Author's Note: Some of you may have thought I gave up on this story. And I almost did! But I was so close to the end. Once I got back into the gear of writing, it was only natural to finish it.
This will probably be my last Ellie story, not because I'm done loving her, but because it's time. I'm thinking of doing some original writings.
I'm posting the remainder of the story all at once, today. Thanks to all who have followed along, and I hope you enjoyed it.
Be well!
Nat taps her foot constantly as they begin to close in on the Chimera. She has a long standing habit of suppressing her ticks, but sometimes, she doesn't even bother trying.
The turbulence is minimal with Stokes at the helm. The disquiet is inside her.
The image replays in her mind. Hulk hurls himself into the air one last time, arms grabbing at the air but unable to climb any higher. Clutched fiercely by Thor as he carried her and Clint to safety, she'd been unable to do anything as he'd been sucked into the torrent.
She winces, her foot tapping faster, if anything. After a half hour of searching, they'd finally found Bruce-not Hulk-clinging desperately to rocks in a less tumultuous part of the river, looking far, far worse for the wear.
The Hulk has proved nearly invincible over the years. Nearly. Having lost as many people as she has, some seem to think it makes Nat immune to the pain of loss. The truth is, it makes the ones she has left that much more precious. Today had been scary.
Bruce is on the way back to the Chimera now, in another quinjet. She'll be able to see him when they get there.
"Hey," comes a soft voice.
She turns, wearing her usual face, to see Clint. He's been cutting his hair short again, spiked forward. He's got a bandage over the bridge of his nose. He looks like he just came out of a mosh pit or something.
Notwithstanding his gentle eyes, which have a way of melting barriers.
Nat looks away against her will for a second. "Hey," she replies.
"What's eating at you?"
She takes a full breath. "You mean aside from Monica's new doomsday weapon we just completely failed to stop?"
He frowns in honest confusion for an instant. "Yeah, aside from that. Cause I can tell that's not it."
The image of Ellie on that hoverbike, tearing across the debris-strewn platform underneath Valkas' tail flits across her mind's eye.
"Well, a few things, Clint. But number one is Bruce."
Clint nods. "He made it, though, right? He was alright."
She gives him a direct look. "He wasn't alright, he was alive. And that was when they pulled him out of the water."
"Okay," he says, "okay."
"I'll feel better when I see him myself."
"Should be pretty soon, right?"
"Yeah, but soon isn't now, Clint."
He glances down at her still-tapping foot. He strokes his jaw. "Yeah. Fair enough."
Aside from them, there are only a few SHIELD agents on the jet with them. They're talking quietly amongst themselves. The roar of the quinjet's flight is loud, but the rhythmic tapping of her foot can be just heard over it. One of the agents glances at it.
Finally, she wills it to stop. Five seconds pass, then it begins again.
Clint is going to start talking again and she doesn't want that so she speaks first.
"How's Kate?"
He's surprised for a second. "She's good. I know, because she's texting me constantly."
"You seriously held onto your phone through all that?" she asks.
"You didn't?" His eyebrows climb. "Strange, you're usually so put together."
That stops her foot for a second. She looks at him, and blinks. "I know what you're doing."
"Razzing you?"
"Taking my mind off things."
"Is it working?"
"Nope," she says sardonically, "I'm way ahead of you."
"I'd be more worried if you weren't."
"Thanks," she says.
He smiles in his good-natured way. "You know it, Nat."
"On the approach," says Stokes over the speaker. "Landing in twenty."
The Chimera looms through the windshield. Nat draws a long breath.
The roar of the quinjet is magnified by the echo once they enter the hangar. As the wheels slowly touch down against the landing platform, Nat spies a group of people moving through the windshield. Her eyes widen.
"Stokes!" she calls, standing by the rear hatch.
He glances at her in the rear-view, pulls a lever, and the hatch hydraulics begin to pull it open.
As soon as there's room, Nat bounds out of the quinjet. She breaks into a run as soon as she gets her footing, following the train of people.
It's a group of SHIELD agents and a couple professionals in white medical coats. One of the agents holds up his hand as she approaches.
"Hey, hold up!" As soon as he sees who she is, though, he relents.
He moves out of the way as she closes in on the gurney. They don't stop for her, but she's able to take a place right by Bruce's right arm.
He looks terrible. His skin is pallid, veins showing underneath it. What were probably life-preserving shivers twenty minutes ago are down to trembles now. He's down to Horts, of course-Hulk shorts-and his glasses are missing. His eyes are closed, but he seems conscious. His torso and legs are absolutely covered in cuts and bruises.
"Bruce?" she calls gently.
