The Thief Appears

Azazel looked around as he heard footsteps approaching. The door of the study opened as he watched. Zeus was brought inside by one of Blumbledore's orc wives.

Zeus walked forward and sat himself next to Azazel on the couch. "I'm glad to have found you, Azzy. Mah Hammer has been on my mind all day."

Azazel snickered at the man's words.

 He had probably been thinking about the hammer the entire time since he had last met with him. 

"Hm, I suppose I should have told you about the plans," Azazel said, folding his arms against his chest.

"Blumbledore has been rather distracting all day."

Rather, Blumbledore had been a pain in his ass all day, which was completely unnecessary.

"Emma told me you would probably be here." Zeus nodded as he spoke.

"Right," Azazel sighed as he remembered his last interaction with her.

"What was your plan?" Zeus asked, his accent apparent in the words.

Blumbledore leaned forward in his chair, folding his hands together on his desk. "We placed a magical hex on a staff of mine with high value. We simply wait for the thief scum to try to steal it."

Zeus gave a thumbs up in approval of the plan. "That's a great way to lure out the criminal."

Azazel shrugged. He wasn't so sure the theif would be back, but it was the only plan they had thought up. 

Zeus scratched his head. "Blumbledore?"

The wizard narrowed his eyes on Zeus. "Is this about my many wives?"

"You bet it is, you scheming asshole," Zeus growled in the bearded man's direction. "You stole most of the men."

Azazel leaned forward. It was a conversation he was interested in. It seemed things might get a little heated, and his demonic side was all in for it.

"Men?" Azazel whispered to himself, but he figured he knew where it was going.

"Most of them are your damn wives!" Zeus stated it heatedly as he made a fist with his right hand.

"And they love the allure of this charming, wise wizard." Blumbledore smirked mischievously.

"You..." Zeus began. "These men were fine men who could mine and crush monster skulls, but now you have them dressed up like women! There is nothing alluring! You have degraded them!"

Blumbledore shook his head. "Wouldn't you say serving the legendary wizard is much safer and more appealing than slaving for gemstones?"

"You took away their manly honor," Zeus violently punched the edge of the sofa.

Hmm, so this is why Zeus called Blumbledore an asshole during our last conversation. His wives aren't really his wives, but muscular men in drag. 

"They chose this life." Blumbledore smiled gently. "And they stay because of their love for my own personal magic stick."

I may vomit.

"I'll kill you." Zeus was angry as he stood up, waving his fist at the wizard. He really was ready to attack.

Zeus lept forward and punched the seat next to Blumbledore. The frame of the chair cracked in half, and the entire thing fell apart onto the floor.

"I would stop if I were you." Blumbledore grinned. "Remember, if I die, so does my magic."

Zeus scoffed and then angrily walked back and took his seat next to Azazel again. He looked at the demon, his features returning to normal.

"That guy is an ass," Zeus stated as he looked at Azazel.

"You're not wrong." Azazel laughed lightly, stroking his right horn nervously. "If we want to catch our thief, we'll need his help."

Zeus was quiet for a moment and then nodded. "You're right, Azzy."

"Good!" Blumbledore chuckled. "It seems you realize how useful I am to your cause."

Blumbledore pulled out one of his naughty magazines and began to thumb through the pages. He was getting rather bored with the situation.

They had already been waiting hours for the theif to appear and touch the weapon in the adjacent dining room. It had already begun to turn into night.

"Azazel," Zeus said, leaning back on the sofa. "Do you think this will work?"

"No," Azazel admitted. "But what other plan could we even come up with?"

Zeus nodded. 

As night fell, Blumbledore dug some candles out of his desk drawer. He set them on top of the desk and lit them with a simple spell. The wicks flickered, providing dim illumination for the study.

"Are these damn candles scented?" Zeus asked as he sniffed the air. "Smells funny"

"I'm fairly certain," Azazel stated,  placing his palm against his face. "They smell sweet."

"My favorite scent," Blumbledore mused to himself. "A hint of vanilla and musk."

Azazel began to hear faint footsteps coming from the dining room. He swiftly stood up and put his finger to his lips. 

"Be quiet. I hear someone approaching," he whispered, knowing the hex was attached to the weapon in the room next door. He didn't want them to scare off the criminal with their banter.

A loud ringing sound could be heard blaring through the mansion.

"Shit!" Azazel cursed, turning toward the door leading out of the study. He quickly opened the door and went to the dining room. As he made it to the room, he saw Greg, the man he met in the rift, holding the staff.

Greg was standing in the dark, but Azazel could see the glowing eyes from the slits of the man's impressive armor. There was something otherworldly about the aura he possessed.

