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Unaware of what was going on in the physical plane Emma and Hela's astral projection were still locked in combat with their attackers. Emma's body was utterly boneless hanging in the air from Harry's magic while Hela's was spasming and shaking in response to the internal battle.
By this point the fight had segued into a thing of angles of attack and brute force. Hela's mind and memories had been purged of any influence of it, but the brute force assault the Shadows were launching from was still going on, and would because the Shadow's influence was in her very blood. As long as her body and mind were still connected, the fight would continue. The shadows had also begun a new type of attack. The main assault was like a pressure attack, squeezing in with darkness and shadow on every side. But from within that attack other, more subtle assault were launched in an effort to once more gain a foothold in Hela's mind
Emma winced as her defenses came under attack once more, a lance of black lightning and orange smoke crashing into the diamond wall she was still trying to construct around herself and Hela. The black lightning attempted to shatter her defense but failed, while the orange smoke tried to seep around her defenses, looking for weakness.
Beside her Hela lashed out in turn, grabbing the orange probe and shattering it with a hand of blood red magical energy, only to grit her teeth, her astral form shaking its own hand and wincing. "By Death, this is interminable!"
Hela's astral form showed the exhaustion both women were feeling. Her black mane of hair was now plastered to her head and down her back, her armor was cracked, her mask scored in several places, and her hands looked caked with scar tissue, as did one of her knees. If it were possible for an astral form to bleed, Hela no doubt would be from those and several dozen wounds scattered around her body.
"Do not fall asleep on me you stupid bitch!" Emma growled, though she herself was feeling it too. While her telepathy gave her a home field advantage as it were against the Shadows, they had power to spare and were relentless. . The closest analogy the beleaguered blonde could come up with was that it was like how an expert swordsman with a longsword could only redirect the energy of a giant swinging a hammer so often, despite the difference in skill before they were worn down. Her own astral form, diamond of course, was chipped and cracked here and there, and Emma could feel her strength draining away with each assault she repulsed. She was coming to the end of her strength, but her plan was almost in place.
"I would turn you into some kind of horrific small item of a mysterious feminine nature for that under other circumstances you arrogant blonde slattern!" Hela ground out before both of them had no time to talk as several dozen of the subtle assaults came in. Hela's astral form moved even closer to Emma's, pressing her back against the telepath's own. And when she spoke what heat that had been in her voice was long gone, replaced by bone deep weariness and stubborn determination. "We can't hold out for much longer can we?"
"No." Emma replied bluntly, having no time or energy to sugar coat things or start another verbal sparring match. "But I knew that coming in. I do have a plan that might let us win this however. It's risky, but I felt it was the only way."
Hela grunted, lashing out with more of her own power to shatter a strange construct of green that looked like some kind of animal before she destroyed it, gazing fearlessly out into the encroaching darkness. Whatever else occurred, she would face this enemy as she had all others, on her feet and with bared steel in her hands. "Humans have a saying, 'nothing ventured, nothing gained', yes? What is it?"
"You Asgardians, your mental selves can live separate, or can be separated from your bodies right?" Emma asked, but moved on quickly, since she knew that was true given what Sigyn had gone through to hide her spirit. "But can you then effect your body magically?"
Her lip's twitching into a parody of a smile, Hela nodded. "Aye, and I know even the spells to use, though I am not looking forward to the ordeal, since even unconnected physically we still are connected by mine own magic - 'tis part of my connection to my realm and my place as servant to my mistress. Still, better to face the pain now than be controlled! Do it!"
Gritting her teeth Emma nodded and threw all her remaining strength and concentration into finishing the work she was doing. The diamond globe around them hadn't just been a physical sign of her defense of the two of them, it had also been a mental representation of Emma's power. And as it completed, all connection between Hela's physical form and her mental self were separated.
The assault from her own body, the pressure and darkness bearing down on them faded instantly though the subtle attacks kept on coming, now more and more frantic in the desperation of the Shadow-Watchers' desperation to reestablish control over what they considered their minion. Emma grimaced, and despite being diamond, her astral projection began to crack along the eyes and face. "Do it, do it now! I can't keep this up forever!"
Hela raised her hands crackling with power, then her eyes closed and she began.
OOOOOOO
Back in Niflheim, though she could not see it, Hela's body began to develop a multitude of cuts. Garm and Harry had pushed the two women up a rocky ravine leading up a steep hill to the top and had put their backs against the ravine, while other denizens of Niflheim, the souls of the un-honored or unknown dead, those who fell to sickness or old age in a quiet life, attacked the intruders from around them, wielding warped or broken weapons with grim determination that only those with nothing to lose could muster. They were less to nothing against the might of the Fire Jotun however, and the two knew they were in dire straits as the horde of Fire Jotun mowed through the nearby dead inhabitants of the realm, pressing them both back.
Garm smelled his mistress's blood on the wind and turned in panic only to stop and stare at what was going on. Between one moment and the next her physical form, which had shown little sign of the mental battle save the twitching, had developed dozens of tiny cuts. No more than paper cuts really for an Asgardian, yet they bled like each had hit a major artery. The blood should have been red like a human's. But to Garm the blood looked almost black, not the black of drying blood but black like oil almost, with an off-putting sheen to it. "What, what foul sorcery is this!?"
"Keep your mind in the game Garm!" Harry growled, summoning up a shield to defend Garm's chest from a spear-point. The attack bounced off, and Harry smiled grimly. The Jotun had odd powers of their own, shape shifting their hands and arms occasionally, transmuting the ground underneath their feet to a limited degree, but they couldn't break defensive spells without a lot of effort.
