บท 34: Baldur's Day of Meetings

A/N: For starters, some have expressed their displeasure with Baldur killing Divadi with the Sword of Godric Gryffindor, and not his own weapon, Ljosgeirr. There are a reasons for that.

1. Ljosgeirr is made using his Light Divinity, but mostly charged using the Solar Radiation of Nidavellir, so attacking a creature of fire, using inferior (at least to the creature) fire, was not going to work.

2. Sword of Godric Gryffindor is made of Goblin Silver, which has a property of absorbing anything that can harm it, an imbuing itself with the absorbed.. thing.

3. Only Phoenix Force was proven to harm a Phoenix Host, at that point.(A competent Phoenix Host, as I know that a novice Dark Phoenix was killed by Wolverine's Adamantium claws.)

4. He did not want to risk Jean destroying Ljosgeirr by accidentally using too much of her flames, and melting Ljosgeirr. So, he used SoGG.

~~~

1983: The Moon of the Earth

I had just sat down, after reversing the time and realized that my way home was blocked for now. I am pretty chill about it though. If it's an emergency, I can call Sol to Myself, as I still feel the connection to her.

"You've changed the whole timeline." A surprised voice says from behind me, making me jump and point Ljosgeirr at the threat, while my left hand points at them, ready to use TK at a moment's notice.

The being in front of me, has a big head, and is wearing robes, of all things. Oh, shit.

"You're a Watcher." I mumble out, dropping my spear.

The watcher nods, and turns towards the Earth. He says, "Beautiful planet, isn't it?"

I simply nod at him, not knowing what to say at that.

"I watched this beautiful planet get destroyed by the Phoenix Force, and I got caught in the blast. It killed me too. But now, you have done something thought impossible. You reversed the time in the whole Universe, while the Cosmics let you. Never before, has it been done in such a large scale." He says.

I scratch my head, not getting his point. I know he's not going to attack me, he's a watcher. That's what they do. Watch.

"That's good, and all, but why did you show yourself to me? You can stay hidden from anything and anyone, right?" I ask, a lot confused.

"You, an Asgardian from another Universe, broke the laws of the Universe, and the Universe helped you do it." The Watcher continues, ignoring my question. He says, "You lessened the power of Entropy, and Entropy did not fight back. That.. is something I commend you for, Asgardian."

I shake my head, and say, "The Vishanti helped me. And my name is Baldur Odinson."

The Watcher looks at me with his blank white, and frankly weird eyes , and says, "My name is Uatu, the Watcher. I am assigned to observing this Planet, and safeguard the knowledge I learn. I almost failed my task, if not for you."

"Nice to meet you, Uatu. And don't mention it." I say, and we keep watching the Earth. I realize in the back of my head, that conversations with Watchers, is very confusing. They change topics like an ADHD kid.

I look around Earth, and see that everyone is happily living their lives, ignorant of what their fate was supposed to be. Even Jean was currently ignorant, as I see that the Phoenix had chosen to block her memories, for some reason or the other.

Except the Ancient One, who was smiling only a half smile, and was panicking. That was understandable, she just lost an Infinity stone, and she possibly knows that the Earth is going to be destroyed soon.

But, her being her, she won't even try to change a thing. Maybe because she believes in Free will, and all that crap, but mostly because she's afraid of facing Apocalypse.

His armour is Magic resistant, so even that's understandable. Heck, his armour can take a direct hit from comic Thor's Jarnbjorn axe, and not even get a scratch! That's Celestial tech, for you.

"You are an Enigma, Baldur Odinson." Uatu says, bringing me back to the moon. I look at him and raise an eyebrow, so he says, "The Universe is rooting for you. The Celestials are mostly dead, and this Apocalypse has gone rampant. The Universe has decided that Apocalypse has overstayed his welcome on the Physical Plane. I think, you know what you have to do."

Saying that, he vanishes from the spot, and my senses. Damn. He can vanish from me so easily?

I shake my head, and ignore the multiple questions I have. I'll deal with it later. Floating up, I move to go towards Scotland. I have a castle to clean up. There are too many pests there.

~~~Asgard: A few minutes Earlier~~~

On the Bifrost Observatory, a giant of a man, was keeping vigil over the Nine Realms. Wars were a plenty, everywhere. The Shi'ar were roaming space, looking for the Phoenix Force, while the Force itself was mostly trapped inside a young Midgardian girl.

