Chapter 13

Vengeance ( Part 2 )

The next time Hel opened her eyes , she found herself lying face up , staring at a blinding white light above her head , which she soon realized was coming from a lamp hanging on top of her bed . Squinting her eyes as she turned her head to observe her surroundings , Hel saw that she was now no longer in the dark twisting abyss that she had fallen into , but rather an infirmary ward , lying on a bed with various medical equipment surrounding her .

With great effort , Hel struggled to sit up on her bed despite her throbbing head and aching joints . Looking down at herself , she saw that all of the cuts and bruises she had sustained during the battle in Odin's throne room were cleaned up and bandaged , save for the brutal wound Odin had inflicted on her left arm . She could still feel and move it , much to her relief , but her entire arm now looked like someone had taken gray moldy bandages , tied it over her bones and called it a day .

Picking up a hand mirror left on a drawer at her bedside , Hel inspected the left side of her face where she was also struck . And sure enough it revealed that the left side of her face now also resembled a decaying corpse , gray moldering flesh and empty eye sockets with only a tiny blue ember acting as an eye of sorts . If her tear ducts weren't already dry enough from mourning the loss of her family , Hel would have shedded more tears for the disfigurement to her face and arms .

Suddenly , there was a knock on the door of her ward , before someone on the outside slowly opened it . Snapping Hel out of her stupor , reminding her that she didn't have a single clue on where she was and who had brought her here . Instinctively a shard of ice formed in her hand as she was prepared to use it to defend herself should she need to do so .

The person who had just entered her room revealed himself to be a tall handsome man with a specially-designed eye patch on his right eye and long , stylish silver hair . He had a leaf-like pattern tattooed across his forehead , a spiked choker necklace lined , and a bead-like earring on his left ear with many small piercings . His attire consisted of a collar that spanned all the way to his upper chest , and badges decorated the left and right side of his coat , finally a long white jeans and a pair of shoes filled with square patterns completed his look .

" Good to see that you finally awaken after a week of being unconscious , Hel . Ah ….. You can put that icicle away as well , if I wanted to hurt you , I would have done so already whilst you were unconscious . " He spoke in a sophisticated and quiet voice , even with this reassurance , Hel still eyed her visitor suspiciously , after her encounter with the Aesir she didn't exactly trust strangers , especially if they were gods which she could sense that this man most definitely was .

" Who are you ? " She growled , " And where have you brought me to ? "

The man chuckled , " Someone has trust issues I see , don't worry , I am Hades , King of Helheim and I have absolutely no intention of harming you . In fact I was the one who opened that chasm that led you here , in Helheim . "

Hel's eyes widened , " H-HELHEIM ? You don't MEAN the realm where demons and other unearthly things dwell ? W-why did you bring me here ? "

" Well if I didn't bring you here , Odin would have broken out of that ice cage you trapped him in and run you through with his spear . You didn't really expect that shard of ice to be able to finish off a Chief God did you ? "

Hel gulped as she realized just how close to death she had been , she had allowed her hatred of Odin to cloud her judgement , her reckless action could have nearly cost her life if she hadn't fallen into the chasm , " Oh ….. Y-yes , you're right , that was silly of me . Thank you , I suppose , for looking out for me …. "

Suddenly Hel remembered something else , " W-wait , Lord Hades , do the Aesir know that I'm HERE in Helheim ? " She frantically asked the King of Helheim .

Hades' rubbed his chin thoughtfully , " Most likely I suppose , Odin may be old but he isn't a fool , he probably put two and two together and realized that I was the one who helped you escape with the old pit leading straight to Helheim trick . In fact he already sent Loki and a few guardian angels to try and apprehend you just a few days ago . "

Hel paled , before frantically pulling the blanket off her body and struggling to get out of the bed , " Thank you for sheltering me for the past week Lord Hades ! But I'm afraid I overstayed my welcome ! I best leave this realm RIGHT away before the Aesir return to capture me again ! " She spoke in a panic .

" Whoa there , calm down , you wouldn't want to strain yourself and reopen your wounds do you ? Besides , you're still here and not back in Asgard in chains aren't you ? Don't worry I've already sent your pursuers on their way when they came looking for you , there is nothing for you to fear whilst here , so you should take the opportunity to fully recover . '' Hades quickly replied , making his way over to the girl's side and gently placing a hand on her shoulder to prevent her from getting out of her bed .

