When Hell found it's Fire

[explosiveKitten]

After the camp was destroyed, a certain pairing was torn apart by the situation they were in. One went his own way, the other remained with the group. Eventually the group won their fight and returned to the camp. She looked for him for years, but eventually this brokenhearted girl was forced to move on.


Now, years later, in the middle of a frigid Michigan October, the two stumble across each other by chance, and their lives are flipped upside down and inside out. Can they adjust to each other's changes? Or will they fall flat again?


Helena x Mason


explosiveKitten and TechEwok 1x1

 

[explosiveKitten]

It had been three years since those days. The days the demigods were totally ravaged and being hunted.


Now Helena found herself attending Wayne State in Michigan in the middle of a freezing cold October, working a low paying bartending job and living with two absolute snobs of roommates in a shared apartment off campus. It sucked, but after all the hell she had been through already, it was nothing. Besides, she kind of liked her job. The Soaring Eagle's patrons were often good people when they weren't stone cold drunk, and the other bartenders- Deryn, a pretty blonde girl with caramel brown eyes and modest features, and Jamie, as average Joe as could be with an additional lip piercing and a heart of gold- they were good people. Of course being met out back by the occasional crazy/drunk/stoned/just plain f***ing desperate guy trying to get her to be his prostitute was not fun. Often times she had to chase them off with the kitchen knife she kept in her boot.


Much like this night. The night that changed her.


"Hey, so, your birthday is coming up I hear? Huh? Huuuuh?" Jamie jabbed her with an elbow, drying the washed dishes next to her, "You coming up to drinking age, ehhhh?"


"Twenty one? Yeah. Woo hoo." Helena said, putting another shot glass in front of him, not amused at his antics in the least. He had been promising since they met two years ago that he would take her out for her first drink. And he was getting waaaay too excited about it.


"Oh please Jamie, leave her be, she's got enough on her mind!" Deryn shouted at him from across the room, stacking chairs on the tables. The rest of the staff were long gone, and the trio were still there closing. "See? Gods, Jamie!" Helena exclaimed, shoving him and sliding the last glass to him. "I'm out for the night. See you b*tches tomorrow!"


"That's not very nice!" Jamie shouted as she walked away, and Deryn simply waved as she gathered her things from the back and pushed her way out the back door and into the frigid air. Snow was falling from the sky already, and it was only October! Michigan weather made no f***ing sense! The sprinkling of snow never managed to deter weirdos, however. In the alley stood a guy bundled in so many layers and so clearly beyond drunk. The guy smelled of piss, vomit and.. What was it? Hard lemonade. Ugh.


He sauntered over to the young girl with a look she was all too used to, and before he could even speak, she got the same, "I am so done" look on her face and said with scorn, "I am not in the mood for this, you want a stripper, go to Hooters down the street, they even have a kids special this week!" She shouted, pointing down the street. But before she could walk away, the man stepped in her way and continued to harass her, naming several prices for her if she'd just go home with him. And after seeing that he was getting nowhere, things took a turn for the worse. Even after she pulled her knife from her boot, it didn't deter him. He proceeded to pin her back against a wall and strip her only weapon from her, mumbling about how his wife didn't treat him well, and other bullsh*t things. And Helena was stuck as he pushed further over the line she had drawn so long ago..

 

[Dirtbear]

"You got 60 seconds.... GO! GO! GO!"


---


---


"Hurry up already! I thought you were a whiz kid?!"


---


---


---


_ _ _Ding_ _ _


"HA! Alright I'll see you in a bit. Luv ya!"

