TITLE:  One Slip 6/13
SERIES: Dark Side of the Rainbow
AUTHOR:  Raven4  ( arcadian13_2000@... )
ARCHIVE:  If ya wanna, just let me know so I can blush.
RATING:  PG (Nothing graphic, but rape is controversial subject matter) OC
WARNINGS:
1. Never stick a pencil in your eye.  It hurts.  Ask Odin, he'll tell ya.
2. I'm not sure if this is humor or angst.  I'll label each installment so y'all can be fairly warned.

DISCLAIMER:  Strife isn't mine.  If he were there'd be a whole lot of suddenly fat supermodels.  Greeks for the 
Greeks, Norse for the Norse, being a pagan, they're all mine of course.  Pthbbbbt!!!.  Herc and Xena folks belong 
to Ren Pics and Flat Earth Prods.  Go ahead, sue me.  I'd have more time to write in prison.

NOTES:  (Deep breath)  This is the sixth installment of Dark side of the Rainbow Bridge, which itself was a 
follow up on Scorpio's Pathos of Joxer.  If you haven't read 'em, don't come cryin' ta me if ya don't get this one.  
Mega-thanks and a Strife/ Raven sandwich to my dearest friend, GarouGrrl.  Without your support, none of my words 
would ever have been seen by human eyes.  Flames will be cheerfully ignored or used to keep Asgaard burning.

SUMMARY:  Strife takes time to think, and we all know how dangerous that can be.




Freya flew out over Olympus, once again clad in Munin's hide.  Strife had sent her out to spy on his relations, but 

she knew he really wanted time to process her tale.  He had to decide whether or not he could trust a confessed 

godkiller as his personal servant.  The details of her telling were already fuzzy to her.  It seemed as though 

she'd been having a nightmare, and had only just escaped it.



That story couldn't have happened to her.  It had to be a dream.  Surely Freya the lovely, Freya the kind, Freya 

the re-uniter of lovers could not have betrayed Asgaard.



She didn't deceive herself long.  It was a pleasant diversion, but she would not sustain it.  She had watched 

Frigga do just that.  Repeat a false version of the tale for so long that she believed it herself.  The former 

queen of the gods had driven herself insane.  Freya's last view of her had been her wide eyes and laughing face 

right before she'd leapt into a chasm of fire.



It was difficult to keep to reality, but if the destruction of Asgaard had been a dream, Freya wouldn't be wearing 

the allfather's pet as a jacket.





Strife was brooding in his chair.  He'd sent Freya off to Olympus for a bit o' spyin' and also so he could think 

over what she'd said.  Somethin' about it was makin' him nervous.  He decided to tackle it bit by bit.



One of his family members had run away at some point and gotten herself captured.  His new servant had aided in her 

rescue.  That was good, right?  You bet.



Then war had been waged on the Norse and won, largely because the Norse were unprepared, and the Norse were 

unprepared because Freya had killed their watchman.  So, total death to the bad guys and no deaths in his family.  

That was good too, right?  Right again.



There were new Norse god's now.  Presumably they would be very angry if they knew that Freya had let the Greeks in 

the door, but she was with him, so they would never learn.  So, that was okay, he thought, but also a little 

confusing.  He decided to focus on the more personal aspects of the situation.



Freya was a major goddess and she was in his service.  That was definitely good.  One of his cousins or aunts had 

been raped and that was definitely bad.  Freya knew the identity of the victim.  Which could be good.  He wondered 

if he could get her to tell him.



"Hell," he said out loud.  "She's given me enough clues whether she meant to or not, that I bet I can figure it 

out on my own."



"Let's see*" He made a mental list.  "It's obviously a woman, and she has or had a brother.  She was a virgin at 

the time.  That leaves out Hera and Dite.  The rescuing brother was dark, so Artemis is toast.  The brother wasn't 

Apollo cause he killed Freya's brother.  Waitaminnit!!!"



Strife leapt to his feet and began pacing rapidly, no longer caring about the shortness of the walk.



"It wasn't Apollo or Hephestus, they're not war gods."  He spoke aloud as he counted Olympians on his pale, thin 

fingers.  "It wasn't Deimos or Phobos cause they only have Harmonia and I've known her all her life.  If she'da 

been raped they'da invited me to the butt kicking party.  Freya said it was a goddess, so the demi gods are out.  

It wasn't any of the Asphodelian's cause the rescue god wouldn't have brought her to Olympus.  It's a dark haired 

goddess from the house of war.  She has a dark brother.  And she was pregnant..."



"She was... pregnant with the sons of... three different foreign gods." Strife's litany slowed to a stop as he 

fell to his knees on the cool, rough stones.



"Oh shit."  He murmured.  "Oh really, really shit."