The Battle for Asgard

Hela and Thor continued to fight, crashing into each other in a clash of Hela's twin black blades and Thor with Gungnir. He had just managed to block a blow, pushing her back. They were panting, but both too locked into the battle to stop.

"To be honest," Hela glared at him, "I expected more."

With a single move, Hela managed to knock Gungnir from his hands, sending it clattering across the room. She didn't give even a moment's pause before she was striking out at Thor once more, driving him into a wall on the other side of the room.

~8~

"Heimdall!" Athena called back to the man, as he stood with his sword ready, about to run to her side and offer aid, "Guard them!" she looked back over her shoulder, giving him a firm nod that this was not something to be negotiated, but an order to be followed.

Heimdall looked at her intently for the command, but nodded, stepping back to stand before the others. There was nowhere they could go, with the army ahead and Fenris behind. But the wolf was being distracted by the ship hovering above them, it was the army they had to worry about now.

Athena looked back, striding forward towards the approaching army, wanting to give as much distance between where she'd make her stand and where the Asgardians had been huddled.

"Heimdall!" another voice rang out, that of Skurge, leading the army and pointing his sword at the man, commanding the dead for what they were after, "The sword! Get..."

Whatever he was about to command was lost as Athena grabbed the small blade from her hair, a gift from Thor, and threw it with all the accuracy she'd honed over the years, striking him right in the middle of the forehead. The traitor deserved to suffer for siding with Hela, but she had no time to apprehend him, take an enemy down and be done with it. She watched as his body fell backwards, the fallen Asgardian no more but the army continued to follow his last command, they were going to go for Heimdall.

Athena took a deep breath, seeing the army about to charge, and looked to the Rainbow Bridge. She prayed that Heimdall would forgive her, that Odin would, for what she was about to do, but there was only one way for a single person to take on an army for she would not risk the lives of the people to drag them into battle. She grabbed her sword with both hands and lifted it up, the point down, and turned, driving it into the bridge to her right. A massive crack formed along it, quite a few feet on either side from where the sword rested. She screamed, pushing forward and pressing on her sword to pry off the cracked part of the Bridge, letting it fall into the waters below. She quickly pushed herself to her feet, doing the same on the other side of the bridge, so there was but a single narrow passage that could be used to cross on.

She stepped back a few paces, till she was standing, firmly planted, on the wider edge of the passage, lifting her shield to her front, her sword in hand, ready. The approaching army would need to clamber down the narrow passage to get to her side, giving her more time to pick them off one by one. Some might try to leap across the chasms on the either side of the passage, but she had made sure to strike it with enough force that it would be wide enough where they'd need a fair bit of a running jump in order to make it, and even then, she could easily see them coming and adjust her technique to dispose of them quickly without losing her footing where she was to hold the line of defense.

She looked at her flaming sword, a solid cut, kicking them or knocking them off the sides to be dragged down into the waters by the weight of their armor…that was the only technique and plan she would have a chance to come up with. Soldiers of the dead were not normal enemies, it was pure instinct and power that would defeat them, nothing else.

She swallowed hard, feeling dread well in her, there was a reason she studied her enemy first. It was safe to study and work out a plan than to rely on brute strength and power.

She tensed, hearing the Valkyrie still firing at Fenris, hearing Heimdall trying to keep the refugees calm, but unable to do so with the threat on both sides.

She took a breath and steeled herself, swiping her sword out as the first soldier reached her.

~8~

Thor grunted as Hela pinned him against a wall, sneering into his face, "Here's the difference between us. I'm Odin's firstborn, the rightful heir, the savior of Asgard…and you're nothing!"

She shoved him away, conjuring a large, spiked lance and lunging at him with it, Thor just barely managing to roll out of the way as it embedded itself into the wall. He grabbed Hela's arm and yanked her towards him, slamming his head to hers in a vicious headbutt…but it did nothing.

Hela smirked and leaned her head back to return the favor, sending him stumbling back, dazed and disoriented.

He tried to get his bearings, needing to hold on, needing it to last longer. Athena and the others were counting on him to drag this out as long as possible, to give them enough time to get the others to safety...

"So simple," Hela sighed, looking at him in despair at just how little a challenge he was, "Even a blind man could see it."

