Apparently, I'm Dead

Chapter Fifteen

School is canceled because of a minimal chance of slush. Paranoid, much?

Also, this chapter is a bit short. Sorry. 

Disclaimer: NBSFHAHIFSEFEIOWNNOTHINGYOURECOGNIZEJISFHWEIFHWEFIOSWFE

MAGNUS

"Which ingredient should we get first?"

I shrug. "I don't think it matters. Maybe we should just go down the list, like how Ran said it?" There are mumbles of agreement, so I smirk. "Looks like we're heading to see Blitz's mom."

Blitz squawks like a parrot. "Magnus! You promised you wouldn't tell!"

I cackle evilly.

*TIME SKIP*

"What," Percy deadpans, staring incredulously down at the ducks that crossed the road. "The entrance to your sacred magical tree you named Yugdraysil is in the Make Way for Ducklings Statue? And I thought the Greeks were weird."

Blitz winces. "No. Kid, it's Ig-dra-sil. Not... whatever the Helheim you just said."

Percy rolls his eyes. "Fine. But why do you want me to do this again? I'm the new guy. I don't know anything about this."

Sam nods. "Yes. That's why we're choosing you. We just used it a couple of days ago to get falafel"- here she blushes, and I smirk thinking of Amir- "so we can't use it for a few more days. So you have to do it."

"How?"

Going to V-A-N-A-H-E-I-M, signs Hearth, Look for warmth, laziness.

The black-haired einherjar raises an eyebrow, but crouches down over the ducks. Closing his eyes, he reaches a hand out over each duck, moving it down the line as he disregards one. Once he comes to the end, he waves his hand over the seventh duck again. His eyes pop open. "This one."

I bob my head in agreement. "Okay. Now slice your sword above the duck."

He raises an eyebrow, showing his skepticism, but pulls out Riptide anyways. He uncaps the pen, the Celestial Bronze sword springing into existence. He places the sword on the duck's head, then slashes upward. Behind his sword rips a hole in reality. It widens on its own, then stops when it looks like we can fit through it. The light for the World Tree leaks through the gash.

"Whoa," Percy whispers. "It's beautiful." He's leaning into the hole, staring at the giant tree that spans all nine worlds.

"Go through, then," says Mallory impatiently. "It'll close soon, go on!"

Percy slips inside the hole, disappearing from sight. I follow soon after, the rest of Floor 19 making their way through the hole.

"Wait," I say as an idea occurs to me. "Why don't we get one of the leaves now?"

Alex stares at me, her eyebrows raising. "Magnus," she simpers, "Please take a look at those leaves."

I oblige her, wary of the garrote. My eyes widen as I take in the enormous size of each leaf. "Okay, so maybe we can't do that. We should get it on the way back to Boston?"

"Sure," comes the unanimous grumble.

I roll my eyes and keep climbing up the tree. One I get to a branch that feels like Vanaheim, I stop. "It's here!" I yell down the tree.

"You could have told me that before!" shoots back Percy, who's already ahead of me. I hear rustling above my head, then Percy's feet appear. His head sticks out of the fog, glaring at me. "Rude."

More rustling. Then Percy plummets from the branch above, somehow landing right next to me. I shriek. "You idiot!"

Percy gives me an affronted look. "I'm not an idiot." Then he stops and processes what he just said. "That is, sometimes, I'm not an idiot."

"You just jumped off the branch! Do you know what would happen if you fell?"

"Obviously not," Percy sighs. "Otherwise I probably wouldn't have jumped."

"That's the Gap!" I cry, gesturing frantically down into the mist.

Percy stares at me blankly. "I'm guessing you don't mean clothing store."

"No, I don't mean the clothing store. I mean the Ginnungagap. It's like... the place where all things started, and if you fall in there, you will definitely die."

"Oh." Percy contemplates. "Nah, I probably still would've jumped." At my look, he shrugs. "I have good balance."

I shake my head at him as the rest of everyone makes their way onto the branch. "It's right here," I announce. "Let's go."

I'm about to jump off the branch into Vanaheim when Percy pulls me back. "Dude, you literally just told me not to jump. You are explaining this to me first, then you can go jump into the Gap, if you really feel like it."

"No! I'm not jumping into the Gap. I'm jumping into Vanaheim. See that light over there? I'm going to jump there, not into the mist."

"Oh. That's alright then." Then Percy shoves me forward into the light of Vanaheim. 

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ATOTALMUSICALNERD