Warnings: Decapitation, manipulation, unedited, nothing else.

Work Count: 1931

Recap: Nico readied his sword with blinding speed, pushing Adri behind him. "We have come to present you to our queen. Follow us." said the draugr in the middle in a guttural tone. Promptly the four other draugr filed in and surrounded them on all four sides. They were led to what they assumed was the throne room. And waiting there, was none other than, Hel herself.

          Hel stood there, her good half facing them. She was hauntingly beautiful. Her pale skin, complimented by her ebony hair and obsidian eyes, made her the perfect thing to look at. Until she fully turned to face them. Her rotten half was hideous. Her nose was half there, the cartilage rotten away. Her eye covered with cataracts and her ear not discernable. Her left half looked as if it died from frostbite and her right half looked as if she was the cause of the left half's death.

          She smiled cruelly, one half pearly white, the other rotten. "I've been awaiting this meeting, daughter of Death." She said, striding forward, so she was only ten feet away from them. "I want nothing more than the dagger of darkness." "To begin Ragnarok." Adri stated coldly. "Well, yes. To begin Ragnarok and let the world begin anew." "You're going to lay waste to the world as we know it. You're going to bring death upon the whole world." "As the daughter of death, I assumed you would understand the importance of death. Without it, there is no new life. This is our only solution."

          "No it isn't." Nico interrupted, quietly. "There will be a time when Ragnarok must begin." Magnus said. "But this is not it." Alex completed, fiercely. "I wasn't talking to you." the goddess said sharply as she looked at each one of them with disdain. "I feel like you will keep interrupting my talk. Let's keep you occupied." She grinned sadistically and flicked her hand. Immediately, about half a dozen draugr dressed in full battle gear charged at Nico, Alex and Magnus.

          Amidst the chaos, Hel walked over to Adri and talked over the noise. Her gaze so cold, it sent shivers down her spine. "Adrienne Morte. I must say, it's a pleasure meeting you. Now, you must understand," Hel went on, not letting Adri speak. "Ragnarok must begin now. All I want is the dagger of darkness. You and your friends will be spared. I am the goddess of Death and I may be harsh, but I'm just, like any ruler of the dead should be."

          She paused, perhaps to take a breather, though Adri didn't understand why she'd need to breath. Quickly seeing an opportunity, she jumped in. "That's very nice of you, O Mighty Hel, but. Was it just of you to torture us? You needed no information from us. It seemed as if it were done merely for your entertainment." Adri suggested slyly.

          Hel waved her off. "That's besides the point, Adrienne. All I need is the dagger. You will be spared and, when your two einherjar friends die, they'll receive the highest honour and respect in my court and in the new world." She lifted her chin and a smile played on her face, as if she were asking Adri to envision this new, better world. "There is no doubt that you and your boyfriend will get many privileges in his father's court. So, wouldn't you want the same for your two other friends?"

          Initially, Adri was focusing, but, she lost that focus at what Hel had said. "You will no- Hold on. Nico isn't my boyfriend!! Are you even referring to Nico??!!" Even amidst all the fighting, Adri felt her cheeks heat up. She hurriedly rubbed her hands over her face, trying to reduce their flame into a spark.

          Hel's visage was one of amusement and seriousness. Odd as it was, her rotten face was amused, while the other was seriously looking at Adri. "Trying to delay this won't work, Adrienne. If it is so hard for you to decide, I have something that will make it easier." With another blood-chilling grin. She snapped her fingers and everything went dark for a second. When light came back rushing in, there was a spectral apparition kneeling in front of Hel.

          Upon closer inspection, Adri's heart stopped and lurched. Bound in chains and shackles was her mother. Her hair was just as she remembered it to be. Long, voluminous and black. She slowly lifted her face and the sight of it wanted Adri to just hug and sob in her arms. The gaze in her tired eyes seemed unfocused as she looked straight at Adri but didn't seem to be seeing her.

          Adri caught a glimpse of the smug satisfaction crossing Hel's face. She looked at Hel and back to her mother. Adri's feet moverd of their own accord, eager to be closer to the chained spirit. Adri watched as Hel snapped her fingers again and Adri's mom, Cecilia's eyes suddenly locked onto Adri's own. A look of realization passed and she gasped. 

          "Adrienne!! Amore, vieni a salvare la mamma!! (Adrienne!! Love, come save mommy!!)" she cried out. Adri staggered as her eyes filled up with tears. "Stop. Please." Adri whispered. Then, loud enough for everyone to hear, "STOP IT, HEL. Please, I beg you." A few tears escaped the confinement of her eyes and raced down her cheeks.

          The fighting around them came to a halt. The draugr stared in confusion at Hel while Nico, Alex and Magnus' gaze was initially filled with confusion but later turned to concern. Battered and bruised, they rushed to their friend's side.

          Magnus and Alex looked at Nico, the only one who didn't seem confused. "Her mother." he whispered, glaring at the goddess. "We have an audience, I see. Now, Adrienne. The dagger and your mother is safe. Or you can refuse, then, your mother will be gone, forever, will never be reborn again and the dagger will be mine, one way or another." She said, her voice as cold as her heart.

          Adri stood frozen for the span of five minutes. She thought, and she thought hard. She wanted her mother to be safe, which meant she needed to hand over the dagger. But if she wanted the world to be safe, she had to use the dagger against Hel.

