Love Never Dies

"Love Never Dies" is a BOTGD 2 oneshot written on June 5, 2020.
== Summary ==
== Full Text ==
Takes place after It’s Been A While
As soon as Shadow touched down in front of the Felman house on Haligan Island, Grey knew that it was late and that it was likely that the kids were sleeping. She had a feeling her husband would be awake and waiting for her. That was the way it had always been ever since Brandt moved to Haligan Island when they were dating. Whenever she had a late meeting with the Council or was flying back from visiting King Haddock or another village on the mainland, Brandt had gotten into the habit of waiting up for her to welcome her home. 
The Chief smiled at the Night Fury as what Hel said ran through her mind for the millionth time since they left Mount Massive. Their discussion about the afterlife was what weighed heavily on her the most. She was honored that the Goddess of Helheim saw her rebellion…the Rebellion that she and Haddock led together all those years ago…worthy of cycling into another life with their memories intact, but at the same time, her parents, her three beautiful children, and…her adoring husband…the man who stuck with her for 19 years…married to her for 18 years…would not get that option. They could be reincarnated or stay in the afterlife, but if they chose to come back in another life…they would have no memories while she and Shadow…could choose that third option if they wished. She would know her family, but…there was also a chance that she would never see them again and if she did…they wouldn’t know her.
Shadow saw her rider’s conflicting emotions all over her face and nuzzled her cheek, and Grey smiled as she leaned into the touch. “Thanks, Shadow,” she said. “This was just a lot to take in.”
Shadow crooned.
“But hey, at least, we both get that part of the deal,” Grey said. “I’m glad you get that chance at least. Wouldn’t that be something if we came back as actual sisters? I mean, not that we’re not sisters…we are, but still.”
Shadow crooned and nuzzled her again. 
A wind blew through the island causing Grey to shiver slightly. “Come on, let’s get inside,” she said. 
The Night Fury followed Chief to the front door of the house, and Grey opened it. Sure enough, there was her husband sitting at the table, and as soon as he saw her, he smiled and jumped up out of his seat gathering his wife into his arms.
“Thank Goddess, you’re okay,” Brandt said whispered into her brown and gray hair. “I was starting to worry.”
Grey immediately returned the gesture burying her face in Brandt’s chest inhaling his scent. Over the years, his scent had come to mean…safety, security, and much like how her parents’ scents helped, Brandt’s scent always helped to ground her whenever she needed it. “I’m okay, don’t worry,” Grey said with a small smile.
Brandt inhaled her scent feeling his stress and worry leaving him. His wife…his amazing and wonderful wife was finally home safe and sound, and he couldn’t help but hug her tighter. “You…uh…you want to tell me what happened?” 
“Just one more minute,” Grey whispered. “I really missed you.” 
Brandt furrowed his eyebrows together. “Wait, did something happen?” he asked. “Did…did you find him?”
“No, not that…now shush, I’m hugging you.”
He smiled. “Okay,” he said.
A minute passed, and Grey finally had the courage to pull away from her husband and looked up at him deep into his hazel eyes. “I didn’t find anything really,” she began as she took him by the hand and walked him to the table, “but I did…get to talk to someone…a certain goddess.”
Brandt furrowed his eyebrows together as he and Grey sat down at the table. There was only one goddess he knew Grey had ever interacted with personally during her time in the Rebellion all those years ago. “Hel?” Brandt asked.
Grey nodded. 
Brandt exhaled as he ran a hand through his graying brown hair. “Please tell me that she didn’t tell you about another war that would end the world,” he said with a small smirk.
The Chief rolled her eyes at the comment and lightly swatted him on the shoulder. “No,” she said, “it was about something else. She found me at Mount Massive, and we got to talking about Rhenco and some other things.”
“Okay…” Brandt replied urging her to continue, “and what did she say?”
“I asked her on how to defeat Rhenco,” Grey replied, “and she told me that she can’t tell me how to defeat Rhenco. She basically said that because Rhenco’s means are that of a human,” not exactly the word she would use to describe him, “as well as our methods are that of humans, to solve the problem with divine means wouldn’t work.”
“Well, that doesn’t sound at all helpful.”
“No, but…she did give me some things to think about. She helped me to rethink some things about him.”
“Like what?” 
“Well, first, she helped me think about how we’ve gotten rid of him the past few times we dealt with him,” Grey said, “and I thought about it. I thought about how we didn’t sit around and wait for those three days to be up when he took Sven, about how we got help from Milae, about how…Sven found his weakness to fire, how I figured out the Red Card…”
“And how does that all help us figure out how to defeat him?” Brandt asked curiously. 
“Each time we encountered him we learn more about him,” Grey replied, “and every time that happens he gets desperate…which brought Hel to her next point…how he doesn’t attack the same way twice. Don’t you see? He’s getting more and more desperate when it comes to the Rebellion. Hel said so herself. This is a game of ‘how long will it last?’ Whatever we do next…it will send him running again…or he will lash out. He likes victims…not competition.”
