Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Colin Gunderson slowly paced the floors of his wine cellar underneath his West Auckland mansion. He normally spent most of his time at the house he owned closer to the city, but he did some of his best thinking here. It was also more secluded, meaning he could do things such as temporarily host the body of a presumed dead woman.

The woman in question had broken into his wine cellar to shelter from the harsh June weather. She had stumbled out of the vast forest where she had almost died before the goddess spirit Freya saved her from death and attached itself to her body. Katherine Ericson was her name, and she was bewildered to awaken with a collection of memories and emotions that she was SURE weren’t hers, but otherwise grateful to be alive.

Until Colin, the owner of the house, had found her, weak and starving in the basement and used her weakness to restrain her in the basement. He had some novelty handcuffs lying around that he used to chain her to a cabinet for the time being whilst he determined her worth and use to him.

“Freya, my dear, I must admit that I am not wholly delighted to see you alive again. However, now that you ARE alive, I believe we may be able to start afresh. I have a plan which requires your assistance.”

“Loki, you sick bastard. You tried to kill me. Why the fuck should I want to have anything to do with you?!” Katherine spat. Since Colin had brought her food and water, she had regained strength, but the handcuffs were still enough to restrain her. It didn’t stop her tugging against them in rage.

“YOU killed my daughter, so why don’t we make it even and call it a day? Need I remind you that I can kill you anytime I so choose? In fact…I could kill you right now. Everyone thinks you’re dead. Or I could torture you into submission…” A fire started at his feet and started creeping its way in Katherine’s direction. The reflection of the flames in her eyes emphasised the fear and desperation she was now feeling.

“No, please,” she whispered, horrified. “No more fire.”

“Missing PhD student Katherine Ericson has been found alive in a private stretch of land in the Waitakere Ranges. The 26 year old had been missing for several months and had been presumed dead by police, with her fiancé being arrested for manslaughter. All charges against her fiancé, 30-year old Alan Wilkie, have subsequently been dropped and her disappearance is no longer being treated as suspicious.”

“Isn’t that the same forest where Axl sent Mum to be banished a few months ago?” Ty Johnson asked his grandfather, Olaf. The two of them were seated in Ty’s living room, sprawled over two couches. Olaf was the only family member of Ty’s who was both happy with him and not seriously preoccupied with other matters.

Olaf squinted at the television. “Hmm?” He hadn’t been paying attention to the news.  His mind had been drifting been the latest sexcapade he had had with Stacey, and with the concerning persistent absence of Kvasir. Zeb had wandered down to the basement while everyone else was at Gaia’s ceremony, and Kvasir managed to escape. No-one had seen him since then. Zeb was also keeping a pretty low profile since everyone was extremely upset with him for enabling Kvasir to escape.

“That part of the forest. Isn’t it owned by Colin Gunderson? Which burnt down after Mum was banished there?” Ty had started paying a lot more attention to the outside world since he had become mortal to distract himself from the world he left behind.

“Maybe. I’m not sure.” The forests to the west of Auckland Olaf didn’t bother to distinguish the difference; he only knew the direct route through them to the surf beaches. Ty let out a sigh and titled his head back against the back of the couch.

“Have you spoken to any of your brothers lately?” Olaf pressed. He hated to see his family at odds, especially when it was over something that made one of them so happy. Mike needed a boot up the arse to finally realise that maybe Ty becoming mortal was a good thing.

“I’m not exactly flavour of the month at the moment. Mike refuses point blank to talk to me, Axl is just hurt that I wouldn’t even consider talking to him first, and Anders has his own problems dealing with Axl and Gaia to worry about little old me.” Ty for once, actually felt sorry for Anders.  Ever since Helen’s death, he had shunned the idea of destiny and straight up refused to even contemplate the idea of a romantic relationship with Gaia.

“Yes, the struggle between Gaia and Idunn is proving to be a lot of trouble for her. It’s almost like she has a split personality disorder – one day she’s in love with Axl and is abhorring the idea of Anders, and then other days she’s back on his doorstep or turning up at his work,” Olaf said, shaking his head slowly.

Ty had to admit that it was actually nice to not have to be directly involved in all the mayhem that was occurring in the god-o-sphere as he called it (he hadn’t settled on a proper name yet, but that’d have to do for now). Despite his official label as the traitor of the family and the loss of all hope with the love of his life, the warmth and lack of drama that his life now possessed was refreshing.

There was a thumping at the door, which was unexpected. There was no-one besides Olaf that would voluntarily be seeking out Ty’s company at the moment. Ty leapt up and went to the door, a puzzled expression on his face. He certainly wasn’t expecting to see Anders standing on his doorstep with a desperate look on his face.

“Are you watching the netball?” His face was pleading; a rarity on Anders’ face. Anders NEVER had to plead with anyone for anything.
 “I didn’t know you watched netball!” was the first thing that Ty could think of to say, and he instantly kicked himself mentally for blurting it out like that.
  “Please. 14 hot athletic chicks running around in short dresses for an hour? That’s exactly my cup of tea.” Anders then looked anxiously over his shoulder.

“Hurry up, let me in!” Ty stepped back to let Anders enter, and shut the door behind him.
“Why so desperate to visit me all of a sudden?” Ty asked. He wanted to glower as Anders instinctively sat down in the spot that Ty had been occupying all evening, but he managed to suppress it.

“I’m trying to avoid our new Goddess in Chief and her jealous boyfriend. Each time Idunn takes over Gaia and she makes her way to see me, Axl goes all aggro and has the biggest go at her. Multiple times I’ve had to threaten to call the police because they’re arguing so loudly. And if Axl was any other guy, he would have smacked her one. I’ve seen how close he’s gotten. Fuck, Olaf, you weren’t joking about that god and goddess being together shit. They remind me of how Mum and Dad used to be.” He leaned forward and tiredly rubbed his face with his hands.

“Oh god, and then I had to use my powers to convince the police not to investigate further into Helen’s death. I’m over this, Ty, I really am.” Anders was looking wistfully at Ty, no doubt imagining what it would be like to be mortal like him. The thought made Olaf sad.

“Wait, that…that worked?! You managed to talk police officers into something?!” Anders’ powers normally didn’t extend to positions of authority, unless the person was exceedingly unintelligent or gullible.

“I assume so, or else I’d be locked up on suspicion of murder right now,” Anders said sarcastically.

Ty nodded, and sat back to watch the netball. He was pondering what Anders had said, both about him and Axl. Was it just because Ty was mortal, or did it seem like their god powers were getting stronger? He tried to shake the thought, however, and he, his brother and Olaf enjoyed a strongly mortal-focused evening watching sports and laughing and drinking. The way their family SHOULD have done were it not for the fact that they were all Norse gods.

“…and that is where we can find Frigg.” Colin explained, with a smug smile on his face. Katherine still hadn’t entirely warmed up to Colin yet, especially considering the way he bound her in his basement, but he had allowed her to return home and see her family and friends. Her fiancé, however, was mortified to see her. He had since gotten himself another girlfriend, and she suspected (though she couldn’t quite remember) that he had been the one to nearly kill her. Colin reminded her a lot of him. And with that thought, she felt the rage boil up inside her body.

She glared at him. “And just what, exactly, does that have to do with me?”

“Well, my dear, you and I are going to start properly taking the world by storm. And then once we have done that, you will parade yourself to the Johnsons and let them believe you are Frigg. They will see your power, but they will think that your power is because you are Frigg. And that allows me to draw Frigg away until we can safely guarantee that we are in a superior bargaining position. What say you?”

