Welcome Home, Chief

"Welcome Home, Chief" is a BOTGD 2 oneshot series written on January 25, 2020. 
== Summary ==
== Full Text ==
=== Part 1 ===
July 1070
From the moment Shadow landed on Haligan Island, Grey knew that something was not right. Throughout the month she and Brandt were away helping the raid, she received a brief note from the council that Captain Olansee…one of High Central’s men…attempted an attack on Haligan Island, but then she received word that it was resolved and that they would explain more as soon as she came home. However, as soon as her Night Fury landed, Grey knew that this was something completely different, and with that, she and Brandt quickly dismounted Shadow and made their way to the Great Hall promising to find the kids in a little while. 
Sure enough, they found Hroar and the other council members, and Grey managed a small smile. Hroar the Young and Grey had known each other for as long as the Chief could remember. He was a teenager when she was little, and they still managed to develop a close friendship. 
“Hroar,” Grey called out as she and Brandt walked over to the council with Shadow.
“Grey…” Hroar said as he walked over and hugged the Chief, “thank Hel you’re back…”
“What is it? What’s wrong? I thought the Olansee situation was resolved. You said Sven and Darien spoke to them.”
“I’ll have to tell you more about that later,” Hroar said, “but…umm…we had another incident. Does the name Boriss ring a bell to you?”
Grey and Brandt looked at each other and then back at Hroar. “W-Well, there was a gentleman Sven saved at Rhenco’s hotel with that name. He…he was a Central citizen.”
“Well, from what Sven and Darien said about Olansee, this Boriss fellow was friends with the good ol’ captain,” Hroar replied, “and there were these assassins who took them all out…except Boriss.”
Grey felt her blood run cold at the mention of Boriss surviving the attack on High Central’s battalion. “And…I’m guessing he didn’t care for his friend dying,” she said looking Brandt and then back at Hroar.
The council member sighed as he dotted his eyes from Grey to Brandt. “Follow me,” he said. He began moving toward the Great Hall…with Grey, Brandt, and Shadow in tow. “Sven said that Boriss took off after Olansee was killed, and that was probably the last we would see of him. But then, a few days later, he came back in distress. Sven came across him and brought him to the Hall. Then…Malak walked in.”
Grey and Brandt widened their eyes and looked at each other. Boriss was a prisoner at Rhenco’s hotel, and if that was the case, he had to have come across Malak and his family. 
“And…I’m guessing Boriss didn’t take this very well,” Brandt said cringing. 
“No…” Hroar said as he pushed the double doors allowing Grey and Brandt to see the inside of the Great Hall. 
Grey and Brandt gasped once they laid their eyes on the sight before them. The Great Hall…the very same Great Hall where Grey was coronated as Chief…the very same Great Hall where they got married…was in shambles. There were villagers cleaning it at the moment, but it was pretty clear that something had happened in this building. 
Some of the tables were destroyed. The columns were scorched. Some people were cleaning the floors, and husband and wife noticed the red on the white towels. Then, Grey’s nostrils flared at the faint odor that traveled throughout the Great Hall, and then her eyes turned to the table on the far left corner of the hall as she walked over to get a closer look. It was completely destroyed, the wood burnt and in splinters…almost as if there was an explosion. 
“There was an explosion,” Grey finally said aloud. 
“Boriss did this, didn’t he?” Brandt asked Hroar. 
“I’m afraid so,” Hroar replied. “I’m not entirely sure what happened. Sven only told me so much.”
“Then we’ll have to interrogate Boriss,” Grey said with determination and anger in voice. “Sven saves his life, and this is the thanks he gets.”
“Uhh…that’s the thing, Chief,” Hroar replied. “We can’t interrogate Boriss.” He simply stared at the Chief hoping that she would get the message. “He’s dead…”
Grey widened her eyes at that statement.
“It was a murder/suicide,” Hroar continued. “He had canisters of Zippleback gas strapped to his chest, and…there were some candles lit nearby. He killed himself and 11 others. Twelve were injured.”
“It was a lone-wolf attack,” Brandt stated aloud. 
“An act of revenge,” Grey added. “A-And Sven…Dagny…and Kari..w-what…?”
“Dagny and Kari were nowhere near it,” Hroar stated. “Sven…from what Malak and your mom told me…he…he tried to stop it, but Malak saved his life.”
Grey and Brandt looked at each other and then at Hroar.
“Uhh… alright,” Grey said quickly as she started to pace around. “Okay, okay, alright…umm…did you have a chance to talk to the families of the deceased and the injured?”
“Yes, yes, Chief,” Hroar replied. 
“Okay, then I will visit them myself once we see our kids,” Grey said quickly as Brandt nodded in agreement. 
“Of course,” Hroar replied as he placed a hand on Grey’s shoulder. “Grey, you may be a Chief…and a great one at that, but…you’re also one person…and a mother. Tend to your kids first.”
