Author's Notes

Fandom: SMITE

Fan-fiction: The Cost Of Freedom

Summary: Sol is known by all as a free spirit so when she finds herself trapped, bound with her magic restricted, she's not the only one curious about her whereabouts. And woe betide anyone if she was ever released, especially the hunter who put her there in the first place.

Characters: Hou Yi, Sol and Ymir

Warnings: Character Death

Request for Anon on Tumblr, who said 'Ymir sacrificing himself to save Sol? (for the fanfic requests!).'

This is my 10th SMITE Fan-Fiction! Woohoo! Not the most pleasant of stories but oh well! Happy reading!

Cold. How, Sol thought. Never in her life had she felt a chill like this. She was a star after all. Sol instinctively tried to curl up into the foetal position to keep herself warm but was soon stopped. She heaved with all of her might and when she finally relented, her body slammed against something hard and cold, and she heard a jingle.

Her eyes sprung open, and already she felt a little warmer, but only because her anxiety was beginning to set in now that she was conscious. She tried to make out her surroundings but the room was only dimly lit, a curious thing considering her power. She looked around, and managed to spot what was restraining her: shackles, laced with a supressing agent. She could both see and feel its dampening magic. She tried to flare up but could only produce a little heat before her body started to ache, as if she'd run a marathon. She fell limp again and heard the chain jingle once more.

So did someone else it seemed.

Sol heard the sharp sound of scraping metal and immediately snapped out of her gaze, in time to see the latch on the door in front of her shift and begin to open. She saw her reflection in the tip of an arrow head as it peeked past the door. She could only assume that it was her captor, and wanted them to know that she wouldn't be restrained for long. Levitating forward, she tugged against her restraints, flaring up as she did so (and scowling for good measure).

A flash of silver and she was grounded. Panting, she turned to look at the arrow she caught sight of out of the corner of her eye, now embedded in the wall a few centimetres from her head. Something else suddenly popped up in her field of vision and she gasped as she turned to look into the eyes of a mere man. This close, she was baffled at how weakened she was, if a human could get this close and not be burned by her. She recoiled, still not wanting to harm him.

A few seconds of surveying the man and she realised who he was, and it wasn't a man.

"I'm surprised you're so lively," Hou Yi sounded genuinely impressed which only added to Sol's anxiety; Her mind became just as frazzled as her body as she struggled to comprehend why on earth they were both here, "Those are the most powerful restraints I know of. I know I shouldn't be surprised, given how hard you were to catch." Sol cared not to remember that experience but recalled the terror she felt which fuelled her sudden burst of energy, causing Hou Yi to back off immediately. Not that he was concerned about her escaping, but he wanted to eliminate any chance she had and fulfil his quest.

Sol tried to curl up once more, contracting in time with Hou Yi as he drew his bow, aiming right between her eyes. She whimpered quietly, unable to contain her fear. She had felt so compromised in her life. She thought she was dreaming, it having never crossed her mind that she might die anytime soon and in such a vicious manner. She tried to speak, but could only stammer. Not wanting to contend with Hou Yi's double-barrelled name, she merely uttered, "Why?" She tried to look him in the eye but the arrow pointing at her occupied her full attention.

"When stars get sentient, they cause nothing but chaos. You come here to Earth and you frolic. You don't value the life you provide for. You neglect your duty. Now, I will fulfil mine," His words stung. Sol's body began to steam, as well as her eyes. What did he know about her duty, her job she was assigned against her will. Hou Yi was free to do whatever he pleased, he couldn't ever know what that felt like. Maybe he should be the one restrained and bound to a service. Maybe it would keep him occupied and stop him from murdering stars. In another world. Sol sighed.

She held her breath as the arrow was drawn away from her face. The tension in the strings of the bow grated in her ears as Hou Yi drew the bow back a little more in preparation to strike. He too held his breath, steadied himself, and fixated his gaze on the spot between Sol's eyes.

