"Being our Father's favourite son will no longer save you now, traitor!" Artemis roared out in anger at the sight of Heracles' appearance.
As Aaron took a moment to get a better look at the legendary Hero of Olympus, two things struck out among everything else. The first was his overbearing height. Heracles easily stood at least 8ft tall and easily towered over both Zoe and himself.
The second was the fact he was wearing very little. All that he wore were basic sandals, leather straps over his shins and forearms, and a ripped white tunic that was ripped just above his waist, exposing his chest.
"You think I ever really cared about the Gods in Olympus." Heracles replied back with a deep scowl on his face. "During my mortal life, I was made to suffer under them, only to stand tall each time."
"And my eternal reward of Godhood quickly soured and turned into a curse. To simply use me as a glorified guard dog, well I shall be their lapdog no longer!" The Son of Zeus' grin returned in full force as he extended his arms out. "At first when Atlas and Kronos came to me I wasn't sure... But when they offered me Hera's head for my services. Well... Only a fool would refuse such an enticing offer."
Zoe meanwhile was still frozen in fear and horror as Aaron tried to get her attention. "Zoe, snap out of it." Aaron softly spoke to Artemis' Lieutenant but she didn't respond.
"Skit." Aaron cursed under his breath as he stood defensively in front of her.
"Trying to play the Hero I see... Atlas was right, you should've left while you had the chance as this isn't your fight." Heracles taunted as he cracked his knuckles.
"You're the one whose made her suffer... And I promised her that I will destroy you by the time I'm finished with you." Aaron coldly stated as he got into a defensive stance.
Heracles though simply picked his ear as an utter show of disrespect. "Oh, I'm sorry but who are you again?"
Growling out in annoyance Aaron growled out. "My name is."
"It's doesn't matter what your name is!" Heracles interrupted Aaron with a volley of boisterous laughter.
"That's it!" Aaron roared out in anger and he pulled out his revolver and fired a single shot aimed at Heracles' heart. But his eyes widened in shock when he watched the bullet bounce off his chest.
"Hmm... That actually might've tickled. If it hit a little harder." Heracles grinned as Atlas laughed out in excitement.
"It seems you are in for your greatest challenge, Conqueror of the Fire Giants." Atlas' booming voice chuckled as Aaron turned of face him. "That's right, I know who you are... Loki was very kind to tell me stories of Asgard's greatest Hero."
"Watching you fall by Heracles' hands, all while those on Olympus watch through their spies..." Atlas stated as he pointed at two Ravens watching them that Aaron knew were Huginn and Muninn. So the Allfather was watching over him and this battle, which mean Olympus should also know of Heracles' betrayal.
"It makes me smile to see that my plan is coming to fruition." Atlas stated as he lifted the ground below him and created a stool to sit on. "Olympus' Greatest Hero turned God vs Asgard's Greatest Hero and Demi-God... This shall be entertaining indeed."
Heracles then chuckled bring Aaron's attention back to him. "Before you die, I shall tell you how you'll never be able to defeat me." Heracles began as he started to pace back and forth. "When I was granted Godhood, I was given 6 secret gifts, given to me by my Father. Gifts that were once traits of the Animals I defeated in combat during my 12 Labours."
"My skin became impenetrable like the Nemean Lion. And should a part of my body be lost, I have the Hydra's regeneration of lost limbs. I'm as swift as the Ceryneian hind and have the agility of the Stymphalian birds. My strength was added to with the Erymanthian boar all while tempered with the Cretan Bull's Rage."
"All gifted in order to protect Olympus... Ironic isn't it, that I shall use them to bring about it's destruction and ruin." When Heracles had finished his rant, he was expecting the hopes of Aaron, Zoe and Artemis to be crushed.
What actually happened was the soft chuckling of Aaron echoing throughout the cave. "I... I don't understand?" Heracles stated out in confusion while Artemis looked on in concern.
"Fucking irony!" Arron exclaimed out, his own mad grin plastered over his face. "Do you have any idea how boring and repetitive it has been fighting Norse Monsters like Fire and Frost Giants, over and over and over again!?"