From what Dr. Vorlus had told him that made sense as Loki was originally one of their kind and only his blood brother had matched the Foolsbane in his ability to change his form. But Harry was thankful that these Fire Jotun had not a fraction of Loki's reported mastery of magic and shape-changing else the battle would be over already, given how tired Harry was going into it. As it was, Harry's versatility granted him an edge over the more limited abilities and imaginations of his opponents.
"Fulgur Plumbum!" the next second a spear of lightning and light slammed into the giant that had attempted to blindside Garm, sending him backwards with a scorching hole in his chest. Two more attacking Harry intersected some of the protective orbs from his Orbis fulgur scutum, which more closely resembled plasma than lightning, and fell back, badly wounded. They had absorbed the magical orbs however so the next group was able to close with Harry, pushing him back even as one fell to the water spear of an Aqua hasta, theirsacrifice used effectively by their fellows. A hammer blow nearly caved in his side but Harry ducked under it just in time, the air of the hammer's passage ruffling his hair.
The next second two more attacks came in from hammer wielders, and Garm had to leap back as the shield defending his side failed. Even as his front paw lashed out, shattering a Fire Jotun's shoulder, his mind was still on his mistress however. "What is happening Seidr man, what is happening to my mistress!?"
Harry chanced a quick glance backward and nearly paid for it with a sword through his chest. The blow sliced across his side and Harry grunted in pain, the searing heat of the Fire Jotun's blade somehow transmitting itself through his crysis suit despite its defenses. It stung, but it wasn't enough to put him down and his riposte nearly sliced the attacker's arm off at the elbow. The Jotun bellowed and fell away, shrinking somewhat as he somehow transmuted his body to repair the damage, but Harry let a grim smile appear on his face as it failed to do the job and the giant bled even more thanks to the botched magic. "I think she's trying to purge herself of whatever is influencing her, that's probably a good thing I suppose."
OOOOOOO
Pain ripped through Hela's mental self, but she ignored it. Like she had told Emma, unlike the other more powerful Asgardians she could not completely separate her mental-self from her physical-self due to her body's connection to her realm. It was part of the relationship she had with it as queen, 'The king is the land' is often said, but most mortals never realized how literal this was when old magic was involved. Luckily that connection was one the Shadows could not touch because it was her places as queen of Niflheim which made Hela Death's servant, thus trying to do something to that connection would put the Shadows in direct competition with the most final of realities.
Hela's mental self grimly bore down on the spells she was using, a form of exclusion style blessing coupled with a recursive cutting curse to force her blood out of her body, purging the corruption from her body. The pain of the cutting spell was intense, possibly the most painful thing Hela could remember, but she bore down, pouring more of her energy into the spells. The cuts continued to form, and the exclusion spell did the rest, pushing out the tainted blood.
She stared past the dome of diamond to the maelstrom of energies slamming into it, vile green, orange, purple and black, shadows, smoke, lightning, fire all trying to batter through Emma's mental shields. Beside Hela's mental self, Emma's astral-self had gone to her knees her hands now thrust out in front of her as if to physically hold up the diamond globe.
They knew they were being beaten, and were frantically trying to overcome Emma and resume their assault on Hela before she could free herself of their influence. "I am not afraid to bleed abominations. Even if it cost me every dram of blood in my body, I will have yougone from me!"
With that, the final bit of corruption in Hela's body was ejected, long streamers of first black then deep red blood flowing down her form, a stark, horrifying contrast to her white skin. And as Emma's defenses shattered around them, Hela ejected Emma from her mental area of control before hurling herself back into her physical body.
Hela found herself hovering in the air splayed out over the ground of an outcropping of her realm. Before she could wonder where she was or why she was hovering in the air like this the sounds of battle reached her ears and she snarled, dispelling the magic over her and falling to her knees.
Next to her Emma also held aloft by a spell, blinked bleary eyes at her. Like Hela, she too was bleeding, though from her telepathic exertions rather than her own hand. Her eyes were blood shot and bleeding, she had bitten through her lips, and her ears were dripping blood as well, though not as much as her eyes. "Heh, guess we won then," the mortal woman slurred. "It, it's your turn to take the lead now."
"Tsk, now isn't that just like a mortal, always demanding." Hela replied mockingly then smiled down at her with sincere gratitude. "But despite that, I suppose I have to thank you, Emma Frost. You're not so bad, for an uppity blonde bitch."
"You, you're not so bad either, for an undead vampire-wannabe…" Emma murmured, then her spirit finally gave out and her head slumped back as she fell into oblivion.
Hela smiled wanly, shaking her head before turning her attention to the realm around her. Blood was still pouring through her cuts though her Asgardian constitution was now at work to heal several of the wounds, if far slower than it should. She could feel exhaustion, both mental from the battle and physical from the blood loss creeping up on her which showed in the shakiness of her footing as she pushed herself to her feet.
None of that mattered however as she saw more than forty Fire Jotun trying to assail the tiny pass up which Hela and Emma had been stowed. In front of them were Harry and Garm, holding the line while Hedwig dived in and out of the attacker's formation, causing havoc with each pass the owl made with eyes gouged and brows cut to cause blood to drip into the eyes below.
Her realm, Niflheim had been invaded. Whatever power had attacked Hela's very being had taken it a step further to attack her realm. This will not be borne! In an instant Hela grabbed her connection to her realm fueling her own powers through that connection much in the same way that Mephisto had been able to, though her connection to her realm was a far more even rapport than that. Not that her victims would have cared either way.
All battle down below ceased as Hela hovered in the air, her form crackling with purple lights as her eyes blazed with all the colors of the sun, the blood stuck to her body in streaks not taking anything away from her sense of majesty. Her presence roared out from her in a way that Harry had only seen a few times before, not incidentally from his lovers. And when she spoke, her voice was like thunder on the wind, a roar of literal divine fury. "I will forgive no trespass!"
