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Chapter -3- Victory and Defeat

Friday, December 10 Romania ...

Rufus hurried down the hillside to the field where the skirmish ceased between the Romanian soldiers and the mercenary group.

Up ahead, one of the men, in a strangely armored suit, stood over a dying police officer. The futuristic looking suit was similar to the one Rufus encountered recently.

The mercenary reached down, holding the officer by his throat. The mercenary withdrew a handgun from his hip and ended the officer's life with a gunshot to the head.

Rufus, at full speed, tackled the armored man to the ground.

They scrapped about, trying to grapple for purchase with one another. Rufus felt a pair of feet against his stomach, followed by the sensation of weightlessness.

Rufus sailed through the air and landed on his hip with a grunt.

Rama hopped over his father and plowed into the armored man. He took the man by his throat and threw the mercenary back towards Rufus.

Rue swiped his claws across the mercenary's back but the protective suit did its job, remaining intact.

The man fired his handgun towards Rama, turned back toward Rufus, and then he fired again. The soldier of fortune missed on both attempts.

Rama dove onto the man's back, tackling him to the ground. Rufus hurried towards them to help but Rama was thrown into Rufus, knocking both to the ground.

Rufus got to his feet first. "Werewolf proof suits huh?"

The man didn't respond. He hurried towards them and grappled with Rufus.

Rue opened his stance and struggled against the raw strength of the man in the powerful tech suit. Rue drew his head back, and then jerked forward, using his forehead to try and shatter the HUD faceplate.

The resilient face shield held.

Rama snagged hold of the man's legs from behind and lifted while the mercenary grappled with the older wolf.

The mercenary twisted about, held aloft between the two werewolves. He drew his arms and legs inward, then trust his limbs outwardly, hard, knocking both away.

With a grunt, the mercenary fell to his stomach on the ground. He recovered quickly, returning to his feet.

Rufus put his arms around the man's head from behind, trying to snap the mercenary's neck but couldn't manage a proper grip.

The mercenary reached for his handgun on his hip. He struggled with Rufus's grasp but lined up a shot with nearby Rama's face.

A loud gunshot cut through the air like a crack of thunder.

Rufus stumbled to the ground with a grunt. The body in his arms became extremely heavy. He dropped the mercenary, whose body spilled from Rue's grasp.

Rue scrambled to his feet, ready to fight more. He looked down at the mercenary, whose head somehow opened. It was a gory mess, but Rue could see the man's split skull and the brain stew within.

Rufus and Rama looked at one another, briefly. They turned to face Aimee who stood fifteen yards away, holding a Russian-made sniper rifle.

She threw the rifle on the ground and hurried towards Rufus and Rama. "He was about to shoot my man in the face. I had to take the shot."

Rufus looked down at the dead man in the armored tech suit. He looked back at Aimee, who hurried towards her boyfriend.

Rue exhaled. "I had my arm around that man's neck."

Aimee approached Rama and put her arms around him. "Then be glad the Native Americans showed me how to shoot a rifle."

Rama laughed, albeit nervously. "I didn't know you could shoot a sniper rifle. What if the scope wasn't perfectly accurate?"

Aimee shrugged. Her ears folded back atop of her head. Her whiskers eased back along the length of her svelte feminine muzzle. "We think the same way, babe," she said, adding, "I couldn't be sure if it was dialed in the right way. So I yanked it off and used the iron sights."

Rufus swallowed. "You shot a watermelon, two inches from my face, without a scope?"

Aimee frowned, glancing over her shoulder at Rufus. "That man was going to shoot my future husband in the face with a handgun from less than ten feet away." She gently relinquished the hug from Rama and turned to face Rufus. "He would have pulled the trigger, then reached up and fired right into your face. He may have deafened himself, but he was growing frantic."

Rama shook his head. "God, I had no idea you were a badass with a rifle."

Rufus chuckled. "A regular Annie Oakley. All you need is a dress and a cigarette to shoot."

"Cigarettes," Rama said, "those were things people used to smoke when you were a kid, right pops?" He grinned.