---


---
​

A hand went across the messy emerald hair that flowed over his ears. Lifting the goggles to clamp down his stray hairs and a smile creased over his features as he stared at a concrete wall and leaned back in his chair. Hands outstretched and clenched, feeling cramped after that long session. 'Longer than the other day. Hah...' Mason laughed to himself. He rocked in his chair and waved his hands across the air, scrubbing the streams that he had opened to penetrate the interwebs and restricted walls for a certain firm holding certain items for a certain someone. Mason pulled up a stream and watched numbers and chaos he created wreck with the system. He smiled and sighed, "Another wonderful day, love. What should we do next?" No words were said, they were in his head. A few footsteps came from behind him and put a hand on him that turned green at the touch on his shoulder. Her hair was long and wispy, her face soft and her eyes like precious gems dazzling in the light. Her body was tall and slender. Her form stood beside Mason and she leaned forward and placed a kiss on his cheek, the contact sparking green across her features. "I'm sure we can figure something out. But how about we head back, we got some more work to do elsewhere. Michigan is depressing. I preferred Florida to be honest." Ignis said to Mason through their bond. He looked up and he felt his heart tear softly, never really fading away fully when he looked at her. Ignis had formed into something she thought he desired, Helena.


She, however, chose to fix things she deemed were imperfect and flawed. Ignis was taller, didn't look menacing, and her long hair was wavy. Ignis had thought it was to dark to be exactly like that she-devil. She wanted to be the light for Mason after all he had been through. Their bond had gotten stronger as the years passed and she found the perfect form for her... master. Mason placed his hand on her arm and the green surged up and lit her up like a celadon candle. Her emotions were tied with Mason, things normally never evident in a being like herself. Mason felt the warmth envelope him inside and smiled again, "Alright, love. Our works done here. Think the waffle house is open?" he thought and Ignis exploded in laughter that filled his head. She didn't say anything as she led the way out of the small single room and opened the door. "Never get enough, do you. Heh." She said before touching the crystal lattice beneath his leather bracers and filled the clear crystal to a ruby hue. Mason scoffed, 'Never gets old...' he thought before exiting the door and closing the door. The S12 on the front of the door was pried off and left a square box that looked like it was missing something. Mason walked down the brick hallway and exited the building. He tossed the S12 at the Extra Storage sign. He hummed to himself and pulled a stream and played some music from a local radio station. He skipped to the beat and disregarded the snow as it powdered his clothing.

 

[explosiveKitten]

"I swear, people never learn to leave me alone."


Helena found herself trudging through the snow, her leg cramping painfully with each step. Her medical student's intuition told her she pulled something when she went maniac on the guy that tried to rape her. Even now, blood still dripped off her knife onto the powder snow. But no matter, she wiped it off on her pants and put the knife back in her boot.


It was a really cold walk home. Really lonely too. Not hat she wasn't used to being alone. She had spent most of her life alone. Ever since Mason left her to live with that damned Cyclops she had never accepted anyone's company. She just barely getting over it... Holding grudges was her fatal flaw, she supposed. Now as she trudged through the snow as it fell faster and faster, she found it in her to raise her voice- to sing something of her sorrows. So she did, her voice lifting up and cutting through the storm, beautiful with an eerie, sad undertone. She let he song fill her, and tears filled her eyes, but of course she was forced to shut them down. If she started crying the water would freeze. Besides, she refused to let herself cry. She had done enough crying in her lifetime.


Once her song ended, all was silent, the snowstorm blustering and angry. Visibility was down at least 75%. She passed the local Ihop, and before she even knew what was happening, she smacked right into someone on the sidewalk, her forehead knocking against his, and she was sent falling back, spilling into the snow, and her leg twinges again, making her cry out from the pain. "Yeeeeow!" She howled, clutching her leg, and laying in the snow, completely unaware of who she had just run into..

 

[Dirtbear]

"Eeeeep" , Mason yelped as his forehead knocked into something hard and knocked him back. He was sprawled on his back in the snow and Ignis' Crystal raged in heat. The snow around him melted and his goggles were being flooded by the melted snow. Mason sat up and rubbed his forehead and the emerald hair that flowed over it. "I'm sorry. Are you ok? I wasn't paying attention to where i was going." Mason said as he tried to see past the torrent of snow. He thought he saw someone he recognized, at first he thought it was Ignis playing tricks on him again. "Ignis. It's not funny to play these games... " He sighed. Thinking he saw her but it was just Ignis. "Im right here you idiot. I haven't left your side. That heathen hit you on the forehead. I'll melt whoever it is. Please please please, let me do it again." She communicated to him through the bond. His eyes shot up and he stared in shock at who was in front of him..."Helena....."

