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A roar bellowed across the entirety of lake Bass'ken. Mixed with the grief stricken cries of the Aesir the tides of the lake were kicked into madness. Thunder crashed in the heavens as the clouds obeyed their divine calling, blacking out the sky as sadness, rage, and the uncontrollable divine fury with which he was born filled the Thunder God.

The two stalks of a redwood the torn tentacle hit the water parting it on either side of the Aesir, the limb sinking into the inky black, too wounded to continue. He would be able to see it, to hear it. Bigger than a house, letting out a cacophonous wet slosh its red eye turned and locked.

Rage and power beyond reason filled both monsters.

But the tentacles below would not simply toss the Aesir away...it wanted to savor this, to enjoy this. From each man tentacle swarmed an army of smaller tendrils, attacking the thunder god in a horrific barrage, they gripped and lashed and squeezed. And while he may fight and burn and perhaps even call down the fury of the Heaven's themselves there were just too many. He would be suspended between the two tentacles like a puppet, and they would pull.

Perhaps he would scream, perhaps he would not. But they tried their very best to tear him limb from limb. But the flesh of the Aesir resisted...but for now long?

Sickly pops, whirs, sparks, and the sound of warping metal filled the air for a moment before a single tentacle swung loose sloshing across the water and tossing away its metal prize. There was a rhythmic roar...some things did not require words...that was laughter.

In the rip and tear Tomorrow's shirt was rend, and a small round ball fell from it.

If I'm not back in two minutes I want you to use this!

As Tomorrow's eyes caught it, it reacted. It stopped in mid air, hovering in front of his face. Pain would be his world in this moment as limbs of impossible strength sought to rip him into nothing more than shreds. In pain, in heat, in the face of death...there is where a warrior is truly alive.

The orb would spark and lash out in a stream of violet before the world turned to white.

Thor my boy, what are you doing?

Tomorrow would recognize that voice...it should have been dead. It was dead.

I tried to kill the bramble for what it did to Baldur!

The Aesir would see his own childhood, his hands bloodied a bit as he tried to rip a field full of sharp bramble from the ground. His father, the All-Father would move between him and the bushes and kneel down to the 6 year old boys eye level.



Thor, you are a god. Your hands were not made for this...they were made to express your power. They are tools of your strength.

He held the boys small arm up, grabbing his bicep.

They are tools of your heart, of your soul, of your will!

He released the bicep gently poking Thor's heart.

Never forget that.

As it entered in white, it would fade. Tomorrow would see the orb floating before him, but before the pain could return...the ball would soar straight up into the clouds with a burst of incredible speed, vanishing into the clouds in a small explosion of violet. And then...

KRAKOOM!

...The lightning didnt strike him, it struct the now likely bloodied socket where his arm should be. He would feel it not hurting but joining. His desire to kill, to maim, to deliver righteous vengeance. He would feel burning within him and slipping through the open socket. Brilliant blue lightning poured from shoulder where his arm should be, it lashed and waved immediately scorching free a good portion of the tentacles grip. Then it formed, it slowed, it shaped.

Dare he say it, it looked all to familar. Five sparking fingers, extensions of pure electricity, a massive forearm and bicep. It was an arm!

KRAKOOM!

A second bolt struck the arm immediately sealing it over in what appeared to be a smoky glass. One could still see the living lightning within it, even through the runes carved into the knew limb. And to hold it all in place a single golden bangle resting on the wrist of this new arm. The runes were a combination, norse and...something else. Something he might have noticed on Maximos' many spells.

Show them your will my boy.

As the tendrils tried to maintain their grip they would pop like grapes immediately overloaded and destroyed. He was free, but before he could move he would feel it. That feeling he had felt in Maximos' house not but weeks before....the feeling he felt in the presence of that box...that box in that laboratory...It was intoxicating and overwhelming, yet terrifying at the same time.

The moment he would move to take advantage of his freedom.

KRAK-KA-BOOM!

There it was before him, bathed in black lightning, time seemed to freeze as one by one the seals and locks placed on the box vanished. Slowly it opened. Calling to the Aesir...

Finally, the black electrical essence overtook the box and it was burned into nothing. Tomorrow stood before a weapon bathed in power. It was easily his height. Its stalk was seven feet in length formed of bone, the bone of some monster, or giant made for hands with a very large grip. The Bone reached up to a massive skeletal hand holding what appeared to be a large 4ft long pillar of stone covered in norse runes. It looked as it was literally ripped of a building and placed in this death grip.

