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𝟕. 𝐀 𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤
Cheers thundered around the area, causing light tremors. Sól stood beside Korg as many battles went on, at one point, she grew impatient and left him to watch the battles alone. It wouldn't be long now, because after a couple more fights before she and Thor would jump into the first to fight the Grandmaster's Champion.
She pulled out the short sword Thor handed her earlier. She moved the blade until she could see the reflection of her eyes, looking back at her. At that moment, she wished her sword was with her then, the battle would be an easy one.
Surtur had it made special for her. It was a sword whose blade remained hot. Runes inscribed its sheaths to keep it from burning.
Sól found herself smiling at the memory of herself. Sól tightened the wrap around her weird handle to give herself a better grip on it for the fight when she heard a low voice speaking not too far from where she sat. Curious about what it was, she sheath the sword and stood up, following the voice until it led her to one spot in the dungeons where the noise of the cheering crowd was muffled.
When she rounded a corner, she caught a glimpse of a hunched figure in the corner, she immediately hid behind the wall before peering over it. When she saw the head of blonde hair, she immediately recognized that it was Thor.
He was on both of his knees, facing the wall while reciting a silent prayer to his father. He prayed that this fight would be an easy one so that he may be able the escape the Grandmaster and return to Asgard. Sól knew better than to eavesdrop on him and so, decided to leave, until he heard her name come out of his mouth.
Her breath hitched, eyes widened in surprise as she froze in place.
Sól couldn't believe what she was hearing, did Thor include her in his prayers, his enemy? The very person trying to kill him? But why?
Conflicted thoughts popped into her mind, questions that she could not find the answers to. More importantly, she wondered what this rising feeling in her chest, she felt...warm.
"Sól." His deep voice caused Sól to flinch and snap her head to him with a surprised look on her face. "Is something the matter?"
"No, everything is fine."
Thor shot her scrutinizing gaze before raising his hand. Before Sól realized what he was doing, Thor rested his hand over her forehead.
"What are you doing?" She questioned him as she shook her head away from his grasp and took a step back.
"Your cheeks are all flushed, are you sick?" He pointed out, his gaze on her face never wavering. His scrutinizing gaze turned to one that held concern. He held his hand to her again, only for her to slap it away whilst she held a hand over her mouth in an attempt to obscure her face from him.
"I'm fine!" She insisted, taking a moment to pause before directing the subject to other matters, "What were you doing back there? If you don't mind me asking?"
"Oh, I was praying," Thor replied as he rested his hands on his hips.
"I heard my name fall from your lips,"
"Oh that," Thor smiled, almost in an embarrassed manner when he decided to bend his head down, "I hoped you don't mind but I included you, I thought perhaps Father would grant us both guidance in the battles to come."
Sól lowered her hands from her face and let them rest at her sides as she shot Thor an incredulous look. "But I'm your enemy, if anything, you should be praying for my demise."
"I would never." He claimed with a wide smile.
"I find that hard to believe." She retorted with a cocked eyebrow.
"Today we are not enemies, but allies. Working together to fight for our freedom." Thor took a step toward her and her heart suddenly began to beat fast and her cheeks warm. It was worse when Thor grabbed her hand and engulfed it in his.
Looking down, Sól noticed how small his hands were compared to his.
"With you by my side, we'll have a better chance against this so-called champion." He told her with conviction.
Sól smirked, a low chuckle escaping her lips as she wanted her hand from his grasp. "And how can you be so sure I won't try to harm you while we're fighting the champion?"
"We've been together ever since we arrived and not once have you laid a single hand on me." He retorted confidently, staring down at her playfully with a smirk.
Sól chuckled derisively, "Oh really?"
Thor's eyes widened in surprise, suddenly caught off guard when Sól pounced on him all of a sudden, causing him to fall flatly on his back with Sól on top of him with her knees on either side of his hips. Thor let out a soft gasp as he started up at the amused expression Sól held on her face. He couldn't tear his eyes off her, it was as if he was enchanted.
Sól chuckled playfully, she held Thor's collar to pin him to the ground. She didn't know where she found this newfound confidence of her but she had to admit, it was fun being this way with the God of Thunder.
"How about that?" Sól said proudly, when he didn't move after a moment, she decided to leave.
That was until Thor grabbed onto her collar and decided to do the same thing she did. Sól gasped when she and Thor had switched places.
"Got you!" He told her playfully.
"Don't get cocky!" She hit his arms with her elbows, causing him to release his grip on her collar which enabled her to push Thor back on the ground again. But Thor quickly retaliated.
