https://youtu.be/xHVMOlRsZQs

The moment he was out the front door, Oz began to sprint, running as quickly as he could muster - mainly out of excitement. Even if he was mainly in this out of a genuine desire to do good, he couldn't deny the rush this whole thing gave him. He was going out to be a hero, both to Midgard and to Asgard, and there wasn't a damn thing Svafrlami could do about it. Not that he thought he wouldn't try.

He ran past several houses, ignoring all the onlooking angels who gazed at him with the utmost curiosity. He minded his own business, which was none of theirs, mind you, and continued to run across the clouds and plains, destined for the very edge of Asgard.

While he was running, he noticed a certain redheaded figure out of the corner of his eye and slowly came to a halt, turning around to see her staring at him. Smiling happily, he waved at her, deciding it couldn't hurt to chat briefly with her. "We meet again, Eagle."

Indeed, it was Yuri, whose seemingly worried eyes returned to her usual stoic look once she heard Oz's familiar voice. She saw him standing in front of her, and her slow stride stopped in an instant, now facing him and returning his wave. "Oh...good morning, Oz." she replied. "Or...do you prefer 'Comic Mask'?"

"Just Oz is fine." he shook his head. "What are you up to, Yuri? Any exciting missions lately?"

Yuri momentarily froze, remembering what Svafrlami had tasked her with, and decided against spilling the beans. "...nothing in particular." she said. "What about you? Did you get the promotion?"

"No, I got fired." Oz said casually, making her pause once again. "I hope you have a nice day, though!"

"Wait...you got fired?" Yuri frowned. "...why?"

"Well, let's just say Svafrlami and I had a falling out." Oz chuckled quietly, giving Yuri an awkward smile. "But I assure you, I'm doing fine."

"I...can appeal for you to get your job back, if you'd like..."

"He won't agree. He isn't very fond of me right now." Or ever, but that was neither here nor there. "Besides, I'm fine, really!"

"If you insist..." Yuri nodded slowly, not wanting to push him even if she didn't feel completely sure about this. "Then...where are you headed? You seem like you're in a hurry..."

"Just off visiting an ancient castle or something." Oz replied. "I think it's called 'Ine Castle'. There's someone I need to meet up with there."

"Oh..." Yuri murmured, tilting her head curiously. "...who is it?"

"I'll find out when I get there."

This prompted another awkward pause from Yuri, but she figured she'd have to be there if she wanted to find out anything more. If he was really a Hel's Angel, then this could end up being incriminating. So, she simply nodded, knitting her hands together. "Then...I hope you enjoy it."

"Thank you! May your day go well, too." Oz nodded quickly, looking past the redhead. "For now, though, I must bid you farewell."

"Right...goodbye, Oz."

She waved at him, and he saluted in response before running off. Yuri watched him leave, taking in everything he'd said. When he was out of sight, she recalled the way to the Val Gate and began walking, a very tepid scowl being the sole discernible emotion on her face.

"He said...Ine Castle." she murmured as she walked, reminding herself that this was her duty as a knight. But she couldn't contain the sole sigh that escaped. "...I'm sorry."

.........

https://youtu.be/UuF00V6qPKY

And so continued Oz's sprint, taking him all the way to the mist-laden dirt paths that led him to the gold and blue Val Gate. Remaining at the top of his speed, he barged open the gates and leapt out, allowing himself to fall into the azure of the heavenly skies. Following the brilliant rainbow bridge of Bifrost, he kept the Ine Castle in mind and soared through the sky on ivory wings.

Once again, he flew, with a serious face beneath a comical mask. He kept his eyes on the bridge beneath him, allowing it to guide his way. He wasn't sure what the Hel's Angels were plotting there, but he'd be there to put a stop to it all the same.

"Oh, Oz~" the dulcet tones of Freya spoke in his head, instantly grabbing his attention just as he made a sudden right turn. "Can you hear me?"

"Loud and clear, Freya." Oz responded calmly, smiling slightly as he heard her voice. Freya breathed a sigh of relief, watching his flight from the heavens.