 

[explosiveKitten]

Immediately her eyes snapped open, and she flipped onto her back, her hands braced back against the cold sidewalk. There in front of her, was a face she had never expected to see again.


Time seemed to stop for her. She had always imagined this moment going two ways- They would find each other, and Mason would apologize for being a d*** and she would say she forgave him, and then they ran off into the sunset. Or she just delivered a swift kick to the balls and that would be the end of it. But right now, she could only stare upward, her mouth agape, and her jaw twitched as she tried to come up with words to describe how she felt. Her heart was hammering in her chest, her mind racing.


"M... Ma.. Mason?"

 

[Dirtbear]

His hands went to his wet green hair and dressed it to the side. He looked over to her and bit his lip a bit. He didn't think they would ever see each other again and hell, he wasn't really looking either. He crawled over to her and wrapped his arms around her. "I... I thought the worst. Wh..what you doing out here?" Mason said, still holding onto her with his head right beside her. He passed his hand through her hair and felt the slick wet feeling that the snow melting left.


A low hiss was emanating from the Crystal lattice wrapped around the bracers with a surging warmth. "That she demon! I'll melt her face for making Mason hurt! Tear into her flesh and sear her begging screams into her bone before making her into slop." Ignis howled becoming audible enough for those around the crystal to hear.

 

[explosiveKitten]

Helena didn't react to Mason's approach, but when he started to touch her, she pulled away, suddenly angry, "What do you mean, what am I doing out here? What are YOU doing in the Detroit area?" She hissed, getting up shakily and dusting the snow off her pants, "I thought you were in Greenland. Living with, what was it? Mantle, the cyclops?" She said harshly, trying desperately to get her heart to stop fluttering.


One half of her brain screamed, "GIVE HIM A HUG! IT'LL BE ALL BETTER! JUST KISS AND MAKE UP!" The other, annoyingly, was screaming "WHAT THE HELL IS HE DOING HERE! HE BROKE YOUR HEART! MAKE HIS SKULL IMPLODE! HE DESERVES IT!" and both were being annoying. So she kept trying to keep her calm. But bitterness always snuck into her voice. "And what do you mean, you thought the worst? It's not like I died."

 

[Dirtbear]

Mason sat back in the melted snow around him. Grabbed his goggles and planted them on his head. He frowned, "Yea... Yea... I was. I couldn't stay there forever though. I had an unexpected thing and then Mantle kindly asked us to leave. Long story. " He cleared his throat and rubbed the crystal lattice along the bracers under his coat. "I was on some business...ventures and well I came out here for a few weeks. What about you?" He tried to stand and the water around him that continued to melt with Ignis' fury was making it difficult.


" And what I meant was..." '...that i lost my best friend.... Forever... To that war... To the gods... "...that I would never get a chance to... Take back what I said about that polar bear. They aren't nice and cuddly... " Mason faked a laugh and felt Ignis' heat source flare up and he silenced her with a sound from his teeth,.

 

[explosiveKitten]

"Me?" She stared at him, then blew a piece of hair out of her face, mist flowing from between her lips like smoke in the cold air, "I'm attending Wayne State. I'm studying to be a doctor." She said, crossing her arms and stuffing her hands into her armpits, "not sure what kind yet, but... A doctor." She finished, staring at Mason.


Then as an afterthought upon seeing his green hair, she added, "Wooo.. Go green and gold, right? Yaaay..." She muttered, shivering against the sheer cold. Snow was settling into her hair like stars in a night sky, and as she stared at Mason her bright blue eyes blinked snowflakes from her lashes. "... Is that lava monster still with you?" She asked.