"You're a real funny kid, y'know that?" Rufus paused and looked around.

Rama saw his father's expression and turned to look at the destruction in the area. "Alright, let's find my mother."

Aimee sniffed at the air but it was rife with the smell of human blood and gun powder.

The snowy field was splattered with blood from the gun fighting. Rufus checked the left side of the mercenary's convoy.

Aimee started with the front two vehicles.

Rama made his way to the right and started sniffing his way through the smoldering vehicles.

Aimee opened the hatch of an armored SUV and froze. Rama's mother was in her werewolf form, encased in plastic wrap and tape.

Ulfey's body was cold and appeared to have been dead for more than twenty-four hours. Aimee's mouth went dry and she immediately felt tears well up in her eyes. Her heart pounded and her stomach sank.

"Nothing over here," Rama said in the distance.

"I've got nothing," Rue replied. "Maybe they got her back at some sort of basecamp."

"We'll find her," Rama replied with optimistic reassurance.

Aimee slowly closed the hatch on the armored SUV. "No, we won't."

"We'll find her," Rama said. "We won't stop until we find her."

Aimee swallowed. "I found her."

"What?" Rama hurried towards the SUV. "Let me see!"

Aimee grasped Rama by the shoulders and forced him away from the vehicle's cargo hatch. "No, Rama."

"What?!"

"No, you don't need to see..."

His eyes widened with realization. He struggled towards the SUV, trying to get at it.

"No," she said in a commanding tone. "No, baby, no, you do not need to see her like that. You don't want to remember her that way."

"Let me see!" he shouted, struggling against her. "I need to see her!"

"No!" Aimee exclaimed, "You think you do, but you don't! You need to remember the way she was the last time you saw her!"

"Let me go!" he said, trying to reach for the SUV.

Aimee pulled him away. They struggled until stumbling to the ground. Aimee quickly moved into a position, using her knees to pin down his forearms. She used her paws to keep his legs pinned. "Stop! Baby, please, nothing good will come of seeing her like that!"

Rufus opened the SUV hatch and saw the clear plastic wrap around Ulfey's body. He opened the flap near her face, where a section of tape was loose. Rufus peeled the plastic back and stared down at Ulfey's half-lidded gaze.

Her eyes were sunken in and lifeless.

Rue cupped her muzzle in his paws and kissed the woman's lips, gently. "I'm sorry," Rufus said. "I am so sorry. I wasn't fast enough, and I put our son into danger just bringing him here. I'm a goddamn old fool."

"Let me up!" Rama exclaimed. "I need to see her!"

Rufus turned away from the body. "Rama, it's not right to see your mother like this."

Rama wiggled out from beneath Aimee's grasp and scrambled to his feet. He hurried towards the SUV.

Rufus turned around and threw his arms around Rama, guiding his son away from the SUV. "No, man, you don't want to see that. You need to remember her the way Aimee said."

"GET_OFF_," Rama said. He and Rufus grappled with one another.

"STOP fighting!" Aimee shouted at them.

Rama ducked a jab and put his arms around his father's waist, trying to lift the black-furred werewolf with a shout of emotional distress.

Rufus brought his hands down on Rama's back. They went to the snowy ground, struggling with one another.

"Rama, stop!" Rufus shouted.

"I need to see her!" Rama shot back.

Aimee approached and took Rama by the scruff of the neck. With both hands, she pulled him from his father and slammed him up against the side of the SUV. "Stop!" she barked in his face. "Fighting your father won't solve this! Please! Rama please."

Rama relaxed his body and sighed, as if defeated. He thumped the back of his head against the armored plating of the SUV's rear quarter panel. "Skata."

He waited until Aimee finally relaxed. As soon as she did, Rama dashed around the corner of the SUV and opened the hatch. He froze, staring down at the plastic wrapping.

Rufus sighed.

Aimee brought her paws up to her face, rubbing at her moist eyes. "Rama..."