" B-but won't they try to come BACK and recapture me ? Odin thinks that I could be a major threat to Asgard and REALLY wants to finish me off ! He ALREADY had my two brothers killed , why would he spare ME just because I'm in Helheim ? " Hel frantically replied , struggling to break free of Hades' grip .

" They won't try to take you away , because I told them I have already granted you ASYLUM here in Helheim , as long as you stay within the borders of this realm , Odin , Loki or any other Aesir will not be able to harm you lest they wish to declare war against all of Helheim . Which , trust me , they do not want . Hence you are safe here for the foreseeable future . " Hades replied coolly .

Hearing this Hel immediately stopped resisting , quieting down as she processed this information , she was now safe and sound from any attempts on her life by the Aesir , she could finally live in peace like Fenrir wanted … Or use this as an opportunity to plot her revenge against Odin for all the crimes he committed against her family , " I see . Then I suppose I should properly thank you Lord Hades , " Hel spoke after thinking for a bit , " For rescuing me from certain doom and granting me protection in your realm , I don't know how I can ever repay your kindness . "

Hades gave a curt nod in return , " Think nothing of it Hel , it was the least I could do . In fact I should be apologizing to you , if I had been quicker , I might have been able to save your two brothers as well …. Or at least , prevented you from getting scarred so badly . "

His words quickly reminded Hel of the tragedy that had unfolded a week ago , though she was now safe and sound in Helheim , she was now an orphan with no familial relation to speak of , remembering what she had lost caused tears to well up in Hel's eyes . Never again would she experience those joyous memories of wrestling with Fenrir in the dirt till they were so dirty that they were unrecognizable , never again would she relax under the shade of the tall trees in the forest with Jormungandr , basking in the sunlight till they fell asleep . And never again would she giggle and joke with her family as they sat at the dinner table eating their mother's delicious cooking , then being tucked into bed by Angrboda and enveloped in her warm hug before drifting off to peaceful slumber and repeating the same whole thing the following day .

Tears sliently flowed down Hel's face as she continued reminiscing on all that she had lost , noticing this Hades quickly passed her a tissue to wipe her eyes with , " I'm sorry Hel , I did not think before speaking , I should not have reminded you of such a painful event so soon . "

Hel shook her head as she wiped away her tears and did her best to hold herself back from crying once more , " I'm fine Lord Hades , it isn't your fault , thank you for the concern . "

Hades nodded , " You're a fighter Hel , if you ever need a listening ear or guidance , my door is always open . I shall take my leave now to allow you to rest and recover . " He said , before turning to leave .

Just as Hades was about to open the door to exit the ward , Hel spoke again , this time asking a question , " Lord Hades …. Is it ok if I ask you one last question ? " She said in a soft voice .

Hades turned back around before gesturing for her to continue with her question , " Of course you may Hel , go ahead and shoot . "

Hel thought carefully about her question before speaking again , " W-why did you choose to help me ? "

" Pardon ? " Hades replied in a quizzical tone .

" Well , Odin said that the prophecy he was given claimed that me and my brothers would grow into monsters that would menace Asgard , and possibly all of Valhalla and the rest of the realms . So why would you go out of your way to save me and possibly make an enemy out of the Aesir ? Wouldn't it be more in your realm's interest to just let Odin finish me off ? "

Hades pursed his lips as he thought of a response to Hel's question , after thinking for a while he opened his mouth again , " Tell me Hel , do you know of how the ten year war between me and my fellow olympians and our predecessors the Titans came to happen ? "

Hel was slightly taken aback by Hades' response but answered nonetheless , " You mean the Titanomachy ? Uh ….. Well my mother told me about it before , but I don't really remember the details aside from the fact that the Olympians won . "

Hades chuckled , " Well seeing that I , an Olympian am King of Helheim right now , you would be correct , now allow me to enlighten you of how the Titanomachy came to be . " Hel now listened with rapt attention to Hades' every word .