Katherine was involuntarily shaking; her balance was slightly off kilter from the burns on her feet that she had suffered a few days earlier.
“Fine. I’ll help,” she relented through gritted teeth, “but I’m not going to be happy about it.” Unfortunately for her, Colin was the only proper way for her to get all the things she wanted in life. Because of that, and her precarious position of Loki being able to easily kill her and get away with it, she had no choice but to obey.

Colin’s smile widened. “Excellent! I’ll inform the others!”

Chapter Text

“Flat meeting, guys. Right now.” Zeb called warily in the direction of Gaia’s bedroom. He was pretty certain Axl was in there with her, and he didn’t wish to interrupt them or provide kindling for another one of their massive fights.

Last night had been horrendous. Gaia had wanted to go and talk to Anders (who was still trying to avoid Gaia as much as possible) but Axl wasn’t letting her go anywhere. He had grown just as overprotective as Bryn lately, and Gaia hated it. The way he yelled at her was also something that Zeb thought that he’d never see from Axl. He also didn’t enjoy how they tended to argue out in the hallway, so Zeb was confined to his room until he was sure it was safe to leave.

“YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT IT’S LIKE!” Gaia had screamed at Axl.
   “IT’S HARD AS HELL TRYING TO SURPRESS THESE GODDESS POWERS WHEN I DON’T KNOW HOW THE FUCK I’M SUPPOSED TO CONTROL THEM! “

“WHAT I DO KNOW, IS THAT YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO LOVE ME!” Axl had roared back. “NOT THAT FUCKING PRICK! IF HE LAYS SO MUCH AS A HAND ON YOU, I WILL RIP HIS THROAT OUT USING MY BARE HANDS!”

“Have you ever considered the fact that maybe I want to fuck him?” Gaia had dropped her voice all of a sudden, and it was clear that she wanted to make Axl as angry as possible.  There was a pause where Zeb couldn’t hear anything, and he was worried that Axl was perhaps strangling her to death without him knowing.

“I know you’re fucked off that I’m not Frigg, but you need to understand that I can’t change who I am. Keeping me away from Anders isn’t going to stop anything.” The way that Gaia hissed at Axl made Zeb think that maybe the god and goddess parts of them were almost wholly separate from their human sides. That, or the god side was way more powerful. Gaia would never have spoken to Axl like that, especially not taunt him about wanting to sleep with his brother!

Zeb jumped when he heard a huge thump against the wall outside. Shit. He grabbed his phone, ready to call the police. This was getting too scary. Someone was going to get seriously hurt. And he was betting that it wasn’t going to be Axl.

“Go on, then,” Axl snarled in just as quiet a voice. “You go ahead and have sex with him. And see what happens.”

The next sound chilled Zeb to his bones.

“Axl, let me go,” he could barely hear Gaia whimper. Her voice was trembling, and it sounded like something was restricting her from speaking properly. Oh no. No, he was going to have to go out there, wasn’t he? Ah, bugger it. Zeb let out a breath, and pulled out the shards of the dagger that Axl had broken with his family sword. It probably wasn’t going to help anything, but it made him feel braver.

He squeezed his eyes shut for extra courage before opening the door and entering the hallway. Axl had Gaia pinned against the wall by her neck, almost choking her. His face was dark to the point that Zeb knew that it was Odin doing that, not Axl. She was scrabbling at his hands around her neck but his grip didn’t loosen.

“AXL, STOP!” Zeb yelled, sounding fiercer than he felt. Axl looked round at Zeb in shock, and then realised what he was doing and immediately released Gaia. She fell to the ground coughing and trying hard not to cry.

“Oh god, oh god Gaia I’m so sorry,” Axl whispered in a terrified voice. Gaia burst into tears and went and shut herself in her room. Axl couldn’t look at Zeb, and Zeb didn’t particularly want to look at his best friend either. He turned around and went back to his bedroom.

Later that night, he had heard Axl go and talk to Gaia and apologise. There was some crying and what sounded like some very intense make-up sex, which was still probably where they were this morning. Zeb couldn’t believe that Gaia would let Axl see him after what he had nearly done to her, but then he figured it was none of his business.

Sure enough, Axl and Gaia both emerged from Gaia’s room, holding hands. There were still tell-tale signs of last night’s fight; Gaia’s neck look a little bruised. The two of them sat down in the living room and waited for Zeb to explain why he had called this meeting.

Zeb suddenly felt quite sick to his stomach; he wasn’t sure how he was going to broach his chosen topic of conversation tactfully.

“You guys know I love you, right? I really, really do. And for the most part, the whole being the only mortal in a household of gods isn’t that bad either. But lately…the two of you have gotten to be too much. I’m scared for both your relationship, our sanity AND all of our safety. Which is why I have to tell you…I’ve found a new flat. I’m moving out.”

Axl and Gaia’s faces were unreadable for a few moments. The silence that filled the room was one of the most painful situations Zeb had found himself in. He prayed for one of his flatmates to say something. Finally, Gaia broke the ice.

“Where will you go?” She sounded utterly betrayed.

“I’ve found a place living with two other students – a chick named Katie, and a guy named Liam. They’re doing post-grad, and they seem really nice. Most importantly, they’re not gods. I think I need that right now.” Gaia looked down at her feet, hurt by this news. Axl, however, stood up and stood over Zeb. He towered over Zeb, and he had that same dark expression on his face that made the hair on the back of Zeb’s neck stand up.

“What the fuck, man?! How can you just leave like this? You could have at least talked to us about this first!” Zeb stepped back from Axl anxiously.

“Look, Axl, you have to admit that you’ve been a little…scary lately. I didn’t think that telling you what I hate about living here was a very smart idea. I really don’t want to be around to see you two kill each other. Look at you, Gaia! He’s hurting you!” Axl gripped the front of Zeb’s shirt.

“You watch it,” he growled.
  “Axl! Let him go!” Gaia said sharply. Axl obeyed and released Zeb’s shirt, but he still did not look pleased at all.

“Fine, you can piss off, then. See if I care.” Axl then marched to his room, and slammed the door. Gaia went after him, not even looking back at Zeb.

Zeb sank into the couch. He had had great plans for this day, but Gaia turning into a goddess and all the trouble that ensued seemed to push all of that out of the way.
  “Happy birthday to me,” he sang softly to himself. 

Chapter Text

“Enjoy your new home, Katherine. You had better use your freedom to set the plan in motion wisely, or else I’ll alert my little friends to the fact that you exist.”

“Fuck, you, Colin.”

“Well, there IS always that option, but I think I’d rather let you loose on those younger than myself.”

Anders stirred, and he awoke. He was lying on Ty’s couch, having spent the night there after the netball. He wasn’t fully conscious, and he reached for his phone and started composing a text message when he noticed there was a message waiting for him already.

I need to see you. It’s about Axl.

Anders sighed. It was Gaia. The thing was, a part of him really did want to see her. Maybe it would ease his yearning. And maybe he would find that he actually COULD practice self-control, despite what everyone thought!

Come to Ty’s place.

That way, there’d be people around to ensure that nothing happened. He was also rather hungover, and he didn’t feel like moving. Ingrid had turned up last night, and she and Olaf were in Ty’s spare room, doing god knows what(probably an elaborate mixture of drugs and alcohol). Anders only felt safe to talk to Gaia when there were oracles in their presence.

He closed his eyes in thought.  He heard Ty emerge from his room and start clattering around the kitchen, evidently making some ridiculously elaborate breakfast for everyone.

“Ty, Gaia’s coming round and I need you to be here.” The noises from the kitchen stopped.

“What?!”

Anders winced. Ty’s voice was just a little too loud for his state.

“I said, Gaia’s coming round. Something about Axl.” Anders opened his eyes and Ty was looking at him with a very concerned look on his face.