He says mostly, because the girl only contained about half of the Force, while the rest was coming towards her, and was going to reach Midgard in a few years at most.

Speaking of Midgard, Heimdall looks towards Midgard, as he feels a terror of the past about to wake up. Right as the Sunlight reaches the Celestial Altar, which will wake En Sabah Nur, Heimdall feels something he couldn't believe.

An Asgardian, on Midgard's moon. And he came out of nowhere. 5 seconds after the Asgardian's appearance, En Sabah Nur wakes up. Heimdall immediately pulls his sword out of the control panel, and starts walking towards the Throne Room.

Once his King Odin calls him inside, Heimdall kneels, and says, "My King!"

Odin looks at the serious face of the All Seer, and waves his hand, sending everyone including the guards, out of the Throne room. He says, "Speak, Heimdall. It's not like you to leave your vigil."

Heimdall nods from his position, and says, "My King, I have been keeping an eye on Midgard, as the Celestial's chosen was bound to wake up soon. It was when I had focused my Sight on Midgard, that I felt someone. An Asgardian, a strong one at that, was on the Moon of Midgard."

Odin immediately stands up, angry, and asks, "Who is it that dares sneak out of Asgard?"

Heimdall, without any hesitation, says, "I don't know, My King. I did not recognize his face, nor did I recognize his Magic. I did feel that he was a God of the Sun, and that he was of the Royal Bloodline."

Odin sits back down, and says, "There has been no God of the Sun in Asgard for several millennia. Is he a bastard of my father's? Or the son of a bastard? Where is he now?"

"I don't know, My King. He is on Midgard, but he's hidden from my sight. I only know he's somewhere on Midgard, due to the enchantments on Hofund." Heimdall says, with deep shame in his voice.

Odin nods, and says, "You may go back, Heimdall. I'll go visit this miscreant Myself."

Heimdall nods, but then hesitates a bit. Making up his mind, he says, "Be careful, My King. He also has a shard of the Phoenix Force within him."