There was finally a silence as everything settled into place. But there was a thud, and Hou Yi jumped. So did Sol, who gave a yelp and closed her eyes. Her whole body tensed until she couldn't hold it anymore. She peeked and saw Hou Yi with his bow in one hand and arrow in another, disarmed. She didn't dare strike, even while he was distracted; she was still bound and he could still easily put out her fire, as could very well whatever was making that noise.

Another thud came, and the furniture around the room shook. Hou Yi stood firm, placing his arrow upon his bow once more. Between sounds, Sol could hear his deep, shaky breaths, and couldn't help but smirk. The cause of the sound may be no friend to her either, but at least it made Hou Yi scared.

There was another sound, but it was more like a metallic clang. And again. And again. And the door started to bend inward. With every contortion, Sol became more and more reassured that whatever was trying to get in, wasn't here for Hou Yi's sake.

He dived as the door bolted towards him. Sol braced herself, but it landed at her feet before it hit her.

The entrance still wasn't adequate, too small for Ymir. He grabbed the frames and tore them away, as if tearing paper. He still had to duck, but he could finally enter the room. Rising up to his normal height, he glared at Hou Yi, then turned to Sol. "Hi!" He said, his chipper voice a little misplaced.

Sol couldn't find the breath to greet him too. She was astonished that he had found her, overwhelmed with the thought that she now might make it out of this ordeal without an arrow between her eyes.

Hou Yi quickly rose to his feet, "Be gone, Frost Giant. You're meddling in things you have no business in," He tried but there was no hope of him intimidating Ymir in any way. He didn't even draw his bow, thinking his words might be enough, but talk is cheap.

"Ymir's friends are Ymir's business, so when you try to kill Ymir's friends, Ymir will meddle," He boomed, leaning towards the archers face. Hou Yi recoiled at his icy breath. He backed away enough so he could draw his bow back and release it with adequate force but no distance could make it do any kind of damage to Ymir. A sharp clink and the arrow fell to the floor.

He couldn't hurt Ymir but he could still finish off Sol.

Hou Yi drew again, flipping round to face the star. All of a sudden, there was a silver arrow in the middle of her gaze once more but she was nowhere near as tense as she was before. She knew what was to come to him.

Right on cue, Ymir took a sharp breath in, drawing Hou Yi's attention. A freezing mist clouded his vision. He lifted his arm to shield himself, but the movement was difficult, like running in a dream. He needed to get away. He bent his knees, preparing to leap but found himself grinding to a halt. He opened his mouth to cry out but his mouth filled with meltwater.

A muffled cough could be heard as the mist dispersed, revealing an awkwardly poised Hou Yi, frozen in ice and not looking too happy about it.

"Yes!" Sol exclaimed, "Thank you Ymir!"

"No problem," He replied as he mindlessly picked up Hou Yi and tossed him to one side, which was immensely satisfying for Sol. He gave a nod at a job well done but knew very well everything was far from over. He approached Sol without hesitation.

She recoiled, "Ymir, be careful, I'm still hot!"

"And Ymir's still cold, more cold than you are hot," He began carefully assessing her restraints, though he didn't put much thought into deciding that he would simply rip them off the wall. He mindlessly wiped a bead of 'sweat' from his forehead, causing a flurry of droplets to splash onto Sol's head below. To her, there were harmless, but her presence still posed a danger to him.

"Ymir, please! You're already melting! Get away!"

"You need to be free. Ymir will get away later," Ymir found a grip onto the restraints. Pressing his fingers into them, he began to tug. Sol winced at the squeaking his fingers made as they scraped against the surface of the shackles. She could see the discomfort in his eyes but there was no negotiating with him, or her own body.

She could feel herself getting warmer with every movement, the dulling agent beginning to wear off as the restraints became more and more damaged. Rubble began to fall from the wall, as did more droplets. Sol could only hope she was freed soon, and she was.