His eyes crack open, and he finds her face. She'll be nothing but a blur to him without his glasses, but he seems to recognize her voice or her hair.
He smiles. "Hey, Nat."
"You look like crap."
"You should have seen the other guy."
"The other guy got away," she points out.
"I was talking about the river."
"Oh. Yeah, it got pretty roughed up."
"Did you warn…?" He's woozy. He seems to almost lose consciousness. "...the people?" he slurs.
She understands. "No, the flood was stopped. No one outside AIM's facilities got hurt."
"Wha…? Stopped? How?"
"Let's not worry about that right now," she catches herself almost calling him 'sweetie,' he's so vulnerable right now. "We all made it out safe."
"E… Ellie? Kamala?"
She sucks in a short breath and expels it. "Yep, them, too."
"Wow…" he says, smiling wide for some reason. "God, Hulk was really scared… Eh… don't tell anyone I said that…"
"I won't," she replies. "Take it easy, now. I'll take care of things while you rest up."
"I know you will…" he says even as he passes out.
She squeezes his cold hand one more time before letting them pull him away from her and into the main portside corridor.
She stands and watches as the automatic doors close behind them, taking a deep breath, and then releasing it. She feels better, now. She's pretty sure Bruce will be okay.
Time to see the next person on her list.
Natasha strides down one of the portside corridors. Comms told her Ellie and Kamala's quinjet landed a few minutes ago. They have to come through this way and she wants to intercept them before they rendezvous on the bridge.
She's anxious. Her inner world is a tumult and the outer world is barely cooperating. How the hell had that girl pulled that stunt off?
She winces and shakes it off. She's not normally so off-balance or hard on herself. It's how she knows she needs to find her level. Talking to Ellie will help. It needs to happen now, in fact.
Another set of doors part in front of her, and she sees Kamala and Ellie talking with Thor.
The God of Thunder is mostly okay, but he discarded his torn cape, and the plates of his armor are cracked. A rare sight, but the blow he took from Valkas' energy weapon was no joke. Nat's of half a mind to send him to the infirmary, too.
Kamala is explaining something to Thor, but Ellie's eyes are on her before she even walks through the door. That uncanny sense of hers.
Kamala stops talking in surprise, and Thor turns to her as well.
Natasha doesn't say anything, taking a deep breath and walking directly up to Ellie. She notices the younger girl is holding her right arm with her left. There's something wrong with her shoulder. Nat's brow twitches. "Ellie-" she starts, stopping herself before she says anything hasty. She exhales. "What happened back there?"
There's fear all over the girl's face. She considers. "Uh… which part?"
"Natasha…" says Thor entreatingly, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Just let me go, Thor," she replies, gently shrugging him off. "Ellie, how did you get down there?"
"Um…" she starts. She doesn't cower, but her eyes avoid Nat's. "I was helping Sande-Alisande."
"I left you in an infirmary bed, Ellie," says Nat. She's angry, but she guards her tone, keeping it neutral.
"I was, but…" She bites her lip. "I had a bad dream and woke up." She's lying, or leaving something out. "I found Sande on the bridge. I wanted to help. I was coordinating logistics for the jets that were leaving. I heard the plan over the comms, like everyone else."
"And how did you get from there to the Hoover Dam?"
Ellie frowns, beginning to get defensive.
"Ellie," says Nat.
"I had access to the manifests…" There's a lot of resistance in Ellie. "I was worried, okay? I just wanted to be a part."
"So you added an empty crate to the manifest and climbed in it, something like that?"
It softens Ellie a little. "Exactly like that."
Smart girl. She can't help the thought. She shakes it away. "Ellie-"
Maybe she was wrong. Maybe she's not ready for this conversation. After everything that just happened. After what almost just happened… She's pissed. She's pissed because deep down, what she really is is scared.
She sighs. "Ellie, it doesn't matter. What matters is you're alright. You too, Kamala."
"We held our own," says Kamala. Natasha is taken aback to find her defensive. It's uncharacteristic of her. "We had each other's back."
"Tony spied you upon the ormr's wing," says Thor. "That's incredible."
She's aggravated with Thor for celebrating it, but now is not the time for that fight. "I heard that, too."
There's a pause. Ellie speaks. "Aren't you going to ask us what happened?"
"You're going to tell everyone what happened in a few minutes." The prospect of that seems to scare Ellie, finally. "For now, I'm just glad you're okay."
Ellie recovers. "You too, Nat. And Thor." She seems apprehensive of him. She must still be intimidated.
Thor nods. "Indeed."
As he speaks, the doors opposite them in the junction open, revealing, of all people, Moondragon.