She grabbed him by the front of his armor and pulled, flicking her other hand out to grow her nails longer, and clawed it down his face, taking his eye out in the process as he screamed.

She laughed at the sight of him in his one-eyed glory, "Now you remind me of Dad."

~8~

It was a blur on the Rainbow Bridge, one enemy after another, slice, swipe, kick, over and over. Duck low, swing out her leg, shove, stab. The army was endless, all the honored dead of Asgard come back to try and ruin it.

Vaguely she could hear the Valkyrie still firing on Fenris, the wolf roaring more and more angrily with each round. There was a brief moment where she knew the firing had stopped, the wolf howling hadn't been coupled by gunfire and something in her niggled her mind that she should turn around and check, something could be wrong with the Valkyrie and Banner, they could be in danger. But another thought overwhelmed it, that there was no sound of a crash, no sounds of screaming, no gasping of the people, so the Valkyrie and Banner could not be in danger, there was another reason why they'd stopped firing, something that had nothing to do with her own battle with the army.

She swung out on instinct, beheading the next soldier that dared run up to her.

One sound, Banner letting out a roaring cry, did manage to catch her attention in the heat of battle, and she used her momentum from her following attack to quickly spin, glancing up only a moment, to see Banner had leapt from the Commodore for the Bridge. She finished her attack, her back now to the refugees once more and her attention back on the army. Idly she noted she hadn't heard the Hulk's roar come out, but that sound of a thump, someone landing on the Bridge.

She could feel her mind starting to drift to the calculation of descent, of what impact that would have on a human body, before she viciously pulled her thoughts away. As much as she might fear for Banner, the army needed her complete focus. Lose sight of her goal, take her eye off the enemy, and she was finished. She could not be beaten, she could not risk being beaten, too much was at stake.

There was a roar in the air, the Hulk, followed by a pained wolf whine, and she let out a soft breath, allowing herself only a moment of relief to know the Hulk was handling Fenris…

She didn't even notice the sound of water splashing as the Hulk tackled the wolf into the water surrounding the bridge.

~8~

Thor clawed at the hands around his throat as Hela lifted him up by the neck and dragged him over to the balcony of the throne room. She forced him up and turned him to look down at Asgard burning around them. He could see, even from there, without Heimdall's eyes, the Rainbow Bridge. He could see his people struggling, but what's more…he could see Athena, taking on the army of the dead by herself. He barely refrained from smirking at the sight, his warrior queen was truly that, in this moment she was every bit the powerful force Asgard needed in a queen.

But now, he could also see his people had a chance to escape, he could finish Hela now that he'd distracted her enough.

He could feel her lean in closer, whispering in his ear, "You see?" she chuckled, "How long do you think your beloved Athena can hold them back? They do not tire, but she will. And then…the army will take them all. No one's going anywhere. I'll get that sword even if I have to kill every single one of them to do it."

Thor couldn't help the way his lip, on the opposite side of his face than where Hela was, quirked up even at her words.

He could almost hear Athena in his mind, the warning she had so often given him, never to underestimate their opponent.

It appear Hela was doing just that…

~8~

Athena violently slashed at the throat of the next soldier that came at her, kicking it down and causing the next soldier to stumble and fall to its knees. She didn't hesitate to stab her sword down its throat, setting it on fire from within and shoving it to the side.

There was a whoosh behind her a moment before gunfire rang out above Athena's head. She didn't flinch as the ship hovering over her but slightly behind tried to take out the soldiers farther down the pathway she'd made. There was a minor flash of irritation that went through her as she was joined in this battle. The bullets would not make a difference, she had said fire, hadn't she? She had told them fire was the only way to defeat this enemy. Yet they were firing bullets.

"Fire!" she shouted, though it sounded more like a grunt. It felt like her voice was hoarse, she had not spoken a word since she'd given the order to Heimdall, "NO!" she yelled louder when the firing resumed, "FIRE!"

A moment later the ship above her shot out of the sky, but heading right for the other side of the pathway, crashing into a swarm of the soldiers, exploding in the middle of them when the blaster fell out on top of some, and skidded along the bridge, fireworks going off.

There was a voice behind her, a flash of white and gold, a long, thin sword coming into view in her periphery. Distantly she noted it was the Valkyrie, having ejected herself from the ship before she sent it crashing. She registered the woman speaking to her, but the oncoming soldiers required all her focus.

