https://youtu.be/mOpa9XKPAZE

It was a beautiful afternoon in Asgard. The wind blew gently, calming all who experienced it, and the heavens rested under blue skies. But even this peaceful land had a ruler, one who looked over all that happened. And he resided in this castle.

Yes, the royal castle. It was made from white stone, with large, pointed, blue-tiled roofs on every building, and the central building had a large flag billowing, coloured sky blue with an emblem of a white cloud on it.

Inside the castle was a throne room, which was quite far-removed from Hel's. Its floor was covered in pristine porcelain tiles, and leading to the throne was a practically new red carpet. Said throne was great, golden and majestic, truly fit for a king.

Sitting atop that throne was the king himself, an elderly-looking man. He held his golden spear in hand and looked on blankly, his eye glowing in rainbow colours as his other eye was covered with an eyepatch. His hair was long and grey, tied over his shoulder, with an identically-coloured beard. His clothing was a black robe with gold accents, with a black cloak contrasting against it all.

His eye slowly returned to a bright green colour as he heard loud, fast footsteps approaching his room. He looked up to the door, his expression stoic but gentle. He was not surprised when the great wooden door swung open, seeing a mildly panting Thor standing at the other side and walking in towards him. His metal boots clanked on the tiled floor, with only the carpet between them.

The king mustered a small smile as his eye met Thor's, looking up at him but remaining seated. "Good morrow, Thor." he spoke in a voice that was deep and imposing, but still gentle. "You appear to have had quite the journey."

"Odin, I come bearing bad news!" Thor exclaimed, his expression worried as he quickly began to catch his breath. "Oz and I have discovered a group on Midgard, and they're after your head!"

"Hmm, a group, you say?" Odin murmured. "What else have you learned about them?"

"Unfortunately, nothing. Only that they exist." Thor explained, frowning and shaking his head. "We figured we'd tell you as soon as possible so that we can do something!"

"I see." Odin nodded slowly, closing his eye. "Thank you for telling me. I will look into the matter more deeply, and have Svafrlami mobilise the Knights. That should keep them busy."

"Good thinking." Thor replied. "But I'm worried. They managed to undo the spell on Gleipnir..."

"Yes, that is concerning. They must have powerful mages among them." Odin commented, oddly calm.

"Yes, but worry not! He was weak enough that Oz was able to defeat him, at Svafrlami's behest." Thor reassured him.

"Still, if they were able to bring back Fenrir of all things, there's no telling what they're capable of." Odin sighed. "So we should be ready to fight whenever they show up."

Thor gave a sigh at that, recognising that his fighting prowess would be quite the asset here. Still, he was worried about these Hel's Angels, and the threat they posed to his land, and to his father and king. After a moment of pondering, he spoke up. "...maybe Loki knows something."

"Ah, Loki..." Odin murmured, suddenly feeling a migraine coming in. "Unreliable as he is...he may be of use here."

"Then what are you waiting for? Contact him!"

Odin raised his hand coolly. "Patience, my son. It will be useful, especially considering who it is we're dealing with."

"Right, of course." Thor took a deep breath and watched as Odin replaced his spear with a crystal orb, which slowly became filled with a rainbow-coloured light. He then dropped the ball onto the floor and watched it roll a few metres in front of him before stopping. Thor himself had to step back to allow it to run its course, and after a while, a holographic figure rose up from it.

This slender figure was the same size, relatively speaking, as Odin or Thor, and faced the elder god. Thankfully, his image was coloured, showing his long, blond hair, fair skin and his eyes, one of which was yellow and the other, purple. He wore a black and white suit, whose colours were split perfectly down the middle right down to the shoes, with the shirt underneath having the opposite colour on each half. With a foxlike grin and a mischievous twinkle in his eye, he took a bow and looked directly at Odin.

https://youtu.be/Mah8pRo5fo4

"Hello, brother." he said calmly as the other two looked on in suspicion. "Trickster god Loki, at your service!"

"Loki..." Thor almost snarled under his breath. Loki, hearing this, turned around and gave him a bright smile.

"Well, hello, Thor! Aren't you just ecstatic to see your old friend, Loki?" he cheerfully exclaimed, before looking to Odin. "So, what's the sitch? Must be pretty urgent if you've resorted to calling little old me!"

"It is, as a matter of fact!" Thor yelled, not amused in the slightest. "And we believe you might know something - or even be behind it in the first place!"

"Behind it, moi? You wound me!" Loki said sarcastically, looking at Thor with a short-lived faux-betrayed expression. "How's the kid, by the way?"