The tall, bald woman is wearing her typical green leathers and pretentious, white cape. Her stride brims with confidence. She makes an entrance. Still, she's surprised to see all of them there.
"Heather?" says Nat. "I haven't seen you in ages."
"I've been summoned," Moondragon replies simply.
"That fast? By who?"
"Maria. She has my number." She makes a wobbly gesture with her hand. "So to speak."
"Well, I'm glad to see you. Seems like we could use all the help we could get after what we just saw, and your psychic powers could certainly…"
Nat trails off because Heather's eyes drift from her to the others, winding up on Ellie. There they linger, slowly widening.
Suddenly, Moondragon shouts in anger and alarm.
"Fiend!"
Natasha is stunned. Ellie shrinks back in fear at the shocking appellation. Nat is about to question Heather when she speaks again.
"Fie you and your kin dare lay foot in this place!" Heather bellows, gathering energy in her hands and projecting it at Ellie.
Ellie yelps in pain, pressing a hand to her forehead, then she goes down.
"Heather!" Nat shouts, "what are you doing?!"
But Moondragon's focus is elsewhere.
Ellie plummets, her back crashing through floor after floor of rotting, burning planks. She finally hits bottom, the wind going out of her lungs as dusty boards rain on top of her. She coughs, pushing them off as best she can. There are explosions outside.
Where is she? How did she get here? She can't recall anything…
A deep, malicious voice booms in words she can't understand.
"Then taste of this fury!" a resonant female voice shouts back. It's followed by another boom.
"Huh?" says Ellie. She just fell from who knows how high, but she climbs to her feet. She feels surprisingly strong.
A shard of broken glass sticks up from a shattered window. In it, she can see her reflection. She almost ignores it, then her eyes snap back.
The Ellie staring back at her is fourteen again. Her hair is tucked back into her ponytail. She's even wearing her pink, white and gray jacket.
"Wha…?" she mumbles.
"Ellie!" the female voice shouts. "Help me!"
Her chest fills with feeling, and she rushes out of the dilapidated building.
She emerges at the crest of a hill overlooking a wasteland. The skies are smoky, the trees sparse. The buildings are burnt and destroyed. And two gods battle in the sky.
That woman from moments ago, now she's flying dozens of feet above the ground, huge swells of white energy in her hands. She fights a demon of some kind, he-
A shudder runs through Ellie as she recognizes Mephisto.
His resemblance to his other form is superficial. His shoulders and bare torso bulge with muscle, and bat wings sprout from his back. His face is more bestial, his beard and brows longer with curling black hair. His eyes still gape with hellfire, though.
He gathers himself and unleashes a belch of fire that burns through the sky at the woman. She brings her arms up, creating a brilliant barrier to block it, before dashing the rest away with her hands.
The woman looks down at her, her eyes aglow with fierce light. "Well, will you be his vassal, or fight?!"
"I can't fight that thing!" she cries.
"You can and you will!"
Mephisto roars as he charges Heather. She drifts backward, but his body is a blur, and he swats her with a mighty backhand, sending her flying.
The demon looks down at Ellie, spared the moment. His lips part in a wicked smile. He raises a hand in her direction, and a beam of darkness emits from it, striking her in the chest.
It feels like being stabbed with ice, and she cries out.
Suddenly, the wasteland is gone, and she's laying on the ground in a Boston alley.
She's in pain, and she struggles to get up.
"Well, fight me then, bitch. If you're so tough!" Rough hands push her back to the ground.
He's twice her size, and his friends snigger around them. She's angry, and scared. "Fuck you!" she shouts.
"Oh, that's sweet," he taunts her, kicking her shoulder and rolling her over.
Damn it, Ellie!
Ellie starts.
He's ensnaring you! Fight back!
Tears escape Ellie's eyes. She can never beat this kid one on one, and even if she could, his friends are there…
This time, the voice bellows.
He only wants you to think you're powerless!
A chord sounds inside Ellie.
She rolls over sharply, ripping open her backpack and digging through it.
"What you got there?" he taunts. "Gonna read me my rights?"
Ellie's hand wraps around it. She's held it many times before, but this is the first time she's pulled it out for real.
She jumps to her feet, brandishing the switchblade, the edge extending with a satisfying click.
The bully is taken aback. "What the hell? Where did you get that?"
"You stupid or something?" One of his friends advances on her. "I oughtta-"
"Stay the fuck back!" she shouts at him. He flinches. "I'll fuck you up! Make me!"
She's terrified but her eyes are wild and she'll really do it if he makes her. It scares him.
She wheels on the guy behind her, and he backs up, too. They all start retreating to the alley's entrance.
"Fucking bet you would, bitch."
"You better hope we don't catch you around here again."