Rama pulled back the plastic, covering Ulfey's face. He swallowed. "O gamo ton Christo mu." He sank to his knees in the snow so that his face was even with the woman's body in the hatch.

Rama rested the bottom of his muzzle against the rubber mat in the hatch, staring at the lifeless gaze of Ulfey's expressionless face.

Rufus came up behind him and reached for his shoulder but Aimee brushed the older wolf's paw away and shook her head.

Rufus sat down in the snow adjacent to his son, but facing away from the body. "I am so sorry, Rama."

"Vlamenos," he muttered beneath his breath.

"I ... I dunno Greek, son."

Rama paused and looked over at his father. Up until now, the man had always said, 'brother' or something similar. This was the first time Rue had called Rama 'son.'

Rama swallowed. "Idiot. It basically means idiot." Rama sighed and shook his head. "I'm talking to myself in the third person."

"Pardon?"

"I'm an idiot for thinking I was going to find her alive. I'm a goddamn idiot."

"I told you not to look at her like that," Rufus said in a soft tone, staring off into the snowy field.

"Ante gamisou." Rama swallowed, glanced at his father and sighed. He could see the heartbreak in his father's eyes. "Sorry. I'm ... it's not your fault. You tried everything you could to come and help me save her. Both of you did. I appreciate you both. I really do."

Aimee sat down in the snow and sighed. It made her heart ache to see the two men on the verge of tears.

Rama shook his head, softly chanting, "Vlakas, vlakas, vlakas. I am so..." He took a deep breath, his chin still resting on the back of the hatch, staring at the motionless, soulless expression of his mother's face.

"Rama," Aimee's voice was gentle and loving. "What do you want to do from here? We have to leave before either side's reinforcements arrive."

Rama stared at Ulfey's face. "Aris Falcon - these are his people?"

Rufus stood up. "Yeah. Yeah, they're his people."

"I want to find that mounoskilo and rip his goddamn face off his body." Rama stood up slowly. "I shouldn't be swearing in front of my mother. I'm just ... I'm so angry." He stepped back from the hatch and closed it. "We need to get her out of here."

"Rama, Aris Falcon isn't the kind of man you want to fight head on, trust me."

Rama pursed his lips together in disgust. "I'm not going down there."

"Excuse me?" Rufus tilted his head.

"The vromoskilo killed my mother. Maybe not with his own hands, but I blame him." Rama turned to Rufus and said, "And you loved her."

Rufus nodded. "More than I realized until recently."

"Then take your friends to the Atlantic and help them kill Aris Falcon. Do whatever it takes. But I can't abandon my people over some sort of twisted vengeance kick. I have to protect Aimee. I have to find the other werewolves and make sure they survive this."

Aimee and Rufus remained silent.

Rama continued. "She told me I'm supposed to find the rest of my people and convince them to come together. I'm supposed to make sure the werewolves continue as a species. I'm supposed to father some ... amazing, intelligent, brilliant son. So, you need to avenge my mom for me."

Rufus nodded. "Understood. Aris dies."

"By any means. Promise me you won't walk out of there until Aris isn't breathing anymore."

"I'll flood the place, personally, if I've gotta."

Rama wrapped his arms around his father. They hugged in silence.

"I can't even cry," Rama whispered. "I'm supposed to cry. I don't even ... I can't."

"You's in shock," Rufus whispered back. "It's the adrenaline. "You wife that girl. You do it soon."

"I will, I promise." Rama said into his father's ear, speaking in a hushed tone. "Thank you for coming back into my life. Thank you for being here with me, and helping me through this. Thank you for being a good father."

Rufus felt the breath rush out of his chest, unable to breathe. He was so moved by his son's softly spoken confession that tears welled up in his eyes and froze in the fur on either side of his muzzle. "I love you, Rama. I am so goddamn happy I got to meet you."

Rama squeezed his father with a manly hug, using upper body strength to show masculine affection.

Rufus returned the firm hug.

Aimee swallowed and approached, trying to be the voice of reason. "Those people are on their way."