What followed wasn't a spell, and it was barely magic as Harry understood the term. It was simply brute willpower slamming out into the Fire Jotun in a massive assault. They might have had a high resistance to magic, so much so that Harry had to use only his high end spells on them. But no race's magical resistance would have been enough to stop this. One moment the fire Jotun had been charging forward, wearing down the beleaguered pair of defenders, the next they were turned into so many tons of unidentifiable slurry.
Hela landed next to Harry, her aura diminishing around her as she landed. She smiled briefly at him and he bowed his head to her. "Now that is the way to make an entrance my lady."
Still smiling Hela made to nod back only to fall forward as her own reserves failed her. Harry caught her quickly, holding Hela against his chest as he stared around. Garm snuffled at his mistress, breathing a sigh of relief. "The taint I smelled in her blood is no longer within her I think, though I would prefer to be certain, given how it had hidden itself to my senses before this."
Harry was about to reply when he suddenly turned, staring at a nearby shadow. From within the shadow another Fire Jotun appeared, followed by more, and still more. "Shiiit…"
While Garm turned to stare in shock and horror, Harry quickly summoned Emma's comatose body down the ravine grabbing it in his arm after passing Hela off to Garm. Tying her to his back with a bit of conjured rope, he held up his arm and Hedwig swooped down, landing on it swiftly. "Time to retreat Garm!"
"What, we cannot…" Garm protested only to stare as dozens, and then hundreds of Fire Jotun appeared out of the shadows of the plain around them. Yet even so Garm knew his duty. "But our realm…"
"Hela can set it right I think once she's rested, but for now we are out of here!" With that he grabbed some of the fur around Garm's neck and activated the emergency portkey back to Camelot.
OOOOOOO
Those Who Watch Above In Shadow could only watch in impotent fury as their physical thralls failed them after their own attempts to regain control were shattered. They then tried to cut Niflheim's connection to its mistress off. They thought that if they did so they could then possibly put a copy in her place, not to take over her duties, as that would be impossible, and again could draw Death's attention. Instead the copy would have been there to simply interact with the rest of the Asgardian realms, playing the part Hela was supposed to play in Ragnarok.
But this proved to be impossible. The connection between Hela and Niflheim was too strong. Her power was in every rock and stone within her realm, in every soul that wandered it plains and barren forests. The connection could not be cut nor any changes made to Niflheim without her permission. And worse yet, without Hela present in her realm, said realm had no connection to them. They watched in something approaching horror as Niflheim simply disappeared from the Yggdrasil's branches to their senses.
After screaming in impotent anger and trying to place blame, an impossible task since TWWAIS had no truly independent personalities or duties, the TWWAIS turned their attention to trying to mitigate the damage of what had just occurred. First they renewed the pressure on Odin, relieved to find that their most dangerous opponent had not been able to act out in their moments of inattention.
Then they pressured Odin to close the borders of Asgard, citing the ongoing war with Karnilla of Nornheim and Malekith and his Night Elves. Purely TWWAIS constructs they could kill Asgardians and thus empower the Shadows further. Indeed, the Nornheimians were all such constructs, and among the TWWAIS's better servants. And the other beasts, the wyrms, animals and Jotun tribes under their thrall were also placed on alert.
That this forced Odin to halt all access to the Rainbow Bridge, stopping all interaction with Asgard, was the main point of this thrust, but none save perhaps Odin who was powerless to stop it, would know. It also would set the stage for Ragnarok as soon as they could create it thus erasing this current debacle from existence and removing the taint coming from Midgard entirely.
OOOOOOO
Dani, Ororo and the rest of the team were waiting in the main hall for Harry and Emma to return, having been joined by Jean. Of them all, Dani and Harry's lovers were the most nervous, while the others were still somewhat punch drunk by the idea of what they had just done: fought through the body of a monstrously huge sea serpent in order to save the sleeping Snow White, I.E. Sigyn. Dani, oddly enough had gotten over that quickly, though she was idly wondering how to contact the Sigyn's soul within her to see if she could help them connect her body to said soul. Perhaps a trip out of the system and away from these asshole puppet masters is in order?
Her thoughts broke off as the awaited duo popped in, accompanied by the giant form of Garm and the bloody, far too pale form of Hela. Harry looked around him for a moment, then with a sigh fell forward insentient, joining the three human shaped individuals among the newcomers. Hela and Emma too fell as the spell holding them in the air failed with Harry's consciousness, but they were already comatose.
Before they could hit the ground however Jean had grabbed them all in separate telekinetic bands of power, gently lifting them back into the air. She moved to grab Garm in a similar manner but he growled shaking his head. Again the scents of these people told him they were allies at least, and the one with the odd skin tone had a scent that told him she was a fellow hunter. Despite that however he would move under his own power or not at all, his pride had taken enough damage already this day for him to deal with that added indignity. "I will walk on my own thought-witch. See to my mistress."
"Garm follow us. Jean, move them to the infirmary, Una and Amelia should be waiting there," Ororo ordered, immediately taking charge of the situation. Even as she did so she was already bringing up her magical powers, trying to heal the damage she saw. But her spell could not heal brain damage, the brain was far too delicate an instrument for her single all-encompassing healing spell to work on without repercussions, so she limited her efforts while hoping that there was no long term damage there.
The rest of the team watched on in worry as the two of them and Dani raced off behind the floating bodies of Harry, Emma and Hela. Dani's face was as pale as it could get given her natural coloring, horrified at their state and imagining what they could have run into to push them to these straits.