"I've been trying to reach you for a while now, but I can't contact you until you've actually left the heavens." she said. "Where have you been?"

"Ah, sorry, I had a bit of a hold-up." he said. "I saw a friend on the way, and I figured I could spare a few minutes to say hi."

"I suppose that's acceptable, but please be faster next time." Freya sighed. "We don't know how much time we have, so we can't afford too many delays."

At that, Oz reminded himself to be at his top speed, continuing to look ahead and know when to turn. Which, unfortunately, made sharp turns even more abrupt and a real test of his reaction time. He wasn't sure what would happen if he careened off the edge of Bifrost, but he certainly didn't think he had the time to find out.

As he flew, he heard Freya's voice in his head once again, and instantly perked up to listen. "...is green your favourite colour, Oz?"

"Why, yes it is."

"Oh, good choice. It's a nice colour, very calming." Freya mused. "Why do you like it? Is it because you're a gardener?"

Oz shook his head with a smile. "Only partially." he said. "See, my eyes are green, and eyes are windows to the soul! My soul is a beautiful thing, which means green is a beautiful colour!"

"That's...certainly a speech." Freya commented. "But by that logic, red must be the most gorgeous colour of them all, right?"

"Certainly, it's up there, but..." Oz smiled to himself. Freya cleared her throat in response, hearing him trail off.

"Are you really claiming to be prettier than the goddess of beauty?" she asked, curious and openly amused. "That's a very hefty claim..."

"Oh, Freya, I don't mean to offend you. You're the most beautiful woman I've ever met, certainly!" Oz grinned widely beneath his mask. "But I am no woman."

"Oh, you narcissist!" Freya exclaimed in a mostly joking manner. "Just you wait. When you return, I'm going to dazzle you with my charm."

"I can't wait to see it." Oz replied, and the two of them shared a chuckle as the einherjar continued his flight. "So...do you know anything about Ine Castle? Anything that might draw an evil terrorist group to it, preferably?"

"Nothing special. It's just a really old tower that used to belong to a king." Freya explained. "After he died, he wished for his tower to become a monument for his reign, and since then, nobody's touched it."

"Interesting..." Oz murmured, figuring he might have to brush up on some of his old history books. "Perhaps by invading it, the Angels wanted to make a statement."

"Something like 'we don't play by your rules'? That sounds fitting." Freya commented. "I mean, killing Odin is as big a rule-break as you can get."

"Perhaps. Then by driving them out, I can make my own statement." Oz mused excitedly. "Such as 'I'll make you play by the rules, whether you like it or not'!"

"Great idea." Freya sighed. "Liberating an ancient landmark...what a debut. It makes for an interesting honeymoon, too..."

"...honeymoon?"

Oz looked around as he flew, evidently confused, and Freya giggled at his flusteredness. "Of course!" she exclaimed. "As a commemoration of our union as Patron and Guest, what else can this be but a most sublime honeymoon?"

"I...never thought to look at it like that." Oz shuddered slightly, having thought of his and Thor's previous dynamic as something akin to a Patronage, and thus not really sure what to make of this. "So I shall not start now."

"Your loss. I personally find this outlook rather fun."

The two of them mused on this with varying levels of interest, but eventually, Oz's thought process was disrupted by the view of a mighty yet visibly derelict tower penetrating the clouds. Quickly, he perked up, beginning to circle the tower as he saw the earths of Midgard beneath him. "Looks like we're almost there."

"Then sally forth, Oz!" Freya exclaimed. As if to obey, Oz boosted his speed, surrounding his body in a thick green lightning. He took a deep breath, determined to do what was right and continue his advancement towards his goal. To make his debut against the Angels and preserve an ancient landmark...this would certainly be a mission to remember.

.........

https://youtu.be/5OU_A4-48zE

At a glance, the 'castle' was in fact a tower, tall, and crafted from stone, grey and crumbling. One could describe its shape as an unchanging cylinder, and from where Oz was standing, the top could not be seen. The exterior of the tower was filthy, having clearly been neglected for a very long time. It truly was tall, piercing even the sky with its height.