“Can you promise you won’t do anything?” Ty didn’t want any god business playing out in his home. Especially not anything that involved a) Anders getting his end away and b) anything that could anger Axl.

“No, that’s why I need you here, bro!” Oh, Anders. Ty really did not want to get involved, but the fact that Anders was asking for help meant that it must be serious.

Anders never asked for help. He was the one who always had his shit together. Or at least, could bluff until people assumed that he had his shit together. Anders HAD been extremely supportive of Ty's decision to become mortal. Maybe it was time for a little reciprocity. God dammit. 

“Okay, fine. Shall I send Olaf and Ingrid home?”

“No, get them to stay. The more people, the better.” Anders was taking as many precautions as possible. Ty nodded reluctantly, and went back to making breakfast for everyone. He was glad that his cooking skills weren’t removed when he ceased being Hod.

“Ugh, I feel like shit. Whose idea was it to turn the netball into a drinking game?” Anders moaned, pulling his blanket over his head.

“That was your idea, Anders, taking a drink each time the whistle went.”

“Yeah, well, it was a shit idea. I forgot that they blow the whistle every five seconds. Don’t let me forget that next time.”

Gaia arrived just as breakfast was being served. Olaf and Ingrid were helping themselves to large amounts of fruit and pancakes. Anders was trying to muddle through with just a coffee. There was a knock at the door, and Ty went up to get it.

“Hi,” he greeted Gaia a bit awkwardly. He didn’t know her very well; she had always been with Axl when he had seen her. Gaia smiled awkwardly as Ty opened the door wider to let her in. Anders looked up and saw her; and something inside him tightened. He wasn’t sure exactly what it was, but at least he didn’t have the urge to jump her bones right there on Ty’s couch.

Ingrid was about to ask about Gaia’s well-being, but as Gaia pulled her scarf off, Anders loud voice cut through the room.

“What the fuck is that?!” Anders asked suddenly, an unexpected flash of anger making him get up out of his seat and approach Gaia. Gaia backed away from him, a fearful look on her face.
   “It’s nothing,” Gaia whispered, reaching for her scarf to wrap it round her neck. Anders quickly reached out to grab the scarf as well, and their hands touched. It was only for a few seconds, but it was all they needed. Bragi and Idunn were reunited. There was no going back now. 

“That is not nothing. Come, sit down,” Anders said in the gentlest voice Ty had ever heard him use. He lightly put a hand to her back and gestured for her to join them for breakfast.

As Gaia approached the kitchen table, Ingrid, Olaf and Ty got a proper view of what Anders was talking about. She sat down in the chair next to Anders.

“Are those bruises on your neck?” The happy atmosphere that the room had had before Gaia had arrived had decidedly vanished. Gaia shook her head quickly.

“It’s nothing,” she repeated. Anders was gazing at her with an intense look of concern on his face. His biggest desire at that moment was to softly kiss those bruises of hers better, and he didn’t even care that he wasn’t supposed to have such feelings for her. Or at least, Bragi had no qualms. 

“Did Axl do that to you?” Ingrid asked softly. Gaia nodded, starting to cry and covering her face with her hands. Olaf, Ingrid and Ty all exchanged glances as Anders pulled his chair closer to Gaia’s and wrapped his arms around her protectively.

“Zeb’s moving out, and Axl’s really angry and I’m scared and I don’t know what to!” Gaia sobbed into Anders’ shirt.

“I’m going to kill that bastard,” Anders threatened as he tightened his hug, resting his chin on the top of her head. It was disconcerting to see Anders all caring with Gaia; not even with Helen had Anders been so protective. Anders almost looked like her boyfriend as he held her close. And Gaia wasn’t pulling away. Ty hated to ponder what Axl would do if he saw this sight. 

“That’s not a good idea, Anders. Axl sounds like he is very dangerous at the moment, and you’re the LAST person we want going to see him,” Olaf pointed out.

“So call the fucking cops, then! I don’t give a shit who he is, he can’t treat people like this! Someone needs to talk to him.” Anders was livid.

“That person is NOT going to be you,” Ingrid said firmly. “Axl is too dangerous, he could do very bad things to you.”

“Yes, we want you alive. Not walking straight into the wrath of an angry Odin,” Olaf agreed with Ingrid.

Anders couldn’t believe it. They were suggesting that everyone just let the baby god be angry and homicidal without any consequences?! No. No fucking way. This god shit was getting far too ridiculous. Something HAD to be done. At least to make sure that his kid brother didn’t beat up his girlfriend again. He was Bragi, he had to be able to convince people of something. Even if he didn’t particularly want to be Bragi anymore.

“Gaia, you CANNOT stay there. Go and talk to Mike. He’ll be able to help you out.” The powerful words of Bragi soothed Gaia, and she seemed to think that was a good idea as she nodded in agreement.  Anders’ powers seemed to even extend towards the encouragement of gods and goddesses in that moment – something that shouldn’t have been possible; but no-one picked that up.

“What do you mean, you’re late?”

“What the fuck do you THINK it means, Mikkel?!”

Chapter Text

“Can you tell me something, grandpa?”

“Anything, my grandson, it’s what I’m here for.”

“About…god babies.” Olaf sat upright and stared at Mike. He had accompanied Gaia to Mike’s bar, and she was currently upstairs with Michele. Olaf was slumped over the bar in a dull stupor until Mike’s words had shocked him awake.

“Babies can’t be gods, Mikkel.” Olaf was deliberately misinterpreting Mike’s question in the hopes that his suspicions weren’t true.

“Yeah, I know THAT, grandpa. What I meant was, can you tell me what happens to the babies of a god and a goddess?” Mike watched his grandfather anxiously, awaiting an answer.

“Why do you wish to know?” Don’t say she’s pregnant. Please.

“Michele thinks she’s pregnant. And I’m inclined to believe her, given she’s a doctor and all.” No, no, no. With all that was happening with Axl, Gaia and Anders, a baby in the midst would further complicate things.

“Oh.” It was the only word Olaf could muster. Mike frowned at Olaf’s reaction.

“Are you not happy for us, Olaf?” He had been expecting a larger reaction than just an ‘oh’. Especially when it sounded less than enthusiastic. Or at least an answer to his question as to where to proceed.

“Are YOU not happy for Ty and him being mortal again?” Olaf replied with a question of his own. Mike’s jaw stiffened; the way in which Ty had rid himself of his godliness without first consulting him was the height of betrayal, especially given Colin was still at large. If Ty was going to betray their family, Mike wasn’t going to acknowledge his existence. Just like how he’d done with Anders years before.

“I…that’s different. Ty made a deliberate choice.”

“Are you going to keep the child?” These questions were making Mike feel uncomfortable. He was beginning to see what it might be like to be an oracle, with questions fielded at you from all over the place.

“Of course we are!” Mike’s voice cracked slightly.  He had wanted children of his own for as long as he could remember. It was to be his way of getting a second chance for the childhood that his brothers had had to endure with him at the helm, not knowing what the hell he was doing.

“And is that not a deliberate choice?” In that moment, Mike preferred the drunk, ignorant grandfather as opposed to this strangely sharp and astute Olaf.

“You know what? Forget it.” Michele could ask Ingrid instead. Olaf recognised that the case was closed for the time being, and swiftly changed the subject.

“So, you’re alright with housing Gaia for a little while? She needs a safe place to stay while we sort Axl out.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Mike started slowly pacing back and forth behind the bar; it was his way of helping him solve problems. Axl was a problem that wasn’t going to go away anytime soon – they were about as close to finding Frigg as they ever were – in other words, not even fucking close.