          As she thought, eyes still shining, she heard a voice in her head. 

          Adrienne, it's alright. Listen, love. I'm already gone. You must move on. It isn't your fault, remember that, please. I'm just a fragment of myself right now. I've already passed on, there's nothing you can do to get me back. Stay in the moment. And think with me. What is more important?? One soul or billions of lives?? One soul you can never get back or seven billion lives that will be destroyed.

          It doesn't matter if I die again. I'm not going to be reborn. Just think, love. And act. Use the element of surprise. It's on your side. Do understand me. Ti amerò per sempre e ancora di più, figlia mia. (I'll love you forever and ever, my daughter)

          And she did understand. She knew what she had to do and so she did. "The dagger please, Nico." she stated, her voice hard. "Adri, wha-" "The dagger, I said." Quietly he passed her the dagger, wondering what was going on in that crazy head of hers.

          Adri slowly walked forward, closing the gap between Hel and herself. She ignored her friends, who were telling her not to surrender and hand the dagger over to Hel. What she was about to do was very hard for her. She couldn't do that to her friends.

          Hel smiled in satisfaction as Adri stood, barely three feet away from her. "Mamma, mi dispiace. Ti amo per sempre e per sempre. Arrivederci. (Mom, I'm sorry. I love you forever and ever too.)"

          Adri bent down and Hel watched Adri like a hawk. In one quick swoop, Adri sliced her mother's head. Her decapitated head went rolling off from the momentum of the swing and ghostly silver vapour poured out instead of blood. All was quiet. The only sound in the throne room was Adri's heavy breathing. Even Hel seemed shocked.

          "What have you do-" Hel never got to finish her sentence as Adri plunged the dagger of Darkness through her heart. "AAAHHHHHHH!!!!! THE DAGGER WILL NOW DISSOLVE, YOU FOOL!!!!!!!!!!" With a dying scream, Hel's body crumbled into ash. As she had warned, the dagger did seem to start fading.

          The initial adrenaline rush wore off, leaving a shockingly empty Adri behind. She didn't feel anything. She was just frozen. Magnus was the first to gain his voice. "Guys!! We need to leave. The guards are gathering." Just like he had said, the guards began slowly circling them. Nodding determinedly, Alex rushed to get Adri while Nico summoned his energy to shadow-travel four people.

          "Anywhere with water. I have a boat." Though his voice was calm, Nico sensed the urgency in his voice. Alex came, holding Adri close to his chest. They all held hands and Nico travelled them to a beach he once visited.

          Once they were on the shore, Magnus threw his handkerchief into the water. It folded outward and transformed into the beloved freyboat, the Big Banana. Magnus quickly ushered the rest on to the boat.

          "Where do we go?" he asked Nico. "I feel like Adri needs to rest. Camp Half-Blood, if you will." Magnus nodded, shooting a worried glance at Adri, who just blankly stared at the horizon. As he willed the Big Banana to travel to Camp Half-Blood, he searched for food for the others. He went below deck and saw Alex with his hands full of food. "Lemme help."

          When they went back up, they saw Nico holding Adri's hands. Adri seemed to be hysterically laughing and crying, all at once. "Have you ever seen someone, Nico?? Someone who killed their mother?? Not once, but twice?? Someone who killed her, even after she died??" She laughed and as the hysteria wore off, she cried. Nico slowly wrapped his arms around her, resting his head on hers. He gently stroked her hair as she clutched his shirt.

          Alex slowly eased onto the ground and placed the food in front of the pair. "In case you're hungry." Magnus sat down beside him. "Adri," Magnus tried. "What you did back there was, well not awesome, but brave. You realized what was important." 

          "See, no one hates you for it Adri. I don't think you killed Hel, but she it'll take her a long time to be back." Alex said, placing a comforting hand on Adri's knee. Nico tucked Adri's hair behind her ear. "Adri, that was a brave sacrifice. I don't ask you to be alright about it. Ma guarda cosa hai fatto?? Hai fatto qualcosa che non saremmo stati in grado di fare. Hai ascoltato il tuo cuore, ma hai comunque fatto ciò che era giusto. (But look at what you've done?? You've done something we wouldn't be able to do. You listened to your heart, but still did what was right.)"

          Adri lifted her tear-stained face from the crook of Nico's neck. "Really?" she asked him. He gently wiped a few tears with his thumb. "Really." "I don't what he said, but, yeah. Really." Magnus said, trying for some humour. Alex nodded along, unable to speak with his mouth full of a banana.

          "Looks like someone's eating a banana aboard the Big Banana." Magnus said. Nico chuckled, making sure they still had Adri's attention. She managed a weak smile. For the first time since being on land, or on water, in three days, she admired the beauty of life and the beauty of the world she just helped save. Then, she promptly fell asleep, lulled by the gentle rocking of the Big Banana, the soft sea breeze and Nico's steady pulse. 

Arrivederci: Good-Bye

AN: LAST CHAPTER BI....SCUITS. I really worked hard on this. There will be an epilogue soon. And a chapter named reviews so you can tell the things you liked about this book and the things you think I can improve. Creative criticism is appreciated very much by your dear author.

Love,

Helene <3