Rufus relinquished the hug. He moved to the driver side door, reached in and, using brute strength and his claws, he ripped the GPS navigation out of the dash panel. Rue drew his arm back and launched it into the air.

The in-dash navigation computer landed in the snow thirty feet away.

Aimee pursed her lips together. "So they can't follow us?"

Rufus put his foot-paw on the seat and reached up for a flat object on the rooftop. He ripped it free, snapping a wire that came up through a hole in the metal roof.

Rufus threw the antenna into the snow. "We'll use this to get to the city with the 'Friendship Bridge.' We'll have to use our cellphones for navigation."

"Giurgiu. We'll find our way to the E-85 south. It's our best way in," Aimee said. "Do we rent a car?"

"Yeah," said Rufus. "We find someone who can make papers, using Ulfey's passport information. I got money - the Kincade family gave me an emergency ApplePay account tied to my cell. We'll pay for everything we need. We take Ulfey to Greece and give her a proper burial in Athens."

Rama moved to the back seat and sat down in silence. He took off his backpack and pulled some of his clothes free.

Aimee moved into the back seat, directly behind the driver's seat. She quietly took some of her clothes from Rama's bag.

Rufus held his paws out. "Here. I'll change in back. Then we'll go."

Rama handed clothing out to his father. "You don't have to change in the cold. Do it in the driver's seat. Turn up the heat, change quickly, and get us out of here."

"You got it." Rufus slid into the driver's seat and pulled the door shut. He started the engine. He tried not to think about the woman in the cargo hatch but his heart ached. Rufus wiped his face with his paws and laid his clothes out on the dash panel.

It would be a long drive through Bulgaria and northern Greece. Rufus sighed. His heart hurt. He was finally reunited with Ulfey and he failed to keep her alive.

Rufus didn't even want to imagine what his son was going through. His heart was heavy enough over Ulfey's death - it was difficult to add in the empathy for the others.

Within minutes they were underway, headed south in complete silence.

X

X

Eight hours later South Pacific ...

Conner sat up and rubbed his face in the dark. He reached over to a lamp on the wall and felt for the switch.

Click. The lights came on. Conner squinted while his eyes adjusted. He slid off the bed and walked into the bathroom. After taking a leak, he turned on the sink but nothing happened.

Okay, so the water systems weren't online. He'd have to fix that soon. He was thirsty and groggy. There was no coffee and no shower.

Conner's forehead ached, the back of his neck ached, and his ribs ached. He checked himself over. There were bruises on his chest from receiving CPR yesterday.

Conner took a deep breath and held it for a few seconds. He exhaled and repeated. He pulled his shirt on, picked up his cane, and fixed his harness. Conner slid the cane into place, on his back, and rubbed his palms together.

He left the Captains Quarters and headed for James' room but his uncle wasn't there.

Conner made his way to the front of the sub, up a set of metal steps, and ducked into the control tower.

James was sitting in the driver's seat, using a computerized help guide to learn the controls. "Hey. How'd you sleep?"

"Deeper than I thought I would," said Conner. "You?"

"I'm good. I woke up two hours ago and decided to start learning how this stuff works." James turned to face his nephew. "You look like hell."

"I'm groggy. If we had apples or honey, I'd be awake and alert in a hot minute, but we don't have that. We don't even have tea or coffee. Hell, we don't even have running water."

"Yeah, I noticed. But I'm working on that. You look like you're in pain."

Conner rubbed his chest and winced. "Yeah. Mostly it's just a headache from not having anything to drink lately. I'm dehydrated."

"I'm working on that. This thing is designed to create water for a small crew. It'll take a few hours to do it. I started the process shortly after I came up here - it was initially the only thing I wanted to do. But now I'm reading everything. Just in case you're injured, I'll know how to get us out of here."

Conner nodded. "That's a good idea, Uncle Jaye. So, we need to survive about two-dozen mercenaries and two insane distant cousins. And you're not allowed to kill anyone."

James smirked. "Fine. So how do you figure twenty-four people?"

