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Chapter Text

Korg: Come, come, gather round. And listen to the legend of the Space Viking. AKA the God of Thunder. AKA Thor Odinson.

Korg: Raised in the way of the warrior, Thor was taught to help win battles, fighting the good fight for those who can't fight good.

Korg: He grew, and he grew, and he grew. He was sensitive, like a smile. And his loving nature did not discriminate. He once loved a swashbuckling Passionista. Another time, he loved a Wolf Woman, on a Woman Wolf.

Korg: But Thor's one true love was an Earth woman named Jane Fonda. Oh, wait, no. Jane Foster. But sadly, in the battle for love, Thor lost. Ooh.

Korg: In fact, he lost a lot of people in those days. His mum. His dad. And that guy, Fandral. And that other guy, Volstagg. And that other guy, Hogun, whoever he was. And Heimdall. And his brother. And his brother, again. And again.

Korg: Poor Thor had to watch his planet explode. And then he said, "What have I done?" It seemed that everything and everyone he loved, he lost. And so he hid his heart behind a big, fleshy bod, so it could never be broken again.

Korg: But just because he was done loving, didn't mean he was done fighting. He teamed up with the Guardians of the Galaxy, and set off on some classic Thor adventures. He got in shape with some help of a Keyblade Master named Terra Dohring. They put in the hard yards, turning pains into gains and never skipping leg day. With a little help from Terra, he went from Dad Bod to God Bod.

Korg: But beneath his God Bod, there was still a Sad Bod just trying to get out. Because all of the bods that Thor had worn over the years couldn't hide the pain that he was feeling on the inside. So he gave up his search for love, accepting that he was only good for one thing...

Korg: Waiting in quiet contemplation for someone to say, "Thor, we need your help to win this battle."

Indigarr

"Thor."

Standing on a mountaintop on the planet of Indigarr, Terra pushed aside the surprise and confusion that he felt from suddenly being thrust into battle. Arriving on the planet, he managed to get a quick rundown of the situation from the Guardians and hear a bit about what they've been through lately. Terra had been a little surprised to hear that they've set up a place called Knowhere to be a new home for them, and was especially surprised to hear about the little "incident" they had over Christmas.

"You guys seriously kidnapped Kevin Bacon?" Terra asked, raising a surprised eyebrow at Mantis and Drax.

"You sound just as unappreciative as Quill," Drax muttered, turning around in annoyance.

"It was surprisingly nice," Nebula admitted. "We learned that not all actors are complete pieces of shit."

"Did he seriously have to call me a raccoon, though?" Rocket demanded, sounding pretty annoyed.

"I am Groot," Groot told him.

"I'm not a raccoon!" Rocket snapped.

Terra shared a small look with Kraglin, Mantis, Nebula, and Peter, surprised at how Rocket was in such denial of this claim. *1*

Terra had been quick to explain the situation back on Earth with the multiversal threat showing up and trying to kill them all, and he also explained how lightning was his apparent weakness, so he needed Thor's help. Drax, Groot, Kraglin, Mantis, Nebula, Peter, and Rocket all jumped at the opportunity and started telling Terra all sorts of praises, saying that they were sure that Thor would be happy to go with him back to Earth and fight the "crazy, muscled blonde man" as Drax referred to him as. Of course, Terra then got a call from Aqua and Ventus to confirm that the threat had been taken out, which disappointed the Guardians.

Terra raised an eyebrow, wondering why they were all so eager to get rid of Thor.

Of course, Terra didn't get to think about this for too long, because a battle ended up starting across Indigarr at the Sacred Temple. He was able to get the rundown that a man by the name of Habooska the Horrible was attacking with an army of Booskan warriors under his command. Terra mentally questioned the names of so many of these villains before he summoned Ends of the Earth and rushed forward to help the Guardians in fighting the Booskans. The battle ended up being such a great one that they needed to get Thor, so Peter, Mantis, and Terra left behind the rest of the team for a moment to go and find him.

Peter mentioned that Thor had been last seen meditating on a hill, so he led the way to the specific hill in question. Terra followed behind, frequently wondering if he should just summon his armor already or not. He decided to hold it off a bit longer as they moved up the mountain across a beautiful sunrise out in the distance towards where Thor was resting. Mantis was pretty quiet as she walked with Peter and Terra, wanting to help if she needed to. Once they reached the top of the mountain, they found Thor resting at the base of the tree.

Terra was once again a little surprised at the state of Thor. They had frequently worked out together to get the Thunder God back in shape after he had gotten fat during the five years, and he had certainly succeeded in doing that. Though, he was also apparently still just taking it easy, as he was dressed simply in robes while part of his hair was tied back. He was sitting in a meditative state with his eyes closed while staring out into the distance. Though, Stormbreaker was also resting in the ground right behind him, being planted vertically, almost like it was a tree.

Terra blinked at the sight of it before looking at Thor. Peter had been the one to break the ice and get the Thunder God's attention by saying his name. Thor opened his eyes and turned to look at them, only blinking slightly in surprise at the sight of Terra. He decided to focus more on Peter, since he was the one who had spoken.

"We need your help to win this battle," Peter told Thor. "Let's go."

Thor just looked tired as he moved his arm to the side before pushing himself to his feet. Terra felt a little guilt over how they were bothering him as the Thunder God turned towards where Stormbreaker was planted in the ground with a small sigh.

"Okay," Thor softly said. "Come on, Stormbreaker. Back to work."

He grabbed Stormbreaker and pulled it right out of the ground, and Terra blinked in surprise at the roots that had grown out of the top of the axe where it had been planted in the ground. Mantis looked at Terra and Peter before they looked at Thor as he moved one leg over the axe, mounting it like a witch would mount a flying broomstick.

"We must hurry, okay?" Thor told them. "People are dying. See you down there."

Mantis, Peter, and Terra watched Thor in surprised confusion as he held the handle of the axe with both hands before jumping off of the edge of the cliff, falling down the side for a moment. Of course, their surprise intensified when they saw Thor rising up into the air, flying on Stormbreaker as if he was a witch riding a flying broomstick. Thor rode the axe in an arc around the hill, flying and moving away from them while still staying in shouting distance.

"Hurry up!" Thor called towards them as he continued flying away.

Terra frowned before turning to look at Mantis and Peter.

"Has he been like this the entire time he's been with you guys?" Terra asked.

"He's gotten pretty arrogant," Mantis admitted.

"And very annoying," Peter said. He pointed at himself. "And that's coming from me." *2*

The three of them decided not to waste any time and hurry back down to the battlefield where everyone was still in the middle of fighting the army of Booskan warriors. It took them quite a bit of time since it was a long run, but they managed to reach the battlefield soon enough once again. Once they reached the turmoil once again, Terra had to grab Mantis and pull her out of the way of an oncoming attack from a Booskan, then blasted it with Fission Firaga in revenge. Peter thanked him for saving his sister (another revelation that surprised Terra), before he pulled out his blasters and started firing once again.

Looking around the battlefield, Terra was a little surprised to see everything still as horrible as they had last seen it. Drax had a large blaster resting on his shoulder as he fired at the Booskan soldiers, and Nebula hurried next to him with a smaller blaster, where she blasted rapid fire at other soldiers while yelling out. Groot was kneeling behind a small barrier with a high-tech set of binoculars in his mouth, and Rocket hurried over to where the living tree was, grabbing his head with one hand before grabbing the binoculars with the other.

"Give me those," Rocket demanded. "You're gonna break 'em."

He pulled the binoculars out, which only angered Groot.

"I am Groot!" Groot snapped before jumping to his feet.

"Ah, you got sap all over it," Rocket complained as Groot walked away.

The people of Indigarr were crouched down behind rock barriers as the Guardians and Terra continued to fire at the Booskans out in the distance. Terra internally wondered where Kraglin and Korg had disappeared to, since he had last seen them in the area before they went to get Thor. He didn't get to think about this for too long as more Booskan warriors continued to run about and try and attack the team, which he had to help out against. Terra yelled out as he lifted up his Keyblade, casting the spell Meteor against the oncoming attackers. A large rock fell from the sky and landed in a group of the Booskan warriors, blowing up and sending the warriors flying with screeches of pain.

Terra let out a small huff before he glanced to the side. He did a double take when he saw Thor walk out into the battlefield, still dressed in his robe with his hair tied back a bit.

"Hello, everybody," Thor jovially said, holding out his hands like he hadn't just entered a battlefield.

"Well, well, look who it is," Rocket remarked in an unamused, annoyed tone.

"How are we doing, guys?" Thor pleasantly asked as Peter hurried past him.

Terra was still a little surprised as Thor continued just walking forward like he wasn't in a battlefield. He shrugged it off as he blasted Fission Firaga once again at another group of Booskans.

"Terrible!" Drax shouted. He jumped back to duck behind a rock as more laser fire hit the ground nearby. "We're all about to die!"

As if to emphasize this point, an Indigarran dropped down onto the rock near Drax, his eyes closed to signify that he was either dead or close to dead.

"You said this planet would be a relaxing holiday!" Rocket snapped, carrying one of his blasters as he hurried forward.

"I said it was going to be 'Like a relaxing holiday'," Thor remarked, gesturing with his hands. The Guardians and Terra continued to fire at the enemies out in the distance. "But look at that resplendent skyscape. Three suns of Saturn."

Terra could admit that there was some beauty to this planet. The sky was a dark orange, and at least three suns were in the sky, while Saturn was also out in the distance. If they weren't fighting for their lives, Terra could imagine having a relaxing picnic here, or something. Of course, given the situation, he ducked down to dodge with Nebula, Peter, and Rocket once again, needing a form of protection against the enemy fire.

"What could be more relaxing than that?" Thor asked the team.

"An actual holiday!" Rocket snapped.

He fired at a charging Booskan in the distance and blew it up before glaring at Thor again.

"Die, Booskan scum!" Peter shouted.

He popped out from behind the barrier and started firing his blasters, taking out a few other Booskans that were crossing the barren land.

Terra let out a huff before looking to the side. He did a double take when he saw the Indigarrans moving across the land into the battlefield once again. All of them had the same blue skin and wore the same styles of white and red clothes. Some of them looked like simple foot soldiers, many of them carrying sticks as weapons, so Terra quickly put together why their help was needed.

A group of these Indigarrans were dressed in a more regal manner, with one in intricate robes and a crown walking with four people surrounding him, all of them carrying staves to make it clear they were the royal guard. About six or so others were with this group, all of them moving in a slow enough manner that it seemed like they were also royalty.

Terra was a little surprised that even though he and the Guardians were the only ones fighting at the moment, the Indigarran king was walking right towards Thor.

"God of Thunder," the king greeted.

"King Yakan," Thor happily returned the greeting.

"You have finally joined our fight," Yakan remarked as he walked up to stand near Thor.

"Well, as they say, 'Better late than not at all'," Thor said with a small chuckle.

"Yes, it's very nice," Yakan said, a little uncertain as he looked at Thor. He looked to the side before looking at the Thunder God again. "As you know, we used to live in a peaceful oasis. But then our gods were murdered."

Terra raised an eyebrow and looked at the King with that.

"Murdered?" Thor asked in similar surprise.

"And now our sacred temple has been left unguarded, and Habooska's hordes took control of its power," Yakan continued to say as a few more lasers flew through the air. Peter, Thor, and Terra looked at the temple in the distance before looking at him again. "It is our most sacred shrine and he desecrates it."

"Not for long," Thor informed the king with determination in his voice.

"Ah!" Yakan said in a dramatic manner.

"King Yakan, tell them what happened here today," Thor instructed to the king. He turned around. "Tell of the time that Thor..."

He walked forward and started climbing up a rock.

"And his ragtag, motley group of misfit desperados..." Thor continued to say as he continued walking up the rock.

Nebula and Drax shared a look, Peter looked a little offended at the description, and Mantis just watched while holding a blaster in front of a dead Indigarran. Terra looked between all of them, slowly beginning to understand why they found the Thunder God annoying.

"Turned the tide of the battle," Thor slowly continued as he stood on top of the rock. He turned to look at the group. "And etched their names in history."

Groot and Korg then walked over, both of them curious about what all Thor was going to say. Terra was glad that Korg was okay, but he was still a little curious about Kraglin.

"For the odds may be against us, but I'll tell you this for free..." Thor slowly said, going into his own manner of giving an inspirational speech.

"Here it comes," Peter muttered, admittedly excited.

As Terra looked up at Thor, seeing the Thunder God hold his arms out to the side, he blinked in surprise when he saw part of a laser blast go through part of the robe. He was a little relieved when it missed hitting Thor completely, just going through an empty part of the robe.

"This ends here and now!" Thor declared as he slowly turned around.

Peter had mouthed along with Thor's declaration, which did amuse Terra a little bit. Deciding that it was time for something big, Terra then jumped to his feet and lifted up his Keyblade in preparation. *3*

Thor had also decided it was time to start fighting, so he took off his robes. This revealed that underneath, he was wearing a white shirt with a red and black spaceship design, a red and black leather vest, and jeans and boots. The Indigarrans all let out excited exclamations at the sight of his muscled frame, and Terra once again felt a bit of pride for helping his friend get back into shape. Thor tossed aside the robe, which landed on Yakan's face, before holding out his hand. Terra let out an exclamation of surprise as Stormbreaker flew past him and into Thor's hand, and the Thunder God frowned in determination.

Terra almost felt like he wasn't even needed, and he swore he could hear Guns N' Roses playing somewhere as Thor lifted up his axe. Blue light surged over his eyes, and lightning flew out of Stormbreaker and up into the air in a very large signal. This clearly had some kind of effect, because the Booskan soldiers all climbed onto their vehicles and started flying them in the group's direction. Peter, Nebula, Drax, Rocket, Mantis, Groot, and Korg all stepped back, knowing that they weren't needed for this particular fight. Terra clicked his neck to the side, wanting to be in a part of an actual battle since he missed the situation on Earth.

Thor then leaped up into the air, flipping in a few times in a manner that caused his hair to untie. Terra followed the Thunder God's lead and leaped up into the air, doing a couple of his own flips before the both of them landed on the barren ground of the battlefield, with Thor landing so hard that he actually shook the area, much to Terra's surprise. Of course, he didn't get to think of this for too long, as the Booskan speeders started getting closer, firing their blasters at the approaching two.

Terra blocked the lasers with his Keyblade, intercepting the blasts, while Thor swung Stormbreaker. His swing hit the first speeder and destroyed it, sending the vehicle and its driver flying to the side. Thor repeated this action with the second incoming speeder, then jabbed his weapon at a third one, destroying them, as well. Terra then cast Meteor once again, causing another rock to fall from the sky and crash into another speeder, sending its driver flying with a screech. A particularly large speeder flew right towards Thor, and he charged at it before lunging into the air with his axe above his head.

The Booskan screeched in surprise, and Thor grunted as he swung Stormbreaker, destroying the speeder while also landing on his feet. The Indigarrans let out exclamations of pleasant surprise, and Terra rolled his eyes before he threw his Keyblade in Strike Raid, destroying another speeder with a small explosion. Another speeder flew right towards Thor, ramming into him so he had to reach up and grab it. The speeder pushed back at him for a moment, but Thor grabbed it, lifted it up, and yelled out as he dropped it to the ground, throwing it all the way across the battlefield, where it crashed behind the safe spot and exploded.

Terra was a little impressed, so he decided to follow this example. Dismissing his Keyblade for a moment, he stood and raised his arms in preparation for a charging speeder. Bracing himself, Terra grunted as he grabbed onto the wings of one of the speeders, using his own enhanced strength to pull back. Terra once again ended up being surprised over just how strong he was as he pulled the wing right off of the speeder, causing it to fall to the ground and explode.

"Okay, I've gotta talk to V," Terra muttered to himself. "See if he could help me figure out this extra strength of mine."

Thor then launched himself up onto his feet once again, then held out his hand to pull Stormbreaker back into it. Terra summoned Ends of the Earth once again, and the two of them stood ready.

Back in the safe area, Drax and Nebula pushed themselves to their feet once again. They were simultaneously relieved that they didn't have to fight, anymore, but they were also annoyed at the Thunder God for taking so long.

"Time for us to enter the throes of battle once again, Sir Terra," Thor declared as Stormbreaker powered up once again. "We haven't done this since we killed Thanos."

"That was a hell of a day," Terra remarked with a nod of his head. He adjusted Ends of the Earth in his hand once again. "And so will this." *4*

Dozens of speeders were flying in their direction, many of them firing their blasters as they tried to get Thor and Terra. With Stormbreaker powered up, Thor just spun in a circle and threw his axe. Stormbreaker then flew through the air quickly, spinning as it went through the sky towards the speeders. As the axe flew among the speeders, the electricity around it surged towards the speeders it passed, blowing up each of them and sending them crashing to the ground. Terra once again questioned if he needed to be there as almost all of the speeders blew up quickly due to the power of the axe.

Of course, some of the people driving the speeders revealed themselves to be smart, because one ended up flying upwards to dodge the blasts before flying towards Terra. Terra ran forward to face it while two charged at Thor, each one flying at him from either side. As the speeders got close enough, the two heroes moved forward to retaliate. Thor jumped up covered in lightning and raised his legs up to stop the two speeders while Terra jumped up with his Keyblade in hand. Energy covered Terra as he started to do Geo Impact, landing on the ground and slashing at it.

Once the speeder got close enough, the earth followed Terra's instructions as spiked boulders burst out of the ground, hitting the speeder and knocking it aside. The speeder was broken as it was knocked through the air before crashing on the ground and blowing up.

Terra let out a small huff, realizing how much he missed being in battle before he turned towards Thor. His eyes narrowed in surprise when he saw Thor restrained in the air, doing an aerial version of the splits with his feet against the fronts of two speeders. He was visibly straining himself as he kept his feet against the fronts of the speeders, keeping the two vehicles from moving any closer to himself.

"I don't remember that in our workouts," Terra remarked with a raised eyebrow.

He could see in the distance that Peter looked up in exasperation while Drax just watched in an unamused manner, which made Terra start to wonder if Thor was just showing off.

The engines of the two speeders continued to rev as the Booskans continued to try and drive them towards Thor. The Thunder God looked between the both of the creatures as the snarled angrily at him. Thor let out a loud yell of anger in return as he looked between the two furry, birdlike aliens. Terra then watched as he suddenly leaped upwards, forcing the speeders to crash into each other and explode as he trailed through the sky. The Thunder God landed on the ground, then dodged the laser blasts fired at him from an incoming tank. Thor sidestepped the blasts before spinning around and delivering a side-kick to one of the wheels, hitting it with enough force to send the tank flying.

Terra quickly used Slide to move forward and dodge the tank before he summoned his Keyblade once again. He blasted Fission Firaga at another approaching speeder, blowing it up and sending the driver flying once again.

Thor then held out a hand, and Stormbreaker flew back into it. He started flying forward, and Terra watched as the Booskan laser fire started to intensify even more towards the Thunder God. Terra frowned for a moment when he saw that lightning had completely covered Thor, showcasing his body clearly as he flew through the air and towards the entrance of the sacred temple. He frowned in surprise as Thor flew past all of the Booskans on the ground, then went up the stairs and through the front doors of the temple.

Terra inwardly started to wonder if Thor knew what he was doing as the blue light that signified the Thunder God flew through the glass structure of the temple, moving up through the building and sending some bits of glass flying. Terra's eyes widened in realization, and he immediately backed up quickly. He then watched as Thor broke through the rest of the temple before smashing through the ceiling, destroying the Booskan cannons and sending Habooska flying off of the roof. Terra then watched as Thor flew through the air back towards the safe area, landing on the rock in front of them with a triumphant expression on his face. *5*

Terra let out a huff of surprise as he started Sliding towards where everyone was gathered once again. He moved across the battlefield and towards the safe area, where he found almost all of the Indigarrans cheering in celebration. Moving next to the rock where Thor was standing, Terra looked amongst his allies, seeing that Drax, Groot, Mantis, Nebula, Peter, and Rocket still looked pretty unamused over what just happened, which inwardly had him wondering once again if the Thunder God had just been showing off.

Korg did look pretty impressed, though, as he cheered with the Indigarrans.

"Well done, everybody," Thor told the crowd. "We can collectively take credit for that because we worked as a team."

Drax and Nebula looked annoyed once again.

"We used our hearts and our minds to defeat the enemy with minimal loss or damage," Thor chanted to the group.

The sound of something creaking echoed all across the field, which got everyone to look at the sacred temple. The center, purple, circular part of the temple started to crack and break apart before falling down, all but shattering completely as it dropped to the ground. The two oval shaped, gray parts also cracked and broke apart, following the centerfold in falling towards the ground and shattering completely.

The Indigarrans all gasped in horror, and King Yakan pointed at the ruins of the temple in shock. Terra winced, while all of the Guardians started to look embarrassed.

Thor just continued to smile at the people in front of him.

"What a classic Thor adventure!" he cheerfully announced. He lifted up Stormbreaker. "Hurrah!"

Terra winced and climbed up onto the rock, patting Thor on the shoulder to get his attention. The Thunder God looked at Terra, then followed his gaze to the ruins of the temple that he had just destroyed. Thor's eyes widened, then he gritted his teeth and winced in embarrassment. He looked at Terra, who softly shook his head.

"Maybe, uh... Maybe just stop talking for now," Terra suggested, patting his friend on the shoulder again.

Thor nodded in agreement and looked down, realizing that he probably said and did a little too much... *6*

Chapter Text

Earth

New Asgard

Aqua and Ventus could admit that they were starting to get used to being on Earth. Though they didn't come back here as often as many of their other friends, they could understand why Vanitas frequently came back, because they were starting to understand the beauty of this world. After fighting in so many epic battles on this specific world, they could understand why everyone fought so hard to protect it.

Currently, though, protecting the world was the farthest thing from either of their minds. Aqua and Ventus decided to take a little bit of time off before heading back home with the rest of their friends, so they decided to go about and see some of the sights this world had to offer. They had already spent some time in San Francisco with Scott and Hope, and been in New York multiple times over the months. They did consider going with Leon to Wakanda, but Shuri informed them that they needed to hurry, so they left first. Valkyrie invited them to visit and see New Asgard. Incredibly curious, Aqua and Ventus shrugged their shoulders and followed the King to her city.

Arriving in New Asgard, Aqua and Ventus could admit that they understood the hype that Valkyrie gave them.

Wanting to be as inconspicuous as possible, the two of them dressed in their casual clothes once again. Ventus wore his green shirt with the Land of Departure sigil, gray hoodie, and blue jeans. Aqua wore her blue short sleeved shirt with the Land of Departure sigil, jean jacket, and black skirt with leggings. Of course, their hair still gave them away, so they had to pass by the usual excited fans as they walked together. Aqua and Ventus shrugged it off as they continued through the city of New Asgard.

The city had grown much more in the two years since the Blip happened, thriving under Valkyrie's leadership as it became a veritable tourist trap. There were dozens, probably a hundred intricate buildings spread out across the mountaintop, with almost all of them formed in different, Asgardian manners. There were docks fully stored and prepared out in the distance near the edge of the water, where at least three full sized cruise ships were docked and prepared, along with a few dozen Asgardian skiffs.

Aqua and Ventus quickly discovered what one of the tourist attractions was when a skiff flew above their heads, getting them to both gasp in surprise. Aqua let out a small chuckle at the sight while Ventus looked around, feeling incredibly excited at the idea of more attractions like that in the new city.

The two of them followed a set of paths throughout the city, seeing a litany of sights all over the place. On a large rock near the front entrance sign, a group of Asgardian children played happily, including one young boy that was the son of the late Gatekeeper, Heimdall (though neither Aqua or Ventus knew who that was). Throughout the town, they watched Valkyrie be in meetings with various diplomats, shoot a commercial for Old Spice deodorant, and get the help of a creature named Miek to help cut the ribbon for an ice cream store called Infinity Conez.

Aqua and Ventus felt a little uncertain about part of the advertisement including a replica of the Infinity Gauntlet, especially after all they had been through with it personally. But they perked up when Valkyrie declared that because they were Avengers, it meant that they would get at least five cones free from the stone. Aqua and Ventus happily accepted the punch cards and a set of free cones.

Under Valkyrie's suggestion, Aqua and Ventus went all throughout the town and did the whole tourist thing. They started with seeing the sights, continued with the ice cream, rode on one of the flying skiffs (Ventus then regretted his choice for eating his cone so fast, then spent at least five minutes after the ride throwing up in a trash can. Oddly enough, this got lots of paparazzi prep from fans), and even watched a play that was being presented in one area of the town.

Aqua and Ventus were a little surprised to learn that this play was actually one of Thor's ideas. It was a loose retelling of how Odin had told Thor and Loki about how Asgard was actually a people and not a place (Ventus frowned in confusion at that) before dying, and how they actually had a sister named Hela. The two Keyblade Wielders were surprised at how dramatic the actors that played Odin, Thor, and Loki got into their roles, even though Aqua commented that the play looked like it had been made for twenty dollars.

They were especially surprised at how people actually cried at the performance, and then gasped when the Hela actress appeared onstage.

"I don't think this is how it really happened," Aqua muttered to Ventus.

"You don't say?" Ventus asked, raising an eyebrow as the Hela actress destroyed Mjölnir. *1*

Deciding that they wanted to see the actual hammer for themselves, Aqua and Ventus then followed the tour guide towards a place with a ceramic floor that had a raised pedestal and a staircase that led up to a short altar. There, they stood with a tour group and looked at the pedestal. There was a glass dome with grass within it, where the handle and pieces of Mjölnir were currently lying within. They both winced a little at the sight, remembering that the last time they had seen it, Roxas had rammed it right into Thanos's head. This felt like a very big downgrade for a weapon that was specifically made for gods.

"You can almost feel the power of these magnificent and unmovable stones," a tour guide said, crouching next to the pedestal and gesturing with his hands to the glass dome. He pushed himself to his feet. "Okay. Let's head back to the village where we can drink some real Asgardian mead."

The rest of the tour group all smiled and clapped in excitement.

Someone tugging on Ventus's jacket sleeve got his attention. He turned around and looked down, seeing a young boy and girl standing next to him with excited smiles on their faces. The blonde was a little surprised, while Aqua just smirked in amusement.

"Is it true you really used that to beat up Thanos?" the girl asked.

"Uh... No, you're thinking of Roxas," Ventus told them. "I'm Ventus. Ven, for short."

"Will you marry me?" the boy excitedly asked.

The kids' parents were nearby, and they joined Aqua in laughing in amusement. Ventus just blushed in total embarrassment.

"Maybe, uh... Maybe later," Ventus said, still pretty embarrassed.

The boy squealed in excitement.

The tour guide laughed before he turned and started walking through the group again.

"Come on, everybody," the guide said with a laugh. "We can celebrate the engagement with the mead."

The group laughed as they started following the guide, while Ventus's blush deepened.

The blonde decided to stay behind, not wanting to be near the group that had just laughed at him. Aqua looked at her blonde friend, seeing that he looked like a wounded puppy, so she stayed behind, as well, moving next to him as he continued to stand next to the pedestal. The rest of the tour group continued to follow the guide, moving across the field and walking away, leaving the two Keyblade wielders standing next to the pedestals with one person wearing a hood over their face.

"You know they were just messing around, right?" Aqua asked her friend. "They were laughing with you, not at you."

"It certainly felt like they were laughing at me," Ventus said with a small sigh.

Aqua sighed before patting Ventus on the shoulder in reassurance.

Looking around, Aqua blinked in surprise when she saw that the person with the hood was walking around the Mjölnir pedestal, looking at the pieces of the hammer thoughtfully. Standing a bit closer now, Aqua was able to see that it was a brunette woman the same height as Ventus, dressed in a jean jacket, a gray hoodie, black pants, sneakers, and a brown bag on her shoulder. She continued to look at the shards of the hammer with an almost familiar look in her eyes.

"So, uh... This is quite the weapon, huh?" Aqua asked, looking at the pieces of Mjölnir, hoping she wasn't being too obvious in staring at the woman. "There were only three Avengers outside of Thor that could wield this thing, right? Roxas, Steve, and Vision?"

"Sora, too, technically," Ventus corrected her. "I was still in Sora at that time, so I saw his thoughts. He and Steve were trying to make Thor feel better about himself during their little competition, so they pretended not to be able to wield it. Of course, Steve stopped pretending when he needed to use it in the Infinity War, but Sora hasn't been able to use it once, yet."

"Weird history, huh?" Aqua asked, still hoping she wasn't being too obvious towards the woman.

The woman, Jane Foster, gave them no mind as she continued to stare at the pieces of the hammer. She knew they were Avengers and that Aqua had been staring at her, but she decided not to pay attention as she focused on the hammer.

All of a sudden, a deep sound rang out from nowhere before the pieces of Mjölnir started to vibrate. The sound became a bit deeper and started to pulsate before thunder started rumbling above everyone around. Though it had been partly cloudy before, the clouds began to darken and almost turn black above the area as the thunder continued to rumble. Aqua and Ventus jumped back in shock, looking around in confusion before their gazes settled on the pieces of Mjölnir. The pieces continued to vibrate, and some bits of electricity started to spark around them.

Jane stood at the front of the pedestal, so her body was facing the handle. She looked at it with a deep expression on her face as the pieces continued to levitate before floating upwards. Aqua and Ventus frowned in realization as they looked from Jane to the pieces of the hammer as they continued to vibrate and spark with electricity. They swore that as they looked at the woman, they could also see electricity popping within her eyes...

Indigarr

Ruins of the Sacred Temple

Terra was honestly amazed at the hospitality of the people of Indigarr.

Even though Thor had destroyed the sacred temple in defeating the Booskans, the people still opened the group with open arms as they worked on the short cleanup process. The Guardians parked the Benator above the ruins and moved inside to start preparing to leave. Terra almost wished he could be with Drax, Groot, Kraglin, Mantis, Nebula, Peter, and Rocket, because he was still incredibly embarrassed as he stood outside with Korg and Thor. He just let out a small sigh as he stood with the two of them, with Korg standing to the side while Thor stood with his arms on top of Stormbreaker.

King Yakan soon walked over to where the two of them stood, followed by the rest of his royal subjects.

"God of Disaster," Yakan said, getting the group's attention.

Thor and Terra turned towards the approaching group of royalty. Thor held the axe in his hand and smiled pleasantly, still trying to ignore how he had unintentionally destroyed a temple in his attack.

"We thank you," Yakan told Thor. "We feared we would be at war forever without the protection of our gods, but now, peace shall reign."

"Well, whatever else has happened today, at least we succeeded in ensuring peace," Terra remarked with a shrug of his shoulders.

"That is correct, Earth Knight," Yakan agreed, nodding at Terra. He then looked at Thor before gesturing to the side. "In return for your service, please accept these gifts."

The sound of something screaming got Terra to jump. He and Thor looked to the side, following Yakan's gestured hand towards one of the piles of rubble. There, they could see at least four Indigarrans pulling at a rope, all of them straining as they tried to pull something out from behind the glass. Terra felt a little uncertain at the sight, particularly because of the screams.

"As is tradition, the protectors of our world are bestowed with great beasts," Yakan informed them.

The Indigarrans continued to grunt as they continued pulling at the ropes, which succeeded in pulling two animals out from behind the rubble. These animals were goats similar in height to humans, and one had brown fur while the other had white. The two goats let out loud screeches, which turned out to be the agonized screams from earlier.

Terra raised an eyebrow, wondering if the King was just trying to get rid of some strays that he found in his backyard. *2*

Korg and Thor turned towards the goats with excited expressions on their faces, though.

"Giant goats!" Korg excitedly said.

"Oh, look at those!" Thor said. "They are wonderful!"

Terra raised an eyebrow at the Asgardian as the brown goat rammed its head into the white one.

"Korg, Terra, look at that," Thor requested from his friends. "Those things are beautiful."

It was at this moment where Terra realized that he and Thor had different definitions of "beautiful."

While the goats jumped backwards from each other in a challenging manner, Thor turned towards Yakan with a big smile still on his face.

"King Yakan, thank you so much," Thor told Yakan gratefully. The smile faded from his face. "Listen, um... About the temple..."

"I don't wanna talk about the temple," Yakan said, holding up a hand to stop Thor.

"I know, but if we were to talk about it..." Thor started to say.

"It's making me sad," Yakan said, closing his eyes as Thor tried to continue talking.

Terra stepped forward and placed his hand over Thor's mouth, shutting him up, quickly. Thor frowned in surprise and looked at Terra, and the brunette gave him a look. Thor looked down and nodded in understanding while Terra chuckled awkwardly and looked at Yakan.

"I've, uh... I've got some sorcerer allies with fantastic abilities," Terra assured the King. "I'll call in some favors and have them come out, see what they can do with repairs."

"I'm grateful for that, Earth Knight, as long as we stop talking about it right now," Yakan sternly said.

Terra nodded in understanding. Thor then frowned at the brunette, who nodded again before taking his hand down.

"My friends and I will probably take our leave now," Thor admitted.

"Don't forget the goats," Yakan quickly said. He gestured towards the goats. "Which you accepted, and now must take with you."

One of the goats stood on its hind legs and screeched once again.

"No backsies," Yakan said as he and his royal subjects turned and started walking away.

Terra raised his eyebrows, once again coming to the conclusion that the King was just trying to get rid of the goats. Thor started to come to that conclusion, too, as he looked between the King and the goats. Nonetheless, Thor just smiled as he looked at the two screeching animals, placing his hands on top of Stormbreaker as he rested it on the ground once again.

"Aw, they are beautiful," Thor gushed once again.

"Yes, they are beautiful," Korg agreed. The goats screeched again. "They also scream quite a lot."

"They'll be fine," Thor said as the goats screamed again.

"The Guardians are never gonna go for this," Terra pointed out as the goats screamed again. "You know that, right?"

"They'll be fine," Thor repeated to Terra.

They weren't fine.

Within five minutes of being in the Benator, everything was complete and utter turmoil, though that wasn't completely because of the goats. Though, the goats did help contribute to the hell within the spaceship as they screeched loudly at the top of their lungs. Drax had one of the goats in a headlock and was trying to wrestle it down, while the other one was moving throughout the ship. Nebula and Terra stood together with their hands in their ears near Groot and Peter. Mantis stood between Peter and Terra, letting out excited giggles as she pointed at the goat that Drax was wrestling. Thor just stood to the side, leaning on a railing with his vest off while drinking from a can.

"I am Groot," Groot snapped to Peter.

"We need to find the damn remote so we can download the distress signal!" Peter snapped back.

Mantis continued to let out excited giggles as she pointed at where Drax was wrestling with one of the goats. Terra raised an eyebrow as Groot turned towards the sight with a surprised expression on his face.

"Retrace your steps," Thor suggested. "Where did you put the remote?"

"One of your goats probably ate it!" Peter snapped as Rocket jumped onto the table in the middle of the room.

"Goats didn't eat the remote," Thor said as Groot reached up at a railing above them to search. "Don't be ridiculous."

"Well, I ain't digging through their crap," Rocket declared.

"I love them!" Drax excitedly said, still wrestling with the goat.

As Drax moved the goat to one side of the table, Mantis continued to let out excited giggles while pointing at the goat. The goat then raised its legs and kicked the table Rocket was standing on, sending it flying backwards and making Peter and Mantis dodge for protection. Terra caught Rocket like he was a football, then huffed as he placed the raccoon down onto his feet.

"Thank you, humie," Rocket said, nodding at the brunette Keyblade wielder.

"Even I'm thinking these things are too much," Terra admitted. He raised an eyebrow. "And I have an alpaca at my castle."

"They should live with us forever!" Drax excitedly said as he kept wrestling the goat.

"Found the remote!" Peter announced.

Nebula clearly didn't agree with this sentiment. As Mantis turned towards the partly cybernetic woman, Nebula grabbed a blaster from one of the weapons racks and lifted it up, cocking it in preparation to fire. Mantis decided that she was in on the plan and grabbed a smaller blaster.

"I'm putting them down," Nebula declared as she started walking after the white furred goat.

"Me, too," Mantis said, following Nebula with her smaller blaster.

"I'm almost on your side," Terra admitted to Nebula and Mantis as he raised an eyebrow at the goats.

"Is it working or not?" Thor asked Peter as he held up the remote.

"No, it's not workin'," Peter said as Nebula and Mantis moved next to them with their guns. "It's not charged."

The goat moved behind Thor at the same time Nebula and Mantis cocked their blasters in preparation once again. Thor started to say something to Peter, but the guns powering up quickly garnered his attention. Terra's eyes widened in surprise over how brazenly they were ready to fire their blasters in the ship, while Thor quickly held his arms out in defense of the goat behind him.

"Get out of my way!" Nebula shouted as Mantis frowned angrily at the goats.

"Hey, hey!" Thor quickly exclaimed. He hurried forward and pushed up the gun. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Whoa, whoa!" *3*

Even with him pushing the blaster up, the gun still fired. A purple laser flew out, hitting the ceiling and deflecting off. Mantis, Nebula, Peter, Terra, and Thor all watched as the laser hit Korg right in the face, sending him to the ground with a grunt. The group all looked towards him in worry.

"Whew!" Thor exclaimed as the situation calmed down. "Korg, you okay?"

"Yeah, bro," Korg said, a little pained. He gave them a thumbs-up as he continued laying on the ground. "All good."

"All right," Thor said.

He gestured with his arms in an attempt to be calming, while the goats continued screaming while Korg sat up and rubbed his head.

"Everybody, just relax," Thor said in a placating manner. "The goats are gonna be fine. If not, we can just use them for meat."

The goats immediately stopped screaming at that declaration. They looked over at the group as Peter looked down at the remote and widened his eyes, and Korg stood up. Thor got an embarrassed smile, while Drax, Groot, Mantis, Nebula, and Terra all looked at the animals.

"... ting people," Thor said, still smiling in embarrassment. "Meeting people. They're a great conversation starter."

Peter gritted his teeth and turned towards Groot.

"Well, he's right about that last one," Terra said, once again thinking about the alpaca at the castle.

"And I've been told you can summon them with a special whistle that goes something like this," Korg said. He blew through his lips, failing to whistle since he didn't have lips. "No, that's not it. (Fails to whistle) No, that's not it. (Fails to whistle) No, that's not it."

Mantis, Terra, and Thor all just looked at him, all of them admittedly curious for if he would successfully whistle.

"No, that's not it," Korg admitted after failing again. He pointed at Mantis. "You have a go."

Mantis just opened her mouth and let out a low growl, which got Terra covering his mouth to hide his chuckle. *4*

"No, that's not it," Korg said.

"Oh, hey guys," Kraglin then said.

Peter and Terra turned towards the sound, both of them feeling a little relieved when they saw the man standing there perfectly okay. He was in the open, circular part of a hallway, staring at them from the top of three stairs. They were a little surprised when they saw an Indigarran woman in red and white standing behind him, but they decided to focus on Kraglin for the moment.

"Kraglin!" Peter said with relief in his voice. "You've been here this whole time?"

"Yeah, you said to stay with the ship," Kraglin pointed out. He then gestured to the Indigarran behind him. "This is Glenda. We're married."

"Say what now?" Terra asked, raising an eyebrow in surprise.

Groot just sputtered a bit before he started laughing.

"I am Groot," he said as Peter started walking towards Kraglin.

"You left the battle and decided to get married during that time?" Terra asked with surprise in his voice.

Peter walked forward to the foot of the stairs, looking at Kraglin with a small frown.

"What did we tell you about jumpin' into new relationships?" Peter asked with a reprimanding tone in his voice.

"That I shouldn't be doing that," Kraglin said, sounding like an upset child.

"Yeah, you can't get married on every single planet we land on," Peter said as Glenda looked to the side.

"Wait, this is a regular occurance?" Terra asked with surprise in his voice.

"It happens a lot, if that's what you just asked," Rocket informed the brunette.

All of a sudden, a holographic image of a galaxy wide map appeared near the side of the room, right next to Groot as he held a remote in his hand. He looked over at everyone.

"I am Groot," Groot informed them.

The group all turned towards it and looked at the screen, seeing a small slot appear with the words "Distress Calls." There was a number underneath that was rising rapidly by the second, which surprised them all.

"Finally," Peter said with relief in his voice.

Drax, Korg, Kraglin, Mantis, Nebula, Peter, Rocket, Terra, and Thor moved across the threshold to join Groot in looking at the holographic image of the map in front of them, all of them sobering up at the number of distress calls the ship was getting.

"All right, here we go," Peter said, activating a device on his ear. "Distress calls."

He gestured to the map, which turned red as it tilted upwards. Terra's eyes widened when small images started appearing on the screen, followed by horrified voices. The images were of different areas, focusing on creatures on the ground. One involved snow, while another showed a small forest.

"Please help us!" a female voice begged. "The God Butcher has found us!"

"God Butcher?" Peter asked, swiping through some other images as Mantis tilted her head to the side in curiosity.

The latest image showed a picture of four people in a spaceship hallway, all of them hanging by the ceiling with ropes around their necks. Terra shared a grimace with Drax at the sight.

"He left them hanging as a warning," an emotional male voice cried through that specific video.

"Look at all of these gods, murdered," Thor said, frowning in surprise at the images.

"What the hell is powerful enough to kill a god?" Terra asked. "Let alone so many of them?"

The image changed once again, showing a snowy area with a gigantic beast with ridges on its back laying in the ground. Its mouth was open, and it had a lifeless look in its eyes, making it abundantly clear that it was dead.

"Our greatest champions, now laid to waste," another male voice said.

"What the hell...?" Terra softly asked.

"The horror," Korg said with wide eyes as he looked at the image.

"Who could have done something like this?" Rocket asked with his arms crossed.

Peter scrolled through the images once again, which soon brought up a screen showing a woman with dark hair wearing a battle helmet.

"Thor, where are you?" the woman asked into the camera.

Peter started to scroll once again, and Thor lifted up an arm to stop him.

"No, no, no, wait," Thor quickly said. "What was that? Go back."

Peter listened and waved his hand once again, which brought the image of the dark haired woman to the center of the screen. Terra frowned in surprised confusion as he looked between Thor and the woman, wondering how they knew each other.

"Play that one," Thor requested.

"Thor, where are you?" the woman asked on the video.

"Sif?" Thor asked.

"We need you here," Sif said on the video.

"You know her?" Terra asked, looking between Sif and Thor.

"Very well," Thor admitted. He grabbed his vest and started slipping his arms into it. "My friend is in danger. We must go at once."

As he finished putting on the vest, he turned and started walking across the room.

"Start the ship, my friends," Thor requested.

The rest of the Guardians continued to look at the screen with Terra, all of them looking at the images of distress calls coming from throughout the galaxy. The image of Sif was only one of many, which had Terra wincing.