The two rolled on the ground, fighting for who will be on top. Their soft laughter filled the room while Sól halted their movements, with her being on top of Thor once more. This time, she sat on top of his body, putting all of her weight down to stop his movements before capturing his wrists. She pinned his left arm down to his side and his right one above his head, causing their faces to be only inches apart from each other.
Thor's eyes were wide in surprise at their proximity but his gaze softened when his gaze locked onto hers. As he looked into her deep brown eyes, he felt an inexplicable warmth wash over him, akin to basking in the sun's gentle rays. The rich hue of her eyes mirrored the earthy tones of a sunset, and within them, he discovered an undeniable radiance. The way her eyes caught the light reminded him of the sun's golden embrace during the most tranquil evenings.
His eyes then flickered down to her lips, gently parted as she exhaled, the warmth of her breath dancing across his face. Fixated, he pondered the sensation of her lips against his. Thor cautiously leaned in, subtly gauging if she might retreat. Seeing her still, he continued inching closer until their breaths intertwined, and their lips were but a hairbreadth from connecting.
"Guys! You're up!"
Korg's voice caused them to freeze, their actions finally dawning on them. Sól was quick to get back to her feet as her heart pounded wildly against her chest. Her cheeks were warm as she realized what they almost did. She started to wonder what was happening to her, why she was feeling these...feelings?
Sól's gaze flitted down to Thor once more, their gazes immediately intertwining. She started her gaze immediately, refusing to make eye contact with him.
"Uhm," she cleared his throat, breaking the awkward silence between them, "You heard what the rock said."
"Yes," Thor rose to his feet and began to brush off the dirt that got in his skin and his armor, "It's time."
"It's time." She repeated before the two of them marched to the door that leads to the battlefield.
They already set what happened earlier into the back of their minds and put their focus on winning this battle.
Her ears were once again filled with the thunderous cheers of the crowd outside as a gigantic holographic image of the Grandmaster appeared in the middle of the field. As he talked to the crowd, to increase the anticipation of the battle about to ensue, Thor and Sól stood side by side, dropping their weapons tightly in their grasp while waiting for the doors to open.
They stepped into the battlefield, Sól nearly blinded by the bright lights as the crowds booed at them. It only drove her to end whoever this champion was.
For her freedom and her pride.
Throughout the arena, the cheers for the champion erupted once more and it only piqued her curiosity as to who this champion was. Green smoke bombs began to explode throughout the whole arena, coating half of it in green powder. Some of it got on Sól 's arm when she and Thor approached the middle of the battlefield, ready for battle. Suddenly, the pair felt the floor shift below them, revealing another door below the ground, similar to what they came out of but bigger.
The champion must be a beast.
"He is a creature. What can we say about him? Well, he's unique. There's none like him. I feel a special connection with him." The grandmaster stated across the arena, his voice filling the whole area.
The tension intensifies and the two gods armed themselves for battle. Thor lowered his mace to the ground and grabbed a small metal panel connected to the back of the large shield he was carrying. With a flick of his arm, the metal panel turned into a full helmet which he then placed on his head and fastened itself automatically onto it. Meanwhile, Sól unsheathed the sword from her side, lifting it in front of her in a defending stance as she waited for what was to come.
He's undefeated. HE'S THE REIGNING...HE'S THE DEFENDING..." The Grandmaster continued, pausing at every sentence for anticipation, Ladies and gentlemen... I give you..."
The doors in front of Thor and Sól began to open, Thor quickly collected his mace from the ground and poised for battle. They kept their eyes glued to the doors, waiting for the champion.
"Your Incredible..."
As the doors cracked open, a colossal green creature burst forth, rending the lower portion in its wake with a deafening, primal roar. Sól 's eyes widened in astonishment; she had never beheld such a being. With each earth-shaking stride toward them, she felt the ground tremble beneath her. Drawing a deep breath, she recognized this formidable adversary as the final hurdle standing between her and freedom. Despite its might, she was determined not to let it impede her path. But just as she was about to charge forward, a loud cry came out from beside her.
She paused and turned her head towards Thor, who, surprisingly, was as if he was happy to see the green creature.
"Yes!" he cried out with a wide grin.
The crowd went silent, all of them, including Sól were confused.
"What in the hell are you doing?" she told him through gritted teeth.
The air echoed with cheers once more as the Hulk, as per the crowd's chant, brandished his weapons aloft, emitting another resounding roar. He seemed to exude an air of pre-victory triumph. Sól 's expression twisted in disdain.
Meanwhile, Thor shifted his gaze towards the small chamber situated on one side of the arena, where the Grandmaster and his attendants resided. Within, Loki's face was etched with terror as he locked eyes with the Hulk.