In the infirmary Ororo worked on Hela, forcing several dozen blood replenishing potions down her throat while healing the scattered wounds marring her body. That went quickly, but the medical scan kept on telling her Hela was dangerously low on blood through five full bottles of blood replenishing potions. If she weren't a goddess Ororo knew Hela wouldn't have survived whatever had done this to her. She had lost enough blood to kill any mortal man or woman three times over.
As Ororo was working on that Amelia was working with Jean on Emma. Using their powers and the medical gear they quickly found signs of damage to her brain coming close to a near-instant death type of brain hemorrhage. There were also signs of wounds on her lips and damage to her eardrums and actual skull, but Ororo's initial healing spell had healed those. The hemorrhage had also lessened somewhat, but Jean and Amelia had to work to lessen the damage slowly so as to not cause more damage from straining the brainbox. Once they were done, Ororo took over quickly, her spell now up to the task of finishing the work they had begun. The mental exhaustion however could only be solved through sleep.
Harry was actually the best off of all three, his life never being in danger whereas Emma would have died within an hour without treatment, and Hela who was already close to death given how little blood she had in her upon her arrival. In contrast Harry wasn't even magically exhausted, he was somewhat physically battered, but he was mentally exhausted to a degree that was astonishing. His mental exhaustion reminded Amelia of people who hadn't slept for more than a week. So he was the easiest to see to, his few wounds were healed by Ororo's spell and Jean took him and Emma up to bed after dealing with the others.
Garm had a major cut along one side which had sliced into his ribs, and his back leg, the same leg which had previously been scarred, had been injured further. Worse he had massive magical resistance to any kind of spell, so he had to be healed the old fashioned way, with poultice and potions. Even so, he was ready to bed down within a bare half hour of their arrival, something that he was impressed by. These humans had an interestingly deep bag of tricks from what he could recall of their race before this.
"Garm, what in the nine realms did you run into?" Dani asked, leading the massive wolf out of the infirmary. Ororo had taken charge of Hela, ensconcing her in a spare bedroom up on the top floor of the castle, while Dani had volunteered to show Garm around if he wanted or to a room next to hers if he wanted.
Garm had agreed to that wanting to walk off a bit of his adrenaline while Ororo, after tucking in Hela like a child in her bed, went to contact Cordelia, telling the younger Frost not to expect her sister home for a few days. Luckily nothing major on the business side of things would require her presence for the next several days and Cordelia seemed reassured that her sister was well, if a little too eager to get up into mischief in their mansion without Emma there to stop her. But Ororo knew that Emma had safeguards in place, including Sandman and Firstar, to prevent the teenager from getting into too much trouble.
For a moment the large wolf looked at the woman, the hunter walking beside him. She smelled of woodlands, fur, sweat and grass, a nice scent to his nose, and familiar, even more familiar than the others, hence his ease with her. "Tragedy and treachery, or rather treachery which has led to tragedy. My mistress turned away Potter and Frost, but they did not take that for an answer. After a rocky start, I thought Potter was gaining some ground in earning her regard, but then…"
As old wolf once more told the young woman a tale, albeit for the first time in his mind, Dani smiled to herself. Whatever else had changed, despite his memories being taken, at least the two of them somehow could still rely on their shared interests and the telling of tales to bind them.
OOOOOOO
Having only suffered physical injuries and not having exhausted himself like the mortals or his mistress, Garm was the first to wake up the next morning. He stood up from the massive futon the black-skinned woman had created magically for him the night before and was about to nose his way out of his room to check on his mistress when the door opened and several small children poked their heads around the doorframe, eyes alight with curiosity. He smirked in a lupine manner, his tongue lolling out from his open mouth. "What is this, little children come to see the dread Garm? Run away little ones, lest I decide to feast on you. You're all just the right to be bite size to me."
A few of the kids raced off squealing happily as he stalked toward the doorway, but a young blonde girl and a girl with rainbow colored hair stayed put staring up at him with the bravery of youth. And the fact that Hedwig was perched on the blonde girl's shoulder helped matters. "Are you hungry mister Garm?" The girl with the rainbow colored hair asked innocently. "We can show you the way to the main hall. One of the little helpers will be happy to get you some food."
"Or you could go outside I suppose." The other one cut in, reaching up to stroke Hedwig's chest feathers. "Though if you do that, you'll have to hide the remains afterward just like Hedwig. There are a few deer out there."
'Are there any bears or large cats?" Garm asked, amused by being called 'mister' by a human, no matter her age. He normally didn't need to eat much physical food, he subsisted on souls of the dishonored and his connection to his mistress on a day to day basis. Physical food was nice, a treat he indulged in once a week or so but that hadn't hurt his hunting skills any, and at his size without a pack hunting deer down was a rather pointless exercise. Other predators though wouldn't know he was a real threat to them alone until he revealed his form, and even then many were stupid enough to not run away.
"I'm afraid not," the girl replied, as Hedwig shook her head, her entire head twisting entirely around. "There aren't any dangerous animals anywhere within Camelot's grounds, and I don't think you'd want to leave them. If you go beyond the boundary you might be seen by other people, and not everyone can see just how good a wolf you are."
For some reason Garm almost felt offended by the way the child said that but for now, he did feel rather hungry after yesterday's exertions. "Very well, show me to this dining hall of yours."
Later, after the children had been corralled by their minder and he had supped on an excellently made hunk of beef, Garm checked on his mistress. She was still sleeping, peacefully from what he could tell, so he turned around and made his way back toward the hall and the castle's entrance beyond. There he found several teens he had not yet met coming up from the dungeons, which he had been told held a training area.
Stopping in place he sniffed the air thoughtfully as a young beanpole of a woman, just past girlhood if he had to guess, came up the stairs. But her scent, there is something more to this girl than meets the eye.