At the foot of the tower, there was no door - instead, standing guard in front of an empty arch were two men who looked rather peculiar. Their harlequin-esque outfits, red and black, and the wicked paint on their faces made it clear that they were clowns - or something adjacent to that, at least. Evil, sinister, malcontent clowns, that was. And once Oz landed in front of them, their painted-over eyes immediately locked onto him, and in the blink of an eye, they brandished sinister daggers, with jagged blades and hilts carved from mistletoe.

"Heh, looks like the ringmaster made a good call." the clown on the left smirked, his voice raspy and high-pitched.

"You got that right, Chip." the other clown replied, his voice deeper and more gravelly. "An angel crawled right into our circus."

Oz watched these two closely, looking rather confused as he tried to make something of this. "...excuse me, but I'm not inside yet." he said, before looking up to the sky and whispering, "Freya, who are these guys? Are they Hel's Angels?"

"I'm sure of it." Freya responded in his mind. "I saw lots of people like them entering the tower."

"...are you really sure?" Oz asked, returning to eyeing the clowns in disbelief. Were these really the villains plotting to kill Odin? He couldn't help but feel underwhelmed, gazing at the harle-twins staring at him with big grins and licking their lips. It was almost predatory, and it sent a freezing shiver down his spine.

"As sure as Svafrlami is a dick!" Freya insisted. "You wear a theatre mask, can't anyone else be silly?"

"...Good point." Oz shrugged, sighing slightly as he flashed the clowns a confident little smile. "So...you two. You're the Hel's Angels, right?"

"Of course!" the high-pitched voice screeched. "Trusted by Commander Anwin himself, we guard the entrance to the castle of Ine!"

"I, Biff!" the deep-voiced one announced.

"And I, Chip!"

"Together, we keep this base secure!" Biff bellowed out. "Safe from heavenly threats like you!"

"...did you just say 'Commander Anwin'?"

Upon hearing those words, Oz slowly removed his mask, revealing a worrisome look on his face while he stared at the clowns. In his eyes, a mixture of concern, curiosity and mild hope stewed together, much to the clowns' confusion.

"What, do you know the guy?" Chip questioned.

"Perhaps Anwin killed his family!" Biff speculated. "And the angel here is out for revenge!"

"Where is he?" Oz asked, his voice taking a more serious inflection. "He's at the top, right?"

"If you wanna know, you'll have to play our game." Biff smirked, while Chip grinned wildly, holding his knife near his mouth.

"Yeah! It's called 'Pin the Knife in the Angel'!" the more shrill clown announced, before taking a faux-contemplative stance. "Hmm, but if only we had an angel...OH, WAIT!"

The two of them twirled their knives quickly, entering low battle stances, and Oz responded by summoning a pair of daggers made of solid light, entering his own stance. "If this is what it takes...then I'll play your game, Angels."

https://youtu.be/ZbFVnXBOnk4

The clowns looked at each other, momentarily wondering if they had perhaps been hoist by their own petards in their threat, before glaring at Oz, Biff grimacing while Chip had a huge grin on his face. "En garde!" they said in unison.

At once, they charged at the einherjar, both of them moving swiftly as they held their blades out in front of them, poised to attack. Oz, not one for waiting around, quickly working the divine hammers and turning his paired daggers into a fan of knives. Quickly, he teleported backwards and fired them at once in a wide storm of holy blades.

The clowns, naturally, weren't able to dodge this very well. Once they were thoroughly dazzled, Oz quickly switched back to dual-guns and recklessly opened fire, peppering the two with bullets. They stood there and took it for a little while before looking at each other, nodding, and splitting off from one another. Biff moved to the left and Chip moved to the right, but the moment they were separated, they seemed to disappear in thin air.

Neither one of them appeared visible to Oz's eyes anymore. As he remained on guard, he heard Freya's voice resounding in his mind. "Be careful, Oz!" she warned. "They've used cloaking magic! They'll try to get you while they're invisible!"

