Chapter Text
It was supposed to be a normal battle goddamnit and not whatever this was. They were supposed to go fight together. It was a regular Thursday. Mallory and Halfborn bickered. T.J. just shot Charlie Flannigan. Nothing was out of the ordinary. At least until... everything started.
They were planning on conquering a hill, standing in a small forest when the ground started to shake. This didn't feel normal - the ground shook every time higher floors shoot any projectiles but this was something else.
Soon between confused and concerned einherjars appeared cracks that soon started to get wider and wider. People from the 19th floor tried to stay together but more and more cracks appeared until there was less dirt than emptiness that dragged until the darkest depths.
Alex wasn't panicking. She was so fucking calm it was damn impossible to be more. She wasn't scared of death since it was literally impossible to be dead any more than she already was. What exactly was happening? Her breathing sped up, which unnerved her a lot. Alex fucking Fierro wasn't scared of anything nor anyone, thank you very much.
"Hey, it's gonna be okay." Said her the idiot. He smiled so sweetly and honestly despite clearly being scared that she couldn't deny a bit of stress obscuring her thinking disappearing.
"Like I need your reassurance. I know that." Generally it was almost impossible to fool him (he always won two-lies-one-truth) and with how she couldn't keep her breath steady or legs not shaking Alex knew it certainly wouldn't happen at the moment, but she would never admit it.
The piece she stood on started crumbling. She was so fucked. Having to keep her feet so close she was practically standing at attention she could do nothing against a gust of wind. Her whole body tensed, filled with adrenaline, but that did nothing to help her. She couldn't breathe. Everything happened just too fast. No sound came out of her mouth. She fell head first. Her lungs felt empty and she couldn't take a breath with how fast she was moving. Closing eyes helped with how much they were hurting and it wasn't like she could see anything. There was just darkness - darkness ahead of her and darkness with her.
Why was she still falling? When would the pain come and end this suffering? Her head was spinning. Right. Not enough air. Bright colourful spots danced before her eyes. Gods fainting was a pain in the ass.
She woke up in some alley. Huh. It's been some time since that happened. It seemed to be night. Her whole body hurt. Limbs felt like they were made of concrete. She wanted to slip into unconsciousness. However sleeping in some random alley in an unknown area would do much more harm than good. Fuck fuck fuck. She knew she was tired but just didn't realise how much - even moving fingers felt like an exhausting effort. She hated how vulnerable she was, if anyone came she had no way to fight. This was bad. This was really bad.
She heard steps getting closer and closer. Laying so open and being unable to fight or run was torturous. Closer. Maybe if she screamed they'd run away? Closer. Maybe if she was a bit less tired she could transform into something small? Closer. Whatever. "what if's" wouldn't help now. Closer. Maybe they'd take pity on her? Or just ignore her? Closer. She didn't want to die like this - not fighting and outside of Valhalla. She'd end up in Hel. Suddenly steps stopped right next to her.
There stood a person, presumably a man, holding some grocery store bag. He was wearing a plain white t-shirt, jeans and a surgical mask. He looked very clean, definitely too clean to be homeless. Paired with a long fringe he certainly didn't belong here. Luckily he kept some distance.
" Are you alright? Do you need any help? " It sounded like Japanese. So she met a tourist, she was in some Chinatown (Japantown?) or was abroad. He sounded nonthreatening and a bit concerned.
"The Hel are you saying." Fuck it was pathetic - she couldn't muster enough strength to make into a question.
Luckily he seemed to know English. Thank the Norns.
"Are you alright? Do you need any help?" Did he want something from her?
"Everything's fine now fuck off." She was slurring and just barely making any sense. Her harsh response did nothing to make the man leave.