"You better hope I'm in a good mood next time!" she growls at them.
One scoffs and another spits. Then the setting dissolves into smoky darkness, and suddenly a guy in tattered clothing is coming at her.
"Fuck!" she shouts.
She dodges as he swings at her with his own knife, once, twice. She's older now, taller, she can feel the strength in her arms.
The guy is desperate, but clumsy. He's scared. Too scared, to beat her.
He swings again and she grabs his wrist, burying her blade in his throat.
His eyes bulge out of his head and he gurgles as the blood begins to run.
'Ah, my bloody hyacinth, how I love to watch you work.'
Ellie starts, her jaw unclenching. It's Mephisto's voice, but now it echoes, coming from every direction at once.
The nameless bandit falls to his knees as she holds him. His eyes are running over with fear. It's horrible to look at.
"It was him or me," she stutters.
The man grabs at her sleeves, pleading with her, as if she could stop the bleeding now.
'Don't sell yourself short, Ellie. You know you enjoy it.'
Her heart is pounding. She can't think. The man stares at her, wide-eyed, desperate.
Why won't you just die!?
She feels sick. "It was him or me!" she screams.
'Are you sure? After all… you're capable of so much worse…'
Finally, as the man's eyes roll back, and he falls to the ground, the scene once again melts into darkness.
This time, Ellie feels it coming. She recognizes it, deep within.
"No," she mutters, suddenly bone-cold.
'Oh yes, Ellie. You can't hide anything from me…'
She grabs the sides of her head. "No, no, not again. Not that."
'Oh, yes…'
But she can do nothing to stop the rising feeling, and with it, the memory.
Suddenly she's on a freezing mountainside, in a burning building. The building is falling apart around her, the exits are blocked, there are flames and deep shadows everywhere.
And there's a monster in here with her.
She's small again. Cold, weak. She's pressed against the back of one of those booths, afraid for her life. That… that thing, David, is creeping around the building like an insect. Like a predator, looking for her.
Her heart pounds. She has to run, she has to-
She feels the air move behind her and her heart is in her throat. Rough hands grab her and throw her to the ground.
"Got you!"
The shambles of a man climb on top of her, pinning her down with far greater weight.
David's breath reeks, his bared teeth are yellow, his eyes wild and horrifying. Blood runs down the side of his face from her attacks. He's psychotic with rage.
She squirms, she squirms like she always squirms, with everything she has inside, but he's far stronger than her. He pins her shoulders one at a time with his knees. She kicks his back, desperate to get him off of her and scared to make him angrier.
"What was it you said?" he asks in a voice that slithers all through her. He presses down on her throat. "Tiny little pieces…?"
She can't breathe. She's never been more scared in her life. She's never felt anything so awful.
"What are you waiting for, Ellie?" he rasps, spittle spraying her face. She squeezes her eyes shut. "You know what you have to do…"
Without even seeing it, she knows the machete is there, gleaming in the firelight.
This is the worst part. This is the worst part, and she doesn't want to do it.
Ellie!
The voice is more distant. It's that woman...
Don't let him control you, Ellie!
"Let me tell you a little secret, Ellie," says David. He bends down to her ear, his rancid beard grazing her face. He whispers. "You have to, if you want to beat him."
Her face red, and swollen, she opens her eyes. She knows he's telling the truth.
She doesn't want to do it. She'd rather do anything else.
But she has to, to survive.
The last of the air in her lungs escapes in a cry as she drives the blade of the machete into his exposed arm.
He cries out in pain, and staggers off of her.
She sucks in a breath and swings it at his head. Blood splashes through the air as he falls onto his back. His face is already red, but the gore has only begun.
She jumps on top of him, and hacks over, and over, and over, it feels like it goes on forever, until he's not moving anymore and familiar arms wrap themselves around her, pulling her away.
The machete falls to the floorboards. She moans in pain.
"I've got you, Ellie," says Joel, wrapping her tightly and rocking her. "That's enough, I've got you now. I've got you, baby girl."
"He was going to-"
"I know," says Joel, shushing her, "I know. And listen to me."
Suddenly, the fire around them freezes, the crackling stops.
Lungs burning with shuddering sobs, Ellie freezes. What's happening?
The firelight is still against Joel's face as he makes her look at him. His expression is peaceful. Warm. Not like it was that day, in that moment. It reminds her of when they first got back to Jackson. She stares up at him in wonder.
"You did what you had to that day, you understand me?" She stares at him. He doesn't continue.
"What?" she whispers. She looks down at her hands. There's so much blood, it turns her stomach and she grimaces.
"No!" he growls, shaking her.
She startles.
"I said you did what you had to do, do you understand me?"
