Sorry for the long wait! The story is almost over however!

The stench was horrid. Rienne held her nose and attempted to breathe through her mouth. She was afraid however, that something foul would find its way in there. "Ma, I can't stand it anymore! I have a very sensitive nose and this is killing me!" Rienne warmly smiled at Fenrir to try and put him at ease. She knew this was hard for him but for Hela, they'd have to endure.

"Think of your sister Fenrir…. She's confined here for all eternity… all because of Odin…" She said that last part with spite. She hated Odin. For what he did to her children… for what he did to Loki…

"Yeah I know… she's the strongest of us." Fenrir was attempting to breathe through his mouth now too. "I suppose only she could withstand …. this place."

"The sooner we find her the better. Perhaps she knows of a way to … delay Ragnarok." Rienne started walking ahead of Fenrir. The boy had slowed his pace. Fenrir was starting to feel a pang of guilt in his heart for he knew the cause of the end of the world was his doing. It was because he was free that this was happening. He let lose a heavy sigh as his pace quickened to catch up to Rai. "Do not fret about it Fenrir. I told you, 'tis not your fault for Ragnarok. I was the one who freed you and I would do it again if need be."

"But-"

"But nothing. I have something I need to tell you, however, I wish for all of you to be present. We just need your sister and brother now." She was looking from left to right, trying to determine if she was going in the right direction or not. It was imperative they find Hela quickly.

After what seemed like hours of aimlessly walking, which was more or less twenty minutes, Fenrir's voice ripped Rienne from her thoughts. "Look! There's someone there! Let's ask them to lead us to Hela!" The boy took off in the direction of the shadowy figure. Rienne tried to gain the boy's attention but he blew her off and ran after the mysterious person. She didn't like him getting away from her, in Helheim you never know what you'll find… this was definitely no place for the living and she knew, sooner or later, someone would sense two living persons down in the valley of the dead.

"Aww it's just some dead guy…" The boy began to sulk. Rienne made her way to him and realized it was one of the servants that dedicated himself to Hela when she lived at the palace.

"Let's follow him." Sure enough after an hour or two of trailing behind the dead servant, they came upon Hela's hall. Both the girl and boy didn't know what to expect once opening the doors to this place.

"Well… here we go…" Fenrir opened the huge, heavy, double doors leading into Hela's palace. The stench here was ten times stronger than the previous smell they had to endure. Both of them gagged but tried to keep their will strong.

"I c-can't do t-this…. I-I'm gonna…." And sure enough, Fenrir vomited . Rienne was feeling light-headed and leaned against a nearby pillar for support.

"Oh come now, the smell isn't THAT bad…" Hela's sweet voice filled the room. Her radiant beauty was now only partially there. Half of her was like a porcelain doll, beautiful long, curly blond hair, radiant ruby eyes and rosy lips. However, her other half was decomposing. Flesh flaking off and the smell of rot fresh in the air. Something struck Rienne as strange. Hela seemed much older than she last saw her. She appeared to be older than Rienne herself. What was going on?

"Hel-" Fenrir tried to greet his sister but he vomited again. Hela frowned at this and with a wave of her hand, the smell was gone. Fenrir took in a deep breath and let lose a sigh of relief. "Ah, yeah! Much better!" The wolf-boy outstretched his arms and let them fall to his side. He ran up to his sister but before he hugged her, stopped and asked, "Hey… you're a lot older then I remember…" He stared at her blankly.

"Yes. I have been alive since before you or father were born. I have been here in Helheim since Yggdrasil was but a sapling… I saw as Buri was created when the cow Auoumbla, licked the ice of Ginnungagap... I was present when Odin took his first breath… and shall be here to reap his dying soul…"

"H-how is that possible?..." Rienne was in shock. How could her little girl be … that old?...

"I am death incarnate… I have long yet forgotten when it was that I took my first breath… I have been alive for eons… looking after the dead and lost souls is nothing to me…" Hela extended out her arms for her brother. He hesitated for a moment but then eagerly accepted the embrace, and ignoring the dying flesh that pressed itself against him. She held onto him for a while, relishing in the warmth and love her brother provided.