Odin widens his eyes, and nods. An Asgardian God of Sun with the Phoenix Force's support? Who the Hel could it be?

~~~Baldur POV~~~

I drop down on the cleaned down Throne in the Great Hall, after killing Ekrizdis. It was, in one word, satisfying.

This Universe's Wizarding World suffered the same fate as the one back home. Ekrizdis doing his experiments, taking the Jotun and Aesir Corpses, Helga trapping every Dementor in Hogwarts. Everything.

Only, no one managed to kill them here. Either Lady Aditi never found anyone strong or worthy enough to do her task, or she did task someone and they failed. Nevermind that, I shake my head, and wipe all the blood off my body, burning it off using my Sun Divinity.

Unfortunately, none of the magical animals or plants managed to survive Ekrizdis. Not even the Goblins, or Dwarves remained. Only about 10 house Elves were present, who were happily cleaning the castle. I'll talk with them later, for now, let them enjoy.

Only a few thestrals remain, as they were immune to the presence of Dementors, along with a few pigs and chicken, which were only kept for food. The dumb bastard Ekrizdis had even burned down the Library. Hopefully, he didn't manage to get to the Headmaster's office in this Universe either.

'Baldur.' A soft melodious voice says inside my head, making me smile. I enter my mindscape, and see the familiar view of the Phoenix Force, with fire covering her privates. Although, this Phoenix Force has a different face, and a weaker aura, so I know she's the one from Jean.

"My Lady." I greet her, nodding my head.

"I think, you can call me Phoenix, Baldur. After all you've done with my counterpart." Lady Phoenix says, and is that jealousy I hear in her voice?

I smile at her and say, "Of course, Phoenix. What can I do for you?"

She looks me in the eyes, and says, "I have blocked Jean's memories of the future, for now. I would like it if you help her out, if she needs it."

I nod, and say, "I sort of guessed that when she did not show any sign of knowing anything. But why, may I ask?"

Lady Phoenix hugs herself, and whispers softly, "I know Jean. She is impulsive, and very emotional. As soon as she'd have gotten the memories, she would have flown to Egypt, to kill Apocalypse before he even wakes up. While that will be better, I'd rather not make the Universe angry."

I nod, understanding. I reversed time so Jean can kill Apocalypse AFTER he wakes up. Earth needs to know that there are dangerous beings capable of ending Earth in seconds. If Jean kills him before he even does something, Earth won't learn it's lesson.

A necessary Evil. Plus, the Cosmics might target me for enabling her, which even I don't want.

(A/N: Just.. go with it. Call it plot reasons.)

I nod, and say, "Very well. So, are you going to make her remember everything? Or will you let her to live peacefully?"

Phoenix slumps down, and says, "As much as I want her to remember our time, I can't do it. Not yet, at least. Once the rest of my Force is here, maybe, but not before then. But, I will give her 'hints' that she needs to do something, or avoid others. Like Déjà vu. So she doesn't repeat her past exactly the same way."

I nod, leaving it for her to decide. Normally, I would have compared her to Xavier, but this? This situation is so much effed up, that anything can happen.

Jean could get mad on her powers, turning her into something like Diwadi, or she could decide that she's strong enough to kill Apocalypse single handedly and get killed.

Sure, the Phoenix Force can do it, easily, in fact. Even Divadi might, but she will definitely have a hard time of it. But Jean? Nope. She's still.. a noob.

I hug the Phoenix, and comfort her for the decision she is undertaking. I say, "Don't worry. I'll be there when the battle happens, and I will make sure Jean wins. If not, you can simply take over for her. And someday, when you tell her everything, she will most definitely Forgive you."

Even if she doesn't Forgive, what's she gonna do? Try and harm the Phoenix?

Phoenix slaps me on my chest, hearing my thoughts, but then chuckles.

Which reminds me, I need to practice my Telepathy more. Telekinesis practice, and matter manipulation was easy in the Dreamscape, but not Telepathy. I only had one mind to read there, and that mind was so far out of my league it wasn't even funny.

Turning back towards Phoenix, I see her sad face, and get sad myself. While Phoenix is not always attached to her hosts, Jean was different. She was supposed to be the perfect host of the Phoenix. So of course, Phoenix is attached to her.

Phoenix pulls herself up, and plants a kiss on my lips, which I return. About a minute of kissing later, she moves back, and says, "Until we meet again, Baldur." And then disappears.

"Damn." I whisper to myself, grinning. Who else can say they've kissed two Phoenix Forces? No one, other than me!

I come out of the mindscape, to a view that makes me fall off the chair I was sitting on. Lady Gaia was here, and she was staring intently at me. From one foot away from my face.

"Can you give me some space, Lady Gaia?" I ask, groaning at the situation. What is this? Surprise-Baldur day?

Lady Gaia moves back, and says, "You have my blessings, and you know my face. Yet, I haven't ever met you. Who are you?"

I slam my head on the ground, and then look at her. I say, "My name is Baldur, Odinson. And you are in for one hell of a tale, Lady Gaia."

~~~ A few minutes later ~~~

"So you managed to kill Ekrizdis in your Universe? 800 years before this time?" Lady Gaia asks, in confirmation, after I've finished telling her my tale.

I nod and say, "My brothers did, actually. I killed the Dementors."

Lady Gai nods, and stays silent for a while. Meanwhile, I eat the pig stew the Elves made for me. A few seconds later, Lady Gaia smiles widely, and says, "Thank you, Prince Baldur, for killing those.. bastards. Even if you had nothing to gain from this."

"Weellll.. That's not exactly true." I say, grimacing a bit.

"It's alright. If you need something, I can give it to you." Lady Gaia says, patting my hand.

I nod at her, and continue, "You see, I did come here to simply exterminate the pests, but I also wanted to take the Sword of Godric Gryffindor from this Universe back to mine."

"Oh! I thought it might be something.. more." Gaia whispers, and then simply snaps her fingers, summoning the Sword directly into her hands.

I look at the sword, and then at her smiling face. I look at the sword again.

I hesitantly say, "That.. was easy." I shake my head and take the offered sword, storing it in my PD. I ask, "What are you going to do now?"

Lady Gaia shrugs, and says, "My children have already perished, and I couldn't do anything. While I couldn't save everyone, I can make sure my remaining Elves live happily. So I will contact the High Elves, and have them take the House Elves with them, to their realm, while Hogwarts will be absorbed back into me once no one lives here."

She looks at me pointedly, so I simply ask, "What? Who else is left?"