SHOW THEM YOUR POWER!

Even impossibly huge monsters know when to be scared.

Its eye widened and locked on the Aesir, as quite literally the Hammer of the God's was being dropped on it. It immediately brought the two shortest, nearest, quickest tendrils over its head.

Lightning bathed the clouds and the hammer in the Thunder God's grip. The storm almost seemed to be fading, as if it was being sucked into the hammer itself. And it was. An immeasurable amount of electricity channeled the weapon, and down it came.

Time seemed to freeze at the moment of impact.

It was as if the universe hung for a moment, unable to properly process what was about to transpire. There was no sound, just force. In a matter of 1.5 seconds the Aesir would be beholding the bottom of the lake as he had slammed the creature straight down through it. Walls of water rose all around touching the sky.

Clear blue water, and beautiful crimson danced together. It squirted from its mouth, its eyes, the holes in the side of its head, almost like a sponge being squeezed impossibly hard. He would feel it, the utter purity of destruction. The taste of unspeakable power...the feel of a true god.

Then came the sound, the pillars of risen water exploded outwards, tearing down trees, buildings, and shattering nearly every piece of glass in a 1 mile radius.

Strangely, Logan's house still stood.

The beast, did not.

As every action has an equal opposite reaction, the enormous amounts of water he had pushed away struck the sides of the like and drove themselves back inwards driving the Aesir up and away from his sunken prey and sending him through the air at the shore on the opposite side of the lake.

This was true power. Power cosmic, power unlimited, power only he could access. The hammer was strong but without the hands of Thor it was nothing. The arm was mighty but without the blood of a god it was useless.

As he ripped out his battle cry a bolt of lightning shattered the sky crashing into his hammer.

He ran, leaving craters in his wake.

His toss, split the lake. He would be able to visibly see a tunnel of water carved out of its surface as the hammer flew impossibly strong, and unerringly true. Though the water rolled back over itself before it struck its destination he would be able to hear it strike. He would be able to see the cloud of red, and feel the ground quake beneath him, Gaia itself had shivered in reverence of his power.

Reality would set in.

Monstrous power could not overcome wounds of the heart. His darker brother was gone...the hammer did not return. And slowly but surely the sparks would vanish back into the earth. It was a gentle descent but a descent back from divinity none the less. The smoky glass arm slowly faded leaving on the runes hanging in the air, and those too followed.

With the arm gone, the pain, from having each of those servo's, wires and the like ripped from his socket would set it. Any pulled muscles, any strains, any snapped bones, any bruises left from being tugged in two directions by a beast stronger than him would start to set it.

Power was a rush, but like sugar or coffee it took strength with when it faded. Strength that would return, indeed. But Tomorrow would be lucky if he could stay standing.

It was true, the Kraken rose...but not but the water's desire. He would see the crest of its head at first immediately followed by an explosion of water s it breached the surface.

Each of its arms had been reduced to stubby bits and a whole the size of a small house had been torn straight through its head, red covered its body and spilled into the water as it yet bled from each of its horrific wounds. Its single bloodshot eye was lock on Tomorrow. He had done this. That hammer had ripped through each of its arms despite them being brought up in front of it as shields.

Those torn limb remains splashed and dragged through the water, still powering the beast forward. It was as good as dead, but with its last breath it wanted vengeance. With damned near impossible speed it tore forward, splitting the lake by its sheer size. Ferociously it impacted the shore, about to bear down on the Aesir with nothing but raw desperation.

And then it stopped. It seemed to spasm and gurgle for a moment before crashing onto the shore...completely dead.

Tomorrow would be able to see its massive eye as bright as day. It was easily the size of a Logan's house and it was about 10ft from him. He would also be able to see the small knife point sticking out from its wretched cornea, and behold the bloodied, battered, and gook covered figure that sliced the eye open and stepped out from inside.

In his left hand, a small dagger.

In his right, a very familiar looking massive hammer.

Maximos had seen better days. His shirt was almost entirely gone revealing the entire runic array the covered his chest, back and neck. His right eye looked bloodshot, his left was bruised, so much blood covered his form it was hard to tell who's it was. Though since Tomorrow could see actual flecks of black bone inside his right arm, though the gaping holes...a good portion of it had to be the Shadow's.