A flare-up of power coursed through every part of her body. One restraint had fallen from her wrist, and the rest would soon follow. She couldn't help but stretch, grimacing as the tension left her body as did the rest of her shackles, sliding from her skin as they melted away. When she opened her eyes, a smiling Ymir was of no comfort. She quickly darted under his arm, past Hou Yi, to the opening. "Let's get out of here, come on!" She gestured impatiently with her hand. Ymir hobbled over to her at a frustratingly slower pace than Sol would've liked. To hide her eye roll, she dipped out of the opening, searching for a way out of the larger complex.

"Left!" Ymir called. She looked back and smiled, but it was short lived. Hou Yi's figure looked a lot clearer all of a sudden. He was beginning to melt. Ymir saw her face drop. Taking a quick glance over his shoulder, he figured Hou Yi was in need of a top up. His next breath wasn't much more than a cool breeze, almost muggy. It made Hou Yi's escape all the more swift.

Sol knew her heat was to blame, but there was no time and no point in dwelling on it. She gave Ymir a very quick tug on his arm, making sure he was paying attention, "We need to go, now!" She rolled over to face down the corridor before shooting off. Ymir shook off some more droplets before following behind.

There was a blockage, more just a door really. Impatient, Sol fired herself up and unleashed a ball of fire from her palm. It collided with the door and rippled outward, before returning inward and blowing the door away, outside into the chill of the mountains. Sol felt refreshed by the outside air, even more relieved that Ymir would feel right at home and recover well in this climate.

She darted into the air, to keep her heat away from the giant as he exited the building. He looked up into the sky to see the star he'd rescued in her proper place. He slammed his club into the ground, that he may clench both of his fists, grounding himself to give a triumphant roar at the heavens.

"Ha ha!" Sol laughed heartily at his enthusiasm, forever grateful, "Thank you Ymir. I'd hug you but that wouldn't be much of a thank you!"

"Go and shine for Ymir, that will be thanks enough!" He waved at her, wishing her well.

As he lowered his arm, it revealed a smaller figure in red material, damper and darker than Sol remembered.

"Ymir, behind you!" She lowered herself in the sky. She wanted to help while he had helped her, but didn't want to come too close, in case she weakened him again.

Ymir turned, swiping up his club. Despite the danger, he couldn't help but laugh at the shivering Hou Yi.

Tensing his clattering jaw, Hou Yi cried, "You'll pay for that!" He drew his bow, and then fired an arrow into the heavens. And another. And another. They shot past Sol with a whoosh and an intimidating breeze.

"Wow, Ymir have better aim."

Sol didn't have time to laugh. Something else shot past her, down towards Ymir. She saw red. She pointed herself downward, trying to catch up with the falling star but she continued to be left behind. She hopelessly tried to pull on the star and slow it down, but her fingers only dragged along its surface, leaving temporary, meaningless scratches. All there was left to do was call out, "Ymir, move!" Of course, instead of moving, Ymir instinctively looked up, wasting time.

Realising the danger, he began to hobble away from Hou Yi, who cockily looked on.

Realising the inevitability, Sol began to slow down, her stamina dampened by a grief, mourning for someone yet to be deceased but she knew she couldn't save. Tears formed but quickly turned to steam that trailed behind her.

Hou Yi leapt into the air to avoid the impending collision. The star splashed into the ground, erupting into a mess of red and orange. Another fell, and reacted much the same. The next few caused the ground to shake and the left over snow around the forming crater to disappear, revealing scorched earth beneath it.

As the steam dispersed, she lowered herself to the ground and searched desperately for something. Alas, there was no trace of her saviour, no body to mourn over, nothing. Her throat felt hollow as she wailed, throwing herself to the floor, hoping she might feel that the ground would be damp, a small sign of his presence. Unfortunately, the only presence she felt was Hou Yi's, as his body now loomed over her. As she swallowed her tears, her anger ran hot down her throat. Before Hou Yi could imprison her again and have Ymir's sacrifice be in vain, she pressed herself into the dirt and propelled herself into the sky, past the clouds, and back into the heavens.

And, for the first time, she felt the chill of space.

Author's Notes

I've got to say, I am happy with this now that it's done but, oh my god, it took me so long to find the motivation to finish this.

Drop me a message if you enjoyed this anon! I'd really appreciate it.