"Salazar's pet is in the basement, I thought you killed him back in your Universe?" Lady Gaia says, confused, tilting her head to the right.

I widen my eyes, and whisper, "Oh shit. I'd forgotten about him. He's still alive, back home too."

Lady Gaia simply shakes her head, and slinks back into the ground, while I groan. I WANT TO REST! Fuck it. I'll deal with the Basilisk before leaving this Universe.

The next day, I'm wearing my armour, and holding Ljosgeirr in my hand, while I'm standing on top of a mountain cliff, in Africa.

I spin Ljosgeirr in my hand, while channeling my own magic into it, and thinking happy thoughts. My years of.. training with Phoenix come to mind, along with my first time with Amora and Lorelai. After that is the first time I held Ljosgeirr.

"Expecto Patronum." I whisper out, smiling to myself, and feel my magic being pulled out of me, through the Spear. A yellow wisp of smoke begins exiting from the tip of the spear, coalescing in front of me.

As I said, our Uru weapons work in place of the Magical Focus, allowing us to either cast spells, or replicate them.

The bright yellow smoke, condenses, and forms into a bright yellow Phoenix, which I should have expected. My Phoenix Patronus files around me, trilling a song.

Smiling at the sound, I say, "Go to Kamar Taj, say, 'Sorcerer Supreme, meet me outside your gates. I come in peace.' Repeat it twice more, and come back."

The Phoenix Patronus immediately flies away, prompting me to use the Sun to view the area around Kamar Taj. I was not going near Kamar Taj. No way. I'll be attacked immediately, for daring to touch the Eye of Agamotto.

Shaking my head, I keep watching as my Patronus charm reaches Kamar Taj, and breaches it's wards without even triggering anything. Everyone panics and attacks my Patronus, all of their attacks going through it, making me laugh.

Finally, my Patronus trills out a calming song, and says, in my voice, "Sorcerer Supreme. Meet me outside your gates. I come in peace." And repeats it two more times.

On the third time, The Ancient One finally enters the hall and hears the message. She too, tries attacking the Patronus, but each of her attacks pass through it. You can't simply harm a Patronus. It's a Patronus!

Finally, my Phoenix Patronus leaves and within a minute, reaches me and dissipates. I could have had it dissipate right in Kamar Taj, but then they would have known it was not a real Phoenix. They don't know how Phoenixes look like!

Around a minute of quarrelling later, during which every master tried to prevent her from leaving, she finally exits through the front gates and searches for me. I simply open a portal in front of her, and wave her through.

Ancient one enters the portal and sees me sitting calmly on a cliff, dangling my legs over it. She says, "If this was your idea of an ambush, I'd say you overestimated yourself."

I snort, and simply say, "Your parasite thinks otherwise, doesn't he? He's afraid of me."

The Ancient One remains silent confirming what I felt. I could simply feel, the Dark Energy seeping in her. It.. disgusts me, frankly speaking. I have no idea, how the bald lady can tolerate it. But I am barely managing not to puke at that feeling.

The Energy inside her is feeling the same way about me, only more.. afraid.

I manipulate the matter below me to form a chair around myself, bringing it, and myself, up. And I also create a chair for the Ancient One. This is the most I can do when it comes to manipulation of matter, but that'll hold her hand.

"Why is he afraid of you?" she asks, sitting down on the offered chair. She mistook me saying the energy was afraid of me, to mean Dormammu was afraid of me.

I pull out tea from my PD, and pour two cups of hot Darjeeling. Well, I made it hot. I decide not to bother correcting her, and answer her, "He's the ruler of the Dark Dimension. I'm the Pseudo ruler of the Light Dimension. I'm his natural Enemy, my dear. Tea?"

"Yes, please." The Ancient One says, taking the offered cup. I see her casting spells on the tea to check for poison, and snort.

I say, "If I wanted to kill you, I would have done so before you even knew about me."

"Again, you're overestimating yourself." The Ancient One says, sipping her tea.

I raise my eyebrow at her, and sip my own tea. I counter back, "On the contrary, you're underestimating me."

We sip our tea silently for a while, enjoying the view. Once the tea is done, I disintegrate the cups, instead of putting them back in my PD.

I lift my legs up, as a table forms in time for me to rest my legs on it, and lean back. I look at the Ancient One, and say, "You don't have to be afraid of the Phoenix destroying this planet. I've prevented it from happening."