"And now I'm finally facing someone who might actually be able to kill me. Someone who might give me a fucking challenge!" Deactivating his shield, Aaron brought his body down into a sprinters stance before rushing towards Heracles. "It Ironic because I made a promise that I intend to keep! So I can't afford to die!"
Bring the Axe down over Heracles' left shoulder, the impact should've broken his collarbone, instead he barely even dented his skin. "That won't be enough." Heracles rolled his eyes in annoyance but stopped from taunting further when he seen that Aaron was still grinning.
"Frysta!" As the Axe upon Heracles' shoulder gave off a light blue glow, a small amount of Ice formed over his shoulder.
Landing down on the ground, Aaron jumped back up and as quickly as he could and once more swung the Axe hitting the same spot on Heracles' shoulder.
This time Heracles roared out in pain as the Ice seeped into his skin and shattered cutting through his supposedly impenetrable skin. They could all see the now exposed muscles of his shoulder and neck and his Golden Ichor leaked out.
As Aaron landed back on the ground, he smirked and chuckled at Heracles' shock and confusion. "I never got to test that when I fought that Golden Lion." Aaron stated out as he continued chuckling. "Good to know I could've easily killed it this way as well."
"HOW!?" Heracles demanded as his body repaired the damage he had taken.
"Because despite being a God, you must follow the rules of Reality. Simple rules like basic Biology dumbass." Aaron retorted as he twirled his Axe with his right hand. "No matter how impenetrable your skin might be. It still needs to breath... Which means, however small it might be. There will still be gaps. And those gaps must be just big enough for air to pass through, allowing me to freeze that air solid."
"So you see, I can beat you... But in order to do so I'll just need to freeze your body completely solid." Aaron replied as he threw his Axe to the ground.
"But my Axe won't be enough for the task though... So I'll have to get little angry." Letting out a heavy breath, the air around Aaron's mouth began to freeze.
Soon the air around everyone dropped suddenly, but Heracles wasn't going to sit back and allow whatever Aaron was planning to happen. Within the blink of an eye, he had rushed over and had clamped his grasp over Aaron's neck and lifted him into the air. Grabbing a hold of the arm holding him in the air, Aaron formed a small layer of Ice that slowly started to spread.
As the ice around Heracles' hand began to thicken, he was forced to release his grip over Aaron's neck. It was then that they began to notice the changes taken place with Aaron's body.
Slowly his skin darkened until it became a dark blue, almost the same colour as Lapis. His eyes and hair had changed as well. No longer were his eyes hazel but crimson like flames, and his hair was now pitch black like a empty night's sky.
A heavy mist of frozen vapor escaped from his mouth as his heavy breathing stabled. But the sound of his breathing now sounded more like a feral beast. Until he took in one deep breath. "RRRAAAHHH!" Aaron roared out as he slammed both of his fists into ground.
The impact alone created a small shock wave before large spikes of ice burst out of the ground and towards Heracles. To counter, Aaron's attack, Heracles called upon his club and slapped the incoming Ice.
Not allowing for a moments rest the now fully Berserk Aaron launched another rushing blitz at the Greek Hero. With each step he had taken towards his enemy, Ice formed as the Cave's temperature lowered even further.
It quickly spread out around the cave's open space at a faster pace, as the it was starting to effect the others watching as well. "This is his Berserker Rage?" Zoe softly stated in both fear and awe as she remembered Gunilla's words of his rampage on Muspelheim after Hillevi's death.
Swinging an open right hand upwards in an upper cutting motion. A glacier rose up from the ground and fully encased Heracles within. He wasn't trapped for long though as large cracks formed on the glacier's shell.
Heracles roared out as he body emitted a golden aura for a brief moment, before quickly fading. "You're going to suffer for that." Heracles growled out as he dashed forwards and delivered a jaw-shattering left hand haymaker sending Aaron flying backwards through the air.
However, Aaron wasn't knocked out and readjusted himself mid-air and created a curved wall of Ice. Using his momentum, Aaron skated along the curved wall and was flung back towards Heracles.