"I don't know, maybe we should split up," Peter suggested. "So many people to save, I mean... Look at all of these distress..."

Everyone looked towards Thor, seeing him slowly breathing out as he finished putting on his vest, coming to his own conclusion.

"... Calls," Peter finished.

It ended up being decided that they would split up. The Guardians would go together to answer the rest of the distress calls, while Thor would take Korg and his goats with him to go and help Sif. Terra actually kind of wanted to go with the Guardians for a moment, but he decided that he would help out Thor, partly because it would get to the root of this problem with this apparent God Butcher.

And partly because he knew he was probably going to have to continue and reel Thor in a bit.

Groot, Kraglin, Mantis, Nebula, Peter, and Rocket were all too eager to shove the goats off of the ship, while Drax whined over how they all kept taking away his fun. They all stepped out of the ship together to take care of a few final arrangements, with Kraglin also having to let down the Indigarr woman, Glenda. Peter ended up staying on the ship for a bit to get a few things ready. Terra did a round of goodbyes to the Guardians since they were about to leave.

"Next time I see you guys, I wanna hear the full story about what happened last Christmas," Terra requested from Mantis.

"It was quite a fantastic adventure," Mantis admitted with a giggle.

"Plus, Bucky mentioned you took his arm?" Terra asked, looking towards Nebula.

"That was fun," Nebula admitted, not smiling as she said this. "Though, I was a little annoyed when he used the Sorcerers to portal to Knowhere and get it back."

"Why can't I ever have nice things?" Rocket asked, crossing his arms in annoyance.

Terra chuckled a bit and shared a fist bump with Groot (who had been building tree-muscles lately) turning and walking back towards the ship, which Thor was standing outside once again. Korg was standing nearby with the rope for the goats in his hand, and the goats actually looked calm at the moment, which Terra was a little relieved about.

Glancing at the walkway, Terra saw as Peter walked down the walkway while looking at Thor. Terra nodded at him before they both turned towards the Thunder God.

"Thor," Peter said in greeting as Thor stood at the bottom of the walkway. He stepped off the ship. "You gonna be okay?"

"I admire your commitment to each other," Thor admitted, still staring out into the distance. "It's a beautiful thing. Alas, it's something I'll never have."

"Uh, you're still a member of the Avengers," Terra pointed out with a frown. "You've lost your brother, but you've still got lots of friends back on Earth, man."

"Yeah, buddy, if I may..." Peter slowly said.

"You may," Thor said, still staring out.

Peter softly shook his head.

"After thousands of years of living, you don't seem to know who the hell you are," he told Thor. "I've been lost before. But then I found meaning, I found love. And yeah, it got taken from me, and god, that hurts. But that shitty feeling is better than feeling empty."

"He's right," Terra said with a nod of his head.

He still remembered those months of the Blip where he had lost Aqua and Ventus to Thanos. Though he had felt horrible after losing them once again, he was glad that he at least felt something back then.

"My hope for you is that..." Peter slowly told Thor. "One day, you will find something to make you feel this shitty."

Terra frowned, coming to the conclusion that Peter was doing his own version of a motivational speech. He wasn't the best at it, but he could at least understand what the half-Celestial was trying to say.

"I have loved before," Terra told Peter. "It didn't work out. They either die a grismal death, or they dump you with a handwritten letter."

There was a bitterness in his voice as he said the second part, which had Terra frowning in thought as he remembered Jane Foster, Thor's ex. He was kind of curious about the full story behind that, now.

"I don't know which is worse, but it's why I keep everyone at arm's length," Thor admitted.

He held up a hand towards Peter to emphasize this point. Of course, Peter wasn't far enough for Thor to reach with his arm, so he took a step forward to place his hand on Peter's shoulder to emphasize his point better. Terra raised an eyebrow at that, while Peter just looked completely confused.

"You've grown too attached," Thor then declared as he lowered his arm and looked forward again. "Damn it, I knew this would happen. You must go. I'll find Sif. You answer the other calls. The galaxy needs its Guardians.

"Cool, yeah," Peter said with nonchalance in his voice. Terra raised an eyebrow at the man as he gestured towards the ship. "We were just leaving..."

"Shh," Thor then said, turning towards them again. "I know it hurts. But it's better this way. You have to trust me."

Peter and Terra frowned as Thor walked towards the Benator again. They looked at him as he stood next to the walkway in and out of the ship.

"To ease the pain, uh..." Thor slowly continued saying. He patted the walkway. "Take this ship as a parting farewell gift."

"Oh, you're giving me my ship?" Peter asked.

Terra raised an eyebrow while Kraglin let down Glenda nearby.

"Yes, she's yours," Thor told Peter with a proud smile. "May you make as many memories with her as I have. She's a temperamental old lass."

He pointed at Peter.

"She will serve you well in a tight pickle," Thor told the leader of the Guardians.

"... Thor, how much alcohol have you drunk today?" Terra asked.

"That's not important," Thor quickly said. *5*

"I'll start the ship," Kraglin announced, walking past the group as he went up the walkway to enter the ship again.

"Thank you," Peter told him.

"Goodbye, old friend," Thor told Peter.

He held out a hand, and Peter took it and shook.

"A human handshake..." Thor slowly said. He reached forward and grasped Peter's forearm. "To the Asgardian shake."

Terra raised an eyebrow as Thor started rotating his arm, which rotated Peter's arm, as well.

"Into the snake that you cannot trust," Thor said.

He then made a noise with his mouth to signify a snake biting before placing his hand on Peter's arm.

This once again confirmed to Terra that the Thunder God had to at least be a little drunk.

"You're really dragging this out," Peter commented.

"And finish with the classic Asgardian high one," Thor said, lifting up his hand and pointing up one finger.

Peter just followed Thor's suggestion and pointed up with one finger. Thor pressed their fingers together and mimicked an explosion.

Drax passed by the group once again as he started to enter the ship again.

"Let's go," Drax announced as the ship started powering up.

Terra blinked, realizing that more members of the Guardians had already entered the ship again.

"Take care of my crew," Thor muttered to Peter in a conspiratory manner. "This is gonna be hard for them."

"Hurry up!" Nebula snapped as she walked past them to enter the ship.

"Not her," Thor admitted as Nebula left earshot.

Terra grimaced, because this was the first time today he agreed with the Thunder God.

"Remember what I told you," Peter told Thor in a reassuring manner. He placed his hands on his hips and looked at the top of the walkway. "You ever feel lost... Just look into the eyes of the people that you love. They'll tell you exactly who you are."

He said this as he looked up at the top of the walkway, where Drax, Groot, Mantis, Nebula, and Rocket were all standing and looking down at him. Terra found this to be incredibly inspiring, but the moment was slightly ruined by Thor leaning to the side to try and look Peter in the eye. Peter leaned further past Thor in response to try and look at his friends once again.

"All right. Bye," Peter said, patting Thor on the shoulder.

He quickly moved around Thor and started up the stairs, and the smile quickly vanished from Thor's face. He and Terra turned towards the ship once again as Peter continued to walk up as the walkway retracted once again.

"For what it's worth, let's cling to the good memories," Thor called out towards the Guardians.

He chuckled as the ship started to rise up, and Korg walked over while holding the rope for the goats again. Terra just stood on Thor's other side and softly shook his head.

"We Asgardians say, 'May you travel with the speed of Odin's ravens'," Thor called to the ship as it continued to rise up. "'I'll see you in Valhalla where we shall drink mead and'..."

The ship continued rising up into the air, moving to a high enough point for a jump portal to appear. The rockets blasted loudly, sending them flying through the portal, which disappeared right behind them.

"They're gone," Thor said, placing his hands on his hips.

"Alone again," Korg said. "Just me, you, and Terra."

"Okay, before we go anywhere, there's something that needs to be addressed," Terra said. He turned towards Thor. "Thor, you're drunk."

"No, I'm not," Thor denied, turning towards Terra with a chuckle.

Terra immediately smacked him, turning his head to the side and getting Korg to gasp in surprise.

"What the hell?" Thor demanded, frowning at Terra.

"I'm gonna smack you every time you lie to me," Terra told the Thunder God with his eyebrows furrowed in determination. "Thor, you're drunk."

"No, I'm not," Thor said, still frowning angrily.

Terra smacked him again, which got the Thunder God to gasp once again.

"Thor, you're drunk!" Terra shouted.

"I know!" Thor admitted.

He huffed in resignation.

"It has not been easy to keep going like normal after everything," Thor admitted with a shake of his head. "I'm still working out and building muscle, but... My drinking habits haven't lowered in the slightest."

"And how often were you drunk when you were with the Guardians?" Terra asked.

"Not often," Thor said.

Terra lifted up his hand in preparation to smack the Thunder God, but Thor held up a hand quickly to stop him.

"Every night," Thor admitted.

"Jeez, no wonder they were so ready to get rid of you," Terra said, frowning in surprise.

"Relax, Earth Knight," Thor assured the Keyblade Wielder. "The heat of battle and the determination to solve a mystery will level my head for the upcoming investigation."

"It better," Terra said, frowning at Thor.

"It will," Thor promised. He then held out his hand. "Stormbreaker!" *6*

The axe then flew through the air, but Korg had to quickly dodge as it flew past his head. The goats screeched in annoyance as Stormbreaker flew back into Thor's hand, who caught it and braced it once again.

"Watch out, you crazy frickin' axe!" Korg exclaimed in surprise.

Thor frowned in determination as he looked at Stormbreaker, which electricity soon surged around. He then jammed the bottom of the axe into the ground, and lightning blasted down and struck him. Once the lightning faded, Thor was in a new battle suit consisting of a leather tunic with gold linings and a gold belt, black pants, and a red cape with fur on the shoulders. He continued to frown in determination, which Terra hoped meant he had sobered up.

Deciding to follow Thor's example (for once), Terra slammed his fist on his armor button, and light flared around him brightly. Once it faded, his Keyblade armor had appeared around his body, including the cape that flowed out from his shoulders. Light flashed around his head once again, which removed his helmet. Terra breathed out for a moment before turning towards his new allies.

"So what do we do now, bros?" Korg asked, looking between the two.

"Let's go get Sif," Thor announced.

"Hell, yeah," Terra agreed.

Thor raised Stormbreaker and pointed it up into the sky, which started to summon the Bifrost to transport them to Sif's location. The goats screeched as the rainbow bridge also covered them and transported them across the stars, which had Terra wishing he had kept his helmet on. He decided to focus more on how they needed to help Sif, and looked up with the others as they were transported through the Bifrost.

The goats continued to screech as they landed on the planet that Sif was on, the rainbow bridge depositing them on a set of snowy mountains. The goats screeched once again, and Terra softly shook his head in annoyance. They left the goats in a specific spot, then Korg grabbed a weapon of his own before the three of them started a trek across the mountains to look for Sif.

Pretty soon, after walking across the mountaintops for a few moments, they discovered which world they were on. Standing on a large rock, Korg, Terra, and Thor looked across the snowy landscape towards a gigantic beast that looked like an alien dog, which had its mouth open and hundreds of ridges across its back. Golden light was flowing off of its dead body, which confirmed to Terra that this creature had to be the god that was killed on this world.

"Who or what is that?" Korg asked, his eyes wide at the giant dead beast.

"Falligar, the God of Falligarians," Thor informed them. "One of the nicest gods you'll ever meet."

Terra raised an eyebrow at that declaration, but he decided to trust Thor's words. The three of them then looked in front of them, frowning when they saw quite a few bodies laying across the snowy ground in front of Falligar's body.

"Oh, no," Thor said with concern in his voice.

Electricity surged around Stormbreaker, and Thor leaped up into the air. He went all the way across the landscape and landed on the icy ground near the bodies. Terra followed him, transforming his Keyblade into the Glider and moving close enough before dismissing it in light. Terra landed next to Thor, and the two of them started walking forward once again. They changed their walk into a brisk jog towards one of the rocks, where they saw Sif laying against it.

Concern immediately appeared on their faces when they saw blood on her face, and it was exacerbated when they saw that her left arm was gone. Thor and Terra immediately crouched down next to Sif, with Thor dropping Stormbreaker as they looked at her.

"Sif, it's me, Thor," Thor said, placing his hands on her shoulders as she opened her eyes.

"Odinson?" Sif asked, looking at Thor in surprise.

"Hi, I'm Terra," Terra quickly said to get introductions out of the way. "You must be Sif. And what the heck happened to you?"

"You're missing an arm," Thor urgently said, looking down at her severed arm in shock. "I'm gonna get you home."

"No!" Sif denied. "Leave me here."

Terra frowned at that.

"I want to die a warrior's death," Sif requested. She looked to the side dreamily. "On the battlefield. In battle. And then I can claim my place in Valhalla."

She closed her eyes as a small smile spread across her face.

"Uh... Sif, you're not in battle right now," Terra pointed out.

"My friend is right," Thor told her with a grimace. Sif opened her eyes. "But for a warrior to get into Valhalla, you have to die in the battle. You survived."

Sif looked to the side in realization.

"Oh, shit," she said, sounding really disappointed.

"Maybe your arm is in Valhalla," Thor suggested. *7*

Terra frowned, wondering if that was how it worked.

"What happened here?" Thor asked in concern.

Sif sighed as she looked at the two men.

"I've been hunting a madman," she told them. "I followed him here, but it was a trap."

"Who is this madman?" Thor asked.

"The God Butcher is coming," Sif told them with warning in her voice. "He seeks the extinction of the gods."

"Shit," Terra said with surprise in his voice.

"That's not the worst part," Sif told them with dread in her voice. "Asgard is next."

Terra frowned in remembrance.

"Oh, my God..." he softly said. "Aqua and Ven sent me pictures while we were on Indigarr. They're in New Asgard."

Terra and Thor slowly breathed in and out as they realized the full scale of the danger their friends and their world was in. The two of them looked at Sif, who continued to look at them urgently with a bit of snow on her face. The three of them knew that even with Sif and her wounds, they were going to need to move quickly to help their friends and their people...

Chapter Text

Earth

New Asgard

There was a calm atmosphere in the late evening at New Asgard. The docks were quiet, the houses had all turned out their lights on the inside, but kept porch-lights on that helped illuminate the rest of the city and give it a clear image through the darkness, which was aided by the moonlight above the city. There was no sound to the evening except the echoing of waves flowing across the water and a small bell clanging in the wind, aiding in the calm atmosphere to the evening.

This calm atmosphere was about to be ruined horribly.

On one of the smaller mountaintops, Gorr the God Butcher slowly walked up the ridge onto the peak of the rock, his stark white form a great contrast to the night sky. His white robes flowed in the evening wind, which blended almost seamlessly with his pale white skin. His eyes were a golden yellow, and the marks on his skin had turned dark blue, almost black. These were all effects of the corruption placed on his soul due to the curse of the Necrosword, which he carried in his right hand.

Reaching the top of the small mountain, Gorr dragged the blade of the Necrosword through the grass next to him as he came to a small stop. He stared down at the city of New Asgard in front of him, feeling the same hatred towards all gods within his chest as he looked at the city. Already having come up with a plan, Gorr lifted up the Necrosword backhanded with both hands, then crouched down onto his knees as he stabbed it into the dirt in the ground.

Using the abilities of the Necrosword, Gorr used his new powers to increase the size of the shadows in front of him, causing them to spread out far in front of him.

Following the commands of Gorr and the Necrosword, the shadows within the city started spreading out even further on the ground, spreading out until they reached large enough sizes that they started resembling creatures. Some of the shadows took the form of claws, and a large, spider-like creature climbed out of one of the shadows, moving out into existence and slowly crawling forward.

Within minutes, even more shadow creatures started climbing out of the ground, all of them growling in preparation and anger as they moved to follow Gorr's instructions. The shadow creatures all started charging together across the roads, moving to cause as much destruction as possible. They attacked any people that were still outside, destroyed objects that were around them, and even managed to set a few cars on fire, all of them succeeding in their objective given to them by Gorr.

Many children within their houses noticed the turmoil, including Axl, the son of the late Gatekeeper, Heimdall. He stood at his window and stared out into the city, joining the kids in staring out in horror at the number of creatures attacking the city. *1*

Luckily, they already had a group of heroes fighting for them.

Hearing the sound of people screaming, Aqua and Ventus slipped on their armor, pressing the buttons and causing light to flash around them in preparation. The two of them hurried outside, their eyes widening in shock at the sight of the shadow creatures. Some of the creatures looked like giant spiders, while others looked like beasts that came out of someone's worst nightmare.

"You know..." Ventus slowly said, pushing down the fear he felt at the sight of the creatures. "They kinda match what I had in mind when Roxas and Xion told us about those demons and Elder Beasts they fought at Wundagore."

"Same with me," Aqua admitted, frowning in thought.

Two of the shadow monsters turned towards the Keyblade wielders and growled in anger, which got them to move at attention again. The shadow creatures lunged at them, and Aqua and Ventus quickly summoned their Keyblades. Ventus dodged a claw-strike from a shadow monster before delivering a quick set of strikes to its chest, then followed it up with a blast of Fission Firaga. Aqua cartwheeled to dodge an attack from a different shadow monster before casting Stopga, freezing the monster in place. She followed it up with Thundaga Shot, which exploded when it hit the shadow creature, sending it flying with a pain-filled screech.

Unfortunately, there were still only two of them at the moment. Aqua and Ventus moved as quickly as they could across the streets of New Asgard, striking with their Keyblades wherever they could at the shadow creatures. Then they started their team attack of Icy Slider, with Ventus's Keyblade being covered in ice, and he rode it as Aqua directed him. Aqua swung her own Keyblade through the air to direct Ventus, and he rode his Keyblade into a group of the shadow creatures, which released ice shards sharp enough to impale their bodies upon landing.

The cavalry quickly started to arrive, with a large portal glowing into existence that Valkyrie flew out of while riding her pegasus. Though she was dressed in a relaxing sweatshirt and a pair of shorts, she was clearly still battle-ready, as evidenced by the fact that she threw a spear that impaled itself through the head of one of the shadow creatures. Valkyrie then landed her pegasus next to the spear, then grabbed on and swung towards another shadow beast, kicking it with both feet and knocking it back before she landed on the ground.

Aqua and Ventus nodded at the newly arrived warrior, then they both had to dodge as more shadow demons tried to attack them. They continued to press the attack with the many other citizens that had charged out to try and fight the new army of monsters, all of them working desperately to protect the city.

Luckily, a form of a cavalry arrived soon enough.

The rainbow bridge of the Bifrost flew down and burned into the ground in the middle of the road, signaling the arrival of Thor's group from the world that Sif had been on.

Gorr let out an incredibly creepy, and incredibly satisfied smile at the sight of the Bifrost.

Once the rainbow colors of the bridge vanished, it revealed Korg, Terra, Thor, and the goats standing in the patterns burned on the ground. Sif was still weak, so she was crouched down, leaning against one of the goats as it watched the mayhem around it.

The team immediately went to work in helping fight. Korg moved his weapon into long range and started firing lasers towards the shadow creatures. Terra grunted as he cast Geo Impact, causing spiked rocks to come out of the ground and attach the closest shadow creatures, knocking them aside. Thor swung Stormbreaker, releasing lightning that flew towards a car that a shadow creature was standing on, blowing up the car and sending the closest creatures flying. Terra wondered if Thor was going to pay for that car before he blasted Fission Firaga at another shadow creature.

All of the warriors and soldiers that had just been fighting all raised their arms and started cheering at the group's arrival.

"Look, it's Thor!" one man cheered.

Aqua and Ventus let out a relieved huff when they saw Terra. Of course, a few more shadow creatures popping up hindered them from being able to move towards their friend. Terra just looked across the new battlefield and felt relief fill his chest when he saw his friends were unharmed, then he raised his Keyblade to block an attack from another shadow creature.

Two soldiers then hurried towards where the group was standing, both of them leaning down to slowly help the still-wounded Sif stand up.

"Take Sif to the infirmary," Thor instructed to them.

"I did some work with Curaga, but it wasn't able to do a lot," Terra informed them.

"Terra!" Ventus called out.

Terra turned around, just in time to see Aqua and Ventus charging through the battlefield towards him. Terra prepared himself, then opened up his arms to accept the hug from Ventus. He let out a small chuckle before turning towards Aqua as she dismissed her helmet. The two shared a quick kiss in greeting before they separated from each other.

"Glad you're okay," Aqua said.

"Same to you," Terra said.

"Hey!" Valkyrie said.

Terra looked around, seeing that he, Aqua, Thor, and Ventus were still standing together on the Bifrost patterns, and Valkyrie had climbed back onto her pegasus. She was next to the group and looking pointedly at Thor. Since the situation demanded it, light reappeared around Aqua and Terra's heads, returning their helmets to place.

"Who'd you piss off now?" Valkyrie asked Thor.

"Actually, Thor didn't do anything that led to this," Terra admitted.

"He's right," Thor said. He gestured to the shadow creatures as some warriors fought them. "I've never even seen these things, whatever the hell they are."

"We're here because apparently, someone called the God Butcher is coming to attack," Terra added.

"The 'God Butcher'?" Ventus asked, he and Aqua looking at Terra with wide eyes of surprise.

"He sounds lovely," Valkyrie commented. She spun her spear around and stabbed a shadow creature next to her pegasus. "Welcome back."

Thor just nodded at her before turning around and slicing a lunging shadow creature in half with Stormbreaker.

Children watched from their windows with excited smiles on their faces as the group went to work together against the shadow creatures. Thor swung Stormbreaker into one's chest, killing it quickly. Terra jabbed one in the chest, then swung his Keyblade at its head, decapitating it. Aqua blasted Triple Blizzaga at one, while Ventus started attacking with Ars Arcanum against a different one. Valkyrie swung her spear, hitting the bottom into one shadow creature before spinning it around and using the sharp end to take out one behind her and the one in front of her.

Thor grunted as he swung his axe, taking out another shadow creature before the sound of something roaring caught his attention. Terra and Ventus followed the sound, too, turning with Thor to see that down the road, there was a shadow creature that was nearly as tall as one of the buildings, roaring loudly as it slowly moved towards the battlefield.

"Someone please tell me this is just a nightmare," Ventus requested with wide eyes of fear.

Thor just spun in a circle before throwing Stormbreaker, which flew quickly through the air at a pace that soon enough led it to being jabbed into the shadow creature's head. The shadow creature let out a pain-filled screech before it quickly dropped down, landing on its front as it died quickly.

"Well, that was anti-climactic," Terra commented, raising an eyebrow over what just happened.

"According to V, that happens a lot," Aqua informed him. *2*

The sound of metallic humming then rang out, which got Thor to quickly look up, because he recognized the sound. While Aqua and Ventus turned around to join Valkyrie and the rest of the warriors resume their fighting against the shadow creatures, Thor turned and followed the sound of metallic humming with his eyebrows furrowed. Terra grunted as he cast Quake, knocking aside a group of shadow creatures with the shaking Earth, before looking at Thor with a frown.

All of a sudden, another streak of lightning quickly flew down through the sky, which caused a small shockwave when it reached the ground. This shockwave of electricity sent that group of shadow creatures flying once again, and it also got the soldiers to start cheering once again.

Incredibly curious, Thor and Terra turned towards Valkyrie as she climbed back on her pegasus.

"Who's the new guy?" Thor asked, feeling a mixture of curiosity and jealousy.

"That guy?" Valkyrie asked, nodding in the direction of the new arrival with a knowing smirk on her face. "You're gonna love that guy."

"You're gonna be surprised," Aqua admitted as she walked over.

"I was, too," Ventus admitted. He paused. "Granted, everything surprises me, but still."

A shadow creature then lunged forward and tackled Ventus to the side. The blonde grunted in surprise, and Aqua hurried after to help.

Something that quickly surprised Terra and Thor was that they could see something whooshing quickly through the gathered crowds of warriors and shadow creatures. They both frowned, because they were sure that they recognized the item. It had the appearance of a rectangular cube covered in streaks of blue light, which also had a handle and a leather strap on the bottom. The last they had seen it, though, Steve Rogers had taken it back to restore it back in history after the Battle of Earth.

Somehow, Mjölnir had been restored, and it flew through the air across the battlefield, striking shadow creatures left and right and knocking them aside. Terra was impressed, but Thor was more shocked since that hammer had been a part of his life for so long, but now it was back, and apparently under someone else's control. He watched as the hammer flew across the battlefield, knocking aside even more shadow creatures, and even moving between him and Terra.

Thor almost felt like time had slowed down as he turned around, watching as Mjölnir knocked down and killed two shadow creatures before flying away again.

"Mjöl... Mjölnir!" Thor shouted. He moved forward, pushing through the warriors and forgetting about fighting as he chased after his old weapon. "Mjölnir! It's me, Thor."

"Thor!" Terra shouted.

He swung his Keyblade at an approaching shadow beast, decapitating it. He followed it up with a kick to its chest, sending its body flying away.

"Pretty sure we should be focusing on different things than that!" Terra shouted.

Thor ignored him as he grabbed the closest warrior and frantically asked if the man had seen his hammer. When that didn't work, he actually whistled like he was trying to get a dog's attention.

"Mjölnir, here, boy!" Thor called out.

"Thor!" Terra shouted once again.

The wielder of Earth groaned in annoyance before following the Thunder God across the battlefield once again.

Thor then slowly came to a stop in the battlefield, and a small smile spread across his face. Terra huffed as he hurried forward, moving near the Thunder God with a curious expression on his face.

"Mjölnir?" Thor asked.

Terra frowned and turned to look in front of himself, seeing that one shadow creature in front of them was slowly destroyed from behind as Mjölnir flew right through it. The hammer had been restored, with little scars spread across the surface of the hammer to signify where it had broken before by Hela. Thor smiled brightly as the hammer continued to fly forward from being thrown, slowly but surely moving towards him.

"Mjölnir," Thor said, still smiling.

Terra raised an eyebrow as he looked at Thor, since the Thunder God appeared to be reacting almost like a man who had run into a long lost sibling, or even an ex-girlfriend.

"You're back!" Thor excitedly said.

The hammer floated forward and got close enough that Thor could almost grasp it.

Then it suddenly flew backwards, moving across the battlefield back towards whoever had thrown it. Thor frowned in surprise while Terra raised an eyebrow.

"Mjölnir!" Thor shouted.

"Maybe Roxas is here, too," Terra suggested. "Or Vision or Steve."

"No, Steve's retired," Thor said, still staring after his hammer.

Their theories were put to rest as Mjölnir flew into the hand of a woman. The woman slowly lowered her arms down into a battle stance, showing that she wore a sleeveless leather tunic of armor with a few skirts that hung down past her waist, which also had matching pants to serve as armor. There were fingerless, leather gauntlets with metal armor on her forearms, a red cape that flowed from her shoulders, and a bright helmet on her head with the designs of wings pointing upwards from her ears. The helmet covered the top half of her head from the nose up, allowing wavy blonde hair to flow down onto her shoulders.

Thor frowned in surprised confusion, while Terra raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"Didn't see that coming," Terra commented.

This new hero, The Mighty Thor, slowly lowered her arms down in preparation before grasping Mjölnir by the strap. She spun it a couple of times in preparation before throwing the hammer. Terra and Thor both got out of the way and watched as Mjölnir flew right past them, going through the air towards the groups of shadow creatures. The base of the hammer then broke back into shards, all of which were covered with electricity as they continued flying. The many pieces flew through the shadow creatures, stabbing right through their monstrous bodies and dealing lots of damage.

Terra's eyes widened in surprise, and Thor felt another mixture of shock and jealousy. *3*

The shards of Mjölnir continued to fly around in an arc around the battlefield, looping around and going through more of the shadow creatures, taking them out before they flew back towards Mighty Thor. The kids watching felt excitement at the sight as the handle flew back into Mighty Thor's hand, then the hammer shards all flew back one by one, reforming Mjölnir once again.

"... That was awesome," Terra remarked with a nod of his head.

Thor still felt jealous. He started walking across the battlefield towards Mighty Thor, preparing himself for a long conversation.

"Excuse me," Thor said in greeting to Mighty Thor as she looked at him. "Hello. That's my hammer you've got there."

Mighty Thor stepped out of her battle stance as she looked at Thor, while Terra grunted as he blasted Fission Firaga at another shadow creature.

"And that's my look," Thor added.

Mighty Thor ignored him as a creature snarled behind her. She turned around and swung Mjölnir, hitting it in the face and knocking it back.

Still feeling jealous, Thor grasped his hands into fists, which caused more lightning to fly down and hit him. This caused even more armor to appear on him, with chainmail plates appearing on his arm, while golden and blue circular patterns of armor appeared on his chest, along with golden and blue arm guards, and a more intricate helmet on his own head, which also included golden and blue designs. He even gestured with his hands, which caused points to pop up on either side of his head.

"Thor, this really isn't important!" Terra shouted as he performed a combo attack against a shadow creature.

"Just give me a second," Thor requested. He turned towards Mighty Thor. "Hey!"

A shadow creature got close enough, but Thor easily incapacitated it with a swing of Stormbreaker. Mighty Thor grunted as she swung Mjölnir, knocking aside another shadow creature, before throwing the hammer to have it fly towards a different enemy.

"Enough tomfoolery," Thor requested from Mighty Thor. She turned towards him. "Why don't you take off the mask and reveal yourself? Come on."

"Thor!" Terra shouted.

Terra hurried up next to Thor as Mighty Thor slowly stepped out of a fighting stance once again. Light flashed around her helmet as it disappeared, revealing the face of Jane Foster as she slowly smiled at Thor. She breathed in a couple of times to brace herself as she looked at Thor.

"Hey," Jane said, still smiling.

Thor's eyes had widened, and his jaw had dropped to the highest level.

"Jane?" he exclaimed incredulously.

Terra's eyes widened in surprise as he looked between Thor and Jane. The battle around them vanished for a moment as the full story that he heard registered in his head, which made this especially surprising.

While a building burned down and collapsed nearby, Thor and Jane continued to look at each other as they registered that they were finally seeing each other again. Terra looked between both members of the former couple, knowing that this had to be quite the surprise for both of them.

Korg: Let me tell you the legend of Thor and Jane.

Korg: He was a God of Thunder, and she, a woman of science. And although they were from different worlds, somehow, it just made sense.

Korg: And together, they embarked on a journey of love.

Korg: Thor taught Jane the way of the warrior... And Jane taught Thor the way of the people. And as time passed, their love grew deeper and deeper.

Korg: And love that deep has a way of becoming magical.

Korg: Thor set his sights toward a future, and all it might hold.

Korg: But the more he pondered a life with Jane, the more he feared losing that life. And although Jane didn't want to admit it, she was cared of loss as well. And so, they built walls between them. Thor got busy saving humanity. And Jane got busy doing the same. Real busy.

Korg: And eventually the space between them grew and grew, until it became too wide to bear. Something had to give.

Korg: And then one night, it did give. Jane wrote a note. And Thor read that note. And their legend suddenly became myth. Or so they thought.  *4*

Things appeared to be at a current stalemate during the battle, at least between Thor and Jane. Terra just watched both members of the former couple, looking between them as they both stood in their armor holding their respective weapons. He did blink at the fire still burning a building nearby, but he shrugged it off as he looked between Thor and Jane once again. Jane appeared to be doing okay, though Thor was standing a little woozily, which had Terra wondering if the Thunder God was still drunk.

"You okay?" Jane asked with concern in her voice.

Thor managed to compose himself, at least enough to let out an awkward chuckle.

"Yeah," he said unconvincingly before he chuckled again. He reached up and grabbed the neck of his armor. "It's a little, uh, hot in..."

He panted as he lowered his hand from his armor.

"Startin' to feel..." Thor slowly said through a pant. He gestured to his helmet. "It's claustrophobic with the helmet."

He grabbed his helmet and pulled it off with a grunt. He then panted once again before looking at Jane, still incredibly incredulous.

"How?" Thor asked, still in a state of shock.

"Yeah, I'm blanking on that, too," Terra admitted, turning to look at Jane.

"Uh..." Jane slowly said.

A shadow creature then snarled as it charged at Jane, and she turned towards it and grunted as she rammed Mjölnir into its head. She grunted a bit more as she attacked the shadow creature, before turning and striking at a different one.

"Can we talk about this later?" Jane asked, looking over her shoulder at Thor.

"We've got good reason to wait, man!" Terra added.

He grunted and swung his Keyblade, decapitating another charging shadow creature. Jane attacked another shadow beast, too, swinging Mjölnir into its head and knocking it aside.

"Yeah, sure," Thor said, still feeling a little awkward.

"Great seeing you," Jane happily told Thor.

The helmet reappeared over her head, and she leaped through the air to go and attack more shadow creatures.

"What?" Thor asked, looking down while still in shock.

"Thor!" Terra shouted. He grunted as he struck at another shadow creature. "Pull your head out of your ass for five seconds and start fighting again!"

"Right, yes, sorry," Thor said, shaking his head.

The sound of a sinister voice whispering indiscriminately quickly caught both of their attentions, though. Slowly frowning in confusion, Thor and Terra turned and looked across the entirety of the battlefield. Their frowns deepened when they saw Gorr standing on the opposite side of the street, at the base of the mountain, almost hidden by shadows and his own robe as he stared intently at Thor.

"Kill all the gods," the sinister voice whispered.

"I think we just found the God Butcher," Terra remarked to Thor.

"I'm coming to that conclusion, as well," Thor agreed, grasping Stormbreaker tighter in preparation.

The two of them watched as Gorr slowly started to walk forward, carrying the Necrosword in one hand. Even from this distance, Terra and Thor could see murderous intent in the man's glowing, orange eyes. Terra and Thor started to walk forward to meet him, seeing that some of the fighting somehow started to move to the sides, slowly parting the way for the approaching Gorr.

Of course, all the shadow creatures gathered around continued to give them trouble. Thor swung his axe at one, before swinging it twice at another one. Terra slashed through a different shadow creature, then cast Geo Impact once again, causing boulders to burst up again and knock aside more of the creatures. The two of them easily turned away from the attacks before turning towards Gorr in preparation once again.

As the crowds moved about on the battlefield in front of them, Gorr suddenly vanished from view as the warriors and the shadow creatures continued to fight. The two of them were silent for a moment, before Gorr suddenly reappeared, but much closer now. Terra grimaced at the white robes and skin, the black lips, and the glowing orange eyes, because it was certainly pretty terrifying.

Thor immediately swung Stormbreaker at Gorr, but the God Butcher vanished into the ground, disappearing into a shadow and causing Thor to hit the ground, instead. Terra and Thor frowned in surprise before Gorr reappeared behind them. Gorr swung the Necrosword, hitting Thor in the back and sending him flying. Terra managed to dodge the attack, then he grunted as he swung his Keyblade to meet the God Butcher in battle. Ends of the Earth and the Necrosword met in the air, and Gorr glared at Terra from between the two blades. Terra frowned at Gorr, who then reached forward with one hand, releasing energy that hit Terra in his armored chest. The Keyblade wielder grunted as he was sent flying across the battlefield, landing on the ground next to Thor.

Recovering quickly, Terra and Thor looked up and frowned at Gorr as he charged at them with his Necrosword raised. The two of them quickly jumped to their feet, and once Gorr was close enough, Thor swung his axe. He hit Gorr with the electricity covered top, knocking the God Butcher to the side. Terra briefly frowned over the fact that Gorr was barefoot, but brushed that to the side quickly.

Gorr grunted as he landed on his back, but then jumped to his feet. Thor leaped upwards with Stormbreaker overhead and tried to swing it at Gorr once again, but the God Butcher once again retreated into a shadow, vanishing completely. Terra charged after Thor, but then Gorr reappeared behind him and hit Terra in the back, using enough force to send him flying. Gorr then charged at Thor just as the Thunder God turned around. Gorr grabbed Thor by the shoulder and pushed him to the ground, dragging him a bit as they glided on the ground before they reached a car. The God Butcher then pressed Thor against a car, and tentacles appeared out of nowhere to restrain the Thunder God against the car.

Terra pushed himself to his feet and looked towards where Gorr was restraining Thor against the car. Gorr had lifted the Necrosword up to point it at Thor's face, and the Thunder God struggled a bit against the tentacles before looking at the Necrosword in concern. Of course, a large shadow creature appeared in front of Terra, so he had to start attacking it with a combo attack before he could help his friend.

"Hey," Thor said, his voice a little high pitched. "Is that the Necrosword? That's cool. I've only ever read about it in stories."

"Then you know this is going to hurt," Gorr told him, clearly mocking since he gave a sinister smile.

"Pain," Thor said with a scoff. Clearly, he was trying to give off an air of fearlessness. "What is pain but a construct invented by the weak?"

Gorr pressed the tip of the Necrosword into Thor's neck, which got him to jump.

"Okay, that's very sharp!" Thor shouted, his eyes glowing with electricity.

Electricity surging around him, Thor managed to push off the tentacle and pushed down the Necrosword, then he swung Stormbreaker at Gorr. Unfortunately, Gorr was able to grasp the handle of the axe with both hands, then used his own enhanced strength to turn around and throw Thor into a car, which destroyed the side of it. Thor managed to keep a grasp on Stormbreaker, even as he fell to the ground.

Terra managed to defeat the shadow creature he was fighting, then looked up just in time to see Thor get thrown into a car. He glanced to the side, seeing that Aqua and Ventus had also stopped fighting shadow creatures. The three of them shared a nod before turning towards Gorr, though Ventus was a little put-off by the God Butcher's appearance.

They had to move quickly, as Gorr made more tentacles appear that once again restrained Thor to the side of a car. Gorr intently looked towards Stormbreaker, but Aqua managed to stop him by blasting Thundaga Shot at his back, which got him to stutter in pain. The God Butcher gritted his teeth and turned towards the trio, baring his teeth in anger. Ventus once again pushed down his fear as the three of them stood in their battle stances in preparation. *5*

Terra charged forward and swung his Keyblade, but Gorr easily disappeared in a shadow once again. The God Butcher jumped to his feet behind Terra and swung the Necrosword at his head, which hit him with enough force to shatter his helmet and make him gasp. Ventus charged forward for his friend and delivered a quick set of strikes with Ars Arcanum, delivering lots of strikes against Gorr and knocking him around a bit. Once the attack ended, Gorr just reached down and grabbed Ventus by the back of his head, lifting him up and making him gasp in surprise (while also giving him unpleasant flashbacks to when he fought Xehanort at the Keyblade Graveyard). Luckily, Aqua saved the blonde by blasting Gorr with Triple Blizzaga.

While Gorr released Ventus and dropped him to his feet, Aqua hurried forward and started a combo attack against the God Butcher, but he blocked every strike with the Necrosword. Terra jumped to his feet and tried to help with a swing of Ends of the Earth, but Gorr easily sidestepped the attack and delivered a back kick to Terra's chest, knocking him aside with enhanced strength. Aqua lifted her Keyblade to try and attack again, but more tentacles appeared and grabbed her, pulling her backwards before restraining her against another car. Aqua let out a surprised gasp, and Ventus tried to retaliate for his friends. Ventus tried to swing his Keyblade, but Gorr easily dodged it before striking with the Necrosword, hitting Ventus and knocking him aside with a surprised yell.

With the three Keyblade wielders currently dispatched, Gorr turned towards where Thor was still restrained and moved towards the struggling God. He looked at Thor, then looked intently at Stormbreaker. The God Butcher reached forward, grabbing part of the handle with one hand.

"Ready?" Gorr softly asked.

Of course, electricity appeared around the axe once again, which had Gorr turning to look at Thor's face, seeing that electricity was glowing within the Thunder God's eyes.

"Don't touch my things," Thor growled at Gorr.

Thor easily broke his hand out, then punched Gorr in the face and followed it up with a head-butt. The Thunder God then grabbed the God Butcher by the neck and slowly lifted him up, which got Gorr to choke slightly. Thor glared at Gorr for a moment before turning and throwing the God Butcher, causing him to crash along the hood of the car before falling to the ground.

Aqua managed to break out of her restraints, and Terra and Ventus recovered from the attacks they had received. They started to turn towards Gorr to help Thor, but shadow creatures charged in and tackled Aqua and Ventus aside once again. Terra was ignorant of this, as he and Thor had already turned towards Gorr once again. The two heroes frowned at the God Butcher, and Gorr glared back at them.

Luckily, some help had appeared once again. As Gorr looked around, he saw that Jane and Valkyrie had also appeared, with Jane still holding Mjölnir while Valkyrie lifted up her spear once again. Gorr frowned as he looked between the four enemies in front of him, quickly coming up with another plan.

Thor pointed Stormbreaker at Gorr and shot lightning out, but the God Butcher vanished into another shadow, causing the electricity to just hit the ground where he had been standing. The electricity vanished, so Terra and Thor both looked around, frowning as they confirmed that Gorr was gone.

"Yeah, you better run, you coward," Thor taunted, putting up another air of confidence.

"No way that was it, though," Terra pointed out.

And he was right.

Moments later, the sound of children screaming in terror started to mix with the growls of the shadow creatures and the usual sounds of battle. Aqua and Ventus jumped to their feet, and they joined Jane, Terra, Thor, and Valkyrie in looking around in concern.

"The children!" a woman in pajamas holding a weapon screamed, getting the group's attention. "They're taking the children!"

The sound of children screaming slowly got louder over the sounds of battle, echoing across the battlefield and making everyone incredibly concerned. Terra and Thor turned around, trying to figure out a precise location, but the sounds echoing only moved in different directions away from them.

Eventually, though, the sounds started to merge into one clear spot, which at least half the group noticed. Covering themselves in electricity, Thor and Jane leaped up into the air to narrow the location even as the screaming started to quiet down. Aqua and Terra changed their Keyblades into Gliders, and they rose up to follow the former couple over the battlefield.

As they moved together through the sky, Aqua, Jane, Terra, and Thor were able to see on the closest mountain where Gorr was standing. The God Butcher held his Necrosword next to a large cage made out of claws and thorns, which happened to be holding all of the Asgardian children within. The group moved through the air in an attempt to attack Gorr, but the God Butcher quickly vanished into the shadows with the cage, taking the children with him.

Jane and Thor landed on the ground where Gorr had just been standing, both of them panting as they looked around, seeing that he had vanished completely. Aqua and Terra dismissed their Gliders, landing next to the former couple and looking around in similar surprise. The shadow creatures in town had all vanished in the battlefield below them, much to Ventus's surprise. This just helped confirm what they could already tell from this battle.

They had lost the battle, and Gorr had the Asgardian children.

Chapter Text

New Asgard

The Next Morning

There was a dark and grim atmosphere throughout the city the following morning. No one was willing to be at rest or calm down considering so many Asgardian children had been kidnapped, and smoke leftover from the fires had caused the sky to become foggy all around, only adding to the grim atmosphere. Most of the warriors from the previous night were within their houses and at a meeting hall to try and recover, leaving the streets bare.