"Hey! We know each other. He's a friend from work!" Thor informed them rather blissfully.
"He doesn't seem to acknowledge you," Sól remarked beside him, lowering her weapon for a moment since the Hulk was busy amping up the crowd.
"Nonsense, Sól ." Thor said, disregarding her remark as he faced the Hulk again, "Where have you been? Everybody thought you were dead."
The Hulk turned around after hearing Thor speak behind him. Sól was quick to lift her sword once more, ready to fight back if the Hulk began to attack. She was getting annoyed at Thor for being so oblivious to the fact that the Hulk didn't seem to be as joyful as him at their unexpected reunion.
"So much has happened since I last saw you. I lost my hammer. Like, yesterday, so that's still pretty fresh." When Thor began to recall what had happened before, Sól found herself rolling her eyes in frustration. "Oh, you must meet my newest companion–"
"I'm not." Sól quickly retorted,
"She is" Thor pressed, "This here is Sól, the Goddess of the Sun, as Father had told Loki and I. Speaking of Loki, Loki's alive. Can you believe it? He's up there."
As Thor gestured towards Loki's location, the God of Mischief appeared frozen in fear. Sól couldn't overlook Loki's terrified demeanor, and a sly smile crept onto her lips. If only she possessed a means to revisit this moment, she thought, relishing the opportunity to mock the notorious God of Mischief to his face.
"Are you finished?" Sól addressed Thor, her impatience mounting as they remained idle on the battlefield. "I am very much eager to fight this beast for my freedom, and regrettably, for yours as well."
"But we don't have to, he's my friend. He won't hurt us." He pointed out.
Sól glanced at the Hulk before returning her gaze to Thor with an incredulous raised eyebrow and a quizzical stare. "You must be so dumb for you to not notice that he's not as enthusiastic as you are."
"Nonsense, it's just his nature. Let me do the talking and I'll get us out of here in no time."
"All right." Sól declared, driving her sword into the ground and standing it upright. Crossing her arms, she fixed Thor with an expectant gaze. "The floor is yours."
Thor faced Hulk and took a few steps forward to be closer to his friend.
"Banner, I never thought I would say this, but I'm happy to see you," Thor told him, the same wide grin on his face was unwavering.
The Hulk turned to the crowd as they chanted his name. Sól watched with the corner of her lips curling into a knowing smirk. Whatever Thor was doing, she knew that it wasn't going to work.
"No Banner. Only Hulk." Hulk responded firmly.
The grin on Thor's face fell. "What are you doing? It's me."
As the Hulk charged towards Thor, Sól casually retrieved her sword from the ground and sauntered away from the impending clash. When she glanced back at the fray, the Hulk soared into the air with his weapons poised, descending swiftly to strike. However, Thor evaded the attack quickly, rolling away just in time as the weapons crashed into the ground where he had stood moments before.
"Told you." She said with a mocking smirk across her lips.
"Now is not–" When Thor heard the Hulk roar, he lifted his shield just in time to block the Hulk's attack. The attack was so strong that it shattered the shield and it sent Thor flying. Sól was surprised, worry began to grow on her as Thor barely managed to recover. Thankfully, Thor drew out a sword and stabbed it into the ground, slowing down his momentum. When he finally composed himself, Thor drew another sword and faced the Hulk.
"Now, we're talking," Sól charged at the Hulk, sword at the ready. She stopped when she was within her sword's reach and began throwing several quick slashes at the beast, all of which were blocked by the two massive weapons he held on both of his hands. In a sudden move, the Hulk brought his weapons down towards Sól, who swiftly raised her sword to intercept the attack. Despite her efforts, her sword was overpowered and forced downwards toward the ground. Sól 's features contorted into a mixture of disbelief and alarm, with her mouth slightly open.
"Shit," She muttered as she raised her gaze toward the Hulk, not realizing that she was about to hit her with his other weapon. Before she could react, Hulk landed a powerful punch in her chest, sending her flying across the arena. When she fell to the ground, the crowd cheered louder than before.
Sól swiftly regained her composure, gritting her teeth in frustration as she shot an exasperated glance towards the Hulk. Suddenly, she felt something warm and wet trickling down from her lips to her chin. When she dabbed her finger against it, she saw the crimson stain of blood.
She curled her hand into a fist as she felt the ground below her shake, Hulk was the one charging at her now. Coming within striking distance of her, Hulk aggressively swung his weapons at her, forcing her to take a back handspring to avoid the attack. When he raises his weapons again to strike, Sól quickly leaps away from him, using her ability to fly to keep herself hovering above him as he slams his weapons to the ground in a futile attempt to crush her.
