Jörmun did not only use the ring he retrieved from the enchanted cabin in the woods, but he downright abused it in the hope that he would find a safe way out; a scenario that would lead to a different outcome than the three of them facing Thor.

Regardless of his number of steps back in time, the result remained the same. They would even have the unfortunate chance of encountering the God of Thunder earlier than they did the first time. It wasn’t good at all and none to Jörmun’s liking. He knew very well that fighting Thor all by himself was not going to be a fair match; not while his opponent was really set on taking him out for good.

If Hel would’ve been back in her undead kingdom, caring for the souls of those who were no longer among the living, then maybe Jörmun would’ve accepted his fate much easier; “she’d be reasonable enough to kick me out, back among the living,” he thought at some point. However, if he was to die in a battle, then he wouldn’t even land in his sibling’s land, but in Valhalla. There would be no saving hand stretched his way; there would be likely no way back.

“Enough!” Thor roared as Jörmun rolled back into the current timeline, flashing in yet another location; he had been teleporting in and out of the battle for long enough to annoy Thor even further than he was at the arrival.

“Let’s discuss a bit,” Jörmun raised his hands up to his chest in a surrender gesture. “Don’t you believe it would be a better option? I could surely do some deeds for you; some dirty ones you don’t want to get your hands into,” he attempted at diplomacy once again, seeing no way out from the battle. A smile danced rather nervously on his lips.

“I don’t make deals with the slithering ones such as yourself or Loki. The Gods were foolish enough to keep your father among them for as long. Look what it led to,” he pointed his hammer at Jörmun who displayed a fabricated innocence, accompanied by a shrug. “Children that do nothing better than stepping on the same venom paved path, bringing nothing but ruin.”

“In my defence, that church was in ruins for a while. I did nothing to add to its pitiful state,” he attempted to fool around while knowing very well what the other was talking about; it had nothing to do with the church.

“Silence!” Thor threw Mjolnir at Jörmun, who dodged it in the last moment, whooshing dangerously by his ear. “I will hear no more from you,” he added and launched himself in an attack, meeting back with his returning hammer halfway towards his opponent.

The battle carried on like a fierce dance, illuminated by the flashing lightning bolts; Jörmungandr was shapeshifting at an incredible pace, in the hope that he would manage to avoid Thor’s merciless attacks. Despite all his efforts, he eventually hit the ground exhausted, heaving for a breath in his human body. He avoided Mjolnir coming in contact with his head by inches. He heard the ground crack where it landed.

Thor too was getting tired from all the running around, chasing all the critters the red haired one decided to shapeshift into. However, resting on top of his opponent, while pinning him to the frozen ground, was the worst decision he could have taken. With his last spark of energy Jörmun shapeshifted once again, this time into a snake, and sprayed venom in Thor’s face until he could do nothing more but howl in pain and dig at his burning eyes.

Seeing it as a chance to escape, Jörmun slithered out of the other’s way and darted off from the fight scene, as far as his body was still able to carry him.

---

It wasn’t until dawn that Jörmun finally reached back the town himself and the girls were supposed to spend their night into. There was nobody on the street; an eerie feeling floated in the air as he made his way through the small settlement.

His guts twisted with an uneasy feeling when he finally came to his destination and saw the light on in the room they were ought to stay in. Jörmun took a deep breath and eventually made his way into the house; he kept his steps as silently as he could while he climbed up to the room. His breath halted at the sight; the door had been violently forced open.

Though he could barely contain his anxious anticipation at what could’ve awaited him behind the broken door, he took his time to refrain himself from marching in loudly. Jörmun stepped inside and heard a silent whimper. He glanced around and caught in sight only Maddie’s silhouette; she was on top of her bed, hugging her knees tightly as she shook and cried uncontrollably.

“Maddie…”

“You…” she mumbled in a low, raspy voice. Her eyes narrowed with hatred.

“She must’ve been crying for a while,” Jörmun thought. “What happened? Where is Hel?”

“Thor came and took her, then disappeared through the damn roof in a blinding rainbow light.”

“The Bifröst,” Jörmun murmured to self. Only when the girl mentioned it, he looked up and noticed the massive hole in the ceiling. That explained the room temperature which felt nearly as freezing as the outdoor one.