“We can’t just hide her from Axl forever, though, Grandpa. She has a life and a job, both of which are extremely easy for Axl to access,” Mike pointed out. He truly had no problem with providing a safe haven for youths (it was nothing new to him), but he recognised it wasn’t going to work forever. Instead of fixing the problem of Gaia having somewhere to go, it was better to try and solve the problem of the Axl who had no problem using violence to get his point across. Olaf nodded slowly.

It would have been highly useful if Kvasir had decided to stick around, but the useless bastard had taken off again. They really could have used some proper wisdom about the matter. Ingrid and Olaf had extensive knowledge on all the ceremonies and protocol, but when it came to more complicated matters such as inter-god relationships, they only knew the basics. It wasn’t all that often that Odin fell in love with Idunn at the same time Bragi was around. Olaf was wishing there were more people around he could consult and bounce ideas off. Or at least, other people to smoke with so that it would seem like the problem wasn’t so bad anymore.

But for once, an idea came to him. Only, he wasn’t sure that Mike would agree with this.

“What if we consult the Maori gods and let Gaia stay there for a while?” Mike gave Olaf a long look at which Olaf couldn’t determine Mike’s reaction. It was about three minutes before Mike finally gave his grandfather an answer.

“I’m not sure I really like that idea.” Of course not. To allow Leon, George and Jerome get involved would likely overcomplicate things and defeat the purpose of all they were trying to achieve with the hui. Plus, Mike was the kind of person to try and keep the amount of people exposed to risk at a minimum, and involving more people in Axl’s rage problems violated Mike’s modus operandi.

There was a creaking from upstairs, and Michele came down the stairs. Instead of joining Mike behind the bar, she sat down on one of the stools tiredly.

“Glass of the strongest red you have going,” she requested, dropping her arms onto the bar. Mike leaned forward over the counter, raising his eyebrows.

“You know I’m not going to do that,” he replied, with a little smile on his face. Michele let out a groan.

“Really? You’re going to be the over-protective father? I was hoping you’d loosen up a bit by the time you have your own kid.” Mike poured her a glass of sparkling grape juice instead.

“Do you know me at all?” Michele rolled her eyes.

“Fuck it, I should have gone to Anders. He’d give me what I need.”

“Anders has bigger problems to deal with right now,” Olaf said darkly. Michele reached out and downed half her drink and examined her glass resentfully.

“Yup, it’s all a barrel of laughs for everyone at the moment, isn’t it,” she said in a bitter tone. “A congratulations would have been nice though, thank you Olaf,” she added sarcastically.

“Congratulations on putting yourselves in one of the most complicated and scariest things you could ever do in your entire life. Godspeed,” replied Olaf in just as sarcastic a tone. Mike bristled at his tone; his grandfather seemed set on antagonising him that day.

“Grandpa, don’t take it out on Michele,” Mike warned. Michele reached out and grabbed his hand.

“It’s okay, he doesn’t worry me,” she assured him.

“It’s not me you should be worried about!” Olaf practically shouted. Mike and Michele were both quite taken aback at Olaf’s outburst, who tried to hastily repair the situation.

“Look, if it were any other time I would be over the moon for you two. But given the pickle we’re currently in, with the family torn apart and the two of you hiding Gaia, I just think a child, much less a god baby, is too much to handle.” Olaf took a deep breath and looked pleadingly at his grandson and Michele.

“Just please, think about getting the Maori gods to help out. Just as an emergency plan. It would help me sleep better at night.” Mike sighed and exchanged a look with Michele.

“Okay, Grandpa. I make no promises, but I will at least consider it.”  Mike would consider it for roughly 30 seconds before concluding it was a terrible idea, but Olaf didn’t need to know that right now. All he wanted was a little support and encouragement from Olaf in an otherwise troublesome time.

Mike was pretty sure that he’d be able to keep things under control, so what was the point?

“Welcome to the flat! Do you need help with any of your stuff?” A young woman with dirty blonde hair and a big smile stood at the door to Zeb’s new home.

“Not today, most of my stuff will be arriving tomorrow and the next couple of days.” Zeb was glad that he had decided to hire people to move the rest of his stuff, Gaia was gone and he didn’t wantto face Axl by himself. Zeb was afraid that Axl would be utterly hurt and betrayed, or raging mad. Or a combination of both. Zeb just wanted his old friend back, but it was clear that that wasn’t going to happen, so it was time to start afresh. His new flatmate Katie nice enough, and he was sure that his other flatmate Liam would be fine as well. At least there would be no god dramas. 

He spent a couple of hours moving boxes around and trying to recreate his room from his old flat. But that hurt too much. Letting out a massive sigh, he slid down the wall and gazed into an empty corner of his room. Katie walked past the door and noticed him looking upset.

“You alright, there?” She asked in a friendly voice. Zeb didn’t bother to lie with a nod. He continued to stare at the corner of the room.

“Not really,” he sighed. Katie made a worried ‘hmmmmm’ sound, and ducked out of Zeb’s doorway for a few moments. She returned with a pillow. Katie hovered at the door, and gestured with her pillow at all the floor space in Zeb’s room.

“Mind if I sat down?” Zeb shook his head. His flatmate beamed at him (she had a beautiful smile) and she dropped the pillow on the floor a few metres from Zeb and sat down.

“So tell me what happened in your last flat.” It wasn’t an order, but an invitation. Zeb didn’t know where to begin. For starters, there was plenty that he outright couldn’t tell Katie. In addition, spreading the information of how his best mate had turned extremely violent and abusive overnight seemed in poor taste somehow.

But before he could begin, Katie glanced upwards at the ceiling and noticed something.

“We need to get a smoke alarm in here.” Her tone was sharp and it startled Zeb a little.

“What – okay then, I’ll go pick one up tomorrow,” Zeb replied, a little bewildered.

“No, we better go get one now.” Katie stood up, and when she looked down at Zeb and noticed his bemusement, her expression and her voice softened.

“Sorry if I seem so uptight about it, it’s just I’ve had a bad past with fire, and it really makes me anxious not being adequately prepared. Smoke alarms in every room are the least that I can do to keep me calm. I know it makes me a weirdo, but that’s who I am.” Katie gave an uncomfortable little shrug, and Zeb could see that it really made her wary. He didn’t want to drive her away because she really did seem nice, and Zeb didn’t want anyone feeling awkward in this new flat.

“No, no, I completely understand. Being prepared is important. I’m really good at preparing survival kits, so we can just add that as a necessary precaution.” Katie gave him a huge, relieved smile.

“Thanks for being so understanding. Did you want to come with me?” She offered her hand out to him to help him up.  Zeb took her hand, standing up. As Katie exited the room, she still had Zeb’s hand, gently pulling him along. Normally, he would have immediately dropped her hand so that she wouldn’t think him a creep, but he allowed himself to hold her grip until she let go, which wasn’t until they’d exited the house. It was at that moment that Zeb finally started to trust in his decision to move. He’d be just fine here.

Dawn sat crouched over her desk, one hand rubbing her forehead and the other holding a phone to her ear.

“Mum…Mum, it’s okay. Please don’t be upset. It’s going to be alright.” Dawn was trying to comfort her sobbing mother, which was quite difficult when she lived a couple of hours away. Someone close to Dawn’s mother had just passed away, and it brought up similar memories of some terrible events that had occurred in her own family. She was on the phone for a few more minutes, just letting her mother cry over the phone line. Thankfully, her mother eventually pulled herself together and apologized profusely for interrupting Dawn when she was doing “important big city work” (even though it was outside her normal work hours), and finally hung up.

She let out a sigh and slid back from her desk for a second, wishing that someone was there who she could talk to. It wasn’t entirely clear who exactly it was who Dawn wanted to talk to, but the craving was there.