"Guard them!" was all she could get out before she launched herself at the army.

She didn't notice if the Valkyrie had listened to her, she had stepped closer to the narrowed pathway, there was no room for anyone to stand beside her. She fought with a single minded focus from that point on, she had to protect them, she had to keep the army back. No one else there had experience fighting these creatures and truly winning. The Valkyrie herself had admitted she and the others had fought Hela directly. She had to do this, she had to stop them, and she knew she could.

She knew she had that power…

~8~

"It is good to see you again," Heimdall spoke quietly to the Valkyrie as the woman backed away from Athena. He could not make for the Bifrost, not now that Hela knew where they were. It had been one plan to reach there with the people while Hela was invading their stronghold, but if he opened the Bifrost now? If Athena fell the army would follow, Hela could follow. He couldn't risk opening the path to get his people to safety in such a state, but there was nowhere else to go.

"You as well," the Valkyrie murmured, her sword ready, her eyes on the undead army, tense and deeply concerned as she watched Athena fight, "How long do you think she can keep that up?"

She knew what she and the other Valkyrie had gone through, their training, she knew her stamina and endurance. It could be because she was still half drunk and had not battled this hard in a very long time, but if she had been in Athena's place she would not have lasted this long. Watching this woman…she could understand how Athena was a goddess of Battle while the Valkyrie were elite warriors.

She flinched down when a booming noise sounded behind them and turned to see what looked like another one of the Grandmaster's ships, one of his personal collection, a much, much larger model, settle down on the Rainbow Bridge, blocking the way to the observatory, but with planks lowering. She nearly began to race towards it, ready to put herself between the Asgardians and the Grandmaster…when she saw who had stepped out onto the plank's top.

Korg, with Miek close behind.

"Hey there," the rockman greeted, "I'm Korg. This is Miek. We're going to jump on that spaceship and get out of here. Want to come?"

The Asgardians stared at him, confused and more than a little suspicious.

Until a hand settled on Korg's shoulder and the man stepped to the side, revealing Loki approaching, dressed for battle with his arms spread wide.

"Your savior is here!" Loki called with a wide grin. He walked down the plank, a line of other Sakaarian gladiators appearing in the doorway, all armed with weapons.

~8~

Thor's small smirk grew into a full blown grin as he saw the ship land on the Rainbow Bridge. Even from there he could make out Loki and other prisoners from Sakaar. Despite his best efforts, he could feel a small kernel of hope grow in his heart at the sight. Loki could have gone anywhere in the realms, disappeared through any of the wormholes, but he had followed the one that he knew would take him back to Asgard. A part of his mind argued that Loki could have just come in the hopes that he would find Thor dead, Hela weakened, and be the savior of Asgard, but with how powerful Hela clearly was, Loki would never have risked his life to face her again unless…

Unless he truly cared, about him, about the people…

"That little shit…" Hela hissed beside him.

~8~

Loki and the Sakaarian gladiators jumped off the ship and onto the Bridge, quickly moving to the sides to make room for the Asgardians to climb aboard. A handful hurried past them, walking along the edges of the bridge to get closer to Athena, forming a wall across the bridge between her and the refugees, ready to fight, to step in, to protect.

"Did you miss me?" Loki called to the Asgardians, "Everybody on that ship, now!"

He grinned widely as he watched them clamber up and onto the ship, the group stilling at the base of the ship as there was only a narrow plank that lead up to it. They had to board only a small handful at a time. He looked over, taking in the scene of the Bridge. Heimdall was at the back of the refugee group, the Valkyrie beside him, their swords ready, with a row of the Sakaarians before them, creating lines of defense should the army of the dead break through.

But it didn't appear they would. Athena was standing at a narrow area of the Bridge, fighting with a drive and finesse he had never seen before and he had watched her fight against Thor and other Asgardian soldiers many a time.

"Be calm," he called to the Asgardians as he began to make his way through them, "You are safe for now. Be calm and orderly and all shall be well."

He walked closer to the lines of defense, his gaze trained on Athena's back even as he came up to Heimdall's other side.

"Welcome home," the guardian remarked, "I saw you coming."