" You see , my father Kronos , Titan of Time obtained the position of King of the Cosmos by overthrowing his father Ouranos who reigned before him . In turn , Ouranos placed a curse on my father , claiming that one day Kronos would one day also find himself deposed from his position of power by one of his children . "

Hel gulped , she did not like where this was going , the prophecy Kronos was given sounded an awful lot like the one that involved her and her brothers . And if her experience with Odin had taught her anything , it was that those in power would commit the most heinous acts to ensure that they stayed in that position should they be threatened .

" So to prevent that event from ever coming to pass , my father decided that the best course of action would be to steal each of his newborn children from my mother Rheas' arms as soon as we were born . Placing us in his mouth and sending us down his gullet and into the dark prison that was his belly to remain for all eternity , this happened to each of his children , male or female , MYSELF included of course . "

Hel nearly vomited , what Hades had experienced was considerably much worse than hers , betrayed by the one he knew as father , before being cannibalized by him , the experience must have been a terrifying and traumatic one .

Seeing Hel's disgusted look , Hades paused , " I can refrain from continuing if the story disturbs you too much Hel . " He said kindly , Hel shook her head , and motioned for the King of Helheim to continue with his tale , even though she found the tale disturbing , she was curious to know how it ended .

" And so , me and my five other siblings were trapped in our own father's stomach , destined to never see the outside light or experience a proper life . Thankfully though , our youngest brother Zeus , who our mother had hidden from our father to avoid the same fate , fed Kronos a spiked drink to vomit all of us out , allowing us to finally be free of that prison . Our father's cruel actions in turn , caused the prophecy to come true in the end , as we now detested him with every fiber of our being , and rebelled against him and his rule , eventually overthrowing him through the Titanomachy and bringing a new age to the cosmos , with Zeus as the leader . "

As Hades finished his story , Hel began to process the information , slowly realizing that hers and Hades lives were similar in many ways , both of them were subjects of a prophecy foretelling another individual's downfall . And in turn , that person tried to eliminate them to ensure that the prophecy would not come to pass , but ended up giving both of them every reason to want to destroy each of their would be killers .

Hades smiled , knowing that Hel was connecting all the dots in her head , " So the reason you chose to save me , " Hel said slowly , " Was because MY situation mirrored your OWN when you were younger . Hence you decided to help me escape Odin's wrath and an early demise , in an effort to …. "

" To ensure that you would not experience the same pain and hardships as I did at such a young age , " Hades finished for her , " For one so young , you are quite bright Hel , I foresee that you have quite a lot of potential in the future . "

Hel blushed at Hades' comment , " Thank you for the kind words , Lord Hades . "

Suddenly Hades looked disappointed at himself " Although , seeing what happened to you in the end , I seemed to have failed in that task . "

Hel quickly shook her head , " Of COURSE not Lord Hades , you managed to save me in the end ! What happened was NOT your fault , it was THAT cruel man Odin who is responsible for everything ! " Her face now wore an angry look , as she clenched her fist upon remembering once again what that god had done to her family .

Hades nodded , although his eyes showed a hint of worry at the hateful look on Hel's face when she mentioned Odin , " Thank you Hel , before I leave you to rest though , I have one final piece of advice to impart on you if you care to listen . "

Hel looked up at the King of Helheim , curious as to what he might say next , " Though your mother and your brothers may be gone , I want you to remember that those close to us who have passed on aren't TRULY gone forever . Memories of them still linger in our heart and soul , and if you just ensure those memories never fade , they will ALWAYS be next to you . " He finished this line with a wink before closing the door and leaving Hel to ponder his last words to her . They were wise and comforting words that soothe her heartbreak after losing those close to her , but why did she get the feeling that Hades meant that sentence in a more literal way than she originally thought ?

( Present Day )

" WHAT IS GOING ON FOLKS ? " Heimdall shouted as Hel continued dragging a cursing Jason across the arena with her new scaly appendage while the gods in the arena cheered at the sudden turnabout , " Hel , who EVERYONE thought was pushed back into a corner by Jason's vicious attacks , now has the God Butcher TRAPPED and helpless as she drags him across the arena floor with this new form of hers ! By the way , would anyone be so kind enough to please explain to me WHY Hel's left arm now looks like a massive green snake tail ? "

Meanwhile , back in the god's VIP section , Izanami had just finished with Hel's tale to Amaterasu and Huitzilopochtli , allowing the two gods to understand how Hel possessed such power .