“Oh, shit, Dawn, you nearly gave me a heart attack! What are you doing here?” Oh, God. Her bossAnders was definitely NOT the person Dawn felt like talking to. But here he was, all 5 feet 8 inches of sweet-talking authority.

“I work here,” Dawn answered irritably. “I should be asking what are YOU doing here, you’re barely even here during normal work hours, let alone OUTSIDE of work hours!”

Anders lay back down on the couch, his hands behind his head and stared at the ceiling.

“Ah, well, I needed a bit of an escape and a distraction. Plus, work helps me sleep.”

“What, because it makes you fall asleep when you actually have to do real work?” Anders turned his head to his assistant and gave her his familiar smile despite himself. He had had many a wonderful nap on that couch, both alone and accompanied (although whenever he had company on that couch there was very little actual sleeping that got done…).

“Right you are, Dawnie.” Dawn rolled her eyes and turned her focus back to her desk. She had a framed picture of her and another young woman that she had brought in a few days earlier. Anders noticed her gazing intensely at the picture, and was curious as to what could make his assistant look so weary (besides himself, of course).

“Who’s in the picture?” It baffled Dawn to hear Anders’ voice sound truly curious about something surrounding her life.

“It’s my sister and I.” She could have elaborated, but after the draining conversation with her mother, she didn’t feel like launching into a long explanation unprompted.   

“You never told me you had a sister.” His words were accusatory, but his tone was of curiosity. Anders had learned many things about Dawn, especially during the time when she was dating Ty. Ty would start every single conversation he had with Anders during that time with “Did you know that Dawn…?” But not once had any mention of a sister come up.

“She’s dead. She was killed when she was on her OE in Norway a couple of years ago.” Anders felt a twinge. News that Dawn had suffered such a terrible loss in her life without Anders having a clue made him feel guilty. It must have wrecked her.

“Oh.” There wasn’t much else Anders could think of to say in the situation. There had been too much death lately, and Dawn’s dead sister just made life a little bit heavier for Anders. Would Ty have known? It was hard to say.

But something else about what Dawn said made Anders a little uneasy. Killed in Norway? That hit a little too close to home. The fate of Dawn’s sister could very well have been Anders’ fate.  Dawn was now looking at Anders sorrowfully, and he knew that she was thinking the very same thing.

“So next time, Anders, just give me prior warning before you dash off to Scandinavia, okay?” Dawn asked. She was trying to pass it off as a joke, but her voice was a little shaky. No don’t cry, Dawn! Anders couldn’t stand people crying (including himself) and the thought of his hardy assistant succumbing to tears was too much to bear. He swiftly slid off the couch and went over to Dawn’s desk, perching on the edge and taking one of her hands.

“Listen to me, Dawn. I know it’s tough dealing with a loss, but you are strong and you will overcome the grief. Focus on looking forward at your goals, and don’t dwell too much on the past. You will get through this.” Was it morally dicey to manipulate someone’s emotions like that? Anders had often used his powers to give Dawn a pep talk once in a while, or for specific instructions, but this seemed more morally ambiguous. Anders figured as long as she didn’t outright forget her sister like she did Ty, or feel happy about her sister’s death, then she was fine.

As Dawn stopped looking so sad and started looking more determined about the work in front of her, Anders tried to believe that everything was okay. If only his powers of persuasion extended to convincing himself of the same thing.

Chapter Text

The bar after hours retained little of its light or warmth, but Gaia found it comforting all the same. She had spent the entire day there, clinging closely to the bannisters of the stairs that separated the bar from Mike and Michele’s living quarters. Michele had kindly set her up a make-shift bed on their couch, but Gaia hadn’t yet retreated for sleep. Her head was still swimming from the events of the last week; she could still feel Axl’s hand around her neck every time she swallowed. But at the same time, she could also feel Anders’ embrace around her shoulders. Gaia wanted nothing more than to be with him in that moment, but she knew how dangerous that would be. Plus, a part of her was overcome with an immense guilt over even considering the possibility. That part of her Gaia wanted to hold on to. It was her link back to the world that she used to know, one where gods and Asgard and Papatuanuku were all myths. It was how she knew that there had to still be a part of Axl that was the harmless idiot that she fell in love with. The guilt was what kept her left armed firmly wrapped around the bannister as she listened to Mike’s argument on the phone downstairs. Since her unfavourable encounter with Axl, he had taken off somewhere with no contact with anyone they knew. Gaia had kept her head low for nearly a week, but this particular phone conversation had her on edge.   

“She’s fine, she’s safe. Trust me. Of course I know where to find her, I’m god of the hunt, remember?” Mike had his eyes fixed on Gaia, who was gazing worriedly back at Mike. She didn’t think that Mike would tell Axl where she was, but she couldn’t help but feel concerned all the same. It didn’t sound like he was talking to Axl, however.

“Well, how is that MY problem?” Mike looked away from Gaia and started pacing the room, distracted by his conversation. He had an inkling of a smirk on his face. Whoever he was talking to, he was enjoying the opportunity to show his superiority.

“Let me tell you something, Punga,” Mike’s tone was heavily sarcastic, “why don’t you find Gaia yourself.” He let out a laugh at the impossibility of his suggestion. There was no way that George would be able to find her while Mike was hiding her. She was in safe hands. Gaia hadn’t expected that George and the others would still be looking for her since her birthday.


“’Grave danger?’ What is that supposed to mean?” A hand on Gaia’s shoulder nearly made her leap a mile in the air. It was Michele, who had just tiptoed down the stairs.

“Their pissing match is going to go on for a while. You should get some sleep,” Michele whispered, settling down next to Gaia.  

“I don’t want to intrude. You’ve already hosted me for a week, that’s more than I could have asked for.” It wasn’t just a week. Mike had been the older brother that she had never had (before she knew about Leon, of course). He had already given her so much, and in between Idunn, an absent Axl and everything else that was falling to pieces, Gaia’s guilt continued to compound.

“Trust me, Mike secretly loves having a busy household. And you’re a far better houseguest than any of the squatters we’ve had in this bar.” Michele’s slightly disgusted tone was in direct reference to both Kvasir and Olaf, who had both outstayed their welcome. Thankfully for Michele, Olaf was off somewhere with Stacey. She didn’t want to anticipate where that might be, or what they were doing.


“Has anyone heard from Axl?” Gaia shook her head miserably, winding her arm tighter around the bannister.

“Zeb hasn’t seen or heard from him either. I don’t know what to do.” Gaia was grateful that Zeb was still talking to her – he had left under messy circumstances, and she would have completely understood if he had decided to eschew all contact with the fucked up world she had become a part of.

“There’s nothing you can do. He’ll turn up when he’s ready.”

Mike finished his phone call and started heading up the stairs. Michele stood up, happy that he was finally coming to bed.

“What was George saying about grave danger?” Gaia asked, still not standing up. She had latched onto those two words, and it was hard to shake off the sense of unease that it had caused.

“It’s just Jerome trying to scare us all. Don’t worry about it,” Mike reassured her, wrapping an arm around Michele’s waist. Michele rolled her eyes at the mention of Jerome.

“What, does he think that we’ll take the bait?” she asked with a laugh.

“He obviously doesn’t know us very well,” Mike replied, kissing her cheek. Gaia looked away from them prudishly. She couldn’t stay there much longer. Mike and Michele had a life of their own that she didn’t want to interrupt, and every second of their happiness reminded her of how she wanted to be with Axl and Anders simultaneously.