"Of course you did," Loki answered, "Did you see HER?" he nodded more towards Athena than meaning anything about Hela.

Heimdall only grew solemn and serious as they watched Athena.

The Valkyrie wanted to step in, to join the fight, but she could see the mindset Athena was in, the heat of battle, the focus, approaching now…it could spell disaster to startle her out of her focus. She would hold back, ready, and step in only when Athena could go no more.

~8~

Hela spun Thor back around to face her, not entirely concerned with the goings-on of the Bridge, Athena would wear out soon enough and when she fell, the others wouldn't stand a chance. She smirked at the thought, debating, for a moment, whether she wanted to draw this out longer so that Thor could witness the woman's fall, just for that added delicious pain that it would cause him to see the woman he loved destroyed before his eyes, or if she should end it now and just be done with him.

Perhaps she could kill two birds with one stone, end Thor now and use that to break the girl on the Bridge, let the army swarm to the fleeing Asgardians, all contained in one place and waiting for her to destroy them.

She smirked, yes, that would work perfectly.

"A valiant effort," she spoke to Thor, "But you never stood a chance."

Thor's gaze drifted away from her, a sparkle in the sky catching his attention. He looked up at the stars that had come out over Asgard, shining brightly despite the horror going on below them. There was a glimmer among the shining specks, a yellow waft of stardust in the sky, two of them entwining before they drifted away, reminding him of his mother and father, the last memory he had of them. What would they think if they could look down and see him there?

He liked to think they would be proud, of all he had done for Asgard, of what he was doing now, using himself to give his people a fighting chance. He liked to think that they would be proud of Athena as well, for her bravery and drive in facing down that army. And, perhaps, they would even be proud of Loki for returning to help their people.

"You see?" Hela was speaking, pulling his attention back, "I'm not a queen, or a monster…"

Thor felt something inside him jerk, his vision clouding to an image of the cliff in Norway…

"I'm the Goddess of Death."

…to Odin and Frigga standing there, smiling at him…

"What were you the God of again?"

He screamed out a moment later when Hela dug her two blades into his chest…

~8~

Thor gasped as he awoke, having blacked out from the pain of Hela's blades, only to find himself back on the field in Norway.

"Even when you had two eyes you were only seeing half the picture," a voice said behind him.

Thor scrambled to his feet and turned to see Odin and Frigga sitting where they last had, on two rocks, Frigga's arm through Odin's as they smiled at him. He sank back to his knees before his parents.

"She's too strong," he began to speak, "Without my hammer I cannot…"

He had thought he could, he truly thought he could face Hela down and beat her. He hadn't fought back as much as he could have, it was true, he wanted to give his people a chance to escape, to distract her, but…he was also trying to gauge her strength, her skill. It was something Athena often did, she was much better at it than he was, she could work out things like that from a distance or while also defending herself. It had been enough though, he had gotten enough information.

And he knew he wouldn't be able to defeat her without his hammer.

Odin gave a soft chuckle at that, "Are you Thor, God of Hammers?" Thor looked up at that, "That hammer helped you control your power, focus it. But it was never the source of your strength."

Thor was silent for a moment, "Athena said much the same…"

"Athena is wise," Frigga remarked with a gentle smile and a teasing look in her eye, making Thor crack the smallest of grins in return.

Odin stood, holding a hand down to Frigga to help her rise as well, Thor moving to his feet too.

"Even if I can defeat her," Thor began, "She's already taken Asgard."

"Oh my son," Frigga reached out to touch his cheek, "Asgard is not a place. It is a people."

Odin gestured at the cliff around them, "This could be Asgard. It is wherever our people stand. And right now those people need you. Your Queen needs you," Odin grew somber at the words he spoke, "Do not make the same mistake I did, Thor, do not risk your love's life over an enemy you fear and hate."

Frigga pulled her hand back from Thor to rest it on Odin's arm, letting him know with a look that she did not blame him for her near death at the hands of the Dark Elves.

"I fear I am not as strong as you," Thor called when Odin and Frigga began to walk away from him.

Odin smiled, "You are stronger."

Frigga nodded, "Do not let the loss of your hammer make you forget the strength and power you possess."