" Wait …. Lady Izanami , you mean to tell me that RIGHT now , Hel is channeling the SOUL of her dead brother Jormungandr right now ? And THAT'S how she got this crazy new snake form ? DAMN ! That's kind of cool ! " Huitzilopochtli said excitedly .

Izanami smiled as the Aztec God's excitement , " Yes you are correct Huitzliopochtl , as a Goddess of the dead , Hel has mastered control over souls of the deceased , and unbeknownst to her , that fateful day in Odin's throne room as her younger self mourned over the dead bodies of her two brothers , she inadvertently managed to absorb a tiny fragment of each of their disappearing souls without her knowledge . And after centuries of training and perfecting her skills , Hel has managed to figure out how to channel their strength and skills to USE in combat , and so she gave this ability the name , "

" HONORING THE FALLEN : THE MIDGARD SERPENT ! "

This powerful skill made her a very formidable opponent in all of Helheim indeed . " The Underworld Lord's last sentence seemed directed at Ra whose attention had been on the fight the entire time .

Ra grunted , " A most intriguing tale Izanami , but let me remind you , just because one shows great prowess in battle and combat , does NOT necessarily mean they are suited for leadership and positions of great responsibility , and Hel is evidently one of those individuals . "

Izanami shrugged , " Perhaps , but there is always room for one to learn and grow , and besides , right now Hel needs to rely on her abilities in battle rather than as a leader does she not ? Isn't that why you chose her as one of our representatives in Ragnarok despite her being so , ah , what was it you said ? ' Green behind the ears ? ' " She responded with a cheeky grin to the Chairman , whilst the other two gods cowered in fear , afraid that Ra would obliterate Izanami for talking back to him .

Shockingly though , the Egyptian Chief God instead chose to roll his eyes and turned back to the battlefield , " I suppose so Izanami , and seeing how Hel is performing right now , I can't say that I am too worried with how the match will end . '' Ra finished with a sadistic grin , much to the discomfort of all others present in the room .

Back in the arena , Jason was still trapped in between Hel's powerful coils , try as he might , the God Butcher could not squirm or force his way out of the Queen of Helheim's scaly grip . His face and every other exposed area of skin was now bloody and bruised from the severe beating he took after Hel dragged him all across the rough ice in the arena , and his chest felt even more crushed with every passing second as Hel tightened her grip on him, trying to suffocate him to death .

The god's in the audience cheered at Hel managing to turn the table on the God Butcher , even those that supported humanity weren't all too pleased with Jason's scathing insults towards them previously .

" YEAH HEL ! Teach that guy a lesson ! "

" Show that bastard the TRUE power of a god ! "

" God Butcher my ASS ! This guy is ALL bark and NO bite ! Pretty sure the gods he killed were all HELLA weak ! "

Jason growled in frustration at these taunts , he wasn't going to die so easily , he was going to murder this half dead bitch god and show the rest of them the meaning of fear ! He just needed to hold out for a few more seconds and …

Channeling his Heroes Light , Jason closed his eyes momentarily , focusing his strength into his two arms and waiting for Hel grip to loosen every so slightly , before …

" BOON FROM OLYMPUS : STRENGTH OF ARES ! "

With a loud grunt of effort , Jason pushed his arms out with all of his might , the sheer power granted to him by his armor caused the coils of Hel's arm to loosen and unravel , as Jason managed to break himself free of the goddess' deadly grip . Her tail-arm slithering back towards her as he took the opportunity to finally catch his breath .

Hel gave a cold reptilian grin to her opponent , " So you survived …. Not too bad I suppose , but try coming closer AGAIN and see what happens . " She taunted .

Jason snarled , getting angrier by the minute , but he knew Hel was right , with her new form , getting in close was a death sentence . He would just get caught by those winding coils and risk being suffocated to death again , he would have to keep his distance while attacking and fortunately , his Divine Weapon provided an alternative for him to use .

" INFINITY COILS ! "

Suddenly , Hel's tail-arm grew in length as it shot forward towards Jason , nearly taking him by surprise , if he had not activated the Speed of Hermes and bolted out of range in time . However even then Hel's annoying appendage persisted in the chase for its prey , tailing behind Jason as he swiftly moved around the arena , managing to keep up even with his heightened speed .