Rahne looked up, letting out a little squeak as the giant wolf who Piotr and the others had told them about moved toward her, sniffing the air. Ach, no…
"Bah, you have the scent of a wolf in you girl, yet you make the noise of a rabbit?" Garm backed away slightly, scowling in something like indignation. "That is simply wrong."
"Er, I might have a wolf within me, but I'm not the werewolf, I don't give into it if that's what you mean." Rahne said warily, not sure what to make of the giant sentient wolf before her.
Garm's eyes narrowed and let his mouth drop open, letting the girl see his fangs even as he laughed. "Bah! Do you hear yourself child? You have the wolf within you, but you're not the wolf? That just means you're not at home in your own skin! I can smell the fear on you girl, and it is not of me," Garm paused then let loose a barking laugh. "Well not just me. You smell scared beyond that, as if that was your natural state. Is that how you want to live?"
"I don't want to live with the wolf at all! I hate it, I hate my other form, I hate the loss of control, and I hate the instincts beating in my head!" Rahne said, looking away in shame, the scars of her abuse still present even now.
"So the way you try to deal with it is by what? Running away? Letting it out to play only once in a while? That's a coward's response, and no one worthy of having the blood gift of a were-form should ever be a coward."
Garm looked at her contemplatively, he could see the instinctive flinches in her posture whenever he got gruff or chided her, and that did not bode well…it would take time to fix that. "You remind me of Fenrir when he was younger and more biddable, when he was just coming into his size and had yet to gain the arrogant edge that made him so irritating to be around. You have yet to truly be comfortable in your own body, to get used to no longer being a puppy but an adult with an adult's strength. In you it goes deeper, because you run not only from your physical strengths, but your instincts as you say. And the only way to overcome that kind of fear is experience and education."
With that he nudged the girl backward, then to the side. "Come, out with you! Let us go on a mock hunt, and I will show you there are positives to a wolf's senses, and not just the negatives you see. Fear is no way for one to live pup."
Rahne made to protest, to try to get away, but Garm blocked her at every turn, corralling her and pushing her out the door with ease. She kept on protesting verbally too, but it didn't do any good. She even tried to transform and hop over the large wolf.
But Garm twisted in place and grabbed Rahne by the scruff of the neck and turned to walk outside hauling her off like an errant cub. Around his mouthful of neck fur he growled low when she tried to struggle free, and Rahne found herself stilling instantly. With the 'errant pup' properly settled, Garm left the castle and headed out into the woods, his tail twitching with amusement.
OOOOOOO
Cracking her eyes blearily Hela didn't recognize the roof over her bed. It was a nice ceiling admittedly but it wasn't hers and feeling of uncertainty that was almost foreign to Hela filled her. Hela bolted upright, before falling back, holding her head in agony, and stiffening immediately as she felt the bare skin of her face. Where is my mask? She tried to turn and look at where she thought the side of the bed might be but before she could panic further a young girl's voice interrupted her.
"Are you looking for this, miss?" said a small voice.
Looking around, Hela found she was in a bedroom of some kind, or possibly a hospital. She'd seen such things of course in the course of her duties, though she'd always felt the white of hospitals was rather drab and far too clinical. This place in contrast was light and airy, with sunlight streaming through a series of windows opposite her bed, and the room done in woodsy tones coupled with a very light blue color of paint here and there, which almost matched the color of the book that Harry had given her.
At that moment the memories of what had happened to her flooded back to Hela, and she glared at nothing for a moment, balefire appearing abound her fingers. I was attacked, attacked in my own hall! Attacked by something in my own blood! Hela felt used, abused and betrayed in a way she thought would equate to what rape victims felt.
A startled squeak however brought her back to the here and now and she turned her head lightly to see a few children standing around an older looking young woman, staring warily at her hands until the balefire dissipated. Or no, humans call them teenagers now. She'd never understood that term. You were either an adult or you were not, the idea of some sort of in between state was simply a human affectation of the times in Hela's opinion.
One of the young ones, a girl with bright multicolored hair had just grabbed her mask out of the air and was now holding it out to her. Hela hesitantly reached forward, taking it with a small murmur of thanks. "I don't know why you need it," the girl said cheerfully. "You look so pretty so why do you hide your face?"
"Call it in affectation of my position child," Hela replied, her voice a mixture of kindness and droll humor. While she wouldn't say she was very good with children, she had dealt with the souls of children often enough, and enjoyed their innocent, carefree way of looking at the world. Frowning she felt at her mask, then cocked her head at the girl standing next to the girl with the multi-colored hair, having felt a trace of odd magic on it. "And exactly what were you doing with my mask?"
"Practicing my hovering charm," the girl said, smiling back at her despite Hela's frown. "Melody and I were hoping you would wake up soon, but Dani wouldn't let us try to wake you up and I got bored."
"Boredom is no excuse for poor manners. You should always ask permission before casting any spell on someone's personal property. Who is your master child?"
"My name's Illyana and my master is Mr. Harry though he told me never to call him anything but Mr. Harry or teacher." Illyana replied promptly, looking somewhat abashed. Dani had said the same thing, but also hadn't stopped her when she began to make the mask hover in the air to one side of the bed.
"Really, the seidr man has an apprentice? Interesting," Hela mused, looking at the girl with the godly equivalent of mage sight. The girl was powerful, but unformed, with only the beginning of control over her own core. Still, that was quite a bit of power for a merely mortal girl, and it spoke well of Potter that he had taken her under his wing. "And what else can you do?"
"Oh, not much, mostly hovering charms, color changing and a bit of summoning stuff. Mr. Harry teaches me when he can, but that isn't as often as either of us would like." Illyana pouted.