His face is so perfect. Every wrinkle, every scar, just how she remembers him.
"Damn it, listen, Ellie!"
"I didn't…" She starts. Her lip trembles. "I didn't want to…"
"But you had to, didn't you?"
She looks at her blood red hands. They smell of iron. Did she? She could have just died instead. Maybe that would have been-
"Wouldn't have been better for me!" Joel snaps.
Her eyes meet his again.
"I wouldn't have made it without you," says Joel. His tone is level, but urgent. His eyes glisten. "You understand that, don't you?"
"What?"
"I know who you think saved who, Ellie," says Joel. "But that day, I needed you. And I'm not the only one."
Ellie stares.
"What if you didn't make it, hmm?" He humors her bitterly. "What then?"
She sees Jesse's lifeless eyes from the floorboards of the theater. "So many people died because of me…"
"Yeah," says Joel, still angry, "and what about all the people you helped, huh? What about Dina? Howles and Pointer, that day on patrol? Everyone in Jackson owes you a debt of protection."
Ellie blinks, slowly and painfully. "It's not enough…"
"No," he says. His lower teeth show in a grimace, a morose smile. "What about Lev, huh?"
Ellie's breath catches.
"What about Abby?"
Ellie can smell the salt rot air as she looks over her shoulder, meeting eyes with Abby one last time as she jets away into the mist with Lev in the boat.
"Still wish you died?" Joel asks her.
Ellie is so heavy in Joel's arms. For some reason, she misses Abby so, so much right now.
"No," she whispers.
"Good," he says. Finally, warmth returns to his smile. A single tear rolls down his weathered cheek. "You did what you had to that day, to David. To endure and survive. Better him than you."
His eyes glint with a love she longs for every day she wakes up and draws breath.
"And don't you ever forget it," he finishes.
Gratitude wells up from her chest into every inch of her body. Her face contorts and tears pour from her eyes. She nods.
"Now, I believe you have somewhere else to be," says Joel.
Somehow, Ellie understands. She blinks, and the old tavern, the flames, David's body and Joel all fade to blackness, and she's rising as if from the depths of a dream.
"Keep your hands to yourself, whore!" echoes the deep, hateful voice. "You've no business here!"
"Neither have you!" she cries back defiantly.
Ellie groans. She feels cold dirt under her back. She pulls herself up, opening her eyes. What happened?
She's laying on the hillside, in the ruined landscape from before.
The demon now bears a massive sword made of flames. He swings it down at the woman's head.
She blocks it with her own sword made of pure light. Wings of the same energy sprout from her back, like an angel's.
The demon doesn't relent, throwing attack at attack at her, driving her toward the ground.
Stunned, Ellie pushes herself up, feeling ashy earth crumble under her fingers. She looks, and sees the ground underneath her is burnt. There's a pentagram of seared earth in the ground under her. She stands up.
"Ellie!" the woman cries, even as she blocks more blows. "Help me, damn it!"
The weight of the dream still presses on Ellie, but her limbs are stronger. She flexes her hand.
But what can she do against that horrific beast?
"What do you want?!" Ellie shouts. She wants to help, but she's scared. Mephisto is terrifying. "I'm nothing compared to him!"
The woman growls as she blocks blow after fearsome blow. "Then why is he so scared of you!?" the woman yells.
Ellie blinks.
Just then, Mephisto rears up his blade in both hands, slamming the tip at the woman's middle. She blocks it, but the force drives her down the last few feet into the earth, but the flaming blade just keeps driving through.
A column of flame erupts from the spot, completely engulfing the woman and setting the ground around her ablaze.
Mephisto releases the blade and leaves it there, turning to Ellie with an ugly smile. A shock of fear goes through her.
"I had hoped it wouldn't come to this, Ellie," says Mephisto, his voice deeper than normal, resonating in a way she can feel in her bones. "I don't like to fight when there's no need to."
He drifts down to the ashen earth on two hooved feet. He walks slowly toward her. "I told you, Ellie. I am the Great Benefactor. I am mankind's gentlest ally. You need only listen to me, and pledge service. I offered you the queenliest gift, yet you still denied me…"
He's getting closer. Ellie takes a step back, then hesitates.
Then why is he so afraid of you?
"Now it's come to blows, it seems, since that one chose to interfere. And it falls to me, the loving father, to administer punishment once more."
Mephisto leaps forward, soaring toward her on wings with a rush of wind. Ellie puts up her hands in defense. Mephisto's huge hand grabs her around the neck and shoulder, driving her forcefully back into the dirt of the hill and dragging her several feet, making a divot. The rocks and earth should hurt a lot, but her body feels strangely resilient.