A solid punch landed on Heracles' stomach created a thick sheet of ice over his abs, but he swiftly dodged the second punch that would've shattered the ice. As he pivoted away from Aaron's attack, Heracles was now behind the Norse Demi-God and used this to his full advantage.
Unleashing a flurry of punches to his under protected back, it had winded Aaron. But before he was sent flying forward, Heracles caught his left foot, lifted him up, swung him over head before slammed him deep into the ground.
However when he had lifted Aaron's body he wasn't unconscious and had call back his Axe. Swing his Axe from his awkward angle, Aaron aimed for the armpit of Heracles' right arm that had a hold of him.
Heracles knew that he could've easily dodged this attack. He knew that the Axe wouldn't be able to cut through his skin with the first strike. He just needed to avoid the second. What happened thought was a completely different result.
What Heracles and the others didn't know, was that his arms were already frostbitten underneath his skin due to the rapid drop in temperature. Aided by his unclothed upper body it easily allowed Aaron to cleanly cut through, delimbing Heracles' arm from his body.
With a deafening roar of pain, Atlas for the first time in this conflict looked on slightly concerned knowing Heracles might actually lose.
But his concern was short lived as Heracles' anger and frustration was starting to show, as he witness his body begin to give off a Golden glow. A clear sign that he was about to enter his Divine form.
"HAH!" Heracles roared out as he entered his divine form. In this form, his right arm reformed itself with the Hydra's blessing of regeneration. But as quickly as he had entered this form had it faded back.
He had expected the mortal to be dead after witnessing his display of Divine power, but was angered to see that he had managed to turn away and protected Zoe's eyes. When Aaron turned around to face him though he did noticed that some of Aaron's skin had become patchy as parts had returned back to it's normal colour. Even his left eye had turned back to it's original Hazel.
Taking a deep breath Aaron moved forward before unleashing a roar of Ice, Hail and Snow upon Heracles. Bringing his hands up to protect himself, Heracles was at first pushed back by the force of Aaron's attack.
But since Aaron's power had weakened, the Ice around them had softened in places. Allowing Heracles to gain a proper foothold to slowly march his way back towards the Norse Demi-God.
Unable to keep the intensity of his attack going, Aaron was forced to take another breath to recover. This lapse of a single second had allowed Heracles to burst forward and grab a tight hold of Aaron's head.
Slamming Aaron's head repeatedly into the ground, Heracles didn't stop until he had seen his full body return to it's natural tone.
Letting go, he watched on as Aaron struggled to stand up, but he powered through and once more swung his Axe. This time he was aiming for Heracles' neck. But the Greek God wasn't allowing him this time, as he grabbed his left arm and with a tight squeeze, followed by a loud and echoing snap, Aaron cry of pain had let him know that he had broken his left arm.
Dropping his Axe with the pain, Aaron tried to refocus himself. He was still alive, which meant to still had a chance, no matter how small it might be at this stage. The only problem to that thought was that Heracles had not let go of his left arm yet.
Knowing the fight was all but him, Heracles began to throw Aaron's body around like it was nothing more than a Ragdoll. slamming it repeatedly once more into the ground, never hitting the same small impact craters Aaron's body would create.
With one final swing, Heracles had embedded Aaron's body into the ground. But this wouldn't do... He wanted to humiliate this bastard even more. Moving over towards Aaron downed Axe, he attempted to pick it up. Only to find that it refused to move.
"My Axe will never listen to the likes of you. Not while I'm still breathing. And it never will because you'll never be worthy to become it's master! You're nothing more than scum! And clearly you're not worthy of it's honour!" Aaron growled out as he slowly managed to bring himself up to his knees.
"Then I'll take it after you are dead." Heracles replied before he slowly walked back to Aaron.
Picking him up by his hair, he ignored Aaron cries of pain as he brought him up to his eye level. Aaron though could only spit a mixture of his saliva and blood and the Greek God in an act of defiance.