“If we try to be one step ahead of him…show him that he doesn’t scare us, he will get desperate…it will throw him off.”
“Exactly.”
Brandt nodded. “Okay, well, we can focus on that another time,” he said. “I know for a fact that that’s not bothering you, so…” he tilted his head and took Grey’s hand into his, “what is?”
Grey sighed as the sadness and mixed emotions rushed back in full force as she remembered the second part of her conversation with the Goddess of Helheim. “Well…I asked her about Greg and Deoiridh…the whole reincarnation thing Deo had mentioned when she first came here,” she replied. She felt weird talking about the young teenaged girl even after she came to Haligan Island. her brother was reincarnated into her, and she had Greg’s memories and recognized them. However, she still couldn’t help but wonder what that would mean for Deoiridh’s family. She could only imagine the person she would reincarnate into and that person’s family. “I asked her if this was part of the new afterlife she had told the Rebellion about in Ragnarok.”
“And she said…?” Brandt asked.
“She said that it was,” Grey said, “at least for the time being until…she ‘figures her shit out’–her words, not mine, but essentially, her afterlife is not prepared yet and may not be for a long time. So, she offers the souls a choice: to be reincarnated or to stay in her afterlife forever.”
Brandt widened his eyes. It was pretty clear what Greg chose when he died. He also couldn’t help but wonder what that meant for Haddock and Grey’s father, Sven, and if that was the reason she seemed sad when she walked in. “Well, that’s good, right?” Brandt asked. 
“Well…” Grey began, “yeah, it is, but…umm…she told me about a third option that…she’s only granting to the old Grounded Dungeon Rebellion. She said that if someone chooses to be reincarnated…” she looked at Brandt, “then they will be, but…they will not remember their previous life. However, for the Grounded Dungeon rebels…like me and Shadow and Stonegit and Akkey and…Greg…we would have the third option…to be reincarnated with our memories intact.”
The Chief’s second-in-command’s face fell as he looked into his wife’s beautiful brown eyes as the pieces came together. They all had the option to either be reincarnated or to stay in Hel’s afterlife as a soul when they would die, but…the Grounded Dungeon rebels…had another option to be reincarnated with their memories of the previous life intact. He and their three children would be reincarnated without their memories…while Grey, if she chose to, could keep hers. “Wow…” Brandt exhaled as he sat back in his chair holding Grey’s hand tighter. 
“I know it’s stupid,” Grey said running a hand through her hair, “and that we have bigger things to worry about and that I should be grateful for what Hel is doing, but…”
“What? No…sweetheart,” Brandt said sadly, “it’s a lot to think about. I’d be concerned if you weren’t worried about it.”
“I know there’s the option of the afterlife and not being reincarnated,” Grey said, “but…the thought of finding you and our children again…and you…”
She didn’t have to finish that sentence. They both knew. Brandt would not remember their time together, but…Grey, if she chose, would carry the memories…alone. “I know,” Brandt said as he leaned in closer to Grey holding her hand tighter. “I don’t like the idea either. I hate you having that burden alone. Not to mention…as much as I love having my brother-er-sister-in-law back, I think about how…he and Warren…can’t be…together again…you know?”
Grey nodded thinking about her half-Pookan sister and her brother’s reincarnation. Ever since Greg died, she always dreamed of the day Warren and Greg would get to reunite in the afterlife, but…now they couldn’t be. Warren hadn’t been the same since she lost her husband, and this had definitely made it harder. The kids were handling it okay because…well…Deoiridh was their father’s reincarnation, but in terms of a spouse and a lover, that was where things got foggy. She couldn’t imagine how hard it would be knowing that she and Brandt could never be together in the next reincarnated life. 
“Yeah…” she said looking up at her husband…looking deep into his hazel eyes.
Brandt took a deep breath and gave his wife a small smile as he cupped her cheek touching her forehead with his own. “Maybe we shouldn’t worry about it right now,” he said. “We’re both still here, and our three kids are still here. Whether we choose to be reincarnated with or without memories…or stay in the afterlife, no matter what happens…my love for you, my beautiful wife, never dies and never will, and somehow, someway, we will always be together.”
Grey smiled as the tears formed in her eyes. Her husband was right. They were both alive and well now, and death was the farthest thing from their minds right now. She had a brief experience with death long ago, and didn’t plan to experience it again for a very long time. This new afterlife was not going to change that. So long as she and Brandt had their love and their children, everything would be okay, and love never died. “Promise?”
“I promise,” Brandt said with tears of his own. “I love you, always have, always will. No reincarnation, memories, or afterlife will ever change that.”
“I love you, too, always have, always will.” She brought her lips to his in a passionate kiss.