When they finally parted, she continued. "I wanted to be born again… to experience life… I grew weary of all the death that surrounds me and wanted to see all that resides above me. I reincarnated myself inside Angrboda and became one of Loki's children. I grew to love him as my true father and it broke my heart to see the way everyone treated him…" She slowly walked over to her throne and sat upon it. "Thanks to Odin… here I am again… I suppose I cannot escape my fate…" Hela looked over to Rienne. "And you cannot either." She knew. Rienne didn't have to explain it to her…

"Hela… please watch over Fenrir. Keep him here until I can retrieve Jormungand. Please." Rai bent down on one knee as a show of respect for the Queen of the dead.

"There is no need for such formalities from you mother. I shall keep him here to delay Ragnarok a bit." The girl smiled down at Rai.

"You can do that?! You can delay Ragnarok?!" Fenrir's fangs glinted slightly with his smile.

"Not forever. As long as you stay here, Ragnarok will not happen because you are slowly dying… the longer you stay here the faster you shall lose yourself… mind, body and soul will all linger here in Helheim for all eternity. It is because you are still alive and do not belong in this world that this happens to you… I do not wish to see you perish my dear brother… so I will not keep you here long. Seven days. Seven days is all I can offer you in delaying Ragnarok before Fenrir is completely lost." The boy looked worried. He didn't say it but his eyes darkened with fear. "Do not fret my brother… once you reach the surface again, your life will slowly return to you, however…. Once there, Ragnarok shall begin."

Fenrir swallowed hard. He didn't want to cause the end of the universe… he just wanted to make Odin pay for all the pain and misery he put his brother and sister through. All the pain that his father had to endure due to him and Thor… he wanted to make them pay… but not at the cost of all the nine realms…

"Thank you Hela." Rienne smiled up at her. "I need another favor…"

"No need to ask. You seek passage to Midgard to retrieve Jormungand, yes?" Rienne nodded and Hela smiled. "For you mother, anything. It shall have to be tomorrow though. At the moment I have exhausted myself quite a bit and it seems you two are quite tired as well. Watching over all the dead souls here can be tiring…" Hela stood from her throne and walked past Fenrir and Rienne. "Please spend the night here and in the morning, I shall grant you passage to Midgard. Allow my loyal servant to show you to your chambers."

They did as the Queen asked. Fenrir noticed Hela was gracious enough to relieve his chambers of the horrid smell that plagued all of Helheim. He truly was grateful for that and as he lay on his temporary bed, he was lost in thought of things long past. With a heavy sigh, and realizing he felt too uneasy to sleep, he carefully, and quietly, opened his bedroom door. Perhaps he could talk more with his sister. Maybe she could put some of his uneasy thoughts to rest.

Walking down the halls of his sister's palace, he heard faint sobbing. Realizing it was coming from his mother's bedroom, curiosity got the better of him. He wanted to barge in and find out what was going on. Was she hurt? Was someone in there with her? But he decided that whatever she was crying about must be pretty bad since he hadn't seen, or heard, Rienne cry in a long… long time. Fenrir settled on pressing his back against Rai's bedroom door. He continued to hear her soft muffled crying…

She couldn't sleep. How could she? Just having the knowledge of what will cause the world to end was nerve wrecking… to know that it's you… how could she look at all these people in the face? The children she'd tried to help?... Where did she go wrong?... hadn't she tried to live her life doing what her mother never did for her?... protect her?… love her?... and yet here she lay… unable to rest because she knew that sooner or later… Ragnarok would rear its ugly head… and all would end. She was trying to hide it but soon her soft cries became uncontrollable sobbing.

Fenrir pressed his ear to the door and he could hear her muttering. 'What have I become?.. A monster…' He sighed and slumped down on the cold floor. His head buried into his hands, he grit his teeth in anger. "This is all Odin's fault! That bastard!..." Fenrir slammed his fist into the stony floor, creating a small crater and quickly stood up. Fearing he made his presence known to Rai, he headed to Hel's hall for his sister.