"I told you," Mephisto rumbles, his hot breath smelling of sulphur, "it's you and I, now, Ellie. Forever. From the moment you took my mark!"
Ellie quivers. He's ten times her weight. She struggles with his huge hand, but hers are childlike in comparison.
Then, a voice sounds from deep within her.
He has no power here.
Ellie blinks at the phenomenon. The voice is urgent, but clear, and unafraid.
Mephisto snarls as he holds her down, trails of smoke wafting from his nostrils. His eyes burn with fiery hate.
For all his size, her small body still resists him. He should have crushed her bones with such an attack, but even her breaths resist his force. She's stronger than she thinks she is, she suddenly realizes.
She bares her teeth. New strength enters her limbs. She grips his hand around his thumb and forefinger. She pulls, and his deadly grip begins to give way. And she has strength to spare.
A look of discomfit comes over his face. He hisses. "Do not resist!"
Ellie bares a snarl of her own, places both her feet against his chest, and kicks.
There's a whoosh of air and Mephisto is hurled violently off of her, tumbling back down the ashy hill. Ellie stands, as he rises to all fours and meets her eyes.
"You're twenty years too late for that!" she spits.
He roars defiance and charges her. He leaps, and, waiting to the last second, she drops onto her back and kicks him forcefully in the ribs as he passes over her.
The blow sounds like a malletfall, and Mephisto rolls over in the air, once more hitting the dirt.
Mephisto pushes himself up once more, his rage growing. "Waif! You do not know with whom you contend!" he rasps.
"Then show me!" she shouts. Snapping into a defensive posture Nat taught her.
He charges, smoke pouring from his mouth, and issues a series of powerful swings.
Ellie ducks under the first, and steps back from the second. He's far too slow. And not as strong as he appears. He swings a haymaker and she blocks it easily with her comparatively spindly arm. She slugs him in the gut, causing him to issue a gout of smoke.
She follows it up with a blow to his jaw, causing him to stagger.
"No wonder you used my past against me!" she shouts.
Mephisto rears up his hands together and slams them into the ground, Ellie hopping smartly out of the way.
"You're a weakling by comparison!" she continues. With Mephisto hunched over, she leaps with both feet and crashes the crown of her head into his face.
With a satisfying crunch, Mephisto topples backward and tumbles down the hillside. Ellie regains her feet, and begins advancing on him.
Mephisto rolls to all fours, rising to a kneeling position. There's a lot of blood issuing from his nose. His muscular face is riven with lines in a mask of hatred. He clenches his clawed fists, and a dark aura grows around his outline, flames issuing all over from his skin.
He sucks in a huge breath, then bends over and vomits a torrent of flame at Ellie.
She raises both her arms in protection as the flames roll over her.
It hurts, it really does.
She grits her teeth and eventually it's over, and she's still standing. The air reeks with acrid smoke. She shakes it out of her eyes, then swings her arms in a clearing gesture. There is a sudden burst of wind, clearing the smoke around her.
How did she do that?
When she opens her eyes again, she sees fear in Mephisto's eyes for the first time. Looking down, a bright, bluish white aura is emanating from every edge of her body. She looks down at her hands in awe.
Growling, Mephisto leaps at her once more, the flames around him flaring.
She doesn't know what's happening to her, but somehow she knows what to do. She raises a palm toward him and uses her power.
There's flash of light and force, and Mephisto is halted midair and sent flying backward. He barely lands on his feet in kneeling position, sending a cloud of ash into the air as he slides backward, leaving a long burrow in the dirt.
"Ragh!" Mephisto roars, pounding the earth with his fist. "Enough of this! The Lord of Hell will suffer no disrespect from the likes of you!" The flames around him grow in size, and his body continues to grow more grotesque. His muscles expand in exaggerated form. His bones snap as he grows taller. His horns lengthen from his skull, his teeth growing sharper and more predatory. His eyes burn with fierce orange light.
"I will-"
"You err, serpent," a voice sounds across the expanse. "Why don't you just admit it?"
The column of fire where Mephisto buried his blade still burns. Now, from it, emerges a new creature.
A snout tipped with navy blue scales emerges first, followed by a long neck. Wings unfold from the flames, followed by a narrow, but powerful body. It stands at least eight feet high, it's night-scaled tail coiling in the air.
Ellie has no idea how, but she knows this is the woman's true form.
"Witch!" cries Mephisto. From his palm emits another beam of pure darkness at her, but the dragon responds with an icy blue-white beam of energy from its maw. It cuts through the dark energy, slamming into Mephisto's chest and burying him in the hillside with an explosion of light.
"You lost when she overcame your trickery, Mephisto," says the dragon. "Now I'll purge you from this place."