"I remember there were six in the first boat. I counted two more boats that were dispatched, and we can't just assume they were flipped or caught up in your little Moses impression. There will be at least one more group to hold down the beach. Then there's Old Joe and Young Joe."

"So they're set up on the beach because they can't get into the vault?"

Conner shrugged. "I sure as hell hope they couldn't get in. But they've had a weak head start. It's possible they've figured out how to get in by now. We can't let'em leave."

James sighed. "If they leave, they'll come back. And if they do what you're suggesting, they'll mess up the world's economy."

"They can't leave. Millions upon millions of people won't be able to afford bread. It will reach fifty dollars for a single loaf."

"If everyone became rich," said James, "and the price of goods went up, wouldn't it just ... equalize?"

"No," said Conner. "That much money would be hoarded by some, spent all at once by the poverty class, and the price of goods would still go up. But the poor would stay poor because they're terrible with money. So now, they would starve because they can't afford the new higher prices of everything."

"I think I understand."

"It's more complicated than I'm explaining," said Conner. "But unless you want an additional billion people to become as hungry as some of the poorest areas of Africa, we have to make sure these assholes never leave this island."

James frowned. "And I'm not allowed to kill indiscriminately else the Nehushtan won't work?"

"I think you have to kill only if it's God's will or something. I don't know. Just try not to kill anybody, how's that?"

"Fine by me. But how can I just ... let you go out and kill two-dozen people, Conner? You're a kid, man. It's screwed up to put that kind of stuff on your shoulders."

Conner shrugged. "Let's just get control over the island. I'm satisfied with letting the vault kill those assholes. It's armed with traps for a reason."

James frowned. "So ... what's the plan?"

"We find water, we eat something, and we go after those people at first light."

"You don't want to do it now? In the middle of the night?"

"No," said Conner. "They're going to be using night vision and thermal. When the sun comes up, the heat rises. Night vision won't help during the day and thermal isn't quite as effective when it's hot outside."

"Okay, that makes sense." James rubbed his face. He leaned close to the LCD monitor and looked at an application window pulled up on the desktop display. "Ninety minutes and we'll have water. It's a tank that converts sea water to drinkable water."

"What?" Conner tilted his head. "This sub is old, man. Did they have that technology back then?"

"It's called Reverse Osmosis. Then the water passes through a chlorine process and becomes stored in a tank. It disinfects the water and makes it taste like District Coast tap water."

"Gross."

"Americans lived on chlorinated tap water for decades and decades with no problems." James rubbed his face again. "Anyhow, there are water filters in the galley. That will help with the taste. If you're afraid of the chlorine, just don't drink the shower water while you're bathing. It should be ready shortly."

"Sounds good. I'm going to stretch and meditate and get at myself. Is there anything to drink on this sub?"

"Didn't we just go over this? Anyway, the galley water filter should come online in ninety minutes. But the team of mercenaries, up on the beach, will have bottles of spring water. Oh, and there's the aquifer at the heart of the island that you told me about."

Conner smirked. "Yeah. And there's wild boar and coconuts and other things running around the island, behind the mountain vault. We can hunt for some protein at some point. Fox showed me how to grill meat. I'm sure I could figure out how to use the gear in the galley, here. It won't be five star, but it'll be food."

"I'm good for whatever," said James. "Are you going out now?"

"No, we're going to wait for sunup." Conner rubbed his hands together. He massaged his palms with his thumbs. "You know what? Maybe I'll go lay back down for a little bit."

James nodded. "Suit yourself."

X

X

Two hours later...

The sub shuddered softly. Conner sat up in bed and rubbed his face. He turned on the light and found a communications panel by the bed. "Uncle Jaye?"

A moment later, James replied over the small intercom panel. "I felt it, too. But I'm looking through the electronic periscope. No one has come down into the birth. We're alone down here. It must be something above us. Maybe they're doing target practice with that huge gun they had on the beach."

Conner grumbled softly and sighed. "No, Uncle Jaye, whatever it was ... it shook me awake in a submarine in the water, under the sand, beneath the island. Whatever we felt ... it was serious. Like, almost earthquake-level of seriousness."