This allowed some members of the group to look around and do their own little investigation of the situation. Aqua, Terra, Thor, and Ventus slowly moved together along the street in the battlefield to look around and try to get any clues about the situation or Gorr. Aqua, Terra, and Ventus were moving together along the street while Thor stood next to a damaged car, looking at it intently in thought.

"Shadow monsters," Thor assessed. "Disgusting."

"Most likely that guy was able to summon them here with the Necrosword," Aqua remarked. She looked between Terra and Ventus. "I texted Wanda and Wong to try and ask about it."

"What'd they say?" Terra asked.

"Wong mentioned that it's a weapon that's capable of killing gods," Aqua said. "But it also corrupts the wielder's mind, and then that corruption slowly kills them. Which probably explains why Wanda told us to, and I quote: 'Destroy that thing as soon as fucking possible'."

"After hearing what happened with Maleficent and the Darkhold, I don't necessarily blame her for saying that," Terra admitted, with Ventus grimacing and nodding in agreement.

All of a sudden, lightning flashed nearby, which got the group to all look in that direction. There, they saw Jane coming down from lightning transport as she slowly stood up. She carried Mjölnir in her hand and was still dressed in her battle armor, which is also why her hair was still blonde. She huffed as she looked at Thor, since he was the closest one to her.

"Flew around the whole world twice," Jane explained. "Nothing."

"Cowards must have run away," Thor assessed. "We'll find them."

Ventus started to walk forward to join them, but Terra held out a hand to stop his friend. The blonde and Aqua looked at him in surprise, and Terra looked between them and Jane and Thor. Aqua and Ventus looked pointedly at Jane and Thor, and they frowned in thought when they saw the former couple sharing small smiles and chuckles that were nearly awkward. The two Keybladers could understand Terra's reasoning, so they just stood back and joined him in watching Jane and Thor as they started walking down the road.

"Quite a reunion, huh?" Jane commented with a small smile.

"Eh, you're telling me," Thor agreed with a small nod.

"What's it been?" Jane asked, looking at Thor. "Like, three, four years?"

"... Eight years, seven months, and six days," Thor said, still smiling.

Aqua, Terra, and Ventus all grimaced, knowing just from that statement alone that Thor had given a lot of thought about this.

Jane tilted her head to the side in surprise before smiling awkwardly once again.

"I haven't forgotten the last time I saw you, or didn't see you, because you left," Thor said.

He gave another awkward chuckle.

"It's kind of an oversimplification to say that I left," Jane pointed out, stopping and gesturing to Thor with one hand.

"Ah, no, you left," Thor said, somehow still smiling. "You did. You wrote me a beautiful handwritten letter. I should know, I was there."

He gave a small chuckle as Jane looked at him, pretty unamused.

"You weren't there..." Jane pointed out as Thor continued chuckling.

"I was," Thor tried to say.

"... Actually, hence the note," Jane added. She gave another awkward chuckle. "And if you weren't there to see me leave, then maybe it was you that left."

"Fair point," Thor admitted, looking up in thought. "Hmm."

"Uh..." Jane said. She held up her arms in a thoughtful manner. "Not that it matters. Like, who's keeping track, right?"

She and Thor shared another awkward chuckle before she turned and started walking down the road again.

"No, yeah," Thor agreed. "I suppose we both left and both got left."

He let out another awkward chuckle.

"Now you're leaving again," Thor muttered.

He started walking after her again.

Aqua, Terra, and Ventus all grimaced as they watched the Thunder God walk after his ex-girlfriend.

"That was brutal," Ventus commented.

"About as bad as those crappy soap operas V made us watch for research on Earth," Aqua agreed with a nod of her head. She looked between her friends. "I honestly don't know who was more in the wrong."

"They're both in the wrong, and they're both stupid," Terra said with a small sigh. "Jane was one of the people that Thor's cried the most about since the Blip, especially since it was revealed that she was revived afterwards. Having lost his family and friends permanently was bad, but having her still be alive but not wanting to see him has also been pretty horrible for the big guy. Honestly, though? I'm just waiting for him to sober up enough to tell her he loves her, already."

"Wait, you mean Thor's drunk?" Aqua asked, looking at the brunette.

"Evidently," Terra admitted.

"In that case, it's gonna take him a while to finally tell her that," Ventus commented.

"Most likely," Aqua agreed.

"Whatever the case, I'm glad that someone else is able to wield that hammer," Terra admitted. He shrugged his shoulders. "Before now, it's only ever been Thor and some of the other guys that have been able to wield that thing. It's pretty impressive, and really progressive that a woman is able to wield something with requirements as specific as that."

Ventus nodded his head in understanding while Aqua looked at Terra with a look slowly growing in her eyes.

"... I so wanna jump your bones right now," Aqua admitted.

Ventus groaned in disgust and quickly started walking away.

Despite the situation, Aqua and Terra shared a small chuckle before they faced each other once again. They stepped towards each other, shared a kiss, then wrapped their arms around each other, both feeling incredibly relieved that the other was okay.

Korg: Let me tell you the legend of Terra and Aqua.

Korg: They were both from vastly different areas, brought together under the teachings of a grand Master of the Keyblade. He, a master of Earth and strength. She, a master of water and magic. They were almost a match made in heaven with the way they trained together.

Korg: They joined good friends such as Ventus, the master of Wind, and Vanitas, the master of fire. The two of them even tried to come up with a plan to push Terra and Aqua together.

Korg: Of course, they didn't get to go through with this plan because of a dangerous old man named Xeggy... Xehanyy... Well, something like that.

Korg: And when old Xeggy started to attack...

"Korg?"

"Huh?" Korg said, breaking out of his trance and looking around. "What?"

The Kronan was standing in the middle of the road, just about seven feet away from Terra and Aqua. The battle couple were still hugging, dressed in their armor except for the helmets. The two Keyblade Masters were looking at him with curious expressions on their faces, which only got Korg to grimace. He was lucky he didn't have normal skin, otherwise his face would be red with how much he was blushing.

"This is the third time you've done this today," Terra said, incredibly confused. "Who are you talking to?"

"Oh, uh... Nobody," Korg said, still pretty embarrassed. "I'm gonna, uh... Go join that meeting with the others."

Still embarrassed, the Kronan turned and started jogging after Ventus, moving with him to follow Jane and Thor towards the meeting room. Terra and Aqua shared a look, shrugged their shoulders, then shared one more kiss. They then turned and started jogging after the Kronan again, not wanting to miss the meeting, either. *1*

Since Aqua, Jane, Korg, Terra, Thor, and Ventus were all heroes, they were able to push through the crowd that had gathered at city hall, trying to go in and ask questions. Still dressed in their armor, they all hurried inside and managed to get a first-hand account of the total pandemonium that had broken out with everyone talking about the attack last night from Gorr and his shadow creatures, making it pretty hard to do a valid conversation. Of course, they still managed to locate Valkyrie (still dressed in her pajamas) as she went through the room, flanked by two women dressed in clothes reminiscent of police officers. A man with a clipboard and Miek were also nearby.

"Miek, we need detailed accounts from all the witnesses," Valkyrie instructed. She turned towards the man with the clipboard. "Darryl, get me all the names of the children who have been lost."

The officers moved off to handle a couple of people that tried rushing desperately towards Valkyrie, but the leader of New Asgard instead walked up to a woman who approached her in a slightly calmer (though still frantic) manner.

"Your Majesty, my daughter's been taken and I don't know where she is," the woman frantically said.

"And she'll be found," Valkyrie promised.

She then looked to the side, and frowned when she saw a couple of people standing near her with bleeding wounds on their faces.

"Guys, they're bleeding!" Valkyrie exclaimed to her nearest officers. "Get them to the infirmary. Now! Darryl!"

Two men (the Thor and Loki actors) who worked at the plays tried to talk to Valkyrie and ask if they could start writing a play based off of what happened the previous night, saying that "people need to be entertained." Valkyrie just sighed in resignation and ignored them, leaving those two idiots to start audibly figuring out how they were going to depict that play.

The group ignored those idiots as they moved together deeper through the Town Hall. Aqua, Jane, and Ventus moved together through the crowds to talk to people and offer them reassurance however they could. Terra joined them for a few moments before he glanced to the side, then did a double take when he saw Thor and Korg standing together in a large doorway between the rooms. Thor appeared to be looking intently at Jane as she talked to a worried Asgardian woman, trying to offer her assurance. Terra softly sighed out before walking over to Thor and Korg.

"So, that's the ex-girlfriend, is it?" Korg asked Thor, also looking at Jane.

Jane glanced to the side to look at Thor, keeping a neutral look in her eyes even though he was looking right at her.

"The old ex-girlfriend," Thor confirmed.

"Thor, I think you should be focusing on other things than that right now," Terra suggested.

Thor and Korg both appeared to be ignoring him.

"Jodie Foster," Korg said, clasping his hands together.

"Jane Foster," Thor corrected him.

"The one that got away," Korg remarked.

"The one that got away," Thor agreed as Jane looked at the woman again.

"That means escaped," Korg added.

"Yeah," Thor softly said. "Yeah... Yeah."

"Must be hard for you to see your ex-girlfriend and your ex-hammer hangin' out, and getting on so well," Korg remarked.

Jane spun Mjölnir a couple of times in her hand, as if she herself was still surprised that she could carry it now.

"Korg?" Terra asked.

"Yes?" Korg asked.

"Stop talking," Terra told him with a frown. "You're not helping him."

Korg looked at Thor, and saw that the Thunder God was still looking intently at Jane. He grimaced before looking at Terra.

"Yeah, I'm getting that," Korg admitted.

Thor, meanwhile, suddenly lifted up his hand and pointed it towards Jane, flexing his fingers a couple of times as if he was trying to do something. Terra frowned when he realized that the Thunder God was trying to summon Mjölnir, even though Jane was still rotating it in her hand.

"Thor," Terra said. "I can kind of understand where you're coming from. That hammer was part of your life for so long, and you mourned its loss like it was a friend. So, seeing it here again but not answering to you is probably a surprise, but you need to stop obsessing over it. You were still worthy even after being a big mourning mess for five years, so I'm pretty sure you'd still be worthy now. How about you just calm down for a moment and not obsess over it right now? There are more important things going on, after all."

Thor looked between Terra and Mjölnir as Jane continued to twirl it in her hand. The Thunder God let out a small sigh, feeling a bit of a weight falling off of his shoulders as he registered the full impact of Terra's words.

"Perhaps you're right, friend Terra," Thor admitted as he stopped staring intently at the hammer. *2*

All of a sudden, Stormbreaker floated through the air between Thor and Korg, moving between the two of them and floating in front of Thor.

"Hey!" Thor said, sounding embarrassed. "There you are."

He grasped the axe in his hand and looked at it with a reassuring smile.

"I was just calling you," Thor told Stormbreaker.

Terra raised a curious eyebrow. Was Stormbreaker sentient?

All of a sudden, a woman crying out got the group's attention. Korg, Terra, and Thor turned around, seeing that a woman was standing next to a window, speaking loudly to make herself the center of attention.

"Start an army!" the woman declared.

"With what?" a man demanded from the other side of the room. "Half our soldiers are dead!"

"Half our soldiers are always dead!" the woman remarked.

Terra raised an eyebrow in curiosity for if that was true. He looked over at Thor, and the grimace the Thunder God had on his face confirmed this, which only caused Terra's eyebrow to rise even more in surprise.

"Where are the children?" a woman demanded.

"Everyone, please, go home," Valkyrie requested. "I promise you we'll have news soon."

Thor looked around at the room in front of him, seeing the crowds of people crying in despair over the situation. Parents were hugging each other to try and find assurance as they cried, people were getting more and more frantic and hectic by the second, and the total feeling of pandemonium was still going on, no matter how much Aqua, Jane, and Ventus tried to assure the people.

Terra grimaced when one man snapped at Ventus, "How do you know everything will be okay!?" Ventus had just gotten a look on his face like he hadn't expected that answer, then tried to give another form of assurance, which only angered the man even further.

"We shall find them," Valkyrie promised another person.

"You know what?" one man shouted.

Most of the room continued to yell and shout at each other, growing more and more hectic. A couple of people had sat down and appeared to be in complete despair, while others only got more and more angry. This led to one man being pushed to the ground, and a couple of people fell with him as they started to fight. Aqua and Ventus quickly turned towards them and tried to move and stop the fight.

"Asgard!" Thor suddenly shouted.

This immediately got everyone to stop talking. The entire room turned towards where Thor stood, including Aqua, Jane, Valkyrie, and Ventus. The crowd of Asgardians all parted to the side and turned to look towards Thor, and Korg even made a grand show of waving a hand in front of the Thunder God in preparation. Terra smacked his hand to stop him as Thor lifted Stormbreaker and rested it on his shoulder. While Thor started to walk forward, Terra inwardly hoped that Thor was about to say something that was actually inspiring, and not something incredibly stupid.

As Thor walked between the group of Asgardians, Thor managed to assuage Terra's worries.

"My friends, we must not quarrel," Thor told the Asgardians as Terra followed him. "In times like this, we need to unite, come together. I see what's happening here."

Thor stepped close to Jane and Valkyrie and turned towards the rest of the room again. Valkyrie put her hands on her hips, hoping that Thor had an actual point to what he was saying. Terra moved near the group, and Aqua and Ventus moved to his side, both of them also curious about what Thor was going to say.

"You're afraid," Thor said as he looked at the group. "Hmm? Scared. Afraid. Anxious."

The people all nodded as Thor held up one hand, pointing with his finger. Jane and Valkyrie both once again hoped he was going to say something inspiring.

"If we are to find the children, we must first look within ourselves," Thor said as a small squeaking rang out.

He then quickly turned around, looking towards Miek as the alien wrote on a whiteboard with a marker.

"I'm sorry, Miek, it's very hard to give a rousing speech with the (mimics squeaking) noise," Thor told the alien, who turned around to look at him. "What are you doing?"

"She's taking minutes," Valkyrie said in defense of the alien.

"'She'?" Ventus asked. He looked at Korg. "I thought Miek was a boy."

Aqua and Terra frowned in similar curiosity. *3*

"These are all minutes that we don't have time to waste!" Thor then declared. "You want the kids back?"

He looked towards Terra.

"Then we shall find them, together," Thor declared. He looked at Jane and Valkyrie again. "I'll go scope out the situation and see if I can find any clues. I'll be back in a minute."

He pointed at the two women and winked in reassurance.

"You can write that down, Miek," Thor added.

Jane looked a little exasperated, while Ventus could admit to being impressed. Terra was more impressed that the Thunder God didn't make too big a fool of himself.

Thor then turned and took a few steps away. He lifted up Stormbreaker, then Terra's eyes widened in realization. He hurried forward and grabbed Thor's arm to stop him, which got the Thunder God to look at him in surprise.

"Thor," Terra said. He pointed at the ceiling above them. "People tend to like having ceilings."

Thor looked up, then raised an eyebrow.

"You make a good point," he admitted. He looked around. "This doesn't take away from my plan, though!"

Thor then turned and jogged through the crowd, who parted out of the way for him once again. Aqua, Jane, Korg, Terra, Valkyrie, and Ventus all watched through the window as he moved out into the field just outside the house, gave everyone in the building a reassuring nod, then raised Stormbreaker up. The Bifrost suddenly appeared around him, and it rose up into the sky, quickly flying up and transporting him through the air.

"Well, that wasn't too embarrassing for him," Terra remarked.

Aqua, Jane, Ventus, and even Valkyrie all nodded in agreement.

However, the sound of something rumbling quickly caught their attention. Still looking through the window, Aqua, Jane, Terra, Valkyrie, and Ventus all watched as the rainbow bridge flew downwards, causing Thor to crash through part of a circular archway out in the field, near where the pieces of Mjölnir used to be held for viewing. Thor ended up crashing right through one of the archways, breaking it apart and causing rubble to land on the ground, which got a few officers to have to scatter for safety.

"... That was, though," Terra admitted.

Aqua, Jane, Terra, and Ventus all frowned in confusion, while Valkyrie sighed out through her nose in annoyance.

Through the window and even across the (admittedly short) distance, they could see Thor standing at the base of the stairs, looking at Stormbreaker in confusion. Smoke was rising off of him, which helped signify that the rainbow bridge hadn't been completely successful.

"Everyone out!" Valkyrie ordered the Asgardians.

Jane looked between her and Thor as the ruler of Asgard let out another annoyed sigh through her nose. Aqua and Terra grimaced, and Ventus started to follow the Asgardian citizens, but Aqua grabbed his shoulder to stop him.

A few moments after the crowd of citizens left the Town Hall, Thor walked inside through another doorway, smoke still rising off of him as he carried Stormbreaker in his hand. Parts of his cape were singed in various places, showing just where the Bifrost had damaged him.

"Didn't find them," Thor announced.

"You don't say," Terra sarcastically said.

"Hey, your cape's on fire," Korg said, pointing at Thor as he walked towards the two front desks.

"It's fine," Thor assured him. "It'll grow back."

"Terra, thank you for saving my ceiling," Valkyrie told him. She pointed at Thor. "But I'm still invoicing you for that arch."

Jane stood near a different table with Aqua, the two of them looking out of the window to try and get a better view of the shattered arch. Terra and Ventus stood together near Valkyrie as Thor placed Stormbreaker down so it was resting against one of the desks.

"Listen," Thor said, getting everyone's attention. "What do we know about this guy?"

"He travels through shadows," Jane said.

"And he creates monsters with them," Valkyrie added.

"Absolutely freaky monsters," Korg added.

"If only Sif was okay," Terra remarked. "She was in that battle against him with the Falligarians. She would be able to tell us everything we'd want to know."

"I did stop by the med bay," Aqua admitted. "She's unconscious, so... Yeah, she won't be able to help us."

"We'll make do with the information we do have," Thor pointed out, getting Jane's attention. "Starting with the fact that he also wields the Necrosword. How do I know that? Because he almost speared me in the face with it."

"What's a Necrosword?" Jane asked, since she missed the explanation earlier.

"It's an ancient weapon that's been passed through hands since the dawn of time," Thor explained. "It has the ability to slay gods, but it slowly corrupts and kills whoever wields it, which means..."

"Oh, so, it infected him," Jane assessed.

"It's infecting him," Thor confirmed. "Yes. It must be."

"I texted Wanda and Wong about it earlier," Aqua informed Valkyrie. "Wong told us all about it, and Wanda told us to, and I am quoting her here, 'Destroy it as soon as fucking possible'."

"Great information," Valkyrie commented as she held her knives. "So basically, we're up against a cursed, shadow-zombie kidnapper."

She looked between the others.

"Awesome," Valkyrie said. "When do we leave?"

"That kind of gives us a problem, though," Ventus pointed out. "If he could vanish anywhere with this Necrosword, then how are we going to find this guy?"

"That... That is a good question, sir Ventus," Thor admitted.

"Thor," a young, male voice suddenly called out.

Aqua, Jane, Korg, Terra, Thor, Valkyrie, and Ventus all turned towards the noise, and they frowned in surprise. Floating on the other side of the room, they could see an almost holographic image of the face of a young, African American boy. There was a golden light surrounding the image of the boy's face, and his eyes were glowing a golden yellow. Somehow, the projection of the boy managed to look right at Thor, his yellow eyes signaling some form of mental connection.

"Can you see me?" the boy asked Thor.

"Uh, floating head alert," Korg commented with his hands on his hips.

"We can see that, Korg," Aqua said, still looking at the boy's face.

"It's Astrid," Valkyrie said, pointing at the face. "Heimdall's son."

"Heimdall had a son?" Terra asked, frowning in surprise. *4*

"Astrid, are you okay?" Thor asked, walking forward a few steps with an urgent look on his face.

"I no longer go by the name Astrid," the boy told them. "I'm now known as Axl. He's a singer from a popular band I heard on Earth."

"Oh, don't tell our Axel that there's an Asgardian kid with that name," Aqua muttered to Ventus.

"G N' R," Korg remarked.

"Astrid, your father gave you a very tough Viking name and I intend to honor his wishes," Thor sternly told Axl.

"Isn't Astrid a woman's name?" Ventus asked.

"It is," Terra confirmed, with Jane also nodding in confirmation.

"That's why I changed it to Axl," Axl informed them.

"Astrid," Thor corrected him.

"I said Axl," Axl remarked.

"Astrid," Thor repeated.

"Axl!" Axl snapped back.

"Thor!" Terra snapped.

"It's asshole," Korg said with his hands on his hips. "Now listen to him!" *5*

Terra raised an eyebrow. Since when was Korg the voice of reason?

"All right, fine, Axl," Thor slowly said, looking at the image of the boy's face. "Where are you?"

"I'm not sure," Axl admitted. "I don't know how to use my magic eyes yet."

"'Magic eyes'?" Terra asked, frowning in confusion.

"Heimdall could see all with his magical eyesight," Valkyrie informed him. "And it appears that 'Axl' inherited that trait."

Jane tilted her head to the side as she looked at Axl. She could see features in his face that certainly reminded her of Heimdall.

"Your father taught me and I'm gonna teach you," Thor promised Axl. "I need you to focus and hold out your hand."

For some reason, Korg took this as a sign to hold out his own hand. Ventus looked at the rock creature, then followed his example of holding out his hand. Aqua looked between the two, then grabbed Ventus's hand and lowered it.

"Okay, good," Thor told Axl. "Now focus. Close your eyes."

Axl followed his example and closed his eyes. Aqua, Jane, Korg, Terra, Valkyrie, and Ventus all looked between the floating face of Axl and Thor, before Axl's face suddenly vanished. Thor then gasped as he adjusted in his place, looking down, then suddenly looking around him.

"Uh..." Jane slowly said.

"He must have connected to Axl," Valkyrie informed her. "If he did, then that means that through his eyes, he's standing with the children."

This clearly must have been proven right, because Thor suddenly asked, "Hey, how's it going, kids?"

"Wait, so he can hear and see the children as if they're actually in front of him?" Aqua asked.

"Yep," Valkyrie confirmed.

"Can he hear us?" Ventus asked.

"Yes, right," Thor then said. "Not good. Yeah... Yes, yes, I am, but just not right now."

"This looks so weird out of context," Aqua commented.

"It looks weird with the context," Terra replied.

"I'm the vision ghost," Thor then said. He waved his hand and made a small whooshing noise with his mouth. "See?"

"This is getting weird," Jane commented.

"'Getting'?" Aqua asked, raising an eyebrow.

Thor then shrugged his shoulders with a small sigh.

"Who can tell?" he asked. "I mean, this is a very, very bad situation. You know, the good news is you're Asgardians. So, if you die, you'll end up in Valhalla."

"That-That-That's not very reassuring to children," Terra remarked, shaking his head. He frowned. "How the hell is this man still drunk?"

"You clearly know nothing about Asgardian metabolism," Valkyrie commented.

"Wait, wait. Listen," Thor quickly said. He paused. "Okay. It's all right, children. Don't cry, don't cry. It's okay. Listen, I've got a plan, okay? I'm putting together a really, really good team. We've got, um, Uncle Korg, uh, King Valkyrie, um, my ex-girlfriend Jane, which is a whole other story I won't bore you with, okay?"

Jane softly sighed and looked down in embarrassment.

"There's also Earth Knight, Terra," Thor added. "Plus, Water Knight, Aqua, and Wind Knight, Ventus. You've seen those three, they're all really cool and very brave fighters. So it is a top-notch team, and we're gonna have you home before you know it. Yeah."

He then looked to the side, and an expression of deep thought appeared on his face. The group then watched as Thor took a few steps backwards, the frown deepening as he appeared to come to a conclusion. They also blinked at how his eyes had turned yellow, which helped confirm how he had connected to Axl.

"I know where you are," Thor said. He then looked down, most likely at a kid next to him. "I'm gonna get you out of here."

There was a moment of silence before the Thunder God suddenly held up his arms, appearing to try and calm down a group surrounding him. The group all raised their eyebrows, coming to the conclusion that the children were getting more and more angsty.

"Get me out of here," Thor quickly requested. "You take care, okay? Take care. I'll see you soon. All right? Axl, get me out of here!"

The Thunder God then gasped as he came out of the connection, opening his eyes once again and revealing they had turned blue once again.

"That was weird," Ventus commented.

"It was, yeah," Aqua agreed with a nod of her head. "Which is really saying something in our lives." *6*

"They're in the Shadow Realm," Thor announced, getting the group's attention again.

The group all quickly moved to stand in front of or around Thor. Jane, Terra, and Valkyrie stood in front of him, while Korg stood next to him with his weapon resting on his shoulder, and Aqua and Terra stood on his other side, all of them looking at the Thunder God inquisitively.

"How do you know?" Valkyrie asked.

"The heavy atmosphere there has a darkness like no other," Thor quickly explained, gesturing with his hands. "It's as if color fears to tread. It's unmistakable."

"That doesn't sound pleasant," Ventus said with a grimace.

"It's a good thing you've got us," Terra said, gesturing towards Aqua. "Since we're warriors of the light, then we can be helpful in a place of darkness."

Jane then nodded her head as an idea came to her. She started walking forward, moving past the group with Mjölnir in her hand.

"Well then, if it's color we need..." Jane slowly said. She stopped and turned back towards the rest of the group. "Let's bring the rainbow."

Electricity surged around her as she lifted Mjölnir, quickly rising up and flying through the door before flying up into the air.

Thor put his hands to his hips in thought while Aqua, Terra, and Ventus frowned. The four of them, Korg, and Valkyrie all stepped towards the window and looked out of it, looking into the sky where Jane had vanished within.

"'Bring the rainbow'?" Thor asked before looking at Valkyrie. "Is that a catchphrase or something?"

"She's only been a Thor for a minute," Valkyrie reminded him. "I mean, saving lives, she's quite good at. But the rest of it, she needs work."

"That's fair," Aqua admitted. "Most of us Keyblade Wielders don't even have a good catchphrase, or anything. I mean, unless you count V saying 'all the way' half the time."

Terra and Ventus softly muttered and nodded their heads in agreement.

"How many catchphrases have there been?" Thor asked.

"A lot," Valkyrie admitted.

"A hell of a lot," Aqua added with a nod of her head.

The sound of feet hitting the ground outside echoed through the open door, then Jane hurried back inside and moved in front of the group again.

"Yep," Jane admitted, huffing slightly in embarrassment. "Jumped the gun."

"'A' for enthusiasm, though," Ventus admitted with a small chuckle.

"Uh, hang on," Valkyrie said, clearing her throat and waving her hands to get attention. "He moves through shadows, and he's going to the Shadow Realm, it seems like that's where he'll be the most powerful. Not even two Keyblade Masters and Wielder who got stuck in a magic ark for a thousand years will be enough."

"You're right," Thor agreed (while Jane raised an eyebrow at Ventus, quickly putting together who the one in the "magic ark" was supposed to be). "We can't just go marching in there. It could be a trap. We'd be endangering the children."

"Mm," Valkyrie hummed in agreement.

"We need reinforcements," Thor announced. "We must raise an army."

"I don't think the rest of the Avengers are gonna be eager to jump into battle after what just happened a few days ago with Anato," Aqua admitted.

"That's why we're not going to get them," Thor informed her. "If we're going against the God Butcher, then we're going to need a common ally. And what better way of doing that... Then finding more gods?"

"Are you thinking what I think you're thinking?" Valkyrie asked, quickly looking at the Thunder God.

"I'm thinking it," Thor promised.

Aqua, Jane, Terra, and Ventus all looked at the two Asgardians, all of them curious and intrigued about what they were saying.

"What are we thinking?" Jane asked.

"Thinking what?" Korg asked, also curious.

"I'm thinking it, too," Valkyrie quickly said.

"Omnipotence City," Thor and Valkyrie said simultaneously.

"Hmm!" Korg hummed as Valkyrie quickly started moving forward.

She quickly left the town hall, which only left the rest of the group more confused.

"What's Omnipotence City?" Jane asked.

"It's the home of the most powerful gods in the universe," Thor told her. "We can pull together the greatest team ever. We could recruit Ra, Hercules, Tūmatuenga."

Aqua, Jane, Terra, and Ventus's eyes widened in realization at what he was implying.

"Quetzacoatl, maybe," Thor added. An excited look appeared in his eyes. "And Zeus, the oldest and wisest of them all."

"Did you say Zeus?" Jane asked, frowning in surprise.

"Yeah, Zeus," Thor confirmed.

"Like, the Zeus?" Jane asked. "Zeus-Zeus?"

"I'm not sure he has a second name," Thor admitted.

"We actually met a Hercules once," Ventus admitted. He frowned in thought. "He also mentioned that he had a father named Zeus, but I don't know if they're the same ones."

"Well, Wong mentioned that when V was here a few weeks ago, they met an Ares, too," Aqua said.

"Oh, yeah, and that Ares mentioned that multiple versions of each god exist throughout the universe," Terra added. He frowned. "I think he also said something about Omnipotence city, too, but I can't remember."

Aqua shrugged her shoulders in similar curiosity.

"Most likely, he commented that the gods there are the oldest, wisest, and greatest of their versions," Thor remarked with an excited smirk.

"Do you think my god will be there, Ninny of the Nonny?" Korg asked.

"Oh, you never know, Korg," Thor told him. "But if they are, we'll ask them to join our team."

"Yes," Korg said, pumping his fist in excitement.

"Okay, this'll be exciting," Terra said. He looked at Jane, then at Aqua and Ventus. "We get to meet a bunch of gods. That'll be something."

"I know, right?" Aqua asked, she and Ventus smiled to share Terra's excitement.

"Stormbreaker," Thor announced.

He held out his hand, and everyone moved out of the way as Stormbreaker flew back into his palm. Thor then grunted in surprise and moved the axe from hand to hand as electricity surged around the head of the weapon. He tried to calm down the weapon, which caused him to bump into Korg. Korg exclaimed in surprise and dropped his weapon, then reached down to pick it up.

"All right," Thor frantically told his axe. "Calm down. Relax."

Valkyrie had returned and was currently standing next to Jane, resting a blade on her shoulder and looking unimpressed at Stormbreaker.

"No, no, no, mate, we are not traveling in Stormbreaker's janky Bifrost," Valkyrie announced.

"Weird," Terra commented. "It worked twice over the course of a few hours yesterday."

"Whatever the case," Valkyrie said. She gestured to the destroyed arch outside. "Look what just happened.

"Well, we can't exactly go on your tiny, little, flying portal horse, can we?" Thor rebutted. "I mean, we won't all fit."

"What are you talking about?" Valkyrie asked, frowning in offense. "Warsong's awesome."

"Stormbreaker's awesome, too," Thor replied.

"Guys, this isn't important," Aqua pointed out.

"If only we still had a Gummiship with us," Ventus said with a small sigh.

"Stormbreaker just needs a conduit," Jane announced. She looked between Valkyrie and Aqua. "Anything that can handle space travel."

"I love it when she talks shop," Thor muttered to Korg, which got Terra to roll his eyes.

"It has the power to get us there, it just needs something to focus that energy so it's not so... unpredictable," Jane assessed. "You know, if we had a ship, we could harness it and use Stormbreaker as a power source."

Valkyrie looked down in thought, Thor pointed at Jane, clearly impressed, and Aqua, Korg, Terra, and Ventus also looked impressed.

"Oh, like an engine," Korg excitedly said.

"Like an engine," Jane confirmed to him.

"You need a ship?" Valkyrie asked. She looked between Jane and Thor. "I've got a ship."

Aqua, Terra, and Ventus all shared a look, then they all smiled at each other in excitement. Though the stakes were high once again, they were all still excited to go on a grand adventure and meet new people along the way.

Just like old times.

Chapter Text

Earth

New Asgard (Still)

The "ship" that Valkyrie had in mind was one of the flying skiffs that the city used as a tourist attraction. At Thor's insistence, they would also be using the giant goats that he brought along as a way to help guide the ship. Terra inwardly wondered if he was just trying to make the most of having the goats, but he shrugged it off as they started preparing for the trip.

The first course of action was clearing all of the seats off of the skiff. So, Terra and Ventus kept their helmets off as they climbed onto the skiff and started to take them off. Valkyrie had changed out of her pajamas and into her black and white armor with a blue cape as she joined the crowd in taking the seats off of the flying ship. As the three of them and many other people of the city cleared off the seats and whatever wasn't necessary, Korg stood on the dock below them, watching as the goats were herded in their direction. They screamed loudly once again, which got Ventus to grimace.

"Those things are loud," he commented to Terra.

"You don't know the half of it," Terra agreed with his own grimace. "At least this time, things shouldn't be too loud with the Bifrost situation."

The two of them shrugged their shoulders before tossing a couple of more seats off of the skiff.

"Get rid of all those seats," Korg instructed to the citizens helping them. The goats screeched once again as they passed by him. "And you guys, go tie those goats to the front. We leave in 15 minutes."

"Essentials only, everyone," Valkyrie added to her people.

A woman then walked onto the boat while carrying a large keg of beer.

"That's essential," Valkyrie confirmed as the woman carried it into the small room at the front. "Mm-hmm."

Terra and Ventus raised an eyebrow at Valkyrie's definition of "essentials."

Shrugging his shoulders, Terra turned and moved off of the ship, leaving Ventus behind to start looking for Thor. He found the Thunder God near a couple of buildings closer to the dock, walking towards a barrel that Mjölnir was currently resting on top of. Though Thor had listened to Terra's earlier words, he was still pretty eager to see the hammer again since it had returned. He walked towards it with his head tilted to the side and his eyebrows furrowed in thought. Terra inwardly hoped that the Thunder God was going to be mature about this whole thing as he moved across the short distance to where he was standing.

"Well, you moved on quick, didn't you?" Thor quipped to Mjölnir as he walked around the barrel, looking at the hammer. "You're some piece of work."

He placed his hands on the barrel as he looked at the hammer, and Terra inwardly hoped that he was actually joking about the situation. Terra walked over to Thor, and the both of them looked to the side just in time to see Aqua and Jane walking towards them. Aqua and Terra shared a smile, but both of them inwardly grimaced, wondering if they were about to witness another awkward encounter between the former couple.

"Oh, hey!" Thor greeted Jane with a chuckle.

"Hey," Jane said as she and Aqua walked past him.

"Just catching up with an old friend," Thor said, still chuckling as he gestured towards the barrel with Mjölnir.

"Yeah," Jane said, stopping on the opposite side of the barrel.

Aqua moved backwards a step and stood next to Terra, both of them inwardly grimacing once again.

"I've been meaning to apologize," Thor told Jane, which actually surprised both Aqua and Terra. "Sorta acting a little weird before. I just haven't really been myself lately. You know, kind of... Trying to figure out who I am, and, uh, just felt a little bit lost."

Jane nodded in understanding.

"Being drunk half the time you're awake doesn't necessarily help," Terra pointed out.

"Yeah, after what happened on Indigarr, I'm starting to realize that, myself," Thor admitted. He looked at Jane again. "And then, all of a sudden, I see you dressed as me, and it was kind of..."

He chuckled, and Jane did get an amused expression on her face before she laughed in agreement.

"It's a lot for me, too," Jane admitted, looking at Mjölnir before looking at Thor again.

"I tried to help her adjust to this stuff earlier," Aqua added, gesturing with her hand. She looked at Terra. "Figured giving a little rundown would help a bit."

"Nice," Terra complimented with a smile.

"Very nice," Thor agreed, nodding at Aqua before looking at Jane again. He then looked at Mjölnir. "So, how did you guys get together? How did this happen?"

"I swear... I heard Mjölnir call to me," Jane admitted.

"Ah!" Thor said, raising his eyebrows in surprise. "Did it?"

"And so I came here to investigate, and its pieces started glowing and swirling," Jane slowly said, gesturing with her hands. "And then..."

"Crazy," Thor commented, though he did look at Jane with a proud expression on his face.

"Ven and I were there," Aqua added with a nod of her head. "It really was pretty crazy."

"Sorry for that surprise," Jane told her with a small chuckle.

Aqua waved a hand at her in assurance.

"Now, I'm..." Jane slowly said. "Then I'm Thor."

"Well, you know what, it looks good on you," Thor complimented, gesturing with his own hands. "It works, so..."

He held out his hand as if trying to do a handshake, though his hand ended up right next to Mjölnir's hilt. Jane moved her own hand forward, but Thor was then quick as he grasped Mjölnir and lifted it up once again. This time, Terra couldn't exactly blame Thor for the action since it has been two years since he had last seen it. Thor breathed out in relief before looking at Jane with an awkward chuckle.

"Just checking," Thor said.

He offered the hammer to Jane, and she smiled as she took it back from him. She continued to smile as she turned and started walking away again.

"See you later," Jane called back with a chuckle.

Aqua and Terra chuckled, both of them feeling a little relieved that this hadn't been awkward. Aqua then kissed Terra on the cheek before she turned and started following Jane. Terra and Thor both smiled a bit as they watched the two women walk away, both of them feeling the strong emotion towards their respective love interests.

Terra then looked next to him, and he jumped in surprise to see Stormbreaker floating next to him, pointing its blade at Thor in a pointed manner. Thor frowned and turned to look at the axe, and both he and Terra were sure that it was frowning right at the Thunder God.

"What?" Thor asked. "We were just talking."

"Okay, are Mjölnir and Stormbreaker sentient?" Terra asked.

"I am not completely sure," Thor admitted. He reached out and grabbed his axe by the handle. "But I do know one thing."

"What's that?" Terra asked.

"Jane's lying," Thor informed him, which got the brunette to frown in confusion. "Years ago, I asked Mjölnir to always protect Jane, which must've formed some kind of magical connection between them. And while it's sentient enough to do that... It doesn't call to people. And it especially wouldn't be able to call to her in the broken state it was in before. Which means... She must have come here looking for it."

Terra frowned in surprised, not expecting Thor to say something so smart after how he had acted the last two days. He glanced to the side before looking at the Thunder God again. *1*

"Then... What exactly was she looking for it for?" Terra asked.

"I am not sure," Thor admitted. He furrowed his eyebrows in thought. "But I intend to find out."

Terra nodded in understanding before he and Thor turned to look at where they had last seen Aqua and Jane, both of them curious about the real reason Jane could've come looking for Mjölnir.

Not completely sure where to go as everyone finished preparing the skiff for travel, Aqua still ended up walking around with Jane until the other woman had to step to the side to use the bathroom in her private room. Of course, Aqua still ended up following her, but just chose to stand outside the room and wait for her. A little bored, Aqua took out her Gummiphone and shot a quick set of texts to Wanda and Wong, thanking them once again for giving her information about the Necrosword. While both of them asked if she needed help, she quickly promised that they would be okay, before jumping into one of the Classic Kingdom games provided.

When she was halfway through a level of Mickey, the Mail Pilot, Aqua jumped when she heard the sound of something heavy crashing into the ground nearby. She quickly put her phone away and turned towards the door once again with a mixed expression of surprise and concern in her eyes. In the corner of Aqua's eye, she could see Valkyrie walking towards the door from the other end of the hallway, so the King of Asgard stood next to her just in time to hear the sound of ceramic shattering.

Their curiosity intrigued, Valkyrie reached forward and knocked on the door. She and Aqua watched as Jane quickly opened it up with a breathless expression on her face, which had Aqua feeling a little concerned.

"Hey," Valkyrie greeted. "You all right?"

"Great," Jane said.

She cleared her throat and pressed her arm against the door, trying to hide the room from their view. Aqua and Valkyrie were still able to look past her and see that part of the sink had been broken, no doubt by Jane with the hammer.

"The sink would say otherwise," Valkyrie remarked.

"Okay, what the hell is going on?" Aqua asked, looking between the two women. "I know Ven and I missed a lot of the little conversation about the whole 'Thor' thing because you took Jane aside after she got the hammer. So, what did we miss?"

Jane and Valkyrie shared a small, thoughtful look, and after a few moments, Jane sighed out before looking at Aqua.

"You can't tell anyone, but..." Jane slowly said. "I have cancer."

Aqua blinked in surprise before her eyes widened in shock. She took a moment to remember back to an explanation that Vanitas gave when his late grandfather had been affected by cancer. She grimaced at the memory before looking at Jane with a remorseful expression on her face.

"Oh, God, I'm so sorry," Aqua said. "What stage is it?"

"Stage four," Jane admitted. "It's terminal."

Aqua's eyes widened once again. When Vanitas had given the explanation about cancer, he also explained that it progressed into different stages. In his own words, when someone had stage four, it meant two things: "they're going to die," and "it's gonna happen soon." *2*

"Oh, shit..." Aqua softly said.

"Yeah," Jane agreed, looking down while nodding her head. She looked at Valkyrie. "You think I really should be coming? I'm not getting any better."

"You're a Thor," Valkyrie reassured her. "Of course, you should come. Besides, what else are you gonna do? You're a Viking now. Means you pretty much have to die in battle, and it needs to be devastatingly painful."

Aqua and Jane both looked at Valkyrie with frowns on their faces, as that wasn't really a good way to look at that.

"Otherwise, you don't get into Valhalla," Valkyrie added. She shrugged her shoulders. "That's my plan."

"... That's not helpful," Aqua informed her.

"It wasn't, no," Jane agreed with a small shake of her head. "And what about, you know, kinging and stuff?"

"I love being king," Valkyrie confirmed. "I love my people, but it's all meetings and raven-mail, and meetings that could've been raven-mail. I miss fighting. I miss my sisters. Which is why you need to come, because I need one, and Aqua's not that good at being a Viking."

"Hey," Aqua said, a mock-offended expression on her face.

Jane still managed to calm down and get a little relaxed by Valkyrie's words, liking the idea of fighting alongside someone who already saw her as a sister.

"Okay, we should go," Valkyrie said. She cleared her throat and decided to get serious again. "Are you packed?"

Jane then frowned and lifted up Mjölnir again.

"Are you packed?" she said, making her voice a bit rougher.

"Okay, that one was pretty good," Aqua admitted.

Valkyrie still rolled her eyes before lifting up her sword.

"Yes!" Jane excitedly said.

Valkyrie smirked before quickly replacing the sword with two knives, which got Jane to gasp while Aqua nodded her head in appreciation. The King of Asgard then lifted up a small, cylinder-like device with blue light around the top.

"A hand grenade?" Jane asked, she and Aqua frowning at the device.

"No," Valkyrie denied. "It's a portable speaker."

She pressed a button on the speaker, and Family Affair by Mary J. Blige started playing from it. Valkyrie nodded her head at the music, and after a second, Aqua and Jane nodded their heads, as well. The three of them stood there, nodding along to the music for a few moments before Valkyrie pressed the button to turn off the speaker again.