=== Part 2 ===
As soon as Grey and Brandt finished things up with Hroar, they practically ran for Ingrid’s hut silently making a promise that they would get to Asha’s house to see Dagny and Kari once they talked to Sven. Hroar had mentioned that Sven was still in Ingrid’s hut, and that he rarely went anywhere else after the attack…unless it was back to Asha’s house, which only made Grey and Brandt even more concerned.
The Chief and her second-in-command bursted into the hut and found Ingrid tending to a patient…one of the wounded.
“Grey! Brandt!” Ingrid said as she quickly stood up.
“Mom!” Grey said as she ran over to her mother hugging her tight. Having not seen her mother for an entire month made the Chief’s heart ache, but after learning what happened, it increased tenfold. Thankfully, Ingrid was nowhere near the blast, and it sent chills down Grey’s spine at the mere thought of her mother being among the injured or worse. “Hroar told us what happened. Are you alright?”
“Yes, my little Grey, I’m fine,” Ingrid said as she placed a hand on Grey’s cheek wiping a tear away.
Grey smiled as more tears flowed. Her mom always called her “little Grey” when she was a kid. It was very rare nowadays as she was an adult, but hearing her mom call her that made her heart swell. Even as a 46-year-old Chief, she was still Ingrid’s baby girl. However, Grey looked over her mother’s shoulder and noticed the door leading to the back, and…it didn’t take long to guess who was in there.
“How is he, Ingrid?” Brandt suddenly asked as Grey figured that he noticed as well.
The healer sighed looking at her daughter and son-in-law. “Devastated,” she replied. “I’ve never seen him like this.”
“What happened?” Grey asked as concern etched onto her face.
“Malak told me that Boriss…the man Sven escaped with…saw him walk into the Great Hall and got really agitated,” Ingrid replied. “Malak said Sven tried to calm Boris down, but Boris refused to listen and sure enough revealed the cannisters on his body. I don’t know how, but Sven tried to stop him. Malak saved him somehow, and I found Malak trying to keep Sven from seeing what was inside.”
“Wow…” Grey said. She had to admit, as dedicated as Malak appeared to be in serving Haligan Island under Rhenco’s orders, saving one of her children was not something she expected.
“Well, how about that?” Brandt said crossing his arms. “Where’s Malak now?”
“Back at the house,” Ingrid replied. “Sven’s in the back. Asha talked to him and comforted him, but…I think I know two people who will really help.”
Grey and Brandt nodded. “Of course, Mom,” Grey said. “We’re his parents, aren’t we?”
Ingrid smiled and nodded as she watched her daughter and son-in-law move past her toward the back. 
“Chief Grey? Sir Brandt?” a voice suddenly said from the left. The Chief and her second-in-command turned to the left only to see a young girl with blonde hair and blue eyes. Her arms and legs marred with bandages…and a bandage around her head.
Grey felt her heart drop at the sight as she realized that the girl was one of the victims injured, and it quickly filled with fury. This…Boriss…had the nerve to use one of their children…their firstborn son as a chance to attack innocent people…her people. 
“Yes, Heidi?” Grey said as she knelt down in front of the girl. 
“Is Sven going to be okay?” Heidi asked. “My mommy and I were really worried about him. The spider guy saved his life, but he was trying to stop the bad man.”
Grey smiled warmly at the little girl and placed a hand on her cheek. “Don’t you worry,” she said. “He’ll be just fine. We’re going to talk to him. You just focus on getting some rest, okay?”
Heidi nodded and settled back into the cot watching the Chief and the second-in-command open the door to the back room. 
As soon as Grey and Brandt opened the door, they found Sven…their eldest son in the cot with his back to them. From his steady breathing, it was pretty clear that he was sleeping. They looked at each other and then back at Sven before slowly moving into the room and sitting down on either side of the cot.
“Sven…” Grey said placing a hand on his shoulder shaking him a little. 
“Time to wake up, buddy,” Brandt added running a hand through his brown hair. 
Sven slowly opened his eyes and turned around only to see his parents smiling at him. “Mom? Dad?” he asked.
“Hey, sweetheart,” Grey said placing a hand on his cheek.
Tears formed in his eyes for the millionth time in the last month. It was nice having his aunt, his grandmother, sisters, cousins, and even Malak comfort him, but as soon as he saw that his parents were finally back after a month…it was the biggest relief in his life. He quickly sat up and hugged his parents tightly in a group hug. 
=== Part 3 ===
“Oh, buddy, it’s okay,” Brandt whispered as Sven continued to cry in their arms. 
“We’re back now, it’s okay,” Grey added quietly. 
“I…I’m…” he continued to sob failing to get his words out.