" Oh how the tables have TURNED on the God Butcher ! It seems that now JASON is the one being forced to keep his distance to avoid having his lungs crushed by Hel's deadly coils ! " Heimdall commented from the sidelines .

Jason growled in frustration , just a while ago he was the hunter and that pathetic goddess was the prey , yet now the tables had been turned and here he was running like a coward from his opponent , if he could just lose those stupid coils for a moment or two he'd be able to launch his counterattack .

Spotting one of the tall ice spikes that were around the arena , Jason was struck with an idea , using the last few moments he had with his speed boost , the God Butcher rushed towards an ice spike that was shaped somewhat like a crescent moon . With one great leap he sailed through the air as the spectators gasped . With a heavy " THUD ! " Jason landed on the near vertical side of the ice spike . Though he would have fallen from such an angle , as soon as he landed on the ice spike , Jason used the last amount of his speed boost to dash up the side of the ice spike defying gravity itself and managing to reach the top , where even Hel's tail-arm could not reach him .

" And Jason has managed to escape the Queen of Helheim's deadly embrace by making his way up the very top of an ice spike , is he planning to stay up there for the rest of the match ? Or does the God Butcher have something else in mind ? "

As Heimdall said this , Hel retracted her tail-arm towards herself once more , and began making her way closer to the ice spike Jason stood upon , " What's the matter God Butcher ? " She called out to Jason who was panting from the amount of running he just underwent , " Weren't YOU the one who told me that I couldn't keep running and hiding ? That gods are a cowardly bunch that are unwilling to fight their own battles ? So why are you the one scrambling to keep the distance between the two of us now ? " She called out to him in a mocking taunt .

Jason gritted his teeth , but did not respond to Hel's taunting . The Queen of Helheim was now a few feet away from the base of the ice spike , looking up at the God Butcher who stood high above she smirked , " Well if you aren't going to come down yourself to fight ….. I suppose I will just have to CUT YOU DOWN ! "

With that , Hel extended her tail-arm once more till it resembled a scaly green whip , the Queen of Helheim then held her tail-arm behind her head , concentrating her attention on one of the weaker areas in the ice spikes base . Then with all her might she swung her makeshift whip forward towards that very spot .

" OUROBOROS WHIP ! "

With a mighty " CRACK ! " The entire ice spiked groaned and shifted as it began to topple to the ground , Jason wobbled and shook as the ground below him teetered forward before regaining his balance , " Fucking bitch , guess I'm gonna have to do it while jumping then . " He grumbled as he took a few steps back before launching himself forward and off the falling ice spike .

" And Hel has just TOPPLED the massive ice spike Jason sought refuge on in a SINGLE strike ! And now the God Butcher has been sent PLUNGING straight down towards her ! Is Jason going to be caught once again in the deadly grasps of Hel's coils ? " Heimdall called as he shielded his eyes from all the icy debris generated from the falling ice spike .

As Jason began his descent down , he held out his fists towards the Queen of Helheim , almost as though he was aiming ? Hel looked up confused , was he trying to jump on top of her to cushion his fall or something ? Regardless of Jason's intent , she would have to move back from where she stood after retracting her tail-arm to avoid being crushed herself by the toppling ice spike .

However , this also meant that Hel was unguarded for that split moment , which was what Jason was counting on , a gold light enveloped his two gauntlets as he pointed his fist towards his target , indicating that he was using his Boons from Olympus once more . However , instead of just one silhouette appearing behind the God Butcher , this time two of them materialized in the air behind him , one distinctively male and the other female , each carrying bows in their hands . Undoubtedly to the spectators , these two silhouettes were that of the twin Archer Gods Apollo and Artemis .

" BOON FROM OLYMPUS : ARROWS OF THE TWIN ARCHER ! "

With that , hundreds of tiny glowing spears of light erupted from the pointed tips of Jason's gauntlets and flew towards the Queen of Helheim down below . From her point of view , it seemed like a glowing barrage of arrows were descending upon her closer and closer with each passing second , and so acting quickly . Hel used her long scaly arm to defend the rest of her body as the spears of light made contact with her , hoping that she could minimize the damage as much as possible .