"Duly not-"

Before he could finish, he felt one of their knives thrust into his side and hissed out in pain. Taking this as a sign that they were in melee, he unleashed a sphere of green lightning from his body. The attacks didn't seem to continue for a while, but as Oz listened carefully, he heard their footsteps rapidly circling him, so synchronised that he couldn't properly distinguish between them.

"Freya, what are they doing?"

"They appear to be running around you and...dancing, I think."

"Dancing?"

"Be on the lookout. They'll probably try to disorient you."

Oz nodded, summoning a pair of sabres to defend himself while continuing to listen out, but the sound eventually grew silent. This puzzled him, and he raised an eyebrow, brandishing his blades defensively. "Are they still dancing?"

"Yeah, but they're drawing nearer!"

"Ha!" Oz smiled brightly. "Then let them come!"

Immediately growing focused, he closed his eyes, waiting for a chance to dodge and counter. In the second before they struck, they reappeared on either side of him, and just as quickly Oz spun around, narrowly avoiding their blades as they shot past him, forming an X-shape with their movements before they turned back to look at him, clapping at them before gesturing grandly at them.

"Haha! Encore, I say!"

The clowns looked at one another and nodded, their blades glowing a vibrant yellow and purple as they looked at Oz with a mean glare. Challenge accepted. They disappeared and suddenly reappeared in each-other's places, dashing forth to cross-slash him yet again. Oz twirled out of the way all the same, and their blades struck air.

Now on opposing sides to him, they figured the best thing to do was to give this joker no chance to breathe whatsoever. So they teleported again and again, repeatedly criss-crossing on both sides of him while the speed of their attacks steadily grew. Oz played along with the dance, spinning out of the way of each stab in a way that looked effortless, but in truth took almost all the effort the einherjar could muster.

"Oz, try to throw them off somehow." Freya suggested, and Oz nodded, narrowly dodging another set of attacks while he tried to strategize in the meantime. He had to dodge from two places at once each time, because they always attacked together...so perhaps, he thought, victory may lie in compromising that. So this time, he paid extra attention to where just one of the attacks came from.

And the moment they struck, he let Biff's blade hit him, grabbing the arm of an unfortunate Chip. As the shrill clown processed what was going on, stopping in his tracks, Oz pulled him in, spinning them both around before Oz held onto him, extending his arm as though they were in a waltz. He then proceeded to spin him away, leaving him dizzy while Biff watched on in confusion. Immediately, Oz got to work, creating another fan of knives and firing each blade at Chip, causing him to let out a heartful cry as he fell to the ground.

Biff, angered at his companion's pain, charged Oz, only for the latter to summon another dagger and parry his upcoming blow. He then summoned a sabre and shifted forth to unleash a flurry of needle-like jabs to Biff's chest, before putting his weapons away to throw his hands forward, unleashing twin snakes of electricity from his palms to assail him.

Once that was done, the angel stepped back and twirled his guns as they materialised into his hands, pointing one at each clown, both of whom recoiled in fear, already panting in clear weakness and exhaustion. On his face was a cheerful smile, as if he hadn't spent the past few minutes painstakingly dodging blades. "Well?" he said, alternating his gaze between the twins. "Did I win?"

"Y-Yes, you won..." Biff murmured. "Please don't kill us..."

"Yeah! We were just doing our jobs!" Chip pleaded, visibly panicking. Oz slowly nodded, lowering his guns.

"Worry not. I'll do no such thing." he said. "Provided you meet your end of the deal."

"O-O-Of course!" Chip stammered. "Commander Anwin, he's...not at the top of the castle! He's on the ninth floor!"

"Ninth floor...out of ten, if I recall." Freya murmured, a piece of information that Oz made sure to keep in mind. On his part, he nodded, putting his guns away and smiling as he began to walk past them.

"Thank you kindly." he said, humming quietly as he made his way to the door, an act met with no objection or resistance whatsoever. Though he remained on guard, he wasn't attacked - not even an attempt was made. Satisfied at this, he looked forward to making his way up this old tower once and for all. All it took to start was to simply step through this cavernous void to see what laid within.