"How?" The Bald lady asks, not dropping her composure.

I create an illusion, and show her what had happened with Jean before. I say, "The Phoenix actually did manage to destroy the planet, but her host used the time travel technology Dr McCoy is currently working on, to try and kill Apocalypse in the past."

The Ancient One clicks her tongue, knowing how stupid that plan was. She knows time, second only to Dr Strange. She had even managed to slow down time in the Astral Plane, by a lot. Even I can only slow down time by half, in the Astral Plane.

I chuckle at her, and continue, "She landed in the past alright. Only, not her past. The Phoenix Force brought her to my Universe. And now, I brought her back here."

The Ancient One thinks on this for a while, and then asks, "Are you the Sorcerer Supreme of your Universe then? Didn't think an Asgardian would take up that position."

I snort, and say, "Master Yao wishes I take up the mantle." And shake my head remembering that he's waiting for me back home.

The Ancient One perks up hearing the name, and says, "So you're from before my birth then. What year is it?"

"1141 AD, currently." I answer, without hesitation.

The Ancient One nods, and gets up. She says, "It was nice to talk to an other worldly Sorcerer. But I'm going to have to ask you to leave this Universe. I'm sorry to say that the longer you stay here, the more things change."

I shake my head at her naive behaviour, and wave my hand, forcing her to sit back down using Telekinesis. I say, "Oh, don't look at me like that. Things would have been worse had I not been here. And I will leave, don't worry. Once En Sabah Nur is dead or defeated, I will leave. I promise you that."

The Ancient one keeps looking at me warily, so I simply summon the Eye of Agamotto, from my PD, and throw it to her. I say, "That belongs to you, I think. As a show of good faith, you may check on the timeline, and see what I did during the last day. I promise I won't attack you while you're doing that."

The Ancient One doesn't trust me, and goes to the Mirror Dimension. I don't follow her, simply because I know she is going to use that stone. Around 3 minutes later, she returns back, with a grim face.

She bows to me, and says, "On behalf of the Masters of the Mystic Arts, I thank you Master Baldur. I am sorry for the aggression I showed to you before."

I wave my hand and say, "You were simply arrogant, but trying to defend your Universe. I forgive you."

The Ancient One nods, and sits back down on her chair. She should have seen everything I did, including reversing all that time, and restoring the planet.

She says, "I was wondering what happened to the Eye. It simply disappeared from my view, without any sign of anyone entering Kamar Taj."

I nod, but don't say anything, and simply sip a cold coffee. What? The past doesn't have this coffee.

Finishing my coffee, I look at her seriously, and say, "In a few decades, at most, a threat will come, seeking the Infinity Stones. You don't have a suitable Successor, do you?"

The Ancient One, who was sitting down on the chair again, is shocked by my statement, and shakes her head, looking at me confused. She says, "If you're offering.."

I interrupt her with a wave of my hand, and say, "Not me, no. I know your visions failed when Apocalypse killed Dr Strange's ancestors. So, I'm offering you a student. She has an amazing potential when it comes to the Mystic Arts, and in a few days, she is going to.... lose her way. I think you will find her sufficient as a successor."

"Who? Is it Jean Grey? If she's the one you're suggesting, she doesn't have a good enough temperament for learning Mystic Arts. And how do you even know about Dr Strange?" She asks, squinting her eyes at me.

I smile to myself, and say, "For the last question, Magic. As for the rest, not Jean, no. You'll know her as the Last descendant of Sorcerer Supreme Ayesha. She's a Mutant, named Ororo Monroe."

~~~

A/N: Answer honestly. How many of you thought Baldur is going to suggest Jean? Because I actually was going to suggest her, but then realized. Jean already has enough power, and control once PF gives her memories back.

But Storm? She's a champion of Gaia, descendant of a Sorcerer Supreme, who was also called Goddess of Rain. So yup, she'll be the Sorcerer Supreme after TAO.

Anyway, next chapter, meeting Odin, and probably the end of this arc. Even if it takes 8000 words, I'll try to finish Apocalypse Arc in the next chapter.

Now, the dialogue with Watcher might feel chaotic, and it's intentional. Watchers are.. weird. Normally comics depict them as normal. But here, being killed and remembering that, and even remembering the reversed timeline, has had an effect on the Watchers. That's it.

Ciao!