Chapter 17

Freyja wasn't sure how she felt about pretending to be the embodiment of the worms' gods. While it had been Odin's idea, it still felt like co-opting their religion for her own purposes. Still, it did get the new little shit to fall in line. That or nearly impaling the guy had done it. She felt faster than before and chocked that up to being more comfortable with the idea of shapeshifting in general. Not that it had felt bad the other times she had done it. Different, sure, but not bad. This time, she had only punched several holes in her shirt instead of completely destroying it. Shredding her clothing would be a problem if it kept happening.

Have you done an inventory? Sprinkles asked while taking in the hallways composed of gun safes within the Armory.

"There is no need to speak via the Link here," Odin said from atop the seat of the office chair.

"Fine, but I do not like it," Sprinkle replied with disgust. He snorted and addressed Odin again, "Have you inventoried the weapons?"

"Not yet," Odin said. He chirped as he glanced to Freyja. "Have you done an inventory, yet?"

She set her backpack down in a chair next to the air mattress, then rolled her shoulders back. "Figured you guys had some widget or doodad that could scan things. You knew the guns were here in the first place, right? What about those...sentient probe things you send out to do recon on planets?"

"How does she know about those!" Sprinkles hissed.

"Same way I know your Host was named 'Sprinkles.' I can read your minds pretty easily," Freyja replied.

Sprinkles arched his back and crab-walked away a few steps, running into the front of one of the safes. "Don't you dare search for my True Name!"

"I'm not interested in whatever you call yourself when you're not in a cat. Personally, I find it hilarious you're stuck with 'Sprinkles.' Anyway, no, Odin. I haven't done an inventory. If the Hive didn't tell you what was in here. Why do you think that is?"

He snorted, which sounded like an adorable half sneeze. "We shall do an inventory in the morning."

"Feel free to do one tonight. Just, be careful. The Old Man liked to set booby traps. The house was full of them. Half of these gun safes may be rigged with explosives or razors or something. That's why I haven't done an inventory. You probably already know about the big guy under the cover over there, though."

Sprinkles' fur smoothed out as he calmed down. He padded over to the feet of the COOP-306 mechanized infantry suit. 

"Does it work?"

"I don't know. Haven't had a chance to check. Odin showed up and has been distracting me from going through everything properly."

"I have not been distracting you," Odin said.

"Right. You've just tried to kill me a couple times. That's not distracting at all. Thanks for the correction."

The smaller light colored cat glanced between Odin and Freyja, his ears twitching as he observed them. "You do not seem to be working together on this mission."

"I know I asked before, but are you gonna kill this guy or should I?"

Odin shook his head. "I do not think that will be necessary."

"Really?" She asked skeptically.

"Sprinkles," Odin began as he hopped off the chair. The larger gray cat advanced on the newcomer, looming over him. "You were given inaccurate information regarding our true mission here on this planet."

"I was?"

"Yes. For instance, you were told I was already dead well before I was even planet-side and Host Given, correct?"

"That depends. When were you Host Given?"

"Two days ago. This is only my second night planet-side."

"I have been on this planet four days," Sprinkles said smugly.

"Yeah, which means the Hive wrote Odin off before he was even here. Don't you think that's suspicious? Also, wait. Why did it take you four days to reach the Armory?" Freyja asked.

The little cat licked his paw. "I was not dispatched to this city. My drop location was over forty miles away. My Spark didn't know how to drive, so I had to ride in other vehicles to make the trip."

"Why didn't your Spark know how to drive?" Odin asked.

"She was probably too old to remember," Freyja said. "Anyway, the Hive set Odin up to fail and wrote him off. They gave you both bad intel. For instance, a Human Spark is totally fine and doesn't succumb to madness after being bitten."

"But Freyja is a god, that is why she's fine," Odin said nervously.

"No, I'm not. I'm just named after one. This little shit didn't believe the whole 'she's a god' thing, anyway. Right, Sprinkles?"

The young cat looked away toward the door. "I suppose we're going to fight now?"

"Not if you help us find out what's really going on," Freyja said.

"If I refuse?"

"It'll be a very one sided fight," Freyja replied flatly.

"It will not be one sided," Odin interrupted. He continued to loom over the smaller cat. "It will be two against one."

Sprinkles almost smiled at Freyja, which was very strange to see from a cat. "You will not survive fighting both of us."

"That's not what he meant," she said.

"You were foolish enough to follow us into the Armory and now you know too much. If you will not assist us, then I will use you as fuel."

"You wouldn't eat your own kind," he said nervously.

"I've already been counted among the dead."

"This is exhausting," Freyja said. She squatted down quickly. "How about this. You help us, or I wipe your consciousness out like a flash flood running down a dry stream bed."

Sprinkles chuckled even more nervously than before as he backed up into the cover for the mech. "You...heh...you're joking."

"There's a reason Odin's scared of me and it's not the speed I shift. If you're not willing to accept that the Hive doesn't give a shit about you or this mission, then I'll wipe you out. He can eat the body or we'll just bury it in a hole in this backyard. No one will find it and we can get back to work."

Odin took a deep breath then let out a sigh. "She's right. I've been trying to ignore it but where she really outclasses me is the mind. I do not know how but she's more powerful than I am, even after I've consumed four Humans."

"You've eaten four of them?" Sprinkles asked in shock.

Odin nodded. "Yes."

The little cat had a look of panic on his face as he wound up on his back feet. "I'm sure that upset this one, no?"

"She personally lead me to the Humans so I could eat them."

"How many has she consumed?"

"None," Freyja and Odin said at the same time.

"And yet you believe her to be more powerful than you?"

Odin rolled his eyes. "Show him your true terror, Freyja."

She sighed and dove into the little cat's mind again. This time, making sure the worm nestled in its brain knew she was there. The same way she had clumsily poked around inside Odin's mind when she first discovered she could do it. Fragments of the cat's memories were still there, preserved by the worm known as 'Stymie.' She hadn't wanted to learn the guy's True Name, so she ignored that fact as she stopped just short of eclipsing the alien's consciousness entirely. All she felt from him was complete and total fear.

She could stomp him into nothing without lifting a finger.

"Do you see now?" Odin asked.

"I...I do...please. Anything but that. I will serve you, Freyja of Arms. I will even fight against the Hive to do so. Just, let me live," Sprinkles pleaded.

She pulled back, withdrawing from the Link entirely. Sprinkles practically melted to the floor in relief. Odin blinked slowly at her. Had he really known she could do that? Had he been been tricking himself into thinking he was safe this whole time? It had only been a day since she had gained these powers. She hadn't even known she could erase one of the worms over the Link. Either way, there was no question who was in charge. If either Odin or Sprinkles tried something she could just snuff out their minds like a spent match.

"Y'all get some rest. Tomorrow, we start going over the guns to find out what we're working with. Maybe we can figure out why the Hive was so dead-set on killing you off, too?"