"Let's go," Valkyrie announced.

"If you both don't mind keeping the sink thing under wraps?" Jane asked, pointing over her shoulder to where she had broken the sink.

"I got you," Valkyrie promised.

"So do I," Aqua agreed.

Valkyrie took out her sword again, Jane lifted up Mjölnir once again, and Aqua decided to summon Stormfall to join them. The three of them then clinked their weapons together in a form of companionship.

Though, Aqua decided to inwardly set out to text their allies once again and ask if they knew any magical means of curing cancer...

It only took a little bit longer before the skiff was ready for travel through the universe, with the goats tied to the front and Stormbreaker hooked into place at the front of the ship. Aqua, Jane, and Valkyrie joined the group of boys in climbing onto the skiff together, joining Korg, Terra, Thor, and Ventus on the ship. The seven of them spread out, with Korg and Valkyrie moving into the room at the back, while Jane and Thor stood together near where Stormbreaker was planted. Aqua, Terra, and Ventus stood at the middle of the ship, close enough to the former couple to be able to talk to them.

On the docks around the ship, every single Asgardian citizen who had a child stolen from them were gathered around, looking at the ship in silent pleading and anticipation as they placed their hands on the railings. Aqua and Terra wanted to offer them a form of reassurance, while Ventus inwardly wanted to hide since he still didn't like being the center of attention. Thor decided to follow through with one of his old habits by giving a rousing speech.

"My fellow Asgardians..." Thor announced to the citizens gathered around the ship. "Wish us well, for we shall travel with the speed of Odin's ravens. We will return with children."

The citizens started to cheer in excitement and happiness.

"Many children," Thor promised. "And then we shall feast!"

The crowd cheered a bit louder at that.

"Not on the children," Thor added. The crowd exclaimed at that, while the trio of Keyblade Wielders and Jane looked at him with frowns. "We do not do that anymore. Those were dark times. Shameful times."

"... I don't know what concerns me more," Terra announced. "The fact that you said that, or the fact that you felt the need to say that." *3*

"Both," Ventus said with a frown. "Both of them concern me."

Aqua nodded in agreement.

"Okay, we should go," Thor announced, deciding that he had said too much again.

Ventus then stepped forward and shut the side slot in the ship, which also allowed him to see that it was called Aegir. He didn't get to focus on this for too long as Thor lifted up Mjölnir again and planted it in a specific slot for it to release the Bifrost. The goats at the front of the boat then started running forward, pulling the ship as it floated through the air behind them, which got everyone aboard to brace themselves.

As they got closer to the end of the dock, Stormbreaker vibrated for a few moments before rainbow colored energy shot out of the blade of the axe, forming the Bifrost on the ground in front of the goats. The axe kept shooting the Bifrost energy, providing the goats more ground to run on and pull the ship along. Aqua, Korg, Terra, Valkyrie, and Ventus all watched as the goats pulled the ship across the water, moving them quickly away from the dock and through the air above the lake.

At the front of the ship, Jane and Thor continued to stand together. The two of them shared a small look before they turned to look forward again, both of them happy to watch as their plan came to fruition once again.

The goats screeched again as they continued to pull the ship, running across the Bifrost as they transported the skiff through the air under Stormbreaker's direction. Within moments, the speed of their travel ended up increasing before they reached the ultimate speed possible. They moved at almost lightning speed, transporting themselves across the sky of earth and quickly leaving the planet behind.

The Bifrost was successful this time as it transported the skiff from Earth and New Asgard to Omnipotence City across the universe. Within seconds, the goats led the skiff across the galaxy and to the gigantic space city, which had the appearance of gigantic, golden spires surrounding a central, green area. A large sun floated above it, glowing brightly and allowing light to illuminate the golden city. The golden energy of the Bifrost flew through the void of space, entering Omnipotence City and flying throughout the various sections of the city.

The city itself certainly looked like something that gods would live in. Gigantic spires with earth and land were spread out at the largest of intervals, creating floating walkways throughout the sky that were also illuminated by clouds underneath them. The immense size and beauty of the city was illuminated to the group even as they traveled throughout it at super speeds with the power of the Bifrost.

Unfortunately, there was still some wonkiness of their control over the Bifrost.

The goats guided them through the city until they came across a giant, floating, circular section of ground with a small section with columns in the center, a large garden surrounding it, and a reflecting pool on the ground on the outer sections of the platform. There was a white walkway that led from the section with the columns into deeper within the city, and the Bifrost flew them right towards the giant platform.

They landed on the platform in a matter that was... less than ideal.

The goats flew the skiff right towards the circular platform, and they crashed into the grass of the ground, sending dirt flying in many directions. The goats and the skiff tore at the ground a bit more, destroying more of the grass and sending more dirt flying. Of course, they soon came to a stop, and the goats screeched once again.

"... Thor, I really don't like these things," Terra informed the Thunder God.

"I might not be that impartial to them, either," Thor admitted.

Nonetheless, they climbed off of the skiff together and performed a manner of parking the skiff and the goats in the small field. Then, they all moved across the dirt and onto the pathway, beginning their trek through the town. Jane and Thor led the way, with Aqua and Terra behind them, and Korg, Valkyrie, and Ventus taking up the rear. They passed by a few people along the way, though they all looked up in amazement to take in the sights of the city around them.

Ancient music played from various areas, and birds chirped happily as they continued walking down the road. Aqua and Terra looked up in amazement once again, while Ventus frowned in thought.

"You know, I..." Ventus slowly said. "I think I might've been here once before."

"Really?" Aqua asked. "When?"

"Well..." Ventus slowly said. "Ever since V told me about my history before I got stuck in the Ark, my memories of beforehand have been slowly returning. Now that I'm here... I think I visited it a couple of times on some of the adventures I had."

"You think so?" Terra asked.

"Hey, Ventus!" a male voice excitedly said.

The group stopped as a man in blue robes came over with a woman in purple robes. They both happily walked up to Ventus, and the man grasped his hand before pulling the surprised blonde in for a hug. The woman patted Ventus happily on the shoulder while he looked at his friends in confusion. After a few moments, the man pulled back from the hug, pointed at Ventus with a laugh, then he and the woman started walking away.

"Nice to see you again, Ven!" the man said.

"We'll have to invite you over for cards again!" the woman added with her own laugh.

The couple continued to walk down the path away from the group, leaving them all still pretty surprised. Aqua, Jane, Korg, Terra, Thor, and Valkyrie all looked at Ventus as he slowly turned towards them, his jaw dropped as he tried to think of something to say.

"Y-Yeah, I... I think I've been here before," Ventus slowly said.

"Evidently," Thor remarked. "Well, if everyone here regards you as highly as that person did, then we shall have little trouble rousing an army of gods."

Ventus tilted his head to the side in thought at that declaration. *4*

The group resumed their stroll through the city, still walking in the same spots as they had next time, though Ventus frequently looked around to see if there was anything or anyone else he recognized.

As they walked, Thor glanced over at Jane again.

"So, you still rollerblading?" Thor asked.

Since Aqua and Terra were once again the closest ones to the couple, they once again both wondered if they were about to encounter an awkward situation.

"No," Jane admitted. "No. You?"

"Oh, yeah," Thor said. "Every weekend. Once you blade, you never fade. Isn't that right, Korg?"

"Skate mates for life!" Korg excitedly said.

"Yeah, that was something that's admittedly annoying about these guys," Terra muttered to Aqua.

Light then surged around Jane's head as her helmet reappeared.

"Hey, can I run something by you?" Jane asked Thor as they continued walking.

"Yeah," Thor confirmed.

"So, I was thinking, when we get to the bad guy, what about if I had, like, a cool catchphrase?" Jane asked, a little bit of excitement in her voice. "Like, 'Eat this hammer!' Bang!"

She swung Mjölnir in front of herself, imitating hitting Gorr with it. Aqua, Terra, and Thor all chuckled in amusement, while Korg, Valkyrie, and Ventus just looked at the woman.

"Or, like, 'Check out my hammer'," Jane tried. She swung Mjölnir again. "Boom! Like, what about, um..."

She let out a small sigh.

"No, I'm workshopping it," Jane admitted, gesturing with her hands. *5*

"No, they are... all really good," Thor told her, gesturing with his own hands while still chuckling a little. "Mine is, uh, 'This ends here and now'."

"Oh, that's such a good one," Jane said with a small sigh.

"I have never heard you say that," Terra pointed out with a raised eyebrow.

"You've only ever been in battle with me three times," Thor pointed out.

"Okay, that's fair," Terra admitted.

"It took me a long time to perfect it," Thor informed Jane. "You'll get there. You just need to practice."

"Just my first bad guy," Jane added in agreement.

"You never forget your first," Thor confirmed. "Yeah."

There was a small moment of friendly silence among the group as they continued walking down the road.

"So, you got a girlfriend?" Jane asked.

Aqua, Terra, and even Ventus's eyes widened at that, sure that things were about to get awkward again.

"Oh... No, no," Thor admitted with a small chuckle. "Too busy, don't have time, you know? Just... The work and everything."

"Cool," Jane quickly said. "Gonna check this place out."

She lifted up Mjölnir again and rose up into the air as electricity surrounded her. Thor, Terra, and Aqua stopped in the road as they watched Jane fly up. Korg and Ventus watched, too, but they continued walking down the road, while Valkyrie moved next to Thor.

"Oh, wow," Thor softly said with a small chuckle. "So cool."

"Who's so cool?" Valkyrie asked, not even looking at Thor.

"Huh?" Thor asked, looking at her in surprise. "The... buildings are cool."

He gestured with his hands to try and save face while Valkyrie smirked at him. Aqua and Terra just raised an eyebrow at the Thunder God.

"What's happening there?" Valkyrie asked, still smirking.

"Where?" Thor asked.

"Am I, uh, sensing feelings?" Valkyrie asked.

Thor snorted in amusement.

"Feelings?" he asked. "What, for Jane?"

"Mm-hmm," Valkyrie confirmed, smirking at Thor with a nod of her head.

"Yeah, I saw it, too," Aqua added.

Terra nodded in agreement.

"No, don't be ridiculous," Thor remarked, placing his hands on his belt. "Feelings. The last time we had feelings were... long time ago. Long, long gone. I think you all..."

He looked at Valkyrie in a defensive manner.

"Maybe you have feelings," Thor tried to deflect the answer.

"Right," Valkyrie said. She chuckled. "Oh... Mate, relax."

"I don't know," Thor quickly said, turning around again.

"We're on the same team," Valkyrie reminded him.

"Know exactly what team we're on, okay?" Thor requested.

"Team Jane," Valkyrie confirmed.

She playfully punched Thor on the bicep, which got him to frown. Valkyrie laughed in amusement before she turned and continued walking down the road.

"Dude..." Terra slowly said, shaking his head with a small sigh. "I've been working out with you for months, listening to you crying about a lot of stuff, with Jane being probably in the top three. Just shut the hell up, accept your feelings, and tell her that you love her, already."

Aqua softly sighed in agreement before she and Terra continued walking down the road.

Thor let out a small sigh, mulling over their words and accepting there might be some truth as he continued following them down the road.

Shadow Realm

Within their captivity in the shadow realm, Axl decided to take a moment and try and reassure the children by telling them stories about Thor, trying to express the point that he always bounced back. He started with how Hela destroyed Mjölnir, so he went to forge Stormbreaker in response. The children were impressed, and that was made stronger when he shared that the axe was used to cut off Thanos's head.

Gorr then appeared right behind Axl, chuckling in amusement while looking like a demon. The children all screamed in terror as they tried to get away from the God Butcher. Gorr gave the creepiest smile possible as he said that Axl's story was neat, then announced that the talk of chopping off heads made him want to do it. So, he made a large, snake-like beast appear that he giggled at like it was a kitten. Gorr then showed the full level of his insanity by acting like he was playing with the children before laughing sadistically as he cracked the snake's head and tore it off of its body, which terrified the children.

Gorr was surprised at their terror since they liked the story, so he just tossed aside the head. The head fell onto one of the kids, which caused them all to scream even louder. Gorr shushed at all of them to try and quiet down, and one girl admitted that she was scared. The God Butcher looked at her, claiming that he knew a little girl like her, who was brave and smart, funny, and liked to draw. Gorr then asked that if the gods were meant to protect the children, then where were they at the moment.

Axl reminded him that Thor was on his way, and Gorr agreed by saying that he was counting on it, and it's why the children were there. *6*

Chapter Text

Omnipotence City

Deep within the grand vastness of Omnipotence City, the group managed to navigate through the floating streets and walkways to start to locate a large stadium where a meeting was supposed to happen amongst the hundreds of gods within the realm. They walked through gigantic buildings with columns that reminded Terra, Ventus, and Aqua of Olympus, waterfalls, and a giant statue of Zeus that had Thor fanboying for a few moments, which got Jane and Valkyrie to share a look.

Eventually, they managed to navigate the ancient city to locate the arena, where they gathered together outside in contemplation. Valkyrie walked off in one direction to try and find something to help, leaving Aqua, Jane, Korg, Terra, Thor, and Ventus together in a small hallway just outside of the auditorium.

"It's invitation only, so we're going to have to keep a low profile and blend in," Thor informed the group as Jane rotated Mjölnir a few times. "Luckily, disguises are my specialty."

Aqua, Terra, and Ventus frowned when Thor just grabbed his reformed cape and flipped it around so that it was over his chest and on his shoulder. The Thunder God held out his arms in a simple manner as he looked at the others.

"Greek philosopher?" Thor suggested.

Korg smiled at him and held his arms out in a similar manner.

"No," Ventus confirmed with a shake of his head.

Aqua and Terra both shook their heads in agreement.

"... Yeah, I didn't think so," Thor admitted. He frowned. "Maybe we should've brought a change of clothes or two."

Luckily, Valkyrie then walked in from a nearby hallway with a collection of different colored robes in her arms.

"Got us these," she announced before dropping the robes on the floor.

"What are those?" Thor asked.

"Actual disguises," Valkyrie told him with a smirk. She reached down and picked up a blue and robe to toss it at Thor. "They're the cloaks of the emotion gods. Every color signifies a different emotion."

Thor caught the blue and purple robe and turned it in his hands while Valkyrie tossed Korg a pink and white one. She then tossed Ventus a green and white one, which he turned in his hands to look at.

"Where are the emotion gods?" Jane asked, a little curious.

"Mm. Don't ask," Valkyrie told her.

She tossed Jane a teal and green robe, and took a yellow and orange robe for herself. Terra took the orange and white robe, while Aqua took a bright blue and white robe. The seven of them took a moment to slip on their disguises and adjust them to make sure they looked perfect before they turned and started down the hallway once again.

It took them a few moments to reach the end of the corridor, and once they did, Aqua, Jane, Terra, and Ventus's eyes widened in amazement.

"Holy shit," Jane said with shock in her voice.

The auditorium was probably the most grand part they had seen in this entire city, which was really saying something. There was a large, circular platform in the middle of the arena, which had a small set of stairs that led down a bit before it diverged into a pathway that led to what had to be the seats for the audience.

There were probably hundreds of seats gathered in what appeared to be the audience, with regular seats combined with giant sets of stairs, gigantic balconies, and even pillars that led up the vast size of the room to allow anybody to see the center of the room. And within those seats sat or stood gods of all shapes and sizes, from men in ornate robes to women in battle armor, and even a gigantic dragon that had curled its elongated body around one of the giant columns. There were gigantic, circular and oval shaped windows that allowed sunlight to stream in (which also revealed a few Celestials standing outside and looking in inquisitively), and the usual set of security dressed in armor spread throughout the auditorium.

Thor ended up leading the way once again, moving forward and guiding the group as if he knew the way around the building. Jane and Terra walked behind him, followed by Aqua and Ventus, and Korg and Valkyrie took up the rear. Ventus did a double take when he saw one giant, wolf-like god with white fur resting on a large bed, while Aqua and Terra joined Jane in looking around in amazement. Thor had to stop himself from laughing at the various reactions of his friends. *1*

"Welcome to the Golden Temple, kids," Thor told his friends as they walked down a pathway through the seats. "This is where the most powerful creator gods in the universe hang out."

"Clearly," Terra said, amazement in his voice as he looked up at the dragon curled around the column.

The dragon let out a small grunt.

"There's the god of magic," Valkyrie said, pointing at someone dressed in Egyptian robes with metal wings on her arms at a balcony.

As the woman sat down, Valkyrie pointed up at a large eyeball at a different balcony.

"The god of dreams," she said, pointing at the eyeball. She then pointed in another direction. "God of carpentry."

Jane let out a small gasp as she looked at a creature that looked like a large dumpling with a face resting in a big, red spoon. Aqua frowned in surprise at it, while Ventus tilted his head to the side, finding it adorable.

"Look at that one!" Jane told the others.

"Oh, yes, that's Bao, god of dumplings," Thor told them. "Psst. Hey, Bao!"

Bao just giggled and opened his mouth, making his face somehow become even more adorable.

"Bao!" Bao gushed.

"A god of dumplings that also speaks," Aqua commented. She let out a small huff. "Now I've seen everything."

Terra and Ventus chuckled at their friend's words.

"Look up there, guys!" Korg told his friends, pointing up to a different balcony.

This displayed to them another Krona, one dressed in a small kilt with a large, white beard on his face. He was sitting in a giant, rock throne that had a design similar to dozens of pairs of scissors on the back. Aqua, Terra, and Ventus frowned over the fact that the Kronan god was sitting on a chair that looked like the Iron Throne from Game of Thrones.

"That's the Kronan god, Ninny of the Nonny," Korg told them.

"Hey, Ninny Nonny!" Ninny said, waving at Korg as they passed by him.

Even Terra let out a small chuckle as they passed by him.

The group continued down the walkway together, moving at a brisk enough pace until they started to zero in on the seats belonging to the emotion gods. Thor continued to lead the way, guiding the group up the stairs (which led them to pass a goddess named Bast, who the Keybladers raised eyebrows at when they remembered Wakanda) and to their seats. The seven of them managed to look inconspicuous as they all took their seats, forming a line of Korg, Valkyrie, Jane, Thor, Terra, Aqua, and Ventus. Luckily, they appeared to reach their seats just in time, because fanfare started to ring out through the auditorium.

All of a sudden, large clouds appeared in front of one of the giant, circular windows in the center of the room. The fanfare continued to ring out as the clouds grew in size, causing thunder to rumble and crackle within as it continued to grow in size. After a few more seconds, the fanfare stopped as a couple of nearby gods started to chant, "Zeus! Zeus! Zeus!"

"Zeus! Zeus! Zeus!" Thor then chanted, pumping his fist each time in excitement.

Korg joined him in chanting, as did even more people throughout the auditorium. Jane and Valkyrie just looked around at all the chanting people, which even included Bao. Aqua and Terra shared a surprised look at the action, while Ventus just shrugged his shoulders and joined them in calling, "Zeus! Zeus! Zeus!"

As the chanting continued, the fanfare resumed as the clouds continued to increase in size, causing more lightning to crash and rumble within. As everyone continued to chant for Zeus, the clouds started to part, revealing the faint shape of a couple of golden objects within. Those objects were slowly revealed to be the top of a golden throne as more of the clouds parted. Yellow lightning then started to gather within the clouds, growing in power more by the second before it eventually reached its climax and burst.

Of course, the lightning then faded after a second and transformed into a large, jagged lightning bolt that was in the hand of a partially obscured man. The fanfare stopped, and the entire auditorium of gods (Thor included) started cheering as the clouds parted ways. This revealed Zeus, who had the appearance of a middle aged man with long hair dressed in a golden, tank-top chestplate, and a white kilt. Zeus held his arms up in a grand gesture as the gods continued to cheer in excitement at the sight of him. He took a few steps forward to step off of his throne, revealing that on the platform there were also two guards, and two women known as the Zeusettes resting next to the throne.

Zeus took a few steps off of the throne and onto the rest of the platform as majestic music started playing from somewhere. Aqua, Terra, and Ventus all tilted their heads to the sides at the sight of the man.

'Certainly didn't imagine Herc's dad to look like this,' the three Keyblade wielders unknowingly, simultaneously thought.

"Yes," Zeus boasted as he looked at the crowd. "I am Zeus! Yassas!" *2*

"Oh, there he is!" Thor excitedly gushed as Jane and Terra looked at him. "The man, the myth, the legend."

He turned to look at Jane, still smiling.

"Oh, I don't know if you know this, but I base a lot of what I do on this guy," Thor told her. "He's the god of lightning, I'm the god of thunder. Huge source of inspiration."

"That's really good," Jane said, deciding to keep things serious. "You should lead with that when you ask him for an army."

"Ah," Thor said, sighing in agreement before turning to look at Zeus again.

"Flatter him, then ask him for his help," Terra assessed. "A good system, yeah."

Aqua and Ventus both nodded in agreement.

"Um, how do we get up there?" Jane asked, gesturing to the floating platform that Zeus was standing on. "Do we just, like, fly?"

"No, no," Thor quickly said, turning to look at her again. "We can't interrupt him in the middle of an entrance."

"What happens if we do interrupt him?" Terra asked, a little curious.

"No idea," Thor admitted. "But I'd honestly not like to find out."

Jane, Terra, and even Valkyrie and Korg nodded in agreement there. Aqua and Ventus both looked up at Zeus with curious expressions on their faces.

The god of lightning pulled his arm back in preparation, which mixed with the crowds of gods all chanting, "Thunderbolt! Thunderbolt!" Electricity gathered in Zeus's thunderbolt for a moment before he threw the weapon, which flew through the center of the auditorium within seconds.

"Yes!" Thor cheered as Terra looked at him.

The gods all cheered as the thunderbolt flew into the center of the room before exploding and transforming into dozens of smaller shards of thunder, all of which flew around the grand room for a moment before they gathered together once again. This formed an image of a giant, electric outline of Zeus with one arm raised and the other holding his thunderbolt next to his head.

"Zeus!" the god's voice echoed before the image faded.

Terra and Ventus were admittedly impressed, while Aqua started to question how much the god liked the sound of his own voice.

Valkyrie was also admittedly impressed, and watched as the dozens of shards were restored. The shards flew all around the auditorium, going over people's heads, and Thor laughed in excitement as he tried and failed to grab one of them. The shards of the thunderbolt flew around multiple times before they gathered together in the center of the sky once again, restoring themselves as a single thunderbolt that flew back towards the floating platform. Zeus lifted up his arm and caught it without even looking, as everyone else in the auditorium cheered.

"Yes! Thunderbolt!" Thor cheered.

Though Aqua was still uncertain about Zeus, she joined Jane, Terra, and Ventus in smiling, all of them impressed about what they had just seen.

On the platform, Zeus slowly turned around and moved to face the crowds once again as they all continued cheering and clapping for him. The Zeusettes, men in togas, harpist, and guards just stood next to him on the platform as he placed down his thunderbolt, knowing to let him do his thing. The god of lightning then gestured with his hands towards the cheering crowds.

"Order," Zeus announced. "Order!"

With that, people reluctantly started to stop clapping and moved to sit down.

"Silence!" Zeus declared. "Silence!"

It took a moment, but eventually, everyone stopped clapping and cheering, so they all sat down and looked up at the King of the Gods together. The harpist then took a moment before he started playing gentle music.

"I hereby open this holy council of the god," Zeus announced to the entire auditorium. "Where we have many, many serious matter to be talk about."

Aqua, Terra, and even Ventus frowned at the god's lack of good grammar, but they decided they would continue to give him a chance.

"Such as... Where are we going to hold this year's orgy?" Zeus asked.

Aqua, Jane, Korg, Terra, Ventus, and even Thor all frowned at that declaration, while the rest of the gods all cheered.

"Please tell me this isn't our Herc's dad," Ventus requested.

"No, V mentioned that that one has golden, glowing skin," Terra assured him.

"Is this guy for real?" Jane asked Thor, still frowning up at Zeus.

"Honestly, I'm not mad at it," Valkyrie admitted with a small smile.

"Yeah, I'm sure he has a point, okay?" Thor said, looking at Jane while gesturing with a hand.

"I hope so," Terra remarked.

"Shh!" a small, furry creature with a face and two feet shushed them.

"Sorry," Thor and Terra simultaneously told him.

"So now we're going to announce the winner of the 'Most human souls sacrificed in the name of a god'," Zeus announced as one of his Zeusettes walked up to him.

"Okay, that's messed up," Terra commented.

"Yeah, okay, maybe he's not that great," Thor admitted, turning to look at Jane and Valkyrie.

"Oh, no, not good," Jane agreed, shaking her head as she looked down.

"No, I don't think it's gonna get any better than this," Valkyrie agreed, leaning in so she could talk to them better. "Look, these gods aren't gonna help."

"I don't think we're gonna want their help if they do orgies so much," Ventus agreed with a grimace.

"Where'd you learn what an orgy is?" Aqua asked, frowning at the blonde.

"First, remember that I'm technically older than you," Ventus said. "And second, Harley told me the last time we were on Earth."

"Guys," Valkyrie said, getting the group's attention. She pointed at the thunderbolt resting in front of Zeus. "That thunderbolt, I think that might be of use."

Thor and Terra looked up at the floating platform as the king of the gods exclaimed to one of his cohorts.

"Jane, you go right," Valkyrie instructed. "Thor, you and Terra go left. We bum-rush him, take the bolt, ding-dong."

Korg, Jane, Thor, Terra, Aqua, and Ventus all looked at Valkyrie as she laid out her plan. Jane nodded in excitement, but Thor, Terra, Aqua, and Ventus all frowned at that. Thor didn't want to have to try and attack his personal hero (even if he wasn't that great), while the trio of Keyblade wielders didn't like the idea of causing such a battle in a city like this.

"All right, let's go get it!" Jane excitedly said.

She turned and began to rise, but Thor quickly moved an arm in front of her to stop her and keep her sitting.

"No, no, no, no, wait, wait, wait!" Thor insisted. "There's no ding-donging or bum-rushing. Especially not Zeus's bum." *3*

"Yeah, for the first time today, I agree with Thor," Terra admitted. "We're in an entire stadium full of gods. That doesn't seem like a good idea."

"Yeah, I don't like the idea of what could happen in that kind of situation," Aqua admitted.

"I've been here before, and I've seen how they fight," Ventus said. "Bum-rushing definitely isn't a good idea."

"Exactly," Thor agreed. He gestured with his hand. "When the time is right, I'm gonna talk to him."

"The time is right now," Jane told him.

"Time is not right now," Thor rebutted.

"Who is talking?" Zeus demanded.

Aqua, Terra, and Ventus frowned and shared a look, all three of them just realizing that their group hadn't been as quiet as they thought. Thor and Terra both looked up at the floating platform, seeing that Zeus was looking towards their side of the auditorium with a frown on his face.

"Who is talking?" Zeus demanded again.

"These guys," Korg said, excitedly pointing at the rest of the group.

"Korg, shut up," Thor quickly told the Kronan.

"Seriously, man?" Terra asked.

"Do you have something to say to the group?" Zeus demanded from the team.

Some of the Zeusettes were even pointing in their direction to emphasize where the team was.

"Sorry," Thor said, trying to save face with a smile.

"I'm bashing heads in 60 seconds, so speak fast," Valkyrie informed the Thunder God.

"Literally, heads will roll," Jane said, nodding in agreement.

Terra, Thor, Ventus, and even Aqua all frowned at the two of them.

"Who are you two?" Thor whispered in surprise.

"Uh, y-you two stop them from killing anybody," Terra requested from his friends. "I'll stay with Thor and make sure he stays okay."

Aqua and Ventus nodded in understanding, before Aqua leaned in and pressed a light kiss to Terra's lips. Terra nodded at her before he and Thor jumped to their feet.

"Hello," Thor announced with an awkward chuckle. He clasped his hands together. "Uh, let me be the first to say it is an honor and a privilege to be..."

"No, I can't hear you," Zeus said, frowning in confusion and momentarily pointing at his ear. "Why don't you both take the stage?"

Terra frowned in suspicion while Thor pointed at the circular platform in the center of the auditorium.

"The stage down there?" Thor asked.

"Well, yes," Zeus said. He then gestured to the circular ground in front of him. "You see the area that looks very much like a stage?"

The gods all started to laugh in amusement.

"Got ya," Thor said.

"Okay, how drunk is this guy?" Terra asked, raising an eyebrow as he remembered Thor's earlier, drunk actions.

Thor then turned to look at Jane and Valkyrie, both of whom mouthed to him to encourage him to hurry. Aqua and Ventus nodded in reassurance at Terra, before he and Thor turned and started walking away from their seats. The two of them ended up having to move in a bit of difficulty to get around the throne of another god, but they apologized to him before they reached the stairs that led down to the stage.

"Good luck, bro!" Korg excitedly called to them.

Terra just waved at the Kronan before he and Thor started their trek down the stairs. There was a tense silence through the entire auditorium as Terra and Thor made their way down the steps together towards the stage in the center of the auditorium, with the brunette feeling painfully aware of all the eyes on them from the gathered crowds of gods. The floating platform that Zeus stood on with his entourage lowered a bit, but only slightly from its place at the front of the largest window in the auditorium. It took a few moments, but Terra and Thor reached the stage, where they took a few steps forward and looked at the floating platform.

Thor made sure to give an excited smile, even though his opinion of the king of the gods had already lowered.

"Mighty Zeus!" Thor greeted as the platform floated down closer. "Wow. Gods of the universe. I come here to ask for your help, to raise an army."

"There's a grand threat who's proven himself to be a ruthless fighter, and won't hesitate to use tricks to get his way," Terra added.

"And unfortunately, he has a full plan for our destruction," Thor added. "This threat is a maniac called the God Butcher who seeks to end us all. His destruction is everywhere. Entire planets, realms have been completely left unprotected. He's left nothing but chaos in his wake."

"There are very few survivors of these attacks, but the few there are have promised that he's a ruthless bastard," Terra added.

He frowned when he saw that this declaration of news had Zeus looking at them in annoyance.

"But I know where he is," Thor promised the gods. He looked up at Zeus. "And with your help, we can crush him before he kills anyone else."

He smiled reassuringly at the other gods as they started murmuring amongst themselves.

"That guy, he killed a couple of low-level god," Zeus declared. He shrugged his shoulders in indifference. "Eh. Boo-boo."

Terra and Thor both frowned at the lightning god.

"If that's all, pretty boys..." Zeus said. He pointed at the two of them, which got the crowds of gods to chuckle. "You go back to your seats and be quiet."

"Yeah, I'm sorry," Thor said, pointing a hand at Zeus as the lightning god's platform started to get closer. "Did you not hear any of what my friend and I just said? He's... He's murdering en masse."

"I tell you one time, now you shut up," Zeus ordered. "You be quiet. Because you are this close to being uninvited to the orgy."

"Oh, please tell me you were never in an orgy here," Aqua requested from Ventus.

"Not one," Ventus promised her. "For one thing, I didn't like the idea. For another, no one wanted a teenager to participate in that."

"Oh, thank god," Aqua said, sighing out in relief.

Terra and Thor both frowned as they looked at the god of lightning on his floating throne.

"Zeus, we must do something," Thor insisted, gesturing with his arms to the sides.

"Yeah, he's killed who knows how many people, and is probably coming for you after us!" Terra added.

"You both cannot come to the orgy!" Zeus snapped at them.

"Thank god!" Terra commented.

"You have to listen to us!" Thor snapped back.

"Yeah, we're the only shot at stopping this bastard!" Terra added.

"That's it!" Zeus snapped. "Shackle!"

He then gestured with his hands, and yellow lightning shot out once again. The golden lightning flew down and wrapped around Terra and Thor's wrists before flying down and connecting to the floor. The two heroes grunted as they tried pulling at their restraints, but even with their enhanced strength, they couldn't get free. Terra and Thor shared a look before turning to frown up at Zeus again.

While the rest of the gods exclaimed in surprise at this, the team all quickly started to internally prepare themselves to fight. Aqua and Ventus had scooted over to take over the two empty seats, allowing them to be closer to Jane, Korg, and Valkyrie. The two Keyblade wielders were already preparing themselves to summon their titular weapons as they watched their friends be restrained within the stage.

"Your Highness, whenever you're ready, just tell me," Jane informed Valkyrie.

"Same with us," Aqua added.

"We go on my signal," Valkyrie informed them.

"Mm-hmm," Jane said as she, Aqua, and Ventus all nodded in understanding.

"What is the signal?" Korg asked.

"It'll be 'go'," Valkyrie informed him.

"Mmm," Korg hummed in understanding.

Aqua and Ventus both started preparing themselves to attack.

Terra and Thor continued to struggle in their restraints as the floating platform continued to lower in the air, soon coming to a stop and resting on the part of the stage in front of the two heroes. They both frowned as they looked at the floating throne, frowning at Zeus as the lightning god and his Zeusettes stood at the edge and looked at them with inquisitive expressions on their faces.

"Let's see who you are," Zeus declared. "I take off your disguise."

He lifted up one hand.

"And flick!" Zeus declared, pointing his hands at the two heroes.

All of a sudden, a gust of electric wind flew through the air, blowing into Terra and Thor and blowing off their disguises. Of course, the wind ended up being too strong, because the robes weren't just the only things blown off. The strength of the wind also blew off their armor, leaving them completely naked and also barefoot. Terra and Thor both frowned as they suddenly felt much colder, realizing that the god's power was probably too strong.

All around the auditorium, all the other gods gasped in shock, as if they hadn't expected this, either. On the floating platform, the Zeusette's eyes had all widened, then they slumped forward as they lost consciousness at the sight of the naked Terra and Thor. The men also joined them, falling to the ground unconscious, as did the harp player. Zeus just looked at them with his eyebrows still furrowed.

The gods were still gasping in shock, and a couple even wolf-whistled in excitement. *4*

Jane, Aqua, and Ventus's eyes all widened in surprise at this. Aqua then quickly leaned to the side and placed her hand over Ventus's eyes to protect his vision, though she did keep her eyes on Terra's nude body.

"Aqua, I'm older than you," Ventus reminded her again. "... But thank you."

"Yep," Aqua said, keeping her eyes on Terra.

Terra and Thor both looked down in confusion, before their eyes widened as they realized they had just been stripped. Terra even yelled out in horror and looked up, feeling a mixture of embarrassment and despair over the fact that he was naked in front of hundreds of people, standing next to his equally naked teammate. He honestly didn't know what was worse, the fact that they were both naked, or the fact that he had just seen Thor's... package.

"That is way much more than I've ever wanted to see of you, Thor," Terra admitted, keeping his eyes on the ceiling.

"The feeling is mutual, friend Terra," Thor said with a frown. He looked up at Zeus angrily. "You flicked too hard, damn it!"

Terra groaned once again before he looked to the side. He did a double take when he saw Thor's back, which included a number of tattoos. One was a large version of Loki's helmet, a memorial saying, "RIP Loki," a broken heart, a grave with a broken heart on it, a rose, a crescent moon, the word "brothers," a small ribbon on the bottom that read "rest in mischief," and a piece of parchment that read "mother, father, Heimdall, Loki (with a rose next to it), Tony, Natasha."

Though Terra wasn't happy to see so much of Thor, he was a little impressed with his friend's manner of keeping the memories of his lost loved ones alive.

In their seats, Valkyrie, Jane, and Aqua were still sitting in preparation, with the blue haired mage still holding her hand over Ventus's eyes. Jane looked between the other two women, seeing Aqua staring pretty intently at Terra, while Valkyrie had an interested expression on her face as she looked at Thor. Jane had to stop herself from following Valkyrie's example as she leaned towards the king of Asgard to speak to her.

"Should we help them?" Jane asked as Valkyrie grabbed a tweed cornucopia.

"I mean, eventually," Valkyrie said. She kept her eyes on Thor while taking a grape out of the cornucopia. "Grape?"

"I'm good," Aqua said, still looking at Terra.

"Mm, they look like shy courgettes," Korg commented as Jane reached into the cornucopia.

"And what about the others?" Zeus declared, turning to look at the team in their seats. He pointed at them. "We take off their disguise, too."

The crowds cheered, clearly excited at the idea of seeing more people naked. This got Korg, Valkyrie, Jane, Aqua, and Ventus to quickly start rising and reaching for their robes.

"Oh, no," Jane frantically said as she took off her robe. "No. Don't flick us."

"It's cool," Korg said as he and Valkyrie took off their robes. "Uh... Disguise gone!"

"Disguise gone," Valkryie added.

"We'd rather not be flicked," Aqua announced as she and Ventus took off their robes.

"Yeah, I'd like to stay in my armor," Ventus added.

"Asgardians," Zeus said as he looked at the group. He narrowed his eyes at Ventus. "Is that Ventus?"

"... Oh, God, I hope I was right that I never joined an orgy out here in the past," Ventus said, suddenly looking very afraid.

Aqua grimaced with her friend.

"Well, whatever the case," Zeus said, turning to look at Thor and Terra. "I thought we'd seen the last of you when Odin died."

Still in their restraints, Terra and Thor panted as they glared at the god of lightning. The Zeusettes had jumped back to their feet and were next to Zeus, looking at the two heroes again. Terra and Thor glanced to the side towards their friends before looking at Zeus once again as he looked at Thor with an amused expression on his face.

"You are Thor," Zeus declared, looking at the blonde. "The god of Thunder. But is not thunder just the sound of lightning?"

Just about everyone in the auditorium started laughing besides the team of heroes. A man wearing a ring of grapes on his head (whom Terra guessed from Vanitas's explanation of Greek Mythology was Dionysus) commented, "Good one, dad!"

"Zeus, this is bigger than us," Thor told the god of lightning. "He's taken Asgardian children."

"Come on, that's gotta be enough to push you to help, right?" Terra insisted.

"Who do you think we are?" Zeus asked, gesturing with his hand. "The god police? Every god watches over their own peoples. Nothing more, nothing less. Asgardian problems... are Asgardian problems. Hmm?"

"How the mighty have fallen," Thor commented, glaring at the god of lightning. "My hero, Zeus, afraid."

The entire auditorium gasped once again at that declaration.

"Damn, that was good," Terra commented with a laugh.

With an offended expression on his face, Zeus turned and walked down the length of the platform to the stairs that led onto the stage. The god of lightning then lifted up his kilt a bit in an incredibly obvious manner before he slowly made it down the stairs onto the stage. Terra just rolled his eyes in annoyance as Zeus walked towards him and Thor, looking at their faces with an intentionally blank look.

"Couple of thing," Zeus softly told them. He chuckled. "One, yes, I am scared. Gorr has the Necrosword, which means he could kill us."

He softly shook his head.

"Not good," Zeus remarked. "Two, I know you're trying to do the right thing. I understand. But all you do is cause a panic. Panic is not good."

Terra scoffed and looked to the side. This reminded him too much of the time that Vanitas had shown them all Jaws at the Land of Departure. This guy was being like the mayor in that movie by choosing to put up an image for the public, putting it above peoples' actual safety even though he knows there's an actual problem. *5*

"We are safe here," Zeus told them. He gestured with his hands to Terra and Thor. "You, my friends, you are safe here. So, chill, baby cake. Have some wine, have some grape. Anything goes here, in Omnipotence City. Hmm."

He softly smiled at them, before that smile was replaced with a look of warning in his eyes.

"Three, don't talk back to Zeus," Zeus added. He then frowned. "I flicked too hard. I put your clothes back on."

He chuckled before he turned around and started walking back to the throne.

"Now I put your clothes back on!" Zeus loudly declared, lifting up one arm. "Flick, flick."

The robes that they wore for their disguises then flew up, moving back onto their bodies to serve as togas. Terra and Thor looked down at the action, while many of the women all sighed in disappointment, including the four Zeusettes who had been looking intently at the two heroes, which got Jane and Aqua to both frown in annoyance.

"For this is the golden temple of the god," Zeus declared before turning to look at the two heroes again. "It's not a rudie-nudie festival."

"You could've fooled me," Terra remarked with a frown as the auditorium all laughed.

"If you're not gonna help us, then at least let us use your weapon," Thor requested. "We need your lightning bolt."

"My lightning bolt is called Thunderbolt," Zeus said, gesturing to himself with both hands. "So, I think, to use somebody's secret weapon like this, that you should at least get the name right when you ask."

"Is it really a secret weapon when you parade it around like you just did five minutes ago?" Terra remarked with a raised eyebrow.

Thor gave Terra a look before he glanced up and gave a small sigh.

"Can I borrow Thunderbolt?" Thor asked, obviously exasperated.

"Thunderbolt!" Zeus then shouted.

He lifted up his arm, and Thunderbolt suddenly flew down and landed in the god of lightning's hand with a clang. Zeus then turned while holding up Thunderbolt, which extended a bit while covered in lightning. The auditorium all cheered at the sight as the god turned a bit on the stage to hold up the weapon. Zeus then tossed Thunderbolt up in a showcasing manner before turning around and catching it with his hand behind himself. The gods all exclaimed at the sight, before Zeus started spinning it around rapidly, huffing as he twirled and spun it in front of himself and over his shoulder.

Aqua, Jane, Terra, Thor, and Valkyrie all rolled their eyes, unimpressed with the god's manner of showboating.

Still showing off, Zeus threw Thunderbolt to the side and had it fly around before it flew back, deflecting off the floor in front of himself and rising into his hand. He tossed it up, and it spun a few times before returning to his hand. Terra and Thor sighed as Zeus then lifted Thunderbolt up onto one finger before spinning it around rapidly like a basketball. He glanced at Terra and Thor in a showboating manner before tossing it up, where it broke in two before falling into his hands. Zeus connected the pieces once again before turning and throwing Thunderbolt at his throne, where it connected to the back of the seat and sent lightning within.

"... No!" Zeus then declared, lifting up a hand.

The gods all started laughing again as Terra, Thor, and Valkyrie all deflated slightly in annoyance.

"Do not worry," Zeus then declared to the auditorium in a grand manner. "The God Butcher, he will not reach Eternity."

Terra and Thor frowned in confusion.

"Eternity?" Thor asked.

Back in their seats, Aqua, Jane, and Ventus all frowned in confusion while a blank look of realization appeared on Valkyrie's face.

"What does he mean, reach Eternity?" Jane asked, turning to look at Valkyrie.

"Eternity, that sounds like a familiar concept," Aqua admitted.

She, Jane, and Ventus all turned to look at Valkyrie, seeing her shaking her head in realization.

"Oh, shit," Valkyrie said, which immediately concerned Aqua and Ventus. "Eternity... is a very powerful being at the center of the universe. It will grant the desire of the first person who reaches it."

"So, it's like a wishing well?" Jane asked.

"Sounds really similar to that concept," Aqua commented, and Ventus nodded his head in agreement.