 

[Dirtbear]

Mason stood up and looked at Helena puzzled, "Green... and... gold? I don't understand. My hair is... green. Turned last spring and my blue is gone. But... no gold.... I don't think." He said grabbing the bangs and trying to see if anything changed. He stopped and looked at his bracers and showed her the intricate crystal latticework intertwined in the leather. It glowed and looked alive, "Yea. She's in there. She's not happy to see you. You see... she can't come out after... the last time she did in public... She scared some religious guys and they called her a demon and well.. You know how she gets. She melted them and then caused a panic and so... yea... scientists and such. She's not allowed to come out in public. People see her. Ruins everything." Mason shrugged. "I'll melt your face to she-demon! You despicable HEATH---" "Alright, no more talking privileges for you." Mason interrupted Ignis before she called Helena a heathen. Mason shook his head and sighed.


Dusting the snow and the water from his clothing and seeing the steam coming off his body, he looked over to Helena and gauged her heat. She was slowly falling below the temperature around her. He shook off the snow from his arms and opened his arms and gestured she come in for some heat. "Come here. I'll warm you up and then we can head into the Ihop nearby." He paused, "That is, if you want. I can just leave you alone."

 

[explosiveKitten]

"... Green and gold are the school colors, M-Mason..." She chattered, watching him explain how Ignis got in trouble with the mortals and was called a demon and inwardly she began to laugh at Ignis and mock her. Who you calling a heathen NOW, b****?!But when Mason opened his arms and offered to warm her up. At first she began to step forward, but then she stopped herself, "y-yeah, Ihop. Lets just... Just go in..." She exhaled, "Even though I'm not hungry. I already had a burger at the Soaring Eagle..." She added as an afterthought, then trudged through the snow and into the Ihop, flinching against the warmth before letting it seep into her skin.

 

[Dirtbear]

Mason felt a heavy pressure in him when Helena walked away from him. He smiled but in the interior, the pain flooded through him. "...B*tch..." Ignis muttered to Mason and he sighed. He agreed with her on this and rethought the idea of rekindling their friendship. 'It's gone...' Mason thought solemnly before following Helena and making it through the door. He paused behind her for a second and decided to walk to the bar stools. He brushed Helena as he passed, a harsh violet sparked underneath his clothing where his arm made contact with her. He gasped as he felt the bitterness rush into him and the sadness froze his heart. Mason refrained from looking back to Helena. He grabbed the back of the chair and sat in it He shifted his view away from her direction and closed his eyes, 'It's.... definitely... gone...'

 

[explosiveKitten]

Helena stared at him and watched his expression fall. And somehow she felt it was her fault. And she would be damned if she had to watch him be a sad sack. "Sooo, uhh... What kind of job are you doing? You mentioned a uhhh... A business venture." She said, trying to spark conversation as she sat next to him. Maybe... Maybe she could try. But what if he breaks your heart again?! her mind shouted, while her heart tried to silence that. She had thought she was over Mason. But seeing him here, sitting next to her, she felt a small spark. Something like happiness.


But what if-


"Oh, shut up mind, I listen to you too much!" She hissed, then realized she had said that out loud and she slowly looked at Mason.

 

[Dirtbear]

Brushing his hair to the side then pinning it with his goggles, Mason looked to his side to answer Helena. "Oh. It's uh... Just transferring data and assets securely through the use of a 'program' I created. Essentially my skill set." Mason said. 'Funneling funds and data from the scientists backers....' he thought to himself as he felt the surge of anger grow in him. He sighed and controlled himself, he was better at not going full pyro anymore. Thanks to Ignis.


He snapped out of it when Helena said something that made her sound crazy. "Hmmmm. Issues there? He said pointing to her head.

 

[explosiveKitten]

"What- no! Of course noooooot, HAHAHAHA your silly!" She laughed and cracked a big smile, shoved Mason playfully and kept the playful laughter up, Shiiiiit he heard me talking to myself! GOD DAMNIT her mind was screaming and she personally had to smack her forehead a few times to get her mind straight. "HA! Hahaha! Haha... ha..." The laughter puttered out slowly, and after a few seconds of awkward silence, she said, "I swear, I'm not crazy. My mind is just trying to... Talk me out of something..." She said, blinking, then ran her fingers through her hair. embarrassed.