"Well it appears otherwise. You can't move, have problems talking and you're clearly in pain. You're also covered in blood." Now he was crouching, bag beside him, looking her into eyes. She just huffed. He pulled out some kind of ID in Japanese. "I'm Best Jeanist, a Pro Hero. I can help you, you clearly need it, but I can't do it if I don't know what's wrong." He didn't seem like a madman. Was it a trick? But it didn't seem like resistance would do any good - if he wanted to hurt her he'd do so anyway and if he wanted to help... well, she wouldn't say it aloud but she needed some help. So it seemed like she was gonna trust a stranger, though she wasn't planning to keep her guard low. She decided to play his game of superheroes if that'd make him friendlier, especially since the chances she was in America just dropped significantly.
"F-fine." Shit breathing was getting really painful. "It's not my blood. But no cops and hospitals involved. And I can back out at any time. And don't you dare do anything suspicious." He nodded and held his hands up in a surrender sign.
"If you're absolutely sure hospitals are off limits..." Her glare was enough of a response. "I could take you to my home?" She hesitantly nodded. "What would you like me to call you?"
"Alex is fine."
"You probably shouldn't strain yourself. Could I carry you?"
"Don't you fucking dare, you motherfucker." Was she being harsh? Oh yes, certainly. Did she give a fuck? Not really - there was some worry (what could she do if he was pissed off?) but irritation (on pain, the whole situation, her helplessness and generally everything surrounding her) won.
"Then will you at least lean on me?"
"You better keep your hands to yourself." You can never be too careful. Still she felt a bit calmer around him, and she hadn't yet decided if that's a good or bad thing.
"Could you now tell me what's wrong? Does anything hurt you?" Nah. Not a fucking chance. Alex didn't trust him that much. Lack of her answer caused another sigh from the man. "Okay now I'm going to come closer to you." When she just silently stared at him he did exactly that, albeit slowly as though she were a wild wounded animal (honestly it wasn't that far off at the moment but she'd never say it aloud).
"Okay, now I'm going to put a hand under your back so don't get shocked. Then I will put the other hand just below your collar bones. Then I'll help you sit down, move you closer to the wall to lean and we'll see how you're feeling." She just nodded, still avoiding talking unless she deemed it necessary. She felt how he slowly put a hand on her side where her false ribs were and started to slowly squeeze it under her. Then, explaining every move, placed the other hand on her front. It was very uncomfortable but appeared helpful when she couldn't keep balance. He kept one hand under her back. She crawled until she was rested against the wall.
"If you're feeling fine I could help you stand up." After she nodded he helped her until they kept arms around each other's shoulders and she leaned on him.
After some time they ended up in front of an inconspicuous building. The whole way they didn't exchange any words, except for directions.
Immediately after entering, even before locking the door, he guided her to a sofa reassuring that it's okay, before leaving her alone in the room.
She hated this situation. It was suspicious as hell, but she couldn't do anything about it. She might as well be kidnapped and tied right now - the man could do anything and she could do nothing. Going home with a stranger who wandered through the alleys at night seemed like asking for trouble, but staying in place was just as bad. She'd hopefully survive this. Besides... he said he was a hero and showed some ID - he could be just delusional and it was fake. On the other hand he could be a doctor, policeman, firefighter or someone like that and either wanted to make it sound friendly or it was a mistake in translation. If only she could read in Japanese.
After some time he came back with two mugs. He sat on an armchair keeping some distance for which she was grateful. He placed one mug on a coffee table near her and kept the other in his hands.
"I tried to make it warm, but not too hot. I hope it'll be okay." Alex just wordlessly grabbed it and held close to her chest trying to warm up. She hadn't noticed how cold she was. Luckily the mug was filled to around three quarters so it wouldn't be accidentally spilled.
"I know this is very hard but could you try giving me some information on what happened? Did someone attack you? Were you in a fight?" 'Did you murder someone?' went unasked. After she just stared into the tea he sighed. "I doubt you'll let me check you so could you tell me where you're hurt? Are you sure you're not bleeding? Do you have anything broken or something that hurts particularly?" She finally acknowledged him by shaking her head. "If I make food for you will you eat it?" After receiving a nod he continued. "Do you have any allergies or preferences?" After another shake he left her alone.