Bring his hand up Heracles slowly wiped the spit and blood off his face, before slamming the same fist into Aaron's gut. With the wind knocked out of Aaron's lungs, Heracles let go of his grip, allowing Aaron's body to drop to the ground.
Lightly kicking Aaron's body, it rolled over leaving him facing up towards the sky. Heracles chuckled as he got down to one knee and began to viciously strike and claw with both of his fists on Aaron's Leather Chest plate.
Once it was torn apart, it allowed Heracles to pummel his massive fists on Aaron's exposed chest and face. "Just die already!" Breaking his ribs and breaking the skin easily, he wanted nothing more at that time than to turn the Norse bastard beneath him into bloody paste.
But as he eventually slowed down and stopped his assault he let out a loud bark of laughter when he seen the unmoving body of Aaron below him. But when he stood up, he noticed the glare Aaron was defiantly sending his way. He wasn't surprised though that his opponent wasn't dead just yet.
If anything he was almost excited as Heracles couldn't hold back a smirk. "You've fought well. I'd almost be tempted to say that your challenge was as worthy of being on par with my Labours... But I don't like you enough for that." Placing his larger hand once more over Aaron's head, he lifted him up into the air again.
But this time he squeezed as Aaron let out a muffled cry in pain. For over a minute the heavily injured Aaron fought to break from his hold as best as he could. But soon Aaron's arm slowed in there struggling, before finally falling limp by his side.
"And another victory go to the mighty Heracles!" Atlas taunted towards both Artemis and Zoe as he clapped in celebration.
Zoe softly cried out as her eyes were stuck on Aaron's unmoving form. "Zoe... Listen to me." Artemis called out to her Lieutenant. "You need to run! That's an order!"
The Goddess of the Moon desperately pleaded out to her friend but she was still trapped by her fear, or of her broken Heart. "ZOE!"
"It's time to end this now." Heracles stated out before he threw Aaron towards the Cave's wall with all of his strength.
Aaron limp and bloodied body was embedded into the wall from the crashing impact. His blood stained head hung by his broken chest plate as Heracles moved over and successfully picked up his Axe. "Looks like I have collected another finely crafted weapon."
Examining the weapon in his hands, Heracles was left speechless by it's craftsmanship. "I would bet my Immortal life that even Hephaestus would envy the Blacksmith who created this weapon." His eyes shifted towards Zoe as he smirked. "Let's test the sharpness of it's edge."
Heracles smirked before he slapped the side of Zoe's head with the flat side of Aaron's Axe. "Oops... I missed."
Shaken and dazed, Zoe attempted to get back up to her feet. Only to be kicked away by a mocking Heracles. "Ah... I remember you now." Heracles' words forced Zoe to freeze as she looked up at him with fear in her eyes.
"Atlas!" Heracles called out to the Titan General. "Can I have your Daughter as my reward for killing the Norse Warrior?" He asked as the colour faded from both Artemis and Zoe's faces.
"I'll allow it." Atlas evenly replied.
As Heracles slowly made his way over towards Zoe, she began to back crawl away from him. "I see that since we last meet, you've became one of my Sister's Hunters... So for her sake I shall grant you some kindness."
"First I will cut off your arms and legs. Then I will use you as my personal breeding stock, until you birth me an small army of my own. After that I'll bring you back here, and I'll grant you a mercy killing in front of Artemis." Heracles finished with a vile grin that truly showed off his Lust, that could easily match his Father's own.
"NO! RUN ZOE! RUN!" Artemis pleaded with tears in her eyes as Zoe desperately tried to crawl away. But when Heracles grabbed a hold of her left leg and held her up, she became frozen in fear and horror.
Lifting Aaron's axe up behind him, Heracles exclaimed out. "I'll start by taking your legs."
(Aaron)
When Aaron opened his eyes, he had felt like he had woken up from a horrible dream. Looking around he could see nothing but a barren and colourless wasteland that ran all the way towards an endless Horizon. "Where am I?" Aaron asked himself out loud as he looked to find if anyone else was near.