The other part of her former self that hadn’t been lost was the part of Gaia that was experienced in escaping. It wasn’t that she didn’t appreciate all that Mike and Michele had done for her. But she couldn’t continue to sit there and let others shield her, and keep her in the dark. Gaia had had too much of that bullshit from Bryn and Jacob and her prison on Waiheke Island. She waited for about half an hour, when she could be sure that Mike and Michele had gone to sleep. Then Gaia finally allowed herself to let go of the bannister.  She couldn’t regain control of her life if she didn’t trust herself.

Ty had a fork halfway to his mouth when there was a knock at the door. He had been looking forward to dinner all day; Ingrid was continuing to marvel him with her wonderful cooking.

“Do you want me to get that?” Ingrid asked brightly.  Ty shook his head.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got it.” He knew exactly who was at the door, and as he opened it Anders’ grinning face confirmed his hunch.

“Don’t you have your own home to return to?” Ty asked somewhat sarcastically as he let his older brother in.

“I do, but what good is that when I can get a proper cooked meal and human companionship here?”

“Maybe this human doesn’t want your companionship right now.” Ty loved his brother, but four nights in a row was excessive. Between Anders’ frequent visits and Ingrid’s semi-permanent residence in his home, it had a lot more god activity than Ty had been hoping.

“Course you do. Oh, and don’t shut the door just yet, Dawn’s on her way in.” Ty nearly slammed the door shut reflexively.

“Anders!” Ty hissed. It wasn’t going to be a relaxing evening if he had to juggle both his brother AND his ex-girlfriend who barely knew him anymore.


“Don’t give me that look. She was a bit down at work today, so I invited her up here.” Anders knew very well that Ty was not cruel enough to send a sad woman home to be alone. Neither would Anders, but for very different reasons.

“And you didn’t think to run it by me first?”

“I knew you’d say yes, don’t tell me you don’t still have the hots for her.” Whilst Anders was right, Ty still didn’t appreciate the surprise. He wasn’t exactly a messy person, but if he had known that Dawn was coming round, he would have tidied up a little. Not to mention the fact that he and Ingrid had varying standards as to what constituted a tidy home, and she tended to win their battles over it.

“That’s not the point. A little heads up would have been nice.”

“You’ll get over it,” Anders whispered, giving his brother a pat on the back as he made his way to the dinner table. Dawn fronted at the door mere seconds later.  

“Hi, Dawn,” Ty said with a nervous smile. Dawn smiled back, although it didn’t quite meet her eyes. Ty attributed this to her relative unfamiliarity with him. While her attitude towards him was expected this time, it didn’t hurt any less. Nevertheless, he welcomed her in, offering to take her coat. Dawn handed it to him, once again giving him a lifeless smile. Anders had already settled at the table with a generous glass of wine, from a bottle that Ty had been saving for a special occasion. He decided to let it slide as he offered Dawn a glass. She politely accepted, and that was the closest thing to an actual emotion that he would elicit from her all night.

Zeb was lying on his bed with a book when there was a knock at his door.

“Come in,” he called, sitting up in surprise. His flatmate Katie poked her head around the door. She had just returned from a work function, and she was dressed to the nines. Her make-up and dress accentuated her delicate beauty, but there was something else that about her that he was immensely attracted to. The more cynical side of himself thought that it was purely because she was a woman who actually paid attention to him which elevated her beauty. But another part of Zeb was convinced that there was something else which made her so captivating. He couldn’t quite figure it out, however.

“Hey Zeb! Did you hear from your old flatmate at all?” Katie had been there the previous day to overhear Zeb trying to comfort Gaia over Axl’s disappearance.

“No, no-one’s been able to get in touch with him yet.” Zeb replied gloomily, setting his book down on the duvet. He had sent multiple text messages and made a few voicemails ever since Gaia had alerted him that he was missing, but to no avail. Katie edged a little more inside his door, and he beckoned for her to come in.

“Well, has anyone filed a police report?” she asked with a frown as she sat on the edge of his bed. Her presence in his room was slightly distracting; she was the first girl he had had in his bedroom since his dalliance with Stacey.

“His older brother doesn’t think he needs to yet,” Zeb had to be careful with his words. He couldn’t divulge the truth, which was that Mike Johnson would be a far better candidate to locate Axl than any police officer. But given the situation with Axl and Gaia, Mike thought it was better if Axl were to return of his own accord, rather than prematurely bringing him back into a dangerous scenario. Not only was it safer for Gaia, it was probably safer for Axl to be away from gods for a while. If only for his sanity and clarity of mind.

“But hasn’t it been nearly a week since anyone’s seen him? Surely that’s a bit suss.” Zeb didn’t answer.  He didn’t know what to say. He hated hiding the truth from Katie, but the secrets he was hiding weren’t his to tell. At least Katie didn’t think that he was a suspect in Axl’s disappearance.

“You miss him, don’t you.” Katie said softly.

“He’s my best friend. Maybe I shouldn’t have left how I did. It’s just made things so much worse.”

“You’re a good guy, Zeb. Don’t you forget that. If he’s truly your best friend, he’ll forgive you.” She gave him a kiss on the cheek before leaving him. The kiss was such a surprise that he failed to notice the slight limp that Katie had as she walked out of his bedroom. Zeb’s cheek was pink from where she kissed him for the rest of the night.

It was the most awkward dinner that Ty had ever experienced, and that was coming from the king of bad dates. Anders decided to forgo talking in exchange for drinking most of Ty’s wine. Ingrid was busy flitting back and forth from the dinner table and the kitchen, citing an imaginary dessert that she had to check on. This left a floundering Ty trying to make conversation with Dawn, who was extremely uncommunicative. He finally got a reprieve when she excused herself to use the bathroom. As soon as she was out of earshot, Ty rounded on Anders for answers.

“What did you do to her?!” Ty demanded quietly, as Anders poured himself another glass of wine.

“What are you talking about?”

“Dawn. She’s acting like a robot.”

“I told you, she’s been a bit down.” Anders replied cagily, not looking his brother in the eye. 

“No. I know what ‘a bit down’ is like. This is like she has no emotions at all.”

“Oh, and you immediately assume that this is my fault? Look, she’s been really upset about her sister lately, so I just said a few words to try and stop her from bursting into tears every five minutes. And then when she wasn’t sad anymore but started getting overly aggressive about work and getting ahead I may have said a few more words to her.”

“You said a few words, or Bragi said a few words?” Anders chose not to respond, taking a long swig from his glass of wine.

“Jesus, Anders, you don’t know where to stop, do you?!” Ty shook his head incredulously, gripping his knife and fork tightly to curb his anger. Anders shivered out of habit; it had reached the point where the room would have normally dropped several degrees. But the room stayed uncomfortably warm.

Dawn had returned, but she was now in the kitchen with to Ingrid. Ingrid was trying to positively engage Dawn in a conversation, and she got closer than Ty did by asking Dawn about where she grew up.

“Oh, so what’s Putaruru like? I’ve heard it’s lovely,” Ingrid beamed, happy that she’d finally found a conversation topic that Dawn was willing to discuss for more than a few seconds.  

“It’s like God’s waiting room. Everyone there is just waiting to die. Including my mother.” Ingrid’s smile faltered. It was like speaking to a lifeless version of Eva again. The murderous look that Anders received from Ty was certainly warranted. It wasn’t so much what Dawn had said, but it was the matter of fact tone with which she had said it. No sadness, nothing.

“You need to fix this. You can’t mess around with people’s emotions like this!”

“Okay, fine, I’ll tell her to cheer up! Good to see you’re still your cheery self,” Anders muttered. Ty’s retort was cut off by his phone ringing. He got up to answer it, still glaring at Anders. But his angry expression dropped off his face the second he answered it.

“Axl?! Where are you?!” Anders froze at the mention of their brother’s name. Ty’s face got grimmer and grimmer as Axl spoke on the other line.