"Don't pout about that, it is beneath you," Hela ordered, reaching out to rap the young girl gently on the top of the head. "A jarl such as I assume Potter to be will always have many demands on his time. You will have to accept that and use what moments you have of his teaching to their best effect."
Illyana began to scowl, her fingers twitching at her side as a mischievous spark came to her eyes. But before she could try anything Hela raised a finger. "And I am not one of your minders child, nor am I a soft touch. Do not try anything with me less I give it back three fold." This did nothing to dim the mischievous look in the girl's eyes, but that was alright with Hela. Young ones should have such spirit, after all and her people prized such if they were clever in their efforts.
At that point Hela looked over the youngster's heads towards the older girl, who had a skin tone she had not seen before, like that to a tan but with a reddish tint to it. The young woman bowed formally, her hands pressed together in some foreign manner. "Lady Hela, I am Dani Moonstar, though most call me Dani and this is Melody. I do not know if you remember me, in fact I rather doubt you do given what he had discovered before Emma and Harry tried to talk to you, but you used me as a messenger to speak to Harry at first to pass on your mistress' gift."
Hela narrowed her eyes. There was something about the girl, a spark of… not magic, but similarity perhaps? Still Hela had no memory of the girl, and Hela once again felt a momentary surge of fury that her memories were stolen from her before she nodded in acknowledgement of Dani's courtesy.
"I do not remember you no," she said simply, one hand rising to touch the side of her head before she leaned back in bed. "This does not alas surprise me. How are the others?" she went on, unwilling to continue that train of thought for a moment.
"Harry is still asleep, though Ororo thinks that he will wake up sometime today. Emma on the other hand is still very much out of it. According to Jean, another telepath," she said by way of explanation knowing now that Hela had no memories of any of them, "she really overextended herself in the battle that you four went through. The physical damage is healed, the exhaustion and psychic side of things just need time to heal. I imagine Harry's going to be kicking himself for a while about that."
"Why?" Hela asked incredulously, blinking in surprise behind her mask. "We survived did we not? Yes we retreated but better to do so when it will mean victory later than hold an untenable position out of stubbornness or pride."
"Yes, but Harry went into that fight rather overconfident, or so he said before he collapsed. I don't know if I'd put it that way though, I think we were prepared as much as possible, but bringing more dakka-er that is more firepower might have been a good idea. But Emma was the one that paid rather than Harry, so he'll be kicking himself for it for a while."
Hela nearly bristled at that, but she couldn't argue. Without Emma's help, Hela would still be under the thrall of whoever had been controlling her actions, erasing her memories as they pleased, possibly even going so far as to control her very actions, a horrifying thought for any woman or goddess, let alone a Asgardian. It was infuriating, but Hela owed a lot to the mortal woman, and to Harry.
And Hela had to admit that she had rather thawed towards the woman after the battle in any event. Mouthy and disrespectful she might be, aye and with no knowledge of my culture either, but Emma is no coward for certain.
"GRGRGRG." Hela flushed slightly as a loud gurgling sound suddenly reverberated from her stomach, and Dani and the children laughed. "I'll have one of the house elves stop by for with a late lunch for you."
"How long was I out?" Hela asked quickly as the girl moved towards the doorway, shooing the two younger girls in front of her. She wondered idly what they had been doing here. If she had brought in some ally even a comatose one she would not have set children to watching him or her.
Of course she didn't know how it worked in Camelot. Most of the time when the kids were out of classes they could pretty much do whatever they liked, so long as they weren't getting in the way or hurting anyone. Dani and Ororo had both been fielding questions about Hela and what had happened to Harry and Emma for most of the day, but Ororo had decided that the kids might actually help put Hela at her ease. After all how could anyone feel threatened if they woke up around children?
"You were out for about a day and a half," Dani said wincing. "Ororo had a very busy time trying to heal you."
Hela winced as well, remembering the agony of purging her blood, and shook her head to drive away the memory. "I can understand that. How did you do so though?"
"Blood replenishing potions, a lot of them, and some magical healing to close the wounds you apparently opened up on your body," Dani replied shrugging her shoulders, her knowledge of magic was limited so she kept the explanation simple. "After that your body took over thankfully, since it allowed Ororo to switch to Harry and help our medical experts with Emma."
"It seems I owe Potter more than I would have even before my collapse then," Hela mused, a small smile spreading across her lips as she did so.
"Talking of payment between friends is rather discourteous," Dani said, flashing a grin and Hela had to laugh too. That sounded precisely like something one of the worshipers of old would say, and she leaned back with a more lighthearted air than she had felt. "A final question," she asked as Dani finally reached the doorway. "Where is my loyal wolf, Garm?"
Dani laughed again shaking her head. "He's seemingly taking one of our other teenagers under his wing since waking up this morning. You know of blood gifts as Thor called them? Mutations?"
"Somewhat…"Hela said after a moment. A lot of that information was seemingly tied up with her memories of Harry, so was spotty at best, and trying to concentrate on it only made her angry at a time when she was trying to calm down.
"One of the other teens here has the blood gift of changing into a werewolf if you understand the term, I think there are stories about your old followers sometimes having the ability to do so." Hela nodded quickly, indicating the girl should get the point. "Well, she's never been really at home with her powers thanks to her upbringing in a Catholic church, but Garm is trying to teach her how to welcome the wolf into her mind without letting it control her? It's hard to explain."
"He says she reminds him of a young puppy who needs to get more at home in her own body." Illyana said quickly.
"As long as he is fine that is adequate for now," Hela said with a nod, trusting her guardian to know what was best to occupy his time with at present.
Hela closed her eyes at that point indicating that she was done asking questions, and listened to the door close behind Dani and the others who left without further word. Once she was alone she quickly reached out to the ever present connection between her and Niflheim, and found it there, bright and present in her mind. Giving Niflheim a quick once over from a literal God's eye view, she saw no sign of the Fire Jotun, or any other sign of the corruption that had filled her.