"No," says Ellie. The dragon's eyes snap to her. The surety in her voice surprises even herself.
"I'll finish this," Ellie continues, walking toward the crater containing Mephisto.
She senses the light coming from her is even stronger now. Her resolve is absolute.
Abby crouches in the ash on the way to Mephisto, rummaging through the dust. She glances over her shoulder.
"An edge for the knife," she says, but it's no longer cryptic. She tosses something Ellie's way.
Ellie catches it without even looking, intuitively recognizing her mother's switchblade. She extends the blade without slowing her steps.
The crater is obscured by smoke as she climbs in. She senses her opponent, drawing closer. As the smoke clears though, what she sees is Joel instead.
Ellie's heart skips a beat.
"El-lie…" he sputters, clearly in pain. He's bruised, bloody, beaten. His right knee is exposed to the bone from Abby's shotgun. He clutches feebly at his belly. "Please… help me…"
A well of sadness and fear and longing surges in Elllie's chest, and her breath shudders.
"Don't let her do this, Ellie," Joel pleads. His eyes are full of tears.
"Don't listen to him, Ellie!" shouts the dragon, "he only-"
"I know," she says.
As good as it feels to look Joel in the eye again, she understands. A new feeling joins the others. It's a darker feeling, but it has its uses.
Gritting her teeth, Ellie unleashes it, and bolt of white lightning emits from her chest into Joel's forehead.
"Augh!" screeches Mephisto, as his body reverts to its true form. Only now it's withered by comparison, thin, almost emaciated, laying exposed against the bare stones beneath. He clutches his forehead in pain where she struck him.
Ellie takes the last steps and kneels over him. "That never would have worked on me. You don't know the first thing about Joel." She waits until he looks her in the eye.
"He may have been a bloody, calloused fighter," says Ellie, poising her blade over his chest, "but unlike yours, his heart beat with love."
She drives the blade into Mephisto's heart.
He howls and a torrent of shadow and flame erupts from him as she drives the knife deeper, and deeper. The flames eat away at the edges of his red flesh until the last of him burns into ash, and a rising wind scatters him into nothing.
Ellie kneels panting, her mother's blade still in her hand, glowing like the rest of her. Feeling dizzy now, she stands up, wobbling slightly.
"We did it," she says unsteadily. "We…"
"Ellie," says the dragon, "easy now, you're-"
"I don't feel so good," says Ellie, as the strength recedes. She stumbles, and falls toward the ground.
Before she hits the ground, Ellie turns over just in time to throw up all over the Chimera's steel floor.
The bile is dark and smells foul. She grimaces, spitting the last of it out and tilting her head back again. She lets out a rattling groan.
"Ellie?" It's Natasha's voice, filled with concern. The sound moves Ellie's heart.
"Nat?" she asks weakly.
Against her will, Ellie once again senses her surroundings. She's resting on Thor's knees as he kneels supporting her. Kamala crouches next to them, staring in fascinated concern. Nat has a hand on Thor's shoulder. He looks up at the fifth person in the room.
The woman-Heather?-is floating in midair, surrounded by a wispy light. Her body is at ease, eyes closed in concentration. They open now. She descends slowly, meeting the floor with her feet, immediately lucid.
"She's alright now," she announces.
"Heather, what the hell did you do?!" shouts Nat. "What was that?"
Something feels different, and Ellie realizes the itching, burning sensation in her forehead is absent. She moves her right arm, but the pain makes her wince. She lifts her left arm instead, touching her forehead with her clammy fingers. Somehow, she knows Mephisto's mark is gone.
"I helped her," says Heather plainly.
"Helped her?" Nat questions. "Look at her, she nearly went into shock!"
"I helped her," says Heather sharply, "or perhaps you'd prefer she stay in Mephisto's clutches."
"Meph-" says Nat, taken aback. Thor also snaps to attention. "Mephisto? What the hell are you talking about?"
"Clearly unbeknownst to all of you," says Heather in a superior tone, "Ellie had been under Mephisto's curse, for who knows how long. She was carrying him with her everywhere she went. I don't know how he got access to her, but it's fortunate I came when I did. Who knows what may have happened if it went unaddressed."
Nat appears to be torn between outrage and fear. She doesn't know how to respond, for once.
Thor, on the other hand, is less flat footed. "Ellie," he says, looking down at her in his lap, "is that true?"
A chord of fear plays in Ellie.
Thor is honor bound to destroy me wherever he finds me, Mephisto's voice plays from memory, and if he finds me in you…
Confusion and uncertainty take over again. Ellie hesitates, her hand trembling. "I… I don't…" She can't look away from Thor's piercing, sky blue eyes. Suddenly she feels naked, everyone looking at her. It had been her secret for so long now. Heather already said it in front of everyone...