But there was a broken smirk on his face, as he jumped from the massive eyelid, the hammer smashing into the ground behind him.

Severed...

He lumbered forward, dragging his feet.

...brain...stem...

Until he finally fell forward, just barely managing to bring the hammer forward so he could rest on it. Its pillar end digging into the sand, his body hunched over the stave. Mismatched eyes looked up at the broken thundergod.

...'Miss me?

Maximos immediately released the hammer, leaning on the arm he was presented with. He would make sure, through a bit of gentle leading of his own that they both took a seat. They were both conquering warriors, the both deserved it.

Was it the hammer forgotten? Not quite.

The hammer struck the ground fading into a tuft of black which immediately slipped into the Shadow's nostrils. In Tomorrow's hands it was an item of true, unspeakable power. In Maximos hands, it was quite the formidable weapon, but it would only ever be on the mortal scale.

One might note the irony in that.

But after all, it was his prize. He cut it off the man beside him fair and square.

With a flop he fell down beside his friend, eyes up toward the beautiful sky, ignoring their fallen foe beside them. They could still fight, Maximos had enough pep, and he could see that if the need truly existed so did Tomorrow but...there was no need, not even a desire.

On all scales and levels, this fight was over.The reasons for it, and motivations toward keeping it were entirely absent from his mind.

Indeed...

Maximos responded, the shield of black he pulled from the shadow of the tendril to survive the maw had collapsed on him, crushing at least three ribs, taking deep breaths hurt so he spoke in sort relaxed yet labored bursts.

His head rolled in the sand to face Tomorrow, he couldnt see anything special on the man. He had overused his right eye inside the beast and it was burned out for the time being, blind. He saw John...he saw a man, a very big man, but a man, and his friend.

...But....it was fun!

He laughed. Did it hurt? Yes his chest felt like it was on fire. But, he laughed and hard.

Maximos just laughed all the more, that would be an awesome picture. And yes...yes he had to admit even if just through painful laughter and the honest smile on his face, he was a little mad.

But that was most certainly a giant catch. Rod, knife, hammer...They brought it down.

Yes...lunch for a year...

He said with a smirk as the laughter died. He never really had much sushi...now he had all the raw octo-squid-thing in the world.

As the two men rest on the shore a set of wet footprints approached, gently kicking the wreckage of the boat.

Geez, look at you kids, makin' everythin' so dramatic.

Logan shook his head, then sized up the Kraken.

I was gonna give you the boat, but you earned these and these.

He layed down both rods, still completely in tact above both men. They were fully upgraded after all, that was several thousand gold. After that, he set down two trophies, both golden, shaped like golden fish. Both marked for whoever catches the biggest fish in the lake.

Enjoy, bubs.

He said, walking off.

It would take about ten minutes for little red riding hood to arrive. Though not the fabled or mythical character, a little girl in a bright red dress would scurry up, hood pulled over her face. Behind her, was a knight in beaten and tattered full plate. His face was covered by the shadow of his broken helm, but Leon himself could never be broken. Despite his silence.

Rina's visage had lost the smile it once had, she looked frailer, thinner, sadder since Barton had been overtaken. Perhaps something about wearing bright red so snipers can zone in on her location if she is attacked. It made it seem like they were constantly at war...

Thats why they needed this rose, something beautiful that could not be put down or away.

We're lost...

She said quietly.

...but this flower will give us hope...

The poor thing was fighting back tears already, but she paused, took a deep breath and toughened out.

...I need Magic Sandra's Magical Feed, and my tools.

Lifted her folded hands to the sound of crinkling paper and offered Tomorrow a small label, the box label for the magical feed, just for reference.

My tools are in a small pink box, with my name on it in blue letters...

She wanted to thank him. But she was sure he'd die like the others, they were just so vicious, so unending.

Dont enter through a main gate, dont let them know your here or innocent people will...will....

She had seen so very much, tears streamed down her face, though she immediately tugged the hood lower to hide them. Their slave drivers were vicious and effective, one by one they would begin slaughter, across various locations in the town. There was no way for one man to save them all.

Be safe...thank you.

The knight rested his hand on the little girls shoulder and then offered Tomorrow a nod and turned to walk back through the gates. Back into hiding, leaving only the previous instruction to meet here when it was done.