The Hulk drifted his gaze above him, roaring in frustration when he saw Sól hovering above him with a mocking, flirtatious wave of her hand.
Her mocking ceased abruptly as Hulk unexpectedly hurled his right-hand weapon at her. Sól sprang into action, swiftly seizing the weapon by its handle. With a deft spin, she generated enough momentum to hurl the weapon back with equal force. She watched as she descended slowly back to the ground, the weapon returned to the Hulk, unaffected by her throw.
"Shit," she muttered again as she looked at her hands. She was starting to consider using her flames to fight him, to end this fight once and for all. But she couldn't, due to how destructive it would become and how it would affect Thor if she harmed the Hulk with it. As hard as it was to believe they were friends, she knew there was a bond between them that she couldn't ignore.
"Godsdammit," She muttered as she lifted her gaze back to the Hulk, just in time to see him charging at her with the same ferocity as before. Sól leaps above him again, landing behind him. When swung his weapon once again, she did the same maneuver but this time, she landed on the flat end of his weapon. The Hulk noticed the significant amount of weight added to his weapon, making him turn his head around to see what caused it. What he saw was a view of her boots before lifting his gaze with a growl.
Sól smirked at him playfully before kicking him in the face.
She leaps back in mid-air and lands beside Thor, who is standing idly by, watching the battle between her and Hulk unfold.
Thor was amazed that he couldn't bring himself to fight just so he couldn't miss what was happening. Gods, she was impressive.
"Couldn't help but notice that I'm the only one fighting for our freedom here," Sól told Thor as she nudged his elbow to grab his attention.
"Right, right," he blinked his eyes while clearing his throat. Gods, he had to tear his eyes away from her just so he could focus on the task at hand.
Hulk faced the two gods, roaring at them from across the arena. Sól couldn't shake off the thought that she had barely done but a small bruise across his jaw from where she kicked him. Gods, if her father were to see this, she would be ashamed.
" Banner, we're friends. This is crazy. I don't want to hurt you!"
His words meant nothing once more as Hulk once again struck, Sól stepped back to evade it while Thor deflected it with his swords. When the Hulk raised his weapon again, he brought it down with a powerful swing, powerful enough to bend the blades on Thor's sword before he kicked him across the arena, slamming him against the wall.
The wall crushed behind him upon impact.
When Sól returned her attention to the Hulk, the Hulk had his large hand around her torso, lifting her off from the ground before hurling her off to the other side of the arena for her to suffer the same fate as Thor.
With Sól out of the way, Hulk decided to face Thor, lifting his Warhammer before throwing it towards Thor.
Thor quickly jumped down, avoiding the hammer that hit the wall so hard that it remained lodged in the wall. Aggravated by his futile attempt at crushing Thor, The Hulk charged at him with his axe. With no more weapons in his arsenal, Thor decided to climb the wall, holding onto the handle of the warhammer while waiting for the Hulk to come within striking distance. When he was near enough, Thor ripped off the hammer from the wall and bashed the Hulk with it, hitting him with enough force to send the Hulk crashing along the sides of the arena.
The crowd went silent, including Sól who had just recovered from the attack. She stared at Thor who began walking to the Hulk with the Hulk's hammer in hand. She smiled, impressed. Hard to believe that may be.
The Hulk emerged from all the broken debris, quickly grabbing the axe at his side when Thor stopped in front of him.
"Hey, big guy. The sun's getting real low." Thor began taking slow, cautious steps toward him as he saw the anger in the Hulk's face slowly fade away. He raised his hand to him, similar to how Natasha Romanov would do to calm him. "Shh..."
The Hulk glanced down at Thor's outstretched hand before doing the same thing.
" That's it. The sun's going down. I won't hurt you anymore. No one will." Thor reassured him in a soft voice as his hand rested on top of Hulk's large one.
Sól watched with a faint smile playing at the corners of her mouth. His talking to the Hulk might work after all.
All of a sudden, The Hulk's hand closed tightly around Thor's dragging him closer toward him before he began whipping Thor against the ground, over and over.
Sól quickly came to Thor's aid, flying toward him as fast as she could to slam him back onto the wall and causing him to drop Thor to the ground. Sól straddled his chest, using her feet to keep his arms pinned to the wall as she joined her hands together and began bashing Hulk's face with it. The Hulk roared at her every blow then when it came to her last, Hulk broke free and grabbed her arm.
Sól cried out in pain as his grip tightened much more. He jumped down from the wall and lifted Sól for the rest of the arena to see. Sól tried to break free by pulling on her arms or even kicking him in the face but with every move she did, his grip would tighten even more.