"Take it from me," Heather continues, "or am I some initiate? He had his clutches on her. It was fortuitous I arrived when I did, or-"
"Why don't you keep your peace for once, Heather?" says Thor, now angry.
Heather is taken aback.
"For one as advanced as you," Thor continues, "you show a remarkable lack of compassion!"
Heather frowns, looking defensive, but also chagrined. She glances down at Ellie's weakened body, and does not speak.
"Ellie," says Thor, more gently, "is what Heather said true?"
Ellie is still scared, as little as she wants to be. She's in the hands of a god. She's at their mercy. But she's tired of holding onto her secrets. She nods, her eyes wet.
"Poor girl," says Thor, his hands squeezing her. "If only we'd known. That snake… That hell-spawned serpent, he always did work in the shadows. How he must have tormented you… Why did you not tell us, Ellie?"
Ellie presses her hands against her thighs, but she can't stop them shaking completely. "He said…" She bites her lip. She hates feeling vulnerable. "He said…"
Thor's eyes darken, then close, his brow furrowing. He sighs. "Of course." After a moment, he opens them, meeting Ellie's eyes again. "The moment he got his claws in you, the very first thing he would have done is fill your head with all manner of lies. It is all he knows to do. What did he tell you, Ellie? What did he say, that made you afraid?"
Not looking, Ellie can't help but be aware of Nat, still standing over them. It's the first time Ellie's seen her so afraid. Helpless. It twists her heart.
"He said…" says Ellie. The fear crowds her but she pushes through it, though her voice still trembles. "He said I was bad… he said it wouldn't have worked if I wasn't. He said if you found out, you'd…" She grimaces. "You'd…"
"That we would issue judgment," Thor finishes. He takes a long breath, and lets it go. He wears a solemn frown. "You've proven your strength, Ellie. Now sit up."
Surprised at the direction, Ellie rises to a sitting position with his help. She still doesn't feel well, but she's able to support herself.
She catches Kamala's eyes as she does so. The concern in them makes Ellie's stomach tighten.
"Ellie," says Thor. She turns to him. His hand still supports her back. "Listen to me, now.
"Mephisto is a worm, born of darkness at the dawn of time." Thor's eyes show the patience of great age. He explains slowly and clearly. "He has, since his dawning day, sought power to which he has no claim. Everything he has gained, he has done by threat, deception, skullduggery and machination. And lies. A mountain of lies, always laid at the feet of vulnerable souls.
"He lied to you in order to better control you. He surely sought after your very soul, as he has done to countless mortals before you, sometimes to his success and their torment. I do not know what he offered you, and it does not matter. You proved better."
Ellie finds her eyes wet again, breaths shallow.
"I fiercely regret that he succeeded in using myself and the others to instill fear in you. That he sought to drag you down to his level, as if you deserved condemnation. Rest assured, you've proven that it isn't true.
"I am Mephisto's ancient enemy, this is true. That said, I would never have harmed a hair on your head. And, in fact…"
Thor shifts now, rising to one knee in a kneeling posture, resting his hands on it. He wears a gentle, but serious expression. "Lest you think I only seek to comfort you, I offer this readily."
Ellie blinks, not understanding.
"From now," speaks Thor, "until my dying day, you, Ellie, I claim as ally, and friend. As long as I am able, should the need arise, I vow to protect you with my life and valor. This is my oath."
He remains there, kneeling, eyes closed. He cracks one open. "Do you accept my oath?"
Ellie blinks.
"You should know," he says, quieter, "gods cannot lie while making an oath."
A feeling surges up through Ellie's chest, her eyes brim with tears, and she finds herself rising and wrapping her arms around Thor, to his surprise.
"Oh!" he laughs. "I will take that as a 'yes.'"
Kamala laughs too, and Nat's expression softens, lightening the mood considerably.
Thor pulls them to their feet, lifting Ellie as easily as a child, and Ellie lets go. Finally, she feels a little embarrassed at the display. She hastily wipes away her tears. Kamala offers her a colorful handkerchief, and finally Ellie chuckles, taking it. "Thanks."
Ellie senses Nat's proximity and looks up into her own, crystal blue eyes. Her face has softened to relieved compassion.
"Well," says Nat, "now that the metaphysical fireworks are over, let's at least have you checked out at the infirmary."
Done resisting, Ellie nods. She glances down at the puddle of sick, feeling embarrassed. "Wait, shouldn't I-"
"No, Ellie," says Nat, placing a hand on her lower back and leading her, "let us take care of things from here."