“Shhh…just let it out, sweetheart,” Grey said gently hugging him and Brandt even tighter. “Let it all out. We’re right here. We’re right here.” Her heart broke into a million pieces hearing her son…her baby boy crying like this. Whenever Sven cried, it was because he was scared of thunder or had a bad dream, but…this…this was after everything he had been through for the past few months…Rhenco…the hotel…Olansee…and now Boriss. 
Sven continued to cry for another minute or so before he finally began to calm down. “I’m…I’m sorry, guys,” he said as tears continued to stream down his face. “I…I really screwed up…again…”
“Aw, buddy,” Brandt said as he and Grey pulled away so that they were looking at him. “You did nothing wrong. Hroar and Grandma told us what happened. This was not your fault.”
“Yes, it is,” Sven said quickly. “It is, Dad!” Asha had calmed him down after the attack on the Great Hall, and he started to believe that she was right. However, as the days went on, he kept trying and trying to remind himself that nobody blamed him, but the shame kept coming back tenfold. Before his parents finally came back, he was plagued with nightmares and shame that he couldn’t stop Boriss from blowing the Great Hall…and himself up. “I’m sorry…I’m so…so sorry!”
“Sven, Sven, this was not your fault,” Grey said firmly. “I promise you…you are not to blame for this. You did everything you could to stop the attacks. Those men are responsible for their choices, not you.”
“Aunt Asha said the same thing,” Sven said wiping his face, “and…and I believe her…I do… But I still feel lousy, and–and–”
“Shh…shh…” Grey said soothingly placing her hands on Sven’s cheeks in hopes to calm him down. “I know, I know, sweetheart. Believe me, I do…we both do.” 
Both Grey and Brandt knew how it felt to feel that something that was clearly out of their control… The very night Rhenco broke into their home, terrorized their children, and kidnapped Sven was always going to be a prime example of that. No matter how many people including Sven himself reassured each of them that that was not their fault, it still stung knowing that they could’ve done more to keep their three children safe. 
Fresh tears continued to fall down Sven’s cheeks, but Grey was quick to wipe them away from his face. “I brought Boriss to the Great Hall,” Sven said. “If I didn’t–”
“He would’ve done what he was planning to do no matter what you did,” Grey quickly said. “Hroar and Grandma told us he had those canisters strapped to his body. It was something he chose to do. You did nothing wrong, sweetheart, I promise.” 
“Aunt Asha said that too,” Sven replied sniffling. 
“And she’s absolutely right,” Brandt quickly said as he ran a hand through their son’s hair. “She is absolutely…positively right, Sven.”
Grey nodded to reaffirm her husband. 
“Then…” Sven sniffled, “why do I still feel so lousy?” 
“Unfortunately, sweetheart,” Grey said, “that’s something you’ve inherited from me… We tend to blame ourselves for things that are completely out of our control.”
“H-How do you…we deal with it?” Sven asked. “How do I deal with it? Every time I try to tell myself that it’s not my fault…but then…it just comes back…over and over again.”
“What did Aunt Asha say?” Grey simply asked. 
Sven’s eyes darted to a corner of the room as he remembered what Asha had told him right after the incident. 
“It took a long time for me to even be a little bit okay, but I eventually got there. I found lots of people who loved me, they held me up so I wouldn’t fall again. Your mom and Aunt Warren and Uncle Greg and Uncle Ander… they helped me put myself back together. And we’ll all be here for you too.”
“That…that…you…and Aunt Warren…and Uncle Greg…and Uncle Ander all helped her,” Sven finally said with tears in his eyes, “and that you all would help me too.”
Grey and Brandt smiled as the former ran a hand through his brown hair. “That’s right again, my love,” she said. “You don’t have to face this alone. Dad, your sisters, your aunts, your uncle, your cousins…everyone…who loves you…will help you get through this. We will do everything in our power to help you realize that it wasn’t…your fault…Olansee…Boriss. None of it…was your fault.”
Sven felt the tears form in his eyes yet again. It helped to hear what his aunt said about her past trauma, but to hear his mother and father…the Chief and her second-in-command tell him…reassure him that it wasn’t his fault…felt relieving. To know that his parents tell him this seemed to break open the floodgates as he leaned forward in his parents’ arms hugging them tightly as they returned the gesture. 
“We love you, Sven,” Grey whispered, “so much.”
“I…” he sniffled, “I thought you would b-be disappointed in me…because of w-what happened.”
“Aw, buddy, we could never be disappointed in you,” Brandt replied rubbing Sven’s back. “We are so proud of you.”
“You tried to take charge and to protect your family and village,” Grey whispered. “You…are going to be a great Chief someday, Sven.”
With that, Sven continued to cry letting out his emotions in the safety of his mother and father’s arms. 
Category:BOTGD 2
Category:Events
Category:Act I
Category:Sven Felman
Category:Grey Bergman
Category:Brandt Felman
Category:Ingrid Bergman
Category:Heidi