Valkyrie sighed before turning to look at Jane.

"What do you think a guy called the God Butcher would wish for?" Valkyrie asked her.

"Oh, shit," Aqua said, her eyes widening in realization.

"That'd kill every god in the universe," Ventus said. "Including V's dad."

"And if calibrated incorrectly, then it would probably kill anything with god DNA in them," Aqua added, worry growing in her voice. "And that would include V and his siblings."

"... Oh, dear," Ventus said. *6*

Terra frowned, not having caught the explanation of what Eternity was, but he could see through the expression on Thor's face that this had to be a serious topic. The Thunder God was frowning stubbornly at Zeus once again.

"If he seeks the Altar of Eternity, that means he could wipe us out at once," Thor declared. "Zeus, we must act now."

"Do you want us to get on our knees and beg for your help?" Terra asked, turning to look at the god of lightning again. "Because we will if it'll convince you."

"He's not going to make it," Zeus remarked, waving a hand once again. "He doesn't have the key."

"Is this the purpose of the gods?" Thor demanded as Jane wondered what the key was. "To hide away in a golden palace like cowards? Maybe we have lost our way."

Terra was inwardly impressed with how much Thor was speaking so passionately about this, not having expected it over the last couple of days. It showed that the God of Thunder was still the great fighter that he had always been in the past, even after everything else.

Of course, the audience all exclaimed at this declaration, clearly not agreeing with that sentiment (even though Aqua and Ventus were both sure it was true).

"You know what?" Thor asked. "We'll stop him ourselves."

"I am afraid I cannot allow that," Zeus said, gesturing with his hands. He didn't look sorry in the slightest. "This is a secret place known only to the gods and a few Keyblade wielders. You know where we are. The God Butcher could use you to find us. This is no good, even with you having Ventus with you."

Terra frowned, wondering with his friends what connection Ventus had with the past of Omnipotence City.

"So now..." Zeus slowly said, pointing at Terra and Thor. "You must stay."

Terra and Thor frowned as Zeus suddenly backed up.

"Guards!" Zeus shouted.

Two guards carrying shields and spears started walking forward in preparation, while Zeus turned and walked up onto his floating platform to rejoin his Zeusettes. Terra and Thor gritted their teeth in irritation as the guards started to close in.

"Hey!" Valkyrie shouted, getting the two heroes to look at her, Korg, Jane, Aqua, and Ventus again. "Can we do my plan now?"

"Yes," Thor said as the guards got closer. "Rush his bum."

"Kick some ass!" Terra added.

"Hell, yeah!" Jane excitedly shouted as she jumped to her feet.

While Aqua and Ventus jumped to their feet next to her, Jane threw Mjölnir, which flew through the air and rammed into the head of a guard behind Terra and Thor, knocking him to the ground with a few sparks. Aqua, Jane, Valkyrie, and Ventus all charged forward, with Ventus faintly hearing Korg complaining, "You didn't say go" before he slowly started following them.

With a couple of grunts, Thor broke his restraints off of the floor with a few snaps, while guards started charging forward. Terra grunted a few more times, wishing that he was that strong as Thor moved forward, spinning while swinging his electric restraints into the guards to attack. A different guard moved towards Terra and swung his spear. Terra grunted and lifted up his leg, kicking the guard in the stomach and making him drop his spear, which swung through the electric restraint underneath his wrist. While Thor swung his restraints in the faces of two guards, Terra summoned Ends of the Earth and slashed through his other restraint, freeing himself.

"Coming, guys!" Korg called out as he jogged after them.

Jane made her helmet reappear as she, Aqua, Valkyrie, and Ventus charged onto the arena together as even more guards appeared. Having summoned their Keyblades already, Aqua and Ventus swung their blades to intercept the spear swings of other guards before blasting them aside with magic. While Valkyrie pulled out her sword, Jane used a shield to launch herself in the air, spinning a few times while catching Mjölnir. After a few seconds of spinning, Jane landed on the ground, swinging Mjölnir into the floor hard enough to send out electric shockwaves that damaged lots of the guards.

Terra intercepted the strike of another guard before blasting him in the chest with Fission Firaga, knocking him back. Aqua cast a barrier around herself to block an attack, then followed it up with a blast of magic. She blasted Thundaga Shot at another guard before moving next to Terra.

"Exactly how long were you staring at my ass?" Terra asked as he blocked another spear swing.

"Can you blame me?" Aqua asked with a smirk. "You've got a pretty great ass."

Both members of the couple smirked as they continued fighting. Ventus just groaned in annoyance before throwing his Keyblade in Wind Raid. He was already planning on scheduling an appointment with Naminé later so she could erase all his memories of their time here in Omnipotence City.

Jane then jumped to her feet and swung Mjölnir, which got the top of the hammer to break into pieces once again, which flew out and rammed into the bodies of the many guards in front of her, knocking them all aside. Korg then rushed in, finally joining the action on the stage by swinging his club/blaster into the chest of another guard. While Mjölnir reformed and Jane joined Valkyrie in fighting off two other guards, Korg rested his club/blaster on his shoulder and blasted a beam out that hit another charging guard, knocking him to the ground.

Terra grabbed a guard by the shoulder and pushed him down, then kicked him in the chest with enhanced strength, sending him flying. Aqua cast Stop, freezing two guards in their place, then Ventus took them out by using Faith to attack them with pillars of light. Korg blasted another guard off of the walkway and caused him to fall towards the ground far below before turning towards the others.

"Thor!" Korg announced.

He threw his club/blaster through the air, and Thor leaped up, catching it and swinging the club part into the head of another guard as he got close to the stage ground.

Above them all, Zeus just frowned in annoyance as the platform with his throne started to rise up once again. His Zeusettes all milled around at their own manner, clearly not caring about the battle raging below them.

"Korg!" Thor said.

He tossed his friend his club/blaster back, and Korg then got on one knee and swung the club part at the leg of an approaching guard, launching the man forward. Thor grunted as he swung his fist against the guard's face, taking him out and making him fall to the ground.

More and more guards started appearing to fight, but the team continued to take them out. Aqua, Terra, and Ventus started Trinity Limit, casting enough light to both damage the closest guards and blind the many guards still approaching. Jane used that to her advantage, flying with Mjölnir through the crowd and knocking aside lots of them before landing on her feet. She swung the hammer at the heads of the guards closest to her, knocking them aside. Valkyrie was in heavy combat with the guards with her own sword, deflecting their shield strikes before severing one's arm, which sent out more of the material that looked like sand. Valkyrie managed to dodge their strikes before swinging her own into their chests, damaging five in total before standing with her arms to the side, practically taking a shower in the sand-like material.

Terra and Ventus both raised an eyebrow at this before they dodged more spear swings and blasted Fission Firaga out of their Keyblades at the closest guards.

With electricity surging in one of his hands, Thor grabbed one of the soldiers by its chest, then knocked him into another guard, sending that one crashing into a different guard. Still holding the guard's body in his hand, Thor then rose up into the air before slamming it into the floor, sending electricity flying in all directions to take out other approaching guards. Aqua nodded, admittedly impressed with the Thunder God before she blasted Triple Blizzaga at another approaching guard.

Zeus had finally decided that enough time had passed before he lifted up his hand and summoned Thunderbolt within, just as Korg swung his club/blaster into two other guards and sent them flying.

"Val, duck!" Korg instructed.

The Kronan then threw his club/blaster once again, which rammed into the bodies of two guards, taking them out. Valkyrie nodded in appreciation before fighting off a different guard.

As Jane and Aqua deflected the attacks of two other guards, Zeus grunted as he threw Thunderbolt, right towards Korg. The Kronan turned around at the sound, frowning as he looked up at the floating platform. Thunderbolt then flew right into Korg's chest, making him grunt as his torso exploded into pieces of rock that fell to the ground.

Terra, Thor, and Ventus all turned towards the Kronan, frowning in worry.

"Korg!" Thor shouted.

Korg lifted up his arms, showing that only half his chest had been broken in the blast. Of course, his chest then started breaking apart, letting the smaller rocks fall to the ground. Within seconds, his hands had all broken up and fallen to the ground, and his arms started to follow soon after. The Kronan looked up at the others on the stage with a worried look in his eyes.

"Thor," Korg said with a small voice.

Terra, Thor, and Ventus's eyes were wide as they all watched more of Korg's body crumble, which got the Kronan to groan in shock.

"Oh, no," Thor said with despair in his voice. "No. Korg!"

"Thor," Korg said, his clothes falling as his chest, the remainder of his arm, and his legs all broke apart. "I'm... I'm perishing!"

Aqua, Jane, and Valkyrie looked over, their eyes widening in shock. They joined Terra, Thor, and Ventus in watching as Korg's body continued to crumble and break apart before falling onto the ground. Within a few more seconds, Korg had broken apart completely into a single pile of broken rocks and pieces of clothing on the ground.

Ventus gasped in shock, Terra felt sympathy for the Kronan, while Thor turned and glared at Zeus with pure hatred in his eyes.

"Zeus!" Thor bellowed.

Frowning, Zeus held out his hand, which caused the Thunderbolt to return to his hand, still crackling with electricity.

"You're next, Odinson!" Zeus bellowed.

The god of lightning grunted as he threw Thunderbolt down towards Thor. Terra pushed Ventus out of the way, but Thor's eyes glowed blue with his own electricity before he easily caught Thunderbolt, rotating slightly on the balls of his feet. Under Thor's direction, the lighting around Thunderbolt then turned blue. Terra suddenly found being Thor's friend an honor as the Thunder God grunted and turned on his feet again. He threw Thunderbolt with his own strength, which flew through the air and went right through Zeus's chest, stabbing into the back of the throne and making his eyes widen in shock.

"That's the sound of lightning," Thor told him with a triumphant tone in his voice.

Zeus wheezed in pain before he leaned forward too far, falling over the edge of his platform and dropping towards the ground below. The rest of the gods in the auditorium all jumped to their feet in shock as they looked at the falling god of lightning.

Aqua, Terra, and Ventus all softly scoffed, all of them a little impressed with Thor for doing this.

Terra frowned, remembering how he was almost completely naked, save for this stupid toga.

While the gods continued to gasp in shock, Terra turned and grimaced when he saw Thor turn towards the pile of rocks that used to be Korg. The Thunder God had an expression of despair on his face as he kneeled down next to the rocks and placed his hands on the top ones.

"Korgi!" Thor shouted.

Terra grunted as more guards charged in, and he had to defend himself with the Keyblade. He deflected their spear strikes before blasting them with Fission Firaga. He was able to see Aqua blasting Triple Firaga, while Ventus started Sonic Blade, and Jane intercepted some more spear swings with Mjölnir. Terra huffed before looking towards Thor again, seeing him still kneeling next to the pile of rocks. He frowned when he saw Thor brush aside the rocks before pulling out a different, slightly larger set of rocks.

Terra's eyebrows raised in surprise when he saw that this collection of rocks was Korg's relieved face, who suddenly declared that he didn't die.

"This is getting really weird," Terra commented.

The brunette dodged another swing of a spear, then jabbed his blade through the guard's chest. *7*

Thor quickly instructed Korg to call the goats, and the Kronan promised to do his best. He then handed Korg's face to Valkyrie, telling her to guard him with her life. Valkyrie promised she would before trying Korg's face to the back of her head with her hair.

With Korg and Valkyrie moving to their own task, Thor turned to rejoin the effort of fighting. With his eyes glowing blue once again, Thor pushed aside one guard's arm before moving in and wrapping his arms around two guards' backs. He grunted as he threw one aside and another one up, taking them both out. Aqua started Time Splicer, stopping all the guards with Stop and teleporting around them to attack. Once Stop wore off, they all took in the attacks, which took them all out. Jane swung Mjölnir at one guard, then spun on her feet and used the hammer to take out another one.

While Terra cast Meteor to drop a large rock on a group of approaching guards, Korg warned Valkyrie of approaching threats from behind. Valkyrie turned around and swung her sword through the body of a guard, then twirled it around and impaled another one from behind. Valkyrie easily swung her sword and took out lots of guards while Korg repeatedly tried to do the whistle to call the goats. After a few tries, he whistled once again, which released a long, mystical tone, much to the amazement of Terra, Thor, and even Aqua and Jane.

The sound of screaming quickly rang out, and the team and auditorium of gods looked up in the air towards the large, circular window that Zeus's throne was floating in front of. There was a small moment of calmness before the window suddenly shattered as the team's skiff flew in, directed by the goats who ran across the Bifrost from Stormbreaker.

"I did it!" Korg cheered.

"He really did," Terra said with surprise in his voice.

Standing in the middle of a stage and surrounded by the bodies of guards, Aqua, Jane, Terra, Thor, Valkyrie/Korg, and Ventus all turned and watched as the goats flew into the auditorium, bumping into the floating throne and causing it to turn. The skiff then turned in a loop as it got closer to the stage in preparation to pick up the group. Valkyrie nodded at the rest of the group before she leaped upwards, climbing onto the floating throne. They all watched as she moved along the surprised Zeusette's and moved to the throne to grab Thunderbolt.

Once the skiff being flown by the goats got close enough, the team all started jumping to climb aboard. Jane flew up with Mjölnir, Thor surrounded himself with lightning, and Aqua, Terra, and Ventus all leaped up together. Valkyrie moved along the floating platform and stopped at the edge to grasp the hand of a Zeusette to place a kiss against it. The Zeusette blushed, and Valkyrie smiled at her before she jumped off the platform and towards the skiff.

Aqua, Jane, Terra, Thor, Valkyrie/Korg, and Ventus all landed on the skiff at around the same time as it continued to fly through the auditorium. Thor jogged up the length of the ship to where Stormbreaker was resting and placed his hand on it. Lightning surrounded him, making his blue and gold armor reappear in a flash. The goats continued to scream as they flew the skiff down the Bifrost, passing by the two curious Celestials as they went at their highest speed once again. They quickly flew them back through the city before leaving it behind completely, guiding them to their next destination.

As they flew through the void away from Omnipotence City, Terra sighed as he stood next to Aqua and Ventus.

"Let's, uh... Let's never go back there," Terra suggested.

"I agree," Aqua said, frantically nodding her head.

"Yep," Ventus also agreed.

"No arguments from me," Jane agreed with a nod of her own head.

Thor and Valkyrie just shared an amused look at their friends' reactions.

"I'm, uh... I'm gonna go put on some pants," Terra announced, once again embarrassed.

"I'm gonna text Naminé," Ventus said. "Schedule an appointment with her to erase my memories of today."

The two of them turned and started walking towards the small room in the back of the skiff once again. This left Korg, Thor, Valkyrie, and even Aqua and Jane to laugh at their departing friends' reactions.

They decided to take advantage of this humorous moment, since they weren't sure what they were going to face when they found Gorr in the Shadow Realm...

Chapter Text

As they traveled through the stars from Omnipotence City to the Shadow Realm on the goat skiff, the group convened together in the shack on the boat to recuperate. Aqua used her magic to get a spare set of armor for Terra, which he attached to his arm before pressing the button, which made his armor and the cape appear. He nodded gratefully at his girlfriend, while Ventus placed a call to Naminé through the Gummiphone to schedule an appointment to erase his memories.

The rest of the team stood together in the skiff, around the bar in their own ways. Jane sat at a small table with a piece of paper in front of her. Valkyrie stood behind the bar, while Korg's face was placed on the bar, leaning against the wall next to it. Thor stood next to Valkyrie and connected to Axl once again through his magical eyes to check on the kidnapped children.

As Aqua, Jane, Korg, Terra, Valkyrie, and Ventus were gathered together in the shack, they all watched as Thor explained the story about what happened in Omnipotence City to the kids, though they all chuckled a bit over how he intentionally left out Zeus stripping him and Terra naked. Terra was actually grateful for that little detail, but he was still amused at the Thunder God's version of retelling the events.

"And then the goat boat came in, rescued us, and we flew out the window," Thor told the kids through his mental connection. "The end. Another classic Thor adventure."

Terra rolled his eyes in slight annoyance as he remembered their last "classic Thor adventure" at Indigarr.

"Well, you know as they say, never meet your heroes," Thor then told the kids.

"Based on what we saw between Kate and Clint, there might be some truth to that," Aqua commented, knowing Thor couldn't hear.

Terra, Ventus, and even Valkyrie all softly nodded in agreement there.

"But what's important is we are on our way to you right now," Thor then promised. "How are you guys doing? Are you okay?"

Jane softly nodded in appreciation towards the genuine care in her ex-boyfriend's voice towards the kids. Aqua and Terra noticed this, then shared a knowing smirk.

"Well, listen, I know what it's like to be scared," Thor then assured the kids. "And I'll tell you, when I was your age, I don't think I would have been as brave as you."

He paused, while Ventus nodded his head at the way Thor talked to the children. Valkyrie just rolled her eyes, coming to the conclusion that he was lying to try and cheer them up.

"In fact, you might just be the bravest Asgardians I've ever met," Thor told the kids. "All of you. So I need you to keep being brave, all right? And take care of each other. You're a team now. Team Kids in a Cage."

Despite themselves, Aqua, Terra, Ventus, and even Jane smirked at that. Valkyrie just rolled her eyes and lifted up one of her hair braids, pushing it towards Thor's face and flicking it against his mouth and nose.

"Can you do that?" Thor asked the kids. There was a pause, and he started rubbing his nose with his eyes still closed. "I know you can."

Aqua lifted a hand to try and stop Valkyrie, but the king of Asgard just shot her a look. The blunette mage lowered her hand and looked down, nodding as the music continued softly from the speaker.

"Right?" Thor asked, still brushing his nose. "Yeah? ... Oh, thanks, buddy."

Eventually, Valkyrie rubbing the end of her hair into Thor's face finally became too much, and the Thunder God had to brush it a bit more. After a few more seconds, he gasped as he opened his eyes, disconnecting him from the kids trapped in the cage. Valkyrie decided to finally stop, and lowered her hair back down once again. Thor breathed in and out as he readjusted to being on the skiff with the team once again.

Aqua, Terra, and Ventus all frowned at Valkyrie for being rude, while Jane looked at Thor.

"How are the children?" Jane asked.

"As you can imagine, they're a little bit scared because they're kids," Thor explained, gesturing with his hands as he looked between Jane and Valkyrie. "But, I told them that everything is going to plan."

"Oh, so you lied to them?" Valkyrie asked with her hands on her hips.

"We still have a plan?" Jane asked with a confused look on her face.

"Yes, there's a plan," Thor said at the same time Valkyrie said, "There's no plan."

Thor frowned at Valkyrie, as did Aqua, Terra, and Ventus.

"Yes, there's a plan," Thor said.

"No," Valkyrie denied with a shake of her head. "There's no plan. We failed to raise a god army... Korg is dead."

She pointed at the head leaning against the wall.

"He's not dead," Thor denied.

"I'm not dead," Korg agreed.

"Well, he's a head," Valkyrie amended. She pointed at Thor. "And you, you and Terra got properly humiliated."

"No, we got properly naked, which I am okay with," Thor corrected her. He looked at Jane. "Jane?"

"I was... okay with it," Jane admitted with a nod of her head.

"Korg?" Thor asked, looking at the Kronan head.

"I loved it," Korg said with a smile.

"So did I," Aqua said, smiling at Terra.

"I'm not okay with it," Ventus said with a frown.

"Neither am I," Terra agreed with a frown. "I'd like us all to stop talking about it, by the way."

"The point is, we are going to the Shadow Realm weaker than we were before," Valkyrie told the group. "I mean, we're gonna die."

"No one's gonna die, okay?" Thor assured her.

"Really?" Valkyrie asked, a disbelieving tone in her voice.

"Everything is fine," Thor assured her, gesturing with his hands. "We did great back there. We killed Zeus!"

"You killed Zeus," Valkyrie pointed out, gesturing towards him.

"Well, you killed a version of him," Ventus said, remembering their earlier discussion. He frowned. "The universe actually might not miss that version of him, come to think of it."

Aqua, Terra, and even Jane frowned in thought at that part.

"Surprisingly harsh words from you, Sir Ventus," Thor commented with a raised eyebrow.

Ventus frowned in surprise at that. Once again, a little part of him wondered if Dark Vanitas was still milling around inside him or not.

"Whatever the case," Thor then said. "That Zeus's death may or may not be catastrophic for the... whole universe, and sure, that entire god kingdom is probably going to hunt us down for the rest of our days..."

Valkyrie grasped a mug and lifted it in front of herself, while Aqua, Terra, and Ventus all frowned at Thor, wondering where he was going with this.

"But listen," Thor said, pointing at Thunderbolt in front of Valkyrie. "You stole this beautiful weapon."

He picked up Thunderbolt and gestured with it in his hand.

"All right?" Thor asked. "This is the army right here."

He then looked at Thunderbolt in a manner that was clearly fanboyish.

"It's sleek, it's slender," Thor said, praising the lightning bolt. "It's powerful, it's beautiful..."

All of a sudden, the sound of lightning crackling rang out once again, and the entire skiff shifted slightly. Aqua, Jane, Terra, Thor, Valkyrie, and Ventus all looked through the doorway, watching as electricity surged around Stormbreaker at the front of the ship, making it clear that it wasn't happy with the way Thor kept praising Thunderbolt. Terra inwardly winced, remembering how they had learned it was technically sentient back in New Asgard.

"Ah, for you," Thor tried to amend, handing Thunderbolt to Valkyrie. "I love it for you, Valkyrie."

Valkyrie just smirked as she reached and took the golden weapon back from him.

"I mean, it's not really what I'm into because I've got my-my weapon out there," Thor said, his hands on his hips as he looked towards Stormbreaker.

"Nice save," Terra commented.

"Hey, wait a second," Ventus said, furrowing his eyebrows in thought. "Something just occurred to me."

"What is it, Ven?" Terra asked, he and Aqua looking at their friend.

"If we wanted an army of gods on our side, why didn't we just go to Earth 475, V's world?" Ventus asked. "We all heard about that battle where Ares popped up at Wundagore to help V and the rest of the team there, and he apparently mentioned that his version of Zeus was pretty harsh. Why didn't we just head to Earth 475 and look for the gods over there? It sounds like they might be the most serious form of them so far."

Everyone frowned in thought as they realized there was some merit in the blonde's words.

Aqua and Terra felt mixed emotions right now. They were impressed with Ventus for coming up with a decent idea like this, but they were also curious about why he never showed this smarter side of himself so often.

"Do you know where the gods are on Earth 475?" Jane asked, leaning forward in a bit of excitement.

"No," Ventus bluntly admitted.

"Do you know of a way to get into contact with those gods?" Korg asked.

"Not really, no," Aqua admitted with a shake of her head. "V asked for some kind of sign from Ares for years, but he never got it until his life was literally on the line."

"... Is there any way of knowing whether any of those gods besides Zeus and Ares are still alive?" Thor asked, diminishing slightly.

"I don't think so," Terra admitted.

"My friends..." Thor slowly said. "I think we all just answered Sir Ventus's question."

Ventus deflated slightly at the realization that they didn't have an actual way to follow through with that plan he came up with. Aqua patted him reassuringly on the shoulder, as a way of promising him that it was a decent plan. Jane deflated slightly as well, since that was her second chance to meet gods that she remembered to Odin's level diminished, but she shrugged it off. Terra joined Aqua in patting Ventus reassuringly on the shoulder before Thor took the mug from Valkyrie. *1*

"Can I borrow that for a second?" Thor asked, looking out towards Stormbreaker as Valkyrie just smirked to herself.

Grasping the mug, the god of Thunder turned and started walking out of the small room and across the ship to where Stormbreaker was planted. Terra and Aqua shared a look before the former shrugged his shoulders. Terra then nodded at Aqua before he turned and started following Thor out of the chamber and onto the ship's mast, wondering if he was going to have to stop Thor from doing or saying something stupid again.

"Ah, there you are, old friend," Thor greeted Stormbreaker as it continued shooting the Bifrost out. "That was quite an entrance back there."

Watching cautiously, Terra observed as Thor walked up to where Stormbreaker was planted before taking a swig of the drink inside the mug. He looked around, ignoring Terra before he turned to look at Stormbreaker again. Terra raised an eyebrow, wondering just how sentient Stormbreaker was and if it could respond to whatever was about to be said.

"Listen, uh..." Thor slowly told his axe. "Are we good? Yeah? I mean, I know it's a little weird having my ex-weapon around, but come on. Mjölnir, in the past."

He gestured with his hand between himself and Stormbreaker.

"It's you and me now, buddy," Thor promised his axe. "You know what? I think it's time for your first beer. What do you say?"

Terra's eyes widened in concern, now convinced that the liquid within the mug would put out the wave of Bifrost energy being shot out of Stormbreaker. Of course, before Terra could stop him, Thor lifted up the mug and started pouring the beer within onto the back part of the axe, draining the mug as the liquor slid down the back side of the weapon. All of a sudden, the sound of metallic humming rang out, and Terra frowned for a moment.

He swore the ship just picked up a bit more speed as they flew along the Bifrost.

'Oh, dear,' Terra thought. 'I've dealt with drunk gods and drunk Guardians of the Galaxy. I don't think I wanna know what drunk sentient axes are like.'

"Delicious," Thor told Stormbreaker. "Hmm. I'm sorry we've been fighting lately."

He sounded surprisingly tender as he told his axe that, which had Terra raising his eyebrows in surprise. Whether Stormbreaker really was sentient or not, Thor did appear to be genuinely sorry for these actions, which sort of made sense considering the bond they had grown over the years.

Inside the skiff, Valkyrie walked up towards Aqua and Jane. Aqua and Valkyrie then pointedly looked at Jane, informing her with their eyes that this was the right time to act. Knowing that they were right, Jane turned and started to walk out of the bar, moving across the skiff towards where Thor was standing.

Ventus just frowned in confusion as he watched the interaction between Aqua, Jane, and Valkyrie. He then looked at Korg, wondering if the Kronan head knew what had just happened.

Aqua moved to follow Jane, though she pointedly stopped next to Terra and gave him a look. Both members of the couple then glanced towards Jane and Thor. Convinced that this had to be due to the fact that they spent so much time around prying teenagers, Aqua and Terra both wanted to know how things were going to go between the former couple. Terra especially wanted to know what happened, since he had heard way too much of Thor crying over Jane over the years. So, Aqua and Terra moved next to each other and started acting like they were softly communicating with each other, when really they were pointedly glancing towards Jane and Thor. *2*

"Hey," Jane greeted as she walked up to Thor.

"Oh, hey," Thor greeted back, smiling at her with his hands on his hips.

He was a little curious about Aqua and Terra standing a few feet away, but he kept his eyes on Jane. He walked a few paces away from Stormbreaker, joining Jane in standing near the side of the ship. Thor then glanced to the side before looking at her once again.

"It's quite the view, huh?" Thor asked with a chuckle.

"Yeah, beautiful," Jane said, keeping her own gaze on him.

"I just want to say that was very, very impressive, what you did back there," Thor then commented, clearly nervous as he and Jane looked at each other. "You and Mjölnir, you know."

Instead of saying anything, Jane just looked at him intently, and Aqua was inwardly wondering if she was trying to tell Thor about her cancer, or if she was remembering why she fell in love with him. She chalked it up to a bit of both as both members of the former couple just looked at each other, with Thor muttering slightly as he tried to think of something else to say.

"Yeah," Thor softly said.

He and Jane then each took a step towards each other, which got Terra to feel hopeful once again.

"Space dolphins," Thor then suddenly said, clearly still nervous.

"What?" Jane asked.

Thor cleared his throat and lifted up one hand.

"There's... You should see some space dolphins..." he said, pointing in the void of space behind them.

"What?" Jane asked, very confused.

Aqua and Terra were also confused, so they risked their hiding space as they turned and looked through the void of space behind them. They joined Jane and Thor in looking through space, watching in amazement at the sight of giant, glowing, blue space dolphins moving through the void out in the distance. The space dolphins let out a distant cry that echoed out towards them, which only added to their amazement at the giant creatures.

"Oh, wow," Jane softly said, gasping in amazement again.

"Yeah," Thor mumbled, scratching the side of his head.

"Beautiful," Jane commented as she and Thor walked to the edge of the ship together. "Wow."

Aqua and Terra reluctantly pulled their gazes away from the flying space dolphins and towards the couple standing next to the edge of the boat again, both of them hopeful for the best.

"So beautiful," Thor said. "So rare. Very loyal creatures. They mate for life, in packs of six. Just... love."

Aqua and Terra smiled slightly at the beauty in that.

The moment was cheapened slightly when they heard the sound of Korg suddenly start singing.

"With a hey ninny-nonny and a fair finny-fonny," Korg sang.

Aqua and Terra shared a look before looking inside the bar once again. Ventus just looked confused while Valkyrie leaned on top of the bar, looking very bored as she held a microphone up to Korg's face, allowing him to sing into the device, which is what caused his voice to echo through the speakers within.

"Ooh, brother man, you look so hot," Korg continued to sing. "I wanna get in your rocks. When we get together, we're gonna get it on. And we're all gonna make some babies, uh."

Aqua and Terra just shared a look before Aqua waved her hand. Though Korg had stopped singing altogether, Aqua's magic surged through the skiff, disconnecting power from the microphone and effectively shutting it off completely. Terra let out a small sigh as he placed an arm around Aqua's shoulders, giving her a side hug that she quickly leaned into, which was nice and tender even within the slight confines of their armor.

In the skiff, Valkyrie still had a bored expression on her face as she took the microphone away from Korg's smiling rock face. Ventus just raised an eyebrow as he looked between the two of them, wondering if there was a point to that song.

"That is the song that my dad sang to my other dad when they were courting," Korg told them. "When two Kronans wanna make a baby, they get together inside a mountain, and they go down a little lava pool, and they hold hands over the hot lava, and then, after a month, they pull their hands apart and they find they've created a beautiful new Kronan baby boy."

Valkyrie just looked bored the entire time as she rested her head in her hand, staring forward in clear disinterest. Ventus could admittedly understand it this time, because this seemed like a really weird time to be discussing the breeding habits of Kronans.

"Mm, fascinating," Valkyrie commented. "And hot."

She and Ventus did chuckle at that, though.

"Did either of you ever have a special someone before?" Korg asked, looking between Ventus and Valkyrie.

"Not really," Ventus admitted with a shrug of his shoulders. "Before and after the Ark, there weren't really a lot of people around that I developed feelings like that for. I'll admit, though, that the closest I ever got to experiencing feelings like that towards someone was with a girl in my group of friends named Skuld."

He looked up as a wave of nostalgia ran over him. Ventus let out a small chuckle as he remembered Skuld, and all the good times that the two of them had together, even in the limited time they spent in Daybreak Town before it fell. He had no idea where she was or even if she was still alive, but in the end, Ventus hoped for nothing but the best for Skuld. *3*

"What about you, Val?" Korg asked. "A special someone?"

Valkyrie let out a small huff that almost sounded like a chuckle.

"I've had so many special someones," she remarked. She looked to the side. "But I don't know... I don't know if I want that again."

"Is that because you lost your girlfriend in battle and never forgave yourself?" Korg asked her. "And now, you're just trying to find answers in the bottom of a bottle, or some meaningless dalliance, which only serves to numb the pain instead of bringing you real happiness or satisfaction?"

The entire time he spoke, Valkyrie just ignored Korg and started preparing herself another drink at the bar. Ventus just raised an eyebrow at the incredibly blunt nature that Korg spoke in, which seemed a little excessive, even for him. Valkyrie just chewed on an olive as the Kronan finally stopped talking.

"Yeah," she said, looking down. "Something like that."

"Hmm," Korg hummed in understanding.

Deciding to test things, Ventus reached forward and patted Valkyrie on the shoulder in a form of reassurance. Valkyrie paused and looked at him, then gave him a small, grateful nod before she went back to work in preparing a drink. Ventus tried not to huff in surprise, since he had completely expected her to rip off his head with her bare hands at his sudden action.

He supposed that she was starting to warm up to him.

Outside on the skiff, a surprisingly calm silence had passed between the group as they stood together on the ground of the boat. Aqua and Terra stood near the small shack, keeping their eyes on Jane and Thor. The current couple watched the former couple as they continued to look at the space dolphins together, enjoying the beauty and grandness of the sight in front of them. The space dolphins continued to call out, something that Aqua, Jane, Terra, and Thor all thought was beautiful.

"Beautiful," Thor said. "Beautiful things."

He looked at Jane and started to breathe heavily, making it clear that he wasn't just talking about the space dolphins. Jane caught onto this, as well, and turned slightly to look at him. She tried to look forward in an attempt to ignore her feelings, but her gaze was quickly drawn back to the Thunder god.

"Jane," Thor said with a pant.

"Thor," Jane said.

"I wanna feel shitty about you," Thor then quickly said, turning to look at Jane again.

Aqua and Jane both frowned in confusion, while Terra inwardly grimaced, remembering Peter Quill's words from back on Indigarr.

"What?" Jane asked.

Thor paused as he realized how that sounded. He stuttered to himself slightly, and Terra inwardly encouraged his friend to just speak from the heart.

"I wanna feel shitty about something... and I think it's you," Thor eventually managed to say.

"Not really getting better," Jane informed him with a soft shake of her head.

"It's not, is it?" Thor asked, clearly agreeing with that sentiment. "Damn it."

He held up a hand as it came to him, while Aqua and Terra both decided that they should have kept the Thunder god away from the beer.

"I wanna..." Thor slowly said. "My friend, he told me that it's better to feel shitty... from losing love than it is to never experience love and to feel nothing at all, to feel empty, and I think he was right..."

Aqua and Jane both raised their eyebrows slightly, coming to realize what Thor was saying. Terra inwardly sighed out in relief, glad that the Thunder god had enough sense to explain his words this time.

"... Which is how I've been feeling for a long time," Thor admitted. "I've pushed people away, kept them at a distance, because of the fear of that loss, but I don't wanna do that anymore. I don't wanna live like that."

Aqua nodded her head, finally understanding what Thor was trying to say. She was admittedly impressed with how profound it really was, while Terra softly sighed in relief once again. Jane also nodded in understanding, figuring out the deeper meaning of Thor's words.

"Better to close off your heart than feel the pain," Jane said with a familiar tone in her voice.

Aqua and Terra both raised an eyebrow, wondering if Jane was also guilty of doing that.

"That's what I did, yes," Thor said with recognition in his voice. "I closed off my heart and-a... and I meditated. Did you meditate?"

"No," Jane admitted with her eyebrows furrowed. "It's so boring."

"It actually made me more angry," Thor admitted with a chuckle. "But I'm tired of giving myself over to the idea of fate and trying to figure out what the universe wants for me. I wanna live in the moment, I wanna live like there's no tomorrow, throw caution to the wind. I want..."

He gave a short pause as a look of acceptance slowly appeared on Jane's face. She slowly started to look excited for the same idea, which got Terra to smile while Aqua grimaced in remembrance.

"I wanna be with you, Jane," Thor finally admitted.

"Ah," Jane said, resisting the urge to smile.

"And I'd like to know what you want, too," Thor admitted with a smile. The smile slowly vanished. "But... First I'd like you to be honest with me."

Aqua and Jane both frowned slightly at that.

"Why did you really go looking for Mjölnir?" Thor asked.

Aqua's eyes widened slightly, while Terra nodded, wanting to know that same thing. *4*

"... I have cancer," Jane admitted, the hope sadly disappearing from her eyes quickly.

Thor's eyebrows furrowed, and his and Terra's eyes both widened in surprise. That was much worse than either of them had thought. Aqua grimaced, knowing this wouldn't be good for Thor since he just poured his heart out to Jane.

"Wh-what?" Thor softly asked.

"I'm sick," Jane said with a sad look in her eyes.

"Wait," Thor softly said as Jane suddenly looked down. "What's happening?"

"Bye," Jane said, suddenly feeling really awkward.

Aqua and Terra grimaced, knowing that this had to be tough for both of them to experience. Jane then started walking around Thor, clearly trying to escape what she just admitted in Thor's declaration of love.

"Uh..." she awkwardly said, clearing her throat.

"No, no, no," Thor quickly said, a stern tone in his voice. "Jane, Jane, Jane."

"What did I say?" Jane asked herself with sadness in her voice.

"Wait, wait, wait," Thor quickly said. "Jane."

"I didn't mean that," Jane slowly, frantically said as she turned to face Thor again. "Just kidding. I... Don't have cancer."

She gave a small scoff, still clearly feeling awkward over what just happened.

"Let's go smash something," Jane suggested, still desperate to change the subject.

"Jane, I'm so sorry," Thor told her with a sad expression on his own face.

"Don't be sorry for me," Jane requested with her eyes closed.

Terra then turned to look at Aqua, wondering if she also knew about this. Aqua gave him a soft nod, which got him to let out a small huff, feeling sad for his friends once again. Aqua even pulled her phone out to check and see if Merlin, Wanda, Wong, or even Yen Sid returned her texts about a magical cure for cancer. She let out a small, sad sigh when she saw no response from any of them.

"When did you find out?" Thor asked Jane with concern in his voice.

"Um..." Jane slowly said. She looked at Thor with tears in her eyes. "Like six months ago. I was just feeling tired, and then... they told me I have Stage Four. Get my affairs in order. But I really did hear Mjölnir calling for me, so... I thought maybe, if science isn't working, maybe... Viking space magic."

She let out a shaky breath with an awkward smile on her face.

"And that's why you came to New Asgard for Mjölnir," Thor assessed.

Terra grimaced, now wondering if his friend wished he had been wrong earlier when he realized that there had to be a different reason for Jane looking for Mjölnir. Vanitas had admitted to having that feeling a lot in the past when he found out something horrible involving their friends.

"Yeah, I thought the hammer maybe could cure me," Jane admitted. "And... I think it's getting better."

Thor nodded in understanding before Jane looked to the side.

"Maybe not," Jane remarked.

"Jane, none of us know how long we have," Thor reminded her. "We don't know what tomorrow holds. And Mjölnir... Mjölnir chose you. And it chose you because you're worthy. And that's something. When I first met you, I was unworthy. I was unable to pick up that hammer. But you taught me there is no greater purpose than to help those in need. You made me worthy."

Jane looked at Thor in total awe as he said this, as did Aqua and Terra. This was the most coherent, and most adult thing either of them had heard the Thunder god say in months, so they couldn't take their eyes off of him, even if it did make it obvious that they were spying on their friends.

"So whatever you wanna do, we can do together," Thor promised Jane.

Jane softly nodded in understanding.

"Okay," she said.

"Now what do you wanna do?" Thor asked.

He gave her the most supportive look, making it clear that he was with her, whatever her decision was.

"I wanna get those children back to their families," Jane said. Thor nodded in understanding. "I wanna finish that mission."

Thor smiled in pride.

"Spoken like a true Thor," he complimented.

"Hmm," Jane hummed in agreement.

"How do you feel now?" Thor asked.

There was a small pause, but Aqua and Terra could still see the affection within both Jane and Thor's eyes towards each other.

"So scared," Jane admitted. "How are you feeling?"

"Shitty," Thor admitted.

Aqua and Terra both closed their eyes and softly chuckled, having expected that completely.

"How shitty?" Jane asked.

"Really shitty," Thor admitted.

"Well, then..." Jane slowly said.

Aqua and Terra both opened their eyes, then watched with smiles on their faces as Jane stepped up to Thor to close the distance between them. Jane then leaned up and pressed her lips against Thor's, wrapping her arms around his neck to pull him in a bit closer. Thor happily reciprocated, grasping her sides and returned the kiss. The two of them stood there for a moment, moving their hands along each others' arms as they deepened the kiss.

Aqua and Terra cheapened it slightly by snapping pictures with their Gummiphones. Jane and Thor did flip the two of them the bird, but they continued to ignore them as they pressed their foreheads together, relishing in this moment as much as they could.

While they had their little moment of getting back together, Aqua and Terra shared a small, content sigh before they leaned into each others' embraces once again. They each lazily wrapped an arm around each others' shoulders as they stood together, watching their friends.

At the same time, they both couldn't help but mull over Thor's words, about how they didn't know how much time they had together and how they should relish in it together. They had lost a lot of time together due to Xehanort's machinations, and while none of them aged during that time, they still lost ten years together. Neither of them wanted to ever experience anything like that ever again, so they both inwardly promised themselves to make sure it never did happen again. *5*

"The hell that we went through because of Xehanort..." Aqua slowly said, She turned to look up at Terra. "Never again, right?"

"Not if I have anything to say about it," Terra promised. "I care about you too much to wanna lose time like that again."

Aqua and Terra both smiled before they stared out in front of themselves together.

"... I wanna feel shitty about you," Terra said with a smirk.

"... Never say that again," Aqua requested, still smiling as she still stared forward.

"Okay," Terra said with a nod of his head, also still smiling and looking forward.

Both members of the couple let out a small sigh together, relishing in this moment together before they had to resume the mission against Gorr...

Inside the shack, the remaining three members of the group were still gathered together, with Valkyrie still leaning against the bar, and Korg's head still leaning against the wall. Ventus decided to use his short height to his advantage and was currently sitting on top of one of the tables, swinging his legs like a bored kid. He inwardly wished that he remembered to download Classic Kingdom games onto his Gummiphone, but he shrugged it off as he continued passing the silence with Korg and Valkyrie.

"I wonder what those two are talking about out there," Korg remarked to the others, referring to Jane and Thor.

"Yeah, they're not talking," Valkyrie informed him.

"Oh!" Korg said, his and Ventus's eyes widening in realization.

"Oh, I'm so convinced it had to do with her seeing Thor naked," Ventus declared.

Valkyrie smirked in amusement at that.

"Do you think those two will ever hold hands over a hot lava pool and make a little Thor baby?" Korg asked, glancing to the side to try and see the newly reformed couple.

"Oh, that kid would have muscles on his muscles," Ventus commented, frowning at the very thought.

Valkyrie let out a small sigh, lifting her head up off of the bar and resting it in her hand once again.

"It's unlikely, sadly," Valkyrie informed them.

Ventus frowned in curiosity.

"Hmm, that's too bad," Korg remarked. "I think Thor would make a great dad."

"If he stops drinking every day, yeah," Ventus agreed.

Valkyrie smirked slightly in amusement at Ventus's words before she leaned over. She furrowed her eyebrows at the sight that met her through the door, which got her to jump to her feet. Ventus watched in surprise before he jumped to his feet, as well. Valkyrie grabbed Thunderbolt and slid it onto her back, then picked up Korg's head. She carried it on her arm as she and Ventus walked through the doorway out onto the skiff.

Jane and Thor were still kissing, while Aqua and Terra continued to stand with soft smiles on their faces as they stood together on one side of the skiff, still relishing in their moment together. Ventus felt bad about the fact they were about to break up their friend's happy moment, because they were coming into contact with the Shadow Realm.