“Axl…I want to help you, but I don’t know if I can.” Ty covered his eyes tiredly. He exhaled heavily as Axl continued to plead his case in Ty’s ear. Whatever he said must have worn him down, because Ty finally relented.

“Yep. Okay. I’ll try and make my way there. You might have to wait until tomorrow, but I’ll make sure someone’s there,” he hung up and let out an exhausted sigh. Anders was still staring at Ty suspiciously.

“What the fuck did he want?” Bragi was still angry that Axl had hurt Gaia, and it showed.

“Axl wants me to come bail him out of jail. Apparently he assaulted a police officer while he was out on a bender.” What a bloody moron. Of all the stupid things Axl had done in his life, this had to be one of the most idiotic.

“You’re fucking kidding me.” Anders leaned back in his seat. Ever since he had to talk a police officer into closing the case on Natalie, he had vowed to give law enforcement a wide berth. But he was probably going to be roped into pulling a few strings again. Anders wasn’t exactly the most moral person in the world, but this was another level of wrong.

“We have to talk to Mike,” Ty decided. Not only did Mike deserve to be clued in on what was going on, he was also the most likely to have enough liquid funds to actually finance Axl’s bail.

“Are you out of your bloody mind? Good luck getting him to sign off on that. Axl’s not exactly the family favourite right now. Neither are you, for that matter.”

“But he IS family. Surely that’s got to count for something?” Ty’s voice was far too hopeful for the situation. “Maybe he can turn over a new leaf.”  

“You know what, I think I actually preferred you when you were perpetually pessimistic. You were less delusional then.”  

Anders was right; Mike wasn’t particularly thrilled to see either Ty or Anders at his door. The pair of them had agreed to visit Mike the next morning after they had all slept on it. And Ty had reasoned that Mike would be more willing to bail Axl out if he knew that he had had time to stew over the crime that he had committed.

“It’s not a good idea for you to be here at the moment, Anders. And you are not welcome in my house,” he threatened Ty.

“Fine. But I thought you should know that Axl has been arrested, and he wants us to bail him out. So do with that what you will.” Ty turned to leave, perfectly happy to leave the gods to their own business. He had better things to do than to let Mike guilt-trip him over his decision. Anders didn’t move, however. He was curious to see what Mike wanted to do about the situation. But Axl fell out of focus when a fourth person joined their discussion. 

“I thought we were trying to avoid the Bragi/Idunn mess, what the fuck are you doing here, Anders? We’ve been trying to keep Gaia away from toxic people such as yourself.” Michele joined Mike at the door. While Mike was angry at Ty’s presence, Michele was more incensed by the audacity of Anders to complicate matters by not staying away.

“Ah! The happy mother-to-be! I take it I won’t be getting an invite to the baby shower, then,” Anders retorted. No-one had broken the news to Ty, who swallowed his annoyance to revel over the new development.   

“Are you pregnant?!” Ty of all people knew how hard Mike had tried with Valerie to have a baby. Having a baby with Michele was another level all together.  It went against all that Mike had tried to build with his life – one that was as normal as possible. Bringing a child who would become a god into the world was something that Ty never would have expected from his eldest brother. But evidently his desire to be a father outweighed that. Michele appreciated Ty’s happy surprise, and she nodded happily.

“You should go back inside,” Mike murmured to Michele. Michele was beginning to resent his overprotectiveness. Ever since she had told him of her pregnancy, he had been eager to all but keep her in a bubble. It was becoming infuriating.

“For fuck’s sake, Mike, I don’t need coddling,” she snapped at him.

“No, but I need you to keep an eye on Gaia, especially while Anders is around.” For once, Anders didn’t roll his eyes at the implication that he couldn’t control himself. The more precautions people took, the better.

“Well, there’s no need for that, Mike, because she’s gone.”

Chapter Text

“It’s always the tough guys who cry the most,” Axl overheard a police officer jeer to his colleague as he walked past Axl’s cell. It was obviously meant for Axl’s benefit, as he had spent a good portion of the night curled up on the floor bawling his eyes out. It was an ugly mixture of fear, frustration and guilt which had kept the tears flowing all night long.

Now that it was morning, Axl’s mind was feeling as puckered as his skin. He still lay on the ground, cheek pressed to the cold floor. The events from the previous night were hazy from his exhaustion and the awful hangover he was sporting. He had asked for more than the one measly cup of water he had been given, but the police officers on duty had feigned deafness to his pleas.  Given that he had put one of their colleagues in intensive care, they weren’t exactly feeling benevolent towards him. Closing his eyes eased the discomfort from the harsh light that beamed down on him. He tried to comfort himself with the thought that Ty would eventually be there to help him. Axl hadn’t exactly made it easy for him, given the location where he had been arrested. Maybe if he tried to actually get some sleep, time would pass faster and he could pretend that he wasn’t totally fucked.

“Axl Johnson?” A booming voice broke through his wavering consciousness. “Your legal support is here.” Axl quickly scrambled to his feet. Only then did he realise how much of a shambles he looked. His shirt had a huge rip in the side and was grubby with the residual stains of sweat, blood and alcohol from the night before. His hands were blistered and raw from his latest fight, and he himself was sporting a shiner of a black eye from the police officer who actually managed to tackle him to the ground when he had been in his fit of rage. That was the cop who he had ended up sending to the hospital. Every throbbing ache of his ribs where he had been hit reminded Axl how much of a mess he was in. Any legal help was probably going to take one look at him and file an immediate guilty plea.

Axl was expecting a tired old man to be his legal representation, so he was completely thrown when his actual lawyer arrived. Miriama Howell was a stout woman in her late 30s, with leathery hands and a taut mouth. She eyed him suspiciously as the police officer entered his cell, giving him a slight shove as he put Axl in handcuffs to take him to the questioning room. As Axl walked in silence with the police officer and the lawyer, he looked around the tiny police station. He hadn’t paid much attention when he had been brought in the night before, but seeing it properly with its off-colour chairs, dingy coloured walls and a few cells with equally pathetic looking inmates made Axl feel even sicker about the situation he was in. The police officer left Axl and Miriama alone in the questioning room, where she formally introduced herself and had a look over his police report.

“A city boy, eh? You’re a bit far away from home.” Her voice was initially stern, but she cracked him a sympathetic smile, which made Axl feel guiltier.

“Sorry,” Axl mumbled; it was the only thing he trusted himself to say.

“I bet you are,” Miriama replied, shaking her head. “They want to throw the book at you. Aggravated assault, injuring with intent, assault with intent to injure, assault with a weapon-” Axl had a flashback of smashing a bottle over someone’s head “-to name a few.”  He stared down at his bound hands. They were trembling slightly underneath the cold metal. It was hard to believe that those same hands had hurt so many people lately.

“It doesn’t look good, Axl, you’re potentially facing a lengthy prison sentence.” He had known that the possibility was coming, but to have her say it aloud was something that he couldn’t register. Axl decided to focus on everyone else but himself. It wasn’t real yet.

“Is he okay?”  Axl asked hoarsely.

“Who are you referring to?” Axl cringed as he remembered that the police officer wasn’t his only victim of the night. He had given a couple of other people a bloody nose and split lips. There were probably others, but they were still lost in the haze of blood, alcohol and surging rage that characterised the previous evening.

“The - the cop.” Miriama gave him a tired look, pulling a pair of outdated glasses off her face.

“Internal bleeding, fractured eye socket, bruised ribs and a broken jaw. He’ll probably need surgery. His missus is a nervous wreck thanks to you. But it’s not him you have to worry about.” Axl’s stomach lurched. He had been under the impression that the police officer had copped the worst injuries. Miriama swallowed hard before she explained herself; it occurred to Axl that she probably knew most of the people involved personally.