She pulled her knees close to herself. Was it rude to put sneakers on a couch? Yes, but that didn't stop her. It definitely should but once again she just couldn't be bothered. Alex tried to make some sense of the most recent events but it was just absurd even to someone who lived in a world filled with gods, talking swords, shifters, magical creatures and other realms.
The man came back with two bowls with warm rice, meat and some plants she couldn't identify. She was so hungry, cold and weak that she grabbed the bowl and spoon with barely any hesitation. Gods it smelled amazing. It also tasted wonderful. This guy certainly knew how to make a meal.
"Do you want painkillers?" He nodded when she wordlessly denied. "And is there anyone you'd like me to call?" She hesitantly nodded. The man gave her his phone and she decided to call Samira. After four beeps some man picked up complaining about how he 'wasn't interested in photovoltaics' and 'where did you even get this number' so she just hung up. What happened? She checked the date and mentally cursed. What the fuck. Almost two hundred years in future. Shit shit shit. This was bad. What exactly did just happen? How was this possible?
"Hey, everything's going to be alright." What? Why was he... oh, she was hyperventilating. "Can you look at me?" Not a fucking chance. A sharp shake informed him about what she thought. "That's okay. Can you try breathing with me?" His breath became so obnoxiously loud and... Alex would never admit it but it helped. Thank gods she wasn't crying - she wasn't that pathetic. "If what I conclude is right, you can stay at my house - I have a guest bedroom and some spare clothes. Don't worry it won't be a problem - I'm used to my friends staying here. But don't worry they won't come uninvited." He was being so nice. It was a bit overwhelming. She still said nothing but now she looked at him. "You're free to move around the house. I have to go on a patrol in the morning, so I'll make you some breakfast before leaving." So he was a cop. "I can show you to the bathroom and the bedroom. Don't worry, both have locks. Would you like to go there now?"
After her nod he helped her get to the bathroom.
"I'll come in some time to check on you. If you'd like to wash you can use any body wash and shampoos. And here's a towel and a hairdryer. "He took them out of cabinets. "You can use a bathtub or a shower, whichever you prefer. Just yell if you need anything, even if it seems silly and trivial."
As soon as he left and closed the door she locked it. She just sat on the floor trying to get a grasp around what the Hel happened. It was overwhelming. After who knows how long she finally decided on taking a bath - if the guy said it's fine she wasn't going to miss out.
Finally submerged in water she couldn't stop a few tears slipping past her control - she managed to keep it quiet, but still it was in no place to have a breakdown. Getting all of the dirt and blood off herself felt amazing, even despite the discomfort of being in a stranger's house.
She decided to wear her old clothes - sure, they were dirty, but it was the only familiar thing, she had nothing else, not even time. Feeling this detached from reality was very surreal. With hair dried she left the room. She stood there, leaning on the wall, unsure what to do. Finally 'Best Jeanist' reappeared. It was a very strange nickname but she got why some people don't use real names, even though most of the time she couldn't be bothered to do so. Right now he was wearing some t-shirt with a loge she didn't recognise (no wonder since it was two fucking centuries in future) and tracksuits.
"I can show you your bedroom if you follow me now. I put some of my clothes and pajamas on a bedside stand. I also left you some water and crackers. Like I said, I'll make you some breakfast that I'll leave in the living room." The room was upstairs which posed a tiny bit of a challenge.
When she was alone Alex locked the door and looked around. It was a nice room - excluding Valhalla it's been years since she's been anywhere like that, even before running away - her house wasn't exactly a good and safe space.
She sat on the bed and it felt heavenly under her pained and tired body. It was already dark outside and she was just so tired. After drawing the curtains she went to bed, not bothering to change clothes, and fell asleep almost immediately.