"Oz? He's...fine." Thor raised an eyebrow, putting a smile on Loki's face before the red-haired god snapped back to seriousness. "But that's besides the point! Tell us what you know about the Hel's Angels!"

"The Hel's Angels? Ooh, don't tell me, lemme guess..." Loki closed his eyes as Thor looked on in mild annoyance and confusion. "Are they...a group of idol singers in Helheim, renowned for their devilish charm, abusive management, and high-pitched, squeaky voices that everyone somehow goes crazy for?"

"Wha- no!" Thor yelled out in protest, causing Loki to shrug.

"Ah, that'd explain why you're so interested, Mr. Alpha-Male-God-Who-Definitely-Isn't-Overcompensating."

"Loki, be serious for once!" Thor scolded, uncharacteristically irate.

"But how can I be serious when I'm too busy joking?" Loki replied, all too characteristically composed.

As Odin looked at the two of them, he sighed and shook his head, allowing the squabble to reach this point before interjecting loudly. "The Hel's Angels, as far as we know, are a group who has assembled to try and kill me, for reasons unknown." he explained, his commanding presence grabbing the attention of both gods. "And they have the power to free Fenrir from his chains. So if you know anything, we would like to be informed."

"Of course, I know everything about those guys." Loki smiled triumphantly. "But they're nothing to be afraid of. Truth is, beneath those helmets of theirs, they're actually horses, and barely even sentient."

"Not a single word of that was even remotely true!" Thor crossed his arms, to which Odin shook his head.

"Loki, this is a genuine threat. If they do possess the power to kill me, then this could mean trouble for all of Asgard." Odin said.

"Ah, how silly of me." Loki kept that smile on his face. "The truth is, they don't possess any sort of magical ability whatsoever. Breaking Fenrir out of his chains? That was done the old-fashioned way. Never skip leg day, my blood brothers - you never know when it'll come in handy."

He turned to Thor, and in a spot-on impression of Oz, added, "Or maybe I ought to say 'leggy'!"

Thor clenched his fist and shook his head, reminding himself that this Loki was a hologram and no form of physical assault would be worth it.

"Loki, I am once again peacefully requesting your cooperation-"

"My cooperation? But why should I say or do anything?" Loki brazenly cut Odin off. "Can't the all-seeing Allfather act with alacrity and attack the ambitious assassins before they arouse anarchy and actuate an apocalypse? Or is that just not 'in the cards'?"

"Stay your tongue, Loki. Even you cannot change the winds of fate." Odin warned, receiving a shrug in response. "Now, I will give you one last chance to say something useful before I cut off the connection."

"Of course, I won't waste too much of your time here!" the trickster god said. "Now, I don't know a whole lot about the Hel's Angels, but don't you think it's weird that you learned them just as Jormungandr came out? Personally, I think it might be linked."

At the mention of that name, both Thor and Odin fell quiet, listening closely to Loki's words as an unearthly chill washed over their very being. Thor in particular felt only one thing at the mention of that name - fear.

"...Jormungandr?" Odin asked, his voice quieter than before. "He's...really free, is he?"

"Yes, take what the trickster says at face value. That's always worked out in the stories." Loki replied, grinning to himself as he watched Odin activating his seidr, before his mannerisms and tone turned more flippant. "But yes, Jormungandr is free, and he's killing people all over the nine realms. Now, as for which realm he's currently in, I'm afraid that's escaping me right now - but you have my word that he's ruining everything there!"

"You...you have to be lying!" Thor yelled out, only for Odin to shake his head as he stopped using seidr.

"No. He tells the truth." the elder god lamented. "I am unable to ascertain who freed him...but he is, in fact, free, and people are being killed thanks to that."

"Ah, they grow up so fast!" Loki gushed.

"You! You did this, didn't you?" Thor roared, and as Loki waved playfully at him, the hologram disappeared, the connection completely cut off. As the thunder god silently seethed, Odin closed his eyes, bowing his head.

"...if what Loki says is true, then there is only one thing that can be done."

.........

https://youtu.be/V2ieTnwJR5E

Of the two of them, Oz was the first to return home, feeling both excited and a little fearful for the days to come. Almost certain that Svafrlami wanted him gone, he couldn't help but assume that this next mission would be all the more dangerous - Fenrir would look like a well-trained puppy compared to what the commander had in store for him.

Thor returned a few minutes later, opening the door, and as Oz looked on, what he saw was a man with a stoic face and fear in his eyes - completely different to the Thor he was used to. Sitting up on the white chair, he looked at the god in concern. "Is everything well, Thor?"

"Good evening, Oz." Thor spoke, his voice devoid of all emotion. "Your, uh, talk with Svafrlami. How was it?"