 

[Dirtbear]

Looking at her like she had issues, Mason awkwardly laughed and pulled a menu to his face. "How dare she touch you! " Ignis hissed to Mason then averted her attention to Helena and a dark growl rumbled from the crystal, "Touch my boy again and you'll feel my burns for eternity..." Mason didn't bother stopping her. It made him feel better knowing Ignis was there. She warmed him. She loved him. She would never leave. Mason found what he wanted and told the waitress what he wanted. He messed with his goggles and a bang fell over his forehead and he blew some air at it and watched it sway.

 

[explosiveKitten]

Helena wanted to glare at Ignis, but there was no Ignis to glare at, so she turned her attention back to Mason and tried again, "Sooo.... where are you staying, if you don't mind me asking?" She said, twisting a ring around her finger nervously. As she looked at Mason, she realized as he'd gotten older and his hair was longer, and he was definitely more muscley... Holy shit. She really liked how his new look. Not that he wasn't attractive before, but... Shiiiiiiiit. As she stared a little more, her expression and her emotions began to soften. How could she stay mad at him? He couldn't possibly have known how much he hurt her. Why should she blame him? Slowly her cheeks reddened as she thought of how nice he had been to her. How funny and quirky he was... Her eyes drifted down to the floor, a small smile crept to her face.


She could definitely forgive him. She could forget. When she looked up at him again, her mind started screaming again, but she mental slapped that down, then leaned forward on the counter. "You know... I'm... I'm really glad to see you again."

 

[Dirtbear]

The waitress wasn't back yet and Mason was growing a little impatient at the unsatisfactory service, he began tapping the table. He looked over to Helena and responded to her question. "South of here. Out in the suburbs. Downriver, I think is what the locals call it. I don't know. Not a local." He shrugged and waved off the streams coming up. A couple kept popping up and he looked at the and pulled them forward to him.

-Ilya-

HEY! NERD! ANSWER ME! I KNOW YOU'RE GETTING THIS YOU STUPID COMPUTER HEAD! DON'T YOU IGNORE ME!

​

​

He waved it off with a sigh and turned over to Helena and smiled, "Well that's not the impression I got back there. Just so you know." Mason pointed out the window. When he looked another stream came up and hummed for a second. He tapped at it and the information pulled up.

-Ilya-

You know, I can see what you're doing. And I know where you are. AND WHO IS SHE!? HM?! DON'T IGNORE ME MASON!

​

​

He groaned and covered his face with both of his hands. He forgot about Ilya's ability. 'HOW COULD I FORGET!? She's always using it. I wouldn't be surprised it was just that to haunt me forever." Mason slid his hands off his face and groaned some more. "Waitress! Hurry up! I'm STARVING!" Mason shouted smacking the counter causing some commotion. He smacked his head on the counter and kept smacking it repetitively. And another buzzin humming stream came into view underneath his face as he smacked the counter with it. It opened when his forehead made contact with it as it hit the counter and opened.

-Ilya-

This is the last time I'll tell you.... STOP IGNORING ME! I want to be nice. I want to know who she is. AND STOP BANGING YOUR HEAD ON THE COUNTER! IDIOTA! Ay come ti amo... idiota...

​

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Mason continued to bang his head on the counter until the waitress brought the waffles with eggs and bacon next to him. By that time, his forehead was blood red, his hair was a mess, the counter was slightly wet, and his goggles were over his eyes. He turned around and swerved his head and squinted underneath the goggles. "HMMMMM. I like this. No one can see me now. Heh..." Mason said as he stabbed the napkin thinking it was food with the fork.