"We are in an unnamed and timeless Realm that if found somewhere between life and death." Aaron froze in shock when he heard a voice reply back to him. He knew this voice.
"Hillevi?" Turning towards the direction where he had heard his childhood friend, Aaron lightly cried when he seen here body slowly fade into view.
"Hey Snowman." Hillevi smiled warmly but remained at a distance from him.
As Aaron silently looked on at her, she hadn't changed in appearance since she had died. Her long braided light brown hair still flowed down over her left shoulder as her forest green eyes still held the warmth he has always looked up to. "I'm dead, aren't I?"
Hillevi for the first time moved forward and brought her hand up to Aaron's face, but only for her hand to phase through. "You've gotten a little bit taller since I last seen you huh."
A sad smile crossed her face as Aaron attempted the same thing only to have the same results. "But to answer your question, no you're not dead... Not yet at least."
"This isn't Helheim Aaron because Valkyries fade into the void when they pass on... And this isn't Valhalla as you aren't fated to fall in Battle. And your fight hasn't ended yet." Hillevi informed Aaron who looked at her in confusion. "We've both been brought here by Ymir's will, for me it was to help guide you one last time. And for you to listen to what I have to say."
"I don't know if I can defeat him Hillevi. I lack the strength to overpower him." Aaron softly cried in reply. "And in my loss, I'm letting Zoe suffer once more because of it."
"You're feeling this way because you love her don't you?" Hillevi's question caused Aaron to pause as he looked at her at first with confusion, before realization settled over him.
"If I am, then she can't fall for me Hillevi. It's just like with you. I fell for you because you could never love me back! If I hold any feelings for her it's because she's the same as you were!" Aaron argued back with his tears blinding him. "She's a Hunter of Artemis, she's sworn off falling in love for the rest of her life!"
Hillevi softly smiled as she took a step closer to Aaron. "That's not true Aaron, And I know that it's not true. But do you truly believe that she doesn't love you?" Hillevi asked once more, but this time Aaron couldn't answer. "You might not even realize it Aaron, but you already share an emotional bond with her. You are able to understand and see the pain she has went through as she can for you."
"But you are wrong, both about me and your curse... I love you Aaron... I always have." Hillevi softly stated as she continued. "But I feared that if I ever told you this, you would reject me out of fear."
"Wh.." His words failed as Aaron could only stare at his childhood friend.
"You were the only man who ever saw me as a Girl... You made me laugh, cry, want to strangle the life out of you... And you would always tell me how pretty I was, when I never felt that I was ever worthy of being called such... So how could I not fall for you?" Hillevi asked as Aaron openly wept.
"But when I was travelling through the Realms, the Light of Alfheim showed me a vision of my future. It showed me my death and the pain that it would cause you." Hillevi now too wept openly as he so desperately wanted to hold onto her dear friend.
"And so I lied and told you that I only love women." Hillevi's tears continued as she finally confessed her feelings and the truth to Aaron. "So when you felt that the curse was breaking when you had feelings for me. It wasn't because I wasn't able to love you, it was because I was in love with you."
"And if you're feeling the same way. Feeling those same emotions with Zoe... That means deep down she must feel the same way about you. Even if she might not know it or fully understand them yet." Hillevi's tears had stopped when she softly smiled as she was finally able to feel Aaron's warm cheek on the tips of her fingers. "And right now she needs you... And I need you to let go of your own fears and become greater than what you have been. All in order to save her and everyone else... And for that to happen, you must use your Grandfather's powers."
Aaron tears continued to flow as he was able to tightly hug first first love for the last time. Somehow deep down he knew what Hillevi had said was right. He couldn't find a place within his mind and heart to dispute the truth. "What if he doesn't."
Hillevi's soft giggling stopped Aaron as he looked up at her as his vison began to fade from his view. "He will Aaron. I know he will."
Letting go of his fears Aaron silently watched on as his image of Hillevi was forever lost to his sight. He smied though when he heard her voice call out to him one last time. "I love you Aaron. And I always will."
(Mount Othrys)
"I'll start by taking your legs."