"Hey," Valkyrie said to get the group's attention. "We're here."

Jane and Thor reluctantly stopped kissing and turned to look at her. Aqua and Terra did the same thing, the smiles vanishing from their faces before they looked at the king of Asgard. The group all followed her gaze to look in front of the skiff, seeing the Shadow Realm coming into view. Aqua, Jane, Korg, Terra, Thor, Valkyrie, and Ventus all mentally prepared themselves for whatever they were about to face in the Shadow Realm, hoping they could stop Gorr together and save the children...

Chapter Text

Standing together in their various forms of armor together, Aqua, Jane, Terra, Thor, Valkyrie, and Ventus continued to watch as the Shadow Realm came closer and closer, with Valkyrie still carrying Korg's head in one hand. Aqua, Terra, and Ventus all tilted their heads to the side, intrigued by the fact that the Shadow Realm resembled a slightly smaller version of the moon, complete with a white and gray landscape, and very little light around it.

As the goats continued guiding the skiff to the Shadow Realm, Aqua, Jane, Terra, Thor, and Ventus all looked down at their arms, noticing that the closer they got to the Shadow Realm, the more the colors around them faded into black and white. Aqua, Terra, and Ventus inwardly thought about the world known as Timeless River that Vanitas told them about as the colors eventually vanished completely, leaving them all in black, white, and gray.

"Where did the color go?" Korg asked.

"Well, uh..." Aqua slowly said, gulping in slight fear. "Some worlds have different guidelines and change the new inhabitants up in a way to match those guidelines."

"And that is... kind of terrifying," Valkyrie remarked.

Even she was unnerved by the way they had just lost color.

Jane and Thor all breathed out as they inwardly prepared themselves, watching as the goats flew the skiff up once again, moving upwards in a manner that revealed a white sun, bathing them all in a white light, a great contrast to all the black and gray. Valkyrie kept a tight grip on Korg, while Aqua, Terra, and Ventus once again started to prepare themselves for landing as they got closer and closer to the Shadow Realm.

All of a sudden, the front of the skiff crashed into the planet with a thud, making everyone aboard frown in surprise. The goats started screeching again as the skiff was held perpendicular in the air by the front, before it suddenly tilted down and landed roughly on the ground of the planet. Dust was sent flying all around from the impact of the ship landing on the rocky ground of the Shadow Realm, shaking for a moment before everything settled down.

Once the ship was secure, everyone grabbed their gear once again. Jane grabbed Mjölnir and slipped on her helmet, Thor detached Stormbreaker from the front of the skiff, Valkyrie secured Korg's head on her back before grabbing her sword and Zeus's lightning bolt, and Aqua, Terra, and Ventus all summoned their Keyblades. The six members of the team that could walk all climbed out of the ship and slowly walked across the rocky landscape, passing by the skiff and the goats as they sniffed around.

The team was surprised once again over just how small the world was as they walked together across the barren landscape, which rotated the world underneath them with each step. Aqua, Jane, Terra, and Ventus all decided not to question how they could breathe, putting it up to the magical influences they currently had. They walked with Thor and Valkyrie together along the rocky ground, soon noticing a cage a short distance away that they recognized from when Gorr had attacked New Asgard and stolen the children.

They were all dismayed to see that the cage was wide open, completely empty, and there was no sign of Gorr or the children anywhere.

"They're not here," Jane observed.

Jane and Thor then led the way across the landscape towards where the cage had been left, followed by Aqua and Terra, and Valkyrie and Ventus took up the rear. The six of them walked to the cage, then started walking around it, observing it and hoping they could find even a clue about where Gorr and the children were.

"Where are they?" Thor asked, trying to keep himself calm.

"No idea," Terra admitted. "Gorr must've moved them somewhere."

"So we'll just have to look around and see if we can find them," Ventus said, trying to keep a positive attitude even though he was scared.

With that, the group slowly continued their progression through the Shadow Realm, looking around to try and find the slightest sign of Gorr or the kidnapped children.

As they walked together, Thor and Jane brushed their hands against each others' for a moment, with Jane breathing heavily to sate the apprehension of the obviously oncoming fight. She then reached to Thor with a pinkie, and he wrapped his fingers around her pinkie to offer her assurance as they continued through the Shadow Realm. Terra and Aqua had done something similar, looking around for a moment as they tried to keep looking out for signs. While walking, Aqua switched her Keyblade to the opposite hand, then grasped Terra's hand in her own, wanting something to ground her as they walked through this barren wasteland. Terra said nothing, just squeezing her hand in assurance as they continued together through the Shadow Realm.

Ventus noticed this interaction between the two couples and sighed out through his nose in slight envy. Thor and Jane, Terra and Aqua, Riku and Naminé, Vanitas and Yuffie, Cloud and Tifa, Wanda and Vision, Peter and MJ, Harley and Cassie, Hope and Scott, Hercules and Megara, Sora and Kairi... even Zack had Aerith. When was he going to find a chance at love like all of his friends? *1*

Eventually, the group soon came across a large, handmade shack that appeared to be made up of old cables, tarps of plastic, and large strips of fabric. The group all shared looks of confusion before walking up to the shack, with Thor pushing aside a piece of plastic tarp to lead the way in. Jane, Aqua, and Terra moved in with him, moving aside the plastic tarps, as well, with Ventus and Valkyrie carrying Korg took up the rear. The group made their way through a short hallway of tarps within the hut, coming out into a circular, central area that the group all entered.

This chamber still appeared to be made of various forms of plastic or fabric in the walls, allowing a light breeze to flow into the room. There were doorways covered with more tarps that hid the pathways from them, a strange set of pillars near one side of the room, and a strange stand near the center of the room.

"What the hell is this place?" Thor softly asked as they walked around the room together.

"You're askin' me?" Terra asked with a huff as he followed Thor around part of the room.

As Ventus followed Valkyrie carrying Korg down another part of the room, Aqua followed Jane towards a different doorway hidden by a hanging plastic. Jane then reached forward and softly brushed aside some of the plastic to try and look inside, finding the hall completely dark. Jane then lifted up Mjölnir and made a bit of electricity appear to offer some light. Aqua joined her, holding up her left hand and making a small orb of light appear, joining Jane's electricity in illuminating some of the room and bringing a bit of color to both of their bodies. Aqua and Jane nodded at each other as they walked through the plastic cover and down the hallway.

Winds outside of the shack blew the walls a little rough around them, but Jane and Aqua ignored this as they continued down the hallway, hoping to find something helpful.

Terra, Thor, Valkyrie, and Ventus continued together through a different section of the shack, walking through a circular doorway and brushing aside the fabric in their way as they walked together into the room. Terra and Ventus looked around once again, raising an eyebrow at the circular opening in the roof, before they continued following Thor and Valkyrie.

Aqua and Jane, meanwhile, had reached another smaller chamber of tent-like walls around them that were still being rustled by the wind outside. The two of them walked up to one wall, seeing metal plates attached to metal poles in the side of the wall. Narrowing their eyes at the metal plates, Aqua and Jane used their lights to illuminate the plates and read some inscriptions on them. They were surprised to see various star symbols, a large, circular symbol that looked like the Bifrost, and a large figure that was clearly meant to represent Eternity.

Aqua and Jane's eyes widened as they took in the picture of Eternity together, seeing an axe that was clearly Stormbreaker firing energy of the Bifrost into Eternity in the carvings. The two of them quickly realized what this meant.

"Bifrost is the key?" Jane asked.

"That's why Gorr wanted Stormbreaker in New Asgard," Aqua assessed. "With Heimdall's sword having been lost, the only form of Bifrost left is that axe."

Aqua and Jane then slowly looked up, both of them sensing something off. Aqua grimaced as she felt a strong darkness nearby, which was only growing closer by the second. Their eyes widened in realization before they turned and started running out of the room. The shadows noticeably got darker just as they left the room, making it clear that Gorr was close.

"It's a trap!" Jane urgently shouted, brushing aside pieces of fabric in their way.

She and Aqua charged into the chamber with the circular hole in the ceiling, where Terra, Thor, Valkyrie, and Ventus turned towards them. Jane wasted no time for an explanation and snatched Stormbreaker out of Thor's hands. He frowned in confusion before Jane spun in a circle, swinging the axe, and throwing it up into the sky. Terra and Thor watched as the axe flew through the air above their heads, leaving their sights quickly as it disappeared into the void of space.

With the shadows growing just across the room, Thor decided not to question it, especially with the claim of it being a trap. Mjölnir flew back into Jane's hand as she and the others turned towards the doorway in ready stances. Thor just gripped his hands into fists as Aqua, Jane, Terra, Valkyrie, and Ventus all stood together with their weapons raised in preparation to fight. *2*

Zeus's lightning bolt started glowing in Valkyrie's hand, offering a small smidgen of light that the rest of the group was grateful for as more and more shadows started to originate from the doorway. These shadows formed a solid shape, transforming into tentacles as more and more shadows spread across the room. Terra and Ventus grimaced, inwardly remembering what Cloud and Vanitas had described about their last meeting with that Sephiroth guy as the tentacles spread out a bit more. Valkyrie and Ventus stayed alert, though Korg just kept his mouth shut as he was tied to her waist.

Keeping their eyes on the doorway to watch as Gorr slowly appeared in it, Terra and Thor then slowly inched towards Jane and Aqua, with Aqua keeping her Keyblade raised while Jane kept Mjölnir ready to attack.

"I understand that there's some form of trap," Thor muttered. "But would you mind at least telling me why you needed to throw Stormbreaker out the window?"

"He needs it to open the Gates of Eternity," Jane told him.

"Specifically, he needs the Bifrost," Aqua added.

"Oh, shit," Terra said, his eyes widening slightly.

"Good call, then," Thor remarked.

The group watched the doorway, watching as Gorr slowly came more and more into view through the black tentacles in the hallway. His white robes were revealed after a moment, then his arm brushed aside the tentacles on the walls to reveal his face. Terra and Ventus both grimaced over the fact that given how the shadows were, his entire head looked like a skull, but they brushed this aside. Luckily, this only lasted for a moment. As he walked into the chamber, more lights flowed down through the hole in the roof, illuminating Gorr to the group.

Aqua, Jane, Terra, Thor, Valkyrie, and Ventus all frowned at Gorr as the God Butcher stepped forward, then reached up and brushed back his hood, revealing his gray skin, orange eyes, and the patches that looked like scars along the top of his head. He had an ugly expression on his face as he glared at the whole group, which unnerved Ventus slightly, though he tried to keep his face level.

Jane grunted as she threw Mjölnir, but Gorr easily sidestepped the attack. Aqua blasted Firaga out of her Keyblade at the same time Ventus threw his Keyblade in Wind Raid, but Gorr waved his hand, and tentacles flew down and intercepted both attacks. All six members of the team tried to rush forward to attack, but Gorr waved his hand, and tentacles shot out from the back walls and started grabbing them all. Zeus's thunderbolt was torn right out of Valkyrie's hand, as was Aqua's Keyblade as the two of them and Jane were pulled up.

The tentacles managed to wrap around everyone, including Thor and Ventus, and lift the two of them up with the rest of the group. Terra, however, managed to dodge the tentacles, then grunted as he cast the quick spell of Quake, which sent a burst of rock out of the ground and knocked aside Gorr. Sadly, this did nothing against his concentration of keeping the others restrained. While Thor and Ventus cheered for Terra from their restrained positions, Gorr just glared at the Keyblade Master as he lifted up his blade in preparation.

Just as Terra started swinging his Keyblade to attack with Ars Solum, more tentacles shot down and wrapped around Terra's torso, making him yell out. More tentacles shot down and attached to Terra's wrists and ankles, pulling him up and making him drop his Keyblade, which disappeared in a flash of light. Just like with Thor, Terra was lifted up by his restrained ankles and wrists, keeping him lifted up into the air with a yell. Terra gritted his teeth in irritation, while Gorr tilted his head and frowned at him.

"I respect that," Gorr remarked. "But you're not who I'm here for."

With that, the God Butcher turned away from Terra and moved towards where he had restrained Thor. Terra gritted his teeth once again Gorr exhaled deeply, slowly walking up to where Thorr was restrained by the other tentacles. The Thunder God continued to struggle within the tentacles as Gorr slowly walked up to him, then leaned upwards so that their faces were close together.

"We really have to stop meeting like this," Thor quipped to try and lighten the tension.

It didn't work.

"Call the axe," Gorr creepily demanded with a smile.

"I'll call the axe when you call the dentist," Thor remarked, trying to keep himself calm.

"Call... the axe," Gorr repeated, somehow saying it in an even creepier manner.

"Tell me where the children are or I'm gonna kill you," Thor growled out, struggling against the tentacles restraining him.

Instead of replying to this, Gorr just waved a hand and made a tentacle shoot down that wrapped around Thor's mouth, keeping him from talking. Aqua, Terra, and Ventus admittedly weren't surprised by this in the slightest, given how Thor kept trying to act in defiance against the God Butcher. With a wave of Gorr's hand, more tentacles wrapped around Thor's wrist to try and help him along. Thor strained a bit more as the tentacles forced open his hand, prying his fingers apart to try and push Thor to summon Stormbreaker again.

"Call the axe," Gorr demanded again.

Thor just grunted and pushed against the tentacles, breaking the vines and closing his fist stubbornly, much to Gorr's displeasure. Gorr just narrowed his eyes at Thor as he, Aqua, Jane, Terra, Valkyrie, and Ventus all continued struggling against the vines restraining them.

"Some god you are," Gorr taunted with a smirk.

Thor gasped as the tentacle disappeared from around his mouth, then he closed his hand into a fist again.

"You know nothing of being a god," Thor growled.

Gorr just made the tentacle appear around Thor's mouth again. He then slowly stepped back as Aqua, Jane, Terra, Thor, Valkyrie, and Ventus all continued glaring at him.

"You went to the gods for help, and they did nothing," Gorr remarked. "We're alike in that sense."

"He's nothing like you," Valkyrie snapped to Gorr with a scoff.

"What was that?" Gorr asked, smirking in a frightening manner at Valkyrie.

The God Butcher chuckled and lifted up a hand, waving a single finger. This pushed Valkyrie towards him, moving her forward so that she was now face to face with the God Butcher. Ventus's eyes were wide, convinced that had he been in this position, he'd be terrified. He admired Valkyrie's strength for being able to face him like this without even a smidgen of fear on her face.

"I said he's nothing like you," Valkyrie whispered back.

"That's right," Gorr replied, his eyes wide while gesturing with his hands. "I'm not a hypocrite. I'm truly creating peace."

"Peace?" Valkyrie remarked. "You're murdering innocent gods."

"Innocent?" Gorr asked. He frowned, then smirked. "Are you a Valkyrie?"

Aqua, Terra, and Ventus shared a look of raised eyebrows at that.

"Yes," Valkyrie confirmed.

Gorr just laughed.

"How exciting!" he praised with a smile. He sighed out and softly shook his head. "Oh, the gods failed you, too, when your sisterhood was led to slaughter."

"Don't you dare speak..." Valkryie started to snap.

Gorr just waved a hand, making another tentacle appear over her mouth.

"Did you pray to the gods..." Gorr slowly said. He made a face of despair like he was crying, which somehow made his speech even creepier. "When the women you loved laid dying on the battlefield?"

Valkyrie whimpered slightly at that, a tear falling down her eye and over the tentacle on her cheek. Aqua, Jane, Terra, Thor, and Ventus all felt sympathy for her.

"Did you beg them for help as your family was massacred?" Gorr taunted. As to be expected, with the tentacle over her mouth, Valkyrie couldn't reply. "Good chat."

With a wave of Gorr's hand, Valkyrie was pulled backwards and held captive next to the wall.

"Did you really have to go there?" Ventus asked with a huff. "All the stuff she's been through, and you do that?"

"I just wanted to prove what begging to the gods really brings in the end," Gorr replied. He slowly stepped over to Ventus and softly shook his head. "But you... Did you pray to the gods when the darkness started to overtake Daybreak Town?"

Ventus's eyes widened at that. Aqua and Terra both huffed and shot their friend worried looks as Gorr stepped up to him and softly shook his head.

"One of the new Foretellers after the ancient Keyblade War..." Gorr slowly told Ventus. "But really having been controlled by the Darkness. Did you pray to the gods when you found out that you had been controlled and murdered your friend's sister?"

Ventus huffed and looked down, the shame and despair of waking up from that dream now fresh in his mind.

"Did you pray to the gods when you found out about that?" Gorr taunted. He chuckled. "Did you ask them for mercy as your students all fell into the darkness, leaving you and your friends to preserve yourselves in the ancient Ark? Did you beg them for help when Xehanort found you, extracted Dark Vanitas from your heart, and your heart was shattered and put to sleep by the χ-blade?"

"We didn't need help from the gods!" Aqua snapped in defense of her blonde friend. "Clearly, whatever happened with the Ark since he's still here, as were two of his friends! And he didn't need help from the gods when his heart was damaged, either, because Sora was there for him!"

"Yeah," Ventus agreed with a nod of his head. He frowned at Gorr as the man just gave him a bland look. "You might think you're making a point about the gods being a big problem, but we were able to get by on our own without them. The Ark worked and kept me and the others alive, and I still had help, even without the gods. I never asked for the gods, because I never needed their help."

"Well, I'm glad that you're so confident," Gorr sarcastically replied. He waved his hand, and a tentacle appeared over Ventus's surprised mouth. "So, I won't concern myself with you for now."

Ventus just raised an eyebrow before Gorr slowly walked away from him and towards Aqua. *3*

"What about you?" Gorr taunted, smirking as he walked over to the blue haired mage. "Did you pray to the gods when you returned to your home world and discovered the wasteland it had been turned into?"

"I didn't need to," Aqua stubbornly shook her head. "V and I followed through my Master's instructions and went through with the fail safe."

"Yes, but your master had also been destroyed," Gorr taunted, still smirking. "The closest thing you had to a father, and he was gone, same as your brothers and the man you loved, then you were trapped within the darkness, by yourself for ten years. Did you beg the gods for help when you were trapped with the monsters of the darkness on your own for all that time?"

"I still didn't need to," Aqua stubbornly declared with another shake of her head. "I might have wavered once or twice, but I still had the assurance of my friends to bolster my confidence and push me to keep fighting."

"At least, until the fighting stopped," Gorr taunted, still smirking. "Then, you found yourself pulled into the darkness."

Aqua grimaced, remembering that specific day, too.

"You were driven to the darkness by Xehanort, and whether or not you managed to escape, the darkness still had a hold of your heart," Gorr added. "Did you pray to the gods when you had been failed by everything else around you? And by that point... Had you even wanted to pray to the gods?"

Aqua just huffed and looked down to ignore his eyes at that.

"You wouldn't have anyway," Gorr added, still smirking. "Because at that moment, you knew the truth and accepted that they weren't really the deities you had always been told."

Aqua opened her mouth to respond, but then a tentacle shot around her mouth, sealing it shut and keeping her from being able to speak. She and Ventus both struggled against their restraints before Gorr slowly walked towards Terra.

"And you..." Gorr slowly told the brunette.

"Oh, shut up," Terra said with annoyance in his voice. Gorr frowned. "What do you really think I'd have been able to pray to the gods for, even to ask them for help for? I was accidentally party to the murder of my own Master, someone who was like a father to me. Then the psycho behind it filled me with so much darkness that he possessed me and used my body for evil for so long. I couldn't even age because my body was used for his machinations, which included many different attempts at galactic genocide. What really could I have prayed to the gods or tried asking them for help for?"

Gorr just chuckled to himself, seeing this as a victory in his own manner.

"All I really could do is hold on and wait for the right moment to escape and fight back," Terra remarked to the God Butcher. "So, I did, and waited for years until the moment finally presented itself to me. I got back my heart, my body, and all my friends. I fought back, and I..."

All of a sudden, another tentacle appeared out of nowhere, wrapping around Terra's mouth and cutting off his speech. He joined Aqua, Thor, Valkyrie, and Ventus in struggling against the tentacles, all while Gorr just looked at him with a bored expression on his face. He pointedly turned in a circle, looking between Aqua, Terra, and Ventus.

"Are all you Keyblade wielders this naïve and annoyingly peppy?" Gorr asked, rolling his eyes at the trio of heroes.

Aqua, Terra, and Ventus shared looks over all the tentacles around them. *4*

Thor seethed through the vines around his mouth as he glared at Gorr. The God Butcher slowly walked towards the side of the room where Jane was being restrained struggling against her own tentacle restraints. Thor's glare grew angrier by the second as Gorr got closer to Jane, which had Aqua, Terra, and Ventus all looking at the scientist in worry.

"This one..." Gorr remarked as he got closer to Jane. She turned her head away from him, but he walked around her, anyway. "You're interesting."

Thor was lowered to a point where his body was now perpendicular with the ground, his feet floating just above the floor. He continued glaring at Gorr as the others kept looking in worry at Jane.

"You're different," Gorr told Jane. Jane grunted as she tried to escape, struggling against the tentacles as Gorr got closer to her. "Yeah. Aw..."

Thor continued looking at her in worry as Jane breathed shakily through the tentacles. Valkyrie finally looked up again and joined Aqua, Terra, and Ventus at looking at the others in worry as Gorr moved in close to Jane again.

"You're dying," Gorr assessed. He lifted up his hands and placed them on Jane's head in a "comforting" manner that made her jump. "I'm sorry. We're on the same path."

The worry continued to fill Thor's eyes at the sight of Gorr's hands being that close to Jane's face.

"Just as the sword empowered me, the hammer empowered you," Gorr assessed. He softly shook in his head in a manner that actually did look sympathetic. "But it did nothing to change your fate. The gods will use you, but they will not help you." He brushed Jane's face once again. "There is no eternal reward for us."

Jane tried jumping in her restraints in a manner that she hoped was threatening, but the vines keeping her down didn't allow her to move too much. Gorr then just waved his hand, and the tentacles dragged her backwards, pulling Jane out of sight within seconds as she grunted once again. Gorr then smirked and waved his hands, which made the tentacles restraining Aqua, Valkyrie, and Ventus pull them backwards, as well, dragging them into darkness.

This left Terra and Thor as the only two restrained within the room. The two of them shared a look, then glared at Gorr together. Gorr just gave a small smirk as he strolled up to Thor.

"She'll be gone soon," Gorr told the Thunder God as he got close enough. "And you know who won't help her? I'll give you one guess."

Terra and Thor both grunted through their restraints, both of them trying and failing to get out of the tentacles. Gorr just chuckled in amusement, then started walking around Thor, moving around so that he walked upwards, moving behind Thor's head with the help of the tentacles. Terra huffed as he looked around, faintly hearing the sound of quiet whispering, which made him a little nervous.

As Gorr continued around Thor, the tentacles suddenly pushed Aqua, Jane, Valkyrie, and Ventus back into the room, holding them up in a manner that they were presented to Thor and Terra. Gorr then sniffed, sighed out in contentment, and crouched down, wrapping his arms around Thor's shoulders in a lazy hug with a small smile on his face. Terra glared at the God Butcher for this as he and Thor continued looking at their captive friends.

"I know your pain," Gorr whispered to Thor. "Love is pain."

The sound of the tentacles suddenly tightening made Terra look up. He looked towards all his captive friends in worry, already knowing that their restraints had to be getting worse.

"I had a daughter once," Gorr suddenly announced. Terra's eyes widened, specifically at the "had" part, so he turned and looked at the God Butcher. "I put my faith in a higher power hoping it would save her, and she... died."

The God Butcher had a blank look on his face, then he slowly sighed out, no doubt thinking about the despair he felt in that moment.

The group all shared small looks of realization, quickly putting together what this meant. Whether it was before or after she died, Gorr must've gotten the Necrosword, and the corruptive abilities of the sword must have pushed him into deciding to take his anger and rage towards her death and push it towards all the gods. Because that one god had failed him to save his daughter, he now believed that all gods had to share the same punishment of death.

Aqua, Terra, Thor, and Ventus once again all inwardly cursed just how potent corruptive objects really were. *5*

"Now I understand," Gorr admitted. "My daughter is the lucky one. She does not have to grow up in a world of suffering... and pain... run by wicked gods." 

Aqua, Jane, Valkyrie, and Ventus all shared looks before they continued struggling against their restraints. The four of them looked forward once again as Terra looked at Gorr. The God Butcher smirked again and lowered his head down so that it was right next to Thor's.

"Choose love," Gorr instructed. "Call the axe."

When Thor still refused, Gorr then lifted up his hands, and the sound of whooshing and indistinct whispering echoed around them again. The sound of tentacles tightening followed by crunching then echoed around the room, and Terra and Thor's eyes widened. Aqua and Jane were both groaning through their restraints, their voices muffled by the tentacles but keeping them from crying out in pain. Terra and Thor's eyes widened as they realized quickly what Gorr was doing.

"Call... the axe," Gorr ordered.

The tentacles started to crunch and tighten around Valkyrie and Ventus, too, giving them pain-filled looks in their eyes as they got tighter. Valkyrie gave Thor a wide-eyed look and tried to shake her head to tell Thor "no," but she stopped with how tightly the tentacles were restraining her head. Terra and Thor's eyes widened, and they both grunted through their restraints at the sight of the people they cared about being tortured to try and force Thor into coercion.

After a few moments, the sound of Jane gasping and choking through the tentacle around her mouth got Thor to growl in anger. Terra wasn't surprised when he glanced at the Thunder God, watching as he looked down at his hand and slowly opened it up, causing little tendrils of blue lightning to appear within his palm. While Terra would usually try to be a voice of reason, with Aqua and Ventus being similarly restrained and choked in front of them, he was all for Thor following through with his anger this time around.

As Jane and Aqua continued to choke in front of them, Thor continued to growl for a moment before his eyes glowed before turning completely blue. Terra inwardly prepared himself for a fight as Thor snarled once more before Stormbreaker suddenly flew down and entered his hand. Though, Thor went farther than Gorr would have wanted, because enough lightning surged around him to knock him away, destroy the entire shack and all the tentacles, and even spread all around at least half the Shadow Realm, sending debris flying and making dust fly up all over.

Terra thought it was probably a little excessive, but he wasn't going to complain too much when it saved them all. Now, he just had to hope they could survive the next few minutes...

Chapter Text

The entirety of the Shadow Realm continued to shake for a few moments after Thor's attack with lightning. The pint-sized planet continued to shake from the impact of the lightning strike, sending a bit more dust flying in all directions from the ground. Gorr's shack had been completely destroyed from the attack, sending him and the members of the team sprawling to recover.

Aqua had reached into her Items pocket and threw a Mega-Potion into the air, which restored some of the health necessary for herself, Ventus, and Terra. The trio of Keyblade wielders all nodded their heads at each other before looking around together.

Aqua raised an eyebrow over the way that the shack had been destroyed in a single strike of lightning. Ventus let out a huff of breath when he saw Jane, Thor, and Valkyrie carrying Korg recovering just a short distance away. Terra's eyes narrowed when he saw Gorr pop up from a shadow next to a raised rock, holding the Necrosword by the blade in his hands. The God Butcher jammed the blade into the ground underneath him, which caused the shadows to start spreading across the ground underneath him, bringing about eerie moans and snarls from creatures as tentacles and large spider legs slowly grew from the shadows.

Terra shook his head before a flash of light appeared over his head, forming his helmet once again. He turned and started charging across the landscape, using Slide to move across the rocky ground, and knock aside a couple of monsters. Aqua and Ventus watched in worry as Terra gripped his Keyblade in both hands, then yelled out as he charged at Gorr. Gorr huffed and twirled the Necrosword around to grip it by the handle.

Aqua and Ventus watched for a moment as Terra and Gorr went into a form of swordplay. Gorr grunted as he swung the Necrosword in large arcs at Terra, who intercepted with his Ends of the Earth Keyblade before striking in retaliation. The two of them continued to intercept each others' attacks, though Terra was able to strike Gorr in the sides more than once, making him grunt in pain from being hit. Gorr then snarled before disappearing in a shadow, then reappearing behind Terra. The God Butcher cackled as he grabbed Terra, then threw him up into a flip. Terra grunted as he landed on the ground, then rolled out of the way as Gorr tried stabbing where he had been. Terra then jumped back up to his feet and swung his Keyblade once again, locking weapons with Gorr as they continued to duel. *1*

Looking around, Aqua and Ventus took a moment to look between where Terra was battling Gorr and where the rest of their group was still recovering. Seeing that Terra was actually doing pretty well, the two Keyblade wielders nodded their heads in agreement before jogging towards Jane, Thor, and Valkyrie. They hurried up towards the three of them as Valkyrie walked forward, Jane stepped off of a large rock with her helmet on, and Thor appeared from behind that same rock. Aqua and Ventus nodded at the three of them in greeting.

"You okay?" Thor asked, pointedly looking at Jane.

"Yeah," Jane promised.

The sound of shadow creatures snarling garnered their attention. Aqua, Jane, Thor, Valkyrie, and Ventus looked across the landscape, hearing the shadow demons slowly drawing closer as Terra and Gorr continued to battle just across the rocky landscape. The strange sun had even started spinning around above the landscape, changing the structure of the shadows on the ground.

"Mm, I wanna kill this guy," Jane muttered.

"I think you might wanna get in line," Valkyrie remarked, gesturing towards Terra as he swung his Keyblade at Gorr's head.

"I do, too, but we have to take him alive," Thor told them. Jane and Aqua both looked at him. "He's our only link to finding those children."

The sun continued to spin around, still changing the placement of the shadows. The sound of monsters snarling once again garnered their attention. Aqua, Jane, Thor, Valkyrie, and Ventus all turned around, seeing images of the monsters becoming a bit more clear. One was circular with many spikes, one had tentacles, and the majority of them all had spiked and scaled bodies that all looked very imposing and dangerous.

As the rest of the group continued to observe the shadow monsters, Gorr smirked at Terra before disappearing into a shadow on the ground. Terra's eyes widened in surprise, then he looked around, grimacing at the sight of all the monsters around them. Turning on his feet, he watched with Thor as Gorr reappeared across the landscape, within viewing distance of the Thunder God. Gorr looked pointedly at Thor, frowning at him while pointing at Stormbreaker.

As the monsters continued to close in on the rest of the group, Thor lifted up Stormbreaker and pointed at it. He then gestured to Gorr with one hand and gestured with his fingers to give a clear message of "come and get it." Gorr accepted this challenge, adjusting the Necrosword in his hand and charging forward.  Thor then charged forward to meet Gorr in battle as Aqua, Jane, Valkyrie, and Ventus all charged forward to fight the shadow monsters.

One shadow monster tried to attack Terra, but he ducked underneath its claw strike before raising his Keyblade to cast Meteor Crash. A large rock fell from the sky and smashed into a larger shadow monster, making it whine as it was damaged. Ventus then cast Tornado, causing a large collection of wind to fly across the ground and pick up two shadow monsters. With the monsters restrained, Aqua cast Fission Firaga into it at the same time Jane blasted lightning out of Mjölnir. The fire and the lightning mixed within the tornado, burning the shadow monsters and killing them quickly.

Thor, meanwhile, charged at Gorr and the two of them swung their weapons towards each other. The sharp end of Stormbreaker crashed into the Necrosword, causing such a large shockwave of energy that the entire ground shook once again, sending bits of dust flying in all directions again. This made Ventus trip, but Aqua helped him stay on his feet as Terra blasted Fission Firaga at another shadow monster. Gorr and Thor kept their blades intersected, with lots of lightning surging around Stormbreaker. Thor grit his teeth and grunted repeatedly as he tried to push against the Necrosword, though he didn't get much give.

Gorr then twirled the Necrosword, brushing aside Stormbreaker before lifting up his blade and swinging at Thor's head. The black blade barely missed Thor's neck, which made him grunt. Thor swung Stormbreaker towards Gorr, but the God Butcher backed up to dodge the attack before Thor twirled his axe once again and tried swinging it with the blade covered in lightning. Gorr caught the blade of the axe with the Necrosword and pushed down, ramming them both into the ground. Thor then elbowed Gorr right in the head with lightning, sending Gorr skidding across the ground away, though he used the Necrosword to slow his path. Gorr pulled the Necrosword back out of the ground and lifted it up in preparation as Thor also lifted Stormbreaker.

Just a short distance away, Jane dodged an attack from another shadow creature and landed on the ground, sending the pieces of Mjölnir flying towards another monster. A creature then lunged at her from behind, and she yelled out as she pressed the top of the hammer's handle against its chin to stop it. The pieces of Mjölnir flew back, shattering the monster's head to pieces as the hammer reformed in Jane's hand. Jane then spun Mjölnir by the strap and quickly jumped up into the sky once again, blue lightning surging around the weapon.

Meanwhile, Ventus rolled on the ground to dodge another set of shadow monsters charging at him. He grunted as he performed a combo attack against one monster before jumping out of the way of a claw strike of another. Landing on his feet, Ventus then twirled his Keyblade up and lifted it into the air, casting Faith and making pillars of light appear and spin around. The pillars repeatedly struck the shadow monsters and knocked them around before joining together above Ventus's Keyblade, then releasing their combined energy and knocking aside all the shadow monsters. Ventus huffed before he turned and started running across the landscape of the shadow realm again.

Aqua cartwheeled away from a particularly large shadow monster, hating the way that it reminded her of the Dark Hide she encountered in the Realm of Darkness. The monster snarled as it lunged towards Aqua, then she grunted as she lifted up her Keyblade in defense. The jaws of the monster ended up being locked by the top and bottom of Stormfall, making it snarl in irritation. Aqua just huffed, lifted up her other hand, then grunted as she jabbed into its mouth, making a giant shard of ice appear that stabbed through the monster and quickly destroyed it in a wave of dust. Aqua huffed as she pulled her Keyblade out of its mouth, then turned towards another charging shadow monster.

Just a shorter distance away, Valkyrie ran across larger rocks as she moved to get away from a larger shadow monster that had large legs and spikes along its body. Carrying the glowing thunderbolt, Valkyrie did a few flips across rocks before backflipping and landing up on the monster's head. She then grunted as she jabbed the thunderbolt into the monster's head, making it screech before its head exploded, sending blood and bits of flesh flying. Valkyrie then leaped off of the monster as its carcass dropped to the ground. She slid across the rocky ground before charging towards another one.

Terra even got in on the action with his own Keyblade. He struck a larger shadow monster before knocking it aside with a strong punch, sending it reeling. Terra then grunted as he converted his Keyblade into Giga Cannon, then lifted the large blaster up into his hands and pointing it at the monster. Just as the shadow monster recovered, Terra fired Giga Cannon, burning right through the monster's body and making it squeal as it dropped to the ground and died. With the shadow monster dead, Terra converted Giga Cannon back into his Keyblade and charged across the landscape, wanting to join Thor in fighting Gorr.

The group continued across the landscape of the Shadow Realm together, each of them fighting off various shadow monsters of different sizes as they moved together around the landscape. Valkyrie ended up getting struck near the parked ship by a shadow monster, which made her drop Korg's face. The wounded Kronan landed on the ground just as a shadow monster burst through the ground, snapping the ship in half and destroying it. The goats screeched loudly in displeasure, but one of them snatched up Korg's face in its teeth. Korg thanked the goat before it crashed into a shadow monster and ran along the Shadow Realm. *2*

The goats screeched as they carried Korg's face, both of them desperately trying to get away from the monsters still surging around.

Throughout the whole business of fighting the shadow monsters, Jane and Valkyrie managed to move towards where Thor was still fighting Gorr. Thor swung the flat of the axe into Gorr's head, releasing orange sparks as the God Butcher was sent flying backwards. He landed roughly on the ground, but jumped to his feet just as Valkyrie moved towards him with the thunderbolt. Valkyrie yelled out as she swung the thunderbolt, but Gorr swung his sword in retaliation, intercepting her strike just as Jane landed next to Valkyrie. Jane swung Mjölnir twice, but Gorr intercepted it with strikes of his own, performing a strong enough one that knocked her back a bit.

Thor then rushed in and swung Stormbreaker again, hitting Gorr with the flat once again and sending him flying. Valkyrie then jumped in as he landed on his hands and knees, and yelled out as she jabbed down with the thunderbolt, stabbing Gorr in his shoulder blade. He yelled out in pain, gritting his teeth as a bit of blood came out of his mouth. All of a sudden, another shadow monster appeared that snatched Valkyrie by her shoulder, pulling her up and sending her flying with a yell.

Gorr pushed himself to his feet as more shadow monsters appeared, which Jane and Thor turned towards to fight. Just as Gorr huffed in exertion, Aqua, Terra, and Ventus all leaped up from the sky and landed right in front of him. The trio of Keyblade wielders all stood in their battle stances, frowning in determination at the God Butcher. Gorr just sighed out, appearing to be more annoyed than angry at the sight of them. Still, he lifted up the Necrosword and held it up in preparation to fight.

Gorr immediately swung the Necrosword and sent a wave of dark energy towards the trio. Aqua, Terra, and Ventus all leaped out of the way of the energy, then Ventus rushed in with Sliding Dash, striking Gorr and damaging him a bit. Aqua then blasted Triple Blizzaga, all of which Gorr slashed through with the Necrosword before Ventus performed a combo attack against his back. Just as he recovered from the attack, Terra lunged forward with Zantetsuken, performing a very large slash that performed a good amount of damage to the God Butcher.

Gorr then snarled and waved the Necrosword, which made tentacles appear out of the ground that started reaching for the trio. Terra and Ventus both yelled out as their wrists were restrained, leaving them both struggling to get free. Aqua dodged the attacks from the tentacles, then rushed in and performed her own combo attack against Gorr. The God Butcher grunted, then grit his teeth as he started swinging the Necrosword. Aqua blocked one of the strikes with her Keyblade, then retaliated by lunging in with Blitz, performing two strong strikes against Gorr, but he disappeared before the third strike made impact.

Gorr then suddenly appeared behind Aqua and snatched her by the back of her neck. Aqua yelled out in surprise before Gorr lifted her up, then slammed her into the ground hard enough to crack the rocky floor, making her grunt in pain. Terra grit his teeth in anger before suddenly lifting up his arms, easily snapping the tentacles that were restraining him, which had Ventus raise an eyebrow. The blonde wasn't that surprised when Terra rushed in and immediately performed Ars Solum, repeatedly lunging and slashing his Keyblade at Gorr and knocking him around.

Looking down, Ventus grunted as he spun his Wayward wind, using it to slash through the tentacles restraining him. He rushed forward and grasped Aqua's shoulder, asking if she was okay as he helped her to her feet. Terra then used Quake, making boulders burst up out of the ground and knocking Gorr into the air. With the God Butcher still dazed from the attack, Ventus cast Aero as he fell, causing the winds to pick him up and knock him around a bit more. Aqua then yelled out and cast Blizzaga, hitting Gorr right in the back as he dropped through the air, damaging him even more before he hit the ground.

Terra nodded at Aqua and Ventus before Gorr stood back up. The God Butcher snarled in anger before twirling the Necrosword once again in preparation. The trio nodded their heads once again before turning towards the God Butcher once again.

Gorr once again swung his sword to make a wave of dark energy fly out that the group worked to dodge. Then he immediately waved his hand to make more tentacles appear that they also worked to dodge. Of course, Gorr then rushed in and started swinging the Necrosword once again, which Aqua, Ventus, and Terra all worked to dodge. This allowed a tentacle to wrap around Aqua's torso and pull her backwards with a yell. Gorr then swung the Necrosword again, hitting Terra in the head with the butt of the handle and knocking him back. Ventus raised his Keyblade in time to block a sword swing, then rushed forward to attack with Counter Rush in retaliation.

Terra grunted before swinging his Keyblade, slashing through the tentacles restraining Aqua and getting her free. Aqua nodded in gratitude before turning towards Gorr with Terra just as the God Butcher smacked Ventus in the face with the flat of the blade, knocking him aside with a grunt. Frowning for their friend, Aqua and Terra immediately rushed forward together, with Aqua blasting Fission Firaga while Terra threw his Keyblade in Strike Raid. Both attacks hit Gorr and knocked him back a bit, and Ventus nodded in gratitude for their assistance.

Gorr then grunted as he started swinging the Necrosword once again in an attempt to attack, but Terra caught the blade with the teeth of his Keyblade. Ventus then attacked with Quick Blitz at the same time Aqua blasted Triple Blizzaga, both of them damaging Gorr and knocking him back a bit from the attacks. Aqua, Terra, and Ventus then got together as patterns of light appeared on the ground for Unity Limit. The three of them waited a moment before raising their Keyblades up, releasing a large orb of light that released enough energy to damage Gorr even more, ending the fight. *3*

As Aqua, Terra, and Ventus continued fighting Gorr, the rest of the group worked to keep fighting off the shadow monsters. Thor threw his electricity covered axe at one monster and took off its head before Stormbreaker flew back into his hand. He then turned towards Jane as she threw Mjölnir at one shadow monster's head, smashing it to mush. Of course, then another shadow monster swung its tentacled arm, knocking Jane aside and sending her stumbling across the landscape. She managed to catch Mjölnir and used it to brace her landing, then grunted as she pushed herself to her feet.

Of course, then Jane grunted again as she dropped back down onto her knee, immediately worrying Thor.

Aqua, Terra, and Ventus all raised their Keyblades in preparation to fight Gorr again, but the God Butcher disappeared into another shadow before tentacles appeared that started grabbing their wrists once again to restrain them. Gorr reappeared as the trio of Keyblade wielders struggled against their restraints. Of course, then Valkyrie jumped down and started attacking him once again, swinging the thunderbolt and intercepting his swing of the Necrosword. She kept swinging the thunderbolt even as Gorr carried the Necrosword in his opposite hand by the blade and twirled around before grasping the thunderbolt, himself.

Valkyrie spun on her feet to attack, but Gorr disappeared into another shadow and reappeared right behind her. The God Butcher moved almost at lightning speed as he snatched the thunderbolt from Valkyrie's hand and stabbed her in the back with it, making her eyes widen in shock.

"Val!" Thor bellowed in despair.

Aqua, Terra, and Ventus's eyes had also widened as Gorr pulled the thunderbolt out of Valkyrie's back and let her drop onto the ground. Gorr tossed aside the thunderbolt as Thor started charging forward. Of course, more tentacles appeared that wrapped around his wrists and torso and pulled him back to restrain him. Thor grunted in exertion as he tried to fight back as Valkyrie groaned in pain, writhing on the ground from her stab wound.