"It went...relatively fine." Oz replied uneasily. "He didn't accept the mission as complete, but he's giving me another chance. By his orders, I have to return in three days."

"I see." Thor murmured, stepping closer to him. "In that case...I wish you the best of luck."

"Best of luck? You make it sound like I'll be going it alone." Oz chuckled nervously, giving an awkward smile. "Did...something happen with Odin?"

"Indeed." Thor told him, taking a seat next to him. "Have I ever told you about Jormungandr?"

"No...I don't believe you have." Oz shook his head. "What about it?"

Thor took a deep breath, looking into the morbidly curious eyes of his apprentice, and nodded slowly, deciding to face him and say it out loud. "Jormungandr...or as we call him, the World Serpent, is a serpent, as you can probably guess..." he began. "And the two of us are destined to meet our end at each other's hand."

"So...you're going to kill him...and he's going to kill you?" Oz clarified, looking visibly downtrodden at the implications of that.

"Indeed." Thor nodded solemnly. "Jormungandr was freed only today, and much like Fenrir, he is causing all manner of death. So, to save as many lives as possible...Odin has sent me to deal with him."

"...I see." Oz nodded, the implications fully sinking in. Thor, the man who he had leaned on this whole time, who had taught him all he needed to know to be a good angel and a knight - how to live, and how to fight - was being sent to his death. And as it was fate's decree, there was nothing he could do about it. Doing his best to swallow his doubts, he looked up at Thor with a serious expression. "Then I take it you'll be leaving today...which means this is the last time I'll ever see you."

"So it would seem."

"Then in that case..." Oz gave him a plastic smile that only barely hid the pain. "Thank you, Thor. For all you've taught me. I don't know how I'd have lasted this long without you."

"Oh, Oz, I don't know what to say..." Thor replied, giving the einherjar a firm pat on the shoulder. "I've had plenty of apprentices in the past, but you...might just be my favourite. A fast and eager learner, with such a pure heart. You were like a son to me, Oz."

Oz looked up at him and took a deep breath, before giving the god a brief hug and smiling at him. "I hope, by some miracle of fate, that you manage to survive this."

"...that would be nice." Thor replied, smiling back before pulling Oz into another, longer hug, that was reciprocated without hesitation. "But for now...I suppose this is goodbye. I've shown you the ropes, so now it's time for you to leave the nest. You defeated Fenrir without my help - so of course you can survive on your own, can't you?"

"I can..." Oz nodded slowly, watching as Thor moved away from him, beginning to approach the front door.

"Excellent!" Thor smiled cheerfully at him. "I want to return to a brave new Oz - a strong one who doesn't need me to survive! So make me proud, Oz! Follow the righteous path, and you'll get that promotion for sure!"

"I will..." Oz nodded again, giving him a smile as he watched the door open and Thor go through it. "I'll become stronger...for you, Thor."

As these last words were exchanged, the door closed, with each half of the pair keeping the other one in their hearts. If they ever got to see one another again, then surely, they would reunite as heroes to Asgard.

.........

The sun was setting on the great skies of Asgard, and Oz was alone, humming to himself in the middle of his garden, which he had started in his backyard a while ago. And what a prosperous little garden it was, too. Despite its relatively small size, it was very colourful, with green, white, yellow and pink flowers flourishing from the mulch and soil. Clearly, they were cared for greatly, with barricaded patches of soil to one side of the yard while the rest was free. Somewhere in the centre was a durable-looking scarecrow, which seemed rather beaten-up and a little singed, for in addition to scaring off unruly creatures, it pulled double-duty as Oz's training dummy. The whole yard was surrounded by brick walls, with electrically-charged barbed wire to fend off any intruders.

Oz himself was in this garden, standing beneath the setting sun with a metal, green watering-can in his hands, decorated with snake stickers. Gazing down at his plants, he knelt down to water them, smiling emptily at them. "Hey, guys. How's it been?"

The plants, being plants, did not respond. Oz shook his head as he began gently watering them, starting with a patch of green roses. "You must've had a pretty nice day, huh? Just sitting here under the sun, having nothing to worry about unless your silly old master forgets to feed you." he sighed. "What I wouldn't give to be like you..."

Moving on to his patch of white lilies, Oz smiled slightly, closing his eyes. "Well, don't worry. I'm here for you, and I won't ever leave you."

He sighed slightly, shaking his head as he opened his eyes again, finishing his watering of the current patch and standing up, looking over all the patches. His face becoming a frown, he then asked, "...you won't ever leave me, will you?"

And the plants, being plants, did not respond.