight, though, for that reason. I bet Odin has heard the prophecy Freyja made of me."

"That would be a good thing to assume. He'll try to arrange for you to step into a less important fight, then. Something where the one you save is harmed in a way that they cannot continue on and interrupt other fights."

᱿I predict it will be Odin who fights first. For all his seeking to twist this day in his favor, he is no coward,᱿ Miaow said.

Raising his horn to his lips, Heimdallr put all his might into blasting the Gjallarhorn and its shrill note sang over the field of battle. Standing at one end of the Æsir, he looked along their line and nodded to Odin.

A flick of his reins and Odin urged his horse forward. Even up to the minutes before they'd arrived, he'd searched and scried, and consulted the runes. Nothing had met his queries apart from a vague new prophecy that had stated that of all the fights in Ragnarok, the wild card who had sped the world into the war would only act in one. Armed with that knowledge and Gungnir, Odin took up the very spear point that his favored weapon portrayed.

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This story is released under the Creative Commons BY-NC-SA license. If you are paying money to see this or the original creator, Damaged, is not credited, you are viewing a plagiarized copy of the story.