She was sitting on her ghastly throne, accompanied by random decaying corpses walking by. Their foul stench hung thick in the air again. "Yes brother?" Her sweet voice echoed throughout the hall. Fenrir calmly walked up to her and sat cross-legged at her feet, his back to her. "T-this is my fault… I told her…. I told her releasing me would cause this…" He tried to fight back his own tears that hung dangerously in his eyes.

Hela placed a soft hand atop her brother's head. She ran her fingers through his dark locks in an attempt to sooth her older sibling. "Do not blame yourself brother… she knew… she knew the price for your freedom… for all our freedoms… the moment Yggdrasil gave her the power to protect you… no… all of us… she knew there was no other way…."

"Yggdrasil gave her power?... What are you talking about?" He was confused and Hela realized Rienne had yet to tell him she was Ragnarok. She smiled and shook her head but remained silent.

Fenrir was confused but figured whatever this was, Rienne or Hela would tell him whenever Jormungand got here. So, he did not sob nor allow his sister to hear his stifled cries. He only permitted the tears to gently flow from his eyes. He furrowed his brows in anger and thought to himself, 'I'll make you proud ma… no matter what it takes… I'll devour Odin, I'll protect you… even if it means my death.'

0o0o0o0o0o

There was no way of telling when morning came down there in Helheim. A loud knocking had disrupted Rienne's thoughts. She had not slept all night but the knocking at her door symbolized one of Hela's servants was here to retrieve her. She carefully opened her door and sure enough it was a rotting corpse that slowly raised its head to look at her. It didn't say anything but simply started to slowly walk away in the direction of Hel's Hall.

Finally there, Rienne was greeted with Fenrir and Hela. The boy was staring at the floor and trying to hide his face. "What's wrong Fenrir?" Rai walked up to him.

"… I'm starving…" He held his stomach and gave her a pathetic look. She softly laughed.

"Fenrir, I shall send one of my servants to fetch you some meat. I'm sorry there isn't much I can offer you here since the dead have no need for food. Mother…" Hela turned to Rienne. "Whenever you are ready, please let me know, so I may open a portal to Midgard."

Rienne nodded but took a second to think this over. "W-wait… I want to walk the streets of Asgard and take one last look at everyone." Hela gave her a confused look. "I just want to walk the streets once more…. Please." She didn't offer any other explanation but after hearing her sobs last night, Fenrir didn't argue with her, instead, he looked over at his sister. He gave her a nod and she complied with the request. With a wave of her hand, Hela opened a portal to the market place of Asgard, since she knew Rienne was fond of that place in particular.

"When you need to return here, simply call out to me and I shall open another portal for you." Rienne nodded at Hela's words and then walked into the portal.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

It had been about an hour or two of Rienne lost in her thoughts as she quietly walked the streets of the golden city. She knew very well Odin was looking for her by now. She wouldn't be able to stay long. Rienne sat down at the fountain Loki and she would spend days together at. This place always seemed to ease her nerves. It brought her a peace unlike she had felt in a while. The small breeze relaxing her mind and she watched as children played nearby. All she wanted to do was take a mental photograph of this place. Exactly how it was right now. To keep this still image engraved into her skull for when she took her last breathe…. She could look back on it and perhaps it would offer a calmness and comfort on her last day.

"Well look at who decided to show her disgusting face around here!"

"Get out! No one wants you here! WHORE!"

"She's the one who's just as bad as Loki, if not worse!"

"I heard she helped Loki murder all those innocent Midgardians! I bet she's here for us too!"

Her brows were scrunched up in confusion. She had done nothing wrong… why were they saying those things?... Rienne didn't reply, she didn't retaliate or defend herself. Instead, she started to think… perhaps Tyr or Odin had riled up the people to try and locate her? If not that, then obviously they heard something about her to make them hate the girl…

Then that's when it happened… A large group of people gathered around her and were standing before her, releasing an aura of violence. Before she even realized what was going on…. all those people started beating her with whatever instrument they held in their hands…

"Kill her! Get rid of the monster!"