Unable to stomach what was going to happen next, Artemis closed her eyes shut as Heracles swung Aaron's Axe towards Zoe's free leg. But when she didn't hear the sound of anything afterwards, she slowly opened her eyes to find Heracles struggling to move the Axe as it appeared to be frozen mid-air. "This... Shouldn't... Be... Possible..." Heracles stated out through his gritting teeth.
But no matter how much he tried, or how much effort and his strength he had put into moving the Axe. It refused to move as if it refused to be used by Heracles.
But it was Atlas who had firstly realized what was really happening. "So Loki did speak the truth... Like some divine cockroach, it's seems you're are rather hard to kill after all."
As they all turned to where Aaron was embedded, they noticed his right arm extended out calling out for his weapon's return. And the determined and burning will to keep fighting in his eyes. "This fight isn't over dickhead... As long as I'm still breathing... I won't stop... And I won't let you fucking touch her ever again!"
Letting go of Zoe's right leg, she dropped to the ground with a soft thud. But Heracles still held onto Aaron's axe, preventing it from fully returning to it's master. "Then this shall be a short second round."
"Hehehe, I'm still alive so we haven't even finished the first round idiot..." Aaron chuckled as he freed his left arm from the cave's wall.
"You were beaten fool... Have some honour in your earlier defeat." Heracles replied but Aaron simply ignored him and focused solely on a recovering Zoe.
"Zoe." The softer tone of his voice easily carried over to her as he smiled at her. "Last night, I made a promise to you."
"Ég sver við orð mín... Ef ég hitti hann... Ég skal drepa hann."
Zoe's eyes widened as she remembered to look in Aaron's eyes. "I remember." Zoe replied as she held back her tears.
"It means, I swear to my word. If I meet him. I'll kill him." Aaron stated to Zoe as a tear fell from her eyes in response. "And I swear to you now once more Zoe Nightshade... That I am, and always will be, a man of my word. And I will show you that now."
"Because... Unlike him, I will keep my word to you! Unlike him, I will never betray you! Unlike him, I'll give you all of my Heart! And because he has made you suffer and cry, I will kill him for you. So that you will no longer live inside this Nightmare!" As Zoe openly wept from Aaron's confession, he closed his eyes and prayed. 'Grandfather... Please grant me the strength I need. Not just to win this fight... But to save her!'
Increasing the mental command for his weapon to return, Aaron heard his response. 'As long as the sky is above you Aaron. You shall always have my strength, love and support.'
From the domed sky above, the sound of Thunder echo'd throughout the cave. But Heracles ignored the rumbling above him as he scoffed at Aarons claims. "I will break you now."
"You won't. Because I'm no longer going to be holding anything back!" Aaron snapped at Heracles in reply as Lightning began to arc around his body, now free from the cave's walls.
Slamming his left foot into the ground, a large bolt of Lightning came down from the sky above and struck Aaron. The sudden flash of light had shocked Heracles enough, that he had momentarily loosened his hold of the Axe.
It was enough to tell it return to it's rightful master. And once back in his hands, the Axe began to brightly glow, transforming as the Axe turned into a Hammer/Axe hybrid. As the Lightning that had struck Aaron faded, His eyes glowed as Lightning shrouded his body and weapon. His wounds gone, his body now fully healed.
His Armour had also been repaired and he had gained an additional cape. And like the Artic Wolf pelt that was strapped over his left shoulder, a Red cape sat on it's opposite side. It extended down and wrapped around his waist, unlike the pelt which rested on the side of his chest plate. The Rune tattoos that were placed over his body began to give off a humming glow as he voice echo'd out.
"You said before, that it didn't matter to you who I am!" Aaron's eyes glowed brighter as the lightning around him intensified even further. "I does now, because I will be the one who ends your tale!"
"I call out to all the Nine Realms! To all those to hear my voice! I am Aaron Davidson. I am the proud Son of Skaði, Goddess of the Mountains and Winter! But I am also the proud Legacy and Grandson of the Thunderer, THE PRINCE OF ASGARD, THE ALL-MIGHTY THOR!"