But then again, that corruption had hidden itself from me for so long, would I be able to spot it even now? Still, Niflheim was with her now she could sense that, rather than connected primarily to the other realms of Asgard, via Yggdrasil. Interesting, I had not known that would happen if I removed myself physically from my halls like this, but I cannot say I'm unhappy about it
At a slight cough from the side of the bed Hela opened her eyes to find a small creature poised there with a platter of foodstuffs hovering over its head. "Is mistress hungry for something in particular?" It asked chirpily.
"Just food and lots of it thank you," Hela said politely, and the little creature moved the hovering bit of plate over her stomach. Two little stands came out from the bottom to either side of her body. "A table made to be used in bed, such a simple yet ingenious device," she mused, reaching for the glass of, orange juice wasn't it?
How odd that I can remember what this drink is, when so much of the rest of my memories of Midgard are gone. With that Hela thanked a little creature, then tucked in with a will, thinking as she did.
There was no doubting any longer that Potter was an ally, not after all that he had done for her, not after what happened in the realm. It is a far cry from being so, so close as my emotions and his looks at me seemed to imply a time or two and I cannot say that I like Emma much. But what Emma did in my defense that I cannot forget either, however much I might be inclined to hold a grudge over her initial behavior. I will have to move past first impressions there I suppose, her deeds have earned her that much at least.
Soon after finishing her meal, Hela fell back asleep, waking up a few hours later feeling much more refreshed. Hesitantly, she rolled out of bed, looking down at her body for a moment and finding herself covered in a dark red shift of some kind. Waving her hands, she transformed it into a dress as she normally wore armor and dress in one, and moved toward the door. It opened before she reached it, and a tall, extremely well-formed African woman came in. She had startlingly white hair, and light blue eyes framed in an attractive face, with a body that Hela recognized as being quite beautiful.
She also moved like a regal queen in her own realm, a stance that Hela recognized. The two women stared at one another for a moment then Ororo smiled at Hela, "Greetings. I been informed you have no memory of me or of practically anyone here, but you and I have met before. I am Ororo Munroe, and I bid you welcome to Camelot."
"You're welcome is appreciated Ororo Munroe," said Hela slowly, staring at the other woman. Hela's senses told her this woman was mortal, and yet more. She couldn't discern what that more was, though it was bundled up in her apparent poise and control. "And as to not remembering you, that is a refrain I have heard far too often of late."
"I am sorry about that. Would I could help you regain your memories, but from what Harry said before he collapsed, they seem to have been excised, wiped out rather than blocked?"
"That was the impression I got from the battle yes," Hela said wearily, moving towards the door as Ororo opened it. "Certainly I did not regain any memories after cleansing my body of the taint within it. Is the seidr man awake as yet?"
"No, though I think he will awaken soon. But waiting for him to wake up gives me time to show you around if you wish it?"
Hela stepped out of her room beside Ororo, staring down the hallway she found herself in. It was a stone and wooden hallway with banners here and there, tapestries and a feeling of life to it that Hela was unused to, with nothing of the wild bawdiness of Valhalla or Sessrúmnir to it, which was a blessing really. "I think I would like that thank you. And perhaps you can tell me more about how you and I have met before?"
Ororo nodded, and walked with Hela beside her, explaining what Camelot was, pointing out the various rooms on this floor most of which were devoted to the Custodes Mundi's personal rooms, and in the case of Piotr his family. She also told Hela how they had first met in person: as Hela was going about her business collecting souls and Ororo had been involved on the other end of things.
From there she went on to explain how Ororo had sort of given the okay for her and Harry to get to know one another further, not courting so much as pre-courtship really, then the night against the twice-dead. That nearly made Hela stumble, that she had been interested in a mortal human, and that the man in question was already involved with not one, but three women!
By the One Above All, what was I thinking? Hela flushed slightly, thankfully unseen behind her half-mask. I'll admit the man is handsome and powerful, his presence even somewhat intoxicating, but even so… to be as forward as this woman claims I was? Yet at the same time Hela could not help but think that there was something right about the idea, and that something told her it hadn't just been Harry who had impressed her enough to possibly win her interest.
Soon they descended a series of stairs, and Hela found herself in the main hall of the castle, which was obviously the center of life too. At present it was bustling with a class of some kind on one side of the room. One the other there was a heated discussion between a few young men going on and two women going over what looked like some kind of conjured illusions or something in the center.
"That is a technological device rather than a magical one," Ororo explained gesturing to it. "It is a hard light projection, which allows us to interact with it and through it the computer that generates the image."
Hela nodded absentmindedly as if she understood what that meant, before turning her attention on a redheaded beauty at the far hall who was busy manipulating something else, some kind of construction or other in midair, talking into the air and being replied to by another woman's voice as well as a man's. "Life goes on I suppose," she said absentmindedly, as she stared at the woman's aura, shock and wary respect filling her.
"It's obvious that you all have a lot more going on than just aiding me or fighting the enemy that was behind my loss of memory. Nevertheless I do tender my thanks for the efforts that you all have put forward on behalf of myself and my realm."
"That was actually a very personal mission for us," Ororo said quietly. "One most of us were involved in one point or another. Your lack of contact with us was only one warning we had that something was going on. I don't suppose Dani told you about the other issues there?"
"She told me we had met, but that is all. Other issues? I have to say she felt rather odd to my senses, nothing I could pinpoint however," Hela said turning to her slightly, though her eyes continue to stray to the redhead.