Ventus huffed as he suddenly rolled forwards, escaping the tentacles restraining him and hurrying towards Gorr. The blonde hero yelled out as he swung his Keyblade at Gorr, who easily sidestepped each of the attacks. Appearing to be bored with Ventus, Gorr just twirled the Necrosword around and intercepted the strike of Ventus's Keyblade. He then grunted as he jabbed down, stabbing Ventus in the leg right through his armor and making him yell out in pain. *4*

"Ven!" Aqua and Terra shouted in wide-eyed horror.

Ventus groaned in pain as the Necrosword was pulled out of his leg. His Keyblade vanished as he dropped to the ground, clutching his leg to try and quell the damage.

"We gotta get them out of here!" Jane urgently announced to Aqua, Terra, and Thor.

Thor grunted as he released electricity from Stormbreaker, which surrounded him and burned down the tentacles restraining him. Terra followed his example, tearing the tentacles apart before helping Aqua get free. Jane then lunged forward with Mjölnir, flying towards their friends. Thor frowned deeply at Gorr as the God Butcher grabbed the Necrosword again and slowly walked forward. Terra landed next to Thor with his Keyblade drawn again. Thor's eyes were blue as he shot a large beam of electricity out of Stormbreaker and towards Gorr, and Terra joined him by shooting a beam of light out of his Keyblade.

The two energies met in the air as they flew at Gorr. Gorr raised the Necrosword and held it in front of himself as the light from Terra's Keyblade and Thor's lightning got close enough. The Necrosword easily intercepted the strikes, keeping the energies from hitting or damaging him.

While they held off Gorr, Aqua and Jane hurried over to the wounded forms of Valkyrie and Ventus, kneeling down next to their friends to help them. Jane slowly reached down to grab Valkyrie as Aqua did the same thing with Ventus.

"Hey," Jane told Valkryie. "I got you."

"You're gonna be okay," Aqua promised to Ventus as he grit his teeth in pain.

Jane wrapped an arm around Valkyrie's torso as Aqua lifted up Ventus, bracing him so he was on her back. Jane then lifted up Mjölnir, pointing it foward and going into flight with Valkyrie under her arm. Valkyrie had grabbed the thunderbolt and carried it with them as Aqua jogged forward, still carrying Ventus as they ran towards Thor and Terra together.

Terra and Thor, meanwhile, were still holding off Gorr together. The lightning from Stormbreaker and light from Ends of the Earth continued to harm Gorr even with the Necrosword raised in front of him in defense. Not relenting in their attacks, Terra and Thor continued to shoot their energies, which slowly burned the sides of Gorr and continued to damage him. The God Butcher yelled out in pain for a moment as the energy continued to strike him before he suddenly dropped to the ground. With that, Terra and Thor both stopped firing their energy at Gorr together, though Terra still looked at the God Butcher cautiously.

Of course, he didn't get to think about this for too long, as the rest of the group had gathered together around him and Thor. Jane had landed with the wounded Valkyrie, Aqua landed with the wounded Ventus, and the goats had even landed behind them with Korg's face.

"Hey, guys, we're here," Korg greeted. "Come on, let's go."

"Stormbreaker, take us home," Thor requested.

"Hope it works this time," Aqua remarked, working to keep Ventus awake.

Thor ignored her as he lifted up the axe and pointed it in the air. Bifrost energy immediately surrounded the entire group, rising up into the air and slowly forming the vortex.

Sadly, Gorr then appeared through the energy and snatched the handle of the axe. Thor grunted from this as the rest of the group was quickly pulled up. The goats, Aqua, Jane, Korg, Valkyrie, and Ventus all yelled out as they were dragged up by the Bifrost, while Thor kept a tight grip on his axe. Terra grabbed onto Thor's shoulder to keep himself restrained to try and help. Gorr somehow managed to keep a tight grip on Stormbreaker, which also kept Terra and Thor restrained above him.

Through the bright Bifrost energy, Terra and Thor glared down at Gorr as he yelled out, working to keep Stormbreaker in his own arms. He even made more tentacles appear that gripped onto the sides of the axe and keep it in his own hands. Terra tried summoning his Keyblade and blasting Gorr, though the energy of the surging Bifrost continued to drag him and Thor upwards, making it difficult to concentrate. Terra and Thor both yelled out as they tried to hold on, but the energy of the Bifrost pulling them in the opposite direction was too strong.

With one strong pull of his arms and tentacles, Gorr managed to snatch Stormbreaker out of Thor's hands. This sent Terra and Thor flying up through the Bifrost, both of them yelling out as they were forcibly pulled away from Gorr and out of the Shadow Realm.

With the group gone, Gorr slowly looked down at Stormbreaker, a victorious look in his eyes as he rested the head of the axe on the ground. He then slowly walked away, dragging the top of Stormbreaker against the ground as he summoned the Necrosword back into his hand, knowing that his victory was close at hand...

Chapter Text

Earth

New Asgard

The Bifrost from Stormbreaker ended up taking the group all the way across the stars, returning them at the blink of an eye to Earth and New Asgard. The rainbow bridge flew as fast as light through the void of space and burned onto a part of the grass just outside a smaller part of the village. The goats fell out first, screaming loudly as they rolled on the ground, with one of them dropping Korg's face along the way. Jane and Valkyrie followed, dropping Mjölnir and the thunderbolt as they rolled in the grass. Aqua and Ventus grunted as they followed, and Terra and Thor landed last as the rainbow bridge faded behind them.

The group all groaned and panted in pain together as they processed what just happened. Valkyrie had blood on her lower lip as she laid back on her side. Ventus was breathing in and out, keeping his hands on his leg to try and stem the pain of his stab wound. Aqua was next to him and gave him a look of sure concern. Thor and Terra pushed themselves up onto their hands and knees and looked around. While Terra's gaze landed on his friends, Thor's eyes narrowed on Jane when he saw her wearing simple clothes, her hair a short, brown color and her skin unnaturally pale.

Thor watched in concern as Jane slowly pushed up onto her hands and knees and started crawling in a desperate manner towards Mjölnir, but she only got a few paces before groaning in exhaustion and dropping to the ground. Thor huffed as he stood up and walked over to Jane in worry, while Terra jumped to his feet and hurried towards Ventus and Aqua.

Given that Valkyrie and Ventus were wounded and Jane appeared to be too weak to stand, the group didn't hesitate to start their way together towards the closest hospital. Thor lifted up Jane in his arms and carried her while Terra picked up Ventus, and Aqua helped Valkyrie to her feet. Terra easily carried his blonde friend as they hurried together to the hospital, wanting to get them all treatment and care for their wounds.

Later on, the group felt a little guilty for forgetting about Korg and the goats, but they felt better when they heard that they were all okay.

With their armor removed, Valkyrie and Ventus were taken to different rooms to have their wounds attended to, while Jane was changed into a hospital robe as the staff tried to scan and assess her body. At Jane's insistence, Thor reluctantly parted from her and went towards the others, joining Aqua and Terra in watching out for Valkyrie and Ventus.

While Thor entered Valkyrie's room, Aqua and Terra entered Ventus's room and looked over their blonde, younger (looking) friend. Wearing a hospital shirt and shorts, Ventus winced as the medics used standard hospital procedures to tend to the hole in his leg where he had been stabbed by the Necrosword. Sadly, there was a black outline around the wound, and small lines spreading out from the outline to his leg.

"This is most likely part of the curse of the Necrosword," a female doctor told them. "The wound appears to open up again almost as soon as we close it."

"Now I see why V kept telling me not to get stabbed," Ventus admitted with a wince.

"Don't worry," Aqua promised. "I called in help."

Terra raised an eyebrow at that before an orange, circular portal appeared right next to them. Terra jumped in surprise at the sight, but he calmed down when he saw Wong step through, followed by a male sorcerer carrying a blue bag in his hand. Wong nodded at the doctor and other medics in the room before his own medic closed the portal behind them.

"Sorry it took so long," Wong told them. He nodded at Terra and Aqua. "My friends."

"Wong," Aqua said, nodding back. "So, you have the salve that can restore anything?"

"Specifically, restore the wounds granted from cursed weapons," Wong corrected her.

The medic he brought opened up his bag, reached inside, and pulled out a set of bandages and a bright green tube. The medic opened the tube and poured the contents onto a bandage that he then pressed to Ventus's leg. Ventus grimaced at the feeling as the medic continued his work.

"This salve will mend his wound from the Necrosword," Wong explained. "The curse was slowly affecting him, and had we not gotten here sooner, it would have become irreversible. With the curse not having spread much from his wound, the salve can disperse of its energy and heal his wound within just a few hours."

Ventus sighed out in relief and leaned backwards in the bed, glad to hear that he was going to be okay.

"Thank you, Wong," Terra said, him and Aqua giving the Sorcerer Supreme grateful looks.

"It was no trouble," Wong promised as the medic continued mending Ventus's wound. "Just make sure you finish off the Necrosword. Between that and the Darkhold, I've really had enough with cursed objects." *1*

"Understandable," Aqua admitted with a nod of her head.

The Asgardian doctors all nodded their heads, deciding that their services weren't needed, anymore, with the Sorcerer medic having appeared. They left the room as the medic continued tending to Ventus's wound, promising to check up on him later. As Wong continued to overlook the situation, Aqua and Terra then stepped to the side, walking out the door and into the hallway together.

"Glad he's gonna be okay," Terra remarked with a nod of his head.

"So am I," Aqua agreed with a huff. "But we still have a job to do involving Gorr."

"I know," Terra agreed. He sighed out and looked at the door. "But I don't wanna leave him alone here while he's still recovering."

"Neither do I," Aqua said with a small shake of her head. "But Jane appears to be too tired to keep going, and Valkyrie just got stabbed. That means that one of us will have to go with Thor and stop the guy."

"Yeah, it seems like it," Terra said, placing a hand on his chin in thought.

He thought for a moment before nodding his head, coming to the right conclusion.

"I'll..." Terra started to say.

"I'll stay," Aqua interrupted him with a nod of her head.

Terra blinked, because he was about to say that.

"You're the one with greater fighting experience," Aqua told him.

"Yeah, but you've fought through stronger odds than I ever have and still came out on top," Terra pointed out with a frown. "You became a master well before I did, so I think it's clear who's the stronger of the two of us."

"You only didn't become a Master that day because of Xehanort, remember?" Aqua asked. She huffed and looked up in annoyance. "You and Donald keep getting the wrong idea from Xehanort interfering with Mark of Mastery exams." *2*

She shook her head before looking at Terra once again.

"You're the one who also has more experience fighting alongside Thor, after all the training you've done together to help him get back in shape," Aqua added. "Out of the two of us, you're probably the better option to fight alongside him against the God Butcher." She smirked and placed a finger on Terra's mouth just as he tried to talk again. "Don't argue with me. I made the mistake of not trusting you all those years ago, and I promised myself that I'd never make that mistake again. I trust you, and I trust that you can do this. Go help Thor save all the gods while I stay here and watch over Ven."

Terra was silent for a moment as he processed this request from Aqua. He inwardly sighed out, already knowing from the look in her eyes that she was set on this plan, and wasn't going to stop no matter what he said. Of course, with the faith that she displayed for him in her eyes, Terra was sure that he could actually succeed at this task as she believed he could. So, Terra sighed once again before leaning forward and pressing his lips against hers. The two of them stood together, kissing for a long moment together before they slowly stepped back, sharing small smiles once again.

"You always know what to say," Terra remarked.

"That's 'cause I know you so well," Aqua replied, still smiling. She patted him reassuringly on the cheek. "Now, you go and help Thor take down that God Butcher."

"You got it," Terra promised. He turned and slowly started walking away. "Give my best to Ven."

"Punch Gorr in the face for me," Aqua requested.

"Got it," Aqua and Terra simultaneously said.

While Aqua returned to Ventus's room, Terra walked down the hallway provided to him to look for Thor. He wasn't that surprised that when he got close enough to Jane's room, he could hear Thor talking with a doctor. Though, once Terra turned a corner and found Thor and the doctor talking in front of the vending machine, he was a little worried about the fact that the doctor had a grim look on her face.

"...at a rate that none of us have seen before," the doctor explained just as Terra stepped up next to Thor. "Look, there are other more aggressive forms of treatment we can try, but something's affecting her body's ability to fight the cancer."

Terra frowned in confusion at that as Thor furrowed his eyebrows, clearly realizing something important.

"I'm sorry, Thor," the doctor said, giving him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder.

Thor slowly looked at where the doctor stood as she left while Terra continued to frown in confusion.

"I-I don't understand," Terra said. "What the heck is happening?"

"Something bad," Thor said. "Mjölnir gives Jane the power of Thor, but at a limitation. Her body is putting more energy into fighting as the God of Thunder... leaving the cancer in her body free to ravage her immune system."

"Oh, my God," Terra said, his eyes widening in shock and concern.

Terra wasn't surprised in the slightest when Thor slowly turned around, then grunted angrily as he threw a fist into the vending machine. He was surprised, though, when the glass shattered, and the front of the machine broke, causing many of the packaged snacks to fall out. Now a little embarrassed for his outburst, Thor quickly lifted up his arms and worked to catch the items. Terra exclaimed in surprise as he tried to keep the front of the vending machine from breaking even more.

Terra and Thor both softly exclaimed in surprise once again before deciding to bail. The two of them moved towards the door of Jane's room, pushing it open and entering. Jane looked up from her bed, setting down a remote and frowning as they walked inside. Thor tried to give a reassuring smile as he carried some of the snacks from the vending machine. Terra just glanced back, hoping they were a little conspicuous as they entered the room.

"Oh, there you are," Thor greeted. "Okay."

"What's goin' on out there?" Jane asked as Terra and Thor stepped up to her bed.

"Oh, some moron made a fridge without a door. Can you believe it?" Thor asked. He chuckled awkwardly before setting the snacks on the counter over her lap. "Not to worry. Got it open and got you... all sorts of goodies."

He smiled and placed his hands on his hips, leaving Terra wondering if he was always this bad at lying when he was worried.

Jane raised an eyebrow over the snacks, having a slight flashback to when she met Darcy a week or two prior. She brushed this aside as she looked up at Terra and Thor. *3*

"How's Val?" Jane asked.

"Oh, she's in a lot of pain, uh, but she is stable," Thor explained.

"So's Ven," Terra promised. "We got some help from a friend of Doctor Strange's, and he had a pretty good salve against the curse of the Necrosword."

"Okay, good to hear," Jane remarked. She woozily reached across her body to the IV in her arm. "Now you just gotta get this out of my..."

"Oh, no, no, no," Thor quickly said, reaching down and stopping her from pulling the IV out. "That's gotta stay in there. That's all the magic potions and elixirs doing their thing, so..."

"No offense, but given how tired you look, you might just wanna sit tight for a moment," Terra added, gesturing with one hand as Jane looked between the two men. "No shame in just taking a minute."

"Exactly," Thor agreed. He then pointed over his shoulder. "Sir Terra and I are just gonna pop out for a moment, pick up the kids, kill the bad guy, and then we'll come straight back."

"Easy as pie," Terra promised.

He inwardly frowned, now wondering where that saying came from since he had tried to make a pie and hadn't found it that easy. Terra brushed this aside as Thor leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Jane's forehead before standing up straight again. Even though she was clearly tired, Jane still looked at Thor in offense as she realized what he was suggesting.

"You're going without me?" Jane asked.

"Uh, yeah," Thor admitted, brushing some of his hair aside as he stepped back next to Terra.

"What happened to, like, doing everything together?" Jane asked, gesturing with her hand. "He's gonna use those kids to distract you and Terra. You need me."

"I do need you, Jane," Thor confirmed. "I need you alive. It'd be great to have you on the battlefield, fighting Gorr side by side. I'm honestly jealous of some of the war stories that Terra, Roxas, Vanitas, and Cloud have told about fighting in battle alongside the loves of their lives." He gestured towards Mjölnir. "But that hammer is killing you."

Jane slowly furrowed her eyebrows, and turned to look at Mjölnir as it rested in the chair next to her bed.

"Every time you use it, it's draining all of your mortal strength, leaving your body unable to fight the cancer," Thor explained grimly.

"What happened to 'Live like there's no tomorrow'?" Jane asked, offended even though Terra thought Thor was making a good point.

"Well, that's before I knew you might not have one," Thor remarked.

"Why not have one more adventure?" Jane replied.

"Jane, if there's a chance to live, you have to take it," Thor pointed out.

Terra grimaced, feeling like he was intruding on a personal moment between the two of them. Though, he could also admit that they both had good points between Thor wanting to preserve Jane's life, while Jane still wanted to make the most with the time she still had. This really was a difficult situation that had Terra wishing for the best for the couple.

"Spoken like a true Thor who does not have cancer," Jane replied to Thor.

Thor sighed out at that before Jane slowly looked down.

"I know I seem like this cool astrophysicist, from New Mexico, just living the dream," Jane slowly said, shaking her head to express pretend excitement. She looked up again. "But look at me. I wanna keep fighting. I'm the Mighty Thor. And you want me not to do that? What's the point of more time of this?"

She gestured around herself to reference time in the hospital. *4*

"... Because I love you," Thor managed to say, his voice cracking slightly from sadness.

Terra and Jane both looked up at Thor and tilted their heads slightly to the side. Terra could honestly agree that that was a good reason for his excuse.

"I've always loved you," Thor admitted with a sigh as Jane slowly breathed in and out. "And this is a chance for us. But if you pick up that damn hammer again, then that chance is gone."

Jane slowly breathed in and out, and Terra once again felt like he was intruding on the situation. As Jane slowly glanced to the side, her eyes shining with unshed tears in contemplation, Thor sighed out and slowly sat down on the bed. He reached forward and grasped Jane's hand in his own, giving her a reassuring look. Jane glanced down at their joined hands, then looked towards Mjölnir again in contemplation.

"It's your choice, Jane," Thor promised. "But I'd regret it every single day if I didn't ask you to stay here so we could try and figure this out together."

Terra inwardly paused, once again wondering which one of the two of them was in the right given their different opinions. Jane was silent for a moment before she sighed out and looked at Thor, giving him a look that was as stern as possible, even with how pale and tired she looked.

"You better come back to me," Jane demanded.

"I'm coming back as soon as I can," Thor promised, leaning forward to give her a soft look.

Terra was a little happy to see that Jane had stopped being angry and was slowly giving him a promising look in her eyes.

"Break a leg," Jane whispered in assurance.

"We'll break all his legs," Thor promised.

Jane and Thor both chuckled to each other at that. Thor then slowly stepped forward, leaned in and pressed his lips against hers in another kiss. The two of them stayed like this for a moment, once again making Terra think he was intruding. He brushed this aside, inwardly wondering how he would react if he and Aqua were ever in a situation like this, but decided to not think about that for now. Instead, he watched as Thor leaned back and kissed Jane on her knuckles once more.

Jane and Thor continued to stay together for another moment before Thor stood up and nodded reassuringly at her. Terra nodded at Thor, and the two of them left Jane's room, making their way through the hospital and a door that led outside. The two of them walked out onto a sidewalk that was just outside the building, framed by hedges and benches spread out sporadically.

Valkyrie was sitting in one of the benches, dressed in a black buttoned shirt underneath a white sweater and sweatpants, resting her arm on the thunderbolt next to her. Terra and Thor both walked towards the bench together, with Valkyrie taking quick notice of them and lifting a hand as she gave them a look.

"Remember that the Gate to Eternity is at the literal center of the universe," Valkyrie explained, grasping the thunderbolt and bracing it in her hands.

"Universe, yes," Thor confirmed as they stepped in front of Valkyrie.

"If you go past the cluster of comets..." Valkyrie slowly said.

"Yes, yes, I know," Thor interrupted her. "We've been over this."

"I get that you're worried, but there is such thing as going too far," Terra remarked. He raised an eyebrow. "Even Aqua admitted to doing that more than once."

He pointedly brushed aside that memory.

"Yeah, we're not gonna get lost," Thor promised. He sighed. "So, how you feeling with the old stab wound?"

He and Terra grimaced as they looked at Valkyrie in sympathy.

"I think I lost my kidney," Valkyrie admitted.

"Gone completely?" Thor asked. "Ugh."

"Mm," Valkyrie hummed in agreement. "I wish I could join you two, but I'd probably die, and that won't help get the kids back, so the two of you'll have to go alone."

"I'm sure the two of us can take care of this together," Terra remarked with a nod of his head. "Just take care of a dude being affected by a powerful weapon called the Necrosword. Easy as pie."

"All you have to do is destroy that sword," Valkyrie told them, pushing herself up with a wince. "It's his source of power. He won't survive long without it."

Terra and Thor both nodded in understanding.

Thor then held out his hand, and Valkyrie reached forward, putting the thunderbolt in it. Thor grasped the thunderbolt and looked down at it.

"Hey," Valkyrie said, getting their attention. "Don't die."

"Yeah, I know," Thor replied.

"We never do," Terra promised her.

He nodded reassuringly at Valkyrie before he and Thor started walking forward. Valkyrie walked past them as she walked back to the door that led inside the hospital. Terra and Thor slowly moved across the grass together, moving into the field to get into position. Standing together, Terra and Thor nodded in agreement before they stood in position. A large sphere of yellow lightning then surrounded them from the thunderbolt, growing in energy for a moment as they prepared for transportation. Within a few moments, the lightning crashed, and the two of them were gone.

Terra and Thor both inwardly prepared themselves for the upcoming fight against Gorr together...

Chapter Text

The Center of the Universe

Far out in the stars, Gorr had taken the captive Asgardian children with him out of their cages and towards a specific landscape with a rocky ground, and cracks spread along the ground that displayed bright, red lights from volcanic lava underneath. Stormbreaker hung off of Gorr's back as he led the children along it, all of them having expressions of despair and sorrow on their faces. Gorr ignored them all as they walked along the surface of the barren rock, keeping his eyes up on the blue and red void above them.

Large rocks surged in the air above them all, slowly forming into the Gate of Eternity. The rocks slowly continued to rise, forming a number of pillars on either side of them, along with a flat floor that slowly led across a brief surface towards the Altar of Eternity, which slowly formed into the large head that resembled the ancient being of Eternity. The children all gasped and sporadically held onto each other as the Gate of Eternity slowly continued forging around them, which included the walls, the rest of the floor, and even a number of statues pointed to the center of the room.

As the Gate continued to forge around them, Gorr slowly walked forward. With Stormbreaker still on his back, Gorr slipped his hood onto his head, continuing his walk and abandoning the children in the back half of the elongated chamber. Reaching the right part of the chamber, Gorr watched as the Altar of Eternity finished forging, with numerous rocks solidifying into a shape similar to the shoulders and head of Eternity. There was even a circular insignia on the front of the Altar similar to that of the Bifrost, signifying where the energy was supposed to go to in order to reach the ancient being.

Gorr softly sighed out in anticipation as he looked up at the Altar.

"Eternity..." he muttered. "Finally."

Gorr slowly walked forward to stand just in front of the Altar, taking a moment to stare up at it, particularly the Bifrost designs that were twice his height. He then grasped Stormbreaker from his back and placed it down, using his powers from the Necrosword to make tentacles appear from the ground. Concentrating for a moment, Gorr pointed Stormbreaker right at the Bifrost designs as the tentacles tightened the axe against the ground. Light grew on the blade of the axe, then the Bifrost energy fired out, flying through the air towards the patterns in the statue.

"Come on," Gorr huffed.

As he adjusted the axe again, Gorr watched as the Bifrost energy continued firing out, crashing into the patterns in the wall and making the entire room shake. Gorr smirked triumphantly as the energy continued to fly out and slowly burned through the wall, progressing at a decent pace to reach Eternity.

The rest of the room continued to shake, and Gorr glanced back at the Asgardian children. He rolled his eyes before turning forward as the room continued to shake.

Whether Gorr had something to do with it or not, a large statue resembling a Celestial broke apart, sending plaster flying as it lost its setting. The children all started to scream as the statue head of the Celestial dropped and started to fall towards them. They all crouched down and fearfully pressed themselves against the floor, all of them too terrified to run. *1*

Of course, before it could actually crash into and kill any of them, the statue head suddenly stopped. The kids slowly pushed themselves up and turned towards the statue head, their eyes widening in relief when they saw Thor and Terra standing in the center of them all, both of them holding their arms over their heads as they worked together to lift the Celestial head. Luckily, both of them having super strength helped take the burden off of each other as they lifted the statue head.

"Hey, kids," Thor greeted them with a bit of strain in his voice.

"Damn, this thing's heavy!" Terra exclaimed with a huff. "Now I hope I never face a real Celestial."

"I knew he'd come," Axl said, smiling up at the two heroes.

Terra and Thor both huffed as they adjusted the statue head above them, still feeling a bit of strain from holding the whole thing up.

"Go!" Thor instructed.

"Now!" Terra added.

The kids all started running, moving together out from underneath the shadow of the statue head.

"Go, kids!" Thor told the kids.

The kids all continued running out from underneath the statue head, clearing the way and relieving Terra. He and Thor then grunted as they tossed aside the statue head of the Celestial, sending it crashing between two pillars and breaking apart the wall. Thor huffed and Terra brushed his nose before summoning his Keyblade. The two of them jumped off of the small piece of raised ground they were on, then jogged together over towards where the children were gathered. All of them were gathered behind other broken sections of ground, though they slowly started to stand as Terra and Thor got close enough.

"Everyone okay?" Thor asked the children. They nodded. "All right, gather round, gather round."

Terra raised an eyebrow over the fact that there were so many Asgardian children, just now realizing how high the stakes had been when they were searching for the kids. He shook his head as Thor walked over to Axl with a big smile on his face.

"Good to see you in person, buddy," Thor told Axl, patting him reassuringly on the chest. "Good to see you."

"Thor," Terra said, frowning as they stepped forward. "He's already using Stormbreaker."

The two heroes continued through the group of children, both of them still walking forward until they were standing in front of the gathered children. Gorr frowned at Terra and Thor, then lifted up the Necrosword. He crouched down and jabbed the sword into the ground, which caused his shadow to slowly spread out across the ground. Terra and Thor watched as the shadows continued to spread, which caused shadow monsters to slowly climb out. Terra grimaced slightly over the fact that there were so many shadow monsters and only two of them, but he hoped the kids couldn't see that.

"All right, listen up," Thor said, turning towards the children. Terra turned with him with an eyebrow raised. "Here's the plan. We're gonna sneak our way towards Stormbreaker, being very careful not to bump into any of those big, shadow monsters."

"Thor," Terra said. He raised an eyebrow. "That plan is less likely to succeed than me ever forgiving Xehanort."

To emphasize this point, the children all whimpered in fear as they looked past Thor. Terra turned around, and he grimaced once again at all the shadow monsters making their way across the chamber.

"They're behind me, aren't they?" Thor asked.

He turned around and joined Terra in looking across the chamber towards the oncoming shadow monsters. While Terra grimaced once again, Thor turned towards the gathered children, including Axl.

"Does anyone here have battle experience?" Thor asked.

Terra raised an eyebrow as all the children, including Axl, started shaking their heads. One even asked "Battle experience" in surprise.

"Well, no time to learn like the present," Thor remarked, holding out his arms optimistically.

"Please tell me we're not this desperate," Terra said with a sigh.

"Yeah, we're not strong like you," one little girl said. "We're just kids."

"Hey, don't forget, you're Asgardian kids," Thor told her with an encouraging tone in his voice.

"I'm not," a boy with a lot of hair and fangs in his mouth said. "I'm just a Lycan kid."

"And I'm a Midassian kid," a boy with gold skin and a bowl cut added.

"I'm Falligarian," another boy that Terra couldn't see said.

"Okay, okay," Thor quickly said, gesturing with his hands to stop them. "But today, you're Asgardians. Now collect your weapons."

"What?" all the children, including Axl, asked.

"Go and find anything you can pick up," Thor instructed. "Bring it back here."

"Oh, we are that desperate," Terra said with another sigh. He rolled his eyes and looked at Thor. "Please don't make these kids do this."

The children all ignored Terra's words and listened to Thor, gathering around the different areas on the ground and grabbing whatever they could find. Terra frantically looked around, watching as the shadow monsters slowly continued towards them, grabbing elongated pieces of stone, planks of wood, and other objects that could work as blunt weapons. One girl continued clutching her stuffed rabbit to her chest, watching as the rest of the group continued gathering anything that could work as a weapon.

Terra sighed out, begrudgingly accepting that this was really about to happen.

"Okay, cool. Come on," Thor hurriedly told them. He and Terra turned towards the front of the chamber. "They're getting closer. Hurry up!"

"I wish this chamber wasn't so long," Terra remarked. "I'd blast at least half of them with the Mega Cannon if they were close enough for it to hit."

The children then all gathered together in front of Terra and Thor, all of them having grabbed blunt objects that could work as weapons. Terra inwardly prayed for these kids as Thor gave them all an encouraging look.

"Today is a day that will go down in history," Thor told the gathered children. "Today is the day they will talk about for generations to come. Today, we are Space Vikings! Present arms!"

Despite the situation, Terra could admit that Thor could give a pretty rousing speech. The children then all started lifting up the objects they had grabbed, all of which consisted of the elongated pieces of stone they had picked up from the ground of varying shapes and sizes. Terra raised an eyebrow, inwardly deciding that many of them could work as blunt objects, though they might not be the best against the gathered shadow monsters.

He inwardly prayed for the girl who lifted up her stuffed rabbit as a weapon.

Thor then grabbed the thunderbolt from his back and lifted it up with his left hand. Terra watched as the thunder god got a serious expression on his face as he held his weapon towards the children.

"Whosoever holds these weapons, and believes in getting home," Thor slowly said, electricity gathering on the thunderbolt. "If they be true of heart is therefore worthy, and shall possess..." He popped open an eye. "For a limited time only, the power..."

Blue lightning shot down from the sky, making Terra take a step back. He watched as Thor opened up his eyes, revealing that they were glowing with blue electricity.

"... of Thor!" Thor bellowed, holding his hand out towards the children.

Yellow strands of lightning shot out from Thor's hand, looping around the entire crowd of children and flying into them all. All of their eyes started glowing yellow as a result, and their weapons started glowing with the electricity. Terra softly gasped in shock as all the children were empowered with the power of Thor, all of them slowly calming down and becoming ready for battle. Even the eyes of the stuffed rabbit were glowing with electricity from Thor's influence.

Terra then glanced over at Thor in shock, inwardly wondering how long he's had this ability. *2*

"General Axl..." Thor slowly said. Axl stepped forward with his weapon in hand. "... Lead your army to that axe."

"We shall do our worst," Axl promised. He and Thor slowly turned towards the shadow monsters together. "For Asgard."

"Okay," Terra said with a nod of his head. He stepped into his battle stance while turning towards the shadow monsters. "So... this is definitely happening."

Thor then yelled out in a battle cry, and all the children behind him and Terra followed their example. Terra tried to brush down just how strange this was as he, Thor, and Axl started charging forward, followed by all the children that were affected by the lightning. The makeshift army charged towards the approaching shadow monsters together, with electricity still coursing through Thor and all the kids in preparation to attack.

Once they got close enough to the monsters, Thor and Terra lunged forward, with Thor using the lightning from the thunderbolt to blow up one monster completely. Terra yelled out as he attacked with Meteor Crash, slamming into the ground with a couple of meteors, which released enough energy to burn and kill at least three monsters. Terra only got a chance to witness some of the fighting from the kids in the corner of his eye as he continued fighting off the shadow monsters around him.

To the kids' credit, though, from what Terra could see, they were actually holding their own against the monsters. Chalking it up to the power of Thor, Terra was a little impressed with the manner the kids managed to evade the monsters' attacks by sliding on the ground and leaping through the air, sending waves of electricity out and slowly taking down the gathered group of shadow monsters. Of course, when another shadow monster tried swinging at his neck, Terra ducked underneath the attack before standing up straight and turning towards it.

Dodging the shadow monsters' attacks, Terra huffed as he stayed on his feet, then performed a combo attack against a larger one. Once he finished that, he started Ars Solum, repeatedly lunging around and swinging his Keyblade, striking and slashing monsters when they got close enough. Using the full range of this attack, Terra was able to take out at least four or five shadow monsters within a few moments. After finishing it, Terra then leaped out of the way of another shadow monster before blasting it with Firaga, burning it and making it whine as it died.

Taking a moment to look around, Terra observed two different sides of the elongated chamber, seeing that Thor had leaped towards Gorr and was now fighting the God Butcher with Zeus's thunderbolt. Of course, the children were also still fighting the shadow monsters, which included a little girl dressed like a ballerina restraining and cutting one in half vertically, a kid cartwheeling and kicking monsters, and the little girl with the bunny screaming as she spun in a circle, shooting lightning out of her toy's eyes.

Terra couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the kids fighting the shadow monsters.

"... This is definitely the strangest fight I've ever been a part of," Terra remarked with a nod of his head. "And that's including that time I got turned into an Unversed." *3*

Looking towards where Gorr and Thor were fighting, Terra's eyes narrowed when he saw that Gorr had caught the thunderbolt with the Necrosword, then pushed upward to send it flying through the air, before ramming the handle into Thor's stomach. Terra shook his head and jogged across the landscape towards where the two were battling just as Gorr pressed the Necrosword into the ground, then kicked Thor once again. Thor tried to throw a punch, but Gorr dodged it, swung the Necrosword and hit Thor in the face with the flat of the blade, then grasped the thunder god and spun him before ramming him into the ground.

"Hey!" Terra shouted, getting Gorr's attention.

Gorr slowly turned towards Terra, then softly waved his hands. Tentacles appeared out of the ground that wrapped around Thor's wrists and ankles, making him yell out as he was restrained on the ground. Terra then huffed as he stepped in front of Gorr standing in a battle stance as the God Butcher pulled the Necrosword back in preparation.

They were all unaware that back in New Asgard, Jane had responded to each of the strikes that Thor had experienced during his brief fight with Gorr. After feeling the slam into the ground, she climbed off the bed and stood up. After taking a few steps forward, Jane then looked to her left and saw Mjölnir floated next to her in preparation.

Of course, Jane was the last thing on Terra's mind as he charged towards Gorr in preparation to attack. The God Butcher waved his hands, but Terra used Slide to hurry forward and dodge the tentacles that popped out of the ground. Terra then used a combo attack against Gorr, then jumped backwards to dodge as he swung the Necrosword in a wicked arc. As Gorr swung the Necrosword again, Terra interrupted him by casting Quake, making a large chunk of rock burst out of the ground and knock him up into the air. He followed it up with Blizzard Raid, throwing his Keyblade at Gorr just as he reached the ground.

Terra started to charge forward again, but Gorr waved his hand, making a tentacle appear out of nowhere that hooked onto Terra's ankle and lifted him up. Terra yelled out as Gorr waved his hand, making the tentacle lift Terra a bit more before slamming him into the ground so hard that the floor cracked. Gorr then stepped towards Terra, and just as he stood up straight, Gorr swung the Necrosword, hitting him in the face with the flat of the blade. Gorr then grasped Terra's shoulder and lifted him up, tossing him up with a few spins before slamming him into the ground again.

Terra huffed before ramming his armored foot into Gorr's ankle, making the God Butcher wince and take a few steps back. Rolling backwards, Terra then cast Curaga on himself to heal from the repeated slams before charging forward and performing another combo attack against Gorr. The god butcher grit his teeth from the attack, then lifted his foot and kicked Terra in the stomach, his powers adding a bit of oomph so that it harmed him even through his armor. Terra managed to catch himself and land on his feet, then he jumped backwards as Gorr tried swinging at his head again.

When Gorr swung the Necrosword again, Terra lifted Ends of the Earth to block, then retaliated with Counter Hammer, ramming his blade into the ground and releasing a shockwave that knocked Gorr back. Terra once again followed the attack up with Blizzard Raid, knocking Gorr back once again before he disappeared into a shadow. Terra huffed and looked around as Gorr used the shadows to reappear behind him. Gorr then swung the Necrosword, sending out a wave of darkness that struck Terra in the back, cracking his armor and knocking him forward with a grunt.

Recovering quickly from the attack, Terra then lunged towards Gorr with Sliding Dash, striking the God Butcher, then followed it up with the triple strikes of Blitz. Sadly, Gorr used the shadows to teleport out of the way of the final strike, so the Keyblade instead slammed into the ground. Gorr reappeared and kicked Terra in the back once again, then tried to swing the Necrosword at his head. Terra managed to duck underneath the sword just in time to avoid being decapitated, then grunted as he attacked with Brutal Blast, waving his arms to make a circle of energy appear around himself, which struck Gorr and knocked him aside.

Turning towards Gorr again, Terra huffed as he rushed towards the God Butcher and prepared to attack again. Of course, Gorr just made more tentacles appear that wrapped around Terra's ankles and restrained him. Gorr followed it up with a swing of the Necrosword, making another wave of energy fly through the air, which struck Terra in the chest, cracked his armor some more, and pushed him back. Gorr smirked sadistically before Terra swung his Keyblade, cutting the tentacles and freeing himself. He took a quick moment to cast Curaga once again before charging forward.

Gorr started to swing the Necrosword in wicked strikes once again, but Terra managed to evade the strikes. After evading another couple of sword strikes, Terra then hurried in and performed another combo attack, successfully knocking the God Butcher aside. After dodging another few strikes from Gorr swinging the Necrosword, Terra then jumped back and lifted his Keyblade in preparation. He then rushed forward and attacked with Zantetsuken, going through Gorr and performing an incredibly powerful slash, which knocked aside Gorr and ended the fight. *4*

Looking around, Terra's eyes narrowed when he realized that he was next to Thor's restrained form now. He grunted as he swung Ends of the Earth, cutting Thor's restraints and freeing him. Terra then grasped Thor's arm and helped him up to his knees, then another wave of darkness struck Terra in the front and knocked him in the back. He landed on the ground, his Keyblade clattering and sliding to the side as more tentacles appeared, wrapping around his wrists and ankles to restrain him.

Still on his knees, Thor looked up just in time for Gorr to step in front of him, then swing an arm and strike him in the face, knocking him onto his back again. Gorr then stepped up to Thor, placed a foot on his chest, then lifted up the Necrosword backhanded. Gorr yelled out as he lifted the Necrosword and jabbed it towards Thor's chest, but the Thunder God lifted up his hands in time, catching the blade in his palms and stopping it.

Electricity surged underneath Thor's palms and in his eyes as he strained against the Necrosword, pushing back against Gorr. Terra strained a bit as he kept trying to escape the tentacles restraining him, but failing. Gorr yelled out as he kept pushing the Necrosword closer and closer to Thor, succeeding only slightly. Gorr then joined Thor and Terra in audibly straining as he kept trying to push his cursed blade towards his intended victim's chest.

All of a sudden, an object crashed into Gorr and sent him flying across the chamber, stumbling in a manner that also allowed the Necrosword to cut through some of Terra's restraints. As Gorr continued stumbling across the chamber, Terra huffed as he pulled the remaining vines off of himself. He and Thor then pushed themselves up and looked into the air.

While the children all cheered, Terra and Thor felt a bit of dread run through them as Jane flew into the battlefield on Valkyrie's pegasus, her armor having formed completely around her as Mjölnir flew back into her hand. Knowing what this meant about her body, Terra and Thor watched as electricity surged around Jane before she jumped off of the pegasus and dropped down onto the ground so hard that the floor shook and cracked. Jane then stood up straight as her helmet disappeared, allowing blonde hair to fall down onto her shoulders.

Jane looked towards Terra and Thor, the latter of whom had an expression of sadness on his face, knowing this was only going to make her situation with her cancer worse. Of course, Jane just nodded at him reassuringly, though Terra couldn't help but grimace, knowing that they were going to be facing some form of sadness and tragedy all too soon.

"Jane..." Thor softly said, sadness rising in his chest.

Of course, Jane just made her helmet reappear before lunging into the air. Deciding that they would discuss this later, Thor held out his hand, and Zeus's thunderbolt flew into his hand. He leaped into the air as Terra summoned his Keyblade and lunged with them towards Gorr.

Gorr had grabbed the Necrosword and was just starting to rise, but then Thor rushed in and struck him with the thunderbolt. Terra slammed his Keyblade into the ground, releasing a shockwave that knocked Gorr into the perfect angle for Jane to strike him and knock him to the ground. Thor then jabbed the floor with the thunderbolt, sending Gorr flying across the floor once again before he finally braced himself and jumped to his feet. Of course, then Jane landed in front of him and swung up with Mjölnir, knocking him into the air where Terra blasted him with Fission Firaga, then Thor leaped up and blasted him with lightning, sending him crashing into the ground hard.

Gorr grunted as he rolled across the ground from the attack as Jane, Terra, and Thor all landed together and walked towards each other.

"We destroy that sword and he's dead," Thor told Jane.

"The gateway's almost open," Jane observed, looking at where Stormbreaker was still firing Bifrost energy into the Altar of Eternity. "You gotta stop Stormbreaker."

"How the hell has that thing still been firing this whole time?" Terra asked.

No one had an answer for him as Thor looked at Jane.

"It's okay," Jane promised. "I got him."

Terra and Thor nodded their heads before turning and jogging towards where Stormbreaker was planted in the ground. Terra glanced over his shoulder towards where the children were still fighting the shadow monsters, and was once again impressed with their level of combat, but brushed this aside as he and Thor continued to the axe. The two of them moved towards where Stormbreaker was still in the ground, then they both grimaced over how far the Bifrost had burned through the Altar of Eternity.

"Stormbreaker, stop this!" Thor urgently instructed to his axe, rushing towards where it was. "Get a hold of yourself. Look what you're doing! I'm gonna get you out of there."

Terra furrowed his eyebrows over the tentacles in the ground restraining Stormbreaker as Thor stepped up to it. As Stormbreaker continued firing Bifrost energy, Thor reached down and grasped the axe with both hands, straining visibly as he tried to pull it out.

"Come on," Thor got out through gritted teeth as he pulled at the axe. "Come on, buddy."

Of course, his face got too close to Stormbreaker, so Bifrost energy hit him in the face and knocked him aside. With Thor knocked back, Terra lifted his Keyblade and tried swinging it at the tentacles, which barely dented them and didn't even rattle Stormbreaker. Terra huffed, disappointed over the fact that it had failed.

While the two men kept trying to get Stormbreaker, Jane spun through the air in a jump with Mjölnir in her hand, swinging at Gorr, who intercepted her strike with the Necrosword. She threw Mjölnir, but Gorr got out of the way and tried to swing his sword. Mjölnir flew around and struck apart pieces of debris as Jane continued dodging Gorr's sword strikes. She then caught Gorr's wrist, held out a hand, and caught Mjölnir once again.

Thor then grabbed Zeus's thunderbolt once again, then grit his teeth as he tried to follow Terra's example, repeatedly jabbing the thunderbolt into the thorns restraining Stormbreaker in the ground.