" TWIP ! TWACK ! TWOCK ! " was what the audience heard as the volley of arrows rained down upon Hel , the bright light generated from the attack meant that they had to squint into the arena to try and see if the Queen of Helheim had sustained any serious damage from the massive attack .

As the audience vision cleared , the gods were relieved to see that Hel was still standing on her two legs , but upon closer inspection , it was revealed that while most of the arrows had broken against the hard scales of her tail-arm , some had managed to bury themselves between the chinks in the scales . And a lucky few shots had even managed to pass Hel's defense entirely and bury themselves in her shoulders and legs , with the Queen of Helheim wincing as she reverted back to her original self to use her hands to remove the arrows that were lodged in her flesh .

Jason on the other hand managed to land on the ground on both legs , and while the heavy impact would have most certainly broken a normal human's leg bones , his glowing breastplate indicated that the God Butcher had activated the Endurance of Hercules to survive the long fall .

Jason smirked as he eyed the injured Queen of Helheim , taking note that the wounds inflicted on the parts of her body that changed into snake scales when she transformed , also remained when she reverted back , " How's THAT for running and hiding you filthy bitch ? " he taunted with a cruel grin on his face once more at Hel , who was removing the last arrow that pierced her thigh .

The Queen of Helheim smirked in return , " Not bad God Butcher , quite resourceful of you I must say , all four of your boons are formidable and flexible in use . I suppose I'm in quite the pickle even with my transformations . "

Jason cracked his knuckles and cackled , " HEH ! Hell YEAH you are in some deep shit ! I told you , This battle is the last chance i'm gonna get to kill one more of you fucking gods , so I sure as HELL am gonna make sure I'M the one who wins this round , no matter WHAT kind of stupid transformations you try and pull ! "

Hel grinned and waggled her finger , " I wouldn't count on THAT if I were you , you've only JUST seen the power and skills of my second brother , the Midgard Serpent Jormungandr , whose deadly coils were strong enough to CRUSH the bones of the mighty Thunder God Thor himself ! HOWEVER , seeing how bloodthirsty AND skilled you yourself are , I think now ….. " As Hel spoke her left arm and face began to shift and morph as she underwent another transformation once more .

Silver fur erupted all across her left arm , replacing the leathery corpse skin before as her arm seemed to become more muscular and lean . The nails on her right finger elongated and sharpened into long black claws . The left side of her face was now covered with silver fur as well , her left eye almond shaped and slanted like that of a wolf . And both her ears on the left and right were now fuzzy and triangular with white fluff in the inside of it , placed high on top of her head .

The biggest change however , was again to her furry left hand , connected to it this time wasn't claws or a tail . But mind bogglingly , the entire head of a snarling wolf with the same beautiful silver coat as the rest of her arm , its sharp canines bared as saliva dripped from its snarling jaws , its piercing golden eyes eyeing Jason hungrily as it snapped and barked at the God Butcher , showing that it was sentient and had a mind of its own .

Flashing a toothy grin at Jason revealed Hel's new set of shiny white canines similar to the wolf head attached to her left arm , glistening with saliva , each shaped like daggers and just as sharp .

" HONORING THE FALLEN : THE INSATIABLE WOLF ! "

" YOU SHOULD WITNESS THE STRENGTH OF MY ELDEST BROTHER ! The mighty wolf who SLAYED the god Vidarr ! FENRIR ! " She finished while theatrically spreading out her arms , allowing the audience to gaze upon her new form in both awe and shock .

Jason gave another grin , though this one was more uneasy as he eyed Hel's freaky new appendage carefully , " Don't matter WHAT kind of freaky shit show you bring to this match ! I'M gonna be the one standing over your fallen corpse once this match is OVER ! "

Sorry for the wait everyone , but here is Chapter 13 of this fanfic ! While thinking over the possible match ups , Hel and Jason's round wasn't the most fleshed out , the only reason I toyed with the idea was because they both would share a hatred of the gods who wronged them , but that was pretty much it . Their weapons and skills weren't that unique or well thought through , with Jason just being able to generate arrows of light from his weapon like how his most recent boon works , and Hel's halberd being able to control gravity or something ? I don't know why I chose that since Hel never had control over gravity in Norse mythology . But eventually I came up with new weapons and abilities for each of them which I am pretty proud of in the end , hope you all enjoyed this chapter and see you in the next one .