Thor took a deep breath at the familiar words Athena had spoken to him when last they parted. He felt himself smile at that, if Frigga believed it…well, as he had told Loki, he had learned not to ignore the words of Athena nor his mother. He looked down at his hands, seeing the smallest sparks of electricity dance across his fingers before he made a fist, ready…

~8~

Thor's vision cleared as he came back to himself, back on the balcony of the throne room, Hela with her blades in his chest, the pain radiating through his entire body. He closed his eyes, keeping the words his parents and Athena had spoken to him, the belief they had in him, in his mind. He thought back to every foe he'd faced, to every challenge he had overcome, to every person on that Bridge counting on him and he felt it, he finally felt it…the power coursing through him.

Above him the sky darkened, black storm clouds rolling in.

"Tell me brother," Hela repeated, "What were you the God of again?"

Thor clenched his fist, feeling the electricity jumping along his knuckles, he felt it gathering above him, the storm calling to him…and he pulled!

A boom of thunder, the loudest he had ever heard, rang out, and a bolt of lightning shot out of the sky right for them.

Thor felt exhilarated as the lightning seemed to flow through him, energizing him, while, at the same time, sending Hela flying out, blasted out of the palace and sent plummeting into the streets of Asgard, crashing into the ground and staying down.

~8~

It was pure instinct that had Athena lifting her shield when a massive BOOM resonated in front of her, the shockwave of electricity and power that came with Thor landing on the opposite side of the Rainbow Bridge from the narrow pathway she'd created. A small voice in her head told her she should be impressed with Thor's display of raw power, that it was incredible and that she was proud of him, but it felt like the world around her had just narrowed down to the passageway she stood on, to the soldiers running at her.

There were flashes of lightning and gusts of wind that she could glimpse and feel as she continued to battle on. She couldn't stop now, she hadn't beaten her enemies. She couldn't stop till she'd defeated them all…

Thor spun around, punching one of the dead soldiers behind him, sending it flying back through the rest of its cohorts, before he punched down, sending a burst of energy out to throw the approaching soldiers away. He stood, using the moment to take stock of the situation. He needed to know what was happening, how it was going. He could see one of the Grandmaster's ships, one that had been in the same bay as the Commodore, on the Bridge, Heimdall now ushering the Asgardians onto it. They were making good progress, were nearly all there. A splash in the water drew his attention and he noticed Hulk fighting with Fenris, keeping the beast occupied. He could see the Valkyrie and Loki at the ready, their weapons in hand, their focus ahead of them. And then there was a row of Sakaarian gladiators, also ready to fight…but none of them seemed needed.

Because Athena was hacking her way through the soldiers that ran at her with an unstoppable force. For one brief second, he allowed himself to be awed by her prowess, watching as she used skills and methods and tricks he had never seen her use before. But he shook himself out of it quickly, noting the concerned look on the Valkyrie's face, how even Loki looked ill at ease, and felt himself tense. He knew how long it had been since he had sent her off with the Valkyrie and Banner, if she had been fighting since then, and fighting alone…she wouldn't be able to handle much more of this.

He nodded to himself and began to fight his way through the soldiers lingering on the pathway, needing to reach her. If he could make it to the other side, he could give her a respite, a moment to regroup. She had done her part, his people were safe, she needed to rest. If she could take on the army by herself, he was sure he, Valkyrie, Loki, and the Sakaarian gladiators could handle the rest. He paused just before the pathway, looking down to see not an undead soldier but Skurge with Athena's blade in his forehead, the blade he had gifted her. He shook his head at the man, the traitor, and crouched down to pull the blade from him, wiping it off on his cloak as he moved down the path.

He stopped once more on the middle of the pathway, a small smirk growing on his face at how clever a move that had been, and looked back at the army, or what was left of it. They had managed to thin out the army by a large amount. He turned back to make his way to Athena, reaching her right as the tip of her flaming sword went through the chest of the soldier in front of him. She moved like she was flinging her arm to the side and the soldier fell off of it into the water.

She raised her sword as though she were about to strike at him, but he quickly grabbed her wrist, seeming to startle her with the small sparks of electricity that had jumped from him to her. She looked at his hand holding her wrist, confused for a moment at the warmth she felt, because the dead were not warm, and then she looked at him, blinking rapidly.

