DIVINE CHAMPIONS 6: A FINAL CONFLICT

SKY: A LIST OF WEIRDLY IMPOSSIBLE STUFF

"What?" Aitri said, scared.

"Yes." Meghna said next morning at Rick's dining hall, "That's the list."

"These are impossible to get. They are not even materialistic things."

"They are not supposed to be." Rishi said, knowing well what the list contained.

"Where would we get them?"

"Do you trust me?" Rishi asked.

"More than myself."

"Then know that we will get them."

The dining hall was filled with people. The five divine champions, two Valkyries, Rishi's parents, Aitri's parents, Ishaan's mother and sister Udeshna, were all here. "What have you got there?" Udeshna asked.

"A list for a rope that binds Fenrir." Rishi said, "And the first ingredient is the sound of a cat's footfall." Everyone laughed, except Rishi, Meghna, Mikael, Maja and Aitri.

"I'll read on for you guys." Aitri said, enjoying their laugh, "Sound of a cat's footfall, the beard of a woman, roots of a mountain, sinews of a bear, breath of a fish and the spittle of a bird."

"No, seriously, honey, what's the real list of ingredients?" Aunt Amrita, Aitri's mother asked.

"This is the one, sadly." Aitri said.

"Why are you surprised?" Rishi asked, "We are supernatural champions of Norse gods. This is normal for us." To that, the fathers nodded. Rishi's father spoke next, "Where do you start looking?"

"Asgard. Heimdall would know the whereabouts of all the ingredients."

"Isn't he the god who sees everything?" Ishaan's mother asked.

"He is."

"But is Asgard safe?" Rishi's Mum asked, "Isn't that Surtr something attacking?" Rishi had told them everything.

"Not yet." Rick said, "I had a dream last night, that they were still preparing, and Surtr wouldn't attack until tomorrow. He's close, ever approaching."

"That means, we must hurry." Aitri said, "But how do we get to Asgard? The gate to there is far away from here."

"Kolkata?" Rishi asked, "Rick?"

"Yeah." Rick pulled out two tickets to Kolkata from his pocket. It was a good thing that the idea came to him last night before he fell asleep. He had informed Rick first thing in the morning, who had done all the necessary arrangements. Come on, did you not expect Rishi to be far-sighted?

"Flight is in two hours." Rishi announced, "Takes half an hour to reach the airport. We have half an hour to leave prepare and leave."

"I'm packed." Aitri said. So was Rishi. But it was scary. The pressure suddenly flowed through Rishi, as his stomach made a jump. He took in a deep breath, and braced himself. That was when Aunt Amrita asked, "How did you divide these teams? Like, on basis of what?"

"Need, Aunt Amrita. Rick is the only one who can open the box of Crystals. Plus, they need to go to this place with which, Rick actually has a history. And I'm sending these two," He pointed at Ishaan and Mikael, "so that they can keep him protected. To be honest, I am more worried about the dangers of this world than the others. Once Rick is busy in doing that work, I need someone to accompany me in the more supposedly difficult task. And who better than your daughter?"

"True that." Uncle Ajay, Aitri's father said, clearly proud of his daughter.

"Yeah, and lastly, these two are excellent warriors. I've trained with them, and I've realized that. If need arises, they would be brilliant in defending our town."

"Two against a whole army?" Rick's Dad asked.

"These two are equal to a hundred armies."

"Ah, stop embarrassing us." Maja said, "Go, and come back safely."

And one more time, the goodbyes proceeded. Rick, Rishi, Aitri and Ishaan touched every elder's feet, as Rick and Rishi got bear-hugged by Rishi's parents, and so did Aitri. Maja and Meghna hugged the champions too, and wished them all the luck. They showed everyone the new rings he had made for them, the ones that could call the out-of-worlds champions back. Rick took out his BMW, the one he had taken to the airport in his and Rishi's trip to Norway, as they sat inside. Bags inside the boot, Rishi snatched away the key from Rick's hand. "I'll drive." He had always wanted to drive this particular car. It was his favorite of Rick's collection. And if this was going to be his last ride on this, Rishi was Hel bent on making sure that he was in the driver's seat. Rick didn't say a thing. He quickly took the shotgun. Mikael and Ishaan sat behind them, alongside Aitri, as all of them waved their family goodbye.

The drive to the airport was full of nice songs. Ishaan's Mirza Ghalib, Mikael's ABBA (one of those songs actually had the same tune as an Indian old song), Rick's Taylor Swift, Aitri's KK songs, and lastly Rishi's own One Direction. Rick's car was smooth as heck, and Rishi felt as if it went on the road like knife through butter. It took forty-five minutes to get to the airport. As soon as they got down from the car, Rick called one guy standing there. "Here!"

The guy came over to them. With a very fat and twisted mustache, took the keys from Rick, and drove off with the car. "Do you know this guy?"

"Yeah, he is normally a freelance driver. He knew my uncle, and worked for him a few times. He just pops by to help with things. He will safely send the car home. Let's go. You must go inside, or you'll miss it."

"Yeah."

All the necessary formalities took a little time, but Rishi and Aitri boarded their flight on time. Once sat, a judgmental old woman asked if he could sit by the aisle, in exchange for the seat by the window. Rishi was kind enough to let go of his favorite seat. Then, the woman went on to ask if he and Aitri were married. If not, why they were travelling alone. A thousand questions followed before they could answer. Frustrated, Rishi said, "I'll take back my seat, I tell you."

"We are not completely over the clouds, you can't get up. I'll handle this." Then, she turned, and said to the lady, "Actually, we live in Pankhpur for work. I'm pursuing my PhD, and he has a job there. We are visiting our families."

That seemed to stop the questions, with one last question. "Where do you two live in Kolkata?"

"My family lives in Belgachhia, and he lives far away to Tollygunge." 

"Yeah, right." Rishi said to himself, chuckling secretively. Rishi knew very well that his family house was in Dum Dum, twenty minutes from Belgachhia.

The rest of the flight remained uneventful, with Aitri mostly spending her time reading a magazine, and Rishi just watching her. They spoke once in a while, but it was clear that Aitri was a little nervous from the inside. Rishi took a deep breath as the plane landed in Kolkata two hours later. Things were going to change gears.