She felt her bones snap and break.
Sól 's mouth opened as a scream of agonizing pain erupted from her chest. Her body twisted unnaturally under his crushing grip, the sharp crack reverberated through her body and bones, leaving her gasping for breath and clutching desperately at the fragments of her crumbling body.
Thor's eyes widened in horror as he witnessed the Hulk fling Sól across the arena like she was a piece of discarded meat.
Thor returned his attention to the Hulk, his teeth gritted in anger as he faced him.
It was as if seeing Sól hurt drove him to disregard his friendship with the Hulk and battle him until the end.
"All right. Screw it." Thor said firmly as he picked up the Hulk's hammer.
The Hulk charged at Thor, swinging his axe which Thor evaded quickly with a swift dodge. Thor quickly followed it with a bash to his leg, causing the Hulk to fall to one knee, allowing him to freely hit the hammer to his face. Thor was about to hit him in the face when he noticed the Hulk's movements, he was about to strike at the same time as him.
Thor quickly leaped higher than the Hulk's swing but was still able to strike him across the face with his hammer, this time, the strike disoriented the Hulk, causing him to fall on both of his knees. He disarmed Hulk with a swift strike to the handle of his axe, separating the handle and the blade from each other, making it impossible to use again.
"I know you're in there, Banner. I'll get you out!" Thor told the Hulk as approached him again and bashed him with his hammer, sending him to the ground.
The Hulk charged again, hitting the hammer instead of Thor, allowing Thor to retaliate quickly. When Hulk threw a downward punch toward Thor, he stepped back and threw a punch of his own across the Hulk's face.
"What's the matter with you? You'reembarrassing me! I told them we were friends!" Thor shouted angrily at Hulk as he recovered. Then he caught a glimpse of Sól 's body from the corner of his eyes, rage began to bubble in his chest as he returned his gaze to the Hulk. The Hulk had recovered and attempted to strike Thor with a punch but Thor was quick to avoid it, causing the Hulk to tumble forward. Thor struck him with a flurry of quick punches, before landing a powerful one across his face, causing the Hulk to fall face-first onto the arena ground.
Thor was seething as he planted his foot on the Hulk's face.
"And worse," he growled softly, "You hurt Sól ."
The Hulk's hand wrapped around his foot and he pushed Thor off of him before standing up as quickly as he could. Before he could strike, Thor intercepted him by clinging onto his neck when suddenly, the Hulk leaned backward, using his weight to crush Thor behind him and break free from his hold.
But it was futile for Thor wasn't budging.
Soon, Thor decided to let him go and quickly rolled away to avoid his fist that was coming to hit him. Thor stopped next to the hammer, picked it up, and leaped towards Hulk to land a hard blow. Hulk's hand shot up, blocking Thor's attack with it.
The crowd went silent with anticipation of what would happen next.
Hulk rose from the ground, seemingly unscathed. Even after everything he went through Sól and Thor, he rises unaffected. Hulk pulls his fist back and lands a punch on Thorm sending him across the arena.
The crowd goes wild once more to see the Champion overpowering them again.
With Thor barely having time to recover, The Hulk leaps into the air and lands on top of Thor and begins to pummel him with his large fists. With every punch Hulk landed on Thor, his head swayed from side to side, once again catching a glimpse of Sól 's unconscious body a few feet away from him.
The Hulk continued when Thor started to see visions of his father, standing on the land where he died.
Suddenly, his eyes glowed white with electricity running across his arms. The Hulk stopped, stunned by the electricity running across Thor's body he didn't realize that Thor used the very same electricity to knock Hulk back, sending him flying into the air.
The tremors on the ground awoke Sól, her eyes fluttered open slowly. Her vision was blurred but what she could make out was a man with tendrils of white light flashing across his arms. When her vision cleared, the man turned out to be Thor, with electricity sparking across his body.
Sól 's eyes widened in awe as Thor charged at the Hulk at the same time. Both leaped into the air to land a punch to one another but Thor landed his punch first, creating a massive shockwave that knocked down the Hulk.
The crowd began to chant once more, but this time, it wasn't for the Hulk. It was for Thor.
Thunder! Thunder! Thunder!
The Hulk rose from the ground to face off against Thor again. But before Thor was about to attack, The Grandmaster stood from the edge of his seat and pointed the remote towards Thor to activate his obedience disk.
Sól convulsed on the floor while Thor fell to the ground, suddenly caught off guard.
With Thor incapacitated, the Hulk leaps into the air and lands hard on Thor with a punch to his face, knocking him out.