"…Thor?" she began to breathe quickly, trembling in his hand, "…your eye…"

He let his grip on her arm loosen, sliding it down to her hand, squeezing it, "What about you?" he looked down at her, noting a wound here and there, a cut to her face, a bruise on her cheek and shin, the way she was panting but leaning to the side as though her one side hurt more.

Athena frowned, not seeming to understand what he was talking about.

He looked back, hearing snarls, to see the army of the dead regrouping. He moved his hand to the small of her back and ushered her back a little, frowning at the limp she had, "You need to go to the ship," he murmured.

"I can fight," Athena argued.

"You've done your part, more than, it's time to rest…"

"I won't rest until our people are safe," she told him firmly, not backing down, "I will not stand behind you, Thor, I stand beside you."

He couldn't help the quirk of his lips at that, tired as she was, Athena would not turn her back on an enemy. He held out the small blade he'd recovered, a silent acceptance to her demands, letting her take it from him when he noticed the others watching them closely, and nodded to Loki, "You're late."

"You're missing an eye," Loki retorted.

The Valkyrie let out a shrill whistle to get their attention, "This isn't over," she gave a pointed nod towards Asgard and they turned to see Hela approaching, absolutely seething.

Athena, though panting, stepped up beside Thor, her sword and shield ready as the Valkyrie and Loki moved on either side of them as well, the Sakaarian gladiators falling back towards the Grandmaster's ship where the last of the Asgardians were making their way on, seeming to understand the four would be the main line of defense now and they were to fall back as the second.

"Hit her with a lightning blast," Loki spoke quietly as they all braced for battle.

"I just hit her with the biggest lightning blast in the history of lightning," Thor reminded him, "It did nothing."

Athena glanced over her shoulder, "They're almost aboard, we need to hold her off till then."

"It won't end there," Thor murmured, growing serious, "The longer Hela's on Asgard the more powerful she grows. She'll hunt us down. We need to stop her here and now."

The Valkyrie nodded, ready for any plan that would mean the permanent end of Hela, "What's our move?"

"I'm not doing 'Get help,'" Loki warned.

Thor could only watch, helpless, as Hela approached, the last of her army gathering behind her, when his gaze was drawn to the ruins of his home, to what was left of the Palace and Asgard…and stiffened, a terrible realization dawning on him.

"Asgard's not a place, it's a people," Thor murmured, "This was never about stopping Ragnarok...it was about causing Ragnarok," he turned to Loki, knowing he was the fastest and sneakiest among them, "Go to the vault. Surtur's crown. It's the only way."

Loki shook his head slowly, impressed, "Bold move, brother. Even for me," before he took off.

Thor, Athena, and the Valkyrie looked at each other, each of them knowing they needed to hold the woman off just a little longer.

"Shall we?" Thor asked, unable to help the concern that flashed through him at the state Athena was in, but the warrior gave a firm nod regardless.

The Valkyrie merely gestured forward with her blade, "After you."

And, with that, Thor led the attack against Hela, what would come to be the last battle for Asgard.

A/N: OMG, just ONE more chapter left! O.O I'm so sad it's going to be over so soon :'( But I think I've worked out my game plan for the next few stories and in what order I'll post them, so I'll be talking about that more in the next chapter ;)

Poor Thor, being a distraction to Hela and getting so hurt :( I honestly wasn't sure if that was his intention in the movie, to just drag out the fight with Hela to give his people time to escape, or if Hela really was that powerful that she beat up on him that much. He's a good warrior, even without his hammer, he's still trained to fight, so I felt like he wouldn't have been THAT beaten unless it might have been to try and distract Hela :(

For Athena, while I thought the battle on the Bridge was epic in the movie, I could not get her to let it happen in the story. She really took to her almost-queen status seriously and refused to let other people get hurt or have to face the army unless it was a very last resort move. She's also clever and strategic. By destroying part of the bridge, she made it difficult for the army to attack unless they went the path she set for them, and by going on that path, she controlled how many she would be facing. Narrow down the pathway, narrow down the amount of soldiers you face at any one time. She can pick them off easier one by one, even if it means having to fight longer, but it would also mean keeping the people separated from the threat longer too :) She is a goddess of WISDOM and Battle after all ;)

No real notes on reviews for the last chapter ;)