They kicked, scratched, pulled her hair, anything they could do to hurt her…. And she just lay there… curled up in a ball to try and provide some sort of feeble defense against her attackers… she didn't blame them as they savagely beat her…

Rienne coughed up some blood, her breathing had become ragged and painful. Her head throbbed and her sides hurt. Dirt was being caked with blood over her face but she refused to cry. She wouldn't cry over something like this…

She took their blows and hatred… she believed she somehow deserved it… for it would be her to cause all their deaths… they were right… she would be there to murder all of them…

"Stop it! Leave her alone!" Gathered all around her, were little orphan children. Rienne had been helping them from time to time, delivering food, water, and things for them to play with. She felt as though she owed them this much. Rienne loved to make others happy… when she became aware of all the orphan children in Asgard, the girl took it upon herself to help out as much as she could whenever she could. It was now them who lent her a helping hand.

"She's not a monster! All you people are! Get away from her!" Some of the children helped her up and handed her some water. They hugged her and cried onto the girl. They clung to her tightly, refusing to let go. The townsfolk tried pulling some of them away, screaming and yelling for them to back off from her but they didn't. Eventually, their stubbornness paid off and everyone departed expect the children. The townsfolk had figured she learned her lesson and muttering some obscenities at her, they didn't bother with the girl anymore.

"Rienne… are you alright?" Finally one of the kids asked her. The girl smiled and nodded.

"You shouldn't have taken that… why didn't you defend yourself?! You could've gotten killed!" She patted the little boy's head softly. He gave her a pouty face with a light blush evident on his small, frail features.

"We'd do anything for you Rienne!" All the kids laughed and smiled… but she couldn't bear to be at their side… knowing that she would ultimately kill them too… Her hollow smile hid her sadness from them.

"Well thank you… you saved my life. I owe you. So, I'll be back later to deliver some stuff for you guys ok?" The kids nodded and waved her goodbye. This would be the final time she would help them…

When she got far enough away, Rienne tried to catch her breath. Fenrir would not be happy at all to see her in this state, and if Ragnarok didn't destroy the city… Fenrir would. Leaning agasint a nearby tree for support, she called out to Hela. "H-Hela… please bring me back…" Seconds later, a portal opened before her and Rienne staggered through it.

Stubbling onto the cold, dark, stony floor of Hel's hall, the portal closed behind the girl and she struggled to keep her body up. Fenrir managed to catch her as she nearly fell but his gentle embrace was a cover for his angry demeanor.

"What the hell happened to you?!" His heartbeat raced and pounded in his chest. He'd never seen her this way and it pained him. Whoever it was that caused this would meet a slow, painful death at his hands. Or rather… between his jaws.

"I-it's nothing really. 'Tis but a scratch." Her chuckle was forced, he could tell. Still trying to act strong in front of them.

Hela placed her delicate hand on Rai's head and closed her eyes. She muttered something and before Rienne knew it, most of her wounds were healed. Dry blood still caked with dirt into her hair and her clothing slightly torn and dirty but aside from that, she looked just fine.

"I have some healing magic. I couldn't completely heal everything but I'm sure you feel much better now." The girl slowly walked over to her throne to sit. "You should clean up and change your clothes before meeting with Jormungand, lest he be angered by your appearance, mother."

"You're right…Thank you Hela…" As she made her way through the rotting corpses in Hel's Hall, Rienne could hear Fenrir arguing with his sister.

"You're not going to question how she got beat up?!" He was obviously irritated with her.

"No. She knew what she was doing. You're too hot blooded, settle down. She wouldn't let herself be killed… at least not before retrieving Jormungand." Hela calmly rested her hands on her lap.

"Argh! I hate not knowing what the hell's going on!" Fenrir punched a nearby pillar at full force, causing it to crumble and shatter onto the floor.

With an irritated sigh, his sister replied, "You're going to fix that."