“And it’s all your fault!” she cried as she threw herself at Jörmun with a shaky fist. She failed to even reach his face, as he caught her during the failed leap. Maddie eventually collapsed at his feet with tears rolling down her cheeks once again. “How will I get Eloise back? How will I explain this to the university and her family?” she whimpered.

“Let’s go somewhere warm, Maddie…” Jörmun suggested absently, unable to think of anything else. His mind was too busy with trying to find reasoning in why did Thor decide to take his sister through the Bifröst. He could’ve taken him, Jörmun, for the Judgement of the Gods, but instead decided to leave with the memory-lacking sibling. What could they possibly do with the husk of her former self?

“I am going nowhere else with you. I will take the first train or bus I find in the morning,” her teeth chattered as she spoke. She was overwhelmed with tiredness, stress and cold. She couldn’t even push herself up to a stand anymore, even if she wanted to attempt at fighting Jörmun with all her collected fury.

Without much of an option to protest, Maddie found herself clothed once again in Jörmun’s long coat carried into an empty guest room below their own, where the ceiling was still in place. They did nothing but to sit there in silence for a couple of hours, attempting to find an internal stability that would help them resume any path they’d decide to go down on.

---

Luckily enough for Jörmun and Maddie, the local people thought that the place they spent the night at was only hit by a regular lightning strike. However, the two long gone before anyone got to interact with them; they heard about it by chance while being in the bus stop, at the edge of the town.

Maddie was still deeply disturbed by her friend’s disappearance. She had no clue on how she was going to explain that to anyone that may ask for details regarding Eloise’s whereabouts. Even thinking about reporting it to the police was a hassle. Who was going to believe that her friend went up a blinding ray of light, accompanied by a Norse god?

She was also unsure of what to do about Jörmun’s presence. He was still accompanying her, submerged in silence; much unlike his usual self. He must have been troubled by the events as well.

He was also injured. Maddie only caught a proper glimpse at his face when they stopped for the bus. Her eyes avoided him at all costs up to that point.

“Would you uhm…” Maddie paused to clear her throat as Jörmun looked her way. “Would you like to pay a visit to the nurse before we go?” she added and studied his face; he had bruises and scratches of various sizes, accompanied by dried blood. Maddie thought of Thor’s brute force. If Jörmun was a regular human, he wouldn’t have gotten out of the conflict alive.

“It’s nothing too bad. No broken bones,” he sketched a smile. He was grateful that she decided to speak to him something else than an insult. Adding hay to the fire they were both trapped in was going to do no good.

Maddie nodded, but another question burned her with curiosity. “Will you go after them? Will you bring Eloise back?” she held his gaze and understood the moment he glanced away that it won’t be the case. “What do you plan to do then? You do realize it’s all your fault-”

“I know!” he cut her off abruptly, while a soft frown busied his forehead. “I know I attracted Asgard’s attention. With her memory loss, my sister was of no use to anyone, which is why I fail to understand why Thor took her instead of me back to Asgard?”

“I was hoping you could answer that actually…” she sighed. “What about your missing brother? The one we set ourselves on the way for.”

“Fenrir is likely long dead,” he watched Maddie gasp silently. She was on the verge of protesting once again. “We only needed a fragment of his physical remains in order to bring him back.”

“That’s so messed up. I won’t even try to argue with it,” her shoulders dropped as she let out a long, tired sigh. Hearing such confessions from Jörmun only confirmed her thoughts; he did lie a lot during their time together. She wondered what else he kept hidden.

“However, none of that matters much since Hel was taken,” he shrugged and approached the bus as it finally stopped in the station. He shoot Maddie a questioning look. “Are you coming?”

“I uh- Yeah,” she mumbled low, still unsure of why Jörmun was still following, especially after all the things she was given to hear in the past few minutes. Not much, and yet a bit more made sense than before. 

Maddie could only hope that for the time being, no additional trouble would follow. There was already a lot on their plate to resolve. If Jörmun decided to hang around, then he was better off already thinking about reasonable ways to explain Eloise’s disappearance; that of course until he found a way to bring her back. Maddie was sure that he was going to do that sometime, somehow. She could only pray that it would be soon enough.

To be continued…