 

[explosiveKitten]

Helena stared at Mason, then rubbed her head sadly, "Yeah, I... I know. and I'm sorry. I was just, shocked to see you. I thought... I thought I would never see you again." She said, looking at him, then noticed him start bashing his head against the counter, and raised an eyebrow at him, then took his wrist gently and moved his fork to his food, before letting go of him, "Uhhh... You okay there?" She asked, then she picked up a napkin and wiped the counter off out of habit, "Because smashing your head against the counter is kind of making me worry."

 

[Dirtbear]

Mason lifted his goggles from his face and squinted at the bright light as his eyes readjusted. "Well... you know... Could've been a bit easier on it." He said before stabbing a couple of cut pieces of waffles. He looked at Helena and slightly frowned, "It's..... complicated." Mason softly said as he shoved the waffles in his mouth and moaned at how buttery they tasted. The maple syrup was dripping from his lips and he was trying to lick it without the waffles falling out his mouth. "You really need to learn some eating etiquette, you savage barbarian. At least use a napkin. It's just unbearable." Ignis said in disgust. Her form was beginning to grow restless in the crystal. She wasn't used to being kept in there for so long anymore. "So, Mason... When are we ditching this demon child? You know who is going to stab you with unpleasant things if you keep her waiting... " Ignis spoke to him in a sly voice. 'Like I'll let her, but she is a sweet girl...' Ignis suppressed her jealousy and tried to go dormant in the crystal.


Mason groaned when Ignis mentioned that and put the fork down, frowning. He swallowed his portion of food. He looked at Helena and let out a sigh. "I gotta go. It was... nice catching... up." He said to her. A humming came up again and the stream appeared highlighted around the black wisps. He reached for it and opened it.

-Ilya-

Well I see you aren't going yet. So, I'll be finding my own dinner. And I'll be finding you a blanket for the floor on the patio. AND DON'T YOU DARE STAY WITH THAT GIRL! I'm watching... I see all, Mason... ^.^

​

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He moved the stream away and realized his hand was on Helena's cheek in a caress. His eyes opened in surprise and he pulled his hand away and apologized quickly. Mason stood up and left some money on the counter before turning for the door.

 

[explosiveKitten]

Helena listened to him talking and found her herself quite happily just lost listening to him talk. Until he said he had to leave. "What! No! Don't go, please! I- I-" If you leave, I may never see you again!... Please don't go! "I have so much I want to talk to you about! Can't you stay just-" at this time he reached his hand out and touched her cheek, this silenced her. She stared at him, silent, but when he pulled his hand away and apologized, her mind mind snapped back to reality, "wait... Please don't go, Mason...." She begged, still sitting in her spot, watching his moves carefully.

 

[Dirtbear]

Once he reached the door he sighed a bit then turned around and smiled, "Walk with me for a bit then." Mason opened the door and held it open. The second set of doors were still closed, so not to let the weather inside the restaurant. He looked at her and felt a needle of anxiety stab him in the gut. 'Ilya is going to kill me...' He looked to the bracers and saw the usually red glow had subsided to a pale green, indicating Ignis had found a dormant state to separate herself from the world. He grinned and looked back at Helena and waited for a response.

 

[explosiveKitten]

She was up to her feet and running after him before he could even finish his sentence. "Okay!" She said, a bit over eager to walk with him. She smiled at him, then pushed out into the cold, and stiffened against the cold nigh instantly. "I can still hardly believe that you don't feel cold." She murmured, zipping up her coat and shivering more. Looking up at the sky, she watched the stars twinkling.

 

[Dirtbear]

Smiling, he walked behind her in the chilling night. The snowstorm subsided but apparently it was still cold. Mason shrugged at Helena's comment. "Ignis thinks it's a blessing from Hephaestus. I call it a curse from the gods..." Mason looked down. That was the first time in three years since he spoke of the gods. He resented them. For his fallen allies, for his lost love, for the abandonment he felt that he still carried with him. He looked back at Helena and wrapped his arm around her and brought some heat to the surface of his skin. The heat enough to warm her and not cook her. "How's that? Keep you from shaking out here and catching a cold." Mason laughed and shook her with his arm wrapped around her.