“Do you recall the young man you pushed out of the way of your fight?”

Axl couldn’t remember much, but he could remember the person Miriama was referring to. His name was Jack. An affable bloke. Easy-going, and generous with his rounds of beer. Too generous. Axl took a liking to the guy because he wasn’t pushy. Jack hadn’t questioned why Axl was so far away from home, he didn’t wonder aloud why Axl had such a dishevelled appearance, and he didn’t try to pry into the parts of Axl’s life that Axl wasn’t willing to share. Maybe he should have.

“What about him?” Axl dared ask. He could tell from the look on Miriama’s face that the answer wasn’t going to be something he wanted to hear.

“You might want to fill up your petrol tank,” Ty advised Mike as he opened the door to his car.

“Why’s that?” Mike asked irritably; the prospect of having to get his youngest brother out of jail had put him in a foul mood. And it was about to get fouler.

“He’s in Dannevirke,” Ty replied a little sheepishly.

“For fuck’s sake!” Mike shouted, slamming the door shut again. Ty’s predictions were correct, but he still jumped. “He wants us to drive half away across the bloody country to save him when he punched a cop?!” Dannevirke was one of the absolute last places Mike wanted to visit, ever. The small town reminded him too much of his failures and the simple life he could never have. To have to return to the town he had escaped so long ago under the circumstances was enough to make him livid.

“At least we know where he is,” Ty tried to be optimistic. Even if their brother was currently in jail some 500 kilometres away.

“Give me one good reason why we shouldn’t just leave him there.” Mike had had it with babying his younger brothers. He had tried his hardest to raise them to be sensible human beings, and this was how they repaid him?

“Because he’s family. And he’s not enjoying this Odin business any more than we are.  He’s probably scared shitless right now. Are you seriously going to abandon him?  If you abandon him, he’s just going to feel worse. And what’s to say he doesn’t hurt someone else again? We need to help him, Mike. Together.” Maybe Mike hadn’t been a total failure after all. His expression softened as he realised that his little brother was right. Their lives would be marginally less horrible if they stuck together.

“We’ve gotta find Frigg,” Mike sighed, shaking his head. Ty smiled, happy that he had finally gotten through to Mike.

“One thing at a time. We need Axl for that.” Mike jumped into the driver’s seat of his car and look out the window at Ty, a determined glint in his eye.

“When Anders gets here, we go. There’s a long drive ahead of us.”

“22-year old Axl Johnson is facing court today for a number of charges in Dannevirke District Court. Sergeant Graham Masters is in a serious but stable condition after being attacked by Johnson. One of his other victims, 19 year old Jack Zane remains in a critical condition after being pushed into an oncoming car by the accused.” Colin turned off the television in his office, before the story could elaborate further. He stood up and poured himself a glass of vodka from a side table. A smirk crossed his face as he examined the tall bottle in the muted light emitting from his fireplace. Katherine, who was standing to attention at the door, did not share his smile when he glanced in her direction. 

“This is the very tip of the iceberg of what they’re capable of. But I’m sure you know that already, thanks to the tragic fate of your two parishioners.” Colin’s second guest gave him a hardened stare. The man was sitting on one of the sofas in Colin’s office. He had dark, harrowing eyes that carried the burden of too many souls.

“Natalie and Celeste were both very dear to us. I want to make sure that this never happens again. To anyone.”  He glanced at the now black screen of the television. Colin sat down opposite him, feigning a look of sympathy.

“Well, Mark, I think you might be a tad late for poor Mr Zane. But we want to help you. The same woman who killed your Celeste also murdered my daughter.”

“I’m sorry for your loss.” Mark’s condolences were genuine. It was what Colin liked about the man.  His intentions and beliefs were upfront. It made a nice change from the people Colin normally dealt with. This made it easier for Colin to manipulate him. Although ‘manipulate’ was such a sinister word. All Colin was doing was encouraging Mark to see through his goals. They just happened to be goals that Colin could use to his advantage.

“I don’t wish to pry, but she wasn’t a – you know - was she?” Mark’s tone was hesitant, but he needed to know the truth before he agreed to work with the lawyer. He didn’t wish to utter the word out loud, but thankfully for him Colin understood what he meant.

“She fell in love with one, and married him. It was his mother who killed her.” Colin didn’t feel the need to explain that Eva herself was also a goddess. He didn’t like to talk about her more than was necessary. Katherine shifted her feet uncomfortably at the edge of the room.

“So both your son-in-law and his mother were these false deities? That’s intriguing,” Mark mused, sitting back in his seat. Colin gave a curt nod.

“The man you sent Natalie after in Norway? My daughter’s husband is his brother. And they are both older brothers of the one and only Mr Axl Johnson.” Mark’s eyes glistened in triumph. He had spent years and years gathering enough information on Agnetha and Anders Johnson in order to pursue them. And now there was someone who was both willing to assist him in his mission and help piece it all together. It was as though God himself had intended for them to meet. And in a way, he wasn’t wrong.

It just wasn’t the god that Mark had in mind.

Anders returned to his house to find Gaia sitting on the front steps. When he approached the door, Gaia hastily stood up so they were level, less than a metre apart.

“What the fuck are you doing here?!” Anders hissed, glancing cautiously over his shoulder. “Don’t tell me you’ve been here all night!” He couldn’t help but let his concern show.

“Michele never goes back to her house anymore. I just borrowed her keys.” The girl was gutsy, Anders had to admit.  Anders himself had once visited the neighbourhood where Michele usually dwelt – it wasn’t the worst place in the world to spend the night. It was far nicer than the dingy bar that Mike took far too much pride in. Anders hoped for Michele’s sake that she’d be able to convince him to move out of it. Anders grinned at her initiative, but it faltered when he remembered that he wasn’t supposed to be admiring his brother’s girlfriend. Soon to be ex-girlfriend, he thought hopefully. For Gaia’s safety. Not for his own intentions.

“You can’t be here.” Anders tried to sound authoritative, but his voice wouldn’t obey. It came out in a feeble plea. 

“I don’t want to be here.” Gaia fired back. But she made no move to leave.

“Well, I’m not exactly keeping you here,” Anders pointed out, hoping that she’d get the hint. Mike and Ty would be wondering where he got to. Because he’d be the one they fucking needed to do all the heavy lifting for them to help Axl. The prospect was growing less and less attractive by the minute, and Anders hadn’t been particularly keen in the first place.

“Yes you are,” Gaia whispered back, her eyes filling with tears. She defiantly wiped them away before they could spill. Oh, fuck, Anders wanted to hug her so much. It wasn’t her fault, none of this fucked up situation was her fault. Just one hug wouldn’t hurt.  Before Anders could continue to wrangle with his internal monologue, they had their arms wrapped tightly around each other in a firm embrace. Anders could feel Gaia relax in his arms, and that in turn made him calmer. He didn’t want to ever let her go. But the smallest ounce of responsibility crept to the forefront of his mind.

“Mike and Ty are waiting for me,” Anders mumbled regretfully in Gaia’s ear. Fuck them, they had the wrong priorities. Why did he have to help bail Axl out? He had already done enough damage with having to deal with Natalie. It was morally preferable for him to stay there with Gaia.

“Do you have to go with them?”  She didn’t know where they were going, but she sure as hell knew that she wanted Anders to stay. Gaia gazed up at Anders pleadingly.  Anders needed to make her feel as though things were going to be okay. There was really only one way he knew how to do that, but it wasn’t the time to be picky. And if Axl was going to be set free, then this would be their last chance. Bragi couldn’t pass that up such an opportunity to be with his Idunn.

“No, I don’t. Why don’t you come upstairs?”