That aura, she can only be an avatar of the Phoenix! Hela didn't know how she knew that, and put it down to herself being a servant of Death. The other woman seems to be normal physically, but to her senses, the woman's status was exceedingly obvious. As was the fact the woman was pregnant, though the physical changes were only now starting to become evident.
Jean felt eyes on her, and waved away the revamped plans to split the derelict fleet three ways and what to do with each group, signing off and telling Carol and Reed that she would be back soon. Turning she found Ororo and Hela at the entrance to the great hall, and moved towards them, smiling at her friend and lover. She put her arm around Ororo's waist, feeling Ororo's arm around her as she nodded to Hela. "Hela," she said warmly. "I know you don't remember me, and I know that you've probably heard this before, but we have had several discussions, and amusing ones at that."
"I've heard it so often I'm rather getting sick of it," Hela said bluntly in exasperation, staring openly at the woman. "An avatar of the Phoenix and a servant of Death getting to know one another, will wonders never cease?"
As Jean shrugged her shoulder Hela went on. "And I see you are also with child, congratulations I suppose. Would they be this Harry Potter's?" Hela wasn't certain how she felt about that at all honesty.
On the one hand she obviously had no right to feel jealous, but on the other hand that did seem to irritate her somewhat adding to the fact Hela was being told that she had been courting with the man who was so involved with three other women already. Far too much like the things the Grecians used to get up to.
"We can show you those memories you know," Ororo said gently, gesturing over Hela's shoulder. "We haven't finished our tour yet. I think that you'll find the Room of Requirements fascinating especially in the pensieve format."
"The what?" Hela asked, tilting her head slightly at the unfamiliar word.
Ororo smiled, removing her arm from around Jean's waste and taking one of Hela's hands. "Come with us please."
Hela nodded, following the two out, stopping occasionally as other young men and women came and went, bowing politely to her whenever they saw her. The number of people here who seemingly knew her was off-putting, but how happy they were was putting Hela more at her ease with every passing moment.
They went down more stairs into what seemed the former dungeons section of the castle. Walking down Hela blinked staring as the walls seemingly opened up, presenting a window as they walked. "That is an interesting display of quite intricate magic."
Ororo blushed as Jean chuckled, shaking her head. "Harry did that for Ororo here."
"Better than continually using cheering charms all the time," Ororo said sighing sadly. "I wish I could get over my fear of claustrophobia, but I cannot."
For some reason the sight of this normally regal, poised woman being so bothered by something touched Hela and she reached out gently lay a hand on Ororo shoulder supportively, removing it quickly when she realized what she had done. The smile she got from Ororo however made her smile in turn, and Hela realized that perhaps while her memories had been taken, the feelings of them and the friendships she had fostered at one point between these people was still was still somewhere within her. It was odd, and worrisome but at the same time, also very comforting. She didn't really know what to think at this point about all this.
Moments later Hela still didn't know what to think as they began to watch the memory of the fight against the Draugr and the aftermath from Ororo and Jean's perspective. She nodded to Ororo and Ororo did the same when the memory of the ceremony they had conducted came up, and Ororo asked quietly, "The children's souls, are they…?"
"They are happy and slowly being returned to the wheel as they should be," Hela said firmly. "I could show you them if you wish."
"No," Ororo said with sad smile. "Your word is good enough for me. Let them enjoy their rest as they had too short a time to enjoy their life."
That made Hela smile and she turned her attention back to the memory. Hela's earlier horror at that many Draugr gave way to shock as the memory went on. Her pain and sorrow at the motifs on the wall brought a gasp to Hela as she once more went through what the version of her in the memory had which then faded in turn into embarrassed amusement as the party began. Unlike the earlier portions of the memory the memory of the party simply made her feel happy, surrounded by friends and family as they held a wake for the children and those who had been dishonored in death as well as their own survival.
Hela flushed hotly at the site of herself becoming drunk and flirting with Harry in such an outrageous manner or at least what Hela thought of as such. Ororo and Jean's laughter at her expense should have caused Hela to feel some ire towards the two women, but it was rather like sisters commiserating with one of their own, and it made her feel welcome again. It made Hela wish she had a version of this memory of her own with a force that Hela would have never expected. Yet it wasn't, and watching it like this almost made it worse. It was as if it was having to another version of herself have something she could not, to see exactly what had been stolen from her.
Ororo seemed to pick up on her sudden sorrow and paused the memory before it ended. "Are you all right?"
"No," Hela answered sharply. "No I am not, but I…"
She looked at the two women, their concern for her, not love certainly, but certainly friendly affection. "No," she said again in a far more different tone as she made a decision. "But I think perhaps I will be. Where is Harry now?" She asked, using Harry's first name for the first time since waking up.
"Still in bed, along with Emma," Jean supplied after a second having checked through their telepathic link.
"Emma is not a frontline fighter I take it?" Hela asked. Her feelings on that woman were just as confused if in a very different way than towards these two. "I don't suppose I have any memories of her do I?"
"Afraid not," Jean said, shrugging. "Harry and Emma were going to try to meet you a few days after this happened, but then we ran into another crisis. We have enemies of course, beyond these whatever they are that are trying to control you, and we'd found the base of one of them at that moment so our priorities changed, sorry."
"No apologies necessary. Just judging from the sheer number of people here in Camelot it's obvious you have many affairs that require seeing to," Hela replied, shaking her head. "I would like to understand how much else is going on in fact, what all your up to beyond helping me and the rest of the Asgardians."
"We can do that I suppose, though it'll take some time," Jean said with a laugh as Ororo rolled her eyes at that bold an understatement. "Frankly we've got so much on our plates it's not even funny these days, though thankfully Harry has begun to learn the art of delegation."
"A necessary skill for any jarl," Hela replied with an approving nod. "Still, best to start at the beginning."