Zeus and Blumbledore followed behind. The wizard had grabbed a staff from the corner of the room before he ran after Azazel.

"Hello, demon I met looking into the rift," Greg said, turning his head toward Azazel. "Fancy meeting you here."

Blumbledore appeared next to Azazel, a dark frown on his face. He was not pleased the man from the rift was standing in his dining room.

"Damn it!" The old wizard slammed his staff into the ground, sending shock waves throughout the room. "Not this annoying rift man. He must be the thief."

Azazel watched as the sparks shot toward the man. Greg simply held up his hand, summoning a transparent shield around him, which blocked the attack.

"Nice try," Greg hummed as he looked at the wizard. "Maybe you shouldn't have left your portal open."

Blumbledore groaned. "It was an accident. I didn't know you could exit the rift!"

"Well, I'm in your world now thanks to it," Greg laughed, feeling victorious.

Zeus looked at Greg and noticed the many weapons attached to the mysterious man. One of the weapons holstered to his back was the mighty Mjolnir. "He is the one who stole mah hammer!"

"Stop referring to your weapon like it's your child!" Azazel groaned, getting angry at his friend's constant obsession. He knew they had to get it back, but all Zeus had talked about in the past several days was the hammer he was gifted from Thor.

Greg grabbed Mjolnir and took a step forward, drawing the weapon and raising it high into the air.

"HAAH! THE HAMMER IS MINE NOW."

He performed a tremendous leap and hit the floor. The hit sent an invisible pulse through the mansion, causing the pillars to wobble and the floors to shake.

Azazel stumbled a little. Zeus secured himself and used his mighty arms to grab one of the support pillars, holding on as tightly as he could.

Having his hair rustled from the rumblings, Blumbledore grumbled, "Did he really try to collapse the mansion all around us?"

Greg leapt across the room and flung two daggers into Zeus's thighs, forcing the big man to cry out in pain.

Greg stopped mid-step and scowled. "There should have been much more blood splatter onto the floor. I'm disappointed."

The daggers fell from Zeus' leg; only minor injuries appeared; the cuts were not terribly deep, but enough for blood to trickle down his leg.

Blumbledore smirked and tilted his head toward the blacksmith. "I silently cast a barrier around us after the man swung the hammer. Physical attacks won't inflict as much harm. I figured something was bound to happen."

Azazel nodded and removed his jacket,then hurriedly took off his shirt. He ripped some fabric from his shirt with his sharp fangs. He walked over to Zeus and bent over. He tied pieces of his shirt around Zeus' leg, where the injuries were. "The pressure from the cloth will make your blood clot, and it will stop the bleeding," Azazel stated.

As Azazel was tying the fabric around Zeus' leg, Greg put up the Mjolnir and jumped out the window, running toward the main square of the village.

"How dare he try and run," Azazel growled. "I'm going after him."

Azazel put back on his jacket and ran after him, Blumbledore and Zeus at his side. Though the wizard began to slow down as they ran, he would catch up to the two of them.

They ran after Greg, catching up just as the unknown man began to cross the bridge to the castle. 

Stop right there!" Azazel commanded as Greg made it to the end of the small bridge.

Greg stopped and turned. A wicked look was on his face as he looked at the trio at the base of the bridge.

"Not a chance," the man said in a cocky tone, with a crazed expression on his face. "This is the greatest hammer of all, and it is now part of my collection."

Blumbledore stopped his running and stepped back, taking a few breaths to regain the air in his lungs. He quickly cast a few defensive spells on them.

"Then it seems you've made your choice." Azazel folded his arms across his now bare chest, his skin exposed from the fabric he had torn off for Zeus' injuries.

"Azzy, we have to get mah hammer back!" Zeus cried out passionately.

"Yes, we will," Azazel said to his muscular friend.

Greg scoffed and stared at them. "Then you will fight for this weapon. I have traveled to many worlds for the best collection of weaponry, and you three will not be able to stop me."

"Traveled worlds?" Azazel asked with confusion in his tone.

"You know nothing about the rift I come from?" Greg asked mockingly. "It connects to everything. Every dimension. Every world. Every possibility."

While Azazel found Greg's words facinating, he could not ignore the fact he was still a thief, and they weren't even his first victims. He hoped they would be able to subdue the man enough to get the Mjolnir back and ask him more about the rift and other worlds.

Azazel glared at Greg from the base of the small bridge. He didn't think the rift man would be much trouble for a demon, wizard, and muscular orc, even though Zeus was weaponless due to the theft. The demon had not participated in a fight against such a seasoned foe before, but he was ready to take Greg down.

Greg and Azazel stared at one another from opposite sides of the bridge. They both knew it was now time for the battle on the little bridge.