"Let... go... of my... friend," Thor exclaimed through each stab of the thunderbolt.

Terra was disappointed that every time Thor stabbed the thunderbolt into the vines, they immediately reformed themselves.

Jane then dodged another swing of Gorr's Necrosword before striking a couple more times with Mjölnir. Though, Gorr kept raising the Necrosword in defense, which caused bursts of lighting to pop from the hammer. He then caught Mjölnir and twirled it around, pulling Jane in so that the two of them then ended up in an arm lock, with Gorr glaring right into Jane's face.

"You've lost, Lady Thor," Gorr taunted.

Jane head-butted him and knocked him back a step. She pulled an arm back in preparation, but then Gorr snatched her by the cape and pulled back, tossing her aside with enhanced strength and sending her flying. Jane stumbled into the ground a few times, but used Mjölnir to brace herself on her knees. She and Gorr slowly stood up once again, each of them glaring at each other from across the short distances between them.

"First off... the name is Mighty Thor," Jane corrected him.

She grunted as she threw Mjölnir, which flew towards Gorr. He then swung the Necrosword once again, deflecting Mjölnir and sending it flying through the air across the room.

"And secondly... if you can't say Mighty Thor..." Jane slowly continued as she walked forward. She grunted as she caught Mjölnir. "I'll accept Dr. Jane Foster."

She yelled out as she slammed Mjölnir into the ground, sending a wave of electricity across the ground that flew to Gorr and hit him in a blast, sending him flying back and landing roughly on his back.

"And thirdly..." Jane slowly continued. "Eat my hammer!"

She yelled out as she lunged up into the air once again.

Terra was inwardly impressed with Jane's manner of fighting off Gorr while slowly taunting him. Though, that last part was not the greatest battle cry. *5*

Luckily, Jane didn't appear to care about this as she leaped up into the air, flying down in an arc that allowed her to slam Mjölnir right into the Necrosword. Gorr strained as he kept pushing back against Jane's attack, though he was finding Mjölnir too strong.

Terra and Thor kept striking the tentacles restraining Mjölnir with their weapons, though they kept reforming almost as soon as they were broken. Jane continued pressing Mjölnir against the Necrosword, pushing it as hard as she could as electricity surged from the hammer into the sword. The two of them were locked like this for a moment before the electricity burst, sending them both flying in opposite directions.

"Stormbreaker!" Thor bellowed, pulling desperately at the vines with the thunderbolt.

All of a sudden, a surge of lightning burst around Stormbreaker, which knocked aside Terra and Thor, but also burned the thorns restraining it. The Bifrost energy stopped flying from Stormbreaker, and it dropped limply to the ground. Though, the Bifrost had done it's job, and replaced the circular patterns on the Altar of Eternity with a large, circular entranceway that led into a white void.

Terra's eyes had widened in amazement at the void, though Thor ignored it completely, crawling across the ground towards Stormbreaker in excitement.

"I knew you could do it," Thor said, grabbing Stormbreaker and lifting it up.

Terra and Thor both stood and Thor smiled at his axe before looking across the chamber towards where the kids were still fighting the monsters.

"Axl!" Thor shouted to get Axl's attention. "Get them home!"

Axl turned towards Thor and dropped his weapon. Thor then threw Stormbreaker through the air, and it repeatedly flipped and spun as it flew towards the kid, taking out a couple of shadow monsters along the way. Axl then caught Stormbreaker, and the entire group of kids all turned towards him. Axl rammed the bottom of Stormbreaker into the ground, which made the Bifrost appear and fly up into the sky, surrounding the entire group of children. They all started rising up, being transported through the Bifrost back to New Asgard.

Terra inwardly let out a relieved huff, glad that they had succeeded in this part of the mission.

Of course, that just left Gorr and his plot to get to Eternity. Looking up, Terra huffed as he saw Jane and Gorr standing across from each other, with Jane on one knee with her helmet half broken revealing a black eye, while Gorr gripped the Necrosword, which was still surging with lightning from Mjölnir. Gorr slowly turned to glare at Jane, then gripped his sword before leaping up into the air.

Of course, Thor lunged towards Gorr and met him in the air, catching the Necrosword with the thunderbolt. The two of them dropped onto their feet and Gorr tried swinging his sword again, but Thor once again caught it with the thunderbolt, pushed it up, then kicked the God Butcher and pushed him back. Terra blasted Gorr with Fission Firaga as Thor broke the thunderbolt into two pieces to start attacking. Thor struck Gorr and knocked him back, then Gorr pulled the Necrosword and swung it at Thor, but the thunder god raised both halves up to catch it in defense.

Terra swung his Keyblade and helped catch the Necrosword as Gorr continued to push in with it towards Thor. Thor slowly adjusted the halves of the thunderbolt as Gorr continued to push, the weapon then catching into his arm guards. Of course, then Thor looked over his shoulder and saw Jane and her broken helmet, feeling his determination growing once again. He slowly turned towards Gorr once again as the God Butcher yelled out in exertion.

Terra quickly caught onto the plan, and joined Thor in pushing the Necrosword to the side with their weapons. Jane then grunted as she threw Mjölnir with all her might, sending it flying through the air towards the Necrosword as it was pointed up into the air. With the sword perpendicular to the ground, the hammer broke right through the Necrosword, shattering the blade into pieces and sending Gorr flying back.

As the God Butcher rolled onto his hands and knees, Terra and Thor frowned, seeing the pieces and shards of the Necrosword slowly floating through the air before flying in Gorr's direction. Gorr held up a hand desperately, and the handle of the Necrosword immediately flew into his palm. Terra and Thor frowned at this, while Jane got an idea. Under her direction, Mjölnir broke up into pieces and flew towards Jane, catching many shards of the Necrosword and joining into Mjölnir as it flew into Jane's hand. Terra and Thor watched as Jane caught Mjölnir, though as Gorr pointed the handle of his sword at her, pieces shot out and flew towards him, attaching to the handle to slowly reform the sword.

Terra huffed in annoyance, wondering if it was remaining remnants of Xehanort that had him wanting to try and cut off Gorr's head to stop this whole thing.

As Terra glared at Gorr, Thor looked at Jane, a hopeless expression on his face as he knew she was about to do something big with Mjölnir, which would undoubtedly worsen her body's attempt to fight her cancer.

Jane proved him right by slowly lifting Mjölnir and pointing it into the air, which caused a large wave of lightning to fly down into the hammer. Gathering the energy in Mjölnir, Jane grunted as she dropped to a knee and slammed the hammer into the ground, releasing a giant shockwave of energy through the chamber that even had Terra and Thor grunting.

Of course, the surge had the desired effect, as the shards of the Necrosword in Mjölnir immediately disintegrated. Gorr then exclaimed in shock as the handle and piece of blade he was holding also disintegrated in his grasp, transforming into dust right in front of him.

Terra scoffed before looking at Gorr in a victorious manner. He turned towards Jane and Thor, not noticing as the God Butcher slowly turned towards the Altar of Eternity with a desperate expression on his face.

Of course, the smile disappeared from Terra's face as he and Thor looked at Jane, watching as exhaustion overtook her and dropped her onto one knee.

"Jane?" Thor asked.

"Oh, no..." Terra softly said, remembering Thor's words in the hospital.

"I'm okay," Jane said, gesturing with one hand while on her knees. "You have to stop him."

Terra and Thor reluctantly turned from Jane and turned towards Gorr once again. They both felt their hearts drop into their stomachs when they saw the God Butcher slowly crawl to the Altar, then crawl through the hole at the bottom of the statue's head. Terra cursed himself for forgetting about Gorr for a moment as the God Butcher climbed inside the Altar, then slowly walked through the small passageway before dropping onto his knees. It clearly had the desired effect, though, because a large wave of light emerged from the Altar, which spread over Jane, Terra, and Thor, blinding them all within seconds.

Chapter Text

The light continued to glare around Jane, Terra, and Thor, blinding them from everything around them until it died down. Thor and Terra were still concerned about Jane due to the fact that she appeared to be wounded and was on her knees, but that worry was momentarily replaced by awe as the landscape changed around them. Now, all three of them were in an endless void that had a reflective ground resembling water that they stood on, along with an expansive, blue sky with endless white clouds above them.

Looking between the solid, reflective water ground, and the expansive sky above them, Terra couldn't help but frown in thought. This seemed very much like the Final World from Kairi and Chirithy's descriptions.

With the water rippling underneath their feet, Terra and Thor slowly looked around, trying to locate Gorr. Their eyes quickly landed on where the God Butcher was kneeling. He was on the water ground, right in front of the large creature of Eternity, a being with a body that appeared to look like a nebula within space, who was currently sitting cross-legged in front of Gorr. Terra couldn't make out any discernible features in Eternity's body except for the image of robe fabric, but he decided to brush that aside for now.

Instead, Terra and Thor felt their worry intensify when they saw Gorr kneeling up in a worshiping manner to Eternity. The God Butcher held up a hand towards the ancient being as a bright light shined down on him.

"Gorr! Stop!" Thor insisted.

Given the urgency of the situation, Terra frowned and shook his head before summoning his Keyblade once again. At this point, he didn't care if it was leftover remnants from Xehanort or not that had him ready to take out Gorr. Of course, Thor then placed an arm in front of Terra's chest and gave him a small look of pleading. Terra raised an eyebrow over the fact that Thor was finally being reasonable again, so he lowered his arm from his battle stance. He did still keep his Keyblade in his hand, though. *1*

Gorr slowly turned his head to look to the side, emphasizing the fact that he had heard them and wanted to acknowledge them.

"What kind of father would I be... if I stopped?" Gorr remarked to Terra and Thor.

The God Butcher shifted himself on his knees, breathlessly turning so that he could see the two warriors.

"I know your pain, but this isn't the way," Thor told the God Butcher with a shake of his head. Gorr just tilted his head to the side. "It's not death or revenge that you seek."

Gorr smirked momentarily in a malicious manner before frowning bitterly.

"What do I seek?" he demanded.

Terra and Thor both breathed in and out. While Terra was still ready to fight Gorr again if needed, Thor looked over his shoulder towards Jane. Her armor had disappeared completely, returning her clothes to the hospital gown she had been given, and changing her appearance back to that of a very sick woman. She was on her side, holding herself up with one arm as she breathed uneasily before looking up at Thor.

Thor then looked at Terra and patted him on the shoulder. Terra followed his gaze to Jane, and immediately felt his desire to fight drain from him. Thor and Terra both huffed slightly as they shared a small moment of realization. With that, Terra slowly dismissed his Keyblade, and the two of them turned towards Gorr together.

"You seek love," Thor told Gorr.

The God Butcher continued to frown, though there was now a twinge of confusion in his eyes.

"Love?" Gorr asked. "Why should I seek love?"

"Because it's all any of us want," Thor told him.

"And there's only one way you can have love again," Terra added. "Which is probably all you wanted in the first place."

With that, Thor turned around and looked at Jane again. Terra joined him in doing so, grimacing at the sight of the weakened and sick Jane.

"How... dare... you turn your back on me?" Gorr demanded, though there was more tiredness than bitterness in his voice.

"You've won, Gorr," Thor said, turning and looking at him again. "Why would I spend my last moments with you when I can be with her? I choose love. You can, too. You can bring her back."

"Think about it clearly for a moment," Terra added, stepping towards Gorr and getting his attention. "All you wanted after your daughter died was to see her again. Then you got your hands on the Necrosword, and you decreed that all the gods needed to die. But deep down, a part of you still had to want to bring your daughter back. So now that you're here, and you have the opportunity to use Eternity to your advantage, what do you really want? Do you really want to murder all the gods, including dozens who actually might be innocent, or would you rather see your daughter again?"

Gorr slowly looked between the two heroes, taking in their words with a clear look in his eyes now that the Necrosword had been destroyed. Though there was still a little bit of bitterness in the God Butcher's pupils, Terra could see realization and thought slowly building within, as well.

"Make your wish," Thor told Gorr.

Terra then turned and watched as the Thunder God moved towards Jane, hurrying behind her, getting on his knees, and pulling her up. Terra felt great sympathy form in his chest as Thor braced Jane up onto his knees, holding onto her and placing a hand on her cheek. Jane's eyes opened, and she gave a small, weak smile as Thor lowered his hand. She gripped his hand with both of hers in response.

Inwardly, Terra was gripped with fear, now hoping against hope that he and Aqua would never have to be in this position. He felt a bit of guilt for this, and once again felt sympathy for Thor and Jane.

Turning towards Gorr again, Terra watched as the pale skinned man looked thoughtfully at Thor and Jane, a look of remembrance in his eyes. Gorr then started groaning, placing his hands over his eyes and leaning forward. Terra then frowned in surprise as Gorr started to sob and cough, realizing that the man's memories of his daughter's death were probably resurfacing and hitting him all over again. Of course, as Gorr placed his hand to his chest and kneeled up again, there was one clear conclusion.

"I'm dying," Gorr declared. He looked between Terra and Thor. "She would have no one. She'd be alone."

"Maybe," Terra admitted with a small nod of his head. "But wouldn't you rather that you be dead and she be alive than the other way around?"

Gorr softly sighed with his eyes furrowed, clearly thinking there was a point there.

Turning towards Jane and Thor again, Terra once again felt sympathy rise in his chest. Jane still looked weak and appeared to be struggling to smile. But she still sighed and looked from Thor to Gorr.

"She won't be alone," Jane promised.

She turned and looked up at Thor again. Terra watched as the two of them gave each other the warmest of looks before Thor nodded his head to promise Jane. Letting out a soft sigh, Terra inwardly wished they could've found a way to magically cure Jane of her cancer.

Turning towards Gorr again, Terra saw that the pale man was now looking at Jane and Thor with a look of gratitude in his eyes. Of course, then Gorr closed his eyes, and breathed in and out deeply. Gorr then turned towards the being of Eternity once again and held up his arm with a grunt. Terra inwardly prayed to whatever was listening that Gorr would finally be reasonable as the sound of chiming started to echo around them.

A light grew in the center of Eternity's head and slowly started to float down towards Gorr, signifying that his wish was being chosen and granted. Terra felt his concern grow, and he closed his eyes in worry as the sound continued to echo around them. As the sound of light surging reached its highest peak, Terra once again prayed for the best before the sound of something hitting the ground echoed.

Opening his eyes cautiously, Terra was a little relieved to see that Thor and Jane were still here and perfectly fine. His eyes widened when he saw that Gorr had landed on the ground, his eyes closed as he started to lose consciousness and his life.

Of course, in front of Gorr, a small little girl with dark hair pulled into a couple of braids was slowly walking forward from where Eternity had been. She had marks on her face and arms, and wore a tattered white dress that signified she had been wearing it for a while. As she walked towards Gorr and crouched down next to him, Terra frowned slightly, seeing that her reflection in the ground was that of a little girl similar to Eternity, which made him wonder if she had been granted some of the ancient being's powers.

However, he didn't get a chance to think about this for too long as the girl kneeled next to Gorr. Gorr slowly opened his eyes and turned to look up at his daughter. She placed a hand on top of his bald head and gave him a small smile.

"Oh," Gorr said, giving a small smile. He chuckled tearfully in relief at the sight of her. "My love."

The girl leaned forward to give Gorr a hug, and the pale man reached up, continuing to chuckle tearfully as he grasped his daughter and reciprocated the hug, holding onto her tightly.

Terra let out a small huff, amazed that he was now feeling a bit of relief for the man who had tried to kill him so viciously not even five minutes ago. *2*

Gorr continued to cry as he and his daughter continued to hug, neither of them wanting to let go of the other just yet.

"I've missed you so much," Gorr tearfully told his daughter.

His daughter pulled back and softly gripped his face.

"I've missed you, too," she told him.

Gorr softly smiled as he looked up at his daughter.

"I'm so sorry," he told her.

"It's okay," his daughter promised him.

Terra softly smiled, amazed that he actually managed to feel a small bit of happiness for Gorr now that he had been reunited with his daughter. Shaking his head, he turned back towards Jane and Thor, which made his happiness disappear almost immediately when reminded of Jane's situation.

Thor was still looking at Jane sadly, but she was weakly giving him a look of reassurance.

"Ever since I picked up that hammer, it's like... I've gotten an extra life," Jane weakly told Thor with a smile. "And it was..."

She let out a small chuckle.

"Magical," Jane told him.

Thor smiled with her before she let out a weak sigh, which had his smile slowly fade again.

"Not too bad for a human," Jane softly remarked.

Thor rubbed her shoulder in assurance.

"Not too bad for a god," he softly corrected her.

"Hey," Jane softly said. "I think I figured out my catchphrase.

"Oh, yeah? What is it?" Thor asked.

"Come close," Jane whispered.

She weakly reached up and grasped Thor's neck, leaning up to move her face close to his ear. Terra couldn't hear it as she whispered to Thor, but he was okay with it this time. Terra felt like he was intruding on a private moment between them as Jane continued to whisper to him. After a second, Thor let out a small chuckle, pressed a kiss to her temple, then slowly helped her lower herself onto his knees again.

"It's perfect," Thor promised. "It's the best one yet.

"Thanks," Jane said with a laugh.

She chuckled again, and Thor smiled once again. Terra once again felt like he was intruding, especially when Thor's smile slowly faded. Of course, Jane just sniffed and placed a hand to Thor's chest, giving him another weak, reassuring smile.

"Keep your heart open," Jane instructed.

Thor softly nodded at her in promise once again. There was another moment of silence as Jane continued to weakly smile at Thor.

"I love you," Jane said.

Thor's soft smile returned.

"I love you, too," Thor told her.

Terra once again felt like he was intruding as Jane reached up and pressed her lips to Thor's, the two of them sharing one final kiss.

Within seconds, light appeared on Jane's legs, slowly spreading up around her. Her eyes remained closed as Thor pulled back, the sadness still on his face as the light spread around Jane and enveloped her completely. Terra softly huffed, remembering the sign from Thor's story of how his father died, and Ventus's story of how he had lost some of his friends in Daybreak City. Terra and Thor watched as Jane was completely enveloped by the orange light, which broke apart and slowly flew up. The two of them watched as the light slowly rose up into the air, signifying that it was slowly transporting itself to Valhalla.

Jane was gone. *3*

A tear slid down Terra's eye at the confirmation that Jane was gone, and when he looked at Thor, it was clear that the Thunder God was barely managing to keep himself together due to the shininess of his own eyes. Wanting to offer him some form of reassurance, Terra moved to Thor, crouched down next to him, and wrapped an arm around his shoulder to pull him in for a reassuring side-hug. Thor nodded softly in gratitude at his friend's actions.

The two of them then slowly looked towards Gorr and his daughter. The pale man was very visibly weakened from the impact of the Necrosword on his body. He shuddered for a moment before turning towards Thor and Terra, holding an arm out to them as he gave them a pleading look.

"Protect her," Gorr weakly requested. His daughter had her hands on his head as she looked at him. "Protect my Love."

Terra and Thor looked at the former God Butcher for a moment. Terra looked at his blonde friend, seeing determination slowly growing in Thor's eyes as he remembered his promise to Jane just a few moments ago. Thor kept a neutral look on his face, but the determination was still in his eyes as he nodded at Gorr in promise.

With that, Gorr turned and looked up at his daughter to give her one more smile. After a few seconds though, his eyes closed, and his head tilted back as it went limp. Though he still held onto his daughter's hand, his arms went limp and dropped down as he died, too. Terra inwardly felt a great deal of extra sympathy for Gorr, hoping that he at least managed to find some form of peace in the afterlife.

With Gorr dead, his daughter slowly looked up at Terra and Thor and curled her lips inwardly in an awkward manner. Terra inwardly grimaced, knowing that this would end up being one hell of an adjustment for her. He lifted up a hand and gave an awkward wave as Thor slowly breathed in and out, then tried to give her a reassuring smile, but decided against it.

Terra wasn't really sure where they could go from here, but a part of him couldn't help but think that they would be okay.

Chapter Text

Korg: Let me tell you the legend of the Space Viking, AKA, the Mighty Thor, Dr. Jane Foster.

Earth 616

New Asgard

At New Asgard, near one of the many ridges and grass crops that overlooked the surging water of the river, a large statue had been sculpted of Jane in her Mighty Thor armor, depicting her with her cape flowing, her arms out, and her arm raised with Mjölnir over her head. Whoever had constructed the statue had done a masterful work, because every detail of her armor was accurate, between the smaller details in her armor, her face, the fabric in the cape, to even the cracks in Mjölnir.

Korg: Her sacrifice saved the universe, and taught us all what it means to be worthy.

Days prior, the waves of Bifrost energy flowed down from the sky and landed next to a building at the edge of town. With that, the dozens of children that had been captive of Gorr all excitedly ran into the streets, where they had happy reunions with their ecstatic and relieved parents. Aqua and Ventus walked out of the hospital together (with a cast over Ventus's leg as Aqua supported him), watching as the children all had the biggest smiles on their faces as they hugged their parents. Ventus let out a huff of amazement and relief over the fact that Thor and Terra had succeeded, and Aqua had a small smile, proud of her boyfriend for succeeding.

Korg: She helped the children of the gods, who laser-beamed their way back home to their dozy little fishing village turned tourist destination.

Aqua and Ventus continued to watch the happy reunions between the children and their parents, including Axl and his mother. The telepathic child dropped Stormbreaker as he and his mother hugged, promising her that he was okay. Aqua and Ventus smiled once again, glad that the captive children had all been returned home.

Korg: The kids were safe to be kids again.

Of course, a few days later, the kids were with Valkyrie and the newly recovered Sif out near one of the outcroppings that allowed them to see the water. Many of the kids were holding wooden swords, all of them following their teachers' instructions as they swung the weapons around and stayed in the right stances. Valkyrie walked around and instructed them to be louder with their battle cries and adjust their stances, while Sif demonstrated the right ways to swing a sword. It was a little difficult since she only had one arm, but Sif managed it pretty well.

Korg: Especially after their king made them all go to self-defense classes. Look at all those budding Space Vikings.

Valkyrie then took out her sword and held it up, instructing the kids to remember the most important part of the battle: the battle cry. They all held up their swords and yelled together.

Korg: Even Heimdall's son, Axl Heimdallson, who could now do his dad's freaky eye magic, was becoming quite the warrior. The future of Asgard was secure.

Sif ended up practicing with Axl to help him strengthen his swordplay. The two of them dueled together with the wooden swords, with Sif clearly the better warrior, but also holding back for Axl's sake. Axl nodded in promise before the two of them continued fighting, with Sif still working to ensure he became a good fighter. *1*

Though they were sure that everything was okay with the children having been returned, Aqua and Ventus were still worried. At least, until they got a call from Terra through the Gummiphone that he and Thor were okay. When they asked about Jane, Terra grimaced and said he would explain later, which did concern them a little. Terra then promised that he'd be back soon, he just had a few things he needed to help Thor with. Aqua and Ventus nodded before hanging up. Looking around to see that everything was okay, the two of them then said their goodbyes to Sif and Valkyrie, summoning their Gliders and taking off for the Land of Departure once again.

They'd remember to contact Terra about this before he left Thor.

Somewhere in Space

Volcano

Korg's body had fully grown back, and he had met another Kronan, a male one by the name of Dwayne, who had a pretty large mustache. The two of them sat together in the volcano and sang the courting song that was natural to their species when they wanted to make a baby. The two of them sang for another few moments before they grasped their hands together, smiling as they stared into each others' eyes.

Korg: Speaking of futures, I was forging one of my own, now that my body's grown back, with a dude I met called Dwayne.  *2*

Korg: And what about Thor, you ask?

Somewhere else in Space

Thor's ship

Terra stuck around with Thor as the Thunder God acquired a large enough spaceship that also had a decent interior, which could work as a home for him and Gorr's daughter, who claimed she was actually named Love. Though he raised an eyebrow over that choice of name, he decided not to think about it for too long, accepting it as probably being normal for Gorr's people. Luckily, good enough distractions were provided from this as they set up the ship together, furnishing it with suggestions from their friends (Vision, Sam, and Hope), while also getting proper clothes, food, and even toys for Love.

They also made sure to stop at New Asgard to acquire Stormbreaker, since Thor was going to need the axe back, even with also having Mjölnir once again. Terra had already had a phone call with Aqua and Ventus, and nodded at them, promising that he'd see them back at the Land of Departure. He then returned to the ship with Thor and Love, wanting to ensure that they'd be okay before returning home.

Luckily, the next day, things had seemed adjusted well enough between Thor and his adopted daughter, though he was being nice about it and having her call him "Uncle Thor." Terra understood this, though he blushed whenever Love called him "Uncle Terra."

As this day started, Thor had landed the ship on a planet where he had heard about some kind of dispute between the aliens on the surface, so he and Love were going to protect the weaker ones. Terra still didn't understand the concept of bringing children into battle like this, but he decided not to argue too much since this was a custom for Asgardian families. (The fact that half his friends were teenagers that risked their lives every other day also shut him up.)

Currently, Thor was at the stove preparing breakfast for Love, cracking eggs in a mixing bowl while wearing an apron. Love was sitting at the table and reading The Foster Theory, a book written by Jane, and Terra was leaning against the counter while sipping from a mug of coffee, dressed back in his tight black and gray shirt, red straps, hakama pants, wristband, and the armor on his left arm. Terra sipped at his coffee, nodding his head while also looking around in appreciation at the decor for the kitchen.

Korg: He embarked on a new journey, because he had found something to live for, something to love for. A little someone who turned him from Sad God into Dad God.

Terra watched as Thor prepared a plate of pancakes for Love, then carried it over to the table with a smile. Love was still reading the book, wearing her green jacket backwards and reading it through the eyehole in the hood. Thor placed the plate of food on the table in front of her, which drew her attention from The Foster Theory.

"Breakfast is served," Thor explained. "Bon appétit."

He chuckled and reached up, slowly pulling the hood down to uncover Love's face.

"Hello," Thor told his adoptive daughter. He brushed her hair as she kept reading the book. "There you are. Hey. Breakfast."

Terra grabbed another pancake from the offered plate and took a bite out of it as Thor turned and returned behind the counter. He hummed in appreciation at the taste, which had Thor chuckling victoriously.

"Excuse me," Love said, getting their attention. They looked at her as she pointed at the pancakes. "What is that?"

"They're pan-flaps," Thor explained. "From Earth."

"I don't think I like pan-flaps," Love said, looking between him and the plate.

"You love them," Thor optimistically replied.

"No, I don't," Love corrected him with a small frown.

"Yes, you do," Thor tried to insist.

"I've never had that in my life," Love replied, adjusting the book in her hands.

"She does have a point there," Terra pointed out. He shrugged his shoulders. "If it helps, they're really called pancakes, not pan-flaps."

"Whatever," Thor said with a sigh. He gestured to Love's plate. "Come on. Eat up. We have to go. We're gonna be late. Now, where are your boots."

"I'm wearing them," Love said in a sing-song manner.

She lifted up her legs, placing her feet on the table and displaying the pink, flamingo slippers she was wearing. Terra couldn't help but chuckle, while Thor just softly sighed out.

"You're not wearing those," Thor told her as he placed a towel on his shoulder.

"Yes, I am," Love corrected him.

"No, you're not," Thor remarked, adjusting the towel again.

"Yes, I am," Love insisted, once again singing.

"No," Thor sternly denied. "You're not."

"Go to hell, demon!" Love suddenly declared, sitting up in her chair as her eyes glowed purple.

Terra and Thor's eyes widened, both of them now wishing they knew the extent of Eternity's powers in the girl. Terra yelled out and dropped his half-eaten pancake as Thor snatched the pan and held it up in defense. A purple beam shot right out of Love's eyes, hitting the pan and burning the bottom of it. Love continued to frown, even as the purple light slowly faded from her eyes.

"Wow," Thor commented, disappointment in his voice. He gestured to the pan before placing it down. "Brand new, now destroyed. Thank you very much. You know what? You wear what you want. Don't come complaining to me when your feet get sore, all right? You'll get no sympathy here from me."

Love deflated slightly, looking to the side with a begrudging expression on her face.

"Fine, I'll wear the boots," she relented.

"Thank you," Thor said.

Terra let out another huff of surprise as he looked between Thor and Love. It had only been a couple of days, but the two of them had clearly already settled into a surprisingly normal relationship of a father and a daughter (well, as normal as it could be given the fact they both had super powers), even down to the way they argued with each other. It was because of this that Terra was pretty sure the two of them would be okay from this point out.

... It also made Terra decide that he was happy that he and Aqua were going to wait a long time before having children. *3*

After breakfast, the three of them started getting ready for their day a bit more. Thor took a moment to return to Love's room to replace her flamingo slippers with her boots, as she sat in a seat next to a hanger holding up a number of jackets and coats. Terra looked from where Thor had disappeared, then looked at Love as she fiddled with a yellow and purple dragon toy.

"You shouldn't be too angry at him, you know," Terra told the girl, wanting to help a little bit more before he left. "He might be a little hard on you, but that's just because he wants you to be safe. It's another little way of him saying that he loves you."

"I understand," Love said with a small nod of her head. She looked up from her toy and smiled at him. "Thanks, Uncle Terra."

Terra smiled and nodded back before Thor returned.

After Love slipped on a purple denim vest over her hoodie, Thor sat down next to her and placed her legs on his knees, working to slide her boots onto her feet. Terra stood to the side with his arms crossed, once again taking a moment to watch as the two interacted like a normal family.

"Remember what my mother used to tell me," Thor told Love. "Listen to the grown-ups, and if you see anyone scared or being picked on, you look after them, okay?"

"Okay," Love replied while still fiddling with the toy.

"And most of all, have fun," Thor added optimistically.

"Gotcha," Love promised as she set down the toy.

"Gotcha," Thor replied.

"Gotcha," Terra added with a smile.

The three of them chuckled together before Thor stood up.

"Now, where is Mjölnir?" Thor asked, looking around as Love stood with him. "Where did I put him?"

"Over there," Love said, pointing at a wicker bucket under a seat. "Sleeping in the bed."

"In the bed," Thor assessed.

Terra and Thor raised their eyebrows and shared a look. While Love turned to put down her toy, Thor crouched down and pulled out the wicker basket. He and Terra raised their eyebrows when they saw Mjölnir placed in the basket like it was a bed, complete with a small blanket over the handle, a stuffed toy with it, and a pillow underneath the top of the hammer. Of course, they were a little shocked to see pink, blue, and green lines drawn on the surface of the hammer, giving the impression of a face.

"Oh, wow," Thor said, keeping his voice neutral.

"That is... a look," Terra commented.

Thor grasped Mjölnir by the handle and lifted it up as he stood. He reached up with his other hand and rubbed at the drawing, which did nothing.

"That is not coming off," Thor commented.

"Well, Roxas will definitely be hesitant to use it now," Terra commented with a raised eyebrow.

The two of them turned towards Love, with Thor holding up Mjölnir to show the drawn face to Love. He gave a small smile, still keeping a neutral look in his eyes and his voice. Love, meanwhile, had slipped a white bicycle helmet with numerous, different colored spots onto her head and was now standing in front of a mirror.

"What did you do?" Thor asked, pointing at Mjölnir.

"Eh, she looked boring before," Love said, observing her reflection in the mirror.

While she held up two thumbs-up and nodded her head into the mirror, Thor turned Mjölnir around to look at the drawn face once again.

'Side effect of having a daughter, I guess,' Terra thought. He grimaced. 'If Aqua and I have one, I hope she does not have my personality. Though, that baby would be beautiful, and really strong.'

"Yeah," Thor said, drawing Terra from his thoughts. (Which he was grateful for, because he didn't want to think about children too much without Aqua). "Suppose it did. I love it."

He chuckled as Love took off the helmet.

"Very creative," Thor praised.

"That's one way to put it," Terra commented. He huffed as he and Thor walked towards the exit ramp. "I guess you better get used to a lot of pink."

"Oh, yes," Thor agreed, pushing a button to open the ramp. "And Sir Scott told me to get really acquainted with a movie called Frozen."

Terra raised an eyebrow at that while the exit ramp slowly rotated down to allow them exit. Love, Terra, and Thor stood together in front of the exit ramp as it revealed the planet to them. The ship was currently parked in a small area with grass, which was right next to a large beach. Across the surface of the white sand, they could see two separate groups of aliens, one of which consisted of tiny creatures gathered around a set of cottages, and a different one consisting of a larger number of creatures that appeared to be ready to charge like gazelles, all of which had other aliens on their backs that were clearly controlling them. The sun gleamed off the water out in the distance, which once again had Terra thinking of Aqua.

"Okay," Thor said, crouching down so that his head was level with Love's. He pointed at the aliens in the colony. "Now, you see the aliens down there? The stripy ones?"

Terra followed the Thunder God's pointed gaze, seeing the aliens in the colony all hurrying to get inside as the ones riding the larger aliens continued to prepare to charge.

"They look nice," Love said with a smile.

"Yeah, they are nice," Thor confirmed. "That's why we have to look after them."

"Got it," Love remarked. "Protect the nice ones."

"Exactly," Terra confirmed with a nod of his head. "We protect the ones who can't protect themselves. That's our job."

"What he said," Thor confirmed. He then smiled and placed a tender hand on the back of Love's head. "I love you, sweetie."

"Love you, Uncle Thor," Love told him. She smiled up at Terra. "See you, Uncle Terra."

Terra smiled and nodded at her as Thor stood up and nodded gratefully at him.

"Thank you for all of your help, my friend," Thor told him.

"Anytime, Thor," Terra promised with a nod of his head. "That's what friends do, after all."

Thor still nodded before turning from Terra and back towards Love. He held out his right hand, and Stormbreaker flew inside, which he then handed to Love. Terra was a little amused at the sight of the small girl holding the large axe, but he shrugged that off as he stepped back, watching as Thor grasped Mjölnir and stood up. Thor and Love both frowned together as they stared out into the distance, clearly ready to fight.

Korg: They will always be there for us. The Space Viking and his girl, born from Eternity. With the powers of a god.

The second set of aliens started to ride their creatures across the sand towards the small colony, and Love and Thor slowly walked down the ramp together. Terra watched as they walked away from the ship and towards the beach together. As they ran, electricity surged from Mjölnir to slowly give Thor gold and black armor with his red cape, confirming to Terra that he still loved to show off.

Korg: Two warriors, fighting the good fight for those who can't fight good. They have traveled far, and have been given many names.

Terra couldn't help but chuckle as Love and Thor lunged forward together, each of them raising the weapons up as they prepared to strike with their weapons against the enemy aliens.

Korg: But to those who know them best, they are simply known as Love and Thunder.

Terra then looked up with a curious frown, wondering why he felt like something really corny had just happened. He shook his head before pressing a button to summon his armor. Summoning his Glider, Terra climbed on, then rose up into the air to begin his trek back to the Land of Departure. As he traveled through the Lanes Between back home, Terra couldn't help but reflect on this recent experience, between fighting Gorr, and the tragic situation between Jane and Thor. Seeing how much the two of them cared about each other couldn't help but make Terra think about his own relationship with Aqua.

He wanted just about everything he could have with Aqua, if she would have him back. He wanted to be with her all the time, every day, for however long they got. He didn't want to just be hanging out with her and just casually being in a relationship with her. He wanted them to be serious together.

Terra... Terra thought that... he wanted to marry Aqua. *4*

Chris Hemsworth as Thor

Jason Dohring as Terra Dohring/Earth Knight

Christian Bale as Gorr

Willa Holland as Aqua Holland/Water Knight

Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie

Jesse McCartney as Ventus Thomas/Wind Knight

Jamie Alexander as Sif

Taika Waititi as Korg

Kieron L. Dyer as Axl

with Russel Crowe as Zeus

and Natalie Portman as Dr. Jane Foster/Mighty Thor

featuring The Guardians of the Galaxy

Chris Pratt as Peter Quill/Star Lord

Dave Bautista as Drax

Karen Gillan as Nebula

Pom Klementieff as Mantis

Sean Gunn as Kraglin

featuring Vin Diesel as The Voice of Groot

Bradley Cooper as Rocket

Thor and Earth Knight: Love and Thunder

Omnipotence City

Deep within his chambers at Omnipotence City, Zeus was surrounded by a few of his followers, his Zeusettes all fanning him as he held onto the wound in the center of his chest, grimacing slightly in pain. He lamented to his Zeusettes that being a god used to mean something, including how people used to whisper their name before sharing their deepest hopes and dreams, and how one would beg you for mercy.

Arrogance and anger was in Zeus's voice as he lamented that people didn't ask for the gods, anymore, and only wanted to see their "so-called superheroes." He lamented that they had become a joke, too arrogant to realize that this was his own fault due to the way he and the other gods acted.

Zeus then declared that people would fear the gods again when Thor "falls from the sky." He looked at his son, Hercules, who stood up from a pedestal dressed in armor. Hercules confirmed that he understood before preparing a weapon in his hand, ready to listen and fulfill his father's wishes.

Valhalla

Bright orange lights surged through the sky and slowly flowed down to the end of the bridge, slowly gathering together before glowing brightly. Once the lights finished glowing, they transformed into Jane Foster, who gasped in surprise, taking a moment to look around and assess her location, and her new attire of a light gray robe. She looked around in shock before taking a few steps forward, her eyes widening as she saw a man she recognized in front of her.

Heimdall approached her, wearing his own gray robe while his hair flowed down in dreadlocks around his head. Jane and Heimdall greeted each other with smiles, and after Heimdall assessed that she was dead, he thanked Jane for looking after his son. He then turned and gestured with an arm, explaining that Jane was welcome in "the land of the gods." Heimdall turned and smiled at her, welcoming her to Valhalla. Though she was shocked, the biggest smile was on Jane's face at the confirmation of this.

The Land of Departure

Returning home to the Land of Departure, Terra let out a small sigh of contentment as he dismissed his armor, strolling through the entrance hallway of the castle as he made his way towards the staircase that led up. He had had time during his trek through the Lanes Between to think about his new feelings towards Aqua, and the new plan that he was thinking about with wanting to marry her. Obviously he was going to have to wait and see if being married was something she wanted, too, so he would have to just keep these feelings to himself for now.

He also wouldn't be telling Ventus about his plans, either. Even though his young(er looking) friend had been successful at keeping it secret that he and Vanitas were trying to get Terra and Aqua together, Terra himself wasn't sure he could trust Ventus with this kind of information. So, he would keep it all secret until the time was right for him to actually propose to Aqua.

This especially worked, as it would also give him time to search for the right ring.

Brushing these thoughts to the side, Terra proceeded through the Grand Hall of the castle, nodding slightly in appreciation at the well-being of the plants and animals around them. Clearly the housekeepers were doing a good job of keeping things tidy, so a little part of Terra they should give them a raise. Deciding to discuss that with the others later, Terra turned and walked towards the doorway that led to one of the side additions of the castle, directly towards the kitchens.

Entering the kitchen, Terra smiled when he saw his suspicions were correct. Aqua was at the stove, watching it as a baking tray cooked within the large device, while Ventus sat at a counter top. He rested his elbows on the table, watching his laptop with great intrigue.

"Hey," Terra said in greeting.

Aqua immediately turned towards Terra, and a big smile appeared on her face. She rushed across the kitchen, wrapped her arms around Terra, and pulled him in for a big kiss. Terra was surprised, but he returned the kiss, leaning in and parting his lips to meet hers. The two of them stayed like this for a few moments before they separated and smiled at each other.

"If you greeted me like this all the time, I'd leave home a bit more often," Terra quipped.

Aqua chuckled and rammed a fist against Terra's bicep.

"I'm glad to see you're okay," Aqua said.

"Same to you," Terra said.

He smiled before looking from Aqua to Ventus.

"Ven," Terra said.

"Hey, Terra," Ventus said, waving a hand while keeping his eyes on the screen.

"Not what I was expecting," Terra remarked.

"Sorry," Aqua said. She chuckled. "He finally figured out how to start a video call on his own. Now he's watching Chirithy interact with Stitch out in Radiant Garden."

Terra raised an eyebrow, now intrigued by what this video could include. He and Aqua stepped over to the computer, then they joined Ventus in laughing.

On the screen, they could see Chirithy and Stitch, and while Stitch appeared to be very happy and excited, Chirithy looked like they wanted to be anywhere else. Stitch was nice and offered a small toy, a pen, and even an ice cream bar to Chirithy, who just shifted away uncomfortably from Stitch, not liking the excitement in the eyes of the blue alien.

"Ven!" Chirithy called. "Please save me!"

"I'll be there to pick you up tomorrow," Ventus promised with a laugh.

"Today, please!" Chirithy insisted, desperation in their high-pitched voice.

Of course, before Chirithy could say anything else, the camera adjusted, swiveling around to show the faces of Aerith, Cid, and Yuffie.

"Hey, nice to see you made it back safe an' sound, Terra," Cid greeted.

"We could've used your help against Anato," Aerith admitted. "But we managed to make due on our own."

"Sorry about that," Terra told them. "I did hurry to try and find Thor as fast as I could."

"Hey, it's no worries," Yuffie optimistically said. She perked up in realization. "Hey, now that you're back, can I ask something?"

"Sure, I guess," Terra said with a shrug of his shoulders.

He shared a look with Aqua and Ventus, wondering what Yuffie would want from him.

"Leon's still back on Earth 616," Yuffie explained. She furrowed her eyebrows in a worried manner. "He mentioned something about stopping back at Wakanda to see his friends there. We left him the ship, but he still hasn't returned. He also hasn't answered any of our calls over the last few days. Did you see him, or anything about him before you left Earth 616?"

Aerith and Cid were now looking at Terra with similar looks of intrigue on their faces. Aqua and Ventus also perked up, turning to look at Terra with similarly curious looks on their own faces.

Terra couldn't even try to hide his grimace at their question. The truth was, he had seen something in the news that involved Leon, and could explain why the other brunette hadn't returned to Radiant Garden or contacted his friends, yet. But given what the news was, he was hesitant to actually share this with Aerith, Cid, and Yuffie.

This made the looks of curiosity on all of their faces hurt. And as he looked from the trio in Radiant Garden on the screen to his own friends next to him, Terra sighed out, knowing that he had to share the truth with them all.

"Leon is still back on Earth 616," Terra told them. "But it looks like he's still gonna stay there for a while."

"Why?" Yuffie asked.

She, Aerith, and Cid all frowned in confusion.

"You remember how M'Baku and Shuri mentioned something about T'Challa being sick?" Terra asked. "Well... something really bad happened."

Aerith, Aqua, Cid, Ventus, and Yuffie all raised their eyebrows in surprise. The five of them all looked at Terra together, all of them wanting to know what had happened, and if Leon and T'Challa were okay. *5*