"Okay. Well, we have water now. I gave it a test drive. It tastes fine to me, and the showers are nice and hot. Maybe you should worry about yourself before worrying about whatever shook the island."

"Maybe you're right," Conner said. "I'll be ready in fifteen minutes. Then we can go and investigate." Conner released the button on the intercom panel and headed into the bathroom to take a quick shower. First, however, he drank from the sink faucet.

He didn't care about the taste, Conner was thirsty and guzzled water straight from the tap.

His tooth ached, his neck ached, his ribs ached, and his head hurt. Conner looked in a mirror and sighed. He was a mess but he was alive.

"Tamamo, if you're there ... I might be stranded here."

There was no answer in the reflection. "Tch, perfect." He took a deep breath and placed his hands on the mirrored surface. "Tamamo, if you can hear me, I'm trying to prove people wrong about you. I need your help."

Silence.

"Fine. If you decide to reach out, let me know now before it's too late." He stared at the mirror expectantly but she never showed up.

X

X

At that moment...

Tamamo-no-Mae grunted in displeasure. She looked up from the floor and grimaced. "These creatures are trying my patience." She got to her knees, picked up her sword and stood. "This is not the proper order of the Ragnarök sequence!"

A woman approached Tamamo and placed her hand on the human-kitsune's face, looking for injury.

"In modern Earth stories, you are a great warrior, Sif."

Sif pursed her lips and frowned. "Here, I am a mother and a wife." She placed her thumbs beneath Tamamo's chin and lifted the kitsune's head. "That creature," she said, pointing at an enormous worm swimming through the sky, "is said to kill my husband."

"Where are your children? Can they help?" asked Tamamo.

"Ullr is at war. He had Loki and Sigyn trapped in a blizzard but they've escaped." Sif frowned. "My daughter, Thrudr seeks to slow Loki with a storm that will make travel difficult. My sons by Thor, Magni and Modi, are training to inherit the Mjölnir - my husband's hammer. They will work together to wield it if and when my husband falls."

Tamamo looked down at the damaged blade of her sword. "I gave my sword to Sinopa and now I am at a disadvantage. This blade is bordering on worthless."

Tamamo turned back to the one whose golden hair was like a field of swaying wheat in the breeze.

The woman feigned a thin smile.

"Sif, the Ragnarök lore is occurring out of order. Fenris was never freed."

A scrawny man approached the two women quickly. He offered a respectful nodto Sif. "Hvé gengr thér?"

Sif nodded in return. "That gengr illa." She paused, looked him over, and asked, "Hvat heitir thú?"

"Ek heiti Erik." He went on in a rushed conversation with Sif.

Sif replied and gave the man some sort of instructions. He hurried off.

Sif turned back to Tamamo and said, "Pardon the intrusion. A man named Erik brought me news that the war of the world serpent has left the realm."

Tamamo blinked and looked back up. Sure enough, the giant black worm was missing. The kitsune looked around and frowned. "Please do not tell me they went to Earth."

"The legend says that Thor will fight the world serpent. However, as you said earlier, the lore is not matching up in its proper order. Fenris is still held by the chain of Gleipnir. Odin still lives."

"Does that mean this realm has a chance?"

Sif grimaced. "I most certainly hope so." She gazed back up at the empty sky and sighed longingly.

"So Thor is missing?"

"Yes." Sif kept her eyes on the sky and, in a soft tone, whispered, "Ek ann thér." She closed her eyes.

"Will you be safe if I chase Heimdallr? I need to kill Loki."

Sif abruptly turned to face Tamamo and said, "I wish that I could be near you when Loki's eyes go cold and distant. However, I would advise you to steer clear of Sigyn."

"She is dangerous."

"I do not know much about her," said Sif. "Not many do. Her death is not mentioned in the poems of our worshippers."

Tamamo tried to sheath her sword but a nick in the blade prevented the sword from fitting in its case anymore. "Behind every successful man is the woman who saw his potential and guided him. Sigyn might very well be the engine driving Loki."

"Engine driving...? I do not follow your reference."

"No matter. Where is Heimdallr?"

Sif nodded towards the glowing gold city, Valhalla, in the distance. "On the other side, Heimdallr will be protecting the Bifrost."

"Take me to him?"

"When Loki takes his last breath, tell me."

They walked together. Tamamo glanced over at Sif with a frown. "You're a kind woman. What has Loki done to you?"

"For the sake of my feminine pride, let's say he ... was close enough to cut my hair. And for sake of clarity, let's say he cut it shorter than I would have preferred. And then, the man had the audacity..."

Tamamo frowned. "What did he do?"

"I saw he was drunk in Valhalla. I brought him properly aged mead in a crystal chalice. He spoke ill of so many that day. He pointed his finger and laid blame at everyone in the room for various things. I told him that not all should receive the wrath of his finger pointing."

"And?"

"I brought him the mead, and he boldly proclaimed how I had an affair with him. An_affair_! As though I were somehow willing to his drunken childishness! It started as a prank to take my hair, and ended with him drunkenly forcing himself upon me."

Tamamo felt emotion well up in her heart. She thought of what she'd done to Karla and Conner. Tamamo lowered her gaze to the ground as they walked together. Was she no better than Loki?

Sif sighed. "Had I bared such shame to my husband, Loki might have taken his last breath by now. I am a fool to have bottled my burden alone."

The kitsune murmured, "I will let you know when Loki has breathed his last breath." She grew silent and walked with Sif the rest of the way to Valhalla.

Sif remained close but the two women avoided further attacks from the creatures trying to overrun Asgard.

Sif looked around the area. "You are a brave woman, Tamamo. And with your help, I feel assured that we will achieve some measure of victory on this day."

"What if Thor and the others die?"

"Thor is said to die, yes." Sif lowered her eyes, glaring at the ground. "But Ragnarök is said to be the twilight, and then the death ... of nearly all the gods. And if most of us survive, it will be on the back of my husband. It will be with the sweat of our brow, and the courage of those like yourself. It will be with the wisdom of Odin and the brilliance of Heimdallr."

Tamamo nodded. She licked her lips and asked, "I am pleased you feel today is a victory, even if it's a small one. What of Loki? Does his shameful deed make him evil?"

"It makes him a drunk fool," Sif said in a cold tone. "It makes him disloyal to the friendship he claimed to have, fighting at my husband's side many years ago. But no, it does not make him evil."

"Then what does?"

"The murder of another god makes him evil. The plot to murder all the gods, even though it will cost him his life - that makes him evil. However, the act of his hot blood mixed with too much mead ... not necessarily."

Tamamo grimaced. "Such a horrible atrocity, the rape of the feminine body, is the epitome of evil to many women. How can you defend him?"

"I am not defending him. I am saying that such an act does not make him evil. Please understand, evil and villainous actions are two different things."

"Let us agree to disagree."

Sif frowned. "Please do not be offended by my thoughts on the matter. Is Loki a horrible man for what he did to me? Yes. Do I hate him for what he did to me? Yes. But that is between us. It should remain between us."

"How can you defend a villainous action and say that is different from being evil?"

"Because he did it once, while drunk. That is different than a man who delights in attacking all women. He is, however, evil, but not because he dishonored me one time in the forest."

"Then what is it that makes him evil?"

Sif kept her eyes on the ground. "Loki is evil because he seeks to murder everyone he once called 'friend.'"

"So do you think someone capable of rape is capable of redemption?"

Sif nodded with a sigh of indecisiveness. "Not many, but it is certainly possible for someone capable of one villainous action to find salvation and to be redeemed at a later time. But Loki is not that man. Simply put, rape is not part of the equation - that makes him villainous. His plotting to end the world as we know it ... that makes him evil."

Tamamo nodded in silence and swallowed. She pondered her own possibility for redemption one day. But after such a heinous past, Tamamo wondered